Results tagged “signs”

It was 3:30 a.m. on Thursday when Shavit Mekeiten legally parked his Mitsubishi on East 41st Street near Second Avenue. But six hours later, DOT workers dug out the diplomats-only sign that had been behind Mekeiten's car and moved it fifteen feet—to create an extra spot for the New Zealand Consulate. Voilà! Mekeiten was now parked illegally, and an NYPD tow truck soon arrived to take the car away, despite bystanders' protestations. Doorman Nick Perkaj tells the Post he tried to reason with the tow-truck driver: "I know that car! They just moved the sign! The tow-truck driver just said, 'I don't give a f- - -,' and they towed the car." To get his Mitsubishi back from the Manhattan tow pound, Mekeiten had to pay the $185 tow fee and a $95 ticket for not having diplomatic plates. He tells the Post, "They're heartless. They have no conscience. They treated me like I shot someone. This is really, really unfair. I didn't do anything wrong." Earlier this month some NYPD tow truck drivers anonymously informed the Post that they're expected to meet a quota of four tows per day, and if they fall short they're punished with less overtime, assigned undesirable shifts, or have their time-off requests delayed.

You know who's not on board with the Health Department's plan to make tobacco retailers display graphic anti-smoking posters? The New York Post, that's who. The tabloid is sick of the government telling us what's bad for us all the time, and someone in Murdoch's stable has penned a cranky editorial about it, darkly wondering how far this health-nut meddling go: "What's next? Mandatory autopsy attendance?" There's also a rockin' allusion to The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again": "Meet the new Tom—same as the old Tom." That's a reference to Tom Farley, Mayor Bloomberg's replacement for ex-city Health Commissioner Tom Frieden, who recently joined the Obama administration. Farley's assistant promises that with this new anti-smoking campaign, "You're going to see what a blackened lung looks like. You're going to see what mouth cancer looks like. You're going to see what it looks like when you have throat cancer." Awesome, right? But to the Post, this is just a blatant power grab: "Mayor Mike and his new health commisar mean to festoon food stores with massive, disgustingly graphic images because they can, not because they should." Basically, it's 1939 all over again! First they came for the smokers...

Famous writer Gay Talese has written a post for CityRoom (he was a former Times reporter, after all) about writing some more timely signs for homeless people. Truly: He replaced one homeless man's sign, which read, "Homeless. Please help," with the words, "Please Support Pres. Obama’s Stimulus Plan, and begin right here … at the bottom … Thank you." Later, when Talese went home, he printed out the plea and created about two dozen signs—"I taped each page onto separate pieces of laundry board (14 by 8 inches) that the dry cleaner sends home with my shirts"—and distributed them to "random to people who approached me for money." Talese plans to monitor their success, but one told him, “I think I made 10 or 20 dollars more yesterday than before. So maybe the sign is already working.’’

        

As far as an underground typo is concerned, it's not all that important unless, say, the F train is donning an R. So we hope the folks at NYC Transit don't actually fix the harmless errors—that would cost money, and it's sort of fun to spot these while waiting for the train to arrive. That said, last week a reader noticed an over 70-year-old typo on a Brooklyn G train platform, which was quickly followed with more human spellcheckers sending in their own quirky finds (including this one for "Brighten" Beach). Here are the top typos—send yours to tips(AT)gothamist(DOT)com and we'll add them!

Brooklyn dog owners have been at a loss about where to bring their furry friends in the borough, and some new signs reminding them they're not welcome in Prospect Park have locals in an uproar. The Brooklyn Paper reports that the new signs, which states "Dogs are permitted only on the paths around the ballfields," have locals thinking "park officials are arbitrarily enforcing regulations and unfairly targeting their four-legged friends." If your pup is found outside of the designated perimeters, or without a leash, it's a $100 fine. One park-goer says it's frustrating that the park cops "strictly enforce dog rules, but they turn a blind eye to everything else that takes place in the park” -- and ticketing is expected to go up now that the signs are in place. Meanwhile, those raccoons are just walking around like they own the place.

Ah, the Second Avenue subway project—that mythical, subterranean Chimera that mayors and governors have spun tales about since time immemorial—is once again in danger of abandonment. With all the talk of service cutbacks as the MTA stares down the barrel of a $1 billion budged deficit, some are wondering if the transit authority should really be spending an estimated $3,000 every minute of every day to dig under Second Avenue at this particular juncture.

