Our Town Downtown - May 19, 2016 by OurTown Downtown

The local paper for Downtown wn CELEBRITIES VS. THE CITY, 15 MINUTES < P.21

WEEK OF MAY

19-25 2016

JOHNSON OUTLINES STATE OF DISTRICT The councilman emphasized the need for affordable housing BY CRYSTAL WOLFE

Councilman Corey Johnson, left, listens as constituents talk about needs and wants for the district during Johnson’s “West Side Summit” on the High Line May 14. Photo: Crystal Wolfe

In a canopied alcove on the High Line in early afternoon sunshine Saturday, Council Member Corey Johnson discussed the state of District 3, comprising Chelsea, Flatiron and West Village, which he has represented since January 2014. Among other issues, Johnson highlighted the renovations scheduled or taking place at Chelsea Park, Penn South Park, Waterside Park and Pier 40. He also talked about new playgrounds at P.S, 11 and on West 20th Street. But like many of his colleagues and constituents, Johnson highlighted the district’s need for affordable housing, particularly as the Hudson Yards

neighborhood gets built. Johnson last year called for the city’s Rent Guidelines Board to freeze rents for rent-stabilized tenants. The board, for the ﬁrst time in its 46-year existence, did eventually freeze rents. Johnson said he would advocate for a rollback this year. The board, though, has already proposed raising rents between 0 and 2 percent for one-year leases. “Affordable housing is our community’s greatest need,” Johnson said. Comptroller Scott Stringer, among several officials who attended the summit, agreed. “We have to make sure that New York City stays affordable for the diversity of people who built this city,” Stringer said. Some who attended the summit, however, lamented the abundance

construction in the district. “I used to be able to sit on my ﬁre escape and watch the ﬁreworks off the Hudson River and now all I see is big buildings,” said Tom Creacy. “I wonder if there will come a day when all we have of old New York City is two rocks for people to visit and the new New York City will only be skyscrapers.” Among the other officials who also addressed the roughly 250 constituents attending the event were Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Congressman Jerry Nadler, State Senator Brad Hoylman, former Council speaker and mayoral candidate Christine Quinn, and Public Advocate Tish James. City Schools Chancellor Carmen

CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

NOOKS AND CRANNIES’ CHELSEA PEDIGREE Samuel Bath Thomas set up shop in what is today know as “The Muffin House,” and a pricey co-op BY RAANAN GEBERER

“Have you seen the muffin man,” the childhood rhyme goes, “who lives on Drury Lane?” The real muffin man we’re talking about may or may not have once lived on Drury Lane, but he definitely did business in Chelsea. He was Samuel Bath Thomas, founder of Thomas’ English Muffins. His muffins are famed for their “nooks and crannies” — the ridges and small depressions in

the muffins’ texture. Thomas came to the U.S. from England in 1874. In 1880, using a recipe he had brought with him, he set up his ﬁrst bakery at 163 Ninth Ave., which today bears a plaque announcing as much. Thomas originally pitched his new product to hotels and restaurants, rather than to the general public, according to the “Daytonian in Manhattan” blog. He initially delivered his muffins by pushcart, and later on by horse-drawn delivery wagons. Of course, these

The “Muffin House,” or second Thomas’ English Muffins bakery, at 337 West 20th St. Photo: Raanan Geberer

CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

Downtowner

OurTownDowntown

O OTDOWNTOWN.COM @OTDowntown

Newscheck Crime Watch Voices Out & About

2 3 8 10

City Arts To Do Property 15 Minutes

12 13 16 21

WEEK OF APRIL

SPRING ARTS PREVIEW < CITYARTS, P.12

FOR HIM, SETTLING SMALL CLAIMS IS A BIG DEAL

presided over Arbitration Man has three decades. for informal hearings about it He’s now blogging BY RICHARD KHAVKINE

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

9-16

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

2015

In Brief MORE HELP FOR SMALL BUSINESS

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

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

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

n OurTownDowntow

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

CONTINUED ON PAGE

We deliver! Get Our Town Downtowner sent directly to your mailbox for $49 per year. Go to OTDowntown.com or call 212-868-0190

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

MAY 19-25,2016

Chapter 12

EVE AND OTHERS BY ESTHER COHEN

PREVIOUSLY: It’s the Eighties. A pot luck was held on the Upper West Side by Naomi, Eve, and Eve’s sort of boyfriend Charles, to ask other tenants to join in finding a disappeared neighbor whose name may be Alyosha. The gathering is an exploration of whether people are willing to try. Some tenants said yes. Mrs. Israel, ever the inner bookkeeper, brought two yellow legal pads with her, and three BIC pens. She spoke with the clarity of a bookkeeper, too. “The only way to begin,” she declared, “is to begin.” Hers was an unexpected certainty. Everyone laughed, and she actually took a small bow, bending from the waist as if she’d bowed many times before. She even did a little plié. Potluck guests all clapped for her. “I’ll take notes,” she said. “And distribute them to each of you.” she continued, “in a day

or two. Now is our actual beginning, where we have the opportunity to deﬁne our intentions. Who here has some thoughts?” She stood in place, uniting the room. Charles was the first to speak up. Small and dapper, his voice was unexpected and deep. He too knew how to project. “We need a headline,” he bellowed. “You mean a title,” said Naomi. She immediately wished she hadn’t said that. “Finding Alyosha,” said Eve. “We’ve all heard that before,” shouted Pin Ball. “How about “Not Finding Alyosha?” “Negative implications,” said Richard. “Negative titles don’t work. I was in book publishing for a while,” he added. “Lowly, but still. Of course we will find him. What makes you think we won’t?” he asked. “Not finding him is a bigger certainty,” Pin Ball explained. “There was a time when I read mysteries. I was truly addicted. I couldn’t sleep without a mystery.” Pin Ball was sitting on the high kitchen stool. His legs moved vigorously back and forth, for punctuation. “Every single one of them was the same. Someone was killed. Mysterious death. Someone else found out who the murderer was. There were false clues, and a big AHA moment.

Illustration by John S. Winkleman

REGENTS EXAMS

BEGIN

JUNE 1

Offering One Day Regents Test Prep: Earth Science $OJHEUD &RPPRQ &RUH

&KHPLVWU\

*HRPHWU\ &RPPRQ &RUH

3K\VLFV

$OJHEUD &RPPRQ &RUH

*OREDO +LVWRU\ 7ULJRQRPHWU\ )RUPHU 6WG

86 +LVWRU\

%LRORJ\ /LYLQJ (QYLURQPHQW

passtheregents.com or call 212-453-9895

Course Location: St. Vincent Ferrer HS, Manhattan

AHA,” he shouted loudly, into the room. “After a while, I wanted the mystery to be unresolved.” “Most of us want to know,” said Eve. She opened her arms to include the room. “Let’s take a vote. How many people want to know where Alyosha or whatever his name might be actually is? Even if it’s just in Puerto Rico with his new lover?” “But that’s why we read those books,” said Richard. “We want resolution, most of us. Pin Ball is the exception. If he doesn’t want to know, we won’t tell him.” “Of course I want to know,” Pin Ball laughed. “How about Finding Alyosha as our working title? Naomi asked. “That way, wherever he is, alive or dead, whatever he is doing, we will find him. It doesn’t matter if we’ve heard the word ﬁnding before. We’ve pretty much heard everything before.” “Well said,” said Charles. “Let’s take a vote,” Mrs. Israel declared. “All in favor of Finding Alyosha, say AYE. “ They all agreed. Even Pin Ball. “Finding Alyosha it is, for today,” said Mrs. Israel. “How remains the next task at hand.” To see previous installments of this serialized novel, go to otdowntown. com. Esther Cohen posts a poem a day at esthercohen.com

My IDNYC card helps us easily access city resources, from the library to the city hospital. I can get discounts on groceries, medicine, and movie tickets.

MAY 19-25,2016

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG

FORMER COLUMBIA PROFESSOR SENTENCED FOR FRAUD A former adjunct professor at the Columbia Business School who defrauded investors in his company of more than $3 million has been sentenced to two years in prison. Gregory Rorke was sentenced at federal court in Manhattan. He pleaded guilty a year ago to securities fraud and wire fraud charges. The 63-yearold was arrested in 2014. Prosecutors say he made false representations to at least 30 investors beginning in 2009. They say his investors included a former student. The government says Rorke carried out the fraud while he led a Manhattan-based software company he founded. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara says the former professor learned an important lesson in business ethics at his sentencing. Columbia Business School hasn’t responded to a request for comment.

FROM THE HAMMER TO THE SLAMMER One shoplifter apparently modeled

Tony Webster, via ﬂickr

himself after Thor. At 10:15 a.m. on Thursday, May 5, a police officer saw a 42-year-old man taking sunglasses from a shelf in the Sunglass Hut at 183 Broadway. Donnell Wigfall was arrested on and charged with grand larceny. He had stolen seven pairs of sunglasses valued at $1,301, all of which were recovered. At the time of his arrest, he was found carrying a hammer, which he claimed he carried “to help with people who try to intimidate me uptown, just in case.”

VENDING ANGER Could this have been an inside job outside? At 11:40 a.m. on May 5, a 28-year-old man working for ASA Vending of the Bronx parked a company

vehicle, a white 2014 Ford van, on the northeast corner of Murray and Church Streets to get lunch. Before leaving the van, he put a sweater over nine leather moneybags containing $650 from the pickups he had made from various vending machines around the area. When he returned to the van one hour later, the van’s side door lock had been popped open and damaged. He then opened the passenger’s-side door and discovered that the leather bags containing the cash were missing. A search of the area proved fruitless.

WATCH OUT Yet another ﬁtness enthusiast learned the hard way why you should never leave valuables in a gym locker. At 2:15 p.m. on May 5, a 54-year-old man left his gym bag inside a locker at the New York Health and Racquet Club located at 39 Whitehall Street. When he returned 45 minutes later, his gym bag was missing. A witness told police he had seen someone standing in front of the victim’s locker. The witness then saw the same man standing in front of a locker across the room with no lock on it. That is where the victim’s bag was recovered, along with all property except a Bell & Ross BR-126 black sports watch valued at $4,800.

STATS FOR THE WEEK Reported crimes from the 1st precinct Week to Date

Year to Date

2016 2015

% Change

2016

2015

% Change

Murder

n/a

Rape

n/a

100.0

Robbery

0.0

42.9

Felony Assault

0.0

-17.9

Burglary

n/a

6.1

Grand Larceny

-38.5

366

334

9.6

Grand Larceny Auto

n/a

133.3

but described it as gray and valued at $1,200. Only the chain was recovered, which the thief had left at the scene of the crime.

STATEN ISLAND WARY Sometime around 9 p.m. on Friday, May 6, a 28-year-old man parked his bicycle in front of 4 South St. at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal, securing the vehicle with a chain. When the man returned on Sunday at 8 p.m., his bike was gone. He checked with the lost and found at the terminal, where the employee on duty said that the bike had been reported stolen at approximately 8 p.m. the day before. The victim said he did not know the model of the bike

DUANE DRAIN CONTINUES Duane Reade stores continue to be one-stop shoplifting spots for thieves. At 7:20 p.m. on May 6, two men entered the Reade location at 200 Water St. and took off with merchandise valued at $2,018. Police are still looking into the matter.

lower manhattan has many landmarks. but only one hospital. NewYork-Presbyterian/Lower Manhattan Hospital. Just two blocks southeast of City Hall at 170 William Street.

nyp.org/lowermanhattan

MAY 19-25,2016

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

Useful Contacts POLICE NYPD 7th Precinct

19 ½ Pitt St.

