January 17, 2022, Martin Luther King Day, Weather: Light rain, 42 degrees, feels like 35.
Notices:
Our calendar has lots of local events!
News:
Michelle Alyssa Go, who was tragically killed Saturday morning, was a committed New Yorker and Upper West Sider, The New York Times wrote. “She was incredibly smart,” [her neighbor] said, choking back tears as she spoke on Sunday. ‘She was just the person who did everything right.’ Reserved but friendly, Ms. Go renewed her lease during the pandemic rather than leave, [her neighbor] said, committed to the city she had considered home.”
Upper West Sider Alina Bloomgarden founded Music on the Inside, “a nonprofit that connects jazz artists with incarcerated people (or those recently released from prisons and jails) for lessons, concerts and mentoring,” The New York Times wrote. “Her inspiration for founding the program seven years ago was Louis Armstrong, who was arrested as a boy and sent to reform school, where he learned to play the horn.”
Rather than follow their urge to rappel down from their fifth-floor walk-up, a couple of Upper West Siders decided to move. They had unusual criteria, The Times said: they didn’t want to live near Lincoln Center or to have a doorman. Did they choose (1) a sunny two bedroom in the West 100s; (2) an oversized two bedroom in Morningside Gardens, overlooking a Foodtown supermarket; or (3) a Riverside Drive two-bedroom with a gorgeous lobby?
“Listening to him play in the small confines of an apartment on the Upper West Side is a revelation,” ABC7 said about young classical violinist Kevin Zhu, who is a senior at Julliard, studying with the likes of the legendary Itzhak Perlman. “‘The main responsibility of an artist is to carry the legacy of those before us and to innovate,’ Zhu said. ‘We have to ask the question of how do we respect what’s been done before, but also how do we bridge it to the next generation?'”
“Billionaire investor Daniel Och has sold a Manhattan penthouse overlooking Central Park for close to $190 million, roughly double what he paid just over two years ago,” The Wall Street Journal reported. “At the time of the purchase, Mr. Och had already relocated to Florida for tax purposes, and planned to use the home as a pied-à-terre.”
The scaffolding will be removed in the coming months to reveal the exterior of Charlotte, a nine-story condominium building at 470 Columbus Avenue (83rd Street), NYYimby reported. “The structure is engineered to meet eco-friendly standards set by the German-based Passive House Institute, which is known to reduce energy consumption for heating and cooling by up to 90 percent.”
A reader sent us the following note: “My four year old found this heart-shaped charm outside our building on 71st Street, and he wanted to return it to its rightful owner.” It clearly has sentimental value for its owner, with a photo on the front and an engraving on the back that reads, “I Will Always Love You. You My Heart Dad.” Drop us a line at westsiderag@gmail.com if you found it, and we’ll arrange the exchange.
Finally, the daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. tweeted the following:
My sympathy is with the Go family for their tragic unnecessary loss. I feel partly to blame and a resident of this city who could do more to get serious people elected.
Michelle Alyssa Go should be alive today and if we do not get serious about facing these challenges by electing leaders who WILL do something about it, then we are all to blame. You can be compassionate while keeping city residents safe from harm and we are to blame if this keeps continuing. My heartfelt condolences to everyone who knew her.
Michelle Go was a victim of our profound neglect of the mentally ill in our society. Deep condolences to her family and friends.
“Mr. Och had already relocated to Florida for tax purposes.”
Because you can never have too much, right Dan? This is how you keep score with the people who pretend to be your friends.