Our Town Downtown - July 28, 2016

The local paper for Downtown wn THE UNIQUE LENS OF DIANE ARBUS, CITYARTS,

WEEK OF JULY-AUGUST

28-3

< P. 12

OPEN PUBLIC COMMENT URGED AT BCPA State Sen. Squadron urges Battery Park officials to open meeting floor to residents

WHERE ART AND POLITICS MEET NEWS The first artist-run super PAC launches in Chelsea

BY SILAS WHITE

BY ISIDRO CAMACHO

State Senator Daniel Squadron has called on the Battery Park City Authority to allow for public comment at their meetings, reanimating a long controversial topic for both residents and the Authority.

The current system allows for residents to submit written comments and permits elected officials to speak on their behalf.

Residents can also submit comments up to 24 hours following a meeting for inclusion in that meeting’s minutes.

Squadron, who expressed his views during an address to the board earlier this month, called this system “woefully inadequate,” and urged the board to allow community members to share their perspectives directly.

Squadron called attention to the fact that the majority of the board do not reside in Battery Park City, and that for this reason, “it is especially important that local residents be allowed to share their local perspective with the Board at these meetings.”

He went on to list a sample of complaints the board might hear if they allowed for community comment, including concerns about transparency and the need for fair housing. Squadron also listed 22 government organization that allow for direct public comment and benefit as a result.

“The operations of these organizations are not diminished by greater public participation; they are enhanced. I strongly urge the Board to follow these examples, reconsider its previous decision, and allow the public the opportunity to directly address the board at Authority meetings,”

The presidential election has made its way into the Manhattan art gallery scene.

For Freedoms, believed to be the first artist-run super PAC, was born to counter other super PACs funded by large corporations and national organizations. The group is the brainchild of six artists: co-founders Hank Willis Thomas and Eric Grottesman, Wyatt Gallery, Joeonna Bellorado-Samuels, Michelle Woo, and Albert James Ignacio. More than 50 major artists have affiliated themselves with the organization.

The name For Freedoms come from Four Freedoms, a widely reproduced series painted by Normam Rockwell in 1941 that has served as the inspiration for the artists behind the PAC, reminding them that art and politics can work in tandem to spark social change.

The group is currently showing exhibitions at two Jack Shainman Galleries, one on 20th Street and one on 24th Street. The 20th Street gallery focuses on the larger themes of war and race. In the far room, gallery goers are drawn to an intricate tapestry made by Jim Ricks. The rug features a Google earth image of Osama Bin Laden’s compound, complete with a large Made in U.S.A manufacturing tag on the rug’s edge. The gallery also displays Rockwell’s 1964 “The Problem We All Live With.” The painting depicts an account of racial integra-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

Image courtesy the Jack Shainman Gallery PAC’s guiding statement greets visitors: “Our medium for this project is American democracy, and our mission is to support the effort to reshape it into a more transparent and representative form.”

The 24th Street space, which also serves as For Freedoms headquar-

tion in New Orleans. A small black girl walks calmly amidst racial slurs and hostility. On the adjacent wall sits Jackie Nickerson’s towering photo “Flag,” which shows an African-American hidden behind a burning confederate flag.

At the 20th Street gallery, the

Downtowner

OurTownDowntown

O OTDOWNTOWN.COM @OTDowntown

2016

Newscheck Crime Watch Voices Out & About

2 3 8 10

City Arts Restaurants Business 15 Minutes

12 15 16 21

WEEK OF APRIL

SPRING ARTS PREVIEW < CITYARTS, P.12

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

BY RICHARD KHAVKINE

is the common Arbitration Man their jurist. least folks’ hero. Or at Man has For 30 years, Arbitration court office of the civil few sat in a satellite Centre St. every building at 111 New Yorkers’ weeks and absorbed dry cleaning, burned lost accountings of fender benders, lousy paint jobs, and the like. And security deposits then he’s decided. Arbitration Man, About a year ago, so to not afwho requested anonymity started docuhe fect future proceedings, two dozen of what menting about compelling cases considers his most blog. in an eponymous about it because “I decided to write the stories but in a I was interested about it not from wanted to write from view but rather lawyer’s point of said Arbitration view,” of a lay point lawyer since 1961.

Man, a practicing what’s at issue He first writes about post, renders and then, in a separatehow he arrived his decision, detailing blog the to Visitors at his conclusion. their opinions. often weigh in with get a rap going. I to “I really want whether they unreally want to know and why I did it,” I did derstood what don’t know how to he said. “Most people ... I’d like my cases the judge thinks. and also my trereflect my personalitythe law.” for mendous respect 80, went into indiMan, Arbitration suc in 1985, settling vidual practice

9-16

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

2015

In Brief MORE HELP FOR SMALL BUSINESS

The effort to help small seems to businesses in the city be gathering steam.

Two city councilmembers, Robert Margaret Chin and Cornegy, have introduced create legislation that wouldSmall a new “Office of the within Business Advocate” of Small the city’s Department Business Services.

Chin The new post, which have up told us she’d like to would and running this year, for serve as an ombudsman city small businesses within them clear government, helping to get through the bureaucracy things done.

Perhaps even more also importantly, the ombudsman and number will tally the type small business of complaints by taken in owners, the actions policy response, and somefor ways to recommendations If done well, begin to fix things. report would the ombudsman’s give us the first quantitative with taste of what’s wrong the city, an small businesses in towards important first step fixing the problem. of for deTo really make a difference, is a mere formality will have to the work process looking to complete their advocate are the chances course, velopers precinct, but rising rents, -- thanks to a find a way to tackle business’ is being done legally of after-hours projects quickly. their own hours,” which remain many While Chin “They pick out boom in the number throughout who lives on most vexing problem. said Mildred Angelo,of the Ruppert construction permits gauge what Buildings one said it’s too early tocould have the 19th floor in The Department of the city. number three years, the Houses on 92nd Street between role the advocate She Over the past on the is handing out a record work perThird avenues. permits, there, more information of Second and an ongoing all-hours number of after-hours bad thing. of after-hours work the city’s Dept. problem can’t be a said there’s with the mits granted by nearby where according to new data jumped 30 percent, This step, combinedBorough construction project noise Buildings has data provided in workers constantly make efforts by Manhattan to mediate

BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS according to DOB of Informacement from trucks.

President Gale Brewer offer response to a Freedom classifies transferring they want. They knows the the rent renewal process, request. The city They 6 “They do whatever signs Every New Yorker clang, tion Act go as they please. work between some early, tangible small any construction on the weekend, can come and sound: the metal-on-metal or the piercing of progress. For many have no respect.” p.m. and 7 a.m., can’t come of these that the hollow boom, issuance reverse. owners, in business moving The increased beeps of a truck has generto a correspond and you as after-hours. soon enough. variances has led at the alarm clock The surge in permits

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

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

n OurTownDowntow

COM

Newscheck Crime Watch Voices

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

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

12 13 14 18

CONTINUED ON PAGE

25

ters, offers a different political environment. Bustling with visitors and artists working on making posters and material for the PAC, the gallery feels like the inside of a grassroots movement. Pieces of art

CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

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

JULY 28-AUGUST 3,2016

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

Chapter 22

EVE AND OTHERS

BY ESTHER COHEN

Previously: It was once the 1980s in New York City. Life was crazier.

A man disappeared and a group of people in a nearby building decided they’d try to find him. Roommates held a few potlucks to recruit a posse. A group quickly formed.

Maybe they’d find him maybe they wouldn’t. Sitting around was a central activity for Naomi, Emily, and Charles. They talked and talked. Although he was agoraphobic, Charles was a particularly able talker. Naomi and Eve did OK themselves.

“Did I ever tell you about my Aunt Pearl’s love affair with Jose Feliciano,” he’d begin.

There they were, sitting around

Eve, dressed in turquoise for the day, Howard Johnson turquoise, positioned herself on the floor, cross-legged.

She hoped she looked enlightened. “We are spinning our wheels,” she said.” their living room, just sitting. Many days felt like Saturdays. Because of the piecemeal ways they earned their living, because they were young with responsibilities only for themselves, because the life they each envisioned, separately and together, was one they didn’t yet know. All they knew for sure is that it would not be ordinary, would not be predictable, would not even be familiar. That is, they would not live their parents’ lives. They changed the room often, as though it were a stage set, moving velvet Goodwill couch, deep purple, to all four walls, to the room’s center, in a corner, askew. What they wanted, each of them, was not to be fixed.

Eve, dressed in turquoise for the day, Howard Johnson turquoise, positioned herself on the floor, cross-legged. She hoped she looked enlightened. “We are spinning our wheels,” she said. “Of course I want to hear the story, but we don’t have forever. Let’s talk about Alyosha first. Time is running out. At this point, what do you both think we should do? We have help, of course.

But the direction, I think, is up to us. How will we ever find him? This is a big city. Finding someone isn’t easy.”

Naomi, a painter in her bones, the sort of person who understood life by the many ways life looked, more with colors than with a vision quest,

Naomi, all in yellow, paused a minute or two. She knew that Charles and Eve both waited for her answer. And then, she closed her eyes. She kept them closed for two whole minutes. “I saw his shape, his essence,” she said. “Albert was right with his divining fork. He is absolutely in range. Nearby even.

He’s within our reach,” she said.

She spoke with uncharacteristic certainty, as though there should be no possible doubt. “I know it for sure,” she said. “Even though I have never seen Alyosha Zim,” she said, “which occurs to me just now that we don’t have his picture. Why didn’t we ask? We need his picture to actually find him. I’ll bet Albert has

one, and if he doesn’t, he can tell us what he looked like. Albert and Anibal have both seen him more than once. What a funny thing we have all overlooked,” she said.

“All we know is that he’s young and thin,” said Charles.

“And handsome,” Eve added.

“So the next step is his picture,” Naomi declared. “Or a reasonable physical description. Thin and handsome isn’t enough to go on. Now tell us about Aunt Pearl and Jose Feliciano,” she added.

Charles smiled at them both, eager to begin.

Esther Cohen posts a poem a day at esthercohen.com.

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

“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

JULY 28-AUGUST 3,2016

3

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG

JAIL UNION HEAD PLEADS NOT GUILTY The former head of New York City’s jail guard union has pleaded not guilty in his bribery case.

Norman Seabrook entered the plea in his federal indictment in Manhattan.

He’s been charged with funneling $20 million in union funds to a hedge fund through a middleman in exchange for a $60,000 kickback. He told reporters outside court Friday that he expects to be vindicated.

Seabrook was removed as president of the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association following his arrest last month.

Overlapping federal corruption probes have also resulted in bribery charges against New York Police Department officers and implicated businessmen with ties to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s election campaign.

The Democratic mayor has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

STRADA NADA Ducati seems to be the number 1 motorcycle marque on thieves’ hit list this summer. At 9:30 a.m. on July 11, a 41-year-old man parked his white 2015 Ducati Multistrada at the northeast corner of Vandam Street and Sixth Avenue. Whe he returned at 5 p.m., his Italian stallion was no longer there.

