DOWNTOWN EXPRESS, DECEMBER 14, 2011

downtown n

LETTUCE REJOICE 2011, P. 24

®

VOLUME 24, NUMBER 30

express s THE NEWSPAPER OF LOWER MANHATTAN

DECEMBER 14 - 21, 2011

P.A.C. funds in jeopardy

Downtown Express photo by Milo Hess

Would the real Santa please stand up?

Last Saturday, Dec. 10 was the city’s annual Santa Con event and there were some naughty Santas and nice Santas that took part. Page 11

Authority layoffs, Pier A are hot topics at C.B.1 meeting

BY TERESE LOEB KREUZER Community Board 1’s Battery Park City Committee had several items to discuss at its monthly meeting on Dec. 6, but the elephant in the room was the Battery Park City Authority’s abrupt layoff of 19 people on Nov. 9. Though

many of the 19 had worked for the Authority for a decade or more, they were told that they had less than two hours to clear out. Their termination letters said that they would be paid through the end of that day and that their medical benefits would expire

on Nov. 30. No mention was made of severance pay.

In an interview with Downtown Express after the meeting, Gayle Horwitz, president of the B.P.C.A.,

Continued on page 18

BY JOHN BAYLES There were not enough board members to constitute a quorum at Monday’s Community Board 1 World Trade Center Redevelopment Committee meeting, but there was still a lively discussion concerning one agenda item.

Due to short notice John DeLibero, spokesperson for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, was unable to attend the meeting and present information concerning the agency’s remaining funds and, specifically, to discuss the state of the Performing Arts Center. The last time the committee received any accounting of such funds was at a meeting last May. In light of the recent news that the L.M.D.C. will soon be absorbed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the board members were concerned that the transition might affect the future of the P.A.C. On Tuesday, David Emil, acting president of the L.M.D.C., confirmed their concerns about the P.A.C., but added that nothing had changed since the last meeting, except for the allocation of $17 million worth

of cultural and community enhancement grants.

According to Emil, there is a timeline in place in order to ensure that the $150 million already allocated for the P.A.C. remains earmarked for the project, which was part of the original master plan set forth when the L.M.D.C. was established following the attacks of 9/11. If a five-member board of directors for the P.A.C. is not created before the end of the year, then the money earmarked for the center could be re-allocated for other infrastructure needs in Lower Manhattan.

Emil however stressed that the funds would not be allowed to go toward any project that does not fall within the guidelines established by the federal government’s Department of Housing and Urban Development, the agency that regulates the disbursement of all L.M.D.C. funds.

As for the eventual integration of the L.M.D.C. into the Port Authority, spokespersons for both agencies said the details are still being worked out and there is no set date for the transition.

“It’s still a work in progress,” said Steve Coleman,

Continued on page 20

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December 14 - December 20, 2011

Downtown Express photos by Jay Fine

Occupying Goldman and the Winter Garden On Monday, Dec. 12 a group of Occupy Wall Street protesters assembled in front of the Goldman Sachs building in Battery Park City. After protesting outside, some of the demonstrators entered the Winter Garden at the World Financial Center where a brief standoff with the NYPD occurred. According to reports 17 people were arrested.

Clinic cancels move, but questions remain

BY CYNTHIA MAGNUS A week after the Community Board 1 Financial District committee, along with residents, business owners, and other stakeholders voiced opposition to an uptown methadone clinic’s relocation to 90 Maiden Lane, prompting clinic administrators to cancel the move, members and others are questioning the process that allowed the scheme to get so far without notification.

Catherine McVay Hughes, C.B. 1 cochair, said, “Instead of communities being forced to run their own fact-finding missions there is no substitute for openness in government, especially for placing such sensitive facilities.”

In response to strong opposition from the community at the meeting, and their own stated doubts about transparency in the application process the committee voted unanimously on Dec. 7 to draft a resolution opposing the relocation of Gramercy Park Services LLC. It serves approximately 350 substance abuse patients at its current location at 253 Third Avenue.

The clinic’s Chicago-based owner Larry

Kroll Ph.D. purchased the Gramercy Park practice from its original owner in January 2010, and hoped to relocate and share space at 90 Maiden Lane with the drug counseling center, Metropolitan Corporation for Life Skills, currently leasing the space.

Kroll stated that “people have a misconception of what the clinics do.” He said, “We’re going to have to make an assessment of an area that is accepting of a drug treatment center.”

While residents and board members expressed concerns at the meeting about quality of life issues surrounding safety and the potential for attracting crime to the neighborhood, many were equally offended by the lack of candor on the part of the clinic and the NYS Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS).

Ronald Vlasaty, the Chief Operating Officer of the Illinois-based Family Guidance Centers, which includes the Gramercy Park Services spoke to the committee, as did representatives from OASAS, and from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.

Vlasaty apologized for the clinic’s failure

to notify the community, but said the firm’s management thought it was known that there was already a drug treatment center at the location, referring to Metro Corp, which, C.B.1 member pointed out, does not dispense methadone, and thus is not comparable to the new proposed clinic.

When asked by the committee when the clinic had expected to move, Vlasaty said that he was unsure, that it could be within three or four weeks but that it would be up to OASAS. Raymond Sanchez, former clinic manager at Gramercy Park, who continues to work there as a consultant for medical director and former owner Dr. Guillermo Seco said that he thought the current clinic administrators, had been hoping to move into 90 Maiden by January 15.

McVay-Hughes asked Ramon Rodriguez, Chief Operating Officer of the OASAS offfice in NYC, “Who is supposed to notify a community of a proposed move?”

Ramon Rodriguez replied, “OASAS is not under obligation to have that informational discussion with a community board.”

Mr. Rodriguez said on Thursday the consequences a provider is subject to for failure to reach out to a community in before initiating a relocation. Rodriguez answered, “Then I suspect that issues such as were raised and concerns that were voiced last night would arise.”

Jannette Rondo, director of the OASAS communications office ignored multiple requests for information regarding this case.

Joseph Perillo, Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Fordham Law School, and an expert in contracts, said it is “primarily a statutory matter. Unless OASAS is legally mandated to require - not just recommend - an applicant to notify the local community, “the applicant is free not to notify anybody.”

Among the concerns in the room was the possibility of “diversion” meaning the illegal sale of the treatment drugs, and the attraction by drug dealers to the new location.

Belinda Greenfield, OASAS director of Addiction Medicine and Self-Sufficiency

Continued on page 5

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OWNTOWN DIGEST

NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-9, 12-20 EDITORIAL PAGES . . . . . . . . . . 10-11 YOUTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 ARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 - 26

EVERY RESIDENT’S SURVEY COUNTS! Lower Manhattan residents enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Registry are encouraged to complete their 2011-12 health survey. Residents’ responses will help the city’s Department of Health understand the long-term health impacts and plan for 9/11-related health care needs.

All Registry enrollees have been sent a survey by mail or email, according to Marcus Liem, public affairs liaison of the W.T.C. Health Registry. The D.O.H. asks that enrollees take about 20 minutes to complete the survey.

“This is your opportunity to provide an update on your physical and mental health 10 years after 9/11; your answers are important regardless of whether or not you are currently experiencing symptoms,” according to Liem. “We can’t continue this important work without a high level of your participation.”

Data collection ends in March 2012.

For questions regarding the health survey, please contact the W.T.C. Health Registry at 866-NYC-WTCR (866-692-9827), Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., or e-mail wtchr@ health.nyc.gov. Visit www.nyc.gov/9-11healthinfo for the latest information on research and services for those affected.

P.C.B. CONTAMINATION HURTS WOMEN’S HEALTH, STUDIES INDICATE Nearly 700 NYC schools, including Richard R. Green High School of Teaching, the High School of Economics and Finance and others in Lower Manhattan, are likely contaminated with Polychlorinated biphenyl (P.C.B.) toxins, according to a news advisory distributed by U.S. Congressman Jerrold Nadler’s office.

Other Downtown schools purportedly contaminated with P.C.B.s include the Leadership and Public Service High School, at 90 Trinity Place; and P.S. 150, at 334 Greenwich St. Nadler and other city politicians are orchestrating a new push to have the schools’ obsolete light fixtures replaced, particularly since recent studies have shown that P.C.B. exposure hurts women’s reproductive health.

“The bottom line is that there is no safe level of [P.C.B.] exposure in pregnancy, period,” according to Dr. Maida Galvez, director of the Environmental Protection Agency Region Two’s pediatric environmental health specialty unit at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine.

SILVERSTEIN APPOINTS NEW CO-CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER World Trade Center Developer Larry Silverstein has appointed Martin S. Burger as co-C.E.O. of Silverstein Properties, Inc., according to a Dec. 13 news announcement distributed by Rubenstein Communications.

Burger most recently worked to secure funding for Silverstein’s latest development project, the Four Seasons Orlando at the Walt Disney World Resort, which is slated to open in 2014.

Silverstein, President of the company whose headquarters are located in W.T.C. 7, said, “I am thrilled that Marty will lead our continued effort to finance new development projects, acquire new properties and form new joint ventures around the globe. Over the past two years, Marty has worked closely with our entire management team to expand our business at home and overseas.”

Much needed Blue Planet Grill fills a void in the heart of the financial district.

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December 14 - December 20, 2011

his newly established restaurant is open 7 days a week and offers brunch, dinner and specials on a daily basis. They also have an extensive beer and wine menu along with an impressive signature cocktail menu.

A lot of thought has gone into the creation of the food menu which specializes in an array of hormone-free meats and freshly baked breads.

Their products do not contain any antibiotics, hormones, pesticides, growth stimulants or any other harmful products. The restaurant stands by serving their customers a delicious meal that is also healthy and nature-friendly.

The daily brunch menu offers a wide selection of comfort food consisting of fresh omelets, waffles, French toast along with a variety of burgers and sandwiches.The dinner menu offers an all-American style cuisine with a taste of some Latin and Mediterranean flavors. The Blue Planet Grill space offers a very comfortable upscale dining experience without all the hassle.

CLASSIFIEDS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

C.B. 1 EE TING S

M

A schedule of this week’s upcoming Community Board 1 committee meetings is below. Unless otherwise noted, all committee meetings are held at the board office, located at 49-51 Chambers St., room 709 at 6 p.m.

ON WED., DEC. 14: The Tribeca Traffic and Transportation Sub-Committee will meet at 5:30 p.m.

The Tribeca Committee will meet afterwards, at 6 p.m.

ON THURS., DEC. 15: The Quality of Life Committee will meet.

ON MON., DEC. 19: The Planning and Community Infrastructure and the Seaport-Civic Center committees will host a joint meeting.

ON WED., DEC. 21: C.B. 1 will convene for its monthly calendar meeting in 3-Legged Dog’s art and technology center (Studio A, 80 Greenwich St. at Rector Street).

At Blue Planet Grill, head mixologist Artemio Vasquez has worked in some of the finest cocktail establishments in NYC. He has created an innovative cocktail menu. Fresh ingredients and freshly squeezed juices are implemented in each of the signature drinks. Blue Planet Grill also does its own infusions and syrups in house. The cocktails are complex yet refreshing drinks that will leave a memorable impression. Some of Artemio’s signature drinks include his famous Poquito Picante, made with gin, jalapeño, cucumber and cilantro, the Wallstreet Kick, made with espresso-infused tequila, creme de cacao, cream and espresso, as well as the Grapefruit Medley, made with vodka, St Germain, fresh lemon juice and homemade grapefruit syrup.

Whether you are just coming in for a quick work lunch, a quick drink or want to enjoy a nice sit down dining experience the Blue Planet Grill will cater to all needs.

