Monday, April 14, 2025
Cloudy. High 55 degrees.
Temperatures will warm this week, even getting up to 68 degrees on Saturday. No rain is currently forecast for the week.
Notices
Our calendar has lots of local events. Click on the link or the lady in the upper righthand corner to check.
Tuesday is Tax Day. Friday is Good Friday. Sunday is the last day of Passover. Sunday is Easter.
On Friday at 1 p.m., the 82nd Anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising will be commemorated at the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Plaza in Riverside Park between 83rd and 84th streets. It is free to attend.
Upper West Side News
By Gus Saltonstall
A woman who slipped and fell on fish guts outside of Citarella on the Upper West Side more than a decade ago was just awarded $6.45 million by a Manhattan jury, as first reported by the New York Post.
The plaintiff, who is known only by her last name Castillo, was walking by the food emporium at 2135 Broadway, near the corner of West 75th Street, on Labor Day weekend in 2014, when she slipped and fell on a pile of fish guts.
She dislocated her knee and ruptured three ligaments in the tumble, which has led to at least 12 surgeries in the past 11 years, according to court documents and the New York Post.
Castillo, who was 53 at the time of the fall, was an avid salsa dancer before the accident, but has not been able to dance in the years since due to ongoing complications. She told the Post that she didn’t initially plan to pursue legal action, but Citarella would not hand over an accident report for her medical insurer unless she had a lawyer.
Last week, she was awarded $6.45 million.
“This Manhattan jury listened to all the evidence, and they spoke through their verdict that it is not OK for a grocery store to take over a sidewalk for their business and profits and not protect pedestrians in doing so,” attorney Sharon Scanlan of Jacoby & Meyers, who represented Castillo, told the Post.
Citarella did not immediately respond to the publication’s request for comment.
You can read more — HERE.
Excavation work, part of the construction process to turn Mermaid Inn’s former home on the Upper West Side into a residential tower, began last week, as first reported by New York Yimby.
Work on the base of the building is now ongoing at 200 West 88th Street, which includes 568 through 574 Amsterdam Avenue as alternate addresses, to turn the site into an 18-story building with 37 mixed-use units, retail space on the ground floor, and a parking garage on the second floor, according to permits submitted to the city.
Mermaid Inn served customers at 570 Amsterdam for 15 years, before shuttering in 2022, and then reopened this past fall in its new home near the corner of Columbus Avenue and West 76th Street.
The foundation of the new building is expected to be installed sometime this summer, and the construction project has an expected completion date of the spring of 2027.
The developer, Nortco Development, purchased the Upper West Side site in 2018 for $46 million.
You can find out more and see renderings of what the new building is expected to look like — HERE.
An Upper West Side tenant leader is asking the federal government to investigate the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), as she also prepares to host a neighborhood town hall later this month, as reported by PIX11.
Carmen Quinones, who has served for years as the president of the Frederick Douglass Houses on the Upper West Side, and who also ran for both City Council and the state Assembly, was recently interviewed by PIX11 for a segment called “Moms Make It Happen.”
Quinones has 19 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren who all live in public housing.
“I have two grandchildren now in a shelter, trying to find housing. How does that happen?” Quinones asked the PIX11 reporter.
Quinones has lived in the Frederick Douglass Houses between West 100th to 104th streets, from Columbus to Central Park West, for more than 50 years.
She says that the Upper West Side housing complex has reached a breaking point, and is calling on the federal government to investigate NYCHA, according to PIX11.
West Side Rag will find out more details on the town hall later this month.
You can find out more — HERE.
Subscribe to West Side Rag’s FREE email newsletter here. And you can Support the Rag here.
“Quinones has 19 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren who all live in public housing”
Is public housing somehow inherited? Do you get ahead on the list if your relatives are in public housing?
Quinones has 19 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren who all live in public housing.
No mention of children.
Maybe they live elsewhere ?
I thought it was children> grandchildren > great-grandchildren ?
What am I missing ?
Or is public housing a route to non-mobility?
I don’t mean to sound cold (but I’m sure I will be attacked) but people should not be having children they cannot afford to raise. I likely make many times what this woman does and I struggled deciding to have a second child.
People like this who abuse the system are unfortunately why Trump got elected – Fox News grabs onto these types of stories, exaggerates them, and makes blue America look like a bunch of idiots.
I’m not sure what the answer is. Once a child is born it cannot be ignored as that will only make things worse. We can’t play a game of chicken and make threats that we will not carry through. But having kids, particularly more than one or two, should be viewed as a privilege, not a right. How about if life in public housing and have more than two kids, you will get moved to more spacious public housing in a remote location where space is much cheaper. Build some cheap housing in Utica.
