Results tagged “midtowneast”

Yesterday morning a driver for an appliance company got out of his truck on East 50th Street without locking the air brake, sending the 24-foot box truck rolling east across Lexington Avenue. Fortunately, it crossed the avenue just as the traffic light turned green, then crashed into some construction scaffolding without injuring a single soul. Kirk, the 25-year-old driver who would only give the Daily News his first name, explalins, "I thought someone stole it. I was shocked to see no one in it when I opened the door." Bystander Tony Wood says the truck narrowly missed "a lady trying to cross the street but she stepped back." And subcontractor Alan Cheung tells the News, "I'm still shocked. This is my seventh cigarette this morning. I haven't been able to get in work mode since." (We'll have to remember that excuse.) Police did not charge Kirk, who insists he put the vehicle in park before jumping out. Regardless, it's hard to read about this harrowing incident without recalling the horrible crash in Chinatown in January, when a minivan jumped a curb, killing two children and injuring 17.

It was only after all this that the officer ended up passing his gun over to the janitor who had unknowingly lent his uniform to the suspect, 51-year-old Placido Contreras. As the cop wrestled with a bloody McNair, he passed his gun to Contreras and told him, "Keep your eyes on him and shoot him if you have to." The janitor told the Post that it was the first time he held a real gun.

Opia: With eight years under their belts, the owners of this popular French restaurant recently gave the place a major facelift, reopening last week with three expanded terraces, two private rooftop decks, and a private banquet room. But it's not just about a new look; they've also brought on new Executive Chef Ted Pryor (formerly of La Goulue, Orsay and Les Halles) to streamline the menu. While keeping popular offerings like the “Sushi Corner” and “Le Coin Japonais,” Pryor has brought in signature dishes like his Crab Cake made with buttery brioche and served with celery remoulade. There's also a three-way Battle Royale between L’American Sliders with American cheese, onions and pickles on a potato roll; Le French Sliders with Béarnaise and Comté cheese on a Brioche roll; and Le Lobster Sliders with fresh lobster meat, chives and chervil. Opia's open for breakfast through dinner Monday through Friday, with brunch and dinner on the weekends. 130 East 57th Street, (212) 688-3939

A year ago, a Midtown condo construction site's crane fell into neighboring buildings on East 50th Street near 2nd Avenue. Aside from damaging neighboring buildings and leveling a townhouse, seven people—six construction workers and one woman in the townhouse—were killed. Neighbors had complained about the construction, but the incident further forced the Department of Buildings to monitor cranes more carefully (another crane killed two just two months later). Last week, the DOB released findings from its investigation: Ultimately, four synthetic slings—including one that had prior physical damage—used to support a 11,279-pound steel collar (eight slings are usually used) were blamed, from how they were placed to how there was no padding to protect the slings from sharp edges. Earlier this year, the Manhattan DA's office charged the crane rigger with manslaughter.

Investigators have been looking at the nylon strap, used to help place a heavy steel collar on the crane, as a possible culprit in the Saturday's East 51st Street devastating crane collapse, but one veteran construction worker who helped dismantle the collapsed told WNBC.com the crane wasn't "properly anchored to the ground."

Investigators suspect that a nylon strap may have started a horrifying chain reaction of events that caused a crane to collapse onto other buildings. Yesterday, emergency workers found the bodies of three missing people, construction workers Santino Gallone and Clifford Canzona, and Florida resident Odin Torres who was in town visiting a friend, raising the total dead to seven. Dozens more were injured in the accident which span East 51st Street between First and Second Avenues to East 50th Street between First and Second.

For a pair of diners with zero romantic involvement, Soba Totto proved the perfect refuge from the relentless Valentine’s Day spirit. Thanks to owner Ryuichi “Bobby” Munekata, the man behind upscale yakitori joints Yakitori Totto and Torys, Soba Totto is one of the few Japanese spots in town offering both top-notch soba and top-flight yakitori. In a begrudging acknowledgment of the so-called holiday, two juicy skewers of hatsu, or chicken heart, were ordered.

Shawn Kovell, who was arrested in an undercover drug sting in October, was released from jail yesterday to head into a drug treatment program. She was able to get out by making a deal with the Manhattan DA's office: Kovell pleaded guilty to charges that she sold cocaine with her boyfriend, Robert Chambers, the infamous "Preppy Killer" in the 1986 death of Jennifer Levin. Kovell was originally held on $25,000 bail, and Kovell's lawyer had...

