Our Town Downtown October 6, 2011

Radiohead Hoax and 700 arrests call more attention to Occupy Wall Street — and increase its numbers here and across the country. (P2)

Downtown Social

Pols welcome Lower Manhattan residents to first community evening at 9/11 Memorial.

(P5)

The Baby Expert

America’s No. 1 pediatrician reveals how to make any baby a happy baby.

(P15)

OCTOBER 6, 2011 | WWW.OTDOWNTOWN.COM

ILLUSTRATION BY SAHAR VAHIDI .

ESCAPE TO ALCATRAZ

Life on the Rock exhibit recreates world of cons , and their trinkets—like a baseball covered in initials written in blood and a shank fashioned from a butter knife— on Ellis Island.

New Parents Expo: The best new products for your baby Everything you need from Pre-Natal to Preschool, plus speakers and activities for the whole family

Oct. 15-16 at Pier 92 » Get tickets at newparentsexpo.com

� N E I G H BO R H O O D C HAT TE R Downtown Manhattan MTA AGREES TO SQUADRON’S PUSH FOR BETTER WEEKEND SERVICE ON THE L Riders of the L train, the popular, often crowded gray line that ferries New Yorkers to and from Downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn, should expect to have better service by mid-2012, says State Sen. Daniel Squadron. In July, Squadron requested a review of the L line and weekend F and L train service, according to a release distributed by the senator’s office.

The review was similar to a 2009 F train analysis, also undertaken at Squadron’s request, which resulted in more on-time trains and newer, cleaner subways, the release continued.

Following Squadron’s request over the summer, the MTA reportedly concluded that service hasn’t kept up with a “meteoric” rise in ridership.

In an astonishing figure, the MTA noted that ridership on the L train on weekends has increased by 141 percent since 1998. This number was coupled with only a 58 percent increase in service for Saturdays and Sundays.

“As ridership and our communities change and grow, our transit system cannot be stuck on the nine-to-five clock,” said Squadron. “Improving weekend L service is a step toward a subway system that keeps up with its riders every day of the week.”

CitywiDe GUESS WHO JOINED TUMBLR? Last week, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer launched his “In a Manhattan Minute” Tumblr, complete with photos, video and daily updates on his office’s activities and initiatives. To celebrate the launch, Stringer visited the Manhattan-based headquarters of Tumblr. The company was founded in 2007 and is now rated the 10th largest social network online, through hosting roughly 30 million individual blogs.

“Government shouldn’t be afraid of new technology—we NEC Vertical QuarterPg2011_Layout 1 6/8/11 9:39 AM Page 1 should embrace social media as a way to serve and engage our constituents,” said Stringer.

The Protests Heard ’Round the Country

Although the people occupying Zuccotti Park on Wall Street started out a small group, the chronicled actions of the NYPD toward protesters combined with a Radiohead hoax have significantly raised their numbers as well as their public profile.

On Friday, Sept. 30, a false rumor spread that the band Radiohead, in town to play two sold-out shows at After Radiohead was a no show earlier in the week and roughly 700 of their Roseland Ballroom, would be compatriots were arrested on Saturday, Oct. 1, Occupy Wall Street supporters were out in full force on Sunday, Oct. 2, at their base in Zuccotti Park in Lower stopping by the encampment Manhattan. phOTO By GEORGE DEnisOn to play an acoustic set, leading thousands of fans to descend on the park. “There was no bad outcome to this,” said the protester behind the rumor, who wished to remain anonymous. “Radiohead fans are exactly the kind of people who have been saying, ‘I’ve been meaning to go check out the protest anyway.’”

Additionally this past Saturday, Oct. 2, during a planned march to the Brooklyn Bridge over 700 protesters were arrested. The Occupy Wall Street website reports that they believe the NYPD deliberately misled them in order to mass-arrest protesters. The protesters, however, have many upcoming marches and meetings planned, including Wednesday, Oct. 5, which they have declared “National Student Walk-Out Day.” The Occupy Wall Street group has sparked similar assemblies in cities across the U.S., including Los Angeles, Boston and Chicago.

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 OU R TOWN DOWNTOWN | OCTOB E R 6, 2011

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At Start of School Year, Parents, Educators and DOE Grapple with Wait Lists

| BY LiLLiAn RizzO

The lists shorten when children presumably move or switch to private schools. This year, there were 38 children on P.S. 234’s wait list during the spring and summer. By Sept. 8, all of them had been placed at P.S. 276 and P.S. 89, both in the same zone as 234.

“Registers cleared and seats opened up as part of the normal process, and we are happy most parents got their preferred outcome,” said Department of Education representative Frank Thomas in an email.

“But when students are wait-listed, we are obligated to provide them alternate offers, as we did in this case.”

For Ripperger, the major feat was not sending any children to P.S. 130 in Chinatown, because it is outside of 234’s zone.

Wait lists are increasing, showing signs of overcrowding in elementary schools. Ripperger is trying to prevent raising the maximum number of students in a class, 32.

“We are starting to see the cumulative effect of years of overcrowding without the DOE addressing it,” said Shino Tanikawa of the Community Education Council.

The DOE has begun combating overcrowding in classrooms with the addition of new schools, including the Spruce Street School, which just opened, and the school at the site of the Peck Slip Post Office. Peck Slip is scheduled to open in 2014, but will soon start taking students in the Tweed Courthouse at 52 Chambers St. But Eric Greenleaf, a professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business, doesn’t think either will be enough. The marketing professor, who has been on P.S. 234’s PTA and served two years on the Community Education Council, has calculated that by 2014, classrooms will be so overcrowded that these two new schools will make little difference.

“Before Peck Slip opens I predict there will be a wait list [there],” said Greenleaf.

He suggested the DOE and the city must

P.S. 234’s principal, Lisa Ripperger, has been dealing with the same problem for the last three years: having enough space for incoming kindergartners. With an overcrowded school and a growing population, Ripperger starts each year placing kids in neighboring schools or creating seats in her own. But it doesn’t stop there; she also makes sure students are providing correct addresses.

“I’ve taken it upon myself to check addresses. I’ve staked out apartments,” said Ripperger at a Community Board 1 meeting. “I can’t afford to be that easy with seats.”

As the population south of 14th Street grows in places, spaces in kindergarten classrooms at schools like P.S. 234 decrease.

P.S. 234 isn’t the only elementary school in the area with a wait list problem.

P.S. 89, only blocks away, had a wait list of about 10 to 12 children this spring.

“We had a very small wait list, but we were able to place kids in the school,” said Connie Shraft, parent coordinator at P.S. 89. Shraft said the list most likely shrank because of kids moving into gifted programs or private schools. In the end, P.S. 89 was actually able to open up 10 seats for wait-listed kids from P.S. 234.

No More Wait Lists? Doe Makes rezoNiNg PLaNs Elizabeth Rose, of the Department of Education, presented proposed rezoning maps for Lower Manhattan schools at a Community Education Council (CEC) meeting in late September. The maps, which are likely to be finalized by December, will be subject to public hearings at which parents can voice their opinions on the proposed delineations. Upcoming CEC school rezoning plan hearings will be held Oct. 6 at 6:30 p.m. at P.S. 158, 1458 York Ave., and again on Tuesday, Oct. 11, at 6:30 p.m. at P.S. 11, 320 W. 21st St.

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look at how quickly downtown is growing in order to project how many seats will be needed. The solution? Build more schools and keep families in Downtown Manhattan.

“Unfortunately, overcrowding scares people away, they move to the suburbs and it hurts the city’s tax base,” said Greenleaf.

In the meantime, the PTAs, principals and the CEC aren’t the only ones bracing for a hectic September each year. Local day cares are providing parents with support and information long before their children are ready for kindergarten.

“I do warn parents that there may come a day when there will be wait lists for those schools,” said Denise Cordivano, the head of the Battery Park City Day Nursery. “They should not take the space for granted and they should get involved with the overcrowding issues.”

The majority of the families at Battery Park City Nursery are zoned for either P.S. 89 or P.S. 276. “We hold meetings in the spring and fall with our parents to discuss kindergarten options,” said Cordivano. “I post notices regarding community meetings and send emails encouraging parents to attend.”

