Our Town Downtown July 5, 2012

N INSIDE: mID-yEar rEckoNINg P.15

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• COMMUNITY NEWS BELOW 14TH STREET • JULY 5, 2012

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RUMBLE IN THE VILLAGE

Photo by Anne Kristoff

Photo by Jonathan Springer

NYU and community go at it in heated City Council Meeting over expansion plan P.7

ALSO INSIDE

“YOU AIN’T MOVING ME OUT!”

VELÁZQUEZ NABS DEMOCRATIC NOD P.6 EAST VILLAGE AND LES TO GET HISTORIC DISTRICT? P.5 OUTDOOR CINEMA RETURNS TO TOMPKINS SQUARE PARK P.2

How a bold band of grannies keep old Little Italy alive P.8

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Cult Classic Flicks Come Outdoors Films in Tompkins Square Park returns Text by Marissa Maier • Photos by Sahar Vahidi

O

ff-beat classics, à la Rocky Horror Picture Show, are usually relegated to private home screenings or dusty art house theaters. This summer, however, Howl Arts and a number of sponsors, including Two Boots pizza company and NYC & Company, bring quirky cinema to the East Village with their Films in Tompkins series. Showing flicks outdoors in Tompkins Square Park, the festival kicked off last Thursday with Robert De Niro’s tour de force performance in Taxi Driver.

Every Thursday night through Aug. 16, expect a new screening. The lineup includes Goldfinger, Poltergeist and Summer of Sam, and each event is paired with a live musical performance from acts like Main Squeeze Orchestra and The Debonairs.

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CRIME WATCH Thief Bikes Away Vehicle theft—from bicycles to cars—is fairly common in the city, and mopeds, it turns out, are no exception. A 27-year-old man recently reported to police that his motorized bicycle was stolen from in front of a store on Church Street. Luckily, the building’s property manager caught the theft on tape. Police described the perp as in his thirties and bald. On the tape, you can clearly see him making off with the $1,268 bike and its pricy $112 battery, but an arrest has yet to be made in the case.

Swift Car Sweep

left their bag slung over a chair or underneath their seat. Perhaps you have scoffed at these individuals, thinking, “I always keep my bag on me”—as it turns out, your wallet isn’t immune to theft, even if you carry it on you.

A 33-year-old Swedish woman was recently out at a nightclub on Mercer Street when her driver’s license, debit card and credit card were stolen out of her purse, which she had been carrying on her shoulder, say police.

While her cards were charged in unauthorized purchases, she quickly canceled them.

Don’t Buy One, Get Them All Free

As Nicholas Cage proved in his flick Gone in Sixty Seconds, it can take only a minute for a seasoned thief to nab a car. In the case of a 53-year-old man who parked his on Sixth Avenue, the thief only needed 12 minutes to steal his 1999 Infiniti. While the theft was caught on a surveillance tape posted at a nearby building, police have not yet arrested anyone or recovered the car.

Criminals in the city are becoming more and more daring, as one recent case in Soho shows. A thief stepped into a store on Prince Street and, in plain view of an employee, grabbed a bundle of clothes and ran out. The stolen items, say police, included a $596 tank top, a $339 skirt, a $698 vest and a $357 top.

Right Under Her Shoulder

While trying on clothes at a chain store by the South Street Seaport complex, a 37-yearold woman briefly stepped out of her dressing room to find a shirt in another size. The

In these crime blotter pages, we often report on wallet thefts in which the victim has

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a city street, it seems perps just can’t help themselves from seeing what might be inside. Police reported that a 26-year-old Soho resident parked his 2010 Mercedes car on Wooster Street to retrieve something from his apartment that he had forgotten.

While upstairs, thousands of dollars’ worth of camera equipment was stolen from the car, including a $249 Kata bag, two Nikon lenses worth $1,900 and $2,400, a $500 battery pack and a $6,000 Nikon DX camera. Footage from cameras on the street showed the thief running on foot with the stolen goods and then attempting to withdraw money—using a stolen card—at a bank on the Bowery.

woman left her belongings in the changing room, and other patrons saw a man, roughly in his fifties, go in and leave with the woman’s wallet. After the woman discovered the wallet was gone, her bank called to report unauthorized charges at a nearby supermarket on Cherry Street. The woman’s $200 Dooney & Burke wallet, $18 MetroCard and $70 in cash were also taken.

(Odd) Handbag Heist Sometimes that customer who seems a little odd is actually a common thief. An employee at a designer store on Greene Street in Soho recently reported to police that a 40-year-old man entered her shop walked into the middle of the store, looked around

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J ULY 5, 2012 • O UR TOW N D OW NTOW N • 3

NEIGHBORHOOD CHATTER Council Speaker Responds to the Supreme Court Ruling on Obama’s Health Care Bill The U.S. Supreme Court upheld President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act 5-4 last Thursday. The decision will reportedly insure up to 30 million Americans who are currently uninsured.

Council Speaker Christine Quinn expressed her happiness with the ruling in a statement released that day. “The court’s decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act is great news for our city, state and nation. Now that the Supreme Court has recognized the right to universal access to affordable health care, it is time for the extreme right to drop their attacks and start working constructively to help meet the law’s principal objectives: providing all Americans with access to the best health care in the world while bringing down the costs of our health care system.”

services that keep our city strong,” Bloomberg said. “These actions…have allowed us avoid the severe service cuts that many other cities are facing.”

According to Bloomberg’s press release, the budget increase will allow the city to add about 1,000 teachers to the school system and about $150 million to after-school programs.

Funding for cultural institutions will be increased by roughly $50 million, slightly more than in 2012, with the city citing the institutions’ effect on tourism as a reason for the boost.

The city also expects to see $635 million in taxi medallion revenue in 2013.

“We face a significant challenge again next year, but given the effective and fiscally responsible partnership we’ve had with the Council, and the leadership we know we can rely on from Speaker Christine Quinn, I’m confident we’ll meet any challenges that arise,” Bloomberg added.

Mayor, Council Deliver ‘OnTime, Balanced Budget’

Bath Salts and Synthetic Marijuana Now Illegal

Last week, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the New York City Council passed a $68.5 billion budget for 2013 that will save some children’s programs and 20 fire companies.

“Working with our partners in the Council, we’ve again produced an on-time, balanced budget for our city that doesn’t raise taxes on New Yorkers and that preserves the essential

The U.S. Senate passed new legislation last Wednesday that will ban certain chemicals found in specific types of the drugs known as “bath salts” and synthetic marijuana. The ban will head to President Barack Obama for final consent.

The bill particularly targeted MDPV and mephedrone, two active ingredients found in

bath salts. The salts aren’t your grandmother’s bath time treat, though—they are sold online, in smoke shops and convenience stores under brand names like Zoom, Red Dove, Legal Phunk and Vanilla Sky. When ingested, they cause hallucinations similar to the effects of cocaine or meth.

The bill will also ban 20 primary components that make up synthetic marijuana.

The substance, also known as Spice, K2 or Blaze, is sold in smoke shops and delis under names like Killer Buzz and Aroma.

Synthetic marijuana is essentially a mixture of plants and herbs like bay bean, blue lotus and red clover that are sprayed with chemicals. While the drug is reported to have similar effects to natural marijuana, it goes undetected on drug tests and has increased in popularity over the last two years.

Sen. Charles Schumer fought to ban these substances, citing a rash of recent crimes committed by people who were under their influence.

Earlier last month, a man in Texas under the influence of synthetic marijuana attacked his family members and the family dog. A teen in Iowa committed suicide after smoking K2, and a 17-year-old stabbed his schoolmate while high on the substance.

Recently, a 42-year-old man who had taken bath salts bit a chunk off another individual’s face in Louisiana.

“This bill closes loopholes that have al-

lowed manufacturers to circumvent local and state bans and it ensures you can’t simply cross state lines to buy these deadly poisons,” said Schumer, who had previously expressed concern over differing state laws about the drugs. “We have seen bath salts involved in some of the most heinous crimes in recent months. With the president’s signature, we can eradicate these toxins once and for all.”

Julie Menin Leaves CB1 After a seven-year stint as chair of Community Board 1, Julie Menin left her post last Tuesday with plans to run for Manhattan borough president in 2013.

Catherine McVay Hughes, who is currently serving as vice chair, plans to fill Menin’s spot, running unopposed for the position. Hughes has lived a block away from the World Trade Center site for 24 years and has been a vocal supporter and advocate for WTC construction safety.

Highlights from Menin’s time as chair include helping raise $1 million to open Manhattan Youth’s Downtown Community Center. She also formed a housing committee to protect the existing stock of affordable housing in the downtown area.

According to the New York Times, Menin has already raised more than $450,000 to run for Manhattan borough president. Current Borough President Scott Stringer is focusing on a run for New York City mayor.

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NEWS

East Village and LES Historic District Moves Forward Landmarking in downtown neighborhoods has surprising opposition from local churches

By Nick Gallinelli The city’s preservationists marched downtown last Tuesday to make their voices heard at a Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) hearing on the proposal to create an East Village and Lower East Side Historic District. Landowners, locals and political representatives flooded the ninth floor of City Hall almost to its limits to discuss and argue the LPC’s efforts to preserve the “rich cultural history” of these downtown Manhattan neighborhoods.

The initial plan includes 330 buildings, though 17 more might be added in a revised edition. If designated as an historic district, these buildings, mostly row houses and tenements, would become landmarked and would avoid destruction and alteration, purportedly preserving the area’s cultural significance. This designation, however, would also mean that renovation costs to these particular properties would increase as well.

Among the buildings are the historic Congregation Meseritz Synagogue on East 6th Street, the Max D. Raskin Center on East 6th Street, the Duo Multicultural Center on East 4th Street and the longest continuously running alehouse in New York City, McSorley’s, on East 7th Street.

The majority of those attending the hearing were in support of the plan.

