A Great Big City — New York City News, History, and Events

Starting off with a bit more busway news this week: In a study released by Sam Schwartz Transportation Consultants [PDF link], the 14th Street busway has improved travel times on multiple modes of transit by evaluating a variety of data sources, including the Department of Transportation, independent traffic counting, and Citibike data. M14 A and D bus weekday ridership is up 24% compared to last year, and transit times between Third Avenue and Eighth Avenue are faster by 36%, making the crosstown bus ride 5.3 minutes faster. Although the criticisms of the busway before it was even implemented were that the surrounding streets would become parking lots, the data shows that travel time on the surrounding crosstown streets stayed the same or increased by an average of one and a half minutes during weekday rush hours, with the biggest total increase found on 17th Street, the first crosstown street to the north of 14th that isn't broken up by Union Square. By comparison, travel times on the next-closest two-way crosstown streets, 23rd to the north and Houston to the south, showed a variety of increases and decreases in total travel times compared to October last year. On the Avenues, only minuscule changes were seen in drive times, with speeds actually increasing significantly during morning rush hours. The preliminary report released by Sam Schwartz Transportation Consultants is the first of seven scheduled reports, with the final report on the project set to be released in Spring 2021.

In the span of just 16 hours, four people were struck and killed by drivers across the city. In Manhattan, a 26-year-old woman was struck at a crosswalk in SoHo by a box truck driving in reverse, a man in Hell's Kitchen was struck and killed by a sanitation truck driver, an 85-year-old man was killed in Sunset Park by a truck driver, and a 57-year-old man was struck by three drivers separate and killed in Park Slope. According to Streetsblog.org, that brings the total number killed by drivers this year to 214, an 8% increase over 2018. In response, Mayor de Blasio stated that the NYPD will be deploying extra officers citywide to increase truck enforcement. The news sadly coincides with bicyclist Daniel Cammerman being struck and killed by the driver of a school bus on the 96th Street Central Park transverse on December 18th and the Brooklyn Supreme Court handing down a $43 million ruling this week in the case of a young girl struck and seriously injured by the driver of a school bus in 2017.

Now is the time to focus on avoiding the flu this winter. The measles outbreak was a rare occurrence that was confined to small communities and mostly young children who hadn't yet been vaccinated, and only a few hundred people were affected, but different types of flu viruses take hold each year and flu vaccines must be built to properly address the flu strains that will be most prominent during each flu season. Data from the New York Department of Health shows that flu activity in New York City is already at a high level and there has been a 48% increase in hospitalizations statewide due to influenza. Within the city, there have been a total of 2,028 cases since the flu season began in October, with the past week showing a sharp increase of nearly 1,000 new cases within a week. The number of total cases is much higher at this point in the season than it has been in previous years. Given the early arrival of flu season, it's important to get a flu shot as quickly as possible, and it is a vital step for young children and older adults, especially anyone with heart disease, diabetes, asthma, lung disease, liver disease, or those who are pregnant. Just like the measles vaccine, everyone should receive a flu shot to avoid potentially spreading the disease to someone else in the city who may have a more compromised immune system. To find flu vaccinations across the city, use the NYC.gov Health Map at nyc.gov/flu or visit your neighborhood pharmacy, hospital, or clinic and ask if they administer flu shots. And please, everyone, wash your hands and cover your mouth by coughing or sneezing into your elbow! It's one of the easiest most impactful actions you can take to stop the spread of disease, and everyone holding the subway pole after you will be thankful.

30 years ago on December 15, 1989 — Arturo Di Modica's 7,100 pound bronze 'Charging Bull' statue is secretly installed overnight near the New York Stock Exchange Christmas tree as a gift to the people of NYC

Christmas and Hanukkah are on the way, and our list of tree and menorah lightings at agreatbigcity.com/christmas or agreatbigcity.com/hanukkah has the times and dates of 50 lighting ceremonies across the city! You can sort the list by holiday and past events are still listed, so that you can find a local Christmas tree to visit and keep track of public menorah lightings for each day of Hanukkah. If you don't see your local event on the list, drop us a note and we'll put the info up, whether it's the Rockefeller Center tree or just a neighborhood gathering to hang homemade ornaments on an evergreen in the local park!

48 years ago on December 26, 1971 — Members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War occupy the Statue of Liberty for 42 hours to draw attention to the ongoing war

35 years ago on December 22, 1984 — Bernhard Goetz shoots four men on a subway car, seriously wounding them during what was either a panhandling or robbery attempt

8 years ago — A Very Shepherd Christmas - Stories From Jean Shepherd's New York City Radio Show — Shepherd hosted a late-night show on WOR for 21 years, and each night was packed with the same storytelling and clever insights that became the inspiration for 'A Christmas Story'. While his voice has become ingrained in Christmas pop culture as the narrator of 'A Christmas Story', the recordings of his radio career from 1956-1977 paint a raw, impressionistic vision of New York City life. When Christmas came around each year, Shep would retell some of the various anecdotes that would be gathered together into 'A Christmas Story', some of which had recently been published in Playboy magazine and some of which made their debut on his radio show.

A Great Big City has been running a 24-hour newsfeed since 2010, but the AGBC News podcast is just getting started, and we need your support. A Great Big City is built on a dedication to explaining what is happening and how it fits into the larger history of New York, which means thoroughly researching every topic and avoiding clickbait headlines to provide a straightforward, honest, and factual explanation of the news. Individuals can make a monthly or one-time contribution at agreatbigcity.com and local businesses can have a lasting impact by supporting local news while promoting products or services directly to interested customers listening to this podcast. Visit agreatbigcity.com/advertising to learn more.

AGBC is more than just a news website: Every evening, just before sundown, A Great Big City checks the Empire State Building's lighting schedule and sends out a notification if the tower's lighting will be lit in special colors for a holiday or celebration. Follow @agreatbigcity on social media to receive the alerts.

Lighting of the Largest Menorah in Brooklyn

Lighting of the World's Largest Menorah in Manhattan

Christmas Eve Caroling

This is the AGBC Concert Calendar for the upcoming week:

Find more fun things to do at agreatbigcity.com/events.

Here's something you may not have known about New York:

The extreme highs and lows for this week in weather history:

Weather for the week ahead:

Thanks for listening to A Great Big City. Follow along 24 hours a day on social media @agreatbigcity or email [email protected] with any news, feedback, or topic suggestions. Subscribe to AGBC News wherever you listen to podcasts: iTunes, Google Play, or Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, or listen to each episode on the podcast pages at agreatbigcity.com/podcast. If you enjoy the show, subscribe and leave a review wherever you're listening and visit our podcast site to see show notes and extra links for each episode.

Intro and outro music: 'Start the Day' by Lee Rosevere — Concert Calendar music from Jukedeck.com — "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Visit agreatbigcity.com to learn how to support New York City local news and allow us to keep bringing you this podcast. If you are a New York-based business and would be interested in sponsoring our podcasts, visit agreatbigcity.com/advertising to learn more.

A moment of remembrance this week for Alelia Murphy, who I mentioned back in July on Episode 30 of the podcast when she celebrated her birthday as the oldest living American. The Harlem resident died at the end of November at the age of 114 years, 140 days old. Ms. Murphy was born in North Carolina in 1905 and has lived in Harlem since the 1920s. Her funeral was held December 6th at the United House of Prayer for all People church on Frederick Douglass Boulevard. The previous oldest American, Lessie Brown, died in January 2019. According to the Gerontology Research Group, the oldest living American is now Hester Ford, born just one month after Ms. Murphy in 1905. According to the records of the Gerontology Research Group, the oldest known New Yorker was Susannah Mushatt Jones, who was born in 1899 and lived 116 years, 311 days until her death in 2016 at a senior home in Brooklyn.

In Uber's end-of-year report, the Empire State Building topped the list of most Ubered-to locations worldwide, with 1WTC coming in second place. — Transportation reporter Aaron Gordon wrote on Jalopnik that the Empire State Building is within a 10 minute walk of nearly every single subway line, PATH trains, MetroNorth, and the LIRR. At the World Trade Center, the second-most Ubered-to location worldwide, 12 subway lines and the PATH train stop nearby. Other proposals, like City Council Speaker Corey Johnson trying to convince Mayor de Blasio to duplicate the 14th Street busway in Midtown streets on 34th or 42nd Street would also help replace the caravan of crosstown Ubers with city buses that could alleviate the gridlock near the Empire State Building. According to the DOT's 2019 Mobility Report, on 34th, 42nd, and 57th Streets, over 50% of the traffic is composed of taxis and rideshare vehicles, and traffic speeds in Midtown are 30% slower compared to the rest of Manhattan south of 59th, with vehicles creeping along at just 4.9 mph.