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OCTOB E R 6, 2011 | otdowntown.com

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THE EVENT OF THE YEAR FOR EXPECTANT & NEW PARENTS OCTOBER 15 TH & 16 TH, AT PIER 92, NYC Bringing together the latest products and services for Pregnancy, Baby and Toddler.

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Tickets and Information: NewParentsExpo.com For more info, contact Rebecca Martin, rmartin@manhattanmedia.com, or 212-284-9732 

O U R TOW N : D OW N TOWN | O CTO B E R 6 , 2 0 1 1

downtown social

d

espite overcast skies and light rain on Sunday, Oct. 2, hundreds of Lower Manhattan residents turned out for the first of several Community Evenings at the 9/11 Memorial. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer thanked Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver for originating the idea. “This is one of the george denison communities that suffered the most,” said Silver.

June and Edwin Hernandes are two such residents. The couple still live on Grand Street, where they resided on 9/11. Edwin, a member of the city’s Sanitation Department, was among the first responders to the site on Sept. 12, 2001.

“It’s depressing and very sad the way these people died,” Edwin noted.

And while the memory of 9/11 will endure, on Sunday others were captivated by the architecture of the memorial site itself.

“It’s very powerful to hear only the rushing sound of water,” said Thomas Lozada of the twin pools. “You can tune out everything surrounding the site. And it is very cool that you can’t see all the way to the bottom [of the pools]. It adds to the symbolism of this place.”

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AS SEEN ON TV

This year, the Fox Channel officially picked up the new series Alcatraz, which will start midseason in 2012. JJ Abrams, the Midas-touch creator of Lost and director of Star Trek, will executive produce and Jorge Garcia, “Hurley” from Lost, and Sam Neill are also set to star in the drama.

The show centers around San Francisco Police Department detective Rebecca Madsen, played by newcomer Sarah Jones, who finds a fingerprint at the scene of a homicide that leads back to former Alcatraz inmate Jack Slyvane, who has long been deceased. Madsen enlists the help of Alcatraz expert Dr. Diego “Doc” Soto (Garcia) and together they learn that not only is Slyvane alive and roaming the streets of San Francisco, killing people along the way, but he mysteriously hasn’t aged since he left the island prison.

ISLAND

SWAP

 OU R TOWN DOWNTOWN | OCTOB E R 6, 2011

Alcatraz Prison leaves San Francisco Bay for New York Harbor

A

| BY MARISSA MAIER

lcatraz Island—the site of the former federal prison in the San Francisco Bay that has been etched into the cultural consciousness—may be more metaphorically imposing than physically. Although the island is rocky and a sprawling 22 acres, as prisons go, said Rich Weideman, chief of the office of public affairs for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Alcatraz is actually quite small. And it is the limited capacity of the prison building itself, Weideman added, that limits the number of visitors who can tour the rock, as it is commonly known.

According to the company that services ferries to and from the island, annual demand to visit the prison is nearly double the number of visitors this land mass can accommodate. So Alcatraz Cruises and the U.S. National Parks Service, which oversees the island, joined forces to create a mobile exhibition, Alcatraz: Life on the Rock, in an attempt to bring the history of the island to the rest of the country. Now, roughly 2,905 miles from the real prison, Life on the Rock has landed on Ellis Island in New York Harbor.

While the museum display won’t rival the experience of seeing the prison building itself, with its wide avenues of cell blocks, dank, cold solitary confinement rooms and large halls filled with rows of open showers, the exhibit does recreate some of the visceral sensations of Alcatraz. Sounds of seagulls, foghorns, boots clacking on cement floors and the indecipherable mumbling of hundreds of male prisoners are all piped in at different stages in the tour. Housed in glass cases are artifacts donated by prison alums—guards and inmates—like a pair of brass knuckles on loan from a former foreman, a cookbook the Alcatraz Women’s Club sold to families on the island and, most notably, a baseball with initials written on it in blood found by the same foreman in the exercise yard. The

Top: A replica of an Alcatraz cell. PHOTO BY WYATT KOSTYGAN. Right: A with initials inscribed in blood, which was found by a former prison foreman in the exercise yard. PHOTO BY WYATT KOSTYGAN. Far right: A replica of a Civil War-era sally port entrance from the prison. PHOTO COURTESY OF ALLISON & PARTNERS.

Below: Robert Luke, former bank robber and prisoner 1118AZ. PHOTO COURTESY OF ALLISON & PARTNERS

exhibit also includes a recreation of a nine-foot-long, five-foot-wide, seven-foot-high cell, with a cot, bedding, books and other personal items a prisoner might have kept inside.

Though Alcatraz is best known as a federal prison, Life on the Rock also reveals the island’s storied history.

First documented by a Spaniard in 1775 as “La Isla de los Alcatraces,” or “The Island of Pelicans,” in the 1800s Alcatraz was the site of a garrison and later a military prison. The island was deemed ideal for housing prisoners because of the strong, cold, deadly currents of the bay.

By 1934, it was converted into a federal prison and would soon become infamous for housing notorious criminals like Al Capone and Robert Franklin Stroud (“The Birdman of Alcatraz”).

Weidman points out that nearly every inmate who ended up at Alcatraz was transferred there from another prison.

“Everybody who went to Alcatraz was already in prison. It was the end of the line,” said Robert Luke, or prisoner 1118AZ, the number he was given during his five-year stint from 1954 to 1959.

“You knew what Alcatraz was. It was nicknamed America’s Devil’s Island. It was supposedly inescapable. When you go to a new prison, you are always apprehensive. I had heard that this was another prison with more rules and smaller cells,” Luke continued. “It was more regimented. There was no place where you could get away from a set of eyes.”

Luke, who visited the exhibit on Ellis Island this past Saturday, had a checkered past with the law before ending up at Alcatraz at the age of 26.

He recalls being a violent young man and a bank robber, doing stints at San Quentin State Prison and the Los Angeles County Jail. He was moved to the San Francisco-based island after beating up two inmates and attempting to escape from Leavenworth Federal Prison in Kansas.

When he first arrived, Luke fared little better.

Within a few weeks at Alcatraz, he found himself

frustrated over his work detail at the mess hall and one night he destroyed his cell. “The bed, table, sink, toilet, shelves were smashed up. I used my rulebook to start a fire. Violence was my way of getting out of stuff,” Luke recalled.

After this outburst, Luke was transferred to the notorious Dblock, the unit of the prison where the solitary confinement cells were held. Luke spent 29 days naked in a small steel room, in pitch darkness. In his autobiography, Entombed in Alcatraz, Luke wrote, “I was fed big chunks of bread with water once a day. Every three days, I had a meal consisting of a baked potato, a raw onion and some peas, all mixed up, and water.”

To keep up his strength, he would pace the cell and do exercises. He maintained his sanity though daydreaming. “I had a capability to sit right there and take a trip,” Luke said. “I could go golfing or shopping. When I was going through that period, I had lost that capability, but when I got into that [solitary] cell I got that back. I just left. Like a daydreamer, I could just leave. If you totaled up the hours [I was mentally present at Alcatraz] I only did maybe a month there. I think that is what kept me sane.”

Unlike many Alcatraz inmate alumni, toward the end of his time on the island Luke made a conscious choice to stay out of the prison system.

He remembered sitting on some steps in the exercise yard one evening and catching a faint whiff of freshly mown grass. “I smelled that and I said to myself, ‘What am I doing here?’ I went all the way back to when I was 15 years old and the first time I got in trouble with the law. It was all my choice to get there and I blamed everybody, but it was my choice,” Luke noted.

After his incarceration, he returned to Los Angeles, married his current wife Ida, and largely kept that chapter of his life private.

“My wife and I seldom talk about it. It was like being in a war and no one knew about it except me and

my family,” Luke said. “Until I went back to Alcatraz [in 2010], I didn’t meet one prisoner or one guard.”

However, when Luke returned to Alcatraz, now a tourist destination, he was shocked by the rock star treatment he was shown. Visitors asked him to sign autographs or take pictures with them.

“I got to that landing and I was just shocked that everybody was welcoming me like I was some kind of hero. I don’t understand that,” Luke noted.

Weideman, who is seen as an expert on Alcatraz and was once a ranger on the island, said many inmates tell him they can’t believe the support they are shown. He attributes this phenomena to the myth of Alcatraz created by the over 19 films made about the prison and its inmates, including Escape from Alcatraz and The Rock.

