New Park Snacks

Come spring, Hudson River Park will be offering new food and drink options throughout the park. According to the recently released Request for Proposals, which will be open until March 15, the West Side park is looking for bids for seven new food carts and trucks to be located in various locations including Battery Park City, Hell’s Kitchen and Hudson Square. These new additions will more than double the six mobile food vendors currently operating in the vicinity. According to DNAinfo.com, the Hudson River Park Trust is interested in certain vendors that offer food and drink at affordable rates. Specifically, they want vendors that charge $2 or less for at least two items. The Hudson River Park Trust is hoping that not only will the low prices improve visitor satisfaction; the monetary increase from monthly fees will help with the projected $80 million deficit. Hudson River Park is looking to have these mobile vendors up and running by May 1.

Manhattan Rental Market Report

Real estate brokerage firm MNS has released its January 2013 Manhattan Rental Market Report. MNS specializes in the sale, rental and marketing aspect of residential properties in both Manhattan and Brooklyn, and the report focuses on market summary, inventory analysis and trend prices.

As far as downtown neighborhoods are concerned, Soho, Tribeca, the Lower East Side and Harlem yielded the most interesting finds. In terms of average prices, Soho was ranked most expensive for non-doorman studios, and one- and two-bedrooms in doorman buildings. While the non-doorman studios were most expensive, rent for doorman studios in Soho had the second largest decrease in all of Manhattan. Tribeca was ranked most expensive for non-doorman one- and two-bedrooms (even with a 1.9 percent decrease in two bedrooms) and for doorman studios. While Tribeca’s doorman studios had the highest mean studio rental prices in all of Manhattan, the rent price for non-doorman studios had the largest decrease in Manhattan by far at 32.9 percent due to a 43 percent fall in inventory. Soho and Tribeca were the only two neighborhoods in Manhattan to experience a crisscross of studio price trends between doorman and non-doorman, and both switches happened between this past December and January.

Doorman studios on the Lower East Side had the highest price increase in all of Manhattan at 26.1 percent. The yearly basis average increase shows that rents were raised by $225 or 8 percent. In the past month alone, rents were raised $207 due to a fall in inventory.

If you want to live in Manhattan, this report shows that Harlem is the place to be. It was ranked least expensive in all of Manhattan and experienced a drop in rent of at least $49 across all studios, one bedrooms and two bedrooms. One-bedrooms in both doorman and non-doorman buildings experienced the highest drop of $78. “Rents are lower in this area compared to other desirable places in Manhattan, so any renters interested in going uptown should not wait around,” MNS said in its statement.

Movies start at dusk around 8 or 8:30 p.m. (unless otherwise noted), though coming early is a good idea considering how quickly spots fill up. Check out these locations for movies and showtimes.

NYC Parks Summer Movie Series
Free, July 19, 21 and August 22

At a variety of locations in the area, the NYC Parks Summer Movie Series plays. See Happy Feet 2 at Grover Cleveland Park Thursday, July 19 and The Smurfs at Bayswater Park Saturday, July 21. Winnie The Pooh plays at Pomonok Playground on Wednesday, August 22.

Upper West Side

Movies Under the Stars, Pier I in Riverside Park, 70th Street at the Hudson River
Free, Wednesdays, July 11-August 15

Many films being screened this summer are great for adults and a select few are foreign films. The best options for kids are Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (Wednesday, August 8) and Triplets of Belleville (Wednesday, August 15).

Summer Movie Night, Swindler Cove Park
Free, Tuesday, July 3

The Muppet Movie will be playing on the eve of Independence Day. The light-hearted film will take parents back to earlier times, while the kids might enjoy it as something brand new.

To read the full article at New York Family Magazine click here.

Photo courtesy of Wiki Commons.

As this year’s legislative session came to a close, the environmental community came up short on solar energy when the Legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo failed to push through a bill to boost long-term solar energy investment in the state. “If there was one particular disappointment, it was in the area of solar energy,” Dan Hendrick, a spokesman for the New York League of Conservation Voters, said late last night. “The environmental community has been pushing for a long-term, robust solar program for years, and polls show the overwhelming majority of New Yorkers want more solar. But at the end of the day, neither house passed transformative clean-energy legislation and the governor was not able to forge consensus on energy issues, like he did last year. The Assembly, Senate and the Governor all need to sharpen their pencils if we are ever going to make New York a clean-energy leader.” A solar energy bill that built on the governor’s more modest NY-SUN solar initiative targeted one of four key issues by the League of Conservation Voters and other environmental groups this session. The other priorities were stricter standards for hydrofracking wastewater, boosting the Environmental Protection fund, and a bill that was passed on “sewage right to know,” which requires public notification of high sewage levels in waterways like the Hudson River.

