Rumors are afoot that Coney Island’s Astroland may be saved after all. Are they for real? It seems you can’t keep a good amusement park down: Thursday night, after three days of rumors that the city was hoping to save … Continue reading
My glass-half-full speculation, it turned out, came to naught: Astroland, the cherished Coney Island amusement park, closed its doors last night for the last time. And before anyone asks: No, the Wonder Wheel (owned by neighboring Deno’s) and Cyclone (owned … Continue reading
This Thursday is September 11, and Major League Baseball is marking the day by dressing up its players in “patriotic” uniforms: This Thursday, all Major League Baseball teams will take the field wearing specially designed “Stars and Stripes” caps, part … Continue reading
Kansas City Star columnist Hearne Christopher Jr. today ran a long interview with me on that city’s new subsidized arena (which still lacks a sports tenant) and subsidized renovations to the stadiums of the Chiefs and Royals. Key quote: “I … Continue reading
Headline from today’s New York Sun: Cost of Tuition at Colleges Breasts $50,000 a Year “Breast” (the verb) can mean to “overcome” (as in an obstacle), but not to surpass, which is what the Sun means here. Either some headline … Continue reading
So the reports by CNN’s Gary Tuchman of serious flooding in the Lower 9th Ward – as well as his later report that the police were telling anyone in the area that the levees there could “explode at any time” … Continue reading
With Anderson Cooper momentarily off the air (he’s moving his satellite truck so it doesn’t blow over), CNN has turned to Gary Tuchman, who’s finally made it to the Lower 9th Ward. There, he reports, a “deluge of water” is … Continue reading
Best unintentionally funny moment of the Gustav reporting so far: Anderson Cooper, standing in the official reporting zone of the French Quarter, assuring viewers that “You don’t see anyone on the streets here except police and emergency personnel – anyone … Continue reading
Flipping cable channels for the latest on Hurricane Gustav, I can’t help notice a striking similarity to the run-up to Hurricane Katrina three years ago: Every single news station is reporting from the French Quarter, or the adjacent downtown region. … Continue reading
I revisit some of the small business operators who were threatened by downtown Brooklyn redevelopment last year, and find that many have now been forced out entirely: Jeff Gargiulo’s e-mail address still says “BagelGuys,” but he’s no longer a bagel … Continue reading