Yet another home is under construction in Gravesend on Avenue W between East 2nd and East 3rd Streets. On Saturday, there were no workers or penetrating screams of equipment. The building sat quietly waiting to be finished; perhaps quietly waiting to be broken into.
Tucked into a window was a yellow square of paper with a handwritten note reading, “Warning: we are not responsible if you get killed when steeling from us.” On the door is taped another message, “No Metal.” Whether an intentional playful pun, or poor spelling, referring to the apparant thievery as “steeling” is fitting.
“I know that metal can be sold, but it seems crazy to break into a building under construction just to get some,” said a local resident.
Well it may not be as crazy as it may seem. In the beginning of April, copper was trading for nearly $4 dollars a pound.
Metals theft is a problem accross the country. The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc. has recognized the problem and is working to combat and prevent incidents.
While metal seeking criminals remain active, felt-tip penned warnings of possible death will try to keep them at bay.
Ever tried to get a seat in Starbucks on Eighth Avenue between 22nd and 23rd Streets around noon during the work week? It’s almost impossible trying to compete with PS 11’s tween crowd out on their lunch break. The girls stroll in with pizza, Chinese food or other food items that are not on Starbucks’ menu. A few might get a coffee beverage but most just get water. Every now and then one girl might buy a pastry and take it back to her table where her friends haggle over who gets a bite. “It is quite a cafeteria scene,” said a female customer ordering a non-fat latte.
The baristas rush to serve their guests unfazed by the cloister of young girls. One staff member on his break even went over and sat for a chat with the girls before having to give up his seat to new arrivals, late in joining their friends.
But as soon as they were done with their meals they dispersed, just a suddenly as they had appeared as if they had never been.
In the last decade or so the influx of young professionals priced out of Park Slope, Ft. Greene, and other more attractive Brooklyn locales has brought many amenities to Clinton Hill, stores and services that the neighborhood has been lacking. Myrtle Avenue is now a bona fide main drag through the neighborhood; there are restaurants that are worth a trip on the dreaded G train, coffee shops, and WiFi laundromats too. One thing that the neighborhood still lacks, though, is a place to buy inexpensive, fresh produce. To be clear, there is only one supermarket that serves the neighborhood, an Associated at Myrtle Avenue and Grand St., and it’s produce selection, according to one shopper is “not great. It could be fresher and cheaper, too.”
It’s been my experience that larger supermarkets do not have a decent produce selection. What they have is expensive, unappealing, and colorless fruits and vegetables. The best produce is to be had elsewhere, at a deli or other business that specializes in fruits and vegetables. There is no such business to be found in Clinton Hill, leading to not only a dearth of delicious produce, but also compounding the wider problem of diets high in processed fats and sugars, particularly among lower income households who do not have the time to prepare nutritious, healthy meals. Produce selection alone will not ensure that people are eating healthily, but simply not having a choice virtually ensures that people will stock up on processed junk that, while being convenient, can lead to obesity, diabetes, and other health problems.
In District 29 (Forest Hills, Rego Park, Kew Gardens; parts of Maspeth, Richmond, Elmhurst) council member Melinda Katz has a plan underway. Become pregnant. She is successful now and has made front page news. Of course other council members have kids but the way Katz went about it has made some raise their eye brows.
Katz has used In vitro Fertilization to get pregnant, a process where the egg is fertilized outside the womb. Katz, 42 and single claims that she has tried many times before to get pregnant but failed. She comes from a family active in the city. Her late father, Maestro David Katz founded the Queens Symphony Orchestra and her late mother, Jeanne Dale Katz founded the Queens Center for Arts. Since 1994 Melinda Katz has been involved with New York politics.
Currently Katz is running for City Comptroller and has recently voted against Congestion Pricing. She is also very close to giving birth. Katz is 8 months pregnant. She only gained 10 lbs in the process and sports only a small bump, which is why she was able to keep it a secret for so long.
Years ago, the MTA had announced that the L line was going to be the first to receive new technological advancement and modernization. As a result, the entire L train was operated almost solely by computers. Passengers were very delighted after receiving the news but they were later disappointed because of detours and delays. Two years ago, if one had asked commuters to rate the L train, they would have probably said it was starkly nerve wrecking, because of the huge time lapses between trains. The train travels from Rockaway Parkway(Canarsie) to Eighth Avenue, and West 14 street (Manhattan).
However, today, there has been a positive transformation. There is a substantial growth in ridership and a great improvement in frequency of service. Reggie Bent, a prominent businessman of Canarsie who travels to Manhattan daily said, ” I can’t believe that the train has improved so much.” The L train has been rated as the cleanest subway in the latest survey in the straphangers campaign. Although the L train has changed, it still has it flaws like most other trains, with overcrowding in rush hours.
