Wow. I was really excited to blog about Evan & Luke’s Williamsburg apartment studio based on a May 1st story that just popped up in my feed from Yahoo.
When I followed some of the links to find out more, I discovered that the video below was from 8 years ago and that the last video in their YouTube channel was from 5 years ago (victim of the pandemic?).
Curious why Yahoo would revive a story written so long ago and timestamp it from today. I suspect an old RSS feed was reconnected and sprung back to life w/o the proper meta-date to filter it out as old. Yet another case of why good data hygiene is important.
Nice story anyway – wonder what they’re up to today?
Once a month, roommates Evan and Luke transform their tiny Brooklyn apartment into a full music studio. Sometimes they manage to cram an entire orchestra complete with brass, strings, and percussion into every nook and cranny and, in the process, spark something rare these days, a uniquely human in the experience.
tl;dr – Applications will be accepted on June 27th. The decision to approve applications will made in September by the six-member Community Advisory Committee nominated by the current administration. Those currently up for election will not be sworn in until January so they may not have influence over these important decisions but their position will be important nonetheless.
There is a 6.7 acre swampy lot in between Tudor City and East River. It’s the largest empty lot in Manhattan and the site of a former ConEd power plant.
The developer, The Soloviev Group, bought the plot (quaintly known as the First Avenue Mud Pit) from ConEd back in 2000 for $680 million.
A 2023 plan called for an extravagant design which featured a massive Ferris wheel. Later, perhaps responding to local resistance and derision, the plans were scaled back, nixing the Ferris wheel but keeping the garish, gold-mirrored building looking down on the United Nations.
To say I’m concerned is an understatement. I live in Tudor City, a rare gem of a neighborhood, that, despite being only a few blocks from Grand Central, is a peaceful eddy from the rush of downtown Manhattan. This is due to the dual dead-end streets of 41st and 43rd that do not punch through to First Avenue. This keeps traffic to a lazy minimum. It’s wonderfully quiet here with two small parks that were designated a Historic District by the Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1988.
What do those running for City Council say?
If you live in the area, you know all of the above and know that the democratic primary election is on June 24th. As I was researching each candidate running for City Council District 4, which has jurisdiction of the area, I was looking for any statement on the candidate’s website about their position on the casino. None of them had a position so I took it upon myself to email each one and share responses below to help my neighbors cast their ballots.
First, here’s what I asked:
Thank you for running for City Council. I’m trying to help residents of Tudor City understand your position on an issue very important to our community.
Can you share your position on the proposed Freedom Plaza Casino proposal on the East Side next to the UN? I live in Tudor City and am not a fan of having a casino in my neighborhood. What can you do to arrive at a compromise that will prevent a casino in our neighborhood while also allowing the Soloviev Group a return on their investment?
Here are the replies I have received, updated in the order received;
I appreciate your question and your thoughtful take on the issue. I am opposed to the casino. My background is in housing policy and when Borough President Mark Levine commissioned a study in 2022 of all the locations in Manhattan that could accommodate new housing, the Soloviev site accounted for 86% of the possible new residential space on the East Side. There are just not that many large sites in this part of the City, and we need to take opportunities for reasonably-scaled apartment buildings when we can get them. I think it would be a waste to lose that opportunity to something like a casino in a residential neighborhood. I am not insensitive to the Soloviev family’s need to make a return on their investment, and would love to work with them and the City Planning Commission to put together a plan for a residential development that includes public open green space and homes serving people at different income levels at a scale that fits the rest of the neighborhood. It may not have as large a proportion of “affordable” housing as I might like, but there could certainly be some and it would be a viable use for the property that would meet their business’s needs without a disruptive gambling license.
I’m listening carefully to the community and have heard a number of concerns that I take very seriously. Should this issue come before me, I’d want to hear from my constituents about the specific proposal and follow their lead. But I can tell you the feedback I’m hearing right now from voters is one of deep skepticism that a casino in Midtown East is in the best interest of this community. And I’m running to be the voice of the community.
That said, I want to be very honest with you that the City Council Member will likely have no control over this decision other than being a community advocate. This is going to be decided at the state level and the City Council will not vote on the project unless it ends up having an aspect of it that needs a variance or change in zoning. It is my understanding that the current proposal is “as of right,” so the City Council will not weigh in.
