Ringgold looks to give back to Harlem through art [CS]

Harlem grandmother wounded by stray bullet has message for Mayor Bloomberg: Clean up my neighborhood [DN]

Plan for share-a-ride reduced cab fares moves ahead, TLC says [DN]

In Obama’s footsteps: Struggling actor offers tour of Barack’s New York ‘lost years’ [PHILLY]

A Flood of Applicants to a Shrinking Police Dept. [NYT]

Schools’ Grades Reflect Persistent Disparity [NYT]

New York Is Set for Strict Stand on D.W.I. Cases [NYT]

NY passes new foreclosure protections [CRAINS]

South Africa Is Divided on Gesture by Educator [NYT]

Bridges and tunnels may soon stop accepting cash in favor of E-ZPass [DN]

US Postal Service ends popular Santa letter program in Alaska [DN]

Enjoy your holiday with family and friends from your friends at UF!

Starting Thursday, New Yorkers with symptoms of influenza can consult a nurse by calling 311

As part of a continued effort to prepare for the peak of influenza season, the city will launch the NYC FluLine on Thursday, November 19. Through this service, 311 operators will provide concerned New Yorkers with information on what to do if they or a family member feels sick with flu-like illness (fever with cough or sore throat). Callers with symptoms of influenza will be connected to registered nurses, who will provide information and advice on whether to seek care.

For concerned patients who don’t have or can’t reach a regular health care provider, NYC FluLine is an alternative to standing in line at a hospital emergency department. The call-center nurses will not make diagnoses or prescribe treatments, but they will advise callers about whether to see a doctor or stay home. When necessary, on-call nurses will refer people to clinics, facilitating timely treatment while preventing unnecessary visits to emergency departments.

Learn more

Four Paws & Whiskers Pet Care, LLC

Late Pass Bookstore

Metro Hope Church

New York Carpet Cleaning

Enter to win copy of Total Eclipse of the Heart, exclusively on Uptownflavor.com!

Starting 11/30/09 you could be one of 10 lucky winners. Stay tuned for details.

By: Housing Works

If you live in Harlem, you might see Joe C* riding by on his bicycle. He bikes seven days a week from his home at Stand Up Harlem House down to 96th Street. He puts his music on (really low) and heads south for 45 minutes, enjoying the camaraderie of fellow riders along the way.

Joe doesn’t own a bicycle, but as a resident of of Stand Up Harlem, one of Housing Works’ residences for low-income people living with AIDS in New York City, he can check out a bike any time he wants. He represents one of the first satisfied customers of a pilot program that brought bikes to the residents. While Joe is the most avid rider of the group, other residents have also enjoyed biking.

“It’s really freeing for me,” Joe said. “You see your city in a different way. I feel healthier. When you walk after riding a bike, you feel sexy.” Joe was diagnosed with HIV in 1993, and said he’s in the best shape that he’s been in since, thanks to the daily exercise.

The biking program is the brainchild of Housing Works CFO Andrew Coamey. Inspired by public biking programs seen throughout Europe, Coamey thought residents at Housing Works facilities should enjoy the benefits of biking. He hoped the program would encourage exercise among residents and give them freedom to explore the neighborhood.

Through the Housing Works donations department solicited the four bikes for Stand Up Harlem. Coamey is hoping to expand the program to Housing Works’ other housing units throughout the city.

Read more…

Photo by D. Bell

A reader wrote in and wanted some advice about purchasing a unit in the new PS 90 Condos in the upper 140s. Perhaps some of our real estate experts can chime in and enlighten us.

I was called for my second interview and asked to select an apartment, but 300K seems like so much money for a so-called “affordable” unit.  And it’s a studio.  They’re asking 450-800K for the market rate units.  In this economic climate.  How likely is it that they’ll sell for that much?  So why can’t the lottery folks negotiate prices?