Exploring the border between Brooklyn and Queens one night, I discovered a strange transitional zone behind the large neon Pepsi Cola sign on the East River. For years, I had seen that sign from the Manhattan side as a kind of commercial icon. Now, I was suddenly on a construction site, with bulldozers and backhoes [...]
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The Electric Egg Cream
Posts tagged ‘construction’
CONSTRUCTIVE UMBRELLAS
January 22nd, 2010
Construction sites throughout New York City may become more artistic (or artsy, at least) even while these indeterminate works in progress are sluggishly progressing. “Colorful umbrellas,” delightful to the eye, may replace the eye-irritating one-story scaffolds of old. The Bloomberg administration announced Thursday the winner of its sidewalk shed design competition, with the winner being [...]
PATERSON COOLING IT AT WTC
August 4th, 2009
Whereas New York’s Governor David Paterson’s leadership abilities have proven to be less than effective, he’s now involving himself in a project that has proved itself a spectacular chasm of ineffectualness: the rebuilding of the World Trade Center. The governor will be personally involved in the ad nauseam talks between the developer and the owner [...]
AT THE EDGE OF URBAN RESIDUE
June 28th, 2009
An abandoned construction site at 85 Bedford Avenue, in nearby-to-me Williamsburg (Brooklyn), is a nauseating wonder to behold. While numerous abandoned construction sites throughout the city are left to stagnate in indecision while raking in profits for delay, eyesores at best and traffic hazards at worst, this one is a cesspool to boot. Of course, [...]
WHAT’S OLD IN PARK SLOPE
March 31st, 2009
Here in Park Slope (Brooklyn) residents cherish their brownstones. They love the atmosphere of voguish antiquity that lends a unique beguilement to each moldering brick and creaky facade enduring along each fusty street. In this once-upon-a-time and now quaint neighborhood, well-heeled residents can baste in the afterglow of Victorian Age detachment while the rest of [...]
THAT FREEDOM THING
March 29th, 2009
Indeed, it shouldn’t come as any surprise or (especially) disappointment that the new skyscraper perpetually under construction at the former political statement called “Ground Zero” will not be named “Freedom Tower” after all. That designation has gone the way of “freedom fries,” “mission accomplished” and related fads, catchphrases and buzzwords that arose during America’s “War [...]
HALF MOON’S HALF-LIFE
February 9th, 2009
The Half Moon Hotel once graced the Coney Island shore with a salty elegance. Designed by George B. Post & Sons in Spanish Colonial style, it was built in a letter C shape with two wings and a court facing the boardwalk. The buff brick structure was 14 stories high, laurelled with various urns and [...]
FROSTY DESCENTS
January 26th, 2009
The Lower East Side is about to get cool again, at least for a couple of days. On February 4th snowboarders will start taking practice runs down the ramp that’s being built on the side of the East River (you can get a nice view from the Williamsburg Bridge right now). Then on February 5th [...]
WOODEN TANKS ON HIGH
January 24th, 2009
Rooftop water tanks have dotted the NYC skyline since the late nineteenth century. They’ve changed little in that time, reaching their height of technological integrity around the 1920s, and stand like stately if quaint remnants of the city’s abiding past. Nonetheless, water tanks, mostly wooden, were and are a crucial source of New York‘s water [...]
WINTERING ON CONEY ACQUISITION
January 5th, 2009
No one is having more fun wintering in Coney Island than Joe Sitt…or, at least, having his minions winter on that beleaguered island. The source of their fun, and thrill-packed sport for their recreation, is the setting up of “For Lease” signs on many of Sitt’s newly-acquired properties along the amusement park‘s boardwalk. A couple [...]
WHAT PARK?
December 16th, 2008
Brooklyn Bridge Park has been one of this city’s premiere and apparently endless works-in-progress. Years of interminable delays, legal hocus-pocus and false starts have turned an initially appealing project into an utter travesty; yet another pork barrel aspirant on the city’s growing list of purposeless snafus. But good news (insofar as good news goes these [...]
SURVIVORS’ STAIRCASE LAID TO REST
December 12th, 2008
The staircase that served as a final escape route in the World Trade Center‘s horrific final moments is now a museum piece…but without a museum. Last Thursday, the 57-ton “Survivors’ Staircase” (as it is dubbed) was moved to its final resting place: near the still-to-be-built WTC Memorial Museum, for which the stairs will serve as [...]
