1st PRECINCT COUNCIL MEETING Safety Tips>> TEXTING AND WALKING

At last night's 1st Precinct Community Council meeting, Captain Brendan Timoney (pictured)
spoke about the dangers of texting and walking.
Indeed TD2 Officer Jimmy Rudolph spoke about a woman who was run over in the subway( miraculously not killed) who was texing and walking, and fell on to the subway tracks and run over by a train.
From the NY Post story:
Dye had been texting in the Broadway-Lafayette Station in Soho at about 10 a.m. Thursday when she slipped on the wet platform and fell onto the tracks — just as a southbound B train was rolling into the station.
Workers cut power to the track and freed Dye, who was under the train but not hit by its wheels.
The 25-year-old South Carolina native, who now lives in Bed-Stuy, had been scheduled to perform Friday night at a Valentine’s Day show at The Stand in Gramercy Park.

Captain Brendan Timoney

So Please don't Drink and Drive

and 

Don't Text and Walk 

for more info on the 1st Precinct Community Council see the website

www.1stprecinctcc.org

Our next meeting is March 27th.6:30pm at the 1st Precinct

Downtown Post NYC archive JESSICA LAPPIN Downtown Alliance President

Jessica Lappin, former council member who ran for Manhattan Boro President, has been 
appointed to be the new president of the Alliance for Downtown New York. The Downtown 
Alliance is the largest BID( business improvement district) in the country.  
During her campaign Lappin made a point of understanding the important issues downtown 
she had a command of the issues including: land use, planning, parks and 
infrastructure.  She was also the only public school parent in the boro president race.  

Jessica Lappin at Meet and Greet in the Financial District June 2013 

"The transformation unfolding in Lower Manhattan is inspiring,” Lappin said in the statement. “Few places anywhere can boast of the constellation of game-changing projects underway and nearing fruition. Lower Manhattan is an extraordinary place. Working on behalf of the area’s businesses, residents, workers and visitors will be an honor and a privilege. "

Jessica Lappin will be a big asset to the downtown community. 
See the Downtown Post for news article:   Downtown Post NYC archive

HAPPY NEWS YEAR 2014! New *Downtown Post* Blog and Newsfeed

New downtown news feed by
Downtown Post NYC.
Some key stories 
Plaza honoring Elizabeth H. Berger;
West Street pedestrian managers; 
Lawsuit tries to block Probation Dept. move to 66 John St.
Downtown Post NYC archive

City Hall Park Fountain
Mayoral Inauguration City Hall Plaza today, January 1st.
Police Commissioner Inauguration tomorrow, January 2nd

       Downtown Post lists street closures and parking restrictions.

To get that up to date info 
Downtown Post NYC is emailed Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. 

To subscribe, click.  here

Congrats Terese Loeb for creating!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YORK 2014

Typically this blog is for downtown items, but for the holidays the focus is the famous Wollman Rink 

with a typical NYC winter image; skaters practicing on the open air rink. The team is Central Park Ice and they are a synchronized skating team. The team is relatively new and growing in size and stature; collecting more medals every year. To see the team in action, click on this link.

Something relatively unique for NYC. 

Just another little interesting  piece of the city. 

Happy Holidays!!

 

Central Park Ice at Wollman Rink

News and video links

DNAinfo Central Park Ice story

Central Park Ice at Rock Center Skating Rink

HAPPY THANKSGIVING and ZELDA

Battery Park has many things, its own conservancy,  a  restaurant, the ferry boat launch to the Statue of Liberty, a number of memorials, Castle Clinton ( that was once a military fort, beer garden, exhibition hall, theater, public aquarium, and finally today a national monument) and a turkey named Zelda. She is a somewhat famous character in Lower Manhattan with her own Wikipedia page:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zelda_(turkey)

She has lived almost 10 years in Battery Park. 

During her stay she has taken several day trips as far as Tribeca and Greenwich Village. 

Just another special aspect of Lower Manhattan. 

Happy Thanksgiving!!

911 Never Forget.....

Today marks 12 years since the attack; it is a time for remembrance.
My colleague Aggie Kenny drew this poignant portrait of the cross,
that was created in the destruction of that day.

Gus, the Central Park Zoo Polar Bear, Is Dead - Lenox Hill - DNAinfo.com New York

Gus, the Central Park Zoo Polar Bear, Is Dead - Lenox Hill - DNAinfo.com New York
Normally I do not post things about "uptown" news on this blog but due to today's news that Gus, the beloved Polar Bear from the Central Park Zoo died, I made an exception.
25 years ago I was hired by the New York Times to do a series of drawings about New York City for the Metropolitan Diary section. During the assignment I wandered about the city looking for key scenes; scenes that were quintessentially New York, and Gus the Polar Bear fit that bill.
Here he is sunning himself on the rocks at the Central Park Zoo.  I spent several days at the zoo and the bear always had a crowd of fans, pointing, photographing, oohing and aahing over him. He was quite the popular bear,
it is sad to see him go.

New York Times Endorsements, Squadron and Brewer

Once in a while I get a nice shot of a few politicians who support and represent downtown, and here are several who were endorsed by the New York Times.
New York Times endorsement link

 The Gail Brewer watercolor was done during a Robin Forst fundraiser. Robin is running for district leader of Lower Manhattan. It was nice to see an elected official from uptown show interest in our downtown area, the race for our district leader and Robin Forst.  Gail Brewer seeks the Manhattan Boro President office.  The Squadron/Stringer/Maloney illustration was drawn during Squadron's swearing-in ceremony on January 25th 2009, in the depths of our economic nadir. Thankfully things have improved and Senator Squadron has had success during  his first term in Albany representing Lower Manhattan. He has been a vocal advocate for downtown and now seeks the Public Advocate office.

Council member Gail Brewer endorsed by the
NY Times for Manhattan Boro President

State Senator Daniel Squadron and Scott Stringer
both endorsed by the NY Times

Chin- Rajkumar Debate

Last night's debate between current Councilmember Margaret Chin and challenger Jennifer Rajkumar-sponsored by the Downtown Express and the Villager- could only be described as chaotic, cacophonous and dare I say at times, somewhat crazy. It showed how divided the district is, 

how divided the issues. At times people from the audience would bark out "liar" when Rajkumar made claims about her record, would boo Chin when discussing  the NYU expansion plans. I don't think anyone in that room had their minds changed. The moderators had trouble controlling the audience and particularly one of the candidates. For a person who typically covers the staid courts, it was a memorable experience, however I am not sure how informative it was. 

Council member Margaret Chin and candidate Jenifer Rajkumar

Below is are recent stories I could find about the candidates in the NYC media,

NY Post Rajkumar story

DNAinfo Chin Danny Chen story
NY Daily News Chin Counterfeit Bill story
NY Post Chin Counterfeit Bill story

Liz Berger

Liz Berger 1960-2013
I knew Liz Berger for almost 15 years. Our daughters were part of the first class at Downtown Little School. Liz was always a dynamic presence. She battled cancer in 2003 and won the fight, then yesterday, almost exactly 10 years later, sadly she passed away.  As the Downtown Alliance President she forged many novel ideas about the development of downtown, and promoted downtown in numerous ways.  Also Liz always looked fabulous. Every time I would see her, notice her wonderful shoes; she had so many great ones.
Below is one of the drawings I was able to capture of her great shoes. I think these are the Pancaldi pair from about 1987, still looking fabulous.
Liz leaves me with 4 thoughts about how she lived life,

1. Live your life to the fullest
2. Set your standards high
3. Leave your mark
4. and, always wear good shoes.