Local libraries supportive of midtown renovations, speak out against budget cuts

The New York Public Library system is facing major changes and not everyone is happy about it.

The Committee to Save the New York Public Library (NYPL) has been rallying to stop the Central Library Plan, a plan to consolidate the Mid-Manhattan and the Science, Industry and Business Library into one building. The consolidating, they say would not only cost exorbitant taxpayer money, but would “threaten the 42nd Street Library’s status as one of the world’s great research libraries” and “endanger the architectural integrity of the landmarked building.”

“You don’t update a masterpiece,” wrote Ada Louise Huxtable of the proposed renovations in the Wall Street Journal this past winter.

Angela Montefinise, an NYPL spokesperson, disagrees. Montefinise says, among other pluses, renovations would be a boon to public library branches on the Upper West and Upper East Sides, some of which would greatly benefit from circulating funds.

“One of the benefits of the renovation of 42nd Street is that it would generate $15 million a year annually which can be put right back in the system, including the UWS and UES branches,” explains Montefinise.

Montefinise concedes many of the branches throughout the City are old and in need of repairs, which would be made possible through the plan as well as approximately $260 million of capital work going on around the system.

“While the renovations themselves are happening in midtown, they will benefit the whole system,” she says.

“I think there’s a perception that [the plan] is being done at the expense of other work – that’s incorrect. The funding for that plan is generated from the plan itself — such as real estate sales — and earmarked city money specifically for this project.”

Still, uptown, the consolidation plan is far from many’s minds as they consider more pressing concerns.

Sumie Ota, the network manager in charge of uptown libraries, says while the campaign to oppose major budget cuts is a main issue among library branches, local concerns have more to do with the day-to-day issues of keeping patrons happy.

“As far as allocating funds, the more money the better,” says Ota, “but our biggest concern is keeping the branches open and making our services available. The Central Library Plan is not on our minds.”

“Everyday I see people waiting for us to open our doors or waiting in line for computers,” she adds. “That’s what’s on our minds.”

The budget cuts Ota refers to amount to $47 million, or the largest proposed cut in the library’s history, according to Montefinise.

Montefinise says, in addition to an advocacy campaign to fight the budget cut, there will need to be increased strategic thinking — such as the Central Library Plan itself — as funds are slashed.

Currently, branches across the City are focusing on this effort to reach out to elected officials including sending letters to City Council members to fight the budget cut. The 67th Street library on the Upper East Side, for instance, has already sent over 400 letters to oppose the budget cuts.

The group Citizens Defending Libraries agrees the proposed budget cuts are a major issue currently facing the City’s public library branches.

“Mayor Bloomberg is defunding New York libraries at a time of increasing public use, population growth and increased city wealth, shrinking our library system to create real estate deals for wealthy real estate developers at a time of cutbacks in education and escalating disparities in opportunity,” notes the group.

Ota says there are major projects underway in her network including renovations and restorations, particularly to the Washington Heights and 96th Street branches.

Branch libraries, notes Ota, are also increasing their e-book presence in addition to circulating physical materials, while research libraries are increasingly digitizing their collections.

As far as the future of the consolidation plan, Montefinise maintains it’s never going to be of concern to libraries uptown.

“There is a lot of misinformation out there, and that’s a shame. I think internally employees certainly understand the benefits, and generally support initiatives that generate resources to help them serve the public.”

By Helaina Hovitz

Course Horse Classes on the UES
www.coursehorse.com, $5 off any class with code: LOVEYAMOM.
Has mom always talked about wanting to learn something new, but can’t seem to find the time? Take the initiative for her and treat her to a class—or five—through Course Horse, a new online database that features more than 25,000 classes citywide, many of which are on the Upper East Side. From a drawing class at the MET to a photo safari in Central Park and a class on pairing wine & cheese, all local classes earn you points through the site’s rewards system, which gives you discounts on future classes.

The Nail Place
791 Lexington Avenue 2nd Floor, 212-421-3434, thenailplacenyc.com, Jelly Pedicure $20 (reg. $26) or, Keratin Manicure and Jelly Pedicure for $35 (reg. $43) Be sure to mention New York Press!
As far as we know, The Nail Place is the only salon that’s ready for this jelly, cause they’re the only ones who have it. Aside from being, well, really squishy fun, the warm gelatin-like footbath is also infused with fragrant oils that soothe and relieve tired feet. Made of all natural ingredients, including ginseng and aloe vera extract, the jelly acts as both a hydration and exfoliating treatment that’s followed with fresh aloe (yes, the plant). Mom can choose from scents like watermelon, citrus and peppermint to spice up the caviar-like concoction. The Keratin Manicure softens and heals hands, but there is a downside: you’ll probably be the one washing the dishes that week.

