Our Town Downtown - July 7, 2016

The local paper for Downtown wn SUBWAY PERFORMERS STEP OUT OF THE SHADOWS, CITYARTS, < P. 12

2016

WHEN PRIVATE INTERESTS TAKE OVER PUBLIC SPACE

The author of the Holocaust memoir “Night” continued to speak out, including about genocides in Rwanda, Yugoslavia and Cambodia

BY HILLEL ITALIE

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

7-13 Our Take

ELIE WIESEL REMEMBERED AS ENDURING MORAL BEACON Elie Wiesel was memorialized Sunday at a private service in Manhattan, as family and friends gathered and praised the endurance and eloquence of the Nobel Peace Prize winner and mourned him as one of the last firsthand witnesses to the Nazis’ atrocities.

“This is really the double tragedy of it, not only the loss of someone who was so rare and unusual but the fact that those ranks are thinning out,” Rabbi Perry Berkowitz, president of the American Jewish Heritage Organization and a former assistant to Wiesel, said before the service at Fifth Avenue Synagogue. “At the same time anti-Semitism, Holocaust revisionism keeps rising. The fear is that when there are no more survivors left, will the world learn the lesson because those voices will be silenced.”

Millions first learned about the Holocaust through Wiesel, who began publishing in the 1950s, a time when memories of the Nazis’ atrocities were raw and repressed. He shared the harrowing story of his internment at Auschwitz as a teenager through his classic memoir “Night,” one of the most widely read and discussed books of the 20th century.

The Holocaust happened more than 70 years ago and few authors from

WEEK OF JULY

A DIVE INTO ART HISTORY SUMMER The Carmine Pool is soaked in some unexpectedly big names

BY ISIDRO CAMACHO

The kickoff of the city’s summer pool season last week marked the true start of summer for many New Yorkers.

Residents from downtown and Chelsea flocked to the Carmine Pool, located at the busy intersection of Seventh Avenue and Varick Street.

Hidden between several tall buildings, the pool offers more than simply an oasis to counter the July heat.

Amidst the splashing and diving, swimmers might have neglected to

notice the 170-foot-long Keith Haring mural staring down on them.

Gama Arroya, a teenager from the area, said he had no idea who painted the mural. He thought the pool was most famous because it is one of the few public pools in the five boros that has both a deep end and and a diving board.

The Carmine pool has a rich artistic history. Before Haring was asked to paint the iconic piece, Martin Scorsese used the pool as a backdrop in his 1980 boxing opus “Raging Bull.”

Scorsese, who shot much of his early work in the Village or Lower East Side, captured a remarkably authentic scene of New Yorkers swimming in the summertime. Robert De Niro, the film’s hero, spies his future wife

swimming from the street and beckons her over to talk through gaps in the fence. Though it is supposed to represent a pool in the Bronx, local swimmers could easily recognize their neighborhood spot.

Michael Brandow, who has been going to the Carmine pool for 25 years, recalled the first time he saw this scene in theaters, at Film Forum down the block.

“I had actually just gotten out of the pool and my hair was still wet,” he said. “I remember looking at the screen and thinking that place looked really familiar. Then I recognized it!”

The pool, specifically the fence,

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 Downtowner

OurTownDowntown

O OTDOWNTOWN.COM @OTDowntown

Newscheck Crime Watch Voices Out & About

2 3 8 10

City Arts Restaurants Real Estate 15 Minutes

12 14 16 17

At some point in recent years, we’ve lost control of our parks.

In much of New York City, public parks are an embarrassment: ill-kept, dangerous, barren. But in a few corners of the city, mostly in Manhattan, private owners have turned our parks into glistening corporate jewels: think Bryant Park, the High Line, parts of Central Park (funded lavishly by its own conservancy).

Now, a state appeals court has put a temporary halt on the privatization of our public spaces by ordering that work on Pier 55, a $130 million park funded primarily by media billionaire Barry Diller, must stop pending an environmental review.

The City Club of New York has been arguing from the beginning that the Diller park has been rammed through without proper public input and despite serious environmental concerns.

The legal and environmental issues here are complicated and in dispute, but the principle is not: this land, and particularly this river, belong to the public, and we should all be consulted on what we want it to be.

The foundation bankrolling the park issued a statement attacking the City Club and its “misguided crusade.” The club, said the statement, “is undermining a much-needed effort to create new public parks in New York City.”

We think the opposite is true.

It’s the private park brigade that is ignoring our communities -and treating our public space as yet another part of our city that is theirs to run.

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

25

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

2

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

JULY 7-13,2016

Chapter 19

EVE AND OTHERS

BY ESTHER COHEN

Previously: Alyosha Zim disappeared. One day he just didn’t return to his studio apartment on the Upper West Side. It was the 80’s in New York. People didn’t say the words Real Estate all that often. Some residents of a tenement nearby decided, for who knows what reason, that they’d try to find him. To discover where he went.

Two roommates, Eve and Naomi, took the lead at first. But others joined in.

After Albert ‘s surprising declaration to the group, that he and Alyosha had been sporadic lovers, lovers perhaps being too large a word for what happened between them, the room became a sea of questions.

They were all standing in the super Anibal’s apartment, trying to figure out next steps.

Mrs. Israel, older than all the rest, the building’s oldest tenant, not all that old herself but still, she wore navy in a time when orange and purple were the norm, a woman who actually referred to herself as Mrs. Israel rather than Doris, organized, prim, she spoke first.

“I had a lover once,” she said.

This sentence, had it been uttered by any of the rest of them, would have been far less surprising. Mrs. Israel, eternally neat, organized, a person of lists, was not the type to confess. Even as she spoke to the room, she held onto her clipboard, poised for notation. “Not that it’s relevant to finding Alyosha,” she added.

“Later,” said the taller Richard.

“Why don’t you tell us the story later.

I feel we are on a deadline of sorts.

The longer it takes us to figure out how to find him, the harder it will be.”

“What makes you think that?” said Charles. “Sometimes cases go unresolved for years. And then, a clue surfaces. Often out of nowhere.”

“Or somewhere,” said Pin Ball. “A surprising clue.”

Naomi spoke directly to Mrs. Israel. “Of course I’d like to hear your story,” she said. “If you still want to tell it tomorrow, we can make an appointment before we leave. Now though,” she added, “let’s find Alyosha.”

“I move we adjourn to the Three Brothers coffee shop on the corner,”

HELP US SOLVE THE MYSTERY DEAR READERS of this serial novel: We are asking for your participation. Tell us what you think about where Alyosha might have vanished, and where we should seek out clues. Where

did he go? And why do people disappear in the first place? Do you know anyone who has disappeared or wants to? Tell us. Email us at news@strausnews.com

Mrs. Israel, older than all the rest, the building’s oldest tenant, a woman who actually referred to herself as Mrs. Israel rather than Doris, organized, prim, she spoke first. “I had a lover once,” she said.” said Charles. “I’d like some coffee.”

“Seconded,” yelled the second Richard.

Anibal declined to join them.

By the time they were seated, at the long table in the back at Three Brothers, they were silent, every one of them. Absolutely silent. Until Eve finally spoke.

“I knew a diviner once,” she said.

“She’d point her stick in a variety of directions, to find water. Somehow I think that’s the technique we should use here. Point somewhere, and see what happens.”

“I suppose I’m the only one who knew him,” Albert declared. “So

I’ll be the one who points. But my pointing,” he added, “will be metaphoric. We can interpret the pointing after it’s done.”

He stood up in the diner. Then he lifted up his fork to the ceiling, unfortunate corrugated tiling, and he closed his eyes and started to hum.

He hummed loudly.

No one else said a word. The fork moved wildly As though it were a puck on a Ouijii Board.

Albert’s arm flailed, as though it wasn’t connected, not at all, to the rest of his body.

“That’s just like divining,” said Eve. “I’ve seen it once or twice. It’s amazing.”

