Our Town Downtown - May 9, 2019 by OurTown Downtown

The local paper for Downtown wn

WEEK OF MAY

THE ART OF LIBERATION

9-15

◄ P.12

2019

COUNCIL DEBATES FUTURE OF COMMUNITY GARDEN

INSIDE

COMMUNITY Plan for affordable senior housing development at site of Elizabeth Street Garden

A STORE THAT’S OUT OF THIS WORLD Forbidden Planet is the jampacked center of the popculture universe. P. 16

BY MICHAEL GAROFALO

The latest chapter in the battle over the future of Elizabeth Street Garden was waged in the City Council chambers last week. Legislators heard testimony that pitted advocates of a plan to build an affordable housing complex for seniors at the site against residents seeking to preserve the small parcel of downtown green space. The housing development, known as Haven Green,

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PANCREATIC CANCER: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW The disease is on the rise in the U.S. But for those at highest risk, screening is an option. P. 6 Supporters of Elizabeth Street Garden gathered at City Hall before a May 2 City Council hearing to rally against a plan to build affordable housing for seniors at the site of the garden. Photo: Michael Garofalo

A NEW WAY OF SEEING ART How an art historian who went blind has learned to enjoy the city’s museums and galleries — thanks to technology that enhances accessibility for the visionimpaired BY ALI PATTILLO

Kathy Schnapper relies heavily on her iPhone, using screen readers, voice technology and apps like Be My Eyes and Aira. Photo: Ali Pattillo

Before you see her, you hear her. Her metal cane, swinging

left to right to detect hazards in her path, clicks against the pavement. She pushes open the heavy wooden door and strides conﬁdently onto the gallery patio, where an enormous bronze sculpture, an eight-foot rendering of a portion of Michelangelo’s “David,” lies on a slab of white marble. “Is that a head?” she asks, bending left to make out the ﬁgure. At 70, Kathy Schnapper is

short, with graying shoulderlength hair. She wears tinted pink sunglasses, a black coat and a printed scarf around her neck. Her left eye squints towards the sun while her right droops. Every so often, she giggles when she bumps into something. New York State has 110,000 legally blind non-institutionalized people like Schnapper, according to estimates from the state Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired; nearly 1 million have vision

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AN UES PLAYGROUND SHORTAGE Comptroller Scott Stringer’s new study shows construction hasn’t kept up with a growing population. P. 21

MY MOTHER THE SOCIALIST How a young girl from Yorkville became a force in the NYC labor movement. P. 21

Downtowner SPRING ARTS PREVIEW

WEEK OF APRIL

< 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 docustarted , he 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 from not it about wanted to write from view but rather lawyer’s point of said Arbitration a lay point of view,” 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 Visitors to the blog 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 indiArbitration Man, suc in 1985, settling vidual practice

9-16

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

2015

In Brief MORE HELP FOR SMALL BUSINESS

The effort to help small seems to businesses in the city be gathering steam. ers, Two city councilmemb 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 Services. Business Chin The new post, which have up told us she’d like to would year, this and running 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.s report would the ombudsman’ 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 formality for deTo really make a difference, process is a mere complete their will have to to are the work course, the advocaterising rents, precinct, but chances-- thanks to a velopers looking 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 on the Over the past 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 there’s with the mits granted by nearby where percent, said according to new data combined 30 project step, jumped This construction noise Buildings has Borough 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 es transferring want. They knows the The city classifi the rent renewal process, do whatever they signs Every New Yorker etal clang, tion Act request.n work between 6 “They and go as they please. They some early, tangible small any constructio on the weekend, can come sound: the metal-on-m or the piercing of progress. For many have no respect.” can’t come p.m. and 7 a.m., the hollow boom, issuance of these business owners, that moving in reverse. as after-hours. The increased beeps of a truck has generto a correspond and you soon enough. variances has led at the alarm clock The surge in permits

R SLEEPS, THANKS TO THE CITY THAT NEVE TRUCTION A BOOM IN LATE-NIGHT CONS 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

OurTownDowntown

COM

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

12 13 14 18

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Triple-Parked on First Avenue There have been a lot of complaints (myself included) about misuse of bike lanes, bike riders not obeying the rules, etc. However, in defense of the lawabiding riders, how are they supposed stay in their designated lane when trucks are allowed to triplepark? Traffic enforcers passed this mess on First Avenue (photo) and not a single truck was ticketed. Linda Garvin Upper East Side

No Update on Protected CPW Bike Lane Last summer I stood in tears on Central Park West. I was at the memorial service for Madison Lyden, the young woman killed while riding a Citi Bike next to Central Park. As she rode with her friends, Madison avoided a double-parked car in the unprotected bike lane, and was victim to the driver in the travel lane who hit and killed her. This tragedy was avoidable and it was a failure of planning that led to the death of this dynamic, lovely young woman.

Placard Abuse: A Personal Encounter Michael Garofalo’s article on placard abuse in the April 18-24, 2019 issue of The Spirit couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. On April 16, 2019 I observed a car parked in front of 122 West 73rd Street (a residential street) with a placard in the windshield. It was there when I arrived at 9:00 a.m. and was still there at least until 3:50 p.m. the following day. As a result, the street sweeper was unable to clean the street. And the ticket agent would not ticket it because of the placard. It also caused a potential obstruction to trucks trying to pass because of cars that had double-parked to allow the street sweeper to do its job. I called 311 that morning but nothing was ever done. I also notified Lori Williams at Gale Brewer’s office who was happy to take the complaint and forward it to the local community board. I wonder how many placards are still being used by persons who are no longer employed by the agencies that issued the placard.

I was proud to be a member of Community Board 7 when we responded promptly, calling on the mayor to commit to Vision Zero and his promise to make streets safer. We endorsed a bold vision for a twoway, protected bike lane. We acted with the support of our elected ofﬁcials and the community. And yet, eight months later we have heard no update from the Department of Transportation. With the warmer months upon us, our neighbors are demanding safe access to Central Park. We can’t wait another year for traffic calming measures, including better bicycle infrastructure (fully protected), and pedestrian safety improvements (daylighting — visibility at intersections — sidewalk bulb-outs for shorter crossing distances, pedestrian head-start at major intersections and more). We must not be complicit in another traffic-caused fatality. We call upon city planners to deliver a life-saving redesign of Central Park West. Sara Lind Upper West Side

MAY 9-15,2019

Trucks on First Avenue. Photo: Linda Garvin

OPEN HOUSE SATURDAY, JUNE 22, 2019 Tex t or C all (347) 305 -1557 w w w.bmcc.cuny.edu / downtown

Name withheld by request Upper West Side

MAY 9-15,2019

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG PRINCE STREET ASSAULT AND ROBBERY

STATS FOR THE WEEK Reported crimes from the 1st precinct for the week ending Apr 28

A 39-year-old man told police that he was walking beneath the scaffolding in front of 88 Prince St. on Tuesday night, Apr. 23, when someone punched him in the back of the head. The victim turned around and saw two unknown men, one of whom said “Give me everything you have.” The two men ﬂed with the victim’s cell phone. Police searched the neighborhood but couldn’t ﬁnd the two men or the stolen phone.

Week to Date

Year to Date

2019 2018

% Change 2019

2018

% Change

Murder

n/a

0.0

Rape

n/a

-42.9

Robbery

n/a

-15.0

Felony Assault

-100.0 25

38.9

Burglary

33.3

109.1

PRICEY HEIST

Grand Larceny

21.4

291

319

-8.8

On Wednesday evening, Apr. 10, a couple entered the RealReal store at 80 Wooster St, and, while the woman distracted a store employee, the man removed items of merchandise and concealed them on his person, police said. The couple then walked out of the store without paying. The items stolen included an engagement ring valued at $9,995 and a woman’s Cartier watch priced at $2,895, making a total stolen of $12,890.

Grand Larceny Auto

n/a

25.0

ARREST IN TARGET CASH THEFT Police arrested an employee of the Target store at 255 Greenwich

Photo by Tony Webster, via Flickr

St. on Thursday, Apr. 25 and chaged him with grand larceny. According to police, 19-year-old Daquan Johnakin was seen on surveillance cameras allegedly taking money out of the cash register and placing it into his pockets on multiple occasions. The total amount stolen was $5300, police said.

