2010 Predictions
Compiled by Charlotte Eichna and Dan Rivoli
As has become an Our Town tradition at the end of December, we ask various illuminating personalities populating our neighborhoods for New Year’s predictions. There was no shortage of responses, especially when it came to the New York Yankees’ World Series prospects. We hope these forecasts are an enjoyable way to ring in 2010, or at least to way to pass the time while nursing a hangover. Read more
Joy for Tots
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (left) and Major Chuck Kilbride (second from right) distributed toys to children from the Essex Street Community Center on the Lower East Side as part of the United States Marines Corps’ “Toys for Tots” program. This year’s program holds special meaning for Maloney; her late husband, Clifton Maloney, has been named an honorary vice chairman of Toys for Tots in New York City. Photo by Andrew Schwartz
JUDGE FAVORS E. 91ST ST. WASTE FACILITY
By Dan Rivoli
A judge handed Mayor Michael Bloomberg a victory in his five-borough waste management plan.
Supreme Court Justice Michael Stallman decided in favor of the city’s plan to demolish an existing facility and build a new marine waste transfer station at East 91st Street and York Avenue, a key part of the citywide waste management plan.
Opponents of the project have argued that it would directly affect Bobby Wagner Walk on the East River esplanade and Asphalt Green, a non-profit sports and recreation center, along with the surrounding residential neighborhood.
But the judge ruled against plaintiff arguments that these pieces of land are protected public parks, meaning that any demolition and construction would have to get legislative approval.
The Bloomberg administration said the judge’s decision was “welcome progress” on his plan for a “cost-effective, equitable and environmentally sound system” for waste management.
“We will keep up our efforts to put in place every part of the plan, which will improve air quality, cut traffic and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” the administration said in a statement.
Tony Ard, a lead opponent of the plan who was not a plaintiff, said that Asphalt Green operates under a contract with the Parks Department.
“It flies in the face of reality,” Ard said of the judge’s decision.
East Harlem Assembly Member Adam Clayton Powell IV, a plaintiff in the case, argued that the city lists the lands on its Parks Department website.
“It’s bizarre someone could rule that it’s not a public park,” Powell said.
Powell previously declined to take sides over the East 91st Street station, but eventually joined the proposal’s detractors because the city did not get the state legislature’s approval, he said.
“Any alienation of park land, even temporary or permanent, requires state approval,” Powell said. “Certainly, I felt the arrogance of the city for not coming to the state for approval was wrong.”
The Bloomberg administration still has a hurdle to clear in Albany. The Gracie Point Community Council, Ard’s group, has appealed a decision by the state Department of Environmental Protection to grant permits for the plan.
There is also pending legislation from Assembly Member Micah Kellner that would stop such facilities from operating within 800 feet of public housing. With the Stanley Isaacs Houses and John Holmes Towers nearby, his legislation would kill the East 91st Street project if it became law.
But Powell intends to appeal this decision through the court system.
“This will not be decided in trial courts,” Powell said. “This will be decided in the Court of Appeals.”
Brief Break from the Courts
On the heels of a winning record, Roby returns to Dartmouth with big plans
By Adam Bloch
Right now, Curtis Roby is enjoying a much-needed break, one that he hopes will help heal his balky shoulder. But it won’t last long. Just like the professional version, the world of college tennis offers little rest during a truncated off-season. After only 10 weeks of recuperation, Roby and the rest of the Dartmouth men’s tennis team will step back onto the court in January.
“The season’s been going well so far,” he said. “We had a great fall. I can’t be more optimistic. We have a great group of guys together, really hard working. I have no doubts that I’m going to come back healthy and play well. We have a great vibe on our team right now, and we’re in a winning mood.” Read more
Nice Jacket, Where Are My Pants?
Panic ensues at the end of a snowy errand
By Thomas Pryor
Nearing the 1964 Christmas break during my 5th grade, 13 inches of snow blanketed my street late on a Thursday evening. Friday morning, my friends and I mushed over to Central Park, towing our sleds through the middle of the street. Back from the sleigh ride, I plopped down outside my apartment on the hall stairs and began undressing. As I worked my top layer off, I heard my father’s familiar step coming up the stairs.
He mumbled to himself, “Damn, I forgot the suit.” Noticing me, his eye focused on my half untied snow boots. “Tommy, here’s the ticket, hurry to the cleaners. I need that suit for the wedding.” Read more
Bad Lieutenant
‘Police, Adjective’ deserves a pejorative
By Armond White
Every negative review for Police, Adjective strikes a blow against film movie fascism. Because it’s a Romanian film purportedly exposing fascism, we’re supposed to embrace its paltriness as an anti-Communist virtue, but such political bias is itself a form of fascism. This film about a cop’s linguistic indoctrination exemplifies the cultural indoctrination critics are expected to swallow without question—and certainly not critique.
Primarily a series of pursuit sequences, Police, Adjective watches Cristi (Dragos Bucur) follow a fellow citizen around the city, setting him up for a sting operation to spend several years in prison for smoking a joint. Read more
The White Ribbon
For blue moviegoers
By Armond White
Trendy filmmakers like apocalyptic messages that say the end is near. Austrian Michael Haneke, being an artiste, likes to tell us it’s already happened. His latest tale of post-apocalyptic purgatory, The White Ribbon, is set during a new millennium in a small Eastern European town where blond-haired townsfolk—including school-age kids who ought to be out singing and gathering “Edelweiss”—variously abuse each other. Think Children of the Damned, Children of the Corn, Children of Men. Think childishly in order to believe that Haneke’s rip-offs of Carl Dreyer atmosphere and Ingmar Bergman sexual hysteria are at all original. Read more
Beating the Blues
How to identify and treat depression
By Fred Cicetti
Q. Is depression just a “normal” part of aging?
A: There are a lot of problems to face as you get older. There are losses of all kinds that can get you down. And feeling blue for a while is a normal part of living at any age.
But unrelenting depression is not normal. If you feel this way, you should seek medical attention. Most people get better if they treat their depression. Read more
Garodnick Goes Green
To the Editor:
New York City took a quantum leap in its efforts to combat climate change, for which we owe Council Member Dan Garodnick a tremendous debt of gratitude.
The “Greener, Greater Buildings Plan,” which the City Council passed Dec. 9, will improve energy efficiency in existing buildings, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, lower energy costs and create thousands of green-collar jobs. It is, quite literally, the most forward-thinking green buildings plan adopted by any large city in the country. Read more
Let’s Keep Krueger
To the Editor:
In response to Michael Cohen’s comments (“Trump Lawyer Wants Krueger Fired,” Dec. 17), let me say that I believe that neither in politics nor in cards can anyone trump State Sen. Liz Krueger!
Betty Cooper Wallerstein
Upper East Side
Letters have been edited for clarity, style and brevity.
