Of course, there’s no shortage of attractions and diversions in the Big Apple and shopping is a dream come true. New York City is home to many high end retailers, so the savviest of shoppers can find luxurious jewelry, clothing, art and furnishings. New York City is also a great destination for those that love food. You can find everything from street fares of hot dogs and pretzels to fine authentic French, Italian, Spanish and Middle Eastern foods on many clocks of the city that never sleeps.

Those that love the outdoors can also find a number of respites in New York. The city is home to Central Park, Rockefeller Center, the New York Botanical Gardens and the Bronx Zoo.

In addition to great shopping, dining, parks and more shopping, New York has great night life and an active arts community.

If you’ve never been to the great state of New York, there’s no time like the present to book a weekend getaway to the diverse city of NYC.

With the minimum wage at $7.15 an hour, it’s easy to see how many working class people can not afford to live in the Big Apple. Fair market rent is $1,217 a month for a two bedroom apartment.

Low cost is barely available, and tends to be declining in recent years. The case of the Starrett City apartments serve as an example of why cheap housing is so hard to come by. Land remains at such a premium in the city that real estate developers generally want to recommission properties to higher rent earning ones.

Now the owners are working with federal, state and city officials to put together a deal that would enable the owners to reap a $200 million profit, while the 5,881 apartments at the complex would remain affordable for many New Yorkers for the next 30 years. The deal still requires state legislation and federal approval, but Deborah VanAmerongen, the state housing commissioner, said she was hopeful for a positive outcome.”

For now the 14,000 residents of Starrett City appear to be saved. In the future, the challenge will remain for city officials to work with low income residents to assure they have a place to live. Since land in the city is always in demand, real estate developers will remain highly motivated to change land use to something more profitable.

Housing in New York is only guaranteed for those with deep pockets.

He noticed that a man had fallen onto the subway tracks at Penn Station. The man had apparently hit his head and was unconscious.

Lindsey jumped down on the tracks and tried to revive the man. When he couldn’t he called for help.

Lindsey had some experience getting ready for his heroic rescue. He is starring in “Kasper Hauser,” a play in which he carries a man off the stage.

Lindsey is a 33 year old from Harbor Springs, Michigan who moved to New York City three years ago.

Tickets are available from Ticketmaster and begin with standard seating prices of $70.

The concert starts sharply at 7:30pm, so don’t be late.

The Dave Matthews Band has been performing since they first joined forces in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991.

“New York is the place where people want to be; it’s the capital of more industries than any other city. We’ve been written off many times. The post 9/11 zeitgeist was that no one would move downtown, but we have more companies today than in 2000 and twice as many people living downtown,” he said.

The Mayor also told the crowd that a greener city had a brighter future. He lauded building owners for the “good work you’ve performed over the past 15 years by continually lowering the energy costs of your buildings. The way you manage costs may be painful, but long-term, it is good for the economy and good for the City.”

Bloomberg spoke about he would make regulations easier to understand and would provide a number of incentives to help the city save energy.

“In the end it is the people in this room who get the people in the City to save energy, which makes us more competitive–you are going to be the stars,” he said.

This was the 15th annual Energy Action Day. The conference itself was also powered using renewable energy.

Thompson, a Demcrat who is also a candidate for mayor, said “the financial situation has changed dramatically,” in recent months, prompting the evolution of his position.

The rich can help make up the city’s huge looming budget gap.

“Those who are doing better need to help in these tough times,” he said.

Mark Page, the City Budget Director, wasn’t as enthusiastic about levying extra taxes on those who “do well.”

“You don’t have to lose many to suffer income losses and end up with less money than before you increased the tax,” he said.

The top 1% of city income tax payers already contribute 47.8% of the city’s revenue from taxes, multiple sources reported.

For people earning one million or more, the income tax top rate would be 4.8, up from the current 3.65%. That would cost millionaires about $11,500 per one million earned.

Prior to taking his radio show to the satellite waves, shockjock Howard Stern worked for the station. K-Rock played primarily offered 90’s alternative and classic rock.

K-Rock will be replaced with top 40 offerings from WNOW. WNOW’s talk show hosts, Opie and Anthony, were terminated from their position and won’t be making the move. The “new” radio station will be known as NOW FM, beginning on March 11, 2009.

“New York City is healthier than ever,” Mayor Bloomberg said. “If that isn’t the purpose of government, I don’t know what is the purpose of government.”

Critics quickly pointed out that not all is well, of course. The speech by Bloomberg ignored so-called “negative indicators” like childhood obesity, which indicate the city faces enormous potential health problems in coming years.

When asked about obesity, Bloomberg said the city did its best to prevent it, but it’s a lifestyle choice.

“We can give you the information, we can tell you what you should be doing,” he said. “But in the end, if you want to live longer, if you want your children to be healthier, you have to take self-responsibility.”

One area where New York City excelled in was getting people to quit smoking cigarettes. Since 2002, over 300,000 quit smoking, largely due to an increase of awareness about the dangers of the habits, plus the fact smoking is outlawed in much of the city.

The use of “scary advertisements” depicting what happens to smokers over the long term has also had a major impact on getting people to give up the habit.

Recession-busting Diane von Furstenberg, president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, turned out a relaxed, nomad-chic look with short velvet or leopard-print dresses under long coats, multi-hued shawls over short skirts, and lots of bold, sturdy knitwear with bursts of plaids and sequins, all topped with fuzzy wool chapka hats.
Donna Karan won praise for what many said was her best collection in years, with functional yet alluringly draped outfits with big shoulders, belted waists and long, loose skirts or trousers.

If nothing else, all the beautiful women dressed in stunning fashion gave Fashion Week participants and onlookers a chance to escape from all the “gloom and doom” talk that seems so prevalent these days.

Fashion Week ends today.

The panel, formed by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg to study the potential effects of global warming on the city, said that mean annual temperatures in New York could increase by up to 3 degrees and the average sea levels rise by 2 to 5 inches by the 2020s. By the 2080s, temperatures could increase by up to 7 ½ degrees, and sea levels could rise 12 to 23 inches by the end of the century, the panel said.

Recommendations on what exactly should be done concerning climate change will be coming from a second group investigating the problem.