Christmas tree lightings are already happening! So check out the AGBC list of tree and menorah lightings at agreatbigcity.com/christmas or agreatbigcity.com/hanukkah, where there are currently 41 lightings across the city. If you don't see your local event on the list, drop us a note and we'll put the info up, whether it's the Rockefeller Center tree or just a neighborhood gathering to hang homemade ornaments on an evergreen in the local park!

5 years ago on December 5, 2014 — Korean Air Flight 86 is forced to return to the gate at JFK Airport after Korean Air vice president Heather Cho throws a temper tantrum over the serving of in-flight macadamia nuts

Back in Episode 49 we covered the closing of Ellis Island in 1954 and how the brick buildings were almost torn down to make way for a futuristic city designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, but 119 years ago on December 17, 1900, A new Ellis Island processing center opens after a fire destroyed the original wood buildings

25 years ago on December 7, 1994 — Howard Stern and a passing motorist save a man threatening to jump from the George Washington Bridge

40 years ago on December 2, 1979 — Elvita Adams attempts to jump from the Empire State Building, but is saved after hitting a ledge 20 feet below

1 year ago on December 10, 2018 — The 'Fearless Girl' statue is relocated from Bowling Green to a permanent location outside the New York Stock Exchange building

30 years ago on December 15, 1989 — Arturo Di Modica's 7,100 pound bronze 'Charging Bull' statue is secretly installed overnight near the New York Stock Exchange Christmas tree as a gift to the people of NYC

AGBC is more than just a news website: It also automatically checks MTA data before morning rush hour and sends out notifications if there are delays on any subway lines, LIRR or MetroNorth trains, and bridges and tunnels. Follow @agreatbigcity on social media to receive the alerts.

And now let's check in with our robot friend for the concert calendar:

This is the AGBC Concert Calendar for the upcoming week:

Find more fun things to do at agreatbigcity.com/events.

Here's something you may not have known about New York:

The extreme highs and lows for this week in weather history:

Weather for the week ahead: Rain on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday

Thanks for listening to A Great Big City. Follow along 24 hours a day on social media @agreatbigcity or email [email protected] with any news, feedback, or topic suggestions. Subscribe to AGBC News wherever you listen to podcasts: iTunes, Google Play, or TuneIn Radio, Player FM, Podcast Addict, or listen to each episode on the podcast pages at agreatbigcity.com/podcast. If you enjoy the show, subscribe and leave a review wherever you're listening and visit our podcast site to see show notes and extra links for each episode.

Intro and outro music: 'Start the Day' by Lee Rosevere — Concert Calendar music from Jukedeck.com

Visit agreatbigcity.com to learn how to support New York City local news and allow us to keep bringing you this podcast. If you are a New York-based business and would be interested in sponsoring our podcasts, visit agreatbigcity.com/advertising to learn more.

The ridership on crosstown buses at 14th Street has increased to more than 32,000 daily riders, an increase over last year's 26,000 daily riders, and now the city is looking at increasing service along the route. Now that buses are moving faster thanks to the clear streets and the installation of bus loading platforms, some are beginning to need to hold at bus stops to avoid getting ahead of schedule. The 14th Street buses will also be getting on-board camera systems that photograph any bus lane blockers and send that info to the Department of Transportation. Any scofflaws caught blocking buses by those on-board cameras or street-mounted cameras will be subject to fines. These are the same on-board cameras that made a dramatic debut recently when the Transit Authority posted a video on social media showing the bus camera zapping a delivery truck out of the bus lane. Although there haven't been any reports of disintegrating delivery vans, the cameras have been operating on the M15 and B44 Select Bus routes.

Good and bad news for any holiday shoppers hoping for some traffic relief in Midtown this holiday season: City Council Speaker Corey Johnson said the success of the 14th Street busway should lead the city to expand the program to similar streets like 34th and 42nd, but Mayor de Blasio's view is still that instituting busways on other streets would be a premature move before the 14th street pilot program has completed. The current busway pilot program is scheduled to last 18 months, after which the DOT will examine the results and decide whether the program will continue. Midtown bus riders may still be stuck behind empty Ubers on 34th Street, but visitors to Rockefeller Center will get a bit more breathing room. The city announced on November 22nd that, beginning Friday, November 29th, movable barriers will be installed to close streets around Rockefeller Center and add more pedestrian space during the holiday season. The plan is to completely close 49th and 50th Streets from Fifth to Sixth beginning in the afternoon until midnight, when most shoppers and visitors will be in the area. Along Fifth Avenue from 48th to 52nd, a lane of the road on each side will be reclaimed for pedestrian traffic with movable barriers. On Sixth Avenue, a similar barrier setup will take over one lane of traffic, but only when the NYPD and DOT observers see that crowds are growing and more pedestrian space is needed. According to State Senator Brad Hoylman, the Rockefeller Center area attracts 125 million visitors during the holiday season. When news of the potential street closure plan leaked at the end of October, Mayor de Blasio emphasized that it had not yet been approved by City Hall and that someone at the DOT may have accidentally or intentionally leaked it "trying to further their own agenda". The plan will take effect the day after Thanksgiving. You may notice one problem when you combine the previous two stories: In response to news of the Rockefeller Center street closures, Transit Authority head Andy Byford released a short statement criticizing what he called a unilateral decision by the city that will slow down buses in the Rockefeller Center area since they are not given priority in the current plan. Fifth Avenue is a major north-south route for buses, and it remains to be seen how the four-block narrowing of the street will impact traffic or transit times.

This week, the Port Authority announced this week that they hope to use autonomous vehicle technology to more closely space their buses through the Lincoln Tunnel. While they plan realistically wouldn't eliminating drivers, the technology would allow the buses to drive close to each other and maintain a higher speed by closely monitoring the surrounding environment and avoiding collisions with greater accuracy than a human driver.

Today's podcast is brought to you by City Survival: The AGBC Holiday Gift Guide — Whether it's a tiny replica of a fire escape to hang on your wall or a gadget that may one day help you escape a stalled subway train, find all your gifts this year through our Gift Guide at agreatbigcity.com/gift-guide and your purchases will financially benefit AGBC.

Coming up November 28th, the 93rd annual Macy's Thanksgiving parade will fly 16 giant balloons from 77th Street to 34th Street, with new giant balloons this year of Astronaut Snoopy, Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham, a new Spongebob Squarepants design featuring Gary the snail, and the reappearance of Smokey the Bear, but those new balloons will hopefully stop to pay their respects to some of their fallen comrades. Over the 93 years of Macy's parades, there have been three major balloon crashes:

26 years ago in 1993 — The Sonic the Hedgehog balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade knocks down a streetlight in Columbus Circle, injuring a child and an off-duty police officer

22 years ago in 1997 — Four are injured, two seriously, when a Cat in the Hat balloon from the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade knocks down a streetlight on Central Park West — Hear more about the Corey Lidle plane crash on Episode 44 of the podcast

14 years ago in 2005 — Two are injured when an M&M balloon from the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade knocks down a streetlight in Times Square

Safety limits are now set on where balloons may only fly if sustained winds are below 23mph and gusts are below 34mph. For this Thanksgiving, the winds are predicted to be in the 20mph range, so it remains to be seen if high winds may ground the balloons this year. No matter what happens to this year's Macy's balloons, it won't be as exciting as the parade's end from 1927 to 1932, when parade balloons were simply launched into the sky after the parade, where the helium-filled balloons would rise into the air and Macy's predicted they would deflate and land, so they attached a note that offered a $100 reward to anyone who returned the balloon's remains. The tradition ended, however, when one of the loose balloons finally ended up getting stuck on the wing of an airplane and sent the plane into a tailspin.

13 years ago on November 25, 2006 — Sean Bell is shot and killed by police in a controversial shooting that raised protests over how police handled the encounter and whether anyone in Bell's bachelor party was actually armed — Sean Bell is shot and killed by police in a controversial shooting that raised protests over how police handled the encounter and whether anyone in Bell's bachelor party was actually armed. Upon leaving the bachelor party at a strip club, undercover police testified that they heard one of Bell's friends say he was going to get a gun, so police, who were outside the club investigating possible prostitution at the location, drew their guns and fired on the group, killing Bell and severely injuring two others. The NYPD response hinged on whether a gun was mentioned or displayed, with witnesses saying no one in the bachelor party mentioned a gun and none being found at the scene. Mayor Bloomberg called the shooting unacceptable and said it looked like a case of excessive force, with five officers firing a total of 50 shots, hitting Bell four times, Trent Benefield three times, and Joseph Guzman 19 times. Protests took place comparing Bell's death to similar police shootings of unarmed men and protesters called for the officers to be held accountable. Three of the five officers involved in the shooting were indicted and went before a judge in a bench trial where all charges were dropped on April 25, 2008. Despite their acquittal, all officers and their commanding officer were fired or forced to resign by 2012. Liverpool Street from 94th to 101st Ave in Jamaica, Queens was named in honor of Sean Bell on what would have been his 27th birthday.