Planned Parenthood of New York City will host their eighth annual benefit Tuesday night

By Rebecca Harris

Young professionals and feminists from across the city are sure to come out to the West Side next Tuesday for an evening of cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, live music, circus acts and a few naughty surprises.

Planned Parenthood of New York City will host its eighth annual Summer, Sex and Spirits Benefit this Tuesday night at Hudson Terrace, a luxurious bar and lounge in Hell’s Kitchen overlooking the Hudson River. The main event will begin at 8 p.m., following a VIP reception at 7 p.m.

This year’s sexy benefit will be circus themed, with tricks by Lady Circus including aerial acts and stilt walking. DJ Tanner and DJ Louis XIX will take the stage, along with musical performers such as This Ambitious Orchestra. Erotic balloon artist Mistress B will also work the crowd throughout the night, mingling with guests and crafting naughty balloon masterpieces.

In addition to entertainment, the 21-and-over celebration will feature an open bar all night, light refreshments, a raffle and a silent auction fundraiser. Prizes include designer fashion items, restaurant and hotel certificates and “experiences”—ranging from a group cupcake-making class to a 24-carat gold-plated vibrator valued at more than $13,000.

The benefit is organized by PPNYC’s Action Fund Activist Council, a volunteer branch of Planned Parenthood. All proceeds raised at the benefit will go towards health care services, legislative advocacy and education programs across the five boroughs.

Last year’s event drew about 300 attendees and raised more than $23,000, according to Stephanie Demmons, community organizer for PPNYC. Tickets can be purchased online at PPNYC’s website. General admission tickets are $40 in advance and $50 at the door; VIP passes go for $80.

Explore the High Life
Everyone knows that the High Line is a wonder of modern urban greenery and should be showed off to tourists of all provenances, but not everyone knows you can score a free guided tour of the elevated park this summer. The organization Friends of the High Line runs the events, starting from the High Line on West 14th Street and wandering through the park. Guides will explain how the unique park came into existence, focusing on the design, public artworks and horticulture that make the structure into an experience, as well as the history of the High Line before it became the city gem it is today. Tours are about an hour long and are wheelchair accessible. Guides suggest paying extra attention to the weather when dressing for the tours and arriving early to guarantee a spot.
Tuesdays, 6:30 p.m.; free. Meet at the entrance to the High Line at W. 14th St. & 10th Ave. For questions, email karla.osorio-perez@thehighline.org.

CENTRAL PARK
Moonlight Ride Through the Park
The environmental action group TIME’S UP has been leading cyclists through the evening glow of Central Park for 20 years, so you’re in good hands, even if you’re a newbie to nighttime riding. The first Friday of every month, weather permitting, a group of bicyclists meet at 10 p.m. at Columbus Circle, and guides in the front and back of the gang bring everyone safely and at a leisurely pace through the tranquil park, hopefully by the light of the moon, if it cooperates. The total journey is about 10 miles and ends back where it started around midnight.
times-up.org

CENTRAL PARK
The Park as Art Exhibit
Most residents strolling through Central Park don’t stop to ponder the very design of the place, not to mention the majestic additions of the Belvedere Castle and other landmarks. Luckily, the Central Park Conservancy offers free guided tours to enlighten oblivious observers. At various times over the summer, tours meet outside the Tavern on the Green visitor center, inside the park at 67th Street and Central Park West, and guides take groups on an eye-opening walk that shows off the park’s majestic landscapes and romantic vistas that many would miss on a hasty jog. Groups of seven or more can arrange for custom tours by calling 212-360-2726 or emailing tours@centralparknyc.org.
centralparknyc.org

UPPER WEST SIDE
Lincoln Center, Outside
The famous institution known for its stately theaters takes its programming into the wilds of the West Side this summer for the Lincoln Center Out of Doors festival. All events at the Damrosch Park Bandshell, Hearst Plaza and Josie Robertson Plaza are free. This year, highlights include a performance from the Chinese American Arts Council Acrobatic Group, From Chinatown with Love, family days with the Bindlestiff Cirkus and the U.S. premiere of Tangle, an interactive, audience-created kid-friendly show from Australian troupe Polyglot Theatre. The event concludes with the 29th annual Roots of American Music Festival Aug.11-12.
July 5-Aug. 12. lcoutofdoors.org.

