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Mayor Koch WAS New York City

Mayor Koch WAS New York City published on

koch

Red Hook, Brooklyn

Whether you loved him or hated him, nobody who lived in NYC in the 70’s could ever imagine a New York without Mayor Koch. That’s because Ed Koch WAS New York.

Born in The Bronx to Jewish Eastern European immigrant parents, his story was much the same as my parents, your parents or any other New Yorker you might find riding the subway. But that’s not why he was NYC. Ed Koch was New York personified because he took on the characteristics of the city at that time. The guy had chutzpah that you don’t find these days.

A few words to sum up Koch/NYC.

Bold
Loud
Outspoken
Funny
Eccentric
Rude
Aggressive
Arrogant
Motivated
No-bullshit
Defiant
Headstrong
Sarcastic
Non-conformist

RIP, Mayor Koch. I may not have always agreed with you, but your years running this joint will always be my favorite ones.

New York 2013

New York 2013 published on

Let’s say we survive this Mayan inspired apocalypse tomorrow. What do you think is in store for us come 2013?

Well, I’m a hit-or-miss psychic but here are my predictions (more like observations) on the near future in local areas.

First, a slight backtrack to 2012 and said apocalypse. I remember reading a Nostradamus predictions on the subject a few years ago. It’s in one of my books that are still packed in a tote box in the basement years after moving. Anyway, I was relieved to find that according to Nostradamus, the 2012 destruction of earth isn’t one single event that immediately ends it all but rather a series of cataclylsmic occurrences around the globe. If I remember correctly, many would be wiped out, but not all would perish.

So, ok. Nostradamus may have been on to something there.

Moving forward, I think New York will survive and flourish as she always does. Armageddon or not, you just can’t hold New York down.

Don’t know if you realize this, but there are STILL people living without heat and electric. Many homes that were not torn down are not safe to live in, so I just want to take this opportunity to say that help is still very much needed for Sandy victims. Just because this blog and the media has moved on doesn’t mean they are not still struggling. If you were thinking that you missed out on volunteering or donating, think again.

Ok, the future!

Crazy real estate prices. That’s the present, I don’t have to be psychic to see that. Areas such as Bed Stuy, Crown Heights and Flatbush that were on the verge of affordable have hit the million mark. Rental prices have increased as well. I told you to buy a brownstone in Bed Stuy back when they were $650k. What were you waiting for??

I’m not going to put my money were my mouth is (because it’s tied up in Rockaway) but I’m thinking East Flatbush and Broadway Junction (pretty much East New York) will be the next affordable areas to take off. Don’t go out and buy because I said so. My track record is 50/50.

Right now, if you’re an out of work contractor, there’s something wrong with you. Think about this. How many homes in how many areas either need a total rebuild, renovation or just renovation of one floor? That’s not just houses. There are businesses and infrastructure that have been totaled as well. It’s going to be The Year of the Contractor. And they’ll let us down like they always do. F*ckin’ contractors.

Retail will see a spike as folks start getting money back from insurance, charity and FEMA and moving back into their homes. What was lost? EVERYTHING. Clothing, furniture, appliances, artwork, kitchenware, electronics. Think about every item you own times what it would take to replace it all times how many families have to do that. The shops in hard hit areas are struggling to survive right now, but if they can hang on, 2013 can be their busiest year yet. Even food vendors, what with all the workers coming into these neighborhoods.

Farming. I heard this on NPR, so I’m stealing this “prediction”. Because of climate change, we’re going to have a harder time growing food. Land will become more valuable as food production declines. Now is the time to buy those 50 acres upstate you’ve been dreaming about. So perhaps Gerald O’Hara was right when he said “Land is the only thing that lasts”.

Unless, of course, you’re near the water. Then fuhgettaboutit.

1970’s NYC

1970’s NYC published on

W. 21st, Meatpacking District

Dirty Old 1970’s New York City is making the rounds on Facebook among friends I grew up with. It always brings a smile to my face to see images of the city of my youth that no longer exists. Their tag line? “For those who loved New York City before the 80’s took its balls away.”

