power broker reading for next week

chapter 20: One Year

chapter 21: The Candidate

chapter 22: Order Number 129

be ready for a quiz!

caption of the week

Fake AP Style Book

If you are unaware their is actually a pseudo rule book that governs journalistic writing as a dictionary governs how much we suck at spelling. That would be AP Style book which has indexed guidelines for almost any journalistic writing fork in the road you can imagine. This is a parody of that book in all its daily twitter hilarity.

FakeAPStylebook

"Lazy" may not be used interchangeably with "unemployed," though both "blogger" and "journalism major" may. - Fake AP Style Book

The Ups and Downs of Being an RA.

More than 200 students applied to be Resident Advisor at New School last year but only 20 of them secured the coveted positions. Those selected have not only garnered a place to live in an exorbitantly expensive city, but have found a way to authentically build management and leadership skills without ever leaving campus. The lucky few have also agreed to potentially sacrifice their own social life for the sake of drunken freshmen and not only knowing, but enforcing the rules of the university. I recently spent an afternoon speaking with two RAs, whose names have been changed to protect their identities, in an attempt to understand the pros and the cons of taking on the job.

Maya is 19 and in the middle of her first year as a Resident Assistant. She heard about the application process in the spring of 2009. Initially unaware of the extensive application process, her first step was to complete the application, which involved little more than “filling in blanks and answering a few short essay questions.”

“At that point, they looked at my GPA and my involvement in other student activities. Then we have a group interview, which is designed to figure out how we work with others.” Maya confesses feeling strange about this portion of the interview now. Since her appointment to the position, she has been required to watch and evaluate potential candidates. “Everyone reacts so differently to the task and of course it’s all affected by the idea that you are being watched.” Accurate or not, Maya sees a lot of similarities between this portion of the application and the actual job which involves living your life in the public eye of a college dormitory.

The role of Resident Advisor was on Marcelo’s mind from the moment he moved into the dorms. “I lived with my RA my freshman year and we talked a lot about what it means to do the job. I decided that I wanted to do it before I even heard about the financial benefits.”

With four semesters of experience under his belt, Marcelo recalls his initial desire to meet people, “I just felt I would be good at the community building. I just thought it sounded fun.” Marcelo’s first post, at a now defunct dorm, was his favorite. “The place was unpopular because the facilities were so old. There was a back entrance through a shoe store, paper-thing walls and a pretty intense mouse problem.” His new building is structurally sound and provides other amenities, but Marcelo recalls his first building fondly, citing its many challenges as the very things that forged bonds between the residents.

Not every building has something as endearing as a rodent problem to bring them together. The job description for Resident Advisor includes phrases such as, “ …facilitates the holistic development of residents through programming, promotes resident involvement.” This is no small task when a dorm is in the middle of New York City, arguably one of the most entertaining places in the world. Motivating students to take part in residential programs has proven to be difficult for both Maya and Marcelo. “Nobody wants to come to our programs,” comments Marcelo. “I mean sure, I didn’t really want to when I was a freshman, but I was sure some people wanted to go. It is like pulling teeth getting these kids to come to our stuff, and as a result it is hard to get motivated to put on events for people who don’t seem to appreciate our effort.”

Maya notes that RAs spend a great deal of time thinking about goals and how they want the experience of living in a dorm to “feel” to residents. “The residents actually have to want these things to happen though.” Maya considers the population of her dorm, primarily upper classmen and graduate students, to be more resistant to community building activities. “They have their own personal goals. With freshmen it’s easier because they are all so eager to make friends.”

As she navigates her first year on the job, Maya confesses that she finds herself noticing the differences between even the floors in her building. “I think there are some floors that are more creative than others. But I think that has more to do with the residents then RAs. My main goal is to create a community and I have found it difficult. It’s my first year so I’m still trying to figure it out.”

Maya currently lives in a room within a suite with two other girls. They share a common living space and bathroom and her two roommates share the other bedroom. Though she enjoys having an entire room to herself, she initially worried that the other girls would be uncomfortable sharing a suite with an RA. At the beginning of the semester, Maya confronted the situation head on, informing her suitemates, “I am not here to watch you. You are my roommates. I’m an RA and do have certain responsibilities but I hope those don’t interfere with our relationships.” A self-described deep-sleeper, Maya confesses that having roommates also helps her with her job. “People come to my room in the middle of the night. My roommates wind up answering the door because they are closer and I would wind up sleeping right through it!”

