By Caitlin Hawke

The year 2020 has thrown just about everything up into the air. We've paused, and in the pause our hyperlocal selves have had time and space to re-embrace our immediate environs. You've enjoyed your roof, your stoop, your sidewalk, your bike, and, when needed, your street as you spilled into the curb to give wide berth to each other. But you've also enjoyed each other, bumping into someone -- anyone -- after days of solitude was the highlight of many a 2020 day. 

While not without controversy, the opening up of streets to people undeniably gave pedestrians refuge -- a huge port in the storm of Covid. Perhaps you've noticed that W. 103rd Street has been one of the streets that opened for neighbors -- especially kids -- to enjoy. New York City calls these 'Open Streets' as they are open and safe for walkers, bicyclists, and those in wheelchairs. Cars, delivery, and service vehicles have access, subject to a 5 m.p.h. speed limit.  A harbinger of things to come?

There are many neighbors who hope that with all these open streets, we've crossed the Rubicon. Many have been buoyed by this unexpected momentum of prioritizing people over traffic. Of cleaner air and quieter airwaves.

It turns out that the groups Open Plans and Street Plans have been re-imagining a lot about W. 103rd Street, which near Broadway is home to an older adult community -- The Marseilles. Also, in the Marseilles's vacant storefrontage, the Purple Circle early childhood program will soon take up residence. Young and old cheek by jowl and in need of green space.  That might also be an engine for the re-imagination of W. 103rd Street.

So here's a chance for you to come learn more for yourself about what's being tossed around. At a socially-distanced, outdoor occasion this Friday, Open Plans and Street Plans will welcome your input and invite you to complete surveys about how you might use W. 103rd Street as a magic-carpet connector from Riverside Park to Central Park. 

If 2020 has taught us anything, it's that we have to be prepared for everything! We must be willing to roll up our sleeves to make the society, the city, and the neighborhoods that we want.  When coronavirus is no longer a threat, we need to be able to find each other and commune again. We need to seed the next generation of street-level commerce that has been chiseled away by years of our neglect, which I've written about at these links:

Part 1: We Got the Supply. Where's the Demand?
Part 2: In Joon, Our Fall
Part 3: Lincoln Plaza Cinemas: Fare Thee Well My Honey
Part 4: Three Restaurants Go Down in One Month
Part 5: A Glorious UWS 800-Person Wave Turns Back the Tide

Incredibly, we saw a remarkable reanimation of Broadway and Amsterdam with the recent outdoor café life, and perhaps there's a whole new business model there for our restaurants. But we do know that block after block of empty storefronts coupled with fewer pedestrians is a bad combo.

The pressure is still very much on for those very businesses who were hanging on pre-pandemic, and who now have been dealt a coup de grace by months of closure. Countless -- literally countless -- are lost and gone forever. Transformation can happen -- and often does happen -- quickly. Or at least tipping points come fast without warning after a long priming.

As we grind through these very hard times, there is so much potential right now to build back the way we want it, to push to the tipping point of our choosing. To demand reform at the commercial storefront level. To support greener streets and more vibrant avenues. To favor the strengthening of the fabric for all to benefit from.

I love this neighborhood and can imagine only the sky as the limit for Bloomingdale.

So mask up, come out on Friday to the SW corner of W. 103rd and Broadway, and tell the folks who are driving this innovative project what you think about their rethinking.

In the morning, you may find a parking space or two transformed into a parklet. And starting at noon, the Open Plans and Street Plans folks will be standing by to hear your take.
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Rain date is October 30th. More below.

By Caitlin Hawke


A big hat tip to neighbor Win Armstrong for sharing news of this episode of "George to the Rescue" wherein the Bloomingdale School of Music gets the full "surprise reno" treatment that the show is known for.

While we are socially isolating and dreaming of the days of yore when stepping out to a concert didn't require biosafety level 3 gear, here's a feel-good story about how the little tuneful powerhouse known as the Bloomingdale School of Music gots its groove back. You may have seen the prodigious schedule of BSM concerts featured in our newsletters and website calendar. And you may have passed by this modest landmark just west of Broadway at 323 W. 108th Street, but never thought about what goes on inside.

Founded in 1964, this school is all about making music education accessible. It's one of those neighborhood gems like the temple of Shinran Shonin known as the New York Buddhist Church, or the Nicholas Roerich Museum -- institutions that quietly populate our residential streets and are getting on in years. Pushing 60, BSM has been so focused on educating, that sprucing up its backyard or performance hall has had to wait.  Until the angel-makeover show "George to the Rescue" got wind of its aspirations. Now that time has come, and the full transformation is unveiled in the video below.

