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• COMMUNITY NEWS BELOW 14TH STREET • JUNE 7, 2012
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CRIME WATCH Designer Handbag Theft Some crimes take a lot of effort and teamwork. Three people recently stole a $1,295 handbag from a designer store on Spring Street. In the heist, a female team member first went into the store and, while perusing the wares, casually moved the bag to one side of a display table and promptly left the store. After the woman left, a fellow thief—this time a man—came in and picked up the purse. Police are also looking for a third male suspect in the crime, but it is unclear what role he played in this group theft.
Be Cautious When You Eat Lunch We’ve heard of dine and dash, but not this way. A 25-year-old woman eating lunch in a restaurant on Fifth Avenue had her wallet stolen right behind her back, as her purse was slung over her chair. The thief stole a number of cards and items from her purse, worth a total of $1,515, and charged $1,300 on her credit cards. A similar incident occurred a day before, when a 49-year-old woman was having lunch in a downtown café and her wallet was stolen from her purse, which was on the back of her
chair. When she called her credit card company to report it, they informed the woman that the thief had already spent $2,450 at a retail store.
Yet Another iTheft Earlier this month, a 31-year-old woman was standing in front of a coffee shop on West Houston Street with a friend when two women attacked her, stealing the victim’s iPhone, worth around $500, then fleeing in a car. Police say the victim’s shoulder was bruised in the attack and she had a few scratches on her body.
Two-Wheeled iTheft Even keeping your bag on you can’t guarantee it won’t be stolen. As a 33-year-old woman was walking up West Broadway, a thief riding by on his bike managed to reach out and grab her bag. The sack contained a $1,200 Macbook Air laptop, an iPad 2 worth $499 and prescription medication, totaling $1,849 in stolen goods
A Shopper’s Wallet Goes Missing When we go shopping, we expect to spend most of our money ourselves, but this wasn’t the case for a 39-year-old woman who was
Bless This Theft A 64-year-old woman who spoke only Chinese was approached by three young women on Canal Street who told the victim that she needed to have her money and jewelry blessed to ward off evil spirits. The victim, amazingly, brought all her cash and 23 pieces of gold jewelry, worth a whopping $60,000 in all, to a location they specified on White Street. While there, the thieves supposedly blessed her valuables, but really swiped them out of her bag and replaced them with newspapers and a bottle of water. The perpetrators then had the audacity to tell the unsuspecting woman to wait a week before opening the bag, at which point she reported the crime to police.
recently shopping downtown. The woman told police that while looking at clothes at a store, she absentmindedly left her wallet in her shopping cart. She noticed her wallet was missing when she went to check out. Thankfully, no charges were made on her cards before she cancelled them.
Costumed Capers When the regular old black ski mask doesn’t do the trick, some criminals turn to costumes for their illegal antics. Two men in their forties, who were posing as police officers, pushed a 24-year-old man against a wall. As one removed his wallet, the other acted as a lookout at the Canal Street subway station in
Soho. While one fled the scene on foot, the other was successfully arrested by police and the $40 that had been stolen out of the young man’s wallet was returned.
Cell Phone Theft As a 17-year-old man was standing on the corner of South and Whitehall streets, when two 18-year-old men jumped him. One of them kicked the man to the ground, while the other took his $500 Blackberry. The pair walked away, leaving the victim with injuries to one eye and scrapes on the back of his neck and elbows. Compiled by Adel Manoukian
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NEIGHBORHOOD CHATTER DANCE NEW AMSTERDAM RESCUED FROM GETTING THE BOOT State Sen. Daniel Squadron and Executive Director of Dance New Amsterdam (DNA) Catherine Peila announced last week that the performance center in Lower Manhattan has reached an agreement with its landlord to lower its monthly rent and rental debt. This announcement comes after a three-year effort by local elected officials, residents and cultural representatives to keep the valued dance education center open. DNA has been serving the Manhattan community for 28 years through public performances, artist services and classes and has worked with roughly 32,000 artists and performers. It was the first nonprofit organization to move into the area, from its former Chinatown location, after the 9/11 attacks. “This lease amendment lowers our rent and debt tremendously. We are now better positioned to further stabilize, implement educational programs and support the artist’s creative process from studio to stage and beyond,” said Peila. Since 2010, DNA’s monthly rent has been $70,000, a number that would have risen to $90,000 by 2020 if not for the new agree-
ment. In 2010, the company was unable to pay a month’s rent, which resulted in their possible eviction. “Over the past 10 years, as Lower Manhattan has recovered, a burgeoning cultural center has come back stronger than ever—and DNA has been a key part of that transformation,” said Squadron. “This agreement is a testament to the fact that it’s possible to find paths forward for community-based cultural organizations and the invaluable work they do.”
9/11 ANNIVERSARY RECOVERY EFFORTS SPURS HONORS Speaker Sheldon Silver, Assemblyman Michael DenDekker and Minority Leader Brian Kolb announced the passage of an Assembly resolution yesterday at a ceremony honoring volunteers, including residents of the area, who worked on recovery and salvage efforts at the World Trade Center site in the wake of 9/11. Thursday, May 30 marked the 10-year anniversary of the completion of those efforts. “In pausing to pay tribute to those heroes who courageously and selflessly gave of their time, their energy and even their personal health to support these efforts, we are inscribing in the record books
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ing that the story of 9/11 is not just about that one day, but also about the way people came together in the days, weeks, months and years after 9/11 to contribute to the recovery and revitalization of lower Manhattan,” said Alice Greenwald, director of the museum.
that their courage and sacrifice is forever respected and appreciated by all who call New York State their home,” said Kolb. A copy of the resolution will be held in the National September 11 Memorial and Museum. The museum also recently launched a web-based interactive timeline of the rescue and recovery events that took place after the 9/11 attacks to honor the efforts of first responders and volunteers. The timeline, which starts at Sept. 12, 2001, and goes to May 30, 2002, uses images, oral histories and never-before-seen videos by the public to depict the heroic rescues, relief efforts and milestones that followed the attacks. The museum will also feature a Scroll of Honor, an installation displaying a list of names of all who died on Sept. 11, 2001. In addition, there will be a Recovery and Relief Workers Registry. “The Scroll of Honor and interactive timeline will be innovative tools for teach-
COUNCIL SPEAKER CHRISTINE QUINN RESPONDS TO DOMA’S REPEAL Last week, the Federal Appeals Court repealed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which outlaws gay marriage, deeming it “unconstitutional.” In response to the announcement, Council Speaker Christine Quinn released a statement today, agreeing with the decision. “I’m pleased we’re one step closer to overturning harmful federal legislation that denies same-sex couples the right to wed, depriving them of the security and benefits of marriage,” said Quinn. “I’m proud of the work we have done, and will continue to do, to ensure equal rights for all people, and I thank everyone who has fought so valiantly to repeal DOMA for their efforts and for their tireless work to end this discriminatory policy once and for all.”
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Two women race across the United States with a killer, pursued by a team of mysterious “security” personnel... Riots erupt, infrastructure fails... Society is reduced to a siege mentality, a population desperate for food, millions falling prey to contagion... all that remains are personal survival skills.
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DOWNTOWN SOCIAL
The Streets Turn to Grass on Orchard LES BID’s DayLife makes its debut Text by Nick Gallinelli • Photos by Dana Davenport Everyone was given a chance to relive a bit of their childhood Sunday, June 3, as the Lower East Side, with the help of 2,000 square feet of well-placed artificial grass, was transformed into an urban playground. In the Lower East Side Business Improvement District (LES BID) and Dub Studio Architects’ latest effort to attract people and businesses to the area, the duo scattered ping-pong tables, badminton courts and food carts from local eateries along Orchard Street, all to create the vibe of a giant backyard. The party, though unfortunately dampened by an afternoon thunderstorm, drew massive crowds of both LES residents and visitors. Perhaps the most impressive part of the day, though, was the kid who scored the afternoon. Eight-year-old DJ Kai Song, hailing from Dumbo, drew plenty of attention from participants as he provided pop music throughout the entire five-hour festival. It was DayLife’s first time out, but the LES BID hopes it will be the first of many Sunday events.
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J UNE 7, 2012 • O UR TOW N D OW NTOW N • 5
NEWS
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Another reason to call.