A search of the neighborhood turned up nothing. The Ducati is valued at $24,000.

CONFRONTED AND CONDEMNED A purse thief got caught in the act.

At 12:30 p.m. on July 14, a 37-year-old woman put her bag on the back of her chair in the El Vez Mexican restaurant at 259 Vesey Street. A woman sitting across from the bag owner saw a man put his jacket over the woman’s bag and lift it off the chair. Both women confronted the thief as he was attempting to leave the restaurant.

They were able to retrieve the bag.

The man, subsequently identified as Mauricio Dominquez, 64, was arrested and charged with grand larceny.

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

Year to Date

2016 2015

% Change

2016

2015

% Change

Murder

0

0

n/a

0

0

n/a

Rape

1

0

n/a

8

3

166.7

GONE SOUTH

Robbery

0

0

n/a

33

30

10.0

Unfortunately, it may be pushing your luck to keep a bike parked and unattended on a New York street for several days. At 2:50 p.m. on July 13, a 25-year-old Brooklyn man parked his Meco bike at a rack at the Staten Island ferry terminal in front of 4 South Street.

He next checked on his bike when he was aboard the ferry at 2:42 p.m. on July 15. Then when he came to pick up the bike early the next morning, it was gone. The bicycle is valued at $1,250.

Felony Assault

1

0

n/a

41

43

-4.7

Burglary

2

7

-71.4

71

76

-6.6

Grand Larceny

18

28

-35.7

572

541

5.7

Grand Larceny Auto

2

1

100.0

33

11

200.0

Tony Webster, via flickr

3 Spruce Street. When she returned at 5 p.m. on July 15, the bike and lock were missing, and a scaffolding bar had been removed as well. A search of the area proved fruitless. The stolen road bicycle is valued at $1,300.

SHE FELT THE PAIN Thieves removed a portion of scaffolding to steal a locked bicycle, police said. At 7 a.m. on July 14, a 59-year-old woman secured her Felt bike with a lock to scaffolding opposite

YOU THINK SOMETHING MAY BE WRONG. THE ANSWER IS NOT STARING YOU IN THE FACE. Avoiding eye contact is one early sign of autism.

Learn the others today at autismspeaks.org/signs.

Early diagnosis can make a lifetime of difference.

SWORD PREY An office burglar could not resist removing a decorative sword as well as three computers. Sometime between

4 p.m. on July 10 and the following morning at 8 a.m., while the business was closed, someone entered the offices of Cromex Inc. at 40 Exchange Place and took two Hewlett-Packard laptops, a Toshiba Satellite laptop and a decorative Katana sword. The thief apparently entered through an unlocked window from the fire escape.

The business subsequently canceled a stolen paycheck. The business put a value of $1,600 on the items.

4

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

JULY 28-AUGUST 3,2016

Useful Contacts POLICE NYPD 7th Precinct

19 ½ Pitt St.

212-477-7311

NYPD 6th Precinct

233 W. 10th St.

212-741-4811

NYPD 10th Precinct

230 W. 20th St.

212-741-8211

NYPD 13th Precinct

230 E. 21st St.

NYPD 1st Precinct

16 Ericsson Place

212-477-7411 212-334-0611

FIRE FDNY Engine 15

25 Pitt St.

311

FDNY Engine 24/Ladder 5

227 6th Ave.

311

FDNY Engine 28 Ladder 11

222 E. 2nd St.

311

FDNY Engine 4/Ladder 15

42 South St.

311

ELECTED OFFICIALS Councilmember Margaret Chin

165 Park Row #11

Councilmember Rosie Mendez

237 1st Ave. #504

212-587-3159 212-677-1077

Councilmember Corey Johnson

224 W. 30th St.

212-564-7757

State Senator Daniel Squadron

250 Broadway #2011

212-298-5565

Community Board 1

1 Centre St., Room 2202

212-669-7970

Community Board 2

3 Washington Square Village

212-979-2272

Community Board 3

59 E. 4th St.

212-533-5300

Community Board 4

330 W. 42nd St.

212-736-4536

Hudson Park

66 Leroy St.

212-243-6876

Ottendorfer

135 2nd Ave.

212-674-0947

Elmer Holmes Bobst

70 Washington Square

212-998-2500

COMMUNITY BOARDS

LIBRARIES

HOSPITALS New York-Presbyterian

170 William St.

Mount Sinai-Beth Israel

10 Union Square East

212-844-8400

212-312-5110

CON EDISON

4 Irving Place

212-460-4600

TIME WARNER

46 East 23rd

813-964-3839

US Post Office

201 Varick St.

212-645-0327

US Post Office

128 East Broadway

212-267-1543

US Post Office

93 4th Ave.

212-254-1390

POST OFFICES

HOW TO REACH US:

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:

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

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

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

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

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

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

All classified ads are payable in advance.

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

CALENDAR ITEMS:

ABOUT US

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

Our Town Downtown is published weekly

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

The Third Tuesday Gay Men’s Book Club meets at Shakespeare & Co. on Lexington Avenue. The club was founded by author and teacher Stanley Ely, second from left, back row.

BOOKING COLLEGIALITY Upper East Side gay men’s bookclub started by author who was initially skeptical about a similar endeavor

BY MICKEY KRAMER

When Stanley Ely first came across a Meetup group for a monthly book club geared to gay men, he thought, “That would never fly.”

Five years later, that downtown club is thriving. Ely was “proven wrong,” he said, so much so that its success inspired him to start his own book discussion group, the Third Tuesday Gay Men’s Book Club, which meets at Shakespeare & Co. on Lexington Avenue, near 68th Street.

“The quality and intelligence of the men has been remarkable,” said Ely, who is in his 80s. He added that it’s been gratifying to “have found a particular kind of collegiality in a men’s book group.”

The subject of the group’s most recent meeting, its third, on July 19, was Augustin Burroughs’ coming-of-age memoir, “Running with Scissors.”

That evening, 10 men sat in chairs ar-

rayed in a half-circle in the bookshop’s downstairs space, each taking turns to discuss Burroughs’ 2002 bestseller. The majority gave the book a thumb’s down.

Ed Terhume, though, liked it. “I had a fun time reading it,” he said.

Terhune has attended the downtown book club for about a year, and plans to continue to participate in both groups.

The new club, he said, is “more intimate, with more of an opportunity to speak.”

The downtown club meets on the first Tuesday of each month at the Jefferson Market Library, on Sixth Avenue and 10th Street. That club’s founder, Jon Tomlinson, was delighted to learn of Ely’s Upper East Side effort.

“Ours is so popular that anywhere from 40-75 people attend,” Tomlinson, 51, said.

“Now, there’s another option for a smaller group.”

“In fact, I’d love it if there were off-shoots in every neighborhood ... the more people reading, the better.”

Cesar Ramirez, who moved to Brooklyn from Mexico about a year ago, has

attended all three of the Third Tuesday meetings. “One of the great things about being in a group like this is you get to learn things you may have missed and see other points of view,” Ramirez, 27, said of the discussions. While Spanish is Ramirez’ first language, he’s taken to reading mainly English-language books. In June, he led the discussion of Christopher Isherwood’s “A Single Man.” Ramirez’ friend Keith Rada attended the past two sessions. “I love reading and talking about books. In addition, it’s a great way to bring a community together,” Rada, a student at Columbia, said.

The next two meetings of the Third Tuesday Gay Men’s Book Club will feature James Baldwin’s “Go Tell it on the Mountain”, on August 16, and Jamie O’Neill’s “At Swim, Two Boys,” on Sept. 20.

Ely, an author of six books, is looking forward. “I hope it continues to flourish and we bring in some men we haven’t met yet for great discussions,” he said. “Which we always do.”

JULY 28-AUGUST 3,2016

5

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

EUGENE GLABERMAN, A CHELSEA FIXTURE, DIES The longtime political activist was 87 Eugene Glaberman, known simply as “Gene” to a legion of friends and associates, died June 21 at New York University Langone Hospital, following a heart attack. He was 87.

Gene, a silver-haired fixture of Chelsea for more than 50 years, lived at the Penn South Cooperatives as one of the first residents of the 10-building housing complex that opened in 1963. Affable and quick-witted, Gene was a longtime community and political activist who never lost his passion for championing racial and economic equality.

He was an avid advocate for furthering democracy in the U.S. and the world. He was president of the Chelsea Midtown Democratic Club.

Even as a graphics artist and founder of his own advertising agency in New York, Gene sought out clients like the American Federation of Teachers, the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union, the National Association

for the Advancement of Colored People and the Polish workers’ union (the Committee for Solidarity), to help further their causes through his art and expertise.

“There will never be another like Gene,” said Velma Hill, a former vice president of the American Federation of Teachers and Gene’s friend and neighbor for 40 years. “He was such a special human being.”

Gene, a native of Brooklyn, grew up in a socially conscious family. He was named for Eugene Victor Debs, an American labor union leader and five-time Socialist Party candidate for the U.S. presidency; many of Debs’ social reform ideas greatly influenced Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal in the 1930s.

Advancing community involvement and social democracy were important hallmarks of Gene’s approach to activism, which included a lifelong commitment to civil and social justice, and human rights.

Gene graduated from Brooklyn College in 1951, and did postgraduate

Eugene Glaberman, in a portrait by his nephew, Peter Glaberman.

BCPA

work at Pratt Institute and The School of Visual Arts. After completing his service in the U.S. Army, Gene started his advertising agency in New York.

He was well-traveled and enjoyed singing, especially the songs of one of his favorite crooners, Frank Sinatra.

Gene, who possessed an incandescent smile and charm, remained active into his final days, holding a number of posts and memberships, including the presidency of the Eugene V. Debs Society at Brooklyn College. He also was the New York membership director of the Congress of Racial Equality; the vice president of Community School Board 2; a member of the Penn South Cooperatives Board of Directors; the president of the Penn South Workmen’s Circle branch; and a member of the National Board of the Workmen’s Circle. He also was a member of the Chelsea Recreation Center Working Group, which facilitated the opening of the Chelsea Recreation Center after decades of delay.

He was a leader in the reconstruction of 27th Drive; an officer of the Hudson

Guild Council; an elected member of the Hudson Guild Board of Trustees; an officer and one of the founders of the Chelsea Community Council; an officer of the Steering Committee of Afford Chelsea, a community coalition of labor, civil rights and political leaders, which spearheaded an effort that achieved a city commitment to include 27 percent of affordable housing in the West Chelsea rezoning plan. He also was a member of the Graphic Artists Guild and an associate member of the American Federation of Teachers and the United Steelworkers. He served on the board of directors of the Jewish Labor Committee and the Workers Defense League.

