Community Magazine December 2003

s xc Life in the Big City Buffalo Wings at Giants Stadium The home of New York Giants football—and the temporary home of the New York Jets, now joins Yankee and Shea Stadium in offer- ing a kosher food concession on premises. As of Sunday November 9, two Glatt Kosher food stands opened at Giants Stadium for all Jets and Giants home games. Under the supervision of the Kof-K, and located at Gate D on both the lower and upper levels of Giants Stadium, the stands will feature Aaron’s/Rubashkin’s meat and will include foods such as buffalo wings, hot soups, hot chili, home- made knishes, a variety of sandwiches including tuna salad, egg salad, grilled chicken and turkey pastrami, and an assortment of cold beverages and snacks. A washing station for the blessing on bread will be provided. The food stands will be open for business two hours prior to kickoff and will close thirty minutes after the game. A stand is also slated to appear at nearby Continental Airlines Arena NJ Devils NHL and NJ Nets NBA games. Pay-Phones Go Hi-Tech As cellular phone tech- nology continues to improve, boasting built- in cameras and internet access, New York became the first U.S. city to offer these features in a pay-phone. Twenty five Internet phones deployed across Manhattan with color touch screens and free access to city gov- ernment web sites were activated on November 16. Functioning as high- speed web terminals and pay phones rolled into one, users can check e- mail and take pictures of themselves to attach to messages for 50 cents. The touch-screen display also offers free information on show listings, directions and transit information while general web browsing goes for a quarter a minute. The phones have built-in filters that block anything deemed obscene and protect against identity theft by deleting any information as soon as the users log off the machine. Like the other 33,000 pay-phones in the city, the usual charge of 25 cents for three minutes will apply to regular phone use. Newsracks As of April, 2003, New York City began enforcement of the new law to regulate the placement, installation, and maintenance of newsracks on City sidewalks. According to the Department of Transportation, which is implementing the new rules, the goal of the law is “To ensure that the right of publishers to disseminate information through newsracks is balanced with the safe and orderly use of City sidewalks.” The proliferation of newsracks throughout the City, which carrying an assortment of newspapers and other written materials, has dotted street corners throughout the five boroughs. The previously unregulated placement and maintenance of these units has been cited as an inconvenience to pedestrians and endangerment the safety and welfare of people using the City’s sidewalks. To file a complaint about a newsrack, call the City’s call center at 311. Dump to Become Exclusive Golf Club A former landfill on the waterfront in Bayonne, NJ is slated to become the first salt-air golf course of its kind for the city - Scottish-style links with steep dunes and ocean breezes designed for the world’s more zealous golfers. Overlooking the Statue of Liberty, Wall Street and Midtown’s skyscrapers, the private golf club covers 126 acres on a three-mile peninsula jutting into the har- bor in Bayonne, N.J. When it opens next year, golfers can get there in minutes by fast ferry or moor private yachts at its deep-water, two-acre marina. Global business people, local titans and billion- aire golf aficionados are signing up for Bayonne Golf Club by invi- tation only, with memberships starting at around $100,000. According to Jim Coady, an official of Empire Golf, which owns 10 area courses and is creating the golfers’ oasis in the harbor, the $23 million course is “one of the most highly engineered and most expensive golf courses ever built.” 64 C OMMUNITY M AGAZINE