Washington Square Park’s “Hangman’s Elm” to Undergo Minor Surgery
development, which have been deemed necessary to preserve the health and structural integrity of the tree. The spokesperson assured community members that a full survey of the tree had been conducted, and this course of action guarantees the best possible outcome for the tree, particularly in preventing Various commufurther damage and susceptibility to nity members, CB2’s Dutch elm disease. Parks Committee and a The discussion grew briefly heated representative from the as various community members, inParks Department met last cluding a woman who regularly feeds Wednesday to discuss the squirrels residing in the tree, urged department’s decision to department members to look for an do some pruning on the alternative method, claiming “the popular “Hangman’s Elm” tree looks as green as ever.” Proposals in Washington Square involving tree limb support methods Park. The nearly 250-yearwere also advanced. The departold tree has vast commument will go ahead with the pruning, nity significance: It graces employing climbers to reach affected the cover of the Parks Creative Commons photo tree limbs. Community members Department’s publication on “great New York City trees,” as well as being also pushed for greater communication and transparency on the issue between the Parks a popular hangout and landmark for locals. Department and the general, tree-enjoying The Parks Department representative, in his public. presentation on the planned modifications, expressed the Department’s desire to keep —Alissa Fleck community members apprised of these recent
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Community members convened in the LGBT Community Center last Wednesday evening to discuss design development for the AIDS Memorial that will be built in St. Vincent’s Hospital Park. The meeting was one of several to further the discussion of how to best represent the memorial’s mission in a design. According to consensus reached by the team and community, the memorial should have a unique sense of place, a strong narrative and a design that complements the rest of the park. It should celebrate community and life but represent a sense of loss as well, team members explained. The proposed plan for the memorial includes an overhead tree canopy with absent tree trunks and a large, central perforation, creating an obelisk of light to connect the canopy with a reflecting pool below. As light The location of the proposed memorial on 7th Avenue between Greenwich and 12th Sts. shifts throughout the course of the day, so does the “light obelisk,” creating a visually stunning impact inside the memorial. The tree canopy is to meet the ground at three points with triangular supports. In concentric circles at the memorial’s base, an ongoing narrative will be inscribed into the ground. Some variety of vine or flowering plant will grow up and down the sides of the structure. Much is still undecided about the project at this point, as architects, designers and others involved discuss what sort of foundational material will be most meaningful and aesthetically pleasing while requiring minimal upkeep. The next discussion in the process will take place later this month. —Alissa Fleck
6 • O UR TOWN DOW NTOW N • June 7, 2 012
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Photos by James Kelleher
Design Moving Forward on St. Vincent’s AIDS Memorial
NEWS
Soho residents angry over Patz murder media blitz By Paul Bisceglio Local media went into a frenzy last week when 51-year-old New Jersey man Pedro Hernandez confessed to killing Etan Patz, a 6-year-old Soho resident who went missing on his way to the bus on May 25, 1979. The disappearance made national headlines 33 years ago, largely thanks to the Patz family’s tenacious circulation of Patz’s pictures to media outlets. Last week, however, the family wanted little to do with the barrage of reporters, photographers and cameramen who piled out of news vans in front of their home at the intersection of Prince and Wooster streets. “I wish this could end,” Patz’s mother, Julie, told a crowd of press on Monday morning, according to The Daily News. “This is taking my freedom away. I just wish this could be over.” The family’s relationship with media soured as reporters continued to hound them for information throughout the day, approaching them on the street for quotes and rushing after them for pictures whenever they stepped out of their home. Patz’s father, Stan, posted the following note
outside the family’s door: “To all media people hanging around here: You have managed to make a difficult situation even worse. Talk to your assignment editors. It is past time for you to leave me, my family and my neighbors alone.” Undaunted, the media stuck around the house until last Thursday, packed with laptops and recording equipment in vans and cars that lined Prince Street from Wooster to West Broadway, where a small memorial of flowers and candles marked Patz’s bus stop. The Soho community did not make the media’s stay easy. The Patz family’s pleas incited antagonism between locals and journalists. “They hate us,” one berated reporter said, citing multiple incidents of verbal abuse directed at reporters, photographers and media crews around the scene—even an attempted attack with a wheelchair. When the reporter told one resident that he was there to write about the murder, for instance, the resident responded, “I hope when you go to bed tonight you’re a real stressed motherf---er.” Many community members happily affirmed their discontent with the media’s continued presence. Jaime Gutierrez, founder of the blog sohonyc.com, said that after so long, the Soho community was ready to let the story go, and that the journalists were scaring away
tourists. Another resident said that the reporters should “get real jobs” and leave the family at peace. A young artist street vendor was blunt: “They’re f---ing goons.” Sean Sweeney, director of the Soho Alliance and resident of the community since the mid1970s, thinks the neighborhood’s longtime members are more resigned to media blitzes. “We roll our eyes and say, ‘We’ve been through this before,’” he said. Nonetheless, he called the reporters’ persistent efforts a “zoo” and argued that the media had crossed the point where press becomes “malevolent” and “paparazzi.” “Leave them alone,” he said. “They’ve suffered enough.” “I feel a bit like a goon,” one photographer admitted when told about the street vendor’s charge. He agreed that the coverage was excessive, and frowned upon some reporters’ invasive tactics—shadowing family members on the streets, badgering them for quotes, peering into windows. However, he emphasized that the choice was out of his hands. He had been told where to be and was just doing his job. Other journalists were more defensive about their importance to the community. One reporter noted that a strong media presence pressures police to resolve the case and give the Patz family the answers they deserve. A photographer argued that journalists play a role in promoting national awareness of childhood disappearances and abductions. Ernie Allen, president and CEO of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, was quoted last week as saying that, with news of the renewed investigation spreading, “We have seen a huge increase in interest and calls—but I think the most positive and important result is that we are hearing from many parents of longterm missing children. It has given them hope.” Another reporter mentioned that journal-
Photo by James Kelleher
Where is the Line Between Press and Paparazzi?
A camerawoman outside the Patz residence on Spring Street.
ists were providing details that many Soho community members wanted to hear. Murray Weiss, DNAinfo columnist and criminal justice editor, told WNYC last week that the FBI is still skeptical about the confession of Hernandez, who is schizophrenic, bipolar and has a history of hallucinations, and rumors in the community persist that some members of the police and the district attorney’s office doubt the credibility of his case. Longtime Soho residents have been exchanging emails weighing the evidence of Hernandez’s guilt, and some remain unconvinced. More than anything, though, the journalists were bored—and hot. Stuck in cars for hours in 90-degree heat, frustrated that they would be in the same place tomorrow and simply waiting for something to happen, most were as eager as the Patz family to put the story to rest.
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J une 7, 2012 • O UR TOW N D OW NTOW N • 7
REVENGE ON WHEELS With bicycle thefts now common in NYC, one man set up a sting operation to recover his stolen bike By Sean Creamer
P
aul Panus’ story is one that begins like many bicycle thefts, with a nice bike and a cheap lock. After his bike was stolen, Panus, a 33-year-old IT project manager and skateboarding and cycling enthusiast, seemed destined to become just another statistic in the ever-growing rash of bicycle thefts currently plaguing New York City. Through a combination of tenacity and cunning, however, Panus found his wheels and brought the thief to justice. The bike is a Jamis Coda, a sleek, flathandlebarred “road racing [bike] without the racing emphasis,” according to the manufacturer, that Panus purchased in late March of this year for around $600. Only three days after Panus bought his new set of wheels from Chelsea Bicycles, it was stolen from outside the skateboard park at Pier 62 in Chelsea. “I got to Chelsea at about 11 o’clock in the morning,” said Panus as he sat on his recovered bike at the scene of the crime one recent afternoon. “I happened to peek my head over the fence at about two o’clock, because it was a brand-new bike, and I noticed that it wasn’t there. The bike wasn’t there and the lock wasn’t there.” Panus questioned his fellow skaters to see if anyone had spotted the bike-napper. Unfortunately, no one had seen the thief, but he received a tip that would prove pivotal. “Some people told me to report it to the [Hudson River Park Trust] lost and found. I never did, but then someone suggested I check Craigslist, and that is what I did for the
Paul Panus with his recovered bike at Chelsea Piers. Photo by Jonathan Springer
8 • O UR TOWN DOWNTOWN • JUN E 7, 2 012
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next three days, looking for a Jamis Coda bike,” Panus said, as he drew a heavy- duty lock from his bag and snapped his bike frame to a signpost. Panus began his search on a Saturday and scoured the Internet for three days until he found what he believed to be his ride. “It was a generic description of the bike, with a picture from the actual website, so it wasn’t a photo of the bike,” he recalled. ”But that is what made it seem fishy to me, because if you’re selling the bike, why don’t you take an actual picture of it?” While the NYPD didn’t provide data on the number of bike thefts that occur in the city each year, the bike community in New York City has noted a rise in such crimes and many say it is now a common occurrence. Will Huff, who has worked as a bike messenger for 10 years and is currently a salesman at Spokesman Cycles, has had three bikes stolen over the last few years. Huff said the rising popularity of road and high-end fixed-gear bicycles has skyrocketed demand for stolen parts. “We can sell a bike one week and have it get ripped off two days later,” said Huff as he restocked a line of premium steel bike locks. Huff was surprised to hear that Panus had gotten most of his bike back; usually when a bike is stolen it will be stripped of its components, with each one sold individually to bike messengers and aficionados who search for specific parts. While the buyers of the stolen parts may be cycling enthusiasts, Huff said he thinks the thieves themselves steal for a very different reason. “Most of them are junkies,” alleged Huff. “Once you know how to do something, that is how you make your money. There is basically a steady flow of professionals going around stealing wheels, brakes and whatever they can get their hands on.” Huff then brandished a heavy-duty bike lock called “The New York Fahgettaboudit Mini,” which weighs 7 pounds. Hefting the lock up and down to display its size, Huff noted, “They can all be sawed through. The only way you can protect your bike is to lock it in a place that is well-lit and well-traveled. People are generally lazy and will lock their bike up in front of their house, which is where most thefts will happen.” On the day of the theft, Panus locked up his bike at Chelsea Pier 62 at 23rd Street, a renovated pier that is home to a skate park with a bike rack near the entrance. It is heavily traveled by tourists, skateboarders and cyclists and is located right next to a leisure cruise line. Despite all of this, Panus’ bike was stolen in the middle of the day, almost right under his nose. “Bike thieves will watch an area and take notes on which bikes are locked up and how often the owner comes back to the bike,” said Huff. The ad that Panus believed to be selling his bike was a generic one. The bike was being sold out of Jersey City at an asking price of $350, and the post contained a picture of the bike from Jamis’ website. NYPre ss.com