UPPER WEST SIDE
The Lotus Garden
It’s rare that a private garden opens its gates to the public, but every Sunday, The Lotus Garden allows people inside without a key to view its harmonious collection of fragrant blooms and even a couple of small fish ponds. Situated 20 feet above 97th Street on top of a parking garage, it’s a blissful and unexpected escape from the city.
Sundays, 1-4 p.m.; free. The Lotus Garden, W. 97th St. betw. Broadway & West End Ave., thelotusgarden.org.

UPTOWN
Wedding Watching in the Cloisters
Who says you need a formal invitation to watch Jane and John tie the knot? The lush gardens and scenic overlooks of Fort Tryon Park serve as the perfect wedding backdrop, and come just about any weekend afternoon, you can gaze at the gowns and rings. Just stay at arm’s length from the invited guests—nobody likes a wedding crasher—and keep your cell phone on vibrate during the vows. If you get a chance, tell the bride the ceremony was lovely; such compliments are probably half the reason they wed in the park to begin with. Mazel tov!

UPTOWN
Traipse into New Jersey by Way of the George Washington Bridge
The East Side has the Brooklyn Bridge, but the George Washington Bridge and the Palisades beyond it beckon just as seductively from the west. We dare you to cross it. Only the south side of the bridge is open to pedestrians, which means you won’t miss out on the sight of Manhattan’s western flank. Cross at sunset and see the city bathed in gold toned hues. It does get windy up there, so you will not regret leaving your air conditioned, hermetically sealed apartment. You might even want to pack a picnic; on the other side is Fort Lee Historic Park, the forested site atop the Palisades where the Continental Army held a position over the Hudson River. Start your adventure at 177th and Cabrini, where you can access the pedestrian walkway from 6 a.m. until midnight.

UPTOWN
See the Light Side of the Moon from Inwood Hill Park
When it comes to seeing stars, New Yorkers are more likely to see the red-carpet-walking, Oscar-statue-wielding kind than the fiery masses suspended in the cosmos. The opposite is true, however, at Inwood Hill Park, in Manhattan’s northernmost reaches. At sporadic but frequent stargazing sessions led by NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador Jason Kendall, the starry-eyed will get an opportunity to see if there is a man on the moon, discover constellations and become a little more familiar with the cosmos. In a recent event, stargazers held a Jupiter and Venus conjunction party to see the two bright planets pass within two degrees of each other.
moonbeam.net/inwoodastronomy

UPTOWN
Free Paddling on the Hudson
The Inwood Canoe Club has been run since 1902 by paddling enthusiasts, mostly volunteers, who love the river and want to spread the joy of a day spent skimming the surface of the Hudson. Rivergoers should wear clothes that can get splashed (or soaked) and be able to swim. The club provides kayaks, life vests and paddles free of charge, though insurance is required. The club is at the far west end of Dyckman Street; there is a sign at the marina gate directing visitors to the red boathouse.
Sundays, May 27-Sept. 2, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.; free, $4 insurance required per visit or $15 for the season. Inwood Canoe Club, at the Hudson River at Dyckman St., inwoodcanoeclub.com

CITYWIDE
Big City, Big Fish
New Yorkers are always looking for ways to feel like adventurers, trapped as we may be in our concrete jungle. The charter company Big City Fish lets you feel like a true captain of the high seas, if only for a day, as it guides clients to the most gigantic fish the Hudson and East Rivers have to offer up. The real captain, Craig Gantner, has been fishing since childhood, and is licensed by the U.S. Coast Guard. He champions catch-and-release, mindful of keeping fish populations plentiful for all customers, and can teach landlubbers the arts of fly and spin fishing, as well as simple pole-and-tackle conventional fishing. Gantner’s boat holds up to four people and can pick up passengers from Manhattan or the Jersey City marina.
908-963-0215, thebigcityfish.com

