Friends,

It’s Monday, May 15, 2023. As an experiment, we’re putting the events new since the last edition in red. 

Events from my office worth knowing about:

• Three more Thursdays, including this Thursday 5/18, then 6/1 & 6/15, from 3:30–5:30 pm at W. 84th St. @ Amsterdam, the Urban Assembly School for Green Careers Youth Market will be selling area farm-fresh produce (and also accepting composting!) with proceeds benefitting the school. I’m cosponsoring along with Green City Force, Jacob’s Pickles, and The Hort. 
• Tuesday, 6/6, 10 am – 4 pm, outside my District Office (563 Columbus Ave): We’re having another “Pop Up” with the NYC Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings. Meet with OATH staff and get answers and more info about summonses and the City’s administrative hearing process. 
• Our monthly virtual Housing Clinic in June, Wednesday 6/7, covers “Harassment, construction-as-harassment, and buyouts” with our partners at the Goddard Riverside Law Project and Takeroot Justice. Sign up at the link. 

I’m also sponsoring programming at the Gertrude Ederle Playground (232 W. 60 St.):

• This Saturday, 5/20 & 5/27, 6/3, 6/10, 11 am – 1 pm: Free tango lessons. Experience “the authentic Buenos Aires Tango feeling” with instructors from Strictly Tango NYC Dance School. Come with your partner, your friends or by yourself and find a new dance partner. RSVP at the link. 

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Monday 5/15, 6:30 pm, Community Board 7’s Parks & Environment Committee meets, with a presentation from Caroline Bragdon, Director of Neighborhood Interventions and Pest Control, DoHMH. Register at the link. 

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For students and their families considering options for high school, useful events to know about:

• The Spring Transfer High School Fair will be held on Friday, 5/19 from 10 am–3:30 pm at Murray Hill Academy (111 E. 33rd St).  Reps from over 40 high schools citywide with a wide range of specialties will be available to answer questions and help with enrollment. 
• Manhattan Comprehensive Night and Day High School, NYC's largest public transfer school, will be holding open houses at the school (240 2nd Ave) for students new to the country or looking for a new school for the summer semester. MCNDHS offers extensive programs for English language learners, ICT classes for students with IEPs, and night classes. Open houses for the summer session: May 23, 25, or 30 at 5:30 pm; June 1, 6, 8, 13, 15, 20, or 22 at 5:30 pm

Tuesdays 8–9 am, and Thursdays and Fridays 5–6 pm, through 6/2: Birding Tours at Bryant Park. Spot the wide range of birds visiting the park during this migratory season with guided tours by NYC Audubon. Sightings have included warblers, tanagers, vireos, thrushes, and—wait for it—a Chuck-will’s-widow. Meet at Heiskell Plaza, near the corner of Sixth Avenue and 42nd Street. Free, and no pre-registration required.

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Wednesdays, now through 5/24 from 6–7:30 pm online: Close To Home: Virtual Town Halls On Housing Equality features experts who will discuss and share solutions regarding housing and economic justice, food sovereignty and security, homelessness and community, cultural displacement, and media narratives about housing. RSVP at the link.

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Wednesdays, through 5/24, 6:30–8 pm, Marlene Meyerson JCC and The Wechsler Center for Modern Aging: Intergenerational Discussion Group, a facilitated conversation-and-discussion group for the LGBTQIA+ community to learn about each other's stories and what connects us. Drop in for one week or register for all six (pay what you wish). 

• Week 5, May 17: LGBTQIA+ rights: Gains, losses + current trends
• Week 6, May 24: Contemplating our own evolution and future

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Come to Times Square for a series of free outdoor dance classes on summer Fridays, led by Ailey Extension instructors and NYC dance artists. Classes are open to people of all ages and all levels of dance experience! Pre-register today or sign-up on site for any of the classes: 

• Friday, 5/26 at 5pm: Zumba® with Jose Ozuna 
• Friday, 6/2 at 5pm: Broadway Jazz with Judine Somerville 
• Friday, 6/30 at 5pm: Hip-Hop with TweetBoogie 
• Thursday, 8/10 at 5pm: Hip-Hop 50th Anniversary Celebration

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Bloomingdale School of Music’s free faculty concert series continues most Fridays at 7 pm at the David Greer Concert Hall (323 W 108th St) and also available for livestream; RSVP required at the links. 

