Police released surveillance video of a man they believe tried to sexually assault a woman on the Upper West Side Sunday, Aug. 29.

At approximately 3:40 a.m., police believe the man, in his mid-twenties, followed the victim into a building on Amsterdam Avenue within the 24th Precinct, which stretches from West 86th to West 110th streets. Inside the building, the man supposedly threw the woman to the ground and attempted to sexually assault her. He fled south on Amsterdam Avenue.

Anyone with information about the incident can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS, submit tips online at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com, or text tips to 274637 then enter TIP577.

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Democrats in the race to succeed State Sen. Eric Schneiderman recently won endorsements.

Assembly Member Adriano Espaillat got the backing of his ally, Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Bloomberg, who is unaffiliated with any party after dumping the GOP, cited Espaillat’s independence in Albany.

“Adriano has been an outspoken voice in the fight to reform government, improve our city’s schools, protect our environment and revitalize our small businesses,” Bloomberg said in his statement.

Espaillat, from Washington Heights, said he worked with Bloomberg on revitalizing the city’s waterfronts and pushing for a national immigration reform policy.

“His endorsement is yet another momentum building milestone for our campaign,” Espaillat said in a statement. “I look forward to having such a strong and influential ally in Mayor Bloomberg.”

Meanwhile, Espaillat’s colleague, Assembly Member Daniel O’Donnell, endorsed Mark Levine, a Democratic district leader in Washington Heights.

O’Donnell, who represents the Upper West Side, Morningside Heights and Manhattan Valley, said that Levine would “take on the status-quo and make a real difference in Albany.”

“He brings exactly the kind of new perspective needed in Albany to move progressive policies forward,” O’Donnell said in his statement.

In newspaper editorial endorsements, the New York Times backed Espaillat in an editorial that supported candidates in state races. The paper cites Espaillat’s advocacy for an independent commission to draw legislative districts.

“If Mr. Espaillat works hard to represent this diverse district, he could become an important leader in Albany as well as a proud model for Hispanics,” the Times wrote.

But Levine was undeterred in using the paper’s praise of his candidacy, despite losing the official endorsement.

An email to his supporters read, “Here is what the NY Times [sic] had to say about Mark: ‘Mr. Levine has impressive credentials and workable proposals for orchestrating the kinds of reforms we keep pushing for in New York.’”

The email also highlighted the negative words the Times used for Albany incumbents.

“The best advice for New York voters is to vote against anybody who has done time in Albany,” the Times editorial read, which was quoted in Levine’s campaign email.

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New York Attorney General: Eric Schneiderman

New York has recently had top-notch attorneys general in Eliot Spitzer and Andrew Cuomo. The next attorney general must be able to match their stature, their skill in taking on complex issues of national importance, and their ability to extract reform. The next attorney general must also be adept at addressing Albany corruption and protecting consumers.

Of the five candidates seeking to be the state’s top cop, we endorse Eric Schneiderman, a state Senator from the Upper West Side.

As Albany disappointed New Yorkers for decades, Schneiderman has been a prime example of a smart, effective, reform-minded legislator. He has crafted legislation that promotes equal justice under the law and ended discriminatory practices. He led the fight to end the harsh Rockefeller Drug Laws, which disproportionately targeted blacks and Latinos. He introduced the Fraud, Enforcement and Recovery Act, which closed loopholes in the state’s False Claim Act.

Although Gov. David Paterson vetoed Schneiderman’s ethics reform bill for being too weak, the legislation would have brought much-needed change to Albany. The fact that his legislation was introduced and passed by a nearly unanimous vote is a major accomplishment.

Each candidate is talking about cleaning up Albany. But Schneiderman actually did it when given the opportunity. Against the wishes of his chamber’s leadership, Schneiderman convened a bipartisan panel to expel his colleague and fellow Democrat Hiram Monserrate after he was convicted of misdemeanor assault against his girlfriend. These accomplishments occurred after the Democrats took the Senate majority in 2009. He has spent the rest of his 12 years in the State Senate fighting Republican senators that blocked his progressive reform-minded legislation.

We are concerned that Schneiderman lacks an investigatory background, but we are confident he will hire an accomplished staff that can follow his vision for the attorney general’s office, which separates him from his competitors. Schneiderman’s core philosophy of equal justice will ensure that the interests of all New Yorkers are heard. He has a broad agenda that protects consumers, prevents the pollution of the environment and fights discrimination.

