Earthquakes, DSK and Bloomberg

It's been a busy couple days... I know...it's been more than couple days since I have written, but that's ok, I'm catching up now.

First things first. The earthquake that hit New York today. I didn't feel a thing. I know, very anti-climactic. I was on the subway at the time.

Now, the subway ride today was an event in itself. Who walked into my subway car but Jeff Candelmo.



For those of you who don't know Jeff, we used to work together in Orlando at 540. What were the odds he would step into my subway car on my subway train in NYC??? Even in New York it can be a very small world!

After I got off of the subway, I had a planned interview to do very quickly, then I started talking to people about the quake. Many people were congregating outside, looking at a TV screen through a window, trading stories and trying to figure out if there was damage and if anyone was hurt. It was quite the 'community' feel.



First, with the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 just around the corner, they were very relieved that it was just an earthquake.

But as soon as the relief had come.. then they started asking where it hit, if anyone was hurt, and if there was anything people needed. I was touched by the instant 'caring neighborhood' that formed standing on a sidewalk in Manhattan.

****

This morning, I saw a little more ugly side of things... I was sent to the NY Criminal Courthouse for the DSK case. I was covering a group protesting outside the courthouse. But as I was walking to the courthouse, I happened on the neighborhood where DSK lived. The media was waiting for him to come out and make the drive to the courthouse. Sure, you see the images of him coming out of the apartment... but here's what it really looks like from the other side of the street - a media circus..

See those crazy guys on motorcycles up front? Say hi to the paparazzi! When they take off there are two on each motorcycle... One driving, the other holding on tight while rolling the camera. They zip around the vehicles trying to get the best shot... They're crazy.... I mean really crazy. Like driving in NY is not bad enough, that you want to make it even more risky?!?!?!

And yes, I found my protesters.. and the signs that you will NOT be seeing on the news.....



And here is where I will level a complaint. When I arrived, the protesters were just beginning. They were chanting and all those things you expect.... but that didn't last long. They seemed to tire out of the chanting and yelling (except with a woman who was calling the maid in the DSK case a prostitute) and then just stood around. Why do I care? I was counting on the chanting as background noise for my live reports, but they had tired out by then and I got no such thing.

*****

My final picture to share comes from Monday's coverage of the Mayor's press conference on production companies calling NY home. The short version is that 23 TV shows are filming in new york and literally pumping billions into the local economy. Simply put, New York City's jobless rate is at pre-recession levels. Pretty darn impressive. Well the press conference was at the set for Pan Am (Coming to a TV near you this fall) and that left for some cute shots of the Mayor and the Pan Am girls... with a green screen behind him...Wow, he could get in a lot of trouble depending on how they edit that :)

What Am I Doing Up Here?

I have been asked to post some of the stories I am doing up here. Ok, I have been asked for a live streaming link to the station, but since I cannot offer you that, I am going to let you hear a couple of the clips I have done…

What I like about what I am doing is I am doing news stories, but with more flair - something that was mainly only done in feature stories in the past... And since I like flair and production, I am having a great time.

The news in NY yesterday and today was rain... rain...rain..flooding and more rain... I did a side story on what to do with the kids since they are out of school... and well I couldn't help but adding some music :)

Rainy Day Story 1

And this one....well it's another version of the last story, but with the cruel twist that it will stick that annoying song in your head.....

Rainy Day Story 2

and my favorite story from the last few days... I managed to get two Weird Al songs into one story.... really...does it get any better than that?

Fat Study Story

Yes, I cover hard news stories too, but these are the ones I have more fun with... so I thought I would share a few.

I Found Adventurer's Club North, sort of.

Today marks 2 weeks since I altered life as I knew it and moved into a condo I had never seen in NJ. It seems like it has been a lot longer - not in a bad way. It just seems that I know my way around and have become pretty comfortable with many parts of what I am doing and where I am going here, so I'm pretty happy.

I have been doing a lot of exploring and one of the things I have found is something that reminded me of home... at least home a few years ago.....something very reminiscent of the Adventurer's Club at Pleasure Island.