212-477-7311

NYPD 6th Precinct

233 W. 10th St.

212-741-4811

NYPD 10th Precinct

230 W. 20th St.

212-741-8211

NYPD 13th Precinct

230 E. 21st St.

NYPD 1st Precinct

16 Ericsson Place

212-477-7411 212-334-0611

FIRE FDNY Engine 15

25 Pitt St.

311

FDNY Engine 24/Ladder 5

227 6th Ave.

311

FDNY Engine 28 Ladder 11

222 E. 2nd St.

311

FDNY Engine 4/Ladder 15

42 South St.

311

ELECTED OFFICIALS Councilmember Margaret Chin

165 Park Row #11

212-587-3159

Councilmember Rosie Mendez

237 1st Ave. #504

212-677-1077

Councilmember Corey Johnson

224 W. 30th St.

212-564-7757

State Senator Daniel Squadron

250 Broadway #2011

212-298-5565

Community Board 1

1 Centre St., Room 2202

212-442-5050

Community Board 2

3 Washington Square Village

212-979-2272

Community Board 3

59 E. 4th St.

212-533-5300

Community Board 4

330 W. 42nd St.

212-736-4536

Hudson Park

66 Leroy St.

212-243-6876

Ottendorfer

135 2nd Ave.

212-674-0947

Elmer Holmes Bobst

70 Washington Square

212-998-2500

COMMUNITY BOARDS

LIBRARIES

HOSPITALS New York-Presbyterian

170 William St.

Mount Sinai-Beth Israel

10 Union Square East

212-844-8400

212-312-5110

CON EDISON

4 Irving Place

212-460-4600

TIME WARNER

46 East 23rd

813-964-3839

US Post Office

201 Varick St.

212-645-0327

US Post Office

128 East Broadway

212-267-1543

US Post Office

93 4th Ave.

212-254-1390

POST OFFICES

HOW TO REACH US:

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:

212-868-0190 nyoffice@strausnews.com otdowntown.com

Include your full name, address and day and evening telephone numbers for veriﬁcation. Letters that cannot be veriﬁed will not be published. We reserve the right to edit or condense letters for libel, good taste, grammar and punctuation. Submit your letter at otdowntown.com and click submit at the bottom of the page or email it to nyoffice@strausnews.com.

TO SUBSCRIBE: Our Town Downtown is available for free below 23rd Street in select buildings, retail locations and news boxes. To get a copy of downtown neighborhood news mailed to you weekly, you may subscribe to Our Town - Downtowner for just $49 per year. Call 212-868-0190 or go online to StrausNews.com and click on the photo of the paper or mail a check to Straus Media, 20 West Ave., Chester, NY 10918

NEWS ITEMS: To report a news story, call 212-8680190. News releases of general interest must be emailed to our offices by 12noon the Thursday prior to publication to be considered for the following week. Send to news@strausnews.com.

BLOG COMMENTS: We invite comments on stories at otdowntown.com. We do not edit those comments. We urge people to keep the discussion civil and the tone reﬂective of the best we each have to offer.

PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD: Call 212-868-0190. Classiﬁed ads must be in our office by 12pm the Friday before publication, except on holidays. All classiﬁed ads are payable in advance.

PREVIOUS OWNERS: Tom Allon, Isis Ventures, Ed Kayatt, Russ Smith, Bob Trentlyon, Jerry Finkelstein

CALENDAR ITEMS:

ABOUT US

Information for inclusion in the Out and About section should be emailed to hoodhappenings@strausnews.com no later than two weeks before the event.

Our Town Downtown is published weekly by Straus Media-Manhattan, LLC. Please send inquiries to 20 West Ave., Chester, NY 10918.

ANOTHER BIG YEAR FOR INDIE BOOKSTORES NEWS Stores have now grown for seven consecutive years BY HILLEL ITALIE

Independent bookselling remains on a roll. The American Booksellers Association has grown for the seventh consecutive year, the trade group’s CEO, Oren Teicher, told The Associated Press during a recent interview. Core membership increased to 1,775, up by 63 over the previous year and by more than 300 since 2009. And with many stores opening additional outlets, the number of individual locations rose to 2,311, compared with 2,227 at this time in 2015 and just 1,651 in 2009. With membership once well exceeding 3,000, independent sellers had been shutting down for decades, largely because of competition from Amazon.com and from the superstore chains Barnes & Noble and Borders. But Borders has gone out of business and Barnes & Noble is struggling. Independent booksellers also have benefited from the leveling of e-book sales and resilience of paper editions. According to Teicher, unit sales from some 580 stores reporting numbers are up 5 percent in the first four months of 2016 compared with the same period in 2015. “I am thrilled and delighted to be able to tell you that our trend has continued and we had another really strong year,” Teicher said. Optimism has become self-fulfilling. A decade ago, longtime store owners struggled to find successors because independent bookselling seemed so risky. Now, transitions happen routinely. While for years new stores rarely opened, they now do so frequently, with some of the owners including such writers as Judy Blume and Jeff Kinney. Teicher did mention a couple of potential “clouds” in the future. With the economy recovering, real estate prices in many areas are going up and booksellers could face punishing increases in rent when their leases run out. Teicher also cited the initiatives nationwide to raise the minimum wage to as high as $15. Many booksellers are political liberals who favor the increases in principle, but in practice they will end up paying more. Teicher says a significant hike in salaries could mean the difference between a store making money or at best breaking even. “We’re in a low-margin business, and that upward pressure on wages is a big deal,” says Teicher, adding that a traditional solution for retailers is complicated for bookstores. “Someone might tell you, `Well, you

Photo by ricoeurian vua flickr know, do what the supermarket does and charge a quarter more for milk. Pass on the increases to the consumer.’ But as long as publishers continue to print the suggested retail price on the product, it’s hard to put a surcharge on it. It puts us in a peculiar position.” Teicher speculated on a variety of options: “Increase efficiencies” in the supply chain, tax breaks to offset wage hikes, the removal of price stickers from books and deeper discounts from publishers. And maybe, he says, publishers will raise the cost. “It would not surprise me if there’s some upward pressure on prices,” Teicher said. Publishers have advocated higher e-book prices as a way of helping printed books and physical stores remain viable, a stance that has led to fierce clashes with Amazon. com and an antitrust suit filed in 2012 by the federal government that led to multimillion dollar settlements. Understandably, they are at most non-committal about making traditional books more expensive. “The truth is how much books cost is not specific to the minimum wage,” said Heather Fain, senior vice president and director of marketing strategy at Hachette Book Group. “It’s something we talk about all the time, especially in relation to print versus electronic prices.” The latest ABA numbers arrive on the eve of BookExpo America, the industry’s annual trade show, which takes place this week in Chicago after being in New York since 2009. For the third straight year,

BookExpo will be immediately followed by the fan-oriented BookCon. Featured authors at Chicago’s McCormick Place will include Veronica Roth, Sebastian Junger and Dav Pilkey of “Captain Underpants” fame, while panel discussions will range from the role of public libraries in the book industry to marketing through Facebook and other social media. BookExpo America once routinely changed locations, but major publishers have grown used to the New York setting and the savings of not having to travel. Brien McDonald, the event director for BookExpo and BookCon, said BookExpo’s floor space at McCormick Place will be 126,284 square feet, a drop of nearly 20 percent from last year. (BookCon, meanwhile, is expanding from 41,756 square feet in 2015 to 61,496 square feet.) Hachette, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins and others based in Manhattan are sending fewer people than in previous years and none of the featured authors approach the star power of such past convention speakers as former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Colin Powell and Barbra Streisand. “We will have a smaller contingent and a smaller booth, which is a reﬂection of looking at the show and what’s important about it,” Fain said. “You want to have a place to meet with the booksellers and you want to have a way to elevate the titles you’re focused on. But you don’t have to have a lot of people to do it.”

MAY 19-25,2016

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

Catch Up. Get Ahead. Summer Courses at CUNY Register Today! cuny.edu/summer

BIOLOGY, CHEMISTRY, MATHEMATICS, PSYCHOLOGY, PHYSICS, SOCIOLOGY, EDUCATION, ENGLISH, ECONOMICS, ACCOUNTING, SPEECH, BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, HISTORY

CLASSES BEGIN:

May 31

Brooklyn College, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Lehman College, York College, Borough of Manhattan Community College

June 1

Baruch College, College of Staten Island, Hunter College, Medgar Evers College

June 6

City College, Queens College, School of Professional Studies, Bronx Community College, Queensborough Community College, Hostos Community College

June 2

New York City College of Technology

AND MANY MORE

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

MAY 19-25,2016

Dear Sam, I thought we were in this together, but apparently I was wrong. You’ve been ignoring me for a while. We don’t go for walks as often as we used to. You barely eat anything green anymore. And you don’t realize the daily pressure you put me under. It’s just too much.

I QUIT! Sincerely,

Your Heart Don’t let your heart quit on you. If you are living with high blood pressure, just knowing and doing the minimum isn’t enough. Uncontrolled high blood pressure could lead to stroke, heart attack or death. Get yours to a healthy range before it’s too late. Find out how at heart.org/BloodPressure

Check. Change. Control.™

MAY 19-25,2016

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

Central Park

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE PARK?

PHOTOGRAPHY IN CENTRAL PARK

Did you know that Central Park has been home to lawn bowling for almost 90 years? It’s referred to by its 100 members as the “best

kept secret” in New York. Nearly every Monday at 5 p.m. there are open bowling nights so you can try your hand and receive free lessons and demonstrations. No appointment necessary. To read more about lawn bowling, visit www. centralpark.com.

COMING UP THIS WEEK PARTNERSHIPS ACADEMY WORKSHOP — PARTNERING FOR SUCCESS City Parks Foundation is presenting a workshop where participants will gain the skills to build strong relationships with businesses, government and other organizations. You will leave knowing what type of organization you are going to approach next, and how to get them on

board. This is a free event. When: June 1, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Where: Arsenal Building, 830 Fifth Ave., third ﬂoor For more info visit: www. centralpark.com/events

for this 12-week course with That Outdoor Girl and That Outdoor Guy. When: Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays Cost: Book in advance for a 10 percent discount For more info visit: www. centralpark.com

RUNNING FOR BEGINNERS IN CENTRAL PARK If you’ve never run before and would like to know the basics and train with other like-minded people, sign up

WHERE IN CENTRAL PARK?

Do you know where in Central Park this photo was taken? To submit your answer, visit: centralpark. com/where-in-central-park. The answers and names of the people who send in the correct answer will appear in the paper and online in two weeks.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Fariña was the event’s keynote speaker. Johnson also called for the passage of the Small Business Survival Act, legislation that would impose arbitration for tenants and landlords when both cannot agree on terms. “Small businesses create tapestries that are unique to our neighborhoods — but they are facing challenges,” Johnson said. He alluded to the West 14th Street Associated Market that closed earlier this year after its rent climbed more than

Now that the weather is finally warm and the trees and ﬂowers are in bloom, head to the park with your camera to capture its beauty. Use our cheat sheet to locate the top photo spots. Rain or shine, the park cannot take a bad picture! Visit blog.centralpark.com for more info.

LAWN BOWLING IN CENTRAL PARK

STATE OF DISTRICT

Event listings and Where in Central Park? brought to you by CentralPark.com.

ANSWER TO THE PREVIOUS QUIZ: Literary Walk Restoration Marker. Located at the south end of The Mall, in the area known as the Literary Walk, this marker can be found honoring Anne Burnett and the Charles Tandy Foundation. It was dedicated to them in 1990, thanking them for the generous contribution in the restoration of The Mall. The Literary Walk, found at the southern end of the Mall, contains statues of such well-known literary ﬁgures as William Shakespeare, Sir Walter Scott, and Robert Burns among others. Congratulations to Julie Thurston, Bill Ferrarini, Gregory Holman, Joe Ornstein and Henry Bottjer for answering correctly.

