Chelsea Now

YOUR WEEKLY COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER SERVING CHELSEA, HUDSON YARDS & HELL’S KITCHEN

Little Prairie on the High Line

Photo by Daniel Kwak

BY DUSICA SUE MALESEVIC For the Chelsea Grasslands — a section of the High Line between W. 18th and W. 20th Sts. — the most wonderful time of the year has arrived.

Throughout September, events, tours, family programming, food, and a panel discussion will celebrate this singular section of the elevated park that evokes wild prairies.

“We wanted to do something a bit differently,” said Andi Pettis, director of horticulture at Friends of the High Line, about the month-long celebration. “This garden, in particular, was designed for early fall. It’s really at its most beautiful.”

Pettis said the grasslands “looks like a whole different world” in September and October with brown, mauve, gold and tawny tones contrasting the green lushness of June.

GRASSLANDS continued on p. 12

NOT SO SECRET CINEMA See page 17 for fall’s best from four essential venues.

Photo by Daniel Kwak

The Walk of Remembrance approaches W. 19th St., led by a vintage fire engine.

SOMBER BUT NOT SAD Walk of Remembrance a Respectful Start to a Difficult Week

BY SEAN EGAN “This thing started with about 25 people, maybe 30 people, outside of Father Mychal Judge’s room saying the rosary,” recalled John Bates of the impromptu gathering which would grow into the annual Father Mychal Judge 9/11 Walk of Remembrance.“[Then] we basically went to a firehouse, and knocked on the door across the street.

They brought us in, we prayed for the members they lost.

It just was spontaneous, and then, boom: We went down Seventh Avenue, and we made our way down to where Ground Zero is.”

From those humble beginnings, a tradition was born.

© CHELSEA NOW 2016 | NYC COMMUNITY MEDIA, LLC, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

“We just got more organized,” he said of he and co-founder NYPD Det. Steven McDonald, and they eventually gained the support of higher-ups at the NYPD and FDNY. “It’s kind of a grassroots operation, and what people tell me all the time is we’ve kept it very simple, and that’s why it’s a success.”

The Walk is named in honor of FDNY chaplain Father Mychal Judge, a Franciscan friar and Catholic priest who became a friend and spiritual advisor to McDonald in 1986, after he was shot and paralyzed in the line of duty.

REMEMBRANCE continued on p. 2 VOLUME 08, ISSUE 36 | SEPTEMBER 08 - 14, 2016

Annual Walk Stops to Honor Chelsea’s 9/11 Victims REMEMBRANCE continued from p. 1

Judge was the first official victim of the September 11 attacks recognized by the coroner, after he rushed Downtown to provide assistance following the first tower’s collapse, and was fatally injured during the second tower’s collapse.

The annual event begins with a Catholic Mass at St. Francis of Assisi Church (135 W. 31st St.). Its route down Seventh Ave., designed to follow the path Judge took to get to the World Trade Center towers, makes regular stops at fire stations and police precincts along the way.

The procession is led by McDonald, with Father Chris Keegan by his side to recite names of victims and lead people in prayer.

In 2005, Frank Meade, a board member of the 10th Precinct Community Council, heard about the Walk and participated for the first time, noting that since his mother was a friend of Judge’s it was “a very fitting tribute to both of them.” He decided to continue going to the march, and make his own contributions to the event.

“One thing led to another, and I was able to organize the 10th Precinct Auxiliary to form a color guard as the procession comes down Seventh Avenue. We form together with Engine 3, Ladder 12, and Battalion 7,” he described. “The very first year there were three auxiliary officers and myself,” he reminisced, noting that it has grown every year, and now includes dozens of officers as well as a trumpet player.

“Father Judge was a fire department chaplain, which was a totally volun-

Photos by Daniel Kwak

Father Chris Keegan asks for a moment of remembrance for the victims of the 9/11 attacks.

tary title. He very easily could have stayed in the rectory watching [the attacks] on TV,” said Meade. “That’s one of the things that I hope people would take away from [the walk]: The aspect of absolute selflessness that was displayed that day by Father Judge.”

“We always tell [people] ‘This is a very good way to start a difficult week,’” said Bates, who added that the walk is intentionally scheduled to take place on the Sunday prior to the anniversary of the attacks. “Nobody REMEMBRANCE continued on p. 10

Members of the 10th Precinct Auxiliary salute as the walk goes by.

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September 08 - 14, 2016

The color guard stands at attention as Father Chris Keegan reads the names of victims. .com

Photo by Daniel Kwak

The Walk of Remembrance makes its way down Seventh Ave.

To Honor His Legacy,

Build Upon It

BY FRANK MEADE He didn’t drive like a bat out of hell down Seventh Avenue because he was an FDNY chaplain who liked to play with the siren — he left his rectory because he was a priest of God and knew instinctively that he had to do the right thing: face the impossible and be with his flock. And this Franciscan priest’s flock extended far beyond his Fire Department brothers, to include every Jew, police officer, Catholic, firefighter, atheist, Mexican, Protestant, stockbroker, Muslim, and Port Authority police officer; every mother, father, sister, brother, next door neighbor, LGBT person, flight attendant, Canadian, Italian, Australian, and Englishman; every New Yorker, Irishman, actor, delivery boy, or office worker was part of his congregation, even though they had never been within a mile of each other until the 11th of September 2001, when they would share death and enter into eternity together.

While there may yet be the few among us who don’t — or won’t, or can’t — understand the extraordinary depth of faith that informed his mission on that Tuesday morning, they are incapable of diminishing Father Mychal’s goodness, purity of heart, and valor. Others will stand tall, be inspired by him, and assure that this wise, humble, joyous man’s memory and honorable legacy will be preserved in perpetuity. Among those are Det. Steven McDonald, NYPD; Patti Ann McDonald and Conor McDonald; .com

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Father Mychal Judge.

Capt. John Bates, New York Harbor Pilot; Jack Cook, FDNY; Andy Csereny, NYPD; NYPD Auxiliary Inspector Tom Miller; Lt. Michael Moran, NYPD Auxiliary Unit; Officer Ramon Sandoval, 10th Precinct Auxiliary Coordinator, NYPD, and his Auxiliary Officers; Lt. Bill Schillinger, FDNY (Ret.); and others too numerous to mention but who can be counted on to do the right thing. Their quiet, unannounced efforts maintain the simplicity befitting Father Mychal’s Franciscan heritage, but deserve recognition.

Father Mychal’s legacy is one of great pride that this gentle man would have eschewed in life. It’s an everlasting debt. It’s for all those whose lives were taken barbarically that Tuesday morning and by silent, pernicious disease since. To honor his sacrifice by building on his good deeds is our daily tasking.

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September 08 - 14, 2016

3

Reflections on the Recovery

AP photo by Greg Semendinger

The dust cloud from the collapse of the World Trade Center engulfed Downtown — and everyone in it.

BY BILL EGBERT, ALEX ELLEFSON AND COLIN MIXSON We all recall the vaunted heroes of 9/11 — the first responders who rushed to the burning towers and gave their lives saving thousands from certain death, and their compatriots who toiled for weeks on the smoldering pile to retrieve the remains of those who never made it out.

to their Downtown offices when the dust settled, are the heroes of Lower Manhattan’s economic revitalization.

After the most devastating foreign attack on US soil in history laid waste to the heart of America’s greatest city and traumatized the nation, it was the people closest to the destruction who defied despair and resolved to remain and rebuild.

Our sister publication, Downtown Express, spoke to several of these individuals who took leadership roles in the aftermath to repair the community, in ways large and small, and helped rebuild Downtown even better than before.

‘IT WAS BEDLAM’

But it was the residents who lived Downtown when the attacks tore a Pat Moore and her husband were hole in Lower Manhattan, and who in their third-floor apartment directly remained through the cleanup and across from the Twin Towers when rebuilding that followed, who are the the first plane struck. She remembers heroes of Downtown’s eventual resurlooking out the window at the horror gence. unfolding outside her home.

T:8.75” The local business people who strug“Fire came raining down from all gled to keep their shops and restaurants this paper flying out the hole where the open, and the companies that returned plane hit. People were pouring from

the World Trade Center. They were screaming and their faces were black with soot. It was bedlam,” she recalled.

Moore — who stayed home on September 11, 2001 to vote in the primaries — fled with her husband to a friend’s apartment near City Hall.

