DOWNTOWN EXPRESS, JAN. 15, 2015

VOLUME 27, NUMBER 16

JANUARY 15-JANUARY 29, 2015

DOWNTOWN LEADERS PRESS CITY ON STORM PROTECTION $

O

BY DUSICA SUE MALESEVIC ut of the billions of dollars that the city is receiving for resiliency and recovery after Sandy, Community Board 1 is wondering why such a small percentage of that money is being spent in its district — one of the hardest hit areas.

The city has received $4.21 billion dollars of federal money, and out of that — less than one percent, about $1.5 million — will be geared toward a feasibility study for better protections for part of Lower Manhattan. The study is part of an estimated $10 to $20 million package for Downtown.

At the Mon., Jan. 12 meeting of C.B. 1’s Planning Committee, members asked Daniel Zarrilli, director of the Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency, about funding directly for their district.

“Specific investments in C.B. 1 between the business programs and the housing programs, it’s probably in the $10 to $20 million range,” said Zarrilli. “Infrastructure and other city services, it’s a little harder to pin down exactly, geographic Continued on page 8

Downtown Express photo by Milo Hess

The South Street Seaport Museum appears to be moving toward finding a new home for the Peking.

Bon voyage for the Peking?

BY JOSH ROGERS The cash-strapped South Street Seaport Museum is almost like the apple pie and motherhood of the Seaport development dispute: Everyone from community leaders to Howard Hughes Corp. to Mayor Bill de Blasio sings its praises.

So perhaps it’s not surprising that the museum’s plans, which it is pursuing separately from Hughes’ development project, have not been given as much attention even though they are central to the…choose your word: discussions, negotiations, arguments.

But, with each subsequent public

meeting, Captain Jonathan Boulware, the museum’s interim president, has made it more and more clear where he is steering the ship.

The majestic Peking, perhaps the museum’s most recognizable vessel, Continued on page 10

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January 15 - January 28, 2015

BY DEBORAH GLICK As many of you know, besides being your local assemblymember, I am also a huge fan of the National Football League. Although, I am foremost a New York Giants fan (unlike a nameless New Jersey governor who roots for the Cowboys!), I love to watch well-played games, and there are no better games to watch as the season winds down, and the weather gets colder, than playoff football. The esteemed editor of The Villager, sister publication of Downtown Express, asked me if I would share my thoughts on the upcoming matches this weekend, and I am happy to oblige.

The playoffs have been winnowed down to four teams who will play this coming weekend. Out of those games, the winning teams will face off in the Super Bowl.

Football is all about the matchups between the strengths and weaknesses of teams. The key factors are the quarterback’s ability to determine what type of defense the other team is setting up and the ability of the offense to provide the quarterback with enough time to either pass the ball or set up a running play. All four teams playing this weekend are excellent, and have excelled at doing exactly that all year. Now they must play each other.

There were a few surprises in last week’s games, most notably the Indianapolis Colts beating the Denver Broncos, giving them the unenviable opportunity to face the New England Patriots. The Colts

have a great young quarterback in Andrew Luck, but the team has several key injuries, and the Patriots have a quarterback, Tom Brady, who has the best postseason record and the home field advantage. The Patriots almost always find a way to win and their coach also has the best winning record in the postseason, so I think the Patriots will win.

The second matchup pits the Super Bowl winners from last year, the Seattle Seahawks, against the Green Bay Packers. The Seahawks have an overwhelming defense and a great young quarterback, Russell Wilson, who can run as well as pass accurately. The team is young and fast and on a hot streak and will challenge the Packers’ offensive juggernaut.

The Seahawks will be playing at home, where they have a notorious home field advantage, playing in a stadium that is known to be deafening for opposing teams. Adding to the Packers’ woes, their quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, has a serious calf injury, and although his season’s performance has been fabulous, he is playing injured and will not be at his best.

The Packers have a strong defensive squad. But the Seahawks have both a strong running game, as well as a Q.B., Wilson, who is healthy and terrific in every aspect of the game. If you can catch only one game, this is the game to watch.

Seattle is the favorite, but I imagine that Green Bay will give them a serious run for their money.

DowntownExpress.com

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Bruce Ehrmann, sales broker at the Sterling Mason on Laight St. The building will have a playroom designed by the 92nd Street Y, which runs one of the most sought-after nursery schools in the city.

BY D U S I C A S U E MAL E SE V IC The Sterling Mason at 71 Laight St., a new luxury condominium in historic Northwest Tribeca, boosts several features one could envy — bespoke wood cabinetry, an unparalleled attention to detail in every unit, and a lush, green courtyard — but it has one amenity that is one of a kind: a children’s playroom designed by one of the city’s most sought-after nursery schools: the 92nd Street Y. “We really left no stone unturned in terms of the design, functionality and service in the building,” Dan McInerney, vice president of Taconic Investment Partners, told Downtown Express. “We took that to every element of the building from the lobby to the library to the units — and to the children’s playroom.”

Taconic Co-C.E.O. Charles Bendit, explained McInerney, emphasizes education and when it came time to design a playroom, he did not want it to be typical with a couple of bookshelves and some toys, but something different, intelligent and thoughtful. The next step was figuring out how to make that happen.

“We know how to develop buildings, we know how to run buildings, but fitting out a children’s playroom DowntownExpress.com

is not our specialty,” he said in a phone interview.

The 92nd Street Y on the Upper East Side is “really one of the preeminent names in early childhood education,” said McInerney.

After several discussions with the organization about the process and what would be involved, the Y agreed to design the space — something that they have never done before.

“That was a little bit of the challenge [to get] them comfortable,” said McInerney. “We didn’t want them to have the sense that we were simply trying to leverage the name.

We really wanted to make it a wellthought out, well-planned space and that was really the motivation. It was the first they’ve ever done.”

The Y consulted about how to not make it one giant open playroom, how to provide different spaces within the same room for diverse activities and ages.

There is a corner for reading, creative building and construction items in some spaces, easels for open art and interactive art, and a space for a nursing mother to sit privately and read with another child, said McInerney.

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January 15 - January 28, 2015

3

SOHO ‘STICK UP’ Before robbing a Duane Reade at 459 Broadway in Soho last weekend, the thief took a moment to check out a display of female products, according to police.

A male employee, 31, told police that the robber came in at 11:40 p.m. on Sun, Jan. 11, looked at the merchandise for a minute, and then walked over to the counter with his hand in his pocket like he had a gun. The suspect — who police say is around 35, 150 pounds and 5 ft. 8” — told the cashier, “I don’t want any problems” and to hand over all the cash in the register.

The employee, who lives in Brooklyn, was fearful for his life, police say, and turned over $160 to the man, who then fled.

ROBBED IN TRIBECA A thief nabbed a Brooklyn woman’s purse from behind in Tribeca last week and got away with $895 worth of stuff, police say.

The woman, 44, told police she was standing on the sidewalk on the corner of Canal and Hudson Sts. at 5:30 p.m. on Thurs., Jan 8, when she was robbed.

She did not see the man’s face.

Her pocketbook had a $500 Comme des Garcons wallet, a $75 hair brush, her iPhone, a Tiffany & Co. key ring valued at $100 and a $150 Marc Jacobs

makeup bag. She told police she had cancelled her credit cards in time and that there were no unauthorized charges.

GRAND THEFT SNEAKER ARRESTS Police busted three people for using a forged credit card to purchase two pairs of Balenciaga sneakers, worth $1,210, last weekend in Soho.

The partners — comprised of two men, one 23, the other 25, and one woman, 26 — used the card at the Balenciaga store at 149 Mercer St. on Sat., Jan. 10 at 3:30 p.m.

The crime was reported quickly and the three — all from Brooklyn — were arrested and the sneakers were recovered. They were found with several other forged credit cards and three forged $100 bills.

DOORS CLOSE ON VICTIM Call it adding insult to injury: A Staten Island woman got her wallet stolen while riding the 4 train Downtown then saw the thief with it in hand as he exited the subway car just before the doors closed at Fulton St. last weekend.

The 48-year-old woman was riding the train from the Bronx on Sat., Jan. 10 at 1 p.m. when the robbery took place. The police call it a “dip” and say that the suspect is male, around 15, and got away with her credit cards, MetroCards, a $15 money order and $80.

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On New Year’s day at 6 a.m., a man flung a metal garbage can into the front window of the Coach store at 143 Prince St. He stole expensive purses in a myriad of colors — gold, black, teal and navy — as well as a $4,780 tan jacket, police say. He got away with a total of $8,499 in merchandise.

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Thieves broke into two buildings on Sullivan St., between Spring and W. Houston Sts. earlier this month, police say.

The first incident took place on New Years Day at

1 p.m. when the thieves got in through the bathroom window at 135 Sullivan St. and stole a $500 iPad, a $130 backpack and a $199 Verizon Wi-Fi hotspot, the 27-year-old woman who lives there told police.

There were no visible signs of forced entry, police say.

Three days later, on Sun., Jan. 4 at 1 p.m. at 107 Sullivan St., thieves entered the apartment of a 30-year-old woman who was away for the holidays, police say. The woman told police that her friend came by to water her plants on Dec. 30 and didn’t notice anything missing. The thieves got away with a Tiffany pearl necklace, valued at $524, a $120 bottle of Chanel perfume, a $330 projector and $80 in cash.

Police say the crimes are not connected.

SHOPLIFTING SPREE There has been a rash of shoplifting at high-end stores in Soho, police say.

A group of ten to 12 males entered the high-end clothing store Moncler at 90 Prince St, grabbed 7 jackets worth $10,560, and fled on Fri., Jan. 2 at 6:31 p.m.

In a different incident, a male and female team stole a $5,000 pair of Chanel boots and a $3,000 Celine handbag on Tues., Dec. 30 at 4 p.m., police say. A male employee, 25, reported the theft on Jan. 5.

On Mon., Jan. 5 at 3 p.m., a man and a woman stole 20 pairs of jeans, worth $3,000, from a Club Monaco store at 121 Prince St. Police say that the woman shoved the jeans into her bag, while the man hid the pants under his jacket.

And the shoplifting has continued into the new year at the Saint Laurent Paris in Soho, where a thief got away with a $1,190 handbag on Sun., Jan. 4 at 2:42 p.m., police say.

