Today is Columbus Day, Monday, October 12th, 2026
The forecast calls for morning showers, but skies should clear by afternoon, with a high of 70. The rest of the week should be partly to mostly sunny, except for the possibility of a passing shower Tuesday evening, and temperatures should be moderate: mid-70s tomorrow and Wednesday, and low 60s Thursday and Friday.
On this day in 1492, Christopher Columbus made landfall in the Bahamas, becoming the first European to set foot in the New World. His arrival would not only lead to a wave of European immigration, but also to enslavement of the native peoples; he personally sent some 5,000 slaves to Spain. His sponsor, Queen Isabella of Spain, initially supported this, but later changed her position, stating that indigenous peoples were subjects of the crown, and could not be enslaved in most instances. In her last will and testament, which coincidentally was signed on this date in 1504, she instructed her descendants to ensure that indigenous Americans “be treated well and fairly, and if they have received any wrong, remedy it.”
Notices
Our calendar has lots of local events. Click on the link or the lady in the upper righthand corner to check.
District 3 Superintendent Dr. Reginald Higgens will give a State of the Schools Address next Tuesday, October 20th from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at PS 163 (163 West 97th Street) and discuss priorities for the upcoming school year. RSVP — HERE.
News Roundup
Compiled by Laura Muha
Over the past decade, traffic in Central Park has changed significantly. Cars were banned in 2018, and last year the Central Park Conservancy began reconfiguring the park’s six-mile loop, better separating bike and pedestrian lanes in a move that was supposed to make it safer for everyone. So why have there been so many serious accidents lately?
That’s the question Gothamist posed to experts last week, after accidents that left two people dead in the past two weeks.
Everyone interviewed agreed that in part it’s the number of people using the park: “Running and conventional cycling have both exploded in popularity since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the park offers a rare place in Manhattan where people can exercise without worrying about car traffic,” Gothamist noted.
It’s also a case of who is using the park. Attorney Peter Beadle, who represents a bike club suing to prevent the city from implementing a 15-mph speed limit for bikes in the park, told Gothamist that cyclists used to fight with cars for space. “Now it’s runners and cyclists. You go at 6 in the morning, 6:30 in the morning, and it’s like the two tribes. The runners on the left, the cyclists on the right.”
At the same time, the number of people riding motorized bikes and scooters — some legal, some not — has increased dramatically.
Transportation engineer Sam Schwartz, who served as the city’s transportation commissioner from 1982 to 1986, told Gothamist that he wouldn’t recommend banning bikes from the park. But, he added, “I would say ban e-bikes or e-mobility. And the standup scooters, in my mind, are some of the worst offenders, going at incredible speeds.”
Last month, a pedestrian walking through the park en route to work died after being hit by a bicycle, and last week, a cyclist died while attempting to avoid a collision with an off-leash dog that ran into the roadway.
Read the full story — HERE, and see the Central Park Conservancy’s statement on last week’s fatal accident — HERE.
The Upper West Side is often described as having character. Now, it is one — and that character has gone viral, reported yahoo.com.
Artist and UWSer Natasha Polozenko created the character — a young woman made up of bits and pieces of iconic locations and objects in the neighborhood — as the latest in a series in which she imagines what various places would look like if they became human. In the past she has created characters for Budapest, Krakow, and New Orleans; most recently, she put her illustration skills to work in Rag territory, filming iconic locations and objects on the UWS, then cropping them to create virtual puzzle pieces, which she fit together to form the character. She then printed and hand-painted it, in a process she documented on Instagram.
“The video starts with a shot of a typical yellow taxi going through a New York street,” reported yahoo.com. “Polozenko ‘grabs’ the taxi in editing, copying it multiple times and slightly altering it to make it into a skirt.
“Then, Polozenko films a sidewalk, where the entrance to the American Museum of Natural History subway station is found. She copies the sign for the entrance and changes its shape a bit, placing it on top of the taxi skirt to make it into a shirt.” Other locations and objects incorporated into the character include Central Park lamposts, the steps of a brownstone, and the Westsider book shop.
