Our Town Downtown - August 4, 2016

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The local paper for Downtown wn MINING ‘WHITE GOLD’ AT THE FRICK, CITYARTS, < P. 12

WEEK OF AUGUST

4-10 2016

Our Take

FIGHTING DEVELOPMENT, ONCE AGAIN, IN THE VILLAGE

A CHANGE AT ONE POLICE PLAZA

NEWS Latest project under scrutiny is 11-19 Jane Street BY MADELEINE THOMPSON

The latest in a series of Greenwich Village luxury development proposals to come before the Landmarks Preservation Commission is 11-19 Jane Street, which was presented to the commission by David Chipperfield Architects. In the past few months, applications for luxury developments at 85-89 Jane Street, 46-74 Gansevoort Street and 500 Washington Street have been presented to Community Board 2 and the LPC in what appears to be a mini building boom in the area. Rick Hampton, who lives on Horatio Street behind the existing one-story garage at 11-19 Jane, attributed this to “the excitement over the Meatpacking District, the High Line and the Whitney Museum.” As a historic district with a distinct architectural character of low-lying rowhouses, Greenwich Village is perpetually fighting back against new developments that do not adhere to the same design. Modern architectural trends favor materials like glass and light-colored stone, which clash with the brownstone and red brick of the neighborhood’s oldest buildings. The 1969 report that designated Greenwich Village a historic district described the area as “unique because it is the only good-sized residential area which has remained largely intact and where the architecture reflects the continuum of a community.” Its uni-

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Photos by Nany Chuang http://nancychuang.com

STREET VENDORS TAKE TO THE STREET NEWS Protest comes as city considers changes to the vendor laws BY MADELEINE THOMPSON

The street vendors who marched together last month up Broadway from Canal Street to E. Houston Street were used to the intense heat and humidity -- they do business in it every day. The march was organized by the Street Vendor Project, an advocacy group, to protest the harassment of vendors by businesses, community members and the NYPD in SoHo. “Despite attempts at making an honest living, vendors are subject to

a litany of unjust regulations which make their work an incredible challenge,” reads an SVP petition on Change.org that has more than 160 signatures. The march was also intended to advertise the SVP’s “Lift the Caps” campaign to reform legislation that limits the number of vendor permits available. “For the past six months or so people have seen an increase in police harassment, but also harassment from the Broadway Initiative,” Basma Eid, an organizer with the Street Vendor Project, said. “Vendors have told us time and time again that they’ve been working and someone comes out and asks them what are they doing here … basically trying to intimidate them to move.” Eid noted that it was the vendors themselves,

many of whom are members of the SVP, who approached the group to organize the protest. Pete Davies, who has lived in SoHo for 36 years and is a member of the Broadway Residents Coalition, has learned that engaging with vendors directly is not the most effective method. “That is not advisable,” he said. “I have no authority with them [and] we’re all somewhat confused by the myriad of regulations, so having a conversation about what’s right and what’s wrong isn’t always productive.” Davies acknowledged that most vendors are hard workers just trying to get by, but described others as “belligerent” when it comes to protecting their share of

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Newscheck Crime Watch Voices Out & About

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City Arts Restaurants Real Estate 15 Minutes

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What next for the NYPD? This week’s surprise news that Commissioner William Bratton is stepping down, earlier than expected, comes as the nation’s largest police force is in desperate need of a restart. An ugly political favors scandal continues to swirl around the department, costing the badges of a number of top cops and showing no signs of going away. That’s been happening even as tensions rise between the NYPD and African-American New Yorkers, who continue to report unafir treatment by the police. As recently as Monday, on the eve of Bratton’s announcement, a group of protesters affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement was settling in at City Hall park, promising an Occupy-style sit-in and demanding Bratton’s resignation. And while crime rates remain low in the city, the murder rate has slowly crept up, feeding fears that the city could start to slide back to the bad old days. In many ways, Bratton has been a steady presence, avoiding the provocations of his predecessor, and vowing to end the policies that sowed so much anger in the city. But the tensions go deeper than any one man, and the healing that’s needed here will take much longer than the tenure of one commissioner or one mayor. (Or even is in contained to one city, as we’ve seen in Dallas and Baton Rouge and elsewhere.) Bratton is turning over the reigns to James O’Neill, the NYPD’s chief of department and a veteran of the force. We, of course, wish him well. But we also fear there is still a long way to go in healing our wounds.

WEEK OF APRIL

SPRING ARTS PREVIEW < CITYARTS, P.12

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

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

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

2015

In Brief MORE HELP FOR SMALL BUSINESS

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

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

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

n OurTownDowntow

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

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

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Chapter 23

EVE AND OTHERS BY ESTHER COHEN

Previously: When Alyosha Zim, a handsome mustachioed gay man who could tango, disappeared from his Upper West Side apartment, a nearby building of tenants took it on themselves to try to find him. Eve, Naomi, Charles, and Mrs. Israel were awkwardly standing at 120 West 82nd Street in the 20th Precinct. Eve, the only one of them who read mystery novels, had taken it upon herself to make an appointment with a police detective. Gould, her friend from the Avocado Tree on the ground floor of her building, suggested a detective who could help them move forward. Gould himself was a former Black Panther from LA. He did not like police very much. Still, he’d met a likable detective, another former Panther named Bruce, at The Dublin House, an old dive bar

Bruce Mohammed, big imposing man, made a careful entrance, onto center stage, which happened to be his ugly district office. He looked, at first glance anyway, as though there was nothing he could not do. Solid, handsome, he had the ageless quality some men have. Looking them over with a certain amount of disdain, he said, with authority, “Let’s find him.” on 79th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam. Bruce and Gould became instant friends, and Gould actually trusted him. That was a saying a lot because Gould, whose central character trait was paranoia, told Eve that Bruce was in the good column. Eve never remembered Gould saying that about anyone ever before. Although it was 10 o’clock in the morning on a bright July day, the precinct was one of those characterless boxy places, eerily lit. They sat in a big windowless room painted faded prison green. All the fluorescent lights were on, creating an undertone of a continual unpleasant buzz. The woman at reception looked as

unhappy as anyone could be, but she did call Detective Bruce, whose last name was Mohammed. “Should I read him the list of our prepared questions?” Mrs. Israel asked. Always prepared, the Girl Scout among them, she was dressed in policeman blue, a neat suit with a crisp white shirt. July didn’t make much of a wardrobe impression on her. “Let’s play it by ear,” Naomi said. She was in her usual silver: silver dress, silver boots, silver polish on her nails. She looked like she should burst into song, although she couldn’t actually do that, ever. “Let’s see what he’s like first,” she cautioned.

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Bruce Mohammed, big imposing man, made a careful entrance, onto center stage, which happened to be his ugly district office. He looked, at first glance anyway, as though there was nothing he could not do. Solid, handsome, he had the ageless quality some men have. Looking them over with a certain amount of disdain, he said, with authority, “Let’s find him.” “Who?” said Charles, thrown off at first. “Who do you think?” Bruce Mohammed replied. “I heard the whole story last night,” he said “It isn’t much of a story either. We’re used to a little more drama around here. Maybe Alyosha’s running from you people, now that he knows you’re all on his tail.” “How would he know that?” Mrs. Israel asked.