Lenox Hill Florist
1140 Lexington Avenue, 212-744-1070, www.lenoxhillflorist.com, Arrangements starting at $75

There are a slew of florists on the Upper East Side, but this is one of the best. Top sellers for Mother’s Day are arrangements that “bring the garden indoors” by utilizing a vast array of flowers like lilacs, garden roses, peonies and hydrangeas. From orchids to colorful arrangements with over 80 stems, there’s something artful, beautiful and unique for every mom. No idea what to ask for? They’ll help you figure it out!

Brunch Buffet at The Park Room at the Helmsley Park Lane Hotel
36 Central Park South, 212-521-6200, www.helmsleyparklane.com, $70 adult, $35 for kids under 12

For the mom who can’t decide, or wants seconds…or thirds…this buffet is a high-class hit every year. The incredibly elegant but kid-friendly dining room overlooks Central Park and a pond right in the middle. Brunch fare includes hand-carved prime rib and clove-scented ham, shrimp cocktail, grilled free range chicken, broiled sole stuffed with crab meat, poached eggs Florentine, an array of imported cheeses, and much more! You’re going to need to walk off the decadent meal prepared by Sous Chef Michael Trimarchi, so take a long walk home through the park.

Satya Jewelry
946 Lexington Ave, 212-288-3292, www.satyajewelry.com
For the Zen mom who appreciates jewelry with a message, meaning, or mantra, the Mother’s Day Necklace Set gives twice, to both mother and daughter. The Hamsa symbol represents protection and blessings, the heart represents love and compassion, and the lotus is symbolic of new beginnings and infinite potential. Bonus: Satya, which means “truth” in Sanskrit, donates to children’s charities throughout the world. If you don’t have a girl to give the second necklace to, get mom the Thrive Necklace, which comes with a variety of different symbols, like the Tree of Life, which represents deep grounding and faith.

Mom’s Mouth Makeover: SmilesNY Cosmetic Dentistry
220 E. 63rd St, 212-752-6537, www.smilesny.com, $1,200 with touch-up trays to extend whitening, $750 without

We know it sounds unconventional, but if you want to see mom smile more and can afford to go big this year, get her an appointment with Dr. Chase. He’s the only dentist in NYC to have a Trios Dental Scanner. Busy moms won’t have to be in the dental chair for long, because the new technology captures 3,000 oral images in twenty minutes. The scan finds imperfections, chips, cracks, and customizes your whitening. Whitening results last 18-24 months without the touch up trays, depending on what you drink, which is perfect for the mom who loves red wine but has little time to spare.

According to a recent New Yorkers for Parks’ survey which counted the amount of open space, and rated open space quality with 15 standards, the Upper East Side failed on all 15 counts. The Upper East Side has one of the smallest percentages of open space in the entire city. This was a sobering fact for the dozens of community members who came out to the open space forum last week. Only 44 percent of Upper East Siders live within walking distance of an outdoor space, and 20,000 residents are not within walking distance of a park.

Councilmember Dan Garodnick, Fred Kent, president of the Project for Public Spaces, Holly Leicht from New Yorkers for Parks and Dan Barish from the Lowline Project (a future subterranean public park) spoke about the problem.

The Andrew Haswell Green Park on the Upper East Side has been a work in progress for years.

“We are being deprived of greenery and public space that we need for our health and quality of life,” said Barbara Rudder, the co-chair of the Community Board 8 Parks Committee. “We need a community that’s more than just a blur of high-rise buildings, we need a place where adults and families can go to take a rest from urban life.”

Kent, who helped create the plazas in Times Square, riled up the crowd with inspirational images from street life in cities across the globe.

He said that open space does not necessarily have to lie within parks or playgrounds. In fact, Kent said that urban communities need to start small with public plazas and lively sidewalk spaces. He suggested creating unique seating and selling food in small public spaces, so that people linger, instead of just hurrying from one building to another.

“Public spaces are the only things we truly have,” said Kent. “Otherwise a city is just a bunch of streets and buildings.”

