It looks like the incoming Tehuitzingo on 9th Ave might not actually be an expansion after all. The “original” location on 10th Ave had some crews working on it around the time we posted about the future 9th Ave location, and now is shuttered:
Meanwhile, there’s been progress at the new 9th Ave location, with this fancy awning going up:
The closure of the 10th Ave spot could just be temporary – renovations and the like – but it seems like the time to do that would be after the new location is open so there’s no down time, not before, so that makes it seem less likely it’s an expansion… Time will tell!
So close.Galerie 515, the new, huge incoming hotel/condo building on the corner of W 39th St &9th Ave, was scheduled to be wrapped up by the end of December. If you’ve passed by in the last week, you’ll notice that it’s almost there, but the eternal sidewalk shed is still surrounding the building…
On Saturday, January 25th a free pre-Super Bowl event is being held to support the Rogosin Institute, in conjunction with the Living Heart Foundation and NFL Players Association. There’ll be retired professional NFL players at the event, and since it’s a health-based afternoon they’ll have all kinds of things like blood pressure checkups, presentations by doctors, nurses and dietitians, as well presentations from the retired players.
It was known soon after the fire was extinguished that one man was killed, however there were varying reports about people being found in a stairwell unconscious. The man killed was Daniel McClung, a 27-year-old playwright, and in fact was found alive but unconscious in the stairwell. Another man was found unconscious in the stairwell, and it appears he was the husband of McClung, as reported by the New York Times. McClung was rushed to Roosevelt Hospital, however was pronounced dead at the hospital. Fortunately, his husband was in a serious, but stable, condition at New York Presbyterian. DNAinfo has more on the newlywed couple.
At the time, we didn’t know what caused the fire, but the fire department has since announced that the fire was caused by a power strip. Apparently the strip had several appliances plugged in and either overloaded or was defective, triggering the blaze.
The fire was a truly unfortunate accident, to say the least, and a devastating loss to the families involved. The worst part of all is that the couple would have survived had they stayed in their apartment, as the building is fireproof, so would have contained the blaze. By trying to escape through the stairwells, they were overcome by smoke, which they would have been much more protected from in their apartment, FDNY Chief of Operations James Esposito told reporters yesterday, DNAinfo reports:
“There is a natural instinct to flee,” […] “[But] 99.9 percent of the time you’re safer in your fireproof apartment. If you do smell some smoke coming underneath your door, put some wet towels down and call the fire department.… You should not self-evacuate if you are on a floor above the fire. Stay put.”
“They would have survived, absolutely, if they had stayed in their apartment,”
Big news: until January 12th Pie Face are running a promotion where if you take a “selfie” in front of their new billboard on the corner of 48th&7th, you can show that at any of the locations for a free mini savory pie. Go take a picture and try out one of the twolocations that opened in the neighborhood in 2013.
A three-alarm fire tore through a few apartments at the Strand today – at 43rd&10th– killing one resident and scorching the side of the building. The fire began on the 20th floor of the 42-story building, and in addition to the fatality, two residents suffered significant smoke inhalation, apparently after being discovered trapped in a stairwell. The NY Times has more information on the incident.
Here’s a clip from Neil Jacobson taken directly across the road from the fire:
Fire crews got the blaze under control by around 1pm, and spent much of the afternoon searching the floors above the source of the fire for any residents affected.
Traffic on 10th Ave was flowing again by at least 2pm, but W 43rd St remained closed at 9th Ave to pedestrians and traffic for most of the day to keep the area clear:
Our thoughts are with the family of the victim, and we’re hopeful the two people treated make quick recoveries. For the next few days the Strand will no doubt bear its burn marks, so the memory for the building’s residents won’t go away any time soon.
This was obviously the biggest incident in the area today, but an hour or so before the fire at the Strand crews were called to Toloache on W 50th St in response to a fire in the air ducts. It’s days like this we really appreciate the fire crews in the neighborhood.
Expect to hear a lot more about this in the coming days/weeks, but if you missed it the days are numbered for horse-drawn carriages in the city. Some conspiracy theorists are pinning the decision on a desire to buy and develop the stables on W 52nd St past 11th Ave. Time will tell.
Ziggy from Eating With Ziggy is offering free “food oriented walks” in the neighborhood. Have someone who knows what they’re talking about show you what’s good, and just pay for what you eat.
Another hotel going up between 8th&9th Aves, on W 40th St this time. The developers even bought out the remainder of the 17 years left on the current tenant’s lease, so they’re committed.
Any time there’s snow I can’t help but go check out DeWitt Clinton Park. The huge field is usually relatively untouched and the floodlights let you actually try to enjoy it into the night.
If you’re anything like me you might have wondered what the plan for the Citibikes are when it snows and buries the docks. Obviously having a snowplow take out an entire row of bikes isn’t ideal…and looks like they’ve found a solution:
