Results tagged “vancortlandt”

To be a young harbor seal taking some time from swimming to sun! A young seal was seen hanging out at the 79th Street Boast Basin yesterday morning the Parks Department.

This afternoon's rain will continue into the evening, as some areas are being warned about the storms. New Jersey is supposed to have heavy thunderstorms, a tornado warning was issued, then canceled, for Nassau County, and an urban flood warning was issued for Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens until 7PM!

Two years ago, we wondered if there was a big list of all the fountains in New York City. We haven't made that much progress with the list, but at least now we have a list of the "display fountains" the Parks Department maintains. And it's interesting - Brooklyn only has three while Staten Island has eight. Of course, there are many fountains outside of the Parks Department's jurisdiction (for instance, the fountain outside the Brooklyn Museum), so if you can help remind us of others in the comments, that would be great.

Ironically, the multi-billion dollar plan to build a subterranean water treatment plant in the Bronx's Van Cortlandt Park, which has been delayed by large projected cost overruns, is now accruing $30,000-a-day fines for the city. The New York Times reports that the Feds are applying the fines because work on the filtration plant has barely begun and the city hasn't even selected a primary contractor. In the city's defense, we'll note that it had a primary contractor, but that company backed out earlier this year after questions were raised about its inability to find minority- or female-owned subcontractors and a runner-up bidder was deciding if they wanted to take the work.

In the summer of 2004, various groups were upset that the city was prohibiting them from protesting and rallying on Central Park's Great Lawn. The city argued that the Great Lawn would be damaged and there's not enough money to clean up after protests; concerts events usually had corporate backers who paid for clean up. The protesters argued they were entitled to expressing themselves where they like. And in 2004, a judge ruled for the city, saying that the city could bar protest groups (especially since they waited too long to file the lawsuit) and suggested that protesters go to Van Cortlandt or Flushing-Meadows Parks instead.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: Intoxicated students at a Queens high school, a water rescue near East 14th in the East River, and a body was found in Van Cortlandt Park
• Subway Stickman, or how to turn gum on the ground into floor art
• Because of the Minuteman Brawl, the College Republicans at Columbia will get a refund from the university
• The NYPD has decided to have an outside firm examine its stop-and-frisk procedures, after outrage from the community and politicians
• Mayor Bloomberg says to boycott the Chinese restaurant accused of charging different prices to Chinese and others
• Do you love or hate what will replace some Eberhard Faber Pencil complex buildings in Greenpoint?
• A judge ruled that Madison Square Garden needs to turn over internal documents related to a harassment lawsuit. And details from another employee's complaints about Knicks coach Isaiah Thomas' alleged harassment must be disclosed, too.
• There are rats in restaurants all over the city! Maybe the Rats of Greenwich Village will start a national wide crackdown on restaurant inspection procedures!
Continue reading "Extra, Extra"

Police believe the three dead bodies, including one of a 4 yead old boy, found in the parking lot of the Van Cortlandt Park golf course were the result of a murder-suicide. Thirty one year old Aldrick Jarvis shot his son Jacob Cartier Jarvis in the face while Jacob was in a carseat in the family car; he shot his 30 year old wife Jessica in the parking lot and then shot himself. Runners and dog walkers heard the gunshots, and police are still talking to them to understand what happened. The NY Times reports that police think the Jarvises had a fight, leading Aldrick Jarvis to smash a window, and then use a 9mm gun on them. Another sad note: Invitations to Jacob's 5th birthday were found in the car.

The police are looking for a man who fatally shot three people, including a young child, near the Van Cortlandt Golf Course this morning. All three victims were in the golf course's parking lot, near Broadway and 242nd Street. WABC 7 says that a man and a woman were found in one section, and the child was found in another area. Police are looking for two suspects who left the scene.

Springtime must be coyote time: There's another coyote in the news, but this time in the Bronx. A coyote has been spotted at Van Cortlandt Park, and is now duly named "Jacob," after Jacob Van Cortlandt (if it's a girl, she'll be "Vannie," not Cortney). Parks officials want Van Cortlandt Park visitors to be on alert, as coyotes are interested in eating small animals, even turkeys! A coyote in Van Cortlandt Park makes more sense, as it's right near Westchester County - it's still a mystery how Hal managed to find his way to Central Park last month.

Wi-Fi Salon is installing Wi-Fi into 10 city parks over the next few months. Central Park will have eight hot spots (including the zoo, Delacorte Theater, and Boathouse), as will Orchard Beach, Flushing Meadows, Van Cortlandt, Pelham Bay, Prospect, Riverside, Union Square, and Washington Square Parks. The Daily News says that Battery Park's hotspot, near Battery Gardens, is already running and that Wi-Fi Salon is paying the Parks Department for the right to install the network, hoping to encourage people to join its IP phone service. Whatever the reason, Gothamist can only say hurrah, because if there's one blogging goal we have, it's to live-blog monkeys throwing poo at us from the Central Park Zoo.

If it's Sunday, it must be time to contemplate little Andrew Giuliani. He could be dating Sarah Hughes, as they appeared at the premiere of The Island together. And the Daily News has two features on him (1 and 2), looking at how he's grown up as well as his burgeoning golf career. In fact, little Giuliani plays at the public golf course at Van Cortlandt Park:

"I love this city. I'd rather play here than anywhere. I take a lot of pride in Van Cortlandt and being from New York City."

Here's the text of the ruling (PDF) and a schedule of some protests happening. The two protest groups, National Council of Arab Americans and Act Now Stop War & End Racism (ANSWER), would have had 75,000 total protesters; the big kahuna, United for Peace and Justice, with an estimated 250,000 protesters, will hear the judge's decision about their suit to protest on the Great Lawn today. Also, more about Kentucky bluegrass, the kind of grass in the Great Lawn, and Gothamist's previous Great Lawn posts.