NYC Weather Presidents Day Weekend. Be aware that this forcast is a full three weeks out and subject to significant change by the time the weekend arrives. But that said, as of this post 1/31/23 the temperature highs will be in the mid 40's, and the temperature lows will be in the around 30 degrees. Precipitation. There isn't any rain forecast for the Presidents Day Weekend, as of this post. Winds. Generally they're 5 - 10 mph. Humidity. It's been a very warm and dry winter and it's expected to continue. As of this post humidity is expected around 50%. Click for Bronx Weather.
The image at right shows Wave Hill, where President Theodore Roosevelt spent a couple of summers. Wave Hill is a horticultural enclave and Teddy Roosevelt was an American Conservationist. I imagine if alive today, Roosevelt would certainly being doing whatever he could to combat climate change.
Presidents Day is a federal holiday when all local, state and federal government offices are closed, which generally includes public schools - unless the district uses the holiday to make up a snow day, which is highly unlikely this year since there hasn't been any measureable snow.
Presidents Day is a time to reflect on the performance of our current presidents and legislators, to see how they stack up versus their historical peers. And in that reflection it's worth asking ourselves what we've done to contribute or detract from the national conversation.
Brief History of Presidents Day Holiday in NYC
A day commemorating Lincoln's birthday was first passed in Buffalo, New York in the early 1870's. Presidents Day originated as Washington's Birthday which was a holiday narrowly prescribed for federal government offices in Washington, D.C. in 1879. The holiday was dedicated to honoring the memory of the first American president, George Washington who was born on February 22, 1732.
In 1885 the holiday was expanded to include all federal government offices around the nation. In 1951 there was a push to create a Presidents Day holiday [vs a George Washington's birthday holiday] to include President Lincoln whose birthday is February 12, 1809 and was also celebrated by localities, but it didn't pass.
In 1971 the holiday was moved off of George Washington's birth date to being the third Monday in February. Thus while it never falls upon Washington's birthday 2/22, the official name of the holiday remains Washington's Birthday. But today, most folks refer to it as Presidents Day and to recognize the presidents who honored the U.S. Constitution and served the interests of the American people.
New Play at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, Boat Show at the Javits, Winter Show at the Park Avenue Armory, The Chinese New Year Celebrations Continue, Winter Jazz Festival & the January Arts Festival Ending, 1st Irish Festival in LIC & Artists Open Call in the Bronx
NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the low 40's on Friday and around 50 the rest of the weekend. The temperature lows will be in the low 30's on Friday, rising to about 40 the rest of the weekend. The humidity will be between 50% - 60% on Friday and Saturday, rising to 60% - 70% on Sunday. Winds will be 5 - 10 mph all weekend. No precipitation is expected this weekend.
In the photo at right is the NYC skyline in Midtown, looking west from Queens. We've gone 324 days without measureable snow, the second longest period on record. The longest was 332 days set in 2000. Based on the most recent forecast, we're going to break that record and may go the entire winter without measureable snow. This is not good news. We all need to do whatever we can to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. And, however small it may seem, if you multiply it by seven billion [people on the planet], it won't seem so small.
NYC Things To Do This Weekend
There's outdoor skating at Bryant Park and Rockefeller Center in Midtown, and at Wollman Rink in the southeast corner of Central Park and at the Harlem Meer in the northeast corner of Central Park. Also in Prospect Park and Coney Island in Brooklyn, Cloves Lake on Staten Island, and in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens. For details see https://www.nycgovparks.org/facilities/iceskating
Manhattan Things To Do This Weekend
On Saturday, January 28 from 1 - 4.30 pm and from 6 - 9.30 pm there's a Wine Tasting at Chelsea Industrial at 535-549 West 28th Street in Manhattan. For $19 tickets and details see - https://winefestnewyork.com.
The Winter Boat Show began at the Javits Center at 35th Street and 11th Avenue on Wednesday and runs through Sunday, January 29th. Tickets are $20 / $17 / $15. For details see - https://www.nyboatshow.com/.
On Saturday & Sunday, January 28 & 29 from 10 am t0 5 pm there's a Year of the Rabbit Lunar New Year Fair at the East Broadway Mall at 88 East Broadway in Chinatown. The market is comprised of about a dozen vendors selling food, embroidery, jewelry, clothes, Taiwanese objects, art and stationery. For details see - https://welcometochinatown.com.
The Joyce Theatre American Dance Platform began Tuesday, January 10th and the Winter Jazz Festival began on Thursday, January 12th. It's all part of the January Arts Festival - https://www.janartsnyc.org/ which runs through most of this month of January 2023.
The Winter Show [formerly Winter Antiques Show] has returned to the Park Avenue Amory on the Upper East Side and the show runs through Sunday. For details see https://www.thewintershow.org/.
On February 12 beginning at 1 pm the Chinese Lunar New Year parade begins in Chinatown. The parade steps off at the corner of Mott and Hester Street marching down to Chatham Square, then heads across East Broadway and up Forsyth Street, ending in Sara D. Roosevelt Park. Like the Queens Lunar New Year parade, this actually occurs outside of the official Chinese Lunar New Year dates.
Brooklyn Things To Do This Weekend
On Saturday, January 28 from 2 to 5 pm there's a Lunar New Year Celebration organized by the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership at Albee Square where DeKalb, Bond and Fulton Streets meet. It will have lion dancing among other performances. For details see - https://www.downtownbrooklyn.com.
On Saturday, January 28th from 11 am to 2 pm, the CPC [Chinese-American Planning Council] will co-host a Lunar New Year Event in Sunset Park Recreation Center at 4200 7th Avenue in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn. The event activities include a traditional lion dance, performances, giveaways, interactive games, raffles and contests. For details see - https://www.cpc-nyc.org/events/cpc-bcs-lunar-new-year-celebration-2023-year-rabbit
NEXT WEEK. The CPC celebration [see above entry] continues on Saturday, February 4, with Lunar New Year calligraphy, arts and crafts and trivia for prizes in the Auditorium at New Utrecht High School at 1601 80th Street, in collaboration with community partners from throughout South Brooklyn. For details see https://www.prospectpark.org/
Queens Things To Do This Weekend
On Friday and Saturday, at 7 pm and 2 pm respectively, a new original play entitled Lemons, will be performed at the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center at 31-10 Thomson Avenue in Long Island City. The play is described as, "... Exploring how social media, capitalism, and “positive thinking” affects our individual and collective relationship to grief, Lemons is a darkly funny four-person play centering on an obsession with a fitness guru's instagram account. A grieving woman presents a personal essay that quickly devolves into theatrical mayhem as her carefully constructed argument is interrupted and undermined by ghosts, fantasies, dance, and doom scrolling. Lemons is an examination of female strength, both physical and emotional, in the face of capitalist patriarchy. Exploring the intersection of capitalism and wellness culture/self-care, which is overwhelmingly marketed to women, Lemons looks at how societal expectations have come to inform our relationship to grief, our identities, our bodies, and each other...". For $15 tickets and details see - https://www.lpac.nyc/upcoming-events/lemons
The Chinese Lunar New Year in celebration of the year of the rabbit began Sunday, January 22, 2022 and runs through February 9th, 2023. Flushing Queens jumped the gun vis a vis the official lunar new year dates, by hosting its parade last Saturday, which was a day before the official start of the lunar new year.
On Sunday, January 29th from 3 to 4 pm Sunnyside Shines is hosting a Lion Dance and march from Lowery Plaza at 40th Street underneath the #7 train, along Queens Blvd to Bliss Plaza at 46th Street at Queens Plaza. Free.
Flushing Town Hall opened a photo exhibit, entitled This is Home, on January 21 and it runs through February 26th. The exhibit shows excerpts from some of the lives of Asian Americans living in NYC, both here and abroad. For details see https://www.flushingtownhall.org/.
On Tuesday, January 31 there's a reading of 'Brigid' as part of the Origin 1st Irish Festival, from 7 to 9 pm at the NY Irish Center at 1040 Jackson Avenue at 51st Avenue in Long Island City. For $2 tickets and details see - https://www.newyorkirishcenter.org
NEXT WEEKEND. On Sunday, February 5th beginning at 3 pm in the Colden Auditorium at Queens College at 153-49 Reeves Avenue there will be a performance by Nai Ni Chen Dance Company. See the full description below, as they will be performing at Hostos College in the Bronx this week.
IN TWO WEEKS. On Thursday, February 16 from 6.30 - 8.30 pm Materials For The Arts at 3300 Northern Blvd in Long Island City will be hosting a Lunar New Year mask making event using recycled materials. They are doing this in tandem with the Asian American Arts Alliance. For details see - https://www.liclny.com/events/mfta-and-asian-american-arts-alliance-celebrate-lunar-new-year.
Bronx Things To Do This Weekend
The Bartow Pell Mansion has issued an Open Call to artists to participate in a nearly month-long exhibition in March of this year. The theme of the exhibit is Nature Inspires: Contemporary Art Show. The deadline for submissions is February 3rd, 2023. For details see - https://www.bartowpellmansionmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Call-to-Artists-Nature-Inspires.pdf
On Sunday, January 29th, beginning at 3 pm there's a Nai Ni Chen Dance Company performances at Hostos College at 450 Grand Concourse in the Concourse neighborhood of the Bronx. The event is described as follows, "... In honor of Hip-Hop’s 50th year anniversary, the dance company will be performing a special rendition of the lion dance with a hip-hop rhythm. Other performances include YungGe from northern China, Peacock Dance from the southern Yunnan province, Spear Dance, and the crowd-favorite Dragon Dance...". Tickets are $12 / $10 / $5 at https://www.hostos.cuny.edu/
On Tuesday, January 31 beginning at 7.30 pm there's a musical performance entitled, Songs to the Unknown, which is a part of the Voices of the New 2023 Winter Festival at Roulette Intermedium at 509 Atlantic Avenue at 3rd Avenue in Boerum Hill in Brooklyn. For $20 tickets and details see www.voicesofascension.org/votn.
Staten Island Things To Do This Weekend
On Sunday, January 29, beginning at 6 pm there's a showing on the big screen of the classic Marilyn Monroe / Tony Curtis / Jack Lemmon movie - Some Like it Hot - at the St. George Theatre at 35 Hyatt Street on Staten Island. For $20 tickets and details see - https://stgeorgetheatre.com
There's an ongoing exhibit of a collection of stamps that features lighthouses prominently on them at the Lighthouse Museum at 200 The Promenade in the St. George neighborhood of Staten Island.
On Monday, January 30 from 8.30 - 4 pm the Alice Austen House Museum will be particpating into a program entitled Grow Into Yourself at the High School of Fashion Industries at 225 West 24th Street in Manhattan. Apparently Alice Austen was a lesbian photographer living on Staten Island.
Valentines Day / Romantic Restaurants in or near Mott Haven, Fordham, Port Morris, Concourse, Bedford Park, Norwood, University Heights, City Island, Riverdale, Melrose, Morris Park, Westchester Square & Parkchester Bronx NYC
The photo at right was taken inside a restaurant in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the Bronx.
Valentine's Day is three weeks away. It's a good time to let your loved one know you care. Flowers, gifts and dinner are always welcome treats, and / or some thoughtful gesture that shows that the lady [or man] you're with, still means a lot to you.
This report provides an update on who's open and taking reservations, but also highlights a few local restaurant closures.
All events that have been asterisked are from 2022. Those restaurants without an asterisk have been updated to 2023, so watch the dates / year for 2023.
Unlike last year, there aren't any state CoVid guidelines for indoor dining. And the challenge of getting a reservation at the restaurant of your choice, is likely back to normal, which means if dining on the day of or the weekend before is imporant, you might want to act now.
Given Valentine's Day is on a Tuesday, it may be fair game to make your VDay reservation on Valentine's Day or any day of the preceding weekend. Also, many restaurants have retained thier outside dining capacity - so depending on the weather - NYC restaurants may have more capacity for Valentine's Day weekend than they did versus prepandemic.
But a number of restaurants were casualties of these pandemic times, so if you're thinking about doing something this Valentine's Day for dinner in or around Mott Haven, Fordham, Port Morris, Concourse, Bedford Park, Norwood, University Heights, City Island, Riverdale, Melrose, Morris Park, Westchester Square & Parkchester in the Bronx; it's best to do your research early, and call a week or at least a few days ahead to make the reservations.
Valentine's Day History - Romantic Restaurants in the Bronx
The origins of Valentine's Day are not well documented. It's believed to have been named after Saint Valentine who was apparently a Catholic martyr who died over 1500 years ago. Today the holiday is not associated with religion so much as flowers, candies, cards and romantic dinners. And the holiday spokesperson is now Cupid, a Roman god of desire, and quite a mischief maker.
Click this link to view a brief guide of Valentine's Day restaurants in the Bronx / romantic restaurants Bronx NYC where you will find short descriptions or links to Bronx restaurants we've visited in the past or have reviewed. The restaurants we've reviewed include a mix of high, medium and budget priced restaurants that are spread throughout the borough and offer a large variety of ethnic cuisines. Enjoy.
Things to do This Weekend in NYC & Boros
The Winter Show at the Park Avenue Armory, The Chinese New Year of the Rabbit Begins, Winter Jazz Festival & the January Arts Festival continue
NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the mid to high 40's throughout the weekend, while the temperature lows will be in the mid 30's on Friday and Saturday, rising to about 40 degrees on Sunday. Winds will be about 5 - 10 mph all weekend. The humidity will be about 50% - 60% on Friday and Saturday, rising to about 85% Sunday afternoon as the rain pours in. No rain is in the forecast until Sunday, when a 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch of rain is expected starting around 3 pm.
The photo at right shows folks walking across the Brooklyn Bridge, even amidst the dreary weather.
NYC Things To Do This Weekend
There's outdoor skating at Bryant Park and Rockefeller Center in Midtown, and at Wollman Rink in the southeast corner of Central Park and at the Harlem Meer in the northeast corner of Central Park. Also in Prospect Park and Coney Island in Brooklyn, Cloves Lake on Staten Island, and in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens. For details see https://www.nycgovparks.org/facilities/iceskating
Manhattan Things To Do This Weekend
On Sunday from 11 am - 3.30 pm there's a Chinese Lunar New Year Firecracker celebration in Sara Roosevelt Park at Chrystie and Forsyth on the Lower East Side in East Chinatown.
Also on Sunday, but from 11 am - 1 pm nearby on Mott Street at Grand Street [if not there head south toward Canal Street], there's an artsy lantern reveal exhibition on the street by Think Chinatown. For details see https://www.thinkchinatown.org/
The Joyce Theatre American Dance Platform began Tuesday, January 10th and the Winter Jazz Festival began on Thursday, January 12th. It's all part of the January Arts Festival - https://www.janartsnyc.org/ which runs through most of this month of January 2023.
At right is a photo of a man at Tompkins Square Park communing with the pigeons. See another photo below showing just how popular he is with the pigeon population in the East Village.
The Winter Show [formerly Winter Antiques Show] has returned to the Park Avenue Amory on the Upper East Side and the show runs through next weekend. Details coming - or see https://www.thewintershow.org/.
Queens Things To Do This Weekend
The Chinese Lunar New Year in celebration of the year of the rabbit begins Sunday, January 22, 2022 and runs through February 9th, 2023. There will be celebrations throughout NYC and we'll update you beginning this weekend and beyond. Details coming.
Flushing Town Hall has an exhibit. Details coming.
Long Island City is hosting some Lunar New Year events. Details coming.
Brooklyn Things To Do This Weekend
NEXT WEEK. On Saturday, January 28th from 11 am to 2 pm, the CPC [Chinese-American Planning Council] will co-host a Lunar New Year Event in Sunset Park Recreation Center at 4200 7th Avenue in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn. The event activities include a traditional lion dance, performances, giveaways, interactive games, raffles and contests. For details see - https://www.cpc-nyc.org/events/cpc-bcs-lunar-new-year-celebration-2023-year-rabbit
TWO WEEKS FROM NOW. The CPC celebration [see above entry] continues on Saturday, February 4, with Lunar New Year calligraphy, arts and crafts and trivia for prizes in the Auditorium at New Utrecht High School at 1601 80th Street, in collaboration with community partners from throughout South Brooklyn. For details see https://www.prospectpark.org/
Bronx Things To Do This Weekend
On Saturday January 21, 2023 from 10 am - 1 pm there's a family friend workshop where you can create a fan for lunar new year at Wave Hill at 4900 Independence Avenue in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx. It's Free w/ admission to the grounds. For details see www.wavehill.org or https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/wave-hill/events/2023/01/21/family-art-project-fan-for-lunar-new-year1
The photo at right was taken at the East 96th subway station. I occasionally think back to what our predecessors left behind for us in terms of a robust infrastructure that has by and large held up through the changes for about a century. And then I ask myself, what are we going to leave behind for future generations?
NEXT WEEK. There's a Nai Ni Chen Dance Company performances at Hostos College at 450 Grand Concourse in the Concourse neighborhood of the Bronx on Sunday, January 29th, beginning at 3 pm. Tickets are $12 / $10 / $5 at https://www.hostos.cuny.edu/
Staten Island Things To Do This Weekend
On Sunday, January 22, Snug Harbor is hosting a Chinese Lunar New Year celebration from 12 noon - 3 pm. Details coming.
On Sunday, January 22, beginning at 2 pm / 3 pm there's an exhibit opening and lecture about a collection of stamps that features lighthouses prominently on them at the Lighthouse Museum at 200 The Promenade in the St. George neighborhood of Staten Island.
Have a nice weekend.
Economic Outlook 2023
Employment Steady, Inflation Subsiding, Consumer Confidence Up, Government Stimulus Fading, Fed Tightening 'Should' Stop After .25% Increase at Next FOMC Meeting, Most Global Supply Side Issues have been Corrected, Oil Prices Below a Year Ago, and the Dollar is Strong
January 17, 2023 / NYC Business News / New Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the mid to high 40's and the temperature lows will be around 40, dropping to 35 degrees on Friday. No rain is expected EXCEPT on Thursday, where up to an inch of rain will fall during the day. Winds will be 5 - 10 mph on Tuesday and Thursday and will be 10 - 15 mph on Wednesday and Friday. Humidity will rise from 45% to 80% on Tuesday, fall back into the 60% range on Wednesday, rise into the 80% range on Thursday with the rain, and fall back into the 60% range on Friday.
I. Economic Background - Mostly CoVid Disruptions of Global Supply Chains and Government Fiscal Policy Responses
In recent months I have spent a fair amount of time catching up on what's happening in the economy overall, in an attempt to guage what lies ahead. It's important to realize where we are in the business cycle, in order to figure out what to expect going forward.
* Since March of 2020, we've been in a bit of a pandemic spin. The 2020 pandemic essentially halted most hospitality businesses and softened demand for some services, but drove high demand for both durable and non-durable goods. This is on the demand side. Meanwhile on the supply side, businesses were closing down, or working at far less than capacity, because of the health impact of the pandemic. For example in China, they didn't just appear to shutter businesses, but almost entire cities, to curb the spread of CoVid. China is where much of our electronics are made so this impacted the availability / supply of electronics at a time when Americans were spending more on them, because they weren't traveling, vacationing or even eating out much, so they had extra cash to spend on items, most notably electronics.
The U.S. federal government [as did many governments throughout the world] kept many businesses afloat through expansive monetary policy and generous fiscal spending via CoVid Relief packages which put money in the hands of local businesses, governments and individuals. The fiscal stimulus / excess government spending began in 2020 during the Trump Administration, and ended in early 2021 under the Biden Administration.
The first chart above right shows the federal government excess fiscal spending during the pandemic. Both Trump and Biden temporarily increased government spending in order to keep the economy rolling through the pandemic.
And the expansive monetary policy, which was executed by taking the federal funds interest rate to nearly zero in March of 2020, and by pushing $4 trillion cash into the economy via purchases of bonds, wasn't reined in for years, and that withdrawal finally began in 2022. We'll discuss this more further down in this report.
The chart at right first shows how the Federal Reserve immediately dropped the federal funds rate to zero in the Spring of 2020, to keep liquidity in the economy as the pandemic hit. And then it shows how the Federal Reserve very, very aggressively jacked up interest rates to offset inflation beginning in 2022, because they were slow to react to the rise in prices in 2021. Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome Powell, was nominated first by President Trump and renominated by President Biden.
The chart below right, shows how in the Spring of 2020, the Federal Reserve pushed $4 trillion in liquidity into the economy, doubling its liabilities. In 2022, the Federal Reserve began pulling some of that liquidity out of the market / off the table.
* In 2021 things began to normalize as vaccinations rolled out and we began to gain a better understanding of how to mitigate the health impact of the CoVid pandemic. But the year wasn't a straight line out of the pandemic, as the new variants continued to wreak havoc with our collective assessment of how risky it would be to return to normal.
Toward the end of 2021, Russian-like media Oligarch Rupert Murdoch, used his Goebbels-like propaganda outlets, including the NY Post, Fox News and the Wall St. Journal to hype American's uneasiness with supply chains in the economy, which Murdoch propagandist's labeled as Biden's economy.
* In February 2022 economic risks rise, as fascist dictator Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in what he called a 'Special Military Operation'. The Russian War in Ukraine hasn't gone well for Putin. To maintain the war, he is crippling the long term prospects for the Russian economy, as the Russian people continue to act like peasants, allowing the brutal dictator and his elitest friends, to walk all over them, including sending them to their graves fighting for Putin's narcissistic place in history.
Putin's military intervention / disruption, of course added risk to the global economy. Especially in two key segments of the economy which includes food and energy. Russia supplies about 12% of the world's oil, and along with Ukraine accounts for about a third of the world's wheat and barley. Hence Putin's war added significant inflationary pressure to both energy and food.
As you can see in the chart at right, the price of oil spiked up following Russia's invasion of the Ukraine in the Winter of 2022. The price of oil has since come back down to a few bucks below where it was a year ago.
* In November and December of 2022, and continuing into January of 2023, dictator President Xi Jin Ping has been retreating from his draconian, control-freak style CoVid lockdown measures. The Chinese, in a rare break from their own peasantry past, started to rebel against the policies, and so Xi started to relent. The Chinese economic growth fell from 8% in 2021 [like us the growth was accentuated because of a depressed 2020 CoVid economy] to 3% in 2022. Thus, at the end of 2023, in contrast to 2022 [which wasn't anywhere near as bad as Murdoch's Fox, NY Post and WSJ hyped it], things are largely returning to normal - except for the Ukraine situation, which continues.
II. Economic Background - Government Responses Included Monetary Policies Layered on Top of Fiscal Policies
To summarize what I laid out above, there were swings in demand fueled by lifestyle changes caused by the pandemic, including generous fiscal spending by the U.S. government. And there were significant supply side swings in capacity, which were driven by worker availability arising from health concerns.
Globally, we've spent the past couple years working through these huge economic demand and supply displacements, due in part to the disruptions of the vaccination roll outs caused by misunderstandings / misinformation about vaccine efficacy, risks and the new CoVid variants. This economic uncertainty was exacerbated by Russian dictator President Putin's undeclared war on Ukraine, which further disrupted the supply of both food and energy - which are two key components of the economy.
So, along with the U.S. governmment's expansive fiscal policies, pursued via massive transfer payments to large and small businesses and individuals, the nation's central bank, the Federal Reserve, pursued an expansive monetary policy by, 1) dropping the Fed Funds rate to nearly zero [0% - .25%] in March of 2020, and 2) they pursued an incredibly expansionary monetary policy whereby they pushed liquidity [cash] into the U.S. financial system by buying a lot of bonds. In the latter move they pushed about $4 trillion into the economy in a very short period of time, doubling their position of prior years.
As you can see in the chart above, inflation picked up toward the end of 2021, peaked in June of 2022, and appears to be heading back down toward normal, which economists expect it will approach by the end of 2023 [3.3% inflation] and in 2024. The Fed benchmark inflation rate is 2.0 - 2.5%.
III. So, Today, Where We At?
What's next is a look at a multitude of economic statistics with some nominal interpretation of what I expect to happen, all things being equal [meaning no further major disruptions], in 2023.
Expansive Fiscal Policies Ending, but Lag Times & the Multiplier Effect
As you can see by the first graphs at the top of this report, the Biden Administration has already brought the federal budget back into alignment with its historical trend, after a couple of years of excessive spending that began during the last year of the Trump Administration and continued into the first year of the Biden Administration.
In economics there's a lag time between when something is done at the federal level in fiscal policy and its full effects work through the economy. It's called the multiplier effect and I oftentimes wonder if Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell missed the classes in school that focused on it. The lag time can range from about six months to two years. I am seeing anecdotal evidence that the spending is drying up in the NYC economy, as Mayor Adams recent budget cuts indicate.
Tale of Two Governments - NYS Governor Hochul has $19 Billion in Unspent CoVid Relief Funding, While NYC Mayor Adams is Making Cuts in NYC
Many businesses and households didn't spend all of the money they saved during the pandemic, so there's still some of that stimulus that will continue working its way through the economy in the coming year or two. For example, while NYC Mayor Adams is cutting expenses, NYS Governor Hochul has about $19 billion, or 44% of the emergency funding allocations left to spend. Perhaps Hochul and Adams ought to talk about NYC getting a bit of NYS help, given half of the state lives here.
So in the case of NYC and NYS you have two different viewpoints - one where money is scarce and the other where it isn't ... yet. I say yet, because the MTA is still operating below prepandemic levels and thus NYS will have to continue making up the short fall, and the NYC cuts to education may need to be offset by an increase in NYS spending on the same.
Demand Side of the Economy - Employment and Businesses & Households Wealth Effect
Businesses and Households balance sheets also improved, in part because of stimulus funds and in part because spending was held back on services, like travel and hospitality, during the pandemic. Spending came roaring back in 2021, as the pandemic began to fade, but in 2022 it has subsided considerably. Most recently, retail sales were down about 1% in December of 2022, so the economy is definitely cooling.
In the top row of the chart at right is Gross Domestic Product [GDP is the total production value of the economy] and Employment, respectively, for 2021, 2022 and estimates for 2023. GDP [top left] softened in the first and second quarters of 2022, but came back in the third quarter, before falling again in the fourth quarter [estimated]. GDP is expected to remain soft in the first part of 2023, before coming back at the end of 2023. Likewise with Employment [top right], which has been softening. The U.S. is expected to lose some jobs in the first couple / three quarters of the year as rising interest rates dampen consumption and business investment.
So far the strong job market, with rising compensation, and up until 2022, a rising stock and housing market, added to Americans' confidence and contributed to robust spending in 2021 [see chart at right].
But as interest rates have risen, job growth has slowed, and layoffs by a number of the nation's largest tech companies [10,000 layoffs expected by Microsoft alone] begin to take root in the Economic Psyche of the American consumer, demand and productivity are expected to fall as noted by the GDP chart above right [top row on the left].
Inflation vs Market Liquidity Risk
Another aspect of the slowing economy is the impact of the Fed policiies in 2022. They rose rates rapidly and they've been taking liquidity out of the market via bond sales - both of which should have begun in 2021. And now they are on the verge of causing a recession because it seems they are not taking into account the multiplier effect and the lag time with which it takes for economic policy to work itself through the nation's $25 trillion economy.
If I were Jerome Powell, I would increase the Fed Funds rate a .25% at the next FOMC [Federal Open Market Committee] meeting at the end of January and signal that I might be done. And the only reason I would raise if .25% is because the market expects that and I wouldn't want to spook them, not because the economy needs further braking.
The Fed was a contributor in part to the inflationary problem we have - although Vladimir Putin and the disruptions caused by the pandemic should be given credit too. And the Fed is on the verge of contributing to a recession, which it might have to correct for too. For my money Powell isn't a steady hand, but if he stops now, he might avoid overplaying his monetary hand like he did when the pandemic first hit.
One last word on interest rates and inflation. Inflation ticked up considerably in the first half of 2022, which is why the numbers should begin muting rather quickly in the first half of 2023 - because the prior year numbers are already inflated. See chart below right for a month by month account of inflation last year.
Supply Side - Oil Supplies Flowing, China Coming Back on Line, Russian Disruptions Contained & Federal Government Investments
China has rolled back its restrictive CoVid policies. This will increase the supply of semiconductors, which should reduce price pressures in categories such as vehicles and electronics, which account for about 3% of the 8% of inflation we experienced in 2022 [light and dark blues of the chart below right].
The Biden Administration passed a bipartisan Semiconductor bill which is expected to bring more high paying jobs in the semiconductor industry back to the U.S. It will also alleviate the shortage in the long term.
Energy costs, as already mentioned, are primarily related to the rise in oil prices last year, due in great part to Russia's war in the Ukraine as previously shown in the chart above. In the chart below, yellow denotes the contribution of energy costs to inflation, representing between 2% - 3% of the 8% inflation of 2022 in the graph below right.
The Biden Administration reached out to Venezuela, which has the world's largest oil reserves, to provide more oil, which is being done with the help of Chevron.
And food, also experienced inflation due not just to the war in the Ukraine, but also climate change weather disruptions of drought and damaging storms. In the chart below right that's denoted in green and represents about 1% of the inflation last year.
The food category may continue to experience inflationary pressures because of climate change. The Biden Administration passed the Infrastructure Bill and the Inflation Reduction Act, both of which contain provisions designed to address the growing threat of climate change. Here I have to take issue with at least one provision [more later as I think some of this bill was ill-conceived by policy makers], and that is the roll out of electric vehicle recharging stations.
Time to Rethink - Why Don't Battery Makers Make Swappable Batteries that Consumers Can Re-Load in Minutes at a Fuel Station Instead of Waiting 20 - 30 Minutes to Re-Charge a Car?
I don't get it. Some of the smartest people on the planet are engineering these new technologies, but for some reason don't seem to be able to see the forest through the trees. The government should mandate that all electic vehicles be required to operate on a standard electric battery signed off on by the industry. The battery should represent an eighth of a tank of gas or equivalent, so that a driver can 'refuel' each time one of those batteries has dropped its load. In this manner drivers don't have to wait to recharge their cars, and the U.S. government doesn't have to install all of this unnecessary infrastructure. Set up the recharging stations near the power plant for greater efficiencies.
Risks - Debt Ceiling Gambit by Kevin McCarthy & The Crazy Republicans
Disinfo
Climate Change
Russia / China
Conclusion - It Could be a Good Year if McCarthy, Putin & Powell are Held in Check
Government Spending
Monetary Policy
Currency
Inflation
Interest Rates / Fed / Housing / Automotive
Almost done. This will be completed later today.
* Things To Do This Weekend in NYC & Boros
Friday the 13th, Many Martin Luther King Day Weekend Events, Winter Jazz Festival & the January Arts Festival continue, Closing Reception, Play about Patriarchal Power & Skating
NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the high 50's on Friday, the high 30's on Saturday and the mid 40's on Sunday and Monday. The temperature lows will be in the low to mid 30's all weekend. No precipitation is in the forecast. The humidity will be in the 60% range on Friday, the 50% range on Saturday, the 40% range on Sunday and Monday. The winds will be 12 - 17 mph on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, dropping to 5 - 10 mph on Monday.
The photo at right was taken a week ago at City Hall, where Mayor Adams opened himself up to a wide range of questions from the local press. This week the Mayor released the Preliminary Budget for NYC for 2024.
Friday the 13th - Origins of a Superstition
According to Wikipedia, the number 13 has been considered unlucky beginning with a Norse mythological story about how the 13th guest caused the death of a dinner host. They tell us that the connection between unlucky 13 and Friday didn't start until early in the 1800's, specifically citing an 1834 play called 'The Finesse of the Scribbles', wherein one of the characters says that he was born on Friday the 13th and that is the origin of all of his misfortunes. Greek and Spanish cultures cite Tuesday the 13th as the unlucky day.
Friday the 13th occurs at least once every year and there is no proof that it is any different from any other day. So while I'd recommend caution on any day, I wouldn't hesitate to do just about anything you normally do on this day.
The photo at right was taken of the back of City Hall in lower Manhattan. The foliage and ground are pretty brown and green for this time of year.
Martin Luther King Day Weekend - NYC Parks Day of Service
This weekend the City Parks Day Department is hosting a Day of Service. See details for times and locations at www.nycparks.gov.
There's outdoor skating at Bryant Park and Rockefeller Center in Midtown, and at Wollman Rink in the southeast corner of Central Park and at the Harlem Meer in the northeast corner of Central Park. Also in Prospect Park and Coney Island in Brooklyn, Cloves Lake on Staten Island, and in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens. For details see https://www.nycgovparks.org/facilities/iceskating
Martin Luther King Holiday Special Events in Manhattan NYC
On Sunday, the Apollo Theater at 253 West 125th Street in Harlem resumes its MLK Day program entitled, Uptown Hall" MLK - Blueprint for Culture. This event is free, but all tickets have been 'sold' as of Saturday morning. But if those ticket holders don't show up / pick up their tickets by 2.30 pm the day of the show, they will be released to the public waiting in line at the theater. See www.apollotheater.org for details.
On Sunday the Abyssinian Baptist Churchon Striver’s Row located at 132 Odell Clark Place between 138th & 139th Streets and Frederick Douglass & Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvds in West Harlem is hosting a King Day Worship Service beginning at 10 am. The featured speaker is Dr. Jelani Cobb who has become the Dean of the Columbia School of Journalism. The West Harlem neighborhood includes places where African Americans like author W.E.B. DuBois and civil rights activist Malcolm X spent some time. For details see - https://abyssinian.org.
On Monday, the eighth graders at Manhattan Country School organize an annual Commemorative MLK Day March beginning at 10 am until about 2 pm. This year the march is entitled 'The Power of Awareness: The March for Justice and Change'. The march route seems to vary with each year, but has generally been on the Upper West and Upper East Sides, stopping at historically signfiicant sites, where students give speeches and ending at the Manhattan Country School at 150 West 85th between Columbus & Amsterdam. This year the march starts at the Harriet Tubman Memorial where West 122nd Street meets Frederick Douglass Blvd and St Nicholas Avenue - makes five stops where 2 - 5 speeches are made by the students - and ends at Manhattan Country School. For details visit www.manhattancountryschool.org.
On Monday, January 16, 2023 there's a Harlem Gospel Choir performance at Sony Hall at 235 West 46th Street in Midtown Manhattan. The doors open at 12 noon and the show begins at 1.30 pm. Tickets run $41 - $59 at https://sonyhall.com.
All weekend there are jazz performances at the Birdland Theater at 315 44th Street in Midtown Manhattan. Tickets are $26 and $36 at https://birdlandjazz.com.
The United Palace at 4140 Broadway at 175th Street in Washington Heights doesn't have anything dedicated to MLK planned this weekend. But they are offering an historical tour on Sunday from 2 to 3.30 pm for $15. They describe the theater as follows: " ... The history of United Palace, Manhattan’s 4th largest theatre and now a landmarked building, began in 1930, when it was then one of five Loew’s “Wonder Theatres” across the boroughs and New Jersey. Designed by noted architect Thomas Lamb (Cort Theatre, the former Ziegfeld Theatre) with interiors overseen by decorative specialist Harold Rambusch (Waldorf Astoria, Radio City Music Hall), it was one of the region’s premier vaudeville and movie houses. Today, the United Palace hosts concerts, movies, and community events and provides spiritual and cultural programming ...". For tickets see https://www.unitedpalace.org.
The Joyce Theatre American Dance Platform begins Tuesday, January 10th and the Winter Jazz Festival begins on Thursday, January 12th. It's all part of the January Arts Festival - https://www.janartsnyc.org/ which runs through most of this month of January 2023.
Martin Luther King Holiday Special Events in Brooklyn NYC
Saturday through Monday January 14 - 16, 2023 from 10 am - 5 pm, the Brooklyn's Children's Museum at 145 Brooklyn Avenue in Crown HeightsHistoric District, is hosting events celebrating the life the Martin Luther King with a day of service, as well as arts and crafts, games and storytelling. For details go to www.brooklynkids.org.
On Sunday, January 15, 2023 from 11 am - 12.30 pm the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture at 53 Prospect Park West in Park Slope is hosting a program that will discuss MLK's 'I have a Dream' speech. In prior events such as this one they also include musicians. Free. For details see - FB - https://www.facebook.com/EthicalCultureBrooklyn/ or their website at - https://bsec.org/
On Monday, January 16, 2023 from 10.30 am to 3 pm in the Fort Greene neighborhood, the Brooklyn Academy of Music at 30 Lafayette Street in Brooklyn, hosts its 37th Annual Celebration of MLK's life in the Peter J. Sharp Building. There will be musical performances, speeches by renowned scholars and civil rights activists, a film screening and more [culture / free]. For details and an rsvp see www.bam.org.
On Monday, January 16, 2023 in Prospect Park in Brooklyn the Prospect Park Alliance is hosting two MLK Day events. The first runs from 10 am - 1 pm at the Music Pagoda, where folks can help enrich the park by doing some work on it. The second event runs from 12 noon to 4 pm at the Prospect Park Audubon Center [near the Boathouse which is accessible via the southeast side of the park from Ocean Avenue at Lincoln Road] where there will be outdoor nature activities, an animal encounter and a wilderness walk. For details see https://www.prospectpark.org.
This isn't a MLK related event, but on Saturday, January 14, 2023 at City Point Brooklyn at 415 Albee Square West there's a Wine Fest from 1 pm - 4.30 pm. Tickets cost $19 at https://winefestnewyork.com/.
Martin Luther King Holiday Special Events in Queens NYC
On Friday, January 13th, from 5 pm - 9 pm there's a closing reception at the Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning at 161-04 Jamaica Avenue in the Jamaica section of Queens. The exhibit is called The Art of Women and the Sacred Landscape of the Divine Feminine. It's free but you should rsvp at https://www.jcal.org/.
On Friday & Saturday, January 13th & 14th beginning at 7 pm there's a performance by Compass [dance group] about the evolution from patriarchal power at the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center . Tickets are $15 at http://lpac.nyc.
On Sunday beginning at 3 pm, there's a talk by an NYT journalist, musical performance by a top jazz singer as well as other speeches in the LeFrak Concert Hall at the Queens College Kupferberg Center, located at 65-30 Kissena Blvd off Harding Expressway on the Queens College campus. Admission $20 at https://kupferbergcenter.org
On Monday, from 11 am - 1 pm there's a MLK Day event at the Queens Botanical Garden at 43-50 Main Street in Flushing. It's designed for kids and there's a $5 suggested donation.
Martin Luther King Holiday Special Events in the Bronx NYC
On Saturday January 14, 2023 from 10 am - 1 pm there's a workshop entitled Freedom Quilters of Gee's Bend at Wave Hill at 4900 Independence Avenue in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx. It's Free w/ admission to the grounds. For details see www.wavehill.org or call 718.549.3200 x251.
On Monday, January 16, 2023 from 9 am - 4 pm, there's an MLK Day of Service at the Riverdale Y. While the Riverdale Y is located at 5626 Arlington Avenue in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx, the day of service efforts to tackle various social and community problems is not only there, but done in collaboration with three other organizations / sites in the Bronx. For details see - https://www.riverdaley.org/are-you-in-for-mlk-day-of-service-2023/
This weekend between January 14 - 16, 2023 there are multiple opportunities to help with food distribution through non-profit panties throughout many neighborhoods in the Bronx. Here are a couple of suggestions - https://www.foodpantries.org/ci/ny-bronx AND https://www.foodbanknyc.org
Martin Luther King Holiday Special Events in the Staten Island NYC
There's an MLK Day event on Monday, January 16, 2023 at the Staten Island Children’s Museum in the Snug Harbor Cultural Center at 1000 Richmond Terrace on Staten Island. Some of the events are paid [from 9 am - 4 pm] and some are free with admission [from 11 am - 3.30 pm].
Coming Next Weekend
Next weekend begins the Chinese Lunar New Year in celebration of the year of the rabbit and the Winter Show at the Park Avenue Armory.
Best wishes for a good day of community service and have an enjoyable / productive Martin Luther King Weekend .
NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the high 50's on Friday, the high 30's on Saturday and the mid 40's on Sunday and Monday. The temperature lows will be in the low to mid 30's all weekend. No precipitation is in the forecast. The humidity will be in the 60% range on Friday, the 50% range on Saturday, the 40% range on Sunday and Monday. The winds will be 12 - 17 mph on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, dropping to 5 - 10 mph on Monday. Click for Bronx Weather.
Brief History of Martin Luther King Holiday in NYC
Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Baptist Minister who became the leading voice for African Americans' non-violent civil rights movement beginning in the mid 1950's through to his assassination in 1968. In 1983, the third Monday of every year was set aside to honor Martin Luther King for his service to the nation. The third Monday was chosen, as it was the nearest Monday to the anniversary of King's birthday, which was January 15, 1929.
Martin Luther King Day has grown to take on an even larger meaning, as it is oftentimes referred to as a day on, versus a day off. Organizations around the city and nation have used the day to call people into action to address the needs of the community through volunteering and service.
As Martin Luther King Day is a national holiday, it's worth keeping in mind that many / most federal offices will be closed, along with a number of businesses.
Martin Luther King Holiday Special Events in the Bronx NYC
On Saturday January 14, 2023 from 10 am - 1 pm there's a workshop entitled Freedom Quilters of Gee's Bend at Wave Hill at 4900 Independence Avenue in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx. It's Free w/ admission to the grounds. For details see www.wavehill.org or call 718.549.3200 x251.
On Monday, January 16, 2023 from 9 am - 4 pm, there's an MLK Day of Service at the Riverdale Y. While the Riverdale Y is located at 5626 Arlington Avenue in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx, the day of service efforts to tackle various social and community problems is not only there, but done in collaboration with three other organizations / sites in the Bronx. For details see - https://www.riverdaley.org/are-you-in-for-mlk-day-of-service-2023/
This weekend between January 14 - 16, 2023 there are multiple opportunities to help with food distribution through non-profit panties throughout many neighborhoods in the Bronx. Here are a couple of suggestions - https://www.foodpantries.org/ci/ny-bronx AND https://www.foodbanknyc.org
On Monday I made the trip to the Mount Sinai Medical Center between 5th and Madison Avenues and between 99th and 101st Street on the Upper East Side. Mt Sinai is the hold out in completing negotiations or even resuming them with the New York State Nurses Association union or NYSNA.
By last Friday, January 6, 2023, New York Presbyterian Hospital, the Maimonides Medical Center and Richmond University Medical Center had reached tentative agreements with the NYSNA union that included improvements in safe staffing and wages.
By Saturday, January 7, 2023 the NYSNA tweeted that BronxCare Health System and Flushing Hospital Medical Center had "reached tentative agreements that will improve safe staffing levels and enforcement, increase wages by 7%, 6%, and 5%, and save their healthcare benefits."
By Monday, January 9, 2023 about 7,100 pf the 42,000 nurses in the NYSNA union were set to go on strike at Mt Sinai in Manhattan and Montefiore in the Bronx. When I arrived around noon time at Mount Sinai in Manhattan on Monday, the NYSNA had a strong showing by their members. And the vehicular traffic appeared to be highly supportive of them, which you will see in the video I shot when I post it later today. The strikers were stationed primarily on Madison Avenue at about 99th Street, and there was a speaker there, but I really couldn't hear what she had to say with all the surrounding commotion, you'll see that too.
So I found a few nurses talking things over a bit away from the crowd, and I spoke with them. They told me that the strike is primarily about two issues: 1) staffing levels and 2) compensation. I learned a couple of things I didn't hear reported in the corporate media, which I'll share. But please note that I've not yet had a chance to confirm these findings with either of the hospitals still on strike.
