Cops Search for Deadly Hit-and-Run Driver
Police report that at 2 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 31, a white SUV was traveling northbound on the FDR Drive near East 84th Street when it struck a vehicle, sending it into two lanes of traffic and hitting a third and fourth vehicle in a nasty pileup. One of the passengers in a 2001 Toyota, a 31-year-old man whom police did not identify, was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead there. The driver of the SUV fled the scene, and police said that the investigation is ongoing.

Gloved Robbery Pattern
Police have identified a pattern of crimes in which one or two perpetrators, both described as middle-aged black men, enter a commercial establishment and demand money or goods at gunpoint while wearing latex gloves. In one incident on the Upper East Side, a lone man entered a drugstore and forced the pharmacist to hand over oxycontin and oxycodone. In other occurrences, the man, once with an accomplice, according to police, entered Metro PCS locations and demanded cash.

Front Door Thief
In three separate incidences on the Upper East Side over the past two months, an unknown suspect broke into commercial establishments by cutting the front gate and breaking the glass on the front doors. He then made off with cash from the registers.

Two-Wheeled Phone Snatch
Last Saturday and Sunday, police believe the same perpetrator committed the same crime at almost the same location two days in a row. A man on a bike rode up behind his victims, one on First Avenue near East 91st Street and one on East 92nd Street, and grabbed their iPhones before cycling away out of sight.

Assault by Head
Late Sunday night, a man was escorted out of an Upper East Side bar by what he said were the bar’s employees. When he got outside, an unknown man headbutted him, causing a bloody nose. The owner of the bar told police that the headbutter was not one of his employees; it is unclear who, exactly, the mysterious assailant was.

Thief Wants Clear Skin
Early in the morning on Monday, Jan. 30, employees at a local chain drugstore spied a man, whom they said has stolen from their location previously, stuffing skin care products into his pockets. The man attempted to leave the store, setting off the security alarms but continuing to walk out. Employees followed him and questioned him, but the man picked up his pace. The intrepid employees called 911 and trailed the suspect until police caught up with him. Upon questioning, he admitted that he did not pay for the items. Police said the total haul was worth $112.70 and included Eucerin Calming Crème, Aveeno foaming lotion cleanser and Neutrogena body wash.

Precinct Community Council Meeting
The 19th Precinct Community Council will hold its monthly meeting Monday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. on the third floor of the station house, 153 E. 67th St. Refreshments will be served and Patricia O’Connor, deputy bureau chief of the cyber crime and identity theft unit, will be the guest speaker. All are welcome.

Vudu Lounge Closed
According to the 19th Precinct, the infamous Vudu Lounge on First Avenue between 77th and 78th streets is closing its doors for good and handed over its liquor license to the State Liquor Authority this week. The nightclub, which was popular with young partiers and reviled by neighborhood residents, has been plagued with problems over the past few years. The NYPD closed them down temporarily last May, but the club came back and was holding mandatory quarterly meetings with residents to address their concerns over the noise and late-night loitering.

“I was relieved to hear Vudu Lounge has finally closed its doors,” said State Sen. Liz Krueger, who has worked with other local officials to quell the problems coming from the establishment. “With numerous State Liquor Authority investigations and multiple counts of violent behavior and underage drinking to its name, Vudu Lounge simply didn’t belong in our neighborhood.”

Calls to manager Michael Stein for comment were not returned, but a source said that the owners were hoping to find a more amenable location downtown.

Bar Gets a Sports Fan Facelift
When the Giants face off against the Patriots this Sunday for a Super Bowl rematch, Mayor Michael Bloomberg can rest easy knowing he’s scrubbed as many references to the New England team as possible from the city. Just as they did four years ago, the mayor’s office is targeting establishments whose names might falsely belie an allegiance to the enemy (we’re guessing anything with the words patriots, Boston or Gisele Bundchen) and asking them to make a temporary moniker switch in support of the home team. On the Upper East Side, Brady’s Bar, on Second Avenue near 82nd Street, will again take up a new mantle for the weekend: Manning’s. The quarterback switch is fully supported by owner Dan Brady, a diehard Big Blue fan. He said that the mayor should be in attendance for the renaming ceremony on Friday afternoon; check their website bradysbar.com for updates and the exact time.