A female employee, 35, told police that the suspect walked into the store, snatched the purse off the shelf and left. Last month, the store at 80 Greene St. was robbed twice in one week — with the thieves getting away with almost $6,000 worth of merchandise.

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January 15 - January 28, 2015

DowntownExpress.com

Chinatown mourns the city’s slain police officers

BY TEQUILA MINSKY Escaping a drenching rain, dozens of people huddled under two white tents in Kimlau Square that had been erected by volunteers so that Chinatown neighbors could pay their last respects to slain Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu on Sat., Jan. 3.

Before noon, Councilmember Margaret Chin had attended the public wake for Liu in Dyker Heights. At the Brooklyn funeral home, the councilmember waited with others in line for two hours for the viewing. There was also a special separate room at the funeral home for Chinese cultural observance.

The vigil in Manhattan’s Chinatown gave the local community a chance to say goodbye.

We put this together very quickly,” said Chin, who represents Chinatown. “There are elderly and others who couldn’t make it to the wake.”

During her brief statement at the vigil, she said, “The public has come to see how great these men were.”

She also mentioned how, historically, Chinese parents didn’t want their children to become police officers, but that the public outpouring of grief and support has indicated respect for this profession.

Liu immigrated from Guangzhou with his family.

Glowing red candles circled the plaza, offering some light and a symbol of warmth in the wintery downpour. Inside the square, flames darted from a small drum for the burning of paper money, a provision for the deceased — that they have money in the afterlife.

After the brief formal remarks, those in attendance, one by one, placed a votive candle in front of a large photo poster that commemorated the two officers.

The Chinatown Merchants’ Association was one of the many sponsoring organizations of the event, as was the Restaurant Association.

The Fujianese Association provided the candles and oranges on the altar. In all, 26 groups were involved — including commercial, civic, cultural, tenant and many community organizations — with a total of 50 volunteers, in helping make this community vigil happen. And, in spite of the cold, wet, miserable weather, it was DowntownExpress.com

evident that those attending felt compelled to be a part of this informal ceremony recognizing the city’s tragedy.

“The vigil had roots in Buddhism and Chinese cultural practices,” said Wellington Chen, executive director of the Chinatown Partnership. “But it was ecumenical. Father Nobiletti from Transfiguration Church on Mott St. also spoke.”

Chen also said how people came from all sides of the “police debate.”

“This was a moment for healing regardless of the varied opinions,” he said. “This was a moment to come together in solidarity, as one.

God forbid we should be like they work in D.C., completely divided.”

A consummate optimist, Chen said, “I do believe something better will come from this.”

Many officers, some on duty at nearby police headquarters at One Police Plaza, made a quick stop to light a candle.

Another altar was also set up under one of the tents. Incense burned. There was bowl of fruit, and paper gold and silver bars to accompany the deceased to the next plane.

At one point, calligraphy was presented in honor of both officers.

Under Ramos’s name in Chinese it read: “His name will live forever.”

Under Liu’s name: “He becomes immortal.”

Even after the bulk of people had left and night had fallen, neighbors steadily continued to stop by to pay homage and light a candle.

Chen estimated that several hundred individuals in all had come by during the whole afternoon and evening, many from other Lower Manhattan neighborhoods.

“I know they came from Battery Park City and Independence Plaza,” Chen said. “This was very spiritual.”

Further commenting on the police force’s makeup, Chen offered an assessment: “The look of the police force is changing,” he said. “Today 4.7 percent of the police force is Chinese. In 1976, there were five officers — one for each borough. Chinatown has a greater representation.”

He was happy to report that he had learned that two Chinese graduates from the latest Police Academy class will be joining the Fifth Precinct in Chinatown.

Downtown Express photos by Tequila Minsky.

A Fifth Precinct police officer at the memorial. Many officers came by to light a candle and pay their respects.

Councilmember Margaret Chin, inset, held a votive candle at the memorial.

January 15 - January 28, 2015

5

A cobbler in the W.F.C.? Well, for 1 more year

BY D U S I C A S U E MAL E SE V IC The strong smell of shoe polish permeated the air while the rhythmic swipe-swipe of a cloth burnishing shoe could be heard as Carmine Colletti discussed the uncertain fate of his shoe repair store at Brookfield Place.

Along with his brother, Charlie, the Collettis have been a part of the Battery Park City office complex since 1988. Now, they are in danger of losing their lease for their shop, Cobbler Express Shoe Repair, at 200 Liberty St., formerly 1 World Financial Center.

“It’s bothering me to even think to lose the Financial Center because I grew up there,” said Charlie, 52. “It’s where my heart is. And I started that business from nothing.”

When Brookfield Place decided to renovate the complex, investing $250 million to do so over the last few years, several stores lost their lease and left. Due to the construction, the Collettis’ shop was moved from its spot facing the marina, near the restaurant, SouthWest NY, which is no longer a part of the complex, to its current site.

“This was supposed to be a temporary move,” explained Carmine, 50.

The shop has had three venues: the first behind the Winter Garden’s marble stairs, the second facing the marina near the Winter Garden, after Sept. 11, and their current position.

The move was three years ago and the Collettis said they would like to move back near the Winter Garden, but it is unclear if they will even be able to hold on to their current location. They were offered a lease for only one more year.

The best location for business, Charlie said, was near SouthWest after Sept. 11. Carmine said that business now further from the bustle is not great.

“I mean, I used to have five, six guys working for me, now I’m down to two,” said Carmine.

Their spot, which Carmine called more of kiosk, is so small that equipment necessary to do repairs doesn’t fit — and that is also cutting into revenue.

After selling shoe repair supplies in the ‘80s, Charlie realized that he wanted to open a shoe repair shop — and he already had the perfect role model: his father, who owned his own store in Bay Ridge for several decades.

The Collettis’ roots stretch to a small town in Sicily, where they were both born. Their grandfather was a craftsman who made shoes, with a focus on boots.

“My parents still have a house there,” said Carmine. “There’s my grandfather’s house [and] my father redid it.”

Their father came to New York City in 1969 and the two brothers followed in 1973, growing up in Bay Ridge.

Charlie, who was only 25 at the time, saw an opportunity with the opening of the World Financial Center.

“I was one of the first stores,” he told Downtown Express during a visit to his other shop, Stanley’s Cobbler Shop, at 11 Thames St. in the Financial

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January 15 - January 28, 2015

Downtown Express photos by Dusica Sue Malesevic

Cobbler Shoe Express has been in different World Financial Center spots for 25 years, but this year could be its last. It’s owned by brothers Carmine, below left, and Charlie Colletti, who’s pitcured in the brothers’ shop in the Financial District.

District. “I thought it was a good location for a shoe repair shop — with all the businesses that were down here at the time. At the time, it made a lot of sense to me.”

One former Downtowner, Andrew Cuomo, was a frequent customer before he became governor, Charlie said.

The brothers have seen the area dramatically change since the late ‘80s.

“When I first came down here, I don’t think there were many residential buildings,” recalled Charlie.

“And I only remember one hotel when I got down here — the Vista [International] Hotel that was under the World Trade Center. Now there are hotels and residential buildings on every corner.”

In 2000, when Charlie decided to open up shop on Thames and his partner retired, he asked Carmine, who was then an aircraft mechanic for the

now defunct airline TWA, to join him and run the shop at the World Financial Center.

“There was nothing down here when we [first] opened,” said Carmine, who said the majority of their customers were from the companies housed in the complex: American Express, Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers.

“It changed after 9/11,” he said. “Not a lot of companies come down, come back. It took a little time to reestablish the business after we opened again. The community was around then so it was a lot easier to rebuild it.”

Both brothers said that they have a good relationship with Brookfield Place, which declined to comment for this article.

“They have always been fair to us,” said Carmine.

Continued on page 7

DowntownExpress.com

Continued from page 6

“We never had an issue with them.”

He said it is “pretty much a done deal” to open another shop at One New York Plaza, which is another Brookfield property on Whitehall St., but they also hope to be able to stay somewhere in Brookfield Place. Charlie called it a “bump in the road.”

However, the Collettis did present to Community Board 1’s Battery Park City Committee on Tues., Jan. 6. They said they wanted to let the community know what is going on. “[Brookfield was] creating a new spot that would accommodate me along with other small business people,” Charlie said at the meeting. “Now, my understanding is, it probably won’t happen.

“I don’t want to really give up the space,” he continued. “I don’t want to give up the location. I think the community, people Downtown, the people that work here, need a business like mine.”

The committee discussed a resolution that would ask Brookfield’s consideration of small businesses “that have really been the foundation for decades in our community,” said Anthony Notaro, the committee’s chairperson.

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“I think that people who came here and rebuilt this neighborhood after 9/11 — and that was a risk,” said Justine Cuccia, a public member of the committee. “They took a chance to come back. They need not be thrown out now that they made something successful.”

Committee member Tom Goodkind said Brookfield is going “extremely upscale now and that’s their right. I don’t mind it being upscale. In fact, it seems like a lot of stores will be very nice.”

Brookfield Place has been signing leases with high-end retail that includes Hermes, Salvatore Ferragamo, Theory, Tory Burch and Davidoff Cigars.

Notaro said that while the community board, due to its advisory nature, cannot supporting a specific business, it does have the right to say that small businesses are a valuable part of the community.

Michael Fortenbaugh, who is at risk of losing his lease with the Battery Park City Authority for the North Cove Marina, expressed his support for small businesses.

“Battery Park City is meant to be the best small town in our city,” he said. “If I was in a small town … serving the community, I know the town will rally around that person.

“I certainly think that somebody has to go to bat for people. I’m willing to bat for them and I hope the

whole community board’s willing to bat for people, just to make people have a fair chance.”

The committee passed the resolution.

Later, the brothers said that they were happy to be heard and to be given the opportunity to inform the community on what is happening.

Even though they both reside in Bay Ridge, they feel part of the Lower Manhattan community.

“It’s been nice down here,” said Carmine. “A lot of memories.”

Carmine said the best part of the job is talking to customers — everyone from a C.E.O. to a secretary to a security guard. Carmine has brought his children when they were younger for the Halloween parties and feels that he and members of the community, especially Gateway, have seen their children grow up.

