Crystal Crawford works as a receptionist, and then her life changed when The Prize Patrol team at Publishers Clearing House surprised the single mother of two at her job. The Publishers Clearing House is a direct marketing and magazine subscription company known for running sweepstakes with eye-popping prizes. It’s awarded nearly $400 million over the years. Crystal Crawford’s prize is one of the larger giveaways. She will get $5,000, before taxes, every week for the rest of her life, and she can designate a loved one to continue to receive the payments for the rest of his or her life, after she dies. Her prize amounts to more than a $250,000 a year. An enormous sum for a woman who says she’s been struggling to make ends meet. As for how she will spend the money? She says she’ll use it to pay off debts, build her credit and send her youngest son, a senior in high school, off to college.

Now, it looks like everything is official: As NY1 reports, construction on the museum is slated to begin in the South Bronx at 65 E. 149th Street this year, and it’s expected to be complete in 2023.

https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2019/02/20/what-will-be-in-the-universal-hip-hop-museum-in-the-bronx-nyc

Kurtis Blow is the chairman of the board of the Universal Hip-Hop Museum. The city’s Economic Development Corporation says the museum will be a part of Bronx Point, a housing and entertainment complex to be built on a vacant lot on East 149th and Exterior Streets along the Harlem River. Kurtis Blow released one of the first rap songs to hit vinyl and the radio, back in 1979. But hip-hop had already been on the streets. Hip-hop can be traced back to a party at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in 1973. From its roots in the South Bronx, hip-hop and rap are now a multi-billion dollar industry, accepted by mainstream America and a global cultural force. But it hasn’t been easy getting major support and money for a museum about hip-hop. Plans for this project have been in the works for years. There will be interactive activities teaching visitors how to DJ on turntables or become a graffiti artist, and there will be plenty of old school hip-hop artifacts. There’s so much history that began in the Bronx, and will be showcased right here.

Louis Boria the creator, designer and owner behind Brooklyn Boy Knitting is knitting his way to fame. In 2009, he launched Brooklyn Boy Knits to fill the specialized niche. Fourteen months ago a photo of him knitting on the subway went viral. The reason being was in late 2017, American Idol alum Frenchie Davis spotted him knitting on a B train. The Broadway performer, fascinated by his hobby, shared a picture of the stranger with her nearly 30,000 Facebook followers. Since then, his fan base has done anything but shrink and ballooned to more than 16,000 followers on Instagram alone. The knitting industry, as a whole, also took notice and soon Louis Boria began hearing from yarn companies and knitting suppliers from Brooklyn to Europe. He always dreamed of attending his first ‘Vogue Knitting Live’ Convention in Manhattan, and he did for the first time. For Louis, this is all just the beginning.

According to Business Insider, “Trader Joe’s is ending grocery delivery services in New York City on March 1 and has no plans to roll out delivery in other markets.” Trader Joe’s representative Kenya Friend-Daniel told the press, “Instead of passing along unsustainable cost increases to our customers, removing delivery will allow us to continue offering outstanding values — quality products for great everyday prices, and to make better use of valuable space in our stores.”

The chain, which is known for its low prices and unique items — some of which sell out early in the day — started posting signs last month that it was ending the service. The chain has 11 New York City stores, with seven in Manhattan. Those in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island have never offered delivery. Trader Joe’s will become one of the few Manhattan supermarkets without a delivery option.

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine is building a temporary roller-skating rink in the nave of the cathedral to host a roller-skating party on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Skates will be provided and the whole thing is free of charge:  Free Roller Skating Party 

At 2018’s final New York City Council meeting, members voted to co-name streets in honor of the Notorious B.I.G., the Wu-Tang Clan, and folk musician Woody Guthrie. Once approved by the mayor, Brooklyn and Staten Island will see new street signs honoring the three musicians.

Altogether, the Council approved 164 co-namings this year—a small tribute to New Yorkers from all walks who contributed to the city’s cultural, economic and political life.

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On December 11, 1968, New York City became home to the largest co-operative housing complex in the world, Co-op City. The idea was to build affordable housing, under New York’s Mitchell Lama Program, to lure middle-income New Yorkers to the city’s outskirts.  And it worked. When it opened 50 years ago, almost all of its more than 15,000 units were sold out. Jami Floyd and I take a look back at how the world’s largest co-operative housing experiment turned out. Have a listen!

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It will cost riders $5.80 just to sit inside a cab. The so-called “congestion fee” was approved by  Governor Andrew Cuomo and the state legislature and is meant to fund mass transit. But some taxi drivers fear the new fee will scare off passengers and hurt their bottom line. Yellow taxis also charge riders a $1 surcharge for rides between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. and a 50 cent night fee from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. App-based ride hails like Uber and Lyft will be required to implement a $2.75 fee for regular trips and 75 cents for carpool trips. The higher $2.75 surcharge will also apply to the city’s green cabs.

Howard Thompson made his first appearance on PIX11 in April, 1995 when it was called WPIX 11.  A little less than a month later, he became Help Me Howard, helping people across our area with problems large and small. Getting people refunds from landlords, realtors, car dealers and many others. He also helped viewers with life or death crises – people who were denied insurance benefits and needed transplants. Now, Howard decided he will leave TV news. After 38 years in the business, the last 23 years at PIX11. Here are some of “Help Me Howard” memorable moments.

Howard Thompson of ‘Help Me Howard’ signs off PIX11 after 23 years