They were huddled around the television watching the news when the both towers crashed to the ground. The later collapse of WTC 7, which pushed clouds of smoke around their friend’s home, forced them to another apartment on Canal St. “I’ll forever be grateful I was with my husband when it happened. I didn’t have to worry about where he was,” she said. “But we lost everything — pretty much everything, except for what we had when we ran out the doorway.”

When Moore and her husband returned home four days later — after a sympathetic police officer snuck them past security — they found that almost two tons of debris had crashed through their windows and buried the apartment.

RECOVERY continued on p. 5

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September 08 - 14, 2016

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FORCED FROM HOME

AP photo by Jerry Torrens

RECOVERY continued from p. 4

“Everything that was in the World Trade Center came into our apartment,” she said. “There were huge boulders and a computer from one of the towers.

There was stuff everywhere.”

Moore said her neighborhood, where she has lived since 1977, was unrecognizable in the days immediately after the attacks.

“It looked like Dresden after the war,” she said. “Everything was blown out, everything was gray, cars were crushed in. Think of a disaster movie.”

It took almost two years to move back into their apartment. Cleaning out the debris from the Twin Towers was made even more difficult, Moore said, because a broken pipe flooded her apartment when her landlord turned the water back on — turning most of the toxic dust into cement.

The challenges that accompanied the recovery drove Moore to become a member of Community Board 1 (CB1), where she is now chairwoman of the Quality of Life Committee. She remembers long stretches with pounding construction work taking place at all hours.

“I would call the Port Authority director’s office at 2am and stick the phone up to the window and say, ‘Do you hear this?’ That’s when you really understand insanity,” she said.

But as tough as it has been, Moore said she’s pleased to see how her neighborhood has bounced back in ways she never expected. .com

“It used to feel like a tiny little neighborhood. The workers would leave at five, and that’s when a lot of businesses would close,” she said. “Now the population has tripled. It’s completely different than how it was before the attacks 15 years ago.”

‘IT WAS A REALLY TOUGH PLACE TO STAY’ In the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, Downtown’s recovery wasn’t at all the inevitable triumph it may now seem in retrospect. At the time, angst and confusion reigned, and residents felt at the mercy of powerful forces beyond their control.

Caught between grandstanding politicians, faceless bureaucracies, competing agendas, information blackout, and the ubiquitous dust that permeated their homes, many neighbors turned to Madelyn Wils — then the chairwoman of CB1 — to unite the residents and stand up for them.

“I watched the neighborhood go from a thriving, growing area to being completely obliterated,” Wils recalled. “And it started an extremely long process where I felt like my role was to solidify the community and represent it as best I could.”

Wils and other community leaders immediately organized ad hoc meetings for the residents to share information —

© Luca Sola

The North Tower collapsed first, followed minutes later by the South Tower, taking 2,973 souls with them.

FREE PANEL DISCUSSIONS What We See: Stories from the Global Refugee Crisis September 13, 7:30 PM

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) executive director Jason Cone and aid workers will explain why it is vitally important for MSF to speak out about the global refugee crisis, and the mayor’s commissioner for immigrant affairs will discuss the impact in New York City.

Hosted by The New School Tishman Auditorium, 63 Fifth Ave, NYC RSVP at forcedfromhome.com/NewSchool

The Global Refugee Crisis: Humanitarian Needs and International Policy September 21, 7:30 PM

Journalist Ann Curry moderates a discussion between MSF, International Rescue Committee, and the adviser to the UN summit on Migrants and Refugees, about the political solutions being offered and the many challenges ahead for people who, through no fault of their own, have been forced from home.

Hosted by Cooper Union Office of Continuing Education & Public Events The Great Hall, 7 E 7th St, NYC RSVP at forcedfromhome.com/CooperUnion

RECOVERY continued on p. 8 September 08 - 14, 2016

5

DHS Ducks Capacity Crowd as CB5 Cuts Shelter Info Session Short

Photos by Alex Ellefson

The La Semana Hotel at 25 W. 24th St. (btw. Fifth & Sixth Aves.).

BY ALEX ELLEFSON Plans to discuss the use of an infamous Flatiron hotel as a months-long refuge for homeless single men and women awaiting long-term housing stalled last week when a conference room was unable to accommodate scores of irate residents intent on voicing their objections.

Neighbors packed shoulder-to-shoulder — with a line of people out into the hall — to hear a presentation on the proposed shelter at the Community Board 5 (CB5) Budget, Education & City Services Committee meeting.

They came to protest a planned 47-bed facility in the former La Semana hotel at 25 W. 24th St. (btw.

Residents packed a CB5 committee meeting to voice their objections to a proposed homeless shelter in the former La Semana hotel.

Fifth & Sixth Aves.), located in close proximity to a Bowery Residents’ Committee (BRC) 12-story “vertical campus” facility that locals say has exacerbated problems with vagrancy in the neighborhood. The meeting quickly went off the rails — with residents shouting down representatives from Breaking Ground, the shelter operator, and the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) who tried to proceed with the meeting.

Amid the bedlam, Breaking Ground Vice President Claire Sheedy agreed to residents’ requests that the organization postpone signing an agreement with the property owner until the forum can be held in a larger venue.

“We are very committed to being transparent. We came here today to talk to you all about who we are and what we do, and what we plan to do,” she told the packed room.

Her announcement upstaged DHS Assistant Commissioner Matthew Borden, who defiantly told the room the public would not have a say in the project, and tried to get on with the presentation.

“Let me be very clear: This project, we are committed to it. It’s moving forward. Postponing this meeting is not going to delay the project, but it may delay your opportunity to get answers you want to hear,” he said.

Borden was later chased out of the building by a pack of outraged residents, as well as reporters, who pursued him to the elevators where he cowered against the wall while the crowd shouted questions at his back.

They followed Borden when he scooted into an open elevator and followed him down to the lower floors.

SHELTER continued on p. 14

Department of Homeless Services Assistant Commissioner Matthew Borden turns his back on the public.

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September 08 - 14, 2016

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RECOVERY continued from p. 5

the first at a basketball court on Canal St. just a few days after the attacks.

“Hundreds of people showed up because they didn’t know where else to go,” she said. “People were in shock and trying to get answers to very basic questions.”

While government agencies were focused on cleanup and recovery efforts at Ground Zero, Wils had to fight to make sure the people who lived around it weren’t forgotten. Her advocacy sometimes put her at loggerheads with then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, forcing “America’s Mayor” to pay attention to the needs of the Downtown community.

Wils became the lone local on the board of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC), and played a crucial role in making sure that Downtown residents had a strong voice in the rebuilding of their neighborhood.

But Wils said it took a long time before life started to feel normal again.

“Fires at the World Trade Center burned for months, the cars on the street were crushed, there were men with guns guarding security checkpoints.

Everything was a reminder of all the people who died that day,” she said. “It was a really tough place to stay.”

Not everyone did, Wils noted.

“Most of the community didn’t return home for months, and almost one-third never returned,” she said.

Wils was able to use her position on CB1 and the LMDC, as well as a later appointment to the city’s Economic Development Corporation, to steer funds towards new schools and parks aimed at making the neighborhood more livable.

Under her leadership, CB1 raised $12 million for the construction of Millennium High School, which opened barely two years after the 9/11 attacks.

Downtown has since resoundingly rebounded — adding three more public schools to accommodate a residential population that’s now more that double what it was before the attacks. And as new residents have flocked to the area that many once fled, retail development has followed, with an ongoing influx of culinary landmarks and shopping destinations turning what had previously been a somewhat sterile office district into one of Manhattan’s hottest neighborhoods.

“It took a very long time,” Wils said, “but Lower Manhattan has become what we always thought it could be.”

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September 08 - 14, 2016

‘INSPIRING TO SEE’ Captain Patrick Harris was among that armada that came to the rescue of stranded Downtowners on 9/11.

The captain of the historic sailboat Ventura, who operates out of Battery Park City’s North Cove Marina, recalled the sight of the ad hoc flotilla coming across the harbor.

“I saw this V-shaped formation of about a half a dozen or so tugboats charging up in this direction,” Harris said. “It was actually very inspiring to see that, knowing those guys were going in there and that’s where all the trouble was.”

Harris took a few boatloads of survivors to safety on the Ventura, before he docked the nearly century-old sailboat to help crew the larger, more powerful Royal Princess, a party boat that was filled beyond capacity over and over that day, ferrying about 300 people each trip.

