2013 March

Questions & Answers from the 6th Annual Panorama Challenge

March 7, 2013

Here’s all the questions from the Challenge.

ROUND 1

BRIDGES AND WRITERS

This was once the longest suspension bridge in the world

(BROOKLYN BRIDGE)

Which 19^th century poet wrote about the commute before the bridge was built?

(WALT WHITMAN)

Skyline photo by joiseyshowaa on Flickr

This was once the longest suspension bridge in the world

(WILLIAMSBURG BRIDGE)

Which author wrote the famous book about the Ailanthus (eye-LANN-thus) on the Eastern side of the span.

(BETTY SMITH)

This was once the longest suspension bridge in the world

(GEORGE WASHINGTON BRIDGE)

Who wrote the childrens’ book about the landmark beneath the bridge?

(HILDEGARDE SWIFT)

This was once the longest suspension bridge in the world

(VERRAZANO-NARROWS BRIDGE)

Which literary figure literally wrote the book on it, called “The Bridge”

(GAY TALESE)

GEORGE AND THE BOMBERS

This Pearl Street building is where George said goodbye in 1783

(FRAUNCES TAVERN)

In 1975: Dynamite in a briefcase here: who were the bombers?

(FALN/ARMED FORCES OF PUERTO RICAN NATIONAL LIBERATION)

The street where George got a new job in 1789

(WALL STREET)

1n 1920: Dynamite and sash weights in a wagon here: who were the bombers?

(ANARCHISTS)

This landmark building from 1913 has nothing to do with George Washington

(GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL)

In 1951, Pipe bomb by the Oyster Bar, five months later in a phone booth: who was the bomber?

(GEORGE METESKY/THE MAD BOMBER)

AIRPORTS: NOW & THEN

This airport was the beginning of what world famous 6-minute event in 2009?

(MIRACLE ON THE HUDSON/FLIGHT 1549)

In 1929, when the airport was a private facility, it was named for which aviation pioneer?

(GLEN CURTISS)

This airport was the site of a near riot when who arrived on February 7^th 1964?

(THE BEATLES)

Until 1963, the airport was officially known as New York International/Anderson Field. In which field did Anderson find fame? (MILITARY/ARMY)

RAP ERRORS (try saying it fast)

PLAY: RAPPERS DELIGHT

You might think the ‘Gang’ was from this upper Manhattan neighborhood, but no. They were from New Jersey. Name the neighborhood in their name.

(SUGAR HILL)

This was a big neighborhood for jazz royalty, though. Name the legend who lived on St Nicholas Boulevard for over two decades and wasn’t a king, but was pretty close.

(DUKE ELLINGTON)

PLAY: WU-TANG CLAN AIN’T NUTHIN TO FUCK WIT’

This ‘Clan’ was from NYC but if you thought their 1993 breakout album (or member ODB’s solo debut album) was about an address on the street behind City Hall, you’d be wrong. What is the street?

(CHAMBERS STREET)

WuTang Clan called their home borough Shaolin and were particularly ‘attached’ to this Staten Island neighborhood.

(STAPLETON)

PLAY: INSANE IN THE BRAIN

You might think this group was from this neighborhood. But you’d be wrong. They’re from LA. Name the neighborhood. Spelling counts.

(CYPRESS HILLS)

She died in LA, drove moralists insane and is buried in the cemetery named for the neighborhood. Name the “Sex”-y blonde actress.

(MAE WEST)

HOSPITALS & PATIENTS

This ‘fraternal’ island was once home to Riverside Hospital. Name the island:
(NORTH BROTHER ISLAND)

What is the full name of the famous Typhoid carrier once confined at Riverside?

(MARY MALLON)

This ‘presidential’ island has been home to many hospitals over the years. Name the island.

(ROOSEVELT ISLAND)

Which New York World journalist got herself admitted to the mental institution on the island for ten days for an exposé in 1887?

(NELLY BLY)

This hospital claims to be the oldest continuously operating in America – although it was closed for weeks after Sandy. Name this city facility.

(BELLEVUE)

In 1910 William Sydney Porter died here. He was an embezzler and writer better known by what pen name? (O.HENRY)

POTPOURRI

Maimonides (my MON eh deez) Hospital, which delivered more babies than any other in the state, is located in this neighborhood, with its slightly un”orthodox” spelling.

(BORO PARK)

Look up and you’ll see what ‘ties’ this neighborhood together. What is it called?

(ERUV/ERUVIN)

By George, you should know the name of this neighborhood with the ferry terminal. What is it?

(ST GEORGE)

What is the big deal about the planned 625-foot tall project on the waterfront here?

(BIGGEST/TALLEST FERRIS/OBSERVATION WHEEL)

This is the only fresh-water river in the city. What is its name?

(BRONX RIVER)

In 2007 Jose built a home along the banks of the river, down by the zoo. Why was this a big deal and where did the name Jose come from? (Give both for the point)

(FIRST BEAVER IN NYC IN 200 YEARS. BRONX CONGRESSMAN JOSE SERRANO)

This branch of the City University graduated the real Jerry Seinfeld and the fictional Ugly Betty.