“I have led tours of Alcatraz for a leader from Poland, Lady Bird Johnson, President Jimmy Carter, the Prime Minister of Australia…Everyone wants to go to there. It’s in the world’s psyche,” Weideman observed.

Richard Pietrowicz, who visited the exhibit on Saturday with his family, noted that Alcatraz is by far the most famous prison he knew of and that it has received internationally notoriety. Conversely, he added that he wouldn’t be able to name a prison in a different country.

Alcatraz was shut down in 1963 under orders of the Kennedy administration because it was expensive to run and the infrastructure on the island was eroding due to salt water damage. For about 19 months starting in 1969, the island was occupied by a group of Native American activists who sought to update the facilities and transform them into Indian education and cultural centers.

(This sliver of Alcatraz’s history is also a section of the museum exhibit). The island was eventually opened to the public in 1973 and landmarked in 1976. Today, Alcatraz attracts roughly 1.3 million visitors per year.

Carlos Ramos, who was also on Ellis Island over the weekend, said he only knew about Alcatraz from the films he had seen about it, but wanted to make a stop to San Francisco on an upcoming vacation to see the prison itself.

OCTOB E R 6, 2011 | OTDOWNTOWN.COM



THE 7-DAY PLAN

BEST PICK

Ghost Lecture at Manhattan’s Most Haunted House Merchant’s House Museum, 29 E. 4th St. (betw. Lafayette & Bowery); 7 p.m., $20.

Paranormal investigator Dan Sturgess returns to the museum The New York Times deemed “Manhattan’s most haunted house.” Sturgess plans to unveil the most extraordinary findings of his Merchant’s House investigation, including several details never before shared with the public.

THURSDAY

06 07 08 19 10 11 12

❮

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

We in Silence Hear a Whisper The Theater at the 14th St. Y, 344 E. 14th St. (betw. 1st & 2nd Aves.); 8 p.m., $25.

Partnering with the Save Darfur Coalition, The Red Fern Theater Company has produced a play of witness. A young refugee tries to escape the relentless Man on a Horse while mourning her dead brother. Proceeds will go to help the real people behind the story.

Slither 92YTribeca, 200 Hudson St. (at Canal St.); 9:30 p.m., $10.

Debut director James Gunn (Super) continues Squirm’s grand tradition of films about gross things threatening attractive women in bathrooms. A meteor crash lands near smalltown Woodville, bringing a cargo of alien parasites that have the ability to zombify their hosts when ingested. Sheriff Bill Pardy is the only man standing in the way of colonization, and actress Elizabeth Banks is his backup.

Political Subversities Joe’s Pub, 425 Lafayette St. (betw. Astor Pl. & E. 4th St.); 9:30 p.m., $15, $12 students.

The long-running political sketch group will be recording their live album, The Best of Political Subversities. Picture a combination of Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, Avenue Q and South Park all packed into one darkly funny show.

FREE Above All Else

Partners and Spade Gallery, 40 Great Jones St. (at Bowery); 12-6 p.m. through Oct. 20.

London resident Alan Aboud showcases a collection of photos taken from plane windows on his regular transatlantic flights.

MONDAY

WEDNESDAY

Submissions can be sent to otdowntown@manhattanmedia.com.

Saved by the 90s Canal Room, 285 W. Broadway (at Canal St.); doors at 10:30 p.m., $10 in advance, $12 at the door.

Nineties cover band The Bayside Tigers will be providing tunes from the best-worst musical decade. Come in your best ’90s gear and dance to all your other favorite ’90s artists. Don’t forget your beeper!

SUNDAY

TUESDAY

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

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Jaap Pieters Anthology Film Archives, 32 2nd Ave. (at E. 2nd St.); 7:30 p.m., $9.

What better way to understand an artist than to see his work followed by a documentary about his method? Half of this 90-minute show will be a selection of Pieters’ short films, the other half Fred Pelon’s Jaap Pieters Portrait. Pelon will lead a post-screening Q&A.

Jean-Luc Godard’s Weekend Film Forum, 209 W. Houston St. (betw.

6th Ave. & Varick St.); various times, $12:50 adults, $7 children & members.

Called “an extraordinary poetic satire”

by Pauline Kael of The New Yorker, Weekend is a viciously biting, anti-capitalist black comedy.

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Stone Soup The Player’s Theatre, 115 MacDougal St. (at Minetta Lane); 11 a.m., $25-$40, through Nov. 5.

The small black box theater presents the wellknown fairy tale, perfect for children and adults alike. Rather than popping in a DVD for the kids this weekend, head down to MacDougal Street for live entertainment and general whimsy.

Liquid Sky Anthology Film Archives, 32 2nd Ave. (at E. 2nd St.); 8:45 p.m., $9, $7 students, seniors and children.

Slava Tsukerman will be in attendance to present the screening of his 1982 cult classic, a glamorous retake of Andy Warhol’s Trash. The film is one of the most accurate portrayals of the1980s new wave scene in NYC.

Erin Hill & Her Psychedelic Harp The Bitter End, 147 Bleecker St. (betw. Thompson St. & LaGuardia Pl.); 7 p.m., $5.

Erin Hill brings her quirky, campy sound to NYC, playing and singing original songs, including her hit “Giant Mushrooms,” in preparation for her album release Oct. 18.

FREE Sean Smith Quartet

FREE Speculative Fiction Reading

The 55 Bar, 55 Christopher St. (betw.

6th & 7th Aves.); 7-9 p.m.

Grammy-nominated jazz composer and bassist Sean Smith brings his quartet to The 55 Bar. The group will be playing songs from their new album, Trust, which was released in March to rave reviews.

The Life Aquatic as a Documentary 92YTribeca, 200 Hudson St. (betw. Vestry & Desbrosses Sts.); 7:30 p.m., $12.

As part of this season’s Flaherty NYC theme, “Tourism in Cinema,” curator Miriam Bale argues that the 2004 Wes Anderson feature can be seen as documentary about Cinecittà, the Italian studio where it was shot. Post-screening discussion lead by Matt Zoller Seitz, author of The Wes Anderson Collection.

 OU R TOWN DOWNTOWN | OCTOB E R 6, 2011

Mungo’s Hi-Fi Dominion NY Theater and Lounge, 428 Lafayette St. (betw. Astor Pl. & E. 4th St.); 10 p.m., $10 advance, $12 at the door.

Blending reggae with high production, the Scottish sound system makes its New York debut along with frequent collaborator MC Soom T. Subatomic Sound System and Liondub open.

Libertine Library at Guild Hall, 15 Gold St. (at Platt St.); 7-9 p.m.

Author John Langan and game writer Matt Costello share the stage and read from their newest works, sign books and discuss their dual roles as parents and writers. Upstairs at the private bar, wine will be served by donation.

❮

Mates of State Webster Hall, 125 E. 11th St. (betw.

3rd & 4th Aves.); doors at 7 p.m., $22.50 advance, $27.50 day of show.

The Connecticut based husband-andwife duo will be putting on a show to celebrate the release of their newest album. The band pairs organ, piano, synth and drums with layered vocals and playful harmonization.

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Teachers: Dates:

Jane Tomkiewicz & Hope Martin Mondays: 11/7, 11/14, 11/21, 11/28, 12/5, 12/12

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O CTO B E R 6, 2011 | otd ow n tow n . c o m

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❯ SE E FADE TO BLACK: Participants wait in the immersion gallery with their walking canes before the lights dim completely and the tour of New York City, as experienced by the blind, begins. PHOTO COURTESY OF DIALOG IN THE DARK/DKC NEWS

Blind Sighted The visionary journey of Dialog in the Dark |

BY LEONORA DESAR

Y

ou are blind. Around you is complete, unequivocal, pitch-black darkness—this is no romantic dimness, no dusky twilight. With your walking stick, that new, alien extension of your hand, you tap uncertainly to your left, then to your right. The voice, your guide tells you to step forward: “I am right here—just follow my voice.”

With very small steps you shuffle toward this disembodied sound, the only thing anchoring you to the seemingly endless unknown space around you.

What would it be like to explore Central Park without sight? To navigate blindly through the crush of a supermarket? How would a blind person, joining the rush hour crowd, wind through the coiling underbelly of the subway and climb up and down a flight of stairs? What would it be like to have your sight replaced with the textures of smell and sound—the perfume of roses in Central Park, the wafting smell of hot dogs from a vendor on 42nd Street, the roar of a car as you brace yourself to cross an intersection?

