Amy's New York Notebook

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31316482009-08-31T09:42:02.729-04:00Amy's New York NotebookAmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comBlogger1993125This is an XML content feed. It is intended to be viewed in a newsreader or syndicated to another site, subject to copyright and fair use.tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-41258963205284349772009-08-31T08:44:00.006-04:002009-08-31T09:42:02.796-04:00New York Dock buildings: new paint, and vacate

Way back in June Crain's and Brownstoner reported that Christie's auction house signed a deal for warehouse space in one of the New York Dock Co. buildings in Red Hook.It now looks like they're doing paint tests on the buidling's exterior - different shades of grey and goldenrod maybe.Also interesting is the big new VACATE notice posted Wednesday on the matching building next door. "The

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-55508921983913410342009-08-29T11:54:00.002-04:002009-08-29T12:07:25.667-04:00B61 bus riders approve of Matt Damon

I was on the B61 yesterday afternoon and had a look out the window to see a film crew on Van Brunt. "Hey, isn't that Matt Damon?" I ask the guy next to me."Why, yes, I think that is Matt Damon." And then he and the rest of the bus start Matt Damon conversations along the lines of: You know, I don't know the guy, but he just seems like he'd be a really nice guy who you'd want to hang out with.I've

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-33352719221509972342009-08-26T10:55:00.004-04:002009-08-26T11:50:48.766-04:00Revere's last red brick building entirely demolished

August 4, 2009August 25, 2009Here's how it looked Monday morning (August 24) with one floor still standing.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-55110268860766420392009-08-19T22:20:00.002-04:002009-08-19T22:24:40.865-04:00Salted caramels

We're in Portland staying at the Heathman, and I just popped into the little chocolate shop next to the lobby to buy a few chocolates for, uh research.As it turns out, Fran's Smoked Salt Caramels are to die for.So I go online to see what's up with them. And oh, it's just the Obama family favorite.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-41235346099150676122009-08-01T09:27:00.005-04:002009-08-01T10:07:31.276-04:00LaGuardia bomb scare coverage

So how does the media do on a Saturday morning in August when there's a bomb scare that shuts down all of LaGuardia?Not so well.The Notify NYC alert went out at 8 a.m. that all flights were canceled.As I'm starting to gather links for this post now at 9:15 a.m., the New York Times has it front and center online, but it's entirely a story from the Associated Press. The AP picture, and thus the NY

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-16552687453794698302009-07-30T07:54:00.002-04:002009-07-30T08:00:11.271-04:00B61 wild card to get more predictable?

It's official: the B61 bus route will break in two as of January, according to the MTA.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-15736551001816790332009-07-27T10:23:00.004-04:002009-07-27T10:34:14.405-04:00Demolition permits issued for Revere

Looks like permits were issued to tear down the last building standing at the Revere Sugar Factory site in Red Hook.DEMOLITION OF A 5 STORY BUILDING A.K.A. BUILDING #9 A.K.A. 101 BEARD STREETIt was way back in November 2007 when the smokestack came down.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-55660815267502508462009-05-25T07:30:00.002-04:002009-05-25T07:35:46.310-04:0016 & Pregnant

One of my friends from college, Morgan J. Freeman, is the executive producer of the upcoming MTV series "16 & Pregnant." It debuts June 11. Please check out the trailer.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-4058725165158640992009-05-24T10:12:00.009-04:002009-05-26T11:13:53.799-04:00Dirty Internet thieves

I'm having a ready-to-throw-in-the-towel morning at NewYorkology again. I'm a content person. And I don't cheat, "borrow" or steal online. And for those reasons (and yes, many others,)I will always be out-moused as long as I remain independent.So without getting too deep into the big picture, here's the most mind-boggling case this morning. I was looking for some content in my archives, using the

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-24265881940683861662009-04-23T10:48:00.002-04:002009-04-23T10:51:34.042-04:00Secret Fire now on sale.

Martin's second published novel, The Secret Fire is out. As I mentioned earlier, there's no U.S. publisher as of yet, but you can buy it on Amazon UK.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-90388334469056052562009-04-12T19:59:00.004-04:002009-04-12T20:11:28.517-04:00Brooklyn sand dunes

When I went out looking for the whale Thursday, I found there's little stretch of public beach with sand dunes facing the Verrazano Bridge. It's in Kaiser Park.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-48305412109739025742009-03-10T18:29:00.004-04:002009-03-10T18:42:14.668-04:00On sharing your freinds' e-mails

Thrillist offers an example why it's not nice to "e-mail this article to your friend." This landed in my inbox today:You're InvitedA while back, your friend (NAME REDACTED) sent you an article from Thrillist — the free daily email that sifts through the crap to find the newest restaurants, bars, events, gear, gadgets and services.For some insane reason, you didn't sign up. We'll forgive you if

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-89696488748065841832009-03-07T14:20:00.004-05:002009-03-07T14:27:17.538-05:00Changing Face of Red Hook

Here's another gauge of the changes in Red Hook. Last summer, at this same place next to the Brooklyn Cruise Ship Terminal, there was an old oil drum. Except typical Red Hook, it was leaking, and since it was big enough to fit a body, it sat there for about two months before anyone bothered to call the city and have it picked up.But now, while there's the usual amount of building materials and