COPS NAB PACKAGE THEFT SUSPECT A man has been arrested in connection with three package thefts. In the ﬁrst incident, which occurred on Tuesday, Apr. 16, a 30-year-old woman left packages to be picked up in the lobby of her co-op building at 176 Broadway. When the packages

disappeared with no record of having been picked up, the woman contacted her super. According to police, the super checked lobby surveillance footage and observed a man breaking into the lobby by jamming a screwdriver into the lock of the front door. The super told police he saw the man take packages without permission or authority. The packages contained various items of clothing valued at $1,725. At 10:29 p.m. on Wednesday, Apr. 17, the same man allegedly pried open a lock to enter the lobby of a building at 79 Reade St. and removed a package

without permission, police said. The package stolen belonged to a 24-yearold woman and contained a pair of Joe’s Jeans valued at $198. In the third incident, at 12:20 a.m. on Saturday, Apr. 20, police said the same man entered 261 Broadway using an unknown object to pick the front door lock, and removed a package in the lobby addressed to a 59-yearold female resident. The package contained clothing valued at $692. On Thursday, April 25, police arrrested Samuel Reid, 63, and charged him with burglary for the three incidents.

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ÏÞÞÚ×ÑÏÐÚÓ âÝ âÖÓ ×Ü×â×ÏÚ âÓàÛ ÝÔ âÖÓ ·¸ ÝÜÚç µâ ÛÏâãà×âç âÖÓ ÇÞÓÑ×ÏÚ ÆÏâÓ ·¸ å×ÚÚ ÏãâÝÛÏâ×ÑÏÚÚç àÓÜÓå ÔÝà Ï âÓàÛ ÝÔ d ÛÝÜâÖá Ïâ âÖÓ ×ÜâÓàÓáâ àÏâÓ ÏÜÒ µÄÍ ×Ü ÓøÓÑâ ÔÝà ·¸á ÝÜ àÓÜÓåÏÚ ÒÏâÓ ÜÝâ áãÐØÓÑâ âÝ Ï ÇÞÓÑ×ÏÚ ÆÏâÓ ãÜÚÓáá âÖÓ ¶ÏÜÙ ÖÏá ÜÝâ×ùÓÒ çÝã ÝâÖÓàå×áÓ _ ` ¸ãÓ âÝ âÖÓ ÜÓå ÛÝÜÓç àÓßã×àÓÛÓÜâ ÏÑÑÝãÜâá ÛÏç ÝÜÚç ÐÓ ÝÞÓÜÓÒ Ïâ çÝãà ÚÝÑÏÚ ÐàÏÜÑÖ ËÓÚÚá ºÏàÕÝ àÓáÓàäÓá âÖÓ à×ÕÖâ âÝ ÛÝÒ×Ôç Ýà Ò×áÑÝÜâ×ÜãÓ âÖÓ ÝøÓà Ïâ ÏÜç â×ÛÓ å×âÖÝãâ ÜÝâ×ÑÓ Á×Ü×ÛãÛ ÜÓå ÛÝÜÓç ÒÓÞÝá×â àÓßã×àÓÛÓÜâ ÝÔ Ïâ ÚÓÏáâ r`c ^^^ ×á ÔÝà âÖ×á ÝøÓà ÝÜÚç ÏÜÒ ÑÏÜÜÝâ ÐÓ âàÏÜáÔÓààÓÒ âÝ ÏÜÝâÖÓà ÏÑÑÝãÜâ âÝ ßãÏÚ×Ôç ÔÝà ÏÜç ÝâÖÓà ÑÝÜáãÛÓà ÒÓÞÝá×â ÝøÓà ½Ô çÝã å×áÖ âÝ âÏÙÓ ÏÒäÏÜâÏÕÓ ÝÔ ÏÜÝâÖÓà ÑÝÜáãÛÓà ÒÓÞÝá×â ÝøÓà àÓßã×à×ÜÕ Ï Û×Ü×ÛãÛ ÜÓå ÛÝÜÓç ÒÓÞÝá×â çÝã å×ÚÚ ÐÓ àÓßã×àÓÒ âÝ ÒÝ áÝ å×âÖ ÏÜÝâÖÓà ÜÓå ÛÝÜÓç ÒÓÞÝá×â Ïá áâÏâÓÒ ×Ü âÖÓ ÝøÓà àÓßã×àÓÛÓÜâá ÏÜÒ ßãÏÚ×ùÑÏâ×ÝÜá ÃøÓà ÑÏÜÜÝâ ÐÓ ÑÝÛÐ×ÜÓÒ å×âÖ ÏÜç ÝâÖÓà ÑÝÜáãÛÓà ÒÓÞÝá×â ÝøÓà ÓæÑÓÞâ âÖÓ ÄÝàâÔÝÚ×Ý Ðç ËÓÚÚá ºÏàÕÝ rc^^ ÝøÓà ÏäÏ×ÚÏÐÚÓ ÔàÝÛ ÁÏàÑÖ `c `^_g ãÜâ×Ú ÁÏç a_ `^_g ÃøÓà ÑÏÜÜÝâ ÐÓ 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ÑÝÜäÓàâÓÒ âÝ ÏÜÝâÖÓà ÑÖÓÑÙ×ÜÕ ÞàÝÒãÑâ Ýà ÑÚÝáÓÒ \ `^_g ËÓÚÚá ºÏàÕÝ ¶ÏÜÙ Â µ µÚÚ à×ÕÖâá àÓáÓàäÓÒ ¸ÓÞÝá×â ÞàÝÒãÑâá ÝøÓàÓÒ Ðç ËÓÚÚá ºÏàÕÝ ¶ÏÜÙ Â µ ÁÓÛÐÓà º¸½· ÂÁÀÇÆ ½¸ aggf^_

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PANCREATIC CANCER: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Rare but Deadly

HEALTH Eighty percent of cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage, and the disease is on the rise in the U.S. But for those at highest risk, screening is an option. BY AIMEE LUCAS, MD, MS

When “Jeopardy” host Alex Trebek announced in early March that he had stage 4 pancreatic cancer, the disease hit the public’s radar, triggering the usual mix of garbled information and fear. So, just what is the pancreas, and who is at risk of developing pancreatic cancer? The pancreas is a gland that sits behind the stomach and produces hormones that regulate blood sugar and digestive enzymes. When the cells that make up the pancreas grow in an uncontrolled manner, this can develop into pancreatic cancer.

Unfortunately, pancreatic cancer is on the rise. By some estimates, as soon as next year it may become the second leading cause of cancer death in the U.S., after lung cancer. However, the disease is still relatively rare: 56,770 new cases are expected in 2019, accounting for approximately 3 percent of all cancers. In comparison, 271,270 new breast cancers, 228,150 new lung and bronchus cancers, and 145,600 new colorectal cancers are expected in 2019. But the problem is that the symptoms of pancreatic cancer, which include weight loss, dark urine and abdominal pain, do not usually appear until the later stages, making it quite difficult to treat. Eighty percent of all cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage, and at that point there is only approximately an eight percent chance of surviving for another ﬁve years. The main risk factors for pancreatic cancer include older age, tobacco use, heavy alcohol use and obesity.

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MAY 9-15,2019

MAY 9-15,2019 Risk Factors The main risk factors for pancreatic cancer include older age, tobacco use, heavy alcohol use, and obesity. Approximately 10 percent of pancreatic cancers appear to be hereditary and run in families. Importantly, people at the highest risk may be candidates for pancreatic cancer screening. Those considered to be at high risk include people who have two or more close blood relatives affected by pancreatic cancer (what’s known as a significant family history), and people who carry certain inherited genetic mutations associated with the disease. (Some folks fit in both of those categories.) Several genes have been linked with an increased risk of developing pancreatic cancer. These include the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, well known for their association with breast and ovarian cancer, and the so-called mismatch repair genes that cause Lynch syndrome, a condition better known for its association with colon and endometrial cancers. Mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 can be found in up to 2.5 percent of those of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry. Therefore, typically, when a patient comes to my office, I first take a family history going back three generations to identify cancers in the family (and the age of onset) to see if there is a suggestion of a hereditary cancer syndrome in the family. We then make a joint decision on whether to do genetic

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com testing, and whether other family members should also consider such testing.

