Our Town Downtown - January 14, 2016 by OurTown Downtown

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14-20 2016

NEW YORK’S MEDICAL MARIJUANA FORAY NEWS Storefront opens on 14th Street, but its offerings are limited BY JENNIFER PELTZ

In a sleek Manhattan storefront on E. 14th Street with an upscale-doctor’soffice ambience, New York’s measured foray into medical marijuana began Thursday with a liquid packaged with a plain white label. Behind an understated, secured entrance, pharmacists at New York City’s ﬁrst medical marijuana dispensary will consult with patients whose doctors must take special training to recommend the drug, allowed only in forms that can’t be smoked. There’s not a marijuana leaf in sight. It’s a far cry from dispensaries in such states as California, where jars of buds feature evocative names. New York, where eight dispensaries are set to open around the state Thursday, has some of the strictest rules among the more than 20 states that allow medical pot. Patients and their advocates fear New York is putting up too many roadblocks, and it’s unclear how many patients, if any, will be ready to walk through dispensary doors. But operators say the state’s stringency will help convey professionalism as the industry matures. “This is a medication. This is a serious opportunity to treat patients who haven’t necessarily found the

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Our Take

THE BATTLE OVER BATTERY PARK

METAL DETECTORS FOR OUR KIDS

Tensions running high in Battery Park City BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS

Increasingly frustrated residents of Battery Park City appear to be on the verge of pushing for the ouster of Battery Park City Authority Chairman Dennis Mehiel, who residents say in the last two years has turned the authority into an opaque and autonomous body that cares little for input from residents. “Residents are major stakeholders and they don’t feel they’re being treated that way,” said Anthony Notaro, a BPC resident and chair of Community Board 1’s Battery Park City Committee. “The sense is that decisions, plans and strategies they’re completely absent from that process.” Exhibit A is a recent decision by the authority to enter into contract with Allied Barton for “security ambassadors” to patrol the neighborhood in place of officers from Parks Enforcement Patrol, who are trained and sworn peace officers with the Parks Department and have authority to make arrests. The feeling among residents, expressed at a Dec. 16 town hall-style meeting called by the authority, is that private security guards, for fear of liability, do not intervene in situations that threaten public safety. Remarkably, residents’ fears seemed to come to pass one day after the contract went into effect, as two teen-

Battery Park City near River Terrace. Photo: Wikimedia Commons age residents were attacked, and one seriously injured, by a group of 10-15 people while an Allied Barton security guard reportedly stood by. One of the victim’s parents released a statement to NYC Park Advocates’ Jeffrey Croft, who ﬁrst reported the Dec. 16 incident when it came to light on Jan. 7, claiming the security guard did nothing to help the victims as they were being beaten and robbed. Other reports later said the guard ﬁrst called a supervisor who then called 911, which resulted in a delay from responding medical professionals.

Residents have long called for more community representation on the seven-member board, which currently has just one sitting BPC resident. It also seems like an ideal time for a shakeup on the board, as there are currently two vacancies and another member’s term is set to expire in February, according to Battery Park City Authority spokesperson Robin Forst. Mehiel’s term expired at year’s end but, as a state official appointed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, is likely to

Yet another way to measure our separate, and unequal, city schools. For months now, we’ve been despairing about the deep, and shameful, racial segregation in our schools, as our neighborhoods have become more homogenous. Now, an investigation by WNYC radio and the investigative reporting organization ProPublica has added another layer to the scandal. For more than a decade now, more than 100,000 middle and high school students across the city have have had to start their day by taking off their shoes and belts to pass through airport-style metal detectors. The practice stems from high school crime rates a decade ago -- rates that have since fallen by nearly 50 percent. Yet the scans continue. And, not surprisingly, the journalists ﬁnd that the use of metal detectors is not evenly applied throughout the city: Black and Hispanic kids are nearly three times more likely to be scanned than their white couterparts. Think about the message this sends to students. It’s humiliating, and tends to cause problems of its own, as students are forced to stand in line for what can be an hour awaiting scans. School security experts say the detectors are still needed. We’re dubious (and the journalists point out that the contraband found is tiny, compared to the effort). But at the very least, a uniform standard is needed. Dated crime stats and old perceptions about dangerous neighborhoods no longer cut it. Our kids deserve better.

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Newscheck Crime Watch Out & About Voices

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City Arts Top 5 Real Estate 15 Minutes

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WEEK OF APRIL

SPRING ARTS PREVIEW < CITYARTS, P.12

FOR HIM, SETTLING SMALL CLAIMS IS A BIG DEAL presided over Arbitration Man has three decades. for informal hearings about it He’s now blogging BY RICHARD KHAVKINE

is the common Arbitration Man their jurist. least folks’ hero. Or at Man has For 30 years, Arbitration court office of the civil few sat in a satellite Centre St. every building at 111 New Yorkers’ weeks and absorbed dry cleaning, burned lost accountings of fender benders, lousy paint jobs, and the like. And security deposits then he’s decided. Arbitration Man, About a year ago, so to not afwho requested anonymity started docuhe fect future proceedings, two dozen of what menting about compelling cases considers his most blog. in an eponymous about it because “I decided to write the stories but in a I was interested about it not from wanted to write from view but rather lawyer’s point of said Arbitration view,” of a lay point lawyer since 1961. Man, a practicing what’s at issue He ﬁrst writes about post, renders and then, in a separatehow he arrived his decision, detailing blog the to Visitors at his conclusion. their opinions. often weigh in with get a rap going. I to “I really want whether they unreally want to know and why I did it,” I did derstood what don’t know how to he said. “Most people ... I’d like my cases the judge thinks. and also my trereﬂect my personalitythe law.” for mendous respect 80, went into indiMan, Arbitration suc in 1985, settling vidual practice

9-16

MANHATTAN'S APARTMENT BOOM, > PROPERTY, P.20

2015

In Brief MORE HELP FOR SMALL BUSINESS

The effort to help small seems to businesses in the city be gathering steam. Two city councilmembers, Robert Margaret Chin and Cornegy, have introduced create legislation that wouldSmall a new “Office of the within Business Advocate” of Small the city’s Department Business Services. Chin The new post, which have up told us she’d like to would and running this year, for serve as an ombudsman city small businesses within them clear government, helping to get through the bureaucracy things done. Perhaps even more also importantly, the ombudsman and number will tally the type small business of complaints by taken in owners, the actions policy response, and somefor ways to recommendations If done well, begin to fix things. report would the ombudsman’s give us the first quantitative with taste of what’s wrong the city, an small businesses in towards important first step fixing the problem. of for deTo really make a difference, is a mere formality will have to the work process looking to complete their advocate are the chances course, velopers precinct, but rising rents, -- thanks to a find a way to tackle business’ is being done legally of after-hours projects quickly. their own hours,” which remain many While Chin “They pick out boom in the number throughout who lives on most vexing problem. said Mildred Angelo,of the Ruppert construction permits gauge what Buildings one said it’s too early tocould have the 19th floor in The Department of the city. number three years, the Houses on 92nd Street between role the advocate She Over the past on the is handing out a record work perThird avenues. permits, there, more information of Second and an ongoing all-hours number of after-hours bad thing. of after-hours work the city’s Dept. problem can’t be a said there’s with the mits granted by nearby where according to new data jumped 30 percent, This step, combinedBorough construction project noise Buildings has data provided in workers constantly make efforts by Manhattan to mediate BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS according to DOB of Informacement from trucks. President Gale Brewer offer response to a Freedom classifies transferring they want. They knows the the rent renewal process, request. The city They 6 “They do whatever signs Every New Yorker clang, tion Act go as they please. work between some early, tangible small any construction on the weekend, can come and sound: the metal-on-metal or the piercing of progress. For many have no respect.” p.m. and 7 a.m., can’t come of these that the hollow boom, issuance reverse. owners, in business moving The increased beeps of a truck has generto a correspond and you as after-hours. soon enough. variances has led at the alarm clock The surge in permits

SLEEPS, THANKS TO THE CITY THAT NEVER UCTION A BOOM IN LATE-NIGHT CONSTR NEWS

A glance it: it’s the middle can hardly believe yet construction of the night, and carries on full-tilt. your local police or You can call 311

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for dollars in fees ated millions of and left some resithe city agency, that the application dents convinced

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JANUARY 14-20,2016

WHAT’S MAKING NEWS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD CITY TO DEDICATE RESOURCES TO GUN CRIMES The city will adopt a new system of handling gun-related violence. A deployment of a 200 officers whose focus will be on gun crimes and a court dedicated exclusively to handling ﬁrearm-related violence will be among

the new initiatives, The New York Times reported. The initiative is designed to quell unceasing gun-related incidents citywide and also address police officials’ frustrations at the difficulty of securing jail time for gun crimes, The Times said. The paper noted that the mostly young men charged with gun crimes often do not have prior arrests

and judges, who are overseeing other criminal matters, often release them on low bail or none at all. Officials said the new gun court will decide illegal possession gun cases within six months, according to the paper. “Dedicated judges will help us prosecute gun cases faster and more efficiently in Brooklyn,” The Times quoted Ken Thompson, the Brooklyn

Photo: Dan Nguyen, via Flickr.

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district attorney, as saying. The police department’s new Gun Violence Suppression Division will work with the court. The division, comprised of mostly detectives, will keep speciﬁc officers on gun cases until a court’s disposition, the paper said.

the Assembly but died in the Senate Finance Committee in 2012, 2013 and 2014, according to the Senate page.

ELEVATOR SAFETY BILL GETS PUSH

A man arrested for slashing a woman in Chelsea is suspected of having perpetrated three other random attacks on women, DNAinfo reported. Kari Bazemore, 41, of the Bronx, was arrested near St. Patrick’s Cathedral last week after a passer-by recognized him from images distributed by police. He was being sought for a random slashing attack on a 24-year-old woman on West 23 Street near Seventh Avenue on Jan. 6. Bazemore was subsequently charged with hitting a woman with a bag containing a blunt object on Fifth Avenue in early November, DNAinfo said. That incident happened just a few blocks north of where walking just a few blocks north of St. Patrick’s. Bazemore had been was released from custody a couple of days before the slashing attack in Chelsea. He had been charged with punching a woman in Greenwich Village on Dec. 30, the news site said. Bazemore is also suspected of a New Year’s Day slashing attack on a 28-year-old woman in the southwest Bronx, DNAinfo reported.

Following the New Year’s Eve death of a 25-year-old man in an elevator accident on Broome Street, elected officials are once again pushing for laws that would improve riders’ safety, the Bowery Boogie is reporting. State Senator Daniel Squadron and Assemblyman Keith L.T. Wright are among the officials trying to force passage of the so-called Elevator Safety Act The bill would require the licensing of persons “engaged in the design, construction, inspection, maintenance, alteration, and repair of elevators and other automated people moving devices,” according to the State Senate’s summary of the law. It would require “proper training” and licensing of people who design, build, maintain, inspect or otherwise work with elevators project. It would also create an oversight agency, the Boogie reported. The current version of the bill was approved by the Senate’s Labor Committee. Previous versions passed

MAN SUSPECTED OF SLASHING CHARGED IN THREE OTHER ATTACKS

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JANUARY 14-20,2016

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CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG

MAN SETS FIRE TO CHURCH PEW Police say a man set ďŹ re to a pew inside a Manhattan church and was arrested trying to ďŹ&#x201A;ee. It happened shortly before 1 p.m. Saturday at the Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest on the Upper East Side. Police responding to a report of a man setting a fire apprehended the suspect as he ran out the churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s back door. Regis De Foucauld was arrested on charges including arson and criminal mischief. Church staffers told police that De Foucauld had entered the church and started stacking cushions on a pew which he then lit on ďŹ re. The staff members told police the suspect said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t worry, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ďŹ re.â&#x20AC;? De Foucauld was taken to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation. It wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t clear if he had a lawyer.

