Stunt junkies, p. 20
Volume 81, Number 41 $1.00
West and East Village, Chelsea, Soho, Noho, Hudson Square, Little Italy, Chinatown and Lower East Side, Since 1933
March 15 - 21, 2012
Quinn wins school and more; Saves Reiss in Rudin deal BY ALBERT AMATEAU A deal brokered by City Council Speaker Christine Quinn on Wednesday resulted in major concessions in Rudin Management’s residential redevelopment of the former St. Vincent’s Hospital property. As part of the deal that Quinn announced after a March 14 Council committee hearing, the city’s Department of Education has agreed to purchase the seven-story building at 75 Morton St. from New
Courtesy of City of New York and Friends of the High Line
A rendering of the High Line’s third segment by James Corner Field Operations and Diller Scofidio+Renfro, showing the interim “floating” walkway this section would feature for the first five to 15 years.
High Line finale to have great views, interim path BY ALBERT AMATEAU High Line enthusiasts filled a school auditorium in Chelsea on Monday for a design forum on the elevated park’s third and final segment that will loop around the West Side Rail Yards. During the past three years the first two completed segments — between Gansevoort and W. 30th Sts. — have attracted 3.7 million visitors. Friends of the High Line and the city hope to begin construction on the last segment next year with an opening projected for spring 2014. The proposed half-mile loop around the rail yards between 10th and 12th Aves. from 30th to 34th Sts. will be the most challenging part to build and will cost upward of $90 million. James Corner and Ric Scofidio, design team members, told the March
12 forum the project will have to be coordinated with The Related Companies’ commercial development above the Eastern Rail Yards between 10th and 11th Aves. Related’s project will include the 1,000-foot-tall commercial “Tower C” at 10th Ave. and 30th St. for the home of the luxury goods firm Coach. At that point the High Line will pass through Tower C and lead toward the eastern 10th Ave. “spur,” the widest part of the rail viaduct. The 10th Ave. spur was built to allow freight trains to deliver bulk mail and packages to the upper floors of the Morgan Annex postal processing complex on the east side of 10th Ave. at 30th St. The spur will be part of the park, but because of its proximity to the
Tower C construction site, it will open 12 to 18 months after the opening of the rest of the rail yards segment. The main route of the High Line as it reaches the rail yards turns west at 10th Ave. opening a view of the Hudson River. The fully designed segment, with plantings, seating and play features that echo the park’s first two segments, will cross 11th Ave. and continue over the Western Rail Yards as an interim walkway. The interim section will be a simple path slightly elevated over the windsown grasses and wildflowers that have grown on the surface of the viaduct since it was closed to rail freight traffic around 1980. In terms of the loop around the
York State and convert it to public school use. The 75 Morton St. agreement does not involve Rudin, but Greenwich Village education advocates, Community Board 2 members and Assemblymember Deborah Glick have long demanded that the building be used to ease the shortage of public middle school space in the district. Concessions on the Rudin
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Cabrini home will close by summer, its operators say BY LESLEY SUSSMAN A chilly wind gusted down E. Fifth St. on Sunday morning. But it wasn’t the cold weather that many of the visitors to the Cabrini Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation were feeling that day. Instead, it was a deep disappointment coupled with disbelief that the skilled nursing care facility would soon be closed and their aged relatives relocated elsewhere. Despite extensive efforts
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by various community groups and a host of political leaders to save the nursing home beds and healthcare jobs at the center, its operators announced last week that after 20 years of serving the community the facility would close its doors this summer. The decision will affect 240 elderly residents and 290 employees at the center. The building was recently
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ATTORNEY IN MADAM MELEE PAGE 2
EDITORIAL, LETTERS PAGE 16
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March 15 - 21, 2012
Your doctor retired to where?
Another reason to call.
Photo by Jefferson Siegel
Pete Gleason with alleged brothel operator Anna Gristina in State Supreme Court on Monday at a hearing about who will represent Gristina — Gleason or her courtappointed lawyer. The judge set another hearing for Thurs., March 15.
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BY LINCOLN ANDERSON Former City Council candidate Pete Gleason has recently been at the center of a media circus over the “Hockey Mom Madam” court case. The lurid story has been daily front-page fodder for the tabloids. Gleason ran in the Council District 1 primary race in 2009 as the endorsed candidate of the powerful Downtown Independent Democrats political club. An attorney who was formerly a New York City police officer and firefighter, he has been vying for the right to represent Anna Gristina, who is charged with setting up liaisons on the Upper East Side between prostitutes and wealthy men. Gleason is a friend of Gristina’s and is seeking to represent her pro bono, though he admittedly has never tried a felony case. Gleason has asked that Gristina’s courtappointed public defender, Richard Siracusa, be removed from the case, but the judge refused to do so. Siracusa will represent the alleged madam, but Gleason will be free to speak up in court anytime he wishes to, the judge said. Meanwhile, Siracusa has accused Gleason of being a “hindrance.” The Downtown politico has offered to put up his Tribeca loft as security to help Gristina make her bond of $2 million. However, the prosecution has said Gristina, due to her contacts with high-powered individuals, is a flight risk. There are accusations that Gristina also had police protection for her upscale escort business. In addition, Gleason has offered to have the madam and her family live in his loft while awaiting trial, but a prosecutor blasted
that as “unethical.” The judge said he would rule on Gleason’s offer on Thursday. Out of a field of five in the 2009 Council primary, Gleason came in fourth, with 11 percent of the vote. Margaret Chin won with 40 percent of the vote, while then-incumbent Alan Gerson finished second with 31 percent. Asked about Gleason’s efforts to represent the madam, Sean Sweeney, a power in D.I.D., declined comment. In September 2010, at a NY Civic soiree at Bryant Park where Village Voice writer Wayne Barrett was the guest of honor, Gleason indignantly accused the investigative journalist of being a hypocrite for not denouncing the newspaper for running sex ads. Gleason was apparently still smarting from a scathing article Barrett co-wrote a month before the District 1 primary. The piece — which Gleason derided as “vicious and malicious” — reported that he had taken off lengthy periods of injury time while a firefighter and also disparaged his record as an attorney. A flier attacking Barrett that Gleason issued at the time, asked, “How many women have been trafficked and enslaved who appear on various Village Voice outlets? Is it appropriate for Mr. Barrett to derive financial gain, in the form of a paycheck, financed in part, from the exploitation of women?” Speaking to The Villager at the time, Gleason said, “If you play piano in a brothel, are you part of the problem or the solution? You have Asian women performing massage in the back of the Village Voice — they’re prostitutes, let’s not sugarcoat it.”
March 15 - 21, 2012
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BROADWAY PANHANDLER
SCOOPY’S
NOTEBOOK NEW LIFE FOR LIFE CAFE SPACE: Well, the mystery about what’s happening with the former Life Cafe is over — partially. Ninth Street Espresso will be taking over the western half of Life’s former space at 10th St. and Avenue B. As this newspaper reported in September, the Life space was in the unusual situation of being split between two landlords who were unfortunately locked in a dispute over the cost of doing repairs on the building. As a result, a sidewalk shed hung over Life’s outdoor cafe for a year, putting a serious damper on the legendary spot’s business that ultimately proved fatal. Ken Nye runs Ninth Street Espresso’s small “annexâ€? cafe, at 341 E. 10th St., next door to the Life space. When he heard a few weeks ago that plans were to chop the former Life into two halves and separate these by a wall, he reached out to Bob Perl, who owns the building’s western half. Perl is also Nye’s landlord at Ninth Street Espresso’s 10-year-old, flagship location, at Ninth St. and Avenue C. The annex on 10th St. opened about five years ago. “The store we rented on 10th St. is a little too small for us,â€? Nye told Scoopy last week. “The number one complaint we get there is that people want more space.â€? Moving one storefront to the east will almost double the cafe’s space, from 500 to 900 square feet. The new location, at 343 E. 10th St., is not only much wider, but will include Life’s former backyard garden, which Perl plans to enclose — though it will still have skylights — allowing year-round use. The new location should open in about four months. Nye, who lived in the East Village for 20 years, used to run 9th C Bar, but became a coffee fanatic, and opened Ninth Street Espresso, pioneering the specialty java market in New York City. His places are “part of the third wave of coffee,â€? he explained, “where coffee is treated as an artisanal product and the growers are well cared for.â€? His two local shops have very different clientele: The Ninth St. location is old-school East Village, while the 10th St. spot draws more people who are visiting the nabe. Ninth Street Espresso’s fame has blown up globally. “People make pilgrimages to us from far and wide,â€? Nye said. Perl said his understanding was the landlord for the building’s other half hasn’t leased his part of the former Life space yet. CHUPI WATCH: Westbeth photograph Toni Dalton continues to keep us posted on the goings-on at Julian Schnabel’s inscrutable Palazzo Chupi. Scaffolding went up around the pink-hued Palazzo several months ago, sparking speculation the retro W. 11th St. abode — whose paint job has seriously faded — was due for a fresh coat of Pompei Red. “As far as I can see they are still priming,â€? Dalton reported last week. “I saw one guy working on the third floor. I think they are waiting to paint in the spring, which is now arrived. We shall see.â€? STICKY SITUATION: It was really hard to leave the Billy’s Antiques & Props tent after last Friday night’s “wakeâ€?/ blowout party — mainly because the floor was so sticky! It was like a human glue trap. Clearly, the ghosts of the Bowery were at work (or had spilled a copious amount of beer). ‌ In his parting remarks between performances by rock bands, including the Virgins, Billy Leroy recalled some of the eerie events that occurred in the place. For instance, there was the time a guy dropped off a trunk he’d found on E. 12th St. that contained a dead person. Speaking of spirits, it’s unclear if the tent will have a reincarnation of its own as a space in a small, two-story building slated to be constructed on the E. Houston St. sliver lot by the Bowery. For more on Billy, see Clayton’s column in this week’s issue, on Page 6. DON HILL’S LIVES AGAIN? We were walking in Hudson Square the other day and bumped into another Billy — Billy Evangelou — exiting the former Don Hill’s music club, at Greenwich and Spring Sts. A worker with the Pontes, the landlords, was showing him the space. Evangelou grew up
across the street and his family once owned the property where Philip Johnson’s Urban Glass House now stands. He said he hopes to rent the Don Hill’s place and bring back live performances there. He’d also like to use it during the day as a music school for underprivileged youth. He said he’s looking for a partner in the scheme. The former club is no longer at risk of being developed into a hotel, Evangelou said, since that project is now being built a block to the north.
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STREET RUMBLE: Community Board 2 last month voted to recommend denial for the Stonewall Veterans Association’s application for a permit for its annual Greenwich Avenue Festival, between Sixth and Seventh Aves., on June 16. C.B. 2’s resolution stated that the board’s Street Activity Permits Committee “continues to question the size and viability of this organization and the uses of the money raised by this fair.� Before last month’s vote, board members Steve Ashkinazy and Maria Passannante Derr both had some harsh words for S.V.A.’s Williamson Henderson. Two years ago, C.B. 2 voted to deny S.V.A.’s application but, in the end, Henderson, as usual, managed to obtain his permit anyway. Last year, Henderson noted, C.B. 2 voted to approve the street fair — though perhaps the board just didn’t want to go through all the bother again, only to have the permit rubber-stamped by the city’s Street Activity Permits Office (SAPO). For his part, Henderson said he’s getting frustrated by all the back and forth by Board 2. “It’s obviously the work of someone who’s a hater or a liar,� he told us last week. “It’s political, exactly. We’re tired of this nonsense, especially after 43 years� — as in the number of years since the Stonewall riots ignited the gay civil rights movement. The S.V.A. honcho was displeased to hear Ashkinazy had badmouthed him. “Evidently, he will have to be sued to shut up his slanderous mouth,� Henderson hissed. For the record, there is no president of S.V.A., he noted. Henderson was the group’s director through last December, but now the organization is run by an executive committee of 12 members, according to him. Asked for comment on the semi-annual S.V.A. application brouhaha, Brad Hoylman, Board 2’s chairperson, said, “The bottom line is that the city should be doing a better job vetting organizations applying to hold street fairs. These are public spaces. The community boards do not have sufficient resources to fully understand whether the organizations that sponsor street fairs are credible or not. We do our best — but I think additional scrutiny would be a good thing.�
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FEELING DRAINED: Rumors that Aron Kay, a.k.a. “The Yippie Pie Man,� had open-heart surgery are greatly exaggerated. What did happen last week, according to Kay, is that doctors at Beth Israel Hospital “drained a liter of water� that had accumulated around his heart. The Pie Man said he was “very conscious� — painfully so — during the procedure, in which a drainage tube was poked into his chest while he was sedated with Lidocaine. “I felt it,� he said. “I did not want a general anesthetic — I was too paranoid for that.� After spending 10 days at Beth Israel, he’ll now rehab at a Rockaways facility. For amusement, he’s been watching “Law & Order� and shooting paper cups into the garbage can. He actually used to be a good hoops player. “That’s how I learned how to throw pies,� he quipped. A friend recently brought him his laptop so that Kay can continue to pitch virtual pies at what he called the “Repukelicans.� Feel better soon! ISLAND READER: Former Baruch Houses activist Israel Perez called last week and left a brief message. “I’m still reading The Villager,� he said. “I’m in Puerto Rico — I read it on the computer. That was a good story about Caballero.� Perez’s former foe, Robert Caballero was recently charged with stealing funds from the Lower East Side Housing Development Fund Corporation he was managing. MANGIA! Lanza’s Italian restaurant, at 168 First Ave. at 10th St., is celebrating its 108th anniversary with a rollback menu, every Monday through Thursday, 12 noon to 2:30 p.m., during March. Soup of the day is $1.75, and 12 entrees are being offered at discounted prices, including penne vodka, $3.25, and chicken marsala, $3.75. A glass of red or white house wine is $3.
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March 15 - 21, 2012
Stringer takes ‘super’ tour, but will he hold a hearing?
Photo by Lincoln Anderson
Joining Borough President Stringer, right, by the LaGuardia statue at the superblocks tour’s end were, from left, Marty Tessler, CAAN co-chairperson; C.B. Chairperson Brad Hoylman, with his daughter, Silvia; Terri Cude, CAAN co-chairperson; and C.B. 2 N.Y.U. Working Group co-chairperson David Gruber.
BY LINCOLN ANDERSON At the invitation of local community activists, Borough President Scott Stringer toured the N.Y.U. South Village superblocks two Saturdays ago to see for himself the types of use the blocks and the public openspace strips around their edges get. After a rain-soaked morning, it turned out to be a beautiful, sunny afternoon when the B.P. showed up to join members of Community Board 2 and the Coalition Action Alliance on N.Y.U. 2031 (CAAN) for the walking tour. They hit all the major attractions, including the dog run, the Mercer Playground and the LaGuardia Corner Gardens. Both the dog run and playground were packed, the run with dog owners, their pooches and neongreen tennis balls flying every which way. The “Beep” spoke with Beth Gottlieb, the run’s president, and Mitchell Moss, the influential N.Y.U. urban policy and planning professor. The toddlers playground was no less active, with boys running and playing soccer, girls skipping in shallow puddles left by the rain and a group of girls struggling to pull a green pylon away from a little boy. In the garden, Stringer said hi to Sara Jones and Rhoma Mostel, the latter who told him to return and see their roses when they start coming up soon. The tour also wended through the Sasaki Garden, whose tranquility was occasionally broken by the sound of birds chirping. Stringer didn’t want to say how he would vote on the ULURP for the N.Y.U. 2031 Plan that would wedge an additional 2.5 million square feet of development into the superblocks. He said he was “absorbing” information and talking to people, which would help inform his decision.