109 years ago on November 27, 1910 — The original Penn Station opens to the public, with an estimated 100,000 visitors on the first day — The original Penn Station opens to the public, with an estimated 100,000 visitors on the first day The city operated a bit differently in those days, with the New York Times noting the increase in pedestrians on a Sunday in the "usually very quiet" area in Midtown between Penn Station and Times Square, and that the crowds were "impressed with the lack of confusion" at Penn Station on opening day. One aspect of the opening day report did seem all too familiar: The new station caused a notable increase in subway passengers at both the Times Square and 33rd Street stations, causing passengers to question why there had not been extra capacity added to the Seventh Avenue cross-town trolley. The increase in train traffic also relocated a large number of support personnel to the city, with many settling in southeast Queens near the newly-constructed Sunnyside train yards. This increased the population of Long Island City by at least 2,000. The original above-ground structure of Penn Station would remain until 1963, when it had fallen into disrepair and was torn down and replaced with Madison Square Garden. The loss of what was once an architectural wonder led to the formation of the Landmarks Preservation Commission that would save Grand Central Terminal from a similar fate just two years later. Today, the Moynihan Train Hall near Penn Station is being renovated into a modern version of what Penn Station once was. The new train station will service Amtrak and LIRR customers and feature a soaring glass atrium ceiling about the size of Grand Central's main hall.

A Great Big City has been running a 24-hour newsfeed since 2010, but the AGBC News podcast is just getting started, and we need your support. A Great Big City is built on a dedication to explaining what is happening and how it fits into the larger history of New York, which means thoroughly researching every topic and avoiding clickbait headlines to provide a straightforward, honest, and factual explanation of the news. Individuals can make a monthly or one-time contribution at agreatbigcity.com and local businesses can have a lasting impact by supporting local news while promoting products or services directly to interested customers listening to this podcast. Visit agreatbigcity.com/advertising to learn more.

AGBC is more than just a news website: Every evening, just before sundown, A Great Big City checks the Empire State Building's lighting schedule and sends out a notification if the tower's lighting will be lit in special colors for a holiday or celebration. Follow @agreatbigcity on social media to receive the alerts.

Here's the AGBC Concert Calendar for the upcoming week:

Find more fun things to do at agreatbigcity.com/events.

Here's something you may not have known about New York:

The extreme highs and lows for this week in weather history:

Weather for the week ahead:

Thanks for listening to A Great Big City. Follow along 24 hours a day on social media @agreatbigcity or email [email protected] with any news, feedback, or topic suggestions. Subscribe to AGBC News wherever you listen to podcasts: iTunes, Google Play, or Spotify, Player FM, Pocket Casts, or listen to each episode on the podcast pages at agreatbigcity.com/podcast. If you enjoy the show, subscribe and leave a review wherever you're listening and visit our podcast site to see show notes and extra links for each episode.

Intro and outro music: 'Start the Day' by Lee Rosevere — Concert Calendar music from Jukedeck.com

Visit agreatbigcity.com to learn how to support New York City local news and allow us to keep bringing you this podcast. If you are a New York-based business and would be interested in sponsoring our podcasts, visit agreatbigcity.com/advertising to learn more.

If you're one of the 26,000 people who visit the Wall Street Bull on a typical day, you may soon need to ask for a different set of directions. Back in April 2018, when it was announced that the Fearless Girl statue was going to be moved from Bowling Green to outside the New York Stock Exchange, there were also rumblings of a possible move for the Charging Bull statue. The Bull is one of the city's most popular and iconic attractions, but its location in the middle of Broadway has long caused a dangerous situation, with onlookers standing inches away from the taxis and tour buses that travel down Broadway. A small pedestrian area added along the border of Bowling Green plaza has not helped, and concrete barriers are still necessary along the border of the plaza to prevent the multiple lanes of traffic from hitting visitors to the statue. A year after the city moved Fearless Girl, the mayor's office has confirmed that the Wall Street Bull will be moving out of Bowling Green and into the plaza outside the NYSE, where visitors can more safely gather around the iconic statue. Tourists may be asking for directions to the Bull for quite a long time, as Google Maps currently still shows the Fearless Girl statue as being located in Bowling Green, despite being moved to the Stock Exchange a year ago in November 2018. If you're a fan of the Bull, be prepared for its 30th anniversary, coming up on December 15th, when the Bull was first dropped off in front of the Stock Exchange in what sculptor Arturo Di Modica called a gift to the people of New York that was meant to represent the strength and power of the American people. Despite initially placing the Bull in front of the Stock Exchange, Di Modica is no fan of the statue being relocated there again. Although no final placement has been announced, Di Modica was also critical of the placement of the Fearless Girl near his statue, and would likely fight having the statues placed facing each other again. The Parks Department does not purchase art to display in city parks, so in a unique arrangement, the Bull is technically still owned by Di Modica, but has also long outlasted the one-year limit that pieces of art are typically granted to be displayed in public parks. This unofficial arrangement over the statue's ownership will likely cause further confusion if the sculptor disagrees with the city's plans to relocate the statue.

Checking in with the 14th Street busway, the Department of Transportation will be installing new bus-boarding platforms along 14th Street from now through December 2019. These are snap-together plastic islands that allow faster boarding of buses without taking up sidewalk space. The plastic platform extends out from the bus shelter and prevents vehicles from being able to block the bus stop and allows the bus to continue along the route without pausing to merge back into traffic. This, combined with the all-door boarding of the Select Bus Service allows faster bus stops with more room for passengers while exiting or waiting for the bus. Each platform will take about six days to install and will temporarily close the bus stop at that location, but the DOT will stagger the installations so that the nearest surrounding bus stops remain in service. The busway itself just passed one month in operation after a series of lawsuits delayed its opening. Both city Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg and Transit Authority president Andy Byford have publicly praised the results of the busway and see it as a template for possible busways in other parts of the city where traffic has slowed buses to a crawl. The 14th Street busway program is expected to last 18 months, after which the DOT will examine the results and decide whether the program will continue.

If you're elsewhere in the city and can't catch one of the frequent 14th Street buses, soon you'll be able to flag down a truly unique taxi option. This week, the Taxi and Limo Commission added the 2019 Tesla Model 3 as an approved vehicle to be converted into a city taxi. The electric cars have a minimum range of 220 miles, but excel in city driving as they don't waste energy while stopped in traffic. During the Taxi of Tomorrow competition, part of the complaint against the winning Nissan NV200 was the cost of maintenance, another area where Teslas would shine, as they have no required maintenance. According to Allan Fromberg of the TLC, there are already Teslas operating as for-hire vehicles in the city, but none have gotten the full taxi treatment yet. Any potential Model 3s that will be used as city taxis will receive the same makeover as all other vehicles, from the yellow paint job to the clear partition and roof-mounted lights. It would be up to the taxi company using the Model 3 to figure out how and when to recharge the car, as Tesla explicitly prohibits taxi and rideshare vehicles from using its Supercharger network, which is the fastest way to recharge a Tesla vehicle. Taxi operators would instead need to install high-power electric hookups at their garages, much like companies install private gas pumps to refuel their fleets of vehicles.

Coming up November 28th, the 93rd annual Macy's Thanksgiving parade will feature 16 giant balloons, 40 smaller balloons and inflatables, 26 floats, 1,200 performers, 11 marching bands, and more than 1,000 clowns. New giant balloons this year are Astronaut Snoopy, Green Eggs and Ham, a new Spongebob Squarepants design featuring Gary the snail, and the reappearance of Smokey the Bear. If you've ever followed AGBC during the Thanksgiving season, you may know that this is also the season for the AGBC Thanksgiving Parade — a page on our site that takes all 93 years of balloons and jumbles their names into a wacky new lineup. Let's hit the randomizer and see what ideas we come up with for this year's AGBC parade: Visit agreatbigcity.com/thanksgiving to shuffle the list and generate your own funny balloon names. Where else will you see the Buzz Rugrats balloon, How to Train Your Santa Claus, and Mama and Papa Doughboy? Only in a hypothetical AGBC parade, of course!

