The local paper for Downtown wn
WEEK OF APRIL PASSING THE BATON ◄ P.16
5-11 2018
MISSION: SPEND A MILLION DOLLARS ENGAGEMENT A grassroots democratic process that empowers citizens to determine how a windfall in tax monies will be allocated kicks off this weekend — and for the first time, preteens can weigh in BY DOUGLAS FEIDEN AND MICHAEL GAROFALO
NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue Rehabilitation Department and the Auxiliary to Bellevue Hospital unveiled a newly renovated Rehabilitation Medicine kitchen. Photo: NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue
COOKING UP A CURE HEALTH For patients who have broken bones, torn muscles or suffered a stroke, Bellevue’s crown jewel is its newly renovated rehab kitchen BY CAROL ANN RINZLER
As anyone who’s been there knows, rehab, short for rehabilitation, is no walk in the park. Restoring power to torn muscles, broken bones, or neurological wiring frazzled by a stroke is serious work. Actually, it’s serious team work between the patient and her multiperson rehab specialists. For more than 30,000 New Yorkers a year, that team is the Rehabilitation Service at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue. Several H + H hospitals have inpatient rehab units, but Bellevue’s is
the largest with 46 beds that tucked in more than 400 patients last year, one at a time to each bed, of course. Thousands more checked in for therapy during the day and then went home to sleep in their own beds at night, waking up the next morning to make breakfast in their own kitchens thanks to skills perfected in the hospital’s rehab suite whose rooms resemble a regular NYC apartment. As expected, there’s a bedroom, a bathroom, and a dressing area where working out means making beds (no extra neat “hospital corners” required), learning to maneuver through a bath or shower and the like and slipping in and out of clothes with buttons, zippers, hooks and ties. But the current crown jewel of the “apartment” is a fourth room: The kitchen.
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Eleven-year-olds get the vote. A few taps on a smartphone is all it takes to cast a ballot. There is no pay to play. Or give to get. And the people — not the politicians — decide how a chunk of their public funds are spent. Sound like a phantasmagorical course in Civics 101? Actually, it’s a real-world experience, courtesy of the City Council, that gives New Yorkers a say in which brick-and-mortar projects in their districts reap tax dollars. Its name may be one of the wonkiest in city government: Participatory Budgeting, or PB. But few initiatives do more to enshrine people power, make budget decisions clear and accessible — and open up the often-opaque process of funding capital projects to a citizenry seeking real and lasting change. Starting on Saturday, April 7 and continuing through Sunday, April 15, a period called PB Week, residents in 31 of the Council’s 51 districts will vote to directly allocate $1 million in physical infrastructure work per district, selecting from around a dozen proposals that meet local needs. Improvements to schools, parks, libraries, public housing and public safety are on the ballot in Council District 5, which takes in the Upper East Side, District 6, which covers the Upper West Side, and District 3, in Chelsea, Hell’s Kitchen and Greenwich Village. Typically, the top two or three votegetters tapped by members of the
Improvements to public schools, parks, libraries and public housing are on the Participatory Budgeting ballot in City Council Speaker Corey Johnson’s West Side district, which includes Chelsea, Hell’s Kitchen and Greenwich Village. Photo: William Alatriste/NYC Council
This is what democracy looks like.” Council Speaker Corey Johnson
community in a given district are awarded the funds, depending on the price tag of those winning projects, until the allotted money runs out. “This is what democracy looks like,” Council Speaker Corey Johnson said in a message announcing the kickoff Downtowner
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FOR HIM, SETTLING SMALL CLAIMS IS A BIG DEAL presided over Arbitration Man has three decades. for informal hearings about it He’s now blogging BY RICHARD KHAVKINE
is the common Arbitration Man their jurist. least folks’ hero. Or at Man has For 30 years, Arbitration court office of the civil few sat in a satellite Centre St. every building at 111 New Yorkers’ weeks and absorbed dry cleaning, burned lost accountings of fender benders, lousy paint jobs, and the like. And security deposits then he’s decided. Arbitration Man, About a year ago, so to not afwho requested anonymity started docuhe fect future proceedings, two dozen of what menting about compelling cases considers his most blog. in an eponymous about it because “I decided to write the stories but in a I was interested about it not from wanted to write from view but rather lawyer’s point of said Arbitration view,” of a lay point lawyer since 1961. Man, a practicing what’s at issue He first writes about post, renders and then, in a separatehow he arrived his decision, detailing blog the to Visitors at his conclusion. their opinions. often weigh in with get a rap going. I to “I really want whether they unreally want to know and why I did it,” I did derstood what don’t know how to he said. “Most people ... I’d like my cases the judge thinks. and also my trereflect my personalitythe law.” for mendous respect 80, went into indiMan, Arbitration suc in 1985, settling vidual practice
9-16
MANHATTAN'S APARTMENT BOOM, > PROPERTY, P.20
2015
In Brief MORE HELP FOR SMALL BUSINESS
The effort to help small seems to businesses in the city be gathering steam. Two city councilmembers, Robert Margaret Chin and Cornegy, have introduced create legislation that wouldSmall a new “Office of the within Business Advocate” of Small the city’s Department Business Services. Chin The new post, which have up told us she’d like to would and running this year, for serve as an ombudsman city small businesses within them clear government, helping to get through the bureaucracy things done. Perhaps even more also importantly, the ombudsman and number will tally the type small business of complaints by taken in owners, the actions policy response, and somefor ways to recommendations If done well, begin to fix things. report would the ombudsman’s give us the first quantitative with taste of what’s wrong the city, an small businesses in towards important first step fixing the problem. of for deTo really make a difference, is a mere formality will have to the work process looking to complete their advocate are the chances course, velopers precinct, but rising rents, -- thanks to a find a way to tackle business’ is being done legally of after-hours projects quickly. their own hours,” which remain many While Chin “They pick out boom in the number throughout who lives on most vexing problem. said Mildred Angelo,of the Ruppert construction permits gauge what Buildings one said it’s too early tocould have the 19th floor in The Department of the city. number three years, the Houses on 92nd Street between role the advocate She Over the past on the is handing out a record work perThird avenues. permits, there, more information of Second and an ongoing all-hours number of after-hours bad thing. of after-hours work the city’s Dept. problem can’t be a said there’s with the mits granted by nearby where according to new data jumped 30 percent, This step, combinedBorough construction project noise Buildings has data provided in workers constantly make efforts by Manhattan to mediate BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS according to DOB of Informacement from trucks. President Gale Brewer offer response to a Freedom classifies transferring they want. They knows the the rent renewal process, request. The city They 6 “They do whatever signs Every New Yorker clang, tion Act go as they please. work between some early, tangible small any construction on the weekend, can come and sound: the metal-on-metal or the piercing of progress. For many have no respect.” p.m. and 7 a.m., can’t come of these that the hollow boom, issuance reverse. owners, in business moving The increased beeps of a truck has generto a correspond and you as after-hours. soon enough. variances has led at the alarm clock The surge in permits
SLEEPS, THANKS TO THE CITY THAT NEVER UCTION A BOOM IN LATE-NIGHT CONSTR NEWS
A glance it: it’s the middle can hardly believe yet construction of the night, and carries on full-tilt. your local police or You can call 311
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for dollars in fees ated millions of and left some resithe city agency, that the application dents convinced
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of this year’s program. “This is what civic engagement looks like.” “In my own district we have done participatory budgeting for four years, and one of the big projects that came out of it was a brand new park on West 20th Street in Chelsea,” Johnson said. “It got its initial boost from Participatory Budgeting.” Last year, constituents in Johnson’s third council district voted to dedicate funding to new bus countdown clocks, new air conditioning for the library at P.S. 111, renovations to the grounds at NYCHA Elliott-Chelsea Houses and a new park in Hell’s Kitchen.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
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APRIL 5-11,2018
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
PERSEVERANCE AND PERSISTENCE ON PASSOVER GRAYING NEW YORK West Side seniors celebrate redemption from slavery — and a victory over building developers — at their annual Seder BY SHOSHY CIMENT
For about 100 senior citizens on the Upper West Side, the Jewish holiday of Passover represents more than matzah and a traditional meal, or Seder. Having faced a potential exile of their own between 1983 and 1985, the senior inhabitants of the West 74th Street Residence celebrate victory and redemption from slavery — and building developers — every year on Passover night. In 1983, the residence, formerly known as the Lincoln Square Home for Adults, was going to close after the owner of the private for-profit adult home sold the building to a developer who planned to convert it into luxury condominiums. The 150 senior
residents were given 30 days to find an alternate living situation. But many residents would not go down without a fight. Led by resident and activist Rose Gale, 40 residents organized a coalition of various local non-profit agencies and local officials to halt the sale of their home. Although they lost in court, the residents won a moral victory. Sympathetic to the plight of the residents, the developer agreed to a compromise. The West Side Federation For Senior and Supportive Housing, Inc. (WSFSSH), which works to provide affordable and accommodating housing for seniors, bought six floors of the building. With a new entrance on Amsterdam Avenue, the agency continued running the home as a licensed facility under the Department of Health. “At the time we took over the home, the majority of the residents were observant [Jews], including several Holocaust survivors,” explained Laura Jervis, the former executive director of WSFSSH for 38 years. Despite the compromise, Jervis and the board of WSFSSH worked to ac-
commodate the religious traditions of the residents. After it assumed jurisdiction, WSFSSH established a kosher kitchen, programming for the High Holidays, and a Passover Seder, which has since become a community-wide event that brings in over 100 people yearly. Although the home has distinctly Jewish roots, many attendees of the annual Seder represent different of faiths and backgrounds. “It’s a mix of Jewish and non-Jewish people who come to the Seder,” said Eustacia Smith, the West 74th Street Residence administrator. The Seder is open to all residents of a WSFSSH residence and their families. “It’s a huge undertaking,” said Rabbi Ellen Flax, the rabbi of the residence who has been leading the Seder for 25 years and has been overseeing the kitchen for 20. “It’s a full house.” To prepare, the kitchen staff of the residence closely follows Jewish dietary law to ensure a kosher holiday. The kitchen boils water to cleanse the countertops, covers most surfaces in tin foil,
and uses an entirely separate set of dishes and cutlery. “[It’s] a lot of work, but we do it, happy and laughing,” said Mayra Larancuent, a cook at the residence for the last six years. “We like it.” The effort of the kitchen staff is certainly tangible. Every year, residents — religious or otherwise — gather to celebrate a story of exile and redemption with all the classic features of a traditional Jewish Seder. “It’s a beautiful celebration,” said Erick Splick, the food service manager who has worked at the residence since 2010. “What I like about the ceremony is that everybody is welcome.” While not all attendees at the Seder will fully relate to the Jewish story of deliverance from slavery, their shared love for the West 74th Street Residence transcends religious boundaries. “I’m glad we still do it,” said Renee Taub, a senior at West 74th Street Residence who will be attending her 10th Seder at the residence this year. “It’s an honor to go to it.”
