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Today’s Winner of Tickets to see Lee Ritenour

music ‣ We have a pair of tickets to see Lee Ritenour on June 3 at Iridium in honor of Les Paul’s birthday celebration (it would have been his 98th). To enter, email us with ‘Lee’ in the subject line. We’ll announce the winner today by 2pm on our blog. 

The winner is: James Eich! Congratulations, we’ll email you the details. 

 

 

Imran Qureshi’s poignant installation on the Met’s Roof Garden

A letter from Ms. Davis, a teacher whose Donors Choose project MUG readers funded a few months ago.

Dear Sam, Kim Keating, Wizner family, giri coneti, Michael Gendron, Danny Gendron, Beth Adkins, Suki, Adrienne Petro, Jacob Brower, Kris Bifulco, Erin Brown, Julia B., Lucy Gram, Kevin, Eliza Orleans, Laura McNamara, Haley Brown, Max Lorn-Krause, Maria D, Alyssa Onofreo, William Vanasdale, The DonorsChoose.org Board of Directors and Anonymous Donors, 

I do not think I am capable of writing a thank you letter that could truly express just how grateful I am to each and every one of you for your incredible gift to my classroom and my students, but here goes nothing. The gift that you have given us extends beyond the beautiful, shiny new books that have now found themselves at home in our class library; I truly believe that your gift will have a lasting impact on my students and the way they see reading and the world around them. 

On the day that the books arrived, my students went wild. As I took each book out of the boxes and lined them up around the walls of our classroom, they could not believe their eyes. They cheered (perhaps a little TOO enthusiastically, at some points) and began wondering aloud which book they would get to read first, and which second, and which third. They were officially, emphatically, wonderfully excited about reading. 

This simply could not have been done without each and every one of you. For every student cheering at the sight of new books, there was another at my elbow: “Miss, who GAVE these to us? Why? They just GAVE them to us?” I could hardly put the answer into words myself: because there are people in the world who care that YOU become better, more excited readers. Because it’s important. Because you are. 

From the bottom of my and my students’ hearts, thank you for your gracious gift.

With gratitude,
Ms. Davis

20 Questions - The Answers

1. When you’re in the Raines Law Room, what are you (most likely) doing? 

Drinking. It’s a bar. 

2. Who was the chef of Gramercy Tavern when it opened in 1994?

Tom Colicchio

3. What’s the big change at Cooper Union that will take effect in fall of 2014?

Undergrads will pay tuition on a sliding scale. 

4. Brooklyn Borough President? Easy: Marty Markowitz. Manhattan Borough President?

Scott Stringer

5. Oklahoma opened on Broadway in 1943. What was the top ticket price?

a) $4.40 b) $6.60 c) $8.15

$4.40

6. If you’re on Idaho Ave., what borough are you in?

Staten Island

7. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ U.S. city average last month for the price of a dozen Grade A large eggs was $1.93, or about 16¢ an egg. How many individual eggs could you buy for the cost of an egg salad sandwich at E.A.T.?

a) 48 b) 60 c) 85 d) 112

112

8. In what year did the Met Museum open at its current location?

a) 1880 b) 1891 c) 1902

1880

9. Who starred in Mike Nichols’ film Working Girl as the savvy Wall Street secretary from Staten Island?

Melanie Griffith

10. Who is currently playing Macbeth—and Lady Macbeth—on Broadway?

Alan Cumming

11. Is it against the law to be publicly intoxicated from alcohol in New York State?

No.

12. What caused the riot of 1988 in Tompkins Square Park?

The police tried to remove the park’s homeless people. 

13. What does the new Squibb Bridge connect?

Brooklyn Heights to Brooklyn Bridge Park

14. And who was Squibb? (What line of work was he in?) 

A physician who founded Squibb Pharmaceuticals, which became Bristol Meyers Squibb

15. When was the Me Decade, who coined the term, and in what publication?

1970s, Tom Wolfe, NY Mag

16. The lead character in this sitcom worked for the Gotham Bus Company.

The Honeymooners

17. New Yorker Joseph Gayetty was the first person to sell this commercially, in 1857—something you likely use daily. What is it?

a) toothpaste b) toilet paper c) deodorant

Toilet Paper

18. The IRT opened in 1904 - the first NYC subway, right?

Nope. The first one ran from 1870-1873, in a small tunnel under lower Broadway, powered by a giant fan. (Sounds apocryphal, but it’s not.)  

19. Crommessie, from a Dutch word meaning crooked sea, gave this park its name. 

Gramercy Park

20. The most recent restaurant given 4 stars by the NY Times?

Del Posto

 

We’re just over 60% of our Pledge Week fundraising goal as MUG makes the transition this week from advertising supported to reader supported. Thanks to all who have contributed so generously. 

To sweeten the pot, we’ve got a pair of premium tickets for Friday April 19, 8pm, fourth row orchestra seats on the aisle, to see Bette Midler in I’ll Eat You Last, a new Broadway play about Hollywood’s most outrageous superagent, Sue Mengers. It will be in previews at the Booth Theater (it opens April 24) and it should be really fun evening with the Divine Miss M as the demanding Miss M(engers). 

If you make a credit card or PayPal donation to MUG of $5 or more through this Friday, March 15 (if you’re donating by check, it must be postmarked by that date), you’ll be entered to win (and if you’ve already donated, don’t worry, you’ll be automatically entered). Donations can be made here:

http://manhattanusersguide.com/support-mug

 

We’ll announce the winner on March 22. 

Our readers send us the nicest notes!!

(Click the notes to enlarge)

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