61 years ago on November 10, 1958 — New York jeweler Harry Winston donates the Hope Diamond to the Museum of Natural History by mailing it to Washington D.C. via registered mail

50 years ago on November 10, 1969 — Sesame Street debuts on public television after an earlier test period in July when episodes were shown to preschoolers in Philadelphia and NYC

212 years ago on November 11, 1807 — Washington Irving gives New York the name "Gotham", which means "goat's town"

Bill de Blasio finally called it quits after attempting a Presidential run back in September, but this week former Mayor Bloomberg indicated that he may take another swing at the campaign, himself! Bloomberg has toyed with the possibility of running for President over the years, but seemed to declare his most serious effort for the upcoming 2020 election. While he has not officially declared his candidacy, this week Bloomberg filed paperwork to appear on the Alabama ballot, which had an early deadline candidates must meet, and is in the process of filing in Arkansas and is listed as a potential candidate by the Michigan Department of State. According to various reports from people close to Bloomberg, he has not made a final decision, and will soon announce his intentions. In a statement, top advisor Howard Wolfson stated that this was not a campaign announcement, but that Bloomberg was increasingly concerned that the current field of Democratic candidates are not well positioned to defeat Donald Trump. Neither Bloomberg nor Wolfson provided any specific criticisms on policies or candidates that they find troubling, earlier in October, Bloomberg had reportedly only considered entering the Presidential race if front-runner Joe Biden dropped out. With Bloomberg's recent filing of paperwork in Alabama, the latest Quinnipiac poll was only able to ask the final half of those surveyed about a potential Bloomberg Presidential run, and although the sample size is only 636 potential New Hampshire Democratic voters, the results are certainly less than encouraging: Of the 636 surveyed, 54% responded that they would definitely not vote for Bloomberg in the Democratic primary. Among the full 1,134 likely New Hampshire Democratic primary voters, Joe Biden still takes the top spot, but with only 20% of those surveyed choosing him if the primary were held today. In a separate question, 61% indicated they might change their mind on which candidate they'd vote for before the primary. In a November 8th poll by Morning Consult, Bloomberg faced high unfavorability numbers, but would fare about as well as Biden, Sanders, and Warren in a hypothetical match-up against Trump if the election were held today.

65 years ago on November 12, 1954 — Ellis Island is closed after years of serving as a detention center after both World Wars

18 years ago on November 12, 2001 — American Airlines Flight 587 crashes in the Belle Harbor neighborhood of Queens on takeoff from JFK Airport, killing all 260 people aboard and five people on the ground

In AGBC history:

2 years ago — Hugo Boss Rooftop Features Massive Cologne Bottle — Wednesday, November 8

8 years ago — Occupy Wall Street - Evicted From Zuccotti Park by the NYPD — Tuesday, November 15

3 years ago — NY1 is Rebranded as "Spectrum News" — Tuesday, November 15

A Great Big City has been running a 24-hour newsfeed since 2010, but the AGBC News podcast is just getting started, and we need your support. A Great Big City is built on a dedication to explaining what is happening and how it fits into the larger history of New York, which means thoroughly researching every topic and avoiding clickbait headlines to provide a straightforward, honest, and factual explanation of the news. Individuals can make a monthly or one-time contribution at agreatbigcity.com and local businesses can have a lasting impact by supporting local news while promoting products or services directly to interested customers listening to this podcast. Visit agreatbigcity.com/advertising to learn more.

AGBC is more than just a news website: It also automatically checks MTA data before morning rush hour and sends out notifications if there are delays on any subway lines, LIRR or MetroNorth trains, and bridges and tunnels. Follow @agreatbigcity on social media to receive the alerts.

This is the AGBC Concert Calendar for the upcoming week:

Find more fun things to do at agreatbigcity.com/events.

The extreme highs and lows for this week in weather history:

Weather for the week ahead: Light rain tomorrow and next Monday.

Thanks for listening to A Great Big City. Follow along 24 hours a day on social media @agreatbigcity or email [email protected] with any news, feedback, or topic suggestions. Subscribe to AGBC News wherever you listen to podcasts: iTunes, Google Play, or Podcast Addict, Player FM, Spotify, or listen to each episode on the podcast pages at agreatbigcity.com/podcast. If you enjoy the show, subscribe and leave a review wherever you're listening and visit our podcast site to see show notes and extra links for each episode.

Intro and outro music: 'Start the Day' by Lee Rosevere — Concert Calendar music from Jukedeck.com

Take a trip through the slimy, sickening side of the city and prepare yourself for A Great Big SCARE!

It's ironically appropriate that the subway celebrates its birthday right around the spookiest time of year, as it prominently features in New Yorkers' nightmares. 115 years ago on October 27th, 1904, The original 28 subway stations opened, stretching from City Hall to 145th Street in Manhattan. From 1904 until 1948, the price for a subway ride was just 5¢, a price range that's equivalent to about 92¢ in today's dollars. Instead, you'll be paying three times that amount for a ride today, in a 100-year-old system that is struggling to keep up with modern demand. Although the subway's on-time performance recently hit a six-year high, only 81% of trains arrive on time during a typical weekday, and the subway's previous on-time figures put it at the lowest among all major cities' transit systems. In 2017, Governor Cuomo declared a state of emergency for the New York transit system in an effort to revitalize the deteriorating subway and modernize its signal system. In an effort to avoid further increasing the subway fare, the MTA's $54 billion plan to improve the subway will rely on revenue from a congestion pricing toll on vehicles that enter Manhattan south of 61st Street. Vehicles entering central and southern Manhattan will be subject to a toll of around $12 for the privilege of sitting in traffic that has slowed to a crawl in recent years as rideshare drivers have flooded the streets, with speeds in Midtown in 2018 averaging just 4.7 mph. If streets lined with traffic and a subway running on ancient tracks make New York sound like the city for you, don't forget to pay at the door! Beginning January 2020, the cost of entering the city via bridge or tunnel will increase to $16 and the AirTrain ride to JFK Airport will increase to $7.75.

If you've finally paid your toll to get into the city, good luck finding a place to stay! According to real estate site StreetEasy's data through August 2019, the prices of rentals are increasing while the prices of homes for sale are decreasing. The median asking price for a one-bedroom in Manhattan jumped 7.5% year-over-year, adding $233 to the monthly rent. If you end up looking at apartments more in your price range, the horrors continue. According to bedbugregistry.com, there have been 4,490 reports of bedbugs across the city, including a report from October 26th of a traveler who woke up from a lovely sleep in room 1622 of a hotel in Midtown only to find a bedbug crawling on his pillow. The hotel refused to believe him until he capture a live bug in a sandwich bag and showed it to the hotel staff. If you think you're safe from bedbugs if you don't stay in a Midtown hotel, consider the tale of a resident in Long Island City, who ordered a bed frame and headboard online, only to open the package and find bedbugs inside.

When New Yorkers glance up to see air conditioners precariously hanging from every apartment window, a pedestrian's mind turns to tragedy, picturing their inevitable death after one of those menacing sheet metal boxes breaks free from its windowsill. If the air conditioner plummets toward you, will those days at the gym give you the nimble speed to heroically jump out of its path? In the past 30 years, there have been only a handful of documented air conditioner drops, despite millions of New Yorkers propping their A/Cs up on the hopes that the power cord will support the full weight of the machine if it ever tears loose. While you allow the fear of falling machinery to fade from your mind, consider a report from 2008 that showed the increased energy usage of air conditioning during the summer directly contributes to up to 1,000 deaths annually in the eastern United States. Without sustainable forms of energy, power-hungry air conditioning units put extra demand on coal-burning power plants, increasing ozone levels and fine particulate matter in the air, all of which will only get worse as climate change increases the frequency and duration of summer heat waves.

New York is a world-class city that will survive far into the future, or at least some parts will survive. As the earth's climate changes and sea levels begin to rise, more and more of the city's shoreline will be regularly inundated with water, eroding the city's most valuable infrastructure. Water levels around New York have already risen more than one foot since 1900, and the rate of sea level rise is only increasing. By 2100, the waters around New York will rise from between 18 inches to over four feet, due to damage that has already been done to the planet. On a map from FloodHelpNY that uses FEMA data to estimate future flood-prone areas, water is seen flooding coastal areas across the city as water levels rise, putting areas like Long Island City, the Rockaways, and both JFK and LaGuardia Airport at risk. In Manhattan, the appropriately-named Canal Street will become a canal once again, pouring water directly into the Hudson Tunnel entrance, and in Brooklyn, the sea will wash over Red Hook and swell the waters of the Gowanus up into the surrounding neighborhood. New data shows that the elevation data used to calculate the impact that sea level rise will have on coastal cities was actually using satellite data that measured the heights of trees and buildings, mistaking them for the ground level, so much more low-lying land will be inundated with water than previously estimated.

