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She Was Unsinkable

4/11/2018

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Remembering the Tragedy of the Titanic 106 Years Later

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By Caitlin Hawke

This Saturday, the Friends of Straus Park will hold a remembrance for the victims of the April 15, 1912, sinking of the Titanic. The flyer below gives the details; everyone is welcome to attend.

You've gone by Straus Park hundreds of times. We forget how the community came together to beautify this triangle and dedicate it to the memory of Ida and Isador Straus (co-owner of Macy's) who were aboard the RMS Titanic when she went down.

I've written in prior posts about how the triangle was first named for Philip Schuyler in 1900. Just fifteen years later, the park was dedicated to the memory of this local couple, who perished aboard the Titanic. (I wrote about that dedication here in a post with beautiful "Throwback Thursday" pictures.)

Since then, the park has of course been home to our resident statue of Audrey Munson, the sculptor's muse extraordinaire. Munson posed for the allegorical sculpture of "Memory" by Henry Augustus Lukeman. "Memory" is uncommonly photogenic as memorials go.

Fast forward a century and the park is our neighborhood respite seated at the trivium of Bloomingdale. Dramatic in snow and exuberant in spring, it's a haven for workers, neighbors, children and parents, bus drivers, and other passersby. As Manhattan pocket parks go, to my mind, it's second only to Gramercy Park. And you don't need a key!

Last May, I was walking through and came upon the beautifiers in hortico flagrante, so I grabbed my camera. The shots in the gallery below were some of the images I captured, and all around the border of the part, people were perched on benches enjoying that one particularly fine day.

From icebergs spring allium where Memory now persists.  Safe in her haven, she sleepily points us back to the unsinkable great ship that went down and those who lost their lives 106 years ago.

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Seen (and Heard) in the Neighborhood

3/24/2018

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MTA Calming Your Way

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Bloomingdale's very own vale of flowers by Sigi Moeslinger and Masamichi Udagawa

By Caitlin Hawke

With all the talk about various coming MTA station closures for "digital upgrades" on the B and C line, I am reminded that some of us lived through the IRT station upgrades at 103rd (2004) and 96th Streets (2010)--and survived to tell the story. Yes, I am grateful for those investments -- more capital than digital. And yes, they took forever.

Let me take you back. Remember the new but miscalculated staircase on the west side of Broadway exiting the 103rd Street station? Each step seemingly a different height, walking up or down it was  something of a funhouse ride or some bad Candid Camera prank -- only the risk was smashing your nose on the way up, or far worse on the way down! They sure did fix it in a flash. And at 96th, remember how prior to the renovation we used an underpass to get to the platform?  It's not that long ago and how quickly we forget. Even with my pathological nostalgia, I can't say I miss that.

Leaving the 96th Street Station, I was looking up the other day and once again saw the real-life version of the rendering above. It struck me as a nice touch. Maybe the sculpture has a function, too. (Pigeon abatement?). Quaint and already retro in its non-digital way.

The looped birdsong that goes with these 200 stainless flowers is intended to have a calming effect on riders. On most days, particularly after a post-apocalyptic commute from work, calming's a thing I am grateful for. Getting most of the way home in one piece on public transportation, is another.

With Spring galloping in, we have real looped birdsong starting up.  And Hawkes do appreciate the birds.

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Hyper Local Eats: The Cure for All that Kales You

12/31/2017

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Deintoxication at Cool Fresh Juice Bar

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By Caitlin Hawke

"We're Not 'National Hangover Service,' N.H.S. Tells U.K. Drinkers"!

After seeing this NYT headline with the accompanying AP picture of the holidaze's dead soldiers (right), I realized the news has been filled with stories of how alcohol consumption has spiked, particularly this past year.  Public health reports show that the gender gap in alcohol consumption has women closing in on men.  Not good.
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Steve Parsons/Press Association, via Associated Press
Normalized by tv (hello "Mad Men"), promoted by the restaurant industry, essential to covering vertiginous commercial rents, and induced by current world events: drinking is plainly on the rise, and it's not just in Britain.