(QUEENS COLLEGE)

Next door is a housing complex built for the IBEW known as what?

(ELECTCHESTER)

ROUND 2

UNCONNECTED?

(The pro question will come after #21)

Is this this house that George built?

(YANKEE STADIUM) (we accepted ‘Yes’/’No’ since this question was worded poorly.)

This waterfront neighborhood is home to investment banks and Tyra Banks.

(BATTERY PARK CITY)

This park was once warehouses.

(BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK)

Pro Question: For three points: Look carefully. What do the last three locations have in common?

(NEW ON THE PANORAMA)

AMUSING NEIGHBORHOODS

‘The Donald’s’ dad built a ‘village’ in this neighborhood in 1964.

(CONEY ISLAND)

In 1965 Trump tore down which neighborhood amusement park?

(STEEPLECHASE PARK)

50,000 residents in 35 towers make up this ‘city’

(CO-OP CITY)

In 1964 what amusement park closed to make way for these apartments?

(FREEDOMLAND)

This waterfront neighborhood, miles from Miami, was hit hard by Superstorm Sandy.

(SOUTH BEACH)

What 15-acre amusement park might have put a smile on your face when it opened here in 1906?

(HAPPYLAND)

LIKE THE AD SAYS, YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY…

In 1943 you could find the chimps Joe and Jimmie and Marjorie the baby camel, here:

(CENTRAL PARK ZOO)

Then ‘walk a mile’ and you’d find yourself in front of a famous billboard advertising what?

(CAMEL CIGARETTES)

The name of this Parkway is the same as the county it runs through.

(RICHMOND)

“18 miles away” you’ll find what store on Broadway?

(STRAND BOOKSTORE)

BAD SHIP

What is the name of this ‘sinister portal’

(HELL GATE)

Name the ship that sank here supposedly loaded with gold meant for Redcoats.

(HMS HUSSAR)

During WWII approximately 70,000 men and women worked here. Give the common name of the facility. (BROOKLYN NAVY YARD)

In 1960, what ship caught fire here and killed 50 workers?

(USS CONSTELLATION)

This hilltop park was the first in the city of Brooklyn.

(FORT GREENE PARK)

The park is home to the Prison Ship Martyrs memorial. Many of the martyrs would have died on which ship in Wallabout Bay; the most notorious of the English prison fleet?

(HMS JERSEY)

THE INEXPLICABLE LED ZEPPELIN/NYC PARKS CONNECTION…

PLAY: TRAVELLIN’ RIVERSIDE BLUES

This park might be the subject of this Led Zeppelin song:

(RIVERSIDE PARK)

The Warriors were chased into this park by which gang?

(THE BASEBALL FURIES)

Tribute band Lez Zeppelin played at the 2012 Googa Mooga Festival in this park.

(PROSPECT PARK)

PLAY: KASHMIR

This northern section of the park might have been the subject of this Led Zeppelin song:

(VALE OF CASHMERE)

PLAY: RAMBLE ON

This section of the park might be the subject of this Led Zeppelin song:

(THE RAMBLE)

This area and the previous area are known for what unsanctioned activity

(CRUISING/GAY SEX)

PARKS. NOW & THEN

This 30-year project will be a park 3 times the size of Olmstead & Vaux’s Manhattan masterpiece.

(FRESHKILLS)

What was this space 25 years ago?

(LANDFILL/GARBAGE DUMP)

This park is the biggest in Queens and is just outside the doors of this building.

(FLUSHING-MEADOWS CORONA PARK)

When F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote of this area 91 years ago, what did he call it?

(VALLEY OF ASHES)

This park ‘keeps going and going’. It’s ‘ever ready’ and some of its buildings have a ‘copper top.’ What is its name?

(BATTERY PARK)

200 years ago, most of this park was part of what?

(THE HARBOR/WATER)

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New York + Puerto Rico = Nuyorican!

March 6, 2013

New York and Puerto Rico go together like red beans and rice, like salsa and merengue. Though, I never really thought much about the Puerto Rican diaspora into our city until last weekend when I had the awesome opportunity to visit the Rich Port with my lady Danielle for her 30th birthday!

Gid and Dani eating chicken Pasteles in the El Yunque Rainforest!

And good heavens, what a beautiful island. Puerto Rico was first “discovered” by Christopher Columbus on his second trip to the Americas in 1493. “Discovered” being a subjective term of course, as it was already populated by Taino Indians who called the Island Boriken (or Borinquen in Spanish, a title which many Puerto Ricans still claim with pride.) Columbus lieutenant Juan Ponce de Leon established it as a Spanish colony in 1508.

During the American imperialist expansion of the 1890s, the U.S. offered Spain $160 million dollars for the Rich Port. Spain refused. Eight years later, the Spanish-American war made the acquisition of P.R. much easier. The explosion and sinking of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor acted as a catalyst for the war, as well as made for a pretty sculpture at the SW entrance of Central Park.