Customers filed in while Charlie was being interviewed and he knew them and their names.

“I love to do this,” he said. “Things change as time goes on. Hopefully they’re doing the right thing down there.”

One of the customers, Kamran Khan, a New Jersey resident who has worked for seven years at Brookfield Place, said he always comes to Cobbler Express to get his shoes shined.

“These guys are good,” he said.

January 15 - January 28, 2015

7

Storm money lacking Downtown, says C. B. 1.

Continued from page 1

boundaries, because some things serve citywide needs.”

For C.B. 1 members, who lived through Sandy, this was not welcome news.

C.B 1 member Marco Pasanella, who owns a Seaport shop, said that the neighborhood has no more protection against a storm like Sandy more than two years later than it did the day before it hit.

“We’re vulnerable,” he said. “As a property owner, as a business owner, as a resident, I feel

There were no sour grapes the other part was funded and Hughes said, “We’re happy for our neighbors north of us.”

However, there is a need for resiliency measures in C.B. 1.

“We haven’t heard of any concrete plan,” said Hughes. “Not even a feasibility study for C.B. 1.”

Hughes asked Zarrilli what the city is planning in the short and middle term. Pasanella suggested a rapidly deployable flood barrier, which costs

‘I feel that we’re on borrowed time.’ very vulnerable. I feel that we’re on borrowed time.”

C.B. 1 Chairperson Catherine McVay Hughes said there were seven feet of water in the Seaport — more than any other part of Manhattan.

“We’ve got to do something,” said Pasanella.

“We’ve got to find new money.”

The majority of the money that the city got will go towards housing, Zarrilli explained. Programs for housing, such as Build It Back, which helps people rebuild their homes, were $2.5 billion.

Another $117 million went for investment in citywide business programs and money also went for planning and administration, although Zarrilli did not specify how much.

“We have a lot of work to do and I wouldn’t want to short change any of that. We’ve made some good progress but it is early days and there’s a lot more that we are doing,” said Zarrilli.

Around $ 630 million went for coastal resiliency for New York City, he said, but that was also including money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In 2013, HUD had a resiliency design competition for areas affected by Sandy called Rebuild by Design.

One of the winning entries was the proposal of a series of protective measures that would create a type of “U” around southern Manhattan. It was dubbed the “Big U” after the Bjarke Ingels Group, which designed it. Lower Manhattan was divided into three parts, or compartments, and HUD only funded one.

The funded section, with $335 million, is from E. 23rd St. to Montgomery in the Lower East Side. There is no funding as of yet for the other two sections.

Zarrilli said, “That was the moment when the city knew we have an unmet need for coastal protection here in Lower Manhattan.”

He said that the city has “started thinking about creative ways that we can move that ball forward even knowing that we didn’t have construction dollars.”

8

January 15 - January 28, 2015

$1.5 million, to surround the entire Seaport.

“The city is absolutely aware of and committed to Lower Manhattan,” said Zarrilli. “There’s a lot at risk here, whether it’s the tunnels … critical housing, there’s medical facilities, there’s of course economic activity of global importance that happens here in Lower Manhattan, critical energy and communication facilities … as well as historic districts and cultural institutions.”

Hughes also brought up that as much as $18 million that was supposed to go to C.B. 1 through a competition called Game Changer was no longer coming to the district. The New York City Downtown Express photo by Josh Rogers Economic Development Corporation launched the Neighborhood Game- The Slavin and Sons building in the South Street Seaport Changer Competition in June of 2013. Historic District is still boarded up with an “X,” after Hurricane It was aimed at areas hit by Sandy to Sandy damage more than two years ago. spur economic growth.

Hughes said that community board only found further up West St. because, as they have all said out in December that it wasn’t getting the money. in every presentation, water finds it own path,” The city is spending $3 million for a feasibility said Meltzer.

I don’t see anything about this in study or study from Montgomery St. down to the Battery, plans, said Meltzer. said Hughes.

“It is petrifying to me,” she said. “We need “If you look at, half of it’s above Brooklyn Bridge so it’s really a million and a half dollars for money and consideration.”

“I’ve heard it’s so complicated down here a feasibility study,” said Hughes, who emphasized the fact that two people drowned and died in in southern Manhattan and it’s going to be so Lower Manhattan as a result of Sandy, one in the expensive, but that’s not an excuse not to begin the planning process with concrete milestones,” Financial District and one in Tribeca.

C.B. 1 member Tammy Meltzer said that while said Hughes.

The committee passed a resolution that called she is glad to hear about resiliency projects that other agencies are doing, such at the Metropolitan for interim solutions, such as rapidly deployable Transportation Authority, she wondered about barriers in some of the areas, such as the Seaport, increase the feasibility study to all of C.B. 1 up other effects of those measures.

“I am delighted to see them covering the to Canal St., and called upon Mayor de Blasio subway, I am delighted to see the doors on the and other elected officials to ensure that Lower tunnel, I am delighted for all of that up until the Manhattan is provided funding for resiliency in a point where we have four feet of water moving timely manner.

DowntownExpress.com

Playroom by the 92nd Street Y in luxury building Continued from page 3

“Every kind of nook and cranny was carved out,” he explained.

The playroom is still under construction but is nearing completion, said McInerney, but it should be done by late February or by early March.

“What we’re delivering is what they recommended,” he said. “There’s no way that we would have been able to do it on that kind of level without their assistance.”

Taconic acquired the property in 2012 and began construction the next year. The architect Morris Adjmi was already attached to the property when the company bought it and a design was already in place. The project is often touted on the real estate blogs for its many amenities including a courtyard available only for viewing, but the playroom has not received almost no attention.

The building used to house tea and coffee, explained Bruce Ehrmann, the

real estate broker and Community Board 1 member, when he gave the Downtown Express a tour of the Sterling Mason’s sale gallery. It is really two buildings — the original 1905 structure that was renovated and a new building that respects the original but has a metallic facade — that becomes one with a courtyard that connects both.

The kitchen is warm with Henrybuilt custom cabinetry, said Ehrmann, a sharp departure from a harder edged European style. The attention to detail can be seen in the bathroom, where the towel rack is heated and one can turn on the shower without fear of getting wet — the handles are on the side instead of under the shower head.

The limestone-tiled floor in the lobby is modeled after the Louvre and there is a 24-hour concierge as well as doorman.

Price range from around 3.9 million to $23 million. There are 32 residences and four are still for sale. The building is anticipated to open in March.

Downtown Express photo by Dusica Sue Malesevic

Model shows the Sterling Mason’s much-talked about courtyard, which is only to be viewed.

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DowntownExpress.com

January 15 - January 28, 2015

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Righting the museum’s ship by casting 1 aside?

Continued from page 1

appears likely to go away in an effort to put the museum on sound financial footing.

Boulware called the museum’s other big ship, the Wavertree, “our prize crown jewel queen of the fleet” at a Community Board 1 meeting last month, where he also said “Seeing more than one big square rigger is essential…It is not going to be I can tell you square riggers that are all owned by the Seaport Museum. We simply cannot sustain that much tonnage….

“We have a very urgent need to have a smaller fleet of ships, there are aspects of that that will not be popular, but the fact is there are some hard decisions ahead.”

Boulware did not confirm any plan to try and move the Peking during a telephone interview Wednesday, but he said the key is reducing the museum’s fleet to a level that is “sustainable and maintainable within any sort of reasonable budget.”

Peter Stanford, the museum’s founder, said “I think it’s a mistake” to try and sell the Peking.

Although the 1911 German ship was never a working vessel in New York City, next to the 1885 Wavertree, it helps show the history of ship building, Stanford said.

He no longer has official ties to the museum, but he has remained part of the conversation and praised Boulware’s overall stewardship since 2013, after what he described as bad management a few administrations back.

He said New York City, which owns the museum’s exhibition and docking areas, has always believed “the myth” that the vessels are a financial drain.

“The ships make money,” Stanford told Downtown Express this week. “They’ve got fol-

Downtown Express photo by Josh Rogers

The Seaport Museum’s Wavertree is slated for a $9 million renovation this year, but the Peking is not likely to stay too much longer.

lowers who believe in them.”

“They don’t know how to do it,” Stanford said of the city’s ability to fundraise. “They don’t know how to go to sailors. They are doing a cultural thing and they don’t speak the language.”

Stanford acknowledged it is unrealistic to bring the Peking back to seaworthiness — guesstimates for that begin at $30 million — but he thinks the ship could remain in the water at a relatively low cost if it was sealed with concrete.

Built in Hamburg over a century ago, the four -masted ship was used in the nitrate trade,

and famously sailed through a hurricane in a 1929 film “Around Cape Horn.” She came to the Seaport in 1975.

Captain Brian McCallister, chairperson of McCallister Towing and a longtime supporter of the museum, said the Seaport can’t realistically keep the Peking, but the museum probably won’t get much money for it either.

“They tried to sell it for $7 million, then $2 million and who knows what, but no one seemed to want it,” he told Downtown Express.

Indeed, several efforts to sell the ship over the last 15 years or so have fallen through. McCallister said the city has to do more for the museum.

“Without a strong motivation by the city to take the museum and stand behind it, and not let it go down the sewer — that problem has to be fixed,” he added.

His son Buckley McCallister, the towing firm’s president, said in a joint interview with his father, that it’s just not feasible to keep the Peking, despite how desirable it would be to have two square riggers at the Seaport.

“It’s a scene that would have populated the coast of Manhattan in the 1800s,” Buckley said. “It’s an aesthetic monument to New York and its history.”

Boulware, the museum’s leader, declined to comment directly about the Peking, but said the Wavertree will soon be taken away for an extensive renovation, which will make it accessible to visitors but not to sail.

The repairs, which will go well beyond the concrete sealing suggested by Stanford, will cost about $9 million of city money, but it still will not make it seaworthy.

Boulware has said the investment is unprecedented.

Downtown Express photo by Milo Hess

The Schermerhorn Row block which is leased to the museum and the Howard Hughes Corp.

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January 15 - January 28, 2015

Continued on page 11

DowntownExpress.com

“There isn’t any other project in the last couple of decades that’s looked at spending that kind of money to do that much work on such a large ship,” he said at C.B.

of its conclusions.

