JULY 31, 2014 DOWNTOWN EXPRESS

VOLUME 27, NUMBER 4

JULY 31-AUGUST 13, 2014

NEW SANDY REPORT FOCUSES ON PROBLEMS HELPING SENIORS B Y RO G E R M ILL E R n the day Hurricane Sandy bowled through New York City almost two years ago, Wilma Serrano was in her apartment on the Lower East Side watching TV. “All of a sudden the lights went out, and when I looked out the window the East River was overflowing towards my building and the cars began to float away,” she said.

There was also another complication: Serrano, now 64, has diabetes and uses a wheelchair. This meant that in the aftermath of the storm, she had to rely on her daughter to get food, medication, and fresh water.

Serrano’s story is far from uncommon. In New York City there are 1.4 million people — 17 percent of the total population — with 60 years or more under their belt. And when the surge of water came charging over the banks, roughly 30 percent of the households within the water’s reach — about 67,000 — had at least one adult aged 65 and older. And of the 44 people that died as a result of Hurricane Sandy, 31 were people aged 55 and over. That’s 70 percent.

These are the sobering numbers cited in a new report published by the New York Academy of Medicine.

It’s called “Resilient Communities: Empowering Older Adults in Disasters and Daily Life,” and its aim is simple: learn from the past and prepare for the future, specifically with New York’s older residents in mind.

“One of our first findings was that older adults with more connections within community networks were more likely to have their needs met, while the reverse was also true,”

O

Continued on page 3

Downtown Express photo by Zach Williams

The Downtown Little League’s all-star team of 11-year-olds celebrating their city championship July 20. They and the league’s all-star 14-year-olds went on to win state softball championships last weekend.

The ladies are the champs!

BY ZACH WILLIAMS Downtown captured two state championships in Little League softball in Chatham, N.Y. with one team still with ambitions of a national title.

A Downtown Little League team comprised of local 14-year-olds will play in the Eastern Region finals Aug. 1 - 8 in Orange, Conn. following a 7-6 victory over Haverstraw on July 27.

The next day, a hard-nosed battle for supremacy in the 11-year-old division concluded in a 7-6 extra-inning win for Downtown — which had never before won a state Little League softball title before this year.

Players and coaches alike said they could not have imagined several years ago that they would be the topteam of the five boroughs. Within a

few games the teen team will know whether they have what it takes this year to compete at the national tournament in Kirkland, Wash.

“It’s kind of crazy because everyone doubted us because we were from Downtown,” said the older team’s pitcher, Ava O’Mara, who developed her softball skills with the rest of her teammates the past three seasons.

When Downtown Little League first vied for an opportunity to compete in the state championship in 2011, a hard-hitting team from South Shore State Island demonstrated the Downtown team was not ready by running up the score so fast that officials ended the game in the third inning by invoking the “mercy rule.”

“We were really not used to the

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competition,” said O’Mara. On Saturday, Haverstraw jumped to an early 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning in the championship game, but Downtown was ready to fight back.

The team, managed by Joe Marino, got offensive momentum of its own in the bottom half of the inning, cutting the lead to one run following an R.B.I.-double by Brooke Kirwin and an R.B.I.-single by Ava Villalba.

Pitcher Morgan O’Mara held Haverstraw to no runs for the next two innings with the help of critical defensive plays. With the score remaining steady at 4-3, her twin sister Ava came in to relieve her.

“It was really important to hit your Continued on page 10

Almost, but D.I.D. doesn’t do it yet for Zephyr B Y LINC O L N A N D E RSO N In May, the Downtown Independent Democrats voted “no endorsement at this time” for governor and lieutenant governor in the September Democratic primary.

The Working Families Party was endorsing the next day, and D.I.D. was curious to see how that would turn out.

Andrew Cuomo went on to win the W.F.P. nod over Zephyr Teachout, who then quickly decided to challenge Cuomo in the Democratic primary.

Taking up unfinished business, then, D.I.D. members convened this Monday night at club president Jeanne Wilcke’s Bleecker St. loft apartment to hear a brief presentation by Teachout, and reconsider if they would endorse.

The meeting didn’t include the full D.I.D. membership, since some members are out of town now, but rather was just the club’s Executive Committee.

Teachout — a first-time candidate and Fordham Law School professor,

has been embraced by Downtown progressive clubs, The week before, The New York Times published a bombshell Page 1 article, reporting that Governor Cuomo had hobbled his own now-defunct Moreland Commission from probing groups with ties to him or issues that might reflect poorly on him.

On Monday, she said Cuomo is “under a dark cloud” right now, though she’s not ready yet to call what happened illegal.

“I think we are at a really crucial point in our history,” Teachout said.

Saying Cuomo has failed on his promise to clean up Albany, she said, “We are more beholden than ever to the oligarchs who say who gets tax breaks.”

She admitted she’s an underdog.

Asking Teachout about campaign finance reform, District Leader Jenifer Rajkumar noted that a dissenting Supreme Court justice in the Citizens United case had cited Teachout.

“We are one justice away from overturning Citizens United,” Teachout

responded, beaming a smile.

Pete Gleason, a former City Council candidate, asked about the William Rapfogel case, in which embezzled funds were found in the former Met Council president’s residences, which he shares with his wife, Judy Rapfogel, chief of staff to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

William Rapfogel last week was sentenced to three and a half to 10 years in jail.

“How does $450,000 wind up in the closet of [Silver’s] chief of staff, and the guy falls on his sword, and it goes away?” Gleason asked.

The D.I.D. members reconvened later at Von lounge, across the street, to discuss if they would endorse.

“Overwhelmingly, the committee voted to recommend that D.I.D. members, at the next full membership meeting, endorse Zephyr Teachout for governor and her running mate, Timothy Wu, for lieutenant governor,” Wilcke later reported. “The general membership will decide the final endorsement in late August.”

Wilcke said club members

Downtown Express photo by Lincoln Anderson

Zephyr Teachout addressing the D.I.D. Executive Committee on Monday.

were troubled by the now-defunct “secret M.O.U.” agreement hashed out between Governor Cuomo, the Hudson River Park Trust and the St. John’s Center owners to transfer $100 million of development rights from Pier 40 to the St. John’s site. Hydrofracking, plus the governor’s disbanding of the Moreland Commission, have been other issues of concern, she said.

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Sandy affected seniors seek some assistance Continued from page 1

said Dr. Jo Ivey Boufford, one of the report’s lead contributors. “ It was difficult for non-connected adults to get help, especially for older people on the Lower East Side and in Chinatown.”

This was the case with Serrano, whose family was able to help her get what she needed in the wake of the storm. After securing food and water for her mother, Serrano’s daughter was also able to go around knocking on doors to see if anyone else needed help. Several floors up, there was another elderly woman in a wheelchair unable to get food and water. Serrano’s daughter aided her as best as she could and ended up connecting her with a local aid organization.

This kind of volunteering is what the report refers to as “community infrastructure.” In the aftermath of the storm, thousands of volunteers sprung out of the woodwork to go around knocking on doors like Serrano’s daughter did. Some businesses offered supplies, while non-governmental organizations like the Visiting Nurse Services of New York adapted to work with volunteers, governmental agencies, and organizations like the American Red Cross.

“What we did was a quick triaging for people who said they needed help and medication,” said Jill Goldstein, the vice president of the Visiting Nurse Services in charge of their emergency response system. “We saw what their basic needs were – food, water, and medication – and we would have physicians writing prescriptions that the pharmacies in Manhattan could deliver to the patients.”

Essentially, Goldstein said, Sandy taught her and her organization how to respond to a disaster by utilizing every single staff member to meet the needs of their patients and anyone else in trouble. Even the office personnel who normally never go out into the field were enlisted to knock on doors.

Karen Spence Atkinson, a registered nurse, was one of these staff members. Although her training enabled her to care for many of the elderly people trapped after the storm,

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Downtown Express photo by Roger Miller

Carmen Serrano now keeps a “Go-bag” at the ready.

she also became a sort of conduit of information for people who couldn’t reach their loved ones.

When one of her patients, or someone in need couldn’t reach their parents or children, Atkinson would let them use her cell phone to call them and put their minds at ease.

“I became a community member even though I wasn’t part of the community,” she said.

As effective as the community infrastructure was in responding to the disaster, however, the report’s authors also stated that there was a high degree of miscommunication between many of the governmental agencies and the non-profit organizations, so that some response efforts were either late or redundant with multiple groups responding to the same call for help.

In order to prepare for another disaster like Hurricane Sandy, the report recommends that communi-

ties should essentially work to build connections between neighbors, businesses, and organizations working in the neighborhood. They also said that neighborhoods should offer something called a “community resilience hub,” said Boufford. “One stop shops for those looking into how to be prepared for emergencies.”

