Our Town - August 1, 2019

Page 1

The local paper for the Upper East Side

A COLLECTOR’S PARADISE ◄ CITY ARTS, P. 12

WEEK OF AUGUST

1-7 2019

INSIDE

BIKE DEATHS PROMPT NEW SAFETY PLAN

AT LAST, A CITY STOREFRONT DATABASE Officials behind the nation’s first such registry explain how the new law works, P. 2

STREETS As the number of cyclist fatalities this year continues to climb, the city expands efforts to protect riders BY EMILY HIGGINBOTHAM

Mayor Bill de Blasio has released a new five-year, $58.4 million plan to build more protected bike lanes, step up enforcement and redesign dangerous intersections after the number of cyclist fatalities so far on the year ticked up to 17. Since the announcement, another cyclist was killed in Brooklyn, bringing the total to 18, compared to 10 for all of 2018. An expansion of Vision Zero, the mayor’s “Green Wave Bicycle Plan” vows to build 30 miles of protected bike lanes annually. The Department of Transportation will introduce several new safety features at fifty of the city’s most dangerous intersections. Additionally, the New York Police Department will ramp up enforcement at the 100 most crashprone sites and target drivers who fail to yield to bikers and block bike lanes. “No loss of life on our streets is acceptable,” de Blasio said in a statement. “With a dangerous surge in cyclist fatalities, we have to keep pushing the envelope and increas-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

OurTownEastSide

O OURTOWNNY.COM @OurTownNYC

MORGENTHAU’S LIFE OF PUBLIC SERVICE

Riders Alliance protest at MTA headquarters on July 22. Photo: Riders Alliance Twitter, @RidersNY

THE MELTING CITY URBAN WOES Power outages, subway cancellations and flooded streets — and that was only July BY STUART MARQUES

Welcome to the Summer of Hell — Part 2. The last half of July was plagued with a triple whammy of brutally high heat, torrential rain and mechanical failures crippling Con Edi-

Crime Watch Voices NYC Now City Arts

son and the MTA’s subway system — and the Dog Days of August still lie ahead. The power failures and subway problems put Con Ed and the MTA under the gun. Subway President Andy Byford apologized for a “glitch” that snarled subways, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio both slammed Con Ed and made noises about possibly pulling its franchise, which is quite hard to do. The rain was so bad that water

3 8 10 12

Restaurant Ratings 14 Business 16 Real Estate 17 15 Minutes 21

Family, friends and colleagues gathered to honor the New York legal legend, P. 5

stormed through cracks in subway ceilings and cascaded down stairways and onto platforms; streets in some low-lying areas were flooded with more than a foot of water. Asked about the likelihood of more problems ahead as the weather gets even hotter, one official paused and then said, “It’s the summertime.” Here’s a look at major events in July that began this year’s version of the Summer of Hell.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

THE BUBBLE TEA SOLUTION An UES cafe owner’s strategy for supporting local businesses, P. 16 Jewish women and girls light u the world by lighting the Shabb candles every Friday evening 18 minutes before sunset. Friday, August 2 – 7:52 pm. For more information visit www.chabaduppereastrside.co

We deliver! Get Our Town Eastsider sent directly to your mailbox for $49 per year. Go to OurTownNY.com or $ call 212-868-0190

2

AUGUST 1-7,2019

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

AT LAST, A CITY STOREFRONT DATABASE POLICY The officials behind the first such registry in the nation explain how the new law works BY GALE BREWER, COREY JOHNSON AND HELEN ROSENTHAL

From the Upper West Side to Astoria to Bed-Stuy, empty storefronts seem to be everywhere you look in New York City. These spaces often remain empty, mysteriously, for years on end. The impact on neighborhoods is significant. Unoccupied stores mean less foot traffic on the block, fewer “eyes on the street” if something goes wrong, fewer options for neighborhood residents, and, perhaps most tragically, the loss of neighborhood character that makes New York, New York. There has been endless speculation over the cause of the vacancies. The internet has enabled businesses to sell without a physical presence, and it has changed the way people shop for goods and services. The boom of new commercial buildings

The bill will require building owners to submit information on their commercial properties to the City each year. (built with cheap-credit loans) has resulted in a glut of space. Landlords are holding out for unrealistic rents, corporate tenants, or both. And it’s all occurring without an economic recession. Some basic information is needed to truly understand this problem. For example, what is the real vacancy rate for storefronts? Where is the vacancy problem most pronounced, and why? Have asking rents been going up or down? If so, by how much? How do asking rents correspond with vacancy rates?

New Requirements for Building Owners The truth is, no one knows the answers to these questions because

City Council Member Helen Rosenthal, left, Speaker Corey Johnson and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer. Photo: Courtesy Office of the City Council Speaker

the City hasn’t been collecting the data. In 2017 the Borough President’s office conducted a survey of empty storefronts along the length of Broadway, from the Battery to Inwood, and found almost 200 empty spaces. But that’s just a sample of data at a particular moment in time. As the late business guru Peter Drucker said, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” This is why we introduced the legislation, which just passed the City

Council, that will require building owners to register storefronts with the City to be a part of the first-inthe-nation public database of retail spaces and their vacancy status. The bill will require building owners to submit information on their commercial properties to the City each year, including square footage, current or last asking rental price, use, whether or not the property is vacant, and whether a lease is up for renewal within the next two years.

Building owners who fail to submit this information will face penalties.

Useful Information and Tools With this information, the City will produce a public data set of information disaggregated by Council district and census tract, which can be used to guide policy going forward. The City will also make public a list of addresses of commercial properties with an indication as to whether or not such property is vacant. This information would not only inform policy makers and community based organizations, but could also assist business owners looking for space, those facing negotiations on the expiring leases, and civic hackers who can combine this data with other data sets — 311 calls about rat complaints, for example — and provide unthought-of services. Just as important, information from this database can then be used to form the basis of possible solutions. Perhaps a “tax on emptiness” is necessary. Or requiring lease protections for existing tenants facing a huge rent hike. It is vitally important that we get this right. A New York City comprised of empty storefronts and corporate chains is no longer New York. This bill will give us the tools to do so.

NORTHERN MANHATTAN STUDY OF METABOLISM AND MIND

NOMEM The purpose of NOMEM is to learn more about how blood sugar and other factors relate to the brain and mental abilities of persons living in Northern Manhattan. We are seeking your help to conduct this study. You are eligible to participate if you: x Live in Manhattan or the Bronx x Are between 60 and 69 years of age x Are able to do an MRI and a PET scan of the brain Participation will include these activities: 1. Questionnaires 2. Blood tests 3. A brain MRI 4. A brain PET scan with contrast We will compensate your time for participating in these 4 activities with $350. We will also give you the results of important blood tests.

PLEASE CONTACT US @ 212-305-4126, 646-737-4370, LS960@CUMC.COLUMBIA.EDU

AUGUST 1-7,2019

3

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG STATS FOR THE WEEK Reported crimes from the 19th precinct for the week ending July 21 Week to Date

Year to Date

2019 2018

% Change

2019

2018

% Change

Murder

0

0

n/a

0

1

-100.0

Rape

0

0

n/a

11

8

37.5

Robbery

1

2

-50.0

79

86

-8.1

Felony Assault

2

4

-50.0

77

82

-6.1

Burglary

4

2

100.0

119

120

-0.8

Photo by Toni Webster via Flickr

Grand Larceny

38

27

40.7

849 799

6.3

Grand Larceny Auto

3

3

0.0

17

-50.0

a phone call regarding the refund of a software purchase. The caller convinced the victim to give him access to her computer and her online bank account. The caller then led her to believe that she owed him money and withdrew $16,000 from her online account. The scammer then got her to visit two brick-and-mortar Chase Bank locations, where she withdrew an additional $49,800, which she sent to him via FedEx. In all, the victim was out $65,800.

FOOD TRUCK RUCKUS Two men ganged up on a food truck vendor, police said. At 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday, July 24, two men approached a food truck operated by a 70-year-old man in front of 138 East 61st St. According to the police report, one of the men reached into the vendor’s window and started to take change from the counter. As the vendor tried to stop him, the second man reached in the truck’s back door and took $10-15 from the money box. When the vendor stepped out of the food truck, police said, one of the pair

34

punched the vendor in the side of his head and ran off. The vendor was not injured and refused medical attention at the scene. Police searched the neighborhood but did not find the suspects.

WOMAN SCAMMED FOR $65,800

$50K BLOOMIE’S BLOWOUT

A senior Upper East Side resident became the latest victim of a phone scam. According to the police, at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, July 12, a 74-year-old woman living on East End Ave. got

Three men made off with a substantial haul from Bloomingdale’s. A store employee told police that at 12:15 p.m. on Monday, July 22, three men entered the chain’s

flagship store at Third Ave. and 59th St, and removed multiple items of merchandise before leaving without paying. The trio exited the store on Lexington Ave. and fled the scene in a silver BMW, heading east on 59th St. Apparently, the car did not have license plates. The total value of the items stolen came to $56,500.

ARREST IN PACKAGE THEFT Police said they nabbed yet another package thief preying on area residents. According to the police report, at 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday, July 24, a man entered an apartment building in the 400 block of East 80th St., swiping a credit card through the front door lock. He then allegedly concealed a number of packages in

a black garbage bag before leaving the building without permission or authority. Christopher Greene, 57, was subsequently arrested and charged with burglary in connection with the incident.

A JONES FOR JEANS At 2:10 p.m. on Wednesday, July 17, a man entered the Madewell boutique at 1144 Madison Ave. at 85th St., removed items from a store shelf and exited without paying, an employee told police. The stolen merchandise included nine jeans jackets valued at $1,152 and ten pairs of denim pants selling for $1,280, making a total haul of $2,432.

This is more than great rates This is more savings for wherever you’re going.

Platinum Savings Account

2.00

%

µÜÜãÏÚ ÄÓàÑÓÜâÏÕÓ Í×ÓÚÒ ÔÝà _` ÛÝÜâÖá å×âÖ ÜÓå ÛÝÜÓç ÒÓÞÝá×âá ÝÔ Ïâ ÚÓÏáâ r`c ^^^ ÏÜÒ Ï Û×Ü×ÛãÛ ÒÏ×Úç ÏÑÑÝãÜâ ÐÏÚÏÜÑÓ ÝÔ r`c ^^^ Ýà ÛÝàÓ_

Guaranteed Fixed-Rate CD

2.10

%

µÜÜãÏÚ ÄÓàÑÓÜâÏÕÓ Í×ÓÚÒ ÔÝà Ï e#ÛÝÜâÖ âÓàÛ å×âÖ ÜÓå ÛÝÜÓç ÒÓÞÝá×âá ÝÔ Ïâ ÚÓÏáâ r`c ^^^`

