Visiting The Department Of Labor On 125th St.

Last month NYC The Blog filed a report about the number of homeless people appearing in Night Court for fare evasion charges, (yeh! keeping us safe and spending wisely!). This month NYC The Blog has a report filed by Aaron Howell after a visit to the Department of Labor on 125th St.

Post Written By Aaron Howell, Harlem

Jay Donaldson and his friend Nathan Kennedy faced an unpleasant truth as they stared at the 50 to 75 percent discount signs in every store window along the busy shopping district of West 125th Street in Harlem. The same recession that caused these deep discounts also resulted in the two of them leaving the nearby Department of Labor office unemployed.

Mr. Donaldson worked with the shipping company DHL for over six years and lost his job weeks after the company announced plans to layoff almost 10,000 U.S. workers. “They literally told us due to bad management and the economy that they were laying people off,” said Mr. Donaldson. “Unless you’ve worked there for 18 years you were basically [losing your job].”

With neither severance nor pension to ease the strain, Mr. Donaldson must weigh his options in a floundering U.S. job market. Some experts expect unemployment levels to reach as high as 9 percent by the end of 2009. This could equal another 4 million lost jobs on top of the 1.2 million lost already this year. The U.S. economy lost over 600,000 jobs in October.

Mr. Donaldson, clean cut and well dressed, said he plans on going back to school in the hope of making a possible career shift. In the meantime he must live on the money he receives from unemployment, which at the most would be $1,200 a month. “I worry [about money] in a way,” said Mr. Donaldson. “But what can you really do about it.”

For Mr. Kennedy the Department of Labor office has become a familiar sight. In the last year he has only found temporary employment. At his last job, with a building maintenance company, his employer promised him permanent work after 3 months. In the end though his boss could not hire him due to a lack of work.

Mr. Kennedy described the labor office as always crowded, mentioning that Monday mornings draw the largest crowds. “It’s hard out here,” said Mr. Kennedy. “I’ve never seen anything like this, you figure after a month of looking you will find a job, but this time nothing.”

A worker at the Department of Labor, who did not want to be identified, described the busy Monday mornings as hectic. With the inside reception area no bigger than a medium-size doctor’s office, every seat gets taken and people stand everywhere.

The worker said that unemployment checks arrive by mail Monday, so when people don’t receive their checks they come to the office to inquire about them. She also stated that more people have been showing up at the office because of their inability to reach the Department of Labor by phone.

David Carpenter, 29, a member of the Local No. 28 sheet metal union has not worked in 2 months. He said his union doesn’t have any work for him. He has not received any unemployment yet —at first not filing an unemployment claim for a few weeks as he waited for a job and then due to an error on his part when he did file his claim.

He described the last few weeks with frustration as he repeatedly failed to reach anyone at the Department of Labor to help correct his error. “I can’t get anybody on the phone,” said Mr. Carpenter, still holding his cell phone in his hand from a failed attempt just moments before. “I go through all of the menu options [on the phone] and at the end I get to a message that says due to the high volume of calls no one is able to assist you.”

Other cities in the past month have experienced similar problems with filing unemployment claims by telephone. The Boston Globe reported that in Massachusetts one woman tried 40 times over two days by phone, eventually giving up and going to a walk-in center.

Situated on the 6th floor of a building located at 215 W. 125th St., the Harlem Department of Labor office sits above an off-track betting parlor for horse racing. Each place offers the promise of money to the crowds of people out of work. Some of those not working stay near the betting parlor all day, never setting foot into labor department.

Unfortunately Mr. Carpenter found out today that New York doesn’t provide walk-in centers to file claims, or obtain claim information. When Mr. Carpenter went to the office to ask for help, the reception area clerks gave him a pamphlet, and told him to call, write or go online. The reception area gives the same pamphlet to anyone with questions regarding unemployment claims.

Ironically the state Department of Labor office in Harlem mostly houses Workforce 1, an upper Manhattan career center. They offer no services to people filing for unemployment. According to the anonymous source only two persons from the labor department work in that office, and they don’t see people regarding claims.

Leo Rosales, the spokesman for the New York labor department, failed to return any phone calls for comment. He did remark in August to the New York Times that the job market could not be seen in a positive light.