The report’s authors also recommend that various governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations share their emergency plans in order to coordinate their efforts. And both these groups, the report states, should engage older adults in their plans so that they know their needs are being met, and also how they might help in the event of an emergency.

For her part, Serrano now keeps a “Go-Bag” ready for emergencies.

One of the most specific recommendations the report detailed was for the passage of an emergency pharmacy bill, which would require city and

Hard News Beyond the Hard Copy

county departments to consult with healthcare and hospice workers on their emergency plans so that older adults are able to get their medications, even in emergencies.

To isolate these key findings and make recommendations, doctors and nurses who work with the New York Academy of Medicine, along with social workers, healthcare providers, non-profit volunteers, business leaders, and officials from government agencies like the New York City Housing Authority, collaborated to sort through the mess of information left behind by the storm. According to the report, they interviewed 200 people, including experts in disaster response, older adults who experienced the storm firsthand, and first responders.

Another key aspect of the report was the multilingual and diverse approach it took. Interviews were conducted in Mandarin and Cantonese Chinese, Spanish and English.

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TRIO ATTACKS TEEN GIRL A 15–year-old girl walking in FiDi was beaten by three adults who tried to take her iPhone on July 17 at 11 p.m., police say.

The teen, a Bronx resident, was on the southeast corner of Battery Pl and Greenwich St., on a Thursday night when two women and one man came up from behind and started punching her in the head, police say. Her lip was cut and one side of her face was badly

bruised, according to police. The three took her iPhone 4, but police were able to recover the phone and made three arrests. The female suspects are 20 and 25 and the man is 20.

South St. and Old Slip Sun., July 20 at 3 p.m., was stolen sometime before 6 p.m., when the owner, a Staten Island man, returned to his parking spot.

CAR STOLEN

A shouting match at a hair salon turned violent Friday when a customer threw a curling iron stand at an employee, police say.

The employee’s knee was cut and the customer, 26, was arrested after the incident, which occurred at 3:20 p.m., July 18 at the salon at 24 Beaver St. Favi Ramirez, manager of the salon, said the customer who was wearing a Post Office uniform “flipped out” in the middle of a wash and set procedure because she thought her hair was being criticized.

“Stuff like that never ever happens at my salon,” she added.

There may be something to the old saw about a red car attracting thieves.

Police say a 15-year-old red car — a two-door 1999 Pontiac Grand AM — parked at the southeast corner of

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CASE OF THE MISSING FOOD CART Police say a $30,000 food cart was stolen near the South Street Seaport at 5:30 a.m. on Tues., July 15. The food vendor, who gets his cart delivered by Brooklyn Bridge Pushcart, Inc., told police there was no cart at Water and John Sts. at 5:30, but the food company said it had dropped off the cart at about that time.

PICKPOCKETS Three pickpocket crimes were reported to the First Precinct over a period of a week. In one incident, a 77-year-old Battery Park City man lost $600 cash while shopping at a Duane office. The man Reade near his FiDi was at the store at 130 William St. at 1:30 p.m. Tues., July 15, when he sus-

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pects a man about 20 years old lifted his wallet. The victim lost his ID cards in addition to the money.

In a separate incident, a 26-yearold woman also lost $600 in cash while walking in Soho on Sat, July 19 at about 7:30 p.m. The woman had been shopping in a few stores around Spring St. and Broadway. She is sure she had her bag fastened shut but at some point she realized it had been opened and her wallet was gone. The woman remembers her headphones coming off her head and readjusting them, but she is not sure if that’s when the theft occurred.

The third crime in all likelihood happened on a Brooklyn subway train but it was reported at the Downtown precinct. A 59-year-old man who works for the city was on his way to work around 8:30 a.m. Wed., July 16. After he switched from the No. 2 train to the 4 at Nevins St., he recalled a man bumping into him in the crowded train. It wasn’t until he was riding into the Bowling Green station that the victim noticed his wallet was no longer in his back pocket.

SHORT & SHIFTY Three women, all 5’3”, went on a panty raid at Victoria’s Secret in Soho last Friday afternoon and made off with 30 items worth $1,900. Police say the shoplifters removed the lingerie from the 591 Broadway store just before 6 p.m. July 18. If the ladies were looking to wear their stash, two could probably share, since police say they are both about 115 pounds, but the other 5’ 3’’ suspect weighs 150. Police did not identify the stolen items.

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FiDi gets a private elementary school this September

BY D U SI CA SU E MA L E S E V IC

Lower Manhattan parents have another kindergarten option with the opening of private Pine St. School at 25 Pine Street this September.

Pine Street School, which occupies three floors of the Trump Building, will offer preschool through first grade this fall and then launch its middle school next year. Eventually, the school will go until the eighth grade.

This is the second school opening for the Green Ivy Network, which also opened Battery Park Montessori last fall in Battery Park City. The network and its founder, Jennifer Jones, hosted an open house for parents and press on July 17, which included tours of the inviting, white-walled classrooms and green-accented and nature-themed open space.

It represents a celebration and a promise, said Jones, in a speech before she cut the green ribbon at the opening. Jones went on to thank everyone involved with the school opening, but started with her mother first. “After becoming a mom, I realized how important it was to thank you, mom,” she said.

Eileen Baker, the head of the school, an educator who has worked for 20 years at schools in Africa, Europe, and Southeast Asia, spoke about how her experience has affected her view of education. She then introduced the teaching staff. Each teacher spoke for a few moments about their educational background and what they would be teaching at Pine Street.

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Downtown Express photos by Dusica Sue Malesevic

Jennifer Jones, founder of the Pine Street School, which opens in two months with kindergarten, first grade and preschool. Below, the school’s “River Commons,” where students can play or eat lunch.

Lisbeth Woodington, a teacher who will instruct three-to-six-year-olds in the school’s dual language program, said that she wanted the students to “connect with the joy of using two languages” — in this case Spanish and English.

Jones also led parents on a tour of the school. The second floor is missing only the preschool students — tables and chairs are already set up, empty cubby space is itching to be filled, and

books, crayons, dolls and games are on display. Indeed, several of the visiting children tested out the space and its offerings with their parents.

“This is what really sold me on the place,” Jones said as she enthusiastically showed parents the huge windows that overlook Chase Manhattan Plaza.

She emphasized throughout the tour how the school is connected to the city and its history — with windows in classrooms that look out onto Wall Street and Imagination Playground nearby.

The third floor will house the elementary school. Jones said she tried to avoid straight hallways and to utilize the space to be “living,” meaning the children could congregate and play in the hallways. Each classroom had round glass holes near the door that will allow parents to observe without disturbing the class. “I was thinking like a mom,” said Jones, whose sixyear-old son will attend Pine Street.

The school has a boat in the hallway called “River Commons,” that the children could play or eat lunch on.

Surrounding the boat are rocks that are cushions. There is also a cooking project room that Jones envisioned the community using as well. There are science and art rooms, a large room for performance and sports, and an

auditorium on the fourth floor.

The school has 40 classrooms with 15 students per class for three-yearolds and up and 10 students per class for the two-year-olds. Around 30 students have already registered and up to 50 may enroll. The total capacity will be 480 students with 90 of those in Montessori, preschool and kindergarten and 45 for first grade.

Kindergarten seats will increase next year.

The school is slightly less expensive than its private school neighbors. For full-time students, it costs $29,400, and for two days from 1 to 4 p.m., it costs $9,800. The Blue School at 241 Water St. is $36,900 for full-time fouryear-olds and kindergarten through fifth grade. For pre-K full-time at Léman Manhattan Preparatory on 41 Broad St., it costs $37, 300.

Jones said that students would start with a Montessori focus and, as they progressed, the older students would transition into the international baccalaureate program.

“The two schools have different motivations in a way, and in a way there joined,” said Jones when asked about why she founded the two schools. “The big driving motivation Continued on page 7

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Downtown Express photo by Scot Surbeck

High wire investigation Police officers climbed the Brooklyn Bridge on Fri., July 25 to investigate the sky-high crime scene that dominated New York City headlines last week after intruders swapped the two American flags atop the landmark for two white banners. Although conspiracy theories surrounding the stunt took over social media shortly after the news broke, police are still working to narrow down its list of suspects. Investigators have reportedly taken DNA from several large aluminum pans that the trespassers used to cover the lights on the bridge.

