Thursday, May 19, 2011 Weather: Scattered Thunderstorms, high of 67 degrees.
Oddities:
Tipster GM tells us that last week she was walking near Tavern on the Green when she saw a commotion just North of the restaurant. She noticed people casually fleeing a raccoon that had been sitting under them in the broad daylight. She told a police officer, thinking it could be rabid, but he said the raccoon was pregnant and he told her he would check on it to see if it was okay. Quite a change from a year ago when raccoons sparked fear rather than cuteness overload.
News:
Soap opera fans protested the cancellation of All My Children and One Life to Live at Lincoln Center, calling ABC’s new lineup “glorified infomercials”. As opposed to, you know, the high art of soap. (Perez Hilton)
Sure, a community board committee voted to keep cars out of Central Park, but without a larger campaign this idea is probably going nowhere. (StreetsBlog)
Upper West Side Fire Chief Richard Picciotto tells the story of how he survived 9/11 and was the last firefighter to leave the North Tower. (Charleston Gazette)
Our good friend Melissa at Out Walking the Dog (and West Side Rag columnist) tells you what to do if you encounter a seal, an increasingly likely occurence here in the city. (Out Walking the Dog)
Police are done with their intense zero-tolerance campaign to ticket cyclists (up to $270!) for going too fast and riding through red lights in Central Park. (DNAinfo)
Lincoln Center President Reynold Levy got a 27% raise in 2009 to $1.5 million, according to tax filings. (Bloomberg)
The city can legally restrict the number of art vendors in city parks, an appeals court ruled. (New York Law Journal)