Unless Michel Gondry somehow went missing without it making the news, then this is either a marketing campaign, or some crazy fan trying to make contact with the director. Signs that have popped up in Manhattan (Gondry now lives in Brooklyn) state, "Have you seen French film maker Michel Gondry? Any infos please be kind and send email" (our email to the address has yet to get a response). EV Grieve saw the sign on 7th Street and Avenue A yesterday, meanwhile Fimoculous saw one in Freeman's Alley. The former thinks that if this is in fact a marketing campaign, it's "especially tacky when family and friends are in a desperate search for Hannah Upp."

        

Responding to years of griping (and vigilante sign-making) about the poorly lit, hard-to-locate pedestrian entrances to the Brooklyn Bridge in DUMBO, the city has finally gotten around to putting up some new signs guiding walkers to the bridge. Spearheaded by the DUMBO Improvement District, the makeover was unveiled today by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and other officials, and coincides with the bridge’s 125th birthday celebration, which kicks off tomorrow at the Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park in Brooklyn with live music by the Brooklyn Philharmonic, Grucci fireworks, and “an unprecedented light installation spanning the length of the Brooklyn Bridge.”

The city has a new message to spread: "Take the Stairs!" As part of an effort to get people to "Burn Calories, Not Electricity" the city's health officials are putting the posters up everywhere, hoping to get you to think twice before hopping on the elevator.

Yesterday we heard the "8" which will create the "2008" sign that millions will see in person and on screen during the New Years Eve Rockin' Eve extravaganza...was reduced to take mass transit to Times Square. This number is a true New Yorker! The Daily News has some quotes from its fellow straphangers and handlers:

"It's not every day you ride with an 8," said the 30-year-old from Rego Park, Queens. "It's going to be the first thing I mention when I get to work."

Continue reading "17 Days From 8's Big Night"

10) Train announcements that are easy to hearThe 7 train, the first line to be graded, had an average grade of C-. Interesting grade comparison: The 7 train received one B- while the L received four; the 7 received one D and four D-'s and the L received only one D.

Soft Ice Cream, by I'mJustSaying on Flickr. Tag yours with "Gothamist" if you want us to use them.

This week New York Magazine chose Eric Harvey Brown as their look book subject. We decided to ask him a few questions ourselves, and dig a little deeper - beyond the beard (just a little though).

Run, Santa, Run, by David Reeves.

Today is the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. As the Times editorial today mentions, it's "time to heal and renew." NYC is trying to do its part. Various city restaurants working with Share our Strength to donate a part of tonight's sales to rebuilding efforts (the Shake Shack is included). And Brooklynite Lori Baker and Jersey Cityzen Eric Harvey Brown have created a book, Signs of Life, a collection of photographs of signs made after Hurricane Katrina. The photographs were found on Flickr, and the photographers donated them to be used in the book. The book's profits are going to Common Ground Relief and Hands on Network.

After Wired ran a story documenting the GoogleCenter of the United States a bunch of ists jumped on the opportunity to figure out their own middle. Gothamist, Chicagoist, Bostonist and Seattlest all zoomed in on their creamy GoogleCenters. A crack cartography team is hard at work determining the GoogleCenter of the Ist-a-verse as you read this...

The New York Times has a nice little gallery of old faded signs in the Bronx, and an article explaining why these signs are slowly disappearing from the city: they aren't protected by any landmark laws. More signs in the city: Frankjump, Forgotten-NY Signs, and SL's famous chicken signs page.

While there are still 12 more days to the month, today's gorgeous weather is making Gothamist feel optimistic about putting away our layers and being able to walk in the streets without stepping into slush. The NY Times looks at the NYC signs of spring, including "Park Horses Are Out" and "Friday Night Critical Mass Bicycle Protests Get Crowded." Sigh, we can't wait.

toilet paper, soap, and paper towels are not making it from point A to point B."

- Jeff

Kevin Walsh, Forgotten NY

Was The Village all it was cracked up to be? And what about the twist? Slate's David Edelstein and the NY Times's A.O. Scott mention that the twist is obvious, yet most moviegoers would reject it. And who knew that movie premieres in Brooklyn existed?

-Ally

The Times' Tim Weiner, who looked at behavior modification schools for teens a month ago, is back with a feature on a behavior modification school in Jamaica with a harsh reputation. Traquility Bay:

NYC DOT Custom Made Street Signs: Memory Lane I'd really like to get one of the 1970's Manhattan street signs for one of my favorite streets- like Desbrosses or Laight or Division Street.