Premier Exhibitions’ Dialog in the Dark, which made its New York debut this August at the South Street Seaport Exhibition Center, grapples with these questions by creating an immersive odyssey into the world of blindness. The concept is simple

but powerful: You are guided through a series of carefully constructed corridors void of all light sources so that, for the duration of the exhibit, you are completely blind, unable even to make out your hand in front of you.

After being trained on how to use a cane (“Sweep in an arc from 11 o’clock to 1 o’clock in front of you, always touching the floor”), you carefully make your way in complete darkness with a group of about 10 others through reinterpretations of Central Park, Fairway Supermarket, the subway system and Times Square.

This is a literal twilight zone of familiar landmarks experienced through tactile senses—the rich scent of coffee, the sculpted metal body of a car parked on the curb—rather than sight.

Who better to guide you through the darkness than those who, by necessity, have learned how to master it? In a reversal of power, blind and partially blind guides navigate you through the labyrinthine darkness of this strange new landscape. This is their world and they are familiar with every square inch of it. Through their ability to do the seemingly impossible—to make sense out of the darkness—they command your respect, suggesting a new model of what it means to be able and empowered.

The exhibit’s concept was originated

by Andreas Heinecke, a German journalist and filmmaker, who had his first experience with a blind person when creating a training program for a blind colleague.

Heinecke found that his initial pity was replaced by admiration for his colleague’s ability to manage his situation. Later,

 OU R TOWN DOWNTOWN | OCTOB E R 6, 2011

when working with the Foundation for the Blind in Frankfurt, Germany, Heinecke realized that the material issue was not a lack of training programs but rather the perception of disabled people as different or “other.”

Martin Buber’s work The Principles of Dialogue—principally the idea that “the only way to learn is through encounter”— is the underlying paradigm informing Heinecke’s concept. Since its inception in 1988, Dialog in the Dark has appeared in over 30 countries in over 110 cities throughout Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas. Over 5,000 blind and visually impaired people have found employment through Dialog.

At the end of the tour, when the lights begin to slowly brighten, you find yourself sitting in a café booth with your group.

Here you make out the faces of the voices that have traveled with you. Like you, they seem confused to have their sight back.

You also see the face behind the voice, the one who has guided you back from darkness to light and has been your touchstone throughout your journey.

Keith LaPan, one of 16 guides at the South Street Seaport exhibit, a cleanshaven man with black-rimmed glasses, welcomes you to ask him questions. Is he blind? No, he answers, he is partially sighted but has a progressive hereditary condition called retinitis pigmentosa, as do his father and two of his siblings, making it possible for him to see only with tunnel vision. He has finally resigned himself, after a couple of bad incidents, to using a walking stick when navigating the streets. He tells you matter-of-factly

that one day, like his father, he may be completely blind.

Dialog in the Dark may remind you at first of an amusement park ride. As with any good roller coaster there is fear and uncertainty, your disbelief suspended that this is only temporary, a constructed experience. But, unlike a roller coaster, your worldview does not shift merely for the duration of the exhibit, going out of focus only to be quickly realigned as soon as the twilight has lifted.

As you recover your sight, you notice the photo gallery of all the men and women who work as guides for the exhibit.

Below each photo is a snapshot description of their story. You read the details of why they were drawn to work as a guide, what an ideal day is like for them, what they dreamed of being when they grew up. You wonder what it would be like to be your guide, to have the world of the exhibit as your reality, to never be able to completely leave the darkness. Your own world has been set right, but a new way of looking at it has been introduced, enriching it with dimension.

Blindness made visible cannot so easily be forgotten. You leave not just with sight restored; you leave with vision.

Dialog in the Dark is organized by Premier Exhibitions at the South Street Seaport Exhibition Center, 11 Fulton St. at Front Street in Lower Manhattan. The exhibit is ongoing, with no set closing date at this time.

To read a Q&A with a Dialog in the Dark, visually impaired guide, Romeo Edmead, visit otdowntown.com.

� SE E Writing Staff, 8 Million

The city that never sleeps now has a way of chronicling the everydayness of new yorkers |

By John Blahnik

N

owadays, it’s a cliché that any movie about blocked writers will eventually feature a postmodern epiphany. This is it, they’ll think. The movie should be our lives. Leo Burnett USA has now enabled New Yorkers to do something similar.

A longtime presence in Chicago, the ad agency catapulted into the national consciousness in the 1950s as the people behind the Pillsbury Doughboy, the Marlboro Man, the Jolly Green Giant and a type of corporate Americana emblematic of the Midwest. Now, six months into the opening of their first Manhattan branch, the firm has come out with something decidedly New York.

“We were all experiencing city life in a new way,” said creative director Max Goodwin about the move. “I had just come from Denver, and two other directors, Michael Canning and Kieran Antill, had just come from Sydney, and we found ourselves saying, ‘You won’t believe what I just heard’ or ‘Imagine what I just saw.’ We wanted to create a way to capture these moments and use them to fuel creativity.”

Unnatural Disasters

Take Shelter looks at a man overtaken by real, and perceived, anxieties |

By Tom hall

T

here is an ineffable fear lying just beneath the surface of the modern American experience, a sense that powerful forces beyond our control are conspiring to have a profound impact on our lives. A visit to any of the 24-hour news channels only serves to reinforce the anxiety; images of war and revolution only make way for stories of political gridlock, missing children, true crime and natural disasters. The uncertainty fomented by these images populates our nightmares, spinning its own terrible narrative. How do we act rationally, how do we keep our cool, when everything seems to be falling apart around us?

The result was New York Writes Itself. Live truck driver stuck behind a girl on a bike; the honking, the frustrated yelling, the tailgating, since June, the project, online at www.newyand then the change of tone. “Nice ass,” says orkwritesitself.com, is billed as a running the driver, now patiently following her. At a script of the city written by the city. Any New bar, user Goody overhears a pack of frat boys Yorker can register and start writing—the only requirement is that posts capture some- declare that they don’t drink beer, only shots, then place their order: three lemon drops. thing observed within the five boroughs.

There are also an unavoidable number “It’s all about fleeting moments,” said of mediocre entries. Many users don’t bother Goodwin. “We’ve boiled it down to three with spelling or categories: grammar. “Would a character of” is standard for description, just “would have.” Too a passerby you often the pieces found amazing; a are of the only-inscene you might New-York variety, witness, somesome hackneyed thing more than sketch relaying an individual; or the wacky antics a quote.” of the unhinged.

The three But never do you categories already Actor Kevin Conway in the web series The Chairgo through these have some man, part of the New York Writes Itself project. without eventuhighlights. User PhOTO COuRTEsy Of NEw yORk wRiTEs iTsElf ally hitting someMarco writes about thing good, like Mr. Superfly, a man this quote, again overheard by Goody, from who looks like he’s walked out of a 1970s an upwardly mobile couple visiting friends blaxploitation film and into the East Village, on the Lower East Side: “What they need is dismissing those who stare at him as if they a doorman and an elevator.” The subtle imwere the crazy ones. Simen writes about a

Jeff Nichols’ extraordinary new film, Take Shelter, stands this proposition on its head; what happens if our anxiety overtakes us, if the rational world suddenly falls away and disaster looms everywhere we look?

Curtis (the astonishing Michael Shannon) is an Ohio construction worker with a beautiful wife (Jessica Chastain), a daughter (Tova Stewart), a modest house and visions that, very soon, it will all be swept away in an apocalyptic storm. Curtis’ nightmarish hallucinations inspire him to action and he scrambles to prepare for the coming disaster and protect his family at all costs. But the more time he spends in preparation for the apocalypse he perceives as imminent, the more his real life begins to suffer; his working life, his role as husband and father—all of it pales against Curtis’ burning need to find a haven from his nightmares.

But where? As the clouds gather around him, Curtis responds by undertaking the construction of an underground shelter, a massive project that draws the scrutiny of his family and, crucially, his employer. But when the local news channel announces an impending storm, Curtis and his family descend into the darkness of the buried sanctuary, riding out the storm, terrified of what may await them when they get back

plication that some buildings have doormen but no elevators almost inspires a subsequent scene, in which a uniformed man tosses open a set of gilded doors and gestures the way to the affluent guests, up five flights of stairs.

