Kate

Bright

Still a demand for passports

I've been watching the National Passport Center's processing time. It has gone from 3 weeks to process non-rush orders to 4 weeks. Does this mean more people are getting passports ready for spring or summer travel?? Could be!

david z

Employment

unemployed architect supplement unemployment with freelance work

what fabrication shop was that story from, and do they need draftsmen?

Editor's Note: you can post your interest in finding work on our bulletin board with a brief bio. Use the navigation buttons on the top of this page.

Stephanie

Behavior

Burglaries on the rise

My uncommon economic indicator is that me and my friend both had our apartments broken into and our electronics stolen within the same week (I live in prospect heights and they live in crown heights) and then another friend told me the same had happened to her a month ago. I know this happens all the time, but it must be happening especially often now for us all to know each other.
Also, the number of times kids on the street have chased me while I was on my bike, threatening to steal it, has greatly increased in the past several months. Its an excellent time to start getting renters' insurance - it covers bikes too.

511 Park place, Brooklyn, NY, 11238

Jason

Commerce

Things are actually picking up!

In January, the fabrication shop I work for was very slow. We have 8 employees. The average hours each person was able to get was about 10. Business had dried up because our main customers were retailers, artists, and museums. Each had stopped spending for the recession. BUT! Things have finally picked up. Each of the sectors has a few projects in the works. I worked 40 hours this past week and there is work lined up for at least the next month. Knock-on-wood, but it feels like the bottom has come and gone for our business. Hopefully we can sustain this and maybe it will even repeat citywide now.

63 Flushing Avenue

jill zimmerman

Housing

empty lots, happy hipsters

I live in Williamsburg and am a yoga teacher, and luckily haven't been personally affected by the recession yet. (people need yoga more than ever.) However, walking around my neighborhood I see tons of empty lots that were formerly old factories and apartment buildings bulldozed to put more "luxury condos" up. They were sprouting up like weeds until a few months ago. I am personally happy (as are many long time residents) to see open space with weeds and dirt rather than yet another glass box for rich kids to live in. I am attaching some photos of just a few of them. Thanks for listening!

Union Ave, Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Jennifer

Commerce

Even Walmart

At Walmart usually items are piled high up especially in the toy department and there are displays of items in the aisles. No longer...the tops shelves have disappeared and you can walk freely between the aisles.

Putnam Valley, NY, Valley Stream, NY

Paul Thompson

Employment

A new kind of job fair

Rhode Island strip club to host job fair
By ERIC TUCKER (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
March 20, 2009 4:35 AM EDT

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island - Here's a job opportunity you won't need to buy a new wardrobe for.

Hoping to take advantage of Rhode Island's floundering economy, owners of the Foxy Lady strip club in Providence plan to hold a job fair on Saturday.

They say they're looking to fill around 30 positions, from strippers and waitresses to disc jockeys and bartenders, at that club and two others in Massachusetts.

"I need more managers, I need more competent staff, and I need more attractive waitresses to go along with the ones I have right now," said co-owner Tom Tsoumas.

The naked truth is that Rhode Island's economy is among the worst in the nation, with an unemployment rate of 10.3 percent in January.

The Providence club isn't immune from the recession but is still drawing customers willing to drink and pay for lap dances, said manager Bob Travisono.

"It's taken a hit," he said. "It's not as bad as restaurants and stuff like that. In times like this, they seem to drink their sorrows away."

Tsoumas said he hopes some who might shun strip clubs when the economy is good might consider shedding their clothes now - or at least working as a floor host or bartender.

Rhode Island

Lorraine Schick

Behavior

Rush Hour Commute Reduced

My family lives in Rockland County and my husbund works in Westchester. He crosses the Tappan Zee bridge everyday.

Without traffic his commute is about 45 minutes long. He used to leave the house at 6:30am and it would take him 45-60 minutes. If he left at 7:00am it would take twice as long to get there because of traffic.

Now he can leave at 7:30am and still arrives at work no later then 8:30am. I asked him why and he replied "There are less cars on the road, everyone's lost their jobs."

The downturn has improved his commute but has seriously reduced others commute.

Scott_A

Commerce

Anecdotal Car Sales

For the past 10 years, I've driven from Indiana to the East Coast at least twice a year. Until a couple years ago, I would always see at least five of those large car transporter trucks on each trip. For the past 18 months, I haven't passed a single one on that trip.

That is, until my trip back here last month - I saw one on the road, and it really stuck out. Does this mean dealer inventories are finally in need of replenishing?

