See You Next Year
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!
0 Comments
After the Block Party, There's One More Thing!
By Caitlin Hawke
Perhaps you are planning to be a vendor at this Saturday's Block Party? Good for you: you've tidied your cabinets and winnowed your closets of old items that you are now giving a chance at another good home. But a few toxins remain to be dealt with. Or if you've been lazily watching everyone ferry their stuff to the Block Party to sell it off and you're feeling guilty that your clutter is amassing, here's an event for you. On Sunday, you can get rid of all that hard-to-toss stuff at a SAFE Disposal Event put on by NYC's Department of Sanitation. SAFE Disposal is specifically for items that fall into the categories of Solvents, Automotive, Flammable and Electronics. SAFE Disposal takes place on Sunday, May 20, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., on W. 120th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue. Materials accepted include common household products such as auto fluids, batteries, electronics, strong cleaners, medications, paint and more. See this link for further details. Tell a Friend. Grab a Neighbor. Spread the Word.
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!
Riverside Park Conservancy Spring 2018 Overlook Concerts
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. Calling All Vendors for Our May 19 Block Party
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). Evening's Empire Turns into Sand at the Abbey Pub
"We want to thank everyone for all the years of fun. It has been a journey that has meant the world to us. Please come in and see us one more time this week. I love you all. Thank you, Paul"
I really could go on (and go off) about this. But I think I'll leave it at "Res ipsa loquitur." Denial? I got something for you! Tuesday night, you can catch some live music at 8 p.m. I give you Abbey Lincoln as my outro. (If you receive this via email, click here to listen to Abbey). h/t to Terence Hanrahan for the scoop about this news. The Pioneering Art Collection of Rags-to-Riches New Yorker Eliza Jumel
By Caitlin Hawke
Our friends over at the Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group have yet another great talk in store for this week. Eliza Jumel (as in Morris-Jumel Mansion) is the subject, and there are few as fascinating in the back pages of Upper-upper West Side history. I don't want to put out any spoilers, but trust me that her life is chock full of gobsmacking tidbits. I'll offer up just one: she married Aaron Burr who was 19 years her senior and within four months realized her fortune might be at risk and then separated, choosing Alexander Hamilton, Jr. as her attorney. Their divorce was finalized on the day that Burr died in 1836, yet Eliza lived on nearly another 30 years, reaching the age of 90 in 1865. And that wasn't the only time she saved her fortune. See, I told you! But that's nothing. Her father was a sailor and her mother was an indentured servant. She spent part of her childhood living in a brothel. That's the rags from which she rose. She took to the stage, met the merchant Stephen Jumel, became a francophile and amassed a tremendous art collection and ended up as one of the richest women in New York City. I know, I know. You're coming to the talk. It takes place on Thursday, April 19, at 6:30 p.m. at Hostelling International NYC (891 Amsterdam Avenue at W. 103rd Street). It is presented by art historian Margaret Oppenheimer, author of The Remarkable Rise of Eliza Jumel: A Story of Marriage and Money in the Early Republic will discuss Mme. Jumel’s art collection — over 240 paintings acquired in Paris at the beginning of the 19th century. A word to the wise: get there early. You can never get a seat anymore!! An Art Show This Saturday and Sunday
Note to readers: Many of you subscribe via email. That's great because it means you get these posts delivered directly to your inbox. But the service we use (Feedburner) is a little wonky. You've noticed that when I embed videos, you can't view them in the emailed version. And yesterday, when I embedded a pretty little gallery of Straus Park, it didn't come through to your email. But fear not! All you have to do to read the post as it is meant to be seen is to click on the title of the post. That will open up the webpage where you see any videos or photos. So here's a chance to revisit the post about the Straus Park commemoration this weekend.
But that's not all! There's more to do this weekend. Below is an invitation to the Second Annual Vaux Art Exhibit. On both Saturday and Sunday afternoons from 2 to 6 p.m., you can head over to the community room of "The Vaux" -- located at 372 Central Park West -- and check out this enjoyable show.
