The Manhattan Times

Shhhh!

compiled by Mike Fitelson

Shhhh!

Northern Manhattan will be in the house in force when the prestigious Union Square Awards are presented to distinguished city social justice and arts nonprofit programs on Fri., Dec. 4. Two of the 10 awardees this year are based uptown, with the Washington Heights CORNER Project claiming one of five Union Square Awards (and a $50,000 grant) and the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance snagging a Union Square Arts Award (and a $35,000 grant). Both organizations will also receive technical assistance.

For the last four years, the Washington Heights CORNER Project (WHCP), has worked to eliminate high-risk practices of the drug using community in Washington Heights by providing culturally competent and linguistically appropriate services, including a needle exchange program aimed to reducing the transmission of disease and infections. In April, WHCP opened an office on Wadsworth Avenue.

“We hope that the increased visibility garnered by the Union Square Award will help connect future foundations, funders and individual donors with our history, mission and vision,” said WHCP Executive Director Jamie Favaro. “We hope that community members struggling with drug abuse or addiction will know that there is a resource in their community that will provide empowering and non-judgmental services to help them achieve wellness and recovery.”
The Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance (NoMAA), a two-year-old arts service organization, was selected for an arts award based on its innovative work with youth and families in low-income communities by providing education, advocacy, financial and technical support to the artists of Washington Heights and Inwood.

Like Favaro, NoMAA Executive Director Sandra Garcia Betancourt noted that the award carried added significance since two local organizations were being honored in the same year. “It is great to be recognized for the work we do supporting the artists and arts groups of Northern Manhattan,” she said. “We are part of an extraordinary constellation of  local organizations that are striving to make Washington Heights and Inwood better places to live, work and create in.”

The Union Square Awards were founded in 1998 to encourage grassroots activism in New York City. They are named after the park on 14th Street where New Yorkers have organized and spoken out about major social issues since the 19th century.

“With minimal resources, these organizations make extraordinary contributions to local neighborhoods, and their work is vital to New York City,” said Union Square Awards Executive Director Iris Morales in a statement. “Given the current economic situation, the Award represents an important support to sustain these emerging organizations.”

Shhhh!

Adding a gastronomic dimension to what can typically be a bland evening, last month the P.S./M.S. 278 Parent Teacher Community spiced up the ritual of parent-teacher conferences with a sampling of food from local eateries. About 100 guests attended the fundraiser at the W. 219th Street school, bringing in about $500 to help pay for the fifth grade moving up ceremony and eighth grade graduation.

Eight local businesses contributed:  Antillana Food Plaza, Cachapas y Mas, Carrot Top, Coogan’s, La Estufa Restaurant, La Sala 78, Mama Sushi, and Tabaco y Ron.

Shhhh!

Here is a slice of uptown life that might strike a chord with local residents who live near one of our parks.

Several weeks ago Dawn Chase was surprised by the commotion of her three cats pursing a small rodent-like creature around her bedroom in the early evening. The cats had cornered it under a dresser, but then it escaped into a pile of laundry.

When she finally captured it in a transparent trash can, Chase was surprised, and relieved, to find that it was some type of squirrel. But that just added to her shock, since she lives on the fourth floor and there are no tree branches within climbing distance of her window.
Deciding the little guy had already been exposed enough to the strange ways of humans, Chase, a photographer, decided not to snap its picture. Instead she took it across the street to Ft. Tryon Park. She describes the parting thusly: “When I released it, it just sat there for a minute and a half, and we just looked at each other.  He then scared me half to death by running right at me as if to run up my leg. I yelped and jumped, he did the same, and ran into the woods.”

Later she solved the mystery of her nocturnal visitor via Google: it had been a southern flying squirrel, distinguished by its oversized eyes, grey coloring and white stomach.