By Gus Saltonstall

We were not sure what to expect when we put a call out a couple of weeks ago for a cartoonist, but an assortment of fantastic submissions and portfolios found their way to our inbox. While we are still determining the best way to publish this medium regularly — and a name for the feature (cartoonist Jonathan Cohen suggested “Ragtoons”) — readers can expect cartoons in West Side Rag moving forward.

“Angelistas,” by Andrzej Krakowski, (above) is the first. Learn more about the cartoonist, an Upper West Sider, HERE — and send cartoon submissions to info@westsiderag.com

Monday, February 19, 2024
Sunny. High 40 degrees.

Notices
Our calendar has lots of local events. Click on the link or the lady in the upper righthand corner to check.

Monday, February 19 is Presidents’ Day and a federal holiday. Seven U.S. presidents have called New York City home.

• George Washington (1) moved to the Lower East Side in 1789 when New York City was still the nation’s capital, before moving away the next year.
• Ulysses Grant (18) retired to New York City in 1884, and lived at 3 East 66th Street until his death the next year.
• Chester Arthur (21) moved to a townhouse on Lexington Avenue in 1853 to practice law, and ended up living the majority of his life in the city.
• Theodore Roosevelt (26), the first president born in New York City, grew up in a townhouse on East 20th Street. He also served in the New York State Assembly and as NYC police commissioner and the state’s governor.
• Franklin Roosevelt (32) was born in Hyde Park, NY, but lived for a time in a townhouse rented by his mother at 125 East 36th Street, with his wife Eleanor.
• Barack Obama (44) lived on the Upper West Side during his college years. When he transferred to Columbia University in 1981, he lived in apartments at 142 West 109th Street, 339 East 94th Street, and 662 West 114th Street.
• Donald Trump (45) is the second president to be born in New York City. He was raised in Jamaica, Queens, and lived in multiple Upper East Side apartments during his adult life. He no longer has New Yorker status, though, as he changed his official residence to Palm Beach, Florida, in recent years.

Upper West Side News

Here is a shortened, holiday version of news from the neighborhood.

The publication Chalkbeat took a look at how two Upper West Side middle schools have been navigating a recent merger, despite neither community supporting the initial plan to combine the two schools. Lafayette Academy merged with West Side Collaborative at the start of this year in an effort to help with enrollment issues, and while there have been reported positives, parents from both communities have raised concerns. You can read more — HERE.

Ever wonder how the general manager of Zabar’s spends his Sundays? Well, now you can know, as The New York Times profiled Scott Goldshine, a longtime employee and now in-store leader of the beloved Upper West Side grocery. You can read more — HERE.

In some nitty-gritty political news, the Independent Redistricting Commission finally reached a consensus last week to make only “modest changes to New York’s 26 congressional districts.” The new congressional map has been stalled in the redistricting panel for two years. There would be no changes to the Manhattan district in the newly agreed upon, but not finalized, redistricting map. You can read more — HERE.

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