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September 22 - October 05, 2016 | ManhattanExpressNews.nyc

Out of Chelsea’s Malibu Diner, Red Cross Feeds Neighbors in Need

EILEEN STUKANE

Lorena Velastegui and Paul Allwright are among the 50 Red Cross volunteers serving the needs of the Chelsea community following Saturday evening’s West 23rd Street explosion.

BY EILEEN STUKANE

J

ust as a kitchen is often the heart of a home, the Malibu Diner, at 163 West 23rd Street, quickly became a key gathering spot in Chelsea as the neighborhood recovered from the damage and shock of a bomb that exploded just doors down at 131 West 23rd Street early Saturday evening.

In the wake of that blast, the nearly 200-plus visually impaired residents of the 14-story Selis Manor at 135 West 23rd Street were required to shelter in place.

Nearby businesses, in contrast, were given the opposite instructions by authorities. Told to evacuate, Malibu owners Alex Grimpas and José Collardo were forced to close down that evening.

But, a community, particularly one battered by such a jolt, needs its beating heart, and with personal entreaties to Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio from Barbara Police — a resident of Selis Manor who had worked in the administration of the governor’s late father, Mario Cuomo — the Malibu was able to reopen on Sunday morning, just in time to partner with the American Red Cross of Greater New York to see that those stranded in the Selis received Sunday brunch. De Blasio and Cuomo stood under the Malibu’s awning barely a dozen hours

after the bomb went off to open up the restaurant.

The brunch followed a typical Sunday morning routine, as the Malibu has been serving breakfast to residents at Selis Manor for the past three years.

“We know almost everybody by name,” Collardo said. “I know where they live, and a lot of them have my cellphone number.”

Grimpas added, “Yes, we do business here but we’re also here to give back to the community.”

In 2013, the Malibu and Selis Manor worked out a voucher system that would allow Malibu to provide at-cost breakfasts for residents. Grimpas thought he would be delivering the meals — but it turned out that residents welcomed the opportunity to leave their apartments and socialize.

Blind or visually impaired, they know the number of steps they must walk to travel from their residence to the doors of the Malibu, and Grimpas and Collardo offer a welcoming environment and nutritious meals of fruit, yogurt, and eggs, among other selections.

Responding to the need to deliver, now that residents had to remain in their homes, the owners worked with the Red Cross to get breakfasts to Selis Manor on Sunday and the following day, as well.

“The Red Cross does pay for the meals, but we give them a price

ManhattanExpressNews.nyc | September 22 - October 05, 2016

EILEEN STUKANE

Malibu Diner owners José Collardo and Alex Grimpas.

that is very, very low for 200 breakfasts,” Grimpas said.

The owners also decided to donate food to the emergency workers and responders on the scene, and to allow them use of their bathroom facilities. While this reporter visited the Malibu, boxed meals were being carried out by Red Cross volunteers.

“When there is a resident that is impacted that’s when the Red Cross comes into play,” said Uikki O’Bryant, senior disaster program manger of the American Red Cross of Greater New York, as she organized her volunteers. “We are

helping address the emergency management staff that are on the scene, making sure they’re hydrated. This is what the Red Cross does. We come at the time of need.

We’re really trying to represent the community, neighbors helping neighbors.”

Josh Lockwood, American Red Cross in Greater New York’s regional CEO, visiting the area, explained, “Immediately after the event, part of our role is to support the first responders with meals and water, and mental health counseling if

c RED CROSS, continued on p.12

SCOTT STIFFLER

A Red Cross emergency response vehicle, parked outside of the Malibu Diner on Monday morning.

3

Its Middle Class “Hosts” Stepping Up,

Airbnb Launches Assault on NYS Fines

BY JACKSON CHEN & PAUL SCHINDLER

T

o counter the threat of legislation passed earlier this year by the State Senate and Assembly, Airbnb, on September 10, launched a Fighting for Hosts campaign aimed at forestalling the possibility that Governor Andrew Cuomo will sign the measure.

During a Host Day New York event in Manhattan, the home-sharing company, based in San Francisco, announced the campaign and conducted workshops and networking for Airbnb hosts, who advertise their homes for short-term rental on the company’s site.

“We... stand behind our host community and are prepared to give them the resources they need to defeat the flawed laws pushed by special interests,” Josh Meltzer, Airbnb’s head of New York public policy, said. “Hosts’ voices need to be heard and lawmakers need to know that targeting middle class New Yorkers for simply sharing their own home with visitors is not without consequence.”

Airbnb’s campaign comes as Cuomo weighs legislation that would impose steep fines for advertising, in any media, home rentals for less than 30 days, which is illegal in New York State.

Under the bill, first-time offenders would be hit with a $1,000 fine that would increase to $5,000 for the second offense and $7,500 for the third strike.

While the bill’s proponents emphasize the impact that landlords renting out units short-term — and thereby creating “illegal hotels” — has in reducing available affordable housing, Airbnb counters that the “vast majority” of “hosts” participating in the market are renting out their own homes.

“The majority of Airbnb’s users are commercial operators who often warehouse dozens and even hundreds of apartments which would otherwise be available to hard-working New York families,”

4

JACKSON CHEN

Former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, an advisor to Airbnb, addresses the home-sharing company’s September 10 Host Day New York event.

Upper West Side State Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal, the bill’s sponsor, said in a release earlier this year explaining the measure. “As we desperately try to fight to stem the loss of precious units of affordable housing, Airbnb’s presence in New York City is contributing to such a rapid loss of affordable housing that we simply cannot replace the units as fast as they are being lost to Airbnb. It must be stopped.”

Meanwhile, she asserted, tenants who rent out their own apartments may be doing so illegally and, so, “often face hefty fines and even eviction.”

Airbnb, she charged, “refuses to notify New Yorkers of the responsibilities under the law, [so] it is crucial that we do so. This bill will protect tenants against preventable eviction and will help them to stay in their homes.”

In a September 6 letter to Cuomo and legislative leaders, however, Airbnb’s general counsel, Rob Chestnut, argued that the “vast majority” of its hosts occupy the apartments they are renting out and that the company supports “efforts to protect permanent housing by discouraging commercial operators from using our platform.”

Since last November, Chestnut said, the company’s site has purged 2,570 New York City listings Airbnb

believes “pose the risk of taking permanent housing off the market.”

The company is introducing TV and online ads through November aimed at rallying public support for its business, in part by providing data on the benefits middle and working class New Yorkers enjoy from being able to rent out their homes on a short-term basis.

Of the nearly 40,000 “hosts” in New York City, Chestnut wrote, 96 percent list a single property and earn $5,300 a year from renting their homes out for an average of three days a month. His letter emphasized the benefits of hosting for African Americans, women, especially women seniors, millennials, and those living in economically “vulnerable communities.”

Chestnut pointed to recent legislation approved in Chicago that distinguishes between commercial operators creating illegal hotels and individuals renting out their own homes.

Even as Chestnut emphasized the benefits of Airbnb, he made clear that should Cuomo sign the legislation, the company is prepared to “immediately commence litigation.”

Support for the measure Cuomo is mulling is diverse, suggesting there is concern both about large landlords keeping units off the long-term rental market and

about individual tenants making extra money by subletting for brief periods. While hotel workers and affordable housing advocates complain that illegal hotels undercut unionized labor and reduce available housing options in the city, some large landlords are concerned about their tenants profiting from short-term renters but sharing none of those proceeds.

The company’s September 10 event featured a high profile advisor to Airbnb, former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, who also contrasted New York’s pending legislation with regulations adopted elsewhere, including his home town.

“There are a number of concerns about the pending legislation,” Nutter said of the bill awaiting Cuomo’s signature. “It seems to not differentiate between responsible New Yorkers who share their own home and the commercial operators who actively remove permanent housing from the market.”

But Rosenthal is not alone in her view that the real problem posed by “home-sharing” is the incentives landlords now have to skirt existing restrictions on short-term rentals and create illegal hotels.

In late 2014, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman released a report showing “widespread illegality” in Airbnb listings in New York City, with more than 100 operators, each controlling 10 units or more, booking nearly 50,000 reservations between 2010 and 2014. At that time, Schneiderman asserted, up to 72 percent of Airbnb listings in New York were illegal.

Last year, Upper West Side City Councilmember Helen Rosenthal and her Washington Heights colleague, Ydanis Rodriguez, proposed legislation that would double the maximum penalty for illegal hotel operators to $50,000, with additional daily fines also doubled, to $2,000.

c AIRBNB, continued on p.16

September 22 - October 05, 2016 | ManhattanExpressNews.nyc

CB7 Meeting Is Flashpoint in Synagogue Demolition Battle

BY JACKSON CHEN

T

he congregants of an Upper West Side synagogue have come out in aggressive defense of plans to demolish their current building, paving the way for a mixed-use development in its place, as opponents of the plan are falling short in their hopes of moving the West 93rd Street structure toward landmarked status.

Community Board 7, with no specific plans for any new development in front of it, has no role at this point in weighing in on the controversy, but its full board meeting on September 6 became an arena for members of Congregation Shaare Zedek to face off against opponents from the West Nineties Neighborhood Coalition.

Plans to demolish the synagogue, located at at 212 West 93rd Street, came to the attention of CB7 from the coalition during an August 17 meeting of the board’s Land Use and Housing Committees.

According to Ronna Blaser, a coalition member, residents living near the synagogue received an April notice that the building would be demolished to make way for a 14-story development, with the lower three floors serving as the new synagogue and the remaining 11 comprised of condo units.

