The local paper for Downtown wn A FLOOD OF IMAGES AT MOMA < CITY ARTS, P12
WHAT WE DO - AND DON’T - KNOW ABOUT THE CARRIAGE HORSE DEAL NEWS ANALYSIS What happened, what’s W ne and what does it next, mea mean for the park? Campaigning for office, Bill Cam de Blasio made eliminating B the city’s carriage horses a central plank of his mayoral cen run, ru vowing to introduce a ban ba on Day 1 of his new administration. mi Two Tw years into office, nowMayor May de Blasio this week an-
nounced his plan. But the move, which doesn’t ban the horses but moves them and reduced their number, raises a host of new questions, while infuriating many of the anti-carriage activists who helped get de Blasio elected.
on Sunday a deal that would eventually reduce the number of licensed horses from about 220 to 75. The agreement also limits the operation of horsedrawn carriages, with the exception of travel to and from their existing stables, to Central Park beginning June 1. De Blasio conceded that the agreement would not completely meet his campaign promise to eliminate the carriages, but he nevertheless
What’s the proposal? De Blasio, flanked by Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and a representative from the union that represents the carriage drivers, announced
CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
PICTURE BOOK ABOUT WASHINGTON AND HIS SLAVES IS PULLED NEWS Depicted slaves as happy and upbeat BY HILLEL ITALIE
Scholastic is pulling a new picture book about George Washington and his slaves amid objections it sentimentalizes a brutal part of American history. “A Birthday Cake for George Washington” was released Jan. 5 and had been strongly criticized for its upbeat images and story of Washington’s cook, the slave Hercules and his daughter, Delia. Its withdrawal was announced Sunday.
“While we have great respect for the integrity and scholarship of the author, illustrator and editor, we believe that, without more historical background on the evils of slavery than this book for younger children can provide, the book may give a false impression of the reality of the lives of slaves and therefore should be withdrawn,” the children’s publisher said in a statement released to the AP. The book, which depicts Hercules and Delia preparing a cake for Washington, has received more than 100 one-star reviews on Amazon.com. As of Sunday evening, only 12 reviews were positive. The book also set off discussions on Facebook, Twitter and elsewhere on social media.
While notes in “A Birthday Cake for George Washington” from author Ramin Ganeshram and illustrator Vanessa Brantley-Newton had pointed out the historical context of the 18th century story and that Hercules eventually escaped, some critics faulted Ganeshram and Brantley-Newton for leaving out those details from the main narrative. “Oh, how George Washington loves his cake!” reads the publisher’s description of the story. “And, oh, how he depends on Hercules, his head chef, to make it for him. Hercules, a slave, takes great pride in baking the president’s cake. But this year there is
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Our Take ‘HAMILTON’ AND THE CARRIAGE HORSES In “Hamilton,” the musical, a battle-weary George Washington gives some advice to the eager, but naive, Alexander Hamilton. “Winning was easy, young man,” Washington tells his protege. “Governing’s harder.” The line comes to mind this week in light of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s about-face on banning carriage horses in Central Park. During his campaign, the mayor drew support (and a ton of money) from the anti-horse carriage crowd for vowing -- on Day One! -- to introduce legislation that would ban horses from the city. Once he got into office, though, de Blasio found that an outright ban wasn’t as easy as he thought. Governing, it turns out, was harder. What de Blasio ended up with was a compromise, of sorts, that speaks to the difficulties of making tough choices in a messy city. The horse-carriage population was reduced, but not eliminated (pleasing the union); the stables were moved inside the park, placating some animal-rights concerns; and a pesky, disorganized pedicab industry was offered up as a sacrifice. It probably was the best anyone could do, given the forces at play. But the lesson here is one de Blasio should study as he moves forward: Making blanket policy pronouncements in a city like New York, before studying the facts on the grouind, may feel good in the moment, but is unlikely to survive the messy business of governing and compromise. Just ask George Washington.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 Downtowner
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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
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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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JANUARY 21-27,2016
WHATâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S MAKING NEWS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: UBER NOT CAUSE OF CONGESTION Uber isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t to blame. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the conclusion of a long-anticipated study commissioned after Mayor Bill de Blasio and Uber battled last year over the mayorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s claims that the ridesharing service and similar operations were to blame for deteriorating traffic conditions in the city. The study concluded that while Uber and similar ride-sharing services had contributed to traffic bottlenecks, congestion was largely due to increases in population, tourism, deliveries and construction, The New York Times reported. De Blasio sought to limit the number of Uber vehicles in the city but was thwarted during a very public dispute with Uber executives. The report counseled against imposing such a limit. The City Council speaker, Melissa Mark-Viverito, said the council would work to reform the taxi and for-hire trade, The Times reported, but she added that it would not impose a limit on surge pricing, a cornerstone of Uberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s operations. The 12-page report, which at least one traffic expert quoted by the paper criticized as â&#x20AC;&#x153;unbelievably ďŹ&#x201A;imsy,â&#x20AC;? was based on a $2 million
study. It was generated by the mayorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office of Operations, a consulting ďŹ rm and a former city transportation official, Bruce Schaller, as well as others, The Times said.
MURDOCH COMPANIES WILL NOT MOVE TO WTC Two high-proďŹ le media brands will not be moving to the World Trade Center after all. News Corp. and 21st Century Fox, both owned by Rupert Murdoch, announced last year that they would be moving to a skyscraper at the development. The two companies would have been socalled anchor tenants at 2 World Trade Center. But instead of joining an inďŹ&#x201A;ux of media companies downtown, the two companies will stay in their Sixth Avenue offices in Midtown through at least 2025, The New York Times reported. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have concluded that a relocation project of this scope could be distracting in the near-term and, given the scale of investment in a relocation of this size, that our resources would be better directed elsewhere,â&#x20AC;? 21st Century Fox said in a letter to employees quoted by the paper. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the site, had
offered the two companies reduced rent of roughly $155 million as a lure on a 35-year lease, The Times said.
SITE PICKED FOR NEW SCHOOL A new elementary school will be built on the site of the former Syms clothing store on Greenwich Street, promising to ease a burden for one of the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fastest-growing neighborhoods, Downtown Express reported. The School Construction Authority last week said the 476-pupil school would be included in a mixeduse development on the block between Rector and Edgar Streets, the publication reported. There was no word yet on when the school would open or when construction would begin, the publication said. The school was included in the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ďŹ ve-year capital plan in 2013. â&#x20AC;&#x153;More is always better,â&#x20AC;? Downtown Express quoted Wendy Chapman, a Community Board 1 member as well as a co-founder of the advocacy group Build Schools Now. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The needs will continue â&#x20AC;&#x201D; theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not going to slow down. Downtown is only going to become more popular.â&#x20AC;? Photo: Jason Newport, via Flickr
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CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG
GUILTY PLEA IN U.N. BRIBE CASE A Chinese businesswoman pleaded guilty in a bribery case accusing a former president of the United Nations General Assembly of accepting more than $1 million from sources in China to use his position to promote various business interests. Heidi Piao told a judge in federal court in Manhattan that she and others arranged secret payments “with the intent of influencing John Ashe in his official capacity.” The plea was part of a cooperation agreement that could require Piao to testify against Ashe, a former ambassador to the United Nations from Antigua and Barbuda, and earn her leniency on bribery, money laundering and other charges that carry a combined maximum penalty of 60 years in prison. Paio, a 52-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen was charged last year along with Chinese billionaire Ng Lap Seng, Ashe and others in a case U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said could show that “the cancer of corruption that plagues too many local and state governments infects the United Nations as well.” Court papers accuse Ashe of tak-
STATS FOR THE WEEK Reported crimes from the 1st Precinct for Jan. 4 to Jan. 10 Week to Date
Year to Date
2016 2015
% Change
2016
2015
% Change
Murder
0
0
n/a
0
0
n/a
Rape
0
0
n/a
0
0
n/a
Robbery
0
0
n/a
2
0
n/a
Felony Assault
0
2
-100.0
0
2
-100.0
Burglary
4
6
-33.3
4
8
-50.0
Grand Larceny
24
25
-4.0
35
29
20.7
Grand Larceny Auto
0
0
n/a
0
0
n/a
ing $200,000 from Piao and another defendant in exchange for attending and speaking in his official capacity at a private conference in China hosted by a real estate developer. In addition, Ashe also agreed to promote a $20 million deal for an unnamed company to install a “national internet security system” for Antigua, the court papers say. The government’s papers also accuse Ashe, 61, of using the bribes to support a lavish lifestyle, spending $59,000 on hand-tailored suits in Hong Kong, $54,000 for two Rolex watches and $40,000 to lease a new BMW X5. He also bought a membership at a South Carolina country club for $69,000,
and built a $30,000 basketball court at his home in Dobbs Ferry, New York, according to the papers. Ng has been accused of bribing Ashe to support a multibillion-dollar U.N.sponsored conference center that Ng hoped to build as his legacy in Macau, where he lived. Also charged was Francis Lorenzo, a deputy U.N. ambassador from the Dominican Republic, who prosecutors say was paid tens of thousands of dollars a month by Ng’s organizations to support the Macau project. All three men have pleaded not guilty and are out on bail. Their lawyers have said they are fighting the charges and will be vindicated.
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FRAGRANT VIOLATION
LAWLESS WIRELESS
A shoplifting couple had noses for high-end fragrances. At 7:25 p.m. on Friday, a man and a woman removed $1,160 worth of perfumes from a shelf in the Sephora store at 555 Broadway. The man concealed certain items in his pockets, while the woman placed other items in her purse, police said. The items stolen were four bottles of Tom Ford Neroli Portofino fragrance valued at $880 and two bottles of Tom Ford Costa Azzurra fragrance priced at $280.
Remember when phones were household appliances, not objects of desire? At 7:58 p.m. on Friday, an unknown perpetrator entered the Verizon wireless store at 581 Broadway, walked toward a phone display, and took two models from the display before walking out of the store. Police searched the area but could not locate the thief or the poached phones. The stolen cells were a gold Apple iPhone 6+ valued at $650 and a black LG G4 priced at $552, making a total of $1,202.
COLD AND FLU SEIZIN’ One thief was either preparing for the cold and flu season or getting ready for a monster sizzurp party. At 8:40 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 29, a 28-year-old man stole items valued at more than $1,000 off shelves in the Duane Reade store on Broad Street. The merchandise stolen included seven Mucinex severe cold medicine priced at $188, six Mucinex cold and flu remedies tagged at $95, seven Vicks cherry-flavored NyQuil’s priced at $67, four Vicks NyQuil’s tagged at $63, four packages of Claritin tabs valued at $163 and four other types of Claritin tabs priced at $131, three Theraflu’s worth $47, four Vicks NyQuil’s costing $39, five Alka-Seltzers priced at $47, and seven Tylenol syrups valued at $69.
BURGERS AND BURGLARS Sometime late on Sunday, Jan. 3, an unknown perpetrator stole $1,564 from a locker in the Burgers and Barrel restaurant at 25 West Houston St. The locker showed no signs of forced entry, and a search of the premises revealed nothing.
BAD LOT A parking lot employee is being sought for a burglary at his place of business. Sometime between the early morning of Wednesday, Jan. 6 and the evening of January 9, an employee of the Quik Park lot at 86 Warren St. was reported as having taken $1,999 in cash from the parking lot booth’s register.
