Events

Welcome to the NYC Yale Class of 1961 mini-reunion which focuses on the diversity of New York City's communities and its culture.

We're taking you to Ellis Island, the World Trade Center area, Chelsea, Midtown, Time Warner Center and East Harlem - and using public transit to show off our fabulous hometown. Classmates and spouses are becoming our "Transit Guides" to help our guests move around Manhattan by public transit just as New Yorkers do every day. The MTA subway and bus system is the transportation backbone of our densely populated world-class city. Our classmate Mark Lebow, a member of the Board of the MTA, has arranged for you to receive MTA subway and bus day passes for Friday and Saturday. Obviously you may choose the alternative of taking cabs and experiencing Manhattan's legendary traffic jams.

Detailed transit instructions for the mini-reunion are in the attachment to this letter.

Six classmates and their spouses, Richard Weinert and Sylvia Hewlett, Dick and Jane Stewart, Andy and Terri Marks, Mark Lebow and Patti Harris, Sherwin Goldman, and Jim and Ceci Tripp are welcoming you into their homes for dinner. AYA has informed you of your host's name and address. Don't be late!

Ellis Island is the gateway through which millions of foreigners, overwhelmingly from Europe, passed as they sought to begin life anew in the United States.

At 8:00 am classmates and spouses should meet in the lobby of the Yale Club at 50 Vanderbilt @ 44^th St (212-716-2100). Remember to rise early enough to finish breakfast by 7:45 a.m. Classmates and spouses who live in Manhattan will be your "Transit Guides" and accompany small groups on the subway trip to the Ellis Island Ferry. The last "Transit Guide" will leave the lobby at 8:15 a.m. The Ellis Island ferry departs from Battery Park near the very tip of Manhattan.

You will receive your MTA day passes and ticket for the ferry boat/audio guide at your Thursday dinner or, if you are not attending a dinner, at the Yale Club Friday 8:00 or from Jerry LeWine at the Ticket Holders area. (If for some reason, late arrival or otherwise, you do not have a ticket, buy one at the ticket windows inside the Castle Clinton structure. A senior ferry pass is $10.)

Our groups will depart on the ferries between 9:00 and 9:30 after passing through security. Ellis Island boats leave every 20 minutes and take 40 minutes to reach Ellis Island. After the Statute of Liberty stop, disembark at Ellis Island. The Museum building is on the right side of the island as you get off the boat.

After entering the museum through its main entrance, stop at the booth to the right to obtain the audio tour devices. Tour the Ellis Island Museum at your own pace. You could easily spend 90 or more minutes listening and walking.

A ferry leaves Ellis Island at 12:25 p.m. convenient for lunch at 1:00. Otherwise boats depart every 20 minutes. The trip back to Manhattan takes 15 minutes. Upon exiting the boat, go to the right and walk a few minutes south along the waterfront side of the park to the restaurant at 17 State Street.

The upstairs room is reserved for our mini-reunion lunch starting at 12:30 p.m. A cash bar is available. Lunch will be served at 1:00 p.m. Iced tea and soft drinks are included as part of the lunch, but no alcoholic beverages. The restaurant has a magnificent view of the harbor, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Battery Gardens Restaurant, 17 State Street (212- 809-5508)

The Rubin, one of NYC's newer museums, is dedicated to the art of the Himalayas and surrounding regions. The Rubin has completely transformed its space which used to be the headquarters of Barney's. Steve Kass has arranged for our private docent-led tour of the Rubin Museum. Don't miss its fabulous gift shop and bookstore. Rubin Museum, 150 W 17^th Street (212-620-5000)

2:30 pm Leave the restaurant for those going directly to the Rubin Museum located in the Chelsea area. Our "Transit Guides" will accompany you by subway, taking the West Side #1 line from South Ferry to the 18^th Street stop. The Rubin Museum entrance is is on 17^th Street, just east of the corner of 7^th Avenue and 17^th Street. Detailed transit instructions are included in the attachment.

World Trade Center Redevelopment Presentation at 2:30 followed by 4:00 Rubin Museum Tours note: This busier afternoon program leaves little time for resting before the 6 p.m. evening at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola.

2:00 Leave the restaurant - Steve Kass and Jim Tripp will escort you to the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) 20^th fl One Liberty Plaza (Liberty St betw Trinity Pl.and Bway. The LMDC has overall responsibility for the redevelopment of the World Trade Center. From its office on the 20th floor, you can see the WTC site where reconstruction activity is now frenetic. From 2:30 to 3:15 David Emil, a recent Yale graduate and President of the LMDC, will discuss the redevelopment plans.

Space is limited, and the LMDC needs to know the names of everyone in this group for security purposes. To join this group, please email Steve Kass ASAP at kass@clm.com (subject line: WTC tour).

