The local paper for the Upper er East Side THE ARTISTIC BEAUTY OF THE SWAN
WEEK OF MAY-JUNE
< P.12
FINDER, GIVER Nonagenarian Stuart Herman dredges Upper East Side streets accumulating coin for good works BY GAIL EISENBERG
Stuart Herman, 91, collects curbside nearly every morning. The retired market research expert scours Upper East Side streets for found change to donate to charity. How do I know this? We met going for the same nickel on Madison Avenue. I sat down with the Englewood, New Jersey, native to discuss his unusual foraging.
My first question is “why?” I feel very fortunate to have survived impossible situations. I’m a WW II veteran. I’d say 50 percent of my class didn’t come back. Part of the blessing I’ve been given is I survived. I want to look at what I have, not what I want. When I close my eyes, I want to know I left something behind that’s meaningful. But I’m not just a guy who picks up money off the street. If I find a tool, let’s say, I’ll give it to a carpenter. I want it to be of use to someone else. Also, I came from a family that didn’t waste. I learned from my father — how he functioned and treated people. I truly believe in do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Where does the money go? I give it to my brother, who works with indigent people in Hackensack, New Jersey. I feel we have a moral obligation to take care of those who are more in need than ourselves.
Why not just write a check? It’s easy to write a check. It really is. I like making use of something that others bypass and having it do some good. As soon as I see that money, I don’t own it. I believe every penny I pick up will find 99 more cents and turn into green.
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O OURTOWNNY.COM @OurTownNYC
26-1 2016
A RARE SETBACK FOR BIKE LANES NEWS Upper East Side community board rejects proposal for painted bike lanes BY MADELEINE THOMPSON
The Upper East Side’s Community Board 8 voted 25-19 to reject a controversial proposal to install painted bike lanes in the neighborhood, a rare public rebuke to a biking expansion throughout the city. The rejection by the full board came despite a vote earlier this month by the board’s transportation committee recommending that CB8 approve bike lanes on 70th and 71st, 77th and 78th, and 84th and 85th streets. Roughly 100 Upper East Siders attended the CB8 meeting on Wednesday, expressing both passionate opposition to and approval for the plan. Judy Toby, who has lived at 85th Street and First Avenue for 12 years, said she feels “threatened” by bike lanes and cyclists in general. “I don’t want to be knocked down,” Toby said. “I walk with a cane; it’s hard enough as it is. I just find this whole thing infuriating.” Andrew, a 27-year-old Upper East Sider who rides a Citi Bike to his Bryant Park consulting gig nearly every day, said the lack of crosstown options is obvious. “There aren’t that many,” he said. “It would be nice.” He suggested that officials explore eliminating car traffic altogether on some streets, leaving them to buses and bikes exclusively. In addition to keeping bicyclists safe, the arrangement would speed the buses. And, he said, “You would see more people use bicycles.” Conversations about bike lanes are happening across the city, as fre-
Newscheck Crime Watch Voices Out & About
Community Board 8 rejected a plan to add bike lanes like this one to East 70th and 71st Streets, 77th and 78th Streets, and 84th and 85th Streets. Photo: Mike, via flickr quent cyclists clash with those who feel bikes should not have more street space. A proposal for bike lanes on Queens Boulevard, for example, saw significant opposition and was rejected by its corresponding community board, but earlier this month Mayor Bill de Blasio said the plan would move forward anyway. Community boards can recommend courses of action, but they are not compulsory. Tom DeVito, director of organizing at the pro-bike advocacy group Transportation Alternatives, participated in a street scan last fall to determine which streets would be best suited for bike lanes. “The Upper East Siders that we work with were very disappointed in the community board’s failure to pass the safe streets resolution on what were often very
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City Arts To Do Food & Drink 15 Minutes
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flimsy objections,” he said. “These are all concerns that have been addressed very thoroughly by the DOT … It’s not compelling to vote against something that will increase safety for thousands of Upper East Siders based on debunked theories.” Despite DeVito’s and the DOT’s information showing how bike lanes could increase safety, Charles Warren, co-chairman of the CB8 transportation committee, was not surprised that the proposal was rejected. “Our board has generally come down in support of bikes, but I would say that there are certainly people in the community and on the board who feel that a lot of bikers just don’t obey the rules,” he said. “Then there’s a whole group of people who believe that biking is good for the community.”
A spokesperson for the DOT said the department is determining its next steps, which could range from going ahead with the installment despite the board’s disapproval to proposing a third set of alternate lane pairings for the board’s consideration. Community Board 8 Chair Jim Clynes is
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MAY 26-JUNE 1,2016
Chapter 13
EVE AND OTHERS BY ESTHER COHEN
Mrs. Israel, organized, intrepid, moderately fashionable the way Queen Elizabeth was moderately fashionable, that is, she looked as though every single day was Easter Sunday, her boxy handbag always in sight. She looked as though she could, at any moment, put on a pill box hat a la Jackie or the Queen herself, Mrs. Israel organized a posse although posse is not a word she’d ever use, to visit the building. She made a list of what they knew, and gave xeroxed copies to everyone. Here are all the facts so far: Alyosha Zed may or may not be his name. He had lived alone in an apartment three blocks away from the detectives. He was a dancer from another country – maybe Georgia. Maybe Uzbekistan. Maybe even Armenia.
No one knew for sure. His dance form was flamenco, but he was reputed to know tap, too. He was thin and handsome, and he worked part time on West 57th Street at a deli named MORTS. His super was a man named Anibal, half Dominican half Haitian. Anibal is Hannibal in Spanish. Eve and Others, the detective team, made their first official foray, their first trip together, to the site of the vanishing, an Illustration by John S. Winkleman entirely non-descript building, on 80th Street between Amsterdam and Columbus. The building stood in front, only Naomi’s friend was neither brown nor gray, with a Albert, who had unofficially joined cavernous lobby, both dark and ap- their detective team. “Anibal is waiting,” he greeted propriately mysterious. Fluorescent lobby lights flickered. No doorman them all. Albert, as fashionable as
We are halfway through Eve and Others, our first serial novel. Here’s what’s happened so far. In the eighties (before cell phones, before emails, when there was no social media, when memory had no choice but to function), a building
decided, over a pot luck dinner, to work together to try to find a missing man who once lived nearby. Maybe his name was Alyosha Zed. One of the building detectives, an agrophobic actor named Charles, said that couldn’t possibly be his
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entered the studio across the hall from Albert’s. It was mostly empty – just a boxy white room with a pullout couch, folding chair, card table and a dresser. No pictures on the wall, no give-away photographs, nothing all that personal lying around. An answering machine sat in the middle of the cardtable, and Naomi walked over to it, and pressed the Play button. “Alysosha,” a man’s voice said, in the only message on the tape. “I’m waiting for you in our usual place.” “How in the world can we know where that is?” said Pin Ball. “He went to the same bar every day. Tap a Keg. I’d see him there,” Anibal explained. “Real Clue Number One, “ Mrs. Israel smiled. Esther Cohen posts a poem a day at www
HELP US SOLVE A MYSTERY
REGENTS BEGIN
always, was wearing dark wool red, a memorable color for men’s daytime pants. He looked purposeful, and distinguished. In a way, they all did – not altogether distinguished, but somewhat. “He’s prepared to give us all that he has. Whatever he knows.” Together they walked up the dark stairwell to the third floor, to the back apartment where Anibal lived with his very large wife Mamie, and their two young sons. They were all sitting on the couch, all four of them, when the group arrived. The couch had a see through plastic cover making them look like a family carefully placed on top of saran wrap. “I have the key,” he said, and they walked up another two flights, then
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real name. There were only a few clues. The disappeared man’s neighbor, a man named Albert, knew him a little. This week, Lucky Week 13, we are asking our readers for help. How can we find Alyosha? If you had to guess, would you say
he is dead or alive? In the eighties, where might he have gone? And what are the ways that he can be found? We want to hear from you this week. To catch up on past chapters, go to ourtownny.com.
My IDNYC card helps us easily access city resources, from the library to the city hospital. I can get discounts on groceries, medicine, and movie tickets.
