Manhattan: Phone in Your Paid Parking

Manhattan has always been a nightmare when it comes to parking.  But once you finally do find a spot, how much more annoying is it that you realize you don’t have the cash needed to pay for it?


That is about to change.  The Department of Transportation just announced that in the not-too-distant future, people will be able to pay for parking from their phones. The new program will be available for all streets from 14^th to 59^th and will also extend from Manhattan’s west to east side.  It is hoped that it will eventually be extended to the city beyond that area.

Moving to Midtown Manhattan

There has been a recent upsurge in companies and organizations moving to the midtown Manhattan area.  One of them is Heartbeat – a healthcare marketing agency that moved earlier this month from neighboring TriBeCa following the company’s rapid expansion.  Its new offices are on the 5^th floor on One Penn Plaza.  Since its inception 6 years ago, the company’s account roster and revenue has “more than tripled,” with the staff increasing by over 150%. With its new offices in midtown Manhattan, Heartbeat will be privy to a much larger floorplan corresponding to its growth.  As company founder and CEO, Billy Drummy said: “our new New York HQ provides us better facilities to support our current and future business.”

Also on the move is Major League Baseball.  Its new midtown Manhattan home will be at the 48 story Rockefeller Center tower, floors four through nine, bringing together Brookfield Property Partners LP's 245 Park Ave., and 75 Ninth Ave., part of Jamestown LP's Chelsea Market. 

Manhattan Museum: Preserving NY History

The recent opening of the Nan A. Rothschild Research Center by the Landmarks Preservation commission marks the first ever municipal archive that is exclusively focused on an archaeological collection of a city. 

Much of the history of New York – that until now has been buried quite deep – has now been cataloged and digitized.  This includes a “cone-shaped mold used in sugar refining to an oversize oyster, a 7,000-year-old spear tip to a 19th-century Transferware teapot and a bone from a passenger pigeon.”

Many of these archived objects are fantastic ways of learning about the history and uncover so much more than the actual original object, such as a glass seal which identified a wine bottle that was waiting its refilling at a local tavern. There are currently 1,500 boxes of artifacts that come from 31 sites excavated throughout the five boroughs, including: Stadt Huys (that was New York’s first major historical dig built to assist William Kieft so that he didn’t have to entertain guests at his home). It was Nan A. Rothschild herself, a Barnard College Anthropology Professor Emeritus and Columbia University faculty member who excavated that.  Hence the repository was named to honor the contributions she had made to the field.

As well, the archives have been contributed to by the Fund for the City of New York, the Iron Mountain and the Museum of the City of New York.

Check Out The Hidden Gem of Midtown

For a true hidden gem in n midtown Manhattan, smack in the middle of the East 59th Street skyscrapers, you will find an amazing six-story literary oasis. Although in business for more than nine decades, too many people don’t’ know about this store that is operated by three sisters in their 70s.  it was their father – who passed away in 1991 – who set it up. 

Manhattan Transportation News

Manhattaners may soon be the latest beneficiaries of ferry travel. The DOT is currently assessing the possibility of running a ferry service from Staten Island to midtown Manhattan, a concept the commissioner supports.  According to James Oddo, Borough President, it is seen as “an effective way for New York commuters to keep off the roads,” since water travel is deemed more “expedient.”

And talking of greener transportation for Manhattaners, together with Amsterdam and Copenhagen, Manhattan was recently cited for its “exemplariness of [its] cycling provision.” And of course on a Manhattan campus, there are now the Green Apple Bikes which are not only great for the environment but also for one’s wallet.  Offering free transportation, the 9 Green Apple Bike racks dotted around Manhattan each have 6 bikes for anyone to use for up to four hours.  Students are loving how this is facilitating their travel around campus.

Manhattaners should also ensure they are driving well as bad driving habits are now going to be called in question thanks to Nexar. It is building “an air traffic control system” for driving. Since its dashccam app launch last years, phones with it installed have “captured, analyzed, and recorded over 5 million miles of driving in San Francisco, New York, and Tel Aviv.”  Its algorithms have profiled the driving behavior of over 7 million cars, including 30%+ of Manhattan cars.


All these examples above are indicative of the efforts being made to improve transportation in Manhattan.

Jollibee Takes Manhattan

Craving a pineapple burger or sweet spaghetti?  If you’re in Manhattan this fall you’re in luck since Jollibee – the maker of such foods – is opening up an eater near the Port Authority Bus Terminal.  While they have two franchises currently in the New York region, this will be the first one in Manhattan.

And if it’s as popular as its Queens location which created lines when it first opened back in 2009, Jollibee will be selling Chickenjoys in Manhattan for many years to come.  And of course for the Filipinos (15% of those who are living in New York are in Manhattan) it is bound to be successful since they already claim it is a “taste of home.”

Then there are also the New Jersey Filipinos, many of whom commute for work in New York.  They will most likely enjoy the tastes of Jollibee too.

Academy of Art University Critic Feinstein on Display in Kentucky

Academy of Art University San Francisco

Lee Feinstein, an independent critic for painting students at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, will be showing her own most recent works at the Ruth Baggett Gallery in Paducah, Kentucky.

The show, entitled, “No Dawdling,” opens on June 18 and will run until July 31.

Feinstein’s work is mostly with Tyvek. The material resembles Japanese rice paper, but it is actually a high-density polyethylene industrial material. Feinstein applies several processes to Tyvek, including painting, folding, dyeing, crimping and crumpling, creating workable sculptures which remind the viewer of fashion, architecture, or other Japanese-style décor.

“My studio was a godsend–north light in a white space, with crumbling ceilings all around. It was the perfect place to render my own version of clarity in the midst of chaos,” said Feinstein. “Paducah and the arts community were a goldmine for me. Warm and welcoming, deep into their own work…we had good art talks.”

Feinstein departed temporarily from her work as critic at the Academy of Art University and began her month long creating spree on May 1st at the Paducah Arts Alliance. The “No Dawdling” title comes from the great American avant-garde composer and artist John Cage. “It was my mantra in Paducah,” said Feinstein. “Jump in. Don’t think too much. Don’t judge, just work. Accept what comes in the creative process, the gifts of accident. The wrong turns and dead ends. The side steps. Lots of side steps."