The other candidates in the race are well-qualified and have strong ideas for the office. Sean Coffey has an exemplary legal background as a federal prosecutor and lead lawyer in the WorldCom fraud case, in which he won more than $6 billion for burned investors. Coffey fashions himself as an outsider, but can speak on the issues passionately and eloquently with the knowledge of a seasoned elected official. If spending time in Albany is a disqualifier for voters, Coffey is a welcome alternative.

Eric Dinallo, former deputy to Spitzer in the attorney general’s office, has an accomplished government background. He also was head of the state’s Insurance Department. He knows the job and how to wield it for powerful results. But we feel Dinallo’s vision—that the attorney general should focus on kitchen table issues—is too limited.

We extend that feeling to Richard Brodsky, an Assembly member representing parts of Westchester. As attorney general, he said he would focus on unfair or hidden fees New Yorkers pay for energy. But his temperament makes him ill-suited for the attorney general’s office, evidenced by his stance on the Islamic cultural center in downtown Manhattan. He unnecessarily waded into the debate and, despite saying he would defend the center as attorney general, proposed a “compromise” in which the center moves for the sake of appeasing its detractors.

Kathleen Rice, the district attorney for Nassau County, Long Island, has been a superb local prosecutor. She has tackled a drunk driving scourge, sexual predators and fought Medicaid fraud. But many of these—save for Medicaid fraud—are quality-of-life issues. She is under-qualified to be the state’s highest law enforcement official.

We support Eric Schneiderman for attorney general in the Sept. 14. Democratic primary.

State Senate—30th District: Bill Perkins

Although many New Yorkers may be angry about political deadlock in Albany and calling for reform, that doesn’t mean that all incumbents need to be ousted in this election cycle. For example, Bill Perkins has been a positive force for reform in his district, which covers Harlem, Washington Heights and part of the Upper West Side. While Perkins has criticized the way charter schools operate within existing public schools—and suffered some backlash for questioning this fairly new practice—it doesn’t mean he hasn’t been a strong force in the Legislature, addressing constituent concerns and, in fact, supporting a bill that would increase the number of charter schools.

His challenger, Basil Smikle, is an impressive candidate who has worked as a top aide for Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Convention. Smikle has his own ideas for improving affordable housing and job creation in the district and will undoubtedly continue to be an imaginative and expressive politician who we hope to see continue his drive to better the city for everyday New Yorkers.

We are certain Perkins, however, will continue his progressive work concerning affordable housing issues and public education and therefore endorse him for re-election.

State Senate—31st District: Mark Levine

When State Senator Eric Schneiderman announced his candidacy for attorney general this year, it meant that his seat in the 31st District was wide open. There are four strong Democratic candidates in the primary, and the district—which covers parts of the Upper West Side, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood and Riverdale—calls for someone prepared to tackle the constituent concerns of a wide swath of New Yorkers in an area undergoing profound changes—especially in regards to housing and job creation. For this reason, we support Mark Levine in the Democratic primary.

Levine, a Washington Heights resident, represents the possibility of new leadership for the district and has a broad background of community building and activism. He has the fresh ideas and independent background that voters want when it comes to reform in Albany. He plans to support campaign finance reform as well as assist constituents in navigating state government hurdles in dealing with health, housing and transit issues.

Levine began his career as a bilingual science teacher and later served as executive director of Teach For America-New York. He understands, firsthand, the issues facing our public school system. Levine went on to found Upper Manhattan’s first and only community development credit union, Neighborhood Trust, which has helped many lower-income residents. In 2007, Levine won a Democratic district leader position, campaigned for Barack Obama’s presidential primary and created the Barack Obama Democratic club uptown.

Levine’s strongest competitor in the primary is Assemblyman Adriano Espaillat, also from Washington Heights, who has served 14 years in the state legislature and possesses a stellar background when it comes to constituent concerns, and is a strong candidate.

On immigration reform, tenants rights, urban education and economic development, Espaillat has always been on the right side of progressive legislation and would most likely continue to be a strong advocate for the district’s constituents. Espaillat has strong support from other incumbent politicians, including Senator Schneiderman, but for voters looking for a new perspective at the state level, it’s difficult to make the argument for Espaillat.

A former Democratic district leader and the only Upper West Side resident in the race, Anna Lewis is an attorney with 25 years of experience; she knows the law. Lewis has a legacy of drafting legislation supporting constituent concerns, and she wants to continue her efforts in that direction, especially concerning health care and consumer rights. We also think her idea for housing reform—in particular to start a new housing initiative modeled after the Mitchell-Lama program—is the best we have heard and hope that she continues to advocate for such a program in the future and that others support similar ideas. The fact that there are so few elected women running for state political positions should change, and we hope that Lewis will run for a position in the future.