But creating these public spaces does offer several logistical problems, including getting funds and city government approval. Garodnick spoke mostly about these issues in terms of projects like the East River Esplanade, which desperately needs repairs and revamping, and Andrew Haswell Green Park, which will be refurbished if the Memorial Sloan Kettering-CUNY center is built. The Councilmember said that the City needs to figure out exactly where public spaces would be most beneficial.

“To find these areas of New York that don’t have as much benefit for cars, but would benefit people, that’s what we need to do,” said Garodnick.

Despite the clear greenery problems on the Upper East Side, Leicht feels all is not lost. She said that after doing a survey in the similarly greenery deprived Jackson Heights, the community got together and built a new plaza and a brand new park within one year of the survey’s release. She believes that they should hold the Department of Parks and Recreation responsible for the upkeep of already-existing public space, and encourage privately-owned institutions to open up their spaces to the public. She also suggested opening up schoolyards to the public, closing off certain street areas to create cafes and public plazas, and capitalizing on neighboring recreational spaces on Randall’s Island and Roosevelt Island.

What do you think? Email us at reporter@strausnews.com for ideas on how to improve the Upper East Side’s open spaces.

For Upper East Side residents, 2nd Avenue is the warzone in their backyard. Sidewalks diminished or closed altogether, chain link fences block storefront views, and of course the incessant drilling and humming of construction work. For several years now, 2nd Avenue has played host to the MTA, as the final stages of work on the 2nd Avenue Subway line progress. The work is expected to be finished by 2016, but it will be too late for the dozens of businesses who have lost their customer base, moved, or shut down altogether simply because passersby could not find their store amid the maze-like confusion of orange cones and temporary sidewalks.

Walking down 2nd Avenue, we found 19 stores that were shuttered or emptied, from 76th to 90th Street. Comparatively, only nine empty stores were found on 3rd Avenue between along that same 14-block span. Some of the stores and restaurants had been gone for years, like Tini’s Restaurant at 81st and 2nd, which shut its doors six years ago. But one bar, at 2nd Avenue and 83rd Street, had only shut down last week.

Stores that are still managing to stay afloat are sending out a message: “We’re still here!” One bar, Merion Square, even has “Shop Local” spray painted in large letters on the side of its building. And the stores that have not shut down are still feeling the effects of construction taking over their block. Kyund Min, who owns a deli and convenience store on 2nd Ave and 84th Street, said that she might have to close her store soon after 18 years of operation.

“Look around; there are no customers in here,” said Min. “How can I pay the rent when people buy from the deli on the other side of the street because they don’t have construction blocking them?”

Most store and restaurant owners interviewed said that they have struggled immensely in the past few years, and that it all comes down to foot traffic. Even if they have built up a customer base, people rarely walk by these stores anymore because the sidewalks are too difficult to navigate, and the construction makes 2nd Avenue unpleasant, according to many shop owners.

“Foot traffic is virtually nonexistent; people just turn the corner go their destination, you don’t see anyone walking up and down the block,” said Bob Schwartz,the owner of Eneslow Shoes between 78th and 79th Streets. “As far as business is concerned the biggest negative is these days, the area is a barren wasteland.

Caryn Klausner, who owns Promises Fulfilled, a small toy and craft store on 2nd Avenue and 83rd Street, says that she has a reliable customer base, but many of her customers drive in from out of town to pick up their gift items. Nobody wants to come she said, because there’s no place to park. Instead her employees will have to deliver packages to cars parked a couple of blocks away.

“Places open up nearby all the time, but I don’t know why you’d want to open a business around here,” said Klausner. “People around here have given up.”

In fact, a strained relationship with the MTA is one of the top problems that businesses on 2nd Avenue claim. Nick Petrou, a manager at Nick’s Pizza at 2nd and 94th Street, points to his cracked front door and damaged bar that the MTA never helped to fix. Andrea Zeugi, a bartender at Merion Square Bar at 95th Street, claims that the MTA accidentally filled the basement of their pub with cement and never fixed it. She said that the owners had to pay a hefty sum to have the cement removed.

“The MTA doesn’t care about us,” said Zeugi. “We used to have two bartenders and waiters during the day, and now it’s just me. Luckily we’ve been around for 10 years.”

