By Carol Tannenhauser
Monday, September 12, 2022
Cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible, high 83 degrees.
Notices
Our calendar has lots of local events! Click on the link or the lady in the upper righthand corner.
Last month, we introduced a new feature called West Side Mews: Cat Stories, written by Victoria Cumings, profiling UWS cats. Anyone who wants their kitty or kitties featured, contact Victoria at victoria@westsidemews.com. “I saw from the comments that Freyja, Pistachio, Catarina, Jamie McFluff, and Crowley may like to be featured,” Victoria wrote. “I’ll aim to do a West Side Mews story every two weeks.”
If you’re following the ressurection of the Metro Theater (Broadway, 99-100), there is a public hearing on Zoom on Wednesday, September 14, at 6:30 pm, at which the prospective operators will make their case for obtaining a liqour license. Here’s the link to register for the Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_-XbJJB7PT2Cfb6OgMoSp8A
The Health Department monitors mosquito populations and applies pesticides during the summer to reduce the number of mosquitoes and lessen the risk of mosquito-borne diseases, such as West Nile Virus. In August, DOH announced that there were a record number of NYC mosquitos infected with WNV, and two cases of the disease, one each in Brooklyn and Queens. There will be a pesticide spraying of a large swath of Manhattan, including the Upper West Side, on Thursday, September 15, starting at 8:30pm and continuing until 6am, September 16 (rain date: September 19). “No reported diseases in people or pets have been linked with the use of pesticides in West Nile virus control efforts since 1999,” DOH reported. “People who are sensitive to spray ingredients may get a rash or have short-term eye or throat irritation. If you have a stronger reaction to pesticides, call the NYC Poison Control Center at 212-POISONS (212-764-7667). For more information about avoiding pesticide exposure, click here. For information about West Nile Virus, click here.
New Plaza Theater is looking for volunteer cinema ushers! Must be people and staircase friendly and able to stand for 30-45 minutes at a time, but the movie’s free! If you’re interested in learning more, send an email to: contact@newplazacinema.org.
News
No more lox! Rabbi Shuli Passow, the director of community engagement at B’nai Jeshurun (West 88th Street between Broadway and West End Avenue) announced on their website last Thursday that there will be no more lox at the synagogue’s Community Kiddush lunches following Saturday Shabbat services. “What we eat and how we eat it should intentionally express our values,” she wrote. “Lox will be eliminated from the menu so we can do our part to reduce the environmental impact of pollution and overfishing. We know that for some this is a heretical move! We are here to support you as you process this change.”
“A new exhibition honoring Black lives lost to racial injustice in the United States will open this month in New York City’s historical Seneca Village, once home to a thriving black community that was displaced by the city to make way for Central Park in the 1850s,” 6sqft reported. “Presented by the San Diego African American Museum of Fine Art (SDAAMFA), the Say Their Names Memorial Exhibition is a month-long augmented reality experience debuting on Saturday, September 17 at West 85th Street in Central Park.” For more information, click here.
Finally, out of left field, you don’t have to be perfect at work, according to none less than The Economist. “[P]erfectionism is increasingly out of step with the ways that products are developed, employees are treated and workforces are organized,” they wrote. One reason is that the trait is on the rise and it’s not good for your mental health. “A study published in 2017 found that [perfectionism] had been steadily increasing among American, British and Canadian college students between 1989 and 2016 (before you blame Instagram, one big reason is rising parental expectations). The tyranny of excessively high expectations is not good for you: a big literature review in 2016 concluded that perfectionism is associated with a string of mental-health disorders, from depression and burnout to stress and self-harm.”
The above does not apply to WSR writers who answer to a higher power: WSR commenters.
Have a great week!
BJ is on 88th, not 84th.
Lox is overkill for a weekly community kiddush. That being said, they are being sanctimonious to claim that they are doing this for environmental reasons. Typical UWS searching for a cause to resolve so you can pat yourself on the back when there are much bigger issues out there.
I’m guessing the budget also helped the decision. And possibly some complaints from members who are deathly allergic to lox grease (this is a real thing) so if it cross-contaminated other food, that could be a big problem.
For what it’s worth, lox, plus other smoked and aged foods are full of tyramines, which give me migraines:
“Tyramine occurs widely in plants and animals, and is metabolized by various enzymes, including monoamine oxidases. In foods, it often is produced by the decarboxylation of tyrosine during fermentation or decay. Foods that are fermented, cured, pickled, aged, or spoiled have high amounts of tyramine. Tyramine levels go up when foods are at room temperature or go past their freshness date.”
“A large dietary intake of tyramine can cause the tyramine pressor response, which is defined as an increase in systolic blood pressure of 30 mmHg or more. The increased release of norepinephrine (noradrenaline) from neuronal cytosol or storage vesicles is thought to cause the vasoconstriction and increased heart rate and blood pressure of the pressor response.
In severe cases, adrenergic crisis can occur.[medical citation needed] Although the mechanism is unclear, tyramine ingestion also triggers migraine attacks in sensitive individuals and can even lead to stroke. Vasodilation, dopamine, and circulatory factors are all implicated in the migraines. Double-blind trials suggest that the effects of tyramine on migraine may be adrenergic” (which means working on adrenaline; enhancing or mimicking adrenaline -L.).
PS- One of the not very well known side effects of climate change, the warming of the earth, is that food ages & breaks down faster, even in the fields, so that there’s more tyramine development in plants at an earlier stage.
Thanks, Leon, fixed.
Most of the salmon used in lox is likely farm raised. I don’t see how BJ is preventing “overfishing” by boycotting lox.
Where smoked fish is concerned I just can’t help but be ‘that guy’ who points out (every time) that what they were serving was Nova Scotia NOT belly lox.
Nice writing, Carol, and usual crotchety comments. Love the UWS
What is difference between Nova Scotia and belly lox? Also how does not eating lox save the environment? You got me there!
The famed late great Connie Spizz (https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/18/obituaries/18spizz.html) of the legendary Rego Smoked Fish answered this question thousands of times … Lox is cured in brine or salt hence the salty flavor, Nova is smoked. If a customer asked what ‘Nova-Lox’ was he would stare silently and sigh.
I don’t want to split hairs here, but no reference is reliable. Even Wiki:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lox
It says that lox could be brined or smoked (not accurate), and the country or origin is Israel (not accurate either, it is Ashkenazi Jewish from Eastern Europe)
To make things more complicated there’s a difference between Nova and Nova Scotia lox. Nova Scotia salmon is just salmon from Nova Scotia. Nova lox is a particular type of lox typically made from Nova Scotia salmon.
“ Nova lox is a popular type of cold-smoked salmon made from a type of salmon found in Nova Scotia. Smoked salmon, on the other hand, is a salmon fillet that has been cured and smoked (either hot or cold).Feb 21, 2022”
In any case, all kinds are just delicious!
Originally lox meant to be brined salmon belly. Later on the term was used for all kinds of smoked or brined salmon, belly or not.
I assume the reference above is to Nova Scotia non-belly cut or salmon as opposed to a cheaper belly cut.
It would be helpful to know that insecticide is being used to control these mosquitoes.