The WFC Green Market

July 8, 2010

Grow NYC opened a farmers market in the south entrance of World Financial Center 2. Craig Willingham gives a brief tour.

How to eliminate head injury in football

Op-Ed August 21, 2010

Serious head injury in American football is commonplace and has received national attention within the last two years. The New York Giants quarterback, Eli Manning, is sitting out a few games due to head injury. Last season, star quarterback for the Florida Gators and Heisman Trophy winner, Tim Tebow, suffered yet another concussion that was witnessed by millions of sports fans, as did Super Bowl champ Ben Roethlisberger and many others.

Bryant Gumbel of HBO’s Real Sports was an import factor in bringing this problem to the mainstream. As a result of his show and subsequent coverage in the press, the NFL was pressured to make changes. There is now a mandatory time-off for players suffering concussion, and new posters have been placed in locker rooms. The concern is extending to off-the-field injuries as well. In 2009, then Tonight Show host Conan O’Brien gave head injury more national attention with his on-air concussion.

A recent study commissioned by the NFL found an astonishingly greater prevalence of Alzheimer’s-like memory loss in ex-NFL players. Young athletes in high school or lower grades are even more vulnerable to permanent brain damage after the initial concussion than adults. In addition, there is now new credible evidence from the same scientists at Boston University that Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is caused by head injury.

Concussions are one of the dirty secrets of football. What can be done to make America’s favorite sport safer?

The cause of the vast majority of concussions in football is the lack of enforcement of the rules dictating proper tackling and blocking. The helmet is currently used as the primary ramming tool, particularly at the higher levels, when in fact the facemask and helmet should theoretically never be used in contact. It is against the rules for a defensive player to dip his head and tackle headfirst with his helmet. On the offense, a proper block should use the arms and hands as the initial point of contact, and runners should not dip down and ram headfirst. In reality, however, virtually every block on the interior line and every running play uses the facemask and helmet as battering rams.

It would be quite feasible to enforce the existing rules of football that dictate the helmet should not be used as a weapon and the quality of play as seen by the spectator would not be diminished. Running backs should run with their facemasks up at all times. If a running back were to dip his head and spear forward, it should be a 15-yard penalty and loss of down. Likewise, offensive and defensive linemen should be penalized if their helmets clash.

The ground collisions with helmeted heads that cause injury cannot be easily prevented. However, a simple enforcement of the blocking, tackling, and running rules should eliminate a significant portion of the head (and spine) injuries in football. Also, preventing the premature return of head injured players will help reduce further injury as well.

Hines Ward of the Pittsburgh Steelers can lay out some the most vicious and entertaining blocks in all of football just by using his shoulder pads. Using the helmet as a weapon is cheating, unnecessary, and should be banned.

Emeril Lagasse cuts the price on his NYC apartment by 40%

August 20, 2010

As evidence of the continued weak real estate market in NYC, TV chef Emeril Lagasse had to slash the price of his Midtown loft by 40%: from $7.6 Million to $4.6 Million. The WSJ has more.

Big decline in apartment prices

July 7^th, 2010

The WSJ is reporting today an update on apartment sales prices and number of units sold. The good news is that the number of units increased 179% yoy to 383 units (137 in April of 2009), and a 20% increase from last month. However, the bad news is that prices are way down. Compared to 2009, the selling price of apartments in Battery Park City and the Financial District had the largest drop of Manhattan: down 17%.

Red areas represent the largest price declines.

Keep in mind that 2009 was the bottom in the economic recession in NYC. Despite the ample bonuses paid out in 2010, it has not seemed to impact selling prices.

Joke of the day

August 6, 2010

Jay Leno: Giuliani scolded his daughter after shoplifting “You go to Harvard. You don’t start stealing till you go to Wall Street”

The pretentious way to pronounce Muslim

Op-Ed August 14, 2010

The old media TV news is infamous for using pretentious odd pronunciations of common words or new words of the day. Some examples include the numerous ways to botch “Qatar” as Cutter, etc, pronouncing Pakistan as “Pawkeestan” and Taliban as “Tollyban”.

The basic word Muslim is now being changed. Watch ABC Nightly News pronounce it multiple ways in the same story.

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Tire Swing Park Ribbon Cutting

July 1, 2010

The new Tire Swing Park was officially opened today with a ribbon cutting ceremony. While the play area has been open since Memorial Day, the grass lawn was just opened up. Officials from the State DOT, BPCA and CB1 spoke, but no State or City elected officials presented.