His most poignant memory of that day, however, came when he was still aboard the Ventura, ferrying his first mate’s family across the Hudson as the Twin Towers still burned. Their mother had been on a bus heading to Newark Airport when news broke of the attack, and she immediately disembarked. She knew her whole family was near the World Trade Center, and she made her way to the coast in a panic.

There, as she helplessly watched the towers burn, she saw an approaching boat that she recognized — the Ventura — and on the deck was her family.

“That’s something I’ll never forget,” said Harris. “It was one of those acts of God, where she just happened to be there and was standing aghast and suddenly saw the Ventura and all of her family safe.”

The waterborne evacuation of Lower Manhattan was one of the largest of its kind in history, rescuing as many as half a million souls, and it was carried out

Courtesy Patrick Harris

Captain Patrick Harris whisked dozens of 9/11 survivors across the harbor to safety aboard his nearly century-old sailboat Ventura.

largely by civilian vessels spontaneously volunteering to help, according to a recent book on the effort, “American Dunkirk.”

And the bravery of the rescuers was matched by the gratitude of the rescued, according to Harris.

“We were unloading people off the Royal Princess, standing at the gangway helping them off, these disoriented New Yorkers, not knowing where they were, and about a third of them stopped and touched my arm and said, ‘Thanks for helping out,’” Harris recalled. “It made me reflect that this is a culture we can be proud of. They took a big shot, they got back up, and they kept their manners.”

‘BETTER THAN WE EVER THOUGHT POSSIBLE’ In the aftermath 9/11, Downtowners were driven to do more than simply sweep away the dust and carry on with their lives. Residents and local businesses shared an impulse to defy the destruction and rebuild their neighborhood into something even better than it was before.

And nowhere did Lower Manhattan’s passion for resurgence manifest so beautifully in as it did in The Battery, according to its keeper.

“I have always felt that The Battery is the counterbalance — a public space that is communicating how this city has come back,” said Warrie Price, founder of The Battery Conservancy.

Price founded the conservancy in 1994 after she discovered that the Battery Park City Authority had drafted a master plan to renovate the park — which is actually a city park just outside the state-controlled development — but the city had made no effort to make the grand vision a reality, she said.

Back then, the park was in rough shape. There was very little green space compared to today, and it was crisscrossed with asphalt and cobblestone paths, appearing barren and lifeless for a park.

“It was in terrible shape,” said Price.

But at that time, there wasn’t much interest in renovating the patchy public space at the tip of Manhattan, according to RECOVERY continued on p. 23

Courtesy Warrie Price

With an initial $8 million grant from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, The Battery Conservancy was able to transform The Bosque from a paved area to a perennial flower garden. .com

Affordable Housing for Rent 435 WEST 31 APARTMENTS 169 NEWLY CONSTRUCTED UNITS AT 435 West 31st Street, New York, NY 10001 HUDSON YARDS

Amenities: Bike repair station, kids playroom, library, lounge, game room, laundry room (pay per load), †storage, †bike storage, †fitness center, †pet spa, †arcade, †golf simulator, †sky lounge (†additional fees apply).

Transit: Trains – 1/2/3 A/C/E at Penn Station, Buses - M11, M34 No application fee • No broker’s fee • Smoke-free building This building is being constructed through the Inclusionary Housing Program and is approved to receive a Tax Exemption through the 421-a Program of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development and Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program of New York State Homes and Community Renewal.

Who Should Apply?

1.

Individuals or households who meet the income and household size requirements listed in the table below may apply. Qualified applicants will be required to meet additional selection criteria.

Applicants who live in New York City receive a general preference for apartments.

View the Available Units…

Unit Size Studio 1 bedroom

Units Available

$913

53

$980

89

$1,183

25

2

Residents of Manhattan Community Board 4 (50%) Municipal employees (5%)

→ →

Annual Household Earnings***

1 person

$32,640 - $38,100

1 person 2 people

→

3 people 3 people

$1,359

• •

Household Size**

4 people

3 bedroom

Mobility-disabled applicants (5%) Vision- or hearing-disabled applicants (2%)

Preference for a percentage of units goes to:

2 people 2 bedroom

• •

2. See Unit Requirements

→

Monthly Rent*

A percentage of units is set aside for:

→

4 people 5 people 6 people

         

$34,972 - $38,100 $34,972 - $43,500 $41,966 - $43,500 $41,966- $48,960 $41,966 - $54,360 $48,446 - $48,960 $48,446 - $54,360 $48,446 - $58,740 $48,446 - $63,060

* Rent includes gas for cooking and hot water. ** Household size includes everyone who will live with you, including parents and children. Subject to occupancy criteria. *** Household earnings includes salary, hourly wages, tips, Social Security, child support, and other income. Income guidelines subject to change.

How Do You Apply?

Apply online or through mail. To apply online, please go to nyc.gov/housingconnect. To request an application by mail, send a selfaddressed envelope to: 435 West 31 Apartments c/o Breaking Ground, PO Box 3620937, New York, NY 10129. Only send one application per development. Do not submit duplicate applications. Do not apply online and also send in a paper application. Applicants who submit more than one application may be disqualified.

When is the Deadline?

Applications must be postmarked or submitted online no later than November 7, 2016. Late applications will not be considered.

What Happens After You Submit an Application?

After the deadline, applications are selected for review through a lottery process. If yours is selected and you appear to qualify, you will be invited to an interview to continue the process of determining your eligibility. Interviews are usually scheduled from 2 to 10 months after the application deadline. You will be asked to bring documents that verify your household size, identity of members of your household, and your household income.

Español

Presente una solicitud en línea en nyc.gov/housingconnect. Para recibir una traducción de español de este anuncio y la solicitud impresa, envíe un sobre con la dirección a: 435 West 31 Apartments c/o Breaking Ground, PO Box 3620937, New York, NY 10129 En el reverso del sobre, escriba en inglés la palabra “SPANISH.” Las solicitudes se deben enviar en línea o con sello postal antes 7 de noviembre 2016.

简体中文

访问 nyc.gov/housingconnect 在线申请。如要获取本广告及书面申请表的简体中文版，请将您的回邮信封寄送至：435 West 31 Apartments c/o Breaking Ground, PO Box 3620937, New York, NY 10129. 信封背面请用英语注明“CHINESE”。必须在以下日期之前 在线提交申请或邮寄书面申请2016年11月 7日

Русский

Чтобы подать заявление через интернет, зайдите на сайт: nyc.gov/housingconnect. Для получения данного объявления и заявления на русском языке отправьте конверт с обратным адресом по адресу 435 West 31 Apartments c/o Breaking Ground, PO Box 3620937, New York, NY 10129. На задней стороне конверта напишите слово “RUSSIAN” на английском языке. Заявки должны быть поданы онлайн или отправлены по почте (согласно дате на почтовом штемпеле) не позднее 7 ноябрь 2016

한국어

nyc.gov/housingconnect 에서 온라인으로 신청하십시오. 이 광고문과 신청서에 대한 한국어 번역본을 받아보시려면 반송용 봉투를 435 West 31 Apartments c/o Breaking Ground, PO Box 3620937, New York, NY 10129 으로 보내주십시오. 봉투 뒷면에 “KOREAN” 이라고 영어로 적어주십시오. 2016년11월 7 일까지 온라인 신청서를 제출하거나 소인이 찍힌 신청서를 보내야 합니다.

