By Nicola Pring 5/07 3:32pm

bring in 'da noise

via Getty

A Drop in the Bucket: Barclays Center Fined $3,200 for Excessively Loud Concert

Rihanna brought down the house at her concert at the Barclays Center on Sunday night, taking the entire neighborhood with her, according to Prospect Heights residents.

But the loud, booming bass rumblings that disrupted the neighborhood on Sunday night were nothing new for people who live in the direct vicinity of the Barclays Center. These complaints come less than a week after Barclays Center developer Forest City Ratner Companies was ordered to pay the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) a $3,200 fine for violations after a Swedish House Mafia concert in early March. Read More

By Kim Velsey 4/29 2:25pm

Greener Than Thou

A close-up view of the bioswale.

From Gritty to Green: Columbus Avenue Gets Bioswale, Sustainable Streetscape

The sidewalks of Manhattan are famous for surprises—outré fashions, bizarre dog breeds and outlandish happenings (where else would an underwear-clad cowboy have a hard time turning heads?)—but it’s not often that the sidewalks themselves cause double-takes.

Recently, though, an unusual sidewalk/curb/tree pit combo by the corner of Columbus Avenue and 76th Street has been catching the eyes of local passerby. At first glance, the elongated tree pit doesn’t appear all that different than its Upper West Side peers: a delicate sapling protected from the large population of neighborhood dogs by a shin-high iron railing. But on closer examination, the odd characteristics pop out: rather than a standard curb, a border of rocks rings the pit, broken up by two big notches cut out of the curb. Manhattan’s first bioswale, according to the Columbus Avenue BID which installed it. Read More

By Drew Grant 2/12 4:55pm

Stinky Valentine

Happy V-Day sweetheart!

How Would You Like to Take a Sexy Sewage Tour Around Greenpoint for Valentine’s Day?

Let’s face it: Roses are passe. Chocolate makes you fat, even if you eat it “ironically.” (Whatever the hell that means.) And a nice card isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on if you don’t have another special gift awaiting your lover this Valentine’s Day.

If your special sweety is a hipster residing in the Williamsburg/Greenpoint area, this holiday is especially hard. What can you get them, a pre-order of the Girls: Season 1 box set? Luckily, the Department of Environmental Protection has your back. Raw sewage, anyone? Read More

By Hunter Walker 10/29/12 11:42am

When The Levee Breaks

13 Photos

Water at the base of the Carroll Street Bridge as seen from the bridge on Union Street.

Photos: One of America’s ‘Most Extensively Contaminated Water Bodies’ Is Flooding

With the combined effects of the surge from Hurricane Sandy and high tide, the Gowanus Canal broke its banks this morning in multiple locations and flooded over many of the streets in mandatory evacuation Zone A along its shores. The Observer was on hand to take pictures of the waters. It was far worse than anything we witnessed with the initial Sandy surge at high tide last night. Read More

By Tom Acitelli 4:17pm

DEP, Omnicom Sticking Around Midtown

Amid the current, near-narcoleptic state of the market, lease renewals are one of the few signs that the the commercial sector has not rolled over and died.

It’s not as sexy as, say, Harry Macklowe finally selling the GM Building, but hey, it’s something.

The New York City Department of Environmental Read More