IT’S TIME FOR THE EAST SIDE TO SHINE
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT AND CEO
We’re ready to celebrate the greatest thing about the East Side: East Siders.
Each year, Our Town, the largest community newspaper on the East Side of Manhattan, pauses to salute dozens of New Yorkers whose accomplishments deserve to be highlighted. We call our civic awards the Our Town Thanks You, or OTTY, Awards. Read more
RAVITCH TO THE RESCUE
BANKING ON A REPEAT VICTORY, THE FORMER MTA CHAIRMAN TRIES TO SAVE OUR SUBWAYS
By Charlotte Eichna
It’s 11:30 on a Thursday morning and Richard Ravitch is sitting in his office near Rockefeller Center trying to book a train to D.C. after his flight got cancelled. He’s also fielding calls from a New York Times reporter and preparing to speak at a funeral. Then there’s the small matter of helping the Metropolitan Transportation Authority avoid a so-called doomsday budget of fare hikes and service cuts, a thorny task he took on at the behest of Gov. David Paterson. Read more
CRIME PREVENTION AS SELF-DEFENSE
OFFICER WITLIN USES THE POWER OF HER WORDS TO PROTECT EAST SIDERS
By Eleanor Goldberg
Determined to instill a reasonable amount of awareness in Upper East Side residents, Police Officer Maria Witlin is reluctant to share crime improvement statistics.
“People who live in this neighborhood tend to feel a false sense of safety,” she said.
“They seem to not be aware that this is New York City—there is never zero crime here.” Read more
MIRACLES ON 59TH STREET
DR. CORTES BRINGS HER NURSING BACKGROUND AND VISION TO THE LIGHTHOUSE
By Eleanor Goldberg
During her 42-year nursing career, Dr. Tara Cortes witnessed a miracle or two. But in 2005, when she was offered the opportunity to work as president and CEO of the daily miracle-churning Lighthouse International, she could not refuse.
“It was everything I had ever done, wrapped up into a neat, little package,” Cortes said. Read more
PRIMPING PARK AVENUE
FROM HOLIDAY FIRS TO SPRING TULIPS, MCLAUGHLIN BRINGS GREENERY TO THE MALLS
By Deirdre Donovan
Barbara McLaughlin, president of The Fund for Park Avenue, keeps a note tacked to her office bulletin board. It says, “Good Luck, as you take over from Margaret, glad to support. After all, I flew B29s during World War II. Best, Oliver Mendell.”
Read more
LIVING FOR A LARGER CAUSE
REVEREND MAMPILLY FINDS INSPIRATION IN THE FAITH OF HIS CONGREGATION
By Linnea Covington
From the time he learned about God, Reverend Joy Mampilly wanted to show his faith and serve the Catholic Church.
Now, half a century later, Mampilly finds himself the pastor of Immaculate Conception, a large, richly historical church founded in 1855.
“I felt attracted to becoming a priest as a kid,” Mampilly said. “It grows in you, and it’s similar to the way you fall in love with someone.” Read more
STEADY HAND IN A TIME OF TRANSITION
REV. GALEN GUENGERICH PREPARES TO TAKE ALL SOULS INTO ITS BICENTENNIAL YEAR
By Alan Krawitz
It’s been nearly two years since Rev. Forrest Church, the charismatic senior minister of the venerable All Souls Unitarian Church, stepped down to fight a pitched battle against cancer. But the Rev. Galen Guengerich, Church’s successor and a 15-year veteran of All Souls, is by all accounts up to the task of filling some very large, beloved shoes. Read more
FIFTY YEARS AND STILL GOING STRONG
RABBI LEAVES HIS MARK ON RAMAZ AND EAST SIDE CONGREGATION
By Nick Broad
“I think I have helped Ramaz to be a place of activism and involvement, where students are encouraged to create a sense of responsibility for Jewish people, America and the world.”
These are the words of Rabbi Haskel Lookstein, principal of the Ramaz School, rabbi at the orthodox Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun, civil rights activist and, according to Newsweek, the second most influential pulpit rabbi in America. Read more
BRINGING CIVILITY AND FRESH IDEAS TO BOARD 8
LIKE ALL CHAIRS, LISTON WANTS TO LEAVE THE BOARD BETTER THAN HE FOUND IT
By Dan Rivoli
In the three years that David Liston was chair of Community Board 8, the Upper East Side experienced a wave of new residential construction, fatal crane collapses and massive work on the Second Avenue subway, which resulted in shuttered businesses. As board chair, Liston had to balance necessary growth with the preservation of the diversity, architecture and businesses that make up the neighborhood’s character. Read more
SILBERBLATT KEEPS AN EYE TO THE SKY
NEIGHBORHOOD BUILDING EXPERT HAS BEEN ENSURING THE SAFETY OF TURTLE BAY AREA
By Nick Broad
“One of the most unique four square miles of land in the world,” said Bruce Silberblatt, musing over the diversity and history of his Turtle Bay neighborhood.
This small area of Manhattan, from East 43rd to 53rd streets between Lexington Avenue and the East River, boasts some of the city’s finest architecture, old houses and hotels and the headquarters of the United Nations. And the Turtle Bay Association keeps a watchful eye over it all. Read more