NOOKS AND CRANNIES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

wagons didn’t look the aristocratic-looking coach pulled by a team of horses that the Thomas company uses as its logo to this day. Business prospered, and in the early 1900s, Thomas set up a second bakery at 337 West 20th St. While this is a quiet residential street, and the small building is across the street from St. Peter’s Church, bear in mind that zoning restrictions didn’t exist then. However, this mid-19th century building once housed a foundry on its lower levels, according to the Daytonian blog. Thomas renovated this same area within the house so it could be used for a bakery. This house today bears an elaborate plaque identifying it as the “Muffin House.” After Thomas died in 1919, his family incorporated the company. Let’s fast-forward to 2005, which is when Mike Kinnane and Kerry McInerny bought an apartment in the same building on West 20th Street. The following year, according to a New York Times article written at the time, Kinnane removed a radiator, pulling up some of the ﬂoorboards in the process. He then saw what looked like a large empty space. Soon afterward, he decided to cut a hole in the basement bedroom wall near an apparent opening and discovered the long-unused bakery.

7 threefold, from $32,000 a month to more than $100,000. Johnson also announced the winners of this year’s participatory budget vote. More than 2,000 people voted on how to allocate more than $1 million, with the top votegetter – the planting of dozens of new trees throughout District 3 – getting $100,000. Other winners included the renovation of Muhlenberg Library’s HVAC system ($500,000); new audio and visual equipment for P.S. 11 ($75,000); real-time rider information at ﬁve key bus stops ($100,000); and a new library for City Knoll Public School ($300,000).

Bear in mind that the building’s historical connection to the Thomas’ company and its muffins was already well-known. An executive from George Weston Bakeries, which then owned the Thomas’ brand, came to the site to determine whether the oven could be moved to one of its present-day plants. But it couldn’t be done — the oven appeared to be built into the house — and it remains in the basement. The Muffin House continues to be a desirable residence, as evidenced by a recent online ad for a duplex co-op apartment there. The building’s past is mentioned as a selling point. And what of the Thomas’ brand today? It’s gone through several ownership changes. The overall group, now known as Thomas’ Breads, is a division of Bimbo Bakeries USA, which also owns Entenmann’s and Sara Lee. We don’t know what Samuel Bath Thomas would have thought of some of the current varieties of English muffins, such as blueberry, maple french toast or cinnamon raisin. Thomas’ Breads also makes bagels nowadays, and we don’t know if Samuel ever encountered them, since they were largely confined to the city’s Jewish neighborhoods until the 1960s or so. But he would have been proud that his muffins continue to be a New York favorite after more than 150 years.

MAY 19-25,2016

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

Voices

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

A STUDENT SAYS GOODBYE TO ALL THAT PERSONAL STORY BY JOSHUA COPPERMAN

I’ve lived in New York all my life. I’ve also gone to the same school for most of my life - Calhoun, a progressive school on 81st and West End Avenue. I consider myself lucky to grow up in a city as vast and as varied as New York. So when I was accepted to college for the fall, going to the University of Rochester, I was overjoyed, but I also felt a twinge of sadness. Aside from the regrets anyone would feel when they’re about to move away, I also had this idea that because I feel like being a city kid is part of my identity, that I would not necessarily ﬁt in. Where I’m going is not in the middle of nowhere, but it is certainly far from New York; no matter what, it would take some adjusting. There are people from all over the country, all over the world, who I will be meeting. And even though the diversity of NYC can make someone think they know every perspective, I

will get to know those who have much different backgrounds than I do. I’m thinking of that New Yorker cover “View of the World from 9th Avenue,” and how my perspective -- or the perspective of a city kid in general - can at once seem so worldly and then so limited. One thing that being raised in New York has allowed me to do is harness my interest in music, whether through joining a jazz band at my school or going to small concerts around the city. While Rochester has many places to see live music, it is not quite the same experience as seeing a band yet to make it big discovering its capabilities, or a group that started playing to crowds of zero at the Mercury Lounge playing a triumphant show at Terminal 5 or the Barclays Center. As for my jazz experience, Calhoun’s program is one of the only of its kind, and I’ve been privileged to have worked with talented musicians to develop my playing. That part has not always been the easiest, but I’ve been able to improve

exponentially because of what I’ve been taught over the years. Music is far from the only reason I love New York, though. There’s just so much in New York that is difficult to ﬁnd elsewhere - no equivalent of a place like Central Park in a town like Rochester, nowhere that a guidebook would call “the city’s backyard.” There’s nothing as chaotic as Times Square in most of the world, let alone my college town, with tourists and, um, superheroes constantly swarming the streets. And even those idiosyncrasies, to me, make New York what it is, both a tightly controlled city and one where people will run around in costumes for money and attention. I acknowledge that New York is far from a perfect place, though that is because generally, no place is really “perfect.” But a few months ago I was texting with someone from outside of New York, casually mentioning that I took a subway home, and she responded to the effect of “where I’m from there aren’t any subways,” accompa-

nied by a laugh-crying emoji. That one text speaks volumes about the things I take for granted, or the things I might complain about on a given day. Even after working at this newspaper for a couple of weeks, seeing how it treats the neighborhood like its own small

town, I have begun to appreciate everything about New York a little bit more, even as I’m leaving it behind. Anyone that lives in New York already knows the hectic pace of the city. But something tells me that being away for a while will make a huge difference, especially to someone like me with a perpetual case of FOMO (fear of missing out). The best piece of advice I’ve received for heading to college is that it’s okay to fall into a “bubble,” that it’s okay to not keep up with the rest of the world, especially when work is the priority. Essentially, not only is this concept of FOMO ultimately trivial, it is also temporary, and the experiences at Rochester are ones I can keep with me forever. That said, as the moving day gets closer, I start to take more walks through Central Park and continue to ride the subways and realize this won’t be my home for much longer. But I’m excited to take the knowledge I’ve gained from growing up here to a new location, hundreds of miles away.

THE DAY MY WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN OP-ED BY CHANIE KRASNIANSKI

A little over 12 years ago my life changed forever. I was 38 years old and had just given birth to my ninth child. As I held my beautiful newborn daughter in my arms, I felt the heavy pounding of my heart, then numbness as my world turn black. I was being pushed into a dark narrow tunnel. I felt claustrophobic, airless, impossible to survive. As I spinned down the tunnel I lost sight of the world around me, sinking into an endless abyss. As sadness began to envelope me, I heard my newborn daughter calling out to me, “Mommy, Mommy, it will be okay, I promise, I promise, you’ll see, don’t be sad.” As I emerged, I found myself in a brilliantly lit place, the same, yet somehow different. Calm, serene,

STRAUS MEDIA your neighborhood news source

Brocha, center, and her family. otherworldly, yet not quite of the other world. A veil had been lifted. I had re-entered the world and it looked different. It was bright, it was special, it was holy, a garden. Yet it was ﬁlled with pain and concealment. How was I reborn into this same yet different world, all within a few moments? And why did everything seem vaguely familiar, but with an ethereal glow? Vice President/CFO Otilia Bertolotti Vice President/CRO Vincent A. Gardino advertising@strausnews.com

It was only the beginning of many paradoxes that would surround me as the world I thought I knew unfolded like a ﬂower. I began to feel an inexplicable sense of pride in being chosen for this unchartered journey. My newborn princess had the most exotic eyes. A telltale sign of Down Syndrome. She had a bluish tinge to her pallor, a result of

Associate Publishers Seth L. Miller, Ceil Ainsworth Regional Sales Manager Tania Cade

difficulty breathing at birth. And yet she was the most beautiful baby, surrounded by light. And she comforted me. Reassured me. Spoke to me. The old me died that day. And a new me was born. Brocha led our family through gates we may never have entered. She taught us lessons we may never have learned. And showered wisdom way beyond her years. She illuminated a world, so special, so G-dly and so holy. Every soul is special. Every soul is handpicked. Every soul has a mission. Brocha was the impetus for Chabad Upper East Side’s branch of The Friendship Circle, where every person is cherished and valued. Where friendship is abundant and celebrated. Where our children with all abilities, our teenage volunteers, our hanging with friends all share moments of extreme light and love that transform us all, forever. From the darkness of

President & Publisher, Jeanne Straus nyoffice@strausnews.com Account Executive Editor In Chief, Kyle Pope editor.ot@strausnews.com Fred Almonte Director of Partnership Development Deputy Editor, Richard Khavkine Barry Lewis editor.dt@strausnews.com

ignorance, indifference, and misunderstanding, to acceptance, inclusion, love and empathy! To a world where the circle is complete, as we all hold hands in a FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE! Join our family as we walk a mile for a special child and help us make a difference. The 4th Annual Friendship Walk will take place Sunday, May 22, East 77th Street Between 1st and York avenues. The Friendship Walk raises awareness and funds necessary to keep The UES Friendship Circle growing and enhancing our community. The money goes directly to a wide variety of programs and activities, including Sunday Circle, Miracle Sports, Friends at Home, Holiday programs, summer and winter Camps and more. Any amount will help make a difference. For more information or to make a donation visit www.FriendshipWalknyc.org/Brocha

Staff Reporters Gabrielle Alfiero, Madeleine Thompson Director of Digital Pete Pinto

Block Mayors Ann Morris, Upper West Side Jennifer Peterson, Upper East Side Gail Dubov, Upper West Side Edith Marks, Upper West Side

MAY 19-25,2016

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

PROTESTS OVER WAGE CUTS AT EAST SIDE BUILDING Sale of Hamilton building leads to de-unionizing BY MADELEINE THOMPSON

Tenants and employees of the Hamilton building at 1735 York Avenue and 90th Street are worried about the changes afoot there. They were informed just over three weeks ago that Glenwood Management, which had owned the Hamilton for years, would be selling it to Bonjour Capital for $150 million. One of Bonjour’s first acts as the 265-unit building’s new owner was to announce that they would be deunionizing, much to the dismay of the 17 members of 32BJ, a service workers’ union, who work there. Bonjour has cut the workers’ pay from $23 per hour to $12, with a six-day work week and no beneﬁts. 32BJ, by contrast, offers generous beneﬁts, including $34 per hour for overtime work, compared to Bonjour’s offered $18, full-family healthcare and legal assistance.

“I keep wondering how we got here,” said Marcella Elson, the Hamilton’s 32BJ shop steward, who has worked there for more than 21 years. She said that after being told by Glenwood that the company was selling the building, Bonjour sent out a letter with the offer of $12 per hour that would be put in place starting May 10. “I love the job that I do. I love coming to work … but now it feels like something is broken,” Elson said. “I wonder how we could go from being union to non-union and they can get away with this.” Elson was able to get two days off from Bonjour, despite their offer of one day off. Her main concern is covering medical costs for her diabetes, and supporting her retired husband. Despite her nearly 24 years with Glenwood and the remaining two years on her contract with them that were nulliﬁed by the sale, Elson has not been contacted by them or offered a place in another Glenwood building.

According to the real estate website The Real Deal, the sale of the building was unusual to begin with, as Glenwood is “notorious for almost never selling,” the publication stated. It also reported that Bonjour is planning a $20 million renovation of the building, which it will rename the “Serrano.” A resident of the Hamilton who requested to be identified only by her ﬁrst initial and last name, for fear of retaliation for speaking out, expressed her disappointment with Bonjour’s handling of the sale. “The tenants are concerned because there’s no protection when your lease comes up,” said L. Gail. “Now [Bonjour] is proposing all sorts of changes. They closed the rec room and took the wiﬁ out [of the common areas] … all within two days. The whole building was stunned.” Gail only moved in last summer, but she was drawn to Glenwood’s reputation and has enjoyed good relationships with the building workers. Rachel Cohen, 32BJ’s regional com-

A protest at the Hamilton building. Photo courtesy 32BJ munications manager, called the situation “a huge blow to these workers.” “It’s going to have an impact on the safety and quality of life of the tenants, and there’s deﬁnitely been tenant support [for the workers],” she said. A petition started by the Hamilton’s tenants has gathered around 200 signatures so far. “We pay top-dollar for the professional, top-notch service

provided by our employees and so we expect that these employees are treated fairly,” the petition reads. Cohen, along with 32BJ’s district director John Santos, was adamant that they will ﬁght with their workers as long as it takes for Bonjour to revert to the original union contracts. Neither Bonjour nor Glenwood representatives responded to requests for comment.

