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A DINER’S SEX-SELECTIVE ABORTION IN NEW YORK NINE LIVES While the practice appears to be diminishing, it remains an open secret within some communities
The Empire, once a Chelsea mainstay, went through several incarnations before folding, likely for good in December BY RAANAN GEBERER
Today, the area around 10th Avenue in Chelsea is defined by the High Line. But in the decades before the High Line opened to the public, the neighborhood was better known for its art galleries — and for the Empire Diner. With its chrome exterior, the Empire State Building model on its roof, innovative cuisine and music played on an upright piano, the Empire, at 22nd Street and Eighth Avenue, was a fixture of Chelsea life from the 1970s until the early 2000s. But the diner has closed three times in the last six years, and as of this writing, there are few clues about its future. Originally, the Empire Diner was a “regular” New York City diner, serving typical diner fare. The diner was built in 1946 by the Fodero Dining Car Corp., a New Jersey company that was responsible for many of the diners in the Northeast. As a diner on the far West Side in those days, it certainly served factory and warehouse workers as well as those who worked on the docks. It was closed at some point before being refurbished and reopened in 1976. At that time, it was rehabilitated by new owners Jack Doenias, Carl Laanes and Richard Ruskay into something quite different. A June 1976 New York Times review of the recently-opened Empire reveals that it began specializing in nouvelle cuisine such as leaf spinach in a nest of alfalfa sprouts
CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
BY RUI MIAO AND VIRGINIA GUNAWAN
“It’s a girl,” said the doctor. “You want to get rid of it? It’ll take just three minutes.” Lily Zhou trembled — her motherly instincts mixing with sadness. “It’s my daughter, it’s a life,” she recalled thinking. “I can’t do this.” And, according to the mother of four from Brooklyn, her experience is not an muncommon one within the city’s gynecological clinics. “Most of my friends would either go to Chinatown or Flushing for this,” she said. Pregnant women, most of them Chinese and Indian, often go to abortion clinics to for early stage fetal gender tests. The results can lead still another procedure — abortion — if the baby is a girl, according to dozens of interviews with physicians, community leaders and Asian immigrants in Manhattan’s Chinatown, Queens’ Flushing and Jackson Heights and Brooklyn’s Sunset Park. Like many of her friends, Zhou tested her baby’s sex each time she conceived. Unlike others she knows, she never had an abortion. She has three girls and her youngest, a 1-year-old son. She had not planned on having this many children. “After my first girl, we began to expect a boy,” Zhou, 34, said. She came to New York in her early 20s from Fujian, a province in southeastern China. She now runs a Chinese takeout restaurant with her husband in Flatbush, Brooklyn. “We don’t have a preference for boys,” Zhou said. “We just wanted a boy to make it more of a perfect family.” Culturally, Chinese people believe a balance of yin and yang will bring a family good luck. Having a boy is sim-
Dr. Lisa Eng in her Mott Street office.
ply a wish, not a necessity. An unscientific street survey with dozens of Chinese women between the ages of 23 and 50 in Manhattan’s Chinatown and Flushing suggested that most believe that male preference in Chinese immigrant culture has dissipated. Still, they said, some older relatives and close friends continue to favor boys over girls and sexselective abortion is an open secret within the city’s Chinese immigrant communities. Men are also becoming more openminded. “We love our girls,” said Tony Chiu, a hairstylist at B’s Salon on
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Chinese language newspapers carry a prolific selection of abortion ads, some of them also offering early gender tests. Photo: Rui Miao Downtowner
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Division Street. Chiu and his friends sometimes even claim to prefer “daughter to son,” in protest against the stereotype that Chinese men harbor discrimination towards females. Still, men and women interviewed indicated that they can be pressured by family members, especially from older generations, to have boys. “My husband first agreed that we stop trying after our second daughter,” Zhou said. But not long after, he started to nudge her again, she said. “He would say ‘my mother won’t cut
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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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WHATâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S MAKING NEWS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD CALLS TO RESTRICT UBER DRIVERSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; HOURS Demands have been made for the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Taxi and Limousine Commission to restrict Uber driversâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; hours as they do with yellow cabbies. Cab and transit-safety groups wrote earlier this week to the TLC that a cap on driversâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; shifts is both fair and, more importantly, lifesaving, the New York Post reported. Currently, TLC regulations limits yellow taxi drivers to 12 hours a shift, but while there is a weekly 100-hour limit on Uber drivers, there is no daily restriction and some drivers have told the Post that they have worked 19 hour shifts to make enough. Though Uber has insisted that many of its drivers only work 30 hours a week and no more than 12 a day, a company spokesman assured advocates that the company will take further steps to make sure that its drivers are not overworking themselves. While all groups involved agree that passenger and driver safety is of utmost importance and that long hours behind the wheel
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may cause driver impairment, current technology makes it difficult to monitor the hours that drivers are on shift, the Post reported.
PART OF BOWLING GREEN RENAMED A portion Bowling Green will be officially co-named â&#x20AC;&#x153;Evacuation Day Plazaâ&#x20AC;? in honor the traditional Revolutionary War holiday. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Celebrated by New Yorkers for more than a century, Evacuation Day symbolized the triumph of liberty, selfdetermination, and democracy over the forces of tyranny,â&#x20AC;? Councilwoman Margaret Chin said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is my hope that with this official designation, Evacuation Day will again take its rightful place in the rich and colorful history of our City, which played such a vital role in the great American experiment that continues today.â&#x20AC;? On Nov. 25, 1783, General Washington rode his horse down Broadway to Bowling Green as the last of the British occupying force boarded ships back to England. Known thereafter as Evacuation Day, that day ended a brutal
7-year occupation of much of Manhattan Island and Brooklyn by British forces.
INNOVATION CLUSTER COMING TO GOVERNORâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ISLAND The city plans to turn portions of Governors Island into a year round destination. Mayor Bill de Blasio discussed the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plans in his State of the City Address. The city will develop 33 acres on the south side of the island into an â&#x20AC;&#x153;Innovation Cluster,â&#x20AC;? bringing together innovators, entrepreneurs, and educators to generate new ideas, economic activity and jobs, DNAinfo reported. The city has invested over $300 million since 2010 towards the transformation of the island, which is a former military base, into usable space including 30 acres of new parkland, the news site reported. There are also plans for a day spa, new restaurants, an international student campus, and an expanded arts center, DNAinfo reported. According to the city, construction could be set to begin in 2019.
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CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG RECORD AMOUNT OF HEROIN SEIZED IN 2015 A record-breaking 880 kilograms of heroin, a majority of it in New York City, was seized by authorities in the state last year, about one-third of all of the drugs recovered in the U.S, the New York Post reported. The total amount recovered by the Drug Enforcement Administration is far higher than the 517 kilograms they took in 2014 and 10 times the 89 kilos taken in 2009, the paper reported Heroin, a highly addictive opioid that is synthesized from morphine, is smuggled over the Mexican border, processed in mills around the city and being distributed to surrounding cities in the northeast, according to James Hunt, the special agent in charge of the DEA’s New York office. Heroin use has increased in the past few years as the availability of prescription drugs has decreased and the prices for them risen. “Opioid abuse has ravaged communities nationwide and hit the Northeast like a tidal wave, from Maine to Montauk,” said Hunt.
New York City is a very popular destination for the drug in the U.S. and DEA agents are finding amounts worth millions all over the city, the Post said.
driver’s-side rear window had been broken and three custommade men’s suits by Hickey Freeman, valued at $2,400, were missing.
DISTRITO DISTRESS
MURRAY WORRY
And the scary scam calls keep coming. In the afternoon of Jan. 27, a 48-year-old man from Brightwaters, N.Y., received a phone call from an unknown man who said he had the victim’s son and would kill him unless the victim followed his directions. The victim complied with the instructions, withdrawing cash from an ATM and transferring the money via Western Union to a location in Mexico City. The amount transferred was $2,000. Police said one Luis J. Hernandez of Mexico City is wanted for grand larceny by extortion.
Another week, another gym locker break-in. At 4:45 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 29, a 35-year-old man returned from a workout in the Equinox gym at 54 Murray St. to discover that his locker had been broken into and property stolen. The victim was notified by his credit card company that someone had attempted to use his card at the New York Dolls Club nearby. The other items stolen were a pair of John Varvatos jeans priced at $200, a Diesel belt worth $50, a MetroCard valued at $20, and a wallet priced at $50, along with a driver’s license and various debit and credit cards. The total stolen came to $420. Video surveillance captured the suspected perpetrator scanning in at the gym, and he was identified by information he revealed to gym personnel. Thomas Laviano is wanted by the police for grand larceny.
