Pictures and news items that defy easy classification.
Alligators in the Sewers Day in Manhattan
NewYorkology contributor Sam Meyer commits journalism by night, edits Cocktailians and explores NYC by day. He’s especially interested in the infrastructure, transit, architectural wonders, drinking establishments, and hidden corners of the greatest city in the world.
But where did the urban legend come from? Manhattan Borough Historian Michael Miscione held a press conference on the City Hall steps today to commemorate the legend’s birth.
Unlike most urban legends, this one has a definite origin in fact: On Feb. 9, 1935, several teenagers in East Harlem were shoveling snow into an open sewer manhole when they spotted movement below. They got clothesline from a nearby shop and fished out a seven-foot-long, 125-pound alligator. Despite the alligator’s weakness, it snapped at the boys, who then beat it to death with their shovels. The story is told in a vividly-written New York Times article published the next day.
No alligator has been spotted in the sewers before or since, yet the legend persists. A 1959 book, “The World Beneath The City”, by Robert Daley, took the old story and gave it new life. (The NYT’s City Room blog posted a did a report on the book in November.)
Vincent Sapienza, deputy commissioner for wastewater treatment at the city’s Department of Environmental Protection, today said that “we find a lot of strange things in sewers, but never any alligators.” Miscione also noted that an alligator emerging from a sewer is the DEP’s unofficial mascot, and that you can buy T-shirts with a sewer alligator and “The Legend Lives” on them at the city’s gift shop in the Municipal Building.
Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer proclaimed today, the 75th anniversary of the original alligator incident, to be “Alligators in the Sewers Day” in the Borough of Manhattan.
Picture credits: Sam Meyer for NewYorkology. Banner at City Hall, and Brian Andersson, commissioner of the city’s Department of Records, Michael Miscione, Manhattan Borough Historian, and Vincent Sapienza, deputy commissioner of the city’s Department of Environmental Protection.
About 45.25 million tourists visited New York City in 2009, a lower-then-expected decline of 3.9 percent from 2008, but still enough for the five boroughs to claim bragging rights as the most popular tourist destination in the United States for the first time since 1990, city officials announced Monday.
NYC’s 81,500 hotel rooms racked up a record total of 23.6 million room nights sold, about 300,000 more than a year earlier. Total Toursim spending added up to about $28 billion.
NYC also maintains its No. 1 spot with international tourists — 8.6 million visited in 2009 — and they tend to spend significantly more than domestic travelers.
“Last year, while tourism declined significantly in cities across the country, we fared far better than most. In fact, for the first time in 20 years, we were the most popular tourism destination in the country, surpassing Orlando, and our leisure and hospitality jobs rose – surpassing even their pre-recession levels,” Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said Monday in announcing the numbers.
City officials forecast a 3.2 percent increase in tourism for 2010 — 46.7 million visitors - on the way to a goal of 50 million visitors annually by 2012.
Picture credits: Times Square and Liberty Island. Amy Langfield/NewYorkology.
(Editor’s note: NewYorkology’s testing out a new format for passing on links of interest. This is what’s on the NYC radar this Thursday morning.)
eBay will open a five day pop-up shop on 57th Street, according to WWD magazine (by way of The Shophound, which has a picture of the pop-up’s storefront in progress.)
Due to demand, the free Brooklyn ferry to Governors Island will now run every Saturday and Sunday through Labor Day, the Brooklyn Paper reports. The free service started in June, but only on some weekend days. Free ferry service from Manhattan to Governors Island will continue as-is on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays until the urban refuge closes for the season on Oct. 11.
By a 42-2 vote, the City Council on Wednesday passed the controversial Coney Island re-zoning plan that would allow 27-acres of high-rise hotels and a natty entertainment complex. The city is also close to acquiring the remaining land from developer Joe Sitt, according to Crain’s.
A man is in a coma after he was hit by a rotted branch that snapped and fell from a Central Park tree, the Post reports.
If you pass by Ricky’s on Third Avenue, you may see a woman sleeping in the front window. (Pictured, top.)
The City Council approved a plan to require licensing for pedicabs, the NY Times reports.
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the MTA says there will be no subway fare hikes in 2010, according to the New York Times.
Boutique Fashion Nights resumes tonight in Brooklyn with discounts, wine and snacks and dozens of locations.
And if the weather holds, there’s tons of free outdoor concerts, films and plays, including a screening of “To Catch A Thief” at Brooklyn Bridge Park, Broadway in Bryant Park at lunchtime, Ladysmith Black Mambazo at MetroTech and a new production from Shakespeare in the Parking Lot.
Met Museum video: “Isaac Mizrahi Discusses “Unzipped” with Harold Koda and Kohle Yohannan” on the Met Museum’s YouTube channel
NYC mayoral hopeful Naked Cowboy lives in Jersey (Post) Since deciding to run for mayor of New York City, Burck started watching Fox News for hours on end and reading such books as Bill O’Reilly’s “Culture Warrior” and “A Documentary History of the United States” by Richard Heffner.
