The local paper for Downtown wn ON THE FRONT LINES – AND THE HOME FRONT <P.12
WEEK OF AUGUST
17-23 2017
SENATOR SQUADRON TAKES HIS LEAVE POLITICS Manhattan Democrat says farewell to the taint of Albany — but vows to remain active in policy-making and the resistance BY DOUGLAS FEIDEN
First, a sense of foreboding. “It’s been an honor to serve,” the August 9 letter began. Next, the familiar salutation, “Dear Friend.” Finally, the bombshell: “I have decided to resign from the Senate this Friday.” A fast fadeout. A short, poignant goodbye. An early end to a promising career in public service? Well, not exactly. The next act is yet to come. “See you in the neighborhood,” the letter concluded. Signed, “Daniel.” Thus did state Senator Daniel Squadron stun his constituents, shake up the political biosphere, announce his August 11 resignation and trigger a messy — and not at all democratic — firefight to anoint his successor. He also created a backlash against the
way in which he stepped down. Meanwhile, on his way out the door, he savaged political deal-making and the influence of big-money, blaming it for incubating corruption — and making New York a “particularly seedy example” among the states. As if all that wasn’t enough, Squadron also unveiled a new career: He’s teaming up with Jeffrey Sachs, the celebrated Columbia University economist and ex-director of the Earth Institute, and Adam Pritzker, the fashion-brand investor and Hyatt hotel scion, to launch a movement to counter Trumpism. Sound a tad vague? That’s because the trio hasn’t yet released plans or announced the name of its national reform initiative. Squadron said the group will advocate for stronger candidates, push policies at the state level, stand up for “core values” and “help turn the tide nationally.” The 37-year-old, reform-minded, dyed-in-the-wool anti-Trumper, an architect of the Senate Democratic
Former state Senator Daniel Squadron, who unexpectedly resigned his seat on August 11 after blasting the scourge of corruption in Albany. He is helping to launch a national reform movement to combat Trumpism. Photo: 26th State Senatorial District / Squadron
CONTINUED ON PAGE 7
HOW SAFE IS YOUR SCHOOL’S WATER? The city’s Department of Education has released the results of lead testing on water in local schools following a Freedom of Information Law request filed by Straus News. See which schools in your neighborhood had elevated lead levels on PAGE 5.
Downtowner
OurTownDowntown
O OTDOWNTOWN.COM @OTDowntown
Crime Watch Voices NYC Now City Arts
3 8 10 12
Restaurant Ratings Business Real Estate 15 Minutes
14 16 17 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
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
AUGUST 17-23,2017
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE ON AUGUST 21, 2017 Lunar topography data from NASAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agencyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s SELENE lunar orbiter were used to precisely calculate the location of the moonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shadow. Land shading is based on a global mosaic of images from NASAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, and elevations are based on data from NASAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. Planetary positions are from NASAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Development Ephemeris 421.
This unique map shows the path of the moonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s umbral shadow - in which the sun will be completely obscured by the moon - during the total solar eclipse of Aug. 21, 2017, as well as the fraction of the sunâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s area covered by the moon outside the path of totality. The lunar shadow enters the United States near Lincoln City, Oregon, at 9:05 a.m. PDT. Totality begins in the United States in Lincoln City, Oregon at 10:16 a.m. PDT. The total eclipse will end in Charleston, South Carolina, at 2:48 p/m. EDT. The lunar shadow leaves the United States at 4:09 p.m. EDT. A partial eclipse will be visible throughout the United States.
Credit: NASAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ScientiďŹ c Visualization Studio
EVERYONE IN NORTH AMERICA WILL BE ABLE TO EXPERIENCE THIS ECLIPSE.
EXPERIENCE THE
2017 ECLIPSE
ACROSS AMERICA
THROUGH THE EYES OF NASA
http://eclipse2017.nasa.gov
ECLIPSE 101: HOW AND WHERE TO SEE IT SUN SPOT Monday rendezvous for sun, Earth, moon BY ESTELLE PYPER
Be sure to take your afternoon coffee break outdoors on Monday â&#x20AC;&#x201D; youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be in for a spectacle in the sky. The total solar eclipse of 2017 will blanket 48 states in at least partial darkness for a good chunk of midday on the 21st. Seen from New York City, the moon will cover just a bit more than 70 percent of the sun â&#x20AC;&#x201D; not total darkness, but still an impressive sight. The rare event will start at 1:23 p.m. in New York and end around 4 p.m. EST, but peak time will be at 2:44 p.m. when the shadow will be largest, according to the American Museum of Natural History. While this is a must-see event, your motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s warning holds true: do not look directly into the sun! There are safe ways to witness the eclipse without damaging your eyes, and your regular sunglasses wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t cut it. Instead, don special specs: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Eclipse glasses ensure that you are fully protected from all the harmful rays of the sun so you can stare at it for a lengthy amount of time,â&#x20AC;? says Jackie Faherty,
505"- 40-"3 &$-*14& .POEBZ t "VHVTU This will be the ďŹ rst total solar eclipse visible in the continental United States in 38 years.
PARTIAL ECLIPSE
SUN
TOTAL ECLIPSE EARTH
MOON
UMBRA PENUMBRA Not to scale:
MOONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ORBIT
EARTHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ORBIT
If drawn to scale, the moon would be 30 Earth diameters away from Earth. The sun would be 400 times that distance.
Diagram showing the Earth-sun-moon geometry of a total solar eclipse. Photo courtesy of NASA a senior scientist in the astrophysics department at the American Museum of Natural History. You can also create a pinhole camera. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Either take a piece of paper or card-
stock, poke a tiny hole in it and reďŹ&#x201A;ect it down on a white surface with the sun through the hole,â&#x20AC;? Faherty said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Alternatively, you can look for household items like spaghetti strainers
that have tiny holes in them. Use that to project the sun onto the ground.â&#x20AC;? NASAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website (eclipse2017.nasa. gov) lists reputable vendors for solar glasses, as well as safety tips for
watching the eclipse. The American Museum of Natural History will hold an event in their Rose Center for Earth and Space from noon to 4 p.m. where you can learn more about the total and watch NASAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s live broadcast. The American Institute of Architects will dedicate one of their regular boat tours to the eclipse, so you can supplement your lecture on Manhattan architecture with solar facts. Or, lay back and grab a drink at The Hotel Americano in Chelsea. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be hosting a viewing party from their rooftop and also provide solar sunglasses. Libraries in Brooklyn, the Bronx and two in Queens are distributing solar glasses for free and will also serve as your informational guide for all things eclipse-related. To experience the eclipse, all you have to do is look up, but many venues throughout the city will host eclipse â&#x20AC;&#x153;watch parties.â&#x20AC;? The Pelham Bay Branch library in the Bronx and the Clinton Hill library in Brooklyn will host viewing parties. However you view it, do it safely and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t miss it. Your next opportunity wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be until 2024, when 89 percent of the sun will be covered for New York â&#x20AC;&#x201D; but total coverage for our area wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t happen until 2079.
AUGUST 17-23,2017
3
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG STATS FOR THE WEEK Reported crimes from the 1st precinct for Week to Date
Tony Webster, via flickr
Year to Date
2017 2016
% Change
2017
2016
% Change
Murder
0
0
n/a
1
0
n/a
Rape
0
0
n/a
11
8
37.5
Robbery
0
2
-100.0
43
39
10.3
Felony Assault
1
4
-75.0
48
50
-4.0
Burglary
1
2
-50.0
40
82
-51.2
Grand Larceny
24
23
104.0
600 634 -5.4
Grand Larceny Auto
0
1
-100.0
10
38
-73.7
DELIVERY MAN ACCOSTED
AURORA ROBEALIS
GPS MESS
SHOPLIFTERS 32, ZARA 0
KRYPTONITE SLIGHT
A deliveryman was bike-jacked recently. At 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 30, a 60-year-old man riding his electric bicycle back to his restaurant on 45 Mercer St. after making a delivery when he was thrown off the bike an unknown man on Grand Street who then threatened him with additional violence. The mugger then took the deliveryman’s bike and fled. The victim refused medical attention at the scene. The bike’s value was put at $1,100.
Yet another handbag was snatched in an upscale restaurant. At 2 p.m. on Monday, July 3, a 31-year-old woman who had left her bag on a seat inside the Aurora Soho restaurant on Broome Street had it taken. In addition to her Coach handbag, valued at $375, she lost prescription eyeglasses, Ray-Ban sunglasses, a wallet, $121 in cash, a makeup, and a pair of headphones.