With the holidays here and the job market only worsening, Mr. Kennedy thinks more about his daughter and his ability to provide as a father. “On my end as a man taking care of my daughter,” said Mr. Kennedy staring off into the distance with his brow furrowed. “With Christmas right around the corner and all, I feel it … I feel it, but there is not much that you can do except pray and have hope that you find a job.”

ALL YOUR TRANSPORTATION HUBS ARE BELONG TO US

HSBC, Hong Kong's favorite global bank, has blanketed NYC and major metropolitan cities with an ongoing series of advertisements intended to provoke a questioning of your belief systems. Are those prescription drugs for my back pain, or a little fun with my alcohol? Is Williamsburg a hott nasty mess of a community that should be razed, is it douchebag central, or the worst place to live in nyc?

The ads appear everywhere in NYC, with many concentrated in or on public transit --on subway walls, bus shelters, inside the trains, on buses themselves. And as the photo above shows, HSBC has gone the extra mile and covered the passenger dock for Air Canada at JFK airport in NYC. Pedestrians, commuters, baggage handlers, and people who have window seats on Air Canada will all be subjected to HSBC's advertisements. And fuck me, on account of their very impressive advertising campaign, if I didn't already have one bank that is holding my 800 dollars in life savings, I just might have walked into an HSBC branch here and opened an account.

Gmail Themes: NYC vs. MANHATTAN vs. STATEN ISLAND vs. BOSTON vs. UGANDA vs. SYDNEY vs. IRAQ

Google slowly and surely rolled out new thematic designs for Gmail yesterday, and though I'm not sure at this time, I think it is a new universal setting at this time. (Gmail's Phantasea theme at right)

I geeked out with Google themes last night, and discovered that if you choose certain themes, you are asked for your Country and City location, with text appearing on a mouse over explaining that the themes will change depending on your location. What's more, I have since learned that the themes chosen will also change during the day according to morning, noon, and night. I immediately changed my location to Gulu, Uganda, to throw Google and the Government off my scent. I know how these games are played, like reindeers.

The screen shot above shows three different Beach themes set at the locations of Manhattan, NYC, and Staten Island respectively, all from 6pm-ish. NYC is specific, and not the same as Manhattan, as sometimes the two locations had different designs, different as well if you chose Brooklyn or Staten Island for instance. I'm not sure what city above has the most pleasing beach. Staten Islands has a nice purple glow. Is the sun setting in Staten Island while it is rising in NYC?

I do know that Baghdad, Iraq has a very ominous beach, thanks to Google Themes. I also know that Gulu, Uganda has beautiful golden brown, sun baked mountains, while NYC has frozen, snow capped, inhospitable looking things.

What did the Tree Theme look like in different locales? Again, from 6pm-ish, Seattle is cloudy, Mexico City is has clear skies, and Manhattan is bright and sunny out.

The Tea House theme is getting dark in Brooklyn, it's late afternoon in Dallas, and later afternoon in San Fran. and evening has set in here in NYC. Across the pond, London's moon is rising.

A collection of these screen grabs is up at Flickr. Here is a Flickr set of every Google theme set to location NYC. Then I got bored with changing my location, switched it back to Gulu, Uganda, and shredded the draft of this post.

Visiting Manhattan Night Court At 100 Center St. Part I

NYC The Blog finds that NYPD policy targets homeless people for fare evasion on the M35 bus as it runs from Wards Island Men Shelter to 125th St. Classist public policy, or effective crime prevention?

One man present at Night Court yesterday evening had been charged with fare beating on the m35 that morning, and did not want to give his name. He claimed that he and five others here in court were picked up that morning after boarding the bus at approximately 6:30am on their way to an outpatient facility in Harlem. They are homeless, living in the shelter, and the bus is their connection to job interviews, mental health facilities, friends and family. None of them had money for the fare, and snuck on the bus from the back door. When the bus approached 125th st, maybe at 123rd he said, it pulled over; police were waiting with vans. Multiple homeless residents were arrested for fare beating, and were now at Night Court facing charges. 

Google Wraps Times Square Subway Shuttle In Advertisement

The History Channel was recently the first to take advantage of the MTA's new decision to allow a complete wrapping of subway cars in advertisements, when they wrapped the shuttle train in Times Square. And now Google has stepped up as the next concern to wrap a train, wrapping three exterior cars with an advertisement for Google Maps, slightly less understated then the History Channel's ad, if such a thing could be, as Google has only wrapped the exterior of the train, leaving the interior with the more traditional ads we are used to seeing in the square displays or banners up top.

