In the midst of my dinner I hear the sirens of a firetruck. I notice, by the lights outside, that it has stopped in front of my building. More sirens are heard. At this time, I peek out the window, to make sure my building isn't on fire.
No smoke. No smoke smell. No firemen trouncing up and down the staircases in the building. No fire I surmised, but what was going on? I go outside to investigate. I wasn't the only one:
From what I could tell, there had recently been a fire at a building on the opposite side & down 44th street from my apartment (@ 414 W.44 St.).
View Larger MapThe smell of burning was still present, though no smoke or flames were visible. It appeared that firemen went into an apartment on the 2nd & 3rd floors (by the broken windows & window frames), as well as a ladder to the roof.
I could not tell if anyone was seriously injured, but the ambulances were stationed on 9th Avenue and were not rushing off, so again I assumed no one was critically injured. It was severe enough to call 5 firetrucks and block off 44th St. from 9th to 10th Avenues.
There's always something going on in Hell's Kitchen, good or bad. It keeps things interesting. Here's the rest of the
pics.
It was actress and comedian, Kristen Schaal, coming back from her morning jog. She was wearing giant sunglasses to try an conceal her identity, but I recognized her. This is the second sighting of her in Hell's Kitchen in a few weeks, which means she likely lives in the neighborhood.
Uncle Junior himself, Domininc Chianese. This isn't the first time I have spotted him. Several years ago, my wife got me a session at John Allan's. I got a haircut, shave and a manicure sitting right next to him. We exchanged a few words but that is all. I usually don't like to small talk, whether with a celebrity or a grunt.
As I was doing my laundry, on 10th & 46St., I notice a familiar face at 44&X. There is a film crew, but I cannot place the face. My initial guess is Nintendo/Sony executive or game developer. Since I cannot guess a name, I snap this photo and upload it to Facebook for my friends to identify. This happens very quickly. The gentleman is physicist Michio Kaku. I probably made several cameos (and completely coincidental) while they were shooting (most likely for The Universe, on the History Channel).
I could not tell if anyone was seriously injured, but the ambulances were stationed on 9th Avenue and were not rushing off, so again I assumed no one was critically injured. It was severe enough to call 5 firetrucks and block off 44th St. from 9th to 10th Avenues.
There's always something going on in Hell's Kitchen, good or bad. It keeps things interesting. Here's the rest of the pics.
