The Manhattan Times

Shhhh!

The year in review stories now being penned by the national news media are filled with doom and gloom. The shaky economy. Partisan politics. The Middle Eastern time bomb. And, one of their favorites, the slow, agonizing death of the national news media.

We’ve also compiled some of the year’s top stories and photos that we published this year. You won’t find Tiger Woods anywhere near our list.

We believe that one reason the national media is tanking is that it has lost touch with what readers really care about. It’s not salacious celebrity shenanigans, but solid storytelling about what’s happening in the streets, businesses, schools, religious institutions and other foundations of the neighborhoods where they live.

It’s stories that readers relate to because they learn about neighbors and other familiar faces who populate the communities where they live. A search of the Manhattan Times Web site confirms that not once this year did we publish the words Tiger Woods in a story. In a nutshell, that is why we continue to grow.

2009 was a good year to run a community newspaper in Northern Manhattan. In March we re-launched our Web site, posting each week’s stories, adding new interactive features, such as shopping and dining directories, and creating an up-to-the-moment breaking news feature. That was invaluable in helping us break the year’s biggest story, the resignation and guilty plea of City Council Member Miguel Martinez.

Then over the summer we moved into a new office, literally going from the basement to the penthouse. At the same time we switched printers, allowing us to publish earlier in the week – Wednesday – with more color. In the fall we once again began hosting First Thursday Strolls, intimate tours of the intersection of arts and business in Northern Manhattan, in collaboration with the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance.

All of these improvements help us better share news and information about Northern Manhattan with our readers. In 2010 we celebrate 10 years as Northern Manhattan’s bilingual newspaper. It will be an opportunity to reflect on our first decade and look forward to how Northern Manhattan will change in the future. As always, you can rely on us to be your best local news source and to continue finding new ways to inform our readers about the community in which they live and work.

Happy New Year.

Miguel Martinez and the race for City Council

The year’s biggest and longest running story was the abrupt downfall of City Council Member Miguel Martinez and how that affected the race to fill his District 10 seat. What began in July with Martinez’ resignation (reported first by the Manhattan Times), followed two days later by his guilty plea to misusing over $100,000 in public funds, ended in December with a five-year sentence. When Martinez dropped out of the race, the field of eight candidates temporarily grew by one as former Council Member Guillermo Linares maneuvered to assume Martinez’ petitions until eventual victor Ydanis Rodriguez succeeded in knocking him off the ballot. The November general election proved to be anticlimactic as Rodriquez won resoundingly (as did incumbent Robert Jackson in District 7). The final surprise in the election process was the startling runner up to Rodriguez, first time candidate Richard Realmuto. Something about the attorney’s campaign, perhaps his emphasis on increasing the number of charter schools in Northern Manhattan, struck a chord with locals who gave him 1,325 votes, more than the bottom five candidates combined.

The nightlife industry continues to grow, as do tensions with residents

Northern Manhattan continued to become a greater after-hours destination with prominent restaurants and other night spots opening throughout the district (see sidebar). While the Manhattan Times reported in August that the number of new liquor licenses requested within the boundaries of Community Board 12 has fluctuated between 55 and 100 since 2001, some community members appear to be taking more vocal stands against new nightspots. Residents protested the granting of a liquor license for a new Mexican restaurant on Dyckman Street with the same owners as Mamajuana Café. In May, despite serious concerns from law enforcement and some local residents, Umbrella Bar & Lounge at 440 W. 202nd St. reopened with new security precautions after the popular club was closed in 2007 after losing its liquor license.

Several night spots were shuttered by the authorities in 2009 for different types of illegal activities, including in the last month Keenan’s Bar and Euro Latino pool hall, both in Inwood. The shady business dealings of some operators also came to light in December when the owner of the recently opened D’Noche restaurant was arrested for allegedly plotting to bribe a State Liquor Authority official. While both Rancho Jubilee and Agave Azul remain open, their owner, Rolando Lantigua Jr., was indicted by the Manhattan district attorney this year for withholding over $500,000 in taxes at his businesses.

