Pols say Danger in MTS Plans
This Saturday, local politicians joined Upper East Side residents to yet again protest the East 91st Street Marine Transfer Station (MTS), citing the recent placement of the Atlantic sturgeon on the endangered species list as another reason to trash the plan. Opponents also seized upon FAA regulations that strongly advise against placing trash facilities within five miles of an airport in order to lessen the threat of bird strikes on planes taking off.
“Today we are urging the federal government to block the city from constructing this facility just three miles from LaGuardia Airport, in violation of federal regulations intended to prevent bird strikes from endangering air passengers and communities near airports, and to consider this site’s impact on the Atlantic sturgeon, which was recently added to the endangered species list and is known to live in the East River,” said Rep. Carolyn Maloney. She released letters she had written to the FAA, as well as to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, asking them to carefully weigh the environmental factors before granting the federal permits the city needs to construct the expanded dock for the transfer station.
Maloney, along with all of the East Side electeds, has been fighting tooth and nail against the garbage transfer station—she appropriated a quote from Winston Churchill that was originally about fighting the Nazis in World War II to demonstrate how hard she will fight the MTS, if that’s any indication of how much she thinks is at stake. She was joined on Saturday by State Sen. Liz Krueger, Assembly Members Micah Kellner and Dan Quart and City Council Member Jessica Lappin, and the fish and aviation puns flew with abandon (the plan should “sleep with the fishes,” the city should “go fish,” the proposal is “fishy,” the whole thing “isn’t going to fly”) as each issued forceful statements against the MTS, hoping that these new factors will hold sway with the right people in government.

Kips Bay Day
This Saturday, May 26, the Kips Bay Neighborhood Alliance, along with the Department of Transportation and Community Board 6, is hosting a community celebration at the Kips Bay pedestrian plaza. The plaza is located on the service road between 30th and 33rd streets, on the east side of Second Avenue, and is closed to traffic through July 31 to allow for community events and create more open space in the neighborhood. The events on Saturday run from 10 a.m.–5 p.m. and include live jazz music, chess games for kids, a puppet show by Repertorio Espanol, belly dancing with the Stein Senior Center, pet training from Walter’s Pets, bike training from Sids Bikes and NYBikes and other activities for kids and adults. For more information, email mholli@nyc.rr.com.

Cornell Campus at West Side HQ
The CornellNYC Tech campus slated for Roosevelt Island has found itself one heck of an incubator. Earlier this week, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Google CEO Larry Page and Cornell President David Skorton announced that Google will be lending, free of charge, 22,000 square feet of their Chelsea headquarters to the fledgling tech school for the next five and a half years, with the option to expand to 58,000 square feet as it grows.
The first classes at the school are set to begin this fall, and the first phase of the construction of the permanent campus on Roosevelt Island is scheduled to be completed in 2017. The Google placement can’t be a bad move for the new tech school, which is sure to attract a slew of students hoping to land jobs with their beneficent officemates, and Google will gain from its proximity to the next crop of tech geniuses. In the words of Council Member Jessica Lappin, it’s “a match made in heaven,” and all the similarly warm, fuzzy things that elected officials had to say about the move.

Choreographers Show Their Stuff
Next Saturday, 11 fledgling choreographers will put their best dance moves onstage for the Young Choreographer’s Festival. The performance highlights the work of choreographers between the ages of 18 and 25 in the genres of ballet, contemporary, modern, jazz, street jazz and tap. There will be a talkback panel featuring festival choreographers from 2010 through the present selection. June 2, 8 p.m., Peter Jay Sharp Theater at Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at symphonyspace.org.

Upper West Jazz Fest
Fans of jazz can get their fill of one of the greats this summer on the Upper West Side. The Smoke Jazz and Supper Club-Lounge, at 2751 Broadway, is holding its monthlong Miles Davis Festival, beginning May 25 and running through June 30.
Alumni from Davis’ band will play alongside top-notch trumpeters, with different ensembles paying tribute to his music each night. On Monday, June 4 at 6:30 p.m., an original play written by the club’s co-owner, Frank Christopher, and inspired by Davis, Beyond Blue Light, will premiere, with a three-course dinner included in the ticket price.
The festival kicks off this weekend with a celebration of Davis’ birthday, which would have been his 86th, with Jeremy Pelt on trumpet, George Cables on piano, Buster Williams on bass and Louis Hayes on drums. For more information, visit smokejazz.com.