MAY 26-JUNE 1,2016
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CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG
NYPD STRIPS BADGE OF COP IN GUN INCIDENT A New York City police officer shown on video pointing his gun at a bystander who was filming a police encounter has been stripped of his gun and badge. The incident happened at a public housing complex in Manhattan. A video posted on Facebook shows two officers struggling with a man on the floor when one of them orders bystanders to move back. The video shows the officer then pulling out his gun and shouting, “I’m not playing.” Police said the man had been resisting arrest after riding an illegal dirt bike and fleeing from police. Another video shows the same officer later punching another man in the face before arresting him. A police spokesman says internal affairs investigators are probing the incidents.
STATS FOR THE WEEK Reported crimes from the 19th precinct Week to Date
Tony Webster, via flickr
MORE DUANE PAIN
WAYLAID SPADE
Duane Reade store managers must get headaches from all the shoplifting at their locations. At 8 p.m. on Sunday, May 15, a man entered the Duane Reade store at 2025 Broadway, and made off with $3,100 worth of Flonase and other over-the-counter medications.
At 1:30 p.m. on May 16, a man entered the Kate Spade store at 205 Columbus Ave. and removed merchandise from a rack, including purses and wallets valued at $1,400.
LOEW BLOW At 11:30 a.m. on May 14, a 27-yearold woman laid her purse down
Year to Date
2016 2015
% Change
2016
2015
% Change
Murder
0
0
n/a
2
1
100.0
Rape
0
0
n/a
1
1
0.0
Robbery
0
3
-100.0
29
42
-31.0
Felony Assault
1
2
-50.0
40
49
-18.4
Burglary
2
1
100.0
67
48
39.6
Grand Larceny
15
22
-31.8
502
465
8.0
Grand Larceny Auto
1
3
-66.7
15
19
-21.1
between the seats in the Loews Theater at 2310 Broadway. When she next looked for her handbag, she found that it was gone, along with its contents: an iPhone 6, credit cards and other belongings.
REAPING GIANT Locked bicycles disappear from even the busiest neighborhoods. At 3 p.m. on May 14, a 48-year-old woman locked up her bicycle outside 143 West 72nd St. When she returned for her Giant
Defy later, it was nowhere to be found. The stolen bike is valued at $1,300.
PLUCKED DUC Ducati owners might want to consider garaging their toney twowheelers. At 10 a.m. on May 7, a 31-year-old man parked his Ducati outside 120 West 71st St. When he returned for the vehicle sometime afterwards, it had disappeared. The missing motorcycle is worth $12,000.
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MAY 26-JUNE 1,2016
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Useful Contacts POLICE NYPD 19th Precinct
153 E. 67th St.
212-452-0600
159 E. 85th St.
311
FDNY Engine 39/Ladder 16
157 E. 67th St.
311
FDNY Engine 53/Ladder 43
1836 Third Ave.
311
FDNY Engine 44
221 E. 75th St.
311
FIRE FDNY 22 Ladder Co 13
CITY COUNCIL Councilmember Daniel Garodnick
211 E. 43rd St. #1205
212-818-0580
Councilmember Ben Kallos
244 E. 93rd St.
212-860-1950
STREET LEVEL My new life, again, without a TV BY BILL GUNLOCKE
STATE LEGISLATORS State Sen. Jose M. Serrano
1916 Park Ave. #202
212-828-5829
State Senator Liz Krueger
1850 Second Ave.
212-490-9535
Assembly Member Dan Quart
360 E. 57th St.
212-605-0937
Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright
1365 First Ave.
212-288-4607
COMMUNITY BOARD 8
505 Park Ave. #620
212-758-4340
LIBRARIES Yorkville
222 E. 79th St.
212-744-5824
96th Street
112 E. 96th St.
212-289-0908
67th Street
328 E. 67th St.
212-734-1717
Webster Library
1465 York Ave.
212-288-5049
100 E. 77th St.
212-434-2000
HOSPITALS Lenox Hill
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NY-Presbyterian / Weill Cornell
525 E. 68th St.
212-746-5454
Mount Sinai
E. 99th St. & Madison Ave.
212-241-6500
NYU Langone
550 First Ave.
212-263-7300
CON EDISON
4 Irving Place
212-460-4600
POST OFFICES US Post Office
1283 First Ave.
212-517-8361
US Post Office
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212-369-2747
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On 9/11 my best friend in Cleveland, where I used to live, called me here between 8:30 and 9:00 like he often did. After a few minutes of our usual easy chatter, as he was getting off the phone to take his dog out, he said some plane just went into the World Trade Center. He was seeing it right then on his TV. When he hung up, I didn’t turn on my TV to see what was going on. I didn’t have a TV. When I watch the TV I find myself noticing my feet on the ottoman in front of me or the books and magazines on the table. But then I’ve never had a giant TV. Maybe that was my problem. I eventually got a TV. After a few years. For sports mostly. And partly to be like everyone else. When I was a kid I got comic books to be like the other kids, even though I didn’t care about comic books. I can’t watch Ken Burns documentaries. I don’t like that there’s music. The strong images he finds and the strong voiceovers are powerful enough. The companion book with all the great photographs doesn’t have music. The music softens it all. Makes it like a progressive church service. This morning the cable guy came from a different company than I’d used for TV and internet and installed just the internet. No more TV other than what I can watch on my laptop from a friend’s streaming service which he gave me the password to. The cable guy said internet-only was the fastest-growing request from their customers. We talk about the proliferation of people with their damn iPhones. Are they/we on them 60 hours a week? No, but we watch our televisions that much. TV is the elephant in the room. We are addicted to its lights. We stay up late to look at all the lights we can fit in our day. “Statisticians report that television is watched over six hours a day in the average American household. I don’t know any fiction writers who live in average American households. I suspect Louise Erdrich might. Actually I have never seen an average American household. Except on TV.” -- David Foster Wallace, “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments” In college in the late 60s while a war was going on and revolution was being talked about and sung about, the TV lounge would fill up with guys watching “Batman.” My TV that’s been disconnected looks as lifeless as a Mac Classic. “Every hour of television that a person watches after the age of 25, the researchers concluded,
Let’s see how life will be without the lights. Photo by Bill Gunlocke potentially snips 22 minutes off of the viewer’s life span.” -- Gretchen Reynolds, health and fitness writer, The New York Times You’d have thought Morley Safer had lost a leg in Vietnam the way they went on about him. When I didn’t have a TV in my then-East Village apartment, someone told me that the musician I could sometimes hear practicing across the courtyard was the lead guy in a legendary band called Television. I never saw ‘The Wire’ or ‘Mad Men’ or ‘Breaking Bad’. I tried to get into ‘Silicon Valley’ on HBO and I liked the first two episodes and I felt like one of the guys. Then it lost me. My parents kept the little cabinet doors closed on our big console TV. They’d open them once in a while for the news or a few shows they liked. It was never just on. Radio has always been way more impor-
tant to me. To you too, maybe. My twin grandchildren in second grade have a TV in the living room of their apartment that’s as big as a Rothko painting. The list of that day’s televised games in the morning sports page is more exciting than the games when they actually come on. Football and English soccer the exceptions. I look forward to the TV being dark in the room. I can sit wherever I want to now. “TV families and your own are hard to tell apart, except yours isn’t interrupted every six minutes by commercials and theirs don’t get bogged down into nothingness, a state where nothing happens, no skit, no zany visitors, no outburst on the laugh track, nothing at all but boredom and a lost feeling, especially when you get up in the morning and the moon is still shining and men are making noisy bets on the first tee.” -- John Updike, “Rabbit at Rest”
MAY 26-JUNE 1,2016
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Our Perspective Economic Inequality is Making us Sick
By Stuart Appelbaum, President Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, RWDSU, UFCW
E
conomic inequality has an even higher cost than many people realize. Beyond lowering living standards for working Americans, a treasure trove of data compiled by the Center on Society and Health and the Urban Institute reveals that a major consequence of income inequality is poorer health and even shorter lifespans for those who earn less – poor people have an average lifespan six years shorter than the wealthy. And the greater the gap, the worse these problems become. People with lower incomes tend to have more restricted access to medical care, are more likely to be uninsured or underinsured, and have less paid time off and flexibility in their work lives to address health issues. Simply put, the lower one’s Simply put, income, the greater one’s likelihood of disease and the lower one’s premature death. Mental income, the health is a casualty of lower greater one’s incomes as well. People with lower incomes live shorter likelihood of lives, and suffer a lower quality disease and of life. It’s a troubling trend in a premature society with a growing pay gap and rising economic inequality, death. where the gap between the richest Americans and everyone else keeps getting bigger. Economic inequality is hurting the health of American families. So what’s the prescription? Without good jobs and benefits, the impact of economic inequality will continue to hurt the health of working families. The best way for workers and communities to become stronger, and the best way to close the pay gap and the health gap, is through union jobs and union contracts. It’s no secret that economic in equality is linked to a shrinking labor movement. At the exact same time union membership began to drop sharply in the 1970s, the share of income going to the richest Americans began to rise. The shared prosperity we saw with the growth of the labor movement has withered away, and while labor productivity has almost doubled since 1973, the median wage has grown only 4 percent. It’s not only bad for our economy and weakening workers’ families, it’s bad for our health. A stronger – and healthier – America depends on a revitalization of the labor movement and better jobs for American workers.
