Cameramen outside James Gandolfini’s funeral at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on Thursday. Photo by Scott Matthews.
Check out some recent stories about an attempted rape, a lawsuit and lots of other issues in the neighborhood from the past week.
Saul Alvarez was arrested and charged with attempted rape for allegedly grabbing a woman from behind, putting his hand over her mouth and trying to drag her off a path in Central Park on Friday night. The attack occurred around 106th street near the Lasker Pool at 10:45 p.m. on Friday. The woman was able to call for help, and the attacker ran off. Police later found Alvarez using the woman’s description. She was treated for a cut on her face. (Daily News)
A building on West 65th street, half of which is now occupied by students at Touro College, is embroiled in quite a controversy. “Touro College had planned to make one of two elevators at its upper West Side apartment building a “Shabbat” elevator that would automatically stop at every floor in the six story building from sunset on Friday until sunset on Saturday, as a way to circumvent the Orthodox law barring observers from operating electric switches on Shabbat… In court papers, Touro said the delays would be minor — at most 1 minute, 23 seconds — and accused the tenants association of setting a ‘discriminatory and anti-Semitic tone’ by suggesting the students are young and should be able to climb the stairs on the Sabbath.” Meanwhile, some residents say the college has turned a residential building into a dorm, against the building’s certificate of occupancy. (Daily News)
The travails of a member of an Upper West Side condo board. (Habitat) This article was apparently removed from the Habitat website.
Residents in a building adjacent to the Astor Hotel on 106th and Central Park West say smoke is pouring relentlessly into their building from a pipe at the hotel. The city and the hotel haven’t done enough to stop it, they claim. (CBS)
Local Attorney Ronn Blitzer won Jewish Week’s funniest Jewish comedian contest. Here’s his joke about being single on the Upper West Side. “I love the sense of community,” he began. “I hate that everyone’s obsessed with getting married. Every week another friend of mine is getting married. My single friends are always talking about getting married…asking me when I’m getting married. The only people who don’t bug me about getting married are the women I go out with. Two hours with me they’re like ‘eh … you shouldn’t get married.” (Jewish Week)
There was a big water fight this weekend on the Great Lawn. Next time, can someone invite us? (NY1)
Are these baby raccoons on 89th and Columbus in trouble??? No, just sleeping adorably. (NY Times)
Technical difficulties forced the Central Park Conservancy to cancel a “Central Park for Sale” digital contest. “The campaign is supposed to allow anyone to purchase a plot of land on a ‘virtual Great Lawn.’ This virtual Great Lawn has no connection to the real Great Lawn in Central Park, save for the name. It’s just an online social networking game, the Central Park equivalent of Farmville, if you will.” (Observer)
Parents at the Upper East Side school chosen for possible demolition and redevelopment (instead of 2 UWS schools, which will not be demolished) are now fighting the plan. (Daily News)
The 17-year-old driving the SUV that killed 4-year-old Ariel Russo was given $25,000 bail, to the dismay of Russo’s family. (NY Post)
CENTRAL PARK FOR SALW: its virtual now but it wouldn’t surprise me if the next fight we have is to stop luxury residential development on the great lawn. After all that’s about all that left that hasn’t been handed over to billionaire developers in this city.
It should have said CENTRAL PARK FOR SALE. Sorry for the typo
I am all for “Shabbat Elevators.” It will enable more of us to adhere to our beliefs and
slow down the pace of life for all. Mount Sinai
Hospital has Shabbat elevators. I reside on the 26th floor. I wish my son and daughter-in-law had such usage available when they visit me.
Thanks anyway, Mr. Polsky; I suppose it was kind of you to be so concerned about the pace of my life; if you need a Shabbat elevator to slow down the pace of your life, well, best of luck to you. Not all of us share your beliefs, so I would kindly suggest that you respect others as you would like to be respected.
There’s a fine line between the freedom to practice your religion and imposing your religious beliefs and practices on the neighbors. This request for a Shabbat elevator seems to cross that line. If one insists on taking the elevator on Shabbat instead of walking up and down the stairs to and from your apartment then certainly you can find someone around to push the elevator button for you. That’s just as kosher a solution as having a Shabbat elevator operating in the building. And doesn’t delay or inconvenience anyone else who doesn’t practice what you preach.
The Habitat article seems to be back.
Mr. Polsky, if you want to slow your life down, by all means take the stairs. As to the rent stabilized tenants, seems like a reduction in services.