Blue Planet Grill 212-571-1700 120 Greenwich Street New York, NY 10006 www.blueplanetgrillnyc.com

downtown express

December 14 - December 20, 2011

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POLICE BLOTTER Canal St. burglary bust

DWI bust

Two suspects were arrested in the living room of a couple sleeping in their apartment at 370 Canal St. at W. Broadway around 5 a.m. Sat. Dec. 3.

Police said that Jeffrey Clement, 20 and Tyrell Piazza, 23, and another suspect not apprehended, were stealing a wallet with $2,500 and a laptop computer when one of the victims awoke.

The suspects fled but Clement and Piazza were soon arrested. A box-cutter was recovered from Piazza’s pants pocket. The two were charged with larceny and Piazza was also charged with criminal possession of a weapon. When he was arrested, Piazza told police his name was Justin Statan. Piazza repeated the name after he was warned that giving false information to police was a crime. A fingerprint check revealed his real name and he was charged with false personation.

Seth Andrews, 35, a spokesperson for the Office of Emergency Management, was arrested for crashing his city-owned car into the rear of a cab, which in turn rammed a parked truck near King St. and Sixth Ave. around 11:30 p.m. Wed., Dec. 7, police said. Andrews, a resident of White St. in Lower Manhattan, at first refused police orders to get out of the car and when he did, he registered .196 in a field alcohol breath test, more than twice the legal. He also refused to take a breath test at the Seventh Precinct. Charged with driving while intoxicated and refusal to take a breath test, he was taken to Bellevue for observation after he said he wanted to harm himself. He was released on $5,000 bail and surrendered his driver’s license. He has been suspended from O.E.M. without pay.

Cell phone grabs Police are looking for a man who tried to snatch a cell phone from a woman, 29, while she was talking on it in front of the Rutgers Houses near Madison St. on Tuesday morning Nov. 29. The suspect grabbed the phone and fled but the victim chased him and grabbed it back. Surveillance cameras taped the victim fleeing into 38 Rutgers St. A less fortunate woman was talking on her cell phone in front of 107 Thompson St. between Spring and Prince Sts. around 1:13 a.m. Mon., Dec. 5 when a man ran past going south, grabbed the phone and fled with it.

Teller arrested Sephoen Tsang, 22, was indicted on Fri., Dec. 9 for stealing more than $240.000 from the Chase branch at 221 Canal St. on Tues., Nov. 29, according to the Manhattan District Attorney. Tsang made several false computer entries to cover the theft of $243,000. He left a note apologizing to the bank manager at the end of the day, the D.A. said. Tsang was arrested Fri., Dec. 2 at the Borgata Casino in Atlantic City while playing baccarat.

Greenhouse environment Greenhouse, the club at 150 Varick St., was the scene of a brawl early on Sun., Dec. 11 and the theft of a patron’s bag during the early hours of Wed., Dec. 7.

A patron, 24, told police that he was punched and hit with a bottle when he got in the middle of six men who were brawling in the club around 3 a.m. Sunday.

A Soho man, 51, told police he was talking to some women at the bar around 2 a.m. Wed. and discovered an hour later that his bag, which he had place on the floor at his feet, had been stolen.

Arrested on subway Transit police arrested Jimmy Davis, 28, around 5:30 a.m.

Sun., De. 11 and charged him with trying to rob a sleeping passenger, 39 on a southbound train at Fulton and Church Sts.

Not a patriot The barmaid at Patriot, the bar at 110 Chambers St., told police that an impatient customer threw a glass, hit her in the hip and cut her during the early hours of Sat. Dec. 10.

The bouncer stopped the suspect but released him after he said, “I didn’t mean to hit her.” The suspect was identified by a credit card payment as Munezat Ndize, 23, of Liverpool, N.Y., near Syracuse.

Thefts while shopping A visitor from the San Francisco area was buying a knock-off bag from a vendor at 374 Canal St. near W. Broadway around 9 p.m. Sat. Dec. 10 and put her own bag on the sidewalk at her feet. The vendor introduced her to a bystander who grabbed the victim’s bag and both the vendor and the bystander fled, police said. The victim told police her bag had $4,800 in cash.

A woman buying shoes at a store at 443 Broadway between Howard and Grand Sts. around 6 p.m. Fri., Dec. 9, put her bag on the seat next to her and discovered 20 minutes later that the bag was gone. Police soon arrested a suspect, Samantha Bryan, 24, who was carrying the stolen bag, but insisted that it was hers. Bryan was charged with larceny.

A visitor from Italy was trying on clothes at a boutique at 575 Broadway near Prince St. around 7:48 p.m. Sat., Dec. 3 when three men took his wallet from his jacket and fled, police said. The victim lost 250Euros,his Italian driver’s license, ID and credit cards.

Car break-in Two visitors from Belgium parked their rental car on the northeast corner of Hudson and Vandam St. around 12:30a.m. Sat., Dec. 10 and returned three hours later to discover a window broken and two laptop computers, two cameras, two head sets, two iPods and a Blackberry tablet, with a total value of $7480, were stolen.

— Alber t Amateau

Chopper issues persist Downtown

BY ALINE REYNOLDS Despite recent mitigation tactics, helicopters operating out of the Downtown Manhattan heliport continue to disturb neighborhood residents, workers and tourists — prompting local politicians to continue rally against chopper tours of the area.

Such were the principal messages of several testifiers at a recent City Council hearing on the continued development of Governors Island and recent committee meetings held by Community Board 1.

Testifier Patti Reilly, National Park Service superintendent of the Governors Island National Monument, alleged that the noisy choppers have had a negative impact on visitors’ trips to the island — specifically, on N.P.S.’s tourist programs.

“Air tour operators buzz close over the island repeatedly throughout the day, causing disruptions of up to a minute in length when visitors must hold their ears, or cannot hear the ranger, or become distracted and look up, or a combination of these reactions,” said Reilly. “This can happen repeatedly during a 45-minute-long walking tour, outdoor dramatic performance, or reenactment; and each time, it completely breaks the mood and the experience.”

Robert Pirani, executive director of the Governors Island Alliance, concurred that the overhead noise interferes with

island-based programs and lessens the value of the island as a public asset. “We understand that our Congressional representatives, the [city Economic Development Corporation] and the tour operators are talking about ways of reducing the impact of these flights,” said Pirani, “but if these discussions are not fruitful, we ask that the Council consider legislative means of addressing the situation.”

In response, Councilmember Margaret Chin, chair of the Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Committee, said she would probe the matter. “The noise is a distraction and is certainly unpleasant,” said Chin. “We are going to look into what we can do about the noise within the boundaries of what is set forth by federal aviation rules.”

Chin said she is committed to lessening noise pollution Downtown. “I definitely want to take a closer look at how helicopter tours operate over the East River,” she said.

Lower Manhattan residents continue to bemoan the noisy choppers as well. Chief among them is Ken Paskar, a certified pilot and former lead safety representative for the Federal Aviation Administration.

Paskar particularly worries about a possible shuttering of the midtown Manhattan heliports once the city’s forthcoming marine transfer stations are fully built out.

Continued on page 8

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December 14 - December 20, 2011

East coast’s first hybrid vessel, more than eco-friendly

BY ALINE REYNOLDS Glass panels with 360-degree views, swanky chairs and tables and a sleek bar made out of recycled Sky Vodka bottles are just some of the eye-opening features of a new vessel, soon to be ferrying tourists and diners around New York Harbor from Battery Park and Pier 40.

The Hornblower Hybrid, the first hydrogen-powered hybrid vessel on the east coast, made its first trip into the harbor in late October to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty. The 168foot, three-level commercial passenger boat, slated to launch at the end of the month, is powered by solar and wind energy, thereby drastically minimizing its consumption of diesel fuel.

It’s only the second type of vessel in the U.S. to be powered by alternative forms of energy, according to Hornblower Cruises and Events, a California-based charter, dining cruise and ferry service company responsible for its creation.

The new, 600-passenger hybrid vessel, now stationed at Hornblower’s regional operator Statue Cruise’s docking area at Liberty State Park, will join a fleet of nearly 20 vessels that host corporate and private events, dinner cruises and afternoon trips throughout New York Harbor. The new vessel’s nightly dinner cruises, which entail a seven-mile loop around New York Harbor, passing by iconic landmarks such as the

“We’ll do anything — we’ll put boats anywhere you need them put, and we’ll decorate them however.”

— Keir Moorhead

Downtown Express photo by Aline Reynolds

The Hornblower Hybrid, operated by Statue Cruises, will depart for its first cruise New Year’s Eve.

South Street Seaport, the Brooklyn Bridge and the Chrysler Building, will cost an average of $75 per person. Private (or chartered) cruises, meanwhile, will typically range from $65 to $300 per head, according to Keir

Moorhead, project engineer for Hornblower and the vessel’s creator.

While one objective, according to Moorhead, was to engineer a visually impressive vessel, another was “to make one of the

most energy-efficient vessels in the nation, and also provide a platform to showcase new alternative energy techniques and products.”

The Hornblower Hybrid appears to break the mold in terms of environmental standards. It runs on renewable energy produced by hydrogen cells, solar panels, and wind turbines. It also boasts recycled carpets, aluminum wall coverings and lightemitting diode (L.E.D.) lighting and T.V. screens. Most of the vessel’s power is generated by a fuel cell responsible for converting hydrogen into electricity, heat, and water.

Though the Hornblower Hybrid mimics traditional vessels in having a diesel fuel combustion engine, the engine is used sparsely, since the boat’s 30,000-pound,

Continued on page 16

Questions remain after clinic cancels move Continued from page 2 Services said that “methadone is a maligned treatment, especially as it relates to diversion,” that “we are so overregulated” and that only “high-functioning individuals get take-home doses.”

However, Dr. Seco confirmed that Gramercy currently writes prescriptions for buprenorphine, an alternative to methadone, given for 30-day supplies to responsible persons, and that 80 to 90 percent of patients who receive them are responsible, but that some disappear from the clinic after receiving the prescription.

Law enforcement sources said that buprenorphine has a street value of $10 per pill.

When asked by a board member for an average profile of the clinic’s clientele, Vlasaty replied, “We’re bound by confidentiality laws to share [sic] profiles of the patients we serve.”

Dennis Feld, deputy director for the NYS Mental Hygiene Legal Service said that no such state or federal prohibition exists, as long as no personally identifiable information is shared.

Area resident Marcia Wunsch, who collected 600 signatures with Linda Gerstman opposing the clinic, said, “I did not understand why the application was so readily approved.

It makes me question OASAS’ acceptance of the application.

I don’t understand how they operate or conduct business.

Since 95 percent of the payees are Medicaid patients, all that taxpayer money goes to a businessman from Chicago.”

Gerstman, for whom the main concerns surrounding the clinic’s bid to move Downtown were property value, quality of life, and safety, said of the withdrawal, “We breathed

a sigh of relief.” She said of the information provided by Gramercy and OASAS, “My gut tells me that there’s probably gaps in the application process in government in lots of things. This shines a light on it.”

Gerstman said, “This is probably something worth looking into by a borough president.”

C.B. 1 member Megan McHugh said, “Speaking for myself, I didn’t go in with a NIMBY perspective, however I didn’t feel their responses were adequate. I was very surprised by OASAS’ lack of transparency.” There is clearly a distinction between what is there [Metro Corp] and what was planned.” McHugh said it is a problem that “the Financial District still isn’t considered a residential area.”

Area restaurateur and resident Harry Poulakakos said, “We shouldn’t even discuss this. It will damage the neighborhood.”

Following a discussion over content, committee co-chair Michael Skidmore proposed a resolution citing “a lack of information, the fact that the clinic would be close to nearby schools, and a lack of transparency.” The resolution passed unanimously with eight votes.

