Father Figure

Saturday, September 27, 2025

If you walk around Manhattan, you won’t get very far before encountering scaffolding, playground monkey bars transferred to the sidewalks, known as sheds in the trade. They are installed as part of building or renovation projects to protect those below from falling objects. I still remember the tragic tale of a piece of lumber falling from a construction site on Columbus Circle, near where I was working, ricocheting off a building opposite and striking a young actor walking below. His head injury was fatal. This and similar events prompted legislative action.

Today, there are over 8,400 sidewalk sheds around the city.

https://www.coleschotz.com/nyc-city-council-takes-aim-at-overabundance-of-sidewalk-sheds/

The problem is that many of them never seem to move. More than 300 of them have been up for more than five years. “One stood in front of the headquarters of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for 15 years.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/26/nyregion/nyc-scaffolding-sidewalk-sheds-city-council.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Recent rule changes address the permit process and penalties for abuse. Time will tell.

Sunday, September 27, 2025

Every so often in the past, at this time of year, I have responded to the teachings of my faith and asked someone(s) for forgiveness. I'm not good at it and do it reluctantly, although I don't deny the need for the gesture. What concerns me is the other direction, hearing from those who have trespassed against me. Sometimes waiting in vain for the well-earned apology. I know you did it; you know you did it. It was no mistake. I prepare myself to be gracious, but nothing is forthcoming. Wait 'til next year?

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The publication of “107 Days” by Kamala Harris has renewed focus on the 2024 presidential election and specifically Harris’s nomination. She pushes back against the idea of a mini-primary, advocated by Nancy Pelosi, among others. Two questions or maybe 1 + 1 questions. Who would have beaten Harris in a primary? Would Candidate X have done better against Donald Trump?

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Everybody wanted the Mets to win except the Mets.

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Fortunately, I did not lose my appetite entirely over the disgraceful end to the baseball season. Madam and I went to Baazi, 2588 Broadway, a conveniently located Indian restaurant that we have enjoyed before. It has two levels, the first with 15 two-tops and one large table for eight. One long wall downstairs is mirrored; opposite is a drawing of the Red Fort, located in Old Delhi, built of red sandstone in the mid-17th Century. I can’t describe the upstairs, because I’ve never ventured there and my knees will not allow it in the future.

We had familiar dishes. Madam ate saag paneer, cheese cubes in puréed spinach ($19). I had “Dumpukht Gosht Biryani,” an Indian version of lamb potpie ($22). 

Monday, September 28, 2025

Jill Lepore is in the midst of a great career. She has a chair in history at Harvard and is a professor in its law school. Additionally, she is a prolific staff writer on The New Yorker. 

Tonight, we went to the main branch of the New York Public Library to hear her discuss her latest book, “We the People,” an examination of the United States Constitution, before a packed house. She focuses on the amendment process and how it deals or fails to deal with political, social and economic changes. She maintains that the very presence of an amendment process denies the basic premise of originalism, the Constitution as a static reference.

Tuesday, September 30, 2025

I’m not sure whether it was the last lunch of 5785 or the first of 5786, but six members of the Boyz Club sat down at Jing Fong, 202 Centre Street. There was a constant flow of carts loaded with dim sum coming at us. As usual, it was too hectic to keep track of the 15 dishes that we had, the shrimp rice roll and the siu mai and the har gow and the spring roll and the vegetable dumplings and the shrimp rolls in wonton skin and so on. Net result - $25 each.

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PBS, remember it?, had a program tonight on the "Hard Hat Riot," when construction workers in Manhattan turned on anti-Vietnam war protesters on May 8, 1970. I think that it was an under appreciated event and a harbinger of the future through this day. The Republican Party went from blue bloods to blue collar. The sight of working class men, veterans, sons of veterans and fathers of soldiers, battling draft-deferred college students helped Richard Nixon to a historic landslide victory in 1972. The classic alliance of the labor movement with the Democratic Party was broken and has never been restored.

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Speaking of conflict, Secretary of Raw Pete Hegseth gathered all the country's top military leaders for a lesson on leadership today. He told them, “At every level, either you can meet the standard, either you can do the job, either you are disciplined, fit, and trained, or you are out.” I agree totally and believe we should start right at the top.

Wednesday, October 1, 2025

It’s unlikely that you would recognize Elisha Wiesel, the only child of Elie Wiesel. He has had a successful career on Wall Street and now manages a hedge fund while most of us, at best, trim hedges.

