This Week In & Around Chelsea: September 11-17, 2023

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Here’s What’s Happening In & Around Chelsea

Pick of the Week / CB4 Committee Meetings: ACES & BLP / Vinyl Nights / 10th Precinct Sector C Build the Block Meeting / Upcoming Events: The London Terrace Street Fair / Ongoing Events: Free Fitness Boot Camp, Retrospection/Continuance at Hudson Guild Gallery,  Fresh Food for Seniors /  

PICK OF THE WEEK: FREE Back to the Future movie screening on Wednesday, September 13. See the below flyer for all essential info–and to RSVP, click here.

The Manhattan Community Board 4 (CB4) Arts, Culture, Education & Street Life Committee meets on Monday, September 11, 6:30pm | MISSION: ACES provides support and access to arts and cultural resources (from public and private stakeholders) available to residents and organizations of the District; Advocates for the advancement of education and youth-focused institutions and programs; and provides a place for residents and businesses to voice concerns. ACES also has specific oversight in the approval of street activity permits. The September 11 meeting’s “hybrid” format allows attendance via Zoom (click here to register), CB4’s YouTube channel, and in person at MCB4’s office (424 W. 33rd St., Suite 580). MCB4 strongly recommends attending virtually. If you plan on attending in-person, please contact District Manager Jesse Bodine, at jbodine@cb.nyc.gov. To attend by phone, the conference call number is 646-518-9805 (when prompted for the Webinar ID, enter 961 6164 5211). Beginning the proceedings, the Open Session allows community members to share their perspectives on subject matter relevant to the arts, culture, education, and street life. Elsewhere on the agenda, the independent theater advocacy group IndieSpace will provide a Committee Update on the current status of space for arts and cultural institutions. Madison Dutson, M.D., NYU Langone Hospital Center, is expected to present on parent-child reading in Spanish-speaking households. As with all MCB4 committee meetings this September, ACES will conduct a discussion regarding the Fiscal Year 2025 Statement of District Needs and budget requests. Finally, the committee will discuss on the topic of, “Is there a role for Street Life as a sub-group?”

The Manhattan Community Board 4 (CB4) Business Licenses & Permits Committee (BLP) meets on Tuesday, September 12, 6:30pm | MISSION: Any beer, wine, or on-premise liquor license applications and sidewalk cafe applications must come before the BLP for its review. The Full Board’s position must be considered in the final determination of these applications. The meeting’s “hybrid” format allows attendance via Zoom (click here to register), CB4’s YouTube channel, and in person at CB4’s office (424 W. 33rd St., Suite 580). To attend by phone, the conference call number is 646-518-9805 (when prompted for the Webinar ID, enter 996 7780 9240). Mindful of COVID, CB4 notes, “Virtual participation is highly recommended.” To attend in person, please register with Assistant District Manager Nelly Gonzalez at negonzalez@cb.nyc.gov.  Applications for alteration, class change, method of operation, corporate change and removal will be considered for several businesses, as will applications for new wine, beer & cider licenses. As with other committees this month, the BLP will discuss CB4’s Fiscal Year 2025 Statement of District Needs and Budget Requests.

File photo by Christian Miles shows why Vinyl Nights is a guaranteed good time.

Vinyl Nights at Bella Abzug Park/Hudson Yards (Hudson Blvd. East btw. W. 34th & 35th Sts.): A Free, All-Ages Dance & Music Celebration, 6-9pm on Thursdays,  September 21, 28 | Whether you were there when it all began or were born decades later, this outdoor dance and music celebration invites you to step up and boogie down to the hits that shaped NYC club culture in the 70s, 80s, and 90s—when the DJs played strictly vinyl. Each new installment promises a plethora of Disco, Funk, Soul, House, Boogie, and Latin music that has stood the test of time. This vibrant, joyful, inclusive all-ages dance party (a spinoff from Operator EMZ’s legendary Mobile Mondays! all 45s night) makes its own contribution to the legacy of the hot wax hits it spins by having on hand living legends such as Operator Emz, DJ Misbehaviour, DJ Woof, and MoneyMike & Friends. Rebecca Lynn produces this joyful celebration, presented in partnership with the Hudson Yards Hell’s Kitchen Alliance Business Improvement District (HYHK). For more info about Vinyl Nights, click here. To visit their website, click here. For their Instagram, click here. To see our photo essay based on a visit to the July 6 installment, click here.

The 10th Precinct Sector C Build the Block Meeting: Thursday, September 14, 5pm at Manhattan Plaza (400 W. 43rd St.) AND The 10th Precinct Community Council: Wednesday, September 27, 7pm, Location TBA | As May 31’s Community Council meeting drew to a close, it was noted that during the Council’s July through August summer hiatus, local residents, business owners, and stakeholders could still access the latest crime statistics and voice their concerns by attending Build the Block meetings, one of which—for Sector C—happens on September 14. (The 10th Precinct is divided into three Sectors: A, B, and C.) Sector C covers West 29th Street to West 43rd Street, from Ninth Ave. to the Hudson. Two NCOs, or Neighborhood Coordination Officers, are assigned to a sector for the duration of their tour as 10th Precinct Police Officers. Tasked with establishing new relationships with members of the community and maintaining existing ones, NCOs “are given the time and flexibility to make strong bonds with the community they serve,” notes the NYPD. These quarterly public Build the Block meetings are your chance to interact with your Sector NCOs, pose questions, and get answers.