Screening Options Once we have information about genetic risk, we can talk about whether someone is a candidate for pancreatic cancer screening. Even without doing genetic testing, some people with multiple affected family members (such as a mother and maternal grandfather) may be candidates for screenings. Current consensus-based guidelines suggest that those at the highest risk may consider annual screening, with either magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or endoscopic ultrasound (EUS). DNA testing also has the potential to help patients with pancreatic cancer. Recent studies have found that from 4 to 20 percent of pancreatic cancer patients carry mutations that can be passed down to other generations. Identifying these mutations can help patients ﬁght pancreatic cancer, because they might respond differently to certain chemotherapy protocols and other targeted treatment therapies that are now being used for some of the BRCA1/2 mutation carriers, as well as Lynch syndrome patients. It can also provide critical information to a patient’s family members who are considering genetic testing and/or screening for other cancers.

Possible Diabetes Connection? Some new research suggests that diabetes, including

type 2, may also be a risk factor for, and a consequence of, pancreatic cancer. A recent study from the Mayo Clinic found that some pancreatic cancer patients had elevated fasting blood sugar levels, a marker of diabetes, three years prior to their cancer diagnosis. Researchers are now interested in whether a new diagnosis of diabetes should trigger a workup for pancreatic cancer. That said, the vast majority of cases of type 2 diabetes, which is on the rise in the U.S., are not related to pancreatic cancer; more studies are needed to determine which newly diagnosed diabetes patients should be evaluated for the disease. If you think you may be at increased risk for pancreatic cancer, be it a family disease or the recent onset of diabetes, be sure to keep an eye open for these symptoms: • Jaundice (yellowing of the eyes and skin) • Abdominal pain • Dark urine • Light-colored stools • Weight loss If you have any of these symptoms, please speak with your doctor. If you are concerned about your risk factors, especially if there is a family history of pancreatic cancer, don’t hesitate to ask us about genetic testing and whether you may be a candidate for pancreatic screening. Aimee Lucas, MD, MS is an associate professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology at The Mount Sinai Hospital

FRANK E. CAMPBELL THE FUNERAL CHAPEL IS PROUD TO HOST THE FIRST ANNUAL

SPRING EVENING OF MUSIC Saturday, May 18, 2019, 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. 1076 Madison Avenue at 81st Street All are welcome to attend this free concert performed by World-Class Musicians. Refreshments will be served beginning at 5:30 p.m.

FRANK E. CAMPBELL THE FUNERAL CHAPEL 1076 Madison Avenue at 81st Street www.frankecampbell.com 212-288-3500 Owned by a subsidiary of Service Corp. International 1929 Allen Pkwy, Houston, TX 77019, 713-522-5141

MAY 9-15,2019

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A DEATH BY BICYCLE BY BETTE DEWING

Donna Sturm, who was crossing 57th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues when she was felled by a cyclist who ran a red light, has died. Strum, 67, suffered traumatic brain injuries in the April 24 accident. If ever a “How long, dear Lord, how long?” lament applied. And it’s not only in New York City — my Sacramento-based late cousin’s foster daughter telephoned, “I thought of you today when TV news called for bicycles to stop running red lights.” To my knowledge, the April 25 item at the bottom of page 19 in the Daily News was the only print medium airing this grievous injury story. A photo showed the roped off

scene of the crime. But CBS and the News had conﬂicting addresses But that’s a quibble, because, as the victim’s employer said on CBS, “All we who work and live in the city do so at our peril because of bikes speeding through red lights at intersections, and going the wrong way. They should all have license plates for accountability. We pray for Donna’s recovery from this tragedy.”

Vision Zero for Bikes Would it were not all intersections, and not only prayers are needed but concerted action by Donna’s company, Verdura jewelry, to organize against these ubiquitous threats — a Vision Zero program related to bike inﬂicted injuries and deaths. Aside from my Pedestrians First

group effort, the only other such endeavor occurred 10 years ago when the wife of 51-year-old Stuart Gruskin formed a safe traffic foundation after his wrongful death by a wrong-way-riding food delivery bicyclist. And it was only because of the wife’s million dollar lawsuit against the restaurant, that there was media coverage of this death. Sadly, the foundation no longer exists, but Stuart’s mother forever mourns the terrible loss of her son. And consider that Donna Sturm may also have a mother, father and children, whom media often forget. Which also relates to what was intended to be a Mother’s Day column. Remember Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, an invaluable group, and how a comparable group, with fathers also, is needed to protest cyclists’ lawless riding. The mayor’s most admirable Vision Zero program came about only because parents grieving over children killed by cars de-

manded attention be paid. And if Donna Sturm and Stuart Gruskin had been children, inﬁnitely more attention would be paid to cyclist’s habitual traffic law-breaking. And there would be registration and license plates for all city bicycles.

Speak Up! Ironically, few know that commercial bikes must have identifying plates and their company name on their jackets. But do they? The Department of Transportation has always resisted license plates and registration for noncommercial bikes, nor acknowledged the extent or the danger of bikes running lights, riding the wrong way, failing to yield, not to mention speeding. This safe traffic activist believes all city bikes should make a nice little sound — for riders’ safety, as well as others sharing these high density streets. Of course, pedestrians must obey the laws.

REFLECTIONS OF AN IVY LEAGUE ATHLETE BY STEPHAN RUSSO

The college admissions scandal took another explosive turn last week with the news that a Chinese family had paid the private college counselor William Singer $6.5 million to get their daughter into Stanford, claiming she was a competitive sailor. As I’ve followed the news, I confess to feeling a bit uneasy. I harkened back to my own admissions trauma in the late 1960s. I was a recruited athlete who, to this day, claims I never would have been become an Ivy League graduate if I were not really good at handling a lacrosse stick and scoring goals. My alma mater will remain nameless, but the vivid memories of that time trigger a certain level of anxiety and insecurity to this day. The college admission system’s inequity and unfairness are nothing new. I recently came across an article

from an old colleague who has written extensively on the college admission process. He doesn’t deny that aspects of the system are crooked and the pressure parents feel is off the charts. But he contends that the American education system remains the envy of the world and defends universities as they compete to admit a diverse class with the right number of oboe players along with skilled athletes. Besides, the failure to be admitted to one’s ﬁrst choice hardly destines one to failure. Life is long and the path to personal fulﬁllment has many twists and turns. As a parent of two thirty-somethings, I can attest to that. I still believe that a college degree is the most powerful social justice equalizer. I was a middle-class kid who grew up on Long Island and was oblivious to the turmoil of the times. My personal and political transformation

would catch up with me a few years later when I left the conﬁnes of suburban living. My father was a dressmaker — in the rag business as they would say — who never attended college and escaped from the Brooklyn sidewalks to give his children “a better life.” He had little knowledge of the higher education world beyond completing high school. Yet when recruiting letters began to come in, my parents didn’t hesitate to support the idea that I might ﬁnd a school that would be beyond my reach. They arranged for a private SAT tutor every Saturday so I could raise my scores. I took the exam three times with little change in results. My guidance counselor looked at my list of schools and said I was wasting my time. But I knew the school where I wanted to go ever since I had seen their lacrosse team play a game at Adelphi University. I loved the color of their

The author as a freshman in 1970. Photo courtesy of Stephan Russo

uniforms and dreamed of donning that same jersey some day. I was a good high school player on a County semiﬁnal team if not a star. The college coach expressed interest in me and arranged to meet with my parents. I will never forget when he sat down in my living room and began his pitch. He was bit of a goofy

As usual, I urge concerned readers to contact elected officials and community boards listed in this paper’s Useful Contacts column. No more ignoring bike violations. We must talk about it, a lot, and when out on the streets, speak ﬁrmly but politely to the offenders. Use words like “Red-light runner!” “Wrong way!” and “Off the sidewalk please!” This would make a real difference. Remember: “All it takes for evil to triumph...” And I am most grateful for Susan Susskind’s safe travel help, and for contacting CBS TV. And how we need more community board members like Barry Schneider to support this still relatively unaddressed, unsafe and illegal behavior. And yes it relates to Mother’s Day, because a mother’s foremost concern is for her offspring’s’ safety and well-being -- one that lasts forever and ever. Amen.