The other woman in the race, Miosotis Muñoz, has very heartfelt ambitions for the district, and her background in social work and grassroots organizing for various community causes should be applauded. Her compassion, leadership and enthusiasm for neighborhood concerns, however, seem better suited for on-the-ground community efforts, rather than the bureaucracy of state politics.

We endorse Mark Levine for the State Senate in the 31st District for his promise of reform, new ideas and a background that seems exceptionally suited to this vibrant and transforming district.

15th Congressional District: Charlie Rangel

Representative Charles B. Rangel is seeking his 21st term, and we endorse him in that effort. Despite the recent controversy surrounding his office due to the charges of ethics violations, Rangel still deserves the support, and votes, of his constituents after years of dedicated political service.

Although Rangel has relinquished the chairmanship of the House Ways and Means Committee, which he had waited since 1981 to take over and finally did in 2006, he still holds quite a bit of power after 40 years in Congress and letting that pass away at this point would be a mistake for New Yorkers. Although many have called for his retirement, Rangel continues to work with indefatigable strength and dedication for his constituents and the nation as a whole.

Even though Rangel will most likely win re-election to the House, we will still need a new generation of qualified and eager candidates to fill his estimable shoes. One of the more fascinating aspects this year was meeting the group that had the pluck to run against the incumbent. For those seeking a change, they will find an excellent candidate in Vince Morgan. The community banker is new to political campaigning, but we found that he had a winning personality and many ideas for where the district could position itself in the 21st-century. In particular, his involvement as the chairman of the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone and the chair of the 125th Street Business Improvement District will give him a valuable perspective as he continues his political career in the district.

Adam Clayton Powell IV may have many bona fides, most obviously sharing a name with the man who preceded Rangel as the Congressman for the district and serving as a New York City councilmember and in the State Assembly. But Powell’s record in the Assembly has been spotty, his attendance poor. Overall, we think if there is indeed going to be change in the district, we should be looking to the future, not the past.

The other two candidates, Joyce Johnson and Jonathan Tasini, should both be commended for entering the race. Johnson has dedicated many years to public service in various capacities, as well as being a pioneer for women of color in the corporate sector. We hope that she does continue in her unremitting efforts to create a world that supports the efforts of women and minorities to achieve their dreams on an equal playing field. Tasini’s career as a gadfly when it comes to labor and economic issues is needed in politics. Lending his ideas and energy to the race is much appreciated.

We look forward to the next primary for the district, which will undoubtedly have an even stronger and diverse pool of candidates, but in the meantime, we endorse Charlie Rangel for Congress.

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Manhattan Media is a leading community media company in New York, with a diverse range of publications, including: AVENUE magazine, New York Press, Our Town, West Side Spirit, New York Family, City Hall and City Arts. The company is part of the portfolio of Isis Ventures Partners of New York City.

Dan Rattiner will be the editor-in-chief and president of the company, and Bob Edelman will remain publisher. They will report to Tom Allon, president and CEO of Manhattan Media. Dan’s Papers will be an operating subsidiary of Manhattan Media.

Dan’s Papers is enjoying its Golden 50th Anniversary this year, having been an integral part of the Hamptons since its founding in 1960. From its first eight-page edition in Montauk, published while the founder was home for the summer from college, it has grown to become the largest newspaper in the Hamptons, widely followed for its unique opinions, humor, news and the chronicling of the lives of the rich and famous.

“With 50 years under my belt leading Dan’s, I was looking for a partner that understood community publishing and could help us leverage the goodwill and relationships we have established in the Hamptons,” says Dan Rattiner.

“Community publishing is all about local knowledge, character, being present and understanding your readers and clients,” says Richard Burns, chairman of Manhattan Media and general partner of Isis Ventures. “Dan’s Papers has all of that and a remarkable community leader in the person of Dan Rattiner himself.”

Manhattan Media has committed to work with the existing Dan’s Papers team to invest in the company’s publications and online offerings. There are also plans to expand the publication’s live event division.

“While the Brown Publishing Company ran into all kinds of financial difficulties culminating in bankruptcy, we are happy to say that Dan’s Papers never stopped making money and we are acquiring a healthy, profitable media business upon which we expect to build,” added Burns.