I am against the proposed casino at Freedom Plaza. Our community is deeply in need of affordable housing, and green spaces. I’d like to prioritize investment in those areas over a casino in Manhattan.
All residents in the neighborhood received the flyer below and Rachel called me personally to discuss my concerns stating the area could be put to much better use for housing, open space, and expansion of the green way.
Mailer sent to the neighborhood is pretty clearly against the casino.
I am against the casino but would be more than willing to at least view any proposal which would be beneficial for the community. So far nothing has been submitted and the Soloviev Group refuses to compromise on the casino.
No reply from candidate Faith Bondy.
Thanks to Vanessa Aronson, I now know that it’s really Keith Powers, the current District 4 City Council Member, that is in a position to push back on the Freedom Plaza casino project at this stage. He has not, pushing the final decision to the Community Advisory Committee that will be put together to asses community support.
The six-member Community Advisory Committee (CAC) needs to approve the license by a two thirds majority. The CAC members will be appointed soon after June 27th which is when applications for licenses are submitted.
CACs must vote on their respective project by September 30, 2025. Those Applicants approved by their CAC will then submit supplemental application material – including a proposed tax rate – to the Board for evaluation and consideration.
The Board expects to make decisions by December 1, 2025, followed by Commission licensure by December 31, 2025. This ensures that New York State will collect the already-booked casino license fee(s) ahead of schedule.
Watching for who is appointed to our district’s CAC in the next few weeks and attending their open meetings and hearings is key. Watch the Gaming Facility Location Board page for updates.
But input from the next District City Councilmember and Manhattan Borough president will be important. Powers debated with his opponents on May 30th and the casino issue came up right as things got started. Holyman-Sigal came down firmly against Powers deferred taking a side and Sun seemed to indicate he welcomes the potential influx of funding.
Last week NYC erupted with over 1,000 small pop-up events across the city, loosely curated by the NY Tech Week team on this calendar. I would describe this as a decentralized SXSW where the events are hosted without much central control which results in an explosion of activity and an opportunity for participants to expose themselves to a wide range of ideas while visiting workspaces all across the city.
The events begin to come together in the months leading up to the annual event. Most of them are invite-only so you need to sign up in advance. Sign-up forms on Partiful ask you to add your LinkedIn profile so the organizers can vet & curate who attends.
I only had time in my schedule to make a few afternoon or evening events but it was nice to sample a few, meet some new people and check out some cool spaces.
Here’s what I learned.
“Influencers are toast” said someone after seeing the demo of Mirage Studio an “AI-powered video generation platform that allows you to create lifelike talking-head videos without traditional production.”
Part of me is happy to bid goodbye to social media influencers shilling products they didn’t truly like, understand, or appreciate. The founder made the argument that their platform would open up access to imaginary personalities to help explain or position their product and would level the playing field for all companies allowing for smaller companies to punch above their weight.
I’m still not sure how I feel about this development, especially after seeing what people are doing with Google’s Veo 3. Further, if the key to communicating to create a sense of empathy, what happens when we give the keys to this rich protocol to a series of APIs? What becomes of human dialog and communication or, more philosophically, what is real?
Then someone leaned over to tell me about Nucleus Embryo. In their words,
When undergoing IVF, couples typically have several viable embryos to choose from.
Nucleus Embryo provides information on the disease risks and traits of each of these embryos, helping parents make an informed choice on which embryo they want to implant.
On the way to the next event, strange new world thoughts spinning in my head, David J’s song, Stop this City was playing on repeat.
Thankfully, my last event of the day was about the power of community and face-to-face collaboration at a shared workspace in an old factory in Tribeca at Fabrik.
Later, New York Governor Kathy Hochul sat down to speak about state initiatives such as Empire AI but also, about what was on everyone’s mind, the challenges of dealing with the Trump administration.
The next day, on the 82nd floor of 30 Hudson Yards, Brand Strategist George Scribner, shared his perspective of Branding in the Age of AI.
The outlook for Google is not great as they had neglected to evolve its brand beyond a functional search utility. Scribner’s view is that there is not enough brand loyalty and that people will flock to a better tool as the new conversational search experiences of the AI platforms have leveled the playing field. I would have to agree but user lock in is a powerful thing and Google’s recent push with AI Mode will work even better for those with lots of data and history stored with Google.