Bill to Protect Jobs of Pregnant Women
State Sen. Liz Krueger is sponsoring a bill that would require employers to make “reasonable accommodations” for pregnant women on the job. Currently, employers are barred from discriminating against pregnant women and must make accommodations for disabled workers. Because pregnancy is not considered a disability, however, employers are not required to make any concessions for pregnant woman and can legally fire them for, say, taking too many bathroom breaks or requesting to sit. Krueger’s bill, which is being introduced in the assembly by upstate Democratic Assembly Member Aileen Gunther, would close that legal gap.

The bill’s language states that employers must take action to “allow pregnant women to perform in a reasonable manner the activities involved in the job or occupation sought or held and include, but are not limited to, provision of an accessible worksite, acquisition or modification of equipment, support services for persons with impaired hearing or vision, job restructuring and modified work schedules; provided, however, that such actions do not impose an undue hardship on the business, program or enterprise of the entity from which action is requested.”
Dina Bakst, founder and president of A Better Balance: The Work and Family Legal Center, wrote on Tuesday’s New York Times op-ed page that the law is a “public health necessity” and called it a necessary measure to ensure the safety of pregnant women who may not ask for accommodations if they fear being fired.

New Show Parodies Upper East Side
The Upper East Side is a popular home base for fictional characters, and now ABC has commissioned a new show set in the ritzy section—this time with a supernatural twist. The show, 666 Park Avenue, is based on a book series by Gabriella Pierce and revolves around a Midwestern couple who comes to live at and manage the eponymous address and soon discovers that the tenants have all made deals with the devil in order to attain their fantastic lives and have their darkest desires fulfilled.

Produced by the team that delivered Gossip Girl and The Vampire Diaries, the show seems to be taking advantage of the most popular aspects of both of those successes. Something tells us that it won’t be portraying Upper East Siders in the best light, but then again, neither does Gossip Girl, and that’s been a hit.

Musical Open House for Kids
The 92nd Street Y is holding a free open house for its School of Music on Sunday, Feb. 5 from 1–4 p.m. Children ages 3 to 9 can take mini classes in the different styles offered and parents can meet instructors and discuss the methodologies of each class. Offerings include Delcroze, a program for toddlers that helps them develop rhythmic skills through musical interpretation of children’s stories, courses in using GarageBand to record original music and introductory violin instruction for little ones. At 1395 Lexington Ave. Visit 92Y.org for more information.

Local Doorman and Driver Made Richer
The New York Post reported earlier this week that millionaire music exec and high stakes poker player Alan Meltzer, who died at 67 this past Halloween, left a huge chunk of change in his will to his Park Avenue doorman and personal chauffeur. Meltzer was divorced and had no children, and both of his former employees, who received about $1 million and $500,000 respectively, told the Post that their boss was always kind and generous to them.

It happens once a decade and it’s never an easy process. In accordance with the state Constitution, the state Legislature is currently in the process of creating new district lines for the Assembly, state Senate and congressional representatives.

The Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment (LATFOR) has just released a set of maps outlining the proposed new districts for the state Legislature, and local elected officials are up in arms over what they call a seriously partisan and severely flawed process that heavily favors Republicans, who hold a slim majority in the senate.

LATFOR consists of six members, four legislators and two nonlegislators who are appointed by the temporary president of the Senate, the speaker of the Assembly and the minority leaders of the Senate and Assembly. It uses Census data from 2010 to redraw lines in order to reflect population shifts. While the Assembly must maintain 150 districts, according to the state’s Constitution, the number of senators may shift. LATFOR has proposed adding a 63rd Senate seat in upstate New York that would encompass portions of five different counties and has served as a flashpoint of criticism from Democrats and good government groups who call the district a bad case of gerrymandering an extraneous Republican-leaning district in order to preserve their majority.

“The maps that came out are typical and reflect no sense of the push for a nonpartisan reform of redistricting,” said Richard Emory, an attorney who was involved in litigation over the last set of redistricting lines in 2003-2004. “They are purely political. They are obviously an attempt of what we call the unholy alliance of the Assembly and the state Senate by using the majority of each body to favor the majority.”

