Fascinating

A couple of years ago I blogged about a book called The Works which looked at the "anatomy" of NYC -- where our electricity and water come from, where our trash goes, how our traffic and pedestrians move around the city, etc. While reading it, I could only think of what Mr Spock would have said: "Fascinating." Fascinating because there are whole worlds that exist within this city that we never see but vital to our security and way of life. 

Recently I read a couple of new articles that also got me thinking in a similar vein. And, again, Spock's voice rang in my head. 

This month the Atlantic has a tremendous article about how the Secret Service operates in this town during the UN General Assembly. If the expression "the weight of the world on their shoulders" was ever apt, it's for the US Secret Service which converges on NYC each fall when the General Assembly meets. They are responsible for the safety of every single world leader who comes to town including, as profiled in this article, that nutty President of Iran. Considering that NYC is a perennial terrorist target, along with the challenges of shepherding all of the worlds' CEOs around a crowded town, it's amazing to read about what these people do to keep not only these powerful people but also all of us safe. Something they do -- but that we never see.

Then there's another reality in this city that we all live in but almost never see: the economic reality of NYC. In America, as we know, the distribution of wealth, the gap between rich and poor, has never been larger. NYC is just like America, only more so, and the gap between rich and poor in this city is even larger than the national average. In his final piece for the Village Voice, Tom Robbins crunches the numbers and paints a devastating picture, not only of the gross economic disparities in this town, but of the political class in this city and state that serves to protect the elite at the expense of the poor. Republicans and Democrats have done everything they can to short shrift city workers, cut social services, underfund our schools, decimate the unions -- while giving tax breaks to the rich. Robbins writes about a corporate group called "The Committee to Save New York" which is run by a bunch of rich people. One of the members of this organization, which claims it wants to "save" our great city, is Rob Speyer -- yes, a Speyer of Tischman-Speyer which was responsible for the biggest real estate debacle in this (or any) city's history. Yes, this same man believes he is qualified to "save" New York. Did you know that? Well now you do.


Fascinating.

Protest at Egyptian Consulate in New York

Only Time Will Tell

The week that ends tomorrow has not been one of earth-shattering events.  But a few things happened in NYC in the last couple of days that may have long-range significance. Only time will tell.

This week Mayor Bloomberg announced sweeping proposals to the city's pension system. In short, it will require city workers to serve more years, establish fixed retirement ages, prevent "double-dipping" or people working lots of overtime in their last year to qualify for bigger pensions, and require new city employees to contribute to their pensions. This could dramatically affect the kinds of people who will police our streets, teach in our schools, pick up our trash, helps us in emergencies, and take care of the city. Will city services benefit or suffer from these changes? Only time will tell.

Yesterday the city council voted to extend the city's smoking ban to the city's beaches and parks. Now people lighting up in these recreational areas will get fined. Will it add more money to the city's coffers while saving lives or will it be a failure? Only time will tell.

And the war over Walmart continues, with battle lines forming over whether to let the big-box retailer into our city. Will NYC remain a Walmart-free bastion or will it finally be conquered, forever destroying the small businesses this city thrives on? Only time will tell.

Then, whaddya know, Yankee Andy Pettite decides to retire. Will this hurt or improve the Yankees' future World Series chances? Only time will tell.

Finally, Governor Cuomo submitted his first budget that cuts huge amounts of money that goes to state services that help the city. In a message to accompany the budget, he declares: "Our state is at a crossroads.  After years of overtaxing and overspending, we are at the fiscal brink.  We can continue down our current road to financial ruin or we can take a new course – a road to recovery." Will this be a road to recovery or the road to ruin? Only time will tell.

Want Proof ...

... that the middle class is dying in NYC. Read this.

'berry inta'resting

Look at the two videos below and tell me what you think. I don't know which is more amazing -- that President George W. Bush's daughter supports marriage equality or that there are people who actually like "Spiderman: Turn off the Dark."

