CARNEGIE HILL

Because it’s our home news Spring 2021 / Vol. 42 / Nº 1 neighbors

THIS ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS CARNEGIE HILL SMALL BUSINESSES 2 I CARNEGIE HILL NEWS • SPRING 2021

CARNEGIE HILL

SPRINGnews 2021

3 Dear Neighbors

CHN UpFront 4 Activities and Updates List of Advertisers

6 Major Contributors SPRING BLOSSOMS SUSAN HOEHN LEFT: COVER PHOTO AND AT 7 CHN Candidates Forum by Joanna Cawley PROMISE A

8 On Museum Mile by Bo Niles RESURGENT 2021

10 Streetscape Pocket Park, New Trees by Joanna Cawley

12 Carnegie Hill Profile: Roger Clark Dear Neighbors, by Lenny Golay

ith more and more people getting vaccinated, our streets are rebounding, as are our CHN Virtual Benefit 14 shops and restaurants. We welcome back those of you who have returned after by Sarah Bramwell & W Trish Preston choosing to weather the Covid storm away from the city. In this issue we celebrate our small businesses, and relate their stories of how they 16 Restaurants and Covid by Li Wen managed the pandemic shutdowns. The writer who covered the restaurants during Covid called her article “Uplifting Stories,” and indeed they are. The perseverance of our local shops 18 Landmark Land these last 15 months has made us even more appreciative of our dedicated neighborhood. by Lo van der Valk CHN survived its challenging 50th year with flying colors. Despite the pandemic, our 20 Safe Neighborhood staff continued working through 2020 and ended the year with our first-ever virtual benefit by Joanna Cawley in December. This successful, unique event can be enjoyed on our website. You can read

more about our 2021 activities throughout these pages. We are especially pleased to host a 22 Merchant Profiles by Elizabeth Robertson virtual City Council District 5 Candidates Forum on May 25. See details on page 7.

Although the CHN office now welcomes visitors (with Covid precautions), we 23 Persevering Shops continue to participate in virtual meetings with other organizations, government agencies, by Elizabeth Robertson and our own board of directors. We look forward to the day when we can sit across the

24 Neighborhood Authors table and discuss issues, plans, and achievements eye-to-eye. by Lenny Golay We thank you and If you received this newsletter in the mail, you are a member. 25 Cooking Through Covid kindly remind you that we depend on your annual contribution. The last pages appeal to Carnegie by Sarah Bramwell Hill residents who are not already members to join CHN. Please see more on page 31.

26 Shop Talk by Samantha Fremont-Smith

28 Tree Care Editor in Chief by Julia Bradford

30 Timeline: Corner Bookstore CARNEGIE HILL NEIGHBORS BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Suzie Aijala • Irene E. Aldridge • Sarah M. Bramwell • Heather Brandes • Jenifer Brooks • 31 CHN Membership Barbara Coffey* • Samantha Fremont-Smith* • Jennifer Garrett • Mark L. Goldsmith* • Susan Gottridge* • Anne Haubenstricker • Diane E. Jaffee • Jurate Kazickas • Linda Kurtz • Editor in Chief: Barbara Coffey Nicole Nunag Mellody • Virginia B. Pitman • Patricia Preston* • Molly Rand • Kevin Roe • Graphic Designer: Cynthia MacGrath April Shelton • David J. Stoll* • George Stonbely* • Lo van der Valk* Lead Photographer: Susan Hoehn * Executive Committee EMERITUS: Editors: Sarah Bramwell, David C. Balderston • Cynthia MacGrath • Ronald Spencer Sam Fremont-Smith, Lenny Golay,

Ann Levin, Bo Niles CARNEGIE HILL NEIGHBORS IS DEDICATED TO PRESERVING THE ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD, LANDSCAPING THE MALLS, ENHANCING STREETSCAPES, CARING FOR TREES, NETWORKING WITH BUILDINGS, AND PROVIDING SECURITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL GUIDANCE. CARNEGIE HILL NEWS • SPRING 2021 I 3

CHN

UPFRONT by Joanna Cawley

BRILLIANT MALLS COME TO DESPITE IT’S MY PARK DAY CHALLENGES CHN will be partaking in this annual event, sponsored by NYC Parks, on Saturday, May 22. Plan to join us at and as we get our own garden park in tip-top his spring, the Park shape. As 2020 demonstrated, TAvenue malls were in parks and green spaces are more full bloom with a chic important than ever, providing Dutch tulip varietal, much needed access to nature, Templar Orange. outdoor space for exercise, and In late May, flowering a general change of scene. red dragon begonias Check our website for hours. will enhance the malls until late fall. Even though the malls convey the air of easy elegance, there is nothing easy about maintaining the more than half mile of grass lawns and flowerbeds that are under constant assault from car exhaust, salt and snow melt, litterbugs, and pet owners who use the lawns as a canine comfort station. As the organization that initiated landscaping on the malls 41 years ago, we implore our public to please respect the malls and help us maintain them for all to enjoy. The open green space is for your viewing pleasure.

THANK YOU PARK 1040 1075 1120 1160 1199 49 East 86th St. AVENUE BUILDINGS 1049 1088 1125 1165 1220 64 East 86th St. AND FRIENDS FOR 1050 1100 1130 1172 1230 120 East 87th St. 1060 1105 1133 1175 1235 130 East 94th St. YOUR SUPPORT 1065 1110 1150 1185 The Brick Presbyterian

1070 1111 1155 1192 Church SUSAN HOEHN

CHN ENHANCED BY COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND INTERNS ur outreach and internship programs play a central role in how we, a more than 50-year-old O organization in service to Carnegie Hill, positively influence our community. Outreach in the first half of 2021 includes local shopping events, walking tours, lectures on fire safety, and environmental seminars to educate townhouse owners and resident building managers on humane pest management. As the weather warms up, CHN hosts monthly neighborhood outings that include street tree pruning, garden cleanups, as well as repainting and refinishing street furniture and park benches. Our internship programs continue to bear fruit with the promising young minds who come to CHN to gain work experience and fulfill community-service requirements. Our internship partner, Getting Out and Staying Out (GOSO), based in East , provides CHN with interns, who tackle everything from administrative duties to sidewalk maintenance, and, if interested, receive horticultural training. CHN also welcomes volunteers and local high school interns, who take on the balance of administrative duties, neighborhood deliveries, and small business data collection. CHN is especially grateful to Carnegie Hill neighbor Scrip Gonzalez (pictured right), the architect behind CHN’s new filing system and archive of important CHN historical documents. JOANNA CAWLEY 4 I CARNEGIE HILL NEWS • SPRING 2021 CARNEGIE HILL NEIGHBORS STAFF NEW PROGRAMMING MANAGER Lo van der Valk, President JOINS CHN Joanna Cawley, Executive Director Nina Whiting, Membership Manager Eduardo Duarte Ruas, Program Manager Call: 212-996-5520 email: [email protected]

CHN ONLINE TWITTER@ Join the social network of CHNEIGHBORSNY Carnegie Hill Neighbors. Catch the latest CHN INSTAGRAM@ activities and events. Check CARNEGIEHILLNEIGHBORS n early April, CHN welcomed Eduardo Duarte Ruas, out Carnegie Hill Neighbors on an engaging young man with many skills to contribute to our Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. FACEBOOK@ Visit chneighbors.org. CARNEGIEHILLNEIGHBORS I active office. His duties include managing the CHN programs that are self-funded—Park Avenue Malls, Security/ Patrol Car, and newsletter advertising. Besides his training and experience in accounting, he brings graphic design talent TO JOIN CARNEGIE HILL NEIGHBORS and an appreciation for historic preservation. OR RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP Eduardo was born and raised in Brasilia and received a scan the QR Code, go to our website, B.A. in architecture and urban planning from the University of or use the envelope on page 31. Brasília and another degree from the Higher Technical School of Architecture in Granada, Spain. In 2018, he came to New York and earned an M.S. in historic preservation from Pratt Institute. PLEASE SUPPORT OUR ADVERTISERS When asked how he developed an interest in preservation when Page Page Brasilia is one of the most modern cities in the world, he Brick Presbyterian Church 15 Ginette Jewlers NYC 9 responded that the city was designed from the beginning to be Brosnan Risk Consultants 21 Gumley Haft 21 historically preserved. He admires the efforts of CHN to preserve Carnegie Hill Village 11 Holly Hunt, Corcoran 13 Carnegie Hill and likes to walk our streets with the CHN Collina Italiana 25 Jois Hair Studio 27 Architectural Guide in hand. Besides architecture, Eduardo is Carousel of Languages 2 King Education LLC 11 also interested in music—mostly classical, Latin, and American Corcoran 2 Kleier Residential 15 Early Childhood Development 27 Lane Farms Market 13 jazz. Eduardo has already become our on site technician. E. B. Cohen & Associates 11 Mind Your Body Pilates 27 Eli Zabar – Bar ‘91 31 Lee Perry – Handyman 27 Eli Zabar – NoGlu 31 Diana Rice/Sotheby’s Int.l 15 JMcLAUGHLIN SHOPPING DAY BENEFITS CHN Patricia Ellis – Douglas Elliman 14 S. Feldman Housewares 13 Just in time for Mother’s Day, Michele Epstein, Language Tutor 27 Table d’Hote 27 Fitch Group 14 Urban Garden Center 27 J.McLaughlin offered to donate 15 percent of their sales made on May 5 to CHN. The thoughtful CALL CITY OFFICIALS FOR HELP (212)