Kreyòl Ayisyien

Aplike sou entènèt sou sitwèb nyc.gov/housingconnect. Pou resevwa yon tradiksyon anons sa a nan lang Kreyòl Ayisyen ak aplikasyon an sou papye, voye anvlòp ki gen adrès pou retounen li nan: 435 West 31 Apartments c/o Breaking Ground, PO Box 3620937, New York, NY 10129. Nan dèyè anvlòp la, ekri mo “HATIAN CREOLE” an Anglè. Ou dwe remèt aplikasyon yo sou entènèt oswa ou dwe tenbre yo anvan dat novanm 7, 2016

‫ﺍﻟﻌﺭﺑﻳﺔ‬

‫ ﺃﺭﺳﻝ ﻣﻅﺭﻭﻑ‬،‫ ﻟﻠﺣﺻﻭﻝ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺗﺭﺟﻣﺔ ﺑﺎﻟﻠﻐﺔ ﺍﻟﻌﺭﺑﻳﺔ ﻟﻬﺫﺍ ﺍﻹﻋﻼﻥ ﻭﻟﻧﻣﻭﺫﺝ ﺍﻟﻁﻠﺏ ﺍﻟﻭﺭﻗﻲ‬.nyc.gov/housingconnect ‫ﺗﻘﺩﻡ ﺑﻁﻠﺏ ﻋﻥ ﻁﺭﻳﻕ ﺍﻹﻧﺗﺭﻧﺕ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﻣﻭﻗﻊ ﺍﻹﻟﻛﺗﺭﻭﻧﻲ‬ ،‫ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﺟﻬﺔ ﺍﻟﺧﻠﻔﻳﺔ ﻟﻠﻣﻅﺭﻭﻑ‬. 435 West 31 Apartments c/o Breaking Ground, PO Box 3620937, New York, NY 10129:‫ﻳﺣﻣﻝ ﺍﺳﻣﻙ ﻭﻋﻧﻭﺍﻧﻙ ﺇﻟﻰ‬ 2016 ،‫ ﻧﻭﻓﻣﺑﺭ‬7 ‫ ﻳﺟﺏ ﺇﺭﺳﺎﻝ ﻧﻣﺎﺫﺝ ﺍﻟﻁﻠﺑﺎﺕ ﻋﻥ ﻁﺭﻳﻕ ﺍﻹﻧﺗﺭﻧﺕ ﺃﻭ ﺧﺗﻣﻬﺎ ﺑﺧﺗﻡ ﺍﻟﺑﺭﻳﺩ ﻗﺑﻝ‬."ARABIC" ‫ﺍﻛﺗﺏ ﺑﺎﻟﻠﻐﺔ ﺍﻹﻧﺟﻠﻳﺯﻳﺔ ﻛﻠﻣﺔ‬ Governor Andrew Cuomo • Mayor Bill de Blasio • HPD Commissioner Vicki Been • HCR Commissioner/CEO James S. Rubin

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September 08 - 14, 2016

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Firefighters from W. 19th St.’s Engine 3/Ladder 12/Battalion 7 firehouse were called to duty before the Walk arrived for its stop on their corner.

REMEMBRANCE continued from p. 2

can take away the sorrow of 9/11, but what you can do is you can help put them in the right mental perspective to get through it again.”

“It’s a somber event, but it isn’t a sad event by any means,” Meade noted.

When the morning of Sun., Sept. 4 arrived, there was not a cloud in the sky, despite the ominous stormy forecast looming all week. The few dozen police officers comprising the color

guard chatted amongst themselves on the corner, waiting for the procession to reach W. 19th St. and Seventh Ave., where the walk was scheduled to stop, by the nearby firehouse.

One onlooker, Trish, was visiting from Delaware after helping her child move into college, and had heard about the Walk. During the attacks, “I lost one of my best friends from college,” she said. “That’s why I’m here.” As the procession approached, and the 10th Precinct officers got into formation, she commented, “Fifteen

Det. Steven McDonald, a Walk of Remembrance co-founder and friend of Father Judge’s.

years later, it’s still the exact same feeling that it was.”

As the crowd of hundreds stopped in the street, many carrying photos of lost loved ones or clad in T-shirts representing particular affected groups, Father Keegan said a prayer for and read off the names of those lost from the area during the attacks, requesting, “Let us take a moment and keep them in our hearts.” People stood attentively as “Taps” was played. Soon after this simple, but affecting tribute, partic-

ipants lined back up, and continued to make their way Downtown.

“I’ll tell you what one of the fire chiefs said to me,” Bates recalled. “He said to me, ‘John, you keep doing this, it isn’t going to be a walk; it’s going to be a parade. And I said, ‘You got the idea.’ ” And with the outpouring of support from over 800 participants on display this year, it’s not hard to see it happening very soon.

For more information, visit facebook.com/911Walk.

September is National Preparedness Month!

Join NYC Emergency Management to learn how to prepare for all types of emergencies.

Activities throughout September: Free preparedness fairs, events and workshops throughout the five boroughs Family day at the Bronx Zoo on Sunday, Sept. 18 Family day at the Staten Island Children’s Museum on Saturday, Sept. 24 and much more!

For more information, visit

NYC.gov/EmergencyManagement or call 311.

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September 08 - 14, 2016

Photos by Daniel Kwak

The “Taps” player speaks with a Fire Officer while waiting for the procession to reach the corner of W. 19th St. & Seventh Ave. .com

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Try to eat meals before getting in the car. For those who must snack while en route, take a moment to pull over at

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reading

Glancing at an advertisement, updating a Facebook status or reading a book are all activities that should be avoided when driving. Even pouring over a traffic map or consulting the digital display of a GPS system can be distracting.

September 08 - 14, 2016

11

High Line September Programming St

GRASSLANDS continued from p. 1

Landscape and garden designer Piet Oudolf created the planting design on the High Line, and the Chelsea Grasslands opened as part of the first section, from Gansevoort to W. 20th Sts., in June 2009.

Pettis was hired as one of the first gardeners

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September 08 - 14, 2016

for the park when it opened, and, at that time, she helped to maintain the perennials, trees and shrubs, grasses and vines that populate the Chelsea Grasslands.

Unlike traditional gardening, there is no “deadheading” — cutting off a bloom when it dies — in the section, she explained in a phone interview.

The “Sundown” coneflower, echinacea purpurea, is a perennial that, when it blooms, has an orange/pink flower, Pettis said. Instead of cutting that bloom when it dies, nature takes its course and the petals fall off. What is left is a spiky cone that contains seeds, she explained.

“It has a great presence in the garden — it adds texture,” she said.

Leaving the plants standing year round is the design ethos of the Chelsea Grasslands, a part of Oudolf’s natural design, she said.

When seeds from the plants fall, Pettis said that the gardeners let some of the new seedlings grow.

“The plants decide where they want to live, and then we edit that process,” she noted. “We let the garden shape itself to a certain extent.”

The gardeners look for shape, texture, color and bloom time when editing.

As part of the celebration, the High Line is doing something new: labeling 12 plants. Pettis talked about one of her favorites grasses in the Chelsea Grasslands that will be highlighted: “Standing Ovation” little bluestem, schizachirium scoparium.

Pettis explained that the little bluestem, along

with switch, Indian grass and big bluestem, are considered the pillars of prairie grasses (sometimes referred to as the “four horsemen”).

“When you think of a prairie, those are the grasses that are very prominent,” she said.

In the spring and summer, the little bluestem is a rich blue color that turns pink, silver and mauve tones during the late summer and fall, she said. Pettis said this grass is called “Standing Ovation” because it is able to stand upright while other varieties flop over.

Another perennial in the grasslands is the compass plant, silphium laciniatum, which has leaves that can grow up to 18 inches. It has stalks that shoot for the sky with a small sunflower-like flower when it blooms.

Pettis is excited about the tours that will be offered during the month. She said the gardeners designed the tours, which they have dubbed roving classes.

On Sept. 13, at 9am and 6pm, the “Ecology of a Grassland” tour will take a look at the prairie ecosystem and the environmental factors that affect it. On Sept. 20, at 9am and 6pm, the “Human Experience of the Grasslands” will explore the cultural significance of the plants and the landscape, as well as how humans have used the prairie, she said.

Family programming on Sept. 24, from 10am to 2pm, will focus on the plantings of the Chelsea Grasslands and other parts of the park.

For each Wednesday during the month, people will be able to ask questions of High Line gardeners in the Chelsea Grasslands via Facebook .com

Photos by Daniel Kwak

tands Tall to Fete Chelsea Grasslands Live at 1:30 p.m. Select vendors will sell Chelsea Grasslands-themed food, including strawberry lemongrass pop, sweet corn gelato, and wheat berry salad.

Pettis will moderate the “Grasslands Panel” on Sept. 26 from 6pm to 7:30pm, which will include Oudolf, Uli Lorimer, who is the curator of native flora at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and writer and photographer Annik La Farge.

In 2008, La Farge moved to W. 22nd St. and started writing the blog “Livin’ the High Line” in 2009.

“The High Line is right outside my office window,” she said in a phone interview.

After the first section opened, work began on the second, and she was riveted watching the men work, she said.

“I’ve been in love with this place for a long time now — watching it evolve and change,” said La Farge, who goes the park every day.

She added, “It’s always beautiful — it’s just beautiful in a different way from your last visit.”