In addition to reducing the fleet, the museum wants to have about 50,000 square feet of exhibition space, with about 2,000 on Pier 16, where the Wavertree and Peking are currently docked.

‘We have a very urgent need to have a smaller fleet of ships....That will not be popular but the fact is there are some hard decisions ahead.’

1’s Seaport Committee meeting last month. “It’s a really, really big deal.”

He hopes to get more docking space to accommodate many visiting big ships from all over the world, adding to the “flavor and grit” of the South Street Seaport.

Financial consultants to the museum are finishing up a study to outline a strategy going forward, but Boulware has talked about some

Presumably, the study will also outline a realistic way to find a new home for the Peking.

Most of the museum’s space would be on the Schermerhorn Row block on Fulton St., between Front and South Sts. The museum and Hughes Corp. have leases for the space on the historic

All events are free, unless noted.

212.602.0800 trinitywallstreet.org

TRINITY CHURCH Broadway at Wall Street ST. PAUL’S CHAPEL Broadway and Fulton Street Trinity Episcopal Church Parish Center 2 Rector Street The Rev. Dr. James H. Cooper, Rector The Rev. Dr. William Lupfer, Rector-Elect

DowntownExpress.com

& TOOL RENTAL 154 Chambers St. • 212.240.9792 TRIBECA HARDWARE Mon. - Fri. 7am - 7pm

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154 Chambers St. 212.240.9792 Mon. - Fri. 7am - 7pm Sat. 9am - 9pm | Sun. 10am - 6pm Check our plants & garden supplies!

Continued on page 15

education

All Are Welcome

TRIBECA HARDWARE

SUNDAY, JANUARY 18 & 25, 10am Discovery — And No One Shall Make Them Afraid: God & Guns NYC Jan. 18: The History of Discrimination in New York City, the Rev. Deacon Novella Lawrence Jan. 25: Advocacy and Empowerment: Making Our Voice Heard, co-facilitators Robert Gangi and Celeste Morris Both classes are held at Trinity Church, Manning Room SUNDAY, JANUARY 18 & 25, 10:15am Discovery — Walking in the Light Led by Jodi and David Belcher Jan. 18: Reading Scripture with New Eyes Jan. 25: Evangelical Feet: Proclaiming the Gospel Wherever God Calls Us

BUY TICKETS NOW! SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 8PM The Big Concert Alberto Ginastera Turbae ad Passionem Gregorianam and Charles Ives Symphony No. 4. Performed by the Choir of Trinity Wall Street, NOVUS NY, the Trinity Youth Chorus, the Washington Chorus, the Washington National Cathedral Choir of Boys and Girls, Julian Wachner, conductor.

Tickets: $15-$120 at carnegiehall.org, 212-247-7800, Box Office.

Carnegie Hall

worship

SUNDAY, 8am & 9:15am St. Paul’s Chapel · Holy Eucharist 9:15 service followed by Sunday School 8pm · Compline by Candlelight SUNDAY, 9am & 11:15am Trinity Church · Preaching, music, and Eucharist · Child care available MONDAY—FRIDAY, 12:05pm Trinity Church · Holy Eucharist MONDAY—FRIDAY, 5:15pm All Saints’ Chapel, in Trinity Church Evening Prayer; Evensong on Thursdays WEDNESDAYS, 5:30pm Trinity Church · Choral Evensong Watch online webcast

Both classes are held at 14 Vesey St, 2nd Floor (across from St. Paul’s Chapel)

Leah Reddy

Continued from page 10

community

FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, 7-9pm Neighborhood Movie Nights at St. Paul’s Watch favorite films on the big screen with your neighbors. Popcorn and drinks will be served. More information at trinitywallstreet.org/movies.

St. Paul’s Chapel

January 15 - January 28, 2015

11

BY JANEL BLADOW It may be a dreary cold January but that doesn’t stop the Seaport from buzzing. Our little community may be in development brouhaha, but we still blossom with the local energy that makes us special — at least to us long-time residents.

TIESTHATBIND…

Somesupporters of the new Seaport plans lament that the area is not family-friendly. But those who live here for years might beg to differ.

Case in point – the Youngers of Water St. Kathleen and Robert moved to the neighborhood when it was still the rough and rugged fish market, filled with trucks, hooks, crates, characters and all kinds of icky smells. Their son Mackenzie grew up with only one other kid on the block.

“We used the neighborhood as a playground,” he told us. When he got older he played basketball on the courts at the houses north of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Mackenzie credits our Dover St. community garden and cobbled streets as inspiring.

“Playing on the streets, surrounded by the fish market, we had to be creative. It’s this urban thing for someone like me and a source of my identity,” he said. “I felt more New York than most New Yorkers with a deep sense of history.”

For this Rhode Island School of Design grad, creativity and character are forever linked with the grittiness of a hard labor past.

Father and son are two of seven artists in a new exhibition and it’s a first for the pair.

“Losing Oneself Without Getting Lost” at A+E Studios in Tribeca is described as a multi-generational show of artists who “use pedestrian objects,” while “others use every day events or their surroundings as subject matter.”

Mackenzie has several paintings, including an oversized black/white/gray painting of the Brooklyn Bridge, in the show in contrast to his dad’s displays of nearly neon bright colored rectangle collages, some supported by construction plastic pails.

“It’s great being in a show with my dad,”

Mackenzie said. “It’s a family affair.”

The show runs through Jan. 28 at A+E Studios, 160 West Broadway.

HOISTHAPPENING…

Theparents of Peck Slip School students (P.S. 343) are no slouches when it comes to supporting the hood and having fun. The Second annual Community Crawl commences on Saturday, Jan. 24, 7:30 pm, with a sign in at The Paris Café (119 South St.). After a quick drink, head to The Salty Paw (38 Peck Slip) to sip some wine until 8:30 p.m. then head up the street to the next joint.

The goal is to pop round as many local spots as possible and support the local establishments during the slower winter season. Parents book a sitter and everyone grab a mate, some pals, a slew of co-workers even, for some fun and neighborly support.

NEW TO US…

Warrior Bridge, a school and community center that “trains mind, body and spirit through martial arts, yoga and meditation,” opens in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge this week. The Zen-styled space has white and brick walls, blond wood floors and gray cushy mats.

Gary Snyder, a seventh degree black belt in Aikido with more than 35 years of martial arts training, had been looking throughout the city for a ground floor space and knew Water St. was right the moment he saw the spot.

“Manhattan is so expensive,” he told us while sitting on the floor in his new space at 275 Water St. “Then I met yoga instructor Sean Langhaus who lives down the street and he mentioned this spot. The feeling of calm I was looking for was here, decent rent, cobblestone streets…I said ‘Yes, let’s do it.’”

Warrior Bridge (www.warriorbridge. com) will offer 30 classes a week to start in Aikido with Tai Chi, Jiu Jitsu, yoga and meditation.

“Aikido is not as much about punching and kicking as it is defense,” he said.

“We teach you to respond to others punching and take their balance, submission with wrist locks.”

Downtown Express photo by Janel Bladow

Longtime Seaport residents and artists, Robert Younger and his son Mackenzie, now have a show crosstown at Tribeca’s A+E Studios.

He describes it as a relaxed and flowing art. “We focus on finding our strongest state, our center, which helps correct posture, among other things.”

Synder says he’s felt so welcomed in the neighborhood.

“It’s a special area. Especially down at this end of Water St., near the Brooklyn Bridge, there’s a sense of calm,” he said.

Born in Trenton and part of a family of art dealers in Princeton, Snyder opened an art gallery in N.Y.C. in 1990. “I work as a private art dealer now which gives me more time for my passion,” he said. His goal with Warrior Bridge is to introduce these arts to everyone.

“I encourage women to come,” he said, “I want them to know this is not a fight club. And we welcome beginners. We want this to be a place where you can come, relax, meditate.”

A free open house is set for Saturday, Jan. 17. Doors open at 10 a.m.

Pricing ranges from $20 a single class

to cards of 20 classes for $300.

ADELICIOUSDEAL…

Feedyour soul but don’t forget your stomach.

Barbalu Italian restaurant (225-227 Front Street) has a great new offer – a three course prix fixe dinner menu Sunday through Thursday, 4 – 10p.m., for $19.95.

Choose your appetizer from these three: yam potato soup with shiitake mushrooms; braised kale salad with red onions, walnuts and parmigiano cheese; or roasted red beets with pistachio and goat cheese.

Your entrée selections include: homemade trofie (twisted pasta from Genoa) with pesto, string beans and potatoes; homemade fettuccine alla Bolognese; penne with gorgonzola walnuts and arugula; beef stew with potatoes and carrots; and roasted salmon with lemon and capers.

Finish off with a chocolate cannoli.

My mouth is watering writing this!

Do you remember when ______________ happened downtown? ...We do.

Visit Our Archives At Downtownexpress.com 12

January 15 - January 28, 2015

DowntownExpress.com

TRANSITSAM DO YOU HEAR

Thurs., Jan. 15 – Wed., Jan. 22 ALTERNATE SIDE PARKING RULES ARE SUSPENDED MONDAY FOR MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, is a Summons Alert Day! It may be a three-day weekend for schools and most offices, but it’s no three-day weekend for parking rules. Only alternate side parking is suspended on Monday.

All other rules, including meters, are still in effect.

The holiday will mean lower traffic volumes overall.

All Manhattan-bound lanes of the Brooklyn Bridge will close 11 p.m.

Thursday to 6 a.m. Friday, midnight Friday to 7 a.m. Saturday, midnight Saturday to 9 a.m. Sunday, and 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Monday through Wednesday nights. Expect extra traffic on the Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges, as well as in the Battery Tunnel. Canal, Delancey, and West Sts. will also slow down.

In tunnel news, one New Yorkbound lane and one New Jersey-bound lane of the Holland Tunnel will close 11 p.m. Thursday to 5 a.m. Friday. Expect extra traffic on Canal and Varick Sts. On West St./Route 9A, one southbound lane from Vesey St. to West Thames St. will be closed 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday and Friday.