gesture was a grand success. Carolyn Maloney, U.S. Congress 860-0606 [email protected] We thank the McLaughlins for Liz Krueger, State Senate 490-9535 [email protected] their continuing support. Dan Quart, State Assembly 605-0937 [email protected] Rebecca Seawright, State Assembly 288-4607 [email protected] RAT ACADEMY RETURNS VIRTUALLY TO CARNEGIE HILL Keith Powers, City Council 818-0580 [email protected] Ben Kallos, City Council 860-1950 [email protected] The virtual Rat Academy presentation on Gale Brewer, Borough President 669-8300 [email protected] May 6 was well attended. Previously CHN Will Brightbill, Community Bd. 8 758-4340 [email protected] hosted an in-person Rat Academy at I George Sarkissian, Community Bd. 11 831-8929 [email protected] St. Francis de Sales. The commentators Rich Stein, Landmarks (LPC) 669-7923 [email protected] offered helpful tips on how to seal cracks, Police, 19th Precinct 452-0600 fax: 452-0652 fix leaks, and deprive rats and other pests NY Police, 23rd Precinct (above 96th St.) 860-6411 of food, water, and shelter. CARNEGIE HILL NEWS • SPRING 2021 I 5

CHN MAJOR DONORS

MANY THANKS TO OUR GENEROUS CONTRIBUTORS

CARNEGIE CIRCLE The Carroll Petrie Foundation Jane & Charles Klein Kenneth & Kathryn Chenault Angela & William Haines Martin & Kane Nussbaum Lawrence Leighton Anne Nickel Curtin & Tony & Anna Hass Ken & Carolyn Ottenbreit Patricia & Herbert Lessow Tom Brandenburger Anne & Tom Haubenstricker Marnie Pillsbury Paul Levy Robert & Dolores Freidenrich Bill & Sarah Hyman Molly & William Rand David Long & Nila Long Sam & Matthew Joseph Korff William Regner & Christine & Richard Mack Fremont-Smith Linda & Glenn Kurtz Jennifer Burleigh Andrew Marquardt Judith Gibbons & Joan Leiman Anastasia Saltarelli Kevin & Cara McCaffrey Francesco Scattone Cynthia MacGrath Adam & Mary Shepard Joan McClure & George Hambrecht & Claire & Cornelius Marx Jay Sherwood Michael Schler Andrea Fahnestock Sue & Eugene Mercy Jr. Michael Shulman Bill & Warren Miller Robert Desnick & Nicole Nunag Mellody Michael P. Smith John & Hee Jung Moon Julie Herzig-Desnick Virginia Bradley Pitman Barbara Snow Christine Moson Diane E. Jaffee & Susan & Elihu Rose Maria Vecchiotti Felinda Mottino & David O'Brien Mr. & Mrs. William C. Scott Joe & Mikel Witte John Alexander Sim & Lisa Johnston Pamela Seymon & Ronda & Alan Zients Nina Neivens Jurate Kazickas & Robert Schumer Ned & Amanda Offit Roger C. Altman Mark & April Shelton Margaret Richards Sandra Earl Mintz Paul Sperry & SUPPORTERS Patricia Riley John & Trish Preston Beatrice Mitchell Robert & Lisa Abel Alfred & Jane Ross Elihu & Elizabeth Robertson Judy Steinhardt Jay & Dena Bock Allison Saxe David J. Stoll Christine & George Stonbely Julia Bradford & Cynthia & Thomas P. Sculco Monica & Douglas Taylor Greg & Leslie Warner Charles Warner Dhiren & Katie Shah Anonymous Mary & Jay Wilberding-Hobart Michael Burlant & Frances Shannon Charles & Meryl Witmer Elisabeth Etling-Burlant Jennifer Sheehan Jonathan Weiss & Barbara Asch Stockard Channing Richard & Barbara Solomon Susan Zirinsky & Jennifer Christman & LEADERS Greg Spano Enid Nemy / The Dorothy Joe Peyronnin Jay Cohen Robert Surdam & Patricia Ellis Strelsin Foundation Abraham Cohen Jon Thiel Richard & Diana Beattie Sara & Lewis G. Cole Theresa S. Thompson Philip & Heather Brandes BENEFACTORS Ann Colley Charlotte Van Doren Leslie Carroll Stuart S. Applebaum Richard & Christina Davis John B. Vermylen Michael Gordon James & Veronica Baker Marie de Lucia Martha & Alex Wallau Sue & Malcolm Knapp Karin & Henry Barkhorn Christina & Laurent de Marval Bonnie Lane Webber Gillian & Eduardo Mestre Fredrick & Jutta Benenson Thomas & Michelle Dewey Adam Palmer Yaari Anthony & Susan Roberts Inge & Lester Brafman Maureen & David Egen Ravi & Suzanne Yadav Larry & Wendy Rockefeller Barbara & Michael Calabrese Ellen Flamm & Eli Zabar & Kevin Roe & Mary Carpenter Richard Peterson Devon S. Fredericks Christina von Riesenfelder David & Dena Clossey Jacqueline Garrett Marilyn & James Simons Barbara & John Coffey Juliann Gautam Lo van der Valk Edward Dewees & Julia Blaut Gerald & Nancy Gehman Susan S. & Kenneth L. Wallach Judy & Richard Feldstein Michael George Ronald & Vicki Weiner Johnson & Jenny Garrett Brooke Gomez The Malcolm Gibbs Foundation Donald Goodson John Golden Barbara & Henry Gooss Katherine Goldsmith Anne & Ray Groves PATRONS Irene Aldridge & Arthur Goldstone Thomas & Bryanne Hamill Steven Krawciw Lisa & Rob Guida Carol Dies & Anne & Guillaume Bebear Dennis Herman Robert Hamilton Sarah & Austin W. Bramwell Mr. & Mrs. Reinaldo Herrera Chris & Courtney Hardart Jenifer Brooks & Bruce Thorpe Gerald & Jane Katcher John & Paula Hornbostel Margaret Chi Joy & Benno Kimmelman Ayn-Whang Hsia Marc & Sheri Feigen Steven & Jill Lampe Ed Hyman Mr. Peter Friedland Della & John Leathers Patricia Hynes & Roy Reardon Elliot & Barbara Gewirtz Margot & Mitch Milias Anne & William Jacobi Mark & Arlene Goldsmith Wayne & Lisa Miller Richard & Virginia Keim Susan & Marc Gottridge Gina & Allan Morehead Martin & Allegra Kelly Walter Nollman & Maureen Carr Clarke & Elizabeth Keough LIST AS OF APRIL 30 SUSAN HOEHN 6 I CARNEGIE HILL NEWS • SPRING 2021

by Joanna Cawley CHN ACTIVITIES

Tuesday, May 25, 4:00 p.m.: CHN co-sponsors a virtual CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 5 CANDIDATES FORUM

hat’s at stake for Carnegie Hill on Primary Day, June 22? A lot. Carnegie Hill W Council Member Ben Kallos must vacate his District 5 seat, and CHN, along with the organizations listed below, are sponsoring a virtual District 5 Candidates Forum. It will be moderated by Roger Clark and feature all the candidates, who will be together in one place to discuss and debate solutions to the many challenges facing our neighborhood and city. Due to term limits, a whopping 35 of the 51 City Council seats will turn over, spurring many ROGER CLARK, community and citywide groups to deliberate on the issues. Topics of conversation will include the NY1 news reporter importance of preserving our historic districts, the threat of overdevelopment districtwide, and and Carnegie Hill resident, the necessity of essential services to maintain the quality of life in Carnegie Hill. will moderate the debate. Every candidate running to fill Ben Kallos’s seat says recovery is central to their platform. With seven contenders, similar themes appear, although each has a hallmark position and merits review.

