One year ago today New York City's ban on smoking in beaches and parks kicked in. So how's that going? Really, really great, if you ask the Department of Health. So how to explain why the police this year have actually started getting aggressive about issuing tickets for the offense, despite saying they wouldn't? Because we still see smokers in parks on a regular basis.
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Results tagged “parks”
Of Course The Health Department Says Smoking In Parks And Beaches Is Down
Go Back To Ohio: Midwestern Turtle Transplants Push Out NYC Park Natives
Those stories about children getting alligators as pets and then flushing them when they got too big are probably apocryphal, but that doesn't mean that many families haven't abandoned their pets in the big city over the years. In fact, New York's parks are actually full of one of those pets, the red-eared slider turtle. Or, as the Daily News calls them today, "rogue turtles."
Rat Poison Is Ripping Apart NYC's Hawk Population
Spare the rat, spoil the hawk? New York's solution to our unending rodent problem turns out to not be a great thing for our city's returning raptor population. The problem is simple: rats eat rat poison, hawks eat rats, hawks die from rat poison. To that end, recent tests have confirmed that three seemingly healthy hawks that croaked earlier this year died from ingesting rat poison. On the plus side, baby hawks by Washington Square Park!
An Old Secret May Soon Be A New Manhattan "Half Avenue"
Thanks to the Department of Transportation, Midtown Manhattan is about to get a new pedestrian thoroughfare. Well, an old one rebranded. So, before you get out your pitchforks and start burning effigies of Commissioner Janette Sadik-Kahn, take a deep breath. The path, which the Observer dubs "6 1/2 Avenue", has long been known to the district's denizens. All the DOT wants to do is make it easier to find and walk.
Why Are Seemingly Healthy Hawks Dying In NYC Parks?
At least three seemingly healthy, uninjured hawks have died in the last two weeks in NYC parks, and experts are scrambling to try to figure out why, and if there is anything that can end the trend: "They all appeared to be healthy and didn't have any traumatic injuries," Bobby Horvath, a wildlife rehabilitator, told the Daily News. "It's not like they were hit by a car or crashed into a building."
Pocket-Sized High Line Planned For Chinatown, Right By Manhattan Bridge
You gotta have park, even tiny ones. And the next one to hit Chinatown, right next to the bike path for the Manhattan Bridge, looks like it could end up being a good one. We don't know if Chinese artist Xu Bing's design is quite "Chinatown's Mini-Highline," but it should be a nice addition to a grimy corner.
New Bocce Court In Queens Will Cost $507,000
How much is a new senior sandbox worth in Flushing? According to the Daily News, a new bocce court the city is installing in Bowne Park will cost $507,000. “We all thought it was ridiculously high,” Community Board 7's parks committee chairman said. “Five-hundred-and-seven thousand dollars and a year for wood and dirt? Give me a break.” Well, we are living in an era of $15 pencil sharpenings.
Snow Is Here—And It's A Snow Day In The Parks!
SNOW IS HERE! As of 7:30 a.m., over 1.3 inches of snow fell in Central Park, which the Weather Channel called the "first measurable snow since the historic late October snowstorm." And because it's all about snow, the Parks Department is having a snow day at a park in each borough, complete with sledding, hot chocolate, snow angel and snowman contests!
Parks Worker Arrested, Charged With Hate Crime For Black Doll Noose "Joke"
Three weeks after a Parks Department worker found a black doll hanging by a metal chain noose at the Parks Department's Bronx headquarters, a Parks employee has been arrested. Fariz Ahmemulic, 28, has been charged with aggravated harassment as a hate crime. The doll was discovered in a garage last month by Anthony Crum, a 60-year-old black Parks worker who has also accused his supervisors of trying to cover up the crime before it became a police matter.
New Law Keeping Street Performers 50 Feet From Monuments Makes Parks Safe, Boring
New Yorkers don't just love parks for their serenity or greenspace, but for the excitement of possibly breaking an arcane law while enjoying them. Eating a donut in a public playground without a minor? Enjoying a widely-sold, heavily taxed carcinogenic product? You're breaking the law! Add a new statute to the mix: it's illegal for buskers to perform within 50 feet of a monument or landmark. Finally, unobstructed views of the World Famous Garibaldi statue.
Can Prospect Park Cyclists AND Pedestrians Just Act A Little Less Like Jerks?
In keeping with the tabloids' "fresh" narrative concerning the battle in public parks between heartless cyclists vs. vulnerable pedestrians, the Daily News visited Prospect Park with a radar gun last weekend and "clocked bikers going as fast as 31 mph—even through a red light at a crosswalk." And like the NYPD, they have no respect for journalism: " 'Move from here! Move from here!' one cyclist clad in racing gear yelled at a reporter who was not even in a bike-only lane."