SHOPPING RIP A parked car is can poor place to park your property. On Jan. 30, a 50-year-old man left his rented 2016 Buick Lacrosse at the northwest corner of Greene and Broome Streets while he went shopping. When he returned at 9:15 p.m., the
STATS FOR THE WEEK Reported crimes from the 1st Precinct for Jan. 25 to Jan. 31 Week to Date 2016
2015
% Change
2016
2015
% Change
Murder
0
0
n/a
0
0
n/a
Rape
1
0
n/a
2
0
n/a
Robbery
0
0
n/a
5
2
150.0
Felony Assault
2
1
100.0
2
3
-33.3
Burglary
1
2
-50.0
7
18
-61.1
Grand Larceny
21
12
75.0
99
74
33.8
Grand Larceny Auto
0
0
n/a
0
0
n/a
SITUATION OF SOME GRAVITY A young man was set upon by two thugs on the subway. Shortly after midnight on Monday, Feb. 1, a 19-year-old man riding the northbound A train as it approached Fulton Street when he was approached by man who removed the victim’s wallet from his pocket. The victim took a step toward the thief and asked, “What are you doing?” A male accomplice then placed a gravity knife to the victim’s neck before and punched him in the head, knocking him out. The victim
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told police that he regained consciousness as the train was pulling in to 190th Street, where he reported the incident to a Transit Authority employee, who he said failed to offer assistance. The items stolen included $160 in cash, a green card, a Social Security card, driver’s license, bike permit, health insurance card, debit card and MetroCard.
S4 DONE 4 No Crime Watch column would be complete without a cellphone theft story. At 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 27,
a 36-year-old woman got off the E train at Church and Dey Streets and was walking toward the PATH station talking on the phone she was holding in her left hand. Suddenly, a man came up from behind and snatched her Samsung Galaxy S4, before fleeing northbound on foot along Church Street and disappearing inside the subway station at the southwest corner of Barclay and Church Streets. Police searched the area but could not find the thief or the phone, which is valued at $300. Unfortunately, the phone’s tracking device had been turned off.
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The city’s annual homeless count is next week. Photo: Franck Vervial, via flickr
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COUNT OF HOMELESS SCRUTINIZED Critics question city’s methodology, say many are missed BY JONATHAN LEMIRE
Thousands of volunteers will fan out across New York City for the city’s annual one-night count of homeless people living on the streets. The canvass on Monday night, known as the HOPE Count, is getting extra attention this year as the nation’s largest city grapples with an uptick in homelessness that has dominated tabloid front pages and consumed Mayor Bill de Blasio’s City Hall. City officials have lined up more than 3,500 volunteers who will receive a couple hours of training before being dis-
patched to the city’s streets and subway stations. A year ago, volunteers counted 3,182 people living unsheltered. Many city officials have publicly said they believe the number is higher now. Another 58,000 people are currently living in the city’s homeless shelters. Now entering its 12th year, the HOPE count is a nationwide estimate that cities must do to qualify for certain types of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funding. In New York, it’s usually done on the last Monday of January, during the height of winter when those living on the street are most vulnerable. This year’s count was postponed two weeks due to a blizzard. Some advocacy groups, in-
cluding the Coalition for the Homeless, have questioned the count’s methodology, saying many homeless people are missed during the two-hour count. But city officials said the sampling method has been approved by HUD and is used across the nation. “It provides a snapshot of a point in time and helps us adjust our resources accordingly,” said Kristin Misner, top aide to the deputy mayor in charge of human services. “The methodology we have in place makes this a very informative and robust count.” The count comes two months after de Blasio launched HomeStat, a new outreach program that aims to conduct daily canvasses of every block in a sevenmile stretch of Manhattan. The
outreach workers are tasked with establishing contact with the homeless and urging them to get off the street — but many refuse, citing the poor conditions of the city shelter system. De Blasio has vowed to improve the city’s shelters. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who issued an executive order that requires the homeless to be moved off the street if the temperature drops below zero, recently appointed Comptroller Scott Stringer to inspect the city’s shelters while threatening to close those in shoddy shape. De Blasio himself, accompanied by HUD Secretary Julian Castro, will take part in a portion of Monday night’s count.
FEBRUARY 11-17,2016
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SCIENCE PROVES BEDBUGS ARE CLANDESTINE FARE BEATERS Geneticists tracking pests’ DNA find similarities along subway routes BY VERENA DOBNIK
Scientists have mapped the genome of bedbugs in New York City, then traced fragments of the nefarious pests’ DNA through the subway system. In the grubby recesses of hundreds of stations, they discovered surprising genetic diversity among the bloodsucking creatures. The next step is to figure out how the information can be put to good use, such as to develop better insecticides or blood thinners. But these goals will take further medical research. For now, the focus is on two main players in New York life: the subway and bedbugs. Scientists already have found that genetic traces of bedbugs in northern Manhattan are more closely related to those
Photo: Dan Nguyen, via flickr in the island’s southern part, while there are bigger variations between the Upper East Side and Upper West Side. Geneticist Christopher Mason, who worked on the project,
says the reason for that can be found simply by looking at a subway map: In Manhattan, for instance, subway lines run the length of the island north to south, while there’s no sub-
way link through Central Park between the East Side and the West Side. Not that bedbugs are riding the subway, noted George Amato, an evolutionary biologist at
the American Museum of Natural History who also worked on bedbug project. He says New York’s bedbugs “move around with people, dogs, and people’s items — and they probably move most easily the way people move most easily.” Amato collaborated with Mason, who works at Weill Cornell Medicine’s Institute for Computational Biomedicine. A bedbug colony at the famed museum was used for the genome map. A similar map was assembled by an international research team at 36 institutions, including the University of Cincinnati. The New York team’s resulting scientific paper on the subject was published this month in Nature Communications. A second paper on bedbug genetics, from the University of Cincinnati, appeared in the same issue. To learn how the bedbug has
evolved and spread, the New York team took DNA sample swabs from 1,400 city locations including subway cars, turnstiles, ticket vending kiosks, and above ground places like parks. Amato said there are many ways small fragments of the critters’ DNA, or DNA of a related species, could get into the subway — clinging to the clothes of some of the 6 million daily riders and their belongings, or washed down into the stations. Amato said the first rough bedbug genetic sequence emerged about a year ago, but it took months to refine the model into an accurate genome. “Before this, people were just feeling their way through in the dark; this genome turns the light on for various areas of other research,” said Amato. “Our team is now moving on to the genetics of cockroaches and other living fossils.”
CAUSE OF CRANE COLLAPSE UNKNOWN Winds might have contributed BY JONATHAN LEMIRE
It may take weeks to determine why a huge construction crane that was being lowered during strong winds came crashing down onto a street, killing a pedestrian and crushing a row of parked cars, city officials said. Investigators are reviewing surveillance footage from nearby buildings and poring over the twisted, crumpled steel of the 565-foot-long crane, which came thundering down onto a historic Manhattan street 10 blocks north of the World Trade Center during Friday morning’s commute. Officials said they recovered the mobile crane’s movement recording computer, which could provide clues — such as the angle of the boom — as to why the crane fell. But they cautioned its data was just one piece of the puzzle. “It is not the equivalent of a black box,” Department of Buildings Commissioner Rick Chandler said. “But I
don’t want to set the expectations too high. It’s not going to give us data on wind speeds or the actions of the operators.” Work crews crawling over the sprawling accident site began to slice up the downed crane into as many as 35 pieces. It was removed for further study. Buildings whose pipes were crushed needed to have their water restored and crews would have to repave the street and sign off on its stability. Wall Street worker David Wichs, 38, was walking on the street below and was killed by the crane collapse. He was a mathematical whiz who worked at a computerized-trading firm, his family said. Born in Prague, he had moved to the United States as a teenager and graduated from Harvard University, said his sister-in-law, Lisa Guttman. “He really created a life for himself,” she said through tears. “He literally took every opportunity he could find.” Three other people were struck by
debris and injured in the collapse. The crane was used to install generators and air conditioning units atop a nearby high-rise and had been inspected by the Department of Buildings a week ago to approve an extension, officials said. It had the capacity to carry as much as 330 tons. The crane was rated to withstand wind gusts up to 25 mph, but when winds neared 20 mph on Feb. 5 the crew opted to secure it. A bystander’s video taken through a window high above the ground showed the crane’s arm descending in wind-blown snow and then taking the crane to the ground. The crane’s operator tested negative for drugs or alcohol and was cooperating with investigators. The crane was being used by Galasso Trucking and Rigging in Queens. Calls for comment were not returned. Cranes dotting the skylines of Manhattan and Brooklyn have become increasingly commonplace and are emblematic of a building boom across
The crane toppled in 20 mph winds. Photo: Daniel Jay, via flickr the city, particularly of high-rise residential and commercial structures. Questions about their safety have persisted since two tower cranes collapsed in Manhattan within two months of each other in 2008, killing a total of nine people. After the collapse, Democratic
Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered that all cranes in the city cease operation. Tower cranes attached to the sides of buildings were allowed to resume work over the weekend, but crawling cranes like the one that fell must first be approved by city inspectors before they can return to work.