“That’s what they’re supposed to do,” said Goodwin. “Recording the observations is just step one toward the final goal, which is inspiring New York art. Although you own what you put up, you agree to let others use it in whatever way they can.”

The agency is jumpstarting this process itself. Every week it plans to hand their favorite submissions over to actor Kevin Conway, who will perform the pieces around the five boroughs for a new web series called The Chairman. And on Dec. 15, the Art Directors Club will exhibit the best posts as interpreted by local letterpress printers in a show that will run through Jan. 6.

“The more you post, the better chance you have of getting produced,” said Goodwin.

“It’s not about being a writer, it’s about being observant. We’re looking for people from all walks of life and from all parts of New York.”

And does that include a Park Avenue adman?

“Of course,” said Goodwin. “I post whenever I can. My username is Goody.”

In a time of both manmade calamaties and bizarre acts of god, Michael Shannon gives a stunning performance as a construction worker father who becomes obsessed by what he believes is an impending apocalyptic storm. PhOTO COuRTEsy Of sONy PiCTuREs ClassiCs

above ground.

Nichols’ premise takes on an added spiritual dimension by his decision to place the audience in complete cinematic empathy with Curtis, legitimizing his fear as more than just the panicked delirium of a troubled soul. Take Shelter is ambiguous about Curtis’ visions; tension is formed by the thought, planted ever so carefully inside each of us, that perhaps what Curtis sees is indeed prophetic. This is not a film that plays games with perspective or has a bag of tricks up its sleeve—we see what Curtis sees and we fear what might be true.

The decision to honor Curtis’ point of view is crucial to the dramatic success of the film and pays massive dividends as the movie spirals toward its harrowing climax.

In addition to a formally adventurous use of CGI effects in an otherwise

low-budget American independent film (Take Shelter would be a unique cinematic experience if only for its use of effects), Shannon’s performance as Curtis, a rational, working-class man who can scarcely believe what he’s seeing in the world around him, is electrifying, a wide-eyed descent into the unknown that should garner award season attention.

The film, which premiered in January at the Sundance Film Festival, seems all the more prescient after the storms of 2011, when several American communities experienced devastating tornadoes and flooding. Take Shelter does not exploit that experience, but instead elevates it to the level of great cinema, a powerful reminder that art’s examination of human subjectivity, the darkest places inside each of us, remains fertile, uncharted territory.

OCTOB E R 6, 2011 | otdowntown.com



� EAT SoHo Coffee Shop Café Café on the Fashion Grind | By Paulette Safdieh

T

he cobblestoned streets of SoHo, the fashion hub of Downtown Manhattan, bustled last week with locals and visitors weaving in and out of clothing boutiques. The steady rain kept people rushing indoors, but not everyone chose to shake their umbrellas off on the steps of highend designer shops like Alexander Wang. Some preferred to escape to Café Café, a quiet coffee house on Greene Street, a strong contrast to the fast-paced sidewalks.

“It’s relaxing here,” said owner Albert Bitton, 46, of his café’s juxtaposition to the neighborhood. “I’m a big fan of community and I try to give the people what they need.

They need a place like this.”

Since 1997, Café Café has welcomed patrons with a hanging green sign that stands out among the glass storefronts of the art galleries lining the street. Inside

the two-story eatery, an overused chalkboard above the counter displays the menu, listing classics like cappuccino ($3.25) and tea ($1.75) among savory extras like almond and chocolate brioche ($3.25) and homemade empanadas ($6.40-$7.40).

“It’s nice to find a place like this in SoHo, where you can chill out and quietly get work done,” said Kevin Mulroy, 35, a local writer who frequents Café Café in the mornings. “It doesn’t feel like a scene.”

Mulroy believes the SoHo “scene” is characterized by fashion, tourism and money. Having owned a clothing store in the neighborhood in the early ’90s, Bitton agrees.

“SoHo is a mall now,” said Bitton of the chain stores on Broad-

A unassuming nook in SoHo on Greene Street serves as a haven for shoppers and residents alike. PHOTOs BY PaulETTE safdiEH

way, talking over the café’s swirling ceiling fans.

In his 23 years working in SoHo, Bitton has witnessed a sharp rise in retail rents, a decline in boutiques by young designers and the invasion of pricey brands like Prada and Armani. Dressed in worn-in flip flops, his arms stacked with turquoise and white beaded bracelets, Bitton insists his laidback energy keeps Café Café reminiscent of an the old SoHo—the one washed away by fashion frenzy.

People of all ages lean over the counter’s red-and-white-checkered cloth, ordering blueberry pan-

cakes ($9) and customized salads ($7.50). In his Israeli accent, Bitton insists that the lemonade with mint ($1.75) is always a big hit. The customer-friendly prices keep locals and neighborhood employees coming back, but they aren’t the only ones to sip their morning jolt from Café Café’s chunky ceramic mugs.

“They get celebrities all the time,” said Jessica Kahn, 37, a local art consultant who has bumped into actress Claire Danes at the shop. “Celebrities can kind of be themselves here.”

With fliers for upcoming fashion events tacked on the

corkboard outside the restroom door and design magazines piled in the standing magazine rack, Café Café tries to mix the old SoHo with the new. The same customers continue to wait outside for the 7 a.m. opening each morning as they have done for 13 years, but now so do the young fashionistas with a craving for coffee.

“If you stay for lunch, you will see the fashion,” said Bitton. “Everybody here is chicy-chicy.”

Café Café, 470 Broome St. (entrance on Greene St. betw. Spring & Broome Sts.), 212-226-9295.

PENNILESS EPICURE

No White Whine About these White Wines

F

from Spain. This, of course, covers a hefty or those who have been followspectrum; virtually every wine-growing region ing along, I’ve been profiling in Spain produces white wine. But the Amerisome of the major wine trends can market has had a hard time catching on and highlighting my findings to these delicious and often complex wines. from this year’s swath of New York Perhaps that is beginning to change.

City portfolio tastings. The tastings are an Today I will profile several of the amazopportunity for wine and liquor distributors ing white wines I’ve tasted from several in the area to open “one of everything,” so to different regions of Spain to hopefully speak, and let their customers try stuff that jumpstart your own personal tasting trip they might not have a chance to otherwise. through that country’s great vineyards.

It’s also a great chance to survey the landStarting in Rueda, a growing area known scape and take notice of where the industry for its whites just west is heading. I try of Ribera del Duto look at these Virtually every wine-growing ero, where the verdejo events in a “forest region in Spain produces white grape flourishes. I look for the trees” kind wine. But the American market at this grape almost of way, somehas had a hard time catching as Spain’s answer to times noticing on to these delicious and often Grüner Veltliner. It unfortunate can be delicate and trends but somecomplex wines. floral but fruity and times noticing the complex at the same time. encouraging prolifThe Ipsum Rueda 2010 ($12.99 at Morrell eration of up-and-coming areas and grapes & Company, 1 Rockefeller Plaza, 212-223that deserve more of the spotlight.

I am extremely happy to report that one of 1846) is 60 percent verdejo and represents the grape well. The scent of sugar-sprinkled my favorite, albeit broad, categories of wine grapefruit is dominant on the nose. The palsaw a huge surge in presence at the tasting ate is refreshing but layered, with honey and tables this year. I am speaking of white wines

 OU R TOWN DOWNTOWN | OCTOB E R 6, 2011

grass notes up front and white pepper in the middle. I wish there was a longer finish, but it’s still very good.

Going 100 percent verdejo, the Oro de Castilla Rueda 2010 ($15.99 at Morrell & Company) cranks the complexity up to 11.

There’s tons of wet earth, mushroom and funk on the nose, with a backbone of citrus rind. The palate shimmers with minerality and underripe peach notes. The finish is clean and crisp, balancing out the vibrant front end. This is the definition of a white wine made for food.

Traveling all the way to the northwestern coast of Spain, the area of Rias Baixas has some of the best albariño Spain has to offer. Not unlike verdejo, albariño wines can be delicate and complex at the same time. I’ve found them to be even more versatile, however.

The Pazo de Galegos Albariño 2010 ($14 at Yorkshire Wines and Spirits, 1646 1st Ave. at 85th St., 212-717-5100) has lots of bright green herbs, but also a good amount of creamy vanilla on the nose.

