Hey Kathy, It's Ron

Saturday, November 12, 2022 

Triple header: “No one is saying that these towers are not unsightly.”

. . .

Just after Professor David Webber left Palazzo di Gotthelf for a sybaritic weekend, the rest of his family arrived here aiming for as much hedonism as they could squeeze out of a local Bar Mitzvah.  Besides the pleasure of their company, Ima Irit made a large deposit in my cookie bank.

Sunday, November 13, 2022

Although Chicago is labeled the Second City, a survey by Orkin Pest Control finds it the most rat-infested in the country.   

https://www.orkin.com/press-room/orkin-top-rattiest-cities-2022

This is a matter where my normal competitive instincts are suppressed and even finding the Holy Land in second place is too elevated a position.  It appears that where there are people, there are rats.

. . .

Late in the summer, Hurricane Ian devastated parts of the west coast of Florida.  Last week, Hurricane Nicole did major damage to Florida’s east coast.  When Governor Ron DeSanis appealed to his supporters to aid in the cleanup efforts and in the early steps in rebuilding devastated communities, few were willing to leave their golf carts.  Instead, DeSantis may reach out to New York Governor Kathy Hochul for return of the adult Venezuelan refugees that he exported from Florida, who fled their country seeking honest work.

. . .

While I like Chinese food, we like Indian food.  DB Dhaba, 108 Lexington Avenue, is one of our favorites.  It has been recently redecorated for the worse.  What used to be a colorful display of fabrics along its long southern wall is now drab wooden slats.  Illumination is provided by dozens of small lanterns hung above, with flickering bulbs imitating gas mantles, inducing minor twitching.  Fortunately, the food has not seemed to have undergone the same renovation.

We shared onion pakora, crispy fried balls of onion threads, as an appetizer ($7.50).  Madam had saag paneer, cheese cubes in a spinach purée ($16.95).  I had murgh chutneywala, chicken with mango chutney, only mildly sweet, but still too sweet, lacking an edge ($18.50).  All the portions were generous and we also had a naan and rice, making for a very filling meal.  

Monday, November 14, 2022

Michael Ratner was my congenial lunch companion at Wok 88, 1570 Third Avenue, a thriving neighborhood restaurant.  While the dozen or so tables were mostly occupied, the cash register was ringing constantly with delivery orders.  

The food basically warranted this attention.  The two of us ordered three lunch specials from a list of 44 dishes priced at $11 to $13.10.  The lunch specials include a choice of soup, can of soda or egg roll.  Michael had hot and sour soup, I had wonton soup and we shared an egg roll.  Then, we dug into crispy shrimp, beef chow fun and House Special Chicken, very crispy fried chicken that was also variously served as sweet and sour chicken, General Tso's chicken, Honey Tso's chicken and sesame chicken according to what was dribbled on top.   

Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Yesterday, three University of Virginia football players were shot to death and other students wounded by a fellow student who had been a member of the football team.  It seems that the bullying and hazing that he experienced set off a murderous rampage.  Had a gun not been readily available, the result might have been a broken nose, some black eyes and a fractured wrist, lamentable, but not lethal.

. . .

I suggested lunch at Pastrami Queen, 138 West 72nd Street, to Stony Brook Steve.  After all, it's Tuesday and they have a good Tuesday special, a corned beef sandwich and a pastrami sandwich on small rolls (Kosher of course), coleslaw, a pickle and a medium portion of French fries for $16.95.  You don't have to be Jewish.

Thursday, November 17, 2022

I led Gentleman Jerry astray at lunchtime today.  I directed us to Turnstyle, the underground collection of shops at the south end of the Columbus Circle subway station, with the nominal address of 1000 Eighth Avenue.  Before Covid, it had an interesting group of ethnic food stands, my favorite the Bolivian Llama Party and its delicious marinated beef brisket sandwich.  Now, BLP has relocated to Sunnyside, Queens, and more than half the other food stands are closed as well.

Staying in the Latin groove, we chose EZ Paella.  I ordered a lunch special, chicken paella and Caesar salad ($9.95).  The salad was okay, fresh greens and crispy croutons, far more croutons in the salad than there was chicken in the weak paella.  In all, a sorry experience.

