Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

by Megan Bungeroth

Most New Yorkers don’t think about the Surrogate’s Court until it makes major headlines, but when it does, the cases are memorable. Here are some of the most famous and bizarre cases in recent memory.

1992- Woody Allen and Mia Farrow go to Surrogate’s Court to settle the custody battle for their three adopted children and biological son, Satchel.

1994-The court deems the total value of the Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts collection to be $400 million, an amount three times higher than the foundation had placed its collection at. The jump resulted in a huge fee awarded to executor Edward Hayes, but the state Appellate Court reversed the decision four years later.

2002-Tobacco heiress Doris Duke died in 1993 and had appointed her butler, Bernard Lafferty, as executor of her estate of over $1 billion. But in 1995, the court stripped Lafferty of his role on teh basis that he was spending millions on luxuries for himself while living lavishly and drunkenly in Duke’s mansion. The court appointed several executors that had been named in one of the Duke’s previous wills, and they formed teh Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. In 2002, the court returned $12.1 million in legal fees to the estate.

2004-When East Village performance artist Jack Smith died in 1989 of complications from AIDS, fellow artists maintained his archives and restored many of his films, safeguarding his artistic legacy. But in 2004, the court awarded the entire estate to Smith’s estranged sister, 70-year-old Texas housewife Mary Sue Slater, on the basis that she was the sole legal heir.

2008-Real estate mogul Leona Helmsley bequeathed $12 million to her dog, a Maltese named Trouble, in her will, while leaving nothing to two of her grandchildren. The court later knocjed down the pooch’s cut to $2 million, to be managed by his caretaker for expenses like security and grooming costs, redirected the rest to charity. Poor Trouble died in 2011 as the world’s wealthiest (and most envied) four-legged friend.

2012-The Westchester County Surrogate’s Court settled one of the most contentious and famous cases in recent memory this year when it finalized the distribution of Brooke Astor’s estate. Astor, who died in 2007 at age 105, was an extremely wealthy philanthropist and socialite, and her son Anthony Marshall was accused of gutting her fortune in her waning years, taking advantage of his ailing mother to get his hands on her millions. The court ultimately directed more than $100 million of the estate to charities, cultural institutions and education funds, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Central Park and the New York Public Library, and slashed the amount that Marshall was entitled to inherit.

NYPL brings back a moveable feast

By Caroline Birenbaum

It’s always fun to see how the palatial Gottesman Exhibition Hall at the New York Public Library is transformed by the nature of the material on view. This summer it has become a vast food hall, where the social history of the lunch hour is presented, using the resources of the library’s holdings, urban artifacts and cleverly incorporated bits of multimedia to document this quintessentially modern New York custom.

In theory, you needn’t rush to visit, since the show will be up until mid-February. On the other hand, why deny yourself this wonderful free lunch, especially if you want to take advantage of the many accompanying programs. Judging from the visitors when I was there, this exhibit appeals to everyone, from native New Yorkers to tourists, toddlers to centenarians.

The show is organized around four themes: “quick-lunch,” lunch at home, charitable lunch (school lunch programs) and the power lunches of the elite, both men and women. It includes sections on “iconic” foods, such as oysters—notably those purveyed in Thomas Downing’s famed 19th- century oyster cellars—pretzels, pizza, pastrami, deli, Chinese takeout, sushi, Jamaican beef patties and the venerable hot dog.

Don’t miss the video interview with Ed Beller, a fabricator of restaurant equipment, who serendipitously created the first stainless-steel cookers for hot dog carts.

The centerpiece of the exhibit, in terms of inventiveness, nostalgia, and interactivity, is a recreation of an automat, with elegant Art Deco signage, compartment doors you can raise (though no food awaits within), a gorgeous coffee spigot you can handle (alas, that wonderful chicory-coffee aroma is not included) and behind-the-scenes views of the equipment and company customer service manuals. Clips of movie scenes set in automats play on a screen in this section, and recipe cards for four Horn & Hardart favorites (pumpkin pie, baked beans) are available as souvenirs.

Another tactile display is a section of a soda fountain. It was a thrill to press the dispensers, even if thick chocolate syrup didn’t pour out.

The show concludes with a delightful projection of photos of people eating lunch around New York today and an invitation to participate in the Library’s collaborative menu transcription project, which will result in the ability to digitally search the immense menu collection on a dish-by-dish basis.