The Times Square station seems to be ground zero for utilization of a number of uncommon advertising uses, with columns, steps, turnstile arms, trains, and many other surfaces being covered in ads. More pictures below of the Google train below.

[UPDATE: Adage is reporting that Google advertisements inside the train which offer directions are erroneously giving wrong information. "Specifically, we spotted this erroneous tip inside the train car: To get from Grand Central to Madison Square Garden, take the 1, 2 or 3 train and then walk to 4 Penn Plaza. Only the 1, 2 or 3 train doesn't run through Grand Central -- it goes through Times Square. Oops!"]

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• Obama Wins; Subway Trains Parade Down 125th St Last Night.
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"I paid $35,000 for the apartment in 1994"

Those are words that casually came out of a friends mouth, while at his one bedroom apartment in Murray Hill this week. (not pictured in photo at right)

"I bought it at foreclosure in 1994. Actually, someone else did. Some woman placed the winning bid, sight unseen, for $29,000. After giving it some thought, I offered her $35,000 for the apartment after the auction ended."

"After giving it some thought"? Like what? You went home and batted the idea of buying an apartment in NYC for $35,000 and were like, I don't know, that's a lot of money, its not worth a dime over $30,000!?

Uggh. "I bought the apartment for $35,000", "Do you like my new Coach bag?" and "That restaurant is very exclusive. It has a doorman and velvet rope" are all little sequences are words that make me want to kill myself.

Dear God please help me find an apartment for an equivalent price. Also, thanks for blessing my friend.

President Paris Hilton

Seen at yesterday's Veterans Day Parade, on 5th Avenue between 26th and 27th Streets. The gentleman holding the sign spoke to NYC The Blog, explaining that Paris "did a political video" and "was involved with the campaign. She's already like America's President and I just want to spread the word."

Nuts 4 Nuts On 53rd And Broadway

I've since forgotten what the proprietors name is, having neglected to write it down, though I did remember a few details from our conversation. He came to the U.S. from Chile ten years ago, and lives a few blocks west from where he sets up his cart here at 53rd and Broadway, south of the Ed Sullivan Theater, this evening catching everyone waiting on line for the Late Show With David Letterman. He's been working the cart in this spot for seven years, from 10 am to 11 pm everyday; sometimes he set up across the street on the east side of Broadway if the foot traffic is better over there. He tells me that he takes home about 70-80 dollars a day, 100 on a good day. I'm not sure if he was referring to his gross take or his profit and am unaware what his expenses might be, if he rents the cart, pays a fee of his take to someone else, how much the peanuts cost, etc...so I'm inclined to believe those numbers, if accurate, were referring to his profit after any and all expenses, as in the ten minutes I stood there conversing with him, he sold a half dozen or more bags of peanuts at two dollars each; if indicative of his business, that's about 70 dollars every hour.

Harlem Resident And NYC The Blog Reader Details His Own Recent Mugging On Nov 4th

NYC The Blog's report on a mugging around 145th st. last month, resulting in the victim losing his iPhone, prompted a reader to write in, saying, "Oddly enough, I read this blog post when it was first posted. Needless to say, it slipped my mind since, until I was mugged, same fashion on election night at 8PM on 147th, walking from St. Nick to Convent."

Pressing him for more detail via an email follow-up, Harlem Guy left a comment, noting in part,

"...It was around 8PM, and I was walking from the 145th ABCD stop on 147th from St. Nick to Convent. I was caught up in election excitement and was getting live updates from a friend of mine, on, you guessed it, my iphone."

Damn you iPhone! Didn't anybody read the helpful officers guide NYC The Blog posted on how not to get mugged?!

Luckily for Harlem Guy, although his assailants did brandish a gun, the police happened to be in eyesight. He continues,

"Essentially, I was walking, and a guy was rushing up the street yelling. At first, I ignored him, thinking it was NY as usual, until he put a gun on my back and yanked the phone and took off running down 147th to St. Nick. Luckily (I guess), the cops were driving up the street at the time and witnessed the before, during and after of my mugging--but due to a broken radio, were unable to catch the guys (turns out one of them was waiting behind for a lookout/assistance if needed). Had the cops not been there, it probably would have been a much worse outcome--I still have my wallet, well being, and bottle of champagne.