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Borough President Scott Stringer rejected Extell Development’s plans for the Riverside Center development Aug. 30.

The proposed five-building, 3-million-square-foot development would create too much burden on the Upper West Side, the borough president’s report concludes. Stringer likened it to the Riverside South plan, which laid out the blueprints for the redevelopment of the land between West 59th Street and West 72nd Street, from West End Avenue to the river. Riverside Center is the last undeveloped parcel of land in Riverside South.

“The Riverside Center development has the potential to either improve the neighborhood or to recreate the past mistakes of Riverside South,” Stringer said in a statement. “This is not about no development—it’s about appropriate and responsible development.”

Stringer’s stance on land use matters like this is advisory. The project’s next stop in the public review project is the City Planning Commission. If approved there, the City Council has the final and binding vote on the project. Council Member Gale Brewer has generally been in favor of the Community Board 7’s recommendations.

Stringer’s conditional disapproval and recommendations were based on many of the same issues Community Board 7 raised when it considered the proposal.

On building a new school, Extell, the developer, was to fund 75,000 square feet of space and build an additional 75,000 square feet should the School Construction Authority provide funding. But Stringer’s report states that the bad economy makes additional funding unlikely and Extell should construct the full 150,000-square-foot school.

The report also criticizes the open space component of the project. Much of the open space is on private streets and in the middle of the development. Even in the central open space, the report says, the southern buildings will cast a shadow and block air and light. Building the development at grade rather than at street level, the report says, hampers access to open space.

“[Extell] must produce a site plan that results in a better relationship among buildings and open space to public streets,” the report recommends.

As for the details around automobiles in the development, the report asks Extell to limit parking to one floor at 1,100 spaces, nix the car service center and reconsider the automobile showroom, characterized as a “destination use that does not serve a local need.”

The affordable housing component has also changed. During the borough president’s review process, Extell agreed to make 20 percent of residential space permanent affordable housing.

“I encourage Extell to continue working with the City Planning Commission and the Council to reach a satisfactory resolution that addresses community concerns,” Stringer said in a statement.

George Arzt, spokesperson for Extell Development, said in a statement that the proposed reduction in density along with the Borough President’s other recommendations, threaten the viability of riverside center:

“This project will bring important and significant benefits to the city and the community, create tens of thousands of construction and permanent jobs and generate new tax revenues for the city and state. We will continue to discuss the project with the borough president as ULURP [aka public review process] proceeds and are hopeful we are able to receive his support.”

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A simple request for cyclists to dismount along a short stretch of bike path in Riverside Park has been causing contention among park goers this summer.

A woman rides her bike down a path and past a sign in Riverside Park where riders are asked to dismount and walk their bikes.

In June, the Parks Department installed signs bearing the message “Cyclists must dismount” along the path that connects West 72nd Street and Riverside Drive with the Waterfront Greenway along the Hudson River. The area is home to a popular dog run and is frequently used by dog-walkers, pedestrians and cyclists who vie for control of the 5-foot wide path. Safety concerns prompted the Parks Department to put up the signs, but many cyclists aren’t obeying them and irate riders have torn down some of the signs.

Cristina DeLuca of the Parks Department confirmed the problems that people are having with the signs, and said in a statement, “We are working to accommodate multiple, competing park uses in very limited space. Cycling is an activity we fully support and will continue to encourage, but our first priority is always safety.”

Council Member Gale Brewer advocated for the installation of the signs in an attempt to make the park safer for children, seniors, dog walkers and cyclists as well.

“We were shocked that the signs had been taken down at night,” she said.

Her office is organizing a meeting with community members to figure out a more permanent solution to the problems along the path.

On a recent Monday morning in the park, some cyclists dutifully dismounted, and an equal number ignored the signs, though all rode at safe speeds and steered away from pedestrians.

Kristina Kreber walks her dog in the park three times a day, and said that some cyclists make it unsafe.

“I ride my bike also, so I kind of straddle the issue,” Kreber said. “It would be less of a volatile issue if they would just say to bikers, ‘Can you please be more considerate?’”

Ren Tarpley rides her bike recreationally and walks it through the designated area. She said that the problem comes from large groups of cyclists on the weekends, not the occasional lone biker. “You see the bike tours coming through, there are like 30 of them, and they don’t dismount.”

She thinks the signs are a good idea, but only if people obey them.

Jeff Dedrick, another cyclist walking the path with his bike, said that while he normally rides slowly around pedestrians and doesn’t cause problems, he is fine with the signs and the dismount rule.

