The Ball Must Come Down But It Should Not Bounce

As final preparations are put into place to greet 2013, a million people are expected in Times Square tonight.  All there and those watching through other media sources will be focused on the work of master rigger, Tony Calvano.  He’s the man given the responsibility of dropping the ball at 11:59pm to usher in the new year.  Mayor Bloomberg and the Rockettes will push a button to signal Tony to begin the ball’s descent (The mayor always seems to be pushing someone’s button, doesn’t he?).  Since 1988, Mr. Calvano and his team have successfully, “dropped the ball” but in a good way.  Back then, they did it manually.  Now, a computer controls the winch lowering the 12,000-pound, 2,688-piece Waterford Crystal sphere down towards the future.  Thanks to all involved in this effort and longstanding New York City tradition.  And thanks to all New York City residents for keeping this city, on the ball.

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Royalty Arrives On New Year’s Eve

At precisely the moment when the Times Square, New Year’s Eve ball dropped to ring in 2011, Princess Avana Andrews was delivered at SUNY Downstate Hospital. She was presented to her loving parents, Helena Ross and Dwayne Andrews. This adorable little "princess" now has the official/unofficial distinction of being the first baby born in New York City in 2011. Just five seconds after Princess arrived; "Baby #2" was born in Coney Island Hospital. No names required for the 2nd place finisher. New York is a tough town, people. Better, our kids learn that lesson right from the moment they’re born than later on the streets.

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Is Appealing Like Stealing Or Re-Dealing?

“It doesn’t hurt to try!” Many Big Apple, big-building owners are taking and using that maxim to get huge tax breaks when appealing their city property-tax assessments. In 2010, the city Tax Commission reduced property taxes by hundreds of millions of dollars. As of December 30, 2010, 46,929 property-tax appeals were filed which was the highest total ever. 1,710 homeowners also filed for a review. City officials admit that problems are caused by the year’s lag time in determining a building’s estimated value. David Frankel says that the Finance and the Tax Commission must use different data because of the delay which causes the $$$ discrepancies and the successful number of appeals which lowers the taxes NYC collects. New ideas to correct this problem are being sought… but shouldn’t they already be in place? New Yorkers shouldn’t pay more in taxes than required and should be billed the proper amount without needing to appeal. City officials should act immediately to ensure that residents and real estate giants pay a reasonable amount in a timelier manner.

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CUNY Attendance Rises As Economy Sinks

Spring semester enrollment is way up this year in CUNY schools where tuition is a very modest $5,000 a year. 12,911 freshmen alone will be attending classes. That’s a 48% increase over the 2010 class size of 8,698 students. Transfers from within and without of CUNY are also up about 33%. Better-prepared students (averages greater than 80) are up significantly too. Some see these numbers as proof of CUNY's great price towards a prestigious degree. Others see this as preparing for a lifetime degree over acceptance of expiring unemployment payments in this poor economic environment. CUNY is a better option for many than doing nothing for themselves at all. After all, we have the government seemingly doing nothing for us already.

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Flame Deaths Lowest Since 1919

Death by fire in New York City is at an all-time low. Fire Department Commissioner Sal Cassano reported that 60 people died in 2010 compared to 73 people in 2009. The FDNY should definitely receive a great deal of the praise for the courageous job that they do. Keep in mind that there’s a proposal to close 20 engine companies in the evenings. This, in an effort to save $15 million annually. Let’s hope that city officials keep the emphasis on reducing fire death numbers before making unwise budget cuts that might directly raise their total.

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The Tourist Take

Approximately 47 million visitors flocked to the Big Apple in 2008 spending a whopping $30 billion. Those numbers are up from 46M/$28.9B in 2007 and 43.8M/$24.7B in 2006. Foreign visitors spend about 4 times as much as American citizens. We are the #1 tourist destination in the nation but the good times aren’t expected to last forever. Shifting dollar values and other factors will see to that.

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IMPORTANT NOTE: This piece was written today about an older New York City news headline. NYCo site delays prevented its publication before now. In an effort to entertain and educate this blog’s devoted viewers, 100’s of older headlines will be posted in chronological order until this blog is discussing current events again. Though some stories may no longer be as relevant as they once were, they remain interesting news items worthy of mention and viewer comments.

[This is a copyrighted editorial, originally published on http://www.NEWYORKCITYonline.com/NYC-Online/blog.php. We invite you to post your comments and reply to others. This piece may be duplicated or printed with permission.]

Carnegie Duchess’s Run May Be Over

Editta Sherman, a 96-year old tenant received a New York state eviction notice from her NYC abode. Her place is one of the few remaining apartments above Carnegie Hall in Manhattan. She lives in a $530 a month, 800 square foot, rent-controlled flat and has been there for over 50 years. 43 residents were already booted before her. This, as part of Carnegie’s rehab project to convert the building’s space to offices and classrooms. Carnegie staff have offered to find her a superior apartment in the neighborhood and pay the difference in rents for the remainder of her life. Carnegie has the legal right to evict tenants. Editta has a lifetime of memories above Carnegie. Under the circumstances, it’s hoped that Editta will enjoy her next 50 years in a new place that she can happily call, “home.”

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IMPORTANT NOTE: This piece was written today about an older New York City news headline. NYCo site delays prevented its publication before now. In an effort to entertain and educate this blog’s devoted viewers, 100’s of older headlines will be posted in chronological order until this blog is discussing current events again. Though some stories may no longer be as relevant as they once were, they remain interesting news items worthy of mention and viewer comments.

[This is a copyrighted editorial, originally published on http://www.NEWYORKCITYonline.com/NYC-Online/blog.php. We invite you to post your comments and reply to others. This piece may be duplicated or printed with permission.]