7 WTC No Longer A Mystery - Maybe

A three-year study by fifty Federal investigators concluded that fire, not explosives or the building’s stored diesel fuel brought down 7 World Trade Center in New York City on the afternoon of September 11th, 2001. So says Shyam Sunder, lead investigator for the National Institute of Standards and Technology. According to his team, "a single column" gave way when supporting girders were loosened by the heat. This was the factor that caused the entire building to collapse. Sunder admits this has never happened before in a high-rise building. I doubt conspiracy theorists will be silenced by the team’s explanation. It will probably only add fuel to their fire and create even more explosive theories of another government cover-up.

Harlem Stage Is On Cue

Richard Rodgers is about to produce another big hit. The family of this well known Harlem-born composer donated $1 million in his name towards the renovation of the bandshell in Marcus Garvey Park. New York City will also kick in $4 million for the project. Work is set to begin in the latter part of 2009. Rodgers personally donated $150,000 to help fund this outdoor facility in 1970. During his lifetime, Rodgers penned songs for classic plays like The Sound of Music, Oklahoma, The King and I and South Pacific. Even though he’s gone, Rodgers still enables the music to play on.

Cops Cop Real Raise

Happy cops make unhappy crooks. New York City and the Police Department reached agreement on a new pay scale for New York’s Finest. NYPD rookies will get $42,000 instead of $36,000. NYPD officers will get a 17% increase over four years. Their base salaries will shoot from $65,382 to $76,488. NYC officers will soon be at a more comparable level to cop salaries in surrounding communities making it less likely for them to leave for greener pastures. It's smart to pay this kind of protection money.

Cowboy TV That Ain’t Roy Rogers Re-Runs

New York City’s “Naked Cowboy” may temporarily leave Times Square for Hollywood and places unknown. Our strumming strutter in shorts may soon be taping his very own reality-TV show. Robert Burck, cowboy crooner extraordinaire, said he’s spoken with several producers about doing a talent show. It will feature street singers from around the world. The white underwear wonder will be the show’s judge … without the black robe of course! He said he’ll search more for "character" in the performers than talent. If they’re anything like him, program contestants will be more character than performer! The program sounds like it will be like an outdoor version of the 1970s-1980s hit, The Gong Show. I wonder if there’ll also be an updated version of the Unknown Comic wearing a recyclable plastic bag instead of a brown paper one.

Bike Racks By Byrne

Former Talking Heads band frontman and avid NYC cyclist David Byrne has designed nine artistic bike racks. Passersby are definitely turning their heads and talking about them. The rack design concepts are fitting to the particular New York neighborhood they’re in. There’s a shoe rack outside Bergdorf Goodman, a busty woman’s profile rack for Times Square, a dollar sign rack design for Wall Street and an electric guitar in Williamsburg. Timeless art they’re not, but who would want to padlock a bicycle to the Mona Lisa anyway?

Cash For Grades Is A Poor Investment

The Board of Education, in their infinite wisdom, approved a plan to pay some high school kids $500-$1,000 each to pass Advanced Placement (AP) tests. Their goal was to motivate students to get better scores by … showing them the Benjamins! The result? 35% of the test students passed in 2007 without reimbursement while only 32% of the “pupils for pay” passed in 2008. Cash incentives don’t work yet there are those looking for positives in a dismal idea. New York City kids shouldn’t be paid to learn. They should be inspired to take advantage of the opportunity a good education can provide. The reward for our children shouldn’t be "pocket money for the mall." It should be a bright future where they may fulfill their potential and dreams.

Urban Turbines Blow Mayor Away

Mayor Bloomberg recently proposed installing large wind turbines atop New York’s tallest buildings and bridges. Donald Trump likes the idea … but not on his buildings! He said, “My buildings are known for their great architecture, so I’d have to give it some serious thought.” The mayor’s windy ideas are far reaching however, going way beyond the boroughs. He also wants “wind farms” built miles out in the Atlantic Ocean. He believes these farms can supply twice as much wind as land-based wind farms and supply 10% of the city’s energy in ten years. A wind farm is already being built at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and there’s a proposal for a larger one on the Fresh Kills, Staten Island landfill. Wind turbine opponents point to problems with funding issues (public vs. private investment), noise pollution, safety issues (think toppling cranes), environmental impact and even the likelihood that the blades will kill birds. Most importantly perhaps, Siemens AG, one of the biggest makers of wind turbines says huge windmills in cities are not realistic. A company representative said that turbines attached to bridges and buildings would put too much stress on the existing structures which weren’t built to accommodate them. Undeterred, Bloomberg believes in using many approaches to solve our energy and pollution problems. The mayor realizes his breezy ideas are unlikely to fly. His intent is simply to get people talking … and thinking. He said the city will welcome “anybody that has brilliant ideas.” Who’s tripping down the streets of the city? Everyone knows it’s Windy.