Enroll in a branch by August 30, 2019. ¶ãá×ÜÓáá ÝåÜÓà Ask about our business savings rates. ÃøÓàá ÏäÏ×ÚÏÐÚÓ ×Ü ·È ¸¹ ºÀ ¾ ÂÍ ÏÜÒ Äµ Portfolio by Wells Fargo] ÑãáâÝÛÓàá ÏàÓ ÓÚ×Õ×ÐÚÓ âÝ àÓÑÓ×äÓ ÏÜ ÏÒÒ×â×ÝÜÏÚ ÐÝÜãá ×ÜâÓàÓáâ àÏâÓ ÝÜ âÖÓáÓ ÏÑÑÝãÜâá 3 1. ÈÝ ßãÏÚ×Ôç ÔÝà âÖÓ ÏÒäÓàâ×áÓÒ µÄÍ çÝã Ûãáâ ÓÜàÝÚÚ çÝãà ÜÓå Ýà Óæ×áâ×ÜÕ ÄÚÏâ×ÜãÛ ÇÏä×ÜÕá ÏÑÑÝãÜâ ×Ü âÖ×á ÝøÓà ÐÓâåÓÓÜ ^e*^f*`^_g ÏÜÒ ^f*a^*`^_g Ðç áÞÓÏÙ×ÜÕ âÝ Ï ÐÏÜÙÓà ÏÜÒ àÓßãÓáâ×ÜÕ âÖÓ áÞÓÑ×ÏÚ àÏâÓ ÃøÓà ×á áãÐØÓÑâ âÝ ÑÖÏÜÕÓ Ïâ ÏÜç â×ÛÓ å×âÖÝãâ ÜÝâ×ÑÓ ÏÜÒ ×á ÏäÏ×ÚÏÐÚÓ ÝÜÚç âÝ ÄÚÏâ×ÜãÛ ÇÏä×ÜÕá ÑãáâÝÛÓàá ×Ü âÖÓ ÔÝÚÚÝå×ÜÕ áâÏâÓá ·È ¸¹ ºÀ ¾ ÂÍ Äµ ½Ü ÝàÒÓà âÝ ÓÏàÜ âÖÓ ÇÞÓÑ×ÏÚ ½ÜâÓàÓáâ ÆÏâÓ ÝÔ _ gf° (ÇÞÓÑ×ÏÚ ÆÏâÓ) çÝã Ûãáâ ÒÓÞÝá×â r`c ^^^ ×Ü ÜÓå ÛÝÜÓç âÝ âÖÓ ÓÜàÝÚÚÓÒ áÏä×ÜÕá ÏÑÑÝãÜâ ÏÜÒ ÛÏ×ÜâÏ×Ü Ï Û×Ü×ÛãÛ ÒÏ×Úç ÏÑÑÝãÜâ ÐÏÚÏÜÑÓ ÝÔ r`c ^^^ âÖàÝãÕÖÝãâ âÖÓ ÞàÝÛÝâ×ÝÜÏÚ ×ÜâÓàÓáâ àÏâÓ ÞÓà×ÝÒ ÂÓå ÛÝÜÓç! ×á ÛÝÜÓç ÔàÝÛ áÝãàÑÓá Ýãâá×ÒÓ ÝÔ âÖÓ ÑãáâÝÛÓà á ÑãààÓÜâ àÓÚÏâ×ÝÜáÖ×Þ å×âÖ ËÓÚÚá ºÏàÕÝ ¶ÏÜÙ Â µ Ýà ×âá ÏûÚ×ÏâÓá (åÖ×ÑÖ ×ÜÑÚãÒÓá ÏÚÚ ÒÓÞÝá×â ÐàÝÙÓàÏÕÓ ÏÜÒ ÚÝÏÜ*ÑàÓÒ×â ÏÑÑÝãÜâá) ÈÖÓ ÑÝààÓáÞÝÜÒ×ÜÕ µÜÜãÏÚ ÄÓàÑÓÜâÏÕÓ Í×ÓÚÒ (µÄÍ) ÔÝà âÖ×á ÝøÓà ×á ` ^^° ÈÖÓ ÇÞÓÑ×ÏÚ ÆÏâÓ å×ÚÚ ÐÓ ÏÞÞÚ×ÓÒ âÝ âÖÓ ÓÜàÝÚÚÓÒ áÏä×ÜÕá ÏÑÑÝãÜâ ÔÝà Ï ÞÓà×ÝÒ ÝÔ _` ÛÝÜâÖá áâÏàâ×ÜÕ ÝÜ âÖÓ ÒÏâÓ âÖÓ ÏÑÑÝãÜâ ×á ÓÜàÝÚÚÓÒ ×Ü âÖÓ ÝøÓà ¼ÝåÓäÓà ÔÝà ÏÜç ÒÏç Òãà×ÜÕ âÖÏâ _` ÛÝÜâÖ ÞÓà×ÝÒ âÖÏâ âÖÓ ÒÏ×Úç ÏÑÑÝãÜâ ÐÏÚÏÜÑÓ ×á ÚÓáá âÖÏÜ âÖÓ r`c ^^^ âÖÓ ÓÜàÝÚÚÓÒ ÏÑÑÝãÜâ å×ÚÚ ÜÝâ ÐÓ ÓÚ×Õ×ÐÚÓ ÔÝà âÖÓ ÇÞÓÑ×ÏÚ ÆÏâÓ ÏÜÒ å×ÚÚ ×ÜáâÓÏÒ ÓÏàÜ âÖÓ ÏÞÞÚ×ÑÏÐÚÓ ÇâÏÜÒÏàÒ ½ÜâÓàÓáâ ÆÏâÓ ÔÝà Ï ÄÚÏâ×ÜãÛ ÇÏä×ÜÕá ÏÑÑÝãÜâ µá ÝÔ ^c*a_*`^_g âÖÓ ÇâÏÜÒÏàÒ ½ÜâÓàÓáâ ÆÏâÓ ÏÜÒ µÄÍ ÔÝà Ï ÄÚÏâ×ÜãÛ ÇÏä×ÜÕá ÏÑÑÝãÜâ ×Ü ·È ºÀ ¾ ÏÜÒ ÂÍ å×âÖ ÏÜ ÏÑÑÝãÜâ ÐÏÚÏÜÑÓ ÝÔ r^ ^_ ÏÜÒ ÏÐÝäÓ ×á ^ ^c° (^ ^c° µÄÍ) ÏÜÒ ÔÝà Ï ÄÚÏâ×ÜãÛ ÇÏä×ÜÕá ÏÑÑÝãÜâ ×Ü ¸¹ ÏÜÒ Äµ å×âÖ ÏÜ ÏÑÑÝãÜâ ÐÏÚÏÜÑÓ ÝÔ r^ ^_ âÝ rgg ggg gg ×á ^ ^c° (^ ^c° µÄÍ) ÏÜÒ å×âÖ ÏÜ ÏÑÑÝãÜâ ÐÏÚÏÜÑÓ ÝÔ r_^^ ^^^ ÏÜÒ ÏÐÝäÓ ×á ^ _^° (^ _^° µÄÍ) ¹ÏÑÖ â×Óà áÖÝåÜ àÓúÓÑâá âÖÓ ÑãààÓÜâ Û×Ü×ÛãÛ ÒÏ×Úç ÑÝÚÚÓÑâÓÒ ÐÏÚÏÜÑÓ àÓßã×àÓÒ âÝ ÝÐâÏ×Ü âÖÓ ÏÞÞÚ×ÑÏÐÚÓ µÄÍ ½ÜâÓàÓáâ ×á ÑÝÛÞÝãÜÒÓÒ ÒÏ×Úç ÏÜÒ ÞÏ×Ò ÛÝÜâÖÚç ÈÖÓ ÏÛÝãÜâ ÝÔ ×ÜâÓàÓáâ ÓÏàÜÓÒ ×á ÐÏáÓÒ ÝÜ âÖÓ ÒÏ×Úç ÑÝÚÚÓÑâÓÒ ÐÏÚÏÜÑÓá ×Ü âÖÓ ÏÑÑÝãÜâ ÉÞÝÜ âÖÓ ÓæÞ×àÏâ×ÝÜ ÝÔ âÖÓ _` ÛÝÜâÖ ÞàÝÛÝâ×ÝÜÏÚ ÞÓà×ÝÒ âÖÓÜ#ÑãààÓÜâ ÇâÏÜÒÏàÒ ½ÜâÓàÓáâ ÆÏâÓá ÏÞÞÚç Á×Ü×ÛãÛ âÝ ÝÞÓÜ Ï ÄÚÏâ×ÜãÛ ÇÏä×ÜÕá ÏÑÑÝãÜâ ×á r`c µ ÛÝÜâÖÚç áÓàä×ÑÓ ÔÓÓ ÝÔ r_` ÏÞÞÚ×Óá ×Ü ÏÜç ÛÝÜâÖ âÖÓ ÏÑÑÝãÜâ ÔÏÚÚá ÐÓÚÝå Ï ra c^^ Û×Ü×ÛãÛ ÒÏ×Úç ÐÏÚÏÜÑÓ ºÓÓá ÛÏç àÓÒãÑÓ ÓÏàÜ×ÜÕá ½ÜâÓàÓáâ àÏâÓá ÏàÓ äÏà×ÏÐÚÓ ÏÜÒ áãÐØÓÑâ âÝ ÑÖÏÜÕÓ å×âÖÝãâ ÜÝâ×ÑÓ ËÓÚÚá ºÏàÕÝ ÛÏç Ú×Û×â âÖÓ ÏÛÝãÜâ çÝã ÒÓÞÝá×â âÝ Ï ÄÚÏâ×ÜãÛ ÇÏä×ÜÕá ÏÑÑÝãÜâ âÝ ÏÜ ÏÕÕàÓÕÏâÓ ÝÔ r_ Û×ÚÚ×ÝÜ ` µäÏ×ÚÏÐÚÓ ×Ü#ÐàÏÜÑÖ ÝÜÚç çÝã Ûãáâ áÞÓÏÙ å×âÖ Ï ÐÏÜÙÓà âÝ àÓßãÓáâ âÖÓ áÞÓÑ×ÏÚ àÏâÓ µÜÜãÏÚ ÄÓàÑÓÜâÏÕÓ Í×ÓÚÒ (µÄÍ) ×á ÓøÓÑâ×äÓ ÔÝà ÏÑÑÝãÜâá ÝÞÓÜÓÒ ÐÓâåÓÓÜ ^e*^f*`^_g ÏÜÒ ^f*a^*`^_g ÏÜÒ àÓßã×àÓá Ï Û×Ü×ÛãÛ ÝÔ r`c ^^^ ×Ü ÜÓå ÛÝÜÓç ÐàÝãÕÖâ âÝ ËÓÚÚá ºÏàÕÝ ÂÓå ÛÝÜÓç! ×á ÛÝÜÓç ÔàÝÛ áÝãàÑÓá Ýãâá×ÒÓ ÝÔ âÖÓ ÑãáâÝÛÓà á ÑãààÓÜâ àÓÚÏâ×ÝÜáÖ×Þ å×âÖ ËÓÚÚá ºÏàÕÝ ¶ÏÜÙ Â µ Ýà ×âá ÏûÚ×ÏâÓá (åÖ×ÑÖ ×ÜÑÚãÒÓá ÒÓÞÝá×â ÐàÝÙÓàÏÕÓ ÏÜÒ ÚÝÏÜ*ÑàÓÒ×â ÏÑÑÝãÜâá) ÄãÐÚ×Ñ ºãÜÒá ÏÜÒ ËÖÝÚÓáÏÚÓ ÏÑÑÝãÜâá ÏàÓ ÜÝâ ÓÚ×Õ×ÐÚÓ ÔÝà âÖ×á ÝøÓà µÄÍ ÏááãÛÓá ×ÜâÓàÓáâ àÓÛÏ×Üá ÝÜ ÒÓÞÝá×â ãÜâ×Ú ÛÏâãà×âç ½ÜâÓàÓáâ ×á ÑÝÛÞÝãÜÒÓÒ ÒÏ×Úç ÄÏçÛÓÜâ ÝÔ ×ÜâÓàÓáâ ÝÜ ·¸á ×á ÐÏáÓÒ ÝÜ âÓàÛ ºÝà âÓàÛá ÚÓáá âÖÏÜ _` ÛÝÜâÖá (adc ÒÏçá) ×ÜâÓàÓáâ ÛÏç ÐÓ ÞÏ×Ò ÛÝÜâÖÚç ßãÏàâÓàÚç áÓÛ×#ÏÜÜãÏÚÚç Ýà Ïâ ÛÏâãà×âç (âÖÓ ÓÜÒ ÝÔ âÖÓ âÓàÛ) ºÝà âÓàÛá ÝÔ _` ÛÝÜâÖá Ýà ÛÝàÓ ×ÜâÓàÓáâ ÛÏç ÐÓ ÞÏ×Ò ÛÝÜâÖÚç ßãÏàâÓàÚç áÓÛ×#ÏÜÜãÏÚÚç Ýà ÏÜÜãÏÚÚç µ ÞÓÜÏÚâç ÔÝà ÓÏàÚç å×âÖÒàÏåÏÚ å×ÚÚ ÐÓ ×ÛÞÝáÓÒ ÏÜÒ ÑÝãÚÒ àÓÒãÑÓ ÓÏàÜ×ÜÕá ÝÜ âÖ×á ÏÑÑÝãÜâ ÇÞÓÑ×ÏÚ ÆÏâÓá ÏàÓ ÏÞÞÚ×ÑÏÐÚÓ âÝ âÖÓ ×Ü×â×ÏÚ âÓàÛ ÝÔ âÖÓ ·¸ ÝÜÚç µâ ÛÏâãà×âç âÖÓ áÞÓÑ×ÏÚ àÏâÓ ·¸ å×ÚÚ ÏãâÝÛÏâ×ÑÏÚÚç àÓÜÓå ÔÝà Ï âÓàÛ ÝÔ d ÛÝÜâÖá Ïâ âÖÓ ×ÜâÓàÓáâ àÏâÓ ÏÜÒ µÄÍ ×Ü ÓøÓÑâ ÔÝà ·¸á ÝÜ àÓÜÓåÏÚ ÒÏâÓ ÜÝâ áãÐØÓÑâ âÝ Ï ÇÞÓÑ×ÏÚ ÆÏâÓ ãÜÚÓáá âÖÓ ¶ÏÜÙ ÖÏá ÜÝâ×ùÓÒ çÝã ÝâÖÓàå×áÓ _ ` ¸ãÓ âÝ âÖÓ ÜÓå ÛÝÜÓç àÓßã×àÓÛÓÜâ ÜÓå ÏÑÑÝãÜâá ÛÏç ÝÜÚç ÐÓ ÝÞÓÜÓÒ Ïâ çÝãà ÚÝÑÏÚ ÐàÏÜÑÖ ÏÜÒ çÝã Ûãáâ áÞÓÏÙ âÝ Ï ÐÏÜÙÓà âÝ àÓßãÓáâ âÖÓ áÞÓÑ×ÏÚ àÏâÓ ÝøÓàá ÔÝà ÐÝâÖ ÜÓå ÏÜÒ Óæ×áâ×ÜÕ ÏÑÑÝãÜâá ËÓÚÚá ºÏàÕÝ àÓáÓàäÓá âÖÓ à×ÕÖâ âÝ ÛÝÒ×Ôç Ýà Ò×áÑÝÜâ×ÜãÓ âÖÓ ÝøÓà Ïâ ÏÜç â×ÛÓ å×âÖÝãâ ÜÝâ×ÑÓ Á×Ü×ÛãÛ ÜÓå ÛÝÜÓç ÒÓÞÝá×â àÓßã×àÓÛÓÜâ ÝÔ Ïâ ÚÓÏáâ r`c ^^^ ×á ÔÝà âÖ×á ÝøÓà ÝÜÚç ÏÜÒ ÑÏÜÜÝâ ÐÓ âàÏÜáÔÓààÓÒ âÝ ÏÜÝâÖÓà ÏÑÑÝãÜâ âÝ ßãÏÚ×Ôç ÔÝà ÏÜç ÝâÖÓà ÑÝÜáãÛÓà ÒÓÞÝá×â ÝøÓà ½Ô çÝã å×áÖ âÝ âÏÙÓ ÏÒäÏÜâÏÕÓ ÝÔ ÏÜÝâÖÓà ÑÝÜáãÛÓà ÒÓÞÝá×â ÝøÓà àÓßã×à×ÜÕ Ï Û×Ü×ÛãÛ ÜÓå ÛÝÜÓç ÒÓÞÝá×â çÝã å×ÚÚ ÐÓ àÓßã×àÓÒ âÝ ÒÝ áÝ å×âÖ ÏÜÝâÖÓà ÜÓå ÛÝÜÓç ÒÓÞÝá×â Ïá áâÏâÓÒ ×Ü âÖÓ ÝøÓà àÓßã×àÓÛÓÜâá ÏÜÒ ßãÏÚ×ùÑÏâ×ÝÜá ÃøÓà ÑÏÜÜÝâ ÐÓ 0 ·ÝÛÐ×ÜÓÒ å×âÖ ÏÜç ÝâÖÓà ÑÝÜáãÛÓà ÒÓÞÝá×â ÝøÓà 0 ÆÓÞàÝÒãÑÓÒ ÞãàÑÖÏáÓÒ áÝÚÒ âàÏÜáÔÓààÓÒ Ýà âàÏÒÓÒ a ÈÖÓ ÄÝàâÔÝÚ×Ý Ðç ËÓÚÚá ºÏàÕÝ ÞàÝÕàÏÛ ÖÏá Ï ra^ ÛÝÜâÖÚç áÓàä×ÑÓ ÔÓÓ åÖ×ÑÖ ÑÏÜ ÐÓ ÏäÝ×ÒÓÒ åÖÓÜ çÝã ÖÏäÓ ÝÜÓ ÝÔ âÖÓ ÔÝÚÚÝå×ÜÕ ßãÏÚ×Ôç×ÜÕ ÐÏÚÏÜÑÓá r`c ^^^ Ýà ÛÝàÓ ×Ü ßãÏÚ×Ôç×ÜÕ Ú×ÜÙÓÒ ÐÏÜÙ ÒÓÞÝá×â ÏÑÑÝãÜâá (ÑÖÓÑÙ×ÜÕ áÏä×ÜÕá ·¸á º¸½·#×ÜáãàÓÒ ½Æµá) Ýà rc^ ^^^ Ýà ÛÝàÓ ×Ü ÏÜç ÑÝÛÐ×ÜÏâ×ÝÜ ÝÔ ßãÏÚ×Ôç×ÜÕ Ú×ÜÙÓÒ ÐÏÜÙ×ÜÕ ÐàÝÙÓàÏÕÓ (ÏäÏ×ÚÏÐÚÓ âÖàÝãÕÖ ËÓÚÚá ºÏàÕÝ µÒä×áÝàá ÀÀ·) ÏÜÒ ÑàÓÒ×â ÐÏÚÏÜÑÓá (×ÜÑÚãÒ×ÜÕ _^° ÝÔ ÛÝàâÕÏÕÓ ÐÏÚÏÜÑÓá ÑÓàâÏ×Ü ÛÝàâÕÏÕÓá ÜÝâ ÓÚ×Õ×ÐÚÓ) ½Ô âÖÓ ÄÝàâÔÝÚ×Ý Ðç ËÓÚÚá ºÏàÕÝ àÓÚÏâ×ÝÜáÖ×Þ ×á âÓàÛ×ÜÏâÓÒ âÖÓ ÐÝÜãá ×ÜâÓàÓáâ àÏâÓ ÝÜ ÏÚÚ ÓÚ×Õ×ÐÚÓ áÏä×ÜÕá ÏÑÑÝãÜâá ÏÜÒ Ò×áÑÝãÜâá Ýà ÔÓÓ åÏ×äÓàá ÝÜ ÝâÖÓà ÞàÝÒãÑâá ÏÜÒ áÓàä×ÑÓá å×ÚÚ Ò×áÑÝÜâ×ÜãÓ ÏÜÒ àÓäÓàâ âÝ âÖÓ ¶ÏÜÙ á âÖÓÜ#ÑãààÓÜâ ÏÞÞÚ×ÑÏÐÚÓ áâÏÜÒÏàÒ ×ÜâÓàÓáâ àÏâÓ Ýà ÔÓÓ ºÝà ÐÝÜãá ×ÜâÓàÓáâ àÏâÓá ÝÜ â×ÛÓ ÏÑÑÝãÜâá âÖ×á ÑÖÏÜÕÓ å×ÚÚ ÝÑÑãà ãÞÝÜ àÓÜÓåÏÚ ½Ô âÖÓ ÄÝàâÔÝÚ×Ý Ðç ËÓÚÚá ºÏàÕÝ àÓÚÏâ×ÝÜáÖ×Þ ×á âÓàÛ×ÜÏâÓÒ âÖÓ àÓÛÏ×Ü×ÜÕ ãÜÚ×ÜÙÓÒ ËÓÚÚá ºÏàÕÝ ÄÝàâÔÝÚ×Ý ·ÖÓÑÙ×ÜÕ Ýà ËÓÚÚá ºÏàÕÝ Äà×ÛÓ ·ÖÓÑÙ×ÜÕ ÏÑÑÝãÜâ å×ÚÚ ÐÓ ÑÝÜäÓàâÓÒ âÝ ÏÜÝâÖÓà ÑÖÓÑÙ×ÜÕ ÞàÝÒãÑâ Ýà ÑÚÝáÓÒ \ `^_g ËÓÚÚá ºÏàÕÝ ¶ÏÜÙ Â µ µÚÚ à×ÕÖâá àÓáÓàäÓÒ ¸ÓÞÝá×â ÞàÝÒãÑâá ÝøÓàÓÒ Ðç ËÓÚÚá ºÏàÕÝ ¶ÏÜÙ Â µ ÁÓÛÐÓà º¸½·

