« February 2007 | Main | April 2007 »
Decked out in her jogging attire is Isis, a white German Shepherd rumored to be the love interest of neighborhood Boxer Romeo.
Although I had never seen her, Romeo's humans told me about a certain German Shepherd pup he goes crazy for, and I happened to ask this dog's owner if she is the one when spotting her on the street. Yes, she is the one.
In these dark days before the arrival of Animal General to South Harlem, we have only Vet My Pet events at Petland.
I am giving ample notice of the Sunday, April 29th Vet My Pet day at Petland on 117th St and Lenox Ave to absolve myself of having missed posting on the Sunday, March 25th date. (I was a little distracted preparing the words I gave at the Kazakh New Year's concert, which, btw I am not posting on here, as I don't know how the performers and dignitaries I met would enjoy being on a site that largely chronicles animals peeing in, and people crapping on, my apartment.)
The event, which runs from 2 to 4pm Sunday, April 29th, offers three vet packages for dogs and cats whose titles seem inspired by a Chinese take out menu: Happy Puppy/Kitten ($45), Happy Dog/Cat ($45), and Happy Dog/Cat Plus ($61). The Happy Family multi-pet package is not listed, but if you stick around long enough, I am sure at least one pet will serve up a poo poo platter. Speaking of which, bringing a stool is recommended. For more info, call 914-557-6812.
And as an addendum, if your pet is showing any signs of illness or change in behavior, and you have fed your little companion any of the 3.8 trillion types of food produced by Menu Foods, please do not wait until April 29th to seek vet care. For solid coverage of the Menu Foods pet poisonings, read Poop City.
Bianca is a beautiful American Staffordshire Terrier Cheryl and I met in Central Park. Like many energetic dogs, getting a profile shot can prove to be a difficult task, so we are settling for the arial photo.
Cheryl kept commenting on what a great coat Bianca has, and her human said that if we think she looks good, we should his other Am Staff, who looks like Pete the Pup from the Little Rascals.
For those of you with conventional children, newly-opened Grandma's Place on 120th and Lenox is there to produce all the "IWANTIWANTIWANT" outbursts you can handle.
It even offers temptations for those with unconventional children, as per this conversation Cheryl and I had when walking past:
Me: Ouuu, a toy store. Let's stop in.
Cheryl: No, I would feel compelled to buy Cimbi something.
Me: No, don't worry; it's a store for children. Cimbi is a small house cat.
Cheryl: I know, but she is still like a child to me.
Interior photo taken while Cheryl waited outside.
Here we have Boomba, a dog I spotted over a block away for his striking resemblance to a pup I had for a mere five days last December. Yes, this here Boomba looks much like Parkway, a rescue dog I sought to adopt until finding out that Cheryl's cat allergies are nothing in comparison to her dog allergies.
I keep meaning to post on the yet-unblogged-about five days of the pooch, but an uncontrollable pain wells up each time I remember having to let go of the best dog on earth.
Parkway, thou, he could probably care less. Those five days were but a mere layover on his ride to pure bliss. He is now an hour and a half outside of the city living a constant life of dog Disneyland.
The sky is blue, water is wet, and Emperor's Roe is closed for good.
Per a creditable tipster today:
As you probably know, Emperor's Roe on Lenox @ 120th has been "renovating" since last September. I've been speaking with the people involved occasionally, and they really were making a go of it during this time. However, the weekend before last a lien notice was placed in the window, and I have heard from an extremely reliable source that the show's over. This source also informed me that a few experienced downtowners plan to open a hip lounge in the space before summer.
Personally, we at the Fur were pulling for place, if for nothing other than the sheer ridiculousness of being able to say we live in Harlem, "just down from the champaign and caviar bar." I mean, outside of maybe Moscow or Dubai, it is a concept out of place basically anywhere on earth.
Here's hoping that the soon-to-be lounge doesn't fall prey to over-shooting the neighborhood like so many other places. Instead, we hope it gives that corner just what it needs: a solid middle-of-the-road nabe hangout that spills onto the sidewalk in the warm months, and offers plenty of window space during the cold ones.
· Yes, There Is Caviar In Harlem [Harlem Fur]
I really can't explain how this happened, so I will leave that out.
I have been invited by Moscow Conservatory-trained pianist and President of the Cultural Center of Kazakhstan in the U.S. Alia Alhan Mal'keeva to speak briefly this Saturday evening at the Kazakh New Year's festival at Lincoln Center, "From Kazakhstan With Love." It's a unique, if somewhat peculiar, honor to take the Allen Room stage at the Time Warner Center and acknowledge Kazakh contributions in music, dance, and other fields to an audience that will include the Kazakh ambassador.
Something makes me think that this was intended for Cimbi, and somehow the two of us were mixed up along the way. After all, she is the one with international exposure.