On pause like the rest of the city, BSM will come roaring back one day soon because one of the things that makes us human is our need to make and experience music in live performance. Maybe this lovely little tale of its recent sprucing will make us all jump at the chance to attend one of their student or teacher concerts. That is, once we are delivered from our surreal sequestration. But it's something to look forward to in our Bloomingdale backyard.

Click on the image below to view the video directly on youtube (you know you have time!), or click on the blog post title to view this on our website where the video is embedded.  While you are thinking about it, now is a great time to share this blog with your neighbors while we are all in hyperlocal lockdown. It's easy to subscribe via the links below and receive posts directly to your email in box. So tell a couple of friends or neighbor about this site.

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​By Caitlin Hawke

The rest of the year is going to pass by like a flash now that Thanksgiving is behind us. I hope you had a good one and are resting comfortably amidst meals of leftover carb-on-carbs.  And yes, the cranberry relish counts as a veggie.

In preparation for December's competing demands for our attention, there are several dates to pencil in on your December calendar.

• The first is coming this Wednesday, December 4, from our friends over at the Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group about how NYC's waterways contributed to the city's development. I hope there will be something juicy about the arrival of the obelisk of Thutmose III that stands outside the Met Museum which came via the shore. Look for my next Throwback Thursday post on this. The flyer for this talk is below.

• On Thursday, December 5, save your evening for a town hall on our vacant store fronts to be held at the Ethical Culture Society.  More to come on that tomorrow but also see this link to the WSR piece..

• On Wednesday, December 11, at 1:30pm, Community Board 7 will be offering up "The Senior Experience" a resource fair for older adults (flyer with location and more information to post shortly)

• And, of course, December 21 for the Block Association Solstice Caroling! The song sheet and meet up details are available on our home page.

More information to come on the above. See below for the BNHG talk on December 4.

See you in the neighborhood! 

By Caitlin Hawke

My favorite part of this event isn't the kids hopped up on sugar. Bat that's pretty good. It's not that gamut of guises the munchkins choose for costumes, witch is a close second. It's how INTO it the grown-ups are.  Holy Moly, did you get a look at Wavy Gravy??

Simple proof that the little kid in all of us yearns tomb break into play.

So come for the wee'uns, but stay for the adults who somehow phantom in their busy schedules to pull a costume together.

It's our community, and it is turning out all along the block between Riverside Drive and West End Avenue on W. 102nd Street for the traditional treat-filled party. If you get there at 6 p.m. you can specterate (or join) the parade that sets off from 865 West End Avenue at 102nd Street. The candy-crazed group marches north to W. 103rd, heads west, then turns south along Riverside Drive to pour into the block-long, traffic-free corridor of decorated brownstones, whose stoops will be filled with dudded-up neighbors, storyreaders, and volunteers. The treats table will be staffed by the Block Association's team with help of friends from St. Luke's. There will be cake and candy; if you have broom, wash it down with delicious apple spider.

So grab your kit and ca-boo-dle, your next of pumpkin, and get ye to this hallowed affair.  Soul help me, it's a bury good time.

Photo gallery to come -- send me all your shots: blog@w102-103blockassn.org.

By Caitlin Hawke

With two days of humid high eighties weather, little did we know that we were but one cold front away from a definitive blast of fall. Thursday proved that.  But it got you in the mood and that's all that counts because the Block Association's Fall Tree Clean Up and Bulb Planting Event has impeccable timing!

Fall out on Saturday morning for a cool two-hour stint of hands-in-soil.  You know the drill: Mark Schneiderman and his crew will meet you at 878 West End Avenue with all the fixins'.

Bring the kids and remind them that our Halloween Party and Parade can't be far behind.

Your Block Association has it in spades.

By Caitlin Hawke

​Last Saturday, the sky gods smiled on our streets by providing a delicious spring day for the Block Association Street Fair. Terence Hanrahan was out there early and captured the first images of the day, all below.

So did you dig through your closets and get yourself a space to turn all those things that no longer spark joy into cold cash?  Worry not if you didn't have time. There's always next year and it's never too early to start planning.  We've got a vendor space with your name on it!

To all the volunteers who make this event happen for our community, (and especially to Bob Aaronson who digs deep every year and comes back ready to field marshall this fair), Mother Nature spoke to you loudly with her chrome heart shining in the sun.

​And she said, and I, too, say: Long may you run!

By Caitlin Hawke

It's day three of the chewfest also known as Goatham, and they've turned out in droves. Not the goats, mind you. The spectators.  You'll have lots of time to go behold the caprine beauties at work. But to tide you over, gentle readers, I give you this gallery of goats.  If you have pictures, email them to me and I will add them:blog@w102-103blockassn.org.

I'd also love several pix of the area in these early days to compare to the postprandial site late this summer. Send me what you've got!