Additional Wanderings
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Quotes of the Day
- Rand Beers"The precondition to freedom is security." […]
- John N. Mitchell"The finest steel has to go through the hottest fire." […]
- John Ruskin"Quality is never an accident. It is always the result of intelligent effort." […]
Google Reader
- Gmail Priority Inbox Sorts Your Email For You. And It’s Fantastic. August 31, 2010Email overload has finally met its match. Tomorrow, Gmail is rolling out a new feature called Priority Inbox that is going to be a Godsend for those of you who dread opening your email. In short, Google has built a system that figures out which of your messages are important, and presents them at the top of the screen so you don’t miss them. The rest of your […]Jason Kincaid
- New Board Game Café Welcomes You, But Not Your Laptop August 30, 2010Snakes and Lattes on Sunday evening, papered up in advance of its first day of business, which is today. Ben Castanie's new Koreatown café, at 600 Bloor Street West, just east of Palmerston Avenue, will emphatically not have free Wi-Fi. In fact, laptops and their attendant air of isolation are completely counter to what Castanie is trying to do. "I […]Steve Kupferman
- Sorry, Glenn... August 30, 2010I got a ton of requests to make more "Two Turntables and a Homophone" shirts after this weekend's Glenn Beckstrosity. I'm going to take pre-orders until Friday for a reprint and get them made next week. Dig in if you have two turntables, a microphone and like cotton! Even if you don't need a t-shirt, please feel free to pass the link […](author unknown)
- SWEET SOMETHINGS. August 29, 2010ummm... no words necessary.cutest little puppy clothes i've ever seen. visit the rover etsy shop. XO. […]James Kicinski
- A 64-GB Hard Drive the Size of a Stamp August 29, 2010A new hard drive on a chip portends reduced weight and size in portable PCs. […]By STEPHEN WILLIAMS
- If They Hate Us, Why Haven’t They Killed Us Yet? August 29, 2010Here’s a Venn diagram of the US population, the world Muslim population, the overlap, and al-Qaeda. The al-Qaeda dot had to be sized up tenfold in order to be visible. If Islam were really a blood-soaked religion and most Muslims really backed al-Qaeda, wouldn’t they have taken us out already? Found at Osborne Ink. […]snarla
- Best Tweet Evah? August 27, 2010Even funnier if you know that Crowley is the Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, i.e., chief spokesman at the State Department. United States Department of State - United States - State Department - Law - Legal Information […]Josh Marshall
- McDonald's Hamburgers Don't Age August 27, 2010Things that are made from organic material age and decay, especially when they stop being alive. A piece of home-baked bread, say, left on your kitchen counter, will get moldy relatively fast. Lord knows what some ground beef would smell like after a week. But the artist Sally Davies has been photographing one McDonald's hamburger and fries every day fo […]Morgan Clendaniel
- 1922 Kodachrome – Color Moving Pictures August 27, 2010Seeing something like this is kind of unreal to me… I feel like I’m dreaming! This is some of the oldest color motion picture footage, and it’s completely charming and beautiful to see. I think it’s the closest I can ever really get to time travel. Found via Chateau Thombeau, a great blog that I recently started reading. […]anja
- Vintage Internet Ads August 26, 2010I saw these posters on Unplggd and they made me laugh. They were designed by a Sao Paulo ad agency called Moma. Won’t it be fun to be grandmas and grandpas and see vintage ads for things like the iPhone and feel nostalgic? P.S. — Thank you for all the internet love yesterday (here on Design Mom, on twitter and on facebook) — I’m still grinning ear to ear! […]Design Mom
NY Times (NY Regional)
- Storm Front Coming September 2, 2010In New York Online, anxiety about Hurricane Earl, and some talking points for those who are cooped up inside with the family. […]
- In Medical School Shift, Meeting Patients on Day 1 September 2, 2010A new curriculum at N.Y.U. is intended to foster more personal relationships between medical students and patients. […]
- Skunks in Manhattan September 2, 2010Skunks in the city: not a new concept, but a stinky one nonetheless. […]
- In Poll, Lazio Leading G.O.P. Rival September 2, 2010Rick A. Lazio leads Carl P. Paladino in the Republican primary race for governor, but many voters remain undecided, a new survey shows. […]
- I Don't Wanna Grow Up: Late Night With 'Yo Gabba Gabba!' September 2, 2010The stars of the Nick Jr. show - which is also popular with children, we're told - rock with the Roots on Jimmy Fallon's show. […]
- State Pension Fund Faces Shortfall, Candidate Says September 2, 2010Harry J. Wilson, a Republican running for state comptroller, argues that rosy numbers released annually by Albany are an illusion. […]
- Murakami Art in Thanksgiving Parade September 2, 2010Takashi Murakami's superflat characters about 40 feet long when their balloon incarnations are completed, and about three stories tall when filled with helium. […]
- Our Towns: Blasé About Hurricane Maps? Remember 1938 September 2, 2010The ’38 hurricane killed 50 people on Long Island. […]