Gene is survived by a nephew, Peter Glaberman, and Peter’s children, Rosaruby Kagan Glaberman, Ursa Brown Glaberman and Ellen Glaberman Skolnik, and dear friends Velma and Norman Hill.

A memorial service is scheduled for 4 p.m. Sunday, July 31 at the Fulton Center of the Hudson Guild, 119 Ninth Avenue.

GALLERIES

leather Everlast boxing glove. The piece comments on the stance women should take in the fight for their own reproductive rights.

Equally visually powerful are the works of Mikhael Subotzky. His two pieces show different pictures of African-American youth, but the glass protecting the print has been shattered in the same pattern as if a bullet had stuck through it. His two works allude to gun violence’s disproportionate affect on minority communities.

The 24th Street gallery also features an arcade machine filled with replica automatic weapons, drawing on the theme of gun accessibility in the U.S. Devan Owens, an associate at the Jack Shainman Gallery, said that For Freedoms, while being a super PAC, has chosen not to officially back any candidate. Its goal is to open a discussion about politics within the sphere of art and to use the idea of a Super PAC to open up discussion about campaign finance reform.

Each piece in the gallery offers the viewer a more personal experience with a factor sure to come up in the upcoming elections. For Freedoms recently extended its stay at the Jack Shainman until August 5th. After that, the PAC will focus more on fundraising and launching a national advertising campaign.

Owens thinks the PAC’s physical presence in the gallery helped unify the ideas of politics and art. “It brought in normal Chelsea gallery visitors who became interested in politics,” she said. “It also brought in a lot of people who wouldn’t normally go to galleries.”

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Squadron said.

An spokesman for the Authority, Nick Sbordone, said in a statement that the current method does allow for public engagement despite what Squadron had to say.

“Unlike the public comment sessions of some other boards, where individuals (usually with a pre-imposed time limit) read statement after statement to members who sit silently and without discussion, our policy provides for actual engagement between the public’s elected representatives — on any matter those representatives feel appropriate to discuss — and the BPCA Board in an open forum.”

This is not the first time complaints about transparency have been directed at the Authority, nor is it the first BPCA has faced controversy. In the past they received complaints after cutting the Park Enforcement Patrol in favor of a private security force, which reportedly failed to stop two BPC teenagers from being assaulted just one day after their contract was signed.

Points of contention also include the disposition of North Cove Marina, which was given over to a megadeveloper last year at the expense of a popular sailing school without consulting the community.

Sbordone, though, said community members has several channels through which they can commu-

Battery Park City. Photo: Ingfbruno, via WikiMedia Commons nicate with the Authority. He mentioned quarterly Battery Park City Open Community Meetings, social media, staff engagement with residents, and Authority officials’ presence at Community Board 1 meetings.

Anthony Notaro, CB1’s chairman and the former chair of the board’s Battery Park City Committee, said he agreed with Squadron’s suggestions.

“We support the idea of more openness and public comment,” he said.

Squadron and Assemblywoman Deborah Glick have introduced legislation in their respective houses requiring a majority of the BPCA board to be residents of the area, specifically those who live within the boundaries of Community Board 1.

Notaro said he is in favor of more representation on the board, and hopes that Squadron’s comments will get through to the BPCA. “We’ve called on them in the past but they didn’t change,” he said, “I hope they do but only time will tell.”

are interspersed with tables urging individuals to sign petitions and join other movements, like the #HerBodyHerVote group. The gallery also hosts weekly events, like talks with Domingo Borges, an inmate who is pursuing a college education with the help of the Prison to College Pipeline movement.

The headquarters and PAC itself could be viewed as a fluid piece of art, transforming as more people enlist and as more artists contribute to the space.

Abby Folger, an intern for the Jack Shainman Gallery, found that working within the For Freedoms space has made her more politically informed.

While she is still unsure who to vote for in the fall, or if she should vote at all, the art in the gallery has made her much more aware of larger political issues and the function of a super PAC. Her favorite piece is Wyatt Gallery’s “Go Trump,” a photo of a whiteboard with scrawled remarks like “#Feelthebern” and “Go to hell Trump.” The photo plays on the uneasy and sometimes frustrating indecisiveness that has surrounded the upcoming election.

“I feel it like to reflects how people are really feeling about this election,” she said. “It’s a disaster and no one knows who to really vote for.”

The 24th Street gallery back room tackles more specific issues. Glowing fluorescent pink in a corner hangs Zoë Buckman’s Champ, an outline of uterus constructed from neon lights.

At the end of each ovary rests a white

6

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

JULY 28-AUGUST 3,2016

FORUM ON PREVENTING SCAMS AND FRAUD Tips on guarding against scams and fraud and choosing a financial adviser drew Manhattanites to the John Jay School of Criminal Justice on Monday night, for a forum sponsored by this newspaper and AARP. The community forum, moderated by Editor in Chief Kyle Pope, featured a panel that included Catherine Christian, chief of the Elder Abuse Unit at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office; Ronald A. Fatoullah, managing attorney of Ronald Fatoullah & Associates; George Mannes, senior editor of Money magazine; Laura Palmer, associate state director of AARP New York; and Mark Sicari, staff attorney, JASA. Audience members received advice on how to prevent identity theft, what to do when receiving threatening phone calls from people pretending to be from the IRS, and how to ensure that your financial adviser serves your interests.

Panelists talking to audience members after the event.

Panelists with Editor in Chief Kyle Pope, left.

Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Development, Operation and Maintenance of a Snack Bar at Union Square, Manhattan

In accordance with Section 1-13 of the Concession Rules of the City of New York, the Department of Parks and Recreation (“Parks”) is issuing, as of the date of this notice, a RFP for the operation of mobile T-shirts and souvenir concessions at The Battery.

In accordance with Section 1-13 of the Rules of the Franchise and Concession Review Committee (“FCRC”), the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (“Parks”) is issuing, as of the date of this notice, a Request for Proposals (“RFP”) for the development, operation and maintenance of a snack bar at Union Square, Manhattan.

All proposals submitted in response to this RFP must be submitted by no later than Wednesday, August 24, 2016 at 3:00 p.m. to Parks’ Revenue Division. There will be a recommended on-site proposer meeting and site tour Monday, August 8, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. We will meet at the Broadway & State Street entrance to The Battery, inside the park at the flagpole of the Netherlands. If you are considering responding to this RFP, please make every effort to attend this meeting and site tour. To obtain directions to the proposed concession site, please call (212) 360-1397.

All proposals submitted in response to this RFP must be submitted no later than August 17, 2016 at 3:00pm. There will be a recommended proposer meeting on August 3, 2016 at 11:00am. We will be meeting at the proposed concession site, th which is located at 15 Street and Union Square East, in Union Square Park, Manhattan. If you are considering responding to this RFP, please make every effort to attend this recommended meeting.

Hard copies of the RFP can be obtained, at no cost, commencing on July 15, 2016 through August 17, 2016, between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., excluding weekends and holidays, at the Revenue Division of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, which is located at 830 Fifth Avenue, Room 407, New York, NY 10065.

The RFP is also available for download, commencing on July 15, 2016 through August 17, 2016, on Parks’ website.

To download the RFP, visit http://www.nyc.gov/parks/businessopportunities and click on the “Concessions Opportunities at Parks” link. Once you have logged in, click on the “download” link that appears adjacent to the RFP’s description.

For more information or to request to receive a copy of the RFP by mail, prospective proposers may contact the Revenue Division’s Senior Compliance Officer, Jeremy Holmes, at (212) 360-3455 or at jeremy.holmes@parks.nyc.gov.

TELECOMMUNICATION DEVICE FOR THE DEAF (TDD) 212-504-4115

Hard copies of the RFP can be obtained, at no cost, commencing Tuesday, July 19, 2016 through Wednesday, August 24, 2016, during the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., excluding weekends and holidays, at the Revenue division of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, which is located at The Arsenal, 830 Fifth Avenue, Room 407, New York, NY 10065.

The RFP is also available for download commencing Tuesday, July 19, 2016 through Wednesday, August 24, 2016 on Parks’ website. To download the RFP, visit www.nyc.gov/parks/businessopportunities, click on the link for “Concessions Opportunities at Parks” and, after logging in, click on the “download” link that appears adjacent to the RFP’s description.

For more information, contact Revenue Project Manager Glenn Kaalund at (212) 360-1397.

You can also email him at Glenn.Kaalund@parks.nyc.gov.

TELECOMMUNICATION DEVICE FOR THE DEAF (TDD) 212-504-4115

From left, Catherine Christian, Straus News President Jeanne Straus, and Kyle Pope

JULY 28-AUGUST 3,2016

7

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

MUSEUM EXPANSION INCHES FORWARD NEWS Concerns remain about Teddy Roosevelt Park

BY MADELEINE THOMPSON

About 70 Upper West Side community members (and at least one politically inclined mouse that was spotted running around) attended last week’s meeting at the American Museum of Natural History to hear an update on the $325 million Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation project.

Almost exactly a year after the first public meeting was held to present the expansion, the approval process is finally getting underway. Within the next few months, the museum will file its application to the Landmarks Preservation Commission and to Community Board 7, with construction tentatively set to begin in mid-2017, pending approval from at least six city agencies.

In a city that treasures its parks, it is perhaps unsurprising that much of the public interest surrounding the expansion stems from anger over its quarter-acre intrusion into Theodore Roosevelt Park, which is made up of all the green space on the superblock occupied by the AMNH. “We have seen some significant progress, but we still have some important concerns about the progress,” Adrian Smith, president of the Defenders of Teddy Roosevelt Park, said during the meeting’s allotted time for public comment. “While some parkland would still be lost in the museum’s expansion, we believe the role of the park would be preserved … The science center entrance would still be too massive, looming over a small park without convincing justification.

It certainly is not clear why a solution to the museum’s internal circulation problem requires such a large edifice.”

Renderings of the Gilder Center demonstrate how its connections to the other AMNH buildings will help ease the crowded, complex museum structure. At the beginning of the meeting, AMNH Senior Vice President Ann Siegel noted that the museum has increased to five million annual visitors and called the expansion an “unprecedented opportunity to offer thrilling new exhibition space (and) interdisciplinary learning space.”

Earlier this month, W. 86th

Street resident and opponent of the Gilder Center Cary Goodman took it upon himself to meet with Parks and Recreation Commissioner Mitchell Silver. “If (Silver is) unwilling to reject this in the face of so many thousands of people who don’t want this project than he should be discharged of his responsibilities,” Goodman said after their meeting.

Though he expressed gratitude that Silver was willing to speak with him, Goodman stands firm that the project should not be allowed to move forward.

Over the last year, neighborhood opposition to the project out of a desire to protect beloved green space has grown fiercer.

After some members of Defenders decided the group was not taking a hard enough stance against the expansion a second group, Community United to

would help retain the “essential character” of Teddy Roosevelt Park. “By being able to move the service drive further east than originally anticipated, we’ll be able to design the driveway in a way to lessen the impact on the elm’s root structure,” he said.