 

Friday, November 18, 2022

As you know, December 13th is my brother's birthday.  This year, you can make the celebration more special by signing up for a special broadcast by The Forward at 7 P.M.  Maggie Haberman of the New York Times, daughter of CCNY's Clyde Haberman, will be discussing "The Breaking of America: Donald Trump, Antisemitism and the State of Politics Today." 

https://give.forward.com/event/winter-fundraiser/e447197

 

A contribution of as little as chai ($18) will connect you.  Do it.

 

 

Where Have You Gone, Jackie Robinson?

Saturday, November 5, 2022

My mention of jaywalking last week stirred some interest.  Gentleman Jerry supplied a report of pedestrian deaths.    https://www.ghsa.org/sites/default/files/2022-05/Pedestrian%20Traffic%20 Fatalities%20by%20State%20-%202021%20Preliminary%20Data%20%28January-December%29.pdf

California, with the largest population, had the most deaths in 2021.  However, Florida had the second highest per capita rate, trailing only New Mexico, probably because once Grandpa got out of his 1996 Oldsmobile he was pretty shaky on his feet.  Nebraska was the safest state, followed by New Hampshire, where, apparently, most people chose to live free rather than die.

Professor Barry Seldes connected jaywalking to vehicular traffic and parking, the Yin and the Yang of urban life.  

https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2022/08/22/the-ultimate-placard-census-downtown-is-choked-with-and-endangered-by-city-state-federal-workers-cars/

This article contains "a map of every single car parked in the roughly 30-square-block zone bounded by Canal, Lafayette and Chambers streets and West Broadway and Varick Street bearing a placard or other quasi-official emblem (mostly fake placards or agency vests, hats, safety helmets, fake badges, patches, business cards or hand-written notes)."  They cover virtually every square inch of parking space, that is where a car can fit, whether legally allowed or not.   

For a few years earlier in this century, as a staff member of New York State Supreme Court, working in the indicated area, I had a placard.  However, I used it sparingly since commuting by subway was more convenient for me than driving.  Additionally, I was not bold enough to use the placard in parts of the city removed from the courthouse vicinity.  I wasn’t confident that a cop would recognize the pressing need for a Court Attorney to be parked in front of a Broadway theater.

. . . 

On a beautiful night, we walked down to Dim Sum Palace, 28 West 56th Street, for dinner, one of half-dozen in this local chain.  Actually, we aimed for Bengal Tiger Indian Food, 58 West 56th Street, but the hour wait for a table, with its no-reservations policy, sent us down the block.

We sat outside in a sidewalk shed, where service was surprisingly prompt.  While it has a full menu, Dim Sum Palace tries to live up to its name with 48 dim sum items. We stuck to small plates, scallion pancake ($8.50), cold sesame noodles ($9.95), vegetable spring rolls ($6.95) and shredded duck dumplings ($7.25).  The food was generally well prepared, but lacked distinction.  The duck, my first choice, was ground, not shredded, losing its duckness in the process.

Sunday, November 6, 2022

The World Series, which ended last night, was the first since 1950 without a single U.S.-born Black player on either active roster.

. . . 

I celebrated the New York City Marathon with the Goldfarb clan, who took pride in the races run by son Steve (4:39) and grandson David, Jr. (3:07).  I couldn't be happier for the family, especially after they served lunch catered by the 2nd Avenue Deli.  

Monday, November 7, 2022

I had the pleasure of having lunch with Sam Fuchs, who followed me into Stuyvesant High School about 55 years later.  We ate at Yoon Haeundae Galbi, 8 West 36th Street, a very attractive Korean BBQ restaurant, which I previously visited on March 24, 2021.  

Your meat, short rib, shaved sirloin, an $84 bundle, is cooked at the table.  Eight little dishes accompany it, kim chi, marinades, cold mashed potatoes, marinated onions, seasoned salt, anchovies.  The meat is prime, accounting for the price and the limited portions that made me long for The Palm.  I had no complaints about the excellent Busan Neighborhood Pancake, more of an omelet with eggs, scallions, galbi (slivers of grilled beef short ribs) and shrimp ($21).