Who knew that we'd get such a kick out of this. I suppose it's the incongruity. Or maybe it's the ingenuity. With everything pointing to A.I, you'd not have blinked if some outdoor version of the Roomba had been deployed. But outsourcing this job to goats? Whoever thought of it deserves a bonus.  And now, behold the beauty.  (Click on the first image to launch the slide show gallery.)

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h/t to photogs N. Schneider, C. Campbell, P. Sperling, D. Zetlan....

By Caitlin Hawke

April 20th was Spring Planting Day in these parts.  Since then, you may have noticed the shipshape tree wells popping with impatiens and marigolds, begonias and petunias.  Thanks once again go to the green team of the Block Association, to all the members who came out and to Mother Nature her own self.

Read more in the June newsletters due on newsstands in a few short weeks. In the meantime, enjoy the bloomage!

h/t to Hedy Campbell for the photo.

By Caitlin Hawke

I love the Spring and Fall block association events to beautify our tree wells, even if I don't have mulch of a green thumb. Neighbor Mark Schneiderman and the Block Association ecology team are soil good at planning this event, they've got everything covered. All you, your kids and your favorite neighbor have to do is turnip! Saturday, April 20, 10:30 a.m. until it's all done. Meet in front of 878 West End Avenue and spade some time on a gift that will keep on giving. The event is open perennial neighbor. Shy because you are new to the block and don't know anyone? Be bulb and come solo! We'll get you connected quickly.

By Caitlin Hawke

Some know her as Audrey. Some as Memory. She lies in suspended contemplation of those who perished on the Titanic, including Bloomingdalers and notable New Yorkers of their day, Ida and Isidor Straus.

The group named Friends of Straus Park invites you out to contemplate along with her on Saturday, April 13th. Details and a lot more of this history may be found in the flyer below.

I've written previously about Straus Park here, here and here. ​So brush up on your Bloomingdale, and, on April 13, come on out to the trivium where beauty lies in memory: Broadway, West End Avenue and W. 106th St.

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By Caitlin Hawke

You've been winnowing. You have piles. You are ready to sell, sell, sell. Now all you need to do is take that vendor space at this year's block party and pile it all into your radio flyer, and on May 18 wheel it on over to West 103rd Street to turn it into a pile of cash. Or split a space with your neighbor or daughter or grandson. It's the 'Great Redistribution of Matter' day in Bloomingdale, and it's coming quickly. So lock in your vendor space today by clicking on the image or button below to read all the how-tos.

Len Tredanari is no longer around to take a hose to the cars parked on W. 103rd on Yard Sale Saturday. So we still need volunteers to help in the Motor Pool as well as a host of other volunteer gigs. Speaking of Len, I dug out an old newsletter from September 2003 and excerpt of which is below. Len's bigger-than-life presence on W. 103rd is still warmly remembered by a lot of neighbors, and if you concentrate you can conjure the wafting aroma of his sausages and peppers, grilled to mouthwatering perfection and sold to benefit, you guessed it, your block association. 

Contact Bob at blockparty@w102-103blockassn.orgor call him at (212) 662-4046.

By Caitlin Hawke

In the last edition of the Block Association newsletter, May 18 was announced as the big day.  It's the annual Block Party, and the organizers need volunteers.  There are roles aplenty, and if you are someone who has enjoyed the feeling of community you get from this blog, I know you'll also enjoy leaning in. 

Bob Aaronson, a W. 103rd St. resident and a walking, breathing saint, has agreed again to coordinate the event. If you (or your teenage or adult kid or grandkid) can take on an organizational role or if you have only an hour to spare, please get in touch with Bob and let him know how you can help. Give us a little of your time, and together we'll make a beautiful block party!

Contact Bob at blockparty@w102-103blockassn.org or call him at (212) 662-4046.

So, without further ado: We. Need. You! From our latest newsletter, here's how to get involved. Our operators are standing by.

Rent a Space and Turn Clutter to Cash: Click here for an application and detailed information about how to get a vendor space.  Know someone who is eager to vend? Share this blog post! Help us get the word out. Post this on Nextdoor and other email lists you belong to. The more vendors, the better the ambiance and the more deals to be made!  Which leads us to another way you can help:

Mark Your Calendar for May 18. Come Out. And Shop 'til You Drop: come to the party and support our vendors. It's the great cosmic redistribution of stuff. And it all takes place along W. 103rd Street between Riverside Drive and West End Avenue, May 18, from 10 a.m to 4 p.m.

Advance Publicity: Basically, if  we don’t step up our efforts to publicize the event, we won’t get the vendor participation we need in order to make the day financially worthwhile. We need to start attracting vendors now. Then, just before the event, the focus shifts to attracting attendees.  The more people who come, the more the vendors sell, the happier they are, and the more likely they’ll be eager to come back next year. If you’re good with media, especially of the social variety, we need you.