“I understand pedestrians are concerned,” he said. His wife hates it when bikes whiz by on the narrow paths.

While some are happy to see the signs up, it’s unclear how the Parks Department will enforce the new rule.

Tila Dunhaime, of bicyclist group Upper West Side Streets Renaissance Campaign, said that the signs don’t address more important and complicated issues of how city residents can share space effectively.

“I don’t think that the Parks Department did its homework in terms of establishing that there was a problem and considering a number of solutions,” Dunhaime said.

She emphasized the need for using the “3 E’s”—engineering, education and enforcement—to create viable bike paths, teach people how to use them safely and punish those who don’t.

Dunhaime said that enforcement should come not just from the Parks Department or the NYPD, but that we need “law-abiding cyclists to put peer pressure on the ones who are being jerks. To just lay down the long arm of the law and say everyone has to get off their bikes right now is a backwards way of looking at the problem.”

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Eliot Spitzer, before his stunning downfall as governor, was the white knight of Wall Street as attorney general. Before him, Robert Abrams put the attorney general office’s focus on consumer rights.

Each attorney general puts their stamp on an office that commands more than 650 lawyers. This September, five candidates are running for the state’s top law job, a position held by Andrew Cuomo, the front-runner to be the state’s next governor.

In interviews with Our Town, each candidate stated that they wanted the next attorney general to be the “People’s Lawyer” and they all want to clean up the ethical morass in Albany. But the candidates have very different visions for the office, strategies to fight corruption and backgrounds that demonstrate their ability to do the job.

Richard Brodsky

Richard Brodsky is a member of the State Assembly, representing parts of Westchester County. But his prominence in the chamber—and his argument for being the next attorney general—comes more from investigation than legislation.

He was at the helm of two powerful committees: Oversight, Analysis and Investigation, and most recently Corporations, Authorities, and Commissions.

Where Albany reform, in this race, means pushing independent redistricting of legislative seats, public financing of campaigns and strong ethics laws, Brodsky believes “Albany’s governing institutions” need attention.

“I come to that as [the] only successful reformer up there,” he said.

Brodsky led the reform of authorities—public bodies created by the state to handle public projects. These authorities build dormitories and schools, provide transportation or produce power. But Brodsky called them “Soviet-style bureaucracies” that make up New York’s shadow government.

“I did it,” he said of his reform measures, “and I did it when people said I couldn’t.”

Brodsky fought the proposed Jets Stadium on the West Side, tussled with Yankees-owner George Steinbrenner over the new publicly-subsidized stadium, and sued when Indian Point, a nuclear power plant in upstate New York, got an exemption from fire safety standards.

But there is a political element to the attorney general’s office that Brodsky believes will bring reform to Albany.

“On the budget, on gridlock, on campaign finance, on reapportionment, you’ve got to have someone with political skills to change Albany.”

Sean Coffey

Sean Coffey, a former assistant U.S. Attorney and lead lawyer on the WorldCom class-action suit, wants to use the attorney general’s office as a bully pulpit to enact reform in a Legislature loath to do so.

With Cuomo making ethics the centerpiece of his gubernatorial campaign, Coffey believes that the attorney general can be “noisy” and the governor’s “wingman.”

“I can pick up the slack,” Coffey said.

When Coffey is not crusading against Albany, he is hammering Wall Street. He boasts of getting burned investors more than $6 billion from WorldCom, a telephone company.

An oft-repeated line on the campaign trail is that he doesn’t have to beat up on Wall Street to prove he can. As attorney general, Coffey’s goal for the financial industry is keeping it “honest” by focusing on audit firms, credit rating agencies—the “gatekeepers,” he says.

“You need somebody who understands this stuff,” Coffey said.

He believes his opponents’ political ambitions could influence temperament. While a joke in political circles dictates that “AG” stands for “Aspiring Governor,” Coffey says he doesn’t want that position. As a former federal prosecutor and litigator, there should be a nonpartisan agenda for the office, he said.

“I know a good case from a bad case,” Coffey said.

Eric Dinallo

But where Coffey was fighting Wall Street from his law office, Eric Dinallo was an assistant attorney general under Spitzer.

He is credited with resurrecting the Martin Act, which allowed the attorney general to investigate financial fraud and made the New York State Attorney General’s office nationally known.

Dinallo wants to use the prominence of the office to deal with problems in everyday New Yorkers’ lives.