Holiday Inn readies to open A Holiday Inn is set to open this summer at 99 Washington St., crossing at Rector St. in the Financial District. The 50-story building holds nearly 500 rooms and is the tallest Holiday Inn in Manhattan at 467 feet, according to Gregory Marshall, executive project manager at Cava Construction and Development, Inc. McSam Downtown L.L.C. is the development company in charge of the project under hotelier Sam Chang.

Chang’s numerous Downtown Manhattan projects have met opposition in the past and this one is no different — a local resident and restaurant opposed the development in its early stages, according to Community Board 1 staff. The project is almost at completion now despite the reported opposition.

The construction project includes the adjacent building at 103 Washington St., which houses a restaurant that will service the hotel. This historic building constructed in 1925 in its Neo-Gothic architecture still reads “St. George’s Church,” representing

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July 31-August 13, 2014

the Syrian Catholic churchgoers as part of the bigger Syrian quarter that once consumed Washington St. in the early 1900s. Joe Scelzo, head superintendent of construction, said the building is still in the process of being purchased.

“The buildings are being interconnected,” Marshall confirmed. The full-service restaurant will provide room service to guests at the inn. It hosts a bar with American bistro on the first floor while the second floor is specifically for Pan Asian food, along with a cozy fireplace.

Guorong Du, 42, co-manager of the restaurant soon to be named St. George’s Tavern, said Asian food is in demand. “In this area, we don’t have a lot of Chinese and Asian food.”

While the restaurant’s interior is complete, the construction of the inn continues. “We’re looking to have the T.C.O. [temporary certificate of occupancy]— which is — to be finished by Aug. 31,” Scelzo said.

Downtown Express photo by Annun Khan

— ANNUM KHAN

The Holiday Inn at 99 Washington St. DowntownExpress.com

Pine Street School gets ready to open Continued from page 5

for both is that yes, I am a local. I’ve lived in the neighborhood since 2004.

I am a mom of now a six-year-old boy, and just like everyone else in the neighborhood I’m really tuned into the fact that the public schools are full and there is a waiting list to get into kindergarten.”

“As a school developer, I’m pushing my son around in a stroller five years ago and thinking ‘I could probably make a contribution to this if I really set my mind to it, maybe I should,’” she said.

“I love Dr. Jones’ philosophy,” said Cara Ottilio-Cooper. She was there with her three-year-old son Michael, who attends Battery Park Montessori.

Ottilio-Cooper praised Jones’ choice of staff from parent liaisons to teachers, and was checking out the new school as a possible option.

“The reception from the community has been incredible,” said Jones about Battery Park Montessori. “Most families are returning — the ones

who aren’t are moving away. To me that says everything. People tell you with their feet what they like or not at the end of the day — and I feel a real sense of commitment to this neighborhood.”

Veronica Bekkerov was also at the open house to scope out private school choices for her 2-year-old because she said there is not a public school alternative. “We would do pre-K in a heartbeat, but it’s not available,” Bekkerov said.

Overcrowding and lack of preschool seats in Lower Manhattan has been an issue for parents. “It was expected that there would be a shortage of pre-K in Lower Manhattan One of the elementary classrooms. simply because of the lack of space,” Tricia Joyce, chairperson of the Youth children attended private pre-K after Committee for Community Board 1, being shut out of the public option in 2006 and 2007. “We are better than said in a phone interview.

Joyce pointed to a huge escalation we were then, but not where we need in the population Downtown — over to be.”

Prince Dockery isn’t taking chances 200 percent — and the conversion of on his daughter’s preschool educacommercial space into residential.

“I do think [Pine Street] will help tion. His daughter Winter is only 7-months old, but Dockery is already ease the demand,” said Joyce, whoseT:8.75”

Downtown Express photo by Dusica Sue Malesevic

looking for a preschool. “It’s my first child here in New York,” he said. “I’m from Texas.”

After taking a tour of the facility, he said it was phenomenal. He and his wife both graduated from Harvard, and he joked that he heard it was easier to get into college than to get his daughter into preschool.

The need for a great hospital doesn’t stop south of 14th Street.

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New tech tools will give students another edge

BY ZACH WILLIAMS A little something extra in last month’s city budget speeds up the classroom of the future’s arrival a bit for Lower East Side students.

Eight local schools received additional funding for technology purchases, including laptops and interactive whiteboards, plus tables with all the capabilities of an iPad, but bigger and inviting for more than one user at a time.

City Councilmember Margaret Chin secured the $480,000 in funding, in addition to $360,000 that will enable sidewalk and bathroom repairs at three other schools, as well as the construction of a rooftop garden at Emma Lazarus High School.

“In today’s world, education is about more than just textbooks and lectures,” Chin said in a statement.

“So I made sure to provide funding for new laptops or digital technology upgrades to schools which required that boost.

“I’m particularly excited about

providing funding for interactive, touch-screen technology to early-childhood, special-education students at P.S. 142,” she said. “That technology will greatly aid the school in handling its influx of special-ed students.”

Principals interviewed indicated that the new technology should be ready in time for the upcoming school year.

Long gone are the days when a computer or two in the back of a classroom sufficed for introducing children to technology, noted Rhonda Levy, principal of P.S. 142.

She said that $40,000 in funding for “interactive tables” in four early-childhood special-education classrooms would be a welcome change from the rote methods of the past.

In recent years, Levy’s students have re-created activities, such as building a beauty salon.

“What they re-create in those classrooms will make you cry,” she said. “You just don’t realize what a

Photo courtesy of P.S. 142

P.S. 142 students doing their “beauty salon” — the sort of interactive learning that will be further enabled by the interactive, touch-screen tables arriving later this summer. The multitasking pupils were also keeping up on their Bridgegate news.

5-year-old can do.”

Every year, the hands-on approach at the school requires loads of new materials and books. Levy said some of her teachers now spend time applying for as many as eight educational grants per year. Meanwhile, technology can aid children with “subtle” learning disabilities to quickly integrate with their peers, she added.

Five local schools will purchase mobile “laptop carts,” allowing several classrooms to share technology.

Used alongside interactive whiteboards, multitasking students can read books at the front of the classroom while also accessing a personal device brimming with educational applications, explained James Lee, principal of P.S. 20. Lee’s school received $60,000 for laptop carts.

The carts can even update software on students’ iPhones, he said.

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“We’re putting a lot of our funds into either laptops or iPads in order to serve a great number of kids all at the same time,” Lee said.

He added that the funding will also better prepare P.S. 20 to comply with the expected future requirement that standardized testing be done on computers rather than with paper and pencil.

However, principals said the software that the Department of Education is offering to go with the carts unfortunately is not that great.

“The software that they offer is stupid,” one of them said, though adding, “but they did allow us to roll over the software money.”

The principals all said that their students enjoy the expanded use of technology in the classroom.

“The kids love it. Why not make use of it?” she said. “There is so much out there.”

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Dance in Chinatown

Downtown Express Photo by Milo Hess

Dancers struck a pose in Sara D. Roosevelt Park on July 19 during the New Museum’s block party

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Downtown Little Leaugue takes two championships Continued from page 1

spot and not throw anything over the plate,” Ava said of her pitching strategy against a Haverstraw team perennially viewed as a contender for the state title.

In the bottom of the fifth, Downtown took a 6-4 lead with backto-back doubles by Sophia Marino and Emily Samar. Key defensive plays by catcher Emily Samar and shortstop Marino limited Haverstraw’s offensive efforts to just two more runs for the rest of the game.

As the home team, Downtown would come to bat for the last time in the bottom of the sixth. The score was 6-6 and the two teams were locked in fierce to determine which team was the best when it mattered.

“Morgan O’Mara scored what proved to be the winning run on some heady base running in the bottom of the six,” said father Chris O’Mara, a member of the Downtown coaching staff.

Haverstraw still had one more chance to bat. They already knew how to beat Downtown, having done so in the first day of the tournament.

However, Downtown had something to prove beyond merely capturing the state crown. A certain opportunity to integrate the lessons learned from years of hard work and playing the role of the underdog gave them a certain faith in getting those final three outs.

With the tying run at second base, a pop-up fly would end the game.

“I think all that hard work paid off and we really stepped it up,” said

Morgan. “We couldn’t have done it without every person.”

THE YOUNGER CHAMPS For the 11-year-olds in their title game Mon., July 28, with the score tied 2-2, a new field had to be prepared in order to continue the game due to the rain. Sisters Isabella and Anabella Pelaez got Downtown started with two walks. A “perfect” bunt by Grace Kirwin advanced the runners to second and third.

That’s when Rylie Spiegel came through with a critical grounder allowing Isabella to score and Downtown to garner a one-run lead.

A ground-out, single and strikeout began Pearl River’s offensive effort in the bottom of the seventh. Perhaps, any championship game should have a little drama to end it.

