A special Villager supplement pp. 13 - 24
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June 27 - July 3, 2013
park bill made little noise, could have huge impact BY LINCOLN ANDERSON As the State Legislature’s session drew to a close last week, a sweeping bill to modify the Hudson River Park Act, which would, most notably, allow the park to transfer its unused air rights, was quietly passed by both the Assembly and the state Senate. “Radio silence” was how one stunned park watchdog described how the bill suddenly Photo by Tequila Minsky
Victorious DOMA plaintiff Edie Windsor, right, spoke outside the Stonewall on Wednesday evening as Council Speaker Christine Quinn beamed proudly.
Jubilation at Stonewall Inn BY JEFFERSON SIEGEL AND LAEL HINES It’s not often that a Supreme Court ruling can set hearts aflutter and joyous crowds streaming into the streets. However, the court’s ruling on Wednesday, striking down a key part of the Defense of Marriage Act as unconstitutional, sent ecstatic shockwaves across the country, especially on Christopher St. in the West Village. Hundreds filled the block in front of the historic Stonewall Inn Wednesday evening for speeches by politicians, lawyers who fought to overturn the act, and Edie Windsor herself, the Village resident
whose original lawsuit was spurred by the death of her late wife, Thea Spyer. Upon Spyer’s death, Windsor owed $360,000 in estate taxes, money she wouldn’t have owed if the government had recognized gay marriage then. After an hour of speeches by the likes of Council Speaker Christine Quinn and lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union, the celebrations began. Mayoral candidates Bill de Blasio and Anthony Weiner spoke with people, while mobs made their way into the Stonewall and other local bars for a night of celebratory imbibing.
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Earlier, outside the bar, a man who gave his name as Brian exulted, “Hooray! It’s about time! We’ve been married for 16 years but now tax time will be so much easier. Now very practical legal things like Social Security will become so much simpler!” Standing beside him, James added, “This is the best and largest federal step we can take. However, we also need to focus on the change that still needs to come. Gays still aren’t able to donate blood or be fully respected in the workplace. Thirty-seven states still need to change.”
popped up in the session’s final days, seemingly without anyone — other than local affected politicians, the Hudson River Park Trust and, no doubt, key stakeholders — having heard a peep about it until then. The bill was approved by the Assembly 96-5 last Thursday. Then, after a marathon ses-
Continued on page 7
City makes part of l.e.S. children’s garden permanent BY SARAH FERGUSON The Children’s Magical Garden won a major victory Wednesday when the city agreed to transfer two of the three lots that make up this green haven to the Parks Department for preservation under the city’s GreenThumb program. “After a thorough assessment of all available options, we will be initiating the pro-
cess of transferring the two city-owned lots to the Parks Department so they can be maintained as community gardening space,” Eric Bederman, a spokesperson for the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, told The Villager.
Continued on page 4
JOHN CATSIMATIDIS FOR MAYOR A New Yorker for all New Yorkers
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New York University gratefully acknowledges the many LGBT scholars, students, and administrators whose leadership has helped define our community’s proudest achievements. Edith Windsor, an NYU Courant Institute alumna, received NYU’s Presidential Medal this year for her role in bringing a challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act before the Supreme Court.
Doctoral student Michael J. McCutcheon won the NYU Steinhardt Graduate Student Organization’s 6th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Oratorical Event for his speech “Speak Out, Speak Up!” on joining the fight for equal rights.
David Boies, one of the chief litigators challenging Proposition 8 before the Supreme Court, was asked to deliver NYU’s 2013 commencement address. Boies is also an NYU Law alumnus.
NYU Stern’s Out Class, one of the nation’s largest top-tier MBA LGBT student groups, is celebrating its 20th year of operation.
Pride in Practice, a student group at the NYU Silver School of Social Work, was one of four winners of the school’s first Social Justice and Diversity Grant Challenge.
NYULGBTQ Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Student Center Our LGBTQ Student Center is a nationally lauded, award-winning organization committed to creating a welcoming environment for individuals to develop their understanding of LGBTQ issues, gender, sexuality, and intersectional identities.
Pray the Gay Away by Bernadette Barton (Morehead State University), was a finalist for the 2013 Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Studies. It was published by NYU Press, part of their rich catalogue of academic works exploring LGBT issues.
Through their academic and and civic engagement, these individuals and organizations, along with countless other LGBT community members and allies, continue to advocate for equality in New York City and beyond.
June 27 - July 3, 2013 3
Scoopy’s
like she might have to find a new gig. The agency has been under fire for its foot-dragging on installation of security cameras and other maintenance issues. Lopez even recently lost her cool at one of the outreach meetings about NYCHA’s controversial “infill” plan, when, at Campos Plaza, she grew indignant at tenants who were protesting the plan. Asking the tenants if they really didn’t want the money for their complexes that a new “80/20” building would generate, Lopez incredulously said, and we’re paraphrasing, “You don’t want all this money? Shut up!” We’re definitely not paraphrasing the “shut up” part, though.
notebook NEW FRIENDS FUNDRAISING CHIEF: We hear from A.J. Pietrantone, the former executive director of the Friends of Hudson River Park, that his replacement at Friends is Gregory Boroff. Boroff’s most recent position has been as vice president and director of development for amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, where it sounds like he was definitely a stellar fundraiser, which is just what Friends and the park are looking for. According to his profile on amfAR’s Web site, Boroff has been in fundraising and marketing for 20 years, including institutional and individual giving, capital campaigns and special events. In 2010, he oversaw the creation of the “Inspiration” series, which fundraises for amfAR while celebrating mens’ fashion in New York City, Los Angeles, Sao Paulo and Paris. Last year, BizBash magazine named him as one of the 66 most innovative people in the event industry. Prior to amfAR, Boroff was at the Food Bank For New York City as senior V.P. of external relations, where he raised more than $60 million to help fight hunger in New York City. He also created the Food Bank’s nationally recognized campaigns and events, including, “Mario Batali: Roasted, Battered & Fried” and the Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival, plus “The Lunchbox Auction.” Earlier in his career, he spent stints at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, City Harvest and Gay Men’s Health Crisis. A magna cum laude City College graduate, he also spent 10 years planning high-profile special events in the private sector. Friends of Hudson River Park has recently transformed itself from the park’s watchdog into its main private fundraising arm, and it certainly sounds like Boroff is the guy to take them to the next level.
Photo by Scoopy
CHILLIN’ AS USUAL: On the glorious, first day of summer last Friday, Ronnie Rossi was soaking up the sun in Washington Square Park — which is exactly what he’s usually doing. “Every day, I come from the Bronx,” the 73-year-old said contentedly as he lounged back on his portable recliner. A former trucker, he once also worked in an all-nude strip club in Queens. No, he wasn’t one of the dancers. But his current claim to fame, per his profile on the Humans of New York site, is for being the guy who never gets angry. You just cannot make him mad. “I haven’t raised my voice for 40 years — no reason for it,” he told us. “When you scream at someone, you know who hears it the loudest? You do! … My goal is to get to 100 — 27 to go. You can’t stress me out. If you did, you’d be looking at the back of my head — I’d be walking away… . I’ve been coming here since the ’60s,” he said, “since the bus came through the arch.” He’s a critic of all the acts in the park, such as, The Piano Guy, for one. “He’s up and down the keyboard constantly. Aw, please…it’s like bad sex.” And then there’s the “Free Hugs” dude. “Oh, here’s this guy,” Rossi said, espying the man across the way holding up his sign. “Another nut… ‘Free Hugs,’ a total pervert.” ... O.K., so maybe you can annoy him a little, but you simply cannot stress him out.
Photo by Tequila Minsky
CRONUT MONOPOLY CRUMBLES: C’est la vie. Yes, the Village’s first cronut knockoff has arrived. Of course, it’s not actually called a cronut, but rather a French donut. (Maybe this will eventually be shortened to “Fronut”?) Its first day of sale was Saturday at Mille-feuille bakery and cafe, 552 LaGuardia Place, between W. Third and Bleecker Sts. — a mere five blocks away from the birthplace of the now-famed cronut, Dominique Ansel Bakery, at 189 Spring St. The flavors at Mille-feuille are chocolate, vanilla beans and raspberry. A price war hasn’t broken out just yet, as the going rate for both a cronut and a French donut is the same, $5. And similar to the cronut craze that is seeing cronut nuts line up on Spring St. as early as 3 a.m., there was a line outside Mille-feuille when it opened at 7 a.m. They were sold out of French donuts by around 3 p.m. According to New York magazine, Dominique Ansel, the owner of the Spring St. bakery, has smartly trademarked the word “cronut.” Although the LaGuardia Place French donuts are the first local imitators, cronut knockoffs reportedly have, in fact, already cropped as far away as Australia and the Philippines. In one place they’re being called “cronots.” New York magazine advises Ansel immediately to start churning out solely cronuts and drop production of his other pastries and sandwiches. BYE-BYE NYCHA BOARD? Governor Cuomo has about a week to sign a bill that would replace the New York City Housing Authority’s three board of directors members with volunteers who will get modest per-diem fees. The current board members each make $187,000 a year and the job comes with drivers. The Legislature has already passed the bill and upon Cuomo’s signature, it would take effect immediately. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said, “This measure will bring more accountability and increased tenant representation on the NYCHA board and empower residents to have more of a voice when it comes to decisions that affect their lives.” Former East Village City Councilmember Margarita Lopez, due to her close relationship with Mayor Bloomberg, landed one of the NYCHA director spots after she had to leave office due to term limits. But now it looks
A HALL OF A GUY: Congratulations to Andrew Berman for being nominated for Vanity Fair’s Hall of Fame in the magazine’s July issue. We asked the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation director how he felt about receiving the honor. He modestly replied, “It is of course always great to be recognized for your work, though in this case, I feel the recognition belongs to the entire G.V.S.H.P. organization and its members, since it’s really about the work we have collectively done together, and that I am just fortunate enough to be the public face of. It does come at a particularly good time, though, as years and years of our collective hard work has resulted in movement finally on landmarking the South Village. But of course we’ve still got a lot more work to do.”
Photo by Scoopy
GO, DOGS GO! There don’t seem to be any bones of contention about the new, 24-hour dog run in Washington Square Park. Iris Elton was giving her pooch Phoebe, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and a bunch of other dogs, a ball-fetching workout last Friday. “I think it’s great,” said Elton, a local actress. “All the dogs seem a lot happier here.” The bench structure around a tree, similar to the one in the Tompkins Square run, is a hit with the canines, who like to climb on it. “This feature is really cool,” she said. “It’s like a little jungle gym.” John Wrann, who was walking his dachshund, Bernie, near the park’s water feature, is also a fan. “It’s new, it’s clean,” he said. An alum of Our Lady of Pompeii School, he’s attending dental school in Buffalo.
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Shaoul takes it off: Illegal 6th St. penthouse going By Lincoln Anderson It took almost five years, but Ben Shaoul is finally removing the penthouse that he added onto 514-516 E. Sixth St. The Villager was tipped off by a concerned reader earlier this week, who saw a truck come in and unload equipment, making the resident think Shaoul was actually going to add more to the already illegal rooftop addition. But Kelly Magee, the Department of Buildings’ press secretary, said what’s going on is that Shaoul is removing the tenement’s illegal seventh-story penthouse. He also had added a sixth story but is being allowed to keep that. The work is being done in compliance with a Sept. 12, 2012, ruling by the Board of Standards and Appeals. “Work is being performed to dismantle the penthouse, in accordance with approved plans,” Magee said. A crane isn’t being used. Rather, the penthouse is being dismantled by hand, as in “with handheld devices,” Magee said. She also noted that D.O.B., during a recent site inspection, issued one violation for “failure to provide guardrails” around the work area so that workers don’t fall off the building. Shaoul also added a sixth floor and a similar, seventh-story, setback penthouse at another building he owns, 515 E. Fifth St., where the tenants have also challenged the additions in court. At both the Fifth and Sixth St. buildings, tenants — working with the Urban Justice Center — challenged the rooftop additions under the 1929 Multiple Dwellings Law, charging that they were illegal because neither building had an elevator or adequate fire escapes, as required by the law. Tenants at the Fifth St. building also filed a lawsuit charging D.O.B. had issued Shaoul the permit for the rooftop additions in violation of the so-called “Sliver Law,” which limits building heights on lots narrower than
Photos by Tequila Minsky
Workers removed material from the illegal seventh-floor penthouse at 514-516 E. Sixth St. on Wednesday. The B.S.A. ruled last fall that the penthouse must come down.
45 feet. According to Alice Baldwin, a tenant at 515 E. Fifth St., the “Sliver Law” issue didn’t affect the Sixth St. building, which — because Shaoul somehow wrangled variances for violating the Multiple Dwellings Law — is being allowed to keep the sixth-story addition, though must remove the seventh-story penthouse. “The B.S.A. is going to have to consider the zoning laws first on Fifth St., before even
considering the M.D.L. variances [Shaoul and his partners] want,” Baldwin told The Villager. “We are hoping they will recommend removing both the sixth and seventh floors. It is taking so long because the owner is collecting rent on those floors and wants to keep doing so.” Tenants from both buildings asked the B.S.A. back in 2008 to reverse the D.O.B. permits that allowed the rooftop additions.
Chin calls lots becoming parkland a ‘major victory’ Continued from page 1 The unexpected announcement came just a day after Community Board 3 passed a unanimous resolution calling on the city to seek ways to preserve all of the garden at its present location on the corner of Norfolk and Stanton Sts. “The decision [by H.P.D.] was based on the overwhelming desire of the community to keep these two city-owned lots as gardening space; a position voiced and strongly supported by residents, Community Board 3 and the area’s elected officials,” Bederman wrote in an e-mail to The Villager. H.P.D. had been reserving its two lots for future affordable housing. Its decision to transfer them to Parks means that a good portion of this children’s haven will be preserved for future generations of the Lower East Side. But H.P.D. declined to step into the turf battle over the remaining lot owned by devel-
oper Serge Hoyda, who last month erected a fence around his parcel, claiming liability concerns. Hoyda’s fence currently bisects the garden, rendering much of the children’s herb and vegetable beds, as well as their nectarine and fig trees and meditation area, inaccessible. In the resolution passed Tuesday night, C.B. 3 called on the city to “spearhead negotiations to acquire the privately owned middle lot,” so that it too could be preserved as green space under the Parks Department’s GreenThumb program. Indeed, gardeners and supporters, including Councilmember Margaret Chin, had been pitching the idea of the city offering Hoyda some kind of land swap whereby he could exchange his small interior lot for another city-owned parcel, or comparable development rights, elsewhere. But H.P.D. says it has never engaged in a swap of city-owned land for private land, and it’s not in the business of buying out private developers. “H.P.D. will not be negotiating with the pri-
vate owner to purchase his lot,” Bederman told The Villager. “Our funding is programmed to finance the creation and preservation of affordable housing. We do not have the budget, nor do we have the budget authority to purchase private property for use as gardening space.” Whether City Hall would consider buying out Hoyda remains to be seen. The battle over this small children’s haven — now utilized as a teaching space by four neighboring public schools — could prove to be a real test of Bloomberg’s green agenda. But by agreeing to preserve its two lots as green space, the city has at least for the moment stymied the development plans of Hoyda, who had been hoping to partner with H.P.D. to build a mix of market-rate and affordable housing on all three lots. Hoyda and representatives of Norfolk Development LLC, the owner listed on the deed of the lot at 157 Norfolk St., did not respond to requests for comment.
Councilmember Chin, who had been lobbying H.P.D. for weeks, was ecstatic when told the news. “This is a major victory,” Chin told The Villager. “After over 30 years of uncertainty, we know this community treasure is here to stay. “Gardens teach us the value of hard work and perseverance,” she said, “and it is in this spirit that we have together rallied, marched and made our voices heard fighting to protect this invaluable green space.” C.M.G. board president Kate Temple-West, who has been tending plants and mentoring children at C.M.G. for the past 19 years, was also taken aback. “It’s an amazing step,” she said. “It shows that the city understands what an important treasure our garden is to the whole neighborhood. “Hopefully, the voices of the children can convince the city to do what it has the power to do, which is to find a creative way to make the entire garden permanent.”
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Stealth Hudson Park bill to allow air-rights sales For state Senator Brad Hoylman, satisfaction at the bill’s passage was tempered by what he criticized as a lack of transparency in the process. “The amended Hudson River Park Act isn’t perfect,” Hoylman said, “but it provides critical new sources of revenue to facilitate the park’s completion, operation and maintenance, and on balance it’s good for my constituents, many of whom are among the millions of people who visit Hudson River Park each year.”
Continued from page 1 sion that began Friday and turned into an all-nighter, the bill finally came up before the Senate on Saturday morning, and around 5 a.m. was passed unanimously 57-0. The governor’s signature is still required, though his approval is expected. The bill’s sponsors were Richard Gottfried and Deborah Glick in the Assembly. In the state Senate the sponsor was listed simply as “Rules Committee.” In other words, there was no sponsoring senator. Most notably, approval of the bill will allow the Hudson River Park to sell its unused air rights for development up to one block inland of the West Side Highway — with the proceeds from Pier 40’s air rights specifically earmarked for sorely needed repairs to the West Houston St. pier’s roof deck and support pilings. The bill also extends the lease terms for commercial uses in the park to 49 years, and in some cases, for larger developments, up to 99 years. However, on Pier 40, the lease term remains 30 years. Potential Pier 40 developers have, in the past, argued their plans wouldn’t work without a longer lease. Also, under the new bill, the city is required to give Pier 76, at W. 36th St., fully to the Trust, once the tow pound is removed from the pier.