The neighborhood “helps tell the story of immigrant life in 19th- and 20th-century Manhattan,” members of the LPC reported to slight applause from the large group of activists wearing bright “Preserve the East Village Landmark Now” stickers.

“These types of buildings, in the past, have sometimes been less appreciated than high-style architecture,” said one fervent supporter of the move. “However, they are equally as deserving of designation—especially in blocks like East 6th and East 7th Street, which remain meticulous and largely unaltered. We are also pleased to the see the wide variety of…cultural-related architecture.”

Among the supporters were the offices of State Sens. Tom Duane and Dan Squadron, Councilwoman Rosie Mendez and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and local committees like the Cooper Square Committee, the Lower East Side Preservation Initiative, the Historic Districts Council, the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation and the East Village Community Coalition.

The plan is a “complement to the January NYPre ss.com

Top: A few historic district supporters at the hearing. Photo by James Kelleher Right: A map of the proposed district. Rendering courtesy of the LPC

designation of the East 10th Street historic district, the first East Village historic district established since the 1969 designation of the St. Mark’s historic district” said the first speaker, a representative for Rosie Mendez.

“All three districts have fundamental preservation in common and will work in alliance to preserve the proud legacy of generations of immigrant families.”

Landmarking efforts began earlier this year when, on Jan. 12, the LPC approved a block-long designation on the south side of East 10th Street.

As expected, local clergy were the opposition’s loudest voices, saying their groups would be put under extreme financial strains if their buildings were landmarked.

“There are many examples of financial duress caused by landmark designation, including the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Our Lord in Brooklyn,” a parish council member of the Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection on East 2nd Street claimed.

“This designated landmark suffered hundreds of thousands of dollars in financial loss during a protracted appeal process to replace their copper roof as a result of time wasted and a sudden increase in commodity costs…Landmark designation against the congregation’s will may represent the death knell of a historic congregation that has served the vulnerable.”

The religiously affiliated speakers cited the LPC as being unreasonable for treating nonprofit parishes the same as profitable establishments, and claimed that the designation transfers authority of cathedrals to civil authority, meaning civil government would dictate religious freedom, violating the First Amendment.

One member of the Russian Orthodox Cathedral went as far as calling the designation “a sin which you’ll be held

accountable for.”

Many religious organizations requested that if the proposal is indeed passed, their respective cathedral be excluded from the designation.

The LPC declined to comment on the hearing and the effects it may have had on

their deliberations, saying that they don’t usually comment during the process.

According to the LPC’s press office, an additional public hearing will be held on the designation, although the date of the hearing hasn’t been finalized.

Visit either our Manhattan or Morristown office: New York, NY 530 First Avenue, Suite 6D 1-877-VEIN-NYU (834-6698) Morristown, NJ 95 Madison Avenue, Suite 415 1-973-538-2000

J ULY 5, 2012 • O UR TOW N D OW NTOW N • 5

NEWS

Velázquez Scores Decisive Primary Win Over Three Challengers Lopez-backed candidate, Councilman Erik Martin Dilan, falls short

By Alan Krawitz The 2012 Democratic primary in the newly created 7th District. which includes parts of Brooklyn, Queens and the Lower East Side, was billed by many to be one of the toughest challenges of Rep. Nydia Velázquez’s 10 terms in office.

But, that storyline fell short as Velázquez easily won re-nomination as the Democratic candidate by nearly a two-to-one margin over her most serious threat, City Councilman Erik Martin Dilan, who Nydia Velázquez was backed by Brooklyn Democratic Chair and longtime political rival Assemblyman Vito Lopez.

The race, in which Velázquez captured roughly 58 percent of the vote to Dilan’s 31 percent, was plagued by very low voter turnout across the city and state. Total turnout was between 12 and 14 percent, possibly due to the unusual primary date of June 26. The primary is usually held in September, but a federal judge changed the date earlier this year to allow military voters to get their ballots in with enough time

for the general elections in November.

Velázquez, who will now face off against conservative candidate James Murray in November, was pleased with the primary win.

“I’m honored the working families of New York have placed their confidence in me again,” said Velázquez in an emailed statement. “Together, we can continue our work to make housing more affordable, strengthen local small businesses and create jobs throughout our city.

Sean Sweeney, director of the SoHo Alliance and a member of Downtown Independent Democrats (DID), saw the win as a rejection of local party politics.

“The people’s choice vetoed Vito’s choice,” Sweeney said, referring to Lopez’s backing of Dilan.

Jeanne Wilcke, president of the DID, offered an even more pointed assessment of Lopez’ support for Dilan.

“A vigorous political advocate and organizer is one thing. A bully is another,” Wilcke said.

“Vito Lopez has a PR problem. Perception is that he is the bully and it is pay-to-play politics in his circle.”

In response to his defeat, Dilan said in an emailed statement, “While it wasn’t a personal win, it was a victory for the communities

of the 7th Congressional District, including my home of Bushwick. For the first time in decades, there were real discussions about the issues our communities face. It was enlightening to take part in a race with candidates from all walks of life with great ideas for how we as a community and country can move forward.”

With regard to his future plans, Dilan added, “As far as where I go from here, for now I am committed to completing my time in the City Council. However, I will continue serving my community and will always look to the best means by which to do so.”

Libertarian-leaning challenger economist Dan O’Connor, who placed third in the race with about 8.2 percent of the vote, lamented that the city’s political apparatus is inhospitable to outside candidates.

“The political machine in New York City is so tightly knit, making it impossible for a nonestablishment candidate,” O’Connor said.

Moreover, O’Connor believes political cronyism is a persistent problem. “There are so many favors going on and backscratching that they collectively block off outsiders…I raised almost $75,000 and shook countless hands; the political machine in New York City, by its very nature, rejects non-establishment candidates for office,” he said.

While O’Connor said that he has no immediate plans to run for future office, he reiterated his call to reform the system.

“The political system is broken and needs to be fixed,” he said. “I will certainly be engaged in trying to influence the political system, in one way or another.”

George Martinez, Occupy Wall Street/hiphop activist and proponent of the “Bum Rush the Vote” style of do-it-yourself campaigning, said he was pleased with the outcome of the race, despite his last-place finish that garnered about 3 percent of the vote.

“It was a privilege and honor to be part of the democratic process,” Martinez said.

He also noted that getting almost 3 percent of the vote was “remarkable” given the small amount of funds they raised—just under $10,000—and the relatively short duration of the campaign, only about three months.

“We accomplished showing people that the Occupy model can work. The ‘Bum Rush’ campaign style of getting people into politics and money out will continue,” he said.

“Our do-it-yourself style of democracy will continue.

“Our campaign was all about getting people involved in the political process. I think we did that and we will keep doing it going forward.”

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6 • O UR TOWN DOW NTOW N • JULY 5 , 2 012

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City Council Hearing Over NYU Expansion Gets Heated President John Sexton defends plan to the community, and city council members

By Alissa Fleck City Council members struggled to quell boos, hisses, applause and chants at a hearing on the NYU expansion on Friday, June 29. Even Greenwich Village resident and actor Matthew Broderick showed up to voice an opinion on the controversial proposal; Broderick said NYU 2031 would “destroy the village” by hurting the “quirkiness and humanness” for which it’s known.

Council members largely agreed with Broderick, expressing concern over the plan, which would add 2 million square feet for academic and residential uses. One of the greatest sources of debate was how much community green space the plan would ultimately allow.

The hearing, the last expected before the City Council votes on the expansion proposal in July, incorporated presentations and testimony from opposition and proponents alike. Elected officials, NYU faculty members, community advocates and others came together to debate the highly contentious NYU 2031 plan also known as the “Sexton Plan.”

Two morning rallies proceeded the hearing outside City Hall, with plan opponents having a significantly larger turnout than supporters as people scrambled for space inside to attend a pre-hearing. Opponents held colorful banners that read “NYU 2031 is Wrong for NYC, Wrong for the Village and Wrong for NYU” and appeared to fill the majority of seats in the chambers. Security struggled to allow an even number from both camps to enter as people flooded into chambers.

The proposal, which was announced publicly in 2010, was approved by the City Planning Commission (CPC) on June 6 of this year after receiving feedback from Community Board 2 and Borough President Scott Stringer. The CPC passed the plan along to the City Council with several modifications, including the elimination of a hotel and commercial space.

The hearing opened with a presentation from supporters affiliated with NYU, including university President John Sexton, Tisch Dean Mary Schmidt Campbell, Senior Vice President Lynne Brown and Vice President Alicia Hurley. Council members then thoroughly questioned aspects of the NYU 2031 plan.

Councilwoman Margaret Chin, representing the area contained in the proposal, roused excitement from plan opponents by calling the expansion “unacceptable” and urging for greater balance.

“This plan tries to shoehorn too much into too small a space,” said Chin to wide applause and jazz hands.

The issue of scale was a hot topic. CounNYPre ss.com

clockwise: matthew broderick, protesters filled the city council chambers, Greenwich Village Society for Historic preservation executive director andrew berman. Photos by Jonathan Springer

New York UNiversitY stats • • • •

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NYU employs 16,475 people (one of the top 10 largest employers in the city) 50,917 students (undergraduate and postgraduate) attend NYU 240,000 NYU alumni (nearly 67 percent of all alums) live in the New York City metro area During FY 2009, NYU spent $156,877,796 (about 20 percent of all spending) in Greenwich Village businesses NYU pays $7 million in real estate taxes annually Full-time undergrad tuition ranges from $20,439 per term for most programs to $22,553 per term for the Tisch school NYU has nine undergraduate schools, 13 graduate schools and five professional schools NYU has campuses in Brooklyn, downtown Manhattan, Long Island, Westchester, Israel, Abu Dhabi, Shanghai and London, with plans to open a campus in Florence in 2012 The school’s endowment was $2.827 billion in 2011

StatS compiled from the ChroniCle of higher eduCation, Crain’s nY and nYU’S webSite.

cilwoman Jessica Lappin, representing parts of the Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island, agreed with Chin, calling the plan “too dense, too big, too tall and too much.” She added it could be made significantly more contextual with its surroundings, agreeing with many dissenters’ arguments against the plan. Lappin also pointed to the contradiction in the university’s choice to grow the undergraduate student population in the past and its current insistence on resource expansion to meet those needs.