At 3:30 Steve Kass and Jim Tripp will escort this group to the Rubin Museum for tours starting at 4 p.m. You will leave the Rubin Museum no later than 5 p.m. if you want to return to the Yale Club.

- Walk along the High Line, Manhattan's newest park that used to be an elevated rail line serving factories on the west side of lower Manhattan. It is just west of 10^th Avenue, with entrances from Gansevoort Street (just below 12^th Street) to 20^th Street.

- This is the center of Manhattan's hottest art scene. The numerous art galleries west of 10^th Avenue in the lower 20's include Danziger Projects at 534 W 24^th Street, operated by Jim Danziger, Yale class of 1974, Cheim & Read owned by Howard Reed, 547 W 25th St. and the Glass Art Gallery, 420 W 14^th St.

To return to the Yale Club by subway from the Rubin Museum area, you may team up with a "Transit Guide". Take the number 1 train uptown to Times Square and the"S" shuttle from Times Square to Grand Central Station. You could go directly to Dizzy's. The attachment provides detailed information.

6:00 pm cash bar followed by 6:45 Dinner - At 7:30 Bobby Watson is performing with Terell Stafford. Dizzy's is a great venue for intimate jazz and has a spectacular view overlooking Central Park. The dinner meal includes wine (no other alcoholic beverages). A cash bar is available before then. You must pay cash for other drinks at dinner. Dizzy's is part of Jazz at Lincoln Center in the Time Warner Building at Columbus Circle and 60^th St. Dizzy's Club Coca Cola, Broadway @ 60^th Street

5:30 pm Meet in the Yale Club Lobby if you want to go with a "Transit Guide". You may walk, take a cab or go from Chelsea. Enter the Time Warner Center on the corner at Broadway and 60^th Street. on the right after a short distance there is a bank of elevators that go to the 5^th floor for Dizzy's. The elevators for Dizzy's open at 6 p.m. If you get there before 6 p.m., you can join the queue. Dress is informal.

After the performance, you may want to explore many attractions in the Time Warner building or Columbus Circle. See the attachment. To get back to the Yale club by subway, enter the subway for the No. 1 line on the west side of Broadway at 60^th Street and take the "S"Shuttle at Times Square to GCS.

Saturday Morning - 8:45am to 11:00 Class Gathering, MTA, 347 Madison Avenue @ 44^th Street

Our Yale '61 Class Gathering is in the Board Room of the MTA at 347 Madison Avenue (between 44^th and 45^th St) Please arrange to have breakfast before the meeting, and plan to leave the Yale Club by 8:30 a.m. since it may take a few minutes to get through security at the MTA building.

Mark Lebow, a member of the MTA's board, has arranged for the MTA to provide us with this wonderful room which is used by the MTA for board meetings and for public hearings and so can accommodate all of us and our spouses. At the class meeting, Mark Lebow will talk about the MTA that operates the massive subway, bus and commuter rail system that allows NYC and its metropolitan area to function. The MTA faces many challenges, budget and otherwise, and has a number of very ambitious capital projects underway. Selby Jacobs and Mark Dolhopf, head of the AYA, will speak about the Yale Service Corps. Andy Block and Vince Teti will discuss arrangements for the 50^th reunion in June.

Saturday Morning - 11:30 am to 12:45 Tour of the New York Public Library, Fifth Avenue @ 42^nd St

The New York Public Library is a spectacular beaux art, early 20^th century architectural masterpiece, with its great sculptured lions in front. Our private docent-led tours of this vast building start in the lobby. They will focus on the history, architecture and function of the building. You'll also see signs of the extensive renovation currently underway. It is an easy walk to the NYPL at 42^nd St and Fifth Ave by going two blocks south from the MTA headquarters to 42^nd Street and one block west to 5^th Avenue.

There are fabulous Food Kiosks behind the NY Public Library along Sixth Avenue (Avenue of the Americas). Another option is the Food Court in the lower level of Grand Central Station. Or try Azusa, an authentic Japanese restaurant at 3 E 44^th Street where you should try their delicious Bento Box lunch special for $10.75.

We are heading up to East Harlem along Madison Avenue on the bus through the heart of the Upper East Side's best shopping district to visit Museo El Barreo at 104^th Street and Fifth Avenue. The Museo was started decades ago as a museum devoted to Puerto Rican art. Its mission has recently expanded to encompass South American/Hispanic art. Our contact Ms. Marta Dansie will meet us there at 3 p.m. for a presentation and docent-led tour. El Museo Del Barreo, Fifth Avenue @ 104^th St.

For those who want to go from the Yale Club to the Museo with a "Transit Guide", please meet in the Yale Club lobby by 2:15 p.m. We will take one of the Madison Avenue buses (M 1,2, 3 or 4) from the 42^nd-43^rd Street block to 101^st Street (limited buses) or 103^rd Street (all buses). Then walk west to Fifth Avenue and uptown to 104^th Street. Do not take the No. 32 bus to Queens or buses bound for the Bronx.

