Posts by Sue Zeigler

Harlem is the home to a rich variety of music. In addition to the Mariachi Academy of New York, zip code 10035 is also currently home to the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. I recently visited the Visitor Center of the Jazz Museum, located at 104 East 126th Street on the second floor.
Inside, I found a cool oasis-jazz music was playing at just the perfect volume in a big light room.

Psst! Have you heard? May is Bike Month in New York City! There are too many activities to report in this blog, but as a teaser, here are a few in Northern Manhattan:

• Learn to Ride-Kids Saturday, May 9, 2009
  10 am-12 noon
  Riverside Park Promenade between 83rd and 86th
• Learn to Ride-Kids Saturday, May 30, 2009
  10 am-12 noon
  Inwood Hill Park (Indian Road and 218th St.)

Pre-registration required: call (212) 9320-BIKE or visit Bike New York’s website (Bring your own bike and helmet.)

Have a bike but no helmet? On Saturday, May 16, 2009 from 12 noon – 4 pm, the Department of Transportation (DOT) will give away free 

STRIVE (Support and Training Result In Valuable Employees)

On the southwest corner of 123rd Street and Second Avenue in East Harlem sits the Cultural Building of Taino Towers. Hope and possibility fill this building. The Harlem Day Charter School occupies the first and fourth floors. The cheerful sounds of children at play on the playground filled the air midday, when I first visited. But I was headed to the third floor to visit STRIVE: a training center for adults who want to find and hold meaningful, productive jobs. STRIVE stands for Support and Training Result In Valuable Employees, but the name also reflects the ambition of the organization for itself 

On the sunny spring day of the Yankee’s home opener, another park, not that far away was empty and locked. From the Crack is Wack Playground you could see the Direct TV blimp hovering over Yankee Stadium. The playground is an attractive little triangular park bounded by 127th Street, Second Avenue, and the Harlem River Drive. There are basketball courts, benches in the sun, drinking fountains, curving paths, and sturdy plantings. But it is surrounded by a tall locked fence. And it is an island amidst the multiple diverging streams of traffic to/from the Harlem River Drive, and the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge.

Right here in zip code 10035 you can keep your child safe in your car. Just stop by Chevrolet-Saturn of Harlem on Saturday, April 11 between 11 am and 3 pm for a FREE safety check of your child car seat.

A trained car seat technician will check your seat and demonstrate correct installation. No appointment is necessary. DOT is sponsoring this event is in partnership with Safe Kids New York City and Chevrolet-Saturn of Harlem.

Chevrolet-Saturn of Harlem
2485 Second Avenue (at 127th Street)
Manhattan 10035

This FREE event will be held again on Saturday, May 9: same time, same place. Can’t make it on those days?  

The 125th Street Library announces our 2nd Annual 125th Street Poetry Contest (poetry slam!)

All are invited to submit entries, multiple submissions are encouraged, but only one will be chosen for entry!

Thursday, April 2nd, 2009: 4 PM

125th Street Library
224 East 125th Street
New York, NY
10035
(212) 534-5050

For more information contact John Fahs, Senior Young Adult Librarian. Images are from last year's event.

Although I have worked for NYPL for over 23 years, I never worked in a Manhattan branch before arriving at the 125th Street Branch in January. I’ve been exploring the 125th Street neighborhood from the Information Desk by looking at the local organizations listed in Community Board 11’s list of Community Based Organizations.

In order to stay truly local, I’ve (so far) limited my explorations to our zip code 10035. Fortunately, the 125th Street Branch is fairly well centered in this zip code. There is a program on Channel 25: “Cool in Your Code” that I think is a good title for what I’d like to make available to our users. Apologies to NYC