“That can be one of the questions we ask when we find him,” Bruce Mohammed said. “So here’s what we’re going to do. Tell me everything you know about him. I’ve located a picture by the way. Here he is,” he said, and brought out a Xerox of a handsome young man, a man who looked surprisingly familiar. “I swear I’ve seen him,” Naomi said. “I actually think he’s a customer in the Avocado Tree.” “Well, I guarantee that, even if you haven’t yet, you will,” Bruce replied. “What makes you so sure you’ll find him?” Mrs. Israel asked. “I’m a detective,” he said. “What do you think that means?” Esther Cohen writes 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

AUGUST 4-10,2016

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CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG

GUILTY PLEA IN PILL CASE A pharmacist and her husband have pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute highly addictive prescription painkillers. The pleas by Lilian and Marcin Jakacki were entered in Manhattan federal court. Prosecutors said the oxycodone pills distributed over five years were worth over $15 million. In plea agreements, Lilian Jakacki agreed not to appeal any sentence of 14 years or less in prison while her husband said he would not challenge any sentence below nine years. Prosecutors said the couple distributed the drugs with and without fake prescriptions through pharmacies in Brooklyn and Queens. At the time the couple was arrested, prosecutors said the distribution of drugs from 2010 to 2015 was one of the largest pill distribution schemes ever in New York City. Sentencing was set for late November.

TOUCHED A burglar undertook some marketing of the criminal kind inside a marketing firm’s locked office. Sometime between about midnight on July 20 and 8:15 the following morning, someone entered the offices of Executive Touch Worldwide Inc. inside 40 Exchange Place nearly $20,000 worth of electronic equipment, including several laptops. Police said an adjoining office was under construction and walls had been removed, exposing an interior door leading into the office burglarized. When they came to work, employees saw visible pry marks on the office doors, which had been locked. Police could not find any fingerprints. The items stolen included sixty-two Samsung tablets, three MacBook Air laptops, two Asus laptops, an Xbox One, a PS4, an iPad 2, an HP laptop and an iPhone 6S Plus, making a total haul of $19,320.

CELLAR OCCASION An intruder with a taste for the good stuff had much to celebrate. Sometime after 8 p.m. on July 19, an unknown perpetrator broke into a basement storage area belonging to Soho Wines & Spirits at 461 West Broadway and took high-end wines and liquor retailed

at nearly $12,000. A male employee told police that numerous contractors had keys to access the building, but not the storage area. Indeed, the lock to the storage area had been broken, and a gate leading to the storage area was busted open. The spirits stolen included 10 cases of Veuve Clicquot champagne valued at $4,320, six cases of Mionetto wine priced at $768, 10 cases of Grey Goose vodka tagged at $2,187, two cases of Veuve Clicquot Rosé Champagne priced at $1,054, three bottles of La Grande Dame Champagne worth $396, three cases of Moët & Chandon vintage champagne valued at $738, three cases of Perrier Jouet champagne priced at $1,260, one case of Moët & Chandon rosé champagne tagged at $284, and two cases of Veuve Clicquot Viat champagne valued at $792, making a total take of $11,799.

A LITTLE TOO HANDY One Handy cleaning employee apparently took a little too much into her hands. On July 18, a 34-year-old woman living at 82 Beaver Street had a cleaner from the Handy cleaning service in her apartment from 10 a.m. to noon. Toward the end of the cleaning session, the woman asked her cleaner, identified by police only as Dionice P., to organize

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

0

1

-100.0

8

4

100.0

Robbery

1

1

0.0

34

31

9.7

Felony Assault

1

1

0.0

42

44

-4.5

Burglary

3

1

200.0

74

77

-3.9

Grand Larceny

14

28

-50.0

587

569

3.2

Grand Larceny Auto

1

1

0.0

34

12

183.3

her wardrobe, where all her handbags were stored. When the cleaner left, the woman checked her wardrobe and noticed that two bags were missing. She told police that the cleaner had left carrying a large suitcase of cleaning supplies. The items stolen were a black Chanel Boy Bag valued at $5,748 and an orange Prada Limited Edition tagged at $1,700.

DISTILLED DISTURBED A security camera inside the Distilled New York public house at 211 West

Broadway captured video of a woman entering the location through an open rear door left unlocked for delivery person for a few minutes around 11 p.m. July 22, after the business had been closed for the day. The woman can be seen in the video removing property from the hostess station and then leaving through the same unlocked rear door. There were no signs of forced entry, nor did the alarm sound. The items stolen were an Amazon Kindle Fire valued at $150 and two iPad Minis worth $500.

“IF ONLY SOMEONE WOULD CLEAN UP THIS PARK.”

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Useful Contacts POLICE NYPD 7th Precinct

19 ½ Pitt St.

212-477-7311

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233 W. 10th St.

212-741-4811

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An appeals panel has allowed some work to begin a court case moves toward resolution BY ISIDRO CAMACHO

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FIRE FDNY Engine 15

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State Senator Daniel Squadron

212-587-3159

250 Broadway #2011

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330 W. 42nd St.

212-736-4536

COMMUNITY BOARDS

LIBRARIES Hudson Park

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Ottendorfer

135 2nd Ave.

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Elmer Holmes Bobst

70 Washington Square

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HOSPITALS New York-Presbyterian

170 William St.

Mount Sinai-Beth Israel

10 Union Square East

212-844-8400

CON EDISON

4 Irving Place

212-460-4600

TIME WARNER

46 East 23rd

813-964-3839

212-312-5110

US Post Office

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PIER 55 PROJECT MOVES AHEAD Small-scale construction has begun on the Pier 55 island project along the Hudson River despite continued legal entanglements. The park’s developers are mired in a legal battle with the City Club of New York and although an appeals panel halted construction earlier summer until the case was resolved, the panel partially lifted the injunction recently, allowing some work to begin. Construction crews can only install nine piles — structural supports on which the park island will rest — into the water until a court decision, possibly as soon as next month. A statement provided by the public relations firm representing the project — which is spearheaded and largely funded by media mogul Barry

Diller and the designer Diane von Furstenberg — called the City Club’s legal efforts “a charade” and an obstacle to community wishes for the park. “Now that both state and federal courts have denied its demand for an injunction, the City Club should take this cue

to finally end its absurd crusade against the wishes of the community,” the statement said. The City Club’s president, Michael Gruen, though, said the park will be less of a community amenity than developers are advertising. Besides

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its high development costs, as well as that of future maintenance and upkeep, Gruen said there are ecological and social consequences to creating yet another waterfront development. “We need to think of open water as a sanctuary,” he said. Several factions of community groups and individuals have voiced opposition against the project, including the Hudson River Riverkeeper. Robert Buchanan, another critic of the park, said the project’s scale called for more research and community outreach by the park’s developers. Buchanan, who taught a course at the New School called “Liquid Cities” focusing on sustainable, waterside urban spaces, said the proposed park at Pier 55 could have been planned with a more ecological frame of reference. Instead of a floating island, which requires complex construction, the development could have been created with “softer edges,” such as marshes or beaches, he said. The park’s developers completed an environmental assessment prior to approval but Buchanan called that insufficient. He suggested that a more comprehensive environmental impact survey would have taken better stock of the project. “An EIS is a longer process and provides more openings for public conversation,” he said. Construction can only get fully under way once the legal issues are resolved. The park has met all other perquisites for construction, including approval from Community Board 2, the State Department of Conservation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Gruen said he is hopeful the court will bar the effort. “I think we have very good grounds to win our case,” he said. Buchanan was more concerned about what kind of legacy the park will leave. He used to teach students from the New School how to build and pilot small boats in the area where the park is set to be built. Boaters who launch from Chelsea Piers enjoy the free, open space Pier 55 provides. “I’m concerned about the precedent this park will set,” he said.