- Bedbug Fears Unnerve Flea Market Shoppers September 2, 2010Also in the Morning Buzz: A lawsuit over a lost painting screeches to a halt; a candidate says the state pension fund is in dire shape; and other regional news. […]
- After a Cameo on Cable, Jets Hit the Stage September 2, 2010The Jets took in an early private performance of the show “Black Angels Over Tuskegee” on Wednesday in Manhattan. […]
Gothamist
- Funeral For Girl Who Died Of Asthma Attack September 2, 2010(NY1) Yesterday, the funeral for 11-year-old Briana Ojeda was held in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and a horse-drawn carriage—escorted by police—brought the child's body to the St. Xavier Church. Ojeda died last after suffering an asthma attack at a playground, and her parents have claimed that a police officer not only blocked her mother from driving her to t […]Jen Chung
- Presented By: September 2, 2010[…]
- State Senate Candidate Arrested For Menacing His Ex September 2, 2010NY state Senate candidate David Mejias was arrested last night and charged for stalking and menacing his ex-girlfriend. According to Nassau County police, Mejias, 39, followed his 34-year-old ex-girlfriend in his car, forced her off the road in Matinecock, screamed at her, then chased her when she tried to get away. Mejias was charged with second-degree mena […]Ben Yakas
- Early Addition September 2, 2010Photograph by FlySi on Flickr From the Gothamist Newsmap: A power outage at Mill Lane & Bivona St in the Bronx, shots fired at 118th Ave in Queens, and a commercial armed robbery on Staten Island. On oil platform off Louisiana exploded this morning. This morning, police were still on the scene of the Maryland headquarters of Discovery Communications, whe […]Jen Chung
- Drunken Man Takes Leisurely Drive On Queens Boardwalk September 2, 2010Rockaway Boulevard A Queens dad was arrested this week under Leandra's Law after cruising down the pedestrian-only Rockaway Beach Boulevard completely drunk with six kids in tow. Doesn't he know one should always hitch a ride to Rockaway Beach? Renato Bernal, 41, had almost one-and-a-half times the legal alcohol limit when he drove the kids down 30 […]Ben Yakas
- Rupert Murdoch Loves A "Fat Pig" September 2, 2010When you're done reading the Lindsay Lohan cover story, you can also read about Rupert Murdoch vs. Arthur Sulzberger media war in Vanity Fair. According to a summary of the story, VF reporter Sarah Ellison spoke to Andrew Neil, who was editor of Murdoch’s Sunday Times. Neil says, "Americans have this patrician attitude that they have a God-given ri […]Jen Chung
- Hurricane Earl Heads Closer, Tropical Storm Watch In Effect September 2, 2010A man fishing off a pier in North Carolina today (AP) New York City, Long Island, and southern Westchester County are under a tropical storm watch, which means we could see 39- to 73 mile per hour winds, as Hurricane Earl heads closer to the U.S.. Winds of 100 mph are expected to hit the Outer Banks in North Carolina tonight, and then Earl will continue nort […]Jen Chung
- Happy 90210 Day, New York September 2, 2010Valerie hailed from Buffalo, NY and smoked pot We may be in New York City, but it's still September 2nd, 2010 here—which means we can still celebrate 90210 day. There are some New York ties during the original series: Brandon Walsh eventually works for the New York Chronicle (D.C. branch), and on top of that, every deadbeat character on the show was ori […]Jen Carlson
- If Bloomberg Doesn't Finish Third Term, It's 'Cause He Died September 2, 2010Because there's rampant speculation (or at least a dearth of pre-Labor Day stories) that he's being wooed for a possible White House job, Mayor Bloomberg was extra-emphatic that he'll finish out his controversial third term at NYC mayor. The Post's David Seifman asked him, "Are there any circumstances under which you would not serve […]Jen Chung
- 10-Year-Old Hit By Stray Bullets In Brooklyn September 2, 2010A 10-year-old boy was the latest victim of stray bullets from a gang shootout last night in Brooklyn. Khalil Robinson was watching TV in his first floor East New York apartment when he was struck by two bullets, once in the neck and once in the shoulder. According to witnesses, the gun fight began as a turf war between two groups of teenagers in the neighbor […]Ben Yakas
Arts & Culture
- Pop: The Twenty August 25, 2010Our most anticipated concerts and albums of fall. […]
- TV: The Twenty August 25, 2010Our most anticipated shows of fall. […]
- Fall Preview Art Shell TK August 23, 2010[…]
- Kanye West Tweets the Fall August 23, 2010Armed with the seasons must-have album (and a new Twitter account), the rapper will be everywhere. […]
- Art: The Twenty August 23, 2010Our most anticipated shows of fall. […]
- Books: The Twenty August 23, 2010Our most anticipated fiction and nonfiction of fall. […]
- Theater: The Twenty August 23, 2010Our most anticipated shows of fall. […]
- Hong Kongs Hit Girl August 23, 2010Millions of Asian action-movie fans can’t be wrong: Maggie Q, star of the CW’s Nikita, is about to knock your socks off. […]
- Movies: The Twenty August 23, 2010Our most anticipated films of fall. […]
- Classical & Dance: The Twenty August 23, 2010Our most anticipated events of fall. […]
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