Rangers Keep Fingers Crossed

Maria Haymandou’s latest blog post is here!

Located on opposite sides of the continental United States, New York and Los Angeles really couldn’t be any more different.  Even comparing their aesthetics – the tall skyscrapers of New York and the suburban sprawl of Los Angeles – it seems hard to believe these two cities are in the same country.  New Yorkers don’t like Los Angeles, accusing it of being superficial and smoggy.  And Los Angeles has never cared for New York, since they find the city’s attitude to be too “stuffy” and “fast-paced”.  This has led to an intense rivalry between the two, conflicting sides of America.

The Rangers, after a victory against the Bruins last May.

This New York-Los Angeles rivalry has recently gotten even more personal, as their hockey teams are in conflict for the Stanley Cup.  I was shocked to hear that sunny Los Angeles even had a hockey team, let alone a good one, for the same reason I would be surprised to find igloos in Egypt.  Indeed, Los Angeles isn’t really a hockey city; since California first became a state in 1850, there have only been three recorded instances of significant snowfall, the last one being over 60 years ago.  However, due to a series of bad calls and poor playing by the Rangers, Los Angeles has won the first three games in a row this Stanley Cup.  One more win, and they’ll take the cup home.  Therefore, in order to win New York its first Stanley Cup in 20 years, the Rangers are going to need to win four straight games.  This is no easy feat, but the Rangers seem ready to bring the heat to this epic showdown.  This is exactly what happened against Pittsburgh earlier in the season; one more loss, and the Rangers are done.  So unless they want to go home, then it’s up to them to win this game.

Los Angeles, who focuses most of their sports love on their basketball team, doesn’t seem to be too excited about the Stanley Cup.  New York, on the other hand, is foaming at the mouth waiting for a victory.  Fans are concerned, fully aware that it would take nothing short of a miracle to win New York this cup.  Nonetheless, New York is ready for a miracle.

http://ift.tt/1l2eNqD

Hurricane Shelters Unveiled

Maria Haymandou’s latest blog post

When Hurricane Sandy hit New York some two years ago, it didn’t fare well for a lot of New Yorkers, who faced a nigh-impossible search for temporary housing.  Vacant apartments quickly got gobbled up, and cramped hotel rooms were less than desirable; many people simply chose to stay in dank, waterlogged houses.  Ever since, emergency planners have been obsessed with finding a better response to such natural disasters, which scientists predict that such incidents will only become more common.

At a Tuesday news conference, New York unveiled a prototype for emergency housing structures.  The three-story unit, made up of three small apartments stacked on top of each other, was erected at a parking lot at Cadman Plaza East in Downtown Brooklyn.  The cork floors and plain bathrooms hardly give these shelters a homey feel, and remind one of a bleak college dorm.  However, with full kitchens and yellow coloring, the apartments are a lot better than the disastrous Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers, where the dangerously high levels of formaldehyde poisoned occupants after Hurricane Katrina, or the illegal basement apartments that were available during Hurricane Sandy.  Joseph F. Bruno, commissioner of the New York City Office of Emergency Management that helped oversee the project, praises the construction as a “dramatic improvement” to what New York could currently offer victims of disaster.  Of course, it could be a tough time for a family living there, but it’s also a nice environment.

The new hurricane shelter, revealed in Brooklyn yesterday.

Although even Bruno noted that this was only a prototype, and just the first step toward building more humane and reasonable post-disaster housing.  The design process reveals the challenges in balancing cost with comfort and stability in emergency shelters, especially as more people migrate to the densely-populated coastal cities.  Units range from a 480-square-foot one-bedroom to an 813-square-foot three-bedroom.  Each unit costs $350,000 to $400,000 to build, which Bruno hopes will be cut in half in mass production.  It ultimately took seven flatbed trucks to carry the structure from where they were originally made, a factory in Indiana.  Nonetheless, that sum doesn’t account for the land costs associated with finding sites for the emergency shelters.  Since the buildings would be made into permanent housing units, they would face complex inspection and permit processes before they could be approved.  It took officials about a year to sort out permit issues for even the prototype, and the building still doesn’t have a certificate of occupancy.  However, the city plans to have some staff members stay in the units for as many as five days at a time to help evaluate them.

In the aftermath of a disaster, waivers would accelerate the permitting process.  In a city like New York, where there’s little space for trailers, such buildings can be assembled off-site and erected within days of a disaster, which could allow families to stay in their neighborhoods.  Through trying to create durable housing, officials are learning another lesson from recent disasters, that temporary housing could actually be used for years.  Given the growing risk of natural disasters, it’s worth investing in buildings that last longer.  Indeed, the cheapest way to build isn’t worth rebuilding.

http://ift.tt/1pIIaOg

“Brooklyn Butcher” Faces Trial

Daniel St. Hubert, shown here being escorted by authorities.

Last week, 7 year-old Mikayla Capers and her 6 year-old friend Prince Joshua (PJ) Avitto were stabbed in an elevator in the Boulevard Houses of Brooklyn.  Mikayla was just released from the hospital, although PJ unfortunately didn’t survive the attack.  The man accused of this heinous act, Daniel St. Hubert, was in court today for a brief hearing, shackled and wearing an orange jumpsuit.  For many of PJ’s relatives, this was the first time they got to take a look at his suspected killer.  After a prosecutor announced that St. Hubert was indicted for PJ’s murder, he was denied the chance to speak with the court.  PJ’s father, who currently has “PJ” shaved on the back of his head, who saw St. Hubert for the first time today, described it as a “terrible” experience.

If convicted of second-degree murder and related assault counts, St. Hubert faces 50 years to life in prison.  He’s also a suspect in the fatal knifing of 18 year-old Tanaya Coleman, as well as the slashing of a homeless man in a Manhattan subway station.  As of yet, however, St. Hubert hasn’t been charged for those crimes.  He is currently being held in the psych ward of Bellevue Hospital.  St. Hubert has a history of mental illness, having tried to choke his mother back in 2009.  He served five years in prison for her attempted murder, and for assaulting a female corrections officer.  He was released from prison in late May, but just 8 days later he stabbed Mikayla and murdered PJ.  St. Hubert’s mother believes that her son needs psychiatric help more than prison, although she hasn’t been able to be in contact with her son due to a legal ruling.  His sister, however, claims she has spoken with her brother, who she says sounded “fatigued” and “spaced out”.