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NYPRESS.COM • THE LARGEST PAPER ON THE EAST SIDE • DECEMBER 5, 2013
Last Blast
Defending Her Turf, One Crossing At a Time School crossing guard Gisela Casella patrols her slice of the Upper East Side
MTA finally ends underground explosions on Second Avenue By Adam Janos Good news for businesses on the Upper East Side: the constant blasting noises from the Second Avenue subway project are finally over. According to the MTA, the project’s final blast occurred at 5:21 p.m. on Monday, November 18, on the north side of 86th and Second Avenue. Continued on page 17
ALSO INSIDE EAST SIDE SURGEON POSTS SURGERY PRICES P.4
P.11
By Alissa Fleck Even Wall Street Journal reporters hoped to catch a glimpse of the famed Gisela Casella, an Upper East Side institution for the past 24 years, but they weren’t able to meet her terms: I’ll see you on my street corner or not at all. For over two decades, Casella has shepherded school kids across busy Manhattan streets morning, noon and evening, from her perch on the corner of 84th St. and Madison Ave. She calls the street one of the busiest in the area, noting some days it’s more like a racetrack as commuters scurry to beat the barricades put in place to protect the kids. “I love the kids and kidding around with people,” says Casella. “If you’re miserable you cannot do this job. If you’re nice to people, they’re nice to you,” she adds, noting the children and their families are the most rewarding part of the job.
Despite her lightheartedness and familiarity with every dog and dogowner in the neighborhood — she greets about 20 different dogs on a daily basis — Casella takes her job as a school crossing guard very seriously. (Ditto her anonymity; she didn’t want to be photographed for this article.) And the job is not without its hurdles. She describes a particular incident in which a woman repeatedly tried to bypass her barricades and then lied to Casella about her intentions. Not only did Casella reprimand the woman on the spot, she launched a stakeout. She would not be taken for a fool. “I started watching her,” says Casella. “I started waiting for her.” The battle between Casella and this particular nemesis went on for some time, Continued on page 8
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