“He’s in New York somewhere!!!”

Albert was excited. “I’m sure,” he said.

Tall Richard, a skeptic, said, “you can’t believe the fork knows anything.”

“I do,” said Albert.

“Let’s take a vote,” said Mrs. Israel.

“I’ll record our results.”

Everyone but Richard believed in Albert’s fork.

Esther Cohen posts a poem a day on esthercohen.com

IT’S NEVER TOO EARLY TO INVEST IN A GOOD THING. Introducing Better FuturesTM —a whole new kind of investment with a greater return than money.

When you invest, it helps kids go to college. Because a mind is a terrible thing to waste but a wonderful thing to invest in.TM Invest in Better Futures at UNCF.ORG/INVEST

©2013 UNCF

JULY 7-13,2016

3

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG

GAS LEAK AT MANHATTAN SYNAGOGUE Officials say dozens of people were evacuated from several buildings in New York City due to a gas leak at a synagogue.

Fire officials say people reported smelling gas just after 6 p.m. Thursday inside the Tribeca Synagogue in Lower Manhattan.

Energy and fire officials responded to the scene and evacuated about 50 people from the surrounding buildings around 8:30 p.m.

Workers from Con Edison later found the gas leak in a 6-inch cast iron main on the street and repaired it.

Firefighters reopened the street late Thursday and people have been allowed back into their homes.

The building had been designed in 1967 by architect William Breger.

LOLAPALOOKA An acquaintance didn’t just rip a man off; he bragged about it on Facebook.

the Christian Dior store at 105 Greene St. Working together, they made off with a handbag valued at $3,919.

The two, subsequently identified as Curtis Kelley and Willie Gardner, were caught later that day and found to be in possession of burglar tools, specifically a “booster bag” lined with aluminum foil. They were arrested on grand larceny charges.

BARROOM HAUL

At 11 a.m. on June 20, a 29-year-old man left $2,050 in a briefcase in his vehicle parked at the northwest corner of Cortlandt Street and Broadway, behind the passenger seat where a 28-year-old male acquaintance was sitting. The driver left the vehicle briefly to take care of a customer work order. When he returned, both his acquaintance and the money in the briefcase were gone. The victim told police that his acquaintance had made remarks on Facebook pertaining to the theft. Police are seeking Joshua Riffas, 28, of Brooklyn on charges of grand larceny.

EPREY

PERTH SNATCHING

A North Moore Street resident is still waiting for a car she purchased on eBay. On June 23, a 54-year-old woman attempted to purchase a 2007 Toyota Camry SE from an individual through eBay Motors online. The seller advised the woman to use iTunes gift cards to pay for the car. She complied, purchasing four gift cards, and sent the cards’ numbers to the seller’s email address. She has since to receive the car, while the seller continued to e-mail her requesting that she send him further gift cards. In all, the buyer was out $2,000.

Yet another motorcycle was taken from downtown streets. On June 20, a man from Perth Amboy, N.J., parked his red 2013 Honda CBR600RR in front of 155 Sixth Ave, Checking on it at 11 p.m. that night before going back to work.

The Honda was gone when he went to check on it once again about 12:30 a.m.

The bike is valued at $10,000.

BOOSTERS BAGGED Police nabbed two more SoHo shoplifters. At 4 p.m. on Tuesday, June 21, two men aged 43 and 44 entered

Lay down your purse, and things could turn for the worse! At 10:32 p.m. on June 23, a 27-year-old Hoboken woman left her purse on a chair in Emmett’s on MacDougal Street and went to pay her check at the cashier.

When she came back to her table, her purse was missing. She subsequently checked her card accounts and found that more than $200 had been charged to her Discover card, as well as an unknown amount to her Capital One card. She then canceled all accounts.

A security camera at the bar showed a man taking her purse. The property stolen included $440 in cash, Ray-Ban sunglasses valued at $150, assorted makeup worth $75, a black purse priced at $30, an external charger costing $30, and various credit and debit cards.

“IF ONLY SOMEONE WOULD CLEAN UP THIS PARK.”

BE THE SOMEONE. 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.

Cat New York Cares Volunteer

4

JULY 7-13,2016

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.

212-477-7411

NYPD 1st Precinct

16 Ericsson Place

212-334-0611

FIRE

LIBERTY PARK OPENS DOWNTOWN The 1-acre space features a vertical garden with thousands of plantings

FDNY Engine 15

25 Pitt St.

311

BY VERENA DOBNIK

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

An elevated park that offers a new view to visitors at the World Trade Center opened last week, built atop a security center that screens vehicles and overlooking the memorial to those who died in the Sept.

11 attacks.

The one-acre Liberty Park, a $50 million project, is modeled after Manhattan’s High Line — the abandoned railroad tracks that were transformed into one of the world’s most visited green spaces. The park features the newly planted “Living Wall,” a vertical garden.

“It’s appropriate to have this place for people to recreate, reflect and have lunch,” said Patrick Foye, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey that owns the trade center site.

In addition, he said, New York’s newest park is on top of the security center “that could

ELECTED OFFICIALS Councilmember Margaret Chin

165 Park Row #11

Councilmember Rosie Mendez

237 1st Ave. #504

212-587-3159 212-677-1077

Councilmember Corey Johnson

224 W. 30th St.

212-564-7757

State Senator Daniel Squadron

250 Broadway #2011

212-298-5565

Community Board 1

1 Centre St., Room 2202

212-442-5050

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.

212-312-5110

Mount Sinai-Beth Israel

10 Union Square East

212-844-8400

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.

The Living Wall at Liberty Park is 25 feet high and was built to hold more than 22,000 plants. Photo: Port Authority of New York & New Jersey. have been a very ugly building.” The park runs along the south side of the 16-acre World Trade Center site.

Underneath the park, the Vehicle Security Center screens trucks and other vehicles before they enter subterranean

SIP. CHECK YOUR BALANCE. SIP. PAY ELECTRIC BILL. SIP. GOSSIP ABOUT YOUR FRIENDS.

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

Want an easy way to pay your bill, check your payment history

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.

and send your meter reading to Con Edison? Download our free

Our Town Downtown is published weekly

by Straus Media-Manhattan, LLC. Please send inquiries to 20 West Ave., Chester, NY 10918.

My conEdison app at conEd.com/App.

roads with loading docks crossing the entire trade center. Tour buses will be added sometime in the future.

The park was created by landscape architect Joseph Brown, with its most unusual feature being the Living Wall. The 25-by-336-foot green wall facing Liberty Street is covered with more than 22,000 plants in 826 soil-filled panels — from periwinkle, Japanese spurge and Baltic ivy to goldenstar, coral bells and winter creeper.

The plants are kept watered by irrigation tubes with tiny weep holes.

Last month, a sapling grown from the horse chestnut tree outside Anne Frank’s home in Amsterdam was planted in the park, alongside other trees, shrubs and perennials.

The park surrounds the rising St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church that was destroyed when the twin towers collapsed, pierced by terroristpiloted planes on Sept. 11, 2001.

The church gave up its original site to make way for the security center, and will also serve as a place of bereavement once completed in 2018.

The Santiago Calatravadesigned edifice will glow at night through its white marble exterior, illuminating the park that’s open to the public daily from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.

JULY 7-13,2016

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

Two Samsung Galaxy S7 Smartphones,

ONE GREAT PRICE. When you buy both on AT&T Next®get up to $695 in 30 monthly bill credits.

*Req’s qual. svc on both (min $70/mo.). Credits start in 3 bills. Each priced min. $695. One req’s 30-mo. 0% APR agmt. Req’s well-qual. credit, a new line, & tax due at sale. If svc canceled on 1, that device balance is due.

