Merchant Spotlight

Féline Day Spa
235 West 75th Street
(866) 508-7816
www.felinedayspa.com

One of the most eagerly awaited raffle drawings at our annual Block Blast is for the gift card from Féline Day Spa. While there is something alchemical about the transformation of a two-dollar raffle ticket into an afternoon of deluxe spa services, for most of us, a visit to Féline happens more than once a year. This enduring neighborhood business is as much a part of our lives as Fairway or Citarella, thanks to the savvy of owner Ingvor Wurnbrand.

Like many day spas, Féline started as a successful salon offering manicures and pedicures. The original shop opened on 72nd Street near Central Park West in 1983. Four years later, Féline moved to 75th Street and Columbus Avenue, where the menu expanded to include more “spa-like” services such as facials, massages, and body wraps.

In 1991, Ingvor bought the business and continued to expand, transforming Féline into a true day spa. Soon, the business had outgrown its space. In 1999, Ingvor moved Féline to its present location, more than doubling its space. Today, Féline is one of the busiest day spas in the city with twelve treatment rooms and a staff of 30, including six massage therapists, eight aestheticians, eight nail technicians, a hair dresser, and a licensed electrologist with over 30 years’ experience. It is also one of only 30 day spas in Manhattan to be accredited by the Day Spa Association.

Ingvor, a native of Sweden, brings a European approach to spa services that focuses on maintenance and well-being. Yes, you will hear relaxing music in the treatment rooms, but there are no whales or coyotes on the soundtrack aiming to transport you to a higher plane of spiritual awareness. Féline is where you go for high quality treatments delivered by no-nonsense professionals with many years of experience. It is also where you go to pick up your favorite products from Dermalogica, MD Formulation, Phytomer, and Skin Ceuticals. Féline also carries the complete line of Bare Essentials mineral make-up and consults on how to use them.

Féline Day Spa has been a merchant member of the Block Association for many years, but Ingvor’s commitment to supporting our neighborhood extends beyond W75BA. She also provides local schools with gift cards for their yearly raffles to raise money for student activities. Whether you are male or female, teenager or baby boomer, Féline Day Spa is a good neighbor to all.

—Liz DeVito

Pappardella
Cucina Tipica Italiana
316 Columbus Avenue at 75th Street
Tel: (212) 595-7996
www.pappardella.com

When my mother, the dairy farmer’s daughter from Neptune, New Jersey, married my father, the son of immigrants from Salerno, Italy, there was much angst within la famiglia that my father was doomed to live on a diet of “Methodist” casseroles and overcooked vegetables. Family legend has it that my Nana, tired of the drama, famously said, “Basta! Enough! There’s a bit of Italy in everyone.”

Truer words were never spoken, as my mother later proved with her mastery of Italian cooking, and I thought of them as I sat down to write about Pappardella, the Tuscan restaurant on the corner of 75th Street and Columbus Ave. owned by Mr. Vijay Gupta. Vijay arrived in New York from his native India in the 1970’s. One of the first things he noticed was that Italian eateries on the Upper West Side were rare. “There was nothing I could find between Lincoln Center and the lower 100’s, so I decided to open one myself.” He launched Pappardella, named after his favorite pasta, in 1983. Pappardella is across the street from Mughlai, another one of Vijay’s restaurant holdings that also include Dawat in midtown.

Pappardella specializes in the flavors and food of Tuscany. The menu features homemade pasta, artisanal pizza, and other Italian staples, like chicken parmagiana, grilled branzino, and tiramisu. The eponymous pappardella comes with sausage and peas in a vodka sauce and also with truffles in a wild mushroom ragù, and there are a dozen other pastas to choose from. I know from experience how friendly the waiters are and how knowledgeable about wine.

You may have tasted Pappardella’s homemade ziti if you’ve ever had lunch at W75BA’s annual block party. Vijay has generously donated large trays of both vegetarian pasta and pasta with Tuscan sauce for four years now, and we think it’s the main reason that lunch is the most popular attraction each year.

I recently learned that Vijay is handing Pappardella over to his son, Sid, another friend and supporter of W75BA. I will be dropping by to say hello and good luck to Sid who, like his father. no doubt has more than a little bit of Italy lurking in his soul.

— Liz DeVito

Manhattan Cat Specialists
230 West 76th Street
Tel: (212) 721-2287
Fax:- (212) 721-5637
mcs@manhattancats.com
www.manhattancats.com

If you were a cat, you’d want to live on our little acre of the Upper West Side. Why? Because this is where Dr. Arnold Plotnick established one of the only feline-exclusive veterinary hospitals in the city—Manhattan Cat Specialists on West 76th Street. 

Of course, you can take your cat to an all-animal hospital, of which there are many good ones in the city. Cats, however, are unique. They have their own unique metabolism, set of diseases, and personality traits. They really are best served in a facility that is devoted strictly to them, and Upper West Side cat owners are lucky to have a neighborhood veterinarian who believes that, too.

