Our Town Downtown - April 11, 2019 by OurTown Downtown

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WEEK OF APRIL VOICES PAST AND PRESENT ◄ P.12

11-17 2019

MAN OF THE MOMENT

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POLITICS As he takes on the most important role of his political life, U.S. Rep Jerrold Nadler, the ultimate Upper West Sider, follows the neighborhood principles that have guided him throughout his career

I’m in the right place at the right time. And it’s a place I wanted, it’s a place I think I’m well trained for.” Rep. Jerrold Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee

BY DOUGLAS FEIDEN

Forty-ﬁve years after Watergate, the nation is once again engulfed in Constitutional turmoil, and history has chosen as the man of the moment an urban progressive, beloved in his district, who sees his mission, in no small part, as the defense of democracy. U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, universally known as “Jerry,” the Brooklyn-born, yeshiva-educated, son of a failed New Jersey chicken farmer, has been a household name on the Upper West Side since his student-activist days at Columbia University in the late 1960s. He’s served 26 years in Congress, wins elec-

Photo: Steven Strasser

tions by landslides, assumed the helm of the House Judiciary Committee only in January, and has forged a reputation for patience, judiciousness – and unﬂinching ﬁrmness. And unlike New Jersey congressman Peter Rodino, who led the same committee during Watergate and never stopped asking himself, “Why me?”, Nadler embraces the role.

MEDS AND MEMORY ▲P.2

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SILENT CITY ▲P.8

‘A PERPETUAL WORK IN PROGRESS’ CULTURE Designed with the emphasis on flexibility, the Shed at Hudson Yards is a shape-shifting arts complex intended to meet the ever-changing demands of contemporary — and future — artists from all disciplines

NOTHING STOPS THESE ATHLETES ▲P.15

BY EMILY MASON

Construction was still rumbling along last Wednesday as Hudson Yards’ newest attraction, the Shed, made its debut. Workers were installing the last section of escalator inside the main building as the press got its ﬁrst look at the $500 million arts complex.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS ▲P.16 A gallery space in the Shed main building. Photo: Emily Mason Downtowner

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Crime Watch Voices NYC Now City Arts

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Restaurant Ratings Business Real Estate 15 Minutes

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WEEK OF APRIL

SPRING ARTS PREVIEW < CITYARTS, P.12

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

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

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

2015

In Brief MORE HELP FOR SMALL BUSINESS

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

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

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

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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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APRIL 11-17,2019

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REMEMBER THIS HEALTH Some drugs that heal the body can mess with the brain BY CAROL ANN RINZLER

Where are they? Vital process, complicated detail.

Quick: Where are your keys? Not sure? No surprise. Remembering that small but vital detail is a complicated process that involves both the part of your brain that enables you to think and the parts associated with emotion. It’s a process that seems to slow with age. The old news was that after a certain age, perhaps around 30, your brain began to shrink until over the years it shriveled into nothing. taking your memory along with it. The new news is that scientists who have actually taken the time to sit down and count brain cells find practically no age-related loss of cells responsible for thinking and remembering. There may, however, be less activity in your synapses, the pathways between brain cells that allow you to access what you’re stored in your brain, so it can take a little lon-

ger to find those keys, especially if you take your medicine as directed, because the newest news is that some meds that heal the body can mess with the brain. This can happen at any age, but it’s more common among older folk who may be taking multiple prescriptions to treat multiple problems. In fact, it’s so common that AARP, the champion of all aging, has compiled a list of the drugs most likely to do the dirty. First up are anti-anxiety meds such as Xanax and Valium and sleep aids such Ambien which can slow your brain’s ability to transfer what you see and learn from short term memory (something you just saw) to long term memory (something you saw a few years ago). Statins such as Lipitor and Zocor reduce the amount of arteryclogging cholesterol in your blood, but they also reduce the levels of cholesterol in your brain. That matters because your brain, which contains 25 percent of all the cholesterol in your body, uses the fatty substance when forming links between nerve cells that create memory. Happily, there are substitutes for some medical memory busters. For

MEMORY-BUSTING MEDS: AARP’S LIST example, “first generation” antihistamines such as diphenhydramine (Benadryl) or chlorpheniramine (Chlor-Trimeton) and tricyclic antidepressants such as amitriptyline (Elavil) may block the action of chemical messengers in your memory and learning centers. Newer ones such as loratadine (Claritin) cetirizine (Zyrtec) and SSRI antidepressants such as paroxetine (Paxil) don’t seem to. You don’t need a memory doctor to tell you that lifestyle choices such as alcohol and drug abuse or problems such as insomnia can also impact memory. On the other hand, curiosity may have killed the cat, but it can keep your brain and your memory zipping along at relative speed even into old age. As Richard C. Mohs, the chief science officer for the Global Alzheimer’s Platform (GAP) Foundation, writes, “Evidence from animal studies suggests that stimulating the brain can stop cells from shrinking and even increase brain size in some cases.” Which means that learning a new language or visiting a museum is not only fun, in the long run it may also help you ﬁnd those darned keys which the last time you saw them were ... where?

1. Antianxiety drugs such as alprazolam (Xanax) and diazepam (Valium) 2. Cholesterol lowering drugs (statins) such as atorvastatin (Lipitor) and simivastatin (Zocor) 3. Antiseizure drugs such as gabapentin (Neurontin) 4. Tricyclic antidepressants such as amitriptyline (Elavil) 5. Narcotic painkillers such as fentanyl (Duragesic) and hydrocodone (Norco, Vicodin) 6. Parkinson’s drugs such as apomorphine (Apokyn) 7. Hypertension drugs such as metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol) and propranolol (Inderal) 8. Sleep aids such as zolpidem (Ambien) 9. Incontinence drugs such as oxybutynin (Ditropan XL, Gelnique, Oxytrol) 10. First-generation antihistamines such as chlorpheniramine (Chlor-Trimeton) and diphenhydramine (Benadryl) CAUTION: Do not stop or reduce the dosage of any of these meds without ﬁrst checking with your doctor, the person best qualiﬁed to evaluate your memory.

APRIL 11-17,2019

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG GOOD INTENTIONS, BAD OUTCOME At 3 p.m. on Thursday, Mar. 28, a 72-year-old man was buying a MetroCard at the Chambers StreetWTC station when he saw a man in his

30s telling a woman to hurry up. When the older man asked the woman if she was okay, the younger man told him to mind his own business and punched him in the head, causing a laceration, police said. The victim refused medical attention at the scene.

EMS TECHNICIAN ASSAULTED

STATS FOR THE WEEK Reported crimes from the 1st precinct for the week ending Mar 31

A 36-year-old male FDNY emergency medical technician was attacked by a 26-year-old man he was transporting to the hospital in a ﬁre department vehicle, police said. In the incident, which occurred near the corner of Broadway and Murray St. at 5:50 a.m. on Saturday, Mar. 30, the suspect, reportedly intoxicated, allededly struck the EMS technician in his face with a closed ﬁst multiple times, causing swelling, bruising and pain. Police arrested David Flores and charged him with assault on a peace officer.

Week to Date

Year to Date

2019 2018

% Change 2019

2018

% Change

Murder

n/a

0.0

Rape

-100.0 3

-57.1

Robbery

-100.0 12

-40.0

Felony Assault

n/a

100.0

Burglary

-50.0

158.3

Grand Larceny

-24.0

219

253

-13.4

Grand Larceny Auto

-100.0 4

33.3

CRIME OF FASHION On Wednesday afternoon, Mar. 27, a 24-year-old man removed items from the Saks store at 250 Vesey St., concealing the merchandise in his personal bag, and then tried to leave the store without paying, police said. Giorgi Jebiasashvili was arrested and charged with grand larceny. The stolen items, including an Isaia jacket valued at $2,595, a Saint Laurent priced at $2,550, a Boglioli jacket selling for $1,795 and a Boglioli shirt tagged at $275, for a total of $7,215. Photo by Tony Webster, via Flickr

PRADA PROBLEM

SUV ROBBED

Of course, no downtown Crime Watch column is complete without a SoHo shoplifting incident. At 2:51 p.m. on Saturday, Mar. 30, a man entered the Prada SoHo store at 575 Broadway and removed a woman’s handbag from a display mannequin before walking out of the store without paying. Police continue to search for the suspect, who was last seen ﬂeeing north on Broadway. The stolen handbag was valued at $1,990.

A reminder to people loading or unloading goods — never leave your vehicle unattended. At noon on Saturday, Mar. 2, a 61-year-old woman was unloading an SUV in front of the Cheryl Hazan gallery at 35 North Moore St. When she was ﬁnished around 3 p.m., she discovered that an Apple MacBook Pro valued at $1,500 was missing from the SUV.

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APRIL 11-17,2019

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

The Boys Who Wore Neckties

MAN OF THE MOMENT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 “If we’re going to have a Constitutional crisis, then we need someone to defend against it, and I’m just happy to be in that position,” Nadler said during a 98-minute interview with The West Side Spirit. His mood was relaxed, his manner contemplative. He was formidable, to be sure, but didn’t lack a sense of humor either. He showed flashes of outrage. And above all, a consequential sense of duty to nation and founding Constitutional principles. “Why me?” he repeats. “I don’t think so — I’m in the right place at the right time. And it’s a place I wanted, it’s a place I think I’m well trained for, it’s a place I think I’m well suited for ... “My original motive in politics, from the time I was probably 12 years old, was civil rights and civil liberties and due process,” he adds. “I have always concentrated on them, and that has never changed.” What has changed? “I now have a lot of responsibility, which I didn’t have, and a lot of power, which I didn’t have, and I’m in the middle of a lot of things I care very deeply about as chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and people look to me for leadership and guidance by virtue of this position,” Nadler says.