A plan to save the ducklings

June 2, 2010

As previously reported, the waterfall pond by the Irish Hunger Memorial has ten ducklings stranded in it that were placed there by humans. They lack adequate food and nesting ground. Approximately nine have died in the pond so far.

BatteryPark.TV noticed on the evening of June 1st that the water level of the pond had risen several inches and flooded their circular spot of land creating an even more urgent situation. Searching for an animal protection agency, BatteryPark.TV called the local NYFD firehouse, who referred us to the ASPCA, who referred us to the DEC, who referred us to a private volunteer animal shelter run by Eileen Jones. Ms. Jones spoke with the Battery Park Conservancy’s Tessa Huxley and arranged for an evaluation of the situation on the evening of June 2^nd.

Ms. Jones and a member of the Battery Park Conservancy discussed several options ranging from removing the birds, to building a ramp allowing them to leave the pond, to doing nothing. The plan that was agreed upon was to build small floating platforms to ensure dry land for the ducklings, and then Ms. Jones would provide food for the birds with instructions to the park staff on how to administer it. Stay tuned.

Photo of the ducklings resting in a new grass shelter after the round plot of ground became flooded.

Update: June 6. The duck family taking well to the new platform

July 3: The ducklings are outgrowing their small square and will be flying soon. All ten are still alive thanks to daily feedings by the BPCA parks staff. The father duck has lost his shiny green head feathers as is normal and still splashes down daily. Mother duck often watches from above on the railing of the waterfall.

We saw this coming

August 4, 2010

The most peculiar and controversial design of the new Tire Swing Park complex is the large arching red steel beams. They look like a cross between the Golden Gate Bridge and whale bones. It is not clear what the functional purpose of them are. One thing is clear: they beg for kids to climb them.

In the category of “We saw this coming”, we photographed some kids in the act of climbing high up the scaffold. Much has been made about other safety aspects of the park, but this seems to be the biggest danger.

Why was Pfizer fined four times as much as Goldman Sachs?

Op-Ed August 2, 2010

The recent stock market collapse caused a $37 Trillion decrease in market cap valuation at its peak in 2008, according to Alan Greenspan. This triggered a global depression that persists to this day. Few disagree that the root cause of all of this was the irresponsible and fraudulent trading by Wall Street banks of complex financial instruments called CDO’s.

Most of these banks were taken down by their own stupidity. Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns no longer exist. Merrill Lynch and others were forced into mergers. However, Goldman Sachs seemed to have actually profited on the bad mortgage-back securities that became worthless, and as such, has become a lightning rod for all of the global anger.

Congress paraded Goldman Sachs executives before hearings on multiple occasions as the politicians sensed their own demise this Fall. The BP oil spill redirected the news and the SEC investigation into Goldman was recently settled for approximately $550 Million. This amount represents only 1.2% of Goldman’s 2009 revenues or 4.1% of 2009 net income.

To address whether the Goldman Sachs SEC fine is fair and just, one needs to look at other corporate fines. Last September, drug giant Pfizer settled a DOJ investigation for $2.3 Billion over illegal marketing of the drug Bextra. That is four times the amount of the Goldman Sachs fine in absolute terms, or 4.6% of Pfizer 2009 revenue and 26.7% of 2009 net income (6.5 times the impact to Goldman Sachs). This was a much greater hit to Pfizer than was the fine to Goldman.

Pfizer’s crime against humanity was illegally marketing a drug that might have led to increased rates of death. That is indeed a serious offense. Goldman Sachs critics would say that their crime was in playing a significant role in separating $37 trillion in assets from stockholders (global GDP in 2009 was $58 Trillion according to the IMF) causing a global depression and massive unemployment.

Whether the Goldman Sachs fine was too small or the Pfizer settlement was too large is up to debate. One thing is clear: the financial industry lobbyists still rule supreme. The newly passed financial regulation bill is now in the hands of the lobbyists to iron out the details. Is there any doubt whether those details will favor the banks?

Is that one of them artsy things?

August 25, 2010

BPC has featured many interesting temporary art exhibits near the North Cove Marina. The latest one called “Weather Beacon” by Erik Guzman is quite a mystery. If the goal is to perplex, it has certainly succeeded.

What is this thing? Give us your comments below.