TRIPPED UP Two Upper West Side residents had the misfortune to return from holiday vacation only to ďŹ nd that their apartments had been burglarized. In the ďŹ rst incident, a 64-year-old woman

left her apartment at 215 W. 88th Street for a trip to California at noon on Wednesday, December 23. When she returned at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, January 3, she noticed that property was missing from her bedroom. There was no damage to the lock of the apartmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s front door, but she told police that she had left some windows slightly open; the window frames were undamaged. A woman neighbor had access to the apartment and had walked the victimâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dog while she was away. Multiple building employees also had access to the premises. The items stolen included various pairs of earrings valued at $20,000, a number of cufflinks valued at $15,000, pendants worth $8,000, and a collection of quarters amounting to $250. The total stolen came to $43,250. In the second incident, a 36-yearold woman left her apartment at 210 W. 89th Street at 3 p.m. on Friday, December 18. When she returned at 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, December 27, she discovered that her bedroom window had been broken and opened, and the front door of her apartment was unlocked. She found numerous items missing, and the apartment had been left disheveled, with belongings moved about and thrown on the ďŹ&#x201A;oor. The items stolen included a diamondand-jade tennis bracelet valued at $1,400, two Samsung laptops totaling $850, a gold tennis bracelet worth

$800, a rose-gold cuff bracelet priced at $500, a Swarovski Crystal necklace valued at $400, a Michael Kors watch with a gold face priced at $400, a silver Rotary watch tagged at $350, along with other jewelry presenting a total value of $5,960.

GRAY DAY Thanks to thieves, one man got less than a year of use out of his new car. At 11 p.m. on Monday, December 28, a 43-year-old man parked his gray 2015 Nissan Altima with New York plates GDU5304 in front of 95 W. 95th Street. When he returned the next morning at 11 a.m., he found that the car was missing. The Altima was not at the tow pound, nor could police locate the car elsewhere in the neighborhood. The vehicle was valued at $32,000.

TARGETED A local senior became yet another target of ID thieves. On Friday, December 4, an 84-year-old man living at 780 West End Avenue received a phone call from the Wells Fargo bank, asking if he had made ďŹ ve purchases at a Target store in Brooklyn. Apparently, an unknown perpetrator had used a cloned credit card to make purchases without the manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s permission or authority. The victim subsequently canceled his card. The total amount

STATS FOR THE WEEK Reported crimes from the 1st Precinct for Dec. 28 to Jan. 3 Week to Date

Year to Date

2016 2015 % Change

Murder

n/a

Rape

n/a

Robbery

n/a

Felony Assault

-100.0

n/a

Burglary

-75.0

-100.0

Grand Larceny

190.0

200.0

Grand Larceny Auto

n/a

purchased came to $9,824.

THAI AND DRY Police warn readers never to leave large amounts of cash in an unattended bag in a public place. At 4 p.m. on Thursday, December 31, a 38-year-old waitress in the Thai Market restaurant at 960 Amsterdam Avenue put her purse and jacket on a shelf behind the hostess counter before starting work.

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When she came to retrieve the property at the end of her shift at 11 p.m., her belongings were missing. She had not seen anyone approach the counter who could have taken the items. A coworker claimed to have seen her property behind the counter just an hour before it was found missing. The items stolen included $2,500 in cash and an AXT NYC jacket valued at $750, a Longchamp handbag, credit cards, a Thai passport, and a debit card.

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JANUARY 14-20,2016

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Rebuilding Penn Station is on an ambitious Cuomo agenda

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Cuomo is promising his most ambitious to-do list since taking office

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BY DAVID KLEPPER

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is promising big investments in transportation, a plan to address corruption and a proposal to help the homeless in what he says will be his most ambitious to-do list since he took office in 2011. He is calling the agenda “Built to Lead,” a name he says recalls New York state’s tradition of using big investments like the Erie Canal to build for the future. The new plan calls for billions of dollars of investments in bridges, roads, rail, a convention center and Penn Station -- the nation’s busiest train terminal. “This is surely the most ambitious State of the State that I will have suggested,” he told a Manhattan audience. “We will have the most aggressive development program in the history of the state of New York.”

TOLLS AND ROADS Motorists who use the Thruway the most would get a tax credit under a plan from Cuomo that would also freeze tolls on the Thruway and the Tappan Zee Bridge until 2020. The governor’s proposal also calls for $22 billion in transportation investments, including $1 billion to upgrade and replace 200 bridges and $1 billion to pave 1,300 miles of state and local roads.

Cuomo wants to restart the long-discussed plan to revamp Penn Station, which he says is “dark,” “ugly” and outdated. He has also called for a third rail line on the Long Island Rail Road.

TUNNEL Proposals to dig a tunnel between Long Island and the Bronx, Westchester County or even Connecticut date back nearly a century. The governor wants to devote $5 million to study the feasibility of the project, which would likely cost many billions and take decades to plan and complete.

best revitalization plans.

TAXES Cuomo wants to cut small business taxes by $300 million. He will also have to weigh a proposal from Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie to raise income taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers, a plan that already has drawn criticism in the GOP-led Senate.

The New York City convention center would double in size under Cuomo’s $1 billion plan to expand the facility.

MINIMUM WAGE

EDUCATION

Called “The Mario Cuomo Campaign for Economic Justice” after his father, Cuomo’s push for a phased-in $15 minimum wage is expected to be a deﬁning issue in the legislative session. It’s a sure thing in the Assembly, but the Republicans in the Senate are likely to ask for big tax cuts or other trades in exchange. The increase, when fully implemented in 2021, would give New York the highest state minimum wage in the country.

Democrats want a big injection of funds into public education -- $2.4 billion is one suggested ﬁgure -- and Republicans want to eliminate a policy that takes back some school aid to balance the state budget, a practice they say hits wealthier and suburban districts the hardest. Cuomo has yet to say what he will do.

AIRPORTS On Saturday Cuomo proposed a $200 million upstate airport competition, which would award five $40 million prizes to the airports that submit the

HOMELESSNESS New York City’s homelessness problem became the latest battleground in the feud between Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Cuomo’s administration has criticized de Blasio’s handling of the issue, and Cuomo has promised to offer his own proposal.

ENVIRONMENT The state’s environmental protection fund -- which supports efforts to conserve land, protect farms, fight invasive species and revive waterfronts -- would increase by $123 million to a total of $300 million under the governor’s proposal. Cuomo also wants to set aside $250 million for upgrades to local water and sewer systems around the state.

JAVITS CENTER

restricting lawmakers’ outside income.

ETHICS Cuomo hasn’t released the details, but he promises to make efforts to address Albany corruption a top agenda item in 2016. Possibilities include proposals to revoke the state pensions of politicians convicted of corruption, tightening campaign ﬁnance rules and

UBER The ride-hailing service wants to enter the market in upstate cities such as Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse. Cuomo has signaled he supports the idea of state regulation to allow the expansion -- an idea sure to worry taxi cab owners who say Uber should be held to the same rules as their industry.

HOW’S HE GOING TO PAY FOR IT? The details won’t come out until Cuomo submits his budget recommendation, but the dollar amounts for Cuomo’s proposals may not be as high as they seem. Transportation projects will likely rely on significant federal investments. Upgrades to Penn Station would be ﬁnanced by the developer -- who would retain commercial rights at the facility. And while $250 million for water projects sounds like a huge amount, estimates are that the state needs to spend $40 billion in the next 20 years just to keep up with deterioration. Last year’s budget totaled $142 billion.

JANUARY 14-20,2016

GAS WAR IN CHELSEA NEWS Tenants say a gas shut-off is the latest in an ongoing building battle BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS

Cooking gas service has been restored at a rent stabilized apartment building in Chelsea after a nearly three-month outage, and after inquires were made to Con Edison by this newspaper and Councilmember Corey Johnson’s office. But residents still fear a continuation of service disruptions and other issues dating back to 2014 amid tensions between tenants and management at the building. Multiple residents conﬁrmed to this newspaper that between April and November of 2014 the entire building - comprising 246 units, about 205 of which are rent stabilized – was without cooking gas. Then on Oct. 20 of last year another service disruption occurred affecting 18-25 mostly rent stabilized apartments, which extended through Thanksgiving and Christmas. “[Management] suggested that in the meantime, since the Thanksgiving holiday was coming, I should knock on the door of a neighbor and ask to use their stove if I need to

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cook something,” said resident Franco Gulli, who has lived in a rent stabilized studio at 220 W. 24th St. since 2002. He contacted the building’s superintendent soon after the outage in October began. Gulli said he was fearful that the most recent outage would turn into another eight-month ordeal like the one in 2014, and that in both cases management at the building had declined to get speciﬁc about why the gas was shut off or when it would return. Calls and emails to the building’s owner, Atlas Capital Group, went unreturned. During the 2014 outage the building was owned by Dermot Realty Management, but the on-site manager, Joel Ornstein, remained in charge of the building after it changed hands. Ornstein did not return a request for comment. Residents, many of whom spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, said during both outages that management provided hot plates to replace their stoves, but in many cases the appliances were in poor working condition. Residents also said notices went up about the cooking gas outages in 2014 and 2015 but details were hard to come by. “I just got no answers from

RESIDENTS, STATE AUTHORITY AT ODDS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 stay on until replaced or reappointed by Cuomo. “Chairman Mehiel serves at the pleasure of the governor,” said Forst. Community Board 1 recently passed a resolution calling on the governor to appoint more BPC residents to the board, while local elected officials like State Senator Daniel Squadron have advocated for New York City to take control of Battery Park City, a contingency that’s available to the city. Friction between the authority and residents goes back at least two years, according to Notaro. “It’s a wonderful neighborhood, the authority has done over its lifespan a wonderful job developing it,” said Notaro, who has lived at BPC for almost two decades. “But over the last couple years there’s been a disconnect and a lack of communication between the authority and the community.” Points of contention include the disposition of North Cove Marina, which was given over to mega-developer Brookﬁeld Properties last year at the

anyone,” said a resident named Joe who asked that his last name not be published. He’s lived in a rent stabilized apartment at the building since 1989, and noted that renovations of previously rent stabilized units in the building have been ongoing for a number of years. Gulli estimated there are currently about 40 market rate units in the building. He doesn’t know for sure if the outages or their prolonged nature are related to any attempt to encourage stabilized tenants to move out, but, “I tend to think it is,” he said. Other residents agreed. “There’s an overall feeling of harassment, the last time we had a tenants meeting we were videotaped,” said Joe, who noted one of the doormen brought a handheld video recorder and used it at a meeting called by tenants. Another tenant who helped organize the meeting but did not wish to be identified said management initially refused to let tenants use the building’s lobby for the meeting. Management eventually relented, said the tenant, but as an act of retribution, she believes, videotaped the meeting. That tenant, however, said the bar for proving tenant harassment is high and that market rate units in the building were also affected by both gas outages. Nevertheless, she said she’s urging neighbors to document interactions with management that appear to be unfair.

expense of a popular sailing school and yacht club that was a favorite at the marina for many years. There’s also concern about an opaque RFP system that sometimes ushers in major changes without the community’s knowledge, as in the case of the contract with Allied Barton, and conﬂict over permitting procedures at the Downtown Little League ball ﬁeld. Lingering dissatisfaction also remains over the sudden and fraught departure last year of BPC Parks Conservancy head Tessa Huxley, who according to news reports was forced out of the position she held for 27 years by the authority. But in taking the community’s temperature, Notaro believes residents aren’t quite ready to give up on the authority or Mehiel. “No one wants to scrap the whole thing, at least not yet. But the feeling now is there’s a real breakdown between the community and the authority,” said Notaro, who believes the residents will still work with Mehiel if communication improves. “I’m open to continuing to work with [the authority] until a complete impasse.” Pat Smith, however, a BPC resident since 2002 who is active in local issues, is less forgiving. He said he thinks the

