September 30, 2008
"It shines for all" declares the conservative daily's masthead, yet this peach-tinted paper that continued to view the economic and political disarray of these United States through Grover Norquist's rose-tinted glasses goes the way of the newsprint dodo bird today. While the Sun had excellent arts and dining coverage, its national political commentary was just slightly left of historic Mussolini diatribes. However, rather than our beating a dead newspaper to death, we do want to offer a modest requiem for its decent local news coverage. Today's exposé of Sheldon Silver's taste for flying USAir via Washington to Albany—rather than simply relying on his taxpayer-paid chauffeur or Amtrak to get him these faster—stands as a reminder that crooked politicians of every stripe need to be examined under the microscope. Sadly, there's one less microscope left in Albany, a capital whose coffers are shrinking faster than you can whistle Dixie.
Speaking of Dixie, it seems two-thirds of most vulnerable House members voted 'no' to $700 billion financial bailout; lots of them are Dixie Republicans. Nobel-prize laureate Joseph Stiglitz notes: "In a situation like this, there's no way the Americans will return the party of the outgoing president to the White House." It seems eight years of Norquist policies and Sun editorials reinforce that all the king's horses and all the king's men can't put this economy back together again. How very fitting to release the final issue on the day after the Dow's historic 777 point drop. As the Sun allegedly needed "tens of millions'' of dollars to cover losses, it would appear the tidal wave of hedge fund redemptions that crests today came crashing down, down like glistering Phaeton upon the private-equity funded Sun.
Tags:
grover norquist, new york sun, sheldon silver
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Posted on 9/30/2008
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September 29, 2008
One of the fun things about reading archaic glossy print magazines is admiring how they don't believe in the tyranny of the wiki or user-defined content such as illustrious websites do. When they do deign to print corrections, it's generally due to hundreds of readers pointing out an egregious error—or two.
We flipped through these cute glossy portraits (above) with glee. For we learned that Martha Stewart used to live "On 114th Street between Broadway and West End Avenue." Of course, West End Avenue ends several blocks south of West 114th Street, so it's safe to say Martha doesn't really remember her old cross streets—or New York Mag got it wrong.
Then we saw the mug of old Martin Scorsese, who used to live at "Elizabeth Street and the Bowery," two streets that don't intersect but run parallel to each other. Anyhow Martin, we know you're from da hood.
We then put down the magazine to have a stiff drink. Happy 40th, New York Mag. $1.2 trillion in equity vanished on your anniversary.
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martha stewart, martin scorsese, new york magazine
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Posted on 9/29/2008
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September 29, 2008
You've got just one chance in this lifetime to witness the homeward voyage of the Intrepid, which will return to port this Thursday. Nearly two years have passed since the Intrepid left her 42nd Street / Hudson River berth, and it's high time to enjoy the festivities celebrating her return. Call (800) 53-FERRY or visit the website of New York Waterway to learn more.
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intrepid, new york waterway
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Posted on 9/29/2008
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September 28, 2008
You can read about getting here and away via BoltBus and many other bus companies in our Visitor Guide.
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Posted on 9/28/2008
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September 22, 2008
This project extends the existing lane from West 23rd to 34th Street.
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Posted on 9/22/2008
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September 20, 2008
Attention Target Shoppers: you missed it.
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Posted on 9/20/2008
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September 19, 2008
We'd heard about this innovative fellow from Plastic Modular Mobile who has these mobile parks, and as today is Parking Day it seemed fitting to check it out. We found this park, appropriately enough, in front of the Empire Diner on Tenth Avenue. You might find the artifical tree, deer and flowers perhaps a bit much, but it's infinitely preferable to yet another Hummer H3, Infiniti SUV or super-sized Cadillac Escalade. Plus it seemed rather comfortable.
Here's another tantalizing possibility for this fascinating park, replete with cat o' nine tails and ducks:
Tags:
parking day, plastic modular mobile
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Posted on 9/19/2008
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September 18, 2008
Tomorrow is your chance to reclaim the streets; Park(ing) Day is an international event that takes over thousands of parking spots in 50 cities around the world and turns them into fun public spaces for one day a year.