During the peak years of frustration, there were after-business hours meetings organized by people like Caryn Klausner, who would talk about ways to increase business. But lately, said Klausner, people don’t come to the meetings anymore. Joe Pecora, owner of Delizia Pizza on 2nd and 92nd, started a 2nd Avenue Business Association, but Delizia claims that he has not been as involved anymore. It seems that despite the once-steady stream of letters and complaints to the MTA, many businesses have accepted the situation.

But 2nd Avenue is not rolling over and playing dead yet. In fact, Shop 2nd Ave., an organization run by the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, and endorsed by the MTA, has been doing little things to keep business alive, like promoting Small Business Saturday, or putting up signs at the construction sites that read: “We’re Open!” and list nearby stores for casual passersby.

This year, 2nd Avenue will be holding its first annual 2nd Avenue Street Festival (held on 3rd Avenue for convenience) in June, with vendors promoting their goods to visitors. In addition, there will be another 2nd Avenue Restaurant Week from June 1st-8th. The MTA will also soon be opening up a 2nd Avenue subway community center on 2nd and 84th, where residents and businesses can have their questions answered.

“We are trying to do is to take a more positive approach and not highlight the empty stores,” said Nancy Ploeger, the president of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce. “What tends to happen to small unsuccesful businesses, is they are not able to change their business model to adapt to the climate. They spend hundreds of thousands of dollars, go in and wonder why there’s no customers.”

Ploeger says that the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce sees this string of closed stores and quick turn-over as a borough-wide problem, and not necessarily just on 2nd Avenue. She claims that 1st and 3rd Avenues have had almost the same percentage of vacant stores as 2nd Avenue.

By our count, however, between 76th and 90th Streets, there were only 9 vacant stores, as compared with the 19 on 2nd Avenue. But can all of the store closings be attributed to the construction?

“It’s hard to separate reasonings, but businesses are closing because profits are down 30 percent, whether that’s due to the economy or the construction,” said Bob Schwartz. “The MTA is doing the best they can to help. I certainly don’t envy them.”

By Helaina Hovitz

An example of the typical “fixer upper” backyard.

If you’re movin’ on up to the East Side, you’d better bring a contractor with you.

According to real estate listing site Point2Homes, the Upper East Side has the most run-down and outdated spaces for sale in all of New York City. The search words describing these condos and townhouses include “wreck,” “poor condition,” “needs extensive repair,” and “huge damage,” and many are in need of complete gut renovations.

So why are these pricey extreme-home-makeovers-in-waiting selling like crazy?

A spruced up deck after a major renovation.

The majority of people seeking these dilapidated apartments are “well-off,” and, according to Ryan Serhant, star of Million Dollar Listing New York and Executive Vice President and Managing Director at Nest Seekers International, they want their home to be done their way.

“People who have a lot of money prefer to live in a dream home of their own design,” said Serhant. “We’re selling these properties to two kinds of people: people who want to create their own product, and people who are investor-savvy.”

According to Mike Lubin, Vice President and Director of Brown Harris Stevens, LLC, many of these buyers are either in real estate or interior design, like his most recent clients.

“The estate hasn’t been touched since 1918. I took one look and said, ‘perfect,’” explained interior designer Rebecca Zimm, who scooped up a decrepit $2.3 million condo on East 79th Street.

“It’s also a lot like operating on a very old person,” Zimm continued. “You go in anticipating one thing and then you find something else.”

Surprisingly, when given the choice, many of Lubin’s clients will actually choose an unrenovated apartment over a fully up-to-date space, even when it runs for the same list price.

“People will turn down a fully furnished apartment because they want it to be their own,” Lubin explained. “Also, the details of old floors, old moldings – those are priceless.”

According to Caroline Bass, Senior Vice President and Associate Broker at Citi Habitats, this “recent” trend is actually not so new. Over the past four years, Bass and her team have sold twenty fixer-uppers above 59th Street on the East Side.

“I’ve done more homes in ‘estate’ conditions than anywhere else in the city. I don’t want to be morbid, but there’s more older people on the Upper East Side.” She said. “They don’t typically do renovations, and then you have a vacant apartment badly in need of them that hasn’t been touched in 30 years.”

Above, an example of the end result of a gut renovation on a formerly antiquated property. 

Usually, Bass gives her clients a markdown on the market price based on what projected renovation costs will be.

“If someone has to put $50,000 – $200,000 into renovations, we price it accordingly. If it’s going to cost $150,000, you should decrease the selling price by that much,” she said.