4

Useful Contacts POLICE NYPD 19th Precinct

153 E. 67th St.

212-452-0600

159 E. 85th St. 157 E. 67th St.

311 311

1836 Third Ave.

311

221 E. 75th St.

311

211 E. 43rd St. #1205 244 E. 93rd St.

212-818-0580

State Sen. Jose M. Serrano State Senator Liz Krueger Assembly Member Dan Quart Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright

1916 Park Ave. #202 1850 Second Ave. 360 E. 57th St.

212-828-5829 212-490-9535 212-605-0937

1485 York Ave.

212-288-4607

COMMUNITY BOARD 8 LIBRARIES

505 Park Ave. #620

212-758-4340

Yorkville 96th Street 67th Street Webster Library

222 E. 79th St. 112 E. 96th St. 328 E. 67th St. 1465 York Ave.

212-744-5824 212-289-0908 212-734-1717 212-288-5049

100 E. 77th St. 525 E. 68th St.

212-434-2000 212-746-5454

E. 99th St. & Madison Ave. 550 First Ave. 4 Irving Place

212-241-6500 212-263-7300 212-460-4600

1283 First Ave. 1617 Third Ave.

212-517-8361 212-369-2747

201 Varick St. 128 East Broadway 93 4th Ave.

212-645-0327 212-267-1543 212-254-1390

CITY COUNCIL Councilmember Keith Powers Councilmember Ben Kallos

212-860-1950

STATE LEGISLATORS

HOSPITALS Lenox Hill NY-Presbyterian/ Weill Cornell Mount Sinai NYU Langone

CON EDISON POST OFFICES US Post Office US Post Office

POST OFFICES US Post Office US Post Office US Post Office

HOW TO REACH US: 212-868-0190 nyoffice@strausnews.com ourtownny.com

TO SUBSCRIBE: Our Town is available for free on the east side in select buildings, retail locations and news boxes. To get a copy of east side neighborhood news mailed to you weekly, you may subscribe to Our Town Eastsider for just $49 per year. Call 212-868-0190 or go online to StrausNews.com and click on the photo of the paper or mail a check to Straus Media, 20 West Ave., Chester, NY 10918.

NEWS ITEMS:

numbers for verification. Letters that cannot be verified will not be published. We reserve the right to edit or condense letters for libel, good taste, grammar and punctuation. Submit your letter at ourtownny.com and click submit at the bottom of the page or email it to nyoffice@ strausnews.com.

BLOG COMMENTS: We invite your comments on stories and issues at ourtownny. com. We do not edit those comments. We urge people to keep the discussion civil and the tone reflective of the best we each have to offer.

To report a news story, call 212-868-0190. News releases of general interest must be emailed to our offices by noon the Thursday prior to publication to be considered for the following week. Send to news@ strausnews.com.

PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD:

CALENDAR ITEMS:

PREVIOUS OWNERS:

Information for inclusion in our calendar should be posted to nycnow.com no later than two weeks before the event.

Tom Allon, Isis Ventures, Ed Kayatt, Russ Smith, Bob Trentlyon, Jerry Finkelstein

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Include your full name, address and day and evening telephone

Drawing Board BY MARC BILGREY

FIRE FDNY 22 Ladder Co 13 FDNY Engine 39/ Ladder 16 FDNY Engine 53/ Ladder 43 FDNY Engine 44

AUGUST 1-7,2019

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

Call 212-868-0190. Classified ads must be in our office by 12pm the Friday before publication, except on holidays. All classified ads are payable in advance.

ABOUT US Our Town is published weekly by Straus Media-Manhattan, LLC. Please send inquiries to 20 West Ave., Chester, NY 10918.

AUGUST 1-7,2019

5

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

ROBERT MORGENTHAU’S LIFE OF PUBLIC SERVICE REMEMBRANCE

CARNEGIE EAST HOUSE New York’s Premier Enriched Housing Community for Senior Living t 8POEFSGVM OVUSJUJPVT NFBMT t 1FSTPOBM DBSF TFSWJDFT t 8FFLMZ IPVTFLFFQJOH MBVOESZ

Family, friends and colleagues, including a Supreme Court Justice, gathered last week to honor the New York legal legend

t -JDFOTFE OVSTFT BOE TPDJBM XPSL TFSWJDFT t IPVS DPODJFSHF BOE TVQQPSU

BY EMA SCHUMER

$BMM GPS B QFSTPOBM UPVS Nearly a thousand people celebrated the life of Robert Morgenthau, New York’s longest serving district attorney, last Thursday at Temple Emanu-El on Fifth Avenue and 65th Street. The service drew Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, New York politicians Mayor Bill de Blasio and former Governor Eliot Spitzer, and the city’s legal elite. Sotomayor, Pierre Laval, senior judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Steve Kaufman, spoke at the ceremony, eulogizing Morgenthau’s professional accomplishments and commitment to pursuing justice. Six of his children — Amy, Anne, Barbara, Bob, Jenny, and Josh — also spoke, and painted a picture of “the Boss,� as he was called in professional circles, as a loving father and grandfather.

6HFRQG $YHQXH ‡ between 95th and 96th Streets 1HZ <RUN 1< ‡ ZZZ FDUQHJLHHDVW RUJ

Going to the Airport? 1-212-666-6666 Sedan Rates:

To LaGuardia ..................... $34 To Newark ......................... $51 To JFK ................................ $52

A Family Tradition of Service

Robert Morgenthau. Photo from memorial program

Public service was in Robert Morgenthau’s blood. Temple Emanu-El Senior Rabbi Emeritus Ronald B. Sobel, who officiated the service, began by paying homage to the “Morgenthau trilogy� who devoted their lives to public service: Robert’s grandfather, Henry Sr., who served as Woodrow Wilson’s ambassador to the Ottoman Empire during World War I; Robert’s father, Henry Jr., who was FDR’s treasury secretary; and Robert, who enlisted in the Navy during World War II, served as federal prosecutor for the Southern District during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, and spent 34 years as District Attorney for New York County. Sotomayor, who worked under Morgenthau at the New York County office and regarded him as a mentor, detailed Morgenthau’s innovative practices as district attorney. In particular, she highlighted his creation of specialized prosecutorial divisions in sex crimes and narcotics. Further, Sotomayor recognized the values that governed Morgenthau’s approach to prosecution. “In the Boss’s office, it was never the verdict at the end of the case that mattered, but whether we had carefully and fully investigated all of the facts, put forth the most powerful argument, and fairly presented the evidence to the jury for its determination. Although vigorous prosecution was important, so was fairness,� she said. Morgenthau’s reverence for fairness, Sotomayor said, has guided her in her professional and personal life. “It is around this very notion of justice that I strive to structure my life on the bench ... Without Morgenthau I would be

neither the person or the justice I am today,� she said.

Unparalleled Integrity For a man as successful and privileged as he was, Morgenthau was humble and moral, speakers said. “We received the privilege of working for a man who exempliďŹ ed a spirit of public service and integrity that was unparalleled,â€? said Sotomayor. Kaufman noted Morgenthau’s “belief in integrity; his anathema to seeking ego; his belief not in adulation but in achievement.â€? When speakers were not praising Morgenthau’s accomplishments, they joked about his two unsuccessful bids for governor of New York. “The papers called the boss a stiff and awkward public speaker. They were right,â€? Sotomayor said. His children’s remarks offered a window into Morgenthau’s personal life: he was a quiet man with a boyish sense of humor who never raised his voice. He loved boating, spending time at the family farm in East Fishkill, New York, and eating lobster. He was married to journalist Lucinda Franks for 42 years. His ďŹ rst wife died in 1972. Speakers also highlighted Morgenthau’s contributions to New York City non-profits. He chaired the Police Athletic League, helped to create the Museum of Jewish Heritage, and was a founding director of the Immigration Justice Corps. Morgenthau died July 21 at Lenox Hill Hospital, ten days short of his 100th birthday.

Tolls & gratuities not included. Prices subject to change without notice. TLC Lic#B00256

4 OFF

5 OFF

$

$

Any Trip Over $20

Download the free app- get car cash, earn airline miles!

