blogchelsea

B&N: A Sorid Epitath

Doubtless it was shenanigans such as these that have led to the eminent closing of the Astor Place Barnes & Noble.  For the new year, fellow bibliophiles, let's resolve not to defile our remaining bookstores in this way.

HUG A TREE FOR CHRISTMAS

Community and environmental groups call on New Yorkers to protest the massacre of 32 trees in Washington Square Park.
Press Conference, Rally and Vigil to Protest Bulldozing of Washington Square Park
Thursday, December 20th, 4 p.m., at the Park by the Arch

PLEASE PHONE NY CITY COUNCIL CHAIR CHRISTINE QUINN TODAY.
Tell her that you want her to stop funding immediately for chainsawing the trees in Washington Square Park and that you are a Green Party member (or whatever group you are from). If you are from outside of New York City, your call can be especially helpful. Tell  her that you won't visit NYC if they're going to tear down the trees  and privatize the public parks:

(212) 564-7757 and (212) 788-7210

ALSO CONTACT CITY COUNCIL MEMBER ALAN GERSON
212-788-7722 and 212-788-7259

Hollow Victory for Chelsea Hotel

  Last year we compared our Chelsea Hotel christmas tree with that of the Allerton Hotel  on 22nd and 8th Avenue, and found that our sawed-off little runt came up seriously short.  But this year we blew them away!  (Photo: Chelsea Hotel Lobby, 2007)
     Seriously, the Allerton which closed over the summer, was home to the most destitute among us and its loss was a serious blow to the Chelsea community.  Those who applauded its closing are most likely the same people who would like to see the Chelsea turned into a Pod hotel.  Thankfully we have more resources to draw on than the residents of the Allerton, but wherever those displaced souls ended up, we hope they landed on their feet.  Here's wishing them a safe and happy holiday season. -- Ed Hamilton  (Photo: Allerton Hotel Lobby, 2007)

Rezoning Proposal for 11th Avenue

Please Join Speaker Christine C. Quinn and Manhattan Community Board 4 at a presentation on Tuesday, December 18th, where the Department of City Planning  will be sharing its study, which will be leading to a rezoning proposal for 11th Avenue.

At the December 18th presentation, the public will have an opportunity  to view and comment on the study to rezone the 11th Avenue Corridor.   

Date: December 18, 2007
Time: 6:00 PM
Venue: Red Cross Building:
520 West 49th Street
New York, NY 10019

Holiday Caroling

The 300 & 400 West Block Associations invite all Chelseaites to join them to go caroling on Tuesday, December 18 at 6:30 p.m. Meet in the lobby of 360 West 22nd Street.  The group will be accompanied by a brass Quartet.

After the Holidays

You've just got a new phone/camera/laptop/iPod/gadget for a present and you still have at least one older version kicking around your home.  You've seen The Story of Stuff so you know you can't just trash it.  What to do with your old stuff? 

Lucky for you the Lower East Side Ecology Center is sponsoring a post-holiday Electronics Waste Recycling Day.  New York City residents are free to haul any and all of their household computers, TVs, radios, stereos, cell phones and other crap to Union Square on January 6th from 10 am to 4 pm.  No business computers will be accepted, but check their website for instructions on how to donate your stuff.

For for information about electronic recycling, see Councilmember Bill de Blasio's editorial in The Gotham Gazette.

Merrill Lynch May Stay Put

Crain's New York Business reported that Merrill Lynch may not be moving uptown after all.   Merrill, like many Americans reeling from the sub prime disaster that it partially created, actually needs to hold the line on their expenses.  But, unlike the people who are losing their homes, they are in no danger of being evicted.

