Disney’s Magical Trash Tubes Are In the Big Apple

Disney World uses a system of pneumatic tubes to keep trash out of sight for park visitors. Only one other place in the US uses something like it, Roosevelt Island in New York City (Note: you find it in Barcelona and Stockholm).

More:

“Disney Performs Magic With Trash — Underground Tubes Whisk It Away,” Herb Leibacher, World of Walt

“Inside Roosevelt Island’s Futuristic Pneumatic Tube Trash System,” Michelle Young, Untapped New York

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The Flatiron Building, New York’s Strangest Tower

It’s a weirdly-shaped building on a weirdly shaped lot. The Flatiron Building has been a Manhattan landmark since it was built in 1902. So why is it empty today?

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Trump Locks Up the 2024 Campaign

Celebrity golf cheat, insurrection organizer, and twice-impeached former US President Donald Trump is due to be arraigned today in New York City on multiple business fraud counts weirdly related to hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. Naturally, in today’s MAGA-Republican party, this makes him the front-runner in the GOP 2024 presidential campaign, earning him millions in campaign contributions.

The New York case, brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, is much, um, sexier than other Trump investigations, which merely involve stealing government documents, plotting a coup, and attempting to steal a presidential election. While the Big Apple case may seem more of a long shot, it’s the first indictment of a former US president, so indictments in other cases won’t be precedent breakers, reducing the heat on prosecutors.

More:

“New York, city of Trump’s dreams, delivers his comeuppance,” Matt Sedensky, Associated Press

“Trump Says He Can’t Be Bought–Then Begs For Campaign Money,” Matt Young, Daily Beast

“Melania Trump Seen Wearing “I Don’t Care” Jacket,” Andy Borowitz, The New Yorker

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Top image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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Pizza Inflation Slices Through New York

The quintessential New York street food is a slice of pizza. While pizza-shaped objects appear in other cities, travelers and ex-New Yorkers have long considered the cheesy wedges of neighborhood slice joints throughout the Five Boroughs the ne plus ultra, exemplar and cornerstone of the city’s unique curbside cuisine.

Pandemic-related supplychain snags and inflation have now hit New Yorkers where they eat. The average cost for a cheese slice in the Big Apple is now 3 dollars.

More:

“Mapping the Death of NYC’s Cheap Slice,” Sarah Holder, Bloomberg

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Photo (Cheese slice, Joe’s Pizza, 14th Street, NYC) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht,NotionsCapital.com

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John Oliver on TV’s Law & Order

TV producer Dick Wolf created the Law & Order franchise in 1990 and, after more than 1,200 episodes, the show is still on the air today. The show’s depiction of the legal process is incredibly inaccurate, explains John Oliver. Just think: on Law & Order, the perpetrator is arrested in every case, and always gets a jury trial. Reality is very different. NYPD closes under a third of all cases (some say 5 percent), and 97 percent of all cases end with plea bargains, not jury trials.

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Manhattan in Two Minutes.

A two minute time-lapse reconstruction of the 400 year evolution of the Lower Manhattan skyline. Video by Myles Zhang.

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The Most Recognizable Voice in New York

The most recognizable voice in the Big Apple, the one that tells you to “stand clear of the closing doors” in the subway, is that of Charlie Pellett. A New Yorker video.

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The NYC Subway Was Saved By A Typeface

The New York City subway system was saved by the Helvetica font, claims Christine Beldon on Cheddar.

More:

“How the NYC Subway Was Saved By a Typeface,” Christine Beldon and Lawrence Banton, Cheddar

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Six Feet Apart Please

Graphic designer Savannah Walker has compiled an open-source archive of the markings and stickers that are helping New Yorkers maintain social distance in the city during the pandemic.

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Image (Social Distancing at Eastern Market, DC) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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The lost neighborhood under Central Park

Ever heard of Seneca Village? That African American community, founded in 1825, was destroyed to build New York’s Central Park. Learn more here.

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