The effects of having a leadership position can affect other areas of an RAs social life as well. Time, or the lack of it, plays an important role in the lives of the Resident Advisor. “There is more work to be done in the job than any person has enough time for. Anyone could spend every waking moment of their life working at becoming a perfect RA, but there will always be room for improvement,” confesses Marcelo. “I am a bit of a perfectionist, so it is hard for me to accept that there are certain things I will not accomplish. There are some residents I will not get to know as well as I’d like. It’s hard for me to find that middle ground, to do the amount of work that I can and not feel guilty about what I can’t.”

Not only must RAs manage time, roommates and late night visitors, they must also manage the occasionally conflicted conscious. When it comes to his role as enforcer, Marcelo confesses, “There is an occasional incident that could go either way that I don’t document.” That said, he believes in his roll and takes the responsibility seriously. “I do write ups for almost everything.”

Marcelo reports that he personally tries to keep his rabble rousing to a minimum. “The rules are in place not as pejorative or belittling rules, but as guidelines for preserving the safety and well-being of our residents, both personally and academically. Our first priority is preserving the safety of our residents, and that includes protecting our professional integrity; documenting incidents is often not about the incident itself, but rather consistency. The RAs who don’t document bigger incidents put a considerable amount of strain on the integrity of our department and make it more difficult for the rest of us to do our jobs.”

Maya takes a more personal approach to her role. “It’s a personal call for everyone. It’s judging the difference between underage drinking with a few friends and somebody throwing shit out the window. All of the training that we get is pretty ridiculous. If you understand people then you should be able to do the job.”

Being an RA definitely provides quality storytelling fodder. Marcelo admits that while the most rewarding aspects of this job stem from the relationships formed with former residents, the stories he encounters are worth telling. “One night, I was on rounds, and I walked onto a floor where there as a girl lying face-down in her own vomit. I was terrified; luckily she had just passed out, but when she came to, she ambled into the bathroom, locked it, and hit her head on the toilet and passed out again.” The story ended uneventfully, but Marcelo found it to be one of the scariest situations he can remember.

New York City plays a role in the life of every student at New School. Marcelo notes, “The city makes our job much more difficult for a couple of reasons. One, our residents would rather get out into the city than hang out in the dorm, making programming very hard. Two, it is much easier to do illegal things like drugs and underage drinking in the city, and our residents bring it back here; maybe this is ok in a suburban university where the community is isolated and can protect their students, but literally, once you step off our doorstep you are in New York City. It is a separate, clear imperative for us to educate our residents specifically about New York and its dangers.”

“A girl went missing once from my building and her parents were calling and no one could reach her,” Maya comments. “There rumors that she could be in an unsafe situation, but then she turned up.” Other situations spring to mind, but Maya, perhaps surprised by her own adherence to protocol, declines to comment on them. “It is such a weird thing. I am 19 years old and I actually won’t talk about certain things because I work for an institution.”

The African Burial Ground

In 1991, during the construction of a General Service Administration building, 419 bodies of African decent were found.

Now, It has been almost 20 years since the African Burial Ground in Lower Manhattan was discovered, something that significantly raised the public awareness of the colonial African heritage within New York, which was second to having the most African slaves than any other port north of the Caribbean.

Of the 419 bodies that were found at this site it was discovered that they came from, Congo, Ghana, Ashanti, and Benin.

Unfortunately, Only the Burial Park is open on Sundays and Mondays, which, while still moving, does not give visitors much to go on. The Memorial, which contains the coffins and human remains was designed by Mr. Leon and is made of black granite. What is missed however, by not going into the museum, is the history of these people and of Manhattan at this time.

One cannot learn that about half of these bodies are that of children, or see the effects manual labor had on these people. This site is of such importance but without all of the information it is very hard to truly understand it, especially when it is situated around office buildings and the bustle of Manhattan.

