Mets (National League baseball team)
The 1962-present National League "Mets" share the same name as a baseball team from the 1880s. It's a shortened form of "Metropolitan."…
Liberty (WNBA women’s basketball team)
The New York Liberty played its first season in the WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) in 1997. The Statue of Liberty is on the team's logo, so the nickname's meaning is…
April 1st & the Bronx Zoo (Telephone Hoax)
It's April 1st. You see a note on your desk to call a Mr. Lyon. Or Mr. Wolf. Or Mr. Katz. Don't do it! It's not known if this telephone hoax began in New York, but it certainly may…
Checker Cab
The "Checker" cab is gone from the streets of New York. But it was New York. It was big, roomy, with checkered stripes on the sides. Go rent the movie Taxi Driver right now. Or you could…
Metronome
"Metronome" is that hideous thing of smoke and numbers and a needle on the Virgin Megastore building on Union Square South. It was installed in 1999 and perhaps we should give it time,…
St. John the Unfinished (St. John the Divine)
The Cathedral church of St. John the Divine on Morningside Heights (110th Street and Amsterdam Avenue) was started in the 1890s and is still not finished. It's been called St. John('s)…
Curse of the Bambino
The Boston Red Sox won the 2004 baseball World Series. Apparently, this curse does not exist. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_the_BambinoThe Curse of the Bambino was an urban myth or…
Our Lady of New York
"Our Lady of New York" is the statue in an altar at St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue. Unless you're referring to the Botero. 14 April 1942, New York Times, pg.…
Little Ireland (New York City nickname)
Little Ireland? That's not a neighborhood -- that's New York City! "'Little Ireland,' sometimes known as the city of New-York" was cited in print in 1891. The Bronx…
Kings (Brooklyn USBL basketball team)
The Brooklyn Nets have been the talk of the borough, but there already is a professional basketball team in Brooklyn. The Brooklyn Kings (United States Basketball League) began in 1999. The name is…
Business Improvement District (BID)
The "Business Imrpovement District" (BID) idea started in the early 1980s and soon sprouted everywhere. Other cities across the country now have them. Area residents agree to an increased…
Yankees (Staten Island baseball team); Baby Bombers
The Staten Island Yankees are the Class A farm team of the New York Yankees. (See the "Yankees" entry above.) The team began playing in 1999 and has a website (http://siyanks.com). The…
Cyclones (Brooklyn baseball team)
The Brooklyn Cyclones are the Mets farm team - named after a Coney Island roller coaster! They play in Class A of the New York-Penn League.…
“The Company You Keep” (New York Life)
"The Company You Keep" has been the slogan of New York Life since 1989. NYL is one of New York's oldest companies, dating back to 1845. The New York Life building on Madison Square…
Fire Buff
The word "buff" now can mean a "movie buff" or a "sports buff," but it all began with the "fire buff" in New York City. "Buff" is short for…
Courtesy - Professionalism - Respect (CPR)
"Courtesy - Professionalism - Respect" (CPR) can be found painted on the sides of police cars. It's a program from 1996, started just as groups such as Amnesty International made…
Cuchifrito
"Cuchifrito" are small, fried parts of a pig. Stores with "cuchifritos" signs have dotted the Puerto Rican areas of New York City for the past fifty years. Amazingly, the word…
“The true administration of justice is the firmest pillar of good government”
"The true administration of justice is the firmest pillar of good government" is on top of all those Corinthian columns on the New York State Supreme Courthouse, in Foley Square (60…
YOU CAN HELP! REALLY!!
Write to the mayor! Letters are probably better, but e-mail is good, also! Tell him about this website and about my 12-year campaign to run for "public advocate," and ask him if I have…
Lollypop/Lollipop (2 Columbus Circle)
Two Columbus Circle has been called the "lollipop building." It's also been called much worse. People hate it. It's in a very important area, especially since the building of…