FROM THE MAILBAG:

Dear Transit Sam, My son says that the buttons pedestrians push at corners are useless and have no impact on when the light changes. He insists they are there for psychological reasons to give the illusion of control.

What is the definitive answer here?

Cary, New York

seconds sooner. But, people were pressing them all the time in all directions and the traffic was slowed so the buttons were dismantled. Within N.Y.C. you’ll find a few that still work at the airports, and the recently installed push buttons at Central and Prospect Parks are in operation. Outside N.Y.C., you’ll often find that you need to use the buttons not only to make the walk signal come on sooner but to make it come on at all. Not a good way to encourage walking.

Transit Sam Dear Transit Sam, I was driving on Canal St. last weekend and I noticed that in the car next to mine, a man was driving with a cat in his lap. It was pawing at him and moving all around! That cannot be safe.

Is there a state law about driving with pets in the front seat of a vehicle?

Claire, Battery Park City

Dear Claire, There is no law explicitly barring pets from the front seat, but there is one that can be construed to fit, with a little stretching. Article 33, Section 1213 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law states: “No person shall drive a motor vehicle when it is so loaded as to obstruct the view of the driver to the front or sides of the vehicle or as to interfere with the driver’s control over the driving mechanism of the vehicle. No passenger in a vehicle shall ride in such a position as to interfere with the driver’s view ahead or to the sides, or to interfere with his control over the driving mechanism of the vehicle.”

Driving with a cat on the lap may fit interfering with driving mechanism.

But, I doubt if such a ticket is ever written except maybe in the case of a crash.

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Transit Sam Dear Cary, Your son is half-right, but he gives too much credit to the traffic engineers — they’re not very good at creating illusions.

Almost none of the pedestrian push buttons work in the city proper (a couple still work where there is no intersection or very few pedestrians crossing). When they were first installed 45 years ago, they made the pedestrian crossing come on 3-5

Email your traffic, transit and parking questions to transitsam@downtownexpress.com. Gridlock Sam’s 2015 Parking Calendar is available online as a free download and through the Gridlock Sam store as a printed copy for $3 shipping and handling ($1 for each additional calendar). To access the download link, follow me on Twitter @gridlocksam, or subscribe to my newsletter at gridlocksam.com.

Ellen Lafargue, AuD, CCC-A

50 Broadway, 6th Floor • New York, New York 10004 IN PRINT OR ONLINE

appointment@CHChearing.org • www.CHChearing.org

(917) 305-7780 W W W.DOWNTOWNEXPRESS.COM

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January 15 - January 28, 2015

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Downtown Express photos by Milo Hess

Oh such pleasure did you bring me Many, many discarded Christmas trees and wreaths of all sizes were spotted all around Tribeca last week.

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DowntownExpress.com

Obituary

Captain John Doswell, 71, waterfront activist, dies B Y A L B E R T A M AT E AU John W. Doswell, a founding chairperson of Friends of Hudson River Park, executive director of the Working Harbor Committee and member of the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, died Jan. 2. He was 71.

Diagnosed with cancer a year ago, he was responding well to treatment until he was admitted to the hospital shortly before his death, according to his wife, Jean Preece.

Captain John Doswell (he held a U.S. Coast Guard master’s license for vessels, under power or sail, of up to 100 tons) was a prime mover of waterfront events for three decades. He was a member of the North River Historic Ship Society and Save Our Ships New York, among other maritime organizations. As director of the Working Harbor Committee, he organized annual tugboat races and coordinated international visits of historic ships. For the 2012 OpSail event, he found berthing for dozens of vessels from around the world.

A Hell’s Kitchen community activist, John Doswell was an early member of Friends of Pier 84, a neighborhood group that successfully advocated for free public use of the pier off W. 44th St. For several years he was a member of Community Board 4, whose West Side district includes the Chelsea and Hell’s Kitchen waterfronts.

Madelyn Wils, president and C.E.O. of the Hudson River Park Trust, the city-

state agency building the riverfront park, paid tribute to his contributions to waterfront redevelopment.

“Captain John Doswell leaves an inimitable legacy of devotion to the New York City waterfront community he so loved and served during his rich and accomplished lifetime,” Wils said in a prepared eulogy. “A U.S. Navy veteran in the Vietnam War, John’s life was fully committed to the preservation and innovation of our working waterfront and environment.

All of us at Hudson River Park Trust and Friends of Hudson River Park knew him as a tireless advocate. His vast maritime knowledge and skill in all things nautical made him a stalwart champion for numerous programs and educational activities.

He brought unmatched calm, reason and a sense of fairness to every mission he undertook. His legacy will live on for generations.”

The Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance also paid tribute to John Doswell’s accomplishments, noting that he had crossed the Atlantic in a sailboat. He also occasionally piloted the restored 600-ton lighthouse tender Frying Pan, as well as the South Street Seaport Museum’s historic schooner Lettie G. Howard.

“As a member of the Maritime Infrastructure and Permitting Panel, Captain Doswell contributed to Vision 2020, New York City’s 10-year waterfront plan,” the Alliance said. He also helped organize the Alliance’s City of Water Day, Hudson River Park Day, the Liberty Cup

Hawaiian Outrigger Canoe Race, the Floating the Apple America Star Race and the Flotilla to Reclaim Governors Island event.

John Doswell was one of the original group of friends who bought the decommissioned New York City fireboat John J. Harvey in 1999 and restored her to working condition. He was among the crew that brought the old fireboat to the World Trade Center site on Sept. 11, 2001, ferried residents away from the disaster and returned to pump water into the fire.

And it was on the John J. Harvey, that Doswell and Preece were married last July after living together for 40 years. They had met in 1961 in junior college in St. Petersburg, Florida. She was a dancer (as a Rockette at Radio City Music Hall and with roles in several Broadway musicals) and he became a producer of corporate events. Married to different partners, they were each divorced and began life together, for a while on a boat in the W. 79th St. boat basin. They got married on the advice of their accountant, and their waterfront friends took over the arrangements.

John Doswell

Doswell took an active interest in the Seaport Museum. Fearing the possibility that the museum might sell some of its vessels, he said at a 2011 rally, “I can’t imagine New York City without the museum and these ships any more than I can imagine this city without the Statue of Liberty and the lights of Broadway.”

New York’s harbor, he added, “made this city what it is today.”

John Doswell was born in St. Petersburg to Betsy Weeks and Claude Douglas Doswell. He was the oldest of five brothers, Warren, Willard, Douglas and Joe, who all survive, in addition to his wife and their daughter, Jhoneen.

Seaport Museum Continued from page 11

block, often described as the first world trade center.

Hughes executives have said the museum can have the space it needs on Schermerhorn, but there may be some space competition, because the city also wants Hughes to retrofit the second floor of some of the buildings with affordable housing.

The Schermerhorn proposal will be one of many topics the Landmarks Preservation Corp. is expected to take up sometime next month as it begins to review the Hughes plan.

Community Board 1’s full Board will review the application Jan. 26.

The proposed 500-foot tower just outside the city historic district will not DowntownExpress.com

be part of the review, but the entire project will move toward the formal land use application process called ULURP once it gets Landmarks approval.

Meanwhile, the mayor is a strong supporter of the museum. In response to Downtown Express questions two months ago, de Blasio said it “has to be protected because this is how New York City became New York City. We’re here because of the water, because of the maritime industry and I think it’s really important future generations feel that — so protecting the museum in some form is something I care about a lot.”

Boulware liked what he heard.

“I find it very heartening,” he said, “to hear the mayor echo the very sentiment we use as a touchstone here.”

Opening January 19 Open House Saturday January 17 For more information go to:

www.warriorbridge.com 275 Water Street / South Street Seaport January 15 - January 28, 2015

15

PUBLISHER

Jennifer Goodstein EDITOR

Josh Rogers REPORTER

Dusica Sue Malesevic ARTS EDITOR

Scott Stiffler SENIOR V.P. OF SALES & MARKETING

Francesco Regini

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Jack Agliata Allison Greaker Jennifer Holland Julio Tumbaco

ART / PRODUCTION DIRECTOR

Troy Masters

SENIOR DESIGNER

Michael Shirey

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Andrew Gooss

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Milo Hess Jefferson Siegel Downtown Express photos by Zach Williams

PUBLISHER EMERITUS

John W. Sutter

‘Je Suis Charlie’ crosses the pond Crowds came to Washington Square Park Saturday in support of the French people and Charlie Hebdo magazine, which was attacked by Islamic extremist terrorists Jan. 7, when 12 people were killed by gunmen.

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Downtown Notebook

Gussie, my grandma & inspiration

BY CAROL RINZLER The first thing my grandfather Sam did when he left Vienna and landed at Ellis Island in 1895 was to change his name from his father’s Dreier to his mother’s Rinzler.

Then he made his way across town to 124 Ludlow St. where he slept “three in a bed” until he could afford his own room, which happened right around the time he met my grandmother, Gussie Schnitzer, the belle of “Rivington / corner Essex.”

Unlike the sophisticated Sam, Gussie came from an unnamed village in Poland and a life so traumatic that she would never discuss it. Once in the land of the free, her natural personality emerged. She was, in the vernacular of the day, a firecracker, hardly five feet tall except when she stood on her ego, which was often.

When she and Sam were engaged, his mother invited her to a family lunch, but somehow missed having a piece of watermelon for Gussie, who walked to the foot of the table, grabbed the tablecloth, and pulled.

Never one to miss an opportunity to diss her long-dead but still detested mother-in-law, Gussie told the story over and over, including the first time she met my about-to-be husband, after which, whenever I held a grudge, he would say, “Still pulling the tablecloth? ” Sam, who believed that in America anybody could do anything, joined his father-in-law in the nascent movie business, eventually ending up owner of a chain of theaters in Brooklyn. By that time

he and Gussie had long ago left Essex St. for an apartment on the 39th floor of the Essex House overlooking Central Park. Counting the streets on a map, it was only three miles; but factor in the distance from Vienna and that unnamed

the other. The two sides had separate elevators, and the operators had learned to warn each other when one of the ladies was coming down to the lobby. Once, when they missed, there was an epic meeting said to have ended with the ladies slugging

‘She was a firecracker, hardly five feet tall except when she stood on her ego, which was often.’