It's all right here in the neighborhood. And it's all happening this weekend. Remembering the Tragedy of the Titanic 106 Years Later
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. Correction: Work Date Still Not Firm
By Caitlin Hawke
My apologies to readers. I noted in an earlier blog post that there are plans for some upgrades at the Bloomingdale branch of the NYPL. The date I gave for the begin of work was not firm and the prior post has been updated to indicate that no firm date for the closure is established. As soon as the library has that date, they will share it with the community and I will post the information on the blog. In the meantime, there is plenty on tap at the Bloomingdale branch! What, you ask? Photocopiers, computer loans, sewing classes, collaging, baby storytime and open play, teen groups, and the April 28th BAiP play-reading event. Through May, you can see Nancy C. Evers's photo exhibit "Global Graffiti." To see the hours or calendar, please visit:www.nypl.org/locations/bloomingdale. For those willing to venture forth to other branches, don't forget the promising exhibit up at the Belafonte. The opening reception is this Thursday from 5-6:30 p.m. at W. 115th and Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard. Bloomingdale and Belafonte Branch News
NOTE: This post has been updated to reflect that the work at the Bloomingdale branch is not yet firmly scheduled. Please stay tuned. I will post firm information as soon as it is set.
By Caitlin Hawke Watch this space because sometime in the coming year, our beloved Bloomingdale branch of the NYPL will be closing for a year's worth of upgrades, including a new teen space. Between now and then, check out David Ochoa's collage workshop that he runs for BAiP and the library's community every Monday at 2 pm. Also coming up on April 28th is BAiP's 4th Annual Play-reading event. Once the Bloomingdale NYPL work begins, neighbors will be scattered to different NYPL branches during the hiatus. So now's a great time to explore which branch you'll check out! May I suggest the Belafonte? Neighbor Helen Broady shared the flyer below about a collections-inspired art exhibit, Infinite Archive: NYPL, at the Harry Belafonte branch at W. 115th and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard. The opening happens this Thursday, April 5, from 5:00-6:30pm and you are cordially invited to check it out. The exhibit includes works from 30 artists each responding to a book, poem, periodical or other archival material from The New York Public Library’s vast collection. Infinite Archive: NYPL runs through August. If you miss the opening, the exhibit is on view during regular library hours Tuesday to Saturday. I've sung the praises here of the NYPL in general for their digital collections and in particular for the Bloomingdale branch's devoted space to neighborhood archives gathered by the Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group. And while I have many a bone to pick with some of the strategic decisions and real estate transactions the NYPL has imprudently rolled out, its collections are -- to grossly understate it -- a city treasure. I find myself poking around in them all the time. So the theme of this art exhibit at Belafonte is a very intriguing intersection of old and new. Here's an excerpt from the press release and for more information, visit the branch's website. Hope to see you there!
Yes. And They Are Schooling Us. By Caitlin Hawke Neighbor Emily Berleth clued me in about the locale of the powerful photo on the cover of the April 5 New York Review of Books featuring a piece by Adam Hochschild "Bang for the Buck." It was taken by William Klein in 1955 near the intersection of W. 103rd Street and Broadway. I looked for the exact location, but I think it is gone (please let me know if you recognize the doorway the boys above are in). Working in a public health environment, I experienced the same feeling looking at the NYRB cover as I did when I saw a picture of a baby smoking that tore up the internet a while ago. Both images just stop you in your tracks and can never be normalized, or we are done. But one sits in the shade of our Bill of Rights. The other doesn't. That allowed us, on smoking at least, to rewrite history in just one generation. It reassures me that we could do the same for guns. But if the big bang of the Second Amendment is still expanding in the form of relaxed gun laws across the country, when will contraction begin? Feeling the need to rewrap my head around it, I had another look:
Nothing about the mighty hunter. And nothing about bump stocks and automatic weapons. Apropos of hunters, a demographer told me last week that their numbers in the U.S. are in steep decline. One can project their die-off, and no one is clamoring to fill in and take up the hunt. Does this mean that new rationales for the right to bear arms will have to be spun out?
