Friday, January 18, 2019
Red alert
Debi Martini, bassist and vocalist of Red Aunts, died this past week at age 50. A cause of death was not released. The band, from Long Beach, Calif., came together in 1991 and released five records. They last played in the area back in June at Rough Trade in Brooklyn.
The clip here features SIX promo videos from their Saltbox release from 1996.
P.S.
RIP Lorna Doom
January Christmas miracles: The holiday tree lights are back ON in Tompkins Square Park
EVG reader boxysean brings us this breaking news today:
The Christmas tree lights are on! It's a New Year's miracle!
The workers were talking about how they were changing the ballast.
As previously reported, the lights went dark several days before Dec. 25, and remained off the entire holiday season. It makes sense that they are working again on this Jan. 18.
Meanwhile, the mysterious hole near the tree remains in place, mysteriously.
Updated 2:18 p.m.
Here some closeups via Goggla...
Updated 5 p.m.
Previously on EV Grieve:
At the 27th Tompkins Square Park holiday tree lightning
Pre-storm prep in Tompkins Square Park
Ahead of Harper's arrival this weekend, the squirrels of Tompkins Square Park are stocking up on essentials, including peanuts ... peanut butter ... bananas ... pizza ... Hershey's Cocoa ... Toaster Strudel ... coconut drinks ... and don't forget spoons.
Photo today by Derek Berg.
Morning reports: The MTA apparently cool with Cuomo's revised L-train rehab plan
The MTA says that it's onboard with Gov. Cuomo's plan to do away with a full shutdown of the L train between Bedford Avenue and Eighth Avenue.
This announcement came yesterday, just two days after board members called for an independent review of the new proposal.
You can read quickie recaps at the Daily News ... amNY ... and the Post, who noted that "[a]n MTA insider said the announcement had Cuomo’s fingerprints all over it."
As for that announcement, here's the official MTA news release issued last night:
As you know the MTA had previously scheduled a complete shutdown of the L Subway train beginning April 27. The disruption of service was to allow reconstruction of the two tubes between Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Late last year a design review team of international experts was brought in to review the final plan, and they proposed new construction alternatives and technology which have been used effectively in other countries and industries. The new methods and means include laser light technology to determine structural defects, smart fiber optic sensor technology, and carbon fiber wrapping to reinforce components. Some of these alternatives have not been used by the MTA before and the design integration would be an innovation for the MTA.
The design firm managing the L Subway train project from the beginning has been Parsons Brinckerhoff (now called WSP). WSP has done extensive work studying the new design alternatives and has informed the MTA (and discussed at a public meeting on January 15) that the proposed construction design alternatives are indeed applicable to the L Subway train and can significantly reduce construction time and thus the inconvenience to our riders. Therefore, the total shutdown of both tunnels and all service scheduled for April 27 will not be necessary. We do anticipate a shutdown of one tube on nights and weekends, however service both ways (between Manhattan and Brooklyn) would be scheduled 24/7.
This project is a major priority for the MTA and reconstruction will be supervised by MTA Capital Construction and overseen by MTA Managing Director Veronique Hakim. The MTA will also hire an independent consultant to oversee safety operations that will report directly to the Board. The MTA is now working with the various contractors on a new final construction schedule and contracts which delete some elements of the initial construction plan and add the new design alternatives. We do not believe the cost of reconstruction will increase, and given the tremendous benefits to the riding public, reduction in the volume of traffic and savings from the traffic mitigation efforts, it is a clear positive alternative and in the public interest.
We expect the formulation of the final construction schedule and contract completions to take several weeks. The current construction estimate is 15 to 20 months. As soon as we have more definitive information we will provide it to our customers and the public.
So no word yet on cost or the new construction schedule and other aspects of the L-tube work, such as its impact on residents who live along 14th Street between First Avenue and Avenue B. Cuomo's new plan calls for repairs to occur on nights and weekends, when workers will close one tube at a time with trains running every about 20 minutes or so.
At the MTA board meeting Tuesday, Manhattan Borough President "seemed exasperated over the many unanswered questions." Per the Times: "This is better than ‘Law & Order,’ which we all watch on a daily basis, in terms of intrigue," she said.
So who know what will happen next. As amNY reported:
The MTA appears to be confidently moving ahead with the plans, even though the MTA board will have to approve any material changes to the contract for the work, which has long been set with contractors Judlau and TC Electric. During a public hearing earlier this week, board members expressed discomfort about voting on any redrafted contract before an independent review of the proposal was competed.
Previously on EV Grieve:
L-train non-shutdown fallout: Bike lane battle shaping up along 12th and 13th streets (54 comments)
Reminders: Here's how you can apply to be a Community Board member
Application season continues for the 2019-2021 class of Manhattan Community Board members (it started in early December). So this is your your chance to be part of your local Community Board (CB3!).
Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer's office sent out a reminder yesterday about the applications, which are due Feb. 8. Per the EVG inbox:
Interested in what gets built in your community and how government works to deliver services in your neighborhood? Apply to join one of Manhattan's 12 Community Boards.
Every Community Board has 50 seats which are filled for two-year terms by volunteers, who are selected by the Borough President and local City Council members. Half the seats are up for appointment or reappointment every year.
Community Boards get a seat at the table in high-stakes land use, real estate, and zoning negotiations, and they work directly with city agencies to influence how government services are delivered at the neighborhood level.
If you'd like to serve as a member of your Community Board, apply online here! You can also print the application and drop it off by mail or in-person. The deadline is Feb. 8, 2019.
Per the application: "Community board members must live, work, go to school or have some other significant interest in the community board in which they want to serve."
Back in November, voters said "yes" to Proposal 3, which imposes term limits for the volunteers who sit on Community Boards.