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FEBRUARY 11-17,2016
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
The Empire Diner in 2007, toward the end of its glory days. Photo: Raanan Geberer
A DINER’S NINE LIVES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 with minced bacon, and spareribs with noodles accompanied by asparagus served in a lemon dressing. The reviewer, John Canaday, also wrote that it appeared that “the median age of the diners is no more than 30,” and that many of them probably came there after going to late-night clubs. It also said that the Em-
pire was certainly one of the noisiest restaurants around — something my father also remarked upon about when he visited in the 1990s. I first started going there in 1996, and find that Canaday’s description held true into the 1990s and 2000s (although by that time, you could add art galleries to late-night clubs). Among my favorite dishes were Asian stir-fry with tofu and lentil burgers with horseradish sauce. At least at one point, it
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didn’t carry artificial sweeteners or diet soda — something that made my Overeaters Anonymous-going friend, who had to go next door to get Sweet ‘N Low, rather upset. The Empire also made its mark in popular culture. It was shown in Woody Allen’s “Manhattan,” According to a statement issued by the diner’s then-management when it first closed in 2010, in its heyday it served “Chelsea residents, actors, police commissioners, athletes, gangsters, such lu-
minaries as Madonna, Barbra Streisand, Steven Spielberg and anyone carrying a New York City Guide Book.” The Times reported in 2005 that after Rukay and Doenias died, Laanes sold the operation to executive chef Mitchell Woo and general manager Renate Gonzalez, both of whom had been with the diner for many years. In late 2009, however, there were reportedly problems in lease negotiations between the diner owners and the owners of the property. There
was no lease renewal and the Empire Diner, in its most famous incarnation, closed in May 2010. Later that same year, the diner was taken over by a new group and renamed the Highliner, but that incarnation was short-lived. In January 2014, it was taken over by a team that included Amanda Freitag as executive chef. It was once again called the Empire Diner, although it had a different menu than the original. However, Freitag stepped away from the kitchen at the Empire in July 2015 to focus on her book and her TV work. The new Empire closed in December 2015. Freitag told DNAinfo that, “I would love to do something in the neighborhood because it’s still growing and wonderful, but ... the rents are unmanageable.” When I took a walk over to the Empire in late January, the blinds were drawn and the door locked. Through one win-
dow, one could still glimpse the intact counter and tables, as well as a sign advertising different types of craft beer. Alex Herrera, director of technical services for the New York Landmarks Conservancy, an advocacy group that seeks to preserve the city’s architectural heritage, thinks the Empire Diner would be a good candidate for landmarking by the city. “There are already diners on the National Registry of Historic Places,” he said. Hererra said the diner is already a landmark with a small “l”: “You see it, and you already know where you are.” However, he said, the real estate pressure on sites in the area of the diner, given today’s market, is intense, unlike the environment 10 or 20 years ago, when 10th Avenue was a “sleepy” area. Will the Empire Diner be saved — or reopened? We’ll have to wait and see.
REAL ESTATE BANKRUPTCY SALE 15-STORY, 126-UNIT APARTMENT BLDG WITH OCEANFRONT VIEWS 120 Beach 26 th St, Queens (Far Rockaway) ORIGINAL CONDO PLAN HAD A SELL-OUT OF OVER $60,000,000 25-YEAR 421-A TAX ABATEMENT Uses Include: Condos, Rental Apts, Senior Housing, Assisted Living & More For Bidding Procedure & Terms of Sale:
855.755.2300 HilcoRealEstate.com SALE SUBJECT TO COURT APPROVAL
FEBRUARY 11-17,2016
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SEX-SELECTIVE ABORTION CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 me lose, let’s try again, one last time,’” said Zhou, whose mother-in-law moved to the United States a few years ago and is now living with the family. Dr. Lisa Eng, a gynecologist who practices in Manhattan’s and Brooklyn’s Chinatown, referred to the preference, even insistence, of some older Chinese women on having a male descendent to carry their surname as the “mother-in-law-factor.” “Half of the time, the women are really remorseful,” she said. “The woman doesn’t care about [her husband’s] name. It’s the mother in law.” Common in China because of that country’s one-child policy, sex-selective abortion is a way to preserve one’s’ lineage. Sons are considered more valuable since they will support the family, while daughters are going to be married off and will not contribute to her parents. “Mothers-in-law can WeChat their in-laws globally and pressure them to get a boy. They will nag, nag, nag until they get what they want,” Eng said. WeChat is the most popular social media and messaging platform among the Chinese community.
A RECENT PHENOMENON Sex screening methods have developed rapidly in past 50 years. Procedures such as the non-invasive prenatal test can detect a fetus’ sex as early as seven weeks into pregnancy, while more conventional tests such as amniocentesis and ultrasonography are used in a later stage of the pregnancy. Just a drop of blood from a pregnant woman’s fingertips can now reveal the sex of a child. But it can be expensive. With a lab processing and appointment fee, in total, Zhou spent $800 to test her third daughter’s sex in 2012. The price has dropped somewhat because of competition among medical companies, said Eng. still, it’s cheaper than sperm sorting, which can cost up to $20,000, according to Eng. Sex-selective abortion is a rather recent occurrence, said Rohini Prabha Pande, an independent consultant with the World Bank and International Center for Research on Women. Male preference “has been going on for hundreds of years,” yet “sex-selective abortion is a fairly recent phenomenon” and has spread along with technology. Before that, girls would be neglected, discriminated and abused, she said. The number of sex-selective abortions is difficult to determine. Reasons for abortions are not officially tabulated. Major abortion clinics, such as Planned Parenthood, do not ask for reasons on consent forms. The city’s Department of Health does not list reasons in a summary of vital statistics and they do not keep statistics on numbers of females and males that are aborted. (It does provide though, the percent of live births by infant’s sex. As of 2013, the percentage of male live
Todd Goldman’s poster hangs in Dr. Lisa Eng’s clinic. Eng thinks the poster might have dissuaded women from an abortion solely because they were carrying a female fetus. Photo: Virginia Gunawan births in the city is 51.3, whereas 48.7 for female. This is within the normal range of worldwide sex ratio at birth ---lower than 1.06. ) “It is not a subject to be talk about in the open,” said Arpita Appanagarri, the women’s health initiative coordinator at Sakhi for South Asian women, a non-governmental organization focusing on domestic violence victims among South Asian Women. “Let alone collecting data about it.” Sunita Puri, an Asian-American physician interviewed 65 immigrant Indian women in California, New Jersey and New York who pursued fetal sex selection between September 2004 and December 2009. Her research found that “forty percent of the women interviewed had terminated prior pregnancies with female fetuses and that 89 percent of women carrying female fetuses in their current pregnancy pursued an abortion.”
PRESSURES ARE FAMILIAL, CULTURAL Betty Rose Green, Manager of Community and Outreach at New York Asian Women’s Center, which helps Asian immigrant women get out of domestic violence situations, said that most of the women who come to the center complaining about being
forced into a sex-selective abortion are from South Asian countries, and nearly all of them had already given birth to more than one girl. “These women were ridiculed or abused in their families” for not bearing sons, said Green. “Their husbands listen to their in-laws,” who have strong sonpreferences. Pande, the World Bank consultant, believes coercive sex-selective abortion amounts to domestic violence, with, oftentimes, emotional violence turning into physical violence. “First, women who want to keep the baby are often forced to abort; while on some other occasions, women who want to keep the baby but agree on or even initiate the abortion, because they understand that they will be looked down on if not,” she said. “When immigrants relocate to a new country but still live in an area together, it’s essentially like back home,” Pande said. “The social norms can take generations to disappear, and we oftentimes underestimate the power of this kind of social pressure.” Can legal action help these unborn girls? China and India, where the practice of sex selection are the highest, prohibit prenatal testing, specifically ultrasound, to detect a fetus’ sex. More than two dozen European countries,
six in Asia, two in the Oceania region and Canada have enacted policies to minimize or even prohibit sex-selective abortion. None have been effective in stopping sex-selective abortion. In October, China brought to an end the country’s one-child policy — and will now allow couples to have two children. The one-child policy was implemented in 1979 to curb the country’s population and has allegedly prevented 400 million births in the span of more than three decades. “How do you tell someone that their culture is wrong? And who are you going to target? The mother in laws?” said Eng, the Chinatown doctor. Some fear that banning sex-selective abortion will only put women’s birth control rights in jeopardy. “Such proposed legislation targets doctors who perform abortion,” said Sarah Burns, a professor of clinical law at New York University. “It also needlessly threatens doctors by making them responsible for policing a patient’s reason for seeking an abortion.” Seven states currently ban sex-selective abortion at any point of the pregnancy. In January 2015, the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (PRENDA) was introduced in Congress and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
In Arizona, where sex-selective abortion is banned, the population of childbearing Asian women comprises just 0.009 percent of its total population. Census data shows the states which banned sex-selective abortion have very small number of Chinese and Indian population. In March 2015, New York Assemblyman, Marco Crespo, primarily sponsored sex-selective abortion ban bill to be enforced in the State of New York. The bill is on hold. It is his second attempt after failing in 2012. He declined an interview request. Advocacy organizations such as the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum admitted that male preference is an alarming matter that needs to be solved but it is not a constitutional matter. “The real solution is to change the values that created the preference for sons,” said Miriam Yeung, the forum’s executive director. “Son preference is a symptom of deeply rooted social biased and stereotypes about gender.” Pande suggested that community advocacy may work. “We need to help people understand that it’s OK to have a girl in this country,” she said. “You don’t need to worry here — she can get highly educated like a boy, she can go to work, and she can have a late marriage. It’s fine here.”