Raffle Ticket Sales: The way to make money and to make for a happy winner is to start selling tickets weeks in advance of the event. That means we need to hit the streets on every evening and weekend when the forecast cooperates. If you can keep your eye on the weather, coordinate shifts, and entice people to sell, we need you.

Refreshments: To keep our visitors and vendors well fed, we always offer a variety of sweet and savory foods. If you’d be willing to coordinate this aspect of the event, we need you. Or donate food, offer to do a Costco run, make some sandwiches, bake some cookies. We need you.

Entertainment: The party is always more fun with live music. If you can lend a hand arranging performers, we need you. Or volunteer to perform!  We need you.

Activities for Kids: When kids are happy, parents are happy. We could use facepainters, magicians, jugglers, balloon artists, and/or storytellers. It's all part of the atmosphere. If you’re kid-friendly, we need you. 

Motor Pool: Making sure that  the owners of the cars parked on W. 103rd St. know that they need to move elsewhere in advance of the event is a job in itself. It requires repeatedly putting flyers under windshield wipers the entire week before the event, especially catching drivers during the alternate-side parking shifts. If you’re around during the day, we need you. 

Flyer Distributors: the best way to make sure potential vendors know about the event and shoppers know to attend is to hang flyers in building lobbies. We provide the paper, you provide the legwork. We need you.

Crew: We need folks to set up and break down. It’s always busy first thing in the morning and late in the afternoon.

​We. Need. You.

Again, our operators are standing by. Contact Bob at blockparty@w102-103blockassn.org or call him at (212) 662-4046.

By Caitlin Hawke

If you are a regular library goer around here, you know the Bloomingdale branch staff, the ways of reserving online, the seasonal free help with taxes, the exercise classes, the fabulous neighborhood history collection, the children's programs, and much more.

Well, brace yourself! Because that's all going away for fifteen long months while a $3 million improvement project delivers back to the community a branch that better serves the neighborhood with a new dedicated teen room that will allow teens to talk, engage in group study, use computers, or work independently without disturbing other patrons. The project also provides much-needed upgrades to the second floor restrooms and adds new drinking fountains.

BAiP's Hooray for Hollywood's last hurrah at the branch (for now) takes place on Wednesday, February 13, at 4:30 p.m. The topic is Barbara Stanwyck and all are welcome. Details about this talk by Richard Harris are here.

Even if you can't make it to Hooray for Hollywood, do get in there for one last spin this week before the end of Friday, February 15, to say your til-we-meet-agains to branch manager Yajaira Mejia and the great staff who will be flung to various other branches for the term of the project.

During renovations, the nearest branches are:

• Morningside Heights branch at 2900 Broadway between W. 113th and 114th Streets, which will hold Bloomingdale Library's local history files.
• Harry Belafonte branch at 203 West 115th Street between Frederick Douglass and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevards
• St. Agnes branch at 444 Amsterdam Avenue between W. 81st and 82nd Streets, which will offer 1:1 Computer Tutoring and host the Bloomingdale Library's Knitting and Sewing Circle.

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Renovation project updates will be posted here.

To put that 15 months in perspective, if our Republic is still standing, we'll likely know the two parties' nominees for POTUS when the Bloomingdale branch is back up and running.

Time flies, neighbors, time flies.

By Caitlin Hawke

The slideshow above should start automatically.
​To navigate this photo gallery, click on the arrows or press the play button.
Note: If you are reading this in an email subscription, you may have to click on the
blog post title to view the gallery, or click here.

​The wonderful series of photos above documents a weekly outing over the past few winters to the rink in the northeast corner of Central Park.

It all started in 2015, when neighbor and BAiPer Miriam Duhan pitched the idea to me of creating a regular group of neighbors who would skate together. It was part of our TriBloomingdale Initiative in conjunction with BAiP and the 104th Street Block Association. And while lots of folks signed up, Miriam ended up skating alone or with just one other person more often than not.

We reassessed, and she soon became a regular volunteer for Hostelling International New York where each week she leads travelers through Central Park and up to the Lasker rink for an early morning skate. Above are the images that chronicle her very popular seasonal group featuring many travelers coming from warmer countries who'd never skated before.

I caught up with Miriam about her passion for skating, and we discussed her gig at the hostel (scroll down for the interview). Many neighbors don't know what a vibrant place the 103rd Street hostel is. It's a beautiful Amsterdam Avenue landmark, saved and then landmarked in 1983 thanks to neighbors' efforts after Fred Chapman and Linda Yowell, both Columbia University students, had done the research and major lift. Since 1990, the hostel has  welcome thousands of international and U.S. travelers each year. Pam Tice at the Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group knows the building's story better than most and lucky for us she wrote it up here.

