Our Town Downtown - April 6, 2017 by OurTown Downtown

The local paper for Downtown wn GARMENT DISTRICT’S UNRAVELING ◄ P. 16

WEEK OF APRIL

6-12 2017

The winning entry of TransAlt’s “L-ternative Visions” contest proposed a 14th Street without cars, prioritizing shuttle buses and pedestrian malls for the 250,000 commuters that will be displaced. Courtesy of TransAlt

RETHINKING 14TH STREET TRANSPORTATION Impending L train closure sparks alternative visions for crosstown artery BY MADELEINE THOMPSON

Can you imagine 14th Street without cars? Transportation Alternatives, a group advocating for more cyclistand pedestrian-friendly streets, along with news website Gothamist, asked New Yorkers to do just that by participating in a contest to redesign the street for heavy traffic in the wake

of the L train’s impending closure. When that time comes, thousands of commuters will be forced to come up with an alternative route. Or rather, an “L-ternative.” TransAlt’s “L-ternative Visions: Reimagining 14th Street and Beyond” contest solicited innovative ways to adapt 14th Street to the reality of life without the L train by showcasing “what a 21st Century street can be, with strong priority for more efficient modes,” according to TransAlt’s website. “The ... crisis that we’re all about to face is unique in many ways, but it’s also, as you know, emblematic of the deterioration that we’re seeing

throughout our transit system,” Paul Steely White, TransAlt’s executive director, said at the event announcing the finalists March 29. “The ideas that you pioneered throughout this competition are going to be relevant not just for this competition but for, I think, any other streets ... as we try to find more efficiency and more capacity with our service network.” Urban planning and architecture firms participated in the competition, but the members of the nameless group that took first place were identi-

Activists gathered downtown to protest President Donald Trump’s “refugee ban” at a 24-hour event hosted by Trinity Church. Photo: Trinity Church Wall Street/Jim Melchiorre

UNITY AND REFUGE RELIGION City churches host interfaith services, and activism BY MICHAEL GAROFALO

Wednesday evening prayer services are part of the normal routine at Marble Collegiate Church on Fifth Avenue, but congregants at the March 29 edition of the weekly gathering were treated to a decidedly unusual sight: a Roman Catholic cardinal delivering a homily from the altar of a Protestant church.

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Crime Watch Voices Out & About City Arts

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Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, archbishop of New York, headed 20 blocks south on Fifth Avenue from St. Patrick’s Cathedral to join Dr. Michael B. Brown, Marble’s senior minister, for an evening of interdenominational worship at the historic church. Brown and Dolan emphasized themes of Christian unity in their remarks, calling for collaboration and solidarity between the two denominations, which Brown described as “different cars on the same train.”

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Restaurant Ratings 14 Business 16 Real Estate 17

WEEK OF APRIL

SPRING ARTS PREVIEW < CITYARTS, P.12

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

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

9-16

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

2015

In Brief MORE HELP FOR SMALL BUSINESS

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

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

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

n OurTownDowntow

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Newscheck Crime Watch Voices

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

2 City Arts 3 Top 5 8 Real Estate 10 15 Minutes

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CITY CONFRONTS OPIOID EPIDEMIC HEALTH Officials fear that use of the deadly synthetic substance fentanyl will continue to rise BY MICHAEL GAROFALO

There were nearly 1,100 overdose deaths involving heroin, fentanyl or prescription pain medication in New York City last year — nearly double the number of traffic deaths and homicides combined. There were 223 overdose deaths in Manhattan in 2016, an increase of more than 50 percent over 2015. And there have been 162 opioid-related deaths citywide so far in 2017, up from 126 at the same point last year, according to the NYPD. Prosecutors attribute the rise in overdoses to the increased prevalence of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid up to 50 times more powerful than heroin that is often mixed with heroin and counterfeit pills. Users are The local paper for Downtown

Mayor Bill de Blasio announcing a $38 million yearly initiative to combat opioid addiction. He spoke at Bronx Lincoln Hospital on March 13 . Photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayoral Photo Office often unaware that they are buying fentanyl or fentanyl-

laced drugs, which results in increased overdoses because

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the drug is so much more potent than heroin. Stephen Goldstein, chief assistant district attorney with the city’s Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor, said at a City Council hearing last week that the presence of fentanyl is likely to increase because it is cheap and easy to produce, boosting profits for distributors. In March, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a broad initiative to address the opioid problem with the goal of reducing overdose deaths by 35 percent over the next five years. The city will spend $38 million annually on the plan’s wide-ranging strategies, which include expanding access to addiction treatment, investing in laboratory testing and information sharing, and stepping up enforcement with an emphasis on targeting distribution networks. Key to the city’s overdose death prevention strategy is the distribution of 100,000 kits of naloxone, a drug that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, to police officers, treatment centers, shelters and pharmacies. The NYPD plans to equip all 23,000 of its patrol officers with naloxone kits. The department currently has 13,000 naloxone kits and is working to outfit and train the rest of the patrol force. Law enforcement officials said that the number of opioidrelated fatalities would be even

higher were it not for naloxone. In Staten Island, 35 overdose victims have been treated successfully with the drug so far in 2017, compared with 17 overdose deaths, according to Michael McMahon, the borough’s district attorney. “Without it, think of what our numbers would be,” McMahon said at last week’s Council hearing. “This year we would already be over 50, close to 60 deaths.” “It’s really a game-changer,” he added. “It’s saving lives.” Naloxone was administered by EMS 2100 times in Manhattan in 2016, according to the state Department of Health. It is less effective, however, in treating fentanyl overdoses. The availability of prescription opioid pills is commonly cited as a source of rising addiction rates. According to the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor, oxycodone prescriptions filled by New York City residents dropped by 4 percent in 2016 after steadily rising for many years, due in part to increased awareness on the part of medical professionals and regulatory changes at the state level. “This is really significant, because the majority of people who develop heroin addictions ﬁrst become dependent on prescription pills,” Goldstein said. But despite the slight drop since 2015, the number of oxycodone prescriptions ﬁlled in the city last

year was still more than double what it was 10 years ago. The NYPD has responded to the crisis by forming new teams dedicated specifically to heroin, opioid and fentanyl enforcement. The department plans to add 64 new officers to work specifically on narcotics enforcement, 10 of whom will be stationed in Manhattan. “This will allow the NYPD to more effectively investigate, track and identify opioid usage patterns. The teams will work with the district attorney’s offices, special narcotics court and federal prosecutors to incarcerate dealers and their associates,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said. On March 29, prosecutors announced charges against 34 defendants, including individuals from all five boroughs, for their alleged involvement in a Brooklyn-based distribution ring that sold furanyl fentanyl, an analog of fentanyl that is often produced in China. Police said it was the first time they had encountered furanyl fentanyl in New York City. Furanyl fentanyl, due to its status as a relatively new arrival on the illegal drug market, is not a controlled substance under New York State law, but it was made illegal at the federal level in November 2016.

APRIL 6-12,2017

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CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG STATS FOR THE WEEK Reported crimes from the 1st precinct Week to Date

HARRY SITUATION

A TURN FOR THE PURSE

MAKEUP TAKEDOWN

At 1 p.m. on Wednesday, March 22, a 47-year-old man was having lunch with a friend at Harry’s Café & Steak at One Hanover Square, where he put his jacket containing his wallet on a hook beneath the bar. When he went to retrieve his wallet at 2:30 p.m., it was missing. He canceled all his cards but encountered a charge on his American Express corporate card for $6,000 at an Apple Store. Other items stolen included a wallet valued at $535, $600 in cash, a New York State driver’s license, and the American Express card.

There was no joy in Mudville for one unfortunate young woman recently. At 7 p.m. on Sunday, March 19, a 24-year-old woman left her purse hanging on a hook in front of the bar in the Mudville Restaurant at 126 Chambers St. Her purse was gone when she went to fetch it an hour later. She later found out that her credit cards had been used to purchase items at a Nike store. Besides her black Celine handbag, the woman was missing a wallet, various debit and credit cards, a Canadian passport card, a driver’s license, and an iPhone 6S. Police put the value of the missing items at $4,245.

And the barrage of shoplifting at Duane Reade stores continues unchecked. Just after midnight on Monday, March 20, a man in his 50s entered the Duane Reade at 250 Broadway and took multiple items without paying, including lotions valued at $569, razors totaling $689, 26 lip paints priced at $260, and 50 nail polishes tagged at $50.

Year to Date

2017 2016

% Change

2017

2016

% Change

Murder

n/a

Rape

n/a

50.0

Robbery

0.0

41.7

Felony Assault

n/a

0.0

Burglary

-50.0

-51.7

Grand Larceny

43.8

222

268

-17.2

Grand Larceny Auto

n/a

-40.0

FISHY BUSINESS

WATTS DOWN

At 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 21, a 33-year-old woman left her belongings unattended on a chair in the Fish Market restaurant at 111 South Street. An unknown perpetrator made off with her possessions, including an iPhone 6S valued at $549, two gift cards worth $300, a makeup bag and accessories valued at $300, a Tory Burch wallet priced at $200, a pair of sunglasses tagged at $200, a purse priced at $150, and $40 in cash, making a total of $1,739.

At 10:15 a.m. on Monday, March 20, a 20-year-old man pushed his 16-yearold girlfriend down on Watts Street before going into her right jacket pocket, grabbing her phone, and running off with it. He later dropped the and damaged it, police said. The stolen phone was an LG valued at $180. Police are looking for the boyfriend.

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The Secret Role of Zelda Fitzgerald: A Deeper Look at the Creative Life of a Jazz Age Legend

FRIDAY, APRIL 7TH, 7PM The Strand | 828 Broadway | 212-473-1452 | strandbooks.com Get an insider’s look into a lesser-known literary story, including the secret role Zelda played in the revision of The Great Gatsby. ($20, includes complimentary beer and wine)

Illustrated Lecture | At the Tredwells’ Table: Culinary Customs of Mid19th Century New York

TUESDAY, APRIL 11TH, 6:30PM Merchant’s House | 29 E. 4th St. | 212-777-1089 | merchantshouse.org Chef and culinary historian Carl Raymond talks about the etiquette, cooking techniques, service, and, of course, favorite foods of a bygone era. ($20)

Just Announced | An Evening with Actor and Social Justice Advocate George Takei

Sunday, April 23, at 12pm! Preview: April 2 – 23 8:30am – 5:30pm weekends & 10am – 6pm weekdays Absentee and phone bids accepted! Complimentary lunch after the auction! View the catalogue at www.nyshowplace.com! Showplace Antique + Design Center | 40 West 25th Street auctions@nyshowplace.com | 212-633-6063 ext. 808

MONDAY, MAY 1ST, 7:30PM Brooklyn Academy of Music | 30 Lafayette Ave. | 718-636-4100 | bam.org Being the #1 most inﬂuential person on Facebook is just part of George Takei’s impressive second act. He’ll also speak on his WWII internment camp and Star Trek experiences. ($35 and up)

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Useful Contacts POLICE NYPD 7th Precinct

19 ½ Pitt St.

212-477-7311

NYPD 6th Precinct

233 W. 10th St.

212-741-4811

NYPD 10th Precinct

230 W. 20th St.

212-741-8211

NYPD 13th Precinct

230 E. 21st St.

212-477-7411

NYPD 1st Precinct

16 Ericsson Place

FROM THE HERE AND NOW BY PETER PEREIRA

212-334-0611

FIRE FDNY Engine 15

25 Pitt St.

311

FDNY Engine 24/Ladder 5

227 6th Ave.

311

FDNY Engine 28 Ladder 11

222 E. 2nd St.

311

FDNY Engine 4/Ladder 15

42 South St.

311

ELECTED OFFICIALS Councilmember Margaret Chin

165 Park Row #11

Councilmember Rosie Mendez

237 1st Ave. #504

212-587-3159 212-677-1077

Councilmember Corey Johnson

224 W. 30th St.

212-564-7757

State Senator Daniel Squadron

250 Broadway #2011

212-298-5565

Community Board 1

1 Centre St., Room 2202

212-669-7970

Community Board 2

3 Washington Square Village

212-979-2272

Community Board 3

59 E. 4th St.

212-533-5300

Community Board 4

330 W. 42nd St.

212-736-4536

Hudson Park

66 Leroy St.

212-243-6876

Ottendorfer

135 2nd Ave.

212-674-0947

Elmer Holmes Bobst

70 Washington Square

212-998-2500

COMMUNITY BOARDS

LIBRARIES

HOSPITALS New York-Presbyterian

170 William St.

Mount Sinai-Beth Israel

10 Union Square East

212-844-8400

212-312-5110

CON EDISON

4 Irving Place

212-460-4600

TIME WARNER

46 East 23rd

813-964-3839

US Post Office

201 Varick St.

212-645-0327

US Post Office

128 East Broadway

212-267-1543

US Post Office

93 4th Ave.