Big Apple bad guys have certainly been making life miserable for local deliveryman lately. At noon on Friday, August 4, a 24-year-old man was delivering a package when he stopped to check a location on his GPS on the corner of Barclay Street and Broadway. Just then two unknown men grabbed the package from his bike’s basket and ran away. He tried but failed to track them. The items stolen included an Apple laptop, a USB adapter and a wireless mouse with a total value of $2,200.
It sounds as if some thieves did their shoplifting for the season. At 3:05 p.m. on Friday, July 28, an unspecified number of perpetrators entered the Zara store at 222 Broadway and took items from store shelves before running out of store. The items stolen included 4 T-shirts, 12 sweatpants, 12 denim trousers, 1 hat, and 3 items of knitwear totaling $1,578.
Well, we can at least rule out Superman as a suspect in a bike theft. At 6 p.m. on Sunday, July 16, a 44-year-old man locked his bike to a bike rack in front of 233 West St. When he came back he found both the bike and lock were gone. The items stolen were a Giant Defy 2 bicycle valued at $2,000, plus a Kryptonite lock priced at $50, making a total stolen of $2,050.
GET LOW
MAY 30 - AUG 29
35
RESTAURANTS
CHOOSE FROM:
20% OFF FREE APP OR DESSERT BUY-ONE-GET-ONE DRINKS
BROUGHT TO YOU BY:
@DOWNTOWNNYC
DOWNTOWN.ALLIANCE
@DOWNTOWNNYC
4
AUGUST 17-23,2017
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
Useful Contacts POLICE NYPD 7th Precinct
19 ½ Pitt St.
212-477-7311
NYPD 6th Precinct
233 W. 10th St.
212-741-4811
NYPD 10th Precinct
230 W. 20th St.
212-741-8211
NYPD 13th Precinct
230 E. 21st St.
212-477-7411
NYPD 1st Precinct
16 Ericsson Place
212-334-0611
FIRE 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.
SUMMER IS FOR ART BY PETER PEREIRA
AUGUST 17-23,2017
5
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
SOME LEAD FOUND IN 83% OF CITY SCHOOLS’ WATER HAZARD DOE protocols call for immediate remediation when outlets are identified BY MICHAEL GAROFALO
Tests of every public school in the city during the 2016-17 year revealed that 83 percent of buildings had at least one water sample with lead levels above the statemandated action level of 15 parts per billion. Roughly 8 percent of all samples showed elevated results, according to the city’s Department of Education. Under DOE protocol, drinking and cooking water outlets with elevated lead levels are immediately taken out of service and subjected to remediation, which includes “flushing all or part of the system to eliminate water sitting in pipes overnight, replacing equipment and keeping affected drinking and cooking water outlets out of service until follow-up testing shows those outlets no longer have elevations.” In an April 2017 letter to families and staff, DOE Deputy Chancellor Elizabeth A. Rose said the department’s testing “demonstrates that we do not have any systemic issues with water in our school buildings and our remediation protocol is
effective.” There has never been a known case of lead poisoning due to water in New York City schools, Rose wrote in the letter. Exposure to lead can result in a variety of harmful effects, including high blood pressure, kidney damage and infertility. Because they are still developing, children are particularly susceptible to the effects of lead exposure, which can negatively impact growth and brain development. Children absorb up to 50 percent of ingested lead, while adults typically absorb 10 percent, according to the World Health Organization. According to the DOE, elevated lead levels found in some recent tests are likely not reflective of levels seen throughout the day, as samples were conducted on water that had sat in pipes overnight. Lead concentrations drop sharply, the DOE says, after faucets are first used in the morning and stagnant water is cleared from the pipes. The graphic accompanying this article shows the percentage of water samples in which elevated lead levels were found in downtown school buildings during 2017 testing. This data was released by the city’s Department of Education following a Freedom of Information Law request filed by Straus News. Buildings in which no elevated samples were found have been omitted.
Photo: Jeffrey Zeldman, via flickr
PERCENTAGE OF ELEVATED SAMPLES FOUND IN DOWNTOWN SCHOOL BUILDINGS P.S. 003 Charrette School
7%
P.S. 042 Benjamin Altman, Adult and Continuing Education
3%
M.S. 131, Pace High School, Emma Lazarus High School
11%
P.S. 234 Independence School - Greenwich Street
3%
P.S. M094, Battery Park City School
2%
Richard R. Green High School of Teaching, Lower Manhattan Community Middle School, Urban Assembly School of Business for Young Women
19%
The Peck Slip School, District 2 Pre-K Center
3% 10%
District 2 Pre-K Center Stuyvesant High School, P.S. M226
5%
Chelsea Career and Technical Education High School, NYC iSchool, P.S. M721 - Manhattan Occupational Training Center
10% 1%
High School M560 - City As School, P.S. M721 - Manhattan Occupational Training Center
8%
High School of Economics and Finance P.S. 150
5%
P.S. 234 Independence School - Chambers Street
5% 12%
Urban Assembly New York Harbor School
19%
Harvest Collegiate High School
34%
Leadership and Public Service High School 3%
Spruce Street School, P.S. M094
Only buildings with elevated samples reported in this chart. Graphic by Christina Scotti
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
6
AUGUST 17-23,2017
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
THE DOGS OF PARK AVENUE PUP ART Portraits of canine companions of King Charles, Queens Victoria and Barbara and George H.W. Bush will grace new midtown museum BY DOUGLAS FEIDEN
Park Avenue is going to the dogs — literally. Foxhounds, deerhounds, mastiffs, salukis, clumber spaniels, long-haired terriers, Great Danes, Japanese Chins, Alaskan Malamutes and English Setters — or at least their artistic representations — will soon occupy a spanking new home on East 40th Street. It’s a mere trot from Grand Central. And it’s poised to become the city’s new Purebred Central. Why there? As is so often the case in New York, there’s a deeply simple two-word answer: Real estate. The American Kennel Club just signed a lease for 60,000 square feet of space in the Kalikow Building at 101 Park Ave. in midtown. As part of the deal, it is taking 18,500 square feet in which it will house a cultural treasure, the AKC Museum of the Dog. Billed as one of the only museums in the world dedicated to a concept that lives forever – “love and devotion” — it is a one-of-a-kind collection of great canine paintings created by animalloving artists who capture noble and soulful dogs, and the good cheer they
bring their owners. “The mission is to share with the dog-loving population the values and the beauty of the human-canine bond through art,” said Gina DiNardo, executive secretary of the American Kennel Club. “We’re thrilled to be coming back to New York and bringing with us the largest collection of fine dog art in the world,” she added. Coming back? Yes, then known as the Dog Museum of America, it was founded in 1982 in the New York Life Insurance Building, at 51 Madison Ave., where AKC, itself founded in 1884, then had it headquarters. It moved to St. Louis in 1987, was renamed the AKC Museum of the Dog in 1995, and now, it is coming home. Radio KMOX in Missouri lamented the move as a “dog-gone shame.” But for New Yorkers, a dog-centric art gallery that showcases dogs throughout history in portraits and sculptures is pretty doggone great: “The American Kennel Club has been around for 133 years,” marveled Richard T. Nasti, executive vice president of H.J. Kalikow & Co., LLC, which built and owns the 49-story tower. “They’re the gold standard in pedigree, and we like to think of our building as the gold standard in commercial real estate, so it’s a good match.” The nonprofit AKC, which runs the world’s largest purebred dog registry and is the governing body for some 22,000 dog shows a year, will move its headquarters, now at 260 Madison Ave., into the building’s fifth floor by
“I Hear a Voice” is an 1896 masterpiece by the English-American canine portraitist Maud Alice Earl (1864-1943). Her work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of the Dog and could be displayed in the museum’s new home at 101 Park Avenue. Image: American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog
Developer Peter Kalikow (center left) in front of his building at 101 Park Avenue, which will be the new home of the American Kennel Club and its Museum of the Dog. At far left is AKC President and CEO Dennis Sprung, with AKC executives, dog owners, dog handlers, and of course, dogs. Photo: Nancy Epstein / H.J. Kalikow & Co. LLC the fall of 2018, along with as many as 100 employees. By early 2019, the museum will occupy contiguous space spread out on the ground floor and third floor. The Kalikow Building doesn’t have a second floor, Nasti explained, because the soaring lobby is roughly 24 feet tall. The key question of course: Will dogs be allowed into a museum that is dedicated to the collection, preservation, exhibition and interpretation of the art, artifacts and literature depicting man’s best friend through the ages? Well, don’t expect to see the American English Coonhound or the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon cantering through the corporate lobby. But the museum will have a private dedicated entrance on East 40th Street, and details of canine access are still being worked out, both parties say. DiNardo said dogs will be permitted “for special events,” and Brandi Hunter, an AKC vice president, adds, “We are working on this.”