UP TO $695 CREDIT: Ends 6/30/16. Eligible Devices: New Samsung Galaxy S7, Note5, S6 32 GB (excludes 64 GB), S6 edge, S6 active 32 GB (excludes 64 GB), S7 edge & S7 active only (excludes Certified-Like New/Pre-owned) purch. on installment agmt. Priced up to $915/each (up to $30.50/mo.). Device retail price is divided into monthly installments. Taxes on full retail prices due at sale. Service: Monthly postpaid svc (voice & data) reqd on both (currently min. $70/mo. on Mobile Share Value; existing customers can add to elig. current plans). Bill Credit: Both lines must be on same acct, active & in good standing for 30 days for credits to start. Will get 30 monthly bill credits of up to $23.17 towards installment payments. Credits will be applied towards the lower priced device on a 30-mo. agmt & will not exceed the lower of that device’s retail price or $695. To get all its bill credits, device must remain on its AT&T Next agmt w/qual. svc for 30 months (if cancel svc you will owe remaining installment balance of up to $915). If upgrade or pay up/off agmt early your credits may cease. Return: If return one you are not eligible for offer. Restocking fee up to $35 each. See store for details.

GEN. WIRELESS SVC TERMS: Subj. to Wireless Customer Agmt (att.com/wca). Svc not for resale. Deposit: may apply per line. Activ./upgrade: up to $20/line.

Device Limits: Purch. limits apply. Prices vary by location. Credit approval, taxes, other fees, overage, monthly, other charges, usage, coverage & other restrs per line apply. Pricing, terms, & restr’s subject to change & may be modified or terminated at any time without notice. You get an off-net (roaming) usage allowance for each svc. If you exceed the allowance, your svc(s) may be restricted or terminated. Other restr’s apply & may result in svc termination. © 2016 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T and the Globe logo are registered trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

5

6

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

SANDY-DAMAGED RAIL SYSTEM NEEDS YEARS OF REPAIR Starting in August, weekend PATH service from 33rd Street to Journal Square will cease until December

BY DAVID PORTER

It will be several more years before work to repair and strengthen trans-Hudson River rail systems after Superstorm Sandy, transit officials said last week as they outlined how the final allocation of federal grant money will be spent.

The Department of Transportation announced this week New Jersey Transit and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will receive a total of $403 million for their rail systems damaged by the 2012 storm. The agencies each have received more than $1 billion for repair and resiliency projects following the storm, the state’s worst natural disaster.

It’s the last of four allocations, and it also awarded $432 million to New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority. In all, the Federal Transit Administration has allocated more than

The railyard project will address one of NJ Transit’s major failures during Sandy, when the agency chose to leave rail cars and locomotives in its low-lying Meadows Maintenance Complex. More than 300 suffered damages totaling more than $100 million.”

ELIE WIESEL CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 that time remain. Another Nobel laureate and Holocaust survivor, Hungary’s Imre Kertesz, died earlier this year. Like Wiesel, he was 87.

While Berkowitz and others worry that the Holocaust’s lessons will be forgotten, some note that Wiesel himself worked to make memories endure. Abraham Foxman, former national director of the Anti-Defamation League, said before the service that Wiesel had written dozens of books. Sara Bloomfield, director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., credited Wiesel with making organizations like hers possible. “‘Night’ really put Elie Wiesel’s personal memories into our personal consciousness and it ended up spawning a global remembrance movement that is very vital today,” she told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

“He carried a message universally, he carried the Jewish pain, the message of Jewish tragedy to the world but he took it way beyond,” Foxman said. “He stood up for the people in Rwan-

install permanent seawalls along the Passaic River between Jersey City and Harrison, where temporary barriers now sit. Marino said construction could start in as soon as a year.

NJ Transit will receive $103 million for projects including repairs and improvements to the Hoboken terminal, a new flood-resilient railyard in North Brunswick, a strengthened electrical system and a new drawbridge over the Raritan River.

JULY 7-13,2016 The Hoboken terminal suffered heavy flooding when the Hudson River overflowed its banks and sent water rushing onto underground platforms, inundating electrical systems.

The railyard project will address one of NJ Transit’s major failures during Sandy, when the agency chose to leave rail cars and locomotives in its low-lying Meadows Maintenance Complex.

More than 300 suffered damages totaling more than $100 million.

The October 2012 storm, spawned when Hurricane Sandy merged with two other weather systems, killed people in several states but hit New York and New Jersey the hardest. It devastated the oceanfront coastline and caused catastrophic flooding and tens of billions of dollars in damage.” $10 billion in Sandy emergency relief funds.

At a news conference at Hoboken’s rail terminal, Port Authority officials said they will use their $300 million to address saltwater damage to the PATH rail system tunnels in New Jersey and New York.

Some of that work will be felt soon by riders: In August, PATH service from Journal Square to 33rd Street in Manhattan will be suspended on the weekends into December. PATH Director Mike Marino said it’s the latest step in a lengthy process.

“This is the third year of Sandy for us, and it will take another five to seven years to complete all of the work, with all the damage we had,” he said.

The October 2012 storm, spawned when Hurricane Sandy merged with two other weather systems, killed people in several states but hit New York and New Jersey the hardest. It devastated the oceanfront coastline and caused catastrophic flooding and tens of billions of dollars in damage.

The Port Authority also will use the money to

da, he stood up for the Yugoslavians, he stood up for the Cambodians,” said Foxman, who has known Wiesel for decades.

On Sunday, mourners shared personal memories. Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, remembered visiting Auschwitz with Wiesel in the 1980s and was struck that Wiesel’s response was not one of hate, but of “great sadness.”

“And he said to me what I think was one of the most important statements: ‘The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference, it was indifference that brought anti-Semitism to Germany and it was indifference that brought the Holocaust,’” Lauder explained.

Foxman said that in recent months he and Wiesel would reminisce, in Yiddish, and talk philosophy.

“We talked about forgiveness, we talked about God. He was struggling with it,” Foxman said. “Well now he’s a little closer. Now he can challenge the Almighty much closer and maybe he’ll get some answers, which he asked, but never got the answers to.”

PATH service from 33rd Street to Journal Square will be suspended starting in August to repair damage to the rail line caused by Superstorm Sandy. Photo: 7beachbum, via flickr

CARMINE POOL CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 was again used as a shooting location in 1995 in the cult film “Kids.” Four teens decide to escape a brutally humid evening by climbing over the nearly 20-foot fence and skinny dipping.

While the pools appearances on screen are short and can be easily overlooked, the Keith Haring mural offers visitors a more concrete way of situating the pool in artistic history.

Haring was commissioned to paint the mural in 1987 by Commissioner Henry J. Stern, according to Annelise Ream, the creative director at the Keith Haring Foundation. Haring was assigned to create another mural a year before at a handball court in East Harlem, which famously reads “Crack is Wack”.

Haring, then at the height or his artistic career, prolifically dotted public spaces with his art, but the wall at the Carmine pool was one of his largest works. Stretching nearly the width of a city block, the mural features swatches of aquatic hues and Haring’s signature basic line drawings.

According to archival footage from the Parks Department, it only took Haring 20 minutes to draw

the figures on the wall.

Donald Martinez felt that Haring’s simplistic, now iconic, style was a perfect fit for the pool. “It just seems right for the place,” he said. It’s fun and perfect for summer.”

The mural was restored and formally conserved in 1997 by a collaborative effort between the Keith Haring Foundation and the Parks Department. Though it has faded considerably, it still stands as a testament to the connection between the city and Haring’s international rise as an artist.

Locals enjoy the Carmine pool because of its relaxed environment and its cozy size. Marta Almirall, who has been going to the pool for eight summers, prefers it to other pools around the city because she finds swimmers here to be less aggressive. At max occupancy, the pool can only fit around 150 people.

“They should do work on the locker rooms and shower area,” she added. “They are not very clean. Everything else is great.”

Anticipating a surge of late summer heat, the Parks Department has announced that it will be extending the public pool season until September 11th.

