Photo by Betsy Guide from a rooftop on Columbus and 74th.
January 22, 2018 Weather: Cloudy, with a high of 53 degrees.
Notices:
Winter Jam comes to Central Park on Saturday, and more local events are on our calendar.
A reader is looking for his duffel bag: “While packing my car for a trip this afternoon, I put a gray L.L. Bean duffel bag on the sidewalk and neglected to load it before I drove off. Inside it is, amongst other things, a package that was mailed to me with my name and address (5 W 91 St). This happened right across from my apartment, on W 91st near the service entrance to the El Dorado. Can you make a post asking anyone who may have found it to return it to my building?”
News:
The parent group that oversees local public schools, CEC3, is frustrated with the mayor and the city’s school governance system, as some uptown schools are due to be closed or merged. Leaders wrote an article explaining why: “Our elected council of parents keeps asking for answers to contradictions like these and keeps finding a common problem: mayoral control of city schools without mayoral responsibility.”
Philip Roth is now an Upper West Sider for most of the year, except in the summer when he goes to his place in Connecticut. “He sees friends, goes to concerts, checks his email, watches old movies on FilmStruck.” Anybody ever see him out and about?
Local officials offered a reminder: don’t walk on the ice in parks, even if it looks solid.
Another day, another disturbing exposé about the MTA: “Internal emails obtained by the Daily News show an MTA honcho pushing staff to come up with a higher number of subway delays blamed on power issues, before Gov. Cuomo made a public show of citing problems with Con Edison as the single biggest source of disruption for riders.”
A friend of mine met Philip Roth on their street a couple years ago. I won’t say which street since Mr. Roth is entitled to his privacy! But my friend reported that he was very nice and friendly.
Pretty sure no one is gonna beat a path to the UWS just to see Roth. No offense.
Why? Phillip Roth is one of the greatest writers. Unless you think the only path worth to be beaten is to a baseball star. But don’t speak on behalf of people who can read and not in emojies.
We see Mr Roth all the time on the UWS. He’s a great neighbor. But I agree he deserves his privacy.
who’s Phillip Roth ??
The inventor of the Roth IRA
A common mistake. The inventor was Philip’s brother Ira.
Philly is the younger brother of Hyman Roth. This is a great man, a man of vision and guts. And there isn’t even a plaque, or a signpost or a statue of him in this town!
I thought that was a guy named Ira.
No, no, no….he is the former lead singer of Earth, Wind & Fire.
You know that falsetto….”I remember, something something September”
Oh, Wows! I would love to see Roth!!!
Nancy
I’ve run into Philip Roth at the Planetarium Station post office as well as at Nice Matin. As a life-long devotee of his novels, I was very nervous. He was gracious and funny.
I think I’ve seen Philip Roth on Broadway around 91-92 Street!
I, too, have seen Philip Roth…
Wherever there is danger!
Wherever evil tightens its grip!
Wherever shadows have fallen over the American way!
Philip Roth is there.
great pic
I’ve seen Philip Roth on Columbus near the pizza place. It was long enough ago, though, that there were no empty storefronts on that avenue, where now there are multiple empty slots. I saw Sam Waterston in Fairway a few weeks ago. I once saw Keanu Reeves sitting on a stoop on W 84th Street. Everyone has to be somewhere sometime.
“I’ve seen Philip Roth on Columbus near the pizza place.”
Well, that really pinpoints it.
I lived directly across the hall from Mr. Roth the better part of the last decade before moving this past summer. Introduced himself as Phil when I moved in and despite having his books on my shelf, it (embarrassingly) took me a bit of time to put two and two together. He was a quiet and kind neighbor.
If anyone would love to meet “Alexander Portnoy”, take the guy for a beer and just get inside his head. That and or to have his take on the UWS of the 1960’s versus today.
Mr. Roth? The man deserves his privacy.
My thoughts exactly. Well said. Still a great read and holds up all these years later for sure.:)
Love this photo!