No, Trump wasn’t elected because of system abuse, which he massively engages in: He was elected because HRC and Harris were utterly out of touch with what voters wanted — less war for example. In 2016, he could pretend to be an outsider, while HRC promised to do nothing except continue wars and reward Wall Street.
Carlos, you’re absolutely right! It astounds me that people who have children don’t think about the financial consequences to them and tax payers who end up helping to subsidize their family.
I think this is an indictment of public housing and public education. If you grow up surrounded by people who make so little.money thry are eligible for public housing becoming a lawyer or tech bro or even a teacjer doesn’t seem like a possibility. Low i come housing should be in every neighborhood, a few apartments in every building. And public education should both prepare kids for jobs (or college) and show them the path
You’ve never talked to a resident of public housing.
even a teacher?
Unlike the other jobs mentioned I am certain they have met teachers and seen them do their jobs. I wasn’t putting down teachers.
“If you grow up surrounded by people who make so little.money thry are eligible for public housing becoming a lawyer or tech bro or even a teacjer doesn’t seem like a possibility.”
I’m going to challenge you on that. I grew up in a NYC housing project (in the 60s and 70s). I have a college degree and I run a successful IT consulting practice. Friends I grew up with are doctors, lawyers, accountants and entrepreneurs. It honestly never occurred to me that I wasn’t going to be successful. I was fortunate enough to have parents that encouraged my education and some truly gifted teachers, but I know that such parents and teachers still exist.
They lowered the standards for public housing in the late 60s, coincidentally just when it began to fall apart.
Parents in the plural
The exception is not the rule
Low-income housing is all over the UWS. There are many successful people who grew up in low-income housing and went to public school. Family structure, values and intelligence determine far more.
Best town to do slip and fall for money.
Imagine a $6mm reward for not paying attention to your surroundings
The jury heard all the evidence; thank goodness you’re here to leap to better conclusions instead!
This woman was 53 at the time of the accident and could easily live another thirty years with all the pain and added expense of injury-limited mobility. I’m sure those twelve surgeries (and associated time unable to work) didn’t come cheap, either. All because a supermarket felt it could use a public sidewalk as its own slop bucket. Under those circumstances, $6m isn’t shocking.
Paying attention has absolutely NOTHING to do with it. If it’s bright and sunny out, you can’t see two inches ahead of you. If it’s dark and rainy, the same thing. If it’s clear liquid, what are you going to “see?” You pretend to know what was on the sidewalk, but the article NEVER mentions a description of the materials. It could have been clear goo. I slipped and fell and shattered my ankle on a patch of ice (CLEAR!) dripping from a water leak (Illegal!) under scaffolding in February of 2024. I have bars of titanium now in my leg, which will never be the same. I was housebound for months until I was allowed to put my foot on the ground and learn how to walk all over again. She could have broken her neck. So could I have broken my neck, or hit a metal pole of the scaffolding. Don’t think it can’t happen to you. By the way, I was attempting to approach a moped rider who had zoomed illegally up the center of the sidewalk when I fell. Judge yourself, not others who you know nothing about. I’m thrilled she got such a good judgement. Try undergoing constant pain and surgeries for an injury before you mock someone.
Imagine forcing a salsa dancer to retain a lawyer to receive the accident report to get reimbursed for the injury she didn’t cause.
Imagine reading the article!
He jests at scars that never felt a wound.
Callous response. The business should have a clear and safe sidewalk.
Have you ever walked past Citarella’s delivery entrance on W 75th St? It can be utterly vile at times. I don’t find the idea that someone could slip on refuse that shouldn’t have been there surprising at all. I’ve reached out to the management there more than once about keeping that area cleaner, but never gotten any action. Perhaps this will encourage them to be better neighbors.
What a nasty thing to say. Falls happen to the best of us when we pay attention to our surroundings. You are avoiding a long dog leash, your umbrella hits a post and you get jostled, you step forward and it’s slippery and off you go.
Twelve surgeries is brutal. Pain when you walk, sit, sleep is brutal. And a horrid way to live.
The award is an indictment of the lack of cooperation of the business to help this woman get insurance coverage.
I was walking slowly toward a display in a big box store recently, my hat blocked the fact that there was a steel beam at forehead level and I was knocked back landing on a big box store cart. Broken ribs. Very helpful staff. Yes, my fault. No lawsuits, but no surgeries, either. Just a few months of constant pain and inability to put on my own socks.
Accidents happen even when we are paying attention.
Why do you assume that the woman wasn’t.? Do you walk everywhere with your head down?
