Photo by 1yen.
Check out some of the stories about the Upper West Side that came out in the past week in other outlets.
Yoselyn Ortega, the nanny charged with killing two small children on West 75th street last year has been found to be mentally fit for trial. She may still try to use an “insanity” defense. “The judge, Justice Gregory Carro, said two state psychiatrists had interviewed Ms. Ortega and reviewed her ‘rather voluminous’ medical records and determined that she was able to participate in her defense in a meaningful way.” (Wall Street Journal and New York Times)
Washington Heights resident John Williams, 58, was killed on Saturday morning after being hit by a southbound D train at 72nd street around 6:45 a.m. Williams “was trying to retrieve something he dropped on the tracks when he was struck by a downtown D train at the 72nd St. station on Central Park West, police sources said.” (Daily News)
It could be a noisy summer on the Upper West Side, because low-flying helicopters may end up thronging the Hudson. Blame federal budget cuts. The air traffic controllers will be furloughed because of the sequester, so helicopters will have to fly lower, says one report. “[T]hat would mean the choppers would have to drop down below 1,500 feet into uncontrolled space where they don’t need an air traffic controller’s permission to fly around Manhattan, and to return to the base for many choppers, at a heliport in Kearny. That means many New York and New Jersey residents will be hearing more low-flying choppers.” (Editor’s Note: It’s not clear whether rules making helicopters from buzzing the neighborhood have been enforced at all, and this could make the issue worse.) (NBC)
Private school Columbia Grammar & Preparatory wants to expand its school on 93rd street by adding two stories, but the Community Board rejected the plan last week. “[N]eighbors complained at a meeting Wednesday night that the private K – 12 school on West 93rd Street and Central Park West has caused years of traffic headaches that would only be exacerbated by construction and new students.” (DNAinfo)
An historic building (1880’s) at 36 Riverside Drive just hit the market for $8.5 million. The spot has been used for years as a bed an breakfast, which recently got the owners in trouble. “Its owners, Ronald and Pamela Wyman, reportedly got into some trouble with the city in 2011 over violations stemming from the new short-stay hotel laws. In the fall of 2011 the owners were issued a slew of violations for allowing guests to stay for fewer than 30 days. They were forced to move out of their own apartment on the ground floor, the Huffington Post reported.” (The Real Deal)
