Our Town Downtown - February 14, 2019

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The local paper for Downtown wn

WEEK OF FEBRUARY OLD MASTERS IN A NEW LIGHT ◄ P.12

14-20 2019

DÉJÀ VU ON THE WEST SIDE

Inside

POLITICS Gale Brewer was first elected to the City Council in 2001 and moved up to borough president 12 years later. As the term limits clock ticks, friends and supporters say, she is now contemplating a reprise.

NYPD TO BOLSTER SEX CRIMES UNIT More investigators as reported rapes increase

BY DOUGLAS FEIDEN

It is extraordinarily rare for an elected official serving in an executive capacity to trade down to a legislative branch and seek a position with fewer constituents, lower pay and lesser influence. But Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer has never been your typical politician. Ever since she was reelected to a second term by a lopsided 83 percent margin in 2017, the question of her political future has emerged as one of the hottest guessing games in town. Now, the answer is starting to come into focus: Brewer has been eyeing a possible return in 2021 to the City Council seat on the Upper West Side where she served from 2002 through 2013, according to at least seven people in her political orbit. No final decision has been made, and no announcement is anticipated anytime soon, for a general election race that is still two years and nine months away, say friends, supporters, district leaders, political consultants and officers of Democratic political clubhouses. Term limits, which Brewer has long opposed, is the catalyst. It will force her out of office on Dec. 31, 2021, when she completes the second of her two consecutive four-year terms as borough president.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

FIT AND NYFW Council Member Keith Powers speaks at a Feb. 6 rally for transit improvements along 14th Street during work to repair L train tunnel damage caused by Hurricane Sandy. Photo: Transportation Alternatives, via Twitter

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L TRAIN STREET CHANGES IN FLUX TRANSPORTATION As city prepares for subway line’s “slowdown” rather than full shutdown, the fate of long-planned mitigation measures is unclear BY MICHAEL GAROFALO

More than a month after the surprise cancellation of the L train shutdown, commuters and elected officials are still looking for answers regarding what will become of longplanned changes to bus and bike infrastructure designed to mitigate the impacts of the subway closure. Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Jan. 3 announcement that the MTA would scrap the imminent 15-month full shutdown of the L train, opting instead to maintain weekday service on the line during repairs to the

The most important thing to me is getting quicker bus service on 14th Street regardless of whether there’s a private vehicle restriction or not.” Council Member Keith Powers damaged Canarsie Tunnel, came as an unexpected curveball to transportation officials who had spent years developing elaborate plans to accommodate displaced riders. Some aspects of the shutdown plan, such as new bike lanes on 12th and 13th Streets, are already in place. Other measures were scheduled to take effect ahead of the April shutdown, including expanded bus ser-

vice across the Williamsburg Bridge, new East River ferries and the wholesale transformation of 14th Street into a dedicated “busway” with restrictions on private vehicle traffic. What will become of the 14th Street busway and other transit changes in light of the MTA’s new repair plan remains an open question. Transportation advocates and elected officials gathered on 14th Street Feb. 6 to call on the city’s Department of Transportation and MTA to follow through on their mitigation plans, which they say will benefit commuters on the L train corridor even though the shutdown will no longer occur. “The mitigation measures that had been planned were good ones and they had years of community input behind them,” Joe Cutrufo, communications director with Transportation Alternatives, told Straus News. “Even

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Intestinal health and your quality of life

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IS IT REALLY ‘NERVOUS STOMACH?’

WEEK OF APRIL

SPRING ARTS PREVIEW < CITYARTS, P.12

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

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

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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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FEBRUARY 14-20,2019

IS IT REALLY JUST ‘NERVOUS STOMACH?’ HEALTH Intestinal health issues may not be fun to talk about, but they can have a major impact on quality of life BY JESSICA GELMAN, MS, RDN, CDN

Let’s face it, running to the bathroom because of your “nervous stomach” can be very embarrassing, not to mention inconvenient. Whether you are giving a presentation at the office, or trying to navigate the crowded New York subway system, daily stress levels may unfortunately play a role in dictating your bathroom needs. While it may be an uncomfortable topic to discuss, the staff at the Susan and Leonard Feinstein IBD Clinical Center has heard it all. We treat thousands of patients a year and know that a so-called “nervous stomach,” with symptoms such as bloating, gas, abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea and/ or constipation, can be a sign of a more serious, but treatable, gastrointestinal disorder. Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is the most commonly diagnosed gastrointestinal condition and affects more than 35 million Americans. It is a

Irritable Bowel Syndrome is the most commonly diagnosed gastrointestinal condition. chronic disorder of gut-brain interaction, defined by recurrent abdominal pain and altered bowel habits. Other gastrointestinal disorders include Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, celiac disease, gastroenteritis and more. Diagnostic tests, including blood tests, radiological imaging or an endoscopy with biopsy, can help identify whether your digestive disorder

may be structural, motility-related or gut-brain in nature. Once the cause of your distress has been diagnosed, an integrated approach to your treatment plan — not simply a prescription — can help to empower you and get you back to being the high-functioning New Yorker that you want to be. Comprehensive care should include nutrition, mental

health services and social/care coordination. If you are suffering with gastrointestinal issues, you should seek an accurate diagnosis and treatment plan. In the meantime, here are some nutrition-focused strategies that may help. Please note that every person is different, and these items may not apply to you. For individualized recommendations, please see a registered dietitian who specializes in gastrointestinal disorders. • Think Mediterranean. There’s a reason the Mediterranean Diet is repeatedly voted as the best diet on countless lists year after year. Its focus on whole, unprocessed foods, with an emphasis on plant-based items, healthy fats and lean proteins, makes it beneficial not only for digestive health, but overall health too. • Cut back on caffeine. Caffeine may act as a stimulant on the bowels, by promoting the release of a hormone which increases motor activity and emptying time in the colon. This can lead to diarrhea and abdominal discomfort. Products containing caffeine include coffee, tea, soda, energy drinks and chocolate. • Avoid known triggers. This seems obvious enough, but some people find it

hard to resist certain foods they know to bother their stomach. If you absolutely must indulge, try to limit yourself to having a small amount alongside foods you tolerate, and consume it at home, if possible. • Limit alcohol. Alcohol can irritate the lining of the GI tract and exacerbate your symptoms. Stick to a maximum of one drink per day for women or two drinks per day for men as tolerated, and stay well-hydrated with water. If you are taking antibiotics or other medications, check for potential interactions with alcohol before drinking, even in moderation. • Slow down! We live in a fast-paced world and our mealtimes are often secondary to the many other things we have to do. Practice mindful eating by taking the time to sit down for a meal without distractions, chew slowly and enjoy your food. Your digestion will thank you for it. For additional tips related to nutrition and more, follow us on Instagram at @mountsinai_ibdcenter. Jessica Gelman, MS, RDN, CDN, Senior Clinical Dietitian, Division of Gastroenterology, The Susan and Leonard Feinstein Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinical Center at The Mount Sinai Hospital

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BE THE SOMEONE. 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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CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG HIT WITH A GLASS One might ďŹ le this story under “odd and random acts of violence.â€? On Saturday night, Feb. 2, a 26-year-old man was inside the Soho Grand Hotel at 310 West Broadway when he was hit with a glass in what police described

as an “unknown manner.â€? A male suspect was seen eeing toward Grand Street after approaching a 27-year-old female witness and telling her, “I hit him with a glass.â€? The victim sustained injuries to his left ear, suffered a minor laceration and complained of abrasions on his neck.

SUBWAY PURSE SNATCH This story may make you think twice about sitting next to a door on a subway train. At 11:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 31, a 63-year-old woman was seated in a 1 train as it entered the South Ferry station. When the doors opened, an unknown man in his 20s reached into the train from the platform, grabbed her purse from her shoulder and ed the station. Police searched the area but couldn’t ďŹ nd the purse snatcher. The items stolen included a pair of Prada sunglasses valued at $200, a Samsung phone worth $85 and other items, for a total of $315.

RALPH BELTS BOOSTED An unknown man entered the Polo Ralph Lauren store at 109 Prince St. on Thursday afternoon, Jan. 31, and removed items from a display rack before concealing them under his jacket and eeing without paying. The thief couldn’t be found in the neighborhood after the incident. The items stolen included three eagle embroidered belts totaling $1,650.

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS HONDA SUV? Police ask for the public’s help locating an alleged package thief’s

Photo by Tony Webster, via Flickr

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STATS FOR THE WEEK Reported crimes from the 1st precinct for the week ending Feb 3 Week to Date 2019 2018

% Change 2019

2018

% Change

Murder

0

0

n/a

0

0

n/a

Rape

0

0

n/a

1

1

0.0

Robbery

0

1

-100.0 2

6

-66.7

Felony Assault

1

0

n/a

7

3

133.3

Burglary

2

2

0.0

11

5

120.0

Grand Larceny

14

17

-17.6

76

93

-18.3

Grand Larceny Auto

0

0

n/a

0

0

n/a

getaway car. At 11:43 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 28, a man got out of a gray 2013 Honda Pilot with New York plates JCH9259 in front of 459 Broome St. According to police, the man looked around and then took one small package from the back of an open UPS truck. He got back into the SUV and headed north on Greene St. A witness identiďŹ ed the car and a male accomplice but didn’t see the driver. A search of the neighborhood proved fruitless. Police gave no value for the stolen package.

