December Newsletter

See Our December Newsletter for Events and More!

This Newsletter Includes The Following Sections

- Community Info and Resources - Environmental - Bloomingdale School of Music - Bloomingdale Library - Art & Exhibits - Bloomingdale History Group - Farmers Markets - Churches

Community Info and Resources - NYC Childcare Tax Relief Programs: Mayor Adams announced new childcare tax credits. View the Office of the Mayor’s Childcare Plan for more information. - Food Service Businesses: By law, staff-handled organic waste must be source separated for collection. For more information, visit here. - Outdoor Dinning Bill Passed: The bill allows outdoor dining on sidewalks year-round and on city streets April 1 through November 29 each year. For more information, visit NYC Hospitality Alliance. Open Streets

Enroll Here Book Here How to Avoid Holiday Scams Tuesday, 12/17, 12–1:30 pm, virtual: How to Avoid Holiday Scams. The holiday shopping season is just around the corner, and scammers will be shopping, too: looking for people to separate from their money. Join Ari Lazarus and Christine Todaro from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for a discussion on how to spot, avoid, and report holiday scams. Register at the link.  More Info Upper West Side Cinema Center The Upper West Side Cinema Center (UWSCC) has been formed as a not-for-profit corporation, with the goal of creating a new facility dedicated to screening art film releases that currently have no home in the neighborhood, as well as classic films and special events. The facility will include an Education and Community Center and a Lobby Lounge/Cafe open to the street and available for events.   They are now in contract to buy the former Metro Theater, on 99th Street and Broadway. The plan is to restore the facade and marquee to its original splendor and build a five-screen cinema within its walls. Donate Here

Park to Park 103 More Info Residential Waste Containerization Beginning November 12, 2024, all properties with 1-9 residential units will be required to use bins, 55 gallons or less, with secure lids for trash set out. If you already use a bin with a secure lid that is 55 gallons or less for trash set out, you may continue to use it until June 2026. After that, you will need to switch to the official NYC Bin. More Info Extended Risk Assessment and Grant Program to Help Small Businesses Shore Up Against Unexpected Disasters The NYC Department of Small Business Services has launched the Business Preparedness and Resiliency Program (BPREP) Risk Assessment and Grant Program for eligible small businesses or commercial properties. This program offers a free on-site, one-on-one risk assessment and $5,000 reimbursement grant to buy recommended resiliency equipment, such as flood barriers, generators, and fireproof storage containers Learn More and Apply Great news for teens in New York City! The NYC Department of Health, in collaboration with Talkspace, are now providing free online therapy for teens between 13 and 17 in New York City. NYC Teenspace is a platform offering personalized mental health support from licensed professionals with expertise in teen counseling. The beauty of this service lies in its flexibility - teens can arrange monthly video sessions by simply messaging their therapists. What's more, if the initial therapist isn't the right fit, teens have the option to switch. For more details, click the link below! Learn More Sign Up

Environmental Bring Your Own Container In the coming weeks, look for the Bring Your Own Container/UWS Reduces Waste stickers at neighborhood businesses and go in with confidence that the store will accept your reusable container to fill and you won’t be bombarded with single-use plastic that you don’t need or want. BYO Container/UWS Reduces Waste is a new project of It’s Easy Being Green, your neighborhood climate education and personal action group. We will ask our neighborhood coffee, tea shops and restaurants to display our BYO Container sticker in their window to let you know that they will accept your travel mug and/or food container to fill. We hope to include prepared food stores in the future when the NYS health codes are updated. (We’re working on this too!) Join our effort!  Please help us find conscientious businesses who would like to put the BYO sticker in their storefronts.  Send your ideas and  recommendations to BYO.itseasybeinggreen@gmail.com. Want to know more about It's Easy Being Green? Click here to sign up for our monthly newsletter. It's Easy Being Green Website

Bloomingdale School of Music Join us for Bloomingdale's Annual Holiday Concert, a festive celebration featuring performances by our talented students and esteemed faculty. This special event showcases a diverse array of musical selections, creating a warm and joyful atmosphere as we come together to celebrate the holiday season through the gift of music. More Info Join guitarist Matías Inzunza on Sunday, December 15th for an evening of classical guitar, presented by Bloomingdale BTP Guitar. Free admission. This special performance is made possible by the generous support of the Bloomingdale Guitar Training Program led by Dr. José Maldonado, Director of Guitar Studies. More Info Bloomingdale Library One-on-One Tech Help Wednesdays, 1PM - 2:00 PM | On-going This event will take place in person at Bloomingdale Library. If you have a tech problem, question, or would just like some individualized tech tutorials, this is your time to work with a librarian and receive their personal attention and instruction. More Info