Can’t wait for a quick lunch? There are two ’wichcraft cafés in the library; restaurants and kiosks in Bryant Park behind the library; and a food truck located on Bryant Park Plaza, 40th Street and Fifth Avenue, weekdays through Labor Day from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Lunch Hour NYC
Through Feb. 17, 2013. New York Public Library Stephen A. Schwartzman Building, Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, www.nypl.org. Join the menu transcription project: menus@nypl.org.

Library usage in the city keeps going up—in the last fiscal year, Webster had over 250,000 visits, and the entire NYPL system had 15.1 million—but funding continues to drop precipitously. Now the NYPL system is facing severe budget cuts again; the 2013 proposed budget slashes $36 million, a 32 percent decrease that, if implemented in the executive budget, would surely mean reduced hours, staff and services all around Manhattan.

“More patrons than ever are coming through our doors, checking out more materials, attending more programs and accessing more information,” said Dr. Anthony Marx, president of the NYPL, at a City Council hearing last week. “This cumulative cut means that [fiscal year] ’13 funding, excluding inflationary reimbursements, would be a full 44 percent lower than the FY ’08 adopted budget.”

Patrons inside the Webster Branch of the New York Public Library

It’s a particularly cruel irony that the same economic crisis that squeezes the library budget is the same force sending New Yorkers into those libraries in droves. Library advocates point out that the loss of hours and staff would mean fewer librarians to help people find and fill out job applications, fewer free activities for cash-strapped parents to bring their kids to and fewer English as a Second Language courses, one of the many types of free class the NYPL provides.

“Especially in an economic downturn, libraries just become more necessary,” said Lauren Comito, a librarian who runs the organization Urban Librarians Unite. She said she has probably helped over 1,000 people in the past six months search for jobs, write résumés and apply to positions online. Last year, 440,500 people attended job-related classes at the city libraries.

“When people don’t have any other options, they know they can come to the library for help with dignity,” Comito said.
City Council Member Gale Brewer said that while it’s still a little early in the process of fighting over the budget, she expects to receive a slew of constituent feedback urging her to help preserve local libraries—last year, she received over 2,500 letters.

“We receive more letters from people concerned about libraries than any other item,” Brewer said. “I happen to also be addicted to [Upper West Side branch] St. Agnes. I go in most weekends, I read the papers that I haven’t caught up on. There are no seats available in the computer spaces.”

Brewer said she’s concerned that even if funding is restored in the executive budget, local branches—which include, on the Upper East Side,  the 96th Street Library, the Yorkville Library, the 67th Street Library and the Aguilar Library—will still suffer without increased funding.

“We need more librarians, we need to be open more hours, [have] more books, more computers. I don’t understand a literate society not making that a priority,” Brewer said.

The steady decline in funding has forced libraries to get by on shoestring budgets and operate with military-like efficiency to avoid cutting services.

“The cuts have definitely been tough,” Angela Montefinise, director of public relations and marketing at the NYPL, wrote in an email. “We’re down 500 employees since [2008], and yet we still manage to have an average of six-day service around our system. We have worked extremely hard…to ensure that public service is not impacted by these cuts, but there’s only so far we can push to maintain that level of service as resources continue to decline.”

According to the NYPL, about $100 million of their $259 million adopted budget for FY 2012 comes from private donations, a number they say remains consistent. It’s the city money that fluctuates and that the system is constantly negotiating.

“I call it, in the words of Yogi Berra, ‘Déjà vu all over again,’” said Council Member Vincent Gentile, chair of the Libraries Committee. “It seems like every 10 months or so, we’re back to where we started.

“Last year, we had to close a gap of $3 million [after larger cuts were restored to the budget],” he said. “Now it’s come to the point to that we’re looking at a gap of $96 million,” the total combined amount for the NYPL, which covers Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island as well as the research libraries, and cuts to the Queens and Brooklyn library systems.

Gentile said that the libraries should receive a baseline budget—something they can count on every year—but that he doesn’t see that happening in this administration.

“The fact that we haven’t baselined it really leaves everybody with no ability to plan and no ability to have some sense of security,” he said.

Maureen Sullivan, president-elect of the American Libraries Association, said that urban libraries around the country are suffering similar budget restraints and that lawmakers need to be made aware of the tremendous return on investment that libraries offer in terms of public services and community benefit.