Puerto Rican roots in the Rainforest run deep!

It wasn’t until the Gran Migracion (Grand Migration) of the 1950′s and 1960′s when Puerto-Ricans and Puerto-Rican culture began to truly infiltrate major American cities like New York, giving birth to the very unique term: Nuyorican! Like the Italians before them, and the Eastern European Jews before them, and the Irish before them, these new New Yorkers made the city their own.

Once Puerto Ricans settled in places like East Harlem, the Lower East Side, Brooklyn and The Bronx, they merged their native culture with the pace, energy and attitude of New York, creating a cultural group all their own. Though Boricuas (native Puerto Ricans) tend to use the term Nuyorican as derogatory for 2nd and 3rd generation American-born Puerto Ricans, many “Nuyoricans” have adopted the term with great pride, especially on E4th street and Ave B at the New York Landmark: The Nuyorican Poets Cafe.

Possibly the most venerated spot in New York for Poetry and Performance art, The Nuyorican Poets Cafe was founded in 1973 as a non-profit arts space in the back of an old Irish pub. Throughout the waves of gentrification that have changed the neighborhood all around it, has stayed a non-profit arts organization, attracting three generations of poets and activists to its stage ever since.

Pinero and Rivas, two legendary Nuyoricans who founded the Poets cafe in 1973

Now it’s time for my full disclosure: I did not get to experience the beauty and wonderment of Puerto Rican culture during my 4-day trip to the island, as Danielle and I spent the vast majority of the time sitting poolside at a resort, sipping pina coladas and working on our tans. And no. I’m not ashamed of that.

So to make up for the decidedly unadventurous vacation that I enjoyed immensely, I think I’m going to take another weekend trip all the way down to Loisaida, hear some slam poetry at the Nuyorican Cafe and then finish it off with a lip-smacking, hot plate of Mofongo! Happy Spring everyone!

By Gideon Levy

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10 Sober Ways to Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in New York City

March 2, 2013

10 ways to celebrate that won’t leave ya bushed:

1. Saint Patrick’s Day Parade on March 16th

A parade for a religious holiday on a Sunday? Can you imagine the cheek of it! In its 252nd year, New York City has the world’s oldest Saint Patrick’s Day Parade; the grand celebration was moved to the Saturday before the holiday in order to avoid offending the devout.

2. Go to Mass!

Hundreds of churches in New York will celebrate Saint Patrick on the day of his feast, but only two historic cathedrals actually bear his name. Get all done up like a dog’s dinner and attend mass at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral or (better yet) Saint Patrick’s Old Cathedral.

3. Attend Saint Patrick’s Open Day at the Irish Arts Center

Bring yer fella and bring the babby – The Irish Arts Center’s family event features kids’ classes in art, step dancing, and more. There are also music, film, and other performances for all of ya.

4. Make a pilgrimage to the Irish Hunger Memorial

Plants and architectural design are joined by at a rock or stone from each of Ireland’s 32 counties. I love bringing visitors to this monument because it is beautiful, poignant, and so few out-of-towners know it exists.

5. Catch a show at the Irish Rep

Both Ireland and New York have rich dramatic traditions. No tour of either is complete without an evening of theatre. On Saint Patrick’s Day Weekend, the legendary Irish Repertory Theatre (celebrating its 25^th anniversary season) will be showing Donnybrook!, a musical based on the classic film, The Quiet Man.

6. Visit the Moores at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum

This amazing historic museum can only be seen via (non-Levy) guided tour. After all, the building itself is the exhibit. The “Irish Outsiders” tour about the Moore family, who lived in the building, will surely sell out quickly. So book ahead on their website.

7. Hear some Irish music

It wouldn’t be an Irish celebration without music and dancin’! Pick yer poison: traditional folk music at the Celtic Appalachia concert at Symphony Space, or check out the Saw Doctors at Irving Plaza for some quality Irish rock.

8. Tour the Poetry, Pints, and Pugilism

The Irish have been the backbone of this city for centuries. How much do ye know about em? Our licensed New York City tour guides get into the history with poetry, pints, and pugilism. Come along!

9. Bangers & Mash

Shop for Irish goods in Woodlawn. This northernmost neighborhood in the Bronx is the closest thing to a “Little Ireland” NYC still has. Walking Katonah Avenue will bring you by Prime Cuts where you can stock up on the makings of your own corned beef & cabbage dinner, lamb stew, or bangers & mash. Sean’s Quality Deli provides staples like Barry’s Tea and newspapers from the old country. On McLean Avenue, gift shops like Anna’s Attic and Shamrock Irish Imports will keep you in Waterford crystal and Irish earthenware for the rest of your days.

10. Participate in the Saint Patrick’s Day Children’s Art Competition

Download an entry form from the Consulate General of Ireland (New York) and have your kids draw, paint, or create a collage based on the life and adventures of Saint Patrick himself! The consulate is working in collaboration with Irish organizations throughout the U.S., most notably the New York Irish Center in Queens.

By Matthew Baker

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