Polish hamlet, and it is the quintessential American journey, measured not in miles but in mind.

Living on top of the world, so high that I, a country mouse from Long Island, got the shakes every time I rode up in the elevator, didn’t change Gussie. She had “my son the doctor” (my uncle) and “my other son” (my father), and the absolute belief that having a doctor in the family entitled her to free visits to her own doctors, leaving my father and her other son to pay the bills.

And she was still combustible. My uncle had gone into the Army Medical Corps, off to war in Europe, leaving Gussie to wait anxiously at home. His mother-inlaw, Essie, another short-but-fiery person, learned he was on his way home, but didn’t tell Gussie. The result wasn’t pretty.

Having made her own journey to the Essex House, Essie lived on one side of the building, Gussie on

each other. I wasn’t there, so I can’t testify to its truth, but it certainly sounds like my grandmother.

Gussie knew who she was, in ways large and small. Like her hair.

When it turned snow white, perfectly curled, she refused to color it.

In my twenties, with bottle-blonde streaks, I swore that when my turn came, I would do the same.

After Sam died, Gussie was left alone at the top of the world. Soon, my mother — now caring for my father, who was ill — moved her out to Long Island, a trip Gussie viewed the way Napoleon viewed being shipped to Elba.

Eventually, as Gussie declined, my mother moved her once more, this time to a nursing home. My husband and I went to see her. The room was clean and neat and so was she. But her white hair was no longer perfectly curled. Then she told us the story of the tablecloth again, and the world slid back into place.

Five years ago, when my own husband died, I learned that widows are expected to stay — or at least look — young, which definitely means coloring your hair. I hate being fussed over; the only way I even manage to get my hair cut is to chop it off at home and then surrender to the professional. So I did blonding myself, but the dye made my head itch, and because it was temporar y, it faded w ith repeated washing.

I never actually knew what color my hair was at any given moment.

But it must have been not-blonde, because one day on the subway, a younger woman offered me a seat, and all I could think of was, “I am going right home to make my hair dark brown.”

When I told that to the nice young shrink who had shepherded me through the multiple stages of grief following my husband’s death, he said, “You are the last woman in the world I’d think would color her hair.”

I thought about that all the way home. I decided it was a compliment. I decided my husband would have agreed. Gussie, too.

Now my hair is white. But in New York, if 60 is the new 40, white seems to be the new blonde.

And when I catch my reflection in a store window, I don’t see me.

I see Gussie. And we’re both fine.

Carol Rinzler is the author of more than 20 books on health, including “Nutrition for Dummies” (sixth edition due in 2015)

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January 15 - January 28, 2015

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Activities THURSDAY, JANUARY 15– WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28

B Y V I C TO R I A G R A N T H A M My 4-year-old keeps asking me what there is to do in the winter. I’m tempted to answer “hibernation,” but since I can’t really do that I’ve dug up some mostly indoor activities to keep us all entertained until the thaw.

Thankfully the Seaport is still offering their free event series this month at the “community cube.” Movies, music, exercise and art are all on the agenda.

Storytimes are always a good fall back plan. Battery Park Library offers their regular line up and McNally Jackson has a great option for the youngest kids. Additionally there’s a unique one this month at The Skyscraper Museum. After listening to Susan L. Roth’s picture book Hard Hat Area, young architects will design their own skyscraper. The event is $5 and requires advance R.S.V.P. It’s also a good time of year for live theater. I’m taking my kids to “Wild Kratts Live” at Skirball. My boys love animals and they’re entranced by the Kratt brothers’ adventures and antics, so it should be fun. A musical called “Can Do Duck”, based on the children’s book series, also sounds like

one that my kids would both enjoy and benefit from!

Another event I’m excited about is the MakerBot Young Explorers series in Chinatown. I’ve been wanting to get my hands on a 3D printer for a while now, so this is the perfect excuse. It’s for 8 and up though, so I guess I’ll have to ditch my own children and wrangle a nephew/niece or two.

If you and your kids have a tolerance for outdoor activities, options this month include the B.P.C. afterschool sports program as well as Seaport ice rink skate with characters events.

The Berenstain Bears will appear one Sunday and Digit will be there the next.

Finally, there are also a couple fun winter festivals in January. The Children’s Museum of the Arts is teaming up with the Irish Arts Center to offer an immersive Irish Festival with music, dance, theater and performances, and crafts. And P.S./I.S. 276 the Battery Park School is hosting their annual winter carnival with games, a bouncy castle, arts and crafts, sweet treats and more.

Have fun and stay warm!

THURSDAY, JANUARY 15

FRIDAY, JANUARY 16

NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BATTERY PARK CITY BRANCH 175 North End Ave, 212-790-3499, nypl.org/ locations/battery-park-city Baby Laptime for Pre-Walkers: Enjoy simple stories, lively songs and rhymes, and meet other babies in the neighborhood. Limited to 50 babies and their caregivers; first-come first-served.

Ages 0-18 months | Free | 11:30 am

BABY STORYTIME McNally Jackson Book Store, 52 Prince Street, mcnallyjackson.com/kids-holiday Head to McNally Jackson every Friday for Baby Storytime. Their storyteller, Michael Fentin, sings interactive songs with kids and reads entertaining stories to the youngest book lovers.

Ages: 0-2 | Free | 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm

FILM SCREENING: ‘LITTLE FUGITIVE’ southstreetseaport.com/events 14 Fulton Street “Little Fugitive” stars young Richie Andrusco as Joey Norton, a seven-yearold Brooklynite left in the care of his 12-year-old brother Lennie.

Not rated | Free | 7-9 pm

WINTER AFTERSCHOOL SPORTS AND GAMES Battery Park City Ball Fields, West Street between Murray and Warren, Kids ages 7 and up can come play soccer, flag-football, hockey, and more at the Battery Park City Ball Fields. Find winter activities organized by parks pro-

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January 15 - January 28, 2015

gramming leaders or play independently.

Equipment will be provided.

Ages 7+ | Free | 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm

SATURDAY, JANUARY 17 YOUNG EXPLORERS — KIDS SERIES MakerBot, 298 Mulberry Street, makerbot.com/retail-store/events-newyork/, MakerBot is bringing 3D printing to kids.

This class lets kids play while learning and designing in 3D thanks to easy-touse software. A MakerBot instructor will help children make individual 3D prints on their very own MakerBot Replicator Desktop 3D Printer Ages: 8+ | $10 per child | 9:00 am - 12:00 pm NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BATTERY PARK CITY BRANCH 175 North End Ave, 212-790-3499, nypl. org/locations/battery-park-city Open focus group on children’s services: All are welcome to attend a focus group to share feedback with a librarian on the topic of children’s services in the neighborhood. The library especially wants to hear from parents and educators of 0-5 year olds. What do you love? What does Battery Park need that it doesn’t have? How does the library play a role?

Stop by and share your thoughts from 11am-11:30am in the children’s room.

Adults | Free | 11:00 am HARD HAT AREA: INTRODUCTION TO CONSTRUCTION The Skyscraper Museum, 39 Battery Pl. Young learners will be introduced to the basics of skyscraper construction through a group reading of Susan L. Roth’s picture book Hard Hat Area. After the story, the young architects will design their own skyscraper. R.S.V.P. to rsvp@skyscraper.org Age: 2+ | $5/child | 10:30 am - 12:00 pm ‘WILD KRATTS LIVE’ NYU Skirball Center, 566 LaGuardia Place, nyuskirball.org/calendar/wildkratts Martin and Chris Kratt, the real-life stars of PBS’s Emmy-nominated “Wild Kratts”, come to NYU Skirball in an all new theatrical stage show based on the hit animated television series.

Ages: 4+ | $32-$60 | 11:00 am and 3:00 pm

SUNDAY, JANUARY 18 SKATE WITH THE BERENSTAIN BEARS Seaport ice rink, southstreetseaport.com/events Skate with the Berenstain Bears.

All ages | Free | 10:00 am - 12:00 pm WOMEN’S AND GIRLS’ SOCCER Battery City Ball Fields, West Street between Murray and Warren Street, fbelliard@bpcparks.org, bpcparks.org/event/ womens-girls-soccer/all/ Women’s and Girls’ Soccer at the Battery Park City Ball Fields is good for aspiring athletes or simply those wanting to try a new sport.

Ages 12+ | Free | 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm EVERY SUNDAY UNTIL 2.22 FILM FORUM JR. SUNDAY MATINEE SERIES Film Forum, 209 West Houston St. A weekly Sunday matinee series for kids and families through 3/29. January 11:” THE MUPPET MOVIE” Age 5+ | $7.50 | 11:00 am IRISH FESTIVAL Children’s Museum of the Arts, 103 Charlton S. In January, C.M.A. will team up with the Irish Arts Center to explore the creative world of Irish literature and folk arts at the Irish Festival. The event will feature live music, dance, theater and storytelling performances, and craft workshops.

All ages | Free with paid admission | 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

MONDAY, JANUARY 19 ‘WILD KRATTS LIVE’ NYU Skirball Center, 566 LaGuardia Place, nyuskirball.org/calendar/wildkratts See 1/17 for info WINTER AFTERSCHOOL SPORTS AND GAMES Battery Park City Ball Fields, West Street between Murray and Warren See 1/16 for info

TUESDAY, JANUARY 20 COMMUNITY CUBE: BEACH BABY FITNESS South Street Seaport, 14 Fulton Street, southstreetseaport.com/events Pre and post-natal fitness program that was created to teach women how to stay in shape during pregnancy and how to get back in shape after giving birth.

Adults | Free | 10:00 am NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BATTERY PARK CITY BRANCH 175 North End Ave, 212-790-3499, nypl. org/locations/battery-park-city Baby Laptime for Pre-Walkers: Enjoy simple stories, lively songs and rhymes, and meet other babies in the neighborhood. Limited to 25 babies and their caregivers; first-come first-served.

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Ages 0-18 months | Free |11:30 am Picture Book Time A librarian will share classic picture books and new stories.

All ages | Free | 4:00 pm CURLING TUESDAYS Seaport ice rink, southstreetseaport.com/events/ The Seaport ice rink is hosting a learnto-curl program each Tuesday night in January. Participants will get their first exposure to the sport and learn the fundamentals. Each evening consists of (2) 60 minute timeslots, where participants can choose their preferred session time either by dropping in or signing up in advance.