Said Nasti: “We have a very nice relationship with them, and we have an understanding on a limited basis, but we need to work out details.” The museum’s collection of 2,500 artworks includes paintings, prints, drawings, watercolors, sculptures, bronzes, porcelain figurines and a wide array of decorative arts objects. There is also a dog library with 3,000-plus historic books and dogrelated publications that depict the breeds, animal artists and the history of dog shows, as well as classic research works, like the 1890 “Illustrated Book of the Dog” and the 1910 “Dogs and All About Them.” Among the showpieces of the collection: • A portrait of King Charles II of England, along with his siblings and their dogs, before he ascended to the throne in 1660. The dog-loving monarch gave his name to the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, his preferred pet. • A 1990 painting of Mildred Kerr
“Two Dogs” is an 1839 classic by the British animal painter Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, who specialized in dogs and horses. It is part of the collection of the Museum of the Dog, which is moving from St. Louis to 101 Park Avenue. Image: American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog
Bush, better known as “Millie,” the pet English Springer Spaniel, beloved of Barbara and President George H.W. Bush. Entitled “Millie on the South Lawn,” the work is by the contemporary American pet portraitist Christine Merrill. Millie, born in 1985, died in 1997. • An 1839 masterpiece called “Deerhound & Recumbent Foxhound,” also known simply as “Two Dogs,” an oil on canvas by Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, the 19th-century British canine painter who was a regular fixture in the court of dog-loving Queen Victoria. • An 1896 classic, “I Hear a Voice,” by the English-American canine portraitist Maud Alice Earl, and a 1920 work, “His Majesty’s Clumber Spaniels at Sandringham,” by Reuben Ward Binks, who worked on royal commissions for King George V, is also featured. “We’re all dog lovers here, and we’re very excited to have them in our building,” Nasti said.
“Alexander and Diogenes” is an undated and whimsical work that was described as in the style of Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, the famed canine painter also known for his many imitators. Image: American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog
AUGUST 17-23,2017
7
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
SQUADRON
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 conference’s “resistance agenda” and a favorite of good-government groups, represented a liberal district encompassing Wall Street, Battery Park City, SoHo, Tribeca, Little Italy, and parts of the Village and Brooklyn. A lifelong fan of the Beastie Boys and former top aide to U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, he introduced the first New York State $15 minimum wage bill, passed a measure to ban assault weapons in the state and got the Lunar New Year designated a public school holiday. Signs of his restlessness had surfaced before. In 2013, he vied for public advocate, losing a runoff election to Letitia James. Squad ron’s u nex pected adieu, from a safe seat he held for five terms and could easily retain for decades more, is markedly different from the typical Albany exodus — under a cloud of corruption, à la ex-Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and ex-Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos. He’s leaving voluntarily. That’s depressingly rare. His integrity has not been besmirched. Ditto. Sadly, as he acidly noted, virtually nothing has changed after separate scandals forced both pols to vacate their posts. “The status quo has proven extraordinarily durable,” he wrote in an August 9 Daily News op-ed piece in which he disclosed he was stepping down. “It barely shuddered when the leaders of both legislative chambers were convicted of corruption.” Squadron was only 28 when he toppled a 30-year incumbent in November 2008. Propelled by the Barack Obama political tide, swept up in the heady hope-and-change spirit of those days, he said he believed state government had the potential to better the lives of New Yorkers. “I still do,” he opined. But then came the cri de coeur. Over the years, he wrote in The News piece, he has seen good governance “thwarted by a sliver of heavily invested special interests.” Squadron cited “cynical political deals,” roadblocks to reform, festering corruption and hurdles that trip up rank-andfile legislators — among them, “three-men-in-a-room decision-making, loophole-riddled campaign finance rules and a governor-controlled budget process.”
New York may excel in mendacity. But other states, too, once viewed as “laboratories of democracy…have instead become petri dishes of corruption,” he wrote. “Rather than increase economic opportunity, they serve the opportunistic.” Bottom line: States should step up to do more to “beat back President Trump’s corrosive priorities,” and Squadron, joining forces with Sachs and Pritzker, will support candidates and issues to do just that. So a key question: What next for the 26th State Senatorial District he’s represented for the past decade? That’s where things start to get quite messy. The next regularly scheduled election for the seat takes place in 2018. But now, there’s a vacancy in 2017. Unfortunately, what that means is that voters will have little to say about who gets to serve in the state Legislature. Undemocratic? Absolutely. But it’s the law. And in this case, a good-government advocate set that process in motion. Due to the timing of his resignation – late in the election cycle, past the deadline for the petitioning process that places candidates on the ballot – there will be no open and competitive party primary for the seat. A primary would typically determine who runs on the Democratic and Republican lines. Instead, the political parties, not the voters, will pick the nominees, who will run in a special election on November 7 coinciding with the citywide general election. Each party’s county committees, in Manhattan and Brooklyn in this case, and their respective chairmen, make the choice. In Tammany days, this was the classic closed-doorand-smoke-filled-room school of decision-making. Practically, what it means to this day, is that mostly unknown political insiders and their clubhouses still retain supreme king-making power when an unexpected vacancy abruptly opens up in a nonelection year. Since Squadron’s district is heavily Democratic, his successor will effectively be anointed by the whims of just two men, Manhattan Democratic Chairman Keith Wright and Brooklyn Democratic Chairman Frank Seddio, who have considerable control over how their respective committees vote. In other words, it’s more like a
Former state Senator Daniel Squadron, who resigned his seat on August 11, at the Independence Plaza North Senior Center in downtown Manhattan in February. Photo: Madeleine Thompson “coronation” than an election, says Dick Dadey, the executive director of Citizens Union. Squadron didn’t return a call. But it’s unlikely the reformer has any illusions about the boss-driven process his resignation triggered: He had proposed legislation — unsurprisingly, it never passed muster in Albany — that would have required a nonpartisan special election to fill a vacant state legislative seat. It’s not happening. The party’s nominee, handpicked by the Wright-and-Seddio machines, will likely coast to victory in the November election. Only in 2018 will the winner finally face the will of the voters to secure reelection. “The timing of my decision
means the 26th District Senate seat will be filled in this November’s election,” Squadron wrote his constituents. “I remain committed to continuing to fight for an empowered Democratic majority.” Who will reap the spoils? Squadron announced his resignation on the morning of August 9. Flash forward barely three or four hours. By early afternoon, state Assemblyman Brian Kavanagh had thrown his hat in the ring. One of the six children of an Irish immigrant police officer, Kavanagh, first elected in 2006, represents an East Side district that includes Murray Hill, Tudor City, Kips Bay, Turtle Bay, Union Square and East Midtown Plaza. In a statement, he pledged a
“progressive, reform-minded” platform centered on affordable housing, better schools, rent protection, and economic and social justice. The Democratic pol won’t be the only aspirant. Would-be Squadron successors include Taiwan-born state Assembly-
woman Yuh-Line Niou, who holds Silver’s old downtown seat; human rights lawyer Jenifer Rajkumar, director of immigration affairs at the New York Department of State, and Democratic district leaders Lincoln Restler and Paul Newell.
8
AUGUST 17-23,2017
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
Voices
Write to us: To share your thoughts and comments go to otdowntown.com and click on submit a letter to the editor.