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Write to us: To share your thoughts and comments go to otdowntown.com and click on submit a letter to the editor. SLEEPLESS ON THE 6 BY LORRAINE DUFFY MERKL
“Don’t sleep in the subway, darlin’/ Don’t stand in the pouring rain ...” sang Petula Clark back in 1967. Even at 9 years old, I knew that was good advice. A half century later, apparently the song remains the same. “Subways are not for sleeping,” said Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, citing that 50 percent of reported subway crimes — like sexual assault and pickpocketing — “involve sleeping passengers.” Does this shock anyone? We don’t live in Mayberry. You have to watch your back in NYC — always — because there are people who will take advantage of you for no other reason than that they can. Some might call this blaming the victim. Many straphangers, led by Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, are doing just that. People think the police should be out catching the criminals, not rousting hard working people who can’t keep their eyes open. I disagree. My advice is to fight the feeling to nod off, until you get home and can fall onto your bed; pump unsoothing music from your iTunes library into your ear buds if you must, as it’ll be better to start to go deaf then risk being targeted by a criminal. Closed eyelids are like wearing a sign that says, “Slash my face; steal my cell. You’re welcome.” When I take the subway, I hop on the 6 at 86th and Lex (until of course the Second Avenue subway is complete — ha ha.) I never get a seat. This turns out to be a good thing, as sleeping standing up is a skill I’ve never mastered. As a young woman though, seats were aplenty when, between my junior and senior year of college, I worked for the New York Telephone Company (back when there was still only one phone provider). I lived in the Pelham Bay section of the Bronx and got on the first stop of the 6 and got off the last, which was and still is Brooklyn Bridge. It was quite the journey. In the mornings, I rode to work with my mother, who was always yelling at me for — pick a reason — that I was less interested in dozing, than trying to figure out how to jump off the train and run away. But coming home, I had peace. I was hardly what you’d call exhausted from my 9-to-5, which was spent filing and goofing around with the other children of company employees. This,
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though, was a time before iPhones, iPods, iPads and Kindles. In fact, it even pre-dated the Sony Walkman. My only distractions were fashion magazines or books, both, which to this day, serve as effective sleep aids for me. That plus the cradle-like rocking of the subway car had me out like a light by Spring Street. Many a time I would be awaken by the not so gentle nudge of the person whose shoulder I had inadvertently been using as a pillow. May I offer a belated yet heartfelt thanks to the fellow commuters who did everything from elbow me to shout, “Girl, will you get off me,” to force me from my potentially hazardous slumber. I wasn’t always so fortunate. There was the time I was awoken by the jolt of the train, only to realize I had been snuggling with a strange man who appeared to believe he had won the subway seat lottery. Instead of my usual feeling of embarrassment, I was terrified. Another time, I opened my eyes somewhere in the South Bronx to find that only a rather sketchy looking character and myself occupied the previously packed car. If I had been alert when the crowd had started to thin out, I would have switched to a more populated one. When I think of my summer of subway snoozing I cringe, and shudder at the thought of what could have happened to me while I was in dreamland. Even though I believe I’ve learned from my long ago mistake, things happen. So NYPD Transit Officers as well as fellow train takers, if you ever see me getting some shuteye, please remember the immortal lyrics of 80s duo Wham! and “Wake me up before you go-go.” During her waking hours, Lorraine Duffy Merkl is the author of the novels FAT CHICK and BACK TO WORK SHE GOES.
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Voices SINGLE PAYER SYSTEM’S ADVANTAGES Proposed legislation would cover every state resident BY SHARON R. KAHN
More than 33 percent of all Americans cannot access needed medical care due to money. A single payer tax-prepaid health service is not necessarily a socialistic solution. Canada, a capitalistic country, has a single-payer system. The difference between Canadian capitalism and the American version is merely over who the payer is: the government, as opposed to a combination of patients and their insurers. The American system is the one where care is rationed: insurers ration care when they review records and decide to reduce physician payments or terminate the level of care received. Patients ration their care when they can’t afford either co-pays or medication needed to treat their ailments. Not to mention the lack of true parity for mental health, vision and dental care. Under the Affordable Care Act, states are encouraged to innovate their health care systems. The proposed New York Health Assembly Bill (Senate bill S.2078-A) currently under consideration in the New York Legislature is an opportunity to offer a singlepayer system. Under this bill, every New York resident would be covered, regardless of their age, their
Associate Publishers Seth L. Miller, Ceil Ainsworth Regional Sales Manager Tania Cade
income, their savings, their employment or their legal status. Residents desirous of medical care would simply flash their eligibility card in front of the receptionist to receive services. There are no copays or deductibles. Doctors would bill the Health Department for services. Tests and prescriptions are all covered. Doctors and hospitals remain private: they negotiate patient care directly with the patient. New York Health would just pay the bills. No medical bankruptcies. No loss of employer coverage when sickness trumps employability. Current taxes and fees could cover the bulk of it via the state payroll tax. Non-payroll income, such as capital gains, dividends and interest would also be used to fund New York Health. Perhaps taxes would rise — however, overall, costs for the individual would decrease — no more premiums, deductibles, co-pays and outof-network minimums, which after all, constitute a de-facto negative tax. Property taxes will decrease as local share of Medicaid funding would end. The average cost of an employer-provided family plan in New York is over $17,500/year with an average family deductible of over $2,200. The average individual spends over $6,000 a year for health care premiums. Overall
Photo: Mark Morgan, via flickr health care costs will decrease as the profit that insurance companies must have (up to 30 percent of the health care dollar) will disappear. Doctors’ administrative costs will decrease, as there will be no need to have billing specialists whose sole job is to negotiate with various insurance companies. Under single-payer, Federal funds currently utilized for Medicare, Medicaid, Family Health Plus and Child Health Plus would be combined with the state revenue in a health trust. New York would receive a federal waiver so that the new single payer option— New York Health, would be enveloped within Medicare, Medicaid, Family Health Plus, Child Health Plus, ACA benefits and any other federally funded program.
President & Publisher, Jeanne Straus nyoffice@strausnews.com Account Executive Editor In Chief, Kyle Pope editor.ot@strausnews.com Fred Almonte Director of Partnership Development Deputy Editor, Richard Khavkine Barry Lewis editor.dt@strausnews.com
Staff Reporters Gabrielle Alfiero, Daniel Fitzsimmons Director of Digital Pete Pinto
The ACA was based on the notion that federal aid would enable citizens to buy insurance via subsidies — it did not predict that insurance companies would then raise their premiums to ensure their profits would never be used to pay for health care costs, a perpetual game of keep away. The growth in the net cost of health insurance is due to administrative waste and executive profits. ACA further assumed that states would expand Medicaid coverage — and approximately half did not. New York Health would offer both affordable as well as accessible health care. Sharon R. Kahn has earned a doctorate in psychology and holds state licensure as a psychologist. She lives on the Upper East Side.
Block Mayors Ann Morris, Upper West Side Jennifer Peterson, Upper East Side Gail Dubov, Upper West Side Edith Marks, Upper West Side
FEBRUARY 11-17,2016
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THE WINDOWS OF MY MIND BY MELITTA ANDERMAN
The lure of the street vendors’ voices, that’s my siren song. I have always loved groping my way through piled up counters, not knowing what lies underneath. The days of Kleins on 14th Street, Alexander’s on Third Avenue, Filenes on Broadway, B. Altman on Fifth Avenue are now gone. Internet shopping is the new norm when all you can feel is the keyboard and the texture of the product is only visual. The sensual pleasure of the hunt is a bygone entity only available in your imagination. But there is hope for me. I live in Manhattan’s Yorkville sector where practically every corner is a virtual treasure trove of exotic, alias pashmina scarves, knockoff designer bags ( I have an in with a Third Avenue vendor who has the best buys), costume jewelry from all over the world, $3 sweaters with labels intact so I know the manufacturer, summertime straw hats and winter woolens. In-season fresh fruits and veggies are artfully displayed on carts. Lus-
cious papaya, melons, berries vie for position alongside cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, beans. I could go on describing what awaits the eye but I’m getting too excited. Take me to the most exclusive shop, sit me down on a plush couch, bring the champagne flute and have models parade for my personal pleasure and this is what happens. The drink makes me sleepy, the clothes shown are not really me and I get bored. I want to leave but I’m stuck in my own quicksand and can’t get out. I don’t know when my street shopping craze started but I don’t like sales people hovering around me, fixing hems to line up with my one lopsided hip, breathing down my neck to adjust shoulders to conform to my protruding breastbone. Sometime when I’m in a regular dressing with a three-way mirror I see what my expensive hairdresser did to the back of my head and I see the extra bulge around my waist and tummy that was as flat as a surf board.
Photo: Jim Pennucci, via flickr
WINTER, ARTFULLY DONE The twin allées of Little Leaf Linden trees beside the Metropolitan Museum of Art following the Feb. 4 snowfall, photographed by Caroline Fernandes, who works nearby. The quick storm, she wrote, brought about some “temporary beauty” to the museum’s already stately plazas and, of course, to nearby Central Park.
