Photo by Peter Quince at 72nd Street. Did anyone take his offer?
September 24, 2018 Weather: Cloudy, with a high of 68 degrees.
Notices:
Katie Couric at Barnes & Noble, and more local events are on our calendar.
Friendly reminder: It’s U.N. week, meaning traffic is going to be a mess throughout the city.
News:
A homeless man was arrested for allegedly stabbing a Marine who had confronted him for being loud on the 2 train on Saturday night. The marine, Mark Lelong, got off at 110th Street and said the homeless man, Gil Green, jumped him. “Green, 29, allegedly gouged Lelong at least four times with the blade — described as “about 5 inches” long — including one strike that partially punctured his lung, before running off. Cops quickly nabbed Green, who claimed to officers that he was minding his own business snoozing on a Riverside Park bench when Lelong came along and hassled him. Green — who has at least 20 prior arrests, including one for threatening an ex-lover and her daughter in May — was charged with assault and criminal possession of a weapon.” Lelong is expected to pull through.
Seasons, a Kosher grocery chain with a location on Amsterdam between 92nd and 93rd, has filed for bankruptcy. “Through a commitment of up to $6 million in private funding we will be able to fully stock the shelves, fulfill current vendor obligations and continue to operate normally during the restructuring period,” Mayer Gold, the CEO of Seasons, said in a statement. “With several parties already interested in investing in the company, Seasons anticipates a relatively short reorganization process and bright future as we continue to serve our neighborhoods.”
A local bemoans the “decline of the Upper West Side” in a letter to the New York Times. “As a longtime resident and a fan of the Upper West Side, I did my own count of alarming vacancies on Columbus Avenue as favorite restaurants, a bakery, small shops and their hardworking employees disappeared. The landscape has been dramatically transformed by graffiti, mountains of garbage awaiting collection and scavengers for empty bottles.”
A 100-year-old woman was removed from a court hearing about the sale of her apartment on West 66th Street. “A 100-year-old Upper West Side woman whose apartment sale was blocked after the city insisted she couldn’t act for herself had to be removed from a courtroom Monday at a hearing to determine her fate. Florence Lee was so confused and frail when she was rolled in her wheelchair into Manhattan Supreme Court for her own guardianship proceeding that the judge excused her from attending.”
Politics recently ruined a first date at a cafe on the Upper West Side. “Comedian Mike Fine took a first date to the Sunflower Café on the Upper West Side and got a personal pizza. Then things got personal when he said thought the president was doing a good job. ‘She completely shut down,’ he recalled.”
A formerly homeless woman has begun a career as a standup comic, doing a recent set at the Standup NY on the UWS. “At Standup New York Comedy Club, this #Shift Your Self performance featured a formerly homeless woman Rebecca Scott, also known as Holly Hood, as the opening act.Rebecca Scott had been homeless off and on for seven years, battling addiction and depression, serving time in prison and playing cello in the Astor Place subway station, often sleeping on a bench. But through a group called Community Access, she got a studio apartment and has written several books about her life.”
And lastly…
Joan Baez was upstaged at the Beacon this weekend by two familiar faces. Photos by Amy Solas. @SolasComm pic.twitter.com/IzKeWq5BxW
— westsiderag (@westsiderag) September 24, 2018
Assault? Why was he not charged with attempted murder? He’ll be back out in no time. What a compete and utter waste of oxygen.
Hyperbole much???
I did my own count of alarming vacancies on Columbus Avenue as favorite restaurants, a bakery, small shops and their hardworking employees disappeared. The landscape has been dramatically transformed by graffiti, mountains of garbage awaiting collection and scavengers for empty bottles.”
I can’t say I’ve seen graffiti and mountains of garbage waiting to be picked up. There ARE people collecting bottles but that’s been going on forever. But I will say that as much as I love the UWS, it’s becoming an inconvenient place to live with so many places – particlarly supermarkets – closing. And just an aside: I heard a rumor that Hot & Crusty might close because their rent is now $45k a month. You have to sell a lot of egg sandwiches to pay that price!
Re: talking politics on dates, politics are closely related to core values. If someone’s code values are incompatible with mine, why would I want to waste my time dating that person? This issue is only further compounded these days, when someone who (still) supports Trump is indeed standing for values that are despicable.
I used to believe this but over the years I’ve discovered that Republicans are better in bed. As with many things in life, it’s give and take.
I have to say, the idea that someone was surprised to discover that your politics are diametrically opposed would ruin a first date suggested a certain lack of social awareness on the part of the surprisee.
Guess we won’t be going on a date any time soon.
Is the WSR ever going to do an article truly addressing the homeless issue? Blithe reporting of a stabbing does not count. People are very tired of the useless policies in place that leave us open to the filth and violence that SOME of the homeless purpetrate.
I’m tired of the arguments from the original residents that this is part of living in a city-do they have some odd nostalgia for the wreck of the 70s and 80s when you couldn’t go to the park?