Public records show that Atlas Capital Group bought the property, which also has an address of 225 West 23rd Street, in August of last year for $72.9 million. Deed documents list Andrew B. Cohen and Jeffrey Goldberger as the principals at Atlas who completed the transaction. Calls and emails to Goldberger went unreturned. Cohen could not be reached for comment. In response to the complaints, this newspaper reached out to Johnson’s office, which contacted Con Edison on Friday for a status update on the outages at the building. Gulli said he was told by the building’s manager, Ornstein, that due to the recent holidays service requests at Con Edison were backed up and that the soonest service would be returned to the building was next week. By Sunday, however, cooking gas service was mostly restored, though one tenant reported his apartment was still without cooking gas. Con Edison could not be reached for comment on this story. Tenants who contacted the company said they refused to discuss gas issues in the building with anyone other than management. When Johnson’s office called, however, a status update was provided to the council member’s team and forwarded on to this newspaper. Con Edison told Johnson’s ofﬁce that the most recent outage occurred because of a leak in an

relationship between Mehiel and residents is beyond repair. “For 30 years Battery Park City has been perhaps the most successful development in New York City. It’s worked very well except for the last two years,” said Smith, who believes turning BPC over to the city would be a mistake. “A simpler solution, but a very necessary solution, is changing the leadership at the Battery Park City Authority.” Smith said under previous authority administrations there were quarterly meetings between residents and the authority, a practice that ceased when Mehiel was appointed in 2012. “He promised more than two years ago he would resume the meetings and he did not,” said Smith. Forst, the spokesperson for the Battery Park City Authority, said the agency agreed to hold quarterly meetings after the Dec. 16 town hall, which was the ﬁrst during Mehiel’s tenure. “The authority is committed to open communications with the community,” said Forst. “We regularly receive input from the community by attending the monthly community board meetings, through our website and by engaging with the community for input on different subjects.”

overhead pipe in the cellar of the building. Details about the 2014 outage could not be obtained. Johnson’s chief of staff, Erik Bottcher, said Johnson’s office will be holding a meeting with tenants next week, “to take a comprehensive look at all the issues they’re facing and strategize on how to address each one of them,” he said. These issues include a new construction rider tenants said are attached to lease renewals and appear to indemnify Atlas Capital Group from any liability in connection with past or future renovation work in the building. Gulli, who provided a copy of the rider to the Chelsea News, said he forwarded it on to the NYS Attorney General’s Office for review and doesn’t believe it’s enforceable. Johnson’s office also said that according to Con Edison, management at 220 West 24th Street made a service request in mid-November, weeks after the Oct. 20 shutoff. The gap between the shutoff and the request for service gave Gulli pause. “They cut our gas off Oct. 20,” he said. “Why would it take so long to submit the request from building management?” There’s also the question of whether tenants are entitled to a rent reduction due to the decrease in cooking gas service. Atlas did offer a ﬁve percent rent reduction after the 8-month outage in 2014, according to residents, but those

As for the assault on Dec. 19, Forst referred comment on the apprehension of the suspects to the NYPD and largely refrained from discussing how the incident played out. “Because Allied Barton was patrolling in the vicinity, they were the first to respond,” she said. “As they were first on the scene, they notified NYPD, EMS and [Parks Enforcement Patrol]. As to apprehending the perpetrators, the NYPD has an open investigation and we do not want to interfere with that process. Please contact the NYPD for any further comment.” The authority declined to make Mehiel available for an interview. Officials at Allied Barton did not return a request for comment. Forst said PEP remains a valid security component at BPC. “PEP’s presence has remained unchanged,” she said. “They are still under contract and present at their same staffing levels.” Smith regards the Allied Barton agreement as further evidence of an agency that is out of touch with its constituents. Security “is a crucial element in the community,” said Smith. “How you can do that without seeking some input from the community, or alerting

same residents believe the reduction did not adequately make up for the loss of cooking gas for two-thirds of a year. “A five percent reduction in rent hardly cuts it,” said one rent stabilized tenant in an email last week before the cooking gas service was restored. “I checked my food costs and I spent over [three times] what I normally spend when I have gas. This far exceeds my budget.” The tenant added that despite the outages she renewed her lease because she couldn’t find a comparable studio apartment in Chelsea at the same price without paying a broker’s fee, which she could not afford. “This has me at my wits end. I feel like I am on the verge of a breakdown,” said the tenant. “Between not having gas and the financial burden it imposes, it’s just too much for me.” One market rate tenant who left the building due to the gas outage in October said the hot plate she was supplied with was outdated and she was “wary to even plug it in.” The tenant who preferred to be called by his first name, Joe, said there’s a feeling in the building that relations between tenants and management will only deteriorate further. “I certainly have a feeling that this is just the beginning, and things are about to get worse, and all of my neighbors have the same kind of feeling when we get together,” he said.

the community that you’re considering it?” According to news reports, authority officials said at the Dec. 16 meeting that they published notices seeking private security services in the City Record and on their website. Smith said based on his experience as a former reporter, including during a cops and courts stint at the New York Post, private security guards create the illusion of safety. “No matter what a private security ﬁrm will tell the public, they’re telling their employees, ‘do not risk a lawsuit, do not risk injury to yourself,’” said Smith, who declined to comment directly on the Dec. 19 assault. “I know this: that PEP officers are sworn peace officers ... they have arrest powers. They have protection as both New York City civil servants and as union members. And historically ... PEP ofﬁcers have stepped in and intervened and made arrests, put themselves at risk.” But for Smith the most pressing concern is ousting Mehiel from the helm at the authority. “The most immediate solution right now is to bring in a new chair,” he said. “I just believe he has lost the trust of the community.”

JANUARY 14-20,2016

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Thu 14 â&#x20AC;&#x153;FROM MINIMALISM INTO ALGORITHMâ&#x20AC;? The Kitchen, 512 West 19th St. Free Contemporary and historical painting, sculpture, performance, and musical composition in counterpoint, proposing a new through-line for art-making during the past half-century. 212-255-5793. www. thekitchen.org/events

org/performance/americandance-platform/#.Vor8KPkrLIV

Fri 15

choreographer David Parsons. 212-620-5000. rubinmuseum.org/events/events

Sat 16

FELIX BERNSTEIN: BIEBER BATHOS ELEGY THE HIGH LINE: FROM Whitney Museum of American FREIGHT TO FLOWERS

Art, 99 Gansevoort St. Jan. 15 and 16, 8 p.m. Adults, $10; students and seniors, $8; members and children under 18, free. The New York-based artist, poet, and writer debuts a hybrid work of musical performance AMERICAN DANCE that transforms from poetry PLATFORM â&#x2013;˛ to cabaret drag to lonely web The Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth voyeurism to deconstructive criticism to opera. Ave. 212-570-3600. whitney.org/ Through Jan. 17. Starting at Events/ $10 at JoyceCharge at 212242-0800. Other tickets can be purchased online. â&#x20AC;&#x153;THE GRAND This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s festival features ILLUSIONâ&#x20AC;? companies representing different regions throughout The Rubin Museum of Art, America and pairs emerging 150 West 17th St. companies with those that are 9:30 p.m. $10; members, free. more established. Jean Renoirâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 1937 212-691-9740. www.joyce. masterpiece, introduced by

Gansevoort Street entrance Noon-12:45 p.m. Free Hear the story behind New York Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s park in the sky on a special winter walking tour! Join for tour led by High Line docents, knowledgeable volunteer guides who offer an insiderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perspective. www.thehighline.org/activities

DENIM: FASHIONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S FRONTIER Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, Seventh Avenue at 27 Street, Fashion & Textile History Gallery Through May 7. Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue-Fri, noon-8 p.m. Free The denim exhibit features

JANUARY 14-20,2016

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

Tue 19 MANNES NEXT FLUTE ENSEMBLE CLASS CONCERT 1 The New School, 55 West 13th St. Ernst C. Stiefel Concert Hall, Arnold Hall 8-10 p.m. Free. A semester-end performance by the Mannes NEXT ﬂute ensemble, under the direction of Mary Barto. events.newschool.edu/ calendar denim work pants from the 1840s to denim garments that could be seen on today’s hottest runways. 212-217-4558. www.ﬁtnyc. edu/museum/

Sun 17 LUBA MASON AND HER BAND MIXTURA 55Bar, 55 Christopher St. 8 p.m. No cover Luba and Mixtura present a

Mon 18 DRUM MAJOR INSTITUTE HOSTS MLK PROGRAM AND BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION ▲ The Riverside Church, 490 Riverside Drive Noon-2 p.m. Drum Major Institute hosts A Call to Conscience in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 87th

“SPOTLIGHT ON CHELSEA” FILM SERIES PRESENTS: Muhlenberg Library, 209 West 23rd St. 2 p.m. “Pie in the Sky: the Brigid Berlin Story.” Andy Warhol badgirl Brigid Berlin takes us on a ride through an unbelievable era in this ﬁlm. 212-924-1585. www.nypl.

org/locations/muhlenberg

Wed

20 BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL: THE POWER AND BEAUTY OF NOH MASKS

musical blend of jazz and stylistic elements from other genres in her new musical format. www.55Bar.com. www. lubamason.com

Birthday. This year’s keynote address will focus on ending gun violence in America. 212-203-9219.

OPERA AMERICA: NEW WORKS FORUM Edmond J. Safra Theatre at the SHOWCASE

SOUL TO SOUL

Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place 2 p.m. $20 and $15 for MJH and NYTF members and can be purchased by calling A theatrical concert in commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day that explores the intersections between AfricanAmerican and Yiddish folk music traditions. 212-213-2120 x204. web.ovationtix.com/trs/ pe.c/10064711

Trinity Church, 75 Broadway, at Wall Street 8 p.m. $25 Compositions by Sheila Silver, Stewart Copeland and others performed by NOVUS NY, Trinity Wall Street’s contemporary music orchestra, conducted by Julian Wachner. 212-602-0800. www. trinitywallstreet.org/music-arts/ ensembles/novus

The Rubin Museum of Art, 150 West 17th St. 6:30-9 p.m. $15; JASA and Rubin members, $13.50 In collaboration with the Japanese Art Society of America, a special tour of “Becoming Another: The Power of Masks” followed by a discussion. 212-620-5000. rubinmuseum.org/events/events

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otdowntown.com The Marble Community Gospel Choir

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T N with a tribute to the late Andraé Crouch. Directed by Stacy Penson.

IS GRAD SCHOOL RIGHT FOR YOU? 32 Old Slip 6–8:30 p.m. Free The program features highereducation experts to discuss the importance of lifelong learning, whether through graduate school enrollment, certiﬁcation programs or other opportunities.

Sunday, January 17 at 3:00pm Admission: $20 at door | $15, seniors Save $5 by ordering in advance online at MarbleChurch.org 1 West 29th Street New York, New York 10001 212 686 2770 MarbleChurch.org

JANUARY 14-20,2016

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

Voices THE ARGUMENT FOR A LATER SCHOOL DAY

Write to us: To share your thoughts and comments go to otdowntown.com and click on submit a letter to the editor.

