Results tagged “jenchung”

Jen Chung would be putting up this post, but she's been away from her keyboard today having a baby! Katharine Patricia Chung Wilkins was born at 2:38 pm on January 3, 2010— stats so far: 7 pounds, 1.2 ounces. Surprisingly, the baby does not resemble the projection that the Gothamist graphics staff created earlier this month. Jen writes: "Fun facts: Exactly two weeks early; had umbilical cord wrapped around her body twice; Chung is her second middle name; seems to endure my off-key singing." more ›

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Two sidewalk Christmas tree salesman are accusing the "company" they worked for last year of leaving them out in the cold on Christmas Eve, waiting for thousands of dollars in wages that never appeared. The yuletide stiffing apparently was in retribution for either 1) skimming sales revenue, or 2) talking publicly about the shadowy figure who allegedly is the kingpin of sidewalk Christmas trees. Last year, an experienced tree-seller and longtime employee of Kevin... more ›

As expected, this morning people in the tri-state area waking up were greeted to a lovely looking blanketing of snow. But as pretty as it looks, it's being called a winter storm, since sleet and freezing rain are possible. The National Weather Service expect one to two inches of snow today, some areas could et up to four inches. What are you going to do today? See if the snow is good for snowballs?... more ›

The aftershocks of the explosion that destroyed 34 East 62nd St., which Dr. Nicholas Bartha blew up in a suicidal fit of pique directed at his former wife in 2006, continue to reverberate on the Upper East Side. The New York Times describes how neighbors are complaining to the Landmarks Preservation Commission that the proposed plans for its replacement fit neither the style nor the personality of the block. Instead of rebuilding the destroyed Victorian brownstone, the current property owner Janna Bullock and her architect Preston Phillips want to build a modern-style building. Because the property is within the Upper East Side Historic District, LPC approval is needed before any building can proceed. more ›

It's our favorite July 4th tradition, this side of smiley-face fireworks: The Annual Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, held at Nathan's in Coney Island. And this year's competition is particularly tantalizing: Current champion Takeru Kobayashi has been having jaw pains, while Joey Chestnut broke the hot dog eating record, by scarfing down 59.5 at a June event. So we shall begin our liveblogging, and Jen Chung and Tien Mao will be providing other commentary during the competition from time to time. more ›

With lines of potential customers snaking around the block, New York's Apple Stores on Fifth Avenue and in SoHo opened their doors at 6PM for the launch of the iPhone, the unbelievably hyped multi-functioning personal accessory. more ›

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• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: an overturned auto on Father Capodonno Blvd. and Doty Ave. on Staten Island, a shooting on Manhattan's Sherman Ave. and a barricaded perp on Manhattan's East 23rd St.
• The upstate shootout that ended with two state Troopers dead and a house burned with the suspect inside? One Trooper shot the other, who was then killed from gunshot wounds to the face and chest.
• The legal system is not synonymous with "common sense" in most people's minds, but the judge presiding over the McGreeveny (gay-American) Matos (woman scorned) divorce is recommending they get their acts together and start behaving like adults.
• Perhaps feeling emasculated after its "negotiation" turnabout with the organizers of the San Gennarro Festival, Community Board 2 asserts its authority with redesigners of Washington Square.
• Alec Baldwin attempts to get a grip on fatherhood by consulting with Dr. Phil. We used to be a father. [gulp] It's a tough racket.
• The federal government is trying to go all TVA on us with a powerline from the south through NY state. Gov. Spitzer insists "Oh no you don't!"
• It will be done slowly, carefully, and over the space of many months, but Chumley's will be salvaged and you will be able to eat dinner with dogs sleeping at your feet in the future.
• The play is the thing and it persists in NYC no matter what.
• The Rave Awards are being held this evening in San Francisco. Jen Chung and Jake Dobkin are being accoladed. We are happy to be working with them.

