Friday, May 13, 2016

it’s Friday, so let’s celebrate the...


...dyslexic, atheist, philosopher insomniac who stayed up all night 
pondering the existence of doG.


And the zen Buddhist monk who went to the hot dog stand
 and said “make me one with everything”.



Have a great weekend!

yer lookin’ good just like a snake in the grass


#4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1979


Thursday, May 12, 2016

up Hill climb


Isn’t it interesting that the same flexible principles that got the Clinton’s to where they are today...


...are becoming the reason Hill may not actually be electable?


from the abstract to the concrete

Do you recall the backyard being emptied of dirt?



That was to go down one flight to create a parking garage in the cellar.


You can see the ramp down at the very top of the next photo.


But now they are going up.


That first floor framework is temporary. 


They will pour concrete on top and then take it out after the concrete has hardened.


The round tanks are for draining the swimming pool for maintenance.

Get ready for one helluva concrete pour.


Wednesday, May 11, 2016

twenty nine years ago today

Happy Birthday, Malin!


(Hi Melissa!)

LFYD

when you know in your heart you are guilty?

Stonewall!

nydn

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics filed a motion in state Supreme Court in Albany yesterday seeking to force the mayor’s nonprofit group to cooperate with its financial probe.


He told the ethics commission to fuck off.



The mayor is in real legal trouble and he knows it.


Stay tuned, kiddies.


Couldn’t happen to a more deserving guy.


Tuesday, May 10, 2016

spring is here and


summer's comin'

lost in the taze of war


Do you remember about a year ago when the old dude-deputy shot and killed the perp when he actually just meant to taze him?

That story is here:


In the struggle, the deputy pulled his revolver instead of his tazer and the perp died right there on the scene.


The perp was a bad guy, too. 

He had just sold a semi-automatic handgun to an undercover cop, and he had many priors including felony convictions for assaulting police officers, robbery and stolen property.

abc

The jury convicted the Deputy!? wtf?



They shoulda thrown a party, if you ask me.


Monday, May 9, 2016

we all get our day in court


Mention “the Bronx” to an outsider and what comes to mind is
 decay, corruption and crime.


It’s fitting, then, that the old Bronx Courthouse incorporates equal measures of all three.


Decay is all around 159th Street and Third.


So it’s a wonderful thing that developer Henry Weinstein is pouring in millions to save this Beaux Arts masterpiece from ruin.


Crime is actually the reason for this building.

From 1914 when it was completed until 1977 when it took its last breath, innocent people were brought here to be tried, proven guilty and convicted.


I got lucky the other day. 

Mr. Weinstein offered me a tour and we started up on the roof. 

The view of Manhattan is terrific.


But corruption runs through this building’s veins.



It began in 1903 when Louis F. Haffen, the first Bronx Borough president, awarded the design commission to Michael G. Garvin, an architect he had worked with before.



But Garvin’s first designs were anemic, and the New York Art Commission rejected them.


In danger of losing his commission for what was to be a very prestigious building, Garvin hired another architect, Oscar Florianus Bluemner, to collaborate with him.


He promised him half of everything, and Bluemner was a real artist. 

The building we have today was enthusiastically approved,
 but then Garvin reneged on his deal.



Bluemner was outraged and sued.


The trial testimony revealed so much corruption that
 Borough President Haffen was forced to resign.


Bluemner “won”, but received only one-fourth of what he was promised. 


He was so disappointed he turned to painting
 and would never work in architecture again.




flickr