{"id":300555,"date":"2026-07-20T13:14:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T13:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/300555\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T13:14:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T13:14:08","slug":"monday-bulletin-ms-now-correspondent-pays-a-visit-to-the-uws-uws-teacher-remembered-30-years-after-her-death-on-twa-flight-800-editorials-push-back-against-proposed-horse-carriage-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/300555\/","title":{"rendered":"Monday Bulletin: MS NOW Correspondent Pays a Visit to the UWS; UWS Teacher Remembered 30 Years After Her Death on TWA Flight 800; Editorials Push Back Against Proposed Horse-Carriage Ban"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Manhattenhenge, as seen on July 11 from Amsterdam and West 79th Street. Photo by Deborah Hautzig.<\/p>\n

Today is Monday, July 20th, 2026<\/p>\n

The forecast calls for partly sunny skies and a high of 82 \u2014 a big improvement over last week, when the temperatures were sweltering and the sky was hazy with the smoke from Canadian wildfires. The rest of the week also should be fairly comfortable, with highs in the upper 70s to mid 80s; the only rain in the forecast is tomorrow, when there\u2019s a possibility of a stray thunderstorm.<\/p>\n

On this date in 1969, astronaut Neil Armstrong opened the hatch of Apollo 11\u2019s lunar landing module, climbed down a ladder and became the first person ever to set foot on the surface of the moon. \u201cThat\u2019s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind,\u201d he told the world over a staticky audio transmission<\/a>. The word \u201ca\u201d in that famous quote is in parentheses in the official NASA transcript, because it\u2019s not clear whether he actually said it (as he\u2019d intended to do) or forgot it in the excitement of the moment. Scientific analyses of the tape over the years have come to differing conclusions.<\/p>\n

Notices:\u00a0<\/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

Calling all cooks (and creative non-cooks)! Do you have a favorite family recipe? If so, we\u2019d love to know about it, and also about the story behind it. Our inspiration: Yvonne V\u00e1vra\u2019s June 27 column about a mysterious grocery list<\/a>, in which she wistfully said that she wished the neighborhood had a community cookbook like the East Village\u2019s, filled with the recipes that UWSers can\u2019t live without. \u201cI want our Upper West Side apple cakes that have been in our families for generations, and I want them now!\u201d she wrote. \u201cI\u2019d even try your potatoes and fat in honor of our culinary heritage.\u201d Judging from the enthusiastic responses in the comments section, you agreed with her \u2014 and suggested the Rag ought to take a stab at putting something together. We thought that was a terrific idea \u2014 perhaps not a cookbook right away, but at least the possibility of a cooking column to see where it takes us. If you\u2019d like to contribute, send us your recipe (info@wsr.com) tell us why it has a place on your table, and we\u2019ll take it from there. (No recipes from copyrighted cookbooks please, unless you\u2019ve made it your own and clearly identify the original source.)<\/p>\n

The documentary Wild Inside, which tells the story of Flaco the owl<\/a>\u2018s escape from the Central Park Zoo and subsequent year of freedom, premieres Wednesday with a free outdoor screening at the park\u2019s Great Hill, which stretches from 103rd to 107th streets. Bring a blanket \u2014 it\u2019s lawn seating \u2014 and \u201cdoors\u201d open at 7:30 p.m., with the screening itself beginning at 9 p.m. Rain date is Thursday, and if outdoor movies aren\u2019t your thing, you\u2019ll be able to see it at Manhattan\u2019s IFC Center in Greenwich Village beginning on on Friday, July 31. More information \u2014 HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Please consider donating to the Rag! As we\u2019ve noted on a couple of different occasions recently, the Rag is in a period of transition, as we seek non-profit status. We know we\u2019ve had our hand out a lot lately, but your donations really do help; they go to pay our writers while our non-profit paperwork winds its way through the bureaucracy. If you\u2019d like to support us, the link is \u2014 HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

News Roundup<\/p>\n

Compiled by Laura Muha<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Jacob Soboroff. Photo by Bodyoaken, via Wikimedia Commons.<\/a><\/p>\n

Jacob Soboroff, senior political correspondent for MS NOW, recently paid a visit to the UWS for a segment of \u201cPrediction Markets,\u201d a regular feature in which he asks random people to make predictions about current events.<\/p>\n

In the past, he\u2019s canvassed shoppers at the Grand Central Market in Los Angeles, and attendees at the opening of the Obama Presidential Library in Chicago; this time his destination was the 97th Street Greenmarket on Amsterdam Avenue, where he asked shoppers, among other things, who would win the Maine senatorial race, whether Taylor Swift or Bad Bunny would get more Emmy nominations \u2014 and what they thought President Trump would slap his name on next.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew Yorkers never, ever disappoint,\u201d said Soboroff, who called the segment \u201cone of my favorite Prediction Markets yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watch it (and see what UWSers predicted) \u2014 HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Photo by Alain Durand via Wickimedia Commons.<\/a><\/p>\n

Thirty years ago last Friday, TWA Flight 800 exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the South Shore of Long Island, killing all 230 passengers and crew members on board.<\/p>\n