Teenagers and adults | $50 | Session 1: 7 pm -8 pm, Session 2: 8 pm -9 pm

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21 COMMUNITY CUBE: KAREN DEKKER + FRIENDS South Street Seaport, 14 Fulton Street, southstreetseaport.com/events Violinist Karen Dekker brings fun, inspired music to kids.

All ages | Free | 10:00 am NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BATTERY PARK CITY BRANCH 175 North End Ave, 212-790-3499, nypl. org/locations/battery-park-city Toddler Story Time: A librarian will share lively picture books, finger plays, and action songs with toddlers and their caregivers.

Ages 12-36 months | Free | 10:30 a.m.

simple stories, lively songs and rhymes, and meet other babies in the neighborhood. Limited to 25 babies and their caregivers; first-come first-served.

Ages 0-18 months | Free |11:30 am Bilingual storytime Enjoy classic stories, songs and rhymes in French and English.

All ages | Free | 4:00 pm

FRIDAY, JANUARY 23 BABY STORYTIME McNally Jackson Book Store, 52 Prince Street, mcnallyjackson.com/kids-holiday Join McNally Jackson every Friday for Baby Storytime. Their storyteller, Michael Fentin, sings interactive songs with kids and reads entertaining stories to the youngest book lovers.

Ages: 0-2 | Free | 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm

SATURDAY, JANUARY 24 ULTIMATE FRISBEE Battery Park City Ball Fields, West Street between Murray and Warren, Come to the BPC Ball Fields for a game of Ultimate Frisbee. The game is great fun for novices and experts alike. Newcomers are welcome.

Co-ed/Pick-up. Discs are provided.

All ages | Free | 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm YOUNG EXPLORERS — KIDS SERIES MakerBot, 298 Mulberry Street, See 1/17 for info

EVERY WEDNESDAY AT 10:30 AM

BUDDING BOOKMAKERS (Eric Carle, Denise Fleming, Ed Emberly, Ezra Jack Keats) Budding Bookmakers is designed to introduce students to a wide variety of books and excite them about reading.

Each session begins with an interactive book reading followed by an art activity exploring the techniques used by the illustrator. Presented by Children’s Museum of Manhattan.

Ages 5+ | Free | 4:00 pm WINTER AFTERSCHOOL SPORTS AND GAMES Battery Park City Ball Fields, West Street between Murray and Warren See 1/16 for info

THURSDAY, JANUARY 22 NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BATTERY PARK CITY BRANCH 175 North End Ave, 212-790-3499, nypl. org/locations/battery-park-city Baby Laptime for Pre-Walkers: Enjoy DowntownExpress.com

IRISH FESTIVAL Children’s Museum of the Arts, 103 Charlton St See 1/18 for info 2015 WINTER CARNIVAL P.S / I.S. 276 Battery Park City School, 55 Battery Place, http://www. bpcschool.org/home, 212-266-5800 Carnival games, bouncy castle, karaoke, dance party, prizes, face-painting, dessert bar, Taste of 276, Pinkberry, hot chocolate bar, arts and crafts and much, much more.

All ages | $3 admission plus tickets for food, games activities | 11:00 am - 4:00 pm

SUNDAY, JANUARY 25 SKATE WITH DIGIT FROM CYBERSPACE Seaport ice rink, southstreetseaport.com/events Skate with Digit from Cyberspace.

All ages | Free | 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

“Wild Kratts Live” will be at the NYU Skirball Center this weekend.

WOMEN’S AND GIRLS’ SOCCER Battery City Ball Fields, West Street between Murray and Warren Street See 1/18 for info FILM FORUM JR. SUNDAY MATINEE SERIES Film Forum, 209 West Houston St., filmforum.org/series/film-forum-jr.-series-page See 1/4 for info. January 25: “THE 77TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD” IRISH FESTIVAL Children’s Museum of the Arts, 103 Charlton St See 1/18 for info

MONDAY, JANUARY 26 COMMUNITY CUBE: MUSIC BEANS South Street Seaport Community Cube (next to the ice rink) southstreetseaport.com/events Providing a fun, creative, and enlightening place for kids music learning.

All Ages | Free | 10:00 am - 12:00 pm NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BATTERY PARK CITY BRANCH 175 North End Ave, 212-790-3499, nypl.org/locations/battery-park-city Baby Laptime for Pre-Walkers: Enjoy simple stories, lively songs and rhymes, and meet other babies in the neighborhood. Limited to 50 babies and their caregivers; first-come first-served.

Ages 0-18 months | Free | 9:30 am Toddler Story Time: A librarian shares lively picture books, finger plays, and action songs with toddlers and their caregivers.

Ages 12-36 months | Free | 4:00 pm WINTER AFTERSCHOOL SPORTS AND GAMES Battery Park City Ball Fields, West Street between Murray and Warren See 1/16 for info

TUESDAY, JANUARY 27 COMMUNITY CUBE: MUSIC FOR AARDVARKS 14 Fulton Street southstreetseaport.com/events Kids music fun with catchy tunes and interactive experience.

All Ages | Free | 10:00 am - 12:00 pm NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BATTERY PARK CITY BRANCH 175 North End Ave, 212-790-3499, nypl. org/locations/battery-park-city Baby Laptime for Pre-Walkers: Enjoy simple stories, lively songs and rhymes, and meet other babies in the neighborhood.

Limited to 50 babies and their caregivers; first-come first-served.

Ages 0-18 months | Free | 11:30 am Picture Book Time: A librarian will share classic picture books and new stories.

Ages 12-36 months | Free | 4:00 pm

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28 COMMNUITY CUBE: HEROS OF THE CITY SCREENING South Street Seaport Community Cube (next to the ice rink) southstreetseaport.com/events Television series for preschoolers with stories that convey the message of helping, sharing and caring. In the stories, everyone can be a hero!

Preschoolers | Free | 10:00 am - 12:00 pm NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BATTERY PARK CITY BRANCH 175 North End Ave, 212-790-3499, nypl. org/locations/battery-park-city Toddler Story Time and Budding Bookmakers See 1/21 for info WINTER AFTERSCHOOL SPORTS AND GAMES Battery Park City Ball Fields, West Street between Murray and Warren See 1/19 for info January 15 - January 28, 2015

19

AtTheJoyce,anewseasonandthepromiseofmanymore Dance scene staple close to owning its Chelsea home

BY DUS IC A SU E MA LE S E VI C Can a parent choose a favorite child?

Linda Shelton, executive director for The Joyce Theater, has a similar dilemma when talking about the upcoming spring/summer season of dance.

“I’m really looking forward to all of it,” Shelton remarked during a recent interview. “When I look at this list, I’m excited about every single one for one reason or another.”

Equally exciting is the prospect of a long-term presence in Chelsea, once a matter of great uncertainty. The Joyce Theater was founded in 1982 and quickly established itself as a stable presence in the city’s dance scene. It faced a decisive moment in 2012 when, knowing the venue’s lease would expire in 2016, The Joyce started the process of buying its home at 175 Eighth Ave., at 19th St. “All the paperwork has been signed,” Shelton told this newspaper, “and we close in the coming months.”

The upcoming season includes performers that will be at the Joyce for the first time — Ballet West, Liz Gerring Dance Company and Dorrance Dance — as well as what Shelton called “old favorites” — the Stephen Petronio Company and Ballet Hispanico.

It kicks off with the Martha Graham Dance Company, from Feb. 10–22, which will be performing the modern dance maestro’s “classics that set the standards for geometric force,” as well as paying homage to her iconic solo, “Lamentation,” with the world premiere of four new pieces in “Lamentation Variations.”

Also returning will be Cuba’s MalPaso Dance Company, from March 3–8, said Shelton.

“The Joyce has had a big part in the development of this company,” she explained. “They’ll be bringing two brand new works, one by Trey McIntyre, and one by their company’s artistic director, Osnel Delgado.”

MalPaso, which only recently formed, performed last year for the first time at The Joyce. The organization commissioned Ronald K. Brown, and

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January 15 - January 28, 2015

The always-dynamic Parsons Dance will present the NY premiere of “Whirlaway” during their Jan. 21–Feb. 1 run.

arranged and paid for him to travel to Havana, she said.

Brown created a piece, “Why You Follow,” for the young company. This year, his company, Evidence, will be performing before MalPaso, from Feb. 24–March 1. Shelton described his style as incorporating some African dance and said much of his work had a spiritual element to it.

As Brown’s style differs from McIntyre, a contemporary ballet choreographer, Shelton said it will be a very different piece that MalPaso will present this season.

Jazz musician Arturo O’Farrill, Shelton explained, will once again play a live accompaniment for most of the performances. O’Farrill will play in the theater’s music area to the side, but Shelton said, “You will not miss him. He has a presence.”

She said that The Joyce tries to pair live music with dance whenever possible.

Other international companies are also slated to perform.

The French company, Compagnie CNDC-Angers, will make its first appearance at The Joyce from March 10–15. Its artistic director, Robert

Swinston, a former Merce Cunningham dancer, has drawn from the extensive and excellent work of Cunningham’s cannon to create “Event.”

Also on the roster is the Lyon Opera Ballet, from April 29–May 3, which has been at The Joyce several times, said Shelton, but is always a “special treat.”

By the time summer arrives, it will be time for the Polish National Ballet, performing June 16–21.

“We feel like we need to bring dance to our audiences,” said Shelton. “It does have to be a combination of both New York-based, US-based and international because we program for 48 weeks. We have enough room for all of it.”

There are a myriad of factors involved when curating a season — when troupes are available, budgetary concerns, and the balance of different movement styles, Shelton explained, calling it a “big puzzle.”

“First and foremost, we’re looking for artistic excellence in dance and at the same time, we’re looking for diversity so that we can fulfill the mission of The Joyce, which is inclusive and incorporates all different styles and genres of dance, from the well-known to the not so-well-known,” she said. “I

think our audience looks for that kind of diversity.”

The Joyce also commissions new work and Shelton said, “we try to give priority to getting that on the schedule.”

She said it is difficult to fit everything in and sometimes a performance gets postponed.