Letter

HIGH SCHOOL DIARY

Mark, via Flickr

LEGALIZE ACCESS TO MEDICAL MARIJUANA There is absolutely no denying that the vast majority of Americans support providing full, safe, legal access to medical marijuana nationwide. When a loved one is in pain, wasting away unable to eat, and needs this marvelous herb in order to increase their appetite, reduce the overwhelming pain, and live as healthy and happily as they can with the time they have left, let’s have the compassion to allow them to have it. Stop treating medical marijuana patients like second-rate citizens and common criminals by forcing them to the dangerous black market for their medicine. Risking incarceration to obtain the medicine you need is no way to be forced to live. Fear of medical marijuana legalization is unfounded and is not based on any science or fact whatsoever. The prohibition of marijuana has not decreased the supply nor the demand for medical marijuana at all. Not one single iota, and it never will. Just a huge and complete waste of our tax dollars to continue criminalizing sick patients and senior citizens in pain for choosing a natural, non-toxic, relatively benign plant proven to be much safer than daily handfuls of deadly, toxic, man-made, highly addictive, narcotic pain pills and other pharmaceuticals. So please, all prohibitionists, we beg you, give your scare tactics, “Conspiracy Theories” and “Doomsday Scenarios” over the inevitable legalization of medical marijuana a rest. Nobody is buying them anymore these days. Why do prohibitionists feel the continued need to vilify and demonize marijuana when they could more wisely focus their efforts on a real, proven killer, alcohol, which again causes more destruction, violence, and death than all other drugs, COMBINED? Prohibitionists really should get their priorities straight and or practice a little live and let live. They’ll live longer, happier, and healthier, with a lot less stress if they refrain from being bent on trying to control others through draconian marijuana laws. There is absolutely no doubt now that the majority of Americans want our politicians to provide us safe, legal access to medical marijuana nationwide. Our numbers grow on a daily basis.

BY ZEKE BRONFMAN

Let me start by sharing my daily schedule. I wake up between 6 and 6:30 a.m. to finish the homework I was too tired to do the night before. That is usually when I have my ﬁrst cup of coffee. I get to school at 7:55. I finish school at 4:45 (yes, that is later than most high schools, but the situation still applies). I then head to one of my extracurricular activities that all students pretty much have to do in order to be competitive on college applications.

I get home by 8, have dinner and shower, and start my homework a little after 9. On a good night, I will ﬁnish homework by 12, on a bad night it can be closer to 2. I am asleep about an hour after I complete my work and wake up 4 to 5 hours later and start it all over again. I’ve come to learn that all of the activities that kids are supposed to do are just in the movies. In reality, the persistent grind of daily life does not allow for children to be children; we are worked like animals.

I am not complaining about the workload or even the work itself. I do believe in the value of hard work. There simply are not enough hours in a day to attend almost nine hours of school a day, two hours of extracurricular activities, a few hours of homework, and a decent sleep schedule. The modern school was designed during the industrial age when mind-numbing factory work was valued over innovation -- for its intended purposes, the system works perfectly. However, the world has

An edited selection of comments submitted online by reader Brian Kelly.

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changed, and so should our educational institutions. All of us will be well prepared for a 9-5 workday behind a computer or in a factory, but few of us will be prepared for the creativity and vision of Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. Those who do excel will do so despite the school system, not because of it. Isn’t it time that our schools reﬂect our values? Teenagers are the only age group that has this unique problem, and ironically, we are the age group that needs the most sleep. Many adults work incredibly hard, but the standard work day starts later than we start school, ends earlier than we end our day, and adults biologically need less sleep. Younger children also need less sleep than teenagers, and have less school and less work outside of school. Imagine for a minute every adult in America was required to work 16-hour days. I guarantee legislation would be passed that forbade that immediately. The reason those laws are not passed is because the people who are forced to work the 16-hour days can’t vote. I spent the last few days at school asking everyone I bumped into the same question: “What is the worst part about school?” Surprisingly, very few said the tests or stress; an overwhelming majority of the students I asked said that the worst part of school is waking up so early every morning. I believe that making the school day start just two hours later would tackle two problems at once. It would solve the problem that kids don’t want to go to school, as my peers demonstrated. More importantly, it would allow for children to be children again, and allow them the proper time to develop into the kind of adults that can achieve the American Dream. Changing the time something starts won’t ﬁx every problem in our education system, but its an awfully good start. Zeke Bronfman is a high school student in Manhattan.

Block Mayors Ann Morris, Upper West Side Jennifer Peterson, Upper East Side Gail Dubov, Upper West Side Edith Marks, Upper West Side

JANUARY 14-20,2016

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

DECIPHERING YOUR KIDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S DOODLES PRE-SCHOOL Developmental experts say they are an important step to reading BY LAURAN NEERGAARD

Celebrate your childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s scribbles. A novel experiment shows that even before learning their ABCs, youngsters start to recognize that a written word symbolizes language in a way a drawing doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t -- a developmental step on the path to reading. Researchers used a puppet, line drawings and simple vocabulary to find that children as young as 3 are beginning to grasp that nuanced concept. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Children at this very early age really know a lot more than we had previously thought,â&#x20AC;? said developmental psychologist Rebecca Treiman of Washington University in St. Louis, who co-authored the study. The research published Wednesday in the journal Child Development suggests an additional way to consider

reading readiness, beyond the emphasis on phonetics or being able to point out an â&#x20AC;&#x153;Aâ&#x20AC;? in the alphabet chart. Appreciating that writing is â&#x20AC;&#x153;something that stands for something else, it actually is a vehicle for language -- thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pretty powerful stuff,â&#x20AC;? said Temple University psychology professor Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, a specialist in literacy development who wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t involved in the new work. And totsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; own scribbling is practice. What a child calls a family portrait may look like a bunch of grapes but â&#x20AC;&#x153;those squiggles, that ability to use lines to represent something bigger, to represent something deeper than what is on that page, is the great open door into the world of symbolic thought,â&#x20AC;? Hirsh-Pasek said. The idea: At some point, children learn that a squiggle on a page represents something, and then that the squiggle we call text has a more speciďŹ c meaning than what we call a drawing. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Dog,â&#x20AC;? for example, should be read the same way each time, while a canine drawing might appropriately be labeled a dog,

or a puppy, or even their pet Rover. Treiman and colleagues tested 114 preschoolers, 3- to 5-year-olds who hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t received any formal instruction in reading or writing. Some youngsters were shown words such as dog, cat or doll, sometimes in cursive to rule out guessing if kids recognized a letter. Other children were shown simple drawings of those objects. Researchers would say what the word or drawing portrayed. Then theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d bring out a puppet and ask the child if they thought the puppet knew what the words or drawings were. If the puppet indicated the word â&#x20AC;&#x153;dollâ&#x20AC;? was â&#x20AC;&#x153;babyâ&#x20AC;? or â&#x20AC;&#x153;dogâ&#x20AC;? was â&#x20AC;&#x153;pup-

py,â&#x20AC;? many children said the puppet was mistaken. But they more often accepted synonyms for the drawings, showing they were starting to understand that written words have a far more speciďŹ c meaning than a drawing, Treiman said. Language is â&#x20AC;&#x153;like a zoom lens on the world,â&#x20AC;? said Hirsh-Pasek. This study shows â&#x20AC;&#x153;even 3-year-olds know thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something special about written words.â&#x20AC;? Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not clear if children who undergo that developmental step at a later age -- say, 5 or 6 instead of 3 or 4 -- might go on to need extra help with learning to read, cautioned Brett Miller, an early

learning specialist at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, which helped fund the research. But because some children did better than others in the experiment, Treiman plans to study that. Scientists have long known that reading to very young children helps form the foundation for them to later learn to read, by introducing vocabulary, rhyming, and different speech sounds. But itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important to include other activities that bring in writing, too, Treiman said. Look closely at a totâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s scribbles. A child might say, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m writing my name,â&#x20AC;? and eventually the crayon scribble can become smaller and closer to the line than the larger scrawl that the tot proclaims is a picture of a ďŹ&#x201A;ower or mom, she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very exciting to see this develop,â&#x20AC;? she said. Previous studies have shown itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s helpful to run a ďŹ nger under the text when reading to a youngster, because otherwise kids pay more attention to the pictures, Miller said. If the words arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t pointed out, â&#x20AC;&#x153;they get less exposure to looking at text, and less opportunity to learn that sort of relationship -- that text is meaningful and text relates to sound,â&#x20AC;? he said. Make sure children see you that you write for a purpose, maybe by having them tell you a story and watch you write it out, adds Hirsh-Pasek. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s much richer than just learning what a B or a P is.â&#x20AC;?

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JANUARY 14-20,2016

SUPREME COURT HEARS TEACHERS’ UNION CASE NEWS Dispute over money raised for collective bargaining BY SAM HANANEL

The Supreme Court is considering a case involving a group of public school teachers and the union fees they’re required to pay, The dispute involves a California case brought by a group of public school teachers who claim mandatory union fees violate the First Amendment rights of workers who disagree with the union’s positions. Unions fear the potential loss of tens of millions of dollars in fees could reduce their power to bargain for higher wages and beneﬁts for teachers, ﬁrefighters, sanitation workers and other government employees. While half the states already have right-to-work laws banning mandatory fees, most members of public-employee unions are concentrated in

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

more liberal-leaning states that don’t, including California, New York and Illinois. The lead plaintiff in the case is Rebecca Friedrichs, a public school teacher in Orange County, California, who says she left the California Teachers Association after becoming disillusioned with its mission. She wants the high court to overturn a 39-year-old ruling that said states can require nonmembers to pay “fair share” fees. These fees cover what it costs the union to represent them in bargaining as long as the money doesn’t go for political purposes. That 1977 case, which involved a group of Detroit schoolteachers, said the fee system prevents non-members from “free riding,” since the union still has a legal duty to represent all workers. The high court has raised doubts about the viability of the ruling in two recent cases, but has stopped short of overturning it. Opponents of the fee system

want the justices to essentially convert those more liberal states into de-facto right-towork states for public employee unions, where workers still covered by the union can pay nothing at all. In Michigan, a historic labor stronghold, the loss of revenue at the MEA has led to cuts in staff and more time spent urging members not to leave, said spokesman Doug Pratt. That means fewer resources for bargaining contracts or efforts to reduce class size, curb standardized tests and increase school funding. “It undermines our ability not only to bargain, but to operate as a collective,” Pratt said. “It’s about strength in numbers.” While it may be too early to tell whether Michigan’s law has had an impact on the bargaining process, Pratt said it has encouraged union officials to spend more time reminding members what the union does for them. The challengers in California say it’s impossible to separate politics from the bread-andbutter workplace issues on which unions spend money. “It is difficult to imagine more politically charged issues than how much money local governments should devote to public employees, or what policies

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public schools should adopt to best educate children,” their lawyers said in a brief to the court. For LaPorte, a Saginaw schoolteacher for 11 years, his decision to give up his union membership wasn’t about politics, but frustration over an agreement that led to a pay freeze for younger teachers. He’s involved in a separate lawsuit brought by the Mackinac Center, a conservative Michigan think tank, challenging the union’s policy of giving workers only a one-month window each year to opt out of fees. “If the union wants membership, then they need to offer a better product,” LaPorte said. But union advocates say the Supreme Court case is all

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about politics -- that conservative groups aim to weaken labor unions that tend to overwhelmingly support Democratic candidates and policies. The case also threatens to unravel thousands of contracts around the country that were negotiated relying on the four-decade old system, said Lily Eskelsen Garcia, president of the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers union. Those agreements help promote efficiency and avoid costly disruptions, union officials say. The challengers are backed by the same groups that supported Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s effort to take away most collective bargaining for public employees. The action has left

Wisconsin’s public unions reeling from membership declines of up to 70 percent. Roughly half of all union members are government workers. About 36 percent of public-sector employees are in a union, compared to just 6.6 percent of private-sector workers. “Since private-sector unionism hardly exists, they are now attacking public-sector unions,” said Nelson Lichtenstein, a labor professor at the University of California-Santa Barbara. “Unions will be weakened as bargaining and political institutions.” In Michigan, the Koch brothers-backed group Americans for Prosperity bought a fullpage ad in the Detroit Free Press in 2014 with a form that teachers could send to their union to drop out. The Mackinac Center mailed post cards reminding union members about deadlines to withdraw. Overall, Michigan’s union membership fell from 16.3 percent to 14.5 percent in 2014, the ﬁrst full year under the rightto-work law. Vincent Vernuccio, director of labor policy for the Mackinac Center, said unions have to prove their worth to members and “can no longer take those dues or fees for granted.”