‘Lack of transparency’ “That said,” Hoylman continued, “I am disappointed by some of the provisions, and particularly by the lack of transparency or opportunity for public consultation on major portions of the bill.” It was actually Hoylman, the freshman senator, who sent The Villager a draft of the bill on Tues., June 18 — the newspaper’s first notification that the legislative changes were being proposed. Hoylman added there was a lot of “momentum” behind the bill, and that he worked to achieve what he could, including ensuring that the air rights transfers would undergo public review. “I am particularly happy,” Hoylman added, “that the legislation facilitates the preservation of Pier 40 and its sports fields and ensures the entirety of Pier 76 will be incorporated into the park.” In a statement, Glick hailed the legislation for keeping inappropriate private development out of the park, while at the same time providing the Trust with some new financial mechanisms to maintain the park’s upkeep.
‘There should have been hearings and consultations with affected communities.’ Andrew Berman
Photo by Lincoln Anderson
This development-ready property on West St. between Clarkson and Leroy Sts. could possibly benefit from an air-rights transfer from the Hudson River Park.
Fifty percent of this pier’s footprint will be designated for park use, with the remainder of the pier slated for park / commercial use. The Trust would get all the revenue generated by the pier. In addition, the bill calls for the imposition of a surcharge of up to $2 on tickets for all commercial vessels (entertainment, sightseeing, day or dinner cruises) that embark or disembark within the park, with this tax paid directly to the Trust.
Floating heliport Under the modification to the park act, the current W. 30th St. Heliport also will be moved off the upland part of the park and out onto a one-story heliport terminal on a floating structure — possibly, a barge or pontoons — in the Hudson River somewhere between W. 29th and 32nd Sts. No additional structures can be built on the landing pad. Though still located in the park, which extends out to the pier-head line, this floating landing pad will move the noisy and noxious heliport farther away from park users and the community. Furthermore, the bill expands allowable rev-
enue-generating uses at the park’s designated commercial piers to include restaurants, media and film studio facilities, commercial amusements — such as carousels — performing arts, schools and educational facilities. Finally, the bill allows Pier 54, at W. 13th St., the park’s main event pier, to be rebuilt wider than its original footprint. Neither Glick nor Gottfried — whose districts each include part of the park — got everything they wanted in the bill. The bill doesn’t allow things at Pier 76 that Gottfried favored, such as hotel and residential use and possibly a large Ferris wheel. It doesn’t permit something Glick wanted at Pier 40, commercial office use, which is needed to allow Douglas Durst’s adaptive reuse proposal to convert the pier’s three-story shed structure into a high-tech office campus. The area’s local youth sports leagues last year put on a major push to change the park’s legislation to allow residential use on or next to Pier 40 — feeling it was the best way to ensure funding to fix up the crumbling “sports pier.” However, lack of political support sunk that idea.
‘Certainly a compromise’ “The bill is certainly a compromise,” Gottfried told The Villager. “It does several important things for the financial viability of the park and for the quality of the park. However, most of the provisions relating particularly to Pier 40 or Pier 76 were deleted [from the bill’s final version]. We will hopefully take up issues relating to those piers next year. I felt it was better to do that than enact some very inadequate provisions that would then be very difficult to change in the future. “The provision allowing the Trust to sell unused development rights of the park to adjoining properties can potentially provide considerable revenue for the park,” Gottfried said. The heliport was slated to vacate the park in two years. But Gottfried said it’s being kept, albeit out in the water, because “there is a strong desire for a heliport on the West Side — for emergency transportation, and, as you can imagine, there are some people with influence in our society who think getting in and out of Manhattan by helicopter is very important to them.”
Preserving Pier 40 “I am pleased that this legislation strikes a balance between financial support and protecting public space,” she said. “In particular, I am glad that any sale of the air rights from Pier 40 will directly be used to repair and secure Pier 40’s infrastructure — thus ensuring that playing fields utilized by children and adults will continue to exist for generations.” The idea for a surcharge on commercial vessels using the park was originally Glick’s, and she claimed it could bring in $1.5 million for the Trust annually. Before the vote on the legislation, Madelyn Wils, the Trust’s president, sent out a letter to politicians and park advocates, stating, in part, “Last night the Assembly and Senate each introduced a bill to amend the Hudson River Park Act, enabling legislation in line with many items discussed and introduced by the Hudson River Park Task Force over the last year and a half. … It provides many significant and important additional rights [for the Trust], plus some language clarifications that will allow us to improve our bottom line and help support the park’s viability into the future.”
Continued on page 26
8 June 27 - July 3, 2013
police blotter CvS credit-card crook An employee at the CVS store on Bleecker St. reportedly stole a customer’s credit card in May, and spent the past month using it illegally before being arrested on June 22, police said. Christopher Thornhill, who works behind the register at the 158 Bleecker St. location, was apprehended while he was on his shift around 9 a.m. that day, after his boss called police to turn him in. Thornhill allegedly swiped the card from an unwitting customer, who reported it stolen on May 20, and Thornhill used it to purchase more than $4,000 worth of CVS gift cards for himself. The store manager told police he watched
security video footage in which Thornhill could be seen using the stolen card multiple times. When officers arrested Thornhill at store on June 22, they recovered the stolen card. Thornhill was charged with identity theft, grand larceny and possession of stolen property.
Wash. Sq. wallet snatchers Around 4 p.m., a witness told an officer patrolling Washington Square Park that he had just seen a man — later identified as Nicola Milosevic, 29 — snatch a mother’s wallet out of a pocket in the side of her baby stroller. After the witness quickly identified Milosevic, the
Speeding cyclist slams woman BY JEFFERSON SIEGEL Around 7:30 p.m. Thurs., June 20, a large group of cyclists was speeding down Broadway when one struck a female pedestrian at the corner of Eighth St. Firefighters responded and treated the woman, bandaging a large, bloody cut on her forehead. A police car soon arrived, and the cyclists, all young men in their mid to late teens, tried to ride off. Two pedestrians began chasing them, and the police car cut off the cyclists a block south. Officers talked with three of the cyclists for several minutes. The injured pedestrian was led into a waiting ambulance. Meanwhile, the three cyclists engaged in raucous laughter for several minutes, joking as if nothing serious had happened. The cyclist in the collision told an officer his bike lacked brakes. After the ambulance left, the police let the cyclists go with the stern warning, “Slow down.”
officer stopped him as he was walking the park alongside a woman, Magdalena Bitiucka, 23, who said she was Milosevic’s girlfriend. After searching both suspects, the officer found the stolen wallet inside Bitiucka’s purse. Milosevic also had a warrant out for his arrest, after being convicted of a theft in Queens and failing to show up at court for his sentencing. The couple were both charged with grand larceny.
random cell-phone smack A woman, 22, told police she was walking down the stairs inside the West Fourth St. subway station around 8 p.m. on June 20 when a man — later identified as Stefan Stephenson, 20 — smacked her in the face with his cell phone, and then started running away. As she was following him up back up the stairs and out onto the street, the victim spotted a police officer and told him what happened, and the officer arrested Stephenson near the corner of West Fourth St. and Sixth Ave. Stephenson was charged with assault.
Dinner and a drubbing A dispute inside a swanky Spanish restaurant turned ugly on the night of June 22, leaving one man fearing for his safety and another in handcuffs.
The victim, 46, along with a witness, told police that he was dining at Tertulia, at 359 Sixth Ave., around 10:30 p.m. when he happened to exchange words with Thomas Heard, 31. Heard then allegedly punched the man in the back of the neck, and threatened to stab him and hit him with a chair, before storming out of the restaurant. Shortly after the victim and witness called the police, Heard was spotted and apprehended by officers during a canvass of the area. He was charged with assault and menacing.
an ‘l’ of a dumb fight On June 22, a brawl onboard a Brooklynbound L train landed two men behind bars, after they apparently failed to realize that a uniformed police officer was sitting at the other end of the subway car. The officer said that around 4:30 a.m. he was waiting for the train to leave the station at W. 14th St. and Eighth Ave., when he saw an argument between David Mouzon, 19, and Jeffery Ortiz-Zapato, 20, escalate to blows. The officer broke up the fight, but not before the two men had given each other some cuts and bruises to the face, though neither required medical attention, according to police. Both men were charged with assault.
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June 27 - July 3, 2013 9
Board 3 approves Danny Chen Way street co-naming By Clarissa-Jan Lim Community Board 3 voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve a resolution for co-naming a block of Elizabeth St. as Danny Chen Way. Private Danny Chen committed suicide in 2011 in Afghanistan after being subjected to incessant racial taunting and abuse by fellow soldiers. Chen grew up in Chinatown the only child of Chinese immigrants and joined the Army at age 19. The only Asian in his platoon, Chen became the target of ethnic slurs and physical torment. Hours before his death on Oct. 3, 2011, he was allegedly made to crawl some 100 meters over gravel while carrying Army equipment and being pelted with rocks by his superior officers. Eight officers were subsequently found guilty in connection with the incident and handed light sentences. Chen’s death sparked uproar in the AsianAmerican community and brought about reform campaigns to address the hazing culture in the military. It led to President Obama signing into law a bill designed to combat military hazing earlier this year. The approval of the Danny Chen Way co-naming — for Elizabeth St. between Canal and Bayard Sts. — will serve as a reminder of Chen’s ordeal and a way to honor his memory. Elizabeth R. OuYang, president of OCA-NY, the organization that has been
let’s do something together at trinity wall street
All Are Welcome All events are free, unless noted. 212.602.0800
trinitywallstreet.org
TRINITY CHURCH Broadway at Wall Street 74 TRINITY PLACe is located in the office building behind Trinity Church
sT. PAUL’s CHAPeL Broadway and Fulton Street CHARLOTTe’s PLACe 107 Greenwich Street btwn Rector & Carlisle Streets
Photo by Clarissa-Jan Lim
After winning the community board’s approval for a street co-naming sign for her son, Danny Chen’s mother, Su Zhen Chen, right, with her husband, Tan Toa, center, tearfully thanked supporters, but said the pain of losing her only child will never go away.
community
THURsDAY, JUNe 27, 10:30am-12pm Fellowship Gathering: Job Seekers’ Group Join others seeking to improve and effectively market their job skills. 74 Trinity Pl, 3rd Fl, Room 2 THURsDAY, JUNe 27, 6:30pm Fellowship Gathering: Summer Dance Aerobics Stay cool and feel great as you dance away the stress of the day in this low-impact dance aerobics class. 74 Trinity Pl, 20th Fl FRIDAY, JUNe 28, 6pm Family Friday Yoga and Veggie Night Practice with your children in this family-focused yoga class! Charlotte’s Place TUesDAY, JULY 2 & 9, 1-3pm Open Hours Origami Learn origami with interfaith minister Lisa Bellan-Boyer. Charlotte’s Place
WeDNesDAY, JULY 2 & 9, 6:30-8:30pm Fellowship Gathering: The Blessing Group Learn how to bless your way through every day through a combination of prayer, meditation and contemplation. 74 Trinity Pl, 3rd Fl, Library
education
sUNDAY, JUNe 30 & JULY 7, 10pm The Gospel, Times, Journal, and You A discussion group that reads the editorial pages of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the assigned gospel for the day. 74 Trinity Pl, 2nd Fl
among the fiercest advocates of justice for Chen, said at the meeting that the street sign will “represent the ongoing struggle for equality in the armed forces for minorities, women and gays and lesbians.” “While Danny’s passing is tragic, it will not be in vain,” she said. “It has united the Chinatown community around the issue of military hazing and to encourage greater respect for diversity in the armed forces.” The resolution passed to cheers and resounding applause in the audience as Chen’s family hugged and shed tears of joy. His mother, choked up with emotion, embraced OuYang. Outside the auditorium, she tearfully thanked supporters: “That sign — Danny Chen Way — will make me feel some comfort. But the memory of my son, the pain will never go away.” OuYang also thanked the “thousands of people across the world and around the country” for their support. She said they received a measure of justice on Tuesday evening. “I hope when you walk past Danny Chen Way,” she said, “you will hold your head up high and remember the sacrifice that Danny made so that all our lives can be treated with dignity and respect.” OuYang promised a “huge victory celebration” after the City Council’s expected authorization of the street co-naming. “We will never forget Danny,” she said.
worship sUNDAY, 8am & 10am St. Paul’s Chapel · Holy Eucharist sUNDAY, 9am & 11:15am Trinity Church · Preaching, music, and Eucharist · Sunday school and child care available MONDAY—FRIDAY, 12:05pm Trinity Church · Holy Eucharist MONDAY—FRIDAY, 5:15pm All Saints’ Chapel, in Trinity Church Evening Prayer, Evensong (Thurs.) Watch online webcast
sUNDAY, JUNe 30 & JULY 7, 10pm Community Bible Study Whether you’re a Bible scholar, opening the book for the first time, or anywhere in between, your voice is welcome. 74 Trinity Pl, 2nd Fl
The Rev. Dr. James H. Cooper, Rector The Rev. Canon Anne Mallonee, Vicar Leah Reddy
an Episcopal parish in the city of New York
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June 27 - July 3, 2013
editorial out of thin air Everyone, or almost everyone, was taken off guard last week, when the State Legislature approved a series of major changes to the 1998 Hudson River Park Act. The most significant of these allows the park to sell its unused air rights for development one block inland. According to the Hudson River Park Trust, the park — on its commercial piers — has about 1.6 million square feet of unused air rights. The Empire State Building has 2.77 million square feet of floor area, and the Trump Soho condo-hotel 300,000 square feet. So the park’s air rights equal more than half an Empire State Building, or more than five Trump Soho’s. In short, 1.6 million square feet is a whole lot of air rights. What’s good about this is that any air rights sold from the park are, by definition, no longer in the park — meaning this limits large-scale development in the park. It could even happen that part of Pier 40’s pier shed could be razed and those now newly unused air rights then sold across the highway — thus, opening up the West Houston St. pier to views to the river. Moving air rights out of the park is definitely a good thing. But what will it mean for the western edge of the Village and Chelsea? Tribeca has no commercial piers. Does that mean none of the park’s air rights will be transferred into Tribeca? Most of the park’s commercial piers are in Community Board 4 (Chelsea / Hell’s Kitchen). So will most of the air rights get transferred up there? How much of the park’s air rights will be able to be stacked at any one site? Will there be designated sites? Will Pier 40’s air rights have to transfer directly across the highway to the St. John’s Building, or can — and should — they go elsewhere? No one seems to have any clear answers yet. Noreen Doyle, the Trust’s vice president, explained that the air rights transfers will all be done according to city zoning, and that it will likely be at least two years from now before anyone can actually start buying and using the park’s air rights. She assumed ULURP reviews would naturally be required. “The city’s going to have to figure out with us how this will work,” she said. That there has been no comprehensive study of all of this to date is concerning. The way the bill’s language is crafted, Pier 40 — by which we also mean the youth leagues and other athletes that use it — is the big winner. Any proceeds from sale of the 15-acre pier’s copious air rights must go back into repair of its dilapidated infrastructure. The secrecy with which the bill was passed was also troubling. The Trust maintains the air rights idea was periodically mentioned at community board meetings and in the media in the past year, but that’s different than notifying the community that there is definitely a pending bill and that it’s moving full-steam ahead! Public hearings would have allayed people’s concerns and also, no doubt, helped strategize on what to do with all these air rights and where to put them and what the impact will be. “No legislation would happen over all in New York State if everything required a public hearing,” Doyle responded. Sorry, but we just don’t buy that. The public should have been more involved on such an important change. Allowing air rights has had another consequence: Douglas Durst, former chairperson of the Friends of Hudson River Park who has been spearheading the plan for a Hudson River Park Neighborhood Improvement District, has pulled his funding from the NID effort. A source told us, “Until development [from the air rights] is quantified, you can’t ask people to pay into a NID.” The NID special-tax district was already on the ropes. Now, we’re told, it’s on hold, and probably will be shelved.
