Families Flock to Success Academy Charter Schools

In recent news, New York City’s largest charter-school network had more than 12,200 families file applications for seats at one of the 18 schools in its charter this year. That is nearly five applicants for every one slot. Clearly, Success Academy Charter Schools are doing something right. With guidance from Bradley Tusk and Tusk Strategies, Success Academy currently has 12 schools and they are looking to open another 6 soon.

The Success Academy Charter Schools include more than 20% English Language Learners. This group has been quite underrepresented in the city’s charter system for years. As Success Academy founder and CEO Eva Moskowitz explained, “We are overwhelmed by the sheer number of families across New York City who view us as a great option to educate their children.”

Students were chosen for admission to the schools with a random lottery. The Success Academy started in 2006 in Harlem. By 2012, they had 12 elementary schools and 2 middle schools with a total of 4,600 students in grades K-7.

They are now proposing new schools and are submitting applications to the Trustees of the State University of New York. With the assistance of Bradley Tusk and Tusk Strategies, they hope to open new public charter schools in Manhattan, the Bronx and Queens.

A Fresh Look at the Spring Show NYC

In a recent article in the New York Times, Ken Johnson covers the Spring Show NYC from a new angle. He discussed how the Spring Show NYC, that just took place at the Park Avenue Armory, offered visitors a glimpse at works of art like those many have never seen before.

He pointed out that, of course, there are many works in more familiar genres offered by portraitist Ammi Phillips, Phoenix Ancient Art and others. Unusual finds, however, included, for example, satirical portraits from Carlton Hobbs.

He continued, “A rather different set of objects is at Yew Tree House: more than 200 thin, flat pieces of birch wood in a wide variety of curvy shapes. They belonged to an early-19th-century Swedish woodworker who used them as templates to make parts for ships. Displayed altogether on one wall, they have an elegant, proto-Modernist simplicity.”

More than 60 exhibitors were part of the dramatic show including Anavian Gallery, Arthur Guy Kaplan, Botier, Inc., Clinton Howell Antiques, Phoenix Ancient Art, Crawford and many others.

Great Art on Exhibit Now in New York

There is no shortage of great art to see in one of the greatest cultural capitals of the world, New York City. Here is a short selection of a few worthy exhibitions we think are worth a visit.

• Sara Vanderbeek at Metro Pictures: Exploring the connection between memory, experience and

cultural expression, Vanderbeek created sheets of colored Plexiglas over a series of large-scale, black-and-white phototgraphs. Each photograph is of a colossal Roman marble or bronze sculpture of a female. Opposite the photos is a “colonnade” of abstract rectilinear modules of a similar size to the photos, perhaps suggesting a chicken-or-egg metaphor of classicism in art history. Until June 8 at 519 West 24th Street.

• Mark Greenwold: Murdering the World, Paintings and Drawings 2007-2013 at Sperone Westwater: Distorted bodily proportions and detailed portrayals of interactions between subjects which are subtly unnerving, make these surreal paintings fascinating. May 10-June 28 at 257 Bowery Lower East Side.

• Los Carpinteros, “Irreversible” at Sean Kelly Gallery: Los Carpinteros is a Cuban art collective which

deals mostly with the images from socialist ruling powers of the past and present. The new exhibit features sculptures and their first video. Make sure to see the Lego models of Cold War monuments from the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. May 11-June 22 at 475 Tenth Avenue.

Making New York a Greener, Greater City

With so many concerned citizens thinking about saving energy, New Yorkers should feel lucky and proud that their city is one of only a handful in the United States to take the lead in saving resources in the building industry.

Not only have the efforts of government agencies like PlaNYC taken major steps to making the city a “greener and greater New York,” but companies such as IDT Energy are also doing their part to bring the ‘green’ back to town.

The plan proposes ten far-reaching goals that address a different part of New York’s environment. The end result being a 5% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, which is just the first step to reaching the goal of a 30% reduction by the year 2030. This initiative will create about 18,000 jobs over the next 10 years, and save New York about $7 billion.

Customers with IDT Energy can choose the ‘green’ option when they sign up, or at any time after. When they do, they can feel happy knowing that their electricity is coming completely from hydropower, which is a renewable resource.

New Yorkers, together with New York City, are setting the “Greatest City on Earth” onto the path of the future: of conserving resources and using renewable sources of energy whenever possible.

Take a Break in Bryant Park

Oasis in Manhattan

Bryant Park is like an oasis in the desert of New York concrete. Situated in midtown on Sixth Avenue between West 40^th and 42^nd Streets, right behind the New York Public Library, Bryant Park is offering a startling list of entertainment events this coming summer, all free.

Here is a sample list of some of the wide variety of offerings to keep you busy in the park on a daily or weekly basis:

• ·        Birding Tours
• ·        Fencing lessons for beginners, for free
• ·        Free juggling lessons
• ·        Le Carrousel

In addition, specially scheduled events will keep the place lively. Check out some or all of the following:

• ·        Poem in Your Pocket Day- Thursday, April 18, 11am to 2pm
• ·        Word for Word Poetry- Tuesday, May 14, 2013, 7:00pm to 8:30pm
• ·        Word for Word Kids- Saturday, June 15, 2013, 12:00pm to 1:00pm

Take a walk on the beautiful grounds and see the monuments, gardens, architecture of the surrounding historic buildings. Take a seat and play chess or backgammon; stand up and play a game or two of ping pong; or try your hand at the French game of Pétanque. No matter what your interests, there is something for you to love at Bryant Park.

Who’s to be Mayor in the Big Apple?

Twitter co-founder and CEO of Square, Jack Dorsey, has a new job in mind.  He wants to become New York City’s Mayor…one day.  In a recent interview shown on CBS’s ’60 Minutes,’ Lara Logan said that Dorsey is serious about moving to New York City at some point, and thereafter running for the position of Mayor.

Jack Dorsey was reported to have said that whenever he finds himself in New York City, he feels “electricity.”  He compares the feeling to “being caught in a car during a thunderstorm.”  Maybe the guy who does not even have a desk (he just uses his iPad), and had a speech impediment in his youth could lead the city to great things one day.

In the meantime, just a few days ago, Republican Tom Allon pulled out of the current mayoral race. The reasons cited were lack of campaign funding.   Given this, it seems as if the Liberal Party is now back in with a chance as it had previously supported Allon.

Barnes & Noble Partnering with Read Across America Day

If you’re in the New York area, you just might want to get to a Barnes & Noble soon to enjoy their offerings for the National Education Association’s Read Across America Day. Designated on March 1 every year (and coinciding with Dr. Seuss’ birthday for some extra fun) the Read Across America Day serves to encourage reading and education across the country.

Today, some 45 million people participate in Read Across America Day, something that would certainly have made some of our presidents, like Harry Truman, happy. As the Shapell Manuscript Foundation recently explained on their Between the Lines program, Truman loved to read. A letter that Shapell has in its possession from President Truman states,

 “I had to study whether I wanted to or not.  Read the Old & New Testaments King James translation three times before I was fifteen, and all the histories of world leaders and heroes I could find.  Our public library in Independence had about three or four thousand volumes, including the encyclopedias! Believe it or not I read ‘em all – including the enclo’s. Maybe I was a damphool [damn fool] but it served me well when my terrible trial came.”

Surely, he would be thrilled to see the many programs that take place for Read Across America Day. And as part of this event, Barnes & Noble is offering customers to one $25 gift card when they purchase the NOOK HD at the retail stores between March 2, 2013 and March 31, 2013. This is part of their effort to honor Read Across America Day and to encourage children to foster a love for learning.