Mouse Infestation Closes Birthplace of the Cronut

Mouse Infestation Closes Birthplace of the Cronut - NYTimes.com
By ASHLEY SOUTHALLAPRIL 4, 2014

New York City residents and tourists are apparently not alone in their love of Cronuts, those croissant-and-doughnut hybrids that have people lined up for blocks before dawn outside a SoHo bakery.

Online video showing a mouse running around in the Dominique Ansel Bakery on Spring Street, which shot to fame after its eponymous chef created the pastry, led health officials to temporarily shut the shop on Friday.

The closing was reported on Friday on the website Gothamist, which noted that the bakery had been open earlier in the day.

Inspectors from the city’s health department found a severe mouse infestation at the bakery requiring professional pest control, and the bakery cannot reopen until inspectors determine the problem has been fixed, an agency statement said.

No one answered calls to the bakery on Friday evening, butin a statement to Gothamist, a representative said employees had spent seven hours cleaning the bakery and the chef had been down on his knees searching for a mouse.

“They didn’t find anything and anticipate it may have come from the outside as we have a greenhouse and park with doors opened during the nicer weather days,” the representative said. “As you guys know, cleanliness is something that is of utmost importance to us and in the close to three years we’ve been opened we have received nothing but A’s on our health inspects.”

It was not the first time the bakery was cited for having uninvited visitors with more than two legs. It received an A grade after its last inspection in October, though inspectors found evidence of mice and flies in areas where food was prepared and served, according to health department records.

The video of the mouse was posted to YouTube on Thursday by a customer and had been viewed more than 50,000 times by Friday night.

The bakery will probably be closed over the weekend to allow workers to re-cement the basement, according to a bakery spokeswoman, who told WNBC that the bakery hoped to open on Monday after another inspection.

Pothole repair is in overdrive

Pothole repair is in overdrive

Spring is in the air

Ran into a pack of bike riders on their way to the boardwalk.  Spring is in the air but the air is cold and windy and the headwind brings tears to your eyes.  Only a few more blocks to go. Bike path is completed and a joy to ride down.

Just a bit more left to be done

When It Comes to Horse Carriages, Not All Council Members on Mayor's Side

When It Comes to Horse Carriages, Not All Council Members on Mayor's Side
WNYC News

Sunday, March 09, 2014

By Yasmeen Khan

More than a dozen City Council members or their representatives toured the Clinton Park Horse Stable on Sunday, to view for themselves how the 78 horses that reside there are kept and cared for.

Mayor Bill de Blasio has called for an end horse-drawn carriage rides in Central Park, which prompted the horse carriage industry to respond by flinging wide open the doors to its stables.

"We are an open book," said Stephen Malone, spokesman for the Horse and Carriage Association of New York. Malone said he has also invited the mayor to tour the stables.

Councilman Daneek Miller, who was last year elected to represent District 27 in Queens, said he is concerned about preserving jobs for the carriage drivers, and was not quite ready to see a piece of New York City's history fade away for good.

"You need to be able to come in and understand whether or not this is an industry that needs to continue to exist and whether or not they bring something to the city and its vibrancy, and I think that the answer is yes," he said.

The carriage industry employs about 300 drivers, not all of them full-time.

Tony Salerno said he started driving a horse-drawn carriage in Sicily when he was 16. He said he has been a carriage driver in New York City for 30 years and now manages the stable on 38th Street.

Tony Salerno has been a carriage driver for more than 30 years in New York City. (credit: Yasmeen Khan)

"When you work 30 years with a horse you become a horse too," said Salerno, adding that drivers treat the horses as their own children. 

"The horse? They love to stay in the city," he said. "It's nice, the city's very sexy now. Beautiful."

But animal activists have been working for decades to end horse-drawn carriages in the city, saying that subjecting the animals to urban life and city traffic is inhumane. The group NYCLASS wants the carriages replaced with electric antique cars.

Along with the mayor, Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito supports a ban. She has not indicated when the issue would be put on the Council's agenda. She previously sponsored a bill on the issue but has yet to re-introduce the legislation to the new Council.