While there are no plans yet filed with the

Department of Buildings and the April notice gave few specific details, residents concerned by the information they did have came together in the coalition and were able to uncover the fact that Ornstein Leyton Company, a Long Islandbased development company, is the prime mover behind the project, on which the synagogue can currently move forward as of right.

As the opposition focuses on landmarking a building that dates to 1922, congregants on hand September 6 warned that the property’s redevelopment is necessary to sustain the congregation on the Upper West Side.

According to the synagogue’s president, Michael Firestone, Shaare Zedek’s situation leaves congregants with two stark alternatives — redevelopment or an empty structure that no one can afford to maintain.

“The synagogue’s sole asset is the building and the land underneath it,” Firestone said.

“The sale of the building is the only way to be solvent. If you landmark the building, the synagogue will be dissolved, that is a fact.”

According to Rosalind Paaswell, the for mer president of Shaare Zedek, the synagogue building is seriously deteriorating and is in dire need of revitalization.

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c DEMOLITION, continued on p.16

JACKSON CHEN

Congregation Shaare Zedek on West 93rd Street, built in 1922, has become the center of a community battle over preservation and its cost.

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ManhattanExpressNews.nyc | September 22 - October 05, 2016

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5

UES Push to Honor Henry Stern Sooner Rather than Later

BY JACKSON CHEN

I

n a move that would preempt traditional practice for dedicating park facilities in New York City, residents and elected officials on the Upper East Side are pressing to rename the pool in John Jay Park after Henry Stern, the former longtime commissioner of the Department of Parks and Recreation.

During a September 8 meeting of Community Board 8’s Parks Committee, locals were joined by former colleagues of Stern’s in urging the parks department to honor what they describe as a unique legacy of hard work and dedication to the city.

Though protocol has limited such dedications to luminaries after their deaths, advocates of the pool renaming hope that the facility — inside a small city park located on little-known Cherokee Place, east of York Avenue between East 76th and East 78th Streets — can pay tribute to Stern, 81 and an Upper East Side resident, while he can enjoy the honor.

“Henry is just so deserving of the recognition by the city,” said Morgan Pehme, the former executive director of New York Civic, a watchdog group formed by Stern after his years in government. “It would be a wonderful gesture and a fitting tribute to him if we could recognize him in his lifetime with the renaming of the John Jay pool.”

Trailing behind only Robert Moses, Stern has the distinction of being the city’s second-longest-serving parks commissioner, with a 15-year tenure split between the administrations of two mayors from different political parties — under Ed Koch, from 1983 to 1990, and Rudy Giuliani, from 1994 to 2000.

The former commissioner’s career in public service, however, began much earlier — in 1957.

According to Adrian Benepe, another former parks commissioner, Stern began his 40-plus years working for the city after graduating from Harvard Law School at age 22. Despite having a law degree from one of the top schools in the country, with all the lucrative offers that could open up, Benepe explained, Stern chose to enter public service by working as a law clerk for State Supreme Court Justice Matthew Levy.

Before assuming the helm at the parks department, Stern held a variety of senior posts for two Manhattan borough presidents, a deputy mayor, and beginning in 1969 with the new Department of Consumer Affairs. He was also a Manhattan at-large member of the City Council, elected for two terms beginning in 1973 on the Liberal Party Line.

Stern himself explained that the variety in his résumé stemmed not only from good fortune but also from an independence of mind that allowed him to judge matters in front of him based on the merits and not the politics.

6

THOMAS GOOD / NLN

NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION

Henry Stern, the former longtime parks commissioner, outside City Hall in 2008.

The pool at John Jay Park that admirers of Henry Stern hope to have named for him.

“I don’t know of any job that’s brought the personal satisfaction of working with different people, rich and poor,” Stern said. “I was just so happy that I chose to become a city employee.”

According to Pehme, Stern had always had a real love for public swimming pools and worked in creative fashion not only to advocate for them but also to encourage their use. To promote the pool at John Jay Park, which lies at the far east end of 77th Street, Stern would hold an annual event on July 7 beginning at 7:07 a.m. and invite New Yorkers to swim either seven or 77 laps with him to celebrate the city’s pools.

“People didn’t realize that the community pool was very nice,” Stern said. “On a hot day, it’s a lifesaver, and there’s people who can’t take the subways and go to Coney Island and the Rockaways.

As someone who frequented that pool, Stern said that for him it has served as a cultural lens into the neighborhood.

“The use of the pool has reflected the changing population of the Upper East Side,” he said.

“It used to be poor kids and then they were gentrified, and the pool has increasingly a middle class swimmer base.”

All that has ever mattered to the parks department, Stern said, was that neighbor hood residents had a nearby facility in which to swim. Having a pool that has provided recreational access to so many named in his honor would be humbling, he said.

“It’s an unexpected pleasure to have so many people call for this decision, so I’m deeply touched by it,” Stern said.

Pehme recalled how Stern succeeded in preserving the indoor pool at the Gertrude Ederle Recreation Center on West 60th Street by staging a swim-in.

Benepe agreed with Pehme’s assessment that

Stern was a fierce champion of the city’s pools and instrumental in securing funding even during rough economic patches for the city — but also noted the former parks chief’s equally determined advocacy for trees. Stern, he said, coined the term “arborcide,” a usage later recognized in New York City Council law.

“Henry I’d call an honorary Druid,” Benepe said. “He loves trees, and he took that love of trees to a legal place and made it a criminal penalty if you remove a tree.”

Throughout his long career, Stern always made it a point to visit community board meetings and interact with residents who turned out as well, Benepe recalled. His approachable nature left many community members and elected officials with fond memories of a humble man.

City Councilmember Ben Kallos said he met the former commissioner while serving on CB8 and practicing law full time.

“He took the trouble to look up the practice, and he reached out to me and said, ‘You could do better,’” Kallos recounted, adding that two weeks later he received an offer to be chief of staff to then-Assemblymember Jonathan Bing. “When Henry Stern gives you that talking-to as a complete stranger, it ends up changing things.”

For CB8 member Barry Schneider, Stern brought great energy to the CB8 meetings he attended, the same energy that helped pave the way for many parks.

“When I was the chair of Board 8, I worked with Henry on a number of occasions,” Schneider said. “I’ve never met a more compassionate, more compelling, more dedicated, and more intellectual person than Henry Stern.”

Despite all the affection Stern inspires and the

c STERN, continued on p.7

September 22 - October 05, 2016 | ManhattanExpressNews.nyc

Our Perspective

Eliminate Tip Credit for Car Wash Workers

By Stuart Appelbaum, President, Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, RWDSU, UFCW NYCGOVPARKS.ORG

The Upper East Side’s John Jay Park.

c STERN, from p.6 strong support for honoring him at the John Jay Park pool, one huge hurdle is the conventional practice of only dedicating park property posthumously — something formalized in department policy.

According to sources knowledgeable about the push to rename the pool, Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver is not warm to the idea.

Manhattan Borough Commissioner William Castro acknowledged Stern’s contributions to the parks department and the many communities it serves, while carefully skirting the question of the pool’s renaming.

“Henry Stern is a revered former commissioner for this agency and dear to many near and far,” Castro said. “His leadership and impact on parks is immeasurable.”

In recent years, Stern’s health has become precarious with the progression of Parkinson’s disease.

His mind remains very sharp, according to Pehme, but “his body

is doing him a grave injustice at this moment.”

CB8 Parks Committee, agreeing that there is no need to wait, unanimously passed a resolution at the September 8 meeting urging the Department of Parks and Recreation to honor Stern with the pool’s renaming.

“I think it would be wonderful to support this man and give him this one full honor while he is alive,” said Judy Schneider, a Parks Committee member. “I don’t think we should wait until he passes away to do something like this.”

Those advocating for the renaming note that precedent for acting at this time can be found in the David N. Dinkins Municipal Building downtown and the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge.

“Oftentimes we do these renamings after someone who has made a difference on their street and their community,” Pehme said.

“Henry Stern, a proud Upper East Sider, has made a difference in every community in the city.” n

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ManhattanExpressNews.nyc | September 22 - October 05, 2016

C

ar wash workers in New York City – or “carwasheros,” as they call themselves – have made great strides since their campaign to unionize began in 2012. Hundreds of carwasheros at 10 car washes have won the dignity and respect that comes with union membership.

Union contracts have given carwasheros – for the first time – paid time off, the ability to return to their home countries for visits and have their jobs protected, and guaranteed wage and benefit improvements.

But throughout New York State, the so-called “tip credit” threatens to continue to undermine progress that workers are making in the car wash industry.

The tip credit is a part of New York State minimum wage law that allows industry operators to pay car wash workers a different, lower minimum wage. In theory, workers’ tips are supposed to make up the difference, and possibly more. And, if workers’ tips don’t raise the level of pay to at least the minimum wage, car wash employers are supposed to make up the difference in additional hourly wages.

In actual practice, it’s a flawed system that enables wage theft and contributes to systemic underpayment of car wash workers – exactly what the car wash unionizing campaign and carwasheros have been fighting against. Investigations have shown that employers don’t always make up the extra pay for workers when tips are short, and carwasheros don’t always receive the tips customers presume they are getting. We shouldn’t be giving unscrupulous employers additional incentives to underpay their workers.

Earlier this summer, workers at one Queens car wash won a $130,000 settlement against an owner who was paying below minimum wage, withholding overtime pay, and committing other wage and hour violations. And that’s just the latest settlement of many, including one that saw a New York carwash operator pay almost $4 million in 2014. Wage theft is still rampant in the industry, and the tip credit helps create an environment where it happens.