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BIKE LANES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 “sure the DOT will go back to the drawing board and come up with some new options.” Clynes said he would like to see more safety measures taken to prevent cyclist-oncyclist collisions since the east-west bike lanes would intersect with north-south bike lanes at several points. “I’m calling for the DOT to come up with safety measures such as warning signs, speed bumps, and other things of that nature,” he said. Steven Sladkus, an Upper East Sider and attorney who has represented property owners in cases against Citi Bike, thinks
speed bumps or other measures to slow bikers down would be a good idea. “My own children have expressed fear getting out of a car because they don’t want to get hit by a bicyclist,” he said. “I personally think it’s a bit of a hypocrisy that the city would help promote [biking] when no one wears helmets.” Clynes predicted that by the board’s July meeting they will be ready to revisit the topic. Warren said several board members would have preferred to vote on the proposed street pairings separately, but some procedural confusion prevented that from happening. “A number of people on the board wanted to vote separately … [on the pairs] and there was back and forth on
that,” Warren said. “We got into a bit of a procedural wrangle and the end result was the package was voted on together.” Warren chalked this up to an accident, though it seems the outcome would have been the same anyway due to considerable opposition to the pairing of 84th and 85th streets. St. Ignatius Loyola, an elementary and middle school, is located at E. 84th Street, where a portion of the road is closed off during weekday afternoons for use as a play space. “That’s inconsistent with having a bike lane,” Warren said. Had the board voted on the street pairings individually, they might have approved 70th, 71st, 77th, and 78th streets and only rejected 84th and 85th streets.
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These studio apartments are for one person households only. The age eligibility requirement is 62 years of age at the time of application.
These one bedroom apartments are for one or two person households only. The age eligibility requirement is 62 years of age for applicant and 55 years of age for co-applicant at the time of application.
Current Rent Range studio: $978 - $1231 Income Range: $40,712- $50,800 (1 person household) *Monthly rent includes heat, hot water and gas for cooking. Seniors will be required to meet income guidelines and additional selection criteria to qualify. Income guidelines are subject to change. One application per household. Applications may be downloaded from: www.metcouncil.org/housing or requested by mail from Met Council: East 54th Street Residence 120 Broadway, 7th floor New York, NY 10271. Please include a self-addressed envelope. No broker or application fee.
Current Rent Range: Income Range:
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*Monthly rent includes heat, hot water and gas for cooking. Seniors will be required to meet income guidelines and additional selection criteria to qualify. Income guidelines are subject to change. One application per household. Applications may be downloaded from: www.metcouncil.org/housing or requested by mail from Met Council: Carlton Avenue Residence 120 Broadway, 7th floor New York, NY 10271. Please include a self-addressed envelope. No broker or application fee.
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IWantToBeRecycled.org
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Voices
Write to us: To share your thoughts and comments go to ourtownny.com and click on submit a letter to the editor.
An Our Town Cartoon
Letters to the Editor
Photo by Jason Kuffer via flickr To the Editor: I was just crossing the street at 86th and 2nd Avenue around 8 p.m., by the restaurant on the corner. There is a big pile of trash sitting there. As my daughter and I were waiting for the light to change I could hear a lot of movement in the trash pile. Turning to look there were more than 10 large rats roaming around the trash pile! People, come on! I am sure that I am not the only one seeing them. I don’t know who’s trash it is but it seems to me it is a dinner invitation for the rats by leaving it in this corner space. There most be a better way! Jose Tolson E. 86th Street
By Peter G. Pereira
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To the Editor: You just had a story in “Voices “ about MTA buses. Reading the complaints people have about them I have to add the most important health issue plaguing us in this town! Am I the only person that has noticed this? Riding a Lexington line bus is a serious health hazard especially with A/c or heat used! Has anyone looked up and seen the extremely dirty air filters that never have been cleaned or changed? It is so bad the dirt causes a horrible stench throughout the buses, especially the older ones with the very filthy, uncleaned seats and interior! I believe if samples get taken
President & Publisher, Jeanne Straus nyoffice@strausnews.com Account Executive Editor In Chief, Kyle Pope editor.ot@strausnews.com Fred Almonte Director of Partnership Development Deputy Editor, Richard Khavkine Barry Lewis editor.dt@strausnews.com
from the A/c screens they might find dangerous pathogens! I would really like to know who has the cleaning contract for these buses and I also think it should be investigated why we have to deal with such filth! It surprises me that the bus drivers have not contacted their union, since they spend many hours in this environment! Next time you ride a bus on York, First, Third or Lex, take a good look at those active units above you and do as I, complain until someone at the MTA notices also and acts! Ingrid Eichenbaum E. 79th Street
Staff Reporters Gabrielle Alfiero, Madeleine Thompson Director of Digital Pete Pinto
Block Mayors Ann Morris, Upper West Side Jennifer Peterson, Upper East Side Gail Dubov, Upper West Side Edith Marks, Upper West Side
MAY 26-JUNE 1,2016
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BIONIC BODIES, WITH CANES GRAYING NEW YORK BY MARCIA EPSTEIN
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Darling, I Am Growing Old, Silver Threads Among the Gold.â&#x20AC;? And fibromyalgia plus spinal arthritis. Are we having fun yet? But enough about me. Let me tell you about my partner (with his complete agreement). My big, strong, completely healthyseeming partner has been monitored for a mild heart condition for 20 years. Suddenly, his echocardiogram changed and tests ensued. A cardiac catheterization, and this week an implant of a defibrillator/ pacemaker device. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s now a bionic man, with a home monitor that sends signals directly to the doctorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office. He seems ďŹ ne â&#x20AC;&#x201D; will be ďŹ ne, I hope â&#x20AC;&#x201D; but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s scary. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
very scary. The whole hospital experience was difficult, for both of us. I was pretty anxious and until we got him out of there the next day (I told the front desk weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d had a great time but sadly had to leave), I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t breathe freely. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re both still recovering. So now his heart is kept healthy (we hope) by wires and devices and remote monitoring, plus lots of doctorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; visits to come. This is enough to catapult anyone straight into the joys of old age. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve avoided the hospital so far, and hope to keep on doing so. Oh, they were very nice, very thoughtful, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a hospital. My partner, who had no symptoms whatsoever, is taking up his old life starting tomorrow. He will be walking with his group, working parttime, driving to Long Island to see his family. But there are
wires in his heart. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a headspinning thought. More head-spi n n i n g thoughts. Questions, really. Why doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Medicare cover dental care? Arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t teeth part of the body? A person could go broke just with a few dental procedures, not to mention implants, root canals, etc. And did you know that Medicare doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t cover safety equipment, such as shower grab bars, even though it spends billions on the treatment result-
...now his heart is kept healthy (we hope) by wires and devices and remote monitoring, plus lots of doctorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; visits... â&#x20AC;&#x153; ing from falls in the elderly? What the heck? A lighter note. I had a lovely Motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day brunch with my entire family. Tribeca might as well be Greece as far as I am concerned. I am such an Upper West Sider that venturing to a new neighborhood is like
Utility bills are piling up in the sock drawer
taking a trip. And I get to go home to my own bed. There are so many neighborhoods to explore in Manhattan, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m putting that on my to-do list. Then thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Brooklyn, where Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve rarely been since my birth sometime in the far, far past. My friend, who just moved to an assisted living facility near where we were on Sunday is in awe learning about her new neighborhood. She, also an Upper West Sider, is astonished at how different it all is from what sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s used to. My only problem in exploring is my back, which keeps me from taking long hikes. I have therefore joined, from BAiP (Bloomingdale Aging in Place), a walking group for the halt and the lame (my expression). I will begin on Friday, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s supposed to be for people like me who have trouble walking long distances, people with canes, maybe even walkers. Ten blocks max each way, maybe coffee in between. Sounds perfect. I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wait to begin, both for the easy walking and for meeting new people. I love BAiP, our own neighborhood NORC (Naturally Occuring Retirement Community). Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll let you know how it goes.
