Awash in $100 Bills That Add Up to Zero

By Jim Dwyer
Published: April 23, 2010

For eight nights in March, the Allman Brothers played at the United Palace Theater in Washington Heights, and after the shows, their fans would come steaming along Broadway. One celebratory stop was at Coogan’s on 169th Street.

The crowds were good for business. They were swept into the usual tides of cops and politicians, neighborhood people and regulars from the hospital next door.

Near the end of the run, which included St. Patrick’s Day, the bar owners inspected a small pile of $100 bills that they had held out of their bank deposits. ...

Final Zaps Of the Year With Cable

By Michael T. Kaufman
Published: December 29, 1993

THERE may be some people who find the time between Christmas and New Year's delightful, but then there are no doubt some people who look forward to bunions. In the inter-revel period, people work but they don't really work; they play but they don't really play. Mostly they wait for the ball to come down. Mostly they wait for amnesty.

If you have to get the flu, this is the best time to get it. You will miss nothing. But what if you stay healthy? What's to be done?

Well, how about tuning in to your neighbors on the public access channels of cable TV? ...

... Here are some highlights from a log of one man's surfing journey through public access in Manhattan: ...

... ZAP There is something called Yawn Mower On. There is no sound or actors, just messages flashing across the screen. Some of them say: "Do you have values?" "We work hard every day" "Why?" "This is Apathy Hour." "When we feel bad we turn on the television." "This program will not change your beliefs." "Wake up." "This program is questioning your life style." "We are passively contributing to the extinction of many species." "We are selfish." After 30 minutes of reading felt very bad, naughty, and sorry for not saving planet. [more ...]

Where Childhood Never Ends

By Michael T. Kaufman
Published: October 2, 1993

THINGS were busy at the Day Care Center on the top floor of the Van Etten building of the Bronx Municipal Hospital. In the intermediate class, the one for 3-year-olds, a little boy in brown overalls who said his name was Superman took a visitor by the hand and led him to a box with plastic animals.

"This is the biggest dinosaur," he said. "Grrrrr," he said showing his own teeth. Then he picked up a zebra and had it fight the purple dinosaur, making the creatures dance and bashing their heads together. When the fight stopped he brought the animals close so that their faces touched and he made a kissing sound. ...

A Cabby Fighting City Hall

By Michael T. Kaufman
Published: March 12, 1994

Piotr Jaworski thinks of himself as a professional and the cab that he drives as his office. That is why he is fighting with the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission over the stereo system in his taxi. [more ...]

Each Hurdle Is a Chance To Soar

By Michael T. Kaufman
Published: May 17, 1995

When Deborah G. Groeber marches with her dog Duncan in Columbia University's graduation exercises today, she will, she says, be thinking of the journey she has made to attain her law degree and of those who helped her along the way. She may, however, pause to think about those who once cautioned her not to set her sights so high, since she is deaf and blind. If she smirks a little, it will be understandable.

Ever since Ms. Groeber was in third grade, there were school officials who tried to steer her out of their classes into more custodial programs, citing her deteriorating sight and hearing. ...

... By now, it is clear that the 29-year-old Ms. Groeber has triumphed over them and their timidities. She has finished law school and been hired by a Philadelphia firm. Six years ago, she earned an M.B.A. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. [more ...]

Photo: Deborah G. Groeber and her dog, Duncan, tested the chairs set up for today's commencement at Columbia University, where she will pass a milestone in her journey as a deaf and blind person with high goals. (Andrea Mohin/The New York Times)

A version of this article appeared in print on May 17, 1995, on page B3 of the New York edition.

Summer in the City Often Means High-Rise Cat Syndrome

By JANNY SCOTT
Published: July 10, 1994

The annals of urban veterinary medicine and the wards of animal hospitals in New York City on hot summer nights offer a weird glimpse of the perils and pressures of big-city life in the late 20th century.

Physicians and others who care for the human body and soul have long recognized certain physical and psychological consequences of urban living. So it seems logical that similar patterns might prevail among the animals that intimately share city dwellers' lives.

Indeed, for pets as for humans, summer in the city can be brutal. For this is the season of high-rise cat syndrome, when pets plunge inexplicably from 20th-story windows. [more ...]

Photo: Sherlock [a large dog] at the window of his master's 27th-floor apartment on Bleecker Street. Summer is the season of high-rise cat syndrome, when pets plunge inexplicably from 20th-story windows, as Sherlock once tried to do. (Chris Maynard for The New York Times)

A version of this article appeared in print on July 10, 1994, on page 121 of the New York edition.

For Bears Who Swim Too Much

By John Kifner
Published: July 2, 1994

So the polar bear in the Central Park Zoo has a therapist. Big deal.

Anybody who is anybody in Manhattan has a therapist, to say nothing of a personal trainer and a nutritionist. What is this bear's problem?

He swims too much.

What? ...

Photo: Zoo goers watching Gus the polar bear during his repetitive swimming routine in Central Park. (Don Hogan Charles/The New York Times)

A version of this article appeared in print on July 2, 1994, on page 123 of the New York edition.

Have Instant Camera, Will Travel

By David Gonzalez
Published: April 1, 1995

Louis Mendes paced the decks of the Staten Island Ferry looking for women and children first. So what if the afternoon light was the only thing sinking?

He saves life's moments. ...

... "It's not a perfect world we live in," he said. "But I try to make a perfect picture."


