Chelsea Now by Schneps Media

undergroundzero goes across the world, p. 19

VOLUME 4, NUMBER 49

THE WEST SIDE’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER

JULY 11 - 24, 2012

Chelsea Market players playing it close to the vest BY SCOTT STIFFLER With Community Board 4 (CB4) having recently issued a non-binding “No, Unless” verdict, Jamestown Properties’

Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) application is currently snaking its way through the

Continued on page 4

Library gives local kids 2,000 new things to do

Photo by Lily Bouvier Devine

July, 2011: The setting sun is in perfect alignment with Gotham’s street grid, producing the phenomenon known as “Manhattanhenge.” It happens again at 8:25pm on Thursday, July 12.

Paving project leaves 15th St. residents in the dust BY SAM SPOKONY The residents of West 15th Street between Sixth and Ninth Avenues knew that their road would have to be repaved one day. But when the Department of Transportation (DOT) showed up

on their blocks to start pulling up pavement on the night of June 11, none of them thought that the project would take over two weeks to complete. Some residents and local employees say that they weren’t

BY SCOTT STIFFLER These impressive numbers were one for the books: On July 10, the second day of their eightweek summer camp, 300 kids got a first look at 2,000 reasons not to claim they were bored. A ribbon cutting ceremony celebrated the opening of Hudson Guild’s Books for Kids After School Library. Stocked with literary selections designed for ages 5-11, the library will be used primarily by those cur-

even warned before the noisy work began. “We give DOT a big ‘F’ on this project,” said Stanley Bulbach, president of the West 15th Street

Continued on page 2

rently enrolled in Summer Day Camp, then children from nearby PS33, PS11 and Guardian Angel schools who attend the Guild’s after school program. The 125-square-foot facility, which occupies the former site of an underused storage space, was made possible by the Mario Batali Foundation’s partnership with the Books for Kids Foundation — which creates

Continued on page 6

EDITORIAL, LETTERS PAGE 8

WHO'S YOUR BABY DADDY? PAGE 23

July 11 - 24, 2012

Health and safety issues stem from paving project Continued from page 1 100 and 200 Block Association (which includes the buildings between Sixth and Eighth Avenues). “It’s just proven that the city has no interest in the concerns of the community, and that they’re going to do whatever they want, even if it means creating dangerous, unhelpful conditions.” Bulbach told Chelsea Now that the only public notices provided before the paving process started were small “no parking” signs placed by DOT along the side of the street, which appeared sometime after 7pm on June 10. The signs, he said, gave drivers a chance to move their cars, but didn’t adequately cater to the needs of people who actually live on his block, many of whom aren’t drivers. What followed, about 24 hours later, was the milling of the road surface along West 15th Street. Milling involves a complete, piece-by-piece removal of the layer of asphalt covering a street and requires a great deal of heavy machinery. And while clunky construction isn’t anything new to city dwellers, Bulbach said that he and his neighbors would have appreciated having a chance to prepare — especially because the work was done overnight. “It was really half-hearted signage,” Bulbach said. “It should’ve been focused on residents rather than only on drivers, because it’s crucial to let people know if something like this is going to be keeping them awake all night.” For Sharon Mear, who lives at 237 West 15th Street (which sits between Seventh and Eighth Avenues), receiving advance notice about the milling wouldn’t just have helped her to get ready for the noise. It might also have allowed her to keep some of her belongings from falling to pieces. “The equipment they used was so loud that it made my apartment shake,” said Mear, who estimated that the work took place continuously between around 6pm and 6am on the night of June 11 and morning of June 12. “I actually had things crashing down off of my bookshelf.” She added that, after living in Chelsea for over 30

‘I had to call someone to clean the windows almost every day,’ said La Cruz. ‘I understand that the city has to do the work, but this was too much. We pay a lot of taxes for this space, to run the business. We shouldn’t have to deal with dust in the air for weeks, because they don’t pay for that to get cleaned up — we do.’ years, this latest event has further convinced her that “you only get notified of what the city is doing if you have a car.” According to other residents and local workers, the milling of the road surface was only the beginning of

Photo by Sam Spokony

An intersection at W. 15th St. and Eighth Ave. is one of several recently repaved by the DOT. Carlos La Cruz of Redwood Kitchenette & Bar (building in background) believes dust from the work has made him sick.

their problems on West 15th Street. Many expected the new pavement to be laid down relatively soon after the surface was removed, if not within the next day or two. But as time dragged on — with no updates from DOT — they began to realize that they would be dealing with the after effects of the milling for much longer than they had hoped. The road was, in fact, not completely repaved until June 27 — over two weeks after the project began. And that extended period of time meant two things to the community: a torn-up road and clouds of dust (comprising the remnants of gravel and tar that had been ripped away). “It was horrible,” said Carlos La Cruz, the general manager of Redwood Kitchenette & Bar (located at the intersection of West 15th Street and Eighth Avenue). “I just can’t believe that they did it this way.” La Cruz works at the restaurant, which features openair and outdoor seating, all day on weekdays — and added that he received no notification from the DOT that the repaving project would begin on June 11, and then received no subsequent information about how long the road would remain unfinished. He explained that the thick dust kicked up by passing cars virtually wiped out business at Redwood for those two weeks, as asphalt particles entered the space and covered customers’ food. Along with forcing the restaurant to close early almost every night, the dirty conditions created serious hygiene problems that needed to be taken care of on short notice. “I had to call someone to clean the windows almost every day,” said La Cruz. “I understand that the city has to do the work, but this was too much. We pay a lot of taxes for this space, to run the business. We shouldn’t have to deal with dust in the air for weeks, because they don’t pay for that to get cleaned up — we do.” Mear echoed those sentiments, explaining that her work as a dog trainer was also put on hold while she

waited for the dust to settle. “There was no way I could do sessions, because you just can’t take animals out into an environment like that for any length of time,” she said. “No one thinks about those effects on my business.” Another resident, Megan Robertson — who lives at 236 West 15th Street — agreed that her street looked “like a war zone” between the milling and repaving, but acknowledged the city’s need to complete the work amidst all the complaints. She believes that the repairs were probably necessary, and that one has to accept the general lack of communication as “just part of living in New York City.” But Robertson did remain confused by one simple point. Why, she wondered, couldn’t DOT have just scheduled the resurfacing a few days after the beginning of the project? Nicole Garcia, a DOT spokesperson, responded to various community concerns in a July 5 email to Chelsea Now, first by affirming the agency’s belief that the West 15th Street project would “help enhance safety and improve the quality of life for everyone using the street.” To address complaints about the length of time left between milling and repaving, Garcia wrote that DOT’s scheduling provided “an opportunity for utility companies to conduct any scheduled repairs before resurfacing,” adding that DOT shares its resurfacing schedule in advance with utility companies, contractors and “others.” She did not explain who the term “others” refers to in the course of the email. Garcia also did not comment on the lack of advance notice — as well as mid-project information — for local residents and businesses, and did not address specific community complaints related to dust or noise. “With regard to concerns from the community,” Garcia

Continued on page 3

July 11 - 24, 2012

Locals say DOT was MIA with an FYI Continued from page 2 wrote, “as of the time of your inquiry, DOT received one correspondence, and the agency reached out to the person to provide information on the project.” Garcia did not elaborate on that — but the “information” she was referring to may have been a single email sent by DOT representative Colleen Chattergoon to Bulbach, dated June 21. The message read: “The paving of 15th Street is scheduled for Tuesday, June 26. NYC DOT will install temporary ‘No Parking’ signs to inform residents of the upcoming work.”

As community members look towards the future, Bill Borock, President of the Council of Chelsea Block Associations (CCBA), has taken the next step of mailing a July 5 letter to DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan in order to voice the concerns that many believe the agency has not adequately addressed. But the paving was, in fact, only completed between Sixth and Seventh Avenues on the night of June 26. The other two blocks were not repaved until the night of June 27. Regardless of any other disputes at hand, the problem for Carlos La Cruz may have gone deeper than business, confusion or frustration. He believes that the dust he was forced to breathe in each day, while working at Redwood between June 12 and June 27, has made him sick. “I was coughing up black dust even after the work was done, and I’m always short of breath now” said La Cruz, adding that he went to see his doctor the day after the work on West 15th Street was completed. “She said that it looked like allergies,

but I’ve never had allergies in my life,” he explained. La Cruz has now scheduled a July 11 appointment with a specialist in order to have his lungs more closely examined. As community members look towards the future, Bill Borock, President of the Council of Chelsea Block Associations (CCBA), has taken the next step of mailing a July 5 letter to DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan in order to voice the concerns that many believe the agency has not adequately addressed. Borock called the over-two-week delay between milling and paving on West 15th Street “inappropriate and unacceptable for the community to endure,” citing the fact that New York City was in the midst of both a heat wave and constant air quality alerts while dust hung above the unfinished street from June 12 to June 27. As for problems related to the overnight work that left many residents of West 15th Street sleepless while it took place, he suggested attempting daytime alternatives. Borock did, however, acknowledge that there are benefits and drawbacks to either approach. “Perhaps DOT can do a pilot project and schedule a milling/resurfacing project during daytime hours and get feedback from the community as to which one, daytime or nighttime work, is less disruptive and preferred,” he wrote. In the letter, Borock also highlighted the fact that both the recent West 15th Street work and a similar project on West 14th Street — which took place last fall — have been left slightly incomplete. While the paving itself has been entirely finished, he noted that proper crosswalk hashing has not been repainted on intersections at West 15th and Sixth, West 14th and Seventh, and West 14th and Eighth. Instead, only simple parallel lines have been painted, without the identifiable pattern some pedestrians need in order to be guided safely through the crosswalk. The CCBA letter may provide some glimmer of hope to Chelsea residents who wish to be heard as DOT continues to do repaving in the near future, perhaps to other blocks in the neighborhood. But some locals — especially the ones who have been here the longest — seem to have resigned themselves to a depressing fate, regardless of any attempts at outreach. To them, the noise, dust and sheer length of the West 15th Street paving project was just another day — or, perhaps, just another couple of weeks — on the block. “Sure, people can write letters,” said Mear, “and I still call 311, just because I feel like I have to say something. But do I really ever think that anything’s going to get done? No way. We have no power.”

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Chelsea Market opponents meet with Stringer reps Continued from page 1 Borough President and the City Planning Commission en route to ultimate rejection or approval by the City Council. On or before July 18, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer must weigh in on Jamestown’s controversial plan to vertically expand Chelsea Market by adding as much as 330,000 square feet of office and hotel space onto the iconic building’s Ninth and Tenth Avenue sides. Plenty of people are talking about it…but none of the major players are going on record.

