MetaChat - Oh, no.

Yeah, I got an email from Steve as soon as it happened. He works on 69th and York. I am still shaking.

posted by gaspode 11 October | 14:17

Glad to hear he's alright.

posted by jonmc 11 October | 14:18

NY Times

The address of the building is 524 E. 72nd Street -- a 50-story condominium tower built in the late 1980s and located near Sotheby's Auction House. The Belaire Condo, developed by William Zeckendorf Jr., has 183 apartments, many of which sell for more than $1 million.

posted by matildaben 11 October | 14:21

NEW YORK (AP) -- Police say an aircraft has crashed into a building on Manhattan's Upper East Side at 72nd Street and York Avenue. It is near Rockefeller Center.

I'm in Rockefeller Center and all over the office I hear people on the phone: "No, no. It's like a mile away. Don't know why it said it happened here."

posted by eatitlive 11 October | 14:22

Flickr has some shots already.

posted by matildaben 11 October | 14:23

here's the building location, fyi.

posted by Hellbient 11 October | 14:26

Flickr has some shots already.

≡ Click to see image ≡
OH MY GOD THE HORROR!

posted by me3dia 11 October | 14:27

I may never recover, me3. From that furcoat alone.

posted by jonmc 11 October | 14:29

It is near Rockefeller Center.

HAHAHAHAHHA. Where was this story written? Not by someone in New York, apparently.

I have a friend at Sotheby's, so I just e-mailed her. Hmm. Might call her, too.

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 11 October | 14:30

Just heard from the friend at Sotheby's- their building was evacuated (and she has the rest of the day off- she's at Bloomingdales shopping, lol). She says it's really chaotic on the scene- lots of guys with big guns, etc.

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 11 October | 14:37

Interesting that they have given the landmarks as Sotheby's and Rockefeller Center (wtf) and not mentioned Cornell Med School, Rockefeller Uni (which I bet is what they meant instead of center) and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (which is where mr. g works). All of which are RIGHT THERE.

posted by gaspode 11 October | 14:42

I've been ensconced with image files, so it wasn't till Mom gave me a worried phone call that I knew about this. I hope that everyone involved isn't hurt too badly, and if they were, I hope they recover or gain peace quickly.

posted by TrishaLynn 11 October | 15:00

Am I the only one who's bothered by the MeFi "oh noes the t3rr0r!!11!!one!" sarcastic responses? 'cuz, you know, there's at least a pilot dead and probably others. Are we really so jaded that any death toll under a thousand is up for mockery? I mean, I don't mind the mockery so much, just the fact that things have gotten so bad that a small aircraft crashing into an apartment building in Manhattan is no biggie.

Y'All remember when something similar happened shortly after 9-11?

posted by Skwirl 11 October | 15:14

I am very deeply hurt. Why do people hate NY so much? This is no-metatalk material and I wish this keswick does not speak to me again but, really, why do people hate NY so much? I mean even if it was an accident and in an expensive neighborhood, don't people know that there might be victims. WTF?

posted by carmina 11 October | 15:15

'Pode, I am glad you are OK. . .I don't know exactly where you live but I thought about you.

Carmina. . he's just an asshole. . .forget about it and the rest of 'em.

posted by danf 11 October | 15:28

Listen to operations on the FDNY Manhattan fire frequency here.

posted by mlis 11 October | 15:34

Wow... I didn't hear about this until I just called jon a few minutes ago... I got home a little early and hadn't turned on the tv...

News says four fatalities so far. Plane registered to pitcher Cory Lidle of the Yankees, and they now believe he was on the plane and is one of the fatalities.

posted by Pips 11 October | 16:00

Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle was piloting the plane. They've released that information, but not the name of the other person (right now they're only saying two killed) pending notification of family members. However, they haven't told Cory's wife and son yet, because they are on a commercial flight to LA. This just really bothers me. His name is splashed all over the television, radio, etc., but his wife is "currently unreachable". Does this strike anyone else as wrong?

posted by redvixen 11 October | 17:21

Hey look at me, I'm totally cynical and blase! Feh! This mook who was born on 14th street and 1st ave says "feh"! Assholes is assholes the whole world round. Glad Steve is ok 'pode. Be easy my friends.

posted by Divine_Wino 11 October | 17:24

but, really, why do people hate NY so much?