Art & Exhibits Museum of the City of New York

NYC Discovery Lab – Winter Traditions  Saturday, December 21, 2024, 11:00am Join us this month at the NYC Discovery Lab as we celebrate the winter season in New York City! Learn about the wintertime traditions of New Yorkers past and present every weekend in December with drop-in activities for children ages 5-12 and their grownups!  More Info  Storytime for Tots Thursday, December 19, 2024, 10:30am Join us for Storytime for Tots (ages 18 months to 3 years), a free bilingual Storytime program and hear stories and songs about NYC facilitated by a NYPL librarian. This Storytime will incorporate Spanish language and build children’s literacy in English and Spanish. More Info The Africa Center On View - Flags of The African Union - Outdoor Public Art Tribute May 25th, 2023 - May 3rd, 2025  The Africa Center is proud to present Flags of the African Union (AU), a three-story outdoor public art tribute featuring the 55 flags of the countries recognized by the AU. In addition, we’ve added the Pan-African flag which serves as a unifying symbol for people of African descent, regardless of their geographical location. This display is a bold statement and a celebration of a continent that is richly diverse, not only geographically but also culturally, socially, and economically. More Info

Bloomingdale History Group

Farmers Markets GrowNYC

GROWNYC 97th Street Greenmarket W 97th St. between Amsterdam and Columbus Open Fridays, Year-round Market Hours: 8AM-2PM  More Info GROWNYC Columbia Sunday GreenMarket Broadway between 114th-116th St Open Thursdays & Sundays, Year-round  Market Hours: 8AM-4PM Clothing Collection Hours:  9:00 a.m. - 12:00 pm More Info

Down to Earth MARKET CLOSED - HOLIDAYS - 12/28, 9am – 2pm

TEXTILE RECYCLING  Saturdays 10am-2pm  Amsterdam 109-110th Green Tree Textiles will collect unwanted clothes, shoes, bags, towels, and household linens for reuse and recycling. No rugs or blankets, please.

Both GROWNYC & Down to Earth Offer: FOOD BENEFITS PROGRAM WELCOME! Go to the Manager's Tent to use your SNAP EBT card and get tokens to spend with our vendors. Health Bucks available ($2 for every $2 in SNAP, up to $10). Farmers Market Nutrition Program checks can be used at the farm stands June 1st - November 30th 2024 Churches St. Michael's St Michael's Church - Practice with fluent English speakers in "English as a Second Language (ESL)" conversations. St. Michael's Church Parish House 225 West 99th Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam) Saturdays 10 AM Improve Your English: For people of any native language. For Adults. Tell the team distributing food that you are here for ESL. Proof of COVID vaccination is required. More Info More Info St. John The Divine

Choral Evensong Sunday, December 22, 2024 | 4pm - 5pm This sung in-person service is open to all. More Info Notre-Dame de Paris, the Augmented Exhibition Ongoing | 10pm - 5pm Experience an extraordinary union of history and technology at Notre-Dame de Paris: The Augmented Exhibition at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Embark on a vivid journey through 850 years of Notre-Dame’s remarkable history, brought to life through cutting-edge augmented reality. More Info El Niño: Nativity Reconsidered Thursday, December 19, 2024 | 7:30pm - 9pm As part of the Cathedral’s traditional holiday programming, the American Modern Opera Company will once again perform El Niño: Nativity Reconsidered with music by John Adams, musical arrangements by Christian Reif, libretto compilation by Peter Sellars, and concept by AMOC* member Julia Bullock, which is an eclectic retelling of the Nativity story celebrating Latin American poets and the voices of women. The reimagined piece will return for a one-night-only engagement. More Info

CCC CLOTHING CLOSET  Tuesdays and Wednesdays | 10AM-12PM | Town Building The Clothing Closet distributes emergency clothing through the Nutrition, Health, and Clothing Center, and also provides workplace-appropriate clothing for individuals returning to the workforce. Persons seeking professional clothing must have a referral from an agency familiar with their employment search. Clothing distribution is free of charge and based on availability, and clients can obtain clothing once per month. Identification is required. The Clothing Closet accepts donations of gently-used, freshly-laundered clothing. Donations can be dropped off at the Cathedral from Monday-Friday, 9AM-4PM CCC SUNDAY SOUP KITCHEN  Sundays | 10AM-3PM | Town Building With no eligibility restrictions, meal services are offered to all without regard to age, gender, race, income, or denominational affiliation. Sunday Soup Kitchen meals consist of a healthy, diverse menu that includes fresh produce, a wide variety of meat/proteins, and low-salt, heart-healthy food options. Food Pantry Monday, Thursday, Friday | 9AM-5PM | Town Building Tuesday & Wednesday | 12PM-5PM | Town Building Anyone is welcome to walk in for shelf stable items, produce (when available) and an array of items from our common refrigerator. Health First: A Plentiful Pantry This CCC partnership with PLENTIFUL makes it possible for clients to go online and register to receive an assortment of shelf stable goods, hygiene products and cleaning products (that are not allowed to be purchased with food stamps), produce (when available), fresh breads/rolls/bagels and meat or poultry. Anyone is welcome to register at Go to app.plentifulapp.com. FIND RESTAURANTS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD WITH OUR WEBSITE BLOOMINGDALERESTAURANTS.NYC Restaurants in the Neighborhood Copyright @ 2024 Columbus Amsterdam BID, All rights reserved. Our email address is: info@columbusamsterdambid.org

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