Monday, January 15, 2024
Partly cloudy. High 35 degrees.
Notices
Our calendar has lots of local events. Click on the link or the lady in the upper righthand corner to check.
Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It is a federal holiday that is celebrated on the third Monday of January each year. January 15 is also King’s birthday.
Local Historian Jim Mackin, along with the Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group and the Columbus Amsterdam Business Improvement District, will host a program on January 31 about notable figures who once lived in the Bloomingdale neighborhood. Those figures include Thurgood Marshall, Billie Holiday, Augustus Meyers, and more. You can find out more — HERE.
Upper West Side News
By Gus Saltonstall
A major Upper West Side shopping center is at risk of “imminent default,” according to a recent report by Crain’s New York Business.
Columbus Square, which is a collection of five apartment towers between West 97th and and 100th streets along both sides of Columbus Avenue, has had its mortgage sent to “special servicing,” a step that Crain’s describes as the “financial world’s equivalent of the intensive-care ward.”
Along with the residential component, Columbus Square also has a multitude of commercial tenants, including Whole Foods, Target, T.J. Maxx, Starbucks, Homegoods, Bareburger, and more. The three-block stretch also has three schools.
Columbus Square has a $370 million mortgage, along with a loan that matures in August, meaning that the mortgage will most likely have to be refinanced at a higher rate than its current rate, reported Crain’s. The complex is owned by real estate company MetLife and the real estate investment firm UDR.
Columbus Square has a dedicated website, where you can learn more about the complex and its history.
Those who are Crain’s subscribers can read the full article — HERE.
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio might be coming to a stage near you.
In April, 2021, the ex-hizzoner was planning to do a comedy set at the Upper West Side’s Stand Up NY to help in its reopening after COVID restrictions. He ended up pulling out at the time, but now de Blasio is again debating the idea, according to a recent story from Page Six.
Dani Zoldan, the owner of Stand Up NY at 236 West 78th Street, told the Post that de Blasio is “taking the offer seriously” to perform a set at the club.
It is not the first time the former mayor has been connected to the Upper West Side in recent months.
He was spotted multiple times this past fall at the Empire Rooftop bar on West 63rd Street with a romantic date, and he also rented a one-bedroom apartment in the neighborhood in October, multiple publications reported at the time.
De Blasio never gave a reason why he ended up not performing the comedy set in 2021, but the routine would have opened as following, according to the Post: “A lot of you know who I am, but for those who don’t, I’m not Bill de Blasio. In fact, if this goes terribly, I’m Andrew Cuomo.”
This would be the first time that the former mayor performed a standup routine.
You can check out more about the situation — HERE.
Speaking of comedy, sadly, it’s the end of an era. Actress Joyce Randolph, who played Ed Norton’s wife, Trixie, on the classic 1950s television show, “The Honeymooners,” died “in her Upper West Side home” on Saturday, according to the Associated Press. She was 99. Randolph was the last surviving main character of the beloved comedy, which also starred Jackie Gleason, Art Carney, and Audrey Meadows.
Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech in support of striking sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 3, 1968. The speech has since been dubbed “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop.”
This is how he chose to conclude that speech.
“Like anybody, I would like to live a long life—longevity has its place.
But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will.
And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over, and I’ve seen the Promised Land.
I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land.
And so I’m happy tonight; I’m not worried about anything; I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”
He was shot and killed the next day.
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I remember as a kid in the late 70’s, early 80’s, going to Goddard Riverside and playing softball in the Spring or attending their after-school program in the fall. I’d pop into D’agostinos w friends for snacks and several times had bumped into Ms.Joyce Randolph. We’d excitedly say “Hi Trixie!” and she’d let us call her that. She was always so gracious and friendly.
April 3, 1868? I think you mean 1968….
You’re right, thank you.
I think MLK’s speech might have been delivered in 1968, not 1868 :-).
Hopefully someone will buy and renovate Columbus Square. The high crime and thievery in the area is hurting businesses.
I haven’t seen crime/thievery in the stores on Columbus betw 97th and 100th, though I don’t claim that none occurs. There are empty retail spaces, including that of the former Chase bank branch. The Bank of America branch is set to close in a few months. I am guessing that the developer may be facing residential vacancies in the buildings, too.
I don’t know of a quick solution. Some developers are obligated by the terms of their mortgages to rent space at a certain premium, which makes it hard to discount commercial rents noticeably on the mortgaged property.
On a long bus ride through NJ on Saturday I saw what looked like many empty storefronts, even almost-deserted shopping malls. Sigh.
If the owner could “price it to rent” that would help.
Columbus Square is relatively new and doesn’t need renovation. It’s a full-service, luxury development. Studios there start at $3500. Check out the website. (And the area is not crime ridden.)
The problem here is the enormous debt underlying this property and the high cost of refinancing at current higher rates. This is affecting properties across the nation, and we will see it in New York more and more.
I think it’s more that retail is having a hard time everywhere because of Amazon and the likes…
Bail reform.
That turned out dark.
How wonderful that Joyce Randolph lived in the area. I didn’t know that. When I was a little girl, I went to a live taping of the Jackie Gleason show because my mother was a writer who worked at CBS. What a treat! My mother took our whole class and we had to be very very quiet!
Such a tragedy that Dr Martin Luther King had to die so violently and so young. Reading that speech and now knowing what happened the next day is heartbreaking. If he were alive today with his foresight, optimism and wisdom, I don’t think this rise of racism would have happened.
And please don’t close wonderful Columbus Square. My favorite store, HomeGoods is there. What a treat to shop there. It’s like a treasure hunt.
Rest in Peace Ms. Randolph (Trixie). The last of an amazing cast that still makes me laugh to this day. The Honeymooners are such a part of New York. If you speak to people elsewhere in the country, they just don’t get it the way we do. You will continue to live in our hearts each time we watch and laugh at those classic episodes. Like your castmates Jackie Gleason, Art Carney and Audrey Meadows, you all will remain here with us.
Eight years of DeBlasio comedy in office wasn’t enough?!
I wouldn’t pay a dime for anything that has to do with Bill Di Blasio. He took our money and gave it to his completely unqualified wife (which should be illegal) to waste over $850 MILLION dollars on her Mental Illness initiative failure. Just go outside and see how well that went. He should be hiding in shame but that is how much of a complete narcissist he is.
Well being that DeBlasio was a joke as a mayor it’s only fitting.