The 'French paradox' pointing to the potential benefits of red wine notwithstanding, alcohol is probably best used in more moderate ways -- and definitely more moderately than the year-end dictates.  That's why today, I wanted to celebrate not a hyper-local eat.  But a hyper-local drink.
Fresh, frothy kale-apple-carrot-lemon juice from the Cool Fresh Juice Bar.  Located in the slice of a shop at 2661 Broadway, just -- perversely -- south of Dunkin' Donuts between W. 101st and 102nd Streets, this micro-juiceteria has been extracting for six years.  Not to be confused with the bubble tea shop to the north of DD, CFJB also does Boba. But it does so much more.

They've got hot teas and infusions that would make a toddy jump on the wagon. And they've got smoothies, shakes and bobas a go-go. 
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What I dip in there for is the following hyper-local eat of the day: a kale-apple-carrot-lemon juice.

Oooh wee!  Does this hit the spot.  I tell them to go easy on the lemon, but a little citrus foils the sweet of the apple and carrot and sets off the herby kale. I know that people love to throw shade on this leafy green. A friend, let's call him Herr Doktor T, likes to harsh on kale the way Graham Chapman harshed on Spam. That just means more kale for me.  Honest to goodness, there's only one way I don't like to eat it and that's sautéed.

Chop it to eat raw like Henry's does for its best salad (that link includes the recipe).  Throw it in a fritatta.  Or juice it to detox.  Kale is scrumptious. Oh, no, you won't hear me rag on kale. And while this juice treat probably clocks in at a small meal's worth of calories, at least it beats the nutritive value of a Unicorn Frappuccino.

Yes, you heard me. That's a thing. Or at least was a thing for a brief hallucinatory moment.  Its full name (trademarked, bien sûr) is Unicorm Frappuccino Blended Crème.  (I'm guessing that its purveyors cannot legally use the word "cream" when advertising it.) While I am not sure it qualifies as a beverage, it may qualify as entertainment since most of what I know I overheard in a surreal conversation about the Unicornuccino. 'It changes colors!'  'It's sprinkled with pink and blue fairy powders.'  Apparently it doubles as a fidget spinner-lava lamp.

OMG. Such is "food" in our day and age. It's enough to drive you to drink!

And drink you should:  at Cool Fresh Juice Bar.  Stop in and let me know what you order. It's the perfect hyper-local eat to kick off 2018.  You can't go wrong with a kale-carrot-apple-lemon juice.  It's what the gods drink when they run out of mead.  I swear.  And if you are attentive, you might even see it change colors.

Happy New Year!

P.S. Cool Fresh Juice Bar is supposedly open 8:30 am til 9 pm for when that hankering hits.  It'll set you back $6 for the smaller size, and while less entertaining than a Unicornuccino, it is less than half the price of an aperol grapefruit spritz with smoked jalapeño salt at some wannabe bar.  And much more delicious.

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Seen in the Neighborhood

10/22/2017

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Wracked about Racks

By Caitlin Hawke


A couple of years ago, our neighborhood got its first infusion of CityRacks.  I wrote about that here.  Problem is they've become a victim of their own success.  Seen on a rack that I wrote about was the note below. Like the houseguest who comes and squats on the living-room couch with no end in sight, bikes have been chained to the CityRack day in and out, leaving it unusable by others. And inviting terse notes of disapproval.

City policy is moving more and more to accommodating cyclists. It's quite remarkable how relatively more hospitable the city has become to biking in rather short order.  (My inner cynic sniffs: "They don't have a choice if the pols aren't going to fix and invest in our infrastructure while encouraging so much new construction; biking is after all a great way to move people under their own steam.")

I am all for doing everything we can to have more people safely cycling, though e-bikes still leave me shaking my head.  But for cycling to work here, we need to do a lot more.  For example, more bike parking that is safe and accessible for our eco-rides is needed.  More CityRacks for short-term lock ups.  More space in work buildings and residences for locking up longer term.  It's not just Citibikes that need docking.  (And yes, I know, you don't want a dock near your building or your favorite bus stop.  And it's all daunting the older you get.  I am sympathetic. I am.)

But inevitably bikes will propagate.  Politicians and the state have not made the subway attractive. Quite the contrary.  My employer, a nearby university, recently informed the rank and file that our medical center subway stop will be closed (closed!) for a year for elevator replacement. This will send literally thousands of employees, patients, and even tenured faculty scampering to get to work via alternate modes.