letterS to the editor please help injured florist To The Editor: Re “Drag-racing driver careens onto sidewalk, injuring 4” (news article, June 20): I wanted to follow up on your article last week about the horrific car crash in the East Village on July 19 to let The Villager’s readers know that there is an online fundraiser going on to raise money for Mohammed Akkas Ali, the flower shop worker who was grievously injured when he was struck by the car. I experienced a similar personal tragedy when my father, who was just four years younger than Mr. Ali, 62, was seriously and permanently injured when he was hit by a speeding, intoxicated driver. In fact, at the time, I was the same age, 23, as Mr. Ali’s son Rukanul. As such, I know how much this kind of support will help Mr. Ali and his family, both in terms of providing money for medical and other costs, compensating for lost income, and giving Mr. Ali the peace of mind to know that his family is being looked after by a caring community. I hope The Villager’s readers will please consider donating whatever they can by going to the follow Web site link: https://www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/mvk2/aidforakkasaliandfamily. The fundraising effort will conclude on July 20, at which time a check will be sent to Mr. Ali for whatever amount we raise. My thanks, in advance, to every contributor for their kindness and generosity. Chad Marlow
I, too, am a survivor of the rabbi and was very close to him, as were my sister Andrea and her sons, Michael, of the New York area, and Ira in Los Angeles, and Richard Malek in Laguna Niguel, California — who came in from California and was with the family during this time — Jerry, of Monticello, and several others, in Florida and California. Likewise, another niece, Susan Ackerman (Meyer, I believe) of New York, and in the Ackerman family, was close to the rabbi. The obituary could have also included dear family friends Rose, Vincent and Rose Pomponio, who were no different than family. Usually, obituaries include children and siblings, but in this uncle's case there is a whole bevy of family and friends whom he thought of as his family. As you mentioned these two nephews, I thought I would include the rest of us. We adored him. Other than that, thank you so much for the loving tribute. Kol HaKavod. Susan L. Birnbaum
Some good advice for C.B. 2 To The Editor: Re “Conservancy concerns” (editorial, June 20): Thank you, Villager! This is so well summarized and stated. The community board should revisit this issue — since they voted last Thursday night in favor of this conservancy, as is, and rejected a substitute resolution to review things further — and should give consideration to your well-founded concerns.
rabbi’s beautiful legacy
Cathryn Swan Swan is editor, Washington Square Park Blog
To The Editor: Re “Rabbi Pesach Ackerman of Anshe Meseritz dies at 84” (obituary, June 20): Unfortunately, I never met the late rabbi, but I know the phenomenal fruit of a beautiful daughter from his familial tree. His legacy is assured and the world is blessed.
the tyranny of the gardens
Aldon James
the whole family loved rabbi To The Editor: Re “Rabbi Pesach Ackerman of Anshe Meseritz dies at 84” (obituary, June 20): The article about my uncle Paul (Rabbi Pesach) Ackerman is beautiful.
ira blutreich
To The Editor: Re “Déjà vu all over again” (letter, by Pamela Pier, June 13): When I belonged to Green Oasis, Pamela Pier was the epitome of everything that’s wrong with the gardens. When she couldn’t make it to a meeting she had one of her employees from Dinosaur Hill run over to the garden and declare that the meeting was canceled. When we voted on preserving the grass in front of the stage, she made a secret deal that went against the democratic vote. Like the board at Dias y Flores, Pier resorts to deception and innuendo, insinuating that I was involved in underage drinking. No one should be allowed to be president of a garden for life. Term limits are necessary in community gardens just as they
Continued on page 12
Latest poll: Congress has lower ratings than bedbugs!
June 27 - July 3, 2013 11
landlords’ rising income doesn’t justify a rent hike talkinG point Testimony of state Senator Brad Hoylman before the New York City Rent Guidelines Board on proposed rent hikes, June 13, 2013: Thank you, Chair Kimmel and the rest of the board for the opportunity to present testimony regarding the proposed rent guidelines. I represent New York State’s 27th Senate District, which includes the neighborhoods of Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen, Chelsea and Greenwich Village and parts of the Upper West Side, Midtown, East Midtown, the East Village and the Lower East Side. This mixed-income district is composed largely of tenants, thousands of them rent-stabilized or rent-controlled, in countless small rental buildings, as well as iconic rental complexes, including Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village, London Terrace Gardens, Westbeth and Phipps Plaza. As such, these proposed rent guidelines are crucial to my district. Given the continuing toll the recent economic recession has taken on average New Yorkers and the steady rent increases the Rent Guidelines Board has annually approved, I am dismayed that the R.G.B. is even considering rent increases of up to 6.25 percent for one-year lease renewals and up to 9.5 percent for two-year lease renewals for rent-stabilized apartments. The statistics show that the median income of rent-controlled households was only $29,000 in 2010, while the median income of households in rentstabilized units as a whole was only $37,000. Moreover, housing costs constitute a huge percentage of these tenants’ income. The R.G.B.’s own 2013 Income and Affordability Study found that onethird of renter households in the city (33.6 percent) paid 50 percent or more of their household income for gross rent in 2011, the highest ratio in the history of the study. The R.G.B. has historically justified annual rent increases by citing its Price Index of Operating Costs (Price Index). This year’s Price Index found that operating costs for rent-stabilized buildings increase slightly by 5.9 percent in 2012 — up from 2.8 percent in 2011. However,
the Price Index measures changes in the cost of items landlords typically purchase to run their buildings, rather than actual expenditures, and it contains no information about the income landlords collect from tenants. A more meaningful R.G.B. report is the Income and Expense Study. It shows landlords’ income after all operating and maintenance expenses are paid — the Net Operating Income (N.O.I.), which the R.G.B. notes is “the surrogate measure for profit.” The R.G.B.’s 2013 Income and Expense Study shows that landlords’ operating costs from 2010 to 2011 increased by only 4.1 percent while Net Operating Income (N.O.I.) increased by 5.6 percent. This is the seventh consecutive year that
N.O.I. has increased. The discrepancy exposes the degree to which the system is skewed against tenants and shows a fundamental anti-tenant bias. Tenants have been forced to support the constant demand for an increased profit margin, including through the “great recession” when many other industries saw their margins shrink. Year after year the R.G.B.’s own statistics do not support the landlords’ primary argument that increased rents are necessary to meet increased operating costs. An honest assessment of the real numbers shows not only that landlords can afford — and will still profit from — rents remaining constant, but also that most regulated tenants cannot afford any rent
increases. Any approved rent increases by the R.G.B. would only increase landlord profits and further chip away at New York City’s affordable housing stock, which lost more than 2,539 units in 2012, and more than 105,242 units since 1994. The citywide vacancy rate remains at 3.12 percent, legally constituting a housing emergency, while 11.5 percent of all rental housing was considered overcrowded as of 2011. Therefore, I urge the R.G.B. to impose a freeze on rents for all rent-regulated apartments, as well as for lofts, hotels, rooming houses, single-room-occupancy buildings and lodging houses. Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today.
anderson creates some buzz as she reimagines drones
Photos by Milos Hess
Things were all abuzz over Rockefeller Park in Battery Park City last Wednesday evening as Laurie Anderson performed her new “The Language of the Future” at the River to River Festival. The performance artist released a small fleet of remote-controlled, camera-equipped drones into the air, which hovered over the audience during her mostly politically themed piece. “They’re really toys, and they move in a very weird and beautiful way,” Anderson told The New York Times. “And because people think of drones as killing machines, generally, I’m interested in finding ways to use them in a different, magical way.”
Scene
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June 27 - July 3, 2013
Pagans seek to dispel fears, and find a Village home By Lael Hines For most people, last Friday was just the first day of summer. But for Star Raven Hawk and Chantal Commons, the day held a much deeper significance. Practitioners of the Wicca faith, they had agreed to an interview at a Lower East Side Burger King. Star and Chantal were intricately bedecked in long yellow dresses with floral accessories. Chantal immediately explained they were dressed that way because it was the summer solstice. “It represents the height of summer,” she said, reverently. “It’s nature at its highest point, everything is flourishing into light. The Earth, the Sun, everything is at its highest potential at this time because the Sun is at its highest point.” People have many ideas about paganism, many of them false, Star and Chantal said. Chantal gave a concise definition. “We’re a polytheistic religion,” she explained. “We believe in many goddesses and many gods. Our primary purpose is to celebrate the cycles of the Earth, and celebrate the energies of nature.” Paganism is a broader term, while Wicca is a distinct subset of paganism. As for how and why they became pagans, Star and Chantal gave strikingly different answers. Star said she immersed herself in the pagan faith after the death of her husband. “It became my comfort, it became my means of dealing with his death,” she related. “He was my best friend. If I’m helping other people with my candle spells, each person I help has helped me deal with my grief.” In contrast, Chantal found that paganism filled her unmet spiritual needs. “In my family, it was you’re Christian and that’s it,” she explained. “Once I found Wicca, I was more comfortable with it. This was a religion where I was allowed to think for myself, I was allowed to research. For me, it was more logical to be in touch with nature and things I can see and work with rather than just someone out there somewhere. This religion was more tangible for me, so I’ve been studying ever since.” Chantal described how converts are attracted to the selfempowering elements of paganism. “We don’t preach this notion that there is some God out there somewhere. A pagan women once said, ‘This is a religion of experience not of belief.’ You are your own priest; there is no one superior to you. It gives people a lot more empowerment to know that you are just as capable to access the higher powers as anyone else.” Star stressed the nonviolence of paganism. “It’s one of the few religions that did not kill people to convert them,” she stated. “Wars have been made in the name of Allah or God for centuries. We are one of the few religions that hasn’t done any of that.” This peaceful quality attracts converts toward paganism, she said. Chantal added that paganism also supports a sense of equality among all people.
Photo by Lael Hines
Chantal Commons, left, and Star Raven Hawk are proud to be pagans.
“This religion allows people to connect with each other,” she said. “In most religions it’s about the man being above the woman or parents being above the kids in a constant struggle for power. In this religion we can have power with each other. A lot of women flock to this religion because women are honored, respected and treated as equals; it’s like a breath of fresh air. We are open to people of all orientations, all races and all ages. I have a lot of gay friends who come to this religion because other religions condemn them; this religion isn’t about that, it’s about your growth.”
letters to the editor Continued from page 10 are in politics. The board at Dias y Flores rushed to destroy my plot that I had offered to turn over to the community. They destroyed a legacy of plants, some of which originated in the famous Chico Mendez Mural Garden. They are selfserving, power hungry vandals and will be voted out as soon as the misguided deputy director of GreenThumb, Roland Chouloute, lifts his onerous ban on people joining the garden. The Dias y Flores board’s actions are naked acts of retaliation against members who dare speak up about their awful tyranny. But as the Bible says, “First will be last and last will be first.” Thank you to The Villager for making this a cause célèbre. Viva democracy. Viva the East Village. Viva free speech! Jeffrey Cyphers Wright
A couple of ‘key’ points 325 W. 14th St. New York, NY 10014 (212) 242-1456
www.reddenfuneralhome.net NY State law mandates that funeral trust funds for Medicaid recipients pay for funeral and burial only. The contracts are irrevocable.
Despite Wicca’s positive aspects, many have misconceptions about it, the pagan pair said. “A lot of the fear that people have about us is based on mystery,” Star noted. “It doesn’t help when people spread rumors,” chimed in Chantal. “We don’t worship the devil. We don’t even have the devil. However, people seem to think that, and it sends people away from us.” To dispel the mystery and ambiguity that steers people away from paganism, the local pagan community is taking steps to standardize the religion and present a clear face to the public. The first step is the organization of a Pagan Festival on Sat., June 29, on Astor Place. Star explained, “There are going to be some informational groups so you can learn about our different traditions. We are as central as we can be in Astor Place; it gives us a chance to inform the public about ourselves, it kind of demystifies some of it.” “We will have live performances, vendors, workshops, just to show the community who we are,” Chantal added. Another of the street festival’s objectives is to generate funds so the pagans can secure a permanent space, preferably a whole building. The building would be located in the Village, and serve as a “home” for paganism, further standardizing the religion. “We want to start to have our own space,” Star said passionately. “We just want to have our own space like any other denomination out there. Over the years, Children’s Aid Society has called me and said, ‘We have families who are pagans and they want a place they can go’, but sadly, we don’t have a building.” Added Chantal, “People in prison might want to reach out to pagan reverends, or people in hospitals might want to reach out to us. Once we get established with a building, we can help them.” As for why they are focusing their campaign in the Village, Star said, for one, a lot of their members live in the area. Beyond that, she said, “Honestly, I’ve been all over the city practicing in different places, and I don’t know how to describe it, but there’s something down here. I think it’s always had a spiritual background and you can feel it down here. Even when we’re in the park or the garden or something like that, you feel it.”
To The Editor: Re “Garden revokes his membership again, throws away the key” (news article, June 13):
A few corrections to your article. I was never sent a notice by the board revoking my membership. As far as I’m concerned, I am still a member. Second, the painting of the keys shown in the article was done by Jeff Wright. The original key painting was mine, but the board painted over it. I did it on Memorial Day. The original key painting was done in commemoration of the key ceremony, where 41 people brought Jeff Wright a key to the garden after he was unlawfully booted out by “the board.” It was also in response to a board member in the garden ordering me to “do some work.” As far as the Memorial Day gathering goes, it was just a meeting of friends for a barbecue, not an organized party, although a Memorial Day party is written into the Dias y Flores bylaws. Debra Jenks 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.
June 27 - July 3, 2013 13
Photos by Milo Hess
GAY PRIDE
A special Villager supplement • Pages 13 to 24
1 4 June 27 - July 3, 2013
Pastor’s spiritual journey led him to the Village By Lael Hines “I had a strange life,” Pastor Mark Erson said with a compelling honesty. “I grew up in the Church because my father was a pastor,” he explained. “I always thought I wanted to be a pastor until I came to realize I was gay. I thought, ‘Well, O.K., I can’t do that.’ So I didn’t pursue it right out of college. Instead I pursued other things, including theater arts and teaching. It took me a while before I finally ended up in seminary.” He spoke last week in his comfortable, well-lit office next to St. John’s Lutheran Church on Christopher St., where his childhood vision of becoming a pastor has been fulfilled. Erson was ordained in 2009, becoming the pastor of St. John’s Lutheran on Aug. 1, 2011. Welcoming a visitor into his office was Erson’s husband of two years and high school sweetheart, Scott Jordan. Erson’s placement at St. John’s Lutheran was undoubtedly intentional. “The bishop recommended me to this position in hopes that, being an openly gay pastor, I would make new attempts to reach out to the community here in the Village, not only the gay community but to the vibrant arts community,” Erson explained. “I have an arts background, therefore, I feel really connected to this neighborhood. And I love being here, both for the L.G.B.T.Q. [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, ques-
Photo by Lael Hines
Pastor Mark Erson in front of St. John’s Lutheran Church.
tioning] community, but also for the artistic tradition of the Village.” As pastor, Erson is a relatable figure
CAROLYN MALONEY NOBODY’S CONGRESSWOMAN BUT YOURS • Proud to Support Marriage Equality • Proud to Have Co-Sponsored the Repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” • Proud Author of the Family & Medical Leave Inclusion Act Covering LGBT Families • Proud to Introduce New York’s First-Ever Legislation to Recognize Same-Sex Couples • Proud Co-Sponsor of the Employment NonDiscrimination Protecting LGBT Americans • Proud to Co-Sponsor the City’s Landmark 1986 Civil Rights Bill • Proud to Stand with New York City’s LGBT Community!
HAPPY PRIDE! Paid for by Maloney for Congress
for L.G.B.T.Q. Christians in the community. Many L.G.B.T.Q. Christians may find themselves in a faith crisis rooted in their sexual orientation. Erson passionately described his initiative to steer them away from this doubt. “There are a lot of churches now that continue to preach condemnation of our community, and I want to be an alternate voice,” he stated. “I want us to be the voice that stresses the Gospel and the story of Jesus; the Bible is a story of welcome, not of condemnation. I never had a faith crisis. I never went through that time of doubting God’s love for me. I’ve been blessed with a sense of peace about my relationship with God. When I see people who are hurting or doubting their relationship with God, I want to say, ‘Try this, because it really can be a wonderful place to center your life.’ ” Erson’s initiative to develop St. John’s
Lutheran as an “alternate voice” identifies with the transforming role of this church within the Village community. The church was built in 1855. Throughout the 1960s and ’70s it played a conservative role in the community, often at odds with the Village’s growing hippie culture. “St. John’s took it as their role back then to bring in youth groups, showing them the prostitutes, showing them the drug addicts, showing them the hippies,” Erson explained. “They would say, ‘Look at it! It isn’t glamorous! Don’t run away! Stay home!’ ” Gradually, though, St John’s Lutheran transitioned away from its staunch conservatism. The church slowly instituted a more progressive program, catering to and developing a connection with the liberal community around it. Erson described this process as an intentional “restarting of the congregation.” As a result of the church’s transformation, Erson noted, “Though we have this old building, most of the members of the congregation are relatively new members.” St. John’s intentional effort to connect with the community is apparent through its recent actions. The church has partnered with several community organizations, including New Alternatives, a group that reaches out to the homeless L.G.B.T.Q. homeless community. Visually, one can see the growing partnership with the gay community through an array of rainbow banners festooned around the entrance of St. John’s. It’s all part of the effort to connect. “In observing some of those key days — World AIDS Day, Gay Pride Week and National Coming Out Day — we are making sure that important days for the community are important to us to,” the pastor said. “Right now we are a very small congregation. There’s not a lot we can do on our own,” Erson said, modestly, as the interview drew to a close. “But we’ve got a great location, a lot of enthusiasm and a door that’s wide open and welcome.” With his optimism, warmth and sincere efforts at outreach, Erson seems to be in the right place at the right time both for himself and for St. John’s Lutheran Church.