- The Museum of the City of New York has many exhibits that relate to the history of New York and has an excellent 10-12 minute video on the history of the City on the 2^nd floor. Entrance for Seniors is $6. It is one block south on Fifth Avenue from El Museo Del Barreo with its entrance between 103^rd and 104^th Streets across from Central Park..

- Conservancy Garden in Central Park's grand entrance is across from El Museo del Barreo. It extends about three City blocks from 103^rd Street to 106^th Street. It is a mini-botanical garden with a wide range of flowering plants and trees that is beautiful at all times of the year. Walk around. You can exit the Conservancy Garden on the north side and walk around the Harlem Meer that extends up to 110^th Street. Central Park north of 102^nd Street is hilly and more rugged and vegetated than most of the Park further south. You can find trails and explore. The highest point in the Park is Great Hill that is on the west side of the Park around 104-105^th Streets.

Take the bus and see the sights. The buses that go south on Fifth Avenue with a stop close to 103^rd Street have the same numbers as those that go up Madison Avenue - 1, 2, 3 or 4. You can take any of them to return to the Yale Club. Get off at 44^th Street (any of the local buses) or 42^nd Street (limited buses).

Cocktails will commence at 7 p.m., and the dinner at 8 p.m. The evening's musical interlude before dessert will be a brief song recital by Sarah Wolfson, an outstanding young soprano who won the international competition of Concert Artists Guild, an arts non-profit headed by our classmate Richard Weinert. Her program includes two songs set to poems of Lucy Miller Murray, wife of classmate Martin Murray. Lucy commissioned the songs from Pulitzer-prize winning composer Paul Moravec and a young composer Jeremy Gill. Also on her program will be a selection of songs by Kurt Weill.

We hope that you enjoy your weekend in our beautiful city. If any of us can help you during the weekend, please speak to us, or email us or call us on our cell phones.

LMDC - see www.renewnyc.com. The New York Times metropolitan section on Sunday, September 5 had a long article on the status of the major buildings, transportation center and other elements of the redevelopment.

From the Yale Club to the Ellis Island Ferry Terminal in Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan. Take one of the Grand Central Station Lexington Avenue express lines (number 4 or 5) heading downtown five stops to Bowling Green, the last stop in Manhattan.

- Enter Grand Central Station from the MetLife building entrance on 44^th Street directly across from the Yale Club, bear right and go down the escalator to the main concourse of Grand Central Station.

- Turn right and walk towards the grand staircase, which comes down from Vanderbilt Avenue. Proceed around the left side of the grand staircase as you face it on the main floor level, then make a left down a long corridor towards the "Times Square Shuttle" (name is overhead in large letters.) Go through the doors, and turn left towards the subway entrance. There will be signs indicating the subway trains ahead. We will want to take the Number 4 or 5 express train downtown.

- Go to the DOWNTOWN platform since you are heading south. Get on the next Express number 4 or 5 train that comes your way, moving lively!

- We urge you to stick close to your "Transit Guide" since this subway trip to the Battery is taking place during morning rush hour when the subway and platforms can be crowded.

- After exiting the subway go right to the most downtown exit and walk up the stairs. Take a sharp right, walk a little way and turn onto the first left path (just before a large flag pole on your right).

- As you walk ahead, you pass a large bronze "broken globe" sculpture along the pathway on the right. In front of you, you will see Castle Clinton - a red stone, low lying circular structure, home of the ferry to Ellis Island.

- Go through the Castle Clinton (you pass the ticket windows, etc.) to the security building ahead. You will see that the entrance to the security building is approached on the right with a waiting line. There are "Ticket Holders" signs. We will have to go through a security process akin to that at airports. (Shoes have to be removed only if the alarm rings; there are prohibited items, such as guns, knives, large packages, etc. Personal bags and briefcase type bags are of course permitted, but will pass though the usual examination equipment. )

Directions by taxi: Go to the corner of Battery Place and West Street, across the street from 17 Battery Place. Walk ahead to the security building (on the waterfront, behind the Castle Clinton structure).

Departing the Battery Gardens Restaurant, turn right out of the restaurant, and take the middle path to the street. There you will see the subway entrance�the South Ferry Station. Note: this is not the subway station that you exited from coming downtown.

- Take the subway train No.1 uptown to 18^th Street (about a 10-15 minute ride).

- Walk one block south (7^th Avenue traffic is moving south) to the Rubin Museum, with its entrance on the south side of 17^th Street, just east of 7^th Avenue.

Alternate trip - from the Restaurant to the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. It is possible to walk from the Restaurant to One Liberty Plaza that is about three blocks north of Wall Street up Broadway. Walking would take 15 to 20 minutes.

