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VOLUME 4, NUMBER 34
THE WEST SIDE’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
DECEMBER 14 - 27, 2011
Living wage tops CB4 topics BY WINNIE McCROY Members of Manhattan Community Board 4 (CB4) gathered on December 7 at Roosevelt Hospital for a full board meeting, and public hearings on issues including the NYC Living Wage Campaign and a parking garage project. Deputy Inspector Elisa Cokkinos, of the NYPD’s Chelsea-based 10th Precinct (at 230 West 20th Street, between Seventh and Eight Avenues), opened the meeting with an update on crime in the area. “We’ve gotten burglaries and robberies
Image courtesy of Jamestown Properties and Studios Architecture
Things to come? Jamestown Properties has unveiled a new vision of the Chelsea Market expansion (seen here from 9th Avenue, north).
Jamestown reveals new Chelsea Market renderings BY SCOTT STIFFLER By unveiling significantly altered renderings for their proposed Chelsea Market expansion, Jamestown Properties has set the stage for a new phase of public debate over the project’s size, shape and viability. The series of new images, released to Chelsea Now earlier this week, address a number of aesthetic and spatial concerns expressed by the community after Jamestown Properties and Studios Architecture presented their initial vision for the project in March of this year. “I like the new design,” said Jamestown Properties managing director Michael Phillips. “It’s a shorter
building, a lower profile building. It’s much cleaner and more organized than the previous design, in terms of the massing.” The height, which was 250 feet, has been reduced to 226 — and the number of office floors reduced to nine (from 10). The overall additional area is now split. A portion is on 10th Avenue (the commercial office space; 240,000 square feet) and the remainder, on the 9th Avenue side (the 150room hotel; 90,000 square feet). The FAR (floor area ratio) has gone from 5.0 to 7.5. David Burns of Studios Architecture told Chelsea Now that changes reflected in the new design,
“have to do with redistribution of the bulk; taking a building that was much taller and creating a setback, so there’s more light and air. The overall building height, and perceived building height, has been brought down.” The three levels are now at 184, 197 and 226 feet — with the least tall (or, “perceived”) height on the 10 Avenue side. To see the taller setbacks from that angle, Burns notes, “You have to be further and further away from the building.” Unlike the initial design (which Burns characterizes as being, “more about a statement on top of an older
under control. There was a seven percent decrease in crime last year,” with a slightly lower decrease this year,” she reported. As reflected in Chelsea Now’s “Police Blotter” page, many of these crimes are due to people failing to secure their residence before leaving, noted Cokkinos. She invited all to attend 10th Precinct Community Council meetings (held at the precinct, 7pm, on last Wednesday of the month; the next meet-
Continued on page 4
Protesters are sour on Trader Joe’s tomatoes BY BONNIE ROSENSTOCK About a dozen protesters dressed like giant tomatoes danced and rapped to the beat of Technotronic’s “Pump Up The Jam” in front of the East 14th Street Trader Joe’s on Saturday, December 3. The big reds are part of an ongoing campaign against the supermarket chain’s refusal to collaborate with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers
(CIW) and sign their Fair Food agreement — which includes paying tomato pickers one cent more per pound and protecting them against labor rights violations. Said tomato Lupe Rodriguez of her new pumped-up lyrics for the occasion, “It’s really important for people to be able to connect and participate with the Trader Joe’s campaign,
Continued on page 3
EDITORIAL, LETTERS PAGE 8
LET THERE BE LETTUCE PAGE 27
Continued on page 14
515 CANAL STREET • NYC 10 013 • COPYRIGHT © 2011 COMMUNITY M E D I A , L L C
December 14 - 27, 2011
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Artists at ‘The Gaits’ Make Music New York’s new annual event, “Make Music Winter,� debuts on Wednesday, December 21 — with 12 musical parades scheduled to proceed through neighborhoods in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. Our local contribution to the celebration is “The Gaits: A High Line Soundwalk.� Composers Lainie Fefferman, Jascha Narveson and Cameron Britt have created a free iPhone application that uses the phone’s accelerometer to turn footsteps into twinkling metallic sounds, electric guitar chords, dulcimer notes, water splashes, car horns and applause. By connecting them to
small, wearable speakers, iPhones become instruments effortlessly played by strolling, sauntering or sprinting down the High Line. “The Gaits� begins at the High Line’s southern terminus (Gansevoort and Washington Streets) at 5:15pm. Download the software in advance from makemusicny. org/thegaits. Portable speakers will be available for the first 50 people. Others can bring their own, or use the phone’s built-in speaker. This piece was co-produced by Friends of the High Line and Make Music New York, with software development by Daniel Iglesia.
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Singing tomatoes want Trader Joe’s to ‘pump up the wages’ for farmworkers Continued from page 1 especially in a humorous way.” Rodriguez and fellow protesters are members of the Community/Farmworker Alliance (NYC) — a local coalition of community members that organizes in solidarity with the CIW in their Campaign for Fair Food. “I am involved with CIW because as a consumer, a tomato lover and coming from a farmworker family background, it is my responsibility to work together with farmworkers,” said Rodriguez. “I am deeply inspired by the CIW because not only are agricultural workers leading a powerful change to improve their lives, but every day across the country, they are putting food on the table for thousands of families.” The tuneful tomatoes distributed Christmas cards addressed to Trader Joe’s press-averse CEO Dan Bane (corporate headquarters are in Monrovia, Ca.) and encouraged entering and exiting shoppers to “Get your booty to sign the Fair Food agreement/Make my day.” CFA organizer Amanda Bell, a third-year law student at Columbia University (and former CIW summer intern), said in a telephone interview that people were happy to sign the card. Bell asserted that farmworkers on average make less than $12,000 a year and are not eligible for overtime pay despite working 14 hours a day under harsh conditions. They typically earn 50 cents per 32-pound bucket of tomatoes — a rate that has virtually
Photo by Andalusia Knoll
These fresh tomatoes have gone sour on Trader Joe’s.
unchanged for three decades. “It’s more than just the money involved,” Bell added. They are also subject to labor rights violations, including modern-day slavery. (See Chelsea Now, “Protest Questions Human Cost of Trader Joe’s Cheap Tomatoes,” August 11, 2010.) With the assistance of the CIW, federal civil rights officials have successfully prosecuted seven farm slavery operations in Florida’s fields involving more than 1,000 workers since 1997 — in addition to two forced labor rings in 2010 alone —
prompting one federal prosecutor to call the Sunshine State “ground zero for modern-day slavery.” The CIW has also aided in many successful prosecutions of human traffickers by the U.S. Department of Justice. The CIW is a farmer-led organization of mostly Latino, Haitian and Mayan Indian immigrants based in Immokalee, Collier County (southwest Florida) since 1993. Immokalee, a vast agri-business area, is a leading supplier of winter tomatoes sold to
Continued on page 17
With the assistance of the CIW, federal civil rights officials have successfully prosecuted seven farm slavery operations in Florida’s fields involving more than 1,000 workers since 1997 — in addition to two forced labor rings in 2010 alone — prompting one federal prosecutor to call the Sunshine State ‘ground zero for modernday slavery.’ The CIW has also aided in many successful prosecutions of human traffickers by the U.S. Department of Justice.
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NYPD to CB4: BRC having minimal impact Continued from page 1 ing is December 28). CB4 Board member Pamela Wolff asked Cokkinos about the impact of the Bowery Residents’ Committee shelter (at 127 West 25th Street, between Sixth and Seventh Avenues). “We have seen a little more activity on Seventh and Eighth Avenues, but we are working with Muzzy Rosenblatt to be able to get in there when we need to,” said Cokkinos. “We had some problems at first, but now the individuals living there know they can’t walk around Chelsea causing trouble.” The public hearing session followed, addressing two issues: the application for a special permit for a parking garage at 340 West 21st Street; and a letter indicating CB4’s support for Living Wage NYC (Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act), which mandates that companies receiving city contracts or subsidies and making annual profits in
‘We had some problems at first, but now the individuals living there know they can’t walk around Chelsea causing trouble.’—NYPD 10th Precinct Deputy Inspector Elisa Cokkinos
Photo by Winnie McCroy
Deputy Inspector Elisa Cokkinos, of the NYPD’s 10th Precinct.
excess of $5 million must pay workers either $10 an hour with benefits, or $11.50 an hour without. Of the 32 people who signed up to speak, 21 were in favor of the Living Wage campaign. A number shared stories of working long hours in retail or food service and still not being able to support their families. Others told of uninsured family members injured on the job, now relying upon them for support. “The council is proposing to do what other cities, like
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L.A., does, which is bring in businesses that pay a living wage rather than ones who won’t,” said Paul Sonn, legal co-director of the National Employment Law Project. He noted that the legislation would press large corporations to create affordable housing and other carve-outs. He also warned to watch for large retailers trying to hide behind small businesses in opposing the campaign.
Continued on page 5
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At CB4 meeting, matters pressing and pending Continued from page 4
Of the 32 people who
Ava Farkas of Living Wage NYC noted that, “It is not worth taxpayers money to create jobs that keep people in poverty. And now we’re building a whole new neighborhood for Related Companies to make money [Hudson Yards Project]. I encourage CB4 to join onto this legislation without conditions.” Farkas said they had the support of CB1 and CB12. “I have many friends living in Manhattan Plaza who are unable to find jobs. Please put pressure on City Council to pass this legislation,” added Nico Boccio of the West Side Neighborhood Alliance. Perhaps the most poignant tale came from Dr. Scott Stein, a senior medical resident at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital. He told of a security guard named Michael, who came to him in pain with shortness of breath. He was diagnosed with pericardial effusion — fluid around the heart. Stein said the man cried before surgery, fearful he wouldn’t wake up, and after, unsure as to how he would pay his medical bills. “There are a thousand Michaels in the city,” said Dr. Stein. “These companies get millions in subsidies. The least we can do is provide the people who work there with health insurance.” Another hot topic was the preservation of Arnold Belkin’s 1972 mural “Against Domestic Colonialism,” at the MatthewsPalmer Playground at 45th Street, between Ninth and Tenth Avenues. Speaking in support of restoration was Jane Weissman, co-author of “One the Wall: Four Decades of Community Murals in New York City,” and Watty Strouss of the West 46th Street Block Association — who said he spoke with the Washington, D.C.based organization Heritage Preservation to assess whether the mural could be prepared. They estimated that restoration would cost $70,000. Seven community members spoke in support of the mural, several noting that they hoped restoration would be done in a timely fashion, with minimal impact on the park. Several also voiced their support for La Boom Cabaret, a new Latino music club at 605 West 48th Street. According to CB4 members, who voted at to send a supportive letter to the State Liquor Authority (SLA), the owners were forthcoming in sharing plans for security, including two shuttle buses to keep street traffic to a minimum. Other speakers included Onida Coward Mayers, Director of Voter Assistance for the Campaign Finance Board — who invited all to a December 12 voter assistance forum. Danya Sherman, Deputy Director of Programs & Education at the High Line, said that due to low attendance, the park would close at 7pm for the winter. She also announced that they had teamed up with Hudson Guild, Fulton Youth of the Future, Posman Books and the Chelsea Market for a holiday toy drive.
signed up to speak, 21 were in favor of the Living Wage campaign. A number shared stories of working long hours in retail or food service and still not being able to support their families.