The proposed districts, especially for the Senate, have been criticized by Democrats as stringing together certain communities by tenuous geographical connections and separating others that should be included in the same district.
“I think that this is not a proposed actual redistricting plan, it’s a political scheme that the Republicans actually put out knowing that everyone would scream, ‘Are you kidding, is this a joke?’” said State Sen. Liz Krueger, whose district would shift considerably and encompass parts of the west side of Manhattan and a small sliver of eastern Midtown if the current maps are approved. “They are likely to already have plan B in a back pocket, and they will come out with plan B after these nine hearings that they’ve agreed to have.”

Emory said they’re overpopulating and packing downstate Democratic districts in order to create more Republican seats. “That’s why the shapes are so peculiar, because they’re picking voters instead of voters picking representatives,” he said.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has vowed to veto the lines unless they are created by an independent panel. If he does, it’s likely that the case would have to go through the courts.

“Since the first day I came to the Assembly, I have been a supportive of independent redistricting,” said Upper East Side Assembly Member Micah Kellner. “Any time an elected official has the ability to pick his votes, that’s a subversion of democracy.”

Kellner said that even though his own district would not change much under the current proposal, he supports the governor’s veto promise and hopes there will be major reform before they are brought for a vote by the Legislature.
“Some of these districts are connected by a highway, connected by a shoreline. They are purposefully connecting some districts while avoiding others,” Kellner said. “I think the public realizes the ridiculousness of this.”

Public hearings are scheduled to continue around the state through Feb. 16. Many expect LATFOR to release new maps based on feedback some time after that, at which point the Legislature will have to approve them before they go to the governor.

Senate Democrats have already filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the 63rd Senate seat, and other lawsuits may surface before the hearings are concluded.

By Megan Bungeroth

Those who live in the vicinity of the Second Avenue Subway construction have been concerned for several years about the potential effects that the constant blasting and construction may have on residents’ health.

Second Avenue Construction

A few weeks ago, MTA Capital Construction released the results of an air quality study that monitored construction activity between East 69th and East 87th streets along Second Avenue. While the report essentially concludes that there is not much to be worried about, local residents aren’t necessarily convinced, and many expressed their skepticism at Community Board 8’s Second Avenue Subway task force meeting last Wednesday night.

MTA Capital Construction president Michael Horodniceanu told residents at the meeting that they have been working to improve conditions since before the study came out.

“We listened to your concerns about smoke and fumes,” Horodniceanu said, noting that they have initiated dust control measures and better smoke ventilation and worked to seal off as much of the dust as possible. “I think we’ve improved the dust and fume situation considerably.”

Over 100 people attended the meeting to listen to the report’s findings laid out in detail and voice their concerns over its conclusions. The study was conducted by consulting firm Parsons Brinckerhoff, and it tracked pollutants from 10 monitoring sites over a 28-day period, collecting 3.3 million points of data. Guido Schattanek, the senior environmental engineer who wrote the study, was on hand to go point by point through the data.

The study focused on particulate matter of two sizes; PM10, which means equal to or smaller than 10 microns, and PM2.5, equal to or smaller than 2.5 microns. It also tracked a number of pollutants, including carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, ammonia and hydrogen sulfide.

The results of the study surprised some residents. According to the findings, which were verified by the Environmental Protection Agency, none of the pollutants registered at levels that would be harmful to residents’ health.

Assembly Member Dan Quart, whose district encompasses the construction, let the community know on Wednesday night that he would be introducing a bill that would require more frequent and regulated testing of the air around the blasting sites.

“My concern is that you’re looking at a 28-day period of a construction project that’s been going on for three years,” Quart said.

“There is no semi-annual or annual means to check the air quality. You wouldn’t accept saying that you only come in and inspect an air shaft every three or four years,” he said.

The bill would require the state Department of Environmental Conservation to conduct regular studies of the air around the project and respond accordingly to the findings.

“Right now, the community’s only avenue is essentially only the MTA hiring a third party,” Quart said. “That’s not good public policy.”

Quart said he worked with Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer to craft the legislation. Stringer also attended the meeting to encourage residents and city agencies to work to get real solutions, noting that residents have been complaining about dust, debris and unpleasant odors related to the construction for years now.

“We have to work together to keep small businesses and improve the air quality,” Stringer said, asking for support of Quart’s bill.

The good news for residents is that there is an end date for the blasting, which Horodniceanu said was already 60 percent complete. “Blasting in the main cavern will be done this summer,” he said. In April, they will begin blasting at East 86th Street, which is expected to last 15 to 19 months, putting the end at November 2013.