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Out & About More Events. Add Your Own: Go to otdowntown.com
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Thu 11 ST. PETERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S COLLEGIATE SCHOOL SENIOR CHOIR
Trinity Church, 209 Broadway 1-1:30 p.m. Free Performance by a choir visiting from the United Kingdom. OUT TO SEE: DIRTY www.trinitywallstreet.org CHURCHES PARTY
CRAFTERNOON: CHINESE NEW YEAR Battery Park City Library, 175 North End Ave. 4 p.m. Free Celebrate the Year of the Monkey with a story and a noisemaker craft! All supplies will be provided by the library. Children of all ages with a grown up helper are welcome to attend. www.nypl.org/events/ programs/2016/02/11/ crafternoon-chinese-new-year
South Street Seaport, Pier 17 8 p.m.-midnight. Free Video and sound installation by Dirty Churches; live performances by Ala Muerte. www.outtosee.org/
Sat 13 ENGLISH SWORD DANCE FESTIVAL
WASHINGTONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S NEW YORK Museum of American Finance, 48 Wall St. 1-2 p.m. $15 90-minute walking tour of the Financial District, with an emphasis on George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and 18th century ďŹ nancial history. Price includes museum admission. 212-908-4110. http://www. moaf.org/index
Sun 14 THE FLYING KARAMAZOV BROTHERS FAMILY FUN Pace University, 1 Pace Plaza 3-5 p.m. $20; students, $10 This group of wild-haired, juggling, ďŹ&#x201A;ame-throwing, kiltand-tutu-wearing performers are bringing family audiences a new adventure! 212-346-1715. http:// schimmel.pace.edu/
Seward Park Library, 192 East Broadway 1-2 p.m. Free Sword dancing is a winter celebration that has come down through the ages from the VALENTINEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S DAY AT LETTERS FROM MY coal-mining regions of northern KIDVILLE FIDI â&#x20AC;&#x201D; SHARE GRANDPARENTS: England. The Festival will feature both mystical, stately long sword THE LOVE! THE ART OF RUTH and lively rapper sword dancing, Kidville FiDi, 40 Gold St. SCHREIBER accompanied by live music. 10 a.m.-noon. $35-45 www.halfmoonsword.org/ Join Kidville FiDi for our Annual The Anne Frank Center, 44 Valentineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day Party! Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be Park Place decorating valentines to share 10 a.m.-5 p.m. $5; seniors/ WALKING with loved ones, dancing to students, $3 TOUR: GEORGE some Rockinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; musicians, and Ruth Schreiberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grandparents
Fri 12 Downtowner
were among the many Jews in Europe who made the brutal decision to send their children to safety in England during Hitlerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rise. In this powerful mixed media exhibit, Schreiber tells their remarkable story through a series of artworks based on the letters they wrote to their children while abroad. 212-431-7993. annefrank. com/
FEBRUARY 11-17,2016
enjoying a family breakfast! And don’t forget our legendary photo booth and Jumpy Castle time in our Big Muscle Gym. 212-566-2020. www. eventbrite.com/e/sharethe-love-valentinesday-at-kidvilletickets-20977948609
featuring graduate pianists in collaboration with singers from the Mannes critically acclaimed voice department. events.newschool.edu/event/ evening_of_song
Wed
17
Mon
15
GREAT AMERICAN MASTERS: LOUIS COMFORT TIFFANY AND STAINED GLASS
DIRECTOR’S CUTS ◄
Pace University, 1 Pace Plaza 12:15 p.m. $29 In these richlyillustrated lectures, Dr. Janetta Rebold Benton takes an in-depth look at the life and work of six Great American Masters who display widely varying aesthetic styles and artistic philosophies. Each lecture is followed by a luncheon hosted by Dr. Benton. Please call the box office in advance to purchase tickets. 212-346-1715. www.pace. edu/schimmel
80WSE Gallery, Broadway, at 10th St. 24 Hours. Free Exhibition featuring the work of Paula Rondon, BFA. Featured at 80WSE Gallery’s satellite space, a series of five streetlevel windows located at the corner of Broadway and East 10th Street. The installation can be viewed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. events.nyu.edu/#event_ id/93459/view/event
DRESS AND EMOTION: THE EXHIBITION ►
MASALA BHANGRA WORKOUT
The New School, 66 Fifth Ave., at 13th St. 12 Noon-6 p.m. Free The exhibit showcases the cumulative results of a threeyear long research project that seeks to explore the emotional and sensory act of dressing. events.newschool.edu/
Tue 16
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Mannes, under the direction of Cristina Stanescu, presents a performance of sonatas, coached by Mannes faculty Thomas Bagwell
Everything you like about Our Town Downtown is now available to be delivered to your mailbox every week in the Downtowner From the very local news of your neighborhood to information about upcoming events and activities, the new home delivered edition of the Downtowner will keep you in-the-know.
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Battery Park City, 345 Chambers St. 7-8 p.m. $20 Take part in a unique and inspiring way to get fit. The Masala Bhangra Workout is inspired by traditional Indian dance moves that make working out fun! 212-267-9700. bpcparks. org/event/masala-bhangraworkout-2/2016-03-01/
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KIDS’ FEBRUARY MOVIES: THE IRON GIANT
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Hudson Park Library 3:30 p.m. Free Join us for a screening of a featured children’s film every Tuesday! Films are shown in our Auditorium. All programs are open to the public. www.nypl.org/events/ programs/2016/02/16/kidsfebuary-movies
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EVENING OF SONG ► Baisley Powell Elebash Recital Hall, Arnhold Hall, 55 West 13th St. 7:30-9:30 p.m. Free The collaborative piano department at
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A look at the exterior façade of the proposed Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation, including a portion of Theodore Roosevelt Park, from the conceptual design. Courtesy Studio Gang Architects
NEW OPPONENTS IN MUSEUM FIGHT A new group opposes any development that encroaches on Teddy Roosevelt Park BY GABRIELLE ALFIERO
Challengers of a plan to expand the American Museum of Natural History into a portion of Theodore Roosevelt Park, which surrounds the museum, aren’t just at odds with the institution. As the fight to preserve the public park continues, new voices of dissent have emerged and opponents of the museum’s plans now disagree with one another. While Defenders of Teddy Roosevelt Park emerged in July as the opposition to the museum’s planned 218,000-squarefoot building, the group now has company as other locals organize. The new Community United to Protect Theodore Roosevelt Park formed after
three members of the Defenders board resigned due to disagreements about the group’s direction. Unlike Defenders, which recently noted in an email to supporters that it’s now working on influencing the park’s redesign, the new faction, Community United, will continue fighting the project entirely and work to preserve the whole park. “We felt [Defenders] was not being true to the original mission, which was to oppose all building in the park,” said Community United’s Bob Weingarten, a former board member of Defenders. Weingarten did not specify the size of the new group but he expects Community to have a website and an online petition online this week, and anticipates the group will soon
host a town hall meeting. The organization, he said, has also plucked some of Defenders’ former volunteers and hopes to recruit new members. Community’s mission is to oppose any encroachment into the park, Weingarten said. “This is more than a problem of one park,” he said. “Urban parks are precious and have to be preserved.” Adrian Smith, a landscape architect and the new president of Defenders, said that, while his organization’s mission has evolved, the group still wants to preserve the park. After the museum’s November release of a conceptual design for its planned Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation, Defenders refocused its efforts to influence the landscape design of the section of parkland af-
fected by the building project. The construction plan includes the demolishing of three buildings, with 80 percent of the new wing going in space the museum presently occupies. “We thought that was a good example of how the museum listened to us,” Smith said. “We want to make sure the museum continues to listen to us.” The group still has concerns, including the excavation of a belowground service driveway that could require the removal of trees. Smith thinks that a redesign of the drive could further minimize tree loss. “Our primary goal was to save the park, so we haven’t really changed that goal and that’s why we’re still trying to help influence the design,” said Smith, who hopes that the organization can work with block associations and other
neighborhood stakeholders on a committee that could play a role in the landscape design. “I think the museum has enough support in the community at large, so they wouldn’t have to listen to someone out there who’s screaming and shouting all the time. We didn’t want to be left out of the conversation.” The new Community United to Protect Theodore Roosevelt Park is not the only opponent distinguishing itself from Defenders of Teddy Roosevelt Park. Neighborhood resident Cary Goodman has made visible efforts to protest the project. Goodman also opposes any construction project that jeopardizes the park, and wants more public dialogue. At a Community Board 7 meeting on Feb. 2, he voiced his displeasure with Councilwoman
Helen Rosenthal’s support for the expansion and in January he and other community members protested outside her office. Goodman calls his efforts a “campaign” against the museum’s use of public park space, and also plans to demonstrate outside the institution to highlight museum president Ellen Futter’s absence from public conversations. (Futter did not sit on the panel at a Nov. 12 information session about the design that the museum hosted.) “We’re trying to encourage the museum to be more forthright and speak with opponents of the plan,” Goodman said. “I’d like to see them justify this plan in a way they haven’t done yet.” Smith said the aim of his group isn’t unlike those of the projects’ other opponents. “We share a goal,” Smith said. “Everybody wants to protect the park, and we just have different approaches as to how we want to do it.”