“As soon as Rylie Spiegel caught the strike for the second out, she popped up and threw the ball to the shortstop Zoe Anderson, as the runner was stealing the base,” read an account of the game sent to Downtown Express. “That ball flew in Zoe’s glove as the runner was sliding into her. You see both girls on the ground and the umpire says: ‘Where’s the ball?’ Zoe throws her glove in the air to show him and he yells ‘She’s out!’ for the third and final out of the New York State Championship game. Their hard work has paid off!”

Downtown Express attended the city championship for the 11-year-old division on July 20 to observe just what it takes to make someone the best in the city, a distinction known to

Photos courtesy of the Downtown Little League

The triumphant 11-year-olds.

10

July 31-August 13, 2014

Photos courtesy of the Downtown Little League

The 14-year-old champs.

few. When it comes to youth softball, limiting mistakes is key as was the case in the 5-2 victory over Great Kills, Staten Island held at Con Ed Field on E. 16th St. The section title was far from assured though going into the weekend when an early defeat in the section tournament — which also included teams from Long Island — meant Downtown needed two victories over Great Kills to advance.

A 4-1 victory on Fri., July 18 featured the same “key element,” to success that came into play the next day, according to Downtown coach Scott Morrison.

“Our motto was: ‘the team that makes the less errors, wins,’ ” he said.

Downtown players were not lacking in individual heroics. Pitcher Jamie Morrison struck out six, allowing only three hits in the complete game win.

Zoe Anderson, who plays third base, led the team at the plate with two runs batted in while sisters Ava and Emma Whitman each batted in one run.

Great Kills had advantages of their own coming into the game, including a high-octane fan base.

The team is known there for taking Little League with a fervor unique among the five boroughs. They print their familial affiliation on the back of otherwise matching red jerseys. They speak up audibly from the outfield when umpires attract their ire. And several of their players appear at least five and a half feet tall — home run threats when the outfield fence is only 150 feet from home plate.

In the first inning, one of them would blast a line drive like she was

Ichiro Suzuki, but Downtown’s right fielder, Aeryn Lubelsky, was right there, ready to catch the ball. Downtown meanwhile exhibited strong bunting and base running as their lead grew to 5-0 in the third inning.

Anxiety has no place in the batter’s box, said center fielder Grace Kirwin, Downtown’s leadoff hitter in the city title game. Certain lessons are ready for application within that brief moment when the fluorescent green softball spins towards home plate.

“I don’t really think about what’s going to happen,” she said. “I just watch the ball [and] do what my coaches tell me.”

As the bottom of the fourth began, Staten Island would launch its strongest offensive effort of the game with two singles followed by a wild pitch.

With runners on second and third, a hard-grounder was too much to handle as Staten Island scored two runs to make it 5-2.

Pitcher Jamie Morrison seemed in trouble. She walked a batter and the next one made contact with another grounder. This time though there was no trouble getting the ball over to Anabella Pelaez at first to end the inning.

“We hit rockets and the girls made the plays so they made the defensive plays in the big innings and we didn’t and I think that’s what it amounts to,” said Great Kills coach Jim Durkin.

Downtown got runners on base in the fifth but both teams tightened their defenses for the rest of the game.

Morrison meanwhile continued throwing heat and getting runners out with the Continued on page 11

DowntownExpress.com

Continued from page 10

help of strong infield play.

Jim Nelson, longtime district administrator of Little League in Manhattan and the Bronx, summed up the secret of winning at this level of play by saying: “throw strikes” and “play good in the infield.”

In the bottom of the sixth — the final inning — there were two outs and a runner on third. Then three balls and two strikes accrued. Suspense played out with a foul ball. The moment of truth arrived with another grounder and it all looked so routine as the throw beat the runner to first.

Such a conclusion only made sense for the team, but worried Downtown parents hung onto to each moment from the center field fence until the final out was called.

“I’m excited, but nervous,” Craig Boyce, father of outfielder Maddie Boyce, said prior to the city championship game. “Seeing them work so hard for this [and] practice everyday so they deserve it if they get this.”

Downtown Express photo by Zach Williams

Downtown Little League pitcher Jamie Morrison celebrated July 20 after throwing to Anabella Pelaez (who wore a mask at first) for the final putout putting the team in the state tournament.

Trinity Preschool New location opening in the fall The Trinity Preschool has provided excellent childcare for the Lower Manhattan community for more than 30 years. We are proud to announce the school’s new location at 50 Park Place between Church Street and West Broadway. The preschool offers a full-day program (from 8am to 6pm), year round, for children ages 3 months to 5 years. Part time enrollment for 3- or 2-days a week is subject to availability.

Schedule a tour: 212.602.0829 DowntownExpress.com

July 31-August 13, 2014

11

On sleepy Sullivan St., noise riles residents

BY SER G E I KL E B N I KO V On a quiet Soho block, concerned neighbors have mobilized to prevent a noisy restaurant from expanding to a nearby bakery and acquiring a liquor license for the new location.

Six months ago, Matt Abramcyk, a previous owner of the infamous Beatrice Inn, and partner Akiva Elstein took over Jean Claude, a small bistro on Sullivan St., and renamed it Navy.

They opened the place as a 51-seat seafood restaurant and bar, in a follow-up of their Smith & Mills restaurant in Tribeca. The new owners made interior changes, sprucing up and modernizing the place.

However, in the spring, Navy opened up its French windows and doors, and blared loud music — immediately aggravating neighbors. In addition to the noise, neighbors were incensed at the increased number of people loitering and smoking outside on the block — especially at night.

“It really got the neighbors angry,” said Sean Sweeney, director of the

Soho Alliance.

He went on to describe Abramcyk’s involvement with Beatrice Inn, which the Soho activist described as a “very controversial place.”

The W. 10th St. nightspot shut down in 2009, after three years of operation.

One of the people supporting the Sullivan St. neighbors is actually from the West Village, which is unusual, Sweeney noted. The resident used to live across the street from the Beatrice Inn, and having endured that experience, reportedly “doesn’t want it to happen to anyone else,” according to Sweeney.

Meanwhile, a neighbor whose apartment is across from Navy described it as a “nightlife kind of place that is impossible for residents to live with.”

The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said the restaurant’s loud music and patrons wake her up every night.

Despite tense relations between Navy and Sullivan St. residents, the restaurant partners are now trying to

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July 31-August 13, 2014

Downtown Express photo by Tequila Minsky

After more than 20 years doing business on Sullivan St., Jerome Audureau now hopes to sell his Once Upon a Tart store to the operators of Navy, allowing them to expand their new Soho hot spot.

expand. They are looking to buy an adjacent bakery and cafe, Once Upon a Tart, a neighborhood-friendly and beloved establishment that has been on the street for more than 20 years.

Meanwhile, the pastry shop’s longtime owner, Jerome Audureau, is looking to get out.

Audureau has reportedly said he is “exhausted” with keeping the business running, in particular citing the soaring rent, which has ballooned from $2,000 a month when he first opened the business to $20,000 today.

“I cannot deal with expenses anymore — it’s the economy,” he told Downtown Express. The store was his “ultimate dream,” so after being in business for so long, Audureau described it as a “sad situation” that he had to leave.

“Everyone loves the Frenchman Jerome,” said Sweeney, who called the bakery “Soho’s answer to Starbucks.”

But it’s a fact that, as elsewhere Downtown, powerful forces have mom-and-pop stores in their crosshairs.

“We wish commercial establishments weren’t driving out neighborhood businesses, but they are,” said Micki McGee, of the South Village Neighbors.

Audureau was reportedly offered a large sum of money from Navy’s Abramcyk for the space. But the pastry store owner said he could not disclose

any financial information, except that he would be using most of the cash to pay off his rent arrears.

“It’s a rescue transaction,” he said, explaining that during the six months the space had been on the market, Abramcyk was the only one to make an offer.

“He’s going to carry on the spirit of the bakery,” Audureau said, “otherwise it’s going to disappear.”

However, Abramcyk needs a liquor license — which would allow him to double revenue by serving drinks, said Audureau, who supported Abramcyk’s application to the State Liquor Authority.

Once Upon a Tart includes two storefronts: a retail bakery to the north, and a cafe to the south. Abramcyk reportedly plans to keep the bakery open until 6 p.m. or 7 p.m., then close the space for private parties. The cafe is planned to open as a separate restaurant, open until midnight, with a bar.

“Everyone loves Jerome, but eventually it’s not going to be the same,” said the resident living across from Navy.

“But what can we do?”

The sale of Once Upon a Tart was set for last month. But because of opposition to the liquor license application from neighbors, it has been postponed for several months. Audureau said he wished the community could come to Continued on page 13

DowntownExpress.com

an agreement with Abramcyk.