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‘I think there’s concern,’ said Doyel regarding her speculative take on Stringer’s position. ‘I would say they feel it’s likely to happen in one form or another, but I also think they really want to be on the same page as the community. They’re concerned that whatever goes forward has community benefits aside from the High Line. They’re also very concerned about development subsequent to this project, including Pier 57. They understand how congested the area is, and that is a densely residential neighborhood.” Jamestown Chief Operating Officer Michael Phillips was, according to his representatives from The Marino Group, “unavailable for comment.” Stringer’s Director of Communications, Josh Getlin, is also playing it close to the vest. “If there is a statement to be issued,” he said in a July 10 phone conversation, “I have no idea whether one is planned

right now.” Save Chelsea, however, had plenty to say. In anticipation of Stringer’s impending public declaration, Save Chelsea copresidents Lesley Doyel and Justin Hoy had a July 10 meeting with four members of Stringer’s staff (Senior Advisor and Director of Digital Strategies Shaan Khan, Director of Land Use Brian Cook, Director of Community Affairs Jessica Silver and CB4 liaison David Czyzyk). Save Chelsea was joined by Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation Executive Director Andrew Berman, outspoken blogging architect (and Save Chelsea board member) David Holowka and Paul J. Groncki (representing the Chelsea Reform Democratic Club). The group, whom Doyel refers to as the “Save Chelsea Market Task Force,” emerged further entrenched in their opposition to the project. Immediately following the meeting, Doyel and Hoy spoke with Chelsea Now. It was, they noted, the third time the group had a conversation with the Borough President or his staff. “I think there’s concern,” said Doyel regarding her speculative take on Stringer’s position. “I would say they feel it’s likely to happen in one form or another, but I also think they really want to be on the same page as the community. They’re concerned that whatever goes forward has community benefits aside from the High Line. They’re also very concerned about development subsequent to this project, including Pier 57. They understand how congested the area is, and that this is a densely residential neighborhood.” Growing concerns regarding funding for affordable housing were also alluded to by Doyel, who noted that this local “get” (which was put on the plate late in the CB4 vetting process) is “an add on that is dubious, at best.” As for the notion that the project is inevitable and some amount of capitulation is necessary to secure community benefits, Hoy asserted that his group has “no plan to shift strategies. At one end of the spectrum, you have to consider the fact that every ULURP project approved during the Bloomberg administration has happened in some form or another. But we are philosophically opposed [to the Jamestown plan]. I don’t think there’s any time we’re going to sit down at the bargaining table. We think our last resort is the City Council, and we hope we will be the first project that was [ULURP] certified and does not get built.” Doyel says that the Borough President’s office has “encouraged us to speak with the [City Council] Speaker [Christine Quinn], and I have reason to believe she may meet with us in the relatively near future.”

July 11 - 24, 2012

At Hudson Guild, write a cup of tea BY BONNIE ROSENSTOCK Michele Brody’s installation at Hudson Guild’s Gallery II, “Reflections in Tea — stories and poetry on recycled tea bags,” draws on a proverb by the Baltis (an ethnic group of Tibetan descent who live in the northernmost mountainous region of Pakistan), quoted in Greg Mortenson’s “Three Cups of Tea”: “The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time, you are an honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family.” To this time-honored notion of family, Brody — the visual artist in residence at the Guild’s senior center — has combined the ritual of preparing and serving tea and spiked it with her own special admixture: repurposing tea-soaked bags as writing paper to stimulate a community sharefest. “What I proposed to do with the tea project was not just interacting with students, but with the whole community, opened up to everybody,” said Brody. During the first half of her 10-month residency (which ends in October), Brody and Brooklyn poet Gary Glazner have collaborated on two CommuniTea with Poetry events in the gallery — where participants served tea to one another and wrote and shared their thoughts, poems and reminiscences of the multi-faceted infusion. These writings and others line the southern and eastern walls like a patchwork quilt — more than 500 contributions from individual and group tea ceremonies she has hosted while at the Guild and other venues. The aromatic loose-leaf teas and elongated German-made “t-sacs” were donated by serendipiTea of Manhasset, Long Island. The sacs are made from abaca, a very strong fiber from the inside of a banana tree. “They can take getting wet and still retain their form,” explained Brody. “I let them dry out and iron them flat, and they become like writing paper.” The resultant four-inch-long by seven-inch-wide surfaces create unique variegated earth-toned stain patterns — reminiscent of the mountain ranges where tea is cultivated, said Brody. Brody serves the tea in handmade pinch pot teacups (diminutive bowls without handles) made by artists from the Guild’s ceramics studio. Ava McNamee, who teaches ceramics here and at Penn South, was one of the contributing artists. “Michele introduced me to the process of dipping the cup in tea and letting it stay for a while to get stained, which produces a beautiful crackle effect,” said McNamee. When not in use, the cups share a display case with canisters of tea varieties and Brody’s handmade tea purses, tea books and “Reflections in Tea” catalogue, which are all for sale. Brody also invites gallery visitors to take tea inside an open structure resembling a Japanese teahouse, which you crouch down to get into and then sit on comfortable mats. The frame is constructed solely of copper pipe, and the stories (attached only

at their tops) give the illusion of fluttering walls or mini window shades. “The copper pipe is a beautiful color,” observed Brody. “It goes well with tea, but also represents how liquid runs through the inside of our homes and brings it out into the light of the community.” Also on exhibit are selections from Brody’s previous solo show, the first installment of her residency, “Drawing Roots” — drawings on handmade paper that she produced by planting flax seeds in recycled linen/flax pulp that sprouted as if planted in soil. As the seedlings grow, their roots migrate below, etching their way into the paper and creating spiderlike patterns. Native New Yorker Brody, 45, a former Chelsea resident now living in Harlem, has been working with tea and material for a long time to “express what I love — the colors, smell, taste, especially the stains — as part of my daily life,” she said. Brody admitted to drinking all kinds of tea three times a day, all day long, and saving her own tea bags to write on. “I was going through a breakup and writing everything I was feeling. It was very cathartic. It was nothing I wanted to show, but the idea of writing on tea bags intrigued me, treating them like journal pages.” That evolved into collecting other people’s reflections about tea. At the DUMBO Art Under the Bridge Festival in 2007, she rented a coffee cart and invited people to sit and have tea with her. She has since brought her roving tea ceremony to the Henry Street Settlement, and (in a pushcart) to the Tenement Museum, among other New York cultural institutions. Brody was influenced by her travels abroad, where she observed tea’s strong links to family, community and tradition. In England, where it’s cold and wet, afternoon tea fortifies. In Japan, the tea ceremony is highly ritualized and studied for years to perfect. In the Middle East, besides tea as hospitality, it is also used as a means of doing business, as anyone who has ever bargained in Morocco can attest. Tea was first cultivated in China over 4,000 years ago, although today, India has become the largest exporter. The strong, hot brew remains extremely popular in Asia and is steeped in tradition and myths. When Brody was invited to a fifthgrade class in Chinatown on Career Day, one of the Chinese students recounted on his tea bag a well-known legend, learned in childhood: “A Buddhist monk kept falling asleep when he tried to meditate. This monk got so frustrated that he eventually cut out his own eyelids. The first tea bush grew in the spot where his eyelids fell.” At the Guild, however, the predominantly Hispanic senior population doesn’t have a tea-drinking culture and couldn’t connect with it, said Brody. Many refused to drink tea because it brought up associa-

Photo by Bonnie Rosenstock

Michele Brody makes tea, in preparation for collecting reflections.

tions with being ill as children and forced to drink medicinal tea; chamomile and ginger are still used as digestives. Although not all participants were tea lovers, they were still encouraged to express themselves. One woman offered her perspective, in Spanish (translated): “I always enjoy coffee, but when someone special comes to my house, I always offer them hot tea because I believe it’s the best. I feel very happy to offer tea. It’s so elegant. They return to see me, thanks to my tea.”

“tea? not for me! offer me beer I’ll drink it with cheer” Another contributor used the occasion to memorialize a departed friend. She drew a teapot and wrote:

A native English-speaking man, also not a fan, proposed:

“Tea with Edie (a lover of teas & teapots) A memory, a mourning Tea, then tears…” When Jim Furlong, the Guild’s director

Continued on page 12

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New library has 2K books for K-8 Continued from page 1

Photo by Alanna Gluck

It takes a village to cut a ribbon: Left to right, R.E.M. band member Michael Stipe, Mario Batali (Director and President of the Mario Batali Foundation), Hudson Guild Executive Director Ken Jockers and Books for Kids Foundation Executive Director Shawna Hamilton Doster do the honors.

libraries, donates books and partners with literacy programs (with special emphasis on lowincome and at-risk preschool-aged children). Several days prior to attending the Hudson Guild ceremony, celebrity chef and philanthropist Batali said, “To be able to help children read…to give them this fundamental building block to a successful life is remarkable. I am ecstatic that my foundation is able to help create a second Books for Kids library.” The first library, housed at the Lower East Side’s DeWitt Reformed Church Head Start Center, serves over 100 at-risk preschoolers. This new facility, it’s estimated, will benefit hundreds of Chelsea area residents. “The kids who will use this library,” explains Hudson Guild Executive Director Ken Jockers, “are primarily children who live in the Fulton Houses and the Elliott Chelsea Houses.” Although many of them make frequent trips to the New York Public Library branch on 23rd Street (between Seventh and Eighth Avenues), Jockers notes that “It’s nice to have a library right here, a place closer to where they live… where children will have the opportunity to take books home and also to own more books. That encourages reading at home, which statistically has been shown to improve children’s reading scores and abilities.” The library, which will be staffed by Hudson Guild’s SchoolBridge After School Program staff, will do more than just provide access to literature. “It will operate like a regular

library,” says Jockers, “in that you will sign out books and return them. But it will also expand our ability to promote academic strength. After school and summer camp are not luxuries for the children who come to us — they’re critical. So having the library as part of these programs will be one more way for children to have quality, structured activities in a setting that allows their caregivers to work or go to school to make progress on their goals and strengthen their families.” Soon, the library will begin to offer activities designed to improve concentration and reading ability. A specialized social worker will work individually with children (and sometimes with groups) to help build specific skills such as impulse management and cooperation. “Academic and socialization skills are a big area of focus for our social worker,” Jockers says, noting that the library’s reading-based activities will provide a new environment in which kids can sharpen their abilities while cementing friendships, developing confidence and discovering stories that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. At the library’s inaugural event, Batali recited poems from Shel Silverstein’s “A Light in the Attic” and handed out free copies of the book. As for Jockers’ own recommendations, he declares, “I think ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ is an awesome way to start reading.” The Books for Kids After School Library is located at Hudson Guild’s Elliott Center (441 W. 26th St., btw. 9th & 10th Aves.). For more information, visit hudsonguild.org, booksforkids.org and mariobatalifoundation.org.

Photo by Alanna Gluck

Chef and philanthropist Mario Batali distributes free copies of “The Light in The Attic” to the first kids ever to turn a page at Hudson Guild’s Books for Kids After School Library.