MEET THE CANDIDATES LIVE. REGISTER AT CHNDISTRICT5FORUM.EVENTBRITE.COM.

BILLY FREELAND REBECCA LAMORTE JULIE MENIN KIM MOSCARITOLO is a lawyer and Community Board is a union member, labor advo- has held three city commissioner is a journalist, activist, and 8 secretary. His platform includes cate, and disabled New Yorker, positions and is an attorney and Democratic district leader sanitation and small business with platforms for disability, a Columbia University adjunct committed to saving small busi- plans, affordable housing, and housing, economic recovery, professor. She asserts we need nesses through her organization homeless services strategies. and racial justice. strong, experienced leadership. Yorkville Buy Local.

TRICIA SHIMAMURA CHRISTOPHER SOSA MARCO TAMAYO is a social worker and first vice- is a former Democratic New York is an architect interested in chair of Community Board 8. She State Senate aide, nonprofit sensitive, contextual land use and is a housing, parks, seniors, and professional, and journalist. He vows consistent zoning regulation to small business advocate, running to bring courage, compassion, mitigate disparities and create a for a just and affordable New York. and community to City Hall. more dynamic and vibrant city.

THIS EVENT IS CO-SPONSORED BY:

CARNEGIE HILLneighbors CARNEGIE HILL NEWS • SPRING 2021 I 7

ON by Bo Niles MUSEUM MILE ven as New York’s museums have begun reopening (albeit with reduced hours and timed tickets), they have also expanded their digital presence, offering online tours as well Eas videos of artist talks and special events, plus workshops for adults and children. We encourage you to scroll through museum websites to see what’s available. It is amazing! SPRINGSPRING

THE JEWISH MUSEUM thejewishmuseum.org Thursday – Monday 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Louise Bourgeois, Freud’s Daughter. Long-term psychoanalysis informed and inspired this artist in multiple ways: through dream recordings, process notes, and ultimately her own art, AWAK represented here by 40 seminal AWAK works in various media. Through September 21. Online highlight: audio tour of the museum with Director Claudia Gould.

THE SOLOMON R. GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM guggenheim.org Thursday – Monday 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.; members-only on select Mondays 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Continuing: Knotted, Torn, Scattered: Sculpture after Abstract Expressionism; and Away from the Easel: Jackson Pollock’s Mural, a deep dive into an appreciation of this work that preceded Pollock’s drip paintings. Both through September 19. Online highlight: the Guggenheim course on Abstract Art.

8 I CARNEGIE HILL NEWS • SPRING 2021 MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK mcny.org Friday – Sunday 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Rising Tide: Visualizing the Human Costs of the Climate Crisis. Rising sea levels affect us all. Dutch documentary photographer Kadir van Lohuizen illustrates the dramatic consequences across the world through photographs, video, drone images, and sound. Experience the effects in Greenland, Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Amsterdam, Panama, Miami, and here in . Through Deember 31. Online highlight: Activist New York, the city’s history of activism. AKENINGS

EL MUSEO DEL BARRIO elmuseo.org Saturday and Sunday, 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Estamos Bien – La Trienal 20/21, formerly online only, this survey of Latinx contemporary art features the work of 40 artists from the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Through September 26. Online highlight: A special Spotify playlist of over 100 songs selected by curators and artists of the 20/21 exhibit; the playlist can also be heard in the museum lobby.

STILL CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC NEUE GALERIE, neuegalerie.org COOPER HEWITT SMITHSONIAN DESIGN MUSEUM, cooperhewitt.org

CARNEGIE HILL NEWS • SPRING 2021 I 9

STREET- SCAPE SUSAN HOEHN

by Joanna Cawley

CARNEGIE HILL IS GREENER AND CLEANER

A s reported in the fall 2020 Carnegie Hill News, the little pocket park at the top of the Park Avenue malls, between 96th and 97th streets, was gifted two Stewartia trees by our malls landscaper, Anthony Bulfamante. Filling the empty space where two dead trees were cut down, the young trees are now thriving and will provide a flash of color, a subtle aroma, and dappled shade for those relaxing on the benches at the south end of the park with a book, a sandwich, or a good friend for an afternoon chat. Other upgrades to the little park include cleanup days and a replenished perennial border at the innermost edge of the garden wall. The wall wends along a New Stewartia trees are thriving. wavy pattern of knee-high stonework, preventing the flowerbeds from being trampled and providing extra seating in this peaceful space. Roger Chavannes removes Quality of Life Manager Josephine Mazur monitors the tree beds in Carnegie Hill graffiti from public property. and requests new trees from the city. Since October 2020, she has requested 69 trees, resulting, so far, in 18 new trees planted in the late fall. She has been supported by our District 4 City Council Member Keith Powers, who has requested 50 trees for Carnegie Hill. It usually takes more than six months from request to a tree being planted, but the future for Carnegie Hill sidewalks looks very promising. Even though the city has been relatively quiet while enduring Covid precautions, graffiti artists and sticker bandits went into overdrive with spray paint, viscous marker tags, tape, and other hard-to-remove adhesives in our historic neighborhood. The CHN graffiti removal team of Ms. Mazur and Roger Chavannes has been removing fliers and tags on public property weekly.

Need we remind neighbors not to dump trash in tree beds?

Graffiti here. . . graffiti gone JOANNA CAWLEY 10 I CARNEGIE HILL NEWS • SPRING 2021 For many older adults, "village" communities such as ours provide an alternative to leaving a current home for a residential retirement community.

Covid-19 has brought special challenges to our community, but we're proud of the way our members have responded. Regular "interest" groups have continued to meet weekly via Zoom, augmented with online lectures by members and friends on a range of entertaining subjects. And small picnics and dinners outdoors have brought us together safely. To learn more about Carnegie Hill Village, visit our website or email us at [email protected].

www.carnegiehillvillage.org

CARNEGIE HILL NEWS • SPRING 2021 I 11

CARNEGIE HILL by Lenny Golay PROFILE

ROGER CLARK REPORTS ON NYC

oger Clark is that man with a twinkle in his voice, the voice rarest of all New York Ryou hear mornings on television’s NY1, when he is doing amenities, a backyard. what he loves best—sharing his love for New York with The place was fine for a ROGER CLARK will be the stories about New York City. Covering all five boroughs, young couple, but when moderator for CHN’s City Roger is your man about town. their son Jack was on the Council District 5 Candidates Forum on May 25. See page 7. A lifelong New Yorker, Roger was born in the Bronx, way, it was time to look then moved to Staten Island and later Queens. Following high for larger quarters. school at Stuyvesant and college at Syracuse University, Roger loved the area and was happy to find a place where he earned a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism, close by in Carnegie Hill, where he has lived for the past ten in 1989 he took a job at a radio station in Oneonta, N.Y., near years. He’s a walker and our architecture gives him a lot to Cooperstown. After eight years, he moved on to his first love, look at. He feels the history of the area and relishes the quiet. television, at a station in Wappinger Falls. Goat Hill is an especially favorite block for perambulating. In 2001 a job opening in Staten Island with NY1 While his son was growing up, a favorite go-to spot for brought Roger back to the city for an interview. NY1 was them was the pocket park at Park Avenue and 97th Street, looking for someone who at least knew where Staten Island where they could watch the trains coming and going. Son was. When Roger rattled off his credentials—his father lived Jack is now a student at Hunter Elementary School, but the there, as did a cousin who was a detective, an uncle who was “choo-choos” still hold a thrill for Roger. Roger also delights a firefighter, and another cousin who was a captain on the in our restaurants and mom-and-pop shops, three of which – ferry—that clinched the job, and he moved to Staten Island. Yanz Leather Services, Jan’s Hobby Shop, and The Corner Human interest stories that highlight the little something Bookstore—have all been the subject of his features for NY1. Events like the Halloween Spooktacular Roger playing drums with his Perp Walk trio block party on 92nd Street, with extravagantly decorated houses, also underscore for him what a special neighborhood this is. While TV journalism might be his first love, no profile on Roger would be complete without mention of his second love, music. Roger has been playing drums with a variety of groups starting with his high school band Early Jitters, followed by his Syracuse University band The Slip. Nowadays, when Roger is not reporting for NY1 or walking around our neighborhood, he can be found at various watering holes playing drums with his trio of bass, guitar, and drums known as Perp Walk. Their venues special he finds in people, places, and things are Roger’s have included Hank’s Saloon in Brooklyn and Desmond’s forte. His features are generally short and sweet, but in 2015 Tavern and Otto’s Shrunken Head, both in . his reporting on NY1’s “How NYC Works,” a half-hour series He has also played the legendary, now sadly defunct, punk that did an in-depth look at how everyday systems like the club CBGB. sewer system, power grid, and recycling operations, actually A TV reporter and a punk rock drummer? You can’t get work, garnered two Emmys for NY1. any more cosmopolitan than that. So when this New Yorker, As his beat expanded to include all five boroughs, who has been , , and all around the town, Roger left Staten Island and moved with his wife, Jenny, to a says Carnegie Hill is the best place in Manhattan to live, ground-floor studio in Yorkville that boasted that you better listen up!