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guy who wore a corduroy sports jacket and wool top hat. He said he’d love to have me at his school but I would have to raise my test scores. He encouraged me to apply early decision, said I wouldn’t be accepted early but would have a shot at regular admission. My response: “Coach, you get me in and I’m coming!” Well, he did get me in and the rest is history. Despite feeling that I didn’t belong (my long-haired freshman roommate took one look at me, with my crew cut, khaki pants and Brooks Brothers shirt when I entered our dorm room with a lacrosse stick and sneered), I ended up having a memorable college athletic career, and an intellectual experience which opened my eyes to the world beyond the locker room and deeply affected the life choices I have made. There were others in my high school class with more stellar academic credentials who weren’t admitted and were resentful that the sports angle gave me a leg up. But they, too, went on to have successful careers and happy lives. Isn’t that what really matters in the end?

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GARDEN CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 would be a seven-story building with 123 units of affordable housing for seniors, 30 percent of which would be allocated to formerly homeless seniors. The development would help alleviate the severe shortage of affordable housing for seniors in Community District 2, where 4,600 eligible seniors are currently waitlisted and face average wait times of seven years for a unit. But Haven Green would sit on much of the space that is now Elizabeth Street Garden, a sculpture-filled strip of midblock open space that fronts on Mott and Elizabeth Streets, between Spring and Prince Streets. The loss of the garden, some residents believe, would be an unacceptable detriment to the neighborhood. The Haven Green building would also contain retail and office space. Habitat for Humanity New York City, which is part of Haven Greenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development team along with Pennrose and RiseBoro Community Partnership, plans to move its headquarters to the building. The elevator building, Haven Green proponents say, would be a crucial amenity for seniors who are currently homeless or being pushed out by landlords, or conďŹ ned to walkups without elevators.

Competing Rallies Supporters and opponents of the Haven plan held competing rallies on the steps of City Hall prior to a May 2 Council subcommittee hearing on the proposal. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Haven Green will be built in one of the whitest, wealthiest neighborhoods in the city â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a neighborhood that rarely if ever sees new affordable housing created,â&#x20AC;? said Karen Haycox, CEO of Habitat for Humanity New York City, who called the project â&#x20AC;&#x153;a matter of social, economic and racial justice.â&#x20AC;? Plans for the new building include roughly 6,700 square feet of open space (as compared with the 20,000 square foot area of the existing garden), which will be accessible to the public. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re committed to making the green spaces accessible to everyone

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Elizabeth Street Garden is the proposed site of a 123-unit affordable housing development for seniors. Photo: Michael Garofalo

in the neighborhood to the greatest degree possible,â&#x20AC;? Haycox said. Council Member Margaret Chin, whose district includes the site, is a proponent of the Haven Green proposal. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This project is a win-win,â&#x20AC;? she said before the hearing. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to have 123 units of housing for seniors and public open space.â&#x20AC;? Chinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s support bodes well for the planâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prospects for approval in the City Council, which generally defers to the preference of the local council member on questions of land use. The subcommittee on landmarks, public siting and maritime uses did not hold a vote to advance the project after the May 2 hearing, and the Council has not yet indicated when it will do so. Council approval is the last major hurdle for the project before it clears the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s land use process.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Two Neighborhood Needsâ&#x20AC;? The issue has illustrated the challenges of balancing the competing interests of affordable housing and open space in a community in which both are at a premium. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unfortunate that two neighborhood needs are in direct conďŹ&#x201A;ict with each other, but affordable housing for low-income seniors takes priority over open space when allocating public benefits,â&#x20AC;? said Steve Herrick, executive director of the Cooper Square Committee, a downtown housing advocacy nonproďŹ t. Community Board 2 passed a resolution earlier this year stating its opposition to the Haven Green project, and instead proposed an alternate senior housing development at another city-owned site

three-quarters of a mile away at 388 Hudson Street. Assembly Member Deborah Glick, a notable supporter of efforts to preserve Elizabeth Street Garden, testified before the Council in support of the Hudson Street alternative. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The proposed destruction of the Elizabeth Street Garden site, despite affordable housing being a public beneďŹ t, is emblematic of the constant and pernicious way in which the city pits two scarce resources like affordable housing and open space against each other,â&#x20AC;? Glick said. Since 1991, the Elizabeth Street Garden site has been leased from the city by Allan Reiver, the owner of a neighboring gallery who rents the city-owned land on a monthto-month basis and displays sculptures from his gallery in the garden. Reiverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s son, Joseph Reiver, is the executive director of the nonprofit that manages the garden and has organized efforts to preserve the space. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re using misrepresentation and lack of transparency to achieve privatization of public land,â&#x20AC;? Reiver said before the Council hearing. Critics of Haven Green also note that the proposal requires housing units to remain affordable for 60 years rather than in perpetuity (the deal includes ďŹ nancial incentives for the development team to extend the agreement beyond 60 years). Reiverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nonprofit is one of two local groups that have filed pending lawsuits against the city as part of an effort to block the Haven Green plan and preserve the garden.

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

EDITOR’S PICK

Thu 9 - Sun 12 THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET The Joyce Theater 175 Eighth Ave 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m $26 joyce.org 212-242-0800 The Australian Ballet presents a program of works by homegrown choreographic talent. Alice Topp’s acclaimed “Aurum,” supported by The Joyce Theater’s Nureyev Prize, explores damage, healing, and the beauty of our flaws. The dancers’ powerful movement is framed in breathtaking stage design featuring a reflective golden floor and ripples of burnished light. The awardwinning duet “Unspoken Dialogues” by Stephen Baynes, and a new work by Resident Choreographer Tim Harbour will round out the program.

Thu 9

Fri 10

Sat 11

WRESTLENARNIA

CULTURE CONNECTIONS ►

TIBETAN LAMAS AND THE QING COURT (1644-1911)

The Magnet Theater 254 West 29th St 8:30 p.m. $7 It’s the grandmommy of them all! All the belts are on the line as your favorite WN ultrastars compete for everlasting glory with some funny jokes mixed in! Come for the fun wrestling elements (promos, ﬁnishing moves, audience signs, people yelling at you), stay for the very little actual wrestling! magnettheater.com 212-244-8824

National Museum of the American Indian 1 Bowling Green 2:00 p.m. Free Touch, investigate, inquire and learn. Objects and images tell profound stories. Join Cultural Interpreters as they share objects and narratives in our galleries. Gain a deeper understanding of history, culture, and art from hundreds of Indigenous nations in North, Central, and South America. americanindian.si.edu 202-633-6644

The Rubin Museum 150 West 17th St 3:00 p.m. $20 Once one of the most formidable military powers in Central Asia, Tibet later developed a singular association with the Mongol and then the Manchu rulers of the Chinese Empire. Tibetan Buddhism offered these rulers a divine means to power and legitimacy in return for a sometimes tacit, sometimes explicit interdependence. The series concludes with a lecture by Wen-shing Chou addressing how Western notions of nationhood and sovereignty disrupted the status quo between Tibet and China. rubinmuseum.org 212-620-5000

MAY 9-15,2019

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ACTIVITIES FOR THE FERTILE MIND

thoughtgallery.org NEW YORK CITY

PEN World Voices Festival: Siri, Where’s my Democracy? Presented with The Guardian

SATURDAY, MAY 11TH, 12PM The Cooper Union | 41 Cooper Sq. | 212-353-4100 | cooper.edu Hear from investigative journalists and a privacy expert pondering, “as online communications become increasingly weaponized, how do we preserve our physical and digital freedoms?” ($20).

Andrea Barnet Book Talk: Visionary Women

TUESDAY, MAY 14TH, 6:30PM The Skyscraper Museum | 39 Battery Pl. | 212-968-1961 | skyscraper.org Hear from the author of Visionary Women: How Rachel Carson, Jane Jacobs, Jane Goodall, and Alice Waters Changed Our World, looking at four renegades who all found their voices in the early 1960s and went on to help shape today (free, reservation required).

