DON'T FORGET TO REGISTER FOR THE
fourth annual meeting of the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership, scheduled for Monday, June 7, at Hill Country, the barbecue restaurant at 30 West 26th Street. Check-in will start at 4:30 p.m., with the meeting slated to begin at 5 p.m.

The agenda includes reviews and highlights of the past year, including the BID's budget and financial statements; a look at upcoming projects; distribution of the 2010 Annual Report; and the election of directors. The keynote speaker is Tor Myhren, Chief Creative Officer of Grey Group, who will discuss his company's decision to make the Flatiron district its new world headquarters. As in past years, the BID will be presenting a number of awards, including the Partnership Award, which will be given to L&L Holding, the owner of the newly renovated 200 Fifth Avenue. The meeting will be followed by a networking reception with food and drinks from Hill Country.

An RSVP is required by June 4. To be eligible to vote for directors, all BID members, including property owners, commercial tenants and residents, must register prior to the voting. Members can register by calling (212) 741-2323 or by clicking here.

FINE DINING HAS BEEN PART OF THE FLATIRON STORY FOR
more than 100 years and on the evening of May 26, more than 100 people with an appetite for history participated in a salute to that legacy.

The event, "From Delmonico's to Danny Meyer: Feasting in Flatiron Since the Gilded Age," was presented by the Flatiron Partnership and took place at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE). It included a tasting of food and beverages that spanned the decades; an exhibit of historic images of century-old restaurants (including one in the basement of the Flatiron Building), food shops, menus and ephemera; and talks by a restaurateur, a writer and a historian.

Chef Brendan McDermott of ICE whipped up dishes reminiscent of days gone by: Lobster Newberg, which was invented at the legendary Delmonico's; Cotelettes d'agneau a la Nelson, a specialty of the Brunswick Hotel; and Charlotte Russe, the way it was served at the old Fifth Avenue Hotel.

Modern fare representing today's popular Flatiron dining spots included pulled pork sliders prepared by ICE and symbolic of the neighborhood's many BBQ restaurants; chicken and Thai basil dumplings from Rickshaw Dumpling Bar; and homemade soft egg yolk-filled raviolo with truffle butter from SD26. Guests could slake their thirst with cherry lime rickeys and egg creams from Eisenberg's Sandwich Shop, while Wolffer Estates wine and Brooklyn Brewery beer were on hand, courtesy of Edible Manhattan.

Guest speaker Paul Bolles-Beaven, Senior Managing Partner, Operations, for Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group, pointed out that Meyer, like Charles Delmonico, moved north to Flatiron after enjoying great success a little further downtown. New York Times reporter William Grimes, former chief restaurant critic of the newspaper, signed copies of his book "Appetite City: A Culinary History of New York," and reviewed the area's history of gustatory delights, calling today's Flatiron district a "prime dining destination." Urban archivist and historian Miriam Berman, the author of "Madison Square: The Park and Its Celebrated Landmarks," curated the exhibit of vintage images and presented a slide show depicting Flatiron's culinary past.

The event was co-sponsored by ICE and Newmark Knight Frank; gift bags were provided courtesy of Product101.

THEY ARE OUT THERE EVERY DAY, PATROLLING THE STREETS OF Flatiron. They are not police and they carry no weapons, but their uniformed presence alone is a deterrent to mischief-making. They assist the authorities during emergencies, they disseminate information to all segments of the community, and they are Flatiron's roving ambassadors, often the first person a visitor talks to when seeking directions. And they have been doing this for the past three years, every day, in all kinds of weather.

They are the Flatiron Partnership's Public Safety Team, a group whose members are easily identified by their blue uniforms, badges and white patches with the BID "intersections" insignia. Launched in June 2007 through a contract with American Commercial Security Services, the team is supervised by Scott Kimmins, the BID's Director of Operations and a 20-year veteran of the New York Police Department, all of it on duty in Flatiron. There are six full-time Public Safety Officers (PSOs), including two supervisors, plus one part-timer. They are on duty from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends.