- By subway, walk along the east side of Battery Park to the southern entrance to the Bowling Green subway stop.

- Go to the uptown platform. Take any subway (numbers 4 or 5) two stops to Fulton Street.

- Liberty Street is a couple of blocks south on Broadway. One Liberty Plaza is a tall building on the west side of Broadway. Go to security for the LMDC. If you have pre-registered with Steve Kass, your name should be on the security list.

From the Rubin Museum back to the Yale Club - Go back to the 18^th Street and 7^th Avenue subway station.

- Transfer to the Times Square/Grand Central Shuttle, the S line, by following signs within the subway station. This is easiest to do if you are on the most uptown car of the No.1 train. When you exit from the subway, you will see stairs to the right (north end of platform). Go up the stairs, turn right, go down a couple of stairs, then bear left. Watch the signs to see from which track the next shuttle is departing. This station may be crowded.

- Get off the train at 42^nd Street/Grand Central Station. Exit up the stairs, walk along the passageway on the left, take a left through the first set of doors and follow signs to Vanderbilt Avenue to the Yale Club at 44^th and Vanderbilt.

From the Yale Club to Dizzy's Club Coca Cola - Return to Grand Central Station

- Take the S line Shuttle to Times Square.This time you will be going west from GCS to Times Square.

- In the Times Square station follow signs for the uptown platform for the No. 1 line, the local train. To get to the platform you will walk down the stairs on the left. The station will be very crowded.

- Get out at the 59^th St - Columbus Circle station. Walk up the stairs marked for Broadway and 60^th Street.

- The Time Warner Building is a huge curving building that stretches along the Circle from 59^th to 60^th Street. Cross to the west side of Broadway and 60^th Street. Enter this building at the 60^th Street entrance on its north side.

Following the performance and dinner at Dizzy's, you may wish to stroll to Robert's Restaurant located in the Museum of Art and Design (MAD), located on Columbus Circle. On exiting the Time Warner Center, look for a modern building to the right on the large traffic circle. That is MAD. Robert's is on the 8^th floor with stunning views of Central Park and a large bar area.

Take the 7^th Avenue subway (No. 1) from 14^th, 18^th, 23^rd or 28^th Street to 60^th and Broadway. See above.

Take the No. 1 train with its entrance on the west side of Broadway at 60^th Street two stops to Time Square at 42^nd Street and transfer to the Grand Central S train shuttle.

Bus Ride from the Yale Club to El Museo Del Barreo at Fifth Avenue and 104^th Street

At 2:00 our "Transit Guides" will meet you in the lobby of the Yale Club and depart at 2:15 and take you on the Madison Avenue bus through the heart of the Upper East Side's best shopping district.

- Go out the front of the Yale Club, turn right on Vanderbilt to 43^rd Street and then right on 43^rd Street going west to Madison Avenue.

- Take the Madison Avenue's # M1, 2, 3 or 4 buses which all stop between 42^nd and 43^rd Streets on Madison Avenue. You can take a regular bus or a Limited bus.

- Get off at 101^st Street, walk west towards Central Park on 101^st Street to Fifth Avenue (notice the huge new Mt. Sinai Hospital research/residential complex under construction on the north side of 101^st Street between Madison and Fifth Avenues.) Then walk up Fifth Avenue to the north side of 104^th Street.

Return trip from El Museo to the Yale Club by bus right down historic Fifth Avenue through Museum Mile

- Take any of the Fifth Avenue buses 1, 2, 3 or 4 from the bus stop around 103^rd Street (there are bus stops along Fifth Avenue every 2 or 3 blocks) and view the Guggenheim, Metropolitan Museum, Frick Mansion, the Plaza, Tiffany's and Rockefeller Center.

- Take any local bus, get off at 44^th Street, and walk east across Madison Avenue to Vanderbilt Avenue.

Host: Jim and Ceci Tripp

49 East 96^th St

Apt 8D

212-831-0229

Guests: Allyn

Hart

Kass

Ward

Host: Richard Weinert and Sylvia Hewlett

51 West 74^th St

212-724-6460

Guests: Darlington

Bynum

McCaul

Drake

LeWine

Lacey

Host: Dick and Jane Stewart

77 Charles St

212-337-0668

Guests: Fleischer

Robinson

Tierney

O'Sullivan

Host: Sherwin Goldman

Penthouse West

570 Park Ave

212-753-2345

Guests: Cantor

Ladjevardi

Block

Teti

Goldfield

Reynolds

Anderson

Host: Andy and Teri Marks

170 E 79^th St

Apt 9B

212-861-0607

Guests: Sargent

Ryan

Dial

Finkelstein

Mooney

Host: Mark Lebow and Patti Harris

1067 Fifth Ave (between 87 & 88^th St)

Apt 12

212-534-4748

Guests: Smith

Elting

St. John

Cogswell

Gimbel