Maybe because we're tired of the rather narcissistic attitude that NYC promotes for itself:

≡ Click to see image ≡

posted by Triode 11 October | 18:13

Maybe because we're tired of the rather narcissistic attitude that NYC promotes for itself

Triode, I understand that. And I see how it can piss someone off. But, first off do not generalize and here we are talking about an accident and perhaps, maybe some references to a dreadful recent past.

You know, when 9/11 happened a lot of jerks around the world would jump up and down: "US deserved this", "It serves them right", "That'll show them for thinking they are the superpower of the world" etc etc. While I am not discussing whether there is any point whatsoever in that attitude, how would you feel if they showed up in the famous 9/11-Mefi thread and said that? Tell me.

posted by carmina 11 October | 18:23

That said, I realize, I over-reacted in that thread and I most certainly do not call for anyone's bannination or flame out.

posted by carmina 11 October | 18:27

Well, carmina - I grew up in upstate NY, and my distaste for The City goes back the better part of 30 years. I'm just ribbin' ya.

And in any case - San Francisco can be tarred with the same brush (except the map starts at Valencia St):
≡ Click to see image ≡
Jebus, I miss Jawbreaker!

posted by Triode 11 October | 19:00

Wow, I was really shocked by hearing this during lunch at work today. I think there's something uniquely tragic about a plane crash, especially into a skyscraper. It's somewhat iconic for how men's dreams often end disastrously, much more so than a car crash.

I never understood this "Your hometown sucks" mentality I see on places like Fark, SA, and now Mefi. I brought this up in the whole Texas-bashing debacle - we all have a special place in our hearts for where we are born, are raised, and choose to live as an adult. It's very disrespectful to completely dismiss it, as some do.

posted by muddgirl 11 October | 19:37

What the fuck? Do you think everyone in New York voted on that silly New Yorker cover or that all 8 million of us get together and decide to brag about our city? Your best evidence is a New Yorker cover? Do you form most of your other opinions from issues of TV Guide?

Come off it, people are people.

posted by Divine_Wino 11 October | 21:29

Am I the only one who's bothered by the MeFi "oh noes the t3rr0r!!11!!one!" sarcastic responses?

No, you're not.

posted by jason's_planet 11 October | 21:54

It's very disrespectful to completely dismiss it, as some do.

I wouldn't ever dismiss it. But NYC* and Texas, more than anyplace else I can think of in the US, deserve a little knee-capping once in a while. There's just that much excess ego.

But this was not the time or place.

* Speaking as a former resident of Manhattan.

posted by stilicho 11 October | 22:16

(gaspode -- glad to hear that mr. g is OK.)

(also glad that all the MeCha people are OK.)

posted by jason's_planet 11 October | 22:50

Stilcho,
It's all people who move to new york* so they can brag on it. Natives are generally fairly nice and humble and realize the failings of the city, especially since they are not likely to be able to afford Manhattan or buy into the lame mythos. Personally ,I fucking swagger cause I'm a bad motherfucker, harder than year old salami, meaner than a 40 year social worker and nasty like a bus station bathroom, got fuckall to do with where I live.

* and plenty of imports, frankly that NYC is the center of the universe thing is mostly a product of the media and insecurity and when people do haul it out, lots of times it's sarcastic. Frankly I'd rather live almost anywhere else, but I got roots and a job, someday I will though.

posted by Divine_Wino 11 October | 23:17

Double frankly wins a prize. Quick someone give me a swirlie...

posted by Divine_Wino 11 October | 23:32

Come off it, people are people.

Yes, but people in New York are particularly vocal and annoying about where they live. That New Yorker cover just sums up how you all come across to the rest of the world, so of course there's animosity. And, carmina, just because someone hates New York doesn't mean they hate New Yorkers. There's a big difference between despising the collective arrogance of a city and being concerned about the well-being of the people who live in it.

Of course, that thread was definitely not the right time or place to let those feelings loose, that's for sure.

posted by cmonkey 12 October | 10:28

That is such nonsense. How many New Yorkers do you know?

posted by Divine_Wino 13 October | 08:49

All the fucking attention whoring that goes on this site? Get over yourselves. God help me if I made the kind of sweeping generalizations people get away with because there is some half baked idea that New Yorkers are arrogant? Fucking people from the pacific northwest never shut up about it either. People who live in rural areas are always posting pictures of their gardens. Oh the best BBQ is from St. Louis, oh Chicago pizza, oh the climate in the Bay Area.

8 million people live in New York, how can a whole city be arrogant? Don't lump me in pal, I don't want it. I've got enough manners to not push lame cliched buttons.

posted by Divine_Wino 13 October | 08:59

11 October 2006