COME SHARE OUR
PRIDE 281 W 12th St. (corner of West 4th St) New York, NY 10014 (212) 243-9041 A, C, E at 14th Street; L at Eighth Avenue; 1, 2, 3, 9 at 14th Street
June 27 - July 3, 2013 15
1 6 June 27 - July 3, 2013
Pride March 2013 is in shape and ready for takeoff
Celebrating Pride and Ever Moving Forward Photos by Q. Sakamaki
Assemblymember
Deborah J. Glick First openly LGBT Assemblymember - proud to serve since 1991. 853 Broadway, Suite 1518, New York, NY10003 Tel: 212-674-5153 / Fax: 212-674-5530 glickd@assembly.state.ny.us
Walootan ataynahu hukman waAAilman wanajjaynahu mina alqaryati allatee kanat taAAmalu alkhabaitha innahum kanoo
Assembly Member Dick Gottfried
Wishes You a Safe & Happy PRIDE
Dick Gottfried’s Community Office: 242 West 27th St., ground floor Ph: 212-807-7900, E-mail: gottfrr@assembly.state.ny.us
The Pride March kicks off Sun., June 30, at noon at 36th St. and Fifth Ave. It will wend its way down Fifth Ave., following the lavender line, to Eighth St. in the Village, then hang a right onto Christopher St., finishing at Christopher and Greenwich Sts. This year’s grand marshals are Villager Edie Windsor, the successful plaintiff against the Defense of Marriage Act in the Supreme Court; singer and civil rights icon Harry Belafonte; and Earl Fowlkes, president and C.E.O. of the Center for Black Equity. There will be more than 50 floats and 300 unique marching contingents, including nonprofits, community organizations, corporate sponsors, small businesses, political candidates, houses of worship and activists.
June 27 - July 3, 2013 17
PFLAG keeps on flying the banner of love and support By Clarissa-Jan Lim On Sunday, the Church of the Village celebrated the unveiling of a new plaque for PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), now affixed to its front entrance. The plaque commemorates the founding of the groundbreaking advocacy group 40 years ago at the church, at 13th St. and Seventh Ave. The unveiling ceremony after the service saw a strong turnout of about 50 attendees. In 1972, after learning that her gay son, Morty, had been beaten up while distributing fliers protesting the lack of concern about gay issues at a dinner event at the Hilton Hotel Ballroom, Jeanne Manford took the initiative of publicly supporting him at the Christopher Street Liberation Day March. Manford marched alongside her son, carrying a sign with the words “Parents of Gays: Unite in Support of Our Children.” It was a daring and pioneering move on Manford’s part, considering the times, and many individuals approached her during the march to ask if she would talk to their parents. The overwhelmingly positive response inspired Manford to create a support group for families and friends of L.G.B.T. people. The fledgling organization’s first meeting took place a year later at the Church of the Village. Manford was memorialized in a service earlier this year celebrating her life and legacy, a few months after her passing in January. She was 92. Today, PFLAG works in partnership with organizations around the world to promote education and provide support among the L.G.B.T. community in countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, Vietnam, Turkey, France and Germany, according to Drew Tagliabue,
At the PFLAG plaque unveiling last Sunday, from left, Bishop Alfred Johnson of Church of the Village; Andrew Berman, executive director of G.V.S.H.P.; Suzanne Ramos, a PFLAG board member; Mark Peters, a church member; Reverend Vicki Flippin, and Jody Huckaby, PFLAG national executive director.
PFLAG’s New York City executive director. The group now has more than 350 chapters and more than 200,000 members in the U.S. “I think we have come a long way,” said Tagliabue. Sunday’s upcoming Pride March will see “a couple hundred people” from PFLAG marching with banners and signs, Tagliabue said.
Lacking protection, gay history is being bulldozed By Andrew Berman The Landmarks Preservation Commission has recently begun creating online slide shows to showcase various history months as represented by some of the city’s roughly 31,000 landmarked properties. In March, L.P.C. highlighted Women’s History Month, and in February, Black History Month. Now for the first time, L.P.C. has also created a Gay Pride Month slide show for June’s L.G.B.T. Pride and History Month. For this, L.P.C., and especially the staff who put it together, should be commended. The enlightening and useful presentation covers a broad range of landmarked sites with some connection to L.G.B.T. individuals and history. Many are, not surprisingly, located in the Village, with several others located in Staten Island, Brooklyn, Governors Island and Upper Manhattan. Ironically, however, what the presentation lacks is a single site actually landmarked by the commission primarily because of its significance to L.G.B.T. history. And in most cases, L.P.C.’s own des-
ignation reports, which officially define a building’s significance, make no acknowledgement whatsoever of any connection to L.G.B.T. history. In fact, L.P.C. has a rather poor record when it comes to landmarking sites whose primary significance is gay and lesbian history. In truth, the agency has never designated a single building in all of New York based primarily upon L.G.B.T. history, in spite of several requests to do so and ample opportunities in what is perhaps the premier city in the world for modern L.G.B.T. history sites. And it may be no coincidence that L.P.C. is for the first time rolling out this L.G.B.T. History Month slide show after recently facing some pointed criticism for this failure, following its refusal to save one of the most important L.G.B.T. history sites in New York from the wrecking ball. Last year, L.P.C. refused to even hold a public hearing on considering landmarking 186 Spring St., a largely intact 1824 rowhouse which served for more
Continued on page 20
“The New York City chapter is the largest local PFLAG chapter,” he noted. “But there will be people coming from other chapters in Jersey, Westchester, Connecticut and more.” But it all started with one brave woman, and a group of likeminded parents and family members at a church in the Village 40 years ago.
1 8 June 27 - July 3, 2013
Christopher St. Pier is an uneasy paradise for youth By Lael Hines At noon on a Wednesday, the Christopher St. Pier harbored a peaceful atmosphere. For some, the sun inevitably beckons them toward the pier that beautifully extends into the Hudson. When walking past the grass, you may observe a young family, an elderly couple, a transgender person or a group of middle schoolers, all basking in the lovely environment the pier provides. With all types of people relaxing in harmony, the Christopher St. Pier fulfills its reputation as a safe, diverse environment. “It’s like a getaway,” said Ricky, a frequent pier visitor. “It’s a place for everyone to come together and just hang out. Yeah, definitely, all races, ages, colors, sexual orientations can be here without being judged. It’s nice, considering many people in the city are still belligerent and backlash gay people.” When asked why they specifically enjoy coming to the Christopher St. Pier, most give similar answers. “The pier is a place where I can be free to be who I am, free from judgment and free to express myself,” said Jay, a 19-year-old of Puerto Rican descent. His companion, an Ohio native, explained, “In Cleveland, we didn’t have anything like the pier. Everywhere we felt out of place.” The Christopher St. Pier offers a “safe haven” for L.G.B.T.Q. (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning) youth who
Photo by Lael Hines
From right, Jay, Geisha and Jay’s friend from Ohio, said they feel a sense of community on the pier.
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congregate there from all around New York and the tri-state area. When asked if they consider this their community, frequent pier-goers Jay and Geisha nodded and smiled in content agreement. Some L.G.B.T. youth look to the pier as a catalyst for freedom and self-expression. Other L.G.B.T. youth see it as their home, forming their lives around relationships and experiences they find there. Chuck Taylor, a homeless gay man in his twenties, said, “This is the place where a lot of the gay people who are homeless gather. We’re like a family of some sorts for those who don’t have families. It’s almost like a sense of home. It’s a beautiful thing, you know?” Despite the accepting positivity surrounding the Christopher St. Pier, the L.G.B.T. youth who gather in the area often feel that there are forces working against them. For instance, the lights in park’s Village section, including the pier, were out for more than half a year because the park’s electrical system was devastated by Hurricane Sandy back in October. During that whole time, the park closed at dusk. After lengthy repairs, the lights only came back on a few weeks ago. “When it’s all dark and the lights are out, that’s when it gets bad, more sketchy and more rowdy,” noted the youth from Cleveland. However, some think it was intentional that the lights were off so long — that it wasn’t really because of the need to stormproof the park’s electrical systems against future hurricanes, as the Hudson River Park
Trust says. Domingo, another homeless pier dweller, said, “It crushed us. I believe they kept those lights out for so long because they didn’t want us on the pier.” The issues with the lights added to tensions between the L.G.B.T. youth and the Park Enforcement Patrol officers who police the park. Jay, another pier denizen, described his negative interactions with the police. “Sometimes they’re rude,” he said. “Once I asked one of the police officers for directions and he just completely ignored me when he saw the rainbow badge on my arm.” Jamie, another homeless gay youth who frequents the pier, said, “The cops come around here and look at us funny. We have to be quiet because if we say anything, that’s when they start getting really aggressive. They may come over and say, ‘Where are the drugs, guys?’ They have no evidence; they just harass us based on things they believe are going on.” After the murder of a gay man, Mark Carson, on Sixth Ave. and Eighth St. last month, police numbers in the area were increased, which the L.G.B.T. youth on the pier actually disliked, since they felt it only put them under more pressure. David Poster, president of the Christopher Street Patrol, however, acknowledged and defended the park officers patrolling the park. “The L.G.B.T. youth come down to the Village and they think they can do whatever they want,” Poster said. “This is a behavioral issue. We have a major problem here. They come down here and act very unruly. It has been a serious problem for many years.” Another source of friction for the youth is the recent establishment of a new restaurant at the foot of the pier. The restaurant’s owner, native Dubliner Paul Hurley, assured that there have been no issues with the L.G.B.T. homeless youth. “As soon as they put the tables up, they move away,” he said. “We have no problems at all with them.” However, many L.G.B.T. youth are irritated by the new restaurant, since they are forced to move from their familiar picnic tables. Jamel, a daily pier visitor, said, “It’s like they just keep pushing us back until we are barely even here anymore. They don’t want us to be seen there.” And there are also divisions within the pier community itself. Geisha, another regular, described the factions. “You have your high-class gays, and your homeless. I talk to everyone but there are definitely groups.” Perhaps subsets of a community are inevitable, but Jamie expressed annoyance with the stark divisions among pier-goers. “Why is it O.K. to be gay if you have money? When you’re gay and in poverty, is that bad?” he asked. “Why is it O.K. to be a successful gay male, but an unsuccessful gay male is an abomination or something? I don’t know, but it doesn’t seem fair to me.”
June 27 - July 3, 2013 19
homeless youth find a home in park on village waterfront INTERVIEWS BY LAEL HINES All interviews done at the Christopher St. Pier.
DomIngo, a.k.a. D love, age 20 Where are you from? Originally L.A., but I came to New York to pursue my career in dancing and modeling. How long have you been coming here? I have been coming here since I was about 15. So I’ve been coming here for five years. Why do you enjoy coming here? This is a place where you can free your spirit. You can express yourself in any way you want. Me, I do a lot of dancing. Here I’m able to express my moves and make up my own dances if I want. On a daily basis, what kinds of things do you do here? We dance a ton. We are incorrectly perceived as a very loud people; we just love to have fun. You may see us voguing or runway walking, or even just sitting down and socializing. Why do you like to come here specifically? For me, it’s a very fun environment. I come here to practice dancing, or simply to come and hang out with my friends. I can have a good time here no matter what. Would you consider this your community? Yes, this is where we come. We are free to be ourselves and talk about what we want to talk about. This is what we consider a “gay outreach.” This is an area where we as a people feel safer. Do you ever find friction with local residents, perhaps diminishing this feeling of safety? No, the local people are very friendly. Only the cops give us trouble. Sometimes they stop you on the street for no reason. They claim that they got a call when they really didn’t. They just want to mess with you. We know that they don’t really want us here, that’s why they turned out the lights on the pier. How was it when the park didn’t have lights? It was very depressing. Honestly, they would barely allow anyone on the pier. We would be forced to leave between 5:30 and 6. We put in a complaint because this is our community, this is where we hang out, this is where we chill. Every once and a while we have cookouts and parties. When the lights went out we couldn’t have them anymore. It crushed us.
ChuCk taylor, early 30s Where are you from? Los Angeles, California.
Photo by Lael Hines
Jamie feels the local police officers and Park Enforcement Patrol officers are prejudiced against the gay youth.
How long have you been coming here? Since 2009. I was in my late twenties when I started coming. How did you learn about Christopher Street? Everyone knows about Christopher Street. It’s famous. It’s more infamous than Castro in San Francisco. Go to Atlanta, go to San Francisco, go to Texas — everyone knows about Christopher Street in New York City. Do you have any stories you wish to share? There are so many to tell. I’ll just tell you about my first night here. I slept in front of Crunch, the gym. It’s right up there. I didn’t know where to go. I stopped a few other gay people and asked where they have a gay shelter. They told me to go to a shelter called Silvia’s Place. That first night I slept at Crunch. The next morning I came here to the pier and met a couple people. They told me they would take me to Silvia’s that night. That day we all hung out around here. One person had, let’s say, prostituted and made some money to buy us all some pizza. That night my new friends took me to Silvia’s. Outside of the shelter there was a medical van where they did H.I.V. testing. That night I found out I was H.I.V. positive. Yet I still slept at that shelter on the floor. You would think it would be bad sleeping in a shelter but it was a safe shelter. It was a good place. I was comforted by the fact I was surrounded by other gay people, people I could relate to. I’ve lived in Los Angeles, Atlanta and Las Vegas and I have never seen anything like what we have here in New York. We are lucky to have these safe havens. When I came here, I found people who wanted to save my life, who wanted to better my situation. Coming from Los Angeles, I was shunned from my family for being who I am. When I got here it was like an arm was put around me. I still feel bad, I still feel lonely, but these people took me to the shelter that day and they helped me get through everything, even the diagnosis. We laugh, we cry, we
Continued on page 22
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Lacking protection, gay history is being bulldozed Continued from page 17 than a decade as a home of some of the most transformative figures of the postStonewall era in the L.G.B.T. civil rights movement. Starting in 1969, just after the Stonewall Riots, 186 Spring St., became a “gay activist commune.” Three of the men who lived there were Jim Owles, Arnie Kantrowitz and Bruce Voeller. All three were involved with introduction of the very first gay antidiscrimination bill in the country. At the time there were absolutely no legal protections against getting fired or other forms of discrimination based upon sexual orientation, and many private- and public-sector employers — including the federal government — had explicit policies prohibiting the employment of persons found to be gay or lesbian. Forms of this bill are now the law of the land in 21 states and the District of Columbia, as well as hundreds of counties and municipalities, including New York City and State. These three men were also among the founders of the Gay Activists Alliance, Gay and Lesbian Independent Democrats (the country’s first gay Democratic political club), and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, the first national organization to advocate for fair and accurate representations of L.G.B.T. people in the media, and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the first organization to advocate politically for L.G.B.T. people on a national level. But the list of their accomplishments only begins there. Owles was the very first openly gay person to run for public office in New York. It was not until 20 years later that an openly gay person, Greenwich Village’s Deborah Glick, would win public office from New York City. Now, in addition to two city councilmembers and three other state legislators from Manhattan who are openly L.G.B.T., there are two openly gay city councilmembers from Queens, an openly gay state assemblymember from Staten Island, and an openly gay congressman from the Hudson Valley — changes probably unimaginable at that time. Bruce Voeller, who lived at 186 Spring St. the longest, co-led the first delegation of gay rights leaders to ever meet with the White House, helped end the federal government’s ban on employing gay people, helped get homosexuality removed from the American Psychiatric Association’s list of mental illnesses, got the very first piece of federal gay rights legislation introduced, and won the first Supreme Court case establishing rights for gay parents. As Voeller turned his attention to sexual health in the 1980s, he also conducted the first study showing that condom usage could prevent the spread of H.I.V., and coined the term Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, to replace the inaccurate and stigmatizing term Gay Related
Photo by Tequila Minsky
Activist Allen Roskoff spoke at a rally last August outside 186 Spring St., which was facing demolition. The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission refused to save the building, and it was razed soon afterward.