 “I knew I wanted to be a veterinarian when I was young,” says Dr. Plotnick. “My childhood cat once swallowed a sewing needle with thread. When the vet put the X-ray on the viewer and I saw the needle, I knew at that moment that this is what I wanted to do.”

Dr. Plotnick developed his affinity for small animals—and cats, especially—while studying at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine. His studies and career have taken him to Maryland and Colorado, but he eventually returned to his hometown of New York City for an executive position at the ASPCA. He was serving as vice president of the prestigious ASPCA Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital when the events of September 11, 2001 inspired him to pursue a lifelong dream of running his own cat hospital. After securing funding, Manhattan Cat Specialists (MCS) was born in 2003.

Dr. Plotnick and his staff strive to go beyond standard veterinary care, offering wellness programs tailored to four different age groups and providing extensive preventive health services. MCS also offers grooming, boarding, and adoption services. Take a look at their website to get the full picture of MCS services. Among the staff members you'll meet there:

Topeka, who loves belly rubs and has recently been promoted to ‘receptionist’ at MCS because she is always sitting at the front desk, overseeing the office…

…and Missy, the beautiful MCS 9-year-old hospital cat, sweet and sometimes sassy. If you find her on the front reception desk as you check in, give her a pet and she'll appreciate it. Give her two pets and she'll swat your hand away. 

—Liz DeVito

Beacon Paint & Hardware
371 Amsterdam Avenue nr 77th Street
Tel: (212) 787-1090
Fax:- (212) 877-1468
http://www.beaconpaint.com

Beacon has long been a merchant member of W75BA and is a strong supporter at Block Association events. We are pleased beyond words to report that one of our favorite local West Side stores was one of just three finalists [out of 4,000+ nominees nationwide!) for the Shine A Light Award sponsored by American Express and NBC Universal! As one of the top three local businesses in the United States, Beacon was awarded a $10,000 marketing grant.

Congratulations, Beacon!

Many of you voted for Beacon in in the Shine A Light event, and owner Bruce Stark has written to W75BA to thank everyone for their support and good wishes.

"It was extremely gratifying and almost overwhelming the support our friends, family, neighbors, customers, and vendors showed us.

"From going to so much effort— just navigating the Amex website —  you should win an award, to  re-connecting to people we lost touch with, to people who sent out repeated emails on their contacts list, the many school lists, and my personal favorite — those of  you who told me the dog and cat voted for us (several times), we remain forever in your debt."

In yet another gift to the NY residents, Beacon will sponsor a blood drive on July 26, A Pint for a Pint. Donors of a pint of blood will receive a free pint sample of Benjamin Moore paint. And continuing a years-long tradition, Bruce is again sponsoring a Walk to benefit Guiding Eyes for the Blind.

The Beacon Paint & Hardware Story

Beacon Paint has been on the same street for 109 years. We are proof that longevity alone does not always tell the story. Our warmth and hospitality is well known in the neighborhood. We are proud of our generosity and community minded spirit. It is not enough for us just to help with the usual community appeals; we like to go above and beyond. We have become a household name to the entire P.S. 87 and P.S. 334 community. We donate vast amounts of paint (most recently P.S. 334 moved and we donated over 70 gallons of paint for their new home). We provide lighting for P.S. 87's annual international night, donate materials for their haunted house on Halloween, and received an award for all our help in their new garden.

Every child who enters the store — regardless of what school they go to — will invariably walk out with either a balloon, crayons, stuffed animal or a toy. Dogs in the neighborhood make our store a daily stop, for both cookies and to visit our mascot, a black Labrador retriever named Bru. There are also endeavors closer to our heart. Every year, we sponsor a walkathon for the Xeroderma Pigmentosum Society. XP is disease where children who have it cannot be exposed to light. We schedule the Walkathon, at night, so anyone who has XP will be able to attend. This event is totally sponsored by us. From t-shirts to gifts to food to horse-drawn carriage rides, we pay for it all.

We also sponsor a clean up day. We supply the paint and get volunteers to paint over any graffiti on mail boxes or lamp posts. We also repaint fire hydrants to make them look clean. We sponsor this in its entirety, too. It is our neighborhood, we live here, and we support the neighborhood as much as they support us. We recycle fluorescent bulbs at no charge to the consumer.

Bruce Stark, the owner, is proud when people call him "The mayor of the Upper West Side." He was proud to meet and have breakfast with the real mayor of New York recently. He was one of 20 community leaders invited to Gracie Mansion to meet the mayor and discuss any concerns I might have. It was not the first time Bruce met Mayor Bloomberg. In 2008, Beacon was awarded the New York City Small Business of the Year Award. The ceremony was also held at Gracie Mansion and the mayor presented us with the award.

Earlier in the year, we received the North American Paint Dealer of the Year award. (We have also won a West Side Spirit Small Business Award, as well as Forbes Enterprise Award.

We are proud of these awards, but more proud that none of them had anything to do with sales or profits. The only criteria were community service and customer service. We display these awards right next to the drawings and thank you letters from children who have thanked us for the gift we give.

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