C.B. 2 voted a complete no on the N.Y.U. plan during its initial part of ULURP. On Monday, Board 2 sent its official letter to Stringer, which now triggers his 30-day review period of the plan. Andrew Berman, director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, has asked Stringer to hold a public hearing on the N.Y.U. ULURP application, given the project’s magnitude and its impact on the neighborhood. However, as of now, Stringer has not committed to doing so, feeling the plan got an extremely thorough vetting by C.B. 2 during the board’s two-month review process. A Stringer spokesperson said, “The community board already held 16 public hearings [on the N.Y.U. plan], and there were over 50 meetings of the Borough President’s Task Force on N.Y.U. that were held [before that]. He is currently in the process of meeting with community members — stakeholders and community leaders — on an individual basis.” But Berman noted that Stringer did hold a public hearing on the large-scale Solow project slated for the E. 30s on First Ave. In addition, Stringer held a public hearing on the Columbia University project to expand into West Harlem. Stringer’s spokesperson said, however, that the Solow project didn’t receive anywhere near the amount of public review that the N.Y.U. project has under its extensive scrutiny by C.B. 2, and that the Columbia project was going to be voted on in the summer when people would be away — which was the reason Stringer decided to hold hearings on these projects. Stringer must submit his recommendation on the N.Y.U. plan by April 12.
Chef Driven Market is picked for Union Sq. pavilion eatery BY ALBERT AMATEAU Simon Oren’s Chef Driven Market LLC has been awarded the franchise to operate a seasonal restaurant in the renovated pavilion at the north end of Union Square Park. The restaurant will operate from April 15 to Oct. 15 from 7 a.m. to midnight under a 15-year contract with the Department of Parks and Recreation. No date has been set for the opening but a Parks spokesperson said it would not be this season. Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said Chef Driven Market submitted an inventive proposal that would take full advantage of the locally grown and produced fresh food sold at the Union Square Greenmarket. “It will be a welcome addition to the park’s restored north end,” Benepe said, “a $20 million project that included the reha-
bilitation of the north and west plazas, the creation of a 15,000-square-foot playground, the restoration of the pavilion, new public restrooms, historic lighting, new landscaping and more than 50 trees.” He acknowledged the Union Square Partnership Business Improvement District’s role as a sponsor of the north end restoration. The franchise allows the restaurant to use some of the plaza area north of the pavilion for outdoor seating. The winning bid included sample brunch prices of $17.95 for omelets, dinner entrees from $13.95 to $33.95, a breakfast selection for $15.95 and desserts for $14.95. Geoffrey Croft, a founder of NYC Park Advocates and long an opponent of a restaurant concession in the pavilion, said on Wednesday that opponents would go to court to cancel the contract.
March 15 - 21, 2012
Photo by Lincoln Anderson
Tony Juliano, G.V.C.C.C. president, speaking at Tuesday’s rally, with Gary LaBarbera, a construction union leader, by his side.
Chamber chief: N.Y.U plan will help Village keep its character BY LINCOLN ANDERSON Build, baby, build! The Greenwich Village-Chelsea Chamber of Commerce and local construction unions wholeheartedly support the N.Y.U. 2031 Plan, and they held a news conference on City Hall’s steps Tuesday to say it loudly and clearly. On Monday, Community Board 2 officially submitted to Borough President Scott Stringer its advisory resolution on New York University’s application for its large-scale plan to add 2.5 million square feet of space to its two South Village superblocks. In its segment of ULURP (the city’s uniform land-use review procedure), Board 2 voted an absolute, unanimous “No!” on N.Y.U.’s plan. In turn, Stringer now has 30 days to give his opinion on the university’s megadevelopment scheme. Backed by 25 burly hard hats holding “Build It!” signs, Tony Juliano, the chamber’s president, said, “We’re here today asking Borough President Stringer to recognize that N.Y.U.’s growth strategy is an essential part of securing the financial future of small businesses in Greenwich Village. Of course, we want Mr. Stringer to be judicious, but we’d like to see a positive recommendation [on the ULURP application] come quickly.” Also speaking was Gary LaBarbera, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York. “N.Y.U.’s plans for Greenwich Village will create thousands of good, unionized building and construction jobs and generate increased economic activity across the city,” said LaBarbera. “We urge Mr. Stringer to be
thorough and fair in his review and then to act decisively to make it happen.” Turning to his construction brethren, he asked, “What do we want?” “Build it!” they shouted back. “When do we want it?” he asked. “Now!” they bellowed. Asked about local residents’ strident opposition to the superblocks plan, Juliano answered, “Everybody’s afraid of change. N.Y.U. is building on their own property. No green space will be lost. No dog park will be harmed from it. All change isn’t bad. This really will help the Village maintain the character that it has. The Village is the heart of New York — a big reason for that is N.Y.U., the intellectual and cultural dynamism that they bring.” Residents, many N.Y.U. faculty and preservationists charge the 2031 plan will destroy the Village’s character by grossly overbuilding the area, but Juliano sees it differently. The university’s plan, he said, “will help by adding intellect, vibrancy and dynamism to the Village — and that’s what the Village is all about.” The Chamber of Commerce also supports Rudin’s luxury condos plan for the former St. Vincent’s site, along with the 24-hour emergency department planned for the former hospital’s O’Toole building. “We need that free-standing emergency department. It’s essential,” Juliano said. “It’s two years now with a big hole there — 30 businesses have closed. I, like everyone else, would like a hospital. But let’s do what we can now, and we’ll see if there can be a hospital there [later on].”
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March 15 - 21, 2012
Biker, cool carnie, actor... The evolution of Billy CLAYTON BY CLAYTON PATTERSON For many, the Lower East Side represented much more than a geographic location with ever-changing borders. The L.E.S. was a magical kingdom where almost anything seemed possible and we felt we had the freedom to be whoever we wanted to be, to say whatever we needed to say, and the right to make our own choices. Our choices define our character. In 1998, for whatever reason, William “Billy” Leroy and I kept crossing paths. I learned that he was the sales manager for Rob Fennick, the owner of the tent at Elizabeth and Houston Sts. The only time I remember being in Rob’s store was in 1992. Rob’s lot, as described by an 8-foothigh, chain-link fence, ran from Elizabeth St. to the Bowery, and included The Wall, made famous by Keith Haring. In the summer of 1992 Elsa and I took over The Wall and painted one of my artworks on it. Time passed. In 2003, Rob retired, and Billy took over the tent and renamed it Billy’s Antiques & Props. In 2005, on Halloween, Billy married his longtime partner, musician Lorraine Leckie. The ceremony and party took place in the tent. Billy was dressed in a Brooklyn 14th Regiment Civil War uniform, and Lorraine was pure punk rock. It was after the wedding that I started to spend more time at Billy’s and learned more about him. Turns out his attraction to the L.E.S. had to do with being a creative misfit who came down here to find himself. Billy grew up on the Upper East Side. He went to a number of different privileged prep schools in places like Connecticut and Switzerland. His French father’s side of the family is titled aristocracy and wealthy. His mother was a novel writer. He played football at Northeastern University and semipro with the Bronx Crusaders, and ended up getting a threeyear associate’s degree at the Art Institute of Boston. Lorraine Leckie, his wife, is carving out her own singer/songwriter career. Her band, Lorraine Leckie and Her Demons, features the hugely talented backup musicians Huge Pool, as well as George Michael Jackson on guitars and Paul Triff on drums. Bill has a lovely daughter, Celina, from his first wife, and she’s now finishing up an art degree. We all expect Celina to do well as an artist. Billy’s first job after college was as an advertising executive for a white-shoe advertising agency, Gray Advertising. He hated it. Although Billy came from privilege, he felt the need to turn his back on his access to the so-called good life and heard the L.E.S. call his name. His first Downtown venture produced the rough and ready Biker Billy. Biker Billy was as real as it gets, but in the end, belonging to a motorcycle club
Photo by Clayton Patterson
Billy Leroy, left, with Robert Frank, the documentary photographer and filmmaker, and a companion of Frank’s on Friday evening before the “wake”/party for the end of the Billy’s Antiques & Props tent on E. Houston St.
wasn’t the fit he was looking for. It was a gradual process, but, eventually salesman Biker Billy morphed into sideshow Bowery Billy.
I found Billy’s tent to be a fascinating place to hang out and take photographs. Eventually a scene developed there. Bowery Billy was a better fit. He changed his dress to a more Upper East Side look. A look befitting his background. He had found the skin he was comfortable wearing. His personality changed as well. Bowery Billy was more carnival, more outgoing, gregarious, welcoming. The attention to place increased. And of course, one thing that made Billy’s such an attraction was his good eye for an undiscovered treasure. Collector Billy had the ability to stock a worthy, must-have item to fit any social class’s buying interest. His customers ranged from the elite in the culture
and money world, to the scratching-toget-by homeless person. Something good for everyone. I found his tent to be a fascinating place to hang out and take photographs. Eventually a scene develops. People of interest start to show up and hang around or take their time passing through. Anton Newcome from the Brian Jonestown Massacre left a strong impression. James Tully used Billy’s environment to try and make the great American Super 8 movie. Paul Sevigny, impresario of Beatrice nightclub fame, was a frequent visitor. Club designer and Blackbook magazine publisher Steve Lewis comes by looking for valuable decorative oddities. Numerous fashion shots and movies were done in the tent. With the influx of photo and video shoots Billy’s discovers his love of the camera. A flashback to high school drama, he had found his next adventure. Handsome Billy, performer, model and actor. Suddenly, he’s photographed by the famous, like Bruce Weber, as well as speaking in a cameo role in the 2007 feature film “The Guitar,” directed by Amy Redford. By now Billy had learned how to be his own P.R. agent, and he began reeling in a full load of press. One clever advertising ploy he got free press on was built on making the statement that Billy would only accept euros. The Villager’s January 2008 article about his “euros only” placard
(“With dollar down, euromania sweeps Downtown”) sparked a media feeding frenzy. Quickly, all hell broke loose and images of Bowery Billy and his tent circulated around the globe multiple times. Around this time, Bowery Billy now feels ready to re-enter the uptown cultural world and says he will get me a muchneeded establishment gallery to show my work. Billy connects me for a major one-man show at Chelsea’s prestigious Kinz, Tillou + Feigen Fine Art gallery. Billy becomes my front person. At the same time, Ben Solomon, Dan Levin and Jenner Furst, working with the backing of Blowback Productions, are making “Captured,” the documentary dealing with Elsa’s and my archives. Billy appears in the movie as Billy My Frontman. The movie is Billy’s first staring role and he has the fever: Billy wants to act. As a team, we all participate in getting “Captured” out to the public, and Billy and I spend more time socializing. Billy is losing his interest in being the center of attention in a tattered and torn tent with no heat in the winter or air conditioning in the summer. And besides, most of the new Downtown gentry are wearing his pet peeve — flip-flops — and wanting Rag & Bone accessories, and are boring. The landscape has changed from wild and dangerous to dull and lackluster. Time to think about moving on. Time to think outside the tent, especially when you add in a rent that’s becoming too expensive to pay every month. Jenner Furst, Dan Levin and Julia Nason write, direct and shoot the movie “Dirty Old Town” — a script loosely based around the life of Billy and his tent. As professionals, Furst and Levin have worked on a number of HBO and TV specials, for example, the award-winning Sundance Channel special series “Brick City,” Dan as camerman and Jenner as editor. Billy finds his stride as an actor in “DOT” and nails his role. The movie is stocked full of interesting characters leading bizarre Downtown N.Y.C. lives, an incredibly imaginative and funny script. Like “Captured,” the movie, “DOT” is developing cult status and becoming a favorite for those film buffs who know how to sniff out a good movie. Billy has survived the knockout punch of gentrification and found a way to embrace it. Out of all the flotsam and jetsam that floated through his tent, reality show people were a high number of the visitors. They were always scouting around looking for new drama. After about three attempts to work Billy plying his trade into a reality TV show, we’ll see if the one he is cast in, “Baggage Battles,” premiering April 11 at 10 p.m., is the show that hits the mark: Billy as a leading star and this show gives him his first taste of fame. Will the show be a hit or miss? The day after it premieres on the Travel Channel, he’ll know — Yes, I am a star! Or, next time, maybe?
March 15 - 21, 2012
‘Super’ playground coming for toddlers on LaGuardia Pl. BY LINCOLN ANDERSON Construction has started on the N.Y.U. superblocks! No, not on the university’s contentious 2031 plan — but on Adrienne’s Garden, a new toddlers playground sporting a flashy dragon on LaGuardia Place between Bleecker and W. Third Sts. About two weeks ago, a chain-link fence went up around the site, which is located in LaGuardia Park just north of the Fiorello LaGuardia statue. The playground project is slated at $450,000 and is expected to be finished by next February. It’s being financed by mostly city capital funds allocated by Borough President Scott Stringer, former Councilmember Alan Gerson and the Mayor’s Office. In addition, Friends of LaGuardia Place raised $75,000. Adrienne’s Garden’s centerpiece will be an inventive play sculpture in the shape of a dragon. This feature was specially designed for the site and was inspired by a child’s painting of a friendly dragon. Children will be able to climb up to the top of the dragon’s head and slide down its tongue or climb on the dragon’s back. There also will be a small garden and a sitting area.
NEW YORK CITY HEALTH AND HOSPITALS CORPORATION
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The garden is named after the late wife of Lawrence B. Goldberg, the president of Friends of LaGuardia Place. “I’m very excited about it,” Goldberg said this week. “When I saw that construction fence go up I was very, very happy. I hope this is going to be the only construction on the superblocks — but this is the construction we’ll all be happy with.” Goldberg added that the Friends have also done a redesign for the rest of the park, which is 440 feet long and 50 feet wide. N.Y.U. reportedly feels that the park, currently blanketed with ivy, is not publicly accessible. “I think it is publicly accessible,” Goldberg said, “but it will be even more accessible” after the Friends’ planned upgrade. The Friends plan would keep all the trees, while adding places for people to sit and enlarging circular plaza areas. Goldberg, who lives in Washington Square Village on the northern superblock, strongly opposes N.Y.U.’s development plan, which would add four new buildings to the two blocks. “It’s so big,” he said. “It’s so out of proportion to the rest of Greenwich Village.”