The Picture in the Lobby The 71-year-old, lower West 70s resident was seated in his Manhattan district office at 201 Varick St., a 12-story, 1929 Art Deco federal office building that members of the public cannot enter without walking past a grinning, governmentissue color photo of President Donald Trump. Not that Nadler needs any reminders: “We have now under President Trump the most sustained attack on our democratic values and our democratic norms and the rule of law since the Civil War,” he said. “And that we have to defend against by making sure our fundamental liberties are intact, our Constitutional structure is intact, and the rule of law itself is intact.” It was the afternoon of March 21 – exactly 24 hours before the Mueller Report dropped, with less of a bang and more of a whimper – and Nadler was elucidating the personal, political, historical, intellectual, sociological and Constitutional context to his half-century-plus of public service. In two interview sessions, sandwiched around a brief

APRIL 11-17,2019

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

Rep. Jerrold Nadler with his granddaughter at the Community Free Democrats political club on Sunday, March 7. Photo: Emiily Goodman meeting with the Australian consul general, he also described the character and moral principles of a neighborhood he’s embodied since his time as a young political reformer who bucked, and vanquished, the entrenched Democratic political establishment back in 1969. “I would define it as liberal and generous, believing that government should be open and activist and help people who need help,” he said. “Those are the quintessential West Side values,” he said. Of course, there were national phenomena that the local body politic despised: “The West Side hated McCarthyism ... hated our endless, unnecessary wars in Vietnam and Iraq,” Nadler said.

An Early Close Encounter And it also didn’t cotton to a 150-story tower – hyped as the “tallest building in the history of the world” and the centerpiece of the “biggest project in the history of New York” – that an audacious developer named Donald J. Trump was proposing to erect along the old Hudson River rail yards between West 59th and 72nd Streets. It was the mid-1980s, and the stage was set for the ﬁrst showdown between Nadler, then a state Assembly member, and Trump, who was reveling in the 1983 success of Trump Tower – and out to conquer a broad swath of the West Side. Score it as a knockout victory for Nadler. The complex was initially dubbed “Television City” because NBC was a target tenant. But the network dropped out, and it was inevitably rebranded

“Trump City,” and Nadler was invited to view the models. There it was, a 150-floor monstrosity, surrounded by what he describes as a bunch of “75-story Chrysler buildings,” and, as he tells the story, “I thought it was grotesque…But I was too polite to say that.” So he asked about the tower’s residential component, and suddenly, Trump was getting animated as he riffed on highrise living, and Nadler quotes him asking, “Did you know, did you know, that the people living on the top stories, before they go out in the morning, have to call down to the concierge to find out what the weather is like because they can’t see it because they’re above the clouds?” “I’m thinking, ‘What a drag,’” Nadler recalls. “But he’s getting more and more excited, and I realized that he’s living on the 68th floor at the top of the Trump Tower, and all of a sudden, I got it, and I asked if he would be living on the 150th floor, and he said, ‘Yeah.’” His conclusion? “Trump wanted to be the highest person in the highest apartment in the world,” he said. It didn’t happen. Nadler rallied the opposition. The project’s grandiosity vanished. It withered in size, scope and density. By 1991, a compromise was thrashed out, though Nadler still opposed it because it precluded the continuing operation of the railyards. Bottom line: Trump City was dead. A much smaller Riverside South rose in its stead. Six more modestly sized buildings bore the name “Trump Place.”

Highly selective Stuyvesant High School, which Nadler entered in 1961, was an incubator for political prodigies. Here, he joined the debating team, launched his first five campaigns for electoral office, all of them successful, and mastered the ﬁne art of constituent service and trust-building. He quickly came under the tutelage of two other precocious political dynamos, each a year ahead of him at Stuyvesant – Dick Gottfried, who went on to become the state’s longest serving Assembly member, and Dick Morris, who became reelection campaign strategist for President Bill Clinton in 1996 and has since drifted over to right-wing fringe politics. Nadler got a boost from Gottfried, who wrote his campaign literature, and Morris, who served as campaign manager, for school electoral triumphs, including student government president. Gottfried said: “If you look in the yearbook, we’re the only kids wearing neckties…We were all nerds back then, maybe we still are, and our nerdiness has served us well over time.” Nadler graduated Stuy, as everyone called it, in 1965, and Morris had already devised a plan for his future: “Dick said we ought to recruit a bunch of bright young liberal

Photo: Steven Strasser

kids to go to Columbia and go into politics together on the West Side and not wait until we graduate from college,” he said. “This sounded wonderful to me.”

There he was at a recent local meeting in Hell’s Kitchen ... He didn’t have to be there. He’s right in the middle of all these huge national issues. But he still shows up.” Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer

The Columbia Crucible The idea was to establish a group and attract a political following, “like the Kennedy brothers,” Nadler said. Thus was born the “West Side Kids,” or “those damned kids,” as they were sometimes branded. Between 1965 and 1967, drawing from Columbia, NYU and Stuyvesant and Hunter High Schools, they organized roughly 200 to 300 students who campaigned for liberal, antiwar candidates, delivering the

vote via canvassing and phone banks. “Very old-fashioned political work,” he said. Established politicians took note. In 1967, when Nadler was only 20 years old, Percy Sutton, then the Manhattan Borough President, appointed him to Community Board 7. Meanwhile, Columbia University was exploding, the Students for a Democratic Society began occupying buildings, and Nadler stayed away: “I thought it was an invasion of the civil liberties of students and faculty who wanted to attend classes to forcibly prevent them from doing so,” he said. After an initial police bust radicalized the campus, he got involved – as leader of the “right wing of the strike committee,” so called because it favored negotiations and didn’t believe, as the SDS did, that anyone trying to cross a picket line should be “physically stopped by whatever means necessary,” he recalled. “I thought they were crazy,” Nadler said of the SDS extremists. “Haven’t you ever heard of civil liberties?” he demanded. “Have you forgotten that you’re on strike against the university’s use of coercive tactics?” By the time Nadler graduated from Columbia in 1969, the West Side Kids were ready to take on the “Adults,” as the reformers referred to the

APRIL 11-17,2019 older, cautious established Democratic power structure that had dithered as the Dump Johnson bandwagon picked up steam. So Nadler, 21, and Gottfried, 22, and five like-minded outsiders ran for Democratic district leader posts against seven organization incumbents – and upset every single one. Their rallying cry? “Harass your local politician!” The coup was completed that year. Nadler founded a new reform club, Community Free Democrats. Other clubhouses were either taken over from the old clique or created anew. His faction now held sway over most of the political universe of the Upper West Side and ushered in a more representative, egalitarian and left-ofcenter Democratic Party.

“Most Important Person” The Kids came of age pretty fast. But their values and belief systems did not bend. Nadler served seven years as district leader, then was elected to the state Assembly in 1976, following Gottfried, who got there in 1970. He prevailed in a seven-way Democratic primary race, beating the other frontrunner by a mere 73 votes. That candidate was another household name on the UWS, Ruth Messinger, the future borough president of Manhattan and Democratic mayoral nominee who lost to Rudy Giuliani in 1997. “I’ve been telling people that once upon a time, I lost an election to Jerry Nadler – and the good news is that I lost to the most important person or one of the most important people in the United States,” Messinger said in a phone interview. From 1977 to 1992, Nadler served in the Assembly, helping to write state law on transportation, housing and consumer protection policy and passing a package of landmark legislation on domestic violence and enforcement of child support payments. Nadler’s political life may be charmed, but there were two stinging defeats along the way. In 1985, he ran for Manhattan Borough President, and got clobbered by David Dinkins, and in 1989, he ran for comptroller, ran out of money and was bested by Elizabeth Holtzman. Holtzman, former Congress member who sat on Rodino’s Judiciary Committee as it passed the articles of impeachment against Nixon, has remained a friend, and in the current crisis, Nadler says, he often turns to her for counsel.

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com National Clamor, Local Focus After 16 years in the Assembly, Nadler suddenly had a chance to move up in 1992 when U.S. Rep. Ted Weiss, who for 15 years held the West Side Congressional seat, died suddenly on the day before the primary, which he won handily anyway. That paved the way to nominate a candidate to run in his place. Five contenders surfaced, including Bella Abzug, along with the two old buddies from Stuy, Nadler and Gottfried. There was a bit of tension between the two men. It lasted barely a week as the backroom politicking played out. “Jerry had it wrapped up from Day One,” Gottfried recalls. For years, he had cultivated relationship with local pols and clubhouses, and now, it would pay off. “He is a superb one-on-one politician. Ultimately, it was a tidal wave,” he added. In Congress, Nadler worked to secure federal dollars for mass transit, harbor dredging and other transportation and infrastructure projects. He supported gays in the military, introduced legislation to permit gays to sponsor their permanent partners for immigration, fought to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and campaigned for equal treatment for all married couples. And in 1998, he coined and popularized a phrase that Trump-defenders in the GOP might well adopt politically should his Judiciary Committee eventually decide to pursue impeachment proceedings against the president: “Partisan coup d’état.” With those three words – in impassioned defense of Bill Clinton, and in ardent opposition to impeachment managers seeking to bring him down – Nadler vaulted to the national stage for the ﬁrst time. An impeachable offense is an abuse of presidential power that undermines the function of government, he argued then, saying the framers of the Constitution didn’t intend impeachment to punish mere wrongdoing. “Rather they saw it as a protection of constitutional liberties and of the structure of the government they were establishing against a president who might seek to become a tyrant,” he said in 1998. Nadler was just a junior minority member of the committee in his sixth year in the House. But so seriously did he take his duties that he found himself reading the works of Sir

William Blackstone, an 18thcentury British judge and legal scholar who wrote about impeachment in English law. “I still think that the best summary of what is an impeachable offense is the majority staff report of the Judiciary Committee written ironically in February of 1974 by Hillary Rodham as a young former Yale student,” he said in the interview with The Spirit.

