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Mindboggling Reveals: Burling Slip’s Imagination Playground Opens its Mind to Downtown

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:43:20 +0000

Click the image above to view the full photogallery. “We’re breaking the mold here. This breaks all our normal rules.” Such were the promises of designer David Rockwell back in the waning days of 2006 when his firm proposed that a chunk of cobblestones at downtown’s Burling Slip —then serving as a parking lot for Economic Development Corp. administrators and their dear friends—become a playground. But not just any playground! A playground based on the imagination . And after the typical skirmishes that accompany such ideas, the South Street Seaport-area project got underway. And then, at noon today, the playground—dubbed, yes, Imagination Playground —opened to the public. Naturally, we showed up to find out just what these folks were thinking. The playground—the entirety of which is encased in a hull reminiscent of a ship, not the first or the last nautical referent that shall be found herein— breaks neatly into an east and a west end . Down at the west end, three mast-like towers form the primary element, with pully systems to play with. Plus, there’s a cool tube slide! For the imagination part, look no further than the piles of styrofoam pieces that await children. The plucky lot that we spied playing there while Mayor Bloomberg spoke took little time putting the styrofoam balls to their preferred use that echoes through the generations: pegging each other. Hard. Down at the west end, things get wet with a water feature that encourages the use of PVC tubing and the like to create flowing waterworks. Damn cool. It’s surrounded by gentle wood risers which give a view of the whole, though could stand for a touch more shade. And in the middle, there’s a big red tower overlooking the whole park. So in what other ways did the project “break all our normal rules”? Well, Rockwell & Co. did the project pro-bono, so props to that. And although at the end of the day this is really just a playground with some extra moving pieces, it’s a damn nice playground, and something we’d certainly circumambulate the city to see. · All Burling Slip Playground Coverage [Curbed]

British PM Arrives in NYC, Won’t Commit to BP/Lockerbie Probe

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:29:15 +0000

Mayor’s Office Twitter After spending yesterday in DC, British Prime Minister David Cameron is in NYC today, visiting the UN, meeting with the CEO of Nasdaq and, as you can see here, scarfing down a dirty water dog with Mayor Bloomberg. But no matter how many photo ops Cameron poses for, all anyone wants to talk about is BP, and the company’s role in the release of convicted Pan Am 103 bomber Adbel al-Megrahi. Last night Cameron met for 45 minutes with senators from the tri-state area who are calling for an investigation, and they emerged from the meeting slightly placated. Yesterday, Cameron announced that he was “asking the cabinet secretary in the UK to go back over all the paperwork and see if there’s anything else that should be released so there’s the clearest possible picture out there of what decision was taken and why.” But the U.S. senators want an independent investigation, and last night Senator Chuck Schumer emerged from the meeting to tell reporters , “The best news that we came out with was that the Prime minister said our request for an independent investigation—not just a look at the documents—was still on the table. He said it is not ‘case closed.’” “We cannot have a convicted terrorist be told that he had three months to live and he’s now sitting in the lap of luxury for up to 10 years. That is not justice served,” Senator Kirsten Gillibrand added. Last year Scotland released Megrahi, who was returned home to Libya on “compassionate” grounds because he has pancreatic cancer. But Megrahi is still alive, and there’s speculation that BP played a role in his release to win lucrative oil contracts in Libya. Yesterday Obama did his whole, “let’s put this behind us” routine, telling the press , “It was a decision that should not have been made. And one that we should learn from going forward.”

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British PM Arrives in NYC, Won’t Commit to BP/Lockerbie Probe

Woman Stabs Frenemy, Cuts Off Piece of Her Ear

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:19:10 +0000

One Staten Island woman must have had a lot of anger pent up over the years. Valerie Carter has been charged with second-degree attempted murder after stabbing Natasha Lewis, a friend she has known since middle school, 13 times early Saturday morning. The two attended law enforcement school together, and had even dated the same person at some point, but had begun arguing about children outside the Park Hill Apartments complex. Carter admitted that during the argument, “I started stabbing her,” puncturing her lung and slicing off a piece of her ear. So far this week we’ve got an eye and an ear stabber. Noses and throats are next, people!

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Woman Stabs Frenemy, Cuts Off Piece of Her Ear

Will, The Abused Williamsburg Dog, Doing Okay

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 09:48:00 +0000

The Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals has sent us these photos of the dog who was thrown to the ground in Williamsburg last week by 30-year-old Alexandra Mendez-Diaz—who prior to bodyslamming the dog on to North 7th Street declared she was “the Queen of Brooklyn.” Following the incident the NYPD brought the shih tzu puppy to the Mayor’s Alliance, who brought it to veterinary hospital. Last week the dog was in stable condition, and we’re now told that Will (as he was named) is doing well and that “one of the NYPD officers has been visiting Will in the hospital.” Awww! The toys he’s pictured with here were donated and are keeping Will company in the hospital. If anyone would like to make a tax deductible donation to the Mayor’s Alliance Picasso Veterinary Fund to help pay for Will’s care they can do so online at www.animalalliancenyc.org .