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March 15 - 21, 2012
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New C.C.B.A. president vows unflagging support for Taiwan BY ALINE REYNOLDS Chinatown has a new mayor. On Thurs., March 1, community members and elected officials gathered at the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association to celebrate the appointment of Paul Ng as the organization’s new president. “C.C.B.A. acted as the City Hall of Chinatown, and that is why the president of C.C.B.A. was always referred to as the unofficial ‘Mayor of Chinatown,’ � the association’s Web site explains, referring to the organization’s early years and how the moniker came to be. The event involved much fanfare, including the singing of the Taiwanese and American national anthems, the turning over of the keys to the C.C.B.A. offices, the adornment of the auditorium where the ceremony was held and officials’ handing a wrapped gift to Ng. Established in 1883, C.C.B.A. is one of Chinatown’s oldest community services, offering adult English classes, naturalization assistance and free tax services to area residents. Ng, who is replacing Jack Eng, president for the past two years, served as the Lin Sing Association’s vice president for the last four years. At Lin Sing, he helped address numerous community members’ concerns and issues — including helping arrange the funerals of the victims of an interstate bus crash last spring. “He’s very humble. He’s a working guy,� said Eddie Chiu, a senior adviser at the Lin Sing Association. Flanked by fellow community leaders, Ng took the podium to introduce himself and discuss his goals as C.C.B.A. president. “Under my leadership, C.C.B.A. will continue to support the Republic of China’s democratic government,� Ng said, referring to Taiwan. “I believe the Republic of China and the U.S. government share the same democratic principles. “We’re going to try to rebuild Chinatown,� Ng added. “A lot of things have to be done.� Following the ceremony, Ng said he also hopes to have Park Row, which was closed after 9/11 for security reasons, reopened to vehicular traffic. “Fewer visitors are coming to Chinatown since they closed Park Row,� he said. “We also want to open up new parking space and improve parking meters, so people coming down have enough time to dine out and stay for shopping.� Asked what it’s like to be called mayor, Ng said, “I don’t want the title, I just want to get my job done. It’s a lot of responsibility — you take the position, and you have to care for everything.� Several of the elected officials commented on how Ng has big shoes to fill. His predecessor, Eng, notably persuaded Taiwan to donate a statue of Dr. Sun
Photo by Aline Reynolds
Paul Ng at the celebration for his becoming C.C.B.A. president.
Yat-sen, the Chinese revolutionary and former president, to Columbus Park late last year. “He’s the father of China — he’s like Washington in America,� Eng said of Yat-sen. Eng also helped to transfer a torch, which now sits in the C.C.B.A. offices, and spearheaded a neighborhood parade to commemorate the Republic of China’s 100th anniversary. Councilmember Margaret Chin vowed to make Columbus Park the permanent home of the Yat-sen statute. “He made the Chinese community and city councilmembers work closer together,� Chin said of Eng, adding, “We will continue that work with Paul Ng.� City Comptroller John Liu also appeared at the event, where he was hounded by reporters’ questions about the recent arrest of his campaign treasurer. “C.C.B.A. each year gets bigger and better than ever before,� Liu said. “It brought not only the C.C.B.A. but our entire community to better heights. This is a celebration of the passing of the torch!� “We both grew together — I tried to follow your lead in terms of delivering services,� said state Senator Daniel Squadron, who raced down from Albany to issue a Senate proclamation thanking Eng for his leadership. Borough President Scott Stringer, who also presented a proclamation to Eng, dubbed March 1 “C.C.B.A. of Greater New York Day,� honoring the president’s inauguration. “It only lasts 24 hours!� Stringer quipped.
March 15 - 21, 2012
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Spiffier chess plaza opens, but games are still $10 BY LINCOLN ANDERSON “Game of chess?” The familiar call was ringing out once again on Monday in Washington Square Park’s southwest corner, which was reopened last week after a lengthy renovation. Earl Biggs, 67, was sitting at one of the sleek new chess tables that ring the plaza, which now sports a circular grass patch in its middle. “It’s a lot better than it was. It looks better,” said Biggs, seated in front of a chessboard with brown and black wooden pieces. “It’s one less table than before, but it’s better distributed,” he noted of the more-evenly spaced arrangement. He usually can be found playing Scrabble or bridge at the tables in the park’s northwestern corner, known as the “Scrabble plaza.” But his bridge partner hadn’t shown up, so he was “holding down” the chess table for a friend who was using the bathroom. Biggs said the chess players who hang out in Union Square’s southern plaza haven’t migrated back to Washington Square, and might not, which is fine with him. The spot in Union Square is open 24 hours, he said, and many of those players are homeless, so that’s better for them, as opposed to Washington Square, which closes at midnight. Biggs, who lives on E. 11th St., used to run Cafe Creole and a chess club, both on MacDougal St. “The better players don’t come out any-
more — just the hustlers,” he reflected of the Washington Square chess scene. “We used to have great players come from all over the world.” He offered to play a reporter a game for $10. According to Vickie Karp, a Parks Department spokesperson, there are now 18 tables versus 19 before. “The game tables are made from steel with a cast-iron, fluted base with a granite tabletop with an inlaid chess board,” Karp said in an e-mail. “The outer portion of the table is gray granite and the checker board is a black and white granite. The tables are refined and more sleek compared to the ‘clunky’ concrete tables. The tables along the intersections of paths are slightly longer to accommodate a wheelchair and the outer park bench is portable.” Karp continued, “The previous chess plaza was contained by 3-foot-high concrete retaining walls with light poles attached to the top of these walls. In addition, the landscapes were enclosed by a two-tier pipe rail fencing. The removal of these features creates the illusion of a greener park, in addition to enriching the park’s picturesque setting. “The reintroduction of historic landscape features — such as the post-and-chain interior fencing, stone curbs and pavements, light poles, benches and perimeter fencing — are all based on the park’s original historic fabric
Photo by Lincoln Anderson
In Washington Square’s reopened chess plaza, a prodigy and a veteran player highfived after the youngster checkmated his opponent — with a little bit of coaching from him.
and has restored the park’s historic integrity,” Karp said. The grass circle in the chess plaza’s center will be planted with annual dis-
plays, she added. Still slated for renovation are the park’s buildings, the large dog run and “The Mounds” play area.
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March 15 - 21, 2012
POLICE BLOTTER Raped in Broadway A.T.M. lobby Police arrested a rape suspect around 8 p.m. Mon., March 5, on E. Ninth St. just east of Broadway. An hour earlier, two witnesses phoned 911 saying a suspect with his pants down around his ankles was raping an unconscious woman on the floor of an A.T.M. vestibule at 785 Broadway at E. 10th St. The witnesses, identified as Joshua Seldman and Kimberly Howitt, followed the suspect while on the phone and alerted two Sixth Precinct officers, who arrested the suspect a short distance from the scene. Trasajilla Gilbey, 27, an Inwood resident, was charged with first-degree rape. The victim told the responding Emergency Medical Service team that she was punched in the face and raped, police said. She was taken to Beth Israel Hospital where she refused to give her name, according to police.
Chelsea murder suspects Police have identified two suspects in the murder of John Laubach, 57, found by a friend on March 2 in his ransacked fourth-floor apartment at 212 W. 22nd St. bound and gagged. Edwin Faulkner, 30, and Juan Carlos Martinez-Herrera, 26, are wanted for the brutal murder of the victim, a gentle man active in the Church of the Ascension on W. 10th St. at Fifth Ave. Police said they believe Laubach, who occasionally brought young men to his apartment, hired the suspects, who decided to rob and kill him. Police found a surveillance video of Faulkner carrying a briefcase believed to be Laubach’s stolen laptop computer. Faulkner, a Brooklyn resident, has a record of seven arrests for drug possession and burglary. Martinez-Herrera is from Florida.
Police have identified Juan Carlos Martinez-Herrera, 26, left, and Edwin Faulkner, 30, as suspects in the murder of John Laubach, 57, earlier this month in Chelsea.
Silver backs gun buyback Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver last week called on Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. to sponsor a gun buyback program in response to several recent shooting incidents on the Lower East Side. In his March 7 letter to law enforcement officials, Silver said that many constituents, particularly New York City Housing Authority tenants, have raised alarms about gun violence in the neighborhood. “I believe it is time to take further action to combat this scourge,” Silver said. “Your offices have run successful gun buybacks in the past and this has proved to be an effective and popular method for removing guns from our communities. “The community room at Rutgers Houses [200 Madison St.] would be a perfect location and the tenant association leadership has indicated its support,” the Assembly speaker said.
A spokesperson for Vance said the D.A. is checking on the feasibility of the request and fully agrees with Silver that gun buybacks are effective and popular ways to get guns out of communities. Last fall, the D.A.’s Office hosted a gun buyback program with police that removed 130 illegal guns from the streets, the D.A. said. The district attorney also launched a youth basketball program last fall for teenagers in Harlem. The program, which followed the takedown of several Harlem drug and gun crews, was funded with seized drug money. Vance’s office replicated that program on the Lower East Side this winter, expanding it to include Friday and Saturday nights. Other Manhattan locations are also possible in the future, the spokesperson said. In addition, the D.A.’s Office created an intern program in Harlem for teens 12 to 16 years old with field trips to television stations and other media and to universities.
Trial in Baruch slay The trial of Joel Herrera, 20, charged with the September 2009 stabbing death of Glenn Wright, 21, who was helping his grandmother clean her windows in the Baruch Houses on the Lower East Side, has entered its second week. Wright, who lived with his family in East Harlem, had stepped out of his grandmother’s Lower East Side apartment for a rest when a group of youths attacked him. Herrera has told police that he mistook Wright for someone who earlier had beaten one of his friends. The intended target is believed to have lived in the same Baruch Houses building as Wright’s grandparents. Wright, who was not a gang member, mentored young members of an after-school robotics team.
Continued on page 11
March 15 - 21, 2012
POLICE BLOTTER Continued from page 10
Bit her head A man and a woman arguing in a Village bar around 2:30 p.m. Tues., March 6, took the loud dispute out to their car parked at the corner of Bleecker and Sullivan Sts. where it became violent, police said. The man punched the woman several times, choked her and then bit her severely on the back of the head. She fled back to the bar for safety and stayed until closing time. Police found the suspect, Benjamin Egan, 31, in the car in possession of a gravity knife and a bag of cocaine.
Falucka bag filch Police arrested Ramy Mohamed, 26, around 3:50 a.m. Fri., March 9, in Falucka, a bar at 162 Bleecker St., after he was apprehended walking out of the place with a woman patron’s bag tucked under his jacket. The suspect also had a small quality of marijuana in his pocket, police said.
Credit card and cash theft A former employee of Eve Salon, 5 W. Eighth St., was arrested around noon Mon., March 5, after her employer reported that she used the company credit card for her own purchases and then took $9,200 from the salon’s safe on Feb. 25. Margaret Ross, 32, was charged with grand larceny.
Fake cards and more Three suspects were charged with using forged credit cards at the CVS store at 20 University Place around 5 p.m. Wed., March 7. Nasian King, 18, Janero Johnson, 24, and Sequanne McCargo, 23, were also charged with possession of marijuana when a bag of the substance was found in their car.
Christopher St. assault Rudy Rosario, 25, was charged with assault for punching a 60-year-old
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man in the nose on Christopher St. at Seventh Ave. South at 8:30 p.m. Sun., March 11.
found the four stolen paintings leaning against the lumberyard’s checkout counter and retrieved them, but the thief escaped.
Gallerist chases thief
Pancake thugs
Kristen Dodge, owner of the Dodge Gallery, at 15 Rivington St. between Bowery and Chrystie St., chased a thief who stole paintings from a show in her gallery on Saturday afternoon March 3. She was able to retrieve the art but the suspect got away. Dodge was talking with the show’s artist, Ellen Harvey, when she noticed that four of the paintings were gone, according to reports on The Lo-Down news site and Art in America magazine. She ran into the street and spotted a man with four paintings under his arm before he disappeared. In a lumberyard nearby, she saw him again and yelled at employees to call police. She
Two suspects slashed two victims around 6:20 a.m. Sat., March 3, outside the IHOP (International House of Pancakes) at 235 E.14th St. near Second Ave. Police said they did not know the reason for the attack that sent the two men to Beth Israel Hospital for stitches. One suspect was said to be between ages 20 and 25, 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing 185 pounds. The other suspect was described as 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighing 215 pounds, and was last seen wearing a beige, hooded sweatshirt and a black coat.
Keep on top of local crime, every week in
THE POLICE BLOTTER
Albert Amateau
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March 15 - 21, 2012
Cabrini closing news sparks sadness, anxiety, anger Continued from page 1 purchased by the Magnum Realty Group after the property’s previous, undisclosed owner decided last year to sell at a price that the rehab center’s current operator — the Cabrini Eldercare Consortium — could not meet. Magnum’s president, Benjamin Shaoul, who purchased the 84,000-square-foot building, at 542 E. Fifth St., for $25.5 million in November, said “a substantial rehab” will begin immediately after the center’s closure — most likely this July. Plans call for a luxury condo residential building at that site. Shaoul said that, in response to community groups and elected officials, he had tried to find a buyer that would preserve the nursing facility, but that those attempts ultimately failed. In the wake of that disclosure, a spokesperson for the nursing facility said that it had already stopped admitting long-term residents, but will continue to admit patients for short-term rehabilitation until the place’s final closure. “We are now committed to ensuring a smooth relocation for our residents and a dignified transition for our employees,” said Lorraine Horgan, a Cabrini spokesperson. The 240-bed center is seeking to sell 117 beds to a private nursing home operator in Borough Park, so that some residents and employees will have the option of moving to Brooklyn. What will happen to the remain-
Photo by Lesley Sussman
Sergio, whose mother, 60, is a resident of the Cabrini facility, said word of the closing was “totally disappointing.”
der of the patients and employees remains uncertain. In a letter it distributed last week, Cabrini said that closing the facility will cost it $7 mil-
lion. The nursing center has requested state Department of Health grants to cover those costs, which are connected to unemployment insurance, pension funding and severance pay. Cabrini said that without such grants, the center would be forced into bankruptcy. Patricia Krasnausky, C.E.O. and president at Cabrini Eldercare, wrote that even if Cabrini did receive such grants, it would still have to spend another $4.5 million on its shutdown, due to the costs of unemployment insurance, pension funding and severance pay. On Sunday, this reporter was not allowed into the E. Fifth St. facility, but residents’ relatives who were entering and exiting the building had plenty to say about the situation. A woman who declined to identify herself said that her 95-year-old grandmother has been a resident at the East Village center for six months. “It’s a deplorable situation,” she said. “One of the biggest concerns is that many of the people in here don’t have family to help them relocate. It’s very sad. Nobody knows where they’re going to end up. It makes me very angry. At least we can help our grandmother.” Raymond Hernandez, a nearby resident who has lived on the block for more than 40 years, said he, too, was upset by news that the Cabrini home would soon close. “We don’t need another luxury condo in the neighborhood,” he said. “We need a place to house the very old people who are sick. This was not a good idea. The building is very necessary for the community.” One relative, who gave his name as Sergio, said that while he was disturbed by the situation, he was nonetheless prepared for it. “My mother is in here,” he said. “She’s 60 years old and has been here for five months. I heard about a developer coming in through a blog I follow on the neighborhood, and my mom called me about a week ago to let me know. A nurse had slipped the information to her. So I started making plans to transfer my mother. “But it’s all totally disappointing,” he continued. “I think it’s outrageous. I don’t think that this in any way is supportive of the neighborhood. What are people from the neighborhood with family members here going to do?” he asked.
