An Idoit’s Guide to Manhattan
July 30, 2009
In Jeff Nichols’ memoir Trainwreck: My Life as an Idoit, the stand-up comedian divulges his problems growing up with ADD and dyslexia—before he gets into the dirty bits about bong smoking and prostitutes. His story—both troubling and funny—was optioned and recently made into a movie. Sounds like he’s made the most of his dysfunction—but then it turns out the film might not be released. But he was still happy to talk about The Odd Couple, his transsexual eye doctor (and tennis pro) Renée Richards and why he’s glad he didn’t end up working at a hedge fund. [Read more]
The Real Prepsters of NYC
July 29, 2009
Texter 1: Also I am prrreeettty sure i saw the girl whose parents live in the hamptons whose name i can’t remember right now on the street this morning
Texter 2: Kelli…the only pretty one hah
Texter 1: Haha yes! She was wearing a pink skirt i think from juicy and a white tank top
Texts often speak louder than words. [Read more]
Waking the Dragon
July 29, 2009
Henry Wan, chairman of the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival, and Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe dot the eyes of dragonhead with red paint to celebrate the upcoming event. The heads are attached to the front of the boat as a blessing. The festival, now in its 19th year, takes place in Flushing Meadows Corona Park on Aug. 8 and 9. For more photos from the celebration, visit our photo gallery. Photo by Andrew Schwartz
DEADLY CROSSING GETS IMPROVEMENTS
July 29, 2009
The Department of Transportation is reconfiguring the intersection at East 57th Street and First Avenue, which has already claimed two lives.
The large intersection, which is near the 59th Street Bridge, has been a community scourge for years.
“This is a long time coming,” said Jay Litwin, president of the 17th Precinct Community Council. “At almost all of our meetings, something is said about that intersection.”
On First Avenue between East 56th and 57th streets, the Department of Transportation will add two left-turn lanes that will be regulated by a left-turn signal, and new street markings will be painted after the road is repaved. The department is also changing the crossing signal so that pedestrians and left-turning cars will not be on the street at the same time. The changes are expected to be complete by the end of the summer.
“I believe that these changes will save lives,” said Council Member Jessica Lappin, in a statement. We will now have a safer, more efficient intersection.”
Lappin, along with a host of other East Side elected officials, including Rep. Carolyn Maloney, State Sen. Liz Krueger and Assembly Member Jonathan Bing, helped push for the change.
EVICTING DANGEROUS NYCHA TENANTS
July 29, 2009
In the wake of a recent pit-bull attack on police officers investigating a complaint, elected officials are advising tenants in the Stanley Isaacs Houses how they can voice their viewpoints during the eviction of a problematic resident.
Tenant Milagros Martinez, the pit bull’s owner, released the dog when cops knocked on her door in the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) complex on July 8. She already had two eviction notices because of failure to pay rent and having an unregistered dog. However, Martinez was allowed to return to her home after a court ruled that she could pay rent with money provided by the Human Resources Administration.
“We have contacted the city’s Human Resources Administration to request information about assistance given by the agency to the tenant who let the dog loose,” said Assembly Member Jonathan Bing said during Community Board 8’s July 15 full board meeting.
Officials are trying to determine whether the administration was aware of Martinez’s criminal records and the eviction proceedings against her.
“Hard-working, law-abiding NYCHA tenants feel that the law is protecting the troublemaker tenants over them,” said Council Member Dan Garodnick in a statement. “Many believe that they will get sent a 10-day legal notice the moment they are a day late on their rent, while known problem tenants, conducting illegal activity, are allowed to stay indefinitely.”
On July 13, both Bing and Garodnick attended a meeting convened by residents of the Isaacs Houses, on First Avenue between 91st and 93rd streets, to discuss the incident.
Meanwhile, tenants are getting organized to make sure that those residents who face eviction proceedings and have criminal records are removed from the hosing complex. Garodnick is helping tenants draft a letter to submit to the court to allow them to participate in the case against Martinez. Bing is working with the Housing Authority to figure out a way to expedite the eviction process for potentially dangerous tenants. He is also reintroducing a bill that would forbid persons with criminal records to own dogs that are considered dangerous.
EAST SIDE’S HIGH SCHOOL HERO
July 29, 2009
Rachel Resnik, an Upper East Side resident and recent graduate of The Bronx High School of Science, won first place in the 2009 Junior Achievement of New York High School Heroes Essay Contest.
As part of the High School Heroes program, high school students volunteer to teach basic economics to students in grades K to 5. Essay contest entrants were asked to write about their favorite moment of the High School Heroes program, and how those experiences would impact their future.
Resnik’s essay highlighted her experience teaching special needs children and explained how she was able to relate to them as a special needs child herself.
She will receive $250 in cash for her first place finish.
CB8 Steps in to Dog-Run Debate
July 29, 2009
New Yorkers love their dogs. Perhaps a little too much. A vicious and vocal battle has erupted between Upper East Side dog owners over the safety and quality of the run at East 63rd Street, on the far side of the FDR Drive. Residents involved in the fight have accused each other of lying, falsifying petitions and sabotaging the park.
“I have never seen such a rude and abusive group of people, to each other and to us,” said Barbara Rudder, a Community Board 8 member, during a July 21 meeting that was meant to facilitate dialogue between dog-run users and the Department of Parks and Recreation. [Read more]
Decision ‘09: Primary Profiles
July 29, 2009
With two major citywide races and one Manhattan-wide contest this September, Democratic primary voters could be forgiven for feeling a little overwhelmed. On primary day, a total of 11 candidates will vie for three high-profile positions: city comptroller, public advocate and Manhattan district attorney. (And that’s not even counting the mayoral primary race, although most think the outcome is a foregone conclusion, and other miscellaneous contests. [Read more]
Lorna’s Silence
July 29, 2009
Belgian film team Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne do small things profoundly. Their new movie, titled Lorna’s Silence, makes its strongest, most persuasive moments when Albanian immigrant Lorna (Arta Dobroshi) silently weighs her options and her moral choices. She marries a Belgian junkie (Jérémie Renier) to get citizenship status, then parlays that into a criminal scheme to marry a Russian mobster. Lorna may be illegitimate, but she’s not corrupt. Her quiet tension is the Dardenne brothers’ dramatization of human struggle. [Read more]
Thirst
July 29, 2009
Bad boy Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook gives himself away in the birthday party orgy of Thirst when Tae-ju (Kim Ok-vin), a tantrummy young housewife, gets her wish: The undead priest Sang-hyun (Song Kang-ho) punctures Tae-ju’s arteries and makes her one of the unholy. It’s a brat’s dream come true.
Tae-ju tries to out-do the priest in blood-sucking conversions, literally bouncing through the streets, or from rooftop to rooftop, seeking her prey. [Read more]
