228 years ago today, colonists destroyed a statue of King George III located in Bowling Green. To commemorate this, the Times offers up a mixed bag in the form a round up-cum-history lesson about the parks downtown. We get some detail on the just finished work, some previews of what is to come, and we learn one crucial thing: to get interviewed by the Times, you better have some righteous real estate. We hear from an owner in the American Thread Building and a fella who has an upcountry estate. But curiously, no one is identified as a “renter in Independence Plaza.” So that part is pretty worthless, as is the piss poor slide show — skip it and go for a walk. It is far greener downtown than those photos would lead you to believe, and they mostly contradict the main argument of the article. The history lesson is servicable, especially for someone as ignorant as me regarding the city’s history.
It’s a good day to kick an unwanted English guest out of your apartment.
Posted in Uncategorized Comments closed
My position is self evident; it is a position.
Community Board 1 met on July 1 to decide something regarding the West Street Tunnel plan, the $900 million proposal to bury the stretch of West Street that faces the WTC site. People are decidedly mixed in their support (including even Battery Park residents who don’t think it will do much to create a stonger connection to Downtown; a logical conclusion, since the Downtown they are adjacent to doesn’t have much to do if you don’t trade securities), save John Zuccotti, who, surprise! is the chair of the company that owns the World Financial Center. Since that makes him something of an underdog, you should be comforted by the fact that he is on the Development Advisory committee at the LMDC.
In the meantime, over at CB1, they decided this is issue requires… more discussion. Next month, CB1 intends to hold a seance to call the spirit of Ionesco to see if they can find a way to make Robert’s Rules works, or barring that, make their indecision a little more interesting to watch.
Posted in Uncategorized Comments closed
A day late, a dollar… er. Um.
A little late, but this — not-so-little Danny Libeskind’s response to the Times Magazine sort-of profile — seems to escaped the attention of most, save for the sharp eyed folks at Architecture Week. His point sees to be similar to an argumentative gambit a friend of many years has determined I employ with distressing frequency. When presented with absolutely contradictory or inadequate evidence, I have a tendency to reply, if not in these exact words, then some unneccessarily prolix version thereof: “So… I was right.” It doesn’t work any better for me either.
Posted in Uncategorized Comments closed
Sued as the News.
NY1 reports (though they are probably re-reporting this Times article) that ‘Newsstand Owners’ (the NNOA, though they don’t seem to have a web presence) are suing the city to prevent implementation of Local Law 64, passed in 2003 (0569-2003A — and PDF
here). Local Law 64 is part of an omnibus effort to ‘clean up’ what is referred to typically as ‘street furniture’ (Newsstands, distribution boxes, benches and public bathrooms), a process that is still in the RFP stage.
The basic thrust of the legislation is the establishment of a city-wide franchisee that would assume responsbility of street furniture management, with the trade-off of allowing advertising (currently prohibited) in return for better facilities and the construction of public restrooms, though, notably, this is not required as part of the legislation, which covers only newsstands. When first proposed, the intention was not to disenfranchise current owners, but to require them to reconstruct their facilities based on a uniform design, and then surrender the ad space to the franchisee (who would be funding the bathrooms, which would also have advertising). The NNOA is suing because the legislation, due to more stringent restrictions of where facility can be placed, might mandate the closure of 20% (based on their estimates) of existing newsstands, even though the first paragraph of the legislation indicates there is a good chance the overall footprint of each would increase (need room for those ads!). So much for taking back the streets.
This initiative has been underway in one form or another for several years. You might remember the bathroom near City Hall, which was a prototype developed by JCDecaux, which came very close to getting the contract without competitive bidding (or, rather, a highly structured RFP that made it impossible for almost anyone else to bid). Wayne Barrett of the Voice busted the city on this, and they went back to the drawing board and came up with Local Law 64. Last year, Matt Taibbi gave a good overview of the JCDecaux fiasco and took a sharply critical stance of the new effort.
