Jim Joe Likes His Dope

Montreal born Jim Joe, downtown Manhattan's public penmanship scribbler, has as of late been very active. If you've been below Houston Street, chances are you've seen the ubiquitous '1-800-Jim-Joe' or simply, 'Jim Joe,' scribbled on any available surface. 

He's since begun elaborating his scribbles, leaving varying statements along many neighborhoods in the area. Above, Jim Joe declared his love of dope on Spring Street at Lafayette. Fortunately for Jim Joe, if he ever needs help kicking a habit, the New York City Department of Health can assist him.

See one more new piece below.

Fiat Cafe On Mott St Opens For Business

Fiat Cafe is open at 203 Mott Street as of last night (map), one building south of Lombardi's. The cafe takes the place of a juice bar that spent as much time renovating the space as they did open for business—unfortunately, only a few weeks.

A quick glance inside last night showed a light menu of sandwiches and beverages, decorated with toy scooters on one wall.

It's unclear at this time if Fiat Cafe is a contrived Italian bar or the real deal, endearing as an outpost in rural Italy. Stay tuned...

UPDATE: They seem always to have a crowd of people enjoying their space at all times of day. 

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Felix Morelo Chalks Mulberry Street

Last Monday morning at 8:00 am, artist Felix Morelo ended up on Mulberry St north of Broome and added his distinct chalk faces to the sidewalk, after marking East Houston street earlier in the week.

Morelo is known to draw lines of faces, often hundreds, leading to a 'good luck spot.' Noshiz.com wrote: "100 faces is a lot for for most people to draw...but not Felix Morelo."

On this warm morning on April 26, he graced Mulberry St with four. 

[Felix Morelo]

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PHOTOS: Triborough Bridge Shut Down

From left to right, NYC The Blog captured photos from traffic cameras atop the Triborough bridge taken moments ago. The bridge is closed due to a suspicious vehicle. They show the Queens bound exit, Bronx bound exit and Manhattan bound exits closed. Police and emergency units can be seen in the distance. Click through for a larger photo. 

The video cameras are not in service at this time, but still photos are being transmitted.

UPDATE: NYC Aviation has a photo up on Flickr. UPDATE: Live video. My Fox New York just reported the police gave the truck the all clear. The vehicle they report is completely empty and not a danger.

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Sign Sign Everywhere A Sign On Mulberry Street

A truck full of street signs was spotted on Mulberry at Spring Street early one morning last week. New signs for the neighborhood, or was the driver just pausing for a moment on the side of the road?

The driver was no where to be found, so the reporting went no farther than these photos.


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NYC The Video: Scene Outside 3 Alarm Fire In Soho

This was the scene at the intersection of Crosby and Broome Streets in Soho last night as firefighters suppressed a fire on Crosby Street just south of Broome at approximately 10:00pm, as neighbors and news media gathered.

The fire appeared to be located at 33 or 37 Crosby Street, seen here in Google Street View, right in front of the UPS truck.

ABC 7 Online reported four people were injured, including two firefighters. The fire "burned through the roof and filled the top three floors with flames," by the time firefighters arrived.

Michael Varian, who has a shop at 35 Crosby, has reported the fire was at 37. He shared a photo of his shop online and fretted over a broken window, complaining that firefighters were "effectively bulls in a china shop," when they entered his business get to the back of the building.

See pictures of the scene on NYC The Blog's Facebook page. 

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Audio From Flight Control Tower As Plane Holding Times Square Bomber Is Ordered Back To The Gate

The Times Square bomber was taken into custody while aboard a flight to Dubai on Emirates Flight 202 that was next in line for takeoff.

And now dramatic audio from the flight control towers has been uploaded to YouTube. "I have a message for you to go back to the gate immediately."

The Dalai Lama Smokes Trees

Taking the concept of adopting trees to a more consumer friendly conclusion, one clever commuter passing through the 86th Street 6 train station took a moment to enhance an advertisement featuring his holiness, who is due to make an appearance at Radio City Music Hall this May.

A rather large joint was added, protruding from the Dalai Lama's lips. Care was used to add detail, as they even embellished their handiwork with flame to create an actual burn mark the size of a cigar on the Dalai Lama's joint.

Check it out below...

Whose work do you find more interesting? The one above, or noted plagarist Shepard Fairey's take on the Dalai Lama?

Previously on 86th St: Going Back To Breuckelen: Remixing Subway Signs For The 1600s

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MIRF "Elaborate" On New Work And Jon Lennon

Last Friday, NYC The Blog posted a photo of relatively new work on Broome St. by the graffiti duo Mint and Serf (MIRF).

The work was tagged "Jon Lennon," who happens to work across the street at GoldBar.

Asked via email the reason for a special greeting to Lennon, Mint and Serf explained: "he is part of our extended family." So there you have it, a graffiti duo with an extended family. 

Quizzed about relatively new pieces popping up elsewhere around the neighborhood, they declined to respond. See photos of those below.

Photo Of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadenijad's Islamic Republic Of Iran 707 Arriving At JFK Airport

Enthusiastic plane spotters waited for hours in an area known as 'The Mounds' in Springfield Gardens near JFK Airport yesterday for the Islamic Republic Of Iran 707 plane carrying Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadenijad (seen at right) to arrive.

Ahmadenijad is here to address the United Nations' Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference today.

See more photos on the NYC Aviation Forum. 

(photo top right via GothamSpotter on NYC Aviation Forum.)

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Designer Plates For Cat Lovers

Seen in the window of Coco de Mer, a sex shop with a "touch of class" on Elizabeth Street in Manhattan, between Houston and Prince (map). 