La Farge also wrote “On the High Line: Exploring America’s Most Original Park,” which was first published in May 2012. The second section of the park, from W. 20th to W. 30th Sts., opened in June 2011, and the third section, the Rail Yards, opened in September 2014.

During the panel, La Farge will talk about the cultural landscape of the Chelsea Grasslands.

What she loves about standing in that section is that she is able to take in the “layers in the landscape” — architecture, both modern, like Barry Diller’s glass IAC building, and classical, such as .com

the General Theological Seminary’s bell tower.

“It’s a place where there are a lot of juxtapositions,” she said.

La Farge will also talk about the different buildings and structures in the area — what they once were, compared with their function now. For example, the performance space The Kitchen was once an ice factory, and the

Merchants Refrigerator Building is now home to the Drug Enforcement Agency and other government agencies.

For more information about the Chelsea Grasslands and to RSVP for events, go to grasslands.thehighline.org. Annik La Farge’s blog is livinthehighline.com.

September 08 - 14, 2016

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SHELTER continued from p. 6

Chelsea resident Maria Ferrari said she was disappointed by the assistant commissioner’s behavior.

“He’s a public official. He should stick around to answer questions. Instead he basically just said this is a done deal and then refused to listen to anything else,” she said.

Ferrari said vagrancy has become a hot topic in the neighborhood since the BRC opened their 328-bed homeless shelter at 127 W. 25th St. (btw. Sixth & Seventh Aves.) in 2011. Ferrari said she works across the street from the BRC shelter and has seen an increase in panhandling as well as other troubling behaviors since the facility opened.

“People are always hanging around in the street, in doorways, begging, doing drugs and smoking pot,” she said. “I feel threatened every time I leave work at night. I wait until I’m three or four blocks away before I take out my phone.”

When the BRC shelter was first introduced, locals balked at the facility’s scale and filed a lawsuit, supported by some elected officials, to block it from operating at full capacity. The BRC has tried to address residents concerns about street harassment, intimidation, and drug abuse by hiring additional security and having staff monitor activity on the block.

Last year, the BRC, CB4, the West 25th Street Project and the offices of Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Assemblymember Richard Gottfried, State Senator Brad Hoylman and Councilmember Corey Johnson collaborated on a survey of residents, workers, and visitors. Among the results: 53% of respondents said that safety and/or quality of life in the area was “worse” or “much worse” since October 2014.

The proposed shelter at La Semana would be housed in a building whose notorious reputation was cemented when a 2012 Huffington Post article labeled it “New York’s Grossest ‘Sex’ Hotel.”

Anthony Stanhope said he is one of four residents who survived a purge of tenants last summer. During a tour of La Semana directly following the CB5 meeting, Stanhope told Chelsea Now that his landlord is trying to make a quick profit by filling the building with homeless after the hotel on the bottom two floors went under.

“He’s realized the city will pay a huge amount of money to take in the homeless,” Stanhope said, recalling how the hotel brought in sleazy clientele who were often involved in illicit activity, he said.

“You could hear sex going on in the hallways. There were always crimi-

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September 08 - 14, 2016

Photos by Alex Ellefson

Concerned locals spilled out into the hallway when the conference room became too crowded.

Anthony Stanhope said his landlord tried to drive all the tenants out of the building

Leopard print carpeting in the La Semana hotel, which was once labeled “New York’s Grossest ‘Sex’ Hotel” by the Huffington Post.

nal-looking people in the building doing drugs and God-knows-what,” he said.

A spokesperson for Breaking Ground said the organization hopes to have a handful of people in shelter by the fall — and the facility would gradually expand while its operations are being assessed.

The shelter would also have 24-hour security, the spokesperson said.

The organization did not offer a new date and location for the promised community forum, but highlighted a letter from Brooklyn Community Board 14’s district manager describing Breaking Ground’s “sincere efforts to be a good neighbor” to show they are committed to forging a relationship with locals.

“That’s kind of how we roll. We are an organization that is very committed to partnerships and to being a good neighbor,” Sheedy said after last week’s meeting.

Robert Cerwinski, president of the West 24th Street Block Association, said he appreciated Breaking Ground putting the project on hold. The block association is currently exploring options for how to respond to the proposal and has floated several ideas, including trying to find a developer to buy the property.

“La Semana has always been something of a blight on our block,” he said. “Right now, the block association is disseminating ideas to whoever might be interested in

buying the property and turning it into something that benefits the community.”

Despite Breaking Ground’s offer to accommodate the community, Cerwinski said the block association will still work to halt the plan.

“At this point, it’s pretty clear stakeholders are almost universally opposed to this,” he said. “We already have a large number of chronic homeless that is creating a very big burden on the community.”

For more information visit breakingground.org, cb5.org, and brc.org.

To contact the West 24th Street Block Association, email Robert Cerwinski at ceruchan@gmail.com. .com

POLICE BLOTTER ground, then fled eastbound on W. 28th St. with the purse (which contained $100 cash and a cellphone).

The woman sustained injuries to her knees and face, but refused medical treatment. The man was caught on surveillance video. Police ask anyone with information to reach out to the Crime Stoppers hotline at 800-577TIPS or nypdcrimestoppers.com.

manager $350 (US!) to put in the hotel safe at Hotel 309 (309 W. 14th St., btw. Eighth & Ninth Aves.). As reported to police on Mon., Sept. 5, when she went to the manager later to retrieve her funds, he denied ever having the money, and refused to return it to her. While the man was resolute in playing dumb, good ol’ blind justice seems as though it will do it’s thing, as there is possibly incriminating video evidence available, and authorities have the manager’s information and will be looking into the situation.

PETIT LARCENY: Suede shoe blues

Courtesy DCPI

The W. 28th St. purse-snatcher, described as being between 20-30-years-old, 140-160 lbs., and last seen wearing a baseball cap, a backpack, and a longsleeved shirt with a skull logo on front.

ROBBERY: Pushed for purse The search for a man who snatched a purse from an elderly woman has left the NYPD looking for community assistance. At around 5am on Thurs., Sept. 1, in front of 8 W. 28th St. (btw. Fifth Ave. & Broadway), the man approached the 72-year-old woman from behind. He grabbed her purse, causing her to fall to the

Apparently, his shoes were made for walking, and it seems as though that’s just what they did — specifically, on the day of Mon., Aug. 29, when, at about 2pm, a man left two pairs of shoes outside his apartment door, in the hallway/common area of his apartment building (on the 200 block of W. 22nd St.). When he returned, the shoes were missing. According to the police report, the man suspects a perp (or perps) took his $60 Sperry Top-Sider boat shoes and $53 Hush Puppy loafers (size, unknown). No arrests have been made at this time, and the police report could not confirm or deny whether or not the elven cobblers’ crime syndicate was being investigated in connection with the theft.

CRIMINAL POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA: Too late to apologize As one slow stoner realized this weekend, there are certain activities where one should not necessarily go outside to enjoy the weather. On Fri., Sept.

2, an officer observed a 25-year-old man smoking what they referred to as a “lit marijuana cigar” in plain view in a public place, outside of his apartment building on the 400 block of W. 17th St. The officer was able to recover the reefer after instructing the man to place in on the ground. “I apologize sir; I knew I should have smoked inside my apartment,” he said, apparently not realizing the weed would also be illegal in an indoors setting. “I feel dumb.” This apology was resolutely not accepted however, as the officers arrested the man.

PETIT LARCENY: Dangerous safe At about 10am on Fri., Sept. 2, a 72-year-old woman visiting New York from Australia gave the hotel

www.burnerlaw.com

—SEAN EGAN

(212) 867-3520

Please join us as we discuss…

Estate Planning and Medicaid Basics Breakfast September 15 at 10:00 AM

Malibu Diner 163 West 23rd Street, New York, NY

Elder Law 101 Breakfast September 27 at 10:00 AM

River Room 545 East 14th Street, New York, NY RSVP at (212) 867-3520 or by e-mail at mbiggart@burnerlaw.com .com

September 08 - 14, 2016

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w o N r e t n E

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.com

Film Force Four’s Fantastic Fall

What makes the cut at carefully curated cinemas

BY SEAN EGAN With the last of summer’s bloated franchise films straggling out of theaters, the next few months will provide a welcome opportunity to wash the taste of undercooked sequels out of your mouth.

