Results tagged “williamsburgbridge”

It's almost like state Sen. Pedro Espada Jr. is trying to piss people off. Less than a year after he helped kill the plan for East River bridge tolls and claimed the idea was "fundamentally wrong," the Democratic majority leader says he would like to revive East River Bridge tolls as a way to generate revenue for the cash-strapped MTA. more ›

Yesterday around 4 p.m. word came in on the newswire that there was a "motorcycle down" on, or just before, the Williamsburg Bridge—towards the Manhattan side. Shortly after an update came in saying the accident was fatal. There aren't many details beyond those available yet, but eyewitnesses say the motorcycle was actually a Vespa, and it was hit (and totaled) by a black car. The Vespa driver is the one who died, and URB Magazine reports it was deejay Josh Link (friends are confirming on Twitter). Many witnessed the scene, which has been described as bloody, and one even posted their thoughts on Craigslist, noting that late last night there were burning candles where the crash happened. UPDATE: It has been confirmed that Josh Link was the victim in this sad accident, and services will be held on Long Island tomorrow. more ›

Today the Wooster Collective posted a few photos of Judith Supine way at the tippy top of the Williamsburg Bridge, hanging his piece titled: "Above the City in a Summer Night Dream." This one seemed like a much more dangerous project than previous pieces (for example the fifty-foot-tall piece he hung over the side of the very same bridge, and two years ago he lowered one off the Manhattan Bridge). Again, we challenge Supine to bring his next piece into the Gowanus Canal. more ›

Click on the images for more about this Week in Rock; this week features Kanye at Webster Hallt, Spank Rock at Siren and on the Williamsburg Bridge, and a Gothamist House (at CMJ) announcement! more ›

Are outdated pedicab laws and a dangerous bridge intersection to blame for yesterday morning's pedicab crash in Williamsburg? More details have been released, and it all began when three twenty-somethings from Bushwick met 42-year-old Nicholas Nicometi after a night of partying in Times Square. The licensed pedicab driver offered them a ride back in the early morning hour, which the passengers said was uneventful one until they hit the Williamsburg Bridge (the intersection of the pedestrian pathway and Bedford Avenue between South 5th and 6th is known for being a dangerous one). more ›

Reports are filtering in about a bad accident this morning between a pedicab and yellow taxi in Williamsburg. According to CBS2, the pedicab driver was heading eastbound off the Williamsburg Bridge pedestrian walkway when he crashed into the taxi on Bedford Avenue shortly after 7:30 a.m. The unconscious pedicab driver was taken to Bellevue Hospital with head injuries, and the Post reports that his two passengers are also listed in critical condition with head injuries. But CBS2 says the male passenger was not injured, while a 22-year-old female passenger was hospitalized with neck and back injuries. Apparently, the pedicab "snapped in half" upon impact! Those familiar with the Williamsburg Bridge pedestrian walkways might be surprised by the accident's location; of the two ramps leading off the bridge in Brooklyn, the one that abruptly empties onto Bedford Avenue is significantly more steep and narrow. It's unclear at this point why the pedicab driver exited down that ramp, or if excessive speed was a factor. more ›

Chances are you're not trying to ride your bike anywhere today in this mess, but anyone who's tried to pedal over the bridges connecting Brooklyn with Manhattan this week was in for a treacherous trip, because the city has yet to adequately plow or salt the bike and pedestrian paths. As of last night, much of the Williamsburg Bridge path (pictured) remained impassible on two wheels, and commenters on Streetsblog say both the Manhattan Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge remained unsalted and icy. more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] Is a recently installed bike lane on South 4th Street in Brooklyn—yards from the northern pedestrian/bike entrance to the Williamsburg Bridge—misguiding cyclists onto the sidewalk and into the waiting arms of ticket-writing cops? A reader writes:

"As I reach the corner of South 4th Street and South 5th Place, just one short block away from one of the Brooklyn entrances to the Williamsburg bridge, I see that the bike lane arrows turn and point to the sidewalk. I thought it odd but I followed it knowing that it was just a short bit away from the entrance. 3/4 ways down the sidewalk I get stopped by 2 cops telling me that I can't ride on the sidewalk.... And then they proceed to give me a ticket! more ›

There was a fatal bicycle accident last night on the Williamsburg Bridge bike and pedestrian path; an initial report tells us that the accident involved "a cyclist vs. a guardrail" and that the cyclist was DOA at the hospital. [Update below.] more ›