We have some exciting news to share with our readers - Jen Chung, co-founder, editor of Gothamist, and executive editor for all Gothamist sites, has won a Wired Rave Award! The Rave Awards look for people that are "innovators, instigators, and inventors" in their field, with Jen receiving the award for blogs (she's "The Town Crier"). Lest you think Wired hands the award out to anyone, Jen has some pretty good company. Some of the 2007 Rave Award winners include: Tim Kring, creator of Heroes (and Crossing Jordan!); J.K. Rowling; Alfonso Cuarón; fellow blogger, Arianna Huffington; and the Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger. more ›

If you happened to miss it this week, you should take a good look at Peter Meehan's exploration of New York barbecue. Aside from giving us enough 'cue porn to make meat lovers swoon and vegetarians squirm, Meehan provides a thorough overview of the barbecue landscape, including spots in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx, and Wingdale, just a short ways upstate (sorry, Staten Island). more ›

Gridskipper solicited picks for the city's ugliest buildings from eleven architecture-minded New Yorkers. The list includes Astor Place’s The Sculpture for Living building (which replaced a parking lot), the Queens Citicorp Building, the Pan Am Building (now the MetLife Building), the AT&T; Building on Church St., the Cross Bronx Expressway and anything by Trump – but the Trump World Tower isn't really that ugly. Someone even mentioned the Hearst Tower. Wow. more ›

7:06PM First thoughts: Gael Garcia Bernal is so cute. Ryan Seacrest is an idiot, as are Joan and Melissa Rivers. But we want to know what Jennifer Lopez is wearing! (It turns out to be Marchesa.) more ›

Remember the old wall, some of which is now on display at Castle Clinton, the MTA found while excavating for the new South Ferry terminal? One of the archaeologists hired to document the seawall fractured her pelvis, lost two teeth and broke a toe when the trench collapsed, burying most of her in soil. The archaeologist, Alison Boles, filed a lawsuit against the MTA last week. The Post quotes her as saying "It's a very lonely feeling being buried in soild with your teeth knocked out." more ›

As Travis the cat contemplates the clouds over the Hudson (we understand he is quite the weather fanatic), Gothamist wonders if we need to dig out a sweater tonight. The rain and clouds of this morning have mostly been pushed away by a high pressure system that has slipped southward from Canada. As the center of the high parks itself over us the winds will also die down. Clear skies plus calm air adds up to lots of radiational cooling tonight. There's little to stop heat from being lost directly to space so temperatures will dip to around 50, if not the upper-40s, in town and the National Weather Service has issued a frost advisory for Orange County. more ›

Torontoist visits the site of a new Frank Gehry structure, stalks "the elusive Bahamas streetcar", and watches Tom Green get surgery. more ›

Wow. Just wow. The Daily News today digs up some stupendous salaries being paid by the Department of Education to a slew of "private contractors" who have been brought in to help save the DoE money. Before we get to the actual money, here's how DoE spokesman David Cantor describes the costs to the News: "For a one-time charge of $17 million, we're implementing internal restructuring that will cut at least $200 million annually from our administrative budget to give to schools." more ›

Some of the folks working on the neverending story that is the Moynihan Station (aka the Penn Station) are starting to publicly complain about the politcal developement hell that it has become. In a letter to State economic czar Charles Gargano developers Steven Roth and Stephen Ross wrote that "the functional heart" of the station "will have its own independent utility... and therefore there is no reason to delay." In otherwords, even if Madison Square Garden does get the go-ahead to move over to Ninth Avenue such a move should have little to do with the actual conversion of the Farley Post Office into a train station. more ›

Sometimes we really love it when the Daily News goes back to old stories. For instance, remember back in February when a Police horse got "spooked," ran a red light and crashed into a car and an SUV? After the accident it was clear that both the officer and the horse were going to make a full recovery and that the officer would be back on duty soon enough, but what of Ferguson the horse? more ›