The first thing they told me is that the staffing levels vis a vis patient loads are and remain the primary cause of the strike. They said that in the last union negotiation the hospitals agreed to put in recommended grids for staffing levels per patient for the various hospital units, which was a good first step. The problem is that the new staffing grids were not made enforceable.
Thus, because the staffing grids per patient remain unenforceable, I was told that they are exceeded too often. The trouble with this, they told me [and remember these are not the official spokespeople for the union, but rather rank and file union members, and I haven't yet cross referenced these findings with either hospital - see below] is that when you exceed the recommended staffing levels for prolonged periods of time, the probability of staff mistakes rise [dispensing meds and providing treatments], and hence this isn't just unsafe for patients, but it also puts the licenses of the nurses in jeopardy, should they make a mistake.
The second thing they told me was that the corporate media tells New Yorkers that the striking nurses are holding out for higher percentage pay increases vis a vis the nurses at the other hospitals who have reached tentative deals. They thought this characterization was incomplete - if not unfair - as the nurses at Mt Sinai and Montefiore have lower pay scales than the nurses at the other NYC hospitals.
By Wednesday morning, January 11th, Montefiore had resumed negotiations with the NYNSA.
This is the first major strike by New York nurses in decades. One of the nurses said during the pandemic healthcare professionals were hailed at Heroes, while today - just a few short years later - they're treated like Zeroes. I will post the video later today and if should Montefiore or Mt Sinai Hospitals decide to provide me with comments, I will post them here later today.
Lastly, please note that none of the people I spoke with are featured in any video or photos of the strike.
Things To Do This Weekend in NYC & Boros
First Full Weekend of the New Year - 2nd Anniversary of the Trump Insurrection, Three Kings Day Parade, Greek, Ukrainian & Russian Orthodox Christmas Weekend, Shabbat Dinner, January Under the Radar Festival Begins, Mulchfest Ending & a Couple of Holiday Market Sales
NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the high 40's on Friday and Saturday, descending to the low 40's on Sunday. The temperature lows will be in the low to mid 30's all weekend. The humidity will be 70% on Friday, 60% on Saturday and between 50% and 70% on Sunday. Winds will be 5 - 10 mph all weekend. A scant amount of precipitation is expected early Friday morning, as well as late Sunday night. It appears to be something one needn't worry too much about.
In the photo at right, taken last week in Manhattan, you can see Macy's in the background, in all of its holiday glory.
White House, Washington, D.C. - Failed Insurrection
President Biden is planning to commemorate the failed Trump Insurrection of January 6th, 2021, with a White House event planned on Friday.
Around NYC - Mulchfest Ends Sunday
NYC Parks Department is hosting Mulchfest at various locations in each borough through Sunday, January 8th. This is an opportunity to recycle your Christmas trees and wreaths. Find a location and time that suits you - https://www.nycgovparks.org/highlights/festivals/mulchfest
Manhattan
On Friday there's a Three Kings Day Parade and celebration from 11 am - 2 pm at the Museo del Barrio at 1230 5th Avenue [at 104th / 105th Street] on the UES. They are also hosting a post holiday sale at their gift shop with 15% off most items. For details see - https://www.elmuseo.org/
January Arts Festival began this week and runs through the end of the month. The Under the Radar Jazz Festival, Chamber Music America and Opera Theatre Now are all on various stages this weekend. For details see https://www.janartsnyc.org/
In the photo at right, taken in Midtown Manhattan last week, you can see the crowds have returned to NYC.
The annual Origami holiday exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History at 200 Central Park West [btwn 77th & 81st] on the Upper West Side runs through January 16th, 2023. This year the exhibit is entitled 'Beautiful Bugs' to highlight the important role of insects in the planet ecosystem.
NEXT WEEK. The Joyce Theatre American Dance Platform begins Tuesday, January 10th and the Winter Jazz Festival begins on Thursday, January 12th. It's all part of the January Arts Festival - https://www.janartsnyc.org/
Brooklyn
On Friday there's the Brooklyn Brownstone Jazz Ensemble Concert Series beginning at 7.30 pm at 107 Macon Street in the Bed Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. Tickets are $39 at https://brownstonejazz.business.site/
The Lightscape Show at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden continues through January 8th, 2023. Tickets cost $40 for adults / $20 for kids and babies (0-2) are free.
Queens
On Friday from 11 am - 2 pm there's a Job Fair in Queens at BJ's Wholesale Club at 137-05 20th Avenue in the College Point neighborhood of Queens.
NEXT WEEK. There's a closing reception at the Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning at 161-04 Jamaica Avenue in the Jamaica section of Queens, next Friday, January 13th, from 5 pm - 9 pm. The exhibit is called The Art of Women and the Sacred Landscape of the Divine Feminine. It's free but you should rsvp at https://www.jcal.org/.
NEXT WEEK. Friday & Saturay, January 13th & 14th beginning at 7 pm there's a performance by Compass [dance group] about the evolution from patriarchal power at the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center . Tickets are $15 at http://lpac.nyc.
Bronx
The Third Avenue holiday market at 2817 3rd Avenue between 148th and 149th Streets is open for its final day on Friday, January 6th from 11 am - 7 pm.
There's a Shabbat Dinner at the Bronx Jewish Center at 900 Pelham Parkway beginning at 7 pm in the Pelham Parkway neighborhood in the Bronx on Friday.
In the photo at right, taken last week, you see the Orpheum Theater in the East Village, where STOMP, a dance and musical performance show, will end its 29 year long run on Sunday, January 8th. In April of this year, the Phantom of the Opera, the longest running musical on Broadway [35 years], will also close.
The Holiday Train Show [1/6 - 1/16/23 except Monday 1/9/23] & Glow [Saturdays 1/7 and 1/14 only ] exhibits run through the holidays at the New York Botanical Garden at 2900 Southern Blvd in the Bedford Park neighborhood of the Bronx. The train show tickets cost $35 / $31 / $20 and the Glow tickets cost $39 / $24 at https://www.nybg.org/.
The Holiday Lights show at the Bronx Zoo at 2300 Southern Blvd continues through January 8th. Tickets are $40 / $35 / $25 at https://bronxzoo.com.
Staten Island
There's a Winter Lantern Festival at 75 Richmond Terrace [the stadium] on Staten Island. The show runs through January 8th, 2023. Tickets are $18 / $29 at https://www.winterlanternfestival.com.
On Friday and Saturday at the Conference House in Tottenville, there's the Festival of Trees.
I hope your new year is off to a good start. Enjoy your first weekend.
New Years Resolutions 2023: The Road Ahead
A Few Axioms To Keep In Mind Throughout The New Year
For all of us, today starts the beginning of a new year.
If we stay the course with vaccinations, masks, social distancing and hand washing, we should be able to continue the transition from pandemic to endemic - assuming we're not already almost there - given that there are likely to be lingering long term CoVid effects and that we may never return to a pre-CoVid normal.
The rest of this report is about some of the things you can do personally to make 2023 a better year for you.
Bronx New Years Eve Parties & NYE Restaurants 2022 / 2023 NYC
New Years Eve Parties in Mott Haven, Port Morris, Melrose, Fordham, Concourse, Parkchester, Bedford Park, Belmont, University Heights Neighborhoods in the Bronx NYC
New Years Eve occurs on a Saturday this year. While New Years Eve is one big party, it's important to keep in mind, that like St. Patrick's Day, all the amateurs come out to play [it's not just the Irish who are out drinking on St. Patrick's Day]. So some measure of caution is advised and you have to be careful.
Folks are ready to party this year, so an early rsvp is suggested. Most, if not all, NYC restaurants no longer require proof of vaccination, and no longer require masks. NYC theaters, followed suit this year rescinding both requirements, but they still encourage theater goers to wear masks. And while the pandemic restrictions have been rescinded, you might want to check the CoVid guidelines of your destinations, just to be sure, as each business is free to mandate and enforce their own CoVid guidelines.
The following are a number of different New Years restaurants in the Bronx NYC where you might consider booking a reservation.
NYC Weather. The termperature highs descend from the mid 50's Friday, to about 20 on Saturday, rising to about 30 on Sunday and Monday, which is a holiday. The temperature lows fall like a rock to about 10 degrees Friday night, before rising to 15 on Saturday, 20 on Sunday and 25 on Monday. The humidity drops from 70% on Friday to 50% by the end of the day, and then remains in the 40% - 50% range for the rest of the weekend, including Monday. As of the time of this post, there's a 70% chance around midday of about 1/10 inch of precipitation. The winds will fall from a blustery 20 mph + on Friday, to 15 mph on Saturday, to 10 - 15 mph on Sunday, down to 5 - 10 mph on Monday.
The photo at right was taken earlier this month at Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan. The crowds are back, but there might not yet, be as many foreign tourists as in the past.
Global - NORAD Santa Tracker
Click this link to follow Santa as he and his flying reindeer traverse the globe on Christmas eve and morning to make sure that all the good boys and girls receive gifts from the jolly, centuries-old man. Be sure to leave some milk and cookies for both Santa and the reindeer, and - while I must admit this is totally unconfirmed hearsay - I hear Santa occasionally drinks of the job. So if you leave a nip of something alcoholic to consume along with the milk and cookies, note that it might possibly be ignored, but also may not be unwelcome. Remember, just because that glass of something alcoholic was emptied between the time you went to bed on Christmas Eve and the time you awoke on Christmas morning, doesn't mean it was Santa who emptied it. Some believe that who emptied the glass, is how those rumors about Santa got started. Here is the link to the Norad Tracker:
https://www.noradsanta.org/en/
Manhattan
On Christmas Eve there's an hour of Caroling from 5 - 6 pm at the Christmas tree in Washington Square Park North at 5th Avenue. Free & all are welcome.
There's a Yiddish Festival at the Jewish Museum of Jewish Heritage at Brookfield Place Downtown from December 24 - 29, 2022. Tickets range from $10 - $349 and may be purchased at https://www.yiddishnewyork.com
There are Hanukkah candle lightings nightly outside the Plaza Hotel at the southeast end of Central Park around 5.30 pm except Friday [3.30 pm] and Saturday [6.30 pm].
There's the annual Origami holiday exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History at 200 Central Park West [btwn 77th & 81st] on the Upper West Side.
There's a Kwanzaa event at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.
The United Palace is hosting a Chanukah performance by an Israeli singer on Sunday starting at 8.30 pm in Washington Heights. Tickets $60 - $500.
There's a Midnight Mass on Christmas eve at St Patrick's Cathedral on 5th Avenue at 50th Street in Midtown Manhattan. Tickets required to attend at https://saintpatrickscathedral.org.
Most Manhattan Holiday Markets have either ended or end this weekend, excepting Bryant Park which ends in the new year. The following Manhattan holiday markets end on Christmas eve: Grand Central Station, Columbus Circle, Chelsea and Union Square. Only the Times Square holiday market ends Friday 12/23/22.
The photo below right was taken earlier this month in Midtown Manhattan.
On Christmas eve there's a Holiday Log lighting event between 1 - 2 pm at the Van Cortlandt House Museum at Broadway and West 246th Street in the southwest corner of Van Cortlandt Park.
Bronx Little Italy seafood markets are celebrating the feast of the seven fishes on Christmas eve Saturday in the Belmont neighborhood.
The BHBG Holiday Train Show & Glow exhibits run through the holidays.
The Bronx Zoo light show and related holiday events continue through the holidays.
There are nightly Menorah lightings at the Bell Tower Monument at West 239th Street and Henry Hudson Parkway in the Riverdale neighborhood in the Bronx. The lightings are at 4 pm, except at 3 pm Friday and 6.30 pm on Saturday.
There's a Kwanzaa Market on Friday, December 30 from 4 - 8 pm at St. Helena's Church at 1315 Olmstead Avenue downstairs in the gym in the Parkchester neighborhood of the Bronx. They suggest you wear African attire. Usually the Kwanzaa performance starts at 6 pm. Tickets $10.
The Queens County Farm Holiday Market ends Christmas eve.
There's a 7.30 pm Christmas Eve Mass at Christ Lutheran Church 33-57 58th Street in Woodside.
There's a Kwanzaa theatrical production being performed at the Black Spectrum Theatre on Wednesday and Thursday 12/28 & 12/29 at 11 am and 7 pm respectively. At 177 Baisley Blvd in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens. $30 at www.blackspectrum.net.
There's a Winter Lantern Festival at 75 Richmond Terrace [the stadium] on Staten Island. The show runs through the holidays. Tickets are $18 / $29 at https://www.winterlanternfestival.com.
NYC Weather. There's going to be some semi-serious precipitation [at present 2 plus inches] beginning Thursday afternoon around 4 pm, continuing until Friday about 4 pm. The temperatures are expected to rise to well above freezing, so it's almost certain to be rain in the city. As for the rest of the week, no rain Monday through Wednesday, and none is expected Saturday and Sunday, as folks head home for the holidays.
The temperature highs will be around 40 from Monday through Wednesday, rising into the low 50's on Thursday and possibly hit 60 on Friday, before descending into the mid 20's for the Christmas weekend, so Santa and his reindeer won't overheat as they make their appointed rounds. The temperature lows will be around 30 Monday through Wednesday, rising to 50 on Thursday, before falling to into the high teens on Friday, where the low will remain for the rest of the weekend. Monday thru Wednesday winds will be around 5 - 10 mph, rising to 15 - 20 on Thursday and then 25 - 30 on Friday, before falling back to 15 - 20 mph on Saturday and then 10 mph on Sunday. The humidity will be 50% - 65% on Monday thru Wednesday, rising to 75% - 85% on Thursday, and then falling on Friday from 75% to 50% on Friday, before settling into the weekend at between 40% - 50% for a dry weekend.
I. The Tripledemic - RSV How Real & How Scary?
As you likely heard, we are in the midst of experiencing a 'tripledemic'. The triple refers to CoVid, flu and RSV. RSV is short for respiratory syncytial virus, which is a virus that causes symptoms like those associated with a cold, but which can cause serious negative health issues for infants and the elderly. As usual, the TV news teleprompter readers and their writers appear to report whatever they're told, without actually thinking about the information they're conveying. And since they're in the business of attracting viewers' and readers' attention, they seem to have a tendency to sensationalize almost everything they report, including the weather.
So, let's start with RSV [respiratory syncytial virus], which to date, appears to have peaked the week ending November 12, 2022 [see chart]. According to weekly reporting by NYC Health, an NYC government website, there were three RSV related infant deaths since the peak this season, and they all occurred on the same week. As of the NYC Health report on December 17, 2022, there were nearly 30,000 cases in NYC so far this fall. So three infant deaths is a 0.01% RSV death rate in NYC. Given the low death rate, one has to wonder whether there were other complicating factors also at play?
RSV prevention is certainly worth paying attention to in order to protect your loved ones - especially infants, the elderly and immuno compromised. But that said, it rarely appears to be fatal, as you can see by the statistics noted above. RSV cases have been on the decline since the November 12th peak, but as in reporting on all health issues, things can change without notice. So stay tuned, knowing that what we're dealing with generally isn't lethal.
II. Resurgence of the Flu, in the Wake of the CoVid Pandemic
Understanding what's happening with the flu this season in NYS, also doesn't seem to be intelligently reported, as the TV news teleprompter readers and their script writers all seem to parrot one another with some alarming statistics. Alarming the public is good for ratings, so I reckon the broadcasters are doing what their bosses want them to do, but like the Boy Who Called Wolf, they're doing a disservice to the public and in the long term eventually a disservice to themselves, as the public is going to ignore them when another real health emergency arises.
Yes, the Flu is on the Rise & Dramatically so, Picking up from Where it Left Off in March 2020
Yes, the flu cases have risen very dramatically this year, especially when compared to the previous flu seasons, including prepandemic. But there's a story behind the numbers, which is that during the pandemic, the flu was overshadowed by CoVid because the flu has been around for about a century and for the most part the healthcare profession knows how to deal with it. As you can see from the chart, the green line - which is 2019 - 2020 flu season - was headed for a blockbuster year before CoVid stepped out onto the world stage, and CoVid has stolen the show up until now.
What happened since CoVid began in earnest in early 2020, is that people started masking up, social distancing and self-isolating. All of these precautions not only mitigate the transmission of CoVid - but also the flu. In part this is why the 2020 - 2021 flu numbers were close to nothing, and the 2021 - 2022 numbers were also very much subdued. Now, as we are in the beginning of the 2022 - 2023 flu season, the flu appears to be picking up where it left off in early 2020, before CoVid hit.
Flu Vaccinations Rates in 2022 vs 2019 Are Higher for Adults, but Lower for Children
I found some threads of inquiry that are worth investigating, which I hope will be pursued by a better resourced news organization soon, or by us eventually.
On the NYC.gov Health website I noticed that the number of Emergency Department visits for Influenza Like Illnesses, which they shorthand to ILL, have risen dramatically from 2021 to 2022, as have admissions - BUT the Emergency Department Admissions vis a vis the visits as a percentage has dropped to about half in 2022, versus what they were in 2021. That said, the overall number of people admitted for flu increased fairly substantially. See charts.
On the CDC [Center for Disease Control] website I found that while flu vaccination rates for adults are generally up when comparing 2022 versus 2019; the flu vaccination rates for children are down significantly in 2022 versus 2019. So it's possible that people's kids that may have mild cases of the flu are transmitting it to the adults, who are then getting sick. See charts below.
Both of these trends should be examined more closely by the NYC Health and CDC agencies, but that said, being aware of them can also help you navigate your way around them.
Conspiracy Theories - Did Government Payments Influence / Favor CoVid vs Flu Reporting?
On April, 27, 2020 USA Today published the results of an investigation into whether hospitals were paid more for CoVid patients on a ventillator than for flu patients on a ventillator. The higher payments for CoVid patients was true, but the study didn't find any 'gaming the system' on the part of hospitals. What's meant by this is that USA Today didn't find any falsification of data by hospitals in order to obtain the higher CoVid payment for the use of their ventillator. As you can see from the chart provided by KFF, which is a non-profit focused on providing healthcare information, about $31 billion in federal government spending was targeted at providing relief to healthcare providers treating patients with CoVid.
III. King CoVid is Back Again but ... CoVid's Reign is Waning
So, this brings us back to CoVid. CoVid has been the Talk of the Town for the past three years, but it's allure is fading.
New Cases / Hospitalizations / Deaths. In NYC we've been seeing about 300 new cases per day and on average there are about 4,000 people in NYC who have contracted and are living with CoVid. Also in NYC, as of today, about 130 patients are in the hospital with CoVid, and about a dozen folks died of it within the past day. About 14% of those tested at NYC clinics and hospitals tested positive for CoVid, but these numbers don't include the at home tests, so I don't know how meaningful a statistic the % testing positive is anymore.
All of this is more or less under control. We've moved from pandemic to endemic. So now let's see how CoVid plays out in the five boroughs of NYC geographically and ethnically. The following are a few stats that stick out to me.
By Age. About 99% of all adult New Yorkers received at least one vaccination dose. About 89% of NYC adults completed the original two shot vaccination program, while 48% have been boosted at least once. Kids under age 18 however do far less well vis a vis vaccinations. About 52% received at least one dose, only 45% actually completed the two shot regimen and only 16% have been boosted at least once.
By Boroughs. If you want to contract CoVid your best bet is eastern Brooklyn or southern Queens. But as you can see from the map, right now Queens looks pretty infected. But please bear in mind that this map can change dramatically - every ten days or so - so what you're seeing here is CoVid in NYC at a fleeting moment in time. See red map chart at the top of this report.
Ethnicity. Murdoch's Fox News / America's Disinformation Network Seems to be Dumbing Down White New Yorkers. Given George Washington, nearly 250 years ago, mandated that his troops be vaccinated, one would think that people today would recognize the value of protecting one's health via vaccinations. On many news programs, and for many measured categories, pundits use Whites as a sort of established national standard, when evaluating the progress being made by people in other demographic groups. Historically Whites have come out on top, because they've been members of the governing class, and the ethnic majority since this nation's founding.
But if a significant percentage of White New Yokers continue to rely on Rupert Murdoch's Fox News, Wall Street Journal and New York Post for their information, they'll soon enough lose their spot as a sort of aspirational ethnic national standard. The example I use to support these allegations today, is that White NYC Adults have the second lowest vaccination rate in the city of all ethnic groups, and White NYC children have the lowest CoVid vaccination rate in the city. Historically - pre-Murdoch - one would expect Whites to have the highest vaccination rates for both adults and children.
Murdoch media outlets have the predominant share of media in NYC, as Murdoch controls the Fox TV network, Fox 5, WNYW Channel 9, the Wall St Journal and the NY Post. Many of these Murdoch's outlets have done their audiences a disservice by not properly informing them vis a vis vaccines and vaccinations, in spite of the CoVid policies the company has implemented for itself [so Mr. Murdoch wants us to listen to his pundits as they say one thing & pay no attention to what Mr. Murdoch & Cos do, which is quite another thing].
Vaccinated People are Dying, but They're Generally Older and / or Infirm, & When Other Things are Equal, the Vaccinated Folks have a Far, Far Better Chance of Survival
Recently More Vaccinated Americans Died from CoVid than Unvaccinated Americans, BUT ... That's not true when you take into account age and other health variables, and whether or not they kept up with the vaccination boosters. In September 2021, 23% of those who died were vaccinated, that number rose to 42% in February 2022, and in August of 2022 it was 58%. BUT you need to know that at this point in the pandemic, most of the people dying of CoVid are over the age of 85 [see chart]. So while they are vaccinated, they are also very old and hence more susceptible to dying than those who are younger.
Vaccines Still Make a HUGE Difference. So the numbers, per a November 23, 2022 Washington Post report tells us, that: 1) unvaccinated Americans 6 months and older died at a rate 6x more those who got the first two doses of the vaccine, 2) unvaccinated Americans over age 5 died at an 8x rate than those who also received a booster, and 3) unvaccinated Americans age 50 and up were 12x times more likely to die than someone fully vaccinated with two boosters. So evaluate your risk and act accordingly. A shot in the arm seems a small price to pay for protection / insurance.
Protect the Elderly - CoVid Mitigation Advice is as Easy of 1-2-3-4-5
1. Stay up to date on your CoVid vaccinations. As time goes on and this abates, perhaps we can back off this regimen and like flu, it will be something we'll vaccinate against as we age.
2. Wash your hands regularly before touching your face - most notably your mouth and nose.
3. Social distance as much as you can, and wear a mask when in an enclosed public space or a crowded outdoor space.
4. Avoid people who are ill / coughing and stay at home if it's you.
5. And test yourself before attending events with family and friends in enclosed spaces if you're uncertain whether or not you have contracted CoVid. And if you caught CoVid, test yourself after about five or six days, to make sure you no longer have it before going back out in public.
Editor's Note. There are a number of advertisements on this site that you can click to find a testing site near you, as well as ads that you can click which will tell you where you can seek CoVid treatment if you need it.
All Other - We Continue to Learn More About CoVid
There's a whole slew of additional data I dug up about some of the other impacts of catching CoVid vis a vis its long term impact on one's health ['long CoVid'] and possible impact on Alzheimers.
We're also learning more about the vaccines and their impact on people. So as not to scare you, about the only thing I have found so far in this regard, is that there may be a slight lengthening of women's menstrual cycles.
We'll be back with more, but probably next year.
Have a nice week.
* Things To Do This Weekend in NYC & Boros
This is the Peak Party Holiday Weekend, Holiday Concerts, Holiday Shopping & Menorah Lightings as Hanukkah Begins
NYC Weather. The temperature highs descend from the high 40's on Friday to about 40 on Saturday and then into the high 30's on Sunday. The temperature lows drop from the mid 30's on Friday, to about 30 on Saturday and Sunday. The humidity drops from between 70% and 80% on Friday, to about 60% on Saturday and then into the 50% range on Sunday. The winds will be 12 - 16 on Friday and then about 10 mph for the rest of the weekend. About a half inch of rain is due Friday, ending about 4 pm in the afternoon, and thereafter the weekend should be dry.
The photo at right was taken last week along 6th Avenue, near Bryant Park in Midtown. The city is again entertaining fair crowds of tourists and New Yorkers.
Holiday Things To Do in Manhattan - Use Links at end of each Boro to obtain detail
* On Friday, Saturday & Sunday, December 16, 17 & 18, 2022 beginning at 7 pm Fri, 3 pm & 7 pm Sat, and 3 pm on Sun - performance of the show entitled Home for the Holidays. at Harlem School for the Arts at At 645 St. Nicholas Avenue in West Harlem north of the Upper West Side near Inwood and Washington Heights. Tickets $23 for all days except Sunday which is Free.
* On Saturday December 17th the Harlem Night market will be running La Marqueta from 4 to 8 pm. La Marqueta is located at 1590 Park Avenue between 112th and 115th Streets in East Harlem, underneath the Metro North tracks.
* Sunday, December 18, 2022 between 12 noon and 6 pm, Fifth Avenue will be closed to vehicles and open to pedestrians from 48th to 57th Street in Midtown.
* LAST DAY _ On Sundayfrom 10 am - 5.30 pm for the price of an MTA fare, passengers may ride the MTA vintage / nostalgia 1930s, 1940's, 1950's and 1960's train cars from between Chambers Street in the West Village and West 137th Street in Harlem.
* On Sunday, December 18, 2022 from 10 am - 12 noon a Hanukkah celebration at the 92nd Y at 1395 Lexington Avenue between 91st & 92nd Avenues on the Upper East Side. Free. https://www.92ny.org
* On Sunday, December 18, 2022 from 11 am - 3.30 pm the Jewish Museum at 1109 5th Avenue at 92nd Street on the UES of Manhattan is hosting a modern Hanukkah exhibit with an interactive light show. Free w/ museum admission of $18 / $12 or $8.
* On Sunday, December 18, 2022 from 4 to 5.30 pm there's the Riverside Church Candelight Carol Service at Riverside Church at 490 Riverside Drive between 120th and 122nd Streets on the Upper West Side. The musical prelude begins at 3 pm. Then a candle light service with the full cultural theater developed over thousands of years by the Christian church. They describe it as thus, "... combines carillon, organ, harp, and all of the choirs of The Riverside Church and culminates in a ritual sharing of candlelight illuminating the Nave ...". Tickets are $25 / $35 / donation.
* On Sunday, December 18 - 26, 2022 beginning at 5.30 pm nightly except on - Friday at 3.30 pm & Saturday at 8.30 pm there's the Grand Army Plaza Manhattan Menorah Lighting Events Hanukkah 2022. At Grand Army Plaza at 5th Avenue & 59th Street in Midtown Manhattan.
* On Monday, December 19, 2022 beginning at 8 pm Handel's Messiah in the Stern Auditorium on the Perlman Stage at Carnegie Hall at 57th Street and 7th Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. A classic Christmas choral performance at one of NYC's oldest and finest cultural venues. Tickets are $28 plus $9 Processing or $80 plus $9 processing at https://www.carnegiehall.org.
All Weekend the holiday shops at Bryant Park, Grand Central Station, Times Square, Columbus Circle, Union Square Park, the Grand Bazaar on the UWS, the Chelsea Market, and the World Trade Center are all open - not just this weekend but through to Christmas. Details to all of these and other markets may be found using the link below entitled Manhattan holiday markets.
All Weekend the Luminaires Light Installation at Brookfield Place will be on. Ice rinks at Bryant Park and Rockefeller Center are open. The Rockefeller Christmas tree is up, but not lit. ORIGAMI at the American Museum of Natural History on the UWS.
Also it's worth noting the the Winter Solstice Concert at St. John the Divine, which was virtual last year, again doesn't appear to be returning live this year.
Holiday Things To Do in Brooklyn - Use Links at end of each Boro to obtain details
* On Friday & Saturday there will be a performance of classical music by the Brooklyn Chamber Orchestra at St Ann's Holy Trinity Church at 157 Montague Street in Downtown Brooklyn beginning at 7 pm and 11 am respectively. Rsvp $40.
** On Saturday there's a holiday event from 12 noon to 4 pm at the Poe Park at 2640 Grand Concourse in the Fordham neighobrhood of the Bronx. Free. The NYC Parks Department didn't specify what the event entailed.
* On Saturday there's a Caribbean holiday market followed by a concert at Medgar Evers College at 1650 Bedford Avenue in Crown Heights Brooklyn. The market opens at 5.30 pm and the concert begins at 7 pm. Tickets are $30 / $25 at https://www.braataproductions.org/.
* On Saturday there's a one day pop up market from 11 am - 6 pm at 203 37th Street in Industry City in the Greenwood Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn.
* On Saturday, beginning at 1 pm there's a trolley tour about history, art and nature being given at the Green - Wood Cemetery. You must rsvp and it costs $30.
* On Saturday from 4 - 5.30 the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music hosts a Principles of Kwanzaa Workshop which is most suited for kids 8 - 14 and their parents. Free. At the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music at 58 7th Avenue in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn NYC.
* On Saturday at 7 pm and on Sunday at 9 am, 12 noon and 3 pm, the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir will perform a number of free holiday concerts.
* On Saturday there's a performance of the Nutcracker ballet beginning at 4 pm at Our Lady of Angels Parish at 337 74th Street in Bay Ridge Brooklyn. $20.
* On Saturday & Sunday, the Fort Greene holiday pop up market will be open from 9 am - 4 pm along DeKalb Street between Washington Park and South Oxford Street near the farmers market and adjacent to Fort Greene Park in Brooklyn.
* On Saturday and Sunday there's a holiday market at the Brooklyn Museum 200 Eastern Parkway in the Prospect Heights from 11 am - 7.30 pm on Saturday and closing at 5.30 pm Sunday.
* On Saturday and Sunday, the Dumbo Improvement District is hosting a holiday flea market from 10 am - 5 pm at the Dumbo Triangle at Pearl Street. The Brooklyn Flea is open weekends at 80 Pearl Street.
* Sunday, 12/18/22 beginning at 2 pm and 6.30 pm, the Kings Theatre in Flatbush is hosting performances of the Hip Hop Nutcracker.
* On Sunday 12/18/22, there's a menorah lighting at the Grand Army Plaza in Prospect Park, also beginning at 4 pm.
** On Sunday there's a Menorah Lighting from 2.30 - 3.30 pm at the Old Stone House at 4th Street and 5th Avenue in Park Slope.
* Weekend Market. The FAD [Fashion / Art / Design] markets is open Saturday from 11 am - 6 pm and Sundays from noon - 6 pm closing Sunday 12/18. They have two locations - one at the Invisible Dog Art Center at 51 Bergen Street in Boerum Hill, and at Empire Stores at 55 Water Street in Dumbo.
* Weekend Market. Artists and Fleas hosts their Regeneration holiday market on Saturdays and Sundays at 70 North Street in Williamsburg through the December weekends leading up to Christmas.
* All weekend there's also a holiday pop up market from 11 am - 7 pm on Friday & Saturday and closing at 6 pm on Sunday at 135 Kent Avenue at 6th Street in Williamsburg. The market features 35 vendors selling a variety of goods including fashion, beauty products, homewares, kids items and food. This market stays open next week and closes on Saturday 12/24/22.
* All Weekend - Holiday lights in Dyker Heights and the Lightscape Show at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. Details to all of these and other events may be found using the link below entitled Brooklyn holiday events.
Holiday Things To Do in Queens - Use Links at end of each Boro to obtain details
* On Sunday at 3.30 pm the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center hosts a performance of the Nutcracker ballet in LIC. Tickets are $21 at https://www.lpac.nyc.
* On Saturday there's a Governor's Victorian Ball at King Manor beginning from 4.30 - 7 pm. Tickets are $22 and include hors d'oeuvres and musical entertainment. They suggest you dress up in a costume of the age. Rsvp at www.kingmanor.org.
* On Saturday, there's a holiday caroling event from 7 - 10 pm at Cassidy's Ale House at 75-02 31st Avenue and 75th Street in Elmhurst / Jackson Heights. Free.
* Sunday, 12/18 from noon to 6 pm the Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden hosts a holiday market in Astoria.
* On Sunday the Oratorio Society of Queens will perform a Christmas / Hanukkah concert beginning at the St. Kevin Roman Catholic Church at 45-21 194th Street in Flushing Queens. Tickets $45 / $30 / $10.
* On Sunday afternoon there's a holiday market in Rufus King Park in tandem with the Jamaica Performing Arts Center across the street.
* All weekend there is a holiday market / sale at the Culture Lab at 5-25 46th Avenue between Vernon Blvd and 5th Street in Long Island City Queens. Details for all markets in Queens can be found using the link below.
* All Weekend. The Winter Lantern Festival began at the Queens County Farm at 7350 Little Neck Parkway. The Amaze Lights Festival began November 11th at CitiField in Flushing and runs through January 8th, 2023. And the Queens County Farm runs a holiday market daily from 10 am - 5 pm.
* Between now and the New Year [except Mondays & Christmas Day], the Secret Theatre at 3802 61st Street in Woodside Queens is performing A Christmas Carol written by Charles Dickens about a rich, lonely, miserly, miserable old man. Admission $30 / $15.
* The photo above right was taken last weekend, as I was on a subway winding its way past the new 5 Pointz building in Long Island City in Queens.
Holiday Things To Do in the Bronx - Use Links at end of each Boro to obtain details
* On Friday, December 16, 2022 from 5.30 - 7.30 pm, Santa will be visiting the Westchester Square Business Improvement District and there will be holiday treats, the Yuletide Singers and tree lighting. At Owen Dolan Park at 2551 Westchester Avenue at Tremont Avenue in the Westchester Square neighborhood of the Bronx.
* On Friday & Saturday, the Bartow Pell Mansion is hosting candelight tours of the mansion from 5 - 7 pm. Also on Thursday and Friday 12/22 & 12/23/22. $12. And on Sunday, December 18, 2022 from 3 - 4.30 pm - Sparkling Holiday Tea. $45.
* On Saturday & Sunday, December 17 & 18, 2022 beginning at 12.30 and 4.30 pm each day there will be performances of the classical ballet, The Nutcracker, by the Westchester Ballet Company in the Lovinger Theater which is at the north end of the campus at Lehman College at 250 Bedford Park Blvd West in Bedford Park in the Bronx. Tickets $31 - $63 https://www.lehmancenter.org/
* On Saturday, December 17, 2022 beginning at 2.30 pm there will be a Bronx Holiday Concert at St. Helenas Roman Catholic Church at 1315 Olmsted Avenue in the Parkchester neighborhood of the Bronx. MASKS ARE REQUIRED. Tickets cost $20 / $15 / $5.
* On Sunday 12/18/22, there's a free classical holiday concert to be performed in the Lehman Concert Hall which is in the middle of the campus. Free.
* On Sunday, December 18, 2022 from 2 - 3 pm there will be a Chanukah concert to celebrate the beginning of Hanukkah at the Bronx Jewish Center at 900 Pelham Parkway in the Pelham Parkway neighborhood of the Bronx NYC.
* On Sunday, December 18, 2022 beginning at 6.30 pm there's a Menorah Lighting & Interfaith Holiday Music event, at Hawkins Park at 281 City Island Avenue [the main drag] on City Island neighborhood in the East Bronx. The lighting event will be followed by a reception at the City Island Art Gallery. This is organized by Temple Beth-El synogogue. All are welcome.
* On Sunday, December 18, 2022 beginning at 4 pm there will be a Bronx Hanukkah menorah lighting including live music, hot latkes, donuts, dreidels, and balloons at the Bell Tower Monument at West 239th Street and Henry Hudson Parkway in the Riverdale neighborhood in the Bronx. This event is organized by Chabad Bronx.
** On Sunday, beginning at 5 pm, there's a Mya's R&B Celebrity Holiday Party at Salsa Con Fuego at 2297 Cedar Avenue in the Fordham Manor neighborhood of the Bronx. Tickets $34 at www.salsaconfuego.com and the following dress code enforced - No hats, hoods, construction boots, athletic wear and dress code assessment is at the Doorman's discretion.
* All Weekend - The Bronx Zoo Holiday Lights and NY Botanical Garden Glow and NY Botanical Garden Holiday Train Show also run all weekend.
Holiday Things To Do on Staten Island - Use Links at end of each Boro to obtain details
* On Friday, 12/16/22, the St. George Theatre is hosting the Staten Island Jazz Festival in St. George beginning at 7.30 pm. Tickets are $35 / VIP $125. https://stgeorgetheatre.com
* On Saturday, December 17, 2022 from 9 to 11 am there's a holiday breakfast with Santa for kids ages 3 - 11, including Santa, a holiday market, candyland and arts & crafts. At Colony Hall in the Sea View Farm Colony at 460 Brielle Avenue in the Manor Heights neighborhood of Staten Island. Organized by the Grace Foundation.
* On Saturday & Sunday, December 17 & 18, 2022 beginning at 5.30 pm Saturday and at 1 pm and 4 pm on Sunday there are performances of the classical ballet, the Nutcracker, by the Staten Island Ballet Dancers in Nicotra's Ballroom in the Hilton Garden Inn at 1100 South Avenue in the Bloomfield neighborhood on Staten Island. Tickets $85 SOLD OUT.
* On Sunday beginning at 5 pm there's a holiday lighting event in Westerleigh Park in the Westerleigh neighborhood of Staten Island.
* On Saturday and Sunday from 5.30 - 7.30 pm Historic Richmond Town is giving Candelight Tours. Tickets are $25 / $23 and kid age five and under are free.
* On Sunday 12/18/22 from 11 am - 3 pm, the Old Bermuda Inn hosts its final weekend of holiday brunches with Santa.
* All Weekend - There's a Winter Wonderland at Snug Harbor from 5 pm - 11.45 pm. The Staten Island Mall is hosting photo sessions with Santa.
Also we're still updating our New Years Eve parties / restaurants suggestions. Click this link to view. It should be mostly completed by Saturday, December 17th.
Enjoy.
Picketing for the One Day Strike at the New York Times didn't Last a Day
How Not to do a Strike?
December 13, 2022 / NYC Business News / Midtown Manhattan / News Analysis & Opinion / Manhattan Buzz.
Early last week I caught wind that there was an impending strike coming to the New York Times. It was a snippet of a news story, but seemed important, given the prominence and influence of the Times. The Times is one of the two most prestigious papers in the nation along with the Washington Post, and one of a small number of such influential newspapers in the world.
NYT Strike on Thursday, December 8, 2022
So, when I heard that the strike was actually happening on Thursday late afternoon, I dropped everything and headed down to the New York Times office building in Midtown Manhattan. I had a hunch that the strikers would be disbanding - if not gone - by the time the TV news ended at 7 pm.
It turns out I was right, as I arrived right around 7 pm and there wasn't a striker in sight. I walked completely around the block, covering all street exits of the Times office building, including 8th Avenue and 40th and 41st Streets. The strikers had been there, just not for a very long time.
I asked several people coming out of the building about the strike. Most of them shrugged me off, in a surly sort of manner. One of them responded telling me that the strikers were there in the afternoon, marching along 8th Avenue. But, as mentioned, there wasn't a striker in sight, and no trace that they had been there. Unless they had slipped into Wolfgang's Steakhouse for drinks and dinner [see photo below].
The photo above right was taken outside of the Times office building in Midtown Manhattan around 7 pm on December 8, 2022 - the day of the one day strike. The picketing appears not to have lasted the day.
A reported 1,100 members of the News Guild of New York gave up a days pay, to stage the one day walk out on Thursday, December 8th. The union represents 1,450 NYT employees, of which 1270 are newsroom personnel, according to the Wall St. Journal. Based on the coverage I saw by other news organizations of the strike, far fewer folks picketed on Thursday, than the number of those who didn't show up for work and gave up the day of pay. My guesstimate of the number who picketed was in the low hundred(s).
Components of the Negotiations Between the NYT & News Guild Union
The union, which won't negotiate with management in person, incited the strike to prod management into moving forward with the contract renewal negotiations on a contract that expired in March of 2021. The negotiations included the fate of the pension vis a vis a 401K, medical benefits - specifically fertility insurance coverage, flex time for working in / out of the office, and of course pay.
At present wage increases seem to be the sticking point. According to PBS the Times is offering a 5.5% pay increase upon completion of the contract [providing for pay increases for the prior two years - 2021 & 2022], followed by 3% increases in 2023 and 2024. The union wants 10% to cover the prior two years upon completion of the deal. The 5.5% for the past two years is 2.75% per year, while inflation during the same period was 4.7% in 2021 and an estimated 7.5% for 2022.
The photo at right was taken looking into Wolfgang's Steakhouse, while covering the NYT Strike outside on December 8, 2022.
NYT & U.S. Media Industry Finances & Employment
The union argues that the Times is doing well, having generated over $220 million in profit last year [2021]. According to NY Magazine, the Times is also on track to make a profit of $300 million this year.
But that said, it's worth noting that of late, the media industry has continued shedding employees / jobs. According to CNN, Gannett recently laid off 200 employees, PBS is looking to cut $10 million from its budget, and CNN itself laid off hundreds of staffers. According to Axios there have been about 3,000 layoffs in the media industry in the past year, with 1,100 of those coming from news media, including Netflix and Warner Bros.
Strikers Negligible Impact on NYT Operations
During the one day strike, on Thursday, December 8th, the Times website was published as if nobody was missing. The Times had employees prepare advance work, like they do for the weekend edition, while keeping a skeleton crew on board for breaking news.
Some journalists compared the one day NYT strike this past week, to a prolonged 114 day strike staged in 1962 & 1963, musing how times had changed. In the 1962 - 1963 strike 17,000 union members walked out on the seven NYC dailies. At the end of the strike, four of the seven papers folded. But back then newspapers were [categorized as] manufacturing businesses, because they actually 'produced' the news by converting paper and ink into information that was delivered like milk, to customers' front doors.
NYT Ownership Still Controlled by the Sulzberger Family
It's worth noting that in August an activist investment firm, ValueAct, acquired 7% of the stock of the New York Times. The Times is currently valued at $5.7 billion and today a stake that size would cost about $400 million. The investment firm reportedly plans to push the NYT to more aggressively monetize its assets.
Carlos Slim Helu acquired nearly 7% of the Times stock in 2008. He then proceeded to lend the Times $250 million, which was repaid in 2011, three years ahead of schedule. Helu increased his stake in the Times in 2015 to 17%. In 2017 Helu pared back his holdings, by about a half million shares, out of a total of the 28 million shares he held.
The Sulzberger Family still retains control through a dual class share structure, whereby they control 70% of the board seats with only 20% of the stock. The Sulzberger Family has controlled the New York Times since 1896.
Beware our Changing Times - Know Who Controls the Integrity of the Information you Consume
Lastly, a word of caution. It's worth noting that investment firms and billionaires are rapidly gobbling up what's left of the newspaper world. They also appear to be interested in using the media to push their own narratives onto the public. Rupert Murdoch is an extreme example of someone who appears to use his mass media outlets to manipulate the public, but increasingly he's no longer the exception. The super wealthy - including Elon Musk, Donald Trump and tightly controlled investment firms - have acquired, founded or taken positions in most of the medium to large sized newspaper, broadcast and online outlets. Unfortunately many of them appear to be using the outlets they control to push their own narratives, sometimes regardless of the facts.
So, remember that the world is constantly changing. And while the logos of the media outlets you rely upon may not change, the people behind the scenes who are running them, do.
Have a good one.
