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Checking in with Christo and Dora's latest red-tailed hawk offspring this afternoon...
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To date, I've still only seen two of the three babies... will check in with Goggla for more about this.
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Photos today by Bobby Williams
"We tried to warn management many months ago about these safety issues with the new bikes but were completely ignored," wrote one mechanic and TWU representative in an e-mail to his coworkers last month (he asked that his name be withheld for fear of employer retaliation). "We do not want to be blamed for the catastrophic failure that is the Motivate bike."
“We have determined that the forks in our new bike fleet — the part that holds the front wheel in place — have been wearing faster than expected,” Citi Bike said in its email.
“It's not from high usage,” a Citi Bike staffer with knowledge of its fleet told the Daily News. “To a lot of the mechanics, it means that the company is interested in replenishing the system with bikes of lower quality.”
Parts that hold the rear wheel in place on the new bikes were becoming “skewed and uneven” to the point that it could result in “catastrophic axle breaks and premature hub/wheel failure,” according to the email.
Don't freak out, but I died on Sunday. You can now reach me via the Ouija board. Will do hauntings for a buck. ❤️u pic.twitter.com/4x01HWTYGT
— Lorraine Levine (@ask_lorraine) May 23, 2016
First tweet and I already fucking hate Twitter!
— Lorraine Levine (@ask_lorraine) April 30, 2015
If Icon refuses to do so, the tenants – represented by the Urban Justice Center and Manhattan Legal Services – will file lawsuits against the landlord.
For years now, Icon Realty has been aggressively displacing rent-regulated tenants to make room for ultra-high rent paying tenants. Like other bad-acting landlords, Icon Realty has exposed tenants to hazardous health and safety threats, brought dozens of lawsuits against tenants, and continue to deny tenants their right to live in these buildings without fear of extreme tactics to remove them.
“After hearing from several tenant leaders in the last few weeks, Icon has added a new position of Building Safety Manager, to serve as an internal safety coordinator and tenant safety advocate. Icon has hired Felipe Olmeta to serve in that role. He started on Monday, May 16th. Felipe has a breadth of experience in the field of construction and construction protocols. Felipe will report directly to both of us and have vast discretion for tenant safey and as an advocate for tenants. Felipe will focus on 445 east 9th and 57 2nd Avenue at first, before expanding his role to other buildings.”And:
Icon Realty Management is committed to building safety for its tenants and workers. As Icon works on repairs and renovations in several of its buildings, we have taken tenants concerns seriously and want to ensure that safety is the top priority.
East Village: 680.3 garbage complaints and 572.9 rodent complaints per square mile, 75.5 noise complaints per 1,000 residents
Chinatown: 486.5 garbage complaints and 344.2 rodent complaints per square mile, 47.8 noise complaints per 1,000 residents
“Reopening is extremely poignant for me,” Ms. Levinson said. “But it doesn’t change what happened. The day that the building collapsed, I did not mourn the loss of my business. I haven’t mourned the loss of my business for one day. It’s just a business.” She added: “When I think about what happened to us, I don’t think about us, I think about what happened to the young men.”
She bowed her head and her shoulders heaved with sobs. The two young men, Mr. Locón and Mr. Figueroa, she said, are constantly on her mind.
“I don’t want it to be an opening with fireworks and fanfare,” she continued after a pause. “We are insignificant compared to the impact this had, compared to what happened to the families and loved ones. We’re French fries.”
This store was founded in 1918 by my grandfather, who came through Ellis Island in 1910. The neighborhood was very different. It was very Eastern European and more solidly Ukrainian than it is now.
I was born in this neighborhood and lived here until I was 6, when we moved up to Rockland Country. And I moved back here when I was 18 for college and such. But because of the shop here and being a child in this family you were recruited to work every free moment that you had. Me and my sister spent almost every weekend in the shop growing up. So I was always in and out of the city most of the time.
I moved to Colorado for 15 years and lived a very different life. The objective of some people who live here is how to get out, so I moved and then I was brought back in again. My dad passed away [in 2003] and I got the call, “Okay, what are we gonna do now,” so I came back. I live a couple blocks away now. Moving back has been an adjustment but I love New York and I love the shop.