The Cuomo Administration has done a good job prosecuting wage theft, and helping win justice for workers across New York.

But we need to do more. We call upon the Governor and the state legislature to eliminate the car wash tip credit, and bring the base pay for all car wash workers in New York up to the minimum wage.

It’s an important move that will show New York’s commitment to fighting for worker rights, and protect worker pay.

www.rwdsu.org 7

Parks Department, Community at Loggerheads

on Queensboro Oval’s Future

BY JACKSON CHEN

C

ommunity Board 8 and elected officials are gearing up for a battle to take back Queensboro Oval for full-time public use even as the Department of Parks and Recreation made clear its intention to issue a request for proposals for continued private management of the park land.

Representatives of the Department of Parks and Recreation attended CB8’s Parks Committee meeting on September 8 to discuss the preliminary licensing details they envision for the park located under the Queensboro Bridge on York Avenue between East 59th and 60th Streets.

The license for the park’s current operator, Sutton East Tennis and its owner T ony Scol-

nick, expires in August 2017.

To make for a smooth transition between operators, the parks department infor med CB8 it is planning to issue an RFP as early as mid-October.

While the RFP has not been drafted yet, the agency representatives said they’re looking for a vendor to commit to a 10-year license, with as many as nine months each year devoted to a designated use and at least three months open for free public use, according to David Cerron, Parks’ chief of revenue, concessions, and controls oversight.

The parks department said it is looking for any type of indoor or outdoor sports recreation facility, including — but not limited to — an ice rink, soccer pitch, football field, or even tennis courts again.

JACKSON CHEN

Neighborhood residents gathered for a June rally demanding that Queensboro Oval be returned to full time public use when the current tennis club lease expires next August.

“The goal is really to activate the site for as many members of the public for as long a period of time as possible,” Phil Abramson, the

agency’s revenue communications director, said.

c OVAL, continued on p.9

Push to Move Citi Bike Dock Out of Pedestrian-Free UES Block

BY JACKSON CHEN

C

JIM CLYNES

The Citi Bike docking station on East 91st Street just west of Second Avenue sits in the would-be bike lane and adjacent to benches used by local seniors.

8

ommunity Board 8 has requested the relocation of a Citi Bike docking station on a portion of East 91st Street that is vehicle-free and frequented by many elderly and disabled residents.

Community Board 8’s Transportation Committee had earlier approved the docking station’s location as part of a bundle of new sites for the bike-sharing program as it expanded north toward East 110th Street. Now, CB8 is raising concerns that the city Department of Transportation is not following up sufficiently to gauge how the expansion is working out.

After roughly a month of operation for the new docking sites, CB8, on September 7, submitted a request to the Department of Transportation that the Citi Bike station on the south side of East 91st Street just west of Second Avenue be relocated. In its request, the board suggested the docking station be moved onto the sidewalk on Second Avenue running from East 91st to East 90th Street adjacent to a fence that surrounds a small park.

“It’s a sloping street that’s closed to vehicular traffic,” Jim Clynes, chair of CB8, said of the block of East 91st Street that runs from Third to

Second Avenue. “It’s used by the public to enjoy, cars have never gone up and down, and they put the bike rack there without coming to us.”

A year ago, City Councilmember Ben Kallos warned that a Citi Bike station located at the end of a downhill block would encourage cyclists to zip down the slope to drop off their bikes and requested that it be strategically moved to avoid that. That request was rejected, and Kallos is now supporting CB8’s efforts.

“The problem I have seen is people going the wrong way on 91st Street, both coming down [the slope] which they’re only supposed to be coming up, or going down from the station to Second Avenue,” the councilmember said. “By moving it over about 10 to 15 feet, it will change the psychology of how folks approach it.”

But according to a DOT spokesperson, the station’s installation followed an “extensive community outreach process that has included meetings and public workshops in each community board.” Several local residents suggested the docking station’s location, the spokesperson asserted, adding that East 91st Street between Second and Third Avenues has been marked a bike route since 2007 and the station is in a

c CITI BIKE, continued on p.12

September 22 - October 05, 2016 | ManhattanExpressNews.nyc

c OVAL, from p.8 However, for community board members and elected officials, the site’s most appropriate use is having it be a full-time park open to the public throughout the entire year.

“If something is unavailable to you 75 percent of the time… if it’s only available 25 percent of the time, I’m not going to be in the habit of using that space,” CB8 member Scott Falk said.

“I’m just never going to go there no matter how close it is.”

According to the Parks representatives, the idea of a full-time park would neglect the current user base of Sutton East Tennis and most likely leave the park empty during the winter months. Many park advocates, however, insisted that if the park were open consistently, neighbors would visit regardless of the weather.

If Parks were to go forward with the RFP, State Assemblymember Dan Quart predicted the only responses would come from operators interested in using the full nine-month allowance.

“If you had an RFP put out for up to nine months, I would assume that entity would want nine months or as close to it as possible,” he said. “I don’t understand the economic viability of anyone who would bid for anything less than nine months.”

Quart said that his ideal outcome would be for a bocce ball vendor to come with two small courts, leaving the rest open to the public, but he added, “I would fail to see how that individual could make that enterprise financially successful.”

Instead, the assemblymember said the manner in which the parks department is approaching the RFP process demonstrates a “failure of vision” on the part of both Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver and Mayor Bill de Blasio.

“If the problem is lack of open space, we’re given an opportunity to think big and have a greater vision of what could be done,” Quart said. “What I’m suggesting is a 365-day use… and I’m not confident that the parameters [Parks is] putting on the RFP will lead to a result we all want.”

Quart is joined by a united front of local officials, including Congressmember Carolyn Maloney, Borough President Gale Brewer, State Senator Liz Krueger, Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright, and City Councilmember Ben Kallos, who all issued an adamant call for opening the park up for full time use during a June 25 rally organized by CB8.

“This is a city park but it has been privatized for decades,” Kallos said. “It is city-owned land for the sole purpose of being park space, and the elected officials have capital funding that we can put into the park.”

He added that instead of pursuing an RFP, the parks department should recognize what he described as a treasure chest of funding options

c OVAL, continued on p.12 ManhattanExpressNews.nyc | September 22 - October 05, 2016

9

Stairways to Heaven Planned for Hudson Yard

BY ALEX ELLEFSON

T

FORBES MASSIE/ HEATHERWICK STUDIO

A rendering of the public square and gardens, including the 150-foot Vessel, looking south from West 33rd Street.

ALEX ELLEFSON

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper moderates a September 14 discussion with Related Companies chair Stephen Ross, designer Thomas Heatherwick, and landscape architect Thomas Woltz.

FORBES MASSIE/ HEATHERWICK STUDIO

A rendering of an upper level view, from inside the Vessel planned for Hudson Yards.

10

he architects and overseers of Hudson Yards have never been reluctant to tout the scale, design, and long-term impact of their ambitious project. Still, plans for the new neighborhood’s monument and public space, unveiled at a lavish September 14 ceremony, further cemented developer Stephen Ross’ vision of creating an attraction to stand tall alongside other iconic Manhattan destinations.

Dubbed the Vessel, the 150-foothigh steel monument — made of latticed staircases and landings — will form the centerpiece of a fiveacre public square in the sprawling development. The structure will allow people to walk more than a mile through the twisting vortex of steps that look out onto lush gardens covering the area.

Ross said at the ceremony he wanted the monument to inspire the same wonder as the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, but offer the experience year-round.

“I wanted to create a 365-day Christmas tree,” he explained. “We wanted something people could relate to and would be participatory, something that would be very exciting and would draw people here time-after-time.”

Ross showcased the design at the outdoor event, hosted by CNN’s Anderson Cooper, that also included a speech by Mayor Bill de Blasio as well as a discussion with designer Thomas Heatherwick, who created the concept for the monument, and landscape architect Thomas Woltz, who crafted the public square and gardens.

Hundreds of people — including commissioners of the FDNY and NYPD, Public Advocate Letitia James, state and city legislators, as well as agency leaders — attended the event, which had the vibe of a Fashion Week soiree. Velvet ropes ringed the dapper guests in the seating area while a cavalry of photographers pursued Ross and de Blasio as they surveyed the site.

“This will be one of the great public squares in New York City,” said de Blasio. “And it’s going to be a place where people want to be just to feel the energy of what’s happen-

ing. Hudson Yards is reenergizing a section of our city that not long ago was disconnected from the vast majority of us. Something is happening here that is opening up vast potential, and it’s exciting to see just how far we can go.”

Hudson Yards is built over a transportation hub used to store commuter trains. Besides the challenge of constructing the collection of sky-scratching towers over the site, the train activity below makes it difficult to support the plants and trees in the plaza.

To make sure soil is cool enough for plant life to flourish, the kinds of fans used in jet engines will blast heat from the rail yard away from the public square. The design also calls for a sophisticated cooling and irrigation system to support the 28,000 plants and more than 200 trees — all native to New York — planned for the site. The plaza will also have a 200-foot-long fountain inspired by a river that flowed through the area 400 years ago.

“It’s a landscape that pushes the boundaries of what landscape architecture might be,” said Woltz.

“Imagine that people can come and enjoy this site, the plaza and garden, without realizing 30 trains are moving beneath you.”

When it’s complete, the plaza’s tree groves and gardens will connect the High Line to the Hudson Park and Boulevard — creating the longest path of open spaces created in Manhattan since Central Park.