Photo: Louis Mendes, portraitist and double-exposure proponent, displays his work in a movable gallery. Yesterday, he was at the Brooklyn Municipal Building with his 1940 Speed Graphic, looking for customers. (Angel Franco/The New York Times)

A version of this article appeared in print on April 1, 1995, on page 123 of the New York edition.

Wrong Restroom? Not At All. She Works There.

By Douglas Martin
Published: December 11, 1991

LAURA BELLE, the supper club at 120 West 43d Street, is one of those ultra-trendy places that define New York City for the fast and famous, not to mention the fatuous. Entering, you thread through dark corridors, passing 18th-century Georgian antiques. Finally, you arrive at a vast sunken dance floor, eerily somber and designed to throb with the music. ...

... Sooner or later most men who patronize Laura Belle find themselves in their own special place. There are four urinals, three private stalls and enough marble for a nice mausoleum. For two weeks there has also been a female attendant in the men's room, Sasha Kazachkova, a 20-year-old Russian emigre who used to oversee men's toilet needs in one of Moscow's tonier hotels. ...

Photo: Sasha Kazachkova, a Russian emigre who used to oversee men's toilet needs in one of Moscow's tonier hotels, is the attendant in the men's room at Laura Belle, a supper club at 120 West 43d Street. (Angel Franco/The New York Times)

A version of this article appeared in print on December 11, 1991, on page B3 of the New York edition.

Times Square Tales: Rowing and Scooping

By Michael T. Kaufman
Published: February 15, 1995

HERE are three final stories from Times Square:

BOATS. If it were not for guerrilla activity in the Kurdish regions of Turkey, Mike Davis would probably not be building 25-foot-long rowboats on the ground floor of the old McGraw-Hill Building on 42d Street. ...

ICE CREAM. Sembala Batchilly had never tasted ice cream during the first 22 years of his life, which were spent with his family of rice farmers in Gambia. ...

PORN. The Times Square Adult Shoppers Center on 42d Street near Eighth Avenue differs from its neighboring vendors of pornographic videotapes and sex paraphernalia by offering shopping carts to customers. ...

A version of this article appeared in print on February 15, 1995, on page B3 of the New York edition.

Window Washer at Work, High Above the Fast Track

By Michael T. Kaufman;
Published: September 16, 1992

IVOR HANSON, a 28-year-old admiral's son, Vassar graduate and musician, makes his living by washing windows and so knows a lot about the fear of falling. ...

A version of this article appeared in print on September 16, 1992, on page B3 of the New York edition.

Photo: Ivor Hanson, working above Seventh Avenue, gets $6 for each window he washes. He hopes eventually to make a living as a musician. (Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times)

Michael T. Kaufman is the new About New York columnist.

Store to Store, A Vertebral Line Of Evolution

By DOUGLAS MARTIN
Published: January 12, 1991

New York City has become a pretty grim place. But imagine its charms if you had real money in your pocket and time to shop.

Each person's fantasies are different. It turns out that our's tend toward the well-scrubbed bones of dead people, pythons and other writhing reptiles, colorful parrots at $5,000 each and speedboats that race along at 90 miles an hour. ...


A version of this article appeared in print on January 12, 1991, on page 127 of the New York edition.

Taking Aim At Bureaucracy In Two Steps

By ALAN FINDER
Published: January 2, 1991

Beating up on the bureaucracy is a time-honored New York sport. But the blows are seldom self-inflicted, which is what makes Eric Zaccar's thrusts against a city housing agency so odd and unexpected. ...

A version of this article appeared in print on January 2, 1991, on page B1 of the New York edition.

Some Are Made In Heaven, Some Elsewhere

By DOUGLAS MARTIN
Published: January 9, 1991

The inspiration for this column came in the mail. Actually, two pieces of mail.

First, there was the invitation to the 65th wedding anniversary celebration of Samuel and Miriam Salitan. ...

Second, there arrived a press release with a most alarming headline: "Adultery on the Rise." ...

A version of this article appeared in print on January 9, 1991, on page B1 of the New York edition.

Once a Brothel, Soon a Refuge for Prostitutes

By DOUGLAS MARTIN
Published: January 5, 1991

Dr. Joyce I. Wallace first appeared in this column almost three years ago, seeking prostitutes to test them for AIDS in her van. She seemed a cool, dedicated scientist. She went on to do research impressive enough to present to AIDS conferences around the world. ...

A version of this article appeared in print on January 5, 1991, on page 123 of the New York edition. The online version omits a photo of Dr. Joyce Wallace.

Once Down, Out-of-Towner Scales New Urban Heights

By Michael T. Kaufman
Published: February 3, 1993

This is about pinnacles of success and depths of despair but mostly it is about love and mountain climbing in Manhattan. ...

A version of this article appeared in print on February 3, 1993, on page B3 of the New York edition.

Restroom, For Public, Reopens

By Bruce Weber
Published: May 30, 1992

Walking west on 42d Street toward Avenue of the Americas, Norma Schnuderl turned left at midblock into Bryant Park and abruptly pulled up short. As her companion went blithely into the city's newest public restroom, Ms. Schnuderl, a pleasant-faced woman with glasses, stood outside, puffing on a cigarette, muttering aspersions.

"I wouldn't go in there," she said. "I hate public johns." ...

A version of this article appeared in print on May 30, 1992, on page 122 of the New York edition.

The online version may omit a photo by Jack Manning. The print version hasn't a photo, but does quote "Jose," in the clipping's text.