Shhhh! compiled by Mike Fitelson Shhhh!Manny Perez, the Heights’ prolific star of the silver screen, is at it again. “La Soga,” written by and starring Perez, is about a butcher’s son who grows up to be a government killer. It’s set in the D.R. and uptown and is a violent exploration of corruption and redemption, inspired by a couple of real life events that scarred Perez as a child. “La Soga” had its premier at the Toronto International Film Festival last month where Perez, blogging in The New York Times, had quite a shock. “Soon after we arrived, I started getting messages on my Facebook page from Dominicans in Toronto! What? Dominicans in Toronto, who knew?,” he wrote. “I started to feel at home in this beautiful city.” The highlight of the festival, he said, was the standing ovation that the film received at its screening. Incidentally, it is said to be the first ever Dominican film at the 33-year-old festival. Shhhh!Commercial W. 181st Street seems to be going through another spasm of change. It’s not a seismic quake that shakes the community to its core (although Castle Village residents should be comforted that the city has finally started shoring up its portion of the retaining wall that collapsed on the Henry Hudson Highway in 2005), but a tremor that nevertheless makes one sit up and take notice. After over a decade of providing what they called “a neighborhood place” for eats and drinks on Pinehurst Avenue, the owners of Jesse’s Place closed the doors last month after being unable to come to terms on a new lease with their landlord, Edelstein Properties. Jamal and Maria Khalyat have retrenched at Emilou’s Café, which they own across the street, where they hope to incorporate some of the most popular menu items from Jesse’s. (Maybe they can bring back live jazz as well.) The owners had carefully nurtured both restaurants (named after two of their three daughters), opening both as sliver-sized eateries with Middle Eastern touches on the menu before expanding to more spacious dining rooms. Before the local restaurant Renaissance, Jesse’s was one of the earliest oases, plating a terrific hummus platter that attracted vegetarians and carnivores alike. Despite the tough economy, the couple is hopeful that the revamped Emilou’s takes off, with its quiet off the street garden seating and a newly acquired full liquor license. There is additional family pressure to succeed – their third daughter Rudy is still waiting for a place to call her own. A long, downhill block to the west Stacy King is also hoping that children can be a factor in local economic success. The mother of two teenagers and a toddler who she’s raised in the neighborhood, King has taken over the former KB Gallery and plans to open an indoor play space to service the area’s baby boom. Aiming for a Nov. 1 grand opening, King is concocting Wiggles & Giggles Playhouse from scratch, creating a space for mommy and me type activities – yoga, tumbling, music – and a scheduled drop in play area with climbing apparatus and soft mats. King, previously a fashion designer before she got a master’s degree in social work and provided play therapy for families, said that she had always hoped that someone would open an indoor play space in the neighborhood, although she never thought she would be the entrepreneur to do it. “This neighborhood should really have something that caters to kids, like every other piece of Manhattan,” King said. “We would love to make it a whole community affair.” King, an active user of the local parent and me Yahoo group, hopes to hire as many local child professionals as possible. Look to soon-to-be launched www.gigglesandwigglesplayhouse.com for more information. Finally, sandwiched in between stories of area businesses closing and starting up is this tidbit about Kappy-Cua Video. The local destination for renting both art films and blockbusters recently acquired about 300 new members after customer John DeLucia penned a testimonial in the Manhattan Times last month, the first in a series called “My Favorite Business.” It’s one way the newspaper is trying to help uptown businesses. Is there a local store or service provider that makes Northern Manhattan a much more livable place for you? We’d love to help you tell your neighbors about it. Email your idea to
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. And don’t forget to shop uptown: it’s more affordable, more convenient, and more helpful to the community.
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