Whereas the prototype in City Hall Park seemed dandy to us (and we really like the public restrooms in Paris), the payoff, as it is currently structured, doesn’t justify the scale of this trade-off. The economy of scale being proposed, coupled with a rather timid qualification that any new designs must be approved by the art commission — which can only act under the rubric of guidelines set by the department of consumer affairs — means we may end up with another example of the mallification of our urban experience. Even though it may be yet another example where our irrational pride in idiosyncratic and often foolish urban traditions trumps efficiency, but with the prevelance of B&N and Starbucks handling the accessible bathroom issue, here’s to hoping the NNOA succeeds with its Bronx cheer to Local Law 64.
Posted in Uncategorized Comments closed
Don’t Look Now.
While everyone else is busy trying to get a peek at the best attended ground-breaking ceremony in city history, John Young spent the weekend exercising his free speech rights, posting two new additions to his ‘Eyeball’ series, which aggregates publicly available information on potentially sensitive sites, the Statue of Liberty and NYC Bridges and Tunnels.
Posted in Uncategorized Comments closed
It’s the capacity, stupid.
Today’s profile in the Times’ Public Lives is Clark Hampe, director of terminal planning (which can be an interesting oxymoronic title, read a certain way) at Penn Station. The focus is mostly on a timely subject (the recent announcement that most of the entrances/exits will be closed during the Republican National Convention), though buried in there is an interesting comment:
In recent years, as ridership has grown significantly, the railroads have clamored to send more trains into a station that has essentially reached capacity.
This is interesting because some big monies are being proposed (with some already committed) that have some potential impact on this situation, namely the LIRR Grand Central connector (also called East Side Access), and the 7 line extension (as part of the Hudson Yards plan). The reason being is that Penn and GCT are crucial nodal points (intra- and intermodal junctions at both locations), and both are already operating at near capacity. The Regional Planning Association lays out the numbers in one of the three reports they generated in anticipation of the Hudson Yards announcement. Their calculations indicate that the 7 line might not be severly overburdened for 10-15 years under the current proposals, but the transfer point at GCT (critically, the connection between the Lexington Avenue line and the 7) will be almost immediately. And it will likely stess capacity at Penn Station, as commerical development is front-ended (meaning commuters will be added to before residents). The East Side Connector should, in theory, offset some of this, since Long Island commuters would connect directly to the East Side, but unless they work within walking distance of Grand Central, they will only intensify conditions on the Lexington Avenue line, which is already functioning at its logical capacity (conversion of the line to full computer control as is happening on the L might not enable the addition of even a single train at rush hour).
What are the possible solutions? Given the current dispersal of workforce, the two strongest contenders an accelerated commitment to the Second Avenue subway line, which could add a connection to the LIRR at 63rd street, as well as the 7, and an additional Hudson River tunnel that would not run to Penn Station. Though the numbers aren’t stellar (at its peak, only 50,000 commuters used the Hudson crossing via PATH, though that may have to do with the relatively limited reach of PATH relative to New Jersey Transit trains), the WTC terminal makes the most sense. Given the commitement to a $2 billion dollar showpeice terminal, some actual capacity benefit might be nice. But those aren’t the current money plays right now. Yet we are stuck with an ill-defined and conceived East River connection for LIRR to downtown (the downsides of which are track compatibility issues and a reduction of subway service). The $2 billion is burning a hole in Pataki’s pocket, and you can bet pouring it into the hands of suburban voters is a far more attractive carrot that improving infrastructure that doesn’t have a big ribbon cutting ceremony scheduled in your next term.
Posted in Uncategorized Comments closed
New learning center opens in Queens. Maybe.
It’s a press release about the opening of a new addition. Er, no, it’s a press release about an exhibition opening that will run briefly and then will really open when the addition is actually finished. Yet all of this won’t take place until November, and it’s in Queens, so you can forget all about it.
Anyway, that’s what happens when the Daily News mangles the message of New York Hall of Science. That, or the NYHS needs to review their press relations skills. There’s a nice big rendering of (actually, the previous page, and it will be gone tomorrow) what you can expect come November. Looking at it, one can’t tell what comprises the addition, though the tower that rises out of the center is similar to ‘organic’ mess rising over Astor Place (though there and here, it’s just latent moderist yearning). In rendering form, it’s pretty undistinguished ‘Interactive Learning Center’ fare — attempted ‘sculptural’ forms defining major spaces, sorta moderist detailing that is supposed to convey a technocratic aesthetic. Like EPCOT, or, um, the New York World’s Fair. So at least it’s respecting the vernacular.