July 11 - 24, 2012

Quinn treads carefully, confidently on LGBT issues BY PAUL SCHINDLER Two June appearances in the LGBT community highlighted the political challenges facing Christine Quinn, an out lesbian Democrat, as she positions herself for next year’s run to succeed a mayor who some among her longtime progressive allies have worried she’s grown too close to in her six years as City Council speaker. On June 4, Quinn appeared at a press conference at the Stonewall Inn at which dozens of queer organizations stood shoulder to shoulder with African-American civil rights leaders to discuss plans for the June 17 march protesting the city’s excessive reliance on stop and frisk as a policing approach. Stop and frisk, the speaker said, is “a process that is simply broken and that, if not fixed, will only cause further division. The key to our safety as a city is a positive connection between the police and the community.” Then, zeroing in on the core complaint at the center of the controversy, she noted that last year’s nearly 700,000 stops are not distributed evenly across the city’s neighborhoods but rather “concentrated in particular subsets of New Yorkers” — people of color communities. Others who spoke at the Stonewall event, which included Ben Jealous, the NAACP president, and the Reverend Al Sharpton, head of the National Action Network, did not mince words in their critique of the NYPD. Sharon Stapel, executive director of the New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP), the group Quinn headed before her election to the Council, castigated the police for engaging in “unacceptable state-sanctioned violence” that represents “institutionalized racism, homophobia and transphobia.” Eight days after the Stonewall event, Quinn hosted the Council’s annual LGBT Pride celebration at Cooper Union — an event that underscored that despite having some vocal gay critics, she enjoys the enthusiastic support of a broad swath of the community, with many buoyant about the potential for an out lesbian mayor. With police brass on hand, the speaker honored the NYPD LGBT Advisory Panel established in 2009 by Commissioner Raymond Kelly. The honor coincided with a joint announcement by Quinn and Kelly of a new Patrol Guide for police officers that spells out policies and procedures aimed at ensuring better NYPD treatment of transgender New Yorkers. “I applaud Commissioner Kelly for working closely with the City Council and the LGBT community to create respectful, inclusive guidelines that are appropriate for transgender New Yorkers,” the speaker said in a release spelling out the reforms. In a June 8 interview with our sister publication, Gay City News, Quinn shrugged off the suggestion that her recent advocacy on the stop and frisk issue represented a shift toward a more “outsider” posture than her role near the center of power at City Hall has occasioned in recent years.

Photo by Donna Aceto

Council Speaker Christine Quinn in her City Hall office, with a photo of her father, Lawrence, behind her.

“I think in almost every issue we’ve had success on since being speaker, almost, we’ve played insider and outsider roles — this office — depending on the issue. One might be at 80 percent, one might be at 20 percent. One might be at 50, one might be at 50. It depends. On all issues, I think, we’ve done that. And nothing I said on Monday or Tuesday — whenever that was — is different from the other statements that we’ve released. Not every statement has gotten the attention it warrants.” In fact, letters and press releases forwarded after the interview with the speaker showed a mix of private and public steps she has taken on the stop and frisk question and other police matters dating back to February. That month, she wrote to Kelly raising concerns that what she, in police parlance, regularly refers to as stop, question and frisk (SQF) “has sown distrust in communities of color.” She specifically spoke of complaints of “excessive force or abuse of authority,” “insufficient” training regarding the department’s “racial profiling policy,” inadequate supervision of officers and “the alleged existence of productivity measures for SQF” — in other words, quotas. In late March, Quinn’s office released a statement lauding an agreement among the NYPD, the Council and the Bloomberg administration giving the Civil Complaint Review Board (CCRB) prosecutorial authority regarding substantiated cases against police. Still, on May 15, the speaker issued a statement crediting Jealous, Sharpton and other leaders for having “effectively raised concerns about the practice of stop and frisk and launched this important public discussion.” The following day, Kelly sent Quinn a letter “to provide you with an update regarding the various steps we have taken to increase public confidence in Police Department

stop, question and frisk procedures.” The commissioner reported that the department had “republished” its policy barring racial profiling, established procedures for “local command level” audits regarding the quality of SQFs, undertaken a review of training

related to SQF and increased its vulnerable youth outreach efforts. On May 17, Quinn acknowledged Kelly’s letter with a statement praising him for his responsiveness. The speaker’s pattern of maintaining dialogue with both senior administration officials and their most prominent critics is a shift from her earlier days on the Council, when she was far more often on the outs, first with Mayor Rudy Giuliani and then Michael Bloomberg. During Bloomberg’s first term, Quinn was a top lieutenant to Speaker Gifford Miller, who scrambled, with limited success, to challenge the mayor’s authority. As speaker, Quinn quickly adopted a different tack. In 2007, a year and a half into her tenure, she told Gay City News, “He’s the mayor. I’m the speaker of the City Council. We have an obligation to get as much done as we can to help New Yorkers, right? Nobody wants to hear from us in 2009 that, ‘Oh, he was difficult,’ and ‘She was a bitch.’” As a partner with the mayor and his senior team, Quinn has been cautious about making systemic critiques of city policies. In discussing the stop and frisk issue, she said, “There’s legislation around whether we need to tighten up the racial profiling

Continued on page 16

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July 11 - 24, 2012

EDITORIAL Chin must reduce NYU 2031 project’s scale THE PRESENT CONTEXT The New York University public review process to add more than 2 million square feet to its two superblocks in the Village is drawing to its grand finale. The seven-month Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) application has received a resounding “no” vote from Community Board 2, “approval with conditions” from Borough President Stringer and approval with minor modifications from the City Planning Commission. Now it is in the hands of the City Council, which will vote on the application in the next few weeks. Councilmember Margaret Chin is taking the lead on the application, since the superblocks are in her district. The City Council is very hesitant to overrule the opinion of a sitting councilmember in ULURP projects, for good reason, so how Chin negotiates and votes on this application will define, in large measure, the fate of this project and the future of our neighborhood. The stakes are extraordinarily high for NYU and the neighborhood. NYU makes a compelling case that it needs to grow to maintain its competitiveness in a changing academic marketplace, and that some of its projected growth needs to take place in its core area. It has argued that it can best grow in a planned and predictable fashion on its own land, rather than opportunistically all over Downtown. Reasonable people do disagree, however, on how much of NYU’s growth in its core area can fit into the two superblocks without overwhelming the “fragile ecosystem” of our urban environment, a term used by NYU President John Sexton. The long and the short of it is that NYU has substantially overreached and is attempting to shoehorn too much square footage into too small an area. We understand that it is cheaper to build on your own land than to buy land and build on it, or to buy a

building, but that cannot serve as an excuse to overwhelm your neighborhood. The proposal as it stands lacks a necessary balance that it is now incumbent on Councilmember Chin to restore. NYU should be permitted to grow on the superblocks, but its project must be substantially reduced in size. In February, we called for a reduction in the project of roughly 50 percent. We believe that this is a reasonable balance of NYU’s need to grow in its core, and the community’s ability to accommodate this growth without the character of the area being crushed.

A SIX-POINT ROAD MAP TO HELP PUT THIS PROJECT INTO BALANCE 1 Strips: The four publicly owned strips on Mercer

and Laguardia Streets must not be built on, and the strips should be transferred to the Parks Department. Limited easements may need to be granted to service existing or future NYU buildings. NYU should enter maintenance agreements with Parks for maintaining at least the Mercer Street strips. The transfer of the co-gen strip to NYU must include a restrictive declaration for perpetual open space and maintenance agreement. Zipper Building: The huge Zipper Building that NYU proposes to build at Houston and Mercer Streets extending to Bleecker Street must be set back to the west to retain the Mercer Street strip. NYU’s proposal to push the Zipper Building to the lot line would violate Mercer Street’s special open character. If NYU cannot fit its various uses into a reduced footprint, then it should come at the cost of a substantial overall reduction in the above-grade size of the building. Mercer Boomerang Building: This building must be eliminated from the project, not just reduced in size. Removing this building helps to reduce the size and density of NYU’s project, and opens

up the interior of Washington Square Village to become real open space. In eliminating this building, there may be a need for entry and egress to NYU’s belowground facilities that requires a minimal at-grade structure. Washington Square Village: NYU’s contention that it would create public open space inside of Washington Square Village by building two Boomerang Buildings and creating a university quad strains credibility. The Planning Commission has called for a management and programming oversight committee for the proposed open space. Councilmember Chin needs to give this oversight committee legislative teeth so that it can effectively fulfill its oversight function. Bleecker Building: NYU has proposed making 78,000 square feet available to the New York City School Construction Authority for a new public school in the planned Bleecker building on the south superblock. NYU should transfer the deed to the city with a strong restriction that it can only be used for a school or a community facility. 505 LaGuardia Place lease: This building’s existing land lease is set to expire in 2014. NYU should renew this lease for 99 years with a formula to assure affordability for this building’s residents.

CONCLUSION We recognize NYU’s enormous contribution to its neighborhood and the importance of facilitating its growth. But its contention that it can cram more than 2 million square feet into its two superblocks without overwhelming its urban context is totally unconvincing. It is now up to Councilmember Chin to put this proposal in balance. And to President Sexton to do the same.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Don’t tempt Mother Nature To The Editor: Re “Saving pier and park” (editorial, June 27): Chelsea Now’s editorial expresses the paper’s belief that to address the Hudson River Park’s financial problems we all have to accept residential development on Pier 40. While we all share the same concern about the Pier 40 playing fields and the park’s financial stability, pinning our hopes on an environmentally inappropriate and increasingly risky, huge construction plan is a poor choice. Just this past week, two different reports were published that should give us pause. First, there was the report by Joe Lhota, chairperson and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, publicized by WNYC, that the walls of the renovated South Ferry subway station are leaking. Lhota attributed the problem to poorly sealed walls and “a rising water table.” The second report, issued by the U.S. Geological Survey on June 25, indicated that the East Coast from Boston to North Carolina was a “hot spot” for climbing sea levels from global warming. Water-level increases are also happening at a faster pace. Oceanographer Asbury Sallenger Jr. said,

“Where that kind of thing becomes important is during a storm.” Margaret Davidson, the director of the Coastal Services Center for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, stated in the same report that the implications of this new research are “huge, when you think about it. Somewhere between Maryland and Massachusetts, you’ve got bodaciously expensive property at risk.” Building in the Hudson River always has been a bad idea, but now it is even more environmentally and financially dangerous. Not only has little consideration been given to the inevitable downtime when the playing fields won’t be available during major construction, but the fact that potential damage to extremely expensive residential development could bankrupt the park. We must find solutions that generate revenue from small-scale development and other programs that raise money from the inboard development that has occurred and will continue in the future. Deborah Glick Glick is Assemblymember for the 66th District

CORRECTION Andy Humm’s “High Line: Too much of a good thing?” (June 27) stated that most of the luxury developments around the park “were obliged to kick in substantial sums to the Friends of the High Line, which runs the park for the city.” In fact, while many developers make voluntary contributions to the Friends, no developer has been required to make direct contributions to it. Three developers of large projects, including the Caledonia and two others not yet built that are bisected by the park, were required to make contributions to the City of New York’s High Line Improvement Fund. Only the Caledonia has made their contribution so far. E-mail letters, not longer than 300 words in length, to scott@chelseanow.com or fax to 212-229-2790 or mail to Chelsea Now, Letters to the Editor, 515 Canal Street, Unit 1C New York City, NY 10013. Please include phone number for confirmation purposes. Chelsea Now reserves the right to edit letters for space, grammar, clarity and libel. Chelsea Now does not publish anonymous letters.

July 11 - 24, 2012

Community Contacts To be listed, email info to scott@chelseanow.com. COMMUNITY BOARD 4 (CB4) CB4 serves Manhattan’s West Side neighborhoods of Chelsea and Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen. Its boundaries are 14th St. on the south, 59/60th St. on the north, the Hudson River on the west, 6th Ave. on the east (south of 26th St.) and 8th Ave. on the east (north of 26th St.). The board meeting, open to the public, normally happens on the first Wednesday of the month. In July, however, it takes place at 6:30pm on Wed., the 25th — at Roosevelt Hospital (1000 Tenth Ave., btw. 58th & 59th Sts.). Call 212-736-4536, visit nyc.gov/mcb4 or email them at info@manhattanCB4.org. COMMUNITY BOARD 5 (CB5) CB5 represents the central business district of New York City. It includes midtown Manhattan, the Fashion, Flower, Flatiron and Diamond districts, as well as Bryant Park and Union Square Park. The district is at the center of New York’s tourism industry. The Theatre District, Times Square, Carnegie Hall, the Empire State Building and two of the region’s transportation hubs (Grand Central Station and Penn Station) fall within CB5. CB5’s board meeting, open to the public, normally happens on the second Thursday of the month. In July, however, it takes place at 6pm on Thurs. the 19th at Xavier High School (30 W. 16th St., btw. 5th and 6th Aves., 2nd fl.). Call 212-465-0907, visit cb5.org or email them at office@cb5.org. THE 300 WEST 23RD, 22ND & 21ST STREETS BLOCK ASSOCIATION Contact them at 300westblockassoc@prodigy.net. THE WEST 400 BLOCK ASSOCIATION Contact them at w400ba@gmail.com.