Despite this improvement, Smith suggested that he would like monetary restitution to be made for the loss of seven mature trees, and that a park endowment fund should be created that would be “large enough to sufficiently fund maintenance and to preserve the improvements that we now see … as well as the rest of the park.”

Two common themes to the concerns expressed by the 20odd residents who lined up to address the panel of museum staff and hired experts were increased traffic congestion due

Adrian Smith of Defenders of Teddy Roosevelt Park lists his concerns about the project. Photo by Madeleine Thompson Protect Theodore Roosevelt Park, Inc., was formed. In response to the outcry, the AMNH formed a Park Working Group that included the Defenders, the Theodore Roosevelt Park Neighborhood Association and West 77th Street Block Association, as well as several elected officials.

Despite the initial estimate that eight trees would have to be cut down -- and one relocated -- their collaboration has led to the preservation of a pin oak and an English elm tree near the museum’s entrance at W. 79th Street and Columbus Avenue.

The purpose of the meeting last Thursday, in addition to providing a general update, was to show updated renderings that included the new, secluded bench areas the museum has decided to carve out for its neighbors to compensate for the loss of 11,600 square feet. Joe James from Reed Hilderbrand landscape architects called saving the trees an “achievement” that

to the Gilder Center’s W. 79th Street and Columbus Avenue entrance and the possibility that the AMNH could expand again in later years. “We are deeply concerned about the chaos that we perceive will be happening around the museum,” one resident said. “We support the science … but we feel threatened.

We’re the people who don’t need a study when we look outside and see the corner at Columbus Avenue and 81st Street with all the buses … we’ve seen it. I ask you tonight to tell us: is this the end of the building? Because you’ve asserted your rights to build in the entire park.” The AMNH representatives did not directly respond.

The museum will hold its next public session on Sept. 13 to review its application to the Landmarks Preservation Commission, and the preservation and parks committees of Community Board 7 will meet to discuss it on Sept. 20.

Do you know someone who deserves recognition for their work building Downtown?

From school crossing guards, to community board members, longtime volunteers or firefighters, we’re looking to honor people from diverse sectors. What they have in common is a commitment to making Downtown an incredible place for us to live and work

Nominate them for a Downtown OTTY (Our Town Thanks You) Award The local paper for Downtown

Simply tell us the person’s name and what they’ve done to improve the Downtown neighborhood.

Send your nomination to Editor, Our Town Downtown, 333 Seventh Ave, NYC, NY 10001 or go online to www.otdowntown.com and at the bottom under “Do Stuff ” Submit a press release or announcement fill in the information.

8

JULY 28-AUGUST 3,2016

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.

WHERE HAS THE GRIT GONE? OP-ED

BY LORRAINE DUFFY MERKL

New Yorkers have a rep for being brash, bold, tell-it-like-it-is (aka rude), and give off an air of “don’t mess with me.” I believe we are living off a status that has dwindled considerably.

I came to this conclusion after seeing “Diane Arbus: In the Beginning” at the The Met Brueur. (See more of our coverage of the Arbus show in CityArts.)

Before there was “Humans of New York,” there was Diane Arbus (1923– 1971), one of the most influential and provocative artists of the 20th century.

The Met Breuer has a landmark exhibition featuring more than 100 of her – some never seen before – photographs, which focus on the icon’s work in the late 50s/early 60s.

Arbus’s photos of our city’s children and eccentrics, couples and circus performers, female impersonators and Fifth Avenue pedestrians are among the most intimate and surprising im-

ages of the era.

As a “walker,” I come face-to-face with Manhattan denizens – particularly on the Upper East Side – on a daily basis, leading me to wonder: Where did the grit go?

New Yorkers are soft – and I include myself – compared to those who came before us. My 93-year-old mother, a member of The Greatest Generation, who is now frail and sedentary, is still tougher than I, as well as most people I know, will ever be.

The images of the New Yorkers showcased in the museum’s retrospective look like they mean business, even when simply riding a bus.

And I don’t mean in today’s defensive, mad at the world way because people feel they’re not getting what they’re entitled to, which ranges from a glutton-free cupcake to a private pre-school placement.

The toughness of our predecessors came from the inside; they had an innate awareness that life isn’t easy or fair, didn’t expect it to be, and when faced with hard times, didn’t break

IN ANY LANGUAGE EAST SIDE ENCOUNTERS

Notice to the Board of Elections: My translation of the Chinese transliteration is that the “S” is correct.

BY ARLENE KAYATT

Primary colors — Petitioning is over and the candidates for judicial delegates and state committeemen and committeewomen from the Four Freedoms and Lenox Hill Democratic Clubs are all on the ballot for the September primary. All candidates whose name will appear on the ballot are sent a notice by the Board of Elections to confirm their names are correct as they appears on the Chinese language ballots. As a candidate for judicial delegate, I received the notice which showed how my name, Arlene S. Kayatt, would appear on the ballot in Chinese. Any changes could be inserted in a designated section of the notice.

STRAUS MEDIA your neighborhood news source

Daily News’s front page cover-up — I can’t start the day without NY1’s In the Paper segment, usually narrated by the nice-to-wake-up-to Pat Kiernan. The morning after the first night of the Republican Convention, the Daily News had a hilarious front page showing Rudy Giuliani and Omarosa Manigault of Apprentice fame with rubber-noses. Rudy was holding a cigar and was identified as America’s Racist and Omarosa was identified as Reality Show Loser (I don’t think Omarosa will be wearing the red nose in her new role as Trump’s Director of African-American Outreach.) I couldn’t wait to find out how the shop where newspapers and souvenirs are

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

down and ask, “Why me?” They accepted it was their turn and handled it. Even the kids Arbus documented seemed as though they could take care of themselves with more resolve then some adults I’ve seen in action.

A photo labeled: Man in hat, trunks, socks and shoes, Coney Island, N.Y. 1960, made me positive that his sartorial choices probably invited a perhaps mocking comment, which today would be considered a microagression. I can only imagine this guy saying with a shrug, “Hey, you don’t like it, don’t look.”

Another marked: Two girls by a brick wall, N.Y.C. 1961 portrays young women who would never use the words “safe space;” in fact, it’s clear that if anyone ever invaded their space unwelcomed, that person is the one who would not have been safe.

For me, the Arbus subject who epitomized the true grit New York once had was the female rider in the photo called: Taxicab driver at the

sold on the lower level of the Trump Tower on 5th Avenue would be displaying the day’s Daily News. Not to worry. As Trump luck would have it, the Daily News had an advertising cover as the front page followed by the regular front page. Of course, I couldn’t wait to get to the REAL front page.

Summer flavors — On 7/11 all 711 stores were giving out free slushies. It was a first for me and I got me a Rainbow Sundae Slushie — red, white, blue — have no idea what flavors they were, but they were free and good and fun.

The next day Ben & Jerry’s had a crew in the lobby of a midtown office building offering up various B&J flavors.

Lots of flavors. Free but not as much fun as a slushie. And the chocolate chips in Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz were too big and too sharp-edged. Now that Bernie’s back in Vermont and out of contention, I’m unafraid to speak my mind.

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

Voices

Diane Arbus, Child with a toy hand grenade in Central Park, N.Y.C. 1962.

Bus stop hop — Late morning bus downtown on Lex. Man heading to bus stop. Doors close. Man misses bus. Bus moving slowly but still in stop. Man motions to driver to open door. Driver turns his head away. Man starts banging on door. Bus goes on its way. A few minutes, seemed like seconds, later at the next stop, the man, now sweaty and breathless, gets on the bus to the applause of the riders. Nothing like a resilient New Yorker. Cheers.

“Scandal” on the M103 — Crowded uptown bus on a Monday night. All seats taken. Only a few standing. Lady rider and bus driver engaged in heated conversation about TV’s “Scandal” starring Kerry Washington. Big questions were, Is Kerry Washington married in real life (whatever that is nowadays) — and does she have a baby? The bus driver says maybe she’s got a baby. But no husband because he wouldn’t want her doing all that kissing and sex stuff on TV. Lady

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

wheel with two passengers, N.Y.C. 1956. She stares straight into the camera, looking us right in eye. And she would keep doing so when she said whatever she had to say; none of this passive/aggression cowardice so prevalent these days.

Maybe the New Yorkers she sought out to catch on film had such tenacity because Arbus had it herself.

Born and raised in New York City, the mother of two started her photography career later in life. In 1956, she enrolled in a course at The New School.

At first, she took shots of her muses on the sly, but by 1962 had begun asking permission in order to get up close and personal. And the rest is artistic history.

Not only did she give us great black and white photography, but a reminder of who we used to be. A little smarter, a little steadier, and more direct, acting in public as we do in private, in other words, not phony.

New York will always be a tough place to live. Just as Arbus captured their images, perhaps we can capture the spirit of those whose pictures she took and get the grit back.

Lorraine Duffy Merkl is the author of the novels FAT CHICK and BACK TO WORK SHE GOES.

rider disagrees because she’s just “doing her job.” After going back and forth with other riders chiming in, the consensus was that, Yes, she is married. Yes, she has a baby. Not so much consensus about on-the-job kissing and sex stuff because “It could end up like Brad (Pitt) and Angelina (Jolie).” Another lady rider summed up the “Scandal” contretemps for herself and the lady passenger talking to the bus driver, “Listen if kissing and stuff on screen brings in the big bucks, I’m not giving it up. If my guy’s smart, he’ll stay.” Shaking his head in bewilderment, the driver drove on as the ladies reveled in their sisterhood.

Shed another tear — This time for the Barnes & Noble in Citicorp on Third/54th. Passing it for the umpteenth time, I hadn’t noticed that it was gone until a nearby newsstand vendor told someone asking for directions to B&N that it closed July 1. Sorry for the loss. Looks like a fitness center will be taking the space.

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 28-AUGUST 3,2016

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

Dear Sam, I thought we were in this together, but apparently I was wrong.

You’ve been ignoring me for a while. We don’t go for walks as often as we used to.

You barely eat anything green anymore.

And you don’t realize the daily pressure you put me under. It’s just too much.

I QUIT! Sincerely,

Your Heart Don’t let your heart quit on you. If you are living with high blood pressure, just knowing and doing the minimum isn’t enough.

Uncontrolled high blood pressure could lead to stroke, heart attack or death. Get yours to a healthy range before it’s too late.

Find out how at heart.org/BloodPressure

Check. Change. Control.™

9

10

JULY 28-AUGUST 3,2016

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

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

NYCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S BEST + MOST FLEXIBLE

SUMMER DAY CAMPS CHECK OUT OUR PRESCHOOL & JUNIOR GYMNASTICS CAMPS!

Camps run June 20 - September 2 # " #

! !

Sign up for 1, 2 or more weeks!