Photo from MSNBC.com

A Park Grows in Bushwick

Maria Hernandez Park occupies about 3 blocks in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, between Irving and Knickerbocker Avenues and Starr and Suydam Streets. Across Irving, there is an elementary school, P.S. 123. Across Knickerbocker, there is a recently opened bar. Starr Street is a hotspot in the neighborhood's flourishing art scene, and on the corner of Irving and Suydam is an excellent taqueria. Maria Hernandez Park occupies a central geographic location in the rejuvenation of Bushwick, and the park's story is much like that of the neighborhood's as a whole.

The park was founded in the late 18oos, and was known as Bushwick Park. The park survived as the neighborhood went through drastic changes. The last of the 11 breweries that used to occupy the area closed in 1976, and in 1977 hundreds of homes and businesses were destroyed or damaged due to looting during the blackout. The once-solid neighborhood decayed, and Bushwick Park decayed with it, full of broken glass and debris and graffiti.

In 1989, the park was renamed to Maria Hernandez Park after a local activist who died for her efforts to rid drug dealers from the area. She organized community efforts to evict drug dealers from their apartments. She was shot five times through the window of her Starr Street apartment on August 8, 1989. That same year, the park was renamed in her honor.

Five years later, the park was cleaned and repaired, with new benches and fixed-up ballfields. In 2006, the park was named New York City's Park of the Month. It received a new basketball court, new fences, and a stage for performances. Now, at all times of the day, there will be children on the playground, or teenagers playing basketball or wallball on the courts. In the summer, the park plays an integral role in block parties. It could be an example in a revised Life and Death of Great American Cities.

links of the day

subway murders:

internal affairs:

internal affairs multimedia:

times multimeda:

breaking upwards:

week in pictures:

death of journalism schools:

Fashion WeeK

Nobody likes change, particularly Adriana Yanovski and Dennis Neal two Parsons Students protesting what they called “the end of an era.”

The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, according to the announcement given by Mayor Bloomberg on February 3, 2009 will now be held at Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center. This past fall was the last time the event will be hosted at Bryant Park. The relocation will commence in the beginning of September 2010.
Disheartened Adriana claims that the tents that consumed Bryant Park were the essence of what made Fashion week what it was. “I loved the atmosphere; it was just a great experience. I looked forward to it all year,” Adriana exclaims. “Yea, Dennis interrupted, after all these successful years at Bryant Park why does anything need to change?”

Well to these students dismay their protesting proved to be ineffectual for the decision was discussed and declared over a year ago. The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week began in 1993 with just 35 shows in total. The Fall 2009 last show which started on the 13th of February contained over 70 shows. To progress with time there needed to be a change. The new location at the Lincoln Center will provide 87,000 square feet of space where as Bryant Park was only capable of supplying 70,000 square feet of space. That is a very noticeable 25% difference. Along with the additional space that came with this change of venue the fact that it’s indoor appeals to many. For Example: The opportunity to use the ample space for other special events to take place during the show. Another example would be to take advantage of a place that has the capability to sell tickets.

There was an estimated 100,000 people in attendance this past fall crowding underneath the tents at Bryant Park for the eight days of fashion week, with that the city generated $466 million in visitor spending a year. According to Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe this change is not only profitable for Damrosch Park but it will also benefit Bryant Park as well. “We’re excited to host Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at its new home in Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center. This change will also free up the lawn at Bryant Park for more passive and recreational use,” said Adrian.

This move will in fact benefit the entire economy from the citizens, to the designers and to the entire fashion industry. “We are extremely grateful to the Mayor, not only for his leadership in facilitating Fashion week’s move to Lincoln Center but also for his strong commitment Lincoln Center and the arts,” says Lincoln Center President Reynold Levy.

This change will enrich the entire fashion industry making it more accessible to more consumers and designers and reinforcing New York City as the Fashion Capitol of the World.

A like totally cool park.

Want to take a stroll in the city's “it” park? Take a number. Suspended in the sky, hobnobbing with hotels of the Meatpacking District and Chelsea galleries, is The High Line. Nine months after the park's official opening, New Yorkers and tourists alike are still lining the sidewalks, sticking out the average half-hour wait to access the hovering garden.

And the reason there's still buzz? It acts more like a celebrity than it does a public park.