Lappin said community members’ wariness about the plan was evident in the overwhelming contact she has received, even as a representative outside the relevant district.

Supporters affiliated with the university said there is a direct correlation between space and the ability to stay competitive with peer universities, while community supporters added that the plan will create jobs and benefit the local economy. NYU representatives have stated the plan will create 18,200 construction jobs and 2,600 opportunities for long-term employment.

Sexton, a lifelong New Yorker, said the university is desperately in need of space, which “translates into talent.” He pointed

to the growth of new disciplines—the study of genomes, for instance—and the resulting need to attract the fields’ top researchers.

Currently, according to evidence the school put forth, NYU’s science facilities are outdated and not adequately sophisticated to keep pace with other top research institutes. Up-todate science labs require additional space and flexibility over the average classroom. Without the necessary facilities, attracting top experts would be near impossible, said Sexton.

Sexton and other supporters continually reiterated that the school has no intention of growing the student body or viewing this as a real estate or corporate development project; it’s about academic necessity and meeting current needs and demands. The students themselves are “the loudest voices” calling for more space, explained Sexton.

Opponents of the plan granted that NYU may be in need of additional space, but encouraged the university to consider development elsewhere, like the Financial District, which would welcome the development, according to downtown District Leader Jenifer Rajkumar. Plan opponents overwhelmingly argued the proposal would change the character and ambiance of the Village, including

decreasing green space, and some say it would force residents to live in a construction zone for at least 20 years.

It’s essential for facilities to be developed near the school’s core for many reasons, explained Brown, including efficiently delivering curriculum to undergraduates, creating community, decreasing university costs and not having to duplicate crucial facilities. Proposed changes, NYU claimed, will be built entirely on the school’s existing footprint or space currently owned by the institution.

Hurley responded to accusations against the school by providing a breakdown of space allocation, saying the university is dedicated to transforming current private space into public open space, including increasing open green space.

The debate over whether the plan will increase or decrease public green space is still highly contested on both sides. Council Member Robert Jackson put Sexton on the spot, asking whether he and his other representatives, were being as honest and forthcoming as they possibly could. Audience members’ hisses indicated their opinion as Sexton affirmed he was being truthful.

Some opponents believe the university is being deceptive about its motivations for the project. Many say the school is acting as a corporation rather than a university, with an eye toward taking over its “backyard.” Protesters pointed to a law firm hired by NYU to advocate for the plan, construction worker union members in the crowd who had little understanding of what the plan entailed and the many faculty members against the plan choosing who chose to remain anonymous as evidence of the school’s deceptive tactics.

NYU maintained it has tried to engage the community and remain transparent about the plan for the past five years. While the plan is projected to cost from $3 to $4 billion in total, Sexton asserted it would have no financial impact on NYU students. The City Council is expected to reach a decision by the end of July.

J ULY 5, 2012 • O UR TOW N D OW NTOW N • 7

Helen DeCico, Lina Perillo and Millie Fazio. Photo by Anne Kristoff

The Last of the Italians With downtown becoming fully gentrified, this group of Italian seniors keeps the neighborhood old school

By Anne Kristoff

Frances Ciotta. Photo by Anne Kristoff

Ellie Carl. Photo by Anne Kristoff

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A

nyone who thinks people in New York City don’t know their neighbors has never spent any time with Carmella “Millie” Fazio. On the short walk from the Shrine Church of St. Anthony of Padua on Sullivan Street to her nearby apartment, practically everyone she passes greets her by name—from the mailmen and the laundry delivery guy to the young children just getting out of school for the day and the old-timers she’s known for nearly all of her 83 years. This is Millie’s neighborhood, and she makes one thing clear, “You ain’t moving me out!”

St. Anthony’s stretches across Houston Street from Sullivan to Thompson.

It soars upward of 10 stories high and has been a cornerstone in the community since its completion in 1888. It is the oldest existing Italian parish in the United States and was built by the Italian immigrants who once filled the apartments in the surrounding neighborhood.

The building is impressive—voted the second most beautiful church in New York City by Time Out—with slabs of green and white marble encircling the altar and a huge rose window framed by

a unique Jardine pipe organ. But despite its magnitude, the church blends seamlessly with the adjacent low-rise former tenement walk-ups, many of which still house the women who make up the St. Anthony’s Seniors Club.

“What you see now in the seniors is the remnant of this very vibrant and active, primarily Italian community,” said Father Joe Lorenzo, who has served as pastor of St. Anthony’s since 2004.

While the church itself had always been the cornerstone of the community, the seniors have become its touchstone.

“They were very active,” said Brother Vincent Ciaravino, who started the Seniors Club in 1974 and was at St. Anthony’s for 29 years before transferring to Catskill, NY. “These were people who were part of the church, they grew up in the parish, their kids went to the parish school and life centered; around the parish. It was a very strong and important part of the people of that area.”

Now in their eighties and nineties, the seniors have outlived parents, siblings and spouses and have endured a variety of changes in the neighborhood, the continual infringement of NYU expansion and the profound scars of 9/11.

But they have each other and, like Millie, they are not going anywhere.

NY Press.co m

The Church of St. Anthony of Padua. Photo by James Kelleher

The Church of St. Anthony of Padua celebrated the Feast of Saint Anthony with a religious service and parade through the streets of Soho on June 13. Photo by James Kelleher

Red Mike Festival Band performs year-round at Italian events. They’ve also performed in movies, like The Godfather III. Photo by James Kelleher

NYPre ss.com

“My daughter lives on 82nd Street in Queens and she wanted to fix me a room,” said Frances Ciotta. “But I said no! I’m going from here to the cemetery!”

“I love it here,” said Antonina “Nina” Stagnitta. “I know everybody and everybody knows me. We go here, we go there, we do this and when I don’t have anything thing to do, no place to go and the weather is nice, I either sit here or down by Millie.”

The here and there varies. Some gather at local parks or the supermarket; others have lunch every day at the city-funded and -run seniors program at longtime rival church Our Lady of Pompeii on Bleecker Street.

Some even partake in Pompeii’s bus trips to Atlantic City. The seniors see each other on their blocks, in their buildings and at the weekly 5 p.m. vigil mass on Saturdays. From September through May, on the first and third Thursday of the month, they meet up at the St. Anthony’s Seniors Club in the hall under the church.

A centerpiece event for the group, however, is the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua, celebrated on June 13. For St. Anthony’s on Sullivan Street, it marks the final day of a nine-day novena and the culmination of the celebration of the patron saint, which begins 13 Tuesdays earlier.

“For the nine days before the feast, there’s a flurry of activity,” continued Lorenzo. “The oil, the water, the medals imported from Italy, the bread.”

The seniors are right there on the front line, manning the church vestibule and taking donations for the blessed items. The same ladies work the same jobs every year: Millie and Helen do the oil and water, M.B. and Catharine do the bread and Ellie does the medals and prayer books.

“If you look at them now,” said Ciaravino, “as old as they are, they’re ready to help out and do anything they can for the parish.”

At one time, their feast day was commemorated with a week-long festival that rivaled San Gennaro. As the Italians moved out of the neighborhood and newcomers moved in, noise complaints shut the festival down.

But the procession still takes place and draws a jam-packed, overflow crowd to the church.

For this year’s 62nd anniversary of the feast day and street procession, it’s estimated that over 1,200 people filled the church pews, spilling into the aisles and necessitating the opening of the balcony, which is normally closed. Afterward, the threat of rain that hovered for the better part of the day gave way to a golden sunset as the crowd took to the streets for the procession. Led by the statue, which was placed in the bed of a pick-up truck driven by Lorenzo, and an

old-timey Italian band, the crowd followed the statue of St. Anthony from Sullivan Street to Bleecker, down to Broome and back up to the church.

As Dotty Zullo walks the procession route, she gives a bit of an historical tour from her perspective.

“I grew up right there on the second floor…That place used to be a restaurant and, when he was a little boy, my son took a picture there with Marilyn Monroe. That place [The Dutch] used to be a club with pool tables. And that laundromat, that was Virginia’s, where we all got our sandwiches.”

At 84 years old, Zullo is still a looker. Her nails and hair are always done, and she hates to take a photo without lipstick. Taking pride in how she looks is one thing she attributes to her longevity. “I wouldn’t go out if I didn’t look right,” she said. “I think that’s a good attitude to have.”

“These are people who live a long time,” added Lorenzo. “They’re very, very active, and I think a lot of it has to do with living on third- and fourthfloor walk-ups. People you wouldn’t expect in their eighties and nineties are out every day.”

Marching through the streets of New York City following a life-sized saint statue pinned with dollar bills and a basketful of prayers feels like something out of The Godfather Part II. And it should, since a similar scene in the movie was filmed here. The day’s events are a throwback to a time when “Up on the Roof” was not just a song to these women but a way of life. They reminisce about going up to sunbathe, fly kites, eat macaroni and drink wine.

The procession concludes under a shower of confetti with the Red Mike Festival Band playing a rousing rendition of “When the Saints Go Marching In.” Downstairs in the hall, food and religious artifacts are for sale and Fazio and the seniors are there to take donations for small plastic bottles of holy water and St. Anthony’s oil.

There’s still a lot of St. Anthony’s bread left over and, since it’s blessed, it must be eaten and not thrown away. “Eat this bread and you’ll never go hungry,” M.B. advised earlier in the week.