Just Announced | Eve Ensler in Conversation with Glenn Close Featuring Special Guest James Naughton

MONDAY, MAY 13TH, 6:30PM

Sun 12

Mon 13

Tue 14

92nd Street Y | 1395 Lexington Ave. | 212-415-5500 | 92y.org

NOT SORRY, PGM 4: CONSUMER

LIVING AUTHENTICALLY POST STONEWALL: THE WRRQ COLLECTIVE ON THE CHANGING TRANS CULTURAL MOVEMENT

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Hear from playwright and performer Eve Ensler, who talks about abuse and atonement as described in her forthcoming book, The Apology. James Naughton will read passages ($45).

Anthology Film Archives 32 Second Ave 7:30 p.m. $12 This program, under the general theme of consumerism (as consumers of media, ideas, and products), features another set of international ﬁlmmakers who engage directly with media, one’s access to it, or the false representations of women and their desires. anthologyﬁlmarchives.org 212-505-5181

Hudson Park Library 66 Leroy St 6:00 p.m. Free Join us for a conversation with Elizabeth Marie Rivera and Kristen Lovell from the WRRQ Collective, as they tell stories about the old days, the stroll, Sylvia Rivera’s legacy, historical erasure of trans women of color, trans tipping points, movement leadership, and how we got to where we are now. Moderated by WRRQ co-founder Quito Ziegler. nypl.org 212-243-6876

The High Line 6:30 p.m Free Hear the story behind New York City’s park in the sky. Join for a free 75-minute long tour led by High Line Docents, knowledgeable volunteer guides who offer you an insider’s perspective on the park’s history, design, and landscape. thehighline.org 212-500-6035

Wed 15 ▲ INTERNET EXPLORERS Caveat 21 A Clinton St 9:00 p.m $12 Mark Vigeant uses comedy to explore and demystify technology so that people can be aware, informed, and empowered. Watch as he takes sold-out audiences (and thousands of livestreamers) deep into a corner of the Internet to learn and laugh about everything from memes, artiﬁcial intelligence, and e-commerce to online dating, hacking, and the dark web. caveat.nyc 212-228-2100

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

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MAY 9-15,2019

THE ART OF LIBERATION A show in a gallery just blocks from the site of the Stonewall Inn captures the pain, struggle and triumph of a movement that changed the city and the country BY TEDDY SON

The new exhibit at the Grey Art Gallery at New York University commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, a series of violent clashes between members of the Greenwich Village gay community and New York City police. The Stonewall riots, as they are also known, kicked off on June 28, 1969 and are recognized as a turning point in New York and American history. As the gallery’s website explains, “Art After Stonewall, 1969-1989,” is the “ﬁrst major exhibition to examine the impact on culture of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) liberation movement sparked ﬁfty years ago...” The exhibit at the Grey Art Gallery focuses primarily on the 1980s, while a companion exhibit at the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art concentrates on the 1970s. The show, organized by the Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio, and curated by Jonathan Weinberg, Tyler Cann, and Drew Sawyer, features three distinct themes: Things Are Queer; AIDS and Activism; and We’re Here!

Challenging Traditional Notions Things Are Queer “explores how the concept of queerness was developed as a way to resist categorizing people as straight or gay, female or male.” The section includes works by Diana Davies, Greer Lankton, Rink Foto and Arch Connelly. In Lankton’s “Ellen and Freddie,” two exotic-looking, gender-elusive dolls sit side-by-side on an upholstered armchair. The card describing the piece succinctly summarizes the main point of the Things Are Queer section, noting that the dolls “challenge traditional notions of beauty

IF YOU GO WHAT: Art after Stonewall, 1969-1989 WHERE: Grey Art Gallery, New York University, 100 Washington Square East; Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, 26 Wooster Street WHEN: Through July 20 Art after Stonewall, 1969-1989, at the Grey Art Gallery. Photo: Teddy Son

Keith Haring National Coming Out Day, 1988 Offset lithograph, 26 x 23 in. © Keith Haring Foundation

Adam Rolston I Am Out Therefore I Am, 1989 Crack and peel sticker, 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 in. Courtesy the artist

and gender.” Also in the section is the June 1989 issue of Homocore, the short-lived San Francisco magazine (1988-1991), with performance artist Jerome Caja on the cover, his skinny torso wrapped in belts. AIDS and Activism portrays the struggles of people whose lives were devastated by the AIDS epidemic, which had a major impact on a number of the artists featured in the exhibit. As the gallery explains, the artists of the 1980s “raised public awareness about HIV/AIDS through propaganda campaigns and public interventions.” Notable works here include Act Up posters and t-shirts with the famous SILENCE = DEATH slogan and iconic pink triangle splashed across them, and Adam Rolston’s crack-and-peel stickers

proudly displaying the phrase “I am Out, therefore I am.”

Get Used to It We’re Here! describes how, by the end of the 1980s, the LGBTQ presence had spread throughout the United States. The name is derived from the well-known slogan “We’re here! We’re Queer! Get used to it!”, which was chanted at demonstrations and LGBTQ rights event in the 1980s. This section is the largest of the three at Grey, with space in the main gallery and additional space dedicated to it in the lower level. Works on display include an excerpt from the White Face series by Lyle Ashton Harris, which explores the “contradictions of black queer identity in Reagan-era America.” Also on

display is Marlene McCarty’s “Love, AIDS, Riot,” a variation (on canvas) of Robert Indiana’s famous “Love” sculpture that substitutes the word F*** for the word Love. In addition to LGBTQ artists Scott Burton, Vaginal Davis, Catherine Opie, Andy Warhol and others, the exhibit features work by “straightidentified” artists like Alice Neel, Kiki Smith and Jean-Michel Basquiat, who engaged “with the newly emerging queer subculture” and addressed the struggles of their LGBTQ peers. As the gallery notes in its material about the exhibit, NYU faculty, staff and students have played important roles in “queer activism and the formulation of queer theory.” It seems natural that the Grey Art Gallery, just blocks from the site of the historic Stonewall events, is one of the settings for this important show.

Beyond Boundaries For this member of the NYU class of 2020, the exhibit at the Grey was the ﬁrst time I experienced LGBTQ art up close. Coming from a relative-

ly conservative society, South Korea, I never had the chance to explore art created by openly queer artists. Even if I had, I doubt I would have given it much thought in the setting of Korea, where LGBTQ rights are slowly increasing, but still take a back seat compared with other issues. But “Art After Stonewall” has done a number on me. Studying the art more closely, looking at pictures and sculptures that I might otherwise have passed by, I began to decipher more intricate messages within. The struggles that these artists had to endure, the lengths they went to in order to get their work out, the pure freedom that they exercised when making this art. was palpable. Creating art gave them an outlet and a voice to portray their personal experience as freely as they could, with no boundaries whatsoever. The limitations society put on them did not apply in the world of art. It was their world, they made it, and someday the outside world would recognize it.

MAY 9-15,2019

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Irish Rep presents Irish master Sean O’Casey’s drama about a poet who gets pulled into the chaos of the Irish War of Independence.

Ars Nova presents a return engagement of this taboo-smashing comedy that ravages American tropes about race, sex, and power politics.

IRISH REPERTORY THEATRE - 132 W 22ND ST

GREENWICH HOUSE THEATER - 24 BARROW ST KEY:

MAY 9-15,2019

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS

D.B.A.

41 1st Ave

Grade Pending (33) Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, crosscontaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan. 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.

The Bari

417 Lafayette St

Not Yet Graded (28) 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. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred. Wiping cloths soiled or not stored in sanitizing solution.

The Vnyl

100 3rd Ave

Not Yet Graded (28) Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, crosscontaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food area. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Arte Restaurant

21 East 9 Street

Sarita’s Mac & Cheese

197 1st Ave

Boucherie

225 Park Ave S

Subway

113 E 14th St

La Colombe

400 Lafayette Street

Sathi

216 3rd Ave

Sushi by M

75 E 4th St

Grade Pending (38) No facilities available to wash, rinse and sanitize utensils and/or equipment. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.

