In 2030, It’ll Be Neil and Lisa’s World; We’ll Just Live In It
In the two days since Bloomberg unveiled his ambitious vision for the New York of 2030 — frolicking in the Hudson! emissions-free sidewalks! 40 acres and a bagel! — the populace has been galvanized by the initiative, called PlaNYC, judging by the
the morning line
In Which Everyone Has Second Thoughts
• The jury is hopelessly deadlocked in the much-covered case of the Long Island samurai-sword murder. The defense’s version — that the victim’s wife, not the accused stepson, wielded the sword — has apparently raised enough reasonable doubt. [Newsday]
• The city’s phasing out five low-performing high schools, two in Manhattan and three in Brooklyn. Alumni, shed a tear for dear old Lafayette, Samuel Tilden, South Shore, Urban Peace Academy, and High School for the Physical City (um, huh?). [NYP]
• In ever odder education news, City College has named a student center after Assata Shakur — an erstwhile Black Liberation Army militant and convicted cop killer currently residing in Cuba. Some people are less than thrilled. [NYDN]
• Mayor Bloomberg is expected to make a “major speech” on sustainability today, which is a big deal in certain wonkish circles. Bloomie will be outlining the city’s land-use and traffic goals through the year 2030, when we’ll probably all be under water anyway. [Streetsblog]
• And remember how Taco Bell said green onions were the source of E. coli and very publicly removed them from the menu? Yeah, well, it was the white onions, mislabeled at the lab. And wait, there’s more — the strain of the bacteria found on those was not even the one that caused the local outbreak. Bon appetit. [NYT]
in other news
Dan Doctoroff Wanted Olympics, Gets Contaminated Land
There’s a well-worn truism about investing in land: It’s one thing they’re not making more of. Well, Mike Bloomberg is set on overturning that adage. The Bloomberg administration is exploring ways to make more land — or, more precisely, to revamp New York City’s current land use, with an eye on potentially freeing up a whopping 1,700 acres for the future generations. The seventeen-member panel, led by our old friend Dan Doctoroff, is especially interested in reclaiming polluted and toxic lands — so-called “brownfields” — through new technologies. Which lands and which technologies? We’ll find out by mid-2007, when the panel’s findings are made public. Somehow, however, we’re sure they’ll find plenty of development targets. Doctoroff is, of course, already famous for two massive rezoning projects — Manhattan’s far West Side, tied to the failed 2012 Olympic bid, and the Williamsburg-Greenpoint waterfront. Which means he already has plenty of experience with toxic land.
Bloomberg Administration Is Developing Land Use Plan to Accommodate Future Populations [NYT]