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NEIGHBORS PICKET, OPPOSE MUSEUM PROJECT Residents picketed outside Councilmember Rosenthal’s office
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BY GABRIELLE ALFIERO
Despite frigid temperature and winds, a group of Upper West Side residents took to the sidewalks on Monday afternoon in protest of the American Museum of Natural History’s planned use of public parkland for a new building. Rallying outside Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal’s Columbus Avenue office, the group of eight residents expressed alarm over the plan for an addition at the museum’s expansive home, and asks that Rosenthal stop the allocation of city funds for the project. Cary Goodman, a West 86th Street resident who organized the protest, said he does not approve of the $325 million construction project for the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation, due to its use of a portion of Theodore Roosevelt Park, which surrounds the museum. Goodman, who is executive director of the 161st Street Business Improvement District near Yankee Stadium, suggests that the museum open the new education center in the Bronx as opposed to the Upper West Side, where residents already have access to the museum as well as to the New-York Historical Society and other cultural institutions. He questions how well this center, which will enhance the museum’s educational offerings, will serve students in other areas who do not benefit from living near such facilities. “The idea that you would have city money and private money poured into a new building that reinforces that sense of privilege and sense of inequality is really distasteful for us,” Goodman said. Although he works in the Bronx, he said he does not necessarily advocate that the building land in his immediate area. The protest comes at a time when some of the small park’s protectors are separating from the efforts of Defenders of Teddy Roosevelt Park, an organization working to lessen the im-
Cary Goodman, center, and other Upper West Side residents picket outside Councilmember Helen Rosenthal’s office on Monday, Jan. 18. Goodman opposes the American Museum of Natural History’s expansion into Theodore Roosevelt Park. pact of the project on the public space. Started in opposition to the loss of any parkland, that group refocused on influencing the redesign of the park near the new building’s entrance and minimizing tree loss. The conceptual design for the project, released in November, revealed less park space would be affected than anticipated. Recently, three of the organization’s board members resigned because of the group’s new direction. “Our board feels that we’ve won a significant victory and now we should focus on recreating this intimate oasis,” said Sig Gissler, the group’s outgoing president. Landscape architect Adrian Smith will take over as president and Gissler will remain on the board. “We want to be realistic and relevant.” On Jan. 15, Goodman said he met with Rosenthal, who previously helped allocate $16 million dollars of City Council funding for the construction of the building. Goodman requested that she suspend any future funding until public dialogues were held, but he said Rosenthal remained dedicated
to the project. Rosenthal’s office did not respond to requests for comment. Rosenthal’s offices were closed on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but the small and wellbundled band of picketers were spirited as they handed out fliers from gloved hands. After 50 minutes in the cold, the group dispersed. Jessica Nooney, who’s lived on West 85th Street for 50 years and runs a preschool in the neighborhood, said she took frequent walks in the park with her students over the years. She worries about museums and universities “gobbling up” the city, and joined the group on Monday because she doesn’t want the museum growing beyond its walls in the neighborhood. “I think it’s so sad to lose open space in New York,” she said. Rudy Van Daele, who works with children through his athletic school, Life Sport, also passed out fliers. He said that Theodore Roosevelt Park is a rare space where many generations come together. “Having worked with children all those years and spending all this time with families in
parks, you would hope there’d be more park space, more community space,” he said. “Anytime a community space is made smaller, it’s a concern.” Monday’s effort was the latest public remonstration by Goodman. He said he spoke during a Community Board 7 meeting about what he sees as the board’s premature support for the project. The community board links to the project’s website from its own home page. “I’m concerned they’re abandoning their responsibilities as a voice of the community by just having one side of the story on their website, so that’s what I spoke to at the meeting,” he said. Goodman said he hoped to show his community that some are still fighting the museum’s plan and that the project is not yet a “done deal.” “We’re not expecting to be able to storm the museum with our troop of merry men and women, but I think we’re serving as a sort of conscience to this project, and that’s important at this stage,” he said.
JANUARY 21-27,2016
HORSE CARRIAGE DEAL
5
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
ON THE STREET
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 called it “real progress.” “Horses do not belong on the streets of the biggest city in the country in the middle of midtown traffic. It’s not fair and humane to the horses. It’s not fair to drivers – it creates congestion,” he said during a press conference Monday. “So, this agreement will achieve that. Horses will get off the streets of our city.”
When do the cuts start? The reduction will take effect when a permanent home is built for the horses in Central Park by Oct. 1, 2018. Once the stable is complete, all travel and operations will be inside Central Park, providing space for 68 carriages and 75 horses, officials said. Horses not at work must be on furlough outside the city.
When can the horses work? The number of hours per day a carriage may operate will be limited to 9 hours in any 24-hour period beginning Dec. 1 and carriages will be able to charge an extra $5 for trips after 6 p.m. between Nov. 15th and Jan. 5, and on Valentine’s Day or Easter, officials said.
What do the drivers get in return? The simple fact that the carriage industry is surviving is a major win for the drivers, given the ferocity of the opposition to any carriage horses in the park. (In addition to their passion, the anticarriage forces also included some of de Blasio’s biggest campaign contributors. Indeed, some City Hall watchers have attributed de Blasio’s pledge to eliminate the horses – and former Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s refusal to do so in her mayoral bid – as a defining issue in the mayor’s victory.) In an unexpected park of the deal, pedicabs – a major competitor to the horse carriages -- will not be permitted to operate in the park south of the 85th Street Transverse, beginning June 1.
If the carriage drivers could save their jobs, why couldn’t the pedicab drivers? Primarily because the pedicab operators don’t have the Teamsters behind them. They also are a more splintered, ad hoc industry, dominated by non-English speaking drivers and at times competing operators. The mayor said that banning pedicabs from the park’s southern half was a “balance” issue. “I think it’s a fair outcome,” he said.
What is the reaction of the carriage-horse opponents? Enraged. Elizabeth Forel, who heads the Coalition to Ban HorseDrawn Carriages, one of the most visible opposition groups, released a statement Monday accusing de Blasio of caving to the Teamsters and to real estate developers from the West Side of Manhattan. “The mayor stood by while the opposition became stronger and stronger, mounting an outrageous and dishonest campaign,” Forel wrote in a statement on her web site. “He never took the time to understand the issue and when he did comment often looked foolish. The truth never got out. But we know NYC is all about money and money talks. This is the constant thread of this deal.”
What do we know about the plans for a new stable? While the city has yet to confirm a site for the stable, speculation is that it will be located on 86th Street inside Central Park. Once used as a horse stable, the space is now used to store equipment. The New York Times estimated that the cost to retrofit the space could exceed $25 million. The idea for the stable was seen as a solution to animal-welfare activists, who have objected to the commute the horses have to make from their stables in Hell’s Kitchen to Central Park South. Already, Forel and others are raising questions about the legality of transforming public parkland into a stable for private business. A legal challenge, from anti-carriage groups or park advocates, is likely.
Is the deal done? Not yet. The mayor’s office referred to the agreement as “an agreement in concept” and council hearings still need to be held. Still, given the support of both Mark-Viverito and the unions, approval is likely. “There’s obviously a lot of logistical issues that have to be worked through,” de Blasio said. “But this agreement I’m quite confident in.”
THE PROS AND CONS OF THE HORSE DEAL INTERVIEWS BY MADELEINE THOMPSON
ERICA JAMES
DORIE VANDERCREEK
Manhattan
Long Island Will you miss the carriage horses? If anything I’ve always felt kind of bad for them, so I’m kind of glad. It sucks to lose your job that you’ve been doing for years as a carriage driver, but I’ve always felt kind of sorry for the horses. It’s a beautiful thing to go through the city on a carriage, but at the same time those poor horses are out, standing there. You don’t know how they’re being treated completely, and like I said it’s bad for that line of work, but I’m more happy for the horses than anything else.
Would you miss the carriage horses? Although I feel sympathy for what the animals go through, it is a part of what New York and being at this particular part of Central Park is. I don’t ever think that, even though [de Blasio] promised it to get elected, New York is ever going to be rid of the horses, and as a New Yorker I don’t think they should. As long as they’re being taken care of and looked after I think that’s fine.
Erica James
doing what he can and he’s trying to make good on his promises, I just don’t know that eliminating all the horses from Central Park is really the priority that needs to be looked at. There are other things that seems to be more important. But in general you like the carriage horses? I do. There’s something special about being on Central Park West and watching people all times of the year going through the park. I think it’s part of the New York experience and I’d be sad to see it go away.
How do you feel about de Blasio given that he pledged to get rid of all the carriage horses on his first day in office? New York is a hard city to choose a side. I think he’s
JASURVEK UZAKOV
NICOLA SMART AND WILLIAM GUY
Pedicab driver for four years Jasurvek Uzakov
What’s your reaction to the part of the proposal that would ban pedicabs from operating below 86th street? Horse carriages do a lot of business. They own their horses — I rent. I have just one bike. I don’t give anybody problems, I know how to drive in the park. The horses aren’t as good for human
Do you hope Mayor de Blasio gets rid of the business entirely? I feel like if you were to keep them, even in a small number, they should make sure they’re being treated carefully with utmost care.
interaction. I think this is bad because nobody goes above 72nd street. Today I haven’t made any money. If the proposal goes through, would you try to operate in a different area? No, I still need the work. It’s very competitive with the carriages already.
Visiting from London Have you taken a carriage ride in New York? NS: We’re on our way right now.
Do you have an opinion about the idea of reducing them? NS: I think as long as the supply and demand is still balanced I don’t see it being a problem, and I
CHRISTINA HANSEN Kentucky Carriage driver for three and a half years What’s your reaction to the proposal? We’re still in discussions with the city. We continue to talk about details that need to get worked in order for this deal to make sense for our industry, for the drivers and for the horses. We’re not there yet.
What about the proposal would you change? The big thing is that a lot of the changes that are supposed
Christina Hansen
to go into effect, say, June 1 or December 1, are really things that are predicated on a stable in the park that isn’t big enough to accommodate the number of horses that we
Dorie Vandercreek
How do you feel about having stables in Central Park? That would be better for the horses because they don’t have to move as far when they’re not working. How do you feel about de Blasio given that he pledged to get rid of all the carriage horses on his first day in office? It’s problematic, but there are so many other things that he’s done that I have a problem with. Like the fact that he took so many vacation days.
think the stables being here is probably kinder to the horses. WG: It’s not a very good idea to move a private business inside a public park though. It’s a public park that some private investor is making money off of. Does London have carriage horses? NS: Yes, lots of them. I think it’s a great way to get around and see the sights. I think as long as the horses are
Nicola Smart and William Guy
treated right it’s fine. So you’re a fan of the business in general? NS: Definitely yes.
currently have in the city. So there’s no reason though to reduce the number of horses now, because we have plenty of space here and our business operates fine the way it is. The really important thing for us is that a stable gets built.
works four to six months out of the year. Our ability to move horses in and out is crucial to continually give the excellent care that we give to our horses and allow them to work happy and healthily for many years.