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ACTIVITIES FOR THE FERTILE MIND
FOR THE WEEK BY GABRIELLE ALFIERO OUR ARTS EDITOR
thoughtgallery.org NEW YORK CITY
Global Warming & the Rise of Asia: A Conversation with Amitav Ghosh and Prasenjit Duara
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12TH, 5:30PM The New School | 63 Fifth Ave. | 212-229-5108 | newschool.edu
MUSEUMS
An NYU history professor moderates a conversation between two renowned intellectuals on climate change and capitalism in Asia. (Free)
“THE ILLUSIVE EYE” The new exhibition at El Museo del Barrio explores optical and kinetic art from 17 countries with a focus on the Americas, and presents an examination of optical art’s mystical origins through a presentation of at times mind-bending geometric works that trick the eye. “The Illusive Eye” Now through May 21 El Museo del Barrio 1230 Fifth Ave., between East 104th and East 105th Streets Museum hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Admission $9 For more information, call 212-831-7272 or visit www.elmuseo.org
Basement Performances: Ela Troyano and Uzi Parnes
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY TH, 7:30PM The Drawing Center | 35 Wooster St. | 212-219-2166 | drawingcenter.org Troyano (a filmmaker and actress) and Parnes (a photographer and performer) present two works, “The Silence of Marcel Duchamp” with John Zorn’s “BeuysBlock” as a soundtrack, and a live film version of “Bubble People,” featuring legendary filmmaker Jack Smith. ($10)
Just Announced: Padma Lakshmi—Love, Loss and What We Ate
THURSDAY, MARCH 10TH, 7:30PM Asia Society and Museum | 725 Park Ave. | 212-288-6400 | asiasociety.org Ernesto Briel’s “Nebulosa.” ©The Gustavo Valdes Collection
MUSIC
CELEBRATING BRAZILIAN CARNAVAL
“A TASTE OF LOVE” New York Baroque Incorporated, an ensemble that performs on period instruments, presents Handel’s “Il Delirio Amoroso” with soprano Sara MacKimmie at the Museum of Sex. The evening also includes culinary treats, champagne and wine. “A Taste of Love” Thursday, Feb. 11 Museum of Sex 233 Fifth Ave. at East 27th Street 6 p.m. Tickets $95 For tickets, visit www.nybaroque.org/events/
A day-long celebration of Brazil at the Ailey Extension, hosted by Salsa dancer Quenia Ribeiro, includes dance lessons and Brazilian drumming workshops, ending with a high-energy, musicfilled dance party. Celebrating Brazilian Carnaval Saturday, Feb. 13 The Ailey Extension 405 West 55th St. at Columbus Avenue 1-11 p.m. $25 for single class, $80 for full day To purchase, visit http://www.alvinailey.org/ Celebrate-Brazilian-Carnaval or call 212-4059500
DANCE
THEATER
“CLIMATE CONTROL”
“CITY OF GLASS”
Kathryn Posin Dance Company premieres new work “Climate Control” to start the Harkness Dance Festival at 92nd Street Y. The project, a collaboration with composer and singer Meredith Monk, incorporates a live performance of Monk’s composition “Facing North” with movements inspired by dances from different regions and climates. “Climate Control” 92nd Street Y Feb. 11-12 1395 Lexington Ave., at 92nd Street 8 p.m. Tickets $25-$35 For tickets, visit 92y.org/harknessfestival or call 212-415-5500
In a new adaptation of Paul Auster’s “City of Glass,” video projections onto cracked glass represent some of the story’s themes. The detective story, set on the Upper West Side, stars Robert Honeywell as private investigator Daniel Quinn, who receives a fateful phone call that sets the story in motion. “City of Glass” Feb. 19-March 12 New Ohio Theatre 154 Christopher St., between Greenwich and Washington Streets Assorted show times Tickets $25-$30 For tickets, call 888-596-1027 or visit www. untitledtheater.com
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With Top Chef back in full swing it’s a good time for the show’s co-host Padma Lakshmi to make the rounds, discussing food, family, and the scars that life leaves, as covered in her new memoir. There will be a book sale and signing as well. ($12)
For more information about lectures, readings and other intellectually stimulating events throughout NYC,
sign up for the weekly Thought Gallery newsletter at thoughtgallery.org.
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FEBRUARY 11-17,2016
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS JAN 5 - FEB 6, 2016
Burger King
325 Broadway
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 www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/services/restaurant-grades.page.
Not Yet Graded (22) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. 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.
Pret A Manger
100 Church Street
A
27 Shinjuku Sushi Inc
27 Park Place
A
Rockmeisha
11 Barrow Street
A
Fedora
239 West 4 Street
A
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf 22 Cortlandt Street
A
Barrio 47
47 8 Avenue
Grade Pending (16) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.
Sun In Bloom
165 Church St
A
Rosa Mexicano Tribeca
41 Murray St
A
Swine
531 Hudson Street
A
Le Pain Quotidien
81 West Broadway
A
L’aile Ou La Cuisse (L’a.O.C)
314 Bleecker St
Grade Pending (23) Evidence of mice or live mice 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. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.
Takahachi Bakery
25 Murray Street
Grade Pending (17) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Personal cleanliness inadequate. Outer garment soiled with possible contaminant. Effective hair restraint not worn in an area where food is prepared. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
Dunkin Donuts
321 Broadway
A
The Fourth American Brasserie
132 4Th Ave
Grade Pending (21) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Food worker does not use proper utensil to eliminate bare hand contact with food that will not receive adequate additional heat treatment.
Fatty Crab
643 Hudson Street
Grade Pending (22) 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.
Mid Winter Kitchen
327 2Nd Ave
A
Sweet Life Cafe
147 Christopher Street A
Kikoo Sushi
141 1St Ave
A
Hale & Hearty Soup
685 3 Avenue
A
Proto Pizza
50 2Nd Ave
A
Via Carota
51 Grove St
A
Le Coq Rico
30 E 20Th St
Night Hawks
139 Christopher St
A
Not Yet Graded - No violations were recorded at the initial nonoperational pre-permit inspection conducted on 02/04/2016, or violations cited were dismissed at an administrative hearing.
Heermance Farm Purveyors 183 Christopher St
A
Elan
43 E 20Th St
Rebel Coffee
19 8Th Ave
Not Yet Graded (18) Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
Grade Pending (21) 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.
Checkers
225 1St Ave
A
Sant Ambroeus
259 West 4 Street
A
Bruno
204 E 13Th St
A
Blind Tiger
281 Bleecker Street
A
420 Hudson St
A
Ii Forno Pizza And Pasta Restaurant
343 2Nd Ave
The Clam Ramen By Mew
7 Cornelia St
Grade Pending (4)
Lelabar
422 Hudson Street
A
Mulberry & Vine
73 Warren Street
A
Racines
94 Chambers St
A
Not Yet Graded (38) 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. No facilities available to wash, rinse and sanitize utensils and/or equipment. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
Andy’s Deli
291 Broadway
A
Chen’s Express Kitchen
223 E 14Th St
Subway
153 Chambers Street
A
Cafe 101
101 Barclay Street
A
Famous Famiglia Pizzeria
26 Murray Street
A
Not Yet Graded (35) 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. 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.
Dunkin Donuts
100 Chambers St
Not Yet Graded (20) 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. Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.
The Broome
431 Broome St
A
Toro
85 10 Avenue
A
Hollywood Diner
574 6 Avenue
A
FEBRUARY 11-17,2016
OSCAR CONCOCTIONS
Reach Manhattan’s Foodies
Tequila Mockingbird and other cocktails paired for the silver screen BY MICHELLE LOCKE
Silver shakers and the silver screen go back a long time. Think French 75 from “Casablanca” and Agent 007’s dry martinis. So for those of you planning to drink along at home for the Feb. 28 showing of the Oscars this year, now might be a good time to get your cocktail act together. And Tim Federle, author of “Gone with the Gin,” has a few ideas about that. From The Moon-Shining — moonshine, ruby red grapefruit juice, rum, that’s right, red rum — to Tequila Sunrise Boulevard (probably best NOT served poolside), the best-selling author has a line-up of cinematically inspired cocktails meant to be shaken, stirred and sipped with tongue planted firmly in cheek. Bubbly as a Champagne cocktail, “Gone with the Gin” nonetheless has serious underpinnings. Federle worked with talented bartender Cody Goldstein, founder of Muddling Memories, a craft cocktail and bar consulting firm in New York. There also are useful sections on tools, techniques and even some fun food recipes. “The approach was humorous and, yeah, they’d better taste good, too,” said Federle. This cinematic cocktail collection follows Federle’s “Tequila Mockingbird,” which featured literary libations. For “Gone with the Gin,” Federle started by making a spreadsheet of the American Film Institute’s Top 100 films. Then, he looked for cocktail-friendly titles. So “White Christmas” plus white Russian became a drink called White Russian Christmas. Then he and Goldstein looked for ways to tweak the recipes to match the movies. For the White Russian Christmas, the classic recipe — vodka, coffee liqueur and cream — got a seasonal twist of vodka, creme de menthe, coffee liqueur, eggnog and crushed candy cane for a garnish. (And for those movie buffs for whom this particular drink conjures up only one flick, the book also contains a Big LeBrewski, a vodka, coffee and cream of coconut concoction in honor of the white Russian loving Dude of “The Big Lebowski.”) In all, Federle serves up 50
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Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
Photo: Classic Film, via flickr recipes organized by genre (drama, sci-fi, etc.), and each recipe comes with a brief but informative blurb about the movie in question. And if you are a punster, the titles will be a delight. A standout: Muppets Make Manhattans. Some of the cute drink names were arrived at with the help of Federle’s thousands of Twitter followers, who also voted on which proposed title for the book they liked best. Recipes aren’t just cleverly titled; they also have cunning tie-ins to the films. For example, hibiscus tea in the cocktail Boozy and the Beast echoes the roses of “Beauty and the Beast.” And Citizen Grain, named for the groundbreaking “Citizen Kane,” includes grain alcohol and just a touch of rose water. No promises that drinking it will help you better get to the bottom of the whole, “Rosebud .” thing, though. Goldstein was particularly pleased with Star Warsthemed The Empire Likes Jack, which contains Jack Daniel’s, ice cream and root beer. “It’s basically a root beer float. You’re dropping the light aspect, the vanilla ice cream, into the root beer, which is the dark side.” Some sections took more time than others. “We had a lot of days sitting and eating takein and just going over some stuff,” said Goldstein. An honest man, he admitted that was “a really good time.” Federle, who grew up in San Francisco and Pittsburgh before moving to New York to dance on Broadway as a teenager, writes in multiple genres, including young adult fiction. His current project is co-writing “Tuck Everlast-
ing,” a forthcoming Broadway musical based on the novel by Natalie Babbitt. Like Goldstein, Federle seems happy in his work. “Everything that got me sent to the principal’s office as a kid gets me paid now,” he said.
