St. Nicholas Church At Ground Zero Holds Annual 'Blessing of the Waters' Ceremony At Battery Park

Lower Manhattan, January 8, 2012 - One of the time-honored Epiphany rituals was celebrated in Battery Park this past Sunday. The Blessing of the Waters and casting of the Holy Cross into New York Harbor. This ceremony was conducted after a mass was held at Saints Helen and Constantine Church in Downtown Brooklyn. Parishioners arrived in Lower Manhattan in a bus in the early afternoon following a morning of prayer. These parishioners are of St. Nicholas Church at Ground Zero which was demolished during the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. This year is especially joyful because they now can begin to build their replacement church next to Ground Zero. The story about this is in this blog at: http://railientrails.blogspot.com/2011/10/agreement-to-build-greek-orthodox.html

The ritual begins with a procession from Pier 1 to Slip 1, near where the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island ferry boats dock. Crosses and religious artifacts are carried and chants are sung during this procession. The priests and divers (this year there was only one), boarded a new FDNY rescue boat where more prayers are sung. At the appropriate moment, the swimmers are told to be ready and the gold cross is thrown into the water with a tether and is the symbolism of the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan river by St John the Baptist. The successful swimmer hoists the cross in the air to signify he's got it and swims back to the boat. For his efforts, he is rewarded with a small cross, personal blessing from the priest to ensure good luck for the coming year. The ceremony is concluded with the release of a white dove which symbolizes the Holy Spirit which appeared that day in the sky.

The Greek Festival of Epiphany is held every year on the Sunday of January after the Epiphany. Greek Orthodox Churches around the world holds its own 'Blessing of the Waters' ceremony. All Greek Orthodox churches located close to a water front perform this rite that is based upon the Rite of Baptism.

Drop Your Pants Lately? Many Did On The Subway!

January 8, 2012 - Thousands gathered at many plazas such as Foley Square in Manhattan and headed towards the subway mid-afternoon to, you guessed it, drop their pants as part of a world-wide social networking event. This 11th edition seemingly drew more participants than in previous years for the cheeky event.

Their basic theory was to enter the subway system and undress in waves, giving a shock value to other riders. Somehow, I don't buy the shock value as many laughed at the sight of 'No Pants' on the NYC subway system. Believe it or not, there were rules for the participants:

1. No pants
2. No laughing (admittedly hard to do sometimes)
3. Enter the subway as a group, split up and remove your pants one at a time so it looks like a flower blooming

All in all, four thousand joined in the prank in the Big Apple coordinated by Improv Everywhere. If you missed it this time, check it out next year on the 1st Sunday of January.

NY MTA FASTRACKs Lexington Avenue Line Rail Upgrades

January 9, 2012 - Tonight begins an historic change in how subway right of way maintenance is done. For four consecutive weeknights beginning tonight, a veritable laundry list of 300+ tasks at fifteen Lexington Avenue (4, 5, and 6) stations and associated tunnels between Grand Central-42nd Street station in Manhattan and Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn during a period of completely suspended train service between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. for the 6.7-mile route that encompasses 20 track miles. Passengers are encouraged to use the BMT (N, Q and R), IRT 7th Avenue 2 or 3 lines to/from nearby stations with overnight 3 service extended into Brooklyn. 'The Lex' is the busiest route in New York City and the first to get the FASTRACK treatment.

The ultimate goal is to make and complete track, signal, station repairs more safely and efficiently those hard to get to places without any train service interruptions. Stations, will receive the spot painting, power washing, platform edge repairs, wall tile replacements while the stations are closed. A closed section of a subway line, more work is accomplished at once and at less cost. When this FASTRACK project is complete, NYC Transit will perform an assessment and report to the MTA Board for review.

In a prepared statement, NYC Transit President Thomas F. Prendergast said,"All of this is work that must be done to maintain the safe, smooth and efficient operation of a subway system that runs around the clock, seven days a week. However, by suspending service along line segments, workers can work on and near the tracks without having to interrupt that work every few minutes while a train moves through the area."
 