• Friday, 5/19, 7 pm: Into the Future! A Modern Jazz Odyssey of Woodwind Music. Saxophonist Daniel Bennett presents a concert of Modern Jazz for all ages including music by Daniel Bennett, Lennon and McCartney, Gustav Holst, Harold Arlen and Joni Mitchell.
• Friday, 6/2, 7 pm: Sounds of Nature: Piano Miniatures. Judith Olson and her students present piano works inspired by the sights and sounds of nature: birds, insects, animals, water, landscapes, and atmospheric conditions.

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5/10 - 5/25, DCTV Firehouse Cinema (87 Lafayette St.): BIPOC Doc Editors on the Big Screen. A program of nine feature documentaries and three shorts shines a spotlight on BIPOC talent and the storytellers of non-fiction cinema: documentary editors. It's all too rare for a screening series to focus on editors, and this program celebrates the work of BIPOC creatives in the edit room spanning decades. Each screening in the series is followed by a Q&A with the film’s editor to discuss their craft.

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Monday, 5/15, 7 pm, in-person and online, Ethical NYC (Ceremonial Hall, 2 W 64th St., 4th Floor): The First Amendment and Free Speech. Explore the state of the First Amendment and free speech with Norman Siegel, former executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union and a noted civil rights and civil liberties lawyer. RSVP to attend in-person or on Zoom at the link.

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Tuesday, 5/16, 8:30–10 am, AIA Center for Architecture (536 Laguardia Place): Panel hosted by the New York League of Conservation Voters on New York City's City of Yes for Carbon Neutrality proposal to update the NYC Zoning Resolution to meet carbon emissions goals.
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Tuesday, 5/16, 9:30 am, Lincoln Center’s David Rubenstein Atrium: The Lincoln Square BID’s 26th Annual Meeting. Guest speaker will be the Commissioner of the NYC Department of Sanitation, Jessica Tisch. They will present the Fiscal Year 2024 budget, elect Directors to the Board, conduct other business, and discuss the organization's recent and future activities. All owners of real property, residential condo owners, nonprofits, commercial tenants, including those who own or work in a business, and residential tenants (renters or coop owners) within the boundaries of the Lincoln Square Business Improvement District are eligible to vote. Register to attend at the top link.

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Tuesday, 5/16, 1–2 pm, virtual: “Learn from Safe Streets for All (SS4A) Grant Winners” Get an inside look at how National League of Cities’ members applied for and won Safe Streets for All grant funding in 2022, supporting local governments’ efforts to improve conditions for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers—with a focus on equity. Register for the webinar at the link (recording will be sent afterwards). 

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Tuesday, 5/16, 6 pm, free, Kaufman Music Center (Ann Goodman Recital Hall, 129 W. 67 St.): Jazz Ensemble & Jazz Improvisation Concert. 

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Tuesday, 5/16, 7 pm National Jazz Museum in Harlem (58 West 129th St.): Desert Island Discs: Manuel Valera. Manuel Valera, 42, has been one of New York’s busiest musicians for the last two decades. A virtuosic hardcore pianist, Valera’s most recent trio release is Live at Diese Onze (AZis), with Hans Glawischnig on bass and Clarence Penn on drums. He’s most widely known as the leader of the big band and combo iterations of New Cuban Express, most recently documented on Distancia (Greenleaf).
Desert Island Discs is modeled on an iconic BBC radio series which invites guests to choose—and discuss—the eight records they would bring for a stay on the apocryphal desert island. Limited seating, first come first served.
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The New York Studio School’s MFA Thesis Exhibition an opening reception (at 8 West 8th St.) on Thursday, 5/18, 5–8 pm. Work by Cee Cee Belford, Avi Friedman Levy, Rosemary Joy Glidden, Char Healey, Avery Johnson, Daniel Licht, Paula Querido, Natasha Tripathi, Anita Trombetta, Julia Wess, and Lenore Wolf (through 5/31).  Their 2023 Certificate Completion Exhibition is also open through 5/9. 

