The city is working out a contract to inflate giant bubbles over Central Park's tennis courts, then rent them out in the winter for equally inflated prices. The cost of operating and maintaining the 26 Upper West Side courts would fall to the contractor, as would profits, reports the Post, so no, this isn't the city's latest money-making scheme. So far it's unknown what the hourly rate will be (other tennis bubbles charge $28-$56/hour and the city says winter rates could be ten times greater than in the current permit system) but already community members are worried the the pay-for-play model will push the already elite sport out of reach of the everyman. more ›

New York's about to get a lot shadier. According to the NY Times, the City Planning Commission just approved a new section of the Zoning Resolution, that requires developers to plant trees. For every 25-feet of street, one tree must be planted. This new rule goes hand in hand with MillionTreesNYC, an initiative of the Parks Department and New York Restoration Project that aims to plant one million new trees in the next ten years (a number that doesn't take into account programs like Trees Not Trash). more ›

Staten Island: Clove Lakes Park, Martling and Slosson Avenues more ›

Alley Pond Park, the second biggest park in Queens, has a new attraction: The biggest adventure ropes course in the Northeast. Last Friday, the Park Department opened up the Alley Pond Park Adventure Course, which has zip lines, a climbing wall, webs, swings, trust falls, and balance boards.

The course consists of 20 high and low elements that can be both physically and emotionally challenging and also encourages a connection with nature. The low elements take place on the ground or on cables a few feet above the ground. Many of these elements are handicap accessible and concentrate on team building and problem solving skills. High elements take place on cables suspended 45 feet in the air, require a harness and climbing rope for safety, and focus personal achievements as they may require participants to confront personal fears. The Adventure Course staff is trained in program implementation and safety techniques.

This morning's NY Times article about some very high-ranking city officials who get a salary AND pension at the same time from the city's payroll is fascinating. For a mayor who wants to limit pensions and benefits for other unions, Mayor Bloomberg has made a point of requesting special waivers for certain retired city workers to draw pensions as they return to the city workforce, and the Times's opening is hilarious:

One of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's first acts on starting his second term was to write a letter to personnel officials asking that his correction commissioner, Martin F. Horn, be allowed to collect a pension along with his $178,200 salary. more ›

The body of a livery cab driver and his livery car were found this morning by police searchers. Yesterday, a Park Department employee saw the Lincoln Continental in Riverside Park near 69th Street and asked the driver to move. The driver drove onto the pier and off the side, plunging into the water. The FDNY said, "[The car] went right through the railing. He must have been going pretty fast." more ›

Canal Park, a Parks Department project started in 2003, will be opened today in a dedication ceremony. There had been a park there in the late 1800s, later redesigned by Calvert Vaux and Samuel Parsons Jr., but it was "removed" in order to build the Holland Tunnel. The NY Times says that the land was once a garbage truck parking lot, but tonight, after the dedication, there will be a concert with Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson. The more interesting part of the NY Times article is that community leaders Carole De Saram, Richard Barrett and Jana Haimsohn were the ones who spearheaded the restoration effort: They researched and found that there really was a park there (the city didn't believe them and wanted proof), and ended up suing "sued the federal, state and city governments, contending that removal of the park had been illegal because no one had obtained the State Legislature's approval." That's is some love for the community. more ›

The City Parks Department contacted Gothamist to set the facts straight about the disappearance of the Astor Place Cube, the rotating sculpture beloved to New Yorkers. Director of Public Information Warner Johnston told us that the cube was removed last night for repairs: One of the four large bolts that attaches the cube to the base was missing! When people would try to rotate the cube, the cube would tilt, so the Parks Department decided that the 2500 pound cube needed to be repaired for everyone's safety. Good call! The Parks Department is working with the artist, Tony Rosenthal, as well as conservationists who worked on the cube in the 80s, to fix the cube. The Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe issued this statement:

The City has not forgotten The Alamo. With the assistance of the Mayor's Office and the Art Commission, we are working to give it emergency stabilization with funding provided by DOT, the custodian of the artwork. It will be returned to Astor Place better than ever.