MANDELL SCHOOL SET FOR BASIS TAKEOVER West Side private school has been struggling financially BY JOSHUA COPPERMAN

BASIS Independent, an owner of liberal arts schools across the country, including one in Brooklyn, will be taking over the Mandell School’s K-8 program on 795 Columbus Ave. starting in the fall of 2017. The Mandell School has run a pre-k program in the neighborhood since 1939. The K-8 school opened in 2008 and -- despite surging emrollment in most private schools across the city -- Mandell’s K-8 program “has always struggled,” said school spokesman James Fuller, with a deﬁcit reaching $2 million. While the Mandell School’s pre-K programs have been running for many years, and along with their other locations (one of which is in Lincoln Square) remain in operation, the K-8 program was unable to sustain itself. The decision to close down the program comes after a tumultuous three years for the school, including a sale to Rocket Group in 2013 and the departure of the former head of the school, Gabriella Rowe, the following year.

BASIS was formed in Tuscon in 1998, before expanding in the following years to three more school across the country, as well as eighteen additional charter schools. The schools all have reputations for being some of the most

elite in the country, with the Washington Post giving BASIS schools three spots in the top 5 list of “America’s Most Challenging High Schools” earlier this year. Tuition at BASIS is lower than at

other private schools in the city. In Brooklyn, for instance, the BASIS tuition is $23,500, compared to $35,800 for a school such as Brooklyn Friends. Rowe, who was part of the Mandell family, had spearheaded the K-8 ex-

pansion, as well as the opening of other locations and the Rocket Group sale. While BASIS is advertising its plans to take over the school in 2017, the Rocket Group has committed to funding the school for its remaining year before BASIS takes over, as well as helping the families with exmissions from the school. Mandell will be working with NYSAIS (the New York State Association of Independent Schools) to help parents of students stranded in the transition. Additionally, a spokesperson for the Mandell School explained that students who were in the Mandell’s K-8 program would get “priority” consideration for acceptance for both students and teacher positions at BASIS Independent. Parents of the school said they were shocked, and had “no idea” the school was about to close. Mandell parent Michael O’Neil said he he needs to ﬁnd a new school home for his second grade son, Lewis, and will consider “everything... every school”. Private or public? “Any school I can afford” he quipped.

MAY 19-25,2016

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

Tired of Hunting for Our Town Downtown? Subscribe today to Downtowner News of Your Neighborhood that you can’t get anywhere else

Dining Information, plus crime news, real estate prices - all about your part of town

Cultural Events in and around where you live (not Brooklyn, not Westchester)

Now get your personal copy delivered by US Mail for just

49/Year for 52 issues

To Subscribe : Call 212-868-0190 or go online to otdowntown.com and click on subscribe

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

Thu

19 Fri 20 Sat 21

AMERICAN HEART ASSOC. ANNUAL RUN/ WALK Brookﬁeld Place, 230 Vesey St. 5 p.m. Festivities and Spectating are Free Festivities will begin at 5 PM at Brookﬁeld Place, followed by the walk & run at 6:45 PM. The three mile walk/run is designed to promote physical activity and heart-healthy living. www.heartwalknyc.org

‘PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER’ 3LD Art & Technology Center, 80 Greenwich St. 8:30 p.m. Free “Pull Yourself Together!” started as a strange dream — and it is striving to be a 21st century exploration of the deepest, murkiest id of a particularly brilliant play about a particularly nasty bunch of people drowning in quicksand of unrequited love. Reservations Required www.3ldnyc.org

A WICKED TOUR OF THE ART GALLERY TOUR FOURTH WARD South Street Seaport Museum, 12 Fulton St. 12:15 p.m. $10-$20 Home to eccentric and dangerous characters, the Fourth Ward was the city’s district of vice and crime. Take a walk with us and go back to 19th-century New York’s wickedest ward. www. southstreetseaportmuseum.org

‘FORGIVENESS – PART I: FORGIVING THE PERSONAL’ BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center, 199 Chambers St. 7:30 p.m.-9 p.m. $25 B3W Performance Group (B3W) is a social impact arts organization committed to collaboration and community, reﬂecting and revealing the world we live in through multidisciplinary performances and community-building workshops. 212-220-1460. www. tribecapac.org/b3w-beyondthird-wave-may-2016/

195 Chrystie St. 1 p.m. $25 Visit 7 modern art galleries in the downtown center for contemporary art - we ﬁnd and explain this month’s most fascinating exhibits in painting, sculpture, electronic media & photography. 917-250-0052. www. nygallertours.com

CONTEMPORARY INSIGHTS PRESENTS – WILL LANG▼ Spectrum, 121 Ludlow St., #2 7 p.m. $15-$20 Trombonist William Lang is an active performer, improviser and teacher based in New York City. He can be found playing in all settings and style, from the avant-garde and classical to Broadway and indie chamber pop. www.contemporaryinsights. com

MAY 19-25,2016

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

TEKSERVE BY THE NUMBERS

7KH QXPEHU RI GLĎ&#x192;HUHQW VHUYLFHV ZH RĎ&#x192;HU VPDOO EXVLQHVV FXVWRPHUV

30,000 7KH QXPEHU RI 0DFV ZH VHUYLFH DQQXDOO\

The number of \HDUV ZHĂ˘YH EHHQ GRLQJ GDWD UHFRYHU\

But the only number that matters is 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; did we help YOU? -VY ULHYS` `LHYZ 5L^ @VYRLYZ OH]L ILLU JVTPUN [V V\Y ZLY]PJL JLU[LY MVY WLYZVUHSPaLK (WWSL

Sun

SACRED SITES OPEN HOUSE WEEKEND Various Locations 10 a.m. Free Religious institutions throughout New York open their doors to the public, giving visitors a glimpse inside many of New Yorkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s remarkable churches and synagogues and an opportunity to view the artistic treasures of many faiths, styles, and periods. www.nylandmarks.org

JUNIE B.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ESSENTIAL SURVIVAL GUIDE TO SCHOOL Tribeca Performing Arts Center, 199 Chambers St. 1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. $25 An all-new musical adventure based on Barbara Parkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s popular book. Ages 4 and up. 212-220-1460. www. tribecapac.org

Mon

will hone childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s observation skills, foster a deeper enjoyment of nature and generate questions from the participants. 212-267-9700. www. bpcparks.org/event/explorersclub/2016-05-02

THE RISE OF HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS New York Academy of Sciences, 7 World Trade Center 7 p.m.-8:30 p.m. $5-$15 Does consciousness cease completely when biological systems supporting it stop functioning? Does todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s science possess tools to answer these questions deďŹ nitively? A panel explores these questions and their implications. www.nyas.org

Tue

SATIE AT 150: SATIE, RAVEL AND THE DREAMERS

Arts BrookďŹ eld. 165 Broadway 12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m. Free To celebrate Erik Satieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s music on the 150th anniversary of his EXPLORERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CLUB birth, pianists will play works by Satie, his contemporaries, and those he inspired. Battery City Parks www.artsbrookďŹ eld.com 4 p.m.-5:30 p.m. $250 (whole season) Kids will head outdoors and examine the natural world PARKS WITHOUT of Battery Park Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s parks. BORDERS Learning about plants, animals, and the environment, this course The New School, 63 Fifth Ave.

9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. $10 On May 24, 2016, NYC Parks, the Center for New York City Affairs, and the Tishman Environment and Design Center at The New School bring together thought leaders from a range of disciplines to explore the future of parks and public space. www.events.newschool.edu

ZLY]PJL Âś PUJS\KPUN KH[H YLJV]LY` SPX\PK KHTHNL OHYK KYP]L PZZ\LZ HUK NLULYHS [YV\ISLZOVV[PUN

Come visit our ser vice center to experience Apple service you can trust. Canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make it to the service center? *OLJR V\[ ;LRZLY]L JVT [V ZLL OV^ ^L OLSW ZTHSS I\ZPULZZ

J\Z[VTLYZ Z[H` VU [YHJR ^P[O V\Y VU ZP[L ZLY]PJLZ

Wed

FLEET WEEK PARADE OF SHIPS Various Locations. Noon. Free The Parade of Ships signals the start of 2016 Fleet Week New York. Check the website for the list of participating ships and for details on timing. www. ďŹ&#x201A;eetweeknewyork.com

U.S. COAST GUARD PRESENTATION 9/11 Tribute Center. 120 Liberty St. 6 p.m. Free The 9/11 Tribute Center presents a talk in its galleries by U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Commanders Art Hudman and William Grossman on the dramatic roles played by maritime personnel responding to the attacks on the World Trade Center. Reservations recommended. www.tributewtc.org

>LZ[ YK :[YLL[ ŕ Ž ŕ Ž [LRZLY]L JVT

Your neighborhood news source

otdowntown.com

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

Iris van Herpen, Dress, 2012, 3-D-printed dark orange epoxy. Photo: Adel Gorgy

HIGH TECH MEETS HIGH FASHION At The Met, the Costume Institute’s “Manus x Machina” delights, challenges and surprises BY MARY GREGORY

Now that the movie stars, musicians, moguls and paparazzi have moved on to other red carpets, “Manus x Machina” at The Met’s Costume Institute is waiting to dazzle, challenge and surprise both the fashion cognoscenti and those who just love a good show. And “Manus x Machina” is an extraordinary show on many levels; exquisite designs and craftsmanship join with wildly inventive visions ensconced in a breathtaking installation (a hallmark of recent Costume Institute exhibitions). Passing through the medieval

galleries, with their soaring ceilings and hushed, religious overtones brings visitors to the Robert Lehman Wing, which the Costume Institute is ﬁlling for the ﬁrst time. The space may not be immediately recognizable, as it’s been completely transformed by a cocoon of scaffolding and white scrim, creating halls and alcoves, apses and altars on which to present stunning examples of what human imagination can produce, whether by hand or machine. Soothing, hymn-like sounds from Brian Eno’s “An Ending (Ascent),” slow the pace and add an almost spiritual element to a “Wedding Ensemble” by Karl Lagerfeld for House of Chanel (2014–15), the centerpiece of the exhibition. It’s placed on a pedestal, under a towering dome onto which

details of digitally produced golden d detai embroidery are projected. The train of embr the d dress extends seemingly forever, and tthe heavenly voices surrounding it call to mind a slow, regal march of the greatest import. No doubt, it’s a g spectacular dress, but the staging elspect evates evate it to an otherworldly level. Surrounding it, in cases, are various Surr pages from one of fashion’s sacred writs, writs the one that inspired the exhibition. bition “Encyclopedia, or Systematic Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Dictio Crafts,” written by Denis Diderot Cr and Jean le Rond d’Alembert between 1751 and 1772, had the audacity and prescience to suggest that dressmaking belonged in the same realms as the other arts and sciences. Just as the book divided the craft into separate ﬁelds of expertise, the exhibition is broken into six sections. Embroidery, featherwork and floral treatments are explored on the upper floor. Pleating, lacework, u leather and even more experimental leat techniques like 3-D printing, melting techn and lasers are found in the galleries la downstairs. down Curator Andrew Bolton described Cur looking at a particular couture loo dress and realizing that every part of it was done by machine, save the hemming and the sewing of the zipper. It brought home that the idea of the handmade being somehow more desirable, more valuable and more important than a machine-made counterpart was no longer true. “Manus x Machina” sets out, he said, to “debunk and demystify” this hierarchy by presenting works from the past century, both hand and machine crafted. Bolton contends that artists make use of whatever tool best enables them to achieve their creative vision. While he pointed out that “human hands are great machines,” new technologies, like laser cutting, make previously unattainable visions possible. A dress by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen (2012) is encrusted with shells, pearls and coral, all sewn by hand. “It took days and days to ﬁnish,” the wall text tells us. It’s paired with a Givenchy evening dress (1963) in deep orange, but a more interesting contrast is with Iris van Herpen’s 3-D-printed epoxy dress (2012) on the lower floor. Both Burton’s and van Herpen’s dresses cover the torso with jutting shapes in red-orange. Burton’s is hand-stitched by seamstresses in India, while van Herpen’s, the wall texts explain, “was built layer by layer in a vessel of liquid polymer. The poly-

mer hardens when struck by a laser beam.” Manus x Machina in a nutshell. Van Herpen is the creator of some of the most dazzling, mind-bending designs in an exhibition where plastic exoskeletons and fractal progressions are as common as feathers and sequ i n s. Hu ssei n Cha laya n’s “Kaikoku” ﬂoating dress (2011–12) is a gold-painted shell of polyester resin. It has an opening in the back, and the wearer steps in and onto a motorized, wheeled platform that glides the creation across the floor. If desired, 50 crystals can be electronically jettisoned; they fall to the floor like maple tree seed pods. A video displays the process/

