The Omnibus Roundup: Thanksgiving Edition

1938 Macy’s Day Parade, Clown Float With 68′ Nose. Found on ziegfeldgirl via designrelated.com.

Happy Thanksgiving Eve everyone! Instead of our usual Wednesday feature, today we send you off into the holiday weekend with an early edition of the weekly Omnibus roundup. To get in the spirit for the parade to end all urban parades, check out Macy’s online timeline of the event, browse through some excellent vintage photos of past parades, and make sure to scout out a curb-side spot on the new route (the path has been changed due to parts of Broadway being closed to vehicular traffic).

A little off the parade route, but still noteworthy, Atlantic Yards is staying in the news: the State Court of Appeals approved the use of eminent domain in a 6-to-1 vote. Matt Chaban at the Architect’s Newspaper and Norman Oder at Atlantic Yards Report give us a rundown of what happened (with some FAQ about the issue to boot), and Oder reminds us that the project’s opponents aren’t done fighting.

If last weekend’s New York Times piece on sewer overflow makes you uneasy every time you see a forecast of rain, find a little hope in coverage on the Freshkills Park Blog of the EPA’s testing of porous paving materials, which could help combat storm water runoff from streets and parking lots. The EPA is testing different materials in New Jersey, but we’ve already seen that New York City is starting to show some stormwater management skills too.

Attention Bronx residents, the Mayor of Melrose wants your input. What do you think should happen to the old Bronx Courthouse? The owner of the building wants to know what the residents that the building might serve need and want in their neighborhood. Ideas so far include a kind of Chelsea Market for the Bronx, or a Barnes and Noble to fill a noticeable bookstore gap in the area. Chime in with your ideas on Welcome to the Village of Melrose. (via Curbed)

The Department of City Planning has announced a new proposal meant to encourage inviting, walkable sidewalks – a restriction on turning front yards into parking spots and a tightening of planting requirements on some residential properties. Next up, community board approval, then back to the City Planning Commission and the City Council. Stay tuned.

Before we take off for turkey and pumpkin pie, congratulations are in order for Carmen and Jenny, aka fluxxlab, who are featured in GOOD’s new IBM-sponsored video series. Watch the video below and go back for a reread of their Omni-feature from this past April.

Have a great holiday weekend! We’ll be back on Monday.

The Roundup keeps you up to date with topics we’ve featured and other things we think are worth knowing about.