JANUARY 14-20,2016

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With the push of a button, the battery-powered vehicle into which Katelyn Bennett was strapped surged forward. The three-year-old with pigtails broke into a huge smile, her eyes bright behind purpleframed glasses. Pressing down repeatedly on the large white button, she navigated her way around a room. Many other youngsters would enjoy such a toy, but the vehicle gave Katelyn something she had lacked: the ability to control her own mobility. She was born with spina bifida, a disease that affects the spinal cord. With no feeling below her waist, she struggles with ﬁne motor control.

Her parents, Ed and Heather Bennett, grew frustrated by the lack of toys available for their youngest daughter. (They also have Summer, 7, and Chloe, 6.) Even when they could find toys fitted with adaptive switches (large enough for disabled children to press), they often found the cost prohibitive (anywhere from $50 to $150). In response, Mrs. Bennett in April 2013 formed a nonproﬁt, Katelyn’s Krusade, and in February 2014 opened Katelyn’s Kloset -- a “library” of adaptive toys that parents of children with disabilities can borrow. The vehicle, for example, that Katelyn was recently driving -- patterned after Thomas the Tank Engine -- had been rewired. Instead of being operated by a foot pedal, it features the easy-to-use button. The adapted toys “promote interactive play,” said Bennett, 34. “Her sisters like to play with

her, but this way she can do it on her own, too. You learn cause and effect -- `When I do something, this toy sings or dances’ -- and that’s so much more fun than watching someone else push a button for them.” Word of the library opening spread quickly not only throughout the close-knit community of families with disabled children but also to those who serve them. Demand for the toys exceeded Bennett’s expectations. “We just were here for families,” she said. “Our thought was that therapists and teachers, they had the resources (to acquire adaptive toys) and they’d do what they need to do. But that really wasn’t the case. A lot of them came to borrow toys.” Among them was Ann Horton, a physical therapist with the Franklin County (Ohio) Board of Developmental Disabilities who met the Bennetts

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GREEK PEAK MOUNTAIN RESORT CORTLAND, NY This popular resort, located within New York State’s famous Snow Belt, has incomparable grooming and snowmaking capabilities and features 33 eclectic trails. There’s a convenient Children’s Care Center, and a Progression Park for beginners. You’ll also find terrain parks and quarter pipe for more adventurous types, as well as gorgeous landscaped areas for cross country skiers, snow shoe hikers and even a nine-lane Tubing Center that’s safe, thrilling and fun for all ages.

Winter’s Hottest Destinations for Skiing, Snowboarding, Snowmobiling and Hockey are all in New York State! SKIING & SNOWBOARDING

Here are only some of over 50 mountains in New York State that offer a range of advanced, intermediate and beginner slopes to give every member of your family a thrilling “run” for their money throughout the winter! ADIRONDACKS

CATSKILLS

CENTRAL NEW YORK

GORE MOUNTAIN

HUNTER MOUNTAIN

NORTH CREEK, NY Home to “the most skiable acreage in New York State,” Gore Mountain features 2,537 vertical feet with 109 trails, the impressive 8 passenger Northwoods Gondola and two high-speed quads. Feast your appetite at six picturesque, on-mountain dining spots. Plus enjoy the tubing park and Village Slopes lit for fun well into the night.

HUNTER, NY Almost synonymous with the word “skiing” for devotees of the sport, this world-famous destination now also lures avid snowboarders with its legendary terrain, award-winning snowmaking and luxurious mountainside lodging. Whether treating yourself to a romantic weekend or a family getaway, Hunter offers something for everyone including ski and snowboarding instruction, delicious dining, great shopping, and the largest snow tubing park in New York State!

LABRADOR MOUNTAIN SKI RESORT

WEST MOUNTAIN SKI RESORT QUEENSBURY, NY Recently voted one of the top nine resorts to visit on the east coast by “Ski the East” Magazine, this haven for skiers and snow-boarders is less than an hour from Albany. Dramatic views of the Hudson add to the enjoyment of 30 trails over 126 acres, as does its impressive snow-making abilities and the “West Express,” an incredibly fast triple chairlift. The newly refurbished Main Lodge, the East Slope Bar & Eatery, and West Mountain Cafeteria offer both formal and casual dining.

WHITEFACE MOUNTAIN WILMINGTON, NY This legendary resort, twice host to the Winter Olympic Games and myriad World Cup events, boasts “the greatest vertical drop east of the Rockies.” With 87 trails, 11 lifts (including the “Cloudspitter Gondola”), terrain parks and the Olympic Mountain, skiers of all ages and skill-levels will be thrilled. In nearby Lake Placid, visitors can tour the Olympic Sports Complex, the Olympic Jumping Complex and enjoy the many shops, eateries and entertainment.

PLATTEKILL MOUNTAIN RESORT ROXBURY, NY Priding itself on its true family-friendly atmosphere, this resort has been privately-owned and operated for 23 years. But don’t let its “small mountain charm” fool you; with 38 trails to choose from, Plattekill Mountain also offers expanded snow-tubing lanes as well as challenging slopes for skiers and snowboarders, double and triple-chair lifts and private and group lessons.

WINDHAM MOUNTAIN RESORT WINDHAM, NY A mere two hours from Manhattan, this familyfriendly mountain offers “small town Catskills charm with 21st century ambiance” and compares itself favorably with Vermont and the Berkshires when it comes to accessibility and vertical slopes. It has invested more than $15 million in recent improvements, including 98% snowmaking on its trails, an inn, alpine spa, six terrain parks, 12 lifts.

TRUXTON, NY Just a half hour’s drive from Syracuse, this resort has achieved a #1 rating among its many fans for several years in a row. It offers a variety of 22 slopes and trails along with instructions for skiers and snowboarders of every skill set.

WOODS VALLEY SKI RESORT WESTERNVILLE, NY This resort has been teaching the basics of skiing for 48 years and recent improvements include a new Sun Kid Wonder Carpet to get youngsters safely uphill, a new Carousel, new rental equipment and even an exciting new Tubing Park.

WESTERN NEW YORK HOLIDAY VALLEY ELLICOTTVILLE, NY Holiday Valley is now considered Buffalo’s main winter tourist attraction, particularly among families who love the exciting Mountain Coaster, secret trails, Native American history lessons and the hospitality found at its Tamarack Club and the Inn at Holiday Valley. Visitors appreciate the $4 million of recent upgrades and renovations of snowboarding and tubing fun on its 58 slopes.

HOLIMONT SKI AREA ELLICOTVILLE, NY Praised as North America’s largest private ski resort catering to “family skiing adventures,” Holimont has attracted generations of devoted patrons who enjoy

its welcoming atmosphere as much as the first-class skiing and snowboarding conditions it’s provided for more than half a century. Featuring a patented snow-making system, it recently added a Pisten Bully groomer for its popular terrain park and has expanded its section for novice skiers. Its eight lifts provide fast, convenient service for its 50 slopes, trails and terrain parks.

PEEK ‘N PEAK RESORT CLYMER, NY Created more than 50 years ago, this resort now attracts skiers and snowboarders of all ages to its 27 lighted ski slopes and trails, terrain parks and optimum conditions enhanced by its state-of-the-art snow making pipes. It also features Magic Carpet lifts for kids, plentiful chair lifts for adults and fun events like the Annual Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month, which in early 2016 will attempt to establish a Guinness World Record for the Largest Multi-Venue Ski and Snowboard Lesson ever!

FINGER LAKES BRISTOL MOUNTAIN SKI RESORT C AN ANDAIGUA, NY Every skier and snowboarder will be thrilled by this premier resort’s 1200 foot vertical rise, the highest between the eastern Adirondack/Laurentian Mountains and the western Rocky Mountains. Within 138 acres of skiable terrain, visitors find 35 slopes and trails, 97% of which are illuminated for shushing under the stars. State-of-the-art snowmaking facilities ensure you’ll find optimum conditions for a winter adventure that’s as memorable as it is exciting.

THUNDER RIDGE SKI AREA PATTERSON, NY Located just 60 minutes from New York City, Thunder Ridge is haven for fun-loving families who hate long car rides. For those new to the slopes, Thunder Ridge has a top-notch Snowsport School. The high intensity terrain park has a variety of rails that pose challenges for even the gnarliest of riders. Thunder Ridge’s advanced snow making system can cover over 100 acres with snow, guaranteeing fresh powder for new memories no matter the weather.

HUDSON VALLEY C ATAMOUNT SKI AREA HILLSDALE NY Since opening in 1939, family-friendly Catamount Ski Area has served as a top recreation spot in the Berkshires. With 36 trails, 7 lifts, and 1,000 vertical feet, Catamount offers a variety of terrain for every skill level. Catamount boasts both the steepest and longest run in the Berkshires.

ADIRONDACKS

well-groomed surfaces, ease of travel and convenient accommodations, eateries and services along the way.

ADIRONDACK SNOW TOURS

OLD FORGE SPORTS TOURS

INLET, NY In this gateway to a 34-mile corridor of state-owned land known as the Moose River Recreation Area, you can rent a snowmobile for a few hours or a whole day. The trails connect with the area considered a “snowmobile highway,” and visitors appreciate the

CENTRAL NEW YORK

FLAT ROCK INN

BOLTON LANDING SNOWMOBILE TOURS

Nothing can equal the thrill of riding a powerful snowmobile through acres of pristine white winter landscapes. Below are just some of the locations where visitors can enjoy over 10,000 miles of snowmobile trails throughout New York State.

OLD FORGE, NY An ideal destination for snowmobiling adventures, visitors can enjoy some of the best riding available on professionally groomed and maintained trails in an area many consider “the snowmobile capital of the east.” You’ll also find trail-side dining, fueling stations, accommodations and entertainment along the 500 miles of trails offering some of the most beautiful scenery in the Adirondacks.

CATSKILLS BEAR CREEK LANDING RESTAURANT & RECREATION AL PARK HUNTER, NY This unique recreational park and tempting eatery offers a truly unique outdoor winter experience. Its

TUG HILL PLATEAU ADIRONDACK SPORT CENTER

LAKE GEORGE

SNOWMOBILING

which offers customized tours. Riders of all ages will be entertained by the variety of tours, including trips to Loon Lake, the Adirondack Park, the Northern Trailblazers trail system and even a day-long “Create Your Own Tour” for larger groups. There’s even a romantic dinner tour in the evening.

HAINES FALLS, NY Established as one of the oldest snowmobile rental outfits on the mountain, this family-friendly center offers a half-hour guided tour through its beautiful back mountain country trails led by local drivers who really know the area. They also offer an entertaining “happy hour” tour for adults that provides an after dark snowmobile ride to town for dinner and a cocktail.

