Monday, August 19, 2024
Rainy. High 84 degrees.
The remains of Hurricane Ernesto are expected to continue sending rain to New York City through Monday, but the rest of the week should be sunny.
Notices
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Upper West Side News
By Gus Saltonstall
An Upper West Side native will be playing former President Donald Trump in the debate prep for Vice President Kamala Harris, according to the Washington Post, and also reported on by Forward.
Philippe Reines, who grew up on the Upper West Side, will act as Trump during Harris’ practice sessions for the September 10th debate on ABC.
Reines has experience in the role, as he also played Trump during Hillary Clinton’s prep for her debates during the 2016 presidential campaign cycle. Reines was an advisor to Clinton during her years as Secretary of State under President Barack Obama, and was her press secretary when she was a New York senator.
“I lied. I bragged. I flailed my hands and arms. I wore a long red tie. Really long,” Reines wrote in an op-ed for Politico about the experience playing Trump. He added to the appearance by buying Trump’s signature watches and wearing shoes that brought him to the former president’s height.
Reines grew up on the Upper West Side, and attended the Orthodox school Ramaz on the Upper East Side. He also attended Columbia University.
You can read more about Reines and his help in Harris’ debate prep — HERE.
An Upper West Sider walking her dog last week in Riverside Park found a loaded gun wrapped in two shirts in Riverside Park.
The woman was walking her dog Bucky on Friday near West 111th Street within a grassy section of the park, when she found the gun, police confirmed to West Side Rag.
The gun appears to be a nine millimeter Taurus G2C.
A spokesperson from the NYPD told the Rag that there have been no arrests and an investigation into how the gun ended up in the park is ongoing.
Richard Kind, the popular actor, and more importantly, Upper West Sider, recently sat down with The New York Times to talk about his unique career.
“I’ve spent the past 40 years striking the perfect balance between constantly working and never getting bugged in a deli,” Kind told the Times for the story, dubbed — “Richard Kind Is Still Waiting for His Big Break.”
Kind conducted the interview in. an unspecified “upscale Mediterranean restaurant on the Upper West Side.”
The actor is best known for his roles on “Spin City,” “Mad About You,” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” He is also currently in the cast for the upcoming season of “Only Murders in the Building,” which is also generally set in the neighborhood.
You can read the full profile of Kind — HERE.
The Upper West Side is near the very top of New York City neighborhoods with the most newly listed homes for the summer, according to a recent study from StreetEasy.
From May through July of 2024, there have been 674 newly listed homes on the Upper West Side.
The Upper East Side is the only neighborhood in the five boroughs that saw more new listings during the period — with 841. The top five was rounded out by Midtown East, Chelsea and Astoria.
The median asking price for the Upper West Side homes was $1.495 million, which was “priced well above the borough’s median asking price,” according to StreetEasy. It was also more expensive than the $1.325 million median home price on the Upper East Side during the period.
“One reason for this is that owners of more expensive homes likely have more financial flexibility, and are therefore more willing to list their homes for sale while mortgage rates are high,” Kenny Lee from StreetEasy wrote.
The Upper West Side and Upper East Side have led this list frequently in the last decade.
You can read the full report — HERE.
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All you need to prepare for a “debate” with Trump is to listen to his recent rants (euphemistically called “speeches”). He isn’t that creative on the fly, has a limited repertoire, and likes to pre-test his lines with his supporters. The question for Harris is whether she’s going to give as good as she gets — start attacking him as the shameless snake-oil salesman and demagogue that he is.