Enjoy the pics.

Union Square. I remember shopping at this Mays up until the mid 80’s.

Times Square, of course.

Canal and Broadway. They knew from egg creams.

Under Brooklyn Bridge ramp, Dover Street

Car (or Van) Sharing

Car (or Van) Sharing published on

"Bronx Zoo" Zip Car near Fairway Market, Harlem, New York City

Want to take a drive to the country for the weekend? Beach for the day? How about obtaining a van for renovations? Car rental companies can be pretty pricey in New York, so it’s no surprise that car sharing options such as ZipCar have gained in popularity.

Disclosure: I’m just doing some internet research because I’ll soon be needing a van for renovations. I’ve never actually tried a car sharing company. If you have, please comment with some feedback!

It would seem that the daily price of car sharing is comparable to rentals; however, gas and insurance are included in the share. We all know that insurance is what can double the price of that rental. Let’s also remember that location, location, location is everything. Looks like car sharing may be a tad more convenient than schlepping to a rental company to pick up a car. Also, if you only need it for an hour to two, that’s cool.

If you only intend to use the car once or twice a year, car sharing may not be worth it as there is a membership fee involved.

Let’s have a look at some local companies, shall we?

ZipCar is the best known. You’ll be spending $85 to participate. $60 for the annual fee and $25 application fee. Hourly weekend rates are $14 or $125 per day.

Hertz didn’t get to where they are by making bad business decisions. They’ve entered the game with Hertz on Demand and it’s pretty competitve. There are no membership or application fees. Insurance and gas are included and weekend rates run from $8 per hour or $108 per day.

Mint Cars on Demand waives the membership fee for the first year and charges $40 annually after that. Weekend rates for an economy car are $12 per hour and $107 per day with the first 180 miles free, then .45 cents per mile after that. As with the other companies, gas and insurance are included.

Carpingo just launched in Brooklyn. Like this month. Since they are quite new, the information isn’t really out there yet, but here’s what I came up with: The founders are Brooklynites whom have been in the NYC car rental industry for 30 years. They do have cargo vans as well as cute little cars like the Fiat 500. Don’t know if this is a start up offer or they are keeping these rates, but membership is free and the application fee is waived. Gas, insurance and 180 free miles included. I see $8 per hour on a postcard I received but I don’t know if that’s weekday or weekend. Also, the postcard announces $75 in free driving if you join now. Coupon code CPG100.

Then, for my purposes, there’s always UHaul or big box hardware store truck rentals starting at $19.95 per day plus expenses. Or….man with van including a helping hand. The problem with that is getting someone reliable enough.

There are also ways to earn money by sharing your own car and of course you can rent from the following places as well. Personally, I’d feel kind of awkward messing around with someone’s privately owned vehicle rather than a large faceless company.

From what I gather, the car providers must have OnStar and the rates vary according to owner. It’s the Air BnB of car sharing.

If you are interested in offering your own car or renting someone’s private vehicle, check out these companies:

Relay Rides

Just Share It

Under Delancey

Under Delancey published on

Under Delancey Street sits an unused trolley terminal. The Delancey Underground project aims to create a subterranean public park called “The Lowline“. Get it? Because it’s the opposite of the High Line.

It could be the coolest thing in the world, but it may never see the light of day (Literally. There will be daylight streaming in.) if it doesn’t get the funding.

Watch the Kickstarter video to learn more about it.

End of Life

End of Life published on 2 Comments on End of Life

Untitled

New York has lost a bunch of history over the past 20 years but the sad news about Life Cafe is a particularly tough one.

Just nine months after losing their East Village location due to greedy landlords, now the owners must close their doors in Bushwick for the same reason. Kathy and her husband David John will not seek to open up again in another area as they plan on semi-retiring.

I frequented Life Cafe on 10th and B in the 80’s and the only reason I ever find myself in Bushwick is if I’m craving Life’s scrambled tofu for brunch. Always preferred the less cramped 10th Street space.

It should be noted that both locations opened in those neighborhoods pre-gentrification. Kathy was a pioneer on the business scene when others wouldn’t take risks in those areas.