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CARNEGIE HILL by Trish Preston and Sarah Bramwell ANNUAL BENEFIT CHN 2020 BENEFIT: A VIRTUAL SUCCESS even the Covid pandemic could not stop us from Ecelebrating Carnegie Hill Neighbors’ 50th anniversary! On Tuesday, December 15, we held our first-ever virtual benefit honoring Jurate Kazickas and Roger C. Altman chn (pictured to the right with Lo van der Valk), who have 501970-2020 been outstanding supporters of CHN for decades. The hourlong program, hosted by co-chairs Trish Preston and Sarah Bramwell (pictured above), took viewers behind the scenes of CHN’s many programs and services. We traveled back in time to learn about the origin of Carnegie Hill Neighbors and the preservation battle that set us on our 50-year course serving Carnegie Hill. We met our neighborhood security team, visited the beautiful Park Avenue malls, and saw graffiti removal in action. To view the video presentation, go to our website, chneighbors.org and select the tab CHN at 50. The event featured a silent auction of items sourced from neighborhood businesses, Top: Co-chairs Trish Preston as well as a line-item benefit where attendees and supporters had the opportunity to contribute and Sarah Bramwell toast virtual Benefit viewers. to a specific CHN program, such as Preservation, Beautification, or Security. We are so grateful Above: Honored guests to everyone who attended and supported our 50th anniversary event. It was a smashing success Roger C. Altman and and put us on a promising path for the next 50 years. Jurate Kazikas are Stay tuned for news on our 2021 Benefit! We are shooting for a hybrid event this fall. interviewed by CHN President Lo van der Valk.

ROSES TO... GOAT HILL NEIGHBORHOOD PLEASE SUPPORT OUR ASSOCIATION for coordinating the planting of daffodils in NEIGHBORHOOD every tree bed on their block – SMALL BUSINESSES from Park to Lexington avenues – and delighting all of Carnegie Hill.

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LOCAL RESTAU- arnegie Hill was one of the first neighborhoods in New York City to rebound after RANTS the city was shut down more than one year ago. For this issue, we talked to a few Crestaurant owners who made every effort to keep their restaurants open and customers safe. We take pride in their resilience and are grateful that the outdoor spaces are bringing joy to our neighborhood. RESTAURANT OWNERS SURVIVE THE PANDEMIC:

Eli Zabar Sitting outside Bar 91 & Eli’s Essentials on Madison owner of Avenue and 91st Street on a crisp, cold morning in BAR 91 & ELI’S early spring, I was pleasantly surprised to feel the heat radiating from overhead. It was warm thanks to the ESSENTIALS insulated duct that ran from the store’s large indoor heating system, a luxury in outdoor dining. “Outdoor seating is most uplifting during Covid, it makes me feel we are in Paris,” said Eli Zabar, a New York City legend. “It was remarkable and uplifting to see people come out to enjoy dinner no matter what the temperature. Even in the mid-20s, people still came and ate outside every night,” he said. “Before Covid, nobody would eat outdoors unless it was 60 degrees and sunny.” Because Eli’s business stayed open throughout the pandemic, he was able to keep any employees who wanted to continue working. A year ago, many Carnegie Hill residents sought refuge outside the city, but people have been returning since last summer as they found our neighborhood to be relatively safe. “I am expect- ing more people in Carnegie Hill this summer when more cultural sites open,” Eli said. “We are having a renaissance here, a rebirth.” Eli also brings music to the neighborhood; every Friday and Saturday he has a jazz band that plays outside the restaurant from 5:00 p.m.– 9:00 p.m.

Chris McLaughlin It has been a long ordeal getting owner of through Covid’s darkest time. Over the past year, Chris adjusted Island’s ISLAND business concept eight times to meet the city’s ever-changing restaurant policies. “It requires a ton of agility and perseverance to get through this,” Chris said. Last spring, after closing down the restaurant for two months, he hired and trained high school and college students and graduates from the neighborhood to help with answering phones, talking to cus- tomers, and making deliveries. Restaurants became a good way for students to interact with people and gain experience when their summer jobs got cancelled. “I see a lot of loyalty. Neighbors want to support restaurants, and customers are extraordi- narily generous,” said Chris. “It is not uncommon to see a $50 tip on a home delivery.” With more people vaccinated, residents are getting more comfortable sitting indoors. Chris is confident that soon, business will be comparable to May of 2019. “People are cherishing social gatherings, and we see more parties of threes or fours at the restaurant,” he said. He noted Covid has brought restaurant owners together as they now often call each other to discuss new regulations and interpret new laws. “We help each other out a lot,” said Chris.

16 I CARNEGIE HILL NEWS • SPRING 2021 by Li Wen

Stefano Marracino of When asked about his responsibil- PAOLA’S RESTAURANT ities at the restaurants, Stefano Marracino, son of Paola, the SOME UPLIFTING STORIES and PAOLA’S OSTERIA matriarch of the iconic Carnegie Hill Italian establishments, said he is the executive busboy and dishwasher. While I was amused by his candor during my hourlong conversation at Paola’s Osteria, I could see why this family restaurant is so beloved of locals. Stefano answered calls to confirm reservations, received deliveries, and greeted staff. A customer who had been away for over a year popped in to say hi and to ask if the former bartender was still there. Stefano said yes and shouted out the customer’s favorite drink. “Our community is the reason we are still here. People always want to help others. They give back more than they receive from us,” said Stefano. During the worst days of Covid, locals generously opened their pockets to support restaurant staff, and the landlord for the Osteria reduced the rent substantially. Last summer, when the Hotel Wales reconstruction began, Paola’s relocated to smaller space nearby on . Stefano is passionate about using locally grown food in the restaurants. He sees food as a common denominator to connect communities, to educate and empower people. For the past five years, he has been involved in Green Heron Farm, a community-based cooperative farm in upstate New York. Its goal is to become an educational farm while supplying produce to restaurants and providing volunteer opportunities for adults and children. Said Stefano, “It’s all about people sharing.” The restaurant education concept comes from Paola herself, who immigrated from Rome as a teenager and founded Paola’s in 1983 on East 84th Street, moving to Carnegie Hill in 2009. “She is a school teacher-turned-restaurant educator,” said Stefano. “Paola is everyone’s mom.”

Michel Mroue Vicolina was the first restaurant on in CEO/owner of Carnegie Hill to build an outdoor restaurant last summer. VICOLINA and Strong financial support from some 30 Carnegie Hill residents enabled the restaurant and the adjacent Mercato MERCATO Market to meet the challenges of the pandemic. Michel RUSTICO notes, “Our neighborhood is known for restaurants that serve people who live in the area. Vicolina has become a destination for customers who come from different neighborhoods. People come here for the experience.” Michel has felt the support of the neighborhood so much that he is going to open another place in July, his third eatery on the same block: Hiramasa, a high-end Japanese omakase restaurant (a restaurant where the dishes are selected by the chef), will be occupying the northwest corner of Madison Avenue and 92nd Street. The chef comes from a famous two-star Michelin restaurant.