Brooklyn Boxer Rises, but Her Feet Stay on the Ground

Brooklyn Boxer Rises, but Her Feet Stay on the Ground - NYTimes.com

Heather Hardy tugged at her skirt as she explained what happened to it.

“The day after Sandy, we found this skirt floating around the living room,” said Ms. Hardy, 32, who was living on her mother’s couch at the time of the hurricane. The skirt had blood on it, she said, because “I’d fought in it three days before and gotten a head butt that needed stitches.”

Months before the storm, she and her daughter, Annie, 9, had lost most of their belongings in an apartment fire. The flood, which destroyed her parents’ house — along with others in their working-class neighborhood — took almost everything else.

But not the skirt. “I couldn’t get rid of it,” she said. “It was my debut skirt from my first professional fight.”

After years of struggle, Ms. Hardy is a rising force in professional boxing and has become a source of pride in Gerritsen Beach, the tightknit Brooklyn neighborhood where her family’s roots stretch back six generations.

She did not walk into a boxing gym until 2010, but has won all nine of her pro fights, the Universal Boxing Federation international super bantamweight title, a 2011 national championship and a 2012 Golden Gloves award. She is the first woman to sign a long-term promotional deal with Lou DiBella, a high-profile boxing promoter with a roster of top-ranked male boxers.

In the ring, the petite, 5-foot-5 boxer is a formidable brawler, wearing the colors of Ireland and two blond braids. “I’m not a pretty fighter,” she said. “I fight like a boy.” She is intent on putting on a good show: People may come to see the male headliner, “but I have to make them remember the girl,” she said. Her fans, especially those from Gerritsen Beach, are passionate at her fights. Celebrities — including 50 Cent, Rosie Perez and Susan Sarandon — have been in the audience.

Ms. Hardy is among a growing number of female boxers carving out space in a male-dominated sport. But it is not easy.

The Expert (Short Comedy Sketch)

So very, very funny especially if you've found yourself in such a meeting.

An overturned tractor trailer caused major backups on the BQE

 An overturned tractor trailer caused major backups on the BQE in Brooklyn early Wednesday.

The crash happened around 4:30 a.m. on the northbound side the highway, just past Atlantic Avenue, where the northbound lanes travel above the southbound lanes.

A, C, And F Trains Face More Closures For Hurricane Sandy Repairs

A, C, And F Trains Face More Closures For Hurricane Sandy Repairs: Gothamist

As if it weren't enough that Hurricane Sandy has reduced the R train to a work of fiction and the G train to an even more mythical beast, the A, C and F trains are set to become as abominable as ever in the coming year, with the MTA planning extensive repairs on all three lines. Though by then, the Earth will probably be a swampy, soupy mess, and we can just travel from ruin to ruin by lava-proof boat. These are the dreams that keep you afloat when the F mystically morphs into an E mid-commute.

Though the MTA has no exact time frame as to when this will commence, a spokesman tells us they expect to begin repairs on the Cranberry (A and C) and Rutgers (F) tunnels sometime after work on the R train finalizes, which is supposedly in October. Then, you can expect the closures, detours and shuttle buses to roll in, as the MTA tells us with partial shutdowns are planned on all three lines over the course of several weekends.

There is good news—the MTA says the A/C and F closures "won't require round-the-clock work." But there is also bad news—the Clark Street Tunnel and Canarsie Tube were also damaged during the Hurricane, which means we can probably expect more shutdowns on the 2,3 trains and the L train in the future. (The MTA tells us there are no plans to close the lines "yet," but we've been burned too many times).

Now is an excellent time to quit your job, build a bar in your own home and stay indoors forever until your body fuses with the sofa like those creepy sea creatures in Pirates of the Caribbean.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips

More Outages for Sandy Repairs Await G Train Riders in Brooklyn and Queens - NY1

More Outages for Sandy Repairs Await G Train Riders in Brooklyn and Queens - NY1
(Excerpt)
Then get ready for this summer, when they'll endure five weeks with no service at all between the boroughs, as crews finish repairing the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy in the tube that links Court Square in Long Island City to Nassau Avenue in Greenpoint. That's scheduled to go from July 26 to September 1.