Move over Britney and Paris... take a whiff of this. High Line, Bond No. 9’s newest fragrance, “The World’s First Railroad Perfume,” hit stores in the beginning of this month. What's a railroad perfume smell like? “Wildflowers, green grasses… and urban renewal” masterfully combined with “imported sea moss, to evoke the Hudson River’s proximity, along with musk and teakwood, to remind us that High Line is a metro-perfume.” Finally, you can smell like the Hudson without having to step foot near it. All it took was a floating park.

How'd The High Line get so worthy? For starters, it had important, generous friends. Diane Von Furstenberg, Edward Norton, Kevin Bacon, and Hillary Clinton are just a few of the VIP’s showing and putting up to support the public park’s private life. They are the celebrity members of Friends of The High Line. The organization is responsible for the preservation of the bridge, creation of the railroad turned sky sanctuary, and foots 70 percent of the park's annual costs.

As trickle down trendiness would have it, The High Line has now got the local art scene in a headlock. Countless painters, filmmakers and photographers have taken a liking to the high life. A new interpretation of the 1958 ballet “Opus Jazz” filmed “the sexiest ballet ever” at the park, says the High Line’s blog. And “site-specific” sound installation by Stephen Vitiello will debut on High by late June. Visual artists like Valerie Hegarty display their work year-round along the grassy skybridge. It's even got its own curator.

See it. Hear it. Smell it. The long, lean landscape might have begun as just one of The Hulk’s write-offs but for now it has its own fan base. An internet-leaked porno, better yet a Tarantino music video, then it'd really be on top of the world...

Creditphoto

Green City

On March 15 Battery Park City welcomed a public library to its 92 acre neighborhood. Fitting to the area's environmentally friendly standards the library was granted a gold certification from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), the first New York Public Library to be green.

Costing $6.7 million to construct, the two story, 10,000-square-foot library joins the community of picturesque esplanades, ball-fields, plazas, parks, public exhibits, residential towers, and the World Financial Center.

The library was lobbied for by the community for over a decade, it was the only thing that seemed to be missing from the "planned community."

Battery Park City's origin can be linked to Nelson Rockefeller, Governor from 1958 t0 1973, who wanted to be build the World Trade Center as an extension of Wall Street. The mass amount of landfill equated to man made land.

Battery Park City Authority (BPCA) was set up in 1968 by Rockefeller and state legislators to oversee the finances and development of the area. This public benefit corporation maintains a balanced community, making sure they dedicate 30 percent of the neighborhood to park space. As for the residential, commercial, and retail space they have guidelines that incorporate environmental specifications to maximize products and energy.

On their website Battery Park City offers "Green Guidelines" on "Growing a Green Community." These guidelines offer a wealth of information on creating and maintaining a healthy and sustainable environment, which they hope other communities will invest in doing.

Photo-Map
Photo-HudsonView

THIS. PARK. SUCKS.

In my busy schedule I so rarely have the chance to sit down on a park bench, take a deep breath, and take it all in. Now I'm no park expert. I haven't sampled parks from abroad. I have never drunk merlot on a park's grassy hide. And, if you'll forgive me for saying so, I have never taken a park to bed. With that said, I was wholly expectant in my folksy, backwoods naivety to have a one of a kind park experience when I decided to seat my fanny on a Jackson Square bench. Anyone might notice from where I was sitting that Jackson Square is a small park. The tiny, triangular plot is near the center of Greenwich Village, just off Greenwich Avenue, near Shoegasm, which is, I understand, a shoe store.

I noticed an offensive sign on the wrought iron fence warning me not to feed the pigeons or squirrels. I didn’t notice any such critters for me to hatch such a conspiracy with. About the same time I noticed that my bench was wet. It was, in fact, raining. It had been raining all day. I’m not sure what I expected, but shouldn’t New York City, the world’s most advanced city, have some kind of weather related contingency plan for its city’s parks? Maybe the benches could have some kind of electronic insulation device that melted precipitation on contact. What about retractable glass domes? The more I thought about all of Jackson Square’s missing innovation, the more the rest of the park started to irk me. What was with that fountain? I’m not seeing any water coming out of that thing. What? Is Jackson Square’s fountain too fancy to spill water out for the soaking pleasure of the cast of Friends? I’m not seeing the cast of Friends anywhere. Maybe they know the same thing the pigeons and squirrels know. This park sucks.