To come up with the anchor for the new plaza, Heatherwick said he turned to Indian stepwells, stone staircases that descend into the earth through an inverse pyramid. His concept was to turn that idea inside out. However, Heatherwick said he also drew on personal experience to find inspiration for the design — recalling a time when he plucked an old wooden flight of stairs from a refuse bin on his college campus.

“If we could get a mile of public space, and in a way stitch it all together with 250 flights of stairs and make a project out of it, it would be like a viewing gallery for all the other places around,” he said.

c VESSEL, continued on p.17

September 22 - October 05, 2016 | ManhattanExpressNews.nyc

Police Blotter PUBLIC LEWDNESS: SOUTHBOUND ON THE SUBWAY (14TH PRECINCT) A man was reported “manipulating his private parts” while laying on the southbound 6 train platform at the 33rd Street station on August 18 at around 7:30 a.m., police said. The NYPD released photos of the individual wanted for questioning (available at manhattanexpressnews.nyc), whom they describe as a black male in his 20s and between 5’6” and 5’9”.

GRAND LARCENY: COSMO KLEPTO (MIDTOWN NORTH AND MIDTOWN SOUTH PRECINCTS) Two Duane Reades in Midtown lost more than $2,000 each after a crook nabbed cosmetics at night, police said. According to police, a thief lifted $2,337 in make-up products from the Duane Reade at 535 Fifth Avenue between East 44th and 45th Streets on July 15 at around 8:15 p.m. Several weeks later, on August 2 at around 8:30 p.m., police received reports of someone who stole $2,294 worth of cosmetics from the Duane Reade at 22 West 48th Street. Police released photos of the suspect (available at manhattanexpressnews.nyc), whom they describe as a Hispanic male, last seen wearing a blue and black shirt with white stripes, black jeans, and black sneakers.

ASSAULT: LIGHTING PEOPLE ON FIRE (MIDTOWN NORTH PRECINCT) A 14-year-old was arrested for several hate crimes after lighting women and their clothing on fire, police said. The first incident reported occurred on September 10 at around 9 p.m., when a male suspect lit a woman’s blouse on fire outside Valentino, at 693 Fifth Avenue, between East 54th and 55th Streets, according to police. The female victim told police she was walking when she felt something warm on her left arm and saw her blouse was on fire.

The woman, who was wearing “traditional Arab garments,” patted out the fire and saw a man near her with a lighter in his hand, police said. According to police, the man continued to walk eastbound on East 54th Street and the woman refused medical attention.

Police discovered several days after that

Midtown North Precinct 306 West 54th Street 212-767-8400

there were four more incidents on the same day around the same time. Earlier that day at around 8 p.m., a male was with a group of others when he approached a female teenager and her mother and attempted to set the girl’s T-shirt on fire with a lighter, police said. The victim’s mother then chased off the group, according to police.

Later on September 10 at around 8:45 p.m., a group of two females and three males approached a female victim in front of 727 Fifth Avenue, between East 56th and 57th Streets, police said. One of the men came up behind the victim and ignited a lighter next to her leg, according to police. The woman, who looked unharmed, continued walking north on East 57th Street, as the group continued south on Fifth Avenue.

And roughly 15 minutes later at around 9 p.m., a group set a female victim’s skirt on fire when passing her at the intersection of East 54th Street and Fifth Avenue.

The last reported incident occurred on the same day at around 10 p.m., when a male suspect placed a flame near the arms of two females who were walking into the West 42nd Street-Bryant Park Sixth Avenue subway station, police said. The women saw a black male, around 6’ tall, with a thin build and white T-shirt, holding a black backpack and lighter, according to police. As the women entered a Queens-bound train, the man and the group he was with fled the area, police said.

The teenager apprehended was arrested on two counts of attempted assault, two counts of aggravated assault, and one count of harassment, all charged as hate crimes, in connection with two of the incidents. Police are still looking for two more male suspects and three female suspects.

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.

People with Medicare, Mark Your Calendars!

RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT: STARTING SHOT (MIDTOWN NORTH PRECINCT)

Open enrollment is October 15 to December 7, 2016.

A man fired off a single round into the air at around 5:15 p.m. on August 27 near 448 West 50th Street, police said. There were no reports of injuries in the area, according to police.

Police released photos of the suspect (available at manhattanexpressnews.nyc), whom they describe as a white male, around 30, 5’10”, 190 pounds, with a light complexion and last seen wearing a tank top, black shorts, black and white sneakers, and a black baseball hat.

During this period, you can enroll for the first time and sign up for or switch your Medicare Prescription Drug Plan and/or Medicare Advantage Plan.

19th Precinct

24th Precinct

153 East 67th Street 212-452-0600

151 West 100th Street 212-678-1811

All changes are effective January 1, 2017.

For more information, call 311 and ask for “HIICAP.”

20th Precinct

26th Precinct

Midtown South Precinct

120 West 82nd Street 212-580-6411

520 West 126th Street 212-678-1311

357 West 35th Street 212-239-9811

23rd Precinct

17th Precinct

162 East 102nd Street 212-860-6411

Central Park Precinct

167 East 51st Street 212-826-3211

September is National Preparedness Month!

86th Street and Transverse Road 212-570-4820

ManhattanExpressNews.nyc | September 22 - October 05, 2016

Bill de Blasio, Mayor Donna M. Corrado Commissioner

11

c RED CROSS, from p.3 needed; so we’re nearby almost immediately providing services to the policemen, FBI, fire fighters, anyone in need. Subsequent to that, we worked with our partners in the city and identified any residents who were in need of meals because perhaps their cafeteria had been damaged, so we’ve been supplying breakfast, lunch, dinner to residents as long as needed. We were happy to connect with Malibu Diner and get some meals from them to provide to residents, who seem very resilient and very full of gratitude as well.”

As the community began to normalize on Monday, the Red Cross prepared to exit the scene.

Between the blast on Saturday evening and Monday, 50 rotating volunteers had been helping Chelsea residents, and five were on hand when this reporter visited.

“We’re taking our cues from the city,” Lockwood said. “Since we’re supporting the city’s efforts, they’ll tell us when it’s safe.”

Lockwood was accompanying New York State Senator Brad Hoylman, with whom he had just visited Selis Manor. “Thankfully no one was injured there,” said Hoylman, “mostly just windows blown out. There were some near misses, though. The daughter of one of the residents was about to walk some dogs, but she didn’t put her foot out the door, thank goodness, and avoided a catastrophe.”

Hoylman praised the city’s responders.

“I’m extremely impressed by our uniformed services and first responders,” he said. “The fact that there was no loss of life — we should be grateful, and everyone from our first responders to our NYPD, Fire Department, Emergency Office of Management, Bellevue Hospital really worked in concert.

That night [of the explosion] I really saw the best of New York City.”

At the Malibu Diner, Grimpas reflected on events.

“Soon we’ll come back up to normality,” he said. “People love when they see that we’re here, to be with

c OVAL, from p.9 available through elected officials who are more than willing to support the park.

“I have secured tens of millions of dollars from the private sector to improve city park land,” Kallos said. “I am proud to pledge additional funding to the Queensboro Oval to build the amenities that the community wants to use 365 days a year.”

According to Parks Committee member Rita Popper, however, the details available about the prospective RFP indicate that the fix is in to maintain the status quo on Queensboro Oval’s use.

“Where are you going to find a vendor for nine

c CITI BIKE, from p.8 spot that doesn’t impact parking or access to the small park.

For Rita Popper, a CB8 Transportation Committee member, there’s great potential for accidents involving elderly and disabled residents from the nearby Ruppert Towers and Knickerbocker Plaza.

Also the president of the Knickerbocker Plaza Tenants Association, she said the docking station is in front of two benches often used by local residents.

CB8 members also said the station impedes cyclists using East

12

ALEXANDROS GRIMPAS

Barbara Police, resident of Selis Manor, speaking with Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio outside the Malibu on September 18.

them, to help the community.

Every day we have to be thankful that we’re alive and able to enjoy this beautiful life. Really this is a

months who’s going to set up, pack up, and after set back up and pack back up,” Popper said. “This is an RFP for the tennis club.”

CB8 members also complained about the risk of having another “bad neighbor,” as Parks Committee member Tricia Shimamura described the current operator. Leaving a vendor in charge of the space even when it is not their operating season, she said, is a recipe for continuing an unfortunate pattern in which the park falls into poor condition during the off-season.

But parks department officials refused CB8’s request that it be able to collaborate on the RFP, explaining that the drafting process is kept private to ensure competitiveness.

91st Street as a bike lane, forcing them to divert from their route and potentially having close calls with senior citizens.

The committee’s request for relocating the station became possible after sidewalk renovations related to the Second Avenue Subway construction were completed.

“When all of this came out, Second Avenue was under construction and the sidewalk was cut into,” Popper said. “But now it’s been restored in the last month, and it is a 20-foot wide sidewalk.”

Popper noted that there had been suggestions to place the docking

lesson for us, an opportunity for us to come closer, for people in Chelsea to come closer, and we are here for them.” n

For Kallos, the department’s unwillingness to include the community will ensure the eventual failure of whatever vendor it chooses. He recommended that instead of an RFP, Parks issue a request for expression of interest, which would create a more open-ended exploration of options and allow for more public oversight.

In the end, the CB8 Parks Committee passed a resolution rejecting the RFP idea and urging Parks to abort the process. It also approved a motion to have the full board write to Commissioner Silver urging him to attend the Parks Committee meeting in October so that he can better understand the depth of community feeling on the issue. n

station adjacent to the new protected bike lane on Second Avenue, but in an effort to avoid impact on parking space, CB8 was instead suggesting relocation onto the sidewalk, next to the park fence.