Inside, aside from the baseball exhibit, you can see the Conference Bike, “the world’s first circular bicycle — a tricycle built for seven people sitting in a circle by artist/designer/inventor Eric Staller.” Eric Staller is best known for the Lightmobile, a VW Beetle covered in lights. The bike is intended to promote peace, though the promotional image on his site just makes me want to hate people I don’t know. Even more.
Posted in Uncategorized Comments closed
I Light NY.
NY1 reports that Milton Glaser, oft cited as the creator of the I ‘Heart’ NY logo, is promoting a ‘non-confrontational’ protest to the Republican National Convention: he is asking everyone to point a flashlight or similar light source at the sky the opening night, from dusk til dawn (start exercising now). The symbolism is that we protest the darkness in the hearts of all Republicans, and Light Up the Sky. As protests go, it’s okay — not the same as 500,000 people in Central Park (and, as an aside, I wonder why Times Square is not being pushed as an alternative. The AIDS rally at the ’92 Dem convention was a powerful event, even allowing for the officious pens from the NYPD), but certainly a welcome addition.
We’ll be doing our protesting the old fashioned way: yelling at barricades, making tee shirts (look for link in the coming weeks) and giving out false directions to anyone who looks like a conventioneer. Remember, Republicans don’t hate just blacks and gays; they hate immigrants, poor people and independent filmmakers as well. Grand Central or Grand Concourse? The New Yorker Hotel or New Lots? It’s up to you. But be original. There’s almost nowhere in the city where the biggest Dick won’t feel welcome.
Posted in Uncategorized Comments closed
Turns out they didn’t think we could steal the ABMA from the Marriott Sawgrass.
The Independent Budget Association released its analysis of the proposed Jets stadium yesterday, and it turns out they don’t think the city can find 35 new mid-sized conventions to fill the space after eight Jets games and Ozzfest. The Times reports the Jets responsed with the charge that the IBO was both “pessimitic and inexpert”. And, for once, you know, I might be inclined to agree with them. I don’t think the city really has tried hard enough to determine if they really could do better than 20 (the IBO number) new events a year. If we call go out and find just one potential convention group, I think we could have at least six or seven by the end of the day. Look, I’ll start: out in Aurora, Illinois, there is the American Brush Manufacturers Association, who just had their convention in Ponte Verde, Florida, at the Marriott Sawgrass. And if you mistype their URL, you get the American Mold Builders Association, who have two yearly events, in Cleveland and Key West, in the coming year. I’ll bet the IBO didn’t even consider the AMBA and ABMA. It’s the kind of small minded thinking that will talk yourself out spending $600 million on a stadium. I, for one, am embarrased for my city today.
Posted in Uncategorized Comments closed
Gird yourself for lots of heated denouncements at the unneccesary appendage of ‘street.’
Meanwhile, over in the Metro section, we get the kit article on street art. The Times works their senstive liberal cred by finding a girl, in a field more male-dominated than late night talk show hosting, to blather about her ‘work.’ The slide show is better than what you get for the downtown gardens, but should you sit though it, and have some time in the afternoon, try to catch the (closing today) Andrea Fraser show at American Fine Arts (530 West 22nd) — and yes, go see the porn across the street — as an interesting antidote. Not for anything the egnimatic Swoon says in particular, but just as a apposite take on when the — any — artist speaks.
Meanwhile, Kirk Semple manages to hit all the high notes, and produces this interesting (and new, to me) nugget about the Wooster Collective: it is run by a marketing executive. He stays local, and generally misses the inevitable (and frequently nutured) arc from deliquent artist to shill for corporate advertising, while taking juvenile jabs (“Ask street artists to talk about why they do what they do, and brace for a torrent of rationalization”) that don’t actually resonate when presented with evidence. Moving outside the States, he might have to actually consider what subversive is, in the form of figures like Bansky. But here, it plays a lot like what it is: inarticulate, bored, middle-class kids looking for the last vestiges of rebellion and some useful portfolio pieces for getting that art directing job at Kirshenbaum Bond, all the while thinking they are gaming the system, instead of the other way around.