AUGUST 4-10,2016

STREET VENDORS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 the sidewalk. His main concern is the congestion of SoHo’s sidewalks, which has only increased over the years as more retail stores have been added to the area. The SVP has long been advocating for reform to the legislation governing street vendors, which caps the number of food unit permits that can be issued. Full-term citywide permits are capped at 2,800 for a two-year period, seasonal citywide at 1,000 for April to October and Green Cart permits for fruit and vegetable vendors at 1,000. There are 100 two-year permits available for citywide use by veterans and people with disabilities, and 200 are available for non-Manhattan use for a two-year term. By the SVP’s estimate, there are 20,000 vendors in the city, almost three-quarters of them are left to operate illegally or work for a permit-owning entity. “People have to find someone who had a permit back in the day and now are renting permits from those people under the table,” Eid said. Though the city only charges $200 for the permits, there are so few available that they are selling for as much as $25,000 on the black market. “The city is really losing out on a lot of money they could be making,” she said. Among the reforms the SVP would like to see is a reduction in the 20-foot distance vendors’ carts have to be from the nearest store doorway down to 10 feet. Eid said the organization has been working with several elected officials, including Council Members Margaret

DEVELOPMENT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 formity, along with its historic occupation by artists and specialty workshops, are two main reasons it was given historic status in the first place. For many long-time residents like Hampton, who has lived in the neighborhood since 1977, the fight to preserve their village is a familiar one that has only picked up speed in the last decade. “I think up until the time the Meatpacking District started really booming about 10 years ago or so I think the northwest corner of the Village was pretty quiet,” he said. “The attempt to actually knock down old buildings and build up has only been happening since real estate became all the more valuable.” According to the Greenwich Village Historic District Designation Report, these kinds of issues have faced the neighborhood since the early 1800s, when the previously isolated area became more easily accessible to the rest of Manhattan. It was saved from total assimilation by its erratic street pattern and by the way its “early families held onto their houses tenaciously for generations.” David Chipperfield Architects’ vision for 11-19 Jane Street includes a 100-foot glass facade with a setback penthouse on the sixth floor and the use of cast stone, which would stand out from the darker hues of the rest of the street, though the garage that is there now is painted white. After the developer’s presentation, LPC Chair Meenakshi Srini-

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Photos by Nancy Chuang http://nancychuang.com Chin and Ydanis Rodriguez, and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. “The council wants to increase opportunities for vendors and we are exploring our options,” said council press secretary Robin Levine, though she declined a request for an interview with the speaker. Chin, who represents District 1 including Lower Manhattan and parts of SoHo, sees the vendors as an important part of the local economy. “They

vasan led the commission in airing concerns about the building and suggesting ways the architect might alter the design to fit the surrounding buildings. “I think if there are departures from what has been put in [the designation report] there has to be a pretty clear finding for why there was that departure,” said Srinivasan, who later noted that she was fine with the proposed building material. “I do think that the penthouse setback and its height are problematic. I don’t think I’m persuaded that … once it’s setback it necessarily becomes part of the streetscape with the taller buildings on Horatio.” Commissioner Michael Goldblum said he finds the design “intimidating.” “I find the use of cast stone … almost demeaning to the other materials within the district,” he said. “More fundamentally though … I find the demolition of the garage building to be extremely troubling.” Several one-story buildings have been approved for demolition by the LPC before, which some commissioners cited as a reason to approve this project while others worried about the precedent past decisions may have set. Though less well attended than the LPC hearing on 85-89 Jane, which the commission also took no action on, several residents did show up to hold signs urging the commission to deny the application. The session was not open to public comment -- that portion of the process had occurred in June -but the neighbors’ presence was clearly felt. Ultimately, the LPC took no action on 11-19 Jane Street.

really add something special to the uniqueness of the city streetscape,” Chin said. “City Council right now is looking at legislation that could help them and support them.” Mark Dicus is understanding of the challenges vendors face, but as the director of the SoHo Broadway Initiative he has to put the businesses and community he represents first. “Our take on it is … the vendor community is welcome to op-

erate within the district,” he said. “We’re here to help them find legal locations … and operate within the rules they’re supposed to operate within.” Dicus has received complaints from SoHo residents and business owners who don’t care for the vendors, or who are opposed to the sidewalk congestion they contribute to. This past January, the SoHo BID put together and published a guide to vending regulations that they distributed in an effort to collaborate with vendors in the area. “Some guys really want to find a legal spot, and others are given strict marching orders and are open to input but they’re really following the instructions of their boss,” Dicus said. At the hot dog cart on the corner of Broadway and Prince Street where Mohamed Nazim works, it is his boss who owns the permit that allows him to operate. “The community is good, no problem -- it’s the police,” he said. Nazim has been ticketed many times over the years for questionable offenses. Once, he was issued a ticket for not having the cart’s permit prominently displayed because it was glued to the opposite side of his cart from where the officer approached. Nazim has been trying to get his own permit from the city for a decade. “Why give me the license to work but no permit?” he said. “I am a legal resident.” As Eid sees it, allowing vendors to work without having the police called on them is “the least we can do.” No new legislation has come before the council yet, but Eid is hopeful that something will be put forward soon. Until then, vendors and community members will continue struggling to coexist.

HEALTH SURVEY UNDERWAY IN MANHATTAN The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will collect findings to plan policy, programs and services Just more than 600 randomly selected addresses within Manhattan will be visited by representatives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the next few weeks as part of an annual effort to distill the nation’s overall health. Manhattan this year is one of 15 counties nationwide selected to be part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a wide-ranging study by the CDC taking place through Sept. 19. Representatives from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics will ask residents at those addresses a series of questions to determine their eligibility to take part in the survey, including about their race, gender and age. Eligible participants who volunteer to take further part will then be asked to fill out a questionnaire regarding their occupations, eating habits, medical history and other subjects related to overall health. A detailed health examination is then scheduled in mobile labs, where participants have their blood tested and their oral health screened, among other examinations. Participants are paid up to $125 and will be given free and confidential health and nutrition evaluations. The findings provide “critical health-related information” on obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, the CDC said in a press release. The survey’s collected findings are analyzed with a view to help health officials, doctors and

Detailed health examination for eligible survey participants will take place in mobile labs such as these. Photo: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention legislators to develop health policies, programs and services, the CDC said. The collected data ultimately influences a range of health-related matters, such as air quality and the types of foods found on store shelves, according to the Center. The assessment, underway for 55 years, is “the most comprehensive survey of the health and nutritional status of the U.S. population,” the CDC said. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey “serves as the nation’s ‘health checkup,’ going into communities to collect health information throughout the country,” the CDC director, Thomas Frieden, said in the release. “The survey is a unique resource for health information, and without it we would lack important knowledge about major health conditions.” Manhattan last took part in the survey in 2000.

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20-FLOOR TOWER TO RISE ON EAST 86TH Extell Development has bought several buildings near the corner of First Avenue BY BEN SCHNEIER

Real estate behemoth Extell Development has added another building to an Upper East Side assemblage where they plan to build a 20-story condominium tower with more than 200 apartments. The mega-developer closed on the $93 million sale of a former Gristedes at 350 East 86th Street between First and Second Avenues early last month. Plans have not yet been officially filed for the 128,250-square-foot site, a 1-story building built in 1960. The departure of this Gristedes comes just after the closure of the beloved nearby location on East End, as the supermarket chain operates at a loss. Extell has previously bought clusters of buildings and demolished them to build towers, and their plan for this location is no different. Within the past few years, Extell has also purchased two brownstones neighboring their recent acquisition, with five local businesses forced to move in the process. Directly adjacent to the former Gristedes, at 352 East 86th Street, is

a 5-story building that used to house a dollar pizza spot and Gracie’s Corner Diner. Next to that is the 4-story 16471649 First Avenue, once home to a 99cent store, a pickle and olive shop, and Unique Cut Barber Shop.

