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Bloomberg Supports Canada Goose Killings

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 17:42:27 +0000

Mayor Bloomberg was asked about the recent Canada geese gassings—with 290 killed in Prospect Park, and around 170,000 more to go. But while many New Yorkers are upset about the mass killings, Bloomberg is in full support of it. He told the Wall Street Journal , “Look, the Department of Agriculture has to deal with the fact that all these geese are a danger to people flying. People are not going to stop flying and we have to make a decision. It’s geese or human beings—I can tell you where I come out on that. I don’t think you need a quote from me.” In the past 10 years, there have been 78 goose strikes in New York—the most famous being that of US Airways Flight 1549 , which was forced to land in the Hudson River.

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Bloomberg Supports Canada Goose Killings

Man Falls, Can’t Get Up Without FDNY Help

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:49:34 +0000

Firefighters were called to help a Hamilton Heights man who fell inside the entryway to his apartment yesterday. The victim, who weighs over 600 pounds, couldn’t get up on his own. The FDNY required two stretchers, a ladder and ropes to get him out and down to the sidewalk. He’s currently at St. Luke’s Hospital, though it’s unclear what he’s being treated for. According to the Department of Health , 22% of adult New Yorkers are obese—is it time for a New York edition of the Biggest Loser?

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Man Falls, Can’t Get Up Without FDNY Help

Neighborhood Beefs: Neighbors Have Bone to Pick With 535 West End Ave: Ugliness

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 13:26:53 +0000

The scaffolding is off at 86th Street brain-breaker 535 West End Avenue —and so are the gloves! Neighbors tell DNAinfo they’re not fans of that driveway or parking garage door. The driveway because it’s two feet too long and the garage door because it’s too ugly . “Clearly the owner of the building kind of missed the entire point of the Upper West Side,” said one neighbor. Clearly. The Department of Buildings will be checking the driveway width, but there’s no DOB standard for ugliness. So we turn to the Curbediverse for opinions: is it ugly? · Garage Door Too Ugly for Upper West Side Block, Residents Say [DNAinfo] · 535 West End Avenue coverage [Curbed]

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Neighborhood Beefs: Neighbors Have Bone to Pick With 535 West End Ave: Ugliness

More On Canada Geese-gate

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:10:00 +0000

Over the weekend Prospect Park Administrator Tupper Thomas finally addressed the matter of the Canada geese that used to reside in her park, but were recently captured and brought to the gas chambers (the total body count was 290). According to the Brooklyn Paper , Thomas broke her silence on the issue via a statement addressed to “Friends of Prospect Park.” You can read it in full below; it says, in part: “The recent culling of Canada Geese in Prospect Park is disturbing to many people, including staff at the Park. The Canada Geese were removed from the Park late last week and euthanized as part of a joint US Department of Agriculture, Port Authority and City of New York program to reduce the geese population near the flight paths of area airports. Prospect Park is one of a number of parks and locations chosen by the City of New York to be included in this program.” Thomas mentions being near flight paths, and in fact, the rule has been that geese within seven miles of major airports must be removed. However, former Parks Commissioner Henry Stern issued this statement on Friday , noting that a quick check of Google Earth shows that the distance from the Prospect Park Lake to JFK airport is over 9 miles, and the distance to LaGuardia is over 10 miles! Looks like the US Department of Agriculture has some explaining to do… The recent culling of Canada Geese in Prospect Park is disturbing to many people, including staff at the Park. That people care so passionately about the Park and its natural environment and speak out in its defense is truly wonderful and very welcomed. The Canada Geese were removed from the Park late last week and euthanized as part of a joint US Department of Agriculture, Port Authority and City of New York program to reduce the geese population near the flight paths of area airports. Prospect Park is one of a number of parks and locations chosen by the City of New York to be included in this program. Prospect Park is a public, New York City park and is administered in accordance with City, State and Federal regulations and policies. However many Park users have contacted us in recent days about what can be done in the future to avoid this situation. The staff at Prospect Park, both the Alliance and the Parks Department, recognize that we are the stewards of this amazing greenspace and public resource. Over the years we have undertaken extensive restoration of the Park’s natural areas and watercourse to provide wildlife with hundreds of acres of healthy habitat. We have a wonderful natural resources crew who work year round to keep the habitat healthy and a staff of naturalists at our Audubon Center who educate thousands of young people annually about the importance of wildlife. To provide the best ongoing ecological care of our habitat, the Park will be forming a wildlife management taskforce comprised of experts in the field. This will strengthen the Alliance and Parks Department’s commitment to safeguarding both nature and people. Prospect Park is one of many city, state and federally managed parks in the metropolitan area and holistic stewardship of the regional ecology is important. Prospect Park is our park – thankfully many of you consider it your park — and with your help, we can continue to work together to ensure Prospect Park remains healthy and beautiful. Sincerely yours, Tupper Thomas