Would you be willing to reduce the number of horses in order to get that stable? Our business works very well because we take wonderful care of our horses, and a lot of that involves giving horses days off, rotating them out to the farm for vacation. The average horse in this business
If the proposal passes City Council, what would be your next steps? It’s really hard for us to say because we haven’t seen the language in this bill, and negotiations are still ongoing. Until we see that language and until we come back around I can’t tell you what we would do.
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JANUARY 21-27,2016
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
TENEMENTS HOLD ON TO PROTECTED STATUS NEWS Case focused attention on the warehousing of affordable housing units BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS
Two tenement buildings on the Upper East Side will retain their protected historic status in a decision handed down by the New York Supreme Court. Stahl York Avenue Co., LLC has sought for decades to demolish its First Avenue Estate property, two six-story buildings bounded by York Avenue and First Avenue on East 64th Street and East 65th Street. FAE is made up of 15 light court tenement buildings, two of which, at 429 East 64th Street and 430 East 65th Street, are at the center of Stahl’s legal battle. City and Suburban Home Company originally built the complex between 1898 and 1915 to address a need for low-income housing at the turn of the century. At the time, the tenement was one of the largest in the world and was the first to be built with private funds. The complex, and a similar one further uptown called the York Avenue Estate, are the only existing full-block light-court tenement developments in the United States. Light-court tenements were a progressive answer to the dark and poorly ventilated tenements of old, and featured natural light in each room through the use of windows and internal courtyards. Stahl bought the property
and an unrelated property on York Avenue in 1977 for $5.72 million. This most recent proceeding is the latest in a string of efforts by Stahl to get the two buildings at FAE removed from historic rolls so they can replace the tenements with a high rise condominium building. FAE’s 15 buildings were all designated as landmarks in 1990 by the LPC. That same year, however, the then-existing Board of Standards and Appeals excluded from designation the two buildings in question, a decision that in recent court papers was described as an “inappropriate politically motivated action made under intense political pressure from a powerful real estate developer.” Since at least 2000 Stahl has been letting vacated units remain empty in anticipation of eventually developing the property. In 2004 they obtained Dept. of Buildings permits for façade work and window replacement. In his Jan. 8. decision, Justice Michael D. Stallman references an LPC finding that said the work was done to “prevent the LPC from re-designating the buildings as landmarks.” “The LPC found that Stahl stripped the buildings of their ornament, installed new and inappropriate windows, stuccoed the buildings, and painted them a garish reddish pink color,” Stallman wrote of LPC’s findings. Nevertheless, Community Board 8 passed a resolution in 2004 to amend FAE’s landmark designation to include the two
PICTURE BOOK ABOUT WASHINGTON AND HIS SLAVES IS PULLED CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 one problem -- they are out of sugar.” The trade publication School Library Journal had called it “highly problematic” and recommended against its purchase. Another trade journal, Kirkus Reviews, had labeled the book “an incomplete, even dishonest treatment of slavery.” In a Scholastic blog post from last
Photo by Daniel Fitzsimmons. Stahl buildings. In 2006 the LPC unanimously approved the amendment, which was affirmed 47-0 in the city council in 2007. Stahl challenged that decision in New York State Supreme Court, which found in favor of the LPC. In 2010 Stahl brought a hardship application to the LPC, claiming the buildings could not generate enough profit and that the company should be allowed to demolish and build over them. After a series of hearings that stretched over three years, the LPC denied Stahl’s application, writing in their May 20, 2014 decision, finding that Stahl had, “failed to establish to the satisfaction of the commission that the [buildings] was/were not capable of earning a reasonable return.” Rachel Levy, Executive Director of Friends of the Upper East Side Historic District, which fought against the two FAE buildings being removed from designation, said her organization as well as many elected officials and preservation organization successfully dem-
week, Ganeshram wrote that the story was based on historical research and meant to honor the slaves’ skill and resourcefulness. “How could they smile? How could they be anything but unrelentingly miserable?” Ganeshram wrote. “How could they be proud to bake a cake for George Washington? The answers to those questions are complex because human nature is complex. Bizarrely and yes, disturbingly, there were some enslaved people who had a better quality of life than others and `close’ relationships with those who enslaved them. But they were smart enough to use those `advantages’ to improve
onstrated that had Stahl not been warehousing vacant affordable units and had instead maintained and updated them throughout the years, that the company would be able to make more than a six percent return on the property, the threshold for a hardship application. Stahl filed an Article 78 proceeding against the LPC in state and federal court alleging that in denying their 2010 hardship application, the city, in the form of the LPC, prevented them from exercising their property rights without due process of law. Stahl’s suit sought a payment of the fair market value of the buildings in 2006, plus interest, a figure that they put around $200 million, as well as the vacating of LPC’s decision to deny Stahl their hardship application, and attorney’s fees. Judge Stallman threw the case out, saying Stahl did not adequately demonstrate LPC acted arbitrarily or capriciously (the basis for Article 78 proceedings) or in violation of law by denying the company’s hardship application.
their lives.” Sunday’s announcement comes amid an ongoing debate about the lack of diversity in publishing, although the collaborators on “A Birthday Cake” come from a variety of backgrounds. Ganeshram is an award-winning journalist and author born to a Trinidadian father and Iranian mother and has a long history of food writing. Her previous works include the novel “Stir It Up” and the nonfiction “FutureChefs.” Brantley-Newton, who has described herself as coming from a “blended background -- African American, Asian, European, and Jewish,” has illustrated the children’s series “Ruby
“Stahl has not set forth a cause of action for an unconstitutional taking and thus has no viable claim for money damages, costs or attorney’s fees.” The federal court action was also thrown out on the grounds that Stahl “failed to state a constitutionally protected property interest,” which would bring the case into federal purview. Stahl officials did not return a request for comment. An attorney for the company, Alexandra Shapiro, told the Daily News that her client will appeal the decision. Levy applauded the court’s decision. “Stahl York Avenue has exhausted nearly every possible legal avenue related to this issue, but the LPC decision preventing the organization from tearing down these two historic structures has been upheld,” said Levy. “We will continue to fight against the landlord’s efforts to demolish the First Avenue Estate.” Councilmember Ben Kallos also applauded the decision, and said Stahl has been warehousing affordable units since at least 2007. He put the number of vacant affordable units at the two FAE buildings at 110 out of 190 units. “Preservation has won out over development and self-imposed hardships,” said Kallos in applauding the court’s decision. “I hope to see 100 units of affordable housing back on the market as soon as possible and end this generation’s long fight and finally make this landmark available for what it was intended for, which was to house low income New Yorkers in a respectable way.” Kallos argued in a letter from 2014 that the hardship Stahl is trying to claim is self-imposed. “Over the past seven years, rather than renovating, maintaining and leasing existing units in keeping with a landlord’s duty to mitigate damages, Stahl has left units vacant,” Kallos wrote two years ago as the newly elected councilmem-
and the Booker Boys” among other books. The editor was Andrea Davis Pinkney, also an author who in 2013 won a Coretta Scott King prize for African-American children’s literature. The pulling of the Washington book also recalls a similar controversy from last year. “A Fine Dessert,” written by Emily Jenkins and illustrated by Sophie Blackall, was criticized for its cheerful depiction of a 19th century slave mother and daughter as they prepared a blackberry recipe. Jenkins apologized, saying that her book, which she “intended to be inclusive and truthful and hopeful, is racially insensitive.” (“A Fine Dessert,” re-
ber for the 5th District. “And while these units remained vacant, they were subject to damage by the elements, from which they would have been protected had they been occupied.” Levy, in a later interview, reiterated that Friends would fight any future attempts by Stahl to remove the FAE buildings’ historic designation. “It’s historically been a source of affordable housing on the Upper East Side…and we’d like to keep it that way,” she said. Advocates say the warehousing of affordable housing units is a problem citywide. The Dept. of Housing Preservation and Development has declared New York City to be in a “housing emergency” since 2011, when they released a report claiming the rental vacancy rate citywide is 3.12 percent. That rate drops to 2.8 percent in Manhattan, according to the 2011 report. “It’s pretty common that warehousing as done as sort of a lead up to demolishing and rebuilding on a site,” said Emily Goldstein, a senior campaign organizer with the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development. “Were losing rent stabilized housing at a rapid rate, particularly in neighborhoods like the Upper East Side where there’s very little affordable housing stock.” Goldstein said loopholes in rent stabilization laws and enforcement afford developers a number of ways to negatively affect affordable housing stock. “There’s a lot of incentive for developers to speculate on affordable housing…there’s a lot they can do to remove the building from its restrictions,” she said. “There’s just an enormous return for them, an enormous amount of profit to be made.” “The punishment even if they are caught is a drop in the bucket, and can be written off as the cost of doing business,” she added.
leased by the Random House imprint Schwartz & Wade, remains in print). Copies of “A Birthday Cake for George Washington” were not easy to find even before Scholastic’s decision. The print edition on Amazon. com, ranked No. 13.202 earlier Sunday, was listed as shipping within “2 to 4 weeks.” Several Barnes & Noble stores in Manhattan did not have the book in stock. Scholastic Corp. spokeswoman Kyle Good said she could not provide an immediate reason for delays in the book’s availability.
JANUARY 21-27,2016
JHL TO APPEAL COURT RULING State attorney general’s office could also challenge judge’s findings BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS
Jewish Home Lifecare will appeal a state Supreme Court ruling that in December found the nonprofit and the state Department of Health had failed to take the “requisite hard look at specific environmental issues” surrounding the construction of a 20-story nursing home on West 97th Street. “Jewish Home remains deeply committed to moving forward with this innovative and pioneering model of elder care. Our intention is to commence construction as soon as the ligation is concluded,” JHL said in a statement announcing the appeal. In her ruling, Justice Joan Lobis referred to noise mitigation measures at the job site, which is surrounded by residential developments and an elementary school, and the presence of hazardous materials at the site, which would be kicked up into the air during construction. But according to one community activist involved in the community’s original proceeding, the appeal could get more complicated as the state attorney general’s office still has at least another week to file a notice of appeal that could challenge Lobis’ decision, which requires the state Department of Health to reexamine their findings in approving the project. If that happens, the community activist said, the department would not be required to take that “requisite hard look” until the appeals process plays out and only if Lobis’ decision is upheld. Two proceedings were filed in an attempt to block the project, one from neighborhood residents and the other from parents of students at P.S. 163, the nearby elementary school. Lobis combined both suits for the purposes of her decision, but they remain separate and distinct legal actions. The lawyer for the group of residents, Joel Kupferman of the New York Environmental Law and Justice Project, has already signed on to defend Lobis’ decision, according to the community activist, who did not wish to be identified. Kupferman could not be reached for comment. The office of Attorney General Eric Schneiderman did not return a request
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Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
Our Perspective Workers in Retail Need $15 an Hour to Survive
By Stuart Appelbaum, President Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, RWDSU, UFCW
N
icole Brown, a 32-year-old single mother working in retail, shared her story at a press conference in Albany this month. She spoke of working in retail for 10 years, but struggling to pay the rent and provide for her family. While working, she and her daughter have been forced to depend upon food stamps and even homeless shelters. That’s what she has had to do to survive making under $10 an hour working in retail. What would make a difference for Brown and thousands of other retail workers in New York? “I fight for $15 an hour because it will bring me and my daughter that much closer to freedom and financial independence,” Brown said. Governor Cuomo is working to raise New York’s minimum wage from a woefully inadequate $9 per hour to $15 an hour, which An increase in would give minimum wage workers a chance to provide the minimum for themselves and their family, wage to $15 an and to make up some ground in the fight against economic hour needs to be inequality that is making unconditional. life a struggle for too many New Yorkers. And, he’s taken immediate action by ordering $15 an hour for state workers and state university workers, and implementing a plan to raise fast food workers’ pay to $15 an hour as well. And, he’s launched a campaign to push for a $15 minimum wage throughout New York State. Cuomo’s campaign is an appropriate response to a minimum wage that has stagnated and continued to lose real value against inflation since the 1970s. With so many retail workers earning minimum wage, this move would help boost our economy and strengthen our Retail work can communities. Retail work can and should and should support families New York, and nobody who support families in works in New York should live in poverty, which is unfortunately in New York. all too common today. Hardworking New Yorkers deserve $15 an hour. And, an increase in the minimum wage to $15 an hour needs to be unconditional. During the campaign to raise the wage, we shouldn’t allow it to be watered down with any exceptions or givebacks to industries which have profited from the insufficient minimum wage in New York for decades. Government action leading to an unconditional$15 minimum wage can help us realize the promise of a New York economy that serves everyone..
