The Great Recession: How My Life Has Changed by Jamie Flanders

No One Goes Home by Juliana Leucking

Below we’ve put together a map of some BL show listeners’ favorite spots to grab - or linger over- a coffee. Of course the carts and bodegas whose 75 cent cups get us all through the morning are too numerous to map. But we know they are on the personal maps that listeners carry in their heads. One thing is clear, while our listeners lead very different lives, everyone can unite over their love of a good cup of joe. This is an ongoing project, so if you missed the original segment, feel free to tell us your favorite coffee shop in the comments below.

View BL Listeners Coffee Raves in a larger map

The Great Recession: My Life After the Layoff by Jamie Flanders

And a second entry on the state of a midtown library:

Check back here soon for the opportunity to VOTE for your favorite video! The finalists will be screened later this month.

In our last segment, New York subway riders spoke out about what drives them crazy about traveling underground. Our listeners had plenty to say about “ground” rules too. Here it is in a nutshell:

Pay attention, no sudden moves and be consistent with the rules.

A congested Times Square is the perfect place to apply the unspoken rules of getting round on the ground. Photo credit: Nicholas Whitaker (nickdigital on Flickr)

PEDESTRIANS
• Walk in a straight line at constant speed and don’t stop and change directions without looking where you’re going.
• Crossing the street? Look BOTH ways.
• Sidewalks are exactly that – side WALKS. No skaters, scooters, boards or bikes.
• Keep to the right on sidewalks –the cardinal rule for the pedestrian highways.
• Don’t use your pram as a battering ram!
• Texting and walking do not mix!
• A case of the deadly dawdlers– let others pass! That goes especially for shutterbugs, out-of-towners and 4-abreast-ers.
• Don’t buy the shoes if you can’t walk in them.
• Spitters – if you must hawk it up in public, the very least you can do is look before you hurl.
• Point umbrellas towards the ground. And look around you before shaking off the raindrops.
• Granny Carts at the Farmers Market should only are excused if you are buying a whole hog, otherwise keep the hazards at home.
• While you’re waiting for the bus, get your Metrocard or coins ready. And remember your school days? Head to the back of the bus!

CYCLISTS
• Go with the flow of traffic.
• One-way streets apply to you too, people.
• No biking on the running track.
• Bikers, use your bells.
• No running lights.

DRIVERS
• YIELD when turning
• When it’s raining….turning drivers let pedestrians cross the street at the corner. They are wet and miserable. You are dry and comfortable.
• Look around before you open the car door. Taxi passengers, use exit closest to sidewalk.
• Double-parking is just plain dastardly.
• Pull over taxis when letting out and picking up passengers. And don’t pick up your passengers in the intersection or block the crosswalk.
• Side street parking does not require 3 feet on either side. Please pull up.

IT’S ALWAYS NICE TO SAY THANK YOU
Here are some positive listener comments:

“What I like is when parents acknowledge that their kids get in the way when they run around on the sidewalk. a knowing smile or a quiet ’sorry’ is a nice gesture. kids are unaware of being in the way… some sort of small apology goes a long way to diffuse the cranky New Yorker trying to get to work.”

“Thank people who give you the right away (even when it’s yours to begin with). A nod, a wave,
goes a long way”

“Use your bell to get pedestrians out the way, and maybe consider thanking them when they oblige.”

“In NYC we choreograph the streets and sidewalks rather well for a city with so many people, traffic and bustle. Yeah!!!!”

We plan to feature all our video entries on this page in order of appearance. Return to this page to vote soon, then we will screen the finalists in July. Thanks to all the contestants. Your videos have enriched this project with more perspectives and more voices.

Life on Location by Christopher Tignor

Listen by David Marc Fischer

Get the Message by David Marc Fischer

Rooftop Films is excited to be part of this video contest and screen the winning video on top of the city skyline this summer. Their 2009 Summer Series will include 44 events around Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx every weekend from May to September.

Runners up will receive lunch by the Dumpling Diva Marja Samsom at the Kitchen Club in SoHo, or a WNYC gift bag.

Stuck in the Rain by Andrew J. Simmonds submitted on 6-19-09

Make it Rain by Internets Celebrities submitted 6-18-09

Rooftop Films is excited to be part of this video contest and screen the winning video on top of the city skyline this summer. Their 2009 Summer Series will include 44 events around Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx every weekend from May to September.

Runners up will receive lunch by the Dumpling Diva Marja Samsom at the Kitchen Club in SoHo, or a WNYC gift bag.

