Three young Mexican-American women living in New York are taking on stereotypes with a website called, “Mex and the City.” The site aims to speak about “the increasing Mexican culture in the fast-paced New York landscape in a fun and personal tone.”
When Mayor Michael Bloomberg put together PlaNYC in 2007, he made brownfields – abandoned or underused, and often contaminated industrial sites – one of the three overarching themes of his land use initiatives.
Among the city’s brownfields is a Brooklyn parcel that long was a favorite spot for graffiti writers and squatters, who dubbed it “the Bat Cave.” The property, now called “Gowanus Village,” is a 2.4 acre site along the notorious Gowanus Canal. The towering brick building on the property was once a power plant owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Economists say the recession is over, but with the unemployment near 10 percent, it sure doesn’t feel like it. So some New Yorkers may have to stay local this summer.
But for some poorer residents, every summer means a staycation. Many take advantage of the city’s open spaces – like the Bronx’s Soundview Park, which just got rehabilitated as part of PlaNYC.
One by one, the 10 oldest mothers in Ozone Park’s Shri Trimurti Bhavan were adorned with sparkling silver crowns and garlands of fuchsia-colored orchids in celebration of Mother’s Day – Hindu style.
Sitting on plush, red-velvet loveseats with silver lion-headed armrests, the moms were revered like queens by at least 500 congregants sitting knee-to-knee inside the cramped 97th Avenue temple.
