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.