Immune Defense Disorder, which was at the time widely used. This is obviously extraordinary historic significance. So extraordinary, in fact, that New York State took the extraordinary step of, the request of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, determining the house eligible for listing on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. Had it been listed, it would have been only the third site in the entire country listed on the registers based upon significance to L.G.B.T. history (the first being the Stonewall Inn, which G.V.S.H.P. helped get listed). But what did L.P.C. do? It refused to landmark the building, or even move ahead with the proposed South Village Historic District, of which this house was a part, which could have saved it as well if L.P.C. felt that individual landmark status was somehow unwarranted. The commission’s rationale? A combination of specious arguments about how the house was too altered, and the people who lived there either not central enough to the L.G.B.T. rights movement or lived there for too short a time. (Voeller, by the commission’s own admission, lived there for more than a decade). But as pointed out by architectural historian Andrew Dolkart (who has written many of the L.P.C.’s own designation reports), a much different standard was applied to the landmarked Louis Armstrong House in Queens, a property that was altered far more. So instead, just after the state issued its determination of eligibility, the city issued demolition permits. The developer, who had previously publicly stated that he intended to preserve the house, made quick work of demolishing the tiny structure in the fall of 2012. Now, it sits as a hole in the ground, as the developer is
being sued by a lender who claims the developer had no right to demolish the structure, since it was being used as collateral for a loan. Unfortunately, this is not the only time L.P.C. has refused to designate an L.G.B.T. landmark. In 2007, G.V.S.H.P. asked L.P.C. to consider landmark designation of 101 Avenue A, an incredibly architecturally distinctive 1876 tenement with a ground floor used for generations as a German immigrant social hall. But since 1979, the former hall had served as the home of the Pyramid Club, which had a profound impact on the L.G.B.T. cultural scene in the early 1980s, and was considered the birthplace of politically and socially conscious drag performance art, as well as the long-running Wigstock Festival. And it was based upon this combination of unusual factors that G.V.S.H.P. proposed it for landmark designation. Here, too, L.P.C. refused to consider designation, though fortunately, unlike 186 Spring St,., the building was not immediately threatened. (Here, too, by the way, the state differed with the city, and declared the building eligible for the State and National Registers of Historic Places.) Fortunately, in 2011, G.V.S.H.P. and our allies were able to get L.P.C. to expand the propsed East Village / Lower East Side Historic District to include this building and several other key sites. However, apparently L.P.C.’s willingness to do so, and its evaluation of 101 Avenue A’s significance, had nothing to do with the building’s L.G.B.T. history, since it gets no mention in the entry for the building in the commission’s designation report for the district. The report’s text is the official record of a building’s significance and what guides how it is supposed to be regulated, and protected, by L.P.C.
Which bring us to the other sites in L.P.C.’s “Gay Pride Month 2013” slideshow. Here again the work of those L.P.C. staff members behind it deserves high praise, for drawing the connections between L.G.B.T. history and individuals and many of the sites highlighted. But in all too many cases, what is presented in the slideshow is not present in L.P.C.’s actual designation reports, and therefore has nothing to do with the history that L.P.C. has officially recognized, or committed to protect in the future. Many of the key sites from the slideshow and from New York’s L.G.B.T. history, like Stonewall Inn and the former Gay Activists Alliance Firehouse, have no mention whatsoever of their L.G.B.T. history in their designation reports. To be fair, the Stonewall Riots did take place two months after the Greenwich Village Historic District was designated, and thus could not have been mentioned in the district’s original designation report. But L.P.C. has had nearly 45 years to correct this. In 1999 and again in 2000, the federal government recognized the Stonewall Riots’ significance by naming Stonewall and the surrounding area to the State and National Registers of Historic Places, and then naming it a National Historic Landmark. L.P.C. has neither amended its designation report to ensure that the L.G.BT. significance is recognized and protected by the commission’s future actions, nor designated Stonewall an individual landmark on this basis, which could be done as well. That’s not to say L.P.C. has never recognized L.G.B.T. history in its designations. Webster Hall’s designation report includes reference to the drag balls and gay and lesbian gatherings that took place there, as do the designation reports of several other sites G.V.S.H.P. fought to have landmarked, such as the Gansevoort Market Historic District, the Weehawken Street Historic District and the South Village extension of the Greenwich Village Historic District. But in all these cases, the L.G.B.T. history, while referenced, is far from the primary reason for designation. L.P.C. is yet to say that a single building or site in New York City deserves to be protected because of its connection to L.G.B.T. history, the way it has for Underground Railroad sites, the African Burial Ground, the Apollo Theater or many other sites rightfully designated for their significance to African-American history. Thus as we celebrate L.G.B.T. Pride and History Month, we also recognize that we still have a long way to go before sites of L.G.B.T. historic significance get the protection and recognition they deserve from the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Berman is executive director, Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation.
June 27 - July 3, 2013 21
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homeless youth feel at home on the village waterfront change who I am. It will just take time.
Continued from page 19 hang out, we just support each other every day. Something I want the people to know is that we are all people, and no matter what situation we may be in, whether it be deemed natural or unnatural, we as Americans should look at each other as brothers and sisters, not white or black, gay or straight. We should find a way to all support each other like I’ve been supported here. I think it would make us a better society. Do you ever experience any friction with local residents? Yes. For years and years we sat over there, but then they opened a restaurant so they forced us to move over here. They sporadically force us to move. We also get a lot of trouble from cops. The other day I got charged for an open container when I had apple juice and I was standing next to someone with liquor. I wasn’t drinking alcohol, I don’t even drink alcohol. I even offered to be breathalyzed but he wouldn’t hear it. He just gave me a ticket. I never got arrested or had any trouble with the cops until I started sitting right here. Do other people come and congregate here with you? Yeah, on the weekend a lot of gay, lesbian and transgender people come from all over and just congregate here. But there are a couple people like me who stay here all the time. Some of them even sleep here, I don’t though.
Where are you from? I’m from Miami. I came here after six years in prison, but I’m the only one left in my family. I can’t really go home. Home is outside or anywhere I can lay my head. I’ve been coming here for two years now. Why did you start coming here to Christopher Street? I don’t know, here I felt freer. I felt more comfortable. Do you consider this area a safe place for you? This place is a safe haven. It’s an escape for people who were not accepted by their families. We come together and make new families; someone may be your grandfather, your brother or your mom. Most of the time we have fun. It’s like a hippie reservation. Here in New York everyone can come together. Other people make it unsafe. I’m gay but I carry myself as a straight man. I’m not a feminine gay male. The cops look at me and think, “He’s selling drugs or something.” The cops judge the way we live our life. Whatever the case may be, we’re not here to harm anybody physically, emotionally or mentally. People come here to share their stories, to have a party. We’re not harming each other. Whatever we do is up to us. The cops make it their business to come harass us. The other day I got beat up on Sixth Avenue by a bunch of cops. They split my chin open, I got a neck fracture and a chipped tooth. This was all because I got in a fight with some guy who was talking to me the way he shouldn’t be talking to me; he was a straight male and he called me a faggot. I got offended, but I looked like the aggressor even though it was more him than me. Luckily, I
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Chuck Taylor said he found incredible support in the Christopher St. community.
know how to carry my own, because all gay people understand the society we live in. If we accidentally slip up, no one can accept that, because they brand us as a man who likes other men. They believe that a man should only like women. They’re prejudiced against us. If civilians were to walk by smoking weed, the police immediately accuse us of doing it, even if we didn’t. Have you ever had any problems with locals? That area used to be seating area. Since the restaurant opened we aren’t allowed to sit there. They keep telling us we have to buy something. They didn’t want us sitting there, so they pushed us out. They don’t want us to be seen in the open, they want us to be under the radar. The other day they called the cops on us, they said one of us stole a beer. I swear it was a homeless man who stole a beer. They called the cops on us and said, “We don’t want them over here. All they do is destroy things.” Here’s the thing, they look at us as a “they.” Who’s “they”? To them we aren’t individuals, we’re just a “they.” Really, it’s the cops who give us trouble. I could write my own book of stories. I wish the general public would understand that we’re human too. Maybe they wouldn’t hate us so much if they actually got to know us, or heard our stories. How was it when the lights weren’t working on the pier? It was horrible. We couldn’t come to the pier. They kept it closed for a long time, claiming that it was broken, flooded or something. They opened up the pier all of the sudden when we weren’t the only ones asking about it, when people said they wanted to jog here or bring their kids here.
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Do you consider this area a safe place for you? Yes, for me it is. I found a group of people who I consider my family. There are prejudices, but I’ve never experienced a hate crime against us. I’ve heard stories though. I heard that a week ago a gay guy got stabbed in the stomach and died in front of a bookstore. It makes me feel uneasy, but I continue to say hi to the locals or to the cops who may hold prejudices against me. I won’t
JamIe, age 22
Celebrate Gay Pride, honey!
June 27 - July 3, 2013 23
Advocates push to roll back condoms-as-evidence law By Gerard Flynn In a city like New York, with the largest H.I.V./AIDS population in the nation, there are few among us who would ever say that you should not carry condoms. But some in the sex industry and in the gay, lesbian and transgender community are doing just that. They are leaving behind prophylactics for fear that, if found in possession of them by police, they could face prostitution charges, because of a state law that allows prosecutors to use condoms as evidence in court. At a press conference on the City Hall steps earlier this month, opponents of the law, including New York district attorneys and city councilmembers, rallied for change, demanding the passage of a bill, stuck in both chambers of the state Legislature, that would stop prosecutors from using condoms as evidence of prostitution in court. City and state legislators, as well as
legal and human-rights groups, told the rally that discouraging sex workers and L.G.B.T. individuals from carrying condoms can promote the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, including H.I.V./ AIDS, an ironic and somewhat “schizophrenic” twist, since the city is running a campaign to promote condom use to prevent S.T.D.’s and unwanted pregnancies. They called on Albany to pass the socalled “No Condoms as Evidence” bill, or S1379/A2736. They said the law also needs to be changed because it unfairly targets members of the gay and transgender community, particularly the latter group. Johanna Vasquez, who is transgender, told the crowd of about 40 how she had been stopped by police several years ago as she walked along Roosevelt Ave. in Queens. Despite pleading her innocence, the discovery of a single condom in her possession landed her in jail for a year, due in part to her immigration status.
A report by Human Rights Watch released last July explained in alarming language how sex workers, particularly transgender women, faced arrest for possession of condoms, which involved “degrading treatment and abuse at the hands of the police. For immigrants,” the report said, “arrest for prostitution offenses can mean detention and removal from the United States.” Socheatta Meng, legislative counsel at the New York Civil Liberties Union, called the passage of the legislation a matter of good public health policy, and common sense, and said it would encourage all New Yorkers — especially those individuals who are regularly stopped by the police — to use condoms. The dangers to sex workers and the city at large was amplified by Jim Vogel, representing state Senator Velmanette Montgomery, who has been sponsoring the bill for nine consecutive years. He said that a sex worker who stopped using condoms due to this law could infect potentially hundreds within a month. The bill in Albany has been a victim, to some extent, of what Vogel called “Downstate/Upstate” politics and a conservative unwillingness to “rock the boat.” Since 1999 the bill has consistently “died in committee.” Its poor record in Albany, however, isn’t deterring some city councilmembers, who are pushing for a
resolution on the bill. Although the city legislature wields limited influence in Albany, Brooklyn Councilmember Steven Levin urged Queens Councilmember Peter Vallone, Jr., chairperson of the Public Safety Committee, to schedule a hearing on the resolution, and one was subsequently held. The resolution, Levin said, puts the City Council on record as saying this should be policy in the city and state, and will put pressure on the state Legislature to act. Some prosecutors have independently taken action to stop the use of condoms as evidence in criminal or civil trials. Like her colleague, Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes, Nassau County D.A. Kathleen Rice has adopted a comprehensive policy banning the use of condoms as evidence in any prostitution-related cases, including trafficking cases, a move that followed an announcement from San Francisco prosecutors that they will cease submitting condoms as evidence. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, while not present at the rally, wants the law changed. “No person anywhere should have to refrain from carrying condoms for fear of arrest or prosecution,” she said. “Condoms are life-saving devices and should not be used as evidence.” Condoms should be encouraged, not discouraged, she said.
PUBLIC NOTICE First Republic Bank has submitted an application to the Regional Director of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to establish a branch office at 443 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10016. Any person wishing to comment on this application may file his or her comments in writing with the regional director of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation at its regional office at 25 Jessie Street at Ecker Square, San Francisco, California 94105, before processing of the application has been completed. Processing will be completed no earlier than the 21st day following either the date of the last required publication or the date of receipt of the application by the FDIC, whichever is later. The period may be extended by the regional director for good cause. The nonconfidential portion of the application file is available for inspection within one day following the request for such file. It may be inspected in the
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Photocopies of information in the nonconfidential portion of the application file will be made available upon request. A schedule of charges for such copies can be obtained from the regional office. Photo by Gerard Flynn
At a rally at City Hall earlier this month, a transgender person spoke out against using condoms as evidence.
Vil: 06/27/2013
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June 27 - July 3, 2013 25
Despite glitches, bike-share riders feeling pumped BY CLARISSA-JAN LIM It seems not a moment goes by almost anywhere in Downtown Manhattan when a distinctive, bright blue Citi Bike isn’t whizzing past one’s peripheral vision. New York City’s bike-share program, unveiled at the end of May, is the country’s largest, and has so far been both incredibly welcomed and utterly vilified. The glitches in the system are numerous and frequent — from its docking and releasing problems, to its kiosks malfunctioning — but the program remains popular. On June 17, the program’s official Twitter page (@ CitibikeNYC) announced that New Yorkers took a “record-breaking 25,119 trips today.” Journalist Claire Connors is a fan. As she wiped down a rain-spattered Citi Bike at the Canal St. and Sixth Ave. station on a wet Monday earlier this month, she said the new bike-share made traveling around town more convenient. “I signed up for it the first week,” she said, “but I wish I had earlier, because I missed out on some good bike-riding weather at the very beginning.” Julian Madden, 30, has has an annual membership, and loves it. “I used it since day one,” he said. “I enjoy going from place to place on the weekends. It's great.” Alex Ward, a TV producer from England who has lived in New York 13 years, is nos-
tranger to bike-share. London has a system, too. “I use it all the time when I get back to London, so I was very excited when it launched here,” he said. “Now I’m just on the bike all the time.” The bugs in the system, however, remain a major issue. Anthony Ponte’s first Citi Bike had a flat tire, and later at the Canal and Sixth station, the kiosk failed to work. After about 15 minutes of trying to get a code for his second ride, Ponte gave up and walked away. Several other people also tried using the kiosk to no avail. A seasoned bike-share user, Ward pointed out the almost fully docked station at Canal and Sixth. “You see how this one’s full at the moment?” he noted. “I would say there’s something wrong with the machine. You can tell.” Chilean tourists Sergio Lorca and Ivan Vasquez also encountered problems with the new pedaling program when they first tried to use it on a Sunday, and then again when they spoke to The Villager the next day. “We paid for the bicycles but we couldn’t take them,” said Vasquez, as he looked over the map on the kiosk to find another station. Lorca said that it’s a good concept “because all people can ride a bike. They just need to fix the electronic problems,” he said. Madden said that although he has “had tons of trouble” dealing with the glitches, it doesn’t
Sneaker freaks score new leBrons BY TEQUILA MINSKY On Saturday, two First Precinct police units were assigned to the early-morning line on Mercer between Canal and Grand Sts. No, those waiting were not there to buy cronuts. Although the Nike store usually opens at 11 a.m., the doors opened around 8:30 a.m. on this day, to relieve pressure from the crowd that began to form hours before. Waiting behind the barriers were mostly young men anxious to shell out $180 plus tax for a pair of LeBron James signature sneakers. After his purchase, one young customer from Queens mentioned that the sneakers were for resale. He said he expected to get $400 to $500 for them. One Brooklynite proudly showed off his sneakers explaining, “I hope to swap these. I bought a size 13, they didn’t have my size — 11.” Asked how one finds a place to swap LeBrons, he said, “They have Facebook pages.” By 9:30 a.m., most in the crowd, corralled behind the barriers, had already purchased one pair and were waiting to be called in to buy another. The one-day-only release of sneakers was sold out by 11 a.m. Thanks to the police there were no incidents, unlike the mayhem at a store near Atlanta, where one man shot a would-be robber at 5:30 a.m. while waiting in line for the store to open at 11 a.m. Police have
Photo by Tequila Minsky
A shopper in Soho showed off his new LeBron James high-tops.
not charged anyone and for now consider the shooting to be self-defense. The shooter reportedly got back in line to buy the sneakers. Nike also is releasing a very limited-edition LeBron James “2-Time” Championship Sneaker Pack of only 600 to 700 pairs.
deter him from using it. New Yorkers might be luckier than their London counterparts. According to Ward, there were many more problems in the initial stages of London’s bike-share than currently with Citi Bike. “It’s teething problems,” he said. “It’ll sort itself out.” However, many New Yorkers opposed bikeshare’s implementation — with some even suing the city over Citi Bike stations on their street. Now that the docks are in place, some people have even been “messing with them, trying to make it not work for people,” Connors said, “sort of like bicycle terrorists.” A common complaint is that the cycles’ glaring blue color and Citi logo are an eyesore on the streets. The program has also sparked anti-corporate sentiment among many New Yorkers — including some bike-share fans. “It’s horrible,” said Madden of the branding. “It’s incredible to me that Citibank has this monopoly. I mean, it’s good for them, but I’d rather not ride a Citibank commercial.” Despite her disdain for the financial giant, Connors said it made sense to her that the bicycles would carry the company’s logo. “I think they suck,” she said of Citibank. “But someone had to pay for it though, right? I don't know how else they would have done it.” But the branding doesn’t bother Ponte too much. “I’m sure they put a lot of money in it,” he said. “Everything else you do today has a brand
name on it.” Ward noted that there was initially similar contempt among Londoners for the branding of bicycles on their streets. London’s bike-share bears the logo of its sponsor, Barclays bank. “After a while people just get used to it, and I’m sure the same’s going to happen here,” he said. “They’re so convenient that I think people just don’t really care after a while.” Bike-share also makes getting around the city more economical. At just around $100 a year, Connors said it’s a great deal. “I’m saving so much money not taking the subway every day,” she said. “That’s like $5 a day.” Ward, whose usual mode of transportation is the taxi, was equally enthusiastic. “Oh my God, this is so much cheaper!” he said of the bike-share. “And I take it everywhere, even when it’s raining.” He also said cycling in New York City is a “brilliant” experience. “The cycle lanes are so much better here than London,” he said, “because they’re actually separate from the road.” Madden deemed New York “probably the best biking city I can think of because everything’s really flat and close together.” Yet, he also conceded that cycling in traffic here can be a pain. As New Yorkers thank (or curse) Citi Bike for an increase in cyclists every day, it seems the bike-share is firmly on the ground and may well be here to stay.