“It was the only ad I saw that was the same model as my bike,” said Panus. “The bike is not that common.” Panus decided to email the thief directly, posing as a potential buyer. Acting on impulse, he sent that first message without any idea of what his next move would be. “It seemed kind of fishy to me,” Panus said of his conversations with the thief. “He did not post a photo of the bike itself and would not give out his number.” In his email communication with the thief, the seller touted that the bike was more or less brand new and that Panus could have it, provided he met the seller in Jersey City or Hoboken. Before another potential buyer could swoop in, Panus acted fast and consulted a pal who is an NYPD officer. The friend advised Panus to talk to the officers at the 10th Precinct, the jurisdiction in which the bike was stolen, before meeting up with the thief. “I went in and I gave them the ad from Craigslist and told them the situation,” he remembered. “They said, ‘Are you sure this is your bike? Do you have anything to identify it with?’” He told the officers that he could tell if the bike was his by checking its serial number, which Chelsea Bikes provided him. Similar to a vehicle’s VIN, bicycles have serial numbers the manufacturer uses to catalog each one produced. The only remaining hurdle for Panus was that his bike was being sold out of New Jersey, outside of the area covered by the NYPD. “They told me that if I could convince the guy to come into the city, to bring the bike into the city, that they would be happy to set up a small sting operation,” said Panus. They told Panus that if he could get the thief to come to Chelsea with the bike, the police would set up undercover officers who would make the arrest, once Panus had identified the bike as his own. Armed with renewed vigor and a plan to take down the crook, Panus contacted the suspected bike-napper and told him that he wanted to buy the bike, but only if the seller would travel to New York City. Panus greased the seller’s palms and promised more money
Fahgettaboudit Lock: “Sometimes the thing the person will lock their bike to is weaker than the lock itself—they’ll lock their bike to a chain fence and the thief will just cut through the fence,” explained Horace Chang of Spokesman Cycles on Irving Place. Photo by James Kelleher
if the man made the trip out to Manhattan. “I told the guy, ‘Listen, I work and live in the city; it is going to be hard for me to get over to Jersey.’” he said. “‘If I give you $50 more, will you bring it to the city?’” The man quickly agreed to the new terms. Panus called the cops to tell them he was meeting the seller in front of the Starbucks at 23rd Street and 8th Avenue. Bear in mind that Panus found the bike on Craigslist, contacted the crook, brought in the police and baited the target to come into the city all in the same day—only three days after his bicycle was first stolen. All that was left to be done was wait for the man to show up. “The NYPD brought in three officers. One sat in the Starbucks while I waited out front for the man and two sat in an undercover car designed to look like a taxi,” Panus said. While they were waiting, Panus got a call from the crook, saying that he had just gotten off the PATH train and would be there soon. A Hispanic man in his mid-thirties, “a normal guy who did not look like a thug,” Panus recalled, rode up on the bike, and Panus initially thought he might have the wrong guy. “Immediately, I noticed that the seat was different, the handle grips were different and the pedals were different,” Panus said. “But I looked the bike over, pretending that I really wanted to buy it, and I flipped the bike over and began turning the crank to make sure he didn’t think something was up as I double-checked the serial number, which I had memorized.” “Sure enough, the serial number matched,” Panus said, smiling. “And then I threw my hand in the air.” The undercovers sprang from their concealed locations and immediately cuffed the crook. Panus said the man was utterly shocked when the three officers converged upon him. His only response was a confused “What?” Panus returned to the station with the undercover cops and the crook to finish up some paperwork. He watched as the man was booked on charges of possession of stolen property, since there was no way to prove that the man who was trying to sell the bike was the one who had stolen it. “Basically, that was it. I filled out some paperwork and they let me ride away with my bike right then and there,” Panus said. “I didn’t want anyone to get away with this. I’m glad I was able to get my bike back and catch the guy.” For those hoping their bicycle doesn’t succumb to the same fate, Huff has one simple piece of advice: “The only real way to keep your bike safe is to take it inside your home. It does not matter what kind of lock you use.” Huff himself is the victim of multiple bike thefts. Some were stolen and never seen again, but there were several instances where he had to play dirty to get his gear back. “Once I had a bike stolen and I found it chained somewhere a few weeks later. I went up to it, put my own lock on it and waited for the guy to come back,” Huff said. “Sometimes you have to get rough to get your stuff back.”
Filmmaker Casey Neistat oN the ‘Bike thieF’ experimeNt Earlier this year, filmmaker Casey Neistat was fed up with the imbalance when it comes to biking in New York City. On the one hand, the city has promoted the form of transportation by creating 260 miles of new bike lanes in the last four years. On the other, the streets of New York aren’t a safe place for owners to lock up their bikes. Neistat, who has had a number of bikes stolen since he moved to the city in 2001, decided to try a small experiment to see how how far a bike thief could go before getting caught. While a colleague inconspicuously operated a point-and-shoot camera, Neistat stole his bike several times, with each try upping the stakes. On one occasion, he stole his bike using a crowbar in front of a police precinct. He was finally stopped by police when he tried to dismantle the lock on his bike using a power tool in Union Square. A video of the experiment was released on the New York Times website. We sat down with Neistat to see what he makes of the “success” of his experiment and biking in New York City.
Before the “Bike Thief” experiment, would you have intervened in a bike theft in the city?
I’m confrontational, so yes, I would and I have. I would never suggest it to someone else, though, because it could be dangerous. I have a story about that, actually—my brother’s bike was stolen, and two nights later I saw four guys standing around the bike. I just walked up and grabbed it and walked away. I was willing to confront any contingency. They didn’t react—I think they were surprised by my brazen attitude.
How easy is it to track down a stolen bike? Does registering one’s bike with the NYPD really make a difference?
Tracking down a stolen bike never happens. It does not happen. The police officers I talked to said in their respective 10 years of experience, in their collective careers, no bikes have ever been recovered between them. If a bike is stolen, it’s gone. People spraypaint them or dismantle them and sell the parts. I think there is some fault on the part of the police, but they are definitely not the solution. Registering your bike is like a Band-Aid on a broken leg; it’s mostly about peace of mind.
What most surprised you about the results of the experiment?
Nothing was really shocking. I made this movie for the first time just trying to get away with it. My goal in making it again was to get caught this time. I was surprised just how far I had to take it. I’m not surprised people didn’t step in, but the blasé attitude, that’s disconcerting. Not to get too magnanimous, but it’s really the bystander effect in action.
How do you feel the city’s new bike share project will impact the city’s high rate of bike theft?
It’s not a solution, but it can make things better. What’s important is more people appreciating what cycling does for a city. Bike lanes, the bike share program, actions taken by the Department of Transportation, these are all parts of the solution. They are all a step in the right direction.
What reactions has your exposé provoked, expected or not?
Besides the Internet trolls, I’ve had people say it would be different if we were black rather than two semi-legitimate looking white people. That has been 100 percent the critique, so I called in my friend Malik to put it to the test. [Malik makes off without intervention in “Bike Thief.”] I haven’t had any shocking reactions. The most encouraging reaction is seeing copycat movies. It’s very encouraging to see this receiving more attention, especially in different cities. —AlISSA FlECk
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THE 7-DAY PLAN
BEST PICK
FREE GVSHP Village Awards [6/7]
Tishman Auditorium, The New School, 66 W. 12th St., (betw. 5th & 6th Aves.), gvshp.org; 6:30-8 p.m., RSVP required.
Since 1991, the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation has recognized the unique contributions local small businesses, residents and streetscapes make to the quality of life in Greenwich Village, the East Village and NoHo. The 22nd annual Village Awards will recognize the 6th Street and Avenue B garden, Marilyn Appleberg, Arturo’s Restaurant, Foods of New York Tours, Little Red School House/Elizabeth Irwin High School, Lower East Side History Project, City Council Member Rosie Mendez and the Bleecker Street sitting area renovation.
THURSDAY
Sixth Street Synagogue Center for Jewish Arts and Literacy, 325 E. 6th St. (betw. 1st & 2nd Aves.), SixthStreetSynagogue.org; 7:30 p.m., $15. Immerse yourself in the “Art of Judaism” with Rabbi Greg Wall’s one-hour culture class, which includes a performance by Gary Lucas. The solo guitarist will play an acoustic version of the score of the 1920 German silent horror film The Golem. This early expressionist film is a highlight of the early horror genre and explores terrifying themes from Jewish folklore.
FRIDAY
08 09 SATURDAY
SUNDAY
10 MONDAY
11 12 13 TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
Your Night at the Museum
Children’s Museum of the Arts, 103 Charlton St., (betw. Hudson & Greenwich Sts.), cmany.org; 8 p.m., $60 in advance / $75 at the door. Enjoy a night at the Children’s Museum of Art as the institution’s Young Professionals Committee hosts its 3rd annual summer benefit. The fest includes music, food, raffle prizes and interactive multimedia art projects for partygoers of all ages. All proceeds benefit Stripes, an art program for families with autistic children.
Cool Show 4 Teen Girlz!
Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, 307 W. 26th St. (betw. 8th & 9th Aves.), newyork.ucbtheatre.com; 11:59 p.m., $5. Armed with a passion for glossy pop music, Lisa Frank school supplies and all that the world presents to young women during the melodramatic years of adolescence, the unlikely male duo of Dan Chamberlain and Jason Flowers will host this edu-training show. With help from an outstanding panel of experts, Chamberlain and Flowers will rap about entertainment, fashion, boys and more, in an effort to empower and enlighten the teen girl inside all of us.
Submissions can be sent to otdowntown@manhattanmedia.com.
Strings of Thought
❮ Gary Lucas Plays The Golem
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3LD Art + Technology Center, 80 Greenwich St. (betw. Edgar & Rector Sts.), milliways.pt; 8 p.m., $10 suggested donation. Before this contemporary dance performance premieres in Guimarães, Portugal, choreographer Lígia Teixeira spends two nights unveiling this piece set to an interactive scenography. While suspended from cables, Teixeira will use the wires to control the sound, lighting and text used in the performance.