Needless to say, I was a little shaken--especially given the guy would still go ahead with mugging me with a cop RIGHT THERE (the cops said they hesitated when they saw the police car driving up the street but then went for it anyway). Also to be noted were the people hanging out on their stoops that did not raise a finger to help.

I filed a report with the police, although had to encourage them to do so (asked, when discovered it was just my phone taken, "You don't really want to file a report, right?") Looks like these guys are still at it. Be careful up there.

NYC The Blog contacted the 30th Precinct looking to verify the report, who referred me to headquarters downtown, who then referred me back to the 30th precinct. At this time neither of them could confirm or deny the report.

Photos From 125th And Adam Clayton Powell BLVD After The Results Came In

The set of photos this collage comes from, as well as all of the material collected by NYC The Blog that day and evening, will eventually be collected in one spot here, which has a number of photos, videos, and links. Also collected there will be selected links to content from locals and press from around the world, such as this story from the Examiner.com, which did a superb job of reporting on the events and feelings of the evening. If you've a suggestion for relevant video or press that should be included, please note the link in the comments.

Breaking News: Shots Fired, Man Down On 145th and St. Nicholas

Coming later in the day, detailed information from a tipster at the police dep't with more details as to what happened. UPDATE HERE

This is the chain of events as reported by NYC The Blog, none of it is verified at this time. 28 minutes ago I heard three gunshots. (at about 9:45pm) No one on St. Nicholas btw 144th and 145th reacted as you would expect one to if you heard three gunshots close by. From my vantage point I could see that people on the street kept walking, cars kept driving, and I heard no yelling or screaming. Someone asked me if maybe it was fireworks. 30 seconds later the first sirens could be heard in the distance. Then more.

The gunshots sounded like they came south of 144th. After arriving on foot at the corner of 145th and St Nicholas, there were ambulances and police on the NE corner, as well as mid-way down St. Nicholas btw 144th and 145th.

I can not be sure, the vehicles were blocking the view, but it looked to me if they had picked someone off the sidewalk in front of Capital One Bank on the corner of 145th; they def put someone in the ambulance. Someone standing by who lives in the area said it looked like they pulled someone out of the ATM vestibule of the Capital One Bank. The police have the sidewalk taped off directly in front of the ATM vestiubule and could be seen canvassing the ground on the entrance way out front with a flashlight.

At the other scene down St Nicholas, someone was being loaded into an ambulance, while many residents of 660 St Nicholas stood outside.

That's the only information NYC The Blog has at this time.

UPDATE: A tipster informs us "We're hearing 3 people were shot, but none (at this time) are likely to die."

UPDATE: ABC 7 has more,

"The shooting happened outside the subway station at 145th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue shortly after 10:00 p.m. Police said two women and a man were wounded. All three were taken to Harlem Hospital. None of the injuries are life-threatening, officials said.

An off-duty police officer driving in the area saw the shooting. He watched the alleged gunman get into a livery cab and followed him, police said. The officer arrested the suspect at 132nd Street and Lenox Avenue."

Bagels & Pizza At 203 E.Houston St Has Closed

Bagels & Pizza had been there for 14 years. They closed for business after Sunday's shift, and yesterday at 3pm they auctioned of their equipment.

When I went to get a coffee yesterday, The two sons, the father, an employee, and a straggler or two were present. All their equipment was tagged and ready for sale.

Four years ago, they told me, they renewed their ten year lease at more than double the previous rate. I asked the proprietor what he was going to do now. He laughed nervously, and said, "Not be self-employed. I want to work for someone else." It was hard work, and the neighborhood changed he told me, it just isn't profitable anymore.

Capturing The Scents Of The City, One Bottle Of Perfume At A Time

Bond No. 9 has created a perfume line in homage to nyc, with the ambitious task of creating separate scents for the many disparate neighborhoods in our great city, as well as scents for the Hamptons and Fire Island. And in this universe, only Manhattan exists. Sorry Brooklyn, in spite of what your guide book says. The photo to the right shows an advertisement in last weeks NY Times for The Scent of Peace, which is part of the Midtown collection, for reasons that are unclear. There are a total of 33 scents listed on their site, and though I have never sniffed any of them, I imagine they all smell like perfume.