SUMMER CAMP

28 Fri 29

Thu

SUMMER EVENINGS IN THE GARDENS Merchantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s House Museum, 29 East 4 Sts. 6:30-8 p.m. $13 This is the last day to experience the Merchantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s House Museumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gardens tour.

Enjoy this guided tour while light refreshments are served. merchantshouse.org/ calendar/

SUMMER IN THE SQUARE LUNCHTIME JAZZ

212.336.6846 chelseapiers.com/camps

30

Sat

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;SLOWDOWNTOWNâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

RALLY HEALTHFEST

Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place 6 p.m., pay what you can, reservations required A chance to relax on a Friday evening with peaceful music, massages and meditation, all with a beautiful view of the Hudson. www.mjhnyc.org/calendar. html#slow

Nelson A. Rockefeller Park in Battery Park City 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Free an outdoor health festival with a free ďŹ tness bootcamp, yoga classes, massage, kidsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; area and more. www.rallyhealth.com/

ROMAN ONDAK: LEARNING TO WALK

The High Line at 13th St. 11 a.m.â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Noon. Free The Slovakian-born artist West Side Seating Area, Union invites mothers to teach their Square Park young children how to walk as Noonâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;1:30 p.m. Free part of a performance piece, Summer in the Square based on his experience of features performances by teaching his own child how to students of the School of Jazz, walk. with special guest Jasper Dutz and his jazz trio. events.newschool.edu/

ULTIMATE FRISBEE Battery Park City Conservancy, 75 Battery Place 11 a.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C;1 p.m., Free Organized games that welcome drop-in players of all ages and skill levels. bpcparks.org/

JULY 28-AUGUST 3,2016

Sun

31

SAIL ON PIONEER South Street Seaport Museum, 12 Fulton St. 1–3 p.m., $28–$32 Sail on a historic cargo-ship schooner, commissioned to sail the Delaware River in 1885.

Boarding will be at Pier 16. Bring a picnic lunch. www.downtownny.com/ events/sail-pioneer-21

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

citywide fitness program offered 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Free

by NYC Parks in partnership.

Thus exhibition surveys www.hudsonriverpark.org/ two important periods of development during Kinder’s long career, including works from the 1960s and the 2000s.

ROSIE HERRERA www.flowersgallery.com DANCE THEATRE &

PROVINCIAL DANCES THEATRE

3

The Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Ave. Aug. 1-6, programs and times vary. Tickets start at $10 Part of the American Dance ‘A ZUMER CONCERT’ Festival. Provincial Dances Theatre from Yekaterinburg, Russia, makes its New York YIVO Institute for Jewish debut Research, 15 West 16th St. 212-691-9740.

7- 8:30 p.m. $10-$15 ‘BROKEN CITY, WALL Violinist/vocalist/composer STREET’ Alicia Svigals and accordionist Lauren Brody will perform a 35 Cedar St. program of Yiddish songs old 5 p.m., $25 – $35 and new and of euphoric klezmer Part flash-mob, part walking fiddle music, in their first concert tour and part participatory event: reunion since the days of their Site-specific and immersive 1990’s all-women band Mikveh. theater, lead by an artistic 212-294-8301. www.cjh.org/ team that mixes American ◄ TAI CHI Sign Language with dance and storytelling. www.popuptheatrics.com/ High Line, under the Standard ▼¡ARRIBA!: LATIN Hotel, at West 12th Street DANCE PARTY WITH 9:30-10:30 a.m. Tuesdays, AURORA FLORES Y ZON through September. Free DEL BARRIO For beginners. Join us for an introductory practice of the different moves included in the High Line, Chelsea Market basic tai chi set.

Passage, at West 16th Street RSVP: www.thehighline.org/ 7-9 p.m. Free. activities Dance la noche away. Aurora SENIOR WALKING & Zon del Barrio perform footCLUB stomping, funk-based, music from MICHAEL KINDER all corners of the Barrios!

Fountain at Pier 84, West WORKS ON PAPER RSVP: www.thehighline.org/ 44th Street at the Hudson River activities 11 a.m.

Flowers Gallery, 529 West Shape Up NYC is a free 20th St.

Wed

Tue

Mon

1

2

11

12

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

JULY 28-AUGUST 3,2016

THROUGH A LENS, ODDLY EXHIBITION The unconventional brilliance of Diane Arbus

BY MARY GREGORY

“I hate the idea of composition. I don’t know what good composition is,” Diane Arbus once said. That certainly doesn’t come through in “Diane Arbus – In the Beginning” which just opened at the Met Breuer. She also said that she was drawn to the unusual, to the mysterious in life. That does come through.

Over 100 photographs are included in the exhibition curated by Jeff L. Rosenheim showcasing the woman Thomas Campbell, director of the Met called, “one of the most provocative artists of the 20th century.” About two-thirds of the works have never before been exhibited or published, and the exhibition also includes a small

number of works by contemporaries and the full set of “A Box of Ten Photographs,” some of her most famous shots.

A chance to learn more about a major artist is always welcome, and a trove of boxes stored in her Greenwich Village basement, unopened till more than a decade after Arbus’ death, gives us just this opportunity. Her daughters, Doon and Amy Arbus, gifted the work to the Met, and the museum chose to focus on the iconic photographer as part of the inaugural season of the new Met Breuer.

The installation is inspired. A phalanx of staggered strips of wall, each holding a single image on each side, allows a sweeping view from a few feet back, but a decidedly personal experience up close. What we encounter is an idiosyncratic vision and a unique way of laying bare the world as Arbus saw it.

The New York native was the daughter

Diane Arbus, The Human Pincushion, Ronald C. Harrison, N.J. 1961 Photo by Adel Gorgy

Gallery view: “Diane Arbus – In the Beginning” at the Met Breuer through Nov. 27th. Photo by Adel Gorgy of a well-to-do department store owner. When she married in her teens, her husband gave her a camera, and together they embarked on a career doing fashion shoots. After years of unsatisfying success, Arbus left the studio and took to the streets. She returned with a roll of negatives marked #1. It was the beginning of her life as an artist.

The exhibition presents work from the first seven years of post-commercial work, 1956-1962. In them we find an eye drawn to the unusual. It’s all her own, but encouraged by her mentor. “It was my teacher, Lisette Model, who finally made it clear to me that the more specific you are, the more general it’ll be,” she said. Arbus depicted a wide swath of humanity with startling specificity. Drag queens putting on makeup, socialites behind furs, angry school kids, circus performers and dwarfs, arguing couples, teenagers, suburban families, nudists at camps, wrestlers and Cha-Cha dancers - bedazzled or bedraggled, they were lionized by her camera.

It’s no surprise her breakout show at MoMA in 1967 was a hit and made her an instant star. Beyond provocation, her photographs are poetic, elegant, and surprisingly formal.

A circus clown leans against a dark

wall, bathed in light from and unseen source at the top left. His face both emerges from and recedes into the black background, the white of his shirt and makeup defining him.

He’s carefully posed, captured in a frozen moment. But for the pancake makeup, it recalls Vermeer’s Milkmaid or a Rembrandt self-portrait.

Photographs of triplets and twins deal with the same idea of multiples Degas employed years earlier in his monotypes and Warhol explored later in his screenprints. The difference was she pictured multiple copies of an individual rather than an individual multiple times.

Unlike other photographers who shielded themselves with the camera, shot from distances, or hid the camera completely, Arbus faced her subjects head on. She engaged with them, and they in turn engage with the viewer, and that’s part of her brilliance: coaxing her subjects to reveal themselves.

We see people in unguarded moments.

A remarkable gaze meets the camera in a little girl crossing the street. It’s a symphony of balance. She exists between black and white; neither darkness nor light engulfs her. She stands at the edge, but as she does, she glances with suspicion. To see such wariness from one supposed to be the

embodiment of innocence is startling.

Both revered and reviled, Arbus’ work has always been a lightning rod for strong opinions. When I first discovered her work, decades ago, it was compelling because of its shock value. Now, I find it compelling for just the opposite reason. A tattooed man?

How ordinary. The human pincushion? The kid next door might have more piercings. A transvestite putting on makeup looks like anyone else putting on makeup. A boy with a toy hand grenade making faces? What’s surprising in that? Arbus’ carefully collected, curated oddities seem more ordinary today, more human. They’re just people being themselves.

Perhaps beyond her imagery, this is the greatest work Arbus left behind.

Forcing us to look at oddities and putting them on the display on the vaunted walls of museums changed the way we see the unusual, the unapologetically non-conforming. Our responses to Arbus’ images are an indication that we’ve changed.

Arbus, herself, may have been caught between worlds, not outside enough to live comfortably on the fringe, and certainly not conforming enough to fit in the society in which she was born.

She committed suicide at age 48.

JULY 28-AUGUST 3,2016

13

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

ALLIED AT THE START LINE Tunnel to Towers run organizers, CB1 resolve differences ahead of Sept. 25 event

ACTIVITIES FOR THE FERTILE MIND

thoughtgallery.org NEW YORK CITY

Dharma and Desire

THURSDAY, JULY 28TH, 7:30PM Round K Cafe | 99 Allen St. | 917-475-1423 | thinkolio.org

BY ERICA MAGRIN

It’s been a battle of wills downtown. For years, an organization and a local governing board have gone head-to-head over permits. That conflict appears to be a thing of the past.

To honor Stephen Siller, a firefighter killed in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, Siller’s cousin, John Hodge, and Siller’s brother, Frank Siller, formed The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation. The main event hosted by this nonprofit is a 5K run and walk that follows the path that Siller ran from Brooklyn side of the Battery Tunnel to the World Trade Center on that clear September morning 15 years ago. About 30,000 people have participated in the run/ walk annually in recent years.

Hodge, the organization’s chief operating officer, runs Tunnel to Towers not only to keep the memory of his cousin alive, but also to honor the memories of all others killed on 9/11.

“Stephen is representative of what all the first responders did that day,” Hodge said. “We do it in honor of all of them.

There have been so many tragedies in the past few months.

Where have you heard of hundreds if not thousands of first responders rushing in to save the lives of people they don’t even know? People ran into buildings knowing it wouldn’t turn out well, but I don’t know if they even cared. It was a uniquely American response.

And we wanted to make sure people never forgot.”

Each year, permit approvals for the 5K event come from CB1, often with caveats. There are restrictions placed on drinking and music and cautions against interfering with traffic or business. In 2014, Hodge agreed not to apply for a temporary liquor license.

Hodge said the group and its organizers often felt like outsiders, and that some portion of the downtown community objected to the event.

Finally, it seems that the conflicts may be behind them.

