Up in the Air
February 4, 2010
Pole vaulter Derek Miles, of the United States, makes his approach during the 103rd Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden. Miles was able to clear the bar at a height of 5.60 meters, which earned him second place in the annual track and field event, held Jan. 29. photo by Andrew Schwartz
TOO LONG FOR LIGHT FIX
February 4, 2010
How many phone calls does it take to change a light bulb? Too many, according to Council Member Gale Brewer, who says she may hold oversight hearings to investigate why it took two months to repair a street lamp on West 95th Street, between Columbus and Amsterdam avenues.
According to Brewer, the burnt-out lamp, in front of 123 W. 95th St., was discovered by a constituent and reported to 311 in October. On Nov. 14, with the street lamp still dark, Brewer’s office contacted the Department of Transportation and Con Edison.
“[S]hortly afterward, Con Edison reported that the lamp had current and awaited repairs by the DOT,” wrote Brewer in a Jan. 4 letter to Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and Con Edison CEO Kevin Burke. “We were then told contradictory information that the lamp had a Con Edison stop tag order and the DOT was waiting for it to be removed,” Brewer wrote. “Finally it was discovered that the light had an obstruction that needed to be removed before any work could be done.”
The light was finally repaired Dec. 23, but Brewer hasn’t let Con Edison and the Transportation Department off the hook.
“You shouldn’t have to call a City Council member to get a street lamp fixed,” Brewer said. “The frustrating thing is agencies don’t talk, and it becomes a he-said, she-said situation. The DOT is supposed to talk to Con Ed. There is a dire need for better communication.”
A Transportation Department spokes-man would not comment specifically on the matter, but encouraged citizens to continue to call 311 to report problems.
An official at Con Edison, John Mucci, wrote back to Brewer Jan. 22, explaining that the electric service provider and the Transportation Department have streamlined an electronic process for referring problems between the two organizations. Most repairs, Mucci wrote, are completed within two weeks.
DINING DEAL
February 4, 2010
Throughout February, the Italian eatery Carmine’s, on Broadway and West 91st Street, is celebrating its upcoming 20th anniversary by offering a $20 menu.
On Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays at lunch and dinner, guests may choose from a selection of dishes, each of which costs $20 and can easily feed up to four people, according to the restaurant.
The menu consists mainly of pasta and chicken dishes, including penne à la vodka, rigatoni broccoli, chicken parmigiana and chicken marsala. The restaurant’s private label red and white wines are also available. The offer is available only at Carmine’s Upper West Side location (there is an outpost in the Theater District, as well as in Washington, D.C., Atlantic City, N.J., and the Bahamas).
POL GETS COLLECTORS AWARD
February 4, 2010
Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal may have a modest collection of political memorabilia, but her avid interest earned her the first annual Ed Potter Memorial Award, an honor given to an elected official who actively collects political memorabilia and artifacts.
It is named after Ed Potter, who was a significant collector of such memorabilia. Rosenthal said she has about 300 campaign buttons and old newspaper articles.
“It’s the kind of collecting you can get immersed in,” she said.
Rosenthal’s interest in political memorabilia started as a child. She said she remembers taking walks with her parents to vendors on West 86th Street, where one table featured campaign buttons.
She will receive her award at the 22nd Annual Big Apple Ed Potter Chapter’s APIC-New York City Political Collectors Show, Sunday, Feb. 7, at the Chelsea Jewish Community Center, 236 W. 23rd St. Admission to the event, which runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., is $3; children under 16 get in for free. For more information, call 212-764-6330.
A Chance to Dance
January 28, 2010
Charla Genn, class teacher for Ballet Hispanico, runs dancers through their paces during auditions. The West 89th Street company fuses Latin dance with elements of classical and contemporary forms. Photo by Andrew Schwartz
WAITING FOR PARK CLEAN UP
January 28, 2010
Almost two months after alerting the Parks Department about the grubby state of Verdi Park, at West 73rd Street and Broadway, Council Member Gale Brewer got her wish: an additional worker will be stationed there starting Jan. 26, according to a parks department spokesperson.
