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The Paper of Record for Greenwich Village, East Village, Lower East Side, Soho, Union Square, Chinatown and Noho, Since 1933

October 12, 2017 • $1.00 Volume 87 • Number 41

Hammons ‘ghost pier’ at Gansevoort takes shape with Whitney BY LINCOLN ANDERSON

dam Weinberg, director of the Whitney Museum of American Art, described it as “sort of an unmonumental monument.” Indeed, in some ways, it’s the opposite of Barry Diller’s glittering, high-profile, heavily programmed Pier55 project that sank last month in the face of repeated lawsuits by waterfront activists.

Last week, the Whitney released design renderings of “Day’s End,” a planned public artwork by David Hammons that would sit off the southern edge of Gansevoort Peninsula, opposite the new museum. The work would be made up of round steel beams that would outline the exact shape of the former pier shed on Pier 52, which once abutted the peninsula’s southern edge. HAMMONS continued on p. 24

Trump makes sure that rainbow ﬂag isn’t ﬂying on federal land BY ANDY HUMM

onald Trump cynically held up a rainbow flag with “L.G.B.T.s for Trump” scrawled on it during his campaign last year and has proceeded as president to roll back L.G.B.T.Q. rights and appoint virulent bigots to cabinet posts and federal judgeships. So when the administration learned that the National Park Service was going to dedicate

a rainbow flag at the Stonewall National Monument on Oct. 11 — National Coming Out Day — the Park Service was ordered to withdraw its sponsorship of the ceremony, certify that the flagpole within the monument commemorating the Stonewall Rebellion was technically not on federal land, take the N.P.S. flag down, and cede the rainbow flag to the New York City Department of FLAG continued on p. 6

Why we’re pink BY JENNIFER GOODSTEIN

ctober is Breast Cancer Awareness Month — a time for us all to redouble our efforts to eradicate the second leading killer of women in America. NYC Community Media and Community News Group’s annual “pink paper” is dedicated to our local resources, researchers, support teams and survivors — because we share the struggle, and are mindful of the sobering statistics and

This Week’s Pink Newspaper in Recognition of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month is Sponsored by www.TheVillager.com

excruciating toll of this deadly disease: • Roughly 40,610 women and 440 men will die from breast cancer before the year’s end, according to estimates of the American Cancer Society. • One in eight American women will be diagnosed with the disease in her lifetime. • Every two minutes, an American woman is diagnosed with breast cancer. • Every 13 minutes, a woman dies of breast cancer in our country.

• About 85 percent of cases occur in women with no family history of breast cancer. Like most people, we have had friends and family battle cancer. Anyone who has watched the impact of this terrible disease on sufferers and their loved ones understands the urgency for a cure. The good news is that progress is being made. Lisa Malwitz, our first woman profiled in 2014, just celebrated her PINK continued on p. 3

Partners in the fight against breast cancer.

Stop smoking + Limit alcohol + Be physically active + Watch your weight Women between 50 and 74 should get regular mammograms. But thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more you can do to reduce your risk of breast cancer.

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October 12, 2017

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Bellevue offers many breast-health resources BY LEAH LU

Health Plan cares

MetroPlus Health Plan — NYC Health + Hospitals’ health services plan — tries to minimize the trauma and defray the tribulations of breast cancer with a wide range of affordable plans, with premiums as low as $0 to $20 per month and screenings free of charge. “For most of our MetroPlus members, the majority of breast cancer care will be covered by MetroPlus, though a few members may have co-pays, depending upon their type of insurance plan,” said Dr. Kathie T. Rones, the deputy chief medical officer and a breast cancer survivor herself. MetroPlus’s long history of supporting breast health includes sponsoring and walking in Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. “Many of our staff, including myself, have walked to raise awareness and funds for this important cause,” Rones said. “As a doctor, and a 20-year breast cancer survivor myself, I realize how critical screening and early detection are.” Gotham has long been a healthcare trailblazer. Its system predates our nation. Bellevue Hospital Center started as a humble, six-bed infirmary in 1736, 40 years before the colonials declared independence from the British. Its original location was on the site of present-day City Hall. Today, it remains the nation’s oldest continuously operating hospital. And NYC Health + Hospitals’ impact has remained far-reaching, now providing essential services to 1.2 million New Yorkers in more than 70 locations across the five boroughs.

ellevue Hospital Center’s workforce of experts are steering the earliest institution of NYC Health + Hospitals — America’s largest public healthcare system — to new heights. Bellevue’s chief of breast surgery, whom Caribbean Today magazine recognized as one of the “10 Top Caribbean Born Doctors In The U.S. You Should Know,” is committed to caring for breast cancer patients and going great lengths to combat the disease. “The patient can be assured that he or she is receiving the highest level of care by a dedicated team of doctors, nurses and support staff,” said Dr. Kathie-Ann Joseph, an associate professor of surgery at New York University Langone Medical Center. Joseph initiated programs in underserved districts where cancer rates are high and screening rates are low, such as by creating a community tumor board that allows clinical staff throughout the health system to present and discuss interesting, difficult or unusual cases.

Best in breast care The American College of Surgeons awarded Bellevue’s breast care services a Center of Excellence accreditation in 2014, the highest form of clinical and quality care recognition for breast cancer centers in the country, thanks to a highly skilled breast team dedicated to providing quality, customized care. “We have patient navigators that speak several languages, and survivors that help our patients get through what can be a very scary and stressful situation,” said Joseph. “We do what we can to make the process easier for our patients.”

PHOTO BY COMMUNITY NEWS GROUP / LEAH LU

Best in breast care: Bellevue Hospital Center is a leader in breast healthcare, offering customized treatment and multidisciplinar y services for breast-cancer patients.

Multidisciplinary Bellevue is a leader in repairing the space left in the body after the cancer has been removed. “We are the only Health + Hospitals hospital that offers microvascular-free flap reconstruction,” noted Joseph, who strives to provide patients with the best options — sometimes against all odds. A patient who was diagnosed with recurrent breast cancer needed a mastectomy, but she was too thin for a tissue-based reconstruction of the breast mound and did not want an implant, the physician recalled. “Rather than just telling her she was out of options, our plastic surgeons put

their heads together, spoke with other colleagues, and tried a new procedure called a ‘breast-sharing procedure,’ transferring a portion of her unaffected breast to create a new breast,” she explained. “The woman was thrilled and she is doing well.” The hospital’s full range of multidisciplinary care includes: • Neoadjuvant therapy (chemotherapy prior to surgery) for locally advanced breast cancer. • Genetic counseling, nutrition and psychological support, and services such as massage, legal aid and financial services. • Nipple-sparing mastectomy and tissue-based reconstruction. • Survivorship clinics.

New York City Health + Hospitals / Harlem

Why we’re pink PINK continued from p. 1

five-year anniversary of being cancer-free. More good news: • There are more than 2.8 million breast cancer survivors in the United States today. • The five-year relative survival rate for female invasive breast cancer patients has jumped from 75 percent in the mid-1970s to 90 percent today. These strides can be attributed in no small measure to ordinary people who rise to the extraordinary occasion, demonstrating time and again the incredible strength and power of unity when affliction strikes. Breast Cancer Awareness Month TheVillager.com

arlem Hospital is devoted to providing comprehensive, high-quality care for residents of Central Harlem, West Harlem, Washington Heights and Inwood. The prestigious medical faculty offers a host of services and treatments for all breast cancer patients, includeing: • Screenings and diagnostic mammograms • Breast sonograms • Stereotactic core biopsies • Breast MRI and MRI biopsies • Needle localizations for surgeons • 2-D digital mammographic equipment • Latest ultrasound equipment

is an opportunity for our newspapers to share the stories of how local communities come together to battle breast cancer, and herald those suffering for the spirit needed to fight this disease during their difficult journey to good health. We hope you enjoy our “pink paper” edition and its inspirational stories. If you are looking for additional details about breast cancer, opportunities to volunteer or resources for someone fighting the disease, please reach out to the American Cancer Society at cancer.org/about-us/local/new-york. html. Goodstein is publisher, NYC Community Media

Bellevue Hospital Center is located at 462 First Ave., off E. 27th St. (212-5625680).

Jennifer Goodstein.

Leah Lu October 12, 2017

Named best weekly newspaper in New York State in 2001, 2004 and 2005 by New York Press Association News Story, First Place, 2015 Editorial Page, First Place, 2015 Editorials, First Place, 2014 News Story, First Place, 2014 Overall Design Excellence, First Place, 2013 Best Column, First Place, 2012 Photographic Excellence, First Place, 2011 Spot News Coverage, First Place, 2010 Coverage of Environment, First Place, 2009

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The Villager (USPS 578930) ISSN 0042-6202 Copyright © 2017 by the NYC Community Media LLC is published weekly by NYC Community Media LLC, One Metrotech North, 10th floor Brooklyn, NY 11201. 52 times a year. Business and Editorial Offices: One Metrotech North, 10th floor Brooklyn, NY 11201. Accounting and Circulation Offices: NYC Community Media LLC, One Metrotech North, 10th floor Brooklyn, NY 11201. Call 718-260-2500 to subscribe. Periodicals postage prices is paid at New York, N.Y. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Villager, One Metrotech North, 10th floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201 Annual subscription by mail in Manhattan and Brooklyn $29 ($35 elsewhere). Single copy price at office and newsstands is $1. The entire contents of newspaper, including advertising, are copyrighted and no part may be reproduced without the express permission of the publisher - © 2017 NYC Community Media LLC. PUBLISHER’S LIABILITY FOR ERROR

The Publisher shall not be liable for slight changes or typographical errors that do not lessen the value of an advertisement. The publisher’s liability for others errors or omissions in connection with an advertisement is strictly limited to publication of the advertisement in any subsequent issue. Published by NYC Community Media, LLC One Metrotech North, 10th floor Brooklyn, NY 11201 Phone: (718) 260-2500 • Fax: (212) 229-2790 On-line: www.thevillager.com E-mail: news@thevillager.com © 2017 NYC Community Media, LLC