BIG SCORE FOR MARANT MARAUDER At 1:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 30, a woman entered the Isabel Marant boutique at 469 Broome St. and removed an item from a clothing rack before concealing it in her bag and leaving the store without paying. The stolen item was a women’s suede jacket valued at $1,570.

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FEBRUARY 14-20,2019

succeed him as the next Council speaker. In a handful of brief conversations, Brewer declined to comment about her intentions for 2021. She didn’t confirm that she was running for her old seat; but she didn’t deny it either. And she appeared to take herself out of contention for the mayoral race that year. “I love Manhattan,” Brewer said. “That’s all that I can tell you — I love Manhattan,” she repeated. “I do not have a fiveborough orientation.”

BREWER CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Similarly, the two-terms-andyou’re-out cap means that City Council Member Helen Rosenthal, who succeeded Brewer in Council District 6 in 2014, is also barred from running again for the same post. In fact, she has already tossed her hat in the ring to run for comptroller in 2021. That clears the path for a potential encore run by Brewer, who was first elected to the Council in 2001 and represented the West Side, Lincoln Square, the northern part of Hell’s Kitchen and all of Central Park – before moving up to win election as Manhattan’s 27th beep in 2013. But a bigger job could be in the wings: Brewer commands enormous respect. If she runs and wins, she’ll have more seniority than anyone else in the Council’s incoming class of 2022 because she had racked up 12 years in the legislative body before term limits was changed from three terms to the current two. Meanwhile, change is in the offing. City Council Speaker Corey Johnson is also out of a job at the end of 2021 due to term

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Who Needs Money or Power?

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer at the New York City Women’s March in Columbus Circle on Jan. 19. She is widely expected to run in 2021 for the City Council seat on the Upper West Side where she served for 12 years until her election as beep in 2013. Photo: Brewer’s Instagram page. limits, and he has already started accepting contributions for a probable mayoral run. With Johnson’s exit dawning, the buzz among political cognoscenti is that Brewer is already well positioned to step into the power vacuum and

I am ecstatic!” Keith Wright, Manhattan County Democratic leader

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Typically in politics, officeholders seek to move up, not down, and rare is the official who would blithely trade in a $179,200 salary, which is what a borough president makes, to pull down $148,500, which is a Council member’s wages. “She loves being a legislator,” said George Arzt, the Democratic political strategist who served as Mayor Ed Koch’s press secretary in the late 1980s. “Many people have asked her many times to run for mayor, and she is always quickly dismissive — but she loved being in the Council.” If she makes the move, her constituency would shrink dramatically, said New York County Democratic Party Chair Keith Wright, a former state Assembly Member from Harlem. “She’d go from representing 1.8 million people to representing 155,000 people,” he said. “But it’s never been about money or power for her. It is about staying grounded, doing what you love, bringing a vast wealth of experience and knowledge

about how government works, and being a wonderful partner to all communities.” Could she painlessly win back her old seat? “I presume she wouldn’t have any difficulty,” said Wright, who has been Manhattan Democratic leader since 2009. But he added a cautionary note: “You never know — just ask Joe Crowley,” he said, referring to the 10-term incumbent Congressman from Queens who was ousted by the 28-year-old newcomer Alexandria OcasioCortez. “Still, we’re very lucky to have a public servant of her caliber, and the people of her district would be very lucky to have her again, too,” Wright said. “I am ecstatic!” The 67-year-old Brewer is clearly in no hurry to take the plunge, declare for office and vie for her old seat, political consultants say — and there is no compelling reason to do so when the primary isn’t until June 2021 and the general election isn’t until Nov. 2021. But by putting out the word so early that she’s exploring a run in her home district and longtime political base — where she would almost certainly become the prohibitive favor — her backers are sending a clear message to other potential candidates for the seat: Stay away. Preliminary indications suggest that the strategy has been working. Consider one well-regarded hopeful, Micah Lasher, a former chief of staff to the state attorney general, incoming chair of the Riverside Park Conservancy, ex-aide to Rep. Jerry Nadler and unsuccessful can-

didate in 2016 for a West Side state Senate seat. “Absolutely!” he said when asked if he was considering a run. But at the same time, he described Brewer as an “extraordinary Council member and an extraordinary borough president” and said that the district would be “incredibly well served” if she came back to her old post. “If Gale were to decide that she wanted to return to the City Council again to represent our community, I would accord that an enormous amount of deference,” Lasher added. As for the timetable of any announcement, Curtis Arluck, a West Side Democratic district leader for the past 40 years, notes that Brewer is “only a little more than a quarter of the way” through her second term as beep. “If she were suddenly to be seen as running for an office that other people would like to have, then the vastly beloved Gale Brewer would not be above the fray anymore,” said Arluck, whose longtime club is the Broadway Democrats. “She would be in the thicket. So why not keep the glow that she has for another year or more?” he asked. Unlike so many politicians, Arluck added, Brewer doesn’t have the ego that says she has to be in the top position: “That’s Gale in a nutshell,” he said. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s a higher title or if it’s a lesser title, she just wants to continue to serve — and she wants to continue to serve Manhattan.” invreporter@strausnews.com

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NYPD TO BOLSTER SEX CRIMES UNIT LAW ENFORCEMENT As reported rapes increase, the department to add investigators in Special Victims Division BY MICHAEL GAROFALO

The New York City Police Department will increase staffing in its unit tasked with handling sex crimes amid a citywide trend of rising reports of rape. The department will add 35 investigators to the Special Victims Division, police officials announced at a Feb. 5 press briefing. The NYPD came under fire last year after a report by the city’s Department of Investigation cited “chronic understaffing and inexperience” within the SVD, which “jeopardized prosecutions, re-traumatized victims, and negatively impacted the reporting of sex crimes.” The NYPD recorded 150 rapes in January of this year, a 27 percent increase over the 118 reported over the same period last year. Three of those rapes were reported in the Upper East Side’s 19th Precinct, which recorded zero in January of last year. January’s totals represent the continuation of a spike in reported rapes that began in 2018, when police recorded 1,794 rapes citywide, as compared with 1,449 the previous year. Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill have said that the increased totals are not due to an increase in the actual number of rapes taking place; rather, they believe rapes have long been underreported to police and that survivors have felt more comfortable coming forward in recent years, in part due to increased public awareness and the #MeToo movement. “This is tragically what was happening for a long time but not being reported,” de Blasio said in January. “It’s finally being reported.” Mary Haviland, the executive director of the NYC Alliance Against Sexual Assault, said this analysis is “likely” correct, but impossible to confirm without improved data collection.

Mayor Bill de Blasio (center) and NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill (left) announced the NYPD would add 35 new investigators to its Special Victims Division at a Feb. 5 briefing on crime statistics in Brooklyn. Photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office Haviland cited a 2015 study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that found 1.2 percent of women in the United States had been raped in the previous year. “If you apply that to the female population in New York City you come up with about 50,000 rapes a year. But only 1,300 to 1,700 are reported to the police, so you know that there’s a big problem and there’s a lot of room for increased

Reported Rapes by Year, Citywide 2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

1352

1438

1438

1449

1794

January Reported Rapes by Year, Citywide JAN 2014

JAN 2015

JAN 2016

JAN 2017

JAN 2018

JAN 2018

114

113

101

108

118

150 SOURCE: NYPD

reporting without an increase in incidents,” she said.

“White shields”: Topic of contention Of the 35 new investigators that will join the SVD’s current staff of 260, 15 will be assigned to the division’s adult sex crimes unit, 16 will be assigned to the child sex crimes unit and four will be tasked with investigating transit sex crimes. Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said that a majority of the new investigators will be so-called “white shields,” or investigators who are working to achieve the rank of detective. The NYPD’s use of white shields in investigating sex crimes has been a persistent topic of contention between police and sexual assault advocates. “Our position is that there should be much more experienced detectives in that unit because sexual assault cases are difficult and complex,” Haviland said, adding, “Why are you putting

new detectives on sexual assault cases? Put them on lower-level felonies and misdemeanors.” Shea disputed the notion that white shields are unprepared to handle sexual assault investigations.” I’m very comfortable with the training that they are receiving, the mentorship that they receive once they get into Special Victims,” he said. Council Member Helen Rosenthal, who represents the Upper West Side and serves as chair of the committee on women, echoed Haviland’s concerns with white shield investigators in SVD. “When NYPD reports that it has more detectives, it’s critical that we ask what grade they are,” Rosenthal said. “Because given the unique nature of the survivor-centric investigation, inexperienced detectives can bollocks up a case, which means there will be no justice for the survivor.” Legislation passed by the Council last year requires the NYPD to file an-

nual reports on SVD’s staffing levels, including detailed data on investigators’ caseloads and ranks. The NYPD has not yet filed its first such report, which was due Jan. 31, Rosenthal said. Chief of Crime Control Strategies Lori Pollock said the department will also begin holding weekly CompStat meetings dedicated solely to the Special Victims Division. “These will be closed meetings where we will have supervisors work through their cases and share best practices,” she said. Rosenthal said she is concerned that the introduction of CompStat, the NYPD’s crime data performance management system, could cause SVD investigators to move too swiftly and “lose sight of the need to be survivorcentric in an investigation.” “I’m awaiting a briefing on it to see if they’re able to set up CompStat to be more sophisticated than just solving this crime as quickly as possible,” she said.

