Governor Cuomo has said that Uber and other app-based transportation programs should be regulated by statewide laws, removing power from the Taxi and Limousine Commission. He argues that burgeoning interest in bringing the apps to more cities across the state warrants a standard set of rules. Uber showed delight in the proposal, which would bring the app to both Albany and Buffalo. Uber spokesman Alix Anfang told the Post, “State leaders are hearing the voices of hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who are clamoring for services like Uber across the state.” (New York Post)
Wolfgang Puck is finally opening a restaurant in Manhattan. The chef and restauranteur, who has never opened restaurant in the city before, is bringing one of his Cut steakhouses to the World trade Center next summer. The steakhouse will offer over 10 steak choices, and over two dozen sauces, sides and toppings. Cut will open at 99 Church Street in the new Four Seasons Hotel, joining six other Cut restaurants worldwide. (New York Times)
Columbia University professors have been crashing college parties by observing students’ social interactions for a new study. The Sexual Health Initiative to Foster Transformation (SHIFT) study, led by Professors Claude Ann Mellins of Medical Psychology in the Division of Gender, Sexuality, and Health and Jennifer S. Hirsch of Sociomedical Sciences, aims to find out if social interactions in party and bar settings impact sexual experiences. Both the professors and some postgrads have been spotted at Columbia mixers and bars, something some students have described as a bit creepy.”I don’t want a professor watching me at a bar,” one Columbia sophomore, 19, told the New York Post. “It just feels stalky. A bar’s a place where I unwind and drink a little and maybe act a little irresponsibly. Having a professor watching me drink and socialize would be the opposite of relaxing.” (Gothamist)
The funeral for NYPD Officer Randolph Holder will be held at the Community Church of the Nazerene, Far Rockaway on Wednesday, October 28. Details about the funeral service were released by the police department Wednesday evening. Officer Holder, a 33-year-old immigrant from Guyana who had served the NYPD for five years, was killed Tuesday evening by Tyrone Howard, 30. Officer Holder leaves behind a teenage daughter who still lives in Guyana. (Newsweek)
The city’s Department of Cultural Affairs has commissioned a giant bronze sculpture of an arm to be displayed at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge. The index finger of the sculpture will be pointing towards the sky. Hank Willis Thomas, the artist behind the sculpture, is part of the Department of Transportation’s Tillary Street project and has said that, while the design of the sculpture is yet to be finalized, it will be “at least 12 feet tall.” (DNA Info)
