Posts Tagged New York
Charter Schools Gain Momentum in NYC and Beyond
Posted by nycrushhour in News on November 22, 2012
According to a recent report, charter schools are growing more and more popular. Over the last two years, the number of students in these schools increased by nearly 13%. This data comes from the nonprofit advocacy group National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.
Charter schools are educational institutes that are publicly financed but privately operated. According to the NAPCS, many cities’ charter schools have begun enrolling a large percentage of public school students.
In New York City, more than 48,000 public school students attended charter schools in 2012. This is an increase of 24% since last year. Victory Schools, a consulting company that provides management and support for charter schools, aims to greatly improve the level of education and performance at schools in the area.
Meanwhile, the biggest increase in charter school enrollments was in New Orleans. Many of the city’s schools were destroyed during Hurricane Katrina. As a result, more than 70% of students in the area attend charter schools.
Additional cities with more than 30% of public school students in charter schools include Detroit, Washington D.C., St. Louis and many others.
National Alliance chief executive Nina Rees said: “To the extent families are in need of other options, growth does indicate there is something missing in the public school system.”
Munching on Mexican Menus
Posted by nycrushhour in Uncategorized on May 17, 2012
So, now that we’ve located New York’s best cheesecake as well as the best deli, it’s time to locate where the city’s best Mexican food can be found. Especially since we recently celebrated Cinco de Mayo; there must have been some restaurants competing for the title a couple of weeks ago.
However, while New York is definitely known for its cheesecake and probably its deli, one isn’t quite sure if the same can be said for its Mexican cuisine. True, there are approximately 600 Mexican eateries in the city, so there must be something worth munching about and thus talking about too. At least, that’s what Michelle Gross of The Daily Beast set out to prove.
Gross checked out the following Mexican food haunts: Taco Mix (in El Barrio – aka Spanish Harlem); where one can enjoy listening to jukebox music while eating pork straight off the sport with corn tortillas. Next there was Café Ollin known for its Oaxacan cheese, jalapeños, cow tongue (lengua) and the Mexican drink, tamarindo bebida. Then there are the Sunset Park torta y tamale stands and of course the somewhat infamous and popular Rico’s Tacos bursting with the smell of simmering carnitas. Filled with families and locals, it’s probably a good Mexican eatery as these are definitely not just first-timers hogging the joint.
But then it seems that if one wants to really say they have arrived vis-à-vis Mexican food in the city, they should check out La Esquina in Soho where the chiles rellenos and blue agave are something else. Gross also went to check out El Parador Café, Hell’s Kitchen and Mercadito, in the East Village although the last one didn’t give her much to write home about.