With increasing talks about congestion pricing and the plan’s imminent deadline, many differing opinions surround the issue. The mayor’s position has been clear since the beginning - being the mind behind the idea, he is all for it. And anyone following the news knows that Mayor Bloomberg has been pushing for the plan to make it through the state level and enter in competition with other cities to get federal support and funding.Bloomberg is so intent on the plan being accepted, that recently I noticed an ad at a bus stop in my neighborhood. “If we had congestion pricing, your bus would already be here.”Quite blunt, if you ask me. But it also seems like a smart and effective way to reach the people who are most likely to support the plan: the commuters who spend hours each week just waiting for public transportation to get them to their destination. The ad is simple yet clear, and as I looked at the long line of people waiting for the bus I couldn’t help but think that they would all be in favor of Bloomberg’s baby.”Well, put like this, of course, it sounds like a good idea. But who knows if it will really work? We’ve been promised so much by the MTA already, and all we got was increased fares,” said Edith Malrone, who had been waiting for 15 minutes to take a bus home. Another commuter, Lionel Jey, says he supports the plan. “It’s not only gonna get the buses here faster, it’s also going to help with the environment.”On Tuesday, April 8th, the people of New York will wake up and find out whether or not the mayor’s congestion pricing plan made it through a slew of opponents. I can’t wait to see how fast those ads will be taken down should the plan fail to survive.
For the past 15 years Happy Wok has been the most popular Chinese restaurant in the 10451 zip code area. The restaurant sits on the corner of 157th Street and Gerard Avenue, and it has been untouchable by competitors. Over the past five years three other Chinese restaurants have opened up on the same block and were forced to close. These other new restaurants tried everything to save their business but they didn’t stand a chance against Happy Wok.
This just goes to show how new businesses operate; they slash prices and cut quality to increase sales and profit. However, it is businesses like Happy Wok that mainly focus on the quality of their food in order to keep their customers satisfied, who survive.
On Monday night, the city council passed a measure urging the Albany legislators to vote for the approval of congestion pricing. This means the city will charge an eight dollar fee to enter Manhattan below 60th Street. Great, right? Who doesn’t want fewer cars in the city? They are noisy, polluting, and everywhere. It has been promised that the revenue collected will be used to improve the bus and subway system. If you live in the outer part of the outer boroughs and travel daily into Manhattan, it may not be so great. “Commuters in our city will be able to benefit immediately from mass transit improvements that you will see literally within months,” said Mayor Bloomberg at a news conference. I live between the Neptune Avenue and Avenue X stops on the “F” line. The ride itself takes 45 minutes, plus the walk to the train and from the train to my destination. The closest express train is too far away for the shorter ride to equal a shorter total trip. Short of adding an express train, improvements to the system will do little to change anything for residents who ride this line. Two hours of travel each day is exhausting. As a remedy I purchased a Vespa. Riding along the Belt Parkway into Manhattan, travel time is cut in half. However, the city has said there are no plans as of now to charge reduced fees for scooters or motorcycles. Now we wait to see if Albany will follow the city council’s lead. Eight dollars a day just to go to work or school or two hours or more of traveling? I imagine there will be many drivers asking themselves the same question, debating what is more important, time or money.
If you’re looking to get a basic cup tea or something far more exotic, then look no further to T Salon, located in the Chelsea Market. There is perhaps no tea that can’t be found within this establishment as, once inside, it seems to be a vital component for supporting the ceilings.
In addition to selling over 400 different blends of tea in looseleaf, which are stored within a multitude of large glass containers lining the inside walls, the “Salon” also sells coffee, alcoholic beverages and gourmet food that includes tea ingredients. “[Miriam Novelle] trained me to be knowledgeable about the teas but the most difficult part was memorizing some of the names,” said Jaya Saliem, the manager of T Salon. All employees at the Salon are required to be proficient with each of the teas’ names, backgrounds and medicinal purposes.
Operating for several years in Soho since its establishment in 1992, it then moved two more times until re-opening in the Meatpacking District in May, 2007.
One of the Salon’s staples is its ccommitment to the environment. The interior’s construction is composed of bamboo, which is produced with little to no environmental damage. Ink used for printing on all of the store’s products is derived from soy, which is both non-toxic and biodegradable. Many of the cups used for selling tea are made from “corn plastic” that is made from, you guessed it, corn, and is also eco-friendly.
In addition to the upscale clientele that visit the store like Anne Hatheway, Sandra Bernhart, Whoopi Goldberg and Giselle Bundchen, it’s the everyday customers, according to Mr. Saliem, that make working at T Salon a pleasure. “[Everyone] is young and respectful. There isn’t a sense that we’re on different levels…we call people by their first name.”
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