Liberty View Chinese

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21 South End Avenue

New York, NY 10280

TV “News” hits a new low with the 60 Minutes Madoff family interview

October 30, 2011

By Steven Greer, MD

CBS’s “60 Minutes” has long been one of the most respected and trusted “TV News” sources. Now, even that bastion is crumbling as the old media world slowly becomes more obsolete and viewers switch off.

The interview with the Madoff family tonight has generated plenty of outrage. But the bigger story is how poorly CBS and 60 Minutes handled the opportunity.

CBS gave two con artists, Ruth and son Andrew, the biggest forum of its kind in the world to spew poorly told lies and distortions in an attempt for Andrew to regain some form of a normal life. Andrew is clearly peddling a book that his bizarre “fiancé” will profit from, as she serves as a money laundering mule and shield from the bankruptcy lawyers.

Morley Safer and the 60 Minutes producers made very little attempt to question the accuracy of any of the Madoff claims. Ruth claims that she was never the bookkeeper of the Ponzi scheme after 1960, for example. There are plenty of experts who could offer evidence refuting that. The son claims he knew nothing about the Ponzi scheme, a virtually impossible reality, and Morley Safer barely questioned him.

There were no experts, like Harry Markopolos or the bankruptcy lawyers, to offer a counterpoint and blow the Madoff lies out of the water. This would have been like shooting fish in a barrel for Markopolos.

60 Minutes clearly lowered their standards and cut some form of a deal to get the exclusive for interview with the Madoff’s. As rating in TV slip, the networks are lowering their standards.

Another “Authority” bungles a construction project in Battery Park City

September 24, 2011

By Steven Greer, MD

The much anticipated opening of the new artificial turf ball fields north of Goldman Sachs on Murray Street finally happened, more than two weeks behind schedule. Heavy rain was cited by the BPCA as the reason, even though “Hurricane” Irene was only a tropical storm when it hit Manhattan leaving only sprinkles.

The Downtown Soccer League (DSL) will be the first group to use the new field. On September 15, the delay was announced in a blast email by DSL President Bill Bialosky, “concerns over the quality of the installation and the weather sensitive process involved in adhering the turf to the foam underlayment triggered the BPCA decision given today’s rain…it is the BPCA’s desire to provide a lasting, state of the art turf field for the community that led to delaying our activities at the ball field until next week.” A parent of a DSL child told BatteryPark.TV that the scheduled games for the league will be pushed into December now.

Upon closer inspection of the fields, The installation clearly seems “out of spec”. Obvious open seams and creases protrude in the field creating tripping hazards and sources for the field to be torn up over time.

The fields are owned and operated by The Battery Park City Authority and the project was overseen by the CEO of the BPCA, Gayle Horwitz. The BPCA refused to reply to our emails and calls. It is unknown how much was paid to the construction company, how the contract was won, etc.

Other recent construction projects in or adjacent to Battery Park City that were bungled with major cost overruns include the Port Authority’s 9/11 Memorial that triggered near-100% increases in bridge and tunnel tolls, the West Thames Park and the re-sodding of the grass field, and the dog park by North Cove Marina.

(Click images to enlarge)

Diagonal folds and creases from improper installation

Wide creases between rolls of turf

BPCA CEO Gayle Horwitz

Barnes & Noble buries a book negative to Obama

September 24, 2011

By Steven Greer, MD

The current most-promoted book in America is “Confidence Men” by Pulitzer Prize winner Ron Suskind. It details the infighting of the Obama administration over the first two years and makes president Obama seem like an indecisive, inexperienced, and ineffective leader. Mr. Suskind has been on every major news and media channel. Therefore, it was quite surprising to not find “Confidence Men” prominently displayed on the “New Arrivals” counter seen as one walks into the Tribeca Barnes & Noble store. Nor is it on display in other areas of the store (see photos and video).

Not only is the book not displayed, but the managers seemingly went to great lengths to literally bury the book. The book is in the center pit of the book display, impossible to see, and serves as the pedestal for a book sign.

A person wearing a name tag “Steve”, responding to our request to speak with the manager, denied burying the book and seemed defensive when we asked him why the book was not on display. He said, “It’s right there guy”, and walked away.

In the past, numerous conservative authors have complained about similar such marketing ploys by liberal book store managers in urban areas like Manhattan. The problem is a moot one, however, given that Barnes & Noble will likely go bankrupt as the Borders book chain did.