I also dropped by a mixer for Japanese businesses and sat in on a presentation by a representative from the City of Yokohama that has a local NY office to woo startups to Japan.
On Thursday, I dropped in on a round table with several SEO people talking about Generative AI chatbots and the future of discovery in this new world. There’s enough there for another post which will follow.
My favorite part of the NYC Democratic Mayoral Debate. Where in the five boroughs to get the best slice.
Traditionally, whomever wins the democratic primary wins the Mayor’s race in NYC so it’s a crowded field with nine candidates qualifying to take the stage Wednesday night (the second debate is on Thursday, June 12th at 7pm).
The debate was the first time for many to see Zorhan Mamdani for the first time. He is hoping to win over New Yorker’s with his progressive agenda to freeze stabilized rent, make buses free, and a Department of Community Safety to free up police to policing. It was a chance for me to see some of the other candidates such as Michael Blake who came across as a strong candidate as well.
Standing up to Trump and defending NYC is major a part of everyone’s platform. The June 24th election will be closely watched across the country for green shoots of activism as a preview to the midterms.
A war story for Independence Day, this one took place only a few blocks from where I live.
Murray Hill is a neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan named after the farm that was on top of a hill that overlooked Southern Manhattan and the East River. 250 years ago it was called Inclenberg which is Dutch for “beautiful hill.”
Robert Murray, a wealthy businessman who traded goods imported from England moved here in 1762. He built a large house at what is now the corner of 37th and Park Avenue.
Inclenberg – Ratzer Plan of NY, 1767
In the morning of September 15, 1776, British General William Howe, in pursuit of the recently defeated Continental Army at the Battle of Brooklyn, waited on the Manhattan side of the East River for reinforcements. Coming across the river were four man-of-war ships loaded with British and Hessian soldiers that would bring Howe’s forces to number 8,000 men. Howe planned to march this force into Manhattan to defeat George Washington’s troops who were holed up in Harlem Heights. What the General did not know was there were about 3,500 Continental troops left behind by Washington under General Israel Putnam that were escaping North from Wall Street to join Washington’s troops in Harlem.
From their vantage point on the hill, the Murrays could see Putnam’s troops marching North on the West side and the larger contingent of British troops amassing to the East. It was clear that both would run into each other with the British most likely wiping out Putnam’s vastly outnumbered men.
While Robert Murray, who had loyalist tendencies (his business was being disrupted by patriots), it is said his wife, Mary, sided with the patriots. Sensing impending disaster, Mary sent out an invitation to General Howe and his entourage to join her for mid-day tea and cake.
From a painting by E. Percy Moran, Mrs. Murray’s strategy, Murray entertaining British soldiers.
Apparently Mary and her daughters kept Howe’s company entertained for over two hours while a maid kept watch over the retreat of Putnam’s men from an upstairs window. By stalling the British troops, some believe Mrs. Murray’s quick thinking saved a large part of the small American army.
While I love this story, in researching it, I found there is some historical debate as to if the story has been embellished to favor Mary Murray as a quick thinking, covert patriot. The alternative history is that maybe this was just a case of British manners and tradition confounding tactical success against a scrappier opponent.
The latest opinion on the subject, however, tends to deprive Mrs. Murray of any patriotic solicitude for the American cause; she befriended that cause without intending to do so. Her family associates seem to have been with a Tory or at least a neutral kind, rather than the contrary, and the lunch party as an act of civility toward friends in acceptance of which Howe had not the wisdom to foresee the danger. Howe’s nature was easy-going and social; the stern cards of war sat lightly on him. General Putnam, with that Yankee insight of his, early took a measure of the order of Howe’s mind when he said incisively; “How is either our friend or he is no General.”
Nevertheless, there is a plaque dedicated to Mary Murray’s heroics placed on Park Avenue by the Daughters of the American Revolution. I intend to visit to pay my respects this afternoon.
Looking south from 37th Street, west of Park Avenue
I felt a slight rumble while standing at my desk today. No big deal, a very small earthquake, it felt like a subway was passing under our apartment. Only, we don’t have a subway under us. Tyler came in to say his girlfriend texted from the Lower East Side to say she felt it too. Nothing big, it really was just a gentle rumble. I found out later it was a 4.8, which, as someone who has lived in Japan and California is barely enough to interrupt a conversation.