For September’s race, CB1 has decided to form a “neighbors team” to participate in the

Think Olio’s series of philosophy talks continues with a look at the Indian epic Ramayana through the development of a “just soul,” connecting with the story of Persephone to examine the shape of ancient thought and its contemporary relevance in a new way. ($12)

Public Forum: A Conversation on Privacy with Daniel Radcliffe

MONDAY, AUGUST 1ST, 7PM Public Theater | 425 Lafayette St. | 212-539-8500 | publictheater.org Firefighter Stephen Siller had finished his shift Brooklyn’s Squad 1 when word of the 9/11 attacks reached him. He ran through Brooklyn Battery Tunnel carrying 60 lbs. of gear to the Twin Towers, where he perished. Above, Siller’s name at the National September 11 Memorial.

Photo: Erica Magrin event, led by CB1 treasurer, Tom Goodkind.

Goodkind is a friend of the organization, as he and Hodge have only good things to say about each other publicly. “For years, we neighbors have been watching the run and after party of the Tunnel to Towers run which occurs in our own backyard, hoping to be invited.

And now we are,” Goodkind said by email. “Many of us who live near the World Trade Center ran for our lives on September 11 and then returned after months, and sometimes years of displacement to rebuild the area. We have always wanted a way to memorialize what occurred on that day and have never been invited to participate in the actual memorial on 9/11. The Tunnel to Towers run, which occurs a few weeks after 9/11 is without question the most successful and meaningful memorial of that day. And now for the 15th anniversary, we are so happy to have been invited to participate.”

He encouraged downtown residents to participate.

Hodge also was grateful for the improved relations.

“If we had some rough patches I think they’re over with at this point, and the outward sign of that is that there seems to be wholehearted support from CB1 for having a neighbors’ team sign up,” he said.

“They have a difficult job. I think we’re past our rough patches because we’re working collaboratively together. We’re able to provide them with what they’re looking for. We try to interfere with the daily operations of the community as little as possible.”

When asked if the change

in leadership at CB1 — Catherine McVay Hughes recently stepped down as chairperson and was succeeded by Anthony Notaro — would have any effect on the budding relationship, Hodge spoke well of the new man in charge. “Mr. Notaro has always been a gentleman to me and has not been unreasonable.

There’s been logic behind it and that’s part of being good neighbors. Having the community become involved in our run means a tremendous amount to the foundation because at times in the past we felt as if we were interlopers for the day, and maybe somewhat resented. Now they’re recognizing us as a 9/11 organization they can be proud of.”

McVay Hughes had a positive view, saying in an email “personally, this is a great event that continues to bring many folks together for a worthwhile cause from all over. Last year, I saw a very long line of participants who were taking the ferry from Pier 11 to Brooklyn for the starting point.”

Because Tunnel to Towers goes through Battery Park City, the organization need to present to CB1’s Battery Park committee to get their permits approved. Only with that committee’s approval do the requests make it to CB1 as a whole. “We’ve approved the event every year,” Notaro said. “When there were times that we’ve asked them to make changes, they’ve been very accommodating. [The 5K] should be fun. it will be interesting to see how many people register. I think it’s a wonderful new part of the event to have our neighbors represented there.”

Daniel Radcliffe (Privacy), Jon Ronson (So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed), and Sherry Turkle (Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in the Digital Age) discuss the limits of privacy in the Snowden Era. ($35)

Just Announced | Ed Yong: I Contain Multitudes

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10TH, 7PM The Strand | 828 Broadway | 212-473-1452 | strandbooks.com Go on a grand tour of the millions of bacteria and microbes that partner with human and animal life: building us, protecting us, and even shaping our identities. Author Ed Yong will be thinking small in conversation with Radiolab’s Robert Krulwich. ($15/$25, includes gift card/signed copy)

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

otdowntown.com

14

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

IWantToBeRecycled.org

JULY 28-AUGUST 3,2016

JULY 28-AUGUST 3,2016

15

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS

Barraca/Macondo

81 Greenwich Avenue

Grade Pending (27) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. 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 contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Cocoron

37 Kenmare Street

Grade Pending (45) Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or nonfood areas. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Uncles Boons

7 Spring Street

A

Mr. Donahues

203 Mott St

A

12 Chairs

56 Macdougal Street

A

New York University Kimmel Student Center Cafeteria

60 Washington Square South

A

Magnumnyc

134 Prince St

A

Sweet Buttons

7884 Rivington Street A

Hua Xia Restaurant

49 Division St

Not Yet Graded (23) Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, cross-contaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan. Evidence of rats or live rats present in facility’s food and/ or non-food areas. Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/ refuse/sewage-associated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.

Let’s Go 365 Travel

95 E Broadway

Not Yet Graded (30) Toilet facility not provided for employees or for patrons when required.

The Fat Radish

17 Orchard Street

Grade Pending (24) 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. Personal cleanliness inadequate. Outer garment soiled with possible contaminant. Effective hair restraint not worn in an area where food is prepared. Sanitized equipment or utensil, including inuse food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.

AUG 3 - 6, 2016 The following listings were collected from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s website and include the most recent inspection and grade reports listed. We have included every restaurant listed during this time within the zip codes of our neighborhoods. Some reports list numbers with their explanations; these are the number of violation points a restaurant has received. To see more information on restaurant grades, visit www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/services/restaurant-inspection.shtml.

Fiddlesticks

5456 Greenwich Avenue

A

Cafe Riazor

245 West 16 Street

Grade Pending (31) 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. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.

Starbucks

229 Seventh Avenue

A

El Paraiso

149 West 14 Street

Grade Pending (24) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Evidence of rats or live rats present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. 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.

Wiping cloths soiled or not stored in sanitizing solution.

Los Tacos # 1

75 9th Ave

A

Republic Restaurant

37 Union Square West Grade Pending (22) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies or food/refuse/sewageassociated (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 contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred. Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.

Ugly Kitchen

103 1 Avenue

Grade Pending (22) Evidence of rats or live rats present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Heart Of India

77 2 Avenue

A

Bowery Electric

327 Bowery

A

Porsena

2123 East 7 Street

A

Corkbuzz Wine Studio

13 East 13 Street

A

Papaya King

3 St Marks Place

A

Babel

131 Avenue

A

The Tang

120 1st Ave

Not Yet Graded (11) Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.

Porchetta

110 East 7 Street

A

New Chinatown Restaurant 11-13 Avenue D

Grade Pending (19) 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.

Superiority Burger

430 E 9th St

A

Rose&Basil

104 E 7th St

Not Yet Graded (30) Hand washing facility not provided in or near food preparation area and toilet room. Hot and cold running water at adequate pressure to enable cleanliness of employees not provided at facility. Soap and an acceptable hand-drying device not provided.

Good Restaurant

89 Greenwich Avenue

A

Merriweather

428 Hudson St

Not Yet Graded (9) Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.

Trattoria I Malatesta

649 Washington Street

A

Fuleen Seafood Restaurant 11 Division St

Grade Pending (27) Food worker does not use proper utensil to eliminate bare hand contact with food that will not receive adequate additional heat treatment. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.

Stay Classy New York

174 Rivington St

Grade Pending (26) Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations. Evidence of rats or live rats present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewage-associated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Soy

102 Suffolk Street

A

Blue Moon Cafe

100 Orchard St

Not Yet Graded (17) Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations. Personal cleanliness inadequate. Outer garment soiled with possible contaminant. Effective hair restraint not worn in an area where food is prepared.

Juicy Spot

33 Pell St N

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

Ew Sau Voi Corp

101105 Lafayette Street

A

16

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

In Brief

Business

L TRAIN TUNNEL TO SHUT FOR 18 MONTHS The tunnel that carries the L train and roughly 225,000 daily riders across the East River will close for about 18 months beginning in January to repair damage wrought by Hurricane Sandy, The New York Times reported.

The 18-month closure was preferred by Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials to one that would partially shut the tunnel for three years, and allowed reduced train service.

“It really came down to our wanting to pick an option that minimized inconvenience to the customer,” Veronique Hakim, president of New York City Transit, was quoted as saying by The Times.

Crumbling walls and damaged tracks and cables all need repair. Cost estimates run to about $800 million, including stations improvements, the newspaper reported. Much of the funding is expected to come from the federal government. MTA officials are considering adding service to nearby subway, bus and ferry lines while repairs are taking place.

SECOND AVENUE SUBWAY BEHIND SCHEDULE Test runs on the Second Avenue subway have been pushed back, threatening the scheduled December opening for the long-awaited line, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials said several factors were responsible for the delay. Among them were the setbacks associated with elevator cabs at entrances, communications equipment and a police radio system, The Journal reported.

“Pre-revenue operations training” would therefore be postponed until Oct. 1, the newspaper said.

The Journal quoted an independent engineer as saying that the delay means the December opening is in jeopardy. “The project is not on schedule, has fallen further behind schedule” since the authority’s June meeting, the engineer, Kent Haggas, told the paper.

Haggas, an internal watchdog who oversees the MTA projects’ capital budgets and timelines, said 70 percent of the line’s milestones were met through June, down from 80 percent completed through May.

WORKERS GET COLLECTIVE BARGAINING PROTECTTIONS Workers for certain developers receiving city subsidies will be allowed to unionize, according to an executive order signed this month by Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Politico New York reported that the order affects workers at projects that have received or is expected to get at least $1 million and are either larger than 100,000 square feet or involves more than 100 units The order demands that the employer remain “neutral” in employers’ organizing efforts and that the organizing entity and its member refrain from picketing, work stoppages and boycotts, as spelled out in the National Labor Relations Act. The so-called “labor peace clause” will remain in place for 10 years from the date the project started to get city subsidies or the project starts, whichever is longer.

It covers both part- and full-time employees of retail or food establishments that employs or is projected to employ 10 or more workers and will occupy 15,000 square feet.

The order took effect immediately.

JULY 28-AUGUST 3,2016

SEPARATING THE BOYS FROM THE GIRLS RETAIL Retailers are starting to offer kids’ clothing that is gender neutral

BY ANNE D’INNOCENZIO

Pink for girls. Truck motifs for boys. A growing number of parents want to get outside those parameters when it comes to dressing their kids.

Kristin Higgins was adamant about not pushing “girly” stereotypes on her daughter, and painted her room in shades of green.

Higgins later dressed her up in superhero costumes. But as her daughter got older, it took more work to locate items that broke the mold. For “Star Wars”-themed pajamas, she had to go to the boys’ section.

“It’s hard to find gender-neutral clothing,” said Higgins, 35, whose daughter is now 6. “I want her to just get up and put on the clothing without thinking of putting on a costume, an identity.”

Shopping for her 7-month-old son, Higgins finds clothes mainly have pictures like fire engines or sharks. What about cats, cupcakes or hearts, she wonders.

For parents looking for clothes that defy gender norms, the options for back-to-school shopping are still limited -- but they’re growing. Some big retailers like Lands’ End and Zara are making small changes to their offerings, while some frustrated parents have launched their own companies to make the items they wanted to find.

“There is really a sharp divide between what is considered girls’ stuff and what’s considered boys’ stuff,” said Courtney Hartman. She started Jessy & Jack, a collection of unisex T-shirts for kids that have robots and dinosaurs, and Free to Be Kids, where a shirt with the slogan, “I’m a Cat Guy” comes in blue, gray and yellow.