There Are Disposable Cameras In Our City's Parks, Use Them!
Here's a Kickstarter we can get behind (ahem, Grilled Cheesus): a Brooklyn-based woman named Katie O’Beirne has been leaving disposable cameras around the city's parks, often attached to park benches with twine, saying, "I leave cameras in parks for roughly 2-3 hours, depending on how busy the park is. Sometimes, my roll is completely shot within one hour." She's actually been doing this for a short while—updating her Tumblr with the images—but just launched the fundraising campaign on Kickstarter to allow her to expand the project, and have an art show. She wrote on her project's page:
The results are incredible. What I've noticed about the subjects in the photos is that they look HAPPY, interested, and excited to participate. This is so rewarding to me. 27 shots-worth, of complete strangers all sharing a common theme on film: They're ENJOYING THEMSELVES!Click through for some of the shots that have resulted from this project (taken in Brooklyn Bridge Park, Strawberry Fields, and even Zuccotti), and donate if you want to see more, more, more!
Could The Tappan Zee Bridge Be The Best Elevated Park Ever?
Turning old infrastructure into modern parks is so hot right now! Inspired by the High Line, not only do we have that trippy LES Low Line to contemplate but now at least one clever Westchester County official is talking about turning the Tappan Zee bridge into a giant park once its replacement (just fast tracked by the Obama administration) is built. Uhm, yes please?
Real Estate Company Padlocks Playground To Keep Park Fun-Free
If there's one thing everyone can agree on, it's that New York City needs more high-rises. But there's one thing stopping real-estate behemoth Related Companies from building 49 stories of delicious commercial and residential real estate: Ruppert Park playground. According to the Post, Related purchased the park in 1983 for $10 million, and in exchange for maintaining the park received tax breaks for its nearby properties. Related had to take care of the park until 2008 per the contract, but continued maintaining it until last month. Now it's padlocked, preventing any childish joy from poisoning a potential building site.
Escape From The High Line: Teen Suing City For $2.5 Million
A New Jersey teenager who seriously injured his leg after jumping down to the street from a fence around High Line is suing the city for $2.5 million, claiming that he was locked in the park and had no choice. "I crushed my knee, rupturing my ACL, and hurt my back. It really messed me up," 18-year-old Kirk Rasnick told the Daily News. Rasnick claims that the injuries he sustained on June 13 have prevented him from playing football during his senior year at Dickinson High School in Jersey City, and "you can't put a price on that." Except in this case: the price is $2.5 million, which works out to be around $700K per missed pep rally.
Meet "The Low Line," The LES's Potential Underground Park
Turning abandoned elevated railways into parks is so Aughts: the new hottness for public parks is clearly below ground, people. Morlocks needs their green spaces too! To that end, three gentlemen are trying to persuade the city to turn an abandoned trolley terminal beneath Delancey Street into a park. They hope to fill the the vast cavern with sunlight thanks to fancy fiber optic cables. New York magazine has already dubbed the project the Low Line—despite another "Low Line" park still being pushed in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx—but the group angling for the below-grade gardens creation want to call it the Delancey Underground.
Brooklyn Bridge Park To Be Financed By *Groan* Condos
In an agreement the city hopes will help plug the $11 million hole it left in the Brooklyn Bridge Park budget last month and finance the $16 million a year it will take to keep the park running, limited private housing will be built around the park near John Street and by Pier 6. The John Street high-rise will be 40,000 square feet smaller, and the Pier 6 buildings may also be shrunk or eliminated altogether. What's the catch? The Times reports that State Senator Daniel Squadron and Assemblywoman Joan Millman lose their veto power over the developments.
Oops, No Money For Promised Bushwick Inlet Park on Williamsburg, Greenpoint Waterfont
When Mayor Bloomberg persuaded the local community to go along with rezoning the Williamsburg-Greenpoint waterfront district from manufacturing to residential back in 2005, he sweetened the deal with big promises of idyllic waterfront parkland to placate the locals who couldn't afford to live in the fancy condos on the river's edge. Well, promises, promises: Because of budget difficulties, the community is now being told the city doesn't have the money to buy the property to complete Bushwick Inlet Park. These are hard times—even Bloomberg himself has to make do with a modest vacation cottage out on Long Island.
No Legal Outdoor Boozing For Bryant Park Movies After All
We sure hope nobody in that teeming mass of humanity who went to Bryant Park to watch One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was drinking booze last night. Though for a hot second it looked like drinking was going to be allowed for movies in the park turns out it was never actually made legit. And it won't be.
