This hammock bed is the coolest thing of all time.

Photo taken in the year 1900 of New York City’s Mulberry Street, here’s the source.

NYC has thousands of empty rooftops… flat, unused, full sun, vacant land. It’s enough space to feed 50 million people. Check out this video about state of the art urban farming techniques:

The Nerd is going skiing in Upstate NY, but if you are looking to find some good parties here in the city I recommend checking out Joonbug’s New Years Eve 2010 Party Guide.

Days after police and federal agents busted up a potential terrorist attack on New York City transportation systems, officials still aren’t sure they have captured everyone in on the plan.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/215995/page/1

Three men were recently arrested, including a father and son team, for attempting to detonate backpack bombs on Manhattan trains in a scheme similar to past attacks on Madrid and London’s rail systems.

Officials seized backpacks, computer notes and video of Grand Central Station, but the actual explosives-related material is still missing causing some concern. Searching for such items and additional suspects remain a very high priority for investigators.

Summarizing the current state of the investigation Newsweek stated, “One official with a broad overview of the probe indicated that authorities believe the danger of any attack resulting from the plot has likely dissipated as a result of the arrests and publicity. However, other officials said that it is too early to be confident that the alleged plot has been neutralized.”

Hat tip to AttentionUSA.com for the story

The Nerd’s oldest fan is coming to visit New York City with her 12 year old son, so she reached out to see if I have any must see attractions. You came to the right place Amy! And everyone please feel free to add to this in the comments below.

Be prepared to walk a lot. This is a walking city like none other. Make sure you all have comfortable sneakers.

If you have a laptop computer definitely bring it with you because your hotel will most likely have wifi, if it doesn’t then a cafe will, and you will want to get online while you’re here. If not, you’ll have to do it more of the old fashioned way, I suppose we have internet cafes here where they supply the computer but they’re few and far between.

Get lost in Central Park, don’t even worry about where you’re going, your son will have a ball exploring the most incredible park in the world.

Use Menupages.com to find the local good food near where you’ll be as you travel around the city, if you have plans made in advance for the day.

Neighborhoods that you’ll want to make sure you tour are Greenwich Village, The East Village, SoHo, Little Italy, China Town, Union Square, South Street Seaport, Wall Street, 5th Avenue in the 50’s & 60’s (FAO Schwartz toy store), Times Square (see a show)

Museum of Natural History, & Museum of Modern Art

As for Pizza, you should go to Lombardi’s, John’s of Bleeker St., Joe’s Pizza in Greenwich Village at 7 Carmine St., but anywhere you go expect the slice to be very good.

Eat bagels, lots and lots of bagels, we have the best bagels in the world.

You could take the ferry to Staten Island, then just turn around and take the ferry back. There’s nothing to see on Staten Island but the ferry ride through the Harbor is fabulous.

Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge and then eat at Grimaldi’s Pizza under the bridge on the Brooklyn side. It’s some of the best pizza in the world.

Go to the top of a tall building whether it be Empire State Building or Top Of The Rock, but go at an off peak hour when it’s not super crowded, the line could get crazy especially at the Empire State Building.

Anyone feel free to jump in with more suggestions!

A new website lets you search by name or department and see exactly how much anyone earns. Talk about a violation of privacy, but I guess since they are paid using public funds its fair. But still to be able to search by name is crazy, check it out if you want.

Our friends at VBS.tv are at it again. This time exposing the crazy pollution that is Brooklyn after decades of heavy industrial activity. Enjoy:

Hey Nerd!!

Did you see the New York Times article in regards to the toxicity of the Greenpoint neighborhood. I wanted to just make you and your readers aware of a great video piece that VBS.tv did on the same issues. I think our visual story along with the article helps to paint a broad and detailed picture of the injustices being endured by the neighborhood.

Watch Toxic Brooklyn on VBS.TV

New York Times article

We decided to make a documentary about Williamsburg because our office is here and many of us have been lurking these parts for upwards of a decade. What had once been a bargain neighborhood close to Manhattan, albeit with some dangerous amenities, has now flourished into quite the sophisticated outpost. But what we here at Vice didn’t realize was that under all of this snazzy development was a subterranean environment heavily damaged by decades of industrial activity.

So we sent Derrick to tour the high and low points of Brooklyn’s boom: Williamsburg’s Radiac, the faded glory of Newtown Creek, shady developers building on unhealthy ground at every turn, the surreal majesty of Greenpoint’s sewage treatment and garbage transfer stations, plus the largest environmental disaster in the history of New York City–the Greenpoint Oil Spill.
Toxic Brooklyn is the story of people coping with some fine Industrial Era leftovers–a tale filled with villains, suspicious maestros and buckets and buckets of toxic goop.

Thanks for helping to raise awareness on this subject, if you have any questions let me know.

Our friends over at VBS.tv nailed a no holds barred interview with Bernard Kerik, check it out:

Hey NY Nerd,

VBS.tv this week sits down with controversial NY political figure Bernie Kerik. We are all familiar with his Shakespearian tale of meteoric rise to fame under Rudy as Police Commissioner and his disgraceful crash to Earth after being nominated to be Secretary Of Homeland Security. A week after being nominated Kerik withdrew his nomination explaining that he had employed an illegal immigrant as a nanny. Whoops! Once the string was pulled the sweater came undone. Numerous allegations began to surface and in 2006 pled guilty to two unrelated ethics violations and forced to pay $221,000. He is also currently under investigation by the Feds.

But for all the negative, he is still loved and admired by many in political and social circles. Taking on almost a G. Gordon Liddy type character viewed by many as an American patriot.

We get into it all with him.

- Views on the 2008 Election and why he thinks Rudy was and is the best candidate for America and that Barack Obama helps to spread the lies about him
- That conspiracy theorists are “retarded”
- His signed book by Motley Crue and tales of the Queen of England
- His role in Iraq as Minister of Interior of Iraq and why General Sanchez’s characterization of his time there as a waste is incorrect. That Sanchez’s greatest failure was not killing Muqtada al-Sadr
- His unapologetic support for the War on Terrorism and for those tactics which are harsher than most
- His 5th degree black belt and attack dogs

Check out VBS Meets Bernie Kerik – http://www.vbs.tv/video.php?id=1898293056

One must wonder what it would have been like if things had gone differently. What would Bernard Kerik have been like in George Bush’s cabinet? What would his role have been in the administration of a President Giuliani? Director of the FBI, perhaps? Or maybe Secretary of Defense? The halls of the Pentagon would have never been the same.

A colleague and I just went to Houston’s for lunch, at 26th and Park. We both had the ribs, and have to say these ribs are downright amazing. You just don’t get real bbq straight out of the smoker like that anywhere else in this city. Now they’re a little pricey, don’t get me wrong… at $27 a rack it’s not something you can do everyday.

Is there another place in New York that is serving real bbq? Most places flame finish smoked meat that has been frozen. I’m talking about straight from the smoker to the flame – to my mouth.

Houstons Ribs