Lottie and Pascal This intimate, two-level French restaurant, named for Bonhomme its chef and co-owners, has been serving Carnegie Hill owners/chef of residents for 25 years. Its bond with neighbors has been PASCALOU evident as the outdoor tables extending beyond the storefront up and down the sidewalk are filled with diners. “Customers are more accommodating. I get to know customers much better as we are all on the street. Before, I didn’t have such close contact with our neighbors,” said Lottie. “People want to be out to socialize, even carry on conversations to the noise of a jackhammer,” she added. “People nowadays are more community-oriented, they see people on the street, at the restaurant, and they stop and talk. It is a great community-building time. We hope this spirit will last well past the pandemic.” CARNEGIE HILL NEWS • SPRING 2021 I 17

LANDMARK by Lo van der Valk LAND Carnegie Hill Jane’s Walk goes virtual CELEBRATING OUR MUSEUM WITHOUT WALLS

Below: Carnegie mansion with south garden on 90th Street. Right: Church of the Heavenly Rest at 90th Street and ; Guggenheim Museum behind tree at far right

Guggenheim STAN HONDA STAN Museum with a 25-foot wide he annual walks in honor of the late urban activist Jane Jacobs, Carnegie’s lead in the sidewalk, un- sponsored by the Municipal Art Society, resumed this spring as development of the obstructed by trees, allowing T virtual presentations. CHN led Jane’s Walks on May 4 and 8, Fifth Avenue land an extended on streets near the Engineers’ Gate. The 45-minute swath between 90th view south virtual format covered more territory for more attendees than and 92nd streets. prior in-person events. Here are some highlights from the walks. In 1917, Carne- It is well known that ’s selection in 1898 gie also purchased of 91st Street and Fifth Avenue for his retirement home at- the corner lot on the tracted others of wealth to buy into the area, which came to be south side of 90th

known as Carnegie Hill, and build mansions designed by noted Street to prevent a DER VALK LO VAN architects. What is less appreciated is the profound impact his tall apartment building from blocking the light to his mansion purchase had on the immediate blocks of Fifth Avenue and and garden. His widow, Louise W. Carnegie, sold the lot to the especially the 90th Street intersection. The west side of this congregation of Church of the Heavenly Rest, in 1926, specify- intersection had long been an entrance to Central Park named ing height limits. The built church, clad in limestone combined Engineers’ Gate. It connects Fifth Avenue with the park’s Loop style elements of neo-Gothic and Art Deco. Its low scale assured Drive, bridle path and the reservoir surround, now the running all four corners of the Engineers’ Gate intersection would remain track, and is also the highest point on Fifth Avenue. The special spacious and open to direct sunlight—creating a veritable character of this intersection was further enhanced with Carnegie-Engineer’s Gate plaza. See video on CHN website.

1143 FIFTH AVENUE MAINTAINS LOW SCALE bout five years ago a major debate took place before the Landmarks Preservation Commission A (LPC) over a proposed addition for 1143 Fifth Avenue, between 95th and 96th streets. The 1924 apartment building, was unique, measuring only 30 feet wide and only eight stories tall. This unusually low height was the result of a brief period in the early 1920s when Fifth Avenue zoning height limits were lowered. No major changes had been made in the building since it was built, except for a recessed penthouse added in the 1990s. The new owner, who sought to add five additional stories to make its roofline almost matching the adjacent apartment buildings, hired an impressive team of architects and preservation consultants to support the proposal. CHN organized a petition drive collecting more than 500 signed letters asking the LPC Chair not to approve the proposal. In the end we prevailed, and only one additional, recessed, penthouse floor was permitted. Alterations are now nearing completion of this attractively renovated building, whose original scale has been largely maintained. LO VAN DER VALK LO VAN

18 I CARNEGIE HILL NEWS • SPRING 2021 CENTRAL PARK PERIMETER SIDEWALKS RESTORED A major repaving project started in mid-April at and Fifth Avenue and is moving 1230 MADISON REFLECTS CHANGES north. It involves replacing the hexagonal tiles for the sidewalk and the cobblestone onstruction of this new mid-block apart- paving on either side. ment building on the westside of Madi- C son Avenue between 88th and 89th streets is nearing completion. As we have reported earlier, a group of neighbors enlisted zoning consultant George Janes to advise in the legal challenge to the additions planned for the upper residential floors. The zoning for Madison Avenue is unique in that it requires a tapering of the upper three or four floors of the building. While certain points are still being argued, COALITION PURSUES NEW STRATEGY LO VAN DER VALK LO VAN significant changes to the top floors have already been made. We are also now able to see the contours of the entire building, which FOR MARX BROTHERS PLAYGROUND closely follows the original design by noted architect Robert A. M. Stern. Having lost the appeal at both lower courts, it seemed pointless to continue the lawsuit. It became clear to us that while representations about the playground’s park status changed during the review process through the various TWO ISSUES PENDING AT 1083 FIFTH AVENUE city agencies, in the view of the judges such reversals were irrelevant and only the final ocated in the mid-block south of Mock-up of Church of the Heavenly Rest proposed decision by the City Council mattered. L addition The Coalition is now focused on a key between 89th and 90th streets, this requirement in the State act giving the play- 30-foot wide townhouse, originally built ground its development rights: namely the City, in 1902, was part of the National Design before it can start construction, must either Academy complex that was recently sold. create a replacement playground or make a The townhouse will become a private park capital improvement with the same or residence and is undergoing extensive greater market value as the Marx Brothers alterations. Two issues have materialized. playground. Our Coalition attorney is seeking One involves the owner’s wish to intro- clarification of where the City stands on this. duce a front entrance space, set off by a low wall, that would jut into the Fifth CITY COUNCIL INTRODUCES TWO Avenue sidewalk. This was opposed by MAJOR INITIATIVES CHN and strongly rejected by Community Board 8 (CB8) in early 2020 and has so far not been presented to the LPC for approval. A second, newer issue concerns PLANNING TOGETHER: This proposal seeks an apparent mock-up for an elevator extension to service what appears to be a to institute a major city-wide land use plan- rooftop addition. Both additions will be significantly visible from Fifth Avenue and ning framework to encourage greater growth in affordable housing and infrastructure and Central Park. CHN and neighbors (with, we anticipate, CB8 support), feel these achieve greater social equity. Five-year plans additions should not be approved at staff level, but should be decided by the LPC would be formulated for each of the 51 com- Commissioners in a public hearing. munity board districts under the guidance of an expanded planning unit in the Mayor’s office. This proposal is highly controversial. APPROVAL OF 3 EAST ENLARGEMENT FACES DELAYS See more on CHN website. This was the main building of the National Design Academy complex. Its new DEVELOPMENT BONUSES FOR SUBWAY owner is seeking a major renovation and expansion to accommodate the art IMPROVEMENTS: Buildings near subways galleries for Salon 94. In addition to the already granted LPC approval, a special would provide funding for improvements permit by the City Planning Commission is needed for required variances including such as elevators. In exchange, they would exceeding height restrictions required for the “glass box” proposed for the roof receive development bonuses of up to 20 (by the architect Rafael Vinoly), which will include a penthouse apartment and percent, allowing them to build taller. But rooftop mechanicals. That approval is pending. While CHN, CB8 and neighbors the resulting towers would rob others of did object to the out-of-context glass box, this did not deter the LPC from light and air. This proposal also promises to approving the project in June 2020. be controversial. See more on CHN website.