Thankfully, there’s no better place on the island (or the globe for that matter) for film lovers to discover original new voices or revisit old favorites than Lower Manhattan. Programmers from four of the area’s premiere independent cinemas recently spoke with us, about their philosophies and what they’ll be presenting throughout the fall.

FILM FORUM For many New York film buffs, it might be easy to take Film Forum for granted — after all, the venue’s been operating for nearly 50 years, since it was founded in 1970.

But according to premieres co-programmer Mike Maggiore, the theater is having one of its best summers ever — perhaps due to the fact that he and his co-programmers try to reach both film buffs and a wider audience of cinemagoers.

“We’re really trying to find what is interesting and provocative and exciting in world cinema today; films that really move or excite us, or kind of expand our knowledge and really explore or expose something that we find novel,” Maggiore explained.

To this end, Maggiore and his co-programmer Karen Cooper scour the world, through festivals and screener links alike, viewing upwards of 700 films yearly. About 30 are selected for theatrical runs, and the venue has a distinct commitment to documentary (which account for about 70% of premieres).

Maggiore highlighted two soon-to be-released docs in particular: “Tower” and “Do Not Resist.” The former is a mostly animated examination of the first mass school shooting (1966, at the University of Texas). The latter concerns the militarization of police. Both are prescient in a way Maggiore couldn’t have .com

© Peter Aaron/Esto

An exterior look at Film Forum, which has been in operation since 1970.

planned. “There is a hunger for great documentaries, and audiences will come out to see something fascinating.”

Fall highlights of Film Forum’s narrative programming include the basedon-a-true-story “Christine” (Oct. 14), which, Maggiore noted, offers “a fantastic, electric performance by Rebecca Hall.” In December, Maggiore is looking forward to “Toni Erdmann,” a critics’ favorite at Cannes.

“If you were to tell me that there was an 162-minute German cringe comedy, and that it was one of the best films of the year, I might be skeptical, but this one definitely won me over,” he said with a laugh.

Bruce Goldstein, the director of Film Forum’s repertory programming, also knows a thing or two about long-game programming.

“Basically I’m juggling, over many years, different projects that are always just floating, and we’re waiting for the

opportune moment to do them,” he noted. As it stands however, his upcoming fall slate is pretty killer.

In the coming weeks, theatergoers will be treated to a Marx Brothers slate, a 3-D auteur program (featuring rare Hitchcock and Sirk prints), a Busby Berkeley retrospective, and, cheekily timed for election week, a series on “demagogues” (featuring titles like “Dr. Strangelove” and “The Great Dictator”).

“I wouldn’t just do a thematic series about world events, unless it lent itself to a fun series — and I think it is a fun series,” Goldstein assured. “Serious subject, but the films are individually entertaining.”

All this plays in conjunction with Goldstein’s regularly scheduled weekly Film Forum Jr. matinee program, designed to introduce kids to classics and foster a love of movies in a new generation.

“I hope that [audiences] feel they’ve

experienced something here that they couldn’t get anywhere else in New York, and that they’ve visited a theater that cares deeply about movies,” said Maggiore on his aspirations for the venue.

“The big element that the theater offers, that you can’t get at home, or on a device is the audience, and sharing it with an audience — and that’s very important,” echoed Goldstein.

“Take a classic like ‘Psycho;’ I don’t think it could have the same impact [at home]. What’s happening? Most people are looking at their Facebook accounts or whatever; they’re looking at Instagram while they’re watching. All those distractions, it’s just not the same.”

Film Forum is located at 209 W. Houston St. (btw. Varick St. & Sixth Ave.). Call 212-727-8110 or visit filmforum.org.

FILM continued on p. 18 September 08 - 14, 2016

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FILM continued from p. 17

ANTHOLOGY FILM ARCHIVES

Courtesy Kino Lorber

Keith Maitland’s documentary “Tower” opens Oct. 12 at Film Forum.

Courtesy Anthology Film Archives

Anthology Film Archives’ Courthouse Theater.

Courtesy EYE Film Institute

A still from “The Latest Variety Sensation,” part of Anthology Film Archives’ “Woman With a Movie Camera” series.

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Even amongst the unique world of independent theaters, Anthology Film Archives is kind of a different beast.

That’s because Anthology, which was founded in 1970 by experimental and avant-garde pioneers including Jonas Mekas and Stan Brakhage, is exactly what it says it is. In addition to being a theater, it’s an institution that houses an archival collection and serves as a center for film and video preservation and restoration work, with theaters equipped to present all of their programming on their original formats, from 35mm to VHS (and everything in between).

True to its roots, Anthology places a special focus on independent, experimental, and avant-garde films in their exhibition and preservation efforts (which often go hand in hand), especially ones that fly under the radar, or are in danger of being lost to time.

It’s a philosophy that’s been in place since the early days of the theater, when the Essential Cinema — Anthology’s “foundational text,” according to programmer Jed Rapfogel — was drafted by its founders.

Left unfinished in 1975, the 330title list was “an attempt to define the art of cinema,” and included usual suspects like Chaplin and Welles, while also emphasizing avant-garde directors like Brakhage, Michael Snow, Hollis Frampton, and Maya Deren. It’s an unchanging document that helped define avant-garde cinema, and whose titles are still played on constant rotation at Anthology.

“We add to the Essential Cinema in a philosophical sense by programming lots of other things,” Rapfogel noted.

“But as far as the Essential Cinema goes, we don’t add to it.”

Upcoming programming attests to this — most specifically, the “Re-Visions” series, which takes a look at experimental filmmakers from 1975 to about 1990.

“Re-Visions,” Rapfogel noted, “is something that came out of a grant from the [Andy] Warhol Foundation, and it really just covers the preservation work we’ve been doing for about three or four years now. It basically funded a whole host of preservation projects, and the idea was to focus on the generation of avant-garde cinema after the Essential

Cinema did take its final form,” said Rapfogel, who noted that he also tries to pair the restored films with modern work from the directors, as “most of these filmmakers are still alive, and most of them continue to make work.”

In the month of September, the series will focus on the work of Lower East Side filmmaker Bradley Eros, with future programs (continuing through early 2017) highlighting the works of artists like the late Peter Hutton.

And starting on Sept. 15, Rapfogel’s scheduled another program that continues Anthology’s efforts to preserve and uncover important, overlooked works.

“The ‘Woman With a Movie Camera’ series is something that is gonna be really kind of amazing, a pretty broad survey of female-directed films, pre-1950,” he explained, asserting that while the program features selections by bigger names like Alice Guy-Blaché, it more prominently includes little-known and international films from the early era of motion pictures. “I think there are a lot of discoveries to be made there.”

Going forward, Rapfogel has lined up a program for the 50th anniversary of the London Filmmaker’s Co-op, and, in October, a variety of programs that focus on horror, including a retrospective of Italian gore master Lucio Fulci.

“He’s best known as a horror filmmaker, but he made films in a crazy variety of genres,” said Rapfogel. “The idea is really to call attention to them.”

He’s also letting the reins go for a bit, for a series called “Medium is the Massacre.”

“John Dieringer, who runs Screen Slate, he’s guest-curating a series, [that’s] kind of a blast, that’s going focusing on horror films in which media — cinema, TV, the Internet — play a major role in terms of the plot,” he revealed, noting such cult titles as “Videodrome” and “Poltergeist” would be featured.

Anthology Film Archives is located at 32 Second Ave. (at Second St.). Call 212-515-5181 or visit anthologyfilmarchives.org.

METROGRAPH Having first opened its doors this past March, Metrograph is the new kid on the block (especially compared to stalwarts like Anthology and Film Forum), but the Downtown venue has already made a name for itself with its idiosyncratic programming and a bold sense of style.

FILM continued on p. 19 .com

Photo by Mirella Cheeseman

Courtesy Metrograph

The distinct retro-futurist style and architecture of Metrograph evokes 1920s New York theaters, and reflects the personality of the founders and staff.

Japanese horror director Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s “Creepy” comes to Metrograph just in time for Halloween.

FILM continued from p. 18

“I think the thing that sets Metrograph apart from other places that already exist in the city is just the personality that’s diffused throughout the entire identity of the cinema,” noted programmer Aliza Ma. “And by that, I mean the tangible aspects: the design, every element of the architecture, the aesthetics, all the way down to the programming.”

Stepping into the venue, the sense of style can’t be denied, from its retro-futurist bar and concession (and upscale dining room) to its wooden seats in the screening rooms. A quick glance at its schedule, which features a mind-boggling array of 35mm screenings, also confirms Ma’s claims.