Photo: Mo Riza, via ďŹ&#x201A;ickr
Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s never too early (or too late) to talk about Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s support. Call our 24-hour Helpline. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re here anytime you need to talk.
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Thu 26 Fri 27
Sat 28
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ETHEL
STORYTIME
96th Street Library, 112 East 96th St. 2 p.m. Free William Wellmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 1937 feature, starring Carole Lombard and Fredric March about a small-town girl who mistakenly believes sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dying of radium poisoning. 212-289-0908. www.nypl. org/locations/96th-street
The Met Fifth Avenue, Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street 5-8 p.m. Free with museum admission The string quarted â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Ralph Farris, viola; Dorothy Lawson, cello; Kip Jones, violin; and Corin Lee, violin â&#x20AC;&#x201D; performs works by Jones, Kline, Lawson, Glass and Farris. 212-535-7710. www. metmuseum.org/
CB8â&#x20AC;&#x2122;S HEALTH, SENIORS AND SOCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE
THE INVISIBLESâ&#x2013;ş
Barnes & Noble, East 86th Street near Lexington Avenue 11 a.m., free Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, this Storytime explores â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our Great Big Backyard,â&#x20AC;? former ďŹ rst lady Laura Bushâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and her daughter Jenna Bush Hagerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tribute to the national parks and the importance of connecting with nature. Coloring and activities to follow. 212-362-8835. stores. barnesandnoble.com
Lenox Hill Hospital, 130 East 77th St. 6:30 p.m. Assembly Member Dan Quart will speak on the legislative issues regarding e-cigarette use and vaporiums and Dr. David Posner, a pulmonologist and will discuss the emergence and popularity of interest in e-cigarettes. cb8m.com/calendarmeeting_date
92nd Street Y, Lexington Avenue and 92nd Street Noon. $25 Jesse Holland, author and Washington, D.C., correspondent for The Associated Press, chronicles the African-American slave presence inside the White House from its beginnings in 1782 until 1862. 212.415.5500. www.92y.org/ index.aspx
CONSERVATORY GARDEN TOUR: FREE Vanderbilt Gate, Fifth Avenue between 104th and 105th Streets 11 a.m. Free with registration Take a tour with Conservatory Garden staff and learn about the history of the Garden, including its restoration by Central Park Conservancy, and the thousands of plants that bloom throughout the year. www.centralparknyc.org/ events/
MAY 26-JUNE 1,2016
Sun 29 MEMORIAL DAY FAMILY PICNIC Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Ave. Noon-3 p.m. Free with museum admission. Come for a Memorial Day picnic in celebration of citizens who have protected the United States. Bring a photograph, memento, or even a memory of a soldier who is dear to you. Share their stories on our popup memory mural, create an American ďŹ&#x201A;ag, and enjoy readaloud stories commemorating our heroes. 212-534-1672. www.mcny. org/
10 a.m.-noon, free The Soldiersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and Sailorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Memorial Association cordially invites everyone to attend this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s annual Memorial Day observance at the Soldiersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and Sailorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Monument. nyssma@msn.com
feature about choreographer Pina Bausch tour with her company, the legendary Wuppertal Tanztheater. Introduced at 7:30 by Melissa Anderson, the Village Voiceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s senior ďŹ lm critic. 212-355-6100. www.ďŹ af.org/
SALAM CINEMA
Wed 1
Guggenheim Museum, Fifth Avenue and 89th Street 1 p.m. Free with museum admission Mohsen Makhmalbafâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 1995 feature about the making of a ďŹ lm. 212-423-3500. www. guggenheim.org/about-us
Tue 31
SUNDAY MEETING â&#x20AC;&#x201D; DEMOCRACY SPRING
WISH YOU WERE HERE: GEORGE GERSHWIN
Society for Ethical Culture, 2 West 64th St. 11 a.m. Free Democracy Spring is a mass nonviolent action to win a real democracy that works for people. Organizer Newkirk will share his story and the story of this movement with us. 212-874-5210. http://www. nysec.org/
Jewish Museum, Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street, Scheuer Auditorium 6:30-8 p.m. $10-$15 Participate in an unusual evening of discussion between Jens Hoffmann, the museumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s deputy director of exhibitions and public programs, and â&#x20AC;&#x153;George Gershwin,â&#x20AC;? as portrayed by pianist and playwright Hershey Felder. 212-423-3200. thejewishmuseum.org/
Mon 30 MEMORIAL DAY COMMEMORATION
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â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;ONE DAY PINA ASKED ...â&#x20AC;&#x2122;
FIAF, Florence Gould Hall, 55 East 59th St. 4 and 7:30 p.m. $14; member Soldiersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; & Sailorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Monument, in advance, $3; students, $7 Riverside Drive and West 89th Chantal Akermanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 1983 Street
GRAND HARMONIE: ROMANTIC MUSIC FOR BRASSWINDS The Met Fifth Avenue, Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street 2:30-3:15 p.m. Free with museum admission The Department of Musical Instruments presents a concert of music from the Romantic era featuring members of the ensemble Grand Harmonie performing a selection of trios, quartets, and quintets on period instruments. A brief tour, The Art of Music: Pleasing Eye and Ear Alike, immediately follows the concert. 212-535-7710
ISSUE LAUNCH: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;TERREMOTOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Americas Society/Council of the Americas. 780 Park Ave. 7 p.m. Free and open to the public; registration required. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Terremotoâ&#x20AC;? is a bilingual quarterly online and printed magazine dedicated to contemporary art in Mexico City, Latin America, as well as the southern United States. 212-249-8950. www.as-coa. org/
Huge Selection of Bibles Fiction/Non-Fiction Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Books Greeting Cards .VTJD t (JGUT Original Art Events and More! )PVST . 5I BN QN t 'SJ BN QN 4BU BN QN t 4VO QN QN
:PSL "WF #UXO SE UI 4U t www.logosbookstorenyc.com
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DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING YOUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;D LIKE US TO LOOK INTO? DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING YOUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;D LIKE US TO LOOK INTO? DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING YOUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;D LIKE US TO LOOK INTO? Email us at NEWS@STRAUSNEWS.COM
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FINDING ARTISTRY IN A SWAN EXHIBITION Local artist highlights the beauty of an invasive species BY GABRIELLE ALFIERO
When artist Hilary Robin McCarthy started volunteering at the Wild Bird Fund a few years ago, her tasks were less than glamorous, and included cleaning pigeon feces from cages. But when the Upper West Side resident started working with a mute swan named Vanessa, she inadvertently found the newest subjects for her oil paintings. “I would just take photographs of the swan swimming in the tank,” said McCarthy, 41. “I was just like, ‘Oh my God, this is a painting waiting to happen.”
