Results tagged “vancortlandtpark”

The Putnam Trail in Van Cortlandt Park contains many rail remnants (including an old passenger platform) from the New York Central Railroad's Putnam Division, which began construction there in the 1870s. Amongst the historical artifacts that remain in the overgrown trail are 13 stones that were placed there prior to 1903 by Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt. He had quarries send him samples to help determine which weathered best, with the chosen one used as the building material for Grand Central Terminal. "In the end, the second southernmost stone, Indiana limestone, was chosen not for its durability but for its cheaper transportation cost across Vanderbilt's railways." Who knew we had our very own Stonehenge in the Bronx!

Travel up to the northernmost neighborhoods of Manhattan these days and you might catch a whiff of more than just gentrification in the air—now skunks have invaded Inwood and Washington Heights as well! The area where the only skunk smell formerly found was from the weed sold along Dyckman Street is now crawling with the unwanted pests. The Parks Department's chief naturalist says, “It really seems like the population has gone from zero to many. I’m not sure why."

Yesterday, we mentioned that a coyote was spotted near the Horace Mann School in the Bronx. It turns out the coyote was a pup of about 6 months. Animal Care and Control took the little fella to its Manhattan facility and nicknamed the 9-pound coyote "Van Cort," since he was near Van Cortlandt Park. A specialist told the Post, "My guess would be that he was part of a litter. Maybe it was hunting and it got lost." Van Cort will probably be headed to an animal sanctuary upstate; more pictures here.

    

Yojimbot at The Origin of Species has some beautiful photographs taken during the release of some kestrels back into the wild. These kestrels (which are in the falcon family) were being rehabilitated by Bobby Horvath, who gathered other bird enthusiasts in Van Cortlandt Park for the big day. Here are some photographs from Yojimbot, who also has video.

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!

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.

The city may be on the hook for an additional $200 million after the winning bidder on a contract for a proposed underwater filtration plant to be built under VanCortlandt Park said it could not take the work. The second-place bidder is currently contacting suppliers to see if it could complete the work for the $1.3 billion it bid last year. The proposed water treatment plant would filter the 10% of New York's water supply that it draws from the Croton Reservoir System. We wrote about the city's water filtration issues last summer. Water filtration for the city was mandated by the courts back in 1998, but things move slowly on projects this big and expensive. The city currently just treats its water with chemicals.

One of the best things about Easter always occurring on a Sunday is that you can spend your Saturday doing cool stuff like submerging hardboiled eggs in colored dyes smelling of vinegar, going from K-Mart to Target to K-Mart again trying to find that perfect Easter basket to fill with cellophane grass, putting the finishing touches on one's bonnet, or perhaps just enjoying one of the first weekends of spring knowing that a good portion of the city is in holiday-mode, so we can all just relax.

• 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.

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.

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."