Vying for vice chairperson: On Thurs., Nov. 20, Community Board 3’s Executive Committee will meet to pick a board member to fill the second vice chairperson position. The seat has been open since Ricky Leung stepped down from it earlier this year. We’re told there are four candidates in the running, including Chad Marlow, Ayo Harrington, Enrique Cruz and Alyssa Lewis-Coleman. Marlow has been on C.B. 3 the longest of them, two years, though previously served on C.B. 2 and represented the Yankees at Bronx community board meetings when the team’s new stadium plan was under review. Harrington and Lewis-Coleman have been on the board about a year, and Cruz a bit less than that. It will be interesting to see the Executive Committee’s thinking on who they’ll pick, since it could offer insight into how the board is dealing with some of the contentious issues that too often dominated C.B. 3 last year. It’s also a strategic position, since vice chairpersons can often climb the ladder to become board chairperson. The meeting is open to the public, though non-board members can only observe, not actively participate in the discussion. Stay tuned!
Georgian food really knocks him out: An East Village source tells us Nevada Senator Harry Reid was recently spotted at Oda House, the new Georgian restaurant, at 76 Avenue B. The Senate majority leader was reportedly there with his family and a Secret Service escort.
Dynamic duo: Jennifer Falk, executive director of the Union Square Partnership business improvement district, and Ernie Anastos, the Fox TV news anchor, were honored by the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce last week at the chamber’s annual Business Awards Breakfast. “The Union Square Partnership is honored to be named 2014 Neighborhood Business Advocate of the Year by the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce,” Falk said. “Our collective efforts on behalf of our business community have greatly contributed to the district’s overall success and have made Union Square one of New York City’s most dynamic neighborhoods. We look forward to bringing even more amenities and community programs to Union Square and continuing to support the vibrant businesses that attract people from all over the city and world here each day.” Anastos was named New Yorker of the Year. Tim Zagat, of restaurant guide fame, and Jill Kaplan, publisher of Crain’s New York Business, were the lead award presenters.
Correction: Our item last week about possibly tainted peanut butter being found smeared in the Leroy St. dog run cited a dog activist’s belief that there had been similar incidents in the Washington Square dog run. But Eileen Shulock, a board member at the latter, said the talk this past summer was that poison was allegedly found along the sidewalks of the Washington Square Village residential complex to the south of the park — not in the park — though she was never able to confirm if this was true with any vets in the area. However, she assured, “No dogs have been poisoned in Washington Square Park dog run!”
Creating some buzz…: Reverend Billy, a.k.a. Billy Talen, and his choir will be holding a “Standing With Ferguson” fundraiser with famed folk singer Joan Baez at Middle Collegiate Church on Wed., Nov. 19. The funds will go toward for their bus trip to Monsanto headquarters in St. Louis, where they will host an “organic Thanksgiving” to highlight the chemical and seed giant’s devastating effects on the world’s bee population. They’ll also give additional money from the show to activists in nearby Ferguson who are keeping up the protests over the police shooting of Michael Brown. Before that, though, Billy and his Stop-Shopping Choir will open their holiday run at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theatre, with their show called — guess what? — “Monsanto Is the Devil.”