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Transit advocates are urging the city and MTA not to scrap plans to reconfigure 14th Street during L train tunnel repair work, prohibiting most private vehicle traffic to create a “busway” carrying 84,000 passengers per day. It is unclear whether the plan will be implemented or modified in light of the MTA’s decision to forego the planned 15-month full L train shutdown. Image: NYC DOT/MTA

L TRAIN CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 though they were planned in concert with the 15-month full L train shutdown, these are mitigation efforts that are needed nonetheless. Regardless of how the Canarsie Tunnel repairs take shape, we are in the middle of a transit crisis.”

Test case on 14th Street The top concern for many Manhattan residents is whether the city still intends to reconfigure 14th Street to include new dedicated bus lanes, expanded pedestrian space and a daytime ban on non-bus through traffic. Pedestrian and bus advocates have long hoped that implementation of the 14th Street busway could serve as a successful test case for the street design concept, paving the way for the similar changes to other major crosstown thoroughfares in the future. “When you consider 14th Street, it’s right in the heart of the densest, most transit rich city in America,” Cutrufo said. “We can’t continue to put the convenience of drivers ahead of people who choose and rely

on more space-efficient modes like the bus.” While transit activists have cheered the busway plan, it has attracted equally fierce opposition from some locals. The 14th Street Coalition, a neighborhood group opposed to the DOT’s previously proposed street changes, responded to the new L train repair plans by calling on the city to remove the new bike lanes recently installed on 12th and 13th Streets and abandon the busway, which it believes will divert excessive traffic to surrounding residential streets. Council Member Keith Powers, whose district includes the eastern portion of 14th Street, said that the partial L train shutdown, which will last 15 to 20 months and result in reduced nighttime and weekend service, “was met with a lot of relief by people, but I think they’ll find it does not solve all of their problems in terms of getting around.” Powers said the city should carry out previously announced plans to implement select bus service on the M14, which is one of the city’s slowest bus routes. He said that the city should “still consider”

implementing the full busway proposal, but added, “The most important thing to me is getting quicker bus service on 14th Street regardless of whether there’s a private vehicle restriction or not.” Since Cuomo’s announcement, the city has given little indication of which mitigation steps it intends to complete. Asked for comment, a Department of Transportation spokesperson referred Straus News to remarks made by Mayor Bill de Blasio at a Jan. 24 press conference, in which the mayor said it would take “several weeks” for the city to reevaluate its mitigation efforts in light of the MTA’s new repair plan. “Obviously we’re going to be very vigilant to make sure things are working properly,” de Blasio said. “But now we have to decide what that means now with this new plan in terms of mitigating the impact and then if there’s anything that we were planning that is no longer needed because of the L train but that we might want to do anyway.” An MTA spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.

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RX FOR ALL: CARING COMMUNICATION BY BETTE DEWING

“I’m just so sorry this happened to you,” said Dr. Sarah Flannery. She meant the freak accident which brought me to the Lenox Hill Hospital emergency room. Details later, but this column is about caring communication, and how much it’s needed in the medical profession and beyond. No, it wasn’t a fall. I was sitting on a kitchen step stool when a heavy cast-iron skillet fell from its spot on a peg board hook — right onto my right leg. Yi-i-i-i-! Excessive bruising and swelling sent me to Urgent Care (what a much-needed city resource), and from there I was sent to the ER.

Dr. Flannery had the report, of course, before her compassionate greeting, with its much appreciated understanding of my fears, pain and distress at being back in an ER again. No broken bones, thankfully, but the blood thinner link landed me in the hospital after the usual many hours in the ER. No doubt some of you know how communication matters during those long, long waits — especially for those alone without family or other advocates. But some patients and/or their advocates sometimes look out for patients who are alone. I was loaned a phone that worked, along with some encouraging words.

Surely caring communication from doctors and nurses needs to be stressed. With so many patients to see, maybe what we need is more medical personnel, and not more new medical buildings, which replace the much-needed the neighborhood kind. Indeed, the neighborhoods are distressed by the expansion plans of both Lenox Hill and Weill Cornell Medical Center. And I can think of no better example of of the kind of people we need in our hospitals than Dr. Sarah Flannery. In time for Valentine’s Day, please consider some of this column’s caring communication ideas. Consider the shy, and those who are

not so “easily verbal,” for example, and see that they are not left out. Everything really depends on the talk being shared. A friend who had jury duty recently reports how the aggressively verbal jury members tried to take over the deliberations, Thankfully, this one angry jury member didn’t let that happen. Just and democratic communication couldn’t be more essential. But to stay with the caring theme, let’s remember the words of communication expert and author, Sherod Miller, in a Jane Brody interview: “Communication is the way relationships are created, maintained and destroyed ... to be heard and understood is central to any ongoing relationship — husband and wife, parent and child, employer and employee, friends, siblings, you name it.” Miller’s book, “Straight Talk: A New Way to Get Closer to Others”

needs a mighty revival. And hey, maybe so do some related thoughts from a previous column of mine titled “Sympathize, Don’t Analyze.” which suggests, no, commands, by golly: “When someone says they feel rotten, don’t pile on the advice or regale them with tales of your own, or someone else’s travails. Don’t say ‘Everyone has problems,’ or ‘It could be worse.’ Meet a person where they are — this and other 1970s human potential directives need a mighty revival. Now, we sure don’t mean indulge complainers who don’t listen to the complaints of others. Caring communication also means reprimands.” But enough from me already — let’s hear it from you. Along with the Dr. Flannerys’ message, that is what Valentine’s Day is very much about — sharing talk — the kind that is caring.

WELCOME TO THE SECOND-MOST HELLISH PLACE IN NYC PUBLIC EYE BY JON FRIEDMAN

Penn Station is the most hellish place anywhere in the five boroughs during the evening rush hour. Hundreds of thousands of people race around like lab rats, flashing twisted looks on their anguished faces. I’m making that train, damn it — and damn you! If you dare to stand in their path, they’ll trample you, like Larry Csonka used to do on a power slant. Speaking of hellish places: Clocking in a close second, in a photo finish, is Penn Station some 12 hours later, at 5:30 in the morning. To be sure, nobody is running anywhere — they’re too sleepy to move much at all. Instead, they just stand there in place, as if stuck in quicksand, their glassy eyes peeled to The Sign. Lucky me. As a reverse com-

muter on the Long Island Rail Road, I get an exposure to both atmospheres on a regular, twicea-week basis. I leave for my teaching assignment at Stony Brook very early in the morning — usually on the 5:47 a.m. train heading east — and then return in time to endure the mad scramble of the evening rush hour, just as the throng is going home on the train. In every situation on the LIRR, life revolves around The Sign, which reveals what track their train will be leaving from. At dawn, when they spot their track, the people trudge on over there. Inevitably, they creep past the handful of assembled cops on duty. These men and women in blue cluster together, utterly oblivious to the reverse commuters. It’s hard to tell if the officers are secretly elated or resentful that they have quite possibly the dullest shift on the entire New York Police Department assignment sheet.

Penn Station at the crack of dawn. Photo: Jon Friedman

Judging by the detached looks on their faces, though, one point is clear. To quote a line from a Bob Dylan song: “The cops don’t need you — and, man, they expect the same.” Sure, Penn Station can seem quaint at that hour and the extreme reverse-commuter sport has its charms — kind of. I am on a first-name basis with Steve and Jackie, my faithful allies who work at the Starbucks near the LIRR area. They work hard and remain cheerful, day in and out (and neither of them has threatened to run for President). Just to convey what a BMOC I am at that shop, Jackie often begins to prepare my mocha drink as soon as I walk in, enabling me to make my train easily. Now, that’s status! And sure, Penn Station has slowly been a teeny bit less hellish. Such innovations as the establishment of a trendy Shake Shack helps modernize the joint. The people who play music pro-

vide a nice diversion. But Penn Station could use better ventilation, access for disabled people and some system to cut down on the general atmosphere of chaos. And don’t get me started on the bathrooms. To save time, look under “disgusting” in the dictionary. So, why do I put myself through this nonsense? Two reasons: I like to teach at Stony Brook and (on a good day) shape young minds and encourage them to be better citizens. And, No. 2: I have no choice. I don’t have a car, so there is actually no alternative. The LIRR has got me in its clutches. I’ve been doing this drill for so many years that I rationalize it by telling myself that I can sleep or work on the train and that it really isn’t so bad to hang out at Penn Station at 5:30 in the morning. But, of course, it really is.