Steve Badl, who owns Unique Cut Barber Shop, moved his store about 10 blocks north when Extell bought his former First Avenue location, near 86th Street. Photo: Ben Schneier

All of the businesses were forced to leave when their respective buildings were purchased, and while the majority of them permanently shuttered, some were able to relocate. Unique Cut Barber Shop moved 2 years ago to East 96th Street, and owner Steve Badl felt afflicted by the displacement. “They pushed us out and didn’t give us any money or anything,” he said. “It’s not fair, we lost customers, we lost money.” Badl added that they considered hiring a lawyer and going to court at the time, but weren’t confident in a positive outcome because they would have faced such a large company. He also saw the development as part of a wider trend. “Some people are disappointed because that was a historical building, been there for hundreds of years, and it’s gonna change the whole look,” he said. “Not too many [small businesses] are going to be left in the city, because all these high-rise buildings are trying to push them out and bring in big businesses.” Extell officials did not respond to inquiries about the planned development. Neither did the brokerage firm involved in the sale. Steve Nikolakakos owns Gracie’s

Corner Diner, which also moved 2 years ago but was lucky enough to grab a location on the next corner of the same block. Although he took a financial hit, the diner’s new location has actually come to be more profitable. “This is a better location, better busi-

ness, but I’m in love with the first location,” he said. “It was my baby for 30 years – half of my life.” Extell could potentially purchase an even larger piece of the block to add to their parcel, although the buildings bordering it include a homeless shelter, a bar and a pharmacy.

The Windermere, on Ninth Avenue and 57th Street, in 2006. Photo: Roger Rowlett via Wikimedia

tors, and several chauffeurs and waiters. The Windermere, from its earliest days, also had a reputation for housing artists. During the 20th century, some of these included Quinto Manganini, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1927 for his opera “The Argonauts”; sculptor, painter and photographer May Mott-Smith; and photographer Alonzo Hanagan, known as “Lon of New York,” whose semi-erotic photos of male bodybuilders often got him in trouble with the law. By the 1960s and early 70s, the Windermere was basically a rundown SRO. Among those who lived there when they were first starting out were actors Steve McQueen and Yaphet Kotto. In 1970, Kotto told The New York Times in 2002, he was filming “Across 110th Street” when he heard a knock on his trailer door. There stood his old landlord from the Windermere saying “McQueen owes me money.” Kotto paid the landlord several hundred dollars. He told the Times that one of the happiest days of his life was when he left the Windermere. The Windermere’s worst days were still to come. In 1980, Alan B. Weissman took over. According to court papers and testimony, tenants’ rooms were ransacked, doors ripped out, and prostitutes deliberately moved into the building, presumably in an effort to empty the building. The Times

wrote that several of Weissman’s building managers went to jail, and Weissman himself, earned a spot in the Village Voice’s “New York’s Worst Landlords” series in 1985. By the early 2000s, only about half a dozen residents were left. I remember walking by the building and encountering one of these residents, who was having a sidewalk sale. Almost all the windows were covered with aluminum sheeting, and the former stores on the ground floor had been boarded up long before. By this time, the Windermere was owned by a Japanese company, Toa Construction. In 2005, the city designated the building as a landmark, but that didn’t help conditions there. Two years later, the Fire Department evacuated remaining residents, saying the building was unsafe. Toa Construction had to pay nearly $4 million in penalties and lawsuits related to the building’s condition, The Times reported in 2007. In 2009, Mark Tress bought the building for $13 million, announcing that he would convert it to an upscale hotel, with some affordable housing and stores on the ground floor also included. Hell’s Kitchen has become fashionable again, and the Windermere is finally going along with it.

WINDERMERE SEES THE LIGHT AGAIN The once-prestigious but long rundown building is having a renaissance BY RAANAN GEBERER

The once-elegant Windermere apartment house on West 57th Street and Ninth Avenue, for years an empty, deteriorating hulk, is coming back to life. Through construction netting, one can see a refurbished brick exterior, newly installed windows, and onceagain prominent architectural details that had been obscured for decades. In between its construction in 188081 and now, the building has had several incarnations, including as one of the city’s most upscale, elegant residences; housing for independent “bachelor girls”; and a down-anddirty SRO. The Windermere was probably named after Lake Windermere in the English Lake District. At eight stories, it was one of the first large apartment houses in the city. Not only did it have three elevators, rare enough in the early 1880s, but it had telephone service, which is extraordinary when you consider the fact that the city’s first telephone exchange was established just two years beforehand. Each

apartment had five or six bedrooms, and the building boasted uniformed servants and marble fireplaces. Still the building was soon overshadowed by larger, grander and more modern apartment buildings such as the Chelsea Hotel and the Dakota. In addition, a series of fires plagued the Windermere in its first decade. Around 1890, the building’s policy changed, in part due to the hiring of superintendent Henry Stirling Goodale, described as “a man of artistic tastes,” and the father of two young women who wrote poetry. Goodale began to rent rooms within the suites to respectable young, single, employed women, as well as a smaller number of young single men. By 1900, the U.S. Census reported only four families in the building. After Goodale’s departure, more men and families began to move in once again. Many families took in “roomers.” Census records of the building’s occupants in the first few decades of the 20th century, according to the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission, reveal a somewhat mixed tenant body, including stenographers, clerks, a railroad conductor, a nurse, a detective, medical students, a plumber, a doctor, a dressmaker, ac-

The shuttered Gristedes at 350 East 86th Street, near First Avenue, recently purchased by real estate giant Extell Development. The location will form part of the footprint for a planned 20-story condo tower. Photo: Ben Schneier

AUGUST 4-10,2016

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Voices

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Poem BETHESDA FOUNTAIN My wife at rest Grandma Qin stirring herbs stealthily I sneak out to a favorite haunt, a nearby public college I sit on a concrete wall sip dark coffee and munch a cinnamon bun The students and hospital workers debowel the subway The office workers run for the bus I absorb all this early energy with glee I don’t know why I stroll through Central Park quiet on this gentle day I get to the overlook of Bethesda fountain It is the kind of day Grandma Qin came to America for Cool, crisp, blue, green, with sunlight slowly encasing the canopy of oak trees, evergreens, willows, wild flowers and shrubs and crew cut fields of grass The land juts into the pea green lake of reflecting glass Dogs run free sniffing and barking happily A Sino-newbie Tai Chi’s on a spot of sun broken through the trees It is silent, cool, dry I stare at the cut at the edge of the lake where punts could rest and where I stood daily twenty-five years ago reciting the Lord’s prayer as I recovered from a near fatal disease Since then the park where my father roamed as an orphaned ragamuffin, has been my Cathedral -- James M. McMahon

UNDERSTANDING OUR MUSLIM NEIGHBORS OP-ED BY SHAWN MOREHEAD

Photo by essygie via flickr

IN SEARCH OF POETS Have you written a poem your neighbors should read? Send it to us at news@strausnews.com

STRAUS MEDIA your neighborhood news source

We are all anxious and angry about the terrorist attacks in Orlando and at Bastille Day fireworks in Nice, France -- but what can Americans do? Divisive approaches to the issue dominate the news these days, and several legislative measures have received backing. So far, 14 states have proposed or passed anti-Sharia laws, despite the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of religion. We offer what we believe is a more thoughtful way to deal with the fears and divisions. The New York Community Trust is trying, on a small scale, to support solutions to anti-Muslim rhetoric and hate crimes. We started this spring, joining the Ford Founda-

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

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

tion and the New York Foundation, to look for positive messages. We heard from Muslim-Americans eager to be recognized for who they truly are—doctors, teachers, shopkeepers—in short, New Yorkers who want to make New York great. According to reports from the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, more than 80 percent of media coverage of Muslim-Americans is negative. Public perception is easily skewed: Surveys show that most Americans do not know a Muslim. Weeks before the Orlando massacre, The Trust committed more than half a million dollars in grants to eight organizations to highlight Muslims’ contributions to New York City while countering bias and negative stereotypes. Already, these groups are influencing the conversation. At New York University’s Islamic Center,

for example, leaders are presenting a realistic view of Muslim life by developing videos and podcasts with basic facts, inspirational stories and humorous anecdotes about Muslim-Americans. A grant to the Asian American Writers’ Workshop underwrites emerging Muslim, Arab, and South Asian writers workshops, fellowships, and mentors to help publish authentic narratives. Seftel Productions, also based in New York, is receiving a grant to create a video series, “The Secret Lives of Muslims,” illuminating their accomplishments. We are funding another nonprofit group, Turning Point for Women and Families, to train female leaders from local Muslim communities, breaking a stereotype that women aren’t allowed to be leaders in Muslim groups. Throughout history, one group

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

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

after another—the Irish, the Jews, the Latinos—has been scapegoated in the U.S. Once again, we all need to speak up for our wrongly vilified neighbors. The New York Community Trust is urging government agencies, the media, and our fellow foundations to help American Muslims nurture and promote their leaders and thinkers, spotlight the contributions of Muslim professionals, and tout the positive, patriotic impact of Islam in American communities. We hope our work will inspire similar work across the country. Ours is a small start, but at least it’s that—a start. Shawn Morehead, a former lawyer and teacher, is a program director at the New York Community Trust, a community foundation for the city, Westchester and Long Island.