Gary Jules
Joe’s Pub, 425 Lafayette St., (betw. 4th St & Astor Pl), joespub.com; 9:30 p.m., $15. Gary Jules is probably best known for his cover of the Tears for Fears song “Mad World,” which set the tone for the cult hit film Donnie Darko. Taking a break from supplying music for movies and television, like House, Jules will grace the small stage downtown before joining Tears for Fears on their summer tour.
David Wampach: Auto/Batterie
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Abrons Arts Center Playhouse, 466 Grand St. (at Pitt St.), abronsartscenter.org; 8 p.m. $20. This two-part performance, featured in the Queer New York International Arts Festival, is best summed up in two adjectives: odd and demanding. With the works, choreographer David Wampach hopes to expose—and exploit—the relationship between dance and music, a partnership Wampach argues is often left on automatic pilot.
Coffee Class
Second Hand Rose: A Journey Down the Yiddish Rialto
The Homestead, 67 Irving Pl. (betw. 18th & 19th Sts.), bedfordcheeseshop.com; 1 p.m., $75. For those New Yorkers hoping to impress with their java-brewing skills, sign up for a one-hour class hosted by the Bedford Cheese Shop on how to make artisan coffee. Professionals will teach students on the essentials of the drip coffee technique, the different types of coffee beans and roasting. Plus, students leave with a half-pound bag of beans.
92Y Tribeca, meets at the SW corner of 2nd Ave & E. 12th St., 92y.org; 10:45 a.m., $25. Take a stroll down the historic streets of the Lower East Side—an area once referred to as the “Yiddish Rialto” due to its number of Yiddish theaters—and the East Village with an experienced guide from the LES Jewish Conservancy. The tour includes an exploration of the Community Synagogue, which was once the home of the St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, coupled with a short history lesson from Herb Latner, who will regale participants with stories of his choirboy days in the Yiddish theater.
Matthew Sweet with Callaghan
FREE The Deepest Man on Earth
BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center, 199 Chambers St. (betw. Greenwich & West Sts.), tribecapac.org; 7:30 p.m. The Deepest Man on Earth, directed by Mark Rayment, explores dogma, religion, delusion and celebrity worship through two parallel stories: one on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the other on a grieving therapist’s search for the meaning of life.
City Winery, 155 Varick St. (betw. Spring & Vandam Sts.), citywinery. com; 8 p.m., $35-$50. In a career that stretches back to the mid-’80s, Matthew Sweet has never followed trends, though his landmark 1991 album Girlfriend was responsible for starting one—its bone-dry, caterwauling sonics opened up a wild and picturesque new terrain for restless singer/songwriters to inhabit and explore. Two decades later, Sweet has once again swung for the fences—and connected—with the boldly experimental yet still deeply personal Modern Art. At City Winery, Sweet will play the Girlfriend album in its entirety.
FREE The Book of Burger
Barnes and Noble, 33 E. 17th St. (betw. Broadway & Park Ave.), barnesandnoble. com; 6 p.m. Come see chef and TV personality Rachael Ray and get your copy of her latest recipe book, The Book of Burger, signed. Customers who have purchased Nook versions of the book can get a collectable signed card.
The 3rd Annual West Village Music Theatre Festival
Bessie Schonberg Theatre, 219 W. 19th St. (betw. 7th & 8th Aves.), newyorklivearts.org; $18, $55 four-ticket packages. For the third West Village Music Theatre Festival, watch four 90-minute series of 10-15 minute musicals created and performed by innovative composers, writers and lyricists.
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❯
Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present
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Film Forum, 209 W. Houston St. (betw. 6th Ave. & Varick St.), filmforum.org; various times, $12.50, adults, $7, children and seniors. If you missed Abramovic’s controversial exhibit at MoMA in 2010, catch a film presentation of her groundbreaking work. The film, directed by Matthew Akers, documents the artist’s physical and spiritual preparation for the work at the museum, which was experienced by 750,000 people. The documentary includes interviews with MoMA curator Kalus Biesenbach, art critic Arthur Danto, gallerist Sean Kelly, and members of the public.
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The Food & Wine Event in The Hamptons Honoring Gerry Hayden (North Fork Table & Inn), 2012 “Two Forks Outstanding Achievement Award” Music provided by DJ PHRESH!
Saturday July 14 th, 2012 Sayre Park 154 Snake Hollow Rd., Bridgehampton, NY, 11932
VIP Reception 6:30–7:30 P.M. General Admission 7:30–10:00 P.M.
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CRITICS’ PICKS GALLERIES Editorial Eye: Aperture Foundation presents “Delpire & Co.,” featuring a half-century of achievement in the life and career of visionary French publisher, editor and curator Robert Delpire. Through July 19, Aperture Foundation, 547 W. 27th St., 4th Fl., 212505-5555, aperture.org. [Valerie Gladstone]
Edited by Armond White
New York’s Review of Culture • CityArtsNYC.com
CLASSICAL Fiddler with the Phil: Violinist Pinchas Zukerman plays with the New York Philharmonic—and conducts them, too. He will play three concertos. Even if you don’t like his interpretation, you will hear a marvelous sound. June 6-9, Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, Columbus Ave. at 65th St., 212-875-5709, nyphil.org. [Jay Nordlinger]
Photo by Nathan Johnson
JAZZ & POP Jazz Awards’ Sweet 16: The 16th annual Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards’ New York City Party, with announcement of award winners and performances by Organ Monk quartet, singer Paulette McWilliams accompanied by pianist Nat Adderley Jr. and double-neck guitar whiz Gabriel Marin with electric bassist John Ferrara. June 20, 4-6 p.m.; $100, $60 for JJA members. Blue Note Jazz Club, 131 W. 3rd St., 212-475-8592, jjajazzawards.org. [Howard Mandel]
Pictured L-R: Frank Wood, Annie Parisse, Christina Kirk, Jeremy Shamos, Damon Gupton and Crystal A. Dickinson in a scene from Clybourne Park.
How Tony are the Tony Awards? ‘Clybourne Park’ questions ameriCan and theater history By Armond White
I
f the award for Best Play goes to Clybourne Park at the June 10 Tony Awards ceremony, will it put the Tonys on “the right side of history”? That particular aphorism entered popular speech during the 2008 presidential campaign (in a rare Obama reference to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.), and its artfulness is part of the verbal gymnastics that distinguish Clybourne Park, Bruce Norris’ drama about the language of race relations. Playwright Norris’ inspiration for Clybourne Park came from the 1960 Lorraine Hansberry play A Raisin in the Sun. That landmark drama about a poor black family moving from an urban ghetto to a white suburb used the fictitious Clybourne Park as the symbolic site of racial integration and social mobility just as the civil rights effort was gaining momentum. Norris revisits Hansberry’s symbol five decades later to illustrate how social discourse has changed—
so much so that Clybourne Park figures to win the Best Play Tony that A Raisin in the Sun lost to The Miracle Worker. Does this mean theater culture has progressed? Clybourne Park is most interesting in its realization that contemporary discourse, in fact, puts us outside history, mired in the confusions of social fragmentation, political bromides and rhetorical deception. The deceit of political sloganeering has seeped into the average person’s language. It affects the ability of Norris’ seven characters to articulate their personal and public feelings. A key lines asks, “Can we just come out and say what it is we‘re really saying?” That question reveals mainstream American theater’s difficulty dealing with experiences that are personal flashpoints before being codified by politicians and sanctioned by mainstream media. It’s why A Raisin in the Sun has still not received its due as one of the finest American dramas (superior to the over-lauded Death of a Salesman), even among reviewers who glibly mention it while praising Clybourne Park; they ignore Hansberry’s deep explication of African-American life, missing the significance of Norris’ historical-aesthetic reference, his invocation. Why didn’t A Raisin in the Sun win the Tony in 1960? The answer might explain
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what makes Clybourne Park this year’s frontrunner: Contemporary Broadway shares the same bias for focusing on white experience as network television. It is the mainstream’s manner to reflect a socially empowered viewpoint—the perspective that always controls what is “the right side of history,” as Frank Rich recently used Clybourne Park to normalize the wildly contradictory political rhetoric of the Obama era. Thankfully, Norris himself won’t have it; his two-act contretemps omits Hansberry’s deep ethnic and social concerns, deliberately leaving out a third-act resolution. This reflects our modern political delusions as much as it satisfies the current mode for hectoring speech, aggressive posturing and judgmental belittling in our culture. Hansberry’s play derived from the moral and religious roots of social revolution, while Norris’s two-act past/present contrast anatomizes (that’s the pop term) our spiritual amnesia, a very real aspect of the Obama era. “You can’t live in a principle” says one of Clybourne Park’s bickering personae. That imperative was proven when A Raisin in the Sun was a Tony also-ran and is still accepted even as Hansberry’s classic becomes a theatrical specter—like Norris’ evocation of a dead soldier— that the annals of the Tony Awards ignores.