A Historic Showdown Nadler is preparing once again, reading “To End a Presidency: The Power of Impeachment,” by Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe, whose message can be summed up in two words: Tread carefully. “The first half of the book is the terrible fate that would befall the republic if you don’t impeach a president when you should,” he said. “The second half of the book is the terrible fate that would befall the republic if you do impeach a president when you shouldn’t.” He also polished off “How Democracies Die” by two Harvard political scientists. “Very frightening,” Nadler said. “[The book] goes through Peron and Mussolini and various strongmen in other countries, and you see a lot of this in Trump – he really checks all the boxes. “Attacking the press and the judiciary, threatening violence against reporters and others, casting doubt on the legitimacy of the election, even when he won the election, delegitimizing the electoral process,” he said. “We have better institutional safeguards – we hope – than some of these other countries, but they don’t operate automatically.” So Nadler these days has his hands full as he presses Attorney General William Barr to release a complete copy of the Mueller Report and all its supporting documentation under threat of subpoena. …And yet, as Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer tells the story, “There he was at a recent local meeting about a New York City Housing Authority inﬁll site in Community Board 4 in Hell’s Kitchen.” “I’ve never seen anything like this,” she marveled. “He didn’t have to be there. He’s right in the middle of all these huge national issues. But he still shows up at all the meetings.” What motivates him? “It’s all about keeping a local focus on local issues and local housing and local concerns, and that has never changed,” Brewer said. invreporter@strausnews.com

The enormous interior volume of the McCourt space make humans look small. Photo: Emily Mason

WORK IN PROGRESS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The dream of its creators is that the Shed will fulfill the two goals laid out by Michael Bloomberg at the onset of the project in 2013: that it be an artistic Mecca to keep New York City at the cutting edge of culture, and that it be different from anything else in the city. The Shed’s board answered this call by putting flexibility at the core of their project. Chairman and President of the Shed, Daniel L. Doctoroff, explained the rationale behind this design priority. “We kept hearing similar things from everybody, which is that in this era of the internet which gives people the capacity to communicate and collaborate, the cultural ecosystem was beginning to shift,” Doctoroff said. “Artists were producing work that didn’t fit into traditional institutions. And out of that idea was the notion of extreme flexibility and adaptability.”

The Magic of the McCourt One of the building’s architects, Elizabeth Diller, discussed how the design was created to embody this ideal of flexibility. The main building contains a theater, galleries, and an impressive top floor with skylights and a large dance floor offering a view of

Hudson Yards’ other main attraction, the Vessel. But it is the McCourt that is the most versatile space in the design. The McCourt is created when the large latticed-steel and plastic polymer shell that surrounds the eight-floor main building is rolled back on its six giant wheels. This forms an enormous, adaptable space with moveable walls and seemingly unlimited possible combinations of seating, staging and lighting, allowing artists to use the space in a variety of ways. At the press preview, the expansive venue of the McCourt smelled of the fresh wood used to construct the tiered levels for attendees. It felt a little chilly, as well, after the warmth of the well-heated main building. And one could see the grooves on the interior of the walls which allow them to morph and change the shape of the space. “This is a perpetual work in progress, always getting smarter, always more agile,” Diller said. “This building will respond in real time to the challenges brought to it by artists, and hopefully it will challenge artists back.” The other motivation for creating a space that can adapt to different types of installations is to ensure that the Shed will be able to stand the test of time as art continues to evolve.

We want to be able to accommodate artists, but also to inspire artists to do things they otherwise might not be able to do.” Daniel L. Doctoroff, chairman and president of the Shed With the Future in Mind “We don’t know what art is going to be or what artists are going to produce in two years, or ten years, or 100 years,” Doctoroff said. “We want to be able to accommodate artists, but also to inspire artists to do things they otherwise might not be able to do.” Alex Poots, the founding chief and artistic director of the Shed discussed some of the opening events, which feature an eclectic mix of works including a five-day African American concert series, a concert by Bjork, and even a kung fu musical from the screenwriters of Kung Fu Panda that features songs by Sia. “This shows the range of artistry that is welcome and that can be present at the Shed,” Poots said.

APRIL 11-17,2019

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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.

BUILDING HOSPITAL CARE! BY BETTE DEWING

So how was your hospital experience? Hope you didn’t have one, but if so, you likely received a hospital questionnaire posing that question. Mine is ﬁlled out with my often out-of-the-box thoughts on how the experience could be better — much better. Stay tuned.

Ask the Patients I also think patients should be consulted about Lenox Hill Hospital’s massive renovation plans. Those who live in the neighborhood will surely object to the sky-high physical expansion, and astute patients in general might say the expansion needed is the number of on-hands

medical care — doctors, nurses and aides. Now, they report, you may wait for hours between any such inperson visits, and isolation is very unhealthy. And while the hospital’s plan to shift to single rooms surely has merit — to be “family-centric” they explain, and no noisy roommates to impede the healing. Ah, but family need should always be stressed, regardless of room size, when it exists along with the need for quiet rooms. As for expanding hospital empathy, all medical personnel need lessons from Dr. Sarah Flannery, who said on my recent visit to Lenox Hill Hospital, “I am really sorry this accident happened to you.” Ah, and expand empathetic and compas-

sionate response teaching not only in medical schools, but in every school, starting from pre-K on out. So many societal ills would be prevented. And don’t we need that.

Change The Lights And this former patient would love to see Lenox Hill and all medical places have sunny-colored rooms and hallways. Forget all that white white. And no super-bright lights except in operating rooms. Ah, incandescent light is surely the healthiest kind, but let the energyefficients they’re obliged to use be the warm-white, not the cold-white kind. Ironically, policymakers have not done their homework on LED lights, which can interfere with

sleep cycles and do visual as well as other potential physical harm. Spea k in g of t h in gs wh ich shouldn’t have been invented — do a search. A search also finds it’s not simplistic for infinitely more smiling, not only in hospitals. Smiling is contagious — and it makes us feel better as well as look better — can’t say that too often. What else do hospitals need? Well for the growing elder population — personnel who speak loudly and distinctly enough. Is that too much to ask, or to be stressed in medical schools what with an aging population and patients whose English is not proficient? Ah, and it surely helps the quality of care if patients commend exceptionally caring hospital personnel. I did that, but unfortunately did not report a disrespectful aide; a potential problem with all personnel in need of more discussion and reporting.

How About a Chapel?

Oh, and volunteers couldn’t be more needed, especially for patients without family or other caring people around. More attention must be paid for the care patients need later at home, not only the “hired help” but the community and the neighborly kind. So in need of a mighty revival is Hubert Humphrey’s great belief that “The impersonal hand of government can never replace the caring hand and of a neighbor,” if enough Include it in Easter and Passover sermons and prayers. And how could I forget — the hospital sure needs a chapel, yes. even for non-believers who need a serene and quiet place to rest and yes, to meditate. Meditation also needs a great revival to prevent illness and expand the caring. Expand the caring — that’s what we need most. And it can be done if enough of us try ... if enough of us try ... dewingbetter@aol.com

SILENT CITY

most of the sightseers away, and you can watch the pond by the Dakota in silence. If you saunter in far enough, the sounds of the city slowly dissipate until all you can hear are your shoes beating against the asphalt. The skeletal trees stand tall in the wind, their disfigured branches reaching up to touch the gray sky. There is only the soft rustle of their fingers brushing together to keep you company. You walk for as long as it takes to catch up with yourself again. Seclusion can be found in the darkest corner of the Museum of Natural History. Past the Hall of Biodiversity is the Hall of Ocean Life. Though there are school field trips being led in single file lines, and toddlers running amok around the carpeted floor, all noise disappears as you stand and stare at the behemoth of an exhibit in front of you. The giant sperm whale seems to be swimming right out of the wall. He is satisfied, a smug grin on his mammoth face as he clamps down on the red squid resting in his mouth. The kids stay away from this corner — in the dim light of the room, the squid and the whale are terrifying monsters lurking in the dark. It is quiet enough that you can finally hear yourself think. You ponder how small we truly

BY CARLY TAGEN-DYE

You are quiet, and you know that. It has been pointed out to you more times than you can count, often by teachers irritated by the fact you don’t participate in class, or by peers who act surprised you can even talk at all. New York City might not be the best place to move if you are anxious and introverted. To you, however, it is the only place big enough to swallow a person whole. So you go. Despite the cabs honking at all hours of the night and the ever-present sounds of rush hour traffic — despite the crowds, the congestion, and the chaos — New York is not as loud as you anticipated it would be. This city can be silent when you want it to. You can make it as peaceful as you need. There is an abundance of serenity right in the middle of Manhattan. Take the C train to West 72nd Street, and enter Central Park through Strawberry Fields. Make sure to go on a Sunday morning in January, though, when the bitter cold is enough to keep

Photo: Andres Alvarado via Flickr

are when there are creatures of this size roaming the depths of the ocean. All other sounds fade. Silence comes in the first snowfall you’ve seen all season. It starts slowly, a single ﬂake ﬂurrying to the ground, until its friends follow suit. They twist and twirl, like delicate dancers performing a routine. The world is coated in white; peaceful, for a few swift seconds. People push past you on the sidewalk, in a hurry to get to their apartments, offices, or nearest subway stations to escape the biting cold. Within minutes, the sidewalks are much emptier. For a moment, you feel as if you are the only person on earth, caught up in the sudden storm. The trees, bare branches dusted by frost, look like the ones outside your childhood bedroom window. For a split second, you are back in the town you grew up in; ever-silent and still. The snow reminds you of home. Through these gentle glimpses, you begin to see New York as home too. You are quiet, and you know that. Perhaps this city is just like you. Carly Tagen-Dye is a freshman in the Writing B.F.A. Program at Pratt Institute

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APRIL 11-17,2019

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

DESPITE COURT DEFEAT, TOWER’S RISE CONTINUES DEVELOPMENT Elected officials call on city to stop construction on 200 Amsterdam Avenue BY MICHAEL GAROFALO

Last month’s state Supreme Court decision against the developers behind 200 Amsterdam Avenue has done nothing to slow the rise of the planned 668-foot residential building. Construction on the tower has continued apace since the March 14 ruling — which found that the city’s Board of Standards and Appeals’ decision last year to uphold plans for the project was “unreasonable and inconsistent with the plain language” of city zoning law — prompting local elected officials to call on the city to halt work immediately. The legal challenge, filed by two nonprofit advocacy groups and supported by a number of local politicians, focused on the large, irregularly shaped zoning lot used to justify the building’s height, which critics have likened to a gerrymandered electoral district. The court ordered the BSA to revisit the case under a new interpretation that would seem to require the agency to reverse its earlier finding that the 39-sided parcel, which encompasses pieces of several tax lots and snakes across much of the Lincoln Towers superblock, constitutes a properly formed zoning lot. But Judge W. Franc Perry stopped short of ordering the Department of Buildings to revoke the project’s building permit, instead leaving it to the BSA to reevaluate the matter and issue its own decision. The BSA has not yet scheduled a new hearing date for the case. A BSA spokesperson said the agency anticipates a hearing will likely be held in “late May or June.” For the time being, nothing prevents developers SJP Properties and Mitsui Fudosan from continuing work on the planned 55-story tower, which now exceeds 20 floors in height. A DOB spokesperson directed inquiries to the city’s Law Department. In an emailed statement, Law Department Spokes-

Construction on the planned 55-story tower at 200 Amsterdam Avenue is ongoing. The tower now rises roughly 22 stories over the Upper West Side. Photo: Vincent A. Gardino man Nick Paolucci wrote that the court’s decision “does not invalidate the construction permits for this project.” “Construction is allowed to proceed under the current permits,” Paolucci continued.