Photo by Winnie McCroy
Ava Farkas of Living Wage NYC, and union organizer Stephanie Basile.
REPS OF ELECTEDS, ON MATTERS PRESSING AND PENDING
CB4 COUNCIL PASSES ALL AGENDA ITEMS
Representatives of elected officials then shared news, with Borough President Scott Stringer’s office announcing new board openings for CB4, and Rep. Jerrold Nadler’s assistant tackling NYPD’s excessive force and curtailing of civil liberties during the Occupy Wall Street action. State Senator Tom Duane’s representative updated the community on his vocal opposition to hydraulic fracking, and welcomed all to a January forum on bars and nightclubs. Linda Rosenthal’s office also spoke in favor of banning fracking. Assembly member Richard Gottfried’s representative spoke on the recent passage of the tax bill, as well as his advocacy work for medical marijuana. City Council Member Gale A. Brewer attended personally to inform the community of her opposition on concealed weapon legislation, and her work with the Board of Elections to allow voters advance access to ballots, printed in an easily-readable font. Speaker Christine Quinn’s aide spoke about the recent suit filed against the Department of Homeless Services new procedures to determine eligibility of individuals before offering housing, as well as two major transportation bills. She also invited all to attend several free small business workshops. Comptroller John Liu’s representative announced the release of a Parks & Recreation audit that noted they could have raised $8.8 million in revenue if they had not allowed park concession contracts to expire. And a representative from District Attorney Cyrus Vance’s office noted a new training program to help front-line senior service providers identify elder abuse; as well as the overwhelming success of a PAL Pro Hoops Basketball Training Camp.
The main session followed, with District Manager Robert Benfatto reporting on complaints about the new Jumbotron at Port Authority, the intrusive construction
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on the West 48th Street water main project, and the need to do due diligence and measure out the distances in the case of the petition for Boxers Hell’s Kitchen. He also noted that four people had brought complaints to the BRC Community Advisory Committee meeting. Burt Lazarin noted that the Mayor had reduced the budget deficit with a plan to raise $1 billion in revenue from taxi medallion sales. And John Weis spoke of recommendations to make tweaks to CB4’s
Continued on page 18
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December 14 - 27, 2011
CFC appeals ruling WHAT TO GIVE THE ACTIVE NEW YORKER in BRC shelter case BY WINNIE McCROY Chelsea business and property owners continue to fight a New York State Supreme Court judge’s decision to allow a 328-bed homeless shelter to operate in the neighborhood. On December 7, the Chelsea Flatiron Coalition (CFC) appealed the October 14 decision by Justice Joan A. Madden to allow the Bowery Residents’ Committee (BRC) 12-story, 328-bed shelter to operate at 127 West 25th Street.
‘The timing is difficult to gauge; I suspect we wouldn’t have a decision for some time. But we at the CFC continue to believe that the facility is not properly sited where it is, and that proper procedure was not followed in connection with this process.’—CFC attorney Daniel Connolly
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“We filed our Notice of Appeal indicating our intent to seek review of Madden’s decision in the appellate division,” said CFC attorney Daniel Connolly of law firm Bracewell & Giuliani. “The timing is difficult to gauge; I suspect we wouldn’t have a decision for some time. But we at the CFC continue to believe that the facility is not properly sited where it is, and that proper procedure was not followed in connection with this process.” “The legal issues are clear, incontrovertible and resolved,” said BRC Executive Director Muzzy Rosenblatt, regarding the appeal. “It is time for the CFC to come in from the cold. At a time of year when most of our neighbors are being charitable and thinking of others, it is time for the CFC to think with their head and their heart, accept the facts and work with BRC to help our neighbors in need.” Madden’s October ruling upheld her decision to deny the preliminary injunction filed by the Chelsea Flatiron Coalition challenging the shelter’s size, appropriate zoning, and the “transient hotel” classification that limits guests to a stay of no longer than 30 days. “The nature and object of this Article 78 action is to obtain injunctive relief against the operation and funding of a 328-bed, in-patient and out-patient drug, alcohol and mental health care facility and homeless shelter for the mentally ill at 127 West 25th
Street in New York, New York constructed and operated by Respondent BRC and funded in significant part by City Respondents,” reads the pre-argument statement. The CFC, an ad-hoc group of local business and property owners, continues their case against the City of New York Board of Standards and Appeals, the Department of Homeless Services’ (DHS) Commissioner Seth Diamond and Deputy Commissioner George Nashak, as well as Department of Buildings’ (DOB) Commissioner Robert D. LiMandri, First Deputy Commissioner Fatma Amer, and Assistant Commissioner James P. Colgate, plus the BRC and their landlord, Daniel Shavolian. The group seeks to reverse the judge’s decision on the grounds that the facility was improperly classified by the zoning resolution of New York, that no Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) was conducted, and that the 328-bed facility violates the New York City Administrative Code § 21-312’s 200 bed-limit on homeless facilities. For his part, BRC’s Rosenblatt feels that the shelter, which has now been open for more than five months, has already proven itself a beneficial presence in the neighborhood. “BRC is providing an invaluable service not only to Chelsea, but to the entire city of New York. Since our summer opening we have helped hundreds of addicts find sobriety and dozens of homeless find housing. We have been a good and responsive neighbor,” said Rosenblatt. “It is disheartening to see the small but extremely affluent 1 percent hide behind anonymity and use their considerable financial resources and political influence to mount ongoing legal actions, spread falsehoods and try to intimidate government officials,” he continued. “They divert resources, theirs and ours, that could be better used to serve our community and help those in need.” Connolly refuted this characterization, saying that, “Mr. Rosenblatt’s unfortunate
‘They divert resources, theirs and ours, that could be better used to serve our community and help those in need.’—Muzzy Rosenblatt, BRC executive director ad hominem attacks are designed to distract from the fact that he has steadfastly refused to follow proper procedures because he believes that the BRC is above the law.” Chelsea Now will keep readers updated as this appeal process continues.
December 14 - 27, 2011
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Expert panel judging designs for AIDS memorial BY ALBERT AMATEAU A blue-ribbon panel of architects, designers and AIDS activists is conducting a competition for an AIDS memorial in the planned triangle park across from the former St. Vincent’s Hospital campus in Greenwich Village. Michael Arad, who won the design competition for the national 9/11 Memorial at the former World Trade Center site, will head a jury soliciting and judging designs for an AIDS memorial in the park. A park at the site is mandated as part of Rudin Management’s residential redevelopment of the St. Vincent’s site. Richard Meier, architect of the Getty Center in Los Angeles, museums in Barcelona and Frankfurt and the Westbeth artists residence in the West Village, is another member of the panel. Elizabeth Diller, a Princeton architecture professor and a member of the firm designing the High Line park, is also on the panel, along with Robert Hammond, co-founder of Friends of the High Line. Barry Bergdoll, architecture and design curator at the Museum of Modern Art; Marjorie Hill, chief executive officer of Gay Men’s Health Crisis; Ken Smith, a landscape architect; Suzanne Stephens, deputy editor of Architectural Record: choreographer Bill T. Jones; and Kurt Andersen, the journalist and novelist, complete the jury. The AIDS Memorial Park Steering Committee, organized by members of the Queer History Alliance, the competition’s sponsor, is
A rendering of Rudin Management’s design for a park at the open-space triangle at Greenwich and Seventh Avenues and West 12th Street.
hoping for a redesign of the park, which is currently included in the city ULURP (Uniform Land Use Review Procedure) review of Rudin’s proposed 450-apartment project on the east side of Seventh Avenue. The current design proposed by Rudin is for a triangular park bounded by 12th Street and Seventh and Greenwich Avenues. An existing 10,000-square-foot, underground space beneath the Seventh Avenue side of the triangle would be eliminated to allow the proposed park to be at sidewalk level. In connection with the residential redevelopment on the east side of the avenue, Rudin is contributing $10 million to build the park on the west side of the avenue. The existing triangle, not publicly accessible, is about four feet above sidewalk level because
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of the existing underground space that formerly served a materials-handling facility for the nowshuttered hospital. The current design calls for removal of both the materials-handling building and a storage area for oxygen tanks. Michael Seltzer, chairperson of the AIDS Memorial Park Steering Committee, told the City Planning Commission last week that several Village organizations have signed on in support of the AIDS Memorial with the underground space preserved as a teaching and community meeting center. Service institutions, including VillageCare, Greenwich House, Housing Works and Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, and neighborhood organizations, including the Lower 13th Street Block Association and the Lower
Fifth Avenue Block Association, are backers of the AIDS Memorial, Seltzer said. Among those that also endorse the proposal are Gay Men’s Heath Crisis, the LGBT Community Center, the Stonewall Community Foundation, Bailey House and amFAR (Foundation for AIDS Research). “In my outreach to my neighbors, a number have expressed how there is a shortage of community meeting space,” Seltzer said. “For example, Christine Conroy, a founder and director of Music Give Life and its senior citizen preforming group, The Show Stoppers, shared with me how the group needs space for evening rehearsals. “That’s just one example of how the proposed 10,000-square-foot learning center and community gathering place can serve our neighborhood,” he said. The November 30 City Planning hearing was the midpoint in the review of Rudin’s residential project and the triangle across the avenue. Borough President Scott Stringer acknowledged at the hearing that the AIDS Memorial Park plan was “not only a an appropriate but a laudable endeavor to find a way to commemorate those who have been lost to, those who lived through, and those who continue to live with the epidemic.” But Stringer stopped short of making the AIDS Memorial Park a condition of his approval of the Rudin project. “Unfortunately, proposals to introduce a new use on the triangle site or to significantly redesign the park after the design process will require the modification of the special permit in a follow-up action,” Stringer noted in his testimony.