As the day draws to a close, there’s a sense this is a special scene, but not one that will be happening forever.

“These women are very strong, physically and mentally,” said Lorenzo.

“There is a deep history in each one of them and it’s not something you find out easily—sometimes it’s not until you hear a eulogy, and then you go ‘Wow!’” Until then, they still have the seniors club and each other. When asked what she thinks of it, Ciotta replied, “I’m one of the lucky ones, I guess.”

J ULY 5, 2012 • O UR TOW N D OW NTOW N • 9

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THE 7-DAY PLAN THURSDAY

05 FRIDAY

06 07 SATURDAY

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08 09 MONDAY

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BEST PICK

Meow Meow [7/8]

Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker St. (betw. Sullivan & Thompson Sts.), lepoissonrouge. com; 10 p.m., $25+, 18+.

Winner of the 2010 Edinburgh International Fringe Festival, this cabaret show, which has toured internationally, stops

by New York City for a purrr-fect performance of art exotica.

CBGB Festival: Craig Finn and The Baseball Project

Visit nypress.com for the latest updates on local events.

Submissions can be sent to otdowntown@manhattanmedia.com.

FREE Dharma Talk— Sensei Shinryu

❯

Village Zendo, 588 Broadway (betw. E. Houston & Prince Sts.), villagezendo.org; 6:35 p.m.

Experienced Sensei Shinryu Thomson discusses dharma and the laws of nature in Buddhism. This talk is perfect for anyone interested in a slice of the Eastern religion.

City Winery, 155 Varick St. (betw. Spring & Vandam Sts.), citywinery.com; 6 p.m., prices vary.

Craig Finn plays alternative rock tracks from his debut solo album, Clear Heart Full Eyes, in a sincere, gritty performance to open this three-day festival. Then listen to rock songs about America’s favorite pastime by The Baseball Project, featuring artists like Mike Mills from R.E.M.

Good Future Album Release Weekend

92Y Tribeca, 200 Hudson St. (betw. Desbrosses & Vestry Sts.), 92y.org; 9 p.m., $10.

The refreshing components of soul, rock, punk and Afrobeat fuse together to become the EMEFE sound. Special guests include musicians Chico Mann and Gabriel Garzon-Montano. The band’s performance will include group chants, drum beats and horn solos on all nine tracks of their newly released album.

The Do-Deca-Pentathlon

Quad Cinema, 34 W. 13th St. (betw. 5th & 6th Aves.), quadcinema.com; $11.

You probably wish you had a front row seat to the London Olympics this summer. Since you most likely don’t, watch the premiere of this indie flick directed by brothers Jay and Mark Duplass instead. It’s a funny story about two adult siblings who secretly compete in their own Olympics during a family reunion.

Summer Sail

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South Street Seaport, 19 Fulton St., (betw.

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Have a hankering for partying it up on a boat? Take a two-and-a-half-hour sail around the Hudson while drinking, dancing and listening to the sounds of The Rub. Get your tickets fast—only the first 100 people are allowed to have fun on New York City’s biggest clipper ship.

Hidden Spaces and (Kind of) Creepy Places!

Museum at Eldridge Street, 12 Eldridge St. (betw. Canal & Division Sts.), eldridgestreet.org; 11 a.m., $15 per family.

Discover the history of the Eldridge Street Synagogue with a fun-filled scavenger hunt fit for the whole family. Learn about architecture and Jewish culture through kid-friendly art projects at the museum.

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Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, 224 Waverly Pl., second floor, (betw. Perry & W. 11th Sts), rattlestick.org; 7 p.m. $55.

This show, directed by Jackson Gay, induces laughs about the height of the ’70s. Remember bell-bottoms and disco tunes, as this play fits the bill of a television sitcom.

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Sullivan Hall, 214 Sullivan St. (betw. 3rd & Bleecker Sts.), sullivanhallnyc.com; 8 p.m., $20, 18+.

Hear the enriching Cajun sounds of this 19-piece 1930s-style New Orleans orchestra and cabaret show, with special guests the Lost Bayou Ramblers. The band, who made their start deep in South Louisiana, will perform tracks off their newly released album, Mammoth Waltz.

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Irving Plaza, 17 Irving Pl. (betw. 15th & 16th Sts.), irvingplaza.com; 12:01 a.m., $30.

This four-piece rock band hailing from Long Island is known for creating intense live shows with their progressive, post-hardcore music.

FREE Canyon Candy

Clocktower Gallery, 108 Leonard St., 13th Fl. (betw. Broadway & Lafayette Sts.), artonair.org; 12 p.m.

Canyon Candy is an installation bringing to life a Western-themed music video collaboration between filmmaker Mike Anderson and the band Javelin. Anderson transports the viewer to the set of the film as they make their way to a saloon-type theatre to watch the film.

FREE Kurt Andersen

Barnes and Noble Bookstore, 33 E. 17th St., (betw. 14th St. & Park Ave. S.), barnesandnoble. com; 7 p.m.

This best-selling novelist and columnist for The New Yorker and Time Magazine will discuss his new work, True Believers, about a female attorney who removes herself from consideration for a Supreme Court spot. Make sure to grab a copy of it or his older book Turn of the Century, a New York Times Notable Book and best seller.

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Film Forum, 209 W. Houston St. (betw. 6th Ave. & Varick St.), filmforum.org; various times, $12.50 adults, $7 members.

An intense thriller about a businessman who mistakenly gets caught up with drugdealing thugs, this Serbian film exposes the world of Serbian mafiosos and Swedish bankers. Watch the downfall of a grad student in the film directed by Daniel Espinosa.

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Atlantic Stage 2, 330 W. 16th St. (betw. 8th & 9th Aves.), ptpnyc.org; 7:30 p.m., $25 In a satirical view of the London financial district in the late ’80s, playwright Caryl Churchill creates humor in corporate raiding and buyouts. The play comically explores greed and abuse of power in the financial world.

Happy Ending: Music & Reading Series

Joe’s Pub, 425 Lafayette St. (betw.

4th St. & Astor Pl.), joespub.com; 7 p.m., $15.

Chosen by us and the New York Times as the best reading series in the city, join storytellers and musicians as they perform pieces that tie to the night’s theme, “Advancement and Ruin.” Sing along with musical guest Ana Egge and watch artist Michael Arthur draw right on stage.

J ULY 5, 2012 • O UR TOW N D OW NTOW N • 1 1

the community NEWYORK-PRESBYTERIAN/WEILL CORNELL

Help Save Lives

by Donating Blood

New York Magazine: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Has Most Top Doctors

Did you know one pint of blood can save three lives?

Stop by the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Blood Drive:

F

or the 12th straight year, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital has more physicians listed in New York magazine’s prestigious “Best Doctors” annual survey

than any other hospital.

Thursday, July 12 Wednesday, July 18 Tuesday, July 24 Wednesday, July 25 8 am to 6 pm

The survey, published in the June 11th issue of the magazine, listed 198 NewYork-Presbyterian physicians, representing 17 percent of the 1,160 doctors in metropolitan New York. For the complete “Best Doctors” list, visit

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/ Weill Cornell Medical Center 525 East 68th Street at York Avenue Cayuga Room / Basement Level

Laura Vogel, 27 Orthopedic Surgery Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons

the magazine’s website at nymag.com/bestdoctors.

The magazine issue also featured nearly a dozen profiles of 2012 medical college graduates representing Weill

Nathan Osbun, 28 Urology Weill Cornell Medical College

Cornell Medical College and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Six Weill Cornell and five Columbia graduates were profiled about their professional goals and aspirations.

Marianne Legato, MD, an internist, and Desiree Ratner,

To schedule an appointment, please call 1-800-933-2566.

MD, a dermatologic surgeon, were among the top doctors who responded to health and wellness queries from the

If you have any questions about eligibility to donate due to travel outside the U.S., medications, or medical conditions, please call 1-800-688-0900.

Please bring an ID with photo or signature. Eat well and drink fluids before you donate.

Remember, all lifesaving blood and platelet donations earn Donor Advantage points redeemable for a wide variety of gifts and gift cards. You can even donate your points to support selected charitable organizations.

For more information, please visit www.mydonoradvantage.com Thank you for being a blood donor!

New York magazine’s readers as part of the magazine’s new feature, “Ask a Best Doctor.”

Jason Corey Dukes, 29 Internal Medicine Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons

Son McLaren, 28 Pediatrics Weill Cornell Medical College

U.S.News and World Report: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital No. 1 Children’s Hospital in New York Metro Area NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital ranked in more pediatric

“Aside from the ranking, a region needs a great place

specialties — including two in the top 10 — than any

where tough cases can go. We are able to do that for

other hospital in metropolitan New York in U.S.News

the public good in a great city,” said Dr. Corwin.

and World Report’s annual Best Children’s Hospital’s rankings.

The Hospital ranked in nine of 10 specialties surveyed

This year U.S.News surveyed 178 pediatric centers to obtain data, such as availability of key resources and the ability to prevent complications and infections. The

in the 2012-13 report. Cardiology and Heart Surgery as

hospital survey made up 75 percent of the rankings. A

well as Diabetes and Endocrinology ranked among the

separate reputational survey, for which 1,500 pediatric

top 10 nationally, while Gastroenterology, Neonatology,

specialists — 150 in each specialty — were asked where

Neurology and Neurosurgery, Orthopedics and

they would send the sickest children in their specialty,

Pulmonology ranked among the top 20.

made up the remaining 25 percent.

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, located in Manhattan on the Upper East Side at York Avenue and 68th Street, comprises NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College.