THE NEW YORK COMMANDMENTS LEX AND THE CITY BY ALEXA DIBENEDETTO
One might say that every city has its own collective personality, made unique by the collective attributes of its population or the geographical highlights or, I don’t know, its most tasty street food or mass-produced export. That being said, what makes up New York City’s personality? Or, alternatively, what makes you a real New Yorker? People say that the New York lifestyle, the constant energy that fuels the city that never sleeps, is unparalleled. They say that moving here will change you - that you adapt to survive. Swept into the push and pull of a culture driven by constant stimulation, bustling streets and unceasingly busy schedules, things begin to alter. You realize that, upon finally finding a moment of peace and quiet, you feel oddly uncomfortable. You find it difficult to have a “lazy night in” when you’re surrounded by so much opportunity — restaurant openings and concerts and book signings and random Italian street festivals. You develop a more adventurous palate – it begins when your friends invite you out for some authentic Japanese street food, and you soon find yourself encouraging others to try frog and duck liver croquettes and something described as “fried dough balls filled with minced octopus.” You begin seeing a therapist — not for anything severe, but to vent about the constant barrage of stimuli that is New York living, in addition to your feelings about nasty coworkers and the plot twists on the television show you “hate” but refuse to stop watching. Upon coming in contact with some odd scenario, you are quick to say (in the most passé and unaffected way possible) that nothing surprises you anymore. Alternatively, you are often very surprised, as New York is just chock-full of surprises. All things considered, being a New Yorker is a full-time job. Below is a
NYC Commandment 2C: Consider as urban yoga the pretzel-like positions you assume in order to fit onto busy trains. Photo: Susan Sermoneta, via flickr list of commandments by which we live. If you’re new to this town – hello! Fear not, you will be this crazy soon enough, but it’s a painless process and you’ll barely feel it. If you’re already a New Yorker through and through, if you’ve earned your stripes and your hands are figuratively callused by years of battling subway doors and awful relationships and occasional food-poisoning from 3 a.m. takeout orders – hello! You’ll relate to this list fairly easily, I’m sure. 1. Thou shalt not ask for directions. I have lived here for the majority of my life, and, despite this, I often have no clue where the heck I’m meant to be going. Google Map it, or you might
as well wear a fanny pack and an I <3 NY T-shirt. 2. Thou shall always allow people off the train before getting on yourself. This is just one of many rules of train etiquette — an entire guidebook could be written for appropriate train behavior. Other important rules include A) You may scoff when someone holds the train door, but you may also do this yourself. B) No food shall be eaten on the train, aside from an occasional, not-too-crunchy granola bar. C) You will be forced to assume elaborate, human-pretzel like positions in order to fit onto busy trains – we all do it, just consider it urban yoga. 3. Thou may OK to be overzealous in
your change of dress and the slightest sign of a new season. You will be judged. Shake it off. This is New York – you could go to the grocery store in a cat costume, and people would assume you’ve got a very good reason for it. 4. Thou shall not scream upon seeing a rat. At some point, many (but not all) New Yorkers become unfazed to rats scurrying in their periphery. They’re pretty gross, but they’re not coming near you, and their certainly not disappearing. Please do not scream, or shriek, or jump in the way of those who are walking unnecessarily fast to their next destination.
President & Publisher, Jeanne Straus nyoffice@strausnews.com
STRAUS MEDIA your neighborhood news source
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
Account Executive Fred Almonte Director of Partnership Development Barry Lewis
Director of Digital Pete Pinto
5. Thou shall be, like, totally besties with your neighborhood bodega guy. Every real New Yorker hits up their local bodega on a regular basis. It’s a part of the routine – you go for the over-the-counter banter just as much as you go for eggs, milk, cigarettes or condoms. Your bodega guy will be nice to you when you’re in a rush or having an off day or hungover and nearly incoherent. Be nice to him. Crack a joke. Pet his cat. 6. Thou shall always carry some cash. Always have at least ten dollars in your wallet. In case emergency, of course, but also because hipster dive bars often don’t accept credit cards, and happy hour is important. 7. Thou shall never “upstream” others when hailing a cab We are a tough and scrappy people, but we are not uncivilized. If someone else gets a cab before you, accept defeat. 8. Thou must keep the noise in your apartment to a minimum on weekdays. Ethically, this is the mark of a person who is both considerate and courteous. Logistically, this is a strategic move to avoid retaliation in the form of loud Wednesday night parties across the hall and passive aggressive notes taped to your door. 9. Thou shall spend too much on food. Sure, you may be a great cook. You may be a five-star chef. But so is David Chang, and Daniel Boulud, and the fella in the kitchen at your local midnight dumpling spot. Eat out often. Ignore your crying wallet. 10. It’s OK to be overwhelmed. You probably have a lot of feelings. Being a New Yorker can be hectic, but you learn to live for the buzz of a crazy day and the reward of getting through it. You’ll welcome the bumps and the hiccups just as much as those rare days when everything goes your way. Sure, you may be caffeine-addicted, sleep-deprived and constantly in motion, but the tradeoff is that you’re almost never bored. I don’t know about you, but I’d take that tradeoff any day.
Editor-In-Chief, Alexis Gelber editor.ot@strausnews.com Deputy Editor Staff Reporter Richard Khavkine Michael Garofalo editor.otdt@strausnews.com reporter@strausnews.com Senior Reporter Doug Feiden invreporter@strausnews.com
AUGUST 17-23,2017
9
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
HAPPINESS, ON SALE GRAYING NEW YORK BY MARCIA EPSTEIN
Photo: NYC.gov
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR CHEROKEE STATION POST OFFICE
WHERE SHOULD BENCHES GO?
I want to dispel a rumor regarding the beloved Cherokee Station post office. There are no plans to close the post office [1483 York Avenue, at 79th Street]. Portions of Cherokee Station were briefly closed while repairs were made on the roof, but the repairs are completed and the post office will continue to remain open. Recently, Cherokee Station was notified by its landlord that necessary repairs had to be made on the roof, and that it would be unsafe for post office to keep the service windows open during the repairs. The postal service kept the front part of the main room open so that patrons would be able to use the self-service electronic kiosks and stationed mobile units outside the building to service customers. I have been assured that the repairs have been completed and service is now back to normal. One of my first successes as a member of Congress was persuading the U.S. Postal Service to open the Cherokee Station post office. Since then, it has been much in demand and a great benefit for the community. I will continue to work to make sure that the Cherokee Station post office continues to serve this area. There is no comparable post office nearby, and thousands of people rely on Cherokee Station for their postal needs.
