Monday, Monday: There Are No Amazing Stories Anymore

A perfectly logical explanation ruins everything; damn you, “tipster”:

Willow, the Colorado kitty who wound up in New York and became a sensation, was found wandering on a Boulder street five years ago by a Brooklyn skier who “fell in love with her,” a tipster told the Gothamist web site.

“She was vetted prior to flying, and none of her history came up,” said the tipster, who claims to have been her catsitter for three months. “While in Brooklyn she was loved and very spoiled.”

“There’s no great mystery behind her travels.”

That’s How You Weave A Narrative!

The Daily News makes it sound like the grant money is going to fight gentrification itself:

A local Brooklyn Latino organization wants to help long-time residents take back the community before hipsters and their trendy bars and overpriced clothing stores wipe out the area’s Latino culture for good.

“When you wake up one morning and you see the corner bodega is now replaced by a fancy cafe or restaurant and you see your neighbors being pushed out because they can no longer afford the rent, all of a sudden you’ve lost your friends,” said [the] head of El Puente. “You begin to wonder, ‘Am I next?'”

El Puente (The Bridge) has landed more than $2.8 million in federal, city and private grant money for its Green Light District project to send swarms of volunteers door-to-door in the next 10 years to help Latino residents get healthier, more educated and more cultured.

. . .

Though Southside remains largely Latino, hipsters from Williamsburg are encroaching quickly.

“We want to spark the Latino community to take back their community,” [the El Puente head] said.

This Is Why I Would Never Let My Daughter Date A Bird

No matter how often we tell them not to, they keep flying into buildings:

There are no easy fixes, however. A few manufacturers are exploring glass designs that use ultraviolet signals visible only to birds, but they are still in their infancy. Opaque or translucent films, decals, dot patterns, shades, mesh screens — even nets — are the main options available. And they have been a tough sell in the high-design world.

New York City Audubon, the American Bird Conservancy and other groups are actively pressing for their use. “I hope there will come a time when putting up an all-glass building is like wearing a fur coat,” said Glenn Phillips, executive director of New York City Audubon. “Not that no one will do it, but maybe they’ll think twice about it.”

What Do You Get When You Cross A Memorial Site With An Office Development And A Public Plaza?

I believe the technical term is “fuckshow.” So much for all the rah-rah Jane Jacobsy bluster from those seeking to undo the urban planning eddy of the original World Trade Center site — that dream is years away (if ever?):

It’s the beginning of a gradual process that will eventually weave an off-limits space back into the fabric of the city. But it may be years before the eight-acre memorial is truly reconnected to New York, as part of a plaza where people can come and go freely or stop to enjoy lunch on a bench.

The goal is “an open memorial and true amenity for people who live in work and down here,” said Joe Daniels, the president and CEO of the National Sept. 11 Memorial & Museum. “I think it’s OK that right now, as it opens, it is more of a controlled destination.”

Only those with one of 7,000 daily tickets can enter the memorial, and reservations are filled through mid-October. Access to the entire plaza currently ends at 8 p.m., though closing time will move up with arrival of winter’s shorter daylight hours.

The ticket system is temporary, but Daniels said he expected it to last for about three years, long after the adjacent One World Trade Center tower is scheduled to be completed.

Location Scout: September 11 Memorial.

That Blasted Shofar

It shows up everywhere:

The Mitzvah Tank, a camper run by the Lubavitcher Hasidic sect, pulled up outside the store, and the driver rolled down his window.

“You want to hear the shofar?” he yelled, referring to the ram’s horn that is blown as an act of piety.

“Not now, I’m having a meeting,” [the store owner] said, then changed his mind. “All right. Make it fast.”