Miriam Duhan has lived in our area since 1989. Her children were already grown when she moved in. She got involved in her block association on 104th Street, eventually joining its board. She left the board just as BAiP was getting started and has been an active member since then, which led to the original skating idea. 

Lucky for the hostel, this idea evolved to be geared for their visitors, and from the gallery above, you can see the pure joy in that the simple act of a skate can bring.  (Don't neglect to scroll all the way down for today's lagniappe).


Interview with Miriam Duhan

Caitlin Hawke: How did you get started on the ice?
Miriam Duhan: My knees were bothering me and an orthopedist suggested that it was time for me to stop jogging.  I was very sad.  But I happened upon skating accompanying my grandchildren (at the time 4 and 7) to their skating lessons at Lasker Rink. Perfect, low impact on the knees.  I had skated as a child and from time to time throughout my life, and I always loved to do it on my birthday. So I decided to go weekly but wanted company. This eventually led to becoming an official volunteer at the hostel.  


Caitlin: There’s a series of iconic sepia photos that I am sure you know of Victorian New Yorkers skating in Central Park, with  the Dakota in the background and an otherwise little developed Central Park West. The skating area looks huge and is packed with skaters. What has changed besides the climate?
Miriam: I went to the exhibit about skating in New York at the Museum of the City of New York and apparently skating was a craze in New York in the 1800s and early 20th century.  It clearly was more reliably cold because there were a lot of places which were just flooded and used for skating, including some lawns in Central Park.  I don’t remember when the first artificially frozen rinks appeared.  I do remember the last time the Harlem Meer was frozen solid.  I think it was in 2015.  Lots of people wanted to walk or play on the Meer, but the police chased everyone off.  I saw it when I was on my way to Lasker.

In terms of a skating culture, one thing I love about being at Lasker is that a couple of schools on the east side bring the kids there every week for PE, starting in pre-k.  The teachers I spoke to said that they wanted to give the kids a lifelong skill.  The pre-k’s are the cutest to watch and the 4th graders are excellent skaters. My first year when I had no other companions, I made friends with some of the kids, and we enjoyed seeing each other every week.  (Note: with regard to youth skating, the NYT recently covered the afterschool program Figure Skating in Harlem, a program for leadership and academic development as well as skating. That article is here.)

Caitlin: When and where did you learn how to skate?
Miriam:Probably when I was in 5th grade.  There was a rink near where I lived in Roslyn Heights.  I don’t remember any lessons, it was just for fun and very popular.  There were a few times when a natural lake in Westbury froze over, and I skated there. As an adult living in Brooklyn, I skated in Prospect Park from time to time with my own kids and then on a lake in our village when I lived upstate. True, funny story: For my 30th birthday, I told my husband that what I wanted to do was go skating in Prospect Park.  We got a babysitter and went. After about ten minutes he complained that his legs were hurting so badly that we had to stop.  (I should have smelled a rat; he’d been a speed skater in high school).  So we decided to go to see my brother in Greenwich Village, and there was a surprise party for me. I have never gotten over my disappointment! I try to go skating on my birthday whenever I can.

Caitlin: What is your favorite place to skate of all time? 
Miriam: No favorite.  Anyplace I skate on my birthday makes me happy.

Caitlin: Who is your favorite person to skate with?
Miriam: Everyone!!

Caitlin: Speed or figure?
Miriam: Figure. Every year now, I fix a goal of improvement and work on it a bit every week.  This year its turning from skating forwards to skating backwards and from backwards to forwards.  I’m very careful because, like other seniors, I don’t want to fall and break a bone.  So far so good.

Caitlin: What’s your best move? Can you do any jumps?
Miriam: My feet never leave the ice. What I like to do is enjoy the music (lovely jazz in the mornings) and dance. 

Caitlin: Since you started volunteering for the hostel, and we made this into, more or less, a youth outing, though I know travelers of all ages join you. What have you learned about hostelers?
Miriam: They’re enthusiastic and adventurous.  They think skating in Central Park is very romantic – especially if there’s snow. There’s always a huge sign-up list, though not all come. There's so much going on at the hostel.  And they are really caring.  One person told me that she unexpectedly arrived in NY in the middle of the night, no place to stay, and the hostel was full.  They gave her a couch to crash on until a space opened up.