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A rendering of a planned Jewish Home Lifecare facility on West 97th Street. for comment by press time on whether they would be joining JHL in appealing Lobis’ decision. Rene Kathawala, a P.S. 163 parent and attorney with Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe, is representing the school parents. He told the Spirit that despite scoring a victory with Lobis’ decision in December, the parents decided to file a motion to reargue Lobis’ decision denying their argument that DOH committed a procedural violation during the review process. The parents allege that violation occurred when DOH failed to provide any analysis regarding one of the parent’s mitigation measures for noise attenuation — that JHL provide central air conditioning in the school — until after the review process was complete, Kathawala said.
“DOH said central air conditioning was too expensive except in the findings statement, when the agency never bothered to mention it or analyze it at any prior point,” he said. The parents’ original challenge to the DOH, called an Article 78 proceeding, argued several points, just two of which Lobis found merited consideration: the question of noise mitigation and hazardous materials. And while there may have been substantial arguments in the overall filing, Kathawala is cross-appealing Lobis’ decision to deny their claim that DOH committed a procedural violation. JHL will be arguing that there are grounds for reversal of Lobis’ decision because the court “improperly substituted its judgment” for that of the health department, which car-
ried out the review as the lead agency under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), according to pre-argument statements filed with the state Supreme Court’s Appellate Division. The argument also asserts that the court erred in considering evidence that was not included in the administrative record, which allowed P.S. 163 parents and the community to “transform the cooperative SEQRA process into an ambush.” JHL officials have previously said that Lobis’ decision would not significantly impact their construction timetable, but the project has seen significant delays because of past litigation. Construction was initially slated to begin in the fall of 2014. JHL officials said recently they’re now looking to start construction in the summer.
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For more information, visit
www.rwdsu.org
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JANUARY 21-27,2016
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
Voices
Write to us: To share your thoughts and comments go to otdowntown.com and click on submit a letter to the editor.
OP-ED THE EXXON OF THE UPPER WEST SIDE BY DR. CARY GOODMAN
The American Museum of Natural History is the Exxon of the Upper West Side. Like Exxon, the museum is an enormous economic enterprise with a global market and an outsize impact on its immediate surroundings. Its trustees are billionaires or millionaires; titans of industry, government and the arts. Its executives are highly compensated. It engages top-flight public relations firms. It deploys lobbyists to extract tens of millions of tax dollars for its budget. Like Exxon, the museum is secretive about its plans. Like Exxon, it tries to convince its neighbors that it is a benevolent force in the community providing jobs and boosting the economy. Like Exxon, the museum believes, presumptuously, that what’s good for them, is good for everyone. Finally, like the energy behemoth Exxon, the American Museum of Natural History is an organization out of step with a global consensus on climate change and the environmental crisis we all face. In November, the museum unveiled a plan to increase its footprint in Roosevelt Park where it already occupies more than half the land. But, at a time when the world’s leaders agree that we must curtail global warming, the museum’s plan would increase it by clear-cutting trees and polluting the air. Weeks after the city celebrated the planting of one million trees, the museum announced this plan which would slaughter at least a dozen mature elms and others. In an era of endangered species, the museum’s plan would create habitat loss for at least 46 types of birds. In a period where citizens are demanding transparency from their institutions, the museum has been allowed to move forward with its destructive design without any public meetings. The museum’s plan would also involve tearing down some historic buildings and blasting into the rock formation under New York City’s Teddy Roosevelt Park. Noise pollution would skyrocket. Years of construction would throw residents, visitors and businesses into a mix of dust, confusion and delays. In a city where neighborhood parks are rare, every square foot of greenspace is sacred. The museum’s plan would annex and destroy 180,000 square feet of parkland. In the cultural world, the American Museum of Natural History stands with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Whitney and The Guggenheim. World-class institutions all. Unlike the others, the museum has no satellite sites. Its campus is confined to the park and buildings, which are owned by the citizens of this city. The museum sits in the city’s most segregated school district, and New York City is one of the most segregated school systems in the nation. The museum’s plan would reinforce this racism by investing a billion dollars in a museum, in a school district whose schools are 75% white in a city where Blacks and Hispanics make up 75% of the students. The district is glutted with private schools, private tutors, nannies and gifted and talented programs. Manhattan hosts more than 100 museums. Science and cultural institutions abound. Many New Yorkers are concerned when they learn about assaults on the rainforest by rapacious corporations, like Exxon. They support a host of environmental organizations (the Rainforest Alliance, the Sierra Club and NRDC, for example) dedicated to combating habitat loss, extinction and pollution. But, what of our own trees, and what about the ecosystem of Roosevelt Park? What about the impact of elevated levels of ozone and particulates on our children and seniors whose respiratory systems are those most vulnerable? Thousands of neighbors have signed petitions rejecting the museum’s aggressions. Hundreds have spoken out against it or picketed. And more needs to be done. Unfortunately, Community Board 7 is unwilling to provide the leadership the Upper West Side needs to protect its parkland and people. The board has aligned itself with the museum and sacrificed its neutrality by promoting the museum’s plan and discouraging or ignoring its opponents. Like Exxon, the American Museum of Natural History must be held accountable. Like Exxon, the museum needs to respect public space, not pollute it. Like Exxon, the museum needs to move away from its plantation mentality and accept neighbors as stakeholders not peons. And, like Exxon, if the museum doesn’t shift gears, its international reputation as a center of science and scholarship will be damaged by its callous disregard for Mother Earth. Cary Goodman has been a neighbor of Roosevelt Park for the past 39 years.
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A PERFECT NEW EAST SIDE PARK BY DEVIN GOULD
The MTA-owned lot on the southwest corner of 63rd street and Second Avenue is the ideal location for a new park. The lot will be used as a staging are for the East Side Access project until at least 2021 but our elected officials and the MTA need to start the process of creating new park on this site. The East Side and Second Avenue in particular have endured an enormous amount of construction over the past 10 years. A new park will help absorb the impact of increased density and make our neighborhood a more pleasant, beautiful place to live. A 2013 report commissioned by Council Member Dan Garodnick and then-Council Member Jessica Lappin found that the East Side is severely deprived of open space. In the area spanning the east side from 14th street to 96th street,
there is less than one-quarter of an acre of open space for each 1,000 residents—well below the 1.5 acres recommended by the group New Yorkers for Parks. More than half of the residents of the East Side have to walk more than five minutes to reach a public city park. All New Yorkers deserve safe, accessible open space. East Side Access is a multi-billion dollar mega project that will bring LIRR commuters to a new terminal underneath Grand Central. While this project will be an enormous improvement for regional transportation in general and Long Island commuters in particular, the East Side IRT will become even more crowded as a result. There is already a precedent for creating new open space out of the East Side Access project. In September 2014 the MTA opened the “50th Street Commons”, a vest-pocket
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park on 50th street between Park and Madison avenues. The lovely little park is a serene gathering place in the midst of midtown’s hustle and bustle, designed according to William Whyte’s classic prescription for small urban spaces. A noise-dampening waterfall would create an oasis from the honking and congestion around the Queensboro bridge. Seating and open space would create a place for seniors and families to gather. Trees and greenery would reduce the already abysmal air quality in the neighborhood. At a recent Community Board 8 meeting the city Department of Transportation announced its plans to reconstruct Second Avenue as a safer, greener corridor for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers. This plan is commendable, but more needs to be done. A new park on Second Avenue would help soothe the continuing pain from a decade of construction. On October 12, the Daily News reported that MTA Chairman Tom Prendergast told his staff to listen to ideas from the public instead of dismissing them out of hand. A good place to start would 63rd and Second Avenue, the perfect location for the East Side’s next park.
Devin Gould is a Public Member of Manhattan Community Board 8’s Transportation Committee.
Block Mayors Ann Morris, Upper West Side Jennifer Peterson, Upper East Side Gail Dubov, Upper West Side Edith Marks, Upper West Side
JANUARY 21-27,2016
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Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
Central Park
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE PARK Winter Fun at the Central Park Zoo: Winter is a perfect time to visit the zoo. The animals do not seem to mind the weather, maybe particularly so Betty and Veronica, the two grizzly bears who arrived a year ago. They do not hibernate, so can usually be spotted. Snow leopards can be found playing with one another, or otherwise resting on a heated rock during the colder months. The zoo also offers a 4D movie running throughout the day. For more details, check out centralpark.com/ guide/central-park-zoo. Sit Back, Relax and Take a Tour Through Central Park: If biking on your own is too strenuous, a pedicab tour with a Central Park expert is a great way to see the sights without doing a lot of work. Touring Central Park with a licensed guide is a great way to visit many well-known attractions and famous landmarks and learn about the history of the park. More information at centralpark.com/ guide/tours
COMING UP THIS WEEK
WAITING ... AND WAITING ... FOR THE BUS SENIOR LIVING BY MARCIA EPSTEIN
It’s been a long time since I came to a bus stop that wasn’t filled with people waiting. And waiting…..and waiting. Waiting sometimes as long as 45 minutes. And it’s been a long time since I took a taxi; that is, until very recently, when my patience ran out and I couldn’t wait any longer for a bus. What is going on here? And why, after we’ve waited so long, do buses pass by with the “Out of Service” sign on? I wish the MTA would seriously look into this. Which brings me to the sad fact that slow bus service means horribly crowded buses, short tempers, pokes in the ribs, grumbling when wheelchairs have to be loaded, and walkers blocking the aisles (hard for them and those who have to get by them). I don’t presume to have an answer, but the MTA should. Bus drivers shouting “move to the rear” doesn’t help. There is no room to move to the rear. We all know about Uber, but have you heard about Via? It’s a new ride-sharing app that will take you anywhere in Manhattan between 32nd and 110th Streets for $7 plus tax or $5 per tax if you pay in advance. Via operates every weekday from 6:45 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. By putting passengers together in an SUV and matching you with others who are going in your direction it is able to keep costs
down. Apparently, senior citizens are getting word of Via and telling their friends. It’s a relatively cheap way to get around the city and it’s catching on with all age groups. Of course, you have to have a smart phone, and you may need your grandchild to help you download the app, but grandkids are good at that. There is also UberPool, which offers a discount to riders who are willing to pick up a couple of extra passengers. Coming of Age NYC is a partnership of several innovative nonprofit agencies working together to help people 50+ connect and contribute to their communities. Coming of Age is part of the positive aging movement and convenes communities of New Yorkers who are over 50 and want to live life with passion and purpose. They offer workshops, special presentations and networking socials for older adults in all five boroughs. Explore Your Future is the premier program and engages participants in dialogue, poses powerful selfreflective questions and facilitates transformational change. Participants come away with a concrete action plan and a community of peers who are starting a similar journey that supports and challenges everyone to meet their goals for the future. Their Capturing the Energy training helps local organizations utilize the skills, passions and interests of those over 50. Contact Janis Glenn, Coming of Age NYC at 443-994-
1860 to join them in creating positive aging communities. Have you heard about Death Café? It’s a movement started in England and is spreading throughout Europe and North America. At a Death Cafe, people, often strangers, gather to eat cake, drink tea and discuss death. The idea is to increase awareness of death and help people make the most of their lives. A Death Cafe is a discussion group rather than a grief support or counseling session. One popular Death Café is led by Dr. Barbara Simpson once a month on Wednesdays from 2:30 – 4:30. at The Ethical Culture Society, 2 West 64th Street. They have discussed, among other things, eco-friendly burials, yoga for bereavement as well as feelings about death and how to deal with them. Also, parents’ deaths and how it affected their ideas about their own inevitable end. Even pet deaths have been discussed. Not only death is discussed. Dr. Simpson stresses also asking how to use the remaining (often many) years of life left and how to live it successfully. When I first heard of this movement, I laughed uneasily. However, I did attend a couple of meetings a while ago and they were interesting and yes, even fun. I’m planning to go back again soon. After all, if death is inevitable (which, of course it is), then we might as well laugh and eat cake while talking about it.
