August 26, 2011 Weather: Mostly Sunny, High of 85 Degrees.
News:
So apparently people are taking this hurricane thing pretty seriously. The following New York City neighborhoods could be evacuated: Battery Park City; Coney Island and Manhattan Beach in Brooklyn; Far Rockaway and Broad Channel in Queens; and some low-lying areas on Staten Island. A decision on that will likely be made on Friday. The MTA is considering shutting down all service, the feds are releasing tips on what to do with your pets if you evacuate (take them with you!), and the mayor has already ordered evacuations of some low-lying nursing homes. Brandeis High School on 84th Street will be used as an evacuation shelter if need be. Some Upper West Side buildings are passing out notices asking people to remove or tie down things on their porches. The hurricane is expected to hit the city on Sunday morning as a Category 2 with heavy rain and winds of at least 60 mph.
The crappy train cars on the C line (ranked worst line in the system, three years running) will be here until 2017. They were introduced in 1964! “The cars on the C line are not only the oldest in the New York subway: They also rank among the oldest city subway trains still in regular operation anywhere in the world.” (NY Times)
A popular Los Angeles coffee chain called the Coffee Bean just opened its first New York shop on Broadway and 39th Street and is planning to open on the Upper West Side next, although the location is unclear. A reporter took a crash course to learn how to be a Coffee Bean barista: “Well, the first thing we do is teach hygiene and hand washing.” Look out Starbucks! (Wall Street Journal)
Upper West Sider Cyndi Lauper is opening a residence for homeless LGBT youth in Harlem. (WNYC)
A new J. Crew men’s shop is set to open soon in a big spot on the second floor of the Time Warner Center in November. (Racked)
The underachieving restaurant Compass (5 chefs in 4 years!) at 208 West 70th Street has now closed and will reopen in September as Loi Restaurant, under the direction of Maria Loi, “the Greek Martha Stewart”. She plans to serve lots of small Greek plates, known as orektika. We wrote about Loi a few weeks ago our openings and closings roundup. (NY Times)