Readers responded to Douglas Feiden’s request for suggestions about where they would like CityBenches in Manhattan (“The Benching of Manhattan,” August 3 - 9):
Carolyn B. Maloney Member of Congress
I am a visiting volunteer and my senior would love a bench at Eighth Avenue and 25th Street, if it’s possible. She likes to shop at the Gristedes on 26th and Eighth, but she has osteoporosis and has to stop frequently to rest. There is nowhere to rest after 23rd and Eighth. The Gristedes at 22nd Street doesn’t always have what she likes in stock, and the 26th Street store is much larger. I can always pick things up for her, but she likes to be able to do as much as she can herself. We take full advantage of the benches in the neighborhood. It’s wonderful to live in a city that has so much to offer its seniors. Marilyn Nourse Chelsea I live at the intersection of 86th and Second, with (finally!) new bus stops and the new Q train. I recently noticed a nice new bench on the northwestside of Second and 86th, just north of the bus stop on Second. A happy surprise at an excellent location. An even more necessary location is on the southeast side of 86th and Second, somewhere near the new Q elevator and the new eastbound 86th Street bus stop. It’s a bumped-out sidewalk, but there is yet no bus
shelter, therefore a big need for a bench that will serve two purposes — the bus and the subway, and the many, many seniors in the neighborhood (many of whom use the elevator at that location). We could probably use one by the shelterless westbound 86th Street bus stop on the northwest corner of 86th as well. Dayle Henshel Upper East Side A bench is needed at the corner of 53rd and First Avenue. It is a local bus stop. If the city will not provide a bus shelter, a bench would be lovely just the same. Another location, on Third Avenue between 53rd and 54th Street, would be an ideal location for a bench. It is a local bus stop with no shelter. Alfred N Bonnabel East Side My request, my plea: a CityBench installed at the bus stop, York at 69th, NewYork—Presbyterian Hospital. There is a sheltered bus stop across the street on York, west side. This has been irksome to me for some time. I did get in touch with DOT and their reply was ”no room.” Come on, there is room. Figure it out! It is a muchneeded rest stop. It’s next to a hospital, for goodness sakes! Fingers crossed and I will be optimistic. Mary Ramniceanu East Side
It seems that landlords have found a way to get back at rent-controlled tenants, who have been getting low or no rent increases in the past few years. For many years, landlords were getting 5 percent to 9 percent increases in one- and twoyear leases. But lately, oneyear leases have been 0 percent and two-year leases 2 percent. Landlords are unhappy. And so ... here comes the MCI (major capital improvement). The landlord claims that he’s “fixed the /boiler,” “upgraded the elevators,” “redone the terraces,” “repaired the roof” and improved this and that and the other thing. And so, hello to the MCI, a monthly charge per room that is added to the rent and goes on into perpetuity. In other words, the MCI goes on even after the cost of the claimed work has been paid. If a building has a strong board of directors and good lawyers, it fights the MCI in the courts, sometimes for years. Landlords, of course, don’t like rent stabilized tenants. They want to get market rates for apartments, and if they can’t get us out, they at least want substantial raises on lease renewals. Since they’re not getting that lately, we have to pay
one way or another. My building is involved in a new MCI fight right now, and we’ve got a great board and smart lawyers. Here’s to justice winning over greed. Here’s to plain old fashioned fairness and caring about people rather than profit. Most rent stabilized tenants are not wealthy, many are elderly and sick. In my opinion, MCI’s are an underhanded way to get back what the Rent Stabilization Board “took away.” Thumbs down on these greedy landlords. And with the money we tenants save, we will buy ... happiness. According to study published last month in “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences” money can in fact help secure that elusive quality — if the money is used to save you time. According to the article, 6,000 people in the U.S., Canada, Denmark and the Netherlands agreed that buying services that save time gives them more pleasure than buying things. For example, housekeeping, delivery services and taking taxis make people a little bit happier than buying something material. Paying people to do what you don’t like to do, and what is timeconsuming can add brightness to a person’s life. Still, only 28 percent of those surveyed spent money to save time. One of the researchers, using these findings, hired someone to get rid of the unpacked boxes in her new house and then hired a
housekeeper and delivery services and was surprised and how great she felt. I absolutely relate to these survey results. Although I get a temporary lift from buying something new, I have a few indulgences that I’d never give up. For example, I have been taking my laundry out, to be picked up neatly folded and closet-ready, for at least 25 years. I wouldn’t know how to operate the laundry machines in our building, and I don’t want to. I love putting the crisply folded sheets and towels away, and walk away to do something more productive, like read. I also hire a cleaning person every few weeks to do what I like least, such as scrub the tub and keep the kitchen and bathroom sparkling. Of course I do some cleaning in between, but I leave the tough stuff to her. I also indulge in buying books, either from thrift shops, streets stands, bookstores or Amazon. If I really want to read it now, I’ll pay full price. Another thing I indulge in; I like to eat out. Nothing fancy, but out! I hate to shop and cook, but do like to eat, so off I’ll go to the neighborhood diner or local Italian restaurant. I love to take myself out to breakfast; I’m a bit of a French toast and pancake maven. And so, I count myself in with the 28 percent of people who spend money to save time and do the things I don’t want to do. I totally get it!
10
AUGUST 17-23,2017
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
Acknowledge The People Who Make Your Life Better Nominate Your
More Events. Add Your Own: Go to nycnow.com
%PPSNBO t 4VQFS t 1PSUFS 0ó DF $MFBOFS t 4FDVSJUZ (VBSE )BOEZQFSTPO
Photo by perempuan via Flickr
5FMM VT XIZ UIFZ SF TQFDJBM You could win $150, just for entering! (P UP BSW-AWARDS.COM UPEBZ BOE OPNJOBUF TPNFPOF 2017
B UILDING SERVICE W O RKER
AWAR DS 4QPOTPSFE #Z
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
Thu 17 KIDS’ YOGA Washington Square Park 10 a.m. Free Kids can join in the yoga fun as they stretch and move to songs, rhymes and more. Bring your own mat. 212-396-5873. nycgovparks. org
CREATE YOUR OWN BODY SCRUBS CraftJam, 33 West 17th St. 7 p.m. $50 Learn the individual benefits of essential oils and how to make sugar body scrubs from scratch with a scent of your choice. You’ll go home with two body scrubs in beautiful mason jars, which you’ll be able to decorate at the end of the class. BYOB! 917-690-8287. craftjam. com
Fri 18
Sat 19
▲BEGINNER CROCHET
SUMMER STREETS 2017
Lion Brand Yarn Studio, 34 West 15th St. 1:30 p.m. $50 Get started with crochet in this class for total beginners. Crochet 1 is a two hour workshop that introduces the chain and single crochet in a small group so students can be sure to get the individual attention they need. Materials included. 212-243-9070. lionbrandyarnstudio.com
DISPATCHES FROM DYSTOPIAN FICTION Strand Book Store, 828 Broadway 7:30 p.m. $20 Are Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” and Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451” guidebooks for our fraught times? These two classics provide fascinating fodder for discussion on climate change, gender dynamics and the sinister side of digitization. 212-473-1452. strandbooks.com
Park Avenue, from the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park 7 a.m.-1 p.m. Free Nearly 7 miles of Park Avenue will be opened for people to water slide, soar through the air on a zip line, dance, get fit, attend public art and architecture tours or just stroll along and experience the city’s streets in a new way. nyc.gov/summerstreets
ANNA KENDRICK AUTHOR EVENT Barnes & Noble, 33 East 17th St. 1 p.m. $10 Film star Anna Kendrick (“Pitch Perfect,” “Into The Woods,” “Twilight”) adds another moniker to her name: an author. She’ll be at Barnes and Noble promoting her memoir, “Scrappy Little Nobody.” 212-253-0810. bn.com
AUGUST 17-23,2017
11
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 Photo by Patrick Nouhailler via Flickr
Sun 20 OPEN STUDIOS Whitney Museum of American Art, 99 Gansevoort St. 10:30 a.m. Free with admission. Get creative in the Whitney’s Hearst Artspace, where kids of all ages participate in art projects inspired by works currently on exhibit. The whole family can join in. 212-570-3600. whitney.org/ events
BRUNCH WITH TRAVELING IN PAIRS City Winery, NYC 155 Varick St. 10 a.m. $10 Traveling in Pairstakes take hold of a wide range of Jewish music repertoire — from Eastern Europe to North Africa, Jerusalem and New York — and give it a fresh treatment. 212-608-0555. citywinery. com
Mon 21 NEIGHBORHOOD LEGAL CLINIC Trinity Church Parish Center, 2 Rector St. 3 p.m. Free Trinity is partnering with Housing Court Answers and Mobilization for Justice to provide free workshops for
Dining Information, plus NYC residents without legal representation in housing court. This session will cover housing court stipulations and orders to show cause. 212-602-0800. trinitywallstreet.org
YOUTH TECH WORKSHOP Hamilton Fish Recreation Center, 128 Pitt St. 4 p.m. Free Create your own webisode. Learn the skills from conception to creation of a unique series that can be streamed online. Access all the tools you need to create your series: cameras, microphones, editing equipment and actors. 212-387-7711. nycgovparks. org
Tue 22 ▲ FLOWER POWER Saks Fifth Avenue, 511 5th Ave. 4:30 p.m. Free. In this three-hour workshop at Wellery Studio, a meditation on the connection between the colors of the flower petals and certain aspects of our lives. Feel free to bring any items you would like to have charged on the altar. 212-753-4000. saksfifthavenue.com
GIRLS WHO CODE Barnes & Noble, 33 East 17th St.
7 p.m. Free Reshma Saujani, founder and CEO of Girls Who Code and the former deputy public advocate of New York City, talks about her mission to empower girls to pursue careers in technology and engineering. 212-253-0810. bn.com
Wed 23 ‘BIRD WITH STRINGS’ New School’s College of Performing Arts, 66 West 12th St. 7:30 p.m. Free Take flight at the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, where a chamber orchestra feature soloist Dave Glasser will perform Parker’s influential 194950 recordings of “Bird With Strings” on the festival’s 25th anniversary. 212-229-5600. events. newschool.edu
WRITING WORKSHOP WITH NANCY DAVIDOFF KELTON Strand Book Store, 828 Broadway. 6:30 p.m. $40 Kelton gives writing exercises, techniques and inspiration that tap into your experiences, memories, truths and dreams in this workshop. Learn to get rid of your internal critics, express yourself authentically, and establish disciplined work habits. 212-473-1452. strandbooks.
crime news, real estate prices - all about your part of town
Cultural Events in and around where you live (not Brooklyn, not Westchester)
Now get your personal copy delivered by US Mail for just
$
49/Year for 52 issues
To Subscribe : Call 212-868-0190 or go online to otdowntown.com and click on subscribe
12
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
AUGUST 17-23,2017
ON THE FRONT LINES — AND THE HOME FRONT The Met Fifth Avenue hosts a haunting show of prints and drawings commemorating the First World War BY VAL CASTRONOVO
“World War I and the Visual Arts” at The Met is the third major museum exhibit devoted to the Great War to open in Manhattan since April, the month Congress declared war on Germany 100 years ago and the U.S. entered the fray. While the Museum of the City of New York has focused on propaganda with a colorful poster show and the New-York Historical Society is featuring John Singer Sargent’s “Gassed,” among other epic paintings, The Met is highlighting smaller-scale prints, drawings and photographs of the war’s impact, drawn mostly from its collection. With more than 130 items, including books, periodicals, medals, helmets and a gas mask, the exhibit showcases well-known and lesser-known artists alike, such as Sargent, George Bellows, Edward Steichen, Marsden Hartley, Pierre Bonnard, Fernand Léger, Max Beckmann, Otto Dix, Käthe Kollwitz, Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson and many more. British painter-printmaker C.R.W.