CB8 has also been working to get the East 91st Street block between Second and Third Avenue formally turned into a pedestrian plaza. Popper said the application was submitted to the DOT’s plaza program on August 31, but she isn’t holding her breath.

“The application was skewed more if you’re going to build a plaza,” Popper said of the process.

“We don’t have to build a plaza, it already exists.”

For now, CB8 is most focused on its effort to relocate the East 91st Street Citi Bike station. Despite his lack of success in preventing the docking station from going there in the first place, Kallos said the DOT has been “incredibly responsive” to requests for relocating stations after community concerns have been raised.

The DOT said it would be reviewing the station in question when the overall expansion results are assessed over the next several months. n

September 22 - October 05, 2016 | ManhattanExpressNews.nyc

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13

EXPRESS OURSELVES

Skittles and Security PUBLISHER JENNIFER GOODSTEIN jgoodstein@cnglocal.com

EDITOR IN-CHIEF PAUL SCHINDLER editor@manhttanexpressnews.nyc

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS JACKSON CHEN LINCOLN ANDERSON SCOTT STIFFLER COLIN MIXSON YANNIC RACK ALEX ELLEFSON JANE ARGODALE JEFFERSON SIEGEL LENORE SKENAZY

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ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES JACK AGLIATA LAUREN BLAIR ALLISON GREAKER ANDREW MARK JIM STEELE JULIO TUMBACO

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Manhattan Express is a registered trademark of NYC Community Media, LLC. Jennifer Goodstein, C.E.O. | Fax: 212-229-2790 Subscriptions: 26 issues, $49.00 ©2016 Manhattan Express, All rights reserved.

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14

BY PAUL SCHINDLER

J

ust shy of a week after New York marked the 15th anniversary of 9/11, the city was shaken by a bomb explosion in Chelsea. Though we issued a collective sigh of relief that there were no fatalities — and none in other terror episodes in New Jersey and Minnesota the same day — that’s not to minimize the pain and horror faced by the 31 people injured and the many more who experienced close calls. The New York Times described one of the victims having ball bearings removed from her body and splintered wood from her neck.

The barbarity of the attack is shocking.

When this kind of mayhem descends on us it’s almost instinctual to reach for a compellingly easy solution — if for no other reason than to keep our anxiety at bay.

One ugly response in that vein is to strike out at Muslims in our midst and elsewhere. Donald Trump Jr., taking to Twitter on Monday, posted an image of candy with the legend, “If I had a bowl of skittles and I told you just three would kill you. Would you take a handful? That’s our Syrian refugee problem.” The message Trump tweeted along with the picture read, “This image says it all. Let’s end the politically correct agenda that doesn’t put America first. #trump2016.”

Of course, the image doesn’t say it all, and what it does say doesn’t even make sense. “We don’t know anything about them,” the young Trump’s father routinely says about refugees from Syria and other trouble spots, an assertion that flies in the face of the multiyear, cumbersome process they face in trying to enter the US. Even Wrigley, the owner of the Skittles brand, stepped up to decry the unseemliness of comparing refugees, many of them desperate, to a bowl of candy.

Ahmad Khan Rahami, the alleged Chelsea bomber, wasn’t a Syrian refugee. He came here from Afghanistan two decades ago and is a naturalized American citizen.

He traveled several times in recent

years to both Afghanistan and Pakistan, where his turn toward radicalism and terrorism may well have been encouraged, but it’s unclear at this moment whether he had any direct guidance from or collaboration with others, at home or abroad.

In other words, it may be that Rahami progressed to the point where he committed heinous acts of violence largely on his own; that he was for the most part a “homegrown” terrorist.

Trump Jr.’s dad, the Republican presidential nominee, offered little more in the way of a helpful prescription than young Don. Rejecting, this time, the word “weak” — a favorite of his — in describing President Barack Obama and by extension his Democratic presidential rival Hillary Clinton, Trump said the nation’s current leadership is “stupid.”

“In Israel they profile, they’ve done an unbelievable job, as good as you can do,” he argued. “They profile. They see somebody that is suspicious, they will profile, they will take that person in, they’ll check out. Do we have a choice?

Look what’s going on? Do we really have a choice?”

But if the measure of a successful counterterrorism program is that we never have incidents like the Chelsea bombing, Israel is surely not doing “an unbelievable job.”

Leaving aside for a moment the ethics and efficacy of “profiling,” let’s consider whether it is even possible. Take the case of Rahami.

He wasn’t profiled, but following a domestic violence arrest several years ago, the FBI, at the urging of his father, investigated him for terrorist leanings, but found no basis to hold him or dig deeper and his father reportedly recanted his concerns, explaining he was motivated by anger over the family upheaval. It’s easy in retrospect to suggest the inquiry did not go far enough, that more should have been done, but no specific evidence has surfaced indicating there were grounds at that time to devote scarce law enforcement and anti-terrorism resources to any further surveillance.

T rump’s statements about “weak” and “stupid” leadership suggest the government simply isn’t trying hard enough, but his solutions typically boil down to talking tougher and suggesting ever-more sweeping — but less targeted — crackdowns. Blunt approaches, in a world where choices need to be made, offer little promise of success.

And there is a cost — beyond the expenditure of resources and time. To the extent ISIS and other extremists are encour aging homegrown terrorism in Wester n countries, we are in a battle for hearts and minds.

Stigmatizing people because of their religion, nationality, and/ or immigrant status is only counterproductive in that battle.

That’s not political correctness, it’s smart thinking. And in the process, our constitutional guarantees are preserved.

Trump and his most devoted followers are not the only ones whose instincts lead them to easy but unhelpful solutions. The Times notes that Hillary Clinton has talked about targeting radical speech on the Internet but largely been dismissive of the tough questions that could emerge about what she termed “all the familiar complaints: ‘Freedom of speech.’”

Even some New Yorkers who otherwise took the Chelsea bombing reasonably in stride were quick on the trigger to complain about this political leader or that who didn’t rush to name the bombing “terror ism” even before the evidence was firmly in hand.

Ensuring absolute security in a democratic nation of 325 million people is a tall order, but compared to much of the rest of the world the US has been relatively fortunate in the 15 years since the devastating 9/11 attacks. Surely that means something. With violent radicalism still on the rise worldwide, we need to be steady in our resolve but patient and wise in resisting cheap appeals to our fears. We should not be terrorized into abandoning our ideals while shooting ourselves in the foot. n

September 22 - October 05, 2016 | ManhattanExpressNews.nyc

EXPRESS YOURSELVES

My Slimmed Down Tahitian Wedding

BY LENORE SKENAZY

Y

our friend, or niece, or roommate is getting married and you’re invited!

To Hawaii.

And you live in Manhattan!

And so do they.

Or the invitation arrives, “Saddle up to Sarah & Wesley’s wedding at Dave’s Dude Ranch in South Dakota.” And the closest Sally and Wesley have ever come to straddling a horse was the carousel in Central Park.

What’s the deal with these weddings set several time zones away from friends and family?

“Sometimes it’s strategic,” said Karen M. Dunak, an associate professor of history at Muskingum University in Ohio (though a Jersey gal by birth), and author of “As Long as We Both Shall Love: The White Wedding in Postwar America” (NYU Press). Destination weddings, she believes, can be a way of keeping a wedding small and affordable, without hurting anyone’s feelings. Hold the wedding in Guam and you can invite even your parents’ friends, and still not spend the $30,000 that has become the typical American wedding price tag.

Dunak’s book traces the trends in American matrimony. Before World War II, she discovered, many Americans had their weddings at home.

“It’s very common, from 1910 to 1930, to drive to the justice of the peace, go home, and have a big chicken dinner,” she writes.

“Or a minister comes to the parlor and they do it there.”

What’s more, different communities had different traditions.

Lake County, Indiana, for instance, was a Romanian enclave in the early 20th century.

There, writes Dunak, “The bride would walk down the street and neighbors would put eggs in her basket. These would be used to make baked goods for the wedding.” Everyone chipped in.

In Nebraska, by contrast, the weddings were just the bride, groom, siblings, and parents.

After the war, Americans experienced a surge in religiosity, Dunak said, and what’s more, they finally had a little extra cash.

So they started holding fancier weddings outside the home, in the church.

This did not just happen spontaneously. Movies like “Father of the Bride” served almost as instruction manuals. In that 1950 Spencer Tracy-Elizabeth Taylor hit, the parents end up hiring a snooty caterer and blanching at the bills.

Welcome to the new normal.

That norm was reinforced by the bridal magazines. These were once read only by the East Coast elite, but by the ’50s, bridal magazines had gone national, teaching everyone to spend, spend, spend on cakes, floral arrangements, cummer bunds…

And then come the ’60s.

When the counter -culture started its countering, wedding culture was, of course, in its crosshairs. After all, what could be more staid and sexist? Why was the bride wearing white — to advertise her virginity? Why was Daddy walking her down the aisle — to transfer ownership from one male to the next?

“People thought, ‘Weddings are dead. This is it, done, that ship has sailed,’” writes Dunak.

“Department stores were closing their bridal salons.”

But the valiant bridal magazines did not throw in the bouquet. Instead of pushing the old

wedding model, they turned on a dime and played along with the revolution. You can have a wedding and still be liberated, they told readers. A wedding could be hip. Do your own thing.

So instead of formal ceremonies, couples started writing their own vows. They chose differ ent music. Brides wore peasant dresses, grooms wore bell-bottoms. And the American wedding, God bless it, was saved.