The risk paid off both times. Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever. Thank you for bringing us Life, Kathy. You will be missed.

Bungalows For (Almost) Every Borough

Bungalows For (Almost) Every Borough published on 9 Comments on Bungalows For (Almost) Every Borough

Bungalow Court On The Bay

We all know that The Catskills have their fair share of bungalows, but what about right here in our fair city? Do you know which New York City neighborhoods still have bungalow communities?

The cute block of bungalows above is Shaler Street in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn.

City Island in The Bronx is more like a quaint seaside village than a Big Apple neighborhood. The two bungalows shown above are for sale. The one on the left is listed with Weichert for $289k and the one on the right is for sale by owner at $355k.

Well, Staten Island HAD an adorable bungalow colony right on the beach, but sadly Cedar Grove has been demolished. Out with the historic old, in with the tacky new…

Rockaway Beach Bungalows, Queens NYC

The bungalows of The Rockaways are probably the best known in the city.

It’s hard to believe, but Manhattan actually has some small single family homes left. I found these Inwood bungalows on Google satellite and was surprised to learn that they are priced under $300k when they go up for sale. Hello next project!

Correction: I confused Inwood, Queens Long Island with Inwood, NYC. 🙁

Dead Celebrities in New York

Dead Celebrities in New York published on 1 Comment on Dead Celebrities in New York

Anne Bancroft Brooks in Hawthorne, NY

Mother is visiting. One of our annual outings is to see the dead relatives in the cemeteries. All of mine are in either Beth David or Montefiore in Queens. Not that you care, but I thought it might be of interest to you to know who else is buried in New York.

Anne Bancroft and Lucille Ball: Kensico Cemetery, Valhalla

Louis Armstrong: Flushing Cemetery, Queens

James Cagney: Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Hawthorne

Harry Chapin: Huntington Rural Cemetery, Huntington

Duke Ellington: Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx

Judy Garland, Joan Crawford and Aaliyah: Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum, Hartsdale

Ben Gazarra: Woodlawn Cemetery, The Bronx

Billie Holiday: St. Raymond’s Cemetery, Bronx

Lena Horne: The Evergreens Cemetery, Brooklyn

Houdini: Machpelah Cemetery, Queens

Andy Kaufman: Beth David Cemetery, Elmont, LI

Captain Kangaroo (Am I dating myself?): Saint Joseph’s Cemetery, Babylon, LI

Jerry Orbach, Trinity, NYC

Tony Randall: Westchester Hills Cemetery, Hastings-on-Hudson

Martin Scorsese (Yeah, I know he’s not dead yet.) Moravian Cemetery, New Dorp, SI

Local Drive-In Theaters

Local Drive-In Theaters published on 2 Comments on Local Drive-In Theaters

Check out the Google today. It’s the anniversary of the drive-in theater! Raise your hand if you’re old enough to remember going to drive-ins. Yeah, my hand is raised.

Although drive-ins are few are far between these days, they still exist. I went to one while visiting my folks in Florida a few years ago. It was a drive-in megaplex, like 8 screens. People were just hanging out talking outside of their cars. WTF? Actually, I nearly got into a brawl with a woman in an indoor cinema upstate once for CHATTING ON HER PHONE DURING THE MOVIE. Man, people are friggin rude.

So, back to the topic. Here are some of the remaining drive-ins in the New York area. The norm for admission seems to be eight bucks for a double feature.

Delsea claims to be the only remaining drive-in theater in New Jersey, the place where drive-ins were invented in 1933.

Warwick Drive-In

Fair Oaks in Middletown, NY

Overlook in Poughkeepsie

Hyde Park Drive-In. This was one of the reasons I was interested in that Hyde Park house I looked at. Did I mention that there’s also a retro roller skating rink in Hyde Park?

Hi-way Drive-In, Coxsackie

Etan Patz Lives

Etan Patz Lives published on 1 Comment on Etan Patz Lives

I hope they don’t find anything in that basement. I know it would bring closure to the family of Etan Patz but if they are anything like I am, they believe he’s living a wonderful life somewhere and he just doesn’t realize who he is. He’ll be back someday it will be such a heartwarming miracle!

