2010 Predictions
Compiled by Charlotte Eichna and Dan Rivoli
As has become an West Side Spirit tradition at the end of December, we ask various illuminating personalities populating our neighborhoods for New Year’s predictions. There was no shortage of responses, especially when it came to the New York Yankees’ World Series prospects. We hope these forecasts are an enjoyable way to ring in 2010, or at least to way to pass the time while nursing a hangover. Read more
New Year’s Eve Prep
Jeffrey Straus, president of Countdown Entertainment; Andrew Varga, CMO of Papa John’s International; and Times Square Alliance president Tim Tompkins conduct the annual “air-worthiness test” of the confetti used in Times Square’s New Year’s Eve celebration. About 3,000 pounds of confetti will be thrown by hand from various buildings at midnight Jan 1. Photo by Andrew Schwartz 
WEST SIDE AIR POLLUTED
By Dan Rivoli
A city report detailed street-level pollutants in the five boroughs, and the Upper West Side was found to be one of the dirtiest neighborhoods.
Though West Side auto traffic certainly contributes to pollution levels—the neighborhood is packed with traffic from the West Side Highway and Broadway—the survey found that oil-burning furnaces are a big culprit.
A separate study by the Environmental Defense Fund estimates that 1 percent of the city’s buildings that burn the dirtiest grade of oil—known as No. 4 and 6 oil—accounts for 87 percent of the soot pollution. The Upper West Side, as well as lower Manhattan and the East Side, have a high cluster of buildings that burn these dangerous oils, according to the fund.
Throughout the year, the city’s health department collected and analyzed air samples around the city for four pollutants: fine particles, elemental carbon, nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide. The survey states that these pollutants have adverse health effects, and cause lung irritation and other respiratory problems, such as asthma and emphysema. Seniors and children are especially at risk.
“It’s been the case for years that New York City air does not meet [Environmental Protection Agency] clean air standards for air pollutants that are known to be harmful,” said Dr. Thomas Matte, director of environmental research at the city’s health department. “If someone lives in a neighborhood where there’s more exposure to air pollution and they have a health condition that predisposes them, they are more likely to be affected.”
Though there are higher rates of asthma and other respiratory problems in neighborhoods like the South Bronx and Harlem, Matte said other factors need to be considered, such as access to quality health care and exposure to pollutants in the home.
WHOLE FOODS DONATES TO PANTRIES
Organic food mega store Whole Foods will donate proceeds to two food pantries on the Upper West Side.
As part of its Jan. 6, 2010 “Community Giving Day,” 20 Whole Foods locations in the Northeast will give five percent of all sales that day to local charities.
On the Upper West Side, Goddard Riverside will receive proceeds from the Park West Village Whole Foods, at 808 Columbus Ave. and West 97th Street.
The West Side Campaign Against Hunger, housed in the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew on West 86th Street and Broadway, will get proceeds from the Whole Foods at Columbus Circle.
Stewart Desmond, development director at the West Side Campaign Against Hunger, said that more clients are in need of services—a 30-percent increase over the last two years.
“That’s a real struggle for us, to support the food and counseling services,” Desmond said. “The money from Whole Foods will help us continue our open-door policy. No matter how high the numbers get, we don’t turn people away.”
The project was also organized by World Hunger Year, a non-profit dedicated to hunger and poverty. World Hunger Year will also be receiving a portion of Whole Foods’ proceeds from Jan. 6 sales.
Last year, Whole Foods’ locations in the city raised $50,000 during its five-percent day.
An error appeared in this story. Stewart Desmond is the development director at the West Side Campaign Against Hunger.
LINCOLN CENTER CULTURE SPOT
By Dan Rivoli
NYC & Company, the city’s official marketing and tourism organization, named Lincoln Center for Performing Arts January’s culture spot.
Lincoln Center will offer $5 off the adult price for guided tours of the complex throughout the month. Tickets are available at official NYC Information centers and kiosks in Midtown, Harlem, Chinatown and City Hall.
One Apartment, 60 Lbs. of Pork
Annual feast brings new meaning to phrase ‘pigging out’
The sun has already set, but the overwhelming scent of bacon continues to waft down the hallways of the fifth floor of 220 W. 98th St., just east of Broadway. It can only mean one thing: Pork Fest! is back.
This celebration of all things porcine and edible is courtesy of Josie Proulx, 39, whose annual bacon-and-then-some bacchanalia has drawn an international coterie of well-wishers and empty stomachs (including this reporter, a neighbor) for the past eight years. As Proulx is fond of saying, “Pork Fest! is all pork, all night long.” Read more
The Skinny on Fat Chick
Columnist Lorraine Duffy Merkl’s debut novel gets real about dieting
By Smriti Rao
Peer into any chick-lit lover’s bookshelf and you might spot the obligatory Bridget Jones’ Diary, The Devil Wears Prada and the terrifyingly titled Skinny Bitch. Page after soppy page details the travails of heroines who stumble and bumble through their diets, makeovers and professional lives—only to emerge skinny, chic, successful and finally with that job at The New Yorker. Read more
Stolen Off the Shelves
Police were contacted Dec. 12 when employees at a Rite Aid noticed some items missing from the shelves. Employees believe that two thieves stole nearly $2,000 in merchandise from the store, at 210 Amsterdam Ave. and West 70th Street, according to cops. Items reported stolen included $1,193 worth of teeth-whitening strips, and several bags of chips, razors and an MP3 player totaling $648.
Apartment Burglarized
An apartment under construction was ransacked Dec. 14 at 2 p.m. Police said that a woman working at a real estate company reported a burglary in the second floor apartment at 163 W. 80th St., between Amsterdam and Columbus avenues. The front door was unlocked, according to cops, and several large items were missing, such as a $600 microwave, an $1,860 washer-dryer, and copper pipe.
Kitchen Assault
A man was arrested for attacking a coworker in the kitchen at John Jay College, at 445 W. 59th St. between Amsterdam and Columbus avenues. On Dec. 8 at 1:30 p.m., Juan Aguirre got into an argument with his coworker, a 44-year-old Brooklyn man. Police say Aguirre, who was charged with assault, waved a knife around and cut the victim’s hand, causing a laceration.
