Jim Kempner Fine Art (northwest corner of 23rd & 10th)
Currently on display: homages to New York and unhelpful advice.
I find myself stopping into the gallery on the northwest corner of 23rd and 10th relatively frequently, which is called Jim Kempner Fine Art.
Currently on display are some homages to NYC, which I’ll always appreciate. I put on the home page a colorful, arts-and-craftsy, geographically correct rendering of NYC, and in the montage above you’ll see the crowded version of NYC that brought me to the city in the first place and that I hope we’ll get back to shortly.
Also on display is a compilation of all of the pieces of advice that I’m quite positive have never made anyone feel better about anything. Buy this piece if your friends frequently ask you for advice but you find yourself not really listening to the backstory and you now realize you need to fill the silence. I probably would have thrown in “calm down” as well.
New York to start vaccinating people with certain health conditions on February 15.
First phase focused on health care workers, teachers, and people 65+; next phase focuses on people with underlying health conditions.
Starting February 15, New York will enter the second phase of its COVID vaccine distribution and allow people with specified health conditions to get the vaccine. The first phase focused essentially on health care workers, teachers, and people over the age of 65; the next phase focuses on people with the following conditions:
Cancer (current or in remission, including 9/11-related cancers)
Chronic kidney disease
Pulmonary Disease, including but not limited to, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), asthma (moderate-to-severe), pulmonary fibrosis, cystic fibrosis, and 9/11 related pulmonary diseases
Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities including Down Syndrome
Heart conditions, including but not limited to heart failure, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathies, or hypertension (high blood pressure)
Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) including but not limited to solid organ transplant or from blood or bone marrow transplant, immune deficiencies, HIV, use of corticosteroids, use of other immune weakening medicines, or other causes
Severe Obesity (BMI 40 kg/m2), Obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30 kg/m2 or higher but < 40 kg/m2)
Pregnancy
Sickle cell disease or Thalassemia
Type 1 or 2 diabetes mellitus
Cerebrovascular disease (affects blood vessels and blood supply to the brain)
Neurologic conditions including but not limited to Alzheimer's Disease or dementia
Liver disease
Source: https://covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov/phased-distribution-vaccine. You can see if you’re eligible to get the vaccine by taking this screener: https://am-i-eligible.covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov/Public/prescreener. Note that you must show one of the following to prove eligibility: doctor's letter, medical information evidencing the condition, or a “signed certification” that you have the condition (though it is not totally clear to me what the state will accept for this last category).
Nearby locations for an appointment are the Javits Center and the Walgreens on 30th Street between 10th and 11th Avenues: https://vaccinefinder.nyc.gov/locations.
Shout out to this lady (overlooking 10th Avenue from 30th Street).
She’s called “Brick House.”
She’s called “Brick House,” and she’s looking over the eastern side of this block association from a high perch on 30th Street.
The artist is Simone Leigh, who lives in Brooklyn. The sculpture was first unveiled on the High Line in June 2019, and interestingly, she has a sister—a copy was installed at the main entrance of the University of Pennsylvania in November 2020.
I remember looking up at this for the first time and thinking that it made for a striking contrast against the skyscrapers behind it. That in fact was the artist’s point: “What better place to put a Black female figure? Not in defiance of the space, exactly, but to have a different idea of beauty there.”
A short tribute to Hudson Market (southwest corner of 28th & 10th)
What would you get if you took a bodega and made it amazing?
What would you get if you took a bodega and made it amazing? Hudson Market on 28th & 10th Avenue has evidently tried to answer that question.
Specializing in all the major lunch food groups—sandwiches, coffee, smoothies, and hot bar—the cleanliness and quality of this place is consistently top-notch. If you forced me to eat only here for a year, which has at times seemed like an experiment I am actually running during the pandemic, I wouldn’t put up that much of a fight about it.
Speaking of, Hudson Market stayed open for us during the entire pandemic, which we will always appreciate (thank you Emily for reminding us of this during the Super Bowl pre-game). Ed. note: Try the PB & Blues smoothie and iced coffee w/ half and half.