Several prominent eateries also closed last year due to the economic downturn and other business impacts, including Jesse’s Place, Park Terrace Bistro/Bistro Marrakech, DeCafe, Heights Vegetarian, Tinto and Hispaniola, which turned into the Mexican themed Agave Azul.

Prominent openings:

Mimosa

Milan Caffe

Café Tobaco Y Ron

Altus Café

Tabouli

Aurauco

Vibe Lounge

Jan. 8

1 Bennett Park development in a “slow down phase”

The credit crisis hit home as the 25-story condo project on Overlook Terrace and W. 183rd Street, which had been scheduled to open this year, remained a gaping wound on the hillside, untouched since the fall of 2008. The financial industry’s belt tightening, the developer said, also stalled completion of the renovation work promised to Ft. Tryon Jewish Center as part of the project. The members of the center have shared space with the Hebrew Tabernacle Congregation until the repairs are done.

Feb. 5

Senator Gillibrand meets local leaders, outlines changing views on immigration

In an exclusive interview with the Manhattan Times, recently appointed New York State Senator Kirsten Gillibrand explained how, after meeting with the city’s Latino leaders and other new constituents, she was changing her stances on gun control and immigration.

Feb. 12

Supporting artists

The Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance provided its second year of grants to local artists and arts organizations, putting $50,000 into the hands of 55 grantees.

Mar. 5

A new chamber of commerce for Inwood

Civic leaders announced the first of what would be a growing number of new organizations uniting business owners when the Inwood and Marble Hill Chamber of Commerce was launched. By year’s end, a coalition had formed, including the Hamilton Heights Business Association, Manhattan Latin Chamber of Commerce, University and Kingsbridge Heights Business Association, U.S.A. Bodega Association, U.S.A. Latin Chamber of Commerce and the U.S.A. Latino Restaurants & Bars Association, organized in part by the Northern Manhattan Coalition for Economic Development and its Business Outreach Center.

Mar. 19

Large turnout for new Democratic club

The first meeting of the Barack Obama Democratic Club, founded by District 7 Democratic District Leader Mark Levine to pursue a progressive agenda, was attended by over 100 guests. It is the first new Democratic club uptown in 40 years.

“Arborcide” in Inwood Hill Park again

For the second year in a row, vandals cut down trees in Inwood Hill Park.

April 2

Legislators agree to partial reform of Rockefeller Drug Laws

April 9

GW baseball team off to another record year – but needs more help than ever

Even after winning the New York City Public School Athletic championship and a 25th consecutive division title, the George Washington High School Trojans, like any other year, were struggling to raise enough money to provide uniforms and equipment to its mostly Dominican ball players. Despite being the stomping grounds of a young Manny Ramierez, the L.A. Dodgers superstar has not offered to help the struggling team – and the team’s coach refuses to ask.

April 23

Tejeda Post Office may lose its lease

The first hint that after 30 years the Sergeant Riayan A. Tejeda Post Office on W. 180th Street might have a difficult time renewing its lease became public when officials reported that the landlord wanted to raise the annual rent from about $300,000 to over a million dollars. While an agreement was worked out to extend the lease past its June deadline, negotiations continue for a permanent solution, including a search for a new space.

May 14

Hillside Avenue building plans scrapped

Plans for a 19-story development with 124 units of affordable housing on the site of Rocky Mount Baptist Church at 37 Hillside Avenue were scrapped after the developer, Manhattan North Development Corp., informed the city’s Board of Standards and Appeals that it was withdrawing its application for a variance. The project faced mounting protests from its neighbors, and its request for a variance was not supported by Community Board 12.

Landmarks Commission approves Audubon Park and Ft. Washington Presbyterian Church as landmarks

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission votes to protect the Audubon Park Historic District located between W. 158th and W. 155th Streets and Riverside Drive and Edward M. Morgan Place, consisting of 19 structures constructed between 1905 and 1932 on the former 20-acre estate of famed wildlife artist John James Audubon.

The neo-Georgian style Fort Washington Presbyterian Church, designed by Thomas Hastings who co- founded the renowned architectural firm of Carrère & Hastings, received individual landmark status.

Goodbye shuttle buses! A-train interruptions over … for now.