JULY 7-13,2016

7

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

/ 0

4 5

& 8 , /0 $ * 5 -& 4"

See what’s growing in your bread basket Tour food gardens in the scenic Hudson Valley Sunday, July 24th t’s 16 r 0 i 2 d

T O

U

R

(063.&5 )034 % 0&673&4 r -*7& .64*$ r #&&3 8*/& Buy Your Tickets Today kitchengardentours.com 15% OFF WITH CODE: DIRTREADER

RESTAURANT

BIG CITY TASTE IN A COUNTRY ESTATE

8

JULY 7-13,2016

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

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

SEEING STARS IN THE CITY STREET LEVEL Even on a birdwatching level, it’s a treat to spot those faces

BY BILL GUNLOCKE

The youngish afternoon desk guy in my building is an autograph hound.

He’s on the lookout for movie and stage stars. He told me a year ago that someone saw Faye Dunaway in the CVS next door. I told him I saw Hugh Jackman on my jog along the East River. He has photos of himself with Joe Pesci. He lived in LA for awhile. He got a lot of autographs and photos out there.

I’d almost bet the ranch that that was Jessica Lange at the Union Square Barnes and Noble 10 days ago. I know it was Helen Mirren walking in the East Village in early spring. I know it was Cate Blanchett with her kids on 23rd Street.

I see Jimmy Fallon every now and then in Gramercy Park. I had beers on a stool next to his super one night.

He said Cagney used to live in the building. So did Gregory Peck. So did Margaret Hamilton, the witch in “The Wizard of Oz.” He said every room but the bathroom has a fireplace.

Peggy Noonan I saw around 90th and Lexington. Ethan Hawke I saw downtown.

Did seeing Philip Seymour Hoffman there make the one meal I’ve had at Minetta Tavern my favorite out-to-eat night in my 20 years here?

Daniel Day Lewis was sitting at Jack’s on West 10th drinking coffee a couple time I was in there.

Naomi Watts I saw often along Chambers Street with her kids. Unless you knew it was her you wouldn’t know it was her. I saw Jonathan Franzen on Chambers Street one morning.

Uma Thurman. Lou Reed. Around Union Square.

Joan Didion on the Upper East Side.

A small bird of a thing. But I was in love with the California photos of her on her early books. She was prettier than Michelle Philips of The Mamas and the Papas.

My first sighting upon moving here

STRAUS MEDIA your neighborhood news source

20 years ago was Sam Shepard. He was in front of St. Mark’s Bookshop where I saw Susan Sontag and Annie Leibovitz one night.

I saw my favorite writer, the reclusive Philip Roth, sitting on a couch in the Algonquin lobby one Friday afternoon. That was big for me.

The time I saw Derek Jeter on the empty sidewalk he looked like a guy trying to look like Derek Jeter. He had on white sneakers, trim, long-legged, designer blue jeans, a bright white plain T shirt, and a Yankee cap, the brim not rolled a bit. I didn’t say boo to him. Even though he looked to see who was coming his way as he scooted from a car into the side door of a building near my apartment. He looked and

moved like a basketball player.

All this is birdwatching, it’s not stargazing. It’s not an autograph book thing. My older sister used to have an autograph book. She was a stargazer.

She used to write movie stars and get big glossy 8x10 photos in the mail, autographed. For real or by the press secretary, who knows? She did have a pen pal relationship with Sandra Dee for a while.

My brightest star sighting -- and I mean bright -- was in the late ‘70s. I was visiting New York with a friend and we were walking around midtown on a summer Friday night. We were around Rockefeller Center when we saw a few people looking down at something on a lower level. As

Voices The time I saw Derek Jeter on the empty sidewalk he looked like a guy trying to look like Derek Jeter. He had on white sneakers, trim, long-legged, designer blue jeans, a bright white plain T shirt, and a Yankee cap, the brim not rolled a bit. I didn’t say boo to him.

Even though he looked to see who was coming his way as he scooted from a car into the side door of a building near my apartment. He looked and moved like a basketball player.”

we got closer and looked, I could see people all dressed up coming out of some gala event just below us. I forget who all the people were but they were all the Meryl Steeps of the day.

I saw a jock or two and realized it was a banquet before the big Arthur Ashe tennis tournament the next day and, while I’m thinking that, an explosion of white light takes place where the celebrities have been coming from.

It’s dazzling, as bright as the light on a sparkler times ten thousand. Then I see men with camera walking backwards, tens of them, crouched and all shoot shoot shooting at someone with their flashes popping.

Who could it possibly be we’re asking each other as the white light keeps flashing? It was almost frightening, the light and the crush of people. Soon we saw what all the commotion was about. In a wave of otherworldly attention and adoration, out came Jackie Kennedy.

Photo by Jonathan Kos-Read via flickr

Vice President/CFO Otilia Bertolotti Vice President/CRO Vincent A. Gardino advertising@strausnews.com

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

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

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

JULY 7-13,2016

9

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

THE LAST PICTURE SHOW GRAYING NEW YORK

BY MARCIA EPSTEIN

The Upper West Side, above 86th Street, needs a movie theater.

The old Metro Theater on 100th Street showed its last ďŹ lm in 2005. I am forced to travel down to Lincoln Plaza Cinema or the Elinor Bunin theater to catch the latest ďŹ lms Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m interested in because the only other theater within walking distance is on 84th and Broadway and shows shoot-emups and mostly ďŹ lms for the younger generation.

With all the gentriďŹ cation going on up in the 90â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and 100â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in the past few years, a good movie theater isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t one of the happening things. The Metro is an art deco building and has the potential for being refurbished; instead, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sitting there empty. During its 82-year life, it has been an art house cinema, a home to two national movie chains and a pornography theater.

While the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s facade cannot be altered, its interior was gutted years ago. There have been plenty of rumors about whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to happen to it, but none of them include showing ďŹ lms.

What a pity. What a lack of insight into what so many of us would appreciate.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s heartbreaking to see what was once a vital movie house covered with various ads and, slowly falling apart.

Câ&#x20AC;&#x2122;mon everyone, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s do something about this.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s July and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m still paying off my prescription drug deductible. Maybe

by January itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be paid off so I can immediately begin start paying the new one. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just how it goes with regular Medicare, which I do appreciate very much. Though, as Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve said in previous columns, fewer doctors are accepting it. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a crying shame and those doctors ought to be ashamed.

But onward and upward.

The New York Foundation for Senior Citizens (212) 962-7559 has a homesharing program which connects older people in need of housing with someone who has a spare bedroom they wish to rent. I hear that many of these matches work out wonderfully on both ends. Either the host or the guest must be 60 or older to participate in this program. The guest pays less than half the rent and a small part of the utilities. The host gains a companion and help with rent he

You found shoes in the freezer

or she may possibly not be able to afford alone. The guest gains affordable housing and a new friend. A win-win situation.

The Metropolitan New York Coordinating Council on Jewish Poverty (Met Council) is a citywide social service and advocacy organization that provides services to the poor and near-poor of New York City. It has a program called Project Metropair, which helps income-eligible elderly poor and Holocaust survivors ďŹ x broken locks, electrical problems and install safety devices such as window guards and bathtub safety rails. This free home safety and security program uses a mobile repair service for those over 60 who meet the income eligibility requirements of New York Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Community Development Block Grant Program. The goal is to improve security in the home. The Metropair van travels throughout the 5 boroughs on an appointment basis and is fully equipped for almost any security problem. The phone number for the Met Council, located at 120 Broadway, is 212-453-9500. The e-mail is info@ metcouncil.org.