WINTER JAM 2016
FIT TOURS NYC
Presented by NYC Parks, Lake Placid, I Love NY, and I Ski NY, Winter Jam NYC is the ultimate snow day: a free winter sports festival for New Yorkers of all ages! Equipment provided at no cost, or bring your own snow sports gear and enjoy the terrain. When: Saturday, Jan. 23 Where: Central Park Mall, mid-park at 72nd Street For more info visit: centralpark.com/events
5K Run For Fun: This 45-minute 5K run (3.47 miles, at a roughly 10-minuteper-mile pace) takes you on a historical journey through many of the park’s most iconic sights. The twice-weekly runs take place Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:15 a.m. For more info visit: centralpark.com/guide/ classes
Event listings and Where in Central Park? brought to you by CentralPark.com.
WHERE IN CENTRAL PARK? Do you know where in Central Park this photo was taken? To submit your answer, visit: centralpark.com/ where-in-centralpark. The answers and names of the people who guess right will appear in the paper and online in two weeks.
ANSWER TO THE PREVIOUS QUIZ: Cedar Hill. Located inside the park at the level of 79th Street off of Fifth Avenue the incline ends in a shallow green valley. It is a popular spot for picnicking, reading and sunbathing during the summer months. In the early morning it is a favorite of dogs and their owners. In winter, it is one of the park’s most popular sledding spot. While the hill is closed for the season, it re-opens when there are more than 6 inches of snow on the ground. The
picture is from last year, after one of our many snow storms. The name comes from the red cedars on its crest, but several other varieties of evergreens dot the hill as well. Heavy use of this popular landscape took its toll. A 1994 restoration included new irrigation, repaired and improved drainage, and replanted grass. Congratulations to Henry Bottjer and Gregory Holman for identifying the spot.
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JANUARY 21-27,2016
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14th Street Y, 344 East 14th St. 7:30 p.m. $20 in advance, $25 at the door. Study texts on the theme of intoxication from the Torah and Talmud with LABA teacher Ruby Namdar, while drinking and learning about wines selected to match those specific texts by a professional sommelier. DRUNK 2016 — a night devoted to art, humor and some serious drinking! 646-395-4322. www. labajournal.com/drunk
PLUTOCRATS UNITED: A BOOK TALK New York University, Greenberg Lounge, Vanderbilt Hall, 40 Washington Square South 6 p.m. RSVP: www. brennancenter.org/event/ enter.org/event/ plutocrats-united-books-united-booktalk-professor-richardssor-richardhasen#RSVP SVP Richard Hasen, a professor of law at the University rsity of California, Irvine, argues that at both left and right ght avoid the key issue sue of the Citizens ns United
era: balancing political inequality with free speech. 646-292-8345
events/event/the-thirdman-01-22-2016
Fri 22 Sat 23 FAIRY TALE FASHION ▼ Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, Seventh Avenue at 27 Street, Special Exhibitions Gallery Through May 7. Tue-Fri, noon8 p.m.; Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free The exhibition looks at fairy tales, including in versions by authors such as Charles Perrault, the Brothers Grimm, and Hans Christian Andersen, through the lens of high fashion 212-217-4558. www.fitnyc. edu/museum/
CABARET CINEMA: “THE THIRD MAN” The Rubin Museum of Art, 150 West 17th St. 9:30-11:15 p.m. $10; $10 members, free. Photojournalist Photojournal Ron Haviv introduces introduc the 1949 film with Orson Welles, Welle Joseph Cotten Cot and Alida Valli V 212620-5000. 620-5000 rubinmuseum. rubinmuse org/
DENIM: FASHION’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 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/
GAVIN BRYARS’ “THE FIFTH CENTURY” St. Paul’s Chapel at Trinity Church, Wall Street 7:30 p.m. $30; students, $20. Tickets $5 more at the door The New York premiere of a 40-minute reflection on Thomas Traherne’s Centuries of Meditations for choir and saxophone quartet, featuring The Crossing and Prism Quartet, Donald Nally conducting. thecrossing.ticketleap.com/ the-fifth-century
Sun 24 SUNDAY BRUNCH WITH RALPH LALAMA Blue Note Jazz Club, 131 West Third St. 11:30 a.m. & 1:30 p.m., $35 includes music and brunch The tenor sax player with his NYU Ensemble, featuring Cristobal Gomez on guitar, Mike Richmond on bass and Billy Drummond on drums www.bluenotejazz.com
dirt-mag.com | call us 845.469.9000 | or send a check to
AN ART GALLERY TOUR IN SOHO
8FTU "WF t $IFTUFS /:
Meet at 47 Wooster St., near Broome Street 1 p.m. $25
JANUARY 21-27,2016
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Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
MARBLE’S JAZZ INSPIRED WORSHIP
Visit 7 modern art galleries in legendary Soho, the city’s original world-renowned gallery center - we find and explain this month’s most fascinating exhibits in painting, sculpture, electronic media & photography. Led by Rafael Risemberg, Ph.D. 212-946-1548. www. nygallerytours.com
Mon 25 “FROM MINIMALISM INTO ALGORITHM”
materials like clay, concrete, brick, and organic matter to create colossal installations, which suggest alternative worlds and apocalyptic or mythological realities. www.newschool.edu/
Tue 26 THE CARE AND FEEDING OF THE NEWBORN PLAY
The Playroom Theater, 151 West 46th St., 8th floor, Networking at 7 p.m., program The Kitchen, 512 West 19th at 7:30. $12; TRU members, St. free. Call at least a day in Free advance. Contemporary and historical New York sees only a painting, sculpture, performance, fraction of new plays that are and musical composition in being developed. Find out counterpoint, proposing a new what’s happening beyond the through-line for art-making hot commercial spotlight of during the past half-century. Broadway. 212-255-5793. www. 212-714-7628 or e-mail thekitchen.org/events TRUStaff1@gmail.com
PUBLIC ART FUND TALKS: ADRIÁN VILLAR ROJAS ▼ The New School, the Auditorium, Alvin Johnson/J.M. Kaplan Hall, 66 West 12th St 6:30 p.m. $10; free to all students, New School faculty, staff and alumni. Adrián Villar Rojas works with
Norman M. Klein, a novelist, critic, and urban and media historian, discusses how we have entered a new era, beyond globalism. www.newschool.edu/
Wed 27
FRIDAYS
AT
6:30PM
The Marble Loft (274 5th Ave)
Great Music. Great Spirit. A perfect blend of jazz and the Word.
VIOLET CIRCUS ARTS — CIRCUS IN THE PARK Near the Washington Square Park fountain 5-7 p.m., and Wednesdays until May 18 Violet Circus Arts’ weekly circus meet up! Get free lessons in juggling, unicycling, poi, stilt walking and more.
THE 19TH CENTURY CITY AND THE BOOK
1 West 29th Street / New York, New York 10001 / 212 686 2770 / MarbleChurch.org
AMERICA’S FAVORITE DOCTOR IS WAITING TO SEE YOU... MAKE YOUR APPOINTMENT TODAY.
Merchant’s House Museum, 29 East Fourth St. 6:30 p.m. $20. MHM & ICAA members $10. Seating limited and reservations are required. A BRIEF ARCHAEOLOGY The architectural historian Francis Morrone will discuss the OF OUR PRESENT neighborhood of the Merchant’s CRISIS: FEUDALISTIC House in a fascinating chapter PLURALISM of its varied history, when it was a center of bibliophily. merchantshouse.org/ The Bark Room, Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, 2 West calendar/reservations/ 13th St. 6-7 p.m. Free
The hottest ticket in daytime TV can be yours. To reserve FREE audience tickets & for more information, please visit www.doctoroz.com/tickets Mention ‘NY PRINT’ (as your special offer code)
Taping schedule: Select Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Fridays at 10:00am and 3:00pm. Studio address: 320 W. 66th Street, NYC No payment necessary for reservations or tickets. No one under 18 will be permitted in the studio. Government-issued ID required.
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JANUARY 21-27,2016
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
IMAGES FLOOD IN AT MOMA EXHIBITION A new survey captures the revolution in the way pictures are taken and distributed BY MARY GREGORY
Once a year for the past 30 years, the photography department at MoMA has put together a survey of the newest new trends. This year’s highlights a medium that has never been more sharply affected by evolution, both from within and without. The methods of picture taking have expanded. The number of people wielding cameras, thanks to their phones, has mushroomed. And the ways of seeing and sharing images has been entirely transformed. It’s been estimated that 300 million photographs are uploaded to Facebook each day. Curators Quentin Bajac, Roxana Marcoci and Lucy Gallun must have found themselves wading through an Ocean of Images— which happens to be the title of the show—to select the 19 international photographers included. They specifically sought artists from what they’ve dubbed the generation of post-Internet photography which Marcoci defined as “any image of cultural production…that is produced with the consciousness of the system within which the picture exists.” Indeed, some of these works find completion only through their travels across the worldwide web. These artists have found inspiration in materials as humble as bubble wrap and as lofty as the solar system. Through their work, they’re addressing ideas of authorship, ownership, social change, the making of art, the sharing of art, and the hijacking of art, to name a few.