Anyway, aside from myself, the attractions will include, among others, Prima Ballerina and Miss Kazakhstan Saule Rachmedova, pop folk group URKER, and Alia Alhan Mal'keeva herself.
Tickets can be purchased through the Jazz at Lincoln Center website.
And, if anyone has any suggestions for what I should say, your contributions will be greatly appreciated.
With the one year anniversary of Harlem Fur coming up at the end of the month, we are certain that many of you out there are wondering what to get the Fur. Should it be food and water dishes for Cimbi to replace the cereal bowls we currently use? A new kitty bed to replace the one we had to throw out because she peed in it? Another cat dancer of Joyce Cohen's design?
We suggest the gift that keeps on giving: ad space. Meow.
This is a great way to micro-target your advertising to awesome Harlem residents (all Harlem Fur readers are awesome, and they know it). Plus, you will receive lavish, glowing write-ups on your product loosely veiled as the objective musings of an uninvested local resident.
As an example, let's hear about Harlem Fur's web hosting parent company, Haus Interactive: Man, I can't say enough great things about this awesome team of dedicated web professionals. Haus Interactive, the major label parent company to their indie label Big Ass Hat, provides the solid level of professionalism needed to retain clients like Psychology Today and Federal Pumps, while maintaining a creative edge that makes them the obvious choice for East Village literary institution KGB Bar and side projects by Moby.
Just kidding, the rigid editorial integrity of this site loosely covering the antics of a small house cat and the neighborhood she lives in will never be compromised by paid advertisers. Unless they really pay a lot.
Ad space will be in replacement of that annoying Google Ad bar two posts down and on individual entry pages (revenue to date: $0.00) and possibly a 120px wide third column between the current two. The Fur will offer short term packages we like to call "Cat Food" and longer term packages we like to call "The Animal by Dyson" or "iRobot Roomba Sage for Pets."
Gothamist today reports that pet food company Menu Foods is recalling over 80 brands it produces, including Iams and Eukanuba canned and foil pouch products. Pet owners are warning that their animals have been vomiting and suffering kidney failure. At least ten pet deaths have been reported so far.
Gothamist commenters tell of dehydration and long, expensive vet visits. One commenter recalls how her infant daughter had been notorious for getting into the cat food until recently and asks "I wonder how many other little kids have had a bite of this poison, or how many broke senior citizens for that matter..."
To see a list of all recalled products, visit the Menu Foods website. Additionally, the company designated two phone numbers that pet owners can call for information: (866) 463-6738 and (866) 895-2708. If calling, be warned, a commenter on Gothamist tells of being on hold for more than a half an hour.
In the photo is Cimbi, in her evening toilet-paper bathrobe, eating a dinner not made by Menu Foods.
Continuing the theme of small Harlem dogs, we have Maxie Girl posing for the lens. Maxie is a clam and friendly Lhasa Apso whose tail gives her emotions away.
I've developed a near cat-like curiosity over what could be going in behind the frosted glass storefront windows on 264 West 124th. If anyone knows what will be there, I am all ears.
I caught a construction worker from a neighboring development filling a gallon jug from the building's outside faucet and asked him if he knew what was planned for the space. He seemed a bit startled, and didn't know.
The building, which is between Frederick Douglass and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevards, sits across the street from former Curbed Development Du Jour, SoHo North.
Floral atelier Harlem Flo opened on Frederick Douglass Boulevard at 123rd Street. In addition to what one would expect in a flower shop, Harlem Flo carries a good selection of large African cactus, palms, thick aloe, and a strange plant that grows from a board hung on the wall. It's the one in the center picture.
The plant is striking, especially as it grows out of a piece of wood.
I asked the owner the hanging plant's name and confirmed the spelling of what he gave me, Stargon Fern, before leaving. This may be the phonetic pronunciation in another language, as I cannot find it online.
I was hoping to look up some facts on the plant, but seeing as I cannot find it with the spelling I have, I can only relate what the shop owner told me. He said that to water the plant, it has to be fully submerged about once a week.
PROGRESS! Melita tracked down the plant in question. It is a Staghorn Fern.
A few Harlem Fur readers have wrote in to ask if the nabe and its dog runs are friendly to smaller dogs. It is, for both the streets and the Morningside and St. Nicholas dog runs, as they have sections specifically for small dogs. The Marcus Garvey Park dog run is a toss up, and those with any dog should check it to see who else is inside before entering.
If the question is based on the frequency of large dogs featured here, that is probably due to a slight personal Fur preference coming through.
So, to help even the score of featured Harlem Hounds, we present Bugzy, a camera hound / Chihuahua mix. Bugzy can be seen around the nabe with his admiring human, Halstead broker Danni Tyson.