“They all love me,” he said, “but they need to understand what is crucial right now.”

Sweeney said that losing the bakery would undoubtedly “alter the character of the block.”

“It’s a good strategy [for Navy] to incorporate a beloved neighborhood institution as a Trojan horse to introduce a new party venue,” he said.

On Tues., July 1, 35 local residents attended a meeting hosted by the Soho Alliance on the issue of Abramcyk’s expansion plan. As a grassroots organization, Sweeney said, the group takes its directions from residents.

“The overwhelming opposition was clear” to the expansion plan, he said, so the Soho Alliance took a position on the issue.

After the meeting, the neighbors began gathering information on the previous situation at Beatrice Inn and also prepared a map showing all the restaurants in the Sullivan St. area — “a clear case of liquor oversaturation,”

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as Sweeney put it.

Beatrice Inn, where Paul Sevigny would deejay, though a small venue, was a huge hot spot for fashionistas and the party crowd. But the location — in the middle of a quiet residential neighborhood, similar to Sullivan St. — proved the club’s undoing, that plus the lack of an adequate fire exit.

A week after the Soho Alliance meeting, on July 8, possibly in response to the growing and organized opposition, Abramcyk reportedly withdrew his liquor-license application at the last minute from the agenda of the Community Board 2 S.L.A. Committee meeting. Nevertheless, “everybody on the street” still showed up at the meeting, according to a resident. The opponents — about three-quarters of the people in the room — stayed to express their frustration with the situation on Sullivan St., even after it was announced that the item had been pulled from the meeting agenda.

At its full board meeting on Thurs., July 24, C.B. 2 voted to recommend that the S.L.A. not modify the existing beer-and-wine license at the 135

community FRIDAY, AUGUST 8, 6:30pm Hour Children Concert Children ages 4-12 will perform a mix of gospel, contemporary, and classical music, (and maybe some rap!), in this concert that wraps up a week-long music camp for the summer program at Hour Children, an organization in Long Island City. Hour Children provides supportive services and an opportunity for new lives to formerly incarcerated women and their families.

Charlotte’s Place WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6 & 13, 12pm Public Art: Summer Ribbon Project During the 10th Anniversary of 9/11, hundreds of people tied white “Remember to Love” ribbons to the fence at St. Paul’s with personal messages of remembrance and love. Trinity donated these ribbons to Muriel Stockdale (the artist behind the Charlotte’s Place flag collection) and she will be sharing the creation of this project all summer.

Charlotte’s Place FRIDAY, AUGUST 15, 6pm Family Friday Pizza and Movie Night Relax with your kids and meet other downtown families for free pizza, children’s movies, and community. All families with young children are welcome.

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Sullivan St. location, until the applicant has appeared before C.B. 2. The C.B. 2 S.L.A. Committee’s resolution, which was approved by the full board, noted that 25 neighbors had shown up at its July 8 meeting to voice their opposition to the application.

Abramcyk reportedly claimed that he wanted to wait a few months to try and show neighbors that he could “rehabilitate Navy,” according to Sweeney.

“All the new liquor licenses will tip the balance of the block from residential to commercial,” the Soho leader stated. “And the Soho Alliance is worried that the sleepy block will turn into another restaurant row.”

A key issue in this case is the 500foot law, which states that if three or more existing liquor-licensed businesses are within 500 feet of each other, the applicant must prove that granting a new license within this area is in the “public interest.”

“We don’t have a public interest in more licenses,” McGee declared.

“It’s not serving the public good. This license is part of an overall hyper-gen-

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trification of our neighborhood that takes away from the voices of neighbors and small businesses.”

Added Sweeney, “Serving good food on its own does not constitute serving the public interest.” He said he thinks Navy faces “an uphill battle.”

“The Sullivan St. neighbors are some of the most organized I’ve worked with,” Sweeney said. “They intend to hire lawyers to fight this.”

According to McGee, however, Navy has reportedly “revised its behavior in past weeks,” even to the point that a future compromise may be possible.

“Past businesses have addressed neighborhood concerns,” she said.

“Hopefully, Navy will do the same.”

A spokesperson said Navy owners Abramcyk and Elstein declined to comment for this article.

On another front, S.V.N. is also challenging the legality of the development rights sale from the God’s Love We Deliver site, at Sixth Ave. and Spring St., to the new One Vandam luxury project just to its north.

worship SUNDAY, 8am & 10am St. Paul’s Chapel · Holy Eucharist 8pm · Compline by Candlelight SUNDAY, 9am & 11:15am Trinity Church · Preaching, music, and Eucharist · Child care available MONDAY—FRIDAY, 12:05pm Trinity Church · Holy Eucharist MONDAY—FRIDAY, 5:15pm All Saints’ Chapel, in Trinity Church Evening Prayer Watch online webcast

SUNDAY, AUGUST 3 & 10, 10am The Gospel, Times, Journal, and You A discussion group that reads the editorial pages of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the assigned Gospel for the day. Led by the Rev. Mark Bozzuti-Jones.

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Leah Reddy

Continued from page 12

July 31-August 13, 2014

13

TRANSIT SAM ALTERNATE SIDE PARKING RULES ARE IN EFFECT ALL WEEK The Dept. of Transportation’s Summer Streets program will close Centre St. between the Brooklyn Bridge and Foley Square, and Lafayette St. between Foley Square and Astor Pl. (and Park Ave. all the way up to E 72nd St.) 6 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday. Manhattan-bound traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge will take the F.D.R. Drive or the Park Row South exit. The following crosstown streets will remain open to cars: Chambers, Reade, Worth, Canal, Broome, and Houston Sts. Warning: Cars will be towed from Centre, Lafayette, and Park starting at 11 p.m. Friday night. This event will repeat the next two Saturdays, Aug. 9 and 16.

On the Brooklyn Bridge, all Manhattan-bound lanes will close 11 p.m. Thursday to 6 a.m. Friday, midnight Friday to 7 a.m. Saturday, and 11 p.m. to 6

a.m. Monday through Wednesday nights.

Drivers will instead take the Battery Tunnel and Manhattan Bridge, making for slowdowns on West St. and Canal St., respectively.

In the Lincoln Tunnel, the New York-bound tube will close midnight Friday night to 8 a.m. Saturday morning.

This will send Manhattan-bound traffic down to the Holland Tunnel.

In the Holland Tunnel, one New York-bound lane will close 11 p.m.

Thursday to 5 a.m. Friday, slowing inbound traffic. Expect delays into Canal St. The Summer Seaport Festival will close Water St. between Broad and Fulton Sts. 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday.

The Waverly Place Festival will close Washington Square North between University Pl. and Sixth Ave. 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday.

On West St./Route 9A, one lane will close in each direction between West Thames and Vesey Sts. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Thursday and Friday. Two northbound moveable lane closures will take place between Vesey and West 59th Sts. 10 p.m. Thursday to 6 a.m. Friday.

Brooklyn-bound F trains run via the A line between West 4th St. and Jay St.MetroTech 11:45 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m.

Monday. That means no Downtown F

service at Broadway-Lafayette, 2nd Ave., Delancey St, or East Broadway. Take the D to Broadway-Lafayette, and take the Queens-bound F back from Jay St. for the other stations.

Readers: send your traffic and parking questions to Transit Sam by email:transitsam@downtownexpress. com, or snail mail: 322 Eighth Avenue 5th Floor, New York, NY 10001.

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July 31-August 13, 2014

DowntownExpress.com

Petrosino plaintiffs roll out CitiBike-site appeal

BY LINCOLN ANDERSON

The CitiBike battle of Petrosino Square is up and rolling once again.

Opponents of siting a bike-share station in the Soho park recently filed an appeal in the State Supreme Court Appellate Division.

Last October, State Supreme Court Justice Cynthia Kern, ruled against the plaintiffs, writing in her decision, “Bicycling is an important form of recreation that has had a proper ‘park purpose’ for many years. The infrastructure to support bicycling, such as bike paths, bicycle racks and rest stations, are common incidents in parks.”

The plaintiffs in the appeal, filed on July 7, include the Friends of Petrosino Square; Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino Lodge No. 285 of the Sons of Italy in America; the Soho Alliance; Minerva Durham, of Spring Studio Life Drawing; the Chinatown Civic Association; the Noho Neighborhood Association, and former Councilmember Alan Gerson.

The suit is lodged against the city’s Parks and Transportation departments, including former

Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan.

It’s known as an Article 78 lawsuit, meaning it’s a challenge of a city governmental action — in this case, the decision to site a station for the phenomenally popular CitiBike program on the small park triangle.

