uptown, crosstown and heavenward

EAST SIDE ENCOUNTERS

BY ARLENE KAYATT

Transfer rights — Man gets on uptown bus on a late weekend evening. Has an unpleasant exchange with driver. Mumbling, the rider takes a single seat towards back of bus. Seemingly done. Not. Suddenly the driver shouts out, “Hey you, Mister, get off the bus.” Rider comes rushing up to the front of the bus. Words fly. Rider reaches into his pocket. Comes up empty. Driver tells him to get off the bus. Rider threatens to call the police. Driver halts bus. Another rider offers him a transfer. Ignoring it, still mumbling, he gets off the bus. Yet another rider, seated behind the rider who offered the transfer, says “Since you’re giving away the transfer, let me have it.” Sure. Share and share alike. Anytime. Anytime.

Should I stop or should I go? Only Verizon knows — Pedestrians crossing 90th and Lex going from the southeast to the southwest corner have been beleaguered every weekday morning (don’t know about other times) by a Verizon truck blocking the traffic signal which lets pedestrians know the number of seconds they have to cross the street. It seems that the Verizon truck is working in conjunction with the T-Mobile store on the corner immediately behind the traffic signal. Pragmatic pedestrians try to overcome the problem of getting across the street safely by looking over at the traffic signal on the opposite northwest corner. No go. There are a gazillion trucks traveling down Lexington that invariably block the traffic signal on that corner as well. And a further complication is that the Verizon truck is standing in a bus stop. Verizon and T-Mobile have to do something about this dangerous situation. If not, the NYCTA/MTA, the NYPD have to intervene. This unsafe, unwieldy has to be remedied.

Nod, nod, wink, wink — New York Republicans recently won approval from the State Board of Elections for a new “Stop de Blasio” line on the November ballot. A recent column in the Post quoted New York County GOP Chairwoman Adele Malpass as telling then Post columnist Fredric Dicker that the purpose of the new line was to give “the large numbers of Democratic and independent voters” who are unhappy with de Blasio’s policies “a place to cast their ballots without feeling uncomfortable about voting Republican.” Sounds to me like a politic way of trying to protect local — or down ballot — candidates from a trickle-down disaster from the top of the ticket in the November election.

Where’s the elevator? Residents in an UES condominium aren’t happy that all of the elevator floor indicators have been kerflooey for weeks, if not months, on end. It’s odd that, despite elevator shutdowns and repair service intervention, the problem hasn’t been solved. One resident complained that her young children were afraid to get off the elevator because they pressed “10” and when the doors opened at their floor, the indicator said “22.” Other residents were concerned that, in the event someone was stuck in the elevator, responders would not know where to go. What’s the problem with getting it finally repaired before there’s a disaster in the very high-rise apartment building?

Herring heaven — My favorite take-out herring is at Sable’s in the East 70s on 2nd Ave where there’s herring of many a persuasion. Zabar’s on Broadway is another herring haven but the herring’s not as good as it is at Sable’s — IMHO of course. You go to Sable’s and Zabar’s for herring and smoked fish and other appetizing take-out. While you can sit down in adjoining cafes (I wouldn’t call Sable’s a sit-down a cafe, but there are tables and seating), they are not where you go for a casual setting to savor herring, smoked salmon or gravlax. You can do that at the newly opened Great Northern Food Hall in Vanderbilt Hall on the street level of Grand Central Station where herring is served as an open-faced sandwich (“smerrebred”) on organic rye bread baked with whole grain rye and sourdough. Worth the trip even if you’re not traveling north.