“I think there’s really a need for the financial people, the policy makers to understand what people who work in libraries do and how people in the community use libraries,” Sullivan said. “It’s critical to recognize that the public library is often the only resource available for those in our communities who are not yet using the technology or don’t have the ability to get the information,” for things like online employment resources.

While job search resources are critical, local libraries also serve as cultural and social havens for Upper East and West Siders. On a recent bright weekday morning at St. Agnes, seniors crowded around the computers, people of all ages browsed the books and worked on laptops and dozens of children scampered around the newly renovated first floor, designed to accommodate kids and their caretakers. Three moms of young toddlers met in a corner, where they regularly gather for their group’s meet-ups.

“I couldn’t imagine not having this available,” said Lissa Toole, who organizes the group. “The library is a huge help.”
Samantha Berman, who used to come to St. Agnes as a little girl and loves bringing her child there now, said that if the library had to further reduce its hours, it would be tough on her and other mothers. “We would like it to open at 10 a.m.,” she said. “If they decrease the hours, it would be like a waste of that [new] construction.”

“Yes, 11 a.m. is late for a library,” Toole chimed in. Currently, St. Agnes is open 43 hours a week, opening at 11 a.m. Monday through Wednesday, noon on Thursday, and 10 a.m. Friday and Saturday. It closes at 5, 6 or 7 p.m. and doesn’t open on Sundays.

“As a parent, you want to encourage reading from the earliest moment,” said Alena Morrissey, another mom who wants her toddler to be surrounded by books as much as possible. All three mothers said they would be at a loss for a new location to meet if they didn’t have St. Agnes, and noted how crowded all the area libraries are.

As the budget back-and-forth begins in the coming weeks, the City Council may restore some of the library budget, but advocates are still worried that even with minimal cuts, the system will be stretched too thin.

“They talk about basically cutting the most vulnerable folks in this city who depend on us for access to ideas—the bedrock of democracy, the bedrock of an economy,” Marx said in his Council testimony. “That would demonstrate fewer items being circulated, libraries being closed, youngsters being deprived of access to books and programs. It really is a horror show.”

Anyone who thinks of libraries as repressively quiet zones filled with musty books need only walk into the St. Agnes branch of the New York Public Library system to be instantly proven wrong. While the Upper West Side branch boasts its fair share of quiet spots as well as, of course, books, it is also a bright, modern community space where locals of all ages come to use computers, take classes and participate in group activities they simply can’t find anywhere else.

Library usage in the city keeps going up—in the last fiscal year, St. Agnes had nearly 300,000 visits, and the entire NYPL system had 15.1 million—but funding continues to drop precipitously. Now the NYPL system is facing severe budget cuts again; the 2013 proposed budget slashes $36 million, a 32 percent decrease that, if implemented in the executive budget, would surely mean reduced hours, staff and services all around Manhattan.

“More patrons than ever are coming through our doors, checking out more materials, attending more programs and accessing more information,” said Dr. Anthony Marx, president of the NYPL, at a City Council hearing last week. “This cumulative cut means that [fiscal year] ’13 funding, excluding inflationary reimbursements, would be a full 44 percent lower than the FY ’08 adopted budget.”

It’s a particularly cruel irony that the same economic crisis that squeezes the library budget is the same force sending New Yorkers into those libraries in droves. Library advocates point out that the loss of hours and staff would mean fewer librarians to help people find and fill out job applications, fewer free activities for cash-strapped parents to bring their kids to and fewer English as a Second Language courses, one of the many types of free class the NYPL provides.

“Especially in an economic downturn, libraries just become more necessary,” said Lauren Comito, a librarian who runs the organization Urban Librarians Unite. She said she has probably helped over 1,000 people in the past six months search for jobs, write résumés and apply to positions online. Last year, 440,500 people attended job-related classes at the city libraries.

“When people don’t have any other options, they know they can come to the library for help with dignity,” Comito said. City Council Member Gale Brewer said that while it’s still a little early in the process of fighting over the budget, she expects to receive a slew of constituent feedback urging her to help preserve Upper West Side libraries—last year, she received over 2,500 letters.

“We receive more letters from people concerned about libraries than any other item,” Brewer said. “I happen to also be addicted to St. Agnes. I go in most weekends, I read the papers that I haven’t caught up on. There are no seats available in the computer spaces.”

Brewer said she’s concerned that even if funding is restored in the executive budget, the Upper West Side branches— which include St. Agnes on Amsterdam Avenue, Bloomingdale on West 100th Street, Riverside at West 65th Street and the Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center—will still suffer without increased funding.“We need more librarians, we need to be open more hours, [have] more books, more computers. I don’t understand a literate society not making that a priority,” Brewer said.