It doesn't take a PhD to figure out that folks will have no choice as the subway degrades but to turn to their bikes, blades, Segways and hoverboards.  Global warming and the MTA's continued abuse of straphangers will surely incite more to ride their two-wheelers.  Unless Elon Musk, a hyperloop, or George Jetson comes to our rescue, this problem just isn't going away anytime soon.

So think locally, and act locally: if you live in a building with a good curbside spot, you can suggest new locations to the city for more racks.  We'll get the ball rolling.

True to name, New Amsterdam needs its bikes! 
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I Speak for the Trees for the Trees Have No Tongue

10/17/2017

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Unless Someone Like You Cares a Whole Awful Lot, Nothing is Going to Get Better.

By Caitlin Hawke

It's not.

Or so said Dr. Seuss's Lorax and his Once-ler, once woke. 

Heaven knows we could use a Lorax or two nowadays. And on Saturday, we had 'em in spades. 

Lorax-in-chief, Mark Schneiderman, got himself out of bed bright and early (when others were just coming home from their Friday night on the town), drove to Jersey, filled up on a tower of mulch bags, buckets of bulbs, Truffula seeds, munchkins and 'joe, and was on the avenue by 10 a.m. cheering on the crew and keeping them stoked with supplies, tending to tree wells.

He wasn't alone. Temma, Ferenc, Pat, Terence, Bettina, Cynthia, Celia and quite a few others were all out there channeling their inner-Lorax. Also, there were kids!  I suspect some of the kids brought their folks instead of the other way around.

What can I say?  The result speaks for itself. 

Community spirit: it's not about what it is...it's about what it can become.  A butterfly effect.  Thanks to you all.  See you on Spring Planting Day!

Photo credits: Celia Knight and Caitlin Hawke

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Plant a new Truffula.
Treat it with care.
Give it clean water.
And feed it fresh air.
Grow a forest.
Protect it from
axes that hack.
Then the Lorax and all of
his friends may come back.

    ― Dr. Seuss,
The Lorax

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Saturday is Tree Well Clean Up Day

10/8/2017

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And Sunday You Will Feel a Good Kind of Tired

By Caitlin Hawke

Come out and bring the kids to the Block Association's Fall Tree Clean Up at 10 a.m. in front of 878 West End Avenue.  B.A. volunteer and neighbor Mark Schneiderman has it all organized.

Saturday has us scrambling with many neighborhood options. Here's a suggested schedule for you -- I know you can fit it all in!
  • 10 a.m. to noon: Fall Tree Clean Up with your Block Association (see below)
  • All day: W. 104th Street Block Association Street Fair -- come visit the BAiP table too! It all happens on W. 104th Street between Riverside Drive and West End Avenue.
  • 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.: Walk over to Hostelling International NYC and see BAiP's Arts Groups exhibit of neighborhood works.
  • Also, for Open House New York aficionados, the hostel has tours for you!
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A reward for getting to the bottom of this post: my automnal lagniappe along this same theme -- les feuilles morts se ramassent à la pelle -- is a beaut from Serge Gainsbourg covering his forebears in, yes again, the circle game of life marked by fallen leaves.  Remember, for those of you reading this directly via your email subscription, click on the title of the post to see the video online.

Ladies, gentlemen, I give you La Chanson de Prévert.

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Taketh and Giveth

9/24/2017

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Tree News

By Caitlin Hawke

Well, woohoo!  We got ourselves a new tree earlier in the summer on W. 102nd Street (outside of 254 W. 102nd St) between Broadway and West End. Terence Hanrahan snapped the whippersnapping beaut, a locust, I'd say. But feel free to correct me.  So the city does get around to filling our tree-pits when the need presents.  I have to say that walking around San Francisco over the summer, I missed our tree-lined streets.  Yes, Frisco has a lot to offer.  But shade isn't big among urban assets there.  So thank you, NYC Parks.  That kind of shade you may throw as much as you please.

Boo! Hiss!  The ginkgo, victimized in the wee dark hours of an early Spring night in 2015, when madness hacked at its trunk, is now gasping for life.  May shame shine long on the person whose ax killed it.  And may the scent of gingko fruit be ever present in that neighbor's nostrils.

Pictures of the nearly departed are at bottom. Join me while I shake my head since any other words I write here I will regret.  If only a tree could bite a man (back).

