Today is Monday, Aug. 4, 2024
Expect hazy sunshine today and a mix of sun and clouds tomorrow, with highs in the upper 80s both days, and the lower 80s for the rest of the week. No rain in the immediate forecast.
On this day in 2007, Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, then 32, became the youngest Major League Baseball player in history to hit 500 home runs. Three years later — also on this day — Rodriguez, then 35, became the youngest player ever to hit 600 home runs. Both records still stand.
Notices
Our calendar has lots of local events. Click on the link or the lady in the upper righthand corner to check.
The city is seeking input on a preliminary proposal that would add up to 850 units of affordable housing on the site of the Bloomingdale Public Library, 150 West 100th Street. The old library would be demolished, but a new one would be built on the site, with apartments above it. Take the survey — HERE.
UWS News Roundup
The 79th Street Boat Basin Marina, which was deemed unsafe and closed in 2021, took another step toward an eventual reopening in late July when the city’s Public Design Commission gave final approval to plans to rebuild it. The approval didn’t come as a surprise; the commission had already given preliminary approval for the project by the time Community Board 7’s Parks and Environment Committee met in May for a briefing with the design team. The project now moves on to the next stages: design completion, permitting, bidding, and, ultimately, construction. At the May briefing, the design team said that if construction begins in late 2026, the marina could potentially reopen in 2028. — Dan Katzive
Next time you have a yen for great fried chicken, you won’t have far to go: Eater just named its picks for the city’s best, and three of them are located on or adjacent to the UWS. Here they are, in alphabetical order:
- Chick Chick (618 Amsterdam Avenue, at West 90th Street), which has been serving Korean-style fried chicken since 2021, offers “juicy meat with a pungent chile finish that only pricks the tongue for a pleasant minute or two,” Eater’s critic raved. WSR’s Here’s the Dish columnist Abigael Sidi puts it more succinctly. “Definitely worth the trip,” she says.
- La Caridad 72 (130 West 72nd Street), which has been serving Cuban-Chinese cuisine on the UWS since 1968 (with a break of a couple of years during the pandemic) serves Dominican-style fried chicken called “cracklings,” which Eater describes as “small, bone-in pieces, crisp-skinned and tasting slightly of their tart marinade. Get it with shrimp fried rice,” Eater instructs.
- And last but not least, Melba’s (300 West 114th Street, at Frederick Douglass Boulevard in Harlem) serves fried chicken three ways: atop a waffle, Southern fried, and smothered in gravy.
Additionally, Eater NY included Charles Pan-Fried Chicken’s original Harlem location at 130 West 145th Street on the ranking, which also has an outpost on 72nd Street between Broadway and Columbus.
Read the full story – HERE.
West Side Kids, a fixture on the UWS for more than 40 years, closed its doors for good on Thursday, and The New York Times marked the occasion with an interview with owner Jennifer Bergman, who reflected on the store’s final days.
She told the Times that there were numerous reasons that the store, founded by her mother in 1981, was forced to close: tariffs, delays in receiving supplies, the aftermath of COVID-19, which took an economic toll on many small businesses.
But perhaps the biggest reason is just that the world is changing, Bergman said. Kids whose parents brought them into the store a quarter century ago now have kids of their own — but they also have different shopping habits. “Those kids, as parents, have shopped online pretty much their entire lives, certainly their entire adult lives. It’s just normal for them,” she told the Times. “They are the same people who are complaining there are no stores on the Upper West Side. But we’ve been warning them for 20 years: If you guys want stores to exist, you’ve got to shop in them.”
Read the full story — HERE.
Finally! Three years after violinist Itzhak Perlman and his wife put their turn-of-the-century UWS townhouse on the market, it has a new owner.
The couple first listed the five- to six-bedroom, five-bath home for $17.5 million in 2022; ultimately, it sold for less than half that, at $8.18 million, The New York Post reported.
Perlman and his wife Toby, also a violinist, raised their five children in the home, located at 21 West 70th Street just off Central Park West. It features six fireplaces, a chef’s kitchen, an indoor swimming pool and spa, and 1,500 square feet of outdoor spaces including a roof deck, a landscaped terrace, and a garden.
The new owners are a family from Asia, said Victor Hsu of Sotheby’s International Realty, who, along with colleague Jaime Richichi, represented the buyers.
Read the full story – HERE.