IF YOU GO WHAT: “World War 1 and the Visual Arts” WHERE: The Met Fifth Avenue, 1000 Fifth Ave. (at 82nd Street) WHEN: through January 7 www.metmuseum.org Nevinson (1889-1946), one of the most famous visual chroniclers of World War I, served as an ambulance driver and medical orderly before being appointed an official war artist in 1917. His prints are sprinkled throughout the show and are among the most haunting items here. He used Futurist and Cubist techniques to produce works that evoke the mechanical aspects of the conflict, the first truly modern war with airplanes, machine guns, tanks, poison gas and horrific casualties. Unlike propagandists who portrayed the war as a grand adventure leading to a better future, Nevinson refused to paint a rosy picture. As he wrote in his autobiography, he created images “without pageantry, without glory, and without the over-coloured heroic that had made up the tradition of all war paintings up to this time.... No man saw pageantry in the trenches.” He used repetitive imagery to convey
Käthe Kollwitz. German, Kaliningrad (Königsberg) 1867–1945 Moritzburg. “The Parents,” 1921–22. Print. Woodcut on heavy cream wove paper. Image: 13 7/8 × 16 7/8 in. (35.2 × 42.9 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Bertha and Isaac Liberman Foundation, Inc. 2017
John Singer Sargent. American, Florence 1856–1925 London. “Wheels in Vault,” 1918. Watercolor, graphite, and wax on white wove paper. 15 3/8 x 20 13/16 in. (39.1 x 52.9 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Francis Ormond, 1950 the bleakness and tedium of life on the front, producing powerful scenes of soldiers marching, resting and heading for the trenches. One of his more classically styled pictures, “The Road from Arras to Bapaume” (1918), set in the Somme region, is an elevated view of tiny troops cutting across a vast battle-scarred landscape, whose scale underscores the men’s frailty. American expat John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) also served as an official war artist for the British army. He shadowed soldiers in northern France and Belgium for several months in 1918, creating works that mainly allude to the war’s brutality but avoid addressing it directly or very explicitly. Three sketches and two watercolors are on view, including “Wheels in Vault” (1918), a desolate rubble-strewn picture of a bombed-out church. The show’s organizers speculate that the scene must have resonated with Sargent, whose niece and inspiration, Rose-Marie Ormond, died at a concert at a church in Paris that was bombed by the Germans in March 1918. Ninety others perished in the raid. Otto Dix (1891-1969), a volunteer machine-gunner for the German army
who fought in the Battle of the Somme, took an entirely different approach. No airbrushing here. Seriously wounded in the war, Dix created graphic images of the toll on man and his environment, producing a landmark series of 51 prints, “The War” (1923-24), to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the outbreak of hostilities. Considered one of the most important visual responses to war in the last century, the portfolio is displayed in full here, arranged in three long rows. The artist’s pacifist sympathies are evident from the gruesome, war-ishell depictions of dead soldiers, bugeyed wounded soldiers and soldiers about to be buried alive. An eyewitness to the horror, Dix doesn’t hold back. Men with blackened faces, victims of a gas attack, lie dead on the ground. A human skull is crawling with worms. Corpses are caught on barbed wire — and a skeleton-faced sentry, still holding his weapon, sits lifeless in a trench, clothing ripped apart and body decomposing. Dix sketched in place, but also from memory and from photographs. While many war artists focused on the combatants and their agony, oth-
ers focused on the agony of those left behind — mothers and fathers, wives and children. German artist Käthe Kollwitz (1867-1945) lost her 18-yearold son, Peter, just one month after the war began. In 1919, after the armistice, she began work on “War,” a series documenting the suffering on the home front. As she wrote in her journal while she labored over the very black woodcut “The Parents” (1921-22): “Done the sheet ‘Parents’ over again.... Far too bright and hard and distinct. Pain is totally dark.” The image of a husband and wife collapsed in grief was later adapted into a sculpture in memory of her son. Kollwitz’s “Mothers” (1919), a lithograph from the same series, meanwhile pays special tribute to the maternal bond. A tight image of mournful mothers clutching youngsters, the piece features the artist at its center, huddling with her two sons. “I have drawn the mother who embraces her two children,” she wrote in a letter dated February 1919. “I am with my own children, born from me, my Hans and Peterchen.”
AUGUST 17-23,2017
13
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
ACTIVITIES FOR THE FERTILE MIND
thoughtgallery.org NEW YORK CITY
Haiti Will Not Perish: A Recent History
FRIDAY, AUGUST 18TH, 7PM Bluestockings | 172 Allen St. | 212-777-6028 | bluestockings.com Longtime Haiti correspondent Michael Deibert speaks on his new book, which is based in part on interviews conducted with a range of Haitians, from regular folks to activists to gang and political leaders (free).
The Handmaid and the Hound: The Predictive Punch of “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “Fahrenheit 451”
FRIDAY, AUGUST 18TH, 7:30PM A child rides down between inflatable cutlery on the LG Quadwash waterpark slide. Photo: Bryse Ciallella
SUMMER IN THE CITY FUN Activities along a 7-mile car-free route extend from Brooklyn Bridge to Upper East Side BY BRYSE CIALLELLA
If you haven’t had a chance to check out Summer Streets, the annual celebration of New York City’s streets put on by the Department of Transportation, you’ll have one last opportunity Saturday from 7 a.m.-1 p.m.
The Summer Streets route is nearly seven miles long and extends from the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park. There are six rest stops or “activations” along the way. Each rest stop features an activity that the public is invited to participate in, free of charge. “This year is the first year we’ve ever really activated this far north,” said Scott Gastel, a DOT spokesman. “From 53rd on, it was just 20 blocks, there were some tables but there was never an activation. So, of the entire 6.9 mile route, this last
20-block segment is really seeing something new for the first time.” If you do check out the newest activity, you may want to bring your bathing suit because the rest stop features an inflatable waterpark. The enormous inflatable, near the route’s northernmost point, looks like the inside of a dishwasher, complete with dishes and cutlery. The waterpark rest stop is located on Park Avenue, bound by 71st and 70th streets.
Children play in the wading portion of an inflatable waterpark on Park Avenue, part of the city’s Summer in the Streets activities. Photo: Bryse Ciallella
The Strand | 828 Broadway | 212-473-1452 | strandbooks.com A deputy director in Human Rights Watch’s Asia Division asks if two novels having a moment are the “dystopian fiction guidebooks to our troubled times” ($20, includes beer and wine).
Just Announced | TimesTalks: Microsoft C.E.O. Satya Nadella on Cultural Transformation
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH, 7PM The Walter Reade Theater | 165 W. 65th St. | 866-811-4111 | timestalks.com Satya Nadella talks about his new book, Hit Refresh: The Quest to Rediscover Microsoft’s Soul and Imagine a Better Future for Everyone, with Times editor Rebecca Blumenstein ($40).
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
AUGUST 17-23,2017
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS AUG 1-8, 2017
Georgia’s Eastside Bbq
192 Orchard Street
Grade Pending (3)
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.
Cocoa Bar
21 Clinton Street
A
Subway
221 E Broadway
A
Kottu House
250 Broome St
A
Fresh White Swan Bakery
88 E Broadway
A
Happy Family
213 E Broadway
Not Yet Graded (46) Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations. Food contact surface improperly constructed or located. Unacceptable material used. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
The Masala Wala
179 Essex Street
Grade Pending (10) Insufficient or no refrigerated or hot holding equipment to keep potentially hazardous foods at required temperatures.