It is long past the time when the mayor and his city council and the goddard organization properly manage this overwhelming problem. I should not have to be harraased for my very hard earned money 5 times on the way to the subway, not step around garbage and filthy shopping carts on my way to the subway, not have to fear that the ranting, obviously mentally ill person will hurt myself or my family. There are many hospitals else’s who do not harrass the public. However, those that do not have the capacity to care for themselves deserve proper care. Those who don’t care about the community and make a mess or are a nuisance should be removed.
At present, Goddard workers offer services and if the person refuses, they can do nothing. Those who are scamming the system-the 20 year olds with the dogs and their signs-are an utter waste of time and resources. They refuse everything except money from unwitting tourists. Pan handling should be illegal. We provide more than enough services for people truly in need. There is no reason that every walk, every subway ride (especially the shuttle) is disrupted by panhandlers.
I
Thank you, Mia agreed! Many of these people are actually shipped in from other neighborhoods and placed into shelters and supportive housing that the city and private social service agencies continue to build and cluster here. Need to make our voices heard more about this problem!
Rob G,
Where were you “shipped in from”.
Is your family Indigenous?
Am I indigenous? Of course not. But then again, I wasn’t shipped here for profiteering by the Social Services Empire (paid for by your tax dollars), nor am sleeping on the sidewalk, urinating and defecating in public, or acting aggressively toward you or your children as you pass by me. Perhaps you don’t understand the difference, but most people would.
this comment by Rob G. makes no sense whatsoever.
Rob G. says:
“I wasn’t shipped here for profiteering by the Social Services Empire (paid for by your tax dollars), nor am sleeping on the sidewalk, urinating and defecating in public”
Presumably the client of the “Social Service Empire” (which groups is he talking about) have apartments or other forms of shelter. The street homeless — those “urinating and defecating in public” — came here of their own accord.
by the way, in my entire 27 years on the UWS, i can only recall seeing a person defecate in public once, and the woman had severe diarrhea. it’s interesting that angry people like Rob G. seem to run into this so often.
Rob G. said:
“acting aggressively toward you or your children as you pass by”
this i another myth. there are SOME aggressive street homeless out there, but they are few and far between. Most panhandlers on the UWS are very quiet.
People that move “into shelters and supportive housing” are entitled to that. I can see that you want to take that away from them. Your attempt to pit your more prosperous neighbors against them is shameful. Rousing “the cost of precious tax dollars”while you benefit in innumerable ways from “tax dollars” is shameful.
And of course you mischaracterize an entire population of YOUR NEIGHBORS as: “sleeping on the sidewalk, urinating and defecating in public, or acting aggressively toward you or your children as you pass by” is disgraceful. JUST READ THIS WSR ARTICLE before you comment. It reads: “A formerly homeless woman has begun a career as a standup comic, doing a recent set at the Standup NY on the UWS. “At Standup New York Comedy Club, this #Shift Your Self performance featured a formerly homeless woman Rebecca Scott, also known as Holly Hood, as the opening act.Rebecca Scott had been homeless off and on for seven years, battling addiction and depression, serving time in prison and playing cello in the Astor Place subway station, often sleeping on a bench. But through a group called Community Access, she got a studio apartment and has written several books about her life.”
Certainly a plan could be implemented. This is not rocket
science.
Why can’t the police just pick them up and take them to
a place where they can be processed and cared for somewhere OUT OF THE CITY.
FAR OUT OF THE CITY. I know, a City of Homeless no longer,
homeless cause now they have their own city, services, etc.
Would it work. Maybe, maybe not. You got a better idea?
Yeah, I’ve often said this. There’s no earthly reason to keep them in the city. It’s a recipe for disaster, although great business for Homeless Landlords Inc. The court decision that compels the city to house the homeless doesn’t say the lodging has to be within the 5 boros. Let the city lease some land far upstate and use that.
i think we’ve reached a new low in some people expressing fascistic viewpoints on WSR. some are ow advocating for rounding up poor people and shipping them to some sort of “special city” upstate. which, of course, is nothing less than a concentration camp. (otherwise, what stops them from leaving the “homeless city” and coming back to the city?)
homelessness is indeed a crisis in NYC and throughout the country, and is closely related to the crisis in affordable housing, now a national crisis. if you want to get beyond fascistic ranting and find out how NYC is addressing the homeless issue, this report is a good place to start:
https://www1.nyc.gov/site/dhs/about/tide.page
Scott,
But there IS an earthly reason for homeless persons to remain in the City: THEY LIVE HERE the same as you do.
In fact I personally prefer that they remain longer than you, with that attitude towards your NEIGHBORS.
How would it be if the police just picked you up and took you to a place where you can be processed and cared for somewhere OUT OF THE CITY.
FAR OUT OF THE CITY.
Does that seem right to you?
Mia- I couldn’t agree more. Its more than just quality of life, its safety.
“We provide more than enough services for people truly in need.” -mia
Perhaps this assumption could be the starting point of your investigation of the homeless issue.