Hearing on April 30 The plaintiffs in the case — Committee for Environmentally Sound Development, a local volunteer advocacy group, and the Municipal Art Society of New York, a prominent preservation and land use advocacy nonproﬁt — are seeking a court order that would stop work on the tower until the BSA reaches its decision. The court will hold a hearing April 30 on the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction, but denied the plaintiffs’ request for a temporary restraining order that would have halted construction immediately. Since the March 14 Supreme Court ruling, the plaintiffs’ attorney alleged in a court ﬁling, the developers have “continued to construct the illegal 55-story tower at a breakneck pace,” adding more than one story per week. The plaintiffs believe that the building is already taller than would be permitted under the zoning interpretation

endorsed by the court. “If the BSA takes even six months to decide the case on remand, the building will almost certainly be complete,” the plaintiffs wrote in a ﬁling. The developers may also elect to appeal the Supreme Court’s decision. Representatives for developer SJP Properties did not respond to requests for comment. Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer is calling on DOB to rescind the project’s permits. “Construction should not continue while there is still a viable challenge to this development,” Brewer wrote in an April 3 letter to acting DOB Commissioner Thomas Fariello. Brewer and Council Member Helen Rosenthal, whose Upper West Side district includes the building site, planned a rally for April 9 in support of an immediate work stoppage. “Ongoing process delays could make an illegal project inevitable,” Rosenthal said in an emailed statement. “This should not be allowed. No developer should be permitted to violate zoning law — it undermines what is supposed to be a transparent and consistent land use process across the city.”

He loves solving problems. So he gives. William Donnell turned to The New York Community Trust to help him share his good fortune. Together, we preserve parks, support the LGBTQ community, and ﬁght poverty. He also put The Trust in his will. “Long after I’m gone, The Trust will keep using my money to make New York better for everyone.”

What do you love? We can help with your charitable giving. (212) 686-0010 x363 or giving@nyct-cfi.org www.GiveTo.nyc

APRIL 11-17,2019

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

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

EDITOR’S PICK

April 11 - Nov 24 THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG New World Stages 340 West 50th St 2:00 p.m., 7:00 p.m, and 8:00 p.m. $75 newworldstages.com 646-871-1730 This Olivier Award-winning comedy is a hilarious hybrid of Monty Python and Sherlock Holmes. Welcome to opening night of The Murder at Haversham Manor where things are quickly going from bad to utterly disastrous.

NOW OPEN | Free Admission

Smithsonian

National Museum of the American Indian AmericanIndian.si.edu

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Photo: jemimus, via Flickr

Thu 11

Fri 12

Sat 13

▲ HOW IT ENDS: GAME OF THRONES

WOKE AF: A MINDOPENING VARIETY SHOW

ALEXANDER HAMILTON U.S. CUSTOM HOUSE TOUR

SubCulture 45 Bleecker St 10:00 p.m. $14 Woke AF is an all-inclusive comedy variety show where artists share and perform comedy about social issues they’re passionate about. subculturenewyork.com 212-533-5470

1 Bowling Green Noon Free Join a Museum Ambassador for a tour of the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, home of the National Museum of the American Indian in New York. americanindian.si.edu 202-633-6644

The Magnet Theater 254 West 29th St 7:00 p.m. $7 We’re finally here, the series finale of the epic story, “Game of Thrones.” But how will it end? Find out and be ahead of the game with this sneak peak at the series finale of one of the greatest shows of all time! magnettheater.com 212-244-8824

APRIL 11-17,2019

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

“No judgment to ﬁt in or be the same…. As soon as I came to Oakwood I felt welcome. The seniors talk to the freshmen, and this sense of community creates an environment in which we are encouraged to push ourselves and try new things. I learned right away that Oakwood would give me the help and attention with my classes that other schools could not. Oakwood has challenged me and expanded my view of what is possible and I am becoming a more confident learner each day!” Liza E., Hopewell Junction, NY

On a picturesque coed campus, infused with nature, Oakwood Friends School, guided by Quaker principles, prepares students for lives of achievement, accomplishment, compassion and conscience. Upper School Day & Boarding Programs (5 and 7-day) Middle School Day Program

Sun 14 Mon 15 Tue 16 ▲ KIMBERLY FRIEDMUTTER & DR. GUY MONTGOMERY: THE POWER OF THE SUBCONSCIOUS The Rubin Museum 150 West 17th St 4:00 p.m. $30 Celebrity hypnotist Kimberly Friedmutter believes that the power to change the dynamics of life lies within us, in our subconscious mind. She joins in conversation with Dr. Guy Montgomery, a faculty member of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The two speakers will compare notes and experiences on the mind-body connection and the use of hypnosis to help improve individuals’ well-being and quality of life. rubinmuseum.org 212-620-5000

BIBLIOTHEQUE BURLESQUE PRESENTS: SHAKESBARE Caveat 21 A Clinton St 9:00 p.m $15 The world premiere of Bibliotheque Burlesque brings you an evening of erudite ecdysiasm, featuring acts celebrating the works of William Shakespeare. caveat.nyc 212-228-2100

Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy by Caravaggio. Oil on canvas, 1594. The Ella Gallup Sumner and Mary Catlin Sumner Collection Fund, via Wikimedia Commons

TEACHER FEATURE UCB Hell’s Kitchen 555 West 42nd St 9:30 p.m. $7 UCBT’s top improv teachers join forces in Teacher Feature, the improv show that features teachers for this weekly all-star improv explosion. ucbtheatre.com 212-366-9176

Middle and Upper Schools Open House Student-led campus tours and meetings with faculty and Head of School Sat/Sun April 27 & 28 at Noon Sat/Sun May 4 & 5 at Noon For more info or to join us, write or call: admissions@oakwoodfriends.org • (845) 462-4200 22 Spackenkill Road, Poughkeepsie, NY

oakwoodfriends.org

ACTIVITIES FOR THE FERTILE MIND

thoughtgallery.org NEW YORK CITY

Wed 17 ◄ LOMBARD REALISM FROM FOPPA TO CARAVAGGIO Hudson Park Library 66 Leroy St 6:00 p.m. Free A series of lectures by artist, curator, art historian Robert Bunkin. This is a discussion of the distinct vein of realism in Lombardy from the 15th-17th centuries, including Lotto’s Bergamask period, Savoldo, Romanino, Moretto da Brescia, Moroni, and Anguissola. This talk also puts Moroni’s work into a broader art historical context, showing how Caravaggio’s realism comes from this tradition, which inﬂuenced most Baroque painting. nypl.org 212-243-6876

A Rebellious Brew: New York’s Tea Party of 1774 | Walking Tour

SATURDAY, APRIL 13TH & SUNDAY, APRIL 14TH, 11AM Fraunces Tavern | 54 Pearl St. | 212-968-1776 | frauncestavernmuseum.org Boston wasn’t the only colonial town to host a tea party; learn about New York’s version from New York City Tour Guide Fred Cookinham, who’ll bring the city’s 1774 waterfront to life ($20, includes museum admission).

Leonardo da Vinci, Musician and Scientist

SATURDAY, APRIL 13TH, 2PM Saint John’s in the Village | 224 Waverly Pl. | 212-243-6192 | stjvny.org As famous as da Vinci is, the role of music in his life isn’t well known. In the ﬁrst of two presentations, learn about the great inventor’s acoustical experiments and musical instrument design within the context of the courts he served. Historical instruments will be played ($30).

Just Announced | Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, Laurie Anderson

TUESDAY, MAY 7TH, 7:30PM Murmrr | 17 Eastern Pkwy., Brooklyn | 516-510-1477 | murmrr.com Tibetan Buddhist teacher Yongey Mingur Rinpoche shares his near-death experience and what it taught him about life. Find him in conversation on his forthcoming book, In Love with the World: A Monk’s Journey Through the Bardos of Living and Dying ($20 balcony tickets; $37 with book).

For more information about lectures, readings and other intellectually stimulating events throughout NYC,

APRIL 11-17,2019

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

Portrait of a woman holding a spindle and distaff and ﬂanked by lion handles (c. 120 A.D.) came from Palmyra, and is on loan from Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen. Photo: Adel Gorgy

A startlingly modern looking face on a stele from Southwestern Arabia (early ﬁrst century) is on loan from the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Photo: Adel Gorgy.

