The local paper for the Upper er East Side PEERING INSIDE A NEIGHBORHOOD BOOKSTORE Q&A, P. 25
WEEK OF JUNE
19 2014
OURTOWNNY.COM
OurTownEastSide @OurTownNYC
WELCOME TO THE U.E.S., MR. MAYOR SPECIAL REPORT Analyzing how much time de Blasio has spent in his new neighborhood BY MEGAN BUNGEROTH
After months of delay, the de Blasio family is finally packing up for a move to the Upper East Side. To mark the occasion, Our Town put together a gift basket to welm come them d and dropped ty it off at City eek Hall this week hat -- a basket that ovie includes movie tickets for Dante, tips on the closaner est dry cleaner a n d b a r b e r, e of and a bottle e for champagne the mayor and the First Lady to toast their first night in their much swankier new home. While moving apartments is a headache for any New Yorker, the de Blasios may be in for a particularly rough transition. According to an analysis of de Blasio’s official schedule, the mayor spent less than 24 hours on the Upper East Side in his first three months in office, holding fewer meetings there than in Brooklyn or Queens. And when he was in the neighborhood, he tended to stick close to Gracie Mansion. So think of this as an opportunity to explore a new part of the city, Mr. Mayor. And welcome to our neighborhood. A full report on the breakdown of the mayor’s schedule -- plus a more detailed breakdown of what’s in that gift basket -- starts on Page 6.
Summer in the City
WAITING IN LINE FOR SHAKESPEARE BY LORRAINE DUFFY MERKL his is my 34th season waiting on line to see Shakespeare in the Park at Central Park’s Delacorte Theater. Over the past three-plus decades, my husband, Neil, has hung out with me a handful of times; he really doesn’t mind, he reads his book. My 16-year-old daughter, Meg, l loves it. Even though she is not a morning person, to be part of th treasured summer tradithis ti Meg will rise, help carry our tion, ch chairs and blankets to the center of the park, and with the promise of ordering from Andy’s Deli on A Amsterdam Avenue, gladly make a mother-daughter day out it. M 19-year-old son, Luke, My ho however, has gone rogue. Three years ago, the one and only time I convinced him to hang with me, I thought his head would blow off. He could not believe he was wasting his time sitting around. In fact, Luke said he would rather pay somebody to stand there for him or, better yet, just buy a seat. The minute we got our tickets, he grabbed his backpack and started to run towards the Great Lawn to join his friends; Luke’s parting words to me were, “Never again.” Although I, and apparently many others, don’t mind the process for procuring tickets, for which the line can be as entertaining as the play itself, Luke’s viewpoint seems almost what you’d expect from a New Yorker, particularly a native. Which leads me to ask, why is it that in the city that never sleeps, and where everything happens in a
T
In Brief SUCCESS ACADEMY SEEKS TO EXPAND Success Acadamy Charter Schools announced its intention to establish 14 new charter schools in the city. The school network will submit applications to the SUNY Charter Schools Institute, which grants charters for the state, to operate new schools in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, and Queens. Four applications will be submitted for schools to open in August 2015, including in Manhattan community education districts 2 and 3, and ten applications will be for schools slated to open in August 2016. Success Academy said in a press release that it was responding to the demand they’ve seen in applications for their existing charter schools, having received over 14,400 applications for fewer than 3,000 open seats.
GUN VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH
“New York minute,” are so many people standing still? In the opening credits of movies that are set in Manhattan, the camera pans down from the skyline to the busy streets where everyone is walking with purpose to a score that Neil calls “New York hustle and bustle music.” But the reality is that sometimes we’re hustling and bustling to stand on line (never in line, of course) -- and not just for free Shakespeare tickets. Even though we can buy movie tickets at home on the computer, if it’s a really popular film, we find ourselves standing on a line that wraps around the block to get into the theater. We wait at the bus stop, down the subway, in the East Side shopping trifecta of H&M, Sephora
and Barnes & Noble, with their crowd-control stanchions, so that you not only stand and wait, but do so in a restricted area. Further across town, the line waiting at Fairway can put you in such a trance that the store has employees to roust you from your daydream when it’s your turn, and direct you to a cashier. Could it be we’re not the exciting, if-you-blink-you’ll-miss-it, fast-paced city we claim to be? Or perhaps, waiting on line is a New Yorker’s way of taking a welldeserved break. All something to think about, as I take in Lily Rabe as Beatrice and Hamish Linklater as Benedick, in another glorious evening in the park.
Last year, more than half of the murders committed in the state were in New York City. Throughout the month of June, New Yorkers can raise awareness and help reduce the incidence of gun violence by participating in events, activities, and working groups. First Lady Chirlane McCray filmed video and audio PSAs with Council Member Jumaane Williams to encourage New Yorkers to participate in Gun Violence Awareness Month. “Guns have caused so much needless pain and violence in our communities,” said McCray. “We need more voices in the conversation on reducing gun violence, and this begins at the grassroots level. I urge all New Yorkers to take a stand and get involved—there’s too much at stake.” Visit www. gunviolenceawarenessmonth. org for information on how to get involved.