Must get Code# Upon Reserving Not Valid 3-7pm

One Coupon per Trip. Expires 12/31/19

Any Airport Pick-Up

Must get Code# Upon Reserving

53

One Coupon per Trip. Expires 12/31/19

51

www.CarmelLimo.com

Follow Our Town on Facebook and Twitter

Eastsider

6

AUGUST 1-7,2019

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

NEW BILL TARGETS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE POLICY Proposed legislation requires law enforcement agencies to ramp up they way they handle cases BY EMILY HIGGINBOTHAM

In response to an increase in domestic violence offenses in the city — despite a drop in most other crimes — a bill has been introduced to the City Council that aims to make government handling of these cases more transparent. Council Member Ben Kallos, who represents the Fifth District, penned the legislation that would mandate the New York Police Department and the city’s District Attorneys to publicly report on each instance of domestic violence, from the initial incident through the ďŹ nal resolution. “As this administration boasts that crime is at an all-time low, domestic violence-related crimes are increasing,â€? Kallos said in an interview. “I don’t think that the city has a handle on the problem. With all of the effort

that’s going into Vision Zero to keep people safe on the streets, I would love to see a similar effort to keep people safe in their homes.�

A Spotlight on Every Case Since 1990, according to data from the NYPD, violent crimes have declined by 75 percent. However, in the last 10 years, domestic violence — which New York deďŹ nes as offenses by and against members of the same family, household and person who are in or have been involved in an intimate relationship — has risen dramatically. In 2007, as noted in a 2017 report from the city’s domestic violence task force, 4.8 percent of all major crimes were related to domestic violence. By 2016, that number had reached 11.6 percent. Now, citywide, domestic violence accounts for one in every ďŹ ve homicides and two in every ďŹ ve reported assaults. As a way forward, Kallos’ bill aims to put a spotlight on survivor outcomes by making the government’s handling of domestic violence cases public at each point of the process.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

The local paper for the Upper East Side

Council Member Ben Kallos wrote the proposed domestic violence bill. Photo: Courtesy of NYC Council photographer William Alatriste

Advertise with Our Town today! Call Vincent Gardino at 212-868-0190

$UH \RX IHHOLQJ GHSUHVVHG"

,V \RXU DQWL GHSUHVVDQW WUHDWPHQW QRW ZRUNLQJ DV ZHOO DV \RX KRSHG LW ZRXOG"

,I \RX DUH \HDUV RU ROGHU \RX FRXOG EH HOLJLEOH IRU D IHGHUDOO\ IXQGHG UHVHDUFK VWXG\ DW WKH &ROXPELD 8QLYHUVLW\ 0HGLFDO &HQWHU WKDW SURYLGHV

OurTownNY.com

™ $ IUHH HYDOXDWLRQ ™ 7UHDWPHQW ZLWK )'$ DSSURYHG PHGLFDWLRQ ™ &RPSHQVDWLRQ RI XS WR ™ $ PRUH DFWLYH DQG IXOILOOLQJ OLIH

&DOO WKH &OLQLF IRU $JLQJ $Q[LHW\ DQG 0RRG 'LVRUGHUV DW QRZ WR VHH LI \RX DUH HOLJLEOH 3DUD VHUYLFLy HQ HVSDxRO OODPH DO

AUGUST 1-7,2019

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

The bill includes specific requirements the NYPD must follow when handling domestic violence cases. Photo: Jason Cipriani via Flickr

As a survivor of domestic violence, I am proud to join Council Member Kallos in introducing legislation that will strengthen domestic violence reporting.” Council Member Diana Ayala If the legislation is enacted, the NYPD will be mandated to report police action taken when informed about a domestic violence incident, the number of reports and allegations the department receives and how many suspects are arrested in these cases. Additionally, police will be mandated to report on the effectiveness of orders of protections granted to survivors, specifically how many are violated, result in an injury, hospitalization, or death. The District Attorney’s offices would likewise be required to share outcomes of the cases in which they get involved, including how many attorneys are assigned to these cases, the size of their respective caseloads, as well as the number of charges brought and dropped. The office would also need to provide information about convictions, dismissals and pleas made as alternatives to incarceration. Details about the impact on individuals who suffer domestic violence, specifically injuries, hospitalization or death, would also be included in these reports. The NYPD and District Attorney would post the numbers to their respective websites. “I don’t think there has been particular attention paid to outcomes for survivors of do-

mestic violence,” Kallos said. “I believe that if the NYPD and District Attorneys know that they’re going to have to report on how they are dealing with domestic violence on a case-bycase basis that they will hopefully pay more attention to these cases which I think are fairly important.”

A Survivor on the City Council Council Members Diana Ayala and Keith Powers, each representing parts of Manhattan’s east side, are co-sponsors of Kallos’ bill. “As a survivor of domestic violence, I am proud to join Council Member Kallos in introducing legislation that will strengthen domestic violence reporting,” said Ayala. “Having comprehensive data from the NYPD and District Attorneys that is publicly available will empower both policymakers and social service providers to craft solutions that center on the lives of survivors.” While the three officials hope to speak about the bill during October’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a study examining the association between firearm ownership and domestic violence homicides has Kallos thinking he should amend his legislation. The study, published by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, found that a higher rate of gun ownership is linked to a higher rate of domestic violence homicide in the United States. The same association, according to the study, cannot be made between gun ownership and other types of homicide, including those involving acquaintances and strangers. “The study ... gives me pause that we should include in this legislation what types of injuries or deaths involve gun violence,” Kallos said.

7

8

AUGUST 1-7,2019

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

Voices

Write to us: To share your thoughts and comments go to ourtownny.com and click on submit a letter to the editor.

NEIGHBORHOODS NEED BOOKSTORES BY CHRISTOPHER MOORE

My community bookstore makes me smarter. And sometimes my community bookseller does too. After reading in this newspaper that Book Culture might close its four New York City shops, I talked with the owner, Chris Doeblin. I wondered whether expanding in recent years had hurt the chance of surviving as a small business in the big city. Did going from two stores to four make it harder, or was I blaming the victim? Doeblin argued in a July 9 interview that essentially his company needed to get big enough to offset the increase in expenses. “Scale is one of the only things you can use to offset rising costs,” he said. It makes some sense. Book Culture has another survival method, too, and it’s a dramatic one that borrows an idea from important nonprofit organizations around the nation. In a July 22 email to supporters, Doeblin reported on the initial success of a “community lending program,” wherein customers can pledge money to support the stores. Something

similar happened when fund-raising kept Westsider Rare & Used Books open earlier this year. At Book Culture, the goal is to raise $750,000, and Doeblin’s email said the number’s already over $100,000. According to the Book Culture website, the total was $140,000 at press time. Is this a viable long-term strategy? At first I wondered whether I would be willing to give money to keep a business afloat, especially without a long look at the company’s financials, something I’m unlikely to get. But then I realized: I support endeavors all the time that might not succeed. (Remember the money I gave to the Hillary Clinton campaign.) If we’re talking about bottom lines, here’s one of mine: I don’t want to live in a neighborhood without a bookstore.

Empty Storefronts New York isn’t what it should be when it comes to bookstores. We’ve made inroads in recent years. Last week I roamed Rizzoli in the Flatiron district, appreciating the 21st-century twist on its old-timey charm. In

August the great McNally Jackson will open a South Street Seaport spot. The Strand, its building landmarked against its will, is a pretty central part of my life. But with real estate costs here insane, New York City, and especially Manhattan, has not been particularly hospitable to bookstores. I’ve read that Austin, Texas is ahead of us when it comes to bookstores, and after visiting Book People there last year ... well, I believe it. All the more reason that Manhattan residents would want to get directly involved — and financially committed. Our streetscape has a certain ghost-town appeal. In my neighborhood you can walk on Broadway at 100th Street by the old, abandoned Metro movie theater, which used to show great flicks and now shows that this city doesn’t care enough about the disintegration of our commercial districts to take action. There’s one empty storefront after another. Remember when we whined that everything was a bank or a Duane Reade? Now

20/20 VISION ON TRAFFIC AND MUSIC BY BETTE DEWING

What a swell concert that was! Yup, it was music when “swell” was a prime word of praise. Remember “What a Swell Party This Is,” the song from the film “High Society” with Bing, Frank, Grace and don’t forget Louis? Well, surely swell and then some was the annual Steve Shaiman Big Swing Band concert held on John Finley Walk overlooking the East River. As usual, it was standing room only at the top of the East 86th street mall location. And being so close to his mansion, the mayor should have been there with his wife and daughter and son. We have a dream the kids would find swing era music “really swell,” and so would their mother, who would say, “This music is just what our

mental health programs need. Bring it back — big-time.”

Safe Travel Needs Dream on? Of course, and the concert standees would remind the First Family what a relief it is not to dodge bikes on the John Finley walk, where. during concert time, only essential wheelchairs, strollers and baby buggies are allowed. And about city traffic, they’d tell the mayor, “Your green wave plan to protect city cyclists safety must not include cyclists proceeding before motorists at intersections.” This puts the city’s most vulnerable travelers — pedestrians — at greater risk. And at this concert you see your many gray hair, white hair and no hair constituents who feel threatened by cyclists

ignoring the laws of the road. Of course. they mourn the women and men riders who have been killed and more concern is needed — but traffic safety must be government’s all out and number one priority. All victims of traffic crime must be publicly mourned. Motorists’ failure to yield at corners is the number one cause of pedestrian death, yet is still not deplored, let alone punished, like driving under the influence is. They’d also add how all city bicycles should be audible and more visible. They’d be a lot safer if they made a nice little sound and a redflagged pole were attached to the rear fender. Reportedly, most bicyclists don’t like the idea, but in truth, they should make some concessions when riding in a high density city

Book Culture owner Chris Doeblin. Photo: Emily Higginbotham

a bank or Duane Reade would be a sweet surprise.

One Man’s Optimism Businesses come and go, but bookstores stay in my heart. I’m the child of independent booksellers, and I pick vacation spots based at least in part on where it’s best to browse titles. My mom described many years ago how Barnes & Noble was plotting to put people like her out of — a city which has done so much for bike safety, sometimes at the expense of other travelers, where bike lanes and bike racks limit easy and safe access to the sidewalk. Deliveries to stores and restaurants are hindered and more crucial, so is emergency help. And both cars and bikes take away from mass transit use, the safest, most accessible city travel mode, which , alas, is ever more costly for people under 65, thanks in part to inadequate government support. But surely the overall safe street traffic need is for the laws of the road to be strictly obeyed by each and every city traveler — we can’t say and do enough about that.

Sing Along Too! About the great Big Swing Band, what an extraordinary treat it is. If only it happened every summer week, and not just one. And how really really swell if the audience were

business. These days, I find myself rooting for that particular superstore, and hoping that its June sale for $638 million to a hedge fund will mean there’s a future for that chain. Certainly it’s appealing to hear the incoming mastermind, James Daunt, has had success with Waterstones, the British book retailer. His theory: turn each store into one that reflects its own neighborhood. I’m not sure how or whether that can completely work, cause big is big and small is small, but change is needed at Barnes & Noble. I can’t walk into the Upper West Side weirdly utilized space without wanting to redesign it myself. I’d put the bookstore’s focus on books. We all have our preferences, I guess. Book Culture is near both my apartment and my heart, so I concentrate a bit on Doeblin, who says he’s making progress. Along the way he’s emerged as a key proponent in pushing the city government to understand what local businesses bring to our economy. “I’m optimistic about finding a solution,” he told me. Which is good, cause optimism in our era can be even harder to find than a good bookshop.

asked to sing along with the ballads. Singing is so good for what ails us. This “singing along” needs to be part of health care directives, especially but not only for elder people, And too often the 85 plus, fastestgrowing age group needs more social interaction, which ought to include singing as well as speaking together. Hey, that works well, I mean swell, for every age group! (Incidentally, Spectrum channel 1947 plays commercial free swing era music 24/7.) Oh, but consider how those ballads need also to apply to family, friendship and neighbor platonic affections, which everyone needs. Yes, that’s pretty radical, but so very much needed to help create that village where no one is left out. It can be done — all the above — if enough of us try. Yup, that would really be swell — and then some. Smile. dewingbetter@aol.com

President & Publisher, Jeanne Straus nyoffice@strausnews.com

STRAUS MEDIA your neighborhood news source nyoffice@strausnews.com 212-868-0190

Vice President/CFO Otilia Bertolotti Vice President/CRO Vincent A. Gardino advertising@strausnews.com

Associate Publishers Seth L. Miller, Ceil Ainsworth Regional Sales Manager Tania Cade

Account Executives Fred Almonte, David Dallon Director of Partnership Development Barry Lewis

Editor-In-Chief Alexis Gelber Deputy Editor David Noonan

Senior Reporter Doug Feiden Staff Reporter Emily Higginbotham

Director of Digital Pete Pinto

AUGUST 1-7,2019

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

MELTING CITY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Mayor Bill de Blasio updates New Yorkers on the heat emergency on July 19. Photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office

We always face extreme weather here. We have to be better prepared to deal with it. Danny Pearlstein, Riders Alliance On Saturday, July 13, a blackout plunged more than 70,000 Con Edison customers into darkness across about more than 40 blocks on the Upper West Side, stranding people in elevators and on subway trains and even shutting down Broadway plays and a Jennifer Lopez concert at Madison Square Garden. Con Ed says a 13,000-volt feeder cable blew out at a sub-station at West 64th Street and West End Avenue and rippled across parts of the Upper West Side, from 30th to 72nd St., between Fifth Ave. to the Hudson River. “That was not heat-related,” Con Ed spokesman Alfonso Quiroz said. “It involved transmission and our relay system.”

“This Shouldn’t Have Happened” Six days later — with a brutal heat wave approaching — a Friday evening rush hour “software glitch” caused transit officials to power down parts of the subway system, stranding passengers on 27 trains, snarling service on the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 lines and leading to the cancellation of 132 trains. NYC Transit President Andy Byford said computers that keep track of the trains failed and trains were ordered to “maintain their positions,” some of which were in tunnels, for about an hour. “This shouldn’t have happened,” Byford told reporters. “New Yorkers should be able to rely on the transit system to get them home.” He ultimately took full responsibility for the debacle and said the glitch that caused it was due for a corrective upgrade in August. He said it was fixed soon after the meltdown. He told reporters that software issues have affected 1,017 trains in the last year. Then on July 21, with temperatures in the high 90s, a record-breaking demand for power caused a blackout in parts of southern Brook-

lyn and parts of Queens. Con Ed says that day hit a high load of 12,063 megawatts, knocking out power for more than 10,000 customers. The previous record was 11,855 megawatts. The utility then took the rare step of taking another 33,000 customers off the grid to prevent wider power failures. Yury Dvorkin, an assistant professor at NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering who studies electrical grids, said heat waves are predictable in the summer and Con Ed “could have been better prepared” to deal with it and should not have been put in a position of taking people off the grid. “It’s extremely rare and not something we want to do,” Quiroz said.