Getting back to the kids, if you don't recognize it, the title of this post is a Bushism, made in 2000. It was taken out of context and was probably more of a slip up. But he did say "Childrens do learn." Both became a meme. And now, I feel, we have a full-throated answer to the question: Not only are they learning, but they're schooling us, royally. So, this post is inspired by the photo taken in our neighborhood 65 years ago that resonates loudly today. It is for all the kids packing up to head to DC, to Central Park West or to their local main drag on Saturday. I am watching you in admiration, and I am watching adults fill into your slipstream and take the ride on your effort. And I am watching, in this election year, what pressure you might bring to bear on how the right to bear arms is conferred upon our citizenry by our lawmakers and our policymakers -- who all, in the end, will have to answer to the youth, you: our rising voters. Thanks to you, our tipping point is Parkland. Our mantra is your mantra: #NeverAgainMSD. Many of us will say it loudly in person with 6-year-olds, 13-year-olds, 18-year-olds not in tow but way out ahead of us. Pulling us along. Leading the chant. We owe you deeply for doing the lift we should have done. But failed to do. Life. Liberty. Happiness. These all precede the Second Amendment, you seem to say. Let's get those right first, you protest. Come November, you warn, he who gets hurt will be he who has stalled. Saturday, your battle outside will be raging. This Year's Focus is the Crisis in Commercial Real Estate
By Caitlin Hawke
On Thursday, March 22 at 7 p.m. at the Master (310 Riverside Drive at West 103rd Street), you are invited to the Block Association's Annual Meeting. The focus -- the Crisis in Commercial Real Estate -- is a topic readers will recognize from the blog a mini-series entitled Empty Storefronts and the Changing Streetscape. For further reading, see the following:
I think it's going to be a great discussion. Hope to see you there! The Seven Beauties in Our Midst
By Caitlin Hawke
Oh, Bloomingdalers! You are in for a treat. Journalist and author Daniel J. Wakin will be presenting at the Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group's meeting on Wednesday, January 17th, at 6:30 p.m. at Hostelling International New York. For several years now, he's been researching his obsession: Bennie the Bum, a bootlegger and associate of Legs Diamond, and virtually every other person he could find who occupied space in one of the townhouses in this picture. Located on the stretch of Riverside Drive between W. 105th and 106th Streets, the stunning buildings are familiar to so many neighbors. Dan simply calls them "The Seven Beauties." A son of Bloomingdale, Dan has written this block's history like each house was a living, breathing neighbor with untold secrets to offer up. Associated with one of these demure dames was a heist, a getaway, an amputation, another amputation. Well you get the picture. Everyone has their back pages, as Bob Dylan would say. And Dan is revealing them all in his book "The Man with the Sawed-Off Leg and Other Tales of a New York City Block." Neighbor and resident historian Gil Tauber told me that Nina Simone lived on that block. I hope Dan has something to say about what happened with Miss Simone. I've often wondered if she was one of Duke Ellington's tenants. I'll be writing more about the book as soon as I get my hands on it. But come out and hear Dan speak on January 17th. And make sure to scroll all the way down for a lagniappe. (If you are receiving this via an email subscription, remember to click on the title of the post to get to the video).
Ok, now for the lagniappe. In honor of the Seven Beauties above and the one beauty below and in anticipation of MLK's birthday commemoration on Monday, I give you a live recording of the most excellent Nina Simone and one powerful song. It's hard to pare down to just one of hers since I can't think of any I don't want to hear. She was an American jewel and her work's relevance lives on for many reasons, not all good. That she was also a Bloomingdaler just about ices the cake for me. But then again, she had me at hello.
Click here to see images or videos that don't come through when you read this post in an email.
Ok, because one Nina is never enough...below is one for the road. RIP Leonard Cohen (who so far as I know has no connection to Bloomingdale whatsoever but feel free to prove me wrong!).
Seen in the Neighborhood
Remember: December is "Spread the Blove" month. If you enjoy these blog posts, won't you share this with a nearby friend, family member or neighbor? It's a great way to stay in touch between newsletters of the W. 102nd & 103rd Streets Block Association. So tip off a neighbor who can then receive posts directly to his or her email by just filling in an email address at the bottom of each post.
By Caitlin Hawke Enjoy the nine hours, fifteen minutes and eighteen seconds of daylight on Thursday. For you lightlovers, it's all downhill from here! By the 31st you get three more minutes of daylight, and so it goes. Solstice 2017. How will you tip your hat to the dark today? Now that you can take a break from flipping latkes, spinning dreidels and running around on the season's forced spending spree, why not come out and sing at the Block Association event. And now I leave you with images seen in the neighborhood during our pre-winter lead in to the solstice. We've already been dusted three or four times with a suspicious white powder. Audrey got hers (below) and the skies have been hoarier than usual. Thanks to neighbors Bob Donohue and David Ochoa for these shots. I need to go waterproof my old boots but in the meantime say to old man Winter: Bring. It. On! After all, it's the only route to the vernal equinox. And I am all about that. In Joon, Our Fall
Remember: December is "Spread the Blove" month. If you enjoy these blog posts, won't you share this with a nearby friend, family member or neighbor? It's a great way to stay in touch between newsletters of the W. 102nd & 103rd Streets Block Association. So tip off a neighbor who can then receive local news directly to his or her email by just filling in an email address at the bottom of each post.