And all of that water is just on a good day, not when a 100-year flood hits the city. Seven years ago on October 29, 2012, the city saw how intensified natural disasters can bring an unprepared the city to its knees. When Superstorm Sandy hit the city, sweeping corrosive ocean water into basements, power stations, and subway tunnels, the city suffered a $30 billion impact, and one still felt seven years later as subway repairs continue and residents struggle to rebuild their homes. — Hurricane Sandy hits New York City, causing a five-day blackout across downtown Manhattan and damage to infrastructure across the city, on Long Island, and in New Jersey

And now let's see what haunted happenings our robot friend has found for this Halloween night:

Dead & Company is playing Madison Square Garden on Thursday, October 31st at 7pm.

Find more fun things to do at agreatbigcity.com/events.

Here's something you may not have known about New York:

According to a 2014 study, there are approximately 2 million rats living in New York City. The common brown rat not only carries a wide variety of diseases and viruses that is spread via saliva, urine, and rat droppings, but microscopic fleas also catch a ride on rats and carry diseases like the bubonic plague, typhus, and spotted fever. Although an adult rat weighs about as much as a can of soda, they can squeeze through an opening the size of a quarter and jump three feet in the air.

The extreme highs and lows for this week in weather history:

Weather for the week ahead:

Last week I walked you through the history of the Guggenheim Museum to mark its 60th anniversary on October 21, 1959, and this week I wanted to point you to a podcast by 99% Invisible, a design and architecture podcast, which worked with the Guggenheim to produce a special audio walkthrough that talks about the history of the building and some of the art that has been displayed in the museum over the years. For instance, you may not have known that Frank Lloyd Wright initially intended for museum attendees to ride an elevator to the top of the building and experience the museum's exhibitions from top to bottom. Learn more about the Guggenheim at 99pi.org and listen to episode 375 of 99% Invisible while you tour the museum. — The Guggenheim Museum Opens on the Upper East Side

A few more details this week on the observation deck at Hudson Yards that we talked about in Episode 13 of the podcast: The deck is the glass triangle jutting off the southeast corner of 30 Hudson Yards that the surrounding neighborhood lovingly referred to as a bird beak! The observation deck is called New York Edge and will be the highest observation deck in the western hemisphere at 1,131 feet above street level, surpassing both the observation deck at 1WTC and the former Sears Tower, but still falling far short of overseas marvels like Shenzhen's Ping An International Finance Centre's observation deck that is 700 feet higher. The most striking aspect is the glass floor section at the center of the triangle, offering a view straight down the side of 30 Hudson Yards. Walking to the tip of the triangle-shaped deck will offer views across the entire city, from the new skyscrapers lining Billionaire's Row, full views of the Empire State Building, and a look down the western side of Manhattan all the way to 1WTC. The deck won't open until March 2020, but tickets are already on sale at an introductory price of $36/person for a specific time or $56/person for a daily pass. If you're a New York resident, you can receive a few more dollars off the list price. Both prices are comparable to what you'll pay to rise above the city at One World Observatory or the Empire State Building's observation decks. — Living with a view like that doesn't come without a hefty price tag, either! In PropertyShark's latest data, Hudson Yards ranked as the most expensive neighborhood, pushed to the top by a slew of expensive new sales in newly-opened buildings. For the third quarter of 2019, Hudson Yards sailed past Tribeca to post a median sale price of $5 million — more than twice Tribeca's $2.4 million median price for the same time period. Since PropertyShark's ranking of expensive neighborhoods is based on real estate transactions that closed during each quarter, neighborhoods can jump up the list quite drastically, as was seen in this report when the Lower East Side made an appearance at #8 on the list, jumping up eight places, after a number of units were sold at 250 South Street, a massive 72 story tower that grew along the waterfront at the base of the Manhattan Bridge. Sales during the third quarter in that building alone had a median price of $1.6 million.

While you're up on the new observation deck at Hudson Yards, bring a pair of binoculars and see if you can spot some new signage in Dumbo: The former glowing-red Watchtower sign that stood along the Brooklyn waterfront for nearly 50 years will now be replaced with a glowing-red Welcome sign. The architectural renderings show a slightly less ominous font than the Watchtower sign, but the new Welcome sign will still be displayed in bold letters and still feature the LED clock above the sign. The building was sold by the Jehovah's Witnesses for $340 million in 2016 and the new owners are redeveloping the site into a mixed-use complex named the Panorama, which will incorporate shopping and innovative outdoor public spaces. Interestingly, the website for the Panorama still features an earlier rendering of the replacement sign, where the word Panorama would be spelled out in a similar font to the Welcome sign which will now be installed.

The Rockefeller Center ice rink recently opened, the Bryant Park rink will open in Winter Village after Halloween, but you may notice a difference at the Central Park rink this winter: After buildings along Riverside Boulevard removed the Trump name from their buildings, two ice-skating rinks in Central Park were some of the last remaining Trump branding in the city, but as skating began this year, the Trump name was covered over or replaced with a small footnote where there had previously been large red letters on the rink's walls. As the Washington Post reports, some of the signs have been amended with a small "Operated by the Trump Organization" note at the bottom, while the skate rental counter simply hung a tarp over the name. According to the Parks Department, the change was unexpected and was the decision of the Trump Organization, which will still run the rinks, but voluntarily decided to downplay their branding for the first time since the 1980s. Although the rinks are still officially named the Wollman and Lasker rinks, the branding is a result of Trump's real estate company aiding the city in completing the construction and renovation project in the 1980s. Skating at Wollman rink is open now at 62nd Street and costs between $12 and $19, and skating at Lasker rink at 110th Street opens on October 27th and costs $9. For a free option, head to Bryant Park or the Conservatory Water pond on the east side at 74th Street, where remote control boats float during the summer, but free ice skating is available once the ice freezes thick enough!

If you're not ready to get in the winter mood and go ice skating just yet, keep an eye on our listing of Halloween events in the city! Coming up on Saturday, October 26: The Fort Greene Great PUPkin costume contest for dogs at 11am and the larger Fort Greene Halloween Festival from noon to 3pm. On Sunday, October 27: The Howl-o-Ween dog costume party in Riverside Park at 87th Street at noon. On Wednesday, October 30: The Halloween Pumpkin Floatilla in Central Park's Harlem Meer at 110th Street at 4pm. And on Halloween, the Riverside Park costume parade at the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument at 89th Street at 3pm and the city's biggest party, the Village Halloween Parade at 7pm along Sixth Avenue in the West Village! Visit agreatbigcity.com/halloween for more info.

16 years ago on October 24, 2003 — The Concorde makes its final commercial flight from JFK Airport to London, ending the era of supersonic travel

1 year ago on October 26, 2018 — A suspect is taken into custody in Florida after mailing bombs to prominent critics of Donald Trump, including two to CNN's Columbus Circle headquarters and one to Robert De Niro in Tribeca

115 years ago on October 27, 1904 — The original 28 subway stations open

56 years ago on October 28, 1963 — Demolition begins on Penn Station, razing all above-ground structures to make way for Madison Square Garden despite outcry from architects and the public

7 years ago on October 29, 2012 — Hurricane Sandy hits New York City, causing a five-day blackout across downtown Manhattan and damage to infrastructure across the city, on Long Island, and in New Jersey

AGBC is more than just a news website: Our fireworks page monitors the city's announcements of upcoming fireworks, lists them on our site, and automatically sends out a notification just before the fireworks begin, so that you can watch the show or prepare your pet for the upcoming sounds of explosions. Visit agreatbigcity.com/fireworks to see the full calendar and follow @agreatbigcity on social media to receive the alerts.

Halloween Fest 2019 — Date: October 26, 2019 at 11am in Bushwick Inlet Park

Halloween Pet Costume Party — Date: October 26, 2019 at noon in Jackie Robinson Park

Fort Totten Halloween Festival — Date: October 26, 2019 at noon in Queens

40th Annual Halloween Haunted Walk + Fair — Date: October 26, 2019 at noon in Prospect Park

Halloween Harvest Festival — Date: October 26, 2019

Movies Under the Stars - Shocktoberfest: Beetlejuice — Date: October 26, 2019

Halloween Fest 2019: Beetlejuice — Date: October 26, 2019

Mad. Sq. Dogs Howl-o-ween — Date: October 27, 2019

Howl-o-ween — Date: October 27, 2019

Riverside Park Howl-O-Ween Costume Party — Date: October 27, 2019

Halloween Pumpkin Flotilla 2019 — Date: October 30, 2019

Glow-in-the-Dark Paint Night: Halloween Special — Date: October 31, 2019

This is the AGBC Concert Calendar for the upcoming week:

Find more fun things to do at agreatbigcity.com/events.

