4 Best Photography Locations in NYC
Summer is one of the best times to capture the many sights of New York City, whether using your smart phone, or, if you’re an old-fashioned kind of person, a Nokia 35mm. The Big Apple is abundant with pictorial photo shoot spots, what with all the historical sites, tall buildings, neon lights, and other eye-catching objects. Pick any direction, start walking, and you’re bound to come across some good photo opportunities. However, if you really want your photos to impress go to these select locations below and get that perfect picture you’ve been seeking.
Twilight at Times Square
Times Square seems like an obvious location, but it’s not the where that matters in this case, but the when. Lots of bad photos are taken in Times Square due to suboptimal lighting conditions; at the wrong times, it’s easy to get either dim or hazy photos. If you want postcard quality photos of Times Square, start shooting right after the sun has set. The sky won’t be too bright as to wash out the city lights, but it also won’t be too dark to cause the camera’s light meter to falter due to harsh contrast. Make sure you scout out some good spots and angles before the time comes.
Help Children Avoid Dog Bite Injuries This Summer
May 19-25 is National Dog Bite Prevention Week. Children are the most common victims of dog bites nationwide, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), and among children, young children – ages 0-4 years – are the most likely to be injured by a dog bite.
You can help protect children you care for this summer by teaching them how to behave around dogs they meet. By teaching children “good dog manners,” you can help them reduce the risk of suffering a dog bite injury.
Prevent dog bites by following these rules:
- Never leave a baby or small child alone with a dog. Supervise both the child and the dog, and separate them if the dog starts showing signs of anxiety, stress, or aggression.
New York Super Lawyers Recognizes WRSH Attorneys, 2 Listed as “Rising Stars”
The personal injury and medical malpractice law firm Wingate, Russotti, Shapiro, Moses & Halperin, LLP is proud to have eight of our attorneys selected for inclusion in the 2014 New York Super Lawyers Magazine.
Super Lawyers is an exclusive listing that identifies attorneys who have achieved the highest degree of peer recognition and professional achievement in more than 70 legal practices every year. Only five percent of qualifying attorneys are chosen for inclusion every year in each state after a thorough vetting process that involves extensive peer reviews, nominations, and independent research.
May is National Bike Safety Month
May is National Bike Safety Month, an important month for New York bicyclists. Although rates of car and truck crashes have gone down over the past decade, the rate of bicycle injuries on New York roadways has actually increased, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
You can help keep yourself and those you care about safer on bicycles this summer by knowing the top causes of bicycle accident injury and how to avoid them. As always, never hesitate to speak to an experienced New York City bicycle injury lawyer if you are hurt in a crash this summer.
According to the National Survey on Bicyclist and Pedestrian Attitudes and Behaviors, the top three causes of bicyclist injuries include:
- Being hit by a car. This one event accounts for one in every three bicycle accidents. Bicyclists can wear helmets and reflective clothing to help protect themselves, and motorists should always look carefully for bicycles while driving.
The World’s Strangest Easter Traditions
It’s almost Easter. And once again, families across the nation are looking forward to the many traditions that take place during the spring holiday. Egg painting, chocolate, bunnies, and egg hunting will be happening in homes everywhere. But Easter is a worldwide holiday, and not everyone celebrates in the same fashion as the U.S.
At Wingate, Russotti, Shapiro, Moses & Halperin, LLP, we’ve decided to spotlight some of these funny, strange, and sometimes awesome Easter traditions from around the world.
Don’t You Mean Halloween? – In Finland, Easter takes on a decidedly Halloween theme. Children dress up as witches and go trick-or-treating during a festival, with bonfires lit to scare off witches, who are seen as becoming very powerful during that time.
It’s the Easter Bilby, Charlie Brown – In Australia, there is no Easter Bunny. Rather, it is the Easter Bilby who brings treats. The bilby is a small desert-dwelling marsupial that is endangered. Most see its recognition during Easter as bringing awareness to the endangered creature. Plus, bunnies are seen as pests on the continent.
National Safety Council’s “Injury Facts” Shed Light on Accident, Injury Risks
The National Safety Council (NSC) recently released its 2014 edition of Injury Facts, a report that tracks and explains safety statistics and trends throughout the United States. For over 90 years, the organization has published this annual safety report, which provides valuable information to both experienced New York injury lawyers and to the general public on how to reduce the risk of common types of injuries.
Information that appears in the 2014 edition, according to the National Safety Council, includes the following facts:
- The price tag for accidental injuries is steep: about $790 billion annually is lost on medical bills, lost productivity, and other costs.
The 5 Best Fictional Versions of New York City
It seems as though New York City is used as the setting for a new movie, TV show, or book every week. And why not? Its landscape, attitude, importance, and population are iconic! Countless romantic comedies, police dramas, and any other realistic stories have featured timeless pieces of New York as background. However, every so often a story comes along that takes The Big Apple and turns it on its head.
Whether these are startling new interpretations of our grand city or cities that are New York City in everything but name, NYC has been reinterpreted in ways that are almost as memorable as the real one. So, courtesy of the lifelong New York attorneys at Wingate, Russotti, Shapiro, Moses & Halperin, LLP, here are five of the best fictional versions of our city.
5. Escape from New York – Not every movie predicts a good outcome for The Big Apple in the future. Director John Carpenter’s future-set (technically 1988) thriller Escape from New York sees all of Manhattan turned into a walled-off prison to deal with a 400% increase in crime throughout the U.S. Criminals are thrown in and are never allowed to leave. Inside, gangs, psychotics, and everyone else is left to fend for themselves. Of course, the President of the United States happens to crash land inside, leaving hero Snake Plissken to venture in and rescue him. Probably the last fictional version of NYC you would want to visit.
Drive Safely in Highway Work Zones This April
Every April, New York and other states recognize Work Zone Safety Awareness Week. This week encourages drivers to brush up on their safe driving skills in highway construction zones, the number of which typically increase as warm weather moves in.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) work together to improve safety on U.S. roads. Facts from these administrations about work zone safety include:
- In the past five years, over 4,400 people have lost their lives in construction zone crashes, and another 200,000 were injured.
Strangulation Risks Prompt Recall of IKEA Children’s Bed Canopies
IKEA recently announced a recall of several of its children’s bed canopies because infants or small children can get tangled in the canopy’s fabric, suffering strangulation or other injuries.
The canopies are about seven feet long and about two feet wide. They are designed to hang above a child’s bed, with the tails of the canopy draping down over the bed. About 255,000 of the recalled canopies were sold in the United States, and an additional 7,000 were sold in Canada. Overall, about 2.6 million of the recalled canopies were sold nationwide.
Potential Fuel Leak Prompts Recall of Honda Odyssey Minivans
A risk of a fuel leak leading to a vehicle fire has prompted the announcement of a recall affecting over 880,000 Honda Odyssey minivans, according to a report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
According to the automaker, a fuel leak may start if the cover on the fuel pump strainer deteriorates, as it is more likely to do when exposed to harsh weather or acidic chemicals, such as those used on farms. A fuel leak increases the risk of a fire, which can cause serious injury or death.