One of the first works presented is an unnerving portrait of a non-person. DIS, a collective of four artists, created “Bina48” a video one of today’s most advanced robots, meant to be a personal assistant or a personreplacement. If you had any expectations of majestic Ansel Adams landscapes, this should be enough to steer you into a different mindset. Lucas Blalock’s “Picture for Mark II” is a reconstructed landscape-like image made of patches of color that have been tiled together in a rough simulation of hills, trees and clouds. While they’re visually soothing, there’s also a tension, since the viewer is aware that things are not what they seem. Throughout the show one feels a deliberate and delicate balancing act between things that are new and jarring and things that are new but reminiscent. John Houck’s crisp abstractions constructed from colored paper or rulers and pencils are arranged in ways that recall geometric abstract works by Russian Constructivists in the early 20th century. The backstory is that Houck went through psychoanalysis simultaneous to making the images, the curators state, “analogizing the human psyche to a photographic plate.” None of that can be seen by looking at the photographs. Often in contemporary art, the point to be communicated can only be accessed by the artists, the curators with whom they discuss their work, and viewers who spend more time reading labels than looking at art. When did the visual component of visual art become superfluous and obsolete? If the imagery is not the means of communication, what is? There are works in the exhibition that address this in
Yuki Kimura’s meditative, reflective installation, “Katsura” Photo by Adel Gorgy
A 29 foot long installation, “Shifting Degrees of Certainty” by Ilit Azoulay Photo by Adel Gorgy surprising ways. David Horvitz in “Mood Disorder” photographed himself with his head in his hands, in a gesture of emotional angst. He then uploaded it to a Wikipedia page on mood disorder, and with no further input from him, found his image featured in news articles and blogs all over the web, showing the countless ways that information is now shared and spread. In his case, it’s the process, not the image, that’s the work of art. Until they run out there’s a
chance to bring a work of art home with you. Pallets placed on the floor held towering piles of Edson Chagas’ “Found Not Taken” prints. As visitors lifted them to take one home, the piles shrunk, till only the last one, glued to the pallet remained. Some of them even had corners pulled off, an effort at grabbing the last one documented by its partial destruction. The process of placing and removing challenged the preciousness of art in museums, addressed the idea of free
dissemination of imagery, and became a kind of performance. Lele Saveri’s “The Newsstand,” an actual newsstand previously installed in a Brooklyn subway station, conjures a familiar way of encountering images, and at the same time, speaks to the many new ways words, pictures and ideas are circulated today. Photo sharing, independent zines, and self-publishing all find a home here. One of the quietest moments in the show is Yuki Kimura’s
“Katsura” a group of nostalgic, elegant black and white images of the Katsura Imperial Villa and gardens outside Kyoto. They’ve been placed on metal armatures, and to see them, one travels through the grouping much as would be the case on the meditation paths in the gardens. Tall plants are placed nearby, to recreate the sense of the natural world they mimic. They are reprinted from photographs taken by the artist’s grandfather in the 1960s. Majestic black and white images— perhaps a nod to the fathers of photography, after all. As the museum announced the exhibition, it also announced it will now be switching to a biennial format. From a series of tight, smaller exhibitions, they’ve morphed it into a sprawling international one, offering a global vision of photography. Artists put themselves in the position of seeing things. It’s their job. Some off the things that seem way out there – like talking robots – by the next appearance of MoMA’s “Photography Now” in two years may seem ordinary, or may have been completely replaced by the newest new thing. It’ll be interesting to watch.
5 TOP
ACTIVITIES FOR THE FERTILE MIND
FOR THE WEEK BY GABRIELLE ALFIERO OUR ARTS EDITOR
GALLERIES
For the first time in an exhibit, Minnesota-based photographer Bill Phelps presents images in color with his photographs of antique racecars, taken at a racing venue in France. “Autodrome” Jan. 20-March 6 Robin Rice Gallery 325 W. 11th St., between Washington and Greenwich Streets Gallery hours: Wednesday-Sunday, noon-7 p.m. FREE For more information, visit robinricegallery.com or call 212-366-6660
FILM NEW YORK WILD FILM FESTIVAL The New York WILD Film Festival highlights works with environmental focuses, including director Jonathan Demme’s film “What’s Motivating Hayes” about biologist Tyrone Hayes’
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21ST, 6:30PM The Anne Frank Center USA | 44 Park Pl. | 212-431-7993 | annefrank.com
Mass Observation 2.0: Research Into the Everyday | Exhibition Opening
TUESDAY, JANUARY 26TH, 6PM The New School | 66 Fifth Ave. | 212-229-5108 | newschool.edu New technologies, modernity and disruptions to habitual responses to the everyday are up for examination in a hybrid talk/workshop/event/exhibition. ($5)
Just Announced | Nathalie Pozzi + Eric Zimmerman: Waiting Rooms
The Rubin Museum will be transformed into a life-size game of absurdist waiting rooms when an architect and a game designer collaborate on an installation for this spring’s Brainwave series. Bureaucracy, borders, and the contemporary bent for systematization will be explored. ($25)
For more information about lectures, readings and other intellectually stimulating events throughout NYC,
sign up for the weekly Thought Gallery newsletter at thoughtgallery.org.
investigation into the environmental impact of a pesticide, and “Warlords of Ivory,” which digs into the ivory trade. New York WILD Film Festival Jan. 28-31 The Explorer’s Club 46 E. 70th St., between Park and Madison Avenues Assorted times Tickets $22-$169 For more information, visit nywildfilmfestival. com
“JANE AND CHARLOTTE FOREVER” Film Society of Lincoln Center explores the works of Jane Birkin and her daughter Charlotte Gainsbourg with a 19-film showcase that begins with a dialogue between the two actresses and screenings of films from each of their catalogues. “Jane and Charlotte Forever” Jan. 29-Feb. 7 Film Society of Lincoln Center Walter Reade Theater 165 W. 65th St., near Amsterdam Avenue Assorted show times Tickets $14 For tickets, visit filmlinc.org or call 212-8755601 To be included in the Top 5 go to otdowntown.com and click on submit a press release or announcement.
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Jazz singer Kavita Shah is a Manhattan native with global influences, including Indian and Malian styles, and a onetime classical piano student who also performed with the Young People’s Chorus of New York City. Shah now plays with various outfits, including her two-person band with bassist Francois Moutin. Kavita Shah Friday, Jan. 22 The Rubin Museum of Art 150 W. 17th St., near Seventh Avenue 7 p.m. Tickets $20 For tickets, visit rubminmuseum.org/jazz or call 212-620-5000
Letters From Anne and Martin: A Special Program in Honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Rubin Museum of Art | 150 W. 17th St. | 212-620-5000 | rmanyc.org
“A RADICAL FRIENDSHIP”
KAVITA SHAH
NEW YORK CITY
SATURDAY, APRIL 16TH, 7:30PM
THEATER
MUSIC
thoughtgallery.org A performance juxtaposes the writings of Anne Frank and Martin Luther King, Jr., followed by a reminiscence by the daughter of Minnijean Brown Trickey, one of the Little Rock Nine. ($5)
“AUTODROME”
Jane Marla Robbins’ play examines Martin Luther King, Jr.’s close friendship with the rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, played by Ed Asner, through fictional dialogue between the pair. The play, which is co-sponsored by the Jewish Theological Seminary, also stars Albert Jones as King. “A Radical Friendship” Thursday, Jan. 21 The Riverside Church 490 Riverside Drive, between W. 120th and W. 122nd Streets 7:30 p.m. Tickets $36 For tickets, visit theriversidechurchny.org or call 212-870-6784
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JANUARY 21-27,2016
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JANUARY 21-27,2016
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS DEC 10 , 2015 - JAN 16, 2016
Corner Cafe And Bakery
1645-1651 Third Ave
Grade Pending (22) Food prepared from ingredients at ambient temperature not cooled to 41º F or below within 4 hours. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
Yura & Company On Madison
1292 Madison Ave
A
Zebu Grill
305 East 92 St
A
Dunkin’ Donuts, Baskin Robbins
1392 Lexington Ave
A
Papa John’s
301 East 90 St
A
Naruto Ramen
1596 3 Ave
A
Corner Cafe & Bakery
1246 Madison Ave
A
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. Perk Kafe
1867 2Nd Ave
A
Bally Total Fitness
1915 3Rd Ave
Not Yet Graded (23) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. 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.
My Ny Bakery Cafe
1565 Lexington Avenue
A
Bm Deli & Grocery
1916 3 Avenue
A
Infirmary
1720 2Nd Ave
A
Mj Pizza
1976 1St Ave
Grade Pending (25) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.
Pascalou
1308 Madison Ave
A
Pinocchio Ristorante
1748 1 Ave
Grade Pending (17) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
Grade Pending (59) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. 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. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Insufficient or no refrigerated or hot holding equipment to keep potentially hazardous foods at required temperatures. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. Wiping cloths soiled or not stored in sanitizing solution.
Uptown
1576 3 Ave
A
La Tarte Flambee
1750 2 Ave
A
89 Tenzan
1714 2Nd Ave
Grade Pending (21) Food worker does not use proper utensil to eliminate bare hand contact with food that will not receive adequate additional heat treatment. Evidence of rats or live rats present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. 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.
Carval Pizzeria
1544 Madison Ave
Brothers Bakery Cafe
2155 2Nd Ave
A
Malii
2028 2Nd Ave
Not Yet Graded (25) Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred. Wiping cloths soiled or not stored in sanitizing solution.
Lunetta Pizza & Restaurant 1427 3Rd Ave
A
Bagel Bobs On York
1641 York Ave
Not Yet Graded - No violations were recorded at the initial nonoperational pre-permit inspection conducted on 01/06/2016, or violations cited were dismissed at an administrative hearing.
Beyoglu
200 East 81 Street
A
Gino’s Pizzeria Restaurant
345 East 83 Street
A
Every Day Fresh Fish-NChips
2244 1St Ave
A
Caffe Grazie
26 East 84 Street
A
El Paso Restaurante Mexicano
1643 Lexington Avenue
Grade Pending (25) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
Poke Restaurant
343 East 85 Street
A
Inase Sushi Restaurant
1586 1 Avenue
A
Brandy’s Piano Bar
235 East 84 Street
A
The Daisy
1641 2Nd Ave
A
Per Lei
1347 2 Ave
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. Personal cleanliness inadequate. Outer garment soiled with possible contaminant. Effective hair restraint not worn in an area where food is prepared. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.
Pyramid Coffee Company
535 East 70 St
A
Laduree
864 Madison Ave
A
Maison Kayser
1294 3 Ave
A
Subway
1873 2Nd Ave
A
Cantina
1436 Lexington Ave
B
Island
1305 Madison Ave
A
Bar Roma
163 E 92Nd St
A
The Writing Room
1703 2Nd Ave
A
Reif’s Tavern
302 East 92 St
A
Finestra
1370 York Ave
A
Hotel Carlyle Employee Cafeteria
35 East 76 St
A
Hunter Deli
966 Lexington Ave
A
JANUARY 21-27,2016
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
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JANUARY 21-27,2016
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
Business
VC FUNDING UP 62 PERCENT IN NYC Nearly $6 billion in venture-capital funding was invested in New York City companies in 2015, up 62 percent from the $3.67 billion invested in 2014, according to a report from the NYC Economic Development Corporation.
