what about the plastic animals?

Morningside Park Marker

What do you suppose this marker is for?  I have no clue.  It is in Morningside Park near 113th or 114th Street and Morningside Drive.

Holiday Spirits

Why do I have the feeling steins are ten percent off every holiday at Schaller and Weber?  I haven't bought a stein from them but I do enjoy their bacon. 

So Disappointed...

Last week I was interviewed by Steve Kurutz of the Times about the Morningside Park turkey.  Later, the photo editor for the Times asked if they could use my turkey pictures.  The story was published today and I didn't make the cut.  it was a good article and you should read it anyway.  Jacquie Collins, who is quoted and whose picture of the turkey was used has a number of other turkey photos on the Friends of Morningside Park website.

While I didn't see the turkey there last week, the park is currently filled with spring flowers, including this daffodil.

Overturned School Bus!

There was an overturned school bus at 117th and St. Nicholas yesterday.

Good thing Dennis Leary was there!  What's the guy on the right doing?

Throwing a handful of foam through the bus window before Leary jumps in to the rescue.

Episode spoiler if you follow the jump.

Found and Revealed

Every once in a while these puzzling signs appear near the Columbia campus.  The poster has "FOUND Tyrannosaurus Rex" and an email address on it.  Very mysterious.  The Columbia Spectator uncovered the mystery last Friday.  The posters are the work of Jason Ruff, an art teacher.  Ruff takes the emails people send to the address provided and posts them anonymously on his website.  I was wishing someone had found an actual T-Rex.

MacBook Pro Lust:  Can't resist much longer.  Must resist.  Can't resist much longer.  Must resist.  Can't resist much longer.  Must resist.  Can't resist much longer.  Must resist.

St. John the Divine

Looking east from 112th St.

Looking east along 110th.

Looking northwest from across 110th and Columbus Ave.  You can barely see the unfinished tower and roofline in the background

Collapsed retaining wall along 110th.

It was reported yesterday that the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine is nearing a deal with a developer to build a 20-story apartment building on the southeast corner of the church grounds.  The church has been running an annual deficit of up to a million dollars a year and needs lots of maintenance (see the collapsed wall above).  They're hoping 300 market-rate rental units will bring in much needed cash.  Some people are worried that the new building will harm the church grounds, others that the view will be lost.

Totally unrelated:  Fairway is four subway stops away on the 2/3 line.  A guy talking to himself got on the same car as I did at 116th Street.  Another guy talking to himself got on at 110th.  Yet a third self-talker got on at 96th.  There were lots of internal conversations going on between 96th and 72nd.  To add to the fun a non-talking guy got on at 110th.  He had lots of religious literature for his fellow riders.  I politely refused.  This was a mistake as the people who took the pamphlets were soon offered Lorna Doones.

Bodega Wall

The bodega at 117th and Manhattan Ave is being repainted.  It used to be yellow.  Now it is a mix of yellow, orange, white, gray, black and a tiny bit of blue.  Larger version of the individual pictures in the composite are available on Flickr.

Spring Kalahari Update

Site overview, March 25th

Pouring concrete, April 1st

The foundation of the Kalahari building is beginning to take shape.  Since I last wrote about the construction in January the pile drivers have thankfully stopped.  Lots of holes have been dug and filled with reinforced concrete.  On Saturday there was a constant stream of concrete mixers pouring concrete into the articulated concrete pouring truck.  It can't be too long now before we see some vertical development on the building.