Sam was very interesting company.  With an engineering degree from the University of Michigan, he spent three years in the Navy as communications officer on a destroyer, a world that I only know from "Mr. Roberts" and "The Caine Mutiny."   

Wednesday, November 9, 2022

The United States Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments today on the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978.  The law says that when a child who is eligible for tribal membership winds up in state foster care, the child should, whenever possible, be adopted by a tribal family. A white couple trying to adopt a Navajo child argue that this is a racial distinction disallowed by the 14th Amendment.  They are opposed by several tribes and the Department of the Interior, claiming that tribes are political constructs.  

The case raises the question for me: Are Jews a race, a religion or a nation?  While I don't entirely conflate Israel and Judaism, 20 minutes after landing at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport you have your answer.  Besides people who look like the original cast of "Shtisel," you see people who attend synagogue no more often than Londoners or Parisians go to church, dashing the idea of religious identity.  Forgetting for a moment the Ethiopians Jews, the Mediterranean Jews and the European Jews look and act very differently, denying a racial connection.  While many Jews and non-Jews think that you can never stop being Jewish, we are a nation with several points of entry and exit.  

. . .

Today is the 84th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the systematic destruction of Jewish lives and property throughout Germany.  It did not escape the attention of the German branch of the international KFC organization (formerly Kentucky Fried Chicken), which proclaimed: Gedentag an die Reichspogromnacht Gönn dir ruhig mehr zarten Cheese zum knusprigen Chicken. Jetzt bei KFCheese!  ["It’s memorial day for Kristallnacht!  Treat yourself with more tender cheese on your crispy chicken.”]  

Thursday, November 10, 2022

We saw Ralph Fiennes portraying Robert Moses in “Straight Line Crazy,” oddly a very New York play that originated in London.  While the cast has 13 people, it might as well have been a one-man play for Fiennes, who overshadows the others as Moses did his contemporaries.

Friday, November 11, 2022

When I was growing up, November 11th was called Armistice Day.  Today, it is Veterans Day in the USA and Remembrance Day in the United Kingdom and what remains of the British Commonwealth.

 

If you watch National Hockey League games, you will see the coaches of Canadian teams wearing bright red poppies on their lapels as a sign of the holiday.  This traces back to a poem written by a Canadian lieutenant colonel after a bloody battle in WWI:

“In Flanders' fields the poppies blow 

Between the crosses, row on row”

. . .

Professor David Webber visited long enough to share lunch with Tom Terrific, the Naz and me at Delight Wong, 300 Grand Street, which you may choose to read as a proper noun or a short sentence.  In either case, it is old school Chinatown, ducks and ribs hanging in the window, a big menu with many things that they "ran out" and an unspeakable bathroom.

The four of us adjusted well to the surroundings and ate heartily; ginger and scallion mei fun, chicken with garlic sauce (not very garlicky), beef with orange, shrimp with walnuts (A+), Singapore chow fun and mushroom fried rice.  The only drawback was Delight's habit, shared by too many Chinese restaurants, of adding broccoli to the plate to make it appear more abundant.  While I usually supply unit prices, I faced translation problems.  The menu was in English, the bill in Chinese and the numbers in Arabic.

Walk the Walk

Saturday, October 29, 2022

In a move designed to address controversies at home and abroad, the United States State Department, the Russian Foreign Ministry, the National Basketball Association and the Women's National Basketball Association are poised to announce the trade of Kyrie Irving for Brittney Griner. 

Sunday, October 30, 2022

I've said before that real estate in the Holy Land is a contact sport.  Prices are often extraordinary, because of the physical and political limits to growth.  While the excavation of soil to build the ill-fated World Trade Center provided the landfill to create the new neighborhood of Battery Park City, it was a rare event.  Rezoning or repurposing is the usual path to residential development locally.  Five of the 10 neighborhoods that experienced the greatest increase in home prices in the past year were not destinations a decade or so ago.  

https://www.propertyshark.com/Real-Estate-Reports/priciest-nyc-neighborhoods/

Hudson Square and Hudson Yards are rebrandings of formerly commercial and industrial areas, while Gowanus and Greenpoint kept their classic names as their downscale streetscapes were revolutionized.

