Saluting West Side Stars
Each year, West Side Spirit, the largest community newspaper on the West Side of Manhattan, pauses to salute dozens of New Yorkers whose accomplishments deserve to be highlighted.
We call our civic awards the Westys, which stands for West Side Spirit Thanks You.
The requirements to be considered for a Westy are simple. The awards go to New Yorkers who live or work in the area and whose accomplishments help improve the neighborhood. Read more
A Career in Public Service
As the end of her public advocate term nears, a look back at Gotbaum’s accomplishments
By Sarah Seltzer
A lifelong New Yorker, Betsy Gotbaum said she had no intention of going into politics or public service. She learned Spanish and Portuguese, lived in Brazil and became a teacher.
Decades later, she can take credit for a wide-ranging and impressive list of accomplishments, including being one of just a handful of women who have held citywide office—in Gotbaums’ case, public advocate.
An early job, for instance, was serving as deputy director of the precinct receptionist program for the New York City Police Department. There, she implemented a program that staffed local police precincts with people, mostly women, who had been on public assistance. The goal was to provide employment to those who needed it and make the precinct headquarters more friendly and welcoming. This kind of innovation mixed with a genuine desire to help others marks Gotbaum’s time as a public servant. Read more
The Upper West Side’s Cagney
Constant contact keeps O’Reilly on top of neighborhood issues
By Dan Rivoli
When Kathleen O’Reilly graduated from the Police Academy in 1991, she started out in the tough Northern Manhattan precincts. She remembers helping families identify their loved ones with DNA after the Sept. 11 attacks.
But during the last three years, she has been in the 24th precinct, which covers the West Side from West 86th to 110th streets, an eclectic, vibrant neighborhood.
“The Upper West Side is a wonderful place to work,” said O’Reilly, who is deputy inspector. “In a policing sense, it incorporates all three aspects: transit, housing developments and a large business community.” Read more
An Ear to the Ground
Officer fields quality of life complaints in his old neighborhood
By Dan Rivoli
When Clark Tiger graduated from the police academy in 1991, his class was the second to take part in a new policy that assigned new officers directly to a precinct instead of a borough.
Growing up on the West Side, he was fortunate to be placed in the 20th precinct, which covers West 59th Street to 86th streets.
“I knew the neighborhood very well, and was very excited to be working here,” Tiger said.
Tiger, 42, has spent his entire 18 years on the police force in the 20th precinct, building important connections with neighborhood organizations. When he became a community affairs officer in 2001, these relationships became valuable in handling the precinct’s many demonstrations, street fairs and block parties. Read more
Welcome Home
Jackson gives hope and housing to generations
By Linnea Covington
Colleen Jackson has dedicated 30 years of her career to human services, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. For almost 20 of those years, she has worked with the West End Intergenerational Residence, where she is now the executive director.
The nonprofit, located on West End Avenue near West 83rd Street, provides housing, education and support for homeless families and senior citizens. Its 12-story building houses both populations together, an arrangement, Jackson said, that benefits both.
“For many of the elderly, the connection with younger people means a lot,” she said. “Some have lost or didn’t have families, and the young families become surrogates to them.” Read more
Shared Worldview
Karpen and Matalon strive for harmony
By Isha Dandavate
When the ceiling of the B’Nai Jeshurun collapsed in 1991, the Jewish congregation was left without a place of worship—until the congregation of the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew offered to share their space.
“They worship on Friday night and Saturday and we worship on Sunday, so we thought that might work out well,” said Reverend Dr. James F. Karpen, the church’s pastor.
Since then, the leaders of the two congregations, Karpen (known to most as “K”) and Rabbi J. Rolando Matalon (known as “Roly”) have worked together not only to share the space but also to share their beliefs and traditions. Read more
A Voice for His Neighbors
During Park West Village project, Bunten’s been community’s advocate
By Aline Reynolds
Paul S. Bunten has been a devoted Upper West Side advocate since his Columbia graduate student days, back in the 1980s.
“There is no substitute for complete understanding,” he said, “and a neighborhood can only be profoundly understood when the citizens who have created it over many decades of daily life are personally consulted.”
Bunten, 56, lives in Park West Village, a group of buildings encompassed by West 97th to 100th streets between Central Park West and Amsterdam Avenue.
“Park West Village is an exceptional neighborhood with a distinct legacy of community activism unlike anything I have ever known,” he said. Read more
Activism at Every Age
From teaching to organizing, Lewton’s done it all
By Lydie Raschka
Batya Lewton has a loose definition of the word “retirement.”
Instead of taking time to enjoy life and relax, she became a full-time community activist. But that is hardly surprising, given her history.
In 1986, a negligent landlord didn’t stop her from enjoying her home: she was dubbed “Landlord Buster of the Year” by building residents after she led a successful 20-month rent strike against him.
Even the latest technology doesn’t daunt this independent 78-year-old, as she hunts for a photo to send to a reporter. Read more
Keeping Up the Avenue
United to preserve West End architecture and history
By Patty Lee
Richard Emery and Erika Petersen, co-founders of the West End Preservation Society, are not just looking to protect the historic townhouses of West End Avenue, but an entire way of life.
“There are a lot of families, and it’s great in the afternoon when they’re out,” Petersen said. “The feel of community is consistent up and down the avenue, which is why we want it to stay this way.”
Emery and Petersen have both been residents of the Upper West Side for more than 30 years. Emery, a partner at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady LLP, grew up in the Village and moved uptown to attend Columbia Law School. Petersen came to New York City as an aspiring actress in the 1970s and found a rent-controlled apartment on the Upper West Side. Read more
At the Center of It All
Author, history buff and curator showcases iconic cultural institute
By Deirdre Donovan
Thomas Mellins wouldn’t have identified himself as a budding curator growing up on Long Island, but he does remember going to museums and feeling very comfortable in gallery settings. A former curator of special exhibitions at the Museum of the City of New York, Mellins is now an independent curator with an impressive record of work at Yale University, the National Building Museum and the South Street Seaport Museum. But his most rewarding project may be his current endeavor, “Lincoln Center: Celebrating 50 Years,” opening Oct. 15 at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center. With approximately 400 historical objects representing the 12 resident organizations at the West Side campus, Mellins said that the project posed unique challenges because of its breadth and scope. Read more