Gabriel Gomez, a teacher at Marist College, said that his mother has been at Cabrini since 2007. “She will be 90 years old on the 20th of this month,” he said. “This is terrible. Really terrible. I’m very angry about it. Fortunately, this is spring break for me, so I’ll have a little time to look for a place to transfer my mother.” A young man who asked that his name not be used said he has been volunteering at Cabrini for the past seven years. He called the situation “tragic.” “This is going to be a very serious disruption for hundreds of people in there,” he said. “It’s really unfortunate and I wish it could have been avoided.” In an e-mail to this newspaper sent last Friday, Kenny and Elizabeth Montano said they have a relative who is a patient at Cabrini and were “very upset by the way the whole situation has been handled.” “We, the family members, were never informed or updated in all this fiasco and got the information third hand through media outlets, such as yours, or our local elected officials,” their message said. “Just today we went to Cabrini and were given information that a mail-out was being sent to family members after the fact, although the administrators did offer to meet with selected family members to discuss the possible outcome and the role the family members will undertake, such as relocation, etc. “We the family members are demanding an explanation as to why? Why were we misinformed and kept out of the loop? If the administrators of Cabrini cannot give us a reasonable explanation, we will more than certain form a protest and rally A.S.A.P.! And we’ll invite the media and local politicians to support us.” In a press release issued last Friday, spokesperson Horgan said that Cabrini “will continue to hold family information sessions and work closely with families to find alternative locations with vacancies matched to the need of each resident.” Earlier, C.E.O. Krasnausky sent a letter to elected officials who had tried to prevent the facility’s closing. “This week,” the letter said, “we are informing patients and their families and providing employees a three-month WARN notice required by the State Department of Labor.”
487 Hudson Street, south of Christopher Street. 212 924-9364
March 15 - 21, 2012
Photo by Milo Hess
Looks like spring’s on track Flowers were budding and blooming on the High Line on Sunday.
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High Line finale to have great views, interim path Continued from page 1 Western Rail Yards, “interim” means from five to 15 years. The Western Rail Yards are to have lower-rise residential development in the coming years. At the Monday design forum, the simple interim path floating above the existing steel rails and wild flowers with a view to the river was a favorite of many who asked if it could be permanent. But Robert Hammond, a co-founder of Friends of the High Line, said that drainage work and remediation of lead paint on the structure would be necessary in the near future. The success of the High Line was another issue for people who cited how crowded the relatively narrow paths of the first two segments have been since their openings in 2009 and 2011. “It’s a balancing act,” responded Corner. “The biggest challenge is the ratio between soft and hard.” The more hard surface there is for people to walk on, the less soft surface there is for plants, Corner explained. Regarding crowds, he said, “We hope in the next few years it will calm down.” The audience, which Hammond estimated to number more than 200, skeptically laughed. The design is an ongoing process and the project depends on zoning changes being considered by the city, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which owns the yards, and The Related Companies regarding the redevelopment of the yards. The rail yards development project will add more than 12 million square feet of new office, residential, retail and cultural uses to the site. If the zoning is approved, Related would fund about 30 percent of the estimated $90 million
Courtesy of City of New York and Friends of the High Line
A design for the High Line’s third segment by James Corner Field Operations and Diller Scofidio+Renfro, showing “play beams” — structural beams that would be covered with a rubberized material to allow children to play on them safely.
cost of the High Line’s final section. Friends of the High Line has raised $38 million for the third section. Also helping fund the park’s final part, Donald Pels and Wendy Keys have donated $5 million; Tiffany
& Co. Foundation donated $5 million; and the Diller von Furstenberg Family Foundation made a $20 million pledge. Friends also raises private funds to support more than 90 percent of the park’s
annual budget. Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said on Monday that in excess of $100 million in taxpayers’ money has come from the city, state and federal governments for the High Line.
Quinn wins impressive concessions in Rudin site deal Continued from page 1 project include a reduction in the total number of apartments from 450 to 350. Rudin also agreed to reuse the former hospital’s Reiss building on 12th St. instead of demolishing and replacing it with a new 12-story apartment building. The Reiss agreement means that the impact of construction on 12th St. will be reduced because all existing buildings on the street will be reused. Rudin has also agreed to reduce the number of parking spaces in an underground garage planned for 12th St. from 152 to 95. Another perceived neighborhood victory is a Rudin agreement to contribute $1 million for arts programming and projects at two Greenwich Village elementary schools, P.S. 41 at 11th St. at Sixth Ave. and P.S. 3 at Hudson and Grove Sts. In addition, to support affordable housing, Rudin has agreed to donate $1 million to MFY Legal Services to help protect rentregulated tenants in the Village. Rudin has also agreed to transfer the owner-
ship of the proposed triangle park on the west side of Seventh Ave. between 11th and 12th Sts. to the city Department of Parks. A spokesperson for the developer noted that as a city park, the triangle couldn’t be used for other purposes. Moreover, Rudin has agreed for a public process involving Community Board 2 to review a design for an AIDS memorial in the triangle. Regarding the retail uses proposed for its high-rise residential building on the west side of Seventh Ave., Rudin has agreed to prohibit retail signage on 12th St. and to restrict signage on 11th St. Quinn recalled at the Wednesday news conference that elected officials and Village activists two years ago “lost a long and valiant fight to keep our beloved St. Vincent’s open.” But while she promised to continue to advocate for a full-service hospital, she welcomed the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System’s Comprehensive Care Center and 24-hour emergency department planned for the O’Toole building on the west side of Seventh Ave. “The agreement reached today between the
City Council, Rudin Development and the Bloomberg administration will bring educational capacity, open space, historic preservation and major community victories,” Quinn said. Brad Hoylman, chairperson of Community Board 2 — which in October voted to disapprove the upzoning needed for the Rudin project — said the agreement went a long way to meeting the board’s basic issues: affordable housing, public schools and open public space. Hoylman also promised that the fight for a full-service hospital would continue. Bill Rudin, C.E.O. of the development company, said, “Today’s vote puts us one step closer not only to bringing these benefits to fruition, but returning quality healthcare to the Village, creating more that 1,600 jobs and revitalizing the small businesses that were so negatively impacted by St. Vincent’s closure.” Quinn also thanked Assemblymember Glick, state Senator Tom Duane, Borough President Scott Stringer and Congressmember Jerrold Nadler for their efforts regarding 75 Morton St. Hoylman also paid tribute to Glick on the Morton St. deal and lauded the efforts of
Village public school parents and Community Board 2 members, especially Keen Berger, a leading member of the board’s Education Committee and its former chairperson. Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, had some doubts about Rudin’s promise to preserve the Reiss building for residential use. “Whatever Rudin does will have to be approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission,” said Berman. He noted however that L.P.C. had called Reiss “noncontributing” to the character of the Greenwich Village Historic District. The commission usually approves demolition of “noncontributing” buildings, Berman said. “We hope there is some explicit and enforceable agreement between the Council and the developer about the preservation of Reiss and what that means,” Berman said. Christopher Tepper and Paul Kelterborn, cofounders of the AIDS Memorial Park Coalition, said they were pleased with the Wednesday agreement. The coalition conducted a landscape competition earlier this year for an AIDS memorial in the proposed triangle park.
March 15 - 21, 2012
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Astor Pl. ‘trophy office building’ angling for early ’13 completion BY LINCOLN ANDERSON With the last remnants of The Cooper Union’s old Engineering Building finally demolished, construction is moving ahead on its far glitzier replacement. Edward J. Minskoff Equities Inc. is developing a 400,000-square-foot office building at 51 Astor Place on a design by Fumihiko Maki. Influenced by the site’s triangular shape, the new edifice will feature a geometric design, sporting a sharply angled glass facade. In January, Minskoff closed on a $165 million construction loan. Jones Lang LaSalle will market and lease the 12-story structure, which a Minskoff press release touted as a “trophy office building.” According to the release, not only will 51 Astor Place have advanced technology and infrastructure, but will also provide tenants with above-standard electrical power and “generator capacity.” Located at Astor Place and Third Ave., 51 Astor Place is expected to be completed by early next year. The building will be constructed to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification. Amenities at 51 Astor Place will include a tenant-accessible green roof on the fifth floor, a penthouse and a Thomas Baselydesigned urban plaza at Astor Place. The building is required to have this 4,000-square-foot plaza as a result of a restrictive declaration hashed out in 2002 between The Cooper Union, the Department of City Planning and Community Board 3 under the school’s general large-scale development plan. Four years ago, Cooper Union announced it had entered a $97 million ground lease with Minskoff for 51 Astor Place. At that
time, the new building was expected to be ready for occupancy by 2010. But the economy’s crash and the real estate market’s downturn apparently put the project on the backburner for a few years. The ground lease entitles Cooper Union to participate in the new building’s future income. “This transaction is a critically important step toward creating a sustainable financial infrastructure for the future,” George Campbell Jr., Cooper’s then-president, said in February 2008. “The development of 51 Astor Place as an income-producing, mixeduse commercial and academic property will be a significant milestone in our master plan, allowing us to continue our unique mission in higher education for generations to come.” The Cooper Union also has a ground lease with the Gwathmey Siegal-designed glass residential tower on the former parking lot on the south side of Astor Place at Lafayette St. However, last fall, Cooper’s new president, Jamshed Bharucha, revealed the school was in terrible financial shape — with an annual deficit of $16 million. Charging tuition at the historically free-tuition institution had to be considered as an option, he said. Speaking in February 2008, Edward J. Minskoff, the development company’s president, said of 51 Astor Place, “It’s going to be one of the great architectural buildings of New York in the last 20 years. I do distinctive buildings — that’s all I know how to do. It’s critical to attracting top tenants. I think, at the end of the day, everyone will agree it’s an architectural gem.” The Cooper Union’s engineering school is now housed in the college’s new $150 million Thom Mayne-designed building, completed on the east side of Cooper Square in 2006.
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March 15 - 21, 2012
EDITORIAL Welcome, Maggie Boepple Lower Manhattan has become accustomed to waiting. As far as the “Freedom Tower,” or One W.T.C., we waited for an appropriate design and an appropriate name. As for the National September 11 Memorial, we waited for the 10-year anniversary and an unveiling that would satisfy family members and the world. Now Lower Manhattan is awaiting yet another centerpiece of the World Trade Center site to take shape: the Performing Arts Center. This week there was good news regarding this piece of the puzzle. Maggie Boepple was named senior adviser to the PAC board of directors by the National September 11 Memorial Foundation. We would like to welcome Boepple. She has the right background and expertise to take on this project forthrightly, and quickly. But the job she has been tasked with is not an easy one. All of New York City, and most important, all of Lower Manhattan, will now be looking to her to move this project forward. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has described the PAC as a “reward” to the Lower Manhattan residents and business owners that chose to remain, to rebuild and to not abandon a neighborhood when it would have been easy, and understandable, to do so. The PAC is a crucial component in the neighborhood’s revitalization. It has the capacity to serve as an example of dedication and resilience — and beauty and art — in the face of adversity. That being said, we are concerned. To date the vision behind the PAC, and its failure to materialize as a tangible reality, has led to a “PAC fatigue” that has defined the project. Three out of the four original tenants have been booted from the project or jumped ship, and sources within the National September 11 Foundation have acknowledged that the Joyce Theater cannot carry the brunt of the center’s programming. Some voices are calling for the project to be abandoned, saying it will never have the capacity to support itself, and is unnecessary. It must be noted that the original, grandiose plans concerning the PAC have fallen victim to economic woes unforeseen when the project first took shape. The federal monies allocated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which enabled the PAC’s existence under the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, looked ample in the beginning of the voyage, but are tight, if not exhausted, at this point. A total of $155 million was committed by the L.M.D.C. but there is several times that number to be raised. As Boepple takes on this project, we ask her, and the PAC board, to put all options on the table. There are enormous fundraising, programming and timeline challenges. Maybe raising an additional $300 million is not necessary. Maybe interweaving avant-garde programming with community-based arts is an avenue worth exploring. Boepple is well qualified to try to make sense of these challenges. We hope she weighs all options, speaks to as many community stakeholders as possible and advises the current and future PAC board members to keep an open mind. By doing that, this arts center could become an institution that truly reflects the Lower Manhattan of today.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Please, think of the birds! To The Editor: Re “City spins idea for wind rotors atop buildings” (news article, Feb. 23); and “The answer isn’t blowin’ in the wind, not at C.B. 2” (news article, March 1): The possibility of wind turbines being installed anywhere in Manhattan is alarming. While many municipalities are doing what they can to minimize dangers and help birds safely navigate a high-rise city, it appears that the New York City Planning Department does not believe that nature exists here — or, if there is money to be made, doesn’t care. In fact, Manhattan Island, especially along the rivers, is a flight path for migrating birds and the monarch butterfly. The addition of tall buildings along the waterfront is a crime against nature as the buildings significantly add to bird mortality. For example, during the day, reflections from the buildings’ shiny surfaces blind birds, or the birds, instead of seeing the building, see the sky and clouds reflected on it. At night, especially when there is fog, indoor lights confuse birds into interpreting the lights as pathways through tree branches. Birds then fly directly to the light and crash into the building. New York City Audubon, which began its “Lights Out NY” campaign in 2005, estimates that “90,000 birds die in collisions with buildings here each year.” Not only do we not need to build any more tall buildings in our neighborhood, the addition of wind turbines on rooftops, reaching stories into the sky, along this migratory flight path would be a cruel step in the wrong direction. While it’s wonderful for buildings to become more green, and even as wind turbines have been improved so as to lower the mortality rate of birds, we need new standards to make buildings safer for birds. City households, to help prevent needless bird deaths, can draw their drapes in the evening (especially during migration times — spring migration is starting now), not put trees inside a glass wall or window and use fritting (placing designs, frosting, etc. on glass). For more information go to flap.org/ . Lynn Pacifico
Fought for freedom to read To The Editor: Re “Barney Rosset, publisher of Miller, Ginsberg, Beckett” (obituary, March 1): Barney Rosset was the hero of the 20th century’s freedom to read. His lawyer won Grove v Christianberry by stating
EVAN FORSCH
that Grove Press’s audience read for the literary, artistic, political or social value of a book, and not for prurient interest. Rosset risked losing enough money to go bankrupt by fighting this case through the courts. Two years earlier, Samuel Roth, an infamous publisher, was sent back to prison because the government attorney convinced a jury that if excerpts from Beardsley’s “The Story of Venus and Tannhauser” were allowed for a general audience, “the sewers would open.” But without the minority opinion in the Roth case, Grove would not have won its appeal. Grove’s edition of “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” (which Roth had published underground in 1929) was marketed as a literary classic, and defended on the basis of “variable obscenity”: Its serious audience would not read for prurient interest. That was the most liberating fiction in First Amendment history, although Lawrence and Roth would sneer at it. I am preparing a biography of Samuel Roth which has been accepted for publication by the University Press of Florida. Jay A. Gertzman
Dealing with Alzheimer’s To The Editor: Re “Losing Bialystoker home; Losing the love in L.E.S.” (talking point, K Webster, March 1): Thanks for this. It’s pretty great. Both of my parents died of Alzheimer’s, in a nursing home. First my father. Then my mother. My mother lived with him in the nursing home in the same room — before she was diagnosed — until he died. She then moved to an assisted-living wing in the same facility until she had to move back to the dementia wing. It was a hard time, and a sad time. There were times of anger and frustration, especially in the earlier stages. But I have many memories of visiting them with my wife and our young boys and seeing the joy on their faces whenever we walked into their room. The other aspect of this subject is the fact that, with us baby boomers coming of age, this will be a huge economic and emotional burden on our families and the country. For several reasons, funding for research on the causes and treatment of Alzheimer’s is a fraction of what is spent on heart disease, strokes or cancer — although the numbers of people with Alzheimer’s will soon be many, many times more. And there won’t be enough nurses and nurses’ aides from cul-
Continued Continued on on page page 16 27
March 15 - 21, 2012
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River runs are a constant in an ever-changing world THEATER NOTEBOOK BY MICHELE HERMAN When I first started running, my route was a length of old riverfront asphalt marked off by splintered piers, and the World Trade Center — that bland beacon — was always up ahead. My kids were 6 and 3 and I was a fulltime mom, and it felt delicious to be out by the Hudson all by myself for a half hour, no one begging for another game of Candyland.
