The @Macaulay Author Series, Spring 2015 returns with more acclaimed writers sharing and discussing their latest works. On Tuesday, March 10 join author, columnist, and book-besotted memoirist Lizzie Skurnick who has gathered together her popular, sharp-witted New York Times columns in her book That Should Be A Word: A Language Lover's Guide to Choregasms, Povertunity, Brattling, and 250 Other Much-Needed Terms for the Modern World. She'll read from the new work and have a conversation with culture writer and DAME Magazine Executive Editor Kera Bolonik. The reading will be followed by a book signing and reception. Books will also be available for purchase.

The @Macaulay Author Series continues on Tuesday, April 21 with Michael Shnayerson, author of The Contender: A Biography of Andrew Cuomo, who will be interviewed by author and reporter Jonathan Atler. Then, on Monday, May 11 the Spring 2015 season concludes with Gretchen Rubin, best-selling author of The Happiness Project and author of Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives, and Anne Kreamer, whose latest work is Risk/Reward.

The Lincoln Square BID's Public Safety Officers are always out in the neighborhood, patrolling the streets and sidewalks and helping residents and visitors whenever they can. Likewise, our Clean Team Workers are out on the streets daily, making sure the district is clean and safe for pedestrians. Our teams occasionally come across lost or abandoned property in Lincoln Square. Once these found items are recorded and the necessary paperwork is filled out by a Public Safety Officer, they are brought up to the Lincoln Square BID's office where our staff searches for both the property's owner and a way to contact them. Most often, we are able to return the property successfully to its very relieved owner.  Our Public Safety Officers and Clean Team Workers have found items such as purses, wallets, backpacks, and cameras.

Our Lost & Found program is an important element of our safety initiatives, keeping our office and workers connected to the public and keeping the area safe for pedestrians, workers, and residents in Lincoln Square, as well as their property.

If you happen to lose sight of your belongings in the neighborhood, please contact our office at 212.581.3774 or look for one of our uniformed Public Safety Officers or Clean Team Members on the street so that we may assist you in any way we can.

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's Winter Festival, Intimate Expressions, continues this month. Each of the remaining three concerts explores some of the overwhelmingly personal masterpieces that epitomize the dialogue, introspection, and musical exchange of chamber music. 

On Sunday, March 8, hear Conventional Strings.  Duos by Mozart, Martinu, and Ravel will demonstrate the richness and closeness of conversing with friends through the voices of paired stringed instruments. The Escher String Quartet, described as "one of the finest quartets of their generation" by The Guardian, performs Voces intimae on Sunday March 15. Finally, on Friday March 20 hear Schubert & Schnittke where three outstanding musicians perform this radiant trio, alongside Schubert's melodic Violin Fantasy and Schnittke's riveting Cello Sonata.

The concerts take place at Alice Tully Hall and individual tickets start at $37. Visit chambermusicsociety.org for more information and to purchase tickets.  

The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) has some helpful sources to guide you through tax season and even a few ways to help New York City residents file taxes safely and for free. 

In Lincoln Square, the New York Public Library - Riverside Library, located at 127 Amsterdam Avenue and 65th Street, is an AARP Tax-Aide site. At these sites a certified volunteer will help you file your taxes. These sites offer free tax preparation for low-to-moderate-income taxpayers - especially those 60 and older. Call 212.870.1810 for more information, walk-ins only. Just north of the district, Project Find at Hamilton Senior Center, located at 141 West 73rd Street, is also an AARP Tax-Aide site. Call 212.787.7710 for more information, walk-ins only. 

You can also visit a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site in your neighborhood. VITA site preparers are IRS-trained and certified to help you file your taxes and claim credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and NYC Child Care Tax Credit (CCTC). Click here to find a site close to you. 

Finally, those who earn $31,000 or less, can file taxes with TurboTax Freedom Edition. And if you earn between $31,000 and $60,000, you can file with myfreetaxes.com. In order to file online, you must have a valid email address and use a secure computer to protect your privacy.

Visit nyc.gov/dca for more information on filing your taxes.

• Increase in the tipped cash wage amounts from the current rate to $7.50 per hour, effective December 31, 2015.
• There will be uniform tip amounts and criteria for all tipped workers in the hospitality industry, so that the same rates apply to food service workers, service employees, and service employees in resort hotels. 
• If the legislature enacts a separate minimum wage rate for New York City, then cash wages for such workers will be increased one dollar (effective on the date of such separate minimum wage rate for New York City takes effect).
• There will be a review on whether the system of cash wages and tip credits should be eliminated.

To read the entire order click here.