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

AUGUST 4-10,2016

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THINGS WE WILL NEVER DO AGAIN GRAYING NEW YORK BY MARCIA EPSTEIN

I try to be upbeat about aging, and as I’ve said before, I’ve been relatively lucky in my own life, but I’m going to go a little bit dark this week. It was Cher who, when asked what was good about aging said, “I think it sucks.â€? Let’s be real. While there are some good things about aging (such as still being here), as my now-dead older cousin once said, “Young is better.â€? Young can do the things that I can no longer dream of doing, and that I miss. And the things that I will never do, such as the fact that my body cannot handle long travel. I always had jet lag problems, so I don’t dare test the waters with a long plane ight. Therefore, I will never see China or Japan, Scandinavia or Bali, which saddens me. I can’t even think of going on a cruise because of balance and inner ear problems. I had to leave a houseboat party at the ďŹ rst sign of rocking. I will never water ski again, or play tennis. I have wonky knees and a problematic back. I get tired in the afternoon. I mean, nap kind of tired, and not just 20 minute “power napsâ€? either. I will probably never wake up without pain

in my back and hips, will never again be “the kid who’d try anythingâ€? (to quote my brother). Luckily, I never wanted to climb a mountain, because I certainly will never do that. I always adored the ocean, but I stick to the Long Island Sound or a pool now because the ocean waves have become too much for me. This last is a real jolt. I was a jolly wave rider all my life. Every year I go to a batting range to see if I can still hit a softball. Yes, I feel self-conscious being the only granny out there, but I need to do it for my selfesteem. And yes, I can still do it. Slow pitch only. I’d love to play softball for an older team, but I can’t run at all because of my knees. I need a grab bar in the shower so I don’t topple and fall out on my head. All this is demoralizing. Slow bites out of the blithe abilities of youth. There are people my age much worse off than I am, and some better. But aside from having my darling grandchildren, I can’t ďŹ nd much to extoll about getting old. In my women’s group, the stories are piling up about friends who had strokes, friends who died suddenly, friends who had a backache and found out it was cancer. And on and on. One loss after another, either to one’s own self or to loved ones, friends and ac-

quaintances. I do know some people with a very positive view of aging. There are two women in my group in their late 80’s and just glorying in their days of having no responsibilities except to themselves. Their husbands are gone, their children long grown (a few are on Medicare!). They enjoy every day. I guess my brain wiring is different from theirs, but they are great role models. And also very healthy. Tomorrow I will go to the lovely garden near my daughter’s house and smell the owers. It’s always an upper when these thoughts get me down. Also: PSS Circle of Care Caregiver Services is a program of PSS, a multiservice agency founded in 1962. It now encompasses eight senior centers, two senior and intergenerational residences and many other services, including Coming of Age NYC which helps 50+ New Yorkers improve their lives. PSS Circle of Care was recently awarded $7.5 million as part of Governor Cuomo’s Alzheimer’s Caregiver Support Initiative. Only two other New York City agencies received this funding. The governor’s office says that “the initiative seeks to develop programs that support the family members who care for the nearly 380,000 New Yorkers living with Alzheimer’s Disease

Utility bills are piling up in the sock drawer

Photo by Simon_sees via ickr and other dementias� and to help with the burdens placed upon the informal caregivers in New York State. The money will be used for such things as care consultations, educational resources, support groups and respite services. PSS Executive Direc-

tor Rimas Jasin said that the grant is a wonderful opportunity to provide PSS’s brand of support to those with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. The grant will allow PSS to add at least 20 new full-time staff. To reach PSS, visit www. pssusa.org.

It’s never too early (or too late) to talk about Alzheimer’s support. Call our 24-hour Helpline. We’re here anytime you need to talk.

(646) 744–2900 Free | ConďŹ dential | Se habla espaĂąol | ᥇‍ه‏䅑ѣᎽ ɸɝɾ̴:³ĕÆĂ?žÞãĂ?Ě´ Ä?ÂłĂ?Ä‚³˾̴ɚÞĂƒĚ´"Ă–ããò̴̴˳̴̴AÂłÄ?Ě´xãòĂ”˾̴Ax̴ɜɾɾɜɟ̴̴ "ãòĂœ³òĂ–Ä–Ě´8Ă?ĂŁÄ?Ă?Ě´ÂœÜ̴ÞĂƒ³̴ Ă–Ä›ĂƒÂłĂ†Ăœ³ò˞Ü̴ ÜÜãŠĂ†ÂœĂžĂ†ĂŁĂ?˾̴Ax Ě´ ĂƒÂœïÞ³ò "Ä‚Ă?¯³¯̴¨Ä–Ě´Âœ̴žòÂœĂ?Þ̴½òãĂœĚ´ĂžĂƒ³̴AÂłÄ?Ě´xãòÔ̴ZĂžÂœÞ³̴ ³ïÂœòÞĂœÂłĂ?Þ̴ã½̴(ÂłÂœĂ–ĂžĂƒ

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MARBLE COLLEGIATE CHURCH Sunday Worship at 11:00am

AUGUST 4-10,2016

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

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

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

Thu Summer Spirituality Series This summer come and explore a new or deeper dynamic connection to the arts. Stimulate creative expression and conversation about a variety of artistic endeavors that inspire and inform the mind, heart, and spirit. Upcoming Dates: Sunday, July 10 at 10:00am Dr. Kimberleigh Jordan / Dance Sunday, July 17 at 10:00am Russ Lane and Rev. Kirsty DePree / Culinary Sunday, July 24 at 10:00am Jamie Roach / Acting and Drama Sunday, August 7 at 10:00am Judy Tulin and Tom Schneider / Painting Sunday, August 14 at 10:00am Sheril Antonio / Film Sunday, August 21 at 10:00am Chad Tanaka Pack / Patronage and the Arts

Event listings brought to you by Marble Collegiate Church. 1 West 29th Street / New York, New York 10001 212 686 2770 / MarbleChurch.org

Spirituality & the Arts

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AUTHOR TALK

McNally Jackson Books, 52 Prince St. 7 p.m. Author Nadja Spiegleman discusses her new memoir. www.mcnallyjackson.com/

CLASSICAL VOICE INTENSIVE PERFORMANCE 82 Washington Square East 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Free Students from NYU’s program in vocal performance at the Black Box Theatre, directed by Diana Heldman. events.nyu.edu/

Fri

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IMPOSSIBLE BLOSSOM 2 West 13 St. Noon–6 p.m. Free

An art exhibit featuring paintings from The New School Art Collection, curated by Eric Stark, Silvia Rocciolo and Macushla Robinson. events.newschool.edu/

SATURDAY STORY TIME Seaward Park Library, 192 East Broadway 11 a.m.–11:30 a.m. Free For children up to age 8. www.nypl.org/events/

KIDS MUSIC THAT ROCKS Hudson Park Library, 66 Leroy St. 11:15 p.m. Free Geared towards ages 3 to 5. www.nypl.org/events/

Sat

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FILM SCREENING ▲ Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Ave. 5:45 p.m. Free A screening of “Battleship Potemkin.” Sergei Eisenstein’s 1925 classic will be shown in its original black and white and original silent film format, with English intertitles. anthologyfilmarchives.org/

