Interrupting our regular programming, we’re doing a quick plug for the disaster relief efforts after the massive Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines throughout the weekend. UNICEF flyers have been put up along 9^th Ave for the cause:

The disaster has killed over 2000 people, and left millions homeless. If you want to help out, consider donating to UNICEF or the Red Cross.

While checking out the new Totto Ramen tonight, we heard water was out around W 53^rd. Turns out that a water main broke, taking out water to that whole street (and maybe others?).

Here was our first clue something was up:

I imagine the water will be back on soon, given the response. Still, losing water is never fun, so I’m sure the fix can’t come soon enough to the residents of the street.

These people are the worst. A mob of seven people beat a guy up and tried to rob him late Thursday night, as reported by DNAinfo. The man was walking along W 56^th St between 11^th & 12^th when the gang attacked. The NYPD released this photo of the “alleged” “suspects”:

The silver lining: despite it being seven-​on-​one, the group weren’t able to actually steal anything, and the victim is in a stable condition at St. Luke’s. Still, it’s terrible. Going anywhere west of 11^th Ave at night is a gamble (you could even say west of 10^th at some places), so this just furthers that paranoia.

As you’re no doubt aware, today’s the NYC Marathon. The course doesn’t come below 59^th St, so if you want to catch the action you can head up to the final corner at Columbus Circle. They already had all the grandstands and everything set up yesterday:

Of course you can always just keep up with the action on TV:

It’s going to be a long day for everyone involved. At least it’s cooler than yesterday.

An elderly woman had an accident this evening outside the uptown subway entrance at 51^st & 8^th. Apparently she either fell or just collapsed on the sidewalk without warning. Fortunately paramedics arrived within minutes, and quickly took her to into an ambulance.

Hopefully she makes a speedy recovery.

December 14. Mark your calendars. SantaCon put out a tweet the other day confirming the date of the event. We heard last month that the organizers had decided to officially skip Hell’s Kitchen during the “festivities”, so in theory this news doesn’t matter anymore, but there’s always the chance some of the “santas” will end up here. The more you know.

Here’s this photo from last year’s event again, because I just love it that much:

As we mentioned previously, members of the community wrote a letter after the horrors festivities of last year’s event, which got the organizers to agree to skip the neighborhood, but it turns out that wasn’t the only letter to get sent. Just last month, State Senator Brad Hoylman sent a letter out to the mysterious organizers asking them to work with the NYPD and community boards to figure out how to better handle the event. We’ll see if anything comes of that.

This is real. The 3^rd Annual “Pups on the Runway” Halloween Costume Ball is on tonight, where dog owners will dress their pets up in Halloween costumes and parade them down the runway competing in categories such as “Glamour”, “Hilarious” and “Matching Pawrent”. Again, this is real.

It’s all happening tonight at 7pm at the Toyota of Manhattan dealership around 47^th & 11^th, and will go for 3 hours or so. Online tickets have sold out, but you should still be able to get in for $30 at the door. Some of the proceeds from the night will go towards The Sato Project, rescuing abandoned and abused animals from Puerto Rico. It should be a lot of fun. Look forward to the photos from tonight.

Aren’t we lucky: looks like another show has chosen the neighborhood to film their series. MTV’s “Ain’t That America”, some form of comedy video clip show, is setting up on W 53^rd St, halfway between 9^th & 10^th Avenues, to film their second season:

The set will be filmed inside the mysterious black warehouse-​like building on W 54^th St, which continues through to another building (probably the Chelsea Broadcast Center) for the entrance on 53^rd, and crews have been unloading parts for the assumedly-​elaborate studio:

The studio will be set up for a few weeks until some time in early-​November. If you just can’t contain your excitement at the though of possibly witnessing an MTV show in person, you’re in luck: tickets are available for plenty of the tapings.

This marks the second show to film a season in the area in recent months. Throughout September, The Million Second Quiz filmed in the empty building on the corner of 41^st & 11^th, so this could be the beginning of a trend.

Just as quickly as it started, Comic Con wrapped up today. Swarms of convention goers poured out of the center this afternoon, wearing every costume you can imagine.