The woman worked for OSHA and as the article said: ““Of all the things that could have happened to me, and I slip on slimy, clear fish guts,” she told The Post Friday. So “paying attention” wasnt the issue.
“Clear” was the operative word. It’s impossible to see “clear.”
Can you not see your windows or a glass of water on a table?
I wish Quinones luck in her quest to improve NYCHA housing. I know deferred maintenance and a funding deficit have left many of these buildings in deplorable condition.
But I walk around and through the Douglass house properties frequently, and the amount of dog feces and trash that residents leave there is disgusting. My (not rich, renting) neighbors and I pick up trash on our street and take care of the tree beds. I realize you can’t stop people from throwing junk out of their windows, but how about establishing a resident group to patrol and clean up?
Your neighbors definitely do not pick up after their dogs. The UWS is smeared in canine excrement. NYCHA is no exception to this but don’t make it about ONE SPECIFIC AREA of the neighborhood
I haven’t inspected the whole UWS. Off the top of my head I would say that in the West 90s, the blocks where there are the most dog droppings on the sidewalk are next to NYCHA housing. There is also a lot of litter. E.g. the project on Amsterdam and 103rd. Bottles, cans, plastic cups, other garbage on the ground surrounding the building. Pretty clearly, people throw this stuff out the window.
The new pictured dining shed for Felice illustrates the tragedy of the new outdoor dining regulations – it’s half the size of the one they used to have and way flimsier.
But now there’s room for one more SUV from NJ to park! / s
Why do you hate cars so much?
Cars are a great tool if you are traveling from one rural area to another – they don’t make sense for a dense city like NYC. Here in NYC we are ceding far too much scare public space to accommodate personal vehicles. You want to keep a car in NYC, fine you should be paying for a parking space instead of keeping it on the street.
UWS Dad –
BTW quite a few restaurant owners and managers actually drive in and park. Some come from NJ in fact. Various reasons – bringing supplies, late hours with no easy public transit option
Personally I don’t drive.
But in the “restaurant street shed” v “parking” discussion, it is important to be clear here….
It is important to be clear: an extra ~8 seats is better for both the neighborhood and a restaurant than a single parking spot, even if the parking spot is used by a single restaurant owner or employee.
The new outdoor dining regulation directly resulted in this failure.
Nirvana….
Lots of restaurants and street seating.
Bicycles.
E-commerce delivery.
But no vehicles.
And no pesky buses.
Who said anything about no vehicles or buses?
Well perhaps it is a different UWS Dad who has commented that it is fine to divert MTA buses for open streets?
Sounds like you’re awfully confused, there’s a world of difference between ‘diverting’ buses once a week and ‘no buses’
You have .
Do you also think that stores should get street space?
Not just restaurants?
West Side Kids toys could get the use of the street?
Or organizations like JASA senior center?
Yeah that sounds totally fine. Realistically, I’m not sure there would be as much take up as in the restaurant industry but I’m game to try it out.
Why is generation after generation living in public housing?
What is known in the world of welfare as “The Cliff.” If a person earns above a certain threshold they lose many benefits that are paid by the government. I have had employees refuse raises and promotions for this reason. It’s also a way for politicians to keep getting re-elected since they control the funding of these “free” programs and services. Disappointed to read what another person wrote about the lack of upkeep from residents or concern about their shared space. Garbage and dog poop. Sad actually. Imagine the effect it could have on quality of life if residents afforded this benefit of significantly affordable local housing showed more concern over their space and that of their community.
12 surgeries! Plaintiff definitely “sniffed” this out as a worthy retirement case, and I don’t mean fish smell.
Perhaps she should also be suing the initial surgeon who treated her for malpractice? Twelve surgeries seems like a lot – were any of these botched?
I feel awful for her. This shouldn’t have happened. But one also needs to be aware of their surroundings. So many people walk around buried in their phones, unaware of their surroundings. Given all of the dog owners who fail to clean up, I can’t imagine not walking around with my head down to avoid land mines.
Again, this is not binary. Citarella should have cleaned better. And should have been kinder and more responsive. But people also need to be more aware.
There’s nothing in the article ruling out the existence of a second action (or more) based in medical malpractice, but her case versus Citarella was stronger if Citarella did not have a parallel malpractice action at which to point the finger.
What a despicable thing to say.
And how many surgeries would you have recommended, Dr. Sandro?
Like you, I’m not an orthopedic surgeon. Merely commenting that on its face, 12 procedures for a sidewalk slip and fall seems grossly excessive. At some point, say maybe after 2, one replaces the knee.
The plaintiff stated she hadn’t thought to claim from Citarella. She just needed a document from Citarella which they wouldn’t give her unless she had a lawyer. It continued from there to the award.
