Starting at 6 a.m. this Friday, yellow cabs at three different uptown locations will pick up multiple passengers and drop them off at various points along Park Avenue, where firms like Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase are headquartered. Riders will pay a flat fare of $3 or $4 per passenger; the group rideshare plan can save riders an average of over $3 per ride.
And coming later this year, taxis already carrying one passenger will be able to pick up another fare en route, if they’re going in the same direction. Cabs would be outfitted with electronic signs, informing the public where they’re headed. A stranger with the same destination could jump in and split the fare.
As a huge fan of David Lynch, Alfred Hitchcock and Mad Men, I was very impressed by the cinematic work of the 29-year old, self-taught, L.A.-based photographer, @AlexPrager, currently on view at the Yancey Richardson Gallery.
Her large chromogenic prints reminiscent of Laura Palmer, Melanie Daniels and Betty Draper, would look stunning on our yet blank apartment wall. But first I need that billion dollar making business idea.
Frank: “Ever had pizza at Patsy’s on 117th street?”
Pieter: “You’re kidding me? We just had two last night!”
The Belly of the Beat: A-1 Records. 439 East 6th Street, New York.
Joe Cuba (Gilberto Navarro) was born on April 22, 1931, in Spanish Harlem, New York City, where his Puerto Rican parents moved in the late ’20s. Captivated by the conga playing of Sabu Martnez, Gilbert took the opportunity to learn the instrument while recovering from a broken leg suffered playing stickball. Gilbert jammed in the street until given the chance to replace Sabu for a few months as part of a local band, La Alfarona X, in 1950. Shortly after, he joined Spanish Harlem’s Joe Panama Quintet, where Jimmy Sabater was a timbales player. After recruiting vibraphonist Tommy Berrios, Gilbert and the band had a falling out with Panama and formed the Cha Cha Boys with Gilbert Calderon as the bandleader. Much to his surprise, Gilbert would soon be billed as “Joe Cuba” by his promoter, Catalino Rolon, and the name would stick.
More at: All About Jazz.
We haven’t witnessed the phenomenon personally, but according to this (low quality) video some newer subway trains (2, 4, 5, N, W) play the first three notes of West Side Story’s “Somewhere” when they start up to leave the station. For everyone except Stijn Mortelmans, here’s a reminder of how the song goes.
As Koenig and company bounced through these and other Third World-gone-indie-rock jams, the musicians carried themselves like debonair adventurers, conquering heroes back home after strange and exotic travels. They’ve been accused of sucking the life out of African music, but they give at least as much as they take. They’re vampires in name only.
These fifth graders might not sound as crystal clear and thoroughly (over)produced as the Belgian Scala choir, but Staten Island’s PS22 Chorus does indeed “deliver big time” with their heartwarming rendition of New York’s anthem of the decade.
And you thought your Manhattan apartment was tiny.
Pieter Dom > Spanish Harlem > Manhattan > New York City.