212-254-1390

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NYPD RECKONS WITH TRUMP’S IMPACT ON BUDGET SECURITY Police face loss of $110 million in federal funding BY MICHAEL GAROFALO

The New York City Police Department is in line for partial federal reimbursement of the $24 million it spent protecting Trump Tower from November to January, but stands to lose over $100 million in federal grants that would largely fund counterterrorism efforts as a result of President Donald Trump’s immigration policy. NYPD Commissioner James P. O’Neill detailed budget challenges facing police in connection with providing security for Trump and his family and the president’s vow to withhold funds from jurisdictions that do not comply with federal immigration law at a city council hearing March 30 regarding the department’s projected expenses for the coming ﬁscal year. NYPD officials said the department continues to seek federal reimbursement for increased security costs at Trump Tower after the presidential election. In December 2016, Congress appropriated $7 million in grants available to state or local agencies that incurred “extraordinary law enforcement overtime costs” related to Trump’s security from Election Day

Security around Trump Tower in late November. Photo: Sarash Nelson to Inauguration Day. The $7 million would cover less than a third of the $24 million the NYPD says it spent protecting Trump over that period. The $7 million is not allocated specifically to New York City, leaving some local officials with concerns that the city could miss out on the full amount. Also eligible to receive funds are agencies in other locations where Trump spent time as president-elect — notably in New Jersey and Florida, where Trump held transition meetings at properties he owns. “I think it’s really

insulting that we are competing with other localities for expenses that have already been incurred,” said Council Member Vanessa Gibson, chair of the public safety committee. Vincent Grippo, the NYPD’s deputy commissioner of management and budget, said that New York has the strongest case for reimbursement and will apply for the full $7 million. “We will seek all of those funds, and have sufficient overtime records to justify that,” he said. The department is also lobbying for

federal reimbursement for the protection of Trump’s wife, Melania, and son, Barron, who continue to reside at Trump Tower. The NYPD estimates that their security costs the department $127,000 to $146,000 per day. The NYPD’s preliminary budget for the next ﬁscal year now under consideration by the city council does not reﬂect anticipated costs associated with providing security for Trump Tower. The $24 million spent by the NYPD on Trump’s security from Election Day to Inauguration Day represents a

small slice of the police department’s annual spending, which totals $5.3 billion in the proposed budget. Of greater consequence is the $110 million in funding from the Department of Homeland Security that the NYPD could be barred from receiving as a result of President Trump’s executive order to withhold federal funding from so-called “sanctuary cities” like New York, which do not cooperate with federal officials in enforcing immigration laws in all cases. O’Neill said that the exact implications of the executive order on NYPD funding are still unclear, but that the $110 million in Homeland Security funding accounts for two percent of the NYPD’s total budget and translates to “hundreds” of officers, largely in counterterrorism roles. In addition to Homeland Security grants, Trump administration policy could also jeopardize $10 million in funding from the Justice Department and $25 million from the State Department. Grant funding is not recognized in the NYPD’s preliminary budget until it is actually awarded. Earlier in March, O’Neill traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with federal officials about the Trump Tower security reimbursement and jeopardized grant money. He called the talks “very productive.”

‘CITIZEN JANE’ DOCUMENTARY PROFILES URBAN ACTIVIST PLANNING A timely new film spotlights the groundbreaking author of “The Death and Life of Great American Cities” BY MADELEINE THOMPSON

Jane Jacobs, with her signature oval glasses, began a lifelong dedication to fighting urban renewal when plans emerged to continue Fifth Avenue through Washington Square Park. Critics labeled her a “housewife” who couldn’t possibly be more than a ﬂy in the ointment of the project, but Jacobs had been writing and reporting about cities and architecture long before the park was threatened. Her story and the lessons of her groundbreaking book “The Death and Life of Great American Cities” are the focus of a new documentary, “Citizen Jane: Battle for the City,” which premieres on April 21 at select theaters. Matt Tyrnauer, the film’s director, and producer Robert Hammond, who is

also the executive director of Friends of the High Line, got the idea for the documentary several years ago when they realized there had never been a film about Jacobs before. “We thought we’d be introducing this film about a very brilliant woman who was sort of a seer, a visionary in a lot of ways, and politically active, in an atmosphere when we had the first woman president,” Tyrnauer said at a screening last Thursday. “Much to our surprise, it went the other way. There’s some resonances in the film that maybe were unintended but it’s interesting to see how the public has received them.” Hammond described the film as “a playbook for resistance,” and hopes that viewers will be able to learn from Jacobs how best to fight their battles. “What’s interesting now is people getting out in the street — it’s not just about liking things on Facebook — and that’s what she did,” Hammond said at the screening. “She got people out there to hearings and with great slogans. That’s one of the things that I hope … as people use this, not just about the ideas, but how do you organize.”

The documentary features interviews with Jacobs’ friends and numerous experts in the ﬁelds of economics, urban planning and engineering, including Mindy Fullilove, a research psychiatrist at Columbia University, and Jason Epstein, who edited Jacobs’ book. It tells of the rivalry between Jacobs and infamous power broker Robert Moses, who is responsible for the Sheridan Expressway that current governor Andrew Cuomo recently announced a plan to tear down. Vintage television footage and energetic illustrations punctuate the roughly 90-minute ﬁlm. Sweeping aerial shots of foreign cities serve to remind the viewer that Jacobs’ theories, and her many warnings against “slum clearance” and super-highways, apply throughout the globe, not just in New York City. “The Death and Life of Great American Cities” cautiously advocates for urban areas that “have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody,” and it breaks down in great detail the reasons classical urban planners have overlooked

the very residents they are planning for. Trynauer prefaced the screening by saying that most people, especially outside New York City, have likely never heard of Jacobs. “We hope that this ﬁlm has the kind of reach where people do learn about her,” he said, emphasizing that the documentary

is for a general audience and not just “urban planning junkies.” “We really need to understand these characters from our past or we are doomed to repeat history.” Madeleine Thompson can be reached at newsreporter@strausnews.com

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PARKS AND BARKS PETS Central Park Paws has secured off-leash hours and provides bagels, seminars and training programs for dog owners BY GAIL EISENBERG

Dennis Buonagura wasn’t allowed to have a dog as a child growing up in Brooklyn. Decades later, you might say all of the city’s canines are in his care as the President of Central Park Paws, a program of the Central Park Conservancy. “The group’s goal is to facilitate communications between dog owners and the Conservancy, to create a forum to address dog issues in the Park, to develop recreational and educational programs and events in Central Park involving people and dogs, and to increase understanding of the privileges and responsibilities of dog ownership,” says Buonagura. Paws started as an advisory group founded in 1999 by dog-lover Susan Buckley, who served as Paws President until Buonagura took over the volunteer position in 2012. It became a program of the Conservancy in 2010. One signiﬁcant mark they made on behalf of dogs and their parents as an independent effort was securing offleash hours. It wasn’t easy. The group had to appear in court to prove how park playtime would beneﬁt NYC life, and the request had to be approved by City officials as well as the Parks Dept.

CHURCHES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 “We are united in our yearning for heaven,” Dolan said, referring to the Protestants in attendance as “fellow patients of the divine physician.” The seeds of the joint service were planted almost exactly a year earlier, when the church leaders met for the ﬁrst time at an Easter dinner. The two bonded over their shared passion for a good buffet spread. “We do not worship food, but we approach it with reverence,” Brown joked. “There is a fence that perhaps in some times past may have separated us that’s no longer there, and for that I’m profoundly grateful,” Brown said to the cardinal after the service. “And we don’t need any more fences,” Dolan replied with a laugh. Earlier that day and further down-

“Fortunately, we had a member who was an animal behaviorist, so our facts were in order,” says Buonagura. “She was able to prove the importance of dogs needing to have off-leash time to be dogs — through the language of dogs and the psychology of dogs — and how that works when they intermingle, as well as the importance of having them being sociable in the Park so that they’re sociable on the streets and in elevators and in apartment buildings.” The group was granted the privilege of off-leash hours, but Buonagura can’t stress enough that it is a privilege — not a law — and one that can easily be revoked. “We aren’t about enforcement, so I try to make helpful comments when I see someone whose dog isn’t leashed when it’s supposed to be,” says Buonagura. “I’ll say, ‘You know, you can get a ticket because your dog is off-leash.’ Unfortunately, some people don’t care. I’ve gotten replies like, ‘My daughter is so happy to see the dog play, it’s worth paying a ticket.’ Or, ‘I pay more in taxes than you earn in a year, so I can keep my dog off the leash.’” The group also worries whether off-leash privileges will be revoked whenever a new Parks Commissioner is appointed. “We always wonder, is this person a dog person, are they going to close the door on this? It’s political, like having a president that hates gay people,” says Buonagura. Central Park Paws hosts events such

town, another interfaith group wrapped up a day-long protest against actions taken by one of Marble Collegiate Church’s most famous former congregants — President Donald J. Trump. Dozens of activists, religious leaders, immigrants and refugees gathered at Trinity Church in the Financial District to rally against Trump’s controversial executive order regarding refugee resettlement. The executive order, which suspends the issuance of new visas to people from six Muslim-majority countries and temporarily halts the United States’ refugee resettlement program, is currently blocked from being implemented by a federal judge’s ruling. The Trump administration is appealing the ruling. The “City of Refuge” event, which began on the afternoon of March 28 and continued for 24 hours, included a demonstration outside the Trump-owned 40 Wall Street building, workshops on immigrant

Dennis Buonagura, Central Park Paws President, with his “mean machines,” pugs Hazel (left) age 10, and Olive, the sock-stealing rescue, age 8. Photo: Mica Ringo

as Bagel Barks, which provides complimentary coffee and bagels along with educational seminars, training programs, and lectures from Park staff members. Their main annual dog event, the My Dog Loves Central Park Fair, occurs in October. Preparing for these events in their early days was a very hands-on, grassroots effort. “There was a time when we physically carried fold-up tables into the Park, set up the booths, went to the store to buy bagels for the Bagel Bark, went to Starbucks and bought urns of coffee, and Susan Buckley baked mufﬁns,” says Buonagura. “Now, the Con-

rights, music and a candlelight vigil. A number of attendees spent the night outside Trinity in a small “tent city” on the church’s grounds to symbolize the plight of those in refugee camps. Rafts and life jackets were scattered amid the tents to symbolize the open water crossings that are a common feature of the refugee experience. “We wanted to do something dramatic to illustrate the struggles that refugees have,” said Amaha Kassa of African Communities Together, the organization that planned the event in collaboration with Trinity. The protesters were undeterred by inclement weather. “It’s a little rainy and a little cold, but it’s nothing compared to what refugees experience, so we feel grateful that we have some nice warm tents and sleeping bags,” Kassa said. Michael Garofalo can be reached at reporter@strausnews.com

servancy brings in a caterer. So with their help, it’s been great.” The Central Park Paws program is currently undergoing a reorganization to further expand and better serve its partnership with the Conservancy. “We’re working toward ﬁguring out how everybody can cohabitate in Central Park without the bikers saying, ‘Oh, the goddamn dog people crossing the path, I can’t ride my bike,’ or the runners saying, ‘Oh, the horrible bikers we can’t run on our path,’ or the pedestrians saying, ‘Oh, the bikers don’t stop for red lights and the dog people

L-TRAIN CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 ﬁed in amNY as Christopher Robbins, Cricket Day, Becca Groban and Kellen Parker, who described themselves as “four friends who argue about this stuff all the time.” Their vision is called “14th St.OPS,” and it proposes to close 14th Street to vehicular traffic, except for a shuttle bus that would “run on dedicated bus lanes in a continuous crosstown loop every four minutes during rush hour, along with a revamped M14 SBS.” Emergency vehicles would have access to the lanes, with bus stops doubling as delivery zones at night so local businesses wouldn’t suffer. Five pedestrian malls would host ﬂea markets and playgrounds, as well as guide pedestrian traffic. Designs by Practice Architecture and Urbanism and the firm James Wagman Architect took second and third places, respectively. During the award ceremony, a teacher at Landmark High School, which is on West 18th Street, spoke up for students