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a shooting on Utica Ave. in Brooklyn, an attempted bank robbery on East Fordham Rd. in the Bronx, and a large tree down on East 114th St. and 91st Ave. in Queens..
• Buzz over the much-anticipated J.J. Abrams feature code-named "Cloverfield" has precipitated to something much more solid: a feature named "Cloverfield." The Internet's been speculating about the horror-thriller with a trailer that includes the decapitation of the Statue of Liberty for months.
• Writers' strike be damned, late night hosts like Letterman, Leno, and Conan may be back on the air sooner rather than later.
• ConEd is shutting down its last direct current power plant in New York, which was located in Midtown East Manhattan. New York's first power plant was on Pearl St. and founded by Thomas Edison himself, who favored direct to the more currently prevalent alternating current.
• A Brooklyn man was arrested for allegedly marking cards at CT's Mohegan Sun casino in a game of Texas Hold 'Em.
• Today was the last day of New Yorkers for apply for relief aid after August's damaging storms. Applicants can call 1-800-621-FEMA, or apply through www.fema.gov.
• A thief shot himself, after attempting to shove a gun in his pants during a Long Island home invasion.
• Sen. Fred Thompson and L&O alumnus returns to NYC.

Some of you looking outside this morning might have had a double take, as fog has rolled in some parts of the city. Janelle sent us this photograph of fog seen over the East River from Dumbo (the Brooklyn Bridge is hidden on the left), but we hear that the view is clear and beautiful looking from Midtown East. As for what kind of fog it is, we're not sure, but it sure is...

There are many fun events today, like Ecofest at Lincoln Center and Atlantic Antic in Brooklyn, but for those interested in our fine feathered friends, we recommend you head to Central Park to check out the Parks Department's Falconry Extravaganza with the Urban Park Rangers.

This morning, President Bush is addressing the 62nd United Nations General Assembly. He is expected to discuss "global fight against terrorism, tyranny and poverty," as well as sanctions against Myanmar in support of the protest organized by Buddhist monks. However, he will only mention Iran briefly, and will opt to cover "broad themes." A White House spokesman said, "The president wanted this speech to focus on many other issues that are facing the world -- issues that people in Sudan and Zimbabwe and Burma and countless other countries are dealing with," referring to the United Nations' mission to ensuring freedom.

As we know, Con Edison and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection have confirmed that asbestos was found in debris after the steam pipe explosion at 41st Street and Lexington, but that there is no airborne asbestos. If you were in the area of the explosion and have contaminated clothing, Con Ed is actually accepting clothes and will dispose of them:

Anyone who was in that area around 6 p.m. who has dust or debris on clothing or belongings should put them in a plastic bag and bring it to the Con Edison customer service van parked at the corner of Madison Avenue and 42nd Street. The van will be at that location for the next several days from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Con Edison will arrange for the safe disposal of these items. Customer care personnel will be available to help people fill out a reimbursement request.

A truly strange set of robberies has been solved in Staten Island. Strange because many took place at funeral homes. Jacqueline Garbutt hit three funeral homes a number of times, stealing purses from mourning family members and even jewelry belonging to the dead as she posed as a mourner herself. Police nabbed Garbutt after surveillance images from grocery stores, convenience stores and pharmacies where she used stolen credit cards and checkbooks. Her first haul was a woman's purse at a beauty salon and the police are questioning her about other robberies.

Still Life, by Benzadrine.

We've been wondering about the new public toilets ever since they were previewed last year. When are they coming? And how fast will they get wrecked? The Daily Intelligencer now reports that there are some concerns about the public toilets from City Council members. Members were asked to nominated two sites for potential potties, but some aren't interested.

Two separate sexual attacks, one in Greenwich Village and the other in the Bronx, on Sunday have left people worried. In the Greenwich Village incident, a young woman had left Society Bar and Restaurant at LaGuardia and Bleecker and was trying to hail a cab. Police now say the woman entered a dark sedan voluntarily; the Post reports that it's "unclear if the driver was someone she knew or if the man posed as a livery cab driver." One of the three men in the car raped her, before dropping her off in Midtown East.

What is a Presidential trip to New York without protest? During President Bush's United Nations General Assembly address (in which he tried to emphasize that the U.S. wanted a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear program), protesters rallied outside to speak out against the war in Iraq. After initially being prohibited from marching by the NYPD - which then allowed the march to take place if only on the sidewalk and on a different route - 3,000 people joined in. am New York reported that one marcher was disappointed in the turnout: Paul Rosa said, "I understand people have to work, but there are four or five million people in this city who are against the war. For protests to be effective, they have to be massive and sustained." Which makes us wonder how many people would have liked to marched but couldn't because of work. The police reported 15 arrests.