(Disclaimer: BatteryPark.TV is a non-partisan venue that opposes corruption perpetrated by any person or group)

(Click images to enlarge)

Confidence Men buried under a book sign

Confidence Men not on display in New Arrivals section of Tribeca Barnes & Noble

Survey: Your opinion of the 9/11 memorial ceremonies

September 11, 2011

Please take our survey on the 9/11 memorial ceremonies. We will post the results on Monday.

September 12, 2011

The results of our survey were:

76% of the responders were from Battery Park

100% liked the design of the 9/11 Memorial. 34% strongly approved.

76% thought that the tight security measures were appropriate

74% agreed with Mayor Bloomberg in not allowing various religious leaders to make speeches

However, 76% disagreed with the Mayor’s decision to not allow living firefighters and policemen to make official speeches.

HBO films at nearby Duane Park

September 6, 2011

HBO filmed a promotion for the new season of Boardwalk Empire at nearby Tribeca’s Duane Park cabaret.

Tiny’s angers patrons

August 7, 2011

There is a new lounge/restaurant in Tribeca called Tiny’s and The Bar Upstairs, located at West Broadway and Duane Streets. It is owned by the same people who own “Warren 77″ (New York Rangers hockey players Henrik Lundquivst, Sean Avery et al), but it is not doing nearly as well. This might be why.

On Saturday, August 6th at 12:23 AM, the downstairs was totally empty, but there was one group of patrons upstairs. There were approximately five of them: middle aged professionals and artists, male and female. Two male bartenders were already preparing to close, even though they are allowed to stay open until 2:00 AM, when one of them extremely rudely turned up the lights to give the group the hint that it was time to go.

A man in the group said, “Excuse me, I just paid $100 for these drinks. Could you please turn down the lights?” A bartender explained that it was last call but the man justifiably continued to express his displeasure. The entire group left shortly after: convenient for the bartenders but not good for the reputation of the bar.

Neighboring bars, such as the Odeon, have employees who confidentially explained that they have heard of similar complaints about the management practices of Tiny’s. BatteryPark.TV does not recommend this establishment.

Scammers at the Farmers’ Market?

Update: June 30, 2011 A more genuine farmer’s market already

The farmer’s market at the WFC seems more authentic already, since our first story. Gone are the corn and watermelon in June that were  clearly imported from thousands of miles away rather than from an “organic local farm”.  All that we saw today was genuine locally grown vegetables.

(click images to expand)

June 10, 2011

How to Make Sure You’re Supporting Local Farmers Be educated, be vigilant, know what’s in season!
By Colleen Vanderlinden of Planetgreen.com

Apparently, the popularity of farmers’ markets is just too much temptation for some unscrupulous vendors.

NBC Los Angeles’ news team decided to do some checking around at local farmer’s markets, and paid visits to the farms where the vendors claimed they grew the food they were selling. In some cases, they found fields full of weeds or dry, empty fields. The vendors were selling vegetables and fruit they had bought wholesale, and were selling it at premium prices at local farmer’s markets, claiming it was locally grown and organic.

As to the “organic” claim, NBCLA also sent several items purchased from vendors who claimed not to use pesticides to labs for testing, and the results came back positive for pesticides. One of the “farmers” claimed that the pesticides found on their produce was the result of overspray from nearby farms, but the levels found on the tested produce were too high for it have been mere “drift.”

This particular story was reported in California, but there’s no doubt that it’s happening all over the country. Near my home, for example, there is a “farmer’s market” in a church parking lot every weekend during the summer. How they managed to have perfect-looking “locally grown” watermelons in early May in Detroit is beyond me. Needless to say, I don’t shop there.

How To Make Sure You’re Supporting Local Farmers Rather than Slimy Opportunists

· Research, research, research. Try to get to know a few vendors really well. Ask where their farm is located, how long they’ve been farming, how they handle pest and disease issues. See if they’re listed on sites like LocalHarvest — not all farmers are, but it doesn’t hurt to check. Ask them the specific variety of whatever produce they’re selling. If they really grew it, they should be able to tell you that those are ‘Emerite’ filet beans, not just “green beans.”
· Look over the display. Really look. This is a great tip from Homegrown Evolution. Are all of the tomatoes the exact same shape and size? Do the apples have that waxy supermarket look? Are the cucumbers all perfectly uniform? Are they selling “local” watermelon in Detroit during the first week of May? If so, they probably went to the warehouse club and bought produce to sell at a premium at the farmer’s market. Steer clear.
· Know what’s in season! If you see watermelon in April or peppers in December in Minnesota or Michigan, chances are good that they have not been grown locally. While some farmers have large heated greenhouses to grow produce year-round, not all do, and it pays to ask questions if the vendor is displaying a lot of out-of-season produce.