However, Serhant has found that there isn’t always a need for that. Many of his listings have been selling at full market rate, including a townhouse at 152 E. 71st Street that just went for a cool $6 million.

A room in the recently purchased 152 E. 71st Street that will receive a major overhaul.

“There aren’t many townhouses for sale, especially on Upper East Side, so people are jumping on any opportunity that might be available, even without a price cut,” he said.

The $6 million townhouse on 71st Street was sold to a family attracted to the home’s Hollywood history: Breakfast at Tiffany’s was filmed from the third floor of the house, and Woody Allen’s Manhattan was filmed from the fourth. Famous neighbors have included the Fondas and Marlena Dietrich.

The house’s current owner, Kent Russell, 61, says it’s been in his family since the 1940s — and looks like it hasn’t been touched since.

“It’s a wreck. A beautiful wreck, but a wreck,” he said, adding that some of the original features, like wallpaper, piping, and gaslights, date back to 1865.

Bass said she’s found that most of the people buying these homes aren’t families but young professionals looking to do the work.

“I haven’t sold these to people with large families, because they’ll be displaced while work is underway,” she explained. “These are clients who are able to stay with a friend, commute into the city, or live in a rental.”

Andrew Ellis, 29, is one of them. Currently living in Murray Hill, he bought the first fixer-upper Bass showed him just last week, which happened to be on 95th and 2nd Avenue. He didn’t initially set out to find an apartment badly in need of renovations, but found that he wanted to change something about every other apartment he saw.

“I thought, ‘this wall shouldn’t have been put there to begin with,’ or, ‘there are other ways space could be utilized,’” he said.

Ellis is a consultant who works out of town Monday-Thursday, so he’ll be mostly out of the way while contractors work on the apartment.

The co-op board of the building was thrilled to have him move in, he said, because they’ve been waiting for someone to come in and fix it up, lacking the funds to do so themselves.

However, for Second Avenue buyers like Ellis, there are other things to consider, like where the contractors are going to park while the Second Avenue Subway Construction is still underway. Though businesses continue to close left and right, Ellis is optimistic, hoping that restaurants and bars will come back into the neighborhood once the subway is complete.

“The way I see it,” he said. “The whole area has nowhere to go but up.”

By Adam Janos

The 92nd Street Y and the New York Observer hosted a forum for mayoral candidates last Thursday to discuss their visions for the city. Joseph Lhota, John Catsimatidis and George McDonald attended the forum on the Republican side; on the Democratic side, Christine Quinn, Bill de Blasio, Bill Thompson, John Liu, and Sal Albanese were in attendance. The two sets of candidates took the stage separately and took distinct sets of questions on a range of topics. One that came up for both sides was on the proposed Marine Waste Transfer Station (MTS) on the Upper East Side.

The station in question is part of a five-borough plan signed into law by Mayor Bloomberg in 2007, which aims to address an undue amount of waste being processed in the outer boroughs in low-income community of color and to shift waste transportation from truck-based stations to barge and rail. Opponents of the station, however, say that by placing the station in a high-density residential area (as well as so close to neighborhood community center Asphalt Green), the city is being tone-deaf in its approach and disproportionately affecting Upper East Side residents.

On the Republican side, the three candidates were fairly unanimous in their condemnation of the station. Lhota, who answered the question first, talked about closing the station along with Fresh Kill in 2007 and said that when elected Mayor it would stay closed. He also stated that the five-borough solution was based on a false premise, because Manhattan already ships its garbage to New Jersey, not to the outer boroughs. The other two candidates jumped on that idea, unanimously agreeing that the trash would keep going to New Jersey, with Catsimatides going so far as to say that under his administration there’d be no plant anywhere in Manhattan.

While it’s true that Manhattan sends all of its residential waste to New Jersey to be incinerated, that waste only accounts for a fraction of the total trash the city produces. 15,000 of the 26,000 tons of waste handled by New York City each day qualifies as commercial waste, and as such is handled by large-scale commercial contractors. These commercial contractors converge trucks in the outer boroughs, dump their trash, and have it re-hauled out on light rail and trucks to landfills in far-flung locales such as South Carolina and Virginia. These facilities do, in fact, exist almost exclusively in low-income communities of color such as the South Bronx, North Brooklyn, and southeast Queens. Since the MTS on East 91st Street would handle both residential waste and commercial waste, its re-opening would, presumably, be a boon to outer borough residents.