APRIL 6-12,2017 aren’t picking up poop.’ We’re trying to create the camaraderie between all the user groups of Central Park. And there are many, and everybody thinks their group has the right to run the park,” says Buonagura. At home, however, it’s clear who rules the roost — pugs Hazel and Olive AKA “mean machines.” Indeed, the dog rules are much more lax in the Upper West Side apartment Buonagura shares with Joe, his childhood-friendturned-partner of 39 years and soonto-be husband. “Joe is a huge dog lover, but not an overly neurotic and obsessive dog nut like I am,” says Buonagura. “He allows the pugs to do whatever they please. They have him totally under their control to demand treats, get belly rubs, and sit in his lap to oversee his computer activities.” Despite Buonagura’s busy schedule juggling his volunteer work, his job as education coordinator for a not-forproﬁt arts organization, and planning a wedding, he still manages to find time for his beloved hobby — knitting. “I knitted six pink pussy hats for friends who went to the Women’s March on Washington,” says Buonagura. “And I should state that those friends were men.” Suggestions can be sent to Central Park Paws via its Facebook Page: www.facebook. com/centralparkpaws/ To learn more about upcoming Bagel Barks, Barks After Dark, Hound Hikes, and the My Dog Loves Central Park Fair, go to: www. centralparknyc.org/about/programs/ central-park-paws/ Please note: The following site is not affiliated with the Paws group: www. centralparkpaws.net/

who use 14th Street regularly. “Some kids ride back-and-forth to school, and they all know that 14th Street is kind of a terrible place to ride a bike, so they’re excited about the possibility of having a nice, stress-free commute,” he said. The MTA’s board met on Monday morning and voted to at last to close the line for 15 months starting in April 2019. The agency has been open to the idea of banning cars from 14th Street, but no details of their official plan have been revealed. In its proposal, the winning team urged the city to take any risks necessary to make up for the loss of the L. “Ambition is what the [Department of Transportation], the MTA, NYC Parks Department and the Business Improvement Districts along 14th Street must aspire to on 14th Street,” the group wrote. “8.5 million people are counting on it.” Madeleine Thompson can be reached at newsreporter@strausnews.com

APRIL 6-12,2017

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THE EARRING OF MADAME … X MYSTERIES Can you help NYPD veteran Robin Sternberg solve the case of the missing jewel? BY DOUGLAS FEIDEN

A former sergeant in the New York Police Department needs your help to solve a St. Patrick’s Day mystery — The Case of the Lost Earring. And this isn’t just any earring. For while it surely has sentimental value to its unknown owner, it appears to possess real monetary value, too. “It’s 18-carat gold,” said Robin Sternberg, a 20-year NYPD veteran who retired in 2005. “Most likely it’s a blue topaz stone, but it could possibly be an aquamarine beryl.” Now the average cop doesn’t typically have such an intimate familiarly with precious gemstones. But Sternberg is not your average cop: She’s a geology-and-astronomy buff who adores science, works as a lab instructor teaching forensic biology at Hunter College, doubles as a veterinary nurse providing home health care for dogs and cats, and, in her spare time, takes philosophy courses at Hunter in pursuit of her second undergraduate degree. Oh, and she’s also a trained artist who got her ﬁrst degree from the School of Visual Arts in 1985, the same year she was sworn in as a transit police officer in Brooklyn. “I didn’t really want to be an artist,” Sternberg explains. “I wanted to be Nancy Drew.” And like that culturally iconic fictional female sleuth — who is also said to have inspired such New Yorkers as Beverly Sills, Barbara Walters, Sonia Sotomayor and Hillary Clinton — Sternberg is driven by the hunt for clues, the solving of mysteries and the closing of tough cases. Her latest seems pretty daunting. It began at around 4 p.m. on March 17, on the west side of Second Avenue between 85th and 86th Streets, in the

spillover that traditionally follows the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. East Siders have long dubbed this assemblage the “parade after the parade.” While the official line of march ends on Fifth Avenue at 79th Street, the festivities have always jumped across Madison and Park Avenues and mostly bypassed Lexington and Third Avenues to resume, with abandon, on the swath of Second Avenue between 79th and 86th Streets. This unofficial post-parade hub, at least metaphorically, is awash in green. The throngs include thousands of Hibernians, tourists, soldiers, sailors, hardhats, teachers, steamfitters, politicians, Con Ed workers, transit workers who still call the IRT the “Irish Republican Transit,” veterans of the New York National Guard’s “Fighting 69th” Infantry Battalion, the Irish Wolfhounds that are the mascot of the 69th, assorted New Yorkers of all stripes, and of course, the bagpipeand-drum brigades of the NYPD and FDNY Emerald Societies. Anyone of them, it seems, except the wolfhounds, could have lost that earring amid the hubbub. Lured by the open-door saloons that have beckoned for generations, the revelers piled into Brady’s Bar on 82nd Street, which has been owned and operated by the same Irish family since 1961, and the Heidelberg just south of 86th Street, a relic from the 1930s when the street was widely known as the “German Broadway” or “Sauerkraut Boulevard.” They also stood wall to wall at one of the newcomers to the avenue, the three-year-old Supply House, between 85th and 86th Streets, which has quickly blended into the old Yorkville street scene. It was there on the sidewalk, directly in front of the bar, that Sternberg, a 25year resident of the Upper East Side, looked down and saw a small flash of prismatic light. “I often walk with my head down,” she said. “I always find pennies, and I always bend down and pick them up,

Robin Sternberg holds the twin of the missing earring in the palm of her hand. It is encased in 18-carat gold and sports what she believes is a blue topaz gemstone. Photo: Robin Sternberg so now I’ve got piggy banks filled with pennies!” The sparkling, shimmering object lying on a small blanket of snow was no penny. It was a lone and exceptionally beautifully pendant earring. Thus began her search for the owner. She ventured into the Supply House, hoping to find her at the bar. Packed to the gills, it was all but impenetrable. She dropped by again the next day, and the publican immediately agreed to post fliers in his establishment in case the woman returned. “We’re all for helping out pretty much everyone in the neighborhood we can,” said Ryan O’Flaherty, an owner and manager of the saloon. “Isn’t that what most nice people would do? We’ll do our bit in any way we can, and hopefully, we’ll get the earring back to its rightful owner.” Of course, there was no guarantee that she was a Supply House patron,

and so Sternberg photographed the earring and taped multiple ﬂiers to all the lampposts on a two-block stretch of Second Avenue between 84th and 86th Streets. Inevitably, some have already been torn down; others are still standing. “I will happily return the earring to you,” they proclaim, “IF you can show me the matching earring!” What motivated her? Sternberg — who became an NYPD sergeant in 1994, after making detective in 1989 as the only woman in her class of 10 trainees — cherishes the jewelry her boyfriend has given her, and she says she would be heart-struck if it ever went missing. “If I had an earring that was that beautiful, and somehow I’d lost it, and I was sentimental, I’d be absolutely devastated,” she said. “And I would really, really, really want to get it back. So I thought, ‘Let me try everything I

Retired NYPD Sgt. Robin Sternberg holds the 18-carat gold earring she found on a Second Avenue sidewalk after the St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 17. Photo: Robin Sternberg can to get this back to its owner.’” And what if no one comes forward now to claim the gem? Well, Sternberg is prepared for that, too. “If I can’t find the owner now, I’ll keep it for another year,” she said. “Then, come next St. Patrick’s Day, I’ll put up some more ﬂiers. Because one can’t really know, but maybe this is something the owner does once a year. And if she doesn’t see it this year, then maybe she’ll see it next year.” Did you lose this earring? Do you know who did? Can you help Robin Sternberg solve The Case of the Lost Earring and return it to its rightful owner? Let us know. Contact reporter Douglas Feiden at invreporter@strausnews.com. You can also get in touch with the staff of the Supply House, at 1647 Second Avenue, between 85th and 86th Streets, 646-861-3585.

NOTICE OF JOINT PUBLIC HEARING, APRIL 10 , 2017 INTENT TO AWARD AS A CONCESSION THE OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF A FERRY SERVICE AT GANGWAY SIX IN THE BATTERY, MANHATTAN TO NEW YORK TRANS HARBOR LLC D/B/A NEW YORK WATER TAXI NOTICE OF A JOINT PUBLIC HEARING of the Franchise and Concession Review Committee and the New York City th th Department of Parks and Recreation to be held on Monday, April 10 , 2017 at 2 Lafayette Street, 14 Floor Auditorium, Borough of Manhattan, commencing at 2:30 p.m. relative to: INTENT TO AWARD as a concession for the operation and maintenance of a ferry service at Gangway Six in The Battery, Manhattan (“Licensed Premises”), for a potential six (6) year term, to New York Trans Harbor LLC d/b/a New York Water Taxi. Compensation to the City will be as follows: for each operating year, New York Trans Harbor LLC d/b/a New York Water Taxi shall pay to the City license fees consisting of the greater of a guaranteed minimum annual fee versus a percentage of gross receipts (Year 1: $125,000.00 vs. 10%; Year 2: $132,500.00 vs. 10%; Year 3: $140,450.00 vs. 10%; Year 4: $148,877.00 vs. 10%; Year 5: 157,809.62 vs. 10%; Year 6: $167, 278.19 vs. 10%).

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A draft copy of the agreement may be reviewed or obtained at no cost, commencing Friday, March 24, 2017, through Monday, April 10, 2017, between the hours of 9 am and 5 pm, excluding weekends and holidays at the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, located at 830 Fifth Avenue, Room 313, New York, NY 10065. Individuals requesting Sign Language Interpreters should contact the Mayor’s Office of Contract Services, Public Hearings Unit, 253 Broadway, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10007, (212) 788-7490, no later than SEVEN (7) BUSINESS DAYS PRIOR TO THE PUBLIC HEARING. TELECOMMUNICATION DEVICE FOR THE DEAF (TDD) 212-504-4115

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APRIL 6-12,2017

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Voices

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

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

ocrat. But she is aligned with the Republicans. That is what is is shocking even though she made no secret of her intentions to join with the Republicans in Albany. Justice Emily Jane Goodman New York State Supreme Court Ret

TAKING SIDES Your reporter quotes me as being shocked that Sen. Alcantara was elected in an UWS Democratic district, (March 30-April 5). I’m afraid that misses the point. Of course she was elected because she ran as a Dem-

QUALITY OF LIFE Just want to say that this issue (March 30-April 5) was quite interesting — very newsy and communityfriendly. I especially enjoyed reading

about the recipients of the 2017 Otty awards and Bette Dewing’s column reminding us all of how important it is to try to hold onto our neighborhood’s small businesses. Ordering online and shopping at the big discount stores is great some of the time ... but please save a little of your business for the neighborhood shops that are ﬁghting for survival. I commend Our Town for the excellent job they do of highlighting so many serious quality of life issues. Susan Coleman Upper East Side

Protestors picketed outside state Senator Marisol Alcantara’s office in Washington Heights last month. Photo: Madeleine Thompson

IMPRESSIONS AND OPINIONS EAST SIDE OBSERVER BY ARLENE KAYATT

Seating for the Select only — Great news: the M15 bus stop at Second Avenue and 86th Street has been relocated to the newly widened block between 86th and 87th Street. The bus shelter on the 86th Street corner has seating. And it’s where the Select bus stops. The fare boxes are several feet north of the shelter. And there’s a pole designating where the local bus stops. Only problem is that the location of the shelter seating makes it difficult or impossible for a rider waiting for a local bus to walk or run quickly enough to make it to the local from the Select stop. A reasonable solution would be to have seating a few feet north of the fare boxes WITHOUT a shelter. That way all riders would be accommodated, including those with disabilities. Sound doable? Let the bureaucracy begin. Millionaires in a row — The UES is having its share of high roller wins. The convenience store on Third between 91st/92nd had a million-dollar winner in Powerball in February. And the convenience store midblock on Lex between 89th/90th had a winner in the half-million-dollar range around the same time. As the ad goes, you have to be in it to win it. The UES is listening.

The house on 91st Street — You have to commend UESiders. No NIMBY attitude for them. With all the bad press about neighborhoods being unreceptive to supportive housing and shelters, the community has come out strong for the Win — Women in Need — permanent supportive housing for homeless women and their children, which is starting construction at 316 East 91st and should be completed in the next two years. It will be seven stories, and have 17 apartments for mothers and their kids; an early learning center for children; ofﬁces for social services support staff for the single-parent families; and commercial space, as well as amenities like an outside space (not sure if its for use of residents or school, both or something else). The community turnout to hear presenters from WIN was large on the rainy late March meeting of Community Board 8’s Health, Seniors and Social Services Committee, chaired by Barbara Rudder. After lengthy discussion, WIN received the committee’s unanimous go-ahead. Although in favor of the building, some residents expressed disappointment — some in fact were outraged — that adequate security measures were not included in WIN’S housing plan. The plan has no round-the-clock security guards and only vague descriptions about the location of surveillance cameras in elevators or in open spaces or within the school and commercial portions of the premises. There also

is no full-time superintendent on the premises. This is a 24/7 residential, educational and commercial building. The school will be up and running at least ﬁve days a week, as will support services staff offices. And no security plan in place. Unbelievable. Jerry Mascuch, vice president of real estate for WIN, opined — make that complained — that he got calls “all the time” from security people — “but all they want is money.” Yes, security staffing costs money. You can’t have a multi-use premises and not have good security and protection for those who live and work in the building. Yet WIN hasn’t provided a security plan. The WIN presenters, including Mascuch, said they couldn’t make commitments concerning security. They could promise only that they would “advocate” for security. They must be kidding. An atrisk population; multi-use premises; Children who live and go to school in the building. Final approval by Board 8 at its April 19th meeting should be put on hold until Win presents a fully described security plan with adequate funding in their annual budget. It is a dereliction of duty to do otherwise. It’s a disservice to the tenants, their children, the school, commercial tenants and the community. Not all apartment buildings or complexes have doormen or concierges. But they do have other security measures including guards, surveillance cameras and a security desk. Safety matters and should not be ignored or given short shrift.