30 Rock’s murals getting major restoration (NY Times) Then he realized that the simplest method was still the best: gently rubbing all the surfaces with an agate burnisher or a bone folder, a tool more commonly used for book binding. By working slowly, in tiny sections, the varnish began to flake off easily. “It’s a green, incredibly low-tech solution,” Mr. Greene said. Still, he added, “it is going to take two years to get through all the murals, one inch at a time.”
Cricket player critical after Brooklyn lightning strike (Daily News) It started raining. The thunder cracked, and he just fell,” said witness Dominic Audain, 22, a cricket player on the opposing team, Middlesex Cricket Country Club.
A tour of NYC Italian ices (Serious Eats) Court Pastry Shop, a traditional Italian establishment in Cobble Hill, had what was to me the clearest definition of an Italian ice. It was light, lemony, faintly sweet, and ultimately refreshing
Variable pricing at Midtown hot dog stands (Mr. Beller’s Neighborhood via Grub Street/Midtown Lunch) I soon realise that no item on his cart has a fixed price. “You see, it’s $1.50 for him,” Ayman says, gesturing toward a Jersey Dad, who is enjoying a hot dog with sauerkraut, “but not for everybody. Sometimes $2, sometimes .75. Depends how they look.”
Neighborhoods and subneighborhoods south of Prospect Park (Forgotten NY) Beaux Arts apartment building on Ocean Avenue and Beverl(e)y Road (it’s spelled differently depending on where you are). In the late 1800s architects and sculptors often placed whimsical-looking ornamental carvings on their buildings. …
More NY: Chinese sandwiches, Sony Lab, singing cows
Michael Jackson RIP mural downtown. By Moses Gates of All City New York.
First Look at Mantao Chinese Sandwiches (Serious Eats) The sandwiches range from $2.50 to $4.50. They’re dainty things—you’d probably want two for a meal, although one makes a nice snack. The soft and fluffy sesame seed-topped bread is the best part about the sandwiches. The fillings, while not bad, are less memorable (right now, at least; hopefully they’ll improve with time).
Must-See New York: New Sony Wonder Technology Lab (Mommy Poppins) New York is full of great children’s museums, but the Sony Wonder Technology Lab does one thing really, really well that none of the other children’s museums in New York City currently do: it teaches kids about the stuff they want to learn about most, technology.
Evolution of the South Ferry and Wall Street subway stations (Forgotten NY) To show them both on a Forgotten NY page is a testament to the gradual changes in design that have happened over a century-long period, from the Beaux Arts era to the streamlined early 2000s …
Free “Click Clack Moo” kids musical attracts big talent (Post) Which is why this summer’s free musical will be the starry-est yet, with lyrics by Kevin Del Aguila (“Altar Boyz”), music by Rodgers Award-winning composer Brad Alexander and — as cranky Farmer Brown — Drew McVety, whose Broadway credits include “Sunday in the Park With George” and “Titanic.”
New York’s Great Sunset Spots: Pier 84 (Mindful Walker) Pier 84 (located right off 12th Avenue near West 44th Street), opened three years ago after a restoration and renovation, is the largest public pier in Hudson River Park, and it offers a bunch of everything for those who love the city’s edges of water: a classroom and interpretive area; an interactive water play area with pumps and little canal gates; fishing; bike rental; water taxi stop; and more.
Northeast tomatoes threatened by fungus (New York Times) A highly contagious fungus that destroys tomato plants has quickly spread to nearly every state in the Northeast and the mid-Atlantic, and the weather over the next week may determine whether the outbreak abates or whether tomato crops are ruined, according to federal and state agriculture officials.
More NY: Jane's Carousel, Central Park audio, MoMA
“Installation of Waste Not as part of Projects 90: Song Dong at MoMA” from MoMA’s YouTube channel.
Central Park cell-phone tour launches (Post) Starting today, signs posted throughout the park will provide a phone number and a code visitors can dial to hear the likes of Alec Baldwin, Kevin Bacon and Isabella Rossellini ramble on about the Ramble, the Great Lawn and the Reservoir.
Jane’s Carousel heading to Brooklyn Bridge Park (Brownstoner) The Carousel will be located on the western edge of the Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park inside the pavilion designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel.
Airport security fast-pass company goes belly up (USA Today) A statement on Verified’s website said the company “had been unable to negotiate an agreement with its senior creditor to continue operations.” There was no information about whether enrollees would get refunds.
Federal judge nixes NYC’s hybrid taxi law (NY Times) Judge Paul A. Crotty of Federal District Court in Manhattan said a plan to financially penalize taxi owners who refused to buy hybrid cars amounted to an effort by the city to mandate emissions standards — a right that, under existing laws, belongs solely to the federal government.