“It’s a beautiful celebration,” said food service manager Erick Splick (left), preparing for the holiday in the kitchen with cook Mayra Larancuent. Photo: Shoshy Ciment
ACTIVITIES FOR THE FERTILE MIND
thoughtgallery.org NEW YORK CITY
The Importance of Being Two: What It Means to Have a Divided Mind
FRIDAY, APRIL 6TH, 7PM The Strand | 828 Broadway | 212-473-1452 | strandbooks.com As dominance increasingly supersedes cooperation, the times call for re-examining left brain/right brain divides. Catch a Think Olio session on neuroscience, Iain McGilchrist’s The Master and His Emissary, and history being shaped by hemispheres ($20, includes free beer).
Jesuits and Jedi: Science and Spirituality in the Age of Star Wars
TUESDAY, APRIL 10TH, 7PM Sheen Center | 18 Bleecker St. | 212-925-2812 | sheencenter.org Vatican director of astronomical observatory Br. Guy Consolmagno, S.J., co-author of Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial?, talks sci-fi and the cosmos with Fordham University ethics professor Dr. Charles Camosy ($15).
Just Announced | Nature of Justice: A Visual Arts Response to The Birds
MONDAY, MAY 7TH, 7PM St. Ann’s Warehouse | 45 Water St. | 718-254-8779 | onassisusa.org As part of the Third Annual Onassis Festival, Birds: A Festival Inspired by Aristophanes, a distinguished panel looks at still-resonant questions of corruption and justice (free ticket 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.
APRIL 5-11,2018
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Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG SUBWAY MUGGING
STATS FOR THE WEEK
A Brooklyn woman riding an early morning R train was punched and mugged of her phone, iPad and other items on Sunday, March 25, police said. The 28-year-old woman was approached by a man in his mid-30s who had boarded at Cortlandt Street. He grabbed her phone from her hand and demanded that she give him her bag. She refused, and he punched her in the face and took the bag, from which he removed her wallet and an iPad. She confronted him as he was getting off the train at Rector Street, but she backed off when he pulled out a knife and fled, police said. The phone was recovered at the Brooklyn Church Avenue station, where someone turned it into MTA personnel. Fortunately also, no unauthorized transactions turned up on her debit card.
Reported crimes from the 1st district for the week ending Mar. 25
VALUABLES TAKEN FROM PARKED CAR Roughly $12,000 worth of property belonging to two Fort Lee, N.J., women was taken March 25 from their 2014 Mercedes, which was parked in front of 137 Greene Street. One of the women told police she had left her handbag and a MacBook Pro under the front passenger seat. Her companion woman
Week to Date
Year to Date
2018 2017
% Change
2018
2017
% Change
Murder
0
0
n/a
1
1
0.0
Rape
0
2
-100.0
5
4
25.0
Robbery
3
1
200.0
18
17
5.9
Felony Assault
0
1
-100.0
10
13
-23.1
Burglary
1
1
0.0
10
14
-28.6
Grand Larceny
14
24
-41.7
223 233 -4.3
Grand Larceny Auto
0
1
-100.0
1
3
-66.7
Photo by Tony Webster, via Flickr
said she had left her handbag with other valuables in the trunk of the vehicle. The women told police that they had locked their vehicle, but the car showed no signs of forced entry. The items stolen included a Chanel handbag valued at $5,000, an American Express gift card worth $2,000, a Goyard handbag priced at $2,000, an iPhone 6s worth $800, a MacBook Pro tagged at $800, a Cartier pen valued at $800, a Chanel wallet worth $500, and a pair of Christian Dior eyeglasses valued at $500.
TOOL CRIME IPhones aren’t the only items coveted by thieves; expensive construction tools are often on their “shopping” list as well. At 4:30 p.m. on Friday, March 23, a 43-year-old man left his tools at a construction site inside 33 Peck Slip after finishing work for the day. When he came back at 7:30 in the morning he found a number of tools were gone. They had been left out unsecured in a common area where multiple people were working and had access. The
stolen tools included a hammer drill, a circular saw, a Milwaukee drill bit set, rolling bag, and hole saw, and other items totaling $1,653.
THE PRICE IS WRONG A man was arrested after trying to take his own markdown on a pricey jacket, police said. At 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 25, a 60-year-old man at the Century 21 store at 22 Cortlandt
Street took a Vetements jacket valued at $1849.99 from a store rack and switched the price tag with another tag bearing the price $449.99, according to the police account. The man then went to the checkout counter and tried to purchase the garment, when a store loss prevention officer approached him and verified that the low-price tag did not belong to the jacket. The man was arrested and charged with grand larceny.
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APRIL 5-11,2018
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BY MARC BILGREY
NYPD 7th Precinct
19 ½ Pitt St.
212-477-7311
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ELECTED OFFICIALS Councilmember Margaret Chin
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CITY HEARS ARGUMENTS NEIGHBORHOODâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S BEST IN UWS TOWER DISPUTE To place an ad in this directory, Call Douglas at 212-868-0190 ext. 352.
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Work is in progress at 200 Amsterdam Avenue on a proposed 668-foot tower that would be the tallest building Upper West Side. Photo: Michael Garofalo projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s developers, argued that to revoke the building permit would be â&#x20AC;&#x153;arbitrary and capricious.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Literally all of the agencies involved in drafting and administering New York Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s zoning laws have for two generations allowed a zoning lot to include a partial tax lot,â&#x20AC;? Selver said. But Frank Chaney, the attorney representing the Committee for Environmentally Sound Development, said the new interpretation must be taken into account. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s well settled, under New York law, that city agencies can correct their mistakes,â&#x20AC;? Chaney said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wrong, and the DOB knows itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wrong, why should this community bear the impact of their mistake?â&#x20AC;? asked Sean Khorsandi, executive director of Landmark West. Among those who testified against the appeal were representatives of several labor unions, the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce and the Real Estate Board of New York. The Board of Standards and Appeals, which is the city agency responsible for ruling on appeals of zoning determinations, has scheduled a followup hearing on the matter for June 5. Work is in progress at 200 Amsterdam and can continue under the existing building permit while the appeal is pending. After the appeal is decided, the losing party could choose to bring the case to court.