By Sean Creamer

Although garbage collection is a dirty job, the old saying goes that someone has to do it. On that note, garbage must also go somewhere. That “somewhere” may soon be the old Marine Transfer Station (MTS) at East 91st Street and York Avenue, though a Hail Mary pass from Rep. Carolyn Maloney and the efforts of some tenacious residents might derail the plan before it gets started.  

The Old Marine Transfer Station near Asphalt Green

Last week, the city announced that it was hosting a bid to construct and reopen the MTS, despite the fact that the Army Corp of Engineers is still considering a permit request and mitigation plan by the New York City Department of Sanitation over building the proposed station.

The Army Corp of Engineers has to approve changes to navigable waterways, a process that is notoriously slow. In the application for the project, Maloney claimed the city provided outdated information, including environmental samples that didn’t show the presence of fish in the area, only larvae.

“Local fishermen and the State Department of Environmental Conservation both say that the area around the proposed MTS is teeming with fish—including Atlantic striped bass—and is one of the best fishing spots around,” Maloney said.
She asked the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to look into reports that the area around the MTS is a striped bass habitat. While the NMFS doesn’t take an up or down vote on Army Corp issues, it does advise them.

“Under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, they are required to study the impact of the MTS on the essential fish habitats in the East River in consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service,” Maloney said.

The striped bass is protected under federal law. The East River was traditionally a home to the fish, but decades of pollution caused them to disappear. As the river has been cleaned up over the last 30 years, an increasing amount of marine life has returned to the Upper East Side.

The city has yet to provide the updated information to the Army Corp of Engineers. Until it does, several local representatives think it’s too soon for them to be calling for proposals to build the MTS. The city’s new proposal calls for a greatly expanded footprint on the structure that is already there, which would expand over the East River.

In response to the city’s announcement of the proposal for the MTS, Maloney and several Upper East Side representatives, including State Sen. Liz Krueger and Assembly Member Micah Kellner, came together to spell out why the station would have a negative impact on the community and East River.

“The city needs a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers to build over the East River. They don’t have it. And, in our view, they shouldn’t get it. It is clear that this project is an environmental disaster and that it will exert a negative impact on essential fish habitats in the East River,” Maloney said at the event.

“Our community has been clear in our opposition to the construction of this facility, but now residents of the East Side have reason to be doubly outraged,” said Krueger. “In soliciting bids before completing a host of other necessary steps, the city government has attempted to jump the gun and short-circuit its responsibility to safeguard the East River environment and our communities.”

Another reason Maloney said the MTS shouldn’t be built in the neighborhood is that it is in the middle of what the city has designated as a “Hurricane Evacuation Zone A,” which is under the greatest risk of flooding from a storm surge.
“In the case of a flood, the MTS would flood not only into the East River but into the community as well,” she said.
The original station that stands on the location was built in the 1960s and was closed in the early 1990s. When it was built, it was situated next to a factory that produced asphalt and the water in the East River was not as clean as it is today.

Since then, the neighborhood surrounding the proposed site has flourished. Long gone is the factory that gave Asphalt Green Park its name. Located nearby now are two schools, two public housing developments and a senior center that have popped up in the neighborhood.

The city has claimed in the past that the plan to reopen the MTS is part of an effort to redress the disproportionate number of garbage transfer stations in low-income communities.

According to a study done by the Macaulay Honors Society at CUNY on the MTS, these facilities have been located in low-income areas, such as Williamsburg or the South Bronx, to which trucks drive trash from Manhattan. Over half of the existing stations are in Brooklyn, where the median income for households is $40,000. Household incomes near the MTS in the South Bronx are even lower; $21,000 is the average.

The mayor’s office and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s office didn’t return calls or messages seeking comment.
Peter Sapienza, a lieutenant in the Fire Department and 25-year resident of the community, feels that due to higher than normal air pollution on the Upper East Side, the city should rethink its proposal.

“New York City has the highest rates of asthma due to the No. 6 fuel oil that most buildings’ boilers use,” he said. The Upper East Side has the highest number of buildings using No. 6 oil in the city and that, on top of the new station, he said will create an even more polluted environment for neighborhood residents.

On an unusually warm winter day, Suzanne Antonelli, a grandmother, sat with her grandkids at Asphalt Green Park. She voiced her concern over how traffic to the waste station would make an already dangerous intersection even worse. “It is just going to congest it so much more,” she said. “I just don’t know where Bloomberg’s head is with this whole thing.”

