Big Apple Blog

One thing about a big city, everyone’s garbage is on display. As far as I’m concerned, Sanitation Workers don’t earn enough.

I headed a little south of my normal subway route earlier this week to get a street eye view of the Lumacon sign that is now topping Times Square. The Lion King on Broadway is just west of Broadway on the south side of 42nd Street. I was standing just in front of this location when I took this picture:

I can see how Disney would be pleased with the result, they are a multinational corporation bent on world domination, I mean, entertaining children. So, the sign is visible from street level, but that might not really be the point of it all.

I think Lumacom is going for a different “play” so to speak. They now hold the rank of tallest billboard in Manhattan I think and that simple fact is going to get them some attention. It is possible to see the billboard from very far away and thus it will catch the eye of people as they approach the city. I think Broadway production ads are a natural fit for the sign, not sure if advertising some unknown company on the skyline would do much for a company’s bottom line. All in all, the state of things in Times Square reminds me more and more of scenes out of Blade Runner.

As far as my selfish interest, I think it would be really cool if they would post subway delays on the board every morning. Of course now that the weather is getting nicer, less of my money will be going to the MTA and more will be spent on repairing flats on my bike.

When catching the subway home yesterday I saw the following at the entrance to Columbia University.

Yep, that’s a giant rat with a look of bad intentions. As a former rat owner (eyes now tearing up) I wondered what the blow up rat was all about. There were police barricades set up and people with picket signs protesting. I could not read the signs so I decided to cross the street to see what was up.

I was expecting a janitor’s strike or perhaps students protesting sanitary conditions at the university. Or perhaps a student had been mugged by a rouge group of rats and students were seeking vengeance.

What did I actually find the purpose of the protest to be? A teaching and research assistants strike. The following comes from a flyer that I picked up:

Columbia University has an endowment of $4.5 billion dollars, larger than the gross national product of 95 countries around the world. It is one of the largest landholders in New York City and its president gets paid over $650,000 a year. Yet Columbia’s graduate employees make $18,000 a year, making it a hardship to support ourselves in New York City and almost impossible to support a family.

Sounds like a cause worth fighting for, but why do ya’ll have to go clowning rats like that? What does a big mean rat have to do with money and politics? Rats are innocent creatures that have a bad reputation. Without humans making a big mess, rats would not even be able to survive.

How about a big inflatable Rolex Watch? Or a fist full of dollars? Rat supporters of the world unite against this injustice of symbolism! Will I have to fight this cause alone? Probably.

Who knew that by publishing an innocuous little blog one might become the focus of international financial intrigue? It seems that without even meaning to, I have added another job title to my resume: international advertising analyst.

Some of you might remember a recent entry I wrote on the “Disneyfication” of Times Square. I know not many of you probably keep up with the comments around these parts, but a few days after I posted that entry, I got a comment from someone. I responded and thought the person probably lived in NYC. Well, I was a little off – the person lives in Australia!

The person owns stock in the company that constructed the sign: Lumacom. If you are interested in the comments, go back in time here. He expressed an interest in having me take some more pictures and if possible, video, of the sign. Who was I to say no to my new part time job?

My camera does have a video capture feature, but unfortunately it is pretty limited. The zoom function has a very limited default setting. I did try to take a video of the sign, but it didn’t turn out too great. Sorry Lumacom folks, but this is the best that I could do. I know, pretty pathetic. I seems I may have to purchase other equipment if I want to take my new job seriously.

The video is so small that I probably should explain it. Basically the promo is for the Lion King, Simba’s face, starts large and then envelopes the whole board. It then spins around and the words “Lion King” follow. There are actually many different videos that are running on the sign: everything from the company Logo, to scrolling letters (This Is A Test), to fashion models strutting down the runway. The video is actually of very good quality for such a large sign.

As far as still shots, my camera does okay in that category. Below are some pictures I took during the day and at night. See captions for my feedback.

The Lumacom sign without any zoom

7 times zoom

11 times zoom

Sumo Advertisement . . . didn’t know there was Sumo in NYC. Not a good choice, how about an advertisement for NYC’s largest commondity, pizza?

Stock market ticker. Well, getting better, but isn’t that what CNN/Money is for?

The company that owns the board. Good promotion, get your name out there.

Appropriate, The Lion King production is practically below the sign

This is a test, the words scroll from right to left

Good clarity

Credit card company, gee, like I don’t get enough of those offers in the mail

Now, as far as my feelings about the sign, they are mixed. First of all, I think the sign is a good idea and the quality is good. I live probably one mile from the sign as the crow flies and I can see it very clearly with the naked eye (well, I do wear glasses but you get the point). But, the sign IS on the top of a building. I am not sure that the largest group of people in New York City can see the sign: pedestrians.

I’ll have to walk around and report back, but I very rarely find myself staring at the tops of buildings. Maybe it’s because I’m a local, but if all locals are that way, that leaves tourists. Tourists are more worried about where they are going than paying attention to ads I think. Besides, tourists pretty much have their mind made up about what they are going to do before they get here.

So, I’m 50-50 on the whole venture. Would I buy stock? Perhaps. The skyline of the city does draw a lot of attention, but it’s seems the board might be placed in view of more people. Maybe the sign can be seen from hotels, I don’t know, I don’t stay in hotels. Overall Times Square is signified by gaudy advertisements, so I guess this one fits right in because it is higher and brighter than all the rest. I guess I do have one final comment. More people visit the Empire State Building than about any other place in all of New York City. And if you stand on the top of the ESB, you can’t see the sign because the sign is on the west side of the building and you can’t see that side from the top of the ESB.

Just my thoughts. I could be entirely wrong. After all, I’m new at this job.

I for one can’t stay up late enough to watch Last Call With Carson Daly, but today through Friday I’ll be setting my VCR to record the show. Shareef Clayton, a trumpet player at my school, will be appearing with the house band, Milo Z, from tonight through Friday.

So, if you’re a night owl, look out for the cat with mad trumpet skills. And if you’re old like me, set your VCR and enjoy the show during normal waking hours.