As with many things when you’re trying to live a more sustainable life, we need to be vigilant and educated. Don’t trust that just because the sign says “farmers’ market,” you’re supporting nothing but local farmers. While the majority of vendors are legitimate, it’s unfortunately up to us to make sure that we’re buying from them, and not some crook who’s trying to take advantage of the situation.

Review: the new CBS Evening News

June 20, 2011

The new CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley is better than the Katie Couric disaster of a show, which was much like Spider-Man the musical in terms of being painful to watch, but they still have a lot of work to do. Scott Pelley is either nervous, or the producers/directors are messing up his performance. His banter after each field report is so stiff, it makes one wonder whether he is replying to taped segments and not really speaking to a live reporter (which is very likely given budget cutbacks making live video connections rare nowadays).

The producers also have Pelley awkwardly trying to caress a coffee mug while talking. Say what? It looks stupid. Do the network geniuses think that it makes the TV image more “welcome in the living room” if he holds a cup of coffee or water like Kathie Lee Gifford? It reminds one of the embarrassing attempts to have Katie Couric sit on the news desk with her legs crossed.

It seems to be true about what news insiders have said about this new CBS news crew, now headed up by Jeff Fager: that all of the whipper snappers responsible for driving the Katie Couric news show into last place have been expelled and the old timers are in charge. The field reporters are mostly over 60 years of age. There seems to be an almost reverse age discrimination.

Pelley is much better on 60 Minutes, so this stiff performance is surprising, and likely not his fault. The CBS producers seem to be overworking the show like a sit-com or drama. After all, TV news is just an act of reading stuff from a teleprompter. Ratings will continue to dwindle as fewer and fewer people watch stale news. Broadcast news people should stop trying to tinker with the formula. The Internet is the problem, not the broadcast formula.

Scott Pelley is a veteran broadcast personality who will likely steer the new show into a more comfortable style. For now, the producers are overthinking it.

Is your Verizon Fios service going down the tubes?

February 17, 2011

Verizon Fios finally entered the building of Battery Park two years ago. Knowing the bad reputation of traditional Verizon phone service, Verizon made an initial effort to provide better service and steal away Time Warner cable customers. However, has Verizon Fios now become complacent?

Please take our survey here

Running a successful restaurant in Battery Park is not hard

March 5, 2011

With so many restaurants in Battery Park being shut down, such as The Gate House, Johnney’s Fish Grill, Fox Hounds, Applebee’s, Steamers Landing, Pizza Bola, Pac Rim, etc, one might conclude that it is impossible to run a profitable restaurant down here. Not the case. All it takes is quality ingredients and an owner who slightly cares about managing.

Case in point: Blockheads Burritos in the WFC by Vesey Street is flourishing. Blockheads offers freshly-made basic Tex-Mex food served out of a small, low overhead, store.

We were curious about the revenue Blockheads pulls in, so we asked. They make $25,000 to $35,000 a week (and improving) and sold 269 meals on Friday, March 4th. Conservatively, this translates into approximately $1.3 Million per year. Given that they have only 4 to 6 employees at any one time, and the low cost of ingredients, Blockheads has to be considerably profitable.

With the imminent launch of several Danny Meyer restaurants in the Embassy Suites building, hopefully Battery Park will finally have some competently-managed establishments from which to choose. It is indeed possible to run a profitable, quality, restaurant in our neighborhood.

The Wall tour

October 6, 2010

“It was 30 years ago, almost to the day”, said Roger Waters, that he and his band Pink Floyd took The Wall on tour in 1980. The production was so elaborate and groundbreaking, with its 100-feet-high real wall of bricks, elaborate inflatable characters, and flying warplanes, that the tour made just a few stops around the world. Now, with improved stage technology, The Wall returned to Madison Square Garden on October 5^th and 6^th.

We were fortunate to have front and center seats to finally experience this historic spectacle. Surprisingly, there were plenty of fans in their twenties, along with parents who brought their young children to witness the event. The Wall continues to speak to several generations to this day, as does Dark Side of the Moon.

