{"id":142807,"date":"2026-02-23T16:07:58","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T16:07:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/142807\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T16:07:58","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T16:07:58","slug":"a-minute-of-silence-in-central-park-for-late-russian-dissident-uwss-dubious-dog-poop-distinction-cycling-club-sues-city-uws-shoe-stores-fundraiser-a-big-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/142807\/","title":{"rendered":"A Minute of Silence in Central Park for Late Russian Dissident; UWS’s Dubious Dog-Poop Distinction; Cycling Club Sues City; UWS Shoe Store’s Fundraiser a Big Success"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A ghostly Upper West Side, seen across the Central Park Reservoir, awaits the arrival of the blizzard. Photo by Ann Cooper<\/p>\n

Today is Monday, February 23rd, 2026.<\/p>\n

Do we even need to say it? Today\u2019s forecast calls for \u2014 insert scream emoji here \u2014 more snow. It should begin tapering off around lunchtime, but \u2014 insert another scream emoji \u2014 there\u2019s a bit more expected on Wednesday, followed by wintery mix on Thursday. The good news: With the exception of tomorrow, temperatures should climb above the freezing mark every day this week.<\/p>\n

On this day in 1954, the first mass inoculation of children against the polio virus began, using a vaccine developed by Harlem-born virologist Jonas Salk.<\/p>\n

Notices<\/p>\n

Our calendar<\/a>\u00a0has lots of local events.\u00a0Click on the link or the lady in the upper righthand corner to check.<\/p>\n

The Public Design Commission\u2019s meeting to review the redesign of the River Run Playground<\/a>, originally scheduled to be held both in person and online this morning at 11:30, will, because of the weather, now only be held online. Members of the public can give testimony; register \u2014 HERE<\/a>. Link for the meeting, on Microsoft Teams platform, is \u2014 HERE<\/a>; the meeting also can be accessed by calling 1-332-910-6701 (phone conference ID: 422 658 002#).<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re interested in serving on a community board, the deadline for submitting your application is 5 p.m. this Friday. Apply \u2014 HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

News Roundup<\/p>\n

Compiled by Laura Muha<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Members of Team Navalny NY gather at a memorial bench to Russian dissident Alexei Navalny on the anniversary of his death. Photo by Ann Cooper<\/p>\n

A bench just inside the West 96th Street entrance to Central Park was the rallying point last week for a group honoring the memory of the late Russian dissident Alexei Navalny.<\/p>\n

At noon on Monday, \u00a0the second anniversary of Navalny\u2019s death in a Russian prison, members of Team Navalny NY met outside the Russian consulate on East 91st Street, then walked across the park to the bench, where they laid flowers, lit candles, and held a minute of silence, ending with chants of \u201cRussia will be free!\u201d<\/p>\n

The Russian government attributed Navalny\u2019s death to natural causes, but that has been disputed by his widow and, separately, by a coalition of European governments, which announced in a joint statement last week<\/a> that toxicology tests found a rare and lethal toxin derived from the skin of a South American poison dart frog in the 47-year-old Navalny\u2019s system. \u201cOnly the Russian government had the means, motive and opportunity to deploy this lethal toxin against Alexei Navalny during his imprisonment in Russia,\u201d the Europeans said.<\/p>\n

After his death, the Russian consulate in New York was the site of frequent demonstrations. Protestors, including many Russian exiles now living in the city, left piles of flowers and photos of Navalny across the street from the consulate. However, the tributes were always promptly removed by the consulate, so Team Navalny NY raised money to affix a memorial plaque to a bench in Central Park in fall of 2024. The choice was not random: In one of his popular video investigations, Navalny used another Central Park bench plaque as the jumping off point for a corruption probe that aired on YouTube<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith Central Park management we have an agreement to use a bench with a plaque in memory of Alexei as a permanent memorial,\u201d organizers wrote in Russian on the group\u2019s Facebook page. \u201cFlowers and portraits of Navalny can be left there and they will remain there much longer than in the Russian consulate. We want more people to be able to see them and remember Alexei.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Central Park bench plaque reads: \u201cIn memory of Alexei Navalny. Never give up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Courtesy WSR archives.<\/p>\n

It seems the UWS is getting a reputation for \u2014 how to put this delicately? \u2014 dog poop. Or, to be more specific, dog owners who don\u2019t pick the stuff up, in direct violation of city law.<\/p>\n

The subject made the news not once, but twice last week, with Gothamist reporting that the UWS \u2014 specifically Riverside Drive in the vicinity of West 106th Street \u2014 has the dubious distinction of being the third-worst block in the city in terms of dog feces, according to 311 call data. (There were 14 complaints about the block since the January 25th snowstorm, though the \u201cwinning\u201d block \u2014 49th Street between Third and Fourth avenues in Sunset Park, Brooklyn \u2014 had twice that number.)<\/p>\n

The New York Post, meanwhile, profiled UWSer Olivia Bannerman, a software designer and part-time model, whom the publication dubbed \u201cthe poop fairy\u201d because she\u2019s made it her mission to pick up after not only her own dog, but other dogs as well, \u201cin a task she\u2019s likened to a disturbing \u2018Easter egg hunt.’\u201d<\/p>\n