Not only did her volunteer work inspire her show “Songs of the Mute Swan,” it provided a venue: her collection of six oil paintings on canvas are on view in the window of the Wild Bird Fund Gallery on Columbus Avenue near 87th Street through June 11. The wildlife rehabilitation organization, located next door, will eventually expand its operations into the small, temporary gallery space, adding a larger operating room, x-ray area and a flight room for song birds. Fifty percent of McCarthy’s sales benefit the non-profit. Though an ideal pairing, McCarthy started work on the paintings before the space was converted into a gallery. McCarthy, a nearby resident who lives in the same building as the organization’s director, Rita McMahon, was walking by the window one day
Hilary Robin McCarthy’s oil painting “Eternity” is on view at the Wild Bird Fund Gallery through June 11. Photo: Hilary Robin McCarthy.
and noticed a crowd had gathered at a show opening. She approached the gallery director, a fellow volunteer, about her swan paintings, she said. The paintings aren’t McCarthy’s first to include animals. A former dog walker, McCarthy is also commissioned for pet portraits. But she was hesitant to incorporate the birds into her work at first. “Like, oh no my career is going downhill, I’m painting swans. It’s like painting flowers in a still life,” she said. “But it’s just really how you do it. It can be as cheesy or as beautiful as you want. I just said, ‘Forget it. I don’t care what people think. I’m just going to do it.’” McCarthy, who has a master’s of fine arts from New York Academy of Art and is currently working on a bachelor’s degree in art history at Columbia University, was inspired by artist John Singer Sargent’s use of white in his portraits, especially in the garments worn by his female subjects. He incorporated different colors like pink and gray in the white attire, she said, an approach she took when painting the birds’ white feathers. She also experimented with the iridescent effects of gold and copper leaf in her paintings’ grasses and floating leaves. McCarthy said she stays away from political themes in her work, but she learned during her research about efforts by the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation to control the population of the mute swan, an invasive, non-native species in New York. McMahon, whose organization receives about 4,000 birds and other wildlife each year, said the state does not allow reintroduction of the animals anywhere north of Westchester, though most mute swans she cares for come from Massapequa and the city’s animal care shelters. “They’re not allowed to put them back, even if they rehab them,” said McMahon. “So what does the rehabber do? It’s awful in that regard.” McCarthy’s compositions mostly show the birds gliding in water, their long necks curved and their heads bowed, and she references the birds’ signature grace in the gallery’s window display with a pair of pale pink ballet slippers and scattered white feathers. She realizes, though, that her work, in the window next to the Wild Bird Fund, sometimes has some stiff competition. Recently, she said, a pair of peacocks on view next door drew attention. “Walking down the street I think, ‘Oh they’re looking at my window,” she said. “No. They’re looking at the peacocks.
MAY 26-JUNE 1,2016
Hilary Robin McCarthy’s oil painting “Sleeping Swan” is on view at the Wild Bird Fund Gallery through June 11. Photo: Hilary Robin McCarthy.
MAY 26-JUNE 1,2016
POP-UP DESIGN AT THE SEAPORT TO DO
IF YOU GO GABRIELLE ALFIERO
Design show creators Odile Hainaut and Claire Pijoulat, who launched their annual design exhibitions under the name WantedDesign and now have a store in Brooklyn’s Industry City space, bring their expertise to the South Street Seaport. The pair curated popup store Design Market, which remains open to the public through June. They shared their hopes for the project and highlighted some of the designers represented in the store. This interview was edited for length and clarity.
THE BEGINNING Odile Hainaut: We started WantedDesign in Manhattan six years ago. We were both French New York-
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WHAT: Design Market WHERE: Seaport Studios 19 Fulton St., between Front and Water Streets WHEN: Now through June 30 Open daily 11 a.m.-7 p.m. For more information, visit southstreetseaport.com/ events The main goal for WantedDesign, and especially since we started Brooklyn, was bring design to the public and bring design awareness. So retail was the best way to do this, and to have smaller objects that are easier to relate to, easier to understand and easier to acquire is also a way to get people interested in design or get curious about design, to find out who’s
port some designers and makers that don’t have necessarily a large production and large visibility to the public. It’s great for us to support designers that are based at Industry City or in Brooklyn that we know well, and we know all the investment and all the time and all the talent they have. And it’s great for us to be able to sell the products of people we know and we appreciate and we think are good designers. It’s really again this balance between iconic pieces like an Alessi piece and a studio that we know very well and that we love and we want other people to love it, too.
THE DESIGNERS Pijoulat: There are two brands that we work with for WantedDesign and in the store that we know maybe a little better. A studio like Fort Makers for example, which is based in Brooklyn and
ACTIVITIES FOR THE FERTILE MIND
thoughtgallery.org NEW YORK CITY
Marcia Clark in Conversation with Cynthia McFadden
THURSDAY, MAY 26TH, 8:15PM 92nd Street Y | 1395 Lexington Ave. | 212-415-5500 | 92y.org NBC News Senior Legal and Investigative Correspondent Cynthia McFadden looks back at the “Trial of the Century” with O.J. Simpson trial prosecutor Marcia Clark, who will also discuss her new crime novel. ($32)
Wish You Were Here: George Gershwin
TUESDAY, MAY 31ST, 6:30PM The Jewish Museum | 1109 Fifth Ave. | 212-423-3200 | thejewishmuseum.org Catch an unusual evening of discussion between Jens Hoffmann, Deputy Director, Exhibitions and Public Programs, and “George Gershwin,” portrayed by pianist and playwright Hershey Felder. ($15)
Just Announced | Poetry and Philosophy with Think Olio
THURSDAY, JUNE 30TH, 6PM Round K Cafe | 99 Allen St. | 917-475-1423 | thinkolio.org Think Olio starts a new series of talks; June topics include individuality, Oedipus, and democracy, and “Dharma and Desire,” connecting the myth of Persephone with the Indian epic Ramayana. ($12)
For more information about lectures, readings and other intellectually stimulating events throughout NYC,
sign up for the weekly Thought Gallery newsletter at thoughtgallery.org.
MARBLE’S JAZZ INSPIRED WORSHIP
Design Market at Seaport Studios remains open through June 30. Photo: Ikonphoto ers, both in the design world in New York for years, and we realized that we didn’t really have a design week strong in New York as we have in other cities in the world, and that New York was not on the map in design week and we thought that something was missing. We really wanted to bring more people in town and talk about design. And we thought that we could create a new kind of trade show more like a design forum, design platform, more human scale, curated with established brands, up and coming, and also strong highlights on American designers and manufacturers.
THE CONCEPT Claire Pijoulat:
the designer, where the piece is made. So all these things we’ve been putting together doing WantedDesign elements tell the story and tell the process, is now live at the store.
THE OBJECTS Pijoulat: We were looking for a nice range of objects, things that we would like to have at home and going from a beautiful Alessi teapot that was designed in 1985 but then have next to it soap from Japan next to a candle that’s made in Brooklyn. It doesn’t have to be one style. It’s more about being good design and being well made. Hainaut: Another component which is very important to us is to sup-
does a lot of different things from wood to textiles, from art installation to products. This kind of studio, we’re very happy to present them because they don’t have a lot of exposure to the mass market. It’s very niche, so it’s nice to have them in the store. But then we have a studio that now is getting more and more attention like Juniper, who’s the lighting [company]. They are represented in other stores, but we have them there because they actually announced at WantedDesign in our event. So it’s also a collaboration. It’s very personal and it’s based on a lot of the relationships we have.
FRIDAYS
AT
6:30PM
The Marble Loft (274 5th Ave)
Great Music. Great Spirit. A perfect blend of jazz and the Word.
1 West 29th Street / New York, New York 10001 / 212 686 2770 / MarbleChurch.org
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In Brief STATE COULD CHANGE LIQUOR LAWS A panel recommended that the state relax its liquor laws, a move that could permit bars and restaurants to serve alcohol earlier on Sundays, the Daily News reported. Thanks to the 1934 Blue Laws, restaurants cannot sell boozy beverages before noon on Sundays. The panel, which was organized in November by Governor Andrew Cuomo, suggested that either the sale of alcohol should be permitted after 8 a.m. on Sundays, or permits should be issued that let certain businesses serve before 12 p.m. Melissa Fleischut, president of the New York Restaurant Association, told the Daily News such a change would benefit sports fans that want to watch soccer, or NFL games held in London that air earlier than noon locally. The Cuomo administration hopes to draft legislation by June, the Daily News reported.
MAY 26-JUNE 1,2016
Food & Drink
NEW RESTAURANT IN FOUR SEASONS SPACE WILL LOOK AT RESTAURANT’S HISTORY The partners of Major Food Group, who are set to occupy the Four Seasons space, will look to reference the restaurant’s history in their approaches, the New York Times reported. Chef Mario Carbone, in developing the menu for the restaurant’s Grill Room, wants to reimagine items found on the Four Seasons’ menus in the 1960s. In the Pool Room, chef and partner Rich Torrisi seeks a more modern experience with a vegetable and seafood-heavy menu. Despite slight changes to decor, the restaurant group does not plan to edit the design of the landmark spaces, the Times reported.
