The local paper for the Upper er East Side
WEEK OF DECEMBER
HOLIDAY ARTS PREVIEW
10-16
CITY ARTS, P.12 >
2015
Our Take
SUING TO KEEP SENIORS AT HOME News Lawsuit says landlords have ignored a law designed to give seniors the option to stay on as renters By JAKE PEARSON Inspired by his own experience living in a New York City apartment building that was converted into high-priced condos, a 71-year-old former state regulator is taking on developers citywide on behalf of seniors and disabled tenants. Walter Goldsmith claims in a state lawsuit that landlords have ignored a decades-old law that requires them to give tenants 62 and older and those with disabilities the
45 Years and Counting
A BYGONE BARBER SHOP Paul Mole is unapologetically old school BY RUI MIAO
The interior of the Paul Mole barber shop is a scene cropped from a silent movie; it takes you back to the good old days. The decorations are simple yet elegant—everything inside the shop, at Lexington Ave. and 74th Street, seems to be wooden: the counter, the dividers, the wall full of framed black-and-white photos and the shelf displaying different kinds of shave brushes. In the far end of the store there is a white hobbyhorse under an
arch—it might well be the same one you rode on when you were a child. Amid the jazzy tunes are the clickety-clacking of scissors and the booming of hairdryers, but somehow, it feels quiet in here. The philosophy of the barbershop, as reiterated by the current owner Adrian Wood, is its perseverance of all things old school: from the appearance to the service, from the rapport between customers and barbers to their lifelong friendships. “It’s a very simple idea, we take care of the customers and give them what
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OUR MUSLIM NEIGHBORS option to stay-on as renters in their apartments rather than move away or buy themselves. Experts say the case could provide an extra layer of protection to vulnerable market-rate tenants who have lost housing security as rent-stabilized and regulated apartments have decreased in recent years. “It’s fair to say these people are entitled to some stability and harmony in their lives,” said Goldsmith, who for the past 10 years has lived in a cozy one-bedroom in a 31-story building on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Landlords had previously
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It’s hard to know exactly how many Muslims live in New York City, but estimates peg the number at well above 500,000 people, or about 6 percent of the city’s population. Men, women, kids, neighbors. Small business owners. Teachers. Police. Security guards. They practice their religion at more than 250 mosques, spread out across every borough. And even before Donald Trump’s new low in demogoguery this week, New York’s Muslims were running scared. Women wearing head scarfs -- even some nonMuslims -- say they are taunted and stared at. Two Muslims in Brooklyn were spit at and assaulted. The director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said the current backlash is as bad as the months and weeks following Sept. 11, 2001. All of this before Trump once again opened his foul mouth. It’s easy to get beaten down by all of this. Mayor Bill de Blasio was right to warn this week against complacency. “What he’s saying is corrosive to our democratic values. It’s dangerous,” the mayor told CNN. “And I’ll call him out.” Jewish women and girls light up the world by lighting the Shabbat candles every Friday evening 18 minutes before sunset. Friday December 11 – 4:11 pm. For more information visit www.chabaduppereastside.com
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