At a hearing about how the MTA could address its budget problems, some old and new ideas were tossed around. One notable suggestion, from former city transportation commissioner Luicius Riccio, was, per the NY Sun, "that the city should consider selling the Williamsburg and Manhattan bridges for $1 to the MTA, which could then charge tolls on commuters and use the revenue to finance mass transit improvements." Theodore Kheel, of Nurture New York's Nature (and good friend of Charles Rangel), also suggested some components of congestion pricing and reiterated his call to make the subways free. The Ravitch Commission, convened by Governor Paterson, will reportedly look at all the ideas--including "congestion pricing lite"--and will issue a report later this year about the state's growing transportation issues. Two more hearings will be held this month. more ›

Just a week after the Pandamonium street party took over a section of Bedford Avenue, a flash mob of scenesters descended upon the Williamsburg Bridge for a concert by art noise rockers Japanther and Ninja Sonik. But this word-of-mouth party, the third of an ongoing series, was different from Pandamonium in that it went on for two hours, from midnight to 2 a.m., before police arrived to ruin the fun. A blogger for Vice was in attendance, naturally, to report back on all the sweaty DIY revelry.

Seriously though, two hours. And we just found out that Nick, the guy from above who set it up, only got taken in because he had an unpaid open container ticket from four years ago (he also says he used his shoe for a pillow and that his cell had "Slayer - 666" over a pentagram tagged on the wall). So basically as long as you don't have any outstanding warrants, it looks like the Bridge is fair game for partying. See you there next weekend!

Late Wednesday night, an 82-year-old woman crossing Delancey Street at Allen was fatally hit by an SUV driver. The driver, who was traveling west on Delancey, stayed on the scene was not charged with a crime. more ›

Since an army of sloppy amateurs are expected to mob New York’s bars tonight to toast the anniversary of Prohibition’s end, it might be a good night to pick up a bottle of something or other and bring the celebration home. Imbibers looking for something special in Brooklyn need look no further than the Williamsburg Bridge; the paisans behind the rustic Williamsburg restaurant PT and the romantic North 8th Street D.O.C. Wine Bar have... more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a homicide on Melrose Ave. in the Bronx, a lightning strike at 82nd Ave. and 249th St. in Queens, and a hate crime on the walkway of the Williamsburg Bridge.
• 25-year-old former model and current vice president of the Trump Organization Ivanka Trump was appointed to the board of directors of Trump Entertainment Resorts, Inc. A recent New York Times column noted that investors in Trump's casinos would have lost 93% of their money since the company went public in 1995.
• Two people were rescued from the Hudson River yesterday after they fell from a jet ski just south of the George Washington Bridge. A helicopter was needed to pluck a 25-year-old woman clinging to pylons after being swept downriver by the strong current.
• NJ State Senate Majority Leader Bernard Kenny Jr. was found severely injured on a street in Hoboken this morning. Kenny was jogging this morning when he stepped in a pothole and broke bones in his pelvis, leg, and face.
• A new limited bus line on Staten Island will enable mass transit between Eltingville in New York and Bayonne, NJ.
• NY Sen. Chuck Schumer thinks FAA chief Marion Blakey should be forced to resign, citing growing flight delays at area airports.
• Curbed notes some religious real estate development and marketing by Orthodox Jews in South Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
• The area around the Chelsea Health Clinic on 28th St. and 9th Ave. is reportedly overrun by rats.

Through September 4th, Eugene de Salignac's photographs will be shown at the New York Rises exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York. What separates this photographer from others who have taken famous shots of this city throughout the ages, is that de Salignac served as photographer for the New York City Department of Bridges/Plant and Structures. He did this for the first three decades of the 20th century (1903 to 1934) and in doing so brought us thousands upon thousands of images of New York, in fact, rising. The images of "bridges, buildings, roads, and subways document the emergence of the modern city, while at the same time providing a unique aesthetic vision of the built environment and the people who created it." more ›

The Domino Sugar Refinery might be Brooklyn's signature building representing the borough's industrial history. Looking across the East River from Manhattan while below the Williamsburg Bridge, its presence on the Brooklyn waterfront is dominating. That Manhattan vantage point surrendered its industrial heritage of gasworks and docks more than a century ago, to tenements followed by high-rise apartment housing complexes. Now the factory is an icon of the battle to convert Brooklyn's waterfront from an industrial setting to a residential one. more ›

