By Janel Bladow
This week we’ve celebrated Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, Chinese New Year and Mardi Gras. We’ve sloshed through snow and enjoyed a few above freezing days. Fun for all!
Some firsts…
Our new councilmember, Margaret Chin, issued her first proclamation to a longtime Seaport resident a few weeks ago. Ms. Chin came to Water St. to honor and recognize Anne Bass Goldoff on her 100th birthday and presented her with a large, stunning plaque.
Anne, born in Brooklyn on January 23, 1910, has lived in our neighborhood five years, across the hall from her grandson David Goldoff and his family: wife Beth, sons Drew and Evan, and their two pugs, Max and Molly.
In nicer, warmer weather, neighbors can often catch Anne having coffee and a bagel at Harbour Café or outside her Water St. building, greeting passersby.
“I love it here,” she told Seaport Report about living in our hood. “There’s a lot to see and a lot of people I know for years. I have a lot of company.”
About reaching 100 she said, “I’m very proud.” When asked how she made it to this auspicious landmark, the spunky centenarian replied, “What the hell do I know…print that!” She added that she followed no special diet or exercise routine, saying, “I love what I do. Be happy and enjoy yourself.”
Anne, who had been in and out of the hospital a few years ago, now lives with her full-time caregiver Hadassa “Pauline” Emery. Pauline has been her constant companion for three years.
Anne is the fifth of nine children. Her mother died when she was 11 and as the oldest girl living at home, Anne ran the house with her sisters. This meant she could only go to school every other week. She married in 1934 and moved to Baltimore with her husband and twin sons, Robert and Barry, where she opened a dress shop. When the family returned to New York and settled in Queens, Anne worked in department stores and made sure she had a home-cooked meal on the table every night. Widowed in 1977, Anne moved to Florida, drove her beloved Honda Civic up to age 93, and returned to the city in 2003 to be near her sons and five grandchildren and two great grandkids.
An avid canasta and mah-jongg player, Anne now spends her time watching news programs and sports on TV, rooting on her favorite team, the Mets.
Luxe living on the high seas…
The South Street Seaport Museum has new exhibit opening next month that looks at the grand days of ocean cruising. “DecoDence: Legendary Interiors and Illustrious Travelers Aboard the SS Normandie,” looks at the largest and most luxurious French ocean liner. Streamlined and stacked with three plump red and black funnels, she “was one of the most modern looking ocean greyhounds of her day.” Décor was splendid, including Aubusson carpets, Dupas glass panels and Lalique “towers of light”. Check out the exhibit opening Feb. 18 at 12 Fulton St., www.southstreetseaportmuseum.org.
Saving greenbacks… To celebrate February heritage month, all visitors to the museum shop at the Museum of American Finance, 48 Wall St., get a hefty 20-percent discount on all historical books.
The show goes on… The 1215 Magna Carta might be back home in the U.K. but the rest of the historical exhibit has been extended through April 1 at the Fraunces Tavern Museum, 54 Pearl St., as “The Foundations of Freedom Exhibit.” The Fraunces restaurant has closed at least temporarily, but the museum is still open. For more details: www.frauncestavernmuseum.org.