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December 14 - 27, 2011
EDITORIAL Continued injustice A Nov. 18 ruling from a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals continued a nearly three-year pattern in which elected officials, law enforcement authorities and now the federal courts have responded both shamefully and facetiously to clear evidence that the New York Police Department engaged in a witch hunt against gay men in adult video stores, arresting them on false charges of prostitution as pretext for bringing legal action against the establishments themselves. The stories first emerged in late 2008 when Robert Pinter, who was 52 at the time, was arrested in an East Village porn shop. He contacted our sister paper Gay City News with an extraordinary tale of being approached by a handsome, much younger man, with whom he discussed leaving the premises to engage in consensual sexual conduct. As they got to the door, the younger man, who turned out to be an undercover officer, said he would pay Pinter $50 for the privilege of performing oral sex on him. The comment raised a red flag for Pinter, who later testified that any chance he would have sex with this now seemingly dubious young man “was over.” Still, he left the store with the undercover and was promptly arrested for prostitution. Subsequently, Gay City News identified more than 40 men who had recently been arrested on prostitution charges at video stores and spas by a small group of vice officers. A good number of those men were also middleaged; two were German tourists. The city’s Law Department, the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement and the Police Department’s legal unit cited these arrests in nuisance-abatement suits seeking closure of the video stores and spas. Last month’s ruling threw out a district court decision that had denied the city summary judgment regarding Pinter’s false arrest and malicious prosecution charges. “... [W]e hold that defendants acted reasonably — that is, not incompetently or in knowing violation of the law — in arresting Pinter,” the court said. This astounding conclusion is deeply troubling. First, if the undercover wasn’t acting improperly, why was he the one to raise the question of compensation in a conversation that until then had been about consensual sex? Second, although there is a Fourth Amendment, this ruling means that if an officer suggests illegal behavior, in order to avoid arrest, we are presumed guilty unless we announce our innocence out loud. That is an outrageous assertion. Initially, the NYPD stated, “The fact remains that the locations had become notorious for solicitation of sex acts,” as though that had anything to do with any one individual’s conduct. Later, the Police Department’s legal unit expressed agnosticism over using entrapment, saying, “The Department prefers to avoid entrapment but it is not a set policy.” Mayor Bloomberg basically shrugged off the issue, saying he had discussed it with Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, who he thought might be “doing an investigation” with which he didn’t want to interfere. Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance’s actions are no more satisfying. In a confusing series of responses to discovery requests made by Pinter and several other gay men caught in the trumped-up stings who were suing the city, Vance’s office failed to offer convincing evidence that a thorough investigation, promised by his predecessor, was done. It sounds like only the original prostitution defendants — and none of the vice cops — were probed. The underlying issue is the simple question of whether we all enjoy basic constitutional protections, even if we drop into a store the city is eager to shut down.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR People living on the streets have rights To The Editor: The editors of Chelsea Now, The Villager and The Downtown Express have restored my faith in journalism. Their editorial “The BRC is a good neighbor worth welcoming” has, for me, put them among the ranks of “pull no punches” journalists who are willing to speak their minds to power and everybody else. In spite of the prevailing lukewarm acceptance of the Bowery Residents’ Committee by the larger community, and the outright rejection of their presence by the newer, mostly younger, richer neighbors, this little neighborhood press has said its piece, unvarnished. My heart swells. Our elected officials and our community leaders must now take the cue, and a deep drink of reality. This is not the 1990s when the homeless population of this city was at a manageable level, and not in your face at every street corner, subway entrance, under every sidewalk bridge and under your front stoop. The 200-bed limit imposed on shelters made great sense in light of the miserable conditions we allowed to prevail in the warehouses of that era. It might have worked if many more shelters had been established. The logic is fading. People living on the street have a right, a legal right, to a place to sleep indoors. We have a responsibility, moral and legal, to provide the beds. It’s that simple. In these times is it such a leap to imagine any one of us in their place? Every homeless person once had a home. We have to recognize that there will be difficulties fitting this population into our lives. It behooves us to do so, unless we prefer to continue stepping over sleeping — or worse — forms on our way to the office. Thank you Chelsea Now, Villager and Downtown Express. Pamela Wolff
BRC block is like any other To The Editor: I recently walked to 25th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues, on my way to the needlework/quilt store that is located next door to the newly opened Bowery Residents’ Committee. What struck me was the complete ordinariness of that block! No more or less congestion…no more or less “scruffy” bystanders…no congregation of “panhandlers.” In fact, this block was like any other block in East Chelsea. And, since all good deeds should be noted, I simply had to congratulate you on your fair and balanced editorial in the November 30 issue of Chelsea Now! My personal experience with the BRC was as a neighbor of their facility on Lafayette Street. However, I never knew they were neighbors until I saw one of their vehicles parked nearby. So I say, “Welcome BRC! Continue the admirable work you’ve been doing on Lafayette Street right here on 25th Street.”
ate however they like without concern for outside influences. OWS is about a lot of things, including a lot of ridiculous crap that is being tacked on. But if there can be one general overarching idea, it’s that the political system in America, right now, doesn’t serve people as a consequence of what the majority decides. This isn’t nihilistic — if anything, it’s optimistic for thinking that a protest could advance political discourse significantly enough to change this problem (and I personally am not entirely convinced by that opinion). Michele Bachmann is a mostly contradictory, self-serving politician who operates under that same sphere of influence that can continue to work without needing the approval of the masses. Whatever opposition she has to OWS comes because she’s worried about what they might accomplish, if anything. If she thought they were pointless, she wouldn’t bother addressing them. That’s logically the job of a campaigning politician: to prioritize. The caveat here is that if she was simply attacking them baselessly despite their lacking any genuine sway, she’d be an idiot. Adam Devlin
Stop thanking OWS To The Editor: I am so sick of these people supporting Occupy Wall Street (OWS). I don’t say they are all bad; I understand what it is like to be unemployed elementary school teacher. I also know the pain of trying to pay back a loan for my master’s in elementary education. What I disagree with is that OWS does not care about New Yorkers who do work, children trying to get to school, or otherwise disrupting the city. I live on the Lower East Side and could not get around Downtown for interviews. How is what OWS helping me, who is looking for work, or other New Yorkers just trying to get to work that day? Or small children trying to go to school and being scared by people from OWS? When I speak and ask people from OWS, all they say is this is protest and that their message is more important than people unconvinced about the movement. Then there are these liberals who thank them with disrupting the city by serving 1,000 of them Thanksgiving dinner, with all the trimmings. When I asked one of them about why they don’t give money to soup kitchens that are struggling to feed the growing unemployed and families, they answer that they do feed them at the park. For those who love them so much, maybe you should invite them to your area to stay. Leslie Sicklick 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.
Gloria Sukenick
The system doesn’t serve us To The Editor: Re “Occupy movement becomes part of pop culture” (news article, Nov. 30): The issue the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement takes with the idea of “legitimate means” is that whatever you classify those as, they are no longer an option to a majority of citizens. Corporate interests and political in-crowds have essentially formed a closed loop of politicians and the wealthy who can oper-
Find it in the archives www.CHELSEANOW.com
December 14 - 27, 2011
9
COMMUNITY CONTACTS (To be listed, email info to scott@chelseanow.com.)
THE LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL & TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY CENTER
COMMUNITY BOARD 4 (CB4)
At 208 W. 13th St. (btw. 7th and 8th Aves.). Visit gaycenter. org or call 212-620-7310.
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.). Call 212-736-4536. Visit manhattancb4.org or email them at info@manhattanCB4. org. The board meeting, open to the public, happens on the first Wednesday of the month, at 6:30pm. The next one takes place on Jan. 4, 6:30pm, at the Fulton Center (119 Ninth Ave.).
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. Call 212-465-0907. Visit cb5. org or email them at office@cb5.org. CB5’s board meeting, open to the public, happens on the second Thursday of the month, at 6pm. The next one takes place on Jan. 12, 6pm, at Xavier High School (30 W. 16th St., 2nd fl.).
THE 300 WEST 23RD, 22ND & 21ST STREETS BLOCK ASSOCIATION
Contact them at w400ba@gmail.com.
HUDSON RIVER PARK TRUST Visit hudsonriverpark.org or call 212-627-2020.
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.
SAVE CHELSEA
GAY MEN’S HEALTH CRISIS (GMHC)
CITY COUNCIL SPEAKER CHRISTINE QUINN
At 446 W. 33rd St. btw. 9th and 10th Aves. Visit gmhc.org. Call 212-367-1000.
Call 212-564-7757 or visit council.nyc.gov/d3/html/members/home.shtml
HUDSON GUILD
STATE SENATOR TOM DUANE
Founded in 1895, Hudson Guild is a multi-service, multigenerational 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 212760-9800. 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.
Call 212-633-8052 or visit tomduane.com.
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.
THE WEST 400 BLOCK ASSOCIATION
Visit fohrp.org or call 212-757-0981.
THE ALI FORNEY CENTER
THE CARTER BURDEN CENTER FOR THE AGING
Contact them at 300westblockassoc@prodigy.net.
FRIENDS OF HUDSON RIVER PARK
Contact them at savechelseanyc@gmail.com.
MANHATTAN BOROUGH PRESIDENT SCOTT STRINGER Call 212-669-8300 or visit mbpo.org.
ASSEMBLY MEMBER 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 in 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.)
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.
PENN SOUTH
THE SYLVIA RIVERA LAW PROJECT works to guarantee
Visit pennsouth.coop. The Penn South Program for Seniors provides recreation, education and social services — and welcomes volunteers. For info, call 212-243-3670.
that all people are free to self-determine their gender identity and expression without facing harassment, discrimination or violence. Visit srlp.org.
FULTON YOUTH OF THE FUTURE
FIERCE (Fabulous Independent Educated Radicals for
Email them at fultonyouth@gmail.com or contact Miguel Acevedo, 646-671-0310.
Community Empowerment) builds the leadership and power of bisexual, transgender and queer youth of color in NYC. Visit fiercenyc.org.
THE MEATPACKING DISTRICT INITIATIVE WEST SIDE NEIGHBORHOOD ALLIANCE
Visit meatpacking-district.com or call 212-633-0185.
Visit westsidenyc.org or call 212-956-2573. Email them at wsna@hcc-nyc.org.
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.
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organization committed to promoting economic justice in a context of sexual and gender liberation. Visit q4ej.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\.
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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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PUBLISHER & EDITOR John W. Sutter ASSOCIATE EDITOR / ARTS EDITOR Scott Stiffler REPORTERS Lincoln Anderson Albert Amateau John Bayles Aline Reynolds EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
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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.
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December 14 - 27, 2011
At Safe Streets luncheon, GVCCC honors NYPD POLICE BLOTTER BY ALBERT AMATEAU Last week, the Greenwich VillageChelsea Chamber of Commerce (villagechelsea.com) honored four members of the Sixth, Ninth, 10th and 13th Precincts — covering Chelsea, the Union Square/ Flatiron district, Greenwich Village and the East Village. The Chamber’s eighth annual Safe City, Safe Streets luncheon honored four officers of the year. Sgt. Duane Percy joined the NYPD in 2007, patrolling the Times Square Impact Zone in the Midtown South Precinct. In 2008, Percy came to the 10th Precinct covering Chelsea and the west side of midtown to 43rd Street. He began his 10th Precinct career working in the Cabaret Unit. In January of this year, he moved to the precinct’s Midnight Conditions Unit (focusing on all quality of life issues facing the residents and business people of Chelsea). Since the beginning of the year, Percy has made 43 arrests — seven of which were for felonies. He is honored for his commitment to Chelsea residents and to his fellow 10th Precinct officers. Sgt. Gregory Abbott, leader of the Village’s Sixth Precinct Narcotics Enforcement Unit, was policing Christopher Street in July when he arrested a suspect who fought and made his escape, leaving Abbott with injuries that required hospi-
talization. Just a few weeks later, Abbott (an 18-year NYPD veteran) returned to work — making as many as a dozen arrests per night with his team. The suspect who injured him, a violent career criminal who was on parole at the time for a felony offense, was apprehended later after a citywide search.
Officer Leonardo Nimo, a member of the 13th Precinct’s plainclothes Anti-Crime Team, made 436 arrests in his 10 years with NYPD. This year to date, he has more than 90 pick-up observation arrests — including 19 felonies in the precinct that covers the Union Square, Flatiron and Stuyvesant area. In March, Nimo recognized and arrested
Since the beginning of the year, Percy has made 43 arrests — seven of which were for felonies. He is honored for his commitment to Chelsea residents and to his fellow 10th Precinct officers. Police Officer Sergio De La Mota joined NYPD in January 2007 and was assigned to the East Village’s Ninth Precinct on June 28 of that year. His street observation skills became evident by his identifying and apprehending criminal suspects on his own initiative. As a member of the precinct’s uniformed Conditions Unit, De La Mota blends into the street scene without being detected by suspects. Over four years, he has made a total of 314 arrests (113 of them this year).
a suspect wanted for a series of cell phone snatches from young women. On May 27, while at home on his day off, Nimo received a phone call from an informant in the area about a suspect in several commercial robberies and two bank robberies. Via his cell phone, he coordinated the arrest of the suspect with his AntiCrime teammates. In August of this year, Nimo helped the precinct’s homicide squad arrest a suspect wanted in a homicide the night before in Union Square Park.