October 12, 2017

‘CHECKING IN’ WITH DORIS: Veteran Village activist Doris Diether has sussed out and fended off phone scam after phone scam over the decades. Sometimes, she even sics the feds on the scammers, after tracing them down to wherever they were calling or mailing from. But when Diether, 88, got a call last week from a guy purporting to be from Publisher’s Warehouse who told her she had won $500,000, she was hoping this time that it might actually be true! The caller told her someone would show up at her Waverly Place door this Tuesday sometime between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. to present her with the check. Diether decided she would make an occasion out of it. After all — who knew? — maybe she really had won. She got some champagne and had a party, inviting over state Senator Brad Hoylman (who is one of Diether’s biggest fans back from when they both served on Community Board 2), C.B. 2 District Manager Bob Gormley, her pal Erin Rogers, Associate Minister Micah Bucey from Judson Church and a few others. Of course, The Villager’s ubiquitous Tequila Minsky was there to document it all. Diether decided to hold the possible big-win shindig outside in the building’s small front yard. She kept her front door locked, just in case any scammer was looking to sneak in. But, in the end, nobody with a half-a-million-dollar check — or any check at all — ever showed up. “I was hoping for the best, but I was preparing for the worst,” Diether told us, lightheartedly, as usual. AI, AI, AI: Sharon Woolums’s talking point in last week’s issue about how many of the parkgoers she knows really loathe — as she does, too — the Ai Weiwei “Fences” piece under the Washington Square Arch has been snagging eyeballs around the globe. Woolums and those she polled not only don’t like the “cage” art, but more important, the audacity of its being imposed on the Village’s most famous piece of public art. Anyway, a reporter from the Guardian interviewed Woolums last week, and a German art-and-lifestyle publication, Monopol magazine, wrote about her article — though incorrectly referred to The Villager as The Village Voice! Now reader Johanna Lisi warns us of the next public artwork slated for our area: the world’s largest rhinoceros sculpture, which is slated for Astor Place, coming in January. “This is an injustice to the people in the neighborhood to have our living place turned into Disneyland,” Lisi lamented. “Can this be

PHOTO BY TEQUILA MINSKY

Well, Doris’s big payday didn’t pan out. But her No. 1 fan, state Senator Brad Hoylman, was on hand for the par ty Tuesday morning — just in case an alleged $500,000 check showed up for the legendar y Village activist. Alas, it was just another scam — though Doris was hoping that this time it wasn’t!

stopped?” The rhino is in C.B. 2. Hopefully, if any members of the board have already had a meeting about it, they’ll let us know!

OOPS: In last week’s print version of

the paper, veteran waterfront protector Marcy Benstock’s letter to the editor about the demise of Pier55, due to an unfortunate editing error, referred to the importance of protecting the “nearhore” waters. ... Umm, that should have read “nearshore.” TheVillager.com

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October 12, 2017

Trump ensures rainbow ﬂag not on federal land FLAG continued from p. 1

Parks and Recreation. What was intended as a happy celebration brought out the spirit of the Stonewall Rebellion as speakers at the dedication protested the anti-L.G.B.T.Q. bigotry of the administration in Washington. As more than 100 activists gathered at noon, Tom Viola, the longtime executive director of Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS, which funded the event, said, “It’s a shame that on what is an extraordinary day that behind the scenes it descended into a nasty fight that reflects the vindictiveness that is at the top of the food chain, which is the White House. But all told, a great day for the L.G.B.T. community. We will prevail.” Veteran activist Ann Northrop, co-host of “Gay USA,” emceed. “We’re here to celebrate the flying of the rainbow flag inside the Stonewall National Monument,” she said. It had been billed as the first rainbow flag to permanently wave on federal property, but a Newsweek story previewing the event caught the attention of someone higher up in the administration. It included a comment from Ken Kidd, who coordinated the event, saying that the rainbow flag will be “flying on this national monument during a time when we have a president who is not particularly kind or loving to the L.G.B.T. community.” Kidd’s comment cited some of Trump’s recent attacks.

October 12, 2017

DONNA ACETO

The rainbow flag flies at Christopher Park on a yardarm that is technically under the jurisdiction of the New York Cit y Parks Depar tment — not the federal government.

The administration insisted that the flag not fly on federal property. While the monument is 7.7 acres and includes Christopher Park and the block of Christopher St. where the Stonewall Inn bar is, the only “federal property” is the park itself within its fence line. The flagstaff, erected by the city, the state and the Greenwich Village Historical Society in 1936 to honor Ephraim Ellsworth, the “first man of his rank killed” in the Civil War, is still city property. (On the Park Service Web site, the page that had the map for the Stonewall National Monument has been taken down.) The Park Service’s Barbara Applebaum, who had coordinated the ceremony for the N.P.S. and was scheduled to speak, withdrew on Tuesday in the wake of the kerfuffle created by the administration, citing a schedule conflict. Joshua Laird, commissioner of the National Parks of New York Harbor, ended up attending the ceremony and offered to speak or have Applebaum do so. Northrop said, “We told them we love the local Park Service people, but we’re furious at the Trump administration,” and Laird’s offer was declined, though Appelbaum was acknowledged during the ceremony. The brief event started with Broadway star Telly Leung, the out gay star of “Aladdin,” singing the Star Spangled Banner with some in the crowd taking a knee. Northrop acknowledged the late Gilbert Baker, creator of the rainbow flag — who died FLAG continued on p. 15

TheVillager.com

Keep yourself injuryfree at any age. Attend our upcoming seminars to learn how.

Thursday, November 2: 7pm – 8pm

Thursday, November 9: 7pm – 8pm

Common Athletic Injuries in the Young Athlete – Prevention & Treatment

Preventing and Treating Injuries in the Active Senior

Even the youngest athletes are prone to long-lasting injuries. Join us for a free seminar to learn about:

Aging can slow us down, but it doesn’t have to mean getting injured. Join us for a free seminar to learn more about:

– – – –

ACL injury prevention and treatment options Treating shoulder pain and instability Diagnosing and treating hip pain Preventing and treating ankle instability

Location and speakers for both events:

Etan P. Sugarman, MD Orthopaedic Surgeon

Michael A. Zacchilli, MD Orthopaedic Surgeon

Daniel L. Seidman, MD Orthopaedic Surgeon

Orthopaedic Institute

TheVillager.com

22212a 9-17

These events are FREE and snacks and light refreshments will be served.

October 12, 2017

POLICE BLOTTER Brass Monkey bash Police said that on Sun., Oct. 8, around 4:05 a.m., in front of the Brass Monkey bar, at 53 Little W. 12th St., a group of four unidentified individuals approached a 21-year-old man after a verbal dispute and punched him multiple times, causing swelling and a laceration to his right eye. The individuals removed the manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cellphone before fleeing on foot. The victim refused medical attention. The first individual is described as around 6 foot 3 inches tall and 200 pounds, with black hair and last seen wearing a white sweatshirt with the letters â&#x20AC;&#x153;HBAâ&#x20AC;? on the front. The second suspect was last seen wearing a light-colored shirt, black pants and light-colored sneakers. Another sidekick was wearing a lightcolored, long-sleeved jacket, light-colored pants and brown boots. The fourth perp was last seen wearing a light-colored T-shirt. Anyone with information is asked to call the Police Departmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Crime Stoppers Hotline, at 800-577-TIPS, or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). Tips can also be submitted by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Web site, www.nypdcrimestoppers.com, or by texting them to 274637 (CRIMES) and then entering TIP577. All tips are confidential.

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A woman asked a teenager if she could snap a picture of herself wearing his Rolex on Sat., Sept. 2, at 2:30 a.m., at W. 12th St. and Seventh Ave. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; but she took more than a photo, police said. The 16-year-old complied, but when he asked for the watch back, the woman fled with it. The suspect is described as age 21 to 31, 5 feet 6 inches tall, with long curly black hair. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Police Departmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Crime Stoppers Hotline. See first Police Blotter item, above.

Got their guy I A man was brazenly robbed in front of 30 University Place on Thurs., Aug. 17, at 3:40 p.m., police said. An unknown male went into the 53-year-old victimâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pocket and took $500 and fled westbound on E. Ninth St. Nearly two months later, Lovell Ambrister, 16, was arrested Fri., Oct. 6, for felony grand larceny.

Got their guy II A personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s property was stolen from a Planet Fitness gym locker at 22 E. 14th St. on Wed., June 14, at 6 p.m., police

October 12, 2017

COURTESY N.Y.P.D.

Police say the woman in this surveillance photo â&#x20AC;&#x153;borrowedâ&#x20AC;? a Rolex for a selfie, then fled with it.

said. The man did not have a lock on the locker and his iPhone, vaporizer, two credit cards and $80 were stolen. Nearly four months later, Dashawn Davis, 26, was arrested Wed., Oct. 4, for felony grand larceny.

Christopher â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;squatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; According to police, two men forcibly entered 88 Christopher St. on Tues., Oct. 3, at 9:30 a.m. and attempted to live there without permission. Jamelle Mannin, 37, and Jeremy Santiago, 42, were arrested for felony burglary.

Taxi attack A man was assaulted and robbed in a taxi at the corner of Charles St. and Greenwich Ave., on Sat., Oct. 7, at 1:40 a.m., police said. The suspect jumped into the cab and punched the 42-year-old victim in the face, causing bruising and swelling, before stealing the victimâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cellphone and running off. Denis Tolkachen, 32, was arrested for felony robbery.

Flex ďŹ lch Police said that on Tues., Sept. 26, around 12:30 p.m., inside Flex Pilates NYC, at 650 Broadway, a man removed a 33-year-old womanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s backpack from behind the counter and fled the place. Among the items inside her purse was $20 in cash, jewelry and two credit cards. The suspect had on glasses and was last seen wearing a black cap, a blue jersey, a black shirt and dark-colored pants. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Crime Stoppers Hotline. See first Police Blotter item, above.

