CYBER SECURITY CONFERENCE
By Alice Robb
The New York Institute of Technology will host a cyber security conference on Wednesday, Sept. 15, at NYIT Auditorium, 1900 Broadway. Dr. Eric Cole, author of Hackers Beware and Network Security Bible, will discuss future trends in network security, and security expert Bill Cheswick will talk about safe passwords. Read more
SENATE CANDIDATES TO DEBATE
By Alice Robb
The four candidates vying to succeed Eric Schneiderman in the State Senate will debate transportation issues Tuesday, Sept. 7.
“With a massive fare hike looming after the worst service cuts in a generation, public transit has never been a more important election year issue,” said Paul Steely White, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, a New York City group that advocates for bicycling, walking and public transit. Read more
PUTTING NAMES TO CORP. LANDLORDS
By Dan Rivoli
When the Department of Homeless Services wanted to open a shelter in a West 107th Street building last February, the city was unaware of the landlord’s identity. The building’s owner was G M Canmar Residence Corporation. But the West Side Spirit used Department of Finance records to identify the owner as Mark Hersh, a notorious landlord who intimidated his tenants into moving. Read more
SCHNEIDERMAN PICKS UP WS SUPPORT
By Dan Rivoli
Scott Stringer, Manhattan’s borough president and Upper West Sider, is backing his neighborhood’s favorite son for attorney general. Stringer endorsed Eric Schneiderman Aug. 26, citing his reform credentials and fighting corruption in the State Senate.
“If I only had one reason behind my decision, it is that there is no better candidate who will restore confidence in the government more effectively, more forcefully and with greater independence than Eric Schneiderman,” Stringer said in a statement. Read more
CO-OP STRIKES BACK AGAINST EMPIRE HOTEL
By Dan Rivoli
A panel of judges sided with residents of a co-op that say the Empire Hotel, a nightlife hotspot in the Upper West Side, is a noisy neighbor.
In a three-to-one decision, the co-op at 61 W. 62nd St. showed that the hotel’s rooftop bar caused “unreasonable” interference with the residents’ “right to use and enjoy their respective apartments,” according to an Aug. 24 ruling. Read more
CHARTER SCHOOL PARENTS BACK PERKINS
State Sen. Bill Perkins’ campaign for a third term started with him being named public enemy number one for criticizing charter schools. Yet almost two weeks before the Sept. 14 Democratic primary, he got an endorsement from the New York Charter Parents Association. Read more
COLUMBUS RETAIL PLAN NIXED
By Dan Rivoli
An expansion of property on Columbus Avenue and West 95th Street that would have dramatically changed the block’s landscape has been dropped.
The Witkoff Group pulled its application to renovate a 248-apartment building on 95 W. 95th St. called Columbus House.
The plan called for building a two-story structure that would have wrapped around the base of the 33-story residential tower. That addition would have created 4,950 square feet of retail space along Columbus Avenue between West 95th and 96th streets. But it also would have closed pathways between buildings and have been built to the property line, eliminating a wide patch of sidewalk on Columbus Avenue. Read more
THE FUTURE OF WEST SIDE’S HISTORY
By Reid Spagna
A landmark preservation group is taking advantage of modern-day technology to describe the architectural history of the Upper West Side. Read more
DRUG BUST COP HONORED
By Dan Rivoli
Joe Seabrook, the detective that died two months after assisting in a drug bust at the Amsterdam Houses last March, was honored Aug. 14.
Seabrook’s parents received a plaque from the Amsterdam Houses Tenants Association at a Family Day event. The tenants recognized the detective’s work in the investigation that led to the March 16 arrests of 28 suspected drug dealers, which started with tenants’ complaints.
Seabrook, a former narcotics detective, was part of a six-officer team that patrolled the Amsterdam Houses, the 13-building public housing complex that stretches from West 61st to 65th streets. He used his training in narcotics to target a drug operation that was set up in five buildings. His information sparked the investigation in spring 2009. Seabrook’s work is credited with dismantling the drug dealing.
“These officers were able to develop relationships of trust and confidence with the residents, attributes that were instrumental in obtaining valuable information,” New York Housing Authority wrote in a statement.
Margarita Curet, the tenant association president, said residents of the Amsterdam Houses could come to Seabrook and his fellow officers with their concerns.
“They felt comfortable with them and Detective Seabrook,” Curet said. “I feel a little bit safer than before. He was a great officer.”
After the bust, Seabrook, a father of two girls, suffered a stroke and was later diagnosed with leukemia. He died May 29 at a Bronx hospital.
NEW BROADWAY BENCHES
By Reid Spagna
The city’s Parks Department recently installed public benches at sections of the Broadway Mall, the median that separates the two lanes of Broadway.
Left to right: Mark Vaccaro, Parks Department manager, Parks Department Borough Commissioner William Castro, Council Member Gale Brewer, Bev Bartow of the Broadway Mall Association and Brad Romaker, Administrative project manager for the Parks Department. Photo By Andrew Schwartz.
