The local paper for the Upper East Side 2016 M
ak e ov ers
A New Year’s coming, and we have some ideas about where you should spend it. We’ve come up with our Best of Manhattan, as we do every year.
The concept of “best” is, we realize, subjective — and fun to argue about. with strong opinions, and we’re We’re New Yorkers, after all, here partly to spark a dialogue on what’s worthy. But we also hope encourage moments where you to dive into the city you call home. So go ahead and have a conversation with a good friend in a restaurant toddler to story time. Enjoy a play you’ve never tried. Take your – or a playground. Get the dog groomed. train or in a car and head out of Or put yourself on a bike or a the city. There’s a whole host of experiences waiting outside your apartment door.
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WEEK OF DECEMBER
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Best of Manhattan 2016 was written by Christopher Moore and designed by Heather Roland-Blanco
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RESPONDING TO HATE CRIMES With a rise in bias incidents, some New Yorkers step up while others stand by BY MADELEINE THOMPSON
Participants during a Nov. 12 march in New York City. Photo: wasikphoto.com, via Wikimedia Commons.
Spurred by a 35 percent increase in hate crimes throughout the city since the election of Donald Trump, about 50 New Yorkers spent two hours of a recent Thursday night learning when and how to speak up for victims of bias attacks. Rachel S. Blum Levy, a social worker who organized the free workshop, walked attendees through the four D’s of bystander intervention — direct, delegate, distract, delay — and provided specific tactics to carry them out. “Your instincts are really important and you have to listen to them,” she said at the Nov. 8 workshop. “Oftentimes, not always, but oftentimes using our voice is enough to defuse a situation.” Opportunities to speak up have been all the more available lately. Last week two Muslim women — one a police officer and one an MTA employee — were verbally and physically assaulted in different incidents. Swastikas have appeared in graffiti in multiple locations, including a 1 train and inside the elevator in state Senator Brad Hoylman’s apartment building. Some New Yorkers are stepping up to educate themselves and help others, but some are looking the other way. On Dec. 3, a Muslim student was at-
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tacked on the subway by three men who screamed “Donald Trump” at her and tried to rip off her hijab. According to the New York Daily News, no one intervened. “People were looking at me and looking at what was happening and no one said a thing,” 18-year-old Yasmin Seweid told the Daily News. James Mulvaney, an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and former deputy commissioner of the New York state Division of Human Rights, isn’t surprised by New Yorkers’ capacity for vitriol. “While you have a diverse population, it doesn’t mean that it’s a melting pot,” Mulvaney said. “There is still a substantial amount of tension — racial, religious and economic.” Imam Ali Mashour of the Upper East Side Islamic Cultural Center, however, was shocked and disappointed. “Outside of New York it would be something I would expect,” said Mashour, who attributed the recent incidents not directly to Trump but to the “outrageous” campaign he led. Mashour was surprised by Trump’s election, but thinks the damage would have been done even if Hillary Clinton had prevailed. Over the course of the 17 months Trump spent campaigning for the presidency, minority groups were target-
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Rob Mastrianni releasing a hawk in Central Park earlier this month. Photo: Daniel Avila, New York City Parks & Recreation Department
RANGER ROB, BIRD MAN How a sighting in Central Park changed a Brooklyn native’s life BY GAIL EISENBERG
Pale Male, the first red-tailed hawk to arrive in New York City, gave bird-watchers something to chirp about and became Upper East Side elementary school PS 6’s mascot. He also inspired Rob Mastri-
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Jewish women and girls light up the world by lighting the Shabbat candles every Friday evening 18 minutes before sunset. Friday, December 16 – 4:12 pm. For more information visit www.chabaduppereastside.com
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