The Transit Authority's next FASTRACK overnight Monday thru Friday 4-night closure will be on the Seventh Avenue 1, 2 and 3 IRT lines between 34th Street and Atlantic Avenue from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Metro-North Begins Quiet Car Service on New Haven Line Starting Jan 9, 2012

January 3, 2012 - Metro-North advised its New Haven line riders that 'Quiet Car' service on trains between Grand Central and its Danbury, Waterbury and New Haven destinations with flyers. The northern-most car on am peak service and southern-most pm peak select trains will have the new offering. Reverse rush hour trains are not involved in this pilot program.

Commuters on these trains need to follow 4 rules:

• do not use cell phones
• disable sound features on computers and other electronic devices
• conduct conversations in subdued tones
• use headphones at levels that will not be heard by fellow commuters.

The New Haven line joins its sister Harlem and Hudson line trains with the new 'quiet calmute' service designated with a 'Q' on the timetable beginning January 9th.

Quiet car violators will be notified by a conductor with a quiet calmute 'shhh' card that explains the rules in English and Spanish.

The new passenger experience comes on the heels of an announced 19% six years in a row Connecticut line fare increase to cover the cost of the new M-8 emu (electric multiple unit) cars and infrastructure improvements. According to Connecticut Governor Malloy, the implemented January 1 increase is necessary to pay for dependable service and equipment.

Caption: A Metro-North push-pull commuter train from Danbury CT on the lower level of Grand Central Terminal.

Agreement To Build Greek Orthodox Church At Ground Zero/World Trade Center Site Reached

Lower Manhattan, October 14, 2011 - More than a decade after the destruction caused by the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, an agreement was signed between the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the leadership of the Greek Orthodox St. Nicholas Church in Lower Manhattan. The only religious house of worship that was flattened, will be built at 130 Liberty Street instead of at their previous location.

The deal was brokered by Governor Cuomo’s office which effectively was a land swap for a tract of land the Port needed for security reasons. The church's previous site at 155 Cedar Street was exchanged for the nearby former Deutche Bank building plot at 130 Liberty Street. The agreement states that the Port will build a platform the church can build upon, at a cost not to exceed $25 million.

It is unfortunate that a lawsuit and an intervention by Governor Andrew Cuomo was needed to reach this milestone. I look forward to entering this new church dedicated to the patron saint of Bari, Italy - St. Nicholas.

Michael Moore Makes The Schlep To Downtown Brooklyn

Downtown Brooklyn, October 7, 2011 - October means autumn and cooler temperatures in the fading sunlight. Tonight, however, the light was bright and the heat turned up without raising the thermostat. Filmmaker Michael Moore made the trip to Downtown Brooklyn and packed the BookCourt bookstore not only with bodies willing to hear his gospel, but with T and BS (Talk and Book Signing - what else could that mean?) heat with a reading from his book, "Michael Moore - Here Comes Trouble". Mr. Moore is funny and appears to be a good, entertaining writer - a pleasure to hear from and see.

My problem with the seemingly entertaining show is that when this freelance photojournalist requested to take a couple of book signing photos, I was rebuffed. Initially, the body guards with earpieces that reminded me of the earpiece-wearing agents in The Matrix and replied 'no interviews'. When I replied that I asked to take photos of the book signing, I was told I could take photos from the bookshelf along the wall, some distance away. With this kind of treatment, I decided to leave the premises figuring that I would get more flack from the body guards that had no interest in my offer.

Somehow, I can't understand Moore's staff turning down a simple request from a photojournalist looking to make their client look good. But then again, the trip down there was a schlep in the first place!

Prohibition-Era IRT Lo-V Cars As Vintage Limos To Yankee Stadium

Manhattan and Bronx, NY, September 30, 2011 - The cars that were built about the time the old Yankee Stadium was constructed, are once again being used as a private limo for Yankee fans headed to the famed new home for the Bronx Bombers.



Departing about 1 1/2 hours before game time, these wonderful examples of the mass transit days of yore begin the journey from Grand Central-42 Street of the IRT Lexington Avenue line and operate making the usual Woodlawn-Jerome Avenue #4 line stops to the big ball park.

The cost to you? Free with your paid NYC Transit fare. Ride it and enjoy!