“All meeting times, dates, and locations are subject to change,” further notes the NYPD, adding, “Please call your local precinct and speak to a Neighborhood Coordination Officer to verify correct meeting information.” To find your Build the Block Sector and meeting info, click here. Search results for the 10th Precinct’s Sectors A and B suggest checking back later in June for info on their third quarter meeting dates and locations. Meantime—and for that matter, any time—contact your Sector C NCOs via email: PO Marian Bencea at MARIAN.BENCEA@nypd.org and PO Daniel Sendrowski at DANIEL.SENDROWSKI@nypd.org.

Looking toward the end of the month, the 10th Precinct Community Council (under the leadership of Larry O’Neill) will return from its summer hiatus on Wed., Sept. 27, 7pm at a location to be announced. Community Council meetings provide an O’Neill-moderate Q&A session where the person providing the answers is usually the dependably frank Commanding Officer of the 10th—Captain Robert Gault. In terms of planning ahead, the Council’s Facebook presence is a reliable source of when/where information, usually posted a week or two in advance of the meeting (held on the last Wednesday of the month). To visit and follow that page, click here. 

UPCOMING EVENTS:

If you lived here, you’d be smiling too: Friendly faces greet you at the London Terrace Street Fair. | File photo via LTTA

The 31st Annual London Terrace Street Fair: Saturday, September 23, 10am-5pm on West 24th Street (btw. 9th & 10th Aves.) | The best little street fair in Manhattan is back, bearing many surprises. There will be vendors of fine art, jewelry, clothing, furniture, vintage collectibles, physical media (records, tapes, CDs, DVDs, etc.), light food and drink, and inexpensive trinkets. It’s the perfect place to find an affordable gifts for the holidays—or a practical item for your kitchen, a new rug, a pillow, possibly a spread for your sofa in the living room, a new piece of jewelry or clothing, or your favorite LP record from your high school days. It’s also the place where one walk down a crosstown block can mean running into an old friend, being greeted by an elected official, and learning about a community organization you’ve always heard about. It’s also the place where treasure long-buried in the back of your closet can find a new home, while providing a nice profit for your own home! To reserve your Vendor Tables space, click here (and do it quickly; available slots are going fast!). For more information about this annual event brought to you by the London Terrace Tenants Association, click here.

ONGOING EVENTS

Rarely has being a morning person looked this good: HYHK-area fitness classes take place from 7-8am. | Image courtesy of HYHK Alliance

Free Fitness Boot Camp in Bella Abzug Park (Hudson Boulevard West btw. West 36th & 37th Sts.), Tuesdays & Thursdays, 7-8am, Weekly Through September 28 | Early risers reap the reward of feeling great and having accomplished something substantial, before some of us have found the strength to roll out of bed. That sense of well-being is to be found at the twice-weekly Morning Boot Camp brought to you by the Hudson Yards Hell’s Kitchen Alliance. Ave and Olivia, Manhattan Plaza Health Club instructors, have designed an invigorating, high-intensity interval training workout (HIIT) combining strength and cardio in creative ways that challenge participants to use body weight as resistance. Start your day the MPHC Boot Camp way at these classes that are open to the public (please bring your own mat). For more info, and to register, click here.

Retrospection/Continuance at Hudson Guild Gallery (441 W. 26th St.), Through September 27 | Artworks from the American Indian Community House collection will be on view. Hudson Guild Gallery hours are Tues. to Fri., 10am-6pm and Sat., 12-3pm. For more info, see the below flyer and/or click here.

Fresh Food for Seniors | The second annual version of this program from NYC Council Member Erik Bottcher and Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine sees to it that you receive a bag of fresh, locally harvested fruits and vegetables every other week through November 14. The cost is $10 per bag. Sign up for Fresh Food Bag participation on certain Mondays and Tuesdays at local senior centers, with pick-up the following Tuesday.Local participating senior centers include Visions at 135 W. 23rd St., where sign-up is 10am-3pm; Hudson Guild NORC at 441 W. 26th St., where sign-up is 8:30am-5:30pm; Penn South Program for Seniors at 290A Ninth Ave., where sign-up is 9am-5pm; and Encore Senior Center at 239 W. 49th St., where sign-up is 8:30am-4:30pm. For more info, call 212-554-7757 or email district3@council.nyc.gov. For the schedule of dates, see the below flyer.

This Week In & Around Chelsea: September 11-17, 2023 is posted on

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