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City May Rezone Upper West Side To Drive Chain Stores Away (Or Underground)

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:05:46 +0000

The preponderance of big chain stores on the Upper West Side could be severely reversed under a plan introduced by the Department of City Planning . Acting on concerns from the Upper West Side community and elected officials, the city is considering rezoning part of the neighborhood to create two Special Enhanced Commercial Districts. Each of these zones would limit the frontage of new and expanding banks and residential lobbies along Broadway, Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues. Overall store size would not be restricted, so big chains could still burrow underground, but city planners argue that “over time the general multi-store character of Amsterdam and Columbus avenues would be maintained, while promoting a more varied and active retail environment on Broadway.” [ more › ]

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City May Rezone Upper West Side To Drive Chain Stores Away (Or Underground)

See The City Skyline Change, From 1876 To 2013

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:05:44 +0000

Travel back to a time when that eyesore of a Verizon Building wasn’t jutting out of the city’s skyline. This image is pretty self-explanatory, showing the skyline from the Brooklyn Bridge, and as it looked from that viewpoint during the years 1876, 1932, 1988, and a rendering of what it could look like next year. Since there’s such a big chunk of time missing there, here’s some video showing the same area in different decades. First, the 1970s: [ more › ]

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See The City Skyline Change, From 1876 To 2013

Cool Map: See How Much Energy Your NYC Block Consumes

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:30:27 +0000

Take a look at this interactive map of NYC’s annual energy consumption by block . It’s by Vijay Modi, a professor of mechanical engineering at Columbia University, and graduate student Bianca Howard. According to Metropolis , “Their research allows New Yorkers to get a rough idea of how much energy is used inside their homes, offices and businesses — and it offers a peek into the building next door, down the street and across the city. The goal of the project is to take some of the mystery out of energy usage.” [ more › ]

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Cool Map: See How Much Energy Your NYC Block Consumes

Dear Readers: Send Us Your Worst Valentine’s Day Stories!

Cole Perkins — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:19:32 +0000

It’s February 1st, which means we’re only two weeks away from Valentine’s Day—the perfect day of the year to Facebook stalk former flames, or just load up on carbs and reflect on all the horrible dating choices you’ve made in your life. After reading some particularly inspiring V-Day publicity press releases, we started thinking about the unfortunate things that have befallen us on Valentine’s Days past. So let’s share in the misery together: if you have a terrible Valentine’s Day story, send it to tips@gothamist.com before Feb. 10, and we’ll pool all our miserable experiences into a collage of misunderstandings, awkwardness and rejection. Because Cupid Valentino was wrong when he said everyday is the 14th —love truly does hurt that much more on holidays carefully constructed by greeting card companies. [ more › ]

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Dear Readers: Send Us Your Worst Valentine’s Day Stories!

Miranda Buys: OMG you guys, Cynthia Nixon has…

Cole Perkins — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:02:00 +0000

OMG you guys, Cynthia Nixon has just bought a schmancy new place near her Sex and the City bestie Sarah Jessica Parker. The four-bedroom apartment, located on desirable Bleecker Street, was asking $3.25M. Curbed NY has the photos and floorplan. [New York Observer via Curbed NY ]

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Miranda Buys: OMG you guys, Cynthia Nixon has…

High Demand For Food Stamps Means Hiring People To Give Them Out

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:13:53 +0000

With more people clamoring for food stamps and turning benefits centers into fire hazards by waiting in line all day, creating human gridlock that the FDNY had to alleviate, the city is finally going to do something about it: Hire more people to distribute the benefits. Human Resources Administration Deputy Commissioner Patricia Smith told the City Council , “The alleviation of crowding at our office is a high priority.” [ more › ]

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High Demand For Food Stamps Means Hiring People To Give Them Out

Brick Dad Hit 3-Yr-Old Daughter With Brick, Say NJ Cops

Cole Perkins — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:01:55 +0000

Police are searching for a man who allegedly hit his three-year-old daughter with a brick in Brick, NJ. Edward Smith, 25, destroyed the child’s mother’s cellphone and stole her car after the Saturday night incident, and has been on the run since. Authorities believe Smith wasn’t intentionally trying to hurt the little girl, who lost a tooth and needed stitches for a cut on her upper lip. [ more › ]

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Brick Dad Hit 3-Yr-Old Daughter With Brick, Say NJ Cops

Single Ladies In The City, Meet Your Knight In Shining Tool Belt: Rent-A-Gent’s Ian Zelesko