Officials Talk Crash Prevention at Packed Brooklyn Vision Zero Town Hall

Officials Talk Crash Prevention at Packed Brooklyn Vision Zero Town Hall | Streetsblog New York City

Last night, Brooklynites filled Borough Hall, spilling into an overflow room for a Vision Zero town hall meeting with elected officials and city agency staffers. Among those on hand were Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg, NYPD Chief of Transportation Thomas Chan, Public Advocate Letitia James, and Borough President Eric Adams. Streetsblog wasn’t able to make it to the forum, but here’s a snapshot of what unfolded and how elected officials reacted, based on reports from attendees and the Twitterverse.

Like most Vision Zero town halls, the event did not feature groundbreaking policy announcements, but instead helped solidify the city’s commitment to addressing traffic violence, as electeds heard from dozens of Brooklynites concerned about dangerous streets.

Days after DOT identified Atlantic Avenue as one of its Vision Zero priorities, Brooklynites testified last night about other streets they want the city to redesign. Public Advocate Letitia James joined the public in listing streets she wanted prioritized for safety fixes, including Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues, Eastern Parkway and Empire Boulevard, where 5-year-old Roshard Charles was killed by a hit-and-run driver last month.

Jean Ryan of Disabled in Action of Metropolitan New York estimated that about 50 people spoke. “It was mostly dealing with specific problems or intersections,” she said. Much of the testimony came from Brooklynites who have either been injured by drivers or lost family members to traffic violence, including Roshard Charles’ mother, Rochelle.

“Albany does not live on Albany Avenue in Brooklyn, while children are dying,” Borough President Eric Adams said, urging the state to hand over control of speed limits and automated enforcement to the city.

After the event, Council Member David Greenfield tweeted that his favorite idea of the night was a zero-tolerance crackdown by NYPD on drivers who park on sidewalks. “We have to admit that the bulk of the problems come from the drivers,” he said.

“It’s not an ‘accident waiting to happen.’ It’s a ‘preventable crash waiting to happen.’ Let’s prevent it,” Council Member Brad Lander tweeted after hearing testimony last night.

Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan Take Photos All Over NYC

Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan Take Photos All Over NYC - ABC News

Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen, 74, co-starred in two Broadway plays this year, but their chemistry really shines during the adventures they had together around New York City.

Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen Get in the Super Bowl Spirit

Stewart, 73, posted the last photo of himself and McKellen waving goodbye on the Coney Island Boardwalk Sunday, capping off a two-week stream of pictures of the "X-Men" actors that counted down the days until the end of their Broadway residency. The pair starred in productions of "Waiting for Godot" and "No Man's Land," and the two British acting legends used their temporary stay in New York to visit a few of the city's landmarks.

Between excitedly hugging on Coney Island's Wonder Wheel, visiting Katz's Deli and holding hands in front of the historic Stonewall Inn, the pair raise the bar significantly higher for adorable friendships between co-stars, and made a strong case for the bowler hat as a casual fashion accessory

New York's Citi Bike Program Releases Historical Trip Data

New York's Citi Bike Program Releases Historical Trip Data | TechPresident

(Excerpt)

Until now, the only data developershad been able to access and scrape has been bike rack location data and a data feed with information on the availability of bikes in the docks, explained Noel Hidalgo, co-founder and executive director of betaNYC, New York City's Code for America brigade, which has compiled a list of existing Citi Bike applications on GitHub.

"Now one of the things they're finally getting to is a sanitized, cleaned up version of trip data since the launch of the program," he said. The data includes trip duration, trip start time and date, stop time and date, start and end station names, the station ID, the station latitude and longitude, the bike ID, the type of customer and their year of birth.

Bright 'N Green Development In Brighton Praised, But Developer Mocked » Sheepshead Bay News Blog

Sheepshead Bites » Blog Archive Bright 'N Green Development In Brighton Praised, But Developer Mocked » Sheepshead Bay News Blog

by Ned Berke on Apr 1st, 2014

Rendering of the completed development.