"When people see a person in uniform," said Kimmins, "it implies that someone in authority is there to respond to certain situations. The mission is to provide a feeling of safety and security for everyone in the district, whether they live here or work here or are just visiting."

The development of the Public Plazas, which didn't exist in 2007, has added to the team's duties. During warmer months, every PSO's working day includes a couple of hours on the plazas, keeping the Visitor Information Cart well-stocked with maps and flyers; checking on the tables, chairs and umbrellas; and taking counts of people to gauge the extent of plaza usage. They also look for folks who might be easy prey for thieves -- someone with an open tote bag slung over the back of a chair, for example -- and remind them to keep an eye on their belongings.

While patrolling the district, the PSOs keep a sharp eye out for any situations that might require the presence of the NYPD or the New York Fire Department. They know the regulations involving street vendors and tactfully remind sidewalk entrepreneurs when they might be in violation. By filing daily reports, they keep BID management informed about any situations or conditions that need to be addressed.

The team's performance earned high marks in the BID's latest Community Survey. Some 85 percent of respondents said the district was as safe or safer than it was a year earlier.

The PSOs never know what kind of exchanges they might have with the public. Michel Melendez, one of the two supervisors and the only woman on the team, recalls being asked for directions by an elderly woman from Quebec. "We got to talking," said Melendez, "and the subject turned to 9/11. It was several years later, but this woman, who was not even here when it happened, expressed such sympathy and concern for us New Yorkers that she began to cry. I almost lost it myself."

PSO Michael Black recalls being asked by a couple for directions to Madison Square Garden. A lot of visitors, he said, think it's still near Madison Square.

"I figured they weren't from around here, so I asked where they came from," said Black. "They said, 'Queens.' I guess I looked kind of surprised and the man said, 'We don't get out very much.'"

IT ISN'T TO LATE TO SIGN UP
for the BID's 2010 Sponsorship Program. A few logo placements are still available on streetlamp banners, trash receptacles and ash urns, maps and neighborhood guides. Sponsors may also participate in special events under the Flatiron Partnership's "Intersections" umbrella, a BID series that focuses on information, ideas and the community. Prices for most items in the Sponsorship Program Catalog remain at 2009 levels, or even lower.

For more information, including details about the Friends of the Flatiron Partnership affiliate program for businesses near the district, please see the 2010 Sponsorship Program Catalog or contact Eric Zaretsky, Director of Marketing & Economic Development, at (212) 741-2323 or via e-mail at ezaretsky@flatironbid.org.

LAST SUMMER, ELEVEN MADISON
Park became one of the few restaurants in New York to earn a four-star review from The New York Times, when Frank Bruni, then the newspaper's chief restaurant critic, called it "one of the most alluring and impressive restaurants in New York."

Last month, the people who preside over the prestigious James Beard Awards added their own accolades, naming Daniel Humm, the Swiss-born Executive Chef who has commanded the kitchen at Eleven Madison since 2006, as Best Chef in New York.

As if that isn't enough, the restaurant has also made its debut on the 2010 S. Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants list, a roster resulting from an international poll of celebrated chefs, food critics, restaurateurs and gourmands. It is one of only eight restaurants in the United States and five in New York to appear on the list.

Eleven Madison Park, which is part of Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group, opened in 1998.

Gramercy Grill

Gramercy Grill, a sandwich shop specializing in chicken and beefburgers, has opened at 32 Lexington Avenue, between 23rd and 24th Streets. The shop also serves breakfast omelets, salads and soups. It is operated by the management of two other Flatiron eateries -- Hidden City Café at 45 East 23rd Street and Gramercy Star Café at 23 Lexington Avenue -- as well as Grand Central Star Café at 463 Lexington Avenue. Gramercy Grill is open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays, and from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays. To order, call (212) 979-6161.