I ran in leggings until my leggings fell apart and no one seemed to have leggings anymore.
Boggle if only there were a kid around who would deign to join me. Alas, there’s only one left at home, and, being a consummate teenager, he makes himself quite scarce. So, in this newish decade of the newish century, I go out for an occasional run to breathe the air and watch the world go by and muse on everything from my BMI to the meaning of life. Running is one of the most rudimentary and linear activities a human can do, but it’s subject to change like everything else. In the early years I ran in sneakers but then, trying to be a more responsible steward of my feet, I switched to hideously overdesigned running shoes. Now I wonder if I should invest in those funny new rubber foot gloves, because according to The New York Times we humans were built to run pain free on bare feet provided we rethink our stride. (Although according to a different article in a different section of the same paper the following week, none of this is true.) I ran in leggings until my leggings fell apart and no
one seemed to have leggings anymore, and I’ve kept running long enough that people are wearing leggings again. At some point I bought myself some running pants on sale. This is the closest I’ve come to an athletic uniform since my junior high gym suit, and I feel very jockish with my wicking material, zipper key pocket and toggles at the bottom so I can tighten the legs around my lower calves, though I haven’t yet felt the urge. So far my Polish peasant legs are serving me well athletically if not aesthetically, but I sometimes feel clicking and loose connections behind my kneecaps and tell myself I should quit now while I’m ahead, jointwise. Sometimes I do sit out a few weeks to let an injury heal or to hold out for better weather or, in the fall of 2001, to wait for the fumes from Ground Zero to subside. Sometimes when a formal run feels like too much bother, I’ll turn the midday dog walk into a mini-sprint in my street clothes, the only trouble being that the dog
Continued on page 18
This was 1998, which in retrospect seems like a very good year. Monica Lewinsky notwithstanding, it was a time so quiescent I don’t remember feeling I was living in a particular era at all. Technology hadn’t yet insinuated itself into everyone’s every waking moment. I remember watching parents and their teenagers and feeling convinced that the generation gap was an outdated notion from the ’60s. The U.S. had its first budget surplus in 30 years, Exxon and Mobil merged, Viagra was approved, the euro created, an obscure Islamic radical named Osama bin Laden published something called a fatwa, and a little company with a funny name (Google) was founded. Little did we know; little do we ever know. Soon I ran into a new century — one that should be filed under the great Chinese curse “May you live in interesting times” — and I often wish I could run back out again, even though there’s no denying that in this century the city has grown far more hospitable for recreation. Now I run through a tree-lined park up a gently sloped wooden boardwalk planted on either side with grasses that rustle in the breeze and make me feel, for just a minute, that I’m at the beach. But then I look up and see the so-called Freedom Tower grow crazily tall and shiny and know that life in 2012 is no day at the beach. Drivers beside me on West Street are texting though they know they shouldn’t be. At high tide the Hudson rises alarmingly close to the level of the esplanade. Upheavals tumble into the news at such a rapid rate it’s hard to keep all the natural disasters, deposed or killed dictators, disgraced U.S. politicians, teetering world economies and changing paradigms in my head at once. Me — I have more freedom these days, at least on the micro level. I would happily play a game or two or 20 of
Photo by Tequila Minsky
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Zelda Kaplan, the clothing designer and style icon, was sitting front row at Joanna Mastroianni’s Fashion Week show last month when Kaplan, 95, collapsed and died. The photographer, who used to see the globe-trotting Kaplan at the Margaret Mead Festival, spotted this double-sided photo portrait, complete with hands, at a sidewalk sale on Spring St. this summer. She subsequently confirmed it was of Zelda Kaplan.
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March 15 - 21, 2012
River runs are a constant in an ever-changing world Continued from page 17 likes to run toward home but not away from it. Running is conducive to taking in the scenery and asking myself lots of idle questions. Do the mockingbirds fly south for the winter or are they just resting their vocal cords, like Liza Minnelli? How did horse chestnuts get their name? What is that lovely dark green ground cover that produces fruit like a row of miniature radishes? And those fantastic trees out on the Charles Street pier that grow their own miniature paper lanterns? If the dog fell into the river, would I have the guts to jump in to save him?
The world casts a bigger shadow on my runs than it used to. I also do a lot of private architectural criticism. I look at Stuyvesant High School’s boxy yellow building and wonder if anyone who wasn’t around in the 1980s will even know that there was once a style called postmodernism, with its fussy squares and circles and its ironic use of classical motifs. Speaking of which, isn’t it time for irony to go out of fashion? I puzzle over the chalkboard gray, non-trufflelike building called Truffles with its equally inscrutable sales banner — Repent. Rent. Repeat. I nod to my favorite new building, the one on the corner of Laight and West with the pagoda-like top, which manages the neat trick of looking clean and modern without disrespecting its 19th-century neighbors. I have kept up the running so much longer than I expected to that I feel like a whole different sort of person from the one I thought I was going to be. For one, I never expected to have such an active exercise life or so many muscles. If I do have to stop running I will still have my
bike, weights, yoga and, in the summer, the city pools. But none are as simultaneously tingly and calming as a good run. I like the whole idea of it. I like waking up on a weekend and casually telling my husband, “I’m going out for a run” and coming home all sweaty, red-cheeked and ravenous, with an accomplishment already under my belt for the day. I used to run with a Walkman, listening to music to rev me up or a class to pass the time. Now I run with nothing in my pocket but my house key and nothing in my ears but the ambient sounds of Manhattan. I am trying to like the experience of running as much as the idea and the aftermath. Sometimes I simply focus on my breath, advice that irked me no end during childbirth but which now feels like a portal to peace, a portal I can find entry to once in a while. I am pleased to say that I breathe better than I used to. I no longer get winded, and I can run with my mouth closed and avoid winter throat burn. I have also grown strong enough to come down lightly and rock the bottoms of my feet. Other runners still gain on me, but the good news is that this bothers me less than it used to. Sometimes I can even run my way out of a funk, provided the roots of the funk were shallow. I aim myself toward peace and enlightenment, but to date my shadow remains firmly attached, waxing and waning. And the world casts a bigger shadow on my runs than it used to. I worry less about how many calories I’m burning and more about whether we humans are running straight into a science fiction novel, and whether it will be of the anti-utopian variety. I worry about European economies and the American democracy, and about whether I am living in the midst of a great empire in decline. I cross my fingers for the wisdom and perseverance of peaceful protesters everywhere, and for a new era to grow from the unpromising seeds of this one. Each time I lace up my Asics and run, I like to think I grow infinitesimally stronger. And I wish that civilization at large operated, like running, under the principle of slow progress through steady effort.
It takes a Villager and an East Villager Your local news source
March 15 - 21, 2012
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VILLAGER ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Vultures of fate wheel, deal and scream omens Clouds gather on eve of India & Pakistan Partition THEATER
It takes place on the eve of Partition, which happens also to be the eve of a wedding of two attractive young Hindu people, Jiwan and Yamuna — think George and Emily of “Our Town” — in a village much like the real one the playwright’s father and his parents fled in 1947.
PARTS OF PARTS & STITCHES Written by Riti Sachdeva Directed by Cat Parker A Maieutic Theatre Works presentation Through March 31 At the Theater at 14th Street (334 E. 14th St., btw. 1st and 2nd Aves.) For tickets ($18, $12 students/seniors), call 866-811-4111 or visit mtworks.org BY JERRY TALLMER In August 1947, when at long last the British coldly washed their hands of India by partitioning that powder keg into two separate halves (one Hindu, one Muslim), two peoples who had been living together in some simulacrum of peace for hundreds of years suddenly began slaughtering one another in a massive geographic shift of populations. The death toll — rape and murder toll — is believed to have reached one million. “Parts and Stitches” playwright Riti Sachdeva’s father was 12 years old. “He remembers it well,” says that daughter. “My mom was too young.” Hans Sachdeva (“Hans means Swan and Sach means Truth and Deva means God, in Hindi”) made it with his parents out of what was shortly to become Pakistan, ending up in a city called Bhilai in the state of Chhattisgarh in east-central India — where he would, as a man, work in the office of a famous Indian steel plant. And where Riti Sachdeva would one day herself be born, twenty-two years after Partition. Pakistan is not very popular with Americans right now, a journalist remarks for no good reason, maybe because Riti Sachdeva is what the journalist’s mother would have called a raving beauty, with a diamond nestling at her nose. “Everybody takes turns with their popularity,” Ms. Sachdeva says with a wisp of laughter. The full title of this, her first full-length play, is for precise if somewhat clumsy reasons, “Parts of Parts and Stitches.” It takes place on the eve of Partition, which happens also to be the eve of a wedding of two attractive young Hindu people, Jiwan and Yamuna — think George and Emily of “Our Town” — in a village much like the real one the playwright’s father and his parents fled in 1947. Yes, there will be violence aplenty in
Photo by Shelly Feldman
Center: Mariam Habib (Yamuna); Vultures (L-R): Antonio Miniño, Eric Percival, Deanna McGovern.
“Parts and Stitches,” even as the wedding gown is being frantically stitched into perfection. Characters, Muslim as well as Hindu, will die hideous deaths, far offstage but very near for all that. Early on, the groom and his mother are involved in conversation with a tailor’s
apprentice who happens to be, like his employer, a Muslim. “Leave while you have the chance,” urges the knowledgeable apprentice. “Before we… before the danger arrives here.” He had started to say: “Before we deal with all you Hindus,” but thinks the better
of it. “We’ve been here for generations,” the groom throws in. “The past is useless after what’s happened,” says the apprentice. “It can’t happen here,” declares Veena, the mother of the groom. (“A fabulous actress named Purva Bedi,” injects the playwright.) IT CAN’T HAPPEN HERE! Jumps out at you, doesn’t it? It happens to be the title of a famous 1935 novel by America’s Nobel Prize Winner for Literature, Sinclair Lewis. A book on which some of us grew up. A book about the coming of Fascism — of Nazism — to the United States of America. And also, in real life, what some of my relatives in Germany were saying as late as 1932. Is the inclusion in “Parts and Stitches” of that line a tribute to Sinclair Lewis? “I think it was, a bit,” says Riti Sachdeva. Pause. “We think we’re too smart to be manipulated. Then next thing you know…” And next thing you know in “Parts of Parts and Stitches,” four vultures of fate are wheeling and dealing and smoking cigarettes and devouring the wedding sweetmeats and screaming omens like the witches in “Macbeth” or a Greek chorus without Greeks. “This play is the story of my family — my Dad,” says Riti Sachdeva. Did your father lose treasured people, Hindus like himself, in the maelstrom of Partition? “Yes, he did. But what I want to empha-
Continued on page 20
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March 15 - 21, 2012
On eve of Partition, storm clouds gather Continued from page 19 size, what the play wants to emphasize, is that every side lost some people.” Parts and stitches of a million people. “Yes.” Do you, these days, have any Muslim friends? “Oh yes. We discuss the stupidity of it, the waste.” But, says a skeptic — this one — all religions spill a lot of blood in stupidity and waste, don’t you think? “Oh yes.” In 1975, the Sachdeva family up and moved from India to Boston, Mass., U.S.A. “I was 6. What do I remember? I remember that the supermarkets were full of hundreds of boxes of cereal.” She received her schooling in North Cambridge and Arlington, Mass. — and, “In 1997, I jumped on an Amtrak for Albuquerque, New Mexico, with a friend named Lisa Seepaul, from Trinidad. Why? I don’t know. I guess I just always wanted to see New Mexico. Maybe when I was little I saw some television special on New Mexico. “Anyway, I went there expecting to
spend just a few days, and stayed for fifteen years. Got my B.A. in Fine Arts and Theater, from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, and studied at the National Institute of Flamenco, also in Albuquerque. “I started writing for my solo pieces, including one about the indentured laborers of Trinidad, and my thesis was a flamenco play called ‘La Fea,’ which means The Evil One.” Albuquerque is where she also started writing “Parts of Parts and Stitches.” For research, she went to members and friends of her own family. “I collected stories — oral histories — in audiotalk interviews. Many of the situations in the play, and some of the characters, are based on their stories.” She is proud of Maieutic Theatre Works for having twice produced this play, first in its own NewBorn Festival and now OffBroadway on 14th Street. “It’s a fourteencharacter piece, a stretch for everyone — and a huge risk for them.” Good things come in more ways than one. Riti Sachdeva is now in the Emerging Writers group at the Public Theater, and she’s just found a sublet in Crown Heights. Vultures, stay away from her door.
Photo courtesy of Canal Park Playhouse
Mark Hayward (left) and Jonathan Burns (right) prepare to break a world record… any world record!
STUNT LAB Pay attention, kids: Mark Hayward and Jonathan Burns are living proof that you CAN spend a good deal of your youth playing with toys and making farting noises with your armpits — and still grow up to be a success. If it worked for them, it can work for you! Yo-yo champ Hayward and celebrated contortionist Burns have traveled the world demonstrating their skills. Now, they’ve joined forces in order to break a world record at every performance of “Stunt Lab” — when they’re not busy using everyday objects and their own
ingenuity to create dangerous, amazing and wild experiments. “Stunt Lab” is part of Canal Park Playhouse’s Classic Brunch Matinee series. At the theater’s Waffle Iron Café you can chow down on waffles, frittatas, French toast, salads and sliders before or after the show. Hayward and Burns perform their crazy stunts every Sat. and Sun, 1pm and 4pm, through April 1. At Canal Park Playhouse (508 Canal St., btw. Greenwich & West Sts.). For tickets ($20), call 866-811-4111 or visit canalparkplayhouse.com. Also visit markandjonathan.com.
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March 15 - 21, 2012
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Anniversaries and annual things Music, dance, film and forum contemplate and celebrate COMPILED BY SCOTT STIFFLER
THE FLEA THEATER’S “DANCE CONVERSATIONS 2012” “Raw, half-baked or fully developed” — that admirably frank description, from the creators of “Dance Conversations,” gives you a pretty good idea why this annual performance and discussion festival has been so rewarding for artists and audiences alike. Curators Nina Winthrop and Taimi Strehlow presents works-in-progress by dance artists experimenting with new ideas and new forms. On any given night (for free!), you’ll see works in progress and fully developed pieces from four emerging or mid-career choreographers. Then, a moderator from the field of dance will lead an open discussion between those in the seats and those on the stage. On Wed., March 14 at 7pm, the festival’s cinematic component offers dance films — including Pyeunghun Baik’s “Tree” and Natalie Metzger’s “Surgeon General’s Warning.” Playing in the lobby, on a loop: Marta Renzi’s “Nobody’s Darling.” On Thurs., March 15 at 7pm: Valerie Green moderates the discussion, after performances from Katie Balton Dance, Claire Porter/PORTABLES, Amos Pinhasi and Leyya Mona Tawil & Lars J. Brouwer. On Fri., March 16 at 7pm, John Jasperse moderates. The featured performers are Barbara Mahler, Columbine Macher, Athena Kokoronis and the Daniela Hoff Dance Company. On Sat., March 17 at 7pm, Wally Cardona moderates. Featured performances by Mare Hieronimus and Sharon Mansur, Donna Costello, Catey Ott Dance Collective and Inclined Dance Project. For info on the remaining dates (March 22, 23, 24, 25), visit theflea.org. “Dance Conversations 2012” is a FREE event. At The Flea Theater (41 White St., btw. Broadway and Church St.).