Area resident James Fernandez said that C.B. 1’s FiDi Committee Chair Ro Sheffe and McVay Hughes “did a fantastic job in a resolution that reflected the community view.”

Fernandez and Gerstman both said that this was satisfying after what many in the community felt was a misrepresentation of their wishes earlier this fall with the CB1 resolution involving Occupy Wall Street.

Fernandez said, “The issue was procedure.” He continued, “It’s not that the methadone clinic is not needed -- it’s the vetting process.” Fernandez said, “There’s a definite social need for drug rehabilitation programs. Unfortunately

they are very necessary and we as a society need to provide them to people who need it. The mere fact that it wasn’t transparent was very disturbing.”

“The clinic is doing what’s in their best interest, which they have every right to do,” said, Fernandez, “ it’s the vetting process.”

Sheffe said, “It’s time for a reassessment of agencies like OASAS.” He said, “They should be required to have a mechanism in place to make community input a requirement,” citing the committees frequent review of State Liquor Authority applications.

Sheffe said, “The S.L.A. has very well defined protocols for approval. the question is why does this same protocol exist in an agency that is just as critical if not more than SLA.” He said, “I’m advocating a closer look at all these protocols.”

S.L.A. spokesman Michael Smith said, “The community boards are our partners in the process.” The applicant must also provide written notice to the local municipality or community board 30 days before filing an application and provide proof to SLA, and must publish a notice to the community once a week for two consecutive weeks in a County Clerk approved newspaper before a license can be issued. Of the agency’s 23-page application Smith said, “The S.L.A. is interested in the person, the place, and the financing. So we basically want to know everything about [an applicant].”

Perillo explained, “The liquor authority is acting pursuant to a mandate to notify. OASAS may not have the same statutory mandate. My sense is everyone is home free - possibly the mandate should be changed.”

Sheffe said it was important now to get the resolution on record.

December 14 - December 20, 2011

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downtown express

City Hall renovations nearly complete

BY ALINE REYNOLDS Prior to 2008, City Hall lacked fire alarms and other essential life safety equipment.

Now, following a series of renovations, the historic building, which will celebrate its 200th birthday next year, is being structurally and aesthetically restored to conform to contemporary standards.

The $123.8 million project, undertaken by the city Department of Design and Construction, entails a makeover of the politicians’ offices and meeting rooms — some of which were crumbling before the eyes of City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and other city councilmembers. “Generally, I think it’s good to work in a place where the ceiling isn’t going to fall on your head,� said Quinn, recalling a vivid memory of water rushing into the City Council’s chamber during a health committee meeting in the early 2000s.

Quinn pointed out the chamber’s squeaky clean mahogany wood panels and said that the room was a “mess� prior to the renovations. “Apparently, if you polish wood, it looks better. It’s a revelation to all of us in city government,� said Quinn facetiously.

Reverting to a more serious tone, Quinn,

who briefed journalists on the renovations during a Dec. 8 City Council press conference, reported that the Council is close to fully operational in its newly refurbished wing. The Council’s regularly scheduled meetings and hearings had been temporarily moved to the Emigrant Savings Bank across the street while the chamber was undergoing repair.

City Councilmembers began moving back into their City Hall quarters in mid-November, according to the D.D.C. Renovations will be fully completed by July 2012. “The place looks great. It’s great to be back,� said Quinn.

Apart from making basic structural reparations to City Hall, which had been damaged by fires and incurred basic wear and tear, the D.D.C. upgraded the building’s elevator and ventilation systems. The construction crew dug into bedrock to create a subbasement for the building’s mechanical equipment; and installed sprinklers, smoke detectors and other safety devices throughout the building, in addition to making it handicap-accessible. “The elevator did not [previously] go to the third floor, where the city Design Commission

Continued on page 19

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December 14 - December 20, 2011

Final school rezoning plan still drawing criticism

BY ALINE REYNOLDS Neighborhood parents charged with evaluating school zoning might very well approve the city’s third and final rezoning proposal introduced earlier this month.

But, while many Tribeca families are satisfied with the third school rezoning proposal, residents in various parts of the Financial District are still demanding alternatives.

The final plan, which the D.O.E. introduced to the District Two Community Education Council earlier this month, assigns children who live east of Nassau Street, between Liberty and Fulton Streets, to the Peck Slip School. It also zones youths living in Southbridge Towers, a residential complex near the South Street Seaport, to the Peck Slip elementary school, which is slated to incubate at the Tweed Courthouse starting next year until it moves to its permanent location at One Peck Slip in 2015.

Several frustrated families from Southbridge and John Street appeared at C.E.C. District Two’s rezoning committee meeting last Wednesday, Dec. 7 to voice their concerns.

Parent Danielle Bello and other Southbridge residents are requesting a dual zone for Southbridge.

“In essence, we would like to be given a choice as to whether our child would attend Spruce or Peck,” said Bello. “This seemed to work fairly well for families that were given

Downtown Express photo by Aline Reynolds

John Street resident Steve McCool speaks out against the latest rezoning proposal at C.E.C. District Two’s zoning committee last week.

the option a few years ago to attend either P.S. 89 or P.S. 276.”

John Street residents such as Steve McCool are against a three-year-long incubation at Tweed — since the building, which houses D.O.E.’s headquarters, lacks basic

school facilities such as a gym and cafeteria — and inquired about unused space at Spruce Street. “It’s a band-aid approach to incubate that long at Tweed,” said McCool.

“It’s not an environment that’s conducive to educating a child. So we’re asking for other

options.”

The Spruce Street School is just a fiveminute walk from the area of John Street that would be reassigned to the Peck Slip School under the new proposal, according to Financial District parent Erika Pitters.

“We are part of the community surrounding the Spruce Street School. We watched it being built, and we’d like our children to go there.

“We’re hoping that you’d consider what it’s like for these kids to walk an extra 15 minutes past the Spruce Street School to go to an incubator that’s not equipped to serve them well.”

While a spokesperson for the D.O.E. said the Department was not considering incorporating a dual option into the Downtown rezoning plan, other neighborhood parents vetoed these alternative proposals.

Creating a dual option for Southbridge residents would lead to overcrowding at the Spruce Street School, according to future Spruce Street parent Jennifer Cho, who is content with the new proposal.

“We don’t believe [dual zoning] is warranted, given the viable alternative of incubating at Tweed,” said Cho. “The reality is, people wouldn’t be fighting that hard unless they [all] wanted to go to Spruce.”

“I understand the issue of overcrowding,

Continued on page 20

Fighting to make Lower Manhattan the greatest place to live, work, and raise a family.

Assemblyman Shelly Silver If you need assistance, please contact my office at (212) 312-1420 or email silver@assembly.state.ny.us.

December 14 - December 20, 2011

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downtown express

Roses, Stripes, Skulls and Hearts..... Choppers continue

to annoy residents

100% wool accessories.

Continued from page 4

shopbutternut.com Gently felted for warmth.

“The construction and operation of the East 91st Street [solid waste] transfer station is a presumptive hazard to aviation at the East and West Side Heliports. Consequently, there is a very high likelihood that, if that facility should become operational, all helicopters would be forced to operate from the Downtown Heliport,” explained Paskar.

The F.A.A. declined to comment directly on Paskar’s claim. Asked about the hazard regulations, F.A.A. Spokesperson Jim Peters said, “The City of New York was not required to file with the [F.A.A.] an application to conduct a study. The site of the city facility is beyond the distance that would have required the city to file.”

Paskar responded saying the F.A.A. mistakenly referred to the wrong provision of its own advisory circular. “As a presumed hazard to aviation, the five-mile area around an airport or heliport must be protected — which means you cannot build a hazard to aviation within those five miles.”

State Senator Daniel Squadron said he was investigating the matter. “Ken has had good ideas before, so we’ll continue to follow up on it,” said the Senator. “But, regardless of what happens to Midtown heliports, we already have a problem Downtown; it’s a problem E.D.C. needs to work with us to solve.”

As for the Downtown heliport (located on Pier 6 near the intersection of Whitehall and South Streets), Paskar said he supports the request of Squadron, U.S. Congressman Jerrold Nadler and other local elected officials to ban tourist helicopter activity.

The E.D.C., which operates the Downtown heliport, has failed to provide the necessary oversight and regulations to make the sky a safer place for the choppers, according to Paskar. “They’re not operating in a neighborly or safe manner,” he said.

“The routes they take are very bad in

terms of being good neighbors to our community.”

In attempt to resolve the situation, the E.D.C., which operates the Downtown heliport, has vowed to phase out short sightseeing tours and other local airborne tours over Central Park and the Empire State Building.

Per the same 2010 plan, agreed upon by the Eastern Region Helicopter Council and Downtown heliport tour operators, the E.D.C. also committed to altering the area’s sightseeing tour routes and enhanced the 3-1-1 and data-gathering protocol.

These modifications, however, haven’t made a considerable difference in terms of noise levels, according to the stakeholders.

“The noise is deafening. Our life has changed in a lot of different ways,” said Financial District resident Joel Kopel at a recent Financial District committee meeting.

The fumes from helicopters wafting towards Kopel’s apartment building at Hanover Square is equally problematic.

“I’ve tried to go out to the water and sit by the benches, and I find it impossible,” said Kopel. “The amount of helicopters taking off and landing is incredible. Add the fuel smell to that, which I’m sure is not healthy… and we’ve lost our sense of serenity Downtown.”

“This is a serious problem, but one with no simple answer, since the F.A.A. sets policy for aircraft operation, not the city,” said Financial District Committee Chair Ro Sheffe. “If tourist helicopters are banned from taking off locally, it may help alleviate the problems of noise and fuel odors for residents near the Downtown heliport.”

Eliminating tourist choppers from the Downtown heliports, however, could introduce a whole new set of problems, Sheffe said.

“That policy might greatly increase the noise level if tour operators move to a location where they’re not bound by E.D.C. rules, and would once again be able to conduct ‘short tours’ and low-altitude fl ights over residential neighborhoods, without fear of penalties.”

A Strong Voice The Downtown Express Difference CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF PUBLISHING THE NEWS OF DOWNTOWN.

downtown express

Panel judging designs for hoped-for memorial 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 hoping for a redesign of the park, which is currently included in the city ULURP review of Rudin’s proposed 450-apartment project on the east side of Seventh Ave. The current design proposed by Rudin is for a triangular park bounded by 12th St. and Seventh and Greenwich Aves. An existing 10,000-square-foot, underground space beneath the Seventh Ave. 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 4 feet above sidewalk level because 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

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16, 5pm Trinity Youth Chorus: A Ceremony of Carols Melissa Attebury conducts St. Paul’s Chapel FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16, 6pm Family Friday Pizza and Movie Night A Charlie Brown Christmas and Martin the Cobbler.

Charlotte’s Place

All Are Welcome All events are free, unless noted.

212.602.0800

Celebrate our 50th market on South Street with over 70 great vendors & a special section devoted to local seafood with fresh fish of every variety, sea weed, oyster stalls, lobster rolls, and striped-bass chowder by guest chef David Pasternack of ESCA with book signing

by Paul Greenberg, author of Four Fish.

WELCOME WINTER, WITH A SOLSTICE MEAL OF FISH

DECEMBER 18 2011 1 1 A M TO 4 P M Take home wild foods from Vermont, meats, fish, charcuterie, farmstead cheese & dairy, rustic breads, Finger Lakes wines and winter gifts of kimchi, pickles, kombucha, chocolate, confectionery, and a selection of fruits in season, gathered in warmer climes by F LY I NG F OX , M A R K E T F RU I T E R E R. Along the way, visit Bowne & Co. Stationers at 211 Water Street where Master Printer Robert Warner offers a selection of Winter Greeting Cards including the above depicted DOUBLE FISH. N E W A M S T E R DA M M A R K E T

Continued on page 15

Trinity Wall Street THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1pm Concerts at One Brandie Sutton, soprano Ramón Bryant-Braxton, piano Trinity Church

N E W A M S T E R DA M M A R K E T SOUTH STREET & PECK SLIP

Let’s do something together

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 10am In Advent: Exploring Darkness and Light Advent IV: How does psychology and spirituality influence us to be open?

