Maya Pope-Chappell

Bowery Lighting District Goes Dim

Maya J. Pope-Chappell — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:27:18 PST

Kwang Sung Lee has worked in the lighting district on Bowery Street in Manhattan since the 1980s. The store owner is one of the survivors, for now, in one of Manhattan's declining specialty districts.

NJ Bear Hunting Big Business for Taxidermists

Maya J. Pope-Chappell — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:25:07 PST

Taxidermists are cashing in on December's six-day bear hunt in New Jersey. Prices can run anywhere from $580 for a head mount to $2,600 for an entire stuffed bear.

After Long Hibernation, Taxidermists Make a Killing During Bear Season

Maya J. Pope-Chappell — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:23:19 PST

For New Jersey's legion of tax accountants, boom times come once a year. But local taxidermists can wait for years at a stretch for their biggest moneymaker: bear-hunting season.

Lost, and Found, After Zuccotti Raid

Maya J. Pope-Chappell — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:28:11 PST

The stuff that made Zuccotti Park into an ad-hoc home for protesters accumulated gradually over two months, but it took city workers just a few hours and 26 trucks to haul it all away.

Now the raw materials of the protest encampment occupy a Department of Sanitation garage on West 56th Street, where property owners have until Tuesday afternoon—one week after the raid—to find their confiscated possessions and stake their claims.

PCB Leaks Found in 3 More Schools

Maya J. Pope-Chappell — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 19:27:39 PST

Three schools sharing a single Manhattan building joined the growing list of public schools where spot inspections have revealed elevated levels of polychlorinated byphenyls, or PCBs, leaking from aging light fixtures, the Environmental Protection Agency said Monday.

PCB Q&A: How Toxins Ended Up in City Schools Search Metropolis

Maya J. Pope-Chappell — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 19:26:20 PST

As many as two-thirds of public schools in New York City use the same type of fluorescent lights known to contain PCBs, according to a document prepared by the city’s Department of Education and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

N.Y. Home Becomes a TV Star on ‘Lights Out’

Maya J. Pope-Chappell — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 19:23:53 PST

Glenn and Francine Aber live with a television star: their house. While the Abers own the Harrison, N.Y., mansion in real life, it’s the fictional property of Patrick “Lights” Leary in the new FX boxing drama “Lights Out,” which premieres Tuesday night.

A Rent Party Revival During Hard Times

Maya J. Pope-Chappell — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 19:21:59 PST

A vase half full of money rested on a cluttered table inside Susan Kramer’s apartment, like a tip jar at a café. But instead of patrons chipping in for counter service, house guests tossed in money to help cover the rent.

Ex-Drug Dealer Ricky Ross Pushing Indie Film About His Life

Maya J. Pope-Chappell — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 19:19:24 PST

After shopping his story to major movie houses in Hollywood, “Freeway” Ricky Ross, has decided to go independent. “I’ve met with almost everyone in Hollywood,” said Ross, who was a mastermind of the crack-cocaine trade in Los Angeles in the 1980s. “All of them wanted to do the story but they didn’t want to pay me. I don’t think that they really respect my value or the value of my story.”

Who’s on Broadway? White Women Tourists

Maya J. Pope-Chappell — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 19:13:40 PST

Broadway is full of tourists. That’s the completely unsurprising finding from a demographic study of the 11.89 million theatergoers during the 2009-10 season. The vast majority of the Broadway audience — 63% — is domestic and international travelers, about the same as last year, according to the report released Wednesday by the Broadway League.

Big Bear Jackpot: Q&A With a New Jersey Hunter

Maya J. Pope-Chappell — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 19:09:36 PST

Joe Piserchia will be busy butchering a black bear for the next few hours. The 44-year-old hunter, reached by phone at his home in New Jersey, used a 12-gauge shotgun to bring down one of the largest bears on the first day of the state’s controversial hunt, which began Monday.

Search Metropolis

Maya J. Pope-Chappell — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 19:06:42 PST

For some Jews, drawing unfavorable comparisons between the second-tier Hanukah holiday and the Christmas juggernaut is a venerable seasonal tradition. And the hapless dreidel, a four-sided top meant to be enjoyed by children, often comes in for the harshest intra-faith abuse.

A Brooklyn Panda Made for Punching

Maya J. Pope-Chappell — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 19:05:15 PST

A man in panda costume has been punched repeatedly by strangers on the streets of Brooklyn. One passerby even delivered a roundhouse kick into the panda’s midsection. This isn’t part of some bizarre anti-mascot crime wave. Nate Hill, the man in the panda suit, invites the abuse. The violence he endures as Punch Me Panda is art, he says.

Odd Jobs: Keeping Brooklyn’s Gas Lamps Lit

Maya J. Pope-Chappell — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 19:01:11 PST

Allen McCullough has been fixing gas lamps outside Brooklyn brownstones on and off for the past 20 years, ever since he first moved to the Park Slope neighborhood. “When I see a lamp that’s not working, I just wonder why,” he says. “I like to see things do what they are intended to do.”

City History, in the Mail

Maya J. Pope-Chappell — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 18:59:03 PST

Before traveling to New York in 1976, Andreas Adam's only knowledge of the metropolis was from his collection of postcards. As Switzerland-born resident of London, Mr. Adam began amassing postcards of skyscrapers from flea markets in 1971, after earning a degree in architecture.

Cooking Up City Water in Florida

Maya J. Pope-Chappell — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 18:55:23 PST

The water-filtration system at Joey Lograsso's pizzeria in Lake Worth, Fla., is designed to produce a replica of New York City's vaunted tap water, believed by aficionados to improve the quality and taste of baked goods.

Trash Tours: Off-Limits Waste Facilities Welcome the Curious

Maya J. Pope-Chappell — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 18:50:17 PST

If you’ve ever contemplated the fate of your discarded leftovers or the trajectory of your toilet water, some of the tours offered this weekend as part of Open House New York can help lay your curiosity to rest.

The Subway Social Network Search Metropolis

Maya J. Pope-Chappell — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 18:48:40 PST

There are few socially acceptable reasons to speak to strangers on New York City’s subways during the morning commute. Almost none, in fact. But that doesn’t stop Solomon Lederer. His speech to a crowded B-train car could almost be mistaken for the interruptions already familiar to transit riders.

Low-End Homes in 5 Boroughs

Maya J. Pope-Chappell — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 18:44:12 PST

The cheapest property on the market in New York City right now is a 300-square-foot studio co-op in a six-story brick building in the Bronx's Fordham Manor. The kitchen needs an update, but Midtown is only a 45-minute subway ride away. The cost: $45,000.

Bedford-Stuyvesant: Buyers Have Upper Hand

Maya J. Pope-Chappell — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 18:41:43 PST

Bedford-Stuyvesant real estate, which enjoyed a mini-renaissance during the boom years, has gotten hit especially hard by the downturn. But that means there are more bargains for home buyers, some of them on display in open houses this weekend.