Protest at MTA Headquarters Still, Cuomo slammed Con Ed, saying they should have been “better prepared,” and de Blasio said he doesn’t trust Con Ed because of repeated problems. Bad went to worse on July 22, when torrential downpours soaked the city and parts of the subway system. The MTA reported that heat-related switch problems caused massive disruptions on the 2, 3, 4, and 5 lines. Service was suspended on the 2 line in parts of Brooklyn and service on the 5 was suspended entirely. Mechanical problems caused delays on the 7 line and on the F line in southern Brooklyn. The heavy rains exacerbated the signal problems that affected trains throughout the city. Danny Pearlstein, a spokesman for Riders Alliance, which protested in front of MTA headquarters “after that hellish week we had,” says the MTA needs to do a better job of maintaining the system and focusing on station upgrades “to keep water from coming in through ceilings.” Riders Alliance has been urging the state to provide enough money for badly needed capital construction plans as well as maintenance of signals. “We always face extreme weather here,” Pearlstein says. “We have to be better prepared to deal with it.” As for Con Ed, Quiroz says they will be “closely watching” weather reports to try to anticipate heat waves that could strain or compromise the system — and prolong this year’s Summer of Hell.

9

10

AUGUST 1-7,2019

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

Join the Celebration

75 Years of

No-Kill Action and Compassion A D O P T

A

P E T

T O D AY !

Calendar NYCNOW

A C O O P E R AT I V E A D O P T I O N E V E N T:

LOUIE’S LEGACY ANIMAL RESCUE, MUDDY PAWS RESCUE & NORTH SHORE ANIMAL LEAGUE AMERICA

PETCO 860 Broadway @ E. 17th St ) New York, NY SATURDAY ) AUGUST 3 11 AM - 3 PM

PETSMART th

1107 Broadway @ W. 25 St. ) New York, NY SATURDAY ) AUGUST 3 2 PM - 4 PM

&CXKU #XG 2QTV 9CUJKPIVQP 0; r animalleague.org r r 44

FOLLOW US ON:

JOHN KRTIL FUNERAL HOME; YORKVILLE FUNERAL SERVICE, INC. Dignified, Affordable and Independently Owned Since 1885 WE SERVE ALL FAITHS AND COMMUNITIES 5 )/'&1 /'+$1)-,0 $2250 -+.*'1' 5 )/'&1 2/)$*0 $2850 5 4.'/1 /' *$,,),( 3$)*$%*'

1297 First Ave (69th & 70th & + # " $& )" $ " $ ) * "#( & " $ + ))) $& '" $ #! #! Each cremation service individually performed by fully licensed members of our staff. We use no outside agents or trade services in our cremation service. We exclusively use All Souls Chapel and Crematory at the prestigious St. Michael's Cemetery, Queens, NY for our cremations unless otherwise directed.

Do you know someone with Alzheimer’s disease? The T2 Protect AD is a national research study testing whether an investigational drug can protect against, slow, or improve memory and thinking problems in people with Alzheimer’s. The T2 study is happening at clinical sites across the New York Metro area. To learn more, call the national coordinating center: 1-833-382-7883 (toll free) www.T2Protect.org T2study@ucsd.edu

Discover the world around the corner. Find community events, gallery openings, book launches and much more: Go to nycnow.com

EDITOR’S PICK

Sat 3 TAIWANESE WAVES SummerStage, Central Park Rumsey PlayďŹ eld 6:00 p.m. Free cityparksfoundation.org 212-360-1399 For its fourth consecutive year, promoter Mia Min Yen’s Taiwanese Waves showcase collects some of Taiwan’s most inspiring talents for Summerstage. This year’s edition features an all-woman lineup from the island’s Mandarin music scene — Tizzy Bac, 9m88, OneFang and Abao

Thu 1

Fri 2

JUILLIARD NIGHT: THE BRASS PROJECT

ECLIPSE OF THE SUN: ART OF THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC

Cooper Hewitt 2 East 91st St 6:00 p.m. $14 Hailed as “six superb brass players� (Philadelphia Inquirer), The Brass Project is a sextet committed to invigorating the brass chamber music experience through vibrant performance and fearless exploration. cooperhewitt.org 212-849-8400

Neue Galerie 1048 Fifth Ave 6:00 p.m. Free George Grosz’s monumental 1926 canvas “Eclipse of the Sun� is the centerpiece of a focused exhibition demonstrating the artistic output that coincided with a moment of extreme political unrest in Germany. neuegalerie.org 212-994-9493

Sat 3â–ş FAIRY AND FOLK TALES Hans Christian Andersen Statue in Central Park Entry at Fifth Ave and 72nd St 11:00 a.m. Free Every summer for the past 63 years, the Hans Christian Andersen Storytelling Center has brought storytellers from around the world to provide meaningful, free entertainment to children of all ages, ethnicities and cultures. For families with kids six and up. hcastorycenter.org 212-360-3444

11

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

AUGUST 1-7,2019

Sun 4► DRAWING THE CURTAIN: MAURICE SENDAK’S DESIGNS FOR OPERA AND BALLET Morgan Library & Museum 225 Madison Ave 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Free with admission In the late 1970s, the beloved children’s author embarked on a successful second career as a designer of sets and costumes for the stage. This is the first museum exhibition dedicated to this aspect of his career, and includes materials from works by Mozart, Prokofiev. Tchaikovsky, and an opera based on Sendak’s picture book Where the Wild Things Are. themorgan.org 212-685-0008

ACTIVITIES FOR THE FERTILE MIND

thoughtgallery.org NEW YORK CITY

Art Deco Upper East Side

SUNDAY, AUGUST 4TH, 10:30AM Municipal Art Society of NY | 212-935-3960 | mas.org Anthony W. Robins (New York Art Deco: A Guide to Gotham’s Jazz Age Architecture) leads a tour through an underrated Deco neighborhood. You’ll see one of Manhattan’s very few Art Deco townhouses, one of the city’s first Deco apartment houses, and the elegant Carlyle Hotel ($30).

▲

Mon 5

Tue 6

Wed 7

NYC RESTAURANT WEEK

PHENOMENAL NATURE: MRINALINI MUKHERJEE

UPTOWN BOUNCE: SONIDO KISKEYA

Guggenheim — The Wright 1071 Fifth Ave 11:30 a.m. $26 Using seasonal, farmto-table ingredients, Chef Alejandro Cortez nods to the museum’s mid-century roots by updating beloved classics for today’s palate. Top picks include halloumi tacos and house-made pasta. guggenheim.org 212-423-3500

The Met Breuer 945 Madison Ave 12:30 p.m. Free with admission Tour the first comprehensive display of Mrinalini Mukherjee’s work in the United States, with 60 pieces exploring the artist’s longstanding engagement with fiber, along with her significant forays into ceramic and bronze. metmuseum.org 212-731-1675

El Museo del Barrio 1230 Fifth Ave 6:00 p.m. Free El Museo del Barrio and the Museum of the City of New York are excited to present the sixth edition of “Uptown Bounce: Summer Nights @ 104 & Fifth,” a free joint series featuring musical performances, gallery talks, artmaking workshops, renowned DJs, festive summer drinks, local food vendors and more. elmuseo.org 212-831-7272

Summer of Know: Allison Janae Hamilton and Elizabeth Yeampierre

TUESDAY, AUGUST 6TH, 7PM Guggenheim Museum | 1071 Fifth Ave. | 212-423-3500 | guggenheim.org As part of a conversation series that pairs contemporary artists with thought leaders, catch visual artist Allison Janae Hamilton speaking with attorney Elizabeth Yeampierre about climate change and environmental justice. The setting will be informal, in The Wright restaurant ($25).

Just Announced | Film Comment Talk: Where’d You Go, Bernadette

TUESDAY, AUGUST 13TH, 7PM Film Society of Linc. Cntr. | 70 Linc. Cntr. Plaza | 212-875-5600 | filmlinc.org Acclaimed director Richard Linklater joins his longtime producer Ginger Sledge to talk about their work, and their new film, which tells the story of an architect reconnecting to her artistic passions —a role played by Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett (free).

For more information about lectures, readings and other intellectually stimulating events throughout NYC,

sign up for the weekly Thought Gallery newsletter at thoughtgallery.org.

12

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

AUGUST 1-7,2019

A COLLECTOR’S PARADISE Sotheby’s hosts art treasures from England’s Chatsworth House in its newly expanded galleries on York Ave

you like something enough you should collect it if you can, and disregard other people’s opinions.” Hence the display in the second gallery, a showcase for cuttingedge 21st century sculpture and furniture mixed in with paintings and drawings from the 20th century by the likes of Picasso and Lucian Freud. All the works were commissioned, except for Picasso’s early “Self-Portrait in Front of the Moulin Rouge, Paris” (1901).

BY VAL CASTRONOVO

Who can forget Keira Knightley, as Elizabeth Bennet, roaming the sculpture gallery at Pemberley, Mr. Darcy’s manse, in the 2005 film adaptation of “Pride and Prejudice”? It turns out the scene was shot at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, in a room filled with sculptures acquired over centuries by the Cavendish family, aristocrats who were mad about collecting fine art, furniture, ceramics, silver, jewels, books and textiles — treasures galore. Chatsworth’s current proprietor, the 12th Duke of Devonshire, goes by the nickname “Stoker.” He and his wife Amanda, the Duchess of Devonshire, are guardians of this historic cache, one of the finest private collections of art and objects in Europe, acquired over 500 years by 16 generations of Cavendishes. Some 45 choice specimens from the Devonshire Collection were selected to travel to New York this summer for a presentation at Sotheby’s, nicely coinciding with the auction house’s 275th anniversary celebration in 2019. (None of the items are for sale; see the adjacent Chatsworth-themed exhibit if you are in the mood to buy.)

A Passion for the “New” The pieces reflect the tastes of the owners. The 2nd Duke was fond of Old Master drawings, the 6th Duke of sculpture, especially works by Antonio Canova and Raffaelle Monti. Note the latter’s “Veiled Vestal Virgin” (c. 1846-47), with its extraordinary marble veil — especially if you missed its star-turn opposite Keira Knightley in “Pride.” Thomas Lawrence’s portrait of the 6th Duke, William Spencer

Extravagant Items in Extravagant Settings

The vitrine for the diamond “Devonshire Tiara” is framed by a set piece created by Broadway’s David Korins, scenic designer of “Hamilton.” Courtesy Sotheby’s / Photo: Julian Cassady

Cavendish, dated 1811, hangs in the same room, along with a trio of 17th century paintings that includes Rembrandt’s “Portrait of an Old Man” (1651), rarely seen at Chatsworth, which is open to the public. Oddly enough, what unites the collection, which spans the 16th to 21st centuries, is its contemporaneousness. The fine art and the decorative art, the furniture and the costumes, are largely a reflection of successive occupants’ fancy for the latest styles and fashions — a passion for the “new.” These collectors were rooted in their times, and they were not afraid to break with tradition and go with their gut if it felt right. The current Duke and Duchess’ approach can be summed up as: “If

The 11th Duke and Duchess, parents of Stoker, took a special interest in acquiring contemporary art and befriended Freud, grandson of Sigmund Freud. Lucian was commissioned to paint likenesses of both the Duke and Duchess. The expressive, world-weary “Woman in a White Shirt” (1958-60) was well received by the Duchess (“Debo,” the former Deborah Mitford). But alas, as Stoker recalls, his parents’ friends “so disliked it that some of them refused to be in the sitting room with it unless it was completely covered.” Those oddly configured chairs and love seat in the gallery, the “Enignum” pieces (2010, 2016), are the handiwork of Irish furniture maker Joseph Walsh, whose designs the present Duke discovered by chance in a shop window on Bleecker Street. A relationship ensued, and the Duke now proclaims: “Apart from some of our contemporary ceramics, Joseph Walsh’s furniture gives us more pleasure than anything we have collected.” Part of the fun here is seeing extravagant items, like the Devonshire diamond tiara, in extravagant settings, created by Broadway’s David Korins, the scenic designer of “Hamilton.” He’s isolated interesting architectural details from Chatsworth House, such as the claw foot of a table, and

Leonardo da Vinci, “Leda and the Swan,” c. 1506. © Devonshire Collection. Reproduced by permission of Chatsworth Settlement Trustees

created large-scale, sculptural equivalents to frame or complement the treasures. No surprise, the historic part of the collection holds its own in this arena. The sight of Thomas Gainsborough’s portrait of society hostess Georgiana Cavendish (c. 1776) — a Spencer, wife of the 5th Duke of Devonshire and a gambling addict — sparks another eureka moment: she’s the figure portrayed in that other period film starring Keira Knightley, “The Duchess,” based on Amanda Foreman’s biography.

A Digital Portrait and a Da Vinci At Sotheby’s, Georgiana faces off in the family-portrait space with John Singer Sargent’s classic oil painting, “Evelyn, Duchess of Devonshire” (1902), and a real curveball, Michael Craig-Martin’s kaleidoscopic “Digital Portrait of Laura, Lady Burlington” (2010), a “live” computer image of the

daughter-in-law of the present Duke and Duchess. And, no, your eyes are not fooling you: Laura’s features and clothing are changing color. She never looks the same. Something old, something new may best describe the curatorial MO here. The Old Master drawings, one of the collection’s big draws, speak volumes about connoisseurship. Leonardo da Vinci’s “Leda and the Swan” (c. 1506), acquired by either the 2nd or 3rd Duke in the 18th century, is on view, the first time the mythological drawing has traveled to New York since 2003. It was loaned out to a Leonardo exhibit in Milan in 1939 and survived the Second World War with minimal damage — just a white mark in the middle of Leda’s abdomen. Call it a win for the Devonshire Collection and art lovers who visit Sotheby’s this summer.

