Tapped In: Virtual Docs, Winter Restaurant Week, Flatiron Bicycle Accident

24/7 VIRTUAL DOCS ARE HERE Beth Israel Medical Center has unveiled a new type of primary care with Teladoc. For $29.99 per year, or $49.99 per family, patients can phone in or use a webcam to get help and virtual treatment from a doctor 24/7. After describing their symptoms and medical history, they can receive short-term prescriptions. Each "doctor visit" will cost $38. Don Hoffman, a representative at Beth Israel, says the new Teladoc feature is the first "virtual doctor's office" in the city, though there are similar programs popping up all over the nation. This innovation comes just in time for the flu season. Doctors encourage people with flu-like symptoms not to wait to go to a doctor. Hoffman says that this eliminates waiting at a hospital or doctor's office, and will hopefully encourage more people to get treatment during this especially dangerous flu season. THREE LOYOLA STUDENTS GO TO NEXT ROUND OF MLK ART CONTEST The Metropolitan Museum of Art will be hosting a Dream@50 art contest award ceremony on Jan. 26 in honor of the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. Three students from Loyola School on East. 83rd Street have been selected as semifinalists in the contest: Lova Blavarg, Nicole DiTolla and Stephie Brack. The Dream@50 contest is a nationwide art contest for K-12 students in 10 U.S. cities including New York, Boston and Los Angeles. Grand-prize winners from each city will be honored at a Capitol Hill ceremony and exhibit in August. CONSTRUCTION BEGINS ON NEW MET MUSEUM PLAZA Government officials broke ground on Monday, Jan. 14, for the new David H. Koch Plaza at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The plaza is set to open next January. The plaza will run along Fifth Avenue from 80th to 84th streets and will be named after the billionaire trustee who donated the money for the project. The plaza will feature new fountains, approximately 100 new trees, seating areas and energy-efficient nighttime lighting. The whole plaza will be environmentally friendly. "It will give the Met a portal outside that is truly worthy of the masterpieces that grace our galleries inside," Museum Chairman Daniel Brodsky said. WINTER RESTAURANT WEEK BEGINS Restaurant Week (really three weeks) kicked off on Monday, Jan. 14. Hungry customers can choose from a wide array of NYC's best restaurants and eat a three-course gourmet dinner for just $38 per person ($25 for lunch). The deals end Feb. 8. Hungry Upper East Siders who want to stay in their neighborhood can choose from restaurants like David Burke Townhouse (61st and Lexington Avenue) and Park Avenue Winter (63rd and Park Avenue). 17TH PRECINCT COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEETING SET Residents of Sutton Place, Turtle Bay, Beekman Place, Tudor City and Murray Hill are invited to the monthly Precinct Community Council meeting to discuss safety issues in the neighborhood on Jan. 29 at 6 p.m. The meeting will take place at Sutton Synagogue at 221 E. 51st St. FATAL FLATIRON DISTRICT BICYCLE ACCIDENT A female bicyclist was fatally struck Jan. 4 by a Citywide demolition and rubbish removal truck at East 23rd Street and Madison. The bicyclist was traveling East on 23rd Street when she was hit, according to several sources. Police said that she was pronounced dead on the scene. Private sanitation trucks like Citywide Demolition actually have the highest pedestrian kill-rate of any truck vehicle according to a 1999 study produced by Right of Way. However, city law states that large trucks like these sanitation trucks must have safety convex mirrors on trucks that allows them to see in blind spots. On its website, Citywide Demolition emphasizes the company's "safe, reliable service." This pedestrian death is especially relevant in the wake of the city's fight to increase bike lanes across Manhattan. LULEMON TEMPORARY STORE APPEARS ON 3RD AVENUE Lululemon Athletica, a popular Canadian yoga and sports apparel store, will be opening a small pop-up for four months across the street from its flagship store on Third Avenue between 66th and 67th Streets. The flagship store will remain closed for renovations during this time. But with the new pop-up, Upper East Siders will be able to stay in shape in style. "Exercising and staying in good shape are inherent to the character of the Upper East Side lifestyle," says Joseph Aquino, executive vice president of Douglas Elliman's Retail Group that handled the transaction. "This brand resonates with people here." The temporary shop is replacing a Uniqlo store. MIDTOWN LIBRARY SET FOR MAJOR RENOVATIONS The New York Public Library's main branch is getting a very expensive makeover. The work will begin this summer in a renovation worth $300 million. The project will create a multi-level atrium complete with views of Bryant Park inside the Fifth Avenue landmark. The plan stirred up some controversy when it was initially proposed that mil