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Lincoln Towers housing complex, its zoning lot â&#x20AC;&#x201D; which forms the basis for the projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s height â&#x20AC;&#x201D; is signiďŹ cantly larger. The irregularly shaped zoning lot, ďŹ rst formed in 1987, encompasses pieces of several tax lots on the block. The Committee for Environmentally Sound Developmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s appeal argues that zoning lots must consist of entire tax lots rather than partial tax lots. The Department of Buildings disagreed with this assessment when it completed a zoning review and issued a permit for the project in last September, but reversed course in a subsequent letter last month, agreeing with the committee that the correct interpretation of the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Zoning Resolution does not permit zoning lots to consist of parts of tax lots. This marked a departure from an interpretation the department had previously relied on for four decades. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is a fairly significant change, and an important one,â&#x20AC;? said Mona Sehgal, the Department of Buildingsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; general counsel. In spite of its new interpretation, the Department of Buildings argues that it should not result in revoking the permit already issued for the 200 Amsterdam project, citing the fact that a new policy has not yet been officially adopted and the 1978 departmental memo outlining the old interpretation has yet to be rescinded. Paul Selver, the attorney representing SJP Properties and Mitsui Fudosan America, the
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After a year of starts and stops, building permits and zoning challenges, renderings and rallies, the parties at odds over a controversial condominium tower under construction on the Upper West Side ďŹ nally aired their arguments in an ofďŹ cial city setting last week. Supporters and opponents of the planned 668-foot building at 200 Amsterdam Avenue gathered March 27 for a marathon hearing at the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Board of Standards and Appeals that attracted a crowd that filled the hearing room to capacity and spilled into the halls. A local groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s appeal to have the projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s building permit revoked was the subject of three hours of testimony from lawyers, city officials, local politicians, zoning experts, trade groups and residents. The appeal will continue with a second hearing in two months. If completed as planned, the 55-story residential tower, located on Amsterdam Avenue near West 69th Street would be the tallest on the UWS, though it could soon be surpassed by a proposed condo tower on West 66th Street that would stand roughly 100 feet taller and has also attracted local opposition. Helen Rosenthal, whose City Council district includes the site of the proposed building, spoke in support of the appeal. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The proposal at 200 Amsterdam violates the spirit and the letter of the Zoning Resolution, and in doing so results in a development that is entirely out of scale and out of context for this neighborhood,â&#x20AC;? she said. The key questions at issue in the appeal, ďŹ led by a local land use advocacy group called the Committee for Environmentally Sound Development, center on whether the project adheres to technical zoning requirements regarding lot formation and open space requirements. Though the footprint of 200 Amsterdam Avenue takes up only a small portion of the superblock it shares with the
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APRIL 5-11,2018
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
STATE BUDGET HAS CITY FOCUS GOVERNOR VS. MAYOR Albany’s spending plan notable for what it includes — and leaves out — in addressing Manhattan-centric transportation issues BY MICHAEL GAROFALO
City-centric transportation issues figured heavily in the state budget deal reached in the early morning hours of March 31, as the process once again became a venue for last-minute dealing on contentious policy issues. Though the spending plan included a number of other high-profile policy measures — including a new tax on opioid manufacturers, a state workaround of new federal tax laws that would have negatively impacted many New Yorkers and a new state sexual harassment policy — transportation was among the most persistent themes underlying the negotiations. A flurry of transportation-related proposals in the chaotic days leading up to the April 1 budget deadline put a spotlight on the city’s struggling transit system and continuing tensions in the long-running feud between Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The state budget will include a new surcharge on for-hire vehicles in Manhattan below 96th Street, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced at a press conference in Albany last week. Photo: Mike Groll/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo things: significant movement by the state toward a real plan, and a dedicated lockbox so city riders’ money goes toward fixing city subways,” de Blasio spokesman Eric Phillips wrote in an emailed statement. “This budget appears to respond to the Mayor’s demands on behalf of the city’s straphangers. There are no excuses left for the Governor to hide behind. He must do his job and fix the subways.”
Congestion Pricing Subway Action Plan The $168 billion state budget effectively compels the city to provide half of the $836 million needed to fund the MTA’s action plan to stabilize and modernize service on the city’s beleaguered subway system, with the state funding the other half. Money for the subway action plan, which includes new funding for signal repairs and track maintenance and was announced by Cuomo-appointed MTA Chairman Joe Lhota, became a persistent sticking point between the governor, who demanded that the city contribute half of its cost, and de Blasio, who argued that the city already contributes an outsized share of funding to the state-controlled MTA. Cuomo touted the $418 million in city funding for the action plan at a press conference announcing the new budget. “At half funding, it’s like doing the work with one hand tied behind your back and it’s caused significant delays,” Cuomo said. “This is very liberating for the MTA, and now you’re going to see the emergency action plan actually get up and running.” The mayor’s camp used the announcement as an opportunity to pin responsibility for the subways squarely on Cuomo — which have become a campaign liability for the governor as Democratic primary challenger (and longtime de Blasio ally) Cynthia Nixon has made lackluster MTA service a point of emphasis in the early stages of her campaign. “When it comes to the subways, Mayor de Blasio has always demanded two
Included in the state budget, which climbs just over 3 percent from last year’s spending plan, are new surcharges on for-hire vehicle trips in Manhattan south of 96th Street, of $2.50 for trips in yellow cabs and $2.75 for Ubers, black cars and other for-hire vehicles. (“The medallion has now dropped in value, so there’s a somewhat reduced price for yellow cabs,” Cuomo said.) Pooled trips will be subject to a charge of 75 cents. The governor said that the fees will generate $415 million in annual funding dedicated to the MTA. Cuomo referred to the charges as “phase one of the congestion pricing plan,” but has yet to detail the contours of any larger proposal. The state budget also funds at least 50 new traffic monitoring cameras to enforce bus lane violations in Manhattan. Many expected Cuomo to do more to advance a comprehensive congestion pricing plan in budget negotiations after he declared the concept “an idea whose time has come” last year and convened a task force to study the issue. For-hire vehicle surcharges were one recommendation included in the report, but the panel’s most controversial and consequential proposals — including the creation of a congestion pricing zone encompassing all of Manhattan below 60th Street, which passenger vehicles would be charged $11.52 to enter — were notably absent from the governor’s public statements during budget negotiations. “If it’s a first step, it’s a baby step,” said state Senator Brad Hoylman,
whose midtown Manhattan district includes much of the proposed congestion zone outlined by the governor’s panel, adding that the new charges are a “good thing” but that it is unclear if they will have a real effect on congestion or the number of for-hire vehicles on city streets. “Meanwhile, we’re losing billions of dollars over the decades due to congestion, we don’t have a new revenue stream for the MTA and our streets are as dangerous and crowded as ever,” Hoylman said. In a joint statement, the transportation advocacy groups StreetsPAC, Transportation Alternatives, the Straphangers Campaign and the Riders Alliance wrote that the state budget “does not offer a credible plan to modernize the MTA, nor provide a sufficient revenue stream to make it possible.” The groups said that the new surcharges and bus lane enforcement measures should be initial steps on the path to more significant reforms. “First, Governor Cuomo must use a portion of the new revenue to help implement comprehensive congestion pricing, by constructing cordon infrastructure and addressing needs in transit deserts around the city,” the statement said. “Then, the governor must establish, and commit to, a timeline to make congestion pricing a reality in New York.”