Caitlin: What’s a typical outing like?
Miriam: Many are traveling on their own, and they easily talk to each other on the walk over and during the skate time. Quite a few show up alone and leave with new companions interested in the same things to do next. There is no set end time.  People leave when they’re ready or just sit and watch for a while. I’m on the ice for about an hour and that’s enough for most people, but some stay longer. Some go back to the hostel, some stay in the park or go elsewhere. I like to find out about them, but with big groups I only get to talk to a few people.  On the ice, people with experience help and encourage newbies.  I’m not a teacher, but I check to make sure beginners have tightened their skates properly. I encourage them to just go. The brain figures it out after a couple of times around. Almost everyone does well by the end. From time to time there’s a really good skater who helps others and sometimes teaches me something. On the ice there’s lots of picture taking.  There’s also picture taking when we pass the waterfall in the park on the way over.  I should also say that the first couple of years I got to know the staff at the Lasker skating rink, and they have been so lovely to us. 

Caitlin: How do you feel during and after the skate?
Miriam: Happy and exhilarated.  (In the afternoon I usually need a nap, but I doubt that the travelers do!)

Caitlin: Has your volunteering changed how you might travel? 
Miriam: Hadn’t thought about travel skate experiences, but it’s a good idea.  I think if I was traveling alone I’d try a hostel. And I’m encouraging my grandchildren to do so. One traveled on his own to Amsterdam, stayed at a hostel and had a wonderful time. 

Caitlin: Do you have any great rinks or skating experiences on your bucket list?
Miriam: I’m thinking about visiting all the skating venues in New York. That’s as far as I’ve imagined.  

Caitlin: Last question: do you have any advice for beginners or rusty skaters?  
Miriam: Yes. Get out there, make sure your skates are snug around the ankles, hold on to the rail as long as you need it and move your feet. About two rounds is usually enough for people to start getting the feel of it. When your ankles feel tired or tense, get off the ice and take a break, then go back. Check out Youtube first.  Recently a Costa Rican told me she’d gotten advice that way. I could see her doing the things she’d been advised and pretty soon she was flying!


Readers, as a lagniappe, I am throwing in an archival 1902 video from the Library of Congress. It shows  what looks like a thousand skaters on the Lake in Central Park just at the level of the Dakota. Just look at them all!

​If you are reading this in an email subscription, you have to click on the blog post title to view the video or click here.

By Caitlin Hawke

Neighbors, sing the shortday blues adieu. It's the ancient tradition of marking the Winter solstice, and we're doing it with song.

Songsheets are downloadable here.

By Caitlin Hawke

The Bloomingdale School of Music at 323 West 108th Street wants to spread the love.

These days we can all use a little love. So here’s a chance to share some music, to make some music, or to learn a bit more about how to make time for making music from author Amy Nathan.

On Thursday, December 6 at 7 p.m., a meet up and free concert will feature a range of players from beginner pianists to jazz ensemble and chamber players. A wine and cheese reception follow.

See below for details and to RSVP or to request information, please email events@bsmny.org.

The "One from the Vault" feature plumbs the archives of back issues of block association newsletters for new neighbors and lovers of our community and its history.  To read others pieces from the vault, click on the category at right.


By Caitlin Hawke

First, I want to note the kindness of Chris Brady who gave me permission to illustrate this post with his technicolor photos of the Movie Place (TMP), the way it was. I found them at Chris's photo feed here a while back, and they stopped me cold, for the love of a place I remember so well. I've been saving them for you.

Incredibly, gone for 12 years already, the Movie Place hasn't come close to being replaced around here in its role as a neighborhood hub drawing from north, south, east and west. Never mind its mom-and-pop-edness.

The last owner of TMP was Gary Dennis, who is equally known for his efforts to get Humphrey Bogart his due by the dubbing of W. 103rd Street for him, replete with a ceremonial appearance of Bacall. Yes, right here in Bloomingdale.

I wrote a piece about that here last year. 

Now I love Bogie and Bacall as much and perhaps more than most. But it takes a force of nature like Gary to move city elements -- NYCHA et al -- get the naming done. So I want you to remember that when you are walking the block between West End Avenue and Broadway on 103rd staring at a "This is Us" rerun on your smartphone. Look Up! For the love of the silver screen, look up. Look up from your big sleep and appreciate that you trace Humphrey DeForest Bogart's footsteps as he left his home at 245 W. 103rd St. and padded over to the Trinity School. He lived there from about December 25, 1899 until he enlisted in the navy in 1918.

But I digress.

I still see Gary around from time to time. At a Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group meeting last year, he gave a great presentation on the neighborhood as portrayed in films. Many chase scenes later, he had the audience eating out of his hands.

He used to keep a wonky blog on lost cinema houses. And I think he still gives tours.  Bloomingdale born, Gary grew up loving movies. Ironic then that when it was a novelty, everyone said his was the voice that used to animate the old "Moviefone" reservation line. And that amused me. You remember the Moviephone? It's the line you dialed that responded in a quasi-human voice: "Hello, and welcome to Moviefone! Using your touchtone keypad, please enter the first three letters of the movie title now."