Yesterday, a reader sent us a photograph what seemed to be a fire on the Upper East Side. But after reading about the Bronx fire at an auto shop and yard, we think it's actually a photo of the smoke from the scene. The fire could be seen from as far away as NJ, so why not from Midtown East At any rate, we're suckers for any photos with the UN Building in them.

We recently had occasion to drop by Ribot, an ambitious Midtown East Italian-Mediterranean with a focus on ingredients. Peas, their shoots, fava beans, morels, and asparagus all make their springtime appearances, and we were struck by the use of Heritage Farms pork and Wagyu beef. Not that these last two ingredients are that rare or special, but we rarely seem to see Heritage products north of 14th street. The aforementioned ingredients find life in a wide ranging menu that hops from Morocco to Portugal before settling down with a large footprint in Italy. The wine list does a cross border dance as well, and does showcase some high-end bottles. Given that the restaurant is located in an office building, as well as having a plethora of business folk within walking distance, the big bottles will get some rotation from corporate spenders.

We're fascinated by the Verizon cable meltdown that still have 1,500 Manhattan residents without phone or Internet access (the cable melted at Madison and 38th Street - that's either Murray Hill, Midtown East, or Koreatown). Mainly because we happen to use Verizon for our high-speed internet needs and would have been weeping like a seven month old baby whose parents made us use the potty if our precious, precious internet access were compromised... and then we'd try to steal some WiFi from a neighbor. But are issues like residential telephone service outages less an issue nowadays because people don't have land line phones anymore? Or are internet phones like Vonage so popular that getting a number where telemarketers can call you is unnecessary?

- A Staten Island woman found her daughter murdered, naked, and stuffed under the mattress when she returned home last night. And the daughter's room was locked.

With the urgent need to renovate their asbestos-filled and cramped headquarters on the East River, the United Nations is considering a move to Brooklyn. Seriously. Over a year ago, the U.N. selected Fumihiko Maki to design their new temporary space on First Avenue, a "glassy, white and sheer but elegant building," but the NY State Senate rejected the plan, so the U.N. had to hunt again for space starting in 2007. There are reports that the U.N. was offered space at 7 World Trade Center, but Secretary General Kofi Annan said that various real estate analyses showed that the only available building space, in the range of 700,000 square feet, was in downtown Brooklyn. If this goes through, the implications will be wild, with more diplomatic car accidents (diplomats will need to be shuttled around).

Last week's bombing outside the British Consulate in Midtown East still has police puzzled, but the NY Post reports that a biker seen on a surveillance tape is now a suspect. The bike rider, seen around 3AM, was found on tapes from "from Sixth Avenue and 48th Street to 845 Third Ave., the site of the bombing, and on to East 53rd Street between Park and Lexington avenues," as the NYPD expanded the area of the investigation and are considering the possibility the biker threw the grenade while riding. Gothamist, like many others, is actually more curious about the female jogger from 3-3:30AM - what the hell was she doing out so late? The police are still unsuccessful in identifying the biker (will the push for bike license plates gain more momentum?), but are continuing to look at tapes.

After reading that Keith Hernandez was selling his Midtown East apartment on Curbed, Gothamist immediately thought of one of the best Seinfeld episodes everm The Boyfriend, Part 1. Jerry befriends the ex-Met, but then questions the extent of their friendship when Hernandez asks Jerry to help with his move. And there's the brilliant JFK-esque subplot about why Kramer and Newman hate Keith Hernandez (you can read the script to Part 2 here). This is also the episode where Vandelay Industries makes its first appearance.

And Gothamist's stance on bodega flowers is that they are a great go-to gift for a party, but if you have a little extra time and money, and should the occasion warrant it, a more professional arrangement is always nice to give and receive. Some of our favorite florists are Gotham Gardens on the Upper West Side and Bloom in Midtown East. But at the end of the day, any flowers are welcome. They are so welcome that they stay in the vase for way too long, as we live in fear of dumping out their manky water.

Another question: Is Sutton Place the Upper East Side? The Newsday article described the address as the UES, but we've always thought of it more as "Farther Midtown East" or "Northern Turtle Bay."

Senator Schumer on diplomat scofflaws.

Last week, the The National Federation of Colombian Coffee Growers opened its second Juan Valdez coffee shop in Manhattan (the first opened in Washington, D.C. earlier in September). There are plans to open 300 of these shops worldwide in the next three years.