“I feel like within the last 10 years, film, it went from being the dominant industry format to almost becoming sort of a museum rarity,” Ma asserted.

“There’s a certain connectivity between distribution, archiving and exhibition, and our hope is that drop by drop, our efforts to continue exhibiting film will

affect some kind of change.”

Nowhere is this commitment to 35mm more apparent than in the retrospective programs, which Ma conceives and executes with her co-programmer Jake Perlin. “[Our process is] pretty much what you might do if you just wanted to brainstorm a bunch of programs. We have a board where we write all these ideas that might be really cool,” she explained.

The results have been wide-ranging and eclectic, from their Robert Aldrich retrospective (starting Sept. 15) to their “Queer ’90s” series (Oct. 5), which is “meant to survey a time when the visibility of queer characters became more prominent in every aspect of cinema,” and capitalize on the sense of ’90s nostalgia Ma has observed Downtown.

The current programming centerpiece is “Welcome to Metrograph,” where the programmers select favorites in alphabetical order. Sept./Oct. find the alphabetized amalgamation hitting M and N for titles.

“It’s a total extension of our person-

ality,” Ma said, noting the only context for the films is the cinema they’re playing in. “With ‘Welcome to Metrograph,’ it’s almost like we thought of it so intuitively, and we thought of it because we didn’t want to establish a new canon or even an anti-canon. And I really dislike the listicle culture that is so pervasive now, so we were like, ‘What if we just listed films that we really like alphabetically?’ And now it’s like a joke that’s gone, like, so far that we have to carry it out completely.” The selections run the gamut from George Miller’s “Mad Max” to Chantal Ackerman’s “News From Home.”

In addition to series, starting Sept. 8, the theater is giving a full theatrical run to a new 35mm print of 1982’s “Chan is Missing.”

“It’s such a landmark ChineseAmerican film, which is different from a Chinese film,” said Ma. “It’s as American as a John Ford western, but it’s made wholly of the Asian-American experience, and it’s this sort of interesting play on the legacy of film noir.”

Nonetheless, Metrograph still has a commitment to presenting adventurous new releases. Ma’s particularly excited about the release of “Little Sister,” a film about a present day 20-something nun visiting her family. “We thought it was such a really sweet film about family, it’s kind of playful and also very moving,” described Ma. Around Halloween a feature called “Creepy” will premiere, hailing from Kiyoshi Kurosawa, “a veteran Japanese horror director” returning to his roots “Hopefully people will trust us enough to take a chance on something they’ve never heard of before,” Ma said.

“I’m hoping that the programming and the way that the cinema is laid out will open up the possibility of people associating really great filmgoing memories with Metrograph.”

Metrograph is located at 7 Ludlow St. (btw. Canal & Hester Sts.). Call 212-660-0312 or visit metrograph. com.

FILM continued on p. 20

Theater for the New City • 155 1st Avenue at E. 10th St. Reservations & Info (212) 254-1109 For more info, please visit www.theaterforthenewcity.net

TNC’S AWARD-WINNING STREET THEATER COMPANY’S 2016 ANNUAL SUMMER STREET THEATER TOUR

“ELECTION SELECTION or YOU BET” (An Operetta for the Street)

Book, Lyrics & Direction

by Crystal Field Music Composed and Arranged

by Joseph Vernon Banks 9/17 - 2PM - Staten Island - Corporal Thompson Park at Broadway and Wayne St. 9/18 - 2PM - Manhattan - St. Marks Church (FINAL PERFORMANCE!) E. 10th Street & Second Avenue .com

TNC’s 7th Annual

Dream Up Festival

19 Productions, 15 World Premieres!

Musicals, Comedy, Drama, Experimental, International and more For a full listing of shows visit DreamUpFestival.org to purchase tickets visit smarttix.com or call (212) 868-4444 September 08 - 14, 2016

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FILM continued from p. 19

IFC CENTER Sitting somewhere between the fresh-faced eagerness of Metrograph and the elder statesmen of Film Forum and Anthology lies IFC Center, which has been drawing people in from the West 4 Street subway stop since it opened in 2005.

“We’re in such a fortunate position in Downtown New York,” said John Vanco, general manager of IFC. “[The area] is so diverse and so dense that really outstanding cinema, even if it’s challenging, even if it seems to appeal to a narrow constituency, even if the cinema itself is kind of difficult and its rewards seem obscure and hard to pull out — quality is very much rewarded by audiences here.

And so we are able to be ambitious with our programs.”

Vanco credited their strength as a theater to the careful selection of new releases (often led by positive critical notices) and their select retrospective runs (such as their currently running program of Keilslowski’s epic “Dekalog”).

A glance at the fall slate is something of a who’s who of working independent directors, including “Certain Women” by Kelly Reichardt, Ava DuVernay’s “The 13th,” Herzog’s “Into the Inferno,” and André Téchiné’s new film.

Vanco’s particularly proud of their documentary slate — including DOC NYC. That November fest is the largest documentary showcase in the country, and will open this year with “Citizen Jane: Battle for the City,” about urban planning activist Jane Jacobs’ battle with NYC builder Robert Moses.

The release Vanco is most excited about is “Fire at Sea,” and with good reason — the refugee doc took home the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival.

“It puts such a human face on what could otherwise seem like a dry, political debate, and instead this movie turns it into this very real kind of emotional set of stories about people who are trying to keep their children alive, and trying to just get from day to day,” he commented.

While new releases are the theater’s forte, they do maintain the robust series “Weekend Classics” and “Waverly Midnights” for cult films.

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Courtesy IFC Center

The marquee of IFC Center, which greets people stepping out of the West 4 Street subway station.

“[There’s] a repertory of movies that people just want to see time and time again on the big screen, so you know, that’s something that’s, I think, an important part of being a neighborhood cinema.”

Another hallmark of IFC is their frequent Q&A sessions with directors, writers, and actors, as well as other assorted talks.

“I think we do more in-person events than any other theater, and it’s really a priority for us,” Vanco explained. “It’s really kind of evolved into this core part of what we do, and it’s really a community-building project.”

“In New York, the greatest and most creative and most curious and most ambitious film artists in America all come together here,” he elaborated. “It’s a real responsibility of ours to kind of be a place where they can gather and support each other.”

However, Vanco was also sure to note that this sense of duty extends beyond just IFC, and is thankful that other independent cinemas exist in the area.

“IFC needs those other theaters to help raise the bar for the New York cinema because we need a new crop every year of new people coming in, young people coming in to celebrate

Courtesy IFC Center

A still from “Citizen Jane,” a selection of IFC’s DOC NYC fest, about urban activist Jane Jacobs.

these cinemas,” Vanco observed.

“I think New York needs a variety of different kinds of cinemas that are all ambitious in their kinds of areas, because what New York needs to be is a kind of an island,” he continued.

“It’ll mean that when movie-mad 17, 18, 20, 25-year-olds come out from the rest of the country trying to figure out how they can do something in video or film, we want them to keep

being drawn to New York. I mean, that’s what drew me to New York, is seeing, like, ‘Wow, all these different movies are actually on the big screen in New York, this weekend? How is that possible?’ Because the rest of the country, there’s just no place else that has this.”

IFC Center is located at 323 Sixth Ave. (at W. Third St.). Call 212-9247771 or visit ifccenter.com. .com

Reeding is Fundamental

Oboe soloists featured in local concerts

BY SCOTT STIFFLER September is turning out to be a very good month for fans of the oboe who don’t want to travel past West Chelsea to get their fill of that soprano-range woodwind instrument, whose roots can be traced back to the mid-17th century.

That’s when — so goes the widely accepted but not completely uncontested origin tale — French musicians Jean Hotteterre and Michel Danican Philidor sought to create a softer-sounding 2.0 version of the shawm, the prevailing double-reed instrument of the day. Flash forward to 2016: Instantly recognizable but rarely a headliner, the oboe is being given ample opportunity to shine by a pair of Chelseabased cultural stalwarts.

Photo by Margaret Westreich

Rachel Seiden performs Strauss, at The Chelsea Symphony’s Sept.

9 and 10 concerts.