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More On Canada Geese-gate

Ratdemic Hits the East Village

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 13:30:11 +0000

Courtesy NY1 After crawling through the Upper East and Upper West sides, the city’s Ratdemic has apparently hit the East Village. Residents of 355 East 10th Street say the rodents have been creeping through the walls, ceilings, elevators and halls nonstop. One resident told NY1 , “It’s very bad. It’s so bad that certain people can’t even sleep because you’re terrified. I mean this lady had 24 rats in the front of her kitchen. How can you live like that?” Now let’s all let out a collective “EEEEWWWWW.” Workers removed 24 dead rats on Friday, and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development says they’ve issued two citations against the landlord. But some residents can’t tell which is worse: the rats or the toxic rat poison. One said, “It’s disgusting. It’s poisonous to their health…I mean just the fumes from the poison that they have put into the building is toxicating alone.” Though if there are any injuries, residents could be seeing a hefty payout. Back in 2005, a landlord paid $800,000 to the family of a girl bitten by a rat that crawled into the bathroom through a broken tile.

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Ratdemic Hits the East Village

City Cracks Down on Fake Bedrooms

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 12:20:36 +0000

The only thing that will separate you from your roommate’s fight with her boyfriend. Don’t listen to your realtor when they say that advertised apartment is really a two bedroom if you just throw up a wall in the middle of the living room. Though the DIY separation could make your rent cheaper, the city is cracking down on a previously widely ignored code about separation walls. Hundreds of walls thrown up without Department of Buildings approval are being taken down, and new renters are being told that if they want to separate rooms, they must use bookshelves or other partitions that don’t reach the ceiling. The city says the walls must not block exit routes, and Tony Scalfini of the DOB says “each apartment is generally required to have at least one room of at least 150 square feet.” (Though anyone who’s ever been shown an apartment with windowless, triangular bedrooms knows that latter rule is total BS.) Realtors and landlords are already feeling the sting of the enforcement, which most likely lowers the number of bedrooms that can be advertised. Gordon Golub of Citi Habitats told the Times , “Landlords are all trying to come to some sort of conclusion as to what they are going to do in allowing any walls or a different sort of wall that might go up, and it is affecting brokers and customers.” Roommates everywhere are now being forced to take down even landlord approved partitions if they haven’t been approved by the Department of Buildings. Many must erect flimsy or incomplete partitions instead, which will most likely result in lots of roommate “breakups” after they hear how loud the other gets during sex. But if you and your four roommates decide to make a three bedroom out of a studio, just make sure at least a few of you are related. Otherwise you could really get into trouble .

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City Cracks Down on Fake Bedrooms

Audit: City Doesn’t Pay Attention to Dangerous Trees

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 11:52:17 +0000

Just last night, limbs from a Central Park tree fell onto 62nd Street and 5th Avenue. No one was hurt, but it highlights a 2007 audit from the comptroller, which shows that the Parks Department is inattentive when it comes to rotting trees. Though the trees which killed a middle aged man in February and an infant last month were reportedly healthy, people have been injured by falling branches from rotting trees. The audit shows the Parks Department let over 50 trees linger after they were reported as dead or pest-infested, some of which later fell onto cars. The Department claims the dangerous trees didn’t warrant removal upon the first inspection. Karla Del Gallo, the mother of the 6-month-old baby killed by a falling branch in Central Park, has been in critical condition since the accident. Doctors are beginning to bring her out of sedation, and the family lawyer told the Post, “Up until a day or two ago, [her family] didn’t know if it would be a funeral service for one, or for two.” She reportedly has yet to be told her child is dead.

