By Drew Grant 7/25/12 1:59pm

Brooklyn

Fireworks on the Hudson (YouTube)

Baby You’re a (East River) Firework: Macy’s Considers Returning Fourth of July Light Show to Original Locale

For those of us living in the outer boroughs, navigating Manhattan during the holidays can serve as a great reminder as to why we migrated off the island in the first place.  New Years Eve, St. Patrick’s Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving…the term “amateur hour” was practically invented to describe the hoards of revelers who descend upon NYC like a plague of locusts to “celebrate” these annual events by getting as drunk as humanly possible and clogging up the sidewalks and public transit systems.

Now, most of the time, this does not pose too much of a problem for Brooklynites and Queens residents, who would just as soon stay in their district anyway, throwing  Skrillex-themed rooftop parties.

But the 4th of July poses an issue for non-Gotham-dwellers: since 2009, the incredible light show thrown by Macy’s has been held on the Hudson River, making it almost impossible to view from the top of a Brooklyn Heights townhouse. Read More

By Rosanna Boscawen 9/02/11 10:33am

Public Art

Installing the stars. Photo: The Windmill Factory.

The Stars Come Out in the Hudson

Wednesday night, as The Observer crossed the West Side Highway at Bank Street and walked over to Pier 49, the pink-orange sun was reflecting onto the Hudson River, and people had filled the surrounding patches of grass, waiting for the official unveiling of a new public artwork by artist Jon Morris called Reflecting the Stars, Read More

By Emily Foxhall 7/22/11 6:35pm

Poop Deck

NY Kayak Polo

Step Off Your High Horse, and Into This Kayak

Arriving to the Pier 66 boathouse on the Hudson River Wednesday evening, The Observer admitted we hadn’t been in a kayak for at least ten years. Even then, we just splashed around at summer camp.

“Do you know how to swim?” asked Lev Grote, president of the New York Kayak Water Polo Club. “That’s key.” Read More

By Steve Cohen 7/28/08 3:02am

A Cleaner and Even Swimmable Hudson River

In the early 1980′s a water engineer once described the Hudson River to me as "the biggest and fastest flushing toilet in the world". Until the North River sewage treatment plant opened in 1986 for what was called "advanced preliminary treatment" we dumped all of the west side’s raw sewage straight into the Hudson. No Read More

By Steve Cohen 7/15/08 2:05pm

Pete Seeger: A Green Hero for Our Time

Over the weekend I had the pleasure of reading

The Federal Water Pollution Control Act was passed in 1972 over then President Richard Nixon’s veto. Pete Seeger was an important voice in the chorus that demanded government action on cleaning up our water. For nearly forty years the Clearwater has continued its educational mission. Read More

By Chris Shott 3/26/07 12:00am

‘It’s Inspectors Gone Wild’

Location: The Feb. 23 video of rats overrunning a health-inspector-approved KFC/Taco Bell in Greenwich Village triggered a city Health Department crackdown, resulting in three times as many daily restaurant closures as usual.

Hunt: It’s actually four times as many.

O.K., four times. Isn’t it about time the city put some teeth into the inspection process? Read More