Results tagged “timesop”

Mayor Bloomberg took to the streets and held a rally to beg Albany to hurry up and make a decision on NYC's congestion pricing plan. CityRoom reports that "Dozens of supporters watched the event...clad in green PlaNYC t-shirts" with signs like "I take a ferry, and I vote." And from the center of Times Square, Bloomberg said, "No state action, no federal funding — it’s that simple. We’ve got to have the state do something by July 16, or we will walk away from an enormous amount of money that would be spent to improve mass transit, which in turn would improve the air that we and our children breathe.”

• Bruni puts in his two cents about the latest crop of contestants on Top Chef. Season three premiered earlier this week, and Frank has already highlighted some of his favorites, including CJ ("I've got a false testicle and I'm ready to cook." If only for that quote alone), Hung, and Lia.
• In a Times Op-Ed, The Zagats tout the idea of a culinary visa program to open up America's tastebuds to something beyond the lackluster Chinese cuisine to which we've become accustomed. Get ready for "tea-flavored dishes from Hangzhou, the cult-inspiring hairy crabs of Shanghai [and] the fabled honeyed ham from Yunnan."
• The Post dishes about the Spotted Pig's latest restaurant inspection, during which it receive 34 points, putting it over the 27 point pass mark.

Columbia University's plan to expand its campus into Manhattanville has prompted much debate about the eminent domain, college's commitment to the neighborhood, and gentrification and its effects on the community. The NY Sun revealed last week that Columbia spent over $400,000 for lobbying between January and April of this year, a sign that the school is getting aggressive to make sure its plans come through. And yesterday, there was a NY Times Op-Ed by former Mayor David Dinkins, titled Don’t Fear Columbia, in support of the Manhattanville plan. Here's an excerpt:

Columbia University’s proposal to develop the old Manhattanville manufacturing zone of West Harlem over the next two decades is the perfect example of a change that will generate growth and benefit all...

Continue reading "Dinkins Supports Columbia's Manhattanville Plan"

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a bank robbery on Lafayette and Broome in Manhattan, a missing child on Rochester Ave. and President St. in Brooklyn, and a shooting on East 183rd St. and Crotona Ave. in the Bronx.
• A self-admitted alcoholic gave shaky and erratic testimony this afternoon, but was positive that he never would have given his beneficiary a stupid name like "Rafra" in the trial of two men who were accused of plotting to kill homeless drunks for their insurance money.
• Leave off the last "S" for settlement. Mattress retailer "Sleepy's" is coughing up some change from under the mattress.
• Ground Zero was Giuliani's finest hour, but linked illnesses remain a political liability.
• Nora Ephron is now a guest NY Times Op-Ed columnist. CultureGrrl Lee Rosenbaum writes, "Her first column, about her obsession with online Scrabble, appeared yesterday. Next essay topic? Maybe Mah Jongg."
• The price of NYC apartments have surged 23% in the last quarter, to an average of $743,000.
• The price of a first class stamp just rose to 41¢. If you buy Liberty Bell stamps now, they'll remain that price forever.
• Peter Braunstein wanted to skip the whole fake-fireman routine and just kill Anna Wintour.
• Donald Trump's next ratings stunt will be firing his own grandchild, or at least making the big baby cry.

• Ken Friedman, owner of the Spotted Pig, has been approved for a liquor license in a space between Craftsteak and Del Posto over on 10th Avenue, reports the NY Post. Not sure what it will be yet, but apparently it will be named after a different animal.
• Down by the Hipster reports that Danny Meyers' plan for a second Shake Shack in Central Park is a no go: "The sticking point was the lease term, with USHG wanting a long-term deal, but the parks department not willing to give any more than 5 years."
• Gridskipper brings us two excellent roundups this week for anyone looking to take a trip to the outer boroughs: Queens Eats under $10 (including Vendy Award winner Sammy's Halal, pictured) and Staten Island Eats -- sounds like a trip on the ferry is in order.

Attention, frequent fliers: Terminal 7 at JFK Airport will get the area's first security express lane.

It's not a deal of Stuy Town proportions, but the sale of the Apthorp building on Broadway between West 78th and 79ths Streets on the Upper West Side is still a big deal. According to the NY Times, Maurice Mann agreed to pay more than $425 million for the building that takes up the entire block (Broadway to West End, 78th to 79th). Mann called it "the greatest trophy building on the Upper West Side." What about the Ansonia? Or all the buildings on Central Park West? Anyway, Mann intends to keep it as a "very high-end rental and to keep it exactly the way it is." The building currently has monthly rental prices of $8,000-$20,000. With prices like that, it's no wonder celebrities and media executives are popular tenants.

-A Brownsville man was found stabbed to death Thursday when his landlord and a police officer broke in to evict him.

Thanks for the morning giggles, David Brooks! The NY Times Op-Ed columnist's valentine (literally!) to Supreme Court Justice John Roberts is dripping with hearts and little cupids with arrows and birds singing... If Brooks could have composed it in Shakespearan verse, Gothamist suspects he might have. Here's the opening:

Roberts nomination, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

Continue reading "David Brooks Hearts Judge Roberts"

Some single guy has purchased a $20,000 per month billboard at the Midtown Tunnel to help find a wife. Basically, it directs people to go to his website, see-tom (it'll launch at noon)... which makes Gothamist think this is a reverse Jason Mulgrew! The Daily News story on Tom Barrella says that it's not a publicity stunt for the former record executive/ former computer businessman/ current high school teacher and that he really wants to find someone. Yeah, and after he finds someone, THEN he'll write the book. Gothamist can't really trust anyone who would buy a billboard to find a wife... now, using craiglist or eBay is another story. Plus, isn't he worried that people will just ignore his billboard, because they will think it's about Tom Cruise? And what women are really looking at the Midtown Tunnel's billboards - they are busy putting on their makeup. He should have shelled out for a quality location, like at least the Flatiron Building. Updated: And our friends across the Pond at Londonist remind us that some guy set up a stall to find a lady this June! God, is the new black for men to be freaking out about getting married? Why can't things be back to normal, with just women being worried they won't find someone.

Broadway producers are complaining about theater critic Ben Brantley of the Times and his potential to make or break their shows. Ah, it's almost like the days of Frank Rich - the Butcher of Broadway...now Rich writes the Times Op-Eds. Anyway, Gothamist thinks that the right of the critic, to support what he/she can and make people aware of what's not good...movie critics do it all the time, bringing up other films in their reviews.