CARNEGIE HILL NEWS • SPRING 2021 I 19

SAFE NEIGHBOR- by Joanna Cawley HOOD

Thank You SECURITY PATROL SECURITY PREVAILS AS TOP PRIORITY PROGRAM SUPPORTERS If your building is not listed lthough many Carnegie Hill residents left particularly near among those below, please A our neighborhood at the start of the pan- subway entrances, ask your board to consider demic last March, the CHN Security Patrol and one late-night participating. The cost is continued canvassing our streets in full shift to deter early only $50 per apartment force. Responsive to our community’s morning break-ins. unit per year. Call CHN at 212-996-5520 to arrange shifting needs and member suggestions, CHN’s com- for our team to tell your the CHN patrol has implemented a number munity-centered board and managing agent of changes. As of January 2021, CHN approach to safety about our Security Program. switched to an all-vehicle security patrol, does not stop with our patrol tours. CHN is foregoing the foot patrol, and adding an the 19th Precinct’s Sector D/Carnegie Hill FIFTH AVENUE overnight shift with new and extended community liaison. Our office enjoys ready 1056 1107 1133 1150 hours. The change to an all-vehicle tour access to Deputy Inspector Melissa Eger 1060 1115 1136 1158 facilitates a faster response time to specific (pictured above), who recently became 1067 1120 1140 1165 situations; the addition of an overnight head of the 19th Precinct, and her team of 1080 1125 1148 1170 shift with extended hours has increased Neighborhood Coordination Officers CHN’s overall patrol time by 30 percent. (NCOs), who collaborate with CHN on MADISON AVENUE The weekday tours utilize two eight- everything from cleanup days, to Build- 1261

hour shifts, one during the day to cover the-Block meetings that report on local PARK AVENUE heavier student and pedestrian traffic, crime statistics every quarter. 1040 1082 1130 1175 1045 1088 1133 1185 1049 1095 1150 1192 1050 1100 1155 1199 1065 1105 1160 1220 1070 1111 1165 1230 1075 1125 1172

LEXINGTON AVENUE Neighborhood 1435 Coordination Officers EAST for Sector D 25, 49, 55 Daniel Pardo EAST 87th STREET and Lori Murray 21, 47 115, 120, 153 EAST 88th STREET 2, 4, 5, 19, 40, 47, 60, 111, 121-123 EAST 89th STREET CHN Security 17, 45, 50 Guard Joanna EAST 90th STREET Joseph-Pierre 14, 21, 51, 115 EAST 91st STREET 15 EAST 92nd STREET 46 EAST 55, 125, 134, 155 EAST 94th STREET 64 EAST 95th STREET 3, 4, 17, 19, 27 EAST 96th STREET 8, 9, 16, 17, 60, 70 NINA WHITING

CARNEGIE HILL NEIGHBORS SECURITY PATROL, 365 DAYS A YEAR Patrol Car: Day shift daily 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Night shift: Monday to Friday, 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m.

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CARNEGIE HILL NEWS • SPRING 2021 I 21 MERCHANT by Elizabeth Robertson PROFILES Carnegie Hill’s long-term retail core remains strong WORKS GALLERY AND PALACE SHOE REPAIR

wo shops on Madison Avenue have served the Carnegie They melt down gold and silver. This is a place to shop for Hill neighborhood for over 35 years. Both closed for five engagement rings. They work closely with artists who can T design custom jewelry. As Sheryl notes, “Not a day goes by months last March and reopened their doors last summer with cautious optimism about the future. that someone doesn’t stop by to say, ‘I’ve never been in before,’ or ‘I never noticed this shop.’” The visit is well worth it!

Located to the north on Madison between 97th and 98th streets is PALACE SHOE REPAIR, a friendly and inviting shop. Its narrow shopfront on the west side of the Avenue is easy to overlook on a block of busy restaurants and delis. Gregor, who works behind the counter surrounded by shoes and shoe accessories, has been overseeing the shop for four years. The owner has been in the neighborhood for 45 years and on Madison Avenue for 35. The shop closed in March and reopened in July, but Gregor has not noticed a return of customers. However, business started to slow well before the pandemic. Why? “Sneakers. No one wears nice shoes. It’s all rubber soles.” Gone are the heels, lifts, and sole

ALL PHOTOS: SUSAN HOEHN replacements. Gregor pointed to a wall of shoes that

The founder and owner of WORKS GALLERY, at 1250 Madison Avenue between 89th and 90th streets, Frank Pereira, along with his associate, Sheryl Miller, are passionate about their carefully selected inventory of jewelry, ceramics, glassware, artwork, and watches, and delight in sharing their enthusiasm about the art and artists with all visitors. Frank had a thriving business in Southampton and was encouraged by friends and customers to open his NYC branch in Carnegie Hill. Over the past three decades, he has cultivated a loyal clientele in the neighborhood. Frank and Sheryl had lots to share about the past year, including praise for their landlord, who was willing to work with them to help the shop through the many months that it was closed. While it was closed, Frank continued to work, maintaining contacts with artists and connecting with clients. Business has bounced back; however, customer traffic has not returned to pre-pandemic levels. Frank observed, “It was customers have simply abandoned, some with tickets over quiet in the summer. No one was around! It was busy before three years old. He knows the neighborhood well and notes Thanksgiving, but the holidays were slow. Things are busier that it is always busy because of Mt. Sinai. Gregor is happy now than they were at the holidays.” He notices that people to repair all leather goods—belts, jackets, handbags—but he seem to be returning to Carnegie Hill, and while his business wishes a return to when people dressed in shoes and heels to has not suffered because of the decrease in tourist traffic, the go to work! closing of the Hotel Wales has meant the loss of some repeat The pandemic accelerated a decline in retail that was customers. evident well before last March, with empty store fronts One thing is clear—even if you browse at Works, it is becoming a common site along the city’s avenues. Standing not apparent how many services the store offers its customers. firm against this trend, Carnegie Hill’s retail core has re- Old bracelets and necklaces? Frank and Sheryl can refurbish mained strong—a tribute to close ties between shops, shop or convert them into something new. They repair watches. owners, and neighborhood residents. 22 I CARNEGIE HILL NEWS • SPRING 2021

LOCAL by Elizabeth Robertson BUSINESSES

PERSEVERING IN THE PANDEMIC

LAILA’S FLORIST, 1264 Madison Avenue “Thank goodness for apartment buildings and their street planters,” says Evan of Laila’s Florist. Last spring, the shop saw the core of their traffic plummet by 80 percent; supplying arrangements to schools, churches, and special events came to a halt. Evan credits three major reasons for why the florist was able to stay afloat: the landlord, who worked with the florist and reduced rents by 30 percent; the apartment buildings for which they supplied lobby flowers and managed their outdoor beds; and a healthy reserve. This 15-year-old Carnegie Hill business reports that business is back, but at 50 percent of pre-pandemic levels. What is missing is the event business. The pandemic has changed the business model somewhat: The focus has changed to building relationships with the apartment buildings in the area, capitalizing on what sustained the business through the pandemic.

SUCCESS FITNESS, 62 East 88th Street Founder Santiago McCarthy says that what was key last year was “planning, planning, planning,” rather than adopting an attitude of “wait and see.” After closing his studio located within H&D Physical Therapy, Santiago went digital, capitalizing on his already existing online training business. His clients moved online with him. Now, with the reopening of the studio, clients have returned, but Santiago believes that the best business model is a hybrid. His clients enjoy the flexibility of training within their homes, and Santiago has spent the resources necessary to develop his online product to meet his clients’ needs. H&D Physical Therapy’s plans also had an impact on Santiago’s business. The pandemic forced H&D to close another studio and consolidate operations at 88th Street. As a result, the Success Fitness Studio is only open three days a week, rather than six. The reduction in days fits well with the hybrid model, but what if clients would like more time in the studio? Here the attitude of wait-and- see seems appropriate given the past year. “We will revisit in September,” Santiago concludes.

VAL MORE SALON, 1323 Madison Avenue Val More offers a wide range of services befitting an upscale hair salon and spa. When forced to close last spring, Val, together with his brother Gabby and sister Abby, planned for a reopening of the salon that would set the industry standard for quality, safety, and health. On June 23, 2020, Val More reopened with an array of amenities on hand to meet the needs and concerns of returning clients. What did this look like? Individual pods for hair cutting separated by plexiglass screens, cleaning and sanitizing stations within each pod, and a separate studio for treatments with a state- of-the-art air filter system, plus “al fresco” services for those who were concerned about indoor spaces. Nonetheless, business has not rebounded to pre-pandemic levels. Despite this, the salon has not let any of its employees go. “We are a family, so we have worked with our people to ensure that they know that they have a place with us,” says Abby. As the future unfolds, the salon will build on its strong relationships with its clients and the neighborhood. As Abby concludes, “We are deeply appreciative of the loyalty we have seen. Our clients have been so supportive, and we are equally committed to them.”