AUGUST 1-7,2019

13

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

RX FOR FRUITS AND VEGGIES HEALTH NYC pharmacies fill “prescriptions” for greenmarket produce for lowincome residents with high blood pressure BY LESLIE GERSING

Your next drugstore refill could include a “prescription” for free fruit and vegetables. The New York City Health Department is expanding its “Pharmacy to Farm Prescriptions” program, to increase access to fresh produce for low-income New Yorkers with high blood pressure. One in four New York City adults have high blood pressure, a leading cause of death, says the Health Department. Eating fruit and vegetables can lower the risk of heart disease. Now 16 independent pharmacies in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens will provide customers with monthly “farm prescriptions,” that are good for $30 worth of produce at designated, local farmers markets. Enrollment is open to adults who use Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and take blood pressure medication. Customers must sign up, and fill their prescriptions, at a participating drugstore. The pilot started in 2017 with three pharmacies, and grew to 10 last year. In a survey of current enrollees, 61 percent said they worried about

PHARMACY TO FARM IN MANHATTAN

Pharmacists, we found, were really excited to talk, not just about medication, but also about changes that people can make in their life for their health.” Jeni Clapp, director of nutrition policy and programs, NYC Department of Health hunger after their monthly benefits ran out, and 80 percent said fruits and vegetables cost too much. “We wanted to find a way to extend people’s food budgets, particularly for people who are at risk for diet-related chronic disease. So we looked for people who were on blood pressure medication,” said Jeni Clapp, the Health Department’s Director of Nutrition Policy and Programs. The pilot targeted independent pharmacies, because most of them are located in low-income neighborhoods and serve people of color, Clapp said. “They are available long hours, people can go to them without appointments. Many people have seen the same pharmacist for years, and pharmacists, we found, were really excited to talk, not just about medication, but also about changes that people can make in their life for their health,” she said. “We’ve noticed a lot of people, get-

Cherries at Union Square market. Photo: Eden, Janine and Jim, via flickr

Where to find drugstores and markets PARTICIPATING PHARMACIES

Drug Mart II — 4873 Broadway, 10034 (Inwood) Dyckman Pharmacy — 199 Dyckman St, 10040 (Inwood) Nagle Pharmacy — 210 Nagle Ave., 10034 (Inwood) New Amsterdam Drug Mart — 698 Amsterdam Ave., 10025 (Upper West Side) New London Pharmacy — 246 Eighth Ave., 10011 (Chelsea) New York City Pharmacy — 206 First Ave., 10009 (East Village) NuCare Pharmacy & Surgical — 250 Ninth Ave., 10001 (Chelsea) Quick Rx UWS — 909 Columbus Ave., 10025 (Upper West Side) PARTICIPATING GREENMARKETS

Union Square (East 14th Street & Union Square West) West 97th Street (Between Amsterdam & Columbus Aves.) Inwood Park (Isham Street between Seaman Ave. & Cooper St.) ting the $30 for their fruits and vegetables, actually coming back to the pharmacy, and we’ve noticed that it’s changed their diet a lot,” says Victor Domenech, pharmacy technician at QuickRx UWS on Columbus Avenue at 104th Street, which joined the pilot last year. The “farm prescriptions” give customers an incentive to stay on their medications, eat less salt and fried foods and focus on their health, says Domenench. He has convinced some to walk to the West 97th Street greenmarket. “The main reason for this program is for us to review the patients’ way of living while they are on blood pressure medications,” said Zami Yasin at his family-owned New York City Pharmacy, on First Avenue in the East Village. Returning participants also get an “award” of healthier food that’s always within their budgets, he said. “It’s been astounding and really exciting to be able to introduce people to the market, show them what’s in season, show them how to prepare it healthfully — we always have gobs of free recipes. And then, they have $30 they can spend on fruits and

Flyer from NYC Health Department

Produce from West 97th Street Greenmarket. Photo: Charles Smith, via flickr

vegetables that are offered,” said Cheryl Huber, Greenmarket Assistant Director at GrowNYC. “The whole thing has really been a positive experience for the Pharmacy to Farm participants, our staff, and the farmers, who see a nice boost in income from this program,” Huber said. So far, $80,000 in Pharmacy to Farm prescriptions have been is-

sued to 850 participants. Nearly 90 percent get redeemed. The Health Department is compiling data on the health effects of the pilot program, based in part on monthly questionnaires that pharmacy clients fill out when they get medications refilled. The Health Department hopes to release its findings next year.

14

AUGUST 1-7,2019

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS JULY 17-23, 2019 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 www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/services/restaurant-inspection.shtml. Dunkin’

411 East 70th Street

A

Mile 17

1446 1st Avenue

A

Good Health Cafe

1435 1st Avenue

A

The Sweet Shop Nyc

404 East 73rd Street

A

Cascabel Taqueria

1556 2nd Avenue

Grade Pending (10) Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.

Poke Fresh Sushi

1588 York Avenue

Grade Pending (40) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored. Wiping cloths soiled or not stored in sanitizing solution.

Metropolitan Museum Employee Cafeteria

1000 5th Avenue

A

Yorkafe

501 1/2 East 83rd Street

A

Amc Theatres (Loews Orpheum)

1538 3rd Avenue

A

Chick-Fil-A

1536 3rd Avenue

A

The Penrose Upper East Side

1590 2nd Avenue

A

Levain Bakery

1484 3rd Avenue

A

Lorenzo & Maria’s Kitchen 1418 3rd Avenue

A

Champignon Cafe

1389 Madison Avenue

A

Texas Chicken And Burgers

1974 2nd Avenue

A

Baked Cravings

1673 Lexington Avenue

A

Taco Bell Pizza Hut Express

173 East 116th Street

A

Dunkin’

1391 Madison Avenue

A

Side Park Cafe

1230 5th Avenue

Grade Pending (9) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.

More neighborhood news? neighborhood celebrations? neighborhood opinions? neighborhood ideas? neighborhood feedback? neighborhood concerns?

Email us at news@strausnews.com

COPING WITH GRIEF BOOKS Author Jayson Greene finds community with book on young daughter’s death BY RAGAN CLARK ASSOCIATED PRESS

Jayson and Stacy Greene speak of grief matter-of-factly and calmly, as it’s something they’ve come to know intimately since the tragic death of their 2-year-old daughter, Greta, in 2015. “I wouldn’t say that the work is complete because I don’t think it ever is when you’re grieving,” Stacy Greene said. Greta was sitting outside on a bench with her grandmother in New York’s Upper West Side when she was struck by a falling piece of a windowsill. She was rushed to the emergency room where she died. As an editor at online music magazine Pitchfork, writing was a natural outlet for Jayson Greene. “I always wanted to write a book,” he said, but he didn’t know the first one would be so personal. What started as journal entries turned into something more six months after Greta’s death. “Once More We Saw Stars” is a memoir about the aftermath of their daughter’s death and the experience of coping with grief. While the death of a young child is a dark and difficult journey to take a reader on, Greene says it was important to him that the reader felt safe. “If I’m going to write a book about this, I need it to be bearable and readable without being false or untrue in some way,” he said. He took inspiration from Paul Kalanithi’s “When Breath Becomes Air” and Joan Didion’s “The Year of Magical Thinking” for their ability to provide a “window” into the world of death and “tell the truth without sort of howling it at you.” “I think that there were books I opened up where I didn’t feel safe with the narrator,” Greene said. “I’m stepping into this person’s wound rather than into their story, and it felt dangerous in a way that I was careful to avoid.” Since the book’s publication in May, the couple have been moved by the outpouring of support from readers. “We’ve heard from lots of people, particularly people who’ve lost children, who’ve said, ‘Thank you for articulating what it was that I was feeling,’ and that’s an incredible thing,” Greene said. He said the book has also provided them with a sense of community. “I feel like the book has been sort of this beautiful extension where people have reached out that are this extended part of this community that we would have never otherwise reached,” Stacy Greene said. “I’ve been grateful that we’ve had these connections to these readers who are fellow be-

Photo hoto via Amazon.com Amazon com

reaved people or people who are in some way connected to the grief that we experienced.” One person they heard from after the book release was a particular surprise — the parent of a child who received one of Greta’s organs. “Because our story was in the news, they were very aware that they were receiving one of Greta’s organs and the person actually reached out to us to let us know that their child was alive because of Greta,” Stacy Greene said. “That was such a closed circle in a way that we never would have imagined,” Jayson Greene said. Since the book’s publication, they say their lives have changed, but in many ways, they haven’t. On the night of the book release, their 3-year-old son, Harrison, threw a temper tantrum. “Before we’re leaving like, you know, again, it’s this book about our family and the beauty and Harrison just throws the world’s biggest tantrum,” Greene says with a laugh. “And Stacy’s putting on makeup and she looks, and he’s screaming, and she’s like, ‘Cherish every moment.’” The tantrum ended, but Greene says that life is “just as real as it was before.” They still have to juggle with school out for the summer, and they still make “the same mistakes,” like letting Harrison stay up too late. But what has changed is the way they talk about Greta. “Before the book published, what we had to tell people about Greta was something so awful: Our daughter died. She died meaninglessly and violently in an accident. She was 2,” Greene said. “And now what I say is, “I wrote a book about my daughter. It’s called ‘Once More We Saw Stars.’” If readers of his memoir take away anything, he hopes that it is this: “It’s possible to live your life, not just survive, but to live. It was possible for us, it is possible.”

AUGUST 1-7,2019

15

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

VOLUNTEERISM MAKES NEIGHBORHOOD’S BEST A DIFFERENCE To place an ad in this directory, Call Douglas at 212-868-0190 ext. 352.

EDUCATION

HEBREW SCHOOL

VIEWPOINT Charitable efforts have become part of the coporate culture

NATURE IN RHYME ELIZABETH EUGENIA I. KAPP

7UDGLWLRQDO ‡ (JDOLWDULDQ

A warm community for sacred, social and educational events & experiences.

Scott N. Bolton, Rabbi

BY SUZANNE M. AKIAN

Volunteering can run the gamut from helping pick up litter on streets and beaches, to serving meals at a soup kitchen, to building playscapes for children in needy neighborhoods. In the corporate world, volunteerism is becoming a major component of determining the ďŹ rm’s values. Asking what companies are doing philanthropically is becoming just as important to many potential investors as proďŹ ts and balance sheets. We all can beneďŹ t through volunteerism, whether we take direct action such as mentoring young students, or fund-raising for worthy causes. Childhood hunger is one such cause. With schools closed for summer vacation, one million children will lose access to national school lunch and breakfast programs, with more than 13 million children in the United States at risk of hunger. In New York City, one in five children relies on a soup kitchen or food pantry to eat. Helping children get a healthy start in life, whether through food initiatives, building playgrounds, or even helping fund a pediatric hospital, is a core value for many volunteers and corporations who believe in helping their communities, commendable on both corporate and individual levels. Many employees are encouraged — and in cases expected — to volunteer for charitable causes, since volunteerism has become part of corporate culture. The level of corporate volunteerism often is considered a window on the values of a corporation’s leadership. And,

Hebrew School registration is open!

Contact Sigal Hirsch

A Trip To The Country is designed to help children and adults learn about the natural world. It answers questions children might ask, such as “What makes rain, wind, thunder and lightning?� Order now at: www.atriptothecountry.com Barnes and Noble or Amazon

Director of Youth Education and Programming VKLUVFK#RU]DUXD RUJ 212-452-2310 x15 ($67 1' 675((7 ‡ 1<& ‡ WWW.ORZARUA.ORG

LOCKSMITH

HOME CARE PERSONALIZED HOME CARE

212-288-7773 / www.locks.nyc 34 Years Experience

Residential / Commercial Locksmith Service

Baldwin, Mul-T-Lock, Medeco, Schlage, Marks USA, Master Lock & More

& Full Service Hardware Store

Plumbing, Electrical, Paint Sundries, Cleaning Supplies & more!

Call 24/7 for a free consultation!

(877) 212-4222

toll-free

CUSTOMIZED CARE DEMENTIA TRAINING FOR THE AIDES SOCIAL WORK SERVICES INCLUDED Visit cohme.org or email referrals@cohme.org

top One S ! Shop

SAVE MONEY & ENERGY BY USING LED BULBS Bring in or mention this ad and save 10% OFF any LED Purchase (While supplies last)

OE 4U TU "WF t TU "WF

MEDICAL Hundreds of volunteers converged on Times Square recently to package 36,000 meals for needy NYC children. In a “day of global giving,â€? volunteers from Morgan Stanley distributed 2.1 million meals to hungry children around the world. Photo: Mike London of Michael J. London & Associates.

not surprisingly, corporate volunteering may even help boost corporate earnings through increased productivity. Companies have found that when employees volunteer they feel a greater sense of purpose, and there is a noticeable increase in morale — which can lead to increased productivity, as well as lower turnover. Volunteering also is seen as a valued component of leadership training, in areas including project management, goal setting, problem solving, and communications. Oddly enough, while volunteerism is being held in higher esteem in corporate America, the rate of participation has dropped in the past several years. This dis-

parity between the increased perception of volunteerism as a yardstick for determining social responsibility, and the declining rates of volunteering could become a factor as investors increasing look to impact investing, when deciding where to put their money. Volunteerism can also forge strong bonds between employees and hone interpersonal skills. Basically, there is no downside for companies and communities to foster a climate of volunteerism, especially if they are looking for investors. Suzanne M. Akian is a ďŹ nancial advisor with the Global Wealth Management Division of Morgan Stanley in New York, NY. She can be reached at 212-613-6773.

All CC’s Accep ted!

UI 4U #SPBEXBZ t #SPBEXBZ

PSYCHOTHERAPY

Voted #1 Vein Doctors In New York

Give your legs new life Quick and minimally invasive treatments

REAL ESTATE KARPOFF AFFILIATES Senior Move Manager Real Estate Broker

KARPOFF AFFILIATES is your single stop for senior life transitions and real estate brokerage needs. Compassionate Senior Move Manager & Expert Real Estate Broker

Marilyn Karpoff www.KarpoffAfďŹ liates.com mkarpoff@karpoffafďŹ liates.com 212.358.8044 290 Third Avenue, Ste 26C, NYC 10010

Most treatments covered by major insurances and Medicare

SPIRITUAL

WINDOW TREATMENTS

Upper West Manhattan Church of Christ 80 YEARS!