CHELSEA GARDEN CLUB Chelsea Garden Club cares for the bike lane tree pits in Chelsea. If you want to adopt a tree pit or join the group, please contact them at cgc.nyc@gmail. com or like them on Facebook. Also visit chelseagardenclub.blogspot.com. LOWER CHELSEA ALLIANCE (LoCal) This group is committed to protecting the residential blocks of Chelsea from overscale development. Contact them at LowerChelseaAlliance@gmail.com. THE GREENWICH VILLAGE-CHELSEA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Call 212-337-5912 or visit villagechelsea.com. THE MEATPACKING DISTRICT INITIATIVE Visit meatpacking-district.com or call 212-633-0185. THE BOWERY RESIDENTS’ COMMITTEE: HOMELESS HELPLINE If you know of anyone who is in need of their services, call the Homeless Helpline at 212-533-5151, and the BRC will send someone to make contact. This number is staffed by outreach team leaders 24 hours a day. Callers may remain anonymous. For more info, visit brc.org. THE LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL & TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY CENTER At 208 W. 13th St. (btw. 7th and 8th Aves.). Visit gaycenter.org or call 212-620-7310. THE ALI FORNEY CENTER Their mission is to help homeless LGBT youth be safe and become independent as they move from adolescence to adulthood. Main headquarters: 224 W. 35th St., Suite 1102. Call 212-222-3427. The Ali Forney Day Center is located at 527 W. 22nd St., 1st floor. Call 212-206-0574 or visit aliforneycenter.org. GAY MEN’S HEALTH CRISIS (GMHC) At 446 W. 33rd St. btw. 9th and 10th Aves. Visit gmhc.org. Call 212-367-1000. Member of the New York Press Association

THE WEST SIDE’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER

Published by COMMUNITY MEDIA, LLC

Gay City

NEWS

Member of the National Newspaper Association Chelsea Now is published biweekly by Community Media LLC, 515 Canal Street, Unit 1C, New York, N.Y. 10013 (212) 229-1890. Annual subscription by mail in Manhattan and Brooklyn $75. Single copy price at office and newsstands is 50 cents. The entire contents of newspaper, including advertising, are copyrighted and no part may be reproduced without the express permission of the publisher - © 2010 Community Media LLC, Postmaster: Send address changes to Chelsea Now, 145 Sixth Ave., First Fl., New York, N.Y. 10013.

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The Publisher shall not be liable for slight changes or typographical errors that do not lessen the value of an advertisement. The publisher’s liability for other errors or omissions in connection with an advertisement is strictly limited to publication of the advertisement in any subsequent issue.

HUDSON GUILD Founded in 1895, Hudson Guild is a multi-service, multi-generational community serving approximately 14,000 people annually with daycare, hot meals for senior citizens, low-cost professional counseling, community arts programs and recreational programming for teens. Visit them at hudsonguild.org. Email them at info@hudsonguild.org. For the John Lovejoy Elliott Center (441 W. 26th St.), call 212-7609800. For the Children’s Center (459 W. 26th St.), call 212-760-9830. For the Education Center (447 W. 25th St.), call 212-760-9843. For the Fulton Center for Adult Services (119 9th Ave.), call 212-924-6710. THE CARTER BURDEN CENTER FOR THE AGING This organization promotes the well-being of individuals 60 and older through direct social services and volunteer programs oriented to individual, family and community needs. Call 212-879-7400 or visit burdencenter.org. PENN SOUTH The Penn South Program for Seniors provides recreation, education and social services — and welcomes volunteers. For info, call 212-243-3670 or visit pennsouth.com. FULTON YOUTH OF THE FUTURE Email them at fultonyouth@gmail. com or contact Miguel Acevedo, 646-671-0310. WEST SIDE NEIGHBORHOOD ALLIANCE Visit westsidenyc.org or call 212956-2573. Email them at wsna@ hcc-nyc.org. CHELSEA COALITION ON HOUSING Tenant assistance every Thursday night at 7pm, at Hudson Guild (119 Ninth Ave.). Email them at chelseacoalition.cch@gmail.com. FRIENDS OF HUDSON RIVER PARK Visit fohrp.org or call 212-757-0981. HUDSON RIVER PARK TRUST Visit hudsonriverpark.org or call 212627-2020.

PUBLISHER & EDITOR John W. Sutter ASSOCIATE EDITOR / ARTS EDITOR Scott Stiffler PUBLISHER EMERITUS Elizabeth Butson REPORTERS Lincoln Anderson Albert Amateau Aline Reynolds EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS

Sally Helm Kaitlyn Meade

BUSINESS MANAGER/CONTROLLER

Vera Musa SR. V.P. OF SALES AND MARKETING Francesco Regini RETAIL AD MANAGER Colin Gregory ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Russell Chen Allison Greaker Julius Harrison Gary Lacinski Alex Morris Julio Tumbaco

SAVE CHELSEA Contact them at savechelseanyc@ gmail.com. MANHATTAN BOROUGH PRESIDENT SCOTT STRINGER Call 212-669-8300 or visit mbpo.org. CITY COUNCIL SPEAKER CHRISTINE QUINN Call 212-564-7757 or visit council.nyc. gov/d3/html/members/home.shtml. STATE SENATOR TOM DUANE Call 212-633-8052 or visit tomduane.com. ASSEMBLYMEMBER RICHARD GOTTFRIED Call 212-807-7900 or email GottfriedR@ assembly.state.ny.us. CHELSEA REFORM DEMOCRATIC CLUB The CRDC (the home club of City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, State Senator Tom Duane and Assemblymember Richard Gottfried) meets monthly to exchange political ideas on protecting the rights and improving the lives of those residing in Chelsea. Visit crdcnyc.org or email them at info@crdcnyc.org. At 147 W. 24th Street (btw. 6th & 7th Aves.) THE SYLVIA RIVERA LAW PROJECT works to guarantee that all people are free to self-determine their gender identity and expression without facing harassment, discrimination or violence. Visit srlp.org.

FIERCE (Fabulous Independent Educated Radicals for Community Empowerment) builds the leadership and power of bisexual, transgender and queer youth of color in NYC. Visit fiercenyc.org.

QUEERS FOR ECONOMIC JUSTICE is a progressive organization committed to promoting economic justice in a context of sexual and gender liberation. Visit q4ej.org. THE AUDRE LORDE PROJECT is a lesbian, gay, bisexual, two spirit, trans and gender non-conforming people of color center for community organizing. Visit alp.org.

ART / PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Troy Masters SENIOR DESIGNER Christina Entcheva GRAPHIC DESIGNER Michael Shirey CIRCULATION SALES MNGR. Marvin Rock DISTRIBUTION & CIRCULATION Cheryl Williamson

CONTRIBUTORS Albert Amateau Duncan Osborne Bonnie Rosenstock Sam Spokony Jerry Tallmer Paul Schindler Trav S. D. Stephen Wolf PHOTOGRAPHERS Jefferson Siegel Milo Hess J. B. Nicholas

July 11 - 24, 2012

POLICE BLOTTER PETTY LARCENY: Came to look at clothes, left with a phone An employee of clothing boutique The Blue Agency (627 W. 27th St.) told police that at approximately 3:30pm on Mon., July 2, a male came inside to look at clothing, then asked a few questions and left. Ten minutes later, the victim noticed that her phone (a black iPhone 4 valued at $450) was missing.

PETTY LARCENY: Phone liberated from second sofa A 22-year-old female resident of Manhattan told police that at approximately 2:30 in the morning of Wed., July 4, she was sitting on a sofa and enjoying a drink with friends (at the club Avenue; 116 10th Ave.). The woman placed her Apple iPhone (valued at $200) on a sofa next to her friend “for a minute” and turned back to discover the item missing.

PETTY LARCENY: Thief was ‘Head & Shoulders’ below the rest At approximately 4:39pm on Wed., July 4, an employee of the CVS at 272 Eighth Avenue informed police that he observed a man removing four bottles of Head & Shoulders shampoo (valued at $33.16) from the shelves. A uniformed officer responded and arrested a 48-year-old male.

GRAND LARCENY: Fire-gear fan Firefighters returning to their stationhouse at 32 W. 10th St. around

9pm on Wed., June 21, spotted someone walking out of the place wearing a firefighter’s jacket valued at $2,000. They apprehended the suspect, a 32-year-old female — who was charged with larceny.

GRAND LARCENY: Handbag hide-and-seek On the northwest corner of 8th Ave. and W. 15th St., at approximately 3pm on Fri., July 6, a 25-year-old female was approached by a 33-year-old male who removed a black handbag (valued at $75) from her shoulder, then fled the scene. Uniformed officers responded, canvassed the area and arrested the defendant — who was found hiding under a parked vehicle.

GRAND LARCEY: Pricey theft of notebooks, backpacks A 32-year-old male resident of Connecticut told police that at around 7:30pm on Fri., July 6, he and a friend parked their gray 2007 Toyota in front of 547 W. 21st St. When they returned a short time later, the vehicle had been broken into. Two computers (a Dell Notebook valued at $900 and a Toshiba Notebook valued at $600) had been taken, along with two backpacks packed with clothing (whose contents, the owners estimated, were each valued at $300).

GRAND LARCENY: Jacked while unpacking While unpacking items into their W. 17th St. apartment during the early morning hours of Sun., Jul. 8, a male and female reported to police that they returned to their car (a 2008 Chevrolet) to discover

that the driver’s side window had been broken into. Among the items taken were a MacBook Pro valued at $2,500; a pair of Wayfarer sunglasses ($140; a set of Bang & Olufsen earphones ($150); a MacBook charger ($50); a Sony A35 camera charger ($50); and a North Face Borealis backpack ($120).

HOMICIDE A resident of the Elliott Chelsea Houses was shot to death around 2:07am on Mon., July 9 outside of 415 W. 25th St. near Ninth Ave., police said. The 19-yearold male victim, who was found with four bullets in his chest, was taken to Bellevue Hospital — where he was pronounced dead on arrival. As this publication went to press, his assailant had escaped, and police were investigating the case. The victim was identified in a New York Post item as having an arrest record for trespassing and disorderly conduct.

BICYCLE SAFETY The NYPD wants bicycle riders to know — and obey — the rules. Except for riders under the age of 12 on bikes

with wheels less than 26 inches in diameter, cyclists must ride in the street, in the direction of vehicular traffic (not on sidewalks). Cyclists must obey all traffic signals and pavement markings, yield to pedestrians, and use marked bicycle lanes or bike paths when available. Bicycle riders should be aware of open car doors. The following safety equipment is required: reflective tires or reflectors; a white headlight and red taillight (used from dusk to dawn); and a bell or horn.