1 2 • O UR TOWN DOW NTOW N • July 5 , 2 012

NY Press.co m

newsletter

JULY 2012

ABC News Premieres Medical Documentary Series on NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital

F

rom the award-winning producers of Hopkins and Boston Med, ABC News’ new eight-part medical documentary series, NY Med, takes a raw and intimate look at life inside one of the most famous hospitals in America. ABC’s 20-person news team had unprecedented access to document the dramatic and inspirational stories of the patients and healthcare providers that define NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

On July 10, ABC News will premiere its highly anticipated

focused on providing them with the highest quality and

medical documentary series NY Med, chronicling the inspira-

most compassionate care,” says Dr. Steven J. Corwin, CEO

tional stories of patients and staff at NewYork-Presbyterian

of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. “NewYork-Presbyterian

Hospital. This is the first time that a New York hospital or

is proud of our amazing Hospital team and all who were

academic medical center will be profiled in a prime time

involved in the making of this informative and poignant

television medical documentary series.

program.”

The eight-part series, which will air at 10 pm every

ABC News President Ben Sherwood says, “Real and

Tuesday, will take a fresh look at life inside a top-ranked

riveting, NY Med is sure to enlighten, engage and inspire

academic medical center as told in the words and from the

viewers this summer.”

point of view of the patients, faculty, and medical staff.

“NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital relies on extraordinary

“Medicine is a universal subject,” says Executive Producer Terry Wrong. “At some point in our lives, we or those we

and dedicated physicians, nurses, and staff to deliver the best

love will become patients, for one reason or another. This

in care and caring. Our patients and their families come from

series takes you behind the curtain to learn about those we

near and far to find the help they need to face the most

depend on to fix us and how sometimes they just can’t.”

challenging and complex medical problems, and we are

Tune in July 10 at 10 pm on ABC

For a preview, go to: www.nymedshow.com

For general information, call (212) 746-5454. For information about physicians and patient programs, call (877) NYP-WELL. www.nyp.org • weill.cornell.edu Produced by the Department of Public Affairs of NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, (212) 821-0560.

NYPre ss.com

J uly 5, 2012 • O UR TOW N D OW NTOW N • 1 3

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CRITICS PICKS GALLERIES Weather Report: “Weather,” paintings and sculpture inspired by weather at Ricco Maresca Gallery, offers funny and sometimes terrifying riffs on the forces of Mother Nature.

Bring your galoshes. Through Aug. 17. Ricco Maresca Gallery, 529 W. 20th St., 3rd Fl., 212627-4819, riccomaresca.com. [Melissa Stern]

Edited by Armond White

MUSEUMS Midway Modernism: The second of a threepart exhibition titled “Modernist Art from India” features ravishing colors and raging perspectives from the post-independence and post-Partition eras. Abstraction dominates.

It’s a display of creative freedom and artistic emancipation. Take a Darjeeling Express to this amazing show. Through Oct. 16. Rubin Museum of Art, 150 W. 17th St., 212-620-5000, rmanyc.org. [Phyllis Workman]

New York’s Review of Culture • CityArtsNYC.com

Mid-Year Reckoning

JAZZ Jumpin’ July: The 27th annual fest at the 92nd Street Y is flush with pianists and singers: artistic director Bill Charlap, his wife Renee Rosnes, Ted Rosenthal and Dick Hyman among the former; Ernie Andrews, Freddie Cole and Sachal Vasandani the latter and Barbara Carroll in both roles. Looks back at the legacies of Art Blakey and Count Basie, too. July 16-26; $25+. 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave., 212-415-5500, 92y.org.

[Howard Mandel]

2012’s best so far and sarris remembered

By Armond White

T

his year, I want to do the Mid-Year Reckoning differently, as a tribute to film critic Andrew Sarris’ recent passing. It was Sarris, during my grad school years at Columbia, who wisely advised that the percentage of good movies has not changed from the old days; now that the output is larger, the significance of sifting out the trash is more important than ever. Sarris’ indispensable work The American Cinema, first published in 1968, used the Nouvelle Vague’s notion of auteurism (cinema authorship) to categorize all Hollywood film history up to that point.

Sarris’ commentary on over 200 directors was an awesome feat, combining scholarship with sharp perception. His extraordinary assessments should still structure anyone’s thinking about movies, American or global.

Because The American Cinema emerged from cinema’s first half-century, it preserves aesthetics and values (pillars from Griffith to Sternberg) that have been lost in the recent years of criticism’s decline, in which media and box-office presence is given importance over the individual visions that Sarris knew were what made cinema an art form. He articulated that belief with idiosyncratic precision that to this day—when both Hollywood and the critical “community” have lost self-respect—is still awesome to read.

Each summer, my mid-year assessment has been a way to keep track of the movie year’s deluge, which, given the dozen or more films that open every week, is more than can be reviewed. Perhaps the reckoning might this time benefit from following Sarris’ model, as a reminder of the standards a film-lover has every right to uphold.

I take great exception to the TV pundit whose memorial to Sarris cited that he “loved movies.” Sarris’ work was greater than any fanboy obsession—everybody “loves” movies, but Sarris turned his interest

NYPre ss.com

Carole Bouquet and André Dussollier in Unforgivable.

into teaching, study and personal expression, the things that make criticism valuable, an art in its own right.

With continued respect for Sarris, one of the two critics who have meant the most to me, professionally and personally, I repeat The American Cinema’s first nine top-tobottom categories, citing the work of individual directors. It could help to understand how 2012’s best films so far might ultimately rank in film history or, as Sarris crucially demonstrated, in a personal pantheon rigorous enough to share with the world.

Pantheon Directors Unforgivable (André Téchiné)—a tumultuous view of private lives as society and society as family.

The Deep Blue Sea (Terence Davies)—examines the linkage of desire and despair to find the value of personal resurrection.

The Far Side of Paradise Damsels in Distress (Whit Stillman)—the rare campus comedy genre visits private worlds that reflect the eccentricities we recognize deep down.

Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson)— compares the innocence of youth and maturity.

Dark Horse (Todd Solondz)—tragedy found in the comedy of hopes squandered

by misguided fashions.

The Skinny (Patrik-Ian Polk)—clarifies the blur of sex and friendship that gay life faces straight-on.

A Thousand Words (Brian Robbins)—a Hollywood satire so casually profound it scared off the industry and its fans.

Expressive Esoterica Americano (Mathieu Demy)—an Oedipal odyssey that finds cultural heritage in family legacy.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor)—addresses action movie tropes to satirize the deficiencies of contemporary genre excess.

The Lady (Luc Besson)—eloquently acted political biopic, refined non-comic-book heroism.

The Flowers of War (Zhang Yimou)—common tragedy and possibility, rapturously envisioned.

Fringe Benefits Detention (Joseph Kahn)—traces moral chaos throughout recent pop history.

Chronicle (Jonathan Trank)—youth’s visionary search for meaning.

Wanderlust (David Wain)—audacious mockery of Occupy sentimentality and its

Good Vibes: A vibraphone cannot sound ugly. Bobby Hutcherson, its best living practitioner, is ill with emphysema, so four of his accomplished acolytes—Jay Hoggard, Steve Nelson, Mark Sherman and Warren Wolf—plus a fine rhythm trio pay tribute in a one-night stand. July 8; 9 p.m., $30. Birdland, 15 W. 44th St., 212-581-3080, birdlandjazz. com. [HM] Bassist’s Big Band: Christian McBride, the much-in-demand bassist, found time to assemble an all-star big band and record an acclaimed album, The Good Feeling. His orchestra occupies the elegant Jazz at Lincoln Center nightclub for an unusual four nights.

July 12-15; 7:30 & 9:30 p.m., plus an 11:30 p.m. show on Friday and Saturday, $35+. Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola in the Time-Warner Center, Broadway and 60th St., 212-258-9800, jalc. org. [HM] Odd Couple: Gerri Allen, the elegant Detroitraised jazz pianist-composer, and Laurie Anderson, the performance artist and electronics innovator, appear in their first-ever team-up, inevitably creating some new sort of hybrid. July 17; 8 & 10 p.m., $20. The Stone, corner of Ave. C & 2nd St., 212-473-0043, thestonenyc.com. [HM] FILM Remember “Cholly”?: Rock doc Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone recalls that heady moment when hip-hop and punk mixed, a memory of one of pop’s freest and most joyful bands—and a history of their madness into middle age. Maybe it’ll drive viewers to buy the great Fishbone album Truth and Soul. Part of the CBGB Festival. July 6; 5:45 p.m., $10. Anthology Film Archives, 32 2nd Ave., cbgb.com. [Armond White]

Continued on next page J uly 5, 2012 • O UR TOW N D OW NTOW N • 1 5

museums CITYARTs

In Transit art of the Poster

By Caroline Birenbaum

A

terrific selection of original artwork for posters commissioned by the London Underground and its successor, London Transport, is on exhibit at the New York Transit Museum Gallery Annex in Grand Central Station through July 8.

Never before shown in the United States, the works are on loan from the venerable London Transport Museum, whose collection includes over 700 maquettes and 5,000 vintage posters.

Charged with expanding use of public transit beyond weekday commuting, Frank Pick, publicity officer for the Underground Group in the first decade of the 20th century, applied the new concept of travel posters to promoting local attractions and handpicked artists to submit designs.

In the course of his lengthy career, he enriched the urban environment by setting high artistic standards while being receptive to diverse styles of expression. The unifying factor was a distinctive typeface designed in

mId-YeAR ReCkonIng Continued from previous page

1917 by Edward Johnston.

The 51 works on view in New York range from the very first pictorial poster commissioned by Pick, John Hassall’s comical 1908 gouache, “No Need to Ask a P’liceman,” to Paul Catherall’s 2007 color linocut, “Primrose Hill,” and include examples by famous artists and unfamiliar names alike.

All but four works in the show were approved for production. Thumbnail photos of the printed posters enable comparison between the model and the final version— often colors were heightened or simplified and lettering added.