The steady decline in funding has forced libraries to get by on shoestring budgets and operate with military-like efficiency to avoid cutting services. “The cuts have definitely been tough,” Angela Montefinise, director of public relations and marketing at the NYPL, wrote in an email. “We’re down 500 employees since [2008], and yet we still manage to have an average of six-day service around our system. We have worked extremely hard…to ensure that public service is not impacted by these cuts, but there’s only so far we can push to maintain that level of service as resources continue to decline.”

According to the NYPL, about $100 million of their $259 million adopted budget for FY 2012 comes from private donations, a number they say remains consistent. It’s the city money that fluctuates and that the system is constantly negotiating.

“I call it, in the words of Yogi Berra, ‘Déjà vu all over again,’” said Council Member
Vincent Gentile, chair of the Libraries Committee. “It seems like every 10 months or so, we’re back to where we started.”

Library patrons inside the Saint Agnes branch of the NYPL.

“Last year, we had to close a gap of $3 million [after larger cuts were restored to the budget],” he said. “Now it’s come to the point to that we’re looking at a gap of $96 million,” the total combined amount for the NYPL, which covers Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island as well as the research libraries, and cuts to the Queens and Brooklyn library systems.

Gentile said that the libraries should receive a baseline budget—something they can count on every year—but that he doesn’t see that happening in this administration. “The fact that we haven’t baselined it really leaves everybody with no ability to plan and no ability to have some sense of security,” he said.

Maureen Sullivan, president-elect of the American Libraries Association, said that urban libraries around the country are suffering similar budget restraints and that lawmakers need to be made aware of the tremendous return on investment that libraries offer in terms of public services and community benefit.

“I think there’s really a need for the financial people, the policy makers to understand what people who work in libraries do and how people in the community use libraries,” Sullivan said. “It’s critical to recognize that the public library is often the only resource available for those in our communities who are not yet using the technology or don’t have the ability to get the information,” for things like online employment resources.

While job search resources are critical, local libraries also serve as cultural and social havens for Upper West Siders. On a recent bright weekday morning at St. Agnes, seniors crowded around the computers, people of all ages browsed the books and worked on laptops and dozens of children scampered around the newly renovated first floor, designed to accommodate kids and their caretakers. Three moms of young toddlers met in a corner, where they regularly gather for their group’s meet-ups.

“I couldn’t imagine not having this available,” said Lissa Toole, who organizes the group. “The library is a huge help.” Samantha Berman, who used to come to St. Agnes as a little girl and loves bringing her child there now, said that if the library had to further reduce its hours, it would be tough on her and other mothers. “We would like it to open at 10 a.m.,” she said. “If they decrease the hours, it would be like a waste of that [new] construction.”

“Yes, 11 a.m. is late for a library,” Toole chimed in. Currently, St. Agnes is open 43 hours a week, opening at 11 a.m. Monday through Wednesday, noon on Thursday, and 10 a.m. Friday and Saturday. It closes at 5, 6 or 7 p.m. and doesn’t open on Sundays. “As a parent, you want to encourage reading from the earliest moment,” said Alena Morrissey, another mom who wants her toddler to be surrounded by books as much as possible.

All three mothers said they would be at a loss for a new location to meet if they didn’t have St. Agnes, and noted how crowded all the area libraries are. As the budget back-and-forth begins in the coming weeks, the City Council may restore some of the library budget, but advocates are still worried that even with minimal cuts, the system will be stretched too thin.

“They talk about basically cutting the most vulnerable folks in this city who depend on us for access to ideas—the bedrock of democracy, the bedrock of an economy,” Marx said in his Council testimony. “That would demonstrate fewer items being circulated, libraries being closed, youngsters being deprived of access to books and programs. It really is a horror show.”

Compiled by Allen Houston

Friday, September 24

Pipilotti Rist: Heroes of Birth—Rist already seduced many with her MoMA atrium installation; now comes a chance to check out new videos from the Swiss artist, including “All or Nothing,” a triptych of mounted LCD screens that is surrounded by an altar with daily offerings such as fresh flowers and water “for visitors to pause and quench their thirst.” Luhring Augustine, 534 W. 24th St., 212-206-9100; 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Free.