Photo: Hec Tate Cosmetic changes — Since 2015 Blue Mercury has been making its mark on cosmetics and our neighborhoods. The company started in 1999 and was taken over by Macy’s. The booming retailer is a presence throughout Manhattan — from SoHo to Yorkville to Broadway and other avenues. Stores are generally small in scale and carry upscale cosmetic products and services. Blue Mercury has become a new brand commercial retailer and their presence is starting to identify neighborhoods the way Gap once did. The way Dry Dock bank once did. And the way CVS, Duane Reade do now. Today, it’s big box and chain stores. BM’s look is spiffy and upscale. But it’s a chain. Where once cosmetics were relegated to sections of small stores, they now have their own storefront space in free standing

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locations. Sephora, which started it all in 1969 came to NY in 1998, is larger and more expansive in product brands than their new-kid-on-the-block competition. Both are front and center in 21st century commercial Manhattan. Corporate’s in, moms and pops are out. Great decision — This just in: Manhattan Supreme Court Judge George J. Silver has been appointed deputy chief administrative judge for New York City courts. Silver is highly regarded by the judiciary for his expertise in settling cases, his administrative skills and the efficiency with which he runs his courtroom. Good news for the court system.

Editor-In-Chief, Alexis Gelber editor.ot@strausnews.com Deputy Editor Staff Reporters Richard Khavkine Madeleine Thompson editor.otdt@strausnews.com newsreporter@strausnews.com Senior Reporter Michael Garofalo Doug Feiden reporter@strausnews.com invreporter@strausnews.com

APRIL 6-12,2017

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turn your phone into new york’s #1 hospital. Welcome to NYP OnDemand from NewYork-Presbyterian. The internet has transformed our lives, letting us access the services we want, when and where we want them. Yet we still get our medical care the way our parents did: waiting for an appointment, then sitting in a waiting room. At NewYork-Presbyterian, that’s all changing. We are one of the leading major academic medical centers in the nation to offer a comprehensive suite of services online. When you download the NYP App, you will have New York’s # 1 hospital right on your phone. From expert second opinions, to urgent care, to virtual visits – you’ll have easy access to world-class doctors from Columbia and Weill Cornell. To learn more about NYP OnDemand, go to nyp.org/ondemand

Or text “NYP” to 69697

APRIL 6-12,2017

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MARBLE COLLEGIATE CHURCH Upcoming Events

Holy Week 2017 at Marble

Out & About More Events. Add Your Own: Go to otdowntown.com

Photo by Nic McPhee via Flickr

Thu 6 SHATTERED CIRCLE

Dr. Michael B. Brown preaching Palm Sunday, April 9 10:00am - Family Worship, Prayer Circle and Bible Study with Sister Carol Perry 11:00am - Worship Maundy Thursday, April 13 7:00pm - Worship Music by The Marble Choir. Dramatic Readings. Holy Communion. Good Friday, April 14 11:30am - Instrumental Music for Prayer & Meditation Noon - Worship Marble Festival of Voices: Requiem of Antonín Dvořák (Part I) 1:00-3:00pm - Prayer Vigil 7:00pm - New Orleans-Style Jazz Funeral for Christ Easter Sunday, April 16 8:15am - Prayer Circle 9:00 & 11:00am - Worship Event listings brought to you by Marble Collegiate Church. 1 West 29th Street / New York, New York 10001 212 686 2770 / MarbleChurch.org

The Mysterious Bookshop, 58 Warren St. 5:30-7:30 p.m. “Oldest and greatest” mystery bookstore in the country holding reading and book signing of “A Shattered Circle,” with its author Kevin Egan. 212-587-1011. mysteriousbookshop.com

International symposium by Global Dante Project of N.Y. on Dante’s “De vulgari eloquentia,” 1302-05 essay on relationship between Latin and vernacular speech. 212-998-8739. casaitaliananyu.org

‘THE QUIET VOICE’ Nora’s Playhouse, 1 Washington Square Village. 7-9 p.m. $10. RSVP. Reading of Elizabeth Curtis’ one-act play, adapted from “Letters from a Lost Generation” collection of wartime letters 1914-18. norasplayhouse.org.

JAZZ QUINTET▲ Smalls Jazz Club, 183 West 10th St. 10:30 p.m.-1 a.m. $20 The Roxy Coss Quintet debuts the music of Coss’ new release, “Chasing the Unicorn.” 212-929-7565. smallsjazzclub. com

Fri 7 DANTE’S LABORATORY NYU Casa Italiana ZerilliMarimò, 24 West 12th St. 3-6:30 p.m.

Sat 8 ANTI-STREET HARASSMENT RALLY Tompkins Square Park, 500 East Ninth St. 2-4 p.m. Hollaback taking part in AntiStreet Harassment Rally as part of International Anti-Street Harassment Week. Speakers, performances, break-out session. ihollaback.org.

PUPPET & MUSIC Jane’s Exchange, 191 East Third St. 2-3 p.m. Join Esther and her puppet friends for an hour of stories and fun in a “wonderful little kids consigment shop.” 212-677-0380. janesexchangenyc.com

Sun 9 EGG DYEING► Lucky, 168 Ave. B. 2-4 p.m. Join in some old-fashioned Easter Egg dyeing. “PAAS, of course, as well as crayons, markers and other secret tricks to make eggs look beautiful provided.” Bring a dozen eggs. 212-777-3111. luckyonb.com

10 + TALLER, 18741900 The Skyscraper Museum, 39 Battery Pl. 12-6 p.m. $5. Exhibition of N.Y.’s earliest skyscrapers, surveying every building in Manhattan of 10+ stories, 250 in all, tracing urban development of vertical rise. 212-968-1961. skyscraper.org

APRIL 6-12,2017

Mon 10 INTRO IMPROVISATION Greenwich House Music School, 46 Barrow St. 1-4 p.m. $20 session. Preregister. N.Y. Hot Jazz Youth Camp (Spring break sessions) welcomes students on all instruments ages 10-15 to explore the building blocks of jazz. 212-242-4770. nyhotjazzcamp.com

THE COLOR PURPLE IFC Center, 323 Sixth Ave. 8-11 p.m. $15 IFC wraps up winter season with “The Color Purple,” (1985) about experiences of AfricanAmerican women in 1930s Georgia; Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey. 212-924-7771. ifccenter.com

Tue 11 CABARET BENEFIT The Duplex Cabaret & Piano Bar, 61 Christopher St. 9:30-10:30 p.m. $10 “Freely,” a cabaret for all, with songs from the jazz and Golden Era to works by contemporary songwriters. Proceeds donated to the ACLU. 212-255-5438. theduplex. com

Photo by Dan Zen via Flickr

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

ART & THEFT The Andaz Wall Street, 75 Wall St. 7-9:30 p.m. Free Pen Parentis Literary Salon focuses on art and theft with art crime professor Erin Thompson and novelists Susan Daitch and Wendy Lee. 212-501-2031. www. penparentis.org

Wed 12 ‘DEAD DARLINGS’▼ Judson Memorial Church, 55 Washington Square S. 8 p.m. $10

Monthly salon in which N.Y.C. “personalities perform, read, sing, whatever,” a piece of their work that died on the cutting room ﬂoor. 212-477-0351. judson.org

‘TABLE & PILLS & THINGS’ Pierogi, 155 Suffolk St. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Works on paper by Dawn Clements: “Captures alternately quotidian and ﬁlmic scenes of fragmented tableaus & narratives, perspective disruptions & passage of time ...” 646-429-9073. pierogi2000. com

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

APRIL 6-12,2017

NATIVE SON MUSEUMS

The Met Breuer presents Marsden Hartley’s paintings of his home state, Maine BY VAL CASTRONOVO

Marsden Hartley (1877-1943), an icon of American modernism, was born in Lewiston, Maine, and died in Ellsworth. But he transcended his roots and traveled widely in his lifetime, only returning to his home state for good in 1937, when he declared himself the “painter from Maine.” He is perhaps most famous for his abstract painting of a soldier, “Portrait of a German Officer” (1914), part of a series executed in Berlin and part of The Met’s permanent collection (but not included in the current show). The more than 100 works on view at The Met Breuer instead spotlight his Down East land- and seascapes — mountains, waves and rocky coasts—with nine paintings of the natives and a smattering of figure drawings thrown in. Hartley’s mother died when he was 8, and a sense of loneliness, and dislocation, pervade many of the works and arguably contributed to his wanderlust. He was gay and also roamed Europe and North America to escape the provincialism of rural Maine. But whether in Paris, Berlin or New York, Maine remained a source of inspiration. As he wrote in “On the Subject of Nativeness — A Tribute to Maine” (1937): “My own education [began] in my native hills, going with me these hills wherever I went, looking never more wonderful than they did to me in Paris, Berlin, or Provence.” A self-described “Maine-iac”, he always felt the presence of his home turf when he was away. In a 1929 letter to patron Alfred Stieglitz from the south of France, he stated: “I have never once stepped off my own soil — No matter where my eyes or my mind may have been[,] my feet have never left the soil that was the first to be called home to them.” And he kept going back, however briefly, summering in Ogunquit and visiting elsewhere in the state in pursuit of subjects to paint. Memory, imagination and Transcendentalism fueled his art, as did

IF YOU GO WHAT: “Marsden Hartley’s Maine” WHERE: The Met Breuer, 945 Madison Ave., at 75th Street WHEN: Through June 18 www.metmuseum.org Cézanne’s serial views of Mont SainteVictoire, Hokusai’s and Hiroshige’s colorful prints of Mount Fuji, Winslow Homer’s crashing waves in Prouts Neck, Maine, and Albert Pinkham Ryder’s dark seascapes. Hartley aspired to greatness and looked to these greats to show him the way. Maine’s folk art moved him. The mountain, in particular, captured his imagination. In the early 1900s, he painted the state’s western mountains in a PostImpressionist style. He exhibited “The Silence of High Noon — Midsummer” (ca.1907–08) at Alfred Stieglitz’s 291 gallery in New York in 1909, his ﬁrst one-man show. In his later years, he aimed to do for Mount Katahdin in Baxter State Park what Cézanne did

Marsden Hartley (American, 1877-1943). Mt. Katahdin (Maine), Autumn #2, 1939–40. Oil on canvas, 30 1/4 x 40 1/4 in. (76.8 x 102.2 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Edith and Milton Lowenthal Collection, Bequest of Edith Abrahamson Lowenthal, 1991 for Mont Sainte-Victoire in Aix-enProvence. Seven painted views, showing seasonal change, close the show and represent the culmination of a lifelong fascination. In the 1930s, Hartley became in-

Marsden Hartley (American, 1877-1943), “The Silence of High Noon — Midsummer,” 1907–08. Oil on canvas, 30 1/2 x 30 1/2 in. (77.5 x 77.5 cm). Collection of Jan T. and Marica Vilcek, Promised Gift to The Vilcek Foundation.

creasingly aware of his legacy and strove to not just paint Maine but to “be recognized as Maine’s greatest modern interpreter,” the show’s co-curator, Randall Griffey, writes in the catalog. John Marin (1870-1953), another member of Stieglitz’s circle, gave Hartley heat in 1936 when the Museum of Modern Art gave a solo show to the artist from New Jersey, who also painted the Maine scene. Hartley proclaimed himself the “painter from Maine” the next year in an exhibition at Stieglitz’s An American Place, and followed up, until 1940, with annual shows of Maine landscapes and more at the Hudson D. Walker Gallery on East 57th Street. As Griffey writes of the ﬁrst presentation in 1938: “[T]he Hudson Walker exhibition constituted Hartley’s fullfledged entrée into Regionalism, a nativist movement in American art … Regionalism answered the call for cultural rootedness in American art by championing local subject matter as an antidote to imported ideas and aesthetics, namely, European modernism.” The show at The Met Breuer is a hyper-local collection of rivers, hills, churches, logs and lobster traps. The mountainscapes — and logscapes — are characteristically devoid of people, unlike the Fuji views of Hartley’s heroes Hokusai and Hiroshige, which

are sometimes peppered with small ﬁgures (eight gorgeous prints are on display). Hartley’s ﬁgures — unnamed working-class types, grouped together in a separate room — loom large, though, and are mostly male, with intimations of homoeroticism. In the catalog, Griffey notes Hartley’s special debt to Cézanne in these latecareer paintings. “Flaming American (Swim Champ)” (1939-40) and “Young Seadog with Friend Billy” (a self-portrait, 1942) boast subjects that are bulky and “sit impassively like Madame Cézanne in her many portraits.” The “Lobster Fishermen” (1940-41), meanwhile, “appear descended from Cézanne’s similarly static and similarly plebian card players.” But the most obvious parallel relates to one of the show’s signature images, “Canuck Yankee Lumberjack at Old Orchard Beach” (1940-41), a hyper-masculine iteration of Cézanne’s iconic “The Bather” (ca. 1885) — two guys in swim trunks, arms akimbo. Per the curator, “Hartley’s male bather … is … more erotically charged, with his bulging pink swim trunks occupying center stage and bisected by the horizon line.” The artist, who fancied himself the heir to Homer, was making his mark on Maine.

