Brooklyn 11211

Further to the discussion yesterday about the idiocy of naming your new condominium development after a light switch, it is worth pointing out that the (shudder) Decora was designed by the same architect that brought us the Lucent. I have no idea if the same marketing geniuses are behind both projects, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the same folks who would name their new condominium development after a recently bankrupt casualty of the dot-com boom would also name a development after a line of lighting fixtures available at the local Home Depot.

But lest you think stupid branding decisions are limited to only to ugly Brooklyn condominium projects, they are not. Take, for instance, Xerox – the venerable office technology company. Clearly, their pixellated “X” logo was not cutting it, so they turned to Interbrand, who came up with a cutting-edge X-on-a-ball logo. Surely they have a good reason for this change:

Our new brand reflects who we are [the Danish national football team?], the markets we serve and the innovation that differentiates us in our industry. We have expanded into new markets, created new businesses, acquired new capabilities, developed technologies that launched new industries — all to ensure we make it easier, faster, and less costly for our customers to share information

Congratulations, now no one has the faintest idea what the hell you sell.

If that meaningless marketing babble sounds familiar, chances are you’ve been going to open houses in the neighborhood:

Warehouse 11 [warning – highly annoying techno loop] debuts 120 designer living environments—studios, one- and two-bedrooms—dreamt up by the noted Andres Escobar & Associates. All created with a whimsically artistic, outside-the-lines approach. Crisscrossing Chic Industrial and Sumptuous Modern in Williamsburg’s oh-so-sweet Bedford Avenue/McCarren Park location.

Clearly, our nation’s marketers have run out of words. And ideas.

This is too damn easy:

We’ve been watching this scary unique building 165 N. 10 Street in the Burg unfold ever since we laid eyes on the rendering […] from the drawing boards of Gene Kaufman Architect… In the meantime, the building is now being identified as The Decora… [Curbed]

Kaufman’s Decora:

Leviton’s Decora light fixture:

Listening to New & Notes on NPR just now, a caller phoned in to discuss the state of the Democratic primary (Hillary & Barack). The caller noted that he was a life-long independent, but had switched his party affiliation this year. He joined the Republican party just so he could vote against Rudy Giuliani in the primary.

Nice.

NYT has a another update on the ferry closure (and the new operators for the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island ferries). According to Tom Fox, owner of NY Water Taxi, Schaefer Landing’s developer has been paying to subsidize service, but even that is not enough to cover costs. (No word here on whether or not any developers in LIC are also subsidizing the water taxi.) Also, news that the City does have funds available that might be used for an operational subsidy.

The article includes a photo of deckhands Damien and Ali from the afternoon shift. Last I heard, they were still unemployed as of New Year’s Day.

Whoa – states other than Iowa may have a say in who the next President will be? What’s this country coming to?

This Washington Post article has been getting a lot of play, and from a pretty diverse group of bloggers (like here, here, and here – not to mention every tech blog on the planet). (It also looks as though the suit in question is not over copying CDs, but rather downloading. Regardless, RIAA goes on record saying that copying CDs is illegal.)

None of this should be a surprise – the original drafts of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act tried to make it illegal to copy any digital content. Whether that made it into the final Act, I don’t know, but that was certainly the position of the content-provision industry all along.

And why not? This is an industry whose entire business model for the past quarter century has been based on selling you stuff you already own. In the 80s, they sold you CDs to replace the records you already bought. Every Christmas since, they repackage greatest hits compilations to sell you more stuff that you probably already own. Now they want us to pay to download music that we probably already own in two or three different formats and on two or three different albums. With a business model like that, suing your customers makes a hell of a lot more sense than trying to come up with a quality product worth buying.

In the comments section of my last post, Cap’n Transit points to an entry on his blog that brings up an aspect of making connections to the ferry that I had not considered. Namely, that the ferry companies do it. The Cap’n mentions the success that New York Waterway (the “Jersey ferry”) has had with running shuttle buses both in Manhattan and New Jersey. Imperatore and company figured out long ago that without connections on the land side, ferries were really only useful to people who lived and worked within a short walk of the ferry. By providing an extensive shuttle service on land, NYWW has greatly expanded its customer base. By doing so, they effectively eliminate the need to get on public transit in Manhattan, thus eliminating the two fare problem (in the process, though, adding to the congestion on Manhattan streets).1

I’d recommend reading Cap’n Transit’s original blog post (Water Taxi: What If?). He also touches on the issue of accessibility that I discussed, but from the point of view of LIC commuters. The formula remains the same (live near the ferry, work near the ferry – no problem), he just provides more and different examples. The rest of the blog is also worth a tour.

1. NYWW has an advantage over New York Water Taxi (the “East River ferry”), in that NYWW is a much bigger operation, and can thus better afford to run an extensive shuttle service. The incremental cost per fare (which is surely included in the fare) is thus pretty negligible.↩

Today’s Times, talking about commuting, has this:

Or look at the New York Water Taxi, which started a route from Red Hook to Wall Street last year. Five years ago that circuit wasn’t necessary. But the perpetual “next big neighborhood” has sprouted not only a gourmet grocery store but also a community that shops there.