MAY 19-25,2016

performance. Issey Miyake’s pleated constructions may use technology but without touting their high-tech roots. They recall the pleated garments of ancient Egypt as well as simple, colorful paper lanterns. They’re playful and cheerful, and at the same time wonders of technique. Whether your tastes run more to space-age or timeless fashions, all garments are a mixture of man and machine. A scissor in a hand: man and machine. It’s a bit hard to believe, but intriguing and delightful to see, the extremes of both elegance and inventiveness presented in The Met’s Met s latest temple to fashion fashion.

Gallery view of two Noa Raviv 2014 creations involving 3-D-printed polymer and hand-sewn tulle with adhesive appliqué of laser-cut polyester. Photo: Adel Gorgy

MAY 19-25,2016

EXPLORING SPECTRALISM TO DO

IF YOU GO

Argento New Music Project performs on May 19 BY GABRIELLE ALFIERO

Argento New Music Project is well-primed to present songs by Tristan Murail, having worked with the French spectral music composer for a decade. The ensemble’s director, Michel Galante, talks about Murail, whose work will feature in the second “Spectralism in America” program on May 19 at the French Institute/ Alliance Française. The program will also include pieces by three composers who studied and worked with Murail, including Galante himself. This interview was edited for

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

WHAT: “Spectralism in America” WHERE: French Institute/ Alliance Française Florence Gould Hall, 55 East 59th St., between Park and Madison Avenues WHEN: Thursday, May 19 7:30 p.m., $25 To purchase, call 800-9822787 or visit fiaf.org

THE STYLE There is actually an infinite number of notes. Taking all of the notes in the world and bringing it down to 12 and putting it on a grid is a reductive choice that you make so that you can work with it. What

ics that come out of basically all kinds of ways of producing notes that aren’t just straight out of the 12 pitches, and they started making pieces based on that.

THE PROGRAM What’s exciting of course is the directions that we took those pieces in, that we took these techniques in. [Huck] Hodge, his piece is just for solo cello but it explores reverb. I have one piece called “Leaves of Absence.” This piece, you know there’s an effect where a ﬁre engine or an ambulance is coming from far away and it comes closer to you and it goes back into the distance, and actually as it’s getting closer, even when the siren stays the same, the pitch goes up in your ear because it’s getting closer,

ACTIVITIES FOR THE FERTILE MIND

thoughtgallery.org NEW YORK CITY

Discovering Design: The Invention of Desire—A Panel

THURSDAY, MAY 19TH, 7PM The Strand | 828 Broadway | 212-473-1452 | strandbooks.com Looking at objects, letterforms, experiences and even theatrical performances, award-winning author Jessica Helfan leads a group of leading designers in a look at the way well-crafted things can impact our behavior. (Buy a copy of The Invention of Desire or a $20 gift card to attend)

10th Annual Dance Parade

SATURDAY, MAY 21ST, 1PM Broadway & 21st Street | 267-350-9213 | danceparade.org Six-thousand dancers from around the country break out their moves in a procession from Union Square to Tompkins Square Park that spans 73 styles and concludes with classes, performances and social dancing. (Free)

Just Announced | Occasions and Other Occurrences Hosted by Isabel Lewis

FRIDAY, JUNE 24TH, 6PM Dia Art Foundation | 535 W. 22nd St. | 212-989-5566 | diaart.org A commissioned “occasion” begins with a decorated and scented installation at Dia:Chelsea (with slow dancing inspired by Lusophone Africa) and overﬂows to Beacon Saturday and Sunday. (Free)

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

Argento New Music Project. Photo: Sabrina Weitz

length and clarity.

THE COMPOSER Composers for a while were pretty frustrated. I don’t want to say bored, but frustrated with the grayness or the lack of color in the harmonic world of contemporary composition. It just wasn’t something that people felt excited about. By the end of the ‘90s people were pretty fed up, actually. And to have a composer who had all kinds of other options, and to have all kinds of other choices that he could teach people and bring via his music was really, really exciting for younger generations of composers.

[spectral music composers] did in the beginning was they started to do musical experiments without the 12 pitches, so they would take things like complex sounds from bells. If you’ve ever been in the subway and you hear someone with steel drums, they’re playing a tune, but actually if you listen really closely, every one of those notes is really complex sounding and actually has a lot of notes in it. And they’re weird. They’re really colorful but they sound kind of strange. So by working with open strings, and from the pitches that come out of open strings on a string instrument, or with the harmon-

and as it goes away the pitch goes down. But if you’re in the ambulance the pitch stays the same. It’s called the Doppler effect. So this explores that.

THE ENSEMBLE We try to bring something new to the audience. An ideal situation which is not always realizable, but in an ideal world every single person in the audience would hear something they’ve never heard before. Or they’ve never even thought of before. That’s kind of a lofty thing to say, but that would be a great thing. That’s a great day when you have a new experience.

MAY 19-25,2016

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS

Cafe Cortadito

210 East 3 Street

MAY 1 -13, 2016

Big Gay Ice Cream Shop

125 East 7 Street

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.

Jennifer’s Way Bakery

263 East 10 Street

Coal Yard Bar

102 1 Avenue

Birdbath Spring

45 Spring St

Burger & Barrel

25 West Houston Street

Grade Pending (25) 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. Wiping cloths soiled or not stored in sanitizing solution.

Raccoon Lodge

59 Warren Street

Cafe/ 911 Museum

180 Greenwich St

Bangal Curry

27 Park Place

Grade Pending (39) Hot food item that has been cooked and refrigerated is being held for service without ﬁrst being reheated to 1 65º F or above within 2 hours. 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. Personal cleanliness inadequate. Outer garment soiled with possible contaminant. Effective hair restraint not worn in an area where food is prepared. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.

Taim

45 Spring Street

Grade Pending (20) 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. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Champion Pizza

17 Cleveland Place

Grade Pending (20) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/ sewage-associated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies.

Arturo’s

106 West Houston Street

Madame X

94 West Houston Street

Babaghanoush

165 Church Street

West 3Rd Common

1 West 3 Street

Sole Di Capri

165 Church Street

Thompson Alchemists

449 West Broadway

Church Publick

78 Reade St

The Folly

92 W Houston St

Bread Talk

47 Catherine Street

Grade Pending (22) Food Protection Certiﬁcate not held by supervisor of food operations. 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.

Gasoline Alley Coffee

325 Lafayette Street

Minetta Lane Theater

18 Minetta Lane

The Beatrice Inn

285 W 12th St

Not Yet Graded (33) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked ﬁsh and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Wiping cloths soiled or not stored in sanitizing solution.

Provocateur Night Club

18 9 Avenue

Champs Kitchen Veloce

141 Fulton St

Starbucks Coffee Company #25533

222 Broadway

Blimpie

73 Catherine Street

Toloache Taqueria

83 Maiden Lane

Courtyard Marriott/Table 181 Soho

181 Varick Street

Multi Tastes Diner

23 St James Place

Akira Sushi

152 7th Ave S

121 Fulton Street

Lasagna Restaurant

196 8 Avenue

Wanted

104 Fulton St

Not Yet Graded (37) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Food Protection Certiﬁcate not held by supervisor of food operations. Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.

Umami Shoppu

513 Avenue Of The Americas

Starbucks Coffee

38 Park Row

Burger King

106 Fulton Street

Go Go Curry

12 John Street

Grade Pending (42) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked ﬁsh and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Food Protection Certiﬁcate not held by supervisor of food operations. Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Smashburger

136 William St

Chelsea Deli And Bakery

254 8th Ave

The Crooked Tree

110 St Marks Place

Gena’s Grill

210 1 Avenue

Grade Pending (23) 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. Tobacco use, eating, or drinking from open container in food preparation, food storage or dishwashing area observed.

C&B

178 E 7th St

Just Salad

140 8th Ave

Taverna Kyclades

228 1st Ave

Le Grainne Cafe

183 9 Avenue

Sake Bar Satsko

202 East 7 Street

Pierre Loti Cafe & Wine Bar

258 West 15 Street

Minca Ramen Factory

536 East 5 Street

Vivi Bubble Tea

170 West 23 Street

Crown Fried Chicken

117 Avenue D

Grade Pending (19) Food Protection Certiﬁcate not held by supervisor of food operations. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.

The Meatball Shop

200 9th Ave

Hu Kitchen

78 5 Avenue

Kyo-Ya

94 East 7 Street

Virgola

28 Greenwich Ave

Giano

126 East 7 Street

The Red Cat

227 10 Avenue

Caffe Bene

208 Avenue A

Underline Coffee

511 W. 20th Street

MAY 19-25,2016

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

Neighborhood Scrapbook

LAWN BOLWING CLUB CELEBRATES 90 YEARS The New York Lawn Bowling Club is marking its 90th anniversary. The club was founded in 1926 and, in partnership with the Central Park Conservancy, has maintained residence just north of the Sheep Meadow. Players compete by rolling four oblong bowls along a ﬂat grass surface aiming to place their bowl closest to a smaller target called the “jack.” The club kicked off summer season with an opening-day tournament on May 7th. Everyone is invited to learn more about the pastime every Monday at 5 p.m. in May and June to try their hand at bowling. More information about the club can be found at www.nybowls.com Wearing white is not required.

Everything you like about Our Town Downtown is now available to be delivered to your mailbox every week in the Downtowner From the very local news of your neighborhood to information about upcoming events and activities, the new home delivered edition of the Downtowner will keep you in-the-know.

And best of all you won’t have to go outside to grab a copy from the street box every week.

It’s your neighborhood. It’s your news.

