On Demand
FUF: Chess Hustlers and Bronx Cheer
Monday, June 16, 2008
"I Am Not A Rook!"
Former chess Grand Master Josh Waitzkin discusses being a child chess protégé, and playing against the chess hustlers in Washington Square Park.
The Bronx is Up
Dan Smith and Alec Diacou explain their plans to "brand" The Bronx and install a permanent "Yes, the Bronx" sign on the Harlem River waterfront.
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I was born and raised in the Bronx and my mom still lives there 86 years, in fact. Is "Yes, the Bronx" the best they could come up with? Are they trying to perpetuate the already, unfortunate "Duhhhh, dah Bronx" outsider's view? C'mon man, think of something better than that! Were these people assigned this job to find a brand for the Bronx? Did it go the the lowest bidder?
The issue of determining if these chess players are hustlers is NOT if they are cheating, but whether if they are playing at less than their skill level to make people risk more money by thinking they can win.
I.E. the comparison should not be to 3-card monty, but to pool,
Many of my high school classmates regularly went to Wash Sq Park (near the chess club) to get extra practice. The "hustlers" there were usually helpful to the kids.
BTW, was Josh Waitzkin a "protégé" or a prodigy?
smaller circles and trigger mechanisms to engage large concepts at a moment's notice are not just for chess and judo; these are primary tools that actors spend years in class to master on stage. great technique, but nothing new.
Beyond Via Verde - A Green Center for the South Bronx
The Via Verde project will be a milestone for Melrose and the South Bronx and an inspiration for the entire City. The start of construction is scheduled for this summer.
The project is located across Brook Ave. from the rear of the Staples store. The north border of the site is E 156th Street and the south is E 153rd Street.
www.aiany.org/NHNY/ViaVerde_Panel1.pdf
The stretch of Bronx along Brook Ave from E 149th to E 163rd includes vacant land, a park, ballfields, some housing, the old Borough Courthouse, and Melrose Town Center. The latter is a 4.5-acre site that is currently under construction and will contain a college, over 700 apartments, 40,000 sf of retail space, and a pedestrian-only street (E 162).
There may be opportunities for expanding the environmentally progressive concepts being incorporated into Via Verde. The most immediate opportunity is the Bronx Borough Courthouse located on Third Avenue and E. 161st Street.
There are numerous energy generation and energy conservation systems that could be incorporated into the building during its renovation.
The highly visible triangular area of land along Third Avenue at the front of the building could be used to generate energy and make a strong envirionmental statement with vertical-axis wind turbines mounted on sculptural towers of varying heights.
The front of the building could also contain a well-head for an underground vertical geothermal loop system.
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