Previously on EV Grieve:
The community board-State Liquor Authority drinking game
How can I really be expected to post today when New York will be a snowy, freezing hell this weekend?
Thank you New York Post for that headline.
And what the paper reports about the weather possibilities:
A fast-moving storm will dump an inch of snow an hour on the city starting at 6 p.m. Saturday and possibly into Sunday, when rain — and then an arctic blast — will turn the Big Apple into a treacherous tundra.
Flakes will fall “hard and quick” before turning to rain sometime between midnight and 3 a.m. Sunday, meteorologists said.
And another take with illustrations...
The NWS has issued a Winter Storm Watch for NYC. Our NY1 official forecast is for 2-4" of snow with snow changing to rain, followed by a flash freeze Sunday night. Conditions will be changeable. pic.twitter.com/Rx8YSJt3SD
— Erick Adame (@ErickAdameOnTV) January 17, 2019
Perhaps the biggest weather story unfolding for NYC is the Dangerous Cold on the way. Snow Saturday night could accumulate briefly but look at the Arctic Blast that arrives Sunday night and peaks on Monday. pic.twitter.com/118nSyRBtQ
— Erick Adame (@ErickAdameOnTV) January 17, 2019
The area is currently under a Winter Weather Watch. There is a 90 percent chance of unbridled media hysteria and random grocery purchases.
Previously on EV Grieve:
How can I really be expected to post today when the Storm of Feb. 9™ is here?
How can I really be expected to post today when heavy thunderstorms are likely on the way?
How can I really be expected to post today when 78 degrees™ is on the way?
Thursday, January 17, 2019
NYPD offering reward for info in this morning's armed robbery of an off-duty cop on 13th Street
[Photo by Steven]
Police are offering up to a $2,500 reward for information about the early-morning attempted armed robbery on 13th Street (outside No. 208) between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. (Read our earlier post on this here.)
According to multiple published reports, an off-duty NYPD officer was walking home after his shift when a man carrying a gun approached him and demanded his phone.
Per the Post:
When he refused to hand it over, the brute allegedly struck him several times in the head with the weapon, causing lacerations. He fled empty-handed, cops said.
The officer was taken to Bellevue Hospital Center with non-life-threatening injuries.
The thief, who remains at large, is described as a black man in his 20s who was last seen wearing a blue jacket with a yellow hood, black pants and gray sneakers.
Here's a handout of the suspect via the NYPD...
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Anyone with information that could help in the investigation is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You may also submit tips online.
Updated: Reader reports of an armed robbery on 13th Street
[Reader-submitted photo]
There's little (to no) information at the moment about an armed robbery that took place on 13th Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue early this morning just after 6.
There are multiple reader reports that the NYPD shut down the block to traffic ... these photos are via Salim...
The first report hit the Citizen app at 6:06 a.m. The details, including the address, changed several times over the course of 40 minutes, though there were reports of a search for a man with a gun. There was also a report that the victim was taken to a local hospital.
There aren't any media reports at the moment... and the police weren't talking to inquisitive neighbors on the block. Will update the post when more information is available.
Updated noon
Sources tell @nikreport: an off-duty NYPD officer was beaten & robbed at gunpoint around 6am this morning. Happened on E. 13th St & 2nd Ave. The officer suffered lacerations to the face and was taken to Bellevue Hospital. No arrests at this time. @PIX11News
— Morena Basteiro (@morenabasteiro) January 17, 2019
Updated 12:30 p.m.
The Daily News reports that an off-duty NYPD officer was the victim.
The 28-year-old cop was walking near Third Ave. and 13th St. about 5:45 a.m. when a gun-toting thief ran up on him and demanded his valuables.
The cop fought back — and the suspect used his gun to give the officer a vicious pistol-whipping before running away.
The officer was taken to Bellevue with cuts to his face and head.
Updated 2:05 p.m.
Exclusive: Police say this man robbed an off duty #NYPD officer this morning at gunpoint. @PIX11News pic.twitter.com/scfLcs7tix
— nicole johnson (@nikreport) January 17, 2019
Updated 5:30 p.m.
Police are distributing these flyers around the scene of the crime... there's is up to a $2,500 reward for info about the suspect...
[Photo by Steven]
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Anyone with information that could help in the investigation is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You may also submit tips online.
Rue-B's daytime service now includes CBD-infused coffee
We posted about this during the December holiday break... so it might be worth repeating: Rue-B, the jazz lounge-restaurant at 188 Avenue B, has added a daytime coffee service here between 11th Street and 12th Street.
This particular sign on the door is new since our last look... they are beta testing coffee and — an increasingly trendy add-in — CBD. Per the sign, "survey participants receive a free cup of CBD coffee" ...
CBD Coffee received a lot of buzz, so to speak, last year. (Cannabidiol is, basically, the compound in marijuana that doesn’t get you high.) Several NYC establishments serve CBD-infused coffee and drinks and pastries and lollipops. (By CHLOE debuted 25-plus menu items featuring CBD — the "Feelz by Chloe" line — in September.)
Anyway, the compound found in the cannabis plant is reputed to combat inflammation, insomnia and anxiety. However, Jeff Chen, director of the UCLA Cannabis Research Initiative, told The Wall Street Journal last September that much is still unclear on the science behind CBD’s purported effects.
Still, Willie Nelson is a proponent. He launched his own line of CBD-infused coffee last summer. And there are new CBD drinks bearing Bob Marley's name.
High Times, however, wrote that it "has to be the Dumbest of all Coffee Trends."
Café Rue-B is open every day from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and, per the door signage, offers coffee/tea, pastries and free WiFi.
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