Latest news with #Gothamist
Time Out
4 hours ago
- General
- Time Out
These NYC zip codes have the most dog poop complaints—and the fewest free bags
New Yorkers have a lot to say about the city's growing poop problem—and they're dialing 311 to prove it. According to newly released complaint data obtained by Gothamist, New York City saw 1,622 dog-waste-related calls in the first half of 2025, up from 1,426 during the same period last year. And while the city's half-century-old 'pooper scooper law' makes it illegal not to clean up after your dog (with fines up to $250), enforcement is rare. Only eight tickets have been issued in the past two years. But it turns out many of the city's most poop-plagued zip codes have something else in common: a serious lack of public dog-waste bag dispensers. In Washington Heights' 10032 zip code—this year's reigning champion of dog poop complaints—there isn't a single free dispenser. Yet 160 complaints were logged there, a whopping 740% increase from 2024. Even worse? More than 130 of them came from just two blocks on Riverside Drive. Locals like Jacqueline Zelaya say the mess is more than an eyesore—it's a health hazard. 'Sometimes you see that somebody's dog has a really big accident,' she told Gothamist. 'I joke with my kids and call it elephant poop.' Flatbush's 11226 zip code came in second, with 51 complaints and only two dispensers, while third-place 11691 in Far Rockaway reported 37 complaints and 12 dispensers. Citywide, 51 of NYC's 145 zip codes don't have any bag dispensers at all, despite the Parks Department having installed over 1,100 since 2017. Councilmember Julie Menin introduced legislation to require bag dispensers on every public trash can, but the bill has stalled amid inter-department squabbling over whether they should go on bins or bus-stop benches. Meanwhile, frustrated residents are taking matters into their own hands, literally. Zelaya and her neighbor Jose Gomez hang plastic bags from scaffolding to encourage scooping. 'If there were dispensers on the block,' Gomez said, 'there'd be no excuse.' Experts say shame still works best. 'Dog owners can be seen as this informal network, and informal networks kind of have a way of policing themselves,' said Caroline Scruggs, a professor who studies urban planning and public behavior. And while the law exists, the culture of compliance needs a nudge, maybe in the form of a lavender-scented poop bag.
Time Out
22-07-2025
- Health
- Time Out
Yes, there are way more mosquitoes than usual in NYC this summer—here's why
If it feels like NYC has become the unofficial mosquito capital of the Northeast, you're not wrong. New York just ranked third on Orkin's list of 2025's worst mosquito cities —beaten only by Los Angeles and Chicago—and that relentless buzzing in your ear isn't just in your head. Not surprisingly, this bloodsucking boom has been fueled by rain. The city has logged nearly four extra inches of rainfall since April compared to this time last year, turning gutters, flowerpots and every poorly drained corner of the five boroughs into prime mosquito nurseries. According to entomologists, it only takes a bottlecap's worth of water for mosquitoes to lay up to 200 eggs—and those eggs hatch fast. 'The fact that we've seen a lot of mosquitoes now is not really a surprise to me considering how much rain we've had,' Columbia University environmental health professor Jeffrey Shaman told Gothamist. 'They can bite you in your yard, they can bite you in the parks.' This year's surge is being called one of the most intense seasons in recent memory, thanks to warm, wet conditions and a climate that's increasingly leaning subtropical. Mosquito Joe, a national pest-control company, warned that conditions across NYC are 'ramping up' to be particularly severe. The good news is that while bites are definitely up, West Nile cases are way down. New York has seen a 91-percent drop in positive mosquito pools compared to last year, according to the Department of Health. Still, public health experts warn against getting too comfortable. Mosquitoes can spread West Nile, Zika and even malaria—yes, malaria has recently popped up in states like Maryland and Florida. If you want to fight back, experts recommend the 'BITE' method: Block skin with long sleeves and EPA-approved repellents; install screens on doors and windows, trim grass and shrubs and eliminate standing water wherever it hides. You can also plant mosquito-repelling herbs like rosemary, mint and lavender—or just embrace the aesthetic of a citronella candle fortress.
