Photo by Ellen Cohen.
March 25, 2019 Weather: Cloudy with a high of 52 degrees.
Notices:
A free showing of “The Spy Who LovedDumped Me” and more than 50 other local events are on our calendar.
News:
Move over Mandarin Duck: A Great Blue Heron that hangs out at The Pond is the hot new bird in Central Park. Except it isn’t really a new bird. “Sure, it doesn’t look like a New Yorker, but it’s not a new arrival in these parts. David Barrett—who runs Manhattan Bird Alert—told me that it has ‘been at the Pond nearly all winter!’ He added that ‘it’s common in the park most of the year, though only in small numbers.'”
Great Blue Heron stalking the Central Park Lake today
📷: @SteveBellovin pic.twitter.com/q5ozJ9tmIv— Manhattan Bird Alert (@BirdCentralPark) February 16, 2019
Philip Roth’s UWS apartment is open to prospective buyers, but the real estate agents apparently didn’t remove his stuff. “While people understandably need to see a property before they buy it, Roth was a private man and my guess is he wouldn’t have wanted complete strangers checking out his belongings. What do we get from knowing the dental hygiene preferences of the author of Portnoy’s Complaint? Is it anybody’s business?”
The Museum of Natural History is reconsidering some of its exhibits, adding an explanation on one diorama that questions the way it misrepresents historical scenes. “The labels say, for instance, that if the scene had been historically accurate, the Lenape would have been dressed for the occasion in fur robes and adornments that signified leadership positions. Canoes would have been seen in the water next to the European ships. These were vital to colonial trade, providing access to items found further inland, where the larger ships could not navigate. The women did not wear impractical skirts. Further, some are likely to have been part of the negotiations, as women in Lenape societies (past and present) typically hold leadership roles.”
Five people have accused a priest at the Church of Notre Dame near Morningside Park of abusing them. He denies the allegations.
Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal introduced a bill to make landlords offer keys to residents who don’t want to use digital “smart access” systems.
The M79 is getting a head start at one avenue.
To prioritize M79 #SelectBusService, DOT is piloting a new bus only queue jump signal on 79th St at 5th Ave. Buses proceed on the vertical white bar to be first through the 79th St Transverse before general traffic, getting bus riders to the west side faster and more reliably. pic.twitter.com/bM4qhlj8fc
— NYC DOT (@NYC_DOT) March 21, 2019
Thanks to Deb for pointing out our initial error on the Spy movie title.
Introducing a new traffic control signal is a huge deal that requires more public education than just a sign, especially in a city where pedestrians regularly cross in the last moments before the light changes. I could easily imagine a pedestrian seeing the red light, thinking they still had a few seconds before the light turned green, and walking right in front of a now-moving bus. Is that worth it for the few extra seconds the bus gains?
Haha – This is going to be fun ! Oh boy…
Insurance companies standby!!!!!
(If I was an insurance company I would open up an office right on that corner).
Better yet!!! If they introduce this at 81st St. and Central Park West… i’m going to set up and sell front row reserve seating inside central park (hunters gate walking path) at 81 Street.
The idea to let buses go first is great in theory, but I am not optimistic about drivers actually waiting. Also, will the signal have a way of knowing that there is a bus waiting so that it only activates when there is a bus there? Otherwise most of the time it will not be relevant and traffic will be held up for nothing.
Umm. That light at 79th and 5th Avenue has allowed buses to go first for over 2 years already. What is the news here?
@WestSideRag, did you realize a link to a WSR item about Phillip Roth is included in the Guardian article, the point of which is how PR’s privacy is being violated in death as it was when he was alive (to the extent that he couldn’t even buy a coat without being accosted by selfie-requesting fans… as per an article in the WSR)??? #irony
We did indeed! And the person who wrote the Guardian article must have known she was letting everyone know that they could see Philip Roth’s stuff at these open houses, which some people might also consider a violation of his privacy! It all comes full circle, doesn’t it?
Publishing a photo of Philip Roth or a story about something nice Philip Roth did after he died doesn’t seem like a violation to us, particularly given that WSR — unlike most newspapers in the city — doesn’t reveal where celebrities live.
The free movie at the library on Saturday is “The Spy Who Dumped Me”, not “The Spy Who Loved Me”.
Big difference, but understandable.