In the four days after Polozenko posted her UWS video, the post was viewed more than 31.6 million times, and received 2 million likes, and 15,000 comments on Instagram, Yahoo reported.
“Fantastic. In concept, video process edit, painting execution,” wrote one commenter.
“ai could neverrrrr,” wrote another.
And a third: “What do you people eat to be this creative 😍 i want some.”
Read the full story — HERE and see Polozenko’s process on Instagram — HERE.
Attention musicians: Are you in search of a new apartment? Have we ever got a place for you — as long as you can afford the $3.5 million price tag.
A top-floor apartment in the pre-war Musicians Building — constructed with soundproof walls specifically for use by musicians — recently hit the market, the real-estate site 6sqft.com reported.
The fully updated unit, at 50 West 67th Street, includes a vaulted entryway, a living room with crown moldings and 10-foot ceilings, two working wood-burning fireplaces, a chef’s kitchen, and central air conditioning. “The home’s two bedrooms (there’s plenty of room to add a third) have en suite baths; the primary bath has a glass-enclosed steam shower and radiant heated tile flooring,” the publication reported. Read the full story and see photos — HERE.
In Other UWS News
- The NYPD is searching for a man who threw a blunt object at the head of a woman who was jogging near Riverside Park last month, ABC News reported. Though the incident happened in early September, police just released photos of the suspect last week. Read/watch the full story — HERE.
- A Bronx man has been charged with failure to yield to a pedestrian in connection with the death of UWS philanthropist Geoffrey Radbill, who was struck from behind by a car while cycling on Riverside Drive last December, the New York Post reported. Read the full story — HERE.
- The website YIMBY.com (“Yes in My Back Yard”) recently ran a piece on the completion of The Henry, at 211 West 84th Street (at Amsterdam Avenue). Read it and see photos of the facade — HERE. For photos of the building’s $27 million triplex penthouse, see realtor.com’s piece — HERE.
- The Times of India dipped into the archives last week, to run an article about an UWS woman who, in 2003, picked up a painting that had been tossed in the trash on West 72nd Street. What happened next was the stuff of Antiques Road Show legend. Read the story — HERE (and a piece the New York Times ran at the time — HERE.)
ICYMI
Graffiti Removed From Historic Facade of Former UWS Metro Theater: ‘It Symbolizes Movement’
Upper West Side Street Life as It’s Seen Today: Photo Collection
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Leif Erikson set foot in North American long before Columbus.
There are 22,000 year old human footprints in New Mexico. Who made those?
Yes. I was amazed to see the Columbus claim above.
I find it startling that the article about Central Park and transportation experts fails even to mention that the traffic lights have been removed from the intersections of the roadways and pedestrian cross walks. As the cyclists zip around in a continuous stream, how can people walking find a safe opportunity to cross? Who has the right of way and who is supposed to yield?
If it doesnt require pedalling to move its not abike. ebikes with a power assist are ok with speed limits. If you have a throttle on a scooter or level2 e bike, they should not be allowed in park. Enforce the traffic lights at least randomly so bikers aware
Crossing the park at 72nd Street, we see most biker’s speeding at over the 15 MPH limit, especially near the East Side entrance. Very dangerous to cross even in the crosswalks.
Runners and pedestrians do not crash into others, injuring or killing them. The danger stems from bicycles, especially motorized ones and the wannabe Lance Armstrongs going way too fast. We know what’s causing the problem. Time to prioritize the safety of the vast majority.
“A bike club suing to prevent the city from implementing a 15-mph speed limit for bikes in the park.”
This is an atrocious and entitled piece of nonsense. If you want to train for the Tour de France, do it on country roads outside the city. Not in Central Park.
Please let us have a WSR acknowledgement of Indigenous Peoples Day.