VOICES PAST AND PRESENT Art and objects from the ancient Middle East embody both the fleeting nature of time and the enduring impact of long-ago cultures BY MARY GREGORY

Even goddesses can be hard to recognize. This alabaster statuette has been identiﬁed by curators as an image of Ishtar. Photo: Adel Gorgy

Entering the Metropolitan Museum’s exhibition, “The World between Empires: Art and Identity in the Ancient Middle East,” ﬁlled with images of deities, war paraphernalia, funerary objects, coins, and relics of everyday life, one feels the presence of two millennia filled with history, spirituality, culture and conﬂict. Names and borders are different, but the timeless gazes of portraits and the surprisingly familiar aesthetic of the works remind us that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Close to 200 works, including many important international loans, come together to give a sense of ancient places like Petra, Mesopotamia, and Palmyra, and of cultures like the Nabataeans and Phoenicians. Separate sections of the exhibition focus on areas of the Middle East, stretching from Yemen to Syria, from 100 B.C. to 250 A.D. Along with art and artifacts are photographs, maps, and video bringing the

past and present together. “In focusing on an area of the world that has been deeply affected by recent conﬂicts and the destruction of sites, monuments, and objects, this show also engages with complex questions about the preservation of cultural heritage,” stated Max Hollein, director of The Met.

A Ruby-Eyed, Alabaster Beauty The exhibition organizers, Michael Seymour and Blair Fowlkes-Childs, highlight a three-century long contest between the powerful Roman and Parthian empires for control of the trade routes of the ancient Middle East, and the ways that local cultures evaded their influences. Distinct societies and diverse religions flourished. The diminutive work that opens the exhibition is stunning and challenging. It’s a small alabaster statuette, about the size of a hand, on loan from the Louvre. Delicately modeled, with articulating arms, the female figure wears a gold necklace, earrings and crown and has inlaid rubies in her eyes and navel. FowlkesChilds remarks in the audio accompanying the work that the sculpture came from a grave in ancient Mesopotamia. While the portrayal might seem simi-

lar to Aphrodite or Venus, she says “these questions of divine identity are not always easy to solve.” Seymour later adds that they believe the statue depicts Ishtar of Babylon. But, he points out, “She is being represented in new ways.” Among the highlights is a beautiful wall plaque of a cheetah with charming incised circles indicating its spotted fur, from Palmyra in the third century. In the gallery featuring works from southwestern Arabia, the vivid realism of an elegant bronze horse contrasts with an extraordinarily modern-looking, abstracted face carved in a stele of stone, though they come from about the same place and time (ﬁrst to second century).

The Push and Pull of Time Some of the things in the exhibition are startling because we know them, but never imagined we’d see them, like the humble unglazed pottery jar that once held the Dead Sea Scrolls. Others are astonishing because of their anonymity. Who knew that two extremely rare early paintings of Jesus on view here belong to the collection of nearby Yale University? Still others are compelling because, despite the 2,000 years that have passed, they seem so

familiar, like glasses and jars from Tyre and Sidon. The cities, the wall texts explain, had particularly ﬁne sand for glassmaking, and became famous for their glassware. There’s a constant sense of the push and pull of time as one passes through the galleries. At one moment it all seems so distant, at another, so near. And that seems to be part of the point. Wall texts throughout the exhibition discuss the destruction of cultural heritage so problematic today. A group of experts appear in videos discussing the tragic losses of artworks across the region. But they also present ideas for the future, offering hope. A particularly poignant carved wall plaque remains in memory after walking among treasures from cultures enduring and long forgotten. It’s an altar, praising the goodness, mercy and power of god, but leaving that god unnamed.

IF YOU GO WHAT: The World between Empires: Art and Identity in the Ancient Middle East WHERE: The Met 1000 Fifth Avenue, Gallery 899 WHEN: Through June 23, 2019

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In his solo show, biracial comedian Bill Posley weighs in on the modern-day conversation about race from a unique perspective.

In this theatrical hip-hop manifesto, Baba Brinkman breaks down the politics, economics, and science of global warming.

In Jacobean dramatist John Webster’s tragedy, wickedness and beauty intersect in a hellish world of fake news and hypocritical holy men.

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Sean O’Casey’s 1924 drama offers a devastating portrait of wasted potential in a Dublin torn apart by the chaos of the Irish Civil War.

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Wheelhouse Theater Company presents the New York premiere of Aaron Posner’s reimagining of Chekhov’s timeless classic, “Uncle Vanya.”

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Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS MAR 27 - APR 2, 2018

Winnie’s Bar

58 E Broadway

Greek-Shack

89 Canal St

Not Yet Graded (22) 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 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.

Empire Gyro

202 Allen St

Not Yet Graded (29) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Food worker does not wash hands thoroughly after using the toilet, coughing, sneezing, smoking, eating, preparing raw foods or otherwise contaminating hands. 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.

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. Mudville Saloon

126 Chambers Street

Gran Morsi

22 Warren St

Pret A Manger

179 Broadway

Potbelly Sandwich Works

280 Broadway

Sophie’s Cuban Cuisine

96 Chambers Street

Gunbae

67 Murray St

Originality Rice Roll

38 Allen St

Fish Market Restaurant

111 South Street

Dr Smood

181 E Houston St

Bareburger

155 William St

Potbelly Sandwich Works

127 Fulton St

Wetzel’s Pretzels

200 Broadway

Shake Shack

200 Broadway

Not Yet Graded (27) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred. Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored. Wiping cloths soiled or not stored in sanitizing solution.

Oliver Coffee

5 Oliver St

Kuma Inn

113 Ludlow Street

Giorgione

307 Spring Street

Cafe Petisco

189 East Broadway

Papatzul

55 Grand Street

Golden Fung Wong Bakery

41 Mott Street

CLOSED (43) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.

New Sau Voi

101105 Lafayette Street

Subway

6466 Delancy Street

Cheese Grille

188 Allen St

Interlude Cafe

145 Hudson St

Erin McKenna’s Bakery

248 Broome St

Miansai

33 Crosby St

The Flower Shop

107 Eldridge St

Humble Fish

35 Lispenard St

Blue Bottle Coffee

71 Clinton St

Dak Bakery

90 Bowery

CLOSED (59) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Evidence of rats or live rats present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Hand washing facility not provided in or near food preparation area and toilet room. Hot and cold running water at adequate pressure to enable cleanliness of employees not provided at facility. Soap and an acceptable handdrying device not provided. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Shu Jiao Fuzhouese Cuisine

118 Eldridge St

Grade Pending (25) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.

May May Kitchen

181 Clinton St

Ourika

37 Clinton St

May Wah Pork Chop Fast Food

190 Hester St

Public Roof Top

215 Chrystie St/Public A Arts

Wok Wok Restaurant

11 Mott St

Grade Pending (31) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked ﬁsh and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Personal cleanliness inadequate. Outer garment soiled with possible contaminant. Effective hair restraint not worn in an area where food is prepared. Wiping cloths soiled or not stored in sanitizing solution.

Arlene’s Grocery

95 Stanton Street

Verlaine

110 Rivington Street

Grade Pending (20) 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. Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.

Rockwood Music Hall

184198 Allen Street

Grade Pending (22) 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.

Zutto Japanese American Pub

77 Hudson St

Soho Grand Hotel

310 West Broadway

Taiwan Bear House

11 Pell St

Nyonya

199 Grand St

Rockwood Music Hall

190 Allen Street

Lalito

104 Bayard St

Sakamai

157 Ludlow Street

Sola Pasta Bar

330 W Broadway

Donnybrook

3739 Clinton Street

95 Delancey Street

Yopparai

151 Rivington Street

Char Sue

119 Essex St

Grade Pending (46) Hand washing facility not provided in or near food preparation area and toilet room. Hot and cold running water at adequate pressure to enable cleanliness of employees not provided at facility. Soap and an acceptable hand-drying device not provided. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred. Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored. Wiping cloths soiled or not stored in sanitizing solution.

APRIL 11-17,2019

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com with the Marlene Meyerson JCC, on Amsterdam Avenue between 75th and 76th Streets, which has been hosting Achilles events for over ten years. The next big Achilles event is the 17th Annual Hope and Possibility 4 Mile, to be held on Sunday, June 23rd. (For more info and to sign up or donate go here: www.achillesinternational.org/hope-possibility) The run, the largest of its kind, brings together “athletes with disabilities and able-bodied athletes in a celebration of running.” There will be prizes, free t-shirts for kids and of course, lots of competition. There are several categories, including handcycles, push-rim wheelchairs and the Achilles Freedom Team.

A Variety of Programs

Runners and guides (the folks in the neon yellow shirts) gather in Central Park before a weekly run organized by Achilles International. Photo: Meredith Kurz

NOTHING STOPS THESE ATHLETES ACTIVITIES Achilles International provides people with disabilities the opportunity to compete and the support they need to achieve their goals BY MEREDITH KURZ

“There’s a hydraulic fuel leak,” Lou Chinal heard in his helmet radio. His colonel, who’d seen the fluid coming out of Lou’s Navy jet while ﬂying nearby, continued, “You’ll need to jettison.” I assumed parachutes were parked on a jet pilot’s back, and up and out they’d go. I was wrong, as Lou explained on a recent morning. The Martin Baker (MB) is an ejection seat kit. When you deploy your MB, “Keep your elbows in,” Lou told me. “If you don’t keep them in, when you eject you’ll either lose ‘em or break ‘em.” Lou showed me the correct way to eject from a jet. “Reach your arms up overhead, like this,” he said, looking like he was doing a tight pull up from a seated position. “Elbows in, then pull down.” The ejection seat kits come with an inﬂatable life raft, and oxygen. “There’s three different kinds of oxygen on an aircraft carrier,” Lou told me. “Pilots get the one that’s com-

pletely dry, no moisture, so it doesn’t freeze up in high altitude.” During ejection, the clear canopy over the cockpit blows off and the pilot is flung into the air. Lou’s canopy came off, his parachute unfurled, but, twisting, got caught in its own lines. “There was a partial open,” he explained. “How far did you fall?” I asked. People nearby had been semi-ignoring us. At this point, all pretense was dropped. They leaned in. “About 13-5,” Lou replied, then clarified, “13,500 feet. “If you’re in that situation,” he told me, “inflate your life raft between your legs and use it as a cushion.” It was a hard landing, cushion notwithstanding. After nine weeks in an induced coma, followed by three years in a nursing home, Lou walked out. A retired Naval Air Reservist, Lou continues to walk — he doesn’t even use a cane — with Achilles International, a non-profit organization that provides support to athletes with disabilities.