The concert was sold out, with the exception of some empty high-price VIP seats: a sight too common in this economic depression at other venues such as Yankee Stadium during the World Series. Not oblivious to the current climate, the concert began with a homeless man pushing a shopping cart across the front of the stage, followed by the thundering base of the first song, “In the Flesh”.

The stage production was just what any Pink Floyd fan would have wanted, with a 240-foot-wide, 35-foot-tall wall, and 25-foot-tall inflatable teacher, girlfriend, and mother. The physical wall now is made of framed material and not the Styrofoam bricks of 1980.

Roger’s ensemble band filling in for the original Pink Floyd (David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and the deceased Rick Wright) was an A-list of musicians. Robbie Wyckoff’s lyrics are almost indistinguishable from Gilmour’s original vocals. There were times when Wykoff was on the opposite side of the stage from Waters, and we thought that we were hearing a recorded Gilmour. Guitar work came from long-time Waters band member Snowy White and G.E. Smith. Graham Broad supplied the drums in lieu of Nick Mason. Mason had made some guest performances for the 2006 Waters tour of Dark Side of the Moon.

Prominently featured via projection onto the large wall throughout the concert were images of soldiers killed in WWII and the recent Gulf Wars, as well as 9/11 firefighters. Families can upload pictures of their “Fallen Loved Ones” to the tour’s web site.

Another theme of Mr. Waters in the year 2010 is that of Big Brother watching us and the loss of our privacy. A new animation by Gerald Scarfe is that of a London-style bulky security camera aiming its eye at the audience. Waters writes on his web site, “I recently came across this quote of mine from 22 years ago: “What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us to understand one another better, or will they deceive us and keep us apart?” I believe this is still a supremely relevant question”

Regarding the performance by Roger Waters, since he is a bassist and not a guitarist, it’s mostly about his vocals. For the first half, or Album 1, Waters was often singing on top of his 1980 vocals, ostensibly to pay homage to the past. But just as one might think Waters planned to lip sync, he provided plenty of genuine powerful vocals for songs, such as Mother and Comfortably Numb, that sounded as if they came straight from the 1979 double-vinyl album set.

We highly recommend seeing The Wall concert if you can snag some tickets. All in all, it was all just bricks in the wall.

How bout these apples?

October 23, 2010

Few people shopping at Whole Foods take the time to weigh the produce and calculate just exactly how expensive the fruits and vegetables are per item. We saw the large pile of fresh apples that the TriBeCa Whole Foods was promoting and did the math. At $3.49 per pound, 5 apples weighed 2 pounds, or $1.40 per apple. This is at least a 100% premium to other stores and a several hundred percent premium to “organic”, straight from the tree, apples in Ohio.

The Steakhouse Tour: Dylan Prime

The next steakhouse toured by BatteryPark.TV up on Greenwich Street was Dylan Prime. The restaurant has the notable assets of an impressive wine list and attached cocktail area. Executive chef Christopher Cipollone has made some creative and delicious sides such as baby baked potatoes with roasted garlic and Parmesan cream sauce and baked lobster macaroni and cheese. The steaks are prime dry aged with excellent marbling.

Dylan Prime combines the cosmopolitan atmosphere of a Tribeca restaurant like Nobu with great steak. If that is not your scene and you prefer a more seasoned waiter like those at Sparks, Bobby Van’s or Peter Luger, then a more traditional steakhouse might suit you better.

Dylan Prime, 62 Laight Street http://www.dylanprime.com/

(212) 334-4783

The new Tire Swing Pork Park

May 8, 2010

The old “Tire Swing Park” was bulldozed last year over the protests of many families in Battery Park City. It was a park design with natural materials such as wood, sand, grass, etc. Families loved it because it offered rare shade in the summer time, among other reasons.

The new park is almost completed. The design incorporates considerable amounts of modern steel, concrete, and rubber.

The reviews are coming in, and they are not good. We realize that it might shape up over the next month.

One local resident wrote, “Not an ounce of F-en real grass!” Another wrote, “It resembles a new subway station or Frank Gehry building more than a natural playground.”

Decide for yourself. Post some comments.

The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon?

