Our Town - August 1, 2019

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

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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5

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

ROBERT MORGENTHAU’S LIFE OF PUBLIC SERVICE REMEMBRANCE

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

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$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.

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Going to the Airport?

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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 Morgenthauâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s blood. Temple Emanu-El Senior Rabbi Emeritus Ronald B. Sobel, who officiated the service, began by paying homage to the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Morgenthau trilogyâ&#x20AC;? who devoted their lives to public service: Robertâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grandfather, Henry Sr., who served as Woodrow Wilsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ambassador to the Ottoman Empire during World War I; Robertâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s father, Henry Jr., who was FDRâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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 Morgenthauâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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 Morgenthauâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s approach to prosecution. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In the Bossâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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,â&#x20AC;? she said.

Morgenthauâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reverence for fairness, Sotomayor said, has guided her in her professional and personal life. â&#x20AC;&#x153;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,â&#x20AC;? she said.

Unparalleled Integrity For a man as successful and privileged as he was, Morgenthau was humble and moral, speakers said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We received the privilege of working for a man who exempliďŹ ed a spirit of public service and integrity that was unparalleled,â&#x20AC;? said Sotomayor. Kaufman noted Morgenthauâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;belief in integrity; his anathema to seeking ego; his belief not in adulation but in achievement.â&#x20AC;?

When speakers were not praising Morgenthauâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s accomplishments, they joked about his two unsuccessful bids for governor of New York. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The papers called the boss a stiff and awkward public speaker. They were right,â&#x20AC;?

Sotomayor said.

His childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s remarks offered a window into Morgenthauâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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 Morgenthauâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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.

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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 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; despite a drop in most other crimes â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 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 cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s District Attorneys to publicly report on each instance of domestic violence, from the initial incident through the ďŹ nal resolution. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As this administration boasts that crime is at an all-time low, domestic violence-related crimes are increasing,â&#x20AC;? Kallos said in an interview. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think that the city has a handle on the problem. With all of the effort

thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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.â&#x20AC;?

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 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 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 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; has risen dramatically. In 2007, as noted in a 2017 report from the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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, Kallosâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; bill aims to put a spotlight on survivor outcomes by making the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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

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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.

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Voices

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

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

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

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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

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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.

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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 Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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

EDITORâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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 Yenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Taiwanese Waves showcase collects some of Taiwanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most inspiring talents for Summerstage. This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s edition features an all-woman lineup from the islandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mandarin music scene â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 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 â&#x20AC;&#x153;six superb brass playersâ&#x20AC;?

(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 Groszâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s monumental 1926 canvas â&#x20AC;&#x153;Eclipse of the Sunâ&#x20AC;? 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&#x2013;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

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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.

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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Sunday August 11 10am-8pm Peep Hudson Valley Veggie Patches on a self-guided tour with Dirt’s Magazine’s editor and garden geeks!

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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

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“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

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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.

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