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Little Star at Broome Street Early Childhood Center. Photo: Brian Demo

THE PROMISE AND CHALLENGES OF 3-K FOR ALL SCHOOLS Teacher pay and other issues could complicate the future of the early education program BY BRIAN DEMO

Following on the success of Pre-K for All, New York introduced 3-K for All in April 2017. The program targets threeyear-olds and offers “free, fullday, high quality education,â€? according to the city Department of Education. Plans call for the program, already in place in 12 school districts, to expand throughout the city over the next two years. Meanwhile, educators and researchers continue to evaluate the ongoing impact of the popular approach to early education. With some 70,000 kids enrolled, Pre-K for All has worked well in New York. The Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale — a nationallyrecognized measuring tool — found that 94 percent of pre-K programs assessed between 2017-2018 were correlated with “improved student outcomes. And the Brookings Institute recently released a study that found “convincingâ€? evidence that school readiness, in areas such as literacy and numeracy, is higher among children who complete pre-K. Pre-K for All offers other advantages. Children in at-risk communities get an early jump on education, and the institutions and centers that host the programs beneďŹ t from the DOE’s emphasis on teacher and curriculum improvements.

Mary Cheng is the education director of Little Star at Broome Street Early Childhood Center. She noted several positives since Little Star joined the Pre-K for All program. “It’s allowed educators to speak really in one, single voice,â€? she said, referring to the uniform curriculum. She also noted that the DOE program gives the parents of young children the opportunity to learn about the city’s public school system. However, she also pointed out that centers like Little Star often don’t have the money to pay its teachers as much as DOE schools. According to research from the University of California at Berkeley, New York City’s PreK for All program is funded through state grants (78%), city tax levy (21%), and federal grants (1%). While the City plans to make 3-K for All citywide in the 2021-22 school year, with additional support from the state and federal governments, Chalkbeat, a nonproďŹ t news organization, reported that a citywide universal 3-K program would cost more than $1 billion, requiring $700 million from outside sources, such as Albany and Washington. The 3-K for All program faces additional challenges, including disparities in teacher pay. Data approved by the Citizens’ Committee for Children, a nonproďŹ t, nonpartisan child advocacy organization, showed about a $30,000 yearly salary difference between a teacher at a DOE school (roughly $74,000) and a certiďŹ ed teacher at a community-based organization, or CBO (roughly $44,000), when both have bachelor degrees and eight

years of experience. W. Steven Barnett, senior co-director of the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University, sees the lack of pay parity between the public and private education centers as a serious problem. Lower pay, for example could weaken teachers’ incentive to remain in CBOs. Cheng agrees. “People ask me, ‘What would help your program if you had everything in place?’ It really is pay parity,â€? she said. Another concern, one noted in a 2018 study of 3-K from the New School’s Center for New York City Affairs, is that childcare centers that participate in the 3-K for All program could become less inclined to take in infants and toddlers, who cost more to monitor. When Los Angeles implemented a universal 4-K program, a number of home-based providers stopped taking in toddlers and infants. Those providers found it easier and more proďŹ table to focus on the four-year-olds. The New School study — an early one, with more likely to come — offers recommendations for the DOE to make 3-K for All more effective before it goes citywide. These include New York State offering â€œďŹ nancial incentives to encourage teachers in subsidized family child careâ€? to pursue professional development. And on the crucial topic of teacher pay, the study recommends that the DOE find ways for teachers at subsidized CBOs to earn more, or else they could leave for better-paying jobs (as the Citizens Committee for Children predicts) or burn out (as The New School predicts).

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Discover the world around the corner. Find community events, gallery openings, book launches and much more: Go to nycnow.com

EDITOR’S PICK

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.

Feb 7 - Feb 16 ROBERT ASHLEY: IMPROVEMENT (DON LEAVES LINDA) The Kitchen 512 West 19th St 8:00 p.m $25 thekitchen.org 212-255-5793 This newly reconstructed opera by the late Robert Ashley (written in 1985 and first performed in 1991) follows the adventures of its protagonist Linda, whose travels and romances can be read as attempts at assimilation and cultural cross-pollination, with varying degrees of success and rejection.

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Thu 14 Fri 15 WE SPEAK NYC (WAS WE ARE NEW YORK) ENGLISH CONVERSATION GROUPS Mulberry Street Library 10 Jersey St 1:00 p.m. Free Adult learners will have the opportunity to learn English by watching We Speak NYC videos and discussing them with other adults from around the world. nypl.org 212-966-3424

▲ MINDFUL CONNECTIONS: FOR VISITORS WITH DEMENTIA AND THEIR CAREGIVERS MUSICAL PERFORMANCE WITH RUBIN KODHELI The Rubin Museum 150 West 17th St 2:00 p.m. Free Mindful Connections is a free tour program for people with dementia and their caregivers. Every month trained guides facilitate a gallery experience designed to promote engagement with works of art and other participants. rubinmuseum.org 212-620-5000

Sat 16 ► NEW YORK CITY FOOD HISTORY Jefferson Market Library 425 Ave of the Americas 3:00 p.m. Free This class is an introduction to the food history of New York City, telling the stories of the edible goods produced, consumed, and venerated in homes and restaurants within the five boroughs. It will explore the history of restaurants, the meals of the wealthy and those of the working class, and the foodstuffs on all these plates. nypl.org (212) 243-4334

FEBRUARY 14-20,2019

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Sun 17

ACTIVITIES FOR THE FERTILE MIND

thoughtgallery.org

SLOSHED SATS: STANDARDIZED DRINKING

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Voyage to the Volcanoes with Science Friday

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 18TH, 6:30PM

Caveat 21 A Clinton St 3:30 p.m $12 Your test proctor, comedian Michael Wolf (Comedy Central, MTV), has combined bar-room trivia with real SAT quizzes to create NYC’s booziest classroom. Whether you’ve got something to prove or just want to see how much you remember from high school — come get some liquid courage, dust off those scantrons, and take the Sloshed SAT’s. caveat.nyc 212-228-2100

Caveat | 21 Clinton St. | 212-228-2100 | caveat.nyc Join a disaster researcher, a volcanologist, a geologist with insight on what it’s like to work near an active volcano, and producers who can give behind-the-scenes looks at the Natural History Museum’s Experimental Petrology Lab for an evening of volcano science ($15 advance, $20 door).

Personality Disorders in Everyday Life

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19TH, 7:30PM Subject | 188 Suffolk St. | 646-422-7898 | subject-les.com NYU professor and clinically trained psychologist Lawrence Ian Reed joins Think & Drink NYC to question what is personality and how do we differentiate ourselves from others; he’ll also explore what might be considered “normal” and “abnormal” ($15 advance, $18 day-of).

Just Announced | From Page to Screen: Richard Russo and Guests

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27TH, 6:30PM NYPL Schwarzman Building | 476 Fifth Ave. | 917-275-6975 | nypl.org

Mon 18 Tue 19

Wed 20

RUMPLETEASER: MUSICAL IMPROV

▲ FILM SCREENING: ANCHORS AWEIGH (1945)

UCB Hell’s Kitchen 555 West 42nd St 9:30 p.m. $9 Come watch a group of improvisers create a brand new musical right before your eyes! Everything will be made up on the spot - from the dance to the music to the lyrics. They’ll take you to a whole new world and all that jazz. Anything goes! Xanadu. ucbtheatre.com 212-366-9176

LEILA SLIMANI: ADÈLE The Strand 828 Broadway 7:00 p.m. $15 Join author Leila Slimani discusses her new novel with Lauren Christensen, staff editor at the New York Times. strandbooks.com 212-473-1452

Hudson Park Library 66 Leroy St Noon Free Joe (Gene Kelly) and Clarence (Frank Sinatra) are two young Navy sailors on leave in glitzy Los Angeles. At first these two men plan to use their layover as an opportunity to relax, but they soon find themselves caught in a complicated web of comic secrets. Starring: Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, Gene Kelly. Directed George Sidney. nypl.org 212-243-6876

Novelist Richard Russo (Nobody’s Fool, Empire Falls) leads a panel of authors-turnedscreenwriters in discussing the creative challenges involved with converting fiction to the big and small screens (free, RSVP required).