MyWay Cup

MyWay Cup, a shop offering coffee, tea, soft drinks and pastries, has opened at 102 East 23rd Street, just east of Park Avenue South. Owner Sufi King says the food offerings will soon expand to include such items as zucchini muffins, cupcakes, tahini cookies and energy bars. In addition to coffee by the cup, the shop offers 12-ounce packages of ground coffee, a house blend and an espresso blend. MyWay Cup is open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays, from 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Fridays, and from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays. It is closed on Saturdays. The shop can be reached at (646) 368-1083.

THE FIRST THINGS YOU NOTICE WHEN YOU WALK INTO
Tekserve, the Apple specialist on 23rd Street, are the radios. They sit on six long shelves that line most of a brick wall just to the left of the entrance, more than 120 of them, many in gleaming wooden cases. They are the kind of radios with tubes on the inside and names like Philco and Zenith and Admiral on the outside. You almost expect that turning one on will bring you the latest adventures of "Fibber McGee and Molly" or Walter Winchell rat-tat-tatting the news to "Mr. and Mrs. America and all the ships at sea."

Those radios are just a taste of what may be found inside Tekserve. Descend one flight of stairs into the basement and enter a technological time tunnel where more shelves are laden with dial telephones, cameras that use something called film, manual typewriters, microphones, an early answering machine from Bell Labs and a wire recorder from the 1950s. There are also vintage desktop computers, among them a 1983 Apple Lisa that debuted with a price tag of $9,995.

Virtually all these artifacts of an analog world were collected by Dick Demenus, the man who founded Tekserve with partner David Lerner in 1987 and turned it into New York's go-to place for ailing Macintoshes.

Tekserve's best-known piece of vintage technology is the 56-year-old bright red Coca-Cola machine on its main floor. ("It's as old as I am," said Lerner.) When it was new, it dispensed bottles of Coke for one dime. Still does.

"I'm an avid collector, mostly of technical equipment," said Demenus, 66. "I've been collecting since the 1970s, not antiques, but oddball stuff. I'm interested in old technology. Study it and you can trace a path right to the present day. People didn't just get smart today."

One of the basement items is a transmitter once used by the radio station WBAI. It's significant because it was at WBAI some 40 years ago that Demenus and Lerner first met. Eventually, they went into business together, using Macs to design sound systems and learning how to repair them.

"I fell in love with Macs when they first appeared," said Demenus. "We fixed our Macs, our friends' Macs. In 1987, David and I took over half my loft and we began repairing Macs. We were totally unauthorized at that time. We contemplated a number of names for the business, including, if you can believe it, Three-Ring Circuits, but we settled on Tekserve."

The company has been on the north side of 23rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, since the beginning, in four locations. The first was Demenus's loft, where he has lived for 33 years.

"After a couple of years -- and at the urging of my wife -- we moved the business to 163 West 23rd, above a diner. That's where we became Apple-authorized, in 1990. Then to 155 West 23rd, first on one floor, then two. We were always in lofts, never at street level."

In 2002, that changed. Armed with a 15-year lease, Tekserve moved into 119 West 23rd, a store with 20,000 square feet on its main floor and basement, with an additional 6,000 square feet on the second floor. Technically, it is just outside the Flatiron BID's borders, but since 2007, it has been an active participant in the BID's sponsorship program and in 2009 it became a marketing affiliate also known as a Friend of the Flatiron Partnership.

"When we began," said Demenus, "all we did was repair Macs. Now we also sell them, and we sell everything affiliated with the Mac. That includes audio, video, the graphic arts, keyboards for musicians, professional equipment. About half our business is corporate."

Tekserve also offers free demonstrations, seminars and special events (it partnered with the BID in March, hosting a program for tech and new-media companies), as well as training sessions that can be arranged for individuals or businesses.

"When we opened here," said Demenus, "we were very cautious about inviting the public in, wondering who would wander in off the street. We even talked about painting the windows black before deciding, hey, we're a retailer. We installed a greeter at the door. The Apple stores stole that idea from us. We even had a 'genius bar' before they did."

And, it should be noted, Coca-Cola in a bottle, for only a dime.