THE CHELSEA SYMPHONY All roads lead to freedom of expression, expressed with idiosyncratic verve; when a local treasure, The Chelsea Symphony, draws upon a world’s worth of talent for their 2016/2017 “Flight Paths” series — devoted to the music of composers who have been inspired by, or have immigrated to, the United States of America. The September season-opener presents Chinese folk songs from Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Zhou Long, and NYC-based oboist Rachel Seiden, the featured soloist on Richard Strauss’ “Oboe Concerto in D major, TrV 292.”

Reuben Blundell and Matthew Aubin conduct.

Fri., Sept. 9, 8:30pm & Sat., Sept. 10, 7:30pm at St. Paul’s German Lutheran Church (315 W. 22nd St., btw. Eighth & Ninth Aves.). For tickets ($25 premium reserved, $20 general admission suggested donation at the door), visit thechelseasymphony.eventbrite.com. Also visit chelseasymphony.org.

SUMMER MUSIC IN CHELSEA The time of music wafting on warm winds hasn’t quite come to a close, as the Summer Music in Chelsea series will demonstrate during their mid-month concert. Oboist Carolyn Pollak is the soloist, and Tong Chen conducts the .com

Photo by Rich Pollak

Carolyn Pollak, former principal oboist for the NJ Symphony Orchestra, is a featured soloist at Sept. 14’s Summer Music in Chelsea concert.

New Amsterdam Summer Orchestra — whose selections include Mozart’s “Symphony No. 4 in D Major K. 19,” Vivaldi’s “Oboe Concerto RV454,” and, on the bicentennial of its composition, Schubert’s “Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major.” Brooklyn-based artist Maria Tsaguriya will be on hand to create works of art during the concert.

Wed., Sept. 14, 7:30pm at St. Peter’s Church in Chelsea (346 W. 20th St., btw.

Eighth & Ninth Aves.). Suggested donation of $10 ($5 for students/seniors) benefits the Food Pantry at St. Peter’s.

How a child learns to learn will impact his or her life forever.

City and Country School Keeping the progress in progressive education. Two-Year-Olds – 8th Grade

Open House: Thursday, November 17, 6:00 - 8:00pm 146 West 13th Street, New York, NY 10011 Tel: 212.242.7802

www.cityandcountry.org September 08 - 14, 2016

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Rhymes With Crazy THE WEST SIDE’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER

Publisher

Jennifer Goodstein

Editor Scott Stiffler

Editorial Assistant Sean Egan

Art Director Michael Shirey

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Contributors

Lincoln Anderson Jane Argodale Stephanie Buhmann Jackson Chen Sean Egan Alex Ellefson Winnie McCroy Colin Mixson Puma Perl Paul Schindler Trav S.D. Eileen Stukane

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Account Executives Jack Agliata Lauren Blair Allison Greaker Jim Steele Julio Tumbaco

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Chelsea Now is published weekly by NYC Community Media

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(212) 229-1890. Annual subscription by mail in Manhattan and Brooklyn $75. The entire contents of newspaper, including advertising, are copyrighted and no part may be reproduced without the express permission of the publisher - © 2016 NYC Community Media LLC, Postmaster: Send address changes to Chelsea Now, One Metrotech North, 10th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201.

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Summer of Sam, Best Pest Man

BY LENORE SKENAZY To everything there is a season, especially if you’re a household pest: A time for mice, a time for ants. A time to eat wood, a time to suck blood. And a time for all those roaches under ovens.

No one knows this better than the experienced exterminator.

“There’s a different insect or problem every month,” says Sam Ramos, proprietor of Above and Beyond Pest Management in Rockaway Park, Queens, doing business citywide, but mostly in Brooklyn.

If this is April, it must be termite season.

May? Carpenter bees. And which pest pops inside in November?

Hint: It is a creature that was much beloved by Walt Disney.

Hint #2: It is not a duck.

How do I know all this?

I had a long, meandering conversation with Sam, my savior. Six months ago, when I could no longer convince myself it was my imagination, and that little brown things were indeed running for cover every time I turned on the kitchen light, I sat down at my computer and did what any full-blooded New Yorker does at such a time.

I vowed never to leave a single dish a single second in the sink ever again if only someone would come and make my home undepressing again.

Then I called a couple of exterminators I found online, and one of them — Sam — sounded positively jubilant.

“Roaches? Piece of cake!” he said.

He told me they’re easy to get rid of, and guaranteed his work for six months.

Since it is now six months later and I can still turn on the kitchen light without screaming, I wondered if he’d spill the beans

RECOVERY continued from p. 8

Price, and she struggled even to scrape together funding to repair The Battery’s upper promenade.

In the aftermath of 9/11, however, everything changed. Public support for reinvigorating the park surged along with the overall momentum to rebuild Downtown, and the newly formed LMDC offered millions of dollars in grants.

An initial $8 million grant allowed Price to transform The

(and then carefully clean them up) about the rest of New York and its infestations.

That’s when I learned about the Seasons of the Pest.

Right now, says Sam, we are in the midst of stinging season, which began in July. But because this summer has been so outrageously hot and humid, he has also been getting out-of-season calls about roaches.

Not just ordinary roaches.

“In 22 years I’ve only seen them fly once,” he told me. “That was maybe 15 year ago. And now they’re flying again.”

Great.

This summer may also be remembered, at least by Sam, for its millipede and centipede explosion. These leggy pests tend to be more of an issue in homes made of brick, he said, because bricks are porous, “and with humidity, they actually sweat.”

Out come their inhabitants. For folks who live in brick houses, Sam recommends a dehumidifier. “It’s a small investment and it’ll save your home. Water is the enemy.”

Once fall arrives, the stinging insects drop off and in many places, the ants do, too.

“But what if you have a heat-radiant floor?” asks Sam. It’s nice and warm for ants, too. For an easy mnemonic, think “Radi-ANT” heat.

In October and November, rodents come in from the cold. Waterbugs show up, too, because that’s when the heat goes on.

“Once the pipes get hot they can’t nest in the walls, so they tend to come out around the radiators,” says Sam. And then everything that needs to stay toasty inside does — for the rest of the winter (unless Sam gets there).

Come April, he says, “When one day it’s 40 and then one day it’s 70 and every-

Bosque. An acre of Belgian block pavement was torn up and replaced with perennial gardens, turning the relatively gray space into a vast flowerbed bursting with color.

The project so impressed the LMDC that it continued to provide funding for additional renovations over the years, and local government took a renewed interest in sprucing up the space as Downtown’s residential population boomed and tourists flooded the area on the pilgrimage to Ground Zero

body puts their shorts on and heads to the park? That’s termite day,” says Sam. They swarm. This can be outside the house or — OMG— inside.

In May the carpenter bees bore into the underside of decks, mating as they go. And pretty soon it’s summer with the stinging things again.

The good news is that New Yorkers’ two biggest enemies — roaches and bedbugs — are no longer the intractable problems they were. A new poison embedded in a delicious (to roaches) gel is doubly effective: It kills the roaches and then kills (put down your fork) the roaches that eat them.

And after 15 or 20 years of trying to kill bedbugs, exterminators have finally come up with a poison that does the job without accidentally sending the bloodsuckers scattering. Since bedbugs are generally happy right there in the bed, targeted killing means that’s where they die, and people don’t have to throw out all their belongings anymore, because the bugs never scrambled away.

I asked Sam how it feels to rid the city of pests. He answered with a story: Once, he was once called in to treat a six-story building overrun by bedbugs because of an earlier mis-treatment (mistreat and they scatter), even in the walls.

He did the job and then, he moved into an apartment there.

“The neighbors love me,” he said. “It’s like having a doctor in the house.”

Seasons come, seasons go. But a good exterminator passeth all understanding.

Lenore Skenazy is a keynote speaker who authored the book, and founded the blog, Free-Range Kids (freerangekids. com).

and later the 9/11 memorial.

“The city and City Council all believed that The Battery was important to the revitalization of Downtown,” said Price.

With support from the LMDC, the city, and from locals through the conservancy’s own fundraising efforts, The Battery has become a world-class green space of fountains, gardens, playgrounds, and amenities.

The park has since unveiled the popular Seaglass Carousel, the Labyrinth Maze, its Urban Farm, the Battery Oval, and

become home to the largest collection of perennial gardens in the city, featuring nearly two-and-a-half football fields worth of flowering plants.

Once gray, sterile and often empty, over the past 15 years The Battery has literally blossomed, and become vibrant, active, and full of life — much like Downtown itself.

“It represents a grand revitalization,” said Price, “a sense that nothing will get us down, that we’re building better than we ever thought possible.”

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