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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OLD MASTERS IN A NEW LIGHT The Met’s gorgeous show of Dutch treasures turns an overwhelming cache of riches into a jewel box of wonders BY MARY GREGORY

Thanks to a revamping of the skylights and spaces in the Met’s European Paintings galleries, we can now see Old Master treasures in a new light. The makeover’s not done yet, so, ironically, it’s the quieter light in the smaller, more intimate downstairs of the Lehman wing that offers up-close reconsiderations of beloved masterworks alongside seldom seen works by less known artists. “In Praise of Painting: Dutch Masterpieces at The Met” is presented in sections: “Faces of a New Nation,” “Questions of Faith,” “Staking a Claim,” “Masters, Pupils, Rivals,” “Comic Painting,” “Contested Bodies,” “Eloquent Things,” “Lives of Women,” and “Behind Closed Doors.” Each section groups works and concepts into interesting visual conversations.

IF YOU GO WHAT: “In Praise of Painting: Dutch Masterpieces at The Met” WHERE: The Met Fifth Avenue WHEN: Through October 4, 2020 Culling the hundreds of Hals, Vermeers, Rembrandts, de Hooches, Ruisdaels, Heems, Hedas and Kalfs to a scant 67 allows a focused but relaxed tour of one of art’s greatest periods. Holland’s Golden Age — roughly the 17th century — was a period of domesticity, prosperity and peace. The Dutch had just emerged from a long, costly war with Spain. Scientists, artists, writers and philosophers whose thoughts didn’t sit well with the Inquisition, found a warm welcome in Holland. Trade routes were opening globally. Thanks to natural ports, lots of canals, and busy shipbuilders, Holland became a prime supplier to both the Old and the New Worlds. The Dutch East Indies Company was the

Rembrandt’s “Self-Portrait” 1660 (left) and his painting “Hendrickje Stoffels” mid-1650s (right) from “In Praise of Painting: Dutch Masterpieces at The Met.” Photos: Adel Gorgy

richest, most successful corporation the world had ever seen. Holland’s Golden Age was the first time that working class Europeans, rather than just the aristocracy and churches, could afford luxuries and finery. They lived close together in elegant houses in bustling cities like Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Delft, and Leiden. Land wasn’t their investment of choice. For many, it was art. Wealthy burghers, ship captains, merchants and their families all wanted their portraits painted, along with pictures of fancy dinners, beautiful tulips (another passion) and views of their beloved towns, roads, rivers and windmills. Lots of painters showed up to fill the demand. Some of the most successful of them needed extra hands to complete orders. They took on students and opened studio workshops. One was Rembrandt. A tour of the galleries will bring you to works by Nicolaes Maes, Samuel van Hoogstraten, Gerrit Dou, and Govert Flinck. All of them studied with Rembrandt. Flinck’s 1645 “Bearded Man with a Velvet Cap” is a marvel of verisimilitude. As Rembrandt had done, Flinck dressed his sitter in exotic clothes and rendered him brilliantly. The realism of the rumpled red cap, the soft, brown fur collar, the shine on the nose, and the cottony, white curls of a well-tended beard are testament to Flinck’s extraordinary skill. Rembrandt’s own 1640 “Herman Doomer” portrait focuses on other aspects. The sitter’s translucent skin, plump lips, and the sparkling wetness of his eyes bring him to life. Meanwhile, his brown suit recedes into the background, as the white collar frames his face, in service of the soul of the man whose crow’s feet enliven a direct, confident gaze.

“A Maid Asleep,” Johannes Vermeer, ca. 1656–57. Photo: Adel Gorgy By that time in his career, Rembrandt was leaving behind perfection of form for the search for spirit, manifested in art and humanity. His 1654 “Self-Portrait,” one of the treasures of the Met, is included in the section featuring masters and pupils. Too bad it couldn’t be hung next to his “Hendrickje Stoffels” portrait done around the same time (she shows up in “Lives of Women”). Stoffels was Rembrandt’s common-law wife, his second great love, and the mother of his only child to survive him. Some historians believe these two paintings were made as pendant portraits, typically made in pairs, often of husbands and wives, meant to be hung side-by-side, completing each other. The paintings’ similar dates, sizes, backgrounds, and poses that face

one another support the idea. The tenderness of Hendrickje radiates from one canvas. The weariness of the artist who’d just been bankrupted, lost his home and possessions, but still retained his spirit and drive, comes through in the other. That’s just one of the stories behind the pictures. Frans Hals, in my mind the original Impressionist, laid flat broad strokes of color on his canvases that somehow translate into pudgy bodies wearing shiny fabrics that reflect multitudes of flickering candles. How? Gerard ter Borch had a way with velvet. Rich red gowns and plump cushions show up often in his paintings, to show how good he was in capturing velvet’s uniquely shimmery shift from plushness to shine. Vermeer’s frozen moments, still

and perfect, transcend time. They became increasingly popular when, at the beginning of the 20th century, audiences got used to photography’s ability to arrest action. Did Pieter de Hooch plan to reveal interior lives when he painted complex, interior scenes with layers of depth? Or do we just infer them? The show offers starting points for many explorations. The smaller, dimmer galleries in the Lehman wing almost mimic the household rooms for which these great paintings were intended. They’re hung close together, mostly at eye-level, and invite near, slow viewing. Their grandeur will be back, once they return upstairs. Through October 4, 2020, this gorgeous show of treasures turns an overwhelming cache of riches into a jewel box of wonders.

FEBRUARY 14-20,2019

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FEBRUARY 14-20,2019

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS

Promix Cafe & Provisions

182 Mulberry Street

Not Yet Graded (87) Food contact surface improperly constructed or located. Unacceptable material used. 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. Insufficient or no refrigerated or hot holding equipment to keep potentially hazardous foods at required temperatures.

Tous Les Jours

7 Division Street

A

Sweet Chick

178 Ludlow Street

A

Chillhouse

149 Essex Street

Grade Pending (19) Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations. Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, crosscontaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan.

El Castillo De Manhattan Restaurant

207 Madison Street

Not Yet Graded (13) Appropriately scaled metal stem-type thermometer or thermocouple not provided or used to evaluate temperatures of potentially hazardous foods during cooking, cooling, reheating and holding.

JAN 30 - FEB 5, 2018 The following listings were collected from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s website and include the most recent inspection and grade reports listed. We have included every restaurant listed during this time within the zip codes of our neighborhoods. Some reports list numbers with their explanations; these are the number of violation points a restaurant has received. To see more information on restaurant grades, visit www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/services/restaurant-inspection.shtml. Barry’s Bootcamp Noho

419 Lafayette St

A

Pure Green

152 2 Avenue

Grade Pending (2)

Friend Of A Farmer

77 Irving Place

A

Downtown Bakery Ii Mexican Food

69 1 Avenue

Grade Pending (28) 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.

A

15 East 18 Street

A

Bluestockings Bookstore Cafe And Activism Center

172 Allen Street

Cocoa Fat Cat Kitchen

223 East 14 Street

A

Dudleys

85 Orchard Street

Cafe Rakka

81 St Marks Place

A

New York University Courtyard Cafe

75 3 Avenue

A

Village East Cinemas

181 2 Avenue

A

El Diablito Taqueria

60 East 3 Street

A

Grade Pending (24) 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. 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

Durden

213 2 Avenue

Grade Pending (17) 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. Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.

Copper Throat

123 Ludlow Street

Grade Pending (35) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred

Il Posto Accanto

190 East 2 Street

A

Champion Pizza

101 Ludlow Street

Muzzarella Pizza

221 Avenue A

A

Lenz’s

514 East 20 Street

A

Gruppo

98 Avenue B

A

Famous & Fresh 99¢ Pizza

91 Avenue A

A

Juice Vitality

192 1 Avenue

A

Grade Pending (33) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Appropriately scaled metal stemtype thermometer or thermocouple not provided or used to evaluate temperatures of potentially hazardous foods during cooking, cooling, reheating and holding. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Catch

21-27 9 Avenue

A

Famous 99 C Pizza

159 Ludlow Street

A

Bonsignour

35 Jane Street

A

Parkside Lounge

317 East Houston Street

A

Brooklyneer

220 West Houston Street

A

The Blond/The Library

138 Lafayette Street

A

Papaya Dog

333 6 Avenue

A

The Cupping Room

359 West Broadway

A

Wok To Walk

319 6 Avenue

A

Thai Son Vietnamese Cuisine

89 Baxter Street

A

Juice Press

156 Prince Street

A

Boba Guys

261 Canal Street

A

San Carlo Osteria Piemonte 90 Thompson Street

A

Ajisen Ramen

14 Mott Street

A

Cava

50 Spring Street

A

55 Thomas Cafe

55 Thomas Street

A

Wayan

20 Spring Street

Not Yet Graded (27) 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.

Gasoline Alley Coffee

154 Grand Street

A

Office Coffee

267 Canal Street

A

The Chai Spot

156 Mott Street

A

Hop Shing Restaurant

9 Chatham Square

Grade Pending (17) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred. Wiping cloths soiled or not stored in sanitizing solution.