THE CORNER BOOKSTORE, 1313 Madison Avenue As a nonessential business, The Corner Bookstore had to close in March 2020. However, one month later, it began a slow return to full service, when it was allowed to accept orders for delivery. Chris, who lives nearby, ran the store single handedly, joined remotely by Nick, who placed email orders with wholesalers, who in turn shipped books directly to customers. Although it was closed, the bookstore maintained its staff on full salaries. At the start of the pandemic, the bookstore replaced its monthly Calendar of Events of readings with a monthly newsletter as well as guidance for placing online or phone orders. Many customers also bought gift certificates. By summer, Nick and Robert were commuting to the store, Nick running 45 minutes each way (and losing 30 pounds) and Robert riding Citibikes. Their onsite presence enabled curbside pickup, then expanded in mid-August, when up to three masked customers at a time were allowed in the store. (See more on page 30.) CARNEGIE HILL NEWS • SPRING 2021 I 23

by Lenny Golay LOCAL AUTHORS MORE THAN JUST BEACH READING

cultural haven for museum goers in New York and The relationship between Francis Drake and Elizabeth I Abeyond, The Frick Collection holds masterpieces by is the missing link in the rise of the British empire; some of the most celebrated artists in the Western its importance has not been fully appreciated— tradition. With The Sleeve Should Be until now.Framed around Drake’s key explorations, Illegal & Other Reflections on In Search of a Kingdom: Francis Art at the Frick, published by Drake, Elizabeth I, and the Per- MARY DELMONICO, and with a ilous Birth of the British Empire, forward by ADAM GOPNIK, you can by LAURENCE BERGREEN, is a explore the treasures of this museum swashbuckling, edge-of-your-seat through the eyes of a diverse group of 61 adventure narrative set on the high seas, contemporary writers, artists, and other featuring pirates, cannibals, mutinies, cultural figures writing about an daring explorations, and gripping bat- artwork that has personal significance. tles; it mingles wide-ranging historical Each essay is accompanied by an themes with intimate passions. illustration of the artwork. Seven Voyages: How China’s WILLIAM BOURNE grew up loving Treasure Fleet Conquered baseball; as an adult, he traced the history the Sea, also by LAURENCE of Minor League baseball, traveling BERGREEN, but in collaboration to various baseball towns, mostly with his daughter, Sara Fray, is an with his brother and son. Over a immaculately researched history period of years, he traveled almost for young readers detailing the 36,000 miles via airplanes and rented life of Zheng He. For three cars, seeing dozens of games in decades, in the fifteenth century, 22 states. In Not Just Baseball: he commanded 1,500 ships and Traveling to Remote America, thousands of sailors in seven epic he celebrates his love of baseball, voyages that would establish family and America. China as a global power.

LISA LINDBLAD, of Lisa Lindblad Travel How do you get people to appreciate what is Design, has been traveling since her early right in front of them? In The Tale of the childhood. For the past 10 years, she has been Mandarin Duck: A Modern Fable by collecting and sending out monthly mailings BETTE MIDLER with photographs by Michiko coupled with a meditation. Meditations on Travel, Kakutani, it takes a mysterious, beautiful duck her book of photos, paired with inspirational Inspired by the real-life mandarin duck that meditative thoughts on the purpose and value of appeared in Central Park in 2018, an afterword travel, is for the armchair traveler and all those who by Michiko Kakutani adds details to the facts long for a journey. behind this one-of-a-kind story.

Set in a remote mountain town, JEANNE-MARIE OSTERMAN’s where the secrets run as deep as poetry collection, Shellback, takes the hollows, Saving Grace, us to the heart of her relationship by DEBBIE BABITT, is at once a with her father, a World War II spellbinding tale of innocence lost Navy veteran and kamikaze and a twisty, edge-of-your-seat survivor. Set beneath the rainy skies psychological thriller. This gripping of the Pacific Northwest and the debut novel introduces a captivating Pacific theater of World War II, protagonist—Mary Grace, the first these poems speak of love, forgive- female sheriff of her rural town, ness, and the tragedies of war. whose concept of good and evil can Shellback is both a tribute to her shape a young girl, then and now. father and a longing for the closeness to him she could never quite achieve.

24 I CARNEGIE HILL NEWS • SPRING 2021 by Sarah Bramwell

Pandemic silver lining: COOKING THROUGH COVID

abituated as they are to excellent restaurants and take-out food, Manhattanites had to adapt to the culinary realities of lockdown. Finding themselves eating three meals a day at home, many HCarnegie Hill families discovered new patterns of cooking and dining. With everyone around every day, including college and boarding-school students and parents working from home, Covid brought even the most far-flung families together around the dining table. After the initial stress of procuring ingredients—no small feat with staple Chef foods flying off shelves and disrupted supply chains—many were surprised by the joys of meal planning Eva Bramwell and cooking. “We became a lot more organized about ‘food procurement,’” said Katie Brennan, mother of displays her four. In many cases, parents found themselves assisted in the kitchen by their children. “My daughter Lila had Mexican street corn always been a baker; in the pandemic, we had a steady stream of baked goods coming from our kitchen,” reminisced Caroline King. Even the nationwide shortage of yeast did not faze her: “Lila explored the sourdough-starter method, and even made us some delicious sourdough waffles.” In the case of Mary Delmonico and Will Washburn, whose daughter Esme published a children’s cookbook two years ago, 20 Recipes Kids Should Know (with photographs by her sister Calista), Covid brought all three daughters together in the kitchen. “My three girls kept us fed through the pandemic,” said Mary. “My husband and I have never been cooks; I don’t know how we would have survived without their skills!” With her older sisters back home from college, Esme had plenty of help in the kitchen. “It was just so nice to have all three of them home for the first time in so many years. It was a joy to see them together in the kitchen and to eat dinner as a family every night. It was a true silver lining, amid all new recipes.” With the reopening of restaurants, some residents have taken a well-deserved break from the kitchen. But, having rediscovered the personal satisfaction and health benefits of home cooking, others happily continue the trend of cooking and eating more meals at home.

CARNEGIE HILL NEWS • SPRING 2021 I 25

SHOP by Sam Fremont-Smith TALK SALON 94

BRAVE NEW SHOPS & A BOLD GALLERY

SALON 94, 3 East 89th Street (between PARK AVE. GOURMET DELI (corner of Fifth and Madison avenues) has opened a 88th Street), caters to many needs: Park new space in a townhouse formerly part of Avenue residents will no longer need to the National Design Academy. Its five walk east or west for Tide and Tostitos. stories exhibit contemporary art and house This bright and clean gourmet deli sells it its new headquarters. Performance art and all: cold brew coffee, smoothies (try the nonprofit initiatives (called S94+) will also Red Sun), angus burgers, NY Lotto cards, be showcased. 212-979-0001. The gallery is etc. 917-261-4810. [email protected]. open Wednesday – Saturday, 11:00 a.m. – Daily, 6:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m. Please log onto salon94.com/visit to make an appointment. EASTSIDE DELI, 1424 Lexington Avenue (corner of 93rd Street) moved into the old ZCRAVE , 1281 Madison Avenue (91/92 ZCRAVE Ottomanelli spot eight months ago. While streets), offers bold color, clean lines and you cannot buy prime aged beef, you will an urban edge. Affordable and fashionable, be happy to find friendly service, fair this boutique will appeal to ladies who prices, and Philly cheesesteak sandwiches. “just want to have fun.” The three-quarter Acai bowls, freshly pressed juices, and leather trench coat with a faux fur-trimmed made-to-order salads will satisfy vegetarians collar and sleeves is available in eight and vegans alike. 212-369-0011. Monday – eye-popping colors! 646-590-4714. Friday, 6:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m., Saturday zcrave.com. Monday – Friday, 10:30 a.m. – and Sunday, 7:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. Friday 6:00 p.m.

