The local paper for the Upper er East Side A SPECIAL REPORT ON EDUCATION < P. 14
WEEK OF DECEMBER
18-24 2014
OURTOWNNY.COM
OurTownEastSide urTo urT ur Tow @OurTownNYC
HISTORY MUSEUM OUTLINES EXPANSION ALONG CENTRAL PARK Museum plans new facility by 2020, early focus is on Roosevelt park BY GABRIELLE ALFIERO AND DANIEL FITZSIMMONS
The American Museum of Natural History announced plans for a new, $325 million addition to its Central Park West campus, a project that will likely receive close scrutiny from neighborhood groups.
In Brief ANTI-CARRIAGE ADVOCACY GROUP FINED
The new Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation will focus on education and scientific research, and will aim to integrate the two with learning facilities and exhibition galleries. “We feel very passionately that we need to enhance science literacy in this country,” said museum president Ellen V. Futter. “So many of the most
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The museum as it now stands, facing Central Park West
SHOPPING LOCAL We asked longtime Upper East Side residents where they shop for holiday gifts in their neighborhood
FOR GOURMET GOODIES Agata and Valentina Their store stocks over 5,500 staple and gourmet food items, many sourced directly from Italy from artisanal producers. 1505 First Ave. btwn 78th & 79th St. 212-452-0690 www.agatavalentina.com Daily 8 a.m. - 9 p.m.
FOR THE BOOKWORM
A food demonstration at Agata and Valentina on First Avenue.
Logos Bookstore This independent bookstore specializes in religious texts but also carries all the latest best-sellers as well as fiction and non-fiction favorites, a well-curated selection of children’s books, as well as cards and gifts. 1575 York Ave. btwn 83rd & 84th St. 212-517-7292 CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
The main advocacy group behind a proposed ban on carriage horses was fined $26,054 for making illegal contributions to two City Council candidates last year. The Campaign Finance Board imposed the penalty against the group, New Yorkers for Clean Livable and Safe Streets, or NYCLASS, following a nearly yearlong investigation, according to The Daily News. The penalty is the result of mailings NYCLASS sent to voters touting Democratic Council candidates Laurie Cumbo of Brooklyn and Mark Levine of Manhattan. Both won their races. The animal-rights group reported the assistance as “independent” — but the Campaign Finance Board called that a misrepresentation because NYCLASS, Levine and Cumbo shared the same political consultant, the Advance Group.
DUBIOUS ACHIEVEMENT FOR THE M79 If you’re waiting for the M79 bus, it’s not your imagination: you really are waiting too long. The M79, which travels across 79th and 81st streets between East End Avenue and the 79th Street Boat Basin, crawls along at an average pace of 3.2 mph, slower than the average human walking speed. The pace help the line win the nototrious Pokey Award for 2014, bestowed on the slowest bus route in the city. According to the Straphangers Campaign and Transportation Alternatives, the fastest recorded Hawaiian lava flow was clocked at a blistering 6 mph. Jewish women and girls light up the world by lighting the Shabbat candles every Friday evening 18 minutes before sunset. Friday December 19 - first light the Chanukah candles. 4:13 pm - light the Shabbat candles. Wishing you a happy Chanukah. For more information visit h b d id