Blue Note Citywide Jazz Festival: The second annual fest, 30 gigs of broad stylistic range between June 10 and 30 at the Blue Note, Highline Ballroom, B.B. King’s, Henry St. Playhouse, Brooklyn Bowl and the Apollo Theater. Some highlights include Savion Glover tapdancing in duet with drummers Jack DeJohnette and Roy Haynes, June 14-16; McCoy Tyner and Charles Tolliver Big Band playing John Coltrane’s “Africa/Brass” suite, June 21-24; Kathleen Battle with Cyrus Chestnut, Gato Barbieri, Tim Ries’ Rolling Stone Project and Spanish singer Buika. Schedule at bluenotejazzfestival.com/ category/events/2012-06. [HM] Bolero Forever!: Paquito D’Rivera plays Boleros de Chopin, with Diego Urcola, trumpet, valve trombone; Alex Brown, piano; Oscar Stagnaro, bass; Mark Walker, drums; Arturo Sable, percussion. June 12-17, 7:30 & 9:30 p.m.; $30-$40. Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Broadway at 60th St., 212-258-9595, jalc.org/dccc. [VG] DANCE Russian Steps: New production of John Cranko’s “Onegin,” with music by Tchaikovsky, based on Pushkin’s great verse novel “Eugene Onegin.” June 4-9; $20+. American Ballet Theater at the Metropolitan Opera House, 212-362-2000, abt.org. [VG] Dance Picante: Viva la gente! It’s salsa night at Lincoln Center’s Midsummer Night Swing Dancing 101s. June 13, 7 p.m. David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center, Broadway betw. 62nd & 63rd Sts., 212-875-5000, midsummernightswing.org. [VG] Plié in the Sky: Hudson Guild Theatre Company performs a contemporary version of “The Sleeping Beauty” on the High Line, using dusk as a curtain. June 7, 7:15 p.m. The High Line under the Standard Hotel, at 12th St., 212760-9817, hudsonguild.org. [Phyllis Workman] NY Press.co m
CITYARTS POP
Reclamation Pop saint etienne exPlore PoP—exquisitely By Ben Kessler “My momma said don’t go There’s nothing for you there…” —Saint Etienne, “Heading for the Fair”
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n James Joyce’s “Araby,” the third story in Dubliners, a pubescent boy shows up late to the eponymous fair, hoping to find a gift that will earn him the affection of a neighborhood girl. But his romantic hopes and dreams don’t mesh with the shabby, depopulated scene that greets him at Araby, and the story ends, “Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger.” That Joycean flush of frustrated, outraged idealism is arguably the U.K.’s most important contribution to Western pop culture. Joyce’s burn— the natural reaction of the creative consciousness constrained by society’s limited scope for sensitivity—can be discerned in Angry Young Man plays, British New Wave cinema, rock, glam, punk and new wave. By the time British pop trio Saint Etienne came on the scene in the early ’90s, pop music was already developing its own range of responses to this cultural tradition of anguished social protest. Across the spectrum, artists were looking back at “Araby” and asking: How can we comfort this child? This question produced a split in pop life between protest and succor, political awareness and spiritual sensitivity. The contradictions might have proved unsustainable had it not been for the suppleness of the pop album form. The new Words & Music by Saint Etienne has been called a concept album (the concept being “love of pop” or “the magic of pop”—you
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get the idea), but like all great albums, it works not through imposing intellectual unanimity on a set of songs but through thematic repetition and juxtaposition, context and contrast. All great albums use a folkloric logic— social awareness is dispersed (as if to play dumb for the authorities) among various tracks that have, like Dubliners, a cumulative subconscious effect. The form has an inherent socializing aspect, too. Hearing a beloved single in the context of an album for the first time, you may feel that if this song you’ve played over and over and has come to stand for so much can find its kin, there’s hope for even your most extreme emotions to
Saint Etienne.
encounter sympathy. Few artists have marshaled their contradictions as well in album form as Saint Etienne do here. Words & Music’s very first transition—the gentle reminiscence of leadoff track “Over the Border” into the ecstatic “I’ve Got Your Music”—seems to embrace the entire pop experience. Singer Sarah Cracknell’s exquisite refrain (“Love is here to stay”) hangs in the air, a pause just long enough to introduce anticipation intervenes, then “I’ve Got Your Music” announces itself with the brashness of a breaking news headline. The introspective side of pop collides with the side that favors immediacy above all else. The collision makes one aware of the beauty on both sides.
The Hamptons AreTh Always e Hamptons in Season
Are Always in Season
Visit year-round at www.danshamptons.com
Visit year-round at www.danshamptons.com
Read the rest of “Reclamation Pop” on Cityarts.info. J une 7, 2012 • O UR TOW N D OW NTOW N • 1 3
CITYARTS MUSeUMS
Art Profiteer Taryn Simon’S goTcha picS guilT The arT world By Marsha McCreadie
Courtesy the artist. C. Taryn Simon
O
ne is always suspicious of an exhibit where you have to strain to “get it” by going to the wall text, then to the images, then back to the text, and so on. Such is the case with A Living Man Declared Dead and Other Chapters 1-XVIII by artist celeb/deb Taryn Simon, at 36 the conqueror of the art world with this show at MoMA and a standalone at the Tate. The artist instructs us how to “read” the riveting photos of the descendants/antecedents of nine families (the full show has 18 bloodlines or chapters), including the related victims of genocide in Bosnia; a tooth represents one, taken from a makeshift grave, and the last living member is a student in Syracuse. Another line descends from Hans Frank, Hitler’s legal advisor (what a journalistic coup to convince some—if not all—to be photographed!) Also shown are those without roots: Ukrainian orphans. A sign in the orphan-
age’s common room is highlighted: “Those who do not know their past are not worthy of the future”; the text says most end up in the hands of human traffickers. The “living man” of the title is an East Indian officially listed as dead by distant relatives who lay claim to his property. Is the common thread stark human misery or doomed stoicism? (Yet the very extended family of the Kenyan healer Joseph Nyamwanda Jura Ondijo, his nine wives, 32 children and 63 grandchildren, seems at ease.) Nearly all of Simon’s subjects stare vacantly at the camera, clearly at her direction. The Australian rabbits, an example of planned decimation, have Taryn Simon. Chapter XVII from A Living Man Declared Dead and Other Chapters I-XVIII (detail). 2011 it down. Only two of the hundreds of Pigmented inkjet prints., 84 x 241 7/8“ (213.4x614.4 cm). photos carry any other expression: Is the show about chance, being in the #66 and his despite-the-grim-orphange But though she may have an eye, Simon wrong place at the wrong time, genetic goofy grin and #19, Arthur Ruppin, a doesn’t have a vision. predisposition? The viewer must fill in all smiling New Jersey real estate developer, the blanks. Simon’s photographic effort is namesake of the original Arthur RupTaryn Simon: A Living Man Declared Dead daunting—four years traveling the globe pin sent to Palestine in 1907 by a Zionist and other Chapters 1-XVIII to get just the right bloodlines and families Through Sept. 3, MoMA, 11 W. 53rd St., organization to investigate possibilities for on same-sized pigmented inkjet prints. Jewish settlers. 212-708-9431, www.moma.org.
gAlleRIeS CITYARTS
Everything Moves martin Puryear’s universe By Melissa Stern
M
artin Puryear is a man on the move. In his current exhibition at McKee Gallery, almost all of the pieces refer in one way or another to an act of movement, whether literal, as in the pieces “The Rest” and “The Load,” which are on wheels, or metaphoric, like the stunning piece “Heaven Three Ways/ Exquisite Corpse ‘Heaven.’” Cast in white bronze, it’s an elegant triad of gestures that moves from earth to sky in one majestic sweep. This is Puryear’s first exhibition since his huge, traveling retrospective, which hit MoMA in 2007. It reflects both a great evolution in Puryear’s work and the continuing dedication to material, form and fabrication that makes it some of the most powerful contemporary art in America. For Puryear, everything is in flux; everything moves. From pieces on wheels to pieces on giant rolling timbers, the entire show exudes a sense of physical poten-
tial. There are sculptural carts on wagon wheels, sculptures that are paper-thin sheets of Alaskan cedar curving along the walls and a huge field of willow branches that seem to blow in an invisible wind. Without the faintest hint of cliché, these all evoke a feeling of exploration, new lands and new lives. It is a show that to me expresses a great optimism. As always with Puyear’s work, there is a tie to our cultural past, our history of making objects by hand. This is a critical element, I think, in keeping Puryear’s work so consistently potent, ethereal yet accessible. Beyond its beauty, there is always a connection to the hand that made it, and by extension to the viewer who imagines in him or herself the potential to be the makers of such things. It’s a show that offers no easy interpretations, no comtempo art-world irony or bratty high concept. The show quietly and powerfully draws you into Puryear’s exquisite universe and leaves you feeling somehow better for the experience. Martin Puryear: New Sculpture Through June 29, McKee Gallery, 745 5th Ave., 212-688-5951, mckeegallery.com.
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Martin Puryear, “Night Watch,” 2012.