This brings me to a save the date: Mark Schneiderman will be out there for the Block Association's Fall Mulching Day on Saturday, October 14th from 10 a.m to noon.  Meet up at 878 West End Avenue to help tidy up tree wells.  And when you are there at the curb of 878, look up toward the gingko that is no more.
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Welcome, new kid on the block (Credit: Terence Hanrahan)
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Farewell, we hardly knew ye. (Credit: Caitlin Hawke)
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I See The Light Come Shining

8/28/2017

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More Reflections of Eclipse 2017

By Caitlin Hawke

A big thank you to Ozzie Alfonso for the three local images below.  The first attests once again to that spontaneity and community and wonder we felt last Monday.  The second two show that Ozzie is a real photographer with equipment that enabled him to get a decent shot. And he shot it coming and going.  The shot at bottom right is prize worthy.

Got any more?  Send them along: [email protected].
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Neighbors gathered on the SE corner of West End Avenue and W. 102nd Street for Eclipse 2017 (Photos: O. Alfonso)
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So, Did You Look?

8/22/2017

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It Seems a Few People in Our Midst May Have

By Caitlin Hawke

But not these guys. These neighbors viewed the galactic event from the NW corner of W. 105th Street and Broadway and were captured by shutterbug Bob Lejeune who kindly allowed me to post this shot.  My favorite thing about it -- other than the optical illusion that everyone is looking straight at the verboten partial eclipse -- is the woman second from the right who is, herself, eclipsed.  Not to scale of course.  But here goes.  Guy in white? A metaphor for us all looking up from the earth. He is our planet. Guy in blue? The moon. And young woman behind...well she's the brilliant sun semi-eclipsed star that all the others turn their backs to so powerful is her partial light. 

This is typical Lejeunian photography.  And I am always grateful when he turns his lens on us.

If you have any good shots of that phenomenal ambiance we all felt out there on the street in our child-like wonderment, send 'em along. I will post anything related to the eclipse that is nearby.

It was a good week that reminded me of how puny the third rock from the sun is. And of the majesty of our central star.

By the way, you'll thank me for the outro. Scroll down. And remember if you are reading this in an email subscription, you have to click through to the blog by clicking on the blog title above for my lagniappe du jour.  Try not to smile!!
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Credit: Bob Lejeune

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With Another ConEd Job, Thoughts Turn to @RealThomasAEdison

8/7/2017

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Lighting Up West End Avenue Since 1897

By Caitlin Hawke

I got the message at far bottom today from ConEd.  So this explains the decibels I endured this morning, despite the rain that you'd think would put a damper on things.

Thinking about electricity and what at times seems like our city's crumbling infrastructure, my thoughts jumped to a charming tidbit I'd unearthed a while back when researching the history of a building in these parts.  It comes from the March 6, 1897, edition of The Electrical Age (Volume 19, No. 10, p. 148):

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It seems that 855 West End Avenue, then just constructed and known as The St. Andoche Apartment House -- a name lost to history -- was way out in front when it came to electrical equipment. Thanks to Thomas A. Edison, the incandescent bulb was born in 1879.  And just 18 years later, the invention and ensuing applications were still fresh enough to make a new building's electrical technology worthy of noting.

Ok, so no one irons anymore, and we don't have gas lamps, but it's sort of incredible to think how little the technology has changed in the 12 decades since this tidbit ran.  The lesson that comforts me is how quickly a new technology can be adapted and applied to benefit all.

Let's see where is all goes.  Fiat lux, ConEd.  Fiat lux!

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Sunset Boulevard, Bloomingdale Edition

5/24/2017

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A Henge of Our Own

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By Caitlin Hawke

This is a call for your pictures of Manhattanhenge as seen from Bloomingdale.  The American Museum of Natural History has published dates that the sun will set directly at the end of our numbered streets given the slightly northeasterly-southwesterly access of Manhattan.  The Block Association rolls out the white carpet each December to fete the Winter solstice. You can read about that in this post here.

But now here's a neighborhood nod to the Summer solstice, albeit adjusted for Manhattan's axis. Neil deGrasse Tyson explains it all in the video embedded below. (If you are reading this in an emailed version of the blog feed, click on the title of the post or here to see the video.)