Things To Do This Weekend in NYC & Boros
Holidays Tree Lightings, Holiday Caroling, Holiday Community Gatherings & Holiday Markets
NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the low to mid 40's, and the temperature lows will be in the low to mid 30's, all weekend. About 1/3 inch of precipitation is expected on Sunday between the hours of noon and midnight. Winds will be about 7 - 10 mph all weekend. The humidity will rise from 40% - 50% on Friday, to 50% - 65% on Saturday, to 70% - 80% on Sunday.
The photo at right was taken this week along 5th Avenue, which was fairly crowded Thursday evening with tourists and New Yorkers.
Holiday Things To Do in Manhattan - Use Links at end of each Boro to obtain details
Friday and Saturday, beginning at 7 pm, Handel's Messiah at historic Trinity Church near Wall Street in Downtown Manhattan.
Saturday 12.10.22 morning beginning at 10 am at 39th and Broadway marks the start of the Santa Con. Santa Con is a day long bar hopping event with a couple dozen participating bars. Many folks dress up. Tickets are $16 at https://santacon.nyc/.
Also on Saturday, Alicia Keys will be performing at the United Palace in Washington Heights. The tickets are free and already sold out, but it may be a very, very long shot that some folks don't show.
The first three Saturdays in December [12/3, 10 & 17] the Harlem Night market will be running La Marqueta from 4 to 8 pm.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Dances Patrelle returns with the Nutcracker at the Kaye Playhouse on the UES. The performances a delight to the senses. Tickets range from $65 - $75 at https://www.dancespatrelle.org/.
Also all weekend is the Holy Trinity Holiday market on the UES. It's quite unique in the merchandise for sale.
On Sunday the Tompkins Square tree lighting begins at 4 pm in the East Village. Sundays, December 4, 11 & 18, 2022 between 12 noon and 6 pm, Fifth Avenue will be closed to vehicles and open to pedestrians from 48th to 57th Street in Midtown. On Sunday from 10 am - 5.30 pm for the price of an MTA fare, passengers may ride the MTA vintage / nostalgia 1930s, 1940's, 1950's and 1960's train cars from between Chambers Street in the West Village and West 137th Street in Harlem.
All Weekend the holiday shops at Bryant Park, Grand Central Station, Times Square, Columbus Circle, Union Square Park, the Grand Bazaar on the UWS, the Chelsea Market, and the World Trade Center are all open - not just this weekend but through to Christmas. Details to all of these and other markets may be found using the link below entitled Manhattan holiday markets.
All Weekend the Luminaires Light Installation at Brookfield Place will be on. Ice rinks at Bryant Park and Rockefeller Center are open. The Rockefeller Christmas tree is up, but not lit. ORIGAMI at the American Museum of Natural History on the UWS.
Holiday Things To Do in Brooklyn - Use Links at end of each Boro to obtain details
The Fort Hamilton holiday celebration and market is Friday, December 9th. So if you're planning to go you need to register to gain access to the army base.
On Saturday from 10 am - 4 pm at the Old Stone House in Park Slope there's a holiday market.
On Saturday 12/11/ 22, the Kings Theatre in Flatbush is hosting performances of the Nutcracker beginning at 2 pm and 7 pm. They are hosting the Hip Hop Nutcracker on Sunday, 12/18/22 beginning at 2 pm and 6.30 pm.
On Saturdays and Sundays the first three weekends in December, the Dumbo Improvement District is hosting a holiday flea market from 10 am - 5 pm at the Dumbo Triangle at Pearl Street. The Brooklyn Flea is open weekends at 80 Pearl Street.
On Sunday, the Greenpointers Holiday Market runs from 6.30 - 8.30 pm at the Greenpoint Loft. Also on both Saturdays and Sundays in December before Christmas is the Fort Greene holiday market from 10 am - 4 pm. It's located next to the Farmers market you can use search on this site to find it.
On Sunday there's a pop up record sale in Gowanus Gardens in Brooklyn.
Weekend Markets. The FAD [Fashion / Art / Design] markets also open Saturdays (11 am - 6) and Sundays (noon - 6 pm) closing the weekend before [12/18] the Christmas weekend. Artists and Fleas hosts their Regeneration holiday market on Saturdays and Sundays in Williamsburg through the December weekends leading up to Christmas.
All Weekend - Holiday lights in Dyker Heights and the Lightscape Show at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. Details to all of these and other events may be found using the link below entitled Brooklyn holiday events.
Next Wednesday 12/14/22 from 4 - 6 pm there's a tree lighting at the Grand Army Plaza in Prospect Park. The Menorah Lighting at the same location is on the following Sunday 12/18/22, also beginning at 4 pm.
Holiday Things To Do in Queens - Use Links at end of each Boro to obtain details
On Friday from 7 - 9 pm there's the St. Nicholas Illumination done by Sunnyside Reformed and Queen of Angels churches beginning from 48th Street and Skillman Avenue in Sunnyside.
On Friday and Saturday 12/9 & 12/10 the premiere of a new play about the pandemic at the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center opens for two nights only in LIC. Tickets are $20 at https://www.lpac.nyc.
On Saturday, from 11.30 am - 3.30 pm in Astoria, along Steinway Street between 31st and 38th Streets, Mr. & Mrs. Santa Claus will be giving out gifts while supplies last and there will holiday entertainment and displays.
On Saturday, in St. Albans, from 12 noon to 6 pm there's a Winter Festival at the Black Spectrum Theatre.
On Saturday there's a wreath making workshop from 1 - 4 pm at the Queens Botanical Garden. Tickets are $35 / $30 & include materials.
Also on Saturday there's a murder mystery dinner at King Manor beginning at 5.30 pm. Tickets are $71 at www.kingmanor.org and include hors d'oeuvres and drinks.
On Saturday, from 11.30 am - 3.30 pm, Flushing Town Hall is hosting a fundraiser holiday party. Tickets are $100 / $150.
Also on Saturday there's a Caribbean holiday market followed by a concert at the Merrick Academy Charter School at 136-25 218th Street in Springfield Queens. The market opens at 5.30 pm and the concert begins at 7 pm. Tickets are $30 / $25 at https://www.braataproductions.org/.
On Sunday the Holiday Historic House Tours return to Flushing from 1 - 5 pm. It's an opportunity to see eight historic houses dating from colonial times to the 1950's [Louis Armstrong's House] for one low fee. A bus runs between the houses that you can use for free of $15 / $20.
On Sunday from noon to 7 pm the historic Grace Episcopal Church will host a Christmas Church Bazaar. Free admittance.
Santa is visiting the NY Irish Center at 1040 Jackson Avenue in LIC on Sunday, from 2 to 4 pm. Tickets are $7 at https://www.newyorkirishcenter.org. On Tuesday, 12/13 from 7 - 10 pm they are hosting a showcase of performances and a holiday celebration. Tickets $15.
This Sunday from noon to 5 pm, Katch Astoria will also be hosting a Queens Craft Brigade holiday market.
Sundays, 12/11 & 12/18 from noon to 6 pm the Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden hosts a holiday market in Astoria.
Also on Sunday the Queens Symphony Orchestra is performing its holiday concert at the LeFrak Concert Hall from 3 - 5 pm. Tickets are $40 - $95, but they sold out.
All weekend there are a couple of holiday markets / sales - one at Culture Lab and the other at Brickhouse Ceramics in Long Island City. Details for both and all other markets in Queens can be found using the link below.
All Weekend. The Winter Lantern Festival began at the Queens County Farm at 7350 Little Neck Parkway. The Amaze Lights Festival began November 11th at CitiField in Flushing and runs through January 8th, 2023. And the Queens County Farm runs a holiday market daily from 10 am - 5 pm.
Next Tuesday beginning at 5 pm there's a holiday celebration at the LIC Bar organized by the Chocolate Factory and the LIC the Long Island City Partnership. There's also a performance at the NY Irish Center [see details above]. Next Wednesday, 12/14/22 beginning at 7.30 pm the Jackson Heights Orchestra lights up their holiday concert at St. Mark's Church. On Thursday, 12/15/22, in Jackson Heights at the Langston Hughes Library & Cultural Center there will be an Upcycled Gifts event from 6 - 7.30 pm.
The photo at right was taken last weekend at the Queen of Angels Crafts and Arts Fair featuring and organized by Sunnyside Artists.
Holiday Things To Do in the Bronx - Use Links at end of each Boro to obtain details
Friday the Fordham BID hosts its holiday celebration in Bryan Park in the Fordham neighborhood.
On Friday & Saturday 12/9 & 12/10, the Bartow Pell Mansion is hosting candelight tours of the mansion from 5 - 7 pm.
POSSIBLY AN ERROR ON THEIR WEBSITE OR CANCELLED _ On Saturday the Bronx Museum was hosting a Family day from 1 - 4 pm, but it's been taken off the calendar so it may have been cancelled.
On Sunday, the Church of the Mediator at 260 West 231st Street in Kingsbridge is hosting a holiday concert featuring the Christmas classics beginning at 3 pm, to be followed by a reception. Tickets are $25 / $10.
Also on Sunday there's a Caribbean holiday market followed by a concert at the Harry S. Truman High School at 750 Baychester Avenue in Coop City in the Bronx. The market opens at 4.30 pm and the concert begins at 6.30 pm. Tickets are $30 / $25 at https://www.braataproductions.org/.
On Sunday at Wave Hill Garden and Cultural Center there's a holiday concert from 2 - 3 pm featuring Lara Downes in Riverdale. Tickets are $30 / $16 / $14 at https://www.wavehill.org.
All Weekend - The Bronx Zoo Holiday Lights and NY Botanical Garden Glow and NY Botanical Garden Holiday Train Show also run all weekend.
Holiday Things To Do on Staten Island - Use Links at end of each Boro to obtain details
On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the St. George Theatre is hosting its 19th Annual Christmas Show which features about 100 Staten Island performers. Tickets are $10 / $20 / $30 / $40 & $50. Funds raised go to help the theater.
On Saturday morning Empire Outlets is doing a Breakfast with Santa from 10 - 11 am in St. George.
On Saturday there's a holiday market organized by Maker Radio in Stapleton from 11 am - 4 pm.
On Saturday there's a holiday event at the Alice Austen House in Shore Acres from 12 noon - 3 pm. The event allows visitors to have their photo taken and aura read for $20 / $30.
On Saturday from 3 - 6 pm there's a holiday tree lighting / Santa Visit event in Tappan Park in Stapleton.
On Saturday, the William H. Pouch Scout Camp tree lighting event begins at 6 pm. Admission is $5.
On Saturday and Sunday from 5.30 - 7.30 pm Historic Richmond Town is giving Candelight Tours. Tickets are $25 / $23 and kid age five and under are free. Prior to the tours on both days, Historic Richmond Town is hosting a crafts making event at many of the local shops, whereby you can watch how things were made a century and a half ago, and then buy them. Tickets are $12 / $10. On Saturday Only at 5 pm there's a tree lighting ceremony at 5 pm.
On Sunday from 11 am - 3 pm, the Old Bermuda Inn continues its holiday brunches with Santa.
All Weekend - There's a Winter Wonderland at Snug Harbor from 5 pm - 11.45 pm. The Staten Island Mall is hosting photo sessions with Santa.
NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the high 40's on Friday, the high 50's on Saturday and descending back to the low 40's on Sunday. The temperature lows will be in the low 40's on Friday, descending to the low 30's on Saturday and Sunday. The humidity will climb from 50% to 60% on Friday, to 55% to 77% on Saturday before descending back to 50% to 60% on Sunday. Winds will be 5 - 10 mph on Friday, rising to 10 - 15 mph on Saturday and then falling to 5 mph on Sunday. About a quarter inch of rain is expected between 7 am and 1 pm on Saturday, otherwise it's a dry weekend.
The photo at right was taken last week. What strikes me about this photo, and other scenes in the city like it, is the lingering foliage and color we're still seeing at this late date in the season.
This weekend we could top 60 degrees, which as you know, is unseasonably warm. Even the birds and insects are confused by this weather. For example at a Thanksgiving Day dinner in Connecticut I noticed there were insects hovering around the table, and in Queens - just yesterday - I walked past a bevy of trees which were alive with the noise of what seemed an entire flock of tweeting birds. It was fairly cold yesterday, so I thought perhaps their beaks were chattering, like we humans do when it's very cold.
Holiday Things To Do in Manhattan - Open Streets in Midtown
All Weekend the holiday shops at Bryant Park, Grand Central Station, Times Square, Columbus Circle, Union Square Park, the Grand Bazaar on the UWS, the Chelsea Market, and the World Trade Center are all open - not just this weekend but through to Christmas. Details to all of these and other markets may be found using the link below entitled Manhattan holiday markets.
Unique markets open only this weekend include one at the Indian Museum, and one - La Marqueta - only on Saturday in Harlem. On Sunday 12/4/22 there's an ornament making workshop at the Ukrainian Museum where they're encouraging folks to do some holiday shopping at the museum gift shop as they aren't hosting a bazaar this year. Details to all of these and other markets may be found using the link below entitled Manhattan holiday markets.
On Saturday Hudson Park is hosting its tree lighting. Details to all of these and other events may be found using the link below entitled Manhattan holiday events.
Note that on Sundays, December 4, 11 & 18, 2022 between 12 noon and 6 pm, Fifth Avenue will be closed to vehicles and open to pedestrians from 48th to 57th Street. On Sunday from 10 am - 5.30 pm for the price of an MTA fare, passengers may ride the MTA vintage / nostalgia 1930s, 1940's, 1950's and 1960's train cars from between Chambers Street in the West Village and West 137th Street in Harlem. Brick Presbyterian Church has its Park Avenue tree lighting on Sunday, as does Carl Schurz Park which hosts its tree lighting Sunday. Details to all of these and other events may be found using the link below entitled Manhattan holiday events.
All Weekend the Luminaires Light Installation at Brookfield Place will be on. Ice rinks at Bryant Park and Rockefeller Center are open. The Rockefeller Christmas tree is up, but not lit. ORIGAMI at the American Museum of Natural History on the UWS. Details to all of these and other events may be found using the link below entitled Manhattan holiday events.
Next Wednesday both Madison Square Park and Washington Square Park have their tree lightings. Details to all of these and other events may be found using the link below entitled Manhattan holiday events.
On Friday night, December 2, 2022 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music aka BAM, community activist Angela Davis will speak and there's also a Slavic Soul party. The Lott House is also hosting a Sinterklaus tree lighting event with cocoa, cookies & music. Details to all of these and other events may be found using the link below entitled Brooklyn holiday events.
On Saturday there's a St Nicholas celebration at The Vande Ende Onderdonk House which is an historic Dutch colonial house celebrates. Also the Wyckoff Museum is hosting an outdoor St Nicholas event with St Nick arriving on a live horse around 2.30 pm.
On Saturday there's a pop up market at Fort Greene Park. On Saturday and Sunday, December 3 & 4, 2022 there's a holiday market at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and a couple of holiday flea markets - one in Williamsburg and the other in Dumbo. The FAD [Fashion / Art / Design] markets also open this weekend and remain open weekends, closing prior to the Christmas weekend. Details to all of these and other markets may be found using the link below entitled Brooklyn holiday markets.
On Sunday there's a Christmas tree lighting in Fort Greene Park. Details to all of these and other events may be found using the link below entitled Brooklyn holiday events.
All Weekend - Holiday lights in Dyker Heights and the Lightscape Show at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. Details to all of these and other events may be found using the link below entitled Brooklyn holiday events.
Lastly, it's worth noting that the Fort Hamilton holiday celebration and market is next Friday, December 9th. So if you're planning to go you need to register to gain access to the army base.
On Friday, December 2nd in Jackson Heights beginning at 5 pm there's a tree lighting organized by the 82nd Street Partnership. There's also a tree lighting at Harpell's Pharmacy in Bayside. Details to all of these and other events may be found using the link below entitled Queens holiday events.
On Saturday, December 3rd there's a holiday party in Astoria Park in the afternoon organized by CALDC. Also on Saturday in Astoria, along Steinway Street, there will be Christmas carolers making their way up and down the street from late morning through most of the afternoon. In Jackson Heights the JH Beautification Group is hosting its annual tree lighting and holiday celebration beginning at 4 pm. Details to all of these and other events may be found using the link below entitled Queens holiday events.
Also on Saturday, December 3rd in the afternoon, there are a couple of holiday art fairs in LIC hosted by artists. In Sunnyside, there's an arts and crafts fair all day long. And in Bayside there are also a couple of holiday fairs which run in the morning and most of the afternoon, which are hosted by churches. Details to all of these and other markets may be found using the link below entitled Queens holiday markets.
On both Saturday and Sunday in Flushing there will be a tree lighting combined with arts and crafts projects at the Queens Botanical Garden. Details to all of these and other events may be found using the link below entitled Queens holiday events.
All Weekend. The Winter Lantern Festival began at the Queens County Farm at 7350 Little Neck Parkway. The Amaze Lights Festival began November 11th at CitiField in Flushing and runs through January 8th, 2023. Details to all of these and other events may be found using the link below entitled Queens holiday events.
There are also a number of events that happen next week, including the premiere of a new play about the pandemic at the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center in LIC. Details to all of these and other events may be found using the link below entitled Queens holiday events.
All Weekend - The Wave Hill Garden and Cultural Center is hosting wreath making workshops in Riverdale. The Bronx Zoo Holiday Lights and NY Botanical Garden Glow and NY Botanical Garden Holiday Train Show also run all weekend. Details to all of these and other holiday markets and holiday events may be found using the link below entitled Bronx holiday markets and events.
On Saturday 12/3/22 there's a Salsa Dance Party at the Bronx Museum. There's also a holiday event at the Bronx Terminal Market in the Concourse neighborhood. And a late afternoon / early evening holiday tree lighting on Arthur Avenue in the Little Italy neighborhood of the Bronx. The Bartow Pell Mansion is hosting its annual holiday party and fundraiser. Details to all of these and other holiday markets and holiday events may be found using the link below entitled Bronx holiday markets and events.
On Sunday 12/4/22, there's a free classical holiday concert at Lehman College in Bedford Park. Also on Sunday the Throggs Neck Merchants Assocation hosts its annual holiday celebration at the Bronx Library at the DeRosa O'Boyle Triangle in the Throgs Neck neighborhood of the Bronx. Details to all of these and other holiday markets and holiday events may be found using the link below entitled Bronx holiday markets and events.
Next Thursday, 12/8/22 there's a holiday celebration with Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson at Lou Gehrig Plaza at Borough Hall at 161st Street and the Grand Concourse in the Mott Haven / Concourse neighborhoods of the Bronx. That same evening there will be another holiday lights celebration at the Mosholu Parkway Lawn in Norwood neighborhood of the Bronx.
And Next Friday the Fordham BID hosts its holiday celebration in Bryan Park in the Fordham neighborhood. Also next Friday the Bartow Pell Mansion begins hosting candelight tours of the mansion. Details to all of these and other holiday markets and holiday events may be found using the link below entitled Bronx holiday markets and events.
All Weekend there's a Winter Wonderland at Snug Harbor. And the Staten Island Mall is hosting photo sessions with Santa. Details to all of these and other holiday events may be found using the link below entitled Staten Island holiday events.
On Saturday there's a holiday market at Snug Harbor in Randall Manor. A holiday market at Immanuel Union Church in Westerleigh. Details to all of these and other holiday markets may be found using the link below entitled Staten Island holiday markets.
There's also a Yule Jog at the Conference House in Tottenville and the Conference House Holiday Tours have begun. Details to all of these and other holiday events may be found using the link below entitled Staten Island holiday events.
On Saturday & Sunday Empire Outlet tree lighting and holiday market in St. George. Details to all of these and other holiday markets may be found using the link below entitled Staten Island holiday markets.
On Sunday, the Grand Illumination and outdoor holiday market at the Conference House in Tottenville. Details to all of these and other holiday markets may be found using the link below entitled Staten Island holiday markets.
On Sunday the Old Bermuda Inn begins its first round of holiday brunches with Santa.
Next Monday and Tuesday the Historic Old Bermuda Inn with John Vincent Scalia Funeral Home hosts their annual Memorial Tree Lighting. Next Tuesday, 12/6/22 Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella will host a tree lighting at Borough Hall in St. George. Next Wednesday 12/7/22 there's a holiday celebration in Midland Beach organized by the Richmond Road Merchants Association. Details to all of these and other holiday events may be found using the link below entitled Staten Island holiday events.
*** For links to holiday events and markets in all five boroughs of NYC scroll down to the bottom of this report.
EDITOR NOTE. While it seems we've turned the corner on the CoVid pandemic, it's after effects are still hovering around us. That said, we mostly appear to have turned the corner and are in the process of returning to normal, but some event venues have kept some CoVid guidelines in effect.
The holidays are a special time of the year. In ancient times there were harvest celebrations to give thanks and enjoy the bounty of the year after a long season / year of work.
There were also winter solstice celebrations to commemorate the end of the darkening of the skies. Many cultures celebrate with a festival of lights, and in Christian cultures the holidays are marked with holiday lighting, tree lightings, candle lightings - as well as the celebration of giving through the most well known and most generous man in the world - Santa Claus.
The photo at right shows the Christmas tree at the three corners plaza at Third Avenue, 149th Street and Willis / Melrose Avenue in the Mott Haven and Melrose neighborhoods.
Meanwhile, back in the Bronx we celebrate in a number of ways, which carry on some of these ancient traditions. The following provides the dates / times / locales and some details regarding many of the various Bronx holiday markets for folks to enjoy shopping between now and the end of the year.
NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the low to mid 50's all weekend, while the temperature lows will rise from around 40 on Friday and Saturday, to 50 on Sunday. The humidity drops from 60% - 70% on Friday, to 50% - 60% on Saturday, and then rises again to 70% - 80% on Sunday. The winds will be around 15 mph Friday, falling to 10 mph on Saturday and Sunday. There's a slight chance of a slight amount of rain before noon Friday, none on Saturday and then about a half to two thirds inch of rain on Sunday between 11 am and 9 pm.
The photo at right was taken at a Thanksgiving dinner I attended yesterday. I ate so much of the dinner, that I didn't dare have any dessert for fear of exploding ... a similar memory of which, I also have as a child.
Holiday Things To Do in Manhattan
On Sunday from 10 am - 5.30 pm for the price of an MTA fare, passengers may ride the MTA vintage / nostalgia 1930s, 1940's, 1950's and 1960's train cars from between Chambers Street in the West Village and West 137th Street in Harlem.
The Bryant Park, Verdi Square and Tavern on the Green tree lightings are next Tuesday. The Rockefeller Center tree lighting event is next Wednesday. The Central Park tree lighting at the Dana Discovery Center and the West Harlem Piers Park tree lighting are both next Thursday.
All Weekend - Holiday lights in Dyker Heights. Lightscape Show at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. Dumbo Holiday Flea Market begins. And on Saturday there's a tree lighting in Park Slope at the Old Stone House. Also note that a number of events are scheduled for Fridays, so you might want to use the links below to view our running schedule of Brooklyn holiday events which we will update / add to weekly.
All Weekend - Bronx Zoo Holiday Lights and NY Botanical Garden Glow and NY Botanical Garden Holiday Train Show. On Saturday there's a Christmas tree lighting in City Island beginning at 7 pm. For further details on these holiday events or to see what holiday markets are happening in the Bronx click this link Bronx Holiday Markets & Bronx Holiday Events NYC. A bigger number of holiday events begin next weekend and it's also worth noting that Hanukkah is 12/18 - 12/26/22 so Menorah Lighting Events will start later this year. Stay tuned.
A couple of years ago, I happened upon a childhood book of fables and fairytales that I had saved since I was a first grader. I was young enough to still like fairytales and old enough to be learning and loving to read.
The book, A Gateway to Storyland, by Platt & Munk Co, was given to me around the holidays, and the book still gives me a warm, loved feeling when I periodically open it to browse through the fairytales and fables containing little nuggets of age old wisdom about how to conduct onesself [see photo at right / the book is still in print]. I read it numerous times immediately upon receiving it, as the illustrations fed my imagination, and lessons embedded in the words resonated with timeless sagacity.
Unselfish Parental Love Manifested by Empowering Progeny
Love comes in many forms, but the purest form is unselfish love. The love of truly giving something with no thought of anything in return. That love is oftentimes given intergenerationally - from grandparents to parents to children.
Perhaps the greatest gifts are those that cost us nothing but our time. Like the gift of teaching someone something that they will be able to put to good use throughout their lives. Parents do this all the time, when they help their children develop skills, and impart some knowledge and learning ... just as my parents did many years ago, by giving me a well illustrated fairytale book to encourage my interest in reading, while sharing the time tested insights of the ages, handed down through storytelling.
I. A Brief Thanksgiving History
The Pilgrims Shared Communal Resources to Actualize a Dream
At Thanksgiving time we commemorate one of America's first settlements, founded by the risk-taking, resource-pooling, hardworking, spiritual community of Pilgrims.
The Pilgrims were early English settlers who arrived on American shores in the early 17th century [1600's]. They came here because they wanted a measure of freedom and self-determination that they were forbidden in Europe or what was called the 'old country'. The Pilgrims wanted to practice their faith, unencumbered, in a way that differed from the established Church of England. They pooled their money to obtain a ship, the Mayflower, to cross the Atlantic in mid September of 1620, landing on America's shores at Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts on November 9, 1620. Think of it. It took about a month and a half to travel a distance we can now traverse in about five hours.
The Pilgrims Receive Help from the Native People of a Strange Land
Per Wikipedia, the Piligrims survived a hard winter in 1621 with the help of the Wampanoag, an American Indian tribe. The Pilgrims were the immigrants, and the first Americans, the Indian natives, welcomed them. The Wampanaog taught the Pilgrims how to catch eels, and how to grow and harvest corn. Thus the Pilgrims ended 1621 with a good harvest which they celebrated and shared with their new friends, expressing their gratitude to a higher power, aka God, for the success of their endeavors.
Thus it was that the first Thanksgiving celebration happened in America ... or did it?
NYC Weather. The temperatures will be in the mid to low 40's during the day and the mid to low 30's at night. Humidity will be fairly low ranging from 35% to 50%. No rain is in the forecast. The winds will range from 10 - 16 mph, so fairly windy.
As hard as it is to believe, the holidays have arrived. Last weekend the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree arrived. It's an 80 foot spruce which will be lit on Wednesday evening November 30th.
Following the lighting at Rockefeller Center, there's a new street program entitled Fifth Avenue for All. It starts Sunday, December 4th, continuing Sunday, December 11th and ending Sunday, December 18th whereby 5th Avenue will be closed to automobile traffic from 49th to 57th Street, from 12 noon - 6 pm. There will be food vendors, musicians, pedestrians and others, who will take over the street.
And of course the holiday events and holiday shopping seasons have begun as well. We're working on holiday markets as we speak, and we expect to continue updating through the weekend. But you can use the links below in the Holiday Markets report filed earlier this week, to see how far we've gotten in posting the holiday markets which have begun opening.
Manhattan
Holiday shops at Bryant Park and Grand Central Station open. Ice rinks at Bryant Park and Rockefeller Center are open. The Rockefeller Christmas tree is up, but not lit.
Shortly after this photo was taken late last week - the rains came, the tree leaves fell, and the trees are now generally bereft of any foliage.
Use the Manhattan Holiday Market link below to obtain further details of numerous holiday markets / holiday fairs / holiday events coming to Manhattan between now and the new year including the ones noted above.
Queens
In the photo top right is an entrepreneur who is managing a popup market just outside the Alcove at 49th Street and Skillman Avenue in Sunnyside Queens. They're open this Saturday and Sunday from 11 am to about 8.30 / 9 pm each day.
The Amaze Lights Festival began November 11th at CitiField in Flushing and runs through January 8th, 2023.
The Winter Lantern Festival began at the Queens County Farm at 7350 Little Neck Parkway.
Use the Queens Holiday Market link below to obtain further details of numerous holiday markets / holiday fairs / holiday events coming to Queens between now and the new year including the ones noted above.
Brooklyn
There's a holiday lighting ceremony on Friday, November 18th from 5 - 6 pm in Albee Square at Fulton and DeKalb Streets in Downtown Brooklyn.
Holiday markets have begun in Williamsburg and at Fort Greene Park.
Use the Brooklyn Holiday Market link below to obtain further details of numerous holiday markets / holiday fairs / holiday events coming to Brooklyn between now and the new year including the ones noted above.
Bronx
Bronx Zoo Holiday Lights and NY Botanical Garden Glow and Holiday Train.
The photo at right shows some of the artisanal crafts, accessories and objets de art for sale at the TRADiction popup market in front of the Alcove restaurant in Sunnyside Queens.
Use the Bronx Holiday Market link below to obtain further details of numerous holiday markets / holiday fairs / holiday events coming to the Bronx between now and the new year including the ones noted above.
Staten Island
On Saturday, November 19, 2022 from 10 am - 4 pm there's the Great Kills Moravian Church Annual Holiday Sale in the parking lot of the Great Kills Moravian Church at 62 Hillside Terrace in Great Kills neighborhood on Staten Island. The holiday sale features handmade gifts & decorations, baked goods, a Christmas cafe, and a mitten tree. Find gifts, stocking stuffers, and decorations. Donations of hats, mittens and gloves will be donated to those in need.
Use the Staten Island Holiday Market link below to obtain further details of almost a half dozen holiday markets / holiday fairs this weekend on Staten Island including the one noted above.
I have a bit more to do on Manhattan as of Saturday evening around 9.30 pm. It should be done tonight.
Have a nice pre-Thanksgiving Day weekend.
Things To Do This Weekend in NYC & Boros
Announcement, Veterans Day Weekend, Art & Performance; some outdoor Farmers Markets & Street Fairs still open
NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the mid 60's Friday, dropping to the mid 50's Saturday and down to the mid 40's Sunday. The temperature lows will plummet from the low 50's Friday, to the low 330's Saturday and into the high 20's on Sunday. The humidity will fall from 90% Friday, to 80% Saturday, to 65% 80% on Sunday. Winds will be a blustery 7 - 15 mph all weekend. Rain is in the forecast, with about a quarter inch to fall tonight, and then 1/10th inch of rain early in the morning on Saturday and Sunday - so it shouldn't stop you from going out.
Announcement - We're Now on a New Content Management System
It's good news. We had been running on the same platform since 2007 and it was time to upgrade : )
We'll have more to say about this in the coming weeks.
Things To Do This Weekend in Manhattan NYC
The Veterans Day Parade is today in Midtown from 12.30 pm to 3.30 pm. They march along 5th Avenue from 26th to 45th Street.
Things To Do This Weekend in Queens NYC
Saturdays & Sundays, November 12, 13, 19, 20, 2022 beginning at 7.30 pm on Saturdays and at 2.30 pm on Sundays. The Merry Wives of Windsor by the Gingerbread Players at St. Luke's Church at 85 Greenway in Forest Hills. Tickets are $15 / $12. For details see https://www.gingerbreadplayers.org/
Things To Do This Weekend in the Bronx NYC
Checking.
Things To Do This Weekend on Staten Island NYC
Thursday, November 10, 2022 from 10.30 - 11.30 am - There's a day time Veterans Day Remembrance event held at Wagner College at 1 Campus Road in Grymes Hill. The event is described as follows: "... Alumni and friends are invited to join together on campus as we honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country with the 12th annual Wagner College Veteran's Day Remembrance, hosted by the brothers of Delta Nu and the Wagner College Alumni Association ... The Delta Nu War Memorial located outside the Spiro Sports Center reminds us of the great sacrifice our veterans have made for this country and the global community. Light refreshments will be served in the Spiro Sports Center Ticket Lobby following the memorial..."
Friday, November 11, 2022 beginning at 9.11 am - Veterans' Day Golf Classic returns. The event begins with breakfast at 9.11 am, followed by a scramble / tee off that begins at 10.30 am at three Staten Island golf courses including Silver Lake, La Tourette and Richmond County. The golfing is followed by dinner at Nicotra's Ballroom at the Hilton Garden Inn. Fees are $225 for everything, or $85 for dinner & cocktails, or $100 for golfing only. Organized by the Tunnel to Towers org at https://t2t.org.
Things To Do Next Weekend in Brooklyn NYC
Saturday, November 12, 2022 - Renegade Craft Fair. Details coming later today, Friday 11/11/22.
The NYS primary election is today, Tuesday November 8th. On the ballot are the following races: U.S. Senate, Governor, Other state level positions such as Attorney General, State Assembly, State Senators and Ballot measures.
Click on the image above to access the poll finder website, so you can easily find where to vote in your neighborhood. Remember this is the land of the free and the home of the brave and many of our ancestors died for our right to vote, as the Ukrainians appear to be doing now. So be brave, and be careful in choosing who you vote to represent you. There's still time to do some researchs on candidates on the web.
Early Voting Ended Sunday, November 6, 2022
Early voting began on Saturday, October 29 and runs through Sunday,November 6th, 2022. Today is election day, when you can find your poll site by clicking on the graphic above. For those who wish to find an early voting poll site use this link, which not only shows the sites, but also the wait times.
NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the mid to high 70's all weekend, while the low will be in the mid 60's all weekend. No rain is in the forecast, but it will be a very humid weekend for this time of year ranging from 70% to 85% all weekend. Winds will be about 10 mph all weekend.
The photo at right was taken at the Queens World Film Festival in a prior year. The festival returned to the Museum of the Moving Image this week and runs through the weekend.
The graphic below right shows the course of the NYC Marathon this Sunday.
Things To Do This Weekend in All 5 Boros of NYC
* Sunday, November 6, 2022 at 2 am - Daylight Savings Time. This may be the last year where we will 'fall back' by moving our clocks back one hour starting at 2 am Sunday or before going to bed Saturday night.
* Sunday, November 6, 2022 from 8 am - 5 pm - The NYC Marathon runners begin congregating at Fort Wadsworth at the foot of the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge on Staten Island beginning at 7 am. The Professional Wheelchairs take off at 8 am, the Handcyclists at 8.22 am, the Professional Women at 8.40 am, and the Professional Men at 9.05 am, with the last wave at 11.40 am. Staten Island is the starting poinit, while Brooklyn is the first leg, the Queens segment of the course is around the midpoint before heading into Manhattan, then north to the Bronx over the Willis Avenue Bridge, where they do a U turn by heading west over the Madison Avenue Bridge before turning south into Manhattan and Central Park. Use the link to the front page below to view a map of the Marathon course for 2022.
So you can do some math to figure out when to greet them in your borough. The fastest men complete the race in a bit more than two hours, while the average is 4.40 [hours.minutes]. The midpoint is in Queens. The biggest wave of runners travel through Queens around 11 am, so you can figure out the rest. The weather is expected to be pleasant. Enjoy.
Things To Do This Weekend in Manhattan NYC
Wednesday thru Sunday, November 2 - 6, 2022 at various times - The Baltic Film Festival. At Scandinavia House at 58 Park Avenue in Midtown just south of Grand Central Station. Tickets are $125 to see all films. For details see - https://www.scandinaviahouse.org.
Thursday - Sunday, November 3 - 6, 2022 - Washington Heights Jazz Festival. For details see https://jazzwahi.com.
Friday, November 4, 2022 from 5.30 - 9 pm - The Parade of Nations in Central Park will be followed by fireworks tonight as part of the NYC Marathon Festivities. This will be free and viewable from the finish line in Central Park which is located in the southwest corner of the park.
Things To Do This Weekend in Queens NYC
Tuesday - Sunday, November 1 - 6, 2022 at various times - Queens World Film Festival. At multiple locations including The Local at 13-02 44th Avenue in LIC, the Museum of the Moving Image at 36-01 35th Avenue in Astoria, and opening night was at Queens Theatre in Flushing Meadows Corona Park just south of the Unisphere. Tickets are $15 - $17.50 at https://queensworldfilmfestival.org.
COMING NEXT WEEK _ Saturdays & Sundays, November 12, 13, 19, 20, 2022 beginning at 7.30 pm on Saturdays and at 2.30 pm on Sundays. The Merry Wives of Windsor by the Gingerbread Players at St. Luke's Church at 85 Greenway in Forest Hills. Tickets are $15 / $12. For details see https://www.gingerbreadplayers.org/
Things To Do This Weekend in the Bronx
Sunday, November 6, 2022 from 12 noon - 1 pm - Veterans Day Memorial Event.A procession and flag raising ceremony with remarks. Color guard units from SUNY Maritime College will participate. Organized by the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance and Community Board 8 in collaboration with the NYC Parks Department. It's to be held in Memorial Grove which is just north of the southwest corner of the park. For details see - https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/VanCortlandtPark/events/2022/11/06/veterans-day-ceremony
Things To Do This Weekend on Staten Island NYC
Thursday, November 10, 2022 from 10.30 - 11.30 am - There's a day time Veterans Day Remembrance event held at Wagner College at 1 Campus Road in Grymes Hill. The event is described as follows: "... Alumni and friends are invited to join together on campus as we honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country with the 12th annual Wagner College Veteran's Day Remembrance, hosted by the brothers of Delta Nu and the Wagner College Alumni Association ... The Delta Nu War Memorial located outside the Spiro Sports Center reminds us of the great sacrifice our veterans have made for this country and the global community. Light refreshments will be served in the Spiro Sports Center Ticket Lobby following the memorial..."
Friday, November 11, 2022 beginning at 9.11 am - Veterans' Day Golf Classic returns. The event begins with breakfast at 9.11 am, followed by a scramble / tee off that begins at 10.30 am at three Staten Island golf courses including Silver Lake, La Tourette and Richmond County. The golfing is followed by dinner at Nicotra's Ballroom at the Hilton Garden Inn. Fees are $225 for everything, or $85 for dinner & cocktails, or $100 for golfing only. Organized by the Tunnel to Towers org at https://t2t.org.
Things To Do Next Weekend in Brooklyn NYC
COMING NEXT WEEK. Saturday, November 12, 2022 - Renegade Craft Fair. Details coming next Friday 11/11/22.
Thanksgiving Day Gourmet Food & Grocery Stores & Restaurants in the Bronx 2022
Thanksgiving Day Gourmet or Specialty Food Shopping & Restaurants in or near Mott Haven, Fordham, Port Morris, Concourse, Bedford Park, Norwood, University Heights, City Island, Riverdale, Melrose, Morris Park, Westchester Square & Parkchester Bronx NYC
Thanksgiving Day History - Thanksgiving Food Shops, Dinners & Restaurants in the Bronx
The origins of Thanksgiving Day in the United States began with one of America’s first settlements, founded by the risk-taking, resource-pooling, hardworking, spiritual community of Pilgrims. The Pilgrims were early English settlers who arrived on American shores in the early 17th century [1600’s]. They came here because they wanted a measure of freedom and self-determination that they were forbidden in Europe or what was called the ‘old country’. The Pilgrims wanted to practice their faith, unencumbered, in a way that differed from the established Church of England. They pooled their money to obtain a ship, the Mayflower, to cross the Atlantic in mid September of 1620, landing on America's shores at Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts on November 9, 1620.
The Pilgrims Receive Help from the Native People of a Strange Land
Per Wikipedia, the Piligrims survived a hard winter in 1621 with the help of the Wampanoag, an American Indian tribe. The Pilgrims were the immigrants, and the first Americans, the Indian natives, welcomed them. The Wampanaog taught the Pilgrims how to catch eels, and how to grow and harvest corn. Thus the Pilgrims ended 1621 with a good harvest which they celebrated and shared with their new friends, expressing their thanks to a higher power, aka God, for the success of their endeavors.
Thus it was that the first Thanksgiving celebration happened in America. There's some dispute to this account, which we'll address in a future post, near Thanksgiving Day.
October 31, 2022 / Things To Do NYC / Gotham Buzz. This section contains our Things To Do reports for each weekend in the month of October in all five boroughs of New York City.
What follows below is an example of the beginning of one of our weekend reports about things to do during the month of October.
Things To Do This Weekend in NYC & Boros
Halloween Weekend in All 5 Boroughs; some outdoor Farmers Markets & Street Fairs still open
NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the low 60's all weekend, while the temperature lows will be in the low 40's on Friday and Saturday, rising to the mid 50's by Sunday. Winds will be 3 - 8 mph all weekend. Humidity will be 45% - 65% on Friday and Saturday, rising to 60% - 80% on Sunday. No rain is in the forecast this weekend.
The photo at right was taken over a decade ago in Queens. I recently came across it while doing some website content management work. The photo captures a moment in time of a young woman with an alluring gaze.
Your best bet is to click the link above for the full Manhattan Halloween magilla.
On Friday night the Whitney Museum in the Village is throwing a 'Hallowteen' event, while there's a Halloween party at the Museum of the City of New York on the UES and the McKittrick Hotel is throwing a big Halloween Party down in Chelsea. Stage 48 in Midtown is throwing a Monster Ball on Friday and a Halloween Parade After Party on Monday. There's also an old silent movie being shown, accompanied by a live organist, at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. The Merchants House Museum in the East Village is hosting haunted tours in the evening on Friday and Saturday.
On Saturday the Meatpacking BID is hosting a number of family friendly Halloween events and programs in the West Village, while E's Bar is throwing a party on the UWS. On Saturday and Sunday, Lincoln Center is hosting an Open House and Family Day. Capitale in SoHo is hosting a big Halloween bash on Saturday.
On Sunday the Irish Arts Center in West Midtown is throwing a kids event midday. The Slate Bar, Bar 13 and Webster Hall all have Halloween events on both Saturday and Monday. Also on Sunday in the Flatiron District there's a Halloween themed history tour.
What have the Democrats & the Biden Administration Accomplished?
Does Biden have Washington Working Again, in Spite of Narrow Democratic Majorities in Both the Senate & House? Why are Democrats Not Running on Their Collective Record?
October 26, 2022 / Local Government & Politics / National Government & Politics / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
The midterm elections are on Tuesday, November 8th.
While President Biden's poll approval is below 50%, I believe it is because there's a yawning gap between perception - as provided daily by the billionaire controlled TV networks - and reality.
So here's the reality piece of it, since you've already been inundated with the ratings-driven TV networks view of things.
Halloween occurs on a Monday this year. The Bronx Halloween party celebrations begin leading into the weekend running through to Halloween day itself.
Halloween is one big costume party, where the theatrical side of people, is given a small opening. Halloween provides people the opportunity to create and play roles they have wanted to play, that the day-to-day keeps submerged. Is it their Doctor side or their Jekyll side - or something uncategorizable?
In the photo at right is an actor at ID Theater in Mott Haven who performed in a play which was a part of the 14th annual city-wide, Celebrate Mexico Now in 2017. Professional actors are paid to assume and perform roles, but on Halloween it's an all-volunteer, unpaid, theatrical free-for-all ... but that very chaos of creativity is what also makes it so much fun.
September 30, 2022 / Things To Do NYC / Gotham Buzz. This section contains our Things To Do reports for each weekend in the month of September in all five boroughs of New York City.
What follows below is an example of the beginning of one of our weekend reports about things to do during the month of September.
* Things To Do This Weekend in NYC & Boros
First Day of Autumn began Thursday Evening, Global Citizen Concert Returns Saturday, Fall for Dance Celebration Begins, Feast of San Gennaro ends Sunday; Great Irish Fair, Oktoberest at Fort Hamiltion & Local Play in Brooklyn; Hispanic Day Parade, Bell Blvd Stroll & Oktoberfest and Durga Puja Begin next weekend in Queens; Hip Hop Museum Opens, Native American Festival, Bronx Night Market, Stage Garden Rumba in the Bronx; Local Play on Staten Island; Rosh Hashanah Begins Sunday ... also Farmers Markets, Street Fairs & more
NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the mid 60's on Friday, about 70 on Saturday, rising to the mid 70's on Sunday. The temperature lows will be around 50 on Friday, rising to the mid 50's on Saturday and to about 60 on Sunday. The winds will be about 15 mph on Friday, falling to 5 - 10 mph the rest of the weekend. The humidity will rise from 40% - 50% on Friday, to 40% - 60% on Saturday, and then up to 60% - 80% on Sunday. No rain is in the forecast until after 4 pm on Sunday, when there's a 50% chance of about a tenth of an inch of rain.
