Since Jean Chambers's death on July 10th, there have already been a few changes at the dangerous intersection of West End Avenue and W. 95th Street, and apparently there are more changes afoot under the authority of the Department of Transportation.

CB7 and Councilmember Helen Rosenthal are planning a public meeting with DOT officials to discuss DOT's proposal with members of the public.  If you are concerned about traffic safety or pattern changes, you may wish to attend.

What:  Discussion of DOT proposal to improve safety on the West End Avenue corridor

When:  Thursday, July 31, 2014 at 6:30 p.m.

Where:  P.S. M811 - The Mickey Mantle School at 466 West End Avenue between W. 82nd - 83rd Streets

Details:  Josh Ozeck (212) 839-6218 or jorzeck@dot.nyc.gov


By Caitlin Hawke

From 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Friday year-round, you can drop off your fruit and vegetable scraps for composting at the W. 97th Street Greenmarket.  An incredible 17% of NYC's institutional and residential garbage is food scraps.  And much of that 17% can be turned back into soil via the simple act of composting.  It is an idea whose day has come, but you have to be somewhat organized about it.  In the summer months, this means storing your kitchen scraps in the frig or freezer until you can get to Friday's Greenmarket; this will keep the stink factor down.

GrowNYC has guidelines and more information here.

But in a nutshell, here's what you can bring:
Fruit and vegetable scraps, non-greasy food scraps like rice, pasta, bread, cereal etc., coffee grounds & filters, tea bags, egg and nut shells, pits, cut or dried flowers, houseplants and potting soil.

Here's what NOT to bring:
Meat, chicken, fish, greasy food scraps, fat, oil, dairy, animal waste, litter or bedding, coal or charcoal, coconuts, diseased and/or insect-infested houseplants or biodegradable plastics.

To see more details about our nearby locations or learn about other drop-off points in the city, please see this link.

In addition to taking a big chunk out of garbage collection, composting produces nutrient-rich soil that the City can used to nourish our street trees and our parks.  One day, composting will be like recycling; it will become a reflex for anyone in Manhattan.  And we will feel as if we've been doing this all our lives.

Addendum on 7/18:  The New York Times has a good piece on how buildings are promoting the collection of organic waste here.

By Caitlin Hawke

A nine-year-old schoolboy.  A 61-year-old woman.  A 26-year-old doctor.  A 73-year-old man.  That's 160+ years of life snuffed out unnecessarily in traffic.

Today brought terrible news of another pedestrian's death.  This time it was at W. 95th Street on West End Avenue.  And while details are still emerging, I just have a lump in my throat and think enough is enough.  I can't remember a time in the last 20 years when there was such a series of accidents.  All heart-wrenching.

So, if you are a driver: cede the right of way to pedestrians. Don't cut them off in the crosswalk, particularly since you are probably just going to end up feet away, idling at a red light.  Check your blind spots when turning.

If you are a pedestrian: cross with care, put your smartphone down, take your earbuds out and be alert.  You might have the right of way, but every so often drivers make fatal errors.

If you are a jaywalker: you are jeopardizing innocent drivers and possibly other pedestrians who are trying to navigate complicated city traffic lawfully.

If you are a commercial vehicle: get off West End Avenue. You are not permitted to drive there.

If you are a cyclist: observe traffic laws.

Come on.  We have to do better than this.  It's too much to bear.


By Caitlin Hawke

I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat. 

~ Winston Churchill, May 13, 1940

Blood.  Just looking at that word brings so much to mind.  If you look at it long enough, the word becomes totally abstract.  Blood. B.l.o.o.d.  Blood.  And yet it is elemental. 

Apparently, during summer, blood banks run low.  Thanks to the 24th Precinct, in a couple of weeks, you won't have to go far if you want to make a life-saving donation.  The New York Blood Center will set up a drive right here on Friday, July 25, 2014, from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM.  Go to room 206 of the 24th Precinct located at 151 West 100th Street, New York, NY 10025.  Further contact information may be found here.

And now, for paying attention, a blast from the past with the band Blood, Sweat & Tears.  Sadly, a high quality video of "Ride Captain Ride" is not to be found.  So, it's "Spinning Wheel" for you!