2 6 June 27 - July 3, 2013
Preservationist, park activist slam lack of hearings Continued from page 7
Says Glick was M.I.A.
Widening Pier 54
Arthur Schwartz, vice chairperson of the Hudson River Park Advisory Council, lost no time in criticizing his frequent political foe over the lack of public review of the changes to the park act. “We had three or four public hearings on the proposal to build residential housing on Pier 40,” Schwartz said, referring to hearings last year. “I mean, where is this Deborah who is rallying the troops? Where did she go?” Schwartz said Trust President Wils was at the advisory council’s meeting this Monday and discussed the air rights transfer provision. Basically, there are 1.6 million square feet of unused air rights in the park available for sale right now, according to Wils. The park’s upland portion — the part on land — has no air rights. It’s only the piers designated for commercial use that have air rights, namely, the Chelsea Piers, and Piers 40, 57, 76, 81, 83 and 98. Once piers are designated as public space they apparently lose their air rights. Schwartz said the bill should have more restrictions on the development rights transfers, such as how much F.A.R. (floor air ratio) can be transferred to certain sites and height caps on development. “It was not well thought-out and there should have been a lot of public comment on it,” he said. Indeed, the reason hearings were held on the Pier 40 residential idea last year was largely because Glick demanded them.
Wils also noted that authorizing Pier 54 to be built beyond its historic footprint “will allow for securing [a] significant donation to be used toward development of Pier 54 as a world-class public programming space.” It’s been rumored that Barry Diller, husband of fashion icon Diane von Furstenberg, will make a multimillion-dollar matching grant toward Pier 54’s renovation. Widening the pier would make it easier and safer for people to enter and exit it at big public events, according to the Trust. However, while politicians are hailing the Legislature’s latest modifications to the park act, the Village’s leading preservationist, for one, is up in arms. Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, said the public should have been consulted about the bill’s most dramatic change — allowing the Trust to transfer the park’s unused development rights one block inland. Pier 40 alone has massive air rights, the preservationist added, noting, “I’ve been told there’s a couple of hundred thousand square feet there.”
No air rights study? The preservationist said he is, first of all, concerned that the bill was passed so quickly, but also that there doesn’t seem to be any study about the air rights transfers and their potential effect on the Lower West Side. “I’ve asked people, and no one is aware of it,” he said of whether any formal study exists. Asked for a potential site that could be impacted, he said, “The ‘car wash / gentlemen’s club block’ north of the St. John’s Building [between Clarkson and Leroy Sts.] — basically, sites that are not landmarked and don’t have contextual zoning that would limit what could be squeezed in there. “Even blocks that are currently developed — if they could access thousands of square feet of development rights, they could be developed further as a result,” he said. A pressing question, Berman said, is whether — now that the state has approved the air rights transfers — the city will still have a review role under ULURP (the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure) or even by a special permit through the City Planning Commission.
‘Frankly, quite disturbing’ “The speed with which this moved — and with lack of consultation and lack of information about its impacts — is frankly quite disturbing,” Berman continued. “There should have been hearings. There should have been consultations with affected communities. There should have been a very clear analysis of the scope of development that this could allow and what the impact could be. “We understand that there is an imperative to find new ways to find revenue for the park,” Berman added, “but this was so sudden and dramatic.” The Villager asked Gottfried how much income the air rights transfers could potentially generate for the park and if there had been a financial study. Gottfried said he didn’t think a full study had been done, and also that he couldn’t really give a dollar amount since development is always “speculative,” based on the real estate market. In a telephone interview on Monday, Glick said, “Like all negotiated bills, there are compromises that were made on all sides.”
Trust’s relentless pressure “I’m totally thrilled that we prevented the Trust from
Photo by Lincoln Anderson
About three weeks ago, the Hudson River Park Trust restored electrical power in the park’s Greenwich Village section. Hurricane Sandy devastated the park’s electrical infrastructure, much of which had been located belowground and was susceptible to flooding.
permitting any residential or hotel use in the park,” she said. “That was something that they kept pressing for right until the end. And they wanted long-term leases at Pier 40 — they didn’t get that. “I had a goal, and the goal was to preserve Pier 40 for the playing fields and to prevent major hotel and residential development in the park — and these were accomplished.” As for whether the air rights transfers from the park to east of the highway would undergo the city’s ULURP public review, Glick noted the bill says, the transfers would be allowed, “to the extent…permitted under local zoning ordinances,” so, by her understanding, that would seem to indicate ULURP would apply.
Glick dubious on air rights In fact, she remarked, of the air rights transfer provision, “I would have rather not seen it done, but I wasn’t the only one in the Assembly majority.” She wouldn’t clarify if she was referring only to Gottfried, or perhaps also to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. In a statement on the Legislature’s passage of the bill, Silver said, “Parks and ball fields are such precious commodities in Manhattan and this agreement enables us to maintain and expand those resources to thousands of local residents, workers and visitors. I applaud the many community stakeholders who have worked with us to arrive at this landmark agreement that ensures this great park will continue to serve us for many decades to come.” As for why there were no public hearings on the park act changes, Glick said, “We don’t have hearings on everything. We didn’t have hearings on speed cameras. It’s not required. And the circumstances were what they were: The city pushed hard, the Trust pushed hard — and yet we were successful in blocking the inappropriate development that they were desperate to include.”
‘It’s great for Pier 40’ However, Tobi Bergman, president of P3, a Pier 40-based youth sports organization, saw the bill’s passage as a winwin. The 15-acre pier has become the Lower West Side’s equivalent to Central Park and a youth sports mecca, due to its huge courtyard artificial-turf sports field. “I was happy to see that Pier 40 remains protected from the worst kind of development, large-scale retail and entertainment projects, because the lease term there will remain 30 years,” Bergman said. “The best new opportunity will be the potential sale of air rights, creating the possibility of income for Pier 40 without new buildings at the pier. The ability to sell air rights may create the possibility of removing parts of the existing mammoth [pier shed] structure to open the park to the river.” Bergman led the local youth leagues coalition, Pier 40 Champions, in their failed push last year for a pair of residential towers to be built next to the pier, to provide revenue to fix up and maintain Pier 40. As for the public having been kept in the dark until the bill was O.K.’d last week, Bergman downplayed it. “Everyone loves transparency,” he said, “but the legislative process isn’t usually that way, and in the end we need to rely on the people we elect to legislate, for better or for worse.”
Fortress / 40 connection Another eyebrow-raiser about the air rights transfers concerns Pier 40 and Michael Novogratz, the new chairperson of Friends of Hudson River Park, the park’s main private fundraising arm. Novogratz formerly sat on the Trust’s board of directors. Earlier this year, it was reported that Fortress Investment Group, which is headed by hedge-fund investor Novogratz, had purchased the majority share in the St. John’s Building, located directly across the highway from Pier 40. When queried about this by The Villager in February during a sit-down with Wils, Novogratz said he is more on the investment side of the company — not its real estate division — and he and Wils shared a laugh, saying that he didn’t even know there had been a story about it until Wils told him.
June 27 - July 3, 2013 27
villager arts & entertainment Washington Sq. Music Fest brings fresh eclecticism to 55th season Eternally experimental spirit fosters a kaleidoscope of unusual compositions THE WASHINGTON SQUARE MUSIC FESTIVAL Free Tuesday: July 9, 16, 23, 30 8pm In Washington Square Park Rainspace: St. Joseph’s Church (371 Sixth Ave., btw. Waverly Place & Greenwich Ave.) Info: 212-252-3621 or washingtonsquaremusicfestival.org
BY SAM SPOKONY Whenever Lutz Rath talks about his programming for the Washington Square Music Festival, which is about to enter its 55th season, he inevitably begins using words like “unusual,” “rarely performed” or, quite simply, “odd” — and it’s not because the myriad stresses of putting together a low-budget concert series have made him lose his mind…yet. On the contrary, that eternally experimental spirit has been the guiding force behind a festival — one with a unique blend of pre-20th century classical works, contemporary avant-garde pieces and jazz or world-based improvisation — that continues to be one of the city’s top summer highlights for those with a love of serious music, while also remaining accessible to casual listeners and anyone with an intellectually savvy sense of humor. The ability to sustain a collective sense of historical interest and modern urgency is no small feat for New York’s second oldest free, outdoor classical music series (founded in 1953 by violinist Alexander Schneider and the Washington Square Association). For Rath, who has been the festival’s music director since the death
Photo courtesy of the Washington Square Music Festival
Harpsichordist Kenneth Cooper (left), shown here with three of his five vocal soloists, will conduct John Eccles’ opera “The Judgment of Paris” on July 9.
of Henry Schuman in 2001, the approach to this year’s month-long program of four concerts has been characteristically far out — with a smattering of strange instruments, unexpected performance selections and even an homage piece that was designed to be played poorly. The 2013 Washington Square Music Festival (which, as always, takes place near the center of the park and is free of charge) will begin on Tuesday, July 9 at 8pm, with “The Judgment of Paris” — a Baroque opera by British composer John Eccles, the libretto of which retells one of the many Roman myths involving Paris, a simple shepherd tasked with choosing which one of three powerful goddesses is most worthy of receiving the Golden Apple of Discord. In addition to featuring five vocal soloists, the opera’s chamber orchestra will be conducted by renowned harpsichordist Kenneth Cooper (who, along with being a frequent contributor to this festival, is one of the world’s leading specialists in 18th century music). And after the opera — which Rath noted is a relatively short one — the evening will close with a performance of “Concerto in D Major,” for three trumpets, two oboes and strings, by German baroque composer George Telemann.
Photo courtesy of the artist
July 16: Toy piano virtuoso Margaret Leng Tan will perform two U.S. premieres and works by John Cage, Phyllis Chen and Jed Distler.
The next concert, on Tuesday, July 16 at 8pm, is aptly titled “A Musical Adventure,” as it features Margaret Leng Tan, a toy piano virtuoso. Yes, you read that correctly. Tan brings world-class skill and a huge, engaging
sound to her tiny instrument, and will be performing an exciting variety of new and old avant-garde pieces. Her program includes
Continued on page 28
2 8 June 27 - July 3, 2013
Classical, avant-garde and world jazz in Washington Sq. Continued from page 27 two U.S. premieres: “Toy Symphony,” by Mexican composer Jorge Torres Sáenz and “Coney Island sous L’eau,” by British composer Michael Wookey — as well as works by John Cage, Phyllis Chen and Jed Distler. Rath pointed out that he chose to include Tan in this year’s festival in part because of her penchant for performing on other unusual instruments in addition to the toy piano. “She always brings something else along for a performance,” said Rath, “and it’s always a bit of a secret, and a welcome surprise.” In addition, Tan’s featured program will be bookended by ensemble performances of works by two Romantic composers, Adolphe Blanc and Richard Strauss. On Tuesday, July 23 at 8pm, Rath and his ensembles will happily celebrate 2013 as the 200th anniversary of the births of famed composers Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner (for trivia buffs, Verdi was born on October 10, 1813, and Wagner on May 22). The program will include Verdi’s String Quartet in E minor — but, in an unorthodox twist, Wagner will be represented by a piece by Paul Hindemith, which is a parody of the overture to Wagner’s famous opera, “The Flying Dutchman.” In fact, Hindemith’s piece — whose full title is “Overture of ‘The Flying Dutchman’ as played at sight by a bad spa orchestra at the well at 7 in the morning” — strictly requires its performers to make intentional rhythmic mistakes, poor interpretive choices and even to play out of tune. It all combines to form what Rath termed “a really humorous piece” — but the music director added that he’ll be sure to explain it to the audience before beginning the performance, “so they don’t think we’re crazy.” And along with the homages to Verdi and Wagner, the festival’s third evening will include works by German composers Louis Spohr and Josef Rheinberger.
Photo by Sally J. Bair
The Washington Square Music Festival Ensemble (here, at 2012’s festival) will perform Verdi & Wagner and Spohr & Rheinberger on July 23.
In keeping with the Washington Square Music Festival’s eclectic mindset under Rath’s direction, the final evening of this year’s series — Tuesday, July 30 at 8pm — will feature an ensemble led by African-born composer/singer/guitarist Nepo Soteri. A survivor of the Rwandan Civil War, Soteri and his music draw strength from the traditional sounds of Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia, while also blending contemporary funk, R&B and world jazz sensibilities. In addition, the main performance by Soteri and his band will be preceded that afternoon by an interactive rhythm workshop for children, led by members of the African ensemble.
As always, Rath pointed out that there really is no defined beginning, middle and end to his programming for the festival. “It’s more like a kaleidoscope of unusual compositions, because that’s just what I like to do,” he said,
with a laugh. “The audiences will definitely be a little bit different each night, especially between the first three concerts and the last one. But that variety is a really valuable and unique part of the concert series."
Photo by Sally J. Bair
Rwandan Civil War survivor Nepo Soteri will lead his ensemble on a journey through traditional African music, funk, R&B and world-jazz on July 30.
June 27 - July 3, 2013 29
Early years of AIDS remembered at New-York Historical Society
Photos Courtesy of New-York Historical Museum & Library
Only slowly did the silence end: the flyer for the first AIDS vigils, the crowd assembled in Manhattan in May 1983 and the appearance of the quilt in Washington.
BY DUNCAN OSBORNE & PAUL SCHINDLER "The past is neither dead nor past," said Louise Mirrer, the president and CEO of the New-York Historical Society, paraphrasing the character Gavin Stevens in the William Faulkner novel "Requiem for a Nun.” "We see its effects everywhere." Mirrer made her remarks on May 31 at a press preview for a new exhibition at the Society’s Museum & Library, “AIDS in New York: The First Five Years.” The exhibition, which covers the period immediately after the onslaught of the epidemic in 1981, includes critical early documents, such as Dr. Lawrence Mass’ coverage in the New York Native that predated the first story in the New York Times by almost two months as well as the first safe-sex pam-
phlet ever distributed, which was created by Michael Callen, Richard Berkowitz and Dr. Joseph Sonnabend. The years chronicled, Society officials emphasized, preceded the explosion of mass activism that began with ACT UP in 1987. "You've all seen silence equals death and this is essentially the years of the silence," said Jean Ashton, the exhibition’s curator. The materials on display were assembled from NewYork Historical’s archives as well as those of the New York Public Library, New York University and the National Archive of LGBT History at Manhattan’s LGBT Community Center.
The New-York Historical Society Museum & Library (nyhistory.org) is located at 170 Central Park West at 76th Street. The exhibition runs through September 15. The later period of AIDS activism will be the subject of a New York Public Library exhibition, “Why We Fight: AIDS Activism and American Culture,” which will run from October 4 through April 6 of next year.
3 0 June 27 - July 3, 2013
Just Do Art! BY SCOTT STIFFLER
5 LESBIANS EATING A QUICHE
Oh, my. Is it 1956 again, already? Yes — and that means it’s time to return to those thrilling days of yesteryear, to join the Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein, at their Annual Quiche Breakfast. One of last year’s FringeNYC breakout hits, Andrew Hobgood and Evan Linder’s seemingly clueless, but ultimately political, egg-centric creation casts audience members as honorary “Sisters” by virtue of their attendance at the annual breakfast. Presided over by a benign but strict cadre of self-professed widows whose motto (“No men, no meat, all manners”) is a recipe for what’s on the plate as well as what stirs their souls, “Society” as we know it will soon be put to the ultimate test — as Communists threaten their idyllic town, and the quite real possibility of nuclear annihilation sets the stage for some frank revelations. The presence of 2012 cast members Caitlin Chuckta, Rachel Farmer, Megan Johns, Thea Lux and Maari Suorsa promise this “Quiche” will snap, crackle and pop with all the chemistry, comedic timing and improvisational unpredictability that made it a cult fave the last time around. Thurs., June 27 at 8pm and Fri./Sat., June 28/29 at 10:30pm (as of July 19, open-ended run every Fri/Sat at 10:30pm). At the Snapple Theater Center’s Anne L. Bernstein Theater (210 W. 50th St., at the corner of Broadway). For tickets ($40$60), visit ticketmaster.com (rush tickets available for $25). Also visit facebook. com/5quiches and snappletheater.com.
Image courtesy of Three Rooms Press
Photo by Dixie Sheridan
It’s yesterday, once more: 2012 FringeNYC hit “5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche” returns for Pride, prior to an open-ended run beginning on July 19.
LIT READINGS: THE MONTHLY AT CORNELIA STREET CAFE PRESENTS “THAT’S INDEPENDENTS!”