FOODIE WHIZ KID BOOTED FROM DORM ROOM Columbia student’s private dinners attract huge following, attention from Colbert BY VERENA DOBNIK
Photo by D_M_D via flickr
NEW OMAKASE RESTAURANT OPENS Sushi Ginza Onodera, which already operates in Paris and other cities, opened a Manhattan space at 461 Fifth Avenue on May 20, Eater reported. Located near the New York Public Library and Bryant Park, the restaurant features $300 omakase menus with 20 courses, and offers mostly wild fish from Japan. The eatery’s chef Masaki Saito will then serve up $200 menus and lunch dishes sometime this year, Eater noted
As a student at Columbia University, Jonah Reider wowed foodies and rankled city health officials by opening an exclusive supper club in his dorm. His culinary chutzpah, and the long waiting list for a seat at one of his unorthodox dinners, earned him write-ups in newspapers and magazines and even an appearance on “The Late Show” with Stephen Colbert. But after graduating this week, the 22-year-old whiz chef from Newton, Massachusetts, is facing the same reality as a lot of other new college grads. He’s looking for a place to live and a way to make a living. Four months after leaving his dorm, Reider is being booted from the Columbia-owned apartment where he hosted the latest incarna-
tion of his supper club. His eviction comes amid pressure from the university and city health officials, who said he was operating a restaurant under the radar of food inspectors. “I don’t mind if I live in a squalid little New York apartment,” Reider says, adding that he has just one requirement: “a nice kitchen.” His goal is to earn a living staging “wild, crazy events” for companies including, perhaps, fashion houses and hotels. A few gigs already have started to materialize. This week, a day before he graduated, the economics and sociology major cooked up his “experimental cuisine” for 90 guests who gathered at a Fifth Avenue mansion for an evening of music with Grammynominated conductor Andrew Cyr and the Metropolis Ensemble. His dishes included whipped bone marrow with watermelon radish and fennel, and raw scallops with pink lemon, charred ramp oil, rhubarb and black salt. He’s also lined up to film a web
series, appear at a Chicago cooking conference and prepare a series of meals at a Manhattan art gallery, with visitors helping to choose and mix ingredients amid artful ceramics and furniture. “I’m going to figure out how to make it all work,” he insists. Reider’s cooking career started when he and his friends at Newton South High School formed a grilling club. He had no formal training in cooking last September when he started his Columbia dorm supper club, which he called Pith, for the white outer part of an orange or lemon. With a mere four seats around one table and reservations available only online, Pith had no choice but to start small. But after one news outlet dubbed it “New York’s hottest new restaurant,” the waiting list quickly grew to thousands of wannabe guests. For his last semester, Reider moved into a Columbia-owned apartment. He had a lease through August, but recently got a letter ter-
minating his lease at the end of this month. Reider contended he made no money from the supper club, asking diners only to chip in about $15 toward groceries. Columbia officials declined to comment. Others haven’t hesitated to heap praise. “That is fantastic,” exclaimed Colbert last year on “The Late Show” after biting into a honey-filled phyllo dough dessert infused with black truffle. “That is delicious, unexpected.” Famed food critic Ruth Reichl, who attended one of Reider’s meals at a mutual friend’s house, later blogged that she found his fare “impossible to stop eating.” And The New York Times named him one of its “30 under 30” creative achievers. As for what the future holds, Reider says he has no regrets about breaking from most of his Ivy League classmates and choosing an unconventional path. “I don’t really care,” he says. “I’m so excited about the cooking and the people I’m meeting.”
MAY 26-JUNE 1,2016
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COIN COLLECTOR CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 About how much to do you donate annually? I’ve had a high of $199 in found money and a low of less than $50. It’s gotten very hard to find change. Today it’s much more difficult. There are no more public telephones, and people use plastic for parking meters and MetroCards for buses. I have some luck at Costco checkout counters. And I recently found $20 walking my granddaughter’s dog.
Where do you keep the money? I put my findings in little boxes I have all around, little “pushkas” the charities use. When they fill up, I roll the coins, and then store them in a plastic bag until the amount is significant to make it worthwhile to take to the bank or give to my brother, whichever is easier at the time.
When did you start walking? I used to run all over the city, eight-10 miles a day, and I also ran marathons. I placed 10th in my age group in the BolderBOULDER race in Colorado. Then in 1995, a limousine hit me outside of my building. I had to have stitches in my head, and get titanium knees. Hospital for Special Surgery did such a great job, I recovered within three weeks of having my first knee done, and I started walking.
How often do you walk? I read the obituaries every morning. If my name’s not there, I’m good. I go rain or shine, seven days a week. I’m what you call a consistent exerciser. If you exercise and eat right, you have the greatest chance of going and going until The Guy comes and says it’s your time to leave.
Do you have a routine? I get up by about 5, head to the gym, and then go walking. Getting out by 7 is late. I wear New Balance sneakers, tube socks, shorts — with pockets for my findings — and a T-shirt. I put a light jacket on to please the doorman. I start on Park Avenue and 75th Street, walk over to Madison, go downtown to 54th Street, then back uptown on Park. Unless I go buy bagels. In that case, I walk up by the 92nd Street Y on Lexington.
What’s your technique? Is there anything you won’t do to score the coin? I walk as close to the curb as possible. I stop cars for a penny, and I’ll push a coin out of questionable liquid with my foot and wash it later. It’s a contest against time—I have a few hours in the morning and
Stuart Herman with a few fruits of his labors. Photo: Gail Eisenberg I want to see what I can get in the bank.
Tell me about some of the characters you’ve met along the way. A woman saw me picking up a penny, and she handed her young son a dollar to give to me. I told her I didn’t need it, but she insisted – “take it, take it.” I didn’t. Also, a man once fought with me saying he saw the penny first. He was a little “off.” I told him he could have the penny in addition to what I’d found earlier.
And me, right? I let you keep the nickel after you told me what you were going to do with it. That’s honorable. I’m charitable, but I deposit my take in an interestaccruing savings account so I make money on found money. I also used to match my day’s
findings. Anyway ... What about near-misses — foreign coins, slugs, shiny objects? I pick up pieces of metal and deposit them in the trash. This way I help to clear the street. I keep the foreign coins. It doesn’t matter. I’m currently working on an idea for how to put that money to use rather than have it sit in a jar.
Anything you’d like to add? Giving back has been passed along to my granddaughter, who teaches horseback riding to mentally challenged people, and my grandson, who does yoga therapy. In fact, he just found four $100 bills at an animal reserve in Tennessee. The first thing he said was, “Who am I going to give this to?”
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RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS MAY 2 - 20, 2016 Selena Rosa Mexicana
1712 2nd Ave
Grade Pending (33) Food not cooled by an approved method whereby the internal product temperature is reduced from 140º F to 70º F or less within 2 hours, and from 70º F to 41º F or less within 4 additional hours. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.
Biddy’s Pub
301 East 91 Street
A
Newman And Leventhal Caterers
50 East 87 Street
A
The Wright
1071 5 Avenue
A
Go Cups
1838 2nd Ave
A
The Weir
1672 3rd Ave
Not Yet Graded (30) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, crosscontaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
Crumbs Bake Shop
1418 Lexington Ave
A
Lolitas Kitchen & Burger House
1364 Lexington Ave
Not Yet Graded (18) Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
Yummy Sushi
1758 1 Avenue
A
Bagel Mill
1700 1st Ave
A
Mercado’s Cuisine
1759 Lexington Avenue
A
The Duck
2171 2 Avenue
A
Pasteles Capy
242 East 116 Street
A
Le Pain Quotidien
1399 Madison Ave
A
Adar Lounge
1637 Park Ave
A
Maxwell’s Bar & Restaurant
1325 5Th Ave
Not Yet Graded (26) Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.
Sammys Gourmet
1404 Madison Ave
Not Yet Graded (55) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Appropriately scaled metal stem-type thermometer or thermocouple not provided or used to evaluate temperatures of potentially hazardous foods during cooking, cooling, reheating and holding. Hand washing facility not provided in or near food preparation area and toilet room. Hot and cold running water at adequate pressure to enable cleanliness of employees not provided at facility. Soap and an acceptable handdrying device not provided. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred. Wiping cloths soiled or not stored in sanitizing solution.