That was when I decided to try a new park. I walked to Union Square and sat myself down on the park’s west side. It wasn’t long before I noticed that this bench was also wet. I had become a repeat victim of this city’s pandering to the whiny, heedless voices of the so-called weather system. I could sit in my wet seat no longer than a minute before the sting of corruption goosed me to my feet. How long was this city going to keep making kickbacks for the “rain?” I was apparently a head of the curve as far as robot benches and bubble domes were concerned. But where could I sit until the glorious dawn of that progressive day?

I took off running north. I ran until I hit Bloomingdales. I went through the glass doors. I found a circular clothing rack and surreptitiously sat in the center of it. I sighed to myself. It was peaceful there in the center of ladies’ sweaters. If I were to throw an unchewed piece of gum from where I was sitting onto the floor beyond, someone, perhaps a small child, might pick it up and chew it. I took a deep breath and hoped for the future.

Elitist Dog Run

Having two small dogs that hate the cold and rain more than anything limited my initial approach to this assignment, so I decided to do a little research on Manhattan dog parks/runs. With nearly thirty dog parks in the city, it seems a little crazy to pay a membership fee in order to let your dog run around, but that’s exactly what the Mercer-Houston dog run does. The run has been around for 26 years, has a “members only” policy, a list of rules that must be followed in order to become/remain a member, and a website to explain it all.

The website boasts that the run has 242 member families and that being a members-only run allows them to monitor about the health and safety of themselves and their dogs. Becoming one of these members seems like a bit of a daunting task. A new member must fill out an application and send it, a copy of your dog’s vaccination records, a New York state dog license, a release agreement form, and a check for $50 (for the annual membership fee) to the association. The site claims “As there is no longer a waiting list, after your completed application is reviewed, you’ll be contacted to arrange a convenient time for an orientation. That takes about 25 minutes and then you’re given your key and ID tag for your pup’s collar. That’s it!”

Anyone who isn’t you that may be bringing the dog to the run is required to sign the Dog Run Agreement/Release form and must review the rules before using the run. Bringing a dog that isn’t a member results in your membership being suspended for 30 days. A second “offense” results in a six month suspension. Membership must be renewed annually and doing this entails of sending all the forms, proof of vaccinations,and dog license, again.

Ever think you’d hear the words “Must be this tall to enter the dog park”? Well, at Mercer-Houston children under 12 are not allowed in the run and any kids between the ages of 12 and 16 must be 4’11” in order to enter. However, “after 16 years of age there is no height requirement” according to the website. You are also told not to bring your dog’s toys during the run’s “peak hours” (5:00-7:00 p.m.) and are to “ask permission” of other dog owners during other times.

Perhaps the most asinine rule of them all is the “15 Minute Rule”. This rule comes into effect when an owner feels their dog may show aggression towards another dog in the park. Should this occur, the owner can essentially kick everyone out of the dog park and they must leave within 15 minutes of the rule being called.

I love my dogs, but honestly, this is ridiculous. Some of the Mercer-Houston Dog Run’s rule are sensible, but it mostly seems like a bunch of neurotic owners who can’t handle the idea of releasing control. Let your dog be a dog.

Cars in Parks

Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a competition to design Central Park and it opened in 1859. Although Manhattan was not yet expanded very much uptown , the contest stipulations did say that there needed to be four crosstown roadways going through the park. Olmsted and Vaux won in part because of their idea of putting the required roadways in a trench and then heavily planting near the top in order to hide park goers from seeing or hearing traffic.

Then a judge ruined it.

The drive goes all the way around the park and was originally intended for carriage use—a way to see the lovely terrain and show off how rich they were. Motorists wanted to be able to use it, and in 1899, a judge interpreted the park ordinance: "The drive shall be used only by persons in pleasure carriages, on bicycles, or on horseback," to include cars, and let them in. From the start, people complained about the noise. Then as cars became more popular, it became clear that they were not “pleasure carriages” going on a leisurely Sunday drive around the park. Instead, Park Drive became the fastest way to get from between 59 and 110th streets. source

Since then, the argument has gone back and forth--everyone agreeing that cars don't belong in the park, but most government people considering it a necessity.