EARLVILLE, NY Catering to those seeking a more personal experience along “the roads less traveled,” this venue’s local snowmobile trails are regularly groomed and have much less traffic than those in more touristy spots. Here you’ll receive comprehensive instruction on how to safely handle your vehicle should you choose to go it alone, or one of their expert guides can lead you on a safe, exciting snowmobile adventure.

WARWICK, NY This season marks the 80th year since this resort (which originated as a marketing venue for skiing fashions sold by Macy’s) first opened. Known for its Free Beginner Ski and Snowboarding School, diverse terrain park, excellent snowmaking and grooming facilities and first-class racing, Mount Peter, first and foremost, is famous for its family-friendly atmosphere. Recent improvements include a designated tubing area, changes to its Snow Basin Learning Area, a Carpet Lift, Sun Kid Carousel and illuminated night skiing on 100 percent of its trails.

CLARK’S MARIN A & SNOWMOBILE RENTAL

RIP VAN WINKLE RANCH

RASMUSSEN SNOWMOBILE RENTALS

MOUNT PETER SKI AREA

LAKE PLACID, NY Here rentals on snowmobiles are geared to fit the rider’s ability with single and group tours ranging from slow scenic rides through the picturesque woods to a more spirited pace over well-groomed trails. You can choose from rides lasting from one to six hours, with night tours and refreshments available for longer trips. There are single and double seaters with backrests, and all vehicles are equipped with hand and thumb warmers.

expert drivers can lead you on an exciting snowmobile tour through acres of private, wooded, snow-covered terrain or instruct you in how to operate your own rented vehicle. Adventurous types can also take a few breathtaking laps around its “Need for Speed” track before enjoying a hot, comforting meal at the center’s popular, family-friendly restaurant for new memories no matter the weather.

BOLTON LANDING , NY This family-friendly service will welcome you on a two-hour guided tour along well-groomed trails through the wilderness zone, where you’ll ride snowmobiles and enjoy breathtaking mountain scenery on your way to the picturesque Adirondack Ponds. Everything you need, from helmet and safety equipment, is supplied.

C&C ADIRONDACK SNOWMOBILE TOURS CHESTERTOWN, NY A combined 40+ years of experience guiding visitors distinguishes the expert staff at this brand new venue,

BOONVILLE, NY During the winter, this family-owned and familyfriendly recreational center maintains a fleet of quality rental snowmobiles and rental accommodations, making “play and stay” options very attractive to those seeking to spend more than one day exploring the well-groomed trails.

LOWVILLE, NY This location benefits from a climate that receives 250 to 300+ inches of snowfall each winter and a location with more than 800 miles of well-groomed trails. Flat Rock Inn boasts a fleet of one and twoperson snowmobiles, including Polaris models. Visit the Tavern where you can toast all your adventures and a comfortable lodge in which to bed down.

THE RIDGE VIEW INN LOWVILLE, NY Conveniently located near the beautiful Tug Hill Plateau and set squarely within the snow band area of Northern New York, this is an ideal place from which to plan your snowmobiling adventure. Hire a snowmobile from the Tug Hill Ridge Runners Snowmobile Rental venue affiliated with the Inn, dine on world-class cuisine at the restaurant and get a good night’s sleep before hitting the trails once more.

WESTERN NEW YORK CHAUTAUQUA LAKE SNOWMOBILE SERVICES BEMUS POINT, NY Whether you choose to rent a Polaris snowmobile or just sit back and let an experienced driver show you the gorgeous natural sights during a two-hour jaunt or an all-day adventure, exploring the county’s well-groomed trails or secret backwoods areas will be fun, exciting and memorable.

JANUARY 14-20,2016 when she provided home-based care for Katelyn. The increased stimulation and mobility that children receive from adaptive toys, Horton said, “can be life-changing.” “It makes therapy fun, and a lot of stuff with therapy can be not fun.” To cover the costs of Katelyn’s Kloset -- for toy purchases and building rent -- Bennett initially charged a $50 annual membership fee. By early this year, though, increased financial support from businesses and individuals allowed her to waive the fee, making the service free. Katelyn’s Krusade has an annual budget of about $20,000, with about half raised through an annual 5-kilometer walk, Bennett said. Not long after opening the library, she expanded the offerings to battery-powered vehicles. An engineer for Honda of America, she found that rewiring the vehicles wasn’t too difficult. She also began hosting monthly workshops, in which volunteers learn how to assemble buttons and switches, and properly wire the toys and vehicles. Unlike the toys, the vehicles are fitted specifically for each

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child who needs one. And the child can keep the vehicle until he or she outgrows it. Mobility, experts and parents say, makes a huge difference for children with disabilities. “He used to just be a bump on a log,” said Brian Jones, a Dublin resident who received a Thomas the Tank Engine vehicle for 2-year-old son Charles, who has cerebral palsy. “Now he’s zooming around, banging into things. He’s adventurous. “I see smiles, and he’s happy that he’s getting to see other parts of the house that he wouldn’t see unless we were walking through with him.” The workshops have stirred a ripple effect of sorts in the community. Through word-of-mouth and some personal connections,

students from Ohio State University and Hilliard Davidson High School who are interested in engineering began volunteering. For Connor Yarcheck, who started helping at the workshops while attending Davidson, getting involved has sparked a passion. With several classmates, he helped develop a new type of button. As a freshman attending the OSU campus in Mansfield, he hopes to make blueprints for the buttons available to the public soon. “I’ve really been driven by it and moved by it (the experience),” said Yarcheck, 19. “To see that I could engineer something that might impact somebody -- you don’t get that in a high-school class. I am doing something now that feels purposeful.” Horton, Jones and others marvel at the time and effort that Bennett has given to the project, especially considering that she works full time and has two other children besides her daughter with special needs. Bennett shrugs off praise. “We’re just here to serve these families and to love on these kids,” she said, “and just give them something that they may not be able to get otherwise.”

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JANUARY 14-20,2016

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ON SNOW DAYS, ‘VIRTUAL SCHOOL’ HIGH SCHOOL Some school districts are experimenting with an alternative to closing school altogether BY ANDREW WYRICH

The Record Last year, as a snowstorm blanketed North Jersey, Pascack Valley Regional High School District attempted something that, at the time, was considered unique -- a “virtual school day.” Ultimately, the New Jersey Department of Education decided the day would not count as a full school day, but that hasn’t stopped the district -- and a neighboring school system -- from trying again. The Record reports that both high schools in the Pascack Valley Regional High School District and Park Ridge High School are planning “virtual school days” for their students next month. This will be Park Ridge’s ﬁrst attempt to host a virtual school day, while Pascack Valley is ﬁne-tuning its original plan.

Pascack Valley, which has two high schools for students in Hillsdale, River Vale, Woodcliff Lake and Montvale, will have two virtual school days on Feb. 3 and Feb 4. Park Ridge will have its virtual school day on Feb. 8. “No one wants to be the person who takes away all snow days for kids -that’s a sense of innocence and joy -but when you are bombarded with a winter like we had a year or two ago, it would be nice to be able to keep your school calendar intact,” Pascack Valley Regional High School District Superintendent Erik Gundersen said. “More importantly than that, I think the world in front of us is becoming more and more a world where you’re able to work and function digitally and you don’t necessarily have to be engaged with the people you work with -- or your teacher -- 100 percent of the time in a face-to-face environment. That is what we are trying to prepare our students for.” In February 2014 Pascack Valley instituted a districtwide virtual school day during a snowstorm -- where students logged onto their laptops and received

instruction from teachers and assignments that could be completed over the Internet. While the ﬁrst virtual day was considered a success by the district, Department of Education officials did not count it as an official day of school because state law requires facilities to be open to count as a school day. With this in mind, both Pascack Valley and Park Ridge have refocused their experiment. In November both Gundersen and Park Ridge Superintendent Robert Gamper sent a joint-letter to the New Jersey Department of Education explaining the changes that will be made with the new virtual days and their intent to share the data they glean from it with the state department. The virtual days in both districts will be optional -- students can either log on at home or come to school as they normally would. Teachers will be in all of the facilities, the buildings will be open and the cafeterias will be serving food. This change, officials from both districts said, should keep them in line with state regulations. The school officials said the Department of Education was “excited” they were planning virtual days and wanted to hear about the school’s experiences. “We are interested in piloting this and giving students a sense of what the future could be like for them, whether it’s an online classroom in college or the workforce that they will enter in the future,” Gamper said.

“This experience is something we want to build upon to get our students ready for college and beyond.” While the two districts have slightly different plans to implement the virtual days, the officials said they hope to compare and analyze data gathered from each other to improve in the future. Park Ridge will have a “full day” online where students will log in to different classes on a normal schedule through a learning management program. Pascack Valley is having two “abbreviated days,” where half of the day will be scheduled instruction, and the second half of the day will be time for students to complete work that has been assigned to them. Gundersen said the decision to have two split days was made after reviewing student and teacher feedback from the previous virtual day in 2014. Students expressed an overload of assign-

ments, he said. “We had many students that said, `I did more work on the virtual day than I ever had on a regular day,’” Gundersen said. “You have to be careful of that, because if this is something we want to experiment with, it has to be palpable for students and teachers.” In addition, during the last virtual day different teachers used different learning management programs -which caused confusion among students. This year, all teachers use one program. The virtual days are an ongoing experiment, officials said, but they are important for the districts moving forward. “We want to see if we can engage in blended curriculum in the future -- whether it’s a course or two, or perhaps, as a region of schools, offering courses we typically couldn’t offer in just one small school,” Gundersen said. After the virtual days in February, both districts intend to get feedback from students and staff and then discuss the differences between the different styles to see what works best. “The big piece here is to get the feedback from parents, students, staff, admin,” Gamper said. “Being able to evaluate exactly how much learning took place on that one day will be difficult, but it’s the feedback that we will receive that will allow us to see where we can improve and make it a better day in the future for everyone involved.”

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JANUARY 14-20,2016

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Pia Gallo shows “Yellow Dancer,” a 1911 pastel by Everett Shinn, during Master Drawings New York. Photo: Master Drawings New York.

A WEEK OF MASTER DRAWINGS EXHIBITIONS Madison Avenue opens its galleries in late January BY GABRIELLE ALFIERO

Throughout a week of gallery exhibitions on the Upper East Side, drawings by Old Masters receive fresh audiences—and new owners. Founded by Italian art specialist Margot Gordon, Master Drawings New York originated 11 years ago as a stateside iteration of an annual summer showing in London. Gordon partnered with art dealer Crispian Riley-Smith, who started the London series, to bring a similar show to New York. Master Drawings opens with a preview on Jan. 22, followed by a week of open galleries

from Jan. 23-30, with most exhibits located off a 20-block stretch of Madison Avenue. Participants include local Upper East Side galleries such as Kraushaar Galleries on E. 71st Street, and many visiting galleries and private dealers from New York and abroad, which borrow gallery spaces for their shows. “Drawings are so interesting because they are in many cases the first thoughts of the artist, the first intense initial thoughts and you see the artist’s way of thinking,” said Gordon, who will share a gallery space with Riley-Smith for her exhibition of figurative work. “They’re very intimate to look at and they’re intimate in the sense that they’re close to the artist.” Pieces on view date from the early 16th century to the late

20th century, and contemporary art is well-represented, with many dealers covering multiple periods. Mireille Mosler, whose gallery on E. 67th Street usually opens by appointment only, exhibits five centuries of work from the Netherlands, including Jacob Marrel’s 1638 work “Study of the Gery Tulip.” “A lot of Old Master dealers have also ventured further into the earlier and later 20th century,” said Gordon. “It’s a little more difficult to find Old Master material.” Pia Gallo, who operates on E. 86th Street near Madison Avenue and was a private dealer for 25 years before opening her own space, marks her fifth year exhibiting with Master Drawings, but was introduced to the weeklong shows as an attendee.