The photo at right was taken earlier this week at the United Nations while President Biden was delivering a speech about protecting our democratic institutions and rule of law. This means helping other democracies, in order to preserve and protect our way of life from autocrats and dictators who inevitably steal power and wealth away from everyone else in society.
The first day of Autumn began Thursday evening 9/22/22 around 9 pm.
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins Sunday evening and ends Tuesday evening.
Things To Do This Weekend in Manhattan NYC
The photo at right was taken earlier this week at the United Nations. Those two people traversing the rooftop of the building aren't roof repairmen.
From Saturday, September 17 through January 1, 2023 - Death of a Salesman at the Hudson Theatre at 141 West 44th Street in West Midtown. This celebrates the Black Theatre Day on September 17th, in honor of the first African American theater, African Grove Theatre, which opened 9/17/1821. Tickets cost $64 - $313. For more details and tickets see https://www.thehudsonbroadway.com/
On Saturday, the Global Citizen Concert returns to the Great Lawn in Central Park which lies between 5th Avenue and Central Park West and between 72nd Street and 86th Street. The gates open at 2 pm and the concert begins at 4 pm. You must bring printed tickets as mobile tickets are not being accepted. Admission $250 - $299 via www.ticketmaster.com. For further details on the concert see https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/festival/nyc/2022/
Thursday - Sunday, September 15 - 25, 2022 times vary - The San Gennaro Festival. This is an 11 day Italian festival that runs through Sunday, September 25th. There's a canoli eating contest today 9/16 beginning at 1 pm and tomorrow 9/17 there's a procession through Little Italy that starts at 2 pm. See their website for details of all events - https://sangennaronyc.org/
The Fall for Dance Festival began on Wednesday, September 21 at the NY City Center at 131 West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues. The program runs through next week, ending Sunday, October 2, 2022. Performances begin at 8 pm each night, except this coming Sunday & Monday, September 25th & 26th. Tickets are $20 and performances last about an hour and a half. For details and tickets - https://www.nycitycenter.org/
The NY Film Festival begins next Friday, September 30th at Lincoln Center and runs through Sunday, October 16th.
Also see updated Weather on Friday afternoon by clicking the header above to go to the Front Page for Weekend Update.
This report contains a listing of some of the things to do in the Bronx over the Columbus Day Weekend including art museums, theaters, live music / comedy / dance venues, sporting & social events, and restaurants for the Bronx NYC.
Bronx Weather. As of September 27, 2022, the Temperature highs will be in the high 60's all four days of the long weekend. The temperature lows will be in the low 50's throughout the weekend. There's a chance of a small amount of rain, but the probability of rain as of this writing, is in the low double digits. Winds will be about 5 - 10 mph Friday and Monday and between 5 - 10 mph on all weekend. The Humidity will be between 55% - 70% throughout the weekend. Click for Bronx Weather.
Little Italy in the Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx, near the Bronx Zoo, NY Botanical Garden and Fordham University, is hosting an event this weekend. Details coming Friday.
There's also the 45th Annual Bronx Columbus Day Parade which starts at 12 noon on Sunday 10/9/22 at Barnes Avenue [near White Plains Rd] and Morris Park Ave, then turns left on Williamsbridge Rd, and eventually ends at Lydig Avenue [one block shy of the Pelham Parkway] in the Morris Park neighborhood of the Bronx.
Bronx Public & Private Parks & Public Indoor Swim Pools
The Bronx several parks of which a few include public indoor swimming facilities. Click here for a listing of the Bronx Parks including maps showing their locations along with a bit of park history.
There are a couple of indoor public swimming pools in the Bronx. One is at the St Mary's Recreation Center at 450 St. Ann's Avenue in St. Mary's Park and the other is at the Hansborough Recreation Center in the Howard Bennett Playground at 35 West 134th Street.
NYC public indoor swimming pools are now open.
NYC Golfing In The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan & Staten Island
The Bronx has four public golf courses: Mosholu, Van Cortlandt Park are accessible via the MTA / subway. And Pelham Bay Park and Trump golf links are accessible via subway and a brief bus ride. The Trump Golf Links are an NYC golf course owned by the city, for which Mayor Bloomberg had cut a licensing deal with Donald Trump in 2012 to rename and manage it. Since the Capitol Riot / Insurrection, the City has decided to terminate that deal and rename the golf course, but Trump is suing to keep the contract.
Queens has four golf courses and all of them are open this weekend. Click here for details about Queens Golf Courses including maps and links to the operators' websites.
Manhattan doesn't have any golf courses per se, but there is a driving range at 62 Chelsea Piers at 22nd Street and the West Side Highway. There are also three simulated golfing centers in Manhattan that operate under the Five Iron Golf name at 22 Stone Street [at Broad St] in the Financial District, at 138 5th Avenue in the Flatiron District and in the Continental on the third floor at 883 6th Avenue near Macy's and Madison Square Garden.
Brooklyn has a couple of golf courses including Dyker Beach golf course which is accessible via subway and Marine Park golf course which is accessible via subway and bus.
NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the low 80's on Tuesday & Wednesday, dropping to the low 70's on Thursday and the mid 60's on Friday., The temperature lows will rise from the mid 60's on Monday & Tuesday to the low 70's on Wednesday, and then fall into the mid to low 50's on Thursday and Friday. The winds will be 10 - 15 mph all week. The humidity will be 55% - 65% all week, except on Friday when it falls to 45% - 55%. There's a small chance of a small amount of rain in Thursday, with the probability gone by mid afternoon.
NYC White Collar Office Workers Continue to Resist a Full Return to the Office
As we noted last week, in our update, people are returning to mass transit. While weekend ridership on the subways has reached about 90%, weekday ridership lags behind at about 65% of prepandemic levels. One of the main drivers of the lower weekday ridership is that folks haven't yet resumed embraced a full return to the office at anywhere near prepandemic levels.
For about the past six months, only about 10% of white collar office workers in Manhattan, go to the office daily. But the number of people in the office each day has risen from about 38% to 49%, according to Parnership for New York City, a non-profit dedicated to primarily promoting the economic interests of NYC. Also, the percentage of workers staying fully remote dropped from 28% to 16% over the same six month period [April - September]. Nearly four out of five employers [77%] indicated that the preferred business model [demanded per employees] is now ready to accommodate folks who only want to travel to the office three of the five days in a work week.
Nobody is yet saying this, but it's my guesstimate, that over time, employees who are in the office more frequently are going to win out over those who are working remotely. And because of that phenomenon, I also guesstimate that over time, more folks will start spending more time in the office. But this may take years to play out.
There's a flip side of the coin above, which is that employers who accommodate remote workers, especially women who want to spend time rearing their children, could, over time, attract and retain some of the best and the brightest, even if they don't pay top dollar. For some, including myself, money matters - but it isn't everything.
As I look at what I've just written I see a potential lawsuit - discriminatory pay based on gender. But could it be discriminatory pay based on remote working? This discussion might have some parallels to the discussion below about dictatorships vs democracy and about valuing loyalty over talent.
Ultimately, time will tell, and it will be interesting to see how this all plays out. One thing is clear, many of us - if not all - are not going back to the status quo.
NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the high 70's and the temperature lows around 60. It will be sunny the rest of the week, with humidity ranging from 40% - 60%, which is fairly dry. Winds will be 5 - 10 mph, falling as the week wears on. No rain is expected between now and Friday evening, nor through the coming weekend.
So, a lot has happened since we last posted a news update. At right is a photo of one of the outer borough subway stations this summer. As you can see, mask wearing compliance has diminished.
MTA: Ridership Hits Post Pandemic High of 3.5 Million Weekday Riders on the First Day of the Reopening of NYC Public Schools & Governor Hochul Drops the MTA Mask Mandate
On Thursday, September 8th, the first day of the NYC public schools reopening, the MTA transported 3.6 million people. That's the highest ridership number since the pandemic began two and a half years ago in March of 2020.
In our August 9th report [see below] we suggested the MTA drop the mask mandate or enforce it. At the time we noticed that less than half of the passengers on the subway seemed to be adhering to the mask mandate. On September 7th, NYS Governor Hochul rescinded the mask mandate on the MTA, making masking optional, but still recommended that we continue masking on the MTA as we enter the colder months, when folks go indoors, where the probability of infection by airborne viruses like CoVid and the flu increases. The guidance is particularly relevant to those who are older or have underlying conditions, but it's also not unwise for everyone else too.
Shootings Down in NYC in August - In August 2022 There were 115 Shootings vs 165 in August 2021
This Follows the Passage of Federal Gun Restrictions by Congress in June, Biden's April Executive Order in Requiring Ghost Gun Sales be Handled in the Same Manner as Gun Sales & Mayor Adams & the NYPD's Effort to Remove Illegal Guns from NYC Streets
On June 25th, President Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. This is legislation that passed both the Senate and Congress earlier in the month. A number of moderate Republicans crossed the aisle in both the House and Senate to vote with the Democrats, on reigning in the gun violence free-for-all that we've been witnessing the past couple of years.
The federal gun legislation was the first of its kind to pass both houses and be signed into law in about 30 years. Among other things it enhances background checks for younger gun owners [under 21], and provides law enforcement with additional authority and responsibility to thwart potential shooters by empowering them to curtail a gun owner's rights if there's reason to believe that person poses a risk to the general welfare of the community. Added funding was also provided to incent law enforcement to pay more attention to problematic gun owners.
The Biden Ghost Gun sale regulations went into effect on August 24, 2022, following a failed court challenge to block the President's April 2022 Executive Order requiring ghost gun sales to be treated the same as other firearm sales.
In addition to the actions taken at the federal level, Mayor Adams has been working with the NYPD to reduce shootings through changes in NYC law enforcement to take illegal guns off the street. Year to date [as of end of August 2022], the NYPD had removed 4,880 illegal guns from the streets of which 405 of them were removed in August.
Other NYC crime statistics rose 31%. And NYS Governor Hochul passed a number gun regulations in response to the Supreme Court ruling overturning a century old NYS gun law.
We'll have a few more items to add, including on NYC public schools, on Wednesday 9.14.22. In the meantime, I hope you're having a nice week.
NYC Catholic Schools Open September 7th & NYC Public Schools Open on the 8th
Ode to Some of the Great Teachers I've Known, Who've Been Guides on the Trail of Life
In Words & Deeds, We are all Students & We are all Teachers, be it Consciously or Not
On Wednesday, September 7th the Catholic schools in NYC reopen for the new school year.
On Thursday, September 8, 2022 NYC public schools reopen. Many of the CoVid guidelines of the prior public school year have been modified, so copy and paste the following link for an update. https://www.schools.nyc.gov/school-life/health-and-wellness/covid-information/health-and-safety-in-our-schools.
Thinking of Those who Made a Difference
As I contemplated the upcoming school year I thought back to all of the great teachers who made a difference in my life. And so it is to them that I dedicate this column. Generally I'm going to discuss the school teachers as they chronologically entered my life, and discuss the other teachers in my life who taught me things outside of school, in reverse chronological order. Also please note that this is by no means a complete list, but really rather a first attempt at thanking some of the teachers who made a difference in my life, while passing on a few of the golden nuggets I learned from them.
The High School Teachers Who Made a Difference
It started at Abbott Pennings high school in DePere, Wisconsin where I grew up. Father Frigo was our freshman or sophomore history teacher. He was also a coach of the football and basketball teams which won state championships, and as such, was perhaps treated a bit too familiarly, even irreverently, by some of the star athletes in our class. What Father Frigo taught me was that historical narratives change over time, and that, " ... you have to pay attention to whether you're looking at primary sources or secondary sources ... " to truly understand the nature of events.
He taught us that, " ... revisionist history is a secondary source, but also plays an important role in our understanding of the past ...". He noted that pressure to conform to the prevailing cultural norms and narratives of those in power at a given time can distort and obfuscate the truth. But cultural norms and those in power change over time, so that oftentimes, at least in a free speech democracy, the passing of time permits a more honest appraisal of past events. We can see this playing out currently, as the Civil War 'heroes' of the Confederate south are more appropriately treated in historical terms as traitors to the republic, and as champions of a harsh, cruel system of enslavement of a large portion of the American population at the time. Likewise, in dictatorships, narcissitic despots often use and distort history to provide support for their violent aggression. We saw this scenario play out in Nazi Germany in the 1930's and 1940's, and we're witnessing it today in Putin's Russia.
My junior year I came up against a tough nun, Sister Janet, who for some god forsaken reason, took it upon herself to make sure that I understood algebra. I fought her tooth and nail throughout the year, but over time she broke me down and taught me the beauty of the logic inherent in algebraic equations, for which there is no wiggle room between getting it right and getting it wrong.
And lastly, at Abbott Pennings high school, I was taught an even larger lesson by Father Meehan, in religion class. I questioned some of the basic beliefs of Catholicism in class. He patiently answered my questions, and in the end told me something that I will always remember, when he said, "don't stop questioning ... question everything". Little did I know that that was both a blessing and a curse, as I have continued to question everything ever since.
August 31, 2022 / Things To Do NYC / Gotham Buzz. This section contains our Things To Do reports for each weekend in the month of August in all five boroughs of New York City.
What follows below is an example of the beginning of one of our weekend reports about things to do during the month of August.
Things To Do in NYC This Weekend
1) Blues & BBQ Fest, Summer Streets NYC, Dominican Parade, Macbeth, Little Shakespeare Fest & Asian American Film Fest continue in Manhattan
2) India Day Celebration, Festival of Cinema continues & Free Fan Tickets to U.S. Open Trials become Available in Queens,
3) Coney Island Sand Sculpting & a Rum Festival Return & Hip Hop Film Festival Continues in Brooklyn;
4) SummerStage Concerts at Crotona Park Amphitheater, Dinosaurs at the Zoo & Piazza di Belmont in the Bronx;
5) Summer Concert on Staten Island;
6) also Free Outdoor Concerts, Movies & Theater, Farmers Markets, NYC Public Outdoor Swimming Pools, Street Fairs, Public Beaches
NYC Weekend Weather. The temperature highs will be in the low 80's and the temperature lows in the mid 60's all weekend. The humidity drops to 40 - 50% all weekend except Sunday when it begins rising again to about 60%. The winds will be 4 - 10 mph all weekend. No rain is in the forecast.
In the photo at right is a hip hop performer who is a part of a troupe that performed outside the entrance at Christies New York [an auction house] last weekend. The performance was part of a citywide dance festival [we only posted a couple of events], and also a tie into Christies' current online auction of early Hip Hop memorabilia which expires on August 18th, 2022.
Things To Do This Weekend in Manhattan NYC
Saturday, August 13, 2022 from 1 - 9 pm - Blues BBQ Festival. Free summer concerts at Pier 76 near Chelsea Piers in Midtown Manhattan NYC. Free admission, with food not included. For details see - https://hudsonriverpark.org/visit/events/event/blues-bbq-festival-2022/
Saturdays, August 6, 13 & 20, 2022 from 7 am to 1 pm - NYC Summer Streets - There will be street closures to autos and trucks along Lafayette starting at the Brooklyn Bridge, going north to 4th Avenue in the Village, which merges into Park Avenue at Union Square, ending at 72nd Street. People are welcome to bike, stroll, skateboard and whatnot. Motorists will have access to some major cross streets which you can find listed by cutting & pasting this web address into your browser - http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/summerstreets/html/about/neighbors.shtml.
On Sunday, August 14, 2022 beginning at 1 pm there's a Dominican Parade that marches up 6th Avenue from 38th Street to 56th Street in Manhattan.
Thursday, August 4 - Sunday, August 14, 2022 - The Little Shakespeare Festival. It's called 'little' because each production contains only four or five actors. 1) August 4 & 6 - As You Will - at 9 pm and 7 pm respectively, 2) August 5, 7, 11, 12 & 14 - Romeo & Juliet - at 7 pm weekdays and 5.30 pm and 4 pm respectively on Sundays, 3) August 6, 10 & 13 - Unspoken Garden - at 2 pm Saturdays & 7 pm weekday, 4) August 9 - Fights of Shakesepeare & As You Will [double feature] - at 7 pm and 5) Brawls & Burlesque, August 13 at 7 pm & 14 at 2 pm. At the Frigid Theater NYC which performs at Under St. Mark's Theater which is located in the basement at 94 St Marks Place [=8th Street] at 1st Avenue in the East Village - www.frigid.nyc / Tickets are $25 / $20.
August 3 - 13, 2022 - Asian American International Film Festival. This year [2022] they're back with live events and in person screenings at the Asia Society & Museum on the Upper East Side. The Asia Society & Museum is located at 725 Park Avenue at East 70th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan NYC. Tickets are $16 / $10 - For details see www.aaiff.org.
FYI - We update our front page on the Friday before the Labor Day weekend, with an up-to-date weather forecast, as well as additional Labor Day Weekend events and updates. So please come back to visit us over the weekend.
The photo at right shows a golfer at the Pelham Bay / Split Rock Golf Course in Pelham Bay Park.
Special Events on Labor Day Weekend in the Bronx NYC
The Sunday afternoon of Labor Day Weekend, from 1 to 6 pm, is the last Summer Salsa event at Orchard Beach, in Section 5 between the clubhouse and the water. It's casual and free.
One of the biggest event over the Labor Day Weekend in the Bronx is that the Yankees host the Twins beginning at 11 am on Monday, September 5th at Yankee Stadium at River Avenue and 161st Street.
Next weekend, September 10th & 11th, 2022 from 11 am to 7 pm, is the City Island Art Fair. It's held along Main Street, with the epic center at Hawkins Park.
And it's all happening right here in our favorite borough - the Bronx. So take your time to sort through the days and locations and start planning your weekend. Click here to obtain information about other things to do in the Bronx beyond the Labor Day Weekend. This events calendar is updated monthly with between 50 - 100 different Bronx fun / cultural events.
Bronx Public & Private Parks
The Bronx have a number of public parks of which a few include swimming facilities. Click here for a listing of the Bronx Parks including maps showing their locations along with a bit of park history.
The photo at right shows Orchard Beach in the Bronx in August. On Sunday afternoon they have a salsa concert where folks also dance if it's not too hot.
NYC Golfing In The Bronx & Queens
The Bronx has three public golf courses and all of them are open this weekend. The golf courses include Van Cortlandt Park Golf Course, Mosholu Golf Course - also in Van Cortlandt Park and Pelham Bay / Split Rock Golf Course which are in Pelham Bay Park in the eastern Bronx. All of these golf courses are accessible via the MTA / subway.
Click here for details about Queens Golf Courses including maps and links to the operators' websites.
The second NYS primary election is on Tuesday, August 23rd. On the ballot are the U.S. Congressional races and the NYS Senate races, which were not on the ballot on June 28th.
Reason for the Second Primary this Summer & Races to Watch
The reason there were two NYS primaries this year is that the electoral districts drawn up by the Democrats were so gerrymandered, that an upstate court ordered the NYS Legislature to redraw them more fairly. The decision was upheld on Appeal, but due to the timing - the Appeal decision came down in April - there wasn't enough time to redraw the maps in time for the June primary. Hence a second primary today.
The biggest contests to watch coming out of this election is the one pitting two longtime Congresspeople against each other in District 12 - Jerry Nadler of the Upper West Side and Carolyn Maloney of the Upper East Side. And there's a tight race just north of the city in Westchester where Alessandra Biaggi is challenging Sean Patrick Maloney in District 13. Earlier this summer, former Mayor de Blasio dropped out of the congressional race in the newly redrawn 10th District which encompasses part of Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Click on the image above to access the poll finder website, so you can easily find where to vote in your neighborhood. Remember this is the land of the free and the home of the brave, and many of our ancestors died for our right to elect our leaders. A similar struggle for freedom from oppression is going on in Ukraine right now. So in as much as you can, do your homework before voting for those you choose to represent you / us. There's still time to do some research on candidates on the web.
The New York State election is Tuesday August 23rd, and polls are open from 6 am - 9 pm. Click on the graphic above, to find your poll site.
Weather. The temperature highs will be in the mid to high 90's today, falling into the mid 80's for the rest of the week. The temperature lows will be around 70 all week. The humidity will rise from the mid 50's early Tuesday to the mid 70's by Wednesday, falling back to about 60% on Thursday and a comfortable 50% on Friday. There's a 50% chance of a 1/10th inch of rain between 5 - 10 pm Tuesday, and a 50 - 75% chance of about a half inch or more of rain between 11 pm Wednesday and 9 am Thursday. By Friday it's a very nice day, leading into a very nice weekend.
CoVid Containment in NYC - MTA Should Either Enforce the Mask Mandate or Withdraw it
This past weekend I noticed that half or less of the passengers on the subway appear to be following the mask mandate. To the MTA I suggest either enforce the mandate, or withdraw it. You weaken the government's credibility and ability to enforce compliance, when you mandate something and then do not follow through by properly / evenly enforcing it. Every good parent knows that.
The BA.5 variant of CoVid grew rapidly from under 10% at the beginning of June 2022, to above 80% by the end of July. Cases rose briefly during that period, before falling back again. About 79% of all Americans have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while about 68% have received two or more. In NYS 91% of New Yorkers have received at least one dose, while 78% have received two or more doses. Because the population has finally come around to getting vaccinated, the hospitalization rates for CoVid are fairly low, with only a small percentage of hospital beds being utilized for CoVid patients, most of which are occupied by the non-vaxers.
Bear in mind that it's the summertime, which is the off season for the disease, because folks are outdoors.
1) Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival, Greek Festival, Pow Wow & Jamaica Jerk Festival in Queens, 2) Shakespeare at Bronx Music Center, Bronx Night Market, Piazza di Belmont & the Bronx Dominican Parade returns to the Bronx; 3) Gallery Players, Piper Theater Performances, Burlesque at the Beach and BRIC Concert Series continues in Brooklyn; 4) Songwriters Showcase, Ailey Moves & St. Lukes Concert, Mame Opens at the Victory Theater, Much Ado about Nothing, Final Movie / Concert at the Lighthouse Museum on Staten Island; 5) SHENYC continues, Dance Intensive, Twelfth Night & NY Asian Film Fest ending, Movies and MacBeth Begins in Manhattan, and Free Outdoor Concerts, Movies & Theater, Farmers Markets, NYC Public Outdoor Swimming Pools, Street Fairs, Public Beaches
NYC Weekend Weather. The temperature highs will be in the mid to high 80's and the temperature lows will be in the low to mid 70's. Winds will be 5 - 10 mph all weekend. The humidity will fall from 50% - 70% on Friday, to 50% on Saturday, rising to 50% - 65% on Sunday. There's a chance of about a quarter inch of rain sometime between 10 pm Friday night and 4 am Saturday morning. All in all not a bad weather weekend.
The photo at right is of the dragon festival in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens. The festival returns this weekend.
Things To Do This Weekend in Queens NYC
Thursday - Sunday, July 28 - July 31, 2022 - Thurs / Fri / Sat / Sun - 5 pm to 11 pm - St Irene Chrysovalantou Church - This Astoria street fair is along 23rd Avenue from 36th Street to the Amtrak trestle. Traditional Greek food, music, and folk dances every night, as well as rides for the kids and a marketplace. The feast day celebration starts with a mass on Wednesday at 7.30 pm inside and continues with various religious services through the end of the feast on Sunday.
On Friday, July 29, 2022 beginning at 7.30 pm / Hip to Hip Theater Free - Pericles - There's a performance of Shakespeare at The Voelker Orth Museum is located at 149-19 38th Avenue in Flushing.
On Sunday, July 31, 2022 from 2 - 5 pm - there's a performance by Ballet Folklorico Mexicano de Nueva York Guelaguetza Festival at Socrates Sculpture Park which is located at 32-01 Vernon Blvd at Broadway in Astoria / LIC.
Friday through Sunday, July 29 - 31, 2022 - There's a Pow Wow at the Queens County Farm at 73-50 Little Neck Parkway in Bellerose Manor / Little Neck neighborhoods of Queens. Performances run from 7 - 10 pm Friday; 12 noon - 5 pm and 7 - 10 pm Saturday; and from 12 noon - 5 pm Sunday. The Grand Entry of tribes is at 7 pm Friday, 1 pm and 7 pm Saturday and 1 pm Sunday. Gates open at 6 pm Friday, and 10 am on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets run $15 / adult and $8 / kids 12 and under [discounted rates for full weekend passes].
Saturday & Sunday, July 30 & 31, 2022 - from 9 am - 5 pm - Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival at Meadow Lake in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Live boat races, food, shopping and entertainment. Free admission. www.hkdbf-ny.org. Free admission.
Sunday, July 31, 2022 - Jamaica Jerk Festival - From 12 noon to 8 pm - Carribean Food Festival with music at Roy Wilkins Park 177-01 Baisley Blvd at Merrick in Jamaica. Admission $45 advance / likely more at door / Children under 10 Free. Tickets at www.jerkfestivalny.com.
Use the links below to see details about the concerts, theater and movie events above, as well as for details on the freesummer concerts, theater and movies for the rest of this summer in Queens. For example next Monday free summer movies in Astoria Park, free performances of Shakespeare in Queens parks, a free movie in Rufus King Park on Friday 7/29 in Jamaica, a paid movie with workshop at the Queens Botanical Garden this Saturday 7/30, free concerts and dance performances in Athens Square Park on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in Astoria, live music and dance in Travers Park in Jackson Heights on Sunday 7/31 and a free concert in Gantry State Park in Tuesdays.
We've mostly been trying to stay abreast of all the summer events this past month. Event schedules changed, some schedules have been reduced, and some venues have closed or remain on hiatus. But by and large, most venues are back up and running on some kind of level, while trying to protect the health and safety of their associates as well as the general public vis a vis CoVid.
So as we remained focused on staying abreast of the many summer events easily accessible to most of the denizens of NYC and NYS, we did not take our eye off of the more serious issues swirling around us. The following is a list of events we've been monitoring and researching along the way, which we intend to delve into in the coming weeks, and perhaps months.
Untimely Death: Two Russian Oligarchs Live on Ivana Trump's Block
I have a few unanswered questions regarding Ivana Trump's sudden, unexpected, accidental death.
Ivana Trump lived in a building in Manhattan on the Upper East Side in which Donald Trump reportedly still owns a total of five units. It just so happens that Ivana's residence is also on a block where two Russian Oligarchs own large residences, and for a time, where the divorced wife of a third Oligarch, lived. The wife of the third Oligarch is Dasha Zhukova who was married to Roman Abramovich. Zhukova became fast friends with Ivanka Trump, after being introduced by Wendi Deng, the former wife of Rupert Murdoch [Fox News / WSJ / NY Post] sometime around 2007.
The Russian Oligarchs who own residences on the same block where Ivana Trump lived, are Oleg Deripaska and Len Blavatnik. Deripaska's residence is just across the street from Ivana's residence, which if he were to be a spy, would be an ideal a location. Dasha Zhukova [the former wife of Abramovich] lived in Deripaska's residence in 2018, apparently departing from that residence sometime before September 2019.
Zhukova moved ten blocks north of Ivana's block into a large four townhouse development upon which Zhukova's former husband, Roman Abramovich was working. According to a March 12, 2022 report in the Mercury News, Abramovich transferred the real estate, valued at $92 million, to Zhukova in 2018. In 2022 the Russian Oligarch sanctions hit, and now there's a question of whether transferred wealth to relatives [like former wife Zhukova] should also be sanctioned.
According to a March 17, 2022 report in the New Yorker, "... [Russian Opposition Leader Alexei] Navalny has described Abramovich as “one of the key enablers and beneficiaries of Russian kleptocracy...”. Abramovich is considered one of Putin's most trusted Oligarchs, having survived Putin's Oligarch purge after Russian President Boris Yeltsin's fall.
Abramovich must be an incredibly skillful manipulator - not just of Putin - but Abramovich was also the only Russian Oligarch who Ukrainian President Zelensky asked the U.S. not to sanction. Zelensky claimed it was in order to unencumber Abramovich to broker a Russian / Ukrainian peace deal in Turkey [see link below for further details]. The pact never even came close to happening. Separately, the two nations recently cut a deal to allow free passage of food through the Black Sea and Bosporous Straits, which less than 24 hours later Putin 'honored' by bombing the Ukrainian port of Odessa, from which the Ukrainian food is to be shipped.
The deal providing two of the world's largest food producers [Russia & Ukraine] safe passage of food through the Black Sea and the Bosporous Straits was brokered - not by the Russian kleptocrat Abramovich - but by the UN and Turkey. The Bosporous Straits is a Black Sea bottleneck, which is controlled by NATO ally Turkey, per an international agreement made decades ago.
Back to Ivana's Trump's residence and her sudden, unexpected and accidental death. So Ivana's daughter, Ivanka Trump, became quite friendly with Abramovich's former wife, Dasha Zhukova. They became such good friends that they began interacting socially at very public events well over a decade ago. The first social event I found documented was in 2014 when Zhukova reportedly invited Ivanka and Jared to a fundraiser organized by her husband, Roman Abramovich, for a Jewish Museum he founded in Moscow. In 2016, as Donald Trump was running for President, Ivanka, Wendi Deng and Zhukova were also photographed at the the U.S. Open in Queens. And in 2017 Dasha Zhukova was reportedly invited to the Trump Inauguration weekend celebrations. Apparently there have been many other interactions, in between those public appearances and since, including some Abramovich investments placed in Jared Kushner's brother's [Josh] company.
My point in all of this, is that the Russians could have had social access to Ivana Trump's residence and / or were in a position to have access to Ivana Trump's residence via more nefarious means. Given Trump owned so many units in the building, and probably owns the building management company, a lot of the independent context surrounding Ivana's death would be hard to obtain by the authorities without strong cause. I heard nothing about any review of any building video footage on the property itself, nor from the surrounding buildings. After the funeral, Ivana's body was subsequently delivered to a Trump golf course in New Jersey, which is private property, owned by Donald Trump.
The details of Ivana Trump's autopsy were scant. The reporting of them had an uncertain quality to them. None of the reports indicated who called in the death. Not by name, not by association and not by any role. I find that odd. The first cited cause of death was "cardiac arrest" and then later the cause of death was said to be from 'blunt' injuries suffered in the fall. Ivana Trump was an athlete, and only 73 years old, so falling down the stairs, and dying from the fall, while believable, is also unbelievable.
It's worth noting here, that accidental deaths are reportedly a Putin specialty. A Russian media baron, Boris Berezovsky, who was on the outs with Putin, reportedly suddenly, unexpectedly and accidentally died in his own bathroom at the age of 67 in 2013. The police determined that the cause of death was "unexplained", but it was surmised that it could have been caused by chemical, biolgical or nuclear material.
The timing of Ivana's death, coincidentally worked in the Donald's favor, as the NYS Attorney General was about to follow through with depositions with the Trump children. Because of Ivana's death, all of the Trump children depositions were postponed by the NYS Attorney General. The Trump family funeral also provided an opportunity for Donald Trump to meet with his children without being asked any questions. I mention this because it's been suggested that Trump may have tried to tamper with a witness for the Congressional Hearings on the Trump Insurrection.
We know from Trump's campaigning in 2016, as well as from the January 6 Congressional Hearings of the Insurrection, that Donald Trump is not above encouraging others to do violence, when it serves his purposes. Ivana Trump reportedly kept contact with the Donald, even after their marriage ended, but the divorce was reportedly fairly hostile, although it also appeared that their relationship settled down, and might possibly have healed, over time.
Ivana and Ivanka Trump were reportedly close, as the only two women in that iteration of the Trump family. So, given the above as backdrop, what I found of particular interest, was the body language between the Donald, and Ivanka and Jared, at Ivana's funeral. They did not look each other in the eye, and Ivanka and Jared seemed to flee the rest of the family immediately after the funeral. Given the many funerals I've attended, that didn't strike me as normal.
These are just some unasked and unanswered questions that came to mind while I watched the Trumps mourn one of their own. I suspect neither Trump nor Putin will let up with their shenanigans, because right now both of them are losing, and by the time the 2024 election rolls around, both of them might become desperate. Stay tuned.
Summer is in full swing. A number of community groups in collaboration with the NYC Parks Department and frequently some measure of government funding, have put together a summer full of free summer theater in the parks. The free theatre events listed below are designed for young and old alike and they're FREE.
Editor's Note - Note that only ASTERISKED LOCATIONS have been updated. Pay attention to the movies dates / years. We will be updating / adding a few more movies between now and the end of September. So check back periodically for updates which you can note by the date changing above.
July 4th Weekend Weather. As of this post 6/28/22, the temperature highs will be in the high 80's during the day and around 70. There's a 50% - 60% chance of rain on Saturday [over a half inch] and a quarter inch of rain on Sunday. The humidity will be 50% - 80% Saturday, falling to 60% on Sunday and down to 50% on Monday. Winds will be 5 - 10 mph throughout the weekend.
July 4th 2022 and Independence Day Fireworks the Bronx
Typically there are a number of July 4th fireworks displays that are viewable in or from the Bronx. While 2020 was a wash, and 2021 wasn't fully back to normal, it seems in 2022 we're back to having what were the prepandemic fireworks display options. The Orchard Beach fireworks is in the Bronx, and the Astoria Park fireworks in Queens are viewable from the South Bronx, and the Macy's July 4th fireworks is remotely viewable from the southern Bronx. The Coop City fireworks continues its hiatus and at this point seems to have discontinued its effort. And for those who wish to travel to Long Island, the Jones Beach fireworks continue in 2022.
Click here for a report about the 4th of July Fireworks in Bronx NYC & surrounding areas, including times and locations for the Orchard Beach fireworks 2022, the Coop City fireworks 2022 [none known to be planned at this time], the Astoria Park fireworks 2022, the Macy's 4th of July fireworks along the East River in NYC, and the Jones Beach fireworks on Long Island.
Things To Do in NYC in June - Weekends
Things To Do in NYC by Weekend in June
June 30, 2022 / Things To Do NYC / Gotham Buzz. This section contains our Weekend Things To Do reports for the month of June 2022.
Gay Pride Parade & PrideFest in Manhattan, the Jamaica Dance Festival Continues and the Astoria Park Fireworks Returns to Queens, the Gowanus Art Festival, Funday Festival, Midwood Mardis Gras & Tastes of Crown Heights in Brooklyn; Bronx River Sounds Art Fest & Bronx Night Market in the Bronx; Polish Festival & Free Concert for Ukraine on Staten Island; NYC Public Outdoor Swimming Pools Open Next Week, Early Voting Ends Sunday & NYS Primary Election Tuesday
Weather. The temperatures will be about 90 degrees this weekend, and the lows about 70 degrees. The humidity will be between 50% - 60% all weekend. Winds will be about 12 mph Saturday and about 17 mph Sunday. No rain is expected over the weekend, but about a 1/2 inch to an inch is due to arrive on Monday.
The photo at right was taken at the Gay Pride Parade in the West Village in Manhattan prior to the pandemic.
Things To Do This Weekend in Manhattan
Saturday, June 25, 2022 from 10 am - 6 pm - Little West 12th Street Block Party - Along Little West 12th Street between 9th Avenue and Washington Street in the West Village.
The Gay Pride Parade returns to the West Village on Sunday, June 26th beginning at 12 noon at Madison Square Park at 26th Street and 5th Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. The parade turns west toward the West Village at 8th Street, continues onto Christopher Street before turning north on 7th Avenue, ending at 15th Street.
Also on Sunday, June 26, 2022 there's also a Gay Pride street fair along 4th Avenue between 8th and 13th streets in the Village. It begins at 11 am and ends around 6 pm. The fair includes entertainment, food and wellness booths.
The NYS primary election is on Tuesday, June 28th. On the ballot are the following races: U.S. Senate, Governor, Other state executives, State Assembly, Special state legislative, School boards, Municipal government and Ballot measures.
Click on the image above to access the poll finder website, so you can easily find where to vote in your neighborhood. Remember this is the land of the free and the home of the brave, and many of our ancestors died for our right to vote. A similar struggle for freedom from oppression is going on in Ukraine right now. So in as much as you can, do your homework before voting for those you choose to represent you / us. There's still time to do some research on candidates on the web.
The New York City election is Tuesday June 28th, and polls are open from 6 am - 9 pm. Click on the graphic above, to find your poll site.
FYI - July 4th Fireworks celebrations coming later tonight.
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Bronx - Free Summer Concerts 2022
Free Things To Do In the Bronx - Free Summer Concerts in NYC
Editor's Note - Note that only ASTERISKED LOCATIONS have been updated. Pay attention to the concert dates / years. We will be updating / adding a few more concerts between now and the end of September. So check back periodically for updates which you can note by the date changing above.
Summer is in full swing. A number of community groups in collaboration with the NYC Parks Department and frequently some measure of government funding, have put together a summer full of films and free summer concerts in the parks. The free concerts listed below are designed for young and old alike and they're FREE.
Summer is in full swing. A number of community groups in collaboration with the NYC Parks Department and frequently some measure of government funding, have put together a summer full of free summer theater in the parks. The free theatre events listed below are designed for young and old alike and they're FREE.
Editor's Note - Note that only ASTERISKED LOCATIONS have been updated. Pay attention to the performance dates / years. We will be updating / adding this summer theater report between now and the end of September. So check back periodically for updates which you can note by the date changing above.
Some summer theater programs in the Bronx have been curtailed or cancelled, many in part due to the ongoing CoVid threat. We'll continue to update / add to this schedule of free theater in the park in the Bronx, as we become aware of additional productions.
Current Bronx Things To Do. Click here to view a listing of current Bronx things to do.
NYC News Updates June 2022
CoVid Guidelines Issued by State & Federal Govt Sometimes at Cross Purposes, NYC Tourism Coming Back, Why There are Two NYS Primaries in 2022, Former Mayor de Blasio Running for Congress, Inflation & Wages are Up but Expected to Slow, Public Schools End School Year on 6/27/22, Will the Rangers take the Stanley Cup, Will the Celtics Win the Championship & Will the Mets & Yankees hold onto their Leads?
This report is a catch up on some of the key local news items over the past couple of months. Our last news update was at the end of February [2/22/22].
CoVid Regulatory Guidelines Differ at Federal & State Levels
On March 17, 2022 the NYS CoVid general restrictions under the H.E.R.O. Act expired. The expiration did not include the masks mandate requirement on NYC & NYS public transit.
On April 18, 2022 the CDC / Federal rescinded their mask mandates on federal transportation, while - as noted above - NYS has kept its mask mandate in effect. As one might expect, this has led to some confusion. So to be clear, when using the MTA, LIRR or Metro North trains, masks are still required.
Be advised that local businesses have the right to decide what rules apply to customers who enter their facilities. For example, Broadway theaters and many other entertainment venues still request proof of vaccination and / or masks indoors. Broadway theaters extended their mask mandate requirement of attendees at performances through June 2022. Conversely, most NYC restaurateurs no longer check vaccination status, let their customers decide whether or not to wear masks, and most restaurateurs provide the option of indoor / outdoor dining, which was established as an economic response to CoVid, in support of local restaurants by the de Blasio Administration.
Vaccination rates for NYC and NYS continue to inch up quite slowly, but that's now a somewhat dated metric, because if one is not boosted, the CoVid immunity and protection fades over time. The CoVid vaccination protection generally recedes significantly while approaching 6 months after the first two shots, so getting boosted is important, particularly if you are immuno-compromised, have an underlying condition, or fall into an elderly age group [over 50 years].
NYC Tourism Bouncing Back
NYC tourism is coming back and the city economy is picking up. The past month or so, we've been inundated with notices of public events and entertainment venues coming back to life. We've not yet gotten back into the full rhythm to accommodate as many as we'd like, but we're getting there. Our monthly things to do calendars will be coming back to life bit by bit, starting this weekend. The calendar is accessible from the top tool bar, by clicking the first button from the left.
Mayor Adams said yesterday [6/6/22] that NYC hotels are booking at 95% of pre-pandemic levels. The NY Post stated in an April 20, 2022 report, that the NYC hotel business would be down 55%. We'll see how this plays out by the end of the year.
The Unofficial Start of Summer Comes with Memorial Day Parades in Brooklyn, Queens & Staten Island; Fleet Week is Underway & the Intrepid is Hosting Events, Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit, Losaida and LES Festival in Manhattan, BAM Dance Africa Festival in Brooklyn, Sunnyside Gardens Park Fair in Queens, National Puerto Rican Day Parade Festival at 152nd St in Bx & Bronx Arts Ensemble & Night Market, Staten Island Mall Carnival Began, Golf Courses have been Open & it's the Opening Weekend of NYC Beaches, Farmers Markets, Street Fairs & more
Weather. The temperature highs will be near 80 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, rising to the mid 80's or higher on Monday. The temperature lows will be in the 60's all weekend. Over a half inch of rain is expected between about 2 pm Friday and about 4 pm Saturday, and the rest of the weekend will be dry. Winds will be 5 - 10 mph on Friday, Saturday and Monday, falling to 3 - 5 mph on Sunday. The humidity will be 80% on Friday, 70% on Saturday, and 60% on Sunday and Monday. All in all a pretty fair weather for the three day weekend.
The photo at right was taken at Coney Island in Brooklyn in 2019 prior to the outbreak of the CoVid pandemic. While CoVid hasn't gone away [and may never], it seems the worst of it is behind us and folks are beginning to return to what used to be their normal lives. Coney Island opened in April this year.
Manhattan Things To Do This Weekend NYC
In the photo at right is just one of thousands of artworks for sale in a prior year at the Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit which begins Saturday and runs through Monday.
On Monday, May 30, 2022 the InwoodMemorial Day Parade begins at 11.30 am at Dykman Street and marches up Broadway into Inwood Park where a short flag raising ceremony will be held.
The Lower East Side Festival runs Friday through Sunday from 6 pm to 1 am [and Saturday also from 12 noon - 6 pm] at the Theater for the New City at 155 East 10th Street in the East Village. The festival includes theater, music, dance, film and kids stuff. Free.
The Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit begins Saturday and runs through the weekend. The art fair runs from 12 noon to 6 pm daily along University Avenue from Washington Square Park South to 13th Street in the Village.
The Losaida Festival is on Sunday, May 29, 2022 from 12 noon - 5 pm - Along Avenue C and 8th Street [Losaida Street] in the East Village. The fair celebrates Puerto Rican food, music and culture. Free.
It's Fleet Week in NYC and the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum is hosting a number of activities, topped off on Monday at 10 am with a Memorial Day Closing Ceremony. See www.intrepidmuseum.org/fleet-week for details.
This is Fleet Week and a number of U.S. Navy ships are docked in Manhattan and Staten Island. A number of events are planned in both locations. For details see http://militarynews.com/app/fleetweeknewyork/events.html
Bronx offers easy access to a wide range of recreational swimming pools. The following is our first attempt to provide you with a view of the range of public swimming pools available in the parks of the Bronx. We encourage you to make use of these facilities because they provide healthy, fun, and frequently free or inexpensive entertainment for both individuals and families with children.
