Floridita closed–forcibly, and by Columbia–for “repairs.” You got some ‘splainin to do, PrezBo! (Spec) If it’s any consolation, Maoz opens today, and we’ll have a taste test up later in the day. Falafel, anyone? (Spec) A trip into the Village Voice archives takes us back to wild-riotin’ CU. Dated references abound: “Jimi Hendrix blared from […]

The B-School admissions office answers U.S. News’s questions, unintentionally letting the entire world know how to get in. (U.S. News) University researchers find a link between a healthy diet and a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease. (CBS News) More research finds a gene that causes the growth of “peach fuzz hair”. (Business Week) Local New […]

What does our fearless leader do when he’s not, um, doing whatever he does everyday? He watches Dean Quigley buy soup and he appears on public television. Last night, Bwog stayed up past our bedtime to catch PrezBo on Charlie Rose. Bollinger and the nearly equally dapper Mr. Rose spent most of El Presidente’s half […]

Today at noon a group of activists (and a bunch of reporters) gathered at Floridita to celebrate the recent decision by the New York State Court to annul claims of eminent domain in the Manhattanville area. Speakers included Manhattanville landowner Nicholas Sprayregen, lawyer Norman Siegel, and state senator Bill Perkins. Bwog was there with a […]

Manhattanville is (temporarily?) on hold.  The primary players have a lot to say. The Eye interviews Miranda Elliot of GendeRevolution. The Bwog does not watch American Idol.  Or Housewives.  Only The West Wing DVDs and Masterpiece Theatre.

Kiss those tapas goodbye: Floridita owner Ramon Diaz loses his lawsuit, Manhattanville finally begins construction, and PrezBo celebrates (Spec). Remember what happened the last time Columbia tried to expand?  Carle Hovde, CC ’50 and Dean of the College from 1968 to 1972, died last Saturday.  Faculty mourns (Spec). As if the updated Kindle wasn’t bad […]

Hot off the presses from City Hall and Albany: Governor David Paterson (CC ’77) and Mayor Michael Bloomberg expressed their support again for the Manhattanville expansion, after the project was approved by the Public Authorities Control Board.  Paterson said the expansion “will enhance the vitality of both the University and its neighboring community, while meeting […]

They motion to vote, we Bwog. Another Sunday evening of CCSC. A sunburned CCSC gathered in Satow last night for their penultimate meeting of the year to discuss the Big Issues: smoking, Manhattanville, meal plans. The meeting started off with a round of applause for, in Kreb’s diplomatic words, “a few of the people in […]

   Image courtesy of Parker Brothers You have been named Dean of the College. Pay each student $50. College Republicans are assembling to chat about Pennsylvania Avenue. Columbia takes a page out of Rich Uncle Pennybags’ book and buys up two more properties. It’s not quite Marvin Gardens, but it’ll do. A sports column goes […]

 –Photo via the Harlem Eye After a student protest and subsequent squabbling, the NY1 channel ran its story on the fate of Floridita restaurant, a locally-owned business that the Manhattanville expansion may displace. Both current CC student Andrew Lyubarsky and CU public affairs, who have been battling over the story for the past couple of […]

 – Photo via The Harlem Eye Ten days ago, student activists and the Columbia administration clashed over the 125th Street establishment Floridita, as the university intervened to kill a NY1 story about the restaurant’s fight with Floridita owner Ramon Diaz. The university claimed to still be in negotiations with Diaz over the termination of his […]

Bwogger-about-town James Downie finally thawed his hands enough to type a report from 125th and Broadway. “Two options: Cuban sandwich or chicken with rice and beans.” More than 70 Columbia students made that critical lunchtime choice earlier today, as they joined the Student Committee on Gentrification and Expansion and Black Heritage Month at Floridita to […]

Nick Sprayregen, one of two property owners resisting the  the Manhattanville expansion project, filed a suit today against the Empire State Development Corporation, claiming that the ESDC made various errors in the process of deciding that eminent domain laws apply to the Manhattanville area, allowing the state to seize it and sell to Columbia. According […]

At a news conference this morning, the Empire State Development Corporation unanimously voted to use the power of eminent domain to seize the remaining commercial holdouts in Columbia’s Manhattanville expansion zone. That’s bad news for the two property owners who have still refused to sell: storage space owner Nick Sprayregen and gas station owner Gurnam […]

From New York City, this is AltSpec, in which we collect references to Alma Mater’s dubious deeds in the wider world.  This week, while we’re all burrowed deep in Butler, the outside world is busy pointing fingers.  A smörgåsbord of topics and lots of straight talk. Jonathan Last’s column in The Weekly Standard has been […]