Photo by Mario Tama
Yale Strom of Hot Pstromi performing at the Eldridge Street Synagogue, a favorite venue.
Photo by Yi-Chun Wu
Inclined Dance Project, appearing March 17 as part of “Dance Conversations.”
SIXTH ANNUAL WOMEN ON THE MOVE FORUM Taking place every March in honor of Women’s History Month, this forum — presented by Women on the Move — furthers that organization’s mission to empower the female community. This particular event is designed for NYC college students seeking careers in politics, music, fashion, film and business. Participants will have the opportunity to connect with mentors and potential employers. This year’s speakers include author and Essence Editor Demteria L. Lucas (aka “Belle”), stylist Rachel Johnson and MTV’s Hip-Hop POV Executive Producer Tiffany Lea Williams. Free. Wed., March 21, 7-10pm. At NYU’s Kimmel Center (60 Washington Square South, 10th floor). For info, visit womenonthemove.org.
HOT PSTROMI AND “A BINTEL BRIEF” AT THE MUSEUM AT ELDRIDGE STREET The Museum at Eldridge Street’s continues its yearlong celebration marking the 125th anniversary of the Eldridge Street Synagogue — and, in the process, acknowledging the artistic contributions of America’s Jewish immigrant community. On March 18, old world sounds get a new school spin when Hot Pstromi updates Lower East Side sounds that were all the rage when the 1887 Eldridge Street Synagogue first opened. Bandleader Yale Strom’s compositions mash traditional klezmer, jazz, nonJewish, Gypsy, world beat and Balkan music. Opening March 21, artist Liana Finck exhibits original drawings from “A Bintel Brief” — her debut graphic novel (in progress), based on a popular advice column in The Forward. Yale Strom and Hot Pstromi appear Sun., March 18, at 3pm. Tickets are $20, $15 for students/seniors. “A Bintel Brief” opens Wed., March 21 at 7pm and is on display through May 31. Admission to the opening is free; then, included with regular museum admission ($10, $8 for students/seniors). Both events take place at the Museum at
Image courtesy of the artist and the Museum at Eldridge Street
A page from “A Bintel Brief” — Liana Finck’s graphic novel-in-progress (an exhibit, March 21–May 31).
Eldridge Street (based in the 1887 Eldridge St. Synagogue; 12 Eldridge St., btw. Canal & Division Sts.). For info, call 212-2190888 or visit eldridgestreet.org.
Downtown Music Productions Mimi Stern-Wolfe, artistic director conductor, pianist East Village Concert Series Featuring RESTLESS YEARNING TOWARDS MY SELF Sasha Spielvogel (Labyrinth Dance Theater): choreographer Music by: Madeleine Dring, Debra Kaye, Gilbert/Hollister R. Schuman, Mrs. H.H.A. Beach, Liza Lehmann Fanny Mendelssohn, Lucy Coolidge SUNDAY MARCH 18, 2012 @ 3PM St. Marks in the Bowery: 10th St. & 2nd Ave. Suggested Donation: $15; TDF, Sen/Stu, $10 Photo courtesy of Women on the Move
From 2011’s Women on the Move event, at NYU.
(212) 477-1594, dmpmimi@verizon.net downtownmusicproductions.org
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March 15 - 21, 2012
Family Matters Under David Cromer’s direction, Nina Raine’s ‘Tribes’ is season’s best THEATER BY CHRISTOPHER BYRNE In the course of our lives, we are — or become — part of any number of tribes. Each has its rules, hierarchies, communications, and secret handshakes. I mean the last metaphorically, of course, but one of the ways we identify ourselves is by the tribes we are part of. Whether it’s a family, school, workplace, or — in the case of Nina Raine’s shatteringly moving new play, “Tribes” — the deaf community, how we see ourselves is often in direct relationship to our place within a tribe. As we grow and change, discover and define ourselves, our tribes may change, as may our roles within them, but how we know ourselves is always in relation to the other members. Conflict and, in this case, profound theater can result from those roles changing or the individuals inhabiting those roles evolving, upsetting the stasis essential to a tribe and to the dependability and predictability that give us comfort. Raine’s play begins in an overly educated British intellectual home where the members of the family — parents and three adult children — find themselves living under one roof again. As often happens, each member of the family picks up their familiar roles. The opening scenes of the play are hilarious as the family bickers and argues in ways that
TRIBES Written by Nina Raine Directed by David Cromer Through June 3 Tues.-Sun, at 7:30pm Sat.-Sun., at 2:30pm At the Barrow Street Theatre 27 Barrow St., btw. Seventh Ave. & W. Fourth St. For tickets ($75, $95), call 212-868-4444 or visit smarttix.com Photo by Gregory Costanzo
Susan Pourfar, Gayle Rankin, Jeff Perry, and Russell Harvard in Nina Raine’s “Tribes,” directed by David Cromer.
have their roots in decades-old behaviors. Christopher, the father, is a former college professor turned writer, too clever by half, curmudgeonly, and critical. Beth, the mother, is also a writer, constantly trying to negotiate among the family members. Daniel, one son, has a history of mental illness and is trying to complete a graduate thesis, while daughter Ruth is floun-
dering and at the time the play opens hoping to become an opera singer. Billy, on the other hand, is deaf. He has been raised as if normal and is an adept lip reader, but still he is unable to participate fully in the rambunctious arguments that pass for familial affection. When Billy meets Sylvia, his world changes. The hearing daughter of deaf parents, she communicates in sign language and grieves for the fading of her own hearing that will lead to complete deafness. Billy falls in love with her, and, as he finds himself immersed in the deaf community, a place where he is accepted and understood, he comes to see his family and his role in it as limiting. But, of course, it is not that simple. Raine’s story beautifully navigates the crisis that Billy’s change touches off as each character tries to discover who they are in a shifting context. Along the way, the playwright explores the artificial constructs held together by shared illusions in any tribe. Being branded “the quiet one,” “the social one,” or whatever within a family becomes deeply entrenched within the collective consciousness of the tribe — and those images persist long after time has made them untrue. In Raine’s play, when Billy finds his voice, it is met with disbelief that leads to chaos. The play is so finely detailed and human that it creates empathy for each of the characters but also for the family organism as well. Director David Cromer is firmly in his element here. No other working director can accumulate the details of lives so powerfully as he does. His orchestration of Raine’s play leads the audience fully into the family’s
world and touches something so fundamental about the longing and loss we all experience in growing beyond our families that it is almost overpowering, more so because it creeps up on us so subtly throughout the play. In addition to Cromer’s superb work, a magnificent in-the-round set by Scott Pask that pulls us deeply into the action, and brilliant sound design by Daniel Kluger, the cast is simply magnificent. Jeff Perry is outstanding as Christopher, as he tries to hold on as the world shifts around him. Mare Winningham is heartfelt and moving as Beth. Teetering on the brink of a breakdown, Will Brill is fragile and complex as Daniel — and Gayle Rankin is sharp and touching as Ruth. The evening, however, belongs to Russell Harvard as Billy and Susan Pourfar as Sylvia. Harvard is an astonishing presence, at once powerful and vulnerable. It is his change, conveyed with integrity and focus, that drives the play. Simply put, Harvard’s is the best performance by an actor I’ve seen this season. Pourfar, who is an extraordinary actress I’m always thrilled to see, has never been better than as Sylvia. She is brilliant as she loses her hearing and, with it, what she has known about herself. Technically, the performance is razor-sharp, with her speech changing as the character goes deaf — in devastating synchronicity with her emotional journey. How we hear, how we see ourselves, how others see us, and how we find our way in and out of the tribes that populate our existence is the stuff of living. These issues are also the stuff of the best play of the season. Do not miss it.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Sat. March 17, we’re open 4 p.m. - 4 a.m. Free corned beef with all the trimmings
$3 GREEN MILLER LITES & $3 GREEN SHOTS
281 W 12th St @ 4th St. NYC 212-243-9041
March 15 - 21, 2012
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Just Do Art! COMPILED BY SCOTT STIFFLER
MERCHANTS HOUSE UNVEILS RESTORED IRISH SERVANTS QUARTERS The Merchant House Museum’s intimate glimpse of domestic life as lived from 18351865 is about to get a little more intimate, as they reopen their fourth floor Servants Quarters to the public for the first time since its extensive restoration began. In the first floor parlor, and in the second floor bedrooms, you can see the original furnishings and personal possessions of the wealthy Tredwells. But it’s the fourth floor that was home to the family’s ever-changing roster of Irish servants. Climb the narrow staircase and see how the other half lived (and did some of their work). In addition to substantial structural repairs, the Servants Quarters also underwent a comprehensive paint analysis — making it the first space in the house to be repainted in its authentic 1850s colors. The Grand Reopening takes place Sat., March 17, from 12-5pm. At the Merchant’s House Museum (29 E. Fourth St., btw. Lafayette & Bowery). For info, call 212-777-1089 or visit merchantshouse.org. Regular Museum hours: 12-5pm (closed Tues. & Wed.). Admission: $10 ($5 for students/seniors).
Photo by Russ Rowland
Patricia Buckley, in her solo play “Evolution.”
THAT BEAUTIFUL LAUGH Director Orlando Pabotoy’s high-octane clown show was inspired by his five-yearold son’s philosophical musings on the nature of laughter (which were inspired by Pabotoy’s nightly routine of making up bedtime stories). “That Beautiful Laugh” (The Artigiani Troupe’s inaugural theatrical production) is a family-friendly tale of a world where laughter is forgotten and rediscovered. Expect rhythmically-driven comedy, clowning and original music — along with new renditions of old favorites. “Laugh” stars Alan Tudyk, who can be on the ABC television series “Suburgatory.” Musician Harrison Beck, on the accordion and vocals, accompanies the cast of skilled clowns. March 16-25; Thurs.-Sat. at 10pm, Sun. at 5:30pm (running time, 90 minutes). At The Club at La MaMa (74A E.4 St., btw. Bowery & 2nd Ave.). For tickets ($18, $13 for students/seniors), call 212-475-7710 or visit lamama.org. Also visit thatbeautifullaugh.com.
EVOLUTION Cherry Lane Theatre’s Mentor Project pairs leading dramatists with emerging writers. The end product of one such collaboration can be seen on stage through March 24. Writer/performer Patricia Buckley, director Michele Chivu and mentor Jean-Claude van Itallie were inspired by the work of visual artists, creation myths and scientific facts. “Evolution” charts a woman’s efforts to transform herself (and attempts by others to prevent it). Personas, identities and the selfcontained world of the family all figure into the mix — with a nod to the paleontological
Photo by Bryan Kwon
This fetching leprechaun is actually Angela Harriell. See “The Love Show.”
history of whales! Through March 24, at the Cherry Lane Studio Theatre (38 Commerce St.). Tues.Sat., 7pm; 3pm Sat. matinees. For tickets ($18, plus $1 facility fee), call 212-352-3101 or visit cherrylanetheatre.org.
Image courtesy of The Artigiani Troupe
“That Beautiful Laugh” is serious about clowning around.
THE LOVE SHOW PRESENTS: “ERIN GO BRALESS!” Do the folks at Urban Outfitters know about the title of The Love Show’s St. Patrick’s Day installment? “Erin Go Braless!” would make a fine addition to their controversial line of T-shirts that have fingers wagging and tongues talking. As for The Love Show, a little spice and sex is to be expected from this ongoing dance, burlesque, comedy, magic and music event. The March 17 installment promises a fine Irish spin on their usual offerings (tightly choreographed and costumed numbers, a little cabaret and lots of skin). Emcée David F. Slone, Esq. welcomes Angela Harriell & The Love Show Dancers, master magician The Great Dubini and special surprise guests. Sat., March 17 (doors open at 8pm, show at 9pm). Tickets: $10. At Drom (85 Ave. A, btw. 5th & 6th Aves.). For info, call 212777-1157 or visit theloveshownyc.com and dromnyc.com.
Photo courtesy of the Merchant’s House Museum
Before the restoration: Merchant House Museum’s fourth floor Servants Quarters.
