MTA Finance Committee Approves MetroCard Fare Hike to $2.50 (NY1) The agency has threatened that unless Albany lawmakers come up with a bailout plan by Wednesday, the fare hikes and service cuts will take effect. The full MTA board will take a final vote Wednesday, with the service cuts and fare hikes taking effect June 1st.
Pale Male gets another chance at fatherhood (Urban Hawks) Lola is sitting on eggs, on her 5th Avenue nest. The nest looks to be about an inch higher than last year. A great sign the birds are responding to the renovations of the nest in 2008.
Downtown businesses that survived 9/11 may not weather recession (Downtown Express) While nothing can compare to the devastation of 9/11, half a dozen small business owners in Lower Manhattan said the impact of the economic downturn is worse because there is no end in sight. They said they exhausted their personal resources to weather the dismal months after 9/11, and now they have nothing left.
Madoff victims flood Judaica market with treasures (Crain’s) Auction houses are reporting a sharp increase in the number of antique Jewish artifacts being offered for spring auctions. Dealers who specialize in this niche say that the amount and quality of newly available items blows away offerings from past auction seasons.
A modified NYC skyline for “Kings” (NY Times) It’s called “Kings” — appropriately enough, since the dazzling new capital city is inaugurated from the steps of the Brooklyn Museum in Kings County (through the miracle of television, the museum fronts on Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan). Virtually every other shot, real or digitally enhanced, is also filmed in New York.
Peter O’Malley faces Dodger fans at Brooklyn Historical Society (Brooklyn Paper) “What cost Brooklyn the Dodgers was 1898 when Brooklyn became part of New York City,” the scribe said. He said the borough’s voice was drowned out by the rest of the city, which didn’t care if the Dodgers stayed or went.