CITYWIDE
Summer Days on the River
Riverside Park’s Summer on the Hudson series gives New Yorkers a chance to get groovy on the river all summer long. The park holds tons of events, from Zumba, yoga, Pilates and tai chi classes to concerts for kids to kayaking, all on a regular basis. There are also the special features of the season, including the Sing for Hope Street Pianos—real pianos are placed around the park and are available for players, both pros and tinkerers, to plunk out tunes for two weeks starting June 1. On several Friday evenings, dance troupes from Harlem will show their stuff and encourage others to join in, teaching kids dance moves as well as confidence. There are also DJ dance parties, French films, a fishing festival, and a number of sports activities and lessons.
riversideparkfund.org

“They have a lot of issues,” said City Council Member Gale Brewer, who has been an advocate for the Boat Basin community and is helping broker the latest round of talks between the residents and Parks.

“They want to have more boats year-round, they want to make sure that when they have to plug into the electrical grid, the Parks Department is not taking an administration fee. The biggest issue is with their permit fees,” Brewer said. Currently, the permit fees for the year is $196 per linear foot of a boat. Boats vary in size, but many that are large enough to live on full-time are around 40 feet, meaning that an average yearly fee is around $7,840, or $653 a month. While that’s a bargain rate for rent on the Upper West Side, some boat owners also pay mortgages on their boats, and many residents are retired and on fixed incomes. Parks has proposed raising the permit fees, to $225 per linear foot, bringing the example average up to $750 a month, a 15 percent increase. Parks also plans to raise rates for parking, storage and some other services.

“Certain fees are being increased in high demand service areas that will help pay for the costs of operating the marinas, including structural repairs and maintenance,” said Parks Department spokesperson Phil Abramson. “Marina fees have not been increased over the last four years and will remain far lower than the rates charged at privately owned marinas.”

The new rates would go into effect in May 2013.

Several current residents of the Boat Basin declined to be interviewed for this article, citing the ongoing negotiations with the Parks Department over the fees and other issues. Famed civil liberties attorney Norman Siegel has been representing the Boat Basin tenants for several years, winning victories in the past when residents pushed for better protection from ice floating in the river and restoring several slips to be made available for permanent residents. Prior to the 1987, there were over 100 boats docked at the Boat Basin full time, but the Parks Department stopped issuing permits for permanent residents in Boat Basin Café and a longtime Upper West Side resident, said that he remembers when the neighborhood wasn’t safe and the Boat Basin was in terrible condition.

“I’ve lived in a rent-stabilized apartment for 40 years,” O’Neal said. “This area was packed with drug addicts. We were sort of pioneers, and those people [at the Boat Basin] were part of it.”

Even now, he said, when the fees are a comparative bargain for the neighborhood, it’s not all easy living.

“It’s an extraordinary place that inspired me to become a naturalist and a science teacher and a nature writer,” said former resident Leslie Day, who lived at the Boat Basin for 36 years before moving recently to an apartment on solid ground in Washington Heights. Day and her husband raised their son there and still keep their boat docked and go back during summer days.

“When my son was born in 1980 … it was a wonderful live-aboard community,” Day said. “The community is nowhere near what it was when it was such a thriving and wonderful place, and that’s sad.”

The decline in year-round boaters is partly due to older, longtime residents leaving; it’s no constant party to live on a boat.

Jill Baker, an artist and writer who set her novel at the Boat Basin, lived there in the ’80s and remembers it as a feisty community of artists who had to bear a lot of negatives to enjoy the benefits.

“The river is really rough in the winter— it has a lot of ice and cold, cold wind,” Baker said. “I can remember walking down to the boat with a big canvas for a painting, and it acted like a sail and I almost didn’t make it. It was whipping around and trying to blow me back.”

“There was a nor’easter in December 1992 where it rained for three days and the river actually came up over the West Side Highway,” Day remembers. “Many boats sank that night, the ones tied to the pilings of the fixed dock. People lost their homes. That was terrifying.”

Now some are afraid of losing their homes to other outside forces, like creeping rates and poor conditions at the Boat Basin. One of the biggest needs there is for dredging the Hudson River to clear away the silt build-up that makes it all but impossible to maneuver watercraft except during high tide. The analysis of the project alone, which would require the cooperation of state and federal environmental agencies, would cost several million dollars, and the actual dredging would be much more. Much of it is out of the hands of the Parks Department, which has been making other improvements over the past several years, said Abramson, the agency spokesperson.