Rape, Shooting, Muggings In City Parks Prompt Demands For More Police
With recent reports of rapes, shootings, and muggings in city parks, politicians and parks advocates are demanding that the city allocate millions of dollars for increased law enforcement in parks. At a rally at City Hall yesterday, more than a dozen advocates and unionized park enforcement officers called for $10 million in funding to boost park security, the Daily Politics reports. Geoffrey Croft, president of NYC Park Advocates, said, "The vast majority of our parks are completely unprotected. The crime is exploding, and we’re asking the question: What is the city going to do about this?"
Outdoor Summer Theater Guide For People Who Don't Know Theater
Summer is upon us, and with it comes plentiful options for viewing the pleasures of the the-eatre al fresco. But where to begin? Options range from highbrow (Shakespeare in the Park, you say?) to...not-so-highbrow (Shakespeare in the Parking Lot, anyone?). We've rounded up a handful of your best bets this summer, no matter where you fall on the culture continuum.
Bloomberg Announces Free Wi-Fi Coming To 20 City Parks
Finally, we have a reason to emerge from our sanctuaries of brick, plywood and air conditioning to do our business in the park: the city announced today that 20 parks throughout the five boroughs will all be getting free public Wi-Fi. While we're quite excited at the prospect, we worry that Chuck Schumer might not be too happy about this one.
NY Philharmonic Cancels Park Performances This Summer
Classical music fans and parks lovers alike will be disappointed as the New York Philharmonic has cancelled its free 2011 summer performances in the city's parks this year. According to Speakeasy, the Philharmonic "[cited] unspecified scheduling conflicts" and "The announcement seemed to catch some parks officials by surprise. Calls to the public relations office of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation on Tuesday afternoon were deflected before the orchestra made its formal announcement Tuesday evening."
NYPD "Lucky Bag" Sting Nabs Central Park Bag Grabbers
Hey, people who leave their bags unattended in Central Park—the cops are looking out for you! According to the NYPD, Operation Lucky Bag has resulted in 34 arrests in Central Park since the beginning of March. "Lucky Bag" is an NYPD practice of leaving an unattended bag full of valuables in a public place, with the hopes that it will tempt criminals into stealing the items. Police wait to see if someone grabs the bag and attempts to take the cash or whatever else is stashed inside, and if they do, they arrest the person and charge them with petit larceny.
What Park Smoking Ban? Reporters Spend Hours Trying To Get Caught
Good news for fans of looking really, really cool in city parks (sorry, rollerbladers): it's almost impossible to get a ticket under the newly passed smoking ban. The Daily News sent smoking staffers to the High Line and Coney Island to see how lax the enforcement was, and lets just say that you're more likely to get a ticket for bike-riding-with-tote-bag than you are from getting your daily doses of formaldehyde.
Drinking At Bryant Park Movies ThisClose To Being Legal!
Bryant Park's Monday night summer movie series doesn't kick off until June 20, but when it does boozehounds will be happy. After years of turning a blind eye to illegal drinking in the park during the popular outdoor screenings, and rumors of a policy change, DNAinfo is reporting that, pending approval from the SLA (which should happen), drinking will be allowed in the park during movies this summer.
Despite Ban, You Can Still Smoke In Battery Park
As far as we know, there have still been no smoking summons written over the city's new smoking ban and, if a recently unveiled memo is correct, there may well never any written in Battery Park or Hudson River Park (and possibly the Brooklyn Bridge Park). Why? Because those parks are not technically city parks.
Bryant Park May Officially Allow Boozing During Movies
One of the great pleasures of New York in the summer, once you get past the smell of hot trash, are the outdoor movie screenings in Bryant Park. And while booze is not technically legal in the park, we (and countless others) have a few tried-and-true tricks to getting sloshed al fresco (waterbottles, anyone?). And anyway, it's never really seemed like that big a deal, at least according to Bloomberg. But this summer you might be allowed to let your drunk flag fly legally!
Chaos Reigns: NYC Parks Lack Park Enforcement Officers
Fans of usin', boozin', and just cold fornicatin' in outer borough parks will raise a brown bag to the news that the Parks Enforcement Patrol is woefully understaffed. According to the Daily News, "just eight PEP officers are in charge of more than 6,000 acres in the Bronx." New York City Park Advocates recently turned up at a city council hearing that investigated "disparities in the deployment of PEP officers across the boroughs," and a rep criticized the council for putting the public "in harms way by not allocating proper resources to all city parks." Sounds like someone should just move to Manhattan, hmm?
The More You Know: Dog Pee Is Not A Fertilizer
Good dog owners in New York know to pick up their dog's number twos, but even the best dog owners aren't very careful about where their pups put their number one. And that has some local gardeners upset! So upset, in fact, that one new gardner in Washington Square Park has taken to the New York Times to vent. People, your dog's urine is killing our parks!
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