January 16, 2010

Jimmy Fallon may be the big winner of the late night talk show in-fighting. With Conan O’Brien out of the picture, and Jay Leno likely to retire within a few years, Jimmy may be the heir apparent to the coveted Tonight Show. At the very least, the viewership of NBC late night will be less diluted.

Conan O’Brien may be a net winner as well, if he can land at Fox or another network. Conan was set up to fail at NBC and should do well in a better situation.

Jeff Zucker of NBC should have foreseen how his big experiment of moving Leno to 10:00 PM would have failed. Conan’s ratings took a 68% dive (6.5 Million viewers to 2.1 Million) not because the Tonight Show was so bad and Conan suddenly became a lemon, but rather because his viewership was cannibalized by the 10:00 PM Leno show. In addition, viewers are loyal and many migrated to Leno without being willing to adopt a new guy. Conan did not have a fighting chance. These are basics of “old media” broadcast TV that Zucker and crew should have known.

Could it be that Zucker is not the brightest person in the world and just weaseled his way up the ladder riding on the success of Seinfeld and Friends shows of the 90’s? No. Impossible.

Conan’s lawyer shares some blame as well. Given that his move to 11:30 was all about the “time slot”, as was the interrelated Jay Leno time slot, how is it conceivable that Conan’s contract did not address the possibility of fickle TV executives changing things around? Perhaps Conan simply did not have much leverage years ago when the deals were made.

The lesson being taught on a nightly basis now, as the talk show hosts display the dysfunction common within TV-land, is that broadcast TV is a terminal patient with “6-months to live”. Most executives from the “old media” world are inbred cronies with no hope of radically changing practice to take advantage of the “new media” Internet programming coming to your living room soon.

The Best of Battery Park City and Vicinity: 2009

BatteryPark.TV took a stab at listing some the best resources in Battery Park City (BPC) and the surrounding neighborhoods. Please post any comments you may have.

Best Park: Wagner Park

We could have chosen virtually any of the parks in Battery Park City or Battery Park. Tear Drop Park, for example, rivals Disney Land. We chose Wagner Park for its impressive horticulture displays and amazing views of the Hudson and Statue of Liberty. Also, on many occasions during a summer day, one can have the entire park to themselves. We have several videos of the park (Monarch butterflies, Fall flowers).

Best place to catch a shark: The esplanade

An angler on the esplanade caught a small sand shark recently. This little posting went viral as New York Magazine picked it up.

Best Monument: The Irish Hunger Memorial

Constructed shortly after “September 11”, The Irish Hunger Memorial is a meticulously recreated chunk of Ireland. BPCA Chairman James Gill gave us a tour.

Best Hotel: The Greenwich Hotel

An outstanding boutique, The Greenwich Hotel, quietly opened up in nearby Tribeca and took the gold medal. Keeping with Robert De Niro’s demand for excellence, this hotel nailed the details, from the imported Japanese wood in the pool area to the furniture in the rooms. The pool and the spa are probably the best in all of New York City. GM Philip Truelove gave us a tour.

The New York economy took its toll on the former best hotel in BPC (and best in the world according to Institutional Investor Magazine), the Ritz-Carlton. The corporate suits trimmed back on amenities like the 14^th floor roof bar. 2010 might be a comeback year for the Ritz.

Best Museum: The Fraunces Tavern

Downtown New York City is where the most important events of the Revolutionary War took place, and The Fraunces Tavern was a key location. George Washington and many others made it their “hang out” and held important meetings regarding the war. Anthony Wellman gave us a nice tour of the museum and restaurant.

The Skyscraper Museum is also an interesting way to spend a few hours. Take a look.

Best Restaurant Overall: Bouley Upstairs

Battery Park City has a great demand for quality restaurants. As the economy recovers and the new Goldman Sachs crowd comes to the area, hopefully more restaurants will open up actually within BPC, west of the highway.

For 2009, we selected Bouley Upstairs as the best overall restaurant in the area. Famed chef David Bouley opened “Upstairs” next to his larger, more formal, Bouley. “Upstairs” is a small cozy dining space with an open kitchen. Chef Leo Marino, a new addition to the team, will be a just few feet away from you if you have any special requests. The sushi/Japanese kitchen in the opposite corner is quite respectable as well.

Most types of cuisine can be ordered, ranging from French to American to Japanese. The menu is very reasonably priced with many entrees under $15. But make no mistake, the quality is the same as the full Bouley around the corner. That is the beauty of “Upstairs”.