Penn Station Long-delayed redevelopment of the overcrowded and outdated Pennsylvania Station became an unexpected and contentious last-minute entry in budget talks, as draft bills circulated in the final days of negotiations included a provision that would dramatically expand the governor’s authority to shape redevelopment plans in the neighborhood and exempt his actions from environmental review processes. The initial proposal was watered down in the face of outcry from Manhattan representatives in Albany and
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MILLION CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Providing tax dollars from Council members’ discretionary funds meets four good-government aims: Constituent priorities are addressed. Citizens gain direct control over where their money goes. Power passes into the grip of those who’ve long been outside the power structure. And corruption itself is disincentivized. “All too often, there has been a strong correlation between people who give political contributions and groups which receive, or lose, millions in taxpayer funds,” said East Side Council Member Ben Kallos. Historically, he noted, it wasn’t uncommon for some elected officials to use public money to “reward friends and punish enemies.” Now, PB walls off $1 million per district from being any part of that vicious cycle: “It puts those dollars back into the hands of the voters,” he said. There are other benefits of the citizen-driven, decision-making process, said Kallos, who has utilized it since taking office in 2014. Considering that elected officials don’t always keep their word to voters, he added, “This is better than most campaign promises!” Originating in Porto Alegre in Brazil in 1989 as a way to empower the poor and disenfranchised, PB spread rapidly across North and South America, and, after being adopted by hundreds of municipalities, finally came to New York in 2011. Initially, it was introduced in four City Council districts. By 2016, some 68,000 New Yorkers were casting their ballots in 28 districts, and by the 2017 cycle, 102,800 residents had voted for their favorite projects in 31 districts, making the city host to the nation’s largest PB both in terms of number of participants and budgetary amounts. Why the 50 percent surge in balloting? Online voting was rolled out in every PB district in 2017, after a more limited pilot program in 2016, and while turnout from paper balloting stayed consistent, the off-site digital voters boosted the tally dramatically. “You can vote at home in your pajamas or on your commute to work, and it will take less than 20 seconds,” Kallos said. Last year, 2,421 Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island residents voted in PB, up 21 percent from 2016. Other districts boasted greater turnout, with 3,111 votes cast in Council Member Helen Rosenthal’s Upper West Side district, a 44 per-
cent leap from the previous year, and 3,518 votes in Corey Johnson’s Chelsea district, rocketing up 70 percent from 2016. Expect those numbers to swell again in PB Week this year because the Council has lowered the minimum voting age to 11, down from 14, to encourage voting from the sixth grade on up. Eligible voters must sign an affidavit, online or in person, to confirm age and residency in the district. Under the rules, residents can cast up to five votes for five separate projects, but they’re not allowed to vote more than once for any one project. “Remember, this is NOT a political election,” Rosenthal wrote in a recent constituent newsletter. “You don’t need to be registered to vote.” Depending on where people live, they can cast ballots at Kallos’ district office, at 244 East 93rd Street; Rosenthal’s office, at 563 Columbus Avenue; or Johnson’s, located at 224 West 30th Street. There are also numerous mobile pop-up voting locations in schools, parks, libraries, subways stations and greenmarkets. Why does the grassroots democratic decision-making process matter so much? The voters of today are more likely in future to contact a public official, vote in local elections, work in local politics, perform volunteer work, tackle neighborhood problems or join community groups, the Brooklyn-based Participatory Budgeting Project says. With $1 million set aside, and up for grabs, the top vote-getters will be awarded the capital discretionary funds until the allotted sums run out. These are the 11 projects on the ballot for District 3 as PB Week kicks off this weekend: • Five new countdown clocks at key bus stops throughout District 3 • Historic lampposts on Seventh Avenue South in Greenwich Village • Basketball court renovations at Chelsea Park • Over 200 tree guards to protect valuable and vulnerable trees throughout District 3 • Renovations to the park surrounding Chelsea District Health Center • Security cameras at NYCHA Fulton Houses • Security cameras at NYCHA Elliott-Chelsea Houses • Gym renovations at P.S. M721 • Upgrades to support growing technology demands in every public school in District 3 • New air conditioning for dance studio at P.S. 11 • Technology upgrades—including new desktops, printers and more—at libraries in District 3
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ALL NATURAL GOODNESS EAST SIDE OBSERVER BY ARLENE KAYATT
Not for nothing — Gristedes has inaugurated a Diamond Value Club, which purportedly entitles shoppers to discounts. So that it’s not a total loss — for Gristedes — they raised prices and THEN instituted the discount membership. At the end of the shopping day, you’ve paid what was probably the original price. Sounds like a casino deal, where the house always wins. For pet’s sake — Sarge’s, the 24/7 deli and dinner in Murray Hill, has a menu selection for one and all — for the grown-ups, the kids, the light eaters, the hearty appetites and also the family pooch. While the brickand-mortar Sarge’s doesn’t accommodate Fido, they’ve made a place on the menu for yes, Fido. Just go to
At the allergy doctor’s? The coffee shop? The health food shop? Not the kind of thing you want to think about on a lunch break. Or do you?
MenuPages.com, plug in Sarge’s, and you’ll find “Treats for Your Pet.” For $17.95, you can order chicken, beef or beef liver ... without additives, preservatives or artificial coloring for your beloved pet. And the menu promises that “your dog will be begging for more.” Could this be the end of doggie bags as we know them?
Off the job — A city street-sized wastebasket imprinted with a “34th Street Partnership” ID, lying on its side, found itself in traffic within the bus stop at Sixth Avenue and 34th Street. Cars avoided it. Pedestrians sidestepped it. Some tried to kick it onto the sidewalk. Among passersby were two men wearing tags indicating that they worked for the Partnership. As they were crossing the street, they looked over at the wastebasket and each other, lit their cigarettes, and kept walking. Guess no working on a smoke break.
Sarge’s on Third Ave. has “Treats for Your Pet” where $17.95 will get Fido chicken, beef or beef liver “no preservatives, no additives, and no artificial coloring.” The Murray Hill deli’s menu promises that “your dog will be begging for more!” Photo: Eden, Janine and Jim via flickr
Which comes first — Talk about eclectic! There are three unlikely storefronts side-by-side starting mid-block on the east side of Lexington Avenue between 46th and 47th Streets — Gregory’s Coffee (a sit-down/take-out coffee shop), Hudson Allergy (allergy doctors who “invite you to come experience how
feeling better begins the moment you walk through [their] door”), and Dr. Smood — a non-medical nutrition-type healthy food emporium where the offerings include everything organic — from detox juice and infused waters to dried foods, supplements and raw foods. Where to start? It’s a predicament, really.
Reader call out — Some readers admonished me for not noticing or mentioning or bemoaning the closings of the Starbucks on 92nd and Third Avenue and the Starbucks on 78th and Lexington while noting the closing of Glaser’s Bakery and wondering if Moishe’s bakery in the East Village was not far behind in closing. Happens that I noticed the newly closed Starbucks on 92nd Street just after submitting my column but didn’t notice the 78th Street closing until days later. Must admit though that I would not necessarily have written about the Starbucks closings in the same column item. Glaser’s and Moishe’s are what I’d characterize as mom-andpop shops, which Starbucks is not. At least for now, there always will be a Starbucks. Sometimes a block or two apart. Not so for a Glaser’s or a Moishe’s. When they’re gone, they’re gone.
IS IT 1982 ALL OVER AGAIN? BY RICHARD BARR
Almost immediately after Cynthia Nixon declared her challenge to Governor Andrew Cuomo for the Democratic Party nomination for governor this year, close Cuomo ally and former City Council Speaker Christine Quinn weighed in. Nixon wouldn’t support a qualified lesbian for Mayor, Quinn said, but now wants an unqualified lesbian (Nixon herself) to be governor. Quinn was referring to the fact that Nixon supported Bill de Blasio over her in the mayoral primary in 2013. The remark was instantly declared a gaffe by commentators and characterized as tacky and tasteless. Quinn apologized for it (the lesbian part) and walked it back by the next day. Or did she? Andrew Cuomo is a hard-nosed, hardboiled political operative, well aware
of what he is doing and why. Judging from Quinn’s time as Council Speaker, most of that could be said about her as well. Neither of them is likely to make public pronouncements that have not been thought out in advance. It’s highly likely that many potential New York State voters are well aware that Cynthia Nixon is a prominent actress. A fair number may also be aware that she has appeared over the last several years at many public education events as an advocate. The fact that she is also in a same-sex marriage was probably known to fewer New Yorkers — they would have needed to pay much closer attention to her to know that as well. But many of them know that now, because they’ve heard it as a result of the coverage of Quinn’s initial statement, whether she “apologized” for it the next day or not. This fact may not matter either way for some, may lead
others to feel more positively about her, but may not sit well with still others. And that latter likelihood may well have been the intended purpose of the remark in the first place. Which brings us way back in time, to 1982. Andrew Cuomo’s father, Mario, was in a Democratic primary for governor against NYC Mayor Ed Koch. His campaign manager was 24-yearold Andrew. Under Andrew’s watch, those with long political memories will recall, the Cuomo campaign carried signs saying “Vote for Cuomo, not the homo.” It’s too simplistic to suggest that the more things change, the more they remain the same. Governor Cuomo has shown a sensitivity to the needs of the gay community in recent years, both in actions he has taken and in legislation he has introduced or supported. But that doesn’t necessarily rule out a bareknuckles political operative utilizing
Cynthia Nixon in a video unveiling her candidacy for New York governor. Courtesy CynthiaForNewYork.com whatever means he or she feels will gain an advantage over an opponent. So maybe 2018 is 1982 all over again. But in a somewhat bizarre side twist, it may be 1972 all over again as well. After Cynthia Nixon announced, New York State Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox, happy that Cuomo will face intra-party opposition, pronounced that
“Nixon’s the One.” He was hearkening back to the campaign slogan of his late father-in-law, Richard Nixon, when he ran for re-election in 1972. Richard Barr was formerly a press secretary in the State Attorney General’s office and has worked in state political campaigns.
