The City Desk

The Board of Trusts and the City’s Generous Dead

The City Desk — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:57:06 +0000

The current economic situation has given our already cash-strapped City a rough go of it, especially with regard to any funds tied into the stock market. Its pension fund alone has lost millions over the last two years and now officials are scrambling to work on ways to patch the gaping hole. There is one [...]

Snapshots: Col. Barstow’s Private Police Force, 1910

The City Desk — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:16:50 +0000

May 26, 1910- Caption from this Sun-Recorder photo: “Across from the Cathedral of St. Vitus on Lorimar Avenue, Col. Harrison Barstow demonstrates one of the new mechanical call boxes installed for his new police force, to begin operations Monday.” Colonel Harrison Barstow was a wealthy man who had distinguished himself in the Spanish-American War. Upon returning home, he [...]

Friday Facts: The Honorable Harold Ramis, No Batmobiles

The City Desk — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 13:43:21 +0000

:: On this day in 1889, boxer John Lawrence Sullivan punched Mayor John Overholt’s wife directly in the face, knocking her out instantly. No reason was ever given for the assault, and neither the mayor nor Sullivan ever chose to speak of it again. :: A 1971 city ordinance prohibits the display of the Batmobile (from [...]

The History of Barkay Bros. Funeral Home: Part II

The City Desk — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:28:58 +0000

Joel and Isaac Barkay, proprietors of Barkay Bros. Funeral Home on East Folkim St., announced recently that they had accepted an undisclosed sell their business. The local funeral home had been run by the Barkay family for 72 years. Joel and Isaac, lifelong bachelors aged 69 and 67 respectively, agreed to sit for an interview [...]

The History of Barkay Bros. Funeral Home: Part I

The City Desk — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:10:36 +0000

Joel and Isaac Barkay, proprietors of Barkay Bros. Funeral Home on East Folkim St., announced last week that they had accepted an undisclosed offer from the giant mortuary services conglomerate ServLimited International to purchase their business. The local funeral home had been run by the Barkay family for 72 years. Joel and Isaac, lifelong bachelors [...]

A Bridge Too Far: Stimulus funds to destroy city landmark

The City Desk — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:19:52 +0000

The current economic downturn and an infusion of $14 million from the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (stimulus bill) passed by congress earlier this spring have brought back to life a controversial city project many believe should never be revived. Since 1988, access to the 19th Street Bridge over the Ostahanoc River has [...]

The Blotter: Shots, Sheep, Sno-Cones

The City Desk — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:24:57 +0000

As a public service, The City Desk periodically offers up selected items culled from recent City police reports. (Note: More violent, standard items do not frequently show up here, as they are covered in the local papers with regularity.) 9:45 pm Corner of Simcoe and Newbury Streets: Officers from the 27th Precinct respond to reports of shots [...]

Food Truck Congestion Pricing

The City Desk — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:48:46 +0000

Hundreds of food trucks slowed traffic during afternoon rush hour last Thursday in a mass protest of the city’s new congestion-pricing scheme. The act of civil disobedience, coordinated by the Mobile Food Providers Alliance, delayed commuters on their way home from work by up to 90 minutes. At 5:30 p.m., at least 215 food trucks pulled [...]

Opinion: Gritty Glamour is Bunk

The City Desk — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:02:22 +0000

Occasionally, The City Desk will present to you a real opinion piece concerning the cities in which we live. Maybe it’s because I was a failure as a bohemian (one has to be a true bourgeois to become a true bohemian), but all this hipster wank about how “authentic” New York was in the 70’s really [...]

Friday Facts: Charlie’s Angels Lunchboxes, Roadside Cabbage, Fake Squid

The City Desk — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:47:27 +0000

:: A City Council ordinance passed on this date in 1975 expressly prohibited the “display of images of a licentious, erotic, salient or pornographic nature, or which otherwise arouse the prurient interest for the sole purpose of titillation” on children’s metal lunchboxes. :: The Seventh of the Eight Great Zoo Hoaxes was committed on this day [...]