Earlier this spring, a party raged on the third floor of Showfields , an experiential retail store in Manhattan. To get there guests rode in an elevator lined with gold tinsel and a mirror. On the third floor were about 20 masked people, dressed in neon shirts and sparkly pants, grooving on roller skates , some of which lit up as they moved. Under a disco ball, a D.J. played hip-hop while skaters spun in circles and got lost in the music. “Oh, my gosh, it was great,” said Lionel Laurent, 45, a skating instructor who before the pandemic made money by performing in Times Square. “Clubs are not open, so we are doing this.” Roller-skating is in vogue these days, but longtime New Yorkers have seen it all before; during the second half of the 20th century, skaters would dance all day in city parks and party all night in New York’s multitude of indoor rinks. “The Roxy, it was fabulous, especially in the ’80s,” said Bob Nichols, 74, of Manhattan, a retired film editor, … [Read more...] about New Yorkers Are Crazy About Roller-Skating (Again)
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Nycha Has a New Plan to Clean Up Rats, Mold and Lead Paint: Bring in Private Landlords
[ What you need to know to start your day: Get New York Today in your inbox . ] The New York City Housing Authority is considering a plan to hand over the day-to-day management of 62,000 apartments to developers who would renovate and make repairs to the units, effectively privatizing the operation of more than a third of the stock in the nation’s largest public housing system . The authority may also sell unused air rights and speed up a plan to allow developers to build market-rate apartment buildings on land it is underusing at its housing complexes, according to details of the plan obtained by The New York Times. These aggressive measures would preserve low rents through federal subsidies and would generate at least $15 billion worth of urgently needed repairs . The plan comes as Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has made affordable housing the cornerstone of his administration, is under intense pressure to overhaul the agency. In June, federal prosecutors accused the … [Read more...] about Nycha Has a New Plan to Clean Up Rats, Mold and Lead Paint: Bring in Private Landlords
Protest Grows ‘Out of Nowhere’ at Kennedy Airport After Iraqis Are Detained
It began in the morning, with a small crowd chanting and holding cardboard signs outside Kennedy International Airport, upset by the news that two Iraqi refugees had been detained inside because of President Trump’s executive order. By the end of the day, the scattershot group had swelled to an enormous crowd. They filled the sidewalks outside the terminal and packed three stories of a parking garage across the street, a mass of people driven by emotion to this far-flung corner of the city, singing, chanting and unfurling banners. This was the most public expression of the intense reaction generated across the country by Mr. Trump’s polarizing decision. While those in some areas of the country were cheered by the executive order, the reaction was markedly different for many in New York. References to the Statue of Liberty and its famous inscription became a rallying cry. Similar protests erupted at airports around the country. Word of the protest at Kennedy first filtered … [Read more...] about Protest Grows ‘Out of Nowhere’ at Kennedy Airport After Iraqis Are Detained
Social Media: What Teenagers Think and What Parents Don’t Know
Good morning. It’s Thursday. The surgeon general says social media carries a “profound risk” for young people. We’ll see how teenagers in New York reacted to his warning. The surgeon general of the Public Health Service issued a public advisory this week, warning that social media can harm young people. Adolescents “are not just smaller adults,” the surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, said. “They’re in a different phase of development, and they’re in a critical phase of brain development.” He sounded the alarm in a 19-page report that recommended that families keep mealtimes and in-person gatherings free of devices. He also said that tech companies should enforce minimum age limits “in ways that respect the privacy of youth users” and see that default settings for children “are set to highest safety and privacy standards.” I spoke with our education reporter, Troy Closson , who with several colleagues sampled the reactions to the report among children and … [Read more...] about Social Media: What Teenagers Think and What Parents Don’t Know
The First 2020 Race Is Underway: Scrambling for New York Donors
Senator Elizabeth Warren has come calling as recently as April. Kamala Harris, the first-term senator of California, has made repeated visits, starting as early as her third month in office. Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. is also no stranger to the big-money donor world of New York; he was here in April — his third such visit in three months. It will be months before Mr. Biden, Ms. Harris, Ms. Warren or most potential presidential aspirants will barnstorm across the farmlands of Iowa, dig into a low-country boil in South Carolina or field questions at a town-hall meeting in New Hampshire. But with American presidential races requiring an ever-dizzying amount of money, an early, behind-the-scenes 2020 contest is already taking place: the New York money primary. Over passed appetizers, intimate dinners and private board room meet-and-greets, a parade of nationally ambitious Democrats have been cycling through the offices and living rooms of the Manhattan money set. … [Read more...] about The First 2020 Race Is Underway: Scrambling for New York Donors
Union Boss Criticized After a Death in the Surf
He may look cool and relaxed in his white Mercedes, golden tan and trademark pink polo shirts, but for Peter Stein, summer is no vacation. Mr. Stein, 63, is the enigmatic union chief who has been a towering figure in New York City’s lifeguard system since the 1960s, when he helped unionize city lifeguards and later became president of Local 508, which represents lifeguard supervisors. During his tenure, he has earned a reputation as a pit-bull negotiator with an unmatched record in mobilizing a lifeguard corps to protect the millions of swimmers who visit the city’s 63 pools and 14 miles of beaches each summer. No one has fought more fiercely for the rights and benefits for lifeguards, whom he calls “the city’s forgotten emergency service workers.” But over his long career, Mr. Stein has also been a lightning rod for criticism and controversy, drawing accusations from City Council members and the city’s public advocate’s office that he has run the lifeguard system as a personal … [Read more...] about Union Boss Criticized After a Death in the Surf