PEDS NEED BETTER ADVOCATE
To the Editor:
Regarding the letter from Peter Goldwasser of Transportation Alternatives to Bette Dewing (“Efforts for Pedestrians,” Nov. 6)—first, I would like to applaud Bette Dewing for her years of hard work as an activist on issues such as noise, bikes and the community. Second, if Transportation Alternatives is the “strongest advocate for pedestrians,” why is it that nothing has been done to protect men, women and children from the bikers who ride against the traffic, through red lights and on the sidewalk? Several weeks ago as I was stepping out of my building, a man in a business suit, who should know better, was riding on the sidewalk in front of me. I have had so many heart-stopping experiences it is a wonder I am still standing.
Bunny Abraham
Central Park West
Letters have been edited for clarity, style and brevity.
CAN I GET ANYTHING I WANT AT MICHAEL’S RESTAURANT?
$35 COBB SALAD COMES WITH MOVERS, SHAKERS AND OTHER CELEB-TYPES
By Susan Braudy
“‘Happy birthday to you’ keeps buzzing through my brain,” says my friend Rick Angres, who is visiting with his wife Kate from sunny Santa Monica. He wears a lush turtleneck under his jacket to protect him against harsh winds.
He and I are walking to Michael’s restaurant for his birthday lunch. Read more
RECIPE FOR A THANKFUL HOLIDAY
WHAT TO SAY OVER THE PLATE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN WHAT'S ON TOP OF IT
By Bette Dewing
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable unto thee, our strength and our redeemer.” Now, don’t tune out—even non-believers’ holiday and other shared meals could be more nourishing if this pre-sermon prayer from former Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church pastor Dr. David Read is adapted for the “first course.” Change “my mouth” to “our mouths,” and while non-believers will eschew “thee,” believers will welcome any reverent term in an ever more irreverent culture. Of course, Read more
THE POOR PERSON’S COURT
BEN KRULL WATCHED WALL STREET'S MELTDOWN—AND GETS A FRONT-ROW SEAT TO A DIFFERENT KIND OF CRISIS
By Ben Krull
From the perspective of my office in Manhattan Family Court, the economic crisis panicking much of the city is a disaster unfolding on television, much like the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. For most of the court’s litigants, the worst that can happen already has happened, giving my workplace the mood of business as usual. Read more
P.S. 199/CENTER SCHOOL DEBATE CONTINUES
To the Editor:
I attended a recent Community Education Council meeting, and I was appalled that the PA president’s council was in favor of moving The Center School and equally appalled that the CEC thinks this is a good idea. It might be better to move The Anderson School out of District 3 to a less populated district, use the space at P.S. 9 for a new elementary school and do the same at the space that was going to be occupied by the Anderson School. There would be new space all around for our younger children. Probably about 600 seats. No middle-schooler has to be disrupted; but yes, those who would like to attend P.S. 199 but couldn’t would have to walk or bus a few blocks, but that’s not so bad. I did it with my kids for years at P.S. 87. The Department of Education should give more thought to this, because regardless of what the CEC has said, I saw no evidence that they gave much thought to this other than to find a quick solution to a one-school problem. What about the rest of the district? If you’re looking to solve a problem that is district-wide, solve it on a district-wide basis. What is 199 going to do two years from now? Those who are most vocal and to whom the CEC seems to be listening will be higher in grades, and approaching middle school, leaving what will then be a much larger problem to incoming parents to solve.
Jerry Butler
Center School Parent
Letters have been edited for clarity, style and brevity.
To the Editor:
Oft overlooked and central to the Community Education Council draft resolution is that most families in the P.S. 199 catchment choose to send their children to P.S. 199, an elementary school offering only a general education program. Might I offer that up as a feather in the cap of public education? Too many families, not enough room. See the problem?
The idea to use space at P.S. 9 as a new elementary school was proposed and considered. Is anyone at all curious as to the Department of Education manpower and resources needed to implement this idea? In these economic times? Seriously?
Further, even if P.S. 199 families were given every seat available in this overflow idea, it would still not accommodate every kindergartener in our catchment for next year. Sending the excess 199 kindergarteners to P.S. 191 and P.S. 87 could hamper or eliminate their choice programs.
Center School is a district-wide middle school. Their passionate argument against relocation infers their program’s collapse. Have faith, wonderful and vital Center School. “Yes You Can” survive a move!
The very best we can do is advocate equitable and age-appropriate choices for our children. And to continue to offer those same choices to the children who come after our children.
The only issue is space. The only solution lies in absolute district-wide fairness.