There are four parks in the city that allow some car traffic. One in each burrough except for the Bronx. However, Prospect Park and Central park are the most contentious. Transportation Alternatives has been spearheading the fight against cars in both Prospect and Central Parks. The main argument is that parks are intended to be refuges from the bustle of the city. Safety issues are also there, but there have not been many instances. One person was killed by a car in Prospect Park, and there have been problems in Central Park, including a Fox News writer purposefully hitting a cyclist and driving for two hundred feet with him on the hood. The SUV had dangerously cut him off, and when the cyclist angrily confronted him at the next light, he took action.

Parks are undeniably intended for pedestrians, and giving cars priority and forcing cyclists, runners and rollerbladers into one small lane, apart from being dangerous at times, is incongruous with the very idea of a park.

Breathing New Life Into The Piers

Piers 22 through 84 and beyond into Clinton Clove on the far west side of Manhattan serve a single minded purpose of recreation and beautification with few exceptions. Rather than springing up over night the Hudson River piers gradually enhanced through construction projects over the past several years. The latest up for its ceremonial ribbon cutting is Pier 62 and 63 lined up to join Hudson River Park.

Pier 62 and 63 use to make up an outdoor section of the Chelsea Sports and Entertainment Center however their lease was not renewed by the Hudson River Park Trust in order for construction of a new section of the Hudson River Park to be completed which includes a brand new west coast style cement skatepark.

The Chelsea Piers 62 & 63 which includes the skatepark section of
the park is due to be completed in May" stated David Katz Vice President of Marketing and events for the Hudson River Park Trust in an e-mail. Unlike the Chelsea Sport & Entertainment park its replacing this new skatepark will have no admission fee.

"For safety, there will be limits on the number of people that can use
the [skatepark] at any point. As with other facilities in the park, there will
also be posted operating hours." -Katz

The trust doesn't anticipate financial woes causing the need to let go any of its current employees however according to Katz their is no plan to hire new employees despite construction projects being completed around the park.
Parks around the city are seeing their budgets cut severely creating foreseen consequences like seasonal employment being cut.

"There are no budget cuts affecting the park's operations. The skate park and surrounding park are part of Hudson River Park, an independent city-state park created by NYS legislation. The Hudson River Park Trust does not receive any operating budget from either the state or city; its entire operating budget is self generated through rents and other income" according to Katz.
The Hudson River Park Trust's website however has stated that the State approved $21 million in capital funding for the park, and the city has promised to match this amount.

Upon piers 62 and 63's completion this spring it will join a series of sites to be completed over the last several years. This includes Pier 84 which was transformed from a empty lot into a recreation area with fountains and abundant seating and pier 40 which was turned into playing fields from a bus depot.


photos courtesy of IrollNY.com & The Hudson River Park Trust

Raining on All Points West's Parade

Through the weekend of July 31st to August 2nd of 2009, inclement weather hit the outdoor music festival All Points West with droves of rain, transforming its venue, Liberty State Park, into a marshland. Stories following the event told of four hour waits for ferries to transport attendees from Manhattan to New Jersey, canceled performances, and minimal sets. And now a recent article by the New York Times reports the executives of AEG Live, the promoters of the festival, have yet to decide whether All Points West will return for a third year.

In the Times article, Mark Shulman, a talent buyer for AEG, claims the festival's biggest challenge right now is finding "suitable headliners." Yet Skip Paige, a vice president of AEG affiliate Goldenvoice believes that the overall tone of the festival must be revised for it to continue. "I don't know how great an experience it was for the fans," she admits to the Times. "If we're going to do that show again, we want to be able to make it great and have it be something people respect."

Popular and under the radar acts went on with their shows as fans waded the mud caked grass and cold rain to make the best of the weekend's unfortunate weather. Despite the downtrodden representation of the festival's conditions, some attendees didn't mind, and in fact, even embraced it with mud sliding and mud pools. Coldplay frontman Chris Martin even declared the site a "mud jacuzzi," praising the concert goers for their bravery and ability embrace the dirty venue.

"Honestly, I was rather aggravated," says Christopher Gloria of Brooklyn. "There were mud pits everywhere and it was impossible not to get filthy... I don't blame the park for that, I should have seen the pictures online from the day before, realized that it was going to be like that after such heavy rain. I just feel bad that so much of the turf was disturbed."