Brisas Del Mar Seafood Market
1785-1787 Lexington Avenue
Grade Pending (22) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewageassociated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies. Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.
The following listings were collected from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s website and include the most recent inspection and grade reports listed. We have included every restaurant listed during this time within the zip codes of our neighborhoods. Some reports list numbers with their explanations; these are the number of violation points a restaurant has received. To see more information on restaurant grades, visit http://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/services/restaurant-grades.page Shabu-Shabu 70 Restaurant
Chipotle Mexican Grill
314 East 70 Street
Grade Pending (19) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies or food/ refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/ or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewage-associated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies.
1288-1290 1st Avenue
A
Candle Cafe
1307 3 Avenue
A
Lexington Bar And Books
1020 Lexington Avenue
A
Matsu Ii Sushi
411 East 70 Street
A
Sette Mezzo
969 Lexington Avenue A
Papadam
1448 1 Avenue
A
Blue Bottle Coffee
945 Madison Ave
A
Members Dining Room @ The Met Museum
1000 5 Avenue
A
Mad River Bar & Grille
1442 3 Avenue
A
The Penrose
1590 2 Avenue
A
El Aguila
1215 Lexington Avenue
A
1248 Lexington Avenue
A
Metropolitan Museum Roof 1000 5 Avenue Top Garden Cafe
A
Hu Kitchen
Not Yet Graded (30) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred. Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.
Mimi’s Pizza
1536 3rd Ave
The New Amity Restaurant 1134 Madison Avenue A AMC Theatres
1538 3rd Ave
A
Genesis Bar & Restaurant
1708 2 Avenue
A
Wok 88
1570 3 Avenue
Grade Pending (21) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewageassociated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies.
Marco Polo Pizza & Deli
1289 Madison Avenue Grade Pending (26) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Tobacco use, eating, or drinking from open container in food preparation, food storage or dishwashing area observed. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.
Bareburger
1681 1st Ave
A
Ooki Sushi
1575 3 Avenue
A
MAY 26-JUNE 1,2016
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COLOR RETURNS TO DAMROSCH PARK The Lincoln Center sanctuary, subject of legal skirmish between city and residents, has new greenery installed BY MELODY CHAN
On Tuesday afternoon, Damrosch park was welcoming, inclusive and green. In other words, much like a group nearby residents had sought during a five-year skirmish over the park’s purpose. Tuesday’s festivities — many of the residents brought toffee, nuts and apple cider to the park — in part greeted 38 new trees and dozens of plantings taking root in the 2.4-acre space, which adjoins Lincoln Center on West 62nd Street. The trees — crape myrtles, green vase zelcovas and shamrock lindens — went some way to replace dozens of London lanes chopped down about six years ago in preparation for Fashion Week’s initial appearance in the park. It was then that a coalition of Upper West Siders battled with the city and center over access to the park. But letter writing, Freedom of Information requests and direct petitioning led only to frustration. In 2013, Cleo Dana, who can see
the park and Lincoln Center from her apartment, joined with Geoffrey Croft of NYC Park Advocates; Olive Freud, the president of Committee for Environmentally Sound Development; and neighborhood plaintiffs, and sued. They alleged that the Parks Department and Lincoln Center were violating the public trust by allowing Lincoln Center to put on private, money-generating events, and in the process cutting off public access. The parties settled in December 2014 and Tuesday’s events marked a symbolic burying of the hatchet. In addition to the plantings, which are one aspect of the settlement, a new plaque was commissioned to honor the Damrosch family, longtime patrons of the arts, including the Julliard School. On Tuesday, Freud, who was joined by representatives from Lincoln Center and the Parks Department, spoke about the impact the group’s actions had on the community. “The Public Trust Doctrine has teeth and is to be taken seriously,” she said from a glass podium. “Other groups in the city should take heart and protect their precious public amenities; no one else will!”
Dozens of new trees and plantings are taking root in Damrosch Park, on West 62nd Street between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues, one consequence of a legal settlement between residents and the city and Lincoln Center. Photo: Melody Chan Lincoln Center invested about $500,000 to reinvigorate the park. Planters are now filled with hardy plants, capable of enduring both the city’s sweltering summers and its frigid winters. The center is also in charge of most upkeep and maintenance of
The only dedicated Assisted Living Facility in New York City specializing in Enhanced Memory Care.
Ensconced in the landmark neighborhood of the Upper East Side, Residents continue to enjoy the heart and soul of this incomparable city they have always loved. • Beautiful Upper East Side Environment • Each floor a “Neighborhood” with Family Style Dining & Living Room • 24-hour Licensed Nurses & Attendants specially trained in dementia care • Medication Management • Around the clock personal care, as needed • Housekeeping, Linen & Personal Laundry • Courtyard & Atrium Rooftop Garden • Chef prepared Meals Nation’s first recipient of AFA’s Excellence in Care distinction.
80th Street Residents in Central Park with the Essex House Hotel peeking from behind.
430 East 80th Street, New York, NY 10075 Tel. 212-717-8888 www.80thstreetresidence.com
the park, including snow removal, security and event planning. Lincoln Center will continue to provide public programming in the park. That will include the Big Apple Circus, a nonprofit, which has set up its winter show at Damrosch Park since the
early 1980s. “The circus set up will not interfere with the trees,” a spokesperson for Lincoln Center, Mary Caraccioli, said an email. She said numerous concerts and events that the Center are being planned for the summer, all of which will be free or low-cost, she said. “The programs give us the opportunity to bring the world to Lincoln Center. It’s important the people understand that they are welcome here,” Caraccioli said. “There’s great art for all. If people come to the public programs, suddenly they belong and going to the opera or the ballet seems less intimidating.” Residents are also looking forward. “The most important thing was to give people in the city the heart to fight,” Freud said. She and Dana hope that their actions will inspire concerned residents like them to speak out against any problems concerning their public spaces. Freud’s group praises a San Francisco’s so-called “Sunlight Ordinance,” which prohibits high-rises and towers from casting shadows onto public parks and spaces, a law Freud hopes will one day take hold in New York’s open spaces.
Caring for someone with Alzheimer’s or Dementia is relentless, exhausting work. And yet, in the absence of an effective therapy or cure, effective care remains the best therapy. That is why, for over thirty years, CaringKind, The Heart of Alzheimer’s Caregiving (formerly known as the Alzheimer’s Association, New York City Chapter) has focused on developing and delivering programs and services that ease the burden of a dementia caregiver, which benefits the caregiver – either family or professional, the person with the disease and their family. CaringKind staff see people, not a disease. Education and training programs and social work services help ease the emotional, physical, psychological and financial burden of managing the disease, while treating each individual and family with dignity and compassion. CaringKind’s programs include social work services, education programs, caregiver workshops, caregiver support groups, culturally sensitive outreach initiatives, cultural arts programs, training programs for medical professionals and home health aides, specialized programs for individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and earlystage dementia and the MedicAlert NYC program provides resources to protect those who wander. CaringKind is a community of people, not just a network of resources. Over the past three decades, CaringKind has developed extraordinary long-term relationships with their community partners in the five boroughs including medical centers, researchers, long-term care facilities, home health services, the clergy, government officials, and the philanthropic community. Most important, CaringKind is creating a world where the stigma of an Alzheimer’s or dementia diagnosis no longer forces families to retreat, but helps them to reach out and ask for help. It’s never too early – or too late – to talk about Alzheimer’s support. Trained staff can help you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call 646-744-2900 and, like so many others, you will be glad you did. Visit www.caringkindnyc.org for additional information.
MAY 26-JUNE 1,2016
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Neighborhood Scrapbook
HAVING DIFFICULTY PERFORMING THE SPORT OR ACTIVITY THAT YOU ENJOY DOING? Outreach Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapy NOW ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS
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MARKING A GRADUATION AT TECHNION AND CORNELL Tech:NYC Executive Director Julie Samuels, Israeli Consul General Ido Aharoni and others gathered to celebrate the inaugural graduating class of the Joan & Irwin Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute, the ďŹ rst time an international university has ever granted an accredited degree for studies on U.S. soil. Graduates will receive two degrees, one from the Technion and one from Cornell.