“Usually the exhibitions, they’re not too large or extensive, so one can actually manage and go from one gallery to the next without getting too exhausted, she said. “It’s very easy to get a really good dose of what’s available in drawings from Old Masters through contemporary.” Gallo also exhibits each year at the International Fine Print Dealers Association Print Fair at Park Avenue Armory, a ﬁve-day event that drew 89 exhibitors to its most recent incarnation in November. Both shows introduce her to collectors who aren’t part of her regular clientele of private collectors and museum curators, including those with the Art Institute of Chicago and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Master Drawings, which co-

incides with Sotheby’s annual auctions of Old Master works and the Winter Antiques Show at Park Avenue Armory, retains a relative intimacy, where exhibitors have time with buyers, and collectors have a full week to absorb the array of work from several centuries and 29 different exhibitors, without paying an entry fee. “It’s really top-notch,” said Gallo, who will show 20thcentury American watercolors and pastels from private collections. “And gives one a taste of what’s out there on the market.” Allan Stone Projects joined as an exhibitor this year. Started by art dealer Allan Stone in 1960, the Chelsea-based gallery, which shows at Jonathan Boos on Madison Avenue, joined in part because Stone’s

history with artists like Willem de Kooning, Arshile Gorky and Wayne Thiebaud, all on view in the gallery’s exhibition, led to a strong holding of works on paper, and the audience seemed ideal for such pieces, said Bo Joseph, the gallery’s director. Prices va r y drastica lly throughout the exhibitions, as does the notoriety of the artists represented. At Allan Stone Projects’ show, three gouache works by Harry Bowden, a friend of de Kooning, will likely be new to most collectors, Joseph said, and are priced around $2,000 each. In the same exhibition, a pastel still life from the 1970s by Thiebaud could sell for more than $500,000. While drawings can be less costly than paintings by the same artist, some collectors seek them out for their “high degree of mastery and depth,” Joseph said. “Some of the works on paper collectors I know have this almost fighting the good fight type of attitude in their ambitions as collectors,” he said.

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JANUARY 14-20,2016

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ACTIVITIES FOR THE FERTILE MIND

FOR THE WEEK BY GABRIELLE ALFIERO OUR ARTS EDITOR

THEATER

LABUTE NEW THEATER FESTIVAL St. Louis Actors’ Studio brings its festival of one-act plays to New York for the ﬁrst time. The six staged works all debuted at previous festivals, including Neil LaBute’s “Kandahar,” about a soldier’s homecoming. LaBute New Theater Festival Jan. 13-Feb. 7 59E59 Theaters 59 E. 59th St., between Park and Madison Avenues Assorted show times Tickets $30 To purchase tickets, visit 59e59.org or call 212-279-4200

thoughtgallery.org NEW YORK CITY

Maria Konnikova + Brian Koppelman

TUESDAY, JANUARY 19TH, 7PM The Strand | 828 Broadway | 212-473-1452 | strandbooks.com Author Maria Konnikova talks about her book The Conﬁdence Game: Why We Fall for It . . . Every Time with Brian Koppelman, co-writer of Ocean’s Thirteen and Rounders, and therefore an expert on cons himself. ($15 or purchase a copy of the book)

Can the Jewish Narrative Be Revived?

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20TH, 7PM The Strand | 828 Broadway | 212-473-1452 | strandbooks.com New York Times columnist Roger Cohen sits down with author Ari Shavit (My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel) to sift through fact, ﬁction and how to change the story of Israel today. ($20)

Just Announced | Brainwave: Parker Posey + Emma Seppälä

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3RD, 7PM

MUSEUMS

GALLERIES

POLITICS, MONEY, AND ANARCHY: HISTORIC HOUSE MUSEUMS

JAMES DINERSTEIN’S “NEWTOWN CREEK” SERIES AND ALESSANDRO DEL PERO’S “WIRED” SERIES

Tied to its recent exhibition on landmarks preservation and the city’s Landmarks Law, the Museum of the City of New York hosts a discussion about the potential futures of house museums. Moderated by Andrew Dolkart, a professor of historic preservation at Columbia University, panelists include the chief curator of the Newark Museum and other experts. Politics, Money, and Anarchy: Historic House Museums Thursday, Jan. 14 Museum of the City of New York 1220 Fifth Ave., at 103rd Street 6:30 p.m. Tickets $16 To purchase tickets, visit mcny.org or call 212534-1672

DANCE ALISON CHASE/PERFORMANCE Modern dance choreographer Alison Chase and her company debut two new works, including “Tracings,” which references the landscape of Chase’s home on the Maine coast through the movement of her dancers. The company pairs the premieres with two earlier works from the choreographer. Alison Chase/Performance Jan. 14-17 Five Angels Theater 789 Tenth Avenue, near W. 53rd Street Assorted show times Tickets $30 To purchase tickets visit http:// www.eventbrite.com/o/alisonchaseperformance-8617607928 To be included in the Top 5 go to otdowntown.com and click on submit a press release or announcement.

Inspired by Greek sculpture, Brooklyn native James Dinerstein’s ﬂuid, abstract concrete structures evoke the draping of garments. Meanwhile, Alessandro Del Pero’s paintings connect light and dark spaces through graceful curves and coils of wires. James Dinerstein’s “Newtown Creek” Series and Alessandro Del Pero’s “Wired” Series Jan. 14-Feb. 20 Cara Gallery 508 W. 24th St., between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues Gallery hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. FREE For more information, visit caragallery-llc.com or call 212-242-0444

Rubin Museum of Art | 150 W. 17th St. | 212-620-5000 | rmanyc.org Actress Parker Posey talks about happiness with neuroscientist Emma Seppälä, author of a scientiﬁc look at the emotion called The Happiness Track. A book signing will follow. ($30)

For more information about lectures, readings and other intellectually stimulating events throughout NYC,

FILM THE COEN BROTHERS AT FILM FORUM Ahead of the Feb. 5 release of Joel and Ethan Coen’s newest effort “Hail, Caesar!” Film Forum presents a 15-film retrospective that kicks off with a one-week showing of the brothers’ 1996 film “Fargo.” Along with favorites like “The Big Lebowski” and more recent films “True Grit” and “No Country for Old Men,” the festival also includes earlier films from the pair, including 1984’s “Blood Simple” and 1991’s “Barton Fink.” The Coen Brothers at Film Forum Jan. 22-Feb. 4 Film Forum 209 W. Houston St., near Varick Street Assorted dates and show times Tickets $14 To purchase tickets, visit filmforum.org or call 212-727-8110

Advertise with Our Town Downtown today! Call Vincent Gardino at 212-868-0190 or email advertising@strausnews.com

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A PLAY ABOUT A HOTEL ... IN A HOTEL PERFORMANCE ‘Insignificance’ is the latest in a wave of immersive plays in New York BY MARK KENNEDY

A play that imagines what it might have been like had Marilyn Monroe, Albert Einstein, Joe DiMaggio and Sen. Joe McCarthy met in a hotel room in 1953 will make its New York debut next month -- in a hotel room. The innovative theater company Defibrillator, based in Britain, will present Terry Johnson’s “Insignificance” in a suite at the five-star Langham Place in midtown Manhattan. Previews begin Feb. 19. “It’s a really exciting way to create theater,” said Defibrillator artistic director James Hillier, who will direct

the play in New York. “When it comes to storytelling, you can tell stories in lots and lots of different places.” The play is the latest in a wave of immersive or site-specific theater in New York, including “Sleep No More,” a mask-filled, genre-bending show that mixes film noir and “Macbeth,” as well as the show “Queen of the Night,” a nightclub-opera-circus at the Paramount Hotel in Times Square. “The opportunities have opened up now and you don’t have to be in a more formal theatrical environment that’s set up specifically just to do that role,” Hillier said. “I think it just broadens the horizon and shows that theater is a very broad church.” “Insignificance,” which premiered in 1982 at the Royal Court in London, was made into a 1985 film by director Nicolas Roeg, starring Michael Emil, Theresa Russell, Gary Busey and Tony

Curtis. It never had a professional New York premiere. “He’s got a brilliantly British take on these very American people, which I think offers a humorous, sometimes quite wry take on America and its position at the heights of its power,” said Hillier. Johnson also wrote and directed Broadway’s “The Graduate” and won a Tony Award directing “La Cage aux Folles” with Kelsey Grammer. He also directed “End of the Rainbow” with Tracie Bennett. The latest cast of “Insigniﬁcance” at the hotel will star Max Baker, Anthony Comis, Susannah Hoffman and Michael Pemberton. Tickets range from $49 to $125. Audiences -- as many as 60 people might be accommodated per showing -- will check in at a box office in the lobby on Fifth Avenue and then be taken to the fifth floor and into a spacious hotel room designed to evoke 1953. Nearby will be a room converted into a bar offering drinks and entertainment of the era. “Already, you’re having a really exciting experience. Already, you’re out of your comfort zone. You’re excited,” said Hillier. “What I really love is that feeling you had when you were on a school trip when you were a kid. You

JANUARY 14-20,2016 Midtown’s Lanhgam hotel, where the play will take place

all got on a bus at the same time and you get taken the Natural History Museum? It’s like, `Wow, this is great!’” Deﬁbrillator, established in 2011, focuses on narrative-driven theater but tries to make the experience richer with immersive elements. It has done shows like this before, presenting “The Hotel Plays” by Tennessee Williams in 2012 at the Grange Hotel and in 2014 at The Langham hotel in Lon-

MEDICAL MARIJUANA CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 treatment they need,” said Nicholas Vita, CEO of Columbia Care, the Manhattan dispensary’s operator. New York’s program “is going to be a game-changer for the industry ... because nobody’s going to let anything slip through the cracks.” Almost two decades after California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana, New York lawmakers agreed in June 2014 to a version that sought to balance patient demand with officials’ concerns that the drug could be diverted to recreational use. New York is the only state besides Minnesota to limit medical marijuana to non-smokeable extracts delivered in forms such as capsules, vaporizers and liquids taken orally, and it’s one of few states with a physician training requirement. New York limited its program to 20 dispensaries and a short list of qualified conditions such as cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis and epilepsy. Missy Miller, the mother of a 16-year-old with epilepsy that causes multiple seizures per day, lobbied for the law and looked forward to the day when her son could legally try a treatment other patients have reported finding helpful. But that day wasn’t Thursday. Her son’s physician is holding off on taking the required course, and she hasn’t been able to find another doctor who has. “I’m extremely frustrated, and I’m heartbroken,” said Miller, of Atlantic Beach. “I’m sick over it, that we’re

don. “We want the experience to be enriched. So, because they’ve had a taste of what life was like in the 1950s when they walk into that room, they feel a little bit more how those characters feel.” Hillier said. “They empathize with them a little bit more than they would if they just walked in cold off the street into a traditional theater.”

still waiting.” The state Department of Health says nearly 150 physicians statewide are ready to recommend medical pot, but the agency hasn’t released their names, though it has pledged to do so. Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said this week the implementation timeline was “extremely ambitious” and noted the state was meeting it. When the law passed, it faced some concerns from addiction experts and uncertainty in the medical community. As medical director for dispensary operator Vireo Health of New York, Dr. Stephen Dahmer knows medical pot is a question mark for some MDs. Medical research on marijuana has been somewhat constrained by the drug’s illegality under federal law. “Our hope, with Vireo Health, is to improve that evidence base,” he said at a dispensary in suburban White Plains also opened Thursday. Some medical marijuana advocates say that by barring patients from the familiar practice of smoking the drug, New York may make it more difficult for them to know how much is enough. To Dahmer and others at Vireo, however, the extracts offer exactitude in what patients are consuming. “We’re not going to be selling joints. We’re not going to be selling pot brownies,” said CEO Ari Hoffnung, who argues New York’s strictures can make some patients more comfortable with medical pot. In many cases, he said, “grandmothers don’t want to walk into a dispensary and be told by a 27-year-old bud tender that they should buy an AK-47 joint.”