Sun

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HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR SPEAKER Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place 1 p.m. Free with museum admission Aviva Blumberg tells her story. This event is part of the Museum of Jewish Heritage’s “A Living Memorial to the Holocaust” Speaker Series. www.mjhnyc.org/

HUDSON RIVER STAGE Pier 97, Hudson River Park 2 p.m. Free A platform for new artists to play music outdoors. www.hudsonriverpark.org/

AUGUST 4-10,2016

Mon

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‘AIR PRESSURE’ ART INSTALLATION Winter Garden at Brookfield Place, 230 Vessey St. 8 a.m.–6 p.m. Free Exhibit features the work of Studio F Minus, a Torontobased art collective. www.artsbrookfield.com/

‘THE FIRE THIS TIME:’ A NEW GENERATION SPEAKS ABOUT RACE The Strand Bookstore, 828 Broadway 7 p.m. $15–$25, An open forum themed around Jesmyn Ward’s book. moderated by writer and activist Shaun King. www.strandbooks.com/

Tue

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ALEXANDER HAMILTON U.S. CUSTOM HOUSE TOUR 1 Bowling Green 1 p.m.–midnight. Free, Tour the Custom House, which houses the National Museum of the American Indian. View the historical architecture while learning about the museum’s history. www.downtownny.com/

SUNSET SALSA ▲ Pier 45 in Greenwich Village 6:30 p.m. Free Featuring Talia. Beginner salsa lessons start at 6:30 p.m. www.hudsonriverpark.org/

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Wed

ONE-ON-ONE COMPUTER ASSISTANCE ▼

Help is available in both English and Chinese. www.nypl.org/events/

‘THE NEW JIM CROW:’ A BOOK GROUP Trinity Church, Parish Center, 2 Rector St. 6:30-8 p.m. David Peters, social worker, community organizer, and facilitator of New Rochelle Against Racism, leads a conversation series about Michelle Alexander’s “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.”

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

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

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MINING ‘WHITE GOLD’ AT THE FRICK EXHIBIT The museum’s porcelain show includes contemporary work BY MARY GREGORY

They say every picture tells a story, but for some works of art, one barely scratches the surface. “Porcelain, No Simple Matter: Arlene Shechet and the Arnhold Collection” running through next April, joins about 100 superb pieces of 18th century Meissen porce-

lain with 16 works by contemporary artist, Arlene Shechet. It’s a revelatory show that surprises and delights the eye and offers a whole trove of fascinating stories. Porcelain is as close to many of us as our own teeth and as ubiquitous as the kitchen sink. But it wasn’t always so. Soon after Marco Polo traveled east in around 1300, Chinese porcelain was first seen in Europe. Compared to the rough, earthenware pottery glazed with muddy tones of the day, it was dazzling. As seen in the exhibition, it still is.

Traditional Meissen molds were employed to create novel forms like the outer two irregularly glazed covered vases. Photo by Adel Gorgy

A display of rare porcelains, both old and new, graces the Frick’s Portico Gallery. Photo by Adel Gorgy

Called “white gold” when it first became known, porcelain, which was developed in China in the 3rd century, shone like glass, was durable and impermeable and was decorated in crisp jewel tones. Everyone wanted it, though only a few could afford it. By the 1500s, Silk Road merchants regularly imported opulent wares that became so famous that only one name was needed. The choice went to the country of origin – China. The cost of filling so many China cabinets was prohibitive, and craftsmen quickly took up the challenge of finding the recipe. It took Korean and Japanese artisans hundreds of years, and Europeans centuries more than that. The Medici family commissioned a workshop in Italy in the 1500s, but it failed. Then, in around 1700, Augustus the Strong of Saxony was approached by an over-confident alchemist named Böttger, who swore he could turn base metals to gold. He was “invited” to live (under lock and key) at the palace at Meissen to produce the goods. Eventually, he was reassigned to assist Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus, a scientist who studied actual science, and in 1708, von Tschirnhaus discovered that kaolin and super-high temperatures were the secret. Von Tschirnhaus died before he could announce his discovery, so Böttger got the credit when the first porcelain factory was built at Meissen in 1710.

The Arnhold collection, one of the best in private hands, has a storied past as well, having been spirited out of Dresden, just before the city was destroyed during World War II. Henry Arnhold and his mother fled to New York, bringing some of their collection with them, and Henry continued to augment it with significant pieces. “The Arnhold Collection is one of the finest private collections of Meissen in the world,” said the Frick’s director, Ian Wardropper. For this exhibition, he added, “Henry Arnhold generously permitted the Frick to choose the works we wanted.” For the Frick, the exhibition opens a new chapter. It’s the first major show they’ve given to a living artist. “From time to time, if there is an interesting dialogue to be made between contemporary and old master art, we will look to explore this,” Wardropper added. Charlotte Vignon, curator of decorative arts, found just such a conversation. Vignon invited Shechet, who’d recently done an artist’s residency at the factory in Meissen, to consider the traditional pieces with “a fresh eye and artistic vision.” Vignon soon realized that the ways old and new interact “would be better made with Shechet’s work in direct dialogue.” Shechet selected and installed groupings of her works and the Arnhold collection in the sun-dappled Portico Gallery. “The entire installation is, in

one way, a work of art,” Vignon said. For Shechet, the show is nothing short of a major plot twist. A widely respected sculptor, she’s better known for witty, lighthearted forms, bright colors, substantial, biomorphic shapes - hardly the highly refined tea sets and figurines associated with Meissen. In her works done in the Meissen factory, Shechet’s sense of play together with the tradition of the form resulted in new visions that respect the past but are surprisingly fresh. By mixing them with 18th century works, she created a new reason for and a new way of looking at Meissen porcelain. In the installation, delicate cups are turned over, gorgeous but mismatched plates overlap, becoming a dazzling wall relief, figures are turned backwards, or in Shechet’s “Dancing Girl with Two Right Feet” they slip into an Alice in Wonderland looking portal that resembles a wall sconce. Whether traditional or modern, delicately sincere or wryly tongue-incheek, as different as the works are, they all come from one thing - porcelain. And that’s where the title “No Simple Matter” comes from, Vignon said. “Arlene and I both believe that porcelain is a very exciting material… You can go back to an old medium and make it interesting…if you twist it a little bit. So this is about bringing a little bit of delight, a little bit of fun. Surprises.”

AUGUST 4-10,2016

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ACTIVITIES FOR THE FERTILE MIND

thoughtgallery.org NEW YORK CITY

MOCACREATE: Playful Props

SATURDAY, AUGUST 6TH, 1PM Museum of Chinese in America | 215 Centre St. | 212-619-4785 | moca.org Play around at a family-friendly afternoon of activities exploring how design can help tell a story, in conjunction with the exhibition Stage Design by Ming Cho Lee. (Free with museum admission)

Sorrows & Promises: Greenwich Village in the 1960s

TUESDAY, AUGUST 9TH, 6:30PM Jefferson Market Library | 425 Ave. of the Americas | 212-243-4334 | nypl.org Singer-songwriter Richard Barone celebrates an era; this session features a screening of the documentary film Festival!: Folk Music at Newport, 1963-1966, with special guest Eliot Kissileff, who has spent years working with the original footage. (Free)

Just Announced | Can Art Affect Social Change?

