Calling All…

I am looking for New Yorkers who…

1. Do Christmas shopping early in the year (before Black Friday)

2. Have gotten married in the past six months, or are going to be wed in the next couple weeks

I’m working at a widely-circulated daily newspaper this semester, so if you fit either of these descriptions, let me know ASAP and you might get to be in the newspaper! My email is ishas.blog@gmail.com

Ladies, Beware of “Peepers”

Normal Bob's classification system of Union Square

A guy I work with (“Skater Bob”) told me about this web site. He and “Normal Bob” have classified the regulars that hang out on Union Square, including, unfortunately, a group of guys they call “peepers”. These “peepers” are essentially perverts that spend their days looking up girls’ skirts– and here’s the clincher– from a distance. So ladies, if you’re planning a trip to Union Square, skip the thong under your dresses and skirts, and if you choose to sit on the steps of Union Square South keep your legs crossed and knees close together!

Twouble Tweeting?

Fail Whale- if you don't get it, watch the video!

As a part of one of my journalism classes, I had to start tweeting. I had already been using Twitter to publicize new blog posts, but now I had to write things like

“I’m sitting down.”

“I’m staring at my computer screen.”

“I’m bored.”

I was bored. And I don’t get it. What’s the deal with Twitter? Why do people love it so much? One of my classmates thought so too, and she shared a funny video with us.

This is what I want you to do:

Step 1: watch this video (because it’s funny)

Step 2: Tell me what you think about Twitter! Cuz I just don’t get it.

Dessert Truck Update

The dessert truck at 3rd ave

When Jerome Chang, graduate of the French Culinary Institute, began Dessert Truck in 2007, he wanted to make restaurant-quality desserts available to the common man. His menu changes a little every season, and any time he discovers new recipes, but the two concoctions you’ll always find are the créme bruleé and the molten chocolate cake. Another popular favorite is the chocolate bread pudding with bacon créme anglais (it may smell like bacon, but its taste completes the dish). With these high-end desserts available at such low prices ($5-$6) it’s no wonder that Chang’s business has skyrocketed.

Two years and many addicted customers later, the truck is parked at a new location on 3rd Ave and 8th St. and has gone through a few changes. Here’s a look at my interview with the 32-year-old entrepreneur:

Has the recession affected your business at all?
It’s hard to say. Business definitely has changed—hard to say if its because of the economy, because of us, or both.
How has it changed?
Business has gotten busier.
Your Web site says the truck is now open on weekends—what prompted this decision?
A lot of people who know us were wondering where the frick we were on weekends. There were enough people who want the change. So we’re going to try opening on weekends. I feel like we’re in a place where we can handle the load.
How’s that?
Logistically. I feel like people don’t understand how difficult it is to put up desserts in a truck. It takes a lot of planning.
What are the hardest parts of managing the Dessert Truck?
Where do I begin? I would say staffing—in New York City staffing is the biggest issue. Everybody on the truck needs to be a licensed mobile food lender, otherwise they can be fined at least $1000. It’s not like Starbucks where you can just hire anyone.
Are the people who work in the truck also from culinary school?
No- they’re detail oriented, diligent and responsible people.
I read in one of your old press releases you were dating a “chocolatier”. Are you still with her?
(Pauses) No I’m not- but we’re on friendly terms. She’s actually working for us.
Why don’t you have the chocolate sheets on your molten chocolate cakes anymore?
I have to have the transfer sheets custom made—they’re in the city somewhere, but I don’t know where they are.
Are there new desserts we should expect for summer?
I’m planning on doing a Pavlova type dessert, consisting of meringue crème, fruit gelee and also like a cultured cream—frozen or whipped.

Celebrating 4/20 with a Legitimate Question

Why is pot illegal when alcohol and cigarettes are both socially and legally permissible?

For the first 18 years of my life, I was raised to hate drugs– just like any other straight-edge, straight-A student in a conservative school system in the Midwest. At my high school, marijuana use wasn’t something that was publicized, because the stoners who smoked behind the condos at lunch time were the burn outs that weren’t going anywhere. (I found out a couple years after I graduated that there was a sizeable group of the smart, “popular” kids that lit up during their after-school study sessions)

After coming to NYU and butting heads with many of my close friends over the subject of weed, I was forced to do some research and question my unwavering bias. Stepping outside the normative bubble, I realized that you’re much more likely to die (or kill someone else) drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes than by smoking weed.

I don’t think my argument means much, so read this article, written by a former police chief about his thoughts on this rather arbitrary social norm. He basically makes the same point I make above– and adds a disclaimer that I was actually discussing with a friend last weekend:

Anything, in excess, is harmful. Too much alcohol will kill you, too many cigarettes will kill you, and too much weed– well, it’ll probably just make you excessively lazy and/or paranoid, but you get the picture. So when our government and legal system endorse two potentially fatal substances and trust consumers to use in moderation, then why don’t they do the same for a less harmful drug that has yet to be proved dangerous on its own?