By Anam Baig

The U.N. International Holocaust Commemoration Sabbath took place Saturday, Jan. 21 at the Park East Synagogue, where the year’s first snowfall marked the memory of the six million who lost their lives during the Holocaust.

U.N Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon

Nearly 200 people attended the event, including 63 diplomats from organizations such as the U.N., UNESCO and the E.U., representing 33 countries. Addressing the congregation were U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and U.N. General Assembly President Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser. The commemoration was led by Rabbi Arthur Schneier, spiritual leader of Park East Synagogue for over 40 years, who is a Holocaust survivor.

The U.N.’s International Holocaust Remembrance Day is Jan. 27, and this year the General Assembly will remember children who perished during the Holocaust.

But at the Sabbath, Jan. 21, multitudes of ethnicities and religions gathered in a house of worship to exalt the countless victims of Nazi rule and to remind themselves that there is continuing injustice in the world. The event also marked the anniversary of the closing of Auschwitz, the biggest Nazi concentration camp that claimed the lives of over 1 million people.

The Sabbath prayers were made early in the morning and the diplomats streamed in around 10 a.m. Despite the snow, many people showed up to offer their prayers and support for the victims of hate and discrimination.

Countries as different as Australia, Korea, Sweden and Morocco were present at this commemoration. Every man donned a kippah before entering the synagogue, symbolizing their respect for the Jewish faith and for the house of worship that they entered.

The commemoration ceremony began with Schneier addressing the congregation. He asked all of the Holocaust survivors in the room to rise. Although there were only a few scattered amongst the many in attendance, it was a powerful moment to see these aged survivors shakily stand up and reveal their brutal pasts.

“Hear the cry of the oppressed,” he urged the congregation. “Silence and indifference by the free world undermines the survival of the victims.”

Ban also expressed his feeling about the event. In his address, he thanked Schneier for continuing to teach the world about the important lessons of the Holocaust and for being a voice for interfaith peace and understanding.

“The Holocaust affected so many different groups and so many professions that it is vital to reach new audiences with this history,” he said in his speech. “Our work for human dignity will underpin all we do. And our memory of the years when that dignity was torn from so many millions—so fast, so brutally—is likewise part of the bedrock from which we operate.

Let us all work together today to realize human dignity for all and to realize the U.N.’s full potential in building the future we want.”

2nd Ave. Air Quality Study Says “No Problem”
MTA Capital Construction released the results of an air quality study last week that monitored the effects of construction activity between East 69th and East 87th streets along Second Avenue. The study and resulting report, by the consulting firm Parsons Brinckerhoff, found that while some pollutants were found at slightly elevated levels, the increases were due more to vehicle traffic and dirty boilers in the neighborhood than the subway construction.

The study was completed by collecting samples over a four-week period in the fall of 2011, and samples were taken at various times to test for levels or particulate matter of different sizes. Specialists also interviewed residents about odor levels and recorded what they reported to compare with blast times.

The study found that the levels of particulate matter equal to or smaller than 10 microns (PM10) were “below the reference level used as the benchmark to indicate no adverse PM10 health effects during the monitoring period.” While daily levels of PM2.5 (particles equal to or smaller than 2.5 microns) were found at higher than reference levels on three different days, the study concluded that these spikes were “primarily attributed to local traffic emissions, other local sources such as commercial and residential boilers and regional or background levels, with no significant contribution from blasting activities.”

The analysts also determined that the acrid odors some residents have complained about did not emanate from the blasting sites.

Garodnick Makes Bank
Upper East Side City Council Member Dan Garodnick is sitting on a campaign war chest of over $1 million, according to his most recent campaign filings, which show him raising $1,015,455 between 2010 and the most recent Jan. 17 filing. The three-term council member, who was elected in 2005 and has held the seat for the 4th District since, is running for an as-yet-declared citywide office in 2013. He has pulled in $282,895 in the past six months, $274,895 of which came from individuals and partnerships and $8,000 from “other monetary” sources like PACs and government groups. Garodnick’s campaign, which is widely rumored to be aiming for the comptroller’s race if current Comptroller John Liu runs for mayor, spent $33,930 during the filing period, mostly on consulting and fundraising.

