The local paper for the Upper er East Side
OURTOWNNY.COM
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MARCH
5-11 2015
OurTownEastSide @OurTownNYC
In Brief
VERIZON PROBLEMS SPOTTED ON EAST SIDE
SCHOOL CELLPHONE BAN ENDS THIS WEEK
NEWS Both sides of Central Park hit by phone and Internet outage BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS
Verizon customers on both sides of Central Park continue to report outages for the fourth straight week. This newspaper first reported widespread outages in the west-80s that affected phone and internet service, beginning Feb. 3, and caused some customers -- including West Side Councilmember Helen Rosenthal -- to abandon the company. A Verizon spokesperson initially said technicians were unaware of the problem on the west side, but later said that about 200 customers in the west-80s were affected by a problem with two underground cables between W. 73rd Street and W. 74th Street. “These two cable were affected by water entering these cables, not unusual during these severe weather months when we experience extreme moisture, melting snow and ice, and possibly amplified by the corrosive elements of road salt,” said Verizon spokesperson John Bonomo. While the problem is more pronounced on the Upper West Side, customers across the park on the Upper East Side said they’ve been experiencing outages. too. Bonomo said he’s unaware of the problem on the Upper East Side. The state’s Dept. of Public Services said it has received four complaints of outages in the neighborhood. As for the Upper West Side, Bonomo said the problem will be fixed by next week, but affected customers said the company frequently misses its own deadlines for repairs. A spokesperson with the DPS said the department
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Illustration by John S. Winkleman
BROTHERS BAKE IN TRADITION Glaser’s Bake Shop started in a basement 112 years ago BY PANYIN CONDUAH
Every week for the rest of the year, Our Town celebrate its 45th anniversary by profiling a neighborhood business that has been around longer than we have. Know of a local business that should be on our list? Email us at news@strausnews.com. John and Justine Glaser brought the gift of sweets and baked goods when they opened their bakery 112 years ago on the Upper East Side when that slice of the city was predominantly German. Although First Avenue just north of 87th Street and the rest of Yorkville has changed since 1902, Black and White cookies and Butter Wafers are still being churned out, by the third generation of Glasers, brothers Herb and John. A typical morning at the bak-
ery includes prepping pounds of brownies and producing cookies. Herb’s hands are constantly kneading dough on a maple work bench, a sizeable distance from the career trajectory he had once pursued. Studying to be a dentist, he instead fell into the family sweet business. “Now I’m causing the cavities instead of filling them,” he said. Still, the smiles come easy, particularly as children, their parents and grandparents choose from the shop’s selection. The store’s antique wooden cabinets and mosaic tiles are leftovers from that opening day, at the turn of the last century. The onslaught of new chain bakeries doesn’t bother Herb, for a simple reason: longevity has translated into a loyal following. “When I was a kid I use to think there was a need to expand but I’m glad we never did,” he said.
Owning the building also helps, both the Glasers and their customers. “If people ask for something consistently we’ll make it and then see if it sells; if it doesn’t we’ll stop making it,” said Herb. The Glasers take the summer season off, closing their doors for a few weeks each year. The demand for doughnuts and danishes usually drops, and, besides, there’s also a very practical reason: The store has no air conditioning. “Since we don’t have astronomical rent bills to pay, we can afford to do it. So it really works for me — I have the summer off like I’m back in school.” For a sweet shop with that pedigree, it’s no surprise the Glasers had a run-in with the city health department a few years ago. The community, as well as elected officials, were quick with their support when the department forced the bakery to shut around Christmas time in 2012 for a series of violations. It reopened soon afterward. Herb continues to work long hours baking both German and American classics not only to pass along the opportunity his grandparents made for themselves in America. He does it to pass on the happiness for future generations.
Good news for parents, bad news for teachers: New York City’s 1.1 million students once again will be able to bring cellphones to school. The cellphone ban in city schools had been put in place by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who feared they would interfere with classes. Bloomberg, who knows something about the impact of technology, was in some ways prescient: since the ban was installed, texting and Snapchat and Instagram have taken over teens’ lives, to the annoyance of parents and educators. But the ban also had downsides, ultimately leading Mayor Bill de Blasio to lift it as of March 2. Parents complained that the absence of phones made it tough to reach their kids, particularly in family emergencies. In addition, the ban created a bizarre cottage industry of cellphone babysitters -- vans parked outside of schools that charged students a daily fee to watch their phones while they were in class. Some parents, particularly from less-wealthy neighborhoods, complained that the ban imposed an unnecessary cost. For the moment, no one is talking about allowing cellphone usage in class. Students most likely will be allowed to use their phones during lunch or in designated areas. Otherwise, they’re supposed to be kept in student backpacks and lockers. Good luck enforcing that. We’re old enough to remember the days of surreptitious note-passing across the aisle in math class. Look for its digital equivalent, in the form of under-the-desk texting and photo-sharing, Jewish women and girls light up the world by lighting the Shabbat candles every Friday evening 18 minutes before sunset. Friday March 6 – 5:35 pm. For more information visit www.chabaduppereastside.com.