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Rosentha Tamaklo (center), a patient in the Rehabilitation Medicine Service at NYC Health + Hospitals/ Bellevue, with occupational therapists. Photo: NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue
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COOKING CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Like yours, over the years, Bellevue’s rehab kitchen ended up with appliances that were either worn out or outdated (think hand mixer instead of Cuisinart or cotton pot holders instead of super-cool fire-proof silicone ones). But in February the hospital unveiled a completely updated make-over with new plumbing and wiring, new cabinets, new counters, backsplashes, sink, and floors. The new pantry and storage areas are wheelchair-accessible. There’s a new electric stove, a new refrigerator, a microwave oven, new pots, pans, and serving plates. And there’s a clutch of interesting utensils like the one Judith Wilson, OTR, assistant director of occupational therapy considers a favorite: A long rod with a pincher-like end that makes it possible for someone in a wheelchair to reach across the top of an electric stove to turn on the burners — taking particular care to avoid touching hot ones when it’s time to turn them off.
Every experience with our patients makes us humble.” Dr. Own Kieran, Bellevue’s Director of Rehabilitation Medicine
The whole $43,500 kit and caboodle was financed by the century-old Auxiliary to Bellevue Hospital, a group of dedicated volunteers whose motto is “Keeping Humanity in Medicine.” “Deciding to underwrite the renovation of the rehab kitchen is consistent with our mission to make life better for Bellevue patients,” says Medicaid expert and longtime Auxiliary member Will Weder, a former chair of the Community Board 6 Health Committee. “True,” says Ai-Lian Lim, DPS, OTR/L, Bellevue’s Director of Occupational Therapy. “This new kitchen makes it possible to teach effective body mechanics to those with cu-
mulative and complex trauma, improve meal preparation and safe cooking over a hot stove, assess patient safety in a kitchen, and guide patients toward safe discharge.” As for the patients, Judith Wilson says they really like the new set-up. “It’s my favorite place in the hospital,” says one, a sentiment seconded by a second: “Who knew that being in therapy could be so enjoyable and end with cooking your favorite dish!” There’s an extra bonus every year at Thanksgiving when patients spending the holiday in the rehab unit cook up a dinner that, thanks to the cultural culinary diversity of the Big Apple, may include everything from hummus to kabobs to noodles and, yes, even a turkey. Finally, if Bellevue’s patients appreciate the kitchen, their rehab team appreciates them. “Every experience with our patients,” says Dr. Own Kieran, Bellevue’s Director of Rehabilitation Medicine, “make us humble.” And, come Thanksgiving, definitely well-fed.
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APRIL 5-11,2018
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MARBLE COLLEGIATE CHURCH Sunday Worship at 11:00am Sunday Worship, led by Dr. Michael Brown, is the heart of the Marble Church community. It is where we all gather to sing, pray, and be changed by an encounter with God. Marble is known throughout the world for the practical, powerful, life-changing messages and where one can hear world class music from our choirs that make every heart sing.
Discover the world around the corner. Find community events, gallery openings, book launches and much more: Go to nycnow.com
EDITOR’S PICK
Thu 5
Busy? Live stream Sunday Worship with us at 11:00am at MarbleChurch.org.
OPENING RECEPTION: THE DRAWING CENTER
Our Earth Day Celebration Concert For the Beauty of the Earth Sunday, April 22 | 2:00pm Enjoy music celebrating the sacredness of God’s creation, and calling us each to do our part in caring for it. The Marble Choir and soloists under the direction of Kenneth Dake. Tickets: $20, general admission; $15 students & seniors at the door. Save $5 by ordering in advance online at MarbleChurch.org by Thursday, April 19.
The Drawing Center, 35 Wooster St. 6 p.m. Free 212-219-2166. thedrawingcenter.org The Drawing Center ushers in a new season with four new exhibitions: Terry Winters’s “Facts and Fictions”; Hipkiss’s “Bulwark”; Eduardo Navarro’s “Into Ourselves”; and Inka Essenhigh’s “Manhattanhenge.” Highlights include Navarro’s new series of edible drawings, inspired by the quantum physics principle which describes how information in the universe can only be scrambled but never destroyed.
Our Labyrinth Walks Labyrinth walks at Marble Collegiate Church are open to all: • First Sunday of each month: 1:00-3:00pm • Wednesdays before WeWo: 5:00-6:00pm (Please call the church to confirm schedule) Our Labyrinth Facilitators will be available to help guide you and answer any questions you may have, while allowing you the space to walk in your own way, at your own pace.
Marble Collegiate Church Mobile App Download on iPhone or Android With the Marble Collegiate Church app, discover a new way to connect with Marble anytime you want. Live stream, catch up on last week’s sermon, listen to the latest podcast, connect with ministries, keep informed and register for Marble events, make a gift and sign up to volunteer.
Event listings brought to you by Marble Collegiate Church. 1 West 29th Street / New York, New York 10001 212 686 2770 / MarbleChurch.org
Thu 5
Fri 6
Sat 7
UNCHARTED SERIES WITH CAMILLE THURMAN
▲ PRACTICAL BEAUTY: A WELLNESS SYMPOSIUM
‘TO BUY THE SUN:’ THE CHALLENGE OF PAULI MURRAY
Greenwich House Music School, 46 Barrow St. 8 p.m. $15, includes free beer Camille Thurman’s vocal abilities have been likened to Ella Fitzgerald’s and Betty Carter’s, and she’s also known for her lush, rich, and warm sound on the tenor saxophone. “Because of Them, We Are” is a musical reflection consisting of original compositions inspired by Thurman’s #metoo story. 212-242-4770 greenwichhouse.org
New York Open Center 22 East 30th St. 5 p.m. Free, individual services cost up to $39 Experience the latest cuttingedge technologies in health and wellness blended with ancient forms of healing and meditation at this evening symposium. Treat yourself to a micro-facial, attend talks and experience a sound meditation circle and shamanic visioning ceremony. 212-219-2527 opencenter.org
Trinity Church Broadway at Wall Street 2 p.m. $15 An original play by Lynden Harris performed by just three actors using archival images, chairs and a typewriter explores the extraordinary life of Pauli Murray, a mixed-race, gender non-conforming activist, feminist, author, attorney and Episcopal priest. 212-602-0800 trinitywallstreet.org
APRIL 5-11,2018
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
Sun 8
Mon 9 Tue 10
▼ NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE: ‘HAMLET’
POETRY OPEN READING
IFC Center 323 Sixth Ave. 11 a.m. $25 The perennially relevant “Hamlet” returns to the screen, filmed from the National Theater’s stage. Forced to avenge his father’s death but paralyzed by the task ahead, Hamlet rages against the impossibility of his predicament, threatening both his sanity and the security of the state. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch in the title role. 212-924-7771 ifccenter.com
The Poetry Project 131 East 10th St. 8 p.m. $8 students/seniors/ free — no one turned away Writers of all levels are invited test, fine-tune and work out their writing and reading styles in front of a supportive audience. Reader sign-in starts at 7:45. 212-674-0910 poetryproject.org
MANNES AMERICAN COMPOSERS ENSEMBLE: ‘RADHE RADHE’ The New School 66 West 12th St. 7:30 p.m. Free In the first of a series celebrating “Rites of Spring,” Mannes presents “Radhe Radhe: Rites of Holi,” a performance bringing together live music and film to depict the journey of devotion honoring the goddess Radha. The evening will conclude with a conversation with “Radhe Radhe” composer Vijay Iyer, conductor David Fulmer and actor Anna George. 212-229-5150 events.newschool.edu
Wed 11 ▲ THE BOWERY: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE ON NYC’S OLDEST STREET Cooper Union, 41 Cooper Sq. 6:30 p.m. Free, reservations requested From Native American footpath, Dutch farm road and site of NYC’s first free black settlement, the Bowery became an early hub for the working class, gangs, gays and immigrants. Celebrate five years of the Bowery’s listing on the National Register of Historic Places at this talk exploring the impact of public space. 212-353-4100 cooper.edu
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APRIL 5-11,2018
A WEALTH OF CLOTH The Ukrainian Museum shows off its recent major acquisition of costumes and textiles BY VIRGINIA RANDALL