Anyone in a hurry can enjoy the exhibit purely for the visual pleasure it affords. With a bit of time, the simple, clear wall labels and unobtrusive thematic installation will make you aware of the variety of media, artistic styles, production requirements and processes and criteria for acceptance involved in the long-running endeavor.

The New York Transit Museum Gallery Annex is located adjacent to the station master’s office on the main level of Grand Central Station. Admission is free and the museum is open daily, except major holidays.

If you like the Annex, why not pay a visit

outdated hippie heritage.

That’s My Boy (Sean Anders)—empathy, heredity and its discontents.

Joyful Noise (Todd Graff)—the anodyne effects of music and the movie musical.

Less Than Meets the Eye Roadie (Michael Cuesta)—great performance by Ron Eldard.

The Kid with a Bike (Dardennes brothers)— modern neuroses given fairytale attention.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (Timur Bekmambetov)—trash made uncommonly spectacular.

Lightly Likable: Being Flynn, Darling Companion, Man on a Ledge, Where Do We Go Now? Vintage ad from London Transit.

Strained Seriousness: The Turin Horse, Safe, Neil Young Journeys, Magic Mike

to the Transit Museum itself? Located on Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street in Brooklyn Heights, it is one of the major institutions of its kind in the world, offering numerous exhibitions and special programs. For more information, visit www. mta.info/museum.

Make Way for the Clowns: Ted, The Dictator, Casa de mi Padre Oddities, One-Shots and Newcomers: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Gerhard Richter Painting, Locked Out, John Carter

JAZZ CITYARTs

Where Music Lives Craig harris salutes the dwyer Cultural Center

By Howard Mandel

A

bout 45 people heard the rambunctious nonet led by highenergy trombonist Craig Harris in a cozy basement studio at the Dwyer Cultural Center on June 25. It was the last “Musical Monday” of the band’s seven-month, once-a-week gig, because the Dwyer, on 123rd Street between St. Nicholas Avenue and Frederick Douglass Boulevard, is cutting hours and reducing public programs while seeking funding. Good luck with that.

The audience included black and white folks, singles, elders, couples and one family with young, semi-attentive kids. The music ranged from a wicked vamp—people danced in their seats—to spacey sound effects triggered by an electric keyboardist on a computer set at his feet.

A version of Thelonious Monk’s “‘Round Midnight” was arranged over a rhythm as cushy as that of Grover Washington’s smooth jazz classic, “Mr. Magic.” Soprano saxophonist Jay Rodriguez blew a knotty yet flowing solo atop a samba beat, like

something Wayne Shorter might have done in Weather Report; two other saxes and two trumpets joined with brisk riffs which Harris waved in, spontaneously.

The performance climaxed with an episode of tradition-steeped collective improvisation. Adept listeners followed the tangle of melodic threads that emerged from and resolved back into a full statement of Harris’ sweeping, lyrical melody, “Lovejoy.” It ended in a slow fade.

The music was first-rate, and immediacy ruled. “It’s not that we don’t know what we’re doing,” Harris, a 59-year-old committed Harlem homeowner, explained at the show’s start. “It’s that we don’t want to know. This is how we roll. We do a lot of making up.”

The crowd was delighted to go where his band took them; they had come for sonic adventure. The musicians were pleased with their efforts. The room pulsed with trust.

As a venue, it was neither expensive or boozy but homey. Plastic champagne glasses of bubbly cider were free with the $10 admission. Light bulbs shaped like votive candles glowed on little round tables draped in black. Strangers made pleasant conversation with each other.

The loss of a community arts center can seem a small thing in culturally abundant

1 6 • O UR TOWN DOW NTOW N • July 5 , 2 012

Craig Harris.

New York City, but it matters. The Dwyer opened in 2009 as the nonprofit institution the city required for a real estate developer to turn what was an abandoned warehouse into residential condos and street-level stores. For three years it has hosted visual arts exhibits, film screenings and dance performances as well as music. Its main income stream has been rentals for private events, but it can’t meet its relatively modest overhead.

Common story: A nice place with a localized mission needs money. There goes

a seven-month, once-a-week gig. Oh, the musicians will find another room; they’ve got to play. The customers will look for a new hangout. But the city is poorer for the loss.

“We’ll be back in September,” promised Harris, a veteran of ensembles fronted by his pal David Murray and the great Sun Ra and a determined optimist. “Right now we just don’t know where.”

Reach Howard Mandel at jazzmandel@ gmail.com.

NY Press.co m

CITYARTs PoP

Art Adverts Start a New Wave advertising strategies take art out the wilderness.

CityArts surveys the new media taCtiCians who bring broadway shows, museums and other art venues to PoPular attention. art and its Patrons all benefit from millennial art advertising’s new taCtiCal strategies.

Second of a two-part SerieS.

By Gregory Solman

W

hen Clint White, president of New York’s WiT Media and lecturer at Sotheby’s Institute of Art, looked at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s brief, he saw the premarketing issue involved educating younger audiences to the differences between chamber and orchestral music. WiT’s “Get Closer to the Music” campaign, subsequently, emphasized the music’s intimacy rather than grandiosity.

“The commonality of all clients is that they need to make sure that the audiences of the future are full of awareness of what they are doing and what role arts and culture can fill in their lives,” said White.

To accomplish that lofty goal, arts clients need to “tell a story and relay a narrative that says this is for them,” White advises.

Here, the new marketing platforms offer an invaluable advantage, in that campaigns can do that “with video and music online, so there’s decreasing ambiguity about what the art form is.” Fortunately, White says, the web bridges age, race and geographic gaps, allowing WiT to develop campaigns without creative that pander to younger prospects.

An effective tactic could be as simple and compelling as sending a segmented email (by no means spray-and-pray spam) with a branded MP3, “so when it comes up,” says White, “you remember that it’s from the Chamber Music Society and it keeps them top of mind.” Marketers can electronically deliver coded promos and coupons that allow the agency to track the offer’s performance, experimenting and changing on the fly as they never could with a print ad.

Reviews still matter some, White says, but Facebook recommendations by trusted friends increasingly matter more. And in the end, the show matters most: “We can disseminate the right message at the right time, but the reason someone comes back is because of the trans-

NYPre ss.com

formative, meaningful, enjoyable experience.”

New marketing technology might bridge the age gap between arts consumers, contends Doug Mobray, president of MoGo Arts Marketing. “Surely there’s been a massive shift in media consumption habits,” he says, “but even older patrons are using Facebook.

Just the other day, my mother ‘friended’ me”—an act one imagines as equally comforting and disconcerting.

Arts organizations were slow to embrace digital marketing but latched on to MoGo Arts’ “media agnostic approach,” where a digital media buy could cost-efficiently target people across the web, often in lieu of print and broadcast, where Mobray sees “an erosion.”

MoGo Arts sells the arts via online display ads, video, search and social marketing that spans all demos, from “the older, most affluent on Forbes and the New York Times’ websites to the youngest on Facebook.” Back-end technology tracks revenue and ticket value to define a client’s return on investment.

“Digital is the one-to-one conversation vs. the one-to-many model,” Mobray says. A Google-certified partner, MoGo helps clients take advantage of Google’s gift to nonprofits: $10,000 a month worth of Google AdWords, gratis. You can build a whole campaign around that, Mobray says.

The use of video beyond conventional broadcast has driven innovation to avoid that old Evita-era marketing monotony. Mark Ciglar, founder and creative director at Cinevative in Los Angeles, produces commercials, promos and lobby videos for performing arts organizations that address the preproduction issues hampering creativity. “When you move from paper to screen, the way you communicate has to be different. Newspaper ads miss the power of the on-screen medium,” Ciglar says. “For comedy, it has to be hilariously funny.

On screen, you have to make them laugh.”

Ciglar, a former theater director, recalls the days when there was no option but print.

“Finding that cross-platform nature of media has been good for arts orgs from an effectiveness and budget standpoint,” he concludes.

“A TV spot will play on local cable, you reformat for the web then reformat it again for [online] banner ads, then for use in the lobby and projections and for video as imbedded e-mail with link to ticket sales. That doesn’t exclude the eyes of the blue-haired lady, but adds all those touch points.”

Aging patrons of the arts “may not tweet, they may not interact, but they will do a Google search, write email, send photos,” says Ciglar. “They’re still out there.”

Now Every Week!

Gregory Solman was for years the West Coast editor of Adweek in Los Angeles.

J uly 5, 2012 • O UR TOW N D OW NTOW N • 1 7

fIlm CITYARTs A “hotbed of intellectual and aesthetic adventure.”

— New York Times

Beefcake with Arty Frosting Channing tatum hides behind MAgiC Mike

By Armond White

july 6 – august 19, 2012

BARDSUMMERSCAPE Bard SummerScape 2012 presents seven weeks of opera, music, theater, dance, films, and cabaret. The season’s focal point is the 23rd annual Bard Music Festival, which this year celebrates the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns, whose remarkable career shaped not only the history of French music, but also the ways in which that history was transmitted and communicated to the public.

SummerScape takes place in the extraordinary Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts and other venues on Bard College’s stunning Mid-Hudson Valley campus.

Opera

THE KING IN SPITE OF HIMSELF (Le roi malgré lui) Music by Emmanuel Chabrier American Symphony Orchestra Conducted by Leon Botstein Directed by Thaddeus Strassberger

A brilliant opéra comique, scored by a master of harmony, about a reluctant 16th-century French noble elected by the people of Poland to be their king. sosnoff theater July 27 – August 5

Twenty-third Season

SAINT-SAËNS AND HIS WORLD

Two weekends of concerts, panels, and

other events bring the musical world of French composer Camille Saint-Saëns vividly to life.

