Shaka Burrito on 23rd Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues had a soft opening today.
We tried a North Shore Chicken Taco and thought it was taste! E komo mai!
Shaka Burrito NYC
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23rd Street Express Chinese Restaurant Vanishes
The 23rd Street Express chinese take-out restaurant on 23rd Street between 2nd & 3rd Avenue is gone and has been replaced by Rats! Hopefully, the rats came AFTER the restaurant closed. Maybe if the building owner cleaned up the garbage that’s been lying outside for months now, they wouldn’t have a rat problem! It appears that this building and the one next to have been deserted, Undoubtedly, we will soon have one more faceless, bland luxury high-rise blighting the neighborhood and be losing more ‘affordable housing’! Isn’t there a community board? Is there any such thing as city planning? It seems Real Estate Developers and the resultant banks and drug stores are all that’s going to be left. Any old time stores are rapidly disappearing along with the favor that makes NEW YORK CITY!
Vercesi Hardware to close
An old-time neighborhood standby, Vercesi Hardware is closing at the end of November. The history of the store which was opened by Paul Vercesi as a sheet music store in 1912 can be seen at http://vanishingnewyork.blogspot.com/2013/10/vercesi-hardware.html
The store became known as 23rd Street Hardware after the owner retired several years ago. 
The building was sold, will be demolished and turned into yet another luxury high-rise.
We have discovered that the The Xavier Society for the Blind in the adjoining building will be relocating and that building will be knocked down as well.
It is odd that every politico that has jurisdiction over EMP stopped us from going private in the name of ‘Affordable Housing’ yet they let thousands of 5-6 story building that people can afford to live in be knocked down by wealthy developers to be replaced by expensive condos. Why is it that EMP’s 750 apartments are the only answer to affordable housing? How about standing up to rich developers?
Anti’s slur on the memory of Jerry Fox
The hard-working and well liked President of our Board of Directors passed away tragically and unexpectedly 2 weeks ago. It didn’t take the Anti’s long to get out a memo referring to several events occurring recently as an opportunity to elect a board with new Directors that wouldn’t be the same, entrenched, people and to elect those who would not turn us backward and be fiscally responsible.
Jerry loved and worked very hard for EMP and put a great deal of his time and effort doing what he thought was right for EMP, doing what 2/3’s of the shareholder wanted and trying to keep EMP from becoming a dilapidated mess!
Whatever you opinion on privatization, be it misguided or not, have a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T!!
You anti’s should be ashamed of yourselves!
New Elevator Cars
The newly refurbished elevator car’s look great! Nice work Board. We just hope that the renovations are mechanical as well as cosmetic. The elevator’s in the G Building have been awful the last few months. The middle car was out of service for several weeks as part after part needed to be ordered. We also hope that we have changed the service company that maintains our elevators. The one who was doing it was clearly not capable or didn’t care to keep our elevators running!
East 25th St Sanitation Garage Public Comment Period EXTENDED
I received the following e-mail from Community Board 6 and, as they suggested, I sent comments to the City Planner that they listed at the end of the letter. Others that are concerned about having a sanitation garage across the street may wish to send their own comments.
Dear Neighbor,
Yesterday the Department of Sanitation announced that the Public Comment Period on the Draft Scoping Document for THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT (CEQR# 13-DOS-007M) for the Proposed DSNY Manhattan Districts 6/6A/8 Garage and Manhattan Borough Office, at 425 East 25th Street, Borough of Manhattan, has been extended from July 24, 2013 to August 14, 2013. A copy of the DEIS is available at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dsny/downloads/pdf/garages/draft_scope_mn68.pdf
As you may already be aware our board has issued a negative resolution on the citing of this proposed garage and urge further comments on the proposal from the community at large.
Please submit your comments, if you have not already done so, to:
Abas O. Braimah, City Planner
DSNY Bureau of Legal Affairs
125 Worth Street, Room 708
New York, NY 10013
Thank you to everyone who has participated in this important issue already.
—
Sandro Sherrod
Chair
Whew! HOT!!!
Notification issued on 7/18/13 at 1:00 PM. Due to continued high temperatures and heat indices, New York City cooling centers will remain open through Sunday, 7/21. For cooling center locations & hours or for more information on avoiding heat illness, please visit http://www.nyc.gov/oem or call 311. For the latest weather information, visit http://www.weather.gov/nyc.
Air Quality Index also bad:
| Air Quality Index (AQI) | ||
|
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | |
| Health Message: Active children and adults, and people with lung disease, such as asthma, should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors.
Avoid strenuous activity. Seniors and those with respiratory problems should stay indoors. |
||
The nearest cooling centers to EMP are:
Epiphany Library, 228 E 23 St
Stein Neighborhood Senior Center, 204 E 23 St
Kips Bay Library, 446 3 Av
Sirovich Neighborhood Senior Center, 331 E 12 St
Science, Industry and Business Library, 188 Madison Avenue
Stafford Act-Write your federal officials
As per the memo from the board dated May 13, 2013. EMP, as a Coop is not eligible for FEMA funds in the case of a disaster like Hurricane Sandy. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/02/nyregion/fema-policy-keeps-co-ops-from-disaster-aid.html?pagewanted=all
In the case of major damage to EMP from a storm like Hurricane Sandy, EMP would receive no federal funds even though we pay our taxes like any other homeowner.
Please go the web sites of our federal representatives and ask them to reform the Stafford Act.
https://www.schumer.senate.gov/Contact/contact_chuck.cfm
http://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/contact/
https://maloney.house.gov/contact-me/email-me
You may copy and paste the text below
I am a shareholder in East Midtown Plaza, a Mitchell Lama Cooperative in Manhattan.
We are adjacent to the area hard git by Hurricane Sandy. It is a miracle that we were not hit harder by the storm. AS it was, we were without heat, electricity and elevators for 5 days.
It seems that we would not be eligible for FEMA funds to aid in emergency repair in the case of a disaster such as this. I am one of 746 families living at EMP. EMP is a limited income Mitchell Lama coop and therefore limited in the amounts of money that can be absorbed by the shareholders.
I and my fellow shareholders would like you to push to reform the ‘Stafford Act’ to include coops such as EMP. We do not have the safety net available to other individual home owners. We pay our taxes and we have a right to the same protection.
Epiphany Library to be closed for 3 months
The Epiphany Library will be closed temporarily beginning August 15th to facilitate necessary upgrades to the building and its heating and cooling systems. The branch is scheduled to reopen in November 2013. During this construction, patrons are encouraged to visit the following nearby branches:
Kips Bay Library – 446 Third Avenue
Ottendorfer Library – 135 Second Avenue
Muhlenberg Library – 209 West 23rd Street (near Seventh Avenue)
Hold requests can be picked up at Kip’s Bay, 446 Third Avenue (at E 31st St.), tel. (212) 683-2520
Here’s some interesting info about the Library from the Library’s website: The Epiphany Branch of The New York Public Library, once part of the Cathedral Library Association founded by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, has served the Gramercy Park-Stuyvesant Town area since 1887.
The current Epiphany Branch building, an elegant Carnegie Library, opened on September 29, 1907. It was a major neighborhood cultural and educational source until 1982, when it was closed for nearly two years for an extensive expansion and renovation; the restored library opened on July 16, 1984. http://www.nypl.org/locations/tid/24/about
Bob Gordon
It was with great sorrow and sadness that we report the passing of Bob Gordon. Bob was an original co-operator at EMP and the first co-operator President of the EMP Board of Directors.
Bob loved EMP and put a great deal of his time and effort into EMP. He was an early proponent of and strong supporter of privatization.