Just when you though this was the 1 New York project that wouldn't have any controversy.

JANUARY 12, 2008

In case you've never heard of it...

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I guess management must be worried that the scaffolding will confuse tourists into walking right by without realizing it's the ESB.

I only wish that were the case. As much as I love the ESB, I think the owners should be fined by the city everytime 5th Avenue out front becomes too congested to even walk by. The stream of tourists and the line could be managed a lot better than it currently is. There are some people who would actually like to walk on that sidewalk.

I guess things are only going to get worse:

New York City hits tourism record


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A view of lower Manhattan from the observation deck at the Empire State Building in New York City. (flicker.com)

NEW YORK (AP) - New York City tourism officials say with a falling dollar sweetening the deal for international travelers, a record-setting number of tourists visited the city last year. They spent an estimated $28 billion.

The tourism office estimates 46 million people had visited the city in 2007-- up five percent from 2006.

The jump was largely due to visitors from other countries, who numbered an estimated 8.5 million -- a growth of 17 percent.

But the head of the city tourism office says more than the exchange rate is behind the tourism boom. He says the city is more vibrant, cleaner, safer and exciting than ever before.

New York is one of only a few U.S. urban centers that did not see a drop in the number of overseas visitors between 2000 and 2006.

(whptv.com)

I don't mind all of the tourists in the city, I just wish someone taught them how to walk! It's a moving city. I don't even stop moving to take my photos.

maybe sometimes you get anoyed by tourist, maybe i do sometimes... but u have to think what happen when u go to another city as tourist? dont u stop to take photos? dont you walk slower than in NY? dont u like to look the surroundings?

NO, because I'm not an idiot, and I know that if Im standing on the sidewalk in the middle of a city, there's probably going to be people walking that might actually want to get by. Again, its called a sidewalk, not a sidestand-oblivious-to-the-world-around-you-like-a-complete-moron-walk. You'd do well to remember that when or if you enter the city. You don't have to block pedestrians to take photos.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wi...,5061452.story

Parachutist says Empire State Building officials defamed him

By SAMUEL MAULL
January 15, 2008

NEW YORK - A former TV host who tried to parachute from the 86th-floor observation deck of the Empire State Building is suing the skyscraper's operators for $12 million, claiming they defamed him by saying he acted illegally.

Jeb Corliss, of Malibu, Calif., says in court papers that the 102-story landmark's operators knew when they made the statement that a judge had dismissed the charge that had been filed against him after his arrest.

Corliss' lawyer, Mark Jay Heller, said no law prohibits jumping from the Empire State Building or any other city structure. He said no signs in the building or statements on visitors' tickets warn against jumping.

Corliss was arrested in April 2006 after he climbed a fence around the observation deck but before he could jump. Days later, he was fired as host of the Discovery Channel's "Stunt Junkies" show.

Corliss, 31, was disguised in a mask and a fat suit. Under the padding he wore a black jump suit and the parachute. He also wore a helmet topped with a camera so he could record the planned plunge.

He said that after security guards handcuffed him to the fence, a police officer saved his life by cutting the parachute rig off his body. He said he explained that he would be killed if the parachute opened because it would jerk his body away from the building and tear his arms out of his shoulders.

In January 2007, state Supreme Court Justice Michael Ambrecht dismissed the indictment against Corliss, saying his actions did not rise to the level of first-degree reckless endangerment, the only crime for which he was indicted.

Heller said outside Manhattan's state Supreme Court, where he filed the lawsuit, that the judge clearly said his client's conduct "was not unlawful."

"They (building officials) said he acted illegally," Heller said. "He did not, and it was defamation for them to allege that he did."

A spokeswoman for the Empire State Building said she had no comment on Corliss' lawsuit.

Last week, the district attorney's office asked a state appeals court to reinstate the charge against Corliss. The court said it would decide later.

Heller also denounced prosecutors for charging Corliss, saying, "It was inappropriate for the district attorney's office to manipulate statutes and try to use reckless endangerment to put my client in jail."

Empire State Building officials filed a $12 million lawsuit last April against Corliss, claiming his stunt attempt was illegal and dangerous and caused the building economic loss, damaged its reputation as a safe venue and caused injury to security guards who stopped him during a struggle. The lawsuit is pending.

Corliss claims to have more than 1,000 BASE (building, antenna, span, earth) parachute jumps. He said Tuesday these included a leap from the Eiffel Tower in Paris and from the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which, at 1,482 feet, were the world's tallest buildings from 1998 to 2004.

edit

Puny buildings...;)

By Taylor..>3

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To think someone posted a comment that THIS is "ill proportioned."

It couldn't be more classically perfect if it was designed by the ancient Greeks. I hope this particular view is NEVER obscured.

It doesn't get more perfect than that.

Amen.

I would have to say it is a perfect tower. There is no doubt that it is a wonder of the world.

Overlawyered.com

Suit: You kept me from jumping off the Empire State Building

Jeb Corliss is a professional stuntman and BASE jumper who has parachuted from the Eiffel Tower, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, but apparently none of his stunts compared to the trauma of being forbidden from jumping off the Empire State Building in 2006: he's sued for $30 million, complaining that the stress of being handcuffed to the railing (after security officers pulled him down as he was climbing over the safety railing) has caused "emotional distress" and "adrenal fatigue." The suit is a counterclaim to a suit the building filed against Corliss (for an only slightly less implausible $12 million) meant to deter other jumpers from endangering third parties; a judge had dismissed reckless endangerment criminal charges on grounds that Corliss wouldn't actually endanger anyone by jumping, a ruling the city is appealing.

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(fahad.com)

- That's Jeb in his amazing flight suit... taking a dive.

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(wykop.pl)

Look! Up in the sky! It's a Bird! No, it's a Plane! NO, it's... a SQUIRREL!

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(isntlifeterrible.com)

:laugh:

Photo by arvind1981

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Beware evildoers. SuperPigeon keeps an ever vigilant eye over the Big Apple...

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Photo by pimvandenheuvel

New York's magnificent bridges are some of the most under-appreciated examples of architecture in the world.