In Blistering Heat Wave, Sewage Plant Fire Keeps New Yorkers Away from the Water

The timing could not have been worse. In the midst of a blistering heat wave in New York City, what has been described as a “catastrophic fire” at the North River Waste Water Treatment plant yesterday allowed millions of gallons of … Continue reading

Collision between New York City Fireboats Firefighter II and 343

In  a lawsuit  a whistleblower is charging that New York City’s new $27 million Fireboat 343, named after the number of New York firefighters killed on 9/11, was damaged in a storm last winter when sideswiped by another fireboat, the Firefighter II, … Continue reading

Happy New Year – New York & Key West Style: Crystal Ball, Conch Shell, Pirate Wench & Drag Queen

In New York City tonight, just on the other side of the Hudson River from where I am now typing, roughly one million people gather  in Times Square to watch a crystal ball being dropped on exactly midnight to celebrate the … Continue reading

City of Water Day 2010 – Celebrating the New York City Waterfront

New York City is metropolis of eight million organized into five boroughs, four of which are islands or are on islands.   This Saturday, the 3rd Annual City of Water Day Festival will be hosted by the Metropolitan Waterfront  Alliance to help remind … Continue reading

The General Slocum Tragedy

One hundred and six years ago today, June 15th, 1904, the  Paddle Steamer General Slocum caught fire in the East River and burned killing an estimated 1,021 of the 1,342 people on board.  The steamer was carrying members of St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church … Continue reading