If you don't know the voice I am talking about, here's a fun clip. It's not, spoiler alert, Gary Dennis. But he sure coulda been a contender.

TMP lasted in situ for 22 years, and it is now gone for 12. Together, that's more than the full lifespan of the Betamax.

Yes, 12 years ago, our mecca of movies closed, and it was noteworthy enough for the New York Times to weigh in. If you never had the pleasure of pushing through the door into the high-ceilinged space bustling with first dates, lonely hearts, groups of buddies and old couples riffling through bins of movie titles, you haven't lived.

Sorry, but it was a thing.

People came from many neighborhoods away to partake. To feast in the selection.  And to go home with armfuls of movies. To come back three days later and do it all again.

It wasn't just the selection. It was the connoisseurship. The guys and a couple of gals behind the counter each had a specific taste. You could ask anyone anything and with just a few hints at what you liked, out poured 5 or 10 suggestions of other films to watch. An algorithm in flesh and blood. It's called a brain and memory, actually. And it worked.

Yet it wasn't just the connoisseurship, it was also the place.  Patina would be a nice way of describing the layers of this loft-like store. Grime would be a bridge too far. Let's call it wabi-sabi.

If the Movie Place were a rock star, it would have been Keith Richards.

Yes, technology has transformed our world since then.  And yes many don't even feel the need for a screen bigger than an iPad to enjoy a film, old or new. And yes, I'll even cede that streaming a movie is more convenient.  But algorithms will never replace synaptic encyclopedias like the brain that is Gary Dennis's or that of the employees, some of whom, thankfully, still live in the neighborhood with their dogs or their now-grown kids. And for what the human touch is still worth, you can't get that kind of prickle online. Or snark. Or voice. Or, truth be told, that warmth.

Starbucks will never replace the town-square feeling that was the Movie Place on a Friday night.  And Tindr will never be as electric with possibility as browsing the Nouvelle Vague section over a handsome guy's shoulder.

Seek no more the ghost of the Movie Place, let loose to wander since 2006. For it is here. And this one from the vault of Block Association newsletters is a David Reich original. Scroll all the way down to read it.

Enjoy!

By Caitlin Hawke

Kids weren't the only tribe out in force on Wednesday evening in Bloomingdale. Photogs Ozzie Alfonso, Celia Knight (at right in candy corn scarf, I swear!), Maria Vitagliano and David Ochoa were lying in wait to capture the wee sugar-fueled neighbors.

While one or two King Georges were spotted, there were no Hillary Rodham Clintons in the ratpack, but someone needs to say "It takes a village"!  'Cause it does.

Just look at that table of goodies below. Yowza.

This was of course thanks to your Block Association vols who made it all come true.

Hat tip to child-at-heart and toothfairy accomplice Jane Hopkins (depicted above in the boa and orange witch hat), who has been the field marshal for nigh on forever -- all right, not quite that long, but you get the picture. To her team of big kids who dole out the dough. To the good folks at St. Luke's who always pitch in. To the donors who made contributions of candy, time, and dollars. And to the families who came, saw and conquered the treats and the streets.

If you are sitting on the sidelines, thankful that we have a community-building association in our midst, consider pitching in and helping the Block Association. We're looking for why-oh-ewe!  To volunteer, email us at info@w102-103blockassn.org. To become a member, click here.

And now to our gallery: "Nightmare on 102nd Street!"  If you know someone in these pictures, send them this link and tell them to subscribe to the blog: https://www.w102-103blockassn.org/blog/nightmare-on-102nd-street.

By Caitlin Hawke

October 31 -- this Wednesday -- is fast approaching. If you are not planning on coming out after sundown to lurk with the best of us on W. 102nd Street and West End Avenue, you are gonna be missing the best night of the year in Boo-mingdale.

Details in the poster below.

Here's a shoutout to the Schuyler sisters who, via their dad, have a special connection to our neighborhood and make for a spooky jack-o-lantern. (Hat tip to young Honora Overby who posted her creation on Twitter).  Good enough to send squash sculptor Saxton Freymann out of his gourd with pride.

Stay tuned to this channel for the post-parade photo gallery like this one from a past year. If you plan to have your camera that night, send your best pix to blog@w102-103blockassn.org. I'll post shots of costumed munchins big and small.

By Caitlin Hawke

The Block Association walks the talk when it comes to covering the catchment. First in the Spring, you can beautify the tree wells with annuals and get a good workout in your knees, quads and back. Then come May, you can enjoy W. 103rd Street at the ever wonderful street fair, yard sale, bazaar, fest -- or what ever you wish to call it.

As Fall rolls in, the BA goes back to the planting of bulbs and neatening of tree wells, followed in quick succession by the Halloween Parade and Solstice Caroling.