It seemed like every street food vendor in the city was lining the streets (no variety though, naturally):

There’s even been a temporary/“pop up” outpost of St Marks Comics opposite the center:

Comic Con is probably the biggest event held at the convention center all year. With it over, the Javits Center can slip back into obscurity.

It’s Comic Con time! Running all weekend at the Javits Center, thousands of costumed fans have descended on the area. It’s been hard to miss the various TV, movie, and comic book characters wandering the streets:

Rather than brave the crowds ourselves to get photos, we’ll just lazily link to some shots from people committed to being there. Check out photos here.

It’s been running since Thursday, with today seeming to be the peak, so it should start winding down for the last day tomorrow before the 130,000 or so attendees pack away their costumes and return to their “real lives”.

Lots of transit news today! Again from CHEKPEDS, the Bolt Bus stop near Penn Station at 34^th & 8^th will be relocating far west to 33^rd & 11^th, after a decision at last night’s community board meeting.

Bolt Bus were hoping for the relocation to be at 39^th & 10^th (see the notice below), but because of the strong pushback from the community at the meeting, were instead given the 11^th Ave spot.

Fellow bus line Megabus moved from their stop last year at 41^st & 10^th – just two blocks north of Bolt Bus’s original proposed new home – to opposite the Javits Center west of 11^th Ave on 34^th St – now just one block north of the replacement Bolt Bus stop – which went down with any dramas. The Bolt Bus move should also follow suit.

Of course, if you’re ever been unlucky enough to have had to catch one of the late-​night departures from the Megabus stop, you’ll know just how generally seedy that whole area around the rail yards is at 1am, so Bolt Bus passengers will soon get to experience that fun for themselves. Then again, the additional bus service on that block might help bring some more life to the area at night, at least until the High Line extension, the 7 Line extension, and Hudson Yards are ready.

CHEKPEDS aren’t wasting any time after this victory from the community. They’ve already set their sights on 42^nd & 8^th and the swarm of buses hassling offering people trips to Woodbury Commons, etc, so look out for that battle.

The intersection at W 42^nd St & 9^th Ave is a bit of a gauntlet for pedestrians, and almost always has a police officer directing traffic during peak hours of the day. As of today, however, members of CHEKPEDS have managed to get the way the lights work changed. From their posting:

When the light turns red on 9^th Avenue, pedestrians now get the WALK signal immediately, while the cars turning from 9^th Avenue do not have the green arrow. If the drivers try to turn south, the eastbound traffic prevents them from doing so. As the pedestrian countdown comes to 0, the westbound cars turning south get a green arrow, while the eastbound traffic is stopped.

It took seven years for CHEKPEDS to get the lights changed, but now that it’s here should hopefully make that extremely busy intersection a bit safer for pedestrians.

It’s good to see changes being made to help improve safety on the intersections along 9^th Ave. Earlier this year, just one block south at 41^st & 9^th, a 69-​year-​old woman was killed in a hit-​and-​run when a van made a “right hook” onto 41^st St, so it’s hard to disagree with the changes. We’ll be looking to see if changes like the one today spread to other intersections.

Restaurant Row can look forward to some TLC in the next few months, according to the Wall St Journal. New lit-​up kiosks will be installed at either end of the stretch of W 46^th St, forming an entranceway of sorts to the strip between 8^th and 9^th Ave ends, in an effort to bring in some of the heavy foot traffic along the surrounding avenues and amplify the street’s individual identity.

Here’s a rendering of what we’ve got to look forward to:

According to the article, the kiosks are intended to fit in with the atmosphere of the street rather than blind visitors, and are designed with a mix of retro and modern styles.

The kiosks are just the first of many plans to improve the area. Another idea includes painting the Row’s name on some of the walls surrounding the parking lot halfway down the block, along with the tagline “Where the world comes to dine”. We’ll withhold judgement until we see it.

The tenants of Restaurant Row have always been a very close-​knit group, coming together to help further the strip. Back in the late-80’s, they came together to enlist the red-​beret-​touting Guardian Angels to push back against the crack trade increase and general sketchyness on the street as the NY Times reported, which apparently worked out well.

Read the full article for more about the kiosks plan. Be warned, it’s behind a paywall, so try clicking the first result here to get around it if you can’t get the article. There’s also an interesting and very detailed article about the Row on Untapped Cities, so give that a read too if you’re still itching for more.