gathered, all shapes, ages, and abilities. There were also volunteers on hand who would be divvied up among the runners who needed guides. “I used to always start my weekend workout from Engineer’s Gate,” one young volunteer told me. “I was so inspired to see everyone out here every Saturday morning, I just joined up!” I met Dave, who’s volunteered with Achilles for four years, and helps out with the guide dogs that many visu-

ally impaired runners rely on. When they run, they leave their dogs with volunteers like Dave, and are tethered to volunteers who run with them. Nishat is a New York Cares volunteer who discovered the Achilles program, and brought her friend Madeleine. Michael Anderson, Achilles’ New York director, had to stand on a bench and throw his voice so all could hear. There were upcoming activities to announce, not only through Achilles, but

Achilles Freedom Team brings “running and marathon opportunities to veterans who suffered trauma while serving in a branch of the United States military, predominantly those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.” Stefan LeRoy a Freedom Team runner, recently made news running a 5K, 10K, halfmarathon and a marathon in one weekend, running with, among others, Achilles guide David Cordani. Here’s the link: www.achillesinternational. org/freedom-team Achilles Kids has been helping kids with disabilities for over 23 years to exercise regularly and “compete with other runners, helping them become stronger and healthier.” They offer two weekend programs in NYC. www.achillesinternational.org/achilles-kids or call 212-354-0300 x305. Tri Achilles Team is for athletes with disabilities inter-

Inspiration and Determination It was Saturday morning and I was at the group’s weekly walkrun workout, which meets at Central Park’s Engineer’s Gate at 10 a.m. in the spring. Over one hundred people had

Dick Traum started the Achilles International handcycle program. Photo: Meredith Kurz

ested in multi-sport competitions. There is a wide range of experience and abilities for the competitors, and they receive training and coaching in swimming, biking, and running. www.achillesinternational. org/paratriathlon-team The Handcycle Program was started by Dick Traum, who, after knee surgery, discovered handcycling was not only a great alternative exercise, handcycles could be used to compete. Achilles presented the idea of handcycling to wounded veterans who lost limbs in conﬂicts. The program became the Achilles Freedom Team of Wounded Veterans. Achilles was able to offer “wounded military personnel a seemingly ‘impossible’ goal of completing marathons because they could use a handcycle.” To learn more about the handcycle program contact Joe Traum (Dick’s son), director of operations and wheelchair logistics at jtraum@achillesinternational.org. Marlene Meyerson JCC also offers exercise opportunities in their facilities on the Upper West Side. The Jack and Shirley Silver Center for Special Needs offers aquatics and gymnastic programming for children. The Edmond J. Safra Parkinson’s Wellness Program offers “exercise, support groups, and events designed to keep those impacted by Parkinson’s and their families active, connected, and empowered.” For these and other programs, go to www.jccmanhattan.org The Achilles guides, in their neon yellow shirts headed over to the reservoir track with their athletic partners. As I watched Lou walking with his comrades, all I could think was, 13-5.

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS NYC fitness studios are adding new training classes just for women BY MICHELLE NAIM

What could be better than a gym membership on-the-go for the ﬁtnessclass junkies among us? Welcome to ClassPass. In 2013, the small start-up hit the App Store and online markets, allowing users to choose from a crowd of boutique studios and ﬁtness classes. Members gain access to a wide range of classes — boxing or cycling class if they’re looking for something fastpaced and intense or, they can opt for a slow-paced yoga class to get a nice stretch in — all for a monthly fee. With all of these options, ClassPass is allow-

ing women to break into the world of strength training, an exercise routine that was once largely the domain of men until recently. “I think there’s such a stigma around strength being for men and only for men,” said Heather Gunn-Rivera, coowner of Grassroots Fitness Project on the Upper West Side. In the middle of her passionate reply, the clock hit 9:29 a.m. (the women’s strength training class begins at 9:30am), “Let’s go,” she said. The studio only added an allwomen’s strength training class to its schedule a year-and-a-half ago. A Flatiron women’s-only studio called Uplift Studio, has begun to introduce strength training classes to their class schedules as well. “Strength is our signature class and

Weight training with instructor Heather Gunn-Rivera of Grassroots Fitness Project. Photo courtesy of Jesse Herndon

APRIL 11-17,2019

Business

the most popular,” said Leanne Shear, the studio owner. She initially branded herself as a women-only trainer from the start of her career. “When one of our early group classes got rained out in Central Park, instead of canceling, we herded everyone across the street to a bar to hang out. For hours, women who had never met before were sipping wine, networking, hanging out, and becoming friends and workout buddies. Men have historically created these opportunities (and advantages) for themselves, while until recently, women have not. I saw that and ran with it in the creation of Uplift.”

Empowerment within classes Shear has also recently begun a #MeToo workshop to serve the community of trainers and instructors on how best to deal with sexual harassment from clients along with Megan Eiss-Proctor, a New York attorney and founder of Heddy Consulting, The workshop is also geared towards male instructors who have wanted to step in to the aid of their female colleagues but didn’t know how. Neither of the studios would ever think about adding on a men’s-only class, saying that would defeat their entire purpose. Right now, Uplift holds all of their classes in an all-women’s setting although Shear said her trainers would be willing to work with men at special events. And, for GunnRivera, “It’s not just about bringing

Class at Grassroots Fitness Project on the Upper West Side. Photo courtesy of Jesse Herndon women together ... because we want to say no-males. It’s about giving the women a safe place to ﬁgure out what [strength is] for women — how are we going to deﬁne that?” Gunn-Rivera added that the empowerment within the classes is different than classes which have both men and women, “The way they lead, the way they support each other has a different attitude, has a different air, has a different feeling, you know. It’s so new to everybody. Were in such a time now where the confidence of women has grown.” The beginning of an ordinary allwomen’s strength class at The Grassroots Project feels like a therapy session. It’s a vulnerable space and is almost like a support group getting together to talk about their insecurities. Topics of conversation include questions Gunn-Rivera asks like, “When were times in your life when you lost

and gained your strength?” Gunn-Rivera said teaching women has been personally eye-opening to her, “It’s learning how to coach women in a strength environment because the wording is different, the language is different ... we’re not allowed to make disclaimers in the class: ‘Oh I can’t do it.’ You hear the disclaimers come out all the time and I just stop it in its tracks ... because we become what we say. We become what we think.” She continued, “I feel like I have to become somebody in order to teach a male [but] I don’t have to become [anybody] ... to teach a female.” Shear, on the other hand, does not believe there is any substantial difference between the way women and men are taught: “Women are incredibly strong and train incredibly smart. A good instructor ... is going to bring the best out of any student/client no matter who they are!”

THE IDEAL AGES FOR FINANCIAL MILESTONES A new study shows consensus about the right time to open credit card accounts, buy a home — and retire When it comes to money, life is a series of ﬁnancial milestones. Opening your first credit card account, buying your first home and retiring (no more paychecks!) all feel like very significant events — and they are. But what age is the right age to reach each of these milestones? Of course, it depends on who you ask. But according to a new study from Bankrate. com, there’s some consensus among people on the ideal age for life’s major ﬁnancial events. What does this mean for you? The results of this study could help you adjust your expectations or reconsider your plans for reaching wa-

tershed ﬁnancial moments depending on where you are in life.

reality, the median first-time home buyer in the U.S. is 32 years old.

Most people agree on the ideal age to become a home owner. The study,

Young Americans are warming up to credit cards. All respondents across all

which consisted of interviews with about 1,000 respondents, showed that most people think 28 is the right age to buy a home for the first time. In fact, a majority of every age group cited age 28 except for the Silent Generation — people born between 1925 and 1942 — and their most common answer was similar, age 26. Of course, it’s not uncommon for the concept of “ideal” to conﬂict with realities on the ground. For example, there is consensus among Americans who make less than $30,000 a year, as well as those who live in expensive regions such as the Northeast, that it’s best to wait to buy a home until you’re at least 30. In

age groups agreed that 21 is the ideal age to buy or lease your first car, but there was no such consensus when it comes to opening your first credit card account. The most commonly cited ideal age for that financial milestone was 22, but millennials, who have historically shunned taking on credit card debt, are now largely in favor of paying with plastic as early as possible. About 53 percent of millennials cited 18 to 20 as the ideal age to get your first credit card. It’s important to note that the Credit Card Act of 2009 made 21 the minimum age to acquire a credit card without a cosigner or verifiable proof of enough income to

pay debts. What does this mean for you? If you have college-age kids, keep in mind that it’s now probable that they’re nearly twice as likely as you or your parents to think it’s a good idea to open a credit card account as soon as they reach adulthood.

The young want to retire earlier than those at retirement age. The survey’s younger respondents think the ideal retirement age is in one’s very early 60s — ages 61 and 60 for millennials and Gen Xers, respectively. That optimism, however, often collides with learned reality for older adults who are at or near retirement age. Half of baby boomers think it’s best to wait until at least age 65, and nearly one in five respondents age 73 or older believe that waiting until age 70 or older is better. What’s actually happening?