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Wednesday 5/17, Friday 5/19, and Wednesday 6/14 from 4:30 – 6 pm at the South Street Seaport: New York City Dept. of Environmental Protection, the South Street Seaport Museum, and the Catskill Watershed Corporation invites educators to set sail for a free professional learning opportunity on the Schooner Pioneer. Educators will learn about the history of New York Harbor, local ecology, watershed protection, water quality, and connections to the NYC water supply system during this hands-on, 90-minute sail. NYS teachers are eligible to earn CTLE hours for participating. Register here: Harbor Water Sail.

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Wednesday, 5/17, 12 – 2 pm, Foley Square: Electric Micromobility: The Future of Battery-Operated, Environmentally Friendly Mobility Devices Public Advocate Jumaane Williams sponsors this educational advocacy session on lithium-ion e-bike battery safety and storage, proper bike usage, new generation bike lanes, protected charging and storage stations, battery trade-in/buy-back programs, accessibility concerns. There will be networking sessions, tabling by organizations and NYC agencies, and the opportunity to test-ride mobility devices by Veo and Lime. Livestreamed on Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube from approximately 12:30–1:30 pm. 
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Wednesday, 5/17, 3 pm, virtual: Consumer Debt webinar sponsored by Housing Court Answers. Sidney Cherubin, Director of Legal Services, Access Justice Brooklyn will explain the debt collection process and related state and federal consumer protections—and the income that’s exempt from collection should a creditor obtain a judgment.

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Wednesday, 5/17, 7 pm, at the Marlene Meyerson JCC: Jeannie Suk Gersen will discuss Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v President and Fellows of Harvard College and its impact on affirmative action in college admissions with former federal and state prosecutor Tali Farhadian Weinstein, part of Issues Of The Court: Asking Hard Questions + Seeking Common Ground, an in-depth and nuanced exploration of cases facing the Supreme Court. Not free, but only $10. 

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Wednesday–Sunday, 5/17–5/21, Pier 17, North Side: The South Street Seaport Museum co-hosts the 1930 tall ship, Capitán Miranda, a sail training tall ship of the Uruguayan Navy, when she arrives in New York. This is the ship’s first visit to NYC since America’s Millennium Celebrations on July 4, 2000. Tour the historic three-masted full-rigged vessel and learn more about the relationship between the US and Uruguay. No registration needed, just stop by during the open hours:

• Thursday, 5/18: 10am–12:30pm and 2:30pm–5:30pm
• Friday, 5/19: 10am–6pm
• Saturday, 5/20: 12pm–4:30pm
• Sunday, 5/21: 10am–12:30pm

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The DOC NYC Spring Showcase series returns 5/18–6/16, giving documentary lovers free access to online screenings of the year’s most talked-about nonfiction films and series, plus two free in-person documentary screenings plus exclusive conversations featuring the creative teams behind them. More at the link. 

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Thursday, 5/18, 10:15 am, in person at Senior Planet Center in NYC (127 W 25th St): Introduction to Booking Vacation Stays Online. This lecture introduces popular vacation rental sites, their common features, and how to find great deals. You’ll learn how to choose your vacation rental wisely and stay safe while traveling; they’ll also discuss alternatives to rentals, such as online platforms for home exchanges and housesitting for travelers on a budget.
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Thursday, 5/18, 3–6 pm, Hope Center, 1912 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd: Let's Talk: Youth Mental Health Action Day in partnership with the American Psychiatric Association Foundation, this event will provide education, resources, activities and fun focused on mental health for middle and high school students.

