RE: An Apology From JetBlue Airways

From: imnotsayin@imnotsayin.blogspot.com

Subject: Re: An Apology From JetBlue Airways

Date: February 21, 2007 5:54 PM EST

To: JB@jetblue.com


JB,

Got your apology email.

Dude! You ok??!

We all have our bad days (some of us more than others). Granted, last Wednesday was a bad one for the ages :P

But seriously. With all the shit you put up with week in and week out, even when you're totally on your game? And JB, when you're on your game (which is nearly always), you're seriously on your game - in a way that none of those other so-called airlines could ever hope to be.

I know you're the sensitive guy type, and you worry about appearances. And I've heard the trash-talk that's been going on all week. But we're buds! We go WAY back!! Remember the time you helped us cut the ticket line and the security line when we were late? And you didn't tell anyone it was our own damn fault for getting to the airport like an hour late?

And remember that other time, on September 11th, when those other airlines kicked all their passengers out of their terminals, leaving them on the JFK curb like so many abandoned luggage carts? You took all those other airlines' customers into YOUR terminal - and helped them find hotels.

OK, so you're not perfect...now that you mention it, we HATE when you expire our TrueBlue points. But if that's your biggest character flaw, you're not doing so bad.

Last week, we were kinda pissed at you. No - more just disappointed. But we're over it now.

Our point is this: we appreciate the apology (and the Bill of Rights thingy). But we love you, man! And we'll keep flying you, as long as you continue being cooler and more fun to hang out with than those other douchebag airlines.

Let's hook up next week, tip some Labatts Blues and pound some Terra Blue chips...we'll watch DirecTV and chill in your big leather seats. Maybe we should fly to Cancun. Just don't leave us hanging on the tarmac again.

Just bustin your nuts brother ;)

Peace!

imnotsayin

JetBlue Apology Letter [jetblue.com]

JetBlue's Customer Bill of Rights / CEO Neeleman Apology Video [jetblue.com]

Looking Up in Manhattan: Checking Out the Newest Tallest Skyscrapers

All this tower building business in Williamsburg got us curious about some new peaks that have appeared recently on the skyline across the river. So last Sunday we took a trip into the mysterious world of Midtown to see a couple of tomorrow's tallest buildings up close.

First stop was One Bryant Park, the future world headquarters of Bank of America (or BOA as we somewhat fondly refer to them). Kitty-corner across Sixth Avenue and 42nd Street from Bryant Park, the soon-to-be second-tallest building in New York (if you're measuring to the tip of its antenna tower) is appropriately-scaled for an überbank HQ.

It gobbles about half the midtown block, reaching from 42nd to 43rd, and roughly halfway to 7th Avenue. I counted about 34 floors so far, leaving 19 to go. When finished, the roofline will will be nearly as high as the Chrysler Building, and its main antenna mast will hit 1,200 feet - 150 feet taller than Chrylser's. Its glass curtain walls appear cleaved off from an imaginary block, tapering inward as it rises; similar to the Freedom Tower but slightly more organic. The architect is Cook + Fox, a New York firm with a sharp yet tasteful modernist aesthetic. This is by far their largest project to date.

One Bryant Park / BOA Tower will be one of the greenest office buildings in America, achieving a vaunted "LEED Platinum" rating. According to skyscraperpage.com, it includes "a deep double-walled insulated facade, rooftop rain collection, filtered under-floor displacement air ventilation, a wind turbine, a 4.6-megawatt cogeneration plant, and a garden." The building is allegedly being built primarily of recycled materials.

Once topped-out, BOA Tower should enjoy its 'second-tallest' status while it can. It will be outdone in 2011 by the Freedom Tower (1,776 ft) and again in 2012 by 200 Greenwich Street (1,339 ft) - if that building comes to fruition.

Our next stop is just down 42nd Street, when we'll look at the new New York Times Tower...

One Bryant Park Construction Pics [Flickr]

skyscraperpage.com rendering and details

More renders and details on the LEEDS certification [nyc-architecture.com]

Ice Ice Baby

What is it with Valentine's week in New York? This is our seventh winter here in the big city, and we can recall at least two other decent-sized Valentine's week storms: February 17, 2003, and last year on February 12th, when we had 26 inches of snow.

Today will be remembered not so much for snowfall (2 inches so far), but for all around nastiness - winds gusted to 38 in Central Park, and temps went from 29ºF (with ice pellets), heading for 15ºF by Thursday morning.

We took advantage of the free ice-pellet-blasting to wander around the waterfront and snap some photos...

Valentine's Day Storm [Flickr]

146 Berry: Another One Bites the Dust

The latest Williamsburg lot to get a big raze is the 146 Berry Street at North 5th (aka. 91 North 5th). Formerly the home of Mobius, an art moving and storage company, the one-story brick structure recently sold to the Morton Group of Delray, Florida, for an alleged $7 million. Crews were busy gutting the interior and roof Tuesday at the outset of yet another building-ectomy.

A quick check of city building permits reveals the owner is attempting to get approval for a six-story, 40-unit apartment complex to be designed by Karl Fischer (of 80 Roebling 'fame').

Nothing on this one so far on Karl Fischer's "upcoming projects" page (click "News"). But lots of renderings of buildings with dubious locations like "North 7th Street" (looks the corner of Wythe), and "North 1st Street and Grand Avenue" (they run parallel). Could make for a fun day of 'match the render with its corresponding hole in the ground'.

Incidentally, the build applications for 146 Berry have been rejected a half-dozen times since October for various (and likely technical) issues. But naturally, the sidewalk shed and demo permits are signed and sealed.

