Empty Storefronts Filled by the Faithful

Faith in pop ups - The empty store syndrome seems to be having some impact on religion and religious services. In the past two years or so, I've observed two empty storefronts being occupied for religious purposes. About a year or so ago, the empty storefront on Third Ave. and East 71st St. (previously Grace's Marketplace) had Passover services. And what was once a 7/11 store on Grand St. is now home to Chabad of the Lower East Side, which has regularly scheduled religious and Jewish holiday observances and this year they had Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services. In the now-gone 7/11, Grand St. was back to its roots as Rabbi Yisroel Stone blew the shofar in the shul, and several Target shoppers (there's now a Target on the opposite side of the street) stood outside of the storefront shul to hear the sound of the shofar. An interesting 21st century sight and sound experience on the LES.

Stopless on Fifth Avenue - Everybody's lauding 14th St. now that it's virtually a buses-only route. But who gets to pick where the bus stops are placed? Distance between stops has to be a factor in locating them. While the westbound M14 has a stop at the northwest corner of Fifth Ave., there's no stop near Fifth Ave. on the eastbound route between West 14th and Sixth Ave. and East 14th and University Place - and that's a big big span and a long long walk between stops. And lest we forget - taxis and Ubers are no longer an option.

Another bus stop story - This one's uptown at Lexington Ave. between 88th and 89th, where I've bemoaned that the bus timer hasn't been operational since it was put in place about two years ago. Riders relied on apps or the printed M102 and M103 schedules posted at the bus stop. Then one day the schedules were there no more. Gone. Removed - leaving the app-less with no clue as to when the next bus would arrive and suffering pangs of agita as caravans of Limited and Not-in-Service buses passed them by. Then it happened. The timer worked. But only for less than a week. Back to agita.

Marching orders - Nancy Pelosi may have her own ideas about impeaching President Trump, but the Manhattan Republican Party is not taking any chances and is covering its bases and participating in the anti-impeachment rally spearheaded by Women for America First . The "Stop Impeachment Now!" March for Trump is scheduled for October 17th @ 10 AM, and Manhattan GOPers are busing to the U.S. Capitol, Washington, DC, to join other Trump travelers and supporters to make themselves seen and heard.