“I want to take it and worry less about the markets, which I clearly have comfort and a history of success in,” Dinallo said, “but worry more about consumer financial products: the fees people pay in their everyday lives. The checks they write at the kitchen table every month.”

Another kitchen-table topic that Dinallo wants to combat is public corruption in Albany. Dinallo criticizes his opponents for saying they would try to compel the State Legislature in to giving the attorney general more power to investigate public corruption—a tall order in Albany. Dinallo believes he can tackle public corruption using existing law, similar to the way he rediscovered the Martin Act, which was signed into law in 1921.

“I see big, big opportunities through creative, aggressive use of the law in public integrity,” Dinallo said.

Kathleen Rice

Kathleen Rice, the district attorney for Long Island’s Nassau County, has made ethics in Albany the centerpiece of her campaign as well. She says that reform must be brought to the capital before New York can recover economically.

“Confidence in state government is at an all-time low,” she said. “When you have a situation like that, it’s very difficult to have this kind of recovery you need in the state.”

Rice points to how she changed the district attorney’s office after she was elected in 2005. She changed the plea policy on drunk driving and helped write tougher DWI laws.

“I attacked the epidemic of drunk driving in a way no one ever has before,” Rice said. “I know how to address an issue that, for one reason or another, people have failed to address.”

As attorney general, Rice wants to facilitate whistleblowers coming forward by increasing protections.

“Through that, you can get the reform, from an administrative standpoint certainly, of certain agencies if there are practices there that don’t lend themselves to good government,” Rice said. “I believe it’s setting the tone that the public trust something to be held sacrosanct.”

Eric Schneiderman

Eric Schneiderman, a state senator from the Upper West Side, is also focusing on restoring public trust. He points to his legislative achievements in correcting some of the bad business practices in the state. He sponsored a law that prevents insurance providers from canceling an entire class of coverage to avoid paying for expensive medical treatment. He also headed the panel to oust a sitting senator for assaulting his girlfriend—the first time since 1920.

A problem in Albany, he said, is that most of the unethical behavior is legal.

“I’m more interested in making cases against individuals as a part of an effort to achieve structural reforms, change the laws and change people’s attitudes,” Schneiderman said.

As attorney general, Schneiderman proposes to create a working group to examine New York’s securities laws. In government, he wants public integrity officers in each regional office of the attorney general.

“Folks who want to report local corruption can have a place to go other than the local prosecutor who probably has relationships with people you’re trying to report,” Schneiderman said.

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By Reid Spagna

Born in Pittsburgh, Peter Ackerman received a Bachelor’s degree in English from Yale and attended The American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco to study acting. Among other works he is the co-author of Ice Age and Ice Age 3.

The writer met his wife when she starred in his play, Things You Shouldn’t Say Past Midnight. The couple settled down on West End Avenue and has two sons.

Most recently, he is the author of The Lonely Phone Booth, his newly released children’s book.

Peter Ackerman

The story portrays one of four remaining phone booths in Manhattan, located on the northwest corner of West End Avenue and 100th Street. An analog victim in a digital world, the booth loses its grasp on the neighborhood as “shiny silver objects” capture the ears of passing pedestrians.

Currently working on an animated feature for Universal Pictures, Ackerman recently took time to discuss The Lonely Phone Booth, his writing career and the changing culture of New York City.

Our Town: Why did you choose the 100th Street phone booth to be the subject of your book?

Peter Ackerman: The story came about a couple of years ago when my younger son was three. We were walking by the booth, and he said, “Why is that phone in a box?” I realized that he had no idea; it seemed very funny to me.

What implicit messages did you aim to express with The Lonely Phone Booth?

Everything has value. Even though things are changing, it doesn’t mean that something we used to use is valueless. The phone booth is a metaphor for a human being. An older person can’t do everything that he or she used to do, but it doesn’t mean that they are valueless.

What is your most memorable phone booth experience?

In college, my girlfriend spent the semester in France. I would go to a particular phone booth and she would call me collect and I’d accept the charges. We got away with this a few times, but one time, the operator broke in and said, “I know what you’re doing!” I was very panicked, and hung up the phone. It was a very dramatic moment.

What is the cultural significance of old phone booths?

There is a neighborhood feel to it. I’ve seen people in phone booths laughing, crying and yelling. You don’t exactly hear what they are saying, as they are enclosed in the booth, but in a weird way, you imagine all sorts of things about them.

You co-wrote Ice Age and Ice Age 3. How do you find a balance between entertaining children and adults, in both your book and the Ice Age films?