“Parks has invested significantly in the wholesale upgrade of the 79th Street Boat Basin in the past eight years, including floating docks and electrical and plumbing complete line replacements as well as upgrades in the outer wave wall and ice protection systems,” he said. “Most of these improvements were in direct response to the concerns of boaters who use the facility.”

Now those boaters await their fates as they try to negotiate with Parks to keep their beloved community livable.

As Ed Bacon, a longtime resident who runs a charter yacht company and publishes the Boat Basin Bulletin, wrote in his inaugural 2008 issue of the newsletter, the assembled drifters at the Boat Basin have become a group of bonded Upper West Siders who want to keep their way of life afloat.

“This community has become like the suburbs,” Bacon wrote. “Instead of neighborhoods and cul-de-sacs, we have mooring fields and docks.”

Neighbors Try to Thwart Vendors with Parking Meters

Last week, Community Board 7 narrowly voted down a resolution from their transportation committee that would have recommended a major change in parking regulations on a small strip of West 68th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue. The measure came about as a way to keep food vendors off of the mostly residential street, which some residents vigorously support. The resolution was to recommend that the Department of Transportation switch the street from regular alternate side parking to metered parking, making it illegal for vendors to set up there. When the measure came before the full board, however, many board members were adamantly opposed to a change that would inhibit resident parking on the street and give over spaces to temporary visitors. Despite impassioned pleas from some residents who say they’re fed up with food vendors on their street, the board ultimately rejected the measure, and the street will remain, for the time being, open to both resident parking and street vendors with the proper permits.

The UWS on Two Wheels

Local preservation advocacy group Landmark West and the American Planning Associations Members are sponsoring a bicycling tour of historic railway, subway and greenway sites on the Upper West Side next Saturday, May 12, starting at 3 p.m. The tour will be led by transportation planner and Upper West Sider Josef Szende, who will take bikers past spots historically significant to the Hudson River Railroad and the IRT subway as well as the Hudson River Greenway and the Columbus Avenue bike lane. The trip is about 10 miles long, beginning at Columbus Circle Bike & Roll, 59th Street and Central Park West, and bike rentals will be available at the start of the tour. Tickets are $15; $10 for Landmark West members. Email landmarkwest@landmarkwest.org to RSVP.

West Siders Say No to Horn Noise

Most New Yorkers would likely agree that horn-honking is one of the biggest disturbances of urban life—yet inevitable. Last week, however, West Side group CHEKPEDS (Clinton Hell’s Kitchen Coalition for Pedestrian Safety) joined forces with the Citizens Committee and Taxi and Limousine Commissioner David Yassky to try to curb the incessant honking. The groups convened at 10th Avenue and West 44th Street to lure taxi drivers with free coffee and donuts and politely worded entreaties to lay off the horns unless it’s absolutely necessary, like to prevent a collision or warn a pedestrian of oncoming danger. Citizens Committee is also upping the ante by offering implementation grants, from $500 to $3,000, to neighborhood groups with innovative ideas to reduce horn honking. Among other steps toward a more peaceful city, Yassky noted that the city’s “Taxi of Tomorrow,” the Nissan NV200 slated to hit the streets in fall of 2013, features a low-annoyance horn. Stated Citizens Committee CEO, Peter Kostmayer, “This is a small problem that we can solve on our own just by being a little more polite.”

Lincoln Square BID Annual Meeting

The Lincoln Square Business Improvement District will be holding its 15th annual meeting on Friday, May 18, at 8 a.m. Property owners, commercial tenants, businesses and residents are welcome. The BID will review the past year’s accomplishments and discuss new initiatives as well as adopt the 2012 fiscal year budget and elect directors for the coming year. Guest speakers include Thomas Farley, commissioner of the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and Alair Townsend, chairwoman of the City Center of Music & Drama Inc. Fordham University, 113 W. 60th St., 12th floor. Reservations required; call 212-581-3774 or email info@lincolnsquarebid.org.