Browsing through the selection, there are scents which attempt to capture the essence and smells, apparently, of a number of neighborhoods that one might not really want to smell in a bottle. Chinatown for one. Thoughts and smells of Chinatown have never preceded a daydream sequence whereas I imagine spraying it's scents all over me, but I'm not really a cologne wearer anyways.

Wall St.? What does Wall St. smell like? Cocaine? It used to smell like money I imagine, but now...it might smell more like burning money. I could see how that scent, with a touch of fruity accents, and just the right amount of some special sauce, could be a pleasant smell. For 14 year olds and men who spend much of their free time at bars.

Or how about Nouveau Bowery? Not the Bowery, which Bond No. 9 evidently determined to be to downmarket and smelly for even this line of perfumes, but Noveau Bowery, "The sweet scent of skid row transitioning to ultra-modernity." Ahh yes...That smells so good. Calgon, take me away.

And then we have Riverside Drive. It's not a road or bikepath I frequent, and I wonder how good the Hudson smells, along side a highway of speeding cars. But Bond No. 9 has captured that one of kind smell, and put in a bottle.

If any of these seem appealing, it would be the scents capturing our beaches at Coney Island, Fire Island, and the Hamptons. A cool breeze, lemonade, the bright sun, that is a scent I would like to wear.

Subway Musician Prof. Edwardo Alvarado

Often seen at the 34th St BDFV NRQW Station, Prof. Edwardo Alvarado plays his keyboard with the help of three band members and a belly dancer, who play a trumpet, sax, and violin respectively as the belly dancer continues her routine the entire time, never stopping for even a moment. The CD Edwardo sells at his feet notes that he "graduated in the Music Conservatory of Viena - Austria, Ex - Director of the Symphony Orchestrain Gauyaquil - Ecudaor." (YouTube)

Billy's Antiques And Props. And Subway Signs

Yesterday's post about the surplus merchandise available from the MTA, including subway signs you can get both at the MTA, and at Billy's Antiques and Props, elicited comment from Billy himself when he noted that he sells his signs like real estate, with the better locations selling for more money. His comment left NYC The Blog yearning for more information and we dug deeper via email, asking Billy where he gets his subway signs -which always seem to be from desirable locations such as the L train from Manhattan to Brooklyn- or the ABCD sign from Yankees stadium for instance. Does he buy them? Have a secret source within the MTA who offers him first dibs? Find them? All of the above?

Billy confided that he would only tell me his secret in person, and only if I was sworn to secrecy, as of course I would be, as he noted that his "source is a trade secret. If I made it public then every shop would have them I am the only shop to my knowledge that sell the signs legally and have had been selling them for 10 years."

What's more, Billy offered an important consideration when buying a sign, noting that the MTA no longer makes enamel signs, such as the ones he carries, instead today using stickers affixed to metal.

Aside from the great value they have simply as comforting objects for any resident of NYC, who surely would all like to hang a sign from their own stop on their living room wall, Billy speculated that the "craze" for subway signs started with an appearance in a movie, of course, when "Woody Allen did a whole Bedroom scene with Diane Keaton in the mid 80's," and an "8 ft Canal Street [sign] with English Chinese writing on it," was a part of the apartments decoration. According to Billy, today those same signs for $3,500.

"The MTA has had a shop for quite a few years now but like any bureaucracy they never really have the good signs and if they do, they are snapped up by collectors. I've seen some great signs that I sold sell for lots of money on eBay."

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Radio City Music Hall Installs Their Xmas Tree

At approximately 1:00 pm Saturday afternoon, employees of AMA Sign & Electric of the Bronx were putting the finishing touches on Radio City Music Hall's Christmas Tree display, an exercise that started at 11pm the previous night. An employee on site explained that the display arrives in sections, and they were just wrapping it up, so to speak. The photo above shows two men in a bucket lift putting gingerly arranging some of the last strings of lights. While not as heralded as that other tree lighting, it is a large and colorful display, adding a heady dose of iconic visuals to a building one would be hard pressed to out icon.

Speaking of that other tree at Rockefeller Center, it has a webcam, which may or may not work, as well as an official website, The Tree NYC, which offers details (on last year's tree) such as where the tree came from (Conn.), photos of the cutting and transportation, and finally video of the lighting in Rockefeller Center. This years lighting of the tree at Rockefeller Center will take place Dec. 3rd.