Forgtmenot
138 Division Street
A
Nyc Falafel Co.
201 Allen St
A
Ludlow Coffee Supply
176 Ludlow St
Grade Pending (48) Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations. Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, crosscontaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan. Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewageassociated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies. 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. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
Black Tap Les
177 Ludlow St
Not Yet Graded (23) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/ sewage-associated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
Standings
43 East 7 Street
A
Juban
207 10Th Ave
A
Da Andrea
35 West 13 Street
A
Stumptown Coffee Roasters
30 West 8 Street
A
Wichcraft
62 Chelsea Piers
A
The Commons Chelsea
128 7 Avenue
Grade Pending (21) 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.
Los Tacos # 1
75 9Th Ave
A
Sushi 21
174 7 Ave
A
Corkbuzz Winebar Chelsea Market
75 9Th Ave
A
Melt Bakery
Nkn High Line Pk W 15Th St
A
La Sonrisa Empanadas
Nka Highline Park, West 15Th St
A
Calle Dao Chelsea
461 W 23Rd St
Not Yet Graded (30) Insufficient or no refrigerated or hot holding equipment to keep potentially hazardous foods at required temperatures.
Spice
236 8 Avenue
A
Clay
25 West 14 Street
A
Lamano
265 W 20Th St
A
Google Panorama
111 8Th Ave
A
Xing Wong Bbq
89 E Broadway
Grade Pending (3)
Finest Dumpling Restaurant
25 B Henry Street
A
East Noodle Village
85 Chrystie St
A
Red Room
85 E 4Th St
A
Loreley Restaurant
7 Rivington Street
A
Joe Jr. Restaurant
167 3Rd Ave
A
Im Pastry Studio
120 Essex St
Not Yet Graded (10) Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
Shuko
47 E 12Th St
A
Caffe Bene
816 Broadway
Grade Pending (78) 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 improperly constructed or located. Unacceptable material used. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
Nurse Bettie
106 Norfolk Street
A
Rockwood Music Hall
190 Allen Street
A
Max Fish
120 Orchard St
A
Dirt Candy
86 Allen St
A
French Diner
188 Orchard St
A
Harper’s Bread House
271 Grand St
A
Copper And Oak
157 Allen St
A
Ayios Greek Rotisserie
2 St Marks Place
A
Ka Wah Bakery
9 Eldridge Street
Grade Pending (24) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.
Joe’s Pub
425 Lafayette Street
A
Bar Veloce
175 Second Avenue
A
Cacio & Pepe
182 2 Avenue
A
AUGUST 17-23,2017
15
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
A NEW TEA HOUSE COMES TO THE UWS Silence, light and art are the hallmarks of a tranquil space on West 72nd Street BY ELISSA SANCI
Each morning, Elina Medvedeva starts her day by sitting in silence and drinking tea at Floating Mountain, the recently-opened tea house she co-owns with business partner Roza Gazarian on West 72nd Street between Broadway and West End Avenue. She believes that a silent tea bowl ceremony is the proper way to start the day, and so, from 11 a.m. to noon, she sits cross-legged on a cushion on the floor, drinking cup after cup while meditating. For 42-year-old Medvedeva, a former finance executive, tea — and all the culture associated with it — is more than just a drink; it’s a way of life. It’s with this thought in mind that she and Gazarian, 30, run the business they officially opened on June 12. Nestled above an organic dry-cleaning store, Flouting Mountain is an oasis from the bustling street below, and Medvedeva and Gazarian hope to offer Upper West Siders something they rarely get in New York: tranquility and calmness. “The way we offer tea here brings you to meditation,” Medvedeva said. “It brings you to a state of mind where you can stop and appreciate the tea. It’s a rare opportunity to stop and really enjoy something.” It’s for this reason that Floating Mountain doesn’t sell to-go cups of tea. Instead, customers looking for something quick can buy either by the bowl (small cups without handles use in traditional tea ceremonies), by the pot or by the pitcher (for those who like it iced). Floating Mountain offers a variety 50 different kinds of tea to choose from, all from China. The menu is split into three types of teas: greens, yellows and whites, all varying in price. For those more curious about tea culture, there are a few different tea tasting kits. For $35, customers can choose between five preset kits, which include three different teas. Some kits are entirely green teas, others are all oolong, and some have a mix of tea types. For $45, the customer can create his or her own kit of three teas. Floating Mountain also offers different sessions, like the Gongfu Session, which focuses on the preparation of the tea,
Elina Medvedeva pours herself a bowl of tea. Photo: Elissa Sanci and the Tea Bowl Session, designed to connect the drinkers with nature, themselves and others. For these tea sessions, reservations are required — the Gongfu Session is $40 a person, while the Tea Bowl Session is $15. When customers cross the threshold, they are greeted with stillness, an open space and a sign requesting they remove their shoes, which can be disorienting for a New Yorker, to say the least. This is also the idea behind the daily silent tea bowl ceremony — to slow down and appreciate the present rather than stress about the past or worry about the future. Anyone can stop in for the free, hourlong meditation; a number of Medvedeva’s late-morning customers come from Ashtanga Yoga Upper West Side, the studio right across the hall, where she herself practices yoga in the morning. The spiritual aspect of drinking tea is what finally pushed Medvedeva to open her own place — she said it was the most logical continuation of her yoga practice. Medvedeva was leaving yoga one Monday morning in November 2016 when she noticed the space across the hall was available for rent. What was once a custom tailor’s workshop was now just an empty room flooded with natural light. By the time she reached her office on 42nd Street, she had decided to leave the world of corporate finance to start her own business. That same week, Medvedeva, who said she had always thought of opening a tea house, signed the lease for the space. For the next few months, she
and Gazarian prepared to open Floating Mountain, creating a space to mirror the tea ceremony’s soothing quality. Big windows allow natural light to flood the space. Shelves displaying handmade ceramic vases, all made by New York artist Anna Aristova, hang on the wall. The pair traveled to China in late March to buy their supply of tea leaves. They met with tea farmers and sampled a variety of teas. This was important to Medvedeva, who didn’t want to buy tea in bulk on the Internet — she said that’s not what Floating Mountain was about. “It’s about bringing an appreciation and deep respect to the tea, to the farmer, to the culture, to the process,” she explained. While primarily a tea house, Floating Mountain is also a gallery of sorts. The two business partners decided to use part of their space to showcase international and local artists who specialize in ceramic art. “We thought that the ceramic art ... is a big part of the tea ceremony and the tea experience,” Gazarian said. “So it would be nice for half the space to highlight the contemporary artists who work in that medium.” Their current exhibition features Aristova’s work; Gazarian also has two shows planned for September and November that will showcase two international artists who are collaborating on a collection of Japanese tea bowls. “We created the space with art in mind,” Gazarian added. “It’s nice to not only make [Floating Mountain] about the drink but about the culture as well.”
Everything you like about Our Town Downtown is now available to be delivered to your mailbox every week in the Downtowner From the very local news of your neighborhood to information about upcoming events and activities, the new home delivered edition of the Downtowner will keep you in-the-know.
And best of all you won’t have to go outside to grab a copy from the street box every week.
It’s your neighborhood. It’s your news.