All year long on second Tuesdays at 8 p.m. you have the chance to come to the monthly board meetings which are held at 306 W. 102nd Street. You can bring your questions or just come to see how things are done and offer your help.

This weekend is your chance to give a little sugar to our trees. And I don't know about you, but after the last few weeks, I am ready to think and act locally.

The BA is calling all new neighbors, kids, green-thumbed or not. The tidying and planting will run from 10 a.m. til it's done around noon. All the info you need is below and if you still have questions, email: trees@w102-103blockassn.org.

Then hold onto your hats because 0ctober 31 is blowing in quickly. That's the day we give sugar to our kids, big and small.  My observation is that the adults lean in almost as much as the young'uns. If you want to lend a hand, email Jane at halloween@w102-103blockassn.org.

Check out the galleries from past years like Ghoul's Gold here and Goblin It Up here. If that doesn't sell you on turning out at 6 p.m. on W. 102nd and West End, maybe the home-baked goodies or cider will.  I am resurrecting the Great Pumpkin Interview with Saxton Freymann here -- a blog favorite.

For more information, you can read the most recent edition of the BA newsletter here.

See you on the streets of the catchment!  Lagniappe from erstwhile Bloomingdaler Nina Simone below.  If you are reading this in an email subscription, you'll have to click on the blog post title to view the video.

By Caitlin Hawke

Two weeks from today, on Saturday, September 29, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., West 104th Street between Riverside Drive and West End Avenue becomes the best place to be.  Our yard sale was rained out earlier this year, but our neighbors over on 104th are hard at work making offerings to weather gods and booking vendors for this annual event.

It's a great way to turn your unwanted household items into gold while someone goes off happy to give your junque a new life in a happy home. If you don't live on the block, a vendor space will set you back $60 and a space is big enough to split with a friend. All the details may be found here.

Once you are done vending on 104th, don't throw the rest of it away!  Discover (and thank me later for telling you now) the fabulous freecycling (freegan) community of trashnothing.com.  Part cult, part utopia, part distribution of resources, trashnothing.com is an electronic bulletin board where you can put up "haves" or "wants" for quite literally anything.  Trim your book collection, winnow your pots and pans, give away kid items and clothes. Or post an "ask" for a crockpot, a curling iron, an electric drill. You will be amazed by how this community comes through. And it's all in the name of not letting anything go to waste ever again.  The New York City group has 64,000 members.  Read the boards to get the hang of it, sign in, and get started decluttering today!

Only catch is that everything changes hands completely free.

See you in two weeks on 104th Street!

 

Live in the neighborhood and enjoy these occasional blog posts? Spread the word by telling a friend or neighbor to subscribe. There's a lot more in store!

By Caitlin Hawke

Live in the neighborhood and enjoy these occasional blog posts? Spread the word by telling a friend or neighbor to subscribe. There's a lot more in store!

By Caitlin Hawke

You may have caught last Sunday's "French Cookin' Blues Band" gig at the overlook on the promenade level of Riverside Park (at the equivalent of 116th Street a bit south of the tennis courts). And cook they did.

There are two more chances to catch a gig
in this series:

Sunday, April 29, 2 p.m.
Columbia Wind Ensemble, Jason Noble, Leader
"A big band of 50 brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments plays rousing music from the Renaissance to the present."

Sunday, May 6, at 2 p.m.
Manhattan School of Music Jazz Quintet
"These fine musicians play the best of jazz standards in their own incomparable style."

Riverside Park is the gift that gives every day. It's trees and blooms are popping. It's playfields are abustle. The tennis players are back in force. The conservancy's website has a calendar with many offerings like Tai Chi, exercise, storytime, birding and more. And of course there's the swing-a-ring lot. (A prior post featured images here).

What, I ask, is not to love?  Except maybe the white noise of the highway.

By Caitlin Hawke

Have you secured your vendor's table at our May 19 Block Party yet? All the information you need is right here. If you are a resident of the Block Association's catchment, it's just $50 for a spot from which you can turn your no-longer-needed possessions into rent money or a couple of dinners on the town.

If you are like me, you love the haggle. You love the circle-game of old things finding new life in the twinkle of a stranger's eye. You love the cash. You love the feeling of community. And you love the idea of winnowing your cupboards and drawers.

If you don't want to vend, hawk or huckster, why not just tell all your friends with overbrimming closets that this is an occasion to be seized!  For folks outside the catchment, the fee is $70.

Click on the Block Party tab on our website for an FAQ and all the deets.

And don't forget to save the date and come noodle down the street. There's deals to be had and treasures to be unearthed.

It's my favorite Block Party tradition.

(Click here to see the lagniappe video below if you are reading this via email subscription).