PETTY LARCENY: iPhone removed, by person unknown A 23-year-old female resident of Latham, NY reported to police that at approximately 11pm on Sat., Nov. 26, an incident took place inside of the Marquee nightclub (289 10th Ave.). The victim had her iPhone in her purse, which was hanging on a chair. An unknown person removed it.
PUBLIC LEWDNESS: Privates, in plain sight At 3am on Thurs., Dec. 1, police observed a 19-year-old male performing oral sex on a 48-year-old male, “in a public place, in plain view.” The viewing occurred on the northeast corner of 11th Ave., at W. 21st St.
ASSAULT: Perp punched her from behind At approximately 3pm on Wed., Nov. 30, an assault took place on the northwest corner of 8th Ave. and W. 16th St. A 16-year-old
Continued on page 11
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December 14 - 27, 2011
POLICE BLOTTER
all found in the woman’s apartment). The victim also told police that the man was using the space as home base for a Craigslist real estate scam.
Continued from page 10 resident of Manhattan told police that as she was attempting to enter the subway station, a group of girls stopped her from swiping her MetroCard. Upon exiting the station, the victim heard someone say, “There she is.� At this point, the victim was punched from behind. A further altercation followed, which left the victim with a swollen nose and some pulled hair. At the time of the report, the victim told police that she was experiencing pain in the back of her neck.
LOST PROPERTY: Bling (a ring) missing after fall to floor A 44-year-old female reported the loss of a personal item while inside of a Bloomie Nails (the 294 8th Ave. location) at 3pm on Sun., Nov. 20. Preparing for a manicure, she took six rings off her fingers — one of which fell to the floor. The woman found five of the rings, but was unable to retrieve a Cathy Waterman ring (valued at $2,490).
CRIMINAL TRESPASSING: He set up shop in her apartment A 44-year-old female residing on W. 28 St. reported to police (on Dec. 1) that she gave her friend her apartment keys so she could look after her apartment while she was gone. Upon returning, the victim realized that her friend’s son had been residing in the apartment for approximately three weeks (his clothing, personal I.D. and laptop were
GRAND LARCENY: Pickpocket got job done with some sweet talk At approximately 3am on Sat. Dec. 3, a 34-year-old man was approached by a female in front of 112 Ninth Ave. She engaged him in conversation, rubbed against him and placed her hand near his front pocket area. As the woman fled, the man realized his iPhone had been stolen. It was recovered from a nearby garbage can.
11
cursing at the time, police said.
ARREST AND ASSAULT: All on a Friday night A 25-year-old woman was arrested at 12:35am on Fri., Dec. 2, for punching a 51-year-old man in the head. The assault took place in front of 108 Seventh Ave. South. Police arrested a 23-year-old woman, in the crowded Comedy Cellar club, (117 MacDougal St.) at 11:20pm on Fri., Dec. 2. The charge, reckless endangerment, stemmed from the woman’s pulling of a fire alarm.
RESISTING ARREST: Push and shove follow brawl
ASSAULT, POSSSESSION: Also jumped turnstile, to boot A 31-year-old man was arrested at 4:35am on Sun., Dec. 4, on the southbound platform of the Seventh Ave. subway station (at Christopher St.) after he jumped a turnstile and attacked a 22-year-old victim and attempted to steal his cell phone, police said. Police said the suspect had two glassine bags — one with crack cocaine and the other with marijuana — in his pocket, in addition to marijuana and crack pipes.
CRIMINAL MISCHIEF: Got his kicks by decking door window Police arrested a 32-year-old man who gave an Orlando, Florida, address. He was charged with criminal mischief, for kicking out a door window at 68 Christopher St. shortly after 9pm on Tues., Nov. 29. The defendant was yelling and
A 21-year-old man was charged with obstructing government administration at 4:28am on Sun., Dec. 4, for pushing and shoving police who were breaking up a brawl in front of 409 W. 13th St. The man was also charged with resisting arrest (for grabbing and holding on to an officer’s coat to avoid being handcuffed).
ASSAULT/ROBBERY: iPhone muggers Transit police arrested two suspects, one 15 and the other 16 years old, around 8:15pm on Wed., Nov. 30, for pushing a woman victim, 31, to the floor in the IND station (on Sixth Ave. at 14th St.) and stealing her iPhone. A third suspect, a 17-year-old male, is also being sought.
—Alber t Amateau and Scott Stiffler
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December 14 - 27, 2011
The holiday season and your gay family BY MAJA CASTILLO, MD (of Tribeca Pediatrics) For children, the holiday season is a cherished time of year. Irrespective of cultural background, most of us have fond memories of holiday gatherings with extended family, school parties or specific religious services (like midnight mass or lighting the Chanukah candles). As gay adults, we may have moved away from some of our childhood traditions and created our own. Differences with family members over sexual orientation can estrange us from extended family or even immediate family members. Feelings of religious intolerance for the gay lifestyle can distance us from our childhood church or faith. As much as we may have felt confident in our adult decisions about religion and family, becoming a parent has a funny way of making one rethink those decisions — especially around the holidays. I think this can happen to many people as they move into parenthood, not just gay parents. Whether because of potential conflict or maybe just because the Bahamas seems
more appealing, many people buck the tradition of the family gathering. However, when children become part of the equation, we become nostalgic about our childhood...the joy of having out of town cousins staying with us, grandparents cooking and hugging us and the smell of the holiday feasts. We want our children to know where we came from and, by extension, where they came from (whether they are biological or adoptive children). In families where being gay creates conflict, it can be hard to decide which is the right course of action — attending family gatherings where they may have negative experiences or opting out of family tradition to avoid conflict. Even psychologists give differing advice. In “The Complete Lesbian and Gay Parenting Guide,” author Arlene Istar Lev asserts, “I will take a firm stance and say that it is not healthy for us as LGBT people, nor healthy for our families, to be cut off from our families of origin or to have our identities and experiences silenced within the larger family.”
Gay families are not alone in this struggle between maintaining long-standing family traditions and creating their own new traditions. No matter how your family decides to celebrate, the most important part is that your family shares quality time together.
Conversely, in “For Lesbian Parents,” authors Suzzane Johnson and Elizabeth O’Connor think it’s better to not expose children to negative situations and cut ties for the parents’ own emotional well being: “You may, in fact, have to cut off contact with someone who cannot refrain from making hurtful, negative remarks to you. Your children should not be around such a person, and your children come first.” I think these have to be very individual decisions that each family makes based on what is best for that family. However, it helps to take into account that children will not benefit from seeing their parents mistreated or excluded by family members. All families can expect minor conflicts to arise at family gatherings, but there are situations that are more serious. If a life partner or gay spouse is not invited to a gathering — or is likely to be ignored or treated as an outsider — it may be better to decline the invitation. If parents know they will have a tendency to project a closed or embarrassed attitude, or won’t be able to respond to negative comments made, they should think twice about attending the event. Children want to see their parents as strong and united and proud of whoever they are. Religion is another area that can create conflict around the holidays. Even if we’ve gotten out of the habit of regular religious practice, we want our children to understand some of the story behind the holiday traditions. It can be hard to shed negative feelings about religion if you’ve been excommunicated from your church or estranged from your family over religious beliefs. However, the good news is there are so many welcoming religious communities in the United States
It helps to take into account that children will not benefit from seeing their parents mistreated or excluded by family members. All families can expect minor conflicts to arise at family gatherings, but there are situations that are more serious. and especially in New York City. Long before I moved to New York City, I heard (mostly from straight friends) that the Congregation Beit Simchat Torah (cbst.org) is the place to be for the high holidays. The Metropolitan Community Church (mccny.org), right here in Chelsea, is a specifically LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) church. If you want your children to feel celebrated as a gay family in a community of other gay families, there are many other churches with inclusive policies. You can search on gaychurch.org for a church near you. Gay families are not alone in this struggle between maintaining long-standing family traditions and creating their own new traditions. No matter how your family decides to celebrate, the most important part is that your family shares quality time together and your children learn that it is a season of joy and inclusiveness to be shared with those closest to you — whoever they may be.
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Holiday food and drink, without the gluttony or guilt BY CARLYE WAXMAN, RD Taste testing “this and that” at holiday parties is the worst strategy. Before you know it, you can’t fit into your jeans (or, even worse, your work pants). Everyone likes to party — but there’s a right way to do it. By planning, you won’t have to deprive yourself. This time of year, you should be giving, laughing and getting loopy. It’s not the time for bloat, depression and gluttony. By following these 10 tips, you can survive the holidays with your shape in tact. And don’t forget to have fun! EXERCISE: Don’t wait until your New Year’s resolution to hit the gym. You should be working out extra hard during the holidays. It can reduce stress levels, keep you into a routine and you’ll still feel good about yourself even though you devoured that cheese platter the night before (but, please don’t devour the cheese platter the night before). EAT SLOWLY: Yeah yeah, you’ve heard this before. The slower you eat the more likely it is that your brain will recognize that you are full. How many of us are full and still reach for the desserts laid out so nicely on the buffet table? Eating slower is better so you can enjoy yourself. Savor your old favorites and try some new foods — because you don’t get out like this every day! DRINKING: Say “Yes!” when the boss offers you a martini, but do not succumb to a calorie-laden one (such as a gingerbread martini, an eggnog martini or anything with too many ingredients or sugar). Try this: Grey Goose vodka with a splash of prosecco (or champagne) and fresh lime and lemon juice. It’s delicious, refreshing and tastes sugary but is lower in calories. Not a fancy party? Stick to wine and champagne. They can have over hundreds of fewer calories than eggnog, punches and coffee drinks. SNACKING: They say snacking is good for your metabolism and aids in weight loss
Photos by Carlye Waxman, RD
Get fizzy with it: This martini will give you a (Grey) “Goose.”
— but snacking can lead to eating way more calories than you should, without ever really feeling full. Plan out your breakfast, lunch and dinner at the beginning of the day (and make them satisfying). Do not snack unless you’re very hungry and it’s not close enough to mealtime. This is a great routine to get into. It helps when someone brings in their “best ever” Christmas cookies. You’ll feel like the more appropriate time to eat this would be after lunch — when you’re already almost full.
BE MINDFUL: Remember that your weight isn’t everything. Gaining a few extra pounds during the holidays will come off easy, so don’t feel guilty! Just don’t go overboard. If you go overboard and do it consistently throughout the holidays it can lead to bloat, feelings of depression and sluggishness. This may make it harder to get back into a routine right away. Try to keep a mental note of how often you have been thrown “off track” and keep away from sweets when you aren’t celebrating.
MY PLATE: The new “my plate” rule is: Half of your plate should be vegetables and/ or fruit — and the other can be equal parts starch and protein. If you are in a buffet situation, keep to this rule and pile your plate. It’s more satisfying to get one huge plate of everything you like, instead of going back for seconds. If you can’t fit it on your plate, you can’t fit it in your belly. With this said, pick a few things that are higher on the caloric side and the rest of the plate should be salad and vegetables.