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MAY 26-JUNE 1,2016
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Congratulations York Prep Athletes!
Varsity Baseball
Varsity Boys Basketball
JV Boys Basketball
ISAL League Tournament Champions.
ISAL League Tournament Champions. State Tournament Semi-Finalists.
ISAL League Tournament Champions.
Boys Volleyball
Varsity Boys Soccer ISAL League Tournament Champions.
Varsity Cross Country and Track & Field Winner of the ISAL Championship 100m dash and NY SAIS Tournament Qualifiers.
The Boys Varsity Volleyball team finished the season in second place in the Private School Athletic Association, which then qualified them for the PSAA Playoff Tournament. Even though there was only 8 individuals competing, they packed a punch and competed each and every match with pride, excitement and enthusiasm. In the playoffs, the Boys rolled through the first round against Evangel Christian in straight sets. The Boys then went on to the finals to square off against Staten Island Academy. After a valiant effort, the team ended up losing in 4 sets but battled hard each and every point throughout the match. A very successful season overall and they will continue to build for the future!
G O PA N T H E R S ! York Prep is a co-educational, independent, private day school offering a traditional curriculum for grades 6-12.
For application information contact Elizabeth Norton at enorton@yorkprep.org or Tracy Warner at twarner@yorkprep.org. 40 West 68th Street
MAY 26-JUNE 1,2016
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Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com To read about other people who have had their “15 Minutes” go to ourtownny.com/15 minutes
YOUR 15 MINUTES
LAWYER FOR GOOD WORKS General counsel at Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens sees great purpose in her work BY ANGELA BARBUTI
When Emmie Glynn Ryan was in college in Ireland, she aspired to become a social worker. Her professor steered her away from that career path. “He told me I was too soft and would be bringing home everybody and wouldn’t be able to draw the line,” she explained. She would go on to study law, and as fate would have it, now uses that expertise to help people in need. Her introduction to Catholic Charities Brooklyn Queens came after her husband — broadcaster Jim Ryan of Fox 5 Good Day NY — was being honored as Brehon of the Year at the Great Irish Fair in Coney Island. When the position of general counsel became available, she applied. She’s been with the nonprofit for nearly 20 years. “I was so drawn to Catholic Charities and have grown into it and feel like it’s part of my family, not just a job to go to every day.” The organization administers and offers more than 160 programs, from Head Start centers for young children and food delivery to the elderly to mental health services and affordable housing placement. On June 29, Catholic Charities will hold its annual Humanitarian Award Dinner. The proceeds will benefit services they provide on a daily basis. Because of an overwhelming response, the event had to be moved to the Grand Ballroom at the Waldorf Astoria to accommodate their guests. Throughout the evening, clients give their touching accounts of how the organization has helped them in their time of need. “It’s what brings me to work every day, just remembering their stories,” Ryan said.
How can you explain the mission of the organization? What are some of the things it does that you’re most proud of? I love Catholic Charities for the variety of services they provide to everybody regardless of where they come from and what their qualifications are. No matter who comes in the door, they can always be assisted or directed in some way. We have a fabu-
lous integration of services here. They start off with daycare and Head Start programs. The Head Start programs, to me, are so important because they teach children from such an early age and it gives them a great start. And we help people with mental and behavioral health issues. It’s such an area that’s so misunderstood. A lot of people are afraid of mentally ill people. And we help them so much. And then we have, of course, our seniors. They are the salt of the earth. We look after them. Some of them have no families. For some of them, the only communication they have is with Catholic Charities and the various centers that we have where we deliver meals to them. I’m really so proud of the dedication of our staff. Through thick and thin and through (Hurricane) Sandy and all the snowstorms and bad winters we’ve had, their first priority is always to make sure our clients are served. And, of course, that comes from the top down.
What is your business background? I was a lawyer in Ireland. I worked in London for three years as an attorney and requalified there. We all have to pay rent, so I went into the corporate world for a while. And then when (Communist head of state Nicolae) Ceausescu was in Romania and was brought down, they needed some volunteer workers. I stayed in Romania for six months. I was a nurse, painter, teacher, anything they needed as a volunteer I did. And I absolutely loved it. When did you come to the U.S.? How did your job at Catholic Charities come about? While I was in Romania, my Donnelly Visa came through that I had applied for. So I had to get together all my paperwork and tests and arrived in the United States with one day to spare on that visa. And like all immigrants, I had a few jobs. I worked in law firms summarizing depositions, I worked in a bookstore, did a bit of waitressing. And then I got a job in a law firm and stayed with them for about three years. And I went to Coney Island one year with my husband, he was being made Brehon of the Year for the Irish Fair they have out there. And that was when I was introduced to Catholic Charities and all the great work that they do. And I said to myself, ‘I’m going to try and work for a not-for-prof-
Emmie Glynn Ryan, the general counsel at Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens. Photo: Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens it.’ So I kept my eyes and ears to the ground and when a vacancy came up here — my predecessor had adopted two children and then adopted a third so decided she wanted to stay at home. So I applied for the job and after several months of interviewing, I got it and have been here since.
How did you meet your husband? My brother Michael Glynn, who has since died, had an establishment on 57th Street called Kennedy’s. It was an Irish bar. So my brother was very good friends with my husband. Michael told him, “I want to introduce you to my family.” We were introduced and Jim took a big shine to me and the rest is history, really.
What does your job entail? What is a typical day like for you? There is no typical day. I’m the legal advisor to our CEO and the corpora-
tion. Of course we have several affiliates, so I’m also general counsel to all of them. Our housing portfolio is one of the largest faith-based developers of affordable housing, including senior housing, in the country. I never know what’s going to be on my desk. I deal with so many issues from the Behavioral Health Clinic, Daycare Center, Head Start Center, and we have a large number of 1,500 to 2,000 employees.
and feel so glad you are part of an organization that directly helps people. You can see it. When you donate to cancer research, which is fantastic, you don’t always see the results. This is so gratifying, to be able to see the smile that we can put on somebody’s face by giving them a home or helping them out when they were down on their luck with rent. It’s just unbelievable.
Give us a glimpse into the Bishop’s Humanitarian Dinner.
To learn more, visit www.ccbq.org
In past years, they explain the history of the charity and how we spend people’s donations. We get little accounts from either the programs directly, or clients themselves telling their stories. That is heartbreaking and so beautiful to listen to. When you as a worker for Catholic Charities listen to them, you can only be moved
Know somebody who deserves their 15 Minutes of fame? Go to ourtownny.com and click on submit a press release or announcement.
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“I WISH SOMEONE WOULD HELP THAT HOMELESS MAN.”
BE THE SOMEONE. Sam New York Cares Volunteer
Every day, we think to ourselves that someone should really help make this city a better place. Visit newyorkcares.org to learn about the countless ways you can volunteer and make a difference in your community.
MAY 26-JUNE 1,2016
MAY 26-JUNE 1,2016
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SPECIAL FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYER PROGRAMS*
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1-800-382-HOME(4663)
www.sonyma.org
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* First-time homebuyers only. Income limits and location restrictions may apply.
24
MAY 26-JUNE 1,2016
Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com
COME HOME TO GLENWOOD MANHATTANâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S FINEST LUXURY RENTALS
3 3 3
3
3 3
3 3 3 UPPER EAST SIDE 1 BEDROOMS FROM $3,195 2 BEDROOMS FROM $4,595 CONV 3 BEDROOMS FROM $5,795
MIDTOWN & UPPER WEST SIDE 1 BEDROOMS FROM $3,495 2 BEDROOMS FROM $4,895 3 BEDROOMS/3½ BATHS FROM $8,695
TRIBECA & FINANCIAL DISTRICT 1 BEDROOMS FROM $3,995 CONV 2 BEDROOMS FROM $4,495 2 BEDROOMS FROM $6,995
UPTOWN LEASING OFFICE 212-535-0500 DOWNTOWN LEASING OFFICE 212-430-5900 ! " " All the units include features for persons with disabilities required by the FHA.
Equal Housing Opportunity
GLENWOOD BUILDER OWNER MANAGER
GLENWOODNYC.COM