Dream Baby

162 Ave B

Caravan of Dreams

405 East 6 Street

Otto’s Shrunken Head

538 East 14 Street

Bruno’s Catering & Cafe

282284 1 Avenue

Butter Lane

123 E 7th St

The Spotted Owl

211 Avenue A

Lavagna

545 East 5 Street

Chipotle Mexican Grill

405 6 Avenue

Big Gay Ice Cream Shop

61 Grove Street

Hudson Hound

575 Hudson Street

Via Carota

51 Grove St

Te Company

163 W 10th St

The Drunken Monkey

31 Cornelia St

Lovely Day

196 Elizabeth Street

Soho Park

62 Prince Street

Vive La Crepe!

51 Spring Street

The Uncommons

230 Thompson St

Top Thai

235 Sullivan St

Grade Pending (58) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked ﬁsh and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. Wiping cloths soiled or not stored in sanitizing solution.

Starbucks

482 West Broadway

APR 24 - 30, 2018 The following listings were collected from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s website and include the most recent inspection and grade reports listed. We have included every restaurant listed during this time within the zip codes of our neighborhoods. Some reports list numbers with their explanations; these are the number of violation points a restaurant has received. To see more information on restaurant grades, visit www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/services/restaurant-inspection.shtml. Sunburst Espresso Bar

206 3 Avenue

Chloe’s Soft Serve Fruit Co. 25 East 17 Street

Mizu

29 East 20 Street

Ippudo

65 4th Ave

Tasty Taiwan LLC

26 Saint Marks Pl

Not Yet Graded (58) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Evidence of rats or live rats present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewage-associated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies. 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. Wiping cloths soiled or not stored in sanitizing solution.

The Braised Shop

241 E 10th St

Uluh

152 2nd Ave

Not Yet Graded (38) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. 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. 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.

Dunkin Donuts

101 E 16th St

Ichiba Ramen

125 University Pl

CLOSED (166) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Food 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. Toxic chemical improperly labeled, stored or used such that food contamination may occur. Food, food preparation area, food storage area, area used by employees or patrons, contaminated by sewage or liquid waste. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewageassociated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies. Food contact surface improperly constructed or located. Unacceptable material used. Insufficient or no refrigerated or hot holding equipment to keep potentially hazardous foods at required temperatures.) 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.

Devon & Blakely

250 Park Avenue

Paper Daisy/C & B Cafe

41 St Marks Place

Everyman Espresso

136 East 13 Street

Beecher’s Handmade Cheese

900 Broadway

MAY 9-15,2019

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

SEEING CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 disabilities. Losing one’s sight not only makes daily life more difficult, but can also limit access to the arts, performances, sports events and concerts. For three decades, blind art-lovers like Schnapper have lobbied for increased access and more fulﬁlling arts experiences. In response, museums are harnessing technology to accommodate the blind community’s needs, creating innovative sensory supplements to visual art. With accommodations, Schnapper and thousands of other blind New Yorkers have found new ways to enjoy art. New York museums and performance centers have led the way in accommodating blind visitors. “It’s hard for me to explain my love for the arts, because for me it’s like breathing,” Schnapper says, sitting in her rent-controlled Chelsea apartment. “That’s what I did with my friends, although I often went to museums alone,” before losing her sight fully in 2016. “That was the rhythm of my life. If I wasn’t going to go to galleries or museums, well, what am I going to do?” Schnapper spent her life roaming the great New York City museums. At nine, she rode the subway from Brooklyn to the Natural History Museum or the Metropolitan, marveling at ancient Egyptian artifacts and Old Masters. After school, she took drawing and painting classes in Brooklyn, along with ballet. She grew up to become a historian and curator of 17th century Italian art. For more than 50 years, she spent most days staring at masterpieces by Picasso or Caravaggio, teaching at The Pratt Institute and

Kathy Schnapper at the Jim Kempner Fine Art gallery on West 23rd Street. Photo: Ali Pattillo

Rutgers University, curating exhibits and poring over historical documents. Art was her life. Then she went blind. “I was starting to lose it 17 years ago but I lost it very rapidly two years ago,” Schnapper says. “I literally woke up one morning and I couldn’t see anything.”

Difficult Adjustment Schnapper hypothesizes that Type 1 diabetes-related retinopathy, or even a stroke, may have led to her blindness, but she has gotten few definitive answers from medical providers. She also has cataracts, which grew dense very rapidly, she says. Eye surgery did not improve her condition, as she’d expected; in fact, it further damaged her cornea. “There’s almost this fantasy that

A tour at the Whitney. To facilitate the experience for all visitors, specially-trained docents at museums offer detailed audio depictions of works of art. Photo: Ali Pattillo

people who go blind suddenly get superpowers — they can hear better and smell better and touch better,” Schnapper says. “On the contrary: all the other senses get confused if you lose your vision.” At first, she found the adjustment very difficult. “There were three or four days of abject terror when I did not go out of the house,” she recalls. In those first few weeks, she grew disoriented simply walking around her apartment. “Could I make a meal for myself? What could I do? My mother lived in Florida; was I never going to see my mother again?” Schnapper wondered. “I sat down with myself and said, ‘I’m either going to end up in some kind of nursing home or I’m going to end up having a home attendant sitting in my apartment.’” She avoided both situations, perhaps because she was inspired by her mother and grandparents. “They were very independent. I knew I had to be independent,” Schnapper says. Over the past two years, she has regained some vision; she can see some shadows and points of light with her left eye. Now, her sight fluctuates day to day. Like others with limited vision, Schnapper has had to develop ways to navigate the world, down to the most basic tasks. She took mobility training and learned assistive technology from organizations like the state Commission for the Blind, Heiskell Library for the Blind and Baruch College’s Computer Center for Visually Impaired People. Schnapper relies heavily on her iPhone, using screen readers, voice technology and apps like Be My Eyes and Aira to accommodate challenges like lighting her stove, putting outfits together or orienting herself

in unfamiliar neighborhoods. She has also felt the need to return to museums, even as she wondered, “Why am I feeling this need to stand in front of something I can’t see at all? ... Why do I feel I have to come to this place?” Museum accessibility staff often hear similar questions. The answer is that a museum “is inherently a human experience, which is the power of storytelling, the power of creation,” says Ruth Starr, coordinator of accessibility, inclusion, and public programs at the Cooper Hewitt Museum.

The brain fills in what the eye cannot see.” Art historian Kathy Schnapper

“Playfulness with the Format” To facilitate the arts experience for all visitors, including the blind, museums and performance spaces use verbal description, touch objects and assistive technology. “It’s exhilarating to stay close to the things I love the best, and frustrating that I struggle to piece out each detail,” Schnapper says. Verbal description entails tours in which specially-trained docents offer detailed audio depictions of works of art. Guides highlight details which the average viewer might zoom over — like the texture of a fabric or the exact color of a painted sky. A study from the Metropolitan Museum of Art showed that museum visitors spend an average of 27.2 seconds on a work of art. Ver-

15 bal description takes much longer, at least eight to 10 minutes, but provides critical context for the blind. Touch objects, often derived from material samples or small-scale models of an artwork, can be as basic as puff paint on a sheet of cardstock or as elaborate as the tutus used by New York City Ballet dancers. “Having a playfulness with the format, where when we’re able to incorporate touch and tactility or smell and other senses with our tours, there is a translation that happens,” Starr says. Assistive technology, headsets and experiential exhibits also improve the experience for the blind. Artists and curatorial staff have gotten more creative, designing exhibits which involve smell, sound and touch, like 2013’s “Rain Room” at MOMA. The immersive “environment room” featured falling water that paused wherever a person was detected, demonstrated that multisensory art experiences are fulfilling for sighted and partially-sighted audiences alike. “I think the primary reason why folks who are blind or low-vision don’t come to museums is because they think there won’t be anything there for them; that it will be boring, that it will feel sterile and isolating,” says Chancey Fleet, assistive technology coordinator at the Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library at New York Public Library. Madison Zalopany, coordinator of access and community programs at the Whitney Museum, calls awareness the first step. “It’s about saying, ‘Hey, by the way, this is inaccessible to people and you’re leaving a lot of people out.’” Then come practical considerations — including institutional fear of change, Zalopany says. “How much is this going to cost? Do we have the capacity to do this? Do we have enough staff?” But Alison Mahoney, manager of accessibility at Lincoln Center, says most accommodations are affordable. Artists themselves donate many touch objects, often material samples. Schnapper still roams the halls of MOMA, the Met, the Whitney, the Cooper Hewitt and the Rubin. She visits galleries all over Chelsea and attends multiple shows, workshops and lectures weekly. “Whether it’s music or dance or theater, great art invites you to come back,” Schnapper says. “Sometimes that’s the way you know something is great art, because each time you come back, you get more out of it.” When she looks up at a piece of art or experiences a performance, Schnapper explains, “The brain fills in what the eye cannot see.”