“Sometimes I wish we had more weeks in the year, but we program as many as we possibly can,” she said. “We have to make sure that we can afford it all too, because our ticket prices are pretty reasonable.”

Several Joyce-commissioned pieces have made their way into the upcoming season.

Michelle Dorrance is an artist-in-residence and received support to create new work. Her company, Dorrance Dance, will perform at The Joyce for the first time on April and 5.

Former principal for the New York City Ballet, Wendy Whelan, begins a new chapter with four duets as part of “Restless Creature” from May 26–31.

A new work was also commissioned for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, May 12–24, a company that is not afraid of versatility.

Another artist-in-residence is Stephen Petronio, who is working on a new project called “Bloodlines,” said Shelton. He’s bringing in work from other choreographers, she explained, which many companies do, but in Steven’s case, he’s looking at choreographers with which he has a history — a kind of bloodline.

“The first one [is] Merce Cunningham and it’s terrific. It’s ‘Rainforest’ — you don’t see that so often,” she said.

His eponymous company will perform from April 7–12.

Shelton said that she sees every company at least once.

“I could talk all afternoon to you about all these things that I’m extremely anxious to see — I’d take up the whole newspaper,” she said with a laugh.

She saw Liz Gerring perform “Glacier” at another venue and knew Continued on page 21

DowntownExpress.com

Full season, bright future at The Joyce

Photo by Paul Kolnik

The NYC Ballet’s Ashley Bouder and Amar Ramasar, in a promotional photo for Dance from the Heart. The Jan. 26 event benefits Dancers Responding to AIDS (dradance.org).

Continued from page 20

that she wanted to bring it to The Joyce.

“I just loved the piece and I thought it needed to have another showing,” she said. “It’s just so powerful, just intensely physical. I was totally drawn into it. I was riveted for the entire time of the piece.”

The Liz Gerring Dance Company will be at The Joyce from March 31–April 2.

Another upcoming event is Dance from the Heart on Jan. 26, a benefit for Dancers Responding to AIDS (DRA).

Proceeds will go to 450 AIDS and family service organizations across the country.

“We worked with them many times before,” said Shelton. “We have a hard time finding a date in the season when we can accommodate some of these outside projects, like galas or events. It’s very hard to find even one dark night in the season. We’re glad that we’re able to find one for DRA, because they really are fantastic.”

Parsons Dance will perform at the benefit and is a part of The Joyce’s fall/winter season, from Jan. 21–Feb. 1. Chelsea Now got a sneak peek at the company practicing “Nascimento Novo” at the 92nd Street Y. Parsons Dance is performing wellloved pieces, such as “Caught,” as well as the New York premiere of “Whirlaway.”

David Parsons, the founder of the company and a choreographer who has created over 70 works, said that the DowntownExpress.com

New Orleans Ballet Association commissioned “Whirlaway” last year.

He was invited to pick a New Orleans musician and immediately choose Allen Toussaint. Toussaint let Parsons check out his repertory and the music chosen became the seed that sparked the piece’s movement.

“I picked something that really was just a celebration of New Orleans,” he told Chelsea Now after stepping away from rehearsal. “New Orleans is a feel.

It’s an environment that’s really rare in the United States.”

His company, he explained, is known for a lot of physicality.

“What we do is, when we start a new work, we really try and come up with a new vocabulary for each piece,” he said.

“I think that is one of the reasons why we have lasted so long. I learned this from Paul Taylor: variety is an important thing. Especially when you have a one-choreographer company.”

Parsons has danced for several companies, including the Paul Taylor Dance Company for eight years and MOMIX, and has worked with Mark Morris and Peter Martins of the New York City Ballet.

“You see a lot of dance where it’s just the same movements all the way through the evening,” he explained.

“I’ve always noticed that and always kind of fought against that.”

“Whirlaway” debuted last May in New Orleans and Parsons said he wanted to make it sort of timeless.

“The historic aspects of New Orleans just permeate everyday life down there,”

© Michel Cavalca

The Lyon Opera Ballet returns to The Joyce April 29-May 3.

he said. “We wanted to have a real funkiness to it.”

Also on the program, are two pieces: “Train” by Robert Battle, the artistic director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and a duet by McIntyre’s “Hymn.”

“It’s really important for dancers and audiences to get a mix of [movement] — and why not — in a program,” he explained. “These are two choreographers that I admire.”

Battle danced with Parsons’ company out of Julliard, he said.

“It’s very ritualistic and it goes really well with the Parsons’ program,” he said of the piece.

Parsons has also known McIntyre for years and said that they are a good fit conceptually.

“We just like to have people who speak our language,” he said.

Parsons said he has been working with dancers in his company for 15 years to help them produce work. At The Joyce, Natalie Lomonte, who once was with the company, will perform “Within,” which will be a world premiere, accompanied by the music of Nina Simone. Parsons understands the struggle of a dancer trying to make the transition to choreographer well. When he first came to New York from Kansas City, Missouri he had a lot of jobs to make ends meet.

A gymnast and dancer who had a trampoline forte, Parsons became known as a stunt model. He said he could hit things in the air and make incredible shapes.

While doing a photo shoot with Lois Greenfield for The Village Voice, he found the inspiration for his wellknown work, “Caught,” and began a collaboration with Greenfield that has lasted 25 years.

“I came up with this thing where I lied on my back and I just popped myself up — straight up in the air like that, a foot off the floor and she shot it.

And then I landed again. Smack,” he recalled. By throwing his body up, “you can see the shadow underneath you and Lois was like, ‘damn that’s cool.’”

Parsons realized that the sequence of motion captured by Greenfield’s photo session could translate to the stage.

“Caught” is a very athletic piece, he explained, with 100 jumps in five minutes, which gives the audience the idea that the dancer is flying or suspended in the air. At The Joyce, Parsons Dance member Elena d’Amario will perform the piece.

D’Amario has had an interesting path to Parsons, winning the Italian talent show “Amici,” and by doing so, getting a scholarship with the company.

Parsons, who was a judge on the show, is well traveled and speaks Italian.

“Bachiana,” which Parsons likened to a love letter to ballet with “a modernist taking it on” is also a part of the program, which differs from matinee to evening.

“I really like an arc,” he said. “It’s great for me to have an audience go through a real dark piece and actually laugh in the concert and then gasp in the concert and then just pull out all the emotions.”

January 15 - January 28, 2015

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Buhmann on Art GALLERY CHRIS OFILI: NIGHT AND DAY Through January 25 At the New Museum 235 Bowery (btw. Rivington & Stanton Sts.) Tues.–Wed.&Fri.–Sun.,11a.m.–6p.m.

Thurs., 11 a.m.–9 p.m.

Photo by Maris Hutchinson/EPW. All artworks © Chris Ofili. Courtesy David Zwirner, New York/London

An installation view from “Chris Ofili: Night and Day.”

Admission: $16 ($14 seniors, $10 students) Pay as you wish, 7–9 p.m. Thurs.

Call 212-219-1222 Visit newmuseum.org

BY STEPHANIE BUHMANN (stephaniebuhmann.com) This first major US solo museum exhibition of Ofili will span the artist’s entire career, encompassing painting, drawing and sculpture. Over the past two decades, Ofili has become known for his vibrant, meticulously executed compositions that fuse elements derived from figuration, abstraction, folklore decoration and pop-cultural kitsch. His imagery is no less eclectic, sourcing the Bible, hip-hop, Zimbabwean cave paintings, blaxploitation films and William Blake’s poems, among others.

This survey aims to reveal how significantly Ofili’s practice is based on constant change and free experimentation. It

certainly succeeds in celebrating a body of work that involves many facets and ranges from boldly expressive to deeply introspective.

In contrast to Ofili’s famous work of the 1990s, in which he layered materials — including paint, resin, glitter and elephant dung — his most recent works have been animated by exotic characters, outlandish landscapes and myths that resonate with references to the paintings of Henri Matisse and Paul Gauguin.

No matter what series one focuses on, one quickly recognizes that it is Ofili’s hybrid juxtapositions of high and low, and of the sacred and the profane, that bestow his images with unique drama and energy.

At 7 p.m. on Thurs., Jan. 29, writer and scholar Fred Moten responds to “Chris Ofili: Night and Day” by critically considering Ofili’s work through various stages of the artist’s career. A portion of the exhibit, which officially closes Jan. 25, will remain intact. Admission to the event is $10, with pay-as-you-wish general admission to the museum.

© Chris Ofili. Courtesy the artist, David Zwirner, New York /

© Chris Ofili. Courtesy the artist, David Zwirner, New York/

London and Victoria Miro, London

London and Victoria Miro, London

Chris Ofili, The Adoration of Captain Shit and the Legend of the Black Stars (Third Version), 1998. Oil, acrylic, polyester resin, paper collage, glitter, map pins, and elephant dung on linen, 96 x 72 in (243.8 x 182.8 cm).

Chris Ofili, Confession (Lady Chancellor), 2007. Oil on linen, 110 3/5 x 76 4/5 in (281 x 195.3 cm). © Chris Ofili. Courtesy the artist, David Zwirner, New York / London and Victoria Miro, London.

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47-47 Austell Pl., Long Island City, NY 11101 • NYSDOT #T-38598 • USDOT #2280679 Terms and conditions apply, can't be applied with any other offer, offer expires on 3/31/2015.

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January 15 - January 28, 2015

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January 15 - January 28, 2015

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OUR BRAND-NEW EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT IS NOW OPEN. AND WE HOPE YOU NEVER GET TO SEE IT. INTRODUCING THE RONALD O. PERELMAN CENTER FOR EMERGENCY SERVICES. 570 FIRST AVENUE AT 33RD STREET. We’ve completely rebuilt our emergency department since the devastation of Hurricane Sandy. State-of-the-art improvements have been made, and it’s now triple the size of the former ED, with treatment areas that have room for families at bedside. We provide experts in virtually every specialty to handle emergencies for both adults and children, and specialized teams on call for stroke and heart attack. But to truly appreciate our new emergency department at Tisch Hospital, you have to see it in person. And we hope you never get to do that. To learn more, visit nyulmc.org/emergency

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January 15 - January 28, 2015

DowntownExpress.com