Makes for a nice story but I don’t believe it. The prospective defendant’s accident report would be one of the first things a lawyer considering taking on the case would ask for.
I thought public housing was intended as a means to provide stability and proximity to opportunities so future generations can move out? It’s pretty remarkable for such a large family. I will be curious to learn more about her concerns of having reached a breaking point. Can’t the family members in a shelter move in with a relative or they want to wait for their own apartment? Is the system designed this way? Maybe this is part of the housing pipeline problem.
If you move out of a shelter you can’t get a housing voucher or placement. If you move in with a relative that is considered your permanent housing. You have live in a shelter.
Odd that this article would not report that the construction site is a Robert A.M. Stern development. Pretty big news for Amsterdam Ave above 86th.
I just know that it looks great! Nice job Mr. Stern.
Well, he’s a designer, not a developer.
He’s an architect, not a designer.
Sam K:
Nope, Stern is a designer. He works with an architectural firm to have his designs built. He’s likely being hired by the developer.
Philip Johnson was also a designer, and never an architect.
Architect does NOT mean one attended architecture school.
Wow, this Citarella case is definitely a FAFO lesson for business owners! Who knows what might’ve transpired if they’d turned over the accident report. But, they sure Found Out what happens whenyou don’t!
No surprise about Citronella’s arrogance. I once bought a loaf of expensive organic bread there and discovered mold but the manager refused to take it back because I didn’t have my receipt , and also given a tough time when I complained about a porterhouse steak that I served to friends, but was uneatably tough.
I agree 100%. Citarella is the worst. They have a well earned reputation in the fish business for being, er, unscrupulous. I’m not saying you _can’t_ get a good piece of fish there, but they sell a ton of old/spoiled fish. Their customer service is atrocious. They used to have this blond pudgy store manager…among the most obnoxious people I have ever spoken with. I live across the street, but I would only set foot in there in an emergency. Like when Fairway runs out of creme fraiche on New Year’s Eve. Stick with third-party, pre-packaged goods. And try not to touch anything in there.
This is one of my favorite posts on here ever.
Would t take back moldy bread with no receipt, tough steak— LOVE!!
I hope Ms Quinones brings a change. My stepmother lived in a NYCHA property for 41 years and I’ve personally witnessed the corruption NYCHA Management is involved in. Taking payoffs to have an application approved, contractor scams, employees drunk during the work day and going unsupervised allowing them to not preform their duties. All the properties should be privatized like Wise Tower is.
When my husband’s mother divorced his father, she and her family of two children had to move into “the projects.” In those days living in public housing was something you were embarrassed about. She worked three jobs, kept very close watch on her spending and finally made enough money to move out. Eventually saving enough to move her children and her widowed mother and buy a small home. (Of course, this was in another state and many, many years ago.)
My point being, in those days you weren’t proud to be living off of your neighbors hard earned money, i.e. tax dollars. You would work your butt off to get out of the public housing.
Today, we live across the street from a NYCHA high rise. We walk by at 2 o’clock in the afternoon and see what appears to be perfectly abled young men, and some women, sitting on the benches enjoying each other’s company.
And now we read about entire generations of families living in public housing?
Where is the pride? Where is the ambition? It just doesn’t seem right.
Kennedy said “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country”
Now it is the reverse:
Ask what your country (city) can do for you, not what you can do for your country (city).
It all stems from that ideology shift.
And then there’s Krasnov’s take: Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for me.
Who or what is Krasnov’s ?
It sounds like a deli.
Well said. I think we are missing the real issue here underneath Ms. Quinones’ crusade. She and her family seem to be professionals at benefitting from city and state welfare services. When you grow up in an environment in which everyone is owed something, one struggles to break that cycle. 19 children and 15 great grandchildren living in public housing? Surely someone in that line is capable of standing on their own feet.
I frequently bike past the Frederic Douglass buildings on Amsterdam and the amount of loose debris in front of these buildings is disgraceful, not to mention the trash to be picked up by sanitation is not properly bagged. I can only imagine how bad things are inside. I can’t believe that Frederic Douglass would be proud to have his name on this development.
Please stop with these blanket, uninformed comments about our neighbors who live in NYCHA housing, many of whom are your teachers, postal workers, health care workers, and such. And, not so incidentally, which choice do you envision that many of them would graduate to – a $6k two-bedroom or a $1.5M condo? Yes, yes, I know, nobody has a right to remain the area where they grew up and their family likely lives.