—Alber t Amateau & Scott Stiffler

THE 10th PRECINCT Located at 230 W. 20th St. (btw. 7th & 8th Aves.). Deputy Inspector: Elisa Cokkinos. Main number: 212741-8211. Community Affairs: 212-741-8226. Crime Prevention: 212-741-8226. Domestic Violence: 212-741-8216. Youth Officer: 212741-8211. Auxiliary Coordinator: 212-741-8210. Detective Squad: 212-741-8245. The Community Council Meeting normally takes place at 7pm on the last Wed. of the month — but the Council is on summer break until September 26.

CASH FOR GUNS $100 cash will be given (no questions asked) for each handgun, assault weapon or sawed-off shotgun, up to a maximum payment of $300. Guns are accepted at any Police Precinct, PSA or Transit District.

CRIME STOPPERS If you have info regarding a crime committed or a wanted person, call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS, text “TIP577” (plus your message) to “CRIMES” (274637) or submit a tip online at nypdcrimestoppers.com.

THE 13th PRECINCT Located at 230 E. 21st St. (btw. 2nd & 3rd Aves.). Deputy Inspector: Ted Bernsted. Call 212-477-7411. Community Affairs: 212-477-7427. Crime Prevention: 212-477-7427. Domestic Violence: 212-477-3863. Youth Officer: 212-477-7411. Auxiliary Coordinator: 212-4774380. Detective Squad: 212-4777444. The Community Council Meeting normally takes place at 6:30pm on the third Tues. of the month — but the Council is on summer break through September 18.

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July 11 - 24, 2012

HIV prevention funds restored, at least for this year BY DUNCAN OSBORNE While the City Council restored funding for HIV prevention contracts that the Bloomberg administration wanted to eliminate entirely, that funding once again was not made a permanent part of the New York City budget, requiring AIDS advocates to continue waging an annual fight for those dollars. “A growing number of HIV/AIDS programs that used to be ‘baselined’ in the mayor’s budget are now being restored with City Council discretionary funding that needs to be renewed every year, which is far from guaranteed given that every year there’s more and more programs that get cut from the mayor’s budget,” Sean Barry (a director at VOCAL-NY, a group that does political organizing among HIV-positive people, drug users and the formerly incarcerated) wrote in an email. The city’s $68.5 billion budget for the 2013 fiscal year, which began on July 1, included $1.3 million in restorations, ranging from $40,000 to $190,000 for contracts with 17 AIDS groups. In late 2011, the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) wrote to AIDS groups telling them that their HIV prevention contracts would be cut by 50 percent for the second half of the 2012 fiscal year. DOHMH relented after City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, an out lesbian who represents Chelsea, said it could not unilaterally make cuts to a budget that the Council passed and the mayor signed. The Council restored funds through the end of the 2012 calendar year when the contracts end. “I am very pleased,” said Marjorie Hill, the chief executive officer of the Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC). The agency got $88,000 for HIV prevention work and $200,000 to continue a program that helps people with HIV who have dementia or other cognitive problems manage their finances.

“I think that the real challenge is that there’s not enough money,” Hill said. “New York State and New York City are not receiving sufficient funds to support all of the HIV prevention and treatment work we need to do.” Mayor Michael Bloomberg has consistently sought to cut HIV funds of all types. Bloomberg and the City Council have eliminated $19 million in HIV prevention dollars over the past five years. Only some of those dollars have been replaced, with AIDS groups relying on the City Council to use its discretionary funds. In what has become an annual battle, those groups compete with other interests for that cash. “They are stop-gap measures, but it reflects the pretty limited power City Council has during the budget process,” Barry wrote. “The only long-term solution is getting the funding baselined again in either Bloomberg’s final budget or the next mayor’s budget, which should be one of the criteria by which any candidate’s HIV/AIDS plan should be judged by the community.” In addition to the HIV prevention contracts, the Council restored funds for supportive housing and food and nutrition programs for people with HIV. One agency, Gay Men of African Descent (GMAD), did not see all of its funding restored for the remainder of 2012. GMAD has a $200,000 contract to run an anti-stigma campaign. That contract will now pay $150,000. “It just says a lot about the value they attach to that. Stigma is not that important, which is very unfortunate,” said Tokes Osubu, GMAD’s executive director. The agency has an annual budget of roughly $1.3 million and has laid off one employee. Since 2007, DOHMH has been reporting increases in new HIV infections among young gay and bisexual men, with new infections among African-American and Latino men driving

those increases. DOHMH is already rebidding the contracts that it earlier sought to cut. In June, Public Health Solutions, a non-profit that manages DOHMH’s portfolio of HIV prevention contracts, published a request for proposal (RFP) seeking bids. That RFP emphasizes that DOHMH wants to fund prevention programs that work with men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women.

‘They are stop-gap measures, but it reflects the pretty limited power City Council has during the budget process.’—Sean Barry, VOCAL-NY Those two groups “account for a relatively small percentage” of the city’s population, but “these are the populations most severely impacted by HIV,” the RFP read. While new HIV infections have decreased among most groups in the city, “new diagnoses among young MSM (ages 13-29) have been increasing in the last several years and comprised 49.3 percent of all new MSM diagnoses in NYC in 2010...Black and Latino MSM are at greatest risk, accounting for nearly seven out of ten new HIV diagnoses among MSM in the city,” the RFP read. The RFP cited a 2009 study that found that nearly half of the transgender women were HIV-positive, with nearly all of that due to high prevalence among African-American and Latina women.

July 11 - 24, 2012

Tea-themed art project is steeped in history Continued from page 5 of arts, first saw Brody’s portfolio a couple of years ago, he was impressed with how original her art was and offered her the residency. “She takes these unusual elements — roots, earth, tea bags and stains — and made beautiful, somewhat abstract, art out of it,” he said. “She creates a very magical, other-worldly aura. It’s hard to pin down a category for what she does, and she resists it and persuades me to resist it also.” Furlong holds his weekly class, “The Lively Arts,” in the gallery, where Brody gave an interactive session with his students. Ellen Wagner is still mulling over what Brody imparted. “I am in the process of writing something on many papers,” she said. Wagner, who also helped out at the June 21 opening reception, is leaning towards writing about Brody, “someone breaking the standard rules for artistic treatment by making canvases of tea bags. I have never seen this before.” The dark bean forces have supplanted our once-thriving pre-World War II green tea-drinking culture. Just over 100 years ago, the U.S. introduced iced tea to the world at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis. If anyone noticed, June was National Iced Tea Month. According to statistics, more than 40 billion cold cups are consumed annually — impressive for a Starbuckssucking nation. Hopefully, this exhibit will

give tea the pick-me-up it deserves. “Reflections in Tea — stories and poetry on recycled tea bags” takes place through Aug. 7, at Hudson Guild Fulton Center, Guild Gallery II (119 Ninth Ave., btw. 17th & 18th Sts.). Viewing hours: Wed., Thurs., Fri., 3-6pm and by appointment (contact michele@michelebrody.com). For more information, visit hudsonguild.org.

Photos by Bonnie Rosenstock

Ellen Wagner, writing down her thoughts on a tea bag.

Wall of thoughts: After sharing tea with Michele Brody, Hudson Guild seniors wrote poems, reminiscences and memorials.

July 11 - 24, 2012

Chelsea Art Walk celebrates summer exhibitions

Your company insurance changed again? Image courtesy of Chelsea Art Walk

From the 2011 opening of a show at Meulensteen — one of the galleries featured in this year's Chelsea Art Walk.

In each of its two previous incarnations, the Chelsea Art Walk has attracted thousands of visitors — introducing them to, or refamiliarizing them with, the exhibitions, galleries and art spaces that span from 19th to 29th Streets between 10th and 11th Avenues. On July 26, CWA’s third time around makes it an official summertime tradition. In three busy hours, the free event offers

artist talks, receptions and special events at 50+ galleries and over a dozen open studios — where you can chat up the artists and view works in progress.

Another reason to call.

Thurs., July 26, 5-8pm. A free venue map will be available at all locations. For info, visit artwalkchelsea.com. Follow Cheslea Art Walk on Facebook and Twitter (@ChelseaArtWalk).

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July 11 - 24, 2012

AIDS memorial design is starting to grow on CB2 BY ALBERT AMATEAU The latest design for a living canopy of climbing evergreens and flowering vines that will become an AIDS memorial on the triangle across from the former St. Vincent’s Hospital emerged at a June 27 joint Community Board 2 (CB2) Parks Committee forum with the AIDS Memorial Park (AMP) coalition. Mateo Paiva of Studio a+i described how the 18-foot-high, triangular green canopy — supported on three triangular vine-clad legs — would cover the 1,600-square-foot apex of the triangle at the intersection of Seventh and Greenwich Avenues. Rows of “U”-shaped troughs across the top of the thin, steel, canopy trellis would hold earth for the plantings that would grow and intertwine across the trellis. In addition to the soil and plants, the troughs would also hold conduits for irrigation, drainage and lighting. Similarly, the lattice of thin, steel, triangular legs would also have troughs for the intertwining plants and the support system. “It’s still a work in progress, so we are not releasing renderings or working plans yet,” said Christopher Tepper, co-founder of the AMP coalition, at the forum. Tobi Bergman, co-chair of the community board Parks Committee, assured an impressed but curious audience that the proposed vertical garden was an established concept. “It’s not a new invention,” Bergman said. “It’s been done successfully here and in Europe.” One enthusiastic supporter nevertheless said, “It’s essential that whatever gets built is high quality, carefully maintained and fully funded.” Under an agreement involving AMP, the residential condo in the former St. Vincent’s Hospital campus that Rudin Management is developing and Council Speaker Christine

Quinn’s Office, the coalition would pay for the design, perpetual maintenance and much of the construction cost of the AIDS memorial. The Rudin condo will bear the cost for the infrastructure of the entire 16,000-square-foot triangle and of the design, construction and permanent maintenance of the rest of the park, except for the memorial.

The still-evolving memorial design includes a round opening, known as an oculus, in the canopy. The oculus would look down on a water feature near the center of the memorial area. First conceived as a pool, the water feature could be a shallow circle of circulating water.

The community process and design of the memorial elements are to be completed by the end of this month in order to be approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission and the City Planning Commission. On July 16, CB2’s Parks and Landmarks Committees will hold a joint meeting to finalize the AIDS memorial design, and

the full board will vote on the memorial on July 19. AMP and Rudin will jointly submit final plans for the memorial and the rest of the park, to be dedicated to St. Vincent’s 160-year service to the neighborhood and the city. Landmarks and City Planning must approve the plans by October 31 before construction can begin on the park and the memorial. If the approvals don’t come by the deadline, Rudin will proceed with construction of the entire park, whose design by Rick Parisi has been approved as part of the land-use review for the St. Vincent’s residential redevelopment. If the approvals do come as expected by the deadline, the coalition will proceed with construction documents for the memorial and complete them by next April. In addition, AMP must have 75 percent of the memorial funding and binding commitments for the remaining 25 percent by next April. The cost of the memorial project was not revealed at the meeting. If the coalition fails to secure the funding, Rudin will proceed with building the triangle park without the memorial. The still-evolving memorial design includes a round opening, known as an oculus, in the canopy. The oculus would look down on a water feature near the center of the memorial area. First conceived as a pool, the water feature could be a shallow circle of circulating water. The history of the community response to the AIDS epidemic and a memorial to victims, friends and caregivers would be inscribed in circular pavers on the floor of the memorial. In the design’s latest version, seating would be on inwardfacing stone benches, with armrests every three or four feet to discourage visitors from sleeping on them. A chain surrounding the memorial has been discussed, but is still in flux. The entire park — except for the memorial — will be ringed by a three-foot-high wrought-iron fence.