Meeting at 891 Amsterdam Ave. @ 103rd St. In Hosteling International For more information: Call 212-729-8356 www.uwmchurchofchrist.com

Draperies Shades Shutters Blinds Motorization Window Film Upholstery Fabric & Trim Flooring Paint

SEMI-ANNUAL CUSTOM DECORATING SALE GOING ON NOW! UPPER WEST SIDE 469 AMSTERDAM AVE. 212.501.8282 WINDOWFASHIONS.COM

16

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

AUGUST 1-7,2019

Business

THE BUBBLE TEA SOLUTION The owner of an UES neighborhood cafe has a strategy for supporting local businesses BY EMA SCHUMER

Upper East Side café Tenny & Betsy is a one-stop shop for artsy kids with a sweet tooth. Located at 197 East 76th Street just off of Third Avenue, the café specializes in bubble tea, an Asian delicacy that the shop describes as “a frothy smooth drink,” made with “a tea based mix with fruit or milk and gummy bear-like tapioca balls.” Tenny & Betsy also offers an interactive experience: sketch pads and drawing utensils sit on a long table, inviting kids to sit down on one of the stools to doodle or sketch. Some of these colorful drawings are displayed on the wall below Polaroids of kids taken at birthday parties and other celebrations held at the café. Tenny and Betsy’s menu pays homage to neighboring schools, which surely sends Hewitt girls clamoring to order their school’s namesake “The Hewitt Special”: one cupcake, a passion fruit tea, and a strawberry pop for the price of ten dollars. Also on the menu is “The Wagner Special,” a tribute to nearby Robert F. Wagner Middle School, which includes a bento box and a bubble tea with one topping for $15. Atop the café lives its owner, Jennifer Gao. Born and raised in Shanghai, Gao came to the United States when she was 18 years old. Her resume includes a degree in business, chief concierge at a five-star hotel in Memphis, and positions in marketing and sales for American Express for over a decade. Three years ago, she opened Tenny and Betsy. As Gao serves flavored milk tea with tapioca balls to UES families, storefronts in the neighborhood are emptying faster than new occupants can move into them. In this inauspicious climate, Tenny & Betsy offer a window into what it is like to operate a small business. By

I’m hopeful because this concept is ... a little more quirky, a little artsy. Jennifer Gao, owner of Tenny & Betsy working with other local businesses and engaging the neighborhood’s residents, Gao believes that Tenny & Betsy — and other small businesses on the UES — can evade the fate of their counterparts who have shuttered their doors.

Collaborative Strategy A critical ingredient to Gao’s business strategy is collaboration between seemingly-competing local businesses. “Today’s consumers, our interests are so diverse there’s no one-purpose trip. We go out to make multi-purpose trips,” she explained. “People will come here and say hey, I’m going to buy some shoes and look for baby clothing, oh by the way I can have some bubble tea to take a break,” she said. To put her plan into practice, Gao solicited the promotion of a nearby Chinese restaurant: “I gave them my brochures and said, ‘You don’t really serve dessert, direct [people] to me after dinner.’” Next, she worked with a man running a fruit concession on her block. She told him: “If [people are] looking for anything other than Starbucks as an alternative, point them to me.” Gao said the man was very welcoming to the idea and she credited his help to bringing more traffic to her store. “Obviously I gave him samples of my bubble tea pretty regularly,” she laughed. Under this strategy, however, if one storefront founders, neighboring stores also suffer. Empty storefronts, Gao said, contribute psychologically to the ethos of the block. “Clusters of empty spaces in the neighborhood just make it look

Tenny & Betsy owner Jennifer Gao standing in front of her store. Photo: Ema Schumer

dead,” she said. There are currently three empty storefronts on her block. Though Third Avenue and 76th Street was a busy block just a few years ago, today restaurants such as onetime favorites Haru and Atlantic Grill are gone. “We used to have people on weekend evenings [when] families would go to dinner at Haru right across the street and they [would] walk by my store afterwards for dessert,” Gao said. Tenny & Betsy lost this clientele when Haru closed in 2018. Haru and Atlantic Grill could not renew their leases due to Northwell Health’s purchase of the retail and residential properties on Third Avenue between East 76th and East 77th Streets. Northwell Health, which owns Lenox Hill Hospital, is transforming the block with a massive construction project that Gao thinks could last years. If empty storefronts portend poorly for nearby businesses, nearby construction is their bane. Gao noted the noise, dirt, and debris that construction contributes to the air in addition to “horrendous” traffic with “people honking.” “It won’t be the most pleasant environment for a few years,” she said.

Competing with Starbucks Though Gao believes collaboration with nearby businesses is mutually beneficial, she feels pressure

Inside Tenny & Betsy. Photo: Ema Schumer

to compete with national corporations that have branches on the UES. “It’s a lot of sweat and tears to go into [my business] when I compete against Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Joe & The Juice, Maison Kayser, you just name it.” While Upper East Siders mourn the loss of small businesses — and with them the erosion of their neighborhood’s character — they continue to frequent chains like Starbucks. “People don’t really appreciate the importance of small businesses,” Gao lamented. At the same time, Gao is confident that her café brings an experience to Upper East Siders that chains are unable to provide. “I’m hopeful because this concept is ... a little more quirky, a little artsy,” she said. “The

Upper East Side is very family-oriented; bubble tea is something that interestingly brings the family together. I can’t explain why, but bubble tea is just a fun drink.” Gao said that customers tell her that her café is filling a void in the neighborhood: “We don’t have a place on the Upper East Side for kids and for families. It’s about time we have a place like this.” When Gao walks outside in the morning to open Tenny and Betsy, empty storefronts and construction greet her, harbingers of the end of small business on the UES. She perseveres, however, believing that her café is preserving the character of her neighborhood.

AUGUST 1-7,2019

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

Real Estate Sales

17

18

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

Tired of Hunting for Our Town?

AUGUST 1-7,2019

SAFETY PLAN CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Subscribe today to Eastsider News of Your Neighborhood that you can’t get anywhere else

Dining Information, plus

crime news, real estate prices - all about your part of town

A ghost bike memorial for cyclist Robyn Hightman, 20, who was struck and killed by a truck on Sixth Ave. at 23rd St in June. Photo: David Noonan

Cultural Events

in and around where you live (not Brooklyn, not Westchester)

Now get your personal copy delivered by US Mail for just

$

49/Year for 52 issues

To Subscribe : Call 212-868-0190 or go online to ourtownny.com and click on subscribe

ing our efforts. That’s what this plan is about. It’s a continuation of our promise. This time, specifically to bikers.”

“A Long and Aggressive To-Do List” On the Upper West Side, the DOT will begin the first phase of safety improvements this month along Central Park West from Columbus Circle to 77th Street by installing a protected bike lane, removing street parking from 62nd Street to 77th Street and updating the signals at 65th Street. “We have assembled a long and aggressive to-do list that we think can change this year’s tragic increase in cyclist fatalities — and encourage even more New Yorkers to get on bicycles,” said DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg. Trottenberg’s department will be tasked with implementing much of the new policy, including installing 2,000 bike parking spaces annually. The DOT also will study automated enforcement technologies that keep bike lanes clear and enforce overweight truck restrictions, and then determine whether it could garner support from the State Legislature to use the technology. After a record low of 10 cyclist deaths in 2018, the 18 fatalities this year represent the highest number for the city through July of any year since the launch of Vision Zero in 2014, according to the mayor’s office.

A Reckoning for Drivers in the City Transportation Alternatives Co-Deputy

Director Marco Conner said the number of deaths in the city is “a crisis symptomatic of chronically dangerous streets,” but that these deaths are preventable. “It is incumbent upon the Mayor to invest in making our city safe for all modes of transport, particularly biking, and this starts with a connected network of protected bike lanes throughout NYC,” Conner said. “We’re hopeful that this plan will get Vision Zero back on track and help alleviate the anxiety that comes with riding a bike lately in the five boroughs. And where more needs to be done to make New York City streets safe, we will continue to push at all levels of government.” Another street safety advocate, Erin McClure, the executive director of StreetsPAC, called the mayor’s plan “robust” and said that it will improve street safety and encourage more cycling. McClure said, however, that there needs to be a reckoning for drivers in the city. “We also need people who drive in New York City to change their behavior behind the wheel, to slow down, obey right of way, and share the streets,” McClure said. “We need a change in car culture as well as these important changes in street design.” In May, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson introduced his own legislation that would require the city to build 50 miles of protected bike lanes each year — 20 additional miles more a year than de Blasio’s “Green Wave” goal.

AUGUST 1-7,2019

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

Spend The Day Garden Peeping!

n e h c t Ki ’s t r i d

TO

UR

Sunday August 11 10am-8pm Peep Hudson Valley Veggie Patches on a self-guided tour with Dirt’s Magazine’s editor and garden geeks! Visit people’s backyard gardens and see how they’re harvesting food Hit up the After Party at the renowned Farm to Table Mohawk House: complete with beer, wine, live music & local eats

Get your tickets at kitchengardentours.com or call (212) 868-0190

dirt

dirt-mag.com

Want to be a sponsor? Contact Frank Curcio at sales@strausnews.com

19

20

AUGUST 1-7,2019

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

SATC SEQUEL BOOKS

Everything you like about Our Town is now available to be delivered to your mailbox every week in the Eastsider From the very local news of your neighborhood to information about upcoming events and activities, the new home delivered edition of the Eastsiderwill keep you in-the-know.

Candace Bushnell’s new work is a companion to the most revolutionary dating book of the 20th century BY LORRAINE DUFFY MERKL

And best of all you won’t have to go outside to grab a copy from the street box every week.

It’s your neighborhood. It’s your news.

X

Yes! Start my mail subscription to the Eastsider right away! 1-Year Subscription @ $49

Name

________________________________________________

Address _________________________________ Apt. #

________

New York, NY Zip Code __________ Cell Phone _________________ Email Address___________________________________________ Payment by

Check # __________

Money Order

Credit Card

Name on Credit Card (Please Print) ___________________________ Card # _______________________ Exp. Date

____ //____ // ____

Signature of Cardholder ___________________________________

Return Completed Form to: Straus News, 20 West Avenue, Chester, NY, 10918 or go to OurTownNY.com & click on Subscribe

“Is there still sex in the city?” Candace Bushnell just had to find out. After dating for thirty-five years, then experiencing the full relationship cycle: love, marriage, divorce, insult was added to injury by her publisher who rejected count ‘em three of her manuscripts written in the comfort of her Connecticut home. She thought her career was as over as her love life. Before the real-life Carrie Bradshaw could succumb to MAM (Middle Age Madness, which apparently is different than a mid-life crisis), she moved back to NYC, where reinvention is the name of the game, to “get back out there and once again look for a man who doesn’t exist.” There BTW was the Upper East Side and The Hamptons. As she did long ago and far away, the writer who introduced “Mr. Big” into our lexicon chronicled her findings resulting in the new novel “Is There Still Sex in the City?” Think of it as the companion to her very first anthology now considered the most revolutionary dating book of the 20th century. You know, the one that spawned the HBO juggernaut series, which still runs ad nauseam on cable along with its two feature film counterparts. This time ‘round, Candace has new friends — Sassy, Kitty, Queenie, Tilda Tia and Marilyn — who like the author, are fifty-plus. A couple bear a striking resemblance to actual cast members of the Real Housewives of New York franchise. In fact, one season’s story arc is incorporated into the section about experiencing the company of guys young enough to call son, known colloquially as “cubbing.” FYI: the boys do the chasing. Who knew? Middle-age women are now catnip for under-25 men. In case you hadn’t heard, the difference between Cougars and Catnips is that the former are hardened women dressed too young for their age, whereas the latter tend to be nice, practical women, aka someone’s mom. I believe for a time the acronym for her was MILF. A couple of chapters are updates of prior famous columns, and quite frankly have already had an SATC episode devoted to them. The rest though are new takes on what it’s like to get an MNB — My New Boyfriend. As is par for the course at any age, one must first kiss a lot of frogs. The best-selling author describes comedically The Hot-Drop (“In the time it takes to get a blow dry, he has not just

Photo via Amazon.com Amazon com

a new relationship, but a whole new family.”); Spouse Child (before she left, his wife used to refer to him with the comment: “I have three children, two actual children and my husband.”); and the self-explanatory The He’s as Old as Your Father Guy. Because in the digital age people no longer “meet cute,” Candace gains insights into navigating Tinder via an informal round table with 20- and 30-somethings. The upshot: online dating is like gambling, where Tinder is the house, and the house always wins. There are tales of the “Mona Lisa” — a vaginal rejuvenation laser treatment that costs $3,000, attempting to get out in the world by biking only to end up in an Uber, and an LOL riff on shopping Madison Avenue, referred to as Madison World. Not all accounts though are good for a laugh. As some of us know, when you become a person of a certain age, you’ve been through some stuff; parents and friends begin to pass away. Those stories are cathartic to hear as well as tell. All in all, socializing as a mature woman seems rather reminiscent of how it was as a younger one, with guys you like not liking you, and guys who like you being, well, just not your type. There is however something to be said for middle age dating. It’s not about getting a life. We already have one, the relationship is simply the icing on the cake. Bottom line: Older women want what everyone wants from a romantic scenario — “a modicum of respect and to be treated like a human being.” A TV series of “Is There Still Sex in the City?” is in the works with Bushnell as writer and executive producer. Candace Bushnell’s book tour comes to B&N Union Square on August 6 at 7 p.m. Lorraine Duffy Merkl is the author of the novels “Fat Chick” and “Back to Work She Goes.”

AUGUST 1-7,2019

21

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

YOUR 15 MINUTES

To read about other people who have had their “15 Minutes” go to ourtownny.com/15 minutes

‘MY HANDS ARE OUTSTRETCHED’ The director of engagement of Columbia/Barnard Hillel on discovering Anne Frank’s diary, supporting students in their Jewish identities, and the role that the religion’s ancient values play in the world today

own Jewish journey. “Not incumbent upon you to complete the work, but nor are you free to desist from it.” And I feel like that is such a call to action, a call to engagement, and a call to involvement in the world, in what’s going on around you, in the lives of the people around you. That’s very much been a compass for me. And that continues to be a compass for me for in my own work in the Jewish world, as well as the things I do outside of my career.

BY MARK NIMAR

Jaimie Krass is the director of engagement at Columbia/Barnard Hillel, the school’s largest Jewish organization. She helps organize Shabbat dinners, learning cohorts, and philanthropic events to help students explore Jewish teachings and culture. But out of everything she does at Columbia, Krass is most proud of her role in helping students navigate the triumphs and challenges of college, as well as guiding them as they discover their Jewish identities. We sat down with Krass last week to discuss her strong feelings about hummus, ancient Hebrew text, and all things Jewish.