At “Upstairs”, one can sit next to Meryl Streep, see the food prepared nearby, and have a complimentary chocolate truffle made across the street by the Bouley pastry chef, and all for under $30. The “secret” to the success of “Upstairs” is that David Bouley shows up to work six days a week and cares about quality.

Best Coffee: Kaffe 1668

There is a big demand for a coffee house with a full-time barista that would offer a variety of beans, ground on the spot, and brewed on a cup-by-cup basis. Battery Park City now has such a haven: Kaffe 1668.

Best fried Chicken: Tibecas Cornerstone

This quaint window for take out in high-rent Tribeca might be extinct soon, but take advantage while you ca. they make skinless dipped fried chicken and it is inexpensive. Click here for more details.

Best Italian: Locanda Verde

Opened recently in the building of The Greenwich Hotel, Locanda Verde covers the bases well. The social scene attracts the A-list and it is backed up by the food. Chef Andrew Carmellini has created some novel appetizers that will make you take notice, in addition to the main entrees. Locanda is another piece of the Robert De Niro collection of fine dining.

For a smaller dining room experience with less of a scene, try Il Giglio. It is essentially a clone of the more famous Il Mulino with the same absurdly-high-quality-ingredients.

Best Steak: You decide

The steakhouses in the area each offer a unique style and one cannot really pick a favorite. We toured Dylan Prime and Palm. Take a look for yourself. Il Giglio serves a great cut of beef as well.

Best Chinese: Mr. Chow’s

The next time you have a group of fashion models to party with, take them to Mr Chow’s new Tribeca location across from Bubby’s and down the street from The Greenwich Hotel. The menu offers smaller tapas-like selections conducive for groups. Nearer to BPC, Au Mandarin has the best hot-sour soup and General Tso’s chicken.

Best Working Man’s Deli: Cordato’s

For the average Joe who wants a good lunch for under $10, delivered fast with fresh French fries, we select Cordato’s as the best deli. The triple-decker sandwiches are excellent.

Best Upscale Deli: Samantha’s

For a more expensive sandwich or take-home meal, Samantha’s Italian deli is the place. At lunchtime, workers from the World Financial Centers line up ten to twenty deep. Have them place your Italian sub in the pizza oven to toast it up.

If you prefer a kosher deli, Izzy and Nats just opened up this year. They might give Samantha’s some competition for our 2010 list.

Best Bagel: You decide

Two restaurants in BPC make their own bagels on-location: Izzy and Nats and Pick-a-Bagel. You decide which is better.

Best Beer Delivery: NA

With the closing of JJ’s carry out on South End Avenue, there are no places that deliver beer, snacks, etc. to BPC for reasonable prices. The smart entrepreneur who meets this demand will make a killing. The space is open.

Best Grocery Store: Whole Foods

The opening of Whole Foods in Tribeca met a huge demand in the area. The meat and fish sections are exemplary, as is the coffee section (see Best Coffee mention above)

Best Outdoor Drinking: PJ Clarke’s

The view of the North Cove Marina and Hudson River from the outdoor dining area by PJ Clarke’s makes for the best summertime outdoor hangout. The service is not always the best, but you will not likely notice after a few pints.

Best cocktails: Ritz-Carlton

For well-prepared cocktails and martinis, try the Ritz-Carlton in BPC. Tell Manny that we sent you. Also, Vintry Wine and Whiskey is a new place that just opened over on Stone Street and makes some interesting whiskey-based cocktails.

Best Thunderstorm: July 26

The most impressive display of the year by Mother Nature was the tornado-spawning front that passed over New York Harbor on July 26. Take a look.

Now, for the not so desirable “Best” list.

Best disturber of the peace: Con Edison

This November, Con Edison decided to dig up West Thames Street, yet again, and jackhammer into the early morning. This outraged the neighborhood. See the video. The company who runs the New York Waterway ferries was a close second as Best Disturber of the Peace. The new ferry added in the early morning schedule was rattling windows in Gateway Plaza.

Best place to get injured or killed: The Albany Street crossing

The construction of the West Side Highway and closure of the pedestrian bridge has created a deadly risk for people trying to cross the street. One person has been killed and at least one other was severely injured. Manhattan Borough President Stringer discussed the matter with BP.TV.

Disclosure

There are no financial disclosures to report. All of the choices were made on merit alone and are not commercials. We tried to create video tours of as many selections as we could.