APRIL 6-12,2017

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

NEW NOVEL EXPLORES UNSOLVED CITY MYSTERY BOOKS A talk with John Freeman Gill about “The Gargoyle Hunters,’ evoking a brazen heist in the ‘70s BY MADELEINE THOMPSON

Native New Yorker John Freeman Gill’s new book, “The Gargoyle Hunters,” takes on the perspective of a 13-year-old boy growing up and navigating his parents’ divorce in the city. The novel dovetails with the true story of a spectacular theft that occurred in the ’70s, which captured the author’s imagination. Freeman Gill will be giving several talks about his book this month at the Skyscraper Museum on April 18 and at Landmark West! on April 25. Our Town caught up with Freeman Gill to ask about the writing process and his sources of inspiration.

Tell me about how you got the idea for this book — it was inspired by a New York Times article? How did you stumble across that story? I wouldn’t say that it was inspired by a New York Times article. A climatic incident in [“The Gargoyle Hunters”] is the true life, brazen and seemingly impossible architectural heist that took place in 1974, and it made the front page of the New York Times. A number of people actually stole an entire landmark city building right out from under the nose of the Landmarks Preservation Commission, and the mystery was never solved. I wanted to know how that worked out and who stole the building and why, and what they did with it. So I sat down and wrote that story.

You’ve written mostly nonﬁction. What made you want to try your hand at a novel? I always considered myself a fiction writer who happened to be writing other kinds of stories. Even when I was doing journalism, I always looked at articles that I wrote from the perspective of storytelling and character. I’m interested in character-driven stories.

Your official bio says that, along with your family, you live with a couple of gargoyles. Are those just on the outside of your build-

Are you looking for a camp this summer?

LOOK NO FURTHER! “Being a New Yorker is bittersweet,” says author John Freeman Gill. Photo: Derek Shapton

ing or are you also a collector? I am a scavenger and collector. I have a number of architectural carvings. I have this really beautiful weathered old man’s wizened face carved in limestone that spent a century atop a doorway in Harlem. I have some Shea Stadium seats. I have these two really gorgeous scowling dragons — carved out of wood with menacing jaws and protruding tongues and glaring eyes. I thought they would be very cool objects for my children to grow up around.

The opening line of the book asks, “Why do we stay?” and I’m wondering — did you come up with an answer to that? Is that what your goal in writing this book was, to answer that question? I think it’s a rhetorical question and everyone may have their own answers. I think that being a New Yorker is bittersweet, it’s a lifelong unrequited love affair. I have a great reverence for New York City’s gorgeous period buildings and it’s essential that we have a strong preservation movement in this city, to keep developers from destroying all of our architectural jewels. However, I also am not someone who feels [that] every old thing ought to be landmarked. The moment

you freeze New York City in amber it will cease to be New York City.

What are some of your favorite books about New York? Did any of them inspire you in the process of this book? I read every book I could get my hands on that was reputed to be beautifully written — I wanted to immerse myself in beautiful language — [and] I read books about or narrated by young characters, because my book is told in the first person. I read all the Doctorow books. I read Jonathan Lethem. I read David Gilbert’s “And Sons.” None of them in any way was a model. Probably my favorite New York City book is “Time and Again” by Jack Finney. It’s a time travel story where a character travels back from the 20th century to the 19th century. It’s very evocative. While I was reading that book, I also was interviewing real-life gargoyle hunters who had rescued hundred or thousands of New York City architectural sculptures from the landfill in the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Madeleine Thompson can be reached at newsreporter@strausnews.com.

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RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS MAR 22 - 28, 2017 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.

Mikaku

85 Kenmare St

Mirch Masala

95 Macdougal St

Court Street Grocer’s Laguardia Place

540 Laguardia Pl

Go Zen Restaurant

144 W 4th St

Unico

156 Sullivan St

Piers Pizza Company

61 Chelsea Piers Pier

Le Pain Quotidien

205 Bleecker St

Billy’s Bakery

184 9 Avenue

La Contenta

102 Norfolk St

Sports Center Cafe

0 Chelsea Piers

Pitt Pizzeria

85 Pitt St

Flatiron Lounge

37 West 19 Street

Dunkin’ Donuts

101 West 23 Street

Golden Wok Chinese Restaurant

209 8th Ave

Grade Pending (42) 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. Food Protection Certiﬁcate not held by supervisor of food operations. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. 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.

Grade Pending (21) Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Personal cleanliness inadequate. Outer garment soiled with possible contaminant. Effective hair restraint not worn in an area where food is prepared. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.

River Coyote

121 Ludlow St

Verlaine

110 Rivington Street

Libation

137 Ludlow Street

Cafe Petisco

189 East Broadway

Blue Bottle Coffee

71 Clinton St

Seraﬁna Ludlow

98 Rivington St

Grade Pending (20) Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred. Wiping cloths soiled or not stored in sanitizing solution.

Yopparai

151 Rivington Street

Spaghetti Incident

231 Eldridge St

M1-5

52 Walker Street

Grade Pending (4)

Golden Fung Wong Bakery

41 Mott Street

Buddha Bodai One Vegetarian Restaurant

5 Mott St

Grade Pending (25) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Food worker does not use proper utensil to eliminate bare hand contact with food that will not receive adequate additional heat treatment. 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.

Village Den Restaurant

225 W 12th St

Spice Grill

199 8th Ave

Closed (67)Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked ﬁsh and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Food not cooled by an approved method whereby the internal product temperature is reduced from 140º F to 70º F or less within 2 hours, and from 70º F to 41º F or less within 4 additional hours. Food Protection Certiﬁcate not held by supervisor of food operations. Food, food preparation area, food storage area, area used by employees or patrons, contaminated by sewage or liquid waste. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

O’Hanlon’s Bar

349 East 14 Street

Fair Folks And A Goat

330 E 11th St

Pokeworks

23 E 15th St

Not Yet Graded (7)

Sunburst Espresso Bar

206 3 Avenue

Taco Bell, Pizza Hut Express

18 East 14 Street

Num Pang

28 E 12th St

Cafe Hong Kong

51 Bayard St

Sanpanino

494 Hudson Street

Attravesiamo

225 W Broadway

The Clam

420 Hudson St

Dunkin Donuts

303 Canal St

Via Carota

51 Grove St

Woops! Bakeshop

93 Worth St

Heermance Farm Purveyors 183 Christopher St

Perpetuum Cafe

200 Church St

Patisserie Claude

187 West 4 Street

246 Spring Street

Left Bank

117 Perry Street

Trump Soho Main Kitchen Cafeteria

Big Gay Ice Cream Shop

61 Grove Street

M & W Bakery

85A Bayard Street

Tacombi Bleecker St.

255 Bleecker St

Il Tramezzino

180 Varick Street

Fair Folks

96 West Houston Street

Rintintin

14 Spring Street

The Rice Noodle

Joe’s Shanghai Restaurant 9 Pell Street

Grade Pending (27) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Tobacco use, eating, or drinking from open container in food preparation, food storage or dishwashing area observed. 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.

Cafe Mae Mae

70 Vandam Street

190 Bleecker St

XO Restaurant

148 Hester Street

Jane

100 W Houston St

+ 81 Gallery New York

167 Elizabeth St

Grade Pending (26) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Amity Hall

80 West 3 Street

Hometown Hotpot & Bbq

194 Grand St

APRIL 6-12,2017

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

RAISING THE BATON MUSIC Women conductors aspire to break through the occupation’s gender barriers BY RUI MIAO

Jennifer Drake is no stranger to the conducting podium. As the music director of Serenata Orchestra, a community orchestra based in Boise, Idaho, she picks up the baton from time to time. “Conducting is maybe about 10 percent of what I do,” said the violist. “But it’s becoming an increasingly important component of my life.” After a March trip to New York City, conducting is destined to play a bigger role for her. She was one of 12 conductor fellows who attended last month’s inaugural International Women’s Conducting Workshop hosted by the New York Conducting Institute in Chelsea. Conducting is a traditionally male-dominated occupation — in 2016, just 9 percent of music directors in the United States were women, according to the League of American Orchestras. Drake is the only female conductor of a community orchestra in the state of Idaho. “What’s disappointing is ... we’ve seen a growing number of women playing in the orchestra, but we haven’t seen the same growth on the podium.” said Diane Wittry, principal conductor of the Allentown Symphony Orchestra and the workshop’s instructor. She likened the enduring dearth of women conductors to a parallel situation in the business world. “We’ve seen some growth of women executives in business, but not as much growth as we would’ve hoped or expected for,” she said. The workshop, held at the National Opera Center on Seventh Avenue, focused on techniques and movements. The subtleties often omitted in a unisex conducting class were included here. “Women tend to cave their shoulder a little bit more as a natural body stance than men, who tend to stand with their shoulders back more — this affects conducting,” Wittry said. “In this workshop, we were able to talk about some of those things.” Drake praised the workshop’s organizers for focusing on

The Thalia theater on West 95th Street and Broadway in the 1980s. Photo: Carl Burton

REELING IN THE YEARS Erica Johansen, a workshop participant, with Diane Wittry, principal conductor of the Allentown Symphony Orchestra and the workshop’s instructor. Photo: Douglas Bain more than score and instrumental education. “It helps people learn how to move and get the ideas out from their head into their hand, so it can be communicated to the orchestra,” Drake said of the “baton basics” portion of the workshop. “Conductors have to be able to know everything that’s in the score on the printed page,” she said. “But we also have to know the people in the orchestra and the instruments that they are playing, we need to be able to inspire them to create the music that’s written on the page, and bring it to life.” Drake recalled that she was “skeptical” about attending a women-specific workshop. “Oftentimes in competitive professional situations, women can be catty and cut each other down,” she said. “But this has been an incredible supportive group of women.” The workshop featured two full orchestra sessions and ﬁve sextet sessions. Each conducting fellow had 13 minutes of “podium time” during each of the seven sessions. The sextet and the orchestra — comprised of professional musicians who are mostly freelancers in New York City — played Stravinsky’s “Firebird Suite” (the 1919 version) and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 under the direction of the conducting fellows. Susan Metcalf, the orches-

tra’s concertmaster, called the workshop was a memorable experience. “I had to forget everything I learned” in order to not only follow the fellows — some are in their early 20’s and were there to learn from mistakes — but also to support them, she said. “I really wanted them to know that I was on their side, that they were safe in front of us.” The workshop also included a series of career seminars and panel discussions featuring established female conductors Victoria Bond, Teresa Cheung, Janna Hymes and Gisele BenDor. The discussions covered topics such as succeeding in a male-dominated ﬁeld. “Conducting is a very lonely job, male or female,” Wittry said. “There are very few conductors in each city, especially in a smaller city.” The workshop brou ght 19-year-old Lucy Becker, a music education student at University of Kentucky, to New York City for the ﬁrst time. She was one of eight auditor fellows who didn’t conduct on the podium, but were invited to attend all of the classes and panel discussions. “We talked about lots of questions you can’t Google,” she said. “To talk with women that are in this life, living the life that I want to have as a conductor, as a musician — that’s the best you can get.”

