39th Anniversary Issue

Compiled by Joseph Alexiou, Linnea Covington, Deirdre Donovan, Charlotte Eichna, Jenine Holmes, Brian Levinson, Kerri MacDonald, Lorraine Duffy Merkl and Lydie Raschka.

Our Town has come a long way since its early days as a penny-saver, but how could we not? With so much going in on in this small but central slice of the five boroughs, there are endless stories to cover, people to profile and cultural happenings to absorb.

To mark our 39th anniversary, we thought we’d remind ourselves of just a few of the events, places, edibles and other quintessentially East Side things that make us love this eclectic neighborhood. Whether you take your culture high or pop, prefer a deli pickle or cornichons garnishing pâté, there’s something for everyone off the 4/5/6.

—Charlotte Eichna

Presidential Pride in Yorkville: Barack Obama is our first “big city” president in perhaps 100 years. But Chicago, lest we forget, was Obama’s second city. New York was the first. In fact, while studying at Columbia, he briefly rented an apartment across town, at 339 E. 94th St. The location gets special mention in the opening of his memoir, Dreams from My Father. “I was living in New York at the time, on Ninety-fourth between Second and First, part of that unnamed, shifting border between East Harlem and the rest of Manhattan.” It was here, “on a cold, dreary November morning, the sun faint behind a gauze of clouds,” that Obama learned by phone of his father’s untimely death. The building remains—about as non-descript as the block itself—but it is still a kind of landmark to a city always bursting with history at its concrete seams. —BL

The Isaiah Wall: When I first came to New York, I rented a small studio near the United Nations, and would often walk by the Isaiah Wall (named for its inscribed “swords to plowshares” quotation from Isaiah 2:4), in Ralph Bunche Park on First Avenue and East 43rd Street. Its ancient words and modern architecture radiated its own spiritual climate. After 10 years of living in the neighborhood, it became an old friend—one that I greatly missed when I moved to the Upper East Side. One rainy evening, I had an errand to run near the United Nations, so I decided to revisit my “old friend.” I was amazed at how fresh and unweathered it looked (unlike me!). Amidst all the hustle and bustle, and the traffic noise and exhaust fumes on First Avenue, the
Isaiah Wall quietly endures as a symbol of peace. —DD

Orwasher’s: Bread aficionados, look no farther! Orwasher’s, at 308 E. 78th St., is a genuine artisan bakery. Behold the chewy sourdough loaf, Jewish rye, cinnamon raisin-walnut, challah and organic health breads. This place has been around since 1916, and the goods are still baked in traditional built-in brick ovens. Also indulge in the wide assortment of cookies and pastries, including cupcakes from Buttercup Bakery—but go for the fresh-baked bread. No matter which loaf you choose, you’ll return for another, and another and another. —DD

Gotham Girls Roller Derby at Hunter College: Since 2006, the Gotham Girls Roller Derby has battled it out on Saturdays in Hunter College’s sportsplex to the cheers and stomps of eager fans. All four teams—the Brooklyn Bombshells, Manhattan Mayhem, Bronx Gridlock and the Queens of Pain—draw a crowd. Though the season is over for now, matches will start up again in April, with a game each month culminating in a November championship. —LC

Butterfield Market. Photo by Andrew Schwartz

Beanocchio’s, a Neighborhood Café: It’s difficult to walk by Beanocchio’s without taking a peek inside. The colorful café, on York Avenue and East 76th Street, is almost always packed, whether it’s 8 a.m. or closing time. Customers and neighbors sit on wooden benches out front, coffee in one hand, dog leash in the other. Inside is a tempting menu, with everything from omelets and empanadas to brownie-topped cheesecake. For those with an appetite for words, the back of the café offers a collection of magazines and newspapers. —KM

Watching Gossip Girl and Knowing Where You Are: You don’t have to take a tour to get the real Gossip Girl experience—it’s your neighborhood, after all. From the Plaza Hotel to the Synod of Bishops (on East 93rd Street; used as part of the infamous private schools the teens attend), get your Gossip Girl on just by walking around. Relive famous scenes from the show, like when Blair Waldorf and Nate Archibald discussed his affair with Blair’s best friend at sushi restaurant Geisha (33 E. 61st St.). Or Blair’s scheming duck-feeding sessions with her maid at the pond in Central Park. Or simply take a stroll to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s front steps. But you know the rules: No one sits higher then the queen. —LC

