Neighborhood Chatter

Compiled by Nora Bosworth, Megan Bungeroth and Alicia Bynum ESPAILLAT AND HOYLMAN WIN SENATE PRIMARIES Incumbent state Sen. Adriano Espaillat easily won his Democratic primary race against challenger Assemblyman Guillermo Linares last week, taking an estimated 65 percent of the votes. Linares, who declared his intent to run for the position when Espaillat was still neck-and-neck in the race for Charlie Rangel's congressional seat, had to give up his Washington Heights assembly seat to run. Espaillat's district, the 31st, shifted after redistricting and now encompasses only Manhattan (he used to represent parts of the South Bronx), with a greater portion of the Upper West Side included. In the 27th district Senate race, attorney and former chair of Community Board 2 Brad Hoylman beat out opponents Tom Greco, a Chelsea bar owner, and Tanika Inlaw, a public school teacher, to win the Democratic nomination. Hoylman will likely succeed outgoing Sen. Tom Duane, who surprised many when he announced his retirement at the end of his current term. FALL FESTIVAL ON BROADWAY The 20th annual Upper Broadway Fall Festival hits the boulevard on Saturday, Oct. 6, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The festival, which runs on Broadway between West 110th and 116th streets, will include games, food and tournaments. There will be a multitude of participants, including over 200 craft persons, antique dealers and artists. There will be exhibits of collectibles and Latin American crafts, including macramé, ceramics, jewelry, weaving and woodcarving. Sponsors include Broadway Presbyterian Church Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing, the Broadway Mall Association and the Upper West Side Recycling Center. The Broadway Mall Association works to improve the quality of life along Broadway and adjacent streets through cultivation and general care of the planted malls from 59th to 168th Streets. Broadway Presbyterian Church will use the proceeds from the Festival to further its community work. The festival is free and is open to all. JAZZ GREAT CELEBRATED UPTOWN The Smoke Jazz & Supper Club, at 2751 Broadway, will be hosting the Pepper Adams Festival on Tuesday, Sept. 25, and Wednesday, Sept. 26. The event features Gary Smulyan and the Mike LeDonne Quartet paying tribute to Adams, an important if not well known figure in jazz history who broke ground as a baritone saxophonist. Sets will be at 7 and 9 p.m. both nights, with a two-course prix fixe dinner available for $29.95, and another set at 10:30 p.m. with a $20 minimum. Call 212-864-6662 for reservations and information. FINAL TOUCH UP A museum worker cleans the marble columns in front of the newly restored murals in the Theodore Roosevelt Rotunda at the American Museum of Natural History. SODA BAN PASSES LAST HURDLE On Thursday, the New York City Board of Health approved Mayor Bloomberg's "soda ban," which prohibits the sale of soda and other sweetened drinks in any container over 16 ounces. The average soda bottle actually exceeds this size, according to the New York Times. Bloomberg's desire to curb the city's obesity epidemic fueled the measure, which also applies to energy drinks like Gatorade and sweet iced teas. Over half of the city's adults-and almost half of the city's public school students-are overweight or obese, according to the Wall Street Journal. Not surprisingly, vendors of sugary drinks have united to challenge the ban, arguing that it infringes on consumer freedom. Many nutritionists support the measure, like the eminent Yale University epidemiologist Dr. Kelly Brownell, who told the New York Times, "It completely makes more sense to make the environment healthier rather than to just do pure education." While a Times poll found that most New Yorkers were against the law, the Board of Health vote was almost unanimous, with one abstention. Then again, Bloomberg appointed each board member himself. The ban will take effect March 12, but vendors who break the law will not be fined until mid-June. 'JAY WALK' OPENS AT JOHN JAY COLLEGE Last week John Jay College, at 524 W. 59th St., celebrated the opening of their new 60,000-square-foot rooftop terrace, called the Jay Walk, a name students selected in a contest. The outdoor space houses a vegetable garden, benches, custom-engraved bricks and magnolia trees. Students also have a connection between two of the campus buildings. The Jay Walk is the centerpiece of the college's expansion, which includes a 13-story, 625,000-square-foot building designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. IRISH PLAY ON UWS Irish playwright and performer Suzanna Geraghty will be performing her one-woman show Zoe's Auditions, Part 2 this week at the Drilling Company Theater, 236 W. 78th St. The play is a comical send-up of an actor's life in which aspiring actress Zoe gets sent on wildly inappropriate auditions by her senile agent. The play won acclaim during its run in Dublin last summer and is being presented in New York as part of the first Irish Festival. Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 3 p.m., $18, through Sept. 22. Visit www.smarttix.com or call 212-868-4444 to reserve tickets. CENTRAL PARK RAPE VICTIM STANDS STRONG The 74-year-old victim of a vicious assault and rape in Central Park last week told the New York Post that she isn't going to let the horrible incident ruin her park experience. "I'm not scared. I don't want to lose that pleasure. I won't let anything keep me from enjoying the park," she told the Post reporter. The woman, identified only as an Upper West Side resident, was attacked in broad daylight as she was bird-watching in the park. The alleged rapist, now in police custody after he was spotted strolling around the neighborhood, snuck up to the woman and assaulted her, after she had taken his photo days earlier when she caught him masturbating in the Rambles area of the park. Police caught a suspect, 42-year-old homeless man David Albert Mitchell, as he was walking on the Upper West Side on Thursday. Mitchell reportedly has a long history of violent offenses.