Millrose Games
February 4, 2010
Jamaica’s Sheree Francis clears the bar in the high jump event during the 103rd Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden. Francis took home first place with her jump of 1.88 meters at the annual track and field event, held Jan. 29. Photo by Andrew Schwartz.
Subway Lawsuit Filed
February 4, 2010
Residents at a co-op on Second Avenue and East 69th Street are fed up with the MTA’s plan for a ventilation structure next to their building and have filed a federal lawsuit against the transit authority. The plaintiffs claim that the building design residents saw at a Nov. 30, 2009 Community Board 8 meeting greatly differed from the one described in the 2004 final environmental review.
“It’s a substantial modification than what was shown and analyzed,” said Michael Zanlin, the lawyer for residents at 233 E. 69th St. “They were quite surprised that it had changed over the years without any additional disclosure, without any of the additional technical analysis or community input.” [Read more]
This Guy Will Try Anything
February 4, 2010
A.J. Jacobs sizes up his formidable foe, brown eyes narrowed behind the slim wire frames of his glasses. His enemy is freshly baked and smells temptingly like chocolate chips, cinnamon and nutmeg. His enemy is round, with crispy edges and a soft, chewy center. His enemy, right now, is a cookie.
Finally, Jacobs asks: “Is it organic?”
Unfortunately, it is not. He shrugs, and his face splits with a quick, sudden grin— the smile of a mischievous boy about to break the rules. [Read more]
Bus Routes Spared, But Service Cuts Possible
February 4, 2010
New York City Transit released a new plan for service cuts Jan. 21, with the goal of saving $77.6 million. Upper East Side residents will bear less of the pain they would have endured under the old plan, proposed in December 2009. In the revised cuts, overnight service through Central Park on the M79 and M96 bus lines are spared. Overnight service on the M102 and M103 bus lines that run on Lexington and Third avenues is also saved. Here’s how the new service cuts will affect East Side buses and subways. [Read more]
Crime Check
February 4, 2010
Weekly, monthly and year-to-date crime stats from the 10th Precinct, on the East Side from 59th to 96th streets.
MORE SECOND AVE. BLASTING
February 4, 2010
Second Avenue residents are in for five months of blasting relating to the subway construction project.
The controlled blasting will excavate two shafts at East 69th and 72nd streets, beginning Feb. 8. The shafts will be used as access points for the 72nd Street station on the new subway line.
The Fire Department approved permits for the blasting between East 69th and 73rd streets. The blasting is allowed to occur during approved construction hours between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. weekdays, but the MTA will try to limit work to daylight hours. There will be four to five blasts a day, each lasting a minute. All pedestrian and vehicle traffic will be stopped temporarily during the blasting.
SELECT BUS SERVICE CONCERNS
February 4, 2010
Reaction to the MTA’s draft designs for Select Bus Service on First and Second avenues have been mostly positive. But elected officials and transit groups are eager to see a physically segregated bus lane along the route.
Last month at the Hunter College School of Social Work, New York City Transit and Department of Transportation officials told a group of community stakeholders that express buses would be unable to pass local buses if there were a separated lane. But Ted Orosz, director of long-range bus planning at New York City Transit, said that police will strictly enforce the bus-only traffic rule.
Assembly Member Micah Kellner, who pushed for a separate lane in September 2009, said that this is still a priority for fast bus transit.
“This is a big negative impact on the quality of service that [Select Bus Service] can deliver,” he said.
Michael Auerbach, president of Upper Green Side, a transportation and environmental sustainability group, said that the lack of a segregated bus lane was disappointing, but that his group will continue to advocate one.
“This is the first design. There will be opportunity to improve upon it,” Auerbach said. “Maybe they’ll realize a physical barrier is necessary.”
Public open houses to discuss the plans for express bus service on First and Second avenues will begin this March.
SOLE POWER
February 4, 2010
Students at Wagner Middle School are doing something about the millions of people around the world who lack shoes.
Through Feb. 12, 6th graders at the East 76th Street middle school, between Second and Third avenues, are collecting gently worn pairs of shoes to benefit Soles4Souls, a Nashville, Tenn., charity. The organization has collected 5.5 million pairs of shoes that have been donated to needy people around the world.
“I wanted to get the 6th graders to recognize the importance of community service,” said Robin Dansky, Wagner’s dean of students. “I wanted to do something hands-on, and I was looking for ideas when I saw a report about Soles4Souls.”
At the beginning of February, Dansky said the students had collected more than 400 pairs of shoes, with donations coming primarily from classmates, teachers and families.
The class that brings in the most shoes at the end of the drive will get a pizza party.
Sixth grader Rosa Gomez, 11, said she donated four pairs of shoes and got her mother to ask her coworkers to bring in old sneakers.
“I’m helping people that need it and I’m thinking about people other than myself,” Gomez said.
According to Dansky, the shoe drive is part of a year-long program emphasizing community service, which included the adoption of a new school motto, “Live to Learn, Dare to Care.” The program will culminate May 16, when the 6th-grade class participates in the New York AIDS Walk.
“This has been a good opportunity to pay attention to people who don’t have the chance to get what they need,” Dansky said. “The kids have really taken this and run with it. They’ve done a great job, and I could not be prouder.”
For more information on the fundraiser, contact the school at 212-535-8610.
No Franks at the Wright
January 28, 2010
The Guggenheim has long been one of the few iconic museums without a destination dining spot. They have now transformed a somewhat generic, cafeteria-style café space into The Wright (as in a certain well-known architect), offering lunch, Sunday brunch and bar options as well as dinner seatings on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. David Bouley’s protégé Rodolfo Contreras created a “modern American” menu for the restaurant based on seasonal, local and sustainable ingredients. [Read more]
Jimmy Breslin
January 28, 2010
Jimmy Breslin moved about six months ago from West 68th Street and Broadway to a high rise on West 57th Street with sweeping views of the Hudson River. He’s not sure why—ask his wife, Ronnie Eldridge, a former City Council member and host of the CUNY TV show Eldridge and Co.
The pool in this new building isn’t ready yet, but Breslin says he still swims regularly at the Reebok Sports Club/NY on Columbus Avenue. [Read more]