I encountered him in 1992, visiting my young friend Nate at Yale University during intersession. As we walked across the barren campus, we saw a young man who well might have been auditioning for a vacancy on The Ramones. His head was unevenly shaved, his black leather motorcycle jacket had chains dangling and slogans painted in white. Nate, discreet, then and now, whispered, “That’s Elie Wiesel’s son.” 

I burst out, “For this he went to Auschwitz?” although probably out of hearing range. And that’s my Yom Kippur lesson.

 

Thursday, October 2, 2025 

We ended Yom Kippur with a lovely meal hosted by Connie Goldfarb. Rochelle Goldfarb made a delicious zucchini and cheese quiche served along with lox, whitefish, herring in cream sauce, herring in wine sauce, bagels, cream cheese and luckshen (noodle) kugel from Russ & Daughters, the premier New York appetizing store, which probably makes it #1 in the country. It is so popular that Connie had to place her holiday order in August. 

Hey, Grandpa Alan, I’m not from around here. What’s an appetizing store? It’s a store that sells lox, whitefish, pickled herring and accouterments which collectively keep Jews at home on Sunday morning.

Friday, October 3, 2025

What I learned today.

The term "algorithm" originates from the name of the Persian mathematician Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, who lived in the 9th century and wrote influential works on mathematics. He never took over his father's tailor shop.

 

Fruit Loops

Saturday, September 20, 2025

I don’t know if you noticed, but last week’s love letter omitted any mention of food, no restaurant meals or other notable treats. I’m sorry to say that this did not represent moderation of my normally avaricious habits. Rather, I was deferring to the stitches in my lower gums patching me up after some messy surgery. Instead, I was left to deal with violence, here and abroad. There’s always enough of that to go around.

Sunday, September 21, 2025

I have very little personal experience with the Taliban, so I don’t know if they are particularly competitive. Also, I don’t know how much they are keeping up with news from the land of the free and the home of the brave where we are clamping down on libraries, college students and professors, and television comedians. The Taliban on their part have taken a broader approach, removing books written by women from their university system, which admits men only. https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/taliban-ban-books-written-women-234137258.html 

 

Of course, anything that Jane Austen said can probably be found in "The Art of the Deal."

Monday, September 22, 2025

The United Nations General Assembly convenes today with the area around First Avenue and East 42nd Street as friendly as the Ukraine-Russia border. I had a doctor’s appointment this morning on East 38th Street between Second and Third Avenues. I traded dollars for aggravation and took a taxicab. We found a relatively unjammed route that allowed me to walk (stumble) very few steps.

Good Doctor Ji gave me two shots in my tuchus directed at my spine, which he believes is the source of much of my non-political discomfort. Initial relief begins in a couple of days with the full benefit in a couple of weeks after my payment clears.

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To speed the healing process, Terrific Tom joined me for lunch at Schnipper’s, 620 Eighth Avenue, street level in the New York Times Building. The big, airy, plain vanilla space offers excellent hamburgers. I had a special today, French Onion Soup Burger ($13), though not served  on French bread or a croissant, but on an English muffin. Otherwise, it was true to its name, oniony, cheesy, a bit sloppy. The fries were called House, not French ($5.25) and they indeed transcended national boundaries. I’m feeling better already.

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In 1935, the United States Supreme Court decided that the president could not remove independent regulators without cause and solely over policy disagreements. Humphrey's Executor v. United States, 295 U.S. 602 (1935). Today, our current majority of justices said, “No problem. Independent, shmindependent.” Fire away!

Tuesday, September 22, 2025

We returned to JCC Harlem, 318 West 118th Street, for High Holy Day services. It’s good to gather with other Members of the Tribe on this occasion. However, the group of one hundred or so people was neither a congregation in a formal sense nor a community in an informal sense. It was akin to a group of people on a subway platform waiting for the next train. Their common purpose was narrow and momentary.

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On the other hand, we had a sense of belonging at dinner with the Posmans and members of their family, including a delightful three-year old who spoke English, Hebrew and Serbian. The food was equally impressive.

Wednesday, September 23, 2025

President Trump spoke at the White House on Monday about autism and to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday. You know, Tylenol and “kill all the cows.” If an ordinary person had said much of the same thing, the hoots of derision might still be echoing. If Joe Biden were the speaker, Congressional Republicans would have the pitchforks out and be chanting the words of the 25th Amendment.

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America’s Favorite Epidemiologist labored long and hard to produce a wonderful meal for a group of our friends today. There was no lack of affection and community around the table aided by the quality and quantity of food provided. 