(\u201cShe\u2019s gotta do what she\u2019s gotta doo doo,\u201d quipped the publication, adding that there\u2019s so much waste to pick up that Bannerman goes through an entire roll of poop bags in 15 minutes.)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not selfless,\u201d she told the Post. \u201cIn turn, I get to walk around a slightly poop-less area. But I think that it\u2019s just important that we remember that we\u2019re all connected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sanitation department spokesman Joshua Goodman told Gothamist that dog owners are legally required to pick up their dog\u2019s waste, \u201cregardless of the weather or conditions on the ground. It is irresponsible and just gross to leave this behind anywhere, whether it\u2019s a sidewalk, a patch of grass or a snow pile.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pet owners can be fined $250 for failing to pick up their dog\u2019s waste, but, unfortunately, an enforcement officer has to witness it in order to write the summons, Goodman said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe chances of someone not picking up after their dog while an enforcement officer is watching is very, very slim. So slim, that we issued just two summonses for failure to remove canine waste in 2025,\u201d Goodman said. \u201cIt is clear that people only leave piles behind when they know no one is watching.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read the Gothamist story \u2014 HERE<\/a>; the New York Post story \u2014 HERE<\/a>; and, ICYMI, a guest essay that we ran on the subject earlier this month \u2014 HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Cyclists in Central Park. Photo courtesy WSR archives.<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s oldest cycling club is suing the city, claiming the new 15 mph speed limit for bikes in Central Park was implemented illegally.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not that I am saying the city doesn\u2019t have the right, but it has to follow the proper procedure; they need to do it via a rule change or legislation,\u201d Paul Beadle, attorney for\u00a0 the New York Cycle Club, told StreetsBlog.<\/p>\n

Instead, shortly before he left office, Mayor Eric Adams announced the speed limit was being lowered under something known as Sammy\u2019s Law. Named for Sammy Cohen Eckstein, a 12-year-old boy who was struck and killed by car in 2013 on Prospect Park West, the law gives the city the power to drop the speed limit as low as 10 mph on certain roads as long as it gives 60 days advance notice and the opportunity for community boards to comment.<\/p>\n

However, the cycling group argues in court papers filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan that the law applies only to motor vehicles and not to bicycles.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s unfortunate and absurd that this challenge is having to be brought by cycling groups because Mayor Adams chose to pervert the meaning of Sammy\u2019s Law and circumvent the city\u2019s own rule process,\u201d \u00a0Beadle said.<\/p>\n

But Vin Barone, a spokesman for the city\u2019s Department of Transportation, said the city is confident the 15 mph limit will hold up in court.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe new speed limit in Central Park \u2014 which applies equally to bikes and essential vehicles\u2014aligns with the speed limit for e-scooters and e-bikes on city streets,\u201d he said. \u201cThis new speed limit reduces confusion, promotes safety, and helps ensure the park remains a comfortable place for everyone\u2014from families and runners to daily cyclists. We are confident in this policy and look forward to defending it in court.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read the full story \u2014 HERE.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Photo courtesy of Holden Nagelberg.<\/p>\n

Holden Nagelberg, owner of the new Harrys Shoes, reached out to ask the Rag to pass on his thanks to the UWS customers for helping to make the store\u2019s December \u201cFight Hunger And Save\u201d fundraiser a huge success.<\/p>\n

The company recently wrote a check for nearly $19,000 to West Side Campaign Against Hunger.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do a promotion we call \u201cFight Hunger And Save\u201d every Black Friday through Christmas,\u201d Nagelberg said. \u201cDuring this period, we offer a small discount on any shoe purchase if the customer donates at least $1. We then match all of these contributions 100% and donate all the proceeds to a food bank.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe chose West Side Campaign Against Hunger as our local food bank \u2026 based on their long standing presence in the community, their commitment to provide fresh produce and other healthy food options to their customers, their excellent Charity Navigator rating, and of course their close proximity to our store,\u201d Nagelberg wrote. \u201cIt really is a wonderful organization, and we\u2019re so happy to be able to join with our customers to make such a significant contribution.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Other UWS News<\/p>\n

The Columbia Spectator recently took a look at the mayoral appointees from the neighborhood and its surrounds, and it turns out there are a lot of them.\u00a0Read the story \u2014 HERE<\/a>.
\nEsri, a company that develops geographic information system software, recently did a fascinating story for its website on New York City\u2019s use of contraceptives to attempt to control its rat population. Why, you ask, would a software company be writing about this? It turns out that Python \u2014 the coding language, not the snake \u2014 was part of the solution. Read the story \u2014 HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

ICYMI<\/p>\n

Here are a few stories we think are worth a look if you missed them last week \u2014 or a second look if you saw them. (Note that our comments stay open for six days after publication, so you may not be able to comment on all of them.)<\/p>\n

UPDATE: Racist Remarks Shock Participants at UWS Schools Meeting: \u2018We Take These Matters Very Seriously\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

A Less-Than-Enlightening Update on the Possibility of Wegmans Opening on the Upper West Side<\/a><\/p>\n

UPDATE: What\u2019s Going on With the 174 Yards of Sidewalk Shed Over The Astor on the Upper West Side<\/a><\/p>\n

Subscribe to West Side Rag\u2019s FREE email newsletter\u00a0here<\/a>. And you can Support the Rag\u00a0here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A ghostly Upper West Side, seen across the Central Park Reservoir, awaits the arrival of the blizzard. Photo…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":142808,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[59996,59997,128,4709,59998,6530,9,24,63,129,131,130],"class_list":{"0":"post-142807","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-the-bronx","8":"tag-alexei-navalny","9":"tag-bicycles","10":"tag-bronx","11":"tag-central-park","12":"tag-dog-poop","13":"tag-dogs","14":"tag-new-york","15":"tag-new-york-city","16":"tag-nyc","17":"tag-the-bronx","18":"tag-the-bronx-headlines","19":"tag-the-bronx-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142807"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142807\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}