Help for Unhealthy Air

Last month, Mayor Bloomberg announced deadlines for eliminating the use of heavy heating oils, No. 6 and No. 4, in all city buildings. While these oils are used in only 10,000 of the city’s buildings, a mere 1 percent, they account for more soot pollution than car and truck usage combined. Many of these buildings are located in Manhattan, emitting a substantial amount of pollution on the

Upper East and West Sides, where many older buildings use the outdated systems that rely on these heavy fuel oils. Air pollution contributes to 6 percent of annual deaths in New York City, afflicting those exposed with ailments ranging from asthma to heart disease. NYC Clean Heat, an initiative to expedite the city’s conversion to cleaner fuels, anticipates that full compliance with these regulations will save 1,500 lives by 2030, alleviating the burden on our neighborhoods and health care system along the way. The initiative helps building owners by providing information, technical assistance, financial resources and incentives to encourage immediate action to convert heating systems before the compliance deadlines. For more information on the program, dial 311 and ask for Clean Heat, call 212-656-9202 or email info@nyccleanheat.org.

Free Breast Health Screenings

The American-Italian Cancer Foundation will be providing a mobile clinic for free mammograms and clinical breast exams on Friday, May 11, on the Upper West Side. The van will be parked near P.S. 84, at 32 W. 92nd St. To be eligible for the no-cost services, women must be age 40 or older, have a New York City mailing address, and not have undergone a mammogram within the past 12 months. Bring Medicare, Medicaid or insurance information if applicable. Appointments required; call 877-628-9090.

The proposed garbage dump that will go next to Asphalt Green.

Opponents of the East 91st Street Marine Transfer Station (MTS) planned by the city are joining forces with a seemingly unlikely ally, the Friends of LaGuardia Airport. What residents against a trash facility in their neighborhood have in common with a group that advocates for safe conditions at an airport in Queens is that both groups want to halt the transfer station in its tracks.

Air safety experts have begun to speak against the Upper East Side transfer station, as well as another planned for College Point in Queens, pointing to both planned facilities as wildlife attractants that will increase the number of dangerous collisions between flocks of large migratory birds and airplanes taking off from and landing at LaGuardia Airport. Last week, a Delta flight leaving JFK made an emergency landing shortly after takeoff when it struck a flock of birds and one of its engines was damaged, an incident that has reignited attention to this particular avian problem.

“This is a known risk, one that the aviation community has been dealing with for decades,” said James Hall, a transportation safety consultant and former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. “The New York airports sit in the middle of an area that is surrounded by water. They are already an area that provides wildlife attractants and challenges in order to provide for safe flight.”

Capt. Chesley Sullenberger, the now-famous pilot who safely landed his plane on the Hudson River after a bird strike crippled its engines in 2009, has spoken against both transfer stations. He told CBS This Morning last week, “It’s a bad idea to build near an airport anything that’s likely to attract birds, including trash facilities,” mentioning the East 91st Street and College Point stations by name.

While locals and politicians in Yorkville have been fighting the transfer station for a myriad of reasons, it seems like their best hope for actually stopping it lies with the lawsuits that the Friends of LaGuardia airport have filed against the FAA.

“Most people don’t associate our community in Yorkville with LaGuardia Airport in Queens,” said David Mack, one of the founders of the group Residents for Sane Trash Solutions, formed to oppose the Upper East Side MTS. “But as the crow flies, literally, the FAA has a mandated perimeter where they don’t want any wildlife attractants, and we are within that distance.”

Ken Paskar, president of Friends of LaGuardia Airport and a former lead representative for the FAA safety team, said his group is only asking the FAA to do what their own regulations require them to enforce.

“The FAA is very specific about what it means to be a fully enclosed transfer station, and the transfer station at East 91st Street does not meet that criteria,” Paskar said. The FAA recommends that any potential wildlife attractant be located at least five miles from any airports to protect their approach, departure and circling airspace, and has strict requirements that those located within that radius must meet that essentially prohibit any trash or odor escaping the enclosed station.

City officials have said that the transfer station will be built to ensure minimal exposure of the trash to the outdoors, and that its operations will be conducted under the covered facility. The state Department of Environmental Conservation, which has issued permits for the facility, did not respond to request for comment on this story.

Opponents contest that there is no way the city can guarantee that the transfer station will operate without attracting additional birds.

“This is not rocket science here, this is something that everyone understands—birds and airplanes don’t mix,” Paskar said. “When you build something on the water with a new food source, which is garbage and waste, for birds, you’re going to have a hazardous situation.”

State Sen. Liz Krueger and Assembly Member Micah Kellner, who have both been vocal opponents of the transfer station along with other East Side elected officials, released a joint statement pointing to the recent bird strike as another reason to halt the East 91st Street facility.