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Will, The Abused Williamsburg Dog, Doing Okay

Bloomberg Insists He’s Not Running For President In 2012

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 12:20:31 +0000

Photograph of Mayor Bloomberg at Dartmouth courtesy of Dartmouth Mayor Bloomberg is sticking to his story that he won’t run for President in 2012 . During a “presidential lecture” at his girlfriend Diana Taylor’s alma mater, Dartmouth College (the “presidential” refers to Dartmouth president Jim Yong Kim), he explained —jokingly—that his positions “[cut] off half the country… I’m pro-choice. I’m pro-gay rights. I’m pro-immigration. I’m against guns. I believe in Darwin. It’s down to Diana, my mother and me left, and I’m not sure about my mother.” Then he emphasized, “No, I’m not running. Make that clear,” and said , “I’m gainfully employed. I’ve made a commitment [to serving as mayor] for the next 1,263 days… Arguably being the mayor of New York is the best political job in the world. We have our own foreign policy, I’ve got the eighth biggest army in the NYPD, we’ve got a budget that’s bigger than most countries’ GNP.” However, Bloomberg also discussed the White House during a Q&A: The Dartmouth reports that he spoke of expanding the power of the executive branch, “The President [of the United States] can impose, the President can cajole, the President can influence. But it’s Congress that writes the legislation. The public’s safeguard is every four years at the ballot box.”

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Bloomberg Insists He’s Not Running For President In 2012

Bloomberg On Board with Smoking Ban in Parks, Beaches

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 16:12:00 +0000

Timnyc’s Flickr Yesterday we were revolted by the sight of 1,000 cigarette butts that were dug up in the sand on Coney Island over the weekend, so today we’re particularly primed for this bit of news: Mayor Bloomberg is moving forward with a ban on cigarettes on city beaches and in public parks. When the idea was first floated in September by Health Department commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley, Bloomberg seemed caught off guard, saying , “Our Police Department has enough to do. They can’t be going around giving tickets [for smoking].” A few weeks later, he did promise to “get that done,” but that was the last we heard on it… until now. The mayor told reporters yesterday: We’re talking about banning smoking on beaches and in parks, and it’s partially because you can breathe the air. It’s in the open air, but the air wafts in your direction. But it is also because people take their cigarette butts and the packages and just throw them away. When you ask people in our parks and beaches, they say they just don’t want smokers there. A City Hall spokeswoman tells NY1 there’s no timeframe set on the ban, and while the directive would not require City Council legislation, the Bloomberg administration is said to favor that route “because it adds clarity to the law.” The City Council speaker, Christine C. Quinn, is reportedly “interested” in the idea, but “feels that fines should be modest.” Sure, maybe at first, but after the second or third offense we do believe a good public caning is in order.

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Bloomberg On Board with Smoking Ban in Parks, Beaches

Track Ridiculous Government Spending Online!

Sat, 03 Jul 2010 12:00:38 +0000

Created on Thursday by City Comptroller John Liu, checkbooknyc.com lets taxpayers discover how their hard earned cash is being spent. For instance, the city has spent $3,771,246.41 this year on office furniture, and Mayor Bloomberg’s office spent $5,500 on liquor ! The city’s law department also spent about $66,000 on car services, about six times as much as City Council staffers. Liu told the Daily News , “The more information we make available to the public, the more built-in incentives all of us in city government have to save taxpayers’ money, which has really become more important than ever before.”

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Track Ridiculous Government Spending Online!

A Tsunami-Less Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest Weigh-In

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 17:05:15 +0000

Today, the contestants for Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest weighed in at City Hall. While Joey “Jaws” Chestnut, the reigning champ for three straight years , showed off his Mustard Belt, it wasn’t the same without his archrival, Takeru “The Tsunami” Kobayashi , the Japanese phenom who has won the contest six times. Kobayashi claimed that a contract dispute with contest organizers was keeping him out of the July 4th event, Mayor Bloomberg stepped into the fray, saying, “Well, you know what they say: If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.” According to the Brooklyn Paper , Bloomberg’s jab drew “gasps from the press corps.” International Federation of Competitive Eating executive director George Shea said Kobayashi wants more money, “We have never stopped negotiating with Kobayashi to bring him here. We want him here. Nathan’s wants him here. The fans want him here. And he himself has said he wants to be here. So why won’t he work out [a contract] with us that will bring him here?” As for Chestnut , he said, “I’m fasting hard, practicing hard, and recovering, paying attention to my body. I’ve been running more, trying to get a little bit healthier, but I love to eat, this is what I do.” This from a man who won a Deep Fried Asparagus Contest. And on his website, Chestnut gave his thoughts about the Kobayashi Kontroversy: “I am three days away from my biggest contest of the year and I was thrown a curve ball. Apparently kobayashi has not committed to competing on Sunday. I know iti shouldn’t let it affect my training and I’m not. Over and over I am being asked about koby and I give the same a answer… ‘I don’t know if he is eating, but if he does I will be ready’… I respect koby’s ability, but I also know that he will do anything to win, including faking an injury. So I would not be surprised if koby showed at the last second in hopes of catching his competitors off guard. I am using the possibility of a koby sneak attack as motivation to push hard in the final stretch of training. ” The contest is outside of Nathan’s Famous at Surf Avenue in Coney Island on Sunday. Festivities start around 10:30 a.m., but ESPN starts the broadcast at noon. And Nathan’s is donating 100,000 hot dogs to the Food Bank for New York City.