I attended a â&#x20AC;&#x153;dinner in the neighbor-

hoodâ&#x20AC;? event sponsored by Bloomingdale Aging in Place (BAiP), which Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve extolled here before. This allvolunteer organization runs many programs, all free to those in the catchment area of 96th to 110th Street on the Upper West Side. Every few months someone sponsors a lunch or dinner in the neighborhood, and very pleasant evenings are spent getting to know neighbors or re-meeting friends over a glass of wine and a good

meal. BAiP also has many groups and events, all of which can be found on their website. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s well worth a look.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nice to have younger friends and family, but connecting with those in the same stage of life and going through many of the same things is a source of strength and support. Long live all the wonderful organizations in New York that help seniors connect, manage their lives and enjoy what they can to the fullest.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s never too early (or too late) to talk about Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s support.

Call our 24-hour Helpline.

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re here anytime you need to talk.

(646) 744â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2900 Free | ConďŹ dential | Se habla espaĂąol | áĄ&#x2021;â&#x20AC;ŤŮ&#x2021;â&#x20AC;Źä&#x2026;&#x2018;ѣᎽ ɸɝɾ̴:ÂłÄ&#x2022;Ă&#x2020;Ă?žÞãĂ?Ě´ Ä?ÂłĂ?Ä&#x201A;³˾̴ɚÞĂ&#x192;Ě´"Ă&#x2013;ããò̴̴˳̴̴AÂłÄ?Ě´xãòĂ&#x201D;˾̴Ax̴ɜɾɾɜɟ̴̴ "ãòĂ&#x153;³òĂ&#x2013;Ä&#x2013;Ě´8Ă?ĂŁÄ?Ă?Ě´Â&#x153;Ü̴ÞĂ&#x192;³̴ Ă&#x2013;Ä&#x203A;Ă&#x192;ÂłĂ&#x2020;Ă&#x153;³ò˞Ü̴ ÜÜãŠĂ&#x2020;Â&#x153;ĂžĂ&#x2020;ĂŁĂ?˾̴Ax Ě´ Ă&#x192;Â&#x153;ïÞ³ò "Ä&#x201A;Ă?¯³¯̴¨Ä&#x2013;Ě´Â&#x153;̴žòÂ&#x153;Ă?Þ̴½òãĂ&#x153;Ě´ĂžĂ&#x192;³̴AÂłÄ?Ě´xãòĂ&#x201D;Ě´ZĂžÂ&#x153;Þ³̴ ³ïÂ&#x153;òÞĂ&#x153;ÂłĂ?Þ̴ã½̴(ÂłÂ&#x153;Ă&#x2013;ĂžĂ&#x192;

www.caringkindnyc.org

10

JULY 7-13,2016

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

Follow Our Town Downtown on Facebook and Twitter

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

Downtowner

Thu

7

‘SUMMER EVENING IN THE GARDENS’▲ Merchant’s House Museum, 29 East Fourth St. 6:30–8 p.m., $13; $8 for seniors and students; free for members Take a guided tour through the museum’s gardens. merchantshouse.org/

$11 This film by Zachary Treitz shows the lives of two brothers pulled apart during the American Civil War. anthologyfilmarchives.org/

Bring in and take away books, DVDs, CDs, etc. www.nypl.org/

SUMMER STRINGS STUDENT CONCERT

Sun

Providence Playhouse, 133 MacDougal St. 3:30 p.m. Free Directed by Stephanie Baer and Cyrus Beroukhim. events.nyu.edu/

ALL STAR READERS! Seward Park Library, 192 East Broadway 2 p.m., Free A meeting for children ages 5 to 12 to keep up their reading skills even in the summer. Kids can discuss what they’ve been reading, collect prizes and participate in family activities. www.nypl.org/events/

Fri

8

Sat

9

10

WALKING TOUR OF NOHO Merchant’s House Museum, 29 East Fourth St. 12:30–1:30 p.m., $10; free for members Visit iconic landmarks such as Colonnade Row, Astor Place, the Public Theater and the Cooper Union. merchantshouse.org/ calendar/

TEEN CHESS CLUB► Chatham Square Library, 6 Chatham Square 1–3 p.m., Free For ages 5 to 18. This group will instruct those who want to learn chess, those who want to step up their game, and those who simply enjoy playing. All experience levels welcome www.nypl.org/

‘MEN GO TO BATTLE’

BOOK SWAP

Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Ave. 6:45 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. $9-

Hudson Park Library, 66 Leroy St. 11 a.m.–4 p.m. Free

HUDSON RIVER PARK NATURE WALK Christopher Street Fountain, Christopher Street 9–10 a.m., Free A meandering waterfront walk while viewing and learning about the park’s flora and fauna, including some of the 85 different species of birds identified within Park boundaries. www.hudsonriverpark.org/

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

JULY 7-13,2016

7 p.m. Free Part of the NYU Summer International Jazz Festival. events.nyu.edu/

BALLET IN YA▼ McNally Jackson Independent Booksellers, 52 Prince St. 7:30 p.m. Free Hosted by five female YA authors, a panel discussion will be held on the importance of themes portrayed through dance in young adult novels. www.mcnallyjackson.com

Wed

13

A HANDS-ON INTRODUCTION TO SEWING WORKSHOP

Mon

11

‘MAGIC AND LOSS: THE INTERNET AS ART’

1 Centre St., Room 2202A-North 6 p.m.

212-669-7970. www.nyc. gov/html/mancb1/

12

The Half King, 505 West 23rd St. Virginia Heffernan Discusses her new book, on the logic and aesthetics behind the Internet.

212-462-4300. www.

NYTC FEATURING thehalfking.com/heffernan

Tue

DAVE PIETRO AND JONATHAN KATZ

COMMUNITY BOARD 1 Provincetown Playhouse, 133 PLANNING COMMITTEE Macdougal St.

11

MARBLE COLLEGIATE CHURCH Sunday Worship at 11:00am Sunday Worship, led by Dr. Michael Brown, is the heart of the Marble Church community. It is where we all gather to sing, pray, and be changed by an encounter with God. Marble is known throughout the world for the practical, powerful, life-changing messages and where one can hear world class music from our choirs that make every heart sing.

Busy? Live stream Sunday Worship with us at 11:00am at MarbleChurch.org.

WeWo: Wednesday Worship at 6:15pm Marble's weekly Wednesday Worship, lovingly nicknamed WeWo, is a service that blends traditional and contemporary worship styles, taking the best of both, creating a mixture that is informal and reverent, often humorous and always Spirit-filled.

Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place 3:30 p.m. Free This workshop, hosted by Alison Kowalski, showcases the designs of Hedy Strnad and tells the story of her family’s history through her surviving fashion designs. www.mjhnyc.org/stitching/

UN SECRETARY GENERAL CANDIDATES CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Ave. 6:30–8 p.m., Free, reservations Required CUNY is hosting a debate forum with UN Secretary General candidates, moderated

by Barbara Crossette and Thomas G. Weiss. www.gc.cuny.edu/

Summer Spirituality Series This summer come and explore a new or deeper dynamic connection to the arts.

Stimulate creative expression and conversation about a variety of artistic endeavors that inspire and inform the mind, heart, and spirit.

Upcoming Dates: Sunday, July 10 at 10:00am Dr. Kimberleigh Jordan / Dance Sunday, July 17 at 10:00am Russ Lane and Rev. Kirsty DePree / Culinary Sunday, July 24 at 10:00am Jamie Roach / Acting and Drama Sunday, August 7 at 10:00am Judy Tulin and Tom Schneider / Painting Sunday, August 14 at 10:00am Sheril Antonio / Film Sunday, August 21 at 10:00am Chad Tanaka Pack / Patronage and the Arts

Event listings brought to you by Marble Collegiate Church.

1 West 29th Street / New York, New York 10001 212 686 2770 / MarbleChurch.org

Spirituality & the Arts

12

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

JULY 7-13,2016

UNDERGROUND PLAYERS GET A SPOTLIGHT “Downtown Local” brings music to Zuccotti Park

BY ERICA MAGRIN

Experimental cellist Jacob Cohen has played in Tokyo and Beijing, Warsaw and Nicosia. But of late his preferred performance space is a decidedly distinct venue.