By the ’80s, it was bulking back up, and that was what we’ve been seeing for a gener ation or two: My big, fat American wedding, egged on by an ever -growing list of specialists who promise to create a Kar dashian-like affair. The photo shoots are Vogue-worthy. The desserts are Pinterest-ready. The dresses star in television shows.

And the bridesmaids?

They have to play along.

“There is this undercurrent of, ‘How much is my friendship worth?’ ” said Dunak.

Some brides put their friends in a very awkward position: Are they willing to buy a dress that looks hideous and costs a for tune? Fly out for the bachelor ette weekend? Buy a gravy boat from the registry?

Under that kind of pressure, something had to give, and finally, it has. Gliding down the aisle is the latest trend: The Do-It-Yourself Wedding. Everyone pitches in to make the food, arrange the flowers, decorate the backyard.

NYU PRESS

AS LONG AS WE BOTH SHALL LOVE: The White Wedding in Postwar America

By Karen M. Dunak NYU Press $75; 254 pages

Which, when you think about it, isn’t too different from the Romanian weddings of 1900 Indiana.

Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something true: The American wedding may constantly be changing, but we remain married to it.

Lenore Skenazy is the author and founder of the book and blog “Free-Range Kids,” and a contributor at Reason.com. n

LETTER TO THE EDITOR NO MISSION ACCOMPLISHED YET ON UWS SCHOOLS September 11, 2016 To the Editor: I would like to express concern with regard to the cover story “School Opens Early On Upper West Side — a Full Year In Fact” in Manhattan Express (by Jackson Chen, Aug. 25-Sep. 7).

Before the handshakes and fist-bumping, let us

ManhattanExpressNews.nyc | September 22 - October 05, 2016

not forget that the need to build new schools to serve the Lincoln Square neighborhood is being addressed almost two decades too late. With the proliferation of construction of new buildings along West End and Amsterdam Avenues and Riverside Boulevard and the overcrowding of local public schools, planning for new schools should have started in the 1990s, when the planning for and construction of Riverside South first began.

c LETTERS, continued on p.17 15

c DEMOLITION, from p.5 “If preservation of this site is the ultimate consideration, it must not be for a totally unremarkable, crumbling building,” Paaswell said, “but the preservation of an institution that is a long-standing part of this community.”

Paaswell, who said she has worked in economic development for the past 40 years, asserted a new building would not be a matter of one party benefitting at the expense of the community, but rather a fiscally sound Shaare Zedek, in new quarters, contributing to the neighborhood’s stability.

“We’re talking about a new building that will strengthen our longtime prospects as a vital center of Jewish and community life in the region,” she said.

Paaswell, now an honorary trustee at CSZ, added the congregation previously explored a development where it would preserve the current synagogue but that it was “financially infeasible” and no developer would consider making a proposal.

Many congregants who spoke up at CB7

c AIRBNB, from p.4 “In 2014, over 35,000 residences in New York City were used as hotel rooms through Airbnb, and near-

joined Paaswell and Firestone in saying the building is in poor condition, noting it even lacks wheelchair accessibility, and urged neighbors to consider the faith community that makes up Shaare Zedek, not the building itself.

“It will be left a crumbling, abandoned building on 93rd Street,” Firestone said. “What’s worth more to you, the building housing the synagogue or the people who pray at that synagogue?”

On the other side, the opposition group remains adamant on landmarking what they consider a significant architectural structure in the neighborhood.

According to Blaser, they recently submitted a request for evaluation with the Landmarks Preservation Commission, but received a tepid response. “[LPC] said the synagogue probably merits designation but it’s not a priority but to be reconsidered at another time,” Blaser said.

According to the LPC, the property could be considered for designation after additional research, now being conducted, has been completed. The coalition, meanwhile, is working with Borough President Gale Brewer and City

ly two thirds were used illegally,” Councilmember Rosenthal said in a release announcing the legislation.

“That’s over 25,000 homes, many of which are rent-regulated apart-

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Councilmember Helen Rosenthal to press for a designation now.

Julie Jacobs, a coalition member, emphasized that she and her allies are sympathetic to the financial pressures facing the synagogue.

Both she and Blaser said opponents of demolishing the building welcome the opportunity to work with the synagogue to find ways to assist in maintaining the historic building.

“I just think there is a better way than tearing down the synagogue, a beautiful building,” Jacobs said. “It just seems like the wrong path forward.”

Congregants, however, pointed out that on top of the burden of keeping up the Upper West Side synagogue, they also own Bayside Cemetery, a 16-acre burial ground in Ozone Park, Queens.

Russell Steinthal, a CSZ member and an attorney with Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider, said CSZ is the “only and sole support for the cemetery,” which he said faces its own financial difficulties.

Revenue realized through the new development, Steinthal said, would enable congregants to sustain both a spiritual home and the cemetery. n

ments, that New Yorkers can no longer access. Our current fines are too low to deter illegal hotel operators, some of whom made millions in the last year alone. By increasing fines for illegal hotels, getting a violation will no longer be the cost of doing business.”

Nutter, in remarks at the Airbnb event, insisted there is a way for legislation to find a compromise between the state and the city’s goal of removing illegal hotel operators from the market and the benefits responsible apartment dwellers can realize from short-term rentals of their homes.

“There are certainly reasonable and responsible ways to legislatively figure out how to protect the housing market and work with Airbnb to protect responsible home-sharers and create provisions to actually crack down on what are, in essence, illegal hotels,” he said.

An across-the-board assault on Airbnb rentals, Nutter warned, will hurt average New Yorkers.

“There are also concerns about new significant fines that could be imposed on middle class people who are already struggling to get by,” he said. “Someone who’s operating an illegal hotel... could probably handle a $7,500 fine, but for most middle class families, it could possibly break the bank.”

Hosts, like Cate Schuller, who

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY

Upper West Side State Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal, sponsor of legislation Airbnb is fighting hard to make sure Governor Andrew Cuomo does not sign.

lives in Midtown East, said the additional fines under the pending legislation would kill the golden goose. She said she welcomes all of her guests as “the person I wish I had met when I first moved to New York” and is prepared to fight any new curbs.

“I always think that if you worry about something it actually gives it more power,” Schuller said about the possibility that fines could bar her from participating in Airbnb. “If it’s a worse case scenario, I’m just not giving in. I’ll go up to Albany, anything I can do to be a good host.” n

September 22 - October 05, 2016 | ManhattanExpressNews.nyc

c LETTERS, from p.15 In this time, there has been a marked increase in the number of private institutions in the area, with minimal response by the city to increase public schools, other than shifting spaces in local area public schools in Lincoln Square and the Upper West Side. The need to increase elementary school seats in the area was apparent prior to 2008, when the Center School Middle School was relocated after several years of overcrowding in PS 199.

In light of the significant development of residential units, local politicians and city planners charged with assuring adequate services are provided should have known that the significant increase in the demand for public schools would continue to grow. While some city and state politicians are new to serving in their positions, many are not new and have participated in city and state governments for decades, whether in their current or other roles.

Further, most if not all of these new residential buildings have multi-year tax abatements, thus

not generating the property taxes needed to support the increased need for public services, only part of which is the need for public schools. It is the residents of non-tax abated buildings that are currently paying the tax bill for supporting these needs, as well as suffering through the construction disruptions and crowding of the neighborhood.

So please, the job is not over and needs to go further in order to provide adequate public schools and other necessary public services to the Lincoln Square neighborhood and for all neighborhoods throughout Manhattan and the city undergoing significant development.

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c VESSEL, from p.10 His project weaves together 154 flights of stairs, 80 landings, and nearly 2,500 steps to create an almost walkable basket in the heart of the plaza. The project is currently being built in Italy, Heatherwick said, and is expected to be completed in two years.

Cooper, whose employer, CNN, plans to move into 30 Hudson Yards, said: “I can’t wait to run up the Vessel every morning before I go to work.

Ross’ Related Companies and Oxford Properties are developing Hudson Yards — the largest private real estate development in the United States. When completed the project will take up more than 17 million square feet of commercial and residential space, including a 750-seat school, more than 100 shops, and a luxury hotel. Ten Hudson Yards opened this year — and the nearby 15 Hudson Yards started selling its condos this week. The tower also began of fering 106 af fordable apartments, which are available through a lottery.

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During his speech, de Blasio praised Ross for making the development a welcoming place for all New Yorkers.

“I’ve spoken to Steve many times and I know that he understands how important inclusion is — how important it is to have something that everyone can feel a part of,” the mayor said. “That it would only work if it was a public space meant for everyone.” n

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NYFF Does Better By Women

BY STEVE ERICKSON

D

id someone at the New York Film Festival take a look at my article on last year’s festival, which complained about its lack of diversity? While female directors are still far from parity in the festival’s Main Slate, their numbers have increased. Most notably, the festival’s opening night film is Ava DuVernay’s “The 13th” (Sep. 30, 6 & 9 p.m.), a documentary by an African-American woman.

Even many of the films made by men focus on women. Gay directors included this year run the gamut from João Pedro Rodrigues to Terence Davies to Pedro Almodóvar.

But the most buzz around an LGBTthemed film in the festival centers around Barry Jenkins’ “Moonlight” (Oct. 2, 6:15 p.m.; Oct. 3, 9 p.m.), a three-part tale of the coming of age of a young black man.

The festival’s sidebars have continued to spiral in all directions, this year including a Henry Hathaway retrospective and a series of classic French films organized around Bertrand Tavernier’s documentary “A Journey Through French Cinema” (Oct. 1, noon; Oct. 2, 2:45 p.m., and related screenings).

