Results tagged “proposal”

Reader Sherri Jackson took this picture during the NYC Marathon yesterday and wonders if someone could help identify the people in it:

This runner stopped along the NYC Marathon course, right after mile 16 (coming off the 59th St. Bridge into Manhattan) and proposed to his girl. He pulled a ring out of his pocket (I'm assuming it was a ring box - it was something black and square) and they had a few moments. I didn't think to get a shot of his bib number to identify him, so I'm hoping that people might link to this pic on facebook or twitter in hopes that it'll get to this couple. I'm sure they'd love to have it. :-) I have a couple more photos, so if they find me, they can email me: sherri [at] sherrijackson.com (Plus, they might need a wedding photographer)

Last night's episode of Mad Men was seriously lacking in Joan (whom the creators of said show better bring back) — but the real Joan, actress Christina Hendricks, was at Il Buco getting hitched to hubby, actor Geoffrey Arend. People reports back from the scene, but NBC explains why the Bond Street restaurant was chosen as a venue.

Howard Roark scoffs. A giant skyscraper, dubbed the MoMA Monster, keeps shrinking. Set to go up in the empty lot next to the museum, creators of the proposed 1,250 feet tower continue to fight a cut of 200 feet; WCBS reports that at a city council committee meeting yesterday, the real estate developer and the architect "saw their plans for a soaring Midtown skyscraper crumbling."

Author Robert Sullivan, who writes provocative bicycling op-ed pieces for the Times when he's not writing about rats and the American Revolution, has a suggestion to solve the ongoing tension between cyclists and pedestrians on the Brooklyn Bridge walkway. He proposes that the city ban bicycles entirely from the walkway, and shift them down to the motor vehicle roadways by creating physically protected bike lanes.

Yesterday, the Statue of Liberty's crown reopened to excited crowds. But the visits were tempered with the reality of climbing 354 steps during a beautiful (and warm!) day: The NY Times reports, "No wonder by the time these huddled masses reached the top of the hot, sticky and narrow staircase, they were indeed yearning to breathe free." One visitor said it was "absolutely awesome!" and "intensely uncomfortable." Anyway, one couple made the most of the heady views—Aaron Weisinger of Walnut Creek, California proposed to girlfriend Erica Breder. Breder said yes, "I had no idea. Even when he got down on one knee, I still didn't know what was going on." Weisinger explained why the holiday was important to the couple—their families immigrated from Eastern Europe, his great-grandparents through Ellis Island and Breder's father came to New York and drove a cab when he arrived from Czechoslovakia. Weisinger said, "The Statue of Liberty symbolizes independence and freedom. It's a pretty unique spot."

New Yorkers aren't exactly known for a "sharing is caring" attitude, but cab riders across town may soon be forced to make room in the back seat for total strangers, if several new proposals are approved by the Taxi and Limousine Commission. Today the TLC will meet to discuss and possibly vote on three pilot programs they say would help reduce congestion, make more cabs available, and pull in extra money for hacks. Under consideration:

Sure, proposing on the bustling pedestrian walkway of the Brooklyn Bridge seems picturesque, but perhaps being up there holding on to a tiny ring with your nervous, sweaty, about-to-propose hands isn't actually the best idea. One would-be-groom has learned that the hard way, and he showed up on the Today show earlier to tell his harrowing tale.

Mayor Bloomberg's controversial plans to rezone and develop the Coney Island amusement district have been long stymied due to a breakdown in negotiations between the city and developer Joe Sitt, who has bought up much of the beachfront property in the area targeted for development. The city wants to purchase Sitt's 10.5 acres of property, which includes the now-desolate Astroland, for approximately $110 million, according to the Post.

Ladies, if your husband is taking you to the Four Seasons on February 14th, you might want to consider staking out the restaurant on the 13th. Co-owner Julian Niccolini tells Gourmet that night is always just as busy as V-Day, because that's when high rollers bring in the other women for an adulterous dinner. The article is full of other V-Day dos and don'ts, such as please don't make your marriage proposal in a restaurant! At Gramercy Tavern, a woman once asked a man to marry her, and when he said no, she stood up, started cursing, and began throwing plates. A waiter tells Gourmet, "Clearly, he made the right choice." And if you must propose while dining, don't hide the ring in the food! An engagement ring embedded in a woman's crème brûlée was swallowed before her boyfriend could pop the question. "Our first hug was the Heimlich maneuver," he recalls.