Tabia C. Robinson and Lincoln Anderson TheVillager.com

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October 12, 2017

City beefs up ways to protect tenants’ safety BY EILEEN STUK ANE

enants subjected to dangerous and intentionally demoralizing conditions were recently given new hope, in the form of legislation designed to, among other things, mitigate “construction as harassment.” The tactic is employed by landlords and building owners in which unpleasant living conditions are used to harass rent-regulated tenants until they move out, so the units can be rented or sold at market-rate prices. The last of the 12 Stand for Tenant Safety (STS) Coalition’s bills was passed by the City Council on Sept. 27 — a hard-won victory for detecting landlord abuses, enforcing existing policies and protecting tenants. Sponsored by Brooklyn Councilmember Stephen Levin, this last bill will create a Real Time Enforcement Unit, or R.T.E.U., at the Department of Buildings — which will follow up with inspections within a short period of time after receiving complaints about work being done without a permit. A month earlier, on Aug. 30, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law 18 pieces of tenant safety legislation that included 11 of the 12 S.T.S.-generated bills. Among the other seven bills signed by the mayor was one sponsored by Upper West Side Councilmember Helen

Rosenthal, which created a new Office of Tenant Advocate, a watchdog division for tenants at D.O.B. D.O.B. historically has been a monitor of building practices, such as codes, zoning, permits and construction-safety issues. Growing tenant complaints about construction as harassment and falsified permits have forced D.O.B. to look beyond its usual agendas, yet the issues have not abated. STS (standfortenantsafety.com) is a coalition of nearly 30 organizations. It has been a four-year march toward the accomplishment of this legislation. Brandon Kielbasa is director of organizing at Cooper Square Committee, one of the coalition members. “We’re not at all viewing this as the end of the road but as reaching a milestone in the campaign,” he said. “The campaign will change focus now. We’re going to go crazy spreading the word in the next year. We’ll create materials, do tenant information sessions, just spread the word like mad.” Councilmembers have been inundated by tenant associations and community organizations with individual stories of impossible living conditions, such as lack of cooking gas, toxic dust and fumes, collapsed ceilings and walls, broken windows, vermin and relentless jackhammering, all conducted by landlords who want to drive tenants out of

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PHOTO BY CHRISTIAN MILES

Councilmember Stephen Levin, sponsor of the Real Time Enforcement bill, at the Sept. 27 rally.

their homes. “The reality is that these problems are really plaguing the entire city for the most part,” Kielbasa said. “Anyplace that has rent regulation is starting to see them.” He explained that core neighborhoods with overheated housing markets are seeing construction as harassment in higher volume. Neighborhoods that are rezoned and, as a result, facing development, are also prime targets. The Tenant Harassment Prevention Task Force, established in 2015 as a collection of state and city agencies headed by the state Attorney General’s Office, investigates and brings actions, including criminal charges, against landlords who harass tenants. Recently, the task force found Icon Realty Management guilty of multiple violations, including hazardous conditions, and ordered Icon to pay $500,000 in fees and fines. However, this task force cannot do it all. “As much as we’re really glad to have the attorney general and the Tenant Protection Unit going after landlords,” Kielbasa said, “they’re looking at specific ones and saying, ‘We’re going to take this one on because this is a clear case.’ That is really welcome enforcement. The reality is that they can’t take on all of them because there are just so many bad-acting landlords who employ this stuff in these hot neighborhoods.” Enter the R.T.E.U. and the Office of Tenant Advocate. Within the D.O.B. the staffing of the two new divisions, the R.T.E.U. and the Office of Tenant Advocate, is unknown as yet. The Office of Tenant Advocate is due to take

effect on Dec. 28. Now that the Office of Tenant Advocate has been legislated, D.O.B. spokesperson Andrew Rudansky e-mailed this statement: “We are currently reviewing the legislation and its implementation. Tenants who believe they are being harassed by their landlord should report it to 311 immediately, and we will send an inspector to investigate.” Rosenthal is energized to help model the Office of Tenant Advocate similarly to the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement, which has the ability to shut down locations in which illegal activities are taking place and bring unsafe conditions into compliance. Her hope is that the Tenant Advocate could be accessed via 311, and also online through a D.O.B. dropdown menu — a link on the D.O.B. Web site that creates a level of priority for tenants looking for help. Until now, the D.O.B.’s concern has mostly been focused on construction safety. “Safety is not just for residents walking under a sidewalk shed,” Rosenthal noted. “It’s also for residents who live right next door where a building owner is trying to harass them out.” The two new D.O.B. divisions, the R.T.E.U. and the Office of Tenant Advocate, along with the strengthened laws — including creating a multiagency task force to monitor construction work, enforcing liens against landlords who ignore fines, cracking down on work done without a permit, and preventing falsified permit claims that a building is unoccupied — are designed to change the culture of construction. TheVillager.com

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October 12, 2017

‘Rent still too damn high!’ still McMillan’s issue BY LEVAR ALONZO

immy McMillan, the New York City activist and Vietnam War veteran who famously coined the slogan “The Rent is Too Damn High,” is running for public office again. He has previously run for mayor and governor of New York, as well as mounted a short-lived campaign for president during the 2012 election. Running on the Republican ticket in a heavily Democratic district, McMillan is seeking to succeed Rosie Mendez, who is term-limited, in City Council District 2. The seat is opening up for the first time in 12 years. “I’m running to get in the City Council so that I can help keep people in their East Village homes,” McMillan said. “If I don’t get in to stop the process of people being kicked out or displaced, it will only continue.” The district stretches from the Lower East Side up to the E. 30s, in addition to the East Village, also taking in Gramercy, Union Square, Kips Bay and Rose Hill. He is running his campaign on the same mantra that he has been voicing for years: that the rent is too high in the city, and that if you fix that issue, it will solve all the other problems facing the city. He thinks the prohibitive cost of housing in the city is inflated by “high-level bureaucracy, fraud and greed,” and is

PHOTO BY RAINER TURIM

Jimmy McMillan at a District 2 candidates forum this summer.

not reflective of landlords’ actual operating costs. His solution would be to set up investigative agencies that would not succumb to bribery from developers. “I want the City Council to pass laws to protect the people from being ran out of their homes,” he said. Casey Hill, McMillan’s campaign manager, said the candidate is not against community redevelopment, but wants the Council to lower residential rental rents to be more in line with average incomes. “The Second District is between two wealthy districts,” Hill said. “We want residents to have more access to housing.”

Hill also said McMillan supports siting police and child-service substations in New York City Housing Authority complexes, where the personnel can be more responsive to residents and their needs. McMillan is also looking to reform the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development. “We want them to hold forums so that H.P.D. can tell us what they actually do and how they do it,” Hill said. “More transparency within H.P.D., and we want to know who is in charge.” McMillan supports charter schools. Under his education plan, any charter school operator that wants to open a new school in the district must reserve 40 percent of the seats for students whose parents’ income is below area median income. As to his Republican Party affiliation, McMillan said the party needs help and it doesn’t know what it is doing. He endorsed Donald Trump for president last year because, he said, he was the “only candidate speaking for the veterans.” When asked what he thinks of Trump now and his agenda, McMillan said he still supports him. “I don’t think he is doing enough for the country,” he offered. “Obamacare sucked; it needs to be repealed at all cost. Trump has made history and he going to get the country going in the right direction.” Waiting to challenge McMillan in the

November general election is the Democratic nominee, Carlina Rivera, former legislative director for Councilmember Mendez. Rivera topped the field in the Democratic primary, winning more than 61 percent in a crowded, six-way race. McMillan said his opponent doesn’t know what she is doing and is “coming off the coattail of 12 years of failure.” “One question we would ask her,” Hill noted, “is why is she still living in subsidized housing?” Rivera and her husband, Jamie Rogers, the chairperson of Community Board 3, live in a federally subsidized, low-income Section 8 apartment at Stanton and Ridge Sts. that she grew up in. Rivera has said, if she wins election, she and Rogers dwould move so a deserving family could have the apartment. If he wins, McMillan would join an outnumbered Republican caucus of just three out of 51 city councilmembers. He said he is not paying attention to who is in which party and that they all must work together for the city’s betterment. “The City Council cannot allow the elite to buy over all ‘homo’s,’ ” McMillan said. “We are all ‘homo’s,’ meaning man — homo sapiens — people want food and access to healthcare and quality of life.” Hill said they have no endorsements because they have been running a small campaign and it’s hard for a Republican to get support in this town.