Doug Varone and Dancers: Stripped—No, they’re not removing their clothes, but Varone’s ensemble of committed, juicy movers will showcase excerpts from a work-in-progress on Italian themes and repertory excerpts in these informal studio presentations—a chance to savor his adventurous, full-bodied choreography while waiting for the troupe’s March Joyce season. 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Center, 1395 Lexington Ave., 212-279-3344; 8 p.m., $25 at door.

Saturday, September 25

Franz Xaver Messerschmidt—If you’ve scared a child by telling her not to make faces because it may stay that way, this exhibit may be the creepy truth. The first exhibition in the United States devoted exclusively to this major late-18th-century Austro-Bavarian sculptor, the Messerschmidt exhibit focuses on the artist’s creepy-cool “character heads.” Neue Galerie, 1048 5th Ave., 212-628-6200; 11 a.m.-6 p.m., $15.

Mark Twain, a Skeptic’s Progress—If you enjoy poring over the scribblings and pontifications of legendary writers and thinkers, then here’s a granddaddy of an exhibit. Coinciding with the 175th anniversary of Twain’s birth, this joint exhibit is presented by The Morgan and The New York Public Library—which hold two of the world’s great collections of manuscripts and rare books by the iconic author. It includes more than 120 letters, notebooks, diaries, photographs and drawings associated with the author’s life and work, and is supplemented by Twain’s correspondence, drawings and illustrations, photographs and several 3-dimensional artifacts. Morgan Library & Museum, 225 Madison Ave., 212-685-0008; 10 a.m.-6 p.m., $12.

Saturday, September 26

Tuesday, September 28

Me, Myself & I—Starring Brian Murray and Elizabeth Ashley, this Edward Albee play is about a mother who can’t distinguish between her twin sons. May not be promising for the boys, but it’s a great season opener for us. Playwrights Horizons, 416 W. 42nd St., 212-279-4200; 8 p.m., $75.

Wednesday, September 29

Jazz Giants—Bill Wurtzel and Mike Gari will perform jazz guitar music. American Folk Art Museum, West 66th Street and Columbus Avenue, 2 Lincoln Square Branch; 2 p.m.-3 p.m., Free.

Thursday, September 30

Blood Into Gold: The Cinematic Alchemy of Alejandro Jodorowsky—The Museum of Arts and Design screens Fando Y Lis, one of Chilean guru/filmmaker/comic book writer Jodorowsky’s movies. Museum of Arts and Design, 2 Columbus Circle, 212-299-7740; 7 p.m. $7-$10.

Compiled by Alice Robb

Friday, July 9

Magic Musical—TADA! Youth Theater presents The Magic Pot: Three Tales from China, an original musical for kids, performed by kids, about a young girl who finds herself in the middle of ancient tales. TADA! Theater, 15 W. 28th St., 2nd floor, 212-252-1619 x5; 7 p.m., $6-$25.

Pictures from the Past—The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts presents Lincoln Center Festival in Pictures, a retrospective photography exhibition highlighting the Festival’s artists and productions over the past 14 years. The gallery portrays some of the great artists who have participated in the Festival over the years, including Liam Neeson, Harold Pinter, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Ornette Coleman and Merce Cunningham. Plaza corridor gallery of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, 40 Lincoln Plaza, 212-870-1630; 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Free.

Zombies—The Museum of Arts and Design continues its Italian zombie film series with a screening of Zombie 2 (1979), directed by Lucio Fulci. While investigating an unmanned yacht drifting into the New York City harbor, two patrolmen are attacked by a member of the living dead. The film series is presented in conjunction with special exhibition Dead or Alive, which explores how contemporary artists incorporate once-living materials in their work. Wear zombie makeup for a discounted ticket. MAD Theater, 2 Columbus Circle, 212-299-7740; 7 p.m., $7-$10.

Saturday, July 10

Operatic—The emerging artists of the Martina Arroyo Foundation’s Prelude to Performance program present a fully staged and costumed production of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute). The Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College, 695 Park Ave., 212-772-4448; 7:30 p.m., $20-$90.

Civil War History—A walking tour marks the 147th anniversary of the infamous New York Draft Riots. Learn through first-person accounts about the flourishing of Gramercy Park and personalities such as George Templeton Strong and Edwin Booth. The tour is led by New York City expert Maria Dering. Meet outside Church of the Transfiguration, 1 E. 29th St., 646-573-9509; 11 a.m., $15-$20.