More vanilla up front on the palate segues gently and naturally into ripe white peach and orange blossom honey. All of this is balanced perfectly with a firm acidity on

the finish. One of the best balanced whites I’ve had in a long time.

Spain also has its own quirky local grapes that you won’t find josh perilo anywhere else.

While it may be some time before you see these wines on the shelves of every corner mom-and-pop liquor store, it’s worth seeking them out for their uniqueness.

The Bodegas Berroja Berroia 2010 ($15.99 at 67 Wine, 179 Columbus Ave. at 68th St.. 212-724-6767) is made of 90 percent Hondarribi Zuri grapes, but what’s really important is how delicious it is. Tons of bright citrus on the nose lead to a swath of juicy, ripe lemon and orange up front on the palate. This is followed by a clean and refreshing middle, with lots of wet limestone and hints of chervil. A clean, crisp finish makes this a wine that’ll remind you of summer, even in the dead of winter.

I hope you found something to pique your interest in this year’s portfolio tastings overview. I know I did!

51688 NYC Dept of Aging Manhattan Media 1/4 pg 4.917” x 5.541” 9.21.11 p2

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

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

� PETS | By RoBBy RItACCo Before adding a four-legged member of the family, learn the ABCs of adoption and care

O

n Sunday afternoon, the Animal League hosted the Mutt-igrees Mania pet adoption expo at Hudson Park Pier 40. The final event of the League’s “Get Your Licks on Route 66” animal adoption tour, Mutt-i-grees Mania featured three mobile rescue units filled with puppies, kittens, dogs and cats. Joining the event were local shelters Heavenly Angels Animal Rescue of Astoria, Sean Casey Animal Rescue of Brooklyn, the Animal Center of Queens in Rego Park and Toms River, N.J.’s Puppy Love Pet Rescue.

While it was a great opportunity for the eager-to-adopt to add new members to their families, the event was also an opportunity to gather important tips on preparing and caring for a new pet. In keeping with that educational spirit, here are a few of the most important things to know and prepare for before adopting a pet.

Budgeting First and foremost, you have to be prepared for the regular and irregular expenses that come with your new companion. Beyond the initial cost of purchasing/ adopting your pet, you’ll have to pay for vaccinations, spaying/neutering and the like. While many shelters will cover these medical procedures or perform them onsite, some leave the responsibility in the hands of the owner, so be sure to check your shelter’s policy.

Remember that as soon as you and your new pet leave the shelter, he is your responsibility. If (worst-case scenario) something happens and you need to visit the vet that very week, the bill is on you (again, shelters have varying policies on this matter, but at the very least you’ll need money on hand at the time of your visit, even if it does get reimbursed). Then there’s the never-ending food budget.

There’s nothing more important for your pet than a healthy diet, so be sure you’re ready for your weekly grocery bill to jump.

Pet Proofing Your home needs to be ready for its newest resident. Look around for any hazards

within the animal’s snooping range, as a pet’s natural curiosity will undoubtedly lead her to investigate every nook and cranny. Watch for things like unshielded electrical cords and choking/strangulation hazards. toys While you should play with your new animal as much as possible, toys are important for when you’re not around.

Playing with toys is essential—not only for your pet’s physical health but also for his mental well-being. Chasing and grabbing his favorite toys helps your pet maintain his natural instincts and gives him a heightened sense of purpose. suPPlies Food, veterinary visits and toys aside, there are still plenty of supplemental purchases to smooth a new pet’s transition into your home. Some are more essential than others, such as flea repellent for dogs, scratching posts for cats and food and water bowls for both. One great optional purchase is the pet bed, which gives the pet a safe, warm spot to call her own, making the acclimation process much easier.

� DWE LL

research By far the most important way to prepare when adopting a pet is to do your research.

This article may serve as a starting point to send you in the right direction, but there is limitless information to be found on the Internet on this subject. One thing most all pet owners love is talking about their pets, making it an easy subject to research. Fish around for general pet care tips and housebreaking tricks of the trade. Be sure to look for information on the shelter you’re planning to adopt from; know their adoption policies, how their animals generally end up at the shelter and, most importantly, how they care for their animals.

Marina Galazieis’ open loft space on Duane St., an apartment with a stunning art collection with works by Keith Haring and Andy Warhol. PhOTOs

A Rare Peek Inside Tribeca Lofts is Eclectic

COuRTEsy Of ThE fRiEnds Of duanE PaRk

| By mARISSA mAIER When I walk around the streets of Manhattan, I like to engage in one of my more secret New York City hobbies: stealing furtive glances up at apartments. From a richly toned small abode filled corner-to-corner with tchotchkes, trinkets and artwork to an austere condo decorated with modern furniture and bare light fixtures, I am endlessly curious to see the way my fellow New Yorkers inhabit their domestic spaces. Perhaps, in a place where residential square footage is at a premium, we city dwellers are all a little more naturally voyeuristic when it comes to real estate.

The Friends of Duane Park’s 12th annual “Inside Tribeca” loft tour on Oct. 16 is the perfect way to satisfy these interests in the name of charity. For the price of dinner and drinks—$50 in advance or $55 day of—tour takers will have the rare opportunity to step inside more than 10 Tribeca lofts while helping preserve and

photo By RoBBy RItACCo

Are You Ready to Adopt a Pet?

maintain the second-oldest public park in New York City.

“If I went to a foreign city for the day and I had the chance to see how 10 or more people live—I can think of no better way to get to know an area,” Jennifer McAllister-Nevins, co-chair of the tour, observed.

McAllister-Nevins also pointed out that the eclectic domiciles featured for the event—from a home displaying the works of artists Keith Haring and Andy Warhol to a first floor mixed-used gallery, studio and home in the former New York Egg Auction Building—are as diverse as the Tribeca community itself.

“Yes, things have changed in Tribeca but we have retained that sense of com-

 OU R TOWN DOWNTOWN | OCTOB E R 6, 2011

munity and our diversity is essential,” said McAllister-Nevins. “We are a neighborhood made up of artists, families, single people, couples…We have megalofts but we also have lofts for families of four who are trying to make it in the city and aren’t multimillionaires.”

Marina Galazieis, whose Duane Street apartment is featured on the tour, gives new meaning to the communal nature of this fundraiser. She has lived on the same street in the neighborhood—in the same building, no less—for nearly her entire life. Her mother, landscape architect Signe Nielsen, who owns a few floors in the same building, redesigned Duane Park in the 1990s. Her stepfather, architect Roy Alony, designed Galazieis’ loft.

With exposed brick walls, light maple wood

floors and few doors, Galazieis wanted to maintain the feeling of openness that characterizes many loft spaces.

One of the hallmarks of the tour this year is a home with a “boxes within boxes” architectural style, notes the “Inside Tribeca” press release. As McAllister-Nevins explained it, a family was able to carve a duplex unit into a network of smaller areas and nooks, giving it the appearance of a larger footprint.

“It is cut up into five different levels. You walk in and think it has only two bedrooms, and then you walk down a flight of stairs and see another two bedrooms,” McAllisterNevins said.

For those whose interest is piqued, order your tickets with haste. The organization caps the number of tickets sold to 400 to control foot traffic, and they usually sell out. Tickets to the self-guided tour, which comes with a description of the buildings by local historian Oliver Allen and a short paragraph on the highlights of each apartment, are available at www.duanepark.org or can be purchased on the day of the tour at 12:30 p.m. at the park.

� FAM I LY

The ‘Happiest’ Doctor

A

household name for over a decade, Dr. Harvey Karp has helped millions of parents navigate the demanding, often difficult aspects of the baby years. For new moms and dads, Karp’s now-classic books and DVDs—The Happiest Baby on the Block and The Happiest Toddler on the Block—have taught them how to successfully swaddle, shush and swing their babies into relaxed bliss and communicate with their toddlers in a way that actually works.

For some families, Karp’s techniques have been the key to achieving domestic tranquility—those elusive moments of peace. For others, they have brought them back from the brink of exhaustion and misjudgment, allowing them to be the parents they want to be.

Married for 14 years to his wife, Nina, Karp was raised in Queens and attended Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. Now, with nearly 30 years of pediatric experience under his belt, a pair of books that have been translated into more than 20 different languages and a “Super Soothing” sleep sounds CD (soon to be released on iTunes), Karp continues to spread his words of wisdom to parents across the globe through lectures and outreach programs.