“Lately my favorite place to play has been Rikers Island,” Cohen said recently. “It is such a tough atmosphere, but the music breaks through all the negative energy immediately and allows the officers and the inmates to share a common positive experience.

It feels like my music is being appreciated very deeply in that setting. The kids are always ready to collaborate and improvise with lyrics and drum on the tables or garbage cans.”

Cohen, an accomplished musician, started Cellos Without Walls, a program geared to help the incarcerated, particularly younger people behind bars.

Cohen is otherwise a busker, making his living by playing on subway platforms and on the street – nearly anywhere it takes to get his music heard. More recently he played at Zuccotti Park, the so-called privately owned public space that served as a staging area both following the 9/11 attacks and during the Occupy Wall Street protests, at the invitation of Arts Brookfield, the cultural arm of the commercial real estate company that owns the park.

“Music is a universal language that everyone can enjoy,” said Kara Delos Reyes, a spokeswoman with Arts Brookfield, which is bringing a different musical artist to the park each Tuesday through July 26 as part of its Downtown Local series. “The artists of Downtown Local are some of the city’s best underground buskers and performers. We are proud to showcase these fine musicians and others as part of the hundreds of free performing and visual arts events that Arts Brookfield presents year-round.”

Cohen said working with Arts Brookfield “a great experience.”

“They were very professional and

provided a team to setup the speakers and adjust the sound,” he said. “Everything was just smooth.”

During his Zuccotti Park gig, Cohen played what he described as “an hourlong improvised solo cello meditation” for park-goers and passers-by.

“I think free concerts in the parks are one of the best things about the summer,” he said. “I love performing in public because you never know who will stop and listen. I saw a lot of people take a moment out of their routine to stop and enjoy a brief moment of beauty that they did not expect.”

But Cohen has parlayed his musical skills into Cellos Without Walls, his educational music program. The instrumentalist also has lead musical workshops in prisons throughout the Northeast.

“In Rikers Island, I have had jam sessions where correctional officers and inmates were rapping back and forth all laughing, dancing and having a great time together,” said the musician. “I have performed in an orphanage in New Delhi and the kids were so curious and engaged with everything that I was doing and interacting in very fundamental ways that transcend cultural barriers.

Some of my greatest collaborations have been with people that I do not share a common language with. I want to start doing free collaborative music and painting workshops in the parks.”

Downtown Local continues with Roberto Poveda, the self-described “Troubadour of Brooklyn” on July 12.

“At Arts Brookfield, we feel that live music is something that can be experienced independently or collaboratively, whatever the audience chooses,” Delos Reyes said. “Which is why live music is such a heavy part of our programming across the globe, from chamber music to jazz to rock and more. People often experience our live music events collaboratively, whether it’s families or groups of friends or co-workers attending, or two stranger sharing an artist or musical genre they both love

Experimental cellist Jacob Cohen perfoming at Zuccotti Park recently. He is one of several musicians giving Tuesday afternoon performances through July 26. Photo: Erica Magrin

JULY 7-13,2016

13

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

FDR FULLY CLOSED NIGHTS UNTIL JULY 19 A Rockefeller University expansion project shuts the highway on multiple days for the first time in 15 years

thoughtgallery.org NEW YORK CITY

Masters in Modern Art Lecture Series: Picasso

SATURDAY, JULY 9TH, 2PM Mulberry Street Library | 10 Jersey St. | 212-966-3424 | nypl.org Maestro Francesco Santoro, art history scholar and world-renowned visual artist, will present the first of four free public lectures and discussions in Italian with simultaneous English translation.

This week’s covers the immortal Pablo Picasso. (Free)

People Doing Math Live!

BY BEN SCHNEIER

FDR Drive is currently fully closed at night until July 19 for the construction of a new Rockefeller University building.

This is the first time the drive has been completely shuttered for multiple days in 15 years.

The FDR was closed for one night in May for the construction of the 91st Street Marine Transfer Station, according to the Department of Transportation.

Otherwise, “the last time there was a full closure of the FDR Drive was in the weeks after the terror attacks of 9/11/2001,” said Sam Anderson, creator of transit information website nycroads.com. “The FDR Drive was fully reopened

by November 2001.”

The drive will be out of service between 61st and 96th Streets in both directions from 12:30 a.m. to 4:30 a.m. Wednesdays through Fridays, 1 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. on Saturdays, and 2 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. on Sundays.

Additionally, the East River Esplanade will be closed to pedestrians from 63rd Street to 71st Street.

These exceptional closures are due to the expansion of Rockefeller University over the FDR Drive. From skyscrapers to “micro apartments,” New Yorkers are continuously finding ways to fit more and more people into the same space, and Rockefeller University is no different. The biomedical research university, at York Avenue from 62nd Street to 68th Street, broke ground on a unique building straddling the FDR Drive on June 15.

According to the university’s website, “The installations have been carefully planned to take place when currents on the East River are at their calmest and vehicular traffic is at its lightest.”

As much construction as possible was done off-site to limit the number of nightly closures to 19, the university said. The drive will be closed as a 240-foot-tall crane un-

ACTIVITIES FOR THE FERTILE MIND

MONDAY, JULY 11TH, 7:30PM Sheen Center for Thought & Culture | 18 Bleecker St. | 212-925-2812 | sheencenter.org Do the math and you’ll decide to attend this live edition of a podcast celebrating math, art, and everyday life. ($20)

Just Announced | Black Holes & Dark Matter

WEDNESDAY, JULY 13TH, 8PM The Bell House | 149 7th St., Brooklyn | 718-643-6510 | secretscienceclub. blogspot.com The Secret Science Club journeys into the universe with astrophysicist and author Priyamvada Natarajan on breakthroughs in cosmology, from dark matter to gravitational waves. (Free)

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

sign up for the weekly Thought Gallery newsletter at thoughtgallery.org.

The local paper for Downtown

Advertise with Our Town Downtown today!

Call Vincent Gardino at 212-868-0190

A crane unloads a prefabricated section of a research building addition at Rockefeller University over the FDR Drive last month. Photo: Courtesy of Councilman Ben Kallos loads prefabricated, interlocking sections of the building’s framework from barges on the East River before assembling them into place.

The new $500 million research building will be called the Stavros Niarchos Foundation-David Rockefeller River Campus, and is being built using air rights that the university has owned for over 40 years.

The building will add another 2 acres to the 14-acre campus.

The River Campus building is not the first to expand over the FDR — the Hospital for Special Surgery first built over the drive in 1995. However, this project did not require full closures.

Due to the current gaps in service, the Department of Transportation has provided alternate routes on their website — www.nyc.gov/html/ dot/ — with weekly schedule updates.

otdowntown.com

14

JULY 7-13,2016

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS JUN 06- JUN 18, 2016

Nakamura

172 Delancey St

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 http://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/services/restaurant-grades.page

Not Yet Graded (43) Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. Wiping cloths soiled or not stored in sanitizing solution.

HACCP plan not approved or approved HACCP plan not maintained on premises.

Minus Celcius

302 Grand St

A

So Go Cafe

37B Allen Street

A

Le Turtle

177 Chrystie St

A

King Bakery

90 East Broadway

Grade Pending (2)

Finest Dumpling Restaurant

25 B Henry Street

A

Verlaine

110 Rivington Street

A

Parkside Lounge

317 East Houston Street

A

Fat Baby

112 Rivington Street

Grade Pending (36) Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations. Food worker does not use proper utensil to eliminate bare hand contact with food that will not receive adequate additional heat treatment. Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, cross-contaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan. 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.

Subject

188 Suffolk Street

A

Claw Daddy’s

185 Orchard St

A

Domino’s

205 Allen St

A

Rosario’s Pizza

173 Orchard Street

Grade Pending (21) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.

Little Atlas Cafe

Villa Mosconi Restaurant

6 West 4 Street

69 Macdougal Street

Grade Pending (22) 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.

