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Petra Bartosiewicz

Community Boards

Will Smokers Find Paradise

On Rooftops of New York?

When the city’s new smoking ban went into effect on March 30, it appeared so iron-clad that even the most resourceful restaurateur or bar owner would be hard put to find a loophole.

But some Greenwich Village residents believe a way has been found. Read More

Community Boards

Board 8 Rallies to Oppose

Local Firehouse Closures When Mayor Bloomberg grimly announced last year that the city should brace itself for a $4.8 billion budget gap in 2003, he assured the public that “smart management [would] keep the pain of belt-tightening to a minimum.”

Though it’s clear by now that the cost-cutting measures Read More

Mama, If That’s Movin’ Up …

In a candid and soul-searching interview published last week, Long Island fixture Billy Joel told a New York Times Magazine reporter that he was looking to rent a new home in Manhattan for the sole purpose of meeting women.

“I’m not going to meet anyone out here,” he told The Times , referring to the Read More

Moving On From Ground Zero

By sunrise on Sept. 11, 2002, one year after the towers fell, the crowds were already thick at Ground Zero. A strange carnival had descended on downtown overnight, depositing a sea of mourners, babies clad in red, white and blue, politicians and doughnut vendors. Bagpipers had marched in from all corners of the city, some Read More

HE’S PACKING TO GO, BUT PARKS GUY STERN WOULD STAY, IF ASKED

On the morning of Jan. 18, Parks Commissioner Henry Stern, a

puckish smile pulling at the corners of his mouth, delivered his annual-and

ostensibly last-State of the Parks address at the department’s headquarters in

Central Park. The mood was nostalgic, as the onetime maverick and full-time

eccentric reflected on his 15 years as Parks Commissioner. Read More

The Aftermath: Hard Work, No Tears

Nine firefighters began digging around the narrow gulch

formed between a fallen pipe and a steel plank. They moved through the debris,

exhuming rocks, insulation, metal casings and a sheaf of dot-matrix paper.

After five minutes of silence came the cry: “We’ve got a

body!” They shined a light into the hole, scooping faster Read More

Bye, Met Fountains! Museum to Excavate; Neighborhood Yowls

When the Metropolitan Museum of Art rolled out its $200 million expansion plan last January, reaction from the museum’s Fifth Avenue neighbors was unequivocal. Fed up with a seemingly endless stream of construction projects sullying their Central Park views, they hired a team of high-priced attorneys to fight the plan.

Despite heavy pressure from Read More

A Mess at the Met: Constructionists vs. Ritzy Neighbors

When Beverly Gunther moved into 1001 Fifth Avenue seven

years ago, she never imagined that she would one day find herself feuding with

her neighbor across the street, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. On the

contrary-the Met was one of the neighborhood’s prime attractions. During the

days, Ms. Gunther, an art lover, roamed the galleries. Read More