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Friday, 5/19, 4 – 8 pm, on the High Line (between 15th and 16th St): New York Nostalgia High Line Teen Night. Teens 14 – 21 yrs can come to the High Line for music, art, food, and community-building for teen night on a New York nostalgia theme. Think puffer jackets and Timberlands, with vendors serving cultural food and a DJ bringing the music; it’s High Line Teens’ biggest event of the year. More at the link. 

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Friday, 5/19, 7–8:30 pm, The Metropolitan Museum (Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium): The Fil at The Met Concert: Panorama of Sound. Musicians from The Filomen M. D'Agostino Greenberg Music School perform soundscapes of 1920s America, inspired by Thomas Hart Benton's mural America Today. “The Fil” is a community school of the arts dedicated to helping individuals of all ages pursue their study of music while addressing the challenges posed by vision loss. The concert includes verbal description. Sighted guides will be available at the Museum's 81st and 82nd Street entrances from 6:15 pm. For further information, contact access@metmuseum.org or 212-650-2010. (Again, New York State residents and NY/NJ/CT students can attend on a pay-what-you-wish basis with a valid ID, no advance reservations are required.)

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Saturday–Sunday, 5/20-5/21, citywide: Sacred Sites Open House from the NY Landmarks Conservancy. This year’s theme, “Congregations and Communities: 50 Years of Sacred Sites” highlights how congregations create community connections through the services they offer, the social ties they create, and the spaces they provide for people from all walks of life. Participating congregations will showcase their buildings and histories via lectures, musical performances, and special guided tours as well as other cultural and social service programs offered throughout the year. Space is limited on nine pre-booked tours; register at the link above to secure your spot—or join them at one of over 80 other sites that are open for self-guided tours.

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Saturday, 5/20, 12–4 pm, Birch Coffee, 134 ½ E 62nd St: Animal Care Centers’ next mobile adoption event. The ACC is also running a May Adoption Promotion. Every Wednesday in May, adoption of a large 40 lbs+ dog costs just $5 (excluding NYC dog license fee and spay/neuter deposit). View all available large dogs at the nycacc.app, and don’t forget to filter by weight!

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Don’t forget next Saturday 5/20 is the W. 72nd Street Block Association’s first-ever Spring Community Volunteer Day. They’re looking for neighbors to share an hour (or more, whatever you can spare) to help tidy up the tree beds and the entire street. Please sign up here if you can help. Meet at 9:30 am at the Welcome Table at Verdi Square (the triangle on the south side of West 72 Street between Amsterdam/Broadway).

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Saturday, 5/20, 11 am– 2pm, The Seaport (Pier 16-17), 89 South St: Mental Health Street Fest and 17th Annual NAMIWalks NYC at the Seaport sponsored by the NYC branch of National Alliance on Mental Illness,

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Saturday, 5/20, 10 am–2:30 pm, John Jay College (524 W. 59th St.): CUNY Citizenship Now event. Get help completing citizenship applications; see this link for the documents necessary to bring. Appointment required; call 646-664-9400 or text 929-334-3784.

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Saturday, 5/20, 11 am–12 noon, David H. Koch Theater (Columbus Avenue and W 63rd St): A Dancer’s Life, Part of Family Saturdays, an exciting one hour presentation for families with children ages 5 and above that features short works and excerpts performed by New York City Ballet dancers and orchestra members—the perfect introduction to NYCB and the world of classical dance. Discounted $5 tickets are available for this program at the link using the promo code: GOVFAM23 (or by calling the NYCB Call Center at 212-496-0600).

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Saturday, 5/20, 12 noon – 4 pm, from 6th Ave. @ 17th St. to Avenue A: one of the most entertaining events of the season, Dance Parade. 10,000 dancers showcase every style of dance—break to ballet—to spectators along 6th Avenue, across 8th Street, past a grandstand at 4th Avenue, ending in Dancefest at Tompkins Square Park with five stages of performers, free dance lessons, and fun. 