Brooklyn Council Member Domenic Recchia, chairman of the Finance Committee, is another likely contender for the comptroller’s seat and reported a $541,559 closing balance in his campaign filings last week.

Fight Back Against Heart Disease
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in America, and Lenox Hill Hospital, in conjunction with the American Heart Association, has created an event to help curb those numbers. Go Red for Women will be held at the hospital’s Einhorn Auditorium at 103 E. 76th St. on Friday, Feb. 3 from 10:30 a.m.–2 p.m. The hospital will offer blood pressure and cholesterol screening, nutrition and pharmacological counseling and peripheral vascular disease assessment by a leading cardiologist, all free of charge.

New Bridge to the East
For over 70 years, the 78th Street pedestrian bridge has been allowing residents to safely cross the FDR for a scenic excursion on the East River Esplanade. Last Friday, after a major overhaul by the Department of Transportation, the newly renovated bridge reopened to foot traffic.

Council Member Jessica Lappin, Assembly Member Micah Kellner, Manhattan Borough Parks Commissioner Bill Castro and members of the 79th Street Neighborhood Association joined Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan at the reconstructed bridge for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“With the reconstruction of the 78th Street pedestrian bridge, New Yorkers can better connect to the East River

Esplanade to get exercise and enjoy its wonderful views of the river and Roosevelt Island,” said Commissioner of Parks & Recreation Adrian Benepe.

In July of 2011, the bridge was taken down and a prefabricated metal bridge was constructed in place of its concrete predecessor. The new bridge has been outfitted with improved safety guard rails, wider sidewalks, structurally sound construction and ADA-compliant ramps for added safety and improved access.

The project was funded by the Parks Department and cost $11.9 million to complete.

Healthy Food Drive
The NorthEast Community Bank’s Upper East Side branches at 1751 2nd Ave., at 91st St., and 1470 1st Ave., between 76th and 77th streets, will host themed charity drives each month of the year starting in February. The first drive will focus on obtaining the healthy foods that are often in short supply to those with limited incomes.

The bank recommends that donations should fall into the category of nutritious foods such as whole-grain items—dry rice, oatmeal, packaged beans, cereal bars and other similar items. The proceeds will be donated to the Yorkville Common Pantry on East 109th Street. For business hours and more information, visit necommunitybank.com.

Ocean Exploration
The Explorer’s Club will host a public lecture with the crew of Tara Oceans, a 118-foot schooner that travels the globe diagnosing the health of the oceans. The French-owned ship, which will be docking in the East River Feb. 5-11, has spent the last several years collecting and categorizing plankton, which is responsible for half the planet’s oxygen, in order to study the relationship between climate change and the oceans.

Tara Ocean’s chief scientist, Eric Karsenti, and Romain Troublé, French sailor and chairman of Tara Foundation for Marine Research USA, will speak at the event. Explorers Club member Mara G. Haseltine, an artist and environmentalist, will unveil “La Boheme: A Portrait of Today’s Ocean’s in Peril,” her latest sculpture based on her discoveries on board Tara Oceans. The lecture will be held Monday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. at 46 E. 70th St. Tickets are $20, $5 for students with ID, and seating is limited. Advance reservations are required and can be made by calling 212-628-8383.

Very Sticky Fingers
Police from the 19th Precinct arrested a man on burglary charges this week, closing a borough-wide pattern. The man was discovered inside a fast-food donut shop in the early morning, before the store opened, with a screwdriver and flashlight (what the cops classify as burglary tools) in his possession. He supposedly gained entrance through the back of the store. Police suspect that the man is also responsible for a series of similar robberies hitting fast-food joints around Manhattan. Each time, the man would sneak into the establishment in the early morning hours and make off with whatever cash from registers and tip pools, as well as payroll checks, in one instance, he could find. Luckily, though, he left the donuts alone.

Pedestrian Accidents Up
The 19th Precinct reminds residents to exercise caution when crossing streets, especially considering the uptick in pedestrian-vehicle accidents. There was a 19.6 percent spike in 2011 compared with incidences in 2010, and for the month of January so far, there have been 7 percent more pedestrian accidents than were reported last year by this time. Police say that the accidents are often the fault of the person on the street, not in the car. They caution people to stay aware of their surroundings and unplug from headphones and other electronic devices when crossing streets. They also point out that jaywalking only increases traffic congestion as drivers brake for errant crossers, resulting in more aggressive driving that puts others at risk.