HISTORY The Thalia, a revival movie house on West 95th, veered from Stanwyck classics to “Easy Rider” BY RAANAN GEBERER

There was a time, before DVDs, before VHS, when there were only two places to see classic movies of the past: museums and revival theaters. There were quite a few revival theaters in New York, and one of the best-known was the small Thalia theater, on West 95th Street just west of Broadway. Hardcore ﬁlm buffs would eagerly peruse the ads in the Village Voice and other papers back then just to see what would be playing in these theaters. The Thalia’s offerings ranged from “Easy Rider” to “The Lady Vanishes,” from “A Day at the Races” to “Glen or Glenda.” Back in the ‘80s, one of my co-workers in the New York City Housing Authority, whose job it was to show movies at NYCHA-affiliated senior centers, was a film buff. One weekend, she excitedly asked me to go to the Thalia. “Two Barbara Stanwyck movies from the 1940s are playing!” she said. I didn’t know who Barbara Stanwyck was, but I soon found out that she was one of the great ladies of the screen

in the ‘30s and ‘40s, on a par with Bette Davis and Lauren Bacall. The much-loved Art Deco movie house opened in 1931 in a building that also houses the much larger Symphony Space (today’s Thalia is actually part of Symphony Space, but more about that later). In the 1940s, it was known for showing foreign films. In the ‘50s, it began showing Hollywood classics as well. The Thalia’s longtime owner, who died in 1955, was named Martin Lewis, which is interesting because it’s almost certain that the Thalia, at one time or another, screened films by the famous 1950s comedy duo of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Lewis’ widow, Ursula, ret i red f rom m a n a ging the theater in 1973. In 1977, a new owner, Richard Schwartz, bought the theater, which had deteriorated, and installed new seating, repaired the ceiling, repainted the walls and displayed Al Hirschfeld caricatures of movie greats of yesteryear. He continued showing classic and foreign ﬁlms. The Thalia also gained newfound fame when it was used as one of the locations for Woody Allen’s “Annie Hall.” The Thalia did well for many years, but eventually, like many theaters, it began losing money. The ‘80s, don’t forget, saw a boom in video

stores and VHS recorder/ players. On weekends, these stores were always busy. While most video stores specialized in mainstream movies, there were stores — especially in neighborhoods like the West Side — that carried classics and foreign films. The Thalia closed its doors in 1987. It reopened in 1993 under new management and operated on and off with several different policies (art films again, African films, Indian films, live comedy shows) only to close again in 1999. In April of that year, after Symphony Space sold its property and air rights to the Related Companies, builders who were preparing to construct an apartment tower above the building gutted the Thalia’s interior. Local preservationists decried the move. “After Radio City Music Hall, the Thalia was probably the most interesting Art Deco cinema in New York City,” architectural historian Michael Godkin in The Times. The Thalia was basically saved by a $1.5 million donation from none other than Leonard Nimoy, he of Star Trek fame. The donation helped Symphony Space rehabilitate the theater and reopen it in 2002. The 168-seat theater is now known as the Leonard Nimoy Thalia, and still screens films.

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

APRIL 6-12,2017

Business

GARMENT DISTRICT’S UNRAVELING FASHION Some fear a city plan to relocate fashion manufacturing and design industries to Brooklyn could lead to their demise BY LILY HAIGHT

Mr. Fowler. Photo: Tom Arena, Manhattan Sideways

ON THE SIDE STREETS OF NEW YORK GRAHAME G. FOWLER — 138 WEST 10TH STREET Ten years ago, a clever father and son team decided to utilize a space that was once a dry cleaner and turn it into their men’s clothing boutique. Everything is designed by Mr. Fowler Sr. and made in New York. The only exception is the shoe collection, which comes from Mr. Fowler’s original home: England. To read more, visit Manhattan Sideways (sideways.nyc), created by Betsy Bober Polivy.

On a rainy Friday afternoon, Swatch the Boston Terrier, famous for his many appearances on the reality television show “Project Runway,” lies fast asleep on the first floor of Mood Fabrics on West 37th street, oblivious to the surrounding bustle. Designers step over his snoring body as they search through rows and rows of chiffon, silk, cotton and corduroy. Employees cut swatches of fabric, measure lengths of ribbon and help customers ﬁnd the perfect button, all the while organizing and reorganizing countless rolls of fabric. People stream in and out of the store, some making a beeline for a particular fabric, others headed straight to the counter that sells Mood Fabrics T-shirts and souvenirs. Swatch sleeps through it all, heedless of a tourist leaning down to snap a photo. Because of its role as fabric supplier for the competing designers on “Project Runway,” more than 1,500 people course through Mood Fabrics each day. Most are tourists, hoping for a glimpse of “Project Runway” judge Heidi Klum, or of the show’s famous fashion mentor, Tim Gunn. According to Mood Fabrics’ owner, Jack Sauma, who has been in the garment industry for 42 years, the show brought “tourists and life” to the industry, and the district, which occupies about a square mile from 34th to 42nd Streets, west of Fifth Avenue. But despite Mood Fabrics’ success, small designers and business owners in the historic district are trying to keep the industry alive as they face skyrocketing rents and hotels and businesses coveting space in the neighborhood. “I used to have like 400 young designers come into the store, now I have maybe 20 or 30,” Sauma said. “Small designers can’t afford to be here.” To fight off the prospect of a moribund Garment District, the city’s Economic Development Corp., in collaboration with the Council of Fashion Designers of America and the Garment District Alliance, last month announced a $51.3 million support package for the garment manufacturing industry. The EDC says that the support package will bring investment in new technology for small manufacturers, enhance workforce development, and strengthen business-to-business networking. It will also provide grants for businesses that wish to relocate to Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The ini-

Garment District employers and workers fear that the city’s rezoning plan for the neighborhood threatens the manufacturing industry more than helps it, and could mean the end of the historic district altogether. Photo: Lily Haight tiative is part of a larger rezoning plan that representatives from the EDC and the Department of City Planning outlined to anxious fashion designers and fabric sellers at a Community Board 5 meeting on March 22. Many are skeptical of the initiative. “What my concern is with what the EDC is offering is that it’s tied into the lifting of the zoning [laws],” said Samanta Cortes, a founder of Save the Garment Center, a nonproﬁt organization that has been working to preserve the city’s manufacturing industry since 2007. “If you lift up the zoning laws immediately, you’re destroying the industry.” Part of the rezoning plan will include removing a 1987 regulation that requires landlords and building owners within the district to reserve half of their buildings for manufacturing space. According to Cortes, there is not a strong enough “exit plan” to help designers and manufacturers relocate. Loosening the zoning laws, she said, will especially hurt small designers and business owners. Cortes suggested the industry’s wholesale exodus to Brooklyn would not be that difficult for “vertical designers,” who have offices, selling rooms and production rooms within one building. But, she suggested that without a 10-year exit plan in place to ease the transition, the EDC’s millions would not help smaller businesses, which would likely suffer once the zoning laws are lifted. Part of what makes the city’s Garment District distinct is the proximity of designers, manufacturers, and fabric and textile outlets. The relocation to Brooklyn could also impact the Theater District, which depends on the Garment District being close by for costume design. Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer echoed industry concerns in her April newsletter. “I think this plan will break up

what’s left of the Garment Center’s ecosystem in a way that will hasten its demise,” she wrote. Brewer is planning to bring together community members, business owners, designers and anyone concerned with the rezoning for a “Symposium on Urban Manufacturing” on April 24 at the High School of Fashion Industries. Members of the Garment District have also started a petition to halt the rezoning. For Mike Kaback, a city historian who has been giving tours of the Garment District for nearly 20 years, the scattering of the industry is unfortunate, yet inevitable. He said he appreciates the pushback against the new zoning proposal, but he also understood the city’s desire to direct the industry to a cheaper location in order to help businesses survive. Whether or not the city’s rezoning plans come to pass, the Garment District has been transformed over the decades. According to the EDC, the district has lost 95 percent of its workforce since its peak in 1950 and industry space has shrunk from 9 million square feet to just 830,000 square feet. “The hole is this big and they are giving a small patch,” said Sauma about the EDC’s proposed aid package to the district. As for Mood Fabrics, Sauma says the outlet isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. With “Project Runway” filming nearby and a steady stream of tourists visiting, it would not make sense to relocate. “I don’t think my business will thrive or get better if I am in Brooklyn,” he said. Sauma wants other businesses and designers to be able to stay in the area as well. He takes pride in his sewing school, which teaches 200 students every six weeks. “Once you take the industry out of here, I don’t think you will have the industry,” he said.

APRIL 6-12,2017

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

APRIL 6-12,2017

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

FAMILY-RUN STORE CELEBRATES 117 YEARS ON THE UWS SHOPS

painted a deep cerulean blue and the shelves are packed full of cleaning supplies, nuts and bolts, tools, plumbing equipment, among other items. A display of Benjamin Moore paint swatches takes up the area near the front door. “My father bought the store in 1971 from the original family, and my grandfather, who had a paint store on the Lower East Side, knew the original owners,” Stark said. “I was 14 then. I came in, started helping out and I’ve been here ever since.” For the neighborhood children, who occasionally stop by Beacon to get a free balloon, the highlight of the store is undoubtedly Bru, a gentle 12-yearold black lab with wisps of gray hair around her snout. “My brother called me up and said, ‘I got this dog but what do I do with her during the day?” Stark recalling how Bru came to be the store mascot as a young pup. “I said, ‘Bring her into the store.’ And everyone fell in love with her.” Bru has kept busy, greeting customers, kids and other dogs all day long. “We used to have parents tell me that the only way they could get their kids up on time for school was the promise that if they got up on time, they could go say hello to Bru ﬁrst,” Stark said. “So it’s been great.” Customers are also welcome to bring their own dogs when

Beacon Paint & Hardware prides itself on personalized service, community engagement and dogfriendliness BY RAZI SYED

Beacon Paint & Hardware, a family-run shop on the Upper West Side, has survived to see its 117th year by instilling loyalty in its customers. “I used to believe that if we could get people to the store once, we’d have them for life,” said Bruce Stark, co-owner of the store with his brother. “Because we’re nice, polite, helpful and honest.” As customers walked into the store on a recent Thursday afternoon, employees called them by name — a point Stark takes pride in. “We get to know them by name,” he said. “That’s the key to getting them back — we need a competitive advantage and personal service is our advantage. We get customers wanting to come back.” While the Stark family isn’t the original owner, the family can trace its connection to the earliest days of the store, which is located on Amsterdam Avenue between 77th and 78th Streets. Inside, the store walls are

Beacon Paint & Hardware, a stalwart of the Upper West Side. Photo: Razi Syed

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Beacon Paint & Hardware co-owner Bruce Stark, who has worked at the shop since his family purchased it from the original owners in 1971, when he was 14 years old. Photo: Razi Syed

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they visit. During a roughly hour-long period on a recent Thursday afternoon, two customers stopped by with their dogs, each of whom was given a dog treat by store employees. “We take care of the dogs first, then the people,” Stark said, laughing. “When Bru was a puppy, we used to have toys lying all over the ﬂoor; people complained and you never saw those people again.” Bruce’s brother, Steven, began working at the store in 2000, after leaving a career in journalism. Their sister, Ellen, works as the store’s bookkeeper. “We work the counter our-

selves, my brother and I, and we help people all day long,” Stark said. “So we always have management on-hand.” Traditionally, Beacon had been a paint store. In the last 30 years, the shop added hardware to its shelves. Looking at trends over the past several decades, Stark said there are fewer people ﬁxing up their places on their own but superintendents remain good customers. Beacon also retains commercial accounts for large hotels in the city, including the Waldorf Astoria, Hotel Belleclaire and The Plaza. Beacon prides itself on its engagement with the Upper West

Side community, which Stark said is impossible for a big box store to replicate. “My brother and I live on the Upper West Side, so we’re involved in everything from the Chamber of Commerce to the community board and block associations,” Stark said. “We also do a lot of charity events.” Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal, whose district includes the Upper West Side and parts of Hell’s Kitchen, has long been a fan of the store, noting the personalized service they offer. With competition from online and big stores, it’s even more precious to have a family-run

business, Rosenthal said, “not just because it’s a small business but because of because great service and community participation that they bring to the Upper West Side.” As part of its community engagement, the store gives the police department paint to cover graffiti and donates goods to P.S. 87, which is located yards away from the shop. One particular event, which the store has organized annually for the past 16 years, is the Walk-a-Thon to raise money for Guiding Eyes for the Blind, an organization which provides the blind with help in acquiring trained guide dogs. The Walk-a-Thons draw as many as 300 people each year and raise $10,000 to $15,000 annually. “It’s a celebration of the local community combining together,” said Rosenthal, who has been a guest at previous Walka-Thons. “It’s sort of a small town type of community event in the big city.” Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer points to the Starks’ community work as the store’s greatest strength. “They really understand community and it’s paid off,” Brewer said. Since Stark began working at the store in 1971, he has witnessed the Upper West Side change dramatically. “Back in the ‘70s and before that, there were single-roomoccupancies, flop houses ... there was certainly a lot more crime,” Stark said. “Then things got better and better and more expensive and expensive. That hasn’t exactly been good for everybody, as people get pushed out by the rents. Businesses are falling by the wayside, especially the small ones. “Now you say you live on the Upper West Side, people say ‘Wow, that’s a pretty nice place,’” Stark said. “Thirty years ago, it was, ‘I live on the Upper West Side’ and people said, ‘Why?’” As the store has moved into the 21st century, Beacon faces the threat of competition from a nearby Lowe’s and from online shopping. “You can always find something cheaper someplace else but you may not be able to ﬁnd good service — and that’s something that we do,” Stark said. “Doing the right thing, working hard — that keeps us going.”