LEFTOVERS: Something a lot of nutritionists will say is “Don’t take the leftovers home.” But why not? It’s FREE food. I know we aren’t supposed to have sugar cookies in our homes, but we have willpower, right? If you said wrong to that question, give the sugar cookies away. If you answered yes, freeze them. Take out whatever dessert it may be to defrost when you feel like you deserve a treat throughout the month of January. This way you are planning for it and can enjoy without the guilt! ACTIVITIES: If you’re home with family, stay away from the kitchen where all that good food resides. Play a game of scrabble or monopoly. No access to the gym and you’re home with nothing to do but eat? Do some at home gym activities such as squats, lunges, pushups and tricep dips off the couch. Read your favorite fitness magazine for inspiration. Keep yourself motivated. BUY YOURSELF SOMETHING NICE: I know it’s the season of giving, but you can only give so much. Buy yourself a hot cocktail dress or something that makes you feel slim and beautiful. Don’t pick out something that will “just hide your belly” or make you feel unattractive. There should be more to look forward to than eggnog and cookies.
Holiday cookies: Don’t chuck these out if you have self-control. Instead, freeze them and they will stay for a while. Take one out when you deserve a treat.
SOUP: This doesn’t fit the theme — but I find when you make a big batch of soup and freeze it in small containers, you can control
Keep yourself in shape during the holiday season. It’s better to stay in your routine than go completely off of it.
weight very well throughout the holidays. Bring it to work for lunch if you know you’re going out for a big dinner. Soup is easy to transport, and you can pop it in the microwave for a quick (and cheap) lunch. See below for good low calorie/low cost recipe.
RECIPES: FIZZY MARTINI: 2 oz Grey Goose Vodka, 1 oz fresh lime juice, 1oz fresh lemon juice, 2 oz champagne or prosecco. Stir. EGGNOG COFFEE: One cup of hot coffee (amaretto flavor, preferably). One Splenda, 2 oz steamed skim milk, 2 tbsp eggnog. Want to get tipsy? Throw in a shot of amaretto (110 calories). CARLYE’S RED HOT LENTIL SOUP: 2 cups dry lentils, 4 cups of water, 1 vegetable or chicken bouillon cube, 1 tbsp curry, 1 red hot chili pepper, 1 cup baby carrots, 1 cup chopped sweet onion. In a medium pot, add 2 tsp olive oil, onion and curry. Add chopped chili pepper when onions get translucent. Throw in chopped bouillon cube and lentils for one minute. Add water and carrots, bring to boil. Simmer after boiling for one minute and cover. Simmer for about 30 minutes until the lentils soften. Transfer into 4 Tupperware containers and freeze.
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December 14 - 27, 2011
Updated vision for Chelsea Market is up for debate Continued from page 1
The height, which was 250 feet,
building,” this updated version is meant to serve as, “a dialogue between the new and the old.” Invoking a more personal approach to the notion of facilitating a back and forth conversation, Phillips vowed, “Now that we finally have it [the new design], we certainly want to have a dialogue.” Since the March rendering was released, Phillips maintains that Jamestown has taken a variety of opinions, concerns and suggestions from the community into account. “We’ve had a series of meetings in people’s homes, in the Hudson Guild and with stakeholders in the community,” said Phillips — who also cited design conversations with the Meatpacking District Initiative, Save Chelsea, several trade unions and the Greenwich Village-Chelsea Chamber of Commerce. “I’m happy to continue that process, and certainly open to more feedback,” said Phillips — who further vowed that, “We remain committed to being a good neighbor and part of the community, and I hope this new design is received with the understanding that that’s our intention.” Jamestown and Studios Architecture will certainly get
has been reduced to 226 — and the number of office floors reduced to nine (from 10). The overall additional area is now split. A portion is on 10th Avenue (the commercial office space; 240,000 square feet) and the remainder, on the 9th Avenue side (the 150-room hotel; 90,000 square feet). The overall height has been reduced from 210 to 184 feet.
Continued on page 15
Image courtesy of Jamestown Properties and Studios Architecture
That was then: the March 2011 rendering.
Image courtesy of Jamestown Properties and Studios Architecture
This is now: a December 2011 rendering (view from southwest).
December 14 - 27, 2011
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HOLIDAY ALE Farmer Jon Founder
Images courtesy of Jamestown Properties and Studios Architecture
Jamestown anticipates ULURP, CB4, public process Continued from page 14 their share of dialogue, debate and feedback soon — in a very public manner. At a Community Board 4 (CB4) monthly public meeting held on December 4, CB4 Chair Corey Johnson noted that he expected Chelsea Market to receive its ULURP (Uniform Land Use Review Procedure) certification in January — allowing the matter to be brought before the full board of CB4 the following month. On Monday, December 12, a CB4 Preservation and Planning Committee session was held at Penn South. The meeting — open to the public and listed on their website as a presentation/discussion on the topic of “CB4’s Draft Building Mass Analysis re proposed Chelsea Market expansion” — featured an abstract image designed by the board’s urban planning intern Kamisha Sellers (with input from
Brett Firfer and Betty Mackintosh). Reached by phone the next day, CB4 District Manager Robert J. Benfatto noted that the rendering, created with the Google tool SketchUp, was meant to help those in attendance visualize the project. According to Benfatto, the CB4 version (which they declined to provide Chelsea Now with), “looks like the proposal they [Jamestown] showed us in March, except that’s a bulky building.” Jamestown’s March design, he said, “looks like a big spaceship. It has a setback and it sticks out at one point. This [our design] goes straight up. No setbacks; just straight up into the air.” Informed of Chelsea Now’s impending publication of the new Jamestown renderings, Benfatto noted the CB4 effort was done as, “an exercise in getting people to think” about how changes in Chelsea Market’s size, mass, bulk and shadow will impact the building, the surrounding area and the community.
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December 14 - 27, 2011
Have yourself some Hanukkah and/or Chanukah fun COMPILED BY SCOTT STIFFLER
OCCUPY CHANUKAH The New Shul — Greenwich Village’s “progressive, independent, creative community” committed to exploring “meaningful ways to experience Jewish life and ritual in the 21st century” — puts an innovative spin on that goal, with “Occupy Chanukah.” After taking over Washington Square Park (for the night, at least), the light sculpture they create will, when finished, “shine a light on the miracle of Chanukah and send a message of hope and peace to our community and the world.” In addition to sculpture’s pleasing aesthetics, this unique “Occupy” movement sweetens its admirable message with the distribution of hot chocolate and hot latkes — and the opportunity to dance off that caloric indulgence (to the music of the Klezmer/Eastern European/Yiddish song/World Music band Litvakus. Free. Tues., Dec. 20, at 5:30pm. At the Arch Plaza in Washington Square Park (between the arch and the fountain). In the event of harsh winter weather conditions, get cancellation info at newshulblog.blogspot. com. For info, call 212-284-6773 or visit newshul.org.
CHANUKAH FAMILY FESTIVAL Chabad of Battery Park City invites you to see the lighting of a giant balloon menorah, decorate doughnuts, create crafts, eat hot latkes, dance and have your photo taken with Judah the Maccabee! Tues., Dec. 20, 4-5:30pm ($18 per family). At the Museum of Jewish Heritage (Edmond J. Safra Plaza, 36 Battery Place). For more info (and to RSVP), visit chabadbpc.com.
WINTER HOLIDAYS AT 92YTRIBECA Take a fresh, hot latke (the incredibly delicious potato pancake that’s a happy Hanukkah staple). Then top it off with sour cream or applesauce. Then eat, regroup,
Photo courtesy of The New Shul
If you build it, they will come. See “Occupy Chanukah.”
repeat. The only thing that could possibly make the experienced better is…beer. 92YTribeca’s 4th annual “Beer + Latkes Hanukkah Celebration!” brings these two heavenly tastes together under one very happy roof. Brooklyn Brewery’s beer expert Dan Moss will present delicious beer pairings to compliment 92YTribeca head chef Russell Moss’s innovative and daring latke creations. Need three more reasons to go? How about candle lighting, dreidel spinning and a rousing game of Hanukkah trivia? Bonus Feature: If these spirited festivities aren’t enough to quell your holiday angst, Rabbi-in-Residence Dan Ain will be on call to field your “December dilemma” questions (preferably before you’ve had that second drink). Thurs., Dec. 22, at 7pm. Tickets are $18 in advance, $22 at the door. Lonely Christians, moody atheists and bored Jews: three groups who really need to get out of the house on Christmas. Fortunately, NYC has a wealth of movie theaters and Chinese restaurants to help make the season bright. But why schlep all over town when you can have your meal and your movie in the same place? “Chinese
Photo courtesy of The Macaroons
Let’s go (coco) nuts. See “The Macaroons.”
and a Movie” delivers two action-packed Spielberg classics (“Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Jurassic Park”) and an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet (with booze available at the bar!). Sun., Dec. 25. Doors open at 2pm. $25 in advance, $30 at the door. “Raiders” screens at 2:30pm; “Park,” at 4:30pm. The buffet spread begins at 2pm and ends when it’s all gone. These events take place at 92YTribeca (200 Hudson St.). Call 212-601-1000 or visit 92YTribeca.org. For Facebook: facebook.com/92YTribeca.
HANUKKAH CONCERT: THE MACAROONS Indie and kiddie music fans, unite! The Macaroons — a spinoff band from acclaimed rockers The LeeVees — are brining their equally acclaimed kid-centric songs to The Jewish Museum for three shows in one day. Many of the tunes will be from their 2010 debut album (“Let’s Go Coconuts”). The band’s guitar-based sound references everything from the Kinks to Queen to the Shins. Parents will fondly recall music from their youth; and kids will discover the music of their youth. Appropriate for children ages 3-9. On
Sun., Dec. 25, at 11am, 1pm and 3pm. At The Jewish Museum (1109 Fifth Ave., at 92nd St.). For tickets ($20; $15 for children). For info, call 212-423-3337 or visit thejewishmuseum.org.
THE MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE: “I LIFT MY LAMP” On December 25, “I Lift My Lamp: A Statue-esque Hanukkah” pays homage to poet Emma Lazarus and the Lady of the Harbor, by featuring Statue of Libertyinspired crafts and films (all activities are free with Museum admission). At 11am, a young Russian immigrant mouse gets separated from his family while arriving in America, in the 1986 animated film “An American Tail.” Lady Liberty also makes cameos in Hitchcock’s 1942 fugitive tale “Saboteur” (at 1pm) and in 1985’s “Ghostbusters II” (at 3pm). The craft activities, for ages 3 to 10, take place from 12-3:30pm. Tours of the exhibit “Emma Lazarus: Poet of Exiles” will be given throughout the day. At the Museum of Jewish Heritage — A Living Memorial to the Holocaust (Edmond J. Safra Plaza, 36 Battery Place). For info, call 646-437-4202 or visit mjhnyc.org. Follow the museum, on Facebook, and at twitter@MJHnews.
Image courtesy Swank Motion Pictures.
“An American Tail” screens at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, on Dec. 25.