Could you be wearing an ancient tradition? Could be — if you like embroidered drawstring peasant shirts or favor embroidery on your denim jeans or jacket. Find out for sure, or simply marvel at the needlework and craftsmanship on display at the “Timeless Treasures” exhibit at the Ukrainian Museum on East Sixth Street. Countless embroidered and woven symbols and designs used for hundreds of years adorn the traditional Ukrainian folk clothing are on display until January 2019. The 20 sets of folk dress on display, plus belts, ritual cloths, textiles and jewelry, come from a larger collection acquired from Ivan Bernatsky, an avid collector. The exhibit is a bravura show of skills and imagination, honed over the centuries, in patternmaking, weaving, embroidery, appliqué, cutwork, and leather and metal work, performed in wintertime when there were no farm chores, to be worn in special events in the spring, such as Easter. According to the museum’s director, Maria Shust, designs and symbols had meanings beyond decoration, affirming ancient beliefs, offering protection and signaling tribal pride. The clothing could be read as easily as a passport, revealing the region, or even the village of the wearer. “Although the costumes look basically the same to the average person,” Shust said, “the designs, the choice of embroidery colors, how the thread was used, the type of thread, the embroidery subjects, or where the embroidery was placed on the garment would automatically identify the region.” This was an agrarian society from long before the Christian era, Shust said. “The symbols that decorate the shirts, skirts, belts, and ritual cloths refer to their ancient origins.” Colors like yellow, orange and red predominate; there were about 10 ways to represent the sun. The most commonly used designs were the tree of life, a symbol of growth and the family, and triad motifs, to represent earth, fire and water, or birth, maturity and death. Other embroidered designs featured stylized plants, stars and geo-
metric patterns that can also be seen in the traditional, ornate Easter eggs, called pysanky, on display nearby. They also believed their designs had special power. “The ancient goddess Berehynia was a special protector of women, a giver of fertility” Shust said. This stylized figure with outstretched and uplifted arms appears, with other images, on sleeves, on cuffs, at the neckline and at hems regardless of region. “They would embroider all the openings of a garment to prevent any evil from coming into the body,” she said. A walk through the exhibit shows the scope of imagination and skill of these nameless craftswomen. Long before cities were founded, these local artisans used ancient symbols and patterns, handed down over generations and unique to their village, with distinctive materials and styles. For instance, in the Podolia region, the predominant thread used was thick black wool, tightly sewn in elaborate patterns containing figures and accents of bright green, orange, red or yellow, giving the dramatic effect of stained glass. Other costumes appear Russian or Turkish, such as the long linen shirts with pleated sleeves, and finely woven linen pants worn by the men of the Pokuttia region. A traveler from there could be spotted by the pom-poms they favored on belts and scarves, and by the elaborately decorated lambskin vests worn by men and women. The vests burst with cutwork, beading and embroidery and could sell in any boutique on now fashionable Orchard Street. The styles range from exuberant, Roma-like outfits with flared skirts, fitted vests and vibrant color accented with metallic thread and beadwork, to the simple white dresses of Polissia region, accented with red embroidery and woven hems. These ornate clothes were not day to day but meant for special occasions, worn sparingly and washed in wintertime when the water was cold so the colors of the threads wouldn’t run. Visitors to the museum should stop by the display of vibrant Easter eggs, the traditional pysanky, in a nearby exhibit (plus a short film illustrating how the eggs were decorated). A map matches the eggs designs to the different regions, so visitors can compare the egg designs and regions.
Geometric patterns adorn ornate Easter eggs, called pysanky, at the Ukrainian Museum’s “Timeless Treasures” exhibit. Photo: Volodymyr Gritsyk, (c) The Ukrainian Museum.
Traditional Ukrainian folk clothing in the “Timeless Treasures” exhibit at the Ukranian Museum. Photo: Volodymyr Gritsyk, (c) The Ukrainian Museum.
APRIL 5-11,2018
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Steven Prescod plays 32 characters in this solo show about coming of age in Bed-Stuy.
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A provocative drama about meetings between an American and a Russian Ambassador.
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A puppet-theater piece, which draws inspiration from punk rock, game shows, and documentaries to tell the story of ‘Moby-Dick.’
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APRIL 5-11,2018
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RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS
FBGB
770 Broadway
A
Ikinari Steak
90 E 10th St
A
Bruno
204 E 13th St
Grade Pending (26) Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.
Beauty Bar
231 E 14th St
A
Grade Pending (17) 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.
Mani In Pasta Pizzeria Romana
245 E 14th St
Not Yet Graded (20) Food from unapproved or unknown source or home canned. Reduced oxygen packaged (ROP) fish not frozen before processing; or ROP foods prepared on premises transported to another site. Shellfish not from approved source, improperly tagged/labeled; tags not retained for 90 days.
Penny Farthing Restaurant 103 3 Avenue
A
Le Sia
11 E 7th St
Edo Sushi Teriyaki Noodle
9 East 17 Street
A
Taboonette
30 East 13 Street
A
Semsom
740 Broadway
Grade Pending (20) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. 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.
Not Yet Graded (35) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Shellfish not from approved source, improperly tagged/labeled; tags not retained for 90 days. 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. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
Sahara East Restaurant
184 1 Avenue
A
Balade
208 1 Avenue
Grade Pending (3)
MAR 21 - 27, 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.
Boka
9 Saint Marks Place
Emojo Burger
261 1st Ave
A
The Wayland
700 East 9 Street
A
Little Tong Noodle Shop
177 1st Ave
Not Yet Graded (25) 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.
David’s Cafe
110 Saint Marks Pl
A
Phoenix
447 East 13 Street
A
B-Side
204 Avenue B
A
Veniero’s Bakery
340-342 E 11th St
A
Fat Buddha
212 Avenue A
A
Yuan
157 2nd Ave
A
Colibri
132 1 Avenue
A
Boucherie
225 Park Ave S
A
Chipotle Mexican Grill
286 1st Ave
A
L’express
249 Park Ave S
A
Chomp Chomp
7 Cornelia Street
Hotel Tortuga
246 E 14th St
Grade Pending (3)
Mi Garba
129 4th Ave
A
Nohohon Tea Room
9 Saint Marks Pl
A
Maison Kayser
841 Broadway
A
CLOSED (54) 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. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Live roaches 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.
BUDGET CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6
The state budget directs $418 million in city funding toward the MTA’s action plan to improve service on the subway system. Photo: Steven Strasser
city officials, who claimed that the bill would effectively exclude the city from having any input in redevelopment plans. “It is wrong for the Governor to try to take over urban planning, traffic management and real estate development in New York City,” Assembly Member Dick Gottfried, whose district includes Penn Station, said in a statement. “That’s what this bill is aimed at. A project in the middle of midtown that is this large, complex, and important must be a collaborative effort and vision, including the Governor as well as the Mayor, along with area residents and businesses, the community board, and the area’s elected officials. The language included in the final bill declares Penn Station a “clear public safety hazard,” and states that the MTA and the state’s urban development corporation “should coor-
dinate and consult with community leaders, business groups and federal and city government to design a solution.” Hoylman, who represents much of the area surrounding Penn Station in the state Senate, said the measure’s intent is unclear. “The language is so vague and restates powers that the state already has, so a lot of us are still scratching our heads wondering what the whole point of the exercise was,” he said. “We’re voting on legislation that would have an enormous consequence on the busiest transportation hub in the Western Hemisphere — 600,000 commuters and Amtrak riders a day — and we don’t know what the intention of the bill was or what the consequences of it are,” Hoylman said. “On its face it’s objectionable from that standpoint, so I voted against it.” “One theory is that it’s laying the groundwork for the use, or the threatened use, of eminent domain,” Hoylman said, adding that it is unclear
whether the bill effectively forecloses an earlier plan to move Madison Square Garden from current location and build a new Penn Station at the site. Cuomo said the state has notified property owners at Penn station that the state could use eminent domain to condemn the properties as a public safety issue. “The owners of Madison Square Garden and 2 Penn [Plaza] have been very cooperative and we’re negotiating with them and we’re going to come up with a plan on an expedited basis to both improve Penn [Station] but also make it safer,” Cuomo said. The mayor downplayed the issue in an appearance on NY1’s “Inside City Hall,” saying that while the original proposal was “outrageous,” the language ultimately included in the final bill “was so greatly reduced that it has relatively little impact.” Michael Garofalo: reporter@strausnews. com
APRIL 5-11,2018
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
YOUR FATHER KEEPS WANDERING AWAY FROM HOME. BUT IT’S YOU WHO FEELS LOST.