. . .

This weekend, the New York Times had a 60-page supplement devoted entirely to fine watches.  Most of the space was taken by advertisements for rare and expensive watches, many looking more like intricately engineered machinery than elegant jewelry.

The publication reminded me of the old Jewish joke about the mohel, a ritual circumciser, who opened a little shop in the middle of the shtetl.  When asked why he hung a clock over the door, he replied, “What should I put there?”

The cover showed an attractive young woman and a horse.  She is wearing a cowboy hat, jeans and a fringed buckskin jacket with seemingly nothing underneath.  There’s not a watch in sight; why bother with the obvious?

Monday, October 31, 2022

The United States Supreme Court heard oral argument today on two cases involving affirmative action in university admissions.  One phrase that is tossed around  these days is "the Constitution is color blind" as a rebuttal to efforts to repair the damage of hundreds of years of our history.  Let it be clear that the Constitution is not color blind and has not been since 1865 at least, when the 13th Amendment was passed, and, possibly from its inception, when it distinguished in Article 1, Section 2 between "free Persons" and, euphemistically, "other Persons."

My own stance on affirmative action is admittedly inconsistent.  I support the single-test, meritocratic approach to admissions to several local high schools.  Some accomplishments should be hard, evoking best efforts to succeed.  On the other hand, it is shameful that so many children emerge from our educational system with inferior skills, which includes tens of thousands of Hasidic kids along with Black and brown children.  The Jewish kids are being maltreated by design, the other kids by  a partially opaque combination of circumstances. 

Once upon a time there was unaffirmative action towards Jews in the Ivy League and other major private educational institutions, which lasted into the second half of the last century.  That's why I lean towards a "fair" approach, disregarding identity.  The current Supreme Court cases argue that Asian American students are being discriminated against in attempts to achieve diversity on campus.  Certainly, as seen at Stuyvesant High School and Harvard University, for example, Asian American students are remarkably successful in academic pursuits, their high numbers leaving little room for others.  However, a study that I just came across somewhat blemishes the view of the "model minority."   https://conference.nber.org/conf_papers/f161005.pdf

It "show[s] that teachers rate Asian students’ academic performance more favorably than observationally similar White students.  This contrasts with teachers’ lower likelihood of favoring Black and Hispanic students, even after accounting for performance and behavior."  A bias towards Asian students advantages them over White, Black and Hispanic students, a distinct form of affirmative action.

. . .

We went to the New-York Historical Society tonight to hear historian David I. Kertzer discuss his book "The Pope at War: The Secret History of Pius XII, Mussolini and Hitler."  At the macro level, there was nothing new -- Pope Pius XII was silent when over 1,000 Roman Jews were rounded up and sent to Auschwitz; his only public reference to racial and religious oppression came in a couple of sentences on page 19 of his 1942 Christmas message without mentioning Jews or any other beleaguered minority by name; he was surrounded by overtly anti-Semitic aides.  The book's value is in the granular details of Vatican decisionmaking during the war years, what was the Pope being told and what was he telling others. 

Supporters of the Pope, who is in line for sainthood, point to many acts of bravery by priests and nuns throughout Europe.  The irony escapes them that moral courage was displayed only at the lower ranks of the Roman Catholic Church.  There was one very interesting observation that had escaped me previously: When the Nazis invaded Poland, probably the most Catholic country in Europe, the Pope was silent, even as priests were murdered alongside Jews.  Such consistency. 

Tuesday, November 1, 2022

Joseph Pinion.  That’s who.

. . .

I wasn’t surprised to read in today’s paper that “Voting-related falsehoods and rumors are flourishing across social media in the final stretch before Election Day on Tuesday.”  Many Republicans are already working on their version of the coin flip: Heads I win, tails you lose. 

Much of the chatter goes back to the 2020 presidential election.  Why are so many people so insistent that the result was wrong?  I see two different groups at work.  The first group are insular folk, living predominantly in rural areas, small towns, suburban and exurban enclaves.  Their family, friends, neighbors have much in common ethnically, educationally, economically, socially.  They more or less think alike and don’t know (hardly) anyone who voted for the other guy or any reason to vote for the other guy.  When they hear results that don't correspond with their world, initial doubt may morph into denial and anger. 