December 14 - 27, 2011
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Protesting tomatoes give Trader Joe’s raspberry Continued from page 3 New York consumers by Trader Joe’s and other outlets. In 2001, CIW farmworkers launched their first-ever Campaign for Fair Food, targeting Taco Bell, since as a major corporate buyer of fruits and vegetables, it could leverage its buying power for the betterment of farmworker wages and working conditions. After four years, in March 2005, Taco Bell acceded to CIW’s demands. McDonald’s, Burger King and Subway, the other major fast-food leaders, followed suit. Whole Foods signed on in September 2008 (the first in the supermarket industry) and in June 2009, the chain announced that it had secured the cooperation of two of Florida’s largest organic growers, Alderman Farms and Lady Moon Farms. Food-service industry leaders Bon Appétit Management Company, Compass Group, Aramark and Sodexo, as well as East Coast Growers, the third largest tomato producer in Florida, have also become signatories. Since Chelsea Now last reported on the protest at the Sixth Avenue and West 21st Street Trader Joe’s (“Protesters Give the Raspberry to Trader Joe’s Florida Tomatoes,” August 25, 2010), the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange, which had been actively opposed, approved the accord in November 2010. The agreements are slated to go into effect across more than 90 percent of the Florida tomato industry during this winter’s 2011-2012 growing season. The agreement includes a penny-perpound wage increase, a strict code of conduct (protections against sexual harassment for women and labor rights violations), a complaint resolution system, a participatory health and safety program and worker-toworker education — and such elementary rights as having a break in the shade instead of sitting next to the tomato plants, not working during a lightning storm and access to a toilet with toilet paper and soap. In addition, workers no longer have to overfill the bucket, which was a source of friction and violence by crew leaders (they will fill it only to the rim, which will give workers a little more earning power at the end of the day). Trader Joe’s has been feeling the heat from the numerous protests and consumer inquiries and finally responded to customers on its website. On May 11, the post stated that the CIW agreement “is overreaching, ambiguous and improper.” They explained that they only buy five Florida tomatoes (approximately three million pounds) during the growing season, generally from October to May, and their wholesalers have indicated they are willing to pass along an extra penny per pound to the workers. “The expressed goals of the CIW that were indicated in their presentation at the Georgetown University Conference on the ‘Future of Food’ as posted on the CIW website on May 10, 2011, can be met by a readily available relationship between our wholesalers and the growers. This relationship will be supported and endorsed by Trader Joe’s.” In the October 23 post, “Update about
Florida Tomatoes,” they reiterated that they buy “only from growers signed on to and abiding by the CIW Fair Food Code of Conduct…we have contracted directly with the two growers who employ the workers that harvest the tomatoes we sell [and they] have signed agreements. However, they will not work directly with the CIW. “The CIW, an entity with which we have no business relationship, continues to demand that we sign an agreement with them that is unacceptable to us for reasons we presented in May,” they stated. (For a full explanation of their reasons, go to traderjoes.com.) Chelsea Now emailed Alison Mochizuki, Trader Joe’s director of national public relations, for further information. She responded, “At this time, we do not have any additional comments,” and included the October 23 statement in the body of the email. Trader Joe’s is a privately held chain owned by Germany’s “ultra-private” Albrecht family — which is notorious in Germany for not talking to the press, according to “Inside the secret world of Trader Joe’s,” on CNNMoney (money.cnn.com; the online site for Fortune and Money magazines) on August 23, 2010. “The company has never participated in a major story about its business operations…. In exchange, suppliers have to agree to operate under Trader Joe’s cloak of secrecy,” the article reported. A standard vendor
In the October 23 post, ‘Update about Florida Tomatoes,’ they reiterated that they buy ‘only from growers signed on to and abiding by the CIW Fair Food Code of Conduct… we have contracted directly with the two growers who employ the workers that harvest the tomatoes we sell [and they] have signed agreements.’ agreement states that the vendor “shall not publicize its business relationship with TJ’s in any manner.” (TJ founder Joe Coulombe sold his company to the late Theo Albrecht in 1979 for an undisclosed amount. Sales in 2010 were roughly $8 billion, according to Fortune 500, which listed the company at 314.) Gerardo Reyes, a tomato farmworker and CIW staff member to whom Chelsea Now spoke in Immokalee, had a lot of questions for Trader Joe’s. “What are they going to do
if there is a case of slavery? Are they going to enforce the mechanism that they don’t even have in place? How are they going to communicate with farmers?” Reyes asked. “Trader Joe’s can give a really big show and use a lot of shiny words to say they are responsible, but without the participation of the worker, how are they going to see what’s going on? Everything they say is PR when we are talking about labor rights and human rights.”
Tomatoes are one of Florida’s main crops and where most of the work is. For this reason, the CIW chose to focus on this industry. Reyes further indicated that without a verification system there is no way to know that Trader Joe’s is covering every pound and making sure distribution goes accordingly at the end of the week. “And there is no guarantee they are going to do it forever. Our agreement doesn’t have an expiration date. How are they going to be accountable? We are demanding transparency, using the
tools that we have created according to the codes,” he said. Tomatoes are one of Florida’s main crops and where most of the work is. (Oranges are becoming more and more mechanized.) For this reason, the CIW chose to focus on this industry. Many of the agricultural businesses produce other crops besides tomatoes, but the agreement only covers tomatoes and only in Florida. “It would be ironic if one company is found guilty of conditions in other production,” said Reyes. “We are forcing them to change without directly aiming at other crops. And if there are abuses in other places, whether they are covered or not, it is going to be a huge contradiction for them to explain. They can’t do business as usual.” Reyes indicated that he is pleased there are so many people across the country that support the CIW campaign and is very excited about all the changes happening in the tomato industry with the participating tomato growers. “The protest in New York is proof of that,” he said. “But it is vital for the supermarket industry to sign to make sure the penny-perpound and rights are established in the right way without any possibility for the farms to be on the fence,” he added. “Trader Joe’s is offering an escape door for those who refuse to change their ways. It’s ironic that a company that claims to be progressive threatens to undermine the agreement.” For more information, visit ciw-online. org, cfa-nyc.org and traderjoes.com.
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December 14 - 27, 2011
CB4 Council passes all agenda items Continued from page 5 by-laws. CB4 Chair Corey Johnson reported that the Community Education Council of the New York City Department of Education had abandoned plans to rezone schools in Chelsea. He also noted that the Chelsea Market ULURP (Uniform Land Use Review Procedure) would be certified in January, and before the full board at the February meeting. The board then voted on 20 agenda items. After much negotiation on the language, the board passed a motion to send a letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo opposing hydraulic fracking, and one to Council Member Brewer supporting Living Wage NYC. Many had questions regarding what they called the letter’s “extremely challenging” list of conditions; others thought the Department of Labor should simply raise the minimum wage. The board voted 25-7 to send the amended letter, without conditions. Another item of controversy was a letter to the City Planning Commission regarding a special permit for the Post Office Garage Project. Many board members were concerned that the parking garage had no accountability regarding overparking or violation of expired permits, and would now be allowed to function with additional spaces and roof parking. The board noted that the owners’ promise to improve the parking conditions,
CB4 Chair Corey Johnson reported that the Community Education Council of the New York City Department of Education had abandoned plans to rezone schools in Chelsea. He also noted that the Chelsea Market ULURP would be certified in January, and before the Photo by Winnie McCroy
Left to right: CB4 District Chair Robert Benfatto, Chair Corey Johnson, and 1st ViceChair Christine Berthet.
lighting and sidewalk conditions in the area constituted a “significant improvement.” The measure passed 28-6. The board then voted on several issues relating to letters to the Department of Transportation — regarding traffic signals and signage, as well as a plan to install
recessed sidewalk lighting along Times Square’s historic Restaurant Row (with the caveat that CB4 join meetings on the issue with the Design Commission). Johnson then bundled the remaining eight agenda items, with the board voting to send letters to the SLA regarding per-
full board at the February meeting. mits for new clubs, restaurants, and food stores in the area. The next full board meeting of CB4 will be held on January 4, at 6:30pm, at the Fulton Center Auditorium (119 Ninth Avenue). For more info, visit manhattancb4.org or call 212-736-4536.
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COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES public, happen on the first Wednesday of the month, at 6:30pm. For CB5, call 212-4650907, visit cb5.org or email them at office@ cb5.org. CB5’s board meeting, open to the public, happens on the second Thursday of the month, at 6pm.
COMPILED BY SCOTT STIFFLER If you would like to see your event listed, email details to scott@chelseanow.com.
ICE SKATING The Standard Hotel’s ice rink is now open. Admission is $12 per person, with skate rentals at $3 (skating lessons will run at $25 per half hour). For more info, visit standardhotels.com or call 212-645-4646. At 848 Washington St. (at W. 13th St.). The Chelsea Piers Sky Rink is holding holiday break skating sessions every afternoon. General admission for adults is $13.50, $11 for youth and seniors; skate rentals are $8. At Pier 61, 2nd floor, (W. 23 St., at the West Side Highway). For more info, visit chelseapiers.com or call 212-3366100.
PS11 WINTER FARM MARKET Join Mr. Hand’s third graders on Wed., Dec. 14, from 8-10am — as they kick off the first ever PS 11 Winter Farm Market (future winter market dates are Jan. 11, Feb. 15, March 14 and April 19). Enjoy fresh, locally organic food — such as green beans, blueberries, red tomato puree, butternut squash, mixed peppers, broccoli florets, sweet corn and cauliflower. For more info, visit ps11farmmkt.wordpress.com, stoneledgefarmny.org and wintersunfarms.com.
CHELSEA COMMUNITY CHURCH: CANDLELIGHT CAROL SERVICE Founded in 1975, the lay-led nondenominational Chelsea Community Church (CCC) invites people of all faiths to their 37th Annual Candlelight Carol Service. Actor William “Will” Fowle, a Chelsea resident for 35 years and a member of CCC) will read Clement Clarke Moore’s famous poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” That’s appropriate, since the setting (St. Peter’s Church) stands on land that was part of Moore’s estate. This year’s choral program — under the direction of Music Director Larry J. Long — features selections including the historic chant “Hodie Christus natus est,” the Ukranian carol “To the Whole World” and George Frederic Handel’s beloved “Messiah.” Violinist Linda Fennimore is a guest musi-
SENIORS COMMUNITY SURVEY
Photo by Bruce Colin
Christopher Johnson conducts, at Chelsea Community Church’s 2009 Candlelight Service.
cian. Acclaimed organist Stephen Tharp (named the 2011 International Performer of the Year by the NYC Chapter of the American Guild of Organists) will be the accompanist for the service. Free (offerings accepted). Sun., Dec. 18, at 6pm. At St. Peter’s Episcopal Church (346 W. 20th St., btw. 8th & 9th Aves.). CCC’s regular services are held every Sun. noon at St. Peter’s. For more information, call 212886-5463 or visit chelseachurch.org.