MAY 9-15,2019

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

Business

A shopper’s dream. Photo: Teddy Son

A STORE THAT’S OUT OF THIS WORLD Forbidden Planet is the jam-packed center of the pop-culture universe, conveniently located right here in Manhattan BY TEDDY SON

“Avengers: Endgame,” the final film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Infinity Saga, hit theaters late last month like a pop culture tsunami. Determined to see the original Avengers team up one last time, fans were breaking records for ticket sales even before the film opened on April 25. But cinemas weren’t the only businesses benefiting from the big event. Forbidden Planet, a store on Broadway at East 13th Street, directly across from the multi-screen Regal Union Square Stadium, has been a haven for pop culture fans, most definitely including Avengers people, for close to 40 years. And, thanks to a combination of “Endgame” mania and kids on the loose for spring break, April 24th was one of the busiest days in the store’s recent history.

We carry everything.” Forbidden Planet owner Jeff Ayers A Treasure Trove Which was just fine with owner Jeff Ayers, but he noted that the store is hardly dependent on movie releases. “We carry everything,” said Ayers, “pop culture, sci-ﬁ, comics, horror, movies, graphic novel ... it’s really just anything. We’ve been like this since 1981.” He’s not exaggerating. Forbidden Planet is a treasure trove where fans of any pop culture genre can happily (and hungrily) prowl the merchandise for hours. Star Wars? Check. Harry Potter? Check. Game of Thrones? Check. Doctor Who? Jurassic Park? Superman? Check, check, check. On a recent visit, the front window held a life-size model of R2-D2, Luke Skywalker’s trusty astromech

droid, a bust clad in a Black Panther mask and a swarm of various figurines. Shelves and showcases filled with toys and action figures greet you as you enter the large, highceilinged space (the biggest location Forbidden Planet has occupied in its long history). There are Batman figures that cost hundreds and moveable T rex toys from Jurassic World for $50.

Buy It, Wear It, Read It, Collect It There are t-shirts for every taste hanging on the walls, from the familiar (hello again, Batman) to the literary (hey there, Edgar Allan Poe) to, well, whatever category a punked-up version of William Shatner belongs in. There is plenty of small stuff as well, including mugs, refrigerator magnets and key chains. Stranger Things and Game of Thrones appear to rule here, although they are still rivaled by the famed Superman logo, which is one of the easier things to put on a magnet. The back half of the store holds

racks and racks of comic books, graphic novels, board games and much more. Marvel and DC are plentiful, of course, but there’s also Fantagraphic, Drawn and Quarterly, lots of horror, anime, manga and horror manga. Even the 2004 teen phenomenon “Mean Girls” makes an appearance in book form, albeit as a rather late addition to the collection. There’s plenty to read, but this is no quiet retreat. “It’s fast pace,” said Ayers, “it’s high volume, it’s a lot of different things.” Indeed, people rarely just stop in to buy something and then leave. They browse the racks, bury their noses in a comic book or chat with store workers about “Endgame” or some other obsession.

Hard Work and Experience Forbidden Planet has regulars who have been frequenting the store for years, semi-regulars who know it’s the perfect place to ﬁnd the perfect present for that comic book nut of a friend, curious passersby and tourists who want to experience the

American pop culture scene. The business reaches its peak of peaks, however. from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day. “You cannot walk in here,” Ayers said simply. This coming winter should bring a particularly large wave of customers, when the release of “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” coincides with the holiday season. Like any Manhattan business, Forbidden Planet’s journey has not been totally smooth. The secret to its success, said Ayers, is experience. “We adapt, and we change. The place evolves to what we need. It doesn’t happen organically, there’s a lot of hard work in that, it’s something we’re experienced in doing.” Forbidden Planet has established itself as a leader in the pop culture business. It has built its reputation over the years, and should continue to do so for years to come. If Marvel’s Inﬁnity Saga can claim an untouchable legacy, Forbidden Planet can do the same.

MAY 9-15,2019

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

MAY 9-15,2019

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

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East Side playground. Photo: Tzuhsun Hsu, via ﬂickr

AN UES PLAYGROUND SHORTAGE KIDS Comptroller Scott Stringer’s new study shows construction hasn’t kept up with a growing population — and existing play spaces aren’t being well maintained BY JASON COHEN

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A recent study by Comptroller Scott Stringer revealed that the Upper East Side does not have a sufficient number of playgrounds. The UES has eight total playgrounds, or 4.3 per 10,000 children, compared to the UWS, with 21 playgrounds and 9.8 per 10,000 kids. Stringer’s office released a report on April 27, “State of Play: A New Model for NYC Playgrounds,” which said playground construction is failing to keep up with the growing population of children in several neighborhoods and there is inadequate playground maintenance. Stringer also found that New York City ranks 48th in playgrounds per capita among the 100 largest American cities. “As a lifelong New Yorker

who spent a lot of time in his neighborhood playground in Washington Heights and as a proud father of two young boys, this issue hits close to home for Comptroller Stringer,” said spokesman Eugene Resnick. “There is nothing more important than the health and well-being of our children, and our city is deﬁned by how we treat our kids. Access to playgrounds should not be deﬁned by your zip code. And every neighborhood should be a place where children can live, play and grow. This proposal will make our playgrounds a priority for not only our children, but for future generations.” In hopes of resolving this issue, Stringer outlined recommendations for reform, including calling on the City to build 200 new playgrounds in the next five years. Many of these new facilities would be built through Stringer’s newly envisioned “Pavement to Playgrounds” program — a proposed partnership between NYC Parks, the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT), local nonprofits, and community boards — to construct playgrounds and plazas on light-

ly-used residential blocks. Other suggestions from the report include expanding the successful “Schoolyards to Playgrounds” program, increasing resources for NYC Parks maintenance, developing stronger protections for “Jointly Operated Playgrounds” on DOE property and ensuring that playgrounds are designed to serve a wide range of ages. “Comptroller Stringer believes the city’s children deserve better,” Resnick said. “There are only 2,000 public playgrounds in New York. Given the vast size of our city, that is not enough to serve our growing population.” According to Resnick, the typical playground costs $1 to $2 million to build. He said the office is expecting this to cost between $200 million and $400 million, and it can be funded through a combination of the City budget, public-private partnerships and nonprofit partnerships to build out 100 new Schoolyards to Playgrounds and another 100 through our Pavement to Playgrounds initiative. Ultimately, the comptroller and his staff found that the

MAY 9-15,2019 parks department and the city have not created enough playgrounds to keep up with the changing demographics and rising population. “While some communities enjoy dozens of playgrounds within walking distance of their homes, in others, parents must travel a signiﬁcant distance to ﬁnd suitable playgrounds for their children,” Resnick said. “To a large extent, these disparities are driven by a failure to anticipate, prepare for, and respond to changing demographics in our city. That’s a failure of planning, and the results fail our young children and families.” Meanwhile, Stringer’s report also found that hundreds of NYC Parks playgrounds were rated as “unacceptable” by Parks Inspection Program inspectors due to multiple features being unsatisfactory, having a serious safety hazard or the playground having a failed cleanliness rating. “While NYC Parks has made tremendous strides to improve the safety and cleanliness of their facilities in the last several decades, there are still far too many playgrounds in disrepair,” the report stated. “Moving forward, the City should increase their budget for maintenance and operations, particularly in those neighborhoods where playgrounds

