Looking forward to this. Now let's see if they get the mustard right..... — Marcus on A Pretzel Chain Is Opening Here

I hope you mean "the first 30-60 minutes" after purchase, not "the first 30-60 minutes" of opening day! — Marcus on A Pretzel Chain Is Opening Here

Lol, are you also upset that it's expense pedestrians don't have to pay? Leave your 100 sq ft vehicle in a public place, but are upset there's a fee... — Tyson White on The City Is Jacking Up Parking-Meter Rates Around Here

I heard those pretzels are amazing. Excited for new options for snacking. Food has become boring lately... — Ralph on A Pretzel Chain Is Opening Here

https://www1.nyc.gov/site/mome/about/contact-us.page — Robert Ripps on Seen & Heard: Some of Spring Street Park Is Open

That would be fine for some businesses, but for a preschool? My neighbor also told me that most of their leadership left. — Concerned on Reade Street Prep Is Opening a Second Preschool Campus

Ms. Turner has not sold her apartment, per ACRIS. — James on In the News: The Tent & Trails Building Was Sold

“It is a miracle that New York works at all,” wrote E.B. White in his famous paean to the city. “The whole thing is implausible.” Capital of the World https://www.thenation.com/article/capital-of-the-world/ — Marcus on The City Wants to Build a 40-Story Jail on Worth Street

Truly sometimes it's a wonder this city functions at all. We seem to all be part of some misguided social experiment. Do we get the government we deserve? — Marcus on The City Wants to Build a 40-Story Jail on Worth Street

"Rikers island" is going to become Billionaires island. our Mayor wants to put affordable housing above a jail. Let see the Outcome only in New York City. — Tammay Morton on The City Wants to Build a 40-Story Jail on Worth Street

I've been wondering that, too. "Unfortunately we have no further updates at this time," was the response to my inquiry. Make of that what you will. — Erik Torkells on Reade Street Prep Is Opening a Second Preschool Campus

the hearst building isn't really a fair comparison. the original masterpiece by joseph urban was designed to be the base of a skyscraper. the depression stopped hearst from completing it. gutting buildings and keeping the facade is downright creepy. either preserve them or demolish them. — safe as milk on The City Wants to Build a 40-Story Jail on Worth Street

There is a pretty good Impossible Burger at Mudville, if you're looking for one in the neighborhood! — mg on Seen & Heard: Shake Shack Unveiled

They are really really good within the first 30-60 minutes and then fall off until the next day you have a rock. — Eddie Dantes on A Pretzel Chain Is Opening Here

Con side of the argument (pun intended), about the plan for closing Rikers https://www.city-journal.org/html/shuttering-rikers-15878.html https://qns.com/story/2018/03/09/no-advantages-closing-rikers-island-two-queens-officials-say-prison-panel/ https://www.lawenforcementtoday.com/closing-rikers-island-tough-cell/ — James on The City Wants to Build a 40-Story Jail on Worth Street

Yes! Finally we might be able to get decent pretzels in NYC. (At least i hope these are good). — Marcus on A Pretzel Chain Is Opening Here

Let's look at some numbers Estimated cost of this 'ambitious project': $13.9 billion Projected savings; $1.4 billion annually First, multiply cost by at least a factor of 2 (It's NYC, after all; see "Oculus") to $28 billion. At a savings of $1.4 billion annually, it would require 20 years just to recoup the investment. That's 20 years without savings, and under best conditions. In 20 years the facility will probably begin to deteriorate and require more investment, upgrades, and spiralling costs. Are the savings estimates even realistic? New facility with all sorts of service upgrades sounds like it might end up being more expensive to run. If the savings are based on the projected reduction of inmate population, that's irrelevant, as such reduction could be undertaken without moving Rikers, and certainly without moving it to the city. From the article it sounds like a lot of those savings are just such : "They suggest ending the practice of incarcerating those awaiting trial for nonviolent crimes and reclassifying some low-level offenses..A central tenet of the report calls for reducing the number of inmates in the city to 5,000" Again, not a savings due to the Rikers relocation project at all. We could just as well reduce the population at Rikers as at a new facility. Is the study truly unbiased? Has anyone done the hard investigative research to make sure? Source: (New York Times article, 'Rikers Island Commission Unveils Plan to Shut Down Jail Complex', April 2 2017) https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/02/nyregion/rikers-island-jail-closure-plan.html — Marcus on The City Wants to Build a 40-Story Jail on Worth Street

You said it, in far less words than I! — Marcus on The City Wants to Build a 40-Story Jail on Worth Street