The story about my story

So if you’ve been checking back for the detailed story about the North End construction, I apologize– I haven’t put it up for a very specific reason. A New York publication is looking to print my story, and until I’ve submitted it, I don’t want to put anything on my blog that’s similar… But once it’s published, I’ll link to it on this blog and then I’ll write up another piece about all the behind-the-scenes details.

I’ll let you know once it’s up! (on my Facebook feed and on Twitter)

Pete Hamill in Person

Pete Hamill, author of “Downtown: My Manhattan” (the book I wrote a fairly bored review of a couple weeks ago) came to speak with my journalism class today. My 10 classmates, professor and I took turns asking him questions about his life and work. And I must say, listening to Hamill was so much more interesting than reading his book.

I heard wisdom and awareness in the 73-year-old New Yorker’s stories of life as a journalist. He told us about everything from his experiences with love, to his take on the essentials of being a writer.

Born in Brooklyn, Hamill had a certain affinity for Downtown, “maybe because it was closest part of Manhattan to where I grew up,” he said. After he got out of the navy in ‘55, however, Hamill followed an itch for a change of setting to Mexico City College, where he studied painting and writing. And this is where his story got interesting.

“One of my teachers told me there are four stages,” he said. “Imitate, emulate, equal, surpass.” His teacher was talking about art, but Hamill related it to writing. He described a certain “cinematic structure” that can be seen in any good paragraph. He told us about rewriting a piece about a rainstorm to be about a snowstorm– going through it line by line so he could internalize its structure.

It’s funny, Hamill’s suggestion of repeating and emulating in order to equal and surpass reminded me of a cynical article I read on TechCrunch yesterday. The piece was about how Journalism school forces you into a style of writing “that a bunch of dinosaurs all agreed was acceptable a zillion years ago.” Listening to Hamill, I realized the balance lies somewhere in between. You can’t reject the basics of writing– a well written paper will always be a well written paper. But at the same time, if you waste too much of your precious time recreating the work of people who were acclaimed for being unique, you’ll find yourself lagging behind those that find their own way by just doing it.

While his original methods for success may seem antiquated now, Hamill embraced the developments in this field. “It’s inevitable; the delivery system [of news] is changing,” he said. “But journalism has to be the same– the quest for factual information.” In Hamill’s view, while the medium of journalism is changing, we still need to work to keep the Internet professional. “It’s not therapy, it’s not a hobby, it’s a profession.”

Beyond professional advice, Hamill also talked about thoughts on life, and one thing in particular stuck with me. He said that the 50s in New York were his favorite time. “It was that sense of God, I hope I live forever,” he said.

Here was a man who could look back and embrace his life– the mistakes, the successes, and most importantly, the search. I want to feel that way; I want to experience the city like he did, so I can stop at one point and think, God, I hope I live forever.

“Change-alujah” and the Union Square Demonstration

Check out the pics and video! I’ll have the story up tonight.

A video of Reverend Billy telling the crowd about the “anonymous donation,” by which the construction project became more than just a plaground renovation:

A video of Anthony Diaz, member of the choir, break dancing: they’re chanting: “Hey Rosie, please save it. Don’t let Danny take it!”

Reverend Billy and his choir address the crowd

Reverend Billy and the crowd

“Rosie be a love!” sign

The choir of the Church of Life After Shopping

Savitri Durkee and Ben Shepard

Union Square Protest

Even though the addition of a restaurant in the Union Square pavilion has been legally approved, the community is still going to protest the North End project.

Last Monday, Justice Jane Soloman ruled that the renovation of the North End of Union Square could continue as planned, allowing for the incorporation of a private restaurant in the pavilion. Members of the Union Square Partnership were excited to continue with their development plans, however, not all community members are for it. In fact, this project has been a topic of controversy for several years now, and multiple groups have sprung up to protest the construction.

A Large Vacancy

Now that both the Virgin Megastore and Circuit City are on their way out, who will take their place?

William Kelley, Director of Economic Development at the Union Square Partnership, said that the BID (Business Improvement District) conducted a survey last fall of residents, business owners and workers in the area. One of the questions on the survey asked locals what they felt is missing in the neighborhood. “People generally said they’d like to see more general mechandise stores, department stores,” Kelley said.”Unfortunately those require a lot of space.”

But, according to Kelley, the person who owns the Circuit City space also bought the Virgin Megastore, before deciding to close Virgin. So, the combined area might just be big enough for a Target or Kmart.

But Kelley couldn’t confirm who the next tenant will be, because the owner of the space has not specified his plans.

I’ll keep digging!