The local paper for the Upper er East Side YOUNG DANCERS STORM THE STAGE
WEEK OF APRIL
< ARTS, P. 16
NYPRESS.COM
10 2014
OurTownEastSide @OurTownNYC
TAKING ATTENDANCE
In Brief ARTS SHORTFALL IN NYC SCHOOLS A new study by city Comptroller Scott Stringer shows that the city is underfunding school arts programs. The report shows that 20% of public schools lack any arts teachers at all, despite state laws requiring arts education for middle and high school students. The problem, according to the report, is disproportionately worse at schools in low-income parts of the city, adding to existing educational inequities across New York, Stringer says. To fix the problem, New York would have to spend $25 million to supply an arts teacher to every school that needs one -- a tenth of a penny for every dollar spent by the Department of Education.
COMMUNITY BOARDS Councilmember Kallos recommends community board members get the boot over absenteeism BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS
UPPER EAST SIDE Members of local community boards may soon be making attendance at meetings more of a priority. In reviewing potential board members to reappoint to the Upper East Side’s Community Board 8, freshman Councilman Ben Kallos recommended to Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer’s office that several members not be reappointed because they were absent from 25 percent or more of mandatory meetings in 2013. Of those recommendations, John Bartos, appointed in April 2012, claimed he was singled out by Kallos during the process for political reasons. Other members of the board whom Kallos recommended not be reappointed could not be reached for comment or would not comment on the record for this story. According to Kallos’ office, they sent letters to certain CB8 members questioning their attendance records and raising other concerns, like arriving late to meetings and leaving early, if they were found to have been absent or tardy more than 25 percent of the time. Kallos told Our Town that he made that recommendation for all board members who fit the criteria – even those whose reappointment he had no control over – regardless of their political affiliations. Kallos said that in making the recommendations, his office used information supplied by the borough president’s office. “We literally used the information that was given to us by [Borough President] Gale Brewer,” said Kallos. “We had objective criteria and we looked at it and saw there was pretty high absenteeism on the board. I adopted a standard, and applied it to the comprehensive research that [Brewer’s] CONTINUED ON PAGE 12
COLUMBIA DENTAL STUDENT MISSING FROM U.W.S.
A NEW SCHOOL FOR DOGS SMALL BUSINESS A successful two-woman dog training business is seeking a new downtown home after a fire destroyed their previous space BY MARY NEWMAN
CHELSEA Lifelong New Yorker Anna Grossman grew up on 17th Street and 3rd Avenue watching her mother start her own business, and run it out of their apartment. Following in her mom’s foot steps, she has partnered with Kate Senisi to open a dog training studio, School For Dogs, which they also started out of Grossman’s apartment. After college, Grossman worked as a journalist, getting stories published in the New York Times, Gizmodo, and the Boston Globe. In 2008 she wrote “A Chorus of
Dog Whisperers” for the New York Times, which told the story of people changing their established careers to become dog trainers. “That article had sort of planted a seed in my head,” she explained. “Between 2007 when I wrote that article and 2010, I was always keeping my eye out for [dog training] programs.” Grossman decided upon the Karen Pryor Academy, which pairs online classes with several weekend workshops. After finishing the program, and becoming a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA), she met her partner Kate Senisi at a meet up for New York trainers. Two years ago, they transformed Grossman’s childhood home into their studio and have been building a successful business. She continued to live in the back of the apart-
SCHOOL FOR DOGS If you would like to donate visit their website at www. schoolfordogs.com, or go straight to their Indiegogo account at www.indiegogo.com/projects/ help-nyc-s-school-for-thedogs-rebuild. ment, while they utilized the former living room space and roof deck to work with their clients. Grossman helped develop a tablet app that allows dogs to paint, press buttons with their nose, and take “dog selfies.” Their work has been showcased on the Today Show, CBS, and made front-page news at the Wall Street Journal. Senisi is from Schenectady, NY
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Jiwon Lee, a 29-year-old female student at Columbia’s College of Dental Medicine, has been missing since Tuesday April 1. Friends say she was last seen at her apartment at 220 West 98th Street, at 8:30 p.m. The police are seeking the public’s assistance in locating Lee, and her friends and family have set up a Facebook page and are papering the city with missing person flyers. Lee is described as 5’2” tall, 120 lbs., with black hair and eyes. Anyone with information can call Crime stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW. NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.