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March 15 - 21, 2012
PUBL IC NOTICE S NOTICE OF FORMATION OF LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY. NAME: PALACE BED & BREAKFAST, LLC. Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 01/30/12. Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to the LLC, 132 West 119th Street, New York, New York 10026. Purpose: For any lawful purpose. Vil: 02/09 - 03/15/2012 PUTNAM-EVERGREEN, LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 1/12/12. Office in NY Co. SSNY desig. agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to c/o Cornicello, Tendler et ano, LLP, 2 Wall St., 20th Fl., NY, NY 10005-2072. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. Principal business location: SDG Mgmt, 888 7th Ave., 24th Fl., NY, NY 10019. Vil: 02/09 - 03/15/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF SARATHI LLC Articles of Organization filed with Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 01/27/12 Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. The address to which SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC is to:2869 Harway Avenue,Brooklyn, NY, 11214. Purpose: To engage in any lawful act or activity. Vil: 02/09 - 03/15/2012 REUSSI MANAGEMENT, LLC, a domestic LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 02/24/2005. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Peter Siegel, 933 8th Ave. #1, NY, NY 10019. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose. Vil: 02/09 - 03/15/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF MDP MPE HOLDINGS LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 1/20/12. Off. loc.: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: c/o Millennium Partners, 1995 Broadway, 3rd Fl., NY, NY 10023. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 02/09 - 03/15/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF BR CHICKEN MANHATTAN I, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/15/11. Off. loc.: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Darren S. Berger, Esq., Kane Kessler, P.C., 1350 Ave. of the Americas, NY, NY 10019. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 02/09 - 03/15/2012
NAME OF FOREIGN LLC: PPW ADMISSIONS CONSULTING LLC. Authority filed with NY Dept. of State: 1/9/12. Office loc.: NY Co. LLC formed in DE: 12/1/11. NY Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: 315 W. 39th St., Ste. 711, NY, NY 10018. DE addr. of LLC: 108 W. 13th St., Wilmington, DE 19801. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful act. Vil: 02/09 - 03/15/2012 NOTICE OF QUALIFICATION OF USA TODAY SPORTS MEDIA GROUP, LLC. Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 1/9/12. Office location: NY County. Princ. bus. addr.: 7950 Jones Branch Dr., McLean, VA 22107. LLC formed in DE on 10/28/11. NY Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: CT Corporation System, 111 8th Ave., NY, NY 10011. DE addr. of LLC: 1209 Orange St., Wilmington, DE 19801. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: all lawful purposes. Vil: 02/09 - 03/15/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF JAMES TRINER THEATRICALS, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 01/27/12. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 720 Greenwich St. #7M, NY, NY 10014. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the addr. of its princ. office. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Vil: 02/09 - 03/15/2012 KATHERINE RACHLIN, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST, LLC, a Prof. LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 01/03/2012. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 49 W. 24 St. 9 FL, NY, NY 10010. Purpose: To Practice The Profession Of Psychologist. Vil: 02/16 - 03/22/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF WATERVIEW AT GREENPOINT LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 01/30/12. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: c/o Berkshire Capital, 4611 12th Ave., Apt. 1L, Brooklyn, NY 11219. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the addr. of its princ. office. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Vil: 02/16 - 03/22/2012
NOTICE OF QUALIFICATION OF VIA ALTA LLC. Authority filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 01/31/12. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 01/05/12. Princ. office of LLC: 110 Waverly Pl., NY, NY 10011. NYS fictitious name: VIA ALTA PRODUCTIONS LLC. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Attn: Cathy J. Frankel at the princ. office of the LLC. DE addr. of LLC: c/o Corporation Service Co., 2711 Centerville Rd., Ste. 400, Wilmington, New Castle Cnty., DE 19808. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of State of DE, Corp. Dept., Townsend Bldg., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Vil: 02/16 - 03/22/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF LONG ISLAND ENERGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT, LLC Articles of Organization filed with Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 7/13/2011 Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. The address to which SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC is to: 122 E 42nd St., New York, NY 10168 #825. Purpose: To engage in any lawful act or activity. Vil: 02/16 - 03/22/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF READING BUDDY LLC. Art. of Org.filed w/Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/19/11. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent for service of process. SSNY shall mail process to: 7014 13 Ave. #202, Bklyn, NY 11228. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Vil: 02/16 - 03/22/2012 NAME OF FOREIGN LLC: ANSWER LAB, LLC. Authority filed with NY Dept. of State: 1/30/12. Office loc.: NY Co. LLC formed in CA: 12/17/04. NY Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: c/o Business Filings Inc., 187 Wolf Rd., Ste. 101, Albany, NY 12205. CA addr. of LLC: 160 Spear St., Ste. 700, San Francisco, CA 94105. Cert. of Org. filed with CA Sec. of State, 1500 11th St., Sacramento, CA 95814. Purpose: any lawful act. Vil: 02/16 - 03/22/2012 NOTICE OF QUALIFICATION OF APPLE TREE VENTURE MANAGEMENT, LLC. Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 1/30/12. Office location: NY County. Princ. bus. addr.: 41 E. 11th St., NY, NY 10003. LLC formed in DE on 6/25/99. NY Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: CT Corporation System, 111 8th Ave., NY, NY 10011. DE addr. of LLC: c/o The Corporation Trust Co., 1209 Orange St., Wilmington, DE 19801. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: all lawful purposes. Vil: 02/16 - 03/22/2012
NOTICE OF FORMATION OF WONDERFUL RESTAURANT LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with NY Dept. of State on 12/23/11. Office location: NY County. Princ. bus. addr.: 37 E. 60th St., NY, NY. Sec. of State designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: c/o Steven Raia, P.O. Box 6347, Fair Haven, NJ 07704. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 02/16 - 03/22/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF SUSTAINABLE ENTERPRISES LLC Articles of Organization filed with Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 01/27/12. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. The address to which SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC is to: Sustainable Enterprises LLC, 244 Fifth Avenue, T267, New York, NY 10001. Purpose: To engage in any lawful act or activity. Vil: 02/16 - 03/22/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF SUNNY NAIL SPA LLC Articles of Organization filed with Secy. Of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/09/2011 Office location: NASSAU County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 1005 PORT WASHINGTON BLVD STE 1, PORT WASHINGTON, NY 11050 Purpose: Any lawful activity. Vil: 02/23 - 03/29/2012 ROCA ONE PROPERTIES LLC a domestic LLC, filed with the SSNY on 1/18/12. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Richard K. Eng, Esq., 100 Lafayette St., Ste. 403, NY, NY 10013. General Purposes. Vil: 02/23 - 03/29/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF ZUCONSULTING LLC. Art. of Org.filed w/Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 1/24/12. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent for service of process. SSNY shall mail process to:PO Box 265,NY, NY 10013. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Vil: 02/23 - 03/29/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF LB OFFICE LLC. Art. of Org.filed w/Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 1/10/12. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent for service of process. SSNY shall mail process to:420 W.14 St. #7N, NY, NY 10014. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Vil: 02/23 - 03/29/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF ANXIOUS ELEVEN, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/07/12. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: Anthony Bonsignore, 200 Park Ave. South, 8th Fl., NY, NY 10003. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the addr. of its princ. office. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Vil: 02/23 - 03/29/2012
NOTICE OF FORMATION OF 200 E79 RETAIL LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/06/12. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Mark D. Dahn, c/o Wilf Law Firm, LLC, 13-15 W. 54th St., NY, NY 10019, regd. agent upon whom and at which process may be served. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Vil: 02/23 - 03/29/2012 METROPALAIS LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 6/24/2008. Office in NY Co. SSNY desig. agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to 250 Hudson St., NY, NY 10013, which is also the principal business location. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. Vil: 02/23 - 03/29/2012 NATTSU PROPERTY LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 2/16/12. Office in NY Co. SSNY desig. agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to c/o Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP, Attn: Jeffrey Slavet, 529 Fifth Ave., 10th FL, NY, NY 10017. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. Vil: 02/23 - 03/29/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF SCOTCH CLUB NYC, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/02/12. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: None. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Attn: Brett J. Olshan, 122 E. 42nd St., Ste. 700, NY, NY 10168. As amended by Cert. of Correction filed with SSNY on 02/07/12, the process addr. is: 627 Broadway, 9th Fl., NY, NY 10012. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Vil: 02/23 - 03/29/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF 123 ORGANIZE ME, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 01/18/12. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of any process against LLC to principal business address: 181 E 65th St., Apt. 7D, NY, NY 10065. Purpose: Any lawful act. 1839163 Vil: 02/23 - 03/29/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF BSD MICHAEL 101, LLC, Art. of Org. filed Sec’y of State (SSNY) 1/30/12. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to c/o 485 7th Ave., Ste. 777, NY, NY 10018. Purpose: any lawful activities. Vil: 02/23 - 03/29/2012
NOTICE OF QUAL. OF 724 FIFTH OWNER LLC, Auth. filed Sec’y of State (SSNY) 12/27/11. Office loc.: NY County. LLC org. in DE 12/21/11. SSNY desig. as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of proc. to NRAI, 875 Ave of the Americas, NY, NY 10001. DE off. addr.: NRAI, 160 Greentree Dr., Dover, DE 19904. Cert. of Form. on file: SSDE, Townsend Bldg., Dover, DE 19901. Purp.: any lawful activities. Vil: 02/23 - 03/29/2012 NOTICE OF QUAL. OF 724 FIFTH TIC OWNER 1 LLC, Auth. filed Sec’y of State (SSNY) 1/10/12. Office loc.: NY County. LLC org. in DE 1/6/12. SSNY desig. as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of proc. to NRAI, 875 Ave of the Americas, NY, NY 10001, the Reg. Agt. upon whom proc. may be served. DE off. addr.: 160 Greentree Dr., Dover, DE 19904. Cert. of Form. on file: SSDE, Townsend Bldg., Dover, DE 19901. Purp.: any lawful activities. Vil: 02/23 - 03/29/2012 NOTICE OF QUALIFICATION OF KARYA FUND LLC. App. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 1/31/12. Off. loc.: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 10/31/11. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to princ. bus. loc.: 1330 Ave. of the Americas, Ste. 520, NY, NY 10019, Attn: Ken Kolber. DE address of LLC: c/o United Corporate Services, Inc., 874 Walker Rd., Ste. C, Dover, DE 19904. Arts. of Org. filed with DE Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 02/23 - 03/29/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF GANG STARR ENTERPRISES, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 1/30/12. Off. loc.: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 1790 Broadway, Ste. 800, NY, NY 10019. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 02/23 - 03/29/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF 183 COLUMBIA HOLDING LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 2/1/12. Off. loc.: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: c/o Mitchell Holdings LLC, 815 Fifth Ave., NY, NY 10065. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 02/23 - 03/29/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF WHITE RHINO PARTNERS, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 1/26/12. Off. loc.: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: c/o The LLC, 416 W. 13th St., Ste. 205, NY, NY 10014. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 02/23 - 03/29/2012
NOTICE OF QUALIFICATION OF WHITE CHALK LLC. App. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 1/24/12. Off. loc.: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 1/18/12. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 240 Mulberry St., NY, NY 10012. DE address of LLC: United Corporate Services, Inc., 874 Walker Road, Ste. C, Dover, DE 19904. Arts. of Org. filed with DE Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 02/23 - 03/29/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF PAHK THE CAH LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 1/11/12. Off. loc.: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: knuckleknee llc, 487 Greenwich St., Ste. 5A, NY, NY 10013. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 02/23 - 03/29/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF INSIDE SONGS LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 1/26/12. Off. loc.: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: c/o The LLC, 344 W. 49th St., Apt. 1D, NY, NY 10019. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 02/23 - 03/29/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF NO MOORE OYSTERS & MARITIME LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 1/27/12. Off. loc.: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 247 Grand St., Apt. 3R, NY, NY 10002. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 02/23 - 03/29/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF CHEZ SOI LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of N.Y. (SSNY) on 1/25/12. Office location: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 27 West 72nd, #1510, New York, NY 10023. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 02/23 - 03/29/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF WLZ 43-45 EAST 60TH, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 1/13/12. Off. loc.: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Kane Kessler, P.C., 1350 Ave. of the Americas, 26th Fl., NY, NY 10019, Attn: Robert L. Lawrence, Esq. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 02/23 - 03/29/2012
NOTICE OF FORMATION OF ADAM FRANZINO LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/16/11. Off. loc.: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 511 Ave. of the Americas, #276, NY, NY 10011. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 02/23 - 03/29/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF TRG TROY LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with NY Dept. of State on 11/2/11. Office location: NY County. Princ. bus. addr.: 340 Pemberwick Rd., Greenwich, CT 06831. Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: c/o CT Corporation System, 111 8th Ave., NY, NY 10011, regd. agent upon whom process may be served. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 02/23 - 03/29/2012 NOTICE OF QUALIFICATION OF PEERLESS SPECIALTY FLOORING, LLC. Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 2/7/12. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in MT on 7/23/04. NY Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: c/o CT Corporation System, 111 8th Ave., NY, NY 10011, regd. agent upon whom process may be served. MT and principal business addr.: 600 Peerless Lustre Rd., Peerless, MT 59253. Cert. of Org. filed with MT Sec. of State, 1301 6th Ave., Helena, MT 59601. Purpose: all lawful purposes. Vil: 02/23 - 03/29/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF 172 SCHENECTADY FT LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/16/12. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543, regd. agent upon whom and at which process may be served. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Vil: 03/01 - 04/05/2012 NOTICE OF QUALIFICATION OF HEAR ME, LLC. Authority filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 2/6/12. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in California (CA) on 1/30/12. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: c/o Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Adler & Feldman, Inc., 9200 Sunset Blvd., Ste. 1200, West Hollywood, CA 90069, also the address to be maintained in CA. Arts of Org. filed with the CA Secretary of State, 1500 11th St., Sacramento, CA 95814. Purpose: any lawful activities. Vil: 03/01 - 04/05/2012
March 15 - 21, 2012
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PUBL IC NOTICE S NOTICE OF QUALIFICATION OF S2BN DRAGONS LLC. Authority filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 2/8/12. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 2/1/12. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: c/o National Registered Agents, Inc., 875 Ave. of the Americas, Ste. 501, NY, NY 10001. Principal office address: 1140 Broadway, 4th Fl., NY, NY 10001. Address to be maintained in DE: 160 Greentree Dr., Ste. 101, Dover, DE 19904. Arts of Org. filed with the DE Secretary of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 3, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activities. Vil: 03/01 - 04/05/2012 UN CHIN DE VIDA LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 1/17/2012. Office in NY Co. SSNY desig. agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to 3795 10th Ave., NY, NY 10034. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. Vil: 03/01 - 04/05/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF NORWICH LOTS, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/15/12. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 30 Fifth Ave., # 10-B, NY, NY 10011. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Andrew Goldberg at the princ. office of the LLC. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Vil: 03/01 - 04/05/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF VM SOUTH BEACH LLC, Art. of Org. filed Sec’y of State (SSNY) 12/13/11. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to c/o Robert Speigelman Nakash Holdings, 1400 Broadway, 15th Fl., NY, NY 10018. Purpose: any lawful activities. Vil: 03/01 - 04/05/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF A-LIST INTERIORS LLC. Arts of Org filed with Secy of State of NY (SSNY) on 2/1/12. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of any process against LLC to principal business address: THE LLC 320 W 38th St, #724, NY, NY 10018. Purpose: any lawful act. 1833613 Vil: 03/01 - 04/05/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF CONSTANDIA HOUSE LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with NY Dept. of State on 6/17/11. Office location: NY County. Sec. of State designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: c/o Meryl P. Sherwood, Esq., 590 Madison Ave., 8th Fl., NY, NY 10022. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 03/01 - 04/05/2012
