Life in and around Hell’s Kitchen, NYC
New York YIMBY have discovered a new set of renderings for the Hudson Spire at the future Hudson Yards. Brace yourself for glass overload.
This bit stands out:
With 1.22 million square feet, the mixed-use building would rise 108 floors and over 1,800 feet, making it the tallest tower in North America.
Exciting times ahead… Head over to NY YIMBY for more, or check out the brochure for the full renderings.
Catching up on news from last week. Last Wednesday, a 70 year old man was crossing 11th Ave near W 57th St when he was struck by a four-door sedan and hospitalized, the Daily News reports. Naturally, they emphasize the fact that the man was jaywalking, but given this year’s crackdown on that I guess that’s to be expected.
Here’s more from the article:
A 70-year-old man crossing a Manhattan street mid-block was hit by a car and critically wounded Wednesday afternoon, police said.
The victim was crossing 11th Ave. near W. 57th St. at 1:50 p.m. when he was hit by a four-door Nissan sedan that was heading south, cops said.
The jaywalker was rushed to New York Presbyterian Hospital, where he is listed in critical condition with head trauma, according to police.
The 31-year-old woman who was driving the car is not expected to be charged with a crime, police said.
The article also covers a string of accidents last month a few dozen blocks north, where three people were killed over a nine-day period, including a 9 year old child. Helps you realize the importance of the things CHEKPEDS are doing and the safety improvements planned on nearby streets. For a different take on the incident, and jaywalking in general, read CHEKPEDS’s thoughts on the topic.
At least today’s snowfall looked nice:
Puddle-jumping, eternal subway nightmares, and overall sadness getting around is another story…
Not long after the excitement of the Superbowl wrapped up, reports of an explosion along W 42nd St came in. Apparently, around 10:30pm on Sunday, an explosion happened around 42nd & Dyer Ave, blasting three manhole covers off, breaking one in half.
So far, reports seem to suggest it was caused by a leak and buildup of gas pressure, which was strong enough to blast the covers off. A startling end to a few people’s Superbowl, no doubt. Of course, many residents around that area are still on alert after the fire one block over earlier this year, so we’re glad this incident was nothing serious.
Continuing what must be a new trend, a new foreign-railway-station-named spot is coming soon. Nippori, a Japanese restaurant, is opening soon. Seemingly pulling the name from a station in Japan, the place is opening up slightly outside our usual area – just east of 8th Ave. Close enough…
We’ve had our eye on the place for some time…it’s been sitting dormant with the mystery papers for months now:
Managed to get a brief look inside once:
Way back when, the place used to be a dry cleaning/laundry spot, but as we all know nobody wants that anymore… Anyway, with the Gershwin directly across the road, I’m sure the new place will do well with the post-theatre crowds.
While 2014 was supposed to be the end of the horse-drawn carriages, that’s recently hit setbacks. Meanwhile, just a few blocks over from those horse’s stables, the NYPD is gearing up for moving their “fleet” (?) of horses into their future new home at the Mercedes House. Excuse the poor photography (it’s hard sometimes, honest).
Before!
The new place has been in the works since 2011, and should hopefully be a step up from the current Pier 76 stables.
We’re still very much looking forward to the contrast the Mercedes dealership next door will make.
As a nice reprieve from the constant closures, we can soon welcome a new spot opening next month. Jasper’s Taphouse + Kitchen is coming to the corner of W 51st & 9th Ave, taking over from Chanpen, which closed in October.
So far the logo’s all we’ve got to go off:
Here’s what we’ve got to look at in the mean time (it’s since been painted green, mind you):
They’ve posted a construction update however, giving us a peek behind the plywood:
Look forward to what we can only assume will be a wide selection of beers on tap, and apparently an “epic” burger. Meanwhile, I still want to know what happened to the sign…
Right in the middle of winter, another 9th Ave spot has closed. The Snug, between 50th & 51st has closed for good, spotted by HK regular George Stoll and confirmed by the bar.
No longer will you walk past their “signature” barrels on the sidewalk:
The spot usually seemed to do pretty well:
The Snug has been around for over 7 years, albeit with mixed reviews. Despite their closure, it looks like they have some connection to incoming Jasper’s Taphouse on the next corner up though, so their spirit might still live on.
Thanks George for the heads up!
Maybe “blizzard” is overdoing it, but still…cold…
Putting a dent in many people’s Super Bowl plans, the “controversial” Traffic Bar has been possessed by the Marshals.
The bar was supposed to be the registration point for one of the Super Bowl pub crawls. Mickey Spillane’s has had to step in and take over:
Traffic Bar has had an interesting history with the surrounding area. Neighbors frequently complain to 311 and the community board about the place, and the bar doesn’t seem to have shown any interest in responding or making changes. And now, we can only assume, they didn’t manage to pay the rent. We’ll have to wait and see if they can patch things up with their landlord. At least for now, local residents on that corner will sleep easy.
The bar also has another location on 2nd Ave though, and even recently opened a spinoff bar Washout…in Montauk, so for now Traffic will live on, even if they lose this location.
The Bud Light Hotel, a converted Norwegian Getaway cruise ship, has docked, and Bud Light branding has erupted on the area. You can’t escape it.
The ship itself is your usual giant cruise ship…
To enter, “fans” forsake their past lives and enter into the blue light…
In case you forget where you are, they’re happy to remind you. At every opportunity.
There’s even a mysterious “Bud Light Tunnel”, which we can only assume is meant to simulate the experience of being inside a bottle of Bud Light.
And across the road, the tent is up in the parking lot for the concerts:
If I have to write “Bud Light” once more I might die, so that’s enough. But you can experience the dark side of marketing for yourself if you head over around the Intrepid!
It’s finally happened: the impending closure of Video Café has become reality. After 40% off, then 50% off, they’ve cleared out their home of 20 years.
Residents have left their farewells on the door:
Sad times.
The 9th Ave traffic closure is underway. Ghost town:
Big news. The Time Warner Center won’t be the Time Warner Center. Not till 2018, though.
A bit outside our normal area of coverage, but the Famous Oyster Bar at 54th & 7th is being pushed out by – what else – high rents.
Hope you weren’t getting too excited about the 7 line extension opening in June. Now it’s looking like mid– to late-2014. Classic MTA.
People are terrible. Kahve got hit by a pair of thieves, who made off with the tip jar. In full view of the security camera.
Because it wasn’t already easy to confuse all the megaprojects. Now they’re getting even more similar.
That’s a lot of fish. It’s all happening at the Food & Finance High School. Even more impressive: they pull in around $120,000 from selling the fish every year.