In the beginning the store catered to those who didn’t speak a lick of English, to help them assimilate into New York life. My grandfather was catering to people who needed virtually everything. It was like a PC Richards, in a way. The old Gramophone that’s up in the corner of the shop was cutting-edge technology at the time. That’s what he was selling. He even sold washing machines. You name it and he was selling it — everything that people needed to live in New York.
The building ... has 21 apartments and two retail spaces, both occupied by a dentist’s office, with a lease expiring next year. Only six of the residential units are free-market and the rest are rent-stablized with average monthly rents of approximately $1,500.
“The seller is a local businessman who has owned the building since the early 1980s,” said Lev Mavashev of Alpha Realty, who represented the buyer in the deal. “He is planning for retirement and decided to capitalize in this market. The buyer is a local private investor with numerous holdings in the area. When I called the buyer on this deal, he immediately recognized the opportunity to purchase a building with plenty of unrealized potential and jumped on it, especially in this location.”
Mr. Mavashev said the buyer wanted to “add to his holdings in the area.”
The Sixth Street CSA has been in existence since 1996, and our members consistently have access to some of the freshest and best quality produce available. From June to November, our partner farms, Hepworth Farms in Ulster County, New York, and Catalpa Ridge Farm in Sussex County, New Jersey, provide over 200 varieties of fruits, vegetables, and herbs.
At Sixth Street, we believe that all neighborhood residents should have access to fresh, organic, local produce, regardless of their level of income. Our CSA operates on a sliding scale model, and member fees are determined based on the income level of your household. This sliding scale model is made possible in part thanks to a generous grant from Wholesome Wave.
CSA pick-ups are every Tuesday from 5pm-9pm at Sixth Street Community Center, located at 638 E Sixth Street between Avenue B and C.
The NYPD's Hate Crime Task Force is investigating a potential ant-Muslim harassment case after an outrageous sign was discovered on the Upper East Side.
Police are looking for the suspect who hung the sign that read, "Muslims must wear identity jackets at all times," and placed a yellow jacket next to it.
The sign was found near the ambassador of Yemen's residence.
Police have canvassed the area with signs asking for any help identifying who put that sign there.
Finally — the world's largest display of diversity, Dance Parade kicks off at 1 pm THIS SATURDAY!!
For many it will be the best day of the year — despite the rainy forecast. Why? Because there are few places on earth where so many proudly express, through movement, their freedom and artistry. Dance Parade serves to keep dance alive in New York City!
We will shine bright even if it's a little wet here and there ... don't let the excuse of some grey skies keep you away. Come out and join the fun ....
Greg Miller
Executive Director
Dance Parade, Inc.
I live on Second Avenue between 11th and 12th streets. Verizon has been testing their emergency generator on the roof of 204 Second Ave., between 12th and 13th streets for the past year or so. The noise from the generator is incredibly loud, like the sound of a jet engine at close range.
The DEP told me that by code, the emergency generator must be tested at least once a month. The tests last an hour or more each time. There is no predictability when the testing will take place. Verizon has turned the generator on very early Sunday mornings, and sometimes in the middle of the day. On Monday, the generator came on twice, once at 5:30 in the morning, which woke us and other neighbors up, and then again around noon. Wednesday night at 7 just as we sat down for dinner, the generator went on again for about an hour.
I have taken to calling the DEP each time the generator goes on and they have offered to come to my apartment to monitor the noise level. The DEP needs to take a reading when the generator is on and when it is off to get the ambient sound level in the apartment. If there is more than a 10db difference between the two then we have a case and Verizon could be ordered to do some sound attenuation to bring the generator noise below the threshold set by code.
The DEP has been very helpful, however so far we have been unsuccessful in getting them here with a meter while the generator is running. I have taken readings on an iPhone app and have found the sound of the generator to be over 10db from the ambient noise level in our apartment.
I am wondering if anyone else in the neighborhood has taken any action. Thanks for your help!
The noise is coming from the metal chimney shown here on the south side of the Verizon Building roof.