Goodbye 146 Berry; we hardly new ye...

Sunday Eye Candy: Buy One-Get One Edition

tank art by day - detail from street art on salvaged tank, kent avenue


national sawdust - alley off north sixth street

Northside Piers: Pouring 20

Its been a while since we checked up on the progress over at the Northside Piers residential tower. After a blustery week of with daytime temps peaking in the twenties - and wind chills just north of zero - crews took advantage of the balmy (32° F / 7 mph wind) conditions Saturday afternoon and were seen pouring concrete for the tower's 20th floor.

During the week, contractors installed glass on the east side of the fourth and fifth floors, offering a preview of the finished product. The monotonous rows of aluminum-framed panes won't win any design awards, but the floor-to-ceiling views from within will be breathtaking.

With nine more floors to the summit, imnotsayin projects a topping-out sometime around late March. Toll Brothers expects first occupancy this fall.

More construction pics [Flickr]

Scale model and sales office visit [insijs]

Nita Nita Opens in Northside

Northside Williamsburg's newest cozy 'local' previewed Friday night. Nita Nita, an unpretentious new tavern at 146 Wythe (at North 8th), opens officially tonight.

Owner and fellow Brooklynite 'Sam' named the place for her beloved and recently passed aunt - and the Japanese expression "nita nita" that translates roughly to "smirk" or "sinister smile". The corner retail space has a fantastic glass storefront, a number of large tree-slab highboys - ideal for groups of six or eight - and plenty of standing room around its modest bar.

In addition to a half-dozen draft beers and a full run of the harder stuff, Nita Nita has cheese plates and an impressive line-up of Tapas. Sam promises an extended menu as the kitchen gets up to speed over the next couple of months.

Even more exciting is the huge (larger than the interior) garden space in the rear. Its completely raw right now, but should be ready to go in time for warmer weather. Just a block from the soon-to-open East River State Park, Nita Nita offers a nice alternative to the Bedford Avenue scene.

Map It [Google Maps]

imnotsayin: I May Be the Father of Anna Nicole's Baby

It's highly unlikely, given that we never met Ms. Smith. But given the feeding frenzy to lay claim to having spawned Anna Nicole's poor little 5-month-old daughter, Dannielynn, imnotsayin thought we'd throw our hat into the paternity circus ring.

Seriously, though, Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband ??!?
Who next: Emo Phillips? Perhaps Limahl, former Kajagoogoo front man, had a secret fling with her?

Clearly what's at stake here is the potential fortune of Anna Nicole's deceased husband, 89-year-old oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall. Smith's long-standing legal battle against Marshall's family led her to the Supreme Court last summer. The high court ruled last May that Smith could continue her case against Marshall's youngest son. Her untimely death leaves the fate of the inheritance in even greater doubt.

The latest twists, combined with the mysterious death of Anna Nicole's 20-year-old son Daniel as he visited her and his newborn sister (just three days after her birth), seem ripped from the pages of a True Hollywood Story meets True Crime murder mystery.

imnotsayin will continue following this developing story throughout the weekend...

Anna Nicole Updates [Google News]

Unsolved Mystery: Howling Subway Fan Plant Silenced

With imnotsayin headquarters anchoring Northside Williamsburg's waterfront, the MTA's North 7th Street Fan Plant is something of a neighborhood landmark, gracing the water's edge with her charming blue brick, menacing razor wire fringe, and post-apocalypse freize lettering.

She normally sits quietly, perched at the foot of North Seventh Street, offering a gentle, almost silent exhale as each L-train passes by deep beneath her; her roll-up doors rattling so lightly that only those lurking about on the river's edge on a calm summer's evening can hear them.

About three or four times a year, however, she roars to life inexplicably, with a mighty howl - her fans whining like a monstrous vacuum cleaner that can be heard for several blocks onshore. This almost always takes place at night and lasts several hours, eventually ending in a slow, downward slide from whine to moan to fading hum like the tailing off of an old air-raid siren. And then she is silent again, for months.

So when the Fan Plant cranked up a week ago and just kept going, day after day, and on through the night, we took notice. We could hear her howling through closed windows and over the blustery winter's wind, and could only imagine what that might imply for open window season, and quiet evenings (so far only imagined) in East River State Park, right next door.

So Monday, imnotsayin took action and emailed the MTA, asking "what's up?" (we'd planned on calling, but the only number available was for MTA emergencies, via Transit Police). The automated reply said "some responses can take up to 15 business days." We were prepared to wait.

Lo and behold, just before Noon this morning, we had our answer (sort of) in the form of an email from Antonio Ligonde at the MTA:

We regret the condition you reported. The safety and comfort of our customers is New York City Transit's primary concern. Please be assured that New York City Transit maintains strict compliance with all regulations regarding air and noise pollution administered by the Federal Environmental Protection Agency, and is committed to providing environmentally sound public transportation. In response to your complaint, we have forwarded your e-mail to supervision in the appropriate operating department for investigation. Be assured that they will inspect the location you reported and, if the condition you reported is under the jurisdiction of New York City Transit, they will take the appropriate measures to address your concerns as warranted.

Blah blah blah. Then we listened. The North 7th Street Fan Plant was silent once more.

Truth be told, we really wanted to know what the noise was. Why does it happen a few times a year? Why did it go on for a week this time? We were secretly hoping to be teased with some morsel of a clue about the mysterious inner workings of the lonely Fan Plant. But it was not to be.

The North 7th Street Fan Plant has gone back to sleep, and her secrets remain.

Sunday Eye Candy: Street Art on Salvaged Tank

kent avenue, williamsburg