A front-row chicken bucket and other horribly bad acts of Broadway theatergoers (Wall Street Journal) During a Saturday matinee of the Holocaust drama “Irena’s Vow,” a man walked in late and called up to actress Tovah Feldshuh to halt her monologue until he got settled. “He shouted, ‘Can you please wait a second?’ and then continued on toward his seat,” recalls Nick Ahlers, a science teacher from Newark, N.J., who was in the audience.
Parents pulling the plugs on Williamsburg hipster trustafarians (NY Times) Famed for its concentration of heavily subsidized 20-something residents — also nicknamed trust-funders or trustafarians — Williamsburg is showing signs of trouble. Parents whose money helped fuel one of the city’s most radical gentrifications in recent years have stopped buying their children new luxury condos, subsidizing rents and providing cash to spend at Bedford Avenue’s boutiques and coffee houses.
Coney beaches remain closed due to sewage contamination (Daily News) Hundreds of disappointed beachgoers were left cooling their heels on shore after fears surfaced that sewage might have spilled onto Coney Island and Manhattan beaches from a treatment plant.
Walking the five bridges of Harlem-South Bronx (Forgotten NY) New York City borders on an ocean, several straits and a tidal estuary (the Hudson River). This propitious location has given rise to over 400 bridges, including two of the four remaining rectractile bridges in the USA
Borough-by-borough, oldest homes in NYC (Bowery Boys) The oldest house in New York belonged to Pieter Claesen Wyckoff and he built it around 1652, living there approximately 43 years after Henry Hudson had sailed into New York harbor.
More NY: Tim Gunn, Coney's star, 'Coraline' reviews
Tim Gunn peruses the New York Public Library’s hidden fashion gems with Clayton Kirking, NYPL chief of art & information services. On NYPL’s YouTube channel.
Astroland star going from Coney to Smithsonian (National Air and Space Museum press release) Next week another huge star will arrive to stay—the 8-foot-high lighted star from Coney Island’s now closed space-age theme park, Astroland, will join the museum’s popular culture collection where it will be housed along other science fiction icons such as the Star Trek starship Enterprise. The Star will go on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center after construction of Phase Two of the center is completed in 2011.
Mere 4 pct tourism decline predicted (Crain’s) The city’s tourism bureau, NYC & Company, is predicting that more than 12 million visitors will arrive here during June, July and August. That’s just 4% below last summer’s levels, and a far better performance than experts had predicted.
Review roundup of “Coraline” Off-Broadway (Critic-o-Meter) While this adventurous Off-Broadway musicalization of Neil Gaiman’s dark fairy tale has some full-throated partisans who find it an imagination-stirring romp, most reviews are decidedly mixed on the production’s seam-showing, low-tech approach.
Q&A with Ruth Reichl, editor in chief of Gourmet (Midtown Lunch) Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch in Midtown: The Mysore masala dosa, saag paneer, and brinjal bhartha at Minar (on 46th btw. 6+7th.) White rice, chicken, all the vegetables, no white sauce at the Halal Chicken Curry Cart (on 43rd and 6th.) …
$10 million more donated to High Line park (NY Times) The first phase of the High Line, which runs from Gansevoort Street in the meatpacking district to 20th Street, is to open this month. The meandering path 30 feet above the street — with plantings and water areas designed by Field Operations, a landscape architecture company, and Diller Scofidio & Renfro, the architectural firm — will ultimately extend to 34th Street.
Yankee Stadium home-run hitters have winds at their backs (USA Today) According to the Climate Prediction Center in Camp Springs, Md., there is a 40% chance of above-average temperatures for the next three months in New York, and warm weather will only help the baseballs travel farther.
Agreement reached to tear down most of Admiral’s Row (Brooklyn Paper) The city and National Guard reached an agreement to save two decrepit, yet historic, buildings in the Brooklyn Navy Yard and destroy eight others, ending an impasse and allowing the Navy Yard to proceed with its controversial plan to build a supermarket.
Toys R Us buys FAO Schwarz (Reuters) “We will work tirelessly to preserve the distinctiveness and integrity of the FAO Schwarz stores and brand as we grow the business,” Jerry Storch, chief executive of Toys R Us said in a statement.
Roosevelt Island tram unlikely to close in July as planned (Roosevelt Islander) “As of today, tentatively postponed until September, to reopen February. Will finalize decision tomorrow. All parties are here in our office for progress meeting.”
Free waffles on Thursday (@waffletruck on Twitter) We’re pretty happy with our new truck. In fact, we SO happy we’re giving out free waffles tomorrow betw 12pm and 1pm (at 45th and 6th).
Payard Patisserie warns workers the shop may shutter (Crain’s) Landlord, Stephen Kirschenbaum, wants to double the rent for the space on Lexington Avenue between East 73rd and East 74th streets to $1 million annually.
Burberry tonight flips the switch on its new skyline neon (Shophound) Older New Yorkers will remember this space as one that once held the Newsweek sign and, more recently, one for New York Magazine, but now it belongs to the British luxury brand who has won the signage by taking four floors in the building for its headquarters serving both North and South America.