And once again Moynihan Station has hit a bump in the road. The Times today has a story on the newest set of roadblocks for the oft-delayed station. After years of delays the problems plaguing the station can still be summed up in one word: Politics. more ›

We -ists are an eclectic bunch, but there's a couple of things we all love: famous people, social causes, and wacky local facts. Join us as we starf**k, get virtuous, and learn across the -ist network! more ›

Yesterday may not have been hotter than Monday, but when you've got stifling heat for two days straight, it's all around sucky. Add to that power outages on subways, at airports, and in neighborhoods, and you've got some very cranky New Yorkers. Parts of Queens had limited power last night and were asked to "lay off non-essential appliances" today, and the N/R/W trains were out for a while, and even City Hall turned off some of the lights. Now, Gothamist remembered that Con Ed claimed there would be enough power for this summer some time last week; Con Ed blamed yesterday's problems on "isolated glitches," but the NY Sun has an editorial about the city's energy plans - and how Mayor Bloomberg blocked a proposal to enhance the city's energy infrastructure with another plant. Thank goodness for the cold front coming in. more ›

It's not just sailors that should be delighted today. Last night's red skies were a harbinger of three days of beautiful weather. Sunlight takes its longest path through the atmosphere at sunrise and sunset. If the sky is clear along that long path the green and blue portions of the sun's rays get scattered and absorbed by air molecules, leaving more yellows, oranges and reds. Since our weather generally moves from west to east, a red sunset means clear skies to our west and fair weather approaching. And fair our weather will be! more ›

- "Tell me more about this 'terrorist threat' to NYC." more ›

- 4:42AM: Three people "stabbed or slashed" at East 45th and GlenwoodResidents admitted that while crime was down overall, it's still depressing that some people continue the violence. One woman told the NY Times, "Sometimes it's just stupidity, simple arguments. Sometimes it's with their own friends," while another man said, "Why, when a young person leaves the house for a party, why do they pack a gun?" All victims are in stable condition and are expected to survive. more ›

Who knew that city employees' cars parked in city spaces deny the city $46 million in annual revenue? Schaller Consulting has issued a new study that shows more city workers drive to work because they get free parking, but if city workers "commuted by auto at the same rate as their private sector counterparts, 19,200 fewer vehicles would enter Manhattan each day." Which then translates into $46 million in meter revenue in the area from the Battery to 59th Street. The Mayor's office tells the Daily News that "city has reduced the number of parking placards by 12% since last year." more ›

- Ask for a nude photograph, and if they wouldn't agree, he would threaten to "plaster the bikini or lingerie shots around their schools unless they complied"Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau said, "Students think that because they're on a secure Web site like Facebook that they're safe from online predators. They're not." We cannot wait for Dateline to do a "To Catch a Facebook Predator" show! more ›

you make sure another resident of your building doesn't think you're a mugger), offices (do you invite your coworker to your wedding), cellphone and iPod usage, friendships (if you make more money, except to give the nicer gifts), dining out (if the food is bad, it's not the waiter's fault, so you still need to tip!) and awkward family situations ("Hey, my kid is kicked out of school!"), it's all about how to navigate through various situations with grace and aplomb that would still make many titter about you behind your back. Of course, our favorite section centered around the ways of subways and cabs; certain subway stock character were analyzed like this:

THE DOORMAN more ›

After last week's claim from an upstate man who said Greenpoint warehouse fire suspect Leszek Kuczera was working for him during the incident, and therefore couldn't have started the 10 alarm blaze, Kuczera himself is coming around to this story. In a few interviews, the Polish immigrant maintained his innocence, saying he was hungover during the interrogation and thought the police were interested in him giving details about the warehouses. Kuczera says that he told the police he reported a 2005 fire caused by other immigrants burning insulation off metal, and that's what confused the police into thinking he confessed about May's devastating fire. The police maintain that Kuczera is one of two firestarters - the Daily News reports that two NYPD interpreters (one Polish born and raised) were present when Kuczera signed his confession. more ›