Thank you for the information. Some facts there, but also what sound like many opinions, unjustified assertions, and irrelevant issues. "Rikers’ facilities and design are woefully antiquated and unsafe." If so, improve the facilities, or build a new facility if necessary, but not in an already densely utilized area. "The conditions for incarcerated individuals are deplorable and negatively impact both detainees and staff. The poor layout encourages bad behavior and exacerbates problems, such as poor physical and mental health." Without evidence given, these assertions are difficult to ascertain. How to prove or disprove such claims without more information? More to the point, again, this does not justify moving to downtown NYC or any other populated area. 'Moreover, the very location of Rikers… impedes the fair and efficient administration of justice. The location has a negative impact on the individuals most directly affected and the justice system as a whole, including: payment of bail; meetings with lawyers; the ability to connect with family members and loved ones; and traveling to and from court on time. The difficulty in getting to Rikers deters family members from visiting.' As others mentioned, access can be addressed via online communications or telephone. The convenience of physical access has to be weighed against the other costs of closing the facility, building and opening a new one, and the community and ongoing costs of operating such a facility in a densely utilized and populated area like downtown NYC. Is the implication that unjust court decisions are handed down due to the location of Rikers? That's quite a strong causal claim. Whether this access problem indeed so affects the "administration of justice" would require serious evidence and proof. "Finally, the current fiscal cost of incarcerating an individual in a city jail is now approximately $270,876 a year, or $742 a day..." How will closing Rikers, building a new facility in expensive NYC, reduce this cost? First there is the cost of the closure, design, construction; then the ongoing costs of running the new facility. Where is the evidence that this individual cost will be reduced? I would bet a shiny nickel that the cost will increase. "We recognize that any plan will require the building of alternative facilities." Not obvious at all. Even if so, again, such a facility can be built on Rikers, or in an area similarly removed from the general population. "However, building new facilities presents an opportunity to re-think design so as to provide for increased safety, a healthier environment for detainees and staff, and more on-site programming, such as mental health, job training and reentry services." All that sounds expensive. Are we still to believe that this project will save money/ 'It is clear that any investment now will result in significant financial savings as the number of incarcerated individuals declines [because of other initiatives]…" Irrelevant, as even admitted by the "other initiatives". Reduction of the prison population can occur with or without the Rikers move and re-design. Reduction of the "number of incarcerated individuals" itself sounds suspicious, unless the reduction is actually due to improved behavior of the population. One might suspect it's largely a numbers game to make the crime statistics seem lower, by deciding to no longer enforce certain laws, downgrading offenses, failing to or choosing not to arrest, etc. But again, that debate is neither here not there as regards the issue under consideration here, the closure and moving of Rikers. Of course the issues regarding "administration of justice" and functioning of the facility must be researched and considered. However, that's just one side of the equation. Any such decision must also include serious, unbiased, studies and plans regarding affects on the city and immediate communities and neighborhoods, including costs, traffic, and especially safety. This requires full public disclosure of all details, and public debate and influence on the final decision. (Again this is not a NIMBY, but a NIABY issue. Unless proven that this relocation can be done without undue cost to the neighborhood and city, especially in terms of safety to the community, and that the benefits outweigh any costs, it sounds like an island is just about the best place for such a facility.) — Marcus on The City Wants to Build a 40-Story Jail on Worth Street

The bicycle memorial on Walker was installed in early June. — Elisa on Seen & Heard: Shake Shack Unveiled

How about NIABY? (Not in Anyone's Back Yard)? Could you stand by that? Keep the facility on Rikers, or move it to another location just as remote from any residential area. — Marcuss on The City Wants to Build a 40-Story Jail on Worth Street

Agreed. This is very cheap, after all, for monopolizing a piece of NYC real estate. There is no universal right to cheap, or actually any, on-street parking. If it does anything to help reduce traffic congestion, noise, pollution, and the safety hazards incurred by so many incompetent and/or irresponsible drivers, then it sounds like a good thing to me. — Marcus on The City Is Jacking Up Parking-Meter Rates Around Here

The memorialized cyclist was probably 48-year-old Yan Jindee, who was run over by the driver of a box truck that turned onto Broadway from Walker St around 5:45 pm Thurs, Sept 14, 2017. More here: https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2017/09/15/nypd-no-criminality-suspected-after-turning-box-truck-driver-kills-cyclist-in-tribeca/ — Charles Komanoff on Seen & Heard: Shake Shack Unveiled

Julie Menin is the Commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Film and TV. She is a Tribecan, as you may know. I have called and written the office before. If you can demonstrate that your block is overused for productions, or that the film crew overstepped, tell her. Ideally, take photos of the placard and the crew's error. Once or twice, before her tenure, they suspended use of my very overused block for a year or two. — Heide Fasnacht on Seen & Heard: Some of Spring Street Park Is Open

From the Green Book: MEDIA ENTERTAINMENT, MAYOR'S OFFICE OF(MOME) 1 Centre St., New York, NY, 10007 (212) 602-7400 http://NYC.gov/mome OFFICE OF FILM THEATRE BROADCASTING 1697 Broadway, 6th Fl., New York, NY 10019 (212) 489-6710 Fax (212) 307-6237 http://NYC.gov/mome — James on Seen & Heard: Shake Shack Unveiled