Buying Christmas trees in style, by our pal Rebecca Baust over at The Daily Muse.
December 8, 2011 Weather: Windy, High off 44 Degrees.
Notices:
The West Side Rag was honored to be named a finalist for the Village Voice’s Best Neighborhood Blog of the Year Award along with Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York, Fucked in Park Slope, and Bowery Boogie. The eight esteemed judges at the Village Voice Web Awards last night ended up choosing Bowery Boogie, a great blog that covers the Lower East Side. Clearly our bribes weren’t big enough this year. But it was very special to have made it this far, and much is owed to all the people who really make the sausage around here (columnists, photographers, reporters, web designers Laura Koo Nicholas and Matt Nicholas, and of course the readers who send in tips, encouragement and ideas). Cheers to everyone! (Here’s a list of all the web award winners.)
News:
Upper West Side landlord James Harmon, who owns a five-story brownstone on West 76th Street, has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to free him from rent stabilization laws, calling them a “racket.” “The issue is whether the Constitution allows the government to force someone to take strangers into their home and to subsidize them for the rest of their lives,” he says. He already lost at the district court and state supreme court level. (NY Daily News)
Brooks Brothers is opening a new store on 87th and Broadway where the Uniqlo pop-up used to be. (The Shophound via Racked)
On the anniversary of John Lennon’s death, he is remembered by his Upper West Side eye doctor. (DNAinfo)
More on West-Park Church’s 100th anniversary celebration, which we wrote about here. (West Side Spirit)
The Department of Education has released a list of schools (pdf) that use light fixtures containing dangerous PCB’s that are either leaking from the fixtures or will be soon. Numerous Upper West Side schools including PS 199, are on the list. Here are some scary facts about them: “Clear scientific research shows a relationship between prenatal PCB exposure and lowered IQ scores; increased incidence of behavioral disorders; thyroid dysfunction; growth deficits; decreased attention, alertness, and responsiveness; and reduced immune function. Even minimal PCB exposure during – or years before – pregnancy can have significant, detrimental impacts on newborns’ and children’s health.” Local politicians like Jerry Nadler are demanding that the city up its timetable for removing the PCB’s. Pressures from parents probably would help too.
congrats on the nomination!!