Half-Priced Bottles of Wine at Accademia di Vino: While it may be daunting to peruse the textbook-like wine menu at Accademia di Vino (1081 Third Ave.), at least on Mondays you can do it cheaply. The restaurant helps you start the week right by offering half off every bottle of wine. The selection features more than 500 wines, including pinot neros, barberas, chardonnays, pinot bianco, cabernet sauvignon and rosso conero. For much less than the price of a plane ticket, you can get the feel of a rustic village without ever leaving the neighborhood. —LC

Butterfield Market: At the Starbucks across the street you’ll pay big bucks for your steamed milk. Not so at Butterfield Market (1114 Lexington Ave.), a mom-and-pop with a long, green awning. Here, warm milk is offered alongside the skim and half-and-half (if you arrive early enough) next to thermoses of coffee supplied by Barri House. Pair your café au lait with a $1 cheese mini Danish and then, in a mild winter like this, stand outside at the tall silver tables while people scurry along the crowded sidewalk to catch the downtown 6 train. —LR

Holiday Lights at Bloomingdales: For eight years, Bloomingdales (Lexington Avenue and East 59th Street) has wowed us with a stunning holiday light display. From mid-November through Jan. 3, passersby can bask in the glow of the 126,080 lights that drape from the top of the building. The display is the result of more than 1,500 man-hours of preparation. Each year, the lights remain mostly the same, with a few tweaks and changes. This year the design includes “Peace,” “Love,” “Merry” and “Happy” banners on Third Avenue. Bloomingdales also positioned the lights at a 90-degree angle, which has created an effect that can be seen all the way from Columbus Circle. —LC

Greywacke Arch: Enter Greywacke Arch, with its pointed Saracenic arch, and think Spain and Northern Africa, temples and mosques. Hundreds of humans and dogs travel daily through this 56-foot gateway to Central Park, near East 79th Street. “Greywacke” (grey stone) is a variety of sandstone obtained from the Hudson River Valley. The arch was designed by Jacob Wrey Mould, who also designed All Soul’s Church on Lexington Avenue and East 80th Street. For 147 years, this underpass has given picnickers, dog walkers and the destitute a break from snow, sleet, storms and hot sun. When a violinist plays underneath, the sound echoes from Fifth Avenue to the Great Lawn. —LR

The Loving and Literate Memory Plaques on Central Park’s Benches, Near East 79th Street: Love and loss are proclaimed on tiny plaques on benches in Central Park to remind us of the universality of it all (these are located on the sidewalk south of the Met near the 79th Street entrance). For Dachsunds: “‘The Girls’—Dakota—Madison—Anabel—Forever will I hold the memories of our life together close to my heart. Because of you, I am Juliet.” For a spouse: “I love you, Leo. Forever and with all my heart. Your wife, Patti.” For a park: “Sit, Relax and Enjoy —‘Marie’s Hill’—She tended it with loving care until she could no more.” For a city: “(I’ll Take) Manhattan.” —LR

Serious Dog Lovers: Big dogs and little dogs. Black and white dogs. Sandy-haired dogs that look like their owners. Pampered dogs. Grubby dogs. Haute dog couture. Great Danes, pit bulls and poodles. Go to Central Park. See one little dog going in and three big dogs going out. Count hundreds of dogs romping around the Great Lawn. Dogs chase sticks and sniff to make friends with other dogs. Dogs get in trouble. Dogs run fast and bound over the dog run fence. Go, dog, go! Dogs return, pant, drink and flip over for a scritchle on the belly. —LR

M31 Bus: Who needs to take a cab to the Time Warner Center? The M31 will take you “straight” there. The West Side of Manhattan seems just around the corner, thanks to the M31 bus that starts on East 92nd Street, heads down York Avenue, then turns at the corner of Sutton Place and 57th Street. From there you can jump off on Third or Lex for Bloomies, or get off around Madison or Fifth for Midtown shopping. Farther along the route are City Center, Carnegie Hall and Columbus Circle. If you keep going, you can explore the Clinton neighborhood with all its restaurants and shops. The last stop is 11th Avenue near DeWitt Clinton Park. All with no transfers, no changes, no waiting for another bus. And when it’s time to come home, just hop back on and head right back to the Upper East Side. —LDM