Brewer wrote the Parks Department Nov. 19 to request funding for an additional city parks worker to keep the park clean between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m.
“The park is filthy, and the trash is particularly apparent in the morning rush hour when people go to the subway,” Brewer wrote to the department’s borough commissioner, William Castro.
“We get constant complaints about the park, especially when the weather gets warm,” Brewer said. “I’ve been down there in the morning and the trash receptacles are overflowing. People leave their lunch on the benches, their cigarettes, there’s a gum problem. Somebody needs to be attached to [the park], and tell people, ‘Hey, you can’t put your lunch there.’”
Castro responded Dec. 11, pointing out the park was cleaned “at least once most days and twice daily on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.” However, the letter went on, “I agree with you that it would be very helpful to have a worker assigned to start cleaning the park before the morning rush hour.”
Now, Verdi Square may look a bit cleaner.
BREWER MOVES UP IN COUNCIL
January 28, 2010
Council Member Gale Brewer got a bump in status in this year’s Council class.
Brewer now chairs the Council’s Government Operations Committee, perhaps best known for holding two marathon meetings on the term limits extension in 2008. The committee heard 20 hours of testimony on the controversial matter over two days. [Read more]
CITY TO STUDY PCB REMOVAL
January 28, 2010
Two years after toxic PCBs were found in P.S. 199, the city and federal Environmental Protection Agency agreed to address this chemical.
The city will conduct a study to better target and remove PCBs, a man-made, cancer-causing chemical used in construction and electrical products before 1978. The legally-binding agreement was reached after the city possibly violated the Toxic Substances Control Act by using caulk that contains more PCBs than are allowed.
The city will choose five schools—one from each borough—to study, and Rep. Jerrold Nadler wants P.S. 199, at 270 W. 70th St., between West End and Amsterdam avenues, to be included. In May 2008, Nadler and other Upper West Side elected officials urged the EPA to clean the building when School Construction Authority subcontractors removed PCB-containing caulk without following state regulations.
“[P.S. 199] is where the problem of PCB contamination was first discovered and so it is logical for it to be among the schools used in the city’s PCB study,” said Ilan Kayatsky, spokesperson for Nadler. “Upper West Side families certainly deserve the peace of mind knowing that their kids are not being needlessly exposed to dangerous chemicals in their public school.”
State Sen. Tom Duane echoed that statement, saying that removal of PCB-containing caulk will restore the community’s confidence in the safety of P.S. 199. And Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal has been pushing a bill to get the city to study all schools that used PCB-containing caulk between 1950 and 1978.
“Having the five-school pilot project is a positive first step,” Rosenthal said. “But I think ultimately a lot more will have to be done and all the schools will have to be tested.”
Judith Enck, the EPA’s regional coordinator, said in a statement that the study will help the federal agency understand the risk of PCB in caulk.
“We believe that the program outlined in this agreement, along with general EPA guidance on managing the issue, will serve as a model for school systems across the country,” Enck said in a statement.
Hair-raising Circus Visit
January 21, 2010
Misael Gonzalez feels Bello the Clown’s gravity-defying hair at the Big Apple Circus’s “Circus of the Senses.” The special performance is presented without charge to metro area children who have vision and hearing impairments. Young audience members with sight impairments get to handle props, feel costumes and meet performers. For more photos, visit our gallery. Photo by Andrew Schwartz
STREET RENAMING ADVANCES
January 21, 2010
Sometime this summer, West 92nd Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue may be renamed to honor Sidney Morison, the longtime principal of P.S. 84 The Lillian Weber School.
On Jan. 5, Community Board 7 overwhelmingly voted in favor of renaming the street where the school is located, with 26 votes in favor and eight against with one abstention.
In December, Morison’s widow, Jacqueline, proposed the street renaming to the community board to honor his legacy as an education advocate and pioneer of dual-language education.
The nonbinding resolution will now be sent to the City Council to be voted on in a package of street renamings. The approval of Council Member Gale Brewer, whose district contains the block and school, is considered necessary for approval.