Less than 24 hours after fireworks commemorate the first chapter in the tale of a rebellious young upstart called America, July’s installment of The Monthly at Cornelia Street Cafe celebrates independence of a very different (but no less defiant) kind — by making the case that while the sun may have set on the empire of major publishing houses, the future
Image courtesy of the filmmaker and distributor
Turn the beat around: “The Secret Disco Revolution” makes the case for the muchmaligned genre’s social significance.
Author Hala Alyan, whose “Atrium” won the 2013 Arab American Book Award for poetry, will be among the authors who’ll read at July 5’s “That’s Independents!”
belongs to a plucky colony of badass and belligerent independent publishers. “That’s Independents!” finds Three Rooms Press gathering together five rowdy, rebellious NYC-based independent presses whose body of work (and truth-telling, bird-flipping philosophy) does Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine proud. Each press will talk about their publishing ethos (and what sets them apart), then present work by some of their current authors. Poet, playwright, director and Camille Paglia deconstructor Kat Georges hosts. The featured presses are: The Unbearables — a “free-floating, in-your-face Autonomous Zone of Dadaists, Noir Humorists and Beer Mystics” who ply their trade when not busy giving anti-seminars at The New School or picketing the New Yorker for its “shitty poetry.” Authors Peter Carlaftes and Hala Alyan (whose “Atrium” just won the 2013 Arab American Book Award for poetry)
June 27 - July 3, 2013 31
Just Do Art! represent the creative output of event host Three Rooms Press (champions of “reallife poetry, fiction, drama and art”). Aimee Herman, Megan Dibello, Daniel Dissinger and Sam Jablon will read from their work, as published by In Stereo Press — an online zine “specializing in undiscovered/new/ contemporary writing, music and visual art.” Brooklyn-based, pulp-obsessed “hip pocket paperback” publisher Kicks Books makes some noise, when founder Miriam Linna plays drums to the work of Harlan Ellison. Later this summer, Kicks will present collections of poetry by British beat hero Royston Ellis and American road poet laureate Charles Plymell. Focused on “the unpredictable, the bright, the dark and the innovative” poetry and prose of both national and international writers, Great Weather For Media presents poets Rick Mullin and Frank Simone. Great Weather’s own reading and poetry open mic series, Spoken Word Sundays, takes place every week, 4-6pm, in the back room at Parkside Lounge (317 E. Houston St., at Attorney St.). “That’s Independents!” happens Fri., July 5, at 6pm (doors open at 5:45pm). At the Cornelia Street Cafe (29 Cornelia St., btw. Bleecker & W. Fourth St.). Admission ($8) includes one free drink. For info on the participants, visit unbearables.com, instereopress.com, nortonrecords.com/ kicksbooks, greatweatherformedia.com and threeroomspress.com.
ART: DRAMA QUEEN BY WAYNE HOLLOWELL
Image courtesy of the artist and Michael Mut Gallery
Wayne Hollowell’s “Madonna/MDNA” (40 in. x 40 in., Acrylic on canvas).
FILM: THE SECRET DISCO REVOLUTION
Director Jamie Kastner’s pseudo-documentary “The Secret Disco Revolution” takes the standard issue drumbeat of criticism (“Disco sucks!”) and turns the beat around, by making the case that the famously flaky and sinfully shallow form of music was nothing short of revolutionary. Disco, Kastner argues, was actually an empowering vehicle for the mass liberation of gays, blacks and women. But even the filmmaker finds it difficult to resist the allure of viewing disco with a smirk. As it Electric Slides from the past to the present, an unreliable narrator tosses off absurd observations — while speculative “reenactments” take astounding liberties with the facts. Whether you’ll buy into the film’s self-professed “tone of sustained irony” depends largely on your ability to overlook the cheesy exterior and find the love within — a skill that allowed millions of disco era roller skaters and booty shakers to cultivate an appreciation for the finer qualities of pop glitter. Recollections from the great (and, unfortunately, late) Village Voice columnist Michael Musto, disco icon Gloria Gaynor and members of Kool and the Gang keep things real, preventing the film from floating too far into the realm of silly satire. Opens June 28, at Quad Cinema (34 W. 13th St., btw. Fifth & Sixth Aves.). For advance tickets, visit movietickets.com. For info, call 212-255-2243 or visit quadcinema.com.
Image courtesy of the artist and Michael Mut Gallery
Wayne Hollowell’s “Liz Taylor, Martha, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolff?” (Acrylic on canvas, 36 in. x 36 in.).
Pour pity upon today’s young queers. They may be able to take their boyfriends to the prom — but when it comes to finding solace in the suffering of others while enduring the timeless slings and arrows of adolescence, our modern day icons and allies can’t hold a candle to the messes in dresses that mesmerized little Wayne Hollowell. Sorry, Lady Gaga — your double hip replacement surgery just isn’t in league with the noble, glamorous pain endured by the female icons of Hollowell’s 1970s rural North Carolina youth. “I always felt they were like the women in our trailer park, passed out in the yard," the artist says of his muses. Just in time for Pride, Hollowell’s “Drama Queen” has Michael Mut Gallery plastering its walls with oversized portraits that explore the spectral sadness that plagues so many of the stars we love. “I aim to invoke the complexity and despair of these characters while celebrating their camp factor,” Hollowell declares, noting that the healing balm of finding hope amidst sadness is “something the gay community has done for decades.” And why not, when you’ve got such a deep well to draw from? “Drama Queen” bathes its subjects in ugly beauty, by splashing “every color of Dorothy's rainbow” onto the grim mugs of gay Hollywood and pop culture royalty. “Give me every drug you’ve got,” begs a weary Liza. Elsewhere, “Gay Saints” Nureyev, Tallulah Bankhead, Tennessee Williams and Andy Warhol share a single canvas while working their own highly stylized halos. The women of Mommie Dearest, Mahogany and Virginia Woolf are all captured in full-on worse-forthe-wear mode — while the more modern era is represented by Madonna and a manic, megalomaniacal Oprah (whose wide-eyed cry of “VAJAAAYJAAY” launches her into the realm of clueless camp royalty). Big Edie and Little Edie Beale (of “Grey Gardens” fame) also make it onto the walls, as do Sweet Brown, Ramona Singer and NeNe Leakes. The gay old times continue to roll, from July 10-27 — with “Painted Love.” George Towne’s third solo show with the gallery is a play on words alluding to the 1981 song “Tainted Love.” Sung by Soft Cell's Marc Almond, it became a wellknown anthem for the gay community, thanks to lyrics like “I give you all a boy could give you.” But you already knew that, didn’t you. No? Then get your bad self to Michael Mut Gallery, where gay (old) school is now in session. Free. “Drama Queen” is on exhibit through June 30, 2pm-9pm daily. “Painted Love” can be seen Wed.-Fri., 4-8pm and Sat. 12-6pm (call or check website for possible Sun. hours). At Michael Mut Gallery (97 Ave. C, btw. Sixth & Seventh Sts.). For info, call 212-677-7868 or visit michaelmutgallery.com. For more info on the “Drama Queen” artist, visit waynehollowell.com.
3 2 June 27 - July 3, 2013
Publ ic Notice s NOTICE OF FORMATION of Homeownership Lending, LLC Articles of Organization filed with Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 06/21/13. 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: Homeownership Lending, LLC, c/o UHAB, 120 Wall Street, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10005. Purpose: To engage in any lawful act or activity. Vil: 06/27 - 08/01/2013 Notice is hereby given that an on premises license, #TBA has been applied for by Dear Irving LLC d/b/a Dear Irving to sell beer, wine and liquor at retail in an on premises establishment. For on premises consumption under the ABC law at 55 Irving Place New York NY 10003. Vil: 06/27 - 07/04/2013 NOTICE OF FORMATION of LLC Articles of Organization filed with Secretary of State of NewYork (SSNY) on 04/06/11. 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: Diamond Tech Property Development & Construction, 266 Griffith St, Jersey City, NJ 07307. Purpose: To engage in any lawful act or activity. Vil: 06/27 - 08/01/2013 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY. NAME: ORANGE STREET GROUP LLC Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 05/29/13. 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, 30 Christopher Street, Apartment 2D, New York, New York 10014. Purpose: For any lawful purpose. Vil: 06/27 - 08/01/2013 IDENTITY COUNSEL INTERNATIONAL LLC a domestic LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 3/26/13. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Joseph J. Atick, 1 Irving Pl., NY, NY 10003. General Purposes. Vil: 06/27 - 08/01/2013 ABBEYDALE LLC, a domestic LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 5/22/13. 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, 373 Park Ave S, Fl 6, NY, NY 10016. General Purposes. Vil: 06/27 - 08/01/2013
CONVENT/ST. NICHOLAS, LLC a domestic LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 5/1/13. 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, 425 W. 144th St., NY, NY 10031. General Purposes. Vil: 06/27 - 08/01/2013 TRUSOUND LLC, a domestic LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 2/11/13. 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, 2440 Broadway, #7, NY, NY 10024. General Purposes. Vil: 06/27 - 08/01/2013 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF REBEL ROYAL LLC Arts of Org filed with Secy of State of NY (SSNY) on 3/19/13. 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: MIA SPIVEY-REBEL 249 E 118TH ST, APT 10B NY, NY 10035. Purpose: any lawful act Vil: 06/27 - 08/01/2013 Notice of Formation of ROC NATION APPAREL GROUP, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 06/17/13. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 1411 Broadway, 39th Fl., NY, NY 10018. 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. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Vil: 06/27 - 08/01/2013 Notice of Formation of Beauty 4 Empowerment, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 5/17/13. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: National Registered Agents, Inc., 111 Eighth Ave., 13th Fl., NY, NY 10011, also the registered agent. Purpose: any lawful activities. Vil: 06/27 - 08/01/2013 Notice of Qualification of ADLY Holdings LLC App. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 6/10/13. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 6/7/13. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 405 Lexington Ave., NY, NY 10174. DE address of LLC: 160 Greentree Drive, Ste. 101, Dover, DE 19904. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 06/27 - 08/01/2013
Notice of Qualification of 15 East Holdings LLC Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 6/5/13. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in DE on 6/4/13. NY Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: 111 8th Ave., NY, NY 10011, Attn: CT Corporation System, regd. agent upon whom process may be served. DE address 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: 06/27 - 08/01/2013 Notice of Qualification of Irving Place Investor LLC Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 2/12/13. Office location: NY County. Princ. bus. addr.: 825 3rd Ave., Fl 37, NY, NY 10022. LLC formed in DE on 2/5/13. 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. 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: 06/27 - 08/01/2013 Notice of Qualification of SDF24 Flushing LLC Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 1/17/13. Office location: NY County. Princ. bus. addr.: 825 3rd Ave., Fl 37, NY, NY 10022. LLC formed in DE on 1/8/13. 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. 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: 06/27 - 08/01/2013 Notice of Qualification of SDF25 Lewis LLC Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 1/17/13. Office location: NY County. Princ. bus. addr.: 825 3rd Ave., Fl 37, NY, NY 10022. LLC formed in DE on 1/8/13. 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. 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: 06/27 - 08/01/2013
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN That a license, (license # pending) has been applied for by the undersigned to sell beer, liquor, and wine at retail in Beacon and another license (# pending) has been applied for by the undersigned to sell beer, liquor, and wine at retail in Kingston under the Alcohol Beverage Control Law at Chelsea Piers, Pier 62, W. 23rd Street and the Hudson River, New York, NY 10011 for on-premises consumption. Classic Harbor Line, LLC. Vil: 06/20 - 06/27/2013 Notice is hereby given that a restaurant wine license, #TBA has been applied for byTodosMex, LLC d/b/a Pinche Taqueria to sell beer and wine at retail in an on premises establishment. For on premises consumption under the ABC law at 103 W. 14th Street New York NY 10011. Vil: 06/20 - 06/27/2013 Notice of Formation of 4th Avenue MM LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 6/5/13. 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 Adam America Real Estate, 370 Lexington Ave., Ste. 607, NY, NY 10017, Attn: Omri Sachs. Purpose: any lawful activities. Vil: 06/20 - 07/25/2013 APP FOR AUTH for CEBRIK SISTERS, LLC App for Auth filed with SSNY 06/11/2013 LLC. Registered in New Jersey on 11/15/2012 Off. Loc.:New York Co. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY to mail copy of process to The LLC, c/o Brian D. Fuhro, Esq., 36 Mountain View Blvd., Wayne, NJ 07470. Purpose:Any lawful act or activity. Vil: 06/20 - 07/25/2013 NOTICE OF QUALIFICATION OF GSO Eclipse Associates I LLC Authority filed with the Sect of State of NY (SSNY) on 6/14/13. N.Y. Office Loc: NY County. LLC formed in DE on 6/4/13. SSNY has been designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: 345 Park Avenue, 31st FL, NY, NY 10154. DE addr. of LLC: 200 Bellevue Pkwy, Ste 210, Wilmington, 19809. Cert of Form filed with DE Sect of State, 401 Federal St, Ste 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 06/20 - 07/25/2013 Qualification of GSO Eclipse Holdings I LP Authority filed with the Sect. of State of NY (SSNY) on 6/14/13. Office Loc: NY County. LP formed in DE on 6/4/13. SSNY has been designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: 345 Park Avenue, 31st FL, NY, NY 10154. DE address of LP: 200 Bellevue Pkwy, Ste 210, Wilmington, 19809. Name/addr. of genl. ptr. avail from SSNY. Cert. of LP filed with DE Sect. of State, 401 Federal St, Ste 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 06/20 - 07/25/2013
Notice of Qualification of HENRY V MURRAY SENIOR LLC Authority filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 06/05/13. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 06/04/13. Princ. office of LLC: 299 Park Ave., 42nd Fl., NY, NY 10171. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Paul Hastings LLP, Attn: Martin L. Edelman, Esq., 75 E. 55th St., NY, NY 10022. DE addr. of LLC: c/o Corporation Service Co., 2711 Centerville Rd., Ste. 400, Wilmington, DE 19808. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of DE, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Vil: 06/20 - 07/25/2013 Notice of Formation of 16-18 East 30th Street CBP LLC Art. of Org. filed Sec’y of State (SSNY) 4/11/13. 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 NRAI, 111 Eighth Ave., NY, NY 10011. Purpose: any lawful activities. Vil: 06/20 - 07/25/2013 Notice of Formation of 126 E. 65th St. LLC Art. of Org. filed Sec’y of State (SSNY) 5/7/12. 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 126 E. 65th St., NY, NY 10065. Purpose: any lawful activities. Vil: 06/20 - 07/25/2013 Notice of Formation of 93 Crosby Owner LLC Art. of Org. filed Sec’y of State (SSNY) 1/11/13. 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 Javeri Capital, 592 Fifth Ave., 4th Fl., NY, NY 10036. Purpose: any lawful activities. Vil: 06/20 - 07/25/2013 Notice of Qual. of 16-18 East 30th Street LLC Auth. filed Sec’y of State (SSNY) 5/1/13. Office loc.: NY County. LLC org. in DE 2/13/13. SSNY desig. as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of proc. to Jaz Patel, 101 Worthington Rd., White Plains, NY 10607. 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: 06/20 - 07/25/2013 Notice of Qual. of 110 Residence LLC Auth. filed Sec’y of State (SSNY) 4/10/13. Office loc.: NY County. LLC org. in DE 5/22/12. SSNY desig. as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of proc. to Att: David Snoddy, 110 E. 70th St., NY, NY 10021. Reg. Agt. upon whom proc. may be served is NRAI, 111 Eighth Ave., NY, NY 10011. 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: 06/20 - 07/25/2013
Notice of Formation of CAREX PROPERTIES 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: c/o Peter L. Herb, Esq., 1133 Broadway, Ste. 1215, NY, NY 10010. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 06/20 - 07/25/2013 Notice of Qualification of NIC 6 Manor at Woodside Management LLC Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 6/4/13. Office location: NY County. Princ. bus. addr.: 1345 Ave. of the Americas, 46th Fl., NY, NY 10105. LLC formed in DE on 5/22/13. 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. 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: 06/20 - 07/25/2013 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF DeRosa Double Reeds, LLC Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on May 14, 2013. Office location:NEW YORK County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. The Post Office address to which the SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC served upon him/her is: c/o DeRosa Research and Trading, Inc 1270 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 555 NY, NY 10023. The principal business address of the LLC is:450 W 46th Street # 4RE New York, NY 10036 Purpose: any lawful act or activity Vil: 06/13 - 07/18/2013 VEH Solutions, LLC Authority filed with Secy of State of NY (SSNY) on 4/17/13. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in DE on 1/18/13. SSNY designated agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of process against LLC to principal business address: 190 Spring St, NY, NY 10012. Cert of LLC filed with Secy of State of DE located: 401 Federal St, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful act. Vil: 06/13 - 07/18/2013 Notice of Formation of WEST SPRING GREEN LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/22/13. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Diane S. Parrish, 505 Greenwich St., PHB, NY, NY 10013. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Vil: 06/13 - 07/18/2013