Yes! Start my mail subscription to the Downtowner right away! 1-Year Subscription @ $49

Name

________________________________________________

Address _________________________________ Apt. #

________

New York, NY Zip Code __________ Cell Phone _________________

JASA HOLDS MOST SUCCESSFUL FUNDRAISER JASA, a not-for-proﬁt agency serving the city’s senior population, hosted its annual cocktail reception fundraiser Celebrating Seniors at 583 Park Avenue in Manhattan. The event was the agency’s most successful fundraiser ever, raising more than $436,000 and counting, which will help support JASA’s many programs that service more than 43,000 older adults in the New York area. JASA’s primary fundraising event of the year was attended by over 200 celebrities, activists, philanthropists, government leaders, nonproﬁt officials, JASA Trustees, and others. Jane Marsh, the internationally acclaimed soprano and Artistic Advisor of the Metropolitan Opera Guild, was the emcee for the program, and the special guest speaker was Philip Marshall, a recognized advocate of elder justice and the grandson of late philanthropist Brooke Astor. A special auction was led by Christie’s own Toby Usnik. The honoree for the evening was Richard Cuccia, the chief executive officer of National Maintenance Supplies, Inc., which was the presenting sponsor for the event.

Share your news and what’s going on in your life. Go to otdowntown.com and click on submit a press release or announcement.

Email Address___________________________________________ Payment by

Check # __________

Money Order

Credit Card

Name on Credit Card (Please Print) ___________________________ Card # _______________________ Exp. Date

____ //____ // ____

Signature of Cardholder ___________________________________

Return Completed Form to: Straus News, 20 West Avenue, Chester, NY, 10918 or go to otdowntown.com & click on Subscribe

MAY 19-25,2016

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

In Brief

Property

FAIRWAY FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY Fairway, the high-end grocery chain known for its towering aisles, filed for bankruptcy earlier this month after losing $36 million in revenues of $565 million for the nine-month period that ended on Dec. 27, 2015, according to the Wall Street Journal. Facing stiff competition from stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joes, Fairway plans to majorly reorganize the financial structure of its 15 stores, seven of which are in New York City. The company has pledged to continue paying its employees, supplier and landlords, and will ask its lenders to take on most of the financial burden by trading their debt for shares. However, Crain’s reported last week that they will have to decide at some point which locations to close.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES PARTNER TO LAUNCH WATERFRONT NAVIGATOR Thanks to the collaboration of six federal, state and city agencies including the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a new website has launched to make waterfront business and development planning a little easier. According to the press release, the website will include “comprehensive information, clear expectations on regulatory requirements and application steps, and realistic timeframes that will ultimately result in better permit applications and reduce the regulatory review time needed for permits to be issued.” Along with the Army Corps of Engineers, the three other agencies who oversee projects involving New York waterfront or wetlands: the New York Departments of State and Environmental Conservation, and the New York City Department of City Planning. Sometimes projects only require approval by one of the four agencies, but in some cases it is required by all four. This has frustrated developers for years, and the new site hopes to eliminate many of the small mistakes and bureaucratic hold-ups that can delay waterfront projects. “This is an example of how we’re making government work better,” City Planning Commission Chairman Carl Weisbrod said in the release.

STUDY SHOWS NYPD FREQUENTLY TICKETS LEGALLY PARKED CARS

Developments like the Time Warner Center have attracted global buyers hit by a recent slowdown. Photo by Henning Klokkeråsen via ﬂickr

A COOLING AT THE SUPER-HIGH END REAL ESTATE PRICES In Manhattan, luxury home sales are down 5% BY JOSH BOAK

Last week, the data sourcing website I Quant NY released a study showing the most common spots in the city where legally parked cars are repeatedly ticketed by the NYPD. The sites founder, Ben Wellington, a professor at the Pratt Institute, found that cars parked in front of a sidewalk pedestrian ramp at 575 Ocean Avenue in Brooklyn brought in a total of $48,000 in fines in the last two-and-a-half years. According to I Quant NY, parking in front of a pedestrian ramp -- so long as it’s not connected to a crosswalk -- has been legal since 2008. “It’s a waste of everybody’s time, and most people don’t realize that what they are doing isn’t illegal, so they don’t bother to fight it and they pay,” Wellington told the New York Post. He used the city’s Open Data portal to search parking tickets according to which ones were issued for blocking a pedestrian ramp, and created a map of the most commonly ticketed legal parking spots. Wellington found that the 70th precinct, in Brooklyn, ticketed the highest number of legally parked cars, gathering $107,728 in fines in one year. The highest grossing spot in Manhattan, in Battery Park, placed 16th overall and brought in $19,140. That particular pedestrian ramp is outlined in yellow paint, but the paint “has no meaning in NYC traffic enforcement” according to the I Quant NY post, and the ramp is not connected to a crosswalk. It is perfectly legal to park there.

The global luxury housing market lost some of its sheen last year as ﬁnancial markets became unsettled and many wealthy buyers began to look for less expensive homes. “The return of realism,” is how Dan Conn, chief executive of Christie’s International Real Estate, described the high-end market that stretches from San Francisco to Singapore. Sales in a sector whose average home prices start at $2.2 million slowed in 2015, increasing by 8 percent, half its 2014 pace. The decline most likely reﬂects stability rather than weakness, according to a report released Thursday by Christie’s. Properties in London and Hong Kong are sitting on the market longer. On average, homes sold for prices 19 percent below the original asking price, compared with 14 percent below the asking price in 2014. The number of luxury-home sales in the often sizzling Manhattan market dipped 5 percent last year. Falling oil prices led sales in Dubai to tumble 25 percent. “You can’t have massive double-digit growth year after year after year,” Conn said. “In some ways, there is a limit.” But a luxury market that experts say is normalizing still looks otherworldly when compared with conventional real estate. Some homes include cigar rooms with specialized

ventilation and wine collections displayed in climate-controlled glass walls, for example, instead of in cellars. Around the world, a single square foot in a luxury home varies dramatically -- from $200 in Monterrey, Mexico, to $4,500 in Monaco. The highest price paid for a home last year was $194 million for the Barker Road Estate in Hong Kong, which, judging by pictures, was still something of a fixer-upper. Not all luxury markets reflected the consequences of weaker global economic growth. The cheaper euro helped to boost pied-a-terre purchases in Paris. Yet in an emerging trend, the luxury market last year reached beyond the traditional hubs of global commerce and posh resort towns. Places with humbler reputations enjoyed sharp increases in high-end sales, a pattern likely to continue through 2016, Conn said. Christie’s reported a 40 percent jump in the sales of luxury properties in Portland, Oregon, for example. And Auckland, New Zealand, experienced a 63 percent surge in luxury homebuying. Atlanta, supported by an expanding film industry, reported a 25 percent increase, while an improving auto industry boosted luxury home sales in the Detroit area by 17 percent. Baby boomers looking to cash out of the Vancouver housing market, which has attracted Chinese expatriates, moved to nearby Victoria, which enjoyed a 45 percent increase in luxury sales. Other brokerages see similar phenomena at the top-tier of housing. During the first three months of 2016, Redfin reported that luxury

sales prices dropped 1.1 percent from the same period a year ago. Average luxury home prices in Miami Beach, Florida, plunged 13.7 percent to $5.7 million, according to the Seattle-based brokerage. Homes for Boston-area Brahmins fell 11.8 percent to $3.2 million. San Francisco tech gurus saw the average luxury sales price dip 4.7 percent to $4.4 million, while the Washington, D.C., area slid 4.2 percent to $2 million. The main culprit appears to be a volatile stock market. The Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index plummeted until mid-February, only to undergo a jagged recovery such that the net worth of millionaires and billionaires has been in near constant ﬂux. The turbulence has left luxury buyers wary about spending lavishly on housing, said Nela Richardson, Redfin’s chief economist. “I’m not saying there is a recession among the 1 percent, but if you look across all luxury goods you’re seeing softness,” Richardson said. “I think that is attributable to the stock market.” This doesn’t mean an absolute retreat from luxury housing. In Florida, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood have registered price gains after Miami became overheated. San Francisco’s recent excesses have spilled across the bay to the more affordable Oakland, where average luxury home prices climbed nearly 50 percent in the past year to $2.4 million. “There are only so many tech billionaires who can buy in San Francisco,” Richardson said.

MAY 19-25,2016

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

MAY 19-25,2016

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

SUMMER CAMP ON A BUDGET CAMP Camp is a life-changing experience — one that’s possible for every child and every budget. Even though the experience is priceless, paying for it doesn’t have to be. “I’m a great believer that you don’t have to go to the most expensive camp to have a great camp experience,” said Phil Lilienthal, former camp director of Camp Winnebago in Maine and Global Camps Africa CEO. If you’re dealing with an experienced and caring staff of camp counselors, “you can have a program in a parking lot, and it can be great,” he said. Parents looking for budget-friendly camps should keep the following in mind: • The ACA camp community generates a projected $216 million annually for camp scholarships. Don’t be afraid to call the camp director and ask if ﬁnancial assistance is available. • Contact your area’s local office of the American Camp Association. Visit www.ACAcamps.org/about/contactus to ﬁnd your local office contact.

The local paper for Downtown

• Check with your church or synagogue. • Get in touch with social services groups in your community. • Visit individual camp web sites. Most clearly outline whether or not they offer ﬁnancial assistance for their

campers. Assistance is also available from the government. Parents should inquire into whether the camp participates in income-eligible subsidy programs, for instance through Title XX. For day camps:

• A Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account allows parents to be reimbursed on a pre-tax basis for child care or adult dependent care expenses for qualiﬁed dependents that are necessary to allow parents to work, look for work, or to attend school full time. Visit the FSA Feds Web site for more information. • In certain circumstances, day care expenses, including transportation by a care provider, may be considered dependent care services and paid with pre-tax dollars. Visit the Internal Rev-

enue Service (IRS) Web site for more information. • Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit: The IRS allows an income tax credit of up to $6,000 of dependent care expenses if you have two or more dependents (up to $3,000 for one dependent). The amount of the credit is based on your adjusted gross income and applies only to your federal taxes. This applies to qualifying day camp expenses. Visit the FSA Feds Web site for more information. Reprinted with permission of the American Camp Association.

Photo by Jónatas Luzia via ﬂickr

Advertise with Our Town Downtown today!

WE TRAIN BRAINS!

Call Vincent Gardino at 212-868-0190

DON’T LET YOUR BRAINS CRAMP..

COME TO OUR SUMMER BRAIN CAMPS! S Brain Camps (Grades 4, 5 & 6) S SHSAT Spring/Fall Classes S SHSAT Summer Intensives S One on One Tutoring Packs: For everything from 4th Grade Enrichment to SATs & ACTs

$50 REBATE ON ALL SUMMER CLASSES AND PACKS WITH THIS AD. Use code: BRAINCRAMP

otdowntown.com

2328 Broadway at 84th/85th Sts. | 212.787.0374 | info@ibidprep.com | ibidprep.com

MAY 19-25,2016

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

CROWDSOURCING THE ZIKA FIGHT NEWS

The mosquitoes that can spread Zika are already buzzing among us. The U.S. government could use some help ﬁguring out exactly where. No experience is necessary for what the U.S. Department of Agriculture envisions as a nationwide experiment in citizen-science. Teenagers already have proven themselves up to the task in tryouts involving a small number of high school students and science teachers.