When in Albany today, I had a chance to view Lincoln's original draft of the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. And ashamed that I am to admit it, I didn't know there were two Emancipation Proclamations.
Lincoln's Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation was written in July of 1862. In this document, Lincoln warned the Confederate states that if they remained in rebellion against the United States for a period of more than 100 days, he would free all slaves within their borders on January 1, 1863. (New York had already freed slaves within its borders in 1827.)
Lincoln held off on issuing the document until after a major Union victory, which he was given at the Antietam battle on September 17th of that year.
As promised in the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln freed all slaves in the Confederate states with the Final Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863.
The draft of the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation is encased in a nitrogen environment and held by the state legislature, who let it be shown only a few days every year to keep it preserved. The final copies of both Emancipation Proclamations are in the National Archives in D.C.
Harlem Fur could not have picked a better first 365 days to be in existence.
First, we had Posh Paws open, and with it Harlem had high-end pet products. Next, Morningside and St. Nicholas Parks made great steps in local dog run creation, giving our canine companions an off-leash place to smell each others' rear ends. Then, Animal General let us know that it is seeking to expand into the hood, and with it will come quality vet care.
Now, Uptown Hound has opened a storefront on Adam Clayton Powell and 121st Street, offering dog walking, pet sitting, grooming, behavior training, bespoke William Wegman Crypton fabric pet beds, and- what few ever imagined Harlem would be home to- DOG YOGA! Yes, Harlemites can now take yoga classes with their dogs.
Owner Jen Cox has more energy than most dogs, and used it to run through a sample of her current customers:
- Milo, 6-month old Boston Terrier/Beagle mix, who is also part lovable crazypot. Milo is, in my opinion, a reincarnated ninja who uses a technique I like to call "death by ball", wherein he makes you throw him the fuzzy ball until you pass out from exhaustion, then he kills you by jumping up and down on your chest in a vain attempt to make you get up and throw the ball again. Genius.- Peedee, a 4-month old Westie who is cute beyond belief, but who will also kill you (his technique is death by lick)
- Truman, a 1-year old Cairn Terrier (or, Terrorer, you can be the judge. His favorite food is rubber balls.)
- Molly, a 14-year old Yellow Lab (who won't kill you ... unless you have a chicken bone in your pocket)
- And, my dog, Louis, a Collie/Great Pyrenese mix, who really couldn't care less about you or anyone else. And this makes us love him the most. It's always the one you can't have ...
We have Louis in the top photo, and walk-in customers Janell and Pebbles right below him.
For those who are in the area this Tuesday, March 13th, Jen will be interviewed by the BBC at 4pm for part of a program on Harlem entrepreneurs.
Store hours are Tuesday thru Sunday, 12pm to 7pm, and Monday by appointment only.
· Uptown Hound [Official Site]
Greek mythology has it that Aphrodite was born of the water after Cronus cut off Uranus' testicles and threw them into the sea. Ouch.
The myth of the love god's origin is unsettling, but not nearly as unsettling as the growing lore around the new uptown Aphrodite cleaners.
First, scattered accounts of less than divine experiences with the shops began arising via the comments section in previous posts. Whether it was ruining clothing and then overcharging or returning an order 17 pounds lighter, the stories were not good.
Then the oral histories began. My neighbor caught me in our lobby and explained to me how he was charged more than triple the estimate for a single item at Aphrodite. My neighbor, who was very recently a Marine sniper, effectively communicates when he is not pleased.
Now, via an email this evening, we have our first cannon work, a tale of a whole building's problems with the place:
Aphrodite Cleaners agreed to pick up and deliver our dry cleaning for our residential building. They agreed to come every week to collect and drop off our clothes. On February 8th, Aphrodite picked up our cleaning and was supposed to return them on February 15th, but we did not receive a drop off. When we did not receive a pick up or drop off on February 22nd, I called the store and asked them to drop off and pick up on the next day, which they did. When they delivered on February 23rd, they only delivered a portion of the load; they did not have any of my husband's dress shirts, which was odd, because if anything is in the load, it's my husband's dress shirts! After nearly two weeks of calling and receiving promises of calls back from the manager, Fatima, to no avail, my husband visited the store on Saturday, March 3rd. On Saturday, Fatima spoke with my husband and promised to look through their factory for his shirts and she would call us on Wednesday, March 7th. Today is Thursday, March 8th and we have not heard from Fatima. If we do not hear from them by this weekend, we will be placing a call to their corporate office and the Better Business Bureau! This is an alert to your readers...BUYERS BEWARE!
Wow.
Does anyone else have an Aphrodite story to tell?
It's strange how a sensible good time leaves me fumbling for a way to write about it.
