seen and heard

east side observer

BY ARLENE KAYATT

Getting what he asks for — While our mayor claims to not speak for his wife, he was loud and clear in saying he thought Chirlane McCray should be paid for what she does in her role as first lady. Before he gets what he asked for or taken up on that request, he may want to speak to an accountant, or to the city comptroller. As first lady, McCray travels the city, the state, the country, even the world. If she were paid, the cost of her travel could conceivably be imputed to her as income. Maybe it can be anyway. Don’t know. When former first lady Donna Hanover (at the time married to then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani) wanted to be paid for her work, she went to NY’s favorite TV show employer of NY actors at the time, “Law and Order,” and was cast as a judge, and she can be seen to this day on that show’s never-ending reruns. In rebutting — maybe rebuking — her husband, McCray may be envisioning the benefits of her non-paying first ladyship — being seen and heard without having to deal with or reach out to pesky donors who can sully her good name and work as she aspires to a political career. To each her own. Not bad work if you can get it.

Going route-less — I heard a rumor some months ago that the M4 and Q32 bus routes were being terminated (they share the last stop at 32nd Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues) and that that 32nd Street block was going to be turned into a pedestrian mall of sorts. It is a shabby block, but turning it into a pedestrian-only traverse in Penn Station/Madison Square Garden country doesn’t seem like good city planning. Picky picky. Haven’t been able to confirm that bit of upset to urban planning. I cannot imagine that cutting those bus lines will make for fewer vehicles on the street or that better scheduling of buses on their routes wouldn’t make for better ridership. Taking away buses that transport people to and from Penn Station to stops through Manhattan and as far away as Queens (Q32) just doesn’t make sense. How will obliterating the routes cut down on the number of cars and taxis (Uber, Lyft, Via included) clogging traffic? Trying to track down whether or not the two bus routes were being cut was fruitless. And now comes the confirmed promise of cuts to the M104 bus route as set forth in a letter to the new head of NYC Transit, Andrew Byford, from UWS and Hell’s Kitchen Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal. Rosenthal is calling on Byford to “drop the implementation” of scheduled cuts to the M104. While the MTA statistics show a drop in ridership on the M104, Rosenthal’s constituents, in a petition, explain that the reason for the drop in ridership is attributable to long waits and riders having to opt for more reliable (and expensive) means of transportation. Rosenthal requested a hearing so that her constituents (and others) “can address the transportation challenges they face when trying to use the M104 bus.” Stay tuned while waiting for the next bus. Be assured that they will arrive at least two or three at a time. And the MTA will attribute more cuts to lack of ridership.

Looking back — Some weeks ago The Times and this column wrote about the return of David Santiago to his home in the new Essex Crossing housing development on the Lower East Side after 50 years. The site was razed starting in 1967 and, as one of the original tenants, Santiago had the right to come home. And he did. It just took too too long. Shortly after moving in, he died of a heart attack. His brother found him in the apartment. RIP David.

Some hope — After hearing that Yorkville’s Glaser’s Bake Shop was closing down, I found myself checking in on another old-time bakery, Moishe’s, on Second Avenue and Seventh Street. Asked if they had any plans for leaving. “No,” assured the woman behind the counter, “he owns the building.” Hmm. So did Glaser’s, I thought. Hate to be a naysayer. Moishe’s is more than just an old-timer. They have the best kosher sponge cake in town. And in the East Village. A developer’s dream. Oy.