2012 COMMUNITY BOARD APPLICATIONS Are there too many bars in your neighborhood, or not enough? Do you want to see more bike lanes, or would you rather they pave over the ones we already have? Community Boards aren’t for those content to sit on the fence. If you’ve got the heart — and the stomach — for passionate public debate, then join Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer for an informational meeting on Manhattan’s Community Boards (Thurs., Jan. 5, 2012, from 6:30-8pm; at the Municipal Building, 1 Centre St., 19th fl.). You’ll learn about the roles and responsibilities of Community Board members, as
well how to apply to serve on a Manhattan Community Board. An additional information session will be held on Wed., Dec. 14, from 6:30-8pm; at 163 W. 125th St., Room 8C. Please RSVP to 212-669-4465 or email conference@manhattanbp.org. Applications are being accepted through Jan. 13, 2012. For CB4, call 212-736-4536, visit manhattancb4.org or email them at info@manhattanCB4.org. Board meetings, open to the
Since its launch on October 21, the NYC Seniors Community Survey project has been collecting information from those 60 years and older who reside in the zip codes of 10001, 10011, 10018, 10019, 10036 on Manhattan’s West Side. The findings will be used to provide information concerning seniors’ needs, identify gaps in senior services and help community leaders organize and advocate for resources and services for seniors in these neighborhoods. “With the number of people over 55 doubling in the next 20 years, we wanted to reach out to as many seniors as possible in the Chelsea and Hell’s Kitchen neighborhoods for their input. Our Advisory Council will help collectively reach out to senior New Yorkers, inviting them to share their views,” said Joseph P. Benincasa, President of The Actors Fund. The survey, available online through December 31, can be accessed at seniorscommunitysurvey.org. Those without Internet access can call the survey team at 212-221-7301, ext. 277. Also visit actorsfund.org.
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December 14 - 27, 2011
Kris Kringle isn’t supposed to scare little kids, is he? BY HELAINA N. HOVITZ Nothing says Christmas in Lower Manhattan like thousands of “Santas” urinating, screaming, vomiting, breaking beer bottles and screaming at little children in the streets. Thanks to Santa Con, a Christmasthemed pub-crawl through New York City, hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers have officially confused Christmas “spirit” with “spirits.” Does anyone remember the opening scene from “Miracle on 34th Street?” The first Santa in the parade was fired because he was drinking. “You’re a disgrace!” the “real” Santa tells the drunk. But the “real” Santa was nowhere to be found among the massive crowds of drunken imposters stumbling around downtown last Saturday, and the mayhem that began as early as 10am can only be described as one big “Calamity on Fulton Street.” Binge drinkers looking for another amateur’s night out — only worse, they’re drinking, publicly, in broad daylight — flanked the World Financial Center, swarmed the South Street Seaport, and climbed the rocks of DeLury Square Park. What was fun for them was not fun for all. Lower Manhattan smelled like one big brewery thanks to those sauntering around waving bottles and drinking from clear, plastic cups full of beer. Last time I checked,
Downtown Express photos by Milo Hess
A few “more-than-just-jolly” Santas on Saturday at the Seaport.
this was illegal. Where the heck were all the police? At least 75 were congregated in one big mass, standing on the corner of Water Street chatting. If any of them had bothered
to move even a single block in any given direction, they could have nabbed some of the fools falling into seniors and children just trying to get by.
While dodging elves screaming profanities and belligerent reindeer running amuck, one little boy asked his father, “Daddy, why are Santa and the reindeer acting like that?” Another little girl hid underneath her mother’s coat as others ran away, repeatedly looking back over their shoulders as the belligerent crowds gained momentum. Understandably, the enchantment and wonder of the holiday is hopelessly lost when Christmas carols are sung by a bunch of drunks shouting the words as though preparing to charge into battle — think Gerard Butler shouting “This Is Sparta!” in the movie “300.” What happens to the magic of Christmas when children are fleeing from intoxicated hoards of Kris Kringles? And what kind of example is this setting? Maybe they should have marched over to a children’s hospital or a homeless shelter to help create magical memories for children instead of traumatizing them. On his way to Squires Diner for his morning coffee, my neighbor Mike rubbed his eyes in confusion. “At first I thought they were the Christmas carolers from the Seaport,” he said. “But then I saw an elf spanking a Santa in a mini skirt.” When I was little, we only had one Santa Claus at the seaport, a retired stage actor
Continued on page 21
December 14 - 27, 2011
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Santa Con pub crawl confuses ‘spirit’ with ‘spirits’ Continued from page 20 still there to this day. He looked exactly like the real Santa and gave out candy canes. At no point did he spank anyone, naughty or nice. We don’t need another bar-crawling holiday like St. Patrick’s Day. Sure, plenty of people create many of their own “nonoccasions,” as an excuse to get drunk in public, but usually they congregate in places known for nightlife — the key word being “night.” But college students from the neighborhood NYU and Pace dormitories were so sloshed by 2pm that many couldn’t even answer simple questions. One young man dressed as Jack the Pumpkin King could not have depicted a Nightmare Before Christmas any better. The command, “Don’t take my name,” indicated that there was enough self-awareness to cause some semblance of embarrassment. “Wait a second,” a slutty elf chimed in as I took notes on my iPhone. “You’re clearly not a recorder,” she slurred suspiciously, raising her voice. “She said she’s a recorder, but she’s not.” “Reporter,” I clarified. “I’m a reporter.” After letting the realization marinate, she huffed her reply. “That’s not a Christmas character!”
A Twitter feed told everyone where to go, and even the few well behaved, good-natured groups that kept to themselves admitted that the only destinations tweeted were various bars throughout the city. “It’s an excuse to get drunk early in the day, like St. Patrick’s Day, but in winter,” said a modestly dressed Santa flagged by his college classmates. Frankly, I don’t think some of the local proprietors even want the Santas rolling through and causing chaos. It’s not worth the money. In fact, some Downtown pubs closed early, just like on St. Patrick’s Day, because the mess and the bad behavior aren’t worth the extra business. “Yeah, I’ve got a [insert expletive] mop on my head,” a drunk Santa randomly shouted at a group of innocent 15-year-old elves trying to lunch at the Nassau Street Diner. “I’m a New York City Santa! That’s what this is!” Unfortunately for all New Yorkers, the fiasco didn’t just take place Downtown — it was citywide. Worse still, this isn’t just a NYC event. It was, and still is, taking place across the country. In fact, cities around the world will be jumping on the pub-hopping polar express next weekend, from Dublin to Beijing. Places like Denver are doing their Santa Con on Christmas Eve. Lets see how merry they feel the morning.
Two Santas with their cups of beer taking a break from the revelry on Saturday at the Seaport.
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Photo by Aline Reynolds
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Victor Papa, Ralph Tramontana, Councilmember Margaret Chin and Wellington Chen (left to right) hosted a banner-hanging ceremony on the corner of Mott and Canal Streets last Thursday.
Taking Chinatown, Little Italy to new heights BY ALINE REYNOLDS City Councilmember Margaret Chin rose to new heights, literally, to promote the historic districts of Chinatown and Little Italy last Thursday, December 8. Chin, along with Little Italy native Victor Papa, president of the Two Bridges Neighborhood Council, were hoisted into the air in a cherry-picker to hang an inaugural banner on Mott Street to promote a Chinatown-Little Italy marketing campaign launched in September that aims to attract National September 11 Memorial visitors to the area. Two Bridges along with other neighborhood organizations and businesses sponsored the 40 street banners that are adorned with illustrations of On Leong Tong, old tenements and other iconic neighborhood buildings. NYC & Company, the city’s official tourism and marketing organization, and others are distributing 25,000 maps that offer tips for shopping, dining, and other cultural attractions from East Houston Street to Worth Street. A smaller map of Downtown highlights pedestrian routes from the 9/11 Memorial to Chinatown and Little Italy. “This is a great way to promote both communities [by] inviting people to come down and shop and eat, have lunch, have
dinner… and get educated on the history of our community,” said Chin. “It’s a historic day,” said Ralph Tramontana, president of the Little Italy Merchant’s Association and owner of Sambuca’s Café on Mulberry Street. “Eleven million Italian-Americans can trace their ancestry back to these streets here, and millions of Asian-Americans could do the same. What we do today ensures that this area will be here for our children and our grandchildren.” “We are delighted to have an opportunity to showcase both communities with colorful banners, and [welcome] an occasion to have an uplifting experience with Councilwoman Margaret Chin,” said Wellington Chen, executive director of the Chinatown Partnership Local Development Corporation, a campaign sponsor. Papa noted that the new campaign “manifests a great symbiosis between the two communities, historically,” adding, “for 100 years, they lived peacefully with each other and have grown to understand each other.” Jokingly, Papa added, “I grew up on wanton soup and Chinese food, and Chin grew up on spaghetti!” Chin chuckled and playfully replied, “I grew up on calamari!”
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CHELSEA: ARTS &ENTERTAINMENT This is NOT a holiday events roundup Get your Ho, Ho, Ho’s somewhere else (like page 27) COMPILED BY SCOTT “BAH, HUMBUG!” STIFFLER
SHE KILLS MONSTERS Secret Santa’s got nothing on the juicy tidbits unearthed by average, unassuming Agnes. When she accesses the Dungeons & Dragons notebook of her recently deceased (and “totally weird”) sister Tilly, Agnes is plunged into a world of hostile fairies, randy ogres, action/adventure violence and pop culture references. “She Kills Monsters” seems like a rock solid antidote to the relentless onslaught of satire-free saccharine that must be endured from Thanksgiving to New Year’s. Playwright Qui Nguyen and director Robert Ross Parker (the team behind Vampire Cowboys) bring their distinguished track record of comic book theater triumphs to the proceedings — with capable assistance from The Flea Theater’s resident acting ensemble (The Bats). Geek Freak Bonus: Casey Jex Smith’s Dungeons & Dragons-inspired art exhibit “Doomslayers” will be on display in the lobby before the show. Through Dec. 23; Tues.-Sat. at 7pm, Sat. & Sun. at 3pm. At The Flea Theater (41 White St., btw. Church & Broadway). For tickets ($25), call 212-352-3101 or visit theflea.org. Tues. shows are pay-what-you-can (one ticket per person; subject to availability at door only; Sat. matinees are $10). Visit vampirecowboys.com.
BARTITSU WORKSHOP
Photo by Joan Marcus
What a difference the presence, or absence, of one little lower case “t” makes — especially when it comes to the long-lost (but recently revived) martial art of Bartitsu. British engineer Edward Barton-Wright created the unique form of self defense based on his time spent studying Ju Jutsu in Japan. Once back in London, he added elements of the French la canne method of stick defense, savate (French kickboxing) and British “scientific” pugilism. In 1899, Barton-Wright opened the Bartitsu Academy of Arms and Physical Culture in London. Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle namedropped the skill in one of his Sherlock Holmes books, but incorrectly described it as “baritsu.” All these years later, the upcoming Sherlock Holmes movie (a sequel) stars Robert Downey Jr. as a manly man whose frequent use of athleticism and combat skills has more to do with Holmes’ original literary description and less to do with the older, intellectual detective we’re used to seeing. Want to be part of the emerging Victorian Mixed Martial Arts superhero craze? Then attend a workshop taught by The Bartitsu Club of New York City and The New York Nineteenth Century Society. You’ll also learn the ins and outs of this lost art — plus gain valuable insights regarding how to replace the Bartitsu tools of old (common 19th century items such as snuff boxes and walking sticks) with modern accessories/weapons such as cell phones and water bottles! A brave new world of selfdefense in the face of unprovoked confrontation awaits! Sun., Dec. 18, from 2-5pm. At The Society for Martial Arts Instruction (4 W. 18th St., btw. 5th & 6th Aves.). Suggested donation: $10. At 4pm, renowned historic martial arts expert Mark P. Donnelly will offer instruction and commentary via Skype. For more info, visit nycsteampunk.com/bartitsu, nineteenthcenturysociety. org and sfmai.org.
Silent night, secret life: See “She Kills Monsters.”