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Saturday, 5/20, 1–4 pm, Rockaway Beach Amphitheater: Free concert from Midori & Friends, Celebrate! Music ensembles Yasser Tejeda (Dominican Jazz & Rock) and La Manga (Caribbean Diaspora), NEXTGen Teen Musicians, and Play to Learn Chorus Students from PS 236K. 

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Sundays through 8/20, 8 am, Riverside Park’s 89th St. Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument: Join Silvana Pizzuti to learn and practice Tai Chi, a slow moving martial art with health benefits for all fitness levels. 

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12 Free tickets available Saturday, 5/20, 7 pm, Goddard’s Bernie Wohl Center (647 Columbus Ave): “Zoe Comes Home” by the 29th St. Playwrights Collective, A dark comedy about depression, backyard "art" and one errant pooch. Sign up for free tickets at the link. (ACCESSIBILITY NOTICE: Please note that the 8 steps to enter the auditorium are steep, but the stairwell has a railing. The auditorium is not fully wheelchair accessible, as entry requires the use of an automatic chairlift which a person must be able to transfer themselves into or come with a trusted friend/carer who is capable of physically lifting in/out of the chair. Please notify us in advance if you are aware of attendees who may require special accommodations at communityarts@goddard.org)

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Sunday, 5/21, 2–4 pm, Wave Hill’s Glyndor Gallery: Meet the Artists Dana Levy and Yelaine Rodriguez. Exhibiting artists Dana Levy and Yelaine Rodriguez will speak about “This Place We Once Remembered” followed by a screening of related video and film projects: Dana Levy’s This Was Home (2016) and Yelaine Rodriguez’s EBBÓ (Sacrifice) (2021). After the screening, there will be a conversation between the artists and Visual Arts Curator Rachel Raphaela Gugelberger.

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Sunday, 5/21, 12–6 pm, 280 Broome St (bet. Allen St and Eldridge St.): Greek Jewish Festival celebrates the unique Romaniote and Sephardic heritage of the Jews of Greece. Authentic kosher Greek foods and homemade Greek pastries, traditional Greek dancing, live music, an outdoor marketplace full of vendors, and arts and educational activities for kids. Sponsored by Kehila Kedosha Janina (the Holy Community of Janina), the only Romaniote synagogue in the Western Hemisphere—and a NYC designated landmark!

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Sunday, 5/21, starting at 10 am, Museum of Jewish Heritage (Edmond J. Safra Plaza, 36 Battery Place): The day-long Mishpachah Festival will celebrate and explore Jewish genealogy, heritage, and immigration with the Museum of Jewish Heritage’s genealogy arm JewishGen, their LOX Café, the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, and the Center for Jewish History. Join them for a family-friendly event kicking off with a concert by Grammy Award-winning musician Joanie Leeds. More at the link; directions down to Battery Place here. 

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Sunday 5/21, 2 – 4 pm, Ellington monument (5th Ave and 110th St.): The Duke Ellington Center for the Arts and the American Tap Dance Foundation celebrates the 124th Birthday of Duke Ellington with the Duke Ellington Center Big Band under the direction of Eli Yamin, with jazz vocalists Antoinette Montague, Marion Cowings, & Ty Stephens, performers, Tony Waag, Mark Mindek, Sharon K. Janda, and A. C. Lincoln. 

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Tuesday, 5/23, 5:30–7:30 pm, The Clemente Center (107 Suffolk St): Here to Stay: POC-led Cultural Groups in NYC’s Creative Economy. Leaders from across NYC discuss the need for increased support and visibility for arts and cultural organizations that are led by and serve communities of color, moderated by Robert Smith III, Senior Program Officer, Thriving Cultures, Surdna Foundation. Panelists include:

• Marco Carrión, Executive Director, El Puente
• Stephanie Johnson-Cunningham, Executive Director, Museum Hue
• Ceyenne Doroshow, Executive Director, GLITS, Inc.
• Yin Kong, Executive Director, Think!Chinatown

Register at the link. 