Bronxoutdoor public pools will open beginning Tuesday June 28th, 2022. A few of the indoor pools will be closed this summer to allow for construction and improvements.
Generally pool hours are from 11 am - 7 pm daily, with a one hour break between 3 and 4 pm for cleaning. Bring a padlock for your locker and proper swimming trunks are required [for boys this means not shorts as trunks must have liners]. Don't bring food, glass bottles, newspapers, electronics, floaters and no or as few valuables as you can bring to minimize your risk because the park isn't responsible for your losses. Free sunscreen will be made available while supplies last.
As of this posting 5.25.22, masks are NOT required for indoor activity including in the locker rooms, but stay tuned as it's possible that could change.
Last Saturday there were a few Pro Choice rallies in NYC. Most notable among them were the one that started at Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn, marching across the Brooklyn Bridge to Foley Square. And there was another group that gathered in Union Square which also marched to Foley Square.
I have some video and photos, but possibly the most interesting part of this report are the perspectives I picked up along the way, which provided me with a deeper understanding of the issues, primarily from a women's point of view.
First there's the science ...
Hi. Following up on the conversations I had and overheard led me to a lot of new information that I'm still processing. I hope to return to finish this sometime in the summer.
This is a report containing things to do in the Bronx over the Memorial Day Weekend.
This was first published when Memorial Day Weekend was a few weeks away. But given New Yorkers' interest in resuming some level of normalcy post pandemic, I thought you might want more time to figure out how you're going to spend the weekend.
Weather. The temperature highs will be near 80 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, rising to the mid 80's or higher on Monday. The temperature lows will be in the 60's all weekend. Over a half inch of rain is expected between about 2 pm Friday and about 4 pm Saturday, and the rest of the weekend will be dry. Winds will be 5 - 10 mph on Friday, Saturday and Monday, falling to 3 - 5 mph on Sunday. The humidity will be 80% on Friday, 70% on Saturday, and 60% on Sunday and Monday. All in all a pretty fair weather for the three day weekend.
The things to do in the Bronx on Memorial Day Weekend include art exhibitions, theater, live music, comedy, dance, shopping, outdoor activities such as soccer, kyaking, baseball, parades, street fairs, museums and dining in the Mott Haven, Fordham, Port Morris, Concourse, Bedford Park, Norwood, University Heights, City Island, Riverdale, Melrose, Morris Park, Westchester Square & Parkchester neighborhoods of the Bronx in NYC.
Be sure to check our Memorial Day Weekend things to do post mid afternoon Friday of Memorial Day Weekend. The photo at right was taken in May of a prior year at the Bronx Museum in the Concourse neighborhood.
Brief History of the Memorial Day Holiday in the Bronx
Memorial Day first started out as Decoration Day in Waterloo, New York on May 30, 1866 - a year after the Civil War - to honor those who fought in it. In the 1880's the day came to be known as Memorial Day.
According to a May 25, 2012 report in Time Magazine, ten states - Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North and South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee also officially observe some version of a Confederate Memorial Day, sometime between late April and early June [in Texas it's in January]. It's been reported that unofficially most of the former Confederate states still commemorate it, but not without some controversy as to the former Confederate diaspora it's to honor their ancestors, while to the former diaspora of the slaves it seems a remnant of these states racist past.
About ten percent of the nation travels more than 50 miles over the weekend. Memorial Day differs from Veterans Day which is held on November 11th of each year. Veterans Day began by honoring those who fought in World War I which ended on the 11th hour, of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. Both honor those who served in the U.S. Military. Veterans Day coincides with a similar holiday in Europe for the same reason, which is called Remembrance Day and Armistice Day.
Nice Weather Weekend for the 5 Boro Bike Ride NYC, Yankee Peddler Day at Historic Richmond Town Staten Island, Night Food Market & Orchid Show in the Bronx, May Day Festival & BAM Queer Film Weekend in Brooklyn, International Cultural Festival Queens & Dance Fest at Wolman Rink & Met Gala Monday in Manhattan ... and more ...
Weather NYC. The temperature highs will rise from the low 60's on Friday to the high 60's on Saturday and Sunday. The temperature lows will rise from the low 40's on Friday, to the high 40's on Saturday to about 50 on Sunday. The humidity will be very low on Friday, ranging from 10% to 40%, rising to 30% - 45% on Saturday and then 35% to 55% on Sunday. The wind will finally settle down to 5 - 10 mph throughout the weekend. No rain is expected this weekend.
In the photo at right are cyclists participating in the 5 Boro Bike Ride as they make their way through Queens in a prior year. The cycling event returns Sunday. See details below.
Manhattan Things To Do This Weekend NYC
There's a Coney Island Polar Bear Club event on Saturday & Sunday at Wolman Rink in Central Park from 2 pm - 10 pm. It's a charity event and tickets aren't cheap at $191 / person. See www.wolmanrinknyc.com for details.
The 5 Boro Bike Ride returns to all five boroughs of NYC on Sunday. Details in Manhattan street fairs.
The Met Gala returns to the Metropolitan Museum on Monday.
Mothers Day Restaurants in or near Mott Haven, Fordham, Port Morris, Concourse, Bedford Park, Norwood, University Heights, City Island, Riverdale, Melrose, Morris Park, Westchester Square & Parkchester Bronx NYC
Mother's Day will soon be upon us. It's a good time to let your loved ones know you care. Flowers, gifts and brunch or dinner are always welcome, as is any thoughtful gesture that provides some measure showing your appreciation of your mother or the mother of your children. After all, without mothers, we would all cease to be.
It's best to book a restaurant reservation early for Mother's Day brunch, as on Mother's Day in the Bronx, many restaurants are full. So if you're thinking about eating out at a restaurant this Mother's Day in Mott Haven, Fordham, Port Morris, Concourse, Bedford Park, Norwood, University Heights, City Island, Riverdale, Melrose, Morris Park, Westchester Square & Parkchester; it's best to do your research early, and call ahead to book Mother's Day restaurant reservations.
Remember, restaurants also have additional capacity since the pandemic began, via all of those outdoor shanties built during the pandemic, which greatly increased overall space / seating capacity. And with the weather warming - the temperature is expected to be near 70 degrees on Mothers Day without rain, so outdoor dining is a pleasant, even welcome option.
But as the saying goes, the early bird gets the [worm] better seating, so book early.
Mother's Day History - Restaurants In the Bronx
The origins of Mother's Day in the United States began with the efforts by Anna Jarvis in honor of her own mother. According to Wikipedia, Anna began the campaign in 1905 - the year her mother died - and in 1910 West Virginia was the first state to adopt it as a holiday. In 1914 Woodrow Wilson made the second Sunday in May as a national holiday to honor mothers.
Click this link to view a brief guide of Mother's Day restaurants in the Bronx where you will find links to Bronx restaurants we've visited in the past or have reviewed. The restaurants we've reviewed include a mix of high, medium and budget priced restaurants that are spread throughout the borough and offer a large variety of ethnic cuisines.
See HOURS, MAPS, ITEMS / SELECTION of the 23 BEST Farmers Markets / Green Markets in Bronx, w/ savvy shoppers' tips. This report includes the Mott Haven Farmers Market, Concourse Green Market, Coop City Farmers Market, Fordham Manor Green Market, Parkchester Farmers Market, City Island Farmers Market, Hunts Point Farmers Market, Claremont Village farmers markets and in between.
In the photo at right you see a group of Yankees fans on their way to the game on Sunday, April 10th. While the game was scheduled to begin at 8 pm, these super fans were on their way to the ball park at 4 pm.
They were brimming with enthusiasm, as the Yankees' 2022 season was off to a good start, beating their arch nemesis, the Boston Red Sox, in the season opener on Friday and again on Saturday. Unfortunately, the Red Sox rallied late in the game and won 4 - 3.
The video shows a few scenes of this group's talent and enthusiasm for the Yankees.
Russia Ukraine War Report Series - March - May 2022
Updated April 4, 2022 / International News NYC / Gotham Buzz.
This section contains our Russia Ukraine War Report Series which we began in March of 2022. We hope it will end by the end of May, but who knows how long it will take the Russian people to rise up against the oppressive Putin dictatorship / regime.
How Mentally Ill is the Australian Born Oligarch Rupert Murdoch?
Murdoch & his Rubber Stamp 'WSJ Editorial Board' Continue to Push the Bounds of Indecency with this Image
A Former Prime Minister of Rupert Murdoch's Native Australia called Murdoch a 'Cancer on Democracy', Murdoch was Called 'Unfit to Run an International Company' by a Member(s) of British Parliament, Murdoch's Company was Alleged to have Hacked the Phones of the Victims of 911 for Headlines, as well as the Phone of a Mother Whose Daughter was Murdered [also for headlines], he's been Accused of Government Corruption Many Times, and for Inciting the U.S., Britain & Australia to Invade Iraq for [Oil and] Ratings
You don't have to have a journalism degree to see what's wrong with this image.
You don't have to be a member of an Editorial Board of one of the nation's three daily newspapers to see what's wrong with this image.
You don't need to be an editor to see what's wrong with this image.
What you do need is some sense of decency.
Which is what is totally lacking in the character of the man who controls the Wall Street Journal and it's Editorial Board - Australian born Oligarch, Rupert Murdoch.
After researching and watching him since 2015, I have come to the conclusion that he is easily a sociopath [weak moral compass], and more likely a psychopath [unstable and aggressive personality disorder].
See for yourself on these two WSJ pages before they hopefully have the decency or shame to take it down.
It's worth reminding people that this man, Rupert Murdoch, controls or wields incredible influence in about half of our daily national news media [Fox, NY Post, WSJ & ABC News], which is why things have become so messed up since he arrived on our shores. But the TV newspeople who do and don't work for him, fail to inform the nation, by calling him out.
I believe most Americans don't even know who he is [somebody needs to conduct a poll]. And he greatly influences - if not controls - the national conversation.
Part VI of the Ukraine series coming this week.
Weekend Things To Do NYC - March 2022
This section contains our Weekend Things To Do reports for the month of March 2022.
Ukraine Part V: Adding Context to the Shallow Reporting of TV News
In Part V We Delve into the Russian Politics Leading up to the War in Ukraine, the Role of the Russian Mob and Oligarchs and a Look at NATO Expansion & What's Happening at the Peace Negotiation Table in Turkey
To Understand Russia Today, a Little Background is in Order - Unfortunately the Incredibly Lame TV News is Failing Miserably at Providing it
In the graphic at right is the head of the Russian mob, Semion Mogilevich. Mogilevich, a Ukrainian, rose in the criminal world in Russia reportedly starting in the 1980's. In the early 1990's as the government of the Soviet Union was collapsing, Mogilevich and Vladimir Putin became fast friends.
At that time, the Russian mob began spreading like cancer to the nations of Eastern Europe, as well as to Britain and the U.S.. The spread of the Russian mob was fueled by disgruntled Russian veterans from the Afghanistan War, and by ill-gotten gains, some of which allegedly came from an incredibly corrupt Russian government which was first headed by Boris Yeltsin, and then his hand-picked successor, Vladimir Putin.
One of Mogilevich's under bosses met with Donald Trump as early as 1984. According to a January 12, 2019 report by Vox,
"... The very first episode that's been documented, to my knowledge, was in 1984 when David Bogatin -- who is a Russian mobster, convicted gasoline bootlegger, and close ally of Semion Mogilevich, a major Russian mob boss -- met with Trump in Trump Tower right after it opened. Bogatin came to that meeting prepared to spend $6 million, which is equivalent to about $15 million today ... Bogatin bought five condos from Trump at that meeting. Those condos were later seized by the government, which claimed they were used to launder money for the Russian mob ..."
The Primary Differences Between a Free Society & a Dictatorship - Truth & Transparency vs Deception & Corruption
Except for the most corrupt of people, most humans - given the choice - would like to live in a democracy: 1) in a society governed by laws, 2) where free speech doesn't get you 15 years in prison or a death sentence like it does in Russia today, 3) in a nation where you get to choose your leaders, and 4) can non-violently fire your leaders when they implement bad policies for the nation. That's what we have here in America, and that's what most of the other NATO countries offer their people.
At present Russia is the bizarro rendition of the free, democratic nations of NATO. Putin's changing of the Russian Federation Constitution in 2020 essentially enables him to hold government power for the rest of his life [until 2036, when he's age 83]. And the imprisonment and multi-year sentencing of Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny in 2021 / 2022, shows that Russian rule of law is merely a charade. Reportedly between 13,000 and 15,000 Russian peaceful protesters have been jalied since the Russian Invasion of Ukraine began in late February of 2022. Unfortunately, aspirations of becoming a free society, where the people are able to pick and choose their own leaders, continues to elude Russia, as the corruption in the Russian Federation electoral process, makes voting seem a useless waste of time.
For these and other reasons, Ukraine embarked on the path toward joining NATO since the collapse of the Soviet Union. And, as described in Part II of this report series, that's also why the Ukrainians have been seeking independence from Russia for at least a century - if not longer - prior to this most recent Russian invasion.
From Gorbachev to Yeltsin - Before, During & After the Fall of the Berlin Wall
Mikhail Gorbachev was the Secretary General of the Communist Party from 1985 to 1990. During his terms in office, he was a reformer who advocated for glasnost, which was the opening up of Russian society. Through glasnost, the government was more consultative with the people with respect to the policies it pursued, and there was wider dissemination of information. For the first time in about two thirds of a century [since the Russian Revolution] the Russian government loosened its restrictive control over the populace. Gorbachev also decided that Russia needed to withdraw from Afghanistan in 1989 [see our report on Biden's withdrawal from Afghanistan which compares the two], since it was a winless war. In 1979, Secretary General Leonid Brezhnev had also expressed an openness to reforming the Russian government's role in society.
In November 1989, the Berlin Wall fell. Germany and Russia negotiated for East Germany's independence from the Soviet Union. In March of 1990, Mikhail Gorbachev became the first President of the Soviet Union. He continued trying to move Russia into the modern world via Perestroika, which at first was about automation, but grew to entail economic and social reforms. Some of the Eastern European nations, like Lithuania, began to push for greater autonomy from the Soviet Union. To continue on the reform path, Gorbachev needed money, and this is where the west failed Russia during this transition.
By failing to help Gorbachev, by keeping Russia frozen out of the G7 which would have given him access to the liquidity of global markets, things worsened in Russia. Eventually a group of eight leaders of the Communist Party held Gorbachev under house arrest while he was vacationing near the Black Sea, in an attempt to stage a coup. Gorbachev refused to make / legitimize the governmental changes they demanded.
Back in Moscow, Boris Yeltsin, President of the Soviet State [which if I understand this correctly that Soviet state is now Russia], stepped in with troops loyal to him and protesters to stop the storming of the Russian Parliament and to save the government of Gorbachev's Soviet Union [which included all other Soviet republics at the time as well as Yeltsin's Soviet State]. By beating back the coup initiated by the members of Gorbachev's own Communist Party, Yeltsin ascended to the top spot. But not until after some changes were made.
Daylight Savings Time - Spring Ahead Sunday - Deepfake at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, Orchid Show & Storming of the Capitol in the Bronx, Andy Warhol exhibit in Brooklyn, Cicadas on Staten Island & Photo Exhibit in Manhattan
Time Change. At 2 am Sunday morning, we move our clocks ahead by an hour to 3 am. Daylight Savings Time kicks in and henceforth the sun sets an hour later and we have more daylight to enjoy ourselves after work.
Weather. Rain and / or snow on Saturday from early morning to late afternoon, with about an inch [if snow] of accumulation expected. The temperature highs will be in the mid 50's on Friday, dropping to the mid 40's on Saturday, and then to the mid 30's on Sunday. The temperature lows will fall from the mid 40's Friday, to the low 20's on Saturday, rising to the low 30's on Sunday. The humidity will rise from 40% to 80% on Friday, falling from 70% to 50% on Saturday and then settling in between 50% - 60% on Sunday. Winds will be 5 - 10 mph Friday, rise to 10 - 20 mph Saturday and fall back a bit to 10 - 15 mph.
In the photo at right you can see folks out and about, near Times Square, on an unusually warm Sunday evening, when temperatures topped 70 degrees the first weekend of March 2022.
Things to do in Queens This Weekend
The Museum of the Moving Image is hosting an exhibit that began December 18, 2021 and runs through May 15, 2022 entitled Deepfake: Unstable Evidence on Screen. The exhibit explores how fact becomes distorted and fictionalized via the moving image screen. At the centerpiece of it all is the distortion of the Apollo 11 moon mission. The museum is open Friday from 2 - 8 pm and Saturdays and Sundays from 12 noon - 6 pm. For details and tickets see www.movingimage.us. Admission $15 / $11 / $9.
Bars, Restaurants & Historic Irish Pubs in the Bronx
Bronx St Pat's Day Pubs, Irish Bars & Restaurants On St. Patrick's Day in the Bronx Neighborhoods of Throgs Neck, Kingsbridge, Fieldston, Bedford Park, Mott Haven, Norwood, Woodlawn Heights, Westchester Square [near Morris Park], Middleton Pelham Bay [near City Island], Williamsbridge and one in Yonkers
St. Patrick's Day is upon us once again and it's time for one and all, regardless of genetic history, to don their green clothing and head out to the Irish bars for a pint of ale or to the Irish restaurants for some down home Irish fare ... or something like that.
This report is about some of the Bronx Irish bars and restaurants that have survived the test of time, and likely a might bit ... more. The Irish pubs include Irish bars and restaurants from Throgs Neck, Kingsbridge, Fieldston, Bedford Park, Morris Park, Mott Haven, Norwood, Woodlawn Heights, Westchester Square, Middleton Pelham Bay [near City Island], Williamsbridge and one in Yonkers.
St Patrick's Day is on a Thursday this year.
While St. Patrick's Day is one big party, it's important to keep in mind, that like New Years Eve, all the amateurs come out to play [it's not just the Irish who are out drinking on St. Patrick's Day]. So some measure of caution is advised and you have to be careful.
At a later date we'll add a bit of history of St. Patrick's Day.
This report is a catch up on some of the key local news items over the past couple of weeks.
MTA Ridership Slowly Inching Back to Pre-Pandemic Levels / Hochul Announces Fare Capping Program / MTA Crime not as Huge as the Corporate Broadcast Media Sensationalizes it
In the photo at right are a number of Chinese American women, who participated in the Chinese New Year Parade celebrating the year of the Tiger in Chinatown in Manhattan, were out to see and be seen last Sunday.
We've been tracking MTA ridership since the pandemic began. The subway ridership plummeted down 90% when the pandemic broke in the Spring of 2020. By the fall of 2020 MTA ridership had risen to a loss of 80%, rising to a loss of 50% - 66% in the Spring of 2021, and then a loss of 35% - 55% in the Fall of 2021. As of this week, the MTA subway ridership losses were in the range of 28% - 43% versus pre-pandemic.
On February 7, 2022, NYS Governor Kathy Hochul announced a new 'Fare Capping Program' whereby passengers would only have to pay for 12 full fare rides in a week [but using the same device / MetroCard] and after which the rides for the rest of the week would be free [Monday - Sunday]. The program begins Monday, February 28th and is expected to run for four months.
The corporate broadcast media seems to sensationalize everything these days in order to ratchet up their ratings, revenue and profit. MTA Ridership during the winter a year ago was about half the pre-pandemic level, and today it's about two thirds the pre-pandemic level meaning it has risen about 50% vs a year ago. According to NYPD Compustat, crime in the subway during the past 28 days is up 33%, so crime isn't rising as fast as ridership.
Nonetheless, crime in the subways is up by about the same percentage versus the pre-pandemic levels, so it's a bigger problem than it was before the pandemic started. It is believed, that the reason for the higher transit crime rate, is that as fewer people rode the rails during the pandemic, the homeless moved in and were able to use the subway as their shelter.
Late last week NYC Mayor Eric Adams and NYS Governor Kathy Hochul announced that the city and the state would collaborate to increase the NYPD presence in the subways to remove and / or assist the homeless from making the MTA their home by offering them an option to leave or an option to get medical, psychiatric and social services help. To that end it was noted that the NYPD upped the deployment of NYPD [about 1,000 officers] into the transit system, focusing - it seems - on the major hubs, and the Governor was working on multi-billion healthcare plans which would include provisions for helping the mentally ill and homeless.
NYC & NYS Vaccination Rates Well Ahead of National Rates
The current NYC vaccination rate is 77%, with another 9% having received at least one dose [86%]. The current NYS vaccination rate is 75%, with another 12% having received at least one dose [87%]. The current U.S. vaccination rate is 65%, with another 12% having received at least one dose [77%].
As a result of the vaccination rates, and with the passing of the Omicron super spreader holiday season, CoVid Omicron new case growth, hospitalizations and deaths have been declining at the NYC, NYS and USA levels.
For New York City the weekly, daily average, test rate of 1.7% for new cases, with only a weekly, daily average new case rate of 707 reported, a weekly, daily average rate of 35 hospitalizations and a weekly, daily average rate of 17 deaths.
For New York State the same weekly, daily average rates are 2% positive new test cases, about 1,750 daily new cases, about 200 daily new hospitalizations and about 35 daily new deaths.
For the United States the same rates are 8% positive new cases [this is a week old number compared to the others herein], about 84,878 new cases, about 8,642 hospitalizations [this is a week old number compared to the others herein] and 1,964 daily deaths.
NYC and NYS are leading the rest of the U.S. in pulling out of the pandemic, as the southern and central states are lagging behind. If you look at a map showing vaccination rates versus a map showing infection rates, you can see that they are inversely related.
Are these maps indicative of the intelligence, or how well informed the people of each state are? Do the smart people live in the states with the higher vaccination rates, or are the people who got infected with CoVid at higher rates [because they didn't get vaccinated], living in states where they have fewer or less reliable information sources, like Fox News? Studies have shown that Fox News enhances people's ignorance of the facts. Look it up.
On Wednesday morning I made my way into Manhattan to observe the funeral of slain NYPD Officer Mora. To be sure, it was a solemn occasion. I got off the subway near 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue. Once above ground, I made my way to Fifth Avenue and 42nd where I came across the largest gathering of police officers I have ever seen in my life [see photo at right].
As I walked up Fifth Avenue, I could hear the eulogies over the loud speakers, echoing in the street. I took a few photos and some video of the gathering which spanned all the way up to 50th Street by St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Eventually I had to detour off of Fifth Avenue, make my way down to Sixth Avenue, and then cut back in at 50th Street to get close to the cathedral on Fifth Avenue.
A Communal Gathering of Policemen from the TriState Area and Beyond, at Officer Mora's Funeral at St. Patrick's Cathedral on Wednesday, February 2nd, 2022
As I walked and listened I looked around at all of the policemen gathered in honor of a fellow member of the fraternal order of policemen – not just of New York City but of NYS - and for that matter - the U.S. All of the police men and women were standing, some standing silently listening to the speeches, while others made small talk with each other, between the speeches, about their kids, their families, their jobs, their departments [homicide / detectives / street patrolmen], cars and boats, as well as chatting about which police department or organization they represented.
It reminded me of other funerals I had attended, which it’s been said, are for the living – not the dead. Yes, we come to honor the dead, but they have since gone. And it is left to us who are left behind, to make sense of things. It is our job to figure out how to take the lessons their lives and make them work for us, so that they will not have died in vain.
The expansiveness of the showing of support was somewhere between impressive and overwhelming, as I walked silently through this sea of dark blue, which filled over 8 city blocks on a wide avenue - and which spilled well into the cross streets both east and west of the entire eight blocks. There were thousands of police, mostly men with some women, mostly white but also many minorities, who had come to pay their last respects for a member of their ranks who had made the ultimate sacrifice. A sacrifice that all of them know they must be ready to make each day as they don their dark coats to serve and protect the community. Us.
I noticed the badges sewn to their coats, representing Trenton and Teaneck New Jersey, Suffolk and Nassau Counties, New York State, and of course the NYPD, as well as a smattering of policemen from more distant communities. They projected a sense of sadness and courtesy, as I made my way through the crowd. I sensed that they must also have felt some measure of comfort, standing there, side by side with others like themselves, knowing that they are supported by so many others who share their sense of duty, ready to face down danger.
This seemed a bit like a George Floyd like moment for the police in the city and perhaps the nation. These two young officers, were senselessly murdered, while responding to a domestic violence call within a few blocks of the 32nd precinct Harlem police station where the two police officers worked. Shortly after the policemen entered the apartment, the assailant shot them down with a barrage of bullets from a semi-automatic gun which the assailant had stolen in Maryland.
As I came upon St Patrick’s Cathedral, surrounded by the police, it seemed like a fortress with its big, thick church doors closed, to keep out the noise and cold air while the mass continued inside. A coterie of media people were on a platform across the street from the front of the cathedral, waiting for the doors to open. The Mayor, Police Commissioner Sewell and Wilbur Mora’s brother and sister gave speeches. Karina, Mora's sister, gave her speech in Spanish, as the Moras immigrated here from the Dominican Republic decades ago.
The graphic at right is a Vox headline that asks why the diverging trends in crime vs violent crime.
Australian born billionaire Rupert Murdoch controls about half of our daily national corporate news media, including Fox News, the NY Post, the Wall St Journal and - along with two other Fox News investment funds - controls the largest share of ABC News stock.
For decades now, in English-speaking nations around the world, the propagandists posing as journalists who work for Murdoch, appear to distort the news so that Murdoch's favored politicans will get elected. Once elected, those pols seem to grant Murdoch huge tax breaks, regulatory changes and legislative favors in exchange for his propagandistic support of their candidacies.
The cost to us, the American people [the British and Australians as well] is that many critical issues are never properly addressed by the government officials selected by Murdoch, because his favored pols are generally chosen and supported based on what they will do for the totally self-serving billionaire - not the public. Hence Murdoch pols don't appear to reflect the people's will, but rather are chosen because Murdoch mass media outlets have manipulated the views of enough voters via their distorted daily Murdoch mass media 'news' intake, to enable Murdoch's favored pols to get elected. Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels employed these same kind of tactics, on an unsuspecting public, back in the early 1930's, in Germany.
At right is a graphic showing one of Murdoch's mini-Goebbels, pushing a false narrative that is designed to enrich himself and his billionaire boss by demonizing Democrats. The goal seems to use these issues promote false narratives that favor their pliant pols into powerful positions in government so that they can change policies to pump up the billionaire's propaganda profits. One such example is that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis gave ABC / Disney a half billion dollar tax break last summer and thereafter he appeared to have an open mic on Fox News with propagandists like the Tucker shown above.
To Rein in Guns & Violent Crime, We Must First Rein in Murdoch's Fox, WSJ, NY Post & Increasingly ABC News Distortions & Disinformation on the Subject
Reining in the guns used in violent crime in NYC, is one of many such issues that seem to be given Murdoch's special brand of propagandistic 'news' treatment. Murdoch's news outlets' reports appear to pander to gun owners and the NRA [5.5 million members], who are outspoken and generally against gun control. According to a November 13, 2020 report by Gallup, about 32% of Americans own a gun and about 44% live in a household where there is a gun owner. Hence, gun owners represent a fairly sizeable block of Murdoch's mass media audience, and his news reports pander to them, just as the pander to other voting blocks that Murdoch media seek to manipulate.
At right is a map showing which states have the highest homicide rates. Note that the states with the highest homicide mortality rates are governed by the Republicans - the ones who claim they stand for law and order. But what many of the Republicans in these states really seem to stand for, are the special interest groups like the gun-promoting NRA. Urban police forces, which are generally found in Democratically governed cities, are finding that the guns used in the murders in their cities, are coming from the Republican states. Republican governed states have the nation's highest murder rates [see graph above] and most lax guns laws. I don't think it is helpful to policize this issue by demonizing the other side, but given Rupert Murdoch's grip on our national discourse through his ownership, control and influence over half of our daily national corporate media, somebody has got to push back with the truth.
Valentines Day / Romantic Restaurants in or near Mott Haven, Fordham, Port Morris, Concourse, Bedford Park, Norwood, University Heights, City Island, Riverdale, Melrose, Morris Park, Westchester Square & Parkchester Bronx NYC
Valentine's Day is less than two weeks away. It's a good time to let your loved one know you care. Flowers, gifts and dinner are always welcome treats, and / or some thoughtful gesture that shows that the lady [or man] you're with, still means a lot to you.
All events have been updated and are asterisked.
This report provides an update on who's open and taking reservations, but also highlights quite a number of local restaurant closures.
Like last year, this year it's especially important to make restaurant reservations early and be sure you're prepared to meet the state CoVid guidelines for indoor dining.
Given Valentine's Day is on a Monday, it may be fair game to make your VDay reservation on Valentine's Day or any day of the preceding weekend. Also, restaurants have outside dining capacity - so depending on the weather - NYC restaurants may have additional capacity [versus prepandemic] Valentine's Day weekend. But many restaurants have been casualties during these pandemic times, so for dinner in or near Mott Haven, Fordham, Port Morris, Concourse, Bedford Park, Norwood, University Heights, City Island, Riverdale, Melrose, Morris Park, Westchester Square & Parkchester in the Bronx; it's best to do your research early, and call a week or at least a few days ahead to make the reservations.
Valentine's Day History - Romantic Restaurants in the Bronx
The origins of Valentine's Day are not well documented. It's believed to have been named after Saint Valentine who was apparently a Catholic martyr who died over 1500 years ago. Today the holiday is not associated with religion so much as flowers, candies, cards and romantic dinners. And the holiday spokesperson is now Cupid, a Roman god of desire, and quite a mischief maker.
UPDATED FOR COVID. Click this link to view a brief guide of Valentine's Day restaurants in the Bronx / romantic restaurants Bronx NYC where you will find short descriptions or links to Bronx restaurants we've visited in the past or have reviewed. The restaurants we've reviewed include a mix of high, medium and budget priced restaurants that are spread throughout the borough and offer a large variety of ethnic cuisines. Enjoy.
Weekend Things To Do NYC - January 2022
This section contains our Weekend Things To Do reports for the month of January 2022.
The TV newspeople appear to hype weather systems, to keep viewers inside all weekend, so they'll watch TV, and boost the corporate TV ratings to generate more revenue.
You can see an example of this in the graphic at right which shows a June 13, 2019 Washington Post report where a weatherman was fired by Sinclair Broadcasting, at a Murdoch ABC News station affiliate, because the weatherman wasn't going to use 'Code Red' to hype inclement weather systems, if he didn't think they merited such labeling.
This weekend the weather system coming in this evening is expected to end by about 3 pm Saturday, so while there may be an unknown number of inches of snow on the ground in NYC in January [what a concept], it shouldn't prevent New Yorkers from enjoying at least part of the weekend. But that said, be advised that while the snow should end by 3 pm, the winds die down more slowly, lasting the remainder of Saturday. And these comments apply to activities within NYC [not Long Island nor New Jersey] as public transit may be used in lieu of an auto, and as of this report, the MTA has no plans of shutting down.
The weatherman mentioned in the graphic above, was fired for not distorting the truth, in a manner not unlike what one would expect at a state-controlled media outlet in Russia or China. Hyping weather systems out of proportion, like distorting the proportions of other stories, appears to be one of the Murdoch mass media trademark ploys to deceive / fear monger the viewers in order to win higher rating$$$, take control the national conversation and tip the scales in favor of the pols he favors and against those he does not.
Rupert Murdoch is an Australian born billionaire press lord who controls about half of America's daily national news media including Fox News, the NY Post, the Wall St. Journal and increasingly ABC News where he and two funds control about a quarter of that company's shares.
While Weather Sensationalism is Dishonest Truth Distortion, it's Relatively Harmless vis a vis Most Other News Distortions which can be Dangerous to Democracy
In Australia - where Murdoch has been operating all his life - former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd described, "Murdoch's media empire as a cancer on democracy" because of Murdoch media news omissions and distortions.
And in Britain, a Spring 2012 Parliamentary Report stated that, [Murdoch] "was not a fit person" to exercise stewardship of a major international company] because his company broke the law by tapping British citizens' private phones to get racy stories and the details of their personal tragedies in order to generate higher ratings and sell more newspapers. Murdoch denied he knew anything, blamed his underlings and then reportedly Murdoch's [Fox] Newscorp spent $1.6 BILLION in legal fees and payouts -TO DEFEND THEIR INNOCENCE?
In the graphic at right is a July 28, 2011 Guardian report stating that people working for Murdoch's company were believed to have hacked the phone of Sara Payne to publish her anguish over her daughter's murder at the hands of a pedophile. Murdoch reportedly spent $1.6 billion in settlements and legal fees to extricate the company and its officers from the corruption and scandal. But money can't buy Murdoch out of what Newscorp's actions say about his and his companies' moral compass.
Did You Hear the One about a Staten Island Ferry, Two Comedians, an Architect & a Night Club Owner?
Updated January 26 from 1/24/2022 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC News / Staten Buzz NYC.
Weather. The temperature highs will be within about 5 degrees of 30 throughout the week, except on Tuesday when it will be in the low 40's. The temperature lows will be between 20 and 30 degrees, except on Wednesday, when it will drop to 12 degrees. The winds will be 5 - 10 mph Monday & Tuesday, rising to 10 - 15 mph on Wednesday, before falling back to 5 - 10 mph Thursday & Friday. Humidity will be 50% - 70% on Monday, dropping to 50% - 60% on Tuesday, and then 40% - 50% on Wednesday & Thursday, before rising back to 50% - 70% on Friday. No precipitation is in the forecast until Friday afternoon / evening at which time it looks like we're going to get several or more inches of snow.
As the new year begins to unfold, we encounter a mixed bag of news that has already made it out onto the public stage. Let's start with the purchase of a de-commissioned Staten Island Ferry, the JFK. The photo above right was taken in January 2020, likely near the end of the JFK's life of ferrying passengers to and from Staten Island. You can see the 'JFK' in the upper right corner of the photo below the black circle and with a bit of glare obfuscating part of the 'F'.
They may be Laughing Now, but ...
SNL Comedians Pete Davidson & Colin Jost, Architect Developer & Contractor Ron Castellano and Night Club Owner Paul Italia Buy the JFK Staten Island Ferry Boat
Last week, after several rounds of bidding, a consortium of investors, including SNL Comedians Pete Davidson & Colin Jost; Architect, Developer & Contractor Ron Castellano; and Night Club Owner Paul Italia purchased a 2,100 ton de-commissioned Staten Island ferry boat - the JFK - for $280,100. The purchase prices was only $100 above the next nearest bid, after the price doubled during the bidding process - up from $125,000 - after the starting bid had to be lowered from $250,000 because of a lack of early interest.
At right are Pete Davidson [left] and Colin Jost [right] announcing their new acquisition on SNL's News update. This project is likely to get a fair amount of publicity given the fame of these two owners and Jost's famous wife and Davidson's famous girlfriend.
De Blasio Decides Not to Run for NYS Governor, Hochul's Fundraising Haul, NYC Violent Crime Up Slightly in 2021, but NYC Homicides Still Below the National Average & To Be or Not To Be - do we want to Politicize the Guns / Violent Crime Problem or Solve it?
This morning, January 18, 2022, former NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that he will not seek the Governor's office on Twitter.
De Blasio mentioned some of his accomplishments during his eight years as Mayor including Universal Pre-K, building hundreds of thousands affordable housing units, implementing some police reforms at the NYPD to make policing fairer, and efforts to transition NYC to cleaner energy. He didn't say what his future plans were, only that he would be announcing them from his neighborhood in Brooklyn.
Governor Kathy Hochul is well positioned for the NYS Governors race this year. Hochul received the very early endorsement of the NYS Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs in October of 2021, and has raised $21.6 million since she announced her candidacy in August of 2021. It's a record for the five month period, and about the same amount of money that former Governor Andrew Cuomo had to ward off challengers in 2018. NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and 3rd District [Nassau County] Congressman Thomas Suozzi have announced their candidacies. In December of 2021, Attorney General Letitia James withdrew her candidacy, in favor of running for reelection in her current post.
On the Republican side of the race there's former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, who is running against newcomer Andrew Giuliani, who's primary claim to fame is that he is the son of Rudy, the former NYC Mayor with the same surname and Lee Zeldin, a Congressman from Long Island.
In fundraising as well as in polling, Hochul seems to have all the advantages at this point in the campaign. Her nearest competitor in polling recently done by Siena would have been de Blasio, who had 12% of the vote versus Hochul's 46%. NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams was next with 11% and Suozzi with 6%. The Suozzi campaign has about $5 million in campaign funding, $2 million of which was transferred from his congressional campaign. Republican Astorino has about $1.3 million, and none of the other contestants released their funding.
A number of snide comments were made in the wake of Hochul's record haul and competitive fundraising position for the upcoming June primary. She was compared to Cuomo with allusions to the possibility of corruption, but nothing specific was provided to support those insinuations.
De Blasio's announcement came as I was working on an update report on NYC crime. Unfortunately, the NYPD doesn't publish a December monthly report, like they do every other month, so it's more challenging to do a year end tally. Hence, this report won't be as comprehensive as some of the others I've done the past couple of years, and will instead focus mostly on shootings and the murder rate.
NYC Crime Statistics for 2021
Thefts Down Significantly / Murders Up Slightly & Still Below the National Average / Most Other Crimes up in Low to Mid Single Digits with Some Exceptions ...
The outlier in the year end crime stats, which were up slightly from 2020, was that thefts were down almost 19%. This may have something to do with the fact that fewer people are out and about, so thieves have fewer to prey upon and the victims have fewer distractions and events where thefts may occur.
As for other salient changes in the main categories, Grand Larceny was up about 12% while Grand Larceny Auto was up 14%, Other (than rape) Sex Crimes were up 30%, Misdemeanour Assault was up 10%, and Hate Crimes were up 93%. It's worth noting that only murders and hate crimes are counted in the hundreds - not thousands.
The murders in NYC were up slightly in 2021 versus 2020. Note that the graph at right is for the entire nation and in 2020 - not 2021. The purpose is so that you can have context in evaluating where we are and what's going on.
In 2021 the preliminary murder rate in the U.S. was about 6.6 per 100,000 people [21,750 / 330M], while the murder rate in NYC was 5.5 per 100,000 people [485 / 8.8M]. Prior to the pandemic, in 2018, the murder rate in the U.S. was 4.96 per 100,000 people [WorldPopulationReview.com], and the murder rate in NYC was 289 victims [8.4M population] or 3.4 per 100,000 people, which was the lowest on record. In 2012, during former Mayor Bloomberg's last year as NYC Mayor, the murder rate had fallen to 414 [8.2M] or about 5.0 per 100,000 people.
So with our larger population [8.8M vs 8.2M], NYC experienced a bit higher murder rate in former Mayor de Blasio's last year in office, versus former Mayor Bloomberg's last year in office. And for de Blasio this was in the midst of the pandemic amid record gun sales.
Weather. The MLK Weekend forecast as of January 10, 2022. The Temperature highs will range from 20 to 30 degrees through the long weekend. The temperature lows will range from 10 to 25, rising as the weekend progresses. As of this post, no precipitation is expected over the MLK Day Weekend. Winds will be about 10 mph throughout the long weekend, except Friday when they'll be a bit higher [13 mph]. The Humidity will be between 30% - 60%, dipping on Saturday from the highs on Friday and Monday. Click for Bronx Weather.
Brief History of Martin Luther King Holiday in NYC
Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Baptist Minister who became the leading voice for African Americans' non-violent civil rights movement beginning in the mid 1950's through to his assassination in 1968. In 1983, the third Monday of every year was set aside to honor Martin Luther King for his service to the nation. The third Monday was chosen, as it was the nearest Monday to the anniversary of King's birthday, which was January 15, 1929.
Martin Luther King Day has grown to take on an even larger meaning, as it is oftentimes referred to as a day on, versus a day off. Organizations around the city and nation have used the day to call people into action to address the needs of the community through volunteering and service.
Martin Luther King Holiday Special Events in the Bronx NYC
On Saturday and Sunday, January 15 & 16, 2022 from 10 am - 1 pm there's a workshop entitled Freedom Quilters of Gee's Bend at Wave Hill at 4900 Independence Avenue in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx. It's Free w/ admission to the grounds. Registration not required, but CoVid protocols in effect. Questions? Please email them at information@wavehill.org or call 718.549.3200 x251.
On Monday, January 17, 2022 from 9 am - 4 pm, there's an MLK Day of Service at the Riverdale Y. While the Riverdale Y is located at 5626 Arlington Avenue in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx, the day of service efforts to tackle various social and community problems is not only there, but done in collaboration with three other organizations / sites in the Bronx. See www.riverdaley.org/mlk-day-of-service/ for details.
On Monday, January 17, 2022 from 10 am - 12 noon the East Bronx IPC [Episcopalian / Anglican] at 781 Castle Hill Avenue in the Bronx invites folks to attend their MLK Day of service and social gathering VIRTUALLY. They collect donations for scholarships, some of which I believe are awarded on that day [unconfirmed].
This weekend between January 15 - 17, 2022 there are multiple opportunities to help with food distribution through non-profit panties throughout many neighborhoods in the Bronx. Here are a couple of suggestions - www.foodpantries.org/ci/ny-bronx AND www.foodbanknyc.org/get-help/
On Monday, January 17, 2022 from 10.30 am 12 noon and 1 pm - 2.30 pm there's a VIRTUAL Teachers Workshop for MLK Day of Action hosted by the Bronx Museum. See - https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/calendar and click on the link at right or the day along the tool bar.
The Great Supply Chain Crisis 2021: Hype vs Reality
TV & Murdoch News Sensationalized the Great Supply Chain Crisis of 2021 - Telling us for Months on End No Pumpkins for Halloween, No Turkeys for Thanksgiving, No Trees for Christmas & No Cream Cheese in NYC
But How Much of that Hyping was a Murdoch Inspired Perspective in Pursuit of Political Profit & Fear Mongering Ratings at the Expense of Reporting What's Really Happening?
The closer I pay attention to what's happening in our mass media, the more concerned I get. Nearly half of our daily nationally branded news media is controlled by one man, Australian born billionaire Rupert Murdoch - who strikes me as either a sociopath or psychopath. Based on the seven years I've been covering Murdoch, it appears as if he doesn't care about anything other than enriching and empowering himself, even at 90 years of age [his mother lived to 103 so he's likely going to be with us for a while].
What Those Who Know Murdoch Say About Him
In Australia - where Murdoch has been operating all his life - former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd described,
"Murdoch's media empire as a cancer on democracy".
And in Britain, a Parliamentary Report stated that,
[Murdoch] "was not a fit person" to exercise stewardship of a major international company].
Keith Rupert Murdoch, controls the Wall St. Journal, Fox News, the NY Post, Harper Collins Publishing, MarketWatch, Barrons - and along with two of Fox News largest shareholders - Murdoch appears to have a controlling interest in Disney / ABC by virtue of what seems his proximity to their relatively new CEO. Murdoch's influence appears to be manifesting itself in personnel moves being made since he became one of their largest shareholders in March of 2019. The personnel moves are in their news and related programming areas, and ultimately impact what ABC News presents to the public. I just witnessed one of many subtle changes on Sunday, while watching This Week with George Stephanopolous. I'll say more about this at the end of this report.
Fox News Lyin' Laura Ingraham, earned that moniker, as you can see in the image above. Fox News has repeatedly used misleading photos and images to lend deceptive and misleading support to their news accounts, which appear designed to influence the unaware and low information voters, in order to get them to vote for billionaire Murdoch's favored pols and against the very government officials who are trying to help the manipulated victims.
For all of us, today starts the beginning of a new year.