So go out and shoot some photos on any of these days, and send me your pictures. Or maybe you are a watercolorist and want to paint it.  I'll post all depictions of this ancient pagan celebration of the longest days of the year.  Email them to me at: [email protected]

Summer is nearly here, folks.  And as a lagniappe, I dug up a video of the lovely ginger, Teddy Thompson (son of Linda and Richard), covering a favorite song of mine by Kate McGarrigle, Saratoga Summer Song.  Scroll on down and enjoy.

And don't forget!  Best 'henge viewing is on wider streets, but leafed-out trees on one-way cross streets might make for interesting shots:

May 29 - 8:13 p.m. - half sun.
May 30 - 8:12 p.m. - full sun.
July 12 - 8:20 p.m. - half sun
July 13 - 8:21 p.m. - full sun



h/t to neighbor and blog-reader David O. for sharing the schedule

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Petal Pushers

5/1/2017

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A Gallery of Earth Day in the Catchment

By Caitlin Hawke

It seems like one day is not enough for the annual tradition of "Earth Day."  I mean if "Dental Awareness" and "Confederate History" get a whole month each, shouldn't the 4.543 billion-year-old third rock from the sun -- at a minimum -- get 31 or even 365 days of our attention?  Just sayin'.

No matter how much time we are allotted in the great calendar of commemorations, it's really about the time we make to show our reverence. Virtually without interuption since its inception in 1971, the Block Association has been thinking globally, acting locally, and revering.  Thanks to Ginger Lief, I can prove it since she squirreled away a non-digitized back catalogue of the Block Association newletter archives and preserved these documents at the Bloomingdale branch of the library.  There and utterly incredulous, I found Volume 1, Issue 1, which I'll post on May 20th in its entirety.  But as a preview, check this excerpt out...the roots of "Planting Day" from that inaugural issue!
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New York is a different animal today so recalling back 46 years to the concrete jungle when tree beds didn't exist is harder for newer New Yorkers.  Make no mistake!  This BA and these neighbors have been at it, out there, mucking about in the soil, doting on trees and their beds, nigh on a half century.

As you'll see when I post that inaugural issue, there are a lot of current BA traditions that were laid down right then and there in 1971.  And while faces have literally changed, the spirit is, more or less, the same.  Plus the stooping, crouching, kneeling and schlepping remain a time-honored right of passage into Spring.

All this to say: Thank you, neighbors -- new, old, big, small -- for your efforts right here in the catchment on Earth Day 2017. And thanks to Mark Schneiderman for coordinating it all.  You volunteers are all now a part the collective memory that some blogger will be writing about in 2063.

For all other neighbors, how can you help?  In the short term, water the beds!  In the longer term, plan on coming out for the Fall Clean Up Day.  To recycle words above from 1971: "try and come…(we're friendly) and help make this a more beautiful area."  Details will be on our homepage in September.

Without further ado, here now is the garden of delights.  If you have other pictures, send them to me and I'll add them: [email protected].

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Planting Day photo credit: Celia Knight
Spring Planting Day 2017!
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Bettina's blooms
And below are the blooms from hundreds of bulbs that neighbor Ira planted in Riverside Park.
Daffodil photo credit: Ira Gershenhorn

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Seen in the Neighborhood on April 28th

4/30/2017

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Tree Bites Man (Back)

By Caitlin Hawke

Hello, West End Ginkgo. And welcome back from your overwintering.  Reports of your demise were greatly exaggerated.  Your surgeon must share my joy and sit here, too, on the sideline, cautiously optimistic that you will best the sequelae of your maiming for seasons to come.

Begging forgiveness, I, too, am guilty of premature reports and plead naiveté in the face of the awesome power of nature, and pessimism in face of human baseness, but am now woke.

Every time I walk by, I look up at you, wink and grin. You are a force to reckon with. Your resilience is a poem.  Your leaves, though small, are mighty.  Your trunk, though interrupted, is righteous.  And your endurance is a lesson to all.

You are large, you contain multitudes, and I am in love with you,
A West End Avenue Admirer

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Knee Deep in Flowers We'll Stray. We'll Keep the Showers Away!

4/20/2017

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Saturday's Weather Looks Promising, So Come Out and Plant!

