{"id":195452,"date":"2026-04-13T14:42:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T14:42:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/195452\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T14:42:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T14:42:07","slug":"avian-influenza-on-the-rise-in-nyc-chef-who-helped-put-uws-on-culinary-map-dies-after-short-illness-uws-activist-still-burns-after-50-years-uws-april-real-estate-sales-off-to-a-good-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/195452\/","title":{"rendered":"Avian Influenza on the Rise in NYC; Chef Who Helped Put UWS on Culinary Map Dies After Short Illness; UWS Activist ‘Still Burns After 50+ Years’; UWS April Real Estate Sales Off to a Good Start"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Cherry blossoms have been getting a lot of attention, but they aren\u2019t the only flowers in bloom in Central Park. Photo by Ann Cooper<\/p>\n

Today is Monday, April 13, 2026<\/p>\n

The calendar says spring, but the temperatures later this week will feel more like summer.\u00a0 Today\u2019s forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies and a high of 77 degrees \u2014 and that\u2019s likely to be the coolest it will be all week. Tomorrow through Thursday, temperatures will climb well into the 80s, with a high of 88 degrees and the possibility of thunderstorms on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

On this date in 1870, the state legislature granted an act of incorporation that formally established The Metropolitan Museum of Art. At the time, the fledgling institution, charged with \u201cencouraging and developing the study of fine arts,\u201d had no art collection and no building; it wasn\u2019t until November of that year that it acquired its first object: a Roman sarcophagus<\/a> gifted by the American vice consul at Tarsus (now Turkey), which is still on display in Gallery 169. In its earliest years, the museum displayed its small collection in rented spaces, but within a decade, the board of trustees had raised enough money to acquire a building at 1000 Fifth Avenue, which would evolve into the Met as we know it today.<\/p>\n

Notices<\/p>\n

Our\u00a0calendar<\/a> has lots of local events.\u00a0Click on the link or the lady in the upper righthand corner to check.<\/p>\n

The Rag is in a moment of transition, seeking to gain nonprofit status that we hope will help our tiny operation gain much-needed financial stability. In the meantime, we\u2019re fundraising: Our writers, who are paid for their work, bring you news, features, profiles, quirky and thoughtful essays, and occasional laughs, all of which is free to you \u2013 we have no paywall. But it is not free to produce, and that is why we are asking for much-needed reader support. If we\u2019re a valuable part of your day, please consider donating. You\u2019ll find the link \u2014 HERE.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Rag\u2019s own West Side Canvas<\/a> columnist Robert Beck<\/a> will talk about how he does what he does in a Zoom presentation next Tuesday, April 21st, from 6 to 7 p.m. It\u2019s hosted by Landmark West; tickets are free to members (and Morningside Heights residents); $6 for nonmembers. They\u2019re available \u2014 HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Every year, City Council allocates discretionary funds to council districts to improve schools, parks, libraries, or other public spaces; how the money is deployed is determined by public vote. This is the week that the ballots are open, so if you\u2019re age 11 or older and want a say in how $1 million in discretionary funding is deployed in our neighborhood this year, cast your ballot \u2014 HERE<\/a> between now and Sunday.<\/p>\n

District 6 residents also can vote in person at City Councilmember Gale Brewer\u2019s office (563 Columbus Avenue at West 87th Street); St. Agnes Library (444 Amsterdam Avenue between West 81st and 82nd streets) and Riverside Library (127 Amsterdam Avenue\u00a0 between West 65th and 66th Streets).<\/p>\n

The Community Board 7 Transportation Committee meets tomorrow, April 14th, at 6:30 p.m. to hear a presentation by the Department of Transportation on the proposed redesign of West 72nd Street between Riverside Drive and Central Park West. The plan calls for removing a travel lane, installing a protected bike lane in both directions, painting pedestrian safety islands at intersections, and installing a center turn lane. You can attend the meeting in person at the CB7 offices at 250 West 87th Street or on Zoom. Register for the link \u2014 HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

News Roundup<\/p>\n

Compiled by Laura Muha<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Photo by Larry D. Moore, via Wikimedia Commons<\/a><\/p>\n

The Wild Bird Fund witnessed a \u201chuge uptick\u201d in the number of suspected cases of avian influenza this winter, Catherine Quayle, director of the Wild Bird Fund, recently told the environmental website Mongabay.com.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe certainly deal with viruses on a day-to-day basis, but nothing like this,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople call us every day [to report sick and dying birds]. About Canada geese, especially.\u201d<\/p>\n

The highly contagious virus, officially known as H5N1, primarily affects birds but can also spread to humans and other animals.<\/p>\n

Since the most recent wave of the virus broke out four years ago, \u201cthe fund has been dealing with a rising tide of suspected highly pathogenic avian influenza cases and operating in \u2018triage mode\u2019 \u2014 setting up isolation areas, adopting new H5N1 virus protocols and relying on protective gear and regular testing,\u201d Mongabay reported.<\/p>\n

In the city, avian influenza has killed swans and geese in Central Park and ducks and wild birds at the Queens and Bronx zoos, the site said. It\u2019s also responsible for the deaths of shorebirds on Long Island, as well as small mammals such as raccoons, skunks, opossums, foxes, and feral cats, as well as more than 130 domestic cats<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