The Enchanged Forest, just inside the 34th Street entrance midbloock, has four “bridges” where tulips, juniper, azalea, lilies, even pines and spruces, dress up the Herald Square emporium. Photo: Clarrie Feinstein
A TALE OF TWO SEASONS EVENTS Macy’s Flower Show is, for now, merely make-believe spring BY CLARRIE FEINSTEIN
Spring has not yet sprung in New York City. Not outdoors, at any rate. But indoors, particularly within a certain block-long Herald Square emporium, nature is positively blooming. There, at the Macy’s Flower Show, New Yorkers and visitors to the city alike can take in a grand display of floral opulence. The show’s “Once Upon a Springtime” theme plays on fairy tales, sprinkling magic dust on and around the store’s beauty and cosmetic counters. Above the mirrors, the lipsticks and the mascara, bundles and wisps of juniper and azalea, anthuriums and tulips, hyacinths and hydrangea
flourish on archways overhead. Plaques describe storybook themes and the entire show transports visitors to fantastical places. Simply seeing colors during the grey winter months achieves just that, and brings some much-needed vibrancy to a city ready to burst from its winter somnolence. “There’s no sign of spring in New York yet,” said Deirdre MacGuire, an assistant gardener with the Central Park Conservancy. “By the end of winter, you are just desperate for some color and life.” A sculptural dragon hanging from the ceiling dominates the show, with the beast exhaling fire (and melting snow and ice!). Of course, the “fire” is an array of orange lilies darting just below the ceiling. Underneath, a well, all moss and vegetation, adds to the storybook scene. The show — this is its 44th incarnation — attracts hundreds each day, an important event for the department store hit
hard by e-commerce competition. Sales at the chain have fallen for the past 11 years, and more than 60 stores have closed. But Macy’s stock last month surged about 12 percent, sprouting renewed optimism for growth. The trend, if it is one, could counter the argument that the department store model is outdated. Regardless, the flower show, in bloom until April 8, is a Macy’s tradition, and solidifies the store’s significance. Brooklyn’s Julia Sanchez has visited to show for the last six years. “I came on my lunch break and was just awe-struck,” Sanchez said of her initial visit. It’s been an equally enjoyable experience each year since then, she said. “The flower displays are always so beautiful,” Sanchez said. “It just brings together so many people from so many different places.”
THE ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE AND RELATED DEMENTIAS FAMILY SUPPORT PROGRAM. Caring for a family member who has trouble with thinking and memory can be extremely challenging. So challenging, in fact, that caregivers may feel overwhelmed, struggling to maintain their own health and well-being. NYU Langone’s Family Support Program provides convenient, personalized, and ongoing support to people caring for someone with Alzheimer’s or other thinking and memory disorders. The program is provided free of charge to individuals living within the five boroughs. You will receive access to counseling; connections to doctors and support groups; and compassionate guidance by being paired with a caregiver who has had a similar experience. Join a community dedicated to providing the support and guidance you need, for as long as you need it.
For more information or to enroll, call us at 646.754.2277 or visit nyulangone.org/memorydisordersupport. The Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias Family Support Program is supported by a grant from the New York State Department of Health.
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Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
APRIL 5-11,2018
PASSING THE BATON MUSIC Leonard Bernstein’s son Alexander continues the celebrated conductor’s legacy of arts education BY ALIZAH SALARIO
Long before you could instantly summon musical programs for kids on YouTube and Netflix, before Barney & Friends and Baby Einstein hit DVD, there were Leonard Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts. Starting in 1962, young fans tuned their RCA Victors and console televisions into Bernstein’s hybrid concert/music lessons, broadcast by CBS straight from Lincoln Center to living rooms throughout the U.S. and in 40 countries around the world. That Bernstein, the legendary composer and conductor, brought magnetism and charm to the small screen is unsurprising. What is less obvious is that Bernstein, the gifted lecturer and
Alexander Bernstein. Photo: Steve Sherman
IF YOU GO WHEN: April 19, 6:30 p.m. WHAT: “Notes from 108th St.” WHERE: Broadway Presbyterian Church, 612 West 114th St. COST: $100
Leonard Bernstein on camera for the Young People’s Concerts. Photo: Bert Bial 1958, courtesy of the New York Philharmonic Digital Archives teacher infected with an insatiable curiosity, set a new precedent in his Young People’s Concerts, not only for music education but also for education through music and the arts. “He was a born teacher. I think he was teaching and learning in whatever he was doing — composing, conducting, sitting at the table for dinner,” says Alexander Bernstein of his father. “He’d start out talking about the French language, for instance, and end up talking about the Battle of Waterloo.” The younger Bernstein also heard the call to teach, and continues his father’s legacy as the president of Artful Learning, a nonprofit that works to deepen academic learning through the arts. Alexander will share his personal remembrances of his father and be honored for his stewardship by the Bloomingdale School of Music at their “Notes from 108th Street” scholarship benefit on April 19th. The event will recognize the elder Bernstein’s centennial, and include performances of four of his “Anniversaries for Piano” compositions, musical postcards for mentors and family members Aaron Copland, Helen Coates, Stephen Sondheim and Felicia Montealegre, Bernstein’s wife. “Toward the end of [my father’s] life, he started thinking more broadly about all the arts, and the artistic process as being absolutely connected with all learning. He saw teaching
Leonard Bernstein with his son in an undated photo. Photo courtesy of Alexander Bernstein
and learning as a creative act, and was looking for ways to make that happen in a classroom community,” explains Bernstein. Artful Learning is the result of this inquiry, and best summed up by an oftquoted line from the famed composer: “The best way to know a thing is in the context of another discipline.” Though founded by Leonard Bernstein, it is Alexander who ushered the nonprofit into this century. He has worked to refine and advance a learning model based on the belief that teaching is not “just dumping information into somebody else’s brain,” but instilling a farreaching sense of curiosity unbound by subject matter. “Classroom teachers, not specialists in art, music or theater, teachers really get excited about how the material connected with subject matter, and it grew from there,” explains Bernstein. Using music, theater and visual art to bridge concepts in different disciplines, the model helps boost achievement, engagement and collaboration in classrooms nationwide. For Alexander, who has a background in theater and drama education, teaching was an essential part of his relationship with his father. “It was a great way to collaborate with him. I’m not a musician, and I always felt kind of left out of that part of his life. Working in education was a wonderful way to connect with him,”
he says. It is also through education that Alexander manifests what he considers his father’s greatest gift to him: a sense of social justice and a respect for all people. He recalls how his father would have long evenings with foreign heads of state — the composer was particularly fond of Bruno Kreisky, a former foreign minister and chancellor of Austria, and former mayor of Jerusalem Theodor (Teddy) Kollek — to try and “figure out ways to make things work.” Bernstein notes that sometimes, his father’s openness was to his detriment, and his heal-the-world approach called naive. Yet Alexander’s honor by Bloomingdale, with its long history of providing access to music education and performance for young people of all backgrounds (the founder, David Greer, began by offering Saturday morning classes for as little as 50 cents in 1964) is proof that the arts, by being a vehicle for education, are also agents of change. Says Bernstein, “What Artful Learning does is kind of a political act, when you think of it, when you have a student body that is going to be creative thinkers, life-long learners, curious open to debate, open to different ways of thinking, different cultural understandings. You know, that’s kind of scary prospect for some people.”
APRIL 5-11,2018
17
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
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APRIL 5-11,2018
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
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La Perla community garden on West 105th near Columbus Avenue took root on three empty lots about 25 years ago. Photo: Shoshy Ciment
LA PERLA GARDEN WILL LIKELY SURVIVE PROPERTY Following lot swap, a portion of Manhattan Valley will stay green and bright BY SHOSHY CIMENT
Following an almost threeyear trudge through city bureaucracy, a neighborhood jewel is primed for a scale-down. A recent land swap of two of the three lots that comprise La Perla community garden on West 105th Street eliminates a deed restriction on one of the outermost lots, making a sale — and the survival of the garden, albeit scaled down — all the more likely. “At the moment, we are just kind of holding our breaths really,” said Robert Pollard, a La Perla member and its composting chief. Since the mid-1990s, La Perla has nestled within those three lots, and from which neighborhood residents have cultivated
lilac and iris, picked peaches, figs, and plums, and reaped tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, basil and thyme from 30 plots. The garden currently extends about 50 feet by 100 feet over the adjoining lots, which are owned by three separate entities. Before the swap, two neighborhood families owned the center lot, officially 78 West 105th Street, while the adjacent lots were owned by the nonprofit Manhattan Land Trust and the Parks and Recreation Department, 76 and 80 West 105th Street, respectively. The city’s Economic Development Corp. approved the swap, which involved the familyowned center lot and the Manhattan Land Trust’s adjacent lot, last summer. In November, the Trust signed off on the deal and the transaction was completed. Groundwork for the exchange began three years ago, when the two families decided it was time to sell their lot, which they had bought for $500 at a public auction in 1977. The lot has
since appreciated into property assessed at about $350,000 and on which the families now pay $15,000 in annual taxes. “We are just two neighborhood families,” said Elizabeth Kellner, one of the owners. “We are not real estate developers.” To avoid disrupting the garden by selling their middle lot, the families proposed a swap with the Manhattan Land Trust, owners of the easternmost lot, at 76 West 105th Street. That lot, however, had a deed restriction, which designated the land as a park into perpetuity. “An empty lot with a deed restriction is worthless,” Kellner said. After discussions with Community Board 7 and a city Parks & Recreation committee, the deed restriction was lifted from the families’ newly acquired property and the Manhattan Land Trust received a lot with a new but similar deed restriction. In effect, the swap would ensure the continuity of La Perla on a pair of contiguous lots.