“While this bird strike occurred on a flight path out of JFK, it’s a reminder that we need to work on mitigating the risks for all our airports,” read the statement in part. “We agree with the Friends of LaGuardia Airport, former FAA officials who think that putting bird-attracting sanitation facilities in major flight paths is a bad idea.”

Bird strikes have been increasing over the past several decades, a phenomenon that experts attribute to changes in migratory patterns due to climate change. According to the FAA’s database, there have been 960 wildlife strikes near LaGuardia Airport in the past 10 years, 10 of which resulted in substantial damage and one—Sullenberger’s “Miracle on the Hudson”—that resulted in a destroyed aircraft. While it’s common for birds to collide with planes in the air, large fowl like Canadian geese can cause enough damage to ground a flight.

“To me, it’s just a horrible precedent to be set nationally,” said Hall. “For the city of New York, the Port Authority and the FAA to take an action like this, to add to an area that is already an attractant, to add to that with these waste disposal units is just irresponsible.”

“Curiouser and curiouser!” cried Alice in the classic children’s story by Lewis Carroll. The well-known phrase became an adage for 9-year-old Jeryl Brunner when she wandered into Central Park and discovered the sculpture of Alice atop a bronze mushroom reaching for the White Rabbit’s pocketwatch.

“I remember looking at the statue and thinking of all the possibilities and all of the magic in the city,” Brunner, 46, author of My City, My New York: Famous New Yorkers Share Their Favorite Places released in October, said. A seasoned celebrity journalist, she asked over 300 famous New Yorkers to share their favorite New York fix.

I met Brunner in the garden at St. Luke in the Fields in the West Village beneath a crabapple tree. It’s a scene straight out of a Carroll fantasy.

“Can you believe you’re in Manhattan?” she said.

The quaint garden is also from the first sequence of her book, this site being actor and director John Cameron Mitchell’s favored oasis, where he rehearsed for his role in the musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch. The gamut of New Yorkers who share their ”fixes” in the book ranges from Tina Fey to Hugh Jackman to New York Times crossword puzzle editor Will Shortz.

Growing up in Hastings-on-Hudson, Brunner wanted to be an actress. She attended NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and majored in drama and politics.

“I really wanted to be an actress,“ Brunner said.

However, the inconsistent paychecks eventually changed her mind.

“I got scared of starving, I was scared of the struggle,” Brunner said. “I thought, well if I can’t be an actor, why not talk to other actors about their craft?”

After attending law school, which Brunner quickly found wasn’t for her, she found a job as a one of the first staff members at InStyle magazine. After a nine-year stint there, Brunner needed a change of pace.

“I hit a limit. Nine years at a magazine is measured like it’s in dog years,” Brunner laughed.

As a freelancer she wrote for publications such as O, the Oprah magazine and National Geographic Traveler. In 2002, she wrote an article for the latter about what notable New Yorkers would do if they had one hour to spend in the city, which became the seed for her book.

After a decade of tiresome rounds with publishers, Globe Pequot finally accepted her proposal. By March the following year, she had a finished manuscript, but continued to contribute celebrity quotes up until this August.

Brunner’s book captures nostalgic New York and reminds us why we continue to put up with aggravating subway delays, hour-long lines to buy groceries and outrageous rent. Her book offers readers glimpses into the places where celebrities let loose and find calm, like Saturday Night Live’s  Will Forte and Jason Sudeikis’ late-night karaoke sessions at Sing Sing and Matthew Broderick’s favorite bike route up the Hudson River pathway.

When I ask Brunner about her own New York fix, she said she’s on the same page as Broderick. Twice a week, if her busy schedules permits, she takes bike rides along the Hudson River to Fort Tyron, bringing along a basket of health food purchased from Fairway market.

“It feels like Oz up there—it’s so pristine and special.” Brunner said.

Photo: Jeryl Brunner in St. Luke in the Fields. Photo by Andrew Schwartz

Tuesday night, members of the art community gathered to see the Windmill Factory’s debut project “Reflecting the Stars,” created by Jon Morris. Attendees sipped cocktails and listened to speeches from members involved in the piece. The installation, which is located on Pier 49 off the Hudson River, will be  open to the public until Oct. 25. It uses wireless-controlled solar powered LED lamps to imitate and recreate our night sky.

Veronica Hogland

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