Crystal-clear blue sky this afternoon, for an unusually large sunspot left of center, but the attempt to angle my aging telescope almost straight up was very difficult. Joanne stayed the course through about 45 minutes of agonizing adjustments, and then the sun promptly disappeared behind the clouds. The sunspot was approximately 8,000 miles in diameter, or a hundredth of the diameter of the sun.... and a view of the sunspot... ... and the size of the sunspot next to Earth for a little comparison... According to NASA: "The sun ... is roughly 109 times the diameter of the Earth — about one million Earths could fit inside the sun."
Wednesday, May 12, 2021
Today in sunspots
Christopher Meloni brings 'Law & Order' to Astor Place
Gallery Watch: 'My Snake Is Bigger Than Your Snake' at Freight + Volume
Ray's Pizza & Bagel Cafe owner eyes new concept for 2 St. Mark's Place
Another Tony's Pizza for the East Village, this one for the former Vinny Vincenz space
The Starbucks on Avenue A and St. Mark's Place has not been open lately
In late November 2015, Camaj's lawyers were reportedly talking with landlord Citi Urban Management to dispute the rent charged for the month during which they weren't open due to the gas leak. Camaj still had 10 years left on his lease and had been in court with the landlords.
He accepted a buyout in February 2016, after having been closed for nearly five months. Camaj told DNAinfo that he could no longer afford the $14,500 monthly rent.
Opinion: The overlooked stakeholders and potential bias in the Open Restaurants program
Today, the Department of City Planning and the Department of Transporation are inviting "key stakeholders" to a virtual presentation on bringing a permanent Open Restaurants program to life.
According to the invite, this is the "key first element of ... an amendment to the Zoning Resolution that will begin a public review in June."
A longtime East Village small business owner, who is not in the food-beverage industry and feels as if other retail establishments have been overlooked in the city's plans, shared some thoughts about the potential impact this might have on a neighborhood and its residents ... consider this a mini op-ed (opposing viewpoints are welcome) ...
The biggest stakeholders are actually the residents who live above or beside these sheds and must put up with them so that landlords, restaurants and bars can increase their profit margin at the expense of residents' ability to live peaceably in their homes.
These real stakeholders have been left out of the process at every turn. It creates another tale of two cities whereby those able to move and/or insulate themselves in their high rises or in areas where the COVID sheds don't exist are quite happy with the program while those who do not have that privilege must bear its burden.
And the same goes for small business and retail diversity; why would a landlord rent to a retail shop when they can rent to a cafe or bar or restaurant that will have the ability to annex additional square footage in the street? More space equals higher rents equals a bias toward renting to businesses in the hospitality industry versus retail shops.