The hugest bystander to the mixture of large crowds and harsh weather was Liberty State Park, which on any other day boasts bright, inviting green fields through its 1,122 acres of space. But the mark of heavy footprints and mud piles became evidence to the 71,500 in attendance that weekend. The field, which normally hosts small scale recreational events, just was not used to such abuse. The park is considered the right venue for a New York City festival though, as its the only space of its kind nearby, while also having a front view seat of the Manhattan skyline.

Yet a third problem posed for attendees that weekend was the public park's policies on restricted drinking, which consisted of a specified area for consumption and a maximum of 7 drinks for any person. "Liberty State Park as a whole is a wonderful place," says Chris. "However, they are a bit ridiculous about drinking in the park, which adds to the overall dissatisfaction with the location...Jersey needs to lighten up! I mean it is not Altamont Speedway in 1969."

All recent speculation aside, many attendees from last year are mixed as to whether they would return to All Points West in 2010. "I am not for a festival for the sake of a festival," says Chris. "If a solid lineup isn't possible don't bother. It is not worth my time, or money. Living in the City I can see bands every night of the week. I'm not prepared for the trek, and [spend] money if the bands are not good. "

Having gone twice, Michael Duke of Brooklyn admits he would go again. "I would like APW to return in 2010, it's a great festival," he says. "I didn't mind going to Liberty State Park for the festival but wouldn't mind if it were somewhere else. For the size of the festival I can't think of many other places that would be suitable though."

AEG has booked a weekend for All Points West, but seeing as it is late in the year for any festival line-up announcements, music lovers can only wait and watch.


Photo Courtesy of BrooklynVegan.com.

Yankee Stadium is Falling Down

(via)

Thousands of screaming fans used to fill plastic seats, anticipating the players’ next moves on the tidy green field below. Now, blue plastic chairs hang from the shell of a stadium that was. Twisted metal and concrete debris sit in a pit of brown dirt and dust. Fans and players have relocated to the shiny new structure across the street. The House that Ruth Built is now broken.

In March, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation finally began demolishing the legendary Yankee Stadium to make way for “Heritage Field and Ruppert Plaza,” a 10-acre community park.

The demolition comes almost a year after the opening of the new Yankee Stadium, located across the street at 161^st Street and River Avenue. According to Thaindian News, the demolition was delayed due to asbestos removal and the stadium’s location.

Because of the nearby elevated subway station and residential neighborhoods, crews were not allowed to use explosives to tear the stadium down.

Residents and fans alike have also been complaining since the project’s proposal in August of 2005, stirring up controversy.

“The new park—it’s not about baseball, it’s about luxury,” said Yankees fan Steven Savors to the Daily News.

St. John’s student Bridget Cantelmo, 20, agrees. “When I was a kid, my brother and I would go to games and the stadium itself was an experience,” she said. “It was just so iconic.”

A group of dedicated fans lobbied to keep Gate 2 in the new park. “This Gate stands proudly for all the fans, players, and individuals who visited, played, and worked within her majestic confines,” reads Save the Yankee Gate 2’s website. “It is the most architecturally significant element remaining from the original 1920's era ballpark.”

City officials did not save the gate, according to the New York Times, because it would interfere with plans for the new park.

A rendering of Heritage Park courtesy of NYC Dept. of Parks and Rec.

Heritage Field will include three baseball fields, soccer and football fields, a track, four basketball courts, eight handball courts, sixteen tennis courts, a skate park, a playground, and a picnic area.

Ruppert Plaza features a pedestrian promenade ideal for walking and outdoor vendors. A staircase, hill, and pedestrian ramp will connect the plaza to the Macombs Dam Park.

Trees will be planted along the footprint of the old stadium, accompanied by plaques and markers to celebrate its history.

The demolition of Yankee Stadium is slated to finish in June. Heritage Park and Ruppert Plaza are scheduled to open Fall 2011.

sad panda

Today Gothamist posted this story about the "pandaversary" of Sad Panda. It links to this story from November that features a video by a Columbia grad student about the man behind the mask that I found really interesting (and really sad!)

this is amazing

I know this is a bit of fluffy but I can't NOT show this after laughing the way I did about it -

Hippie-Dressed Mayor Bloomberg Dances With Snooki and The Situation From Jersey Shore, All At A Charity Event

I think that says enough. Honestly though - way too surreal for even me, right after work.