Makes “Elevator Building” Seem Like A Lot Less Cool Of A Perk

And Jane Jacobs was right about all those walkups:

A home health aide was horrified after her middle finger was cut off at the tip. A firefighter lost part of his finger, too. A woman bumped her head as she was knocked to the floor. A man was left with a swollen hand and broken eyeglasses, someone else a broken nose, someone else two missing toes.

Tenants who live in New York City public housing have long complained about daily inconveniences from malfunctioning elevators: canceling medical appointments, missing school buses, climbing flights of stairs. But the elevators have also taken a widespread physical toll on people who live in, work in or visit the city’s 340 public housing complexes.

There’s Something Inspiring About How A City Comes Together In An Emergency

And I’m sure those ferry captains and workers would agree that they really didn’t have a choice and that it was the right thing to do:

New York Waterway’s rescue of Flight 1549’s passengers could help rescue the foundering ferry firm.

Maritime lawyers say the company has a good chance of making US Airways pay for the costs it incurred plucking 142 people from the Hudson.

Waterway itself is taking on water and could be headed for bankruptcy. Its owner, Anthony Imperatore, is threatening to sue the airline.

Imperatore said he has sunk $20 million of his own money into the ferry operation, and has no more.

Leading Economic Indicators: Chicken Fingers And Wings At Per Se Bar

Actually, the menu is yet to be determined, but Eater reports that Thomas Keller’s Per Se is planning to offer a bar menu:

According to various sources at the restaurant, Per Se is in the planning stages of launching an a la carte menu in its salon and bar area. A reservationist tells us the menu is in trials but has yet to get the final go-ahead.

. . .

On the one hand, it means both fans of Per Se and the uninitiated don’t need to commit to a full nine-course meal, the accompanying price tag, or the two month advance notice usually required for getting a resy to get a taste of Sir Thomas Keller. But this major departure for the restaurant could change the vibe substantially while proving every restaurant — even New York’s most four-starriest –must adapt with the economy in the crapper.

Don’t Tell Your Mom’s Out-Of-Town Friends But . . .

Those counterfeit goods they’re buying on Canal Street may be making them immoral:

“The effect on morality, people don’t anticipate,” said Prof. Dan Ariely, the author of “Predictably Irrational,” who conducted the studies. “We asked them if wearing fakes would get people to cheat more, they didn’t think it has an effect.”

. . .

In one of his studies, half of the 250 subjects were told that the designer glasses they were wearing were “real,” while the other half were told they were wearing “counterfeits.” They were told to do a number of tasks that seemed to be related to the glasses, like evaluating scenery. But tucked into the sequence was a math test. Researchers found that 60 percent of those who were wearing “counterfeit” glasses cheated, while only 20 percent of those wearing “real” glasses cheated.

Location Scout: Counterfeit Triangle.

You Know You Have A Problem With Landmarking When . . .

. . . no one realizes something is a landmark:

The team behind the Cherry Hill Gourmet Restaurant and Market to open in Lundy’s has finally revealed why it ripped up part of the historic building’s exterior — it didn’t know the building was landmarked.

Apparently, the architect hired for the project never checked city records.

“Our architect did not do that,” project manager Anthony Kelley told residents at last week’s Sheepshead Bay/Plumb Beach Civic Association meeting, which was held in the famed Emmons Avenue building.

As a result, workers replaced the concrete in front of the building with small, colored tiles and installed a black iron railing near Lundy’s main entrance.

“The awnings were taken down and the outside was started — yes, our fault,” Kelley admitted.

Just a cautionary tale for the future . . .