Notice of Formation of 300 EAST 23RD ST. ASSOCIATES LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/02/13. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 7 Penn Plaza, Ste. 618, NY, NY 10001. 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: 06/13 - 07/18/2013 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY. NAME: INTERNATIONAL ART TRADING LLC. Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 06/03/13. 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, c/o The Moinian Group, 3 Columbus Circle, 23rd Floor, New York, New York 10019. Purpose: For any lawful purpose. Vil: 06/13 - 07/18/2013 NOTICE OF FORMATION of ORIGIN MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS, LLC Articles of Organization filed with Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 05/06/13. 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: ORIGIN MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS, LLC, 117A E. Main Street, #245, New Rochelle, NY 10801. Purpose: To engage in any lawful act or activity. Vil: 06/13 - 07/18/2013 Notice of Formation of SID Home One LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 5/17/13. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 153 E 87th St., Apt. 3D, NY, NY 10128. Purpose: any lawful activities. Vil: 06/13 - 07/18/2013 Notice of Qualification of El Rey Network LLC App. for Auth. filed Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 5/30/13. Off. loc.: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 1/31/12. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: c/o CT Corporation System, 111 8th Ave., NY, NY 10011, the registered agent upon whom process may be served. DE address of LLC: Corp. Trust Ctr., 1209 Orange St., Wilmington, DE 19801. Arts. of Org. filed DE Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 06/13 - 07/18/2013 Notice of Formation of CS 122 West 146th Street LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 5/30/13. 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 The LLC, 1350 Broadway, Ste. 1010, NY, NY 10018. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 06/13 - 07/18/2013
Notice of Qualification of 1749 Holdings LP Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 5/24/13. Office location: NY County. Princ. bus. addr.: 152 W. 57th St., 22nd Fl., NY, NY 10019. LP formed in DE on 4/24/13. NY Sec. of State designated agent of LP 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. DE addr. of LP:The CorporationTrust Co., 1209 Orange St., Wilmington, DE 19801. Name/addr. of genl. ptr. available from NY Sec. of State. Cert. of LP filed with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: all lawful purposes. Vil: 06/13 - 07/18/2013 Notice of Qualification of GSO Bakken Overseas Holdings I LP Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 5/23/13. Office location: NY County. LP formed in DE on 5/8/13. NY Sec. of State designated agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to the principal business addr. of the LP: 345 Park Ave., 31st Fl., NY, NY 10154. DE addr. of LP: c/o The Corporate Service Company, 2711 Centerville Rd., Ste. 400, Wilmington, DE 19808. Name/addr. of genl. ptr. available from NY Sec. of State. Cert. of LP filed with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: all lawful purposes. Vil: 06/13 - 07/18/2013 Notice of Qualification of CLEAR CLINIC & SCHWEIGER DERMATOLOGY MANAGEMENT COMPANY, LLC Authority filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/16/13. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 10/15/12. 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 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: c/o Vcorp Services, LLC, 1811 Silverside Rd., Wilmington, DE 19810. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19801. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Vil: 06/06 - 07/11/2013 Notice of Qualification of WEST SEATTLE ACQUISITION CO., L.L.C. Authority filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/21/13. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 05/17/13. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 2711 Centerville Rd., Ste. 400, Wilmington, DE 19808. Arts. of Org. filed with DE Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Vil: 06/06 - 07/11/2013
June 27 - July 3, 2013 33
Publ ic Notice s Notice of Formation of BLAIR A. CASDIN, MSW-LCSW, PLLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/23/13. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of PLLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. As amended by Cert. of Amendment filed with SSNY on 05/29/13, the name of PLLC is: BLAIR A. CASDIN, MSW, LCSW, PLLC. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Vil: 06/06 - 07/11/2013 Notice of Formation of LEWNOWSKI RED KITE LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/24/13. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: Oskar Lewnowski, III, 120 W. 12th St., NY, NY 10011. 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: 06/06 - 07/11/2013 Notice of Formation of RLJ NY HOLDINGS LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/30/13. 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 Baker & Hostetler LLP, Attn: Laurence S. Markowitz, Esq., 45 Rockfeller Plaza, NY, NY Vil: 06/06 - 07/11/2013 Notice of Formation of North Coast Properties of New York LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 5/24/13. 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 Schanker and Hochberg, PC, 27 West Neck Road, Huntington, NY 11743. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 06/06 - 07/11/2013 Notice of Formation of Van Brocklin & Associates, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 5/16/13. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Finley Van Brocklin, 222 E. 75th St., 4C, NY, NY 10021. Purpose: any lawful act or activity. Vil: 06/06 - 07/11/2013 Notice of Formation of ANI 88th Street LLC Arts. of Org. filed with NY Dept. of State on 5/17/13. Office location: NY County. Princ. bus. addr.: 79 E. 79th St. #14, NY, NY 10128. Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: National Corporate Research, Ltd., 10 E. 40th St., 10th Fl., NY, NY 10016, regd. agent upon whom process may be served. Purpose: all lawful purposes. Vil: 06/06 - 07/11/2013
Notice of Qualification of AlphaMetrix Group, LLC Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 5/20/13. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in DE on 5/27/08. NY Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to the principal business addr.: c/o Victoria L. Adams, Chief of Staff, AlphaMetrix, 181 W. Madison St., 34th Fl., Chicago, IL 60602. Regd. agent upon whom process may be served: National Corporate Research, Ltd. (NCR), 10 E. 40th St., 10th Fl., NY, NY 10016. DE addr. of LLC: NCR, 615 S. DuPont Hwy., Dover, DE 19901. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: all lawful purposes. Vil: 06/06 - 07/11/2013 Notice of Qualification of Blackstone Treasury Solutions Advisors L.L.C. Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 3/12/13. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in DE on 3/4/13. NY Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to the principal business addr.: c/o The Blackstone Group L.P., 345 Park Ave., 16th Fl., NY, NY 10154. Regd. agent upon whom process may be served: 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: 06/06 - 07/11/2013 NOTICE OF QUALIFICATION of LAGUARDA. LOW ARCHITECTS. LLC Authority filed with Secy of State of NY (SSNY) on 3/25/13. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in TX on 10/13/00. SSNY designated as an agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of process against LLC to principal business address: 4333 North Central Expressway Dallas TX 75205. Cert of LLC filed with Secy of State of TX located: 4333 North Central Expressway, Dallas, TX 75205. Purpose: any lawful act. Vil: 05/30 - 07/04/2013 NOTICE OF FORMATION OF A LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY. The name of the limited liability company is Gaelic Park Management Company, LLC (“LLC”). Articles of Organization filed with Secretary of State of NY (“SSNY”) on 03/15/2013. 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 any process to The LLC, 52 Duane Street, New York, New York 10007. Purpose: To engage in any lawful activity. Principal business location: 52 Duane Street, New York, New York 10007. Vil: 05/30 - 07/04/2013
NOTICE OF FORMATION OF East End Tennis and Sport, LLC Arts of Org filed with Secy of State of NY (SSNY) on 5/8/13. 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: 328 8th Ave, Ste 347, NY, NY 10001. Purpose: any lawful act. Vil: 05/30 - 07/04/2013 NOTICE OF FORMATION of YOUR CHILD IN FOCUS LLC Articles of Organization filed with Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 04/15/13. 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: YOUR CHILD IN FOCUS LLC, Caroline Rosen 1095 Park Avenue, APT. 9B New York, NY 10128. Purpose: To engage in any lawful act or activity. Vil: 05/30 - 07/04/2013 BAM 213 FUNDING, LLC, a domestic LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 3/1/13. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Bryan Sanders, 12 W. 18th St. #8-W, NY, NY 10011. General Purposes. Vil: 05/30 - 07/04/2013 NOTICE OF FORMATION of CHRISTIAN ZAMORA STUDIO LLC Articles of Organization filed with Secretary of State of NewYork (SSNY) on 04/11/13. 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: CHRISTIAN ZAMORA STUDIO LLC, C/O UNITED STATES CORPORATION AGENTS, INC., 7014 13TH AVENUE, SUITE 202, BROOKLYN, NY 11228. Purpose:To engage in any lawful act or activity. Vil: 05/30 - 07/04/2013 Notice of Formation of Cascabel Hospitality Group LLC Arts. of Org. filed Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 1/2/13. Off. loc.: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 1538 Second Ave., NY, NY 10028. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 05/30 - 07/04/2013 Notice of Formation of Lisa Verde LLC Arts. of Org. filed with NY Dept. of State on 5/8/13. Office location: NY County. Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: 134 E. 93rd St., Apt 11C, NY, NY 10128. Purpose: any lawful purpose. Vil: 05/30 - 07/04/2013
Notice of Formation of Stanley Senior Housing Developer LLC Arts. of Org. filed with NY Dept. of State on 1/13/10. 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 CPC Resources, Inc., 28 E. 28th St., 9th Fl., NY, NY 10016, principal business address. Purpose: any lawful activity. Vil: 05/30 - 07/04/2013 Notice of Qualification of GSO Capital Solutions Fund II LP Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 5/14/12. Office location: NY County. LP formed in Cayman Islands (CI) on 4/20/12. NY Sec. of State designated agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to the principal business addr. of the LP: c/o GSO Capital Partners LP, 345 Park Ave., 31st Fl., NY, NY 10154. Regd. agent upon whom process may be served: CT Corporation System, 111 8th Ave., NY, NY 10011. CI addr. of LP: c/o Maples Corporate Services Ltd., PO Box 309, Ugland House, S. Church St., Grand Cayman, KY1-1104, CI. Name/ addr. of genl. ptr. available from NY Sec. of State. Cert. of LP filed with Registrar of Companies, Citrus Grove Bldg., Ground Fl., Goring Ave., Georgetown, Grand Cayman, CI. Purpose: all lawful purposes. Vil: 05/30 - 07/04/2013 Notice of Formation of Tre Monelli LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 5/10/13. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Linda Marini, 9 Murray St., #7SE, NY, NY 10007. Purpose: any lawful activities. Vil: 05/23 - 06/27/2013 ARIANE PROPERTIES, LLC Art. Of Org. Filed Sec. of State of NY 01/30/2013. Off. Loc.: New York Co. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY to mail copy of process to The LLC, 261 Madison Avenue, Fl 9, Suite 964, New York, NY 10016. Purpose: Any lawful act or activity. Vil: 05/23 - 06/27/2013 Notice of Formation of 1315 SEABURY LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/07/13. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: c/o Pembroke Companies, 70 E. 55th St., NY, NY 10022. 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: 05/23 - 06/27/2013
Notice of Formation of BREWSTER MEWS DEVELOPER, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/10/13. 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: 05/23 - 06/27/2013 Notice of Qualification of 146 MULBERRY, LLC Authority filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/14/13. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 04/04/13. Princ. office of LLC: c/o Hendrie Lane Partners, LLC, Attn:Tony Calabrese, 411 LaFayette St., 6th 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. DE addr. of LLC: Corporation Service Co., 2711 Centerville Rd., Ste. 400, Wilmington, New Castle Cnty., DE 19808. Arts. of Org. filed with DE Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., 401 Federal St., Townsend Bldg., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Vil: 05/23 - 06/27/2013
Notice of Qualification of 425 Lexington Realty Company LLC Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 5/6/13. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in DE on 5/3/13. 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. DE address of LLC: 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: 05/23 - 06/27/2013 Notice of Qualification of 54 East 64th Street Townhouse, LLC Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 5/9/13. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in DE on 4/15/13. NY Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: Kelley Drye & Warren, LLP, 101 Park Ave., NY, NY 10178, Attn: John J. McDonald, Esq. DE addr. of LLC: c/o National Registered Agents, Inc., 160 Greentree Dr., Ste. 101, Dover, DE 19904. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: all lawful purposes. Vil: 05/23 - 06/27/2013
Notice of Qualification of RS Funds Distributor LLC Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 3/6/13. Office location: NY County. Princ. bus. addr.: 388 Market St., Ste. 1700, San Francisco, CA 94111. LLC formed in DE on 9/6/12. 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. DE addr. of LLC: c/o Corporation Service Co., 2711 Centerville Rd., Ste. 400, Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: brokerdealer, securities and other lawful business. Vil: 05/23 - 06/27/2013
Notice of Qualification of IVP CIF II (AIP A), L.P. Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 12/14/12. Office location: NY County. LP formed in DE on 12/11/12. NY Sec. of State designated agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to the principal business addr.: c/o Insight Venture Associates Coinvestment II, L.P., 680 Fifth Ave., 8th Fl., NY, NY 10019. DE addr. of LP: c/o The Corporation Trust Co., 1209 Orange St., Wilmington, DE 19801. Name/addr. of genl. ptr. available from NY Sec. of State. Cert. of LP filed with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: all lawful purposes. Vil: 05/23 - 06/27/2013
Public Notice NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, PURSUANT TO LAW, that the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs will hold a Public Hearing on Wednesday, July 3rd, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. at 66 John Street, 11th floor, on a petition from SULLIVAN RESTAURANT LLC to continue to, maintain, and operate an unenclosed sidewalk café at 230 9 Avenue 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: FOIL OFFICER, 42 BROADWAY, NEW YORK, NY 10004. Vil: 06/27/2013
FAMILY COURT FOR THE STATE OF DELAWARE NOTICE OF FAMILY COURT PETITION FOR ORDER OF PROTECTION FROM ABUSE To: Dwyonne Towns respondent(s) Petitioner (s), Latricia Dasent filed a Protection from Abuse petition against you in the Family Court of the State of Delaware for Kent County. Petition No. 13-15964 A court hearing has been scheduled for June 25, 2013 at 10:30 a.m. in the Family Court located at 400 Court Street Dover, DE 19901. The hearing will proceed whether you appear or not. If you wish to obtain the information on this filing before the hearing, please respond to the Clerk of Court for Civil Case Processing at the Family Court location noted above. Vil: 06/27/2013 2013
3 4 June 27 - July 3, 2013
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June 27 - July 3, 2013 35
For a past g.v.l.l. standout it’s playing hardball or no ball at all SportS BY DANIEL JEAN-LUBIN When Hera Andre-Bergmann was 5 years old, she casually threw a stuffed animal across the room to her father. Sometime later, her father signed her up to a beginners baseball program at Chelsea Piers, and later Greenwich Village Little League. Although Hera had spent most of her life playing baseball, eventually, she became too old to play for G.V.L.L., and because there was no other baseball league she could be a part of, all signs said she would have to transition to softball in order to continue playing the game she loved. However, she had other plans: She wanted to play on her varsity team at Baruch College Campus High School. “I realized that if I was going to be on a team, I didn’t want being a girl baseball player to be a novelty,” she said. “So, I started working very hard at my skill — especially as a catcher. I figured if I was good enough, I’d be thought of as just a player — not a girl player.” Eventually, the hard work paid off as she became the first female to play on her high school’s varsity baseball team, starting as catcher and second baseman all three years of her varsity career. The reaction from those around her after making the team was mixed. At times, there was shock. “I got the feeling that some opposing players were surprised that a girl was playing,” she said. “My reaction was just to work harder and get better so there was no question whether or not I could compete at each level. I’d heard stories of other girls playing baseball who were rejected and forced out of baseball or into softball. I wanted to make sure that never happened to me.” Her perseverance also helped her rack up quite a few pieces of hardware, including Most
Hera Andre-Bergmann keeps her eye on the pitcher while leading off base in a game with the East Coast Yankees, a women’s baseball team in New Jersey.
Dedicated Player, the Public School Athletic League Leadership Award and Student Athlete of the Year. Now a student at Hunter College, AndreBergmann continues to play baseball at a high level. She’s playing for the McAleers in the Pancho Coimbre semi-pro league, populated with former Division I and pro players and based out of Central Park. She is the first woman to play in that league as well. Last year she was invited to play for the United States Under-21 Developmental Team in Edmonton, Alberta. The ultimate goal for Andre-Bergman is to make the U.S. Women’s National Baseball Team later this year and one day represent her country on the biggest stage.
glick gets tough on pigs with tusks BY CLARISSA-JAN LIM Assemblymember Deborah Glick’s bill prohibiting feral pigs in New York State has been passed in the state Senate. Glick, who represents the 66th Assembly District in Lower Manhattan, sponsored the legislation that will see the possession, sale, trade and transportation of feral pigs banned in New York. Known also as the Eurasian boar, feral pigs are bred in hunting preserves and are considered trophy animals. The boars that escape the preserves, however, pose a threat to native plants and wildlife, livestock, agriculture and public health, according to Glick. The boars are a destructive, nonnative species, and can grow to be more than 400 pounds. Theresa Swidorski, Glick’s state legislative director, said that sightings of these
feral pigs around reservoirs have caused distress among residents and farmers alike. Besides the obvious safety issues, “the contamination of their feces is also a concern,” said Swidorski. The boars also can carry and transmit a variety of diseases, such as swine brucellosis, E. coli, trichinosis and pseudorabies, to both livestock and humans. She also said that there have been complaints of the boars damaging farmers' crops and even preying on domestic livestock. “This environmental and public health concern has been growing,” said Assemblymember Glick. “I am thrilled that my efforts to sound the alarm have resulted in passage of this critical legislation.” Glick has been an ardent sponsor of legislation involving house pets and wildlife. The bill awaits Governor Cuomo’s signature.
S:10.25”
3 6 June 27 - July 3, 2013
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