The stars at the Shops at Columbus Circle. Photos by Peggy Taylor, collage by West Side Rag.
This neighborhood is filled with stars. Stars of the screen and stage, stars of the business world, stars of nonprofits.
We’d like to nominate some local stars who worked to make our neighborhood better this year. This is not a scientific list, just a brief list of people who put in serious effort to kick butt this year.
- Cooper’s Troopers, friends of Cooper Stock from the Calhoun School, who pushed for safer streets after the tragic death of their friend last year.
- Kim Watkins and her compatriots at CEC3, the Upper West Side version of a school board, who took time away from their own families to lead countless meetings about a contentious school rezoning plan. That plan failed, but it inspired more parents to get involved. Their activism will hopefully result in a much better plan next year, and a more politically active parent body overall.
- Chris Doeblin and the folks at Book Culture, which became a vibrant community gathering place this year, and will hopefully inspire other entrepreneurs and small business owners even as it gets harder and harder to make it.
Feel free to highlight other local stars in the comments, or just chat about neighborhood issues.
Big shout out to Cooper’s Troopers and Book Culture!
These are nice pictures of the Time Warner Center.
Back in the early 1990s when I graduated college I worked at Columbus Circle. At the time it was a terrible, dangerous and grimy area. The site where the TWC now stands was a derelict coliseum. It was not a location you would want to be at late at night.
After the coliseum was torn down and the TWC went up Columbus Circle became revitalized. Needless to say it is now one of the nicest and most desirable locations in the city.
So all the people who are ranting on this site about “greedy developers” and how “materialistic” the UWS is should keep in mind how bad things were and how far we’ve come.
Columbus Circle is returning to its grimy, dirty, unkempt, dangerous condition very fast. I will give it another year.
Shamir:
THANK YOU for speaking the truth about how TWC has transformed the Columbus Circle area, even though it was developed by … GASP!…The Related Company, an often reviled developer accused of building…quel horreur…tall buildings!!
Typing “Time Warner Center” into the Wikipedia.org search box brings up TWC’s fascinating history, including:
1. “Unsuccessful competitors for the site included Donald Trump who proposed building a 137-story, 1600-foot (488 m) high building which would have been the world’s tallest at the time.” (even in 1985 Mr. Blowhard was blowing hard); and
2).That horribly ugly New York Coliseum was owned by the MTA, the NY State agency adept at one thing: MIS-MANAGING whatever it touches!
Who’d a thunk a shopping mall in Manhattan could work such magic?
Good point. There are a couple of malls near Herald Square that are cheesy and weird.
The TWC is gorgeous.
Yes. Thanks to Kim Watkins and company for saving us from the DOB. I hope they can save us next time the crazy DOB comes running after us with an axe, too.
Ditto for Cooper’s Troopers! Fantastic group — and a cause very close to my heart.
Every time I pass Book Culture, I feel an almost “moral obligation” to go in and buy a book. I have yet to be disappointed with anything I have found there. Beyond Book Culture, I’m mainly a library user, so they have pushed me towards buying books again.
And, BTW, the stars in TWC are my hands-down favorite Xmas decorations, year after year.
I highlight the West Side Rag. One of my best finds this year. Made me feel more a part of my community. Thanks.
Cheers!
I’m so pleased to have discovered West Side Rag. THANK YOU for keeping aging baby boomers like myself in the loop! I too remember the old Coliseum building, pretty scary towards the end. Fantastic transformation!
Years ago I saw The Lovin Spoonful and The Young Rascals in one of their first public appearances at the NY Coliseum.Great Memories….