By Caitlin Hawke

Just a reminder that our nod to Earth Day is a hyper-local one: we're planting the tree wells and generally throwing some TLC to our beloved trees (but don't get me started on that now-dead gingko). It all happens this Saturday.  And I am reiterating my request here for pictures.  I will make a gallery and your labors of love will be duly recorded. 

This Saturday. 878 West End Ave.  10 a.m.

And with that, I have a few special terrestrial Tiny Tim numbers as an Earth Day lagniappe. You cannot dispute that he was a man well ahead of his time in so many ways. A true original.  I loved him then and ever shall. (The world has grown canned before our eyes.)

So put aside everything you know about autotuning, Katy Perry and 1D.  And for the love of Pete, scroll down!  I hope you will enjoy this Throwback Thursday inspired collection. And don't forget that if you are receiving this via email, you'll have to click on the post title to view the embedded videos on the actual blog page.
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Again, if you are receiving this via email, you'll have to click on the post title to view the embedded videos on the actual blog page.  Here goes!
I just can't resist including this one.  Thanks for bearing with me.... Happy Earth Day!

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In Best of All Possible Worlds, Let's Make Our Garden Grow

4/8/2017

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Come Join Us: April 22 is Spring Planting Day!


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We're neither pure, nor wise, nor good
We'll do the best we know.
We'll build our house and chop our wood
And make our garden grow...

      ~ From Candide, "Make Our Garden Grow"

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By Caitlin Hawke

Neighborhood families, what kid -- big or small -- doesn't like to dig around in topsoil?  To sweep and rake.  And make her garden grow?

If you are hearing a little Voltaire and a little Lenny Bernstein in that, you'll enjoy the embedded extra below (if you are reading this via an email feed, you'll have to click on the blog to view the video extra at the bottom of this post).

But it boils down to this: twice a year the block association shouts out to neighbors of all ages to turn up and beautify our blocks.  Neighbor Mark Schneiderman -- father of twins who will be out there, too -- is orchestrating this year.  For specifics, you can email him: [email protected].

If you are not up for kneeling or not down with crouching, I say pick up your smartphone and walk the catchment shooting and kvelling over the greening team.  Consider this a request to all for your best Planting Day photos. The dirtier the hands and the prettier the flowers, the better.  And I dare you planters not to smile...I predict it will be impossible.  Email your shots to [email protected].

Details in the poster below for the big day.  Save the date: Earth Day, April 22 (rain date April 23).  And then make sure to grab a neighbor.  Collect your kids.  Make a new friend. 

It is said in Candide that the sweetest flowers and the fairest trees are grown in solid ground...albeit slightly hemmed in by concrete and macadam.
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600,001 Dalmatians

3/13/2017

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Pugs, Pit Bulls, Beagles, Labs, Boxers, Poodles, Portuguese Water Dogs and Mutts

By Caitlin Hawke

It's estimated that NYC boasts 600,000 dogs.  If you don't mind my saying: that's a lot of Shih Tzu.

Apparently Council Member Helen Rosenthal concurs since she's asked for the release of this APB on Scofflaw Scoopers which comes from the Department of Sanitation.  (Of course, they have other things on their mind with the snowstorm we're waiting for).

Downward dog etiquette is gripping the city.

So until the uniquely French innovation of Motocrotte makes its way into the city's budget line, it's up to every dog-loving man, woman and child to scoop our way clear.

Duty calls, my friends.  Duty calls.

And as my outro today, I'm going to let Bloomingdaler Loudon Wainwright III illustrate the pleasures (and pains) of being a city-dwelling dog lover.
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First the Oscars, Now the Seasons

3/10/2017

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And the Winner of Best Current Season Goes to Spring. No Scratch That. To Winter!

By Caitlin Hawke

Is it just me or is this March madness in sync with the zeitgeist? I mean, just when you were getting ready to call it a season, Mother Nature threw you a curve ball, didn't she?  Sort of like Warren Beatty letting us know that "Moonlight" won best picture after we sat through all the "La La Land" acceptance speeches.

Well, pass the mic back to Old Man Winter. He's taking a victory lap for winner of "Current Season."  And it looks like the speech might last 'til Tuesday.