In a 1945 ﬁlm , the U.S. government encouraged schoolkids and scout troops to do their part in keeping their neighborhoods free from dengue and yellow fever. Volunteers now are needed to collect mosquito eggs in their communities and upload the data to populate an online map, which in turn will provide real-time information about hot spots to help researchers and mosquito controllers respond. Some local surveys have been revived as dengue fever and other viruses creep back into the country, carried in the blood of travelers and transmitted through mosquito bites. But that data hasn’t been centralized, and the gaps are clear to CDC re-

Now it’s time for the Invasive Mosquito Project to scale up and fast, since Zika has been linked to serious birth defects and health officials are preparing for the possibility of small outbreaks in the United States. But there’s little money in government budgets to track its spread. “We don’t have a lot of data -- good, solid data,” said John-Paul Mutebi, an entomologist with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. What the USDA is proposing is the kind of population survey not seen in the continental United States since World War II, when the country eradicated mosquito-borne viruses.

searchers, whose national maps only roughly show the possible spread of two disease-carrying mosquitoes. The CDC’s maps are based on historical reports, recent research and surveys sent in February to mosquito control districts nationwide, but evidence remains thin for habitat estimates. They suspect that Aedes aegypti could carry Zika well beyond the Southeast during the summer, and the more cold-hardy Asian tiger mosquito could be biting into the Midwest and Northeast. Both species are capable of spreading Zika, but experts have considered the Asian tiger less of a threat for

Government enlisting high school students and teachers BY JENNIFER KAY

THE PARKING HABITS OF ERNIE ANASTOS At least one reader of Our Town has had enough with Fox 5 anchor Ernie Anastos. According to an email sent by the reader, a black Mercedes sporting a press pass belonging to Anastos has been spotted repeatedly parked illegally by a ﬁre hydrant on East 68th between Lexington and 3rd avenues, near the Fox 5 office. Despite the ap-

pparent violation, the reader said the car never seems to be ticketed. Fox didn’t return telephone calls seeking comment. Our reader also contacted the office of City Council Member Dan Garodnick. Genevieve Michel, Garodnick’s chief of staff, said the complaint was forwarded to the 19th precinct. -- Silas White

triggering outbreaks than the Aedes aegypti. The Invasive Mosquito Project is coordinated by Kansas-based USDA entomologist Lee Cohnstaedt, who has explored crowdsourcing as a budgetconscious way to sample mosquito populations and cites research supporting volunteers’ capabilities for collecting large-scale data. Now he’s pinning his hopes for consistent data collection on students needing to do their homework, year after year. He’s thinking big: Participation from a fifth of U.S. schools. Adapting lesson plans for middle schools, scout troops and gardening clubs. Making mosquito surveys as common as public bird counts for conservation groups. Turning classroom routines into a life-long habit of mosquito vigilance. Since high school biology teacher Noah Busch incorporated the USDA project into his lesson plans, his students in Manhattan, Kansas, have made the connection between news reports about Zika and the mosquito traps they set near tires or backyard swimming pools. “I had more parents afraid of this project than any of my students,” said Busch, who teaches protocols for avoiding bites. “The parents were thinking we were attracting mosquitoes. No, the mosquitoes are already there.” The equipment is nothing more than brown paper towels and darkcolored plastic party cups. Students insert the paper into the cups, ﬁll the cups two-thirds of the way with water and place the cups around their homes. After about a week, they dry the towels and examine them for eggs, which look like tiny specks of dirt. Classes verify their ﬁndings with the USDA, local researchers or mosquito control officials before uploading their results to the project’s website, which is part of a new central database for all federal citizen science activities. In the past, Cohnstaedt could spend $150 or more a night to send one employee to trap mosquitoes. Crowdsourcing that effort has “saved a bunch” of money and “collected better data than we could have working alone,” he said in an email. The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District wants the USDA project in three high schools this fall. The narrow island chain shares a national need for early warnings about invasions by Asian tiger mosquitoes or other species, executive director Michael Doyle said. “Having these collections on different islands will alert us to any additional places where it’s trying to expand,” Doyle said.

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

IWantToBeRecycled.org

MAY 19-25,2016

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

YOUR 15 MINUTES

To read about other people who have had their “15 Minutes” go to otdowntown.com/15 minutes

FOR THE FAMOUS, NYC CAN BE TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT An unspoken rule giving celebrities space in the city seems to have broken down BY JENNIFER PELTZ

When famed writer Ta-Nehisi Coates backed away from moving into a New York City brownstone, he gave voice to celebrities’ qualms about city living. The National Book Award winner wrote this week that media coverage of his $2.1 million home purchase slammed the door on his planned move, saying he was concerned for his family’s safety and uneasy about the idea of fans showing up on his stoop after the address was published. “Within a day of reading these articles, my wife and I knew that we could never live” there, he wrote in an essay at TheAtlantic.com. Coates, whose “Between the World and Me” offers a searing assessment of being black in America, isn’t the ﬁrst prominent person to try to shield his address or to rue the up-close-andpersonal nature of New York. But in a city where spotting celebrities can be

easier than snagging a cab, the idea of a writer lamenting lost privacy to the point of abandoning a low-key neighborhood seemed to draw a new -- to some, puzzling -- line. “In New York, a lot of `celebrity’ people live among non-celebrities,” notes Ainslie Binder, a 20-year resident of the neighborhood where Coates bought the brownstone. She’d been pleased to think a best-selling author would burnish the area’s growing reputation as a hotspot for writers and other creative people. In a community where residents stage an annual house tour and plant sidewalk flower barrels together, Coates would be treated “just like everybody else,” she said. The nation’s biggest city has long been home to the famous and rich, living in settings from Central Parkfacing apartments to Brooklyn townhouses. Even in the see-it-tweet-it era, many New Yorkers pride themselves on understated reactions to encountering off-duty stars on the streets, in cafes and elsewhere.

Still, tabloids and widely-read realestate media regularly delight in reporting who bought where, to the consternation of high-proﬁle buyers. “Privacy is a huge concern,” says Jared Seligman, a broker with Douglas Elliman Real Estate’s Sports and Entertainment division, which caters to celebrity clients. Whether the stumbling block is a building board that won’t allow purchases in corporate names or simply a passer-by who sees a celeb walking from limo to lobby, “in New York, it’s very hard to make a move without going onto the radar.” Not that luminaries don’t try. Doormen are prevalent, and famously discreet, in high-end buildings. And some notables put a premium on homes or buildings with internal garages or courtyards, so they can drive in unseen, said John Burger, a Brown Harris Stevens Residential Sales broker who specializes in super-high-end Manhattan properties. Fears about being on the public’s map aren’t unfounded in a city that, by nature, can’t match the seclusion

The singer Taylor Swift signing autographs in Times Square. Swift has been the subject of harrassment by a fan in New York City. Photo by paolopv.com of a gated estate. Celebrities ranging from Uma Thurman to Alec Baldwin have had stalkers show up at their Manhattan homes. A man described by police as emotionally disturbed was detained outside Taylor Swift’s building just this Tues-

day (she wasn’t there, and the man was taken to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation). A Madonna fan, meanwhile, scrawled messages of adoration on the sidewalk near a Manhattan building where she lived for a time. The Material Girl later moved to a townhouse with an unusual privacy feature -- its own garage. And some celebs simply grow weary of having the nation’s biggest city as a sometimes nosy neighbor. After testifying at his stalker’s trial, having run-ins with photographers, and being suspended from his ultimately short-lived MSNBC show because of his behavior during one of the encounters, Baldwin wrote a New York magazine cover story in 2014 decrying the constant tabloid coverage of his comings and goings. “I just can’t live in New York anymore,” the longtime New Yorker wrote, saying he was beginning to crave instead the gates, cars and ability to shut out the public that Los Angeles offers. At one time, “to be a New Yorker meant you gave everybody ﬁve feet,” he wrote. “And now we don’t leave each other alone.” Yet even for Baldwin, New York evidently has its pluses. He still lives here.

Know somebody who deserves their 15 Minutes of fame? Go to otdowntown.com and click on submit a press release or announcement. Paparazzi outside the “Late Show” studio in midtown. Photo by Dave Herholz via ﬂickr

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

“I WISH SOMEONE WOULD HELP THAT HOMELESS MAN.”

BE THE SOMEONE. Sam New York Cares Volunteer

Every day, we think to ourselves that someone should really help make this city a better place. Visit newyorkcares.org to learn about the countless ways you can volunteer and make a difference in your community.

MAY 19-25,2016

CLASSIFIEDS PEST CONTROL

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

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

POLICY NOTICE: We make every eďŹ&#x20AC;ort to avoid mistakes in your classiďŹ ed ads. Check your ad the ďŹ rst week it runs. The publication will only accept responsibility for the ďŹ rst incorrect insertion. The publication assumes no ďŹ nancial responsibility for errors or omissions. We reserve the right to edit, reject, or re-classify any ad. Contact your sales rep directly for any copy changes. All classiďŹ ed ads are pre-paid.

REAL ESTATE - RENT

LEGAL AND PROFESSIONAL

CARS & TRUCKS & RVâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S

SERVICES OFFERED

To advertise in this directory Call #BSSZ (212)-868-0190 ext.4 CBSSZ MFXJT@strausnews.com

REAL ESTATE - SALE

MASSAGE

Directory of Business & Services

VACATIONS EMPLOYMENT

WANTED TO BUY

ANTIQUES WANTED TOP PRICES PAID Chinese Objects Paintings, Jewelry Silver, Furniture, Etc. Entire Estates Purchased

HEALTH SERVICES

800.530.0006

MERCHANDISE FOR SALE

LEGAL AND PROFESSIONAL

Sell it in the &ODVVLÂżHGV Â&#x2021; Â&#x2021;

:H DUH D SURXG PHPEHU RI WKH $VVRFLDWHG 3UHVV DQG WKH 1DWLRQDO 1HZVSDSHU $VVRFLDWLRQ

MAY 28th & 29TH THIS IS A RAIN OR SHINE EVENT

Columbia Co. Fairgrounds, Chatham, NY

AWARD-WINNING WINERIES, DISTILLERIES AND CIDERIES FROM NY AND MA From South Beach to the Berkshires. Special Weekend Events Inlcude Wine, Beer & Cider Seminars, Food Pairings & More!

Information & tickets available on-line at:

www.hudsonberkshirewinefestival.com

Antique, Flea & Farmers Market SINCE 1979

East 67th Street Market

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

MAY 19-25,2016

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

Don’t go out into the heat. GET YOUR LOCAL NEWS DELIVERED It’s your neighborhood. It’s your news. And now your personal copy is delivered directly to your mailbox every week!

THE M NEW ET'S MODE

CITYAR RNISM TS, P.2 > 4

0 1 6 OTT Y AWA

RDS

His Eminence Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan

Dr. Maura D. Frank Gustavo Goncalves

Just $49

James Grant Paul Gunther

Harris Healy

Susan H enshaw Jones

Mallory Spain

CELEBR BEST OF ATTHING THE EAST SIDE E UPPER Dr. David Thomas

Bett y Cooper Wallerstein

IS THE LUX SLOWING DURY MARKET OWN?