Put Your City On

Self portrait

• Buses being delivered by Cargo ship <Tugster>
  
• Halloween stuff for you this weekend <Urbanite>
  
• The South Bronx, and Proudly So <City Room>
• PODCAST: The Guggenheim Museum <The Bowery Boys>
• Reports of Pedestrian Fatally Struck on Bowery By 18 Wheeler<Gothamist>
• Inside Soledad O’Brien’s Chelsea Loft (with video) <Daily Intel>
• Frozen yogurt: Are we for or against the plethora of Pinkberrys? <I, New York>
  
• NYC Fine for Pooper-Scooper Fouls Rises to $250 <1010 Wins>
• Video from yesterday's term limits hearing. The Crowd VS Bloomberg <YouTube>
• Live Blogging the Yanks Stadium Hearing. Also, Throw All Those Fuks In Jail! Yah!
  <Runnin' Scared>
  
• Self-proclaimed Hippie Girl Loves Her Fur Bag With Eye Sockets <NY Mag Video Look Book>

The View From The Front Of The Subway

Viddler user labanex has uploaded 8 videos recording the journeys of a 7 train, videos that were recorded by his father who apparently mounted a camera at the front window while he was driving the trains. The above video is over one hour long, and the other 7 are lengthy recordings as well. , The video above being my favorite, as it starts in the tunnel, and then out and up the track where the Manhattan skyline is visible in the distance. The houses below, people waiting on the platform for the trains arrival, the conductor announcing the next stop echoing thru the station. The video is oddly captivating to watch, and def rivals any Thomas the Tank Engine show. All 8 videos can be found here.

(via: SubwayBlogger)

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Put Your City On

Opening tomorrow night at the Italian Academy of Columbia U, btw 117 and 118 on Amsterdam

• ObamaBike Sells, Democratic Candidate Just Got A Little Richer <Animal>
  
• Trace of an old pet shop surfaces where Duane Reade once held court <Urbanite>
  
• Answers About the History of Wealth in New York <City Room>
  
• Hotel Chelsea Residents Faced With Eviction Notices <Gothamist>
  
• Clowns at Lincoln Center! the Big Apple Circus returns <The Bowery Boys>
  
• Chanel Mobile Art is a Bizarre Example of Consumerism for Sexy-Chic Strivers
  <Fifth Column Blogs>
  
• A Guide To Japanese Candy In NYC <NY Mag>
  
• Urban Fiction Goes From Streets to Public Libraries <NY Times>

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Guidebook Says Screw It, Lets Incorporate The LES, Nolita, And Chelsea Into Brooklyn; Advancing A New Reality For Manhattan As Brooklyn's Hanger On

UnScene "is a free guide for the less mainstream, more innovative businesses in our metropolitan areas." The guides are a vehicle for paid advertising which focus on unique and small shops that populate any number fo neighborhoods in NYC. They currently have guides for a number of U.S. cities, and in the NY area, a guide that covers that Borough of Brooklyn. Or rather, the neighborhoods of Williamsburg and Bushwick.

Interesting though, was the cover design of the booklet I saw. On the bottom right corner you can see text for Brooklyn prominently displayed, with the neighborhoods of Williamsburg and Bushwick falling underneath, ostensibly alerting any wayward tourist, newcomer, or even long time resident exactly what neighborhoods they could expect to find covered in their new guide book to all there is to see and do in Brooklyn.
But wait a minute? What's that listed underneath Williamsbushbick?

Hold on one minute! Aww shucks, have they listed the neighrborhoods of the LES, Nolita, and Chelsea under Brooklyn? They sure have. Unscene does not have neighborhood guides for Manhattan at this time, so fuk it, just stick LES, Nolita, and Chelsea under Brooklyn. And honestly, this seems representative of the new reality. Brooklyn is the new Manhattan, so this only seems right to list the LES, Nolita, and Chelsea in faded text underneath a new and improved large font Brooklyn.

Not like a tourist from France would know any better. And if you reverse the roles, say if I was in the 6th Arrondissement in Paris and some guide listed Versailles along with the neighborhoods, that'd seem alright with me. I mean, Fuk even our own longtime natives get the geography of these nyc neighborhoods mixed up.

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