Love the Blog? Spread the Blove! By Caitlin Hawke
Building on the prior post about the loss of Mom & Pop and the vagaries of vacancies, this post is about one specific closure. Covered by the West Side Rag last month, the shuttering of Joon's Westside Fish Market was felt like a body blow around here. Joon's stood on the southwest corner of W. 98th Street and Amsterdam Avenue until November 6th. But it had been in lease turmoil for months, with no certainty of retaining its space (and indeed a kosher Japanese restaurant is moving right in).
The WSR story caught the eye of filmmaker Christopher Ming Ryan. Chris co-owns Wheelhouse Communications. In his spare time he makes films for himself. This closing, he thought, should be documented. And so, for Joon's farewell, Chris grabbed his equipment and headed over. The result is a gem of a short film "Disappearing NYC: Joon's Last Day" that I first saw in the Rag (again, thanks Avi). It exposes a sad story about less than level dealing, but it also holds the mirror up for each of us to look into since we -- with our new-fangled habits -- probably precipitated the loss. I reached out to Chris, and he agreed to be interviewed. It turns out that Chris is a born and bred Bloomingdaler. Though he moved away as a grown-up, his parents continued to live on Broadway around W. 98th Street, and this kept him connected to his childhood streets. He gave me permission to repost his film below and kindly agreed to answer some questions (for the interview, keep scrolling down). His four-minute documentary is a parable for our changing times. And more than anything it captures the personal toll that a closure can exact on faithful, hardworking employees.
[Remember: If you are reading this as an email subscriber, you'll need to click on the blog post title above or click here to see the videos below. It's worth your click!]
There's a lot more to say about this and a lot more we're going to have to do together as neighbors and voters to ensure we're living in a community that values neighborhood and is a fair dealer when it comes to small business. We've done it before thanks in part to efforts of Block Association members. For inspiration on this front, I caught up with Chris. Q&A with Christopher Ming Ryan Caitlin Hawke: Chris, you made a beautiful short film documenting the closing of Joon's, the Mom & Pop fish store at W. 98th Street on Amsterdam Avenue. Did you have any personal connection to that store? Christopher Ming Ryan: Thank you for the remarks. No personal connection. I grew up on W. 98th and Broadway so this particular part of the Upper West Side is home to me. Caitlin: I understand your film about the last day at Joon is part of a bigger project. Can you say more? Chris: I can't get into the details of the proect too much because we are just beginning. I have spent some time in Greenwich Village documenting the scene on Bleecker Street. Generally, if I hear of a Mom & Pop that is being forced to close, I'll go down and investigate with camera in hand. I've been a producer/director of marketing and communications videos since the mid-90's. About six years ago, my company Wheelhouse Communications invested in film equipment, and I hated to see the cameras and lights in my storage closet sitting there idle when I didn't have paying jobs. I started making short films with collaborators that I hired in professional jobs, and I began editing the films because I didn't want to pay anyone to do it. I keep returning to the theme of celebrating "old school" ways of doing things. You can see some of my past work here. Caitlin: I noticed your film's title "Disappearing NYC." Do you have any connection to the great Jeremiah Moss, aka Griffin Hansbury, author of the blog and book Vanishing New York? Chris: I have corresponded with Jeremiah Moss, and I'm well aware of his work. I just finished his book, Vanishing New York, which is terrific and puts hyper-gentrification into a context. His advocacy is so important and he has motivated lots of people like me to gather, protest, and do outreach about the issue of saving Mom & Pop stores. In 2015, when Moss was getting a lot of press for the #SaveNYC campaign, I first reached out to him and created this PSA for the Small Business Survival Act. The last image should have probably been Katz's Deli but, hey, I'm an Upper West Sider! I'd love to collaborate with him. Caitlin: In a poignant way, your film makes a compelling case to shop locally. The store manager Polo's loss of his job at Joon is deeply felt by the viewer. And we are connected immediately to the people who give life to small businesses. What do you think shopping locally in this neighborhood (or others in the city) will look like in 5 years? In 10 years? Chris: I don't want to speculate. As Jeremiah Moss says, people created this problem -- people can fix it. Thinking that this is just evolution or the ways of capitalism is the wrong way to think. Advocacy can do a lot. We should celebrate small victories like the new rollback of the Commercial Rent Tax. Small incremental changes like restoring the original look of the Hotel Belleclaire on Broadway and West 77th Street on the surface looks like a grain of sand when it comes to