Free Movies in Carl Schurz Park: You may need a $12.50 movie ticket to walk into a theater, but you can waltz right into the Sunset Film Festival under the stars, courtesy of the park’s Conservancy. During the summer, movies are screened at 8:30 p.m. on the hockey and basketball courts along the John Finley esplanades. Not only are the movies free, but so is the popcorn. I’ve seen everything there from the classic Sweet Smell of Success to the contemporary Beverly Hills Chihuahua, not to mention vintage cartoons that begin every showing. Summer can’t come fast enough. While you’re waiting, though, enjoy the beautifully lit Christmas tree at the park’s entrance on East 86th Street and East End Avenue. —LDM

Pickles, Olives, Etc. Photo by Andrew Schwartz

Mayfair Salon: This no-appointment hair salon on the corner of East 73rd Street and Second Avenue has amazing prices and good service. It may not be as chic as Pierre Michel Salon on East 57th Street, but the stylists can work with all kinds of hair textures, lengths and styles. Paul O’Brien is the current owner and employs eight stylists (including himself), two hair washers and a receptionist—all smart and efficient. Get there early, especially on Saturdays, as the salon quickly fills up with regulars. This place is both casual and comfortable, and your color, cut and blow dry won’t break the bank. —DD

An Uptown Taste of the Lower East Side: To be sure, Amy Irving was crossing Delancey, not East 86th Street, when she fell in love with Sam the
Pickleman. But don’t let geography get in the way of a great-tasting kosher dill. Pickles, Olives, Etc. (1647 First Ave.) smells so good inside that at least one reporter has experienced hallucinogenic visions of pastrami. There are 30 delicious varieties of pickles and olives, all of them imported from the finest parts of the Mediterranean. The staff is consistently pleasant and it’s impossible to walk away without some edible delight to match your palate: horseradish and sour pickles, pickled green tomatoes and red peppers, olives stuffed with everything from garlic to “drunken” goat cheese. Deli-minded readers might also want to add Knish Nosh to their spring to-do lists. This concession stand (closed in winter), at the north entrance to the Conservatory Gardens at Fifth Avenue and East 106th Street, offers incredible spinach, broccoli and sweet potato permutations of the classic snack. —BL

Bistro on a Budget: While the East Side is blessed with great pricey eateries, a good deal can still be found, thanks to Le Paris (1312 Madison Ave.). Formerly known as Bistro du Nord, this elegant French restaurant boasts classic fare, such as green peppercorn country pâté garnished with cornichons, garlic laced escargot and brown butter pan-sautéed skate. But what makes Le Paris unique is a great prix fixe deal for orders placed by 7 p.m. For $19.95, diners can select an appetizer, entrée and dessert from a special menu that features favorites like slow-cooked braised lamb shank and an excellent onion soup. With a wine list that features a range of prices and vintages, a meal in this warm, intimate atmosphere proves good French fare needn’t require a passport. —JH

The Urban Garden of Eden: A city with more than 8 million people can’t hold many secrets. But the Conservatory Garden, which sits along the northern edge of Fifth Avenue near East 105th Street nestled into Central Park, seems to be an exception. A beautiful wrought-iron gate—the very gate that once greeted guests of the Vanderbilt Mansion—now welcomes visitors to this six-acre comfort zone. The area still bears the name of the glass conservatory built in 1898 that was demolished in 1934 in a money-saving effort. Central Park’s only formal gardens—a blend of French, English and Italian styles—can be savored in every season. During the spring, thousands of tulips brightly bloom. In late October, Korean chrysanthemums grace the gardens. Unlike the other 843 acres that comprise Central Park, jogging and biking isn’t allowed in the gardens. The “Three Dancing Maidens” sculpture, the work of the German sculptor Walter Schott, serves as a remembrance of the park’s former life as a coveted sanctuary. —JH

A Stroll Through Tudor City: Walking past East 42nd Street’s Church of the Covenant, a red brick chapel of mixed styles and round stained-glass windows, it’s important to listen for the sounds of traffic and bustle from one of the city’s busiest corners. This makes rising above the din, by ascending one of two staircases up to Tudor City Place, all the more pleasant. A stroll through this little neighborhood is like entering a carefully protected fortress; once surrounded by towering neo-gothic (not Tudor!) style buildings, the sound dissipates into a distant fog, allowing for a moment’s peace. The south end of the street reveals a view of the East River and Queens, where church steeples still rise above the borough’s buildings. Turning around, the friendly deli at number 5 (next to the lovely Michael George Flowers boutique) offers lunch specials like Algerian couscous ($9), or a peppery turkey sandwich on a high quality baguette ($7). Nestled among the buildings is Tudor City Green, a small park with plenty of benches to enjoy a nosh and truly appreciate the scale and architecture of surrounding buildings. Several stone gargoyles grin down from above. To cap off the sense of peace and calm, across from the park is a perfect view of the fluttering flags in U.N. Plaza. —JA