Weekend One Paris and the Culture of Cosmopolitanism Weekend Two Confronting Modernism August 10–12 and 17–19

Film Festival

Dance

COMPAGNIE FÊTES GALANTES LET MY JOY REMAIN

Choreography by Béatrice Massin Taking Baroque dance into the 21st century sosnoff theater July 6 – 8

Theater

THE IMAGINARY INVALID (Le malade imaginaire)

By Molière Directed by Erica Schmidt The final play by a master of comedy, The Imaginary Invalid is among Molière’s greatest works. theater two July 13 –22

Annandale-on-Hudson, New York Photo: ©Scott Barrow

Bard Music Festival

FRANCE AND THE COLONIAL IMAGINATION

The legacy of French rule in Africa and Southeast Asia Thursdays and Sundays, July 12 – August 12

Spiegeltent

CABARET and FAMILY FARE

Live entertainment, music, fine dining, and more July 6 – August 19

Tickets and information:

845-758-7900 fishercenter.bard.edu Sign up now for the Fisher Center e-newsletter. E-members receive special offers, including discounts, throughout the season. Text “FISHERCENTER” to 22828 or e-mail fishercenter@bard.edu to sign up.

1 8 • O UR TOWN DOWNTOWN • July 5 , 2 012

s

o what if Channing Tatum started as a stripper? The problem with Magic Mike, the semi-autobiographical melodrama he co-produced, is that he couldn’t find a filmmaker to properly translate that beefcake experience to the screen.

Whatever Tatum knows about workingclass ambition and exploitation (personal or Hollywood style) gets lost in director Steven Soderbergh’s affectless look at Mike Lane (Tatum), a multitasking, self-described entrepreneur (“It’s French,” he says) who spends most of his time humping and grinding at Tampa’s Xquisite Club, which specializes in male strip shows for female customers.

Soderbergh emphasizes the strip show, introed by club owner Dallas (Matthew McConaughey), a lizardy, leathery all-American huckster. But he isn’t interested in eroticism.

The sex-as-labor theme is itself exploited and trivialized in the Xquisite performances. Soderbergh shoots the routines (“It’s Raining Men” features the troupe in raincoats, suggestively stroking umbrellas) with the same slicked-up stylization that made Flashdance so phony, yet made it a hit that set the sentimental template for the next several generations’ fuzzy ideas about egoism and success.

Magic Mike extends that sex/success fantasy with overseriousness, misrepresenting Mike’s peculiar route to his goal of making custom-designed furniture—if anything can be said with certainty in this life, it’s that people who want to make furniture don’t become sex workers.

That term fits Soderbergh’s low-level shots of dollar bills in thongs, a laughable Bresson affectation. But Magic Mike isn’t an analysis of leisure-as-work like Godard cinched in his capitalism/prostitution allegories A Married Woman or 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her, which were also insightful essays on contemporary Paris. Soderbergh slogs through backstage clichés: Mike struggling against a status-rigged banking system and his doomed mentoring of Adam (Alex Pettyfer), a naïve, unmotivated, emotionally unstable 19-year-old spoiling to be despoiled.

While avoiding the overblown existentialism of P.T. Anderson’s Boogie Nights, Soderbergh is still arty. His oblique close-up of a dancer using a vacuum penis pump pretends to be austere but is really just

Tatum and troupe.

another example of Soderbergh’s strange detachment: he’s always distant from his subject yet gives no perspective. Mike’s attraction to Adam’s motherly sister, Brooke (Cody Horn), is as clichéd as the bits from Flashdance, 42nd Street, Showgirls and Saturday Night Fever, although Soderbergh avoids their emotional payoffs. His drabness prevents dramatic satisfaction which ultimately prevents comprehension.

In Magic Mike, Tatum trades in his experience as stripper, dancer and actor for Hollywood glibness. Soderbergh seems uninterested in contemplating male sexuality (Tatum’s body) or the work of performance and public interaction, the things Ice Cube got superlatively right in his 1998 female stripper movie, The Player’s Club. This film is even more aggressively hetero.

Among the gallery of specimen, from pretty-boy Pettyfer to studly Joe Manganiello and the briefly exoticized Adam Rodriguez, Tatum’s charismatic athleticism is the most inviting. He’s open and energetic, unlike his gloomy, introspective muse characterizations for the urban poet Dito Montiel, yet Soderbergh disingenuousness encourages the self-defeating (so far) Hollywood stardom Tatum escaped his roots to accept.

Tatum’s Southern white boy essence and dancer’s eagerness could provide insight about the discipline of breakdancing culture, the working-class ambition and sexual currency of his pre-Hollywood years. But Mike’s glib soliloquies (“I’m not my goddamned job!”) offer only recession-ready delusions. So does McConaughey’s impresario, a decadent business figure whose Dennis Hopper craziness (“Fuck that mirror like you mean it!”) contrasts Mike’s magical innocence.

Like the working-class slugs in Soderbergh’s 2005 abomination, Bubble, all of these characters are shallow. They strip to reveal nothing—despite Tatum’s promise of new physical truths.

Follow Armond White on Twitter @3xchair.

NY Press.co m

feaTURe

Summer Selects

fILM Under the Stars in Riverside Park As usual, Bryant Park’s summer film schedule features a slate of timeless classics. But let’s face it: That lawn is too damn crowded. Fortunately, for those who’d prefer not to trip over a dude in a bowler hat and miss the climax as we search for our blanket whenever we use the Port-a-Potty, there are a number of other city parks with outdoor films. Most notable is Pier 1 in Riverside Park, which follows up its invasion film-themed 2011 with an eclectic mix that includes Cinema Paradiso (July 11), Amélie (Aug. 1) and Pee-wee’s Big Adventure(Aug. 8). Chairs await you, and you won’t need to arrive four hours early to snatch one.

Wednesday evenings, July 11-Aug. 15, 8:30 p.m.; free. Pier 1, Riverside Park South, 70th St. at the Hudson River, riversidepark.org.

ChoiCe Cuts for the dog days of summer MUSIC

THeaTeR Fringe Fest Even at 16 years old, this annual marathon of offbeat, cutting-edge theater— which birthed Rent, among other memorable shows—is devoted to the new and the strange. This year’s performances will include From Busk Till Dawn: The Life of an NYC Street Performer, Love Death Brains (A Zombie Musical), Occupy the Constellations: A Collaborative Revolutionary Puppet Tale and, all the way from California, a show called What I Learned From Porn. Not everything you’ll see at the Fringe is great, but it’s always done with humor and spirit, making it more interesting—if not quite as professional—than most other festivals.

Aug. 10-26. fringenyc.org.

New York Musical Theatre Festival Featuring live music, workshops and full productions of brand-new musicals, the NYMTF has been giving New York audiences a chance to experience exciting musical theater without Broadway price tags (or tourists) since 1994. This year’s lineup is particularly strong, with 30 musicals including A Letter To Harvey Milk, about a butcher sending a letter to Milk; Baby Case, Michael Ogborn’s take on the Lindbergh baby’s disappearance; and Prison Dancer.

July 9-29. Various locations, nymf.org.

CULTURaL eVeNTS Bastille Day If you secretly wanted to protest at Zuccotti Park but didn’t want to deal with the NYPre ss.com

Andrew Schwartz

Catalpa Festival Kicking off its first year, the Catalpa Festival offers yet another chance to see top-tier musical acts playing outdoors within the city limits. The fest will feature more than 40 performers, including blues rock superstars The Black Keys and Snoop Dogg rocking his seminal album Doggystyle in its entirety. Other highlights include NYC faves TV on the Radio, Girl Talk and hiphop instrumental wizard AraabMUZIK. There will also be a reggae stage sponsored

by High Times magazine, a “sculpture” that belches fireballs in the air and various other novelties (inflatable “sham marriage” church?) included to distract from the fact that music lineup is mostly weak, aside from the headliners.

July 28-29; $140–$180 for the weekend. Randall’s Island Park, www.catalpanyc.com.

Bastille Day.

lack of showers and that whole sleeping outside thing, Bastille Day on 60th Street is for you—it’s like the sanitized, more fun version of protesting. After all, it was the poor French who decided they weren’t going to take it anymore from that bossy monarchy. The good news is no one is going to be guillotined at this Bastille Day. Instead, visitors can play pétanque, sip on kir royales and eat some smelly cheese.

July 15, 12-5 p.m. 60th St. betw. 5th and Lexington Aves., www.bastilledayny.com.

India Day Parade Celebrated to commemorate Indian independence from Britain, there is usually a Bollywood star or two in attendance at this glittery parade to which Indians from all over the tristate area come to party like it’s 1999. There’s food and goodies sprinkled along the parade route, so you can chow down on your favorite goodies like samosas and kebabs.

Aug. 19; 12 p.m. Madison Ave., from 38th to 28th St., fianynjct.org.

MUSeUM eXHIBITS The Parade: Nathalie Djurberg with Music by Hans Berg Bird is the word at the New Museum’s Studio 231 space as Swedish artist Nathalie Djurberg, known for her nightmarish animations, and videographer Hans Berg show off five trippy animations and an unnerving menagerie of more than 80 free-standing bird sculptures. These hybrid, sometimes monstrous forms speak to the artist’s interest in physical and psychological transformation, as well as pageantry and perversion.

Through Aug. 26, The New Museum, 235 Bowery, newmuseum.org.

Josef Albers in America: Painting on

Paper What better way to spend your summer than hanging out in a library, especially if you’re going to see the Morgan Library & Museum’s Josef Albers exhibit? Albers, the iconic 20th-century artist who died in 1976, is best known for his painting series Homage to the Square, in which he explored color relationships in concentric squares.

July 20 – Oct. 14, The Morgan Library & Museum, 225 Madison Ave., themorgan.org.

Out of Town Howard Pyle at Norman Rockwell Dubbed a “historian with a brush” by Norman Rockwell, Golden Age illustrator Howard Pyle (1853-1911) will be the focus of a retrospect at the Norman Rockwell Museum this summer. Howard Pyle: American Master Rediscovered is on display through Oct. 28.