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14TH, 6:30PM A participant at one of Debra Stelnik’s recent “Art Soirées,” at the Madison Square Tavern, on West 30th Street in Chelsea. Photo: Jeffrey Kopp

MIXING PAINT, AND COCKTAILS Debra Stelnik’s “Art Soirees” stir up inspiration BY JEFFREY KOPP

Canvas, paint bottles, brushes and booze. While that last one may be unconventional for a painting class, it’s enticing some New Yorkers to get creative and try their hand at an activity some haven’t done since junior high. Debra Stelnik, a painter who works mostly with acrylics, has been teaching painting classes that double as a cocktail hour, which she calls her “Art Soirées,” since 2012. She hosts them in bars, beer gardens and restaurants in Chelsea, the Upper East Side and Upper West Side. The not-so-typical art-class setting appeals to people who want to learn how to paint in a low-pressure environment rather that within an art studio, where the burden of perfection might be greater. The classes, then, also double as socials. New arrivals to the city, eager to meet others, attend. So do some who just want an activity to bring friends along to that’s not strictly centered around a standard happy hour. “It’s great because you can socialize and meet people while learning something really fun. I’m amazed at what I’ve done!” said Bob Wicke, a longtime West Village resident, who has

become a regular at Stelnik’s classes. “I would be really intimidated at an art studio. I once went to a drawing class at the MoMA and everyone was so quiet. This is much more fun.” Leah Flaunty, who moved to New York from London a few weeks ago, attended one of Stelnik’s classes in July month, mostly to meet new people as well as to take a class she was interested in that didn’t involve any serious preparation. “I’m into art and I’d always fancied doing it. The social aspect is great, and they provide everything, so it’s a good place to start out,” she said. a glass of sparkling wine within reach. Stelnik, who has a degree in fine art from Brooklyn College and attended The Art Students League and The School of Visual Arts, provides materials and prepares for her classes by selecting a painting of hers she thinks the class can imitate. She draws an outline of its subject on each canvas, which gives students a discernible guideposts. She said that students could feel lost when she used blank canvasses. “It was sort of a learning experience for me, too,” she said of the classes. “I just jumped in to this but I needed to know how to teach people and alleviate their nerves. I even took a public speaking class so that I could teach more effectively. At this point it’s really an evo-

lution of four years of working with hundreds of people that I’m able to do this the way I do now.” On a recent evening at Madison Square Tavern, on West 30th Street in Chelsea, once students got themselves an adult beverage, Stelnik quickly taught everyone the basics: how to mix colors, how to use a sponge to paint a background, and how to add detail with their brushes. What started as selling tickets to friends for a BYOB painting class in an apartment quickly turned into a business. When Stelnik realized the class had a wider appeal, she started advertising online and holding the classes in larger locations. She now has a group on Meetup.com, a website for people to meet to learn, do, or share just about anything, with nearly 3,000 members. Classes usually cost $35, not including drinks. As a small businesses owner, it also works well for her, too, because of the convenience of using someone else’s space; most of the cleaning and drink service is done by the bar. It’s also great business for the bars she works with. “If you get nervous, the bar’s right there!” she said at a recent class before turning the stereo up and allowing students to have a drink, chat and, of course, paint.

Society of Illustrators | 128 E. 63rd St. | 212-838-2560 | societyillustrators.org Award-winning artist/illustrator Anita Kunz hosts a panel of artists and special guests whose work strives for social and political change. Artist Ralph Steadman (of Hunter S. Thompson fame), the subject of a Society retrospective this fall, will be referenced as an inspiration. ($15)

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

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IWantToBeRecycled.org

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RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS JUL 5 - JUL 29, 2016

Heart Of India

77 2 Avenue

A

The following listings were collected from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s website and include the most recent inspection and grade reports listed. We have included every restaurant listed during this time within the zip codes of our neighborhoods. Some reports list numbers with their explanations; these are the number of violation points a restaurant has received. To see more information on restaurant grades, visit http://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/services/restaurant-grades.page

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

Bully’s Deli

759 Broadway

A

Chipotle Mexican Grill

864 Broadway

A

Chipotle Mexican Grill

88 University Pl Aka 24 E 12Th St

A

Filaga

75 9Th Ave

A

La Carbornara

202 W 14Th St

A

Cafe Champignon

200 7 Avenue

Grade Pending (23) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Wiping cloths soiled or not stored in sanitizing solution.

Jars By Dani

540 6Th Ave

A

Cho-Ko Restaurant

59 1St Ave

A

Formerly Crows

85 Washington Pl

A

Nohohon Tea Room

9 Saint Marks Pl

Grade Pending

Spice

39 E 13Th St

Grade Pending (20) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation.

Mcdonald’s

724 Broadway

Not Yet Graded (30) Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewage-associated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Fred’s At Barneys New York 161 W 16Th St

A

Hale & Hearty Soup

75 9 Avenue

A

Fiddlesticks

5456 Greenwich Avenue

A

Mckenna’s Pub

250 West 14 Street

Grade Pending (19) Food worker does not use proper utensil to eliminate bare hand contact with food that will not receive adequate additional heat treatment. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

The Best $1.00 Pizza

171 West 23 Street

A

Little Poland Restaurant

200 2Nd Ave

A

Lumpia Shck

50 Greenwich Avenue

Grade Pending (27) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred. Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.

Chipotle Mexican Grill

55 East 8 Street

A

Abc Cocina

38 East 19 Street

A

Dunkin’ Donuts

110 East 14 Street

A

Nix

72 University Pl

Grade Pending (22) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations.

Pret A Manger

857 Broadway

A

Yuba

105 East 9 Stree

A

China Star

145 1St Avenue

Grade Pending (19) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. 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.

Gotham Pizza

88 3Rd Ave

Not Yet Graded (30)

Mcdonald’s

39 Union Square West A

Otto’s Tacos

141 Second Ave

A

Le Coq Rico

30 E 20Th St

A

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.

Gramercy Tavern

42 East 20 Street

A

Takahachi Restaurant

85 Avenue A

A

A & C Kitchen

134136 Avenue C

A

Subway

300 W 17Th St

Grade Pending (15) 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.

Wisefish Poke

263 W 19Th St

A

Chipotle Mexican Grill

504 6Th Ave

A

Le Pain Quotidien

124 7 Avenue

A

Golden Wok Chinese Restaurant

209 8Th Ave

Grade Pending (25) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation.Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/ sewage-associated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.

Cafe Riazor

245 West 16 Street

Starbucks

229 Seventh Avenue

A

Grayson

16 1St Ave

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.

Cafe Himalaya

78 East 1 Street

A

Babel

131 Avenue C

A

Porchetta

110 East 7 Street

A

Superiority Burger

430 E 9Th St

A

16

AUGUST 4-10,2016

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

Business

Ask a Broker

THE BENEFITS OF ‘STAGING’ I’m planning to put my condo on the market next month after my tenant moves out. The apartment will be empty and I’m wondering if I should have it “staged?” Staging is a wonderful marketing tool as it helps put a vacant apartment (which can signal “desperation” to potential buyers) in a better light and oftentimes bolsters the bottom line. Research shows that a staged home can sell for as much as 17% more than a comparable un-staged property and generally 2-2.5 times faster. I find a vast majority of buyers have difficulty visualizing a property any differently than how it is presented. Surprisingly, a furnished apartment actually appears larger than its vacant counterpart. “Furniture adds scale,” notes New York City home stager Donna Dazzo of Design To Appeal. Apartments that are staged can also hide flaws (i.e. dated radiator covers, original base board molding, etc.) and draw the eye to more visually appealing surroundings. To answer your original question, I’m all in favor of staging, provided the expense and time commitment involved (generally a few thousand dollars a month with a three-month minimum) will yield a better return than putting the apartment on the market at a lower price. That said, there is yet another option – virtual staging – which is offered as a complimentary service for all Brown Harris Stevens exclusives. Using state-of-the-art technology, an empty room is transformed into one that’s luxuriously furnished and accessorized. Like traditional staging, virtual staging maximizes the appeal of the property online, where 90% of buyers today begin their search, and in all supporting marketing materials. When the showings begin, virtual staging doesn’t have the full impact of a fully staged apartment however it’s a great solution that minimizes time and expense. Andrew Kramer is a Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker with Brown Harris Stevens. Direct your real estate questions to askandrew@bhsusa.com. You can learn more about Andrew at www.kramernyc.com or by contacting him at 212-317-3634