Patisserie Des Ambassades

This is the second location of this French Senegalese restaurant, the other one is uptown on 2200 Fredrick Douglass Boulevard.  The casual ambiance has a lot to do with its set-up, because the restaurant shares its entryway with another space.  On this particular night, there was a craft fair in the room next door.  If you were so inclined, you could slip away between courses to peruse tables of scarves and handmade jewelry.  It might even be a good idea to take advantage of the free wine and cheese because Ambassades doesn't offer alcohol on their menu.  This is an eclectic addition to the neighborhood in a space that has seen a lot of restaurant turnover.

The food, while not overly complex, offers rich, full and spicy flavors. The fish patties (similar to empanadas) have a peppery flavor and the pastry is fairly light.  If you order this appetizer, be prepared to share it with at lease three other people as the portion was huge.  The ginger juice was a  pleasant surprise.  It was a lot like drinking the crystallized candy-but not as sweet-and it stayed just on the right side of a tantalizingly slow burn on the way down.

The exotic seafood stew arrives in a scooped out half pineapple. Shrimp, mussels and squid all swim together in a base of sweet and sour soy sauce with just a hint of fire. The chicken kabobs were also very well prepared.  Served on a bed of caramelized onions, they came with crispy thin fries and a small green salad.  The peanut stew was really more like a legume ragout.  Served in a tomato base, it had fava beans, carrots and broccoli with a rich spicy taste.  If you go-and you should-make sure to order the plantains.  They are light and sweet and not soaked in oil like they so often are. 

There are several--very tempting--fancy confections available for dessert, but it might be impossible to fit them in.  Instead, they linger in memory and beckon you back for another visit.  Another odd thing about this restaurant:  our waitress tacked on an 18% gratuity for a party of three.  That's not always a good deal for the server, because it caps the upside tip potential.  But maybe that's a Senegalese custom?

Patisserie Des Ambassades-161 W. 22nd Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues. 212-255-5101 Open for Breakfast Lunch and Dinner.

The High Cost of Free Parking

While some people may think that paying for curbside parking is un-American, Donald Shoup says it's very American to pay for what we use.  "We are not a nation of freeloaders," he said.  By not paying for public parking, we deny the city needed revenue and make motorists waste time driving around looking for spots.

Shoup, speaking at Fordham University last night, is in town to meet with public officials, business people and city planners to discuss parking.  Transportation Alternatives, who sponsored the talk, are advocating (in addition to PlanNYC's congestion pricing) the imposition of curbside parking fees on the Upper West Side. A professor of Urban Planning at UCLA, Shoup is probably the country's foremost expert on parking.

He maintains that even though most of Manhattan's curbside parking is free, the cost is borne by everyone, even if you are too poor to own a car.  By charging for parking in commercial districts, it would have the immediate impact of culling cars that are not really necessary and rarely used.  It would also reduce travel time, traffic congestion, air pollution, fossil fuel waste and greenhouse gas emissions as well as improve public services.  The revenues gained from paid parking could be used to maintain sidewalks, plant trees and be remitted to merchants who could in turn improve their public space.  The trick is to find the Goldilocks price--where streets would have only 85% of the spots taken at any one time.  Shoup said this could be achieved by sophisticated high tech meters--ones that change the price paid by time of day or day of the week.  There are even magnetic sensors that can monitor space for cheaters and alert parking enforcement to visit the blocks with the highest violations.

The average time spent looking for a parking spot is roughly the same in New York as Los Angelos--3.4 minutes, traveling around 10 miles per hour.  While that may not seem like very much, it adds up when you consider how many people drive.

The only thing missing in his presentation?  What to do when motorists who won't pay the commercial district prices park in residential neighborhoods instead.--Sherry Mazzocchi

Save the South Village

The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation is holding a meeting this evening on their efforts to preserve the South Village.  Unlike other parts of the Village, this culturally rich and historic neighborhood does not have landmark status and is in real danger of being lost.  Tonight's meeting, sponsored by Community Board #2, is a chance for the community to show elected officials support for saving this unique historic district.

6:30 pm meeting in
Our Lady of Pompeii Church
Bleeker and Carmine Streets