NY Press.co m
Expressivity Now! a festival of avant-garde visions By Howard Mandel
T
he old-school avant-garde is now! The 17th annual Vision Festival is a seven-night, 37-event assertion by proudly unfettered improvisers that the 50-yearold principles of high energy and exploratory alternatives to traditional and “commercial” jazz still thrive. Real estate realities have pushed this Fest from its East Village roots to a new stage: Roulette, in Brooklyn, of course. But the proud DIY esthetic and energizing, raw or extreme generation of sounds that were once shocking and now are less so, a signal the musician puts his all on the line, still apply. See the schedule at artsforart.org/event/visionfestival17/ schedule. With individualistic multiinstrumentalist (mostly sax and trumpet) Joe McPhee being honored for “a lifetime of achievement”; a revised version of The Gardens of Harlem, the late Clifford Thornton’s 1974 orchestra suite, as its centerpiece; and concerts led by two handfuls of the most iconoclastic sexta- and septuagenarian instrumentalists on the planet—among them Charles Gayle, Kidd Jordan, Connie Crothers, Dave Burrell, Sonny Simmons, Wadada Leo Smith, Elliott Sharp, singer Sheila Jordan and poet Amiri Baraka— the Vision Fest best might seem to be in search of lost time. But with the participation, too, of up-n-comers including Gerald Clayton, Darius Jones, Matts Gustaffson, Mary Halvorson, Taylor Ho Bynum, Craig Taborn, Jeff Parker, Ingrid Laubrock and Nicole Mitchell, it’s evident that valuing musical expressivity more than musical structure is also attractive to players who weren’t around to hear Albert Ayler and John Coltrane live—they take the thrust of 1960s “free jazz” as seriously as if they had been. That free jazz movement of the ’60s had NYPre ss.com
a sociopolitical agenda to demonstrate empowerment, rip away jazz’s deadwood and shake the establishment, as well as to let loose youthful juice. The mission of the Vision Fest retains a lot of the ancient aura. It was born in the East Village out of a cadre that buzzed around bassist William Parker; Patricia Nicholson Parker, his wife but a force (choreographer/dancer) in her own right, runs the show and the nonprofit producing group, Arts for Art, from an LES office at the “educational and cultural center” Clemente Soto Velez. Parker believes in grounding her production in critical thinking; I assume that’s why I’m a panelist discussing “Free Jazz/Free Music—Why Then/Why Now?” Thursday, June 14, from 5 to 7 p.m. She also believes in mixing media, so there are visual artists painting the music, videographers, dancers and poets on each program. And she’s big on making music available to all, so on Friday
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afternoon, June 15, there are free events in partnership with the New York City Housing Authority at Rutgers Houses, 200 Madison St. Choosing one night, I’d attend June 16 to hear trombonist Steve Swell’s Quintet; French bassist Joelle Leandre with flutist Mitchell and baritone Thomas Buckner; Trio 3 (Oliver Lake, reeds; Reggie Workman, bass; Andrew Cyrille, drums); and violinist-composer Jason Kao Hwang’s Burning Bridge, with Chinese pipa and erhu in the band. Roulette is a good bet for Vision 17, Manhattan being too upscale for unvarnished radicalism. Undaunted by age, economics or fashion, the Vision survives.
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Reach Howard Mandel at jazzmandel@ gmail.com J une 7, 2012 • O UR TOW N D OW NTOW N • 1 5
ARE YOU THE BEST WRITER OF NONFICTION ON THE EAST END?
CITYARTS FIlM
The hunter, Chris Hemsworth, and the dwarfs.
Enter the 2012 Dan’s Papers $6,000 Literary Prize for Nonfiction. For the last 25 years, Dan’s Papers has showcased artists on the cover of the publication. Now Dan’s Papers wants to similarly showcase writers. We believe this is the first literary prize ever offered on the eastern end of Long Island for nonfiction in literature. Visit Our Website for Official Rules and to Enter
Danshamptons.com/literaryprize Entries must be nonfiction and between 600-1500 words. You may send in memoirs, biography, autobiography, account of a day, opinion, history, profile of a person or institution, essay or humor. Works must reference eastern Long Island in a meaningful way.
Contest begins March 31 and ends August 1. First Prize $5,000 • Two Runners Up $500 each. Winners announced at the John Drew Theater of Guild Hall in East Hampton on Saturday, August 25. Entry fee is $20.
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Promiscuous Myths New ‘SNow white’ cutS a Swath through culture By Armond White
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hy should we be watching commercials director Rupert Sanders’ film, Snow White and the Huntsman, when Romain Gavras’ No Church in the Wild music video for Kanye West begs our attention? Whatever unrest West artfully evokes with Gavras’ references to insurrection and political strife is truer to the temper of modern living than this overextravagant CGI fairytale. Updating the Snow White legend into a vampire-zombie-cyber-goth fashion show results from commercial calculation more than any credible feeling for the ideas of innocence, selflessness, hope, beauty (and their opposites) that the Snow White story used to instruct. Charlize Theron struts her usual psychotic anger as Ravenna, a vengeful queen lusting for eternal youth and power, while Kristen Stewart as Snow White again anguishes over her obligation and destiny. A Monster and Twilight mashup for no purpose. SWATH may trigger reflex pretensions about feminism and narcissism (including Chris Hemsworth’s stolid Hunstman), but at the same time it is uprooted from the basic needs of storytelling and deep emotional identification. So many jumbled motifs occur in Sanders’ SWATH that it resembles the promiscuity of music videos that ransack our cultural heritage out of art directors’ and costume designers’ mad zeal. SWATH plunders the recent melting, morphing history of F/X— everything from that damnable The Lord of the Rings trilogy to Avatar—yet never achieves the exotic originality of such mag-
nificent Chinese fantasies as Chen Kaige’s The Promise or Zhang Yimou’s Hero and Curse of the Golden Flower, which evoke authentic cultural memory. Gavras, son of political filmmaker Costa Gavras, supplies similar cultural evocation for West: political consciousness as a form of style, music video as quasi-political Internet communiqué. No Church in the Wild’s only message concerns the amoral panic that SWATH disregards. West’s current artistic project uses imagination to create new myths; his innovations constantly provoke (though not always successfully, as in his visually striking yet metabolically abrasive Niggas in Paris music video). No Church in the Wild pinpoints the loveless circumstances of modern living that SWATH placates with meaningless fantasizing. West uses the history of cinematic agit-prop to recall its absence/ignorance in today’s media, but SWATH exploits fairytale mythology without the philological intelligence found in Neil Jordan’s The Company of Wolves. Although the idea of Ravenna’s vainglorious mirror as a gigantic upright cymbal is pretty good, the half-hour that Theron’s glowering is offscreen allows SWATH’s best moments: the dwarfs, played by reliable British character actors at their eccentric best—Toby Jones, Nick Frost, Bob Hoskins, Eddie Marsan, Ray Winstone, Ian McShane—a dream team. Little else matches the fantasy quintessence that Walt Disney’s animators found for the 1938 Snow White—that glass coffin simplification was a perfect surrealist abstraction. By the time SWATH pillages Joan of Arc imagery for Snow White’s triumph, then goes inert, the melty-morphy junkpile makes it unignorable that our cultural memory is in tatters. Follow Armond White on Twitter at 3xchair NY Press.co m
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J une 7, 2012 • O UR TOW N D OW NTOW N • 1 7
CAMPS
Choosing a Camp at the Last Minute By Jess Michaels
S
ummer is in full swing and your children are finished with school. Now what do they do? Do you regret putting off looking for a summer camp? Don’t worry, there are still some summer camps with availability for your child. And keep in mind that looking for a camp this summer for next year also has many benefits.
mer camp choices. Talking to friends and neighbors is also a good way to find out about summer camps. But families should keep in mind that just because a camp is the right fit for your friends’ child, it doesn’t mean it will be the right camp for your child. Take their suggestions, but make sure to do your own research. You know your child best. Summer 2013 It’s not too early to be looking for a camp for next summer. Looking this summer gives you the opportunity to go visit camps. “Tours are a great way to really connect with a camp, the campers and the camp’s leadership,” said Sam Borek, owner and director of Woodmont Day Camp in New City, N.Y. “Going on a camp tour
Call the Camp Director If you have a specific camp in mind, call the camp director and ask what sessions are still open and if there is space in your child’s age group. Try to be flexible. Maybe you had the month of July in mind for camp, but be open to the second session of programAsk the cAmp director About the ming. This cAmp’s philosophy And progrAm. may mean changing does the philosophy of the cAmp around mAtch your fAmily’s? does the cAmp vacation plans or offer A progrAm thAt is of interest trips to see to your child? do you feel thAt the grandparcAmp director is Answering All your ents, but the more questions And is hAppy to do so? flexibility you have, gives you an opportunity to see the activithe better chance you have of finding the ties in action and get a feel for the spirit camp you want at the last minute. and tone of the camp. Don’t be afraid to Even with last-minute camp deciask tough questions and even talk to a sions, parents want to make sure they are camper or two in your child’s age group.” doing their research and choosing the Touring camps allows you and your right camp for their child. Ask the camp child the chance to see what an actual day director about the camp’s philosophy at camp will be like and see the lake, pool, and program. Does the philosophy of bunks and dining hall. Both day and sleepthe camp match your family’s? Does the away camps offer camp tours throughout camp offer a program that is of interest the summer. A camp tour gives families a to your child? Do you feel that the camp good feel about whether the camp is the director is answering all your questions right fit for their child—and if you decide and is happy to do so? You are forming to send your child there the following a partnership with the camp director, summer, he or she will feel part of the so you want to make sure you click with decision process. them and feel comfortable leaving your child in their care. Rookie Days Be sure to look at the camp’s website with There are many resident camps that your child. Let your child search the site and offer Rookie Days or Weekends, designed see a sample schedule, pictures and what to give future campers a chance to expethe camp menu is like. The more involved rience the camp in session by joining in your child is in the camp process, the more on camp activities before going to camp. successful the experience will be. While children enjoy the camp activities, parents are taken on a tour of the camp. Not Sure Where to Start? Rookie Days are a wonderful way for You can call the American Camp Aschildren and their parents to get a feel sociation, NY and NJ, at 212-391-5208 for what the camp is like and to deterfor free, one-on-one advice on finding a mine if it is the right fit before registering camp. Their camper placement specialfor the next summer. ists can help guide you in your decision and help narrow down the many sum-
Making kids happy with that last-minute summer camp choice.
Looking Early Can Help You Plan Financially for Camp By touring the summer before and deciding on a camp almost a year before sending your child there, you will be able to plan financially for camp. Some camps offer payment plans for registering early, allowing you to pay over time for the camp. You can also make camp part of birthday presents and holiday gifts over the upcoming year. Many camps also offer early bird discounts for registering early, giving you a savings on the price. Families should inquire about sibling discounts for register-
ing more than one child. “Parents should keep in mind that choosing a camp early also gives you time to prepare your child for the camp experience throughout the year,” said Susie Lupert, executive director of the American Camp Association, NY and NJ. “By the time your child goes off to camp the following summer, he or she will be so eager from the excitement built throughout the year.” Jess Michaels is director of communications for the American Camp Association, NY and NJ.