The appeal contends it was wrong to have located the bike-share docks in the square, which is a “small, but treasured park” and “a park of vital importance to the local community.”

Responding to Kern’s ruling, the appeal counters that the bike kiosk does not “serve a valid park purpose,” adding that CitiBike is a transportation — not a recreational — program, since it’s based on the premise of short trips of a half hour or 45 minutes.

“...[P]etitioners respectfully request that this court reverse the trial court’s denial...of the petition and compel respondents to remove the bike-share kiosk from Petrosino Square Park,” the appeal concludes.

The opponents’ attorney is Jim Walden of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.

Downtown Express file photo

Anti-CitiBike signs outside Petrosino Square last year.

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DowntownExpress.com

July 31-August 13, 2014

15

Letters WILLIAM UNSAFE AT ANY SPEED To The Editor: Re “Pace students find traffic problems on William St.” (News article, July 17 – July 30): Hooray and thanks to the Pace students for pointing out to D.O.T. and the powers that be the serious traffic and pedestrian problems on William St. They have saved me the trouble of writing to the D.O.T. and Councilmember Margaret Chin, who lives as I do on Hanover Square.

I walk up William St. from my home to the Wall St. subway or further for shopping at 40 Wall St. and John St. The white lines indicating pedestrian crosswalks are almost obliterated, the stop signs in large white letters barely visible. Confusion reigns.

Cars either don’t know or don’t want to stop at the various intersections on William St. When a pedestrian steps out it is their turn to cross, not the cars’. The many tourists who increasingly visit this area often do not know whose turn it is and so the cars and taxis and trucks and bikes keep rolling along.

William St. is too narrow for truck traffic or parking. This should be forbidden. And while we are at it, how about cleaning up and repairing the sidewalks? Broken cement slabs and missing tiles at the edge of pedestrian crossings are cracked and missing. They are dangerous!

I hope that Community Board 1 and Councilmember Chin will join me and the students from Pace University in the urgent repairs that are needed on William St.

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PREDICTABLE MEMORIAL PROBLEMS To The Editor: In May of ‘08 in a letter (June 6 – June 12, 2008) to the Downtown Express I wrote that the World Trade Center memorial voids would require a fence around them to keep some kid from tumbling in.

In public forums held in December of ‘03 (many participants were Downtown residents) all eight final memorial designs were rejected in part due to “maintenance” issues.

Now Community Board 1, elected officials and Downtown residents protest the memorial shutting down eight acres of Downtown starting 9 p.m. every evening. A time that will only get earlier as the days get shorter.

This is in addition for the memorial being most famous for inspiring visitors to sit and clean on the names and pose for happy selfies.

The memorial had two main tasks: commemorate September 11 and merge seamlessly into the neighborhood.

It’s failed on both.

Michael Burke

HOT ISSUE, HOT PAPERS Re: “Southbridge Towers: Should we privatize? Yes or No” (Talking Points, June 19 – July 2): To The Editor: We have an unprecedented situa-

tion at Southbridge Towers. There are many who want the co-op to leave the Mitchell-Lama program and become a private co-op. The problem is the regulations on asbestos for buyers of privatized stock states that it is an impediment to buyers getting a mortgage (co-op buyer loan).

The board has not shown in the reconstitution plan “Black Book” that our shares of stock will be acceptable by lending institutions as collateral. This means little or no flip tax income which is the heart of the whole problem.

The entire reconstitution is dependent on much additional income which will be needed to cover the high property tax, which will occur when or if the co-op becomes private. Several trial attempts to get a buyer loan “mortgage,” giving all necessary facts and figures about S.B.T., have been rejected.

In addition there is the problem of the “Real Property Transfer Tax.” This will depend on the decision of the city’s appeal on the Trump 3&4 co-op case. If Southbridge privatizes before a decision at Trump, S.B.T. will have to pay the $28 million tax. If the decision is in favor of the city, the $28 million is gone.

If the decision is made in favor of Trump 3&4 after a possible privatization, the $28 million will be returned.

The privatization pundits call the above “fear mongering.” What do you think? If this column gets printed, many copies of the Downtown Express will be stolen from the buildings. I wonder why.

Steve Seifer

Posted To “SEAPORT TOWER’S POWER: SURPRISING SUPPORT”

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16

(POSTED, JULY 17)

The answer is to transfer whatever development rights there might be in the area where the New Market Building now stands to a site away from the Brooklyn Bridge and the shoreline. Folks come to NYC to see wonders like the Brooklyn Bridge, and that vista is a key money maker for the South Street Seaport District. Visitors do not come downtown seeking a stack of condos and hotel rooms that will block views of the Bridge, the East River and Brooklyn.

Transfer the development nearby onshore and build there: that will create the same construction jobs, and the same income stream that HHC says it needs. It will also preserve the essential character of the Seaport: low rise, with the East River

July 31-August 13, 2014

present, visible and accessible.

Downtowner

Downtowner, that is much easier said than done. Exactly where do these development rights get transferred to???? Much of the area IS a historic district and is off limits.

There are precious few other sites available outside of that area and HHC doesn’t own so you would need a third party to come in that needs to add FAR to their site but who is going to do that? You can pretty much build very tall towers just about anywhere else in FiDi so what would they need to buy rights from the Seaport? And no one is going to pay $100MM+ for those rights. NOBODY and that is how much it is estimated to cost to rebuild the pier and reconstruct the Tin Building. I say build the tower but get conces-

sions from HHC to ensure the survival of the Seaport Museum, get community space, get someway to dedicate money for a new school in the area, etc. This is what the area most desperately needs.

DTNYC

That is a red herring, that old saw about paying to repair the piers, nonsense. Howard Hughes just wants to make a huge profit; they have no interest in repairing piers.

And their idea of putting fake grass over the authentic cobble stones and blasting rock music all over the neighborhood is tacky and off putting, and ruining the quality of life for the neighbors, The local restaurants need the business. Send the food trucks away. jfparker14 DowntownExpress.com

Downtown Express photos by Jefferson Siegel

Anti-Israeli protesters come Downtown On Thursday evening, July 24, several hundred people including many Jews gathered in Foley Square for an anti-Israeli rally.

The names of over 100 children killed in Gaza were read aloud as

several people stretched out a long tape bearing the names and ages of the dead.

The rally was organized by Adalah-NY and called for, “an end to the U.S. government’s and New

York City elected officials’ support for Israel’s current massacre in Gaza, and Israel’s ongoing occupation and colonization of Palestine,” according to a release by the group.

Israel and its supporters say

the responsibility for the deaths on both sides rests squarely on Hamas, which has hidden weapons in schools, and has continued to target rockets at civilian areas in Israel.

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17

Activities

EVENTS DOWNTOWN JULY 31-AUGUST 13 THURSDAY, JULY 31

FRIDAY, AUGUST 1

HUDSON RIVER PARK Pier 25 at North Moore, hudson r ive r pa rk .org /eve nt s /r iver-rangers-2014 River Rangers: Hudson River Park offers budding scientists an opportunity to learn more about the great outdoors. Hudson River Park’s env ironmental educators bring the opportunity to observe and explore through discovery-based science experiments and nature-inspired crafts. Hands-on learning and play activities for kids will vary from week to week and will include touch tanks, puzzles, science experiments and much more!

Ages 3 – 9 | Free | 10 – 11:30 a.m.

FIDI FAMILIES South Street Seaport Summer Stage Fulton Street, FiDiFamilies.com Summer Fridays with FiDi Families Every Friday in July and August, FiDi Families will present a fun, family-friendly activity and/or musical performance at the South Street Seaport Summer Stage.

All ages | Free | 10:00 a.m.

EVERY THURSDAY UNTIL 8/28

BATTERY PARK CITY PARKS CONSERVANCY 212-267-9700, bpcparks.org Preschool Art: Come learn art with paper, clay, wood, and paint.

Ages 4 and under | Free, drop in | Nelson A. Rockefeller Park | 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.

EVERY THURSDAY UNTIL 10/30

Art & Games: Age 5+ | Free, drop in | Nelson A. Rockefeller Park | 3:30 – 5:30 p.m.

NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BATTERY PARK CITY BRANCH 175 North End Ave, 212-790-3499, ny pl.org / lo c at ion s / bat ter y-pa rkcity Baby Laptime for Pre-Walkers : Enjoy simple stories, lively songs and rhymes, and meet other babies in the neighborhood.

Limited to 25 babies and their caregivers; first-come first-served.

Ages 0-18 months | Free | 11:30 a.m.

EVERY THURSDAY AT 11:30

Bilingual birdies: Children | Free | 3:30 p.m.