The new commissioner of the Department of Transportation won the hearts of not just bicyclists but other people who love Central Park the other day: Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan told Streetsblog that she was considering a car-free Central Park trial this summer. (It sounds like transverse traffic will remain.) more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a DOA floater in the Harlem River at Manhattan's 135th St., a homicide on Church and Nostrand Aves. in Brooklyn, and a jumper was up on the Williamsburg Bridge just before noon this morning.
• NYC local Steven Herbst won a Hall of Fame award at the International Whistling Convention in Louisberg, NC.
• When we wrote about former NJ Governor Jim McGreevey's life-sized nude photo he had on display in his bedroom yesterday, we were thinking along the lines of Robert Mapplethorpe. It's actually less artsy than that.
• A bronze statue of Andy Warhol will be installed in SoHo's Father Fagan Park on 6th Ave. between Prince and Spring Sts. next month.
• Jean-Georges Vongerichten has pulled lobster dishes from all seven of his restaurants' menus and many other restaurateurs are following suit or hiking prices as the lobster fishing industry is having a particularly bad year.
• A drunk driver killed a woman who was driving with her three children early this morning in Queens.
• Brooklyn's oldest restuarant, Gage & Tollner (est. 1879), closed in 2004 to make way for a T.G.I.Friday's chain restaurant, but the successor never caught on in the neighborhood and closed. Now residents wish the space could be filled by an old-school chop house; some place with history and a little class.
• NY Giant Michael Strahan's ex-wife is a little cash-strapped with their divorce entangled in the courts, so she had a yard sale to sell off her and her ex-husbands personal possessions while their daughter sold lemonade.
• Eater has pictures of the plywood coming off the old 2nd Ave. Deli to reveal the gleaming new Chase Bank branch underneath.

Last week, Deuce Seven put up a striking painting on the Williamsburg Bridge-- but it only ran for a few days before getting buffed. The sign didn't remain clean for long, of course: this busted throwup is currently running there. Even graffiti haters have to admit there is a difference between these two pieces, and that makes us wonder: if the sign isn't going to stay clean anyway, why buff a great piece in the first place? more ›

Deuce Seven on the Williamsburg Bridge, by Will Sherman. And more here.
more ›

Right now on South 4th Street in Williamsburg (between Bedford and Driggs) - there's some filming going on, for what looks like a bigger production. Anyone know what it could be? more ›

Winter is usually a quiet time for New York graffiti-- but Deuce Seven has been warming up the scene for the last month. Pieces have appeared all over LES, Williamsburg, and even up on Williamsburg Bridge. No clue where the artist is from-- although the earliest pictures on Flickr seem to indicate a Midwest extraction-- possibly Minneapolis? more ›

SantaCON was all day yesterday, and well documented of course. Here are some of the pictures that have come in. More photos at Flickr. more ›

F-Train, 7th Ave, 6:50pm, by Travis Ruse. more ›

-- The Times has a scary investigative piece about local courts upstate. Many are run by "judges" (without college degrees) who enjoy dispensing their own brand of "justice": "Every woman needs a good pounding every now and then." more ›

If there is one thing about which Jews and Muslims agree, it’s that pigs are filthy animals. Both religions dictate that their adherents shall not eat nothin’ that ain’t got sense enough to disregard its own feces. But, as Vincent Vega pointed out so succinctly, bacon tastes goooood. more ›

Weird stuff is happening with the Department of Transportation. First, the head of the bike program, Andrew Vesselovitch, left the DOT last Friday, and his farewell email pointed some serious criticism of the DOT. From Streetsblog:

There is much more that the bicycle program could have done than it was allowed to do. The bicycle program, for example, could have produced plans for 40-50 miles of workable bicycle lanes each year. Instead, DOT installed little more than 15 miles, total, in the last two years. We could have saved the city settlements for lawsuits (and residents injuries) resulting from the puzzling addition of unusually high expansion joint covers on the Williamsburg Bridge. I brought this to bridge's attention in 2003 and was told by Michael Primeggia butt out.

more ›

," as part of the acclaimed 33 1/3 series. The book takes a look at the 1989 release of the Pixies sonic masterpiece of the same name, gaining insight from the band themselves. more ›

The NYPD just put out a radio alert that Moses Teitelbaum, Grand Rebbe of the Satmar sect of Hasidism, died at Mount Sinai Hospital. Teitelbaum was 91, and had been suffering from spinal cancer. He had been the head of the sect since 1979. Thousands of people are expected to throng the streets of Williamsburg once this announcement gets out-- and things could turn violent, as Teitelbaum's two sons are feuding over who will succeed him, and their followers have gotten physical a number of times in the past year. more ›