If you know that kids and adults are going to see something, you need to have themes that are simple and clear. I tend to write about things that are interesting to me, but I don’t try to talk down to kids.

Do your sons have any input in your children’s works?

When the book was still in gallery form, I read the book to my son’s class at P.S. 87 and made some changes to it based on certain words they couldn’t understand and the jokes that they thought were and weren’t funny.

What has writing The Lonely Phone Booth taught you? Does it make you notice new things about the city?

I feel alert to everything that is around me in the neighborhood. The truth is, I must have passed that phone booth a billion times with my kids, and I hadn’t thought about it. Then my son noticed how unusual it was, so I take more notice of things, great and small.

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Fordham University recently cleared a court hurdle in expanding its Lincoln Center campus.

A state Supreme Court judge dismissed complaints August 16 from a nearby condominium that believed approval of Fordham’s expansion should be rescinded.

A rendering of Fordham’s proposed new campus.

The expansion was proposed to accommodate Fordham’s 8,000-plus student body, which is using a campus that spans a “super block” between West 60th to 62nd streets from Amsterdam to Columbus avenues. The proposal would create new dorms, a new law school, a library and includes two private luxury residential buildings that will help fund the school’s endowment.

Nearby residents had complained about the size of the proposal and demanded concessions during the public land use process. Indeed, the plan changed after Community Board 7, Borough President Scott Stringer, the City Planning Commission and, finally, the City Council weighed in on the plan.

At the end of the public review process, Fordham was approved to construct six buildings, adding 1.5 million square feet to its Lincoln Center campus.

Fordham’s planned expansion would arguably affect the Alfred the most. The 37-story condominium building is in the middle of the university’s campus. When Fordham acquired the “super block” in 1957, a Catholic school on West 61st Street was left out of the purchase. In 1989, that school was sold to a private developer that built the Alfred.

Though the City Council approved Fordham’s plans in July 2009, the Alfred’s lawyer tried to argue that the height of new construction, including the addition of a private residential building, violates a 1957 urban renewal plan that limits buildings to 20 stories.

“All of that was prohibited by the urban renewal plan,” said Elliott Meisel, attorney representing the Alfred.

Judge Judith Gische, in a 22-page decision, sided with Fordham because amendments were made to the urban renewal plan. One such amendment put a 2006 expiration date on the urban renewal plan’s restrictions on height and private land use.

Gische also rejected the Alfred’s claim against the city and the Council for approving the project “on the basis that the master plan was not well considered, the analysis techniques used in approving the master plan were flawed, if not outright misused, and the City had no right to amend the restrictive covenants [of the urban renewal plan],” the court decision says.

“We’ll be deciding what aspects of that decision we’re challenging,” Meisel, the Alfred’s lawyer, said about an appeal.

Sidney Goldfischer, the Alfred’s condominium board president, criticized Fordham’s proposal for being too large for an already crowded neighborhood.

“It’ll be Times Square not Lincoln Square,” Goldfischer said.

The Alfred was part of Fordham Neighbors United, a group of eight nearby condominiums that fought the proposal during the public review process. Goldfischer believes that, despite Fordham’s concessions, the project is too large and the two luxury towers should have been sold back to the city for community use.

“What they’re going to put up flies in the face of their agreement and their commitment to the city,” Goldfischer said.

Tom Dunne, Fordham’s vice president of government relations and urban affairs, was pleased with the judge’s decision.

“We were confident,” Dunne said, “we were going to prevail.”

Fordham Lawsuit

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Candidates running to replace Eric Schneiderman in the State Senate laid out their plans to bring reform to a dysfunctional legislative body and constituent services to a geographically large, diverse district.

Adriano Espaillat, Mark Levine, Anna Lewis and Miosotis Muñoz sat with the West Side Spirit to discuss their agenda and why they are the best candidate to represent a district that spans the Upper West Side, northern Manhattan and parts of the Bronx.

Adriano Espaillat, Miosotis Muñoz, Anna Lewis and Mark Levine.

Espaillat is an Assembly member running in a year where the theme in Albany’s legislative races is “throw the bums out.” But Espaillat embraces the 14 years he has spent in the Assembly.

“I have a strong record, one that I’m very proud of,” Espaillat said.

He touts his legislative record in the Assembly and the constituent work he does in his district, which covers Washington Heights, Inwood and Marble Hill.

In Albany, he supported congestion pricing and co-sponsored pro-tenant housing legislation. In his district, he takes credit for boosting enrollment in CUNY and assisting constituents with landlord problems.