Here's something you may not have known about New York:

The extreme highs and lows for this week in weather history:

Weather for the week ahead:

Thanks for listening to A Great Big City. Follow along 24 hours a day on social media @agreatbigcity or email [email protected] with any news, feedback, or topic suggestions. Subscribe to AGBC News wherever you listen to podcasts: iTunes, Google Play, or TuneIn Radio, Player FM, Overcast, or listen to each episode on the podcast pages at agreatbigcity.com/podcast. If you enjoy the show, subscribe and leave a review wherever you're listening and visit our podcast site to see show notes and extra links for each episode.

Intro and outro music: 'Start the Day' by Lee Rosevere — Concert Calendar music from Jukedeck.com

Visit agreatbigcity.com to learn how to support New York City local news and allow us to keep bringing you this podcast. If you are a New York-based business and would be interested in sponsoring our podcasts, visit agreatbigcity.com/advertising to learn more.

We've been following the 14th Street busway since it was first proposed, and after being blocked twice by legal complaints, the street has been swept free of cars and the buses have been roaming free for two weeks now. In a press release from the MTA, preliminary data shows that ridership is up and buses are moving faster along 14th Street. A cross-town trip from Third Avenue to Eighth Avenue will now take 10.6 minutes, compared to a 15 minute trip from last year. While collecting data on the Select Bus Service plan implemented along the M14 route, the MTA saw a jump in ridership, with 15% more people choosing to take the prioritized buses, and in the short time the 14th Street busway has been operating, the ridership has jumped again, topping 31,000 daily riders on an average weekday. The busway, which limits traffic on 14th Street from 6am to 10pm, is planned to last 18 months, after which the DOT will assess the impact it has had on bus transit and traffic in the surrounding area. — Also this week, independent data analysis firm INRIX evaluated traffic data from the streets surrounding the 14th Street busway and found that there was no change in traffic speeds, and zero impact on traffic to the immediate north or south of 14th. The initial objections raise by local community groups claimed the busway would negatively impact nearby streets by pushing 14th Street's traffic into their neighborhoods, but the speed increase for 31,000 daily bus riders came at no expense to traffic, with differences in average speeds on surrounding streets never slowing more than a half a mile per hour. Here's how INRIX described the results: "The impact, or lack-there-of, may seem surprising but similar projects around the world have had similar results. The reallocation of space from vehicles to buses represents a far more efficient use of a limited public resource. Whereas one urban lane in congestion can move roughly 1,000 people an hour, a transit way can hit 25,000. As a result of this project, more people are getting where they need to be faster and more reliably."

53 years ago on October 17, 1966 — 12 members of the FDNY are killed when a burning building collapses, becoming the largest single loss of life in FDNY history until the 9/11 attacks

18 years ago on October 24, 2001 — A 14-story construction scaffolding and brick building façade collapses, killing five workers and seriously injuring 10 others in a courtyard at 215 Park Ave South near Union Square

54 years ago on October 18, 1965 — Closing day of the NY World's Fair at Flushing Meadows Park — Bowery Boys podcast

24 years ago on October 23, 1995 — A Greenpeace activist piloting a "gas-powered parachute" flies a banner outside the UN building

88 years ago on October 24, 1931 — The upper level of the George Washington Bridge is opened in a dedication ceremony, and opens to traffic the next day — United States Marine Band conducted by Leonard Slatkin playing William Schuman's 1950 composition "George Washington Bridge"

60 years ago on October 21, 1959 — The Guggenheim Museum Opens on the Upper East Side

136 years ago to October 22, 1883 — The original Metropolitan Opera House opens

Beginning October 18th through the 20th, you'll have the once-a-year opportunity to explore the city like never before when Open House New York brings you exclusive tours of the city's architectural masterpieces that are sometimes hidden from public view or pass by unnoticed the rest of the year. Visit ohny.org for the full schedule of events, some of which require advance registration, but most of which are open all day to the public. The choices range from brand-new developments like 277 Mott Street to historic homes like the Alice Austen House, built on Staten Island in the 1690s. Going beyond architecture, you can also tour special projects like a solar rooftop in Harlem and an urban farm run by Brooklyn Grange in Long Island City. Each site sets its own visitation hours, so visit ohny.org to plan out your weekend!

And, if you're planning on marching in the Village Halloween Parade, you better be finishing up your costume soon! Halloween is less than two weeks away, and the city's biggest party will be stepping off Thursday, October 31st at 7pm at Sixth Avenue and Canal. The parade is unique because it lets anyone participate! If you wear a costume centered around this years theme of "Wild Thing", you'll be allowed to march is a special section of the parade, but anyone who shows up in a costume will become part of the parade, and usually more than 50,000 people show up! Visit halloween-nyc.com for full info, and if you haven't decided on a costume yet, visit the AGBC costume ideas generator at agreatbigcity.com/halloween-costumes where you can get funny New York-themed costume ideas like dressing up as a vintage traffic jam now that the 14th Street busway is open or strike fear in the heart of anyone who has walked the city streets by becoming the Starbucks Bathroom of Doom!

A Great Big City has been running a 24-hour newsfeed since 2010, but the AGBC News podcast is just getting started, and we need your support. A Great Big City is built on a dedication to explaining what is happening and how it fits into the larger history of New York, which means thoroughly researching every topic and avoiding clickbait headlines to provide a straightforward, honest, and factual explanation of the news. Individuals can make a monthly or one-time contribution at agreatbigcity.com and local businesses can have a lasting impact by supporting local news while promoting products or services directly to interested customers listening to this podcast. Visit agreatbigcity.com/advertising to learn more.

AGBC is more than just a news website: Every evening, just before sundown, A Great Big City checks the Empire State Building's lighting schedule and sends out a notification if the tower's lighting will be lit in special colors for a holiday or celebration. Follow @agreatbigcity on social media to receive the alerts.

This is the AGBC Concert Calendar for the upcoming week:

Find more fun things to do at agreatbigcity.com/events.

Here's something you may not have known about New York:

The extreme highs and lows for this week in weather history:

Weather for the week ahead:

Thanks for listening to A Great Big City. Follow along 24 hours a day on social media @agreatbigcity or email [email protected] with any news, feedback, or topic suggestions. Subscribe to AGBC News wherever you listen to podcasts: iTunes, Google Play, or Pocket Casts, Spotify, Player FM, or listen to each episode on the podcast pages at agreatbigcity.com/podcast. If you enjoy the show, subscribe and leave a review wherever you're listening and visit our podcast site to see show notes and extra links for each episode.

Intro and outro music: 'Start the Day' by Lee Rosevere — Concert Calendar music from Jukedeck.com

A surprising development in the city's fight against billboard barges — The company floating the LED billboards in the waters around Manhattan has thrown in the towel after new state regulations pushed them back 1,500 feet from the shoreline. The advertising company promoting the billboard boats has now settled with the city and agreed to be subject to a $100,000 fine if they operate within New York waters. The barge will be relocated to Florida, where the company set up a similar barge along the Miami shoreline in 2016. The agreement with the city ends both the company's six-month fight with the city and the challenge they raised to the state law. As of October 11th, the company's website has been replaced with a generic image saying the site is down for maintenance. According to a presentation acquired by Digiday in January 2019, the company was touting their Hudson River and East River coverage to advertisers at the rate of $55,000 for a 30 second looping at on the banner boats, and they referenced the city's plan to continue developing the shoreline and the city's ferry system as reasons to advertise on LED billboard barges.