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October 12, 2017

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Arch ’nt yah glad to be reading your community newspaper?

s s i m t n o D g’e issue! a sin l Call ûõüĘöúôĘöùõú To Subscribe! TheVillager.com

October 12, 2017

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Mini-Port Authorityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to park it on W. 14th St. BY LINCOLN ANDERSON

he design of a planned 10-story building at the southeast corner of W. 14th St. and Eighth Ave. has been unveiled, and...itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

awful! The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation tweeted out a photo of a design rendering of the thing on Wednesday with the caption: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ugh; design revealed for new bldg @ 14St+8Av. Glad we stopped zoning variance which would have made it 20% taller.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s as bad as you can imagine,â&#x20AC;? Andrew Berman, the societyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s executive director, told The Villager. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I saw someone on Twitter describe it as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;An ode to the Port Authority Bus Terminal,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; which I think is fitting. Even a building half that height, a design that ugly and obtrusive would stand out like a sore thumb. The scale here is not really a problem; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the ugliness and insensitivity to the design.â&#x20AC;? In July 2016, G.V.S.H.P. successfully advocated against the developerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s request to the Board of Standards and Appeals for a zoning variance to allow the project to rise 21 feet higher than zoning allows. The developer had tried to argue â&#x20AC;&#x153;hardshipâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D; claiming that only by being able to build larger would they get enough economic return on the building. The site is just outside the Greenwich Village Historic District, so is not landmarked. But the spot does have contextual zoning, so new development there is capped at 120 feet tall. In 2015, Mayor de Blasio sought to lift height limits for new developments across the city, includ-

GENE KAUFMAN

A design rendering of architect Gene Kaufmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s design for a new building planned at the northeast corner of W. 14th St. and Eighth Ave.

ing in the Village. But G.V.S.H.P. and the community fought back and the height caps for the West Village, along with other districts, remain intact. The building just to the south of the new project, One Jackson Square, which went up eight years ago, used to be G.V.S.H.P.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Public Enemy No. 1 in this neck of the woods. One Jackson Square actually is in the Greenwich Village Historic District, yet the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Landmarks Preservation Commission still approved its modern-style undulating glass facade. â&#x20AC;&#x153;That design makes this design look almost poetic,â&#x20AC;? Berman sadly reflected, comparing the wavy-glass monstrosity to the mini-Port Authority. Berman said that he, like others, has noticed two other likely development sites two blocks east, on the north corners of the intersection at W. 14th St. and Sixth Ave. But he said he is â&#x20AC;&#x153;not following them as closely because they are on the north side of the street,â&#x20AC;? so just outside G.V.S.H.P.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main coverage area. These include the former site of an HSBC bank branch on the northwest corner and the building that used to house Sol Moscot eyeglasses store on the east corner. As for the Eighth Ave. site, there simply is no existing mechanism in this case for the city to regulate the design. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s really unfortunate,â&#x20AC;? Berman said. He said Gene Kaufman is the architect. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kind of known for really bad architectural designs,â&#x20AC;? Berman noted, â&#x20AC;&#x153;sort of cheap-qualityconstruction hotels in Manhattan and Brooklyn. ... Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m so glad that we were able to keep it from being 21 feet taller.â&#x20AC;?

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212-243-5420

Annual Adopt-a-Pot Event in Jefferson Market Garden Saturday October 21st 11am-5pm and Sunday October 22 12-4pm Internationally celebrated artist and potter Marianne Yoors and fellow Greenwich House Potters have donated ďŹ&#x201A;owerpots and vases, plates and small garden-themed sculptures. Do not miss this opportunity to acquire a unique piece of art AND support the Garden.

OPEN HOUSES Tuesday, October 17 November 14 9amâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;10am

www.jeffersonmarketgarden.org

We also offer tours every Tuesday from 9:00 - 10:00 a.m

Enter thru the Gate Greenwich Ave just west of 6th Ave

October 12, 2017

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Trump disses this ﬂag FLAG continued from p. 6

earlier this year and was celebrated in a memorial march from the Stonewall — calling his creation a flag “that embraces everybody no matter who opposes us.” Lesbian and peace activist Leslie Cagan told the crowd, “Thanks to everybody who came out — and who keeps coming out. I came out 45 years ago. I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve come out. It’s not something you do once and for all. We are still part of a country that doesn’t get it. We’re here. We’re queer. And we’re not going away.” Kiara St. James, director of the New York Transgender Advocacy Group, led the crowd in a chant of “It is our duty to fight. It is our duty to win.” She invoked the memory of transgender and Stonewall pioneers Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, and warned, “If we work in our silos, we cannot bring down this system of white supremacy.” St. James added, “If you are silent, they will kill you and say you enjoyed it.” She called for a movement in the spirit of Occupy Wall Street, saying, “It is not enough to come out, be enraged, go back, and post on Facebook.” Activism involves staying in the streets, she said. The rainbow flag has been up since September 28. But now it is owned by

the city, and the Parks Department has indicated it would like to see a larger rainbow flag up on the flagpole. The Stonewall National Monument will continue, though it is on a hit list of national monuments that the ultraright Family Research Council wants rescinded by Trump — just as energy companies and developers want to see large tracts of preserved federal land lose monument status similarly granted by former President Obama under the Antiquities Act. Trump has launched a review of recent federal designations made under that federal statute, but the Stonewall National Monument has not publicly been discussed by the administration. When Northrop first learned of this week’s controversy, she said, “This is an unbelievably petty, sleazy transparent bit of cruelty by the Trump administration. Evidently, we are so filthy to them and their right-wing supporters that they can’t even be associated with a few yards of rainbow fabric.” Obama created the Stonewall National Monument last year. In order for the designation to be made, the city had to cede Christopher Park to the federal government, which it did after a campaign led by West Side Congressmember Jerry Nadler that enjoyed the full support of neighborhood, city, state and L.G.B.T.Q. leaders.

PHOTO BY JESSICA BERK

The scene of the slime

ile this one under the Shameless Self-Promotion Department. Village woman about town Jessica Berk snapped a selfie in front of Harvey Weinstein’s Village home — which is located just steps away from a renowned high-profile restaurant. Berk said the

scuttlebutt is that, in addition to having finally been outed for multiple instances of sexual harassment and much worse, Weinstein is also harassing his neighbors in other ways. For one, Berk says she hears that the barking of his two large dogs is horrendous.

WESTBETH FREE EVENTS

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EXPLORE DOZENS OF WESTBETH ARTIST STUDIOS AND MEET THE ARTISTS IN THEIR WORK SPACES. VISITS ARE UNGUIDED. TRAVEL AT YOUR OWN PACE.

• First tour departs at 12 PM, Last tour departs at 5 PM • New tour every 30 minutes • Register in Westbeth Courtyard at 155 Bank Street

• Studios are open 12 - 6 PM • Individual artists will be selling their work • Studio Roster in Westbeth Courtyard at 155 Bank Street

TheVillager.com

October 12, 2017

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Subscribe to The Villager

Your Community News Source

Call 718-260-2516 or e-mail pbeatrice@cnglocal.com

Better on Tibetan border

Artistic imposition

To The Editor: Re “My survey says: People don’t want Ai’s ‘Fence’” (talking point, by Sharon Woolums, Oct. 5): Perhaps a better location for Ai Weiwei’s work instead of New York City — which is about the most refugee- and immigrant-welcoming city in the U.S.A. — would be on the Chinese border with North Korea or the Chinese-occupied Tibet border with India. This installation in Washington Square Park is only the first one of many, and it definitely does not appear to be inspiring people’s willingness to help refugees. In fact, it seems to be doing just the opposite. I predict that this massive, invasive art project will anger people all over the city. Look, Ai Weiwei did this in New York because he got paid, and really does anyone believe this is going to help refugees? He should have used this grant to do something artistic that would not cause people to say, “Who asked for this?” instead of thinking about the plight of refugees. He should have done something that could have raised funds to actually help refugees instead of this self-promotional, invasive takeover of public space.

To The Editor: Re “My survey says: People don’t want Ai’s ‘Fence’” (talking point, by Sharon Woolums, Oct. 5): Thank you, Sharon, for this very thoughtful analysis of the community’s response to the art which has been imposed upon it.

John Penley

Another way(way) To The Editor: Re “My survey says: People don’t want Ai’s ‘Fence’” (talking point, by Sharon Woolums, Oct. 5): It would have made more of a statement and an impact if this had been erected at the park’s southern entrance where it would have stood out as a solitary focus. Now there is a sourness to it original purpose as a result of its having invaded a traditional holiday celebration.

Harvey Osgood

How Ai-ronic To The Editor: Re “My survey says: People don’t want Ai’s ‘Fence’” (talking point, by Sharon Woolums, Oct. 5): Placing a strident political-message-masqueradingas-art-installment in an undemocratic appropriation against the will of the community is an irony that seems to be lost on the artist and his backers. A. S. Evans

Why not help artists? To The Editor: Re “My survey says: People don’t want Ai’s ‘Fence’” (talking point, by Sharon Woolums, Oct. 5): Not only is Ai Weiwei occupying the arch, he is commanding 300 sites around the city! Seems like if he were really interested in democracy, he would share the lucrative Public Art Fund funds with 299 resident starving artists. The piece is as ugly and monolithic as the “prison bunker” sculpture that occupied Petrosino Park several years ago until the park was occupied by Citi Bike. Carl Rosenstein

Joe Preston

Missing the point On that note...

We cover “The Cube”!

To The Editor: Re “My survey says: People don’t want Ai’s ‘Fence’” (talking point, by Sharon Woolums, Oct. 5): Where’s the piano player going to play? Susan Kramer

To The Editor: Re “My survey says: People don’t want Ai’s ‘Fence’” (talking point, by Sharon Woolums, Oct. 5): I entirely agree with the opinion expressed in this article. The point of “good fences make good neighbors” is that we should not impose ourselves and our ideas on others, which is what has taken place here. Amedeo Chenier

EVAN FORSCH

October 12, 2017

LETTERS continued on p. 30

TheVillager.com

Why politicians fear constitutional convention

TALKING POINT BY CURTIS SLIWA AND BOB CAPANO

ew Yorkers should vote “yes” for a state constitutional convention on Election Day because our government needs reform and the politicians in Albany have continuously demonstrated that their priority is maintaining the status quo. Article 19 Section 2 of our New York State Constitution requires that every 20 years voters decide whether or not to hold a constitutional convention. The mere fact that the career politicians of both political parties strongly oppose a constitutional convention demonstrates how much they fear the will of the people. If voters choose to hold a constitutional convention, three delegates from each state Senate district, along with 15 at-large delegates, will be elected by the people in November 2018. After this, these citizen representatives will meet to discuss changes to our state Constitution. Any proposed amendments are then put before the voters for approval in the next general election. In short, we support a constitutional convention because we trust the people, not the politicians. The last state convention that had changes approved by the voters came in 1938; this convention should be the next one. Like the American Constitutional Convention of 1787 that led to the world’s greatest example of democracy, a state constitutional convention is the best opportunity for reform because it would be called for — and run by — the people directly. New York State needs initiative and referendum, as well as term limits for state elected officials. Initiative and referendum allows the people to decide key policy issues. Blue states like California and red states like Arizona have initiative and referendum. This has resulted in increased voter turnout because the passion of the people around particular issues comes to the forefront, and they are engaged. Voters care more about issues, not politicians, and this inspires them to be more involved in our political process. The list of issues that could be put before voters to decide through initiative and referendum that would spark voter interest and debate is endless. It could include whether or not to have red-light cameras, voucher programs for private and parochial schools, or fees on plastic bags. Regardless of the issue, people would be discussing these topics at town halls, diners and schoolTheVillager.com

PHOTO BY BOB KRASNER

Cur tis Sliwa with the Guardian Angels at the annual Pride March this past June as it passed through the Village.

yards throughout the state, building momentum for more participation on election days. A constitutional convention can also propose term limits for state elected officials. Albany politicians will never approve term limits by themselves because their main interest is maintaining and accumulating power. Haven’t we seen enough New York politicians convicted of bribery because they think they are immune to laws due to their longevity in office?