By Caitlin Hawke

A self-described wanderer, or flâneur, neighbor Bob Lejeune walks himself right into many a photo opportunity.  His Flickr page has a disproportionately large number of truly fine photographs. Some have an ethereal quality and look not in the least like photographs. Others capture patterns and quickly become objects of abstract art.  Still others, such as the three featured here with Bob's kind permission, translate the kinetic energy of the city and its citizens who are, like Bob, out and about.

As you'd expect from a wanderer, his photos hail from all over the city.  But I have a particular fondness for his local shots, such as these three taken right here in Riverside Park.  You may recognize the site as the traveling rings playground which is down at the river sandwiched between soccer fields at the level of W. 105th Street. The rings have a wonderfully community-minded history, thanks to Dorlene Kaplan and her husband, and the Riverside Park Fund.  It bears retelling that back in 2002 this section of the park almost became an "adventure" concession called "Adrenaline Heights."

If you've never been down there, stop by and take a look at the paragons of upper body strength swinging freely from ring to ring.  The folks who make the traveling rings look easy are poetry in motion.  I've never seen a hula hooper down there, but after coming upon Bob's shots, I am going to keep my eye out for one, as well as for unicyclists, stilt and tightrope walkers and jugglers...all denizens of this little hidden nook of Riverside Park.


By Caitlin Hawke


P.S. If you are really into it, check out this site and this one.

Update:  On July 24, 2014, the New York Times ran this piece on our rings.

It seems like delis disappear at a faster rate than cell phone stores appear here on the Upper West Side. By deli, I mean Korean deli, of course. In January, we lost one near the subway station called 103 Grocery & Flower, and the site has since sat vacant. 

Of course, "deli" also conjures up that mouth-watering aroma of full sour garlic pickles and juicy corned beef and pastrami.  Ah, but for the delicatessens of yore!  Gone but not forgotten, the Jewish delicatessen is buried even more deeply in the city's history than the newly vanishing Korean deli. And right here — mid-block on the west side of Broadway between West 103rd and 104th Streets — time superimposed them, like an archaeological site attesting to the changing eras of immigration.

Recent work has unveiled a handsome telltale of a bygone era: a sign for Hudes Delicatessen Sandwich Shop.  This deli sat in that exact same spot from the late 1930s into the 50s, according to Manhattan Mark, a commenter on the West Side Rag where a blog post and some photos caught my eye.  Mark says that the Hudes family later took over the famous Carnegie Deli, 50 blocks south. The Carnegie is holding on in name and in nature thanks to the tourists, but it is not what I'd call a local joint anymore. The Hudes' uptown locale, with its warm, welcoming owners, is remembered as the quintessence of a mom-and-pop shop, the likes of which are fewer and further between these days.

Of course, the Korean deli is also a uniquely New York phenomenon. An all-service spot, these delis were a mainstay of many an avenue, particularly where grocery stores were scarce or non-existent. The picture of efficiency, the stores' virtue was getting you in and out in a New York minute.  When did New Yorkers come to terms with those gargantuan lines at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods?  This is not the New York I know!

Remembering, for example, the East Village in the days before Whole Foods, I can still see the Korean deli south of East 7th Street. It was an oasis in the otherwise hostile landscape of Avenue A, offering up fresh fruits and veggies, an occasional fix for a late night snack attack, and that beloved old Saturday night must: six-inch thick Sunday Times hot off the press.  Maybe we should have known something was up when the delis stopped carrying the newspaper.  I can't even remember the last time I saw -- never mind bought -- a Sunday Times on Saturday.  But I digress.

Deli retrenchment is, sadly, alive and well in these parts with booming retail rents and mega-food stores. And our little strip of Broadway has taken the hit. But, as awnings come down, history is sometimes revealed.  And the plate tectonics of Broadway fold era into era.  Nostalgia for delicatessens begets nostalgia for delis.  And somehow there is poetry in all of this loss and renewal.


By Caitlin Hawke


P.S. Aangan?  It used to be Hanscom's bakery...but that is another story.
P.P.S. The NYPL has some great Jewish deli ephemera here; totally worth checking out if only to see matches made to look like hot dogs.

h/t Avi at the West Side Rag where you can read more.
Photos courtesy of Avi at the West Side Rag and his tipsters Stephen, Clifford & Claudia