Posted on 12/13/2004 12:18:41 PM PST by Alouette
The municipal drama that plays out each day in City Hall has a reliable cast of characters, their daily arrival as inevitable as budget deficits and comptroller reports.
There are the lawmakers on the east side of the building, the mayor on the west, and the lobbyists, advocates and reporters sprinkled throughout. They join with the rest of the powerful and the seeking and the perpetually aggrieved who descend on city government each day.
And then there is the challah lady.
Soft spoken and unassuming, she strides up the steps of City Hall each week with a few toasty loaves of the traditional Jewish bread tucked into a shopping bag. She breezes past the security desk and into the mayor's press office, where she is greeted warmly. She comes bearing a loaf for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, and at least one challah for the press office staff members. (On a lucky day, it will have chocolate chips.)
Among the scores of people who make their way into City Hall each week, the challah lady, Esty Scheiner, is among the more invisible. She has no petitions, no lawsuits, and no real agenda other than to build a vibrant Jewish life in Lower Manhattan. She considers merging government and challah part of that mission.
Ms. Scheiner, 24, who was reared as Esty Levy in Crown Heights, was set to be married on Sept. 11, 2001. After the terrorist attack that day, she and Dovi, her fiancé, struggled with the wrenching decision of whether to proceed with the wedding. After consulting with a rabbi, they went ahead. "The rabbi said, 'Look at it as Osama bin Laden did something evil, and you are doing something small but good,' " Ms. Scheiner said.
She and Mr. Scheiner set up house in Crown Heights, but never felt at peace. "It struck us that the community downtown was hurt the most," Ms. Scheiner said. "It was churning inside us that it was providential that we got married on a day of an evil plan. We wanted to spread goodness and do kindness."
Part 1: Move to Chambers Street. Part 2: Start an organization, World Tikkun Center, that memorializes those killed on Sept. 11 and fosters a Jewish cultural life in Lower Manhattan. Part 3: Start a synagogue in SoHo, at a location to be named.
Among the many activities organized by Mr. and Ms. Scheiner is her weekly baking of challah, which she delivers around Lower Manhattan. At first, she began with a few loaves. She would knock on the door of her unknown neighbors and offer them hot crusty breads. One day, Mr. Scheiner ran into Mr. Bloomberg and his press secretary, Edward Skyler, and asked if his wife could start dropping off loaves at City Hall.
"The first time I came, they stopped me at the police booth outside and said, 'Who are you?' " Ms. Scheiner recalled.
"Angela came out and got the challah," she said, referring to Angela Banks-Lowe, who works in the press office. "The next week, I got to the front door. Then, the next door and the next door, and now I bring it to Ed's office." She now bakes about a dozen loaves a week.
Mr. Bloomberg has taken note of her treats. "We appreciate your thoughtfulness, and all agree you are quite the talented baker," he wrote to her in a letter last year. He also spoke this year at Tikkun's memorial service for the victims of Sept. 11.
When Ms. Scheiner walks into City Hall, no one says, "Who are you?" anymore. She is more often than not greeted with a "Hi, hon" by the female police officers.
There are other New Yorkers who have made City Hall a semi-second home. Joseph G. Garber, for instance, attends most of Mr. Bloomberg's bill signings, and often is the sole person who signs up to give public comment on the new laws. No matter the bill's topic - discharge plans for prisoners, new bus routes for Queens residents - Mr. Garber likes to weigh in with his support, often citing the mayor's management report or, recently, the book of Genesis. Government officials and the mayor patiently look on.
An alien arriving from space at one of the sparsely attended bill signings would probably infer that Mr. Garber, the corresponding secretary of the Civil Service Council, is the most prominent person in the room, given his authoritative manner and nearly spotless attendance.
There is the God Bless You woman, a housing advocate who often greets the mayor on the steps with that statement, and one Jose Adames, who insists that he is the rightful owner of the City Council seat currently held by Miguel Martinez of Upper Manhattan and frequently comes to City Hall with lawsuits and his frustration. Mr. Adames, who won 4 percent of the vote in a three-way race, concedes he has found no consolation in the historic landmark building. But he seems to enjoy coming by.
From Ms. Scheiner's perspective, City Hall is a neighbor and an extended part of her Jewish life. "What we are trying to do is bring the community together," she said, "and City Hall is part of downtown."
And Ms. Scheiner is part of City Hall. "It's great that these people feel so welcome here," Mr. Skyler said. "It shows that City Hall belongs to the people. The rest of us are just temporary residents."
Esty Scheiner, 24, bakes about a dozen loaves of challah each week at her home in TriBeCa and delivers them around Lower Manhattan to help foster Jewish cultural life. Her stops include City Hall, where she usually leaves a loaf for the mayor and at least one for the press office.
WARNING: This is a high volume ping list
In the middle of all the trouble and turmoil in the world, it is a blessing to read about Esty Scheiner. Thank you for posting this, I needed it today!
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