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Eater also named Charles Fried Chicken. The write up shows the Harlem address but also states they have a location in the UWS. Eater also named Charles Fried Chicken as one of the best restaurants in the UWS. Their chicken is very good!
That’s what the article says.
The staff at Charles Fried Chicken are so sweet and kind.
Charles Fried Chicken blows those other places out of the water. Def worth the visit on 72…team in there is great. Side/prices there great as well
$8.18 million seems like a bargain for that townhouse. (That sounds crazy, but given NYC prices…) I wonder if there’s something structurally wrong with it?
The article stated it had an indoor poo
And that it was last listed for 11 million
11 million for indoor poo is cheap!
So the Boat Basin won’t be open until at least 2028 if everything runs like clock work
Awful. Been years now. Why does it all take so long? Shameful. Enjoyed community- now most wonderful, cozy places gone. Like a sad desert now. At least have some ice cream venders, something for us to enjoy our area.
That is a huge price drop. I wonder if part of it is that I am seeing a lot of townhouses on the market in my part of the UWS. Not sure what is going on. But I also wonder. The article state the buyers are an Asian family. I assume this means buyers from Asia, which may be means they are paying cash. Not sure. But wow… That is such a drop in price.
It probably needs total renovation
For those who care, note that while La Caridad’s chicken wings and chicken cracklin’ are both excellent, they use MSG in them. So if you are sensitive to MSG, you may wan to avoid them.
Another lovely photo by Isabelle T. Thanks for the pretty sunset!
Come on, Rag, Melba’s is in Harlem, not the UWS. But the fried chicken is good.
My favorite chicken is living, free, and reasonably contented.
Wish fixing of the boat basin would move faster. Spent years enjoying my area along with O’Neils meeting others and watching sunsets. It was such a friendly and wonderful experience with a strong community feeling. This couldn’t happen soon enough. Even now, why no ice ream vendors- just vacant.
So let’s call that 2030 for the Boat Basin, by which I suspect many of the marina’s old school residents and such will be long gone. Maybe that was the idea. And for sure it will take longer to rent the commercial space (formerly the cafe) given the struggles of even more centrally-located f&b establishments since the pandemic.
Seven years to build a new boat basin building? I how long before the southbound west side highway 79th street exit reopens? Ten years? Twenty?
Ashford & Simpson’s Sugar Bar on 72 also has terrific fried chicken. Sides are decent too.
The Ribbon on 72nd street arguably has the best fried chicken on the UWS and it’s not even close.
Bergman’s observation about parents spending habits is exactly what the owner of Shoe Tree said is what lead to their closure. Not enough people were coming in to the store.
I think buying kids shoe is better suited for an in store shopping experience, but not as much toys.
I’ll admit, I loved West Side Kids when it was in Amsterdam. I thought their stock was pretty good, especially for baby toys. I went into their last location only once and was disappointed by what they had available. I felt like it was mostly books.
My fried chicken tour of the Upper West Side took me to Chik Chik, Melba’s, La Caridad 72, and Koko Wings, and each spot delivered a memorable experience with their own spin on this classic dish. At Chik Chik, the fried chicken was surprisingly delightful, with a Mediterranean flair that brought subtle herb notes to the crispy, golden exterior—juicy and flavorful, it was a solid start. Melba’s, a soul food staple, served up perfectly seasoned fried chicken with an addictive crunch, paired beautifully with their famous waffles; the cozy vibe made every bite feel like a warm hug. La Caridad 72’s chicharrones de pollo were a revelation—crisp, succulent, and served with a vibrant green sauce that elevated the dish, all at a wallet-friendly price with generous portions that left me satisfied.
While I enjoyed every stop, Koko Wings stole my heart with its Korean fried chicken. The Hot Spicy (Yangnyeom) Chicken was a flavor explosion—crispy beyond belief, with a tangy-sweet-spicy sauce that hit all the right notes. The festive atmosphere at their 106th Street location added to the fun, making it feel like a mini celebration. Compared to the soulful comfort of Melba’s, the Cuban-Chinese fusion of La Caridad, and the Mediterranean twist at Chik Chik, Koko’s bold flavors and impeccable crunch aligned perfectly with my taste for something adventurous yet comforting. It’s the spot I’d return to first, though I’d happily revisit any of these UWS gems for their unique takes on fried chicken.