Meet a Penguin—Interact with a live black-footed penguin at the Museum of Natural History’s Wild, Wild World Program. Jarod Miller, host of the television series Animal Exploration with Jarod Miller, discusses the habitats and surprising behaviors of these “extreme climate” animals. Linder Theater, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at West 79th Street, 212-769-5100; 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., $10-$12.

Sunday, July 11

International Festival—Tens of thousands flock each year to the NYC Celebration of Nations Festival, which features international food, art and merchandise, as well as entertainment. Madison Avenue from East 47th to East 57th Street, 212-809-4900; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Free.

Summergarden—The Museum of Modern Art’s Summergarden concert series returns to The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden, with a performance of chamber music including the world premiere of Laurie Altman’s Ways of Looking: At Zurich (2008) and New York premieres of works by Reynold Tharp and Paul Desenne. MoMA, 11 W. 53rd St., 212-708-9400; 8 p.m., Free.

Groovy Tunes—Families can hear the energetic pop-rock sound of Milkshake along with Curious George inspired tunes, in conjunction with The Jewish Museum’s exhibition Curious George Saves the Day: The Art of Margret and H. A. Rey. The Jewish Museum, 1109 5th Ave., 212-423-3337; 2 p.m., $11-$16.

Monday, July 12

Broadway from the Inside—The Town Hall continues its fourth annual Summer Broadway Festival with Broadway Winners: The Award-Winning Music of Broadway. The evening features music and dance coupled with witty insider tidbits, all performed by Broadway’s finest. The Town Hall, 143 W. 43rd St., 212-840-2824; 8 p.m., $40-$50.

Tuesday, July 13

East Meets West—The 2010 New York Philharmonic Concerts in the Parks series opens with a performance by musicians from New York and Shanghai. The Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Long Yu, and international star pianist Lang Lang share the stage with the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Andrey Boreyko. The Great Lawn, 79th to 85th Streets in Central Park, 8 p.m., Free.

Czech Film—The Czech Center New York continues its free screenings of Czech films (with English subtitles) with a showing of the ironic comedy Ecce Homo Homolka (1969), directed by Jaroslav Papousek. Rooftop of the Czech Center, 321 E. 73rd St., 646-422-3399; dusk (around 8:30 p.m.), Free.

Wednesday, July 14

Picnic with a Soundtrack—The MTA Arts for Transit’s Music Under New York program continues its summer concert series, which brings members of New York’s diverse underground music scene to the lively oasis of Broadway and 66th Street. Music lovers are invited to bring lunch, join friends and relax at a performance featuring Tunisian percussionist Najib Bahri, one man band Peter Joseph Paul and gypsy funk group SisterMonk. Richard Tucker Park, Broadway and 66th Street, 212-878-7250; 12 p.m., Free.

A June 17 agreement between Mayor Mike Bloomberg and the City Council spared the New York Public Library from what would have been a $37 million budget cut—the worst in its history. But New Yorkers will notice a decline in services. At press time, the library was still working out exactly what the impact of these cuts would be.

“Currently, branch libraries are open an average of six days per week. Their hours will be cut back to five days per week,” said Angela Montefinise, a public relations manager for the library, said June 28. “We will need to work through the weekend to determine how it will affect things like programming.”

If the full cuts had gone through, the library—which serves Manhattan, Staten Island and the Bronx—would have lost 40 percent of its workforce and up to 10 branch libraries.

Even before the cuts were proposed, a hiring freeze had been imposed, meaning that some staff had been lost through attrition. At a Community Board 7 meeting June 17, Petra Kolokotronis, library manager at the Riverside branch, on Amsterdam Avenue and West 65th Street, said the library now opens later on most weekdays than it used to. Her hours have also been scaled back. She added that the current cuts arrived on the heels of two recent $5 million cutbacks and restructurings. As a result, the Bloomingdale and Morningside libraries have reduced hours.

“It does have an impact. We feel it,” she said.

Council Member Gale Brewer described the proposed staff reductions as upsetting.

“If you have fewer after-school programs open due to budget cuts, more young people will go to the library because there is no after school,” she said. “Seniors love the libraries but there are fewer programs for seniors. Where will they go?”

In response to the proposed cuts, Friends of the New York Public Library has organized a letter writing campaign and collected close to 100,000 letters.

At the Board 7 meeting, board members pointed out that even during the Great Depression, the library kept its doors open.