Led by Mary Ragan, PhD. 74 Trinity Pl, 2nd Fl, Parish Hall

trinitywallstreet.org

worship SUNDAY, 8am and 10am St. Paul’s Chapel Communion in the round 8pm Compline, music, and prayers SUNDAY, 9am and 11:15am Trinity Church Preaching, music, and Eucharist Sunday school and child care available

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 12:30pm MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 12:45pm Christmas Tree Trimming Trinity Church and Trinity Churchyard MONDAY – FRIDAY, 12:05pm Trinity Church SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1pm Holy Eucharist Scrooge & Marley MONDAY – FRIDAY, 5:15pm An adaption of Charles Dickens’ All Saints’ Chapel, in Trinity Church A Christmas Carol.

Evening Prayer, Evensong (Thurs.)

St. Paul’s Chapel SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 4pm ’Twas the Night Before Christmas A reading led by jazz bassist Ron Carter.

Church of the Intercession, Broadway and West 155th Street MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 7:30pm Handel’s Messiah Trinity Choir and Trinity Baroque Orchestra, Julian Wachner, conductor Tickets: lincolncenter.org or 212.721.6500.

Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center

Watch online webcast

TRINITY CHURCH Broadway at Wall Street 74 Trinity Place is located in the office building behind Trinity Church.

Leah Reddy

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

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December 14 - December 20, 2011

The Trinity Youth Chorus presents Benjamin Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols at St. Paul’s on Friday, December 16, at 5pm. Carol singing follows.

ST. PAUL’S CHAPEL Broadway and Fulton Street CHARLOTTE’S PLACE 109 Greenwich St, btwn Rector & Carlisle The Rev. Dr. James H. Cooper, Rector The Rev. Canon Anne Mallonee, Vicar

an Episcopal parish in the city of New York

downtown express

December 14 - December 20, 2011

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EDITORIAL PUBLISHER & EDITOR John W. Sutter

Continued injustice

ASSOCIATE EDITOR John Bayles ARTS EDITOR Scott Stiffler REPORTERS Aline Reynolds Albert Amateau Lincoln Anderson SR. V.P. OF SALES AND MARKETING Francesco Regini ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Allison Greaker Colin Gregory Julius Harrison Alex Morris Julio Tumbaco BUSINESS MANAGER / CONTROLLER Vera Musa ART / PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Troy Masters ART DIRECTOR Mark Hasselberger GRAPHIC DESIGNER Vince Joy CONTRIBUTORS Helaina N. Hovitz • Terese Loeb Kreuzer • Jerry Tallmer PHOTOGRAPHERS Milo Hess • Jefferson Siegel • Terese Loeb Kreuzer

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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 he was arrested in an East Village porn shop, 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 middle-aged; 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 N.Y.P.D. 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 B.I.D. is best solution for SoHo To the editor, Re: SoHo B.I.D. needs work (Downtown Express editorial, Nov. 9) I am a property owner and full-time resident of SoHo who lives with my husband and three small children in a cooperative building within the B.I.D. area. It is a very busy block of Broadway. I am also the president of our co-op board. I personally experience the negative quality-of-life issues that have come with the commercial activity along Broadway: Filthy streets and overflowing trash bins, wall-to-wall street vendors, food trucks with objectionable smells and lines that block foot traffic, along with roving gangs of merchandise vendors that fight for turf — not to mention the throngs of people who visit SoHo each and every day. It is a real obstacle course for me to negotiate with my four-year-old twins and a newborn in a stroller.

Over the past year, I have followed the spirited discussions between the SoHo Alliance and the supporters of the Broadway SoHo B.I.D. with great interest. In the past, I have often aligned myself with the SoHo Alliance, joining in their fights against various enterprises such as the Trump SoHo, the Crosby Street Bull Bar, and the Hotel Mondrian. With this latest campaign, I did not do my own research and simply towed the Alliance’s anti-BID line. But then, I attended a meeting with organizers of the B.I.D., and I found myself being won over. They listened to the concerns of the opposition; and enhanced and clarified the language of the proposal to include a mission statement that was created by one of my neighbors, which gave a much stronger voice to residents of the B.I.D. They were more than accommodating, and seemed eager to collaborate, even asking those present to join and help shape the B.I.D. So, while I am often a strong supporter of many of the SoHo Alliance’s positions, such as preventing the spread of national retail-chains to other parts of SoHo and championing the rights of the artists who have lived here for the past 40 years, I don’t agree with their fears that a B.I.D. is the end of SoHo as we know it. This B.I.D. is restricted to the Broadway corridor only, its plan truly reflects the problems we face, and I believe it is the best and only workable solution. A formal organization needs to be created and funded to address these specific Broadway issues — which are quite different than the rest of SoHo — and like most B.I.D.s, should be funded by the commercial property owners. No volunteer organization can have the resources and professional knowledge required to deal with these issues on a day-to-day basis, year after year. A B.I.D., with its partnership with the City, can assess and compel payment by all commercial property owners within the B.I.D. area in a fair manner.

I fully understand that the BI.D. is a col-

laborative effort of many interests that may not always align with specific goals of residents; however, I believe that there is more than enough shared interest between the commercial property owners and the residents to make this B.I.D. a very good thing for the residents that live on the Broadway corridor.

Emily Hellstrom Broadway SoHo B.I.D. District Resident Owner

System doesn’t serve us To the editor: Re “Mic check! Occupy is now part of the popular culture” (news article, Dec. 7): The issue the Occupy Wall Street 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 operate however they like without concern for outside influences.

O.W.S. 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 O.W.S. 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 were simply attacking them baselessly despite their lacking any genuine sway, she’d be an idiot.

Adam Devlin

Letters policy Downtown Express welcomes letters to The Editor. They must include the writer’s first and last name, a phone number for confirmation purposes only, and any affiliation that relates directly to the letter’s subject matter. Letters should be less than 300 words. Downtown Express reserves the right to edit letters for space, clarity, civility or libel reasons. Letters should be e-mailed to news@DowntownExpress.com or can be mailed to 511 Canal St., N.Y., N.Y. 10013.

downtown express

December 14 - December 20, 2011

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OPINION Dems in State Assembly continue fight for tax fairness

BY SHELDON SILVER Since we first introduced our proposal to extend New York’s millionaires tax in May, the State Assembly’s Democratic conference has led the way in the fight to bring fairness to our tax code. We strongly believe that those making $50,000 a year should not be paying the same tax rate as those earning $5 million, as would have been the case had we simply allowed the millionaires tax to expire at the end of this year.

That is why, working with Governor Cuomo, we passed legislation that brings New York’s tax code closer to common sense fairness, provides much-needed tax relief for the middle class, honors our commitment to provide a quality education to our children and makes critical investments that will spur job growth and help our economy.

This law will help our Lower Manhattan families and small businesses by making the tax code fairer and by creating critical new programs that will help our youth find jobs and spur hiring by local businesses. Small

business owners will now be able to receive tax credits for hiring unemployed young people and additional funding will be made available for summer youth employment, job training and workforce educational programs. One of our top priorities must be making sure our young people, particularly in this challenging economy, are equipped with the tools they need to succeed.

This legislation also includes an infrastructure fund that will inject $1 billion in job creating investment into our economy by investing in long overdue improvements to roads, bridges, schools and parks. There is no shortage of badly needed investment projects in New York City and the high-quality jobs they create will be of enormous benefit for Lower Manhattan residents.

In addition to new programs, this initiative provides the most significant tax relief to middle class families in decades. Under the new tax code, 99 percent of all tax filers in New York State will receive a tax cut. Assembly Democrats made clear from the beginning that any solution that balances our budget on the

Sheldon Silver.

backs of the hard-working men and women of our community would be unacceptable.

We vowed not to allow our most vulnerable citizens, like the seniors who rely on senior centers throughout Lower Manhattan, to suf-

fer because of an unnecessary tax cut for the wealthiest among us.

Every household earning less than $300,000 a year will see their taxes go down; those earning between $300,000 and $2 million will see no increase over what they were paying before the “millionaires tax” surcharge went into effect; and those earning over $2 million will see a modest tax hike over what they were paying before the surcharge.

The agreement will provide $2 billion in revenue for the people of New York in each of the next three years by creating a more progressive tax structure. Working together, we have advanced a plan that will spur job creation, make our tax code fairer, and put the state budget on a sound foundation.

Our work is far from done. When the coming session begins in Albany this January, Assembly Democrats will be back at work, fighting to protect our schools, create jobs, and pass a fair budget that puts the middle-class first.

Sheldon Silver is Speaker NYS Assembly

TALKING POINT Chinatown is more alive than ever

BY MARGARET S. CHIN Since the release of the 2010 Census, one headline has been used to sum up the experience of Chinese-Americans in New York over the past decade: “Chinatown is shrinking.”

For Asian Americans, such as myself, who have dedicated their lives to ensuring that ethnic communities, like Chinatown, receive their fair share of services and equal access to government; the notion that our historical enclave is losing ground arouses a certain amount of disbelief.

Articles, like the one that appeared in the December issue of The Atlantic, entitled, “The End of Chinatown,” by Bonnie Tsui, spark outright indignation.

Tsiu argues that immigration to the U.S. from China has slowed due to better work opportunities and an increasing quality of life back home, and because of this, Chinatowns in America “will lose their reason for being.” This is inevitable, Tsiu writes, “Because Chinatowns are where working-class immigrants have traditionally gathered for support, the rise of China – and the slowing of immigrant flows – all but ensures the end of Chinatowns.”

This is a significant, and inaccurate, leap. Tsiu bases her argument on the decline in the number of Chinese immigrants to the U.S., from 87,307 in 2006 to 70,863 in 2010; and 2010 Census data which showed population declines in Chinatowns in Manhattan and San Francisco. “If China continues to boom… workers will have better things to do than

come to America,” she concludes. The American Dream has been eclipsed by the Chinese Dream.

What’s worse is that Tsiu attempts to use Manhattan’s Chinatown to illustrate her point. Inexplicably, Tsui says Chinatown is shrinking without considering undocumented, and thus uncounted, immigrants, who make up a significant portion of our population. Tsui also fails to tackle the root cause of census undercounts, not just in Chinatown, but in ethnic communities throughout our city. Recent immigrants are more likely to live in illegal dwellings, have limited English-capacity, and are less likely to engage mainstream society.

Several reporters have challenged Tsui’s use of data, including New York Times immigration reporter Kirk Semple, who points out that the population of foreignborn Chinese in New York grew from 261,551 in 2000 to 348,474 in 2010; and that foreign-born Chinese make up a higher percentage of the overall population now than in 2000; 4.3 percent up from 3.3 percent. In addition, the overall number of Chinese New Yorkers has grown by about 33 percent over the last decade.

There are several reasons, other than pride for my district, that the “death of Chinatowns” storyline strikes me as irresponsible. After decades of fighting for resources for the Chinese American community, Tsui’s assertion that “the influx of migrants who need the networks that Chinatown provides is itself slowing down,” is regressive and dangerous. The

truth is that we need culturally and linguistically competent social services more than ever before. Social services, such as those who hand out food to the needy, are overwhelmed when they come to Chinatown.