change. But, more grains will turn into piles, and soon we'll have a castle. Caitlin: We've had cyclical outcries to protect small business owners by instituting policy changes. But I am unclear about whether there's any progress except the recent rollback of the Commercial Rent Tax. What is your understanding of the issues and what could be done to reverse the tide such as move toward commercial rent control, vacancy taxes, etc.? I know Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer is a big proponent of small retailers and trying to protect them. Chris: I recently attended a town hall with President Brewer, State Senator Brad Hoylman, Jeremiah Moss and Tim Wu. There were not a lot of answers. There was a lot of looking at the ceiling, shaking of heads, and blaming the whole thing on Albany and the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY). Borough President Brewer has her heart in the right place, but it seems to me she has been resting on the laurels of her work in the City Council when she introduced and succeeded in putting in zoning laws on the UWS. The Small Business Survival Act which she helped write up as a Council staffer has been languishing for over 30 years. I don't know if it's ever been put up for a vote. I found this article in Our Town that shows that MBP Brewer wants to focus on smaller steps. I'd like any steps at this point. Caitlin: I understand you grew up in the neighborhood and that your parents lived here until they passed away. What was life like here during your childhood and how did it change over time and for your folks who remained here? Do you recognize the old streets? Chris: I grew up on W. 98th Street in the 1960's and 70's. Our neighbors were artists, musicians, social workers, and teachers, and I don't remember one lawyer, doctor or Wall Streeter. We spent a lot of time in Riverside Park, the public library on W. 100th Street between Amsterdam and Columbus, and in movie theaters (matinees were 75¢). But let's not kid ourselves. There wasn't a lot of diversity. In our building, the only person of color was my mother who was Chinese. Everyone was Caucasian. I'm sure the landlord forbid people of color to rent in the building. The big change happened in the mid 80's when they tore down the Riviera and the Rivoli at 96th and Broadway and put up the Columbia apartment building. Caitlin: Do you have a lot of ghosts when you look at new storefronts but see old "friends"? Chris: No ghosts really. I miss the cobble stones on West End Avenue. I miss old people who were all dressed up on the Broadway malls. I miss the movie theaters. The neighborhood has kept its character, but its soul is gone mainly because it's not a place for the middle class anymore. One thing I get a huge amount of nachas from is that my kids love the taste of Sal's pizza. Caitlin: What were your favorite shops growing up? Chris: Well, speaking of Sal's....Every Friday night we would have Sal's. Saturday night we would go to various haunts: Hanratty's (Honey-dipped fried chicken, Carol King on the Jukebox and Mucha posters on the wall), Eastern Garden (those green steps transported you to a timeless place), Harbin Inn (great spareribs), Willouby's (which was this old bar my Dad liked that Dock's took it over and now there is pricey vegetarian place). We often went to The Library for the comfort food and the warm pumpernickel bread on the table. Sometimes we ventured to 79th street to Tony's Italian Kitchen. Growing up, I loved Berman Twins where in the basement they sold model kits of planes and rockets. We shopped at Morris Brothers on W. 98th to get our Mighty Mac coats in winter and our names sewn into our undershirts and underwear for camp in summer. I miss the Chinese laundry on the corner of W. 99th and Broadway that would wrap your items in brown paper and string. They would ring you up on an abacus. Cake Masters was a daily addiction for my mom. I miss the simple Saturday night entertainment which for me at 10 p.m. was getting the Sunday Times on W. 96th street and devouring the Arts & Leisure section. You start with the counting of Hirschfeld's "Ninas" and then study the movie ads, then the articles. Caitlin: Yes. Wow, I think your reminiscences are going to touch a lot of people. Did you ever go to the Metro theater? I find that old landmark to be a painful example of a changing streetscape, as it sits empty, right in the shadow of Ariel West and Ariel East whose newer storefronts are also often empty. Overall those towers left gaping holes in Bloomingdale's Broadway commerce over the last decade. Chris: The Metro had many incarnations. I remember seeing The Towering Inferno there in the '70s. Then, they chopped the place up into a few screens and later on they returned it to its original glory and played art films. In the '80's, I saw The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover there with my girlfriend (our second movie together) who became my wife. Caitlin: Thank you for looking back with me. It's always a pleasure to meet a neighbor of longstanding. Let's end by looking forward. What is your New Year's wish for New York City? Chris: Shop less on Amazon. Shop more on Broadway. We Got the Supply. Where's the Demand?
