No trash cans? Rats!

Perhaps you’ve seen these signs popping up in a few stations around the city. If you have, you’ve probably seen them covered in graffiti to the tune of “ARE YOU FRICKIN KIDDING ME?” and “TAKING AWAY TRASH CANS TO PREVENT LITTER IS LIKE TAKING AWAY MEDICINE TO ELIMINATE GONORRHEA.” The MTA has been trying out this program to cut down on the amount of trash and rodents in subway stations by eliminating … trash cans. The MTA claims this counter-intuitive measure has worked in other cities. Starting Sept. 2, they’re expanding the program and getting rid of trash cans in two Brooklyn stations (they haven’t said which ones yet). So do you think this will work? Or are you just going to throw your trash on the tracks?

Via Gorilla Coffee's Twitter.

Happy Bike to Work Day! Did you do it? I tried, but the vehicle traffic between my bed and the desk in my bedroom was a bit more intense than usual today. Did you encounter the existential woe of working in a part of the city where there’s just no where to park your damn bike, like Conal did? The oppositie seems to be the case here in Brooklyn, where new on-street bike parking racks have been popping up in different neighborhoods. We spotted one in Fort Greene on Wednesday; yesterday the DOT installed a set in front of Gorilla Coffee on Fifth Avenue. Where once there was a vehicle parking space, you can now eight or more bikes. (more…)

CitiBank bikes, via DamianoDeMonte.

While we’ve all been eagerly awaiting the launch of NYC’s first bike share program this summer, today’s news may flatten your tires of expectation a little bit. The city announced this morning that CitiBank will be the official sponsor of the program, brandishing its corporate logo all over the 10,000 blue bikes set to hit the streets. So the whole bike share thing is meant to be a groovy triumph of urban living, a thing you can hop on instead of so much overpriced livery cab, pedal to your destination and park it for the next biker to use, easy peesy lemon squeezy. But CitiBank hasn’t exactly been a friend to brokesters these past few years, especially not as Occupy has targeted it for perpetuating that particular brand of Big Bank Douchebaggery that defined the financial crisis. Would you ever roll up to an Occupy rally this summer on your shiny new CitiBank bike? (more…)

Uppleva, down with wires.

You know how on 30 Rock, Kabletown, NBC’s fictional parent company, is getting into the couch building business so they control every aspect of your home entertainment? This is kind of like that, but in reverse, and with a Swedish accent. Ikea announced it’s introducing a not-a-TV, not-a-piece-of-furniture device called the Uppleva, which is an all-in-one TV stand containing a Blue Ray player, speakers, a wireless subwoofer, and, in sleek Swedish style, a place to hide all your wires and connections. It’s hitting the market in the fall, with prices starting at $960 for the whole shebang. Is this a good deal for a TV? Would it break your very Brooklyn-y anti-TV prohibition in your home? Does it come pre-loaded with HBO so you can watch that hot new 20-something fantasy Girls of Thrones?

[via engadget]

Today we introduce a new feature called “Like it or Spike It?” Here, we invite your opinion on deeply pertinent issues and controversies of the day. Kicking off today’s edition is wearable plants. The practice of wearing a flower pot around your neck does seem to be on the rise, however unscientific the data. Fab.com (leeerrv) this week is featuring two different plant necklace sales, and, well, when was the last time they did that? You can buy a cactus in a little bell jar from a company called GemSprouts, and an assortment of potted foliage from Wearable Planter. But does a bit of flora about the neck make for attractive jewelry?

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