WOMAN RAPED BY PIZZA BOY FILES LAWSUIT
The 35-year-old victim who accused a pizza delivery boy of raping her last month is suing her alleged attacker, his employer and a number of parties associated with her West 61st Street apartment building.

Caesar Lewis, the 16-year-old delivery boy, reportedly entered the victim’s unlocked apartment around midnight on Sept. 29 after delivering pizza to one of her neighbors. He found the victim in bed with her 7-year-old daughter and raped her with the daughter in the room.

“I have a hard time understanding how a pizza delivery boy can be let upstairs after midnight and roam the halls for over 25 minutes without anyone at the building thinking that something was wrong,” the victim told the New York Post.

The victim’s Manhattan Supreme Court suit, which seeks an unspecified amount of money, names the apartment building’s management, co-op board and on-duty doorman, in addition to Lewis and his employer, Sal’s Pizzeria.

DESPITE BAN, LONGBOARDERS  ‘BOMB’ BROADWAY
A New York State Supreme Court Ruling did not stop a handful of rebellious longboarders from blasting down Broadway last weekend in the Broadway Bomb, an annual skating race from 116th Street to Bowling Green. The race’s organizers failed to secure proper permits for the event from NYPD this year, so the city canceled the event officially, but the organizers encouraged the race’s 2,000 anticipated riders still to bomb Broadway in protest. Around 30 longboarders showed up on Saturday and completed the course, despite roadblocks and warning signs. No one was arrested, according to police.

CENTRAL PARK LAUNCHES WOODLANDS DISCOVERY EXHIBIT
Last Thursday, Central Park debuted “The Wild Garden: Discovering Central Park’s Woodlands,” a new interactive multimedia exhibit that aims to educate visitors about the history and maintenance of the park’s 130 wooded acres.

The exhibit features iPads in all of its sections that display 3D renderings of the park’s icons, such as a stone-by-stone construction of the famous Huddlestone Arch. For children, “Woodland Discovery Kits” are available with binoculars, hand lenses and flora guides.

“The exhibit is a perfect combination of a historic park, nature and modern resources for a truly rich visitor experience,” said president and CEO of the Central Park Conservancy Doug Blonsky in a statement.

He noted that many of the park’s 40 million visitors each year only see its south end, so the exhibit encourages visitors to explore the north end as well. “It’s really what Central Park is all about: making the best of recreation, relaxation and exploration available for free to every single New Yorker,” he said.

The exhibit is run out of the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center, located in the middle of the park at 110th Street. The Center operates on seasonal hours.

Unusually calm for the holiday season, I find myself stopping and smelling the pine trees being sold on the street, as well as trying to observe all the decorations around the neighborhood. I don’t know how or why I’m feeling so good as we end ‘08 (if I did, I’d bottle it and give it out as gifts), but I’ve decided not to seek answers, just enjoy—as to make up for the years when, in one way or another, I got “Scrooged.”

There were years when a setback—personal or professional (or the combo platter!)—rendered me so crestfallen that just clicking the mouse in order to shop online took a Herculean effort. Then there were the times when I had so much on my plate (again, personally and professionally) that my anxieties rocket-fueled me through the holidays, yet the 12 days of Christmas couldn’t go by fast enough. I was jumping out of skin waiting for Jan. 2, when things would get back to what I considered normal.

The polar bear skating rink: a good holiday activity. Photo By: Andrew Schwartz

This year, there’s a new normal. It began when I decided to feel lucky that I live in the place where people come to celebrate the season. I saw the lighting of the Rockefeller Center tree. This is the first time in a long time that I even noticed, let alone was in awe of it. Most years I’m too busy glaring at the tourists who are in my way because they’re, yes, admiring the tree.

I also enjoyed listening to the carolers at the tree lighting in Carl Schurz park, and actually went to look at the windows of Saks, Bergdorfs and Lord & Taylor, instead of just catching a glimpse of each store’s creations while speed walking by.

My daughter’s standard Christmas-birthday gift of a Broadway show is again on the agenda; this year from the nosebleeds rather than the orchestra, but I’m just happy we can still go.

And I recommend ice skating at the new Polar Rink by the Museum of Natural History, at least once.

Here’s what I feel lucky that I didn’t do: participate in the frenzy of Black Friday or Cyber Monday. I actually shopped “off peak” and enjoyed buying gifts, even if, due to the economy, I could not be as generous as I’d been previously. I sent out my season’s greetings without the “chore factor.” And when my husband and daughter came home with the eight-foot tree, I managed to keep my good humor as my husband “did the lights.” Putting them on is his thing. He’s happy to do it, and proud afterward when his handiwork brightens the room, but in between when strands get tangled, bulbs don’t light right away and the blinking ones don’t blink, there is colorful language as well as much huffing and puffing. I drowned it all out by watching a Christmas movie, for which I usually don’t have patience.

Then I took time decorating, placing new and keepsake ornaments strategically, rather than racing through the task as though tree trimming were an Olympic event and I was going for the gold.

As I said, I don’t understand how I’m sustaining my holly, jolly Christmas mood; maybe it’s because I just decided to do something different. The bah-humbug depression route and my longtime favorite: “Is it over yet?” never served me well.
I’m glad that I’m giving gratitude a go. I hope it lasts, at least until next Christmas. Maybe by that time I’ll have found a way to bottle it.
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Lorraine Duffy Merkl is an Upper East Sider. Her column appears every other week.