UWS Encounters: Universal Basic Goodness, Quarantines Gone By, A Revelation
Two neighbors I knew offered to shop for me and a third I didn’t know. I was reassured of the universal basic goodness of … Read the rest of this entry >>
Column: Renewing the New York Spirit at a Surreal Moment
This is not the sixtieth birthday I had in mind. Maybe that’s not the worst thing. The pandemic is far worse. But one positive side-effect is we’re starting to be warmer to each other a … Read the rest of this entry >>
Pupper West Side: Midge Met Joel Maisel, Encourages Support of Local Businesses
I was lucky to meet Michael Zegen, aka Joel Maisel, at a Skidmore College alumni event last su … Read the rest of this entry >>
UWS Encounters in the Age of the Coronavirus: ‘We’re All Connected’
It’s eerie how quiet it is out there; even the guy who usually screams at the traffic on 79th & Broadway was doing more pacing than screa … Read the rest of this entry >>
Pollyanna Confronts the Coronavirus on the Upper West Side
Pollyanna got through life by always — no matter what the circumstances — finding something to be glad about. Even considering her “glad game” now s … Read the rest of this entry >>
Pupper West Side: Dillon Volunteers in Childhood Reading Programs
My Dads and I volunteer with the Good Dog Foundation and the JCC in support of literacy for young Upper West Si … Read the rest of this entry >>
Stuck Inside With My Thoughts In A Latter-Day Plague
Splat. That’s the sound of the Sunday New York Times landing on the floor outside my apartment door. In normal times, I would reach my bathrobed arm out the door, … Read the rest of this entry >>
UWS Encounters: ‘I Knew It Would All Be Okay’
If you are seized by a desire to help in this extraordinary time, it does not require a medical degree. An UWS man disco … Read the rest of this entry >>
Column: In a Nervous Time, Delivery Workers Play a Key Role and Deserve Respect
With people afraid to go to restaurants due to the spread of the Coronavirus, New Yorkers will look to food deliveries as healthy alternat … Read the rest of this entry >>
UWS Encounters: Sober Adventures, A Meeting With Martina, and the Smell of Money
I am 35 years sober one day at a time. I recently offered to take a friend new to sobriety to some west side AA meetings I wanted to try. As a beginner, I had been fra … Read the rest of this entry >>
Pupper West Side: Arnie Likes To Relax In the Park With a Bottle of Rosé
On spring and summer weekends in the city, the three of us will pack a bottle of wine and a picnic basket and spend an afternoon soaking up the sun and relaxing in Central … Read the rest of this entry >>
UWS Encounters: Stevie Wonder and Two Beatles; ‘A Very Happy Day’
Back in the 70's, on a beautiful summer day, I lived on West 106 street. Stevie Wonder was a guest of a youth s … Read the rest of this entry >>
Pupper West Side: Penny Is An Entrepreneur Who Loves Listening to NPR
For a while I was listening to French poetry while my parents were away, but now it's nothing but … Read the rest of this entry >>
UWS Encounters: Harry Belafonte, A Suggestion for Seinfeld, and Grey’s Anatomy?
Decades ago, my sister Joany and I were looking for an affordable UWS apartment. The realtor took us to a building on West End Avenue in the 70s. The mi … Read the rest of this entry >>
UWS Encounters: Paul Simon, Ronnie Eldridge, ‘Fake Annoyance,’ and Kindness
Around 2000, as a number of us waited on a long, slow-moving line at the Planetarium Post Office on West 83rd, an older woman broke the sil … Read the rest of this entry >>
UWS Encounters: ‘Dexter,’ Dogs Walking, ‘A Short-Term Memory Problem,’ and a Legendary Director
A January run along the Hudson had left me freezing and wanting pasta. I set out for Gennaro’s near 92nd where I walked … Read the rest of this entry >>
Pupper West Side: Olive Bravely Samples Street Meat, Runs From Schatzie’s Butcher Cow
The streets of New York offer a veritable multi-course tasting menu to all foodie … Read the rest of this entry >>
UWS Encounters: Robin Williams, Subway Sharing, Dr. Shoe, and a Benevolent Bus Driver
He was big all right, and plenty mean looking. So, when he parked himself in front of the crowd watching the prize f … Read the rest of this entry >>
Column: It’s Taking Too Long to Fix the City’s Curbs, and Vulnerable People Deserve Better
I never gave curb cuts a thought until I fell off my bike several years ago, broke my leg and wound up in a wheelchair for a few months, pretty miserable and houseb … Read the rest of this entry >>
Pupper West Side: Phoebe Olive Is A Devoted Patron of Lincoln Center
Previously, I'd spent some time living on the streets in North Carolina until I was rescued. Now I live on the Upper West Side - hands down, New York's best neighbor … Read the rest of this entry >>
