Posts tagged staten island

World AIDS Day Memorial

Today is World AIDS Day. This is a time to remember our loved ones lost to AIDS. It also serves as a poignant reminder for us all to help the 33 million people who live with this epidemic each and every hour of their day.

In honor of World AIDS Day, the clients and staff of Housing Works are reading a list of names of people who have died of AIDS. You can add a name and contribute personal stories. Join them in saying, “End AIDS now!”

10 Million Reasons To Not Mind The Marathon

The New York City Marathon might be a headache for those who want to get across town (or even cross the street) on Sunday, but it is a serious windfall for the city. And not just because of all the cash being spent on carbo-loading and tree cutting. According to Mayor Bloomberg the 26.2 mile race (and its 47,000 runners from all 50 states and 135 countries) generates more than $10 million in tax revenue. “It’s one of those events that really does set us apart,” Bloomberg said yesterday before painting the orange and blue finish line in Central Park. “The race is a major boon to our economy.”

And as far as sporting events go, it is hard to argue that the Marathon (which is watched by millions each year on TV and in person) is anything but great advertising for the city. It looks this year’s race should be as good as ever, what with a cool and sunny weather forecasted. Still, it is going to be hard to top the 2011 Chicago marathon for amazing publicity—what with one of their runners giving birth after successfully finishing the race! (via Gothamist)

New York City Marathon Aerials

The ING NYC Marathon takes place this Sunday, November 6th!  Are you going to be one of the estimated 45,000 people running?  Or one of the over 2 million spectators cheering them on?  A few Corcoran-ites are running on Sunday and a whole lot will be yelling like mad to urge them to the finish line.  To increase your excitement, check out this beautiful gallery of aerial shots of the largest marathon in the world!

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Subway Conducting But Were Afraid To Ask

Subway conductors, what do they do all day? Good question! And look, Reddit has gone and gotten a real live subway conductor to answer that question and oh so many more. Like, do conductors ever see mole people, what’s with the pointing up when trains pull into stations, what is the code for when a person has jumped in front of your train, what line is the most fun to conduct, and more. (via Gothamist)

How Long is Your Commute?

The commute times in our office range from 10 minutes all the way to two hours!  According to the American Community Survey conducted by the Census Bureau, “The New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA Metro Area had the longest average
commute, at 34.6 minutes.” And that has only increased a few minutes since 1980! How long is your daily commute? (via AutoBlog)

MTA May Shut Down Transit Service During Hurricane Irene

Yesterday the MTA proactively offered its plan for what it will do with Hurricane Irene—and that means a partial or full shut down, if things get really messy. Here’s the agency’s statement.  Even a weakened Irene would bring winds in excess of 39 miles per hour (the speed at which the MTA can’t guarantee riders safety), making it likely that the MTA will start shutting down service Saturday morning. There could be lingering delays and service outages into Monday’s morning rush hour. (via Gothamist)

Turn Gardening On Its Head

Instead of occupying precious counter space, these ceramic planters hang from the ceiling, a clever design for contemporary living.  

Cool, you say, but how do you not end up with plant guts splattered all over the floor? We wondered the same thing. The solution is simple but ingenious: Remove ready-grown plant from its container and place into Sky Planter. Once locked in place with the circular ceramic disk, flip the pot and suspend from a securely fastened ceiling hook. Voilé! An upside down plant.

Get yours at AHA Life!

Is This the Scaffolding of the Future?

The city announced that it has selected a very cool looking scaffolding, rendered above — which is called “Urban Umbrella” — as the winner of a competition for new sidewalk shed designs. So is this what we’re going to be seeing at construction sites around town going forward? According to NY1, the new design won’t be mandated but the costs for installing it are similar to those for the current scaffolding that’s used. A prototype is going to be installed at a site in Lower Manhattan. The city was looking for a design that would improve scaffolding aesthetics and let more light onto the sidewalk. (via Brownstoner)

Con Ed Braces for Outages as Heat Wave Continues

With an oppressive heat comes the immediate demand for relief — and Con Edison, the electrical utility for the New York City area, is the first one to hear those pleas from the humid masses.

A sustained heat wave means the utility  sees a marked spike in electricity usage from homes and businesses. With no relief in sight — today’s temperatures will feel worse than yesterday’s — Con Edison officials are bracing for what is likely to be a series of outages around the city. (via WSJ)

How To Beat The Heat On The Sweltering Subway Platform

If you’re in New York City right now, you know that it’s disarmingly hot and humid out there, and it’s only going to get worse over the next few days.  That means that the underground subway platforms are going to be murderously hot.  Since the MTA isn’t going to help us keep cool (I don’t think they know what air-conditioning is), Gothamist came up with a few solutions — click through for what to do, and what not to do this summer while you’re waiting on the train.