If you think it's bad here, the hand-wringing in DC is at an all-time high over the cherished cherry blossoms that have bounded ahead of schedule. So much so that the Washington Post wrote a piece yesterday about the peril the peduncles are in.  Washingtonians are watching those blooms so closely you'd think they are mating pandas. (Inside DC joke).
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Seen today on Broadway: Tulip shoots and snow
But it makes me wonder: am I the only one happy that our friend and neighbor Bob Donohue saw this scene below outside his window this morning?  What I find reassuring is to have this proof, however belatedly, that our planet still knows how to freeze at our latitude.

Let is snow, let it snow, let it snow.
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West 105th Street on March 10, 2017
Photo Credit: Bob Donohue

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A New Dawn

1/1/2017

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Think Global, Act Local

By Caitlin Hawke

Happy New Year, Bloomingdalers!

To ring us in, a beautiful montage of daybreak around the world courtesy of the NYT's feature "The Daily 360." By dragging the frame of the video you can rotate the view of the camera.

Shockingly, the Times left out a clip of the Bloomingdale sunrise.  If you have an eastward facing window or are a morning person, send your shots or short video clips of Daybreak in Bloomingdale to me, and I will post them: [email protected].

Lots more blog coming soon. Please stay tuned.

P.S. If you are reading this post in a subscription feed straight to your email, you may not be able to view the video embedded below.  To see it, click through to the blog and scroll down to the 1/1/17 post. Here's the URL: www.w102-103blockassn.org/blog.

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Throwback Thursday, Bloomingdale Edition

8/18/2016

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1899: 9th Avenue and W. 104th Street

By Caitlin Hawke

Take a wild, throwback ride on the El trains of yore!  Looking at old videos made by the Thomas A. Edison, Inc. (yes, that Edison was a pioneer filmmaker, too), I came upon this vintage footage produced by James Henry White in the Spring 1899 showing the W. 104th Street S-curve in the 9th Avenue Elevated Railway.  It's wonderful in that the cameraman gets into the train and rides the rails.  For more details about the film, see the Library of Congress catalog listing here.  I'm including a second video which is a newsreel.  At the beginning, there's a wonderful shot of St. John the Divine, but it is a long video so you may not want to get into the weeds of it.  Delectable for the train lovers out there.

Our friends at the Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group posted a great piece a few years ago about how the El train got to our neck of the woods in 1879.

A Library of Congress map of the El train system dating to 1881 is below.

So, does anything look familiar at all when you take these virtual rides?


Note: If you are receiving this directly to your email, click on the blog post title to go to the webpage and view the video.  The emails don't code videos properly so it won't appear.  Worth clicking through!

​Also, if you like this blog, share it with a friend in the block association's neighborhood.  There are loads of local treasures to come.  Just not enough time to stoke the fires of this blog.  Enjoy!
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And the Seasons, They Go Round and Round

6/11/2016

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By Caitlin Hawke

A 100-year Old Poem Says It All

There's something about a tree that makes me want to believe.  Here's a tale of three.

First, I will admit to you that I doubted.  How dare I doubt.  And yet I did.  But the truth is some things are bigger than us.  Bigger than an incredible act of senselessness.  Bigger than just one person wielding an axe, hopped up on some delusion that a tree should be felled. For what reason, we shall probably never know.

But that tree, as you may have noticed, defies expectation.  The magical gingko of West End Avenue thirsts and seems to slake its thirst, adequately to push forth beautiful shoots and fan-shaped leaves.  It's hard to capture since the canapy is wan.  And beneath the scar of the axe-job sprout errant green.  It was a healthy tree before the deed, and it refuses to succomb.

May robins find purchase to nest in her hair.
Trees by Joyce Kilmer
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.
Above: The vandalized gingko tree on the east side of W. End Ave. between 102nd and 103rd St. in May.
And to add compliment to victory, a big thank you goes to NYC Parks for the two new plane trees on the north side of W. 102nd Street just around the corner from the feisty gingko.

Go have a look.  Keeping it modern, the trees are tagged with a QR code for those who wish to know more.  (h/t to Terence Hanrahan for the photo below).

Just when you were ready for some shade, Bloomingdale, we got it!

So, robins, come and get 'em.  These are your next "No-fee studios, w/ EIK, hrdwd floors and vu."  I trust it is not a problem that it's a walk-up?
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Behold! Our new plane trees on W. 102nd between W. End and Broadway.