Among them was UWSer Lois Van Epps, whose friends \u2014 including actor Joe Mantegna \u2014 remembered her on NY1 on the anniversary of her death.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure I\u2019d be an actor today if she hadn\u2019t been part of my life,\u201d said Mantegna, who met Van Epps in the 1960s when he was a student at an Illinois high school where she was teaching. She encouraged him to pursue acting after seeing him audition for a student production of \u201cWest Side Story.\u201d \u201c[H]er encouragement and support \u2026 in terms of what I was pursuing, had a huge impact on me continuing on and joining the drama department at that school [and going] on to the junior college,\u201d he told the station.<\/p>\n

Van Epps, who was en route to France to visit friends when she died, lived on the UWS but commuted daily to Edgemont High School in\u00a0 Scarsdale, where she taught English and drama.<\/p>\n

Susan Barniker, a French teacher who carpooled with Van Epps, said that going to work, they never dawdled, but coming home, Van Epps liked to indulge her sense of adventure by taking back roads. \u201c[S]he would get off one of the bridges and wander through the areas of northern New York. I saw things I had never seen before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fellow English teacher Hannah Hyle told NY1 that when she thinks of Van Epps, she thinks of \u201chappy things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just what you\u2019ve lost, it\u2019s what you\u2019ve had,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd \u2026 we had a lot of good times.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\"\"<\/a>Horse-drawn carriage. Photo from WSR archives.<\/p>\n

Editorials from not one, but two mainstream news sites are pushing back against a law to ban horse-drawn carriages, which currently is being considered by the City Council.<\/p>\n

The New York Post editorial called such a ban \u201ctrue cruelty,\u201d for both the drivers and the horses themselves. \u201cThe idea that forcefully-retired equines will live out peaceful lives at pastoral sanctuaries is pure \u2018fantasy,’\u201d the editorial said, quoting a veterinarian who testified on the bill at a hearing last week.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, amNY\u2019s editorial writers urged the City Council not to rush into the ban, but to first explore all options.<\/p>\n

Both editorials appeared last week after the City Council\u2019s Health Committee heard public testimony on the bill, named Romanch\u2019s Law after 18-year-old Romanch Mahajan, who died after falling from a carriage in Central Park in May. The bill would ban carriage horses, but also includes a provision to help \u201cretrain\u201d the drivers for other work.<\/p>\n

The Post wrote that the testimony by the teen\u2019s family was heart-wrenching. But, the editorial pointed out, the teen\u2019s death was the only one in the industry\u2019s 160-year history, compared to 133 deaths who have died in e-bike accidents since 2019. \u201cNew York City sees other deadly accidents all the time \u2014 without prompting a rush to outright ban cars, construction work or e-bikes. And the testimony from those in the industry \u2014 the ones who\u2019d lose their livelihoods, not to mention, in all likelihood, their horses \u2014 was powerful, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

amNY, meanwhile, brought up another bill introduced by City Council Member James Gennaro, which would not ban horse-drawn carriages, but which would impose stricter regulations on the industry, including mandating that horses be tied to hitching posts when not in transit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe think that the City Council ought to seriously consider giving Gennaro\u2019s bill a shot, as a one-last-chance measure for the horse carriage industry,\u201d the publication\u2019s editorial board wrote. \u201cAt the same time, we also believe the Council should simultaneously test an idea previously pitched in the horse carriage debate: replacing horse-drawn rides with electric replicas of classic vehicles to chauffeur tourists through the park.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read the Post op-ed \u2014 HERE <\/a>and the amNY op-ed \u2014 HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In Other UWS News<\/p>\n

Patch reports that it was another good week for the UWS luxury real estate market, with seven deals closing at over $4 million. Details of the top sales are \u2014 HERE.<\/a>
\nSpeaking of luxury real estate: DesignMilk.com, a lifestyle and design site, featured the remodel of an UWS penthouse that required all the large custom pieces to be lifted to the top floor by crane because the building\u2019s elevators were too small for them. See the results of the remodel \u2014 HERE<\/a>.
\nTom Cruise was supposed to be the guest of honor at a showing of The Odyssey at the AMC Lincoln Square last week, but he missed it after a thunderstorm disrupted his travel plans. By the time he got there the movie was over \u2014 so he got the theater to give him a special screening \u2014 and invited AMC employees to join him, Entertainment Tonight reported. 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

People From all Over Are Traveling to the Upper West Side to Watch a Movie: Here\u2019s Why<\/a><\/p>\n

Upper West Side Historical Photo Challenge No. 31<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018Stranger Things\u2019 Star Leads Acting Lesson for UWS Elementary School: Watch It<\/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":"Manhattenhenge, as seen on July 11 from Amsterdam and West 79th Street. Photo by Deborah Hautzig. Today is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":300556,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,114057,9,24,63,129,131,130],"class_list":["post-300555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-bronx","tag-monday-bulletin","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300555","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=300555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300555\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/300556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=300555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=300555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=300555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}