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J une 7, 2012 • O UR TOW N D OW NTOW N • 1 9
DWELL
AVENUE’s
Real Estate Spring Roundtable Green shoots in the 2012 market, the rise of the foreign buyer, and new insights into the age-old question of condos vs. co-ops By Michael Gross
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hy did the homebuyers cross the ocean? To get to the other side, of course, where foreign currency covets luxury in close proximity to Central Park, Madison Avenue, Lincoln Center and Broadway, and everyone—but New Yorkers especially— comes out a winner. Earlier this year, seven of New York City’s real estate royals met with Manhattan Media’s chairman, Richard Burns, and me to discuss the current state of our housing market. Right now, that market is (perhaps surprisingly) strong, high-end condos are up but are also increasingly scarce and, though Upper East Side co-ops may seem down because bonus babies and flight capital don’t like board scrutiny, the smart money says they’re ripe for a revival because although this is a global city, it’s an ever-more-family-friendly town, too.
There is a lot of experience in this room; I am wondering if this current time period reminds you of any other time in New York real estate. Frederick Peters: A year or two ago reminded me of the early ’90s, but today we’re actually moving into somewhat uncharted territory. That is mainly because we haven’t had a marketplace that has been impacted by globalization in the way today’s marketplace is. Elizabeth Stribling: New York, more than ever, has become the most cosmopolitan city in the world. About 30 percent of our condo purchases are made by foreigners. There are always pockets of people from all over the world, and our latest insight at Stribling is the British are coming to Brooklyn. Dorothy Herman: Yes, we compete in a global market. If you compare prices to any other city that competes in that global market, like London or Hong Kong, New York is cheaper. There are more foreigners here now than in the peak of the boom. Even if we think we are going through uncharted times as a country, it is still a much safer bet than any other place in the world. Kathryn Korte: I would say the current period shares similarities with the summer of 2003, when we finally began to move out
Participants Dorothy Herman president and CEO, Prudential Douglas Elliman Kathryn Korte president and CEO, Sotheby’s International Realty Kelly Kennedy Mack president, Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group
Wendy Maitland managing director, Town Residential Frederick Peters, president, Warburg Realty Diane M. Ramirez, president, Halstead Property Elizabeth Stribling president, Stribling & Associates
of the economic landscape that occurred in the aftermath of 9/11. Back then, we saw New Yorkers recommitting to New York. Now we are seeing an influx of foreign money and foreign buyers. Initially, there were many Russians entering the market, but now there are more buyers from Asia, the Middle East, India and Australia. There is a greater focus on wealth preservation now over investing, which many buyers view as a safe haven. Diane Ramirez: Every time period is a little different. We are starting to see some conversions, which we really have not seen in a long time—not since the ’80s. Some rental buildings have changed hands and will be very exciting new products. But I think we might see more rental buildings converting—we have not even heard that word in a long time. FP: There was at one time concern about an inventory overhang, but we actually have a relatively serious inventory shortage. This fantasy that there were going to be thousands of unsold condos depressing the market for years to come just turned out to be completely wrong. ES: In fact, in 2013, there is going to be a shortage of new condominiums.
Is that shortage because of the dip in construction? ES: The current supply is being quickly snapped up, because what people want today is the latest finish, the most modern construction, the least in need of renovation. And most of the new developments are going to have fewer than 100 units, so we don’t have a lot in the pipeline. Wendy Maitland: What I see in our market today is that it is much more segmented than it was, say, five years ago. There is a lot happening at the very high end of the market, and less in the more cookie-cutter type of product. Kelly Mack: Overall, the whole market, at every price category, is very strong. Everyone is talking about the high end of the market, because there were about 94 deals
20 • O UR TOWN DOW NTOW N • JUN E 7, 2 012
done last year at over $10 million, which is amazing. But the issue right now is lack of inventory, across the board.
huge dog that is going to bite the neighbor’s children, they should get into the building.
Let’s turn to the age-old question of condos vs. co-ops. Do you have a preference?
At the end of the year, what are we going to say about 2012 in real estate?
WM: Clearly, cooperative deals traditionally are more arduous, although I think the condo boards are inching up. I think we all have to give kudos to our co-op boards, which have helped protect New York compared to every other market in the world. ES: You can convince a co-op buyer to look at a condo, but you cannot convince the condo buyer to look at a co-op.
DH: It is an election year, so I don’t think anything significant will change this year. We are moving ahead, it is healthy, perhaps even a healthier market than we had in the boom. WM: I agree that it is a healthy market. Globally, New York represents safety, quality and stability in the context of what is happening in the world. KM: I think the biggest story of the year is going to be One57. They have had a tremendous start and there is a lot of pent-up demand for very high-end luxury product. Because of the lack of inventory, we are going to see upward pressure on pricing continue. If the appreciation mimics that of the last 20 years, we are going to be at the peak or just above it in 2013. DR: We have had a great 2010 and 2011. I think 2012 will be very good as well. Not great, but good. I see all markets moving, the two-bedroom and up. If it is a good apartment and priced well, which is key, good location and in good condition, it is off the shelf in milliseconds. We’re starting to see bidding wars, and the prices of the bidding wars are starting to go over asking, which we have not seen for a few years. I see another good year, a solid year, but not big jumps. FP: We signed two and a half times as many contracts in January 2012 as in January 2011. We have had the lowest vacancy rate in the rental market that any of us can remember. We have all been waiting for that to flip, for people to go back into the sales market with the smaller apartments. That is starting to happen. I am usually pretty gloomy as a prognosticator, but I think 2012 is going to be quite strong, both in terms of volume and in terms of pricing because demand is outstripping supply. ES: We’re going to have a good, solid, strong year. I agree that it is not going to shoot through the roof. People are still worried about the global economy and what is going to happen in this country. I think it will be slightly stronger than 2011. KK: I think people will say there were green shoots. If we do as well as we did in 2011, I’ll be very happy with five to 10 percent more growth. Anything beyond that, and I’ll be tremendously happy. We’re entering a healthy market. I’d like to see it continue.
In terms of sales since 2005, co-ops have risen 3.2 percent; condos, 16.5 percent. That tells a story. FP: Condos have a few outlier sales, which I would guess would skew the numbers somewhat. I wonder if it would be as extreme if you remove the outlier sales. MG: Are the co-ops loosening a bit as the condos are tightening? Are condo boards behaving like co-op boards and vice versa? FP: My observation is, with big-ticket sales in the past year, there is a big deemphasis on the finance industry. In 2006, every expensive apartment was bought by a finance person. Now, the finance people are no longer at the forefront. This is relevant to your question because co-ops are looking at bonus income differently now. If you can’t afford the apartment with your salary and the money you have already accumulated, they are not taking your bonus into account the way they used to. That is a sea change. DH: People like new. I also think people not from New York City have a problem with someone telling them they can’t sell their apartment to whomever they want. At some point in time, the co-op boards may loosen up, as older people retire and new ones come on, but I am not seeing it yet. DR: I have always said the co-op boards have to change. The next board has to make the process easier, and it has never happened. The close financial scrutiny of the co-op boards gets tighter and more farreaching. Income and assets are looked at near term and not at the long-term value. It makes the ownership more insulated to a downturn in the financial market but very restrictive to the general buying public. ES: I think a lot of the snobbery is gone. As long as a person is not disruptive, they’ve got some liquidity in the bank, they pay their bills on time and don’t have a
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ON TOPIC
Seven Pieces of Unexpected Romantic Wisdom from Ice-T & Coco By Rachel Khona
MaNhattaN MEdia
PrEsidENt/CEO Tom Allon tallon@manhattanmedia.com group puBLISHEr Alex Schweitzer aschweitzer@manhattanmedia.com CFO/COO Joanne Harras jharras@manhattanmedia.com
EditOrial
ExECUtivE EditOr Allen Houston ahouston@manhattanmedia.com EditOr-iN-ChiEF Marissa Maier mmaier@manhattanmedia.com sPECial sECtiONs EditOr Josh Rogers jrogers@manhattanmedia.com FEatUrEd CONtribUtOrs Leonora Desar, Penny Gray, Courtney Holbrook, Regan Hofmann, Alan Krawitz, Robby Ritacco CONtribUtiNG PhOtOGraPhErs George Denison, Veronica Hoglund, Wyatt Kostygan, Andrew Schwartz iNtErNs James Kelleher, Andrew Rice, Jonathan Springer
B
rad and Jen. Courtney and David. Nick and Jessica. And, of course, Kim and Kris. The examples of relationships gone bust are plentiful. In a culture where celebrity (and non-celeb, for that matter) relationships implode faster than Michele Bachmann’s brain cells, Ice-T and Nicole “Coco” Austin’s decade-plus marriage is something of an anomaly. One might have called magical thinking when the gangsta rapper and butt model/former stripper first got hitched after dating for only two months. But as these two unlikely lovebirds show us on their show Ice Loves Coco, you should never judge a book by its cover. Their continued relationship success and enduring love for each other holds love lessons we can all benefit from. Here’s why.