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Audit: City Doesn’t Pay Attention to Dangerous Trees

Warring North 8th Residents, Landlord to Appear in Court Today

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:56:06 +0000

The residents of 172 N 8th Street in Williamsburg and landlord Jamal Alokasheh are scheduled to meet in court today, where the residents will ask that a judge appoint someone else to manage the building. They’ve accused Alokasheh of intentionally harming the building’s foundation in an attempt to empty the rent-controlled apartments (some as low as $300 a month) so he can rent them for more. The tenants’ lawyer told the Times , “He’s the only one who had access this entire time; therefore he’s the one who did this. He was the only one with the key. He’s openly made threats that he does not want them in the building.” The building was evacuated a year ago due to the unstable foundation, and tenants accused Alokasheh of stalling on renovations. When the evacuation ban was lifted, tenants had to force their way in through padlocked doors, and Alokasheh allegedly wouldn’t turn on the water or electricity. But Alokasheh says he spent $100,000 on renovations, they just took so long because the building is old. He said, “We want them to live there, we want to fix it, and we are doing everything to fix it. Everything was good before they broke the locks. If there is damage in the building, maybe one of the tenants did it.” The tenants were vacated a second time just two days after they forced themselves back in, when the Department of Housing Preservation and Development discovered two cellar walls collapsed. Many also have firsthand accounts of Alokasheh attempting to squeeze them out. Tenant Anna McCusker said he told her he needed to find higher paying tenants, while Peter Pawlak said Alokasheh offered him $12,000 if he gave up his right to move back in. But Alokasheh’s lawyer says there is no way he was sleazy enough to actually destroy the building. He said, “I don’t think it was purposeful. If somebody had done that, they would have to be completely out of their mind.” Well, this is a New York landlord we’re talking about.

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Warring North 8th Residents, Landlord to Appear in Court Today

The End is Nigh: LeBron’s Decision Looms

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:43:13 +0000

It’s kind of incredible to think that we are less than one day away from LeBron James’s free agency, and still have next-to-no concrete idea where he will end up playing next season. And it’s also a little bit sad to think that the Knicks have been planning for this day for over two years , and can only be considered an outside reach for LeBrons’ affections at this point. Anxious optimism ( Lebroptimism ) has flowed as freely as sewage runoff and as plentifully as discarded tires down the East River, but the myriad number of recruitment videos and desperate pleas don’t seem to have been enough, nor was hiring a “guy in charge of showering love on LeBron James” . So, for what will hopefully be one of the final roundups of LeBron gossip, the Wall Street Journal serves up a pretty neat summary of all the recent rumors and proclamations by sports writers of LeBron’s intentions. Like most outlets, they place Miami, Chicago and Cleveland as the front runners, and the Nets, Knicks, LA Clippers and Dallas as the outside contenders (still, we’ll always have the photoshopped memories ). ESPN lays out the strategy of the Knicks: they’ll try to sell the glamour and glitz of Manhattan and the Garden, the possibility of turning the Knicks into a championship contender, the flexibility of their supporting cast, and their ability to let James decide who his preferred max-salary teammate should be. The Nets, led by outgoing President Rod Thorn, owner Mikhail Prokhorov, new coach Avery Johnson, and Jay-Z, will be the first team to meet with LeBron after the stroke of midnight tonight; the Knicks’ recruiting team, which includes President James Dolan, Coach Mike D’Antoni, GM Donnie Walsh, Allan Houston and MSG president Scott O’Neil, will get their sit-down later in the afternoon. Coach D’Antoni appeared on last night’s The Colbert Report , during which Colbert posits about LeBron, “Whats to talk about? He’s not that good, it’s all hype. It’s just graceful athleticism, aggressive desire to win, giant stadium-filling dunks, but that’s it. After that, he’s kind of an empty suit.” The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

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The End is Nigh: LeBron’s Decision Looms

Another School Went To Lifeguard-Less Long Beach

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 15:30:57 +0000

Now it turns out that another public school—PS 3 in Greenwich Village—had a field trip at Long Beach last Tuesday, the same day that Columbia Secondary School sixth grader Nicole Suriel drowned there . According to the Daily News , 50 students from PS 3—with 24 adults—”got in the water with Columbia Secondary School kids at Long Beach, where no lifeguards were on duty .” Columbia Secondary’s field trip had about two dozen students, supervised by three adults. Apparently the DOE doesn’t require a lifeguard on duty for swimming at this time; a spokeswoman said before any changes are made to the regulations, the department is “awaiting an outcome of an investigation.”

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Another School Went To Lifeguard-Less Long Beach