In total, there were 395 venture-capital deals in 2015, up from 367 the previous year, the EDC said. “New York City is home to the most dynamic startups, the best talent and the most creative
In Brief ELECTEDS CALL FOR R LINE REVIEW A host of elected officials, including State Senator Daniel Squadron, joined transportation advocates like the Riders Alliance and the NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign in calling for the MTA’s next full line review to study the R train. In a letter to MTA Chair Prendergast dated Jan. 11, the elected officials and advocates also requested that the review be completed more quickly than the last review, which took 18 months. “We have heard a number of community concerns about the R train. The R train serves many communities for which it is one of the only transit options,” wrote Squadron, Riders Alliance, Straphangers, and the other electeds. “We also request that this review be conducted in a timely manner. The almost 18 months that it took to complete the A/C full line review is, simply, too slow… Riders cannot be expected to wait that long for service assessments and improvements.” Community concerns about the R Train center mostly on delays. In 2009, Squadron worked with the MTA to create the first-oftheir-kind full line reviews, according to his office. The practice has led to more frequent and on-time trains, newer and cleaner subway cars, and other cost-effective service improvements that are important to riders along the A, C, F, G, and L trains. Cate Contino Cowit, a coordinator with the Straphangers Campaign said, “The goal here isn’t to study the R train to death, but to create timely and practical ways to better serve the tens of thousands who use it. Today, riders often call the R the ‘Rarely.’ Maybe – if transit officials do their best – one day its nickname will be the ‘Reliable’.”
TEXTING 911? The City Council held a hearing last week on Intro. 868. which would require the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications to create a plan that would allow the public to send texts to the city’s 911 call system for emergency assistance. The legislation is sponsored by sponsored by Council Members Laurie A. Cumbo, Mark Levine, and Vanessa A. Gibson. Texting capabilities in 911 systems are already used in smaller municipalities across the country, but no such service has yet been considered for New York City. For more than a decade, said Levine’s office in a press release, the city has been executing the Electronic Communication Transformation Program (ECTP), a citywide, multi-billion-dollar endeavor intended to modernize NYC’s emergency communication infrastructure. “Over the years, ECTP has been plagued with construction delays, cost overruns, and contract issues, but appears to be nearing its final stages,” said the release. “The committees will be examining the feasibility of adding a text communication component to the existing 911 system and the ECTP project.” The Committee on Public Safety, of which Gibson is chair, will also examine texting 911 as a new method for those in high-risk situations to more safely contact emergency personnel. Texting, rather than calling 911, would especially benefit those in high risk situations where a phone call could alert a perpetrator, including domestic violence or home invasion scenarios. The committees will also evaluate the potential benefits for people with disabilities, specifically the deaf and speech-impaired communities.
ecosystem in the world,” said Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Alicia Glen. “It’s no surprise that nearly $6 billion in venture capital funding flowed into New York City in 2015.”
Glen also touted city programs like Venture Fellows, Early Stage Life Sciences Funding Initiative and the city’s annual BigApps competition as helping to ensure New York City remains the place to launch and grow a startup.
FEDS TO TRACK LUXURY APARTMENT SALES NEWS Aimed at cracking down on mystery buyers and money laundering BY JOSH BOAK AND MARTIN CRUTSINGER
The Treasury Department will begin tracking sales of high-end real estate in two of the country’s most expensive markets -- Miami and Manhattan -- to try to crack down on money laundering. The department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said that it will temporarily require certain title companies to identify individuals behind companies that buy properties exceeding $3 million in these two markets with all-cash transactions. The government said it’s concerned that some of these real estate deals are made by corrupt foreign government officials or international criminals who use expensive real estate to launder dirty money. By using holding companies, some buyers may be able to disguise their identities. The disclosure requirements would apply for 180 days beginning in March, according to the announcement. Under federal law, the government can demand these geographically targeted disclosures for up to six months but can then seek
The Time Warner Center, where many high-end apartments have gone to unnamed buyers. Photo by Wally Gobetz via flickr an extension. High-end home prices in both Manhattan and Miami have soared over the past year. The median Manhattan home sold for $1.15 million at the close of 2015 -- a 17.3 percent leap from a year ago, according to the real estate brokerage Douglas Elliman. That price put it at highs last glimpsed before the financial crisis erupted in 2008. The median sales price for a luxury unit in Manhattan was $6 million, a 25 percent jump from a year ago. Nearly half the purchases were all-cash.
Douglas Elliman reported that the entry point for luxury single-family homes in Miami Beach exceeds $6 million. Buyers are also flocking to the chic condo towers that increasingly line the region’s most expensive avenues. Of the $100 billion spent on real estate transactions in Florida last year, nearly a quarter came from international buyers, according to the National Association of Realtors. And 74 percent of those sales were all-cash. But most of those purchases would not qualify for the additional government disclo-
sure The housing industry is trying to gauge the impact of the required disclosures. “It’s painting the high-end segment as having overall treachery, and that’s unfortunate,” said Jonathan Miller, chief executive at the appraiser Miller Samuel. “It’s certainly not helpful to the high end of the market because it adds another level of complication to a transaction.” Still, Miller said the impact is likely to be minor in the long term.
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Asphalt Green Unified Aquatics (AGUA) hosted its MLK Invitational, the program’s largest and most successful competition. Over 850 swimmers flocked to Asphalt Green’s Upper East Side campus from all over New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. The competition began Saturday morning and ran through Monday evening. AGUA brought the largest contingent, showcasing more than 300 athletes.
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Be Seen in Manhattan’s Premier Arts Section where...
87%
of readers say they visited a museum in the past 3 months
72%
of readers say they attended a concert in the past 3 months or readers say they attended a Broadway performance in the past 3 months
68% RY 12-18 ,2015
n FEBRUA
12 Our Tow
E, EGON SCHIELSP REBEL ON DI LAY
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of public k 1912 on a charge with Peacoc cerated in ed in Self-PortraitStanding, 1911Gouache, immorality. oat, on paper, r style soften onment, Waistc olor, and black crayon His edgy, angula Vienna ath of his impris ngs waterced on board Ernst Ploil, the afterm t is rife with painti mount artists. to very strong but the exhibi of elongated, emaand fellow tribute ngs Responding Neue Galerie has to family s resembling and drawi d, decorative ts demand, the first-of-its-kind show ciated, trippy figure-Portrait with voted gold-bronze sister, it presen A its (“Self r ed est artist an ntial, extend Mick Jagge Above Head,” 1910) to his young in an existe lastic Austri ed er (“Self- yet another figure toned. of the iconoc Arm Twist n’s monst one silverNOVO this enstei many CASTRO iscent The space, BY VAL or Frank Head,” 1910). himself, an emptywork is eerily remin it Portrait, , golden portra of the artist great hair The lines that iconic its cur’s and s portra with of Klimt I” (1907), review block, Neue egotist and a dandy Peacock Waist- “Adele Bloch-Bauer 2nd floor and After rave e around the g on the ng Portrait with a testawrapped given its Egon12Schiel residin are openi (“Self1911), rently show its Ou to t of a new Standing,” self-referGalerie has ve and extended r To coat, wnto his fondness for ough it the subjec e on April 2, timed film, show a reprie 20. 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The works ngs, are organized Boy in Stripe Schiele’s wife which the painti music of it is a ing side room, from given over just 11 oil is , with the g in the show. is not just because small tes, of tically full thema nberg emana , with reproducAnd it nberg waftin ng in a room it, Schoe Arnold Schoe very explic s, to his time in prisonzed watercolors large oil painti . b of Viagoni his t-sized, albeit Harm background in a subur tions of the eted while serving r, modes on paper. Edith Born in 1890was a rebel painte e-class girl e compl e the works table, middlin 1915 after Schiel sentence. in respec ant enna, Schiel Dean of his age,” married art- the and 24-day Edith became pregn w “the James states about the al whom Schiele me model the mello After physic le painted s with ding his longti audio tour naked a striking y”, charm 1918, Schie in discar y,” with a ist, who boreto Dean (both died at live-in lover “Walland prim, finely trio, “The Famil ring a nt father shelte e could d collar years resemblance only three my of her ruffle striped dress, a garme ’s mother and pictur After the ated their 20s). child. (Alas, been res of Joseph rvative Acade y deline es up vision t an small until April and has months Vienna’s conse he precociousl that conjur colors. Set agains stay six not But where .) sevlooks its lender iele and of many Fine Arts– contractage 16–Sch Schiele’s wife like a turned to free coat ancy, Edith e enrolled at iconoclasts broke -white void, into her pregnh flu and died. Schiel ppe off ke and awkward, rather ufellow nstgru eral be manip doll-li later of the ed the Spanis d the Neuku waiting to three days same day as and forme marionette ). perished the a Seces(New Art Group hated the same malady—on 31, 1918. lated. of the Vienn her family l, October A protégé v Klimt (1862-1918), y, with Edith and her sister Adele prowife’s funera his show his was only 28, a prodig sion’s Gusta d, Schiele made n, painting, with a decade. 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Our Tow
FIRST-PERSON CRIME WATCH
n OCTOB ER 16, 2014
EXHIB ITION S
SET IN THE CITY: RECL A
STR EET ART
Photogr complet apher Justin Bett e room sets on man builds city stre ets
ENCOURAGING BAD THEATER
THEAT ER
Alongside comedy writer Wickens starte d a festiva Gavin Starr, this judgment l that is a year. zone” “no submit videos in show busine Minim of shows they’ve ss. People show al selection require the chance ments that brings written for to finally perform surprises with make for a formed in mance slot. or have each front the only selecti of an audience. Considit per- game show Last year, the audience perforBY NICOLE watched a that allotte ering dildo. DEL MAURO chance is quite on requirement is CHELSEA Comed d the winner They also time, this a golden y writer Shawn watched a knows that piece about “If the artist great. dramatic dance some people Wickens the Troma Films, think his work to try,” Wickenis willing to try, we are rican Americ prevalence of HIV in the Afwilling s said. Central have Blue Man Group and is bad. artistic stew an community. The festiva The Bad Theate Comedy all rejected r l, an haven for variou Fest, as it is known his submis Wickens is wrenching, of the outlandish and sions. , is a safe the heart the s types regarding thenot ashamed of this. First time is interesting meaningful and the His actors, playwrof creative misfits. random, becaus to perform matter is simple: when theory ducers call e you never know you’re going ance, nothin it comes the festiva ights and film proto see. what will always g l home. Experi writers take “It’s be someone is universal. There part, enced and totally accepting of is bad. remain tucked too, submitting works that thinks develo the ping artists a thing that O’Neil risks they want to is an opport away in drawers for But Wicken take,” Jonath l, a repeat unity to perform years. It submitter of rejection s also knows the stiflin it, build confi said. to the festivaan performance dence or simply for the heck of g l, face when presen writers and fear York City stage. Starr and work on a New Wicken’s work actors ting their his theater Starr is showin “The festiva is no except peers, he createdwork. So, to assist l is to g a 15 year-ol ion. give people dissolves perfor creativ in college a d piece he wrote a chance to mers’ pressu showcase that find e and be on stage, which be sation . Wickens, who is a solving their with less and re by first weekly improv performer is harder audience’s dis- city,” less small iexpect “It turned into Wickens theaters in to nizing an improv at Magnet Theater, is a festival whereations. orgathe topic skit very low,” Wicken Submissionssaid. of depression for the festival. With the bar is set s said. its within the New York City. are not limited to munity, the comedy compeople shows from Bad Theater Fest is presen in issue long-fashow will be a sort of tribute Washington, ced D.C. and Pittsbuting relevant now in the entertainment to an in the tragic world, rgh supers wake of comed tar Robin Williams’ improv style suicide. Its y is a tribute Bad Theate to the r Fest “I think improitself. v
A comedy writer has created to showcase performance a festival s with no expectations
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MY EAST SIDE MUGGING BY ROMANIE BAINES
IF YOU GO
The festival spans over the weeken 17, 24 and Nov. ds on 154 W. 29th1 at Chelsea’s Treehouof the Oct. se Theater, within a 90-min Street. Four or five plays are $15 availab ute time slot each night. are shown BadTheaterFesle on EventBrite through Tickets Pioneers Bar t.com and knock $3 off the website a drink at festival will down the street from the where peoplealso host a Halloween partyvenue. The will compete at Pioneers, the bad costum for e competition. the worst costume in
actors feel red-headed like the step dren of the chilcomedy and theate worlds,” Wicke r ns said. “There improv actors,is, for a very ‘root for the under dog’ mentality, and that’s what we’re all about as well.” Right now, merely fun the Bad Theater Fest is for viewer s The three-y ear old event and actors. ing out its kinks; organi is still irona challenge zing skits is and between sets smooth transitions are never teed. But Wicken guarans said can be seen he hopes it by a pool of untappfuture audiences as ed talent.
