|
An audience of literary lovers attended the June 17 grand opening of Word Up community bookstore at 4157 Broadway. See p20 for a calendar of upcoming events at the temporary bookstore. PHOTO: Gloria Pazmiño
I arrived at the grand opening of Word Up, located on Broadway near W. 175th Street in Washington Heights, on Fri., June 17. This wasn’t like any other business opening I’ve been to before, where shelves glitter with products, and smiling uniformed staff attends to your every need. There were no balloons, or streamers attracting passersby, or a big sign reading ‘grand opening’ to grab the distracted eyes of the residents on the block.
Instead, there was the smooth tune of a saxophone coming from within the store, and the curious faces of people who, as they passed by, decided to walk in and see what the buzz was all about.
Several pieces of legislation, some of them among the most controversial that lawmakers have tackled in years, are very close to being voted on as Albany winds down for the summer. Provisions of the bills were changing quickly on Monday as the Manhattan Times went to press, but this is a snapshot of where insiders thought the legislation was heading.
While community members continue to distribute fliers with details of last weekend’s first two sexual assaults in Northern Manhattan – and a $2,000 reward has been offered for tips leading to their capture – police have released more details about the third attack, which occurred early in the morning of Sun., June 12.
Police have released this video of a suspect attempting to rob a woman in an elevator in Washington Heights on June 9.
The police are looking for a man wanted for at least one robbery and one attempted robbery in Washington Heights since June.
Police have released a video of the latest attack on Thu., June 9 around noon when the suspect followed a 29-year-old Hispanic woman into an elevator of a residential building. The footage shows him shoving her against the wall and punching her before she fights him off. According to police the suspect had demanded the woman’s cell phone, but fled without it when she fought back. The victim received several bruises.
During the annual Fort Tryon Park Trust Sunset on the Hudson Gala, the
evening’s honoree, Bette Midler, received a silver spade. From
left: Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Trust Board Vice Chair Edith Kean, Trust
Board Chair Joseph Pierson, Bette Midler, and Parks Commissioner Adrian
Benepe.
Actress, singer, celebrity and parks lover Bette Midler received a silver tree spade from Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Thu., June 16 during the annual Fort Tryon Park Trust Sunset on the Hudson Gala. The sumptuous affair for 200 guests began with cocktails at New Leaf Restaurant and Bar in Fort Tryon Park, which Midler started as a revenue stream for her nonprofit New York Restoration Project, and ended with dinner and music on the park’s Linden Terrace.
The Community Board 12 Executive Committee passed a resolution this week in opposition to a recent “Percent for Art” program installation proposed as part of a renovated design for the open air market La Plaza de las Americas, on W. 175th Street between Broadway and Wadsworth Avenue.
How quickly June passes. The month-long Uptown Arts Stroll comes to an end on Mon., June 27 with a closing reception at Apt. 78 from 7 to 9 p.m.
contributed by Angelo Ortiz
Mercedes Rodriguez de Domenech passed away peacefully at her home on Sat., May 21 at the age of 98 with her loved ones by her side. Her passing went unnoticed in the bustle outside her apartment on Ft. Washington Avenue just one block north of the Columbia University/NYPH complex on W. 168th Street. In my family, however, it has sent reverberations felt across the continent.
Over the weekend, the leadership of the New York State Senate and Assembly introduced legislation that would allow livery cars to legally do something they have been doing in our communities for 40 years: pick up passengers on the street. Should the legislation be approved it would still allow livery cars to also pick-up passengers who called livery bases for pick-up. The new bills have the unconditional support of Mayor Bloomberg, the Taxi and Limousine Commission and many elected officials in Albany and New York City.
A new bill introduced in Albany on Sat., June 18 that would allow livery cars to pick up passengers in the street and the city to sell more yellow cab medallions – generating over a billion dollars in revenue – is likely to pass both chambers this week, say inside sources.
The Manhattan Times received the following statement from Livery Base Owners Inc. President Pedro Heredia and spokeswoman Cira Angeles:
“Addressing a 40-year need, the state Legislature is poised to pass a bill that would protect an industry of tens of thousands of workers, legalize a practice of street hails that millions rely on every day in the outer boroughs, and maintain thousands of jobs.
Junot Díaz
As part of the fifth anniversary of TeatroStageFest and the ninth annual Uptown Arts Stroll, “The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Dominican writer Junot Díaz, was adapted and presented by stage actor Elvis Nolasco in a one-man show on June 11.
To mark the occasion and catch up with one of our greatest contemporary authors Debralee Santos of the Manhattan Times exchanged emails with Díaz about the staging of his novel, Trujillo and Anthony Weiner, and, of course, the Dominican superhero.
To the Editor:
The Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center applauds Erica Varlese's very positive article of the two-play event hosted by us on Saturday, June 11 (“Audience packs house for ‘Down These Mean Streets’ and ‘The Brief and Wondrous Like of Oscar Wao,’” June 15, 2011). We would like to add that not only did we host this event but that we were partners in this magnificent production from the very beginning. This was a collective effort that brought together us, the American Place Theatre, Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance, TeatroStageFest, and, of course, the Bago Bunch. The Bago Bunch was the instigator from start to finish and they represent a new force in the cultural landscape Uptown. Watch out world!
To the Editor:
Addressing a 40-year need, the state Legislature is poised to pass a bill that would protect an industry of tens of thousands of workers, legalize a practice of street hails that millions rely on every day in the outer boroughs, and maintain thousands of jobs.
June 13 – June 18
We began the week with a heartfelt and touching piece by Maury Matos about his childhood best friend, Merlin German. Merlin fought in Iraq and was gravelly injured by an improvised explosive device, suffering burns on 97 percent of his body. After two years of surgery, he died on April 11, 2008. On April 30, 2011, the street they grew up on, St. Nicholas Avenue and W. 189th Street, was renamed Sgt. Merlin German Way. Though Merlin German is gone, his memory, strength and courage will never be forgotten.
|
