Monday, January 10, 2011

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.

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.”

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.]


Cops Keep 'Copped' Cars

In 2008, of the 3,062 cars that were impounded for their presence at NYC crimes, only 20 were returned to their owners. In 2007, just 52 of 3,488 cars were returned. New York City became the owner of the cars' pink slips. That's the law. To all you would be lawbreakers out there, know this. If you commit a crime in NYC with a car, chances are your car will get a life sentence… away from you.

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.]


Green Coca-Cola

Coke’s famous red Times Square sign is going green for ecology. The company will pay 10% more to have wind power light it up than plugging it into the wall. Upon Coke’s approval, sponsors of 29 other billboards in New York City decided to go green, too. This new power approach for all 30 signs will somehow prevent the release of 2,056 tons of carbon dioxide annually. That's equivalent to 75 fewer passenger vehicles on the roads, 38 homes converted to wind power for a year or the positive effect of planting 470 acres of trees. It's not known for sure if all of those numbers are accurate, but there's one thing for certain. Coke is now on board drinking Al Gore's Kool-Aid!

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.]


Love Letters From Brooklyn

Williamsburg’s, Jake Bronstein is a 30-year old marketing consultant. Send him your address and he’ll mail you a love letter for free. No relationship required. He tried handing his goodwill notes in Union Square but had no takers. Then, he advertised on his blog zoomdoggle.com and had 1,000 requests for his letter writing services! His success led to problems however because he didn’t budget enough time or postage money for 1,000 people. His witty letters supposedly cheer people up. They'll probably make 1,000 people feel better... much better in fact than his friends who Bronstein asked for writing and financial help when he got overwhelmed.

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.]


NYC Pension Funds Failing Us All

The city’s five pension funds lost $30 billion in 2008. That's about 30% of their value. The law says that the city must kick in funds if they fail to earn a minimum of 8% a year. Guess where that money will be found, taxpayers?

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.]


Detour Route By The Devout

Some angry Hasids, upset with new bike lanes in their neighborhood, are fighting back by signing up. They illegally erected a 4’x8’ detour sign on Kent Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn to detour traffic along an alternate path to the BQE. The sign was put up on private property but the Department of Transportation didn’t find it kosher. DOT states that only the city can post detour signs. Undeterred, the Hasidics will hand out unofficial literature once the sign is removed. Some believe the issue here stems from the reserved Hasidics seeing many cycling cuties pedaling past, interferring with their traditionally reserved lifestyle. We should all be respectful of our neighbors, but all should be aware that neighborhoods are made up of diverse peoples. Nobody and no one group should take the law into their own hands because of their different views with others.

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.]


Stimulus Fairy For Ferry

New York City Water Taxi (NYCWT) rides the waves between Haverstraw in Rockland County, Yonkers and Lower Manhattan’s Financial District. Only a few thousand passengers travel this private line per month yet the federal government approved $2 million for the wet-cab clipper. The Lower Manhattan Development Corp. (LMDC) green-lighted this taxpayer-funded grant. Funding will eventually dry up but NYCWT president, Tom Fox says that won’t sink his business. The city recently approved a new route from Riis Park in the Rockaways to the Brooklyn Army Terminal to Pier 11 in Manhattan. To those who can afford to take advantage of this mode of travel, lucky you. To the rest if us, it seems like we're getting soaked.

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.]