HOME SALES SURGE WITH JOB MARKET REAL ESTATE Affordability remains a problem BY JOSH BOAK

Americans bought new homes in June at the fastest pace in more than eight years, a sign that a solid job market and low mortgage rates are bolstering the U.S. housing market. The Commerce Department said Tuesday that new-home sales rose 3.5 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted rate of 592,000, the best level since February 2008. Purchases of new homes have climbed 10.1 percent year-to-date, despite volatile sales on a monthly basis. “Today’s report confirms the considerable strength in the housing market over the past few months,” said Rob Martin, U.S. economist at Barclays. Low mortgage rates and a healthy job market have lifted residential real estate, which continues to recover from the depths of the housing bust that began nearly a decade ago. Greater demand and tight inventories have led to rising prices and signs that housing will help overall economic growth. But affordability remains a problem and the potential of newhome sales returning to their historic average sales rate of 650,000 could be limited. June’s median sales price rose 6.1 percent from a year ago to $306,700. Just 4.9 months’ supply of new homes is listed for sale, well below this historic average of six months. Sales surged in the West and Midwest by more than 10 percent in June, but declined in the Northeast and South. The market for new houses is roughly just a tenth of the size of

Photo by Matthew Rutledge via flickr the existing-home market, where sales are also rising even as the number of listings are shrinking on a yearly basis. The National Association of Realtors said last week that sales of existing homes rose 1.1 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.57 million, the best performance since February 2007. But the number of listings has fallen 5.8 percent from a year ago to 2.12 million. Builders remain relatively confident that they’ll continue to expand, although their optimism waned slightly in July. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index dropped one

point to 59. Readings above 50 indicate more builders view sales conditions as good, rather than poor. The index had mostly held at 58 this year before rising to 60 in June. Builders say they’re struggling to find both workers and land for additional construction. Still, the number of construction jobs has risen by 217,000 over the past 12 months as home sales and apartment rentals are helping to drive growth in an economy hampered recently by global turmoil. Construction of single-family houses has increased, rising 4.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 778,000 in June.

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Propelling much of this demand has been an improving job market coupled with cheaper borrowing costs. The unemployment rate is a solid 4.9 percent. Employers added 287,000 workers in June, a strong rebound after the pace of hiring slipped in April and May. Buyers have also benefited from interest rates staying close to record lows. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said the average for the benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 3.45 percent last week, down sharply from 4.04 percent a year ago.

AUGUST 4-10,2016

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YOUR 15 MINUTES

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

BROADWAY ON THE ROAD Theatrical journeys outside the Great White Way BY ANGELA BARBUTI

To Bob Bucci, live theater is unlike anything else. Therefore, it is only fitting that as president of the marketing division of Broadway Across America, he gets to share his passion for Broadway with cities throughout the nation. At 16, he came to New York to pursue acting at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts and transitioned to the marketing side of the industry 20 years ago. When Broadway Across America started its marketing division, they recruited Bucci to join the team and now his job includes overseeing 38 markets across North America. Through his work, he travels up to 15 times a year to promote shows like “Chicago,” “The Book of Mormon,” “Kinky Boots,” “The Lion King” and “Wicked,” and is looking forward to working on “Hamilton,” “Aladdin” and “On Your Feet!” as they begin their tours. “It’s a really exciting time for us right now because there’s such diversity on Broadway within the offerings that are on as well as the types of shows,” he explained. “And that’s exciting for us because that is going to translate out onto the road.”

How did you get started at Broadway Across America? Our community is a very small one. I started working for Michael David and The Dodgers; they’re the producers of current shows like “Jersey Boys.” And from there, I went to another company where I was working on various Broadway shows on marketing and sponsorship. And from there I went to the Weisslers who handled “Chicago” and throughout that I made a connection with someone who ended up starting the marketing division for Broadway Across America seven years ago and they asked me to come join them. It’s been an incredible ride and feels like my career has pushed me to the right places at the right time each step of the way. I am very fortunate.

Why do you think it’s important to bring Broadway to other cities? When I worked on the Broadway side, yes, we targeted theatergoers in what I would call the tri-state area of New

York, New Jersey and Connecticut, and specifically the New Yorkers who live within the five boroughs, which usually happened within the first year to two years in the life cycle of a show. But then you work on a show like “Chicago,” which has been around now for 20-somewhat years, and your audience changes and is from outside New York. So when I started to really delve into the touring market, their audiences are New York’s audience, so it’s great that we’re nurturing something that’s American-made and truly part of New York which is what Broadway is. But to be able to take that and cultivate it in the backyards of these cities is really exciting.

How is it different marketing shows outside of New York? It does change market to market. Every single market is different. The audiences are different in every market. How you sell a show is slightly different in every single market, so you really have to look at the bigger picture of each city and say, ‘Well, I know that this is how the show has worked in other places, but we need to tweak some things slightly.’ Sometimes not at all, but sometimes slightly to fit that city to reach the customer that you’re trying to reach.

Can you give us an example of a show you needed to tweak to fit a certain market? The easiest answer to that question is there are some markets that are a little more conservative. So for a certain show that might have mature content like “Spring Awakening,” when it went on the road, we had to look at every single market and how much we had to explain and educate. Some markets didn’t worry about that; other markets were very concerned about that and took months to get the message out into the community as to the power of the show. And it might not be for everybody, but we always find if you explain to your audience what they’re going to be seeing, especially our subscribers, which are our tried and true patrons, if you give them up front what they’re going to see, then they’re comfortable when they see it. If they’re surprised by it, then they’re not. Sometimes it’s so subtle that you say, ‘This TV spot will resonate more with our people than this TV spot” or

Bob Bucci is president of the marketing division of Broadway Across America. Photo: Joan Marcus

“Radio probably is the way that we should go in Atlanta because it’s such a commuter market.” So sometimes it’s really subtle and sometimes it’s much larger.

Who are some memorable people you’ve met through your job? I pinch myself every day. I’ve met Sting … I don’t even want to go down the star side of things because everyone who is part of this industry does it because they love and have an ownership of it and that, to me, is just as exciting, being with a group of colleagues. I’m going to be at a Ticketmaster conference in New Orleans in a couple of weeks and that to me is just as exciting as being at the opening of a show where Susan Stroman, Oprah or Audra McDonald is sitting behind us.

Which shows have you seen this year? Obviously “Hamilton” has had a huge impact on all of us within the industry and it’s becoming a pop culture phenomenon, which has been fantas-

tic. “The Color Purple” was a great example of a piece that I knew and saw before, but this has been totally reimagined and it’s brilliant. Another reimagined show that came out this past year was “Spring Awakening.” That was with Deaf West and there were deaf people as well as regular actors. And just the way that it elevated the piece was fantastic. The revival of “The King and I” was amazing. “On Your Feet!” is incredible.

In your opinion, what does a show need to be sustainable on Broadway? That’s a really good question and I don’t think anyone knows the answer to that. If we all had the magic bullet, every single show would survive. Having worked on “Chicago,” I know that Barry and Fran Weissler felt that this production of it was special and wanted it to be seen by a larger audience. But I know in their wildest dreams, they never imagined that it would be celebrating 20 years on Broadway and

having the same impact 20 years later.

Your husband also works in theater. Did you meet through your jobs? I met him through my boss at the time and someone who worked for him. And we were set up on a blind date and of all places, went to Joe Allen, the theater hangout. And then we had an official evening date that Saturday and 10 years later, luckily, we were able to get married. And we got married and we’ve been together for 14 years. www.broadwayacrossamerica.com

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“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.

AUGUST 4-10,2016

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CLASSIFIEDS PHOTOGRAPHY

ENTERTAINMENT

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

POLICY NOTICE: We make every e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.

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