To haters, Starbucks is just an evil corporate monolith that will one day enslave us all in dystopian venti labor camps. But to lovers, like 32-year-old lingerie designer Lenny Tawil, it's as romantic as a night at Niagara Falls. So yesterday he chose a Coney Island Starbucks to pop the question to his girlfriend, 23-year-old Cynthia Harari. The Daily News was on the scene, presumably at the prompting of manager Liz Fagundo, who must have impressed the suits in corporate with this one. Tawil knew his girlfriend drove through that Starbucks every day around noon; when she pulled up to order her daily foamy macchiato, the barista gave her an empty cup with a jewelry case in it. That's when Tawil emerged and asked her to marry him, and she said yes. As always, we turn to the Daily News commenters for perspective: "Awwww what a great story. It's so nice to start a morning off by hearing happy news instead of the depressing stories in the paper everyday!" That's you, isn't it Howard Schultz?

After a long, bitter public battle, St. Vincent's hospital has won permission from the Landmarks Preservation Commission to raze the distinctive O’Toole Building in the West Village and build a 299-foot-tall medical tower. The hospital applied for, and was granted, a “hardship-status” exemption, which allows nonprofit landlords to demolish landmark buildings if they can prove that the building is preventing them from carrying out their charitable mission. Community groups, preservationists and local celebrities like Susan Sarandon have opposed the scope of the project, which also calls for a 235-foot-tall luxury condominium (in partnership with the Rudin Management Company). In a statement, hospital officials said they can now take "another step forward to building a 21st century, technologically advanced hospital for Manhattan’s West Side and Downtown."

The Landmarks Preservation Commission met again yesterday to deliberate on St. Vincent's Hospital’s “hardship-status” application, which, if approved, would let the hospital raze the distinctive O’Toole Building in the West Village and build a 299-foot-tall medical building and a 233-foot tall luxury condominium. Unlike previously rowdy sessions that featured protest from local celebrities, there was no public comment this time. Instead, the commission heard from outside experts like Michael Meola at the city’s Economic Development Corporation, who testified that no other sites “would be a viable alternative to the O’Toole Building.” Developer William C. Rudin added, “Now more than ever, the city needs a project like this as an investment in our future.” No decision was made yesterday, but Andrew Berman at the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation tells the Times, "A lot of people are questioning whether they will actually stick with this."

Long Island waiters who provide a tantalizing description of the daily specials while omitting such vulgar details as price may have to change up their patter if a proposed law in Nassau County gets passed. Of course, resistance is coming from the New York Restaurant Association, which in recent years has failed to block regulations on calorie info and bans on artificial trans fat. The executive vice president of the group maintains, "It’s good business to give the prices, but it’s beyond the purview of a legislative body to get that far into managing restaurants." But Harvey B. Levinson, a champion of the proposal, tells the Times: "I’m sure that at one time or another you have been enticed by a waiter or waitress into ordering the special of the day, only to discover that it was really the price that was special."

Reports from the road are that Paul McCartney and his girlfriend/MTA board member Nancy Shevell have been vacationing on Route 66. They're driving in the 1989 green Ford Bronco the two allegedly shared their first kiss in (aw), and eating at fine dining establishments such as T.G.I.Fridays! The two have nearly come to the end of their month-long journey, recently at a stop in Texas the Beatle played "Hey Jude" on harmonica for a 4-month-old boy named after the song. The couple are also subject to a rumor that they'll be marrying sometime soon in the Hamptons. Shevell is legally separated from Port Authority commissioner Bruce Blakeman, and Macca just divorced his 2nd wife, Heather Mills, to the tune of around $50 million.