If we stay the course with vaccinations, masks, social distancing and hand washing, we should be able to make the transition from pandemic to endemic - at which point things begin to really change to a better normal, but likely not back to a pre-CoVid normal.
A year ago I thought by now we would have mostly normalized, but I had failed to take into consideration the significant resistance to vaccinations by the people who rely upon Rupert Murdoch's overwhelming share of nationally branded daily mass media 'news'.
Rupert Murdoch controls Fox News, the NY Post, the Wall St Journal and he, along with the two largest investment groups owning Fox, control Disney / ABC News. So that's half of U.S. network news and two the largest daily newspapers in the nation. He controls other media outlets as well, like MarketWatch and Barron's and Harper Collins Publishing, but the first four mentioned above are instrumental in shaping Americans' view of things. And the unsuspecting members of Murdoch's audience aren't aware enough, nor paying attention enough, nor educated enough to detect the very sophisticated news manipulations that Murdoch and his minions seem to do every day to sculpt and present the reality they want their viewers to see - which is not reality at all, but a VoldeMurdoch version of it.
Other media outlets and moderate Republicans and pretty much all Democrats need to start calling Murdoch out into the public space so people can see who he is and what he does and what he takes in exchange for it. They need to do it, because regardless of whether they do or not, Murdoch's incessant media attacks will keep coming, so by not addressing him and it, they are only aiding and abetting it, like all those who let Goebbels do the same in Germany in the 1920's, 1930's and 1940's.
The rest of this report is about some of the things you can do personally - not politically - to make 2022 a better year for you.
NYC News Update With as little CoVid Omicron Specific Info as Possible
This Report includes the Over Hyped 'Supply Chain Xmas Tree Shortage', Broadway Show Cancellations & Postponements & Economic Impact, MTA Subway Trains & Airline Flights Cancellations due to Staffing Outages, the Tug of War between Office Workers & their Companies, JFK getting New Terminals & Staten Island getting New Ferries
Weather. Temperature highs are between 40 and 50 degrees each day, and the lows are about 40 each day. Humidity will be between 60% - 80% all week. And the wind will be fairly steady at 5 - 10 mph daily. There's a chance of showers around 8 pm tonight and a chance of a tenth inch of rain on each day - Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Given the low amount of precipitation and that it's spread out over the entire day, each day, I'd say your chances of getting very wet are pretty slim.
CoVid, CoVid, CoVid ... How We Moved Beyond it as a Conversation Centerpiece at an Xmas Party
So I attended a Christmas party a couple of weekends ago, and at one point someone asked is there anything else to talk about besides CoVid? This was near the end of the party, so there were only about a dozen of us there. So, someone asked, how about those Nets? And of course, Kylie Irving soon came up, and his anti-vax stance on CoVid, and that the Nets had to postpone a number of games because of ... CoVid.
Someone else asked, whose traveling for the holidays? As you can imagine, it wasn't long before CoVid came up and how it was going to affect everyones' holiday travel plans. Another asked, whether people were going to see their kids over the holidays. And of course, the discussion about vaccinations, testing and masks ensued. And then someone asked about gifts being given this season, and eventually the impact of CoVid on shipping and supply chain ensued. How about going out to dinner ... and so forth.
Actually, it turned out to be kind of funny, in an ironic sort of way, as the pandemic was still touching most parts of people's lives.
But the good news is that we eventually did move on past CoVid. Onto what? Well that's personal and thus not going to be shared here publicly, but we did eventually make it past the CoVid goal line ... but it wasn't as easy as one would think it should have been.
So the rest of this report is going to be about other things affecting our life, but recognizing that the pandemic and our community health affects just about everything else.
How Real was the TV News Hyped Supply Chain & Xmas Tree Shortage?
Retail Sales Hit a Level Not seen in 17 Years in Spite of "No Supply"?
How is it that network TV news, still a primary source of information in this nation - and the only source by many of the uneducated - can get a story so wrong?
For months they've been hyping the SUPPLY CHAIN SHORTAGE, SUPPLY CHAIN SHORTAGE, SUPPLY CHAIN SHORTAGE. I've seen little on TV news saying anything else to the contrary, and yet somehow, retailers magically had the best holiday sales season in 17 years, with department store sales up 21% [that's huge] and online sales up 8% [also very solid performance].
Did retailers MAGICALLY turn in their best performance in 17 years without any inventory? Come on.
People need to start questioning the information they get on TV, because too often, it's so distorted in order to generate an emotional or fearful response that's good for ratings and profit - but not in the public interest.
A December 26, 2021 report in Politico provided the following update on retail sales,
"... By category, clothing rose 47%, jewelry 32%, electronics 16%. Online sales were up 11% from a year ago and 61% from 2019. Department stores registered a 21% increase over 2020 ..."
NYS Hit its Highest Number of New Cases Friday 12.17.21, Omicron Now Dominant Strain in America [73%], Breakthrough Infections & Need for Boosters, Multiple Measures of Vaccine Effectiveness, NYS Governor Hochul Foreshadows Change to Definition of Fully Vaccinated Likely Coming Soon, NYC Mayor de Blasio Offers $100 to those who Boost Before Year End, False Positives Coming from Some Testing Kits, Hospitalizations Trending Toward Younger Age Groups & Kids Getting Infected at Higher Rates
It's Not the Omicron Virus that is Dividing Us. It's the Manipulative Murdoch Mass Media, that Continually Misinforms its Audiences. The Highly Paid Propagandists do This in Order Enrich Themselves & Empower the 90 Year Old Multi-Billionaire by Undermining the Government Officials who Won't Give Rupert what he wants out of the Public Purse & Domain
So the Omicron variant represents the third wave of Corona Virus sweeping the land. First it was the original CoVid 19, then the Delta variant and now Omicron.
The Omicon variant spreads far more easily and hence far faster than the prior two variants, which spread around the globe in a matter of months. Omicron is beating them hands down in terms of spreading, even in nations that have some good measure of vaccinations - but nowhere near the two thirds plus needed for 'herd immunity'. Reportedly, the Omicron is spreading 2x to 4x faster than the Delta variant which reportedly spread faster [by about 50%] than the original strain of CoVid. As of the last week of testing, Omicron represents 73% of all new cases in the U.S.
In the graphic at right you see a headline from FT, which is the Financial Times of London, noting how something that should be common sense has become a political hot potato. At the end of this update on the Omicron variant, we'll take a look at how science and the truth are being distorted by millionaires and billionaire(s) in what appears an attempt to manipulate voters perceptions. The goal is to change the perceptions of their viewers enough, so their viewers will vote for the candidates chosen by the propaganda billionaire and his friends. The end game is, of course, getting the billionaire / propaganda machine selected pols into office, so they can fill their pockets with the taxpayers' money, and obtain legislative changes that are anti-democratic.
Oftentimes reports like that found in the Financial Times fail miserably to call out media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who controls an overwhelming share of the daily national news media in the U.S., Britain and Australia. For my money, Murdoch [not Trump] is the root cause of so many of our current problems by virtue of the disinformation he spreads, which is inserted into many of the news reports that his organizations deliver to well over a hundred million people each day. Murdoch hides behind his media brands, propagandists and favored pols, while the other media and government officials seem either: 1) ignorant of his incredible influence on our daily news, and thus a huge swath of American people's views, or 2) are unwilling to do the right thing and call Murdoch out into the open so the public can get a closer look at who's dominating the national conversation.
The last point made is an important one for the Smartmatic and Dominion Voting Systems lawsuits [more on this below]. My advice to their attorneys, is to hire a great public relations firm to publicize the hell out of each case, making damned sure to include Keith Rupert Murdoch in EVERY news release / update as the slithery Murdoch - like Voldemort in Harry Potter - doesn't like the light of day. And then ride the case to the end, because you're in the right, and what you're fighting for is - in part - the heart and soul of America.
NYS Sees its Highest Number of Daily New CoVid Cases Since Pandemic Began
In NYC New Infections Double in 3 Days & in the U.S. Omicron is now 73% of New Cases
A testament to the Omicron variants transmissibility is that on Friday, December 17, 2021 NYS saw its highest number of new CoVid cases [21,027] in a single day since the pandemic began according to an New York Times report. In NYC the infection rate nearly doubled in just three days, rising from 3.9% to 7.8% from Thursday, December 9 to December 12, 2021 according to a December 16, 2021 NBC report.
I checked the NYC website a couple of weeks ago and found the chart at right, which - to my surprise - showed Whites as the second slowest group to vaccinate. Hispanics were a full ten percentage points ahead of them, and African Americans were only three percentage points behind them. I interpret this as the power of Murdoch's media in NYC as he owns / controls Fox News on WNYW [channel 5], WWOR [channel 9], the NY Post, and the Wall Street Journal.
This section contains our Weekend Things To Do reports for the second half of the month of December 2021. Click into this link to see second half of December 2021 weekend reports.
December 6, 2021 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Social Issues Health News / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
The first Omicron virus case was first detected on November 8, 2021 in South Africa. The first case detected in the U.S. was in San Francisco on November 22, 2021. Four days later, on November 26, 2021, the World Health Organization [WHO] designated Omicron a CoVid variant [B1.1.529]. As of December 5, 2021 there were eight Omicron cases in NYS, most of which were found in NYC.
Early Precautions in the Face of Omicron’s Rapid Spread
On November 26, 2021, President Biden instituted a temporary travel ban on South Africa and neighboring countries including, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe. He also shortened the CoVid testing time from three to one days, for those traveling internationally. The passenger must test negative for CoVid. And he extended the mask mandate for those using public transit domestically to March 15, 2021.
The reason for taking these early immediate precautions is that the Omicron variant appears to be spreading at twice the rate of the Delta variant, which overwhelmed this nation within about 3 - 4 months [May - August 2021].
The Omicron variant was also detected in Belgium, Hong Kong, Canada, Australia and Israel at the time the news broke regarding the rapid spread of the new variant at the beginning of the Thanksgiving holiday. As of this writing the Omicron variant has been found in 15 states including, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin, according to a Reuters tally on December 5, 2021.
Vaccine Efficacy vis a vis Omicron Variant
The Omicron variant is known to be more transmissible, but it’s health impact is still being studied. Most of those who contracted the Omicron variant had been vaccinated, and hence it is believed that most suffered fairly mild symptoms because they had CoVid antibodies in their systems. By the end of this week [12/10/21] or sometime the following week, early test results on vaccine efficacy vis a vis Omicron are expected.
One health official noted that efficacy isn’t measured as a simple yes or no, but rather in degrees. The strongest efficacy prevents one from catching the virus, the medium measure of efficacy is how troublesome the symptoms - ranging from mild to hospitalization, and the weakest efficacy – meaning no efficacy is death.
CoVid prognosticators believe that the current vaccines will continue to offer some measure of protection / efficacy, but they caution that at some point it may be necessary to create a separate vaccine for new CoVid variants.
Around the beginning of the summer I had the pleasure of attending the 112th annual Feast of St Anthony at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church at 627 East 187th Street in the Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx. The affair began on Wednesday June 13th and ran through Sunday, June 17th.
I arrived on a Saturday at the triangle of streets joining Cresent Avenue, Cambreleng Avenue & 187th Street in the Little Italy section of the Belmont neighborhood in the Bronx. I shot some video capturing some of the rides, games, raffles, food and entertainment, which was present every night of the fair.
Last year I had the pleasure of attending the 15th Annual Hunts Point Fish Parade. The parade returns this year on Saturday, June 15th.
The Hunts Point Fish Parade is a community parade, celebrating the history and ongoing revival of the Hunts Point neighborhood in the Bronx. The parade begins at Hunts Point Riverside Park, which is periodically used as a landing and / or launching point by the Bronx River Alliance. The Bronx River Alliance is a green kyaking, canoeing and sailing organization, that conducts many of its events along the Bronx River.
The Hunts Point Fish Parade is organized by the Point Community Development Corporation - or Point CDC - which is a non-profit dedicated to the cultural, economic and youth development of the Hunts Point neighborhood. To that end they march down to Barretto Point Park, which is a recently refurbished NYC Park that has something of an incredible view looking south along the East River into Manhattan and Queens.
In Barretto Park I found a number of tables set up, many of which last year contained political candidate information, but also information on healthy eating and exercise, generally tied to local organizations within the community offering such products and services. There were basketball games held in the park, as well as impromptu pick up games being played by some of the children, and down along the waterfront there was entertainment by a number of different local groups.
I'll try to post a bit more about this later today / this week. But again note that the 16th Annual Hunts Point Fish Parade is on Saturday, June 15th, with the parade registration beginning at 10 am, the parade beginning about 11 am - both at Hunts Point Riverside Park. And the parade ends at Barretto Park, where the festival begins at 12 noon and runs until a quarter to 5 pm.
Bronx Farmers Mkts, Street Fairs, Member Events Calendar
One thing you could never accuse New York Puerto Ricans of, is a lack of pride in their cultural roots. On Saturday there was a huge street fair in Spanish Harlem, lasting most of the day, along a nearly 20 block stretch of Third Avenue between 103rd and 122nd streets in east Harlem.
East Harlem used to be the destination for Puerto Ricans coming to New York. And while there's still a large Puerto Rican community there, I think there may be an even larger community in the central Bronx whose Borough President is Ruben Diaz, whose father, NYC City Councilmember Ruben Diaz, Sr. came from Bayamon, Puerto Rico. So while some of the population may have moved, Puerto Ricans came from around the city and far beyond, to congregate on Saturday and Sunday, and the bask in the atmosphere of their cultural roots.
Puerto Rican Parade on the Upper East Side Manhattan
There was food, shopping, music, entertainment and dancing at the street fair on Saturday, and minus the food and shopping, the music, dancing and entertainment were also on display at the huge Puerto Rican parade in Manhattan on Sunday. Numerous floats as well as marching groups of dancers and musicians and social groups joined together to make the parade one long display of Puerto Rica's eclectic mix of African, Latin and American cultures.
American Puerto Ricans call themselves Boricuas and everything else is just Bochinche [gossip]. We'll delve more deeply into the Puerto Rican community in Manhattan and the Bronx as time passes.
Bronx Puerto Rican Day Parade 2019
Video & Short Report on the Bronx Puerto Rican Day Parade
This video provides a good look at many of the performances included in the Bronx Puerto Rican Day Parade. We'll add more to this report on Monday.
Boogie on the Blvd by the Bronx Museum
September 16, 2019 / Concourse Neighborhood Bronx NYC / Bronx Things To Do NYC / Bronx Buzz NYC
The Bronx Museum hosted Boogie on the Blvd last weekend. The following video shows a bit of a prior Boogie on the Blvd in the Bronx, along with some clips of other Bronx Museum programs and events over the past couple of years.
Central American Independence Parade After Party in the Bronx
I attended the Central American Independence Parade after party in Crotona Park in the Bronx on a Sunday a couple of years ago. Last Sunday 9/8/19 the event returned and there were food stalls selling various delicacies representing the cuisine of many of the nations that make up Central America - but primarily the Honduras. There were also shopping opportunities for arts, crafts and cultural objects, as well as clothing.
On Sunday the parade started on a somber note, departing at 12 noon from East Tremont Avenue & Southern Blvd, which is the site of the Happy Land Fire Memorial, where in 1990 about 100 people lost their lives - mostly Honduran Garifuna people who were celebrating carnival. The parade celebrates Central Americans, most notably the Honduran Garifuna, and winds its way down Boston Road, and then Charlotte Street to Crotona Park East - ending between Crotona Avenue and Claremont Parkway.
Bronx Central American Independence Parade After Party in Crotona Park Bronx
At the after party in Crotona Park there was main stage set up not far from the Crotona Park amphitheater located along the southwest corner of Indian Pond. The amphitheater was built with stone seating embedded into the landscape and is reminiscent of the ancient amphitheater ruins at Delphi in Greece, but it wasn't used by the event organizers. On the main stage there were numerous musicians, dancers and performers, who entertained the crowd, and representing many Central American nations - but as noted above - mostly from the Honduras.
The video below captures some of the flavor of the Central American Independence Parade after party in Crotona Park in the Bronx a couple of years ago. Enjoy.
St Anthony Festival in Bronx Little Italy
Next Week the Bronx Little Italy Festival of St. Anthony Returns to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in the Belmont Neighborhood of the Bronx
Next week on Wednesday, June 12 from 6 pm to 10 pm - The Feast of St. Anthony. begins in the Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx. It's the 113th annual Feast of St Anthony at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church at 627 East 187th Street. The festival includes a number of religious and church services, beginning on Wednesday and ending on Sunday with a procession that begins at 5 pm. The general public is welcome to attend the church services as well as the Italian flavored festival in the Little Italy section of the Bronx, located just south of Fordham University, adjacent to Arthur Avenue in the Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx.
The St. Anthony festival includes rides, games, raffles, food and entertainment every night. We attended last year and put together a short video to give you a sampling of what rides and games to expect when you attend, which has been posted below. The food is not really shown very much in the video, but is a bit in the report, but it's generally a mix of Italian, Latin and grilled fare.
Festival Location / Hours. The festival runs from Wednesday, June 12th through Sunday, June 16th and the hours are Wed & Thurs from 6 - 10 pm / Fri until 11 pm, Sat from 2 pm - 11 pm / Sun from 2 pm - 10 pm. The festival is located in the triangle of streets along Cresent and Arthur Avenues & 187th Street in the Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx [along East 187th street from Arthur to Beaumont Avenue, and along Crescent from Cambreleng to Belmont Avenue].
It's free to walk around but you'll need to pay for the rides and food, but they're competively priced.
A week ago I headed up to the New York Botanical Garden to view the Holiday Train Show and experience their famous Bar Car Nights. It was a Saturday and the program began around 7 pm. I walked from the subway and arrrived about 8 pm, so I had plenty of time to look around, since it went on until 10.30 pm.
I entered at the western gate along Southern Blvd and walked along the winding path, heading to the pavilion where there were food vendors, a fire and an ice sculptor. Along the path of the Garden Way there were dancers from American Circus Theatre performing slow moving pieces that highlighted the body as form in motion. I paused at the Christmas tree, which was postcard perfect and the sight of numerous photo taking sessions, before heading up to the Pavilion.
The Pavilion is tucked just inside the NY Botanical Gardens southern gate. Local food vendors were tucked in along the walls and a railing in a U shape, with a fire burning in the middle of it. The food vendors are generally participants of the Bronx Night Market, and thus may change from week to week. The Bronx Night Market which is a seasonal pop up market in the Fordham neighborhood.
This week the food vendors were Kernelicious from the Fordham neighborhood serving gourmet popcorn, City Tamale from the Hunts Point neighborhood serving Mexican food, Barbeque on a Stick from Long Island City in Queens serving Homestyle Filipino barbeque on a stick, and The Fried Kitchen who are caterers from Port Morris serving fried chicken. They were also serving wine and beer, where a line had formed.
I watched an ice sculptor from Okamoto Studio NYC ply his trade, as it appeared he had nearly completed a sphinx-like cat. Behind him there was the NY Botanical Garden Pine Cafe and beyond that a long separate room, where a couple of local musicians were entertaining a fairly large crowd with some American tunes from the 20th century.
Finally, I was ready to visit the famed Holiday Train Show, which was situated inside the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. The Conservatory is "a stunning example of Victorian-style glass house artistry" and worth a visit by itself. The building was inspired by the Royal Botanic Garden in London and took three years to erect, completed in 1902. The Enid A. Haupt Conservatory is used to house the Holiday Train Show during the holidays and the Orchid Show in the Spring.
Visitors from around the world come to visit the NY Botanical Gardens, to see the Conservatory, as well as forest that the Botanical Garden has tried to keep intact since prior to the Revolutionary War in the late 1700's. It's a highly challenging preservation task, given the NY Botanical Garden is situated in one of the largest cities in the world, where winds bring unwelcome vegetational visitors, and pollution doesn't make things any easier.
Inside the Haupt Conservatory I found the Holiday Train Show. The New York Botanical Garden Holiday Train Show is also worth a visit on its own, but the Bar Car Night program allows you to satisfy your curiosity on both of these attractions, at the same time. The Holiday Train Show began 27 years ago in 1991.
A film showing how the New York Botanical Holiday Train Show had been constructed was shown at the entrance. This was followed by tables and elevated train tracks where the trains seemed to soar past us. But the real treat lie in wait, as we entered the Conservatory where the lush green vegetation was used as the environment for the trains and associated structures. Overhead, literally dozens of feet above us, were the paned glass windows of possibly a century ago.
People were milling about, enjoying the ambiance, the train show detail, and each others' company. While it was early January, the holiday spirit remained intact. I spent a fair amount of time taking it all in before I headed back to the bar, where another group of folks were milling about enjoying the social ambiance. On my way out I passed by some NYBG carolers who had created a chorus of visitors singing some well known holiday tunes. The last Bar Car Nights of the Season was January 12th, but it will return in mid November of this year. And the Holiday Train Show runs one more week, ending Monday, January 21, 2019.
Tickets cost $38 for non-members and $28 for NYBG members. P.S. They also have a restaurant called the Hudson Garden Grill in the Ross Conifer Arboretum, which is between the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory and the western Southern Blvd Gate. It's open daily from 11.30 am - 6 pm, but they vary the light and full menu based on weekdays / weekends.
Scroll down to view a video of the Bar Car Nights at the NY Botanical Gardens, including the Holiday Train Show.
This is a short video capturing the various entertainment offerings included in the NY Botanical Garden Bar Car Nights program over the holidays. There was music, an outside fire surrounded by presumably Bronx restaurateurs' offerings, an ice sculptor performing his art, dancers and singers caroling and performing, and the holiday train show in the Enid Haupt Conservatory, which is worth the trip all in itself. Next Saturday is the last night of this program until next Fall.
Pregones Theater in the South Bronx
The Bronx is Hitting its Stride as one of NYC's Great Cultural Centers
Last summer the Pregones Theater or Teatro Pregones hosted a block party in tandem in the Concourse neighborhood with Lincoln Center Out of Doors. The recognition by Lincoln Center for the quality of Pregones Theater programming, shows just how far Teatro Pregones has come in earning the respect of one of the nation's most elite cultural centers. But this is nothing new for the Bronx these days.
Since gaining recognition for Rap and Hip Hop, the Bronx became known for its music, art and culture. Rap is said to have begun starting in 1973 when the first known hip hop party was thrown by DJ Kook Herc at 1520 Sedgewick Avenue in the nearby Morris Heights neighborhood in the Bronx.
The Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were organized in the mid 1970's by John Saddler who took the name of Grand Master Flash. One of the Furious Five members, Keef Cowboy, is credited with coming up with the name hip hop. In 1979 The Sugar Hill Gang's Rappers' Delight reportedly brought Rap and Hip Hop into the mainstream. And in the following three decades, Rap and Hip Hop went mainstream, with rappers and hip hop artists emerging from all around the nation and all around the world.
In 2015 Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, known as Cardi B, emerged as a national artist, after a few of her videos went viral. In 2017 Kardi B put out a single, Bodack Yellow, that quickly rose to #1. I went to listen to it on Youtube and it uses an Arabian theatrical motif, where Kardi B talks about dancing. Kardi B was formerly a strip club dancer and she rapped about how she doesn't need to dance for 'you' anymore. Once a poor nobody with some looks and talent, Kardi B became a rich and famous somebody almost overnight. Her video has received 668 million views.
Within the same month, Boogie wit da Hoodie , whose birthname is , put out an album, The Bigger Artist, that also went to #1. That video received 21 million views. Thus, these two artists - along with a number of others, moved the Bronx back into the limelight of Rapper / Hip Hop culture.
The reason I mention all of this, is because as you watch the video below, you'll notice the rich cultural poetry, and emerging sense of theater, emanating from two of the guest performers I saw that day. Pregones Theater / Teatro Pregones continues to host other talented artists throughout the year in both Spanish and English ... and if the block party is any indication ... far beyond these two languages alone.
Doc Film Center in the Bronx
Film Based Cultural Center Attracts Eclectic Group for presentation of Carlos Villalon’s Coca: The Lost War on Drugs
In July I visited the Doc Film Center in the Bronx to attend a new film by Carlos Villalon about the failed war on drugs. I arrived as it was getting dark, disembarking from the #5 train at the HUB at 3rd Avenue, 149th Street and Willis in the neighborhood of Melrose. I walked north a couple of blocks and took a left, coming upon the Doc Film Center which is housed in a three story building that looks to be in the neighborhood of a century old.
The HUB at 3rd Avenue, 149th Street and Willis / Melrose Avenue intersection was once referred to as the Times Square of the Bronx. It is still a fairly robust shopping district during the daytime, but after hours when the stores close, it has a sort of abandoned feel. I went in knowing that the crime rate in the Bronx, like the rest of the city, is down significantly versus prior years.
In the past five years, according to the Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, the murder rate for the entire Bronx has been below 100. This is in a borough that is home to 1.471 million, so the murder rate is below 1 murder for every 14,710 people in the Bronx. It’s worth adding that a third of Bronx murders are from gang related violence, which sometimes includes collateral damage.
Architecture Near the Hub in Melrose: 1900 - 1930
The NYPD has been having some good success in taking down gangs in Bronx as well as NYC. In March of 2016, they reportedly completed the biggest bust in the Bronx, capturing 89 gang members. There are numerous places in Manhattan and Brooklyn that are far more dangerous, but Bronx historically has been given the worst reputational rap, and that impression, while changing, still lingers. I attribute it to LOCAL TV NEWS COVERAGE, which seems to PRIMARILY report crime stories when covering the Bronx.
As I walked to the Doc Film Center I observed the architecture around which I found myself surrounded. The Hub heyday was back in the early 1900’s running into the 1930’s when the Great Depression hit. Thus many of the buildings in the area are from that time period, which to me, is what I’ve come to think of as New York classical architecture and building. They made them quite well back then, as America was flexing its economic strength.
Inside the Doc Film Center I walked along the wooden floors to a large room with incredibly high ceilings, like what you would expect to find in a high school gym. There were chairs lined up looking toward the front of the building where the speaker had already begun his presentation.
What followed was a journey into the drug wars. As Carlos Villalon took us on a journey through the South American jungles, into Coca: The Lost War on Drugs …
On Sunday I made my way over to the Pregones Theater in the Concourse neighborhood of the Bronx. Pregones is located at 575 Walton Street, only a couple of blocks from Hostos College and the Post Office in the Bronx. Today was their annual block party, the origins of which, date back to the early 2000's. Pregones Theater moved to this location on Walton Street in the Concourse neighborhood in 2005.
It's worth mentioning that Pregones Theater has been serving the Bronx community of actors, actresses, producers, directors, playwrights and their audiences for nearly four decades. Pregones was started in 1979 and recently [2015 - 2017?] merged with another theater company, Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, to become the cultural institution that it is today.
The Puerto Rican Traveling Theater began in 1967 and helped give birth to the careers of Raul Julia and Miriam Colon, and recently merged with Pregones. Today Pregones Theater / The Puerto Rican Traveling Theater has venues in both Bronx and Manhattan.
As I arrived I noticed their colorful psychedelic house, the Casita, erected as the backdrop for the stage where performers would take flight to delight the audience. It was around 4 pm and a poet, I know it, was speaking, sweet talking, sugary, short arias of verbalized visuals whose acoustical imagery was as stimulating and winding as a quick jazzy beat. Too fast, to fully comprehend, the details of which lie within.
I remember a subway ride, some history, a street scene, but you really had to be there to get the full gist. You missed. But they'll be back next year and they have numerous performances throughout the year.
Along the sidewalks vendors were selling unique - possibly Bronx made, clothing, cosmetics, jewelry, pottery, purses, knapsacks, paper products and other little finds, many of which you might be hard pressed to find elsewhere.
I stepped inside the theater to check it out. It's a well kept, spacious theater, with seating for somewhere between 50 to 100. And a hall of fame showing accolades for performances and performers of years past.
The folks were friendly and it was definitely an artsy, eclectic and friendly crowd. There were also folks there from Lincoln Center Out of Doors, who in part sponsored the block party performances. And Pregones Theater / The Puerto Rican Traveling Theater also performed down at Lincoln Center on Saturday, August 4th at 12 noon in Hearst Plaza, as part of their relationship with Lincoln Center Out of Doors.
By the way, 'pregones' in Spanish, means 'cries' in English. But nobody was crying today.
Hasta luego.
Mediums of Exchange at Lehman Art Gallery
Two Site Art Exhibit Explores the Role of Money in Society
There's an art exhibit entitled Mediums of Exchange that opened at the Shirley Fiterman Art Center at the Borough of Manhattan Community College in Tribeca / Downtown Manhattan on January 31st, 2019 and ended March 30th. But it was a two site / two part art exhibit, with the second site opening in the Bedford Park neighborhood of the Bronx at the Lehman College Art Gallery on February 9th and which runs through May 4th, 2019.
It's a group show, that showcases 35 artists, most if not all of whom I believe are NYC based [unconfirmed]. And the exhibit explores the role of money from a social, psychological and economic point of view. On Wednesdays there are artist talks beginning at 5 pm. I am currently in the process of trying to find out if the artist talks are held every Wednesday or only periodically [ad hoc] and then how late the gallery stays open on those evenings, because the Lehman Art Gallery is normally open from 10 am - 4 pm Tuesday through Saturday.
I hope to post more about this exhibit at a later date. The image above was taken from the Lehman Art Gallery in the Bronx.
A couple of weeks ago I had an opportunity to attend a book talk by Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa at the Andrew Freedman Home in the Central Bonx neighborhood on the Concourse.
The Andrew Freedman Home is worth the trip in itself and it was a rare treat to hear a distinguished author in such a distinguished setting. But I was not alone in savoring the moments.
The room was full, mostly of women, many of whom likely were of some Puerto Rican or African descent, and they had come to learn more about their shared past as described by one woman who had fictionalized some of the history of five generations of her family.
I'll have more later today on the Daughters of the Stone by Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa at the Andrew Freedman Home on Friday, March 15th.
1501
New York Pizza Festival in the Bronx
1st Annual NY Pizza Festival in Bronx Little Italy was a Success
It was a warm, humid afternoon as I made my way north to the Arthur Avenue section of the Belmont neighborhood in the Bronx. I was on my way to the first annual Pizza Festival hosted by the Belmont BID [Business Improvement District] in the Bronx Little Italy.
As I made my way east from the subway and began to enter the neighborhood, I began to feel the transformation of entering another world. Visiting Bronx Little Italy on Arthur Avenue had never felt like this before. Perhaps it was the laziness of a Saturday afternoon in the Fall, or possibly the increased pedestrian traffic associated with the Pizza Festival, but Arthur Avenue looked great in all of its Italian splendor.
So I took my time walking south along the Avenue to Crescent Street where the festival was being held. There were plenty of people out and about, enjoying the afternoon in the neighborhood, and Arthur Avenue had dressed up to impress, showing its charm as a competitive alternative to the more touristed Little Italy in Manhattan.
When I arrived at Cresent Street there were blocks of small white tents lined up along one side of the street. A large but dispersed crowd was milling around many of the booths, even though I had arrived around 4 pm, well past the opening at noon.
I made my way past the entertainment to get a closer look at the pizza makers, their ovens and their wares. Making pizza looked to be a fairly simple process for these pros. The Belmont BID website said there were about 34 pizza makers from NYC who were there to compete for the attendees' interest and sales.
I began talking to some of the pizza makers, who seemed to be having fun. I caught up with Mayor de Blasio midway through the festival. He was surrounded by a lot of the pizza makers and / or the NY Pizza Festival attendees, and there seemed to be a bit of back and forth and picture taking and what not. So I took a few photos too, before moving on to Gino's Pizza.
CLICK here to read the rest of our report about the NY Pizza Festival Bronx including a short video of the event.
2nd Annual NYC Pizza Festival in Bronx Little Italy
The 2nd Annual NYC Pizza Fest in the Bronx was a Sequel that was Hit
October 21, 2019 / Bronx Restaurants / Bronx Things To Do / Bronx Neighborhoods / Bronx Buzz NYC.
The 2nd Annual NY Pizza Festival was held on the weekend of October 5th & 6th in Bronx Little Italy in the Belmont neighborhood near Fordham University. The festival was held over the weekend attracting thousands to the area to come sample some of the best pizza in New York City and surrounding area ... and there was even a pizza maker from Naples in Italy who had come for the event. I'll have more at a later date, but in the meantime you can sample some of the atmosphere and see some of the gourmet pizza served at the event.
Fordham Road Food Festival
Video & Short Report on the Fordham Road Food Festival
This video provides a good look at the entertainment, games, crowds and food available at the Fordham Road Food Festival last Saturday. We'll add more to this report in the future.
See HOURS, MAPS, ITEMS / SELECTION of the 23 BEST Farmers Markets / Green Markets in Bronx, w/ savvy shoppers' tips. This report includes the Mott Haven Farmers Market, Concourse Green Market, Coop City Farmers Market, Fordham Manor Green Market, Parkchester Farmers Market, City Island Farmers Market, Hunts Point Farmers Market, Claremont Village farmers markets and in between.
A few Bronx farmers markets might be open year round, but most of them are seasonal. Some of the seasonal Bronx farmers markets began opening in the Spring of 2021, with the rest of them opening no later than the first couple of weeks in July of 2021. Click here to view the schedules of many of the farmers markets in the Bronx.
Bronx street fairs, on the other hand, are entirely seasonal. Some of them hit the streets as early as April 2021. The number of Bronx street fairs rises during the late spring and continues through the dog days of summer [July / August], including into the late part of the Fall. By the end of November the Bronx street fairs go on hiatus, with a few returning as early as April. Click here to view a full schedule of the Bronx street fairs.
In early May I traveled to the Parkchester neighborhood, to visit one of the Bronx newest Islamic clothing stores, Islam Fashion. With Ramadan only a couple of weeks away, the store proprietor was busy making preparations as Ramadan is the holiest month of the year - and just as during the holidays for Christians, it is also a very social time of the year.
The store, Islam Fashion, was started in the late 1990's [circa 1998] by an enterprising Egyptian immigrant, Mohamed Zohny, who I had met in Queens about a decade ago. Mohamed is one of those legendary entrepreneurial immigrants that one hears about - that keeps the American dream alive - both here and abroad.
Mohamed Zhony - Egyptian American Entrepreneur
Mohamed rolled the dice and immigrated to New York in 1979, at the age of 37, having left a position working at one of the airports in Egypt. When he arrived, he began working in a Lebanese restaurant washing dishes. Three years later in 1982, risking the savings he made from dishwashing, Mohamed started a falafel food truck at 51st Street and 5th Avenue.
Starting an Entrepreneurial Business on the Midtown Manhattan Streets
For fourteen years Mohamed made falafels out of his food truck and one might say he became a bit of a falafel food truck legend. He was photographed and written about in several glossy magazines, including one where he had his photo taken by famous photo journalist Lou Bopp.
Perhaps my favorite account of Mohamed at this time was the following in the 'Grub' section of a popular NYC magazine.
"Falafel stands abound … [at] Rockefeller Center … during lunchtime. Naturally they run the full gamut of barely edible to scintillatingly delicious. Second place for the title of best falafel is Zohny who has a cart on the corner of 5th Avenue and 51st Street. Not only are his falafels moister and fuller than the competition, but he has also developed falafel assembly into an art. It's a spectator sport to marvel as Zohny choreographs his falafel preparation like a wind-up doll. He can make the chick pea balls while dropping lettuce and tomato and heating the pita bread."
In 1996 then Mayor Rudy Giuliani started making changes to the rules governing traffic and food carts, so Mohamed decided to exit the business. Within two years, Mohamed had embarked on a third adventure, again investing his savings to purchase and then sell Islamic clothing on the Upper East Side on what I understood to be a sort of person-to-person basis.
Opens Islam Fashion Clothing Business in Manhattan with Stores in Brooklyn, Queens & the Bronx
Within another two years, in the year 2000, Mohamed signed a lease in Brooklyn and opened an Islamic clothing store there. Nine years later he opened a second store in 2009 in Astoria, where I met him. He's done a bit of advertising on Queens Buzz over the years and I have always found Mohamed to have a friendly smile on his face.
During this time I have had the opportunity to watch him do a bit of business here and there, buying and selling Islamic clothing in his shop. He would invite sellers to sit down for tea, chat and haggle a bit about quality and price, and then settle on a price and complete the deal. It felt like time traveling into Egypt in the space of a few minutes.
In recent years Mohamed, now 75 years old, has begun winding down ... at least a bit. He closed his Brooklyn store due to rising rents, and moved his Astoria store to Parkchester just last year - again due to rising rents. He opened in Parkchester a few months ago and has begun building yet another retail business. Even to this day Mohamed greets the public with a welcoming "Salam Alaikum", which in English means "Peace to you".
Islam Fashion is located at 1701 White Plains Road at Van Nest Avenue in Parkchester. Mohamed is now in the hospital and plans to sell his business. If interested you can reach him via Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/islamfashioninc/
I hope and pray that Mohamed has a speedy recovery.
Arthur Avenue - Little Italy in the Bronx
Arthur Avenue Still has Multi-Generational Family Businesses
A bit over a week ago I headed up to the Arthur Avenue restaurant section of the Belmont neighborhood in the Bronx. Throughout most of the twentieth century, Arthur Avenue was a densely populated Italian section of the Bronx, full of Italian restaurants, shops and Italian culture. By the early 21st century, where we are now, many of the Italians had moved out into the suburbs or into other parts of the city - but that said there's still a very strong Italian presence, including some of the multi-generational Italian family businesses.
Arthur Avenue is more than a destination for those seeking Italian culture in the Bronx, as Fordham University is only blocks away. Oftentimes Fordham students can be seen milling about in the cafes, restaurants and shops, alongside long time residents from the neighborhood. I've come to view the Arthur Avenue Retail Market, founded in 1940, as sort of the epicenter or hub of Arthur Avenue.
Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia reportedly spearheaded the development of the Arthur Avenue Retail Market while he was Mayor in an effort to incent the popular, low-priced, but somewhat unsanitary, street pushcart businesses to move in off the streets. The Arthur Avenue Retail Market was, in some measure, one of the early malls, where various independent vendors sold their wares.
Within the same block and blocks, there are also many Italian retail businesses that have survived the economic vagaries of time. Among them is ...
The New York Road Runners / NYRR is hosting its 49th NYC Marathon on Sunday. The NYRR was founded in 1958 and has been organizing the NYC Marathon since 1970. The proceeds from the race go toward the programs of the runner non-profit. They report that the NYRR serves 670,000 people, of which 250,000 are youth, annually.
There are plenty of festivities this week surrounding the affair. Some are held at the NYRR Run Center [NYRR headquarters] at 320 West 57th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues in Manhattan, while others are held at the NYC Marathon Pavilion in Central Park at 67th Street and Central Park West, near the Tavern on the Green in Manhattan.
The other pre-race activities [see location addresses above] include a discussion on Tuesday about the NYC Marathon Book Club from 6 - 8 pm at the NYC Marathon Pavilion. On Wednesday there's a forum of Celebrity Charity Runners who talk about why they are running at the NYC Marathon Pavilion from 7 - 8 pm. On Thursday evening between 6 and 7 pm the NYRR presents the awards for the NYRR Hall of Fame inductees at the NYC Marathon Pavilion. On Friday at the NYRR Run Center there's an NYRR Running History Tour which runs from 10 - 11.30 am.
The pre-race festivities culminate the Saturday evening before the race, when there's an early dinner [3.30 - 8.30 pm] for the runners at the NYC Marathon Pavilion that is prepared by the chefs from Tavern on the Green. They call it the Marathon Eve Dinner. It has a sort of holiday ring to it.
NYC Marathon Times, Route & Statistics to Beat
Statistics 2018. According to the NYRR.org website, in 2018 there were 52,813 runners, from 129 countries, their average run time was 4.40 [hours.minutes] and they raised $40 million for charity. This year there are a number of primarily TV game show celebrities running to raise money for charity.
According to Wikipedia, in 2018 records for participation were broken, yet again, with 30,669 men and 22,143 women participating. The fastest runs times were approximately 2.05 [hours.minutes] for men and 2.20 [hours.minutes] for women.
NYC Marathon Organized at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island
As you can imagine, organizing the 52,000 plus runners in the NYC Marathon, is an annual logistics feat. The NYRR has organized the race into four Waves. Each Wave begins at a different time. Within each Wave there are three Start Times which are color coded green, orange and blue. In addition to three different start times for each wave, there are six different Corrals, A through F, where runners gather to be released into the race during their wave and start time.
NYC Marathon Start Times 2019
The NYC Marathon begins at 8.30 am at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island. From there over 52,000 runners departed last year, and the race continues to grow in popularity. The first group to begin the race are in the wheelchair division, followed by the handcyclists. These two groups depart between 8.30 am and 8.52 am.
The next group departs at 9.10 am and it comprises the professional women competing for the title. They are followed a half hour later, at 9.40 am, by the professional men. It is at this time [9.40 am] that the first wave kicks in, with its three start times. The second wave begins at 10.10 am, the third wave begins at 10.35 am and the fourth and final wave begins at 11 am.
NYC Marathon Best Guess Viewing Times
The 16 mile mark of the 29 mile NYC Marathon is at the Queensboro Bridge. That's a bit more than halfway. If you divide the average run time of 4 hours and 40 minutes, to get 2 hours and 20 minutes, you can figure out - depending on which wave / start time your loved ones are in, roughly when they'll be at the halfway mark. And then you can add to that time if you're viewing in Manhattan, or subtract from that time if your viewing in Brooklyn, or be there at the start time if you're on Staten Island. For the Bronx adding three hours to their start time should give a good proximation of when they'll be coming through Mott Haven.
NYC Marathon Route 2019
The NYC Marathon had originally circumvented Central Park, but it quickly outgrew that locale.
Staten Island NYC Marathon Route. The route used today has been in place for a long time, possibly decades. It starts at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island, crossing the Verrazzano Bridge.
Brooklyn NYC Marathon Route. The NYC Marathon travels along 4th Avenue through most of southern Brooklyn, then taking a short turn eastward on Lafayette in Downtown Brooklyn, before resuming the northern trek along Bedford Avenue through Williamsburg into Greenpoint, where the course jumps onto Manhattan Avenue at McCarren Park.
Queens NYC Marathon Route. The next step is across the Pulaski Bridge into Long Island City Queens, where the NYC Marathon zigs west to Vernon Blvd, marches north along Vernon Blvd, and then 44th Drive and 21st Street before crossing the Queensboro Bridge.
Manhattan NYC Marathon Route. In Manhattan the NYC Marathon travels north along First Avenue.
Bronx NYC Marathon Route. The NYC Marathon route traverses the Willis Avenue Bridge into the Port Morris and then Mott Haven neighborhoods of southern Bronx. The NYC Marathon then heads west along 135th Street to 138th Street in Mott Haven and turns south heading back through Port Morris, over the Madison Avenue Bridge to Manhattan.
Manhattan NYC Marathon Route. In Manhattan the NYC Marathon travels south along 5th Avenue and into Central Park at 125th Street coming down inside the park to end at the NYC Marathon Pavilion.
Whew. I'm plum tired out just cataloguing the route, let alone running it : )
On November 4th, 2018 over 52,000 runners traversed the lower part of the Bronx borough. The Bronx is part of a 26 mile long course that's been used by the NYC Marathon for a long while.
According to Wikipedia the current race configuration was first outlined and used in 1976. Wikipedia also reports that the NYC Marathon is the largest marathon in the world. The NYC Marathon originated in 1970, running around Central Park, but picked up so much interest that it was expanded just six years later to its current five borough course.