Asian Pacific Americans have the second highest poverty rate among all racial groups and are one of the most linguistically isolated populations.

I am proud that Chinatown has the reputation for providing much-needed social services, not just for Chinese immigrants, but to those from Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, and anyone else who needs assistance. I am proud of the network of dedicated organizations, social service providers, and advocates in Chinatown that never give up the fight for fairer budgets and the equitable distribution of resources in our city.

Tsiu’s cavalier attitude that all Chinatowns will one day be, “a welcome gate and populated mostly by chains like Starbucks and Hooters, with signs in Chinese,” belittles serious issues, such as the lack of affordable housing, workforce development, and educational opportunities, that have ripple effects in ethnic communities throughout our City. These are complex problems that cannot be written off as the collateral damage of gentrification.

Finally, I take issue with Tsiu’s characterization of the ‘good life’ in China. In a recent study of Chinese millionaires, nearly half reported they wanted to leave the country according to the Hurun Research

Institute. China has significantly opened up since the mid-1970s and the growth of world-class cities like Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai has allowed cosmopolitan influences to take root, but the middle class is still struggling. Freedom of the press and speech are still under siege by the Chinese government; political oppression and human rights abuses are well reported; and legal protections are lacking.

Nothing makes me more proud than to see fi rst-generation Chinese seniors from Chinatown picketing the latest round of budget cuts outside of City Hall, or Chinese tenants groups mobilizing against bad landlords. We cherish the freedom we have here.

Chinese immigrants have come to Chinatown for over one hundred years.

Today, membership in hometown associations in Chinatown is growing, and new families are laying down roots. Chinatown may serve as a link home for the hundreds of thousands who have emigrated, but it is also a neighborhood that has developed a culture that is all its own. It is the ChineseAmerican spirit of perseverance and our contributions to this country that ensure Chinatown’s perpetuity. Chinatown will always be a place for younger generations to learn about their history and for the legacy of the Chinese in America to be celebrated.

Margaret S. Chin is New York City Councilmember, District-1, Lower Manhattan

December 14 - December 20, 2011

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downtown express

S EAPORT R EPORT

BY JANEL BLADOW Shoppers are franticly walking along Broad and Wall and around the Seaport, hunting for gifts… keep neighborhood stores bustling – shop locally!

Securing our future through public-private partnerships

If disaster strikes, are the public and private sectors ready to work together to rebuild and recover?

Pace University, in collaboration with the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security, invites you to join in the discussion with CEOs and top security leaders for this groundbreaking one-day summit.

Keynote speakers: Honorable Tom Ridge, the first Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Q The

Q

Margareta Wahlström, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, United Nations

January 11, 2012 9:00 a.m.—4:00 p.m.

Pace University 3 Spruce Street New York, NY 10038

Reserve your place today! www.pace.edu/resilience

HAPPY UNION… Friends and family celebrated with Jeremy and Cheryl Holin the marriage of their son Jason and his lovely, longtime complementing half Erin.

The happy couple who has been together more than five years and have a gorgeous little boy Caleb married on Thanksgiving Day in a quiet ceremony with their families.

That Saturday, Nov. 26, the doors to Meade’s on Peck Slip and Jeremy’s Ale House on Front Street were flung open and guests partied between the two drinking and dining establishments.

Upstairs at Meade’s partiers were treated to beautiful fall decorations and a buffet of shrimp, a little roasted suckling pig and all sorts of cheeses and salads. Splits of champagne rested in giant tubs of ice while the groom’s brother Lee oversaw the festivities.

The crowd swelled by the tenfold when the bus from Long Island arrived with friends from the Jeremy’s Ale House Freeport establishment managed by Jason.

SR chatted at length with proud mother of the bride Kim who with her husband came down from their home in upper Vermont.

She talked of how much fun the wedded couple is and how much they enjoy their travels, having recently been to Singapore.

She said she hopes when they make their next trip – a honeymoon – they might leave the little one home with her. Grandma wants to play with the cutie.

Meanwhile, Caleb was outside posing for photos with an adorable little girl, both looking beyond cute. Both sets of parents and the bride and groom soon joined in for fun family snaps. Groups of guests wandered around the corner to the Ale House where another spread, including hot dishes such as calamari, ribs and meatballs, waited. And more drinks and champagne!

By the time SR kissed the happy couple and said our goodbyes to his parents and hers, the crowd had thinned and all knew this would be a party long remembered.

REMEMBERING OLD TIMES… A few days later, SR moseyed over to the Ale House to visit Jeremy, who is thinking of making a run for a seat on Community Board 1. If there’s anyone who has witnessed

the change of the neighborhood and been a part of the area’s growth, it’s Jeremy. The highly successful tavern keeper who started out with a pushcart selling buckets of beer to the fishmongers reminisced about days gone by. And he isn’t happy with many of the changes he sees.

“They made this neighborhood Queens,” he said correcting a misquote some while ago in the paper of record. “I said they made Times Square into Disneyland and the Seaport into Queens. It isn’t what it used to be. It’s residential and not a destination.”

Jeremy, who first came to South Street in 1974, supported the idea of a long-time Seaport champion Peter Stanford who wanted vendors who proved themselves after two years of business in the old marketplace to be given a space and a five year lease to renovate some of the old buildings along Fulton Street. “But the city threw Peter out and made it a mall.”

He talked joyfully about some of the old characters who made up the colorful neighborhood, such as seaman/sailor/sea captain extraordinaire, Jerry Driscoll (who founded the Circle Line), and Carmine of his namesake restaurant on Beekman St. “Jerry was a rich guy but he lived in the SRO above the Paris Café, the Meyer’s Hotel. I asked him why, when he could afford to live anywhere. ‘Listen kid,’ he said, ‘I can only wear one pair of pants at a time. I can only be in one room at time.’

But you have a toilet down the hall, I protested. ‘Kid, how often do I use that?’ He had no car but limos would be around the building at all hours. Rich guys came to borrow money from him.”

Jeremy says that several local businessmen went to the City to try and buy abandoned buildings. “We were willing to pay market rate and fix them up but they wouldn’t sell to any of us. Then some guy gets buildings for a dollar each?” Consider it a rip-off.

“It’s not a neighborhood anymore,” he says then talks about what he would have liked to see happen down here. “Tourists used to come, you had the marketplace, you had the fish market, you had interesting shops and great restaurants. They could have brought in the flower market, the vegetable market, the meat market, and made this a destination, a real tourist attraction like Seattle did. Instead it’s just a mall and apartments.” Real estate won.

Happy Holidays and wishing you all a wonderful New Year.

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13

December 14 - December 20, 2011

WTCProgress world trade center news and updates

One WTC steel installation moves closer to completion.

ONE WORLD TRADE CENTER

T

Downtown Express photo by Aline Reynolds

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 City Councilmember Margaret Chin rose to new heights, literally, to promote the historic districts of Chinatown and Little Italy last Thursday, Dec. 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 ChinatownLittle Italy marketing campaign launched in September that aims to attract National Sept.

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 tenement houses 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!”

— Aline Reynolds

he Port Authority of NY & NJ’s construction of One World Trade Center is already changing the New York City skyline with steel installation now reaching the 90th floor and progressing at the pace of one floor per week.

Soon the building will be the tallest in the country, reaching 104 floors and 1,776 feet above street level. The aluminum and glass curtain wall panels that form the exterior of One WTC have already reached the 58th floor.

Upon completion, One WTC will feature more than three million square feet of leasable space, comprising offices, an observation deck, parking, and broadcast and antennae facilities—all Top of Spire, 1,776’

Tower Roofline, 1,368’

90th floor, 1,096’

supported by above and below-grade mechanical infrastructure. Publishing giant Condè Nast and the Vantone China Center lead the way choosing the new iconic tower as their new headquarters and will be among the initial tenants. The rebuilding of the entire WTC site has created more than 26,500 construction jobs. That number swells to more 62,000 jobs when all the jobs created to support the construction are included.

THE VEHICLE SECURITY CENTER

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eneath the shadow of the growing One WTC, the Port Authority is also building the new Vehicle Security Center (VSC). The VSC will be a stateof-the-art security screening checkpoint for all vehicles entering the new World Trade Center. Current activities on the project site consist of soil and rock excavation and removal, as well as foundation work. In preparation for the installation of structural steel, two large cranes have been mobilized and erected along the western portion of the site. 쏆

64th - 69th floor, Vantone/China Center

20th - 41st floors, Condé Nast

Street Level

The state of the art Vehicle Security Center will be the screening checkpoint for all vehicles entering the new WTC.

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December 14 - December 20, 2011

14

downtown express

Kris Kringle isn’t supposed to scare little kids, is he?

DOWNTOWN NOTEBOOK

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 10 a.m. 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, 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 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 “non-occasions,” 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 2 p.m. 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 selfawareness 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, goodnatured 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.

Downtown Express photos by Milo Hess

A few “more-than-just-jolly” Santas on Saturday at the Seaport.

Two Santas with their cups of beer taking a break from the revelry on Saturday at the Seaport.

downtown express

15

December 14 - December 20, 2011

Expert panel judging designs for hoped-for memorial Continued from page 9 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 St. Block Association and the Lower Fifth Ave. Block Association, are backers of the AIDS Memorial, Seltzer said. Among those that also endorse the proposal are Gay Men’s Heath Crisis, the L.G.B.T. 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-squarefoot learning center and community gathering place can serve our neighborhood,” he said.

The Nov. 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,

A rendering of Rudin Management’s design for a park at the open-space triangle at Greenwich and Seventh Aves. and W. 12th St. The view is of an entrance that would be at the park’s southern corner.

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 - December 20, 2011

downtown express

East coast’s first hybrid vessel, more than eco-friendly Continued from page 5 electric battery, located below deck, stores enough energy to allow the vessel to operate in near zero carbon emissions mode during its cruises.

Additional hydrogen-based fuel cells will be installed mid-next year to make the vessel even “greener,” according to Moorhead.

Hornblower Cruises and Events doesn’t have statistics to compare the NYC hybrid vessel with the company’s other two west coast hybrids, yet. However, the New York vessel’s sister vessel in San Francisco has energy-savings equivalent to removing 58 cars from the road and planting 90 acres worth of trees, according to Hornblower.

The vessel’s decor will be adaptable to corporate parties as well as weddings, proms and birthdays. Catering and food service is part of Hornblower’s all-inclusive package, as the vessel is equipped with a full-service kitchen and trained chefs that can whip up buffets, catered bites and a la carte meals.

Passengers will be offered a choice of meal selections via a computer tablet.

Hornblower will also provide DJs that will operate the vessel’s surround sound stereo system for chartered events.

“We’ll do anything — we’ll put boats anywhere you need them put, and we’ll decorate them however,” said Moorhead.

The vessel also has an environmentally friendly heating, ventilation and air condi-

Downtown Express photos by Aline Reynolds

The Hornblower Hybrid’s second deck features space for dining and dancing with 360-degree views.

tioning (H.V.A.C.) unit that strictly regulates the boat’s temperature. “The glass and atrium area has special ultraviolet coatings and thermal transfer coatings to try to keep the heat and cool in,” said Moorhead.

While most vessels run their lights at all times during active operation, the new hybrid only uses lighting when necessary, thus

expending about one-quarter the amount of light energy used by a conventional vessel.

The hybrid’s L.E.D. lighting can shine any color of the spectrum, Moorhead pointed out, allowing companies to highlight the color themes of their logos, and individuals to color-coordinate parties to their desire.

“With very conventional-looking lights,”

Keir Moorhead, project engineer for Hornblower Cruises and Events.

Moorhead said, “we can have a lot of flare and turn this into a night club instantly.”

