Randall's Island

"I know we come to New York a lot, but this is going to be the last time for a few years," Win Butler told the crowd at Randall's Island during their performance there yesterday. "So let's have a good time tonight."

Some reports of 'boos' from the crowd did not seem to detract from the fan frenzy at the show, for which The Arcade Fire shared a bill with local favorites LCD Soundsystem (and also Les Savy Fav and Blonde Redhead.)  read more »

• City wants more offices in Garment Center.
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• Quinn seeking $300 rebate for renters.
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• Viacom edging toward relocation from Times Square.
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• Hamptons having "strongest rental season in years."
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• City approves Randall's Island park plans.
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• Port Authority OKs transfer of Red Hook piers to city.
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• City signals no on Coney Island luxury tower.
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• Hamptons home sales drop in 2006.
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• Investors "discover" city rental complexes.
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It quickly became apparent at Wednesday morning's hearing on the city's controversial Randall's Island plan that private schools were already hogging the available playing fields on the island.

Some 95 percent of the weekday after-school permits are controlled by private schools; public schools get just two or three fields a week, according to Sabina Ellentuck, director of Randall's Island Kids & Community.

Why? Because of a Parks Department "tradition" of grandfathering each permit holder from one season to the next, and the private schools were the ones who first migrated to the island years ago.

So, how about ending that tradition and giving priority to public schools to use the present fields there?

"I would suffer the fate of the Czar and his family if I were to get rid of the grandfather clause," Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe told The Real Estate after he came under fiery cross-examination by City Council members who didn't like the way a renovation plan gave precedence to private schools. "I would be lined up in a room and shot."

"Probably the City Council would come after me. The grandfathering creates a reliable way for leagues to know they are going to have fields on which to play each year: all the Little Leagues, all the Catholic schools, all the public schools, all the adult leagues, all the corporate leagues."

- Matthew Schuerman

• Rising costs put transit projects at risk.
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• Waiters sue Chelsea steakhouse over tipping.
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• Former Cendant CFO avoids prison time.
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• Spitzer plans tax cut for some city homeowners.
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• Housing controversy could sink Coney Island plans.
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• SL Green sells two Midtown buildings.
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• Atlantic Yards documentary debuts tonight.
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• City, private schools in deal over Randall's Island parks.
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• Two Upper East Side buildings landmarked.
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• Viva single women! Contemporary bachelorettes "purchase 22 percent of all homes," whereas their lonely male counterparts "accounted for only 9 percent of purchases." That's because ladies are increasingly "confident and financially savvy," according to the (lady) prez of the National Association of Realtors. [CNN/Money]
• "Via Verde" won the New Housing New York Legacy Project's contest for affordable and sustainable housing. Wonderfully, the condo's central plaza "spirals upwards as a series of roof gardens before culminating in a sky terrace." [I.D.]
• Question of the Day: "Why is it still called the East Village if it has done been accosted by a wave of unapologetic affluence?". [A Blog Soup]
• Thanks to money from the U.S. Department of Energy, the Parks Department is building a "hybrid wind, solar and tidal-energy power plant" on Randall's Island. Underwater turbines for everyone! [East River photo above, via Wired N.Y.] [City Limits]
- Max Abelson
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