Time Out
18-07-2025
- Time Out
In shocking news, New Yorkers walk and bike way more than almost all Americans, says new study
Turns out 'I'm walkin' here!' isn't just a punchline, it's a lifestyle. According to a new report from analytics firm StreetLight, New Yorkers—at least in four out of five boroughs—are walking and biking at rates the rest of the country can only dream of. Manhattan leads the nation in 'active transportation,' with a whopping 59-percent of trips made on foot or by bike. Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx also rank in the top 10 U.S. counties for non-car travel. The odd borough out is Staten Island, where a staggering 87-percent of trips still happen by car, placing it closer to the national norm. Across most of the U.S., active transportation remains the exception: In more than two-thirds of the counties analyzed, fewer than 1 in 10 trips involve walking or biking. Density—and a transit system that, for all its faults, actually works—is what sets New York apart. 'New York is a city in the United States that's done the most to support safe walking and cycling,' Michael Replogle, former NYC DOT deputy commissioner, told Gothamist. Add in policies like congestion pricing and reliable mass transit, and it's no wonder New Yorkers are pounding the pavement in record numbers. The study excluded low-density areas and focused on trips over 300 meters, offering a more apples-to-apples comparison among urban centers. And it wasn't just NYC making the leaderboard: Hudson County, New Jersey (home to Jersey City and Hoboken), ranked fifth, just ahead of Boston and Philly. With its tight street grid, PATH access and sky-high density, Hudson is a walker's paradise, too. Meanwhile, sprawling cities like Los Angeles and Chicago didn't even crack the top ranks. The takeaway? If you build a city for cars, people will drive. If you build it for humans, they'll walk. Walking and biking are part of a broader push toward rethinking urban mobility. Experts say high density, good transit and safe infrastructure are what make foot-powered travel possible and popular. In the end, New Yorkers walk more—duh. But it's not because we're better people (OK, maybe a little), but because the city actually makes it doable. And that, says StreetLight, might just be the future of urban life.
New York Times
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Why We Mistake the Wholesomeness of Gen Z for Conservatism
'N.Y.C. art schools see record-high application numbers as Gen Z-ers clamber to enroll,' Gothamist's Hannah Frishberg reported earlier this month. Art school has a reputation for being totally impractical and mildly dissolute. But what members of Gen Z like about art school, Frishberg explains, is that it has 'a comforting, human sense of purpose.' The art school trend sounds counterintuitive at first. During times of economic uncertainty, the cliché is that young people usually go to law school or do something else that seems pragmatic, steady and lucrative. Yet art school can offer young people a set of tangible, hands-on skills and a road to employment that is set apart from an increasingly artificial-intelligence-driven corporate world. I have been interviewing 20-somethings about dating, politics, faith and their aspirations for a couple of years now. Dozens of conversations with members of Gen Z have convinced me that the most prominent aspect of their generational character is that they're small-c conservative. This is frequently misunderstood as politically conservative (more on that in a second). But what I mean is that they're constitutionally moderate and driven by old-fashioned values. It might be hard for us to recognize just how wholesome Gen Z is, or what that represents for America's future. But we should try. It's not just their 'Shop Class as Soulcraft' disposition — their bias for the local and the handmade and against tech overlords — that makes this generation seem like a throwback. Or their renewed and unironic interest in things like embroidery, crocheting and knitting. There has been a lot of grown-up chatter in the past few years about the fact that Gen Z teenagers are having less sex, drinking less and doing fewer drugs than millennials and members of Gen X did. Teen pregnancy is at record lows. There's probably not a single reason behind these shifts. Of course, Gen Z consists of millions of people, and generalizations are not going to apply to every member. But I can see, in the ways this generation is different from previous ones, a clear desire for moderation in all things. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Time Out
10-07-2025
- Time Out
The Hudson River train tunnel construction is already messing with your West Side commute
If you've recently found yourself side-eyeing construction crews along the West Side Highway or zig-zagging around barriers on your bike, congrats! You're now part of the Gateway Program. The $16 billion project to build a new Hudson River train tunnel (also known as the most expensive mass transit effort in U.S. history) is officially underway on Manhattan's West Side. And while the goal is noble (replacing 115-year-old Amtrak tunnels and preventing Northeast Corridor collapse), the side effects are starting to get real for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. Here's what's happening: To prep for tunnel excavation under the Hudson River, crews have already chopped trees near 30th Street and plan to remove the median on the West Side Highway next. Once that medium is removed, it's reported that traffic will then shift east, all due to a very chill-sounding engineering feat called ground freezing, which stabilizes the riverbed so workers can safely dig beneath it. Crews will insert giant pipes that pump cold brine into the soil, essentially creating an underground popsicle to prevent soil collapse. 'We're going to work very hard to make sure that the traffic flows as unimpeded as possible,' Gateway Development Commission spokesperson Stephen Sigmund told Gothamist. Translation: Buckle up for delays. Meanwhile, the Hudson River Greenway, New York's busiest bike path, is set to get its own detour near 30th, though officials haven't said when the changes will begin. So, if you're cycling to work, expect reroutes and slowdowns, and consider starting to leave 10 minutes earlier. The disruptions are expected to last through early 2027, with the full tunnel not scheduled to open until 2035. The eventual plan is for trains to emerge from the new tunnel, located just east of the highway and link up with the Penn Station tracks under Hudson Yards. But until then? Think traffic cones, construction noise and detours galore. To be fair, traffic pros like 'Gridlock' Sam Schwartz say that as long as highway lanes aren't reduced, the chaos should stay manageable. That's a big if, given the daily dance of trucks, cars, cyclists and cement mixers on the West Side.