It comes down to hope versus fear of the unknown.

We also need to ease ballot access. One should not need an army of lawyers to get through the petitioning process to be on the ballot, and voters should not have to wait almost a year for their change of party affiliation to be implemented. Entrenched incumbents benefit from making it as difficult as possible for newcomers to challenge

them, so they have no interest in these changes, either. Gerrymandering of state and congressional legislative seats must end. Although the United States Supreme Court ruled that racial gerrymandering is unconstitutional in Thornburg vs. Gingles (1986), drawing districts based on political party affiliation is permitted. This has led to the incumbency protection plans we have today because seats are safely held by Republicans or Democrats. Therefore, these politicians do not have to worry about serious challengers and can afford to only pay attention to their political base. This is why we have more sustained gridlock in Albany and Washington. A constitutional convention can offer a proposed amendment to create a real independent redistricting commission to draw districts every 10 years after the census. This would lead to more competitive races where members of all political parties, and not just Republicans and Democrats, have a real chance to win. Politicians would be forced to listen to all voices in their districts. Again, the career politicians in Albany would never take this step on their own because their priority is keeping their jobs as long as possible by having easy re-elections every two years through having carefully drawn districts that all but guarantee their continued time in office. We know that the Albany crowd

opposes all of these changes to state government; therefore, a constitutional convention is the only chance to implement them. Opponents of the convention are frightening voters into what changes could happen that would adversely affect particular unions or interest groups. Simply, whether or not to vote to approve a constitutional convention or not comes down to hope versus fear of the unknown. We can’t hope any longer that the career Albany politicians will do the right thing to reform and improve our government. We must have faith in the people. In 1846, Ansel Bascom was one of the authors of the provision allowing voters to decide on a constitutional convention every 20 years. As he stated, “All power is preserved to the people… . [O]nce every 20 years they might take the matter [of how they are governed]...into their own hands.” We must seize this opportunity on Nov. 7 and vote “yes” for a New York State constitutional convention. Sliwa is founder of the Guardian Angels, a and radio show host and chairperson of the New York State Reform Party; Capano has served as an adjunct political science professor for more than 15 years with City University of New York and is the Reform Party candidate in Brooklyn’s 43rd City Council District. October 12, 2017

Newell pushing to boot Wright as party leader BY COLIN MIXSON

spurned state Senate candidate is attacking Manhattan’s Democratic Party boss where it hurts — his wallet. Downtown district leader and erstwhile state Senate hopeful Paul Newell pushed reforms at a Manhattan Democratic County Committee meeting on Sept. 26 that would force former Assemblymember Keith Wright to make a choice between losing his job as a lobbyist, or his post as Manhattan’s Democratic Party county leader. Newell introduced the resolution banning lobbyists from serving as highranking party officials just days after accusing Wright of conspiring with Brooklyn party boss Frank Seddio to overrule rank-and-file committee members — who voted overwhelmingly for Newell. Instead, he said, Wright and Seddio, in a backroom deal, had the “fi x in” to select Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh as the Democratic nominee for the vacate state Senate seat, which includes Lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn. “His overruling of the County Committee in the Senate race galvanized a lot of people,” Newell said. In addition to serving as the Manhattan Democratic leader, Wright was listed as a part of a “seasoned team of

ASSOCIATED PRESS / MIKE GROLL

Manhattan par t y leader Keith Wright helped get A ssemblymember Brian Kavanagh the Democratic nomination for Lower Manhattan’s open state Senate seat. A proposed anti-lobbying rule could oust Wright from his position.

lobbyists” for the firm Davidoff, Hutcher and Citron, a day job Newell claims poses a profound conflict of interest. The firm recently changed the wording on its Web site to “a seasoned team of

government relations professionals.” “It is an inherent conflict of interest to be a lobbyist and the leader of a political party,” Newell said. Wright, in an interview, refused to go into detail about his work for DHC, but was adamant that it did not include lobbying in any form. Yet, the firm’s announcement of Wright’s hiring in January stated that he “will immediately take on a leadership role in the firm’s State and City lobbying efforts.” However, Wright also defended allowing lobbyists to serve in the party leadership. “What do you do for district leaders that work for labor unions?” he asked. “What do you do for people who work for Planned Parenthood? There are affiliations with everyone and everybody.” Wright charged that Newell’s resolution was purely motivated by sour grapes over failing to win the Democratic nomination. Despite Newell getting 72 percent of the vote from Manhattan committee members, Kavanagh ultimately was selected due to Wright’s decision to split Manhattan’s vote — with 28 percent going to Kavanagh — while Seddio wielded Brooklyn’s vote as a single bloc for Kavanagh. Had Wright opted to similarly consolidate the Manhattan committee’s votes as a (significantly larger) bloc, Newell

would have won. “Listen, we know what this is all about,” Wright said. “Paul’s not a bad guy, he’s upset.” The Manhattan leader denied any wrongdoing on his part in the process, saying he was forced into that position “as a matter of state law,” while also saying he believed Kavanagh was the best-qualified. “What really went into my decision making was that I had served with Mr. Kavanagh for 11 years,” said the former 12-term assemblymember. “Mr. Kavanagh has proven himself a great reformer in many ways.” The prospect of axing Wright as Manhattan’s Democratic boss sparked a nearly hour-long debate at the Sept. 26 meeting. Opposition from the party leader’s supporters was enough to sway members to table a vote on the measure and send it to the county’s Rules Committee, which is expected to submit a report on Newell’s resolution sometime in the next three months. Wright is expected to try to use his influence on Manhattan’s district leaders, who will be tasked with forming a new Rules Committee and determining the fate of Newell’s resolution. “If anybody’s stacking it, it would be the county leader,” said Newell. “Hopefully, we can find compromise and form a committee that’s not stacked.”

Belong. Believe. Become.

CATHEDRAL HIGH SCHOOL

OP E N HOUSE

How a child learns to learn will impact his or her life forever. Sunday, October 22, 2017 12-3pm (last tour starts at 2:30PM) 350 East 56th Street, NYC www.cathedralhs.org | 212.688.1545 | TACHS #202 18

October 12, 2017

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

Open House: Thursday, November 16th, 6:00 - 8:00pm 146 West 13th Street, New York, NY 10011 Tel: 212.242.7802

www.cityandcountry.org TheVillager.com

Cape and Crown: How Rev. Jen got her booty back She pursued a treasure chest full of new stories

Photo by John Foster

Popcorn-loving ducks bonded with Rev. Jen on a Cape Cod beach.

BY REV. JEN MILLER Greetings, Earthlings and dear readers! I last wrote this column almost nine months ago, after losing my Chihuahua BFF, Reverend Jen Junior. I was heartbroken then, and am still heartbroken. But, the good news is, Jen Junior will always be with us. In fact, I recently received a postcard, simply postmarked “Hell.” It read: Hey, Rev.! It’s JJ. I am in Hell! I was sent here for lustfully humping human legs and being envious of other female dogs. But everything is cool. I’ve started a supergroup with Prince, Bowie, and Johnny Cash. Marilyn Monroe and I often stay up all night, swapping stories about being fabulous blondes. Because I greedily begged for food so much in life, my punishment is to eat myself to death every day, but then I get to come back to life and do it all again! Tell everyone back home I miss them, and that when they all die (hopefully not too soon) and go straight to Hell, we’ll have a big party! Love Always, Reverend Jen Junior I guess she didn’t have time to write more, given Hell is so busy and fun, but she often visits me in dreams and is always by my side. Moving on, enquiring minds might wonder where TheVillager.com

I’ve been. Like Hillary, I simply vanished. Extremely long story short: Due to a psychotic roommate situation, I was forced to evacuate the city along with my trusty column cohort and roommate, John Foster. Having nowhere to live and only our cat and the clothes on our backs, we headed north to Cape Cod, where John’s parents reside. It was time for my “Old Man and the Sea Monkey” phase. Much like the tiny crustacean, I was fragile and in need of care.

CAPE COD When people picture Cape Cod, they often think of bros in white pants, boiling lobsters and playing golf — but there is much more to the hook-shaped peninsula than preppy culture. First, it is full of wildlife including foxes, bunnies, wolves, coyotes, whales, ducks, seals, sharks, and wild turkeys who walk in a line like they are posing for the cover of “Abbey Road.” While we were there, we saw a wolf smelling pink flowers and two seals “doing it” on the beach. A group of ducklings and their mother duck befriended me, mostly because I had popcorn. And, warning to everyone in the Atlantic: John taught me to drive a boat! It’s a lot like driving on 95, but there are

Photo by Jason Thompson

She’ll see you in Hell: Reverend Jen Junior (2002-2016) still keeps in touch with our intrepid columnist.

no lanes. We gardened and swam every day, but the food there is so good, I am going to need Richard Simmons to cut me out of my current apartment if I am to cover events again. Inspired by the sea and the state’s legal marijuana, we also watched approximately 300 episodes of “SpongeBob.” But, realizing we were becoming useless human beings, we were both determined to return to New York City. I was getting no writing done and wanted the greatest booty one can cull from the treasure chest that is life: stories. Like Captain Jack Sparrow right after he helped lift the Curse of the Black Pearl, I had to get back on the boat and get lost at sea one more time. On a day trip to NYC, we managed to find an apartment and I managed to find a job at a retail establishment. Can’t tell you exactly where I live now, only that it’s very close to my favorite roller coaster.