Most Shrinks on the UWS charge between $400 and $500 per hour…..yes, and that is in US dollars!! Amazing, right??
I mean, how much worse could this kid be?? I just wonder if he can prescribe anything good. Like…”take two scoops of ice cream and call me in the morning”.:) Probably better than the SSRI’s my guy gives out like candy.
i need to go see that kid lol
RE Vacancies on Columbus Avenue: Although we sadly concur that there are many vacancies above the Columbus Avenue Business Improvement District(BID)area, which extends from 82nd-67th Streets, we did want to clarify that our district has 94% occupancy, more than many districts in NYC.We have no graffiti, mountains of garbage and other items stated in this letter. The BID tried a number of years ago to extend its area northward, and met with no interest from property owners.
What does the BID charge businesses for this “protection?” And how does that work when there are so many vacant storefronts? Who would pay you?
Re: (the UWS has been) “dramatically transformed by graffiti, mountains of garbage awaiting collection….”
Mountains? Towering over us?? More like little hills, and, if the stuff is from stores, it’s probably the fault NOT of the D.o.S. but of commercial carters.
As for graffiti….where? How big?
Maybe that letter-writer lives in a dicey nabe, but as for us-chikkuns down here between 59th and 86th, to paraphrase “Treasure of the Sierra Madre”, “We don’t see no steenken garbage or graffiti”.
Bring back Stop and Frisk or,if the name offends, call it Keeping Knives and Guns out of the Hands of Lunatics and Criminals. We have to bring it back, regardless of the whining and complaining from criminals and their enablers. People living in low income, dangerous neighbourhoods deserve to be safe too even if they can’t afford drivers and Uber etc. to get around and don’t have doormen. We have to start demanding a fair share of policing just like we did in the 80’s.
Effy, Stop and Frisk still exists and still is in use. The only difference is that police are not legally allowed to stop you just for being black.
Hambone, I can add even more to the discussion on a tipping point into deterioration of quality of life on the UWS. Above 72nd st it is becoming a slum.
What happens now? We have too many people and too much freedom, a recipe for chaos. I think we are past the point of city bosses throwing rules and money at a problem. Who will want to live in their $30,000 a month high rise apt with no view in the middle of the other glass and steel monsters, and a teeming, filthy slum below. We’ll call it New Delhi….
Too much freedom?
It will only change if a large enough group of people start barraging Helen Rosenthal’s office with complaints. They will refer to you Goddard, but Goddard has no power-all they can do is offer services. If this issue bothers you, call her, email her many staff members and make them take action. The city council and mayor have somehow deluded themselves into thinking things are just fine. It’s not fine to let the city deteriorate. It is not “progressive” to have declining quality of life and to allow mentally ill people to remain on the streets. It is cruel and self-serving.
I’m so happy that Seasons will be gone.
that place is a nightmare.
The clerks behind the deli counter didn’t know a slice of fish from a chicken, and the prices were 37% higher than ANY OTHER STORE.
GOOD RIDDANCE TO BAD RUBBISH
BlingBling, isn’t it a bit extreme and mean-spirited to joyfully wish for a neighborhood business to close?
It would take dozens of jobs with it, leave us with yet another empty storefront, and deprive your neighbors of a place to shop for food.
Why don’t you just not shop there?
I’ve stopped shopping there months and monts ago.
as to your ignorance of losing jobs and rooting for closing, Hashem has provided a great saying for that: —
when one horrible, expensive, poorly serviced store closes, another one opens.
I’m sorry, you’re obviously in great mental anguish. My grandmother was 4.5 years in slave labor and concentration camps, and watched her little brother be chosen by mengele to go into the gas chamber. So, you’re angry, not sure what your point is, but I suggest you seek someone to talk to professionally, instead of harboring anger at a food establishment that you say has very high prices. why not just…not go there? there are other kosher options on the UWS that I’m sure you are aware of, I think Fisher Brothers on 72nd has good food at decent prices. Check out the sealed kosher food containers at Fairway as well.
Jeez, BlingBling! With that, um, logic, what’s the point of celebrating the closing of one crappy store if another crappy store is just going to take its place? Why be so callous about cashiers, stockboys, or butchers having to deal with the trauma of losing their jobs? I don’t get it.
invoking Hashem in you paying 37% more for food (did you really come up with that exact number? that is strange by itself), is shameful. be grateful you live in a time and place where you have no worries of going hungry. Did you not learn anything from your prayers during Yom Kippur?
you know full well Hashem doesn’t care one iota about anyone’s sins. if he did, he’d not have let 6M of my DIRECT ancestors perish in the ovens for NO SINS AT ALL.
your logic: cares about 37% price increases on the UWS, cares not for 6M innocent Jewish lives
Wake up.
uh, read it again BlingBling, Seasons is not going anywhere…
Am loving the young lad shown in picture offering “Emotional Advice”. Can we have more on the backstory?
How is the “first date” bit even remotely news worthy..??
Twenty prior arrests for the homeless man? Lock him up and throw away the key.