The local paper for the Upper er East Side FALL ARTS PREVIEW < CITYARTS, P.12
WEEK OF AUGUST
13-19 2015
FUNDING DEAL IN PLACE FOR ESPLANADE NEWS
SUMMER IN THE CITY
Money will come in part from the Hospital for Special Surgery BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS
The Hospital for Special Surgery has agreed to steward a maintenance fund for the East River Esplanade, a deal which was secured by City Councilmember Ben Kallos and U.S. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney. HSS agreed to invest in the East River Esplanade as part of a favorable land use vote held recently by the city council. The hospital will repair and maintain a twoblock stretch of the esplanade and, in a partnership with Rockefeller University that’s being led by Kallos, will work with key community stakeholders to develop a master plan for the esplanade from 62nd Street to 78th Street. Rockefeller University previously agreed to maintain a $1 million trust to care for the esplanade in perpetuity. The partnership will kick off with a community visioning session, though a Kallos spokesperson said a date for that event has not yet been set. The deal includes the installation of eight-foot noise barriers under the hospital’s East Wing Building between East 70th and East 71st Street, where they’re constructing three new inpatient operating rooms to meet increasing patient demand. The Hospital for Special Surgery will also provide a water fountain for the esplanade at 71st Street and irrigation to keep plants alive, and will repair and replace lighting and railings, as well as provide new seating between East 70th Street and East 72nd Street. The deal includes maintenance in perpetuity for all improvements on the esplanade along those blocks. Kallos’ office said the deal follows $35 million that he negotiated into last year’s final budget and $18 million from other investment sources. Kallos co-chairs the East River Esplanade Taskforce with Maloney, and both are ex-officio board members of Friends of the East River Esplanade, a conservancy. “The esplanade is a beautiful resource for the community, but it urgently needs some TLC,” said Maloney. “As HSS expands its operations in a way that will significantly affect residents, I am delighted they have agreed to make concrete contributions to an amenity that needs
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Fabulous upcoming New York State events and must-sees at ILoveNY.com/summer15 and inside!
This photograph, of a dress seller at a neighborhoood street fair, was snapped by reader Joseph Abate during one of his regular walks through the city. Do you have photos that capture life in Manhattan in the waning days of summer? Send them to us at news@strausnews.com
Our Take PLAYING GAMES WITH PUBLIC HEALTH Dr. Craig Spencer, the man who forever will be known as New York’s only Ebola victim, sat down with New York magazine earlier this summer to talk about his recovery. In the interview, he also described the city’s chaotic, and dysfunctional, initial response to the outbreak, a narrative that ran counter to boasts by local
health officials about how they had successfully contained the disease. We fear the same story of dysfunction will be written in the wake of our current outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease. A dozen people have died and 100 more have contracted the disease, all of them in the Bronx. The death toll continues to creep up, despite city officials’ nearly daily claims that the outbreak has
been contained. Earlier this week, bringing their grade-school brawl to a new low, our mayor and governor held competing news conferences on the issue, laying out conflicting information, in the hopes of painting their nemesis as inept in a time of crisis. Of course, they both came off as losers. But this is a dangerous game. Public health, like public security, is one area where the credibility
of our elected officials is critical. Lives can be lost if warnings or advice is ignored. But that is where we’re headed. Jewish women and girls light up the world by lighting the Shabbat candles every Friday evening 18 minutes before sunset. Friday August 14 – 7:37 pm. For more information visit www.chabaduppereastside.com.
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