Grade Pending (27) Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Great Jones Juice Bar

29 Great Jones Street A

Vesuvio Bakery

160 Prince Street

A

Emmetts

50 Macdougal St

A

Ramen Lab

70 Kenmare St

A

The Up & Up

116 Macdougal St

A

Peculiar Pub

145 Bleecker Street

A

Cafe Gitane

242 Mott Street

A

The Kati Roll Company

99 Mac Dougal Street Grade Pending (20) 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.

12 Chairs

56 Macdougal Street

Grade Pending (2)

Pegu Club

77 West Houston Street

A

Le Basket

683 Broadway

Grade Pending (25) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, crosscontaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan.

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

Freemans (Freemans Alley) 191 Chrystie Street

A

Spitzer’s Corner

101 Rivington Street

Grade Pending (45) Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations. Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, cross-contaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan. Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or nonfood areas. Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/ sewage-associated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies.

Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.

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

Grade Pending (32) Toxic chemical improperly labeled, stored or used such that food contamination may occur.

Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewageassociated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies.

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.

Elevate Restaurant

93 Bowery

A

Rochelle’s

19 Stanton St

A

La Contenta

102 Norfolk St

A

Happy Ending

302 Broome St

Grade Pending (42) 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. Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.

Mottsu

285 Mott Street

A

Piccola Cucina

196 Spring Street

A

Vitaminchick

196 Spring St

A

Senza Gluten

206 Sullivan St

A

Camaje

85 Macdougal Street

Grade Pending (4)

The Grisly Pear

107 Macdougal Street A

Dante

79-81 Macdougal St

About Coffee

71 Sullivan St

A

Spaghetti Incident

231 Eldridge St

A

The Musket Room

265 Elizabeth St

A

Harper’s Bread House

271 Grand St

A

Jg Mellon

89 Macdougal St

A

Chinatown Chinese Restaurant

250 E Houston St

A

JULY 7-13,2016

SLOW START FOR CUOMO JOBS INITIATIVE Start-Up NY yielded just more than 400 jobs in its first two years.

BY GEORGE M. WALSH

A long-vacant textile mill in a rural upstate New York county was just the kind of place targeted for job growth as part of Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s signature Start-Up NY economic development program.

The aim: Pair promising companies with college campuses to leverage generous tax breaks at specific sites into innovation and career opportunities. Two years on, that former mill in Cobleskill is once again back on the tax rolls and generating jobs in a modest way, but that has nothing to do with the state program. And a review by The Associated Press found little sign of the half-dozen new companies the state announced would grow there and nearby.

The overall progress of StartUp NY has been slow. The annual report for the first year — 2014 — showed only 76 jobs had been created, even as the state spent $53 million to promote the program. The 2015 report released last week showed an additional 332 jobs created last year along with $11.4 million invested by participating companies. That compares with commitments made so far by those companies to create nearly 2,700 jobs and invest $155 million by 2018, the fifth year of the program.

Taken together, the companies that partnered with the State University of New York at Cobleskill committed to creating 315 new jobs and investing nearly $41 million over the first five years of their 10-year agreements and more later.

They promised products as diverse as the alcoholic beverage, mead and bulletproof fabric for the military.

As recently as April 2015, three of those companies were newly announced, with one supposed to join three others going into the former Guilford Mills in the heart of the village southwest of Albany. The mill shutting down in 2001 with the loss of about 500 jobs was a blow to Schoharie County,

15

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

which has an economy largely dependent on agriculture and SUNY Cobleskill.

Schoharie County Treasurer Bill Cherry said he was optimistic about the announcement that six companies had passed the vetting process by state economic development officials and SUNY. And the promise was considerable: — Echelon Industries said it would make ballistic material, initially investing $5.2 million and creating 49 jobs.

— USA Intimates would make clothing, investing $1.9 million and employing 87.

— Sakat Consulting promised $10 million and 102 jobs at its telemarketing business.

— Eco Convergence, a hydroponics company, planned to spend $19 million and create 52 jobs.

— Blenheim Pharmacal, an existing company, would expand its pharmaceutical packaging business by 18 jobs and invest $4.5 million.

— Royal Meadery, the enterprise of a SUNY Cobleskill graduate and beekeeper, planned to invest $225,000 in space near the campus and create seven jobs.

Eastern Forest Products, said space has been leased so far to several small businesses and his company is using some for storage. He said the property retains the Start-Up designation, but there are no current plans for tenants under the program.

Jason Evans, a SUNY Cobleskill business professor who oversees the school’s role in Start-Up NY, said Wednesday that Echelon and Eco Convergence have pulled their applications and it’s been several months since he heard from Sakat and USA Intimates, so he doesn’t know their plans.

Blenheim Pharmacal could still expand, he said, but the space they were looking at is no longer available. A message left for the president of the company wasn’t returned.

As for Royal Meadery, owner Gregory Wilhelm said he doesn’t expect to meet an upcoming deadline for hiring his first employee.

“It’s a slow go,” he said, noting one problem is having to burn through his own money because the benefits of Start-Up NY are tied to breaks on business and income taxes. “We get our benefits at the end.”

The annual report for the first year — 2014 — showed only 76 jobs had been created, even as the state spent $53 million to promote the program.

Cherry said much of the local plan hinged on selling the 468,000-square-foot mill, which was owned by the county for unpaid taxes, to a company that planned to lease space to companies in roughly 125,000-square-feet that won designation as a Start-Up site.

When that deal broke down, the county instead sold to Mill Services Inc., a subsidiary of New Hampshire-based Eastern Forest Products that finishes wood products for a variety of customers at a nearby site in Cobleskill. The company paid cash for the property and didn’t take any tax breaks, Cherry said. Dan Holt, president of

At the opening of Royal Meadery last June, Start-Up NY executive vice president Leslie Whatley defended the slow start documented in the first annual report.

When people say you go from nothing to gazillions overnight, I don’t know what to say, because that’s not how the real world works,” Whatley said.

“The first year was a growing year, you know, with a couple growing pains, but those are always good because you tweak and adjust.”

Whatley said early last month she’s leaving the job to return to the private sector.

DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING YOU’D LIKE US TO LOOK INTO? DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING YOU’D LIKE US TO LOOK INTO? Email us at NEWS@STRAUSNEWS.COM

Your neighborhood news source

otdowntown.com

ss e h c t u D This could be your day in...

velt D. Roose Franklin al Library ti Presiden eum and Mus

Walkway Over the Hudson

Dutchess County offers 800 square miles of breathtaking eathtaking vistas; fascinating historic and cultural sites; family-friendly amily-friendly ac activities; artisanal food and wine offerings; ngs; and colorful fairs and festivals.

Take a short drive, and take advantage of what’s nearby. Experience the Hudson Valley that National Geographic, Fodor’s Travel, and Lonely Planet have all recognized as one of the world’s top travel destinations.

About an hour from NYC by car, bus or train.

Fireball Run is coming!

º¿´Å½Ê ÆÅ´¹¶ dutchesstourism.com

16

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

JULY 7-13,2016

JULY 7-13,2016

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

WHY THERE AREN’T MORE HAMILTONS ARTS When it comes to the arts, the Revolution gets a bum rap

BY HILLEL ITALIE

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and 11 Tony Awards, “Hamilton” is a cultural phenomenon that stands as the most celebrated work of art ever inspired by the American Revolution.

The competition is remarkably thin.

While the Civil War, World War II and the Vietnam War have inspired acclaimed movies, plays, poems and novels, from Stephen Crane’s “The Red Badge of Courage” to Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan,” notable works about the American Revolution are rare outside of history books.

At 240 years since the country’s birth, the tiny pantheon includes the musical “1776,” the paintings of Gilbert Stuart and Emanuel Leutze, the poems “Paul Revere’s Ride” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and “Concord Hymn” by Ralph Waldo Emerson, and the HBO adaptation of David McCullough’s “John Adams” that starred Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney.

