Tapped In
Notes from the neighborhood
Compiled by Megan Finnegan & Debby Aspen Matis
MAN MURDERS ROOMMATE
Marshals who came to an apartment on East 62nd Street last week to evict the tenants were confronted instead with a dead body and a bloody pitbull. After arriving on the scene, police initially debated whether the victim’s roommate, Shaun Dyer, 46, or the poor pooch were at fault, but eventually arrested Dyer and charged him with murder and criminal possession of a weapon. The victim has been identified in reports as David Shahda, age 47.
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Happy Half-Birthday To Me
No cake, just a hole in the shoes to celebrate the anniversary
Did you get the half-birthday card I sent you? You should have, I sent it a week ago. No matter how old I am, I never forget that Sept. 20 is my half-birthday. The reason is Uncle Norman—read below.
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That’s My Queue
Embracing waiting in line
The other day, as I was in line at Pier 11 for the water taxi to Ikea, I started thinking about how much waiting in line we all do. Every day we wait in line at stores, stations, theaters, banks, post offices and bus stops. We wait in line to get seated at a restaurant, to buy a Metrocard, to get gas. I looked it up: the average person spends over an hour a day waiting in line—that’s two to three years in a lifetime. (If you’re a woman, probably at least one year of that waiting time is spent in line for the ladies’ room.)
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Caring, for Once, About GOP Primaries
Those Republicans who backed same-sex marriage deserve some support
The gays need to get it in gear. Their friends do, too.
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Our Biggest Threat
Making the streets safer for elders
By Bette Dewing
Among the many incomparable words of Martin Luther King Jr. heard last week at the dedication of his Washington, D.C., Memorial, these especially gave me courage for the very uphill journey to make the city senior friendly and safe: “It may not be popular or convenient, but do it because it’s right!” Protesting ageism is not popular, although it undergirds so many “unfriendly”—not to mention unjust and endangering—conditions for older persons.
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The Aging City
When it comes to aging policy, is the city getting any wiser?
The stooped woman hustling through the Sunnyside senior center’s main hall at lunchtime is Gertrude McDonald, age 95. She’s spent most of her adult life in politics, as an aide to former State Sen. George Onorato and as the first woman from Queens to run for the state Assembly in a Democratic primary, back in 1968.
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New Ideas as Upper East Side Grows Older
The Upper East Side is home to a large and growing population of older New Yorkers. According to a profile that the Department for the Aging released in February of last year, 44,443 people over the age of 60 live within the boundaries of Community District 8, with 13,899 of them age 75 and older. That population accounts for over 20 percent of the entire community district, the highest percentage in Manhattan. In nearby East Harlem, there are 17,742 residents over age 60, about 15 percent of the population, and the neighborhood has been designated one of three Aging Improvement Districts in the city (the other neighborhoods are the Upper West Side and Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn) as part of a pilot program of Age-Friendly NYC, sponsored by the mayor’s office, the City Council and the New York Academy of Medicine.
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Rescue These Pets
These lovable animals are available now for adoption at the ASPCA center on E. 92nd St.
by Our Town
The ASPCA says Gepetto, a 4-year-old shepherd-lab mix, is an absolute sweetheart of a dog. He’s incredibly friendly to every person he meets and he loves to be stroked and cuddled. Despite some rough times in his past—the ASPCA rescued him from a hoarder—Gepetto is an energetic, happy guy (and that boundless energy makes him a great running buddy).
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Fate of Whitney Brownstones Up in the Air
When the Whitney Museum decamped from its Upper East Side location last year, it left behind a parcel of eight landmarked brownstones, originally intended for the museum’s expansion but instead sold to finance its move to the Meatpacking District. The fate of these buildings has been hotly debated in the community, and this week the Landmarks Preservation Commission added their own input as they made recommendations but ultimately held off on approving or denying the application.
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Fond of this ‘Fonda’
“Fonda” means “inn,” which is funny since you can barely wiggle your way in to this tiny taqueria with its bright green walls and thumping Mexican music. Yet it displays a largesse befitting a real fonda. When I order my $3.75 taco al pastor, a metal bowl of chips arrives along with three fresh salsas—tomatillo, dried chile and, best of all, a bright green cilantro mixture enlivened with chopped avocado. I dare you to refrain from eating not only one bowl of chips but also from asking for another. These deep-fried tortilla triangles are head and shoulders above the usual Tostitos clones.
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