APRIL 5-11,2018
19
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
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Tour Breweries of the Black Dirt Region un
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$ Neighborhood residents tend about 30 plots at La Perla community garden, which took root on three empty lots on West 105th Street near Columbus Avenue about 25 years ago. One of the lots is now on the market and the garden will likely shrink by about one-third, but remain on two contiguous lots. Photo: Shoshy Ciment The two families are now trying to sell their lot. Any new owner will be able to build, with the garden shrinking by one-third as a consequence. “We at La Perla have not heard anything,” said Elizabeth Hall, a garden member for about 12 years. Like many of her gardening colleagues, Hall hopes that the new lot owner is sensitive to La Perla’s significance in a neighborhood where, not so long ago, the drug trade and attendant violence were nearnightly occurrences when the garden first took root. Among the assets of the soonto-be sold lot is a stone sculpture rooted in soil, a wall of Boston ivy, and Pollard’s compost station, which he plans to move. “It’s going to be a little tricky,” he said. To Pollard, having the gardeners come up with a preemptive bid for the lot would have been the ideal scenario; many members of La Perla are disheartened at the prospect of losing a chunk of the neighborhood landmark. “It’s really a very lovely garden,” he said. “That’s the bottom line.”
Hop on Dirt Mag’s beer bus and embark on a tour of the best breweries Orange County has to offer. Enjoy flights and pints of beer harvested from the historic black dirt region—known for its exceptionally lush soil and tasty brews. See the breweries in action. Tour the malt farm. Sip local beers. Get dirty. $
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Hop On La Perla’s composting station, now on the southeatern-most corner of the garden, will have to be moved if the garden’s eastern-most lot is developed. Photo: Shoshy Ciment
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YOUR 15 MINUTES
IN STEP WITH THE NEXT GENERATION Founder and artistic director of BalletNext on mentoring young dancers BY ANGELA BARBUTI
Michele Wiles calls upon her experiences as a fledgling ballerina in New York to set the stage for those who are coming after her. The contemporary company she founded, BalletNext, allows classically trained dancers to experiment creatively with diverse artists. A former principal dancer with
American Ballet Theatre, the Maryland native moved to New York at 18 to begin as an apprentice with the famed institution. “And I feel like every young dancer, whether they go to a neighborhood school or a rigorous program like I did, needs a moment to explore who they are in their artistry,” Wiles, 37, explained. With that in mind, she is launching NextGeneration in August. The program, which will run on a trimester basis, will enable young dancers to participate in the company’s classes to explore different approaches and develop their unique styles.
Michele Wiles and BalletNext dancers. Photo: Nisian Hughes
What is your ballet background in New York? I moved to New York to be an apprentice with American Ballet Theatre. I did my first tour with them as an apprentice in 1998. I did an entire MET season, and after that, was offered studio company and after a year of being in the second company, was offered a core contract.
What is the mission of BalletNext? To have a foundation and respect and a nod to classical ballet technique and training. Using that in combination with unlikely artists and things that are happening today.
What is the demographic of your company? At the moment, there’s seven dancers, including myself. The company trains daily and has a very strong technical base that is grounded in ballet. I help them with their ballet technique. Every single girl offers something special. They’re into acting; they have their modeling jobs. Violetta Komyshan is with [actor] Ansel Elgort. They met in high school at La Guardia. She has been following BalletNext since she was 16 and now she, for the first time, is performing with us.
Tell us about your collaboration with a deaf dancer to incorporate sign language into performances. Michele Wiles with jazz trumpeter Tom Harrell, whose quintet occasionally accompanies BalletNext performances. Photo: Nisian Hughes
A lot of what’s happening this year,
people have reached out to me, because BalletNext has built a reputation and brand name of being experimental and exploring with other people. So Bailey Ann Vincent reached out to me via email. She came up, I met her and this sort of evolved out of our relationship. Quite honestly, both of us walked into the studio not knowing what this was going to be. We were using signing concepts and it is about a young girl, Follin, actually Bailey’s daughter, losing her hearing and figuring out her way in society. It slowly evolves into feeling a connection and eye contact. We make three different kinds of sounds with pointe shoes and clapping and voices that you might not hear in classical ballet.
Explain the NextGeneration program. This is a very interesting thing. It goes back to myself choosing where I was going to go. I wanted to create this for the next generation where they have an opportunity to work with me and see the company and experience different types of work and develop themselves as well-rounded people.
What do you look for in applicants? I’m looking for applicants who are interested in working with different types of people, but still have a love of pointe shoes and ballet. And a lot of them are university types, interestingly enough. Not to say that I’m not interested in anyone else.
You recently came back from maternity leave. How has having a baby changed your perspective at work? How do you balance motherhood with your career? It’s completely changed my perspective. It’s interesting; your body goes through a metamorphosis, very transformative. And I feel like I’m in the same development stages as my daughter and the dancers. It’s almost like I had to retrain myself, in a sense. I feel like I’m growing with her. She’s walking more now. And funny enough, my body feels more in shape and I feel like I can dance more. There’s been this symbiotic development physically that’s happened. There’s also been a lot of balancing that’s been going on. Coming from such a crazy training background where you’re just focused on that ... a baby in the middle of this, you realize you have time for family and your husband.... And it only feeds your soul.
What are your future plans? To keep performing more and keep collaborating with unlikely artists. I really feel like it grows the dancers and it expands my human knowledge as well. Because you can never stop learning.
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APRIL 5-11,2018
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
APRIL 5-11,2018
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Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
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PUBLIC NOTICES PUBLIC AUCTION NOTICE OF SALE OF COOPERATIVE APARMENT SECURITY PLEASE TAKE NOTICE: By Virtue of a Default under Loan Security Agreement, and other Security Documents, Karen Loiacano, Auctioneer, License #DCA1435601 or Jessica L Prince-Clateman, Auctioneer, License #1097640 or Vincent DeAngelis Auctioneer, License #1127571 will sell at public auction, with reserve, on April 11, 2018, in the Rotunda of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007, commencing at 12:45pm for the following account: Donald Weber a/k/a Donald A. Weber, as borrower, 64 shares of capital stock of 350-52-54 W. 12th Street Owners Corp. and all right, title and interest in the Proprietary Lease to 354 West 12th Street, Unit 1D, New York, NY 10014 Sale held to enforce rights of CitiBank, N.A., who reserves the right to bid. Ten percent (10%) Bank/Certified check required at sale, balance due at closing within thirty (30) days. The Cooperative Apartment will be sold “AS IS” and possession is to be obtained by the purchaser. Pursuant to Section 201 of the Lien Law you must answer within 10 days from receipt of this notice in which redemption of the above captioned premises can occur. There is presently an outstanding debt owed to CitiBank, N.A. (lender) as of
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the date of this notice in the amount of $340,638.75. This figure is for the outstanding balance due under UCC1, which was secured by Financing Statement in favor of CitiBank, N.A. recorded on April 26, 2007 under CRFN 2007000217862. Please note this is not a payoff amount as additional interest/ fees/penalties may be incurred. You must contact the undersigned to obtain a final payoff quote or if you dispute any information presented herein. The estimated value of the above captioned premises is $470,000.00. Pursuant to the Uniform Commercial Code Article 9-623, the above captioned premises may be redeemed at any time prior to the foreclosure sale. You may contact the undersigned and either pay the principal balance due along with all accrued interest, late charges, attorney fees and out of pocket expenses incurred by CitiBank, N.A.. and the undersigned, or pay the outstanding loan arrears along with all accrued interest, late charges, attorney fees and out of pocket expenses incurred by CitiBank, N.A., and the undersigned, with respect to the foreclosure proceedings. Failure to cure the default prior to the sale will result in the termination of the proprietary lease. If you have received a discharge from the Bankruptcy Court, you are not personally liable for the payment of the loan and this notice is for compliance and information purposes only. However, CitiBank, N.A., still has the right under the loan security agreement and other collateral documents to foreclosure on the shares of stock and rights under the proprietary lease allocated to the cooperative apartment. Dated: March 13, 2018 Frenkel, Lambert, Weiss, Weisman & Gordon, LLP Attorneys for CitiBank, N.A. 53 Gibson Street Bay Shore, NY 11706 631-969-3100 File #01-080328-F00 #94462
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