Park(ing) Day NYC is an effort of the New York City Streets Renaissance which offers individuals and groups small grants to turn more than 50 parking spots throughout New York City into human-friendly places for a single day. These small, temporary public spaces provide a breath of relief from the auto-clogged reality of New York City, and aim to spark a dialogue about our valuable public space and how we choose to use it.
Tags:
parking day, streets renaissance
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Posted on 9/18/2008
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September 15, 2008
Gridlock Busters are here to ticket you.
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Posted on 9/15/2008
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September 15, 2008
Suggested playlist for this Blue Monday:
New Order - Blue Monday
I'm Burning For You - Blue Öyster Cült
Highway to Hell - AC/DC
Paint It Black - Bob Dylan/U2 Cover
Depression - Black Flag
From DowJones:
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LEH) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday in New York, listing debts of $613 billion and naming as unsecured creditors owed hundreds of millions of dollars banks from Tokyo, Hong Kong, New York, Singapore and Taipei, among others.
Topping the list of Lehman's unsecured debts is approximately $138 billion in senior bond debt, followed by another $17 billion in subordinated and junior bond debt, according to documents filed at 1:45 am ET in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
The bankruptcy filing by the Wall Street firm followed a failed effort to find a buyer or persuade the U.S government to bail it out of massive real-estate- related losses. The bankruptcy petition said Lehman's assets are worth $639 billion.
Tags:
alan greenspan, illuminati, lehman bros
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Posted on 9/15/2008
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September 11, 2008
We haven't forgotten what all those dedicated souls did for us seven years ago. Today we remember and honor their service. Shown above: Point Thank You on the West Side Highway. Every year since 2001 New Yorkers have returned to that very spot where in the weeks following 9/11 they gathered to pay tribute to all the many rescue workers.
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Posted on 9/11/2008
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September 10, 2008
New York Telephone - NYNEX - Bell Atlantic: essentially the entire pantheon of telephonic history is laid out in Mayan-like glyphs for the passerby to decipher. What's more, we have seen actual humans opening this medieval obelisk and retrieving modern-day equipment from it.
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Posted on 9/10/2008
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September 08, 2008
Further proof that nearly everything except live pack animals can be
purchased on the streets of New York.
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Posted on 9/8/2008
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September 07, 2008
After yesterday's deluge, today's a great day to enjoy classic views of the Flatiron and Empire State Buildings (seen above) from the great new street furnishings in the Broadway median. Bring a picnic lunch!
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Posted on 9/7/2008
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September 03, 2008
Yesterday it was T-Mobile, today it's AT&T's turn. Reports have filtered in from Philadelphia, New York, and Boston that iPhones are adrift in a data-less existence, with some saying that problems are being experienced as far west as Chicago and St. Louis. At least you can turn on the Wi-Fi on your iPhone, as shown above in slightly embossed form.
Tags:
att, iphone, t mobile
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Posted on 9/3/2008
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September 02, 2008
Hurricane Gustav hit New Orleans, but New York City T-Mobile subscribers got a nasty surprise unrelated to weather this afternoon: T-Mobile service went down around 12:30 pm, and as of 6 pm EST remains down. The photo of this ancient Nokia displaying zero bars was taken, of course, with an iPhone.
Tags:
att, iphone, tmobile
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Posted on 9/2/2008
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September 01, 2008
We wrote nearly 18 months ago about the second desecration of the Third Cemetery of the Spanish-Portuguese Synagogue, Shearith Israel, on West 21st Street near Sixth Avenue, due to negligent contractors at a neighboring high-rise. A recent visit (above) reveals there are still broken headstones; it's rather a pity that the dead in this nearly 180-year-old cemetery still haven't received the respect due.
In case you were wondering, the First Cemetery of the Spanish-Portuguese Synagogue can be found in Chinatown's Chatham Square; it dates to 1683. The Second Cemetery is on West 11th Street. Burials in Manhattan were forbidden in 1852, so subsequent burials were made in Queens.
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cemetery, shearith israel, spanish portuguese synagogue
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Posted on 9/1/2008
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