The 92nd Street Y: One of the city’s premiere cultural institutions, the Y (1395 Lexington Ave.) also offers health and fitness facilities and great family and social programming. Take writing and dance workshops, or learn Spanish and Swahili. Though a word to the wise: The Yiddish class is neither the place to meet young Jewish women, nor to learn the curse words of your Eastern European forebears (not that anyone, ahem, would have tried). The Y’s auditorium is laced with history. It’s where Alvin Ailey debuted Revelations, and Truman Capote graced the audience with his long-awaited book, In Cold Blood. The tradition continues. On tap for January and February 2010: Mario Cuomo, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, David Brooks, Joseph Stiglitz, Nora Ephron, Malcolm Gladwell and Joyce Carol Oates. —BL

Roosevelt Island Tramway. Photo by Andrew Schwartz

Roosevelt Island Tramway: No other place in the city is so thoroughly defined by its mode of transport. The Roosevelt Island Tramway, which departs Manhattan from East 60th Street and Second Avenue, stretches 3,100 feet across portions of the city and the East River. It was the first aerial commuter transport system in North America and, up until 2007, also the longest (thanks a lot, Portland). “It’s our logo, our motto, our cause célèbre,” says
Judith Berdy, president of the Roosevelt Island History Society. Billy Crystal’s character commuted via the tram in City Slickers; years later, Spiderman would save a tram car full of children dangling above the river. But the real cinematics here are the East Side. During the tram’s ascent, float above tenements and play voyeur to the fishbowled luxury towers. Looking south, the steel girders of the Queensboro Bridge frame a marvelous portrait of the United
Nations and beyond. So take a ride with a swipe of your MetroCard—but do it soon; the tram, scheduled for renovation, will likely be shut down for at least half of 2010. —BL

The Corner Bookstore: Part bookseller, part literary salon, the Corner Bookstore (1313 Madison Ave.) is an oasis for East Side bibliophiles. This elegant space, filled with hard- and soft-cover books, is where many future best-selling authors have made their debut. Jeannette Walls gave her first reading of The Glass Castle here, as did Lauren Weisberger (for The Devil Wears Prada) and Augusten Burroughs (for Running With Scissors). The store helps keep the passion for three-dimensional books alive and well in the 21st-century world of the Kindle. —JH

A Small Slice of Italy: Nestled on a tree-lined block is a small, unmarked providence of Italy, Parliamo Italiano (132 E. 65th St.). Housed in a classic brownstone, this inspiring learning center, whose name translates to “We speak Italian,” offers classes from beginner to advanced levels. The school’s founding director, Franca Pironti Lally, developed, tested and refined the teaching method that has been used since doors opened more than 30 years ago. Classes are structured around group conversation and written skills, insuring a focus on grammar and creating an authentic accent. All of the native-born teachers are graduates of Italian universities.
Parliamo Italiano provides an empowering and enriching experience that no CD tutorial could ever match. —JH

Café Sabarsky: Take a trip back to old Vienna after you’ve finished browsing the Neue Galerie’s collection of German and Austrian art. Café Sabarsky’s dark wood paneling and turn-of-the century décor will transport you to European café culture, even if the prices quickly jolt you back to 21st-century New York ($3.50 for a Coke?!). But it’s a small price to pay for the ambiance. Linger over coffee and apfelstrudel during the dwindling hours of a winter afternoon, gazing at the bare branches of Central Park trees and bundled Fifth Avenue pedestrians. Bliss. —CE

The Crown Jewels of City Art: Yes, these are perennial favorites when it comes to listing the East Side’s assets, but we would be remiss were we to overlook Museum Mile. The most famous of that group, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is a treasure trove of arts and antiquities that never fails to intrigue even the most season museumgoer. The Met is a great place to dine (Petrie Court Café) and shop (the Met Store) to boot. But don’t overlook Fifth Avenue’s other offerings: El Museo del Barrio, which recently underwent an impressive makeover, the Museum of the City of New York, the Jewish Museum, Cooper Hewitt, National Academy Museum, the Guggenheim, Neue Galerie and Goethe-Institut. An embarrassment of cultural riches right in our backyard. —CE

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