When questioned about that discrepancy, Catsimatidis said, “I was partially joking. Maybe we don’t send 100 percent of our waste to New Jersey. But it sounded good at the time, didn’t it?” He then reaffirmed his commitment to eliminating transfer stations in Manhattan, saying that real estate development would draw far better revenue streams to the city.

On the Democratic side, Christine Quinn drew boos for her commitment to the five-borough plan, asserting that she helped shepherd the plan through the city council. Thompson, meanwhile, was applauded when he said that, “The more I see this sight [Asphalt Green], the more questions I have.” De Blasio split the baby by reaffirming his commitment to the five-borough plan but remaining vague on whether he’d push to re-open the station on East 91st, stating that “city hall hasn’t listened to the community.” Sal Albanese suggested that – given the devastation Superstorm Sandy brought to the city – he wouldn’t support marine-based stations anywhere, given the flood risk. “I’m worried about storms,” Albanese later told Our Town. “I’d hate to be the guy who didn’t do anything about it.”

Comptroller John Liu told Our Town that he had plenty of reservations about the East 91st Street site. However as the comptroller, Liu registered the contracts this December which allowed the Army Corps of Engineers to begin bringing the East 91st street MTS back into operation. “It’s not my job [to deny a contract], just because I don’t believe in it,” said Liu. “I can’t reject it, when they’ve perfected it.”

When asked if it would be his job as mayor to do so, Liu said he’d have to re-assess the site, but that it was “smack in a residential neighborhood.”

Representative Carolyn Maloney, whose opposition to the MTS dates back to 2004, recently endorsed Christine Quinn in the Mayoral race despite their polarity on the issue. When asked about that contradiction, Maloney responded, “We don’t agree on everything. But put any two New Yorkers in a room together, and they’re going to disagree on some things. But a waste transfer station shouldn’t be a flood zone.”

Still, Maloney maintained her endorsement for Quinn, saying, “It’s the talent, the experience level, and the vision for all our citizens,” that caused her to give her support to the Speaker’s campaign.

By Adam Janos

High rise developments on the Upper East Side could get significantly bigger soon. The community, meanwhile, could get less and less in return.

Land Use Attorney Shelly Friedman spoke to Community Board 8 on the Upper East Side Wednesday to discuss a text amendment that would make zoning regulations laxer for developers of community facilities (i.e. university and hospitals) throughout the neighborhood so as to permit a large-scale construction for Memorial Sloan-Kettering and CUNY-Hunter.

Currently, MSK/CUNY’s plan for development has a Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 12.0, even though it’s set to be constructed on an FAR 10.0 site. In laymen’s terms, FAR is the total bulk of building a developer is allowed to

construct. Buildings are measured in total floor space, so whether a building is tall and skinny or short and squat is beside the point; it’s total floor space of the building compared to the total land area that matters.

The institutions in question co-purchased a plot of land between East 73rd and 74th Street along the FDR drive, and intend to turn the lot into a 750,000 square-foot outpatient cancer facility (MSK) and a 336,000 square-foot Science and Health Professions Building (CUNY).

Unfortunately for the developers, because of the FAR overreach, the institutions need to either find a way to shrink their buildings down by 17 percent, or else apply for a special permit.

That special permit – the Large Scale General Development permit, ZR Sec. 74-743 – currently calls on developers such as MSK and CUNY to deliver the community an investment in the way of open space and/or public works, to help

make amends for their zoning overreach. That investment could come in the form of a public plaza or affordable housing, amongst other items. MSK and CUNY, however, want to change the text on the amendment, and – in turn – change the script. Rather than build a plaza on the plot land they’re sitting on, they’d rather put money into restoring Andrew Haswell Green Park, a strip of land on the East River between East 59th Street and East 63rd that’s fallen into disrepair and currently is locked off behind a chain-link fence.

But since the permit regulation says nothing about investing in current parks – only creating new ones – they’d have to put a change into the language of the zoning law that would allow community facilities such as theirs to offer park development outside of the immediate vicinity of the building being constructed.

Unfortunately for MSK/CUNY, the plan raised a lot of questions for community board members, who among other things, questioned whether or not rehabilitating a park at East 59th Street was adequate compensation for a homeowner on East 73rd who suddenly found themselves with a new gigantic tower for a neighbor.

“Those who suffer should be rewarded,” said Sarah Chiu, community board member and local resident. “With these buildings comes traffic, diminished light… but the idea of this permit is then you can say, ‘at least I have this park. At least I have this plaza.’”

