A rare Great Horned Owl watched for prey in Riverside Park late last month. Photo via Riverside Park Conservancy.
December 2, 2019 Weather: Snow and rain, with a high of 41 degrees.
Notices:
Book readings, concerts and other local events are on our calendar!
Winter’s Eve — a festival with music, shows and food — takes place on Monday in Lincoln Square (rain or shine!).
One block on 108th Street will be closed for the month, the 24th precinct says. “Please be advised that West 108th Street between Amsterdam Avenue and Columbus Avenue will be closed due to construction at 145 West 108th Street. Dates: Monday December 2nd to Tuesday December 31st. Hours: 9am-4pm Mon-Fri, and 8am-4pm on Sat.”
The former leader of MS 54 passed away. “It is with great sadness that we share the news that Mr. Jules Linden, former principal of Booker T. passed away this past week. So much of what makes Booker T. special was due to him and his work at instilling a caring culture on 107th St.”
News:
Author Malachy McCourt is suing The Riverside Premier Rehabilitation & Healing Center on 87th and Riverside Drive. “‘He went in to regain strength after a short hospital stay and he came out in worse condition with a stage 4 bedsore,’ said McCourt’s attorney, Dennis Kelly, who is suing Riverside in Manhattan Supreme Court for negligence and ‘deliberate indifference.’ Riverside did not return messages.”
It’s local Congressman Jerry Nadler’s big moment, as the impeachment inquiry moves to the House Judiciary Committee, which he chairs. “The Judiciary Committee will interview legal experts so Democrats have a constitutional basis on which to draft articles of impeachment that would eventually be sent to the full House for a vote…Nadler is giving the White House a chance to participate in the hearings. So far, there’s no official decision on whether the president would take him up on his offer.”
Hundreds of volunteers served Thanksgiving dinner at the Goddard Riverside Community Center. “Organizers say the meal has been an Upper West Side tradition for more than 30 years.”
Tony Bennett has painted Central Park more than 800 times, often while hanging out in the park in his tracksuit. “If you’re lucky, you’ll catch [Tony] sitting on those green benches in the park in his tracksuit, not singing, but painting.”
And there was a scary moment for a police officer and a police horse:
Good News! #NYPD Mounted horse Otis & PO Kalaj are uninjured after both were struck yesterday by a distracted driver in the vicinity of Central Park. As a precaution Otis received a veterinarian exam including X-rays & will remain inside for 5 days to ensure he is healthy. pic.twitter.com/WOZncjzNIE
— NYPD Special Ops (@NYPDSpecialops) November 22, 2019
Tony Bennett aka Anthony Bennedetto, is currently having an exhibit of his paintings at the Art Students League, 251 W 57th Street through January 11, it include paintings of Central Park and fellow musicians. https://www.theartstudentsleague.org/event/the-art-of-tony-bennett-anthony-benedetto/
Can someone tell me why we have police horses anyway? Other than just to intimidate non violent protesters for “crowd control”.
In my experience in Times Square, police horses and mounted officers are mainly for tourists taking photos.
It would be nice, if after he finishes impeaching the President and anything else Trump-related that he needs to do, Mr. Nadler spends a few minutes paying attention to the LOCAL needs of his constituents, too.
I seem to recall Nadler used to be against the Patriot Act. Or said he was. Now I see the act was just reauthorized (it was in danger of expiring) by the House Democrats. The party that used to be for civil liberties, but no longer. I guess Nadler figures some Russians need surveilling?
I am proud when I tell people that Jerrold Nadler is my congressman, Mr. David. I do not feel that he neglects us but rather that he truly represents us. We have a voice in the House of Representatives and that is what matters most. Good luck, Mr. Nadler, as you begin this next chapter of your career.
Jerry Nadler is a disgrace as are the rest of the Democrats. They have spent the past three years doing nothing but waging a coup against the duly elected President. Listen to Nadler on the Clinton impeachment back in 1998 and you see the hypocrisy of what is being done.
Martha Weissberg: You should be very proud of Nadler if you want your Congressman to spend 100 percent+ of his time on Donald Trump.
I don’t like Trump either, but we are not paying Nadler to become a national hero and forget about constituent needs on the UWS – which he has.
I’m distressed to hear of Malachy McCourt’s
problems with his rehab.
I attended the Barnes & Noble event featuring Malachy and his brother, Alfie. Both had books
recently published.
I fell in love with both of them – their wit, beautiful singing, the way they conveyed such emotion through their written words and melodic lilting voices.
I spoke to Alfie afterward and he was darling. I told him that I was Irish on both sides. He replied, “Well, I won’t hold that against you.”
I send best wishes for a full recovery for Malachy. He was so brilliant on “Ryan’s Hope.”
Earlier this year, I ran into Ilene Kristen in Verdi Square. She’s the actress who played Delia on “Ryan’s Hope.”
She was so sweet. I told her how much I enjoyed “Ryan’s Hope.” She looked exactly the same!
Why do we have ANY horses in NYC’s heavy traffic?
I have to say, however, that there is no comparison between the appearance of the poor, bedraggled-looking carriage horses and those of the well-cared-for police horses. None whatsoever.
Maybe we need dedicated horse lanes more than we need dedicated bike lanes or loading zones.
hello, all
if you want to give yourself an early holiday gift, for just under $3, i recommend that you purchase this recorded story, brilliantly read by our neighbor Malachy McCourt several years ago at Selected Shorts.
https://store.symphonyspace.org/products/christmas-is-a-sad-season-for-the-poor-by-john-cheever
a somewhat less entertaining option would be to find the story in a cheever collection or in the new yorker if it can be found in the archives.
Congressman Nadler never gave up the fight against dangerous (both for accident and homeland security reasons) helicopter air tourism. Air tourism disrupts our city. Central Park and its reservoir is the number one destination for out-of-state air tourism helicopters. These helicopters fly forty flights a day over my house and steal the quiet, serenity and solace of our park from us.
What’s worse is that these helicopter are old hunks of junk, some manufactured as long ago as 1981. Nadler has never given up his attempts to have these flights banned.
Bed sores are a clear indication of poor to horrible nursing care.
With a proper nursing care plan that includes frequent patient turning/re-positioning, close monitoring of skin integrity along with evaluation of same bed sores shouldn’t happen,or at least be dealt with at stage one.
Sounds like for all their glossy brochures et al Riverside is not far from many other rehab/nursing homes in city; short on staffing and what they’e got is of dubious quality.
While hospital care may or may not be any better in this regard, most of us will never know. Insurance and federal mandates mean soon as patients are barely over critical episode they are either discharged to home or rehab/skilled nursing.
The latter see so much that once was on hospital med/surg floors that nursing schools routinely send students to rehabilitation and skilled nursing places for clinical time.
How do I reach McCourt’s attorney Dennis Kelly? I have another claim against Riverside?