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July 31-August 13, 2014

RIVERFLICKS FAMILY FRIDAYS Pier 46 in Greenwich Village, hudsonriverpark.org/events/series/ riverflicks-family-fridays This outdoor Movie Series features family oriented movies suitable for all ages.

Films are rated PG | All ages | Free | 8:30 p.m.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 2 SUMMER STREETS Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park, along Park Avenue and connecting streets, New York NY nyc.gov/ html /dot/summerstreets / html/route/route.shtml Summer Streets Route: With nearly 7 miles of open streets, 5 rest stops and a seven-block-long art installation in the Park Avenue Tunnel – there is plenty to explore at Summer Streets All ages | Free | 7 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Projects will range in difficulty from low tech to high tech. Investigate WHY and HOW things work!

All ages | Free | 10 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

BIG CITY FISHING Pier 25, hudsonriverpark.org/events/series/ big-city-fishing The rods, reels, bait and instruction will be provided. Beyond teaching fishing, the program also provides participants with a first-hand opportunity to learn about river ecology and the many fish species that can be found in the river.

5+ | Free | 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

EVERY SUNDAY THROUGH 9/28

MONDAY, AUGUST 4 NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BATTERY PARK CITY BRANCH 175 North End Ave, 212-790-3499, nypl.org/locations/battery-park-city Baby Laptime for Pre-Walkers: Enjoy simple stories, lively songs and rhymes, and meet other babies in the neighborhood.

Limited to 25 babies and their caregivers; first-come first-served. | Ages 0-18 months | Free | 9:30 a.m.

EVERY MONDAY AT 9:30 A.M.

Toddler Story Time: A librarian will share lively picture books, finger plays, and action songs with toddlers and their caregivers.

Ages 18 – 36 months | Free | 4 p.m.

EVERY MONDAY AT 4:00 P.M.

BATTERY PARK CITY PARKS CONSERVANCY 212-267-9700, bpcparks.org Preschool Play: Interactive play on the lawn. Toys, books, and play equipment provided.

Ages 4 and under | Free | Drop in | Wagner Park | 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.

EVERY MONDAY

SUNDAY, AUGUST 3 HUDSON RIVER PARK Pier 25, hudsonriverpark.org/events/series/ pop-up-maker-space Pop up maker space: Guided maker workshops challenge participants to design and construct projects inspired by both innovative technologies and traditional crafts. Participants will learn from and collaborate with each other while working together to find solutions to real-world challenges.

fishing, the program also provides participants with a first-hand opportunity to learn about river ecology and the many fish species that can be found in the river.

5+ | Free | 5:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m.

EVERY MONDAY THROUGH 8/25

TUESDAY, AUGUST 5 NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BATTERY PARK CITY BRANCH 175 North End Ave, 212-790-3499, nypl.org/locations/battery-park-city Baby Laptime for Pre-Walkers: Enjoy simple stories, lively songs and rhymes, and meet other babies in the neighborhood. Limited to 25 babies and their caregivers | Free, firstcome first-served | Ages 0-18 months | 11:30 a.m.

EVERY TUESDAY AT 11:30 A.M.

Picture Book Time: A librarian will read classic stories and new picture books.

All ages. | Free | 4 p.m.

EVERY TUESDAY AT 4 P.M.

BATTERY PARK CITY PARKS CONSERVANCY 212-267-9700, bpcparks.org Preschool Play: Interactive play on the lawn. Toys, books, and play equipment provided.

Ages 4 and under, Free, Drop in | Wagner Park | 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Soccer for Preschoolers and Elementary Schoolers: Have fun passing, shooting & dribbling! Parks programming leaders facilitate the fun. Everybody plays! Closed-toe shoes required.

Free, Drop in | Nelson A. Rockefeller Park 2:30 – 3:15 p.m., 3-4 year olds 3:30 – 4:15 p.m., 5 to 7 year olds 4:30 – 5:30 p.m., 8 to 11 year olds EVERY TUESDAY THROUGH 10/28

Children’s Basketball: Adjustable height hoops and fun drills to improve skills. Close-toed shoes required.

Ages 5 – 6 | Free, Drop in | Rockefeller Park | 3:30 – 4:30 PM, 5-6 year olds, 4:30 – 5:30 PM, 7 & older EVERY MONDAY UNTIL 10/27

BIG CITY FISHING Pier 25, hudsonriverpark.org/events/series/ big-city-fishing The rods, reels, bait and instruction will be provided. Beyond teaching

BIG CITY FISHING Pier 25, hudsonriverpark.org/events/series/ big-city-fishing The rods, reels, bait and instruction will be provided. Beyond teaching fishing, the program also provides participants with a first-hand opportunity to learn about river ecology and the many fish species that can be found in the river.

5+ | Free | 1:00pm - 4:00pm EVERY TUESDAY THROUGH 8/26 DowntownExpress.com

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6 NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BATTERY PARK CITY BRANCH 175 North End Ave, 212-790-3499, nypl.org/locations/battery-park-city Toddler Story Time: A librarian will share lively picture books, finger plays, and action songs with toddlers and their caregivers.

Ages 18-36 months | Free | 10:30 a.m.

EVERY WEDNESDAY AT 10:30 A.M.

SEE CHANGE Front/Row Stage, southstreetseaport.com/events/# Wednesdays with Bilingual Birdies: Every Wednesday this summer, join Bilingual Birdies at the Seaport.

Bilingual Birdies is a foreign language program for kids that will teach Mandarin (August) through live music, movement, dance, puppetry, and theatre-based games.

Free | 1:30pm and 2:30pm BATTERY PARK CITY PARKS CONSERVANCY Wagner Park, 212-267-9700, bpcparks.org Preschool Play: Interactive play on the lawn. Toys, books, and play equipment provided.

Ages 4 and under | Free, Drop in | Wagner Park | 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Wednesdays at Teardrop: Come enjoy lawn games and art projects. Art supplies provided.

Ages 5 and up | Free, Drop in | Teardrop Park | 3:30 – 5:30 p.m.

EVERY WEDNESDAY UNTIL 10/29

Drop-in Chess: Play chess and get pointers from an expert.

Ages 5 – 15 | Free, Drop in | Rockefeller Park | 3:30 p.m – 5 p.m.

EVERY WEDNESDAY UNTIL 10/24

SUMMER FILM SERIES FEATURING THE WORK OF STEVEN SPIELBERG Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place, mjhnyc.org/spielberg/ Tickets will be available at the box office on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 4 P.M. on the day of each screening.

Free, suggested donation | 6:30 p.m.

Photo courtesy of The New York Public Library

Toddler Story Time at the Battery Park City Library branch

SCREENINGS South Street Seaport, southstreetseaport.com/events/ Outdoor movie screenings at the Seaport all summer long. | 8:00pm EVERY WEDNESDAY THROUGH 8/27

THURSDAY, AUGUST 7 HUDSON RIVER PARK River Rangers: See July 31 NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BATTERY PARK CITY BRANCH Baby Laptime for Pre-Walkers and Bilingual Birdies: See July 31 BATTERY PARK CITY PARKS CONSERVANCY Preschool Art and Art & Games: See July 31

FRIDAY, AUGUST 8 FIDI FAMILIES Summer Fridays with FiDi Families See August 1 RIVERFLICKS FAMILY FRIDAYS See August 1

EVERY WEDNESDAY THROUGH 8/18

SEE CHANGE/NY FAMILY FILM DowntownExpress.com

BIG CITY FISHING See August 3

MONDAY, AUGUST 11

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13

NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BATTERY PARK CITY BRANCH Baby Laptime for Pre-Walkers and Toddler Story Time See August 4

NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BATTERY PARK CITY BRANCH Toddler Story Time and Science Club: see August 6

BATTERY PARK CITY PARKS CONSERVANCY Preschool Play and Children’s Basketball: See August 4 BIG CITY FISHING See August 4

TUESDAY, AUGUST 12 NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BATTERY PARK CITY BRANCH Baby Laptime for Pre-Walkers Teen Advisory Group and Picture Book Time: See August 5 BATTERY PARK CITY PARKS CONSERVANCY Preschool Play and Soccer for Preschoolers and Elementary Schoolers: See August 5 BIG CITY FISHING See August 5

SEE CHANGE Wednesdays with Bilingual Birdies: See August 6 BATTERY PARK CITY PARKS CONSERVANCY Preschool Play and Wednesdays at Teardrop and Drop-in Chess: See August 6 SUMMER FILM SERIES FEATURING THE WORK OF STEVEN SPIELBERG: See August 6

SEE CHANGE/NY FAMILY FILM SCREENINGS: See August 6

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July 31-August 13, 2014

19

Pitch-Perfect Preston

Attic Theater Company hits the notes and fills them with joy THEATER STRICTLY DISHONORABLE Written by Preston Sturges Directed by Laura Braza Presented by the Attic Theater Company Through August 10 Tues.–Sun. at 7 p.m. | Sat. at 2 p.m.

