Archives: Posts From January 2008
Secession: New York City as Polis
By Sandy Ikeda | Thu, 31 Jan 2008 at 1:15 AM | Permalink
Excerpt: Secession's in the air again:
Emboldened by Mayor Bloomberg's testimony in Albany this week that the city's taxpayers pay the state $11 billion a year more than they get back, a City Council member is offering legislation that would begin the process of ...
Coffeehouse Culture III: "Now Serving Optimal Distraction"
By Sandy Ikeda | Sat, 26 Jan 2008 at 12:48 AM | Permalink
Excerpt: So what's the difference, as it relates to work productivity, between distractions at home and distractions in a coffeehouse?
There are at least two.
The first is that, because you're being watched by a number of people, whether they let on or not, ...
Coffeehouse Culture II: The Coffeehouse as Office
By Sandy Ikeda | Sat, 26 Jan 2008 at 12:47 AM | Permalink
Excerpt: It's no secret that people don't always go to a coffeehouse for conversation or for coffee. In my favorite neighborhood hangout, for example, the coffee quality ranges from okay to burnt tire rubber. Like me, where I started writing this entry, people ...
Coffeehouse Culture I: New York v. Elsewhere
By Sandy Ikeda | Sat, 26 Jan 2008 at 12:46 AM | Permalink
Excerpt: The life of a city consists of what goes on in its public spaces. In New York, and increasingly in other American cities, coffeehouses are a vital part of this public life.
According to Café Life in New York, "cafés" or "coffeehouses" as I prefer to ...
Is New York Losing Steam?
By Sandy Ikeda | Sun, 20 Jan 2008 at 5:51 PM | Permalink
Excerpt: One of the unique images of New York that I had growing up in the Southwest came from movies and television shows with scenes of steam mysteriously seeping up from the streets. Much later I learned that these wispy trails were actually bleed-off from ...
You Can't Build Old Buildings
By Sandy Ikeda | Thu, 17 Jan 2008 at 1:30 AM | Permalink
Excerpt: (This is a follow-up to my earlier post on Willets Point.)
Where do new entrepreneurial ideas come from? One source is successful, well-established businesses like Apple Computer Inc. Another, perhaps even more important one, from the viewpoint of ...
MTA plans to decentralize subway management
By Sandy Ikeda | Mon, 14 Jan 2008 at 3:16 AM | Permalink
Excerpt: When I moved to New York in 1980, people were still using the terms IND, IRT, and BMT to refer respectively to, as I recall, the A, C (in its various incarnations), D, E, F, and G trains; the nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 trains; and the M, N, and R trains. ...
Heads up, New York!
By Sandy Ikeda | Mon, 14 Jan 2008 at 3:00 AM | Permalink
Excerpt: City Hall is once again taking on the challenge of the public toilet. A New York Times article the other day describes in detail both the look and operation of the new device. The accompanying picture, which shows three city officials standing solemnly ...
Some Thoughts About Density
By Sandy Ikeda | Wed, 9 Jan 2008 at 3:49 PM | Permalink
Excerpt: One of my favorite sources of urban information is Demographia, run by Wendell Cox. There you can find a lot of good urban stuff including data on (domestic and international) urban and state demographics and housing affordability, as well as studies on ...
The Taking of Willets Point
By Sandy Ikeda | Sun, 6 Jan 2008 at 2:47 PM | Permalink
Excerpt: A recent article in The Sun prompted me to take a drive one morning through Willets Point, the area at the geographic center of New York City and literally at the doorstep of the Mets' new stadium in northern Queens. The place is not for the faint of ...
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