This is the second time recently that I have witnessed explosions and fire from manholes. I am learning that this is not an uncommon occurrence. The incident in the photo appeared to be an electrical fire – there were intermittent sparks shooting up and large and small explosions with billowing black smoke. The fire department was on the scene promptly and took care of the situation handily and professionally without any drama or fanfare.

There are a variety of reasons these things happen. On January 31, 2000, sparks, explosions, smoke, or fire occurred in more than 200 manholes across NYC. Corrosion from salt used in the winter to melt snow and ice on the streets was the cause. Corrosion of wires has also caused manhole covers to become “live”; in 2004, while walking her dogs in the East Village, Jodie Lane was electrocuted as she stepped on a manhole cover which had short circuited from contact with wiring. Click here for story. The same year, a skateboarder fell on a manhole cover which was so hot (she heard sizzling), she was branded with permanent scars! Click here for photo and story.

In 1999, a carriage horse was electrocuted. Although the East Village death was an isolated incident, hundreds of pet owners or their pets have been jolted by stray voltage in metal covers. The city has 260,000 manhole covers. Be careful – it’s a minefield out there…

I’m only disappointed that I didn’t get a photo that better represents the level at which the trash situation gets in NYC. In this photo, one can see that efforts have at least been made to place trash in a proper (but over filled) receptacle by perching it around the rim a la mode. Frequently trash is also piled around the base, loose and in bags. This is a typical scenario in most heavily trafficked areas, particularly where there is no private group providing additional services. What? you may ask. Yes, that is correct. In spite of our heavy tax load and cost of living in New York, private organizations have been formed to properly manage and provide better services for many things which are the responsibility of local government and for which we pay taxes. Like picking up the garbage, which is not done frequently enough in many areas.

Groups like the SOHO Alliance, the Fund for Park Avenue, and the Central Park Conservancy provide a level of services resulting in a standard of living more acceptable to residents. A similar scenario is seen in the apartment rental market, where repairs are often better done by the tenant at his/her own expense rather than by the landlord. Waiting for those responsible to do their job is frequently a formula for frustration – taking things into ones own hands is sometimes the only sensible recourse. No NYC trash statistics or tutorial today – perhaps another time…

This photo was taken in front of Grace Baptist Church on Broadway and 10th Street (click here for second photo). At first glance, this looks like a typical homeless scene, but on closer examination of the photos, I think not. Many of the clothes and bedding look newer and cleaner than those of people who have been living on the street. Also, note the relatively new-looking backpack. It is also unusual to see the homeless as couples like this. So my conclusion is that they are travelers passing through. In the summer, one can see the occasional camping out of vagabonds in the parks.

I have never seen this type of thing in the winter on ice in freezing temperatures. Staking out territory like this in front of a prominent church on Broadway is quite a brazen act. Homelessness and vagrancy are very politicized issues in NYC – views are seen differently of society’s responsibility to its citizens and an individual’s responsibilities to make reasonable efforts to provide for themselves. Attempts to get individuals off the street have to be made legally and carefully – homeless shelters have improved, but many reject them for a variety of reasons. And the cost of housing continues to soar…

My downtown Greenwich Village neighborhood is still trying to assimilate and make sense of Wednesday’s tragedy (the photo shows De Marco’s Restaurant (now closed), where the first shooting occurred on the morning after). Now that there’s been time to learn about the people who were involved and caught in the event, there’s more knowledge of the horror and sadness that resulted. The details of the shootings have come to be revealed as much more violent and terrible than were known at the time. Reporters (see the New York Times’ extensive coverage) have uncovered a lot about the lives that tragically intersected that night and the devastation of those who have been left behind. It is one of those incidents that is senseless and violent, caused by a slow deterioration of a person who fell through the cracks of life and took out his frustration and paranoia on innocent bystanders.

This type of violence has frequently occurred in other parts of the country, to the extent that a term has been coined – “going postal” – but we in NYC have not had many such events. Perhaps because of this, many have felt a false sense of immunity. With so many individuals with disparate backgrounds crowded together and typically involved in a tragedy like this, the impact ripples out across a wide spectrum of people and parts of the city. Passing by that corner will certainly never feel the same again…

A gunfight erupted last night on the streets of Greenwich Village, a neighborhood which is one of the safest in NYC. This is the lead story in every newspaper and local television network today (click here for full story). A gunman shot a bartender in the back 15 times at De Marco’s Pizzeria and Restaurant at Houston and MacDougal Streets. Two unarmed auxiliary police officers chased the fleeing gunman and were shot by the assailant on Sullivan Street. Two armed police officers appeared on the scene and killed the gunman in a shootout on Bleecker and Sullivan Street that lasted about 5 minutes. The tragic shootout left 4 dead: the bartender, the assailant, and both auxiliary police. The gunman was heavily armed – the police recovered one hundred rounds of unspent ammunition and two handguns.

As bad as things were, the situation could have been much worse had not the police acted so quickly and decisively – Bleecker Street is a heavily trafficked area with bars and restaurants. I live in the neighborhood and happened to be outdoors when a friend told me about the incident minutes after it happened. All the city blocks in immediate proximity were closed off, but I was able to get a number of photos on Bleecker Street. More photos here and more on this tragedy here…