If it’s your birthday
SAM Downtown Manhattan is the hot spot this weekend with a labor rally Saturday near the Brooklyn Bridge, and Lunar New Year events for the Year of the Dog Saturday and Sunday.
Many streets including parts of East Broadway will close by the late morning. Canal, Grand and Delancey Sts. will have much heavier traffic. Streets will reopen by 6 p.m.
Lafayette St. from Worth to Reade Sts. is likely to close around 9 a.m. for DC 37, the ALF-CIO, and other unions to rally at Foley Square, reopening in the late afternoon. Broadway, Park Row and the area around the Brooklyn Bridge will also be affected until about 3 p.m.
Nearby, lion and dragon dancers will be out on Chinatown side streets like Mott and Bayard, prompting temporary closures from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.
I’d avoid the Downtown area bridges this weekend during the day, but if you have to take one, the Williamsburg is probably best on Saturday, and the Brooklyn on Sunday because Foley Square will be clear.
This weekend, the F train is not running between Church and Stillwell Aves, the R runs express from Atlantic Ave. to 59th St. (Brooklyn), and the Coney Confront the many ways you’re different from others, and therefore, will never meet their expectations. Yet once you accept who you are, and the many ways you view life differently from the people around you, you’ll be on the path to finding your true happiness. Accept that you take an original view of relationships, and never pretend to be someone else. You share a birthday with George Frideric Handel, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Majel Barrett. MARCH 21-APRIL 19 You have big dreams; and you can make them real, if you bring a little discipline to the table. For you, that means working with time rather than against it. Commit to sustaining your efforts, which is easier than it may seem, with time moving so quickly. Stick with your goals, day by day. APRIL 20-MAY 20 Once a conversation enters public consciousness, it changes. There are certain matters in your life that are appropriate for an open discussion, and others that are appropriate for one-on-one. In the end, all things may be known; though, for now, there is a subject demanding quiet sanctuary. MAY 21-JUNE 20 By now you’re aware that most people, when given power, will tend to abuse it in some way. You must take the opposite approach: your influence is a gift that’s given to you for the common good. Be aware that all of your actions and choices have consequences. Use that fact wisely. JUNE 21-JULY 22 You’re processing some deep feelings, and your inner life has taken on a resplendent quality. The light within you will reveal where you need to direct your healing. Many of the issues you think are your own are actually inherited property from parents and grandparents. Keep that in mind. JULY 23-AUG. 22 If you allow yourself to make contact with your darker feelings -- your uncertainty, ambiguity or sadness, for example -- you will make room for love, kindness and forgiveness. If you stuff down the dark feelings, you’re likely to withdraw and shut down. Both options are open. AUG. 23-SEPT. 22 It’s easy to avoid deeper subject matter in relationships, though there’s a price for that. Avoidance takes energy, and blocks the flow of life force. Embracing the truth of another person takes caring, acceptance and courage -- and lately these things are in short supply. It’s time to stock up. SEPT. 23-OCT. 22 Much of what you’re working through are your ideas about something. That’s different from the reality -- and it will help to keep that distinction in mind. You’re in a situation where considering something from a different point of view can have deep and lasting changes, and offer you some peace. OCT. 23-NOV. 21 Guilt is different from regret. Usually, guilt is a general feeling, disconnected from specific action. Regret has a focal point. Make a commitment to release guilt and, therefore, to enjoy your life. Recognize that it’s an artificial emotion, usually planted in our minds by religious zealots and other cops. NOV. 22-DEC. 21 You may be experiencing emotional matters from the distant past bubbling up unexpectedly. This is part of a natural healing process. The only thing we have to heal is what happened in the past, and usually this is about clearing the emotional body. Let your feelings come up, and go out. DEC. 22-JAN. 19 You may feel a need to give something up, and that would be the right choice for a while. Do it long enough to understand how you feel, and what this aspect of your life means to you. You will benefit from having some space between your thoughts, and the opportunity to reflect. JAN. 20-FEB. 18 You are making some important decisions, and it would be helpful if you understand why you might choose one option over another. Who is influencing you? What would you do if you didn’t need anyone’s approval -- meaning, anyone from the past, the present or the future?