96%
39% of readers report eating out
MONTY PYTHON AND THE STOLI GRAIL Start to finish: 5 minutes Servings: 1 1 1/2 ounces vodka 1 ounce light rum 1 ounce coconut water 2 ounces pineapple juice Sparkling wine, to serve In an ice-filled cocktail shaker, combine the vodka, rum, coconut water and pineapple juice. Shake well, then strain into an ice-filled rocks glass. Top with a splash of sparkling wine. (Recipe adapted from Tim Federle’s “Gone with the Gin,” Running Press, 2015)
THE MUPPETS MAKE MANHATTANS Start to finish: 5 minutes Servings: 1 2 ounces apple brandy 3/4 ounce sweet vermouth 1/2 ounce apple juice 1 1/2 teaspoons honey 3 dashes baked apple bitters (or orange bitters) Green apple slice, to garnish Bacon, to serve In a mixing glass filled with ice, combine all ingredients except the apple. Stir well, then strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with the apple slice. Serve with a slice of bacon (with apologies to Miss Piggy). (Recipe adapted from Tim Federle’s “Gone with the Gin,” Running Press, 2015)
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BILL SIGNED PROTECTING GROCERY STORE EMPLOYEES Mayor Bill de Blasio recently signed a law designed to protect employees in large grocery stores from immediately losing their jobs after a change in ownership. “The law will help grocery store employees avoid instability after an ownership transition, giving them an opportunity to plan ahead or keep their jobs after being evaluated by their new employer,” de Blasio said. “This is just another way the City is helping hardworking
New Yorkers.” The bill protects large grocery store employees from immediately losing their jobs after an ownership transition, according to a release from the mayor’s office. Under the law, new grocery store owners must retain the incumbent owner’s employees for a transition period of 90 days. After 90 days, the new employer must evaluate each employee and may offer them continued employment. Prior to
In Brief MOBILE PAYMENT FOR METERED PARKING ANNOUNCED New Yorkers will be able to pay for all 85,000 metered parking spaces with their cell phone by the end of 2016. The technology will enable drivers to park without stopping at the meter and printing out receipts, and will be enforced via the police department’s new tablet devices that will allow traffic enforcement agents to immediately determine whether a parked car is paid up. “No more fumbling for change or scrambling to the meter to beat a ticket,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said. “This is a 21st century upgrade that is going to make parking a lot more convenient.” Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg also touted the technology. “Pay-by-cell offers New York drivers greater customer convenience and quality of life,” she said. “This more efficient payment system also allows motorists to pay for only the time they use.” There are currently 13,700 Muni-Meters across the five boroughs that govern 85,000 metered parking spaces. Muni-Meters accept coins, New York City parking cards and credit cards. Muni-Meters will continue to accept these forms of payment. There is no budget impact from this proposal, according to the mayor’s office. The NYPD’s tablet devices are already being secured as part of a previously announced technology upgrade for the entire department. In addition, the DOT is developing the mobile application for drivers through a no-cost innovation contract. The new technology will enable drivers to add more time to the meter by phone within posted time-limit rules, and receive credit if they utilize less time than they pay for. The new system will draw on the experience of a pilot program in the Bronx’s Belmont neighborhood that encompassed 264 parking spaces as well as a 57-space DOT parking lot.
RFP FOR FUTUREWORKS NYC ANNOUNCED The city’s Economic Development Corporation recently issued a request for proposals for partners in building Futureworks NYC, a network of services and spaces to support New York’s manufacturing sector. The initiative aims to build a 21st century production economy powered by advanced manufacturing, according to the agency, and ensure that city residents, communities and traditional businesses can participate in and benefit from the innovation economy. The EDC claims that with the creation of a so-called advanced manufacturing center at the Brooklyn Army Terminal, “Futureworks NYC will transform New York City’s manufacturing and production ecosystem by supporting the city’s researchers, technologists, entrepreneurs, and businesses with affordable access to production tools, technologies, and business support.” The goal of the initiative is to catalyze new advanced manufacturing technologies and the city’s manufacturing base with investment in shared resources and infrastructure. “By partnering with industry, academic and research institutions, and communities to build services and spaces dedicated to new methods of production, NYCEDC will work to establish the city as a leader in advanced manufacturing,” said the EDC. The agency projects new and current investments will generate more than 20,000 new jobs and support the city’s existing 530,000 manufacturing and industrial jobs. “Today we take the next major step toward delivering on Mayor de Blasio’s vision for a thriving 21st century economy,” said EDC President Maria Torres-Springer. “Futureworks NYC will help position our city as a global leader in advanced manufacturing and help us grow quality, middle class jobs for New Yorkers.” Torres-Springer added that establishing a network connecting manufacturing hubs around the city, anchored by up to 40,000 square feet of space at the Brooklyn Army Terminal, the program will ensure that industrial businesses can take advantage of new technology and new demand. To download the RFP or for more information, visit the RFP web page at www.nycedc.com.
Business
the transition, incumbent owners must post a notice with information regarding the transition and notify employees of their rights. In addition, the incumbent owner will be required to provide the new owner with a full and accurate list of their employees. A grocery employee alleging a violation of this law may file a complaint with the Department of Consumer Affairs within 180 days of the date the violation occurred. “The council is proud to support policies that improve New York City,” Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said of the bill, Intro.
632-B. “Today thousands of hardworking men and women in our city’s grocery industry, along with the communities and families who depend on these workers for their nutritional needs, have cause for celebration,” said Councilman I. Daneek Miller, chair of the Committee on Civil Service and Labor. “With passage of this legislation we will be able to provide stability that would otherwise not exist during grocery transitions.”
INDIAN POINT PLANT SPILLS RADIOACTIVE WATER Leak into groundwater from nuclear power facility on Hudson River BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
An apparent overflow at a nuclear power plant north of New York City spilled highly radioactive water into an underground monitoring well, but nuclear regulators said the public isn’t at risk. Officials at the Indian Point Energy Center in Buchanan, 40 miles north of Manhattan, reported last week that water contaminated by tritium leaked into the groundwater under the facility. The contamination has remained contained to the site, said Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ordered the state’s environmental conservation and health departments to investigate. “Our first concern is for the health and safety of the residents close to the facility and ensuring the groundwater leak does not pose a threat,” Cuomo said in a statement. The leak occurred after a drain overflowed during a maintenance exercise while workers were transferring water, which has high levels of radioactive contamination, said Neil Sheehan, a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Normally, a sump pump would take the water and filter it into another treatment system, but the pump apparently was out of service, Sheehan said. After the drain
The Indian Point Energy Center, on the Hudson River 40 miles north of Manhattan, spilled radioactive water into groundwater there. Photo: WhatsAllThisThen Follow, via flickr overflowed, the water seeped out of the building into the groundwater. It was unclear how much water spilled, but samples showed the water had a radioactivity level of more than 8 million picocuries per liter, a 65,000 percent increase from the average at the plant, Cuomo said. The levels are the highest regulators have seen at Indian Point, and the normal number is about 12,300 picocuries per liter, Cuomo said. Contaminated groundwater would likely slowly make its way to the Hudson River, Sheehan said, but research has shown that water usually ends up in the middle of the river and is so diluted that the levels of radioactivity are nearly undetectable.
“We don’t believe there’s any concern for members of the public,” Sheehan said. “First of all, this water’s not going anywhere immediately ... and, again, because of the dilution factor, you wouldn’t even be able to detect it were you to take a direct sample.” A spokesman for Entergy Corp., the New Orleans-based company that operates Indian Point, said the overflow was “likely the cause of the elevated tritium levels.” “Tritium in the ground is not in accordance with our standards, but I think people should keep in mind there’s no health or safety consequences,” spokesman Jerry Nappi said. “There is no impact on drinking water on or off site.”
FEBRUARY 11-17,2016
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IWantToBeRecycled.org
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W H AT T O O K Y O U A L I F E T I M E TO LEARN CAN BE LOST IN MINUTES.
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Š2004 American Heart Association Made possible in part by a generous grant from The Bugher Foundation.