“In a down economy, people use branch libraries more for job-seeking resources as well as improving their skills,” said Mark Diller, chair of Board 7’s youth, education and libraries committee.

“Also they can’t afford to buy books,” added Susan Singer, a library manager at the Bloomingdale branch.

In a statement, Montefinise wrote that the library is thankful for avoiding the worst-case scenario of closing libraries or dropping service to as low as three days a week.

“We echo what the mayor said last night,” she wrote. “Times are tough and the cuts will hurt.” 

“It would be the worst cut in our history,” said Singer during a July 17 meeting of Community 7’s youth, education and libraries committee.

Six-day service is also under threat. West Side branches have already cut down on hours and instituted a hiring freeze. If the proposed changes go through, the surviving libraries would only open four days a week, according to Singer. Free programs for children would also be eliminated.

In response to the crisis, the library has instituted a fundraising and letter-writing campaign. To date, nearly 100,000 letters of support have been collected.

The committee also discussed the school that Extell Development Corp. will construct as part of its Riverside Center development. Issues under contention include financing, square footage, traffic safety and drop-off procedures. Because the new school will not have a ground level yard, parents will need to drop their children off on the sidewalk, or escort them into the school

“From a parent management perspective, that is a bad idea,” said Mark Diller, the committee’s chair. “There are some kids that just can’t let go. Also, having adults walking around the building—there is a safety issue.”

Gathering to make crafts may seem more suited to the Midwest than to our steel and concrete city. But tell that to the dozens of henna-haired hipsters, Starbucks moms, silver tops and Michelle Obama look-alikes (and a few men) who showed up April 17 at the New York Public Library’s main branch to chat and knit, and cut and paste. According to Rare Books librarian Jessica Pigza, co-host of “Handmade Crafternoons,” these do-it-yourself salons “bring people into the library, build community and provide a space for creativity.”

Pigza, who blogs at The Handmade Librarian (handmadelibrarian.com), calls herself a dabbler, a “dilettante,” but she’s pretty accomplished. She wears dresses, tops and even a cape that she sewed from vintage patterns. By day, she’s in the rare books division, devoted to reader services and fielding remote reference questions by email. But one Saturday a month, she and Maura Madden, author of Crafternoon: A Guide to Getting Artsy and Craftsy with Your Friends All Year Long, co-host a crafting commune.

Photo by Shira Kronzon

By coordinating events and sharing her curiosity about crafts and books online, Pigza is one of many librarians keeping the New York Public Library relevant in a time of flux.

“Jessica has been particularly effective in using blogging to more directly connect with the craft and design enthusiasts among our patrons,” wrote Ben Vershbow, the library’s digital producer, by email.

Her library blog channel Hand-Made (www.nypl.org/blog_series/hand-made; not to be confused with her personal blog) encourages artists and other creative types to tap into the wealth of research material and ephemera at the main branch. Treasures include vintage valentine collections, textile samples, maps, menus and photos.

“It’s an interesting time at the library,” said Pigza, who lives with her husband and their dog in Washington Heights. “There is a lot of open thinking about what we can do.”

Each Handmade Crafternoon is two hours long and moderated by a local craft book author. Esther K. Smith, who wrote Magic Books and Paper Toys, taught attendees to make pop-up paper garland books last year. Kata Golda, author of Hand-Stitched Felt, demonstrated the art of stitched felt mice. At the April 17 session, Madden introduced books from the library’s collection, followed by a show-and-tell session among attendees.

I made a birthday card for my sister, snipping the letters of her name from the bridal magazine pages. My 14-year-old contentedly pressed and pulled cotton into a swirling tornado, which, sadly, got squashed in our bag during the two-mile walk home. The atmosphere was chummy and relaxing (halfway through I was filled with a sense of technology-free well-being). Some of the individual projects were inspiring, especially a knit baby blanket in rich red, orange and gold connected squares.

The last event before a summer hiatus is scheduled for Saturday, May 15. Moderator Natalie Chanin, founder and head designer of Alabama Chanin, will share some of her Southern sewing and sustainable fashion techniques.

Pigza and Madden plan to run the series for at least another season and hope to take the model to branch libraries in the future. It is easy to imagine how craft gatherings sprouting from the main branch to libraries all over the city (and beyond) might connect us to more than just crafts and books.
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May 15, New York Public Library’s Stephen A. Schwartzman Building, 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue, 917-275-6975; 2 to 4 p.m., Free.