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A Tsunami-Less Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest Weigh-In

Schumer’s Wife on Western Front of Park Slope Bike Lane War

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 16:48:45 +0000

Courtesy Jeff Prant ( via Streetsblog ) Thought the pitched battle over the Prospect Park West bike lane war was settled now that the DOT has finished installing the beautiful two-lane dedicated bike path along the park? It has only begun. Earlier this week, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz—who previously called DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan a pro-biking “zealot” for putting in the bike lane— attended an anti-bike lane meeting at the residence of avid cyclist Senator Chuck Schumer, who resides in Park Slope. Has Schumer gone over to the dark, four-wheel side?! A Schumer staffer denies it, responding to an inquiry about the meeting by saying , “That is a very bizarre rumor and there is no truth to it whatsoever. As I’m sure you are aware, the Senator is an avid biker and would never be involved with something like this especially before the final analysis has been completed.” But his wife and adult daughters have joined the Facebook group No Bike Lane on Prospect Park West , and a source tells the Daily News that Schumer’s wife, who just so happens to be former NYC DOT Commissioner Iris Weinshall, “is strongly opposed” to the bike lane. Opponents say the protected bike lane, which is separated from traffic on Prospect Park West by a nice lane of parked cars, has created traffic problems on the boulevard, which lost a lane of car traffic as a result of the change. They also maintain that pedestrians are endangered by reckless cyclists blasting through intersections on the bike lane. (Many of these cyclists previously pedaled on the wide sidewalk along the park.) And furthermore, why can’t they just ride their bikes inside the park, which sometimes doesn’t have any cars zooming through it? But Sadik-Khan isn’t backing down (yet) under pressure from her predecessor. “These are no longer the days of the wild Prospect Park West, a street where 70% of cars used to speed and 46% of bicyclists cycled on the sidewalk,” she said in a statement. “The paint on this community-proposed project is barely dry, yet it has already calmed traffic, made bike traffic more predictable and made it safer to reach Prospect Park.” And in an editorial, the Brooklyn Paper cheered the current commish , saying: For all the hysteria in its first two weeks, the Prospect Park West bike lane has already solved many problems: it has gotten cyclists off the sidewalk, it has slowed down cars, it has turned Prospect Park West back into a neighborhood street instead of a thruway, and it has strengthened the connection between the park itself and the roadway that frames its western border. We call that a win for everyone—except drivers, who have had it too good for too long. And to lock horns with the anti-bike lane Facebook page, there’s a pro-bike lane Facebook page ! Which is great, but with such a horrific war raging, how much longer can Foursquare remain silent?

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Schumer’s Wife on Western Front of Park Slope Bike Lane War

Bedbug Infestation Shuts Down Abercrombie & Fitch!

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 14:32:17 +0000

Signs on the front door to Hollister today, courtesy Chris Andrews It looks like these sinister bedbugs won’t rest until every tween in America is deprived of access to tarted-up, pseudo-Californian ensembles. After bedbugs forced the closure of the Hollister flagship store in SoHo on Wednesday, the pestilence has spread to the South Street Seaport, where Abercrombie & Fitch, which owns Hollister, has been forced to close its doors. Where will teenage tourists from the suburbs shop to look like teenagers from the suburbs now?! According to an Abercrombie & Fitch spokesperson, the store was closed to “deal with a similar problem” as Hollister’s, i.e. the parasite that dare not speak its name. But don’t worry, kids, the company has turned to Mayor Bloomberg for guidance. In a letter to Bloomberg, Abercrombie CEO Michael S. Jeffries asked for “leadership and guidance” on how best to address the problem, the Wall Street Journal reports . We’re not trying to upstage the mayor, but it’s pretty simple; they just need to wash all their clothes in extremely hot water (120°F minimum). And move. “We caught it very early in the stages of detection,” an anonymous source at Abercrombie & Fitch tells the Daily News . “We are investigating whether this was a selling-floor issue or a back-room issue. We are continuing testing.” The company promises that the Hollister location will open Saturday at 10 a.m., but the damage has already been done! Brooklyn teen Stanley Carlton showed up at Hollister yesterday with his mom, only to find it closed. His mother was pissed, because she bought him some T-shirts there recently. “You made me waste my money,” she told her son. “We are going to Old Navy.” Nooooooooo, Mom! That’s even worse than bedbugs! Below, a photo taken outside the Hollister store by tipster Adam Bazadona, who writes, “Ever since Hollister’s bedbug infestation, their quality of models has really taken a turn for the worse”: Outside Hollister’s closed SoHo location, courtesy Adam Bazadona

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Bedbug Infestation Shuts Down Abercrombie & Fitch!