The average age of new retirees in the U.S. is about 63, although that varies by state, with four states in New England plus New Jersey averaging 65, the oldest average. If you’re a Gen Xer who has lofty goals of early retirement, or you’re the parent of an optimistic millennial, keep in mind that there’s a direct correlation between getting an early jump on aggressively saving for retirement, as well as limiting debt, and actually being able to retire early. Source: A Bankrate.com survey, conducted by SSRS on its Omnibus platform, of 1,001 respondents. The data were weighted to ensure accuracy. Date: August 8, 2018 Publication: Bottom Line Personal Copyright © 2018 by Bottom Line Inc., 3 Landmark Square, Suite 201, Stamford, Connecticut 06901. www.BottomLineInc. com

APRIL 11-17,2019

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The Riverside Park Conservancyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stewardship of its fourmile stretch of green space along the West Side waterfront encompasses a host of responsibilities â&#x20AC;&#x201D; from the brilliant seasonal ďŹ&#x201A;ower plantings now blossoming throughout the park to the upkeep of public tennis courts and playing ďŹ elds to the youth camps and free programming that enliven the park throughout the summer. But one aspect of the conservancyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work that even avid

The [Soldiers and Sailors] monument has been allowed to fall into disrepair. We believe that the city should step up and fix what has become very embarrassing, to say the least.â&#x20AC;? Dan Garodnick, president and CEO of the Riverside Park Conservancy users of the park may not have considered is forest management. Riverside Park contains 60 acres of natural woodlands, the ecological health of which are threatened by invasive species, as well as increased heat and drought driven by

climate change. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Right now we have many stately canopy trees that are getting choked out by invasives that just donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t belong in the park.â&#x20AC;? Dan Garodnick, the president and chief executive officer of the Riverside Park Conservancy, told Straus News. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They have the potential to keep the native trees from regenerating.â&#x20AC;? The Riverside Park Conservancy is seeking to bolster its efforts and secure the long-term health of its forests through a new partnership with the Natural Areas Conservancy, or NAC, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting, restoring and managing the 7,300 acres of forested parkland throughout New York City, among other natural areas. Beginning this year, NAC scientists will work with Riverside Park Conservancy staff and volunteers to provide training and on-the-ground

APRIL 11-17,2019 support, implement best practices and produce a five-year management plan for the park’s forests. “We’ve been giving our own attention to our natural woodland area with private philanthropic support,” Garodnick said. “But at the end of the day we are practitioners and they are scientists, so we will beneﬁt from getting a master class in forest management from the Natural Areas Conservancy.” Helen Forgione, senior ecologist with the Natural Areas Conservancy, said that some of Riverside Park’s characteristics — in particular, it’s long, narrow shape — pose unique ecological challenges. “Along the edge you have a lot of wind and light exposure, and invasive plants that are spread by wind can get a foothold there,” she said. The NAC, she said, will work with the Riverside Park Conservancy to remove invasive vines and encourage healthy native undergrowth that prevents soil erosion and promotes the forest’s sustainability. “You want those young trees that will replace the older ones as they get to the end of their lifespan,” Forgione said. The forest management

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com project aligns with the Parks Department’s 2016 master plan for Riverside Park, which identified improved care for the park’s woodlands as a top priority.

Capital Needs and Upcoming Projects The Conservancy is hopeful that this year’s city budget will include funding to rectify another major issue highlighted in the master plan — persistent flooding that affects large portions of the park on a regular basis, particularly between 105th and 119th Streets. “Parts of this park are simply flooded year-round, inaccessible to walkers and bikers, and it demands urgent attention,” Garodnick said, adding, “You can see with your own eyes how problematic it is.” Garodnick, whose 12 years of experience in the City Council were a key qualification when the conservancy tapped him to fill its leadership role last year, said that the conservancy’s advocacy during ongoing city budget negotiations is focused on securing capital funding to improve Riverside Park’s drainage infrastructure. “The Parks Department certainly shares our concern, and

our hope is that that will result in an investment this year to repair this huge problem,” he said. A signiﬁcant infusion of city capital will also be necessary to restore the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, which is now fenced off from public access due to the risk of falling debris. “It is a result of decades of neglect, and the monument has been allowed to fall into disrepair,” Garodnick said. The cost estimate for the necessary repairs is $32 million. “We believe that the city should step up and fix what has become very embarrassing, to say the least,” he added. While repairs to the monument are likely far on the horizon, work is expected to begin later this year on the reconstruction of the 79th Street Rotunda, a major project with a target completion date of 2022. The city has discussed using nearby ballfields in Riverside Park as a staging area for construction equipment. “We are going to ask for the city and the contractors to respect the activities that we have going on in the park and to be as minimally disruptive as they can in the context of a very complicated project,” Garodnick said.

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â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;NEVER ASSUME A DAMNED THINGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; BOOKS

On interviewing LBJ press secretary George Christian:

Robert Caro, noted author and biographer of Lyndon Johnson, talks about his next LBJ book â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and the influence of his onetime Newsday editor

â&#x20AC;&#x153;George Christian wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t talk to me. I wrote him 20 years of letters. Then I heard that he had lung cancer, and then I heard he had treatment and got better. Then I heard it came back and heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s decided not to have a round of chemotherapy. The phone rings and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s him. He said, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time for me to talk to you.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; It was very poignant. The ďŹ rst interview he had an oxygen tank in the corner of his office and he had a mask on his desk. I think for the ďŹ rst interview he used it very infrequently. The second interview, he had to keep using it. The third interview, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going along and after an hour or so, he says, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I guess thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s enough, Bob. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have to get the rest from somebody else.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;?

BY HILLEL ITALIE

Highlights from a recent Associated Press interview with historian Robert Caro, whose new book, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Working,â&#x20AC;? is just coming out. The NYC-based author is also working on his ďŹ fth and presumed final book about Lyndon Johnson.

On the enduring inďŹ&#x201A;uence of his old Newsday editor Alan Hathway, who urged him to â&#x20AC;&#x153;Turn every pageâ&#x20AC;?: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t remember how many times with that Johnson book and that incredible mass of stuff at the Johnson Library, I felt like giving up â&#x20AC;&#x201D; not giving up the book, just saying, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve done enough.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; I would hear Alan saying to me, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Turn every page.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; I hear him saying, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Never assume a damned thing.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; I have that in mind all the time.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

On the late Walt Rostow, a national security aide to Johnson who helped select bombing targets during World War II: â&#x20AC;&#x153;He was always trying to convince me of the efficacy of bombing. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not kidding. He and his wife were really trying to cultivate me, so they had a number of dinner parties [in Texas] in my honor. They had this grand house

with this terrace and big balcony. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re at one of these big cocktail parties, and I realize I hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seen Ina [Caroâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wife] in quite a while. And all of a sudden I see Rostow at the end of this balcony, against this railing, kind of silhouetted. And heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s talking and talking away to her. I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t imagine what this conversation is about. So I sort of walk over and I hear something like, `You see in Hamburg we drew concentric circles around the railroad.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; He spent a lot of time basically trying to convince me that if only he had been allowed to pursue the [Vietnam] war the way he wanted, everything would be ďŹ ne.â&#x20AC;?

On his next Johnson book and Vietnam: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The big question Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m trying to answer is, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;How did we get into this?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; How does a great nation find itself embarked on a war â&#x20AC;&#x201D; we had almost 600,000 men there â&#x20AC;&#x201D; that was also such a horrible mistake. How did it happen? Then, of course, I want to show the effect of war. I want to show what it was like to ďŹ ght in the jungle. I want to show the effect of the bombing. A lot of the targets were picked personally by Lyndon Johnson.â&#x20AC;?

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ART AND MIGRATION ISSUES An UES exhibition of work by undocumented immigrants explores themes of place and culture BY JASON COHEN

A nonproﬁt that turns real estate into spaces for artists unveiled an exhibit on the Upper East Side featuring work by two undocumented immigrants. “Esperanza de Otro Mundo Posible/ Hope of Another Possible World,” focuses on work by artists Francisco Donoso and Maria De Los Angeles and runs at 340 East 64th St. through April 18. The nonproﬁt group Chashama supports artists by partnering with property owners to transform unused real estate into exhibition spaces. In the last year, the organization awarded $8.6 million worth of empty space to artists and gave 150 artists free space to present their work. The artists presenting at East 64th St. are part of Chashama’s Space to Connect program, which provides free community public art classes and is funded in part through a Cultural Immigrant Initiative grant from Councilman Ben Kallos. “To me, art is simple, it is filling a space with something beautiful,” Kallos said in a statement. “And that is exactly what Chashama has once again managed to do here; display great artwork for people to see ... The Upper East Side welcomes the installation and appreciates the dedication it took for the artists to complete it.” Chashama was founded in 1995 by

Anita Durst, and its initial focus was on the production and presentation of new theater. Since then, it has expanded from midtown Manhattan to all ﬁve boroughs and beyond. Currently, it holds 150 events a year, has workspaces for 120 artists and has developed 80 workshops in underserved communities. “We’re thrilled to present the works of these diverse artists,” said Durst. “This gallery is a beautiful example of what happens when we elevate and celebrate the art of the immigrants who live in our city.” Donoso and De Los Angeles were born in Ecuador and Mexico respectively and both are DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipients. Their work explores ideas of place, migration and the experience of being an undocumented immigrant in the United States. Through their work as artists and educators, they investigate the problems with immigration, touching on how conversations surrounding this issue are often intertwined with racism, xenophobia and colonialism. De Los Angeles, 30, teaches art at the Pratt Institute and lives in Jersey City. She immigrated from Mexico to California at the age of 12 with her family, and in 2011, came to New York City to study at Pratt Institute. She recalled that she was shy growing up and often a had a book with her where she would draw. In 2006, a high school teacher of hers encouraged her to do art and helped her develop her passion. “I really like painting and drawing,” she said. “My first love was to make pictures and draw things.”

Francisco Donoso, “Release Me Into Orbit,” installation/mixed media, 2019 .