\"\"<\/a>Chef Tom Valenti. Photo courtesy WSR archives<\/p>\n

Tom Valenti, a chef who was known internationally for his efforts on behalf of restaurant workers after 9\/11, and locally for helping to put the UWS on the culinary map, died earlier this month after what a cousin described in his New York Times obituary as a short, sudden illness.<\/p>\n

Valenti was one of the founders of Windows of Hope Family Relief Fund, which raised money for the families of hospitality workers who died in the September 11th World Trade Center attacks; he remained active in the non-profit until his death on April 3.<\/p>\n

Locally, however, he was known as one of the chefs who brought fine dining to the neighborhood, opening the neighborhood favorite Ouest in 2001, followed by \u2018Cesca two years later; in 2008 he opened West Branch.<\/p>\n

He once described his cooking as \u201chaute cuisine with the grandma gene,\u201d and when he opened Ouest on Broadway in 2001, New York magazine called the food \u201cappealing enough to shatter the misperception that there is a lack of worthy places to eat on the Upper West Side\u2026Valenti has honed the menu to the point where almost every dish resonates with love-it-in-an-instant flavors that mask their degrees of difficulty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Valenti closed Ouest in 2015 because, he told the Times, the lease was ending and the neighborhood was changing: \u201cWe used to get the artists, writers, intellectuals, performers on a regular basis,\u201d he said. \u201cBut a lot of those Upper West Side old-timers, people like Sidney Lumet, are gone. And the new people in the big apartments have different interests.\u201d<\/p>\n

But three years later, Valenti opened the Oxbow Tavern, at West 71st Street and Columbus; the menu included favorites such as salmon gravlax and braised lamb shanks from the menu at Ouest, but the atmosphere was more casual.<\/p>\n

In an interview<\/a> he did with the Rag shortly before Oxbow Tavern opened, he said he \u201cwanted to more embrace what I think a neighborhood that is familiar to me is looking for \u2013 and is frankly how I like to eat.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that I have always hung my hat on the fine dining hook,\u201d he told the Rag, \u201cand while I\u2019m not losing that here, I also want to be able to offer a nice sandwich. I mean who doesn\u2019t want a nice sandwich?\u201d<\/p>\n

Oxbow opened to strong reviews, but shuttered when the pandemic struck and never reopened. Most recently, Valenti worked as executive chef at the Jockey Hollow Bar & Kitchen in Morristown, New Jersey.<\/p>\n

Read the New York Times obituary \u2014 HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Arlene Geiger. Photo by Andrea Sachs, courtesy WSR archives<\/p>\n

The Chelsea News turned its attention uptown last week, for a Q and A with longtime UWS activist Arlene Geiger. (The headline: \u201cFirebrand Still Burns after 50+ Years of Local Activism.\u201d)<\/p>\n

Geiger, who retired in 2017 after 30 years of teaching at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, is the founder and leader of the Upper West Side Action Group, which describes itself as \u201ca congenial political action group\u201d formed after the 2016 election. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The Rag profiled her last summer, but she\u2019s been busy since then; she worked on last month\u2019s No Kings Day protest and currently is helping to organize a May 1 \u201cWorkers Over Billionaires\u201d strike, urging Americans to refuse to do business as usual: \u201cNo work, no school, no shopping.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more about what she\u2019s been up to \u2014 HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Beresford. Photo by David Shankbone, via Wikimedia Commons<\/a><\/p>\n

The luxury real estate market on the UWS got off to a strong start in April, Patch reported, with six multi-million-dollar closings between March 30 and April 5.<\/p>\n

The top sale was in the pre-war Beresford, at 211 Central Park West, where a four-bedroom, four-bath co-op with a formal dining room, a gallery, a chef\u2019s eat-in kitchen, and a library,\u00a0 went for $8.5 million.<\/p>\n

The next most expensive sale was a few blocks away: a two-bedroom for just under $7 million at 15 Central Park West, while a five-bedroom condo on West End Avenue went for $6.95 million.<\/p>\n

Read the story and see details of all the listings \u2014 HERE.<\/a><\/p>\n

In other UWS News:<\/p>\n

The website visualcapitalist.com, which specializes in data-driven visualizations, recently ran a graphic of tallest buildings in the United States. While none are on the UWS, a couple of them do cast their shadows on us. See the graphic \u2014 HERE<\/a>.
\nThe Central Park Conservancy recently announced a partnership with the environmental non-profit Big Reuse, to convert the thousands of pounds of leaves, weeds, and other organic material generated every year in the park into compost that can be reused in the park\u2019s gardens and landscapes. Read about it \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

A WSR Conversation With Stephanie Ruskay in the Run-Up to the UWS-Morningside Heights State Assembly Election<\/a><\/p>\n

Spring Bird Migration on the Upper West Side: An Expert Shares What to Look For<\/a><\/p>\n

What\u2019s Behind the Magical Looking Doors Within the 72nd Street Train Station?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cherry blossoms have been getting a lot of attention, but they aren\u2019t the only flowers in bloom in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":195453,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[75,84,83,9,24,63,77942,38506],"class_list":{"0":"post-195452","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manhattan","8":"tag-manhattan","9":"tag-manhattan-headlines","10":"tag-manhattan-news","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-city","13":"tag-nyc","14":"tag-tom-valenti","15":"tag-wild-bird-fund"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195452","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=195452"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195452\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/195453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=195452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=195452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=195452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}