Remember: December is "Spread the Blove" month. If you enjoy these blog posts, won't you share this with a nearby friend, family member or neighbor? It's a great way to stay in touch between newsletters of the W. 102nd & 103rd Streets Block Association. So tip off a neighbor who can then receive local news directly to his or her email by just filling in an email address at the bottom of each post.
Love the Blog? Spread the Blove! By Caitlin Hawke Anyone who has lived here for, say, over 10 years knows of the sea change at the retail level on Broadway. Gone are the fabulous mini-neighborhoods of the Upper West Side. I have recollections of typical Saturdays running around doing my local errands, dropping snow boots off to be waterproofed, buying a fillet of salmon at a fish monger like Joon's, or a lamb shank at Oppenheimer Meats, stopping in at the greengrocer on the east side of Broadway for veggies and then across the street at the Korean deli for a bunch of flowers before heading home to prepare dinner for friends. Or a winter Sunday afternoon spent at the Metro or Olympia cinemas. Or a lazy morning at a local coffee house like Au Petit Beurre, contentedly watching Broadway walk by while other patrons idled around playing backgammon. Those were the days of lower commercial rents, to be sure. (They were also the days before etailers and mega-chains.) And each 10 blocks or so had a micro-economy, the backbone of which was a squaredealing Ma and Pa, business owners who knew their clientele and ran their own show. We are quite fortunate in that there are still quite a few Mom & Pops left between W. 96th and 106th Streets on Broadway (see my P.S. below). Some are merchants of longstanding, anchoring their corners. Others are more recent arrivals. We need them all. But each time we lose one, it hurts. I'll write more on this in the next post. So, have you, like me, been walking up and down Broadway and other of our avenues wondering both how do those small businesses that still exist hang on, and where have all the erstwhile Moms and Pops gone to work now? The vacancies are so bad that the New York Times ran a November 19th editorial about why New York's -- and particularly the Upper West Side's -- storefronts lie dormant.
It ain't pretty.
Is there some baked-in incentive in commercial real estate to keep stores empty and subvert basic supply-and-demand tenets? What happened to rents that fell until a tenant was found? Has it been replaced by "hedge fund urbanism" a speculative way to keep rents high? What is going on here? But it's not just the empties. Further changing our streetscape, national chains have doubled since the last survey ten years ago; these chains now occupy 40% (up from 17% in 2007) of the storefrontage along the UWS stretch of Broadway. As rents rise, the presence of national and local chains will continue to be strong -- who else can afford unregulated and artificially-inflated commercial rents? (Yes, supply-and-demand subverters, I am looking at you.) Methinks there is a connection. Relief might be in reach. Starting in July 2018, the threshold that triggers the Commercial Rent Tax (CRT) in Manhattan will double thanks to a brand new City Council reform. So any business whose annual rent is below $500,000 will not have to pay CRT. This is definitely a step in the right direction with some 2000 businesses poised to benefit from this tax relief. But without even more protections, we might as well all help Ma and Pa pack. Seriously, $500,000 is the rent threshold for the CRT. Think about what a small business would have to gross just to cover half that overhead: it's 3500 fresh juices at $6 a pop every 30 days. Or the monthly sale of 1000 lbs. of salmon fillets. Just. To. Pay. Rent. I'm not saying every cobbler, juicery or fishmonger pays a quarter mil in rent each year, but many small businesses do. So we ought not be surprised when they go *poof!* when a massive rent increase hits them. And, more importantly, we need to do our part to support them while they are still here both with our wallets and our voices. There are a lot of bloggers chronicling disappearances, especially this one, the gold standard, by the indomitable Jeremiah Moss. I also appreciate that Mom & Pop news outlets like the West Side Rag keep us abreast. Its founder and editor, Avi, has been bringing attention to commercial rent issues when he gets the chance, and the Rag's column "Openings & Closings" often cites rent hikes as the culprit that precipitates the death of a shuttering business. The tumbleweed storefront often follows in swift succession. P.S. This is a big topic. So my next post will have more on the theme of the loss of Mom & Pops, with a hat tip to Avi over at the Rag whose coverage led me to my next topic. Also, for a future post, I am thinking celebrating the Mom & Pops on Broadway and Amsterdam from 96th