By Carol Tannenhauser
February 7, 2022 Weather: A wintry mix of rain and freezing rain, high 39 degrees.
Notices:
Our calendar has lots of local events!
News:
Though an increasing number of humans are leaving urban areas for greener pastures, birds of prey, including Central Park’s bald eagle, Rover, are discovering the pleasures of city life. Rover is part of an ongoing trend of raptors moving to metropolitan areas. And it bodes well for their future. “If Rover can make it here, perhaps Bald Eagles can make it anywhere,” wrote The New York Times.
The city’s Department of Investigation is examining a string of recent fires in NYCHA buildings, including one on the UWS, The Real Deal reported. “[The] Dec. 28 fire at Wise Towers at 133 West 90th Street broke out within a trash chute, allowing smoke to spread through the building. An elevator was broken when firefighters arrived, impeding rescue efforts. Six tenants and one firefighter were injured in the fire, the Rag reported.
In the 1930s, there were over 500 Jewish appetizing stores in New York CIty. Today there are about a dozen. Three of them are on the Upper West Side. “Barney Greengrass…opened in 1909 in Harlem and moved to its current location on Amsterdam Avenue in 1929. A restaurant section was added in 1938, and a year later the store shipped an order of smoked sturgeon to President Franklin D. Roosevelt,” Untapped New York reported. Can you name two other famous appetizing stores in the neighborhood?
When it published a list of black-owned businesses within walking distance of campus, Columbia Daily Spectator included several spots on the Upper West Side, including Freda’s Caribbean & Soul Cuisine, Uptown Poké, Awash, and Bodega 88.
“Imagine being able to hit the half-pipe without leaving home. For residents of the new Upper West Side rental and condo complex Waterline Square, it’s no dream,” Thrillist reported. “The complex recently opened what it’s billing as the first skatepark inside an NYC residential building….The skatepark includes a 42-foot-long, 4-foot-high half-pipe and 10-foot-high mini ramp.”
The Shefa School, a Jewish school for students with learning disabilities is beginning construction on an UWS building that will triple the school’s size, according to Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “The new campus — located just a block from Central Park and Columbus Circle — will be situated in a building that has not been occupied for more than 40 years….[It] is set to be completed in the spring of 2024.”
Sincere condolences to the entire Zabar family on the passing of Lori Zabar, 67, granddaughter of Louis and Lillian Zabar, the founders of Zabar’s appetizing store. An attorney, preservationist, host extraordinaire, and author, “She spent the past five years researching and writing a book about the history of Zabar’s and the Zabar family. Zabar’s: A Family Story, with Recipes will be published on May 3, 2022. Lori’s passion and drive to complete the book was an inspiration to everyone who had the pleasure of meeting or working with her. Lori’s loss will be felt by everyone she positively influenced throughout her life and career. Zabar’s will be forever grateful to Lori.” (The New York Times)
Finally, a neighbor is seeking a [non-residential] “place to curl up with a good book” on the Upper West Side. “Fireplace and hot chocolate major bonuses!” Please put suggestions in comments.
Happy Birthday KR.
Well…G.O.G. (Good Old Google) lists two no-brainers: Greengrass and Zabar’s, AND a newbie: a transplant from Tel Aviv, “Sherry Herring”,on W.72nd between B’way and West End, whose online reviews are glowing.
Has “Sherry Herring” gotten herring yet? The last I looked, they had not. When we were living in the Village, “Russ and Daughters” was our favorite place to get herring (a wide variety of them). We now live in Lincoln Towers, close to “Sherry Herring”, so I am looking forward to trying.
I would say Murray’s Sturgeon Shop? One of my favorites.
Barney Greengrass is already mentioned in the article. I assume that Murray’s (along with Zabars) is the other one hinted at.
There’s also Murray’s Sturgeon, on Broadway near 89th.
Tal Bagels on Broadway, sign says Appetizing Store. Does this count? The owners are Korean and the workers are Mexican. Maybe not Jewish but most definitely “New York.”
I love Tal Bagels and all, but I am not sure how much of an appetizing shop it is when they have strawberry cream cheese. Though maybe there arr strict rules on who can call itself an appetizing shop.
Alright. This will sound weird but if you go to the Barnes and Noble on 82nd, you can curl up upstairs and read to your heart’s content.
Sadly, that’s not the case any longer. They have removed all the chairs from the book event area and put cords across all of the lovely, deep, reader friendly windowsills. The only place to sit is on the floor. My kids used to go with friends and do their homework sitting in those windowsills. Kids in the childrens’ section used to sit there and READ!!!
The bar at the Arthouse hotel is quite cozy and inviting!
I do my best reading on the subway.
Condolences to the Zabar family.
For readng, Nicholas Roerich museum has fireplaces, though I don’t think they get lit. At the right times, yoy can often find a quiet spot in the Museum of Natural History.
Please you must include SABLES on the East side now on Third Ave 78 street. Kenny who opened SABLES on the East side originally on 2nd ave, received his training at ZABARS, and he was very proud of this. SABLES became famous for the ‘LOBSTER SALAD’ all the famous parties in HOLLYWOOD were ordering SABLE’S lobster salad. I discovered Kenny in 1991. He truly was a JEWISH Korean. He knew and learned everything at ZABARS including the Yiddish expressions. Kenny has retired and left the business to his sons. Hats off to you KENNY. In fact his brother JERRY, was the best lox slicer in the line for many years and remained at ZABARS until retirement last year.
BTW, sturgeon is not kosher.
When I was growing up in the Bronx in the 1940’s, if you walked through an area with an appetizing store, a kosher deli, a kosher bakery, a pizza place, a bagel shop and a Chinese restaurant, you knew that you were in a Jewish neighborhood.
My father was Barney Greengrass’s dentist and thus had the privilege of being able to fish out his personal choice of pickles from the barrel. Another good deli from way back, when I grew up on West 86 Street, was TipToe Inn, on Broadway between 86th and 87th. One side of the store was deli, the other a bakery, and there was a restaurant in back. Their rye breads and mandebrot were legendary.