Blue Haven

108 West Houston Street

A

FEBRUARY 14-20,2019

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Cultural Events in and around where you live (not Brooklyn, not Westchester) Joanne Kwong, Upper West Side resident and president of Pearl River Mart retail, is honored by New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli during his annual Lunar New Year Celebration. Photo: Andy Hill

CELEBRATING LUNAR NEW YEAR NYS Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli holds an annual Lunar New Year Celebration honoring prominent Asian-Americans who are civic-minded. This year five women were honored, including Joanne Kwong, President, Pearl River Mart and an Upper West Side resident.

Pearl River Mart has been a NYC institution offering its wide variety of imported Asian goods. Their flagship store is now in Tribeca. The “Year of the Pig” festivities were held at Grand St. Settlement’s new facility on the Lower East Side.

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Business

REQUIEM FOR A PET STORE 1

A stray named “Noodles” lounges in his cat condo in the back of a Petland Discount shop on West 23rd Street in Chelsea. The five-month-old kitten is up for adoption – even as the chain prepares to close its Manhattan stores. Photo: Douglas Feiden

THE SHOP THAT SAVED KITTENS After 54 years and a celebrated track record for animal rescue work, Petland Discounts is expected to close all its stores and face a possible sale or liquidation by April BY DOUGLAS FEIDEN

“Noodles” was a homeless orphan living on the streets of Virginia. His prospects seemed dire. Then, he was rescued and brought to New York for adoption. Now, he’s living in a cozy pad in the heart of Chelsea. But the idyll may not last. His fate, at least for the moment, is unclear. He may have to relocate all over again. The reason for his change of circumstances? The expected closing of a venerable retail pet chain. Hundreds of Manhattan bookstores, clothing stores, barbershops, thrift shops, Judaica shops, bars, restaurants, corner bodegas, green grocers and mom-and-pops of every variety have already suffered similar fates. This time, the victim of the far-reaching brick-and-mortar retrenchment is Petland Discounts, a mid-sized, Brentwood, L.I.-based chain that has 10 stores in the borough, including locations in Hell’s Kitchen, Chelsea, Greenwich

They helped us with the adoptions of thousands of cats and dogs and puppies and kittens.” Joanne Yohannan, North Shore Animal League America

Village, East Harlem, West Harlem and the Upper West Side. Founded in 1965, the company has long been buffeted by soaring rents and utility bills and hammered on price by webbased retailers — like online pet store Chewy.com, which routinely undercuts it on guinea pig food, parakeet supplies, glass fish tanks and tropical reptile terrariums. But the final blow came on Jan. 14 when Neil Padron, Petland’s president, founder and sole proprietor, died of bladder cancer at the age of 74. Just four days later, the company filed a so-called WARN Notice with the New York State Dept. of Labor saying that all 367 of its employees would be laid off by April 18. The chain didn’t return calls. Amy Eisenberg, Padron’s daughter, who is Petland’s di-

rector of special events, didn’t respond to six calls to her office and cell phone over a week-long period. But the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification said that the retail workers, all nonunionized, were being let go as a result of “plant closings” and “economic dislocation.” After 54 years, all of Petland’s 78 stores in the tri-state area — down 34 percent from a peak of 118 two decades ago — are now expected to be shuttered, and the company itself faces a possible sale or liquidation. The Manhattan shops are set to close on a rolling basis over the next two months, according to managers and employees at five of the locations. “I’m already looking for a new job,” said Tony Carrion, an assistant manager in the store at 312 West 23rd St. off Eighth Avenue in Chelsea, which will close in March. “There are five of us here, and only one of us has found a job so far. The rest of us are still out looking.” Feedback from pet-lovers has kept him going, Carrion said: “Customers have been very upset, they keep telling us they want us to stay, they wish we wouldn’t close, they hope somebody buys us out, and it’s been very, very comforting,” he added.

2 3

4

Petland Discounts is expected to shutter all 78 of its shops in the tri-state area by April – including these five locations across lower Manhattan

1

734 NINTH AVE. At West 50th Street

312 WEST 23RD ST.

2 3

5

4 5

View the full map online at OTDOWNTOWN.COM The news has also rattled the local animal-rescue community because Padron’s company — famed for its commercial jingle and the slogan, “For the best care a pet can get” — was also celebrated for its work tending to strays and abandoned or ill-treated animals. “They helped us raise awareness of the plight of homeless animals for close to 15 years, and they were always fantastic supporters of our adoption events and campaigns,” said Joanne Yohannan, the senior vice president for operations at the North Shore Animal League America. “It is fair to say that over all these years, they helped us

Between Eighth and Ninth Avenues

389 SIXTH AVE. Between Eighth Street and Waverly Place

332 FIRST AVE. Between 19th and 20th Streets

132 NASSAU ST. Between Ann and Beekman Streets

SOURCE: New York State Dept. of Labor / WARN Notice with the adoptions of thousands of cats and dogs and puppies and kittens,” she added. North Shore, a no-kill animal rescue and adoption organization on Long Island, worked with Petlands on two separate initiatives: An in-store adoption program in which cats liked Noodles temporarily live in “cat condos,” or play cages, at select shops scattered across the city. And mobile adoption events in which vehicles housing 20 to 30 animals awaiting adoption park in front of the store so that potential adopters can view, visit, and perhaps, fall in love with them. Yohannan said that North

Shore and Petlands teamed up for 43 events throughout the tri-state area in 2017, and placed felines that were available for adoption in nine stores. And that’s where poor Noodles comes in. The five-monthold neutered, domestic short hair was rescued from Virginia — he’s a “young Southern gentleman,” North Shore says — and relocated to Chelsea in January to be adopted. He’s still living on West 23rd Street. He’s got a nice view of Petlands’ fish tanks and bird cages. And he’s still available. But with the store closing in March, the clock is ticking. invreporter@strausnews.com

FEBRUARY 14-20,2019

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

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FEBRUARY 14-20,2019

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

BLOOD, SNAKES AND SQUARE KNOTS CAMP BY DAVID NOONAN

Boy Scout camp in the 1960s was not for the faint of heart. Some of the author’s gear, including his Eagle Scout medal. Photo: David Noonan

A Ƶő΀ Ɨőɸ˝ ő̈ Ɨʡɸ˝ɐnj̯ǩ ő̈ ̈ɐnjnj˝Ȯőͺő΀

Going to Boy Scout camp in the first half of the 1960s was a raw and exhilarating experience. It was also kind of nuts. We didn’t play tennis or softball. We didn’t have coed cookouts with girls from all-girl camps. We didn’t sleep in cabins with electricity and screen doors. And we didn’t have toilets. We slept in A-wall tents set up on wood platforms, two scouts to a tent. And we did our business in latrines, which, on a hot summer day in New Jersey, you could find with your eyes closed. It was supposed to be rug-

ged, and it was. We were there to learn the kinds of arcane skills you really couldn’t learn anywhere else — how to start a fire in the rain, how to identify edible plants, how to build a rope bridge strong enough to hold a 250-pound man, how to make your way cross-country through the woods with a compass and a topographical map, how to tell time with a stick in the ground, how to cook a decent meal over an open fire. The point was to climb through the ranks of the quasimilitary organization, from lowly Tenderfoot to Eagle Scout, to earn merit badges and patches that you could wear on your uniform to signal your achievements.

FEBRUARY 14-20,2019 Armed too the teeth Another er difference between Boy Scout ut camp and the sleep-away away ca mps where some of my friends went was t he weapon eapon r y — we were armed to the teeth, and nd we liked it.. We wore sheath eath k n ives on our belts, lts, carried multi-bladaded pocket ket knives in our pockets kets and sharprpened them em obsessively. vely. We used d off icia l Boy Scout hatchatchets and axes to chop wood for the e fires we were e always building. g. (There was even en a way to wear a hatchet on your belt.) t.) We shot bows and arrows ows at the archery range and nd we lay on funky old mattresses ses at the rifle range and shot .22 caliber rifles at paper targets. ets. I used to pretend I was shooting at the Nazis who had invested so much time and energy trying to kill my father and his friends ds during the Battle e of the Bulge. World War II had ended less than 20 years before, and I can see now how it shadowed our ex-perience as Boy oy Scouts. Many of our dads and scout leaders were veterans, some with heavy combat experience. They didn’t talk about it, but we did. One of our leaders, Mr. G., had fought in the jungles of the Pacific theater. I can still see the massive scar on the front of his thigh, which we decided he got in hand-to-hand combat with a machete-wielding enemy soldier. I also remember the night he punished a group of us for some infraction by having us stand in a circle and pick up and put down melon-sized rocks, over and over again, gain, for a half-hour or so. Try ry it sometime — you’ll be amazed how exhausting it is. As I recall, Mr. G. said it was a method that was sometimes used in POW camps.