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Lincoln Center’s Young Artist Pipeline is a new, free arts training program starting this fall for middle school students interested in developing their craft in dance, instrumental, vocal, theatre and visual arts and learning more about the academic and professional arts worlds. Prior experience in the arts is not necessary.  Learn more and register at the link for these open houses in person and virtually:

• Tuesday, May 23, 6:00–7:30 pm (Rose Building, 165 W 65th St, 7th floor)
• Thursday, May 25, 6:30–8:00 pm (Virtual)
• Thursday, June 8, 6:00–7:30 pm (Rose Building, 165 W 65th St, 7th floor) 

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Tuesday, 5/23, 5:30 pm, Goddard Riverside Community Center (593 Columbus Ave): How To Get Funding For Your Neighborhood Or Small Business. Join me, State Sen. Brad Hoylman and the Citizens Committee for NYC for a discussion on about their Community Leader (All In Neighborhood) Grant and their Neighborhood Business Grant. These are micro-grants of up to $3,000 to everyday New Yorkers to help improve the quality of life for their neighbors, and up to $10,000 for small businesses who are giving back to their communities. Click the link to register.

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Thursday, 5/25, 5 - 6:30 pm, St. Agnes Library (444 Amsterdam between W 81st and 82nd Sts): Housing Resources Workshop with JustFix. JustFix builds free tools for tenants to exercise their rights to a livable home. They will share resources to assist with a variety of issues relating to housing, including if you are paying too much rent, how to request much needed repairs, and researching your landlord and building.

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Overnight 5/25–5/26, 10 pm – 5 am: the Paul Feig z”l Tikkun Leil Shavuot is back at Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan—a free night of study, movement, music, learning, conversation, and deep thought. Over 70 sessions including conversations with Tovah Feldshuh (in Broadway’s Funny Girl), Taffy Brodesser-Akner (author of “Fleishman Is in Trouble”), and Joshua Malina + Aaron Neil (in Broadway’s “Leopoldstadt”); culinary experiences with Jewish Food Society; a sneak peek screening of the Israeli TV show “Chanshi”; movement classes including Israeli dance and silent disco; music and comedy events with MusicTalks and The Bible Players; a whiskey tasting with Jews and Booze; and much more. Schedule is still in progress; check the link above for updates. Free and no registration required. 

Thursday, 5/25, 6–8 pm, International Center of Photography (79 Essex St between Delancey Street and Broome): “Harry Benson:  Shoot First” Screening of a film chronicling the photographer’s career, followed by a book signing and audience Q&A with Benson. On Thursday evenings, admission is pay-by-donation with $5 minimum; reserve your timed entry ticket online. 

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Sunday, 6/11, 10 am–4 pm Columbia University/Teachers College W. 120th St (between Broadway & Amsterdam): DSNY brings its Solvents, Automotive, Flammables, and Electronics (SAFE) Disposal event to the West Side, where NYC residents—not commercial vehicles—can drop off chemical products, medical waste, and batteries & electronics. Vehicle entrance accessible from Seminary Row to Amsterdam. Pedestrian walk-in area available. 

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Sunday, 6/18, 12–4 pm, free: Museum at Eldridge Street's 22nd annual free street festival Egg Rolls, Egg Creams, and Empanadas celebrates the diverse traditions that give the Lower East Side and Chinatown its identity. The festival fills Eldridge Street (between Division and Canal) with a medley of Jewish, Chinese, and Puerto Rican tastes, sights, sounds, and crafts for folks of all ages to enjoy. 
 

                                                       Stay Safe, 

P.S. If you were forwarded this newsletter by a friend, sign up for your own subscription here!

P.P.S. If you have a problem or concern going forward, please contact me at gbrewer@council.nyc.gov, or call (917) 685-8657, or contact my Council district office at (212) 873-0282 and District6@council.nyc.gov.