By Carol Tannenhauser
Monday, October 24, 2022
Chance of showers. High 62 degrees.
Notices
Our calendar has lots of local events! Click on the link or the lady in the upper righthand corner.
The Central Park Conservancy has a terrific guide to the Fall foliage in Central Park that you can access here.
News
The drip, drip, drip of crime news continues, feeding that feeling – no matter how much of a stoic you are, and no matter what the statistics say – that the city is under some new level of assault.
Often police give little context with their crime reports. Consider this one from the past weekend: “A man, no age, was stabbed in the neck in the vicinity of 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue at around 11pm Saturday. He was taken to Mount Sinai Morningside hospital in stable condition.” The “light-complexioned” assailant was still “outstanding” as of Sunday morning.
Did this happen after a personal dispute or was it a random crime? We don’t know, but it’s one more story against the backdrop of today’s political, economic, and international news that might make some feel as if we’re on the eve of destruction.
Wait…didn’t Barry McGuire sing about that in a whole different era – the summer of 1965?
And weren’t humans threatening to annihilate each other in 1959, according to The Kingston Trio?
If bad news is endemic, how, then, should we process it? How can we put it in a meaningful context? We’re not, of course, under threat like residents of many parts of Ukraine, where Russia is raining down life-and-death terror. But that context offers little comfort.
Here’s a different kind of context: while the Rag reports on crime news, much of our reporting would fall into the category of “good news” on the Upper West Side. Read about the outpouring of generosity shown to asylum seekers by Upper West Siders. Read about the tiny grasshopper sparrow that drew a crowd in Central Park — and about Wollman Rink, which is making ice skating under the skyscrapers available to all. Read about the vibrant Ballet Hispánico, which just had a street co-named for it, and about the 28 restaurants and stores that opened in the neighborhood this past month, while only six closed. Read about the new bagel and bialy place that is taking up the mantle of a beloved diner, and about the stolen kitten that was returned.
What we read shapes our views of the world and the neighborhood around us, according to the Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman. “People tend to assess the relative importance of issues by the ease with which they are retrieved from memory—and this is largely determined by the extent of coverage in the media,” Kahneman wrote in his book Thinking, Fast and Slow. “Frequently mentioned topics populate the mind even as others slip away from awareness. In turn, what the media choose to report corresponds to their view of what is currently on the public’s mind.”
We will keep reporting the news of the UWS, just as we’re sure Rag readers will keep on telling us what’s on their minds.
(Happy Birthday, LAC)
“ We’re not, of course, under threat like residents of many parts of Ukraine, where Russia is raining down life-and-death terror. But that context offers little comfort.”. I had to re-read this article twice. This reference and “read this not that” are quite something. Not to mention references to 1965 and 1959.
Re: “What we read shapes our views of the world and the neighborhood around us….”
Definitely! Compare the “news” touted by a tabloid like The New York Post versus a “broadsheet” like the New York Times (okay, the “Post” DOES have better headlines!)
Even worse, watch any 6:00 P.M. local Tabloid-TV “newscast” from ABC, CBS, NBC, or PIX, all of which adhere to the “If It Bleeds It Leads” philosophy (shootings, subway violence, car crashes, fires, more car crashes…ad nauseum).
Many “thinkers” have argued that a constant diet of this produces the “Chicken Littles” who are convinced that the sky IS falling.
I haven’t watched local news since 9-11. I didn’t want my kids to see video of the WTC getting hit by planes over and over again and falling down so off went the tv. Turns out that was smart because many small children thought it was happening every time they saw it replay on the tv. I got news on my computer instead and haven’t looked back. The if it bleeds it leads and the constant harping of a story that they then report for 1 minute was annoying and then I found you know what? I don’t need it.
Agreed. I have decided to stop spending my days hiding under the bed and instead move to Huntsville, Alabama, where people are virtuous and I can feel safe. /s
Sigh. I still plan to vote for Danzilo and NOT for Zeldin.
Amen. I wish there were more reasonable, moderate Dems like Danzilo. We can support traditional Democrat values while also acknowledging that crime is a huge issue and needs to be dealt with. But at the same time, voting for Zeldin is craziness, particularly when the alternative is Hochul, who is at least somewhat moderate.
Thank you for writing this. I was getting increasingly disheartened with the tack that WSR was taking, especially in regards to the hyperbolic comments that were flying around and the tone that somehow we have only ourselves to blame. I have to say, whatever group has taken over the comment threads on here has made me want to stop reading WSR entirely.
Yes, there is crime, and humans seem to still be on edge after coming out of a global pandemic but there are also great and fun things happening. I mean, Clyde is safe and sound!
I’m happy for Clyde. I’m more concerned about my child though.
” I have to say, whatever group has taken over the comment threads on here has made me want to stop reading WSR entirely.”
Such words, “taken over”! Really says it all doesn’t it? As if the WSR was YOURS before?? The WSR is for the residents of the UWS, not some political club, and the residents are speaking loud and clear that they no longer feel safe and want something to be done.
If it bleeds, it leads!
Really, where? These crimes are being TOTALLY ignored by all mainstream publications except for the Post and WSR.
Ah, late October in the even numbered years. Things are great, and definitely better than 1453. What is everyone complaining about?
“The drip, drip, drip of crime news continues, feeding that feeling – no matter how much of a stoic you are, and no matter what the statistics say – that the city is under some new level of assault.”
I think readers can be somewhat empathetic to the Rag’s dilemma, and of the Rag’s desire not to become the UWS crime blotter.
On the other hand, readers may rightly feel gaslighted by the frequent regurgitation of dubious ‘crime stats’ that absolutely go against what we witness daily with our own eyes– on the streets in front of our homes; on the subway if we dare to take it any longer; in the parks, if we dare walk through them any longer.
How many politicians have learned too late the consequences of falling out of touch with their constituency?
Media outlets, even small-scale endeavors like WSR, run the same risk of losing credibility by ignoring what everybody else plainly sees.
So thank you, WSR, for at least making the effort.
This is a powerful post. It really sums up things well.
How about a column on all the wonderful mainstay local businesses that have withstood the test of time and continue to be vibrant additions to our UWS community? Darryl’s Boutique on Amsterdam and West 84 has been in business for 36 years. He has a model that has worked and has been a staple for so many women when so many other clothing stores barely last a season. Why not start covering these businesses and use your voice and reach to help direct business their way so we can keep fostering the small town neighborhood feel so many of your readers love about this neighborhood? 36 years is a really long time and maybe his perspective could help other newcomers survive brick and mortar? Thanks!
Love Daryl’s! When I lived on 84th and Amsterdam in the 80’s it opened. Though don’t live at that location anymore, I still stop in and check out what is there. Great place!
It’s very hard to focus on anything when people are getting randomly attacked. This is literally hellish and no self-respecting civilized people should have to accept and live with this. The only reason people simply accept this kind of thing is because they never think it is going to happen to them or a loved one.
There was a brief time when crime was happening at very low rates for NYC. It is ticking up now, but I think the bigger problem is that every incident gets blown up on social media, citizen app, and exploited by politicians in our nonstop 24/7 news cycle. Everyone needs to understand that context.