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com have far too many “hazardous conditions.” Stringer called on the Parks Department to prioritize playground maintenance. However, the comptroller’s assertion that many playgrounds are unsafe or in bad shape is disputed by the Parks department. “It is a mischaracterization to say these sites are hazardous,” said Crystal Howard, Assistant Commissioner, Communications, NYC Parks. “Our Parks Inspection Program (PIP) is in place to ensure that our parks are safe, clean and hazard free. Hazards, as identified by our PIP inspectors, are speciﬁc to conditions found in the park, they do not broadly categorize the park as a hazardous site — the cited issues range from plant thorns to cracks in pavement to hanging tree limbs.” Howard explained that the types of conditions NYC Parks categorizes as “hazards” through its PIP reports include: condom(s); graffiti—hate speech/biased/profanity graffiti; rodent holes; benches — sharp, damaged or splintered slat(s) and exposed reinforcement bar(s). When a condition presents a safety concern, according to Howard, it is reported and immediately repaired. If there is a broad hazardous condition, Parks closes the whole site. City rankings. Graphic: Office of Comptroller Scott Stringer

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MY MOTHER THE SOCIALIST HISTORY How a young girl from Yorkville became a force in the NYC labor movement BY JANICE M. HOROWITZ

On May Day, I had the thrill of seeing my mother, Estelle M. Horowitz, honored at an exhibit of labor leaders of New York at the Museum of the City of New York. Estelle had been an unabashed young socialist in the 1930s, a time when she and countless other New York City children of Jewish immigrants yearned for something better. I saw photos of my mother I had long forgotten, along with her blue denim work shirt, with its red Young Socialist insignia on the pocket. That shirt, which she wore nearly ninety years ago, had nearly ended up in the garbage heap, until I realized it was an uncannily well-preserved slice of history, as well as a tribute to an extraordinary life. Estelle, who died a few years ago at age 96, was a member of the Young People’s Socialist League (YPSL) in New York City when the U.S. socialist movement was at its fervent peak. Her involvement — idealistic and passionate — set her on a path for life. My mother became a college economics professor, then a union organizer at her college and ﬁnally,

the head of the United Federation of College Teachers (UFTC). When my family attended the exhibit, one of her former colleagues turned to my daughter and said: “Your grandma saved my job!” Like many in the 1930s, my mother’s interest in socialist causes started early, in her case, preternaturally so. She was just 12 and living in Yorkville, the German/Hungarian enclave on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, when the charismatic pull of Norman Thomas, the former Presbyterian Minister and perennial Socialist candidate for President, lit up a passion in her. This was the Depression, and my mother’s father, a Yorkville tailor, was seeing his wealthy East Side clients less and less able to afford his custom-made suits. Thomas, meantime, a “silver tongued” orator, as his Princeton classmates put it, tall, imposing, and dressed in three-piece suits, would rouse the crowds downtown like the best of them. The young Estelle traveled from her home in Yorkville to hear Thomas exhort the throng to bring on change for workers beaten down by filthy conditions, subsistence level wages and little job security. It didn’t take long before this 12-yearold was standing on street corners handing out leaflets in support of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union (ILGWU). Within a

Estelle M. Horowitz’s denim work shirt with the Young Socialist insignia at the “City of Workers, City of Struggle” exhibition. Photo: Brad Farwell. Courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York.

couple of years, Estelle was a fullthrottle member of the YPSL and routinely attended Thomas’s rallies, wearing her YPSL shirt with pride. Decades later, in the 1970s, my mother, by then an economics professor at Pratt Institute, organized the Pratt faculty into a union. Even having become a professor was a feat in itself. Her parents had forbidden her to go to college, saying that if anyone in the family should go, it was her big-brained brothers, not a girl like her, no matter how smart she was. To get there, she forged her mother’s signature on the application and somehow convinced the local pharmacist to notarize it without ever witnessing her mother sign. At Pratt, Estelle negotiated the Institute’s first collective bargaining agreement for the faculty, making it possible for professors to attain a decent wage, along with robust benefits and job security through tenure. She also accomplished something radical for the time: she won for part-timers the same health benefits and chance for tenure as full-timers. From Pratt, Estelle was able to help other professors nationwide as head of the UFTC. Back in her YPSL days, as the Depression wore on, Estelle’s family was forced to move from their Yorkville brownstone, first to East Harlem and then to the Bronx. It was in the Bronx where Estelle and her fellow YPSLs would eat blintzes at Brighton Cafeteria on Simpson Street and exchange whatever news they picked up. They picketed for the ILGWU belt and leather workers, and sometimes, my mother said, they would wind up at far-flung storefronts they’d never seen before. Eventually, Norman Thomas’s rallies ebbed and my mother’s affiliation as a YPSL ended. But one day, decades after she first met him, Norman Thomas came to speak at Pratt, a tremendously moving moment for my mother. By this time, Thomas was suffering from crippling arthritis, and his eyesight and hearing were failing, but he still kept up his speaking schedule. He made a joke of his ailments: slowly reaching the podium, he said to his audience, “Creeping socialism!” I can just hear my mother responding back: “Creep On!”

Estelle M. Horowitz on strike with fellow union activist Danny Gerzog at Long Island University. Photo courtesy of Janice M. Horowitz

The exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York — “City of Workers, City of Struggle: How Labor Movements Changed New York” — runs through Jan 5, 2020. www.mcny.org/exhibition/city-workerscity-struggle

Estelle M. Horowitz in 1934. Photo courtesy of Janice M. Horowitz

Downtowner 6

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6 2

5 8

30 33

Level: Medium

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P D A L D A J U G K R O I A H

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D I S C I P L E C Z H T P N K

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P O E V I I U J D I S S E C T

Disarm Disciple Discourse Disdain Dish Disjointed Dislike Dismantle Disperse Dissect Distance Distil Distress Disturb Disuse

ANSWERS C O

M P

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C M O

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P D A L D A J U G K R O I A H

B Y D I N U T H G Q B S L I Z

D I S C I P L E C Z H T P N K

P O E V I I U J D I S S E C T

2 1

4 6

8 7 2 9 1 5 3

8 3 5 4 6 7

7 5 3 4 1 6 8 2 9

6 7 4 3 8 1 5 9 2

3 8 2 5 9 4 6 7 1

1 9 5 6 7 2 3 8 4

8 4 1 9 5 7 2 3 6

5 2 7 1 6 3 9 4 8

9 3 6 2 4 8 7 1 5

21. Wind down 24. It’s used to ferment whiskey 26. Encodes, to secure information 27. Compassion 28. Envelope wax 32. Asian martial art 36. Break the ___ 37. Scowl 38. Legal preﬁx 39. Islamic potentate 40. Forward end of an aircraft 41. Nitroglycerin 45. Cry in cartoons 46. Contents of some bags

C I S M R I P P D D S S R D C

43. “Time’s a-wastin’!” (for short) 44. Favorite 47. Belgian currency 48. H.S. subject, for short 49. Golf peg 50. Canal site 51. Expressed resentment 52. Jamaican pop Down 1. Fool’s mo. 2. Rocky actor 3. Flower 4. Custom 5. Countertenor 6. Hot wines with cinnamon 7. Irrelevant 8. Roller coaster feature 9. Social group 11. Prickly seed case 13. A pewter 18. Collector 19. Dominated 20. Celebrated

U Z G R Q U D R X E H I I R M

U O U U D I S L I K E D D D F

WORD SEARCH by Myles Mellor

Across 1. Silver-gray color 4. Funny person 7. Family 10. Type of wood 11. Cotton seed pod 12. Drudgery 14. Rug 15. “Do ___ others...” 16. Bit of dust 17. Map making 20. Draft 22. Dress a ﬁsh 23. Sharp-tasting 25. Rests 29. Cavern, in poetry 30. Broadcaster, Harwell 31. Get hot again 33. Pronouncements 34. Girls’ organization (abbr.) 35. Organic radical 36. He waited _____ (not wanting to hang around) 42. Over ___

9 3

1 6

6 1

7 35

3 8

2 3

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.

R O

SUDOKU by Myles Mellor and Susan Flanagan

by Myles Mellor

CROSSWORD

MAY 9-15,2019

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MAY 9-15,2019

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