Cleaning up the St. Nicholas Park dog run this past weekend was just that, good honest fun. A bunch of people from the neighborhood got together and picked up trash, built some mesas, and spread mulch so that their dogs can have a place to run around and be dogs. And to show appreciation, Mike brought coffee, Vaneik and Julia brought donuts, and Shawn brought water.
Yet since Saturday I cannot seem to write anything about the day.
I suppose this is because the normal inspiration was not there: no one was an ass or did anything ridiculous, and none of the dogs peed on each other, the attendees or the donuts.
There was one point where I could have shot a photo of four people carrying a huge log and gave it the caption "excited for a new place to sit, the guys sport some wood," but I was having too much fun carrying buckets of mulch to go for the camera.
(The photo comes courtesy of photographer Carola Polakov, who can be reached at 917-507-4278 for dog, cat and human portraits.)
I'm often interested to see the search engine phrases that brought people to Harlem Fur. Aside from finding out what drew people to this site, it gives a particular insight into other people's curiosities.
Trying to find out where The Black Donnelys was filmed? Here is one location.
Is Zoma everything the reviews make it out to be? We had an enjoyable dinner.
Is there an Aphrodite Cleaners nearby? Ummm, yeah.
And then you get stuff like this: "condom digestion of dogs." I am guessing here, but did Fido find a treat he was not supposed to have?
Condoms in the photo above courtesy of Harlem State Senator Bill Perkins from his recent inauguration ceremony at Harlem Hospital.
First, the bad news.
UPTOWNflavor reports that the Sugar Shack closed. Boo. The Strivers Row place once "the site of impromptu gatherings, first dates, comedy shows, poetry readings and down and dirty dancing," is now home to an open lease sign. Moan.
· Closed - Sugar Shack [UPTOWNflavor]
Then, the medium news.
Jeremy from City Specific stops by the reformed women's prison cum condos and checks out one of the few Manhattan residences that opens directly onto the side walk. He ponders boob-flashing recidivism. (Photo is of an actual 10 MMP bedroom from which boobs may be flashed.) This would be a great post if it was not for this text: "I stopped by a part of Harlem I haven't visited as much in the past year, and which I probably won't be seeing much of anymore after Saturday..." What the hell, this is right near the Fur! Are you snubbing us? Come on man, we just washed the cat.
· 10 Mount Morris Park West [City Specific]
Now, on to the good news.
Today, Central Park's Bethesda Arcade is re-opened. It's not Harlem exactly, but Central Park serves as our collective backyard, so it makes a valid entry. After a $7 million renovation, the intricate, custom-made tiles are restored to their original glory. Given the weather today, the Intelligencer points out that, luckily, it is one of the few places in the Park one can enjoy in the rain.
· Central Park Restoration Delivers Ornate Detail, Potential Nookie [Daily Intelligencer]
Tomorrow, the Friends of St. Nicholas Park will be moving wood chips to prepare for the dog run's new permanent entrance, and they need your help. Stop by beginning at 11am. It's a great chance to meet your neighbors.
· Woodchip Workday at Dog Park Scheduled for March 3rd [Friends of St. Nicholas Park]
And an ongoing story we are sure to watch, Curbed highlights coverage by Dwell and Joyce Cohen on David Alan Basche and Alysia Reiner's green Harlem townhouse renovation. The acting couple's new home will have a bunch of environmentally conscious stuff and four dual flush toilets. Oh please, oh please, oh please invite us to the housewarming. Please.
· Going Green (and Going Zen) in Harlem [Curbed]
Stopping by Minton's Playhouse on Wednesday night turned out to be one of the best random decisions Cheryl and I have made in a long time. The staff was friendly, the drinks dangerously strong and cheap ($10 for two Long Island ice teas before 8pm), and the band was good.
How good was the Sugar Hill Jazz Quartet? So good you don't deserve to know what you missed.
Here is what you should do. Right now go grab your bed pillow and start crying on it. Maybe if you sleep on your tears all week, life will forgive you and you can check out the Sugar Hill Jazz Quartet next Wednesday. First set is at 9pm.
Until then, check out a clip of the quartet on Minton's site, and photos of them playing opening weekend there on Big Apple Jazz. Plus, I learned that they were the band playing opening night not too long ago when I was a little, egh, in the bag.
· Patience Higgins and The Sugar Hill Quartet [Minton's Official Site]
· Uptown Jazz Lounge At Minton's Playhouse [Big Apple Jazz]
· Harlem Weekend Wrap-Up: Minton's Playhouse, Posh Paws, Gawker HQ [Harlem Fur]
Low Down
68 Bradhurst
Friends of St. Nicholas Park
Harlem Hybrid
Harlem One Stop
NYC The Blog
UPTOWNflavor
People
CitySpecific
Harlem 26.2 (worth the archives!)
Misguided Misadventures In NYC
Siddhartha Mitter
WATPA?