A monthly roundup of exhibits and events at the art galleries and museums within the Flatiron district. To be considered for inclusion, please send relevant information to: Eric Zaretsky, Director of Marketing & Economic Development, at ezaretsky@flatironbid.org.

Raandesk Gallery of Art at In Good Company

"Optical: Beauty in the Mundane": Small and large-scale photographs by Nadia Kyung Chae, winner of the 2009 Annual Optical Juried Competition, and runner-up Matt Gehring, as well as three other finalists: Pattiann Koury, Jeremy Sachs-Michaels and Magda Biernat.
Dates: June 17 to September 10. Opening reception: Thursday, June 17, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Address: 16 West 23rd Street, 4th floor (In Good Company).
Hours: Weekdays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., weekends by appointment.

"Jihay Kang": Paintings and mixed media works by Jihay Kang.
Dates: Through June 11.
Address: 16 West 23rd Street, 4th floor (In Good Company).
Hours: Same as above.

Volume Black

The Mishkin Gallery at Baruch
"Second Baruch Juried Photography Exhibition": Photographs by some 60 members of the Baruch College community.
Dates: Through June 4.
Address: 135 East 22nd Street
Hours: Weekdays from noon to 5 p.m., Thursdays from noon to 7 p.m. Closed on weekends.

AIGA National Design Center Gallery
"Design Journeys: You Are Here": An interactive exhibition saluting the lives and achievements of 25 top designers from culturally and racially diverse origins.
Dates: Through July 23.
Address: 164 Fifth Avenue.
Hours: Mondays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Fridays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Mad. Sq. Art 2010
"Event Horizon": The self-portrait sculptures of Antony Gormley, on rooftops, parapets and at ground level throughout the Flatiron district.
Dates: Through August 15.
Place: In and around Madison Square Park.
Hours: Around the clock.

Museum of Sex
"The Sex Lives of Animals": The uncensored story of sex and sexuality among in the animal world.
Dates: Through the summer.
Address: 233 Fifth Avenue.
Hours: Sundays through Fridays, 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

"Rubbers: The Life, History & Struggle of the Condom": A multi-media look at the condom's influence on everything from science to religion.
Dates: Through the summer.
Address and Hours: Same as above.

THEY'RE GONNA QUEUE UP
for some 'cue on the weekend of June 12-13, when the eighth annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party is expected to lure close to 100,000 carnivores to Madison Square Park, salivating for the chance to sample the wares of 18 of the country's top pitmasters, the most ever for this event. With the pitmasters hailing from 11 states, the party promises the best in regional cooking. Chow time is 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day.

The Big Apple BBQ will also present live music (three groups each day), seminars and cooking demonstrations. It's all free, except the food, which costs $8 a plate, the same as in 2009. Desserts are $4 and beverages range from $2 to $6.

Proceeds support the Madison Square Park Conservancy. For more information, click here.

THE MAD. SQ. KIDS SUMMER
series -- a twice-a-week program of entertainment for tykes -- will get under way on June 15 on Madison Square Park's Oval Lawn. Every Tuesday and Thursday, starting at 10:30 a.m., child-friendly musicians, singers, dancers, storytellers, comics and puppeteers will be on hand for free performances, including dancealongs and singalongs. The series, which is presented by the Madison Square Park Conservancy, ends on August 12.

For a schedule of performances, click here.

• Flatiron BID to honor L&L Holding
• Flatiron BID holding talk on safety, security in community
• The business of the Flatiron
• Flatiron BID honors Baruch as 'Partner of the Year'
• Click Here for More News Articles

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The Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership Business Improvement District, formed in 2006, is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to enhance the area's reputation as one of New York's most vital and exciting neighborhoods. This is undertaken by maintaining a clean and safe environment for those who live, work and visit the area; by spearheading area improvement projects; and by marketing the diverse business and retail options in this vibrant and historic neighborhood.

For more information go to our Web site at www.discoverflatiron.org or e-mail us at info@flatironbid.org.

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