With his enormous and enduring influence, some have called Karp a latterday Dr. Spock. Karp himself however, still seems like the hardworking and humble pediatrician he’s always been. The only difference is that he now has a platform to help spread the word on important issues like shaken baby syndrome and postpartum depression, while teaching parents everywhere to shush with the skill of a Jewish grandmother.

When did you first realize that your methods for quieting babies and communicating with toddlers were working?

Did you have an “Aha!” moment?

Harvey Karp: I was studying childhood development at UCLA and I learned about a tribe in Southern Africa where the parents could calm their crying babies in under a minute. I had been taught that some babies could cry two, three, four hours a day, so when I learned that there were people in Africa who were so much more successful than we were in our culture, that was an “Aha!” moment for me. I realized that either those children were different from our children or those

parents knew something that we had forgotten in our culture.

That really set me off on understanding how babies work, which led to another “Aha!” moment, which was that babies have a reflex—a calming reflex that no one knew about before—that is a virtual “off” switch for crying and “on” switch for sleep. And that’s really the basis of my “Happiest Baby” work, the key concept of which is that babies are born three months too soon. You don’t need to make your baby independent right away. You don’t need to make them feel like they’re not the center of attention. They need to be the center of attention! Because we evict them from the uterus three months before they’re ready, the least we can do is hold them and rock them and feed them a lot.

What inspired you to create The Happiest Baby on the Block and The Happiest Toddler on the Block books and DVDs and spread the knowledge of your techniques?

As a pediatrician, I saw that I was giving parents tools that were helpful, so it was a natural desire to reach even more parents. I also came to realize that, through teaching my own patients, just telling people what to do, as one might through a book, isn’t enough. You have to demonstrate it.

I also wanted to get dads more involved, and dads were much more likely to watch a half-hour video than to read a 300-page parenting book. All parents struggle to find the time. It’s hard to find time to get through that type of reading, and we’re a TV generation!

Have you ever encountered a baby you couldn’t calm?

What I’ve found is that if these techniques don’t work for babies, 95 percent of the time it’s because they’re not being done correctly. But if everything is done correctly and it’s still not working, then the child needs a medical evaluation, because the likely reason for crying is that there is something physical.

The biggest reason the Happiest Baby work is popular with parents actually has nothing to do with crying babies—it has to do with sleep! Parents can get an extra hour or two of sleep at night.

Tell us about your work with toddlers.

When a toddler is happy, your voice gets happy, too. With young children though, when they’re upset, we actually do the opposite. Most parents become

Katie Davies | Claire alyse PhotograPhy

| By Whitney Casser

Dr. harvey Karp has helped countless parents calm their babies and understand their toddlers—not to mention get a lot more sleep

with and build relationships with, is just great. As a doctor, it’s such a privileged position—people invite you into the deepest part of their family, so that was the most gratifying part of being a doctor and the hardest part for me not to have anymore.

meet dr. Harvey Karp At tHe new PArents exPo want to meet the happiest doctor on the block? You can catch dr.

Karp at our new Parents expo oct. 15 and 16 at Pier 92, where the famous doc will be a special keynote speaker. For tickets, visit newParentsexpo.com. more calm, quiet and reserved, like we’re trying to convince them into being more calm, which makes children actually feel worse. It makes them scream louder.

Or they listen to us and calm down, but they keep those feelings inside and they grow up thinking that nobody wants to hear how angry they are or how they feel.

That’s a very unhealthy way to grow up.

When kids are very happy, we naturally use “toddlerese.” We say, “Oh that’s great!

You did it! Good job!” But when they’re unhappy, we develop an unhealthy way of interacting with them. What’s important is nonverbal communication and speaking to a young child with more emotion in your voice when they’re upset. You mirror about 30 percent of their emotion.

What do you like most about working with children?

It’s just so much fun. I’m not in practice anymore, though. I stopped that six years ago because my travel and writing schedules were so demanding. But seeing 20 little kids every day, who I can build confidence

What is a typical day like for you?

A typical day for me is eight hours of writing, but I’ll usually spend a couple of hours speaking to medical and educational professionals across the country.

Actually, one of the interesting things about my Happiest Baby work is finding out about the very high incidence of postpartum depression. It’s about 15 percent of all new mothers (and 25–50 percent of their partners)—half a million women a year. The main triggers for postpartum depression are crying babies, exhaustion and unsupportive partners. All three of those are directly improved through the Happiest Baby work.

What is the best piece of parenting advice you’ve ever received? What about the worst advice?

The best is don’t go to bed mad. Work things out. Even if you agree to disagree, do it in such a way that you don’t have to go to sleep with hostility.

The worst has to do with discipline; it’s that kids need to be intimidated. With each generation, we learn new things. Spanking is an old—ancient—way of disciplining through intimidation, but ultimately it’s a dead-end street. I mean, nobody wants to hit their kid. If they had a simple way that would work, I don’t think anyone would hit their kids. And so my job now is letting people know the ways that exist.

OCTOB E R 6, 2011 | otdowntown.com

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� TALK I N G U P D OWNTOWN Robert Contant owner, st. mark’s bookshop

| By mARISSA mAIER

T

he St. Mark’s Bookshop, a treasured literary collection near Astor Place, is no stranger to economic dips, bankruptcy scares and ultimate survival.

The store, in operation in the East Village since the 1970s and once a haunt of Allen Ginsberg and William Boroughs, today finds itself once again on the precipice of shutting its doors. With a hefty $20,000-per-month rent, owners Robert Contant and Terry McCoy, along with a cadre of community members, politicians and even a celebrity, are petitioning their landlord, Cooper Union, to lower their rent by $5,000 in order to stay afloat.

You opened your bookstore in 1977 in a 600-square-foot space at 13 St. Marks with four other partners. What was the East Village like at that time?

Bob Contant: In 1977, the East Village was depressed. The hippie movement had died. There were a lot of acid causalities around. The Second Avenue subway was being constructed, so you had to cross the street on wood boards. There was very little life left in the neighborhood. It was a transitional period. This was the down time— within a year, the punk movement started.

It originated here in the East Village.

The Ramones, Patti Smith, The Voidoids were all playing at CBGBs and getting enormous amounts of attention. As a result of the popularity of the music scene, there was an arts scene. Galleries were opened in apartments. It was a lively, do-it-yourself situation. The most notorious place was the St. Marks Baths, which was a gay bathhouse. It was a magnet and we were right across the street. All kinds of people were coming to the East Village, not only for the baths but also for the arts and music scene, and the bookstore benefited.

But you moved a few times before settling into your current location on Third Avenue, right?

We were at 13 [St. Mark’s Place] for 10 years, then moved to 12 St. Mark’s and then moved here in 1994.

When we moved from 13 to 12, we thought, “Our business will be substantially bigger.” We were naïve business people.

It cost a fortune to renovate and make the move. All of the sudden we were in debt to contractors…and to pay them took all the money that should have gone to publishers. Within three months, we were on the verge of going out of business. We couldn’t get supplies. We had exhausted all of our

 OU R TOWN DOWNTOWN | OCTOB E R 6, 2011

lines of credit. Things are so different now.

Then, people didn’t have credit cards to speak of. It was 1989.

I went to high school with a woman who was a reporter for the Wall Street Journal. She was the only media person I had contact with. I called her and explained our situation. She said she would have a reporter do a story. The story in the Wall Street Journal mentioned [Susan Sontag] shopped here.

The publisher Robert Rodale read the Journal story on a Thursday. He called the day the story appeared and said, “This sounds like the kind of store I would like.”

He flew in and met with us on Saturday and said he would like to help.

He loaned us a substantial [sum] with a financial plan that went with it. It wasn’t simple about paying off our debt. It took two or three years to get back on track. At that time, Cooper Union was building this building as a dorm. They approached us to see if we wanted to be their commercial tenant. They offered a lease 20 percent less than what we were paying at St. Mark’s Place. We agreed and it took about 6 months to move in. The vice president of Cooper Union at the time negotiated a 15-year lease with us. It was a very amiable relationship.

When did your financial problems start?