German director Maren Ade’s “Toni Erdmann” (Oct. 2, 2:30 p.m.; Oct. 4, 8:45 p.m.) opens a window onto the world of contemporary upper middle class Europe. If that sounds like a limited perspective, Ade would probably be the first person to admit to it. Most of her film is set in Romania, and a scene in which a German man searches for a bathroom among the Romanian countryside is pointedly left unsubtitled. Her narrative also revolves around a German-run company outsourcing jobs from Romania.

Beyond that, “Toni Erdmann” is simply a marvel of pacing and direction. At 162 minutes long, it never lags. It asks big questions while retaining a welcome silliness.

And its abundance of nudity will test the Motion Picture Association of America’s prudishness.

18

EL DESEO/ MANOLO PAVÓN/ SONY PICTURES CLASSICS

Adriana Ugarte in Pedro Almodóvar’s “Julieta.”

The characters gradually grow in complexity, especially Ines (Sandra Hüller), who starts off acting like a snide, over-entitled yuppie. Her father (Peter Simonischek) assigns himself the role of agent of chaos in her life, leading to a plot twist I can’t reveal. The title refers to Andy Kaufman’s boorish alter ego Tony Clifton. Ade uses carefully controlled handheld camerawork and cinematography that, although quite crisp and clean, calls attention to the fact that it’s video. Don’t be put off by the length; this is one of the year’s most entertaining films.

Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar’s “Julieta” (Oct. 7, 6 p.m.; Oct. 8, 12:30 p.m.) exemplifies what critic Kevin Lee calls “the pornography of tastefulness.” Its supposed subjects are motherhood and grief, but what really comes across is the way Almodóvar manages to work bright primary colors into every scene. “Julieta” is production-designed within an inch of

KOMPLIZEN FILM/ SONY PICTURES CLASSICS

Sandra Hüller as Ines and Peter Simonischek in Maren Ade’s “Toni Erdmann,” which screens at the New York Film Festival on October 2 and 4.

its life. Its characters’ apartments look like art galleries or fashion magazine layouts, rather than spaces where anyone would actually live.

The titular heroine (played as a young woman by Adriana Ugarte and a middle-aged one by Emma

54TH NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL Sep. 30-Oct. 16 Lincoln Center, various venues filmlinc.org/nyff2016

c NYFF, continued on p.20 September 22 - October 05, 2016 | ManhattanExpressNews.nyc

Manhattan Treasures KIDS DO ART IN NYC “P.S. Art 2016” is the latest in an annual celebration of arts achievement in New York’s public schools. This juried exhibition of the work of talented young artists showcases the creativity of 90 pre-kindergarten through grade 12 students from all five boroughs and includes paintings, prints, sculptures, photographs, mixed-media works, collages, and drawings. The collection on display was selected from among 420 semifinalists chosen out of 1,205 submissions. The jury selected winners who demonstrated personal expression, imaginative use of media, the results of close observation, and an understanding of artistic processes. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Ave. at E. 82nd St. Through Oct. 23: Sun.Thu., 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 10 a.m.-9 p.m.

Admission is $25; $17 for seniors; $12 for students; free for children under 12. More information at metmuseum.org.

WOULDN’T IT BE NICE IF WE WERE OLDER Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Beach Boys’ 11th studio album, “Pet Sounds,” which featured the hits “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” and “Sloop John B,” Brian Wilson welcomes former bandmates Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin. Beacon Theatre, 2124 Broadway at 75th St. Sep. 24, 8 p.m. Tickets are $102-$581 at beacontheatre.com.

A BRUCE CONNER RETROSPECTIVE Bruce Conner (1933 to 2008) was one of America’s foremost postwar artists. Getting his start while immersed in San Francisco’s Beat scene, Conner explored iconic themes of the era — from consumer culture to nuclear arms race anxiety. Working in a range of mediums, he created hybrids of painting and sculpture, film and performance, and drawing and printing, and was a pioneer of found-object creations. Conner was also an early avant-garde filmmaker and developed a quick-cut method of editing that defined his work. “Bruce Conner: It’s All True” is the first complete retrospective of his 50-year career, bringing together more than 250 works in film, video, painting, drawing, photography, performance, and assemblage. Museum of Modern Art, 11 W. 53rd St. Through Oct. 2: Sat.-Thu., 10:30 a.m.5:30 p.m.; Thu., 10:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Admission is $25; $18 for seniors; $14 for students; free for youth 16 and under. Free admission after 4 on Fri. More information at moma.org.

VOICES AGAINST GUN VIOLENCE Jackson Browne, Eddie Vedder, Rosanne Cash, Marc Cohn, and Harlem’s Gospel for Teens headline New York’s edition — one of many being held from Manhattan to LA to Fort Worth tonight — of the Concert Across America

to End Gun Violence. The artists participating perform to give voice to one and a half million-plus Americans murdered by firearms since a mass shooting at the University of Texas in 1966. Beacon Theatre, 2124 Broadway at 75th St. Sep. 25, 7 p.m. Tickets are $56-$156 at beacontheatre.com.

YANKEE STADIUM, EBBETS FIELD & THE POLO GROUNDS For a decade beginning in the late 1940s, New York City was home to three of the best Major League baseball teams — the Yankees, the Giants, and the Brooklyn Dodgers. In 1951, the Giants’ Bobby Thomson hit an unforgettable three-run homer against Dodger pitcher Ralph Branca, giving New York the pennant over Brooklyn, and sending the Giants to a subway series against the Yankees, which they lost in Game 6. That golden decade, however, was just part of New York’s illustrious role in America’s pastime. In the mid-19th century, the Knickerbockers were the first team to play by modern rules. In the 1920s and early ‘30s, Babe Ruth became the sport’s most famous name. In 1947, in Brooklyn, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier. And the ‘50s and early ‘60s Yankees were the winningest team ever. “The Old Ball Game: New York Baseball, 1887–1977” looks at that history in all its glory.

Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Ave. at E. 82nd St. Through Nov. 13: Sun.-Thu., 10 a.m.5:30 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Admission is $25; $17 for seniors; $12 for students; free for children under 12. More information at metmuseum.org.

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

“Verrazano Bridge at Night,” by Brooklyn P.S. 69 second-grader Selina Shi, age seven.

FEEDING NEIL PATRICK HARRIS Celebrity chef Geoffrey Zakarian’s “Food Talk” series welcomes Broadway and TV star Neil Patrick Harris and his husband, actor and chef David Burtka, to discuss their career highlights, their upcoming projects, and, of course, their favorite eats and drinks. 92nd Street Y, Kaufmann Concert Hall, 1395 Lexington Avenue at 92nd St. Sep. 26, 7:30 p.m. Ticket are $45-$50 at 92y.org.

NO BOGARTING THAT SEAT, BRO Humphrey Bogart (1899-1957) grew from a typecast tough to a superstar of the Hollywood system. A collection of films screening through Oct. 28, drawn primarily from the Museum of Modern Art’s collection, underscores what MoMA calls “the canny mutability of both Bogart’s acting style and his choices of starring vehicles and directors.” Highlights include: “Marked Woman,” 1937, directed by Lloyd Bacon, also starring Bette Davis, has Bogart playing a DA combatting gangsters and the prostitutes they employ who persuades one, who fancies herself a “hostess,” to help

ManhattanExpressNews.nyc | September 22 - October 05, 2016

JEFFERSON R. BURDICK COLLECTION, GIFT OF JEFFERSON R. BURDICK

Catcher William Ewing from Allen & Ginter Cigarettes’ 1888 “World Champions, Second Series,” by Eddy and Claus Lindner.

him go after a crooked nightclub owner. (Sep. 28, 1:30 p.m.) “To Have and Have Not,” 1944, directed by Howard Hawks, with a Jules Furthman-William Faulkner screenplay based on a novel by Ernest Hemingway, also stars Lauren Bacall and Walter Brennan in the introduction of the mythic Bogey and Bacall screen magic, where Bogart, an American boat owner in Martinique as apolitical as Rick in “Casablanca,” agrees — because he is strapped for cash — to transport a Resistance fighter on the run from the Nazis. (Oct. 5, 1:30 p.m.) “Key Largo,” 1948, directed by John Huston, also starring Lauren Bacall, finds Bogart arriving to honor the memory of a wartime buddy and meeting his widow, his wheelchair-bound father, and a storm that leaves him in port long enough to take on the bad guys. (Oct. 6, 1:30 p.m.) “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre,” 1948, written and directed by John Huston, also starring

Walter Huston, is the story of two adventurers who head to Mexico looking for good luck and some cash but run up against a wall of bandits and their own greed. (Oct. 7, 1:30 p.m.) “The African Queen,” 1951, directed by John Huston, also starring Katharine Hepburn, in which Bogart helps Hepburn escape German East Africa in the only safe conveyance available, the titular rundown river steamboat. (Oct. 12 & 27, 1:30 p.m.) “The Caine Mutiny,” 1954, directed

by Edward Dmytryk and based on the Herman Wouk novel, also starring José Ferrer, Van Johnson, and Fred MacMurray, features Bogart as the tyrannical minesweeper commander Queeg. (Oct. 14, 1:30 p.m.) “High Sierra,” 1941, directed by Raoul Walsh, with a screenplay by John Huston, has Bogart as a criminal ready to hang it up before he is pulled back in for one

c MANHATTAN TREASURES, continued on p.23 19

When Food Tastes Like Love

BY DAVID KENNERLEY

A

man lies dying in a hospital-style bed center stage for the better part of “Aubergine,” a heartfelt, multicultural play by Julia Cho at Playwrights Horizons. But Cho has crafted the deeply touching drama so brilliantly that it’s more a celebration of life than a lamentation of loss.