July 11 - 24, 2012

For the benefit of… Fundraisers for friends in need BY SALLY HELM & SCOTT STIFFLER

CHELSEA HOTEL TENANTS ASSOCIATION The Chelsea Hotel Tenants Association wants to ensure that their local architectural gem won’t be going, going, gone — so they’re getting some help from auctioneer Karl Green (Director of Furniture and Decorative Arts for Bonhams). Green, who’s been from New York to London and back again in his work for Bonhams, gets hyperlocal by hosting an event benefiting the Tenant Association’s Historic Preservation Charitable Trust. The gala will include a live and a silent auction of fine art, photography, jewelry and more. It also promises food and revelry (by way of cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and an open bar. Sold. Tues., July 17, 6pm-11:30pm. At The Players Club (16 Gramercy Park South, at Irving Pl.). Tickets ($150) are available at bit.ly/PNMgWS. Advance purchase is required (pick up your tickets at the door).

“THE FEVER,” AT REVOLUTION BOOKS Money might be tight for Revolution Books — but they’re not planning on going anywhere soon. To that end, the activist bookshop will host a performance of Wallace Shawn’s “The Fever” — to help meet their $40,000 fundraising goal, pay their lease and stay open at their West 26th Street location. “The Fever” is a solo show about how an American pleasureseeking life might lead to poverty in the rest of the world. David Shapiro will recreate the role he recently played in Chicago, to much acclaim. Playwright Shawn has said of Shapiro’s performance, “I wish I could have done it the way David did, but I didn't know how.” Shawn’s play resonates with Revolution’s BAsics Bus Tour, a project that brings revolutionary leader Bob Avakian’s “BAsics” book to poor neighborhoods around the city. Thurs., July 26, at 7:30pm. At Revolution Books (146 W. 26th St., btw. 6th & 7th Aves.). For tickets ($45) and more info, visit revolutionbooksnyc.org or call 212-691-3345.

THE WISHING KIDS FOUNDATION NYU-Tisch grad Ryan Murray just wrapped up a run as Princeton in a California production of the “Avenue Q” — which may be the only musical ever produced featuring puppets singing about racism and porn. Now, the flesh-and-blood Murray is taking a tip from his cotton-stuffed counterpart (who preaches generosity in “The Money Song”) by raising funds for The Wishing Kids Foundation — a charity Murray founded that aims to help ease the burdens associated with terminal illness. Produced in conjunction with the Broadway at Birdland concert series, “In Full Bloom” features Broadway performers Nick Adams, Aaron Lazaar, Tituss Burgess, Clarke Thorell, Cara Cooper, Ramona Keller, Randy Redd, Destan Owens, Sarah Stiles and Nikki Rene James (and, as of press time, no puppets). There will also be a silent auction of celebrity-based memorabilia before the show. Mon., Aug. 6, at 7 pm. At Birdland (315 W. 44th St., btw. 8th & 9th Aves.). The cover is $30-$40 cover, with a $10 food/drink minimum per person. For more info, visit birdland. com or call 212-581-3080.

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Council speaker embraces role that makes room for Reverend Al Sharpton, Cardinal Timothy Dolan Continued from page 7 prohibition in this city and whether we also need to create greater latitude in people’s ability to bring lawsuits. That’s something I’d like us to move on quickly.” The legislation the speaker referred to, the Community Safety Act, is a package of measures aimed at enforcing accountability in the NYPD and specifically barring profiling based on categories including race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity. Introduced by Brooklyn Councilmen Brad Lander and Jumaane Williams, the reforms have the support of many stop and frisk critics, including AVP’s Stapel. Quinn explained that individual pieces of legislation within the package of proposed reforms were introduced at different times and that it is not yet clear when its advocates would like to have a Council hearing. She said she was committed to moving “promptly” once that question is clarified. On the specific measure that aims to expand the definition of what prohibited categories the term “profiling” covers and to strengthen the ability of individuals subjected to profiling to file suit, Quinn “can see a path through to a piece of legislation” that would be workable. “Exactly what the language” of those provisions would be remains to be worked out, she said. To be sure, the speaker has won praise within the LGBT community for her work behind the scenes to address social justice questions. In 2009, when evidence emerged of a pattern of arrests of gay men in video stores widely seen as false arrests, Quinn brokered a meeting among some of the arrestees and their advocates and top police and administration officials.

‘Christine Quinn's leadership provided a forum for this rare admission [of errors] by the NYPD and the genesis for the positive changes.’ — Robert Pinter Other LGBT elected officials, such as Lower East Side Councilwoman Rosie Mendez, were more visible in criticizing the arrests, showing up at several protest rallies, and one gay critic of the speaker faulted her for essentially being AWOL on the issue. In response, however, the leader in the effort to fight back against the arrests, Robert Pinter, the original whistleblower on the issue, strongly pushed back against that critique. “Christine Quinn’s leadership provided

a forum for this rare admission [of errors] by the NYPD and the genesis for the positive changes that followed,” he told Gay City News in June 2009. Three years later, there is no evidence that the false arrests have continued, but investigations by the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau and both District Attorney Robert Morgenthau and his successor, Cyrus Vance, Jr., failed to identify wrongdoing by any specific individual in a web of arrests that snared at least 30 men. “The question we really don’t know about is why it started,” Quinn said. “Maybe those questions can’t always be answered, but it is frustrating, and it must be extraordinarily frustrating to people to whom it happened that we don’t have answers to those questions.” The city and the police department initiated civil lawsuits against the establishment where the arrests took place, seeking their closure, but Quinn voiced doubts that those were motivation for the police action. “The Blue Store, for example, we’ve been complaining about the Blue Store out of my office for years,” she said of one Chelsea video store where arrests took place. “So if they had just opened or there had just been a big round of complaints from elected officials and the community and this happened, then you’d go, ‘Okay, cause and effect. The community complained, and the police responded badly.’ But that’s not a good reason. There wasn’t something significant that changed or developed around the Blue Store… So no, that doesn’t really work for me.” The Advisory Panel that the speaker honored was established by Commissioner Kelly, she acknowledged, after months of community criticism of the police over the video store arrests. That was not, however, a major focus of the group’s efforts, according to Quinn. “I think that was kind of the entre — do you know what I mean?” she said. “I think it had largely been addressed, put to bed, when their work began.” The Advisory Council’s major accomplishment to date has been the revised Patrol Guide regarding the NYPD’s relationship with the transgender community, a reform widely hailed by advocates. Quinn has adopted a similarly middle ground position in her approach toward the public schools. During Bloomberg’s first term, she fought hard to achieve a Council override of a veto of her Dignity for All Schools Act, which aimed to curb bullying and harassment of students based on categories including sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. The mayor responded by saying he would not implement the law, and Quinn vowed a court challenge. In the first month of her speakership, however, the state’s highest bench handed the Council a stinging defeat on a similar question of its prerogatives relative to the mayor. The idea of going to court was no longer viable.

Photo by Donna Aceto

Quinn shows a picture of herself with Cardinal Timothy Dolan when they handed out turkeys last Thanksgiving in Harlem. At left is Gay City News Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder Paul Schindler.

Since 2007, the speaker has worked with the Department of Education on an alternative “Respect for All” program, which she has said achieves many of the same goals of her legislation. “We’re doing okay,” she said of the program’s progress to date. “We’re not doing good enough. You know, the recent suicide of a young boy clearly shows we’re not doing good enough. We’re doing much better than we’d ever be doing if it were not for the Respect program.” She wasn’t prepared to offer the same positive assessment of the schools’ progress on meaningful sex education to protect the health of students. Asked about that, she laughed and said, “We have a longer way to go. You know, for all intents and purposes, we don’t significantly have, we don’t have a robust sex or health education program.” Quinn offered no clear perspective on why a mayor so touted for his commitment to public health issues could fall down on that critical measure. “I don’t have a good answer to that,” she said. “Is that because we have a shortage of resources financially? Maybe. Is that because maybe we need a longer school day to get to everything? Maybe. Is that because we’ve not figured out a way to take these things and hook them into the things kids get tested on?” Quinn does not think the gaps in sex

education reflect a lingering hangover from the fierce backlash that two decades ago blocked the Children of the Rainbow curriculum, which aimed to teach tolerance and diversity on issues including gay families and to provide frank sex education. “I don’t think so,” she said when asked if that were a factor. “I don’t know. I hope not. I don’t think so.” The speaker was most outspoken in her disagreements with the current health commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley. Asked about proposed administration cuts to HIV spending, she said, “These are extraordinarily high priorities for us, extraordinarily high priorities for us. I don’t understand why Commissioner Farley has proposed these cuts. I think that they speak to the insanity of the budget dance.” Farley, she said, has a “different focus” than one that engages local communitybased organizations (CBO) in the prevention effort. She specifically disputed a recent health department statement that of $19 million eliminated in CBO funding, the Council was responsible for $11 million. Farley’s original budget proposal, she said, also threatened Local Law 49, enacted more than 15 years ago — when she was then-Councilman Tom Duane’s chief of staff — to ensure quality control over what is now known as the HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA). Describing a recent hearing at which Farley appeared, Quinn said, “I told the commissioner that one of the things I am most proud of in my entire career is Local Law 49 and that he would erode Local Law 49 over my dead body. Now, that was a pretty strong way for me to talk at a public hearing, but I had told him this privately and he had ignored it.” The HASA cuts she complained of did not make it into the mayor’s executive budget, Quinn said. If the years since 2006 saw a growing political bond between the mayor and erstwhile critic Quinn, an equally striking alliance has emerged over the past two years between the speaker and Governor Andrew Cuomo. When Cuomo appeared at an Empire State Pride Agenda (ESPA) dinner in 2010 just weeks before his election, it was Quinn with whom he was inseparable as they walked around the cocktail reception. In victory lap appearances at ESPA and at a New York Times panel after the enactment of marriage equality, the governor was once again accompanied by Quinn, rather than the two out gay legislators — Assemblyman Daniel O’Donnell and Senator Tom Duane — who pushed the bill through in Albany. Quinn voiced sympathy for the budget crisis that faced the new governor when he came into office last year. Advocates for homeless LGBT youth have, on numerous occasions, faulted Cuomo for pulling back on state funding for beds that would serve

Continued on page 17

July 11 - 24, 2012

Quinn, on LGBT challenges Continued from page 16 a street population estimated at 3,800 nightly, up to 40 percent of them queer. “I think that the state had a terrible situation over the past couple of years because, unlike the city, where we made tough choices and tried to make tough choices with a framework of priorities, the state had just for years, for decades just kicked the can down the road, so the budget needed to be addressed,” she said. “And I don’t… would I have liked more money for homeless youth? Yes. Would I have liked more money for other things? Yes. But I think they had extraordinarily difficult, difficult, difficult choices to make. A situation I’m glad I wasn’t in.” To a meaningful degree, however, Quinn has found herself in that situation. In the past few budget cycles, it has been the Council that stepped in to fill gaps left by reduced homeless youth funding from both the state and the Bloomberg budgets — a point made repeatedly by advocates frustrated with the lack of leadership from other elected officials. Among the most challenging public relationships for the speaker to navigate is the one with Cardinal Timothy Dolan, New York’s archbishop, who is emerging as the spokesman for the nation’s Catholic prelates. Like other members of

the Church hierarchy, Dolan is hostile to gay rights, having spoken out repeatedly against the new marriage equality law, and he is now leading the charge in a lawsuit opposing the Obama administration’s requirement that employers, including religious-affiliated hospitals and schools, offer insurance coverage for contraceptives. Like LGBT rights, choice is an issue dear to Quinn’s heart. Her political differences with Dolan and the Church are complicated by her own Catholic upbringing. Though she said she does not accompany her father, Lawrence, to Mass “as much as [he] would like,” she did go to Yankee Stadium for a 2008 service led by Pope Benedict XVI, who in 1987, as Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, declared a homosexual orientation to be “intrinsically disordered.” “To get to take my father to the pope was an extraordinarily special thing,” she said. “For any Catholic, regardless of whether you’re practicing your faith, angry at your church, agnostic about your church, the pope is still the pope, so there is some level of — some impact that he has, notwithstanding all the disagreements I have with him.” Then, with a laugh, she added, “But for my father, he’s really the pope.” Regarding Dolan, she said, “He is a leading religious, but more significantly a leading civic and public figure who has a lot of influence in this city in a lot of ways.