Keep Your Eyes on the Bag
One of the most common crimes on the Upper East Side continues to be a problem as overly trusting residents plop their bags down on coffee shop tables and wander away to order extra large skim mochas, surprised to find their wallets, keys, laptops, phones or entire bags missing upon their return. A woman at a popular coffee chain reported her wallet missing last week around 10:30 p.m. after she left her bag on the table unattended.

Thwarted Bank Scam
Police arrested a man suspected of using his position as an employee of a bank to steal the identifying information of a customer and attempting to use it to withdraw money from the intended victim’s account. The police were able to intervene before he made off with any dough, and the man whose information he used was notified of the possible identity theft.

Unsatisfied Customer
After enjoying drinks and paying in cash at an Upper East Side nightclub on Monday, a woman began throwing bottles at the bar’s plate glass window, smashing it to pieces and fleeing the scene. The window will cost $3,000 to replace, and the bar so far has no way of identifying the woman.

Clean Theft
The owner of a local dry cleaner came into his store last Saturday morning to find the glass on his front door shattered. There was also $200 missing from the register.

A hospital renowned for cancer research and treatment is finding itself at odds with the Upper East Side community as some residents claim that their own health and well-being is being threatened by a planned new facility.

Memorial Sloan-Kettering plans to construct a new outpatient cancer surgery center on York Avenue near East 61st Street and is seeking several variances from the Department of Buildings in order to make adjustments to the as-of-right allowances for the site. Both the as-of-right plan and the requested adjusted plan, however, would build right up to the lot line windows of 440 E. 62nd St., a residential co-op building with 144 units.

“We have three points of light coming into our apartment: the kitchen, the living room and the bedroom,” said Ross Maller, a resident of the building. “They’re looking to make it so that it covers every sunlight point in every apartment on the south side of the building.”

Dozens of residents attended the meeting to express their dismay over the hospital’s plans, decrying the entire project, regardless of the variances sought. Since the lot line windows in the co-op are technically illegal, according to current building codes, the adjacent property owner is allowed to build right up to those windows, essentially blocking them.

A few people spoke in support of the new center, which will be the Memorial Hospital for Cancer and Allied Diseases and will specialize in complex outpatient cancer surgeries, allowing patients to return home after about 20 hours instead of several days or weeks.

Alex Zimmer, who lives on East 84th Street, said that he’s been a cancer patient himself for close to nine years, and he welcomes the new facility to the neighborhood.

“It’s much better to be treated within 24 hours, and it’s much better for my family who drops me off and picks me up to be able to do that in the same day,” Zimmer said. The crowd was so heated that a few people booed him.

Shelly Friedman, an attorney for Memorial Sloan-Kettering, presented the hospital’s case. If the hospital were to build without the variances, it would be a taller, slimmer building with 20 stories—336 feet tall, including mechanical equipment on the roof. But they need more square footage per floor, Friedman said, in order to accommodate the needs of the surgical suites as well as comply with federal and state guidelines for hospital safety and building codes.

“We actually really tried to make the as-of-right building work,” Friedman said. It would be incredibly inefficient and costly, he said, to spread patients out over eight floors, which the taller building would necessitate, rather than three, under is the new plan. Each of the twelve planned surgical suites requires a certain amount of space, and doctors and hospital staff need access to certain equipment on each floor.

But residents of 440 E. 62nd St. were not persuaded; even though the as-of-right building would also block their windows in 57 units, they insist that at least there would be slightly more space between them and the new construction if the variances were to be denied and building were narrower.

Several residents, clearly distressed at the impending project that will change their homes forever, even tried to turn back the clock, demanding to know why Sloan-Kettering needs to build on that particular site and suggesting that they instead scrap the project and move it up to business-starved Harlem, where the land is cheaper.

“East Harlem is ripe for this kind of development,” said board member David Rosenstein.

Others expressed concern over increased traffic on York Avenue and issues that will arise with construction, like noise and dust. Friedman said that the hospital will meet with local residents to ensure that their concerns are addressed.

Many implored the board to hold off on making any official recommendations, though Friedman said the hospital would proceed with or without a resolution. The board decided to hold the vote and discuss the project in depth before making a decision.

An earlier version of this story incorrectly attributed a quote about development in East Harlem to board member Barry Schneider. The speaker was board member David Rosenstein.