Now, Disney Adventurer's Club fans, we have all been mourning a few years now since the club at Pleasure Island was closed down. Well I found a place that reminded me somewhat of being back home at the club. It's called Jekyll & Hyde. There are actually two of them. The first is in the Village


The second is uptown on 6th not too far from Central Park. The outside of that one has construction scaffolding all over, so not a great photo op....

Consider Jekyll and Hyda a 'dark' Adventurer's club with a mad scientist theme. There are things that come to life on the wall and interact with you. I first went to the Village location the weekend I moved to NJ. When My friend Steve and I walked in it was the werewolf who wanted to know who we were and why we were there.

and as lunch went on the gargoyle

The Pharaoh

and the mummy figurehead began chatting with us…

not to mention our 'butler' who made the rounds.

And if you need to use the little boys or girl's room… good luck….

and yes, that sign over head does say "Looking for a bathroom stall? Find the passage in the wall." The bathroom entrance is hidden

Here are a few more pics I took. Yes, I know they're a little dark, but the whole place was VERY dark, so the fact that these came out is pretty impressive!

This past weekend I went to the 6th Avenue location. It's much larger, four stories of themed rooms and more characters interacting. Here are a few pics I took. Hmm... what are those? Bar stools that go up and down while people are sitting on them??? I think I may have seen those somewhere before!

Ok Adventurer's Club folks... this guy spins and talks...all he is missing is a 4 sided sofa!!!! We had Zeus, they have Apollo.

I had a little longing for the Haunted Mansion as I watched the eyes in the pictures move as I walked up....

And there is even a mask wall... Ok, so it's not a mask room, but same concept and with a script that may have been borrowed, at least in part, from the Lion King show at Animal Kingdom...



I heard there was even a Colonel Critchlow in a cauldron that used to pop out but was not working while I was there :(

Green Space!!!

One of my biggest fears as I headed up to NY/NJ was that I was only going to see concrete and asphalt. I am used to a one acre backyard with LOTS of green space. So, when I saw a condo that was right across the street from a big park, I was thrilled.

It has plenty of areas to walk, jogging trails, a lake, playgrounds and sports fields and a lot of area for picnics! Here are a few pics from the park

Amelia and Susie are also fans of the park as I was able to snag a few acorns and some leaves for them to munch on.

Amelia checking out the branch...

Susie chomping on a leaf.

NJ acorns are MUCH larger than the ones from my yard in Fla (yes, I had frozen some from FLA and brought them to NJ).

I think Amelia prefers the NJ ones...

One man's trash.... another man's band....

I went strolling through the city this weekend and found this man... playing....well trash... pieces of broken up metal.... old plastic buckets, USPS baskets and with a Fed Ex basket as his seat. He made it work...and while I did not take a picture inside of the big plastic bucket... trust me... he was well paid for his efforts. There was a pile of money in there and not just quarters, $1s $5s $10s. But he played non-stop... and yeah, I did toss in a few bucks :)

My First Food Cart Experience!

I have been told when it comes to food, New York City has the most amazing offerings and they often wheel their way up on the curb just outside your workplace... literally.... well that was the case with Thursday's lunch venture.

It's all Managing Editor Doug O'Brien's fault. He came in earlier this week with a plate of amazing-smelling stuff. I say stuff... because.... well it was a pile of stuff with sauces and veggies that I could see brimming from it. So, I asked what it was and he said it was the New York staple of Chicken over Rice.

"Where did you get it?" I asked.

"The food cart outside."

I was sold... I knew I needed to try that gastronomic creation! So I ate salad and fruit only for dinner and breakfast, preparing for the calories I was likely about to ingest.

Thursday when lunch came around I walked out of the building, looked to the right, and there it was! A cart that promised chicken over rice and a soda for $6! And since it was only a little after 1 (early for lunch here it seems) there wasn't much of a line.



Another reason the line was short was that the two guys inside were serving up at a rapid pace. The line was constantly moving.