NEW OWNER AND CHEF FOR TABLE D’HÔTE by Li Wen

wning a small French restaurant has been Michael Barton’s dream and even OCovid couldn’t stop him. Last October 2020, at the beginning of the darkest winter for the restaurant business in New York City, Michael bought Table d’Hôte, at the corner of 92nd and Madison Avenue. “I don’t even talk to people about what I have done because they would think I am crazy to have bought a restaurant during Covid,” said Michael, who originally came from Utah and worked at Bar Boulud, Carbone, Les Halles, and various hotel restaurants before becoming owner and chef at Table D’Hôte. His restaurant career started when he was 14. He worked as a dishwasher, a bus boy, a host, and then rose all the way to be an executive chef in well-known establishments in New York City. He received professional training from Johnson & Wales Culinary School in Denver, Colorado. Passionate about food and cooking, Michael is motivated by the Carnegie Hill neighborhood. He searched for his dream restaurant for years before deciding on Table d’Hôte. “This is my destiny,” he said. “The pandemic is not forever. Last summer is a good indication that our neighborhood will do well. Customer loyalty in this neigh- borhood attracts me the most,” he said, adding that he suspected that come next winter,

SUSAN HOEHN the pandemic will be over. Carnegie Hill is known for residents with deep roots. Due to the small size of the restaurant, Michael finds it is easy to build relationships with customers. “I get to know people’s names,” he said, referring to a couple who dine there every Friday and order takeout every Wednesday. He has opportunities to meet his customers as he is cooking and managing the restaurant all day, every day.

26 I CARNEGIE HILL NEWS • SPRING 2021 ECDC Early Childhood Development Center Where parents and babies learn together

Celebrating 45 years of parenting classes in our neighborhood. Learn about child development and techniques for confident parenting.

To learn more contact: Thea Obstler, Director [email protected] (212) 360-7803 1900 Second Ave 9th Floor

CARNEGIE HILL NEWS • SPRING 2021 I 27

TREE by Julia Bradford CARE Planning for resilience: PROTECTING CARNEGIE HILL’S URBAN CANOPY

limate change is putting stress on our Carnegie Hill street trees. The extreme C temperature fluctuations—subfreezing weather from winter into spring and brutally hot MANY THANKS TO CHN’s summer droughts—are a far cry from the days of predictable seasonal weather. Arborists ALL-SEASON TREE PRUNERS! and the New York City Parks Department are broadening their tree choices to make sure that trees planted today can tolerate the higher temperatures predicted for the next hundred years. As a result, southern species, known to tolerate higher temperatures, are appearing in Carnegie Hill. At the same time, trees that are known to have structural problems or are prone to disease will no longer be planted. Gone are the days of a monoculture (one tree species planted on a block). Arborists know that a street planted with diverse species helps prevent the spread of pests within the tree canopy and protects all the trees.

Protecting the 96th Street Public Library tree beds with discarded holiday boughs

red maple Kentucky coffee tree crabapple

While rows of London plane trees and Callery pears were once a standard for Carnegie Hill, these two trees are no longer recommended by the Parks Department. More than 20 years ago, the Callery pears, sought after for their beautiful spring blossoms, became viewed as ticking time bombs because of the mature trees’ weak crouches (where the branches are attached to the tree trunk). Without warning, large branches spontaneously broke off the trunks. Sometimes the trees become so unbalanced they have to be removed. And a New York City standard, the London plane tree, became prone to a fungal disease, anthracnose, which spreads in the wind through spores and kills the buds during spring; this fungus has Pruning dead branches in early already infected and killed many trees. We will miss these majestic trees—one with its spring on Madison Avenue smooth grayish-white bark and the other with its white mist of spring blossom—but new, more resilient native trees will replace them. A new variety to Carnegie Hill is the Kentucky coffee tree. A southern native, it is tough and drought resistant. Its growth tends to be upright, therefore less likely to block the sidewalk. It has a white flower in spring, which is not showy. As it grows, it has a rounded, oval canopy. For many years after the discovery of the Asian longhorned beetle, red maples were not planted as they were hosts to the beetle, but with the pest’s eradication, red maples are again being planted. While these native trees have no visible flowers, they have beautiful fall color. Finally, crabapples are replacing ornamental cherries. These small fruiting trees have three-season interest: flowers in the spring, green leaves in the summer, and red or yellow fruit in the fall, which birds and other wildlife feast on. They are tougher than cherries and respond to pruning when mature. Carnegie Hill has so much to recommend—its landmarked buildings, its sense of community, its schools, its quiet streets, and its beautiful trees. We have to become more flexible in our tree choices to make sure that the trees we plant will thrive in the expected Pruners trim street trees on warmer environment. We are now planting the Kentucky coffee tree, among others. East 97th Street

What southern tree will be next to grace our streets? SUZANNE GOLDSTEIN 28 I CARNEGIE HILL NEWS • SPRING 2021 CARNEGIE HILL NEWS • SPRING 2021 I 29

TIME LINE

THE CORNER BOOKSTORE: A pillar of the community for more than 40 years

hen The Corner Bookstore staff was interviewed by Roger Clark for one of his features on NY1 TV, Wwe were reminded that the newsletter has often covered the bookstore and its owners over four decades.

Right: Reprint from Spring 1979 Carnegie Hill News, one year after The Corner Bookstore opened.

Above, 1978: Lenny Golay and Ray Sherman at the store opening.

Below, 2021: Nick Chase, Robert Gaude, and Chris Lenahan with Lenny Golay.

In 1999, Carnegie Hill News described how The Corner Bookstore had already become a pillar of Carnegie Hill and its owners, as board members, were committed to preserving the quality of life and low scale architecture in the neighborhood. The article stated, “Mr. Sherman has helped CHN win zoning changes with scale models he constructed to demonstrate the building height allowed under certain zoning rules compared to the height limits cham- pioned by CHN.” The article also described a major contribution made by these local leaders. “When we moved here, there were no trees here on 93rd Street, said Ms. Golay.” To raise money for trees, the couple held a raffle offering book- store gift certificates as prizes. The successful raffle funded the planting of 18 trees, many of which still beautify the block.

SUSAN HOEHN As part of CHN’s 40th anniversary, The Corner Bookstore (and the Hotel Wales) received the 2010 CHN Enrichment Award. The article announcing the winners stated, “The true heart of Carnegie Hill beats at the corner of Madison Avenue at 93rd Street, where The Corner Bookstore has been family owned and operated for over 30 years . . . the facade pulsates warmth. Inside, benches invite you to relax, put down your packages, and peruse the books.” The fall 2018 newsletter reported, “On May 18, 2018, Ray Sherman and Lenny Golay welcomed neighbors to a celebration of The Corner Bookstore’s 40th anniversary.” Sadly, Ray Sherman passed away that September, but Lenny con- tinues to guide the store, ably assisted by Chris Lenahan, Nick Chase, and Robert Gaude. Though forced to close in March 2020, the essential Carnegie Hill shop quickly reacted, first by serving customers remotely with sales and delivery, and then by reopening in August following Covid guidelines. It has helped that Lenny Golay is the landlord and has vowed to keep the store operating. As she said in the NY1 interview, “Our customers wouldn’t let us close!” 30 I CARNEGIE HILL NEWS • SPRING 2021 YOUR MEMBERSHIP IS VITAL TO CARNEGIE HILL NEIGHBORS

or the past PRESERVATION F CHN was founded in 50 years, the 1970 to protect our three-fold mission attractive, low-scale of Carnegie Hill landscape and Neighbors has distinguished historical buildings. been to preserve, protect, and ensure the quality of life in our special part of New York City. SECURITY CHN partners with the 19th Precinct to keep Carnegie Hill safe. Our patrol car deters crime on our streets 365 days a year.

QUALITY OF LIFE CHN beautifies the Park Avenue malls and cares for the streets and avenues with tree pruning, tree care tips, and graffiti removal.

If you are not a member, please join today. Use the envelope here, or turn to the QR code on the back cover to reach the CHN website memberhip page at chneighbors.org/membership. CARNEGIE HILL NEWS • SPRING 2021 I 31 CARNEGIE HILL PRESRT STD neighbors U.S.Postage 1326 Madison Avenue, Garden Level PAID New York, NY 10128 New York, NY Permit No. 2154

212-996-5520 • [email protected] • chneigbors.org

See page 31.

C arnegie Hill Neighbors is a membership organization, supported by our residents, small business owners and volunteers. Our impact is only as strong as your membership.

If you are not already a member, please join with us today. Your $100 basic membership ensures that our efforts continue.

You will receive the Carnegie Hill Architectural Guide as our gift.

Scan QR tag on your smart phone, go to our website chneighbors.org/membership, or use the enclosed envelope. See page 31.