advErtisiNG
advertising@manhattanmedia.com PUblishEr Gerry Gavin ggavin@manhattanmedia.com dirECtOr OF NEw bUsiNEss dEvElOPMENt Dan Newman assOCiatE PUblishErs Seth L. Miller, Ceil Ainsworth, Mary Ann Oklesson advErtisiNG MaNaGEr Marty Strongin sPECial PrOJECts dirECtOr Jim Katocin sENiOr aCCOUNt ExECUtivEs Verne Vergara, Mike Suscavage dirECtOr OF EvENts & MarkEtiNG Joanna Virello jvirello@manhattanmedia.com ExECUtivE assistaNt OF salEs Jennie Valenti jvalenti@manhattanmedia.com
bUsiNEss adMiNistratiON CONtrOllEr Shawn Scott CrEdit MaNaGEr Kathy Pollyea billiNG COOrdiNatOr Colleen Conklin CirCUlatiON Joe Bendik circ@manhattanmedia.com
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PrOdUCtiON dirECtOr Heather Mulcahey ejohnson@manhattanmedia.com EditOrial dEsiGNEr Sahar Vahidi svahidi@manhattanmedia.com advErtisiNG dEsiGN Quran Corley
1) They actively show each other how much they care. “In the streets, we say you’ve got to show and prove. Words are easy. You can say it all day, but then act a different way,” Ice says. Coco tells Ice that even though she’s been in plenty of pictures with waterfalls, she’s never seen a waterfall, as they’ve all been photoshopped in. So what does Ice do? He takes her to a waterfall. He makes a point of not just talking the talk when it comes to showing her how much he loves her, but walking the walk. 2) They keep it hot. Whether or not you appreciate Coco’s particular brand of bootyliciousness, there’s no doubt that Ice does. Sure, she enjoys getting dressed up to the nines in her high heels and tight dresses, but she also does it for her boo. “I actually wore this so you could see the cutesy swimsuit,” she tells Ice while lounging in the pool one day. “You know I do that for you. I even wear my heels for you.” Even if your thing isn’t acrylic heels, it
doesn’t hurt to dress up for your partner— and vice versa. 3) They respect each other. They don’t boss each other around. They don’t have a parent-child relationship. They don’t demean or nag each other. In fact, when you compare theirs to the relationships of fellow reality stars the Kardashians, Ice and Coco seem like downright sages (sorry, Dalai Lama). When the couple jets off to Miami, Ice’s friend Marc finds out and shows up intruding on their romantic trip. But Coco makes her dissatisfaction clear without resorting to whining, getting angry or taking Ice’s initial lack of action personally. All it took was one “Honey…” and an eyebrow raise when Marc walked away for Ice to get the hint. He made sure to tell Marc the next day it was time to give the couple alone time. 4) They’re always learning about each other. On their anniversary vacation to Hawaii, Coco gets to learn more about Ice’s past in the military, seeing the barracks where he stayed firsthand. In fact, it was her idea to visit. Though she knows Ice as well as any wife could after 11 years, she’s still curious and inquisitive when it comes to discovering more about her hubby. “It’s amazing that after 11 years, we’re still learning about each other,” she says, to which Ice responds, “I think you stop learning things about your partner when you’re uninterested in them. There will always be things about people you’ll never know. That’s a good thing.” 5) They make their relationship the first priority . In spite of their busy schedules, they have an unspoken rule to never spend more than 24 hours apart. Though they sometimes have to break the rule, like when Coco had to fly to Arizona for four
days to help her sister with a fashion show, it’s a rule they take seriously. During their visit to the Sundance Film Festival, Coco was offered a plum movie part, much to her excitement. But upon realizing the role required her to be away from Ice for two months, she declined. Her ever-supportive husband encouraged her to accept the opportunity, but Coco had already made up her mind. “I put my relationship first,” she says. “[Our] relationship means the world to me. People say, ‘11 years, how do you make it work?’ It works because I think my relationship is much bigger than a movie.” 6) They’re supportive of each other’s interests. Ice is a manly man. He doesn’t dance and he certainly doesn’t believe in things like ghosts and psychics. But Coco does, and that’s all that matters. When Coco decides to take salsa dancing classes, he tags along simply because that’s what she would do for him and he wants to make her happy. He later surprises her by going to her salsa class dressed up and ready to dance with her. But the love doesn’t stop there. Upon realizing how stoked Coco and her mom were to meet famed medium James Van Praagh at a book signing, he invited Van Praagh back to their condo, where Coco got her own personal reading. 7) They listen to each other. When Ice surprises Coco with a private luau for their anniversary, she is completely shocked. Everything she had dreamed of was perfectly executed, from the leis to hula dancers. When she asks Ice how he knew that’s what she had always wanted, he responded, “I knew ever since you were a kid and you watched that damn Brady Bunch episode you wanted to go to a luau. I listen to you, even when you don’t think I’m listening to you.” And listen he did. He recreated what she wanted to a T. No pun intended.
SCENE OUr tOwN dOwNtOwN is published weekly Copyright © 2012 Manhattan Media, llC 79 Madison avenue, 16th Floor New York, N.Y. 10016 Editorial (212) 284-9734 Fax (212) 268-2935 advertising (212) 284-9715 General (212) 268-8600 E-mail: otdowntown@manhattanmedia.com website: NYpress.com OUr tOwN dOwNtOwN is a division of Manhattan Media, llC, publisher of west side spirit, Chelsea Clinton News, the westsider, City & state, the blackboard awards, New York Family, and avenue magazine. to subscribe for 1 year, please send $75 to OUr tOwN dOwNtOwN, 79 Madison avenue, 16th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10016 recognized for excellence by the New York Press association
Running of the Red Bulls Benefit
Patrick Stewart received this year’s Matador Award For Excellence In Classical Theater at the fourth Annual Running of the Red Bulls Benefit on June 4 at The Bowery Hotel. The night was hosted by Paige Davis. Left: Paige Davis and Patrick Page Right: Patrick Stewart Photos by James Kelleher
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J UNE 7, 2012 • O UR TOW N D OW NTOW N • 21
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J une 7, 2012 • O UR TOW N D OW NTOW N • 23
ThE uNION squarE ParTNErshIP Is PrOud TO PrEsENT
every thursday
a free weekly entertainment and programming series in union square Park
fun for all ages
June 14 to August 9
Fitness in the Square*
Kids in the Square
Thursdays sTarTING aT 7:00 aM
Thursdays aT 10:00 aM & 12:00 PM
re-energize your body and mind with free weekly running club, boot camp, and yoga classes for all levels presented in partnership with CLay health Club + spa and Brooklyn Bridge Boot Camp.
Thursdays kids rule the square midday so head over to the south Plaza for family fun, music, fitness and free snacks from Whole Foods Market!
June 14th 7:00 aM Morning running Club 8:00 aM Boot Camp 9:00 aM yoga with Christy Maskeroni
June 14th 10:00 aM Mommy & Me yoga w/ Bija Kids 12:00 PM Baby Loves disco
June 21St 7:00 aM Morning running Club 8:00 aM Boot Camp 9:00 aM Power hour with Tom McClelland June 28th 7:00 aM Morning running Club 8:00 aM Boot Camp 9:00 aM yoga JuLY 12th 7:00 aM Morning running Club 8:00 aM Boot Camp 9:00 aM Power hour with Tom McClelland JuLY 19th 7:00 aM Morning running Club 8:00 aM Boot Camp 9:00 aM yoga with Christy Maskeroni JuLY 26th 7:00 aM Morning running Club 8:00 aM Boot Camp 9:00 aM Power hour with Tom McClelland AuGuSt 2nD 7:00 aM Morning running Club 8:00 aM Boot Camp 9:00 aM yoga with Christy Maskeroni
June 21St 10:00 aM Mommy & Me yoga w/ Bija Kids 11:00 aM VocaPeople 12:00 PM hot Peas & Butter June 28th 10:00 aM Mommy & Me yoga w/ Bija Kids 11:00 aM Circus skills with TraCEs 12:00 PM suzy shelton JuLY 12th 10:00 aM Mommy & Me yoga w/ Bija Kids 11:00 aM Gazillion Bubble show 12:00 PM TBd JuLY 19th 10:00 aM Mommy & Me yoga w/ Bija Kids 11:00 aM Circus skills with TraCEs 12:00 PM Baby Loves disco JuLY 26th 10:00 aM Mommy & Me yoga w/ Bija Kids 12:00 PM Zak Morgan AuGuSt 2nD 10:00 aM Mommy & Me yoga w/ Bija Kids 12:00 PM Bari Koral AuGuSt 9th 10:00 aM Mommy & Me yoga w/ Bija Kids 11:00 aM Circus skills with TraCEs 12:00 PM Little Groove
free
Dance in the Square Thursdays a aT 6:00 PM
Learn how to swing those hips or just enjoy the music with free dancing and music brought to you by Peridance. June 14th 6:00 PM Zumba with sifa June 21St 6:00 PM Make Music New york Performance by alez skolnick June 28th 6:00 PM salsa with Baila society JuLY 12th 5:00 PM special Performance by the Peridance Company 6:00 PM hip hop with Kim holmes JuLY 19th 6:00 PM Zumba with sifa JuLY 26th 5:00 PM special Performance by the Peridance Company 6:00 PM salsa with Baila society
south plaza
AuGuSt 2nD 6:00 PM hip hop with Kim holmes AuGuSt 9th 6:00 PM salsa with Baila society
Union Square Park
AuGuSt 9th 7:00 aM Morning running Club 8:00 aM Boot Camp 9:00 aM Power hour with Tom McClelland
ThaNK yOu TO Our 2012 suMMEr IN ThE squarE sPONsOrs FOr ThEIr GENErOus suPPOrT
*classes accessible to all ages and abilities
Partners:
Connect with the Union Square Partnership On the Square – unionsquarenyc.org Union Square Blog – unionsquareblog.org Facebook – facebook.com/unionsqNy Flickr – fickr.com/groups/unionsquareNy Twitter – @unionsquareNy USP Website – www.unionsquare.org
With support from:
We’re here to serve you. Proudly serving the neighborhood for 30 years, the union square Partnership is the leading advocate for the union square-14th street community, working collaboratively with area residents, businesses and cultural and academic institutions to ensure the district’s continued growth and success. Our mission is to enhance the neighborhood’s quality-of-life by creating a safer, cleaner and more enjoyable environment.