86 years ago on October 10, 1933 — A United Air Lines Boeing 247 from Newark, NJ exploded in what is believed to have been the first sabotage bombing of a commercial aircraft

56 years ago on October 14, 1963 — A New York Airways helicopter crashes just after takeoff from Idlewild (JFK) Airport, killing all six people aboard

Double-check your speed if you're on the West Side Highway after October 12th — The city is dropping speeds from 35 to 30 mph on the West Side south of 59th Street beginning Saturday. The move comes as part of Vision Zero, a set of plans adopted by cities worldwide and introduced to New York by Mayor de Blasio in 2014. Vision Zero aims to eliminate pedestrian injuries and fatalities from vehicles, and the reduction in speed on the West Side Highway is meant to reduce the severity of vehicle impacts in areas south of 59th where the highway becomes street-level and pedestrians and cyclists frequently have to cross highway traffic at intersections, including busy areas like the Intrepid museum, Chelsea Piers, and Battery Park City. While drivers may rarely even have the opportunity to top 30 mph in rush hour traffic, the DOT will catch any drivers speeding using new speed cameras along the highway. If the area south of 59th Street sounds familiar, it's because it's the same area targeted by the upcoming congestion pricing plan, where a system of cameras will collect tolls on cars entering the area south of 61st Street. While vehicles staying on the FDR or West Side Highway will be exempt from congestion pricing, vehicles would also be monitored by cameras used for collecting tolls on vehicles exiting the West Side Highway once it reaches street level and begins exiting into the central business district south of 61st. The speed limits on all small streets within the city were dropped to 25 mph in November 2014.

If you can't enjoy a low-speed drive on the West Side Highway and don't want to pay a congestion toll, consider a ride along the new 14th Street busway, which was finally able to open on October 3rd, and has been going swimmingly ever since. The street has been cleared of cars, leaving the buses to freely glide from stop to stop along 14th Street from Third Avenue to Ninth Avenue. Even though the implementation was delayed by three months by community groups, the first week of the busway seems to have had no noticeable impact on the surrounding streets. Bus riders on social media showed quiet, peaceful, and efficient rides during multiple times of day, with just a sparse few delivery trucks parked along the curb. It remains to be seen if the city's experiment with a busway can indeed increase the average speeds of buses on 14th Street while also not slowing down the surrounding area, but for right now, the first attempt at reorganizing 14th Street seems to be a success. I'll bring you the full Department of Transportation report once the trial period for the busway is complete.

16 years ago on October 15, 2003 — A Staten Island ferry strikes a pier at St. George Terminal, S.I., killing 11 people and injuring 165 of the 1,500 passengers

In A Great Big City history:

We're currently watching the MTA's new busway on 14th Street, but 3 years ago the MTA Sends Test Trains Along the New Second Avenue Subway. Train aficionado DJ Hammers on Youtube caught a glimpse of empty subway cars through a stairway at 63rd and Lex that were being run on the new Second Avenue line. The test cars were loaded with large boxes, presumably to simulate the weight of a fully-loaded train. The Second Avenue line would open three months later in January 2017.

8 years ago we were looking at the Rockefeller Center and Bryant Park Preparing Their Skating Rinks, and both rinks are on schedule this year as well! Rockefeller Center's rink opens on Saturday, October 12th, with regular admission being $25 for adults and $15 for children under 11 years old, and the Bryant Park rink will open as part of their Winter Village on October 31st, with free admission.

2 years ago, the NTSB was working to track down the drone pilot who was responsible for a drone colliding with an Army helicopter. The Blackhawk helicopter was hovering at about 300 feet near Midland Beach in Staten Island when a DJI Phantom drone struck the helicopter's blade and window frame, which obliterated the drone but did lodge a piece of debris in the helicopter that the NTSB would use to identify the owner of the drone. When interviewed by the NTSB, the drone operator admitted that he was flying the drone outside of his visual range and was unaware of the helicopter's flight path. Data from the drone operator's controller showed the drone's flight from Dyker Beach Park out over the water, along the Coney Island shore, and then looping back over open water toward Staten Island. It was at that point that the drone hit the helicopter. — Drone Pilot Interviewed After Collision with Army Helicopter

A Great Big City has been running a 24-hour newsfeed since 2010, but the AGBC News podcast is just getting started, and we need your support. A Great Big City is built on a dedication to explaining what is happening and how it fits into the larger history of New York, which means thoroughly researching every topic and avoiding clickbait headlines to provide a straightforward, honest, and factual explanation of the news. Individuals can make a monthly or one-time contribution at agreatbigcity.com and local businesses can have a lasting impact by supporting local news while promoting products or services directly to interested customers listening to this podcast. Visit agreatbigcity.com/advertising to learn more.

AGBC is more than just a news website: Our fireworks page monitors the city's announcements of upcoming fireworks, lists them on our site, and automatically sends out a notification just before the fireworks begin, so that you can watch the show or prepare your pet for the upcoming sounds of explosions. Visit agreatbigcity.com/fireworks to see the full calendar and follow @agreatbigcity on social media to receive the alerts

Here's the AGBC Concert Calendar for the upcoming week:

Find more fun things to do at agreatbigcity.com/events.

Here's something you may not have known about New York:

The extreme highs and lows for this week in weather history:

Weather for the week ahead:

Thanks for listening to A Great Big City. Follow along 24 hours a day on social media @agreatbigcity or email [email protected] with any news, feedback, or topic suggestions. Subscribe to AGBC News wherever you listen to podcasts: iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast, Podcast Addict, Player FM, or listen to each episode on the podcast pages at agreatbigcity.com/podcast. If you enjoy the show, subscribe and leave a review wherever you're listening and visit our podcast site to see show notes and extra links for each episode.

Intro and outro music: 'Start the Day' by Lee Rosevere — Concert Calendar music from Jukedeck.com

Visit agreatbigcity.com to learn how to support New York City local news and allow us to keep bringing you this podcast. If you are a New York-based business and would be interested in sponsoring our podcasts, visit agreatbigcity.com/advertising to learn more.

9 years ago on October 4, 2010 — 🎉 A Great Big City is founded 🎉

99 years ago — Two young women, Beverly Bayard and Lorline Davis, complete a cross-country walk from San Francisco to New York that took four and a half months

20 years ago on October 1, 1999 — Area code 347 becomes active in NYC, adding to the area covered by 718 in the outer boroughs

44 years ago on October 6, 1975 — Diana Nyad swims entirely around Manhattan in record time

19 years ago on October 8, 2000 — Attackers attempt to firebomb a synagogue in Riverdale, Bronx

34 years ago on October 9, 1985 — The 'Imagine' mosaic in Central Park's Strawberry Fields is dedicated to John Lennon on what would have been his 45th birthday

5 years ago on October 10, 2014 — Construction of 432 Park Ave tops out at 1,398 feet, becoming the second-tallest building in NYC and 15th tallest in the world

13 years ago on October 11, 2006 — A Yankees pitcher and his flight instructor were killed when their small single-engine plane crashed into an Upper East Side apartment building

The housing market may be moving in your favor if you can afford to buy instead of rent your next apartment. According to real estate site StreetEasy's data through August 2019, the prices of rentals are increasing while the prices of homes for sale are decreasing. In fact, the median asking price for a one-bedroom in Manhattan jumped 7.5% over last year, tagging on $233 to the monthly rent. At the same time, sale prices in Manhattan dropped 4.5%, matching price levels from April 2015. Brooklyn and Queens didn't escape the trend, so your chances at home ownership in the outer boroughs are also increasing. Brooklyn sales prices dropped 2.4% and prices stayed level in Queens, both movements that are at odds with what had been steadily increasing prices. On the flip side, rental prices also jumped in Brooklyn and Queens, a move that should really have city residents comparing the math on paying a monthly rent versus paying a mortgage payment.

AGBC is more than just a news website: It also automatically checks MTA data before morning rush hour and sends out notifications if there are delays on any subway lines, LIRR or MetroNorth trains, and bridges and tunnels. Follow @agreatbigcity on social media to receive the alerts.

This is the AGBC Concert Calendar for the upcoming week:

Find more fun things to do at agreatbigcity.com/events.

Here's something you may not have known about New York:

The extreme highs and lows for this week in weather history:

Weather for the week ahead:

Thanks for listening to A Great Big City. Follow along 24 hours a day on social media @agreatbigcity or email [email protected] with any news, feedback, or topic suggestions. Subscribe to AGBC News wherever you listen to podcasts: iTunes, Google Play, or Pocket Casts, Player FM, Overcast, or listen to each episode on the podcast pages at agreatbigcity.com/podcast. If you enjoy the show, subscribe and leave a review wherever you're listening and visit our podcast site to see show notes and extra links for each episode.