The Hornblower Hybrid will make its first cruise in New York Harbor on New Year’s Eve, departing at 10 p.m. from Pier 40 and returning to the west side pier at 1:30 a.m. Tickets cost $350 per person. For more information, call 201-604-2800, or e-mail nyevents@hornblower.com.

Trinity Wall Street’s ‘Messiah’ heads to Alice Tully Hall

BY TERESE LOEB KREUZER On Dec. 11 and Dec. 12, the Trinity Choir and Trinity Baroque Orchestra under the direction of Julian Wachner gave dazzling performances of George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah” with two concerts at Trinity Church and one afternoon performance at St. Paul’s Chapel. On Dec. 19, the choir and orchestra will take their “Messiah” to Alice Tully Hall — the first time that the group has appeared at Lincoln Center.

Wachner, director of music and the arts for Trinity Wall Street, said that he wants to introduce the Trinity musicians to an audience that doesn’t come downtown.

From the first stately chords of the oratorio to its last, resounding “amen,” the Trinity “Messiah” was passionate and nuanced, eliciting standing ovations. The soloists were drawn from the superb Trinity Choir. Countertenor Eric Brenner who sang the soprano part in the gentle, lullaby-like air “He shall feed his flock like a shepherd” with alto Melissa Attebury, was particularly remarkable — but all of the soloists were impressive. Some of them have been with the choir for awhile, but others are new to it this year.

The choir and orchestra have a full musical dance card during the Christmas season when they will be singing for worship services at Trinity Church and St. Paul’s

Downtown Express photo by Terese Loeb Kreuzer

Julian Wachner, conductor of the Trinity Choir and the Trinity Baroque Orchestra, receiving a standing ovation at Trinity Church after a performance of Handel’s “Messiah” on Dec. 11, 2011.

Chapel. Then, on Dec. 26, the first Twelfth Night Festival will begin, with performances almost daily through Jan. 6, 2012. Trinity’s musicians will perform all six parts of J.S.

Bach’s Christmas Oratorio plus the “Historia der Geburt Jesu Christi” by Heinrich Schütz, all at St. Paul’s Chapel at 1 p.m. These performances are free with no reservations

required, as is a performance at 1 p.m. on Jan. 5 at Trinity Church of works by Monteverdi and Handel, performed by Les Sirènes.

In addition to Trinity Wall Street’s own resident ensembles, the Twelfth Night Festival is presenting other early-music groups — the Green Mountain Project with two performances of the “Vespers of 1640” at the Church of St. Jean Baptiste on the Upper East Side on Jan. 3 and 4, the Theatre of Early Music at Trinity Church on Dec. 28 and TENET at Trinity Church on Dec. 30. These concerts and one entitled “Our Lady 1” with countertenor Ryland Angel and the Sebastian Chamber Players at Trinity Church on Dec. 27 require tickets. Prices for the “Vespers of 1640” range from $25 to $100. The other concerts are $30 a ticket, and $15 for students and seniors. The Alice Tully Hall “Messiah” tickets range from $50 to $90.

In past years, Trinity Wall Street concerts have been less expensive than they are presently, but though the prices have gone up, in most cases it would be possible to hear at least some of the music at free afternoon concerts. Trinity Church is at Broadway and Wall Streets. St. Paul’s Chapel is at Broadway and Fulton Street. For more information, go to www.trinitywallstreet.org/music/choir/ schedule/.

downtown express

BY TERESE LOEB KREUZER FOOD TRUCKS COMING TO B.P.C.: The management of Brookfield Properties wants to make sure that Battery Park City residents and workers have plenty of food choices over the next few years while 2 World Financial Center is under construction, so if the Battery Park City Authority agrees, Brookfield plans to allow food trucks to park in the cul-de-sac between 4 World Financial Center and the New York Mercantile Exchange.

“One of the things that’s come up in New York over the last couple of years is the food truck revolution,” said Brookfield V.P. David Cheikin, when he explained the plan to Community Board 1’s Battery Park City Committee. “It’s not just bad food anymore and it’s at a good price point.” He said that Brookfield would work with the New York City Food Truck Association, which currently has 30 members, inviting five vendors a week to sell their wares in B.P.C. from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. The five vendors would rotate from week to week. “They want to start as soon as possible,” Cheikin said.

In answer to questions from the committee about how much control Brookfield would have over the vendors, Cheikin said, “We would never let dirty-water dogs down here. We think it will actually be a good amenity.” He said the trucks would be selling items like waffles, steak sandwiches, healthy foods and shakes. And if the food trucks don’t work out? “I have the right to kick them out,” he said.

B.P.C. TREE LIGHTING: Battery Park City’s annual tree lighting took place on Dec. 8 in South Cove. With Santa Claus presiding, the crowd counted down and at the right moment, lights festooning a Cedars of Lebanon tree on the southern flank of South Cove magically came on. “It’s a miracle,” said Tessa Huxley, director of the Battery Park City Parks Conservancy, which organized the event.

A group called “The Accidentals” sang holiday favorites like “Jingle Bells” while kids and grown-ups snacked on hot cider, cocoa and cookies.

A menorah at the base of the tree will be lit with one light each night beginning on Dec. 20.

December 14 - December 20, 2011

Hanukah in Battery Park City: At one time, there were 15 Yiddish theater companies on the Lower East Side. Now, only one remains — the National Yiddish Theatre — Folksbiene — which will bring a special program of Hanukah music to the Winter Garden in the World Financial Center on Sunday, Dec. 18 at noon.

Folksbiene (the “Peoples’ Stage”), was founded in 1915 by the Workmen’s Circle. It became an independent non-profit in 1998, with the mission of making Yiddish theater accessible to a new generation. The Winter Garden concert will feature traditional melodies and klezmer music.

On Sunday, Dec. 25, the Museum of Jewish Heritage at 36 Battery Place plans a celebration of Emma Lazarus and the Statue of Liberty with crafts, tours and films.

Starting at 11 a.m. with “An American Tail,” three films will be screened (“Saboteur” is at 1 p.m. and “Ghostbusters II” at 3 p.m.). At noon and 1 p.m. there will be tours revolving around the museum’s current exhibit, “Emma Lazarus: Poet of Exiles.” Craft activities for children from ages 3 to 10 will be offered from noon to 3:30 p.m. The museum’s Heritage Café will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Go to http://www.mjhnyc. org/calendar.html for more information.

BATTERY PARK CITY IN BLOOM: Usually by mid-December, Battery Park City’s flowers are limited to snowdrops, but not this year. Mild temperatures have caused an efflorescence. In Wagner Park, camellias are blooming, as are lion’s ear and other flowers. And on the Irish Hunger Memorial, Clematis paniculata, whose common name is “sweet autumn clematis,” clings to the fence next to North End Avenue.

There are around 300 species in the Clematis genus. Most originated in China and Japan and most, like the specimen on the Irish Hunger Memorial, are climbing vines with attractive, star-shaped flowers.

Clematis paniculata is particularly fragrant.

Though all parts of the plant are poisonous, Native Americans used Clematis extracts in small doses to treat migraines and skin infections.

“I expect the Clematis will keep going until the weather gets too cold,” said Eileen Calvanese, head of horticulture for the Battery Park City Parks Conservancy. At

17

Downtown Express photos by Terese Loeb Kreuzer

The Battery Park City Parks Conservancy’s annual holiday celebration took place on Dec. 8 with carol singing, hot cider and cocoa and cookies. As the crowd counted down, the lights on a tree facing South Cove were turned on.

the rate we’re going, who knows when that will be.

B.P.C. DOGNAPPING: Since food stores, restaurants and some other stores don’t allow dogs inside, dog owners frequently tie their pets outside while they shop, but the Battery Park City Dog Association warns against this. “If you need to go shopping, patronize only dog-friendly retailers or leave the dog at home,” the Association says in its “Tips for Avoiding Dog Theft.”

Around a month ago, there was an attempted dognapping in front of the Gristedes at West Thames Street and South End Avenue. A man made off with a 50 to 60 pound mutt. “With the help of the Battery Park City Parks Enforcement Patrol (PEPs) the owner was lucky enough to chase the thief down and get the dog back, but the guy who took the dog got away,” the Dog Association reported.

“There are usually four reasons that we know of why dognappers steal dogs,” said Paula Galloway, who heads the B.P.C. Dog Association. “They want to wait for a reward to be posted so that they can return the dog for money; they want to keep the dog for themselves or a relative; they want to sell the dog to a laboratory for experimentation or they plan to use the stolen dog as a bait dog in dog fighting. All four are horrible situations when an owner is beside themselves wondering what happened to their stolen dog and should be enough to deter an owner from tying up their dog[s].”

The Dog Association advises not to let a dog run off leash and not to leave it alone in a car, even if it’s locked. “And keep the purchase price to yourself,” it says.

To comment on Battery Park City Beat or to suggest article ideas, email TereseLoeb@ mac.com.

Because of mild temperatures, in mid-December, Clematis paniculata whose common name is “sweet autumn clematis,” is still blooming at the Irish Hunger Memorial in Battery Park City.

December 14 - December 20, 2011

18

downtown express

B.P.C.A. layoffs and Pier A Continued from page 1 denied that the layoffs had been mishandled. “The terminations took place in accordance with all laws,� she said.

Anne Fenton, spokesperson for the Authority, was present at the B.P.C. Committee meeting on Dec. 6. Leticia Remauro and Hector Calderon, among the 19 who were fired, were also there, having been invited by the committee to attend. “Although we may not have a right to comment on who to terminate, we certainly have a right to comment on how they were terminated,� said Linda Belfer, chair of the Battery Park City Committee. She asked Fenton to give the Authority’s viewpoint on the terminations. “Well, as I told you on the phone when you called me last week, the Battery Park City Authority policy is that we don’t discuss personnel issues,� Fenton said. “I explained that to you when you told me this was happening.�

The only comment that Fenton made was to say that the 19 who had been terminated had, in fact, received severance.

Belfer turned to Remauro and asked, “Leticia, did you get severance?� “Not to my knowledge,� Remauro replied.

Remauro also said that none of those fired had received letters of recommendation. “It was an abrupt dismissal,� she said, “with no communication.� She described the Authority’s actions as “unprofessional.�

George Calderaro, a committee member, said, “I question whether it’s a private personnel issue. This isn’t a private organization. It’s a state agency and I think the way this was handled is really a negative reflection of the character and the judgment of the Battery Park City Authority’s current administration. This is not a benevolent dictatorship.�

Calderaro said that he was concerned about how the layoffs would affect the Authority’s ability to supervise construction projects such as Pier A and other major construction projects for which the Authority is responsible. “There are more than $55 million in construction projects that are currently on the boards,� he said.

He also stated that Pier A is over budget. “I can certainly get you a full update on Pier A if those are your concerns,� Fenton replied.

After further discussion, the committee

had observed. “I went by Pier A over the weekend,� he said. “The windows were not covered up.� He said he had photographs to prove it.

— Additional repor ting

by John Bayles

CONCERNS ABOUT PIER A Downtown Express photo by Terese Loeb Kreuzer

Pier A in Battery Park City is undergoing a major renovation.

members agreed that the major issues were the way the layoffs had been handled, the Authority’s lack of transparency in communicating its plans, what could be done to assist the 19 people who were fired and on-going concerns about the Authority’s ability to manage with a truncated staff. “In an effort to respect the privacy of the individuals who were terminated, the B.P.C.A. has chosen not to respond to the inaccurate personnel claims that have been made,� said Horwitz on Friday. “The personnel changes were by no means an easy task; however it is time to move on and focus on the needs of Battery Park City.�

Horwitz continued, “As I have said since my appointment as President of B.P.C.A., the Authority is closing one chapter as real-estate developer and opening a new chapter as an owner manager. Our challenge moving forward is to continue to maintain this beautiful community while creating new revenue and opportunities so we can continue to meet the ongoing mission of ensuring a community of exceptional commercial, residential and park space.� “I’m just sickened by the manner in which this was done,� said committee member Jeff

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That B.P.C.A. board of directors meeting was originally scheduled for Dec. 13, but it was cancelled and no new date has been announced.