“The stop has two things,” said Tom Fox, president of New York Water Taxi, who worked with Fairway and local developers to create the service. “It has a new population in Red Hook that is going to Wall Street, and second it’s got Fairway which draws people to Red Hook, so there’s a potential for travel to and from the location.”

What both the Times and Fox fail to point out is that New York Water Taxi suspended its Red Hook service last week. Even though they keep their boats in Red Hook, its still not worth picking up passengers there.

(The Red Hook service is different from the East River service, which is to be suspended this week.)

Councilmember David Yassky at the NYWT press conference.

On Saturday there was a press conference at Schaeffer Landing to push for the preservation of NY Water Taxi service through the winter. The press conference was held by Council members Eric Gioia (Queens) and David Yassky (Brooklyn), and was attended by 30 or 40 water taxi patrons.

Between them, Gioia and Yassky probably represent 90% of the commuters on the water taxi. Both pols were pushing the Bloomberg administration to subsidize the water taxi to keep it operation. Gioia noted, quite rightly, that we should be “expanding water access, not cutting back”.

No doubt, the water taxi is an important adjunct to local mass transit. More important, though, it is an important perk for luxury waterfront development. As a frequent, though not regular, patron of the water taxi, I certainly hope that it will be back in business soon (like, next Wednesday). But before the subsidies start flowing, lets recognize some of the shortcomings of the water taxi, and see if maybe government can’t step in smartly.

First, the water taxi is not cheap. The current fare from Schaeffer Landing to Wall Street is about $5.00 each way if you buy tickets in lots of 10. There is a monthly commuter pass, but that costs just under $200.

Second, the water taxi is only convenient to places near the water. Unless you live AND work near a water taxi stop, you’ll need to add in the cost of a bus or subway, which will take your daily commute (round trip) to $14. So unless (like me) you live AND work reasonably close to the water taxi, a daily commute will run you 3.5 times the cost of a subway commute (even without the added cost of a subway/bus connection, the water taxi is 2.5 times the cost of mass transit).

Third, the water taxi runs hourly, three times in the morning and four times in the evening. The latest run out of Schaeffer Landing each morning is 9:20. Fine if you work banker hours, not so hot if you don’t.

That means that for the water taxi to be viable without a double fare, you probably live near the waterfront in northern Brooklyn Heights, southern Dumbo, southern Williamsburg, or southern Long Island City, and you work either in Lower Manhattan or in the far east 30s (Bellvue/NYU hospital area). But you don’t work any of the swing shifts at Bellvue/NYU, and you may not be one of the increasing numbers of non-fiancial types working in the financial district.

(And I’ll add in a fourth shortcoming – the water taxi is not always the most reliable means of transport. I’ve had it show up 40 minutes late for an evening run. And with no notice as to when the boat will actually show.)

All that said, the water taxi is a great resource. Between the JMZ and the water taxi (and the occasional ride across the Williamsburg Bridge), my reliance on the L train in the past year has become occasional at best. The JMZ is still the preferred means of transit (when I’m not on two wheels), but I take the water taxi about a third of the time. And it is by far the quickest and most relaxing way to get to the city – from Williamsurg, its 10 minutes to Wall Street (about 3 minutes from Fulton Ferry) – and the whole way you are able to sit back and watch the city float by.

But taking into account all of the above, how should we city subsidize the water taxi (if it should). First off, I think that the people that should be stepping up to the plate with wallets open are the developers and condo associations of waterfront property. The developers have sold (or are selling) their luxury units on the basis of convenient access to the city via water taxi. They (and the condo owners themselves) have the most to lost if the water taxi disappears, or (just as bad) becomes a seasonal means of transport. So in terms of direct subsidies to keep the water taxi running all year long, most, if not all of any subsidies should be coming from them.

The city, though, should recognize the value of the water taxi. It takes commuters off already crowded subway lines (like the L and the 7). It makes previously remote areas of the city more accessible and more open to new development (and the more profitable those developments are, the better they will be able to support the affordable housing components that are part and parcel of the development). What the city should try to subsidize is a viable water taxi system that integrates with the existing mass transit system (i.e., free transfers), expands service (i.e., longer hours) and makes the service more affordable (i.e., lower fares in general).

In terms of lowering fares, the city’s help here should be temporary. As water taxi service expands, and more waterfront developments come on line, basic economics says that the cost per ride should come down. How far it comes down is another question, but it should come down. But until the water taxi achieves that level of viability, there is a public interest served in subsidizing service (even if it be through loans rather than direct subsidies). Until then, I’ll be taking the J train or (weather permitting) the bridge.

More here:
Pol urges Mike to shore up river taxi [NYDN]
Lawmakers call on city to subsidize water taxis [7Online]
Local Lawmakers Call On City To Offer Water Taxi Service [NY1]
Lawmakers call on city to subsidize water taxis [Newsday]

Bridge Vineyards on Long Island is opening a tasting room at 20 Broadway.