APRIL 6-12,2017

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

PRO-CHOICE RALLIES INCREASE ACTIVISM City group organizes response to anti-abortion demonstrators emboldened by Trump administration’s policies BY CLAIRE WANG

A group of anti-abortion activists faced-off against their louder, more numerous pro-choice counterparts outside a Planned Parenthood clinic in Greenwich Village early Saturday morning, each side occupying one of the right-angled walkways in a SoHo alley. Staccato chants of “My body, my choice,” the global pro-choice mantra, reverberated across the cobblestone path and masonry walls of Bleecker Street. Though the pro-life contingent left after just 45 minutes, the prochoice faction stayed for the entirety of the planned two-hour demonstration. The clash was not a coincidence: the latter showed up specifically to defy and disrupt the former. The counter-protest was organized by NYC for Abortion Rights, a ﬂedgling pro-choice group founded in early February to combat the Trump ad-

ministration’s anti-abortion policies through resistance and education, said Delicia Jones, one of the group’s many organizers. At its most recent meeting, leaders spoke to members about the Hyde Amendment, which when enacted in 1977 was among the ﬁrst pieces of legislation restricting access to abortion by barring some federal funds to pay for the procedure. “Our goal is to physically defend clinics and educate people about the importance of protecting basic reproductive rights,” Jones said. Since the beginning of March, however, the group has been functioning primarily as a foil to 40 Days for Life, a powerful international organization that rigorously campaigns against abortion by staging vigils and prayers outside Planned Parenthood clinics, including the Bleecker Street clinic. Organizers of NYC for Abortion Rights have been closely monitoring and counter-protesting each vigil planned by the pro-life group. “I see them as a hate group,” said Danny Katch, a pro-choice protester hoisting a striking “NYC for Abortion Rights” sign. “Women are coming to get health care, and people are attacking them for that.” Countless pro-choice rallies have

erupted across Manhattan in the two months since Donald Trump took office, but Saturday’s edition was particularly salient, as it occurred just two days after Vice President Mike Pence cast a tie-breaking vote to grant states the power to defund clinics that provide abortion services. Perhaps just as urgent as the financial cutback, the move could also embolden antiabortion dissenters to ramp up their intimidation and harassment of patients, pro-choice backers said. At the showdown on Bleecker Street, an anti-choice protester, wearing a pink vest that bore a striking resemblance to a Planned Parenthood volunteer uniform, stood by the clinic entrance. Two other undisguised prolifers were shooed away by the prochoice camp for attempting to follow a woman leaving the clinic. Neither the police nor clinic employees are authorized to chase off disruptive protesters who aren’t inciting violence, Jones explained, adding that she nevertheless found such behavior offensive. “That’s why we have to be a voice to counter that,” she said. A first time pro-choice activist who identifies by the initials A.G. said groups such as NYC for Abortion Rights provide a crucial sense of se-

Pro-choice demonstrators, rallied together by the newly-formed NYC for Abortion Rights, faced off against an anti-abortion faction outside the Planned Parenthood clinic on Bleecker Street Saturday. Photo: Claire Wang curity to women seeking reproductive care, which goes far beyond just abortion services. Intimidated by antiabortion demonstrators, these women could get second thoughts and forgo the procedure, changing the course of their lives, she said. “I see a lot of value in having an active group of people countering the other side, showing patients that there are people looking out for them.” Assaults on Planned Parenthood pale in comparison to those endured by more obscure, independent clinics, said Emily Hoffman, another orga-

MTA DUMPS GARBAGE BIN EXPERIMENT SUBWAYS Transit agency officials had hoped removing receptacles from subway stations would reduce litter BY VERENA DOBNIK

Faced with too much trash in one of the world’s biggest — and arguably dirtiest — subway systems, New York transit officials tried an unusual social experiment. They removed garbage bins from 39 out of the more than 400 stations, figuring that would deter people from bringing trash into the system. That was a no-go in a go-go city where eating and drinking is often done on the run. People who toss their soda bottles and potato chip bags onto platforms and tracks kept doing it, causing ﬁres. And hungry rats kept scurrying through stations, drawn by garbage. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority run by New York state decided to put the bins back. “It took the MTA five years, but we are gratified that it recognized

the need to end this controversial experiment that showed little to no improvements in riders’ experience,” said New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who had released audits saying that fires started by trash thrown on the tracks systemwide didn’t decrease as a result of the program. A transit spokeswoman, Beth DeFalco, said in a statement that the pilot was worth trying, and did lead to some improvements, including fewer track ﬁres without the sometimes overflowing bins. But in the end, it “wasn’t the most efficient way to clean the stations.” The MTA said the decision was made in September, and state officials are only now making their ﬁnal evaluations. The reason for canceling the experiment may have something to do with the pace of New York City life, its disposable culture and the premium that residents put on convenience. In New York, pedestrians are rarely more than a few steps from a trash bin. And because they mostly aren’t driving, they carry everything they need in their hands or on their shoul-

The MTA recently replaced garbage bins the agency had removed from 39 out of the more than 400 city subway stations to try and reduce litter. The experiment did not work. Photo: massmatt, via ﬂickr ders, or simply buy it on the go. Passengers who rely on the subways to get around dealt with the lack of bins, but many didn’t like it. “Without them, it’s a bunch of trash, and more trash, everywhere,” said Desiree Bard, an artist, as she boarded a train last week at a station on the Upper West Side. When she encountered a station without a bin, and needed to throw something

out, “I would just hold on to it until I found a trash can, above ground, and I found that kind of difficult; I don’t want to have trash in my bag.” Jade Griffin, another Manhattan subway rider, said she had also been willing to temporarily stash trash occasionally in her purse, “but not everyone carries a purse.” “I think you should have trash cans everywhere,” she said. “If not, that

nizer of NYC for Abortion Rights. At a counter-demonstration against 40 Days for Life campaigners at Bronx Abortion last month, Hoffman said, clinic employees beseeched organizers to bring in more protesters to protect patients. “Women don’t just decide to have an abortion on a whim,” Hoffman said. “There are so many reasons why a woman may choose to have an abortion, and we want to ensure that they receive help without getting shamed and harassed.”

creates other problems like littering, or putting the trash where it’s not supposed to go.” Initially, the MTA had been encouraged by results in the two stations that launched the program in 2011. But when they expanded the number of participating stations to 39 of the total 472 stations, rider evaluations were less rosy. There were also complaints from some businesses and private residences located near station entrances about their trash bins being used by passengers unable to toss their trash somewhere in the subway. In any case, the MTA has moved on to a more traditional solution for dealing with the 40 tons of daily garbage in the subways: an intense cleanup campaign. Last summer, the MTA launched its “Operation Track Sweep” program. Workers are cleaning about 90 stations every two weeks, three times as many as previously. Portable track vacuums are being tested and the agency is purchasing more vacuum trains and cars that pick up the contents of 3,500 station receptacles more frequently. The agency says the cleaning effort has resulted in the number of track ﬁres dropping by 41 percent.

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

APRIL 6-12,2017

A REVERENCE FOR THE PAST SHOPS Delanee Koppersmith’s downtown vintage shop always has a place for her elderly friends to sit BY BRYSE CIALLELLA

If the Seinfeld character Elaine Benes had a real-world doppelganger, one with a larger, more caring heart, and a vintage clothing shop in New York City’s East Village, that person would be Delanee Koppersmith. Koppersmith opened her store on Ninth Street at the age of 21. And now, 36 years later, her vintage retail store,

It is not surprising that Koppersmith is interested in the past. After all, she chose the business of vintage retail. But her reverence for the past, or for the “old New York,” as she often calls it, goes beyond the realm of the physical goods she peddles. Toward the back of the Cobblestones, nestled between a rack of garments on the right and a shoe display on the east wall, there is an aberration of sorts. There are three or four chairs that might — in the tight quarters so typical of Manhattan retail space — be deemed inconvenient or an impediment to foot traffic. But these chairs are ﬁxtures. They are a part of what make Cobblestones and Delanee Koppersmith different from other retail

in the neighborhood.” Out of the seven times I’ve gone to Cobblestones, Koppersmith always seems to be caring for one of her elderly friends, or walking one of their dogs. On my second visit, Koppersmith relayed to me that she had not slept at her own apartment in Astoria for the past six nights because she had been traveling and staying the night at her friend’s apartment on Coney Island. Her friend, Blossom, whom she calls “June Bug,” had injured herself in her apartment elevator. When Koppersmith received the news, she left work early and immediately went to be with her friend in Brooklyn. Thirteen years ago, Mary Mayo, “didn’t know Delanee’s shop from

Delanee Koppersmith (left) in her shop with friends. Photo: Bryse Ciallella

Cobblestones in the East Village. Photo: Bryse Ciallella Cobblestones, has become an enterprise in the downtown community just as much as it is a place to buy and sell clothing. Koppersmith is a character. She bears many of those characteristics common to “the consummate New Yorker”: she laments about where to ﬁnd a good egg sandwich, “two eggs on a roll, salt pepper, ketchup, you know?” She was born and raised in Manhattan. She’s snappy and quick. When she talks about location, she speaks in streets and avenues like the cartographer who laid the grid. She zips around her space in a decisive manner. She works too much. And, Delanee, “pronounced like Melanie but with a D,” has little reservation about telling someone what she thinks.

shops and shop owners in Manhattan. Koppersmith keeps these chairs out so that her friends, who stop by frequently, always have a place to sit. Maria Depo is one of those people. Depo, also a native Manhattanite, turned 87 in December. She ﬁrst met Koppersmith when Cobblestones was located farther west on Ninth Street. After Fred Wilpon, the majority owner of the New York Mets, purchased the building in 1989, Koppersmith and her new store were ousted. Shortly thereafter, she relocated Cobblestones to its current address, 314 East Ninth Street. Depo laughs easily, and often at her own expense, as she converses with Koppersmith. At one point Depo turned to me and said, “Delanee is like a Mother Cabrini or Mother Teresa to the dogs and little old ladies who live

a hole in the wall.” Mayo is the last surviving of her three sisters and ﬁve brothers. Or in her words, “I’m the last of the Mohicans.” Mayo had been looking to consign some of her things; her mother was a “saver.” Someone recommended Cobblestones. So she made the trip from her Ocean Hill, Brooklyn home, to Manhattan. The ﬁrst two attempts Mayo made to consign her items at Cobblestones were not successful. Koppersmith did not think that Mayo’s items would be purchased. But, Mayo, who has an infectious optimism, said, “a little voice inside of my head, told me to go back and try one more time, and I’m so glad I did.” Mayo’s connection with Koppersmith began like many of Koppersmith’s other relationships with her

elderly friends, in business, and resulted in friendship. Mayo, like Koppersmith, has her own iteration of old New York. Mayo is deeply passionate about saving the century-old church, Our Lady of Loreto, that she has attended all her life. Koppersmith’s opinions are articulated in a characteristically highpitched, decided, and matter-of-fact tone. “I work with a lot of senior citizens in my business because I get the vintage clothes from them. I know them, and my nature is to give, to help. So, that’s what I do … I like talking to them, they are a link to the world that I wish that I was in and the New York City that used to be.” Koppersmith grew up in the East Village. Her father was a schoolteacher at P.S. 71 and her mother worked for the city. On the top of her office desk there are two small leaden busts of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. “That’s who I’m named after,” she said. “My father made up Delanee as the feminine of Delano.” Koppersmith’s father, Harold Koppersmith, was by all accounts a character himself. And though Delanee’s parents separated when she and her sister, Donna, were young, Koppersmith says her family was close. Her father’s death in 1986 and her sister’s death from cancer in 1996 were difﬁcult, unspeakable losses. “I know a lot of people who died of cancer, I don’t know why, but I can count them on two hands,” she said. When Koppersmith says, as she often does that “I wish I could go back to the old New York,” I cannot help but think that in part, she wishes she could go back to a time when loss did not feature so prominently in her life. Though to be sure, the East Village

has changed in real and concrete ways throughout Koppersmith’s life. To Koppersmith, one of the most telling and troubling indictors of change is when local businesses are forced to close because their rents are too high. “Everything you know, the dry cleaners on the corners, the Five and Ten over here that was kind of like a Woolworth’s you’d go in you could buy pots and pans or a housedress. You could buy school supplies. If you needed hardware items there was Kaminsteins, used to be on 3rd and Ninth, that’s a hardware store gone many years too.” To Koppersmith, the “New York City that used to be” signifies a number of different things. It means that the more affordable working-class area she remembers as a girl has turned into a neighborhood that features, “restaurant, restaurant, restaurant, restaurant, restaurant, bar restaurant bar restaurant.” She explains that the proliferation of restaurants is the byproduct of changed lifestyles, “People used to entertain in the house and now it’s all a matter of going out.” Every time Koppersmith says she “wants to go back,” I am selfishly glad that she cannot. Delanee Koppersmith’s livelihood and business is to deal in tangible goods from the past world, and that is quite heartening. She is to me, in a sense, what her elderly friends are to her: “a link to the past.” Before I left Cobblestones on my last visit, Koppersmith said: “Everything about vintage clothing is so ... nostalgic, but it’s also a representation of what life was and really, how much more precious it seemed to be back then.”