THE MISS SUBWAYS PAGEANT A friend of mine contacted me while I was on the Cape and asked me to help organize and judge a rebooted version of the “Miss Subways” Pageant, which initially ran from 1941 through

1976. During those years, it was very much a “beauty pageant” that encouraged companies to advertise on the subway. (While gazing up at a lovely Miss Subways, you might also glance upon an ad.) But the new pageant was to be very different. Open to all genders and ages, it was a benefit for both the City Reliquary (a museum that celebrates NYC’s heritage with artifacts) and the Riders Alliance (a group devoted to combating the “Summer of Hell” while advocating for straphanger’s rights). Having organized the “Mr. LES Pageant” for 18 years, I knew I could certainly throw a better beauty pageant than Trump. Three other judges were also recruited; comedians Janeane Garofalo and Baratunde Thurston and NY1 host Roger Clark. I brought along two extra “hand-puppet” judges: Gay-Tor (a wise alligator who has lived under the subway for 112 years) and the “Ghost of IRT Past.” Fourteen contestants entered, but only would walk away with the crown (designed by me), complete with plastic roaches, a pizza rat, and a 50-year-old token. By the final round, there were only four left standing: filmmaker, Dylan Mars Greenberg; drag queen tour guide, Glace Chase; Hedra, aka “Miss REV. continued on p. 21 October 12, 2017

Photo by KL Thomas

Out of their gourd: After 20 years of chilling tales, “The Pumpkin Pie Show” willingly pulls its plug. L to R: Brian Silliman, Hanna Cheek, Abe Goldfarb, Kyle Jarrow and Clay McCleod Chapman (from the encore of “Seasick”).

Just Do Art: The Back Again Edition “DEATH TO THE PUMPKIN PIE SHOW”

BY SCOTT STIFFLER

AMY STILLER IN “JUST TRUST” Paint drying certainly is a work in progress — but you wouldn’t disconnect from your electronic devices, schlep to a theater, and buy a ticket to watch it happen. Amy Stiller, however, is worth the trip and then some. The ever-evolving, self-aware searcher’s solo performance drops anchor back at the site of its incubation, after a series of national performances during which writer, actress, and comedienne Stiller tells us she further sharpened the silly, sexy, spiritually inclined, packed-to-the-rafters workshop performance enormously enjoyed by this publication at Dixon Place back in Aug. 2016. Assured improvements notwithstanding, the rock solid story arc remains the same: Stiller riffs on her life as “the only unknown person in a family of celebrities” (sister of Ben, daughter of Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller). Flummoxed by an unworthy suitor, a therapist with more personal problems than her client, and a celebrity culture rife with vultures and short on virtues, mamma Meara drops a Yoda-like koan that becomes Stiller’s North Star (and the two-word title of her show). True to the press material’s promise, “Amy learns to ‘just trust’ that she is enough.” There are plenty of bumps along the way, though, told through a series of alternately touching and absurd flashbacks packed with spot-on portrayals of characters both grounded and kooky — plus a few cutting zingers aimed squarely at the her own flaws. As road trips to enlightenment go, Stiller proves to be the kind of vigilant presence you

October 12, 2017

Photo by Alison Bert

It’s so nice to have you back: Amy Stiller’s “Just Trust” returns to Dixon Place Oct. 13 and 14.

want behind the wheel. Fri., Oct. 13 at 7:30pm, Sat. Oct. 14 at 2pm and 7:30pm. At Dixon Place (161A Chrystie St., btw. Rivington & Delancey Sts.). For tickets, ($15 in advance, $18 at the door; $12 for students/seniors; online discount code is JUSTAMY), visit dixonplace.org or call 212-219-0736.

Twenty years after he first took the ancient tradition of bone-chilling, one-upsmanship tale-telling away from the forest campfire and into a black box theater, Clay McLeod Chapman is casting himself as a ruthless homicidal nurse and pulling the plug on his still-beating, deeply disturbing storytelling series, “The Pumpkin Pie Show.” Every October, it’s given us a reliably unstable pageant of blood, guts, gore, long-held secrets, and public perversions acted with scene-chewing gusto by a revolving cast hand-harvested by author Chapman, whose tightly wound shockers repeatedly demonstrate that fiction is stranger than truth — and in the right hands, it’s far more dangerous. This three-week swan song brings back some of the series’ best, including unofficial national treasure Hanna Cheek. On Oct. 12, 19 and 26, she’ll shape-shift through “Commencement,” playing three women whose lives intersect in the heartbreaking wake of a high school shooting. On Oct. 13, 20 and 27, Chapman reunites with songwriter Kyle Jarrow and fellow cast members Cheek, Abe Goldfarb, Katie Hartman and Brian Silliman for “Seasick” — a cruise-ship-set musical theater take on survivalism, potty mouthery, and descents into madness. You’ll never think of buffet dining or karaoke quite the same way. The third part (of course it’s a trilogy), “Best of Blitzkrieg,” has Chapman, Cheek and special guests performing a punk potpourri of JDA continued on p. 21 TheVillager.com

JDA continued from p. 20

“Pie Show” favorites, chosen at random on Oct. 14, 21 and 28. Not enough for you? Pick up the recent Applause Books release “Nothing Untoward: Tales From The Pumpkin Pie Show” and you can take that cursed tome off the shelf any night of the week. There will be dreams, yes — but don’t bank on anything sweet. Through Oct. 28, with performances Thurs., and Sat. at 8pm. At UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Pl., btw. First Ave. & Ave. A). For tickets ($20), visit horsetrade.info. See all three shows for the price of two when you use the code PIE. Artist info at claymcleodchapman.com.

ERYC TAYLOR DANCE: FALL SEASON Twist, jump, and leap if you must — just don’t two-step around the opportunity to see Eryc Taylor Dance in the intimate Martha Graham Studio Theater. That’s where we last caught the muscular and nimble ensemble, at an Oct. 2016 performance (whose world premieres included “Dances on Wood,” choreographed to an original score by renowned composer and longtime Chelsea Hotel resident Gerald Busby). Nicole Baker, Chris Bell and Graham Cole — all veterans of that 10-year anniversary performance, and all fantastic in it — return for this fall season program, joined by Taylor

Ennen, AJ Guevara and Alex Tenreiro Theis. Skill, sweat, and sex appeal make this a must-see, and that’s a sight-unseen recommendation we feel perfectly comfortable with. As for the specifics of what you’ll get: “Cycles” is a “sixteen-minute abstraction of space and sea” commissioned work with a soundscape by British electronic artist/ DJ Swarm Intelligence and geometric exoskeleton costumes by emerging NYC-based artist Ether. The troupe’s 1992 comedic take on tango — “Chaise Lung” — gets the reconstruction treatment via new sequence created in collaboration with Latin Ballroom instructor Sidney Grant, and a new commissioned score by Salomon Lerner. Repertory works include “Song for Cello and Piano,” “The Box,” and “The Missing,” with that last one giving us the ending we needed: This is one fall arts event you don’t want miss. At 8pm on Fri., Oct. 13 & Sat., Oct. 14, then Sun., Oct. 15 at 3pm. At the Martha Graham Studio Theater (55 Bethune St., at Washington St.). For tickets ($25; $15 for students & seniors; VIP champagne toast, $250), call 858401-2456 or visit etd.nyc.

“IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK: CELEBRATING THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE BOTTOM LINE” One group and two words: Uptown

Photo Peter Cunningham Photography

A stellar lineup pays tribute to the Bottom Line, Oct. 13-14. L to R, from back in the day, co-owners Stanley Snadowsky and Allan Pepper.

Horns. That’s really all you need to know to sell you on celebrating the iconic music venue that made 15 W. Fourth St. the place to be from 1974 to 2004. The Horns will, of course, be joined by a beyond-stellar lineup lovingly curated by Jessica Weitz, Danny Kapilian and Paul Guzzone, and conceived by Melanie Mintz, with music direction by Gregg Bendian (whose band, The Mahavishnu Project, was frequent Bottom Line presence). Hosted by Paul Shaffer, the announced talent (so many we don’t have room for them all, sorry) includes Sean Altman, David Bromberg (Fri. only), Clint de Ganon, The GrooveBarbers, Garland Jeffreys

REV. continued from p. 19

Derailment”; and performance artist, Lisa Levy. Lisa’s heartfelt memories of having ridden the subway for 61 years is what finally brought us to the conclusion that she should be bestowed the crown, making her the first post-menopausal Miss Subways in history. When you gaze upon her visage, remember she is going your way, even if the MTA isn’t.

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

Courtesy Lisa Levy

The coveted Rev. Jen-designed Miss Subways crown sports a 1950s-era token.

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It’s that time of year again, when autumn leaves fall gently on the ground and NFL players don pink cleats along with their tight pants before crushing each other and getting concussions, in order to remind us of breast cancer awareness. Silly as their gesture might seem, when I look at those cleats, I imagine every player has a friend or family member who’s been affected by the disease, given it is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women. I wanted to write something funny here or do something like run or walk, but I am not always a fan of equating physical exercise with causes. If I am running, it’s generally from

(Sat. only), David Johansen, Christine Lavin (Sat. only), Will Lee, Darlene Love with Ula Hedwig and Curtis King, Terre Roche with Feifei Yang and Garry Dial (Fri. only), and Jimmy Vivino. In addition to the great music you’d expect, the tribute will be packed with stories, audio clips and photos, and a pop-up gallery in the lobby exhibiting intimate moments of Bottom Line glory from rock photographers Peter Cunningham, Bob Gruen, and Ebet Roberts. Fri., Oct. 13 and Sat., Oct. 14, 7:30pm at the Schimmel Center (at Pace University; 3 Spruce St., btw. Gold St. & Park Row). For tickets ($29 to $55), call 212-3461715 or visit schimmelcenter.org.

something or to something. So, I thought I’d write a poem instead. When I was a wee kid, my teacher asked me to write a poem about my favorite color. My favorite color is actually gold, but, technically, it’s a metal so I went with pink. I only have the first four lines memorized, but I have rewritten it, as a reminder to get your boobs checked.