The second group may not be so insular; they may live and work anywhere, but they feel like losers, always falling short.  They see others getting ahead while they are stalled.  Rather than grapple with their impotence, they claim the game is rigged, whatever the game is.  Promotions, scholarships, elections. 

Thursday, November 3, 2022

Great N.Y. Noodletown, 28 Bowery, was the Boyz Club’s destination for lunch today.  The place has undergone a complete makeover.  Once crowded, dark, grungy in the best Chinatown fashion, it is now bright, well laid out, although not roomy.  It has about 12 four tops and one round table for eight, which we partially occupied.  

 

We ate well; salt baked sea bass chunks ($16.95), ginger and scallion lo mein (delivered as mei fun) ($8.75), Singapore chow fun ($13.50), chicken with black pepper sauce ($16.95), beef fried rice ($12.95). Portion sizes were average and tastes were generally B, B+ good.  Consider Great N.Y. Noodletown only if claustrophobia keeps you away from Wo Hop's cavern underground at 17 Mott Street. 

 

Friday, November 4, 2022

I had mixed feelings about the passage of the “Freedom to Walk” bill in California.  It will allow pedestrians to jaywalk, cross a street anywhere that appears to be safe, although a cop’s view of safety may override the pedestrian‘s, resulting in a summons and fine.  Previously, crossings were only legal at intersections with the light.  Of course, it didn't just amount to a matter of Walk/Don't Walk.  The sponsor of the bill cited government data showing that Blacks were up to four-and-a-half times more likely to be cited for jaywalking than whites.  https://a19.asmdc.org/press-releases/20220825-tings-bill-reform-californias-jaywalking-laws-heads-governor

When I moved to Los Angeles in 1971, it was a challenge to obey the jaywalking law as I was a product of New York’s post modern approach to foot traffic.  However, when I returned from exile nine years later, I found that I had thoroughly converted to the system and applied it to the streets of the Holy Land, waiting at crosswalks for the light to change.  Well, I did it for a few days, at least. 

 

The other side of the coin remains the same.  Vehicles are required to halt when a pedestrian sets foot upon the street, regardless of the legality of the pedestrian’s behavior.  I observed compliance to be very high and not just by middle-aged bougies like me.  This was one aspect of California life that I considered civilized.

 

Northern Hospitality

Sunday, October 23, 2022 

Jews are smart, at least according to many Jews.  I think that many non-Jews would agree, resentfully.  It may be disappointing when individual Jews act dumb (we are tribal after all), but dumb mistakes by the Israeli government are painful.  

In May, the Israeli Supreme Court approved the expulsion of some 1,200 Palestinians in West Bank villages where they lived for decades so the Israeli Army could use the land for a live-fire military training ground.     

https://buffalonews.com/resisting-israeli-efforts-to-displace-them-palestinians-move-into-familiar-sites-caves/article_d13bcd31-7471-50aa-a6ba-391b6d33d2fc.html

Not to build schools, not to build hospitals, not to build water treatment plants, not to build solar panel farms.  Some of the Palestinians even have deeds predating the founding of Israel.  It’s unnecessary to examine the Court’s reasoning; the issue should not have risen in the first place.  It’s a provocation at a time and place that doesn't need any more stress.  Be smart, it’s expected of us.

. . . 

Covid-19 has changed the nature of work more than anything since Post-it®.  Telecommuting has substantially changed our office culture and 9-to-5 in a cubicle may become a faded memory for many.  Location, the key element in residential real estate, meant proximity, but not so much anymore.  Now, band width and work space replace commuting time and office amenities as decision factors.  This survey rates cities for remote workers.  

https://www.lawnstarter.com/blog/studies/best-worst-us-cities-for-remote-workers/

With three of the top 10 spots in Texas, two in Florida and only one north of the Mason-Dixon Line, there is a clear gap between technocracy and democracy.  Do progressive values and democracy always align?  Hardly, as illustrated by persistent community opposition to low-income housing.  See, for example:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/23/opinion/los-angeles-homelessness-affordable-housing.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

In the immortal words of Roseanne Roseannadanna, “It’s always something.”