Not for nothing, you can get four bedrooms a few blocks from the Douglas houses for $4.4k/mo. That’s $1,100/mo per adult if you have four adults living there. Each adult would need to make $44k/yr to qualify for it, which I don’t think is a super insane number.
I get that public housing houses many people who need it and am not against it, but it isn’t supposed to be long term, generational housing. Otherwise, how do you make room for the next generation of young people that may need a little help starting out?
They’re mad about migrants and they’re mad about poor people having the audacity to keep living in the city. For an aging population, they’re awfully cavalier about where their daily health and home care is going to be coming from.
Ok fair enough,
It just seems that 34 family members all living in public housing piques people’s interest.
X
Generation after generation in Quinones’ family having lots of kids and living in public housing as though it is their right. Quinones asks “How does that happen?” when two of her grandchildren are trying to find housing. Do they have jobs? Do their parents, if still of working age, have jobs?
I am glad to hear in comments below about people who grew up in projects and went on to successful lives of accomplishing things.
“Progressivism” should be about benefitting workers and not about incentivizing reliance on taxpayers’ money and, often, not working.
“For individuals aged 18-61, the employment rate (60.0%) for NYCHA residents was comparable to the city overall (62.0%) in 2015…Additionally, only 7.1 percent of public housing households [reported] government welfare programs as the main source of income” (April 2019 NYU report, https://furmancenter.org/files/NYCHA_Diversity_Brief_Final-04-30-2019.pdf)
In other words, plenty of people living in the PJs work. We’ve built a city where housing and child care are so expensive that working people have nowhere to go: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/08/nyregion/homeless-shelters-new-york-city.html?unlocked_article_code=1._k4.lqbP.cQwp6cYp2wwT&smid=url-share
It’s still a source of income. Even if it’s not the main source of income. How do they define the ‘,main’ source of income?
A large percentage of them have off the books, cash jobs that aren’t reported. When Giuliani forced welfare recipients to work 20 hours a week, magically nearly a million people didn’t need welfare anymore. Progressive Diblasio did away with that requirement for equity reasons.
Yes that was interesting. Those benefits were ended and nothing happened. Nothing
Public housing is a welfare program. When you get something for $500 a month that should cost $4000 a month, it is a subsidy/welfare, etc. The authors are distorting the truth when they don’t include housing subsidy as welfare, it is.
The point is not “they don’t receive government benefits.” Obviously a person living in public housing is receiving a form of benefit. The point is that the moldy Reagan-racist vision being promoted in these comments of people who live off of handouts is not accurate.
Let’s not mention the free electricity while we are forced to use candles.
If the employment rate is 62%, does that mean the unemployment rate is 38% ?
According to https://www.bls.gov/web/metro/laummtrk.htm the unemployment rate is 4.4 % for New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area (2025)
You’re not comparing the same things.
And this is why many families live in multi generational households where family members care for others so those who can work. Providing care and stability for kids and care and stability for elderly. Versus expect the state to pay for them. Our social safety net system is really broken. It should be a means to self sufficiency not a generational lifestyle choice. Seems like a system that is in need of DOGE. I feel somewhat bad that Ms Quinones’ life has been broadcast, but sounds like she invited it. I feel less angry at ppl with rent controlled apartments who also own homes in the Hamptons!
The only thing more slippery than fish guts is when you open Time Magazine to the middle and place it face down on a polished wooden floor.
I truly believe that NYCHA housing needs better monitoring and repair.
That said, I grew up in Section 8 housing and went through the public school system and attended city and state colleges. While I believe there are more challenges for the younger generation, it is very possible to move out of the public housing system with hard work and planning. Maybe there should be more counseling to help people look at a righter future and in different markets and locations.
TEN YEARS to settle a claim?!?! TEN YEARS?!?!? There is something horribly wrong here.
Defendants drag things out hoping the plaintiff will die or get tired of fighting. Classic tactic.
Public housing is still housing, and we all need a place to live. I am a tax payer and I have no problem with people living stable lives, engaging with their community, and laying down roots. We should all be so fortunate. I wouldn’t want to live in a gated segregated community, that’s what the suburbs are for. I’m happy to share my community, and tax dollars, with folks from all backgrounds and economic classes.
For those that aren’t old enough to remember, Citarella wasn’t always the stellar neighbor that it is today. I remember strikes by their employees, terrible working conditions, and yes, sloppy sidewalks.
And the strong-arm tactics that the owner used to remove the tenants on the second floor so he could expand. As you note, they were NOT always the “stellar” (and even now that word may be a bit overmuch) neighbor that is is today.
Me too!
We have to completely overhaul the legal system, awards, and lawyers’ fees. Getting six mil because you fell is ridiculous. And the lawyers get half of that.