“PINK” Pink is the color of a carnation flower Pink is the color of the sun’s fi nal hour Pink is the color of a sweet-smelling rose It’s even the color of my kitten’s nose Pink is also a cause A moment to take pause and check out your ta-tas You can do a self-exam You can even let your man There are many tasks that men do loathe Checking breasts is not one of those Even Barbara Bush said it’s not deviant to let you boyfriend go and feel it So go and get your breasteses checked Because the sooner they detect The better you will rest Before they repeal Obamacare And we all have to live in fear! October 12, 2017

Mt. Sinai opens new Union Square Urgent Care On Oct. 4, Mt. Sinai Health System announced the opening, at its newly renovated Mt. Sinai Union Square, of a state-of-the-art, full-service urgentcare center, including pediatric care, which will feature daytime, evening and weekend hours. The renovation of the 10 Union Square East facility and creation of the urgent-care center there are part of Mt. Sinai’s $500 million transformation of services south of 34th St., also to include a new Mt. Sinai Beth Israel hospital, with an advanced emergency department, at E. 13th St. and Second Ave. “The healthcare model we are creating Downtown will ensure the community has access to the proper care they need, as well as to world-class specialists,” said Dr. Kenneth L. Davis, Mt. Sinai Health System president and C.E.O. “With the opening of Union Square Urgent Care, we are taking one step closer to building our unified, holistic network of services to serve the needs of the community today and tomorrow.” Kelly Cassano, a doctor of orthopedic surgery and chief of ambulatory care at Mt. Sinai Downtown, said, “At our new urgent-care center, patients will have access to acute-care services on an outpatient basis, many of which would otherwise require an emergency

PHOTO COURTESY MT. SINAI HEALTH SYSTEM

At the Mt. Sinai Downtown Union Square urgent-care center ribboncutting last week, from left, Claude L . Winfield, Community Board 6 vice chairperson; Margaret Pastuszko, Mt. Sinai Health System chief strategy and integration officer; Dr. Jeremy Boal, Mt. Sinai Downtown president; Dr. Erik Eiting, M.S.D. medical director of emergenc y medicine; Kelly Cassano, D.O., M.S.D. chief of ambulator y care; Dr. Barbara Barnett, M.S.D. chief medical officer; A ssemblymember Richard Gottfried; Iris Latorre, M.S.D. Union Square urgent-care practice manager; Wally Rubin, C.B. 5 district manager; Scott Hobbs, Union Square Par tnership deput y director; William D. Abramson, Union Square Par tnership co-chairperson.

room visit. With primary-care services and more than 30 specialty practices within the same building and a full-service emergency room a few blocks away at Mt. Sinai Beth Israel, the urgent-care center will bridge full integration of services for the patient.” The urgent-care center is staffed by board-certified emergency medicine doctors. It will treat everything from asthma and allergies to fevers and flu, sprains and strains, broken fingers and toes, to stomach ailments. Mt. Sinai is currently doing a “My Mount Sinai” marketing campaign that includes stories of patients who received care at Mt. Sinai’s Downtown locations. The ads will appear in the Union Square subway station through October. One ad features Donna Tookes, 62, a breast cancer survivor. Tookes was treated at Mt. Sinai Beth Israel and was in a clinical trial for a new scalp-cooling treatment to reduce the likelihood of hair loss. “I want others to know about the life-saving and life-changing work that is being done there,” Tookes said of being in the ad campaign. Four years after treatment, Tookes has no signs of cancer, and the hairpreservation technology has since received final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

ELDERCARE TODAY

PHOTO BY TEQUILA MINSKY

Keep on partying!

onnie Masullo was enjoying the Friends of LaGuardia Place’s block party last month and the healthy benefits of staying active. She was the first resident of 505 LaGuardia Place to receive her key from architect

October 12, 2017

I.M. Pei when it opened in the 1960s. (The high-rise’s two sister buildings are known as N.Y.U.’s Silver Towers.) For 10 years, Masullo was the secretary of the late Tony Dapolito, former Community Board 2 chairperson. TheVillager.com

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phone conversations. The use of a hands-free device does not lower distraction levels. The percentage of vehicle crashes and nearcrashes attributed to dialing is nearly identical to the number associated with talking or listening.

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a rest area and spend 10 minutes snacking there before resuming the trip.

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.

October 12, 2017

Artist’s Gansevoort ‘ghost pier’ takes from using that spot in the river. “It would not change any of the uses of the park,” Weinberg said, “because it would just sort of be there.” In short, kayakers would be able to launch their boats at the spot and paddle right through the ethereal structure. The Whitney has spent the last year and a half doing an engineering study for the project. But Weinberg stressed that the museum’s leadership felt it was very important to go to the community first before putting the plan out there. That was blown, however, when the Times, a few weeks ago, spilled the beans and published an article about the plan. “The Barry Diller project fell through and somebody leaked the project to the New York Times,” Weinberg said. “That really upset me.” He said he called the reporter who wrote the story and told her, “It’s pretty crappy that they would publish it before the Community Board 2 meeting. Basically, the Times told me that they wouldn’t and couldn’t hold it.”

HAMMONS continued from p. 1

In its first public unveiling, Weinberg presented the plan to the Parks and Waterfront Committee of Community Board 2 on the evening of Wed., Oct. 4. The day before, Weinberg, in a telephone interview, laid out the plan to The Villager. He noted that Hammons — who is African-American and has lived in New York City for more than four decades — is considered among the most important artists working in the U.S. today. He is known for his often provocative — yet also extremely poetic — pieces that are “formally beautiful,” Weinberg noted. “And he’s an artist who really thinks about the context his works will appear in,” he added. “He came to the museum when it was under construction, looked out the window and saw Gansevoort,” Weinberg recalled, referring to the wide west-facing window in the Whitney’s largest gallery space. Hammons, 74, remembered how the original Pier 52 pier shed had once sat off the southern side of Gansevoort, and how, in 1975, artist Gordon MattaClark had cut five openings in the side of the disused structure. “He sent us a drawing, totally unsolicited,” Weinberg said of Hammons, “the idea of creating a skeletal ghost remnant of this torn-down warehouse. He made the proposal and we were really interested by it. I think it’s a quite magical piece.” At a time when battles are literally raging around the country over the tearing down of historic monuments — like statues of Confederate soldiers and Christopher Columbus — Weinberg noted that this proposed testament to the past is completely apolitical. Hammons’s proposal called for a perfectly accurate framework of the former pier shed at full scale. “The warehouse itself was larger than the Whitney Museum,” Weinberg noted of the old pier shed. Hammons’s exacting design calls for the piece to be 373 feet long by 75 wide by 50 feet high — with a clerestory running along the middle of the structure’s top — to mimic the precise dimensions of the original structure. “David Hammons really wanted it to be the exact spot, the exact size,” Weinberg noted. The beams and poles would be made out of 8-inch-diameter brushed steel, which would not be shiny, Weinberg said. The artist did not want every single original beam recreated, but rather to capture the overall shape of what had once stood there. “That was one of the original questions,” Weinberg recalled, as to how much of the former pier shed Ham-

October 12, 2017

IMAGES COURTESY WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART

A design rendering of David Hammons’s “Day’s End” project looking toward the west. At right is the existing Gansevoor t Peninsula.

‘I think it’s a quite magical piece.’ Adam Weinberg

The former Pier 52 pier shed in 1975, showing one of the large cutouts in its facade done by Gordon Matta-Clark, known for his site-specific ar t works. Pier 52 and its shed no longer exist.

mons wanted to recreate. “It’s the essential form, the outline.” Unlike Pier55, which — raised high on its extra-tall pilings and with its undulating landscape — would have been impossible to miss, “Day’s End” won’t always be so apparent to the eye. “Depending on the weather, it would be more present,” Weinberg noted. “Sometimes it would disappear in the

clouds and fog.” The public artwork would not be merely temporary, but there for the long term. “It would be kind of a permanent reference — as long as it could stand,” the museum director said. Unlike Pier 55 — with its dense network of support piles — “Day’s End” wouldn’t prevent boaters and kayakers

Like Diller on Pier55, the Whitney had been working with the Hudson River Park Trust on the “Day’s End” project. In fact, the Whitney would not own the Hammons piece; it would be owned by the Trust — the state-city authority that operates the 5-mile-long West Side waterfront park — since it would be in the Trust’s jurisdiction. “They are very supportive of it,” Weinberg said of the Trust’s view of “Day’s End.” Although he said he could not give an exact price for the project, the director said, “It’s much more than a million dollars. You have to anchor it,” he explained. Poles on the structure’s northern side would sit on the peninsula’s edge, while the poles on its southern side would have to be installed in the riverbed. The process of obtaining permits, from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the state Department of Environmental Conservation, also costs money. The Whitney would finance the project and its construction. Weinberg said HAMMONS continued on p. 25 TheVillager.com

shape as Village waterfront homage HAMMONS continued from p. 24

they would “like to see it happen in two to three years, if possible,” and that building the artwork and installing it would take less than nine months. Before anything, though, the Whitney wants there to be local buy-in for the scheme. “If the community is enthusiastic, the next step is to go out and fundraise,” Weinberg said. Having carefully watched the Pier55 process and its failure, the Whitney is being careful not to repeat any of its mistakes. “One thing I can say is there will be no poured concrete into the water,” Weinberg stated. He was referring to the Achilles heel of the Pier55 project — namely, the requirement under the federal Clean Water Act that because the pier’s special “pot” piles were to have been filled onsite with pourable concrete during the actual construction process, the pier and its uses had to be “water-dependent.” Back in March, in a stunning decision, a federal judge ruled there was no reason why the “entertainment pier” had to be built in the river as opposed to on land, and she promptly rescinded its Army Corps permit, leaving the project dead in the water. Asked his thoughts about the demise of “Diller Island,” Weinberg was carefully what he said about that aquatic hot potato. “The intent was to try to do a good thing,” he offered. “Our is a different kind of project. It’s an artist-driven project. It’s an homage.” Specifically, the artwork is a tribute to the 19th- and 20th-century working waterfront and its built fabric. “Especially now that they’ve taken down the pier sheds, and they’re taking down the Gansevoort building,” Weinberg noted. He was referring to the Department of Sanitation’s former incinerator-turned-garage on the peninsula, which eventually will be redeveloped as parkland as part of Hudson River Park. The spectral steel arch that stands at the foot of the former Pier 54, at W. 13th St., is a remnant of the former pier where the Carpathia brought the Titanic’s survivors. “In fact, I’m looking at it right now through my window,” Weinberg noted. “We know that the arch connected to a whole pier shed that’s no longer there.” The Whitney would create a free mobile Web site (not an app since it would not have to be downloaded in order to use), allowing people to learn the area’s rich history simply by pointing their phones at certain locations. “So you can hold up your Android or your iPhone and see the whole history of the waterfront,” Weinberg explained. “There would even be images of the first Native American settlement there TheVillager.com

A rendeing of “Day’s End” seen from the terrace of the Whitney Museum at Gansevoor t and West Sts.