The last B.P.C.A. Board of Directors meeting took place in October.

The Battery Park City Committee said that it would wait to see what happened at the B.P.C.A. Board of Directors meeting before framing a resolution to present to Community Board 1’s full board, which might not be necessary if the B.P.C.A. board of directors resolves problems associated with the layoffs. In the meantime, the B.P.C. Committee wanted to write letters to each of those laid off expressing appreciation for their work on behalf of the Battery Park City community. However, Julie Menin, chair of Community Board 1, subsequently said that C.B. 1 would not be legally permitted to write such letters because it didn’t have access to the personnel files of those who were fired.

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Mihok of the layoffs. “I just feel like — what disrespect to this community — that one of the major institutions that we work with — in the dark of the night would just do this without any advance warning. I understand that they’re not accountable to us ‌ but I feel that it’s such a shady way of going about this. As a member of this committee, I feel it’s a lack of respect and terrible communication to do this.â€? “People of this caliber should not have to deal with this kind of abruptness,â€? said committee member Tom Goodkind. “This leaves us without a wooden board under our feet because we don’t know what’s going to happen next,â€? said Belfer. “If this could happen now, what’s going to happen three weeks from now?â€?

On Friday, Fenton and Horwitz pointed to the chapter in the Authority Employee Handbook that describes the “Nature of employment� at the B.P.C.A. It states, “Employment with the Authority is at-will and entered into voluntarily.

Accordingly, each employee is free to resign at any time. Similarly, the Authority may terminate the employment relationship at any time.

Nothing in this handbook is intended to create an express or implied contract of employment.

The provisions of the handbook have been developed at the discretion of management and, except for its policy of employment-at-will, may be amended or cancelled at any time.�

In response to a suggestion that the Authority should make a project report at every C.B. 1 B.P.C. Committee meeting, Fenton said, “If you want to email me, I’ve made it very clear that I’ve been extremely accessible and so has Gayle [Horwitz] so please feel free to email me before the next Board meeting on the updates you want.�

The committee concluded that it would write a letter to the B.P.C.A. board of directors that would reach them before the next board meeting, discussing in Belfer’s words, “severance, health care, the manner of firing, the lack of transparency and the fact that people were fired leaving nobody on staff to handle the ongoing projects.�

The condition of Pier A was brought up several times during the course of the Battery Park City Committee meeting. George Calderaro commented that it had been a long time since any new information had been forthcoming about Pier A. He mentioned that months ago, the architectural firm of Rogers Marvel and members of the partnership between the Poulakakos family and the Dermot Co., who had been awarded the contract to install restaurants and other facilities in Pier A, had made a presentation to the Battery Park City Committee, and then nothing further was said. “I learned recently that Rogers Marvel is no longer the architect, that the project is $4 million over budget, that there’s no design or budget for the plaza at Pier A and this obfuscation seems to be a pattern,� said Calderaro.

He went on to say, “I’m also concerned because I went by there last week and saw that the pier is completely exposed. There’s nothing in the windows. Nothing is covered. This is a city, national, state – unique, irreplaceable landmark that seems to me is being egregiously mishandled. I wonder if this is the first in a series of botched projects that we’re going to see?� “George is right about Pier A,� said committee member Anthony Notaro. “I walked by there last week and I’m pretty much a novice but I looked at this thing and there’s not a window on the place and it’s sitting out on the water and we’ve got winter coming up. That doesn’t seem like a good idea.�

According to Matthew Monahan, spokesman for the Battery Park City Authority, “The windows are being removed, they’ll be refurbished and then reinstalled, which, in the interim, will not harm the building.�

Roger Byrom, chair of Community Board’s Landmarks Committee, said that he wasn’t so sure. “I am concerned that they are not appropriately protecting Pier A,� he said, but, he added, “I have spoken three times now to [Gwen Dawson], who is in charge of this project [for the Battery Park City Authority], and she was down there this morning [Dec. 13] and the general contractor assured her that every evening the windows that they are working on are enclosed and that everything is protected overnight and over the weekend.�

George Calderaro said that was not what he

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December 14 - December 20, 2011

City Council close to moving Continued from page 6 is — which is a public entity [that provides] access to materials,” said Louise Levi, construction manager for the D.D.C. who has been supervising the project.

The new subbasement will also house the infamous “Room 9,” which is dedicated to members of the press. The new, cavernlike space, which will open in late January, is “evocative of a cigar bar, if those are still allowed in the city,” joked Quinn.

Major, building-wide modifications to City Hall hadn’t been made since the 1950s, according to Levi. Certain internal fixes made in the last century ended up posing greater structural problems than previously existed, she noted.

“The goal was, it being a historic, landmarked building, to upgrade the environmental efficiency and the mechanical units… and doing it in a way that somehow honors that history,” said Levi. “The main joke I make to my friends is, this is kind of like the oldest squatter building in New York history.

It has had a different administration every single four-to-eight years, and nobody’s really taken care of it. We’re just trying to take this 200-year-old historic shell and bring it as much up to code as possible.”

While chandeliers in the Council’s firstfloor lounge were upgraded with compact

fluorescent lights, artwork in this and other City Hall rooms was refurbished — most notably, painter Tabor Sears’ “New York Receiving the Tributes of the Nations,” a 1903 oval mural that crowns the ceiling of the chamber room. The room’s towering statue of Thomas Jefferson, an original plaster sketch model of French sculptor Pierre Jean David D’Angers’ 1833 bronze statue, was also restored.

“We got Jefferson a new quill; before, his thumb was held on by a piece of wire,” said Levi.

The chamber’s walls were repainted green, its grand balcony was repaired, and the room’s weathered curtains, which had been used as a backdrop in the 1996 film, “City Hall,” starring Al Pacino, were replaced with temporary shades. “[The curtains] looked like a cat had been left in them — they were shredded into bits and held back by [binder] clips,” remarked Quinn.

“Holy cow, it looks amazing in here!” exclaimed District 5 Councilmember Jessica Lappin as she strode into the adjacent Committee Room for the first time last week.

“It’s beautiful. The whole room just lights up,” remarked Councilmember Margaret Chin as she stepped into the chamber minutes before a stated meeting.

While the Emigrant Savings Bank worked as an interim meeting location, Chin said,

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but I think the ‘choice’ proposal addresses that,” countered Southbridge resident Rachel Nash. “Not everyone would choose to go to Spruce, especially [families with younger children] who are facing the incubation period shorter.”

C.E.C. District Two President Shino Tanikawa cautioned against the request of some residents to have future Peck Slip students incubate at the Spruce Street school or another location in addition to Tweed.

“I don’t think we’re done thinking about creative solutions,” said Tanikawa, “but moving students twice in three years is highly disruptive as well.”

“We need to absolutely make sure that the Peck incubator will fit in Tweed for all three years,” echoed Eric Greenleaf, a business professor at New York University whose student enrollment projections indicate severe overcrowding in Downtown schools in the years to come. “It’s a lot easier for the D.O.E. to find a temporary place to meet than it is to find a temporary space for kids to go to school.”

However, at a Town Hall held just prior to the C.E.C. District Two rezoning committee meeting, NYC Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott stressed the importance of retaining the D.O.E.’s administrative functions at its Tweed headquarters. In doing so, Walcott essentially rejected Senator Daniel Squadron’s recommendation in a Nov. 21 letter to relocate some of the Department’s offices to World Trade Center 4 or elsewhere Downtown.

“From the Senator’s perspective, I realize this is a gorgeous building Downtown… but from a reality perspective, it just does not work,” said Walcott. “Moving the Department into Tweed, literally behind City Hall, has really allowed us to have better efficiency in our operation.”

Tanikawa nevertheless urged Downtown parents to rally around additional classroom space at Tweed for the duration of the Peck Slip School’s incubation period.

“I think parents should… demand [that] the D.O.E. to open three sections of kindergarten in Tweed,” said Tanikawa.

“I know we can find room.”

by Walcott, Downtown residents once again railed against the D.O.E. for insufficiently accommodating the neighborhood’s rapidly expanding residential growth.

“I completely reject rezoning as a planning tool to make sure we have an even level of overcrowding everywhere,” said Michael Markowitz, co-chair of C.E.C. District Two’s zoning committee. “I appreciate the efforts that are being made, but we’re not keeping up adequately [with school capacity].”

Markowitz and others also stressed the need for additional parent participation in the Department’s decisions.

“If we could have roundtable discussions [about school capacity and overcrowding], I think we’d get a lot further than where we are now,” said P.S. 234 parent Demetri Ganiaris, a member of C.E.C. District Two’s zoning committee.

“When a [new school] site has been identified, we want a seat at the table when it’s being discussed,” chimed in C.E.C. District two Vice President Elizabeth Weiss. “We want to have a voice that’s not just tagged on at the end.”

While the Chancellor said he welcomes parental feedback on D.O.E. decisions, “at the end of the day, the decision rests with me, as Chancellor,” he said.

“I take responsibility for both the good and the bad.”

Though Walcott boasted about the 10 new schools District Two has seen since 2003, the Chancellor acknowledged that there are “pockets” of overcrowding, and pledged that the D.O.E. is gradually shifting its focus concerning student population growth from a district-wide level to a neighborhood-specific level — contradicting recent claims made by School Construction Authority President Lorraine Grillo.

“This particular district just has so many different, unique needs… so it’s really important for the C.E.C. and us to work closely around neighborhood targeting,” said Walcott.

The D.O.E. is also continuing discussions with the city’s Department of City Planning to establish new protocols for residential developers with respect to new construction — at the urging of parents from Downtown and elsewhere in District Two. “Through our Educational Construction Fund, we want to take a look at those creative options as far as partnering [with other city agencies],” said Walcott.

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Continued from page 1 spokesperson for the Port.

“The L.M.D.C. staff and the Port Authority staff are working now on all the issues relating to the integration,” said Emil.

“The reason [Governor Andrew Cuomo] wants to do this is that he wants to get everyone interested in the rebuilding of Downtown on the same page.”

But Emil said the transition has absolutely nothing to do with the funds allocated for the P.A.C.

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December 14 - December 20, 2011

COMPILED BY NIKKI TUCKER & SCOTT STIFFLER

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.

JIM HENSON’S FANTASTIC WORLD If you grew up on “Sesame Street” and have seen the new Muppet reboot currently in theaters (“The Muppets”), then a visit to this exhibit is a must.

“Jim Henson’s Fantastic World” has much more to offer than just the chance to see Miss Piggy and Kermit under glass. There are also drawings, storyboards, props and a reel of witty commercials from the black and white era of television. “Fantastic World” can be seen through Jan. 16. At the Museum of the Moving Image (36-01 35th Ave., Astoria). Museum hours: Tues.-Thurs., 10:30am5pm. Fri., 10:30am-8pm. Sat./Sun., 10:30am-7pm. Admission: $10 for adults; $7.50 for college students and seniors; $5 for children under 18 (free for members and children under three). Free admission every Fri., from 4-8pm. For info and a full schedule of events, visit movingimage.us — or call 718-777-6888.

MANHATTAN CHILDREN’S THEATRE: A CHRISTMAS CAROL This presentation of the Charles Dickens holiday classic (adapted and directed by MCT Artistic Director Bruce Merrill) features original music by Eric V. Hachikian. Through Dec. 24; Sat.,

Sun., at 12pm and 2pm; also on Fri., Dec. 23, at 12pm and 2pm.

