Gaynor Doubles in Size with Early Childhood Center
By Sean Creamer
The Claremont Stables on West 89th Street served the Upper West Side for years, providing a means for city-dwellers to learn horseback riding. Now, the horses have long gone, but the building will still be used for education. Read more
Queen of Retail on the Art of the Real Estate Deal
Faith Hope Consolo, the self-proclaimed “Queen of Retail,” has been a dominant force in Upper West Side commercial/retail real estate for many years. Read more
Fashion Week’s Economic Boon
While some residents gripe about the unfavorable ramifications of having Fashion Week in their backyard, there are benefits to the community for hosting the event. In August 2011, the Fordham Consulting Group and Fordham University Graduate School of Business released an economic impact study outlining the effects of Fashion Week on the immediate surrounding areas within a 10-block radius of Lincoln Center. Read more
Fashion Week Nightmare
Neighbors cry foul over takeover of neighborhood park
For designers, buyers, reporters, photographers and clothes-conscious consumers the world over, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week conjures images of the latest and greatest designs paraded around in a swirl of parties and publicity. For residents of the area surrounding Fashion Week’s Lincoln Center home, however, the event conjures headaches, concerns over safety and anger over limited access to a public park. Read more
Crime Watch
Compiled by Megan Bungeroth
Online Scammer
Last week, a woman put up a Craigslist ad to sell some of her furniture. She received a response and a check for $2,830, well over her asking price, from a man who instructed her to keep a portion as payment and wire the balance to his shipping company. Lo and behold, the check bounced, the victim couldn’t stop her wire transfer and she lost her money. Read more
The Five Ugliest Buildings on the Upper West Side
We took your suggestions and came up with the Upper West Side’s worst eyesores
By Megan Bungeroth and Anam Baig
Every neighborhood has a few. Even on the generally well-maintained Upper West Side, some buildings, whether from construction, neglect or outright abandonment, cause neighbors to flinch when they see them. We asked local residents and community leaders to spot the worst eyesores in the neighborhood. Read more
Solemn Reminder at Park East Synagogue
U.N. Secretary General, among many, pay respects at Holocaust Remembrance Day
By Anam Baig
The U.N. International Holocaust Commemoration Sabbath took place Saturday, Jan. 21 at the Park East Synagogue, where the year’s first snowfall marked the memory of the six million who lost their lives during the Holocaust. Read more
Albany Looks to Diversify Stuy
Last May, the West Side Spirit partnered with the Amsterdam News for a special investigation of the Discovery Program, an initiative that had fallen by the wayside of the education system but was intended to increase the substantially low diversity levels at the city’s specialized high schools. Now, citing that investigation as part of his reasoning, Brooklyn Assembly Member Karim Camara will introduce new legislation to address the schools’ admissions criteria, which he says are unfairly biased and don’t account for students who may not be good test takers but are otherwise up to the rigorous academic standards the schools require. Read more
Winter’s Grip Doesn’t Deter West Side Hummingbird
By Jesse Greenspan
Birdwatchers have been flocking to the American Museum of Natural History—not for the exhibits inside, but to view a rare rufous hummingbird that is living on the museum’s grounds. Read more
Crime Watch
Through the Ringer
A crooked service man made off with more than the cost of repairing a washing machine on Friday, Jan. 13. A woman in her fifties said that between August 2011 and Jan. 13, a service man came to her home on West 80th Street on three occasions to repair her washer and dryer. On the third trip, the service man brought an unknown worker with him. After they had finished their work, the victim discovered that two Bergdorf Goodman items had been stolen, along with an antique engagement ring, totaling $10,750. Read more