OUT OF GA S

IN VE ST IG

UP TH NG MET'SE TEMPL E

, ma fen t The Am lands ke up the groPark, amon ders cap g erican BY GABRIELLE Histor Hilderbr e archit up. The pro othALFIER Mu y ec O hood for is tapping seum of Na ings, wh and will tu re fir m ject’s int also att Reed ich be that wi a communit o the neightural “It en gin portionll weigh in on y working bor- wo ’s always be on March d meet4. rk with group en where of Theodo the redesignCITY the com our inten AR the TS re ob the tion to munit jectiv museu Roosevel of a wo , P.1 quartery to t uld lik2 > es of wh m at the achieve e to do posed acre of gre pla ns to Park, the mu us expan en spa ne sion. ce for e a as thi eds of the and make su seum Frien a procom re s profit ds of Roose Dan Sli project mo munity are that vel ves for met the cit that manage t Park, the ernme ppen, vice wa y’s presid rd,” said nt relati mu seu Parks De s the park non- thi ent of on nk pa wi m, s tha rtm at th all govthe mu t what with the wi ll co y sol -chair ent and the we’re seu museu the gr m. Blo we alw idifying, in doing now m. “I ou ck ass a ays int is ociation p ended.”way, efforts res, CO that NT

TRINITY COMES INTOWER FOCUS TO

idents as ites estSide paris hioners Spirit well as froinput m

Cell Phone ________________________________

Newsche Crime Wack Voices tch Out & Ab out

2 Cit y 3 Th Arts ings to Do 8

ake

GE 25

WEEK OF FE BRUARY-MAR CH

25-2 2016

to hav e is the sixthin the city. past thre been hit by a person car in the to The ee days alone. least 20New York Tim According cyclists pedestrians es, at have bee and thr accidents ee n kill more tha so far this ed in traffic VOL. 2, yea n ISSUE been inju 900 pedest r, and 08 rians hav It’s demred. e of victim oralizing. If fam s, ilies heighten a devoted mayor and a dent in ed awarenes the proble s can’t ma Amid the ke m, wh at can? New Yor carnage, Immedia kers once agathough, hit, bys tely after Da in rallied. A CASI group tanders ran to uplaise was MANH NO IN managof them, workin try to help. in hopesed to ﬂip the carg together, A < BUSI ATTAN? of NESS, on res its cuing Unfor sid P.16 She wa tunately, it didDauplaise. e, Bellevues pronounced n’t work. The a short wh dead at citizensefforts of our ile later. fell to hearten save a str ow us, despit anger sho recklessn uld e who con ess of a danthe continued a place tinue to makegerous few THE SE of traged our street y. OFsOU COND DISG

Downt owner Our T

ake

SHELTER HOMELES RACE S RS

First, obvious: let’s start wit condition h the city’s hom s inside thi disgrace. eless shelte rs are as A ser one mo ies of terrible (includinre horrible tha crimes, month g the killing n the last of ear lier this daugh a woman has higters in Statenand her two hlighted Island), living con the the ma ditions for shameful cities inrgins of one ofpeople at Blasio, the world. Ma the richest wh yor o has bee Bill de his app from theroach to homn halting in has ﬁnal beginning elessness proble ly begun to of his term, from thim, but years ofaddress the others, s administra neglect, tion and will take But years to correct. recent none of that exc office grandstanding uses the appareof Gov. Andrew by the Cuomo, he can’tntly sees no iss who In the try to belittl ue on which attempt governor’s late the mayor. officials at a hit job, est sta compla then pro ined te Post, abomptly to the to the city, homele ut a gang New York alleged ss shelter, purape at a city VOL. 77 had tim event before blicizing the , ISSUE pol e 04 As it turto investigate ice even ned out, it. never hap the officials pened, infuriaincident media hitwho called it ting city a ” “po aim the mayor ed at em litical . More cha barrassin counter-c rges and g THfolElow the me harges Dicken antimeA , of cou ed. In Tditrse men, wosian livingR OionF, the con in New men D kidsIM s for Yor andEN Here’s k goe s on. in shelters CITY ARTS, leadershi hoping tha t som P.2any eday our as intere p in Alb 0 as it is in sted in helpinwill become back fro agains scoring pol g them t sit itical poi 17 fee m FDR Drour ive byting mayor. nts t 16 to out of and raise

IN CEN KIDS AGTARIAL PARK, WEIGHI NST DOCNAl NG LiDnTtRo UMnP WEEK OF JA NUARY-FEBR UARY 28-3 MOVING FO R A GUIDE TO CAMP

NE W S

BUILDING, WARD ON THE DESPITE C ONCERNTSIN 3 Top Arts 8 Re 5 10 15 al Estate Minutes

Voices Out & Ab out

12 13 16 21

PAGE 9

it on the floo as red d plain, e foot uc building e the heigh as well three. from four t of the storie HAPP s to The ref urbishe would SNOWY LITTLE d sit FLAKES pier pil atop newl bu ild ing y food ma ings and restored Reme board co Transpa officia sio’s fi mber Mayo Jean-G rket overseenntain a expre ls, but rst r Bil eorge linger ov rency concer by sse me W ch Th s Vong hat a winter in his l de Blaef mbers e pr ns develop d concern dif fer redeveloper Howard Hu new years the de oposal also erichten. er ’s vis s that the ence Se ma molit ca lls a coup job? Seaport ment plans ghes’ pieapor t is be ion for th Ho ion for Hit wi kes. le of for the ing e tw use and Lin of the He ceme after th a snow ad o dil k Bu compre al instead relea sed sto tak new ma ing off ice rm shortly of in on adjacen apidated str ild ing, hensive Howa BY DAN t e in pro uc The new would yor fumble in 2014, th IEL FIT front ofto the Tin Bu tures CB1’s rd Hughes posal. d in a wa ZSIMM e co Jan. 19 ly restored me Pie ild joi ONS Re half of ing r 17. to The joi cen Tin presen South nt La nd mamet with his ter define th y that nt La nd tation Building, as by the tly announ Stree un So rk e m. to Comm fi ut fir s lle envisio ced Ho h ma Ce Po an t Seap st d. Stree nter d Ce plans poration ward Hu ned unity Bo storm Official wa tholes we t Seap rks and nter gh pla ns on Jan. 19 or t/Civic nt ’s ard 1. in Howard Hu at the for the Tin es Corfor th to unve Residen severity wernings on the a resolucomm ittee or t/Civic ghes a fou e s passe re mu ts in ne re ce iveSouth Stree Building r-s tory Tin Build il the pr tion in did dd igh d n’t led t supp structur ing bo op prov al d preli mi Seaport plaine vote for de rhoods tha . e at thelandm arke , of Howa osal, but req or t of na co d from being that their strBlasio com-t comm ry ap - Hording to the Seaport. Acd pla n for rd Hughes uested plo un ity a was lat wed -- a eets weren - ing wa rd Hu gh presentation - the Seap redevelopmmaster su ’t es ort , wo to mo tion-trucer proven spicion tha ve the is propos uld inc as a whole ent at ou t Tin Bu , wh lude the This k GPS data. t by sanitailding compa ich new detime aroun ny’s CONTINU d, ED ON ch arge Blasio seem an entirely PAGE 5 was for . Before th ed to be Sanitati e storm in ceful, Ins on bu tea , t no he d architect Dept. build closin of jumpin t panicke d. g g storm ure, is press ing, praised waited subways or the gun an ed into for d service its then ac for the storm schools, he during detectedted decisive to develop the , We do a sense of huly. We even n’t wa mor in The bu cre nt it all dit tha to give BY DEE to life ilding looks him mo . someth n is due, PTI HAJ , all re bu ELA ing can loo angles an like a mode t there about seeme rn d wa thi d nation k bluish or gra edges, with art painting New Yo to bring ou s storm tha s t rkers. t the be in any of the three. yish or wh concrete wa come On Su itish, or settin lls st of functi g, but It would be some that alpine nday, the cit an no on pounds it was cre ne more tha unusual str combiskiers vil lage. Cr y felt like an ate uc of the n rock sal d for --- sto the fairly pro ture snow plied the pa oss-cou nt ry rin t bo sai tha rks g CONTINU c tho t the cit hot ch ots and pa , people y’s De usands of ED ON ololat rkas ord in partm PAGE 29 wi es, th su ered kid ent of of sledd nburned fac s came home es after ding. There a day tent. Qu were pock ets the plo eens reside of disco nand elew trucks by nts felt th at the sch cted offici passed them, als closed ools should there sa id for ha But ov another da ve stayed %TGCVKX just en erall, consid y. G 9TKVK PI r &CPEG snows dured the secering we ha r /QVK torm in d QP 2KE lovely our his ond-biggest VWTG # litt TVU r and his le chapter tory, it was /WUKE a for the subjects r 6JG mayor CVTG r . 8KUWC

NE W S

THE SALT SPOTLIGH SHED’S T MOMENT NE W S

Email Address_________________________________________ Signature______________________________Date _______________

ART

LIVES HERE

Return Completed Form to: Straus News, 20 West Avenue, Chester, NY, 10918 or go to strausnews.com & click on Subscribe

FOR PARK REDESIGN

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

Address _______________________________ Apt. # ________ New York, NY Zip Code _____________

Our T

THE ST

PAGE 5

WESATS serID iesEof for SPIRne ums on IT.w paMh build the fro COris ing inv church’s @W m res

Name ______________________________________________

AT IO N

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

MUSEUM T APS NEIGH BORHOOD GROUPS

Yes! Start my $49 subscription right away! Plus give it to a friend for just $10

CITY WIN FO APPLE R

2 Cit y 3 To Arts Do 24 8 Foo 25 10 15 d & Drink MinuAtes 26 surge s shu rent-stabof ga29 ilized tentoffs, particu larly for ants

NE W S

Clinton

Wests ider

3-9

Newsche Crime Wack Voices tch Out & Ab out

INUED ON

accuse capita d of overleve l. very James Beninati anraging invest lions aftCabrera, we d his partn or re BY DAN Antar er the ﬁrm sued for mier, The Ba IEL FIT es ZSIMM condo uhouse Gr assets was stripp ’s collapse, lONS and ou ed of mo in p’s 90 the lat project on A rep the late-a st of its 0-foo Sutto n Place t the Ba resentative ughts. velopmeest lux ur y res for uhouse fundin nt to suffer idential is a req Group Beninati an ue de g, fro did st for d - tim as inv ingly comm not return estors m a lack of e. wary ent by are inc of fin at the Sto press rea ler an top a surpl end of the cing projec s- Deal ne also spok outlookus in inven market du ts a notic wspaper las e to the Re tor e will ma on whether y and a tep to ap ar tmeable decre t month ab al ase out affluent terialize id lig en News buyer hted ma t sa les, whin high-end down of s the roa the 80 rke ich hig squa re avera d. -st ge nu t data tha hmb April, foot propo or y, 260,0 t apart ments er of days said the an 00 squat d sent the sa l broke las spent in new for-sa neigh and sleepy comparative t perce on the marke developme le VOL. 42 bo nt munit rhood int Sutton Pla ly and the between t increased nts , ISSUE o the y 47 en 09 tions, Board 6 vo a panic. Co ce “E very d of last yea end of 20 man ice 14 on d r. d Council e’s a its ob Kallos Stoler lit jec the bu came out str member Be - $2,50 told TRD. “W tle worri ed ilding 0 ’s heigh ongly again n lende [per square ith anything ,” plicat ions. rs are t and soc st at foo t] ver or But it Stoler ial imtold thi y cautious.” more, opposit wa sn’t jus s ne wspape house ion workingt commun CONTINU r that ED ON Mi aelprincipal Jo against Baity PAGE 5 seph u20ch Sto ne r16 at the ler, a mana Beninati. Jewish invest ging pa son Re wome me n and the wo backg alty Capital, nt firm Ma rtgirl rld by rou lighting s light up candle tares Inv nd also plasaid Beninatidis every the Sha yed bbat Friday 18 min a role. ’s Benin estment Pa eve utes bef < NEW An ati co Friday ore sun ning -foundertners, the ﬁ schoo S, Ma set. l rm P.4 For mo rch 11 – 5:4 boast classmate thad with a pre 1 pm. re info ed $6 rm www.c billion t at one po p habadu ation visit int in ass pperea ets, wa stside.co s m.

WEEK OF MAR CH

AMNH electe d transpo working gro and pa officials, Co up rtation, park reds to focus on of Teddrk advocacy mmunity Board group y Roose esign LIGHTI 7, ers De vel

WestS ideSpirit

NE W S

53 Lud low Str mom, hav eet, Fitzsim e been witwhere a dozen mons hout coo ten king gas ants, includ since las ing Ruby Mak and t Septe mber. Pho her to by Dan iel

Westsider

S, P.4

Concern high en s about a glu t at the d

OurTown EastSide

Eastsider

AN EN D "BR TO WINDO OKEN WS"? NEW

2016

MORE THAN SCREATHE M

@OurT ownNYC

VOL. 2, ISSUE 10

10-16

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

OURTOW O NNY.C OM

Eastsi der

WEEK OF MAR CH

N #TVU

Our T

ake