I think what both videos show is that you should never pre-judge anything: just because Bush is a scary man and was an awful president doesn't mean his daughter is. And just because the  "Spiderman" musical has gotten lots of lousy press doesn't necessarily mean it's actually a bad show.

It's both wonderful and depressing that Bush fille supports gay marriage: wonderful because it means that the sins of the father are being redeemed by the child (she's like a female Luke Skywalker); depressing because now I'll feel just a tad bit guilty at the fact that I despise her dad.

And as for "Spiderman" -- unlike everyone else in this world who wants it to fail, I want it to succeed. It will be good for Broadway, good for the city's economy, and be a badly needed piece of good news in today's wicked world. 

Barbara Bush for HRC's NYers for Marriage Equality

Audience Reaction to 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" on Broadway

Donald on the Green?

Amongst the embarrassments that Mayor Bloomberg has had to deal with lately (the snowstorm debacle, Cathy Black, CityTime) is the fact that Tavern on the Green has been closed for over a year. After booting the Le Roy family in 2009 (which had run it since 1976), the city made a deal with Dean Poll to re-open the restaurant in 2010. Poll, however, failed to make a deal with the union representing the restaurant workers and so Tavern has been out of business. For now.

The city has turned the space that once housed Tavern into a visitor's center, and there are also vendors with food carts parked outside. It's unbelievable that a restaurant that used to pull in upwards of $40 million a year -- the highest grossing non-chain restaurant in the country -- is closed. It's an embarrassment to the city. It's absurd.

Enter Donald Trump. The real-estate mogul has said that he's made a deal with the restaurant union and is prepared to invest $20 million into a new Tavern on the Green. And he's ready to do it ASAP.

But for some strange reason, Mayor Bloomberg is hedging. He doesn't seem to want this deal to happen. For a man who's supposedly all about results and getting things done, Bloomberg is acting like quite the vacillator. Very weird.   

Now I'm not a huge fan of either Donald Trump or Tavern on the Green. Both the man and the restaurant are hopelessly tacky -- more interesting to tourists than to real New Yorkers. But it seems to me that if The Donald wants to re-open Tavern that he should be allowed to do so. After all, nobody else has been able to strike the necessary deal to re-open it ,and it's ridiculous that such a valuable asset -- and a part of the city's history -- is closed. If the sticking point was a deal with the unions -- which has now been resolved -- and someone has the cash and reputation credible enough to re-open it, then why not?

New York needs Tavern on the Green the same way Hollywood needs the Hollywood Sign. Tavern might be silly but, at the end of the day, it's a part of the New York spirit and it would be great if it could come back. 

Doughnut Plant

If Homer Simpson came to NYC, I'd immediately take him down to Doughnut Plant on Grand Street. 

A tiny little store, they sell big and tasty donuts along with chai teas and stuff like that. The deal is, they bake a whole bunch of donuts in the morning and then sell them all, not baking anymore. They sell organic and cake-like donuts, including chocolate pudding, hazelnut, ginger and coconut (amongst others). The owners like to mix it up, selling different kinds of donuts at various times so you never know what to expect. I recently got a square, cake organize raspberry jelly donut that was totally delicious. The hazelnut donuts were also really, really good.

The donuts aren't cheap (about $2.50 each) but they are worth the money. Mmmm ... donuts  ....

Taxi Yoga

I can't think of a more stressful job in this town than riding a cab. Traffic. Airports. Crazy passengers. Lousy tips. Sitting on your tuchus for twelves hours at a time has got to be tough on your back. Not to mention that you don't have much time to eat healthy. It's a tough job.

That's why it's fascinating to hear about a yoga class in Queens that's meant exclusively for cabbies. It's a really brilliant idea. I know for myself -- who spends most of my days sitting and staring into a computer screen -- that yoga is a welcome relief. It really relaxes my mind and gets the kinks of daily life out of my body. In my own yoga class we have some cops and pretty tough looking guys so yoga is no longer for women or pansies -- it's for everybody!

And for cabbies, yoga must be wonderful release. It's great to know that there are people out there who recognize this. See, who said there's no good news in the world?