There are other plates in similar fashion, appropriate for any sexual proclivity. Designer dildos as well.

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NYPD Mounted Units Assist The Evacuation Of Times Square

Photo via tootsie46's Flickr, from the beautiful set of photos: May Day, 2010 and the Times Sq Evacuation, that vividly display the evacuation of Times Square last night from someone on the scene.

++Watch video of the evacuation.

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Video Of Times Square Evacuation

The video below filmed by an evacuee at approximately 8:10pm shows an orderly evacuation of McDonalds, the Palace Theater and other businesses along 7th Avenue in Times Square.



The YouTube user who uploaded the video wrote:

"...it all seemed a bit casual, until a woman came in, frazzled, and said people were running up town saying the pop, pops they just heard was a gun...then there was talk of a bomb...In a few pictures you can see the bottles of water left behind and some chairs people knocked over as they got out of dodge..."

More photos from the same user, vividly displaying the scene last night, were uploaded to Flickr. Here's my favorite.

Related: CNN iReporter Matt G Derby uploaded numerous cell phone videos showing the evacuation at varying locations and times.

Previously:
++VIDEO: T-Shirt Vendor Who First Alerted Police To Suspicious Vehicle Speaks On Camera
++PHOTOS: Times Square Returns To Normal; Full Of Tourists Again
++VIDEO: Police Swarm Times Square In Response To Bomb Scare
++On The Evacuation Of The Shubert Theater During Times Square Closure
++PHOTOS: See Times Square Like You've Never Seen It Before...Empty

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T-Shirt Vendor Who First Alerted Police To Suspicious Vehicle Speaks On Camera

The T-shirt vendor identified as Lance Orton who first alerted police to the smoking Nissan Pathfinder that caused a massive scare in Times Square last night, gets surrounded by a phalanx of cameras and journalists as he leaves Times Square this morning on his way home to get some rest after a very long day.

Seconds before Lance entered a taxi cab to leave the area, you can see a reporter from WCBS News Radio 880 get in one last question: "To the people of New York, what do you want to tell 'em? What do you want them to know from Lance? Your message Lance, to the people of New York."

"When you see something, say something," he replied, before shutting the taxi door behind him.

"Oh that's a good quote," a reporter remarks off camera, obviously pleased with receiving such a great soundbite, one that has now been reported in almost every news report. Watch the video below...

Times Square Returns To Normal; Full Of Tourists Again

Everything appears to be back to normal in Times Square after last night's bomb scare, if the crowds and traffic seen here on 7th and Broadway are any indication. (See the same view from 1:30am). The image above taken at 1:48pm comes from a Times Square webcam, one of 11 from the area you can view at Earthcam.

Previously:
++PHOTOS: Times Square Empty After Bomb Scare
++VIDEO: Police Swarm Times Square In Response To Bomb Scare
++On The Evacuation Of The Shubert Theater During Times Square Closure

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VIDEO: Police Swarm Times Square In Response To Bomb Scare

A video uploaded to Twitvid two hours ago shows a contingent of units from the NYPD responding to what is now believed to have been a failed bomb attempt in Times Square that necessitated the closure of a large swath of the Crossroads of the World.

Watch below...

On The Evacuation Of The Shubert Theater During Times Square Closure

Tumblr user Zorica, whose father is on a crew currently working at the Shubert Theater, has commented on the evacuation of the Shubert during the closure of Times Square, where they would not let anyone out at intermission as normal:

When the show was over the entire audience was made to leave via the alley rather than the street. So something is going on and it sounds a bit more involved than a car fire.

The underground stagehand network (a pretty cool thing actually, they all talk to each other on IM and gmail while the shows are going on, giving each other advice etc when there are glitches in the automation, or whatever - it’s kind of like no matter what show you’re on, you’re tapped into the others as well) was saying that there were three controlled explosions, the cops detonating things they’d found. It’s possible the source of such things is, to use a tired Broadway joke, a Phantom.

via: zorica.tumblr.com

(live photo of Times Square via earthcam)

Previously: UPDATED: See Times Square Like You've Never Seen It Before: Empty!

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UPDATED: See Times Square Like You've Never Seen It Before: Empty

Photo of Times Square at 1:30am via Earthcam webcamThe NYPD has closed off a large swath of Times Square after a car erupted in flames and a suspicious package was seen its back seat. The vehicle was also sporting license plates that did not match the make of car.

UPDATE: Law enforcement officials have declared they found what "appears to be a car bomb."

As a result, you can now see Times Square like you never have before, empty.

See two more photos below. All three are courtesy of Times Square webcams streaming live on Earthcam.com.

NYC The Blog Presents A Sneak Preview Of "Dirty Old Town"

"I can't even get laid with a fist full of bananas in a monkey whore house."

Dirty Old Town is a stunning film shot on the Bowery starring William Leroy, Nicholas De Cegli, Scott Dillin, Ashely Graham and Janell Shirtcliff.

Leroy you might recall is better known as Billy, from Billy's Antiques & Props, one of the very few remaining businesses on Houston retaining vestiges of the Bowery of yesteryear. The store is facing it's own pressures to conform to new norms, or GTFO.

The film's website observes:

Facing extinction, [Leroy's] ramshackle tent of antiquities lures a troop of misfits, freaks and renegades who form a tableaux vivant full of carnival pageantry, white lies and victimless crime in a fleeting glimpse of Downtown New York.

Plans are in place to premiere the film in mid-June. Watch a sneak peek below...