19

Our Town|Dow Downtowner otdowntown.com linked the campsites. ((The board rural ER had a bo where on the wall wh isplayed t hey d isplay hooks, the fish hoo nails, girusty nails splinters ant splint random and rand hu n ks of metal they had removed remo from people.) peop I llo s t the nail — nai the top of the thumb thu is f lat now, now with a wit notch notc in the middle midd but I — bu back in was bac ca mp t h at shownight, sh ing off my enoren mous bandage, an arrangement of w white gauze the size of a chic chicken drumstick. We didn’t give it a lot of thought, but we were clearly on a kind of war footing, in our uniforms, with our ranks and chains of command, our Morse code and semaphore flags, our marching songs and m salutes. Before the sa end of the decade, e our Senior Patrol Leader, Jimmy, one of the older scouts, would become an Army Ranger and lose lo a leg in Vietnam.

Spilled blood Spille We sp spent a lot of time learning first aid, and we needed it. Spilled blood was as common as wood smoke. We sliced our fingers and hands open regularly with those carefully-sharpened knives (I ( can show you the scars), rs), burned ourselves overr campfires, sprained our ankles hiking the rocky terrain the camp was built on and bashed our heads on trees playing flashlight tag in the woods at night. earned a trip I earn p to the local hospital when I crushed w my left thumb m between two large rocks I was removing from one of tthe paths that

Sssss... Without question, thou though, the most memorable thing about Camp Allamuchy in those days was the snake pit. Yes, we had a snake pit. It was a rectangular hole in the ground big enough to bury a small sedan. There was a wooden structure about three-feet high built around it, with a wire mesh top, so you could look down and see the snakes. And here’s the best part — it was up to the scouts to supply the snakes. By August it was quite the exhibit. (We knew what New Jersey’s venomous snake, the copperhead, looked like. We were ordered to leave them alone, an order we were happy to obey.) Forty years later, my two sons attended the same sam camp with their th Boy Scout troop. There t were a lot of upgrades, of course, including the addition of a number o of cabins and a very nice shower house. Not surprisingly, the snake pit was no more. But the latrines were still in use, the tents still drooped in the rain, the scouts still practiced tying knots. And there were plenty of knives and hatchets to go around.

YOU WROTE A BOOK? SO PUBLISH IT! SHOPS “Upper East Siders delight in cubits of closets, while Upper West Siders measure it in board lengths of bookshelves” —Anonymous BY MEREDITH KRUZ

We are a bookish clan up here. If you’re like me, bedtime finds you drooling slightly on your pillow, fingers splayed about a book and the light on. (True Confession? I dog ear.) I’m convinced that for every rabid reader there’s a secret writer. They have perhaps a few typed pages, maybe a chapter or three. Most believe their story will never become a physical book. Well, there’s good news, hidden storytellers — Shakespeare and Co. offers a chance to be published, at a reasonable price, without undue delay. The legendary bookseller has an East Side store, and recently expanded across the park to 2020 Broadway, between West 69th and 70th Streets. If you peek in the window you’ll see a coffee bar to the left, a huge book collection beyond the stairs, a seating area to the right, and in the middle a large device called the Expresso Book Machine. If you’re an admitted author and keep a graveyard of publisher rejections, here’s your solution. You no longer have to order 500 copies of your great American novel from a vanity publisher, push it on innocent family members whilst the rest molder under your bed, like a forever I-Told-You-So. For $10, plus 5 cents per page for black and white, 25 cents a page for color, you can print one copy. There are bulk rates as well, promotional and design services, and other services to make publishing easier. They print so quickly, often you can come in, order a free cup of coffee while your story is framed into pages, printed, cut and turned into a book. Congratulations, you are now a published author. I had a lot of questions for Liza Stepanovich, who operates the machine, consults with clients and assists in design. “You not only can bring in your digital file to turn into your own book, we have the right to print seven million titles on demand, with any

Liza Stepanovich, with the machine that publishes writers’ dreams, at Shakespeare and Co. on the Upper West Side. Photo: Meredith Kurz cover you like,” she explained. She told me that most of her clients have never had a book in print. Cover design is wide open. If you’re obsessed, say with the color aqua, you could have all your books printed with aqua covers. Imagine that bookshelf! “Typically it takes about 20 to 30 minutes,” Stepanovich said. So with your free cup of coffee in your hand, and perhaps a newly purchased book, you can wait for your creation, whether it’s yours or your favorite author, to be completed. One hundred pages can be printed in about five minutes. There’s a 28-page minimum and a 700page maximum. In the independent author world, creating a cover that compels the potential reader to grab your book is an art form. It’s currently a high-demand, low-supply industry, so it can hit an author’s bottom line hard. Shakespeare and Co. offers cover design templates, and by-the-hour cover design services. Having an inhouse designer and the ability to print out a single book at a reasonable price gives authors the opportunity to preview their tome before ordering 100. I wrongly assumed that digital books had the lion’s share of the market. According to Retail Dive, which does in-depth retail analysis, in the first three quarters of 2018, eBooks brought in about $771 million, while hardbacks and paperbacks brought in $4 billion. And some big-name authors have started selfpublishing, like Andy Weir, who wrote The Martian, and

E. L. James, who wrote Fifty Shades of Gray, removing the stigma of the “vanity press.” I met up with Lese Dunton, a children’s book author who’s written a series called “Charlotte’s New York Adventure.” There are currently three books, with another on the way. These books are sold online as well and at Shakespeare and Co. and other bookstores throughout the city. Dunton said she uses Shakespeare and Co. to print her books because the finish of the covers is better, the colors are sharper, and the paper is higher quality than Amazon’s. It’s slightly more expensive than Amazon, but when she does readings at schools she likes to bring books with a good feel to sell in person. “The printing ability is empowering, but also, having a neighborhood book store is so important,” Dunton told me. With a place to sit and mingle, and books to browse, it has a local feel. Independent book stores are enjoying their 10th year of bookstore growth according to the American Booksellers Association. This local movement runs alongside the artisan and maker revolution, which gives a neighborhood, a restaurant, or a bookstore a unique flavor. Along with the printing services, of course, Shakespeare and Co. has a hefty collection of books. I was searching for a book that couldn’t be printed on the fly, so I ordered it, and they called me when it came in, which typically takes five days max. Here’s the link, for more info: www.shakeandco. com.

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YOUR 15 MINUTES

A POET AND HIS WORLDS BY BRIAN DEMO

Bob Holman remains on the move. He’s a poet and activist who travels the world, working to raise awareness for languages you may not know. He occasionally performs alongside his friend, Papa Susso — a Gambian griot and master kora player. You might find him at the Bowery Club, which he founded, where he recently concluded a workshop on poetry and theater. However, he managed to sit down for an interview in his apartment, home to souvenirs from Africa, troves of literature, and, in the living room, a painting by his late wife, the wellknown painter Elizabeth Murray.

What inspired you to write poetry? Was there an event or sense of self that made you say, “I think I could do this for the rest of my life?” I’m in love with language, words, reading, and was good at it. It was also an escape from the mundane life, into a place that was very special and my own. My mother’s voice taught me how to read and led me into all these other worlds. My teacher gave me a prize for my first poem I wrote when I was nine years old. She said, “Robert, where did you copy it from?” And I knew immediately. If you can get one over on your teacher, maybe you can get one over on the rest of the world.

What elements from your time as codirector of the Nuyorican Poetry Club did you hope to bring to the Bowery Poetry Club? When I left the Nuyorican Poetry Club, I wanted to have my own place. The Nuyorican’s performance dynamic is something for sure I wanted to do. The poetry slam that I started at the Nuyorican. I wanted to be sure that we had a poetry slam at the Bowery Poetry Club. I was moving into a more global kind of poetics. It’s always been kind of my dynamic to be inclusive until you got the whole world in your hands and one big bear-hug around the globe at the Equator ... The sister clubs — the Poetry Project at St. Mark’s, the Nuyorican, and the Bowery, I’ve worked at all three of them. They very much are complementary. You show me another spot on the planet where you can wander from poem to poem the way you can on the lower east side.

“Poets don’t adapt to technology. Technology adapts to poetry,” says Holman. Photo: Brian Demo

How have you seen poets adapt to the development of digital and online? For instance, now there’s YouTube, Vimeo, SoundCloud, Spotify. Has it been beneficial? Has it been harmful? Poets don’t adapt to technology. Technology adapts to poetry. With digital, you are able to see and hear the poem in a way that you didn’t when it was locked onto the pages of a book. At the same time, you run into the problems of “Well, what is going to be your image track?” How are you going to allow the images in the poem to be as free for the viewer as the images of text are to the reader? These are all great challenges that technology has to adapt to the poem so that the medium can become an illumination of the poem, not an illustration of it. I think the new Bowery Poetry app — which is changing its name from SlamFind — you’ll find different examples of straight documentation of a poem to a full-blown production of it, to a simple film of words on the screen with soundtracks. It’s a great time for poetry because we’re moving into third consciousness — the synthesis, I think, of orality and literacy, which is what we call digital right now. I don’t think that name is going to stick, but that’s the name we use for it now.