At Manhattan Children’s Theatre (380 Broadway, 4th floor; two blocks south of Canal St., at Broadway & White). Tickets are sold online for $18 (adults) and $16 (children). At the door, $20. For reservations and info, call 212-352-3101 or visit mctny.org.

THE NEW YORK CITY POLICE MUSEUM The Junior Officers Discovery Zone is an exhibit designed for ages 3-10. It’s divided into four areas (Police Academy, Park and Precinct, Emergency Services Unit and a Multi-Purpose Area), each with interactive and imaginary play experiences for children to understand the role of police officers in our community — by, among other things, driving and taking care of a police car. For older children, there’s a crime scene observation activity that will challenge them to remember relevant parts of city street scenes, a physical challenge similar to those at the Police Academy and a model Emergency Services Unit vehicle where children can climb in, use the steering wheel and lights, hear radio calls with police codes and see some of the actual equipment carried by The Emergency Services Unit. At 100 Old Slip (btw. Front and South Sts.). For info, call 212-480-3100 or visit nycpm.org. Hours: Mon. through Sat., 10am-5pm and Sun., 12-5pm. Admission: $8 ($5 for students, seniors and children; free for children under 2).

NEW YORK CITY FIRE MUSEUM Kids will learn about fire prevention and safety through group tours, led by former NYC firefighters. The program — which lasts approximately 75 min-

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YOUTH ACTIVITIES utes — includes classroom training and a simulated event in a mock apartment, where a firefighter shows how fires can start in different rooms in the home. Finally, students are guided on a tour of the museum’s first floor. Tours (for groups of 20 or more) are offered Tuesdays through Fridays at 10:30am, 11:30am and 12:30pm. Tickets are $3 for children and $5 per adult — but for every 10 kids, admission is free for one adult. The museum offers a $700 Junior Firefighter Birthday Party package, for children 3-6 years old. The birthday child and 15 of their guests will be treated to story time, show and tell, a coloring activity, a scavenger hunt and the opportunity to speak to a real firefighter (the museum provides a fire-themed birthday cake, juice boxes and other favors and decorations). The NYC Fire Museum is located at 278 Spring St. (btw. Varick and Hudson). For info call 212-691-1303 or visit nycfiremuseum.org.

POETS HOUSE The Poets House Children’s Room gives children and their parents a gateway to enter the world of rhyme — through readings, group activities and interactive performances. For children ages 1-3, the Children’s Room offers “Tiny Poets Time” readings on Thursdays at 10am; for those ages 4-10, “Weekly Poetry Readings” on Saturdays at 11am. Filled with poetry books, old-fashioned typewriters and a card catalogue packed with poetic objects to trigger inspiration, the Children’s Room is open Thurs.-Sat., 11am-5pm. At 10 River Terrace and Murray St.). Call 212-431-7920 or visit poetshouse.org.

THE HOLIDAY TRAIN SHOW AND GINGERBREAD ADVENTURES Within the enchanting setting of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, model trains zip over bridges and past replicas of New York landmarks made of plant parts such as nuts, bark and leaves. Marvel at the replicas, stroll the spectacular grounds, decorate (and eat!) gingersnaps — then break for some hot chocolate. Tickets are $20 for adults, $18 for students/seniors (free admission for children under 2).

Included in the price of admission to the Train Show: “Gingerbread Adventures.”

Explore the plant ingredients (such as cinnamon and ginger) that make up a classic gingerbread recipe. Step inside a child-sized gingerbread playhouse, decorating a gingersnap cookie with frosting and candies and examine gingerbread ingredients under a microscope. In the Adventure Garden, you’ll see a display of gingerbread houses designed by some of New York’s most imaginative bakers. Kids can take home a pot decorated with wheat seeds that will quickly grow into a miniature head of wheat hair (a living reminder that flour — a key gingerbread ingredient — is derived from a plant).

The Train Show and Gingerbread Adventures run through Jan. 16. At New York Botanical Garden (2900 Southern Blvd., Bronx). Open 10am-6pm, Tues.-Sun. Closed Dec. 25. On Dec. 24, closed at 3pm.

On holiday weeks (Dec.19-Jan. 2), hours are 10am-7pm. For tickets and info, call 718-817-8700 or visit nybg.org.

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downtown express

December 14 - December 20, 2011

22

DOWNTOWNEXPRESSARTS&ENTERTAINMENT Tears to the eyes, joy to the heart Isaac Bashevis Singer’s Chelm stories soar THEATER

BY JERRY TALLMER Just the names are enough to bring tears to the eyes and joy to the heart. Here are a few: Oranam Ox, the wisest man in the world Yenta Pesha, his wife

SHLEMIEL THE FIRST Adapted by Robert Brustein (based on the play

by Isaac Bashevis Singer) Lyrics by Arnold Weinstein

(I’ve known quite a few Yenta Peshas, haven’t you?)

Chaim, Rascal, a rascal

Direction and choreography by David Gordon Through Dec. 31, Tues.-Sat., 7pm (additional performance Mon., Dec. 26, 7pm) Matinees: Wed. and Sat., 2pm (additional matinee Sun., Dec. 18, 3pm and Fri., Dec. 23, 2pm)

Dopey Petzel, a sage Moishe Pipik, another sage Mendel Shmendrick, another sage

At the Jack H. Skirball Center for the Performing Arts 566 LaGuardia Place

Sender Shlamazel, yet another sage And of course

For tickets ($75; $10 for ages 25 and under or full-time students), call 866-811-4111 or visit nyuskirball.org, Visit folksbiene.org

Continued on page 23

Photo by Michael Nagle, Peak Performances

Michael Iannucci as Shlemiel the First.

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December 14 - December 20, 2011

‘Shlemiel’ gets overdue NYC reincarnation Continued from page 22 Our hero Shlemiel His wife Tryna Ryza Their son and daughter, Mottel and Ottel.

Once upon a time, all these delightful if somewhat slow-witted inhabitants of the village of Chelm, in the old country, sprang out of the mind of Isaac Bashevis Singer — who was born in Poland in 1904, was taken from us in 1991, and in between won the 1978 Nobel Prize in Literature (his particular literature being short stories, novels, plays, essays, news reports and a great deal else in that universal loshen which is Yiddish).

Isaac Bashevis Singer’s make-believe Chelm is indeed a whole shtetl of fools, one of whom — a sort of Tolstoyan holy fool — is sent forth into the great world in search of a yet bigger fool for communal moral guidance. Wherever innocent Shlemiel goes, he is — like Voltaire’s Candide — wiser than the wise, braver than the brave.

The immensely prolific Singer packed his numerous Chelm stories into a play, that was one to day flower into a klezmerpulsed English-language musical, “Shlemiel the First” — and it is this fond 1994 enterprise that is now back among us.

If a show loaded with talent has one prime mover, that has to be critic, author, producer teacher and all-around drama maven Robert Brustein — a New Yorker by birth who speaks little or no Yiddish but had in his early 20s (circa 1950) participated in some Yiddish theater (“three quarters Yiddish, one quarter English”) along with Boris Sagal down on Houston Street.

‘I was stunned, I was literally dancing in the aisles,’ says Brustein.

‘Literally!’ he repeats for emphasis. The knittingtogether of Singer + Brustein + Klezmer resulted that year in a smash hit for the A.R.T. ‘Shlemiel’ that went on to be duplicated all around the United States, gathering raves everywhere before heading for Broadway under a high-powered Broadway producer — and never got there.’

director of the Yale Repertory Theatre, that Brustein had a bright idea while watching a performance there of I.B. Singer’s “Shlemiel” play as directed by another drama maven, Isaiah Sheffer.

“What came to me,” the 84-year-old Brustein says today, “I figured I could adapt it into a musical for the stage. I’d done about twelve adaptations before this.”

What he needed was someone to tackle the lyrics — and for that he thought of Arnold Weinstein, a young poet-playwright (1927-2005) whose “Red Eye of Love” and “Dynamite Tonight” had been exploding all over the stage at Julian Beck and Judith Malina’s avant-garde Living Theatre.

“But I didn’t know if Arnold was the right man for the job. He was one of those ‘English’ Jews, you know, like Lionel Trilling.

I actually had the chutzpah to audition him.

He came up with some extraordinary lyrics” and got the job.

In 1979 Brustein moved from Yale to Harvard, where he would in turn became founding artistic director of the blossoming, highly regarded American Repertory Theatre (A.R.T.).

In 1994, some two decades after Brustein first adapted “Shlemiel” into a musical, his Oscar and Tony-winning friend Joel Grey invited Brustein to a Boston Conservatory evening of then not yet widely known (in this country) Klezmer music.

“I was stunned, I was literally dancing in the aisles,” says Brustein. “Literally!” he repeats for emphasis. The knitting-together of Singer + Brustein + Klezmer resulted that year in a smash hit for the A.R.T. “Shlemiel” that went on to be duplicated all around the United States, gathering raves everywhere before heading for Broadway under a highpowered Broadway producer — and never got there.

Let Brustein tell it: “Got as far as Florida, where Boston Jews go to retire, and God, did they not want to see Jews in yarmulkes and prayer shawls….

So that was the end of that.

This show at the Skirball Center is, then, the first major New York City reincarnation of “Shlemiel the First.” Isaac Bashevis Singer and his wife lived for many years in a big old apartment house on Manhattan’s West 86th Street — where this journalist was fortunate enough to interview him twice (once when he won the Nobel). Had Bob Burstein — recent recipient, from the hands of Barack Obama, of a National Medal of Arts — ever met Isaac Bashevis Singer?

“Oh yes. I’m a great, great fan. We did three of his pieces at A.R.T. I went to visit him on 86th Street. I stood at the door of his apartment, and when he opened the door he had a bird on his head.”

Shlemiel the innocent wouldn’t have blinked an eye at that.

In 1966 Brustein joined the faculty of Yale School of Drama, and it was there, in the mid-1970s, as founder and artistic

ARChive OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC HOLIDAY SALE Christmas comes but once a year — and to help build that pile of presents under the tree, there’s another annual December event we’ve come to depend upon. Secure a slot on Santa’s “nice” list when you help support ARChive — a nonprofit music library whose stockpile of over 2 million sound recordings makes it America’s largest popular music collection. ARC keeps two copies of all recordings released in America. When a third copy comes in, it becomes part of this annual sale. Over 20,000 items are up for grabs — including books, CDs, LPs, singles, VHS, DVDs, sheet music and a flea market full of vintage kitchenwares, psychedelic rock posters and clothing. All the CDs (mostly pop and rock recordings, priced from $1-$10) are mint condition donations form record companies and collectors.

Through Sun., Dec. 18. Open daily, 11am-6pm. At the ARChive of Contemporary Music’s (54 White St., 3 blocks south of Canal, btw. Broadway & Church Sts.). Call 212-226-6967 or

visit archmusic.org. Blog: arcmusic.wordpress.com. On Facebook: facebook.com/ ArchiveOfContemporaryMusic.

— Scott Stiffler

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December 14 - December 20, 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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December 14 - December 20, 2011

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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 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

Photo courtesy of The New Shul

If you build it, they will come. See “Occupy Chanukah.”

cream or applesauce. Then eat, regroup, 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 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 Photo courtesy of The Macaroons

Let’s go (coco) nuts. See “The Macaroons.”

Indie music fans, unite! The Macaroons — a spinoff band from acclaimed rockers

The LeeVees — are brining their equally acclaimed 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.

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). 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.

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December 14 - December 20, 2011

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December 14 - December 20, 2011

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