Thursday, September 25, 2025

The Holy Land is home to 56 billionaires, more than any other location. 

https://patch.com/new-york/new-york-city/s/jlrp9/56-new-york-billionaires-among-americas-richest-people-see-new-list?utm_source=NYJW_Iterable&utm_campaign=NYJW_Daily_Update&utm_medium=email

If we go slumming and look at millionaires, we also have the highest number, a remarkable 384,500.

https://www.henleyglobal.com/publications/wealthiest-cities-2025/top-50-cities-millionaires

What constitutes a millionaire is undefined. Net worth or annual earnings? Once upon a time it was probably net worth, but real estate appreciation has put a lot of folks in that range. It loses a lot of glamor when the secret of success was just sitting still in your cooperative apartment.

The richest New Yorker is Michael Bloomberg, 13th of the Forbes 400, formerly mayor 2001-2013. Income inequality preceded him and succeeded him, which I think will be the case with the Democratic Socialist likely to be the next mayor. Zohran Mamdani will be the youngest mayor in over 100 years, the first Muslim and the poorest, at least when entering office.

Friday, September 26, 2025

What do Donald Trump and a banana have in common? This morning I had my traditional breakfast of cold cereal with fruit. There were raspberries, a peach (just about the last of the season) and a banana, which had been purchased on the weekend. It had not quite defaulted to squishiness, but its skin was very thin. As bananas age, their skin gets thinner just like the Dear Leader and unlike normal human beings who are attributed with thickening skin as they age, experience life and learn.

 

 

Two Cents Plain

Saturday, September 13, 2025

“The ability of any US president to fundamentally change or control the behaviour of other major powers is frequently overestimated. Yet by posing as a sort of uncrowned global monarch and grand arbiter of war and peace, Trump perpetuates fantasies of US hegemony, omnipotence and divine right. Intoxicated by such ego-inflating delusions, he pledged before taking office to swiftly end the Ukraine and Gaza conflicts. Perhaps, in his vanity and hubris, he truly believed he could.

 

Eight months on, the exact opposite is happening. Both crises are expanding and escalating. The bubble has burst, his bluff has been called, the emperor has no clothes – and there is no denying that Trump, by alternately appeasing, excusing and encouraging the two foremost villains of these twin tragedies, is greatly to blame.”

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/sep/14/donald-trump-russia-israel-vladimir-putin-benjamin-netanyahu?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

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He is never wrong, is he? President Trump said on Friday that the “radical left” was responsible for much of the political violence in the country. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-doubles-blaming-radical-left-after-vow-after/story?id=125509965

Sunday, September 14, 2025

A headline on an op-ed today reads “Was the Two-State Solution Always Doomed?” I take it in the present tense. Is the two-state solution doomed? Unequivocally Yes, I believe.

In 2024, there were 529,450 Jewish residents on the West Bank. https://apnews.com/article/israel-settlers-palestinians-gaza-west-bank-23d2f0ce608b4900995ee7a36f152a95

The precise number of Arabs/Palestinians is harder to identify, but 3 million is a reasonable estimate. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Palestine

Let’s start with the assumption that a Palestine state would encompass the present West Bank, the area bordered by Jordan and the Dead Sea to the east and by israel to the south, west, and north, excluding Gaza as a practical matter. Would more than half a million Jews accept citizenship in an Arab-dominated state? Would an Arab majority be comfortable with a large Jewish minority, especially in proximity to Israel? No is the obvious answer to both questions. 

Carve out Jewish enclaves on the West Bank? The result would resemble Swiss cheese if not contiguous or a crushing mass if joined. Move the Jews back to Israel? “In terms of settlers’ personal reasons for living in the West Bank, one-third of Jews in the West Bank are motivated by religious ideology, while the rest were drawn to the region by the potential to improve their quality of life.” https://israelpolicyforum.org/west-bank-settlements-explained/

In simple terms, Israeli real estate within its borders is very expensive. “Israel ranked most expensive place to buy a home in European housing survey.” https://share.google/DPpXWrDHHsEK9ehuz

“As home ownership inside the State of Israel climbs out of reach, Israelis flock to West Bank settlements — and receive generous government support.”  https://www.timesofisrael.com/is-the-government-using-the-housing-crisis-to-drive-the-settlement-movement/

Forgetting for a moment the strategic value of fragmenting the Palestinian/Arab population, Israel is apparently willing to endure the financial and political burden of occupation to avoid or at least limit a housing crisis at home. Intragroup harmony is more important to the current Israeli regime than intergroup harmony.