Scott_A

Housing

My house in the Midwest is selling

I sense an upswing in the Midwest housing market.

I've had my house in Indiana listed for sale since June of 2007. For the first 18 months with a Realtor (2 Realtors, actually), I didn't receive a single offer.

But since taking it back to For Sale by Owner, I've received two offers (selling today), and had others walk through the house almost every week, even though they knew there was a sale pending - they were that interested in a chance to buy in case one sale fell though.

It may just be that I had two very lousy Realtors (and I do think that played into it) - but there is undoubtedly more interest in the market now than there was a year ago.

Sallie

Commerce

slow at the drop off laundry

I've notice for the past few weeks that where I drop off my laundry to be done, it's not busy, even on Saturdays. Usually every washer is going, and on Saturday the employee is surrounded by bags of finished laundry. I asked the employee when they aren't busy and they said everyday now.

Thompson St, Bleeker St.

Steve

Behavior

A Penny Earned

I went to my regular news stand in the 34th St. subway station, where I go weekly to buy my $2.95 newspaper when it comes out each Thursday. I reached into my pocket and realized I only had $2.94 on me. I asked my newsstand lady if she would "spot me the penny". She refused me. "Paper is expensive!" she exclaimed. I exclaimed back, "Amazing!" I left and did not get the paper. Now, it's true, I did not have the required $2.95, but really? A penny?

34th St., 8th Avenue

Arthur Aptowitz

Commerce

More Auction Sale Ads, but SMaller

I noted that there seems to have been an uptick in Auction Sales Ads (Sunday Times Business Section) but the ads themselves seem SMALLER in size (guess they're cheaper that way).

Dana

Swindlers

Splenda, If You Dare...

Recently I decided that purchasing Splenda for my at home use is a bit ridiculous. Why do I need to do so when I spend $4 everyday at Starbucks and they give it out for free. Therefore, I have begun to palm a few extra Splendas as I'm dressing my coffee. My friend who works in food industry tells me the price of my loot is built into the coffee and urges me to stop self-flagellating.

Strangely enough, I happened into a Sushi bar yesterday. I ordered an iced tea and received some complimentary sweeteners. All of the sweeteners were branded with Dunkin Donuts on the back of each little pack.

I guess I'm not alone...

George

Housing

Buy or Sell?

On weekends in Hoboken, NJ, the real estate agents blanket the street corners with placketts identifying apartment open houses.

Grand Street & 9th Street, Hoboken, NJ

Evan Bray

Commerce

The BQE Financial Soundness Indicator (BQEFSI)

I recently noticed a surge in the number of vacant billboards on the BQE. On a recent drive from the Queens border to the Verazzano, I took pictures of all the vacant billboards and postulated a theory/metric by which one can correlate the ratio of vacant signs per mile to the soundness of the US Economy.

Details and photos here:

http://musingsonpoint.blogspot.com/2009/03/bqe-financial-soundness-indicator.html

The Brooklyn Queens Expressway

LaTasha

Behavior

School Trips on Layaway

I live in Paterson, NJ and my nephew just transferred here from Texas and started kindergarten. My sister showed me a notice from his school that gave parents the option of putting the upcoming school field trip on layaway. The notice read: Attention parents, you can now opt for the $3.00 a week layaway plan for the upcoming field trip!

Lis F

Commerce

Fuzzy toothpaste

I recently opened a new Colgate toothpaste container of the kind that combines toothpaste and mouthwash in one. After the first 3-4 usages, I noticed less efficiency of the product than my old one of the same type had. The ingredients listed on the two containers were identical, but since no specific percentage or volume of any of the ingredients is listed, the thought occurred to me that the new container might have a smaller amount of one or more of the more expensive ingredients than the old one had. This is pure speculation, but less efficiency of the product made me wonder.

Leigh Roumila

Bright

Mail Order Seed Co's Running out of Seeds

Having been laid off from my investment banker job (CMBS) last summer, I'm constantly seeking ways to cut spending. We've decided to start a vegetable garden in our Ridgewood NJ backyard. Someone forwarded me this article on the subject, which is interesting.

Link to
"Dollars from dirt: Economy spurs home garden boom"

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/03/15/national/a101445D59.DTL&type=homeandgarden&tsp=1

Marilyn Gilbert

Commerce

Haute discounts

I like to shop at Filene's Basement and Century 21, both discount stores. The last couple of weeks the type of clothing and shoes they usually sell has been markedly upgraded to expensive designer brands (but still offered at discount prices). I assume that the stores that would regularly carry these lines are ordering less of them, and the vendors are dumping the goods.