Amy Schoeman

Employment

Back to New York....

Graduated with two master's degrees from Columbia several years ago. Found that finding the right job to be a major struggle (nascent stages of a recession?). Finally found a great job with a non-profit in New York City. Then I decided to quit that great job to move to Dubai for an "even greater" urban planning job that I applied to a year ago. I moved for the experience (once in a lifetime!), to help pay off those Columbia degrees, and perhaps on a sub conscious level to make up for two years of disappointments in finding a job. A couple weeks ago I was laid off from that fabulous amazing Dubai job (it really was interesting).

Now I'm looking for jobs in both the UAE (at least until the end of the month) and New York. But the job market is not looking so hot in either place (you may have read that Times article about the mass exodus form Dubai). And I'm hesitant about coming back to the city because while there are wonderful things about coming back (family, friends, pizza, $1.50 coffee) there are other drawbacks such as not having health insurance, realization of not applying to those Obama administration jobs in time, and having to walk around with my tail between my legs.

I think the hardest part of my New York story is probably that I expect to not be getting a lot of sympathy or support from many people when I move back. I think some people-especially friends in safe but lower paying non-profit or government jobs (hey I used to work in the public sector!)-might be secretly glad I got let go. I know my family who was adamant against my going ("you're going to help that megalomaniac sheik!") will just think I told you so and tell me I shouldn't have left. And most of all I worry about being mired in my own regrets and self-doubt.

Ultimately, I took a big risk in moving abroad and I have to take responsibility for that. But despite my paranoia about how people will react to my situation, I really hope that that the city will embrace me.

116th Street

Gian Trotta

Housing

Down in the Dumpsters?

I remember reading the story of the French Minister of Economics who, rather than read reports, would count the number of trucks on the ring road around Paris. In a similar vein, I count:
1. The number of trucks coming east (it's actually south, but that's another topic entirely) on the BQE in the morning.
2. The number of dumpsters in front of homes beng renovated in brownstone Brooklyn.
3. The number of day laborers lingering after 9 a.m. in front of Home Depots and such.

241 Union Street, Brooklyn, NY

Tim

Behavior

Little League Enrollment

In Freeport Little League on Long Island, enrollment for this spring's Little League season is way down.

Some age groups may not even be able to field enough teams to be able to play at all.

It seems parents cannot part with the $120 to enroll their kids...

Freeport, LI, NY 11520

jay

Commerce

smaller turkey portions

lately i've noticed that the deli where i get salads has been dicing the turkey into much smaller pieces

18 west 18th street

Meg Scarpetta

Behavior

Awareness

At Whole Foods last week I confessed to the checkout person that I'd forgotten to bring my own bags and felt very guilty about it. His reply: "A lot of people are saying that these days."

Excellent!

335 Hycliff Ter

Chris

Behavior

From Possessionista to Recessionista

My dear friend who is into all things fashion and all jeans expensive suddenly started blogging about bargain-hunting, a.k.a. "chiconomics". Definitely a foreboding sign.

http://tightenyourbelt.blogspot.com

francis carbone

Commerce

Weekender Perspective

I've had a car in NYC since 1987. I was in college so I chased cheap parking for years and always tried to buy gas in New Jersey. The Value-Pac that arrives in the mail had 2 coupons for parking - 1 for $160 month at locations all over the city (not just the usual cheap spots like 12th ave). Plus it was guaranteed for 1 year! Prior deals only lasted through winter. Then there was another coupon from a smaller company for $120 month! And the price of gas at the Gulf station at 23rd and FDR Saturday night was within 10 cents of gas upstate on Sunday. I've never seen that before.

Jeremy Leichman

Behavior

Bailout: Brooklyn,NY

Around the time that the word Bailout became an every other word mention on the media it occurred to me that I have nothing to bailout. So I decided that in an era of job loss I would give myself the most labor intensive project I could think of, building a traditional lapstrake boat in my live/work in Bushwick. I have been building it for the last 3 months in between other projects and teaching. Now I have something to bailout! It is part of a larger sculpture project with ceramic figures and a ceramic fat cat....... Check the video out at http://leichman.com/artwork/567691.html

Alyce Gunn

Behavior

A Shrinking Little League

Our neighborhood -- known for single family homes and lots of children -- is feeling the downturn in the economy via enrollment in children's programs. The North Riverdale Baseball League usually has 400 children enrolled at this time every year. This year we've seen half that number. It's doubtful that interest in baseball has waned by 50% in one year, so the only logical conclusion is the economic pinch.

