Big Brother
Ever get in the car, late at night, and have the cold feeling of dread
that someone was watching you?
Now, they may be watching from overhead if
youre driving in Queens.
The Dept. of Transportations website reveals that anyone and
everyone can be watching you as you ride down the LIE thanks to the Advanced Traveler
Information System (ATIS). Click on Queens from the www.nyctmc.org site and you can choose
to watch cars go by in streaming video or still shots from ten cameras installed at
"key traffic points around Queens."
Get live, streaming action from cameras at the
LIE and the Midtown Tunnel, Queens Plaza North the Queensborough Bridge, or the Van Wyck
and the GCP interchange. Still camera locations are marked by a red camera on the map
above.
So while you drive, smile; youre on candid DOT camera!
Ackerman Goes
Punk
Following the death of punk rock legend Joey Ramone last month,
rockin Congressman Gary Ackerman declared "Joey Ramone Day" in
honor of the Queens-born lead singer of the Ramones.
"Joey Ramone created a musical and cultural revolution by
rebelling against mainstream music and pioneering punk rock," said Ackerman.
"Ramones leather jacket image and fast three chord songs influenced the lives
of millions of fans while providing the musical formula for countless bands that followed
in his footsteps."
Ackerman issued the Congressional proclamation and an American flag
flew over the White House on what would have been the singers 50th birthday.
The Congressmans favorite Ramone tune? According to spokesperson
Jordan Goldes, "its tough but it would have to be Rock and Roll
Radio, a punk rock ode to the days of classic AM radio."
Ackerman insiders whispered that the Congressman was really a John
Denver fan.
Law and Order
Brought To QCC
To the crowds casually gathering and dispersing around the campus of
Queensborough Community College (QCC) last week, presence of the T.V. cast and crew of
"Law and Order" was just another gig.
"Theyve filmed here several times recently," said a QCC
representative. "We have a unique setting."
Apparently, the location crew found the Oakland Building, which is an
art gallery, suitable to use as a dog breeders house. They erected cages outside the
building and dog actors went inside the cages.
They choose the Holocaust Resource Center for a high school yearbook
archives room.
Word has it that along with Jerry Orbach and Jesse Martin,
there were many extras and a production crew of about a hundred.
Riker's
Resort
A corrections officer has taken a novel approach to keeping former
Rikers Island prison inmates out: an invitation back to the island prison.
A humorous flier invites them to an "Island Vacation,"
featuring a free boat ride, free meals, recreation and top-notch security.
A Hollis barber who has the flier posted on the mirror of his shop said
that the flier is intended to remind former inmates about their prison time, in case they
are thinking of running afoul of the law again.
And Then
There Were None