Lo van der Valk, another resident, thought the change to the permit was too elastic, and that if the permit didn’t assign an explicit economic ratio of “total extra square feet” to “resources for park development,” future developers could use the new regulations of the special permit as a fiscal loophole to overbuild and then invest a minimal contribution in the parks department, rather than making adequate public space on the premises of their building, as the current permit necessitates.

According Friedman, however, this isn’t a matter of building a park somewhere else versus building one on location, seeing as MSK and CUNY’s lot of land sits over the FDR drive and – as such – an open space would be ill-suited for the area in question. After all, who wants to sit at a plaza by the highway? Rather, he claims the text amendment would help his clients serve the community more appropriately, and more in the spirit of the original permit.

“You [Community Board 8] have repeatedly expressed interest in more open space,” said Friedman. “This is our attempt to address that.”

The Metropolitan Museum is one of New York’s most visited and well-known cultural institutions, but the museum is coming under fire in a class action lawsuit against the museum’s unfair admissions policies. The museum’s suggested fee is $25, but according to the lawsuits filed against the museum in November and early March, The Met does not make it clear that the $25 is suggested. The plaintiffs also claim that the museum is not even allowed to charge a fee to the public, according to its lease with the city.

The lawsuit demands compensation for “refunds of millions of dollars fraudulently and unlawfully taken by the Museum in an illegal admission fees scheme.” But the Met only responded to the first set of allegations, and denied any claims.

“The concept of this museum was that the city was covering the costs of rent, securities and utilities so that every person can go in free as if they were a king or a baron,” said Arnold Weiss, the lead attorney on the case. “But instead of a museum for everyone, it has become an elite tourist attraction.”

The museum was built and funded by the city in 1872, and the lease agreement states that the city is responsible for the basic upkeep of the museum and that the museum “shall on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday of each week, and on all legal and public holidays except Sundays, be kept open and accessible to the public free of charge.”

The lease further states that “all professors and teachers of the public schools of the City of New York shall be admitted free of any charge.” In addition, according to the New York State Lease and Free Admission Statute of 1893, if the city pays for a public cultural institution, it has to be free to visitors.

However, according to Harold Holzer, the museum’s spokesperson, that lease is out of date, and has been so since the 1970s when the city and the museum amended its policies to make an entrance fee mandatory for visitors. The New

York City Department of Cultural Affairs did not respond in time to confirm which rule the museum has to abide by.

“The city pays for only five percent of operating expenses, but 100 years ago it was more like 40 percent,” said Holzer. “The thing that makes this painful, is in addition to being a pay-what-you-wish museum, which is unique, the Met also offers an amazing number of tours lectures childrens programs, at no extra cost.”

Pat Nicholson, who was one of the lead plaintiffs in the November lawsuit against the museum, believes that the museum is, and should be free.

“As far as I’m concerned we don’t get in free. New Yorkers give up the ability to get the rent income from a Central Park facility,” said Nicholson. “The Met only has to cover their administrative costs and things like that. The museum should just list the two days it can charge customers, or it should list clearly the four days that it is open for free.”

The museum’s signage states that the $25 is a suggested fee, but the words itself are small, according to some visitors,

and it is therefore difficult to discern whether or not the museum is actually free. In addition, on The Met’s website, visitors wishing to pay for tickets online must pay the $25, in order to receive a ticket.

“You have to really know that the fee is suggested because they don’t advertise it,” said Joseph Hufnageo, a teacher who was visiting with his school from Camden, Maine. “I always feel like a chump giving only $5, but we were only going for an hour, so she was nice about it.”

Arnold Weiss said that it is not uncommon, however, for visitors to be mistreated by museum employees for not paying the full $25. But there are still many tourists who want to support the museum, $25 and all.

“I’m definitely OK with still paying the $25, even if it’s not mandatory,” said Scott Herrick, who traveled to the museum with his wife’s school from North Carolina. “I want to give back to the museum.”

Photo by Aaron Adler

The Upper East Side is a popular destination and a treasured community for those who live here, making it a prime destination in recent years for the city’s burgeoning fleet of food trucks and street vendors. Community Board 8 recently sponsored a survey of the area and found a total of 179 vendors. On certain blocks, like on 68th Street between Park and 3rd Avenues, fruit and food vendors crowd the sidewalks, sometimes with four or five carts in a row.