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The way he uses that influence around immigration issues, around poverty issues are ones that I often agree with, and often will ask for his help with. How he uses that influence around choice and women’s issues and LGBT issues are not ones that I agree with. And he knows that. And we’ve had those conversations. But I don’t think it’s useful for me to shut down communi-

In victory lap appearances at ESPA and at the New York Times panel after the enactment of marriage equality, the governor was once again accompanied by Quinn. cation with anybody, ever.” The speaker noted that when Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino made inflammatory remarks about the LGBT community in the final weeks of the 2010 campaign, Dolan spoke about the need for

people to be “respectful of each other.” “I called and thanked him,” she recalled. “And he said he very much appreciated that call.” Putting a finer point on her political disagreements with the cardinal, however, Quinn added, “We’re not the ones in the wrong here, so why should we have to remove ourselves? To say that we’re the ones who should decide not to be someplace makes it look like we’re saying we’re the ones in the wrong. And I am just never going to do that.” There is no hint of apology in Quinn’s attitude toward engaging political opponents in dialogue and shows of public comity. As the interview wound up, she pulled down from a shelf a picture of her with Dolan as they were handing out turkeys together last Thanksgiving in Harlem. The speaker said upon leaving the event to get back to City Hall for a hearing on the living wage bill, on which she had not yet staked out a public position, she asked the cardinal to pray for her. The picture shows Dolan with his hands on Quinn’s shoulders and his head bowed. Asked if Dolan had congratulated her on her recent wedding, the speaker said they hadn’t had occasion to speak since then. “I’d be surprised if he didn’t say something,” Quinn said. “I mean, I don’t think he’ll send a gift.”

July 11 - 24, 2012

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CHELSEA: ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Downtown theater fest goes over the bridge, across the world Fifth edition of undergroundzero is first collective effort THEATER THE 2012 UNDERGROUNDZERO FESTIVAL

Through July 29, at these four venues: The Living Theatre 21 Clinton St., btw. Houston & Stanton Sts. Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center: Flamboyan Theater and Los Kabayitos 107 Suffolk St., at Rivington St. Photo by Rick Kim Photography

“Little West 12th Night” takes you on a site-specific tour of the Meatpacking District.

JACK 505 1/2 Waverly Ave., Clinton Hill, Brooklyn Scapegrace 20 Wyckoff Ave., Bushwick, Brooklyn For tickets ($20-$25), visit undergroundzeronyc.org or call 866-811-4111 Photo by Erica Min

“Cho H Cho,” presented by One-Eighth.

BY SCOTT STIFFLER Theater companies from all over the world dream of producing their work in Manhattan — while theater companies from the island set their sights on… Brooklyn. Times change, rents rise and venues close — and those who can’t evolve are on the fast track to extinction. The 11-member cooperative of independent dance, performance and theater artists who are producing this year’s undergroundzero festival have banded together for the purposes of longevity and creativity — and they’ve invited several international theater companies along for the fest’s 2012 reboot. Created originally as an annual guest artist festival, undergroundzero has evolved into a resident coalition model for independent companies producing in New York City. Artistic Director Paul Bargetto notes that it was an adapt or die situation. The fest’s first incarnation happened at the Lower East Side’s Collective Unconscious. Don’t look for it — it’s not there anymore. Neither, he points out, is the original Ohio Theater…and with PS122 closed for renovations, undergroundzero turned to a few new LES cultural institutions for this year’s festival — then branched

out to Brooklyn (where more than a few Downtown theater companies have moved in search of larger spaces and more reasonable leases). Bargetto notes that two members of the undergroundzero collective (Hoi Polloi and Dangerous Ground) “are both really committed Downtown artists who are out in Brooklyn now. They’ve made the decision to move outside for financial reasons. So there’s a huge wave of Downtown people who are spreading out to the boroughs. I heard someone saying the other day that the city has gone from a cultural center to a cultural ring, where artists are pushed out from the center and into the perimeter, where real estate is affordable.” The festival’s NYC core group is also setting its sights beyond Brooklyn by inviting guest artists from around the world. “What we’re looking to do,” says Bargetto of the fest’s long-term exchange program plan, “is leverage something for us as a cooperative, so everybody in the world wants to come and perform in New York. It’s unbelievable the amount of email I get from international artists. This is an opportunity for us to invite people, create relationships and find

Photo courtesy of B-Floor Theatre Company

“Oxygen,” presented by Bangkok, Thailand’s B-Floor Theatre Company.

reciprocal arrangements where the work of the local artists here in New York can find touring opportunities overseas.” At least one undergroundzero production will be particularly difficult to transfer out of town. Conni’s Avant Garde Restaurant’s incredibly site-specific “Little West 12th Night” is a modern-language riff on “Twelfth Night.” Conceived by Rachel Murdy and written by Peter

Lettre, the farcical mistaken identity plot remains, with the contemporary spin coming from a cast of characters including former meatpackers, displaced club kids, personal assistants, artists and a wealthy hotel heiress. They’ll be your guides on a tour of local establishments that gives you a little neighborhood history along with your supercharged Shakespeare. For more info, visit avantgarderestaurant.com.

July 11 - 24, 2012

Missing this one would be a true travesty Trav S.D.’s Vaudeville show gives variety back its good name THEATER THE NY MUSICAL THEATRE FESTIVAL PRESENTS: “TRAVESTIES OF 2012”

Thurs., July 19 at 9:30pm; Fri., July 20 at 7pm & 9:30pm; Sat., July 21 at 6pm; Thurs., July 26 at 9:30pm; Fri., July 27 at 7pm & 9:30pm; and Sat., July 28 at 6pm At the 45th St. Theatre Upstairs (354 45th St., btw. 8th & 9th Aves.) For tickets ($25), call 212-352-3101 or visit nymf.org Also visit travsd.wordpress.com

BY SCOTT STIFFLER Long before television — when the masses packed Lower East Side theaters yearning to be entertained on the cheap — they used to call it “Vaudeville.” By the time Ed Sullivan was brining us plate spinners and the Beatles, it was called “variety.” Decades later, modern day torture sessions such as “The X Factor” and “America’s Got Talent” are trite travesties that make one long for the sophisticated

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stylings of Sonny & Cher or Donny & Marie. Thank your lucky stars, then, for this fine publication’s very own Downtown theater columnist. Long before he landed that plumb gig, Trav S.D.’s American Vaudeville Theatre (AVT) was helping the format reclaim its rightful function as a source of diverse, high quality entertainment served in short bursts and at a breakneck pace. As host of the proceedings, Mr. S.D. often employs the overinflated carnival barker banter of P.T. Barnum — but that’s where his clever ruse begins and ends. A typical AVT show delivers surreal comedy, music and a cavalcade of world-class (and irony-free) vaudeville, circus and burlesque performers who seem as if they’ve emerged from a 1920s Coney Island kinescope. As part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF), “Travesties of 2012” promises a diverse mashup of American entertainment styles in a revue format that’s both naughty and nostalgic. The cast, drawn from what Trav S.D. describes as “the cream of New York’s Vaudeville Aristocracy,” includes ventriloquist Carla Rhodes, clowns Jennifer Harder and Glen Heroy, operatic comedians Jenny Lee Mitchell & Dandy Darkly, rodeo rope artist AJ Silver, contortionist The Amazing Amy, mentalist/mind reader Rory Raven and performers from other NYMF musicals. Trav S.D.’s next monthly Downtown theater column (a preview of August events) will appear in the July 25 edition of this publication. For more info on the history of Vaudeville, kindly consider purchasing Trav S.D.’s excellent book: “No Applause — Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous.”

Photo by Carolyn Raship

Ukin’ ‘bout My Generation? Slightly insane impresario Trav S.D. brings the best of NY vaudeville aristocracy to the New York Musical Theatre Festival.

July 11 - 24, 2012

What happens to a raisin in the sun? At ‘Clybourne,’ it dries into algebra THEATER CLYBOURNE PARK

Written by Bruce Norris Directed by Pam MacKinnon Through Sept. 2 At the Walter Kerr Theatre 219 W. 48th St. (btw. Broadway & Eighth Ave.) For tickets ($30-$127), call 212-239-6200 or visit telecharge.com Photo by Nathan Johnson

L-R: Frank Wood, Annie Parisse, Christina Kirk, Jeremy Shamos, Damon Gupton and Crystal A. Dickinson.

BY JERRY TALLMER On the evening of March 11, 1959 (at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on Broadway) an actor named Sidney Poitier leaped down from the stage to lift a brown, skinny brand-new playwright named Lorraine Hansberry — a Greenwich Village waitress then two months short of her 30th birthday — over the footlights amidst the roar of "Author! Author!" that had exploded as the curtain descended on opening night of her breathtaking “A Raisin in the Sun.” In a Houston, Texas suburb one year and two months later — May 16, 1960 — a boy named Bruce Norris was born. He would grow up to be an actor-turnedplaywright whose Pulitzer- and Tony-winning “Clybourne Park” is umbilically and purposefully connected to Lorraine Hansberry's half-century-earlier “Raisin in the Sun.” “I was fixated on that play,” Norris has said, “because it had that great slapping scene where Lena [the powerhouse Mama Younger] slaps Beneatha [the rebellious Hansberrylike 20-year-old daughter] and makes her say: ‘In my mother's house there is still God.’ ” The link between the two plays is a meachy little white man named Karl Lindner — a white man who comes to try to bribe a black family not to move into the house they've just bought in the white Chicago suburb of Clybourne Park — only to be reborn as a sort of doppelganger called just plain Karl in the first half of the Norris play. This Karl is a grouchy, bitterly disgruntled white homeowner in Clybourne Park who is selling his house to a black family (the unnamed “Raisin” family) come hell or high water — not for idealistic reasons, but quite the opposite. The plot gets even more complicated (though clear enough on stage) when the actor (the excellent — but they're all excellent — Jeremy Shamos), whom we've just seen as Karl, now appears as a hard-bitten cynic named Steve who smokes out the racism (including black anti-white racism) of a long since gentrified interracial Clybourne Park. The issue now is the height of the rooflines in that tight-knit community. But underneath that crisis is — you guessed it — what somebody might speak of as “enlightened racism.” Pam MacKinnon, the 44-year-old director of “Clybourne Park,” may know Bruce Norris as well as anyone on earth. “He went to an ostensibly desegregated but de facto segregated Houston high school,” says MacKinnon. “He thought the film of ‘Raisin’ was fantastic, and then learned it had been made from a play. “As a white boy and man-to-be and aspiring actor, he realized the only role in ‘Raisin’ he’d ever get to play was Karl Lindner. And he saw his parents and his parents' friends in Karl