X
Yes! Start my mail subscription to the Downtowner right away! 1-Year Subscription @ $49
Name
________________________________________________
Address _________________________________ Apt. #
________
New York, NY Zip Code __________ Cell Phone _________________ Email Address___________________________________________ Payment by
Check # __________
Money Order
Credit Card
Name on Credit Card (Please Print) ___________________________ Card # _______________________ Exp. Date
____ //____ // ____
Signature of Cardholder ___________________________________
Return Completed Form to: Straus News, 20 West Avenue, Chester, NY, 10918 or go to otdowntown.com & click on Subscribe
16
AUGUST 17-23,2017
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
Business
BEYOND THE COUCH How multipurpose furniture is meeting the needs of city dwellers tight for space
BY KATHERINE ROTH
It’s not always enough for a couch to be a couch. Sometimes, especially when space is tight, it helps if the couch can double as two armchairs and a coffee table, and even storage shelves, as is the case with one Japanese camping couch popular among city dwellers. The multifunctional Camp Couch is made by the upscale Japanese brand Snow Peak, which recently opened boutiques in Portland, Oregon, and in the trendy SoHo section of New York. Although its $749.99 price tag may be steep compared to other camping goods, some clients see it as inexpensive compared to other sofa options — and far more versatile. “The reality is that living spaces are getting smaller, people are moving back to cities, and while people across the country are more willing now to trade square footage for geography, they don’t want to sacrifice their lifestyle,” explains Lisa Blecker, marketing director at New York-based Resource Furniture, one of the largest suppliers of “transforming furniture” in North America. The answer for many people now is multifunctional or folding furniture that makes small spaces both comfortable and versatile. “Simple, dual-purpose furnishings are absolutely on trend now,” says Blecker. Gadgety, multipurpose furniture is nothing new, says Sarah Coffin, cura-
tor and head of product design and decorative arts at the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in Manhattan. It emerged in Europe and Asia a century or more ago, and has been popular among American city dwellers since at least around the time that elevators made large apartment buildings possible, she says. “This kind of furniture was very popular in the 18th and 19th centuries,” Coffin says. “The idea that a chair can be pushed in or a side folded down to make more space has been around for a while.” “Think of a telephone table where the chair fits into it, or a vanity table that houses a pull-out stool.” And there was camping furniture: In the 17th century, “people had to travel with their own furniture and carried something like a writing box, which opened up with a leather surface for writing and little drawers for pens and ink,” she says. “And the Koreans and Chinese had chests of drawers with carrying handles so they could be brought aboard ships,” she adds. In a similar sprit, niche furniture like the murphy bed, multifunctional tables, and camping furniture that brings to mind colonial-era camping furniture but with a streamlined, modern sensibility, has now gone mainstream. Chain stores across the country cater to a growing demand for furnishings that are both hip and versatile. Outdoors stores like REI have also gotten into the act. At REI’s store in SoHo, for example, sleek and versatile couches, dining chairs and rocking chairs are sold alongside the expected array of tents and other camping gear.
A Murphy bed. Photo: Joel, via flickr “I’d say 70 percent of the clients buying this kind of furniture are planning to use it indoors,” says Mike Martin, a manager at the store, located just a block from New York University. He notes the store’s display of Japanese “outdoor lifestyle” living and dining furniture. “It’s really popular among students looking to furnish their apartments,” he says of multipurpose furniture. “And the cool thing is you can also use it on a balcony, take it to an outdoor concert, or even camping.” Blecker says her company’s furniture, much of it made in Europe, has gone from niche market to widespread in the past decade. “Our products are expensive, but
they’re much cheaper than the cost of moving, or of expanding a home. Instead, they allow you to make much more of the space there is,” she says. “Home sizes are shrinking as people opt for prime location as opposed to larger space, and even for those in houses, transforming furniture makes for more versatile spaces.” Because of the high cost of larger transforming pieces (Resource Furniture’s folding bed with integrated sofa can range from $5,000 to $20,000), many households tend to select one or two important high-end items, like a bed, couch or console-to-dining table, and fill out the rest with less expensive items. “The No. 1 thing people don’t want
to give up is a real bed. So they may be buying a wall bed from us, and filling out other things like desks at CB2 and end tables from IKEA to put it all together,” says Blecker. Much of the trend toward attractive and versatile small spaces began in space-squeezed Japan, moving on to Europe and then here, she says. Martin, at REI, concurred, saying Japanese brands like Snow Peak seemed to lead the way on camping furniture that could just as easily be used indoors. “It’s cool to have something that works great in your apartment but that you could also ... just fold completely out of the way so it doesn’t take up precious space,” he says.
ON THE SIDE STREETS OF NEW YORK VAN LEEUWEN — 152 WEST 10TH STREET What started out as a couple of ice cream trucks in 2008 has since become a beloved collection of shops throughout New York City. Van Leeuwen offers delicious fresh milk ice cream and vegan options made with only “coconut and cashew milk, raw
Photo: Tom Arena, Manhattan Sideways
cocoa butter, extra virgin olive oil, and organic sugar cane.” These artisanal ice cream makers are extremely concerned with the quality of their product and the source of their ingredients. To read more, visit Manhattan Sideways (sideways.nyc), created by Betsy Bober Polivy.
AUGUST 17-23,2017
17
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
!" # $$ %##
$
$ &#
'"($")(***
$!)
+
,-./ 0
!$ 1 2# %##
$"3
$ &#
'$(.4,()**
.,
+
$"-!/ 0
4* 565 7 #2 #
8#
" &# '"(.**(***
$$.
+
!-,/ 9 0
44 565 7 #2 #
8
$ &#
!!
+
8/ 0 "
'$($)*(***
$
$ 565 7 #2 #
"3
" &# '$(4)*(***
."
+
$-8/ 0
4.: # $$ %##
4
" &# '$(44)(***
!!
+
.-4/ 0
!, # $$ %##
!$)
6 '!4)(***
"4
+
"-4/ 0 4
.* # : %##
$.7
$ &#
'$(",*(***
)8
+
*-,/ 0
.4 # $* %##
4
$ &#
'!,*(***
"*8
+
$!-4/ 0
$8* 7 2 %##
.#
6 ')!)(***
)$
+
$ "
4
4-./ 0 .
.
2
$.* 7 2 %##
45
$ &#
'"(.4*(***
$!
+
*-8/ 0
$4$ 7 2 %##
,&+
4; &#
'4()**(***
$8
+
!-"/ 9 0
,* +7 %< 2 %##
85
" &#
'"(:8*(***
4!
+ 2
) !
=
,, &<##+3#% %##
4$.
$ &#
':.)(***
)$:
+
"$-$/ 0
,, &<##+3#% %##
$*"
4; &#
'"(.**(***
,8
+
4-8/ 0
,, &<##+3#% %##
!$*
6
'!4)(***
"$
+
!/ 9 0
")) 7 2 %##
.
$ &#
'$(.,)(***
$$,
+ 2
4-4/ 0 )
")) 7 2 %##
!#
$ &#
'$(,4)(***
$8"
+ 2
8-./ 0
,
8
& +
$48 %##
"
4; &#
'4()8*(***
.$
+
"-4/ 9 0
..4 %##2 6+7 %##
4
4; &#
'8(.*4(!$,
!,4
+ 2
./ 0 !
.": %##2 6+7 %##
:&
4; &#
'8()**(***
8*8
+ 2
$:/ 0
4*4 %##2 6+7 %##
"7
" &#
'$())*(***
"."
+ 2
8-"/ 0
,, %# # %##
45
" &#
'"(8!*(***
!8
+ 2
.-4/ 0
: $*
,
), %# # %##
$85
" &#
'"(.:8(***
,!
+ 2
)-,/ 0
4* %3 < +#
).
4; &#
'8(.")(***
$88
+ 2
,-./ 0 8
5
"* 62# %##
"**$
':)*(***
$.:
+ 2
$,-./ 0 :
$ &#
"* 62# %##
$*$)
6
':.4(***
,8
+ 2
)-"/ 0
)* # %##
$)+
$ &#
'"(*,"($48
$*$
+ 2
.-./ 9 0
)* # %##
8+
$ &#
'$(8!4(4:,
$!8
+ 2
$$-:/ 9 0
$) &% %##
,"*
4; &#
'"(8)*(***
:!
+ 2
8-$/ 0
" 7 #2 #2 #
)
" &#
':8)(***
$).
+ 2
$,-:/ 0
,) << %##
4*
" &#
'"(*$4("*.
.$$
+ 2
:-4/ 0 $*
$) 6<<6 %##
$:
" &#
'$(!)*(***
$$:
+ 2
)-"/ 0
= > - ?- > @ @ = ? - 5 ? ? ( > == A -
18
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
AUGUST 17-23,2017
MAGGIE’S MAGIC GARDEN OASIS How one woman turned a garbagefilled lot on the UES into a lush space for plants, herbs and fruit trees BY MICHELE WILLENS
Maria Magdalena Amurrio wakes up most days at four a.m., walks next door, pulls out her hoses and hydrants, and starts watering. This takes a few hours, after which she quickly showers and is out by 6:30 to go to her real job — cleaning homes. What she leaves behind is an enchanting and rather awesome neighborhood park. One that carries her name, as well it should. Maggie, as she’s known, moved to Lexington Avenue (between 100th and 101st) from Bolivia in 1989, and soon after, noticed the burned out, garbage-filled lot alongside her building. She started planting seeds and pulling weeds, even when the city considered forcing her to stop. Maggie’s Magic Garden (now part of the