to 106th and on our side streets from West End to Amsterdam. Have a particular favorite? Send me an email and tell me why you're a fan: blog@w102-103blockassociation.org. Better yet, send me a photo of the shop's facade. Mom & Pop's should be small owner-run, independent one-offs, i.e. not chains or franchises and no corporate backing. The Bloomingdale School of Music is Just One Go-To Source for Nearby Concerts by Caitlin Hawke Yes, it's a neighborhood institution especially if you are looking for lessons, but did you know that the Bloomingdale School of Music also has a nonstop series of concerts, most of which are free, that are just waiting for you? The concert schedule is here and some of BSM's November offerings are below. In fact, there are lots of musical options nearby. Columbia's Miller Theatre has free pop-up concerts such as one on November 21st by Regional de NY, a Brazilian choro band. St. Michael's Episcopal Church at 225 W. 99th Street offers choral, organ and piano concerts as well as the occasional opera (not to mention an interesting film series). There's a concert on November 26th, but it isn't free! And don't forget Vita and Ishmael Wallace's Orfeo Duo! Their local concerts are here. And finally, keep an eye out for Julia Spring's "Meet Your Talented Neighbors" column in the Block Association newsletter. Often, it features other musicians and their upcoming gigs, though not necessarily right nearby. Obviously, there's much more if you dig. I've written about Bloomingdale's musical roots before...they run deep. Enjoy! Selections from the Bloomingdale School of Music Friday, November 3rd 7pm - 8pm Virtuosic Voice of the Violin: As part of Bloomingdale School of Music's FREE concert series, faculty artist Claudia Schaer presents a concert of virtuosic violin music spanning the years from 1893-2017. Two of the works were commission specifically for Claudia and will have their debut in violin/piano arrangement on this day. Bloomingdale School of Music (323 West 108th Street). Saturday, November 11th 7pm - 8pm Bernstein Brass Bash: As part of Bloomingdale School of Music's FREE concert series, BSM celebrates Leonard Bernstein's 100th anniversary in a concert featuring rarely heard works for brass instruments including a brilliant arrangement of music from West Side Story. Bloomingdale School of Music (323 West 108th Street). Friday, November 17th 7pm - 8pm Roots and Branches: Jazz Explorations on World Music Traditions: As part of Bloomingdale School of Music's FREE concert series, voice faculty member Jocelyn Medina and a quartet present a diverse program of music from India, Africa, and Brazil incorporated into her original jazz-based compositions. Bloomingdale School of Music (323 West 108th Street). Saturday, November 18th 3:00pm - 5:00pm Jazz Discovery Day Open Workshop: Learn to play jazz in a free, no-pressure group setting. All instruments, ages and abilities welcome! No prior experience or knowledge required. Performances by BSM faculty members, reception to follow. RSVP to llopez@bsmny.org. Bloomingdale School of Music (323 West 108th Street). 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!
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. Neighbors' Work to Be Represented in Borough President Brewer's "Better with Age"
By Caitlin Hawke
I once heard an interviewer ask painter Françoise Gilot (who is well into her 90s now) would she still paint as she ages. Affronted by the question, Madame Gilot responded something akin to: "That's like asking me if I will still breathe. I have been an artist all my life. Why would I stop now?" I paraphrase but you get the idea. Stupid question. Great answer. Now comes an enlightened show from the Manhattan Borough President's Office entitled "Better with Age" featuring artwork from the city's older artists. And I am chuffed that two "hometown" artists have made the cut. Below find Emily Berleth's painting and Bob Lejeune's photograph, both of which will be presented in the show. It runs from October 11 to November 1, 2017 at the Maggi Peyton Gallery in the Municipal Building downtown at 1 Centre Street, 19th Floor South. An added neighborhood connection, in case you think 1 Centre Street isn't on my beat: Maggi Peyton died last year and was a Bloomingdaler. From a tribute written about her by Harold Holzer, I am certain blog readers will know her well and understand the rationale behind naming the Municipal Building's gallery in her honor:
For more information about the show, contact the Manhattan Borough President's Office. And keep your eyes on this space for news about Bloomingdale Aging in Place's "clothesline show" at the local hostel. It will feature works depicting the neighborhood done by members of the four BAiP art groups.
Age+Art. It ain't just gluing together popsicle sticks, folks. Wednesday, October 4, 2017, at 6:30 p.m.
