NYC - Bohemia no more

A few years ago I lived in a dumpy little studio on 27th & 6th in NYC for the low-low price of $1350 a month. Now the average rent in that area is well over $2000 and the corners are littered with luxury highrises. How un-New York! My corner used to be filled with trannies! Nothing is as depressing as strolling through Chelsea and seeing one highrise condo building after another. A parking lot that doubled as a junk fair location on weekends is now being primed for yet another beacon of the decline of New York.

I used to walk by Avalon each day on my way to work. According to an article in the Guardian, Avalon is set to be turned into a mini-mall. New York - is nothing sacred anymore? you're losing your charm, love.

NYC doesn't heart fatties

From the Washington Post...

NYC to Restaurants: Get an Oil Change

In what could be a bellwether move, New York City's Board of Health yesterday took the first step in requiring restaurants to sharply limit the amount of trans fat in their foods.

Trans fat--a.k.a. partially hydrogenated vegetable oils--has been found to significantly increase the risk of heart disease. Public health advocates have likened it to bacon grease in your kitchen sink and lead in paint.

Americans eat, on average, six grams of trans fat a day. A single fast-food meal can contain as much as 10 grams--far higher than the American Heart Association recommended limit of about 2 grams per day

Under the suggested rule, NYC restaurants would have six months to switch cooking oils and shortenings and 18 months to limit trans fat to less than half a gram in the rest of their menu. Pre-packaged food in the original packaging would be exempt.

NYC wants to make mandatory a policy that city health officials have been asking restaurants to adopt voluntarily for the past year. Chains such as Wendy's have stopped using trans fat. Kraft Foods now sells trans fat-free Oreos. But NYC officials say most restaurants have ignored their pleas.

The Board of Health is also considering a requirement that restaurants list the calories in its food on menus and menu boards. The proposed rule would apply only to establishments that already publicly offer calorie information. In practice that means many of the large chains, including McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken.