Sue Zeigler's blog

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.  read more »

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 bike helmets while supplies last at the Countee Cullen Library
104 West 136 St
Manhattan 10030

You must be present to get a helmet and you must learn how to properly fit and wear it before you receive it. Adults over 18 receiving a helmet must sign a waiver, and a parent or legal guardian must be present to sign a waiver for children under age 18.

Full listing of Bike Month events (including the other boroughs)
And stop by your local public library for a brand new copy of the NYC Cycling Map.

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 and for its clients.  read more »

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.

I had gone to see Keith Haring’s “Crack is Wack” murals, painted on either side of a wall shared between 2 handball courts. They were painted in 1986, a year after he designed the poster for the 1985 “New York is Book Country”. I sold posters at NYBC for many years (to raise money for library programs), but missed out on selling that one. Still, that poster was my first exposure to Keith Haring.

I’d vaguely known about the “Crack is Wack” murals before, but discovered they were still around and only a few blocks from my base of operations, the 125th Street Library, when I checked my 2004 Not for Tourists Guide to New York. The murals are really closer to 128th Street than 127th (as identified by NFT and the Parks Department), and closest to the Harlem River Drive (look for them the next time you drive by).

Nowhere, not posted on the locked gate, or on the generally informative NYC Parks website, can I find when the playground is open. So our photos of the murals are through the fence. Many thanks to James Drumgo for the photos.

Eleven days later, during the recent warm spell, I went back to see if the playground was open. No. No signs. This time I noticed other things: the tables with built-in chess boards, the pristine condition of the basketball nets, the unsmudged court markings, the winter-dead plants among the living. Half a block away, children were playing baseball, lacrosse, and soccer on the green artificial turf of the Harlem River Park. They could reach it safely via pedestrian bridges over the highway exits and 128th Street. That park is not an island.

I suspect that the Crack is Wack playground would be used, despite the dangers of reaching it, if it were open. There are a few small apartment buildings a block away and the 126th Street Bus Depot just across the street.

So, it is only semi “cool in your code”. The murals are cool (even though you have to walk three quarters of the way around the park to see the both sides), but the chained, locked gate is not. I’ll let you know when I find it open. Meanwhile, here's a video from the Parks Department about the three Keith Haring murals in NYC parks.

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? There are locations in all 5 boroughs where you can have your seat inspected by appointment.

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

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 the Directory of Community Services and 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 TV if the title is copyrighted (haven’t had time to explore that!), but it is perfect!

Today’s “cool in your code (10035)” is the Mariachi Academy of New York: “the first school in the East Coast dedicated to educating young girls and boys in a celebrated and cherished musical tradition of Mexico.” How cool is that!! I was charmed, just by the idea.

“The Mariachi Academy provides unique learning opportunities for youth interested in playing instruments and singing classic rancheras while helping to develop a strong sense of identity and community pride in a bilingual environment. The Academy is open to Mexican and non-Mexican students, ages 7-17.”

AND THAT'S NOT ALL!

The Mariachi Academy has an advanced group of students that participate in community cultural events. They are fifteen students who perform for 30 minutes accompanied by an artistic director who may provide an interactive workshop about Mariachi music and the program. They may not be booked for private parties, weddings, etc. Call (212) 729-7678 for availability.

STAY TUNED FOR MORE COOL IN ZIP CODE 10035!