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Meanwhile, “Israelis are paying widespread tribute to Charlie Kirk, renaming streets and painting murals in honor of the American conservative activist assassinated this week in Utah.” https://share.google/FiFlZfebIkaxDNTq2

You know, the guy that said, "The number one funding mechanism of radical, open border, neoliberal, quasi-Marxist policies, cultural institutions, and nonprofits . . . [is] Jewish donors.”  https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4013084

Folks in Harlem have the good sense to not even consider such a travesty. They don’t forget that Kirk said that Black women like television presenter Joy Reid; former first lady Michelle Obama; former Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Democrat from Texas; and Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson did "not have the brain processing power to be taken seriously." https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/charlie-kirk-black-women/

 

Wednesday, September 17, 2025

Jimmy Kimmel got it right about MAGA’s seizure of the unfortunate death of Charlie Kirk as their Reichstag Fire moment.  https://nypost.com/2025/09/17/entertainment/abc-pulls-jimmy-kimmel-live-indefinitely-after-charlie-kirk-comments/

 

Thursday, September 18, 2025

As a retired New York State employee and an alte kocker, I have pretty good medical insurance coverage. For better or worse, in the last couple of years, I’ve given it quite a workout. Today, I picked up a new blood pressure medication to deal with a renewed surge resulting from reading the newspaper too carefully. My co-pay was $.02.

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The memory of the late Charlie Kirk has drawn very positive comments from some Jews, crediting his strong support of Bibi Netanyahu and his policies. This put him in a unique position as a pro-Israel antisemite. It’s characteristic of Christian Nationalists who won’t forgive us for killing Christ while unable to tolerate towel heads.

Friday, September 19, 2025

Avast, matey. Paul Hecht, Thespian Emeritus, reminds us that today is Talk Like a Pirate Day.  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Talk_Like_a_Pirate_Day

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Onward to 5786.

 

 

Remembering

Saturday, September 6, 2025

We had a lovely dinner with Barbara & Bernie, cousins of cousins, at Lincoln Ristorante, 142 West 65th Street, on the grounds of Lincoln Center. With all of the constituent venues closed at the end of this holiday week, the place was uncharacteristically unbusy. Fortunately, the kitchen was not in vacation mode, but rather performing in high gear. The food on the whole was excellent, pricey but excellent.

We started with a small loaf of Roman style foccacia, coated with cherry tomato sauce and dripping Sicilian olive oil ($15), finger licking good.  I had a sliver of the shared tomato tart, “pecorino, onion crema, heirloom tomatoes, vincotto [thick paste made from reduced grape juice]”, brilliant ($22). I expected to be delighted also with "Potato & Caviar, crispy potato torta, egg yolk mousse, regiis ova ossetra caviar" ($30). However, the two pieces were so small that there really wasn't enough to enjoy. Why so expensive? Regiis ova ossetra caviar costs close to $5 a gram. https://www.regiisova.com/store/p/ossetra 

My main course was less exotic, more reasonably priced and very good tasting; "Tagliatelle, italian sausage & porcini ragu, parmigiano reggiano" ($31). Lincoln is a very good choice for a dressy evening out, but too many customers on this and previous occasions seem to have been misdirected from 7-Eleven. I ain’t the most elegant guy, but I have some sense of occasion.

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In 2015, the Kraft Foods Group and H.J. Heinz announced their merger. “Combination Creates Unparalleled Portfolio of Powerful and Iconic Brands.” 

https://news.kraftheinzcompany.com/press-releases-details/2015/The-Kraft-Heinz-Company-Announces-Successful-Completion-of-the-Merger-between-Kraft-Foods-Group-and-HJ-Heinz-Holding-Corporation/default.aspx

Now, like too many unhappy couples, they are divorcing. This is a familiar story in American business. 

https://mnacommunity.com/insights/failed-mergers-and-acquisitions/

I was amused by a comment taking an overview of the subject of mergers and acquisitions. “The Harvard Business Review reported in 2016 that M&A is a ‘mug’s game,’ with a failure rate between 70 and 90 percent. Similarly, a 2019 report by strategy and management consulting firm McKinsey & Company stated that about 10% of all large mergers and acquisitions are cancelled in any given year.” 

https://share.google/6vrgmdU1PXRU3druq

If we dig into the paper work surrounding the inception of many of these deals, I am confident that we will find the paw prints of Harvard Business School and McKinsey & Company, with the word synergy in an early paragraph. After the fact, they readily supply “I told you so,” for an (im)modest fee.

Sunday, September 7, 2025

Small World Department 

I had a telephone conversation with my friend Jonah Mendelsohn this afternoon. He has relocated to Santa Fe for specialized training while still accepting theatrical roles. I told him about our trip to Albuquerque earlier this year to learn about conversos and crypto-Jews, lives severely affected by the Spanish Inquisition and its offshoots.

