Will Smith's Movie Trailer in New York City

Happy spring, blog buddies. I am posting an ABC News segment from this morning about Will Smith's large trailer parked in New York City's SoHo neighborhood where he is filming Men in Black 3. Some of the areas residents filed complaints about the size of his trailer and the city has decided to make him move it. From this interview, some say it harms the environment in the neighborhood, while others say it adds excitement to the day and is part of life in the city. One man even adds that this is what Smith needs in order to make his movies (in addition to another nearby trailer he uses as a gym).

So, I turn to you, blog readers. What do you think?

Co-Anchoring the Live "NYU Tonight" News Broadcast

I co-anchored NYU Tonight's live weekly night news broadcast on March 25, 2010.

I've had requests to see it, so here's the video.

Artistic Statues Mistaken for Suicidal Jumpers

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER

What looked like a naked man stood extremely close to the edge of the Empire State Building's 26th floor. His naked body was rigid and tipped forward. A woman looked up and screamed, "Oh my god! Someone call 911! He's going to jump!

But it wasn't a suicidal man. It was a statue. 

The statue is one of 31 statues that make up the "Event Horizons" art exhibit, created by British artist Antony Gormley. Each statue is 6 feet 2 inches tall and can be found on ledges and rooftops of buildings, while four of them are at eye-level around Madison Square Park. The statues are causing confusion to many New Yorkers.

"I don't get why it's naked or who this is," David Park, 75, said as he tapped the legs of a statue with his wooden cane. 

The metal statues, brought in by the Madison Square Park Conservatory, were made from a mold of Gormley's body. They appear rusted and stiff, with their arms to their sides and fingers pressed tightly together, as if Gormley was in a tense pose when the figure was cast. The statues on the ground are looking straight ahead, while the ones on the building ledges are looking down at the streets below.

Details on the faces of the statues are minimal - the eyes appear to be shut and there is no facial expression or lips. There are eight flat circular knobs, about the size of silver dollars, which were used during removal of the molds from Gormley's body.

While the figures on the ground are made of iron and weigh around 1,400 pounds, the ones on the buildings are made mostly of fiberglass and weigh about 75 pounds. Many Flatiron pedestrians believe the statues, perched on the buildings, are suicide jumpers. 

"I started to get out my phone to call the police when I saw it up there," Margaret Jones, 36, said as she pointed up to the statue on the Empire State Building. "Why else would someone be that close to the ledge if they weren't going to jump?"

"I looked up and saw a man standing near the edge," Catherine Zimmers, 38, said. "I had an instant flash to what happened when people were jumping on 9/11, and my heart dropped."

While the New York Police Department could not provide an exact figure of how many people call about these "possible jumpers," one police officer said at least hundreds of calls have come in because of the statues. 

In a written statement, Gormley said that the intent of this exhibit was not to cause people to be alarmed, but to get them to slow down and notice their surroundings. People are certainly noticing the statutes, but many are not enjoying the experience. 

Gormley came to New York City in August of 2009 to scout out locations for his statues. Together with representatives from Madison Square Park Conservatory, Gormley decided that placing the statues as close to the edge of the ledges as possible would help with visibility and would add a dramatic effect.

When Zimmers was told about this, she shook her head in disbelief. 

"Why would someone do this to the people in this city?" Zimmers said. "I still have nightmares about those people who felt there was no way out but to jump. I don't need a reminder just because someone feels they are being creative."

Gormley developed a large following in Europe after the release of his statue "Angel of the North," which became one of England's most famous statues. After a similar "Event Horizon" display along a London shoreline in 2007, Gormley decided he wanted to create an exhibit for New York City. This is his first public art exhibit in the United States.

Patricia Shiplett, a visual artist from Saskatoon, Canada, has been studying Gormley's work. She didn't think she would get to see the exhibit in person unless she went to London, but she said she was thrilled to see it on her trip to New York City. 

"I think they're actually beacons to what's happening in the world," Shiplett said. "I think they're placed there to sort of observe mankind and maybe have us think a little bit about what we're doing with the world." 

Others simply enjoy the experience of searching for the statues. 

"It's like a puzzle trying to figure out where they are hidden on the buildings," Alexa Kinsley, 20, said. "I like it."

The statues are on exhibit until August 15. 

This article and slideshow were published on the New York University Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute's website, Pavement Pieces. 

A Quick Holiday Travel Spot on ABC News

While I was at the Newark Airport in New Jersey, reporter Phil Lipof from the ABC affiliate in New York City interviewed me for a package he put together about holiday travel. It was interesting for me to be the one answering the questions instead of asking them.

Here is the story that was on the news that night.

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/video?id=7176543

Pet Owners Known in Parks by the Names of Their Dogs

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER
Brownie, DJ, and Rosie are the names of dogs that Sarah Wessler knows by heart, but she couldn’t tell you the names of any of their owners, even though she sees them at least once a week at the dog run. She says this is all part of the experience of going to the dog run.

“You just call people by their dog’s names,” Wessler said. “Being here is all about the dogs.”

Wessler lives in the Bronx but usually takes her dog, Mancha, to Jemmy’s Run since it is closer to her boyfriend’s apartment and Mancha has made friends there. Wessler says that she runs into people on the train that she has met at the dog park and often talks with some of the regular visitors, but doesn’t make a point of it to meet up with them outside of the park.

“What happens at the dog park stays at the dog park.”

While some parks don’t allow dogs at all, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation has designated three different types of dog parks in the city—leashed areas, designated off-leash areas, and dog runs. Dog runs are large fenced in areas within larger parks where dogs are free to run around unleashed. Jemmy’s Run at Madison Square Park is a dog run where all types of relationships are developed between people and dogs.

Sometimes the freedom of all the different dogs together can cause problems. Jay Fortunato, who lives in the Flatiron District, says his dog Linus enjoys coming to get exercise at the dog park but since Linus is a small dog, he has had encounters with large dogs that haven’t gone well.

“A few weeks ago a larger dog bit Linus on the back of the neck and sat on him,” Fortunato said. “I had to fight the big dog off.”

Taylor Defelice, of Murray Hill, brings her two dogs Hershey and Ruby to Jemmy’s Run for them to interact with other dogs. Ruby is a therapy dog and spends time in hospitals with children who are sick, so Defelice likes to get her out to get exercise. The only challenge Defelice has faced with bringing her dogs to the park is having their toys stolen by other dogs, but says the overall experience is a positive one.

“Dog parks are good for the dogs and good for people,” Defelice said. “They help promote dog ownership.”

Coming to see the dogs at the park is the closest Nuttika Mahamontre can get to having a dog. Her apartment complex doesn’t allow pets, so at least once or twice a week Mahamontre comes to Madison Square Park to see the dogs. For her, it is a type of therapy.

“I feel more relaxed seeing these dogs play,” Mahamontre, of Manhattan, said. “This is what makes me feel better.”

“Dogs are the one thing we all have in common here,” Wessler said, and Mahanmontre agreed.

“Even if they don’t have one of their own, everyone here has a love for dogs.”

The 2009 Halloween Day Parade in Greenwich Village

I went to the Halloween Day Parade in the village and made this slideshow from the photos I took and audio I got while I was there.

Burmese Hunger Strike at United Nations 2009 General Assembly

My first experience shooting and editing video at NYU. Check it out and let me know what you think! :)