I was 14 when Patz disappeared from his Soho neighborhood. As dangerous as New York was at the time, kids did have more freedom than they do now. That didn’t end with Etan but it was somewhat of a wake up call. His face was plastered all over the city, a reminder to us kids to be careful.

Growing up 1970’s NYC left a few lasting impressions that are hard to let go. There were incidents that made us fearful, like Son of Sam, but there were stories that we wished would have happy endings.

I wanted Etan Patz to break the odds. Unfortunately, this 46 year old woman will probably be let down by the end of the day.

Etan, you’ll always be alive to me. God speed, Little Man!

I’m Walkin’ Here!

I’m Walkin’ Here! published on

So, this guy Matt has walked across the U.S. of A much like Forrest Gump and now he’s hitting the streets of The Big Apple. Actually, he’s nearly three months in and has covered a lot of ground. Matt’s plan is to walk every single street of the city. He’s blogging about it and taking pictures (below) along the way.

The blog is called “I’m Just Walkin’” but IMHO, he should have titled it “I’m Walkin’ Here” for the NYC bit. Whatever it’s called, it’s pretty fascinating and makes me want to do it too. Don’t worry. I won’t.

Matt reckons that he’ll have traveled 8000 miles by foot by the time he’s finished walking around the boroughs. He will have walked passed every person’s home and it will take him about two years to do so.

So how does one finance an endeavor such as this? He’s relying on the kindness of strangers and friends. He doesn’t have to pay rent as he’s taken to hobo status and crashes with buddies along the route. He is asking for donations to keep him going. You can help him along by going here.

I wonder if the dude has contacted a sneaker company to sponsor him? Can’t be a better advertisement than that.

That yard's pretty good

Manhattan Bridge tower

Bennet Court

Olean and Obie

Lindsay for Mayor

Lindsay for Mayor published on 6 Comments on Lindsay for Mayor

lindsay

How have I spent the past 46 years (minus a few) in Brooklyn and never noticed the sign on this building? It was actually my husband who noticed while driving down Bedford near Flatbush. Upon further investigation on The Internets, it turns out that Fading Ad Blog spotted it about 3 months ago. Actually, there was another sign covering Lindsay all this time, so I’m not so unobservant after all.

John Lindsay served 8 years as Mayor of New York City back when I was too young to take interest. I did find some interesting facts about the his term and the political environment 40 something years ago that are still pertinent to today.

Lindsay inherited serious fiscal problems from outgoing Mayor Robert Wagner (not the actor).  With manufacturing jobs disappearing, white flight to the suburbs and new unions taking shape, it was tough to get the city back on it’s feet.

On his first day in office, there was a transit strike. During his term there was also a teacher’s strike, a sanitation strike and sewage and drawbridge worker’s strike.

In 1969, NYC was hit with 15 inches of snow. Fourteen people died and 68 were injured.Within a day, the mayor was criticized for giving special treatment to Manhattan while the other boroughs were left hanging. Sound familiar?

1970 brought the Hard Hat Riot. Two hundred construction workers attacked students protesting the Kent State shootings and Vietnam War. Here’s where it gets interesting. Who tried to protect those students? Wall street bankers and attorneys. The cops stood by and did nothing. When the Mayor criticized the NYPD, he was called “the red mayor, a “traitor,” “Commy rat” and “bum.”

By 1971, Lindsay switched parties from Republican to Democrat. “…This step recognizes the failure of 20 years in progressive Republican politics…” He actually ran for President but as we know, he didn’t get very far.

Later in his life, after Parkinson’s Disease, heart attacks and stroke depleted Lindsay’s finances, he found himself without health insurance. In 1996 Mayor Giuliani appointed Lindsay to two largely ceremonial posts to make him eligible for municipal health insurance coverage.

All facts came from Wikipedia, so don’t blame me if they’re wrong. Thankfully, I’m too young to remember.

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