Our troubles began in 2008. We had signed a 10-year lease in 2007, based on the business we were doing then. In the fall of 2008, our business declined and it has declined ever since. The health of the economy never recovered and we were facing a situation where we just couldn’t afford [the $20,000 monthly rent]. A year ago, we went to the new vice president [of Cooper Union, T.C. Westcott] for some consideration and she turned us down at that time. We were hoping the economy would recover and we would make a go of it. This summer was even worse than last summer.

Rather than see her again we talked to our community.

The Cooper Square Committee is a local neighborhood organization that does advocacy work for small businesses and tenants. Frances Goldin and Joyce Ravitz helped. They put up the petition and sent letters to politicians. I have known Frances for 30 years. She said, “There is no way I am not going to fight for your survival.”

Do you feel the decline in your business was worsened by the increasing popularity of online sales and e-readers?

There is room for both. We got the same kind of questions when Barnes and Noble [opened near Astor Place]. The mythology,

I guess, was, they are the giant and you are David. They are going to put you out of business—but it never happened.

This is not your typical general bookstore. We have always had this niche market to set us apart from other stores, especially chain stores. We focus on small press poetry, literary criticism and theory, mid-list books and serious books that don’t get a lot of commercial attention. If you came in here and asked for a James Patterson novel, we wouldn’t have it. What we do have is handpicked to our clientele.

A petition has been circulated with (as of Monday) over 41,000 signatures supporting you. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer has lobbied your cause to Cooper Union. Even Michael Moore was here Thursday, Sept. 29 for an impromptu book signing. Have you been surprised by the outpouring of support for the shop?

I had no idea. This all due to the Internet, really. It is just a phenomenon. Frances sent out an email to people who signed the petition and she said, “Go buy a book.” We have been busy for the last 10 days to two weeks. Everyone is coming into the store, asking how things are going and what they can do to help. It is heartening.

We went before Community Board 3 and they voted unanimously to write a letter to Cooper Union. The word is spreading around. We just hope that this will influence Cooper Union.

I know the college has forwarded your request to its Finance and Business Affairs Committee. Where does the fate of the bookshop stand at the moment?

We are waiting for the word from Cooper. The committee will make a report by the end of the month, so we are basically a month away [from a decision].

on topic

A Moveable Feast

“To a man looking for fresh eyes, everything about Paris fascinates.” Brassaï wrote these words in his memoir about Henry Miller, The Paris Years. Because I am heading to Paris this month for the first time in three years, these words ring very true.

The last time I was in Paris I was in a wheelchair, which I affectionately named Duncan. Trust me, it was no way to travel, clomping along the cobblestones and narrow side streets of Paris. Now I am going back to do what Miller loved to do, and what Paris is known as one of the greatest cities in the world for: walk.

As a girl, I lived in Paris from 1967 to ’68.

It was a lonely, cold, glorious, insane time. I studied cooking and failed my French class.

I lived in a working-class neighborhood with Joelle, my dear French mother, recently deceased. It was in the 13th arrondissement, the district of Paris Miller refers to as the most putrid, impoverished, decadent, hungry, filthy, redolent and so on neighborhood of the entire city.

I don’t know if this is true, though when I lived there it was a solid, working-class neighborhood with shift workers coming and going as I came and went from my classes.

Why Paris? Why French? Why me? When

I was a girl growing up in suburban Illinois, my mother (who had never been to Europe) began a crusade to have French taught in the public school. She believed that, starting in 6th or 7th grade, children should start learning a language, and for her it was French.

My mother longed to travel. She named our dog Renoir. She had the heart for France and, I believe, if she’d been born in a different era, she would have created a fashion line and gone to Paris regularly. Instead, she was locked into Girl Scouts meetings and Flag Day marching bands.

But she wanted me to learn French. Once a week, she sent me to see Monsieur La Tate.

Monsieur La Tate had a strange, sad tic that made his head flash back and forth all the time, and he clearly hadn’t foreseen his life’s destiny as being my instructor in rudimentary French. Nonetheless, I went. I was dutiful.

And I learned.

In high school, we were given an aptitude test in language. Weirdly, the test was administered in Kurdish. You had half an hour to memorize Kurdish grammar and vocabulary, and then you took the test. In all my years of testing, I never scored higher than I did on that language aptitude exam.

I took AP French. My mother eventu-

� SOU N D O FF: LET TE RS TO TH E E D ITO R

To send us your letters or comments, please email otdowntown@manhattanmedia.com.

Food for Thought October is turning into “food” month, beginning with World Vegetarian Day and World Farm Animals Day Oct. 1 and 2, continuing with World Food Day on Oct. 16 and culminating with Food Day on Oct. 24.

World Farm Animals Day (www.WFAD. org) is perhaps the most dramatic of these observances. It celebrates the lives, exposes the abuses of and mourns the slaughter of the billions of sentient animals raised for food. Recent undercover investigations have shown male baby chicks suffocated in plastic garbage bags or ground to death, pigs clobbered with metal pipes and cows skinned and dismembered while still conscious.

Numerous studies have linked con-

Breast Cancer Awareness Month As a person living with breast cancer, I’m grateful that so many people are trying to raise awareness about the disease, but simply wearing a pink ribbon, toting a pink bag or using pink dental floss isn’t going to save many lives. If we are going to win the war on cancer, we must exercise regularly, get routine medical checkups and choose healthy, plantbased foods.

Studies show that women who eat lots of fruit, vegetables and legumes are less likely to develop breast cancer than women who eat meat and other un-

sumption of animal products with an elevated risk of chronic killer diseases.

Animal agriculture accounts for more water pollution than any other human activity. A 2007 United Nations report blamed it for 18 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases.

No humane welfare reform proposed thus far has alleviated the suffering of a single animal. Improvements in medical and environmental technology cannot possibly keep pace with the devastating impacts of meat consumption.

The good news is that dropping animal from our menus works beautifully on all these counts. Lots of recipes and helpful hints are at www.tryveg.com.

—Neil Raven, Upper East Side

ally got our local school to start teaching French, and in college, for reasons that, even as I write this, remain obscure (though perhaps not to Dr. Freud), I became a French scholar—a degree I would never complete at the graduate level, but I still learned.

In 1967, I sailed on the SS France. My mother stood on the dock. Before leaving, she said, “You take yourself with you.” I arrived in Paris in time to become part of the student revolts of 1968. Paris got under my skin.

Miller understood what Paris had to offer him. He referred to the city as “mother, mistress, home and muse.” As Brassaï said, Miller tried to understand how Paris worked its magic on him, but the answers were “innumerable, intangible and ineffable.”

On his first trip to Paris, Miller did not fall in love with the city—but when he returned for the second time, the city grabbed him by the throat. He cut his writerly teeth there. After spending his days and nights in its bars and cafes, Miller wrote in Remember to Remember, “One needs no artificial stimulation in Paris to create. The air is saturated with creation.”

Miller never read books for their meaning. He read a book because it touched something inside of him that made him think and feel and write more. Later in his

� STR E ET S C E N E

life, he admitted that he had read at least 5,000 books in his life and perhaps 50 of them had really mattered.

I picked up this Brassaï book mary morris because it was sitting on my bedstand. Larry, my husband, thinks he bought it at St. Mark’s Bookshop as a good book to take away with us to Paris. I am devouring it as I would a meal. I am dogearing, underlining, making big check marks everywhere. It is becoming one of those books that matters to me.

I envy Miller. He went to Paris and had no money, no resources, no hope—and as he wrote in the opening pages of Tropic of Cancer, “I am the happiest man alive.”

Mary Morris is a writer, teacher and traveler.

Her many novels and story collections have been translated into Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, Swedish and Japanese. She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and daughter and teaches writing at Sarah Lawrence College. A Moveable Feast was excerpted from her blog The Writer and the Wanderer.

| photos by george denison For more street scene photos and features, visit www.otdowntown.com.

Occupy Wall Street base, Zuccotti Park, Lower Manhattan. Sunday, Oct. 2, 2011.

healthy foods. Research has also shown that plant-based diets can also help prevent heart disease and diabetes, so both men and women—whether they have a family history of breast cancer or not— can benefit by eating vegan foods.

I’m confident that, if I continue to eat disease-fighting foods, I’ll win my battle against breast cancer. I’ll also save animals’ lives along the way. I hope everyone will join me in eating green in October, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month—and all year long.

Wearing pink is not required.

— Emily McCoy, Chambers Street OCTOB E R 6, 2011 | otdowntown.com

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