5550 Riverdale Avenue, Bronx NY 10471

sean Donnelly

Commerce

American Airlines

Flew to St. Louis last weekend.

2/6 8:15 am flight to St. Louis had 15 passengers.
2/10 8:50 am flight back to NYC had 25 passengers.

Say goodbye to direct flights between cities soon.

Lagurida Airport,

Cass Collins

Commerce

Sign of the Times?

A sign in front of The Palace Hotel in Cape May, NJ

Cape May NJ

Linda

Behavior

Second Ave. Subway Arrives (the fast-food variety)

A branch of Subway (purveyor of hero-sandwiches) has just opened on Second Avenue in the heart of the East Village. For longtime residents like me, it's discouraging, on the one hand, to contend with another corporate food chain shop in the neighborhood. But on the other hand, I see a distinct benefit to this Subway--just as there's been a benefit to having a Dunkin' Donuts open a couple of blocks north. These places are havens for the poor and dispossessed, especially in inclement weather. Food marts like these help keep the neighborhood honest. I'm hoping they will help us reclaim at least some of our edgy, bohemian heritage.

Second Ave. betw. St. Marks Place & 9th St., East Village

CD

Commerce

Some Banks Got it Right

This 80+ year old institution is actually prospering (and has declared it will not participate in asking for assistance from TARP) and instead is building a new and bigger branch for one of it's locations. See Photo: The front building is the old one (soon to be torn down) and the back one to the right will replace it (with a drive-thru).
Clifton Savings Bank
(P.s. The attached photo is from flickr "Clifton Photographer" Earl)
Thank you.

646 Van Houten Avenue, Clifton, NJ 07013

victoria

Behavior

A New Excuse

during the voir dire at jury duty SO many people stood up and said that their employers were laying people off left and right and had to make sure they were seen at at work, looking busy.

most were investment bankers, several were in publishing. one seemed to be singlehandedly responsible for the survival of a local paper.

for all the excuses people have used to get out of jury duty through the years, this wave of desperation was entirely new.

the judge dismissed them all.

111 Centre Street

Elizabeth Kubany

Behavior

Cigarette Butts on Wall Street!

I am a public relations consultant whose biggest client is an architectural firm on Wall Street. Since October, I feel like I've witnessed a HUGE increase in the number of smokers and accompanying cigarette butts littering the street. This even as the workforce on Wall Street has decreased noticeably.

40 Wall Street

Meghan

Employment

Groups of Men Drinking mid-day in Prospect Park

In the last few days, I've seen several groups of grown men drinking in the woods, along the ponds, etc. in Prospect Park, mid- to late-afternoon. I'm a SAHM and I take my dogs for walks in the woods all year round and I've never seen so many men and so many groups of men hanging out mid day.

It really struck me: These guys have nothing to do. As my husband said, they're trying to get away from their wives who are bugging them to find jobs. It also, frankly, made me worry about what's to come.

Debra

Behavior

Dad-time

I have noticed, here in Short Hills, a significant uptick in the number of dads doing school drop-off and pick-up everyday.

Taylor Road South, Short Hills, NJ

Julia

Commerce

USA. Going out of Business.

I went down to Universal News (in Soho) yesterday and it was closed. The whole store. Empty, light out. Walking down Broadway was a bit eerie... lots of sale signs in the window, 50% off. Tourists walking about and you hear them saying that they like a bag but even with the sale price 250 is too expensive. Upon getting off the train in Brooklyn I noticed the local video store was going out of business and having a big sale.

david

Employment

architorture

unlike 80% of my graduating class (pratt 1999) i still had a job (on friday 2/6). i considered myself lucky and would reply to "how are you?" with, "i'm great - i still have a job" even after taking a 20% pay cut and watching others in the small firm get laid off. now, i'm crunching the networks, 'cuz nothing online looks promising - there are too many people like me - service industry for the elite - scrambling over too few jobs.

65 broadway

Amina

Swindlers

Beware the gym

A friend of mine was at her Equinox gym (this is an expensive gym!) and didn't lock her locker in the changing room. Upon returning from working out, she found that someone had gone through her things. Her wallet and credit cards were still there, but the thief took her cash, starbucks card, metro card and stamps. Her stamps! This is a sign of desperate times...