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Throwback Thursday, Bloomingdale Edition

6/9/2016

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1970: West 105th Street between Riverside Drive and West End Avenue

By Caitlin Hawke

When I first considered this feature for the blog -- "Throwback Thursdays" of internet meme fame -- I had the notion that contributions of old snapshots would pour in from readers and neighbors.  I would still love for that to happen. I'd like to see you in your habitat, as my 4-year-old niece Clare would say.  But I also like the deep diving architectural history. You can see the whole historical library by clicking on the "Throwback" category, which you will find at right.

Chance had it this week that I came upon Chauncey.  Chauncey G. Olinger, Jr., to be exact.  Among other things, he chairs a University Seminar at Columbia on the university's history.  So we were destined to meet.

Chauncey was a resident of W. 105th Street back in the 1970s.  And he was the kind of neighbor who leaned into block beautification as you see below.  He was the engineer of the first new-fangled tree guard and a motor of the landmarking process for that beautiful block of houses, status that was designated on April 19, 1973 incredibly enough.  (It's a great report; I recommend the read!) Chauncey's DIY tree guard is, to my eye, particularly successful and of its era -- yet not unadaptably so.  But take a close look. It's not at all what you think!

So a big hat tip to Chauncey, today, as well as to all the other folks who toil to prettify these parts.  It's not lost on us. And history remembers you well. 

Bloomingdalers, send in your pictures from the 1960s and 1970s.
Our operators are standing by!
Email: [email protected]
​

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Old W. 105th Street neighbor Chauncey Olinger and his beautiful tromp l'oeil "iron" tree guard made of wood in 1970

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Feel the Love!  Turn Out for Your Block Association...

5/3/2016

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And Hawk Your Wares!

By Caitlin Hawk(e)

Calling all vendors.  Now is the time clear out all that STUFF!  Turn your closet clutter into cold cash.  Our annual yard sale, AKA Spring Bazaar, is upon us in a few short weeks. If you've been to one, you know how fabulous the vibe is.  Our city turns into a small town for the day.  No ersatz.  No faux.  No hipster bergamote macarons.  No street fair "Italian" sausage sold by vendors from Jersey.

Just real local neighbors, hawking real, useful stuff.  Recycling life's necessities, and giving new life to someone else's treasure.

You know you need to make room in your closets, right?  Let's do this.  Let's all hawk our stuff!

The who-what-when-how of it is all here.  See you on W. 103rd Street on May 21st!
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Compost It!

3/25/2016

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NYC Compost Project Drop-Off Location: W. 97th Street Greenmarket on Fridays

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By Caitlin Hawke

Waste Less. Live Better. That'ts the zero waste mantra.

So how many trips do you make to your garbage room a week? If you are parenting a kid or two, maybe I should ask how many times a day!  Urban composting is a win-win.  Good for you and good for the environment.  And it's getting easier and easier with a drop-off point right at the Friday greenmarket on W. 97th Street.

So what can you bring?

YES to fruit and vegetable scraps, non-greasy food scraps (rice, pasta, bread, cereal, etc.), coffee grounds and filters, tea bags, egg shells, nut shells, pits, cut or dried flowers, houseplants, and potting soil.

NO to meat, fish, bones, greasy food scraps, fat, oil, dairy, animal waste (including litter and bedding), coal or charcoal, coconuts, diseased and/or insect-infested plants/soil, and biodegradable/compostable plastics.

But, you ask, how to store the scraps between greenmarkets?  To reduce odor and prevent pests, the city suggests you store your food scraps in a paper bag or reusable container in your freezer or refrigerator.  And then head out to the market between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Fridays.

Also, know that this Monday, March 28th, at 7 p.m. at the 20th Precinct Station house (120 W. 82nd St.), Jacquelyn Ottman, a zero waste advocate, will be the guest speaker.

For more information, visit: nyc.gov/compostproject


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Electronics Recycling This Saturday from 10 to 4

1/11/2016

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Drop Off at Holy Name of Jesus Church, Amsterdam between W. 96th & 97th Streets

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Throwback Thursday, Bloomingdale Edition

1/7/2016

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1918: West 106th Street and Riverside Drive

By Caitlin Hawke

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