Tapped In

Compiled by Nora Bosworth and Megan Bungeroth TRIBUTE TO TEDDY Teddy Roosevelt eyes his next prey from the newly restored murals in the Theodore Roosevelt Rotunda at the American Museum of Natural History. After two years of conservation treatment, the huge canvases were re-introduced to the public this week. MTA TO RESUME BLASTINGAT EXPLOSION SITE After a routine detonation became out of control and erupted to the surface of Second Avenue on Aug. 21, the MTA stopped blasting at the site on East 72nd Street until an investigation could be completed. The agency announced last Thursday that it had concluded that investigation and would resume blasting at the site, with a number of safety measures in place. "We have completed our review of the incident and have implemented a number of corrective actions. From this moment forward, blasting operations will be subject to additional management scrutiny and enhanced safety procedures to ensure that the community and workers are kept safe," said Michael Horodniceanu, president of MTA Capital Construction, in a statement. Some of the improvements include a superintendent sign-off on a pre-blast checklist and an additional layer of protective rubber blast mats over the explosives. The MTA has also hired an independent safety consultant, Thacher Associates/Total Safety Consulting, to provide outside monitoring of the contractor at the site. NEW MEDICAL FACILITIES TO BRING HUNDREDS OF JOBS Last week, Mayor Bloomberg announced plans for a collaboration between City University of New York and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to construct two new state-of-the-art outpatient cancer care facilities on the Upper East Side. The city will sell a 66,000-square-foot site at 525 E. 73rd St. for $215 million to the partnership, and MSK will construct a 750,000-square-foot facility designed for innovative outpatient treatment programs. The hospital plans to use the facility to treat lung, head, neck and hematological cancers. CUNY Hunter College will build an up to 336,000-square-foot Science and Health Professions building on the site as well. "Thanks to our innovative approach to economic development, today's announcement is yet another step towards making New York City home to the world's most talented workforce," Bloomberg said in a statement. "Not only will these two great institutions play a critical role in creating great jobs in one of the city's growing industries, but they usher in the innovators and medical advancements of tomorrow." The projects are expected to create 3,200 construction jobs and 830 permanent jobs. TURTLE BAY REJECTS MIDTOWN ANNEX IDEA President of the Turtle Bay Association William B. Curtis released comments this week that will be presented at a City Planning Commission meeting on Sept. 27, rejecting a city proposal to annex an area of what is now considered Turtle Bay into East Midtown. "What we cannot accept is any intrusion of Midtown beyond the current eastern boundary. City planning, however, is trying to annex an irregular area lying between Second and Third avenues, and East 43rd and East 45th streets and absorb it into the East Midtown study area. We strenuously object to this," Curtis said in the statement. Curtis cited the fact that that area has always been considered part of the East Side, not Midtown, and that the residential character of the area would make any type of Midtown upzoning inappropriate. ANTIQUES AND ART AT THE ARMORY Avenue magazine presents Antiques, Art & Design at the Park Avenue Armory this Friday, Sept. 21, through Monday, Sept. 24. The exhibit features over 60 dealers specializing in high quality art and antiques, including French, English, Italian, Swedish and Continental furniture from the 17th century through mid-century modern, fine silver, Russian antiquities and rugs, Tiffany lamps, French Art Nouveau and Art Deco furniture and objects, and many other types of art. Public show hours are 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. each day. Admission is $20. 643 Park Ave. Visit avenueshows.com for more information. HOYLMAN WINS SENATE PRIMARY In the 27th district Senate race, attorney and former chair of Community Board 2 Brad Hoylman beat out opponents Tom Greco, a Chelsea bar owner, and Tanika Inlaw, a public school teacher, to win the Democratic nomination. Hoylman, who received a reported 69 percent of the votes, will likely succeed Sen. Tom Duane, who surprised many when he announced he would retire at the end of his current term. SODA BAN PASSES LAST HURDLE Last Thursday, the New York City Board of Health approved Mayor Bloomberg's "soda ban," which prohibits the sale of soda and other sweetened drinks in any container over 16 ounces. Bloomberg's desire to curb the city's obesity epidemic fueled the measure, which also applies to energy drinks like Gatorade and sweet iced teas. Over half of the city's adults-and almost half of the city's public school students-are overweight or obese, according to the Wall Street Journal. Not surprisingly, vendors of sugary drinks have united to challenge the ban, arguing that it infringes on consumer freedom. Many nutritionists support the measure, like the eminent Yale University epidemiologist Dr. Kelly Brownell, who told the New York Times, "It completely makes more sense to make the environment healthier rather than to just do pure education." While a Times poll found that most New Yorkers were against the law, the Board of Health vote was almost unanimous, with one abstention. Then again, Bloomberg appointed each board member himself. The ban will take effect March 12, but vendors who break the law will not be fined until mid-June. CENTRAL PARK RAPE VICTIM STANDS STRONG The 74-year-old victim of a vicious assault and rape in Central Park last week told the New York Post that she isn't going to let the horrible incident ruin her park experience. "I'm not scared. I don't want to lose that pleasure. I won't let anything keep me from enjoying the park," she told the newspaper. The woman, identified only as an Upper West Side resident, was attacked in broad daylight as she was bird-watching in the park. The alleged rapist snuck up to the woman and assaulted her a few days after she had taken his photo when she caught him masturbating in the Rambles area of the park. Police caught the suspect, 42-year-old homeless man David Albert Mitchell, as he was walking on the Upper West Side last Thursday. Mitchell reportedly has a long history of violent offenses.