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CHAPIN SCHOOL FACES ANOTHER HURDLE Yorkville condo board goes to court over private school’s expansion effort BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS
A condo building in Yorkville is suing the Chapin School over an expansion project that would add three floors to the school’s building at 100 East End Ave. The board of directors at 90 East End Ave., which sits across 84th Street from the Chapin School, filed a proceeding Jan. 27 against the school, the Department of Buildings and the Board of Standards and Appeals. The suit seeks to rescind the BSA’s awarding to Chapin variances it required to move forward with the expansion and the DOB’s issuance of after-hours work permits to the school. Chapin is looking to add three floors comprising a glassencased gym on the top level, and floors for locker rooms and performance art space beneath that, to its existing eight-story building. Last summer the school worked overtime on its basement-level cafeteria space, with nighttime construction hours that locals said caused disruptive noise and cable and phone outages. Community Board 8 rejected Chapin’s application outright last January, citing concerns with the construction schedule and increased traffic congestion. The board also cited its apprehension at how the building would look upon completion. But the school forged ahead with its application to the BSA, which granted permission for Chapin to move forward with the project as long as it complies with certain requirements, such as installing a sidewalk shed to reduce noise from construction work. The condo board’s Article 78 action – a proceeding used to challenge decisions made by a city or state agency – alleges Chapin disregarded public review processes “at every turn in order to pursue the construction and meet its self-imposed schedule,” and that the DOB and BSA enabled them to do so by making “irrational and unlawful determinations that should be overturned.” At issue is whether the city should have considered Chapin’s cafeteria work on the lower floors, which the school main-
tains is as of right and outside the scope of any public review, as part of their larger application to add three floors to their building. The condo board’s lawyer contends that BSA improperly excluded the cafeteria work on the lower floors from the larger application, and in so doing illegally circumvented environmental and public review regulations, thereby depriving the wider community of protections provided by the public review process, known as the State Environmental Quality Review and City Environmental Quality Review. “The purpose of [the review process] is the identification and disclosure of potentially adverse impacts so that alternatives or remedial steps to protect the environment may be taken if necessary,” the suit says. “[The city and state reviews] are implemented through specific procedures and regulations that must be strictly followed, but were not followed, depriving petitioners of the protections that [the reviews] are intended to provide.” The suit also says DOB improperly granted Chapin afterhours work variances, and cites the city building code that says construction may only occur between the hours of 6 p.m. and 7 a.m. for emergency work, public safety, city construction projects and for construction activities with minimal noise impacts. Chapin has said previously that last summer’s after-hours construction was necessary to get the new cafeteria completed before the school opened for the year. The suit argues as well that Chapin’s application to the BSA does not meet the requirements for obtaining the variances they eventually received from the agency, which concern unique physical conditions of a given building and an owner’s ability to earn a reasonable return on their property. The suit says that quality of life for residents at 90 East End Ave. has been “greatly diminished” since construction began. “The residents are dealing with an increase in noise, vibrations, dust and traffic.” Ron Jacobs, who is named in the Article 78 as a petitioner and board member of 90 East End Ave., said he could not comment on
the case before speaking with the board. A spokesperson for the Chapin School said the condo board has no case. “This litigation is without merit, and the school continues to coordinate closely with our neighbors to make sure the project proceeds smoothly and with the least amount of inconvenience,” said the spokesperson. A BSA spokesperson said the agency does not comment on pending litigation and referred inquiries to the city’s Law Department, which did not return the request for comment. The DOB did not return a request for comment. Late last year a coalition of Yorkville residents attempting to stop Chapin’s expansion, efforts that included testifying at BSA hearings and CB8 meetings as well as writing letters to the BSA and DOB, were dealt a blow when the BSA granted Chapin the needed variances. In November, the coalition, which is separate from the board at 90 East End Ave., indicated they were shifting their efforts to finding ways they can limit the disruption caused by the expansion. The coalition’s main objective now, according to local resident Lisa Paule, is securing a guarantee of no weekend or evening work from the school. They also want guarantees of proper hazardous waste removal, limited idling by work trucks and a quiet construction elevator. A noisy construction elevator was a constant nuisance during a 2008 expansion at Chapin, according to Paule. A construction advisory group, headed by the offices of Councilman Ben Kallos and Assemblywoman Rebecca Seawright, is being organized to work with the school and surrounding community. “A CAG meeting has not yet been put on the calendar, but we are being told that the first meeting will likely take place in early- to mid-March,” said Cali Madia, a spokesperson for Seawright. Chapin officials have signaled their willingness to participate in the construction group, and a spokesperson said the school expressed publicly a desire to meet with the community on these issues since the process began. “The school is committed to
being a good neighbor, working with Councilmember Ben Kallos, Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright, Community Board 8 and its Chair Jim Clynes and other key stakeholders to develop the most effective structure to ensure meaningful community engagement as this important project moves forward,” the Chapin spokesperson said. Paule said she welcomes Chapin’s involvement in the
CAG but wants to see substantive concessions afforded to the community during construction. “If it’s not action-oriented that I don’t know what we’re doing here,” she said. “We don’t want to talk if it’s going to be about the scope of work or how great Chapin is. We welcome Chapin’s involvement but we’re looking for results.” Paule also applauded the proceeding filed by the condo
board. “[It’s] important,” she said. “It demonstrates that residents have rights, that there are laws in place to protect these rights and quality of life of community members, and that the BSA cannot willfully disregard the rights, safety and security of residents in making decisions that compromise the community.”
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YOUR 15 MINUTES
A MUSICAL HAVEN ON THE UPPER WEST SIDE Executive director of Kaufman Music Studio on what makes it so special BY ANGELA BARBUTI
Kaufman Music Center has created a community united in its appreciation for musical culture. Located on West 67th Street, it is home to Merkin Concert Hall, Lucy Moses School, which is the largest community arts school in New York, and Special Music School, a public school for students with musical talent. Lydia Kontos has been with the center since 1979 and was instrumental in helping it grow into the dynamic place it is today. She began there as head of the concert hall and was later promoted to executive director. Although her job is multifaceted, she cannot help but mention the strides the center has made for its young musicians when asked about her proudest accomplishments. Because of her musical background, she brought with her a vision that every child would learn music in a classroom setting. This was due to the fact that as a youngster, she took piano lessons at her teacher’s apartment and it proved to be a lonely experience. “When I started as executive director here, kids would do their year-end recitals and see their parents, aunts, grandparents and that would be pretty much it,” she explained. “And I remember sitting in the back and thinking that one of my measures of success is going to be when this place has such a kid music culture that kids want to hear each other …When I see our kids perform now and they’ve got their music friends and they’re doing ensembles and working together, that is really was this was meant to be and I’m so proud of my role in bringing it there.”
What’s the atmosphere like at Kaufman Music Center? How would you explain it to people who have never been? It’s hard to characterize what it’s like for people who have never been because we have so many different ways of coming here for the first time. You might come as an audience member or as a student or as somebody who might want to learn more about a contribution. If I take it just from an adult’s point of view, what I hear from people who are in the building for the first time is that it’s a bustling, busy, warm place with lots of happy young people. It has a feeling of instant inclusion. People feel very comfortable here very quickly.
What does a typical day look like for you? It’s very hard to outline a typical day
Lydia Kontos, Pharoahe Monch and Curtis Stewart. Photo: Chanell Crichlow of Pitchblak Brass Band. because there are so many different aspects to the place. But, ideally, a day for me includes hearing some students perform or rehearse. In running the organization with my colleagues, there is a lot of really smart and interesting conversation about what we’re planning, what’s next and how we can work together. There’s a great deal of collaboration among the staff. I’m really lucky; it’s a wonderful staff. Even though everybody has their own areas of responsibility, it’s not a place where people are competitive. They really enjoy who they work with and the atmosphere of the place. It’s great. I love it.
really has the musical expertise to put together a music school. First of all, by being a public school, the Special Music School would be making a statement about the need for more music in public education. Second of all, it made sense not to try to compete with top private schools because those schools are really, really expensive. And if we tried to compete, we would have had to do a lot that didn’t even have to do with music. In this way, we’re not fighting for tuition dollars, instead, we have to raise money. It’s a different kind of struggle, if you want to call it that. And one that is a lot more focused on the outcome for the kids.
It was your idea to make the Special Music School a public institution. What are the benefits to that?
You recently wrote an article about the importance of music education. Why do you think it’s so crucial for students?
I was very proud to be the person who conceived of the Special Music School as a public school. I have to give a lot of credit to the pianist Vladimir Feltsman, whose idea it was to create a music school really for musically gifted children. But I had this vision that it should really be a public school. And I think that was my unique contribution since I’m not somebody who
In a way it’s very easy to answer, and in a way it’s very difficult. On the difficult side, I would say, ‘Why is math important?’ Everybody would have a different answer and I don’t think anybody would say it’s not important to learn math. Now when I ask why it’s important to learn music, I’m asking the same unanswerable question that I would ask about math. But the funny
earning a reliable living as a music teacher in a school setting because you never know when it’s going to be cut from the budget. Because of that, there has been very little research and design on effective ways of learning music.
What are your future plans?
Lydia Kontos. Photo: Paul Zimmerman/ WireImage thing is there are so many answers to that question. People say music is important because you learn history better, it helps you with math, it makes you creative … But music as a subject is really what’s important because being musically literate is one of the important literacies for us as human beings. And I think the only reason it’s been so easy to cut from the schools is because it’s not cheap. But one of the catch 22s about music education is that it’s very hard for people to think in terms of
The work that we do is so unique and amazing. The way all of our parts integrate to make so many experiences available to so many kids and adults as well. I would like more of the city and even the country to know who we are. Kaufman Music Center is, in my personal opinion, a phenomenon. I would like people to know about it and, if they’re not from New York, I’d like them to go to their cities and replicate it. And if they are from New York, I hope they come here. www.kaufmanmusiccenter.org
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“I WISH SOMEONE WOULD HELP THAT HOMELESS MAN.”
BE THE SOMEONE. Sam New York Cares Volunteer
Every day, we think to ourselves that someone should really help make this city a better place. Visit newyorkcares.org to learn about the countless ways you can volunteer and make a difference in your community.
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