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:14:44 +0000

One of the few downsides of being a single girl in the city is when you need an extra pair of hands to help you put together that IKEA thingamajig or hang some blinds. Just the other day this author had to turn to Twitter with a desperate plea for help in hanging up a pot rack (a winged plastic wall anchor was involved, it wasn’t going to be easy ). On that night, Twitter was sort of like our very own ” The Secret ,” and a friend ended up coming over to help (and voila: success !) But what if Twitter failed us? WHAT THEN? Enter: Rent-A-Gent. [ more › ]

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Single Ladies In The City, Meet Your Knight In Shining Tool Belt: Rent-A-Gent’s Ian Zelesko

Celebrity Real Estate: NFL Stars Hope for Hail Mary Sale with Over-The-Top Digs

Cole Perkins — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:15:00 +0000

Click here to view the full photogallery. Known best for their domination on the field, the following NFL stars also attempted to master the world of real estate, building elaborate personal palaces that match their stardom. Then, of course, as the contracts and salaries run dry—or they leave to build another luxurious spread—the opulent houses are tossed onto the market with some jaw-dropping price tags. This one, the extravagant Texas home of former NFL cornerback and current NFL commentator Deion Sanders, sits on 109 acres and includes a private football field and a lake. Sanders first listed it for $21M in 2009, but pulled it off the market following some extreme water damage in the media room last February. Perhaps he’s fixing it up, or maybe he’s just waiting for the photos of the carnage to work their way down his Twitter feed. ↑ Not to be outdone by his younger brethren, legendary Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman has listed Texas’s most expensive house, a $24M mansion in Dallas that measures 10,500 square feet and includes five bedrooms, eight total bathrooms, a swimming pool, and tennis court. Rumor has it he’s got his sights set on a smaller house next door. Click here to view the full photogallery. ↑ Another Cowboy, this one the currently active, highest-paid-ever DeMarcus Ware, lives in a much more modestly priced house near Dallas in Coreyville, Texas. Then again, he might be looking to trade up soon, as he’s got the decked-out 9,300-square-foot mansion listed for $2.2M. It’ll be hard to top these amenities though: “seven fireplaces, a trophy-stocked billiards room, and a wine porch, not to mention a dedicated turf practice area, a putting green, a pool/spa, pavilion, and a trampoline on the grounds.” Click here to view the full photogallery. ↑ Out in Calistoga, Calif., near the city that gained him so much fame, iconic San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana has built an absurdly over-the-top estate for himself and his family. Set on 500 acres of Napa Valley, the 9,700-square-foot main house with “full equestrian facilities, a skeet shooting station, an olive farm, a swimming pool and spa, a private pond, a basketball court, and a bocce ball court” was previously listed for $49M, but was recently chopped down to a much more reasonable $35M. ↑ New England Patriots QB Tom Brady might not yet be retired, but he’s certainly planning ahead for cushy twilight years. He and his supermodel wife Gisele Bundchen—who reportedly pulls down more moolah each year than he does—decided to build a $20M megamanse in the hills of Los Angeles, despite making no public plans to leave New England any time soon. To help pay for the SoCal boondoggle Brady and Bundchen have their three-bed Boston duplex penthouse up for sale for the locally-almost-unheard-of price of $10.5M. The listing is lacking in interior photos, but at this price point, who needs ‘em. · Deion Sanders Takes $21 Million, 29,000 Square Foot Mansion OFF Market [Candy's Dirt] · Troy Aikman Punts on His Palatial Digs, Now Texas’s Priciest [Curbed National] · Inside Cowboy DeMarcus Ware’s Over-the-Top Texan Manse [Curbed National] · 49ers Legend Joe Montana’s Outlandish Napa Estate Chopped [Curbed National] · Will Tom Brady’s L.A. Plans Spur Back Bay PH Sale? [Curbed Boston]

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Celebrity Real Estate: NFL Stars Hope for Hail Mary Sale with Over-The-Top Digs

Tavern On The Green Is Going Back In Time With Retro Design

Cole Perkins — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:17:34 +0000

The mess that is the once-and-future Tavern on the Green continues to be messy. As the city awaits bids for new restaurateurs to take over the fabled Central Park eatery a trickle of new info the project has come out. As the city implied in its Request For Proposals for the space, they are taking it back to the basics . The 1940s basics. [ more › ]

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Tavern On The Green Is Going Back In Time With Retro Design