Notes from the Neighborhood

CAR WASH WORKERSTARGET UES OWNER Last Friday, a group of car wash workersrallied at LMC Car Wash on East 109thStreet to protest what they claim is itsmistreatment of workers and to campaignfor better working conditions. The carwash is one of about 20 in New York Cityoperated by Lage Management Company;owner John Lage was ordered to payover $3 million in back wages to workersin 2009 after the U.S. Department ofLabor found that he had violated laborlaws.Now, workers claim that conditionsat Lage's car washes are still unfair, thatworkers sometimes don't make minimumwage and often work unpaid overtime. caption id="attachment_14488" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Photo Credit: Andrew Schwartz"][/caption] Sharing Titanic History On the 100thanniversaryof thesinking of the Titanic, great grandsonof Isidor and Ida Straus,Paul Kurzman, speaks with studentsat P.S. 198 the Isidor andIda Straus School about the historyof his family. The Strauseswere founders and owners of the Macy's department store. (INSET) Kurzmanshared with students a locket recovered from Isidor Straus' body. DIABETES ANDHEARING LOSS Local audiologist group Audio HelpAssociates of Manhattan is offering freehearing screenings March 21-27 at theirUpper East Side location, 186 E. 76th St.Hearing loss is about twice as commonin adults with diabetes as in those whodo not have the disease, according to astudy published in the Annals of InternalMedicine. Doctors conducting the screeningswill also be available to explain theconnection between diabetes and hearingloss. To make an appointment, call 212-774-1971 and refer to code ADA SCREEN. LAPPIN WANTSCOMMUNITY BOARDSONLINE City Council MemberJessica Lappin introducedlegislation last week thatwould require communityboard meetings to be broadcastlive on the web. The billwould also mandate thatrecordings be archived andmade available to the publicwithin five days of meeting dates. Community Board 6,which covers Turtle Bay,Murray Hill, Kips Bay andStuyvesant Town and PeterCooper Village, may belaunching a pilot programlater this year, and Lappinhopes that other boards willsoon follow suit."New Yorkers are alwayson the go, and with technology,we can bring communityboard meetingsto them," Lappin said in astatement. "With live webcasting,we can connectNew Yorkers and make governmentmore accessibleand transparent." CENTRAL PARKGETS HISTORICNOD Last week, the preservationadvocacy groupFriends of the Upper EastSide Historic Districts presentedthe Central ParkConservancy with its Distinctive AchievementAward for the restorationof the park's East Meadow. The last of seven major lawns to be restored by theConservancy, the 6-acre stretch of EastMeadow was revamped over the courseof a year and reopened to the public inSeptember 2011. Drainage wasimproved and paths reconstructedand an automatic irrigation systemwas installed on the landscape."With this project, the CentralPark Conservancy has once againproven their determination toinvest in this exceptional sceniclandmark, which the Upper EastSide is lucky to call our backyard,"said Matthew Coody, aFriends of the Upper East Side HistoricDistricts associate.The East Meadow will reopen to thepublic for passive recreation, followingits fall/winter closure, in April. [caption id="attachment_14487" align="alignleft" width="251" caption="Photo Credit: Andrew Schwartz"][[/caption] Some Fine Tuning A high school student recieves some free instructionfrom Classical guitarist Ben Verdery, chair ofthe guitar department at the Yale School of Music,during the 92nd Street Y's High School Guitar Dayon March 18. The free day of guitar instruction forNew York City teens of all playing levels, includedworkshops on Beginner Afro-Cuban; HawaiianSlack Key; Classical Guitar; and Solo FlamencoGuitar Art and Technique. Visit our website at www.ourtownny.com for more photos from Guitar Day. HELP PLAN BIKESHARE The Department of Transportation isholding a community planning session toget input from local residents on how todevelop the BikeShare program for theUpper East Side. The program, whichwill be funded by sponsorships anduser fees, will place bike rental stationsaround the city, allowing members torent bikes 24 hours a day and return them to docking points at any station. One ofthe program's aims is to connect peopleto other forms of public transit in areaswhere subways and buses aren't accessible. Representatives from CommunityBoard 8, Manhattan Borough PresidentScott Stringer, CouncilMembers Dan Garodnick andJessica Lappin and AssemblyMembers Micah Kellner andDan Quart will be at the sessionto hear community ideasand feedback about where toplace BikeShare stations andhow the program should beimplemented. There will betwo sessions Monday, March26, at 6 and 7 p.m. at The Lighthouse, 111E. 59th St., BV Hall, on the second floor.For information prior to the sessions,contact Josh Orzeck at jorzeck@dot.nyc.gov or call 212-839-6218. FREE MAMMOGRAMS Assembly Member Micah Kellner iscoordinating with Project Renewal to providefree mammograms for the communityFriday, April 20. Screenings will beconducted by appointment from 9:30 a.m.to 3:30 p.m. at Lenox Hill NeighborhoodHouse, 331 E. 70th St. Call Kellner's officeat 212-860-4906 to schedule an appointmentin advance; all are eligible for thefree service.