David Hammons’s original sketch for the proposed public-ar t project.

— it would be approximate,” Weinberg said. “Herman Melville working on Gansevoort as a customs inspector. Alexander Hamilton brought back across the river and presumably died on Horatio St.…‘gay beaches,’” he said, referring to the cruising scene on the former dilapidated piers that have been replaced by Hudson River Park.

The program would also detail the area’s past and current arts scene. “Artists,” he said. “There are over 300 artists currently at Westbeth. Everybody thinks all the artists have moved to Bushwick, but they’re still in the Village.” Engaging with the community is clearly important for the Whitney on this project, about which a documentary

would also be made. An oral history of the area, including “longtime neighbors, artists, merchants, community activists and cultural leaders,” will also be done. Tom Fox, one of the plaintiffs in the City Club of New York lawsuits against Pier55, said the Whitney was “doing things the right way,” by ensuring it first got neighborhood support and by putting all its cards on the table at the outset. Told of that, Weinberg said, “I’m happy that they feel that way.” Madelyn Wils, the president and C.E.O. of the Trust, was at last Wednesday’s presentation. “We think ‘Day’s End’ is an inspiring idea that celebrates the history of the Hudson River waterfront,” she said. “We look forward to hearing the community’s thoughts, and, should the project move forward, to working with the Whitney to make this a vibrant addition to Hudson River Park.” Susanna Aaron, vice chairperson of the C.B. 2 Parks and Waterfront Committee, said its reaction was unanimous in support of the project. She noted that some questions from the audience included how the structure would affect the peninsula and whether oysters would be allowed to grow on it. Aaron noted that, as Weinberg explained during his presentation, there would be 65 feet between each “anchor,” or vertical pole supporting the structure, and only 12 anchors in total, so the artwork would be very open, allowing boating and other activities in the waters it straddles. One of the anchors would be built in such a way as to allow access to the Spectra natural-gas pipeline that runs under Gansevoort, Weinberg noted. The development of a park on Gansevoort itself is not happening soon, according to Aaron. “We’re years away from scoping that park,” she said. Aaron also noted that Wils assured the Hammons plan would go through all necessary environmental reviews. About 80 people attended the meeting. “We really appreciate being engaged super-early,” Aaron added of the Whitney’s community outreach. Sharon Woolums, a public member of the Parks and Waterfront Committee, was somewhat neutral on the whole affair. Woolums’s talking point in The Villager last week criticizing another prominent public artwork — Ai Weiwei’s “Good Fences Makes Good Neighbors” cage installation underneath the Washington Square Arch — has been garnering international media attention. “I like it,” she said of “Day’s End.” “I mean, I went to those piers. I could do without it, too. I kind of like it as a nod to the past — it looks like a ghost. And if they want to go to all that expense to give a nod to the past, fine.” October 12, 2017

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October 12, 2017

The pulled pork fries at Fr yGuys.

FryGuys serves up tons of spuds with a ’70s spin BY LEVAR ALONZO

new business whose look and sound pays playful homage to the 1970s is serving up heaping mounds of fries that reflect the owner’s love of spuds. FryGuys opened a few weeks ago at 150 E. Second St., at Avenue A, and is serving up a pound and half of fries for $8 a meal, with an array of housemade toppings. The intimate 12-seat eatery was cooked up by Marco Lanuto and McKenzie Foster, “partners in life and business,” who were inspired by their self-described fry addiction. “We wanted to create a cheap, inclusive eatery that people can just come and hang out,” Foster said. “We are seeing more and more of New York City become exclusive: You can only get into spots if you know someone.” The couple enlisted Tres Carnes veteran chef Kianna May Flowers to help bring their conceptualized menu and months of toying with family recipes to fruition. There are three different types of fry cuts — wedge, waffle and curly — made from Idaho Russet potatoes. The toppings, in generous portions, include choices like the “Southern Guy,” twice-fried chicken with maple syrup gravy, or the “Fry Guy,” potato fries topped with pulled pork, smoky barbecue and coleslaw. Fries-only servings are available, too, as well a selection of sides, including hummus, guacamole and house-made chipotle mayo. Foster, who is a student of New York City history, said the pair chose a ’70s theme because that era was a fun time, with great music, pop culture and iconic individuals.

October 12, 2017

Fellow spud lovers can enjoy their meals with disco balls hanging overhead, a floor made of vinyl records and walls festooned with iconic ’70s images. In addition, the owners chose the East Village for their location because, as Foster said, “It has personality.” “The East Village has character,” she said. “It’s a place where you can still see the semblance of the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. It’s a place where many residents are still living here from their childhood.” Lanuto and Foster intend to offer seasonal specials, such as sweet potato fries with house-roasted turkey and gravy at Thanksgiving, latkes for Hanukkah and Lanuto’s mother’s “like no other in the world” potato salad next summer. FryGuys will also offer potato chips that are made from its leftover cuttings for the fries. The eatery is available for private parties and offers a French fry vision of a birthday cake a.k.a. the Frycano. Serving eight to 10 people, the Frycano is 12 pounds of choice fries, toppings and sides that is stacked three tiers high to resemble a layered birthday cake. The fry mecca got off to a sizzling start. “The opening was pretty amazing,” Foster said. “The line was pretty long and people loved the food, which is the most important part.” The eatery will soon offer draft beer and wine choices once its liquor license is finalized and will also start doing door-to-door deliveries. FryGuys is open daily: Sunday to Thursday, from noon to 2 a.m., and Friday and Saturday, from noon to 4 a.m. TheVillager.com

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October 12, 2017

PHOTO BY THE VILLAGER

However...Amazon is also outside Corey’s court

hat would Professor Irwin Corey say? Reporter Mary Reinholz has been documenting in articles for The Villager how low-paid contract workers for Amazon have been

illegally commandeering parking spaces for hours with their truck in the East Village and blocking brick-and-mortar stores while they distribute the online behemoth’s goods to the area. It’s going on

up in Murray Hill, too. Last Thursday, an Amazon operation was blocking the sidewalk outside late comedian Corey’s home on historic Sniffen Court, on E. 36th St., near Third Ave.

Letters to The Editor LETTERS continued from p. 16

Try baby trees To The Editor: Re “Arch artwork goes up in 2 days, to last 4 months” (news article, Oct. 5): Instead of one big tree, you could put baby Christmas trees in Ai Weiwei’s “cage” under the arch to celebrate the annual tree and choral celebration. Or maybe he could design an artistic Christmas tree in the cage as a bonus to his public art. And maybe there could be Christmas trees surrounding the cage on its outside to hide the “fences.” Susan L. Yung

Cull, don’t clear-cut

Say it, don’t spray it

To The Editor: Re “Weeds whacked” (Scoopy’s Notebook, Oct. 5): Wiping out all the vegetation to get rid of a few poisonous weeds is a highway engineer’s approach to managing the environment. If Adrian Benepe could see the weeds, so could a trained horticulturalist, who should have culled the dangerous vegetation while saving the rest. New York State Department of Transportation’s stewardship of the Route 9A corridor has been a disaster. It’s time to get qualified staff to manage the green buffer on the highway. It reduces noise, absorbs particulates, reduces glare, absorbs storm water and should be managed better. Safer highway and better environment — a win-win.

To The Editor: Re “Weeds whacked” (Scoopy’s Notebook, Oct. 5): Describing Adrian Benepe as the “Nontoxic Avenger” is absurd. While he was Parks commissioner, the Parks Department routinely and needlessly sprayed poison on New York City parkland without any warnings to people and without any efforts to protect wildlife. I’ve personally witnessed Parks employees spraying poison right next to parkgoers, including small children and the elderly. This was done to save money on weeding, not to protect anyone’s health. Benepe garnering praise for having some toxic plants removed (that no one was likely to eat) along the Hudson River bikeway yet also deliberately exposing millions of people to poisonous pesticides is emblematic of his entire tenure as Parks commissioner.

Tom Fox

October 12, 2017

Robert Lederman Lederman is president, A.R.T.I.S.T.

Bravo to businesses! To The Editor: Re “Captain gets Amazon truck off blast block; Look out on Lafayette!” (news article, Oct. 5): Bravo to all these independent business owners! Sometimes you can fight the corporate giants and win! Janet Wolfe E-mail letters, not longer than 250 words in length, to news@thevillager.com or fax to 212-229-2790 or mail to The Villager, Letters to the Editor, 1 MetroTech North, 10th floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201. Please include phone number for confirmation purposes. The Villager reserves the right to edit letters for space, grammar, clarity and libel. Anonymous letters will not be published. TheVillager.com

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October 12, 2017

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