Many people feel that the teachings and customs of an ancient religion like Judaism are out of date. How do you feel that Jewish teachings are relevant for modern day people? What’s really timeless about [Judaism is] the values. The pursuit of justice that lies at the core of that. The sense of accountability and responsibility when it comes to your relationship with your neighbor, and with the people around you. I think the values of empathy, of humanity, of seeing that humanity ... there’s actually another phrase, “Let the honor of your neighbor be as dear to you as your own.” That’s a value that especially today as we’re seeing what’s going on at the border, and as we’re seeing what’s going on in terms of immigrants’ rights, I think this is very much a value that resonates and holds a lot of truth today. That the honor of our friends, that the honor of the people around us, that we should hold that as dearly as we hold our own.

What is your earliest memory of feeling Jewish? My earliest memory actually coincides with when I sort of learned I was Jewish. I didn’t grow up with any sense of Jewish heritage; there was no Jewish tradition in my home. My home was very secular. So I first developed that sense of intense connection to my own Jewishness when I was reading “The Diary of Anne Frank.” I smuggled it out of my sister’s room (she was reading it for school), and I think I was nine or ten years old. I totally fell in love with Anne Frank. I would literally say good night to her diary every night, and lay it beside my bed ... I must have pored through that book for over a week, and all I could think was, “I found my new favorite author. I can’t wait to read what else she’s written.” Because I didn’t know about the Holocaust yet. I hadn’t learned about the Holocaust. So when I got to the end, and learned what happened to her, what happened to her family, I was shell-shocked ... I couldn’t believe this amazing, amazing young woman with whom I identified so strongly was murdered. And so that kind of led me down this path of just discovering what it means to be Jewish, and how being Jewish is important to me, and why it’s important to live for that, and live proudly

Jaimie Krass of Columbia/Barnard Hilelll. Photo: Jonathan Heisler

as a Jewish person.

You’ve now worked at Columbia/ Barnard Hillel on the West Side for the last four years. What role does Columbia/Barnard Hillel play in students’ lives on campus? I would say that our purpose is to support and empower and enrich our students and our students’ lives, as they navigate the challenges and the incredible triumphs of a college experience. And that takes on so many forms. That takes on the form of supporting their ritual Jewish lives, whether that’s Shabbat or holidays. That takes the form of incorporating them into their own Jewish learnings. There’s a passage in the Torah that reminds me of this. When the Jewish people, when the Israelites were making their way into the Promised

Land, they had to cross the Jordan River, right? And before they crossed the Jordan River, they sent a few people to go and stand in the Jordan River to be able to help and support the Ark and the rest of the people who were going through to the other side. And that’s what I feel like my role is. I am standing in that river, and my hands are outstretched just in case someone needs a hand as they’re moving toward whatever their Promised Land is.

What does your role as director of engagement at Columbia/Barnard Hillel entail? I’m obsessed with my work. In the Hillel world, there are two dimensions to Jewish engagement: there’s inward-facing, which focuses on leadership development for students who already feel a sense of connec-

Bagels or Hamentashen? tion to Jewish community on campus. And there’s the outward-facing dimension. So that’s my realm. The students that I work most closely with are students who maybe are on the peripheries of Jewish life, or are still figuring out what Jewishness means to them, what their Jewish identities look like. So I focus on building relationships with those students, and empowering them to take ownership of their Jewish experience on campus through leadership opportunities, through immersive experiences like Birthright and alternative spring break trips.

What is a story from a sacred Jewish text that speaks to you? There’s a passage in Pirkei Avot that is my favorite. It’s really become a sort of compass for me throughout my own life and throughout my

Bagels. 100 percent.

Falafel or hummus? (Gasps) Oooh! That’s a painful one! Hummus. There’s just more you can do with it.

On a scale from one to 10, how much do you love Natalie Portman? Eleven. Are you asking me that as a Jew or as a lesbian? Because the answer is eleven for both. This interview has been edited and condensed.

Know somebody who deserves their 15 Minutes of fame? Go to ourtownny.com and click on submit a press release or announcement.

22

CROSSWORD

7

8

11

12

14

15

16

17

18

19

13

22

6 2

32

34

35

36

37

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

6

5

9

4

3

5 4

2

8

3

9 4

3 6

7 9

Level: Medium

1 5

39

24. Drink selling establishment 25. Money in use 27. Surpass in number of sales 28. Logic game 29. First-aid item 31. Put up with 32. Container leakage during shipment 33. Get rid of the oil in cooking, for example 35. Jostle

WORD SEARCH by Myles Mellor B A P P R E H E N S I O N P Y

T L G Q C E E X V S F M S A N

O H A D E C H N J R K P H W K

M H R C V M Y I I L E D W Z Y

I E G E K L H G S L G N C S O

N I J L A M H C L O G F I R U

O N Z L D T A S V H W S E K Y

U D G L E R E G X V D E Y A B

S C O N Y E E N I Q G D L I R

X A I E R D I A I C G K X N U

D N G I G F A M D N I F J P N

G C E H W P X R F O G Q P R U

X B O E J H S I K Z W I T C H

S S H O R R I B L E E E V I L

The puzzle contains the following words. They may be diagonal, across, or up and down in the grid in any direction.

T A J R Z V Y W C X P Q H Y F

Apprehension Blackmagic Dark Dread Eerie Evil Fear Frightening Ghost Horrible Ominous Scary Spells Threatening Witch

37. Alliance acronym

ANSWERS B

O

F

D

E

C

U

D

I

S

40 36 33

28

E 29

S

A M

N

C O

O

L

I

Y

L

P

A

S

B

A

20

N O

37

17 14 11 1

2

N 3

A

S

38

E

T

34

E

T

I

S A

21

E

41

N 26

E

T

23

L

B

N

R

F

U

E

U O 27

P

N

4

I

O

T

R O

V 5

D

U

39

E

A 6

S

N 7

S

A

E

I

L

B A

31

L

B L E

35

U

32

S E

N

R

E

I

L

R

G O

42

O

E

K

19 16

T

E

22

G R

15

R

E W

E

45

E 25

R

D

48

N C

24

18 12

U

30

Y C F

R

A

C

W E

13 8

A

9

S

D A E N K

10

B A P P R E H E N S I O N P Y

T L G Q C E E X V S F M S A N

O H A D E C H N J R K P H W K

M H R C V M Y I I L E D W Z Y

I E G E K L H G S L G N C S O

N I J L A M H C L O G F I R U

O N Z L D T A S V H W S E K Y

U D G L E R E G X V D E Y A B

S C O N Y E E N I Q G D L I R

X A I E R D I A I C G K X N U

D N G I G F A M D N I F J P N

G C E H W P X R F O G Q P R U

X B O E J H S I K Z W I T C H

S S H O R R I B L E E E V I L

T A J R Z V Y W C X P Q H Y F

3 8

4 6

9

5 7 1 8 3 2 9

6 2 5 4 7 1

2 7 1 4 9 3 8 6 5

6 1 8 5 4 9 2 3 7

5 4 3 2 6 7 1 9 8

7 9 2 8 3 1 6 5 4

1 2 6 9 7 4 5 8 3

9 5 4 3 8 6 7 1 2

8 3 7 1 5 2 9 4 6

38. Mid Eastern nation

L

36. Paradise 37. Barely beat, with “out” 39. Under the weather 40. Watch chains 41. “Absolutely!” 42. Small amount 43. Wanted-poster letters 44. Baby’s bottom reliever 45. It may be easily bruised 46. Type of boat that tows 47. Kind of child 48. Drops on blades Down 1. Seafood garnish 2. Voters who turned out 3. Tom, Dick or Harry 4. Undergarments 5. Go over 6. Delhi wrap 7. Disrespectful person 8. Stir 9. Under the radar 10. Work, as dough 16. Predict 21. Secures

1

A

38

7 1

N

33

31

6

T

30

2 9

27

29

Across 1. Bank routing number abbreviation 4. Red ink amount 8. Set a price for 11. Japanese title 12. Tolstoy hero 13. Harmless cyst 14. Press food or drinks on someone 15. Famous fiddler 16. Stand up to 17. United Nations labor org. 18. Sandpaper roughness measurement 19. Southern veggie 20. Bestow 22. Musical pipe 23. Shred 25. US coin 26. Wiggly 28. Archaeological research location 30. Clothes holder 33. Mussolini title 34. Speaker adjustment

8

O

26

25

7

44

24

1

47

23

Each Sudoku puzzle consists of a 9X9 grid that has been subdivided into nine smaller grids of 3X3 squares. To solve the puzzle each row, column and box must contain each of the numbers 1 to 9. Puzzles come in three grades: easy, medium and difficult.

A

21

28

10

G

20

9

K

6

U

5

T

4

A

3

43

2

SUDOKU by Myles Mellor and Susan Flanagan

by Myles Mellor

46

Eastsider 1

AUGUST 1-7,2019

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

AUGUST 1-7,2019

CLASSIFIEDS PUBLIC NOTICES

23

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

Telephone: 212-868-0190 Email: classified2@strausnews.com

POLICY NOTICE: We make every eort to avoid mistakes in your classiďŹ ed ads. Check your ad the ďŹ rst week it runs. The publication w only accept responsibility for the ďŹ rst incorrect insertion. The publication assumes no ďŹ nancial responsibility for errors or omissions. reserve the right to edit, reject, or re-classify any ad. Contact your sales rep directly for any copy changes. All classiďŹ ed ads are pre-pa

ADOPTION

DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING YOU’D LIKE US TO LOOK INTO? DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING YOU’D LIKE US TO LOOK INTO? DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING YOU’D LIKE US TO LOOK INTO? Email us at NEWS@STRAUSNEWS.COM

MASSAGE

Discover the world’s best walk-in bathtub from 5 Reasons American Standard Walk-In Tubs are Your Best Choice

REAL ESTATE - RENT

1 2 3

Includes FREE American StandardRight Height Toilet

Limited Time Offer! Call Today!

4

888-609-0248

5

Receive a free American Standard Cadet toilet with full installation of a Liberation Walk-In Bath, Liberation Shower, or Deluxe Shower. Offer valid only while supplies last. Limit one per household. Must be first time purchaser. See www.walkintubs.americanstandard-us.com for other restrictions and for licensing, warranty, and company information. CSLB B982796; Suffolk NY:55431H; NYC:HIC#2022748-DCA. Safety Tubs Co. LLC does not sell in Nassau NY, Westchester NY, Putnam NY, Rockland NY.

DENTAL Insurance Physicians Mutual Insurance Company

A less expensive way to help get the dental care you deserve! CALL NOW!

FREE Information Kit

1-855-225-1434

Get help paying dental bills and keep more money in your pocket This is real dental insurance — NOT just a discount plan You can get coverage before your next checkup

Don’t wait! Call now and we’ll rush you a FREE Information Kit with all the details.

1-855-225-1434 Visit us online at

www.dental50plus.com/nypress

Insurance Policy P150NY 6129

MB17-NM003Ec

DEMAND JUSTICE Call Barry Lewis at

(212) 868-0190 or email barry.lewis@strausnews.com TO PLACE YOUR NOTICE

Victims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy or by authority figures at school have rights. NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY LAW HAVE EXTENDED THE TIME PERIOD IN WHICH TO FILE YOUR SEXUAL ABUSE CLAIM. ACT NOW TO GET YOUR CLAIM TIMELY FILED.

CLERGY ABUSE ATTORNEY HOTLINE 800-444-9112 ATTORNEY ADVERTISING DOUGLAS & LONDON, P.C. 59 MAIDEN LN, 6TH FLOOR, NEW YORK, NY 10038 THE MATTHEWS LAW FIRM, PLLC, 244 5TH AVENUE, SUITE 2882, NY, NY 10001 MAIN OFFICE: 2905 SACKETT STREET, HOUSTON, TEXAS 77098

Backed by American Standard’s 140 years of experience $ Ultra low entry for easy entering and exiting Patented Quick DrainŽ fast water removal system Lifetime Warranty on the bath AND installation, INCLUDING labor backed by American Standard 44 Hydrotherapy jets for an invigorating massage

1,50

SAVING0S

FREE IN-HOME EVALUATION!

D O N AT E YO U R C A R Wheels For Wishes benefiting

Make-A-Wish ÂŽ Metro New York * 100% Tax Deductible * Free Vehicle Pickup ANYWHERE * We Accept Most Vehicles Running or Not * We Also Accept Boats, Motorcycles & RVs

WheelsForWishes.org Call:(917)336-1254 * Car Donation Foundation d/b/a Wheels For Wishes. To learn more about our programs or ÂżQDQFLDO LQIRUPDWLRQ FDOO RU YLVLW ZZZ ZKHHOVIRUZLVKHV RUJ

Do you know THESE MEN? John L. Abrams William Authenrieth Hugo Bedoya Edward Brennan Douglas Brown Joseph P. Byrns Francis Capellupo

James P. Collins Michael Conroy Harold Cox William Cummings John R. Dwyer Anthony Failla

If you have information regarding alleged abuse or its cover-up involving these men, CONTACT US.

The NY Child Victims Act may be able to help you!

646-493-1850

57 West 57th Street, 3rd Floor New York, NY 10019

24

AUGUST 1-7,2019

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

MANHATTAN’S FINEST RENTAL RESIDENCES IN YOUR FAVORITE NEIGHBORHOOD

9 9 9 9 UPTOWN 212-535-0500 DOWNTOWN 212-430-5900 OPEN 7 DAYS, 10AM-6PM Live the Glenwood lifestyle in these ďŹ ne neighborhoods: TriBeCa ¡ FiDi ¡ Battery Park North ¡ Fashion District ¡ Lincoln Square ¡ Murray Hill ¡ Midtown East ¡ Upper East Side

All the units include features for, and Glenwood provides reasonable accommodations to, persons with disabilities, as required by FHA.

GLENWOOD GLENWOODNYC.COM

Equal Housing Opportunity

Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.