Photograph courtesy of the Keystone Academy of Dueling and Swordsmanship
Continued on page 24
Defensive art, lost and found: Bartitsu instructor Professor Mark Donnelly (right) demonstrating with Noah Morris.
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December 14 - 27, 2011
Unseasonal activities to put on your plate Continued from page 23
!BADASS! BURLESQUE PRESENTS “BREAK ON THROUGH: A DOORS DESIRE!” Sex? Danger? Poetry? Death? The Doors had it all — served up with melancholy and menace by frontman Jim Morrison. The Lizard King’s downbeat charisma has never been equaled, and isn’t invoked by others nearly as much as it should be. James Habacker gives it a stab, though, when he hosts “Break on Through: A Doors Desire.” It’s the December installment of Velocity Chyaldd’s nubile young monthly series, “!Badass! Burlesque.” Amidst the splendor of psychedelic visuals, good vibes and dreamy Doors raffle prizes, Habacker and Chyaldd welcome Googlesearch-worthy guest performers Darlinda just Darlinda, Bambi the Mermaid, Madame Rosebud, Dame Cuchifrita, Stormy Leather, The Flying Fox, Deity Delgado, Minnie Tonka, Legs Malone, Bunny Love, Payje Flash, Ekaterina and Jo Boobs. Sat., Dec. 17, from 11pm-3am. At Theater80 (80 St. Marks Place. Tickets are $15 at the door (doors open at 10pm). Drinks available for purchase at the adjoining William Barnacle’s Tavern. For info, call 212-388-0388 or visit badassburlesque. com.
Photo by Alex Colby
Your hot hostess: Velocity Chyaldd. See “!Badass! Burlesque.”
AMORE OPERA PRESENTS “THE BARBER OF SEVILLE” With “The Marriage of Figaro” and the American premiere of Mercadante’s “I due Figaro” already under their third season belt, Amore Opera’s Fall Figaro Fest concludes with Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville.” Amore promises their production (with full orchestra) will enchant and amuse — in English and Italian! Maestro Richard Owen (former resident conductor at Deutsche Oper am Rhein and Duesseldorf Symphony in Germany, and current cover conductor at the New York Philharmonic) returns to
Amore to take the baton. Through December. Thurs.-Sat, at 7:30pm; Wed., Dec. 28 also at 7:30pm; Sun., Dec. 18, 2:30pm. The “Opera-inBrief” series features “The Kid’s Barber of Seville” at 11:30am on Thurs, Dec. 29 and Sat., Dec. 31. “Hansel & Gretel” is performed on Sat., Dec. 17 and Wed., Dec. 28 at 11:30am & 3pm. At the Connelly Theater (220 E. 4th St.). For tickets ($40; $30 for students, seniors; $15 for the Opera-in-Brief shows), call 866-811-4111 or visit amoreopera.org. The New Year’s Eve Gala (on Sat., Dec. 31, at 7:30pm) includes hors d’oeuvres
Photo by Nathan Hull
Elizabeth Treat, as Rosina. See “Amore Opera.”
and champagne before the show, dinner and desert during the intermissions and a champagne toast at Midnight. A concert featuring the talent of Amore Opera will be presented after the show. Tickets are $125.
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Shen Wei takes on the great indoors Singular vision turns movement into kinetic painting BY GUS SOLOMONS JR. In his native China, Shen Wei was known for prodigious dancing that combined strong Western modern technique with what he learned as a child from traditional Chinese Opera. A founding member of the Guangdong Modern Dance Company, China’s first such troupe, he came to America in 1995. In the decade since founding Shen Wei Dance Arts in 2000, he has won wide acclaim and soared to the heights of international touring. Still, it takes quite a spectacle to fill the 55,000 square feet of the Park Avenue Armory’s Wade Thompson Drill Hall, set up with riser banks on three sides of a square stage that runs 60 feet across. As one of the Armory’s artists in residence, the imposing scale was Shen’s challenge in revisiting two of his signature pieces and mounting a commissioned world premiere there November 29 through December 4. Shen is as much visual artist as choreographer and designs sets, costumes and makeup as well as movement. Visual and kinetic elements work together symbiotically. In a revised staging of “Rite of Spring” (2003), set to a four-hand piano arrangement of Stravinsky’s ubiquitous score, 12 dancers enter from the two downstage corners and surround a gray canvas floor cloth painted with a skewed grid of white and black lines. They wear various shades of gray clothing, embossed with similar chalky lines. They form a close-knit but emotionally remote society, as they walk with rigid backs and arms locked at their sides. Four more dancers join them, and in response to the music, they burst into athletic spasms. At first, the relationship between music and dance is predictable. But when Stravinsky’s rhythms become more complex, aural landmarks in the score are the cues Shen relies on, and things become more intriguing. By far the most stunning piece of the evening is “Folding”
Shen Wei Dance Arts rose to the spatial demands of the Park Avenue Armory in their performances there through December 4.
(2000), originally created for Guangdong. The minimalist work has its cast of 17 gliding figures with bulging skulls and flowing trains — first, made from a silky, blood-red fabric and, later, a stiffer, more voluminous black material. The effect is a majestic panorama of arcing pathways and exquisite tableaus. The dancers in black are paired into composite creatures, tall and two-headed. The women being carried arch backward into yawns or slide to the ground and ride on their partners’ trains, being ferried across a serene, white ocean beneath a dappled sky.
A solo by Shen delivers the evening’s breathtaking moment, when the rear curtain rises glacially and the red-clad clan migrates into the black void at the rear of the gigantic hall. Then, in a subdued island of light — designed by Jennifer Tipton, who can articulate darkness like no other — the chorus mirrors Shen’s gestures like an amplified echo across a huge chasm. This measured ritual, the essence of spectacle, slows time and sustains its mesmerizing power as it expands to the full dimensions the huge space allows. The premiere, “Undivided Divided,” also uses the hall’s entire expanse. The floor is a grid of 60 seven foot square panels separated by aisles. Toward the rear of the space stand Plexiglas constructions, stacked cubes, tilted planes and a huge horizontal canvas. The audience members are invited to remove their shoes and amble along the designated corridors around the 30 supine dancers, who soon begin to stir. It’s an immersive — though not interactive — experience, as we watch from an intimately close vantage point but cannot touch. The dancers dive onto the panels, on which there are small puddles of paint. They squirm on the panels, turning them into action paintings, then pair up and smear each other. It’s interesting to note that none of the pairings is same-gender, and although the women are topless, everyone wears decorous beige briefs. The opening night audience on November 29, studded with dance and art world luminaries, greeted the spectacle enthusiastically as much for the daring of its scale as for its artistry. As a gallery installation, “Undivided Divided” could go on for hours, but as a theater piece — the third part of a nearly threehour show — it runs about ten minutes beyond its capacity to hold our attention. Still, it whets our appetites for a new era of large-scale, American-made dance performance.
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December 14 - 27, 2011
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Just Do Art! The deluxe holiday edition COMIPLED BY SCOTT “SECRET SANTA” STIFFLER
Photo by Bill Westmoreland
A swell time will be had by all. See “A Swinging Birdland Christmas.”
A SWINGING BIRDLAND CHRISTMAS Like a modern day Ed Sullivan — but with charisma and vocal talent — our favorite cabaret impresario Jim Caruso holds court every Monday night at Birdland, as he gleefully emcees “Cast Party.” The longrunning cabaret-themed open mic features newcomers, Broadway babies and living legends. Throughout, smooth crooner Caruso and the unreasonably talented pianist Billy Stritch keep things moving with an easy, breezy brew of satire and sincerity. That chemistry bodes very well for “A Swinging Birdland Christmas.” Return with Caruso and Stritch to those thrilling days of yesteryear — when seasonal specials from showbiz veterans lit up the small screen. Along for the sleigh ride is the equally compelling Klea Blackhurst (whose comedic chops can be consumed by watching her on the IFC channel’s “The Onion News Network”). The amiable trio will perform swinging arrangements of “Christmas Waltz,” Kay Thompson’s “Holiday Season,” “Sleigh Ride,” “I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm” and other favorites. Bonus track: Stritch, on piano, is joined by the other members of The Birdland Jazz Quartet (John Hart on guitar, Paul Gil on bass, Carmen Intorre on drums). Tues., Dec. 20 through Sun., Dec. 25. All shows at 6pm (except Dec. 25, at 7pm & 10pm). At Birdland (315 W. 44 St.). For tickets ($30 cover, $10 food/drink minimum), call 212-581-3080 or visit birdlandjazz.com. Also visit jim-caruso.com, billystritch.com and kleablackhurst.com.
HEDDA LETTUCE: “LETTUCE REJOICE 2011!” Scott Thompson, as Buddy Cole (in a Kids in the Hall sketch), once pointed out that, “An angry drag queen is scarier than a Minotaur.” That being said, it’s worth noting that when the divine Hedda Lettuce gets her dander up, the wit that flows forth from her focused rage is like a little prayer. So don’t think for a minute that all this seasonal cheer and goodwill toward men is going to mellow Hedda. Reading the press release for her upcom-
ing show (“Lettuce Rejoice 2011!”) is like taking a Master Class in how to offend and amuse. In Hedda’s world, beloved Christmas classics like “Here Comes Santa Claus” and “Do You Hear What I Hear” get a bad girl makeover — and emerge as “Here Comes Tranny Clause” and “Do You Think That He’s Queer.” Later in the show, other bitter little pills to swallow include Hedda’s homage to the recently departed Amy Winehouse. “Too soon perhaps,” Hedda wonders aloud. “Not for the sardonic Miss Lettuce,” she immediately replies. If that’s not enough for you, consider this: Each night, one of the faithful comers will win a basket filled with Boy Butter Lubricant! Perhaps the happy winner will put that provocative tub down long enough to catch Hedda as she hosts her monthly screening of a classic movie (at the Clearview Chelsea Cinemas). Dec. 17, 18, 21, 23 and 28. At 7:30pm, at The Metropolitan Room (34 W. 22nd St., btw. 5th & 6th Aves.). For tickets ($22), call 212-206-0440. Visit heddalettuce.com and themetropolitanroom.com.
Christmas carols that will be new to many in the audience). The multimedia tricks of Parisian video designer Jacques Perdigues and special costume lighting by Charles Kouzoujian provide additional visual splash to the surreal proceedings.
Mon., Dec. 19, at 7:30pm (a complimentary hot wine will be served after the show). At Theaterlab (137 W. 14th St., btw. Sixth & Seventh Aves.). For tickets ($15), visit theaterlabnyc.com. Also visit nicolerenaud. com.
Photo courtesy of the artist
The holidays come to a head…of Lettuce.
NICOLE RENAUD’S “CHRISTMAS STAR” She’s French, she’s a soprano, she’s an accordionist and she has a Christmas-themed show. For most artists, and audiences, that would be enough. But Nicole Renaud has at least two more marquee value appeals up her sleeve: Her show is a multimedia concert — and her accordion is actually a “lincordian” (a “one-of-a-kind luminous transparent accordion designed by British artist-engineer Paul Etienne Lincoln”). Under a star-filled sky, and with the help of violinist Alex Tseytlin, Renaud promises a journey through her favorite holiday music (including some French and international
Photo by umberto d’aniello capri palace
Luminous, and unique: Nicole Renaud and her lincordian wish upon a “Christmas Star.”
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