Maria de Los Angeles, from “En El Jardín,” Acrylic or Gouache on wall. Photos courtesy of Chashama

Maria de Los Angeles, “En el Jardín de Las Rosas,” acrylic on canvas, 2019. In 2013 she received a bachelor’s in ﬁne art in painting from Pratt Institute, and in 2015 she obtained her master’s in ﬁne arts in painting and printmaking from Yale School of Art. Looking back on how far she has come from being a young girl in Mexico to a successful artist in New York

City, she is humbled and proud. It has been a long road for her family, but it was worth it. “My work kind of blends who I am culturally,” she said. Donoso, 30, who lives in Inwood, was born in Quito, Ecuador and immigrated to Miami as a ﬁve-year-old. He moved to New York City in 2011, where he obtained his bachelor’s in ﬁne arts from the School of Art+Design at Purchase College. Although he is undocumented, he has spent most of his life in America. “The transition to the U.S. was not difficult for me,” he said. “It was more difficult for my parents. I have always known the U.S. as my home. I have

sense of connection to my culture and the country where I was born, Ecuador, but I also have a deep sense of connection to this country.” He recalled how he found his passion for art at a young age. At the age of four, he received an Etch a Sketch for Christmas and became obsessed with drawing Ursula from the Little Mermaid on it. As he got older, he began to hone his craft. He attended specialized schools for art in elementary, middle and high school. “I think it’s something I’ve always been drawn to,” he said. When he graduated from college, he realized he could make a career in art, though he knew it would not be easy. Donoso works in abstract art and uses mixed media and installations to tell stories. In mixed media, he combines acrylic painting with spray paint and cartography. “As an immigrant, there are things where you are constantly oscillating between spaces and those spaces can be between mental, physical or ﬁnancial,” he said. “The sense of back and forth of movement in between spaces is what guides my work.” This is the first of four shows that will run through mid-July featuring the work of immigrant artists. The next three shows, at the same location, will include performances, workshops and screenings.

Francisco Donoso, “Otro Mundo” mixed media collages, 2019. Photos courtesy of Chashama

Level: Medium

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The puzzle contains the following words. They may be diagonal, across, or up and down in the grid in any direction.

C N V S H A K E S P E A R E I

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K I U D H S C Y D T L L J T T

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Across 1. Seasoning 5. NFL crew chief 8. Ring 12. Standard’s partner 13. Have ___ at 14. Deviate 15. ____ Nicole Smith 16. USMC rank 17. Polish 18. Jamaican music 20. Couch potatoes 22. Doctrine: Suffix 23. Some 24. Fencing term 27. King’s ___ 31. Computer network 32. 1600 Pennsylvania ___ 33. Early spring bloomer 37. Bronze age civilization 40. Occupy 41. Jar 42. Open 45. Lao-tzu follower 49. Capital of Ukraine

R W Q S D H A O B B Q A F I A

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WORD SEARCH by Myles Mellor

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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.

SUDOKU by Myles Mellor and Susan Flanagan

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CROSSWORD

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VOL. 5, ISSUE 15

Downtowner VOICES PAST AND A PRESENT ◄ P.12

WEEK OF APRIL

LISTENING TO THE CREATORS

11-17

P. 21 ►

2019

MAN OF THE MOMENT

Also inside:

I’m in the right place at the right time. And it’s a place I wanted, it’s a place I think I’m well trained for.” Rep. Jerrold Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee

BY DOUGLAS FEIDEN

He’s served 26 years in Congress, wins elections by landslides, assumed the helm of the House Judiciary Committee only in January, and has forged a reputation for patience, judiciousness – and unﬂinching ﬁrmness. And unlike New Jersey congressman Peter Rodino, who led the same committee during Watergate and never stopped asking himself, “Why me?”, Nadler embraces the role.

MEDS AND MEMORY ▲P.2

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

Photo: Steven Strasser

‘A PERPETUAL WORK IN PROGRESS’

SILENT CITY ▲P.8

CULTURE Designed with the emphasis on flexibility, the Shed at Hudson Yards is a shape-shifting arts complex intended to meet the ever-changing demands of contemporary — and future — artists from all disciplines

NOTHING STOPS THESE ATHLETES ▲P.15

BY EMILY MASON

CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS ▲P.16 A gallery space in the Shed main building. Photo: Emily Mason

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LISTENING TO THE CREATORS Ed Yim of the American Composers Orchestra wants to change the way people think about classical music BY MARK NIMAR

Many people regard classical music as elitist and stuffy: when the genre is even mentioned, images of German white men conducting boring dirges are brought to mind. The American Composers Orchestra, however, is out to change the way people think. Founded over 40 years ago, ACO is a nonprofit dedicated to programming contemporary American orchestral music written by composers as diverse and varied as the United States. Ed Yim, the company’s president, is a veteran of the classical music world: in addition to his two years at ACO, he has worked in artistic planning for the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York City Opera and served as the director of the Conductor/Instrumentalists division at IMG. Straus News spoke with Yim, a Hell’s Kitchen resident, about the company’s upcoming concert at Carnegie Hall on April 11. The orchestra will be presenting the New York premiere of “Where We Lost Our Shadows,” a multidisciplinary work that portrays the story of the European refugee crisis through film, orchestra and Qawwali, a traditional Pakistani genre of music. We had a lively conversation about ACO’s work with children in the Detroit public schools, the organization’s role

in politics, and what to expect if you’re a ﬁrst-time concertgoer.

What are ACO’s guiding principles? Our guiding principles are to listen to the composers, to listen to the creator. It’s to figure out where they are going and follow them, not to make them fit into some cookie-cutter notion of what a classical composer is. More and more composers, especially younger composers, are wanting to give voice to some of the things that are bothering them in society today. It’s their way of contributing to the intellectual dialogue of our country and of our city. Issues around social justice, around equity, around diversity. I’m definitely noticing a trend of classical composers wanting to be a part of a larger dialogue and a larger community. We live in America in 2020 now. America doesn’t look the way it did in 1977 when ACO was born. There are so many gifted composers who happen to be women and who happen to be from underrepresented populations who have not been typically part of the concert music establishment. And to give those artists and those creative voices a platform and to amplify their voices is definitely a big part of what ACO is now.

On April 11, ACO will be presenting “Where We Lost Our Shadows” by Du Yun, and ﬁlmmaker Khaled Jarrar. How did this project come about? Du Yung and Khaled [Jarrar’s] piece embodies so many of the things that ACO wants

Filmmaker Khaled Jarrar and composer Du Yun, whose “Where We Lost our Shadows” will premiere at Carnegie Hall on April 11. Photo: Zhen QIN

to embody. She’s an immigrant composer from Shanghai who’s made the U.S. her home both for her work and for her life. She’s collaborating with a visual artist, so there’s a multimedia aspect to it, which I think is part of the evolution of orchestral music, and the piece takes as a starting point a major issue of our time, which is migration and refugees and the situation internationally. Now, they are not speciﬁcally commenting per se on the Syrian refugee crisis, but they are using it as a starting point to talk about the timeless story of migration and that people leave their homes because they want to seek opportunity. And I think that’s an issue that obviously is so important right now. It ﬁts everything that we want ACO to be about.

One could say that ACO’s public commitment to diversity and inclusion is a political statement. What do you feel ACO’s role should be in the realm of politics? It depends on the composer. We follow the composer’s will and their vision. I think what we’re seeing is a lot of composers living in an environment where we all feel a little befuddled, and frustrated and powerless to affect what’s going on in our world. The purpose of ACO is not to be political. But if that’s what our composers that we support are wanting to delve into, then we listen to their voices and we follow them.

Out of everything you have done so far at ACO, what are you most proud of? There are so many moments. We were in Detroit [recently], reading works with the wonderful Detroit Symphony for emerging black American composers. And we spent a day going into Detroit public schools, which are mostly black, and extremely diverse. So we play [a piece] without telling the kids what they were hearing, and we said, “who do you think wrote that?” And some kids said, “Probably some white German guy.” Because their vision of a classical composer is like Beethoven, or Mozart or someone, right? And we were like, “No actually, the person who wrote that piece is here in this room and we want you

Ed Yim, president of the American Composers Orchestra. Photo: Catherine Leonard

to meet her.” And they were like, “Wait, her?” And nd then Dr. Marian Stephens stepped tepped forward, and they were e like, “This composer is not only ly a woman but she looks like me. She’s a black woman.” And d there was an “Aha” momentt with the kids who were like, “Oh, this world that at I thought was like elitlitist and didn’t have ve anything to do with th me actually includes es people like me.” That at was an amazing mo-ment for all of us.

Some audience members may never have been to a classical music concert before, and may be skeptical about spending their timee and money at one of your concerts. How do you reach out to these sorts of audience memberss in non-traditional ways? ys? I would say coming ing to one of our orchestral ral concerts can be challenging, enging, it can be often fun and d it’s about discovery. So you don’t on’t have to come knowing something omething already. We really make an effort to include in the e format of our concerts a lot of ways to approach the work, to discuss the work, to have a chat at with the composer. Meet the e composer after the concert for or a drink. That’s the type of experience we like to put out there. here. I think it’s a very friendly experience. xperience. You can talk to our ur composers. You can ask them hem questions. You can ask them what their inspiration was. You can shake their hand. You can’t do that with Beethoven. If people get a charge out of being in touch with these really, gifted, talented, visionary artists, then as much as we can do to bring those artists in contact with the public, I think the more invested the public will be.

Other artistic mediums, such as ﬁlm or television, have the power to challenge and move an audience. What makes the medium of music unique in serving these purposes? I think all art serves a purpose. It just depends on what any given person reacts to most viscerally. For some peo-

ple, it’s ﬁlm. For some people, it’s theater. For some people, it’s dance. For me, I’ve dedicated my life to orchestral music, because I think the sight and sound of 75 musicians working in synchronicity to create this acoustic sound is kind of phenomenal. Not everyone gets off on that. And I get that. That’s ok. [But] that’s a sound that I love, and that I know a lot of people love, and that I think it has the potential to be loved by even more people. It will speak to a certain kind of person, and those are the people that we’re trying to reach. Orchestras are by deﬁnition a

community. The sight of a large group of people doing something with a singular purpose is really what orchestra is about. And I think it’s thrilling when it’s in action. This interview has been edited for space and clarity.

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The puzzle contains the following words. They may be diagonal, across, or up and down in the grid in any direction.

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Across 1. Relieve 4. Kind of lyric poem 9. Hard throw, in baseball 12. U.N. workers’ grp. 13. BMW Series 14. Colorado native 15. Lady’s man 16. 7-11 game? 17. Earthling 18. College area 20. Overturn 22. Former name of Tokyo 23. Exclamation of disbelief 24. Type of hawk 27. Great 31. Ben Hur, e.g. 32. Vitality 33. Visionary 36. Use for support 38. By way of 39. Keats’ subject 40. Outcast 43. Germanic peoples

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APRIL 11-17,2019

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