At The Flea Theater 41 White St. (btw. Broadway & Church) For Tickets ($25), theattictheaterco.com

BY TRAV S.D. (travsd.wordpress.com) It’s interesting to speculate what the history of American theatre would have been if the movie industry in Hollywood had not come along to lure away some of its best talents.

A primary case in point is writer-director-producer Preston Sturges, best known today for his unprecedented (and never repeated) run of stunningly brilliant screwball comedies, encompassing “The Great McGinty” (1940), “Christmas in July” (1940), “The Lady Eve” (1941), “Sullivan’s Travels” (1941), “The Palm Beach Story” (1942), “The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek” (1944) and “Hail, the Conquering Hero” (1944).

Sturges had begun as a Broadway playwright whose early success was so impressive he was whisked to the west coast almost from the start, spending a decade as one of the industry’s most prolific and reliable screenwriters before being allowed to sit in the director’s chair. His most notable screenwriting effort from this early phase was 1933’s “The Power and the Glory.” said to have been a major influence on Orson Welles’ “Citizen Kane.”

But the script that started it all

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July 31-August 13, 2014

Photo by Leah Caddigan

L to R: Nick Ritacco, John Robert Tillotson, Thomas Christopher Matthews, Keilly McQuail and Ryan Trout.

was Sturges’ second play, “Strictly Dishonorable” — which ran on Broadway for 16 months (1929-1931) and was adapted into a 1931 movie starring Paul Lukas and Sidney Fox (and again, in 1951, with Ezio Pinza and Janet Leigh.

Reportedly written in only six days, “Strictly Dishonorable” possesses all the themes in embryo we would later associate with Sturges’ classics: sexual danger, class tension, sympathy for the “little guy” and a hero who is living a lie. Further, it is populated with a range of comedy types we recognize from his later work: a comical Italian bartender, an Irish cop, a crooked judge, an uptight WASP and a girl who is in the mood for love. The latter is at the center of “Strictly Dishonorable.”

An impoverished Mississippi debutante wanders into a New York speak-

easy one night with her controlling, asinine fiancé. There, she falls in love with a famous opera singer (a habitual seducer), breaks up with her boyfriend, and agrees to spend the night on the singer’s couch. The big question on everyone’s minds: “Will she or won’t she [have sex]?” In 1931, sex out of wedlock was almost universally frowned upon, at least officially. To live “in sin” could mean a woman’s downfall. Sturges’ script is a rich mix of French farce, with an Ibsen/Shaw style problem play, and (in the first act) the kind of “saloon theatre” we associate with O’Neill and Saroyan.

The Attic Theater Company’s pitch-perfect production of “Strictly Dishonorable” (now playing at The Flea through August 10) manages to hit all the play’s diverse notes and fill it with joy and life besides. Director Laura Braza

not only comprehends the play’s themes, but in practice proves that she understands one of Sturges’ primary geniuses: the undeniable fact that in theatre (and radio, television and film), casting is everything.

As Isabelle, the wayward Belle, Keilly McQuail is an absolute find, surfing the comedy to be found in Sturges’ lines like the biggest of Big Kahunas. Her mastery of comic timing is riveting. It’s a quality we normally associate with more seasoned, older actors. Her skills could keep McQuail working for decades. By contrast, Michael Labbadia (as the opera singer) gives a performance that is as much about heart as it is about craft, putting us in direct touch with the romantic elements of Sturges’ vision.

This is a script that comes within a Continued on page 21

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‘Dishonorable’ transfixes Continued from page 20

hair’s breadth of tragedy, and Labbadia’s performance is the element that keeps us in mind of that fact. As the loveable, meddling Judge Dempsey, John Robert Tillotson could be straight from a Sturges film himself. On the other hand, Thomas Christopher Matthews, in the thankless role as the weaselly, unlikable fiancé, seems less like a Sturges actor than, say, Rob Lowe in the Peter Bogdonovich Sturges tribute “Illegally Yours.” (While the performances in this show were uniformly first-rate, Matthews and some of the other younger actors in the cast need to get over to the barber shop, tout suite. Show up to the stock exchange or the station house in 1931 with hair halfway down your neck, or, for pity’s sake, a beard, gang, and you would cause an absolute commotion — or at the very least, an eruption of ridicule.)

Overall, this ensemble is riveting to watch, and it’s at the level of playing we embrace this production the most. Yet as moving as Labbadia is towards the

end of the play, I do think he and director Braza have missed a major aspect of the earlier beats. Count Ruvo is a Casanova, an “operator.” He has designs on Isabelle’s “virtue,” and therein lies the play’s arc — as his love for the girl is so great, he makes the epic journey all the way to gentlemanliness. We need to see the devil in him before he becomes an angel. But this is the kind of thing that occurs to one on the way home from the theatre. While you’re there, you’ll simply be transfixed by the world made

by Sturges, Braza and her cast.

Trav S.D. has been producing the American Vaudeville Theatre since 1995, and periodically trots it out in new incarnations. Stay in the loop at travsd.wordpress.com, and also catch up with him on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, et al. His books include “No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous” and “Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and its Legacies from Nickelodeons to YouTube.”

Photo by Leah Caddigan

Keilly McQuail (as Isabelle) has a mastery of comic timing, while the performance of Michael Labbadia (as the opera singer) is as much about heart as it is about craft.

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July 31-August 13, 2014

21

Just Do Art

BY SCOTT STIFFLER

NEW DIRECTIONS IN SOLO PIANO LUNCHTIME CONCERT SERIES The future of solo piano performance is now — or at least it will be, for four days in August. That’s when the New Directions series will present free lunchtime concerts dedicated to charting new frontiers in virtuosity. The Aug. 18 and 19 performances feature two young NYC-based Cuban pianists: Grammy Award nominees Elio Villafranca and Manuel Valera. The following two concerts welcome world-renowned performers Vadim Neselovskyi and Laszlo Gardony, who will interpret New York jazz through their perspectives as master improvisers and observers of American piano culture.

This series is presented by Arts Brookfield — which, now through December, will celebrate its 25th Anniversary by offering the public the chance to have their artwork displayed at

Courtesy Arts Brookfield

Elio Villafranca is the first man in front of 88 keys, at the New Directions in Solo Piano lunchtime concert series (Aug. 18-21).

Brookfield’s office properties around the globe. For info on how to participate, visit artsbrookfield25.com. It’s the digital home of their “Art Set Free” program, and the possible future host of your own artistic contribution.

Free. From 12:30–1:30 p.m. daily, Mon, Aug. 18 through Thurs., Aug. 21.

At Arts Brookfield (in the lobby of One Liberty Plaza, at 165 Broadway). For more information on the New Directions Solo Piano series, visit artsbrookfield.com/ event/newdirections.

Buhmann on Art

BY Stephanie Buhmann (stephaniebuhmann.com)

THE INTUITIONISTS This collaborative artist project was inspired by Colson Whitehead’s 1999 fiction novel of the same name, which explores the relationships between progress, technology and difference.

Pondering how the collection, the database, and the aggregate serve as complementary models for the organization of information and objects in flux, artists Heather Hart, Steffani Jemison and Jina Valentine have invited over 60 members of the Drawing Center’s substantial Viewing Courtesy of Aucocisco Gallery Program — which has offered emerging artists Kenny Cole: “MDNJPN” | the opportunity to include their work in a curated 2014 | Gouache on paper Artist Registry since 1977 — to submit artworks | 8 1/2 x 7 inches (21.6 x specifically responding to a word or phrase from 17.8 cm).

Whitehead’s novel.

In addition, each item in the exhibition is hung according to the sequence determined by Whitehead’s text. Meanwhile, the Lab gallery features collaboration by Hart, Jemison and Valentine, inspired by a paragraph from the novel, using its words and letters to form an interpretive drawing.

Through Aug. 24, at The Drawing Center (35 Wooster St., btw. Broome & Grand Sts.). Hours: Wed., Fri.–Sun., 12 p.m.–6 p.m., Thurs. 12 p.m.–8 p.m. Price: Adults, $5, Students & Seniors, $3, Kids under 12, Free. Free 6–8 p.m. Thurs. Call 212-219-2166 or visit drawingcenter.org. The Drawing Center is wheelchair accessible.

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July 31-August 13, 2014

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July 31-August 13, 2014

23

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