And what better way to symbolize life than with food, and plenty of it.

The play’s title is a tipoff, for aubergine refers to what the French and the Brits call the lowly eggplant.

“Aubergine is so much more beautiful,” one character says. “Call them aubergine and they taste better.”

As Cho sees it, food is infinitely more than nourishment for the body — it’s also sustenance for the soul. Food is culture, family, and love.

Food can be a unifier; sometimes, it says what words cannot say.

The choppy narrative, mostly set in a present-day American suburb, skips across time and place. Characters are prone to recounting vibrant stories directly to the audience and occasionally break out into song.

First we meet Diane (Jessica Love), a wealthy American food tourist who recalls “gastronomic gallivanting” with her hubby in search of divine pheasant creations and cheese made from unpasteurized milk.

Next is Ray (Tim Kang), an up-and-coming chef whose father lies in hospice at home, suffering from end stage liver cirrhosis. Although his father is Korean, Ray was born in America. His mother died in an accident long ago. He concocts an elaborate, savory turtle soup for his ailing father (Stephen Park), but it goes uneaten.

Ray’s on again, off again girlfriend Corne-

lia (Sue Jean Kim), born in Korea but raised mostly in America, recounts growing up with four refrigerators.

“My mother was obsessed with food,” she says.

“Or I should say, obsessed with feeding people.

Namely us, her family.”

Cornelia rebelled as an adult by subsisting on peanut butter and crackers and other ultra-processed foods.

Lucien (Michael Potts), the father’s nurse, is a refugee who once lived in a horrific tent city camp, dreaming of the rich meat-and-vegetable stews his relatives once made.

When Ray’s estranged uncle (Joseph Steven Yang) from Korea comes on the scene, things get even more complicated. He speaks no English.

Director Kate Whoriskey elicits fine performances from the talented ensemble (Kang, of the hit CBS series “The Mentalist,” is superb). She does her best to join the disparate elements into a cohesive whole, though there are a few gaps. Integrating the patches of Korean dialogue (English supertitles appear on a wall) is not entirely successful. Ray speaks little Korean, yet somehow he understands what his uncle is saying. Is he reading the supertitles as well?

What’s more, there are a couple of awkward scenes late in the second act that feel like false endings and could use some finessing. When Diane finally returns after being inexplicably absent for most of the proceedings, however, it’s worth the wait.

Despite the preoccupation with cuisine, detailing dishes like “seared Nantucket Bay scallops with lemon and verbena and sorrel,” “Aubergine” is no excursion for extravagant foodies. In fact, it’s just the opposite.

Turns out the most sublime food is the simplest. For Diane, it’s her father’s peppery pastrami

c NYFF, from p.18

“Elle,” made by Dutch director Paul Verhoeven (Oct. 14, 9 p.m.;

Suárez) jots down her memories of her daughter Antía (played by three different actors at various stages of her life.) Antía blames Julieta for a fishing boat accident in which Julieta’s husband Xoan (Daniel Grao) dies, and when she turns 18, she disappears from her mother’s life.

Almodóvar is working from excellent source material —three linked short stories by Nobel laureate Alice Munro —but the result is still a rote melodramatic exercise whose emphasis on maternity and tendency to shove men out of the picture does little more than evoke better Almodóvar films like “The Flower of My Secret” and “All About My Mother.”

Oct. 15, 3 p.m.) in France, is a strange beast: half art film, half ‘70s exploitation vehicle (complete with four brutal rape scenes). The story of Michele (Isabelle Huppert), a woman who’s sexually assaulted in the opening scene, it seems to go out of its way to provoke. At first, its depiction of Michele’s blasé reaction to her rape seems like a male fantasy of female invulnerability, but it soon becomes clear that she’s not as well as she thinks she is —she commits small acts of aggression like crashing into her ex’s car —and that her psychological damage extends well before her rape. It’s being marketed as a rape-revenge thriller, but it’s more of a character study, with heavy

20

JOAN MARCUS

Stephen Park and Tim Kang in Julia Cho’s “Aubergine,” directed by Kate Whoriskey, at Playwrights Horizons through October 2.

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sandwiches, fried in browned butter. For Cornelia, it’s a bowl of soft, sweet mulberries, the kind she ate fresh off the tree as a child. For Lucien, it’s tiny, garden-fresh okra that reminds him of home. Ray’s father prefers the cheap blocks of ramen noodles over his son’s lavish cuisine.

How wonderful that his father is brought to spend his final days at home (Derek McLane designed the appealing set) rather than some impersonal hospital. And how fitting that, instead of being crammed into a bedroom, his bed is placed in the dining room, right beside the kitchen. n

echoes of Hitchcock and Verhoeven’s “Basic Instinct.”

Huppert does a terrific job of avoiding playing Michele as a helpless victim or an unbelievably strong role model. In fact, Michele is a rather cold and unpleasant woman navigating a cruel world — she casually mentions that she broke up with her boyfriend because he hit her, and the video game company she heads is designing a game that looks like an invitation to rape, but she doesn’t care.

This may be Verhoeven’s most misanthropic film yet, with almost all the men turning out to be dangerous jerks, but it finds a grain of hope in a crypto-lesbian relationship. In the age of trigger warnings, Verhoeven is just as out of place as

GUY FERRANDIS/ SBS PRODUCTIONS/ SONY PICTURES CLASSICS

Isabelle Huppert in Paul Verhoeven’s “Elle.”

he was when he made “Showgirls,” but “Elle” shows him adapting back to working in Europe, albeit not as smoothly as in his 2006 “Black Book.” n

September 22 - October 05, 2016 | ManhattanExpressNews.nyc

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ManhattanExpressNews.nyc | September 22 - October 05, 2016

haps they’re checking out a house in a new neighborhood or thought they saw someone they knew on the street corner. It can be easy to veer into the direction your eyes are focused, causing an accident. In addition to trying to stay focused on the road, some drivers prefer the help of lane departure warning systems.

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September 22 - October 05, 2016 | ManhattanExpressNews.nyc

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c MANHATTAN TREASURES, from p.19

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IBRAHIM MAALOUF’S JAZZ WORLD MUSIC The New York Times hails Ibrahim Maalouf as a “virtuoso of the quarter-tone trumpet” in his combination of jazz improvisation and European classical influences with the sounds of his native Lebanon and his home in France. Maalouf appears with Frank Woeste, Scott Colley, Rick Margitza, and Clarence Penn in a tribute one of the greatest Arabic divas of all time — Egyptian icon Oum Kalthoum. Jazz at Lincoln Center, Appel Room, Time Warner Center, 10 Columbus Circle, Broadway at 60th St., fifth fl. Sep. 30-Oct. 1, 7 & 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $65.50-$85.50 at jazz.org.

JANE JACOBS AT 100 Guggenheim Fellow Robert Kanigel, who won the Grady-Stack Award for his science writing and whose “The Man Who Knew Infinity” was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, discusses his new biography “Eyes on the Street: The Life of Jane Jacobs,” about the late urbanist and community advocate born 100 years ago, whose “Death and Life of Great American Cities” helped us rethink our approach to urban revival and avoid potentially catastrophic damage to the organic strength of city neighborhoods nationwide. 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Avenue at 92nd St. Oct. 6, noon. Tickets are $25 at 92y.org.

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more heist, in a performance that New York Times critic Bosley Crowther wrote was “truly magnificent, that’s all.” (Oct. 26, 1:30 p.m.)

“Sabrina,” 1954, directed by Billy Wilder, also starring Audrey Hepburn and William Holden, about two brothers angling for the eye of the surprisingly sophisticated daughter of the family chauffeur. (Oct. 28, 1:30 p.m.) Museum of Modern Art, 11 W. 53rd St. Tickets are $12; $10 for seniors; $8 for students at moma.org.

Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi’s bluesy Tedeschi Trucks Band is joined by Amy Ray (Sep. 30), Dave Mason (Oct. 4), and Jorma Kaukonen (Oct. 5) during six performances at the Beacon Theatre, 2124 Broadway at 75th St. Sep. 30, Oct. 1, 7-8, 8 p.m.; Oct. 4-5, 7:30 p.m. Tickets $29.50-$125 at beacontheatre.com.

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ManhattanExpressNews.nyc | September 22 - October 05, 2016

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A TRUE MUSEUM TAKE-AWAY Typically, museum-goers consume art only by looking at the paintings, sculptures, or photographs on view. Touching is a no-no. Defying that standard, “Take Me (I’m Yours)” extends an invitation to visitors: from the work of more than 40 artists from different generations and around the globe, feel free not only to get in close touch with the artworks — but even to take them away and keep them for good. The exhibit aims to create a democratic space for all visitors to take ownership and curate their personal art collections, by subverting the usual politics of value, consumerism, and the museum experience. “Take Me (I’m Yours)” restages a 1995 exhibition of the same name at London’s Serpentine Gallery, conceived by curator Hans Ulrich Obrist and artist Christian Boltanski, which included works by 12 artists.

The Jewish Museum, 1109 Fifth Ave. at 92nd St. Through Feb. 17, 2017: Fri.-Tue., 11 a.m.-5:45 p.m.; Thu., 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Admission is $15; $12 for seniors; $7.50 for students. On Thu., after 5 p.m., pay what you wish. More information at jewishmuseum.org.

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September 22 - October 05, 2016 | ManhattanExpressNews.nyc