Companies like Jessy & Jack and a collection called Princess Awesome, where dresses have trains and planes, are among nearly 20 online brands that formed a campaign called Clothes Without Limits last year that they’re reprising for the back-to-school season. Still, many of the items are not cheap -- T-shirts at $20 can be pricey for growing kids.

Bigger companies are offering some options, after similar shifts in the toy and bedding aisles to more neutral signs and products. Lands’ End launched a line of science T-shirts two years ago after a customer complained on social media that there was only one version for boys. As part of its new Cat & Jack brand of children’s clothing that kids helped design, Target offers unisex-fit T-shirts online with slogans like, “Smart & Strong” and “Future Astronaut.”

And fast-fashion chain Zara launched a col-

lection in March for teens and older called “Ungendered” under its TRF line, which focuses on basics like T-shirts, sweatshirts and jeans. Experts and parents also notice that some images like dinosaurs are popping up on girls’ clothing under the Boden brand and others.

More has changed for girls’ clothes than for boys, but the vast majority of children’s clothing is still gender-specific, says Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at market research group NPD Group Inc. Martine Zoer, who founded Quirkie Kids because her sons wanted to wear pink, said that in response to her selling unisex shirts

Paoletti noticed it when buying clothing for her daughter, who was born in 1982, and her son, four years later. By the mid-1990s, “pinkwashing was widespread,” she said. Even disposable diapers came in blue and pink.

In part, manufacturers and marketers wanted to boost sales to American couples having fewer kids, Paoletti said. She also reasoned that parents were rebelling against the more unisex fashions like corduroy pants they grew up with. But Paoletti said the change is harmful.

“It encourages very young children -- as young as 2 -- to judge and interact with others in highly stereotyped ways,” she said.

Photo by jsogo via flickr in that hue, she says she got emails saying “boys should not wear pink as it would turn them gay.”

A good portion of children’s clothing buyers are grandparents who tend to embrace more traditional ideas, says Cohen, who doesn’t expect large-scale change until the next generation starts having children.

“Once we get past the cultural discussion, that’s when you’ll see the (major) brands step out,” Cohen said. “No one wants to risk the chance of rocking the boat.”

Chris Guerin of Portland, Oregon, says teaching his mother-in-law to buy clothes that don’t reinforce gender stereotypes is a work in progress.

“When she goes shopping with Nana, she comes back with princess (outfits) and tiaras,” Guerin says of his 3-year-old daughter.

“We don’t care for that. But it’s hard to bring up the issue.”

The differences crystallized in the late 1980s, according to Jo B. Paoletti, a professor of American Studies at the University of Maryland and author of “Pink and Blue: Telling the Girls from the Boys in America.”

“We know, based on nearly 50 years of social science research, that stereotyped thinking hurts all of us, whether we are dealing with racial, gender, or any other form of stereotype.”

Macy’s says kids’ clothes are generally separated into boys’ and girls’ sections, but with an array of colors and styles in each. “A lot of kids’ apparel today is active -- sweatpants and sweatshirts, graphic Ts, etc. -- and are inherently unisex,” spokeswoman Holly Thomas said in an email.

Stores like J.C. Penney and Nordstrom say they listen to shoppers, but aren’t getting customer requests to blur the gender lines.

Those behind the new brands say they’re seeing the demand. Hartman said annual sales are pushing six-digit figures.

Higgins recalled that when her daughter was in day care, she came home crying because some boys made fun of her navy blue sneakers, calling them “boy shoes.” She often puts together kid outfits from thrift shops, and as she thumbs through the racks reminds her daughter: “There are no boy colors. There are no girl colors.”

JULY 28-AUGUST 3,2016

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

17

18

JULY 28-AUGUST 3,2016

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

Tired of Hunting for Our Town Downtown?

Subscribe today to Downtowner News of Your Neighborhood that you can’t get anywhere else

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

Central Park

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE PARK SUMMER AT THE ZOO Summer is here and the Central Park Zoo’s collection of amazing animals brings joy to visitors both local and from around the world. Watch the sea lions do acrobatic feats for their daily dose of fish and see colorful birds throughout the zoo. For more informa-

tion about the Central Park Zoo, visit www.centralpark.com.

FAMILY FUN IN CENTRAL PARK Central Park is the perfect destina-

COMING UP THIS WEEK SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK: ‘TROILUS AND CRESSIDA” Tony Award-winning director Daniel Sullivan (“Proof,” “Cymbeline”) returns to Shakespeare in the Park with one of the Bard’s most rarely produced plays.

When: Through Aug. 14 (no performances on Mondays or July 31) Time: 8 p.m.

Tickets: Free tickets are available in person at the Delacorte Theatre, or via mobile ticket lottery TodayTix, and

through borough distributions Where: Enter at 81st Street and Central Park West or at 79th Street and Fifth Avenue.

More info: www.centralpark.com/ events

Now get your personal copy delivered by US Mail for just

$

49/Year for 52 issues

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

tified fitness trainer and official NYC sightseeing guide. Choose from Power Hour, 5K Fun Run, Sunday Runday or a Super Walk and Yoga Stretch.

When: Daily. Times vary. More details: www.centralpark.com/guide/ classes

FIT TOURS NYC See Central Park while you workout! Fit Tours are historic Central Park tours with a fitness twist. Founded by a native New Yorker who is a cer-

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

tion for family fun in summer, offering a wide array of educational and recreational activities, from boat rides on the lake to playgrounds all over the park, and even a children’s petting zoo.

Check out our list of things to do with kids at: www.centralpark.com/guide/ activities

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

ANSWER TO THE PREVIOUS QUIZ Located on the south end of Literary Walk, this bronze likeness is of Scottish national poet Robert Burns (1759–1796). It was created as a companion to the 1872 Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832) across Literary Walk.

Both were created by Sir John Steell (1804– 1891). Burns is seated on a tree stump, quill pen in hand, eyes turned heavenward in a pose of inspiration. At his feet is a poem dedicated to his lost love, Mary Campbell, and a plough alluding to his agrarian origins.

The sculpture was unveiled on Oct. 3, 1880.

Congratulations to Joe Ornstein, Henry Bottjer, Bill Ferrarini, Marisa Lohse, Dana Matlin and Gregory Holman for answering question correctly.

Event listings and Where in Central Park? brought to you

by CentralPark.com.

JULY 28-AUGUST 3,2016

19

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

2016 BUILDING SERVICE WORKER

AWAR DS

10TH ANNIVERSARY You could win $150 or 2 tickets to just by telling us about a doorman, super, or porter whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s special

Do it today at bsw-awards.com

building service workers awards #FTU %PPSNBO t #FTU 4VQFS t #FTU 1PSUFS t #FTU 0Gm DF $MFBOFS t #FTU 4FDVSJUZ (VBSE t "OE NPSF SP ON S O R ED BY 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

20

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

JULY 28-AUGUST 3,2016

WORK ON BIKE LANES BEGINS NEWS Plans proceed despite opposition from the neighborhood and the Community Board

BY ASIA HORNE

Ready or not, here come more Upper East Side bike lanes.

Since November 2015, there has been a lot of community discussion about bike lanes in the neighborhood. The Department of Transportation wants to put five-foot bike lanes on 70th, 71st, 77th, and 78th streets, but faced strenuous opposition from a neighborhood that has emerged as one of the most strongly anti-bike in the city.

After meetings between the Community Board, Department of Transportation, and residents in the area, on May 18, the full Community Board voted and rejected the proposal of additional bike lanes, 25 to 19.

While some residents celebrated the

vote, their happiness was short lived.

On June 22, the Department of Transportation decided to go through with the plan to put the bike lanes on all four streets, and work on the lanes has been underway for the past two weeks.

“I am agitated by these bike lanes and am not looking forward to the traffic that will come with it,” said resident Judith Toby. “It’s not only going to be bad for drivers, but also pedestrians and the environment. Traffic is bound to be hazardous for those crossing the street and bring more pollution.”

The Department of Transportation is continuing to make the argument that the bike lanes are going to make the streets safer, allow bikers to be more predictable, and improve safety for drivers. The department sees bike lanes as part of its plan to achieve Vision Zero, meaning no traffic fatalities in the city.

While the city’s intensions may be good, the matter upsets the Community Board. James Clynes, the chair of Community Board 8, says, “Regardless of my personal opinion I will always

Community Board 8 rejected a plan to add bike lanes like this one to East 70th and 71st Streets, 77th and 78th Streets, and 84th and 85th Streets. Photo: Mike, via flickr defend, protect, and preserve the full Community Board. We voted 25 to 19 no and although we are disappointed that the Department of Transportation is going through with the installments despite our vote, they do have the right to move forward.”

These bike lanes have not only caused tensions between the Community Board and the Department of Transportation, but also the Community Board and residents. Many residents are angry with the Community Board and claim that the board could

CB8 LOOKS TO ACE OUT TENNIS CLUB City’s lease agreement with private operator, worth $2.6 million this year, expires next summer

BY BEN SCHNEIER

In one of the city’s districts with the least green space per resident, the local community board and elected officials are jockeying with an upscale tennis club for use of a unique park.

The Queensboro Oval is a clay field located underneath the Queensboro Bridge on Sutton Place between 59th Street and 60th Street. But from September to June, the park is covered by an inflatable bubble enclosing eight tennis courts operated by the Sutton East Tennis Club, while in July and August it is host to nightly softball games and other activities.

Sutton East’s license agreement with the city’s Department of Parks & Recreation, for which it will pay $2.6 million this year, expires in August of 2017, and Community Board 8 and the club have submitted conflicting requests for proposals to the Parks department.

The community board, with support from elected officials representing the Upper East Side, seeks to completely change the makeup of the park and open it for public use year-round. The tennis club wants to expand the bubble’s time frame to the entire year, but would allow anyone with a city tennis permit to play there during the summer.

“The city engages on business on behalf of the people where oftentimes a

special interest will win and get rich at the expense of the community, and my goal is to make sure that whether it’s the tennis oval or another location, the community should have a role in the process and there should be transparency around it,” said Councilman Ben Kallos, who supports the community board’s proposal.

Tony Scolnick, the director of the tennis club since its inception in 1979, contended that the undesirable location of the Oval makes it best used under a bubble.

“Do they want to have a park here with the loud noises of the bridge and the fumes coming off, or do they want to have a state-of-the-art tennis club that brings in large income?” he said.

Seasonal city tennis permits cost $200 for adults, $20 for seniors and $10 for minors, while single-play permits cost $15. By contrast, hourly court rentals at Sutton East range from $60 to $225, depending on the time of day, although nonprofits including City Parks Foundation are allotted some free court time.

