New York Today: Sales Slow for Shops at Penn Station

So glad that lead story on Penn Station sales ended on an upbeat, hopeful note: “so perhaps sales will swing back into good standing”

Tune of “That’s the Glory of Love” (maybe Bette Midler’s “Beaches” version?)

We’ve had to choose a little, lose a little
And yes, shine fewer shoes a little.
That's the bummer of, Cuomo’s "summer of hell."

We've had to plan a little, cope a little,
The smooth first day gives hope a little.
Beat the bummer of, Cuomo’s “summer of hell.”

As long as time brings sales again,
Though these slows cause some alarm.
Know soon. we’ll ride the rails again,
So long-term, what’s the harm?

You've had to eat a little, hurt a little
Hope you won’t lose your shirt a little
Beat the bummer of, beat the summer of hell.
Beat the bummer of, beat the summer of hell.

Rooftop gardens have myriad benefits, not the least of which is a short trip to natural, open space for those who do not have easy access to desirable parks like Central/Prospect/Van Cortlandt. It's warm, sunny days, when everyone wants to get to the park, that I am in awe of just how many people live here! Rooftop gardens would definitely open up the Great Lawn; grow some veggies up there, and maybe we'll have shorter lines at the grocery store, too!

Did New York Today run yesterday? I looked for it several times, but couldn't find it. Is there something wrong with my computer?

Lyrics don't seem to be posting under the comments here (tried twice, maybe they were too long), but if it's OK to cross-reference, there's one that people seem to be liking in the comments under today's Metropolitan Diary "A Timely Encounter."

Did New York Today run yesterday?

AT HOME ABROAD
"U.S. mayors should stay home"
--Now, that's a silly fallacy!
Consider Bill de Blasio,
Mayor with a foreign policy.

Structurally, the city is more than able to accommodate more people, save for needed improvements in infrastructure, primarily the subway system.

However, from a social and economic standpoint, market forces responsible for gentrification have led to the direct replacement of locals and natives by moneyed newcomers.

And so the answer to population growth and retention within our city in our existing economic system lies in who the city is willing to provide the opportunities to remain. Because the wealthy have and will continue to come regardless.

Regarding merchants suffering at Penn Station- they are part of the overall failed infrastructure (like switches and tracks) and their fate should not be personalized- as reporters are taught to do. Penn Station is beyond fixing and can only be patched and bandaided.

Folks with stores serving commuters should realize that it is not commuters' choice to even be at Penn Station. The problems there will not be fixed- at least, not anything more than temporarily until the next calamity.

Accommodate more people??? --- This city can't even accommodate the folks that are already here!!!

Let's remember that the original Department of City Planning Zoning Resolution in 1916, envisioned a completely built out city with a population of 55 million. However realistic that is, our city can definitely hold more people. The problem lies not with the ability to build higher but to have enough infrastructure to support the population. From the sewer system, subway and schools all overdue for renovations, retrofitting or rip down and renew, our infrastructure is the most heavily used in the city. We see time and again things breaking, derailing, or bursting and our city agencies mainly fix them with the old "bandaid" measures. Sadly, it usually takes the loss of life for anything to get redone correctly.

In Brooklyn, residential streets have, during rush hour, become clogged with traffic. (Well, at least it cuts down on speeding, the other problem.) Unless you leave at 6AM on a Sunday, the BQE adds another hour and a half, sometimes two, to any trip out of the city. But because I have keen memories of the subways during the 1970s, for me today's subways feel a lot better. Does anyone else remember when boom boxes and cigarette smoke were the usual thing, along with lack of air-conditioning and lighting?

And too often now, people who buy homes in Victorian Flatbush either tear them down to build three-story multi-family dwellings (which then are left unfinished, having accumulated building code violations) or open all the windows and let them fall of their own accord (still accumulating violations). Who are these people? Lots of neighborhoods where ungainly brick buildings with shiny faux-granite balustrades would be in keeping with the general architecture.

Whether a city can sustain additional population is not always a question of living space. It is often a question of inter structure, and if it can sustain the additional people. Water, sanitation, schools, hospitals, pollution etc. Also, will the tax base grow proportionally? It also helps if a city grows outward, without adding folks to the existing structures.

Is any long-term planning in place for anticipated growth? I suspect that there is not, which may answer the question.