“The founding era exists on the other side of a cultural and even sartorial divide,” says historian Ron Chernow, whose biography of Alexander Hamilton is the basis for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hip-hop musical. “We know the founders only through paintings and engravings, which seems to distance them from us.”

“The neglect has been quite shameful,” Chernow added, “at least until Lin-Manuel Miranda came along.”

The deficit of Revolutionary War art began even as the battle for independence was being fought. The U.S. had no literary scene of note at the time of its founding and no distinctively American literary culture until well into the 19th century. While other wars produced memorable firsthand accounts, whether Norman Mailer’s World War II novel, “The Naked and the Dead,” or Iraq War veteran Phil Klay’s prize-winning story collection “Redeployment,” the vast majority of works about the American Revolution are based on archival material.

Filmmakers have almost entirely bypassed the Revolution. There have been no major productions about the Declaration of Independence, the drafting of the Constitution, George Washington’s crossing of the Delaware River or the dire winter in Valley Forge. No actor has given a performance as Washington, Thomas Jefferson or Benjamin Franklin as indelible

as Daniel Day-Lewis’ starring role in Spielberg’s “Lincoln.”

“The Founding Fathers are sacred, near-mythical creatures; one portrays them at one’s peril. Moses might be easier,” says historian Stacy Schiff, whose book on Franklin, “A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America,” came out in 2005.

The ever-popular Franklin and the

17

would merrily wink at us through his newfangled bifocals.”

The few movies set in the Revolutionary era include the 1995 Merchant Ivory production “Jefferson in Paris,” a drama starring Nick Nolte that had mixed reviews and flopped at the box office, and “The Patriot,” directed by Roland Emmerich and featuring Mel Gibson as an American who leads a militia after his home and family are brutalized by the British. The film received Oscar nominations in 2001 for music, sound and cinematography, but it was widely criticized for inaccuracies, with historian David Hackett Fisher writing that “The Patriot” is to history “as Godzilla was to biology.”

Hollywood has so resisted stories of early American history that Emmerich acknowledges that if his current

mon, if not more acclaimed. Gore Vidal’s scandalous “Burr,” about Aaron Burr, who killed Hamilton in a duel, and Howard Fast’s lively “Citizen Tom Paine” were best-sellers in their time, but they don’t match the stature of Walt Whitman’s Civil War poems or Ernest Hemingway’s World War I novel “A Farewell to Arms.” Vidal biographer Jay Parini, who believes “Burr” will continue to engage readers, finds it “sad that the best novels of the American Revolution were written so long ago.” He praised a 1940 novel

by Kenneth Roberts, “Oliver Wiswell,” and Fast’s “Citizen Tom Paine,” which came out in 1943.

“These two books have a lingering popularity among avid readers, but they have mostly fallen out of sight,” Parini said.

Her Father,” coming out in September, centers on Jefferson and daughter Martha Jefferson Randolph, who despises slavery but knows the family home depends on it.

“I just wanted to jump down into her world and get inside her head,” says Gunning, whose previous books include “Benjamin Franklin’s Bastard,” a 2014 novel about the son Franklin had out of wedlock.

Hamilton will be the subject of a novel due in August, Elizabeth Cobbs’ “The Hamilton Affair,” the story of his marriage to Elizabeth Schuyler. Cobbs, whose previous books include the Civil War novel “Broken Promises” and a series of textbooks on American history, says she began the Hamilton novel a few years ago and was anxious to create an engaging story about the Revolutionary

movie, the sci-fi spectacular “Independence Day: Resurgence,” was actually set in 1776, it’s unlikely the film would have been made. Emmerich says that even while making “The Patriot,” he was aware that other parts of American history were more popular.

“I was surprised that even the crew members seemed to have no idea what that time period was about. They thought we were going to make a Civil War movie,” he says.

Historical novels are far more com-

Several novelists have taken on the story of Thomas Jefferson and the slave with whom he conceived children, Sally Hemings. Parini enjoyed a recent novel, “Thomas Jefferson Dreams of Sally Hemings,” by Stephen O’Connor. In 1979, Barbara Chase-Riboud’s best-selling “Sally Hemings” infuriated historians and Jefferson partisans with the then-unproven contention that he had physical relations with the slave. Sally Cabot Gunning’s “Monticello: A Daughter and

era, “not ever having read one I liked.”

“They all seemed so stilted, or perhaps just dated. Take a peek at Irving Stone’s clunker on Abigail and John Adams, `Those Who Love.’ I challenge you to stay awake past page 20,” she told the AP, adding that she found Hamilton a far more positive figure than she had first believed.

“And then I met Eliza, who touched my heart. I felt they had both gotten a bum rap, long before I knew ... (Hamilton) might be turned into a rapper.”

Photo courtesy the Public Theater traitorous Benedict Arnold have been the subjects of TV miniseries, but not big-screen biographies. Walter Isaacson’s “Benjamin Franklin,” published in 2003, is the basis for an upcoming documentary by Ken Burns.

“I prefer Burns to a feature film,” Isaacson told The Associated Press, saying he thought a documentary would be more effective. “... That said, if someone wants to make a feature film on the delightful Ben Franklin, I am happy to help, and I’m sure he

18

JULY 7-13,2016

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

2

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 Dr. David Thomas

CELEBR BEST OF ATTHING THE EAST SIDE E UPPER 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

12

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

JULY 7-13,2016

19

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

CLASSIFIEDS PHOTOGRAPHY

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.

MASSAGE

MERCHANDISE FOR SALE

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

Antique, Flea & Farmers Market SINCE 1979

CARS & TRUCKS & RVâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S

East 67th Street Market

REAL ESTATE - SALE COUNSELING

(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

Medical and Office Cleaning Company Looking to Buy

EMPLOYMENT

HEALTH SERVICES SERVICES OFFERED

SMALL TO MEDIUM SIZED CLEANING COMPANIES FROM 1 TO 100 ACCOUNTS

Goldberg PO Box 2962 Church St Station 10008

EARLY RETURNS ARE PROMISING.

Introducing Better FuturesTM â&#x20AC;&#x201D;a whole new kind of investment with a greater return than money. When you invest, it helps kids go to college. Because a mind is a terrible thing to waste but a wonderful thing to invest in.TM Š2013 UNCF

HOME IMPROVEMENTS VACATIONS LEGAL AND PROFESSIONAL

WHO HELPS A KID BE THE FIRST IN HER FAMILY TO GO TO COLLEGE.

newyorkcares.org

Call Barry Lewis today at:

212-868-0190

Antiques Wanted TOP PRICES PAID Chinese, Modern Custom Jewelry Paintings, Silver, Etc. Entire Estates Purchased

800.530.0006

462 Broadway MFG No Retail/Food

WANTED TO BUY MASSAGE

Quick | Easy | Economical

SOHO LT MFG

Invest in Better Futures at UNCF.ORG/INVEST

BE THE SOMEONE

NEED TO RUN A LEGAL NOTICE?

+/- 9,000 SF Ground Floor - $90 psf +/- 16,000 SF Cellar - $75 psf Divisible Call David @ Meringoff Properties 212-645-7575

20

JULY 7-13,2016

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

Community Forum How to Protect Yourself and Family Members Against Scams and Fraud

Come hear from law enforcement officials, financial advisers and neighborhood experts about how to safeguard your financial future. Learn to recognize the latest scams and find out what you can do to protect yourself and family members.

Get unbiased financial information and tools for helping you to reach your financial goals.

Hear what local resources are available to answer your questions.

Monday July 25 6-8pm John Jay School of Criminal Justice New Building 524 West 59th St. (between 10th & 11th) This event is free but space is limited. RSVP today at RSVP@strausnews.com. Seating is ďŹ rst come ďŹ rst served.

The local paper for the Upper East Side

The local paper for the Upper West Side

The local paper for Downtown

The local paper for Chelsea