By Caitlin Hawke
You've stumbled on wet-behind-the-ears and heavily-back-packed Europeans wandering out of the W. 103rd Street station trying to figure out whether to go left or right down the side street, desperately in search of "the hostel." I quickly approach them and say with big eyes and nodding head: "Youth Hostel? Is that what you are looking for?" Often they are relieved, sometimes shocked that a New Yorker has broken the fourth wall. But I remember my days of hostelling, juggling backpack, map, and new-city angst. But how many of us have actually wandered the halls of this landmarked building, currently inhabited by Hostelling International? How many know the story of its preservation after a spectacular fire gutted it in the mid-1970s? And who knows its place in neighborhood history?
In the latest issue of the Block Association newsletter, I wrote about the building and its current community-minded owner, HI NYC -- a neighbor that with luck we'll all get to know better and better over time.
The Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group is going to jump-start us on that with its October 4th panel. All the info is below and more in the newsletter article above. So, on Wednesday, come on out and say hello to the folks at HI NYC. And keep marking your calendars because BAiP's art groups will be having a clothesline show of their work depicting the neighborhood on October 14th from 2-4 p.m. I'll post the flyer for that shortly! Saturday, September 23, 10 am - 5 pm
By Caitlin Hawke
Come one, come all. Art. Music. Flowers. Audrey. What else does one need in a local event in our very own, beautifully-maintained pocket park? Well maybe the old Schuyler Square (yes as in those Schuyler sisters father) isn't technically a pocket park, but you know what I mean. Note the rain date. And don't forget to mark your calendar for the W. 104th Street Block Association Street Fair coming up on Saturday, October 14th! This Website is Your Go-To Source for Back Issues, Too! By Caitlin Hawke The Fall 2017 issue of the Block Association's newsletter is now "live" online. You can get to the table of contents by way of this link and click through to articles of interest. It takes a small but powerful army to accomplish this quarterly endeavor. The writers mostly have bylines and may be known to you. But too invisible is the field marshal, Hedy Campbell. It wouldn't exist without her. She is the editor with Jacob Gross co-piloting as associate editor, and, trust me, they toil. Brad Spear does the considerable lift on graphic design. He, too, toils. The three of them deserve an ovation. Incredibly there must be 25 others who contribute to each issue, either as regular columnists or feature writers. If you like what you read, savor it as a very special, all-volunteer produced, labor of love for this community. An in admiration, don't forget to re-up your Block Association membership! As you've read in past blog posts, this newsletter has been going strong since 1971. The inaugural issue and pieces from many issues since are highlighted in a regular blog feature called "One from the Vault" which you can get to by clicking that link under "Categories" at right (if you are reading this post online) or by clicking here if you receive blog posts directly to your email. By the way, I have a big backlog to do on the blog, I realize. But do know that more treasures from the vault, more Throwback Thursdays: Bloomingdale Edition, and more It's Elemental features are all coming. But by trickle not by flood. But back to the Fall 2017 newsletter. I wanted to draw your attention to a piece on BAiP's "Blooming Hour" written by Bob Neuman, which was erroneously credited to me in the print version and corrected here. It is Bob's writing and voice, not at all mine, despite that the Blooming Hour is near and dear to my heart as a key social gathering we run in the activities sector of Bloomingdale Aging in Place. The whole newsletter is worth your giving it a once over. For example, I'd also point you to the piece on Hosteling International NYC because together with the Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group, they have a great program coming up on October 4th at 6:30 p.m. on the history of the landmarked building at 891 Amsterdam Avenue and on the hostel itself. I'll try to post a reminder nearer the date. Check out the current issue because there's much more on Fall Tree Well Clean Up Day (Oct. 14), National Night Out, business news, calls for your participation and art endeavors by talented neighbors. If you are in the catchment of the Block Association, you should have received your print copy this past week, hot off the press. Happy reading! Attend the Cinematic Upper West Side Cityscape of Woody Allen on Thursday, 9/14
By Caitlin Hawke
Dear Readers, here's a special offer just for you. This Thursday, September 14th, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Landmark West! is presenting "The Cinematic Cityscape of Woody Allen" in its Wild Wild West on Film Series at the screening room at Macaulay Honors College, 35 W. 67th Street. Two for one tickets means if you buy one $20 ticket your guest goes for free. There's more information about this event below. But follow these instructions carefully to claim your offer:
If you have any trouble or questions, contact Andra Moss at Landmarks West! My suggestion to you is to grab another woman, an irrational man (or whatever works) and take the money and run because the sweet and lowdown on this event is that it's a September sleeper about Manhattan interiors and exteriors that husbands and wives and small time crooks alike will enjoy. However some of us are over Woody. But that's a whole other New York story. Enjoy.
|
Categories
All
Archives
October 2022
|