Literally tens of thousands come out to watch the runners traverse their neighborhoods. And the locals are joined by likely tens of thousands more, who come to cheer their runners onward. The spectators come from all over the nation and all around the world. It's a very festive day / weekend and the city is packed with visitors.
Generally the NYC Marathon weekend officially begins in Central Park with official festivities, the configuration of which has been evolving over the years. The race is generally sponsored by a large national or multi-national company, which uses the event promotionally to create awareness around their brand name. I've noticed that recently the branded promotional merchandising of items appears to have expanded significantly.
This year I covered the NYC Marathon in Brooklyn, but below is a video I shot in the Bronx in 2017, but didn't post. It's still a short, fun one and a half minute watch. Enjoy.
Orchard Beach Opens for Season
Bronx Beach in Pelham Bay Park Opens for 2019 Summer Season
Orchard Beach opened over the Memorial Day Weekend. The 1.1 mile beach is open from 10 am - 6 pm, at which time there's a lifeguard on duty. Swimming is prohibited when a life guard is not on duty.
It's located at the southern end of Pelham Bay Park, which you can easily drive to where parking is $8 during weekdays and $10 on weekends. You can also get there via bicycle or a combination of taking the #6 subway to the last stop which is Pelham Bay Park and then taking the #12 bus to Orchard Beach. If you're interested in dining, City Island is nearby and you can take the #29 bus there or walk / cycle as it's about a mile.
Orchard Beach in the Bronx has free shower, changing and bathroom facilities. You can also barbeque there.
The video below shows one of many entertainment events at Orchard Beach over the summer, which we'll have more on as the summer arrives.
5 Boro Bike Ride Returns Sunday
Bike New York Organizes NYC Bike Ride & Bike Expo New York
This story includes information about the upcoming 5 Boro Bike Ride on Sunday, as well as the Bike ExpoNew York which precedes it on Friday & Saturday in Red Hook. As of this report, the temperatures are expected to be in the 60's and the chances of rain appear slim. But bear in mind that the forecast probability of 20% chance of rain last Friday, turned into rain on Saturday evening, so check the weather as we get closer in.
Bike New York 5 Boro Bike Ride Route
Since 1977, every first Sunday of May, Bike New York has organized and promoted the 5 Boro Bike Ride. The ride begins in lower Manhattan, sweeps northward across the Harlem River Bridge to the Bronx, circles back across the Third Avenue Bridge to Manhattan, where it begins its southward trek crossing the Queensboro Bridge into Queens, heading south to Brooklyn after a quick stop north to Astoria Park, and then comes down past the Brooklyn Navy Yards, continuing southward along the west side of Brooklyn, to the Verrazano Narrows Bridge where it crosses over to the Fort Wadsworth neighborhood in Staten Island before terminating in the St. George neighborhood at the Staten Island Ferry.
Proceeds from Non-Profit New York Bike Ride go Toward Sustainable Transportation Efforts
The now famous bike ride was capped at 32,000 riders I believe sometime in the 1990’s, where it still stands today. One report noted that the 5 Boro Bike ride is one of – if not the largest - non-profit bike rides in the nation. The proceeds go to Bike New York programs which are designed to teach people about sustainable transportation, most notably bicycle riding and bike maintenance and safety. Another report noted that the NYPD had considered [don’t know the outcome] charging the organization $1 million for erecting, maintaining and terminating road closures during the New York 40 mile family-friendly bike ride.
Bike New York Bicyclist Outreach in all Five NYC Boroughs
Bike New York has offices in all five NYC boroughs. In 2015 their cyclist safety and bike maintenance programs reached 15,000 New Yorkers. And they are the organizers of the Bike ExpoNew York being held at Pier 12 in Brooklyn on Friday and Saturday [see details in rest of this story].
Wave Hill is a 28 acre estate, in the western section of the Riverdale neighborhood in the Bronx, overlooking the Hudson River. The estate was built in 1843 by William Lewis Morris, a lawyer, to accommodate his large family. Morris was a descendant of one of the Bronx and America's founding families, which included a 17th century colonialist who migrated here following the Cromwellian Wars in Britain, a contributor and signer of the Declaration of Independence, and a vast land holding family in the Bronx.
Wave Hill evolved over the years, starting as a Georgian Revival home, but later converted to a Victorian manor by Publisher William Henry Appleton [1866 - 1869]. Appleton purchased a section of the estate from Morris's heirs following his death.
President Theodore Roosevelt [1870 - 1871], author Mark Twain [1901 - 1903], Italian Conductor Arturo Toscanini [1942 - 1945], and the British delegation to the UN hosted John Foster Dulles, Konrad Adenauer and Queen Elizabeth [1950 - 1956] over numerous summers there. The Wave Hill of today includes what was once two estates, which were merged by Financier turned Conservationist George W. Perkins in 1903. Perkins added the greenhouses and the second house of the estate which I believe [unconfirmed] was called Glyndor. It burned in the early 1920's and was replaced by a smaller Glyndor II, completed in 1927. Wave Hill was inherited by daughter Dorothy Woosley Freeman and her husband Edward.
Wave Hill was donated to New York City in 1960, designated a New York City Landmark in 1966, added to the National Registry of Historic Places in 1983 and added to the Riverdale Historic District in 1990.
In 2011 Wave Hill closed for two years for renovations. In 2013 it reopened, with enhanced facilities that included upgrades to the Sally and Gilbert Kerlin Learning Center where family art projects are conducted, and enhanced lighting and sound [2014] in the Amour Hall which is host to musical performances. A new space, the Sarah and Geoffrey Gund Theater was added where lectures are held and films are shown and the cafe was expanded and the dining room renovated.
Today all areas are used to accommodate public programs, many of which include a fee, and many of which are free with admission. Local artists, musicians and performers are oftentimes showcased. We periodically post their events on the weekends, so stay tuned.
Sources for this story include Wikipedia.org / LivingPlaces.com / WaveHill.org.
NEIGHBORHOODS & HISTORY
Bronx Little Ireland in Woodlawn Heights
A Visit to Woodlawn Heights is a bit like a Trip to Ireland
In preparation for St. Patrick's Day, I took a long ride north on the #2 subway line to 233rd Street in Wakefield. I then headed west on 233rd Street down a long hill, over the Bronx River Parkway, and into Woodlawn Heights. Woodlawn Heights is nestled in north of Woodlawn Cemetery and east and south of Van Cortlandt Park and it's also south of and adjacent to Yonkers and west of Wakefield.
As I entered the Woodlawn Heights neighborhood, walking north along Katonah Avenue, I felt a bit as if I'd been whisked away to Ireland. Of course there were Irish bars and pubs that lined the street, but there was also an Irish grocery store. And I imagine if I had more time to spend, I'd find other related gems. But today I was on a mission to scout out a few Irish pubs in anticipation of the Yonkers St. Patrick's Day Parade which happens a week from Saturday on March 21st. Be advised there are two other Bronx St Patricks Day Parades this Sunday, March 15th in Throgs Neck and in Eastchester the details of which you'll find by clicking the link above - along with suggestions for Bronx Irish pubs and restaurants.
It was a quiet Sunday night and the neighborhood was fairly quiet as most are wont to be on a Sunday night. I started my journey by stopping at John Mulligan's Fireside Pub. And lo and behold it wasn't long before standing in front of me was John Mulligan himself.
CLICK here to read our report on some of the Bronx St. Pat's Day Irish Pubs near Yonkers. This report will be completed either late Tuesday evening 3/10 or Wednesday 3/11/20.
Imagine my surprise when I happened upon a monastery in the Hunts Point neighborhood in the Bronx. The better I get to know the Bronx, the more surprises I find ... like an archeologist peeling away the layers and finding yet another series of layers that begin to tell the tale of one of the most misrepresented boroughs in NYC.
The Corpus Christi Monastery is located at 1230 Lafayette in the Hunts Point neighborhood. Only a little placard, posted on the monastery grounds wall, tells you what lies within.
The photo at right shows the Dominican monastery located in the Hunts Point Neighborhood of the Bronx.
The monastery was completed in 1891 according to Wikipedia. The NY Times reports that it's located only four blocks away from the infamous Fort Apache the Bronx. And yet within the cloistered walls, there's a serenity that likely hasn't changed much over the past century and a quarter.
The photo at right, showing the Corpus Christi Monastery in the Bronx, was collected by the Museum of the City of New York and dated circa 1920.
The monastery is inhabited by the Dominican nuns who practice a contemplative life. They came to the Bronx in the 1880's by invitation of Father Corrigan who wanted a community of the contemplative in the Bronx. Today the monastery is the oldest monastery of the Dominican Order in the United States. An April 28, 2016 CBS report noted that the monastery is in need of donations for repairs, which they were hoping to complete for the 800th anniversary of the order in May of 2016 ... but it looked like they weren't going to reach their goal.
On Sundays about 50 members of the community join the contemplative nuns in attendance at the church for mass.
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Video Tour of the Bronx Zoo with Photos
The Bronx Zoo Provides an Enjoyable Learning Experience
A couple of weeks ago I visited the Bronx Zoo. Tickets to the Bronx Zoo aren't cheap as admission is $40 / $35 / $30 or you can obtain a year long membership pass for three adults and four children for $210. On Wednesdays, you can make a voluntary donation or even be admitted free, but you have to pay for admission to special exhibits. It's worth mentioning that the Bronx Zoo is far too big to really 'do' in one day.
The Bronx Zoo sits atop 265 acres and is run by a non-profit environmental conservation organization, the Wildlife Conservation Society. While the official address of the Bronx Zoo is 2300 Southern Blvd, there are three other entrances to the park - one at Southern Blvd at Bronx Park South, another at Bronx River Parkway and Pelham Parkway and the one through which I entered, the Asia Gate, at 180th Street and Tremont Avenue. For most New Yorkers using public transit, the Asia Gate is your best bet via subway as the #2 & #5 subway train stop at 180th Street is only a block away.
Although the base entrance fee is free on Wednesdays, the park asks for additional charges to gain admittance to special exhibits, of which there are at least eight. The special experience exhibits include: 1) the Bug Carousel, 2) the Congo Gorilla Forest, 3) the Nature Trek, 4) the Jungle World, 5) the Butterfly Garden, 6) the Zoo Shuttle, 7) the Wild Asia Monorail and 8) the Children's Zoo. I visited only one of them, Jungle World, as to 'do' one of them properly, I recommend allotting about an hour or more of time.
The Jungle World is one of the first special exhibits accessible from the Asia Gate.
CLICK here to view the rest of our report including a limited video tour of the Bronx Zoo [there's so much more for you to see].
Black History Month to End Soon
PBS has been Airing Some Excellent Documentaries about African Americans Role in Our Nation's History
Weather. There will be a small bit of rain today between 11 am - 4 pm. Thereafter the rest of the week should be dry. The temperature highs will be in the 40's all week and the temperature lows will be in the 30's. The winds will be 5 - 10 mph except on Wednesday, when it will be a drafty 13 mph. Humidity will be in the 70% range today, dropping into the 60% range on Tuesday & Wednesday, then down into the 50% range on Thursday and Friday.
All tolled, it looks like a pretty fair week.
PBS - Finding Your Roots - Histories
Last night I came upon one of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.'sFinding Your Roots documentaries on PBS. For more info about this series see - https://www.pbs.org/weta/finding-your-roots/
As I watched, I recollected how in my youth, I had considered Black hisotry to be a superfluous extension of American history. That perspective was, of course, born of youthful ignorance. Since then, I have come to appreciate the importance of Black Studies in providing a more comprehensive view of American history over the centuries. In part, I have PBS to thank, because they have aired and I have watched, quite a number of documentaries - some or all of which they funded or produced - particularly since the CoVid pandemic began.
In the program I viewed last night, one of the people on Gates' Finding Your Roots series was being informed about her family's history. It struck me when Gates referenced her great, great, great, great grandfather on a bill of sale by Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
Over the past decade or so, I've become more interested in my own family's history. We knew a fair amount about those ancestors within temporal reach, going back to our great grandfathers, but little beyond. That was until a couple of summers ago when I found that one of the members of our extended family had a collection of scribbled notes and diagrams that recorded our lineage - some of which appears to date back to colonial times and the Revolutionary War. Up until this discovery, I had thought we had become Americans in the latter half of the 18th century.
But it occurred to me, based on Gates' reference to the great, great, great, great grandfather mentioned above, most African Americans' family histories date back at least a couple of centuries. Gates' documentary series delves into the histories of oftentimes, somewhat famous, African Americans who were descendants of slaves, or famous white Christian or Jewish Americans who are descendants of families that owned slaves.
Gates' geneological and genetic explorations also find interesting tidbits, like the fact that comedian Larry David and Senator Bernie Sanders are distantly related. PBS Producer Ken Burns is a descendant of a slave owner, but also related to Abraham Lincoln. And Brian Gumbel discovered he had some previously unknown Jewish ancestry.
Out of Gates' explorations into the past, we learn many things, not the least of which is that African Americans worked the fields, growing cotton and food that fed and clothed the nation, and provided their 'owners' with a tidy profit. It's worth noting that in the early 1800's about 75% of the nation worked in occupations related to agriculture [today it's about 10 - 11%]. But following the Civil War, African Americans' contribution to the nation went far beyond that, including serving our nation in two world wars, providing needed labor for the auto industry and significantly contributing to our culture and history.
I came upon a pedestrian walk way while exploring the Highbridge neigbhorhood in the Bronx. I soon found it was called the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail and that a stone aqueduct, completed in 1842, lie beneath the smooth level walk way I was making my way along.
When I returned home, I found a whole history of the Old Croton Aqueduct and the positive impact it had on New York nearly two centuries ago, and it was designed and built so well, that it continues to play a role in many New Yorkers' daily lives.
The photo at right shows the pedestrian trail that runs atop the Old Croton Aqueduct in the Bronx.
I'll have more later today about the history and the impact of the Old Croton Aqueduct. Along with the history, you'll learn quite a bit about the history of popular locations today in both the Bronx and Manhattan.
Who was Louis J. Heintz?
Joyce Kilmer Park Statues Contain a bit of Bronx History
Last Fall I attended a gathering at the Bronx Museum where the Chairman of the NY Federal Reserve gave a speech about the economy. He had come to Bronx to take the pulse of things here, as much as or even more than to spread the word about what the Federal Reserve was doing, as - at the time - things were going quite well.
After the meeting I walked back to the subway at 165th Street and Jerome Avenue near Yankee Stadium. On my way, I walked down the Grand Concourse which runs north / south through the center of the Bronx. Alongside the Grand Concourse, immediately north of the Bronx Borough Hall, there's a beautiful park that provides a welcoming spot for one to relax and enjoy a beautiful day, which it was.
As I took in the day, watching the kids play on the northwest end of the park, and older folks sitting on the park benches a bit further south, I started noticed one of the beautiful statues standing stately in the park near the southwest corner. I photographed the statue and researched the man it honored when I returned home. The statue, shown at right, was of Louis J. Heintz.
Heintz & the John Eichler Brewing Company of Claremont Neighborhood in the Bronx
Louis J. Heintz lived a very short life as he was born in 1861 and died in 1893. He was of German descent and worked in Eichler Brewery at 169th Street, between Fulton and Third Avenue in what is today the Claremont neighborhood. The John Eichler Brewing Company was run by Heintz's uncle. The John Eichler Brewery opened in 1865 and remained in business - save during the Prohibition [1920 - 1933] - until in 1947, The John Eichler Brewing Company discontinued operations. In the 1880's Louis J. Heintz became the President of the Brewers Board of Trade of New York and became a respected businessman.
The photo above right shows the Eichler Brewing Company which was featured in the book entitled Images of the South Bronx published by Arcadia Publishing. And shown below is an Eichler Brewing Company beer label, which was probably from the Prohibition given its low alcohol content.
Heintz's uncle, John Eichler, was born in Bavaria in 1829. In 1858, having learned the brewing trade, before emigrating to America. He worked for the Turtle Bay Brewery for a few years, before forming a brewery which bought the Kolb Brewery in 1865, which he transformed into John Eichler Brewery. In 1888 Eichler formed the company into a stockholding company, because his health was failing. John Eichler died in 1892. As mentioned above, the company continued until it was purchased in 1947, by which time it had become one of the largest breweries in New York City, producing a half million barrels per year.
New York City Annexes Southern Bronx 1874 / Eastern Bronx 1895
New York City expanded the boundaries of the city in 1874 by annexing the southern areas of the Bronx including Kingsbridge, Morrisania and West Farms. Later, in 1895, the East Bronx was added while expanding the city's boundary. And in 1898 the area that is today modern day Queens, the city of Brooklyn and Staten Island were all added to comprise what is today the five boroughs of New York City. Each borough is a separate county of New York State.
Louis Heintz Becomes Bronx Street Commissioner
Following the annexation of the Bronx as part of New York City in 1874, the people of the Bronx found their street development lacking. In 1889 Heintz began advocating for a position managed independently in the Bronx, to pave and manage the streets. Heintz became the first Bronx Commissioner of Streets in 1890, after gaining agreement starting a year earlier that such a position was needed in order to have the Bronx streets paved.
Heintz died shortly after falling ill, following attendance at President Grover Cleveland's inauguration which was held on March 4, 1893. Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th President of the United States. Prior to becoming President he was the Governor of New York State and the Mayor of Buffalo.
The photo at right shows the Eichler Mansion at 169th Street and Fulton in the Claremont neighborhood of the Bronx which was featured in the book entitled Images of the South Bronx published by Arcadia Publishing.
The statue of Louis J. Heintz was cast in 1905 and dedicated in 1909.
Sources: OldBreweries.com, Wikipedia.org, NYCGovParks.org, FindaGrave.com, BronxMall.com and Images of the South Bronx [a book by Arcadia Publishing].
It’s been a while since I have done an economic update, and as we head into the Fall, it seems a good time to look through the tea leaves to figure out where we are and what risks lie ahead between now and the New Year.
The graph at right, created by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, shows employment in the U.S. from 1940 to date. To the far right of the graph, you can see the huge dip in employment in the Spring of 2020, as the pandemic hit. Since then U.S. employment has recovered, but not yet completely.
Unemployment Back to Normal Levels & Stimulus Winding Down
Unemployment continues to decline, and the unemployment rate reflects a growing economy and a tight labor market. One debated theory about the tight labor market, is that it was fueled in part by some of the generous government spending programs, designed to cushion folks from the pandemic, which some believed kept workers out of the employment market. As of this posting, we’ve not seen any good study that proves or disproves that hypothesis. So for now, I recommend you consider that hearsay, at least until you or I find one or more reliable studies that proves or disproves that hypothesis.
In any event, a good measure of both the federal and states stimulus programs have begun to wind down. Beginning in late Spring / early Summer, both states and the federal government began reducing or withdrawing the funding for extra [federal] and extended [states] unemployment benefits.
On Saturday I attended an event discussing the upcoming legislation pending in the NYS government in Albany concerning NYS rent regulations. Currently about 2 million of the 8.5 million people who live in NYC will be affected.
The primary topic of the event was MCI or Major Capital Improvements, which is a loophole in rent regulations that allows landlords to initiate projects within their buildings and then pass along the project costs to their tenants, in such manner as to provide the landlord with an incremental revenue increase that lasts into eternity, and which encourages landlords to get creative in originating projects in an effort to raise the rents of their regulated apartments at an accelerating speed in order to grow the monthly rent beyond the legal limit of regulation.
What happens then, is that a significant number of longstanding tenants in regulated housing, are priced out of their homes and neighborhoods. Some of the displaced tenants even become homeless. This is why homelessness nearly doubled under former Mayor Michael Bloomberg - who looked the other way as NYS rent regulations were being renewed.
The event was held in the Corona neighborhood of Queens, where hundreds - if not a thousand - people came to particpate in the discussion.
I'll have more on this at a later date.
NYC Landlord Harassments Continue
NYCCM Helen Rosenthal Hosts Housing Clinic to Inform Renters of Their Rights
On Wednesday, May 25th I went to the Goddard Riverside Community Center on Columbus Avenue at 88th Street to attend a housing clinic designed to inform renters of their rights.
***The following introduction is based on prior research done by me, and was not information provided at the housing clinic. I'll let you know when I segue out of my preamble and into the housing clinic.***
Over the past decade landlords appear to have become increasingly aggressive in trying to wriggle out of NYC and NYS rent stabilization regulations, that govern the rental payments under which about two million New Yorkers live.
It is my understanding that the government contributed land and / or financing to build or repair the buildings governed by NYC / NYS rent stabilization laws in exchange for the pricing rights on rent stabilized units. Many of the new landlords who have acquired rent stablized buildings, may possibly be in violation of approaching their business contract(s) in good faith, as the definition of good faith according to Wikipedia is:
"In contract law, the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing is a general presumption that the parties to a contract will deal with each other honestly, fairly, and in good faith, so as to not destroy the right of the other party or parties to receive the benefits of the contract. It is implied in every contract in order to reinforce the express covenants or promises of the contract. A lawsuit (or a cause of action) based upon the breach of the covenant may arise when one party to the contract attempts to claim the benefit of a technical excuse for breaching the contract, or when he or she uses specific contractual terms in isolation in order to refuse to perform his or her contractual obligations, despite the general circumstances and understandings between the parties. When a court or triar or fact interprets a contract, there is always an "implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing" in every written agreement."
What is at stake, throughout the city, is literally hundreds of millions and more likely billions of dollars in - rental benefits or rental income streams - depending on which side of the struggle you're on. The landlords appear to be trying - using the torturtous side effects of construction including noise, health risk dust [inhalation], privacy loss and apartment functional loss - to wrest away the billions of dollars of rental pricing rights benefits from tenants to be pocketed by the landlords themselves. Given the high dollar value of what's at stake - including people's homes - this seems like attempted grand larceny, especially in cases where landlords are breaking the law to achieve their goals.
This will be continued at a later date. Including the segue into the information provided by the Housing Clinic to inform tenants of their rights.
Tenants' Rights March & Rally - June 14th Midtown at 4.30 pm
P.S. There's a March & Rally scheduled for June 14th, beginning at 4.30 pm, at the NY Public Library at 5th Avenue and 40th Street. They plan to march to Governor Cuomo's office at 3rd Avenue and East 41st Street. For details contact info@realrentreform.org or call 212.979.6958. All but one of the No IDC NY senatorial candidates have been invited to participate, and there's a possibility that NYS gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon will be there too - as this seems to coincide with her reasons for challenging Governor Cuomo.
Port Morris Real Estate Development
The Bronx Neighborhood of Port Morris is Experiencing a Real Estate Development Renaissance
Last Sunday I went exploring two of the neighborhoods in the south Bronx. This report will focus on Port Morris, which is at the southern most end of the Bronx and is found along the Harlem River and the East River.
Port Morris has a long storied history, dating back to colonial times. Given its proximity to Manhattan [just over the Harlem River] and accessibility via the East River and Harlem River, Port Morris was geographically well positioned to be one of the great waterfronts. In fact one of the Morrises had this in mind in an earlier period and planned to make Port Morris competitive with the New York City Harbor and the Lower Manhattan docks. But alas it was not meant to be.
In the mid to late 1800's the piano making business was one of the biggest manufacturing industries in New York City. Piano factories lined the East River in Astoria and in the Bronx. By the mid 1900's the piano business was on the decline, being replaced by radio, television and the like as the primary source of home entertainment.
By the late 20th century the southern Bronx was in decline, but many of the old manufacturing buildings of a bygone era still remained. By the early 21st century southern Bronxians began to witness a growing interest in the Port Morris and Mott Haven neighborhoods due to an evolving business, social and economic climate in New York City.
I'll post more on Tuesday, May 8th.
SOCIAL ISSUES
NYC & NYS Continue to Have Lower Murder Rates Than the Rest of the Nation
The Past Couple of Months, NYC Murders have been Below 2019 Levels, and NYC Shootings are Down Double Digits versus 2020, While Gun Arrests Have Doubled vs 2020
This is news you're not likely to find in Australian born billionaire Rupert Murdoch's NY Post, Wall St. Journal nor Fox News because it doesn't fit with Murdoch's self-enriching, propagandistic narratives of blaming Democrats for the increase in violent / gun crimes. He appears to use such narratives to get the politicians who will give him tax breaks, and allow him to continue deregulating his industries, so he can make ever more money at the expense of American Democracy.
The NYPD has been working hard to rein in the out-of-control sales and trafficking of guns in the nation, because of the absence of an intelligent debate on national gun control legislation to combat the growing gun violence, and in particular the mass shootings, that started rising again during the Trump Administration and continued rising in the wake of the CoVid pandemic.
Year To Date Murders in NYC are Below the National Average & Have Begun Falling Versus 2020
So we're going to take a look at a number of the NYC crime statistics, and then follow up with an analytical look at some of the issues driving gun related violence, before closing with a look at the distorted, deceitful and destructive coverage provided by Murdoch's Fox News & Propaganda.
As you can see by the chart at right, with the exception of GLA or Grand Larceny Auto and YTD / Year To Date Shootings, all NYC crime is either in the single digits or down, versus last year. It's important to note however, that in July shootings dropped by 35% versus prior year [up 17% YTD], while gun arrests were up 134% versus the prior year [up 68% YTD], so the NYPD continues to make good progress in this regard. And murders were down 49% in July versus prior year and down 10% year to date.
The chart at right shows the NYPD Crime statistics for the month of July 2021 and Year To Date 2021. I have also included comparisons to 2019 as 2020 was an unusual year all the way around - including for NYC crime.
The Iron Pipeline - Interstate 95 - is used to Transport Guns from Primarily Red Republican States with Lax Gun Laws
The graphic at right shows what is called the 'Iron Pipeline' which is Interestate 95 which runs from New York to Florida. This interestate highway is used to transport guns / weapons across state lines from mostly red Republican controlled states with lax gun control laws to blue states that have passed stronger gun control laws.
Once the guns arrive here, they are illegally sold and are the root of the gun violence and murder problem in New York City and New York State. Thankfully, Mayor de Blasio, Commissioner Shea and the NYPD are on top of things, and have been working hard to rein in the problem, even in the absense of national legislative help.
I think President Biden should look into the possibility of using federal powers regulating interstate commerce, to curtail the transport and sale of guns into states that have tighter regulatory frameworks surrounding the sale of murder weapons. And perhaps the district attorneys in our city and state should consider naming the people who sell these guns, as accessories or even accomplices, to the crimes committed with them.
The video below is an interpretive depiction of a protest event in McCarren Park early last week. The piece is meant to be savored - like food, music and cinematography.
A week ago, on Tuesday, January 21st I attended the Community Board One meeting at the Astoria World Manor where the board was asked to approve the closing of the Rikers Island Detention Facility effective sometime before the end of the year 2026.
The photo at right was taken from an airplane while landing at LaGuardia in a prior year. Rikers Island Correctional Facility is a stone's throw away from LGA.
Queens Community Board One in Astoria Votes on Rikers Closure
The presentation consisted of two slides. One highlighted the social / moral blight that Rikers Island had become. The second slide simply proposed the request in very limited terms - the closing of Rikers Island and the conversion of it to a ‘public place’. The presentation to the Committee was done by a team lead by Dana Kaplan, Deputy Director of the NYC Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice.
So please note that the Community Board had no role in the placement of neighborhood jails, nor did they sign off on anything that may become of Rikers Island going forward. They only approved the closing of the Correctional Facility and the allowance of use for it as a "public place".
I spoke with CB1 District Manager Florence Kolouris after the meeting about what exactly that meant. She told me that there isn’t any definition, per se, given for public place – but a couple of examples of prior public places include Lincoln Center, Fort Totten and Queens Borough Hall.
The Community Board approved the measure with a recommendation that CB1 be kept in the loop throughout the closing process, including any demolition. Plenty of questions followed regarding what would become of the 400 acre island. Nothing concrete was proposed at this time, but the audience was assured that any changes would have to come through the Community Board via the ULURP process [Uniform Land Use Review Procedure].
The Bronx & Queens - Rikers Island Community Jurisdiction & Prison Population
It’s worth noting that technically Rikers Island is a part of the Bronx – not Queens – even though the only road traveling onto the island originates in the Astoria / East Elmhurst neighborhoods of Queens. In addition to Queens Community Board One, Bronx Community Board Two, representing the Hunts Point neighborhood, also has influence over the island. Since the Dinkins Administration in the 1990's, there's been a floating barge facility that's docked in Hunts Point, that is considered a part of the Rikers Island Correctional Facility.
Currently there are an estimated 7,000 plus inmates on Rikers Island. At its height, in 1991, Rikers Island held an estimated overcapacity inmate population of nearly 22,000. By the time the facility is to be closed in 2026, the inmate population is expected to have declined to between 3,000 and 4,000.
The photo at right shows the Rikers Island Correctional Facility which will be closed by the end of 2026.
Moderate Democrat Eric Adams sailed to victory Tuesday to become NYC's second African American Mayor. Democrat David Dinkins was the first. With 78% of the precincts reporting Adams won 676,481 votes to Sliwa's 293,127.
Democrat Jumaane Williams was re-elected Public Advocate, garnering 598,810 votes which was nearly 69% of the total, with 93% of the scanners reporting.
Progressive Democrat Brad Lander won the NYC Comptroller position, winning 604,000 of the votes, or 70% of the vote with 93% of the scanners counted.
And Democrat Alvin Bragg won the Manhattan District Attorney office, garnering 183,000 votes or 83% of the total.
Four of the five Borough Presidencies were won by Democrats. In Manhattan Mark Levine handily won the borough presidency with 181,000 votes or 85% of the total, with 93% of scanners counted. In Queens Donovan Richards handily won re-election, winning 160,000 votes or 66% of the total, with 79% of the precincts reporting. In Brooklyn Antonio Reynoso also won handily, winning 217,000 votes or 73% of the total, with 78% of the precincts reporting. In the Bronx Vanessa Gibson took in 80,000 votes which was 80% of the total, with 72% of the precincts reporting.
And on Staten Island, the only Republican to win a Borough Presidency, Vito Fossella, won 60,000 votes or 60% of the total, with 87% of the precincts reporting.
I stepped inside the auditorium, at Samuel Gompers Career and Technical Education High School in Mott Haven, just as the National Anthem began. Eden Augustine from the Bronx High School of Science sang the anthem last year and this year it was xyz from H.E.R.O High. The H.E.R.O. stands for Health, Education & Research Occupations.
The Principal of the school, Kristen Cahill Garcia, stepped out onto the stage to say a few words. She noted that Samuel Gompers CTE High School had closed in 2015 and re-opened that Fall as three schools: 1) H.E.R.O. High, 2) a New Visions Charter High School for the Humanities II, and 3) Mott Haven Community High School which is a transfer school for older students. She went on to say that while things have been progressing in a positive direction - there's still more work to be done.
The next speaker, was a surprise guest, Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Senator Schumer mentioned how he was trying to help with affordable housing and getting more train stations added for commuters in the Eastern neighborhoods of the Bronx. He talked about how we are stronger when we are united, and that the Bronx seems to be united, in spite of the fact that so many of its denizens come from somewhere else. He finished by complimenting Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. on his leadership.
Bronx President's State of the Borough Address Well Attended
And the last of the 'warm up remarks' was given by a Bronx Borough President's Office staffer [Communications Director John DeSio?] who called off a very long list of people in attendance including: Bronx City Council members, NYS Senators, NYS Assembly members, NYC government officials, people representing federal and state government officials, a few Brooklynites, and high ranking Bronx Borough officials like the head of the NYPD in the Bronx and NYC Parks Department in the Bronx and others. He continued on, mentioning folks from non-profits including a number of people representing higher learning institutions in the Bronx such as Hostos, Monroe and Bronx Community Colleges, members of the leadership teams at Jacobi Hospital and Lincoln Medical Center, and Bronx cultural organizations like the NY Botanical Gardens, the Bronx Museum, the Bronx Council for the Arts, and lastly, but not least, the Bronx Chamber of Commerce and several Bronx union chapters like the Bronx Carpenters Union and Bronx Electrical Union. This is not a complete list but it's a pretty good summary without the full detail.
Not in Attendance - Ruben Diaz Sr?
Notably absent from the list, was NYC Councilmember Ruben Diaz Sr., who made his way into the news with a comment about gays last week - click here to read a short report. I reckon Ruben Diaz Sr.'s absence was probably best for both of them, as they seem to have a good relationship, even though they're different from one another.
We were treated to a short, entertaining video featuring the Bodega Boys, who reportedly just signed with Showtime for a program at 11 pm on Thursdays. The Bodega Boys started a podcast that put them into the big time. Kind of like how Cardi B started posting videos on YouTube, which went viral and made her into the top billing name she is today.
In the video there was an 'unofficial announcement' of Ruben Diaz Jr.'s plans to run for NYC Mayor in 2021 [see photo still from the video above].
The photo at right shows Ruben Diaz Sr at Ruben Diaz Jr's State of the Borough Address in 2018. This week or so, New York City Councilman Diaz opened his mouth and stuck a cowboy-sized boot in it, declaring that City Hall was, "... controlled by the homosexual community ...". The statement cost Diaz his NYC Council Chairmanship, and the NYC Council then voted 45 - 1 to punish him, following an investigation.
Diaz Sr isn't doing his son, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr, any favors, as his son has been rumored to be contemplating a run for Mayor in 2021.
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr tweeted that his father's remarks were antagonistic, not inclusive nor respectful of our diversity, and that his father should apologize. Thus far Ruben Diaz Sr has refused to do so. Diaz, a former minister, ought to pay heed to the Bible, which in the Book of Proverbs tells us that, "Pride goeth before the fall."
CLICK here to view the rest of our report about Bronx based NYC Council Member Ruben Diaz Sr.'s comment on gays. The report includes a brief look at the history of gay leadership in the NYC Council as well as a brief scientific look at sexuality - including homosexuality - in nature.
911 / The War in Afghanistan is Over - but the War on the Truth that put us there - Continues
TV News People Provided Superficial, Dimwitted, Gossipy Accounts of the Withdrawal, & Unfortunately, Far too many of the Print Reports Weren’t Much Better
Somehow amidst the din of Murdoch mass media hyped criticism, the real headline was buried.
"The War is Over. The Twenty Year War in Afghanistan is Over. "
This was one of two Murdoch Wars - So his Outlets Seemed to Disminish or Ignore the Human & Taxpayer Costs - Over 170,000 Human Lives & Over $2 Trillion and Counting - and so did the Knuckleheads at the Other News Outlets
Where are the parades? Where are the celebrations? Where are the Congressional and Senate committees and hearings to investigate how we got into the Afghanistan war in the first place? And then why we stayed so long? Who incited this war and then profited from the $2 trillion in spending that the U.S. taxpayer took out loans to pay?
About 2,461 American soldiers died in the Afghanistan War. According to an August 17, 2021 report by the Associated Press, another 3846 American contractors lost their lives, as well as 72 journalists. The Afghanis suffered significant fatalities as well, as 66,000 Afghani military and police died, 47,000 Afghani civilians and 51,000 Taliban fighters.
TV News Provided Scant Real Insight, Information or Understanding Surrounding America's Withdrawal from Afghanistand to the Viewer
In the reporting over the past month or so I DID NOT SEE EVEN ONE REFERENCE TO THE RUSSIAN WITHDRAWAL from Afghanistan in the 1980’s. NOT ONE! Why does that matter?
Because if you’re going to evaluate how effective the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan was, you MUST look at prior history, and the Russian withdrawal is the closest, realistic assessment of what the costs of withdrawal from Afghanistan could, would or should be. I watched with something bordering between disgust and horror, as the gutted out nationally branded TV ‘news’ organizations ‘informed’ the American people as to what was happening as the American withdrawal from Afghanistan took place before our eyes in real time.
I. The Pied Piper Framed a Dishonest & Negative Narrative about President Biden's Handling of the Withdrawal via his WSJ, then Echoed it with the Nearly Half of the Nationally Branded U.S. Daily Media he Controls, which the Lazy and / or Incompetent Competition then Parrotted
Australian born billionaire, Rupert Murdoch - as is too often the case - led the rest of the mindless mass media, like the Pied Piper. On August 15, 2021, the Wall St. Journal published an OpEd by the ‘Editorial Board’. The ‘Editorial Board’ appears to be the pen name of billionaire Rupert Murdoch who owns and controls the paper. The ‘Editorial Board’ said published the narrative that Biden was incompetent and had messed things up, with scant reference to history or a holistic presentation of the facts.
Ever since that narrative was published, it has been used by many of the rest of the mass media, to contextualize or frame presentations made by the corporate press in discussing the American withdrawal from Afghanistan. Not everyone in the mass media was so incompetent or so lazy that they used the mendacious Murdoch’s narrative – thankfully. But eyeballing things, I’d estimate that more than half of them did. I suppose the good news is that there are still a few real, independent-minded journalists operating in our midst.
Murdoch used his Wall St. Journal brand to lead the narrative, because it has a history as a respected publication. Even though respect for the brand seems to have been diminishing ever since Murdoch’s took control of the paper in August of 2007. After the announcement many of the real journalists who could leave, did. Barron’s was included in the acquisition and remains a Murdoch brand today.
A Look Back at the NYC Municipal Primary Election Results of 2021
Females Won Big, But Because of Ranked Choice Voting, the Results Trickled in Over the Past Month, & Real Assessments of the Changed Landscape have yet to Follow
The June 22nd election primary for NYC municipal offices has long passed, but a solid look at the overall results of the election has not yet followed. What I will attempt to do today, is to offer provide a top down summary of the results, along with some interpretation of what this means going forward.
Women Won Big in the New York City Council Democratic Primaries
One of the biggest changes to municipal government likely to occur following the November election is that the NYC Council will move from less than a third women, to over half women for the first time in NYC history. This assumes most or all of the Democrats win their seats in the general election. This usually happens in a heavily blue state like New York, just as Republican primary winners in Alabama become the likely winners of the general election in that heavily red state. Somewhere between 29 and 31 of the Democratic primary winners in the NYC Council races were women out of a 51 member municipal legislative body.
He Seems to Favor Charter Schools & They Seem to Favor Him, He's Pulled in the Most Real Estate Cash & He has Indicated He'll Reverse Course a bit on Police Reform & ...
Last week I did a report snapshotting what I know about Scott Stringer's political career that leads me to think he's not to be trusted.
Stringer takes big public stands on what I would call generic Democratic issues over which he has little influence - gender equality, race and climate change - while speaking with forked tongue on issues over which he has considerable influence - like real estate developments, local education, public libraries and the pension fund investments - that significantly impact the local communities, neighborhoods and unions.
In that report I also noted how Stringer seems opportunistic in compromising his stances [for example in education and the public library system] in order to capitalize on what he seems to think are self enhancing career opportunities. And Stringer also seems to have used the power and authority of government positions entrusted to him by the people, to aid those who fund his campaigns, possibly trading what's good for the people, in exchange for what's good for Scott Stringer.
Stringer hit my radar nearly a decade ago, while Eric Adams only hit my radar a few years ago. So I'm less familiar with Adams career than Stringer's. But in doing the research, I found that Eric Adams appears to be a slow steady hand, whose positions have evolved over time ... and I would add that generally they appear to have evolved carefully.
1. Eric Adams - Public Schools & Education
Pro Charter Schools & What that Means
FOR PROFIT Charter Schools, don't seem to solve the failing schools problem, but rather split and shift the problem burdens, while privatizing and gutting a significant portion of the public school system. I began reporting on education during the Bloomberg era, wherein Bloomberg's Administration seemed to split public schools into two smaller entities, and then parcel out the achieving students / families via charter recruitment to the privately run for profit charters, while leaving the lower performing students / families in the care of unions and the general public. It seemed to me they didn't really solve anything, and sucked needed capital out of the public school system, putting it in the hands of the venture capitalists who were funding them.
This situation appeared to me not unlike what the insurance industry had done prior to Obamacare - whereby the insurance companies recruited healthy people for health insurance, and avoided signing those who weren't healthy in order to enhance their economic performance. To me this goes against the grain of what America is all about - which is equal opportunity for all. The privatization of the public schools by the predatory for profit charters would turn the public education system into the haves and have nots.
*** It's worth noting that NON-PROFIT CHARTERS evolved for different reasons and provided a healthy challenge to the union run public education system and I view far more favorably than the for profit charters.
How the President, a Former NYC Mayor and Murdoch's Fox News Seemed to Incite the Capitol Insurrectionists
Rudy Giuliani, Nicknamed America's Mayor by Murdoch's Fox News, Appears to have Helped Incite the Band of Simpleminded Trumpsters to Insurrection
Updated January 11, 2021 from 1.8.21 / US Politics / NYC Neighborhoods / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
Rising Film Star [Barat2] and Former NYC Mayor, Rudy Giuliani, appears to have devolved into something of a national freak show or farce over the past five years. Perhaps longer. But in the past few months, he's become something of a national disgrace.
Fox News seems to use nicknames for their propaganda assets, like referring to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as the 'Iron Lady' and President Ronald Reagan as the 'Gipper'. Rudy Giuliani seems to be yet another Fox propaganda asset and, as such, is oftentimes referred to as America's Mayor by Fox pundits.
This is not unlike how Murdoch's Fox News nicknames themselves America's Newsroom. This was a trick used by Hitler and Goebbels, using words and images to create the illusion that they, the Nazi Party [in this cae the Fox Nation with red, white and blue colors] was the same as the state - and thus represented all that was right and just. But remember - just because Murdoch's Fox News says it's so - doesn't make it so [like they used to call themselves 'Fair & Balanced' before they started fearing a lawsuit for false advertising]. But, the Australian born billionaire's overwhelming control and / or ownership of America's television media [see our special section on Murdoch and the 21st Propaganda Press on Gotham Buzz] does give him a leg up in attaching and making both good and bad labels stick to people, places and things.
On Wednesday, January 6, 2021, Rudy Giuliani joined Donald Trump and Donny junior at a Trump rally in Washington, D.C. near the White House. The Donald had promoted this gathering as something 'wild' and related to his seemingly phony stop the steal / election fraud fundraising claims. At the rally Trump told his supporters, numbering about 5,000 [per the park permit] to march down to the Capitol and that he'd be there with them.
I think it's safe to say that the Trump supporters who came to this event came prepared to continue to be misinformed and misled by the con men standing on the stage in front of them. After the speeches the audience mindlessly did as Trump had instructed them, and began marching toward the Capitol - but without their fearful leader [bonespurs acting up again?]. The Trumps and Giuliani were not to be found when the group arrived at the Capitol. What a surprise!
When the Trumpsters reached the barricades in front of the Capitol, the police in charge of protecting it, seemed to give way. What exactly transpired at this juncture we'll find out eventually, but one thing we do know for certain is that Trump didn't deploy as many of the National Guardsmen as he did for his tear gassing photo op with the Bible last summer. So Vice President Mike Pence had to step in to call up more National Guardsmen who eventually secured the Capitol - but not until after it had been ransacked [including one report of defecation].
Australian born Billionaire, Rupert Murdoch Seems to use the Wall St Journal, NY Post & Fox News to Create the Illusion that Trump has Some Sort of Economic Magic Touch, but the Truth is $6 Trillion in New Debt & $3 Trillion in Federal Reserve Bond Purchases
Few real journalists - if any - have ever honestly accused Rupert Murdoch and most of the large media brands he controls in our nation, of being bastions of truth. In fact, it would seem, quite the opposite - including by some of the people who work for him.