JANUARY 14-20,2016

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS DEC 2 , 2015 - JAN 7, 2016

Ollies To Go

2425 Broadway

Grade Pending (27) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. 2) Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewageassociated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies. 3) Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred

Coffeeberry

618 Amsterdam Ave

Not Yet Graded (28) Hand washing facility not provided in or near food preparation area and toilet room. Hot and cold running water at adequate pressure to enable cleanliness of employees not provided at facility. Soap and an acceptable hand-drying device not provided.

King Food

489 Amsterdam Avenue

Grade Pending (16) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. 2) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked ﬁsh and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation.

Blossom Du Jour

449 Amsterdam Avenue

Not Yet Graded (28) Food from unapproved or unknown source or home canned. Reduced oxygen packaged (ROP) ﬁsh not frozen before processing; or ROP foods prepared on premises transported to another site.

The following listings were collected from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s website and include the most recent inspection and grade reports listed. We have included every restaurant listed during this time within the zip codes of our neighborhoods. Some reports list numbers with their explanations; these are the number of violation points a restaurant has received. To see more information on restaurant grades, visit www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/services/restaurant-inspection.shtml. Bistro Citron

473 Columbus Avenue A

Bustan

487 Amsterdam Avenue

Grill 212

212 West 80 Street

Macaron Parlour

560 Columbus Ave

Georgia&Aliou’s Tiny Treats Cafe

616 Amsterdam Ave

Blossom On Columbus

507 Columbus Ave

Bellini

483 Columbus Ave

Crave Fish Bar

428 Amsterdam Ave

Not Yet Graded (8) Appropriately scaled metal stem-type thermometer or thermocouple not provided or used to evaluate temperatures of potentially hazardous foods during cooking, cooling, reheating and holding.

The Parlour

250 West 86 Street

Grade Pending (20) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. 2) Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewageassociated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies. 3) Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. 4) Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

5 Napkin Burger

2315 Broadway

The Dead Poet

450 Amsterdam Ave

Land Thai Kitchen

450 Amsterdam Avenue

Grade Pending (24) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked ﬁsh and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. 2) Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.

The Cottage

360 Amsterdam Avenue

Grade Pending (19) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. 2) Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewageassociated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies. 3) Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Sugar And Plumm

377 Amsterdam Avenue

Grade Pending (26) Hot food item that has been cooked and refrigerated is being held for service without ﬁrst being reheated to 1 65º F or above within 2 hours. 2) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or nonfood areas. 3) Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Chipotle Mexican Grill

2298 Broadway

Redfarm

2170 Broadway

Grade Pending (22) Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewage-associated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies. 2) Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. 3) Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

More neighborhood celebrations? neighborhood opinions? neighborhood ideas? neighborhood feedback? neighborhood concerns?

Email us at news@strausnews.com

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Greenwich

JANUARY 14-20,2016

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

YOUR 15 MINUTES

To read about other people who have had their “15 Minutes” go to otdowntown.com/15 minutes

THE GIFT OF SOUND AND VISION A conductor forges a connection between orchestra and audience BY ANGELA BARBUTI

Gregory Singer was destined for a musical life. The son of two musicians — his father was a violinist and a conductor; his mother is a pianist — he began playing the violin as soon as he was big enough to hold it. Although he admits that in his younger years he didn’t always enjoy practicing and the formality of a school setting, now he ﬁnds solace in music. In fact, he created his own orchestra, Manhattan Symphonie, to share his and other musicians’ talents. “There’s so much ugliness and violence in the world that I really dreamed to have an orchestra that could bring attention to certain causes and share the beauty of life and counteract a lot of the negativity,” he explained. Singer, who also owns a high-end violin shop on the Upper West Side, transitioned from playing to conducting after realizing he was most himself when at the podium. As the conductor of the Symphonie, who plays their fourth Carnegie Hall concert on February 10 in celebration of the Chinese New Year, he said, “I like to break down the fourth wall and talk to the audience. I feel like a lightning rod right in the middle of the audience and the orchestra.”

You grew up in a home where your parents were both musicians. When did they notice your musical talents? My mother is a pianist and she still plays the piano in her nineties. My father was a great violinist and conductor, so I’m following in his footsteps. When I was very, very little I was always trying to get the violin, but it was too big for me. But my father would always bring it down and put it up to my chin to see if my arms were long enough. He put it back many times because I was not big enough to play it, and finally, one day, it stayed down and was the right size for

me. And I was very happy to be able to start to take lessons.

You studied at Juilliard. What was your experience like there? I personally didn’t like the regimentation of school very much. I enjoyed meeting a lot of the young students who were my age; we played a lot of music. But the experience at Lincoln Center ... the building was rather cold and not so warm. And I didn’t ﬁnd the experience so pleasant. But after running away from classical music for a while, I ran back to it. Now, I realize I can program what music I love the most. I learn new music with new people. I just got back from a two-week tour of China. That was a huge success and a lot of fun. I went to 16 different cities. So music has enriched my life greatly. Now I don’t have to associate it with my teachers or people telling me what to play or how much to practice. To me, music is now a sanctuary.

When did you transition from playing to conducting? About 12 years ago, someone asked if I could conduct a concert for Castle Gardens, a building affiliated with The Fortune Society. It’s sort of like a halfway house for people coming out of prison. I put together a 15- to 20-piece ensemble and conducted with a string orchestra and really enjoyed the communication and having the orchestra as my instrument. And then a few years later, someone asked me if I would accompany them in a Beethoven violin concerto and I did that at Weill Recital Hall. So my real debut came at Carnegie Hall and I really loved it. And then I began to remember all the years I spent watching my father’s rehearsals and concerts, and all the music came rushing back to me. And I suddenly realized it. And as a friend once told me, I was meant to be at the podium. I am the most focused and relaxed and it seems like that’s where I am the most comfortable.

Tell us about the musicians who

play in the Manhattan Symphonie. The members are really terrific. I sort of auditioned them over a 10-year period. The main thing I look for is attitude in addition to loving to make great music. So I collected musicians from the Lincoln Center Orchestra, virtuosos from the Manhattan School of Music, Mannes School of Music and The Juilliard School, and other professional musicians from around the city. So they’re young and old. I have some players as old as their late 80s and some young players as young as 17 and 18 years old.

Tell us about your violin shop, Gregory Singer Fine Violins. What is the atmosphere like there? It’s very quaint. It’s like a 19th century shop. We deal primarily with high-end violins though, so we’re not necessarily for beginner violin players. We’re selling Stradivarius and eighteen-century violins that are worth quite a lot of money.

How do you balance conducting with running the store? I spend about four or ﬁve days a week at the store. I don’t study music at the store. After five o’clock I study the music I’m preparing for the concerts in the evening. I meet musicians at the store all the time, so sometimes I’m auditioning new players for the orchestra. We play string quartets here sometimes. I get to play music with musicians who come to visit. People come from Europe and Asia to look at violins and talk about their recent concerts. And that’s how I meet people and sometimes select my soloists for the tours. The orchestra is on the web at www. manhattansymphonie.com and the violin shop at visit www.singerviolins. com

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Gregory Singer conducting the Manhattan Symphonie. Photo: David Usui.

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“I WISH SOMEONE WOULD HELP THAT HOMELESS MAN.”

BE THE SOMEONE. Sam New York Cares Volunteer

Every day, we think to ourselves that someone should really help make this city a better place. Visit newyorkcares.org to learn about the countless ways you can volunteer and make a difference in your community.

JANUARY 14-20,2016

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Volunteering in the Arts

Come listen to our panel of volunteer experts Learn about a broad range of opportunities in the arts capital of the world Talk with interviewers and sign up to volunteer!

Tuesday, January 26, 2016 6:00pmÂ˛8:00pm All Stars Project 543 West 42nd Street

(Subway A, C, & E to 42nd Street)

SOHO LT MFG

462 Broadway MFG No Retail/Food +/- 9,000 sf Ground Floor - $90 psf +/- 16,000 sf Cellar - $75 psf

Admission is FREE! | Light Refreshments

RSVP to reserve your place 212 889-4805 or www.volunteer-referral.org

Call Farrell @ Meringoff Properties 646.306.0299

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

JANUARY 14-20,2016

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N e w Yo r k S t a t e I n v i t e s Yo u To The Amer ican Hockey League New York State is home to five AHL teams, built on intense rivalries. And this season, New York will be the home of the American Hockey League’s marquee event when the Syracuse Crunch host the 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Classic on January 31 and February 1.

2016 TOYOTA AHL ALL-STAR CLASSIC Syracuse, Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 See the top young talent in the American Hockey League! The fun kicks off with the All-Star Skills Competition Sunday night with All-Stars from the Eastern Conference squaring off against All-Stars from the Western Conference in seven skills events. The All-Star Challenge follows Monday night when the AHL’s All-Stars will be divided into four teams, one representing each of the league’s divisions (Atlantic, North, Central, Pacific).

The rosters feature 38 first-time AHL AllStars, nine rookies and 10 former first-round draft choices, including standouts William Nylander of the Toronto Marlies, Michael McCarron of the St. John’s IceCaps, Nick Ritchie of the San Diego Gulls and Mikko Rantanen of the San Antonio Rampage. In addition, 23 of the All-Stars named have appeared in the National Hockey League already this season. P.K. Subban and Mats Zuccarello.

Here’s a schedule of New York State’s teams so you can experience the fast paced action of live AHL Hockey! ALBANY DEVILS Fri 1/22/16 7:00 PM vs. St. John’s Sat 1/23/16 2:00 PM vs. St. John’s Fri 1/29/16 7:00 PM vs. Utica Sat 2/13/16 5:00 PM vs. Rochester Wed 2/24/16 7:00 PM vs. St. John’s BINGHAMTON SENATORS Sat 1/16/16 7:05 PM vs. Rochester Sat 1/23/16 7:05 PM vs. Syracuse Sat 2/6/16 7:05 PM vs. Rochester Sat 2/13/16 5:00 PM vs. Syracuse Fri 2/19/16 7:05 PM vs. St. John’s

Sat 2/20/16 7:05 PM vs. St. John’s Sun 2/28/16 5:05 PM vs. Syracuse ROCHESTER AMERICANS Fri 1/15/16 7:05 PM vs. Binghamton Mon 1/18/16 3:05 PM vs. Syracuse Wed 1/27/16 7:05 PM vs. Syracuse Fri 1/29/16 7:05 PM vs. Binghamton Fri 2/12/16 7:05 PM vs. Albany

SYRACUSE CRUNCH Fri 1/15/16 7:00 PM vs. Utica Fri 2/5/16 7:00 PM vs. Rochester

Wed 2/17/16 7:00 PM vs. St. John’s Fri 2/19/16 7:00 PM vs. Utica Sat 2/20/16 7:00 PM vs. Rochester Fri 2/26/16 7:00 PM vs. Binghamton Sat 2/27/16 7:00 PM vs. St. John’s

UTICA COMETS Sat 1/16/16 7:00 PM vs. Albany Sat 1/30/16 7:00 PM vs. Rochester Fri 2/12/16 7:00 PM vs. Binghamton Sat 2/20/16 7:00 PM vs. Albany Fri 2/26/16 7:00 PM vs. St. John’s