Becky Neustadt
P.S. 199 and M.S. 54 parent
Letters have been edited for clarity, style and brevity.
To the Editor:
As with most parents, I would go to the ends of the earth to do what is best for my child. If that included putting him on a bus or taking him on a subway every morning to school, I would do it. But I will not do that when there is one of the best elementary schools in the city one block away—where my neighbors can watch over my child, where I have neighbors who can pick up my child if I cannot (I am a single parent.)
Many of us made sacrifices to move to this area or to stay in this area—myself and several parents (both potential and current) I know are in studios and one-bedroom apartments with one or more children so that we can stay here and send our kids to this school and, more importantly, to stay where we have created a wonderful community.
Two things could change our community: 1) Not allowing any new children into P.S. 199 for at least the next three years, which is what would happen if we don’t gain The Center School space, and 2) if the parents and connected parties to the Center School continue their vitriolic attacks on anyone who disagrees with them.
If this is the legacy The Center School wants to leave, then so be it; but I would hope as an educational institution and as our neighbors they can move beyond that, and we can begin to repair the harm done. We have been called racist and elitist. That is not the community I know and not the one I am fighting for. The community I know includes musicians and teachers and those working hard in the private and public sector as advocates for any number of social causes. And yes, we have a large number of wealthy individuals as well. AND so does Center School. This is not a bad thing to have at a public school—it means our teachers can teach and take home their hard-earned paycheck and not have to pay for crayons and paper towels in their classrooms.
Why doesn’t Center School want a bigger space with more rooms and more resources, where their children don’t have to learn in hallways? I still haven’t heard a compelling argument.
Karen Dinitz
Prospective P.S. 199 Parent
Letters have been edited for clarity, style and brevity.
PLEASURES OF THE TABLE
DOES THE ABILITY TO TASTE FADE AS YOU GROW OLDER?
By Fred Cicetti
Q. I have a bet with a friend that you start losing your sense of taste as you get older. She says that her taste is as strong as ever and thinks I’m wrong. Who wins the bet?
A. In general, sensitivity to taste gradually decreases with age. But there are some whose taste isn’t affected by getting older. Who wins the bet? I won’t touch that one.
The ability to taste food and beverages means a lot to seniors. Let’s face it; Read more
SPEEDY SISTERS TEAR UP THE TRACK
DANA AND ALICE WALSH ARE PART RIVALS AND PART CHEERLEADERS, AND BOTH ARE RELENTLESS RUNNERS
By Adam Bloch
One day in the summer of 2000, Peter Walsh decided to take up marathon running. And being a fatherly sort, he allowed his two young daughters, Dana and Alice, to tag along on a training run.
“He thought we were falling behind and kept stopping, but three miles into it we were still right with him,” Dana recalled one day last week.
Peter Walsh eventually completed the New York City Marathon, Read more
ROIPHE ON ROIPHE: ONE WIDOW TELLS HER TALE
IN ‘EPILOGUE,’ A LONGTIME WEST SIDER RECOUNTS WHAT IT’S LIKE TO OUTLAST A LOVING MARRIAGE
By Christopher Moore
Anne Roiphe says she’s not a particularly private person.
It’s a fitting analysis from someone who started mining her personal life for stories at age 28. She’s written 17 books, netting a significant reputation over the years for her memoirs, essays, novels and newspaper columns. Now the longtime West Sider has a new book, Epilogue (HarperCollins, $25.95), a powerful memoir about how her life changed in the aftermath of the death of her husband, Dr. Herman Roiphe, a famed psychoanalyst.
In Epilogue, Roiphe takes readers through the little Read more
AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW OF PET CARE
THOUGH CRITICS SAYS ANECDOTAL RESULTS DON'T 'WITHSTAND SCRUTINY'
By Jane Warshaw
Who do you call when Fido or Fluffy just isn’t making it, and your usual vet has done all he can?
Many owners try alternative therapies for their pets, which can range from aromatherapies, like Feliway Diffusers to reduce anxiety and behavioral problems, to Rescue Remedy, a flower essence used to relieve stress. Read more
JAILBAIT
BAZ LUHRMANN SHOULD BE LOCKED UP FOR THIS HOT MESS OF AN EPIC
By Armond White
Baz Luhrmann’s Australia isn’t a history of the penal colony turned commonwealth, but Luhrmann’s absurd, cliché-ridden filmmaking ought to be a jailable offense. In this three-hour chick-flick melodrama, Nicole Kidman (as Lady Sarah Ashley) goes down under where her philandering landowner husband was killed; she takes over the Faraway Downs ranch and hires the Drover (Hugh Jackman) to drive her cattle to market and Read more