What new projects have you been working or put out recently that really stick out to you? What are you excited about for the future? I got a couple of books coming out that are where I’m spending my time these days. “The Unspoken,” which are poems from the last ten years. Along with it is a book that I wrote 50 years ago when I really was proclaiming myself and spending my time at the Cummington Community of the Arts. I started working on a booklength poem called Life Poem, which has never been published. It’s gonna be published this year. It’s about a young man, falling in love with poetry — with the possibilities of art and wearing his love for that art as a heart-shaped thought poem. I’m also working on an anthology of poems in endangered and minority languages about New York City, continuing with the work that I did with the PBS series “Language Matters.”

Do you see some languages as inevitable — as in they may end up getting pushed out, or do you hope those that are really endangered can be preserved? It’s a natural thing for a language to be created and have its life and to morph into other languages, but never have we had so many languages that

are being pushed out at the same time. I think digital is at the root of this. Everyone wants to join in the great Twitter brigade. People can’t catch up with that if you’re speaking Occitan or Dogon. At the same time, the sense of identity [of people’s cultures] is truly growing. But as languages disappear, they’re not extinct. They’re simply sleeping. Because if the people of those languages want to bring their languages back — want to be able to understand the consciousness of their family, their lineage — they can because of documentation and the skills of the linguists, like the Wampanoags have done up in Cape Cod.

How do you juggle your time as a poet, a teacher, an advocate, and a traveler? Do you manage to find time to sleep at night? I wish I could sleep better at night. I’m not a great sleeper, but I write a lot when I’m traveling. I write a lot when I am visiting art museums. I write when I’m at a concert. I don’t know what I’d do if I were a novelist and had to turn out so many pages a day. I’m trying to write this book on third consciousness right now, and I’m finding to write prose to be a different kind of a discipline for me. But I’m getting there.

How does family, your late wife, fit into your work? The project I’m doing right now is a digital project — a film. I wrote poems for the each of the paintings that was in [Murray’s] show at Pace Gallery. [There were] 17 paintings. I wrote 17 poems. We filmed them. And the filmmaker Kristi Zia and I are turning that into a short, 23-minute film called Talking Pictures. The plan is for that film to be sort of the Bugs Bunny cartoon to open for the film about Elizabeth’s life, called “Everybody Knows Elizabeth Murray,” that was on American Masters on PBS this fall. Things start with the family. And then there’s time for everything else. And it’s interesting that you would get to this at the end of our conversation, because it’s actually where everything begins. This interview was edited for clarity and space.

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Bu On Sa 13 10 15 siness BY EM ILY TOW parishioturday mo Minutes 16 NER rn and low ners, comm ing, archit 19 ered in er Manhatt unity me ects, mb vision St. Paul’s Ch an residents ers for Tr ap gat el hto discu inity Ch building ss urch’s The ex . new pa the rish Place acr isting bu ild been cle oss from Tr ing, on Tr inity inity Ch ared for 1923, urc de it the chu no longer sermolition. Buh, has tower rch and the ves the ne ilt in wi com ed The we ll be built in munity. A s of new in a ser ekend me its place. eti — collabies of commu ng was the needs orative for nity “charr fifth an um ett the low d wants of s to addre es” a whole er Manhatt the church ss the and an com . “In ou munit of r y initial as about charr buildinghow we wa ettes we talked for the to be a homented th is pa hood,” homeless an for the spi rish rit fer, Tr said the Re d for the neigh ual, v. Dr. Wi ini bor“We tal ty Wall Street lliam Lu ked ’s prector What ab . they wo out minis try act look,” uld be ivi Lu marke pfer said. , how they ties. wo t underst study in ord“We condu uld cte desires and neighbo er to objec d a dream as well as rhood needtively s.” parish s and He sai hopes and sion em d the churc tality braces a ph h communit The can tha ilo ride in coming t is “open sophy for y’s viCe carouseldidate’s owne ho , flexibl .” On the ntral Park. “We wa e and spifamilia puts New Yo rship of the wela white wall next to nt it street r bind rkers in , access to be visiblP.9 > that rea placard wi the entrance a Gemm ible to e from the com and Re ds, “Trum th red letter is well, a Whitema the CONTINU p Ca munit gulat ing who we n and ind It’s y, BY DAN Engla ED ON Joel Ha re on lat icatio ions” -- rousel Ru PAGE 6 weekd e afternoon IEL FITZSIMM presid ns that Do one of the les day, nd and rode vacation uxONS ay, an on only sai the en fro nald a mi tial d lining opera bearing d they notic carousel Mo m up to pakids and tou ld winter tes the candidate, J. Trump, ed the Trum ntially ow car ris y Tr $3 for “It p’s ns an placar New Yo a qu ts are see um p’s po ousel. d ma was in my name. OurTown d rk mo lit ics ping int n, he ment: intesenDowntow wh ad o the car have be 20gav a carou weigh 16 e he en asked ,” said Wh n gu sel an aft a deep ernoo ousel, as rid n in En r pause. “H if the realiz iteOTDOW O n esc ly divisiv gla ati ers e’s NTOW like, ‘Do nd, so in my not very lik on e candid ape again N.COM st he ed I want ate. Newsche to give ad I was a bit ck money @OTD CO Cri me Wa NTINU to this owntown 2 Cit tch ED ON y

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Accor DOB, Coding to sta STREETORY OF OU tis R agency nEd report tics provid S ed by over 20 in 2015, a ed 343 shutoff the The 40 Ruby BY DAN trend 14’s 67 shu 0 percent s to the New Yorworst and the IEL FIT ey on Mak has been ap toffs. increa ZSIMM takeo An So far pears to be Monday k were both best of ONS ut tha spending mid-d in 2016 increa d the upwa se on displa mo mo issert n acc mid a the sin re rd docto ording y town. rning on 36th mong eve re ha ation is worki Street in ng at lea , and her ne rate stude “Since to the DO ve been 157 n more: Ca rol “A lot nt B. Da shu w rice st as uplaise, toffs, noticing the spring owner cooker to eat of it is just ou hard. the a no gas, a lot of pe of last year crossingof a jewelry com 77-year-o cook at lot more,” t of pocket, op we sta going rted water either cookin le coming Street Madison Av pany, was ld steam home it’s jus said Mak. “W ,” out in ing an said Donna g gas or he that had when a during the mo enue at 36th cally.” things with t a rice cooker hen we at livery-cab rning rus it, or ma Ameri d commun Chiu, direct and hot cor . You can ner h dri ity or can La st Se and hit ke rice, her. ver turned the Chiu cal s For Equa ser vices forof housptemb The basihundred er Asian said AA led the inc lity. arresteddriver of the car no natur s of others her bu ild ing ing an FE is worki rease “freak pedest for failing to was joi ned an ins al gas, cut across the d pe off town almost a dong with Ma ish,” and been citrian, and cop yield to a Building ction blitz by Con Ed city with an ser vic d the Lowe zen others k’s buildtraffic vioed for at leasts say he had a month s that bega by the city’sison after es. 10 oth lations advocat And Ch r East Side in ChinaIt sin wa East Vil after a fat n last April, Dept. of iu, lik ce 2015. er es, ha al ga e ma to restor exp les litany ofs but the latest lage tha s t claim s explosion s than lon loitation by witnessed ny housinge that hav traffic deaths in a sad ed two bu g servic in the a lives. e interr ilding owne pattern of Mayor e lingered on, and injuries rs wh uptions curb traBill de Blasio’s despite CONTINU in an eff o proffic crashe efforts ort to ED ON Da to uplais s PA

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VOL. 2, ISSUE 10

10-16

Our To wn ha The pa s much 2016, per celebrat to be thank an OTTY d this we es its 45th ful for. ek Award anniv made ersary winnershonors its a un lat The OT ique differe , noting pe est group in ople wh of nce on You -- TY award the o ha s ha munit ve always -- short for OuUpper East ve Sid be y strong. service, an en a reflect r Town Th e. d this anks year’s ion of deep Our ho list is parti combusiness norees inc cularly owners lude co heroe mm an s. Cardi We’re also d medical anunity activi na tak fall’s wi l Timothy ing a mome d public saf sts, Franc ldly succes Dolan, who nt to recog ety is. nize sheph sful vis Kyle Po In his interv erd it iew wi to the city ed last pressi pe, Dolan by th Our ref ng Town Pope warning issues sti lects on thaCI Editor ll TYit, ARon movin s he receiv facing the t vis TS, g to Ne city,2 an>d on the w York ed from his P.1 Read nine his profile, seven years friends be the OT TY an fore ag Thom awards d the profi o. pso les of the oth We are n, in the spe by repor the wi proud to bri cial sectio ter Madelei er nners n ne part of ng it to you inside. our com , and pro ud to cal munit y. l

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