While the park technically remains public throughout the year, it is widely considered private because of Sutton East’s fees. The community board hosted an event last month to rally support, and has vowed to continue their efforts by sending a steady stream of signed petitions to elected officials, creating a visual campaign of what the park could look like, and possibly having additional events.

“The Upper East Side has some of the least parkland of any neighbor-

The Sutton East Tennis Club operates 8 courts inside this bubble under the Queensboro Bridge. Photo: New York City Department of Parks & Recreation hood, with a growing population, so it becomes increasingly urgent that we get more parkland,” said Peggy Price, the co-chair of CB8’s parks committee. “Our position is that this is a designated public park and it should be returned to the taxpayers full time, year-round, and we believe public parks should not be privatized.”

Kallos said he would work with the community board to continue lobbying to open up the park.

“The goal is to keep up the pressure between now and 2017 so that the

city doesn’t renew the lease,” he said.

“Every elected official supports the community in returning the oval to the community; I haven’t heard one person opposing this. At this point, it’s been a generation of this not being given back to the community, and we want the $2.6 million used to improve it and return it to the public year-round.’

Kallos, though, acknowledged that the odds are against that happening.

“I’m expecting an uphill battle,” he said.

have done more to prevent the lanes from being built.

“We have no control over the department’s decisions and it is unacceptable for anyone to believe that we didn’t take action in this issue,” Clynes says.

The tennis club attracts 1,500 players a week, Scolnick said, while during the summer there are very few people on the field outside of the 38 evenings during which softball teams play on the uncovered field, which, proponents of opening the park year-around say, is compromised by the bubble’s leftover footprint.

The community board’s plan includes a total redesign of the park to increase the park’s potential uses.

The board has suggested that the park could be converted to a multi-sports area with seating for relaxation and a monetized ice skating rink in the winter.

The Oval is within the Upper East Side’s District 5, which ranks 47th out of the city’s 51 districts in terms of park and playground space per resident, according to New Yorkers For Parks.

Asked to comment on the future of the oval, the Parks Department issued a statement from Manhattan Borough Commissioner William Castro identical to that provided in April.

“NYC Parks is currently evaluating options for the site’s future use,” the statement said. “In accordance with the rules of the City’s Franchise and Concession Review Committee, NYC Parks will review plans for any potential Requests for Proposals with the community board and invite its feedback.”

Scolnick said he would go along with the department’s decision.

“We’ve been here since 1979, we have a great relationship with Parks, and we’re going to respect whatever decision they make, he said. “We’re hoping that they make a decision for tennis.”

JULY 28-AUGUST 3,2016

21

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

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

YOUR 15 MINUTES

CULTIVATING HIS MUSICAL ROOTS Jazz drummer George Coleman Jr. traces his parents’ rich musical history

BY ANGELA BARBUTI

George Coleman Jr. was destined to become a musician. The native New Yorker was born to parents who were both integral parts of the city’s jazz scene in the 1950s. George Sr.’s luminous career includes playing with Miles Davis and B.B. King. And during a time when female musicians were anomalies, his mother, Gloria, was a bassist for Duke Ellington. Although he tried to break the mold by working as an engineer after college, George Jr. ultimately decided to return to his roots and pursue his talent on the drums full time.

Now, Coleman is putting his family’s unique and heartwarming story on film as the producer of “Another Kind of Soul: A Coleman Family Legacy.”

Part of the documentary tells about his parents being estranged for many years and then coming together later in life to record an album and perform on stage with their son. Coleman’s mother passed away in 2010, so the footage they have of that concert has special meaning since it was the last time the three of them would play together. “That’s what I want people to get from the film. Family is complicated, but there are ways that you can reconnect and sometimes they’re not always the direct route. And for us, it was really through music,” he said.

You got your bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. When did you make the decision to work in music full time?

I was trying to forge my own identity, different from my parents. If your parents are doctors, you become a musician, if your parents are musicians, you become a doctor or engineer.

Probably around 2005 the idea germinated and then I put the things in motion to make that happen. In 2007, I actually took off and started doing music full time. And the truth is, it really changed the way I played because as much time and energy you put into something, there’s nothing like really being focused on it as a singular pursuit. So that really changed my playing and I started getting a lot more work because people noticed a change in my playing as well.

How did your parents influence you when you were starting out? Did they encourage you to go into music?

No, they were kind of like, ‘Don’t do it.’ There’s a funny story about my dad when I was like, ‘Hey, I’m thinking

about leaving the corporate world and doing music full time,’ and he was like, ‘Well, good luck’ and kind of hung up on me. And I went on tour right after that because I specifically planned it to make sure I wouldn’t have much of a gap between the corporate world and music because you end up reading The New York Times and drinking coffee for a couple of months. So I went right on tour in Asia. When I came back a couple of months later, we laughed about it and he said, “Man, I just didn’t know what to tell you. I wanted to say, ‘You’re out of your mind,’ but I didn’t want to discourage you.” They didn’t discourage me, but it was a tough life for them. My dad started doing incredibly well much later in life.

You have said your mom was a trailblazer.

I think the interesting thing about my mom was that most female musicians were vocalists. But my mother was a bass player, which was a very unusual instrument for a woman.

And she was somewhat diminutive, so it was really amazing that she was able to handle that instrument. Her teacher was this very famous bassist by the name of Oscar Pettiford. So for her first gig right out of high school, he recommended her for Duke Ellington. My mother auditioned with Duke Ellington, who is, and was, even back then, quite the icon musically. And my mom said she played so loud because she figured it was a big band and she didn’t want them to think because she was a woman, she couldn’t be heard above the band. A few minutes in, they said, “You don’t have to play so loud; you got the gig.” And Billie Holiday was one of her closest friends and my sister’s middle name is Lady after Lady Day after Billy Holiday. And my mother had a jam session at Birdland, where all the great musicians would headline. She was one of the bands that would play either late or between sets. So she met all the great musicians of New York. My mother was very attractive too, so she had a lot of suitors. I had many musicians say that they could have been my dad, except that my dad was much bigger and stronger than them.

What does your dad tell you about the music scene in New York in the ‘50s?

If you talk to my dad about that time frame, I think the thing that he would say the most is that there were just so many venues and opportunities to play. That music was a 24/7 pursuit.

There were breakfast jams, midday jams and evening jams. Basically, these guys worked seven nights a week and almost 18 hours a day if they

George Coleman Jr. playing at the Jazz Standard. Photo: Lena Adasheva could. And plus the sets were much longer. Today, you’re lucky to play two one-hour sets. Back in those days, there were four, five or six. And I think that’s the main difference. Because like anything you do, if you’re doing it with that level of consistency, and not just in the practice room, but actually performing that much on a daily basis, you get to be pretty damn good.

Tell us about the concert you three played together and how that became the impetus to get the film made.

My mother, father and I had recorded a record which was the first one we ever did together as a family. My parents had been estranged so it was a really wonderful experience. So we were going to be playing a record release party at the Jazz Standard. It was really a crazy day, Jan. 20, 2008, because it was the inauguration of President Obama and also my birthday. It wasn’t planned, it just happened. A couple of days before, I got a call from the editor who said I wasn’t fit for the project and that he wasn’t interested in supporting it anymore. I had an idea in my mind that this might not happen again, my parents playing together. So

I had to pony up a ridiculous amount of money because I didn’t know any better, to do this last minute shoot, which I’m glad I did. Now I’ve got his footage of this amazing concert and, fast forward a couple of years later, my mother passes away. So now the impetus to get this thing finished just rises to a fever pitch.

What do you want viewers to take away from it?

One of the things I didn’t want to do was a jazz documentary where I just show footage of my dad playing and maybe me playing with him and talking a little bit about his amazing history and that’s that. For me, this story is extremely personal and it’s really about the relationship between a family and how music is sort of like this intertwined entity that perversely and positively affects that relationship. You know, my parents split up because my mom was a musician. She wasn’t a stay-at-home mom where the guys would go on the road and do their thing and everybody was quiet about it. My mother was actually on the scene and she’s from New York. So when my dad was doing whatever he

was doing, I mean, he was a young guy.

He was gaining fame — he played with Miles Davis, which was the pinnacle at that time — so my mom’s girlfriends who were musicians would rat him out essentially. And my mom was so strong, raising two kids pretty much on her own and having to put her career somewhat on hold to raise us and put us through college. So this thing is a testament to her fortitude. So this film really is about the culmination of music blowing up my family and then us being civil enough to get together to do this record and play and perform together. I mean, my parents, I don’t know the last time they were actually in the same room together, much less in the studio and months later, on the bandstand. It’s the coolest thing. www.anotherkindofsoulthemovie. com

Know somebody who deserves their 15 Minutes of fame? Go to otdowntown.com and click on submit a press release or announcement.

22

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

JULY 28-AUGUST 3,2016

“I WISH SOMEONE WOULD HELP THAT HOMELESS MAN.”

BE THE SOMEONE. Sam New York Cares Volunteer

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

JULY 28-AUGUST 3,2016

CLASSIFIEDS PHOTOGRAPHY

23

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

MASSAGE

VACATIONS

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.

Directory of Business & Services

WANTED TO BUY

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

MERCHANDISE FOR SALE

Antique, Flea & Farmers Market SINCE 1979

East 67th Street Market

CARS & TRUCKS & RVâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S

(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

ENTERTAINMENT

REAL ESTATE - SALE

HOME IMPROVEMENTS

LEGAL AND PROFESSIONAL

SERVICES OFFERED

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

800.530.0006

Medical and Office Cleaning Company Looking to Buy

NEED TO RUN A LEGAL NOTICE?

SMALL TO MEDIUM SIZED CLEANING COMPANIES FROM 1 TO 100 ACCOUNTS

Call Barry Lewis today at:

Goldberg PO Box 2962 Church St Station 10008

Quick | Easy | Economical

212-868-0190

SOHO LT MFG Your Homeownership Partner

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

FVR EcMcR ^S @Rf K^aY ?^acUMUR 2UR]Ph ^ĹŞRabÍ&#x203A; Î&#x201E; 4^\_RcWcWeRÍ&#x153; ĹŹgRQÍšaMcR \^acUMURb S^a ĹŹabcÍšcW\R V^\ROdhRab Î&#x201E; 5^f]_Mh\R]c MbbWbcM]PR MeMWZMOZR d_ c^ Î&#x2020; Í&#x153; Î&#x201E; E_RPWMZ _a^UaM\ S^a eRcRaM]bÍ&#x153; MPcWeRÍšQdch \WZWcMahÍ&#x153; @McW^]MZ 8dMaQ M]Q aRbRaeWbcb Î&#x201E; 7d]Qb MeMWZMOZR S^a aR]^eMcW^]

1-800-382-HOME(4663)

www.sonyma.org

ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S NEVER TOO EARLY

TO INVEST IN A GOOD THING. Introducing Better Futures 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

TM

Š2013 UNCF

Invest in Better Futures at UNCF.ORG/INVEST

24

JULY 28-AUGUST 3,2016

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