In the State Senate, he wants to help West Siders with similar housing issues, ensure marriage equality is passed in New York and help designate West End Avenue as a landmark district.

For this State Senate race, Espaillat has tapped support from Upper West Side elected officials. Schneiderman endorsed him as his successor in the State Senate. Rosenthal and Borough President Scott Stringer, an Upper West Side resident, also support Espaillat. He also has labor endorsements, including most recently the teachers union endorsement.

Even though the support of incumbent politicians might turn off voters sick of Albany, Espaillat boasts of his reform credentials by co-sponsoring Schneiderman’s ethics legislation, supporting independent redistricting of legislative seats and an independent commission to police the Legislature.

He pushed back against claims from his opponents—chiefly Mark Levine—that he will not deliver on reforming the State Senate.

“If anybody sits here and tells you, ‘I’m Don Quixote, I will kill the windmill, and I will reform Albany single-handedly,’ they’re lying to you,” Espaillat said. “It’s going to take some consensus building and someone that really knows the institution and won’t walk around for two years looking for the bathroom.”

But Levine believes voters want a new perspective from their state senator, even if it means looking for the bathroom.

“I see this seat—the Schneiderman seat—as actually a part of a statewide strategy for bringing change,” Levine said. “This seat has to stay in the hands of someone who is independent, aggressive, progressive and reform minded.”

To Levine, there needs to be campaign finance reform before progressive legislation can pass. For example, without public financing of campaigns, state lawmakers are influenced by contributions from industry groups, which killed initiatives like the soda tax or gun control.

As for Espaillat’s support of reform measures as an Assembly member, Levine called them “fig leafs.”

“Very, very weak proposals for reform have won some traction in Assembly and people are running on them as proof of their credentials as reformers,” Levine said. “But they’re pretty easy to see through.”

He also criticized Espaillat after the New York Post reported that a nonprofit the Assembly member funds hired his political allies.

Levine, a Washington Heights resident, won a Democratic district leader position in 2007. In that unpaid party position, he supported and organized for Barack Obama’s presidential primary campaign against New York’s favorite daughter, Hillary Clinton. He turned that network of supporters into the Barack Obama Democratic Club uptown.

His campaign is backed by Democratic clubs and fellow district leaders in the Upper West Side. His campaign was also endorsed by Ronnie Eldridge, a former West Side Council member, and Ruth Messinger, also a former West Side Council member, borough president and 1997 Democratic nominee for mayor.

Outside of politics, Levine, a former educator, was the executive director of Teach For America and a nonprofit that trained staff for after-school programs. He also started a community credit union that gave loans to small businesses.

In the district, he wants to help constituents navigate a difficult state government, which has authority over health, housing and transit issues.

“The legislative battle in Albany, day to day, is incredibly important,” Levine said. “But it doesn’t always touch people’s lives in the way solving a landlord dispute or getting them resources they need from the state would.”

Anna Lewis, an attorney, is the only Upper West Side resident in the race. She is running on her state government experience but says she doesn’t have the baggage of being an incumbent legislator in Albany.

As former counsel to the Assembly’s oversight and investigation committee, she helped draft legislation and reports on abuses from trade schools and contractors that underpaid union workers.

Being a prosecutor in the state’s Health Department, Lewis wants to pass laws that inform consumers of their rights. She wants to make it mandatory for doctor’s offices to have a sign that tells patients they can file a claim online.

“Most people don’t know that exists,” she said. “Being an attorney means I know about the law. I’ve done regulatory law. I know how to read the law, draft the law and that’s a big part of being a legislator.”

Lewis is the only attorney in the race and believes she can be as effective a state senator as Schneiderman, who was a public interest lawyer before entering politics.

Lewis, a former Democratic district leader, said she has community organizing experience like Levine and a legislative background like Espaillat.

“I bring both those things together,” Lewis said. “And I include my experience as a lawyer for the past 25 years.”

Miosotis Muñoz, a former aide to Rep. Charles Rangel and former borough presidents C. Virginia Fields and Messinger, says that, as a parent, she wants to tackle identity theft and Internet predators.

She plans to improve transportation options for seniors and educate them on the rent increase exemption.

“I’d like to give an extra legislative push making sure that there’s enough senior housing,” she said.

Muñoz wants to help immigrants get on a path to citizenship.

For gay rights, she supports same sex marriage but believes there is a lack of attention on hate crimes and bias attacks.

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