Intro and outro music: 'Start the Day' by Lee Rosevere — Concert Calendar music from Jukedeck.com

On previous episodes we've covered the threat of measles and West Nile virus, but this week another mosquito-borne virus took the spotlight as Eastern Equine Encephalitis, or EEE, was found in mosquitoes in the surrounding area. The CDC describes the disease as rare, with only a few cases per year, but one out of three people die from the resulting flu-like symptoms. Even though the weather is getting colder and will eventually end the mosquito season, take steps to protect yourself if you'll be in an area with mosquitoes. Wear clothing that covers your skin, use a mosquito repellent containing the chemical repellents DEET or Picaridin, or use a natural repellent containing oil of lemon eucalyptus. You can even do your part by calling 311 to report standing water, defined as a place on public or private property where water gathers and remains for more than five days, creating a habitat where mosquitoes may breed.

7 years ago — The Bagel Store in Williamsburg brought back their candy corn bagels. Long before the rainbow bagel would make the shop world-famous, The Bagel Store was experimenting with new color and flavor combos. The shop premiered the orange-and-white swirled candy corn bagel the year before, and in 2012 it was back again, this time paired with marshmallow chocolate-chip cream cheese and alongside the equally-festive pumpkin pie bagel with pumpkin cream cheese! Unfortunately, when I checked in again to see what 2019's fall flavors would be, it looks like the shop has fallen on hard times, and photos posted on their Yelp page show New York state tax seizure notices posted on the closed store's roll-down gates. It's the same tax seizure notices that recently shut down Di Fara pizza and dozens of ice cream trucks in the city. The shutdown hasn't shut down bagel maker Scot Rossillo, who is still posting photos of new creations like rainbow-filled chocolate chip cookies, a waffle bagel, and modified bagel recipes suitable for a Keto diet!

2 years ago on September 27, 2017 — 18-year-old Abel Cedeno stabs two other students at Urban Assembly School for Wildlife Conservation in the Bronx, killing one and injuring another — In September 2019, Cedeno received a 14 year prison sentence for manslaughter, 8 years for assault, and 90 days for criminal possession of a weapon, all of which will be served simultaneously. \n\n The stabbing became the first killing inside a NYC school in over 20 years. \n\n Listen to Episode 41 of the podcast to hear more about the attack and Cedeno's sentencing.

5 years ago on September 30, 2014 — Three parachutists make an early-morning jump from 1WTC, landing on nearby street — Three parachutists make an early-morning jump from 1WTC, landing nearby in front of the Goldman Sachs building \n\n The breathtaking video of the stunt shocked viewers as to how the jumpers accessed the city's tallest building while it was under construction and were able to glide down to the street on parachutes. The answer would come five months later when four men were arrested for the parachute jump. \n\n One of the men arrested was revealed to have been a construction worker at the site, and they gained access to the site via a hole in a fence. The parachute jump and an earlier trespassing teenager who dressed as a construction worker led to criticism of the building's security practices and the resignation of the site's head of security. \n\n The four men arrested were fined $2,000 and sentenced to community service, but did not receive jail time for the stunt.

Well, we've been tricked before, namely back on Episode 37 in early August, but the Department of Transportation will again try to turn 14th Street into a restricted busway beginning on October 3rd. 14th Street was originally scheduled to convert to a traffic-restricted busway on July 1st to quickly move buses across the city during the L Train shutdown, but then L Train plans were modified to keep the subway open and community groups took legal action against the Department of Transportation's plan. A judge agreed to stop the busway from going into effect until the DOT provided more information, which they did, and it appeared that the buses would be allowed to roam free until another last-minute legal ruling kept cars on 14th Street. The busway was scheduled to begin on August 12th, when traffic would be restricted and buses given priority to increase transit speeds, but downtown community groups submitted a petition renewed their complaints on August 9th, claiming the Department of Transportation hadn't done sufficient studies into the impact that removing traffic from 14th Street would have on the surrounding area. \n\n This week, an appeals court ruled against the complaints and cleared the way for the busway to take effect, three months later than originally planned. \n\n Beginning on Thursday, October 3rd, only buses will be allowed on 14th Street between Third and Ninth Avenue from 6am to 10pm, with all other vehicles able to enter the street only for one block to make a local trip. Those vehicles will be required to exit immediately at an intersection to keep the street clear for M14A and D buses, one of the most heavily-used bus lines in the city. Left turns will be banned to keep traffic from backing up in front of the buses and automated traffic cameras will be used to monitor vehicles. The DOT estimates that the changes will increase the speeds of buses by 30%, and the plan is expected to run for 18 months.

8 years ago on October 1, 2011 — 700 Occupy Wall Street protesters are arrested after trying to cross the Brooklyn Bridge by walking on the roadway — 700 Occupy Wall Street protesters are arrested after trying to cross the Brooklyn Bridge by walking on the roadway \n\n It was the largest number of arrests during an Occupy protest and was one of the largest mass arrests since the 2004 Republican National Convention protests. There was controversy over the tactics used by police, who did not actively prevent the marchers from walking to the bridge roadway but then conducted a mass arrest a few hundred feet up the Manhattan side of the bridge while others on the narrow pedestrian walkway watched from above. The Occupy camp in Zuccotti Park would be cleared a month and a half later but the group would continue various protest demonstrations through the next year.

Just a week earlier, the Occupy movement had held a protest march near Union Square, where the large numbers of protesters brought attention to the group and the NYPD's use of mesh nets to corral protesters into makeshift pens. Just south of Union Square, eyewitness video showed a group of young women being sprayed with pepper spray while on the sidewalk, which brought worldwide press coverage and criticism of the NYPD's handling of the growing protest group.

98 years ago on October 5, 1921 — A game between the NY Giants and NY Yankees at the Polo Grounds in Manhattan becomes the first World Series broadcast live on radio — A game between the NY Giants and NY Yankees at the Polo Grounds in Manhattan becomes the first World Series broadcast live on radio \n\n The Yankees won the first game, played in front of 30,203 attendees, but the Giants would win the overall series 5 games to 3. With two New York teams facing off, it was also the first World Series with all games played at one location, similar to the Subway Series that is played today between the Yankees and the Mets. \n\n

In AGBC history:

8 years ago — Ford Transit Connect Taxi Spotted in Lower Manhattan — Wednesday, September 28

8 years ago, New York Apple stores were mourning the loss of Steve Jobs, who died of pancreatic cancer on October 5, 2011. At Tekserve in Chelsea, a memorial was placed in the front window of the store. At Apple stores in the Meatpacking District, SoHo, and on Fifth Avenue, makeshift memorials formed, with flowers and apples placed in front of each store. People used post-it notes to write their own memorial messages, forming colorful displays on the windows of the stores. The walls of post-its would continue to grow, and by the next week, street artist and muralist The Me Nobody Knows would put a custom piece of memorial art at the SoHo Apple store — 8 years ago — Steve Jobs Memorials at Apple Stores in NYC — Thursday, October 6

2 years ago — Suspects Arrested in Terror Plot to Strike New York — The Joint Terrorism Task Force charged two 19-year-old suspects, one Canadian citizen and one from the United States, and one 37-year-old from the Philippines in a terror plot that had advanced to the point of purchasing explosives. All three were charged with terrorism, with the 37-year-old communicating online with the two younger suspects and actively providing funding for an attack against the city. The group acquired bomb-making materials and a cabin outside the city and planned to bomb Times Square, the subway, and conduct random shootings within the city. The Canadian citizen received a 40 year prison sentence, but Pakistan has refused to extradite the American citizen accused in the plot, who had been living in Pakistan at the time of the plot. The older suspect was arrested in the Philippines and the United States has been attempting to secure his extradition since 2017.

1 year ago — Central Park Squirrel Census Will Give City Rodents a Proper Head-Count — The census set out to count the number of squirrels roaming around Manhattan's center. 323 volunteers divided up the park and recorded their squirrel sightings, with the data becoming part of a printed art project with maps and photos from the survey. The final statistical analysis revealed about 2,373 squirrels in Central Park based on the project's observations. It seems a bit low, but it's interesting nonetheless. While nearly 82% of the squirrels were the gray variety, count yourself lucky if you see a squirrel with black or cinnamon-colored fur: They were much more rare in Central Park, with black fur being the least common.

AGBC is more than just a news website: It also automatically checks MTA data before morning rush hour and sends out notifications if there are delays on any subway lines, LIRR or MetroNorth trains, and bridges and tunnels. Follow @agreatbigcity on social media to receive the alerts.

And now let's check in with our robot friend for the concert calendar:

Here's the AGBC Concert Calendar for the upcoming week:

Thanks for listening! Find more fun things to do at agreatbigcity.com/events.

Here's something you may not have known about New York:

The extreme highs and lows for this week in weather history:

Weather for the week ahead:

Intro and outro music: 'Start the Day' by Lee Rosevere — Concert Calendar music from Jukedeck.com