We’ve written before about Brighton Beach’s Bright ‘N Green development, a sustainable residential development with state-of-the-art green design.

The eco-friendly building at 67 Brighton First Lane was approaching completion last fall, and the six units ranging in price from $325,00 to $850,000 hit the market in November.

No one has bought one yet, but the building has drawn the eyes of environmentalists, who are praising it for its net positive design, meaning it will actually sell energy back into the grid. It also has a number of other features, like an independent sewage system that composts human waste for the gardens outside, massive solar panels, sustainable and recycled materials and more – while not sacrificing luxury.

The features have earned it certification for LEED, EPA, four Green Globes and other honors for environmental design. It’s currently in the running for Living Building certification, the most extreme building standard in the nation, and if it earns it Bright ‘N Green will be the first multifamily development in the country to do so.

But while such things might normally attract endless chatter in the design and environmental cliques, it’s the developer himself who has tongues wagging.

As we’ve noted before, Robert Scarano isn’t the most reputable character in New York City real estate. A decade ago, the architect was banned by the Department of Buildings for submitting false and misleading paperwork, and he spurred a crackdown on and reforms of the self-certification process. He became the poster child for abuses in over-development and the Building Department’s lax oversight.

Bette Midler sings The Rose

Allan Shweky's pin on Pinterest.

ARCHIVE: Only the ghosts remain of the Boardwalk Community Garden in Coney Island

Dense screening surrounds the site but this photo shows how efficient wasthe removal of all vestiges of the garden.

Photo by Stephenson

The boardwalk sky threatened rain early Sunday morning but the knock on the door of the Boardwalk Community Garden came in the quiet darkness of an early Saturday morning.  The end of this community garden that should have been a part of the neighborhood's comeback after the wrath of Sandy was swift and merciless.  The destruction was complete.

Hurricane Sandy wasn't as destructive.  Nothing remained.

This is what is left of a vibrant community resource that stood in the way of Marty Markowitz's pompous personal vision of the future of his Coney Island that could not coexist with a few modest dreams of residents who cared about their community.

By Plotting Journeys, Providing a Glimpse at Citi Bike Ridership

By Plotting Journeys, Providing a Glimpse at Citi Bike Ridership - NYTimes.com

Since its introduction last May, the Citi Bike program has attracted 100,000 annual members but far fewer daily subscribers than expected, a combination that has contributed to the system’s precarious finances as operators look to expand.

The math is simple: Regular riders strain the system through repeated use, leading to higher costs. A new data visualization project demonstrates this phenomenon, and makes clear the degree to which the bike share system has become interwoven into the city’s transit network.

Using system data, the team behind the project — Sarah Kaufman of New York University’s Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management, Jeff Ferzoco of linepointpath, and Juan Francisco Saldarriaga — plotted rides as point-to-point journeys, independent of the street grid, for Sept. 17 and 18.

The weather was mild, with highs in the 60s and no rain. Roughly 75,000 total rides were taken on the two days.

Some trends to watch: the bustle near major transit hubs like Grand Central Terminal and Penn Station during the morning rush; the heavy use from annual members in Brooklyn; and tourist rides across the Brooklyn Bridge and throughout Midtown.

Little Italy is on the brink of extinction. Arriverderci.

Little Italy is on the brink of extinction | New York Post

(Excerpt)

A piece of New York City history is bidding arrivederci.

Rising rents and changing demographics have driven Little Italy to the verge of extinction. Once a teeming neighborhood stretching 50 square blocks, it now barely covers three blocks of Mulberry Street — and even that strip is under threat.

“You can’t rebuild Little Italy,” said Robert Ianniello Jr., owner of the famed Umbertos Clam House. “If we go away, it will never be here again. You can’t build an Olive Garden and say it’s Little Italy.”

Ianniello is battling a rent increase from a new landlord who bought the building last month for $17.5 million. He recently got a rent bill for $34,000 a month — more than double what he used to pay.

“It’s a landlord problem,” said Ianniello, who heads the Little Italy Merchants Association. “They think this is Fifth Avenue.”

Eight eateries have shut down in the past year.