Monday, June 30
Sunny, high 88 degrees.
Highs will be in the upper 80s for most of the week, with thunderstorms predicted for Tuesday afternoon.
Notices
Our calendar has lots of local events. Click on the link or the lady in the upper righthand corner to check.
Today is the last day of June. It’s also National Meteor Watch Day, marked each June 30 to bring attention to the joys of skywatching. If you want some guidance, the Amateur Astronomers Association of New York is kicking off its annual Tuesday Stargazing on the Highline series tomorrow; it continues weekly through the end of October, weather permitting. Details – HERE.
Upper West Side News
By Laura Muha
Mama’s Too has done it again! Earlier this year, the UWS pizzeria was named one of the city’s best by Eater and the New York Times. Now its owner, Frank Tuttolomondo, has been voted one of the 100 best pizza chefs in the world by an international panel of more than 500 pizza experts.
Tuttolomondo — who could not be reached for comment — was one of six New York chefs to make the list, coming in at No. 95.
The Best Pizza Awards, headquartered in Krakow, Poland, was founded in 2023. According to the group’s website, the awards are the only pizza accreditation that “stays true to culinary standards, free from commercial agendas.” The goal is to “preserve the sacred art of pizza making while fostering innovation,” and to spotlight “authentic craftsmanship, bold innovation, and diverse voices that are shaping the future of this iconic dish.” This year’s awards were judged by more than 500 pizza chefs and other industry professionals, including food journalists, critics, and foodies from 60 countries.
Read the full story – HERE
See the rankings – HERE.
A one-bedroom apartment that Billy Joel once used as an office and studio is up for sale for “a song,” the New York Post reports.
The asking price for the 15th-floor pre-war unit at 128 Central Park South is $1 million.
Joel and his then-wife, supermodel Christie Brinkley, lived in a 10,000-square-foot penthouse on the 16th floor of the building during their nine-year marriage, which ended in 1994. Joel sold the penthouse in 2011, and the smaller apartment in 2014.
“Now, this legendary address on West 59th Street and Central Park South is ready for its next New Yorker to carry on a legacy of style, soul and innovation,” listing broker Keith Hodges, of Nest Seekers International, told the Post.
Read the full story – HERE.
Every day, thousands of New Yorkers and tourists visit Bethesda Fountain in Central Park. It’s one of the most popular gathering spots in the park, and one of the most famous fountains in the world.
Less well known is its connection to the LGBTQ community via its sculptor, Emma Stebbins, whose muse was her partner, actress Charlotte Cushman, said Central Park Conservancy historian Jess McClain, in a story that aired last week on CBS News.
The two met in Rome, where Stebbins, the daughter of a wealthy New York banker, had gone to study sculpture. For the next two decades, they lived openly as committed partners, said Maria Teresa Cometto, author of a book on Stebbins, Emma and the Angel of Central Park.
Stebbins was the first woman commissioned to create a piece of public art in New York City, and her Angel of the Waters statue atop the fountain was the only sculpture that was part of Central Park’s original design. The statue comprises an 8-foot-tall bronze angel with her arm outstretched, delivering a blessing on the water that cascades from the fountain. Below her are four small cherubim who represent health, purity, temperance, and peace.
“To have a sculpture in the park that was sculpted by a woman and a sculpture that represents the love and affection and partnership of Emma and Charlotte is a gift,” McClain told CBS. “It’s a gift to New Yorkers; it’s a gift to the LGBTQ community,”
Watch the full story – HERE.
Subscribe to West Side Rag’s FREE email newsletter here. And you can Support the Rag here.
Wow — who knew?!
Peeps in Krakow are the judges of the best pizza??????
Well, the best pizza I’ve ever had was in California logging country. Yes, I’ve been to Italy.
Wondered about that. Maybe there’s a sister organization in Milano that rates the world’s best pierogi and chlodnik.
Lol!
The Angel of the Waters statue is also beautifully featured in the opening sequence of the HBO film version of Angels in America.
https://youtu.be/fjlxqAU_-0Y?si=0NB6duhVgc_1CGl_
It also figures in Prior’s final monologue at the end of part 2.
Yet when you eat this pizza you can’t sit down. Because they have a storefront two store fronts but not one seat. That’s because they don’t care about your comfort. They just want to sell you something and have you move on your way
That is the trend of the upper West side. Many businesses are removing their seats. Why does anyone live here? Not a pleasant place.
Are you kidding me? This pizza is top notch. I wouldn’t care if I had to stand upside down to eat it.