APRIL 6-12,2017

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

6 UNUSUAL PLACES TO FIND ART ON THE UPPER EAST SIDE edly impressive art pieces. In each new station, hurried commuters can catch a glimpse of the installations, but this underground art deserve a proper look. At 96th Street you can find “Blueprint for a Landscape” by Sarah Sze, a 14,000 square foot royal blue and white design of swirling scaffolding, trees, birds and paper. At 86th Street are mosaic portraits by artist Chuck Close. The “Perfect Strangers” series by Brazilian artist Vik Muniz can be found at 72nd Street, depicting all kinds of New Yorkers standing side by side, including familiar faces like Daniel Boulud. Lastly, down at the 63rd Street station you can ﬁnd Jean Shin’s ceramic tile and glass mosaics inspired by archival photographs of the aboveground Second and Third Avenue trains. You can experience all of these for just one swipe of a subway pass.

PLACES Surprising venues include an apartment building, an outdoor plaza, a bar and the subway BY LAURA HANRAHAN

The Upper East Side has become synonymous with the art world. It’s home to some of the most famous art museums in the city — the Met, the Met Breuer, the Guggenheim, the Frick — and a stroll up Madison Avenue never leaves you more than a block from one gallery or another. Delving into the art world, though, doesn’t mean you have to spend all day in a tourist-crowded museum or an eerily quiet, hospital-white gallery. If you know where to look, you can spend all day appreciating amazing works of art in surprising venues.

5. Society of Illustrators

1. Meyohas 181 East 90th Street, 28th ﬂoor With the increasing cost of real-estate pricing art dealers out of gallery space, many have turned to exhibiting their works in their own homes. While these DIY display rooms are most often found in Brooklyn, Sarah Meyohas has transformed the bright and airy living room of her childhood apartment — where she still lives — into her very own exhibition space. What Sarah describes as a “constant ﬂux of install and deinstall” has come to showcase the works of dozens of different artists, from abstract paintings to copper leaf-covered Doritos. On display now are three video installations by Jonah King that explore human permanence in the age of technology. Due to the intimate nature of the operation, an appointment to view the collections needs to be made in advance, but public events for new exhibitions are held roughly every two months. Information for upcoming events can be found on the Meyohas Facebook page.

Sarah Sze Mural, Second Avenue Subway, 96th St. Station. Photo: MTA Arts & Design, Rob Wilson, via ﬂickr

www.societyillustrators.org

6. Carlton Hobbs

www.meyohas.com

2. Bemelmans Bar 35 East 76th Street At this neighborhood institution, nestled inside the Carlyle Hotel, timeless elegance and child-like imagination have been coming together since 1947. The walls of the bar, which was named after Ludwig Bemelmans — the creator and illustrator of the Madeline children’s books—are covered in murals that are now Bemelmans’ only surviving commission open to the public. Under the dim lighting, surrounded by the dark leather and wood decor, you can sip on martinis while listening to live jazz and take in Bemelmans’ fanciful interpretation of Central Park, which, of course,

128 East 63rd Street If you’re more into Marvel than Monet, then a trip to the Society of Illustrators may be exactly what you’re looking for. The society, founded in 1901, is the oldest non-proﬁt group dedicated to the art of illustration, with past members including the likes of Norman Rockwell and Rube Goldberg — a Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist. Select works from the society’s 2,500 piece permanent collection are rotationally displayed. In 2012 an exhibit exclusively dedicated to comics and cartoons was also added. Currently on display are works by Will Eisner, a pioneer in the comic book industry and the man who popularized the term “graphic novel.” Exhibits are open Monday through Saturday, with varying hours. Admission is $12 for adults and $7 for seniors and students. Children 10 and under are free.

Open House by Liz Glynn at the Doris C. Freedman Plaza. Photo courtesy of Public Art Fund includes an appearance from Miss Clavel and her 12 little girls. If you’re looking to save a little money, it’s best to go earlier in the evening — a cover charge applies after 9 pm Sunday to Monday and 9:30pm Tuesday to Saturday. www.rosewoodhotels.com/en/the-carlylenew-york/dining/bemelmans-bar

3. Doris C. Freedman Plaza Fifth Avenue and East 60th Street At the south-east corner of Central Park art lovers can get their ﬁx while

enjoying the fresh air, thanks to the Public Art Fund’s rotating sculpture installations at Doris C. Freedman Plaza. Currently on display is Liz Glynn’s Open House — a collection of life-size Louis XIV-style chairs, ottomans and sofas sculpted out of cement. The furniture, and the matching grand arches that sit in front of it, are meant to highlight the class distinction that existed in the Gilded Age between the wealthy, who gathered in luxurious private ballrooms, and the poor, who were drawn to the democratic access of public park space. Whether or not

the sculptures have sparked a class debate among those viewing (and sitting on) them, one thing’s for sure — it’s much nicer than your average park bench. www.publicartfund.org/view/ exhibitions/6140_liz_glynn_open_house

4. Second Avenue Subway 63rd, 72nd, 86th, and 96th Street When the seemingly endless construction of the Second Avenue subway eventually came to a close, it brought along with it some unexpect-

60 East 93rd Street There’s more to antiques than mismatched end tables and mahogany wardrobes at the Carlton Hobbs’ antiques show room. Behind the wooden doors of his lavish 51-room mansion — formally owned by socialite Virginia Fair Vanderbilt — Hobbs, a native Englishman and renowned antiques dealer, has also curated a large collection of 16th to 19th century English and continental artwork. While technically labeling itself as a gallery, with all of the beautiful furniture and artwork that it holds, Carlton Hobbs feels more like an impeccably decorated home. The collection is only open to the general public once a year, in February, for Old Masters Week, but offers free tours to educational groups year-round. www.carltonhobbs.com

E U A X C U R T A I N Y E G P

T B L R R N Z B R N N I R P A

R Q Z K P L A M P S L A A N L

F R U M R E G V M I N I P T E

E O V D H S T C N I N E U R Y

C P E W P D W G T T R X B M E

H C H A N G W E E C W R T W L

R W C R Y I A D A Y S F O N L

S E R F V N H B X J G P A R O

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I G M I G N L I H M J C L W L

U A U J E Z K G I P Y C G V K

I O O T Z C U H G I D E S K S

15 home design items

R D C P G B A T H R O O M T X

are listed by the puzzle. Words can go horizontally, vertically and diagonally in all eight directions.

Bathroom Cabinet Carpet Ceiling Curtain Desks Granite High Lamps Light Mirror Painted Paleyellow Space Tiles

ANSWERS

G A

N O

22 19

G O

M R

13 10 1

33 29

E 20

B 4

E 6

S O

R O

E S

B 5

E T

N M A

S 7

L 8

K 9

X T M O O R H T A B G P C D R

S K S E D I G H U C Z T O O I

K V G C Y P I G K Z E J U A U

L W L C J M H I L N G I M G I

W Y C F A P R L I A C U I O E

O R A P G J X B H N V F R E S

L N O F S Y A D A I Y R C W R

L W T R W C E E W G N A H C H

E M B X R T T G W D P W E P C

Y R U E N I N C T S H D V O E

E T P I N I M V G E R M U R F

L N A A L S P M A L P K Z Q R

A P R I N N R B Z N R R L B T

P G E Y N I A T R U C X A U E

E C F S E L I T S Q N B M C D

8 7

9 3

4 5 8 6

3 1 4

3 1 6 5 7 2 9

6 5 8 1 2 7 3

5 2 4 3 9 6 8

2 6 9 7 1 4 5

7 4 5 6 8 9 2

4 7 2 8 6 3 1

8 3 1 9 4 5 7

Down 1. Billboard designers 2. Porridge made of rolled oats 3. Soak up 4. African wind 5. They deliver babies 6. Puts to work

7. Bird common in cities 8. Cause of hereditary variation 9. Internet phone company 11. Have faith in 12. Secretly (2 words) 23. Puzzles 24. A ____ in a teapot 26. Inactivity 27. Park feature 28. Clever 30. Game with a piece of wood 31. “___ already!” 32. Goes with iced tea 35. Former Indian soldier 37. Holier-than-__

D C M B N Q S T I L E S F C E

34. Helpful connections 36. Poet Pound 37. Wear down 38. Horror writer 39. Catty remark 40. Bowlers 41. Sports contest 42. Oriental belts 43. “I’m working ___!” (2 words) 44. Formerly 45. “___ a chance” 46. George Washington’s dream 47. Biblically yours

WORD SEARCH by Myles Mellor

Across 1. Legal eagle org. 4. Small amount 7. Dance steps 10. Name 11. Babies’ food collectors 12. Scarf material 13. “___ Robinson” - song from “The Graduate” 14. Celtic language 15. “Coyote ___” movie 16. Concept of self 17. Much 18. Pager alarm 19. Negative alternative 20. Slippery road hazard 21. Lady Macbeth, e.g. 22. Protest 24. Get in shape 25. Piano keys 27. British general in America 29. Con 32. Youths 33. Mushroom

2 6

3 1

E O W

2 6

5 9

4 Level: Medium

3 1

8 3

1 7

9 4

4 8

6 5

7 9

7 2

8 7

G O

1 4

7 2

Each Sudoku puzzle consists of a 9X9 grid that has been subdivided into nine smaller grids of 3X3 squares. To solve the puzzle each row, column and box must contain each of the numbers 1 to 9. Puzzles come in three grades: easy, medium and difficult.

N O

SUDOKU by Myles Mellor and Susan Flanagan

by Myles Mellor

CROSSWORD

Downtowner 1

APRIL 6-12,2017

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

APRIL 6-12,2017

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

CLASSIFIEDS PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC AUCTION NOTICE OF SALE OF COOPERATIVE APARTMENT 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 26, 2017 in the Rotunda of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York , NY 10007, commencing at 12:45 p.m. for the following account: Donald Weber, as borrower, 64 shares of capital stock of 35052-54 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/CertiďŹ ed check required at sale, balance due at closing within thirty (30) days. The Cooperative Apartment will be sold â&#x20AC;&#x153;AS ISâ&#x20AC;? 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 the date of this notice in the amount of $322,954.17. This ďŹ gure is for the outstanding balance due under UCC1, which was secured by Financing Statement in favor of CitiBank, N.A. recorded on April 27, 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 ďŹ nal payoff quote or if you dispute any information presented herein. The estimated value of the above captioned premises is $520,000.00. 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 14, 2017 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 #91232

Telephone: 212-868-0190 Fax: 212-868-0198 Email: classified2@strausnews.com

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OFFICE SPACE

AVAILABLE IN MANHATTAN

300 to 20,000 square feet

Elliot Forest, Licensed RE. Broker

212 -447-5400 abfebf@aol.com

MASSAGE

MERCHANDISE FOR SALE

Directory of Business & Services

VRC has helped New Yorkers find great volunteer opportunities for 28 years!

Antiques Wanted TOP PRICES PAID t 1SFDJPVT $PTUVNF +FXFMSZ (PME t 4JMWFS 1BJOUJOHT t .PEFSO t &UD

Antique, Flea & Farmers Market SINCE 1979

East 67th Street Market (between First & York Avenues)

Open EVERY Saturday 6am-5pm Rain or Shine Indoor & Outdoor FREE Admission Questions? Bob 718.897.5992 Proceeds BeneďŹ t PS 183

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Entire Estates Purchased

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SOHO LT MFG

462 Broadway MFG No Retail/Food +/- 9,000 SF Ground Floor - $90 psf +/- 16,000 SF Cellar - $75 psf Divisible Call David @ Meringoff Properties 212-645-7575

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

APRIL 6-12,2017

Nothing beats newspapers as the most reliable source of local news in print and online Recent studies show:

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Newspapers led online consumption for local news” Coda Ventures Survey August 18, 2016

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Local media users named newspapers as their “most relied on” source for deals across a range of goods and services.” Coda Ventures Survey August 18, 2016

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What accounts for print’s superiority? Print - particularly the newspaper - is an amazingly sophisticated technology for showing you a lot of it.”

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Local newspapers are still the top source of news about readers’ communities, including their branded Web sites and social media channels.” Publisher’s Daily - August 30, 2016

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Residents are eager for news about their own communities, which, increasingly, only local news organizations can provide” Editor & Publisher - June 1, 2016

Politico - September 10, 2016

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