NOTICE OF FORMATION OF 302 SANFORD LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with NY Dept. of State on 5/27/09. Office location: NY County. Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: Midtown Equities LLC, 38 W. 34th St., 3rd Fl., NY, NY 10001, principal business address. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 03/01 - 04/05/201 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF SAVVY EVENTS BY SABATER LLC. Arts of Org filed with Secy of State of NY (SSNY) on 1/20/12. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of process against LLC to principal business address: 2 W 120th St, Ste 5L, NY, NY 10027. Purpose: any lawful act. 1848737 Vil: 03/08 - 04/12/2012 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a license, number 1261244 for liquor has been applied for by the undersigned to sell liquor at retail in a restaurant under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law at 84 E. 4th Street, NY, NY 10003 for on premises consumption. 67 Second Avenue, LLC DBA Calliope. Vil: 03/08 - 03/15/2012 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a license, #TBA has been applied for by Barnorth Group LLC d/b/a Grey Lady to sell beer, wine and liquor at retail in an on premises establishment.For on premises consumption under the ABC law at 77 Delancey Street New York NY 10002. Vil: 03/08 - 03/15/2012 AJ PARTNERS, LLC, A DOMESTIC LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 10/25/11. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 414 E. 77th St., NY, NY 10075. General Purposes. Vil: 03/08 - 04/12/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF WEINSTEIN PG LLC Articles of Organization filed with Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 02/06/12. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. The address to which SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC is to: Barton LLP, 420 Lexington Ave, Suite 1830, NY, NY 10170. Purpose: To engage in any lawful act or activity. Vil: 03/08 - 04/12/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF PENN ACRES LLC Articles of Organization filed with Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 12/28/2011 Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. The address to which SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC is to: Penn Acres 475 West 12th Ave., #3H Denver, CO 80204. Purpose: To engage in any lawful act or activity. Vil: 03/08 - 04/12/2012
NOTICE OF QUALIFICATION OF GRUSS GLOBAL INVESTORS II, L.P. App. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/23/11. Off. loc.: NY Co. LP formed in Delaware (DE) on 6/9/11. SSNY designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 667 Madison Ave., NY, NY 10065. DE address of LP: National Corporate Research, Ltd., 615 S. DuPont Hwy., Dover, DE 19901. Name/address of each genl. ptr. available from SSNY. Cert. of LP filed with DE Secy. of State, Townsend Bldg., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 03/08 - 04/12/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF ACMH E. 144TH STREET, L.P. Certificate filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 2/1/2012. Off. loc.: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: c/o The Association for Rehabilitative Case Management and Housing, Inc., 254 W. 31st St., 9th Fl., NY, NY 10001. Name/address of each genl. ptr. available from SSNY. Term: until 12/31/2062. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 03/08 - 04/12/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF BJN REALTY LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 5/5/11. Off. loc.: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: George H. Wang, 400 West End Ave., Apt. 6A, NY, NY 10024. Purpose: any lawful act or activity. Vil: 03/08 - 04/12/2012 NOTICE OF QUALIFICATION OF GOLDENTREE PARTNERS II (2012), L.P AMENDED TO GOLDENTREE SELECT PARTNERS II, L.P. App. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/23/11. Off. loc.: NY Co. LP formed in Delaware (DE) on 11/17/11. SSNY designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 300 Park Ave., 20th Fl., NY, NY 10022. DE address of LP: National Corporate Research, Ltd., 615 S. DuPont Hwy., Dover, DE 19901. Name/address of each genl. ptr. available from SSNY. Cert. of LP filed with DE Secy. of State, Townsend Bldg., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 03/08 - 04/12/2012 NOTICE OF QUALIFICATION OF CS ARMAJARO COMMODITIES FUND LP. App. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/29/11. Off. loc.: NY Co. LP formed in Delaware (DE) on 11/22/11. SSNY designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: c/o Credit Suisse (Cayman) Management Limited, 11 Madison Ave., NY, NY 10010. DE address of LP: National Corporate Research, Ltd., 615 S. DuPont Hwy., Dover, DE 19901. Name/address of each genl. ptr. available from SSNY. Cert. of LP filed with DE Secy. of State, Townsend Bldg., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 03/08 - 04/12/2012
NOTICE OF FORMATION OF KEPPLER MEDIA LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 2/10/12. Off. loc.: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Office of Sam J. Nole, CPA, 350 Fifth Ave., Ste. 7412, NY, NY 10118. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 03/08 - 04/12/2012 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a license, no. 1259288 has been applied for by Superseed LLC to sell beer, wine and liquor at retail under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law, at a Restaurant located at 541 Laguardia Place, New York, NY 10012, for on-premises consumption. Vil: 03/15 - 03/22/2012 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that license #1261492 has been applied for by the undersigned to sell alcoholic beverages at retail in a restaurant under the alcoholic beverage control law at 236238 E. 53rd St., New York, NY 10022 for on-premises consumption. EAST CLINTON RESTAURANT CORP. d/b/a MAX RESTAURANT Vil: 03/15 - 03/22/2012 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a license, #1261642 has been applied for by Drinking With Good Dough LLC to sell beer, wine and liquor at retail in an on premises establishment. For on premises consumption under the ABC law at 85 Washington Place New York NY 10011. Vil: 03/15 - 03/22/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF QUINLAN GROUP NYC LLC. Arts of Org filed with the Secy of State of NY (SSNY) on 1/10/12. Office loc: NY Cty. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail process to: Brendan Quinlan 141 E. 57th St. #3R NY, NY 10022. Principal business address: 141 E. 57th St. #3R, NY, NY 10022. Purpose: any lawful acts. Vil: 03/15 - 04/19/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF 529 WEST 29TH LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/28/12. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 60 Columbus Circle, NY, NY 10023. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Vil: 03/15 - 04/19/2012
NOTICE OF FORMATION OF LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY. NAME: 179 JACKSON ASSOCIATES LLC. Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 02/15/12. Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to the LLC, 17 Barstow Road, Suite 208, Great Neck, New York 11021. Purpose: For any lawful purpose. Vil: 03/15 - 04/19/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF ACOY, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 01/05/12. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Katie Mustard, 326 E. 13th St., #12, NY, NY 10003. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Vil: 03/15 - 04/19/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF 459 WEST 43RD, LLC, Art. of Org. filed Sec’y of State (SSNY) 11/2/11. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to c/o NRAI, 875 Ave of the Americas, NY, NY 10001. Purpose: any lawful activities. Vil: 03/15 - 04/19/2012
NOTICE OF QUAL. OF 724 FUNDING LLC FILED UNDER THE ORIGINAL NAME 724 FIFTH TIC LESSEE 1 LLC, Auth. filed Sec’y of State (SSNY) 1/10/12. Office loc.: NY County. LLC org. in DE 1/6/12. SSNY desig. as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of proc. to NRAI, 875 Ave of the Americas, NY, NY 10001, the Reg. Agt. upon whom proc. may be served. DE off. addr.: 160 Greentree Dr., Ste. 101, Dover, DE 19904. Cert. of Form. on file: SSDE, Townsend Bldg., Dover, DE 19901. Purp.: any lawful activities. Vil: 03/15 - 04/19/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF 450 EAST PRODUCTIONS LLC Art. of Org. filed Sec’y of State (SSNY) 11/16/11. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to Marcy Stuzin, 450 E. 20th St., #MC, NY, NY 10009, the Reg. Agt. upon whom proc. may be served. Purpose: any lawful activities. Vil: 03/15-04/19/2012 NOTICE OF QUAL. OF FOUVERT, LLC Auth. filed Sec’y of State (SSNY) 11/18/11. Office loc.: NY County. LLC org. in DE 11/4/11. SSNY desig. as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of proc. to Antonio Aransaenz, 125 E. 84th St., Apt. 9D, NY, NY 10028. DE off. addr.: CTC, 1209 Orange St., Wilmington, DE 19801. Cert. of Form. on file: SSDE, Townsend Bldg., Dover, DE 19901. Purp.: any lawful activities. Vil: 03/15-04/19/2012
NOTICE OF QUALIFICATION OF 55 ECKFORD INVESTORS LLC. Authority filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 2/27/12. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 7/28/11. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: c/o Silverstone Property Group, Attn: Martin Nussbaum, 825 Third Ave., 37th Fl., NY, NY 10022, also the principal office address. Address to be maintained in DE: The Corporation Trust Company, Corporation Trust Center, 1209 Orange St., Wilmington, DE 19801. Arts of Org. filed with the DE Secretary of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activities. Vil: 03/15-04/19/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF 372 WEST 11TH STREET LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 2/17/12. Off. loc.: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Gleason & Koatz, LLP, 122 E. 42nd St., Ste. 518, NY, NY 10168. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 03/15 - 04/19/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF 1494, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 2/21/12. Off. loc.: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 321 W. 90th St., Apt. #1C, NY, NY 10024. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 03/15 - 04/19/2012
NOTICE OF FORMATION OF PEQUOD ASSOCIATES (USA) LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 2/1/12. Off. loc.: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 65 W. 36th St., 9th Fl., NY, NY 10018. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 03/15 - 04/19/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF 52-62 COOPER SQUARE, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Sec. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/1/04. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: c/o Kobi Halperin, 56 Cooper Square Penthouse #4, NY, NY 10003, regd. agent upon whom process may be served. Purpose: all lawful purposes. Vil: 03/15 - 04/19/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF CHELSEA VISTA, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with NY Dept. of State on 2/17/12. Office location: NY County. Sec. of State designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to the principal business addr.: 350 Park Ave., 11th Fl., NY, NY 10022. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 03/15 - 04/19/2012 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF HMK REALTY SERVICES, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with NY Dept. of State on 1/27/12. Office location: NY County. Sec. of State designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to the principal business addr.: 156 William St., 10th Fl., NY, NY 10038. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 03/15 - 04/19/2012
PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given, pursuant to the law, that the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs will hold a Public Hearing on Wednesday, March 28, 2012 at 2:00p.m. at 66 John Street, 11th floor, on a petition from Sublime Porte LLC to continue to maintain and operate an unenclosed sidewalk café at 458 Greenwich Street in the Borough of Manhattan for a term of two years. Requests for copies of the proposed revocable consent agreement may be addressed to: Department of Consumer Affairs, Attn: FOIL Officer, 42 Broadway, New York, NY 10004 Vil 03/08–03/15/2012
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK – COUNTY OF NEW YORK Index No.311266/11—Date Purchased 8/19/11—SUMMONS WITH NOTICE—Plaintiff designates New York County as the place of trial – Basis of venue: CPLR Sec 509— Kim Lloyd George, Plaintiff – against – Kuldeep Singh Mohinder Singh, Defendant—ACTION FOR DIVORCE—To the abovenamed Defendant YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to serve a notice of appearance on the Plaintiff within 20 days after the service of this summons, exclusive of the day of service and in case of your failure to appear, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the notice set forth below. NOTICE: The nature of this action is to dissolve the marriage between the parties, on the grounds of DRL Sec 170(2), the abandonment of the plaintiff by the defendant for a period of more than one year. The relief sought is a judgment of absolute divorce in favor of the plaintiff dissolving the marriage between the parties in this action. Dated: August 16, 2011, New York, New York. By: Paul Leavin, Plaintiff’s attorney, 325 Broadway, Suite 201, New York, NY 10001. NOTICE OF AUTOMATIC ORDERS. Pursuant to domestic relations law section 236 part b, sec 2, the parties are bound by certain automatic orders which shall remain in full force and effect during the pendency of the action. For further details you should contact the clerk of the matrimonial part, Supreme Court, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 Tel (646) 386-3010. DRL 255 Notice. Please be advised that once the judgment of divorce is signed in this action, both parties must be aware that he or she will no longer be covered by the other party’s health insurance plan and that each party shall be responsible for his or her own health insurance coverage, and may be entitled to purchase health insurance on his or her own through a COBRA option, if available. Vil 03/08–03/22/2012
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March 15 - 21, 2012
CLASSIFIEDS
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March 15 - 21, 2012
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Continued from page 16 tures that think that caring for elders is a sacred obligation. Thanks for the reminder, K. We have to take care of our own, on a national level (with sensible, single-payer healthcare) and on a local level, preserving our neighborhood resources.
battle brews in Nolita” (news article, Feb. 9): I’ve lived on Mott St. for years. Toby’s sounds like a nice addition and I look forward to hanging out there. Pete Armstrong
Thanks for the memories
Ted Glass
N.Y.U. should build in FiDi To The Editor: Re “C.B. 2 votes unanimous No! on N.Y.U.’s superblocks plan” (news article, March 1): New York University should build in the Downtown Financial District area where 20 years of construction would be welcomed. In fact, the offer to utilize the Downtown area was made by Julie Menin, chairperson of Community Board 1, several years ago. That’s an area where this sort of project would truly be needed. N.Y.U. should go back to the drawing board with the Financial District envisioned. Just as the N.Y.U. 2031 overbuilding plan was rejected by Community Board 2, the City Council will also reject it — or know the wrath of voting Villagers. Sylvia Rackow
Frogs could be a warning To The Editor: Re “Not fooled by cute frogs” (letter, by Dominic Cloutier, March 8): I respect Cloutier’s perspective on “making it” as an artist. However, looking closely at this artist’s public works we see many overblown frogs and men crushed by dollar signs. Isn’t Otterness warning us of how “making it” really feels, and that some prices are too high to pay? Diana Carulli
Still looks pretty good To The Editor: Re “Politico accused of grand larceny” (news article, Feb. 2): But he looks good for a 53-year-old. I guess it’s not from clean living. Alan J. Jacobs
Looking forward to Toby’s To The Editor: Re “Will pub be a problem? A bar
To The Editor: Re “Back in the day at No Rio” (letter, by Philip Van Aver, Feb. 2): Thanks for printing this Nov. 8, 1986, journal entry written by Philip Van Aver. It’s a fascinating account of a time and place gone by. In good weather, Mr. Van Aver can sometimes be found sitting on a bench in Tompkins Square Park, observing the scene around him and writing in his journal. One day, a friend stopped by to say: “Hello, Philip — someday you may be as famous for writing in your journal as for your art.” June Hildebrand Abrams
Pie Man hospital visit To The Editor: On this beautiful sunny day I made a kooky greeting card and picked up some daffodils for a fun friend trapped in a hospital that once tried to kill me. On arrival, I threw a potpourri of confetti, glitter and shiny little stars at...the Pie Man (who was not wearing one of his knit hats). I made bad jokes about his feet. The doctor didn’t know what to make of the festive mess I made in his room, and then Aron’s awful lunch arrived. Upon leaving, he handed me a very groovy, hippie necklace — a well-worn pendant with a pot leaf embedded into a pinkish background with miniature bright pink stars and “LOVE” at the bottom. Also upon departure, he gave me the hideous prepackaged bread product from his food tray to throw out. Since it contained at least 27 mostly poisonous ingredients, I dropped it on the floor and stomped on it with my big black Frye boot heels. There was a small explosion.
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P U B LIC N O T IC ES PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given, pursuant to the law, that the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs will hold a Public Hearing on Wednesday, March 28, 2012 at 2:00p.m. at 66 John Street, 11th floor, on a petition from Tribeca Grand Hotel to establish, maintain and operate an unenclosed sidewalk café at 32 White Street in the Borough of Manhattan for a term of two years. Requests for copies of the proposed revocable consent agreement may be addressed to: Department of Consumer Affairs, Attn: FOIL Officer, 42 Broadway, New York, NY 10004 Vil 03/15–03/22/2012
PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given, pursuant to the law, that the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs will hold a Public Hearing on Wednesday, March 28, 2012 at 2:00p.m. at 66 John Street, 11th floor, on a petition from Rose Restaurant Group to continue to maintain and operate an unenclosed sidewalk café at 142-144 Beekman Street in the Borough of Manhattan for a term of two years. Requests for copies of the proposed revocable consent agreement may be addressed to: Department of Consumer Affairs, Attn: FOIL Officer, 42 Broadway, New York, NY 10004 Vil 03/15–03/22/2012
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK – COUNTY OF NEW YORK Index No.311266/11—Date Purchased 8/19/11—SUMMONS WITH NOTICE—Plaintiff designates New York County as the place of trial – Basis of venue: CPLR Sec 509— Kim Lloyd George, Plaintiff – against – Kuldeep Singh Mohinder Singh, Defendant—ACTION FOR DIVORCE—To the abovenamed Defendant YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to serve a notice of appearance on the Plaintiff within 20 days after the service of this summons, exclusive of the day of service and in case of your failure to appear, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the notice set forth below. NOTICE: The nature of this action is to dissolve the marriage between the parties, on the grounds of DRL Sec 170(2), the abandonment of the plaintiff by the defendant for a period of more than one year. The relief sought is a judgment of absolute divorce in favor of the plaintiff dissolving the marriage between the parties in this action. Dated: August 16, 2011, New York, New York. By: Paul Leavin, Plaintiff’s attorney, 325 Broadway, Suite 201, New York, NY 10007. NOTICE OF AUTOMATIC ORDERS. Pursuant to domestic relations law section 236 part b, sec 2, the parties are bound by certain automatic orders which shall remain in full force and effect during the pendency of the action. For further details you should contact the clerk of the matrimonial part, Supreme Court, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 Tel (646) 386-3010. DRL 255 Notice. Please be advised that once the judgment of divorce is signed in this action, both parties must be aware that he or she will no longer be covered by the other party’s health insurance plan and that each party shall be responsible for his or her own health insurance coverage, and may be entitled to purchase health insurance on his or her own through a COBRA option, if available. Vil 03/15–03/29/2012
Dottie Wilson
E-mail letters, not longer than 250 words in length, to lincoln@thevillager. com or fax to 212-229-2790 or mail to The Villager, Letters to the Editor, 515 Canal St., Suite 1C, NY, NY 10013. Please include phone number for confirmation purposes. The Villager reserves the right to edit letters for space, grammar, clarity and libel. The Villager does not publish anonymous letters.
Julio Tumbaco 646.452.2490 julio@thevillager.com
March 15 - 21, 2012
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The Lobster Place was one of Chelsea Market’s original tenants. As the market has grown, so has its business, and the Lobster Place now employs 57 people and serves more than 2,000 fresh seafood fans every day. The growth and evolution of small businesses is just one success story to grow from Chelsea Market. Expand Chelsea Market: it’s what’s next. For more, visit www.ChelseaMarketNext.com Paid for by Putting New Yorkers to Work