Lindner. So he hooked into [Lindner] in two different ways.” “I identified with Karl and I identified with all of my culture” — white suburban culture — Norris has revealed. What took the scales off the future playwright's eyes was reaching maturity in a big city called Chicago. This playgoer hates to say it, but Lorraine Hansberry's Karl Lindner (vividly remembered from that Barrymore Theatre over all these years and preserved forever on film by John Fiedler) is a great deal more discreet and therefore more insidious — more dangerous — than Bruce Norris's purely angry armchair-anchored Karl. But then discreet is hardly the word for this hard-bitten drama that has men and women, some white, some black, throwing the ugliest words in the language at one another by way of racism in disguise, only to bring down the house — not a dwelling place but the howling ha-ha-ing audience — with the ugliest word of all, spoken in the play by a pissed-off young black woman. Frank Rich, drama critic gone politico-socio essayist, did an endless piece in New York Magazine heralding “Clybourne Park” for telling us fellow Americans in theatrical code what one thought was already plain as day — or dark as night. Night in a gated community, for instance, at somewhere called Sanford, Florida, or almost anywhere in the great state of Arizona, or along hundreds of the frisky sidewalks of good old New York, or anywhere and everywhere the ultimate object of all that hatred is a Negro president of the United States that Mama Younger — and Lorraine Hansberry — never lived to see. My question — one of my questions: Does laughing at this so-called comedy's exposures of racist and economic and social hypocrisies remove the poison of racism from one's own innards? Which is a point within a point, if you see what I mean. I made a big mistake in the run-up to this dispatch. An unfair mistake. I reread "A Raisin in the Sun." Virtually every line set emotions afire in a way a hundred "Clybourne Parks" could never do (or, to be fair, would never want to do). Try this for size: MAMA YOUNGER: No…something has changed. You something new, boy. In my time we was worried about not being lynched and getting to the North if we could and how to stay alive and still have a pinch of dignity too. Or this: KARL LINDNER: You see in the face of all the things I have said, we are prepared to make your family a very generous offer… BENEATHA: Thirty pieces and not a coin less!

Or this: BENEATHA (vis-à-vis her wrecked brother, Walter Lee Younger): Love him? There is nothing left to love. MAMA: There is always something left to love. And if you ain't learned that, you ain't learned nothing. Pam MacKinnon of Evanston, Illinois and Buffalo, New York, has been good friends with Bruce Norris (of Houston and Chicago) ever since they each moved to New York City 16 or 17 years ago and their careers began to take off. “Clybourne Park” may be built like an algebraic equation — the same seven actors of Act I gerrymandered into precisely seven other roles 50 Pirandellesque years later — but if you listen hard you may also catch some phrases in Act II borrowed from the above-mentioned president's 2008 election campaign. “All I knew about ‘Clybourne Park’ until about three years ago,” the director says, “was that it was loosely, loosely, loosely based on ‘Raisin in the Sun.’ ” So, Ms. MacKinnon, does “Clybourne Park” leave you feeling more pessimistic or optimistic? “Oh, it depends. Each time I watch it I bring something of myself to it. Some days I come away with lots of hope. Other days I certainly do not have that feeling. I think it's interesting that at the end of the play, Bruce brings together its most optimistic and most pessimistic characters.” Fifty-three years ago I walked out of the Barrymore Theatre at the end of the performance as if in a trance. The girl who was with me said four words: “I'm all shook up.” I think it will be a good long time before “Clybourne Park” shakes me up like that.

July 11 - 24, 2012

Just Do Art! BY SCOTT STIFFLER

TEEN ART GALLERY: A NEW CHAPTER Founded in 2010 by Audrey Banks (a recent NYC high school grad), T.A.G. (Teen Art Gallery) is dedicated to exhibiting the work of American artists ages 12-19 in gallery spaces. Their spring show (“T.A.G., You’re It: The End of a Chapter”) was the group’s last before its current generation moves on to college. This upcoming show (“T.A.G.: A New Chapter”) sees Banks passing leadership duties to Charlotte Lee — who has curated the organization’s first presentation by the second generation of T.A.G. members. This next gen exhibition was culled from thousands of applicants — so don’t play the lazy arts patron and simply Google Davita Pytowski, Juliette Kessler, Jordana Gluckow, Molly Lieberman, Benn Gabriner, Sonja Tsypin, Caitlyn Woodhead, Lathan Vargason and Emma Depoid. See their work in a gallery, where it belongs. They’ve earned it. Through July 20, at BravinLee (526 W. 26th St., btw. 10th & 11th Aves.; Suite #211). Gallery hours are 12-5pm (closed Sat. through Mon.). For info, visit teenartgallery.com and bravinlee.com.

SUMMER MUSIC IN CHELSEA Throughout the year, St. Peter’s Church

Image courtesy of the artist

On July 19, Matthew Oberstein conducts the New Amsterdam Summer Orchestra. See “Summer Music in Chelsea.”

hosts “Music in Chelsea” — which raises funds for their food pantry by presenting chamber, jazz and folk music. As the calendar advances and the temperatures soar, the series becomes “Summer Music in Chelsea.” What you get with that addition of one word: Two concerts featuring the New Amsterdam Summer Orchestra. On Thurs., July 19 at 7:30pm, Matthew

Image courtesy of Teen Art Gallery

Emma Depoid’s “Between Two” (2011, video still) is part of the new T.A.G. (Teen Art Gallery) exhibit. See “Teen Art Gallery.”

Oberstein conducts a program featuring works by Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Mozart. Monica Davis (violin) is the soloist. Nipping at the heels of fall (on Thurs., Sept. 17 at 7:30pm), the summer series closes with Guerguan Tsenov conducting the New Amsterdam Summer Orchestra. Gabrielius Alekna (piano) is the soloist for this all-Beethoven program (which includes Symphony No. 1, op. 21, C Major and

Piano Concerto No. 3, op. 37, C minor). At St. Peter’s Church (346 W. 20th St., btw. 8th & 9th Aves.). Suggested donation: $10 ($5 for students/seniors). Proceeds benefit the Food Pantry at St. Peter’s. For info, call 212-929-2390 or visit stpeterschelsea.com.

Continued on page 23

July 11 - 24, 2012

Continued from page 22

EXHIBITION: “STEAMPUNKINETICS” The last time Bruce Rosenbaum descended upon Gotham’s cobblestone streets, it was that bygone era known as winter 2012 — when he curated an exhibition at Soho’s Wooster Street Social Club. Tricked out with all manner of gauges and gears, the highly stylized collection of cell phones, chairs, bicycles and desktop workspaces made perfect sense among the tattoo parlor’s buzzing metal machinery. Now, the prolific and visionary Rosenbaum returns (this time to Tribeca) to once again push the envelope of the already boundary-shattering world of Steampunk. “Steampunkinetics” is an exhibition of over 40 kinetic sculptures by 18 artists inspired by (and entrenched in) the Steampunk aesthetic. The still-evolving genre — which has grown from a literary device to a rich subculture encompassing everything from fashion to visual art to home design — mashes the Victorian industrial aesthetic with elements of contemporary technology and futurism. The result, as seen in “Steampunkinetics,” is a forward-thinking yet retro-informed take on everything from the functional (lighting and musical instruments) to the

Photo by Gary Sullivan

Compelling form, forward-thinking function: Bruce Rosenbaum and Gary Sullivan’s Steampunk Wedding Time Capsule unlocks its mementos at a future point of your choosing. Until then, a countdown feature on the antique grandfather clock chips away at the due date.

Photo courtesy of Spin Cycle

Photo by Barbara Lee

It’s a boy! Out, proud parent Alec Mapa’s solo show has wicked wit and a pure heart.

“Lady and the Champ” pairs boxing legend Jake LaMotta and cabaret sensation Denise Baker.

fantastical (time machines and airships). Free. Through Sept. 2: Mon.-Sat., 10am7pm & Sun., 11am-6pm. At AFA (54 Greene St., at Broome St.). For info, call 212-226-7374 or visit modvic.com, afanyc.com and steampuffin.com.

JAKE LAMOTTA AND DENISE BAKER IN “LADY AND THE CHAMP”

ALEC MAPA: BABY DADDY To enjoy Alec Mapa’s dirty, hilarious solo show, you don’t have to be a gay Asian star of stage and screen who hit midlife, married a Caucasian documentary film producer, adopted a lovable little African American boy and lived happily ever after in the hip, granolacrunching bubble of California. You just have to have an open mind…and you can do that, right? “Alec Mapa: Baby Daddy” — which had its NYC premiere back in February — is returning for four shows only, and has something to say to queers contemplating adoption, straight couples who are expecting and yes, even bitter singles who think they’ll need to exceed that drink minimum by a good five or six in order to enjoy a show about how lives are transformed by children. After coming clean about his trampy past (in graphic detail), Mapa goes for the jugular by tugging at the heart. Surrounded by LGBT families on a gay cruise, he and his partner (“Bullied” producer Jamison Hebert) jump through numerous hoops to adopt a five-year-old boy who shows up with his meager belongings in a trash bag and thinks he’s being abandoned every time somebody leaves the room for a glass of water. Later, recalling the verbal disciplining of his son in public, Mapa beams with pride when little Zion looks at him and deadpans, “And the Academy Award goes to…” — proving that whether through blood or adoption, all sons are destined to become their father…or fathers! At 7:30pm on Thurs., July 19 through Sun., July 22. At the Laurie Beechman Theater (located inside West Bank Café, 407 W. 42nd St., at Ninth Ave.). For tickets ($22, plus a $15 food/drink minimum), call 212-3523101 or visit spincyclenyc.com. Follow Alec on Twitter @AlecMapa, and visit alecmapa.com.

For a “Raging Bull” whose power and fury couldn’t be contained, legendary boxer Jake LaMotta seems consigned — by fate or desire — to entertain while working in confined spaces. Decades after retiring from the ring, the former world middleweight champion and saloon owner spent time as a stand-up comic. His most recent project has been performed on the intimate stages of the Triad Theatre and Feinstein’s at the Loews Regency. Now, the show transfers to Off-Off Broadway for a limited run. “Lady and the Champ” is an evening of songs, stories and videos created and per-

formed by the legendary pugilist and singer Denise Baker—whom the smitten LaMotta (who just turned 90) affectionately refers to as his future seventh wife (“Lucky #7,” he’s dubbed her). Six previous marriages ought to give you some idea of the colorful tales you’re in for when LaMotta spins ribald yarns of those years as a boxer — and a post-retirement life that’s become as legendary as his furious work in the ring. In previews Thurs., July 19 at 7pm and Fri./ Sat., July 21-22 at 7:30pm. Opens Sun., July 22 (3pm); then, Fri. & Sat., July 27-28 at 7:30pm and Sun., July 29 at 3pm. At the Richmond Shepard Theatre (301 E. 26th St., at Second Ave.). For tickets ($25), call 212-684-2690.

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July 11 - 24, 2012

CLENCH. GRAB. HOLD. RELEASE. Oh yes, Chelsea. We’re coming!

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