“We’ve been observing a proliferation of vendors, and it has been very disturbing to the community,” said Michele Birnbaum, the chair of the Community Board Vendor Task Force Committee. “We know vendors work very hard; they have long hours in cold weather and hot weather. But there’s a quality of life issue in the community.”

The vendors themselves, however, have not noticed an increase in vendors. Kadio Haci, who has a fruit stand on 68th Street and 3rd Avenue, and works 18-hour days, says that he has been at his stand for almost 20 years, and most of the same vendors have been around as well. In fact, he says, business has been slowly dropping off by 25 percent, so if anything, he notices less vendors than usual.

“You know with the economy, not as many people are out,” said Haci. “People like us because we are selling healthy fruit and we sell it cheaply.”

But the concerns are not just with sheer numbers, says Birnbaum. The community has also been dealing with vendors who park illegally all day and do not follow police or health regulations.

“These are the concerns: the stands are unsightly and there’s a visual blight to the community,” said Birnbaum. “Between that, the unsanitary conditions and the general non-compliance, it’s quite a mess out there.”

The survey, administered by an intern and graduate student at Hunter College, found in December and January, 33 trucks parked illegally, and at least 20 vendors in violation of other regulations like blocking hydrants and tree pits, and tables exceeding the maximum length of eight feet. Birnbaum said that they have been working with the 19th precinct to hand out tickets, and make sure the vendors are complying with the law.

But Husnu Gul, who has a fruit stand a few blocks over from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, said that he tries to follow the law, but often cannot keep up with what it illegal and what is not. He admits to parking his truck illegally all day in front of his fruit stand, but says he has to do that to keep his wares fresh all day.

“My main problem is the police keep changing their minds about the regulations. It used to be you could have a 10-foot table, now it’s eight. But sometimes they say six,” says Gul. “We have gotten close to $10,000 in tickets in the past couple of years.”

Tony Hernandez, who sells hotdogs on 68th Street and Lexington Avenue says that he has heard of other vendors in the area not being extremely clean.

“Whenever they come to check me, I have everything clean. I’ve never had a problem,” he said. “What am I supposed to do about the complaints? Everybody needs to make a living.”

But some say that food vendors, even the ones that follow regulations, are negatively affecting the community; local businesses say that they suffer as well.

“They affect our business,” said Kevin Ma, the manager at a C-Town grocery store on East 89th Street. “They sell fruits and vegetables, but who knows the quality. They sell it cheap because they don’t have rent.”

As for solutions, Birnbaum said that in recent years, the Vendor Task Force Committee has recommended standardized street furniture for all vendors, as well as restricting the number of vendors on the streets, but none of these measures can take effect unless the City Council adopts them.

Prior to his entry into law enforcement, Hunter graduated from St. Johns University with a double major in Criminal Justice/Pre-Law and Accounting and an impressive GPA.

Hunter says the NYPD has been facing some common issues lately, the nature of which will likely come as no surprise to most New Yorkers. NYPD officers have been working hard to raise awareness about the major risks associated with unattended property, particularly in Hunter’s Upper East Side precinct.

Examples of this include the well-worn story of leaving items unattended at a coffee shop, or draping bags over the backs of chairs in restaurants, only to later discover missing items.

Hunter told Our Town earlier in the year that while thefts are subject to spikes around certain times, like the holidays, this year’s numbers generally mirror last year’s.

Some of the most popular items among thieves are flashy electronic devices.

Hunter says the NYPD is also trying to encourage New Yorkers to register these personal electronic devices so when these items are stolen, the police can be more helpful in retrieving them.

In the past year the NYPD has also been involved in some major accomplishments, according to Hunter. They have worked with community members to solve safety problems posed by delivery bikes, including combatting sidewalk riding, riding through stoplights and riding the wrong way on streets. The NYPD’s crackdown on delivery bikes, beginning over the past summer, is an important safety measure for everyone, from pedestrians to motor vehicle drivers.

Hunter also describes increased communications over the past years with various community organizations.

“These [communications] help the NYPD direct the proper resources to areas of concern and helps us get information to the community involving crime patterns,” he says.

While Hunter is lauded for his crime-fighting prowess, he hopes to someday go back to school and get his law degree to round out his career.

When he’s not on the job, Hunter devotes his spare time to family—his wife, Allison, and their teenage daughter, Brianna.