Monday, October 24, 2022

Few horror movies have engaged me since the passing of Maria Ouspenskaya.  There is more than ample horror around us now, eliminating the need to escape into fiction.  Horror does not have to be accompanied by blood and gore.  There is real horror, I believe, in the current results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a function of the United States Department of Education.   

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/24/us/math-reading-scores-pandemic.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

A nationwide test of fourth graders and eighth graders show massive (my word) deficiencies in math and reading.  For instance, only 26% of eighth graders were proficient in math.  On average, Massachusetts students fared best at 34% while those in New Mexico sank to 13%.  That should scare you.  

. . .

Cindy Wilkinson McMullen, my favorite Steel Magnolia, suggested that her North Carolina friends Kristy and Greg meet me for a dinner in Chinatown on their first trip to the Holy Land.  I happily agreed and, inevitably, I chose Wo Hop, 17 Mott Street, as the archetypal representative of Chinatown Chinese food.

Menu planning was simple, aiming for Wo Hop’s sweet spots:

Wonton soup with crispy fried noodles

Singapore chow fun

Shrimp in lobster sauce over shrimp fried rice 

Moo shu chicken with extra pancakes 

Needless to say, a good time was had by all.

Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Oh, no!  Samuel Alito lied?

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/24/us/politics/alito-kennedy-abortion.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

. . .

America’s Favorite Epidemiologist was indisposed, so I went alone to Carnegie Hall’s Patrons’ reception and dinner, followed by a concert by the Los Angeles Philharmonic.  To be clear, my brother is the Patron, but he has not renewed his passport that would allow him to cross the Hudson River.  So, at the reception desk, I mumbled Blahblah Gotthelf and picked up his table assignment and tickets.  

The hors d’oeuvres were excellent, notably the caviar, the deviled quail’s eggs and the tuna crudo.  Because the Scotch whiskey was a blend, not single malt, I reverted to rum and Coke (Pepsi actually) as homage to the 1940s.  Dinner was very good.  The salmon was cooked to a perfectly-civilized level of doneness and the chocolate cake superb.

The concert was also memorable.  Two works were performed, Gustav Mahler’s “Symphony No. 1 in D Major” and Gabriela Ortiz’s “Altar di cuerda for Violin and Orchestra.”  Unlike Mahler, Ortiz took many curtain calls, much deserved for the New York premiere of her 2021 work.  Soloist Maria Dueñas, born in Granada, Spain, in 2002, was spectacular.  May I repeat — born in 2002.

Wednesday, October 26, 2022

Linda Greenhouse covered the United States Supreme Court for over 30 years for the New York Times and now is based at Yale Law School.  She spoke this evening at the New-York Historical Society about the jurisprudential posture of the current Court.  She ain't happy. 

Thursday, October 27, 2022

The sports section reported on an upcoming historic event.  "Kim Wyant is the head coach of New York University, which will host powerhouse University of Chicago, coached by Julianne Sitch.  It is believed to be the first N.C.A.A. men’s soccer game in which both coaches are women." 

Of course, this reminded me of Robert M. Hutchins, the outspoken educational philosopher, who served as president and chancellor of the University of Chicago.  Hutchins famously said, "When I feel like exercising I just lie down until the feeling goes away."

. . .

Gentleman Jerry, Ken and I went to Rosetta - The Italian Bakery, 1928 Broadway, opposite Lincoln Center, for lunch.  It's open only one month and, even though Épicerie Boulud, 1900 Broadway, is right across the street and Breads Bakery, 1890 Broadway, is down the block and Le Pain Quotidien, 60 West 65th Street, just round the corner, Rosetta has seemed to find an audience.  It provides ample seating, indoors and out, few spaces were available to us.  The predominantly white interior has a high ceiling and an open and airy feeling.

 

Rectangular pieces of pizza, about 4" by 6" with various toppings, run around nine dollars.  That's expensive, although my mushroom, prosciutto slice tasted very good.  Smallish sandwiches cost $5-18.  Rosetta has a big, attractive array of pastries, which I did not sample on this occasion in a rare exercise of self control.  A domani.