The weekend shuttle buses that replaced A-train service between W. 168th and W. 207th Streets in October 2007 end.

July 9

Police round up 17 more members of Trinitario gang

In the early hours of July 7 more than 100 police officers swarmed the area between W. 171st and W. 174th Streets and Audubon and Amsterdam Avenues, arresting 13 local residents identified with the Trinitario gang who they believed to be selling cocaine. Four others were arrested in New Jersey and the Bronx. In March over 200 police officers stormed the same stretch of blocks, arresting 40 Trinitarios members in relation to a marijuana operation.

Jul. 23

Fatal police shooting follows car chase in WH

As officers approached the smashed up silver Cadillac on W. 188th that they had just chased through the streets and sidewalks all over Northern ManhattanW. 170th St. Police later arrested the man who said he had been robbed, believing he was part of a drug deal gone bad. on the evening of Wed., July 22, the driver, Maximo “Flaco” Pequero, gunned the engine at an approaching plainclothes officer, who fired one fatal shot through the windshield, according to police. The wild car chase started around 7:30 p.m. after a man claimed to have been robbed outside of the McDonald’s restaurant on Broadway and

Aug. 20

Saying goodbye to Rev. Ike

On Aug. 15, the Palace Cathedral on the corner of W. 175th Street and Broadway was filled with warm remembrances and electrifying songs during a memorial service for the church’s founder, Reverend Doctor Frederick Joseph Eikerenkoetter II, known as “Reverend Ike,” who died in July at the age of 74.

Sep. 3

Do big salaries for great teachers equal better results? New experimental school tries to answer the problem.

The start of the new school year included the inaugural year of The Equity Project, a charter school where the 120 fifth graders will be taught by eight educators, each receiving a starting salary of $125,000 a year with opportunities for bonuses, in a living laboratory to see what impact outstanding teachers can make on students who are at risk of failure.

Hebrew Tabernacle Congregation welcomes new rabbi, cantor

Hebrew Tabernacle Congregation housed at the 102-year-old synagogue on Ft. Washington Avenue and W. 185th Street introduced a new rabbi, Jeffrey Gale, and cantor, Daniel Pincus.

Sep. 17

Allen Pavilion renamed Allen Hospital in Inwood

A parade for Yeshiva University’s new building

The six-story, $32 million Jacob and Dreizel Glueck Center for Jewish Study, the first building constructed on Yeshiva University’s campus in the past 20 years, is unveiled to the public.

Sep. 24

Rapist caught

Police arrest an Edgecombe Avenue man who resembles the police sketch of the rapist who attacked three women in Hamilton Heights and one in WashingtonHeights in August. DNA testing later confirms that Vincent Heyward, 21, matched evidence left at four crime scenes.

Oct. 14

No obvious answer for livery cabs taking up street parking

The rows of parking meters along some of Northern Manhattan’s busiest commercial corridors, particularly W. 181st and W. 187th Streets west of Fort Washington Ave., have become de facto parking lots for dozens of livery cabs, angering store owners and residents. After a story in the Manhattan Times as well as interventions by local elected officials and cab companies, fewer cabs seemed to take up metered spaces in following weeks, but a comprehensive, permanent solution was still lacking.

Dec. 2

Environmental tests say two Inwood schools are safe

Tests of the air quality at the site of two public schools in Inwood, P.S. 18 and P.S./M.S. 278, indicate safe levels for students and faculty, according to P.S./M.S. 278 principal Maureen Guido. Safety concerns had been raised after it was revealed that soil under the building had been contaminated years ago. Until inquiries by the concerned party, a state watchdog agency hadn’t known a school now occupied the property, and had never followed up on the spill.

Dec. 9

Fight for Small Business Survival bill ends, for now

After waging a year-long campaign to pass a bill that called for landlords and commercial tenants to enter binding arbitration when they couldn’t agree on extending a lease, including invoking a rare Council procedure to force a vote, City Council Member Robert Jackson withdrew his proposed legislation in the face of Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s opposition and the dwindling ranks of Council members, which at one time numbered as many as 34, who said they would vote for it. The bill had been staunchly supported by several local business organizations.