Photo by Ellen Cohen.
January 7, 2019 Weather: Cloudy, with a high of 37 degrees.
Notices:
Readings, concerts, a library book sale and more local events are on our calendar.
The city parks department is looking for engineers, gardeners, exterminators, an auto mechanic, and climbers & pruners. More here.
News:
New rules for horses and carriages mean passengers will be picked up inside Central Park instead of on 59th Street. “Instead of being forced to board passengers on 72nd St. on the east and west sides of the park — an option floated in August that drivers complained would force them into more traffic — the city will permit pick-ups inside the park at only three locations: north of Grand Army Plaza, north of the park’s Seventh Ave. entrance and north of its Sixth Ave. entrance.” (Isn’t Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn though? Maybe they mean Merchant’s Gate?)
A big real estate deal for “The Corner” on 72nd Street: “Centurion picked up 200 West 72nd Street, a rental building known as The Corner, for about $227 million, according to a filing with the New York City Department of Finance.”
Bravo! Rachel Brosnahan won another Golden Globe for playing Mrs. Maisel!
A ‘true Manhattanite’ knows that a Grand Army Plaza exists on the Corner of 5th Ave and 59th Street.
I’m sure it can be Googled.
Thanks! You are clearly a true Manhattanite! WSR
The Corner includes the gold mine that is Trader Joe’s. I wonder what their lease looks like? I’m sure it drives a nice amount of profit for the building.
There is a Grand Army Plaza in Manhattan as well, in front of the Plaza Hotel.
Hey WSR, here’s Wiki on Grand Army Plaza:
“Grand Army Plaza lies between 58th Street and 60th Street, just west of Fifth Avenue. It is bisected by Central Park South. The plaza is bounded on the north by Scholars Gate, once one of the two main entrances to the carriage drives of Central Park; bounded on the west by the famed Plaza Hotel; bounded on the south by the Bergdorf Goodman department store, formerly the site of the Cornelius Vanderbilt II House, once one of Fifth Avenue’s grandest Gilded Age mansions.”
Thanks! This is why we love our readers!
Grand Army Plaza in Central Park is 59th and 5th across the street from The Plaza
Grand Army Plaza is the Plaza at 60th & 5th, leading into the park.
honestly reworking the roads around there to stop driving around the plaza, and staging horses there, isnt the worst idea ive ever heard…
Now , if they would only regulate those Pedi Cabs who
are ripping off our tourists with usury prices!!
I wonder why this issue has not been addressed?
$10 for 10 minutes! And they congregate at W72 making
a mess.
Truly, this situation must be corrected.
The horses are a joy, these Pedi Cabs are oppressive.
I work right near the park and the pedicab drivers.
The police are always harassing them.
Many of the tourists they drive around are overweight.
How are the pedicabs ripping off tourists? Clearly people want to ride in them and they’re willing to pay the price. No one is forcing them to get in. My life hasn’t been adversely affected by the pedicabs on 72nd street, so I’m curious as to why they offend you, and the carriage horses are considered a joy.
Nobody forces anyone to take those pedi cabs. The pricing is clearly marked and anyone with half a brain can deduce that the rates equate to a rip off. “A fool and his money are soon parted”
Does anyone remember that DeBlasio originally ran on (among other things) banning the horses and carriages from Central Park??
Pepperidge Farms remembers.
Yes. Another Bill de Blasio lie. De Blasio promised to end the cruel horse carriage rides in NYC. He took money and volunteers from NYCLASS, and they played a MAJOR role in his election. He then used the excuse of the city council for doing nothing. He’s the mayor, he could have fixed this a long time ago by pressuring the council, as he does on other issues. But he cares more about his real estate buddies and corrupt cronies. We still don’t know the extent of the mayors dealings in the horse stables and real estate sales.
“We feel betrayed,” said Jill Carnegie, campaigns director at NYCLASS. “We moved mountains to help Mayor de Blasio get elected, but the animals who he promised to help are in worse shape now than before he took office.”
Yes but there is a Grand Army plaza the Plaza Hotel
This is not a done deal. Oral arguments will be heard tomorrow in the NYCounty Supreme Court to see if these new proposed regulations are justified. Some of the carriage drivers are suing the City.
It is a disingenuous proposal and the only thing Mayor deBlasio could come up with that did not need Council approval. We are opposed to it since it will not help the horses — they will still be in traffic going to and from their stables where most of the accidents occur — not on the existing hack line.
Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages
What is the street location in the beautiful photograph here?
I am almost positive it’s the north side of West 78th between Amsterdam and Columbus.