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-77758589473790400792009-03-07T07:54:00.003-05:002009-03-07T08:29:07.348-05:00Book No. 2

I'm very happy to pass along the news that the husband's second book will hit bookstore shelves soon."The Secret Fire" is the follow up to "The Malice Box." It's both a sequel and prequel to the first, this time set in England, France - and a bit of Red Hook. However, he was also careful to write it in a way that you need not start with "Malice Box" to know what's going on.Part of the "Secret

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-33037763447236099822009-03-06T07:10:00.002-05:002009-03-06T07:25:31.397-05:00On or off the record

There are a few interesting media points in today's theater column by Michael Riedel in the Post.Earlier, he wrote some unflattering things about Mary-Louise Parker's supposed diva-like behavior during her current Broadway run of "Hedda Gabler." In response, she called him up and asked him out for coffee -- a meeting she recently mentioned to a Broadway.com reporter.I wasn't sure if our meeting,

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-1993662958975620832009-03-03T10:28:00.005-05:002009-03-06T07:28:47.823-05:00Newsday and copyright

Here's an interesting little thing I came across at Newsday's TV Zone blog:Here's a nice full clean clip from a Chinese TV network (of all places) of last night's show closing performance. There are number of other clips on Youtube, too, if you prefer. Watch before CBS deactivates, which could be any minute now...TVZone then embeds the U2 clip.So think about that. Newsday, which is thinking about

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-43111408401210264602009-02-12T19:11:00.003-05:002009-02-12T19:27:14.353-05:00A fishy fleeing-Dubai story

Am I the only one whose BS meter went off over the story about foreigners in debt fleeing Dubai and abandoning their cars at the airport?The papers keep reporting that some people are even leaving notes of apology on the windshield.Right, because if you're fleeing the country to avoid jail over bankruptcy, you'll leave a note that could be found by cops before you get away.Best as I can tell it

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-9132653861480584102009-02-09T10:57:00.005-05:002009-02-10T10:22:01.620-05:00What Sully's reading

Mayor Bloomberg just gave a book to Capt. Sullenberger (along with the keys to the city.) The book replaces one that is probably still at the bottom of the Hudson.The book -- which the pilot had borrowed from my mom's alma mater, Fresno State University -- is Just Culture: Balancing Safety and Accountability.Currently, it's ranked 260,374 in sales at Amazon.Update: Now, 24 hours later, it's

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-14526639112522570782009-02-09T06:23:00.003-05:002009-02-09T06:31:40.968-05:00Aussie fire coverage

The long BBC America radio report this morning on the Australian fires was just a muddled mess that left me entirely confused. Thank goodness I've still got That Happy Feeling in my RSS feed as he's got a report (via Facebook no less) that paints the picture well. Air temperatures are as high as 118 and the death toll is expected to hit 200. Very scary stuff. Two excerpts:One man related the fire

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-74132469522194361262009-01-22T13:04:00.004-05:002009-01-22T13:41:44.142-05:00Iceland steps up the protests

I've been slow in posting any pictures from our trip to Iceland, but because I'm a news gal, here are a couple sorta interesting ones. The Morning News today linked to a set of pictures at The Times of London of the weekly anti-government protest in Reykjavik over the currency crisis there.A week before -- we were told it's every Saturday at 3 p.m. -- we watched the protest from our hotel room

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-62219098318037220922009-01-16T10:33:00.003-05:002009-01-16T12:25:12.267-05:00Ice chunks, and a raft, on Red Hook beach

How cold is it? I went down to the Valentino Pier this morning and saw a bunch of chunks of ice on shore.Plus, there were pieces of a yellow raft washed up on the rocks. It may, or may not, be part of the US Air rescue effort from yesterday. I told a couple cops parked in a warm squad car nearby, and they didn't care. One of my Twitter followers (thanks Vidiot) told me to call 311, which actually

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-47672754463157496362009-01-14T10:23:00.003-05:002009-03-17T21:05:53.575-04:00Appropriate use of profanity

Loved this image in Iceland, which you can see on the website of artist Daniel Magnusson.Scroll halfway down the page, to the field of green grass.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-26601131898511646192009-01-13T22:34:00.004-05:002009-01-13T22:39:45.367-05:00People doing bad things still think they're good

Interesting Q&A with an adware author and how he rationalizes that he did more good than evil. An excerpt:It really showed me the power of gradualism. It’s hard to get people to do something bad all in one big jump, but if you can cut it up into small enough pieces, you can get people to do almost anything. (Link found via Waxy.)

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-59458060713133625572009-01-07T13:14:00.001-05:002009-01-07T13:17:41.232-05:00Calexico

So this place promises to bring California-style Mexican food to Brooklyn.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131648.post-91275832308379196592008-12-26T10:26:00.002-05:002008-12-26T10:30:22.053-05:00Will aggregators kill the news?

In the New Yorker, James Surowiecki writes about the death of news:For a while now, readers have had the best of both worlds: all the benefits of the old, high-profit regime—intensive reporting, experienced editors, and so on—and the low costs of the new one. But that situation can’t last. Soon enough, we’re going to start getting what we pay for, and we may find out just how little that is.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17128115207926304111noreply@blogger.com