Susan Sarandon and husband Tim Robbins testified before the Landmarks Preservation Commission today in protest against St. Vincent’s proposal to raze the distinctive O’Toole Building in the West Village, as well as four other buildings to make room for a 299-foot-tall medical building and a 235-foot-tall luxury condominium (in partnership with the Rudin Management Company). For the former Bull Durham stars, all that would mean a lot of noise and dust soiling the air near their building, which is a block away.

In presenting their argument for a massive demolition and construction project in the West Village – one that would raze the distinctive O’Toole Building (pictured) – representatives of St. Vincent’s hospital told the Landmarks and Preservation Commission yesterday that it will have to shut down if their proposal is not approved. Last month the commission unanimously rejected the hospital’s $1.6 billion development plan, which would demolish nine buildings to make room for a 329-foot-tall medical building on the O’Toole site and a 265-foot-tall luxury condominium in partnership with the Rudin Management Company.

In a recent Guardian article the subject of the New York art world rejecting street art was touched upon, a topic that led to a bigger discussion on New Yorker's views on the medium.

The Sun has it that their new pitch would still demolish the O’Toole building, but the new hospital would be 9% shorter than previous plans, rising to less than 300 feet. Rudin Management Co., which would buy eight buildings from the hospital to finance the project, would also build a somewhat smaller luxury condominium once they tear down the buildings – it would drop to 233 feet from 265 feet and be 60 feet less wide. Rudin would also spare four of the purchased buildings.

     

Today the Landmarks Preservation Commission is holding a public hearing to consider the largest proposal in its 43-year history: An application by the St. Vincent Catholic Medical Center to demolish eight structures in Greenwich Village on West 11th and 12th Streets, near Seventh Avenue, and construct an $800 million, 21-story, 329-foot-tall hospital and condominium tower. Falling to the wrecking ball would be the 1963 O’Toole Building which houses the hospital. The plans are strongly opposed by local residents, The Municipal Art Society, the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation and the Times architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff:

It’s historical censorship. The O’Toole Building was one of the first buildings in the city to break with the Modernist mainstream as it was congealing into formulaic dogma… It represents a moment when some architects rebelled against Modernism’s glass-box aesthetic in favor of ornamental facades… In patronizing fashion, hospital officials have suggested that preservationists are choosing buildings over lives, as if the two were in direct opposition. This is the kind of developer’s cant that is ruining our city. The addition of up to 400 co-op apartments is about money, not saving lives. There are plenty of other ways that the hospital could upgrade its facilities.

Nothing says romance like a public proposal in The Daily News. Marina Maiuri stood atop the Empire State Building (which is so "Sleepless in Seattle") to have her photo snapped by the paper on the observation deck; but she wasn't looking for love, she was looking to propose.

A $114 million plan to put a waterfront park on the East River, just south of the United Nations, came into focus yesterday; the four-acre site is where a parking lot for a Con Edison power plant used to reside. City Councilman Daniel Gardonick said, "The opportunity to create this riverfront park is an opportunity we cannot afford to let slip away." The Municipal Arts Society renderings for the park envision a floating pylon in the river, featuring a restaurant, viewing platform, exhibition space and ferry landing.

With McCarren Park Pool soon becoming a place where one will hear children splashing in the water instead of hipsters sighing whilst listening to their new favorite band, the search is on for a new outdoor concert space. Of course, the venue simply wouldn't do unless it was in the mecca of indie rock, Williamsburg/Greenpoint.

Well, candy is in the mouth of the beholder, but here are the actual renderings. As noted yesterday, the proposals for the new residential and retail complex at the Domino Refinery will be presented to the Landmarks Preservation Commission at a public hearing today at 2pm at the Municipal Building (1 Centre Street), 9th Floor North. Brownstoner posted snapshots of the renderings taken last week at a community board meeting, as well as floor plans for the modified refinery, which would feature five floors of residential units on the roof.

Books, or at least book shelves, must be on this couple's wedding registry: The Post has a cute story about a couple whose engagement took place at the Strand Bookstore. Joshua Reich and Shianling King "always told friends they met at the Strand," but they actually met online - their first date was supposed to be at the Museum of Modern Art, but the lines were so long that they went to the Strand instead....