The Delaware Art Museum has loaned 79 original paintings and drawings created between 1876 and 1910 to this museum exploring Pyle’s depictions of history. These include works featuring Roman gladiators, Medieval knights and pirates.

Also on display are his fairy tales, children’s illustrations and artworks that honor America. In addition to this celebration of Pyle’s most influential work, the museum will feature an evening lecture and performance series every Thursday through Aug. 30 entitled “Buried Treasures: Perspectives on Pyle.” The discussion focuses on Pyle’s influence on modern visual storytellers such as James Gurney and movies like Pirates of the Caribbean. The lecture starts at 5:30 p.m.

Central Park Film Festival Now in its 10th year, this festival is known for pairing themed movies—past favorites have included Coal Miner’s Daughter and Dreamgirls—with live DJs for a week every August. The gates around Rumsey Playfield open at 6:30 and visitors are free to relax and frolic—no glass bottles!—until the screenings begin. The roster for this year’s fest has yet to be announced, but there’s rarely a bad pick in the bunch; with a whole summer guide’s worth of things to do, who knows how much time you’ll even have left in your schedule.

Aug. 21-25; films start at 8. Rumsey Playfield in Central Park, enter at E. 69th St. & 5th Ave., centralparknyc.org.

and is free with museum admission.

Bard Summerscape Festival The ninth annual Bard Summerscape Festival opens July 6 and will feature music, opera, theater, dance, film and cabaret for seven weeks in venues on Bard College’s Hudson River campus. The festival explores “Saint-Saens and His World” through artistic performances that reflect the promising era of European history right before World War I, including work

by French Saint-Saens among other fellow composers.

Summerscape brings rare revivals of some operas, such as Emmanuel Chabrier’s comedic opera The King In Spite of Himself in the first staged revival of the original 1887 version. Summerscape also features the mini-film fest “France and the Colonial Imagination,” featuring films such as Casablanca. Theater buffs can also enjoy a theatrical performance of Moliere’s The Imaginary Invalid.

The festival kicks off with dance performances by French Compagnie Fetes galantes, founded in 1993 by choreographer Béatrice Massin. Ticket prices vary; more information can be found at fishercenter.bard.edu

J ULY 5, 2012 • O UR TOW N D OW NTOW N • 1 9

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As American as (All-YouCan-Eat) Apple Pie Eating competitions around NYC celebrate the uniquely American pastime

By Regan Hofmann The eating competition is one of those American traditions you can’t quite explain without coming across as an apologist for obscene overconsumption. And while the Major League Eating circuit—yes, an actual organization that considers eating competitions sporting events, which has gone so far as to get airtime on one of the many ESPNs—is an easy target with few redeeming qualities, there’s something anachronistically charming about small-time eat-offs.

The Hooters World Wing-Eating Championship is an example of gross corporate

brand extension; the state fair pie-eating contest is good old family fun.

Movie watchers will remember Stand By Me, which, set in the ’50s, had an infamous scene of a town pie-eating contest (blueberry, natch) gone horribly wrong. At that point, the practice was a well-established trope, shorthand for mom and baseball and small-town values, which allowed it to be subverted to explosive (sorry) effect in the movie.

Of course there’s the Nathan’s hot dog eating contest, 97 years strong (well, sort of— more on that in a moment) and the premier competition in the MLE season. While it now attracts the all-stars of the competitive eating circuit, names even non-eaters may know like Joey Chestnut, Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas and that wildcard Takeru Kobayashi, it was once a homely little event open to all comers—like if the All-Star game had started out on your local Little League diamond.

  

Kindergarten-Grade 1 Scholarships Saint 

Saint Albans School is pleased to announce that it has a limited number of scholarships for children in Kindergarten and Grade 1 for Fall 2012. These  scholarships are made possible by the Teddy Forstmann Scholarship   Program, of the Childrens’ Scholarship Fund. Saint Albans welcomes  students in PreK through Grade 8. We are located at 317 East 50th Street   in mid-town Manhattan, near the United Nations. For information on the  Forstmann Scholarships and admissions, please visit our website at www.saintalbansnyc.com.

22 • O UR TOWN DOWNTOWN • JULY 5 , 2 012

Participants in last year’s Super Spicy Kimchi Eating Contest feel the burn.

Photo courtesy of Cook Out NYC

Though the official Nathan’s story says their contest started in 1916, held between four Irish immigrants on the Fourth of July to settle an argument over which was the most patriotic, that’s all a little too convenient. Hot dogs were the most patriotic food they could find? That works out well for Nathan’s, the biggest purveyors of the tubular treat around. Really, the contest began in 1972 and was won by a Brooklyn college student, whose prize was a certificate for more hot dogs.

These days the Nathan’s contest is still going strong, but for a more down-home summertime competition, there are a number of eating contests in and around the city that lean more county fair than corporate blowout.

This weekend, July 7-8, Cook Out NYC is taking over Governors Island for a second year of grilling, beers and kimchi—an all-American party to follow the Fourth in style. Kimchi? Damn right—this is New York, after all. As part of the event’s Kimchipalooza, which will offer the spicy pickle all weekend long in tacos and other dishes, Kheedim Oh, owner of Mama O’s Premium Kimchi, convinced the event’s organizers to hold a eating contest featuring his super-spicy variety, which uses the notorious ghost pepper in its chili paste base. Last year, the winner ate 12 jars of the stuff—think you can do more? Email orders@kimchirules.com to enter the contest. Otherwise, just show up this weekend (get tickets at cookoutnyc.com) to watch

others suffer.

Looking for something a little less incendiary? Try Astor Bake Shop’s (12-23 Astoria Blvd., Astoria, astor-bakeshop. com) pie-eating contest to celebrate its first anniversary. Owner George McKirdy opened the Queens bakery after years as a pastry chef in Manhattan, working at such haute restaurants as Nobu, Café Boulud and Tribeca Grill. Now, his shop sells one of the neighborhood’s best burgers and has a small-town feel that belies its technically impeccable sweets.

On Sunday, July 15 at 3 p.m., they will provide five male contestants, five women and five “juniors” with a pie to be eaten in the traditional, hands-behind-the-back fashion as quickly as possible. According to the rules, in the event of a tie, the contestant with the “biggest pie smile” will be declared the winner. Grab yourself a mirror and get to practicing, then show up dressed to impress in your best red, white and blue.

And if you really want to go back to basics, the Saratoga County Fair (July 1722, saratogacountyfair.org) will be holding both a pie- and a donut-eating contest during its five-day extravaganza. One of the oldest county fairs in the country, the contests will be bookended by 4-H exhibitions and tractor pulls unlike anything to be found in these five boroughs. Sure, it’s a long train ride, but it’s worlds away from the Nathan’s contest—just as the Founding Fathers would have wanted.

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Eastern Thought and a Better Waterfront MaNhattaN Media

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Still far from a continuous bikeway and walkway along the East River “You’re better off on the West Side.”

The man in the bike shop wasn’t telling me anything I didn’t already know, but since it had been a few years since I had ventured over to Manhattan’s East Side to ride what purports to be a riverside bike path, I figured there might be a good place to get on in the 20s, 30s or 40s.

There isn’t.

I found myself riding into the same unscenic dead ends that I used to whenever I had the urge to give the East River waterfront another try. Until I backtracked at East 35th Street and headed back to ride with the traffic last weekend, it took mere minutes to see several groups of riders forced to do the same thing.

One was a family of six German tourists, ranging in age from about 12 to 70. The father said biking in Germany was “very better.” Looking at the cars whizzing by us on the foreboding FDR Drive, he added, “New York—you can’t ride bikes, you ride cars.

Germany, everyone rides bikes.” I might have explored the irony of the country’s apparent aversion to cars in light of the autobahn and Mercedes-Benz, but he had to catch up to his family, and his English

Upper East Side nonprofit, recently orgaprobably was not up to it. nized an international design competition The sorry state of affairs on the East to “reimagine” the waterfront from East Side affects more than just bikers. People 60th to 125th streets. (The who like to stroll, jog and group looked at the more sunbathe would benefit problematic area below from a better waterfront, 60th Street a year ago.) Most as would lots of othof the top designs, now on ers. But however big the display at the Museum of the group of beneficiaries is, City of New York, proposed they do not make a good expanding the land out in argument for government the river to create enough investment in park space space for real parks. during tough economic It’s easy to dismiss these times. You have to balance design competitions as folly, it against more pressbut as an editor who has seen ing needs such as public way more than my share of safety, maintaining infraJOSH ROGERS pretty pictures of things that structure and education. will never be built—at the Squishy, tree-huggerWorld Trade Center and elsewhere in Lower type arguments can never survive in Manhattan—I know these efforts can be the austere times, but what should hold up first step to making progress eventually. and seldom does is the notion that parks After the pictures, what you need are are actually smart economic development savvy advocates, powerful government investments. Just look at real estate prices supporters and large public use. Significant around Central Park, Hudson River Park park construction did not begin on Hudson and even the High Line, which surprisingly, River Park or Governors Island until many has helped spawn luxury buildings even people started going there to see how good though park visitors generate noise and get they were and how great they could be. close-up views into some of the homes.

Let the East River imagination continue.

The elevated FDR hovers over and In the meantime, how about better signs to haunts the East Side waterfront, making it avoid the dead ends? difficult to make improvements. Civitas, an

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Dog Day Afternoon

Adopt NY, a coalition of New York-based animal rescue groups, held its inaugural adoption event last Sunday afternoon in Tompkins Square Park. With model Jessica Perez on hand, the group partnered with dog treat company Stella & Chewy to help adopt out a number of pooches. For those who weren’t able to attend, check out Adopt NY’s website at www. adoptny.org, where you can see hundreds of homeless animals looking for a family. Photos by Jonathan Springer J ULY 5, 2012 • O UR TOW N D OW NTOW N • 23

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