The Millers on 8

I ran across this cool photo of Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller today. Perhaps it was around the time they lived in my building (on the 8th floor). If only their ghosts would tell me, I'll be sure to ask them if ever they're spotted ;)

The better the cushion

I went up to the roof terrace yesterday to just take it easy and enjoy the afternoon breeze and saw that the new cushions for the outdoor furniture had arrived (we had been given a heads up that they were being made). I think they're awfully smart looking, a white and taupe stripe, and a vast improvement over the mottled and faded floral pattern on the previous cushions. They weren't cheap; I think they cost several thousand dollars...so let's hope they last a very long time.

Where the sidewalk ends

This is a 'good news/bad news' post.
First, the sidewalk in front of the building has been FINISHED! At last! I guess they were able to fix the street lamp on the corner (freshly painted with a nice high-gloss black paint), so that enabled the completion of the sidewalk. Freshly poured concrete in front and to the side of the building. It looks very nice.





Now for the bad news: the port cochere is STILL under construction. But they're making progress. The "mold" for the new inside sidewalk has been formed, and it looks like they're taking no chances on it being perfect, especially with the height and depth of the curb since that what was the big boo-boo last time. It's got a plastic lining and looks to be ready for the new concrete any day now. So stay tuned for the final reveal. One of the porters told me this week that it's supposed to happen today (Friday), but I'll believe it when I see it!

The port cochere: slowly but surely

The redoing of the port cochere at the base of my building is proceeding v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y.
The've now laid down a lot of plywood planks the look to be the 'mold' into which they will pour the concrete. I'm going away for a couple of weeks, I'm interested to see if anything gets done toward finishing this never ending project by the time I get back.
Here are a couple of photos of the 'progress' thus far:





And the sidewalk in front of my building is still a shambles. I'm not holding my breath for this one.

A murder on "Sutton Place" pt. 2

A few months ago I wrote about a sordid murder case that happened near Sutton Place. You can read about it here. I say "near" because the tabloids and internet say it took place on our favorite street, but it didn't. It happened on 59TH STREET. That ain't Sutton Place.
In any event, the smarmy details continue. The "jeweler to the stars" who was the legalized 'father' to the young man who committed the murder seems to have been an accessory to the deadly deed. He supplied bleach and paper towels to the murderers to help clean up the mess! No one involved in this story is going to end up with a happy ending. You can read all about it here. And if you're a writer on the TV show "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" take note, you can crib the whole thing for a future episode.




UPDATE: The murderer was found GUILTY! (that was a no-brainer, LOL) read about it here.

The people in your neighborhood

I stopped into my local grocery store that's only one block from my apartment today, a very nice Morton Williams. Actually, when I'm in the city I find myself going there practically everyday. Anyway, today I was in the produce section I noticed an extremely tall person out of the corner of my eye dressed completely (and stylishly) in white. It was a head-to-toe vision of Summer Coolness. I was going about my shopping and saw the person again two aisles over and it turned out to be none other than the famous Broadway dancer/director/choreographer (and fellow Texan!) Tommy Tune. I must say he lives up to his reputation for being one tall drink of water. He was in white Crocs and he towered over me. I was able to snap this pic.




After I got home I did a little Googling and found out he lives in a penthouse apartment on East 52nd Street just off Beekman Place, just five block from me. I love seeing famous people in the 'hood doing ordinary things. Now if I can just spot Sigourney Weaver...

The port cochere: shambles again

So they have now started the re-demolition of the driveway in front of the revolving doors in the port cochere. As I detailed in my last post on this topic, the curb was too steep to access so they have broken it up in anticipation of pouring new concrete with a lower curb 'lip'. I was told this would take a week. Yeah, right. We'll see.





In a separate problem, the sidewalk in front of the building is getting re-done at a snail's pace. While the sidewalks on both side of the building have been fixed and the requisite concrete poured, the last remaining piece, the sidewalk on the corner is not done. Before the new concrete can be poured for this section, the traffic light on the corner must be repaired AS IT IS ON THE FRITZ. OY!

The broken street lamp on the corner

This is under the city's prevue as well as the sidewalk but who knows when this will happen. So...all that construction mess in front of the building will stay there until further notice.

This is a saga with no ending...