otdowntown.com
YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS SOURCE
I thought that what happened to me right on the block where I’ve lived for years might be of interest for your paper’s Crime Watch notifications. I hope it might serve as a head’s up for other people, women especially, who live in the neighborhood. It was Sunday night, January 3rd, going into Monday, January 4th. I left my building at 11:55 p.m. The building is on 61st Street between Second and Third avenues. I was taking my little rescue dog out for his last walk of the day. When I was about two thirds of the way up towards Third Avenue I stopped for a moment to allow my dog to sniff near the curb. I was standing sideways on the pavement turned facing north, I noticed a guy also walking towards Third Avenue about 20 feet in back of me; he looked perfectly non-threatening, like a man who had just finished work somewhere and was walking towards the subway to go home. I started back walking and facing towards Third Avenue. Suddenly, and completely si-
lently, the guy that I’d seen a few seconds earlier closed the gap between us on the sidewalk and put me in a very forceful choke hold, from behind. I could not do anything, After some seconds (I’ve no idea how long,) I passed out. I regained consciousness a short time later (again, no idea how long it took,) flat down on the sidewalk with my face on the pavement. The attacker was still there, bent over me searching through my coat pockets. He found and got nothing! I’d come out just to walk my dog without a handbag, I had no phone, no credit cards, no watch or any other jewelry, and not one cent of money. I had my door keys without any ID on them in one pocket, and a spare poop bag and dog treats in the other pocket. All this stuff remained in my pockets after the attacker fled. Since I was now on the ground and not in the choke hold any longer, I was able to scream, I screamed bloody murder. The attacker turned my face up and covered my mouth with his gloved hand, stopping me from screaming, but then his hand slipped off my mouth a bit and I got a couple more good, loud screams in. He then put his hand back, more firmly this
time, over both my mouth and my nose. Very scary as now I couldn’t breath. Fortunately my screams had already been heard by a fellow on the other side of the street, the north side. This man came running over the road yelling “What’s going on?” The attacker fled. The man who had come to my aid is a pharmacist at the Animal Medical Center on 62nd Street and York Avenue. He had just finished his shift, (they are open 24 hours,) and he was on his way to take the subway home! I’m not a religious woman, but this man’s name is Angel Rodriguez! He certainly was my Angel that night. The 19th Precinct has all of this information. A detective named Brian O’Donnell has the case. I’m hoping that they might be able to find the attacker through film on the security surveillance camera on the brownstone where the attack took place. I hope that perhaps women in the neighborhood reading this in Our Town will become aware that, sadly, it’s not as safe around here as they might have thought. I had thought myself safe on my block before this.
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YOUR 15 MINUTES
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BRINGING OUT THE SUPERFAN IN EVERYONE ZinePak founders on being female entrepreneurs, entering the “Shark Tank” and working with the Mets BY ANGELA BARBUTI
Whether it be for a pop star or a sports team, everyone can call themselves a superfan of someone or something. To celebrate that passion in all of us, Brittany Hodak and Kim Kaupe, who met while working together at a New York City ad agency, created ZinePak. Located in a WeWork office space on 34th Street and Fifth Avenue, the company began by transforming the way consumers buy music by offering a fun and tangible alternative. Their first products, sold at Walmart, were CDs paired with a magazine and merchandise. In just a short time, they were working with names like Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, KISS and the Beach Boys, as well as expanding their client base to include movies, television shows and even brands like American Express. In the spring of 2015, the duo appeared on “Shark Tank,” where they pitched their company to celebrity investors. Although the deal made on the show was not ultimately finalized, their exposure contributed to even more growth. One venture that came as a direct result of the reality show is a partnership with the New York Mets, who asked the women to make a package for their Mr. Met’s Kids Club. “It’s really exciting to circle back and see something right here where we live,” Kaupe said.
How did the idea for the company come about? Brittany: Originally, when we launched the company, we were creating deluxe music packages for artists. That was an idea from when I worked at a record label and was hoping to come up with a configuration that could help combat the decline of physical sales. Over the past five years, we’ve transitioned into a very robust, dynamic creative agency doing all kinds of packages for superfans. Some of which are retailed, some of which are used during live performances, some of which are sold directly to fans on artists’ or sports teams’ websites. So it’s been really fascinating to see how much we’ve grown pretty much all based on existing customers asking us to do more. So from people who are saying, “I loved working with you on my album, but I don’t have another album for two years, so in the meantime, let’s work on my fan club or tour.”
What are the pros and cons to starting a business in the New York City? Brittany: I would say that one of the
ZinePak founders Brittany Hodak and Kim Kaupe. Photo: Shervin Lainez pros is the amazing access to talent. There are just so many wonderfully talented people in New York City that you could get anyone you could ever hope for. And one of the cons is the city tax on top of the state and federal tax. And the high rent. Kim: Another pro is that with all of the local colleges like Baruch and NYU, we’ve had really top-tier interns which I think is really unique compared to some other locations that might not have such amazing colleges right in their vicinity.
All of ZinePak’s full-time employees are female. What are the positives to having an all-women staff? Do you ever feel discriminated against? Brittany: I definitely felt an inequity at some of the jobs I had in the past by being female and also being young. And sometimes it was kind of like a double whammy. So I would say one of the pros for us is that we’re able the give our employees exactly the kind of work environment we wished we had had when we started out and weren’t
always lucky enough to get. And the kind of bosses that we had always hoped to have that sometimes we got and sometimes we didn’t. It certainly wasn’t intentional to have an all-female staff, but we feel very fortunate that we have the ability to shape the work experience for the employees we have. Kim: I think it’s also really nice because most of the entrepreneurial world is male. Statistically, there just aren’t a lot of female entrepreneurs, unfortunately. It’s definitely getting better in the five years that Brittany and I have had ZinePak; we’ve definitely seen more female entrepreneurs come into the scene. But it’s also nice to surround yourself with women, because at so many of these entrepreneurial events that Brittany and I go to, more times than not, we are the only females there or there are 40 men in the room and maybe four women.
How did “Shark Tank” affect the growth of your business? Kim: “Shark Tank” undoubtedly
helped our business by exposing us to tons of people who had never heard of us before. We’ve had a lot of people contact us, saying, “Hey, I was watching the show with my wife,” or “My kids were watching the show and I started listening to your pitch and I think there’s stuff we can do together.” And with a couple of those people, the projects have come to fruition. And one that relates right here in New York is we started working with the Mets, which is super exciting. Someone at the Mets’ organization saw us on the show and said, “The Mets have tons of superfans. We would love to talk to you guys.” So, in 2016, if you join the Mr. Met’s Kids Club, that package and that experience is something that we created.
Who have been your favorite celebrities to work with? Kim: We’ve had a lot of favorites. It’s kind of like picking your favorite child. But I think one we had a lot of fun with was Katy Perry. She is also a female entrepreneur in her own right
and empowering and a big believer in Brittany and I, which is really nice. And from a fan’s standpoint, the Beach Boys. I really geeked out on that one. Brittany: My all-time favorite is a band with New York roots, KISS. We loved working with KISS. It was just a blast from start to finish. KISS has some of the most loyal fans in the world. So to be able to create a package and get the feedback from the KISS Army that they gave it the seal of approval, it was a really special thing for us. And we actually have pages from our KISS ZinePak on display at the KISS Monster Mini Golf, which is in Las Vegas. www.zinepak.com
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BE THE SOMEONE. Sam New York Cares Volunteer
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ANTIQUES WANTED
TOP PRICES PAID HELP WANTED REAL ESTATE - SALE
MASSAGE
â&#x20AC;&#x153;THERE MUST BE SOMEONE WHO CAN GIVE MORE KIDS THE CHANCE TO GO TO COLLEGE.â&#x20AC;? Fernanda New York Cares Volunteer
Chinese Objects Paintings, Jewelry Silver, Furniture, Etc. Entire Estates Purchased
800.530.0006
Antique, Flea & Farmers Market SINCE 1979
East 67th Street Market
(between First & York Avenues) Open EVERY Saturday 6am-5pm Rain or Shine Indoor & Outdoor FREE Admission Questions? Bob 718.897.5992 Proceeds BeneďŹ t PS 183
Singles, Families including LGBT Thinking of moving to New Jersey? Call Barbara Silber, RealtorÂŽ Direct: 973-280-6086 www.barbarasilber.com Office: 973-251-0100
SUBURBAN 4245 Town Center Way, Livingston NJ 07039
New York Traditional Acupuncture Your Homeownership Partner
BE THE SOMEONE.
Neck
Elbow
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Hand
Free Consultation 212-355-2988
Knee Ankle
www.acupunctureon.com 30 E. 60th St, New York, NY (bet Park & Madison Ave)
Pain Relief
SOHO LT MFG
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462 Broadway
Î&#x201E; 4^\_RcWcWeRÍ&#x153; ĹŹgRQÍšaMcR \^acUMURb S^a ĹŹabcÍšcW\R V^\ROdhRab Î&#x201E; 5^f]_Mh\R]c MbbWbcM]PR MeMWZMOZR d_ c^ Î&#x2020; Í&#x153; Î&#x201E; E_RPWMZ _a^UaM\ S^a eRcRaM]bÍ&#x153; MPcWeRÍšQdch \WZWcMahÍ&#x153; @McW^]MZ 8dMaQ M]Q aRbRaeWbcb Î&#x201E; 7d]Qb MeMWZMOZR S^a aR]^eMcW^]
+/- 9,000 sf Ground Floor - $90 psf
1-800-382-HOME(4663)
+/- 16,000 sf Cellar - $75 psf
www.sonyma.org
MFG No Retail/Food
newyorkcares.org
Call Farrell @ Meringoff Properties 646.306.0299
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Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
JANUARY 21-27,2016
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