By Alexandra Alexa, Fri, July 19, 2019 Image via Flickr
After a toasty week, the city’s first heatwave of the year is about to get even hotter, with Friday’s expected heat index reaching 98 degrees and as high as 109 degrees over the weekend. The city is taking precautions to keep residents safe as the temperatures continue to heat up. Mayor Bill de Blasio declared an official heat emergency and directed office buildings and residents to set their AC to 78 degrees in order to prevent another power outage. The city’s annual Triathlon, originally scheduled to take place on Sunday, was just canceled for the first time in its history. While the best advice is still to stay indoors as much as possible, out of the sun, and well hydrated, there are some ways to beat the heat in the city, all for free.
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By Michelle Cohen, Fri, July 19, 2019 Image courtesy of @subwaycreatures via Youtube.
A rush of brown water flooded into the Court Square-23rd Street station in Long Island City Wednesday night, making for a soggy commute–and a dangerous one for one passenger who was nearly swept onto the tracks. The MTA said the unfortunate overflow was caused by a plywood construction wall in a nearby building site, where the skyscraper known as Skyline Tower is rising, giving way in the recent downpour, the Daily News reports.
More subway surfing, this way
By Devin Gannon, Wed, July 17, 2019 Via Flickr
The year’s first heatwave is expected to hit New York City this weekend, with temperatures reaching over 95 degrees for three days. While officials predict it won’t last as long as the city’s longest heatwave in August 1953, which persisted for 12 insufferable days, this weekend’s temperatures, with a heat index over 105 degrees, will be the hottest felt in NYC in the last seven years. The city on Wednesday opened roughly 500 cooling centers across the five boroughs to provide relief to those who are most vulnerable during the heatwave. And with this interactive map, you can find all of the air-conditioned public facilities in your neighborhood.
Here’s how to beat the heat
By Alexandra Alexa, Tue, July 16, 2019 Image via Wiki Commons
Following years of efforts to keep a report about segregation in the city’s affordable housing lottery system under wraps, a federal court ruling finally led to the report’s release on Monday. As the New York Times first reported, the findings, written by Queens College sociology professor Andrew A. Beveridge, found unequivocal racial disparities at every stage of the process and in every community district where a majority of residents are of one race or ethnicity.
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By Michelle Cohen, Tue, July 16, 2019 Governor Cuomo announces power has been fully restored following the widespread power outage in Midtown Manhattan. Photo: Gov. Andrew Cuomo/Flickr
The most recent intel on Saturday’s power outage that left the country’s densest urban area dark from 72nd Street south to 30th Street is that a burning 13,000-volt cable at a substation near West 65th Street was the culprit, according to the New York Times. Consolidated Edison said Monday that the burning cable shut down the flow of electricity to more than 72,000 Midtown Manhattan customers. And while the blackout wasn’t a direct result of an overtaxed grid, the New York Post reports, Con Ed warned Monday that mind-melting temperatures in the 90s expected this weekend–Saturday’s 97 degrees will feel like 106–could lead to service outages.
What havoc will the heat wreak
By Alexandra Alexa, Mon, July 15, 2019 The founder of #1000BlackGirlBooks 14-year-old Marley Dias (pictured above), has partnered with the initiative as an ambassador; photo courtesy of JetBlue
After runs in cities like Detroit, San Francisco, Oakland, and Washington D.C., JetBlue’s free book vending machine program “Soar with Reading” is coming to New York City. The literacy initiative aims to create more access to age-appropriate books in underserved communities. JetBlue will install six vending machines—one in each borough and two in Queens—and will restock and rotate new titles every two weeks, with options available in both English and Spanish.
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By Devin Gannon, Thu, July 11, 2019 Via Flickr
An event that makes even locals stop and stare returns to New York City tomorrow night. Manhattanhenge, when the sunset aligns with the east-west streets of the borough’s grid, happened on May 29th and 30th, and the final two days of the phenomenon returns for the last time this year tonight and tomorrow at 8:20 p.m. and 8:21 p.m., respectively. Not only does the setting sun sit perfectly between Manhattan’s many skyscrapers during this biannual event, but an orange-yellow glow hits north and south side streets, creating a picture-perfect moment.
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By Michelle Cohen, Fri, June 28, 2019 A Central Park squirrel, via Wiki Commons
Last October, as 6sqft reported, an organization called Squirrel Census, headed by Jamie Allen, began the multimedia, science, design, and storytelling endeavor of figuring out how many squirrels–specifically eastern gray squirrels–call the 843 acres of Central Park home, and put out a call for critter-counting volunteers. Though attempting to fathom the magnitude of the park’s squirrelscape began with some curiosity and a bit of tongue in cheek, according to Citylab, the methods used to tally the cheeky rodents–and the resulting findings–are as fun as they are fascinating.
More than just a head count
By Michelle Cohen, Thu, June 27, 2019 Image via Flickr cc
America’s largest 4th of July fireworks show is getting ready to light up the New York sky; Macy’s 43rd annual Fourth of July live fireworks extravaganza happens next Thursday evening, and plans are being hatched to snag a spot at one of the city’s better viewing locations (or in front of a bigger screen; the show is being broadcast live from the Brooklyn Bridge) to watch the amazing choreography of pyrotechnics that will sail skyward from four barges stationed on the East River near Pier 17 at South Street Seaport and from the Brooklyn Bridge. The bridge will be a special focal point this year; expect dazzlingly intricate effects firing from more than a dozen points along the iconic NYC landmark throughout the 25-minute display, which will begin at around 9:20 P.M. The numbers behind the show are exactly as impressive as you’d expect.
Check the figures behind the fireworks
By Alexandra Alexa, Wed, June 26, 2019 Photos courtesy of Book Culture
The latest independent bookstore in danger of closing is the Upper West Side’s beloved Book Culture. Owner Chris Doeblin issued an open letter earlier this week in which he urges the city to provide assistance in the form of an immediate loan. Despite good business—they’ve been able to expand to three storefronts uptown and one in Long Island City—Doeblin has stated that he would need a minimum of $500,000 to keep things afloat and fend off the “awful spiral” of unpaid vendor debts and loans.
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