Well, he grew up in Albuquerque and his best friend’s mother is Maria Apodaca who learned of her crypto-Jewish lineage as a teenager and who spoke to our group about her experience. I remembered her name easily, because the New York Mets had a pitching coach named Bob Apodaca.

Monday, September 8, 2025

I don’t consider myself a glutton for punishment even though I am a fan of the Mets. However, today, I pushed the envelope a bit. I started at 8:15 AM with a steroid injection in my right hand to deal with a finger locking into place when bent. Then, without leaving the building, but shedding my pants and underwear, I had a very invasive plumbing examination. Finally, around noon, I visited a charming endodontist, Mahua Bose Illai (Dr.Bose), who was poised to do a root canal. I ducked that bullet, though, and was directed merely to have some more ugly periodontal work. My nap afterwards was well earned.

Tuesday, September 9, 2025
“The Supreme Court issued a decision Monday that lifts restriction on tactics used during immigration enforcement operations in Los Angeles.” https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/supreme-court-immigration-raids-los-angeles/3775299/

This illustrates an important distinction in examining recent decisions of the United States Supreme Court. The so-called conservative majority views the Constitution as primarily protecting the government. Other examples include rulings on presidential immunity, immigrant deportations and firing government employees. Opponents, myself included, believe that the Constitution is intended to  protect the public.

Wednesday, September 10, 2025

On what day did God send Donald Trump to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.?

• Halloween
  
• August 23, 2024
  
• April Fools'
  
• February 30, 2000

https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-the-swearing-ceremony-for-the-secretary-health-and-human-services-and-exchange

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Jay S. is the son of my graduate school roommate. He loves Indian food as his late father did and I was happy to have dinner with him at Jaz Indian Cuisine, 813 Ninth Avenue. He lives in Arlington, Virginia, but his work for the ACLU brings him to New York every so often and I jump at the chance to spend time with him. 

The restaurant occupies a small space, around 16 two-tops, with a service bar taking one corner. It was less busy than I anticipated on a Wednesday when there is theater during the day and the evening in the neighborhood.

We shared mixed pakoras (vegetable fritters) ($10.81 including credit card surcharge), chicken tikka masala, chunks of white meat in a creamy tomato sauce ($26), lamb vindaloo, lamb chunks in a very hot paste of chiles, garlic, and vinegar ($29.12), garlic naan ($7.28) and Matar Pullao rice ($7.28). All the items were very good and we balanced the slightly elevated prices with a Groupon coupon.

 

Thursday, September 11, 2025

Baruc S. took me to lunch as he plans his move from a bank in Colombia to a bank in Argentina, drawing on my genetic predisposition to international finance. We went to Han Dynasty (a/k/a Handy Nasty), 215 West 85th Street. Behind a modest entrance, the room opens into a grand space, seating about 200 people. It appears to be the ballroom of a long faded hotel, no resemblance to a Chinese restaurant.

Aside from the architecture, Han Dynasty, actually one of seven locations in the Northeast, features very hot and spicy Szechuan cuisine which we chose to avoid in our ordering. Instead, we shared spring rolls, ordinary ($7.45 for two), scallion pancakes, ordinary ($8.55), crispy smoked duck, world class ($36.95) and shrimp fried rice, good ($12).

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Madam and I went to a showing tonight of “Seven Days in September,” a documentary about 9/11 assembled from the work of 27 photographers, professional and amateur. It was released in 2002, but out of circulation for over two decades. It brings back the rawness of the event and its immediate aftermath. I think that there is an everlasting impact for those who lived and/or worked on Manhattan Island at the time. 

I was living on East 46th Street and unemployed. My strongest memory was the march of people moving uptown, headed to the 59th Street Bridge to get to Queens and Long Island when all transportation was frozen in Manhattan. 

Two other memories stay with me, the Red Cross blood bank in the basement of the Citicorp building on East 53rd Street turning me away from donating, because there were no wounded, only dead victims. Then, on September 21st, the New York Mets resumed playing baseball at home. I was driving David Webber and a friend home, listening to the game against the Atlanta Braves, the enemy. The Braves were leading 2-1 in the eighth inning when Mike Piazza came up with Edgardo Alfonso on base. I was stopped either by a red light or in fascination. 

https://youtu.be/hQhH6yZ8lxw?si=DkI3AYQj1Avnnfeh

I squeezed the steering wheel and cried, which I usually do when replaying the event.

Friday, September 12, 2025

https://thebwstimes.substack.com/p/charlie-kirk-is-deadbut-black-america

https://www.mediamatters.org/antisemitism/charlie-kirk-turns-antisemitic-stereotypes-amid-israel-hamas-war

 

R.I.P.