Last week New York subway riders spoke out about what drives them crazy about traveling underground. Over 200 comments were posted on our website which we have reduced to a simple mantra:

‘Groom, but not on the subway, make room and make way!’

This picture was brought to our attention by Priya George, friend of the show, who happened to be visiting the NYC transit museum the day we did our segment on subway etiquette

And here are some of the most common rules that our listeners’ suggested to put this mantra into practice:

PERSONAL GROOMING
• Body odor is NOT appealing – bathe please! And yes, it’s nice to look your best but we don’t want to see what you need to do to get there, so….

• Absolutely no grooming on the subway. High on the disgust-factor list are:
o Nail clipping (there’s even one report of TOE-nail clipping)
o Nail polishing
o Make-up application
o Teeth flossing

MAKE ROOM
• Spread eagle legs that take up more than one seat – you’re causing people to go insane! (gentlemen, it seems you’re the main culprits)
• Pole-leaners – where’s your backbone, you slouchers?
• Those of you who don’t remove your backpacks in a crowded subway – do you know how unpopular you are?
• When carrying shopping bags, a satchel, etc., put them on the floor, not in the seat beside you.
• No full-fold paper reading during rush hour
• Whose seat is it anyway? If a seat opens up directly in front of you, this means you have first dibs on that seat. You have the right to sit there yourself or give it to someone else. No one should sneak in without your permission.

MAKE WAY
• Push in to the middle of the carriage – do not block the doorways.
• Wait for people to get off before you get on please.
• Don’t cut people off who have been waiting on the platform before you.
• Don’t stand in the stairwell leading down to the subway to talk on your cellphone.
• Don’t stop once you reach the top of the subway stairs to look around.
• Don’t block the turnstiles while digging for your metro card.
• Keep moving in the subway station. Don’t dawdle at the top of stairs if you’re lost and don’t stop to check your voice mail to the detriment of everyone behind you.

AND FINALLY – HOW ABOUT SOME GOOD OLD FASHIONED MANNERS?
• Give up your seat to pregnant ladies, the elderly and the disabled. Pretending to be asleep fools noone!
• The old rule for PDAs still stand – get a room!
• No spitting
• Coughing or sneezing? Use a hankie!
• Vulgar language is not acceptable
• Headphones are for a reason – dial it down.
• Eating smelly food and drinking hot drinks on the subway – not cool.
• Parenting your kids at the top of your voice – they’re not that cute to the rest of us.
• Apologize or say ‘excuse’ me when you smack someone with a bag, bump them or step on their feet. A kind acknowledgement of those around you, a small apology and a smile will go a long way.
• And a soft-hearted word from one harried veteran to another about naive and clueless non-natives who clog the subways: “Do not snort at out-of-towners or people doing something that bothers you: if you have a problem just tell them or if you do, don’t wait until you are about to get off the train - that is lame.”

IT’S ALWAYS NICE TO HEAR ‘THANK YOU’
Some positive experiences listeners shared:
• I see people offer up seats all the time (A line uptown). just last nite a guy got up so I could sit since I was wearing high heels.
• As a white-haired old lady (76) in perfectly good health, I get a bit annoyed when people offer me their seat, ALTHOUGH I ADMIRE THEIR GOOD MANNERS AND SAY NO THANK YOU WITH A BIG SMILE.
• I have a six month-old baby, and I am continually amazed at how many people go out of their way to help me by giving me a seat in the subway or carrying my stroller for me. One guy was coming UP the stairs to the street and saw me preparing to come down into the 103rd street station. He turned around, carried my stroller back down, and even swiped his own card to get me through the turnstile and down the stairs to the platform. When I was pregnant, people regularly gave up their seats to me. To all of you out there who do things like this, THANK YOU!

F.G. Illustrated: Hala Hala’s Uncommon Economic Indicator from Isaac Littlejohn Eddy.

Why a video contest? We’ve enjoyed reading and hearing your observations on the recession. Now we want to see them. By screening the finalists to our live WNYC audience and to the larger audience with Rooftop Films, together we are telling the story about how the economy is affecting all of us.

Your video doesn’t have to be fancy. Just make it a personal observation on an event, behavior or change caused by the economic crises. Use the recording equipment you have, think about how to tell us what you know, and send in the video.

Click Here: Official Rules and Instructions

Rooftop Films is excited to be part of this video contest and screen the winning video on top of the city skyline this summer. Their 2009 Summer Series will include 44 events around Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx every weekend from May to September.

Runners up will receive lunch by the Dumpling Diva Marja Samsom at the Kitchen Club in SoHo, or a WNYC gift bag.