When Murdoch purchased the Wall Street Journal in 2007 [fact check], there were concerns that he would turn it into another one of his propaganda rags. Shortly after the acquisition, a number of Wall Street Journal reporters fled to Bloomberg News. In fact dozens of them. Those journalists that remained at the Wall Street Journal, had to learn how to operate for an Australian born billionaire who seems to delight in misleading the masses - rather than informing them - in order to profit from the audience's ignorance, to which Murdoch media appear to contribute greatly. Murdoch is kind of like a street hustler whose propagandists do sleight of tongue [hand] tricks, while his political accomplices [puppets like Trump & McConnell] pick the pockets of the audience [Americans].
Not Your Father's Wall Street Journal - A Murdoch Propaganda Rag?
This summer over 280 journalists at the Wall Street Journal, became concerned that Herr Murdoch - like Nazi propagandist Herr Goebbels before him - was corrupting the Wall Street Journal into a propaganda outlet, in advance of the election this November. While Murdoch's distortion of the truth in the Wall Street Journal appears to have been going on for years, the event that immediately precipitated the letter, was a misleading - even deceptive - Op Ed by Vice Presidential candidate Mike Pence.
In the letter they had a few simple requests. A July 21, 2020 report in the Wall St Journal states,
"... [The WSJ's] Opinion’s lack of fact-checking and transparency, and its apparent disregard for evidence, undermine our readers’ trust and our ability to gain credibility with sources ...”
" ... The letter cites several examples of concern, including a recent essay by Vice President Mike Pence about coronavirus infections ... "
“.. [and that] WSJ journalists should not be reprimanded for writing about errors published in Opinion ..."
"... suggests removing opinion pieces from the “Most Popular Articles” and “Recommended Videos” lists on the website, and creating a separate “Most Popular in Opinion” list..."
" ... letter highlighted was an opinion article titled “The Myth of Systemic Police Racism,” which the letter’s authors said was one of the paper’s most read articles in June. The article argued that the “charge of systemic police bias was wrong during the Obama years and remains so today.” The letter says the piece “selectively presented facts and drew an erroneous conclusion from the underlying data...”
i have reported on similar truth distortions by Rupert Murdoch's media, including Fox News, the NY Post and many other media outlets controlled by him in our section about Rupert Murdoch and the Rise of the 21st Century Propaganda Press, which you can find by clicking this link.
Triumph of The [Rupert's] Will: How Murdoch Manipulates Voter's Perceptions & Public Policy
Australian born Billionaire Appears to use his Media Outlets to Shape Voter's Views, Loading them with Misconceptions, So They'll Elect Compromised Fox Nation Pols, Who Upon Assuming Office, Seem to Reward Murdoch's Media Support, by Crafting Public Policy to Conform to Murdoch's Will, Favoring his Business Interests
As mentioned previously, I've been doing a fairly deep dive into learning as much about the Third Reich and Nazi Germany as time permits, in order to more fully understand what's happening in present day events.
Media Manipulation for Fun & Profit
I began noticing similarities between Australian born billionaire Rupert Murdoch's manipulative use of his large share of Amerian media in 2016, to what Joseph Goebbels, the Reich Minister of Propaganda for the Nazis, did beginning in the 1920's until his end in 1945. On May 1, 1945 Goebbels poisoned his children, his wife and himself as the Allied forces neared his home. Hitler and his companions had committed suicide the day before, as Allied forces invaded Berlin. None of them had the courage to stand trial for their crimes against humanity ... although like Mussolini, they may not have made it to court.
1. Did Fox 'News' Attempt to Protect the Reputation of a Propaganda Asset via Omission?
So today, we're going to look at just a few of Murdoch's media manipulations made in just the past couple of months - and I'm nearly certain that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Unfortunately, I don't have the resource to fact check what is the largest misleading news content producing organization in the nation, and possibly the free world.
Let's start with the first two photos on this page. This story broke in the Guardian on July 7, 2020.
The first photo shows Fox News 'reporting the news' regarding the sexcapades of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislane Maxwell. In the first photo, Fox News conveniently cropped out Donald Trump. In the second photo [at right] we have the 'full picture' aka the truth.
The man who calls everyone else a 'sleezeball' is seen with Melania 'being best', and two of the people alleged to be among some of the sleeziest on the planet [Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislane Maxwell]. Do birds of a feather flock together?
So we must ask why Rupert Murdoch would crop Donald Trump out of the photo? Is it to avoid portraying the Donald in a negative light in order to keep him - a Murdoch asset - in office?
Trump appears to have been a boon to billionaire Murdoch through massive billionaire tax cuts funded by debt to be paid for by America's children and unborn? Or is because Trump's actions in the Middle East vis a visIsrael seemed to serve to legitimize Murdoch's investment in Genie Energy in the illegally occupied Syrian Golan Heights? Or was it because Trump loosened up the FCC ownership limits for mega media companies like Murdoch's thus allowing the few to control our media, which givens them the power to influence the national democratic conversation - and in Murdoch's case - it seems the power to corrupt it in order to profit from it. Or was it because Trump famously fired all U.S. Attorneys, including Preet Bharara - who was investigating Murdoch's companies for sexual harrassment and phone hacking - less than 24 hours after Sean Hannity on Fox News told him to do just that? Perhaps most importantly, Trump's Attorney General Bill Barr, greenlighted the merger of Disney / ABC, which was an inverted takeover resulting in Rupert Murdoch becoming Disney / ABC's largest shareholder.
As far as I know, nobody has ever accused Rupert Murdoch of running an unbiased news operation. In fact, it's seems just the opposite, as countless people have found countless significant reporting errors by his mammoth news operation, which in the U.S. alone represents about half the large corporate branded news content viewed by Americans including Fox News, the Wall St Journal, the NY Post, Barron's, MarketWatch and increasingly ABC News where Murdoch is the largest shareholder.
What is most disturbing, is how the pinocchio propagandists on some Murdoch media outlets appear to omit key facts, in order to put forth narratives that are at odds with the truth, which are then imprinted on the minds of the millions upon millions of viewers who watch and believe what they see and hear on Fox News.
Manipulating what ends up in people's minds is exactly what Joseph Goebbels did as the Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany in the 1930's and 1940's. As in Nazi Germany, Herr Murdoch's propaganda ministry in the U.S., appears to use the media to favor some people or groups at the expense of other people and groups in its reporting. Oftentimes the groups Murdoch appears to favor break along race and economic class lines. We're going to look at how Tucker Carlson appears to have put forth a false Fascist narrative that further victimizes the African American victims of unnecessary violence at the hands of rogue policemen, whose errant behavior is defended far too often by the police unions.
To be sure, those who fall prey to such mass media manipulation, are also responsible for their own ignorance and subsequent behaviors, including their voting.
Thomas Jefferson said,
“Ignorance of the law is no excuse in any country. If it were, the laws would lose their effect, because it can always be pretended.”
We saw this pretension of ignorance and denial of responsibility by many Germans following World War II, including from those operating in influential posts with access to top levels of the Nazi high command. They pretended their ignorance, but generally the truth wills out.
I'll make my case regarding Murdoch's Fox News and Tucker Carlson's reporting of African Americans appearing to be victimized by rogue policemen on Fox News Tucker Carlson's nationally televised show. I identified a couple of shows, which were broadcast over American airwaves using a high number of FCC licenses, reaching millions upon millions of Americans who appear to have been disinformed in what seems a systematic effort by Australian born billionaire Rupert Murdoch's media to provide distorted reporting with respect to incidents of police brutality vis a vis the African American community.
Fox News & Tucker Carlson Twist the Facts to Make a Trap for Fools?
The first incident we're going to review, is Tucker Carlson's Fox News coverage of the Rayshared Brooks shooting in Atlanta on Friday, June 12th, 2020. Rayshard Brooks was a 27 year old African American and father of three who was found misparked in a Wendy's parking lot, apparently sleeping. He was found to have a blood alcohol of nearly .11 which is above the legal limit for driving of .08. Brooks was not stopped while driving, but rather after he had misparked his car in a Wendy's drive thru queue.
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bronx little italy history bronx little italy neighborhood arthur avenue shopping restaurants bronx little italy shops restaurants attractions arthur avenue bx little italy
The past couple of years I've had the opportunity to spend some time in Bronx Little Italy which is located in the Belmont neighborhood in the central Bronx. The neighborhood is just south of Fordham University and the New York Botanical Gardens and just west of the Bronx Zoo, so it's well positioned to accommodate visitors to these attractive destinations. But most of the traffic in Bronx Little Italy still comes from within the neighborhood itself, the surrounding Bronx neighborhoods, and from the greater NYC metro area neighborhoods, into which the descendants of Belmont Bronx Italian families had moved.
The heart of Bronx Little Italy runs along Arthur Avenue south of East Fordham Road / 189th Street to East 184th and Crescent Road. It also expands a bit east and west, along 187th and Crescent Road, but the epicenter is along Arthur Avenue. Arthur Avenue was named after Chester Arthur who was the 21st President of the United States [1881 - 1885].
Brief History of Little Italy in the Bronx
The Belmont section of the Bronx was once owned by the Lorillard family, who were wealthy tobacconists in the 1800's. Some of their cigarette brands included Salem, Kook and Winston, which were among the top selling cigarettes, back when it was fashionable to ingest cancer causing agents in such a manner. They named the area Belmont, which means beautiful mountain, as the neighborhood is comprised of hilly areas. In the late 1800's, as the Gilded Age ended, the Lorillard estate was broken into segments and sold off by the heirs.
According to Wikipedia the first wave of Italian immigrants starting coming to America following the unification of Italy in 1861 and ran for the latter part of that century. The second wave of Italian immigrants came between the turn of the 20th century [1900] and ending around the time of the beginning of WWII [1938 - 1940]. Many Italians flocked to the Bronx, and Arthur Avenue in the Bronx became a center of Italian food and culture. And it's been that way ever since.
One of the main attractions on Arthur Avenue is the Arthur Avenue retail market, which was founded in part by NYC Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia. LaGuardia was of Italian and Jewish descent and a reformer, who promoted the market as a means of moving street vendors off the street and inside, as outside vending was somewhat unsanitary and believed to be a health issue.
Arthur Avenue Shops & Restaurants Draw Italians Back to Belmont
Today Belmont doesn't contain the overwhelming Italian population it once did, as second and third generation Italians moved out to the suburbs on Westchester, Long Island, Staten Island and New Jersey. But that said, while the Italian families moved out, they still return to eat at the Italian restaurants and the Italian shops where you can find a selection of Italian goods hard to find anywhere else.
Some of the Italian shops have been in the family for decades to a century plus. The one I know about is Teitel, which is a dry goods / packaged goods retailer on a corner of Arthur Avenue just south of Ciccarone Park. There are a couple of Italian butcher shops that offer Italian specialty meats. A number of Italian bakeries that still make fresh Italian breads and pastries somewhere between daily and several times each week. There are a couple of fresh fish markets, offering an array of delights from the sea. And of course the Arthur Avenue Retail Market is still very much alive and well, selling fresh produce, meats, fish, dry good and other items including freshly rolled cigars.
And of course there are a wide number of Italian restaurants in the Bronx Little Italy in Belmont. A number of these have relatively speaking, new owners, but you'll still also find a number of them that have stayed in the family for a couple or more generations. But for the latter, these days you have to look a bit harder, which we're in the process of doing.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church & the Feast of St. Anthony
There's a large cathedral, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, built by the Italian families in the first two decades of the 1900's. I spoke to one of the priests there who still says a mass in Italian for the roughly one hundred Italian parishoners who frequent the church.
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The TV newspeople appear to hype weather systems, to keep viewers inside all weekend, so they'll watch TV, and boost the corporate TV ratings to generate more revenue.
You can see an example of this in the graphic at right which shows a June 13, 2019 Washington Post report where a weatherman was fired by Sinclair Broadcasting, at a Murdoch ABC News station affiliate, because the weatherman wasn't going to use 'Code Red' to hype inclement weather systems, if he didn't think they merited such labeling.
This weekend the weather system coming in this evening is expected to end by about 3 pm Saturday, so while there may be an unknown number of inches of snow on the ground in NYC in January [what a concept], it shouldn't prevent New Yorkers from enjoying at least part of the weekend. But that said, be advised that while the snow should end by 3 pm, the winds die down more slowly, lasting the remainder of Saturday. And these comments apply to activities within NYC [not Long Island nor New Jersey] as public transit may be used in lieu of an auto, and as of this report, the MTA has no plans of shutting down.
The weatherman mentioned in the graphic above, was fired for not distorting the truth, in a manner not unlike what one would expect at a state-controlled media outlet in Russia or China. Hyping weather systems out of proportion, like distorting the proportions of other stories, appears to be one of the Murdoch mass media trademark ploys to deceive / fear monger the viewers in order to win higher rating$$$, take control the national conversation and tip the scales in favor of the pols he favors and against those he does not.
Rupert Murdoch is an Australian born billionaire press lord who controls about half of America's daily national news media including Fox News, the NY Post, the Wall St. Journal and increasingly ABC News where he and two funds control about a quarter of that company's shares.
While Weather Sensationalism is Dishonest Truth Distortion, it's Relatively Harmless vis a vis Most Other News Distortions which can be Dangerous to Democracy
In Australia - where Murdoch has been operating all his life - former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd described, "Murdoch's media empire as a cancer on democracy" because of Murdoch media news omissions and distortions.
And in Britain, a Spring 2012 Parliamentary Report stated that, [Murdoch] "was not a fit person" to exercise stewardship of a major international company] because his company broke the law by tapping British citizens' private phones to get racy stories and the details of their personal tragedies in order to generate higher ratings and sell more newspapers. Murdoch denied he knew anything, blamed his underlings and then reportedly Murdoch's [Fox] Newscorp spent $1.6 BILLION in legal fees and payouts -TO DEFEND THEIR INNOCENCE?
In the graphic at right is a July 28, 2011 Guardian report stating that people working for Murdoch's company were believed to have hacked the phone of Sara Payne to publish her anguish over her daughter's murder at the hands of a pedophile. Murdoch reportedly spent $1.6 billion in settlements and legal fees to extricate the company and its officers from the corruption and scandal. But money can't buy Murdoch out of what Newscorp's actions say about his and his companies' moral compass.
De Blasio Decides Not to Run for NYS Governor, Hochul's Fundraising Haul, NYC Violent Crime Up Slightly in 2021, but NYC Homicides Still Below the National Average & To Be or Not To Be - do we want to Politicize the Guns / Violent Crime Problem or Solve it?
This morning, January 18, 2022, former NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that he will not seek the Governor's office on Twitter.
De Blasio mentioned some of his accomplishments during his eight years as Mayor including Universal Pre-K, building hundreds of thousands affordable housing units, implementing some police reforms at the NYPD to make policing fairer, and efforts to transition NYC to cleaner energy. He didn't say what his future plans were, only that he would be announcing them from his neighborhood in Brooklyn.
Governor Kathy Hochul is well positioned for the NYS Governors race this year. Hochul received the very early endorsement of the NYS Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs in October of 2021, and has raised $21.6 million since she announced her candidacy in August of 2021. It's a record for the five month period, and about the same amount of money that former Governor Andrew Cuomo had to ward off challengers in 2018. NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and 3rd District [Nassau County] Congressman Thomas Suozzi have announced their candidacies. In December of 2021, Attorney General Letitia James withdrew her candidacy, in favor of running for reelection in her current post.
On the Republican side of the race there's former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, who is running against newcomer Andrew Giuliani, who's primary claim to fame is that he is the son of Rudy, the former NYC Mayor with the same surname and Lee Zeldin, a Congressman from Long Island.
In fundraising as well as in polling, Hochul seems to have all the advantages at this point in the campaign. Her nearest competitor in polling recently done by Siena would have been de Blasio, who had 12% of the vote versus Hochul's 46%. NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams was next with 11% and Suozzi with 6%. The Suozzi campaign has about $5 million in campaign funding, $2 million of which was transferred from his congressional campaign. Republican Astorino has about $1.3 million, and none of the other contestants released their funding.
A number of snide comments were made in the wake of Hochul's record haul and competitive fundraising position for the upcoming June primary. She was compared to Cuomo with allusions to the possibility of corruption, but nothing specific was provided to support those insinuations.
De Blasio's announcement came as I was working on an update report on NYC crime. Unfortunately, the NYPD doesn't publish a December monthly report, like they do every other month, so it's more challenging to do a year end tally. Hence, this report won't be as comprehensive as some of the others I've done the past couple of years, and will instead focus mostly on shootings and the murder rate.
NYC Crime Statistics for 2021
Thefts Down Significantly / Murders Up Slightly & Still Below the National Average / Most Other Crimes up in Low to Mid Single Digits with Some Exceptions ...
The outlier in the year end crime stats, which were up slightly from 2020, was that thefts were down almost 19%. This may have something to do with the fact that fewer people are out and about, so thieves have fewer to prey upon and the victims have fewer distractions and events where thefts may occur.
As for other salient changes in the main categories, Grand Larceny was up about 12% while Grand Larceny Auto was up 14%, Other (than rape) Sex Crimes were up 30%, Misdemeanour Assault was up 10%, and Hate Crimes were up 93%. It's worth noting that only murders and hate crimes are counted in the hundreds - not thousands.
The murders in NYC were up slightly in 2021 versus 2020. Note that the graph at right is for the entire nation and in 2020 - not 2021. The purpose is so that you can have context in evaluating where we are and what's going on.
In 2021 the preliminary murder rate in the U.S. was about 6.6 per 100,000 people [21,750 / 330M], while the murder rate in NYC was 5.5 per 100,000 people [485 / 8.8M]. Prior to the pandemic, in 2018, the murder rate in the U.S. was 4.96 per 100,000 people [WorldPopulationReview.com], and the murder rate in NYC was 289 victims [8.4M population] or 3.4 per 100,000 people, which was the lowest on record. In 2012, during former Mayor Bloomberg's last year as NYC Mayor, the murder rate had fallen to 414 [8.2M] or about 5.0 per 100,000 people.
So with our larger population [8.8M vs 8.2M], NYC experienced a bit higher murder rate in former Mayor de Blasio's last year in office, versus former Mayor Bloomberg's last year in office. And for de Blasio this was in the midst of the pandemic amid record gun sales.
Moderate Democrat Eric Adams sailed to victory Tuesday to become NYC's second African American Mayor. Democrat David Dinkins was the first. With 78% of the precincts reporting Adams won 676,481 votes to Sliwa's 293,127.
Democrat Jumaane Williams was re-elected Public Advocate, garnering 598,810 votes which was nearly 69% of the total, with 93% of the scanners reporting.
Progressive Democrat Brad Lander won the NYC Comptroller position, winning 604,000 of the votes, or 70% of the vote with 93% of the scanners counted.
And Democrat Alvin Bragg won the Manhattan District Attorney office, garnering 183,000 votes or 83% of the total.
Four of the five Borough Presidencies were won by Democrats. In Manhattan Mark Levine handily won the borough presidency with 181,000 votes or 85% of the total, with 93% of scanners counted. In Queens Donovan Richards handily won re-election, winning 160,000 votes or 66% of the total, with 79% of the precincts reporting. In Brooklyn Antonio Reynoso also won handily, winning 217,000 votes or 73% of the total, with 78% of the precincts reporting. In the Bronx Vanessa Gibson took in 80,000 votes which was 80% of the total, with 72% of the precincts reporting.
And on Staten Island, the only Republican to win a Borough Presidency, Vito Fossella, won 60,000 votes or 60% of the total, with 87% of the precincts reporting.
This Report Provides an Update on Why the Downward Trend in CoVid Infections Swung Back Up, the Science Behind the Vaccine Breakthrough Infections, the Lamda & Delta Variants, the Precautionary Wisdom of Continuing to Wear Masks & the Impact of Murdoch Controlled News Outlets Continuous Stream of Mass Media Disinformation
Is it the Patriotic Duty of Every Eligible American to Get Vaccinated?
August 9, 2021 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC during the CoVid Pandemic / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
I reckon we all wish it weren't so, but CoVid 19 has been resurging with a vengeance these past couple of months, fueled largely by the Delta variant, which at the beginning of May 2021, accounted for less than 10% of U.S. new cases, while today it accounts for more than 90% of all new U.S. CoVid infections. What's most disturbing about this new trend is that even fully vaccinated people can catch the Delta variant, which was largely NOT the case with the original strain [alpha] of CoVid. The infections that are picked up by fully vaccinated people are called 'breakthrough' infections, because they have broken through the immunity protection provided by the vaccines.
In the graphic at right, note the large light blue at the right of the graphic, which denoted the Delta variant of CoVid which grew from almost nothing in May, to almost every new CoVid case in the U.S. in August.
The Delta Variant has Changed So Significantly, Hence the New CoVid Reign of Terror
I found a chart that I found of great interest in an August 5, 2021 story in the Gothamist, which was acquired by NPR in 2018. The chart shows how the original CoVid is almost non-existent in the U.S. today, while the Delta variant has risen to represent over 90% of all new cases.
The vaccines were developed to address the original CoVid stain, as the Delta variant - as noted above - didn't become a real factor until about May of this year. Thus, the vaccines efficacy in preventing CoVid has been significantly reduced, but thankfully the vaccines are still very effective in preventing the worst possible outcomes which are hospitalizations and death.
I attended the 10th annual NY Real Estate Expo at the New York Hilton last week. The event was well attended by hundreds of real estate, development and financial professionals from the NYC and metro area. Anthony Kazazis, Director of the event, had organized a series of panels to discuss key aspects affecting the real estate market ranging from software platforms, to financing, to NYC real estate market assessments.
Generally the mood was upbeat, but not without some concern about the future, given changes in the tax laws, foreign interest in NYC investment, interest rates forecasts and technological challenges facing the industry. But, I thought, that is why everyone is here. To find out what's going on so they can navigate the market changes - rather than be surprised by them.
While I had intended to stay only a short while, I found the topics and panelists too interesting to leave, so I stayed most of the day. I started with a discussion of a new information technology platform called Blockchain, which is intended to serve as an information clearing house, and it includes some artificial intelligence capability. I then found my way into a discussion about New York City versus Silicon Valley with respect to attracting large technology companies like Amazon, Facebook and Google. And I ended my visit after listening in on a discussion by NYC and metro area realtors discuss the residential real estate market in Manhattan and outer boroughs.
Sound like an interesting NYC real estate conference? It was. In the photo above you can see the audience at the well attended panel discussions at the NY Real Estate Expo this year.
January 27, 2023 / 
January 20, 2023 / 
On Sunday from 11 am - 3.30 pm there's a Chinese Lunar New Year Firecracker celebration in Sara Roosevelt Park at Chrystie and Forsyth on the Lower East Side in East Chinatown.
The Chinese Lunar New Year in celebration of the year of the rabbit begins Sunday, January 22, 2022 and runs through February 9th, 2023. There will be celebrations throughout NYC and we'll update you beginning this weekend and beyond. Details coming.
On Saturday January 21, 2023 from 10 am - 1 pm there's a family friend workshop where you can create a fan for lunar new year at Wave Hill at 4900 Independence Avenue in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx. It's Free w/ admission to the grounds. For details see www.wavehill.org or https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/wave-hill/events/2023/01/21/family-art-project-fan-for-lunar-new-year1
* Since March of 2020, we've been in a bit of a pandemic spin. The 2020 pandemic essentially halted most hospitality businesses and softened demand for some services, but drove high demand for both durable and non-durable goods. This is on the demand side. Meanwhile on the supply side, businesses were closing down, or working at far less than capacity, because of the health impact of the pandemic. For example in China, they didn't just appear to shutter businesses, but almost entire cities, to curb the spread of CoVid. China is where much of our electronics are made so this impacted the availability / supply of electronics at a time when Americans were spending more on them, because they weren't traveling, vacationing or even eating out much, so they had extra cash to spend on items, most notably electronics.
And the expansive monetary policy, which was executed by taking the federal funds interest rate to nearly zero in March of 2020, and by pushing $4 trillion cash into the economy via purchases of bonds, wasn't reined in for years, and that withdrawal finally began in 2022. We'll discuss this more further down in this report.
* In 2021 things began to normalize as vaccinations rolled out and we began to gain a better understanding of how to mitigate the health impact of the CoVid pandemic. But the year wasn't a straight line out of the pandemic, as the new variants continued to wreak havoc with our collective assessment of how risky it would be to return to normal.
Putin's military intervention / disruption, of course added risk to the global economy. Especially in two key segments of the economy which includes food and energy. Russia supplies about 12% of the world's oil, and along with Ukraine accounts for about a third of the world's wheat and barley. Hence Putin's war added significant inflationary pressure to both energy and food.
To summarize what I laid out above, there were swings in demand fueled by lifestyle changes caused by the pandemic, including generous fiscal spending by the U.S. government. And there were significant supply side swings in capacity, which were driven by worker availability arising from health concerns.
What's next is a look at a multitude of economic statistics with some nominal interpretation of what I expect to happen, all things being equal [meaning no further major disruptions], in 2023.
Businesses and Households balance sheets also improved, in part because of stimulus funds and in part because spending was held back on services, like travel and hospitality, during the pandemic. Spending came roaring back in 2021, as the pandemic began to fade, but in 2022 it has subsided considerably. Most recently, retail sales were down about 1% in December of 2022, so the economy is definitely cooling.
So far the strong job market, with rising compensation, and up until 2022, a rising stock and housing market, added to Americans' confidence and contributed to robust spending in 2021 [see chart at right].
If I were Jerome Powell, I would increase the Fed Funds rate a .25% at the next FOMC [Federal Open Market Committee] meeting at the end of January and signal that I might be done. And the only reason I would raise if .25% is because the market expects that and I wouldn't want to spook them, not because the economy needs further braking.
China has rolled back its restrictive CoVid policies. This will increase the supply of semiconductors, which should reduce price pressures in categories such as vehicles and electronics, which account for about 3% of the 8% of inflation we experienced in 2022 [light and dark blues of the chart below right].
And food, also experienced inflation due not just to the war in the Ukraine, but also climate change weather disruptions of drought and damaging storms. In the chart below right that's denoted in green and represents about 1% of the inflation last year.
Disinfo
January 13, 2023 / 
This weekend the City Parks Day Department is hosting a Day of Service. See details for times and locations at www.nycparks.gov.
January 5, 2023 / 
January 5, 2023 / 
On Friday there's a Three Kings Day Parade and celebration from 11 am - 2 pm at the Museo del Barrio at 1230 5th Avenue [at 104th / 105th Street] on the UES. They are also hosting a post holiday sale at their gift shop with 15% off most items. For details see - https://www.elmuseo.org/
The Third Avenue holiday market at 2817 3rd Avenue between 148th and 149th Streets is open for its final day on Friday, January 6th from 11 am - 7 pm.
January 1, 2023 / 
December 23, 2022 / 
The Lightscape Show at the Brooklyn Museum continues through the holidays.
NYC Weather. There's going to be some semi-serious precipitation [at present 2 plus inches] beginning Thursday afternoon around 4 pm, continuing until Friday about 4 pm. The temperatures are expected to rise to well above freezing, so it's almost certain to be rain in the city. As for the rest of the week, no rain Monday through Wednesday, and none is expected Saturday and Sunday, as folks head home for the holidays.
As you likely heard, we are in the midst of experiencing a 'tripledemic'. The triple refers to CoVid, flu and RSV. RSV is short for respiratory syncytial virus, which is a virus that causes symptoms like those associated with a cold, but which can cause serious negative health issues for infants and the elderly. As usual, the TV news teleprompter readers and their writers appear to report whatever they're told, without actually thinking about the information they're conveying. And since they're in the business of attracting viewers' and readers' attention, they seem to have a tendency to sensationalize almost everything they report, including the weather.
Understanding what's happening with the flu this season in NYS, also doesn't seem to be intelligently reported, as the TV news teleprompter readers and their script writers all seem to parrot one another with some alarming statistics. Alarming the public is good for ratings, so I reckon the broadcasters are doing what their bosses want them to do, but like the Boy Who Called Wolf, they're doing a disservice to the public and in the long term eventually a disservice to themselves, as the public is going to ignore them when another real health emergency arises.
What happened since CoVid began in earnest in early 2020, is that people started masking up, social distancing and self-isolating. All of these precautions not only mitigate the transmission of CoVid - but also the flu. In part this is why the 2020 - 2021 flu numbers were close to nothing, and the 2021 - 2022 numbers were also very much subdued. Now, as we are in the beginning of the 2022 - 2023 flu season, the flu appears to be picking up where it left off in early 2020, before CoVid hit.
On the NYC.gov Health website I noticed that the number of Emergency Department visits for Influenza Like Illnesses, which they shorthand to ILL, have risen dramatically from 2021 to 2022, as have admissions - BUT the Emergency Department Admissions vis a vis the visits as a percentage has dropped to about half in 2022, versus what they were in 2021. That said, the overall number of people admitted for flu increased fairly substantially. See charts.
On April, 27, 2020 USA Today published the results of an investigation into whether hospitals were paid more for CoVid patients on a ventillator than for flu patients on a ventillator. The higher payments for CoVid patients was true, but the study didn't find any 'gaming the system' on the part of hospitals. What's meant by this is that USA Today didn't find any falsification of data by hospitals in order to obtain the higher CoVid payment for the use of their ventillator. As you can see from the chart provided by KFF, which is a non-profit focused on providing healthcare information, about $31 billion in federal government spending was targeted at providing relief to healthcare providers treating patients with CoVid.
New Cases / Hospitalizations / Deaths. In NYC we've been seeing about 300 new cases per day and on average there are about 4,000 people in NYC who have contracted and are living with CoVid. Also in NYC, as of today, about 130 patients are in the hospital with CoVid, and about a dozen folks died of it within the past day. About 14% of those tested at NYC clinics and hospitals tested positive for CoVid, but these numbers don't include the at home tests, so I don't know how meaningful a statistic the % testing positive is anymore.
Ethnicity. Murdoch's Fox News / America's Disinformation Network Seems to be Dumbing Down White New Yorkers. Given George Washington, nearly 250 years ago, mandated that his troops be vaccinated, one would think that people today would recognize the value of protecting one's health via vaccinations. On many news programs, and for many measured categories, pundits use Whites as a sort of established national standard, when evaluating the progress being made by people in other demographic groups. Historically Whites have come out on top, because they've been members of the governing class, and the ethnic majority since this nation's founding.
Murdoch media outlets have the predominant share of media in NYC, as Murdoch controls the Fox TV network, Fox 5, WNYW Channel 9, the Wall St Journal and the NY Post. Many of these Murdoch's outlets have done their audiences a disservice by not properly informing them vis a vis vaccines and vaccinations, in spite of the CoVid policies the company has implemented for itself [so Mr. Murdoch wants us to listen to his pundits as they say one thing & pay no attention to what Mr. Murdoch & Cos do, which is quite another thing].
1. Stay up to date on your CoVid vaccinations. As time goes on and this abates, perhaps we can back off this regimen and like flu, it will be something we'll vaccinate against as we age.
December 16, 2022 / 
* On Sunday at 3.30 pm the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center hosts a performance of the Nutcracker ballet in LIC. Tickets are $21 at https://www.lpac.nyc.
So, when I heard that the strike was actually happening on Thursday late afternoon, I dropped everything and headed down to the New York Times office building in Midtown Manhattan. I had a hunch that the strikers would be disbanding - if not gone - by the time the TV news ended at 7 pm. 
The union, which won't negotiate with management in person, incited the strike to prod management into moving forward with the contract renewal negotiations on a contract that expired in March of 2021. The negotiations included the fate of the pension vis a vis a 401K, medical benefits - specifically fertility insurance coverage, flex time for working in / out of the office, and of course pay. 
December 10, 2022 / 
On Saturday, from 11.30 am - 3.30 pm in Astoria, along Steinway Street between 31st and 38th Streets, Mr. & Mrs. Santa Claus will be giving out gifts while supplies last and there will holiday entertainment and displays.
December 2, 2022 / 
November 25, 2022 / 
November 18, 2022 / 
Manhattan
November 11, 2022 / 
November 4, 2022 / 
* Sunday, November 6, 2022 at 2 am - Daylight Savings Time. This may be the last year where we will 'fall back' by moving our clocks back one hour starting at 2 am Sunday or before going to bed Saturday night.
The origins of Thanksgiving Day in the United States began with one of America’s first settlements, founded by the risk-taking, resource-pooling, hardworking, spiritual community of Pilgrims. The Pilgrims were early English settlers who arrived on American shores in the early 17th century [1600’s]. They came here because they wanted a measure of freedom and self-determination that they were forbidden in Europe or what was called the ‘old country’. The Pilgrims wanted to practice their faith, unencumbered, in a way that differed from the established Church of England. They pooled their money to obtain a ship, the Mayflower, to cross the Atlantic in mid September of 1620, landing on America's shores at Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts on November 9, 1620.
October 28, 2022 / 
October 26, 2022 / Local Government & Politics / National Government & Politics / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
September 23, 2022 / 
On Saturday, the Global Citizen Concert returns to the Great Lawn in Central Park which lies between 5th Avenue and Central Park West and between 72nd Street and 86th Street. The gates open at 2 pm and the concert begins at 4 pm. You must bring printed tickets as mobile tickets are not being accepted. Admission $250 - $299 via www.ticketmaster.com. For further details on the concert see https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/festival/nyc/2022/
NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the low 80's on Tuesday & Wednesday, dropping to the low 70's on Thursday and the mid 60's on Friday., The temperature lows will rise from the mid 60's on Monday & Tuesday to the low 70's on Wednesday, and then fall into the mid to low 50's on Thursday and Friday. The winds will be 10 - 15 mph all week. The humidity will be 55% - 65% all week, except on Friday when it falls to 45% - 55%. There's a small chance of a small amount of rain in Thursday, with the probability gone by mid afternoon.
September 13, 2022 / 
On Wednesday, September 7th the Catholic schools in NYC reopen for the new school year.
August 12, 2022 / 
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August 9, 2022 / 
July 29, 2022 / 
June 24, 2022 / 
On March 17, 2022 the NYS CoVid general restrictions under the H.E.R.O. Act expired. The expiration did not include the masks mandate requirement on NYC & NYS public transit. 
May 29, 2022 / 
In the photo at right is just one of thousands of artworks for sale in a prior year at the Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit which begins Saturday and runs through Monday.
May 17, 2022 / 
April 29, 2022 / 
April 13, 2022 / 
April 4, 2022 /
See for yourself on these two WSJ pages before they hopefully have the decency or shame to take it down.
The current NYC vaccination rate is 77%, with another 9% having received at least one dose [86%]. The current NYS vaccination rate is 75%, with another 12% having received at least one dose [87%]. The current U.S. vaccination rate is 65%, with another 12% having received at least one dose [77%].
For the United States the same rates are 8% positive new cases [this is a week old number compared to the others herein], about 84,878 new cases, about 8,642 hospitalizations [this is a week old number compared to the others herein] and 1,964 daily deaths.
February 7, 2022 / 
As I walked and listened I looked around at all of the policemen gathered in honor of a fellow member of the fraternal order of policemen – not just of New York City but of NYS - and for that matter - the U.S. All of the police men and women were standing, some standing silently listening to the speeches, while others made small talk with each other, between the speeches, about their kids, their families, their jobs, their departments [homicide / detectives / street patrolmen], cars and boats, as well as chatting about which police department or organization they represented.
I noticed the badges sewn to their coats, representing Trenton and Teaneck New Jersey, Suffolk and Nassau Counties, New York State, and of course the NYPD, as well as a smattering of policemen from more distant communities. They projected a sense of sadness and courtesy, as I made my way through the crowd. I sensed that they must also have felt some measure of comfort, standing there, side by side with others like themselves, knowing that they are supported by so many others who share their sense of duty, ready to face down danger.
February 7, 2022 / 
The cost to us, the American people [the British and Australians as well] is that many critical issues are never properly addressed by the government officials selected by Murdoch, because his favored pols are generally chosen and supported based on what they will do for the totally self-serving billionaire - not the public. Hence Murdoch pols don't appear to reflect the people's will, but rather are chosen because Murdoch mass media outlets have manipulated the views of enough voters via their distorted daily Murdoch mass media 'news' intake, to enable Murdoch's favored pols to get elected. Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels employed these same kind of tactics, on an unsuspecting public, back in the early 1930's, in Germany.
Reining in the guns used in violent crime in NYC, is one of many such issues that seem to be given Murdoch's special brand of propagandistic 'news' treatment. Murdoch's news outlets' reports appear to pander to gun owners and the NRA [5.5 million members], who are outspoken and generally against gun control. According to a November 13, 2020 report by Gallup, about 32% of Americans own a gun and about 44% live in a household where there is a gun owner. Hence, gun owners represent a fairly sizeable block of Murdoch's mass media audience, and his news reports pander to them, just as the pander to other voting blocks that Murdoch media seek to manipulate.
January 28, 2022 / 
In Australia - where Murdoch has been operating all his life - former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd described, "Murdoch's media empire as a cancer on democracy" because of Murdoch media news omissions and distortions.
Updated January 26 from 1/24/2022 / 
Last week, after several rounds of bidding, a consortium of investors, including SNL Comedians Pete Davidson & Colin Jost; Architect, Developer & Contractor Ron Castellano; and Night Club Owner Paul Italia purchased a 2,100 ton de-commissioned Staten Island ferry boat - the JFK - for $280,100. The purchase prices was only $100 above the next nearest bid, after the price doubled during the bidding process - up from $125,000 - after the starting bid had to be lowered from $250,000 because of a lack of early interest.
January 18, 2022 / 
The outlier in the year end crime stats, which were up slightly from 2020, was that thefts were down almost 19%. This may have something to do with the fact that fewer people are out and about, so thieves have fewer to prey upon and the victims have fewer distractions and events where thefts may occur.
January 3, 2022 / 
December 27, 2021 / 
How is it that network TV news, still a primary source of information in this nation - and the only source by many of the uneducated - can get a story so wrong?
In the graphic at right you see a headline from FT, which is the Financial Times of London, noting how something that should be common sense has become a political hot potato. At the end of this update on the Omicron variant, we'll take a look at how science and the truth are being distorted by millionaires and billionaire(s) in what appears an attempt to manipulate voters perceptions. The goal is to change the perceptions of their viewers enough, so their viewers will vote for the candidates chosen by the propaganda billionaire and his friends. The end game is, of course, getting the billionaire / propaganda machine selected pols into office, so they can fill their pockets with the taxpayers' money, and obtain legislative changes that are anti-democratic.
A testament to the Omicron variants transmissibility is that on Friday, December 17, 2021 NYS saw its highest number of new CoVid cases [21,027] in a single day since the pandemic began according to an New York Times report. In NYC the infection rate nearly doubled in just three days, rising from 3.9% to 7.8% from Thursday, December 9 to December 12, 2021 according to a December 16, 2021 NBC report.
The first Omicron virus case was first detected on November 8, 2021 in South Africa. The first case detected in the U.S. was in San Francisco on November 22, 2021. Four days later, on November 26, 2021, the World Health Organization [WHO] designated Omicron a CoVid variant [B1.1.529]. As of December 5, 2021 there were eight Omicron cases in NYS, most of which were found in NYC.
June 11, 2018 / 
There was food, shopping, music, entertainment and dancing at the street fair on Saturday, and minus the food and shopping, the music, dancing and entertainment were also on display at the huge Puerto Rican parade in Manhattan on Sunday. Numerous floats as well as marching groups of dancers and musicians and social groups joined together to make the parade one long display of Puerto Rica's eclectic mix of African, Latin and American cultures.
June 19, 2019 / 
The photo at right, showing the Corpus Christi Monastery in the Bronx, was collected by the Museum of the City of New York and dated circa 1920.
February 22, 2021 / 
September 21, 2021 / 
August 31, 2021 / 
So we're going to take a look at a number of the NYC crime statistics, and then follow up with an analytical look at some of the issues driving gun related violence, before closing with a look at the distorted, deceitful and destructive coverage provided by Murdoch's Fox News & Propaganda.
The graphic at right shows what is called the 'Iron Pipeline' which is Interestate 95 which runs from New York to Florida. This interestate highway is used to transport guns / weapons across state lines from mostly red Republican controlled states with lax gun control laws to blue states that have passed stronger gun control laws.
Somehow amidst the din of Murdoch mass media hyped criticism, the real headline was buried.
In the reporting over the past month or so I DID NOT SEE EVEN ONE REFERENCE TO THE RUSSIAN WITHDRAWAL from Afghanistan in the 1980’s. NOT ONE! Why does that matter?
Australian born billionaire, Rupert Murdoch - as is too often the case - led the rest of the mindless mass media, like the Pied Piper. On August 15, 2021, the Wall St. Journal published an OpEd by the ‘Editorial Board’. The ‘Editorial Board’ appears to be the pen name of billionaire Rupert Murdoch who owns and controls the paper. The ‘Editorial Board’ said published the narrative that Biden was incompetent and had messed things up, with scant reference to history or a holistic presentation of the facts.
August 3, 2021 / 
May 17, 2021 /
On Wednesday, January 6, 2021, Rudy Giuliani joined Donald Trump and Donny junior at a Trump rally in Washington, D.C. near the White House. The Donald had promoted this gathering as something 'wild' and related to his seemingly phony stop the steal / election fraud fundraising claims. At the rally Trump told his supporters, numbering about 5,000 [per the park permit] to march down to the Capitol and that he'd be there with them.
September 4, 2020 / 
So today, we're going to look at just a few of Murdoch's media manipulations made in just the past couple of months - and I'm nearly certain that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Unfortunately, I don't have the resource to fact check what is the largest misleading news content producing organization in the nation, and possibly the free world.
January 21, 2020 / Belmont Neighborhood Bx / Bronx Shopping NYC / Bronx Restaurants NYC / Bronx Buzz NYC.
The Belmont section of the Bronx was once owned by the Lorillard family, who were wealthy tobacconists in the 1800's. Some of their cigarette brands included Salem, Kook and Winston, which were among the top selling cigarettes, back when it was fashionable to ingest cancer causing agents in such a manner. They named the area Belmont, which means beautiful mountain, as the neighborhood is comprised of hilly areas. In the late 1800's, as the Gilded Age ended, the Lorillard estate was broken into segments and sold off by the heirs.
Today Belmont doesn't contain the overwhelming Italian population it once did, as second and third generation Italians moved out to the suburbs on Westchester, Long Island, Staten Island and New Jersey. But that said, while the Italian families moved out, they still return to eat at the Italian restaurants and the Italian shops where you can find a selection of Italian goods hard to find anywhere else.
There's a large cathedral, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, built by the Italian families in the first two decades of the 1900's. I spoke to one of the priests there who still says a mass in Italian for the roughly one hundred Italian parishoners who frequent the church.
January 28, 2022 / 
In Australia - where Murdoch has been operating all his life - former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd described, "Murdoch's media empire as a cancer on democracy" because of Murdoch media news omissions and distortions.
January 18, 2022 / 
The outlier in the year end crime stats, which were up slightly from 2020, was that thefts were down almost 19%. This may have something to do with the fact that fewer people are out and about, so thieves have fewer to prey upon and the victims have fewer distractions and events where thefts may occur.
August 9, 2021 / 
I found a chart that I found of great interest in an August 5, 2021 story in the Gothamist, which was acquired by NPR in 2018. The chart shows how the original CoVid is almost non-existent in the U.S. today, while the Delta variant has risen to represent over 90% of all new cases.