But anything that happens to the citizens of the Tri-State Area, Media Capitol of the Universe, is worthy of an all points bulletin. All local TV stations freaked out and interrupted regular programming for the next couple of hours for breaking news coverage. As with all live coverage, the disaster playbook told everyone to go full-court press, and send everyone out to interview people and experts and, of course, look for damage and casualties.
“Lots of people shook up, recovering, 10-15 seconds of pure terror!”
I wonder if they’ll give this story any airtime on the national TV news tonight.
“This changing weather pattern is the result of climate change, and the sad reality is our climate is changing faster than our infrastructure can respond.”
The Mayor asked citizens to unclog any drains to help drain the streets. Some places were so inundated with water that the drains turned into full on whirlpools
New York City is starting to prepare for storm surges by constructing enormous sea walls around the perimeter of Manhattan. It gives me Game of Thrones vibes.
It’s ten feet high and set a bit inland; instead of hugging the waterline precisely, it approximately traces the outer rail of the FDR, perhaps 30 or 40 paces from the shoreline for much of its length. For those skeptical that a wall can stop the force of a coastal storm surge, there’s more to the gates than what’s aboveground: The foundations go deep and incorporate waterproof barriers to stop water from seeping past them from below. Their design life is specified at 100 years. They have enough structural strength to support an added three feet of height on top, should the worst projections of sea rise come into play. But it’s worth keeping in mind that they are meant to protect against one kind of storm but not another. They won’t be able to do anything about the immensely heavy rainstorms we’re now getting, including Ophelia, the storm we just had in late September. The gates weren’t closed for Ophelia, because that flooding came from above, not across.
I’m always looking for excuses to explore a new neighborhood so when I read about 239 Play, also known as “Dan’s Parent’s House,” I knew I had to check it out and visit City Island.
I took the ferry from 34th Street two stops to Ferry Point Park by Throgs Neck, just a 30 minute trip up the East River. At one point, we were directly under the flight path of the landing jets at LaGuardia Airport. I didn’t get a photo by the views of the Manhattan & Brooklyn skyline was pretty impressive as well.
Flight landing at Laguardia Airport
I have an old beater mountain bike that I ride around on. I wouldn’t want to ride it too far but it’s fine for 30 – 50 mile exploration rides and the shocks are great for urban riding. After getting off the ferry (where I met someone who gave me some pointers on where to ride) I headed up past a Trump golf course and a couple of malls next to a freeway until I got into Pelham Bay Park which had some nice bike paths on the way towards City Island.
On the way back, I took a detour to check out Orchard Beach which was totally empty,
and then took a little back trail and stumbled across a scene that felt like rural Maine.
The journey is half the fun. I rode home instead of taking the ferry just to see how long it would take. Amazing to think all this greenery is only a 90 minute ride from midtown Manhattan.
I fell down a rabbit hole the other night watching cyclists on fixed gear bikes ride like maniacs thru busy urban streets. It all started when I ran across this viral video promoting designer Aimé Leon Dore by putting their Knit Cycling Jersey on the back of a rider navigating the busy streets of Manhattan.
12-minutes from Times Square to the Brooklyn Bridge, no stops, one take.
I later learned that the rider in that video was Toni Rodriguez (@shogun.toro) and that he rides in these events called alleycat races, the biggest being the MonsterTrack which is a race around NYC that he won last year.
MonsterTrack 2023 is a 34-mile race around Manhattan.
I also learned that the camera work for Toni’s Brooklyn Bridge ride was done by this guy Terry Barentsen, a Brooklyn-based videographer who is takes these amazingly stable videos with a GoPro rig on his head.
THEN I found that TerryB filmed the last MonsterTrack race in a heart-thumping, can’t turn my eyes away, hour-and-a-half long video. The mic is on so you can hear the screams of people yelling at them from all the near misses and the breathless dialog as the riders try and work out the quickest way to get from point A to point B.
I will say that I in no way condone this behavior. Racing recklessly through a busy, urban environment on a bike with no brakes is a danger not only to the rider but to everyone on the road. There are several near misses and even a full on collision (scrub forward to about 12:30 in the video) with a cab. A couple of years back, someone died during a race in Chicago.