And here, my friends, is my plate of bliss!!!



What exactly is it? Well, there's rice, chicken, lots of grilled veggies, onions, lettuce, tomato, hot sauce and white sauce all piled together. I'm not sure what all the seasonings and spices are that were in the creation, but they worked.

Now, once again, they serve a lot of food up here. I heard from a Northerner that the reason is they are always in 'winter mode' thinking they need more calories, even when it's warm. But, instead I knew what I was going to order and put half in a tupperware container. That means more yummy-ness later!!!

The newsroom!

So, finally, something many have asked for... a look at where I am working. Here's a pic of the part of the newsroom one morning this week.... Quite the active place that regularly has a crowd of people buzzing around making all the Merlin magic happen on 1019!


One of the things I feel very lucky about. I was talking to a good friend last night and mentioning that I figured it would be a completely cutthroat environment when I arrived and that warm & cozy family feeling I had in Orlando would be out the window. Not the case. While, yes, it is a busy and high-paced environment, everyone is friendly and supportive of one another. They're all awesome people who help one another out and work as a team, even though most of them are not much newer than I to this newsroom. It's a really awesome feeling. You can tell that people sincerely appreciate and respect one another and I love that! I thrive in positive environments!

And a picture that is just because I can post it... Racquel Williams and were I talking about juice boxes and she was saying there is really no way to be cool while drinking a Capri-sun... I agreed... but she can kinda make it look good! :)

Night Out In North Bergen

I lied. I am not showing you the condo today. The reason for that is because I ended up out in town last night and have stories to share.

Last night was National Night Out. I had forgotten until I saw it in the paper (pic) By the way, let me mention this is the first time I have had a 'hometown paper' that I have read that was NOT the Florida Today, so quite the interesting moment for me.

On page 4 was the mention of the National Night Out events. The North Bergen community had three events running at different spots in the city, one of them just a few blocks from me. So, when the topic was brought up in the office I said I would be happy to go out and thus the assignment was given. I was there just after it started and there was a decent crowd. This is looking from a block away…

And a little closer…

They had closed down a three-block area for the party and well, I just had to take this picture of the roadblock officer. It was such the stereotypical 'northern cop leaning on the car looking cool' picture that I expected from the Northeast. No, my northern friends, I am not picking, I just thought it was a perfect picture of how they are often depicted.

First observation of my little slice of the North Bergen community – it REALLY is a melting pot. I heard a handful of different languages being spoken as I walked through the crowd and interviewed a Spanish family, and Indian family, a Muslim family, older and younger residents and even a couple that were originally from Germany. I also met a handful of transplanted Floridians - some from Central Florida even. Case in point - Valerie's parents actually met in Melbourne when helping out after a hurricane and started their romance in my hometown! How cool is that!

I interviewed residents about National Night Out and also had a chat with Sgt. Thomas Ferrari of the North Bergen Police Department and it struck me…. I'm new to town and don't know all the places to eat… but I know enough police officers to know they ALWAYS know!

So I hit him up for the scoop. The pizza restaurant I had found is their #1 Italian pick – Kudos to me! And then he pointed up the street and recommended the Cuomo Deli for great deli food.

Since I hadn't had dinner yet, I decided it may be time to check out if the Sgt knew his stuff. Stephanie was working the counter and I explained I was new and that the PD told me this was the place to come for a deli sandwich. She recommended something with mozzarella….as they are known for their homemade mozzarella! I got the Parma - prosciutto, mozzarella, sundried tomatoes, balsamic vinagrette and she added some oil.

She piled on all the ingredients……

And I enjoyed the YUM!!!! It was amazing… the mozzarella literally melts in your mouth. And while everyone thinks everything is expensive up here, this sandwich was $7, delicious and huge. I only ate ¼ of it for dinner. I could have probably pushed myself to eat half, but it’s still at least a two-meal sandwich… great deal!!!

Looking at the picture is making me want to have more…. Time for a piece of sandwich for breakfast!