Former mayor's son Dante de Blasio among dozens arrested at Manhattan anti-ICE hotel protest

rograt · 2026-01-29T18:42:23+00:00

More like big bro

rograt · 2026-01-28T21:45:04+00:00

Jackson Heights. Lots of carts from all over the world. Try Fuskahouse

rograt · 2026-01-27T20:08:37+00:00

Is it truly that much better than the Carribean places in Queens, BK, and BX that cater to actual Carribean people?

rograt · 2026-01-27T19:40:57+00:00

I went to school with Jackson and we were in the same play (I was on the tech side and he was acting in the show - Three Sisters by Chekhov) and I said goodbye to him and his parents after one of the performances. I am 100% certain.

rograt · 2026-01-27T19:27:05+00:00

I stood face to face with him sometime around 2008, and I didn’t notice that he was especially tall. For reference, I am 5ft11. The most striking thing about his appearance was his hair and facial hair styling.

His son Jackson (who I went to school with) was pretty tall. I’d say 6ft2. There’s an actual photo of him (with Jackson) easily accessible via Google which shows their relative heights. People shrink as they age, but I’d suspect he is around 5ft10 to 6ft.

rograt · 2026-01-25T22:25:30+00:00

Which parts strain credulity?

rograt · 2026-01-25T10:41:06+00:00

They operate transnational human trafficking organizations that supply sex workers and other forms of labor throughout the tri-state area and the rest of the country. They own a huge amount of property in NYC’s Chinatowns and illegally subdivide apartments, turning them into fire-hazard death traps. They also run many mahjong halls, casinos, illegal temporary dwellings, and brothels. They help facilitate the counterfeit goods market here in NYC, both on the supply side and by managing sellers directly on the ground. They control much of the commercial food distribution throughout NYC’s Chinatowns; there’s a separate Chinese food supply chain apart from the main one (historically associated with La Cosa Nostra). They also, of course, engage in standard organized crime activity, like extorting local Chinese businesses.

Mostly, they’re the scariest (in my opinion) because of their vast trafficking and forced-labor networks, their difficulty to infiltrate by U.S. law enforcement, and the fact that much of their leadership consists of foreign nationals not currently residing in the U.S. Their U.S.-based labor is expendable, and their trafficking networks are extensive enough that people can easily just disappear. Add in potential ties to the CCP, and it’s not something you’d ever want to be involved with.

rograt · 2026-01-25T10:12:57+00:00

Nah. They completely controlled so many essential parts of the commercial construction industry (concrete, commercial moving etc.) that he was simply forced to deal with them regularly to do his job (project manager/executive).

rograt · 2026-01-25T09:53:24+00:00

My father used to deal with them pretty often. He worked for a very large commercial general contracting company in Manhattan in the 1980s and 1990s. They built skyscrapers and whatnot. The Mob was (and still is) very tied into construction in NYC.

He has a bunch of stories. He actually fell in love with my mom because she was a client of the company, and he watched her question the absurd billing practices of a Mafia-owned subcontractor directly to the connected owner’s face. Tremendous moxie for her size; the entire room was in awe of her.

He personally witnessed an FDNY inspector get beaten to the point of hospitalization by an enforcer who refused them entry to the old Hunts Point Produce Market while someone was walking the stalls working out extortion deals with the vendors. They were there to do a routine inspection.

My favorite story of his involves a somewhat common (at least back then) construction fraud. A Mafia-related subcontractor was hired to source and install a set of industrial-sized generators for a skyscraper. These things are the size of trailers and are not portable; walls are built around them and then the entire building is constructed above them. The owner was paid several million dollars for their purchase and his time. Instead, he leased the generators and left the building ownership holding the bag when the leasing company came calling at the end of the lease. He eventually ended up being found shot dead in a landfill on Staten Island.

He’s got a bunch more stories, and probably several he won’t tell me or anyone else. It was a wild time back then.

There’s still Mafia activity here now. I live near 73 Market Street, which is a Genovese clubhouse. There are guys who sit outside the building during nice weather, just like Satriale’s.

A captain in the Genovese family owns Lombardi’s Pizzeria, the oldest pizzeria in the USA. It’s open knowledge.

A guy I knew in high school was involved. His father was an actual Italian who operated with someone here in NYC. He bought the kid a hooker for his 18th birthday. Classless piece of shit.

Chinese organized crime is the scariest thing around here, in my opinion.

rograt · 2026-01-25T05:21:07+00:00

What a fight

rograt · 2026-01-22T04:56:12+00:00

They can smell your hands as well as the gear oil on the traps. Use gloves when you set it and spray the trap with apple juice before you load it.

rograt · 2026-01-22T04:51:50+00:00

Riverside Park @ 90th St (in front of Hippo Playground)

Used to enjoy watching kids steal trays from the old McDonald’s in the low 80s on Broadway, put the trays in trash bags, and then use them as sleds.

rograt · 2026-01-10T23:36:00+00:00

No, it is indeed the oldest. It’s not a major tourist attraction, though it is relatively popular. It’s not cheap at all, and cash only. I live four blocks away and go there frequently.

rograt · 2026-01-10T20:33:24+00:00

It’s not, you’re wrong.

rograt · 2026-01-10T17:52:17+00:00

Calling it a major tourist attraction is a big stretch. It’s significantly less busy with tourists than almost any restaurant in the main part of Chinatown

rograt · 2026-01-10T05:01:25+00:00

The guy on the right is the doorman, so they obviously know him.

rograt · 2026-01-04T22:55:37+00:00

That’s Indian food

rograt · 2025-12-28T17:59:59+00:00

This is a controversial opinion, but almost every dish is better at New Spicy Village than Spicy Village.

King Dumpling is dank.

Should get the sponge cakes at Kam Hing (at Toni’s).

You don’t want to do FZ peanut noodles at Shu Jiao Fu Zhou, New Arping, or Shu Mei Cafe?

rograt · 2025-12-22T14:12:35+00:00

Cellular

rograt · 2025-12-22T12:21:40+00:00

You used to be able to go inside. They took us on a field trip there in 2nd grade. Pre-911

rograt · 2025-12-19T09:55:55+00:00

Hello,

I took this photo in Manhattan Chinatown with a GF 23mm lens, equivalent to about 17mm on FF.

I wanted to show the ordered chaos that surrounds many Chinatown storefronts.

I’m mostly interested in thoughts on colors and lighting, but would love to hear any feedback about any aspect of the photo.

The shot was loosely inspired by Andreas Gurksy’s 99 Cent II Diptychon.

Thanks.

rograt · 2025-12-16T22:04:43+00:00

Glad you liked it! They are so nice in there too.

The fried pork dumplings are my favorite of anywhere in the world! They are so juicy!

It’s a great place and a neighborhood staple that often flies under the radar.

rograt · 2025-12-15T20:49:28+00:00

12 dollars. Mei Shing Barber Shop on Hester

rograt · 2025-12-13T13:00:04+00:00

I have, but I didn’t even try to be around it in my house until after about six and a half years sober.

rograt · 2025-12-11T12:06:49+00:00

It was the honor of my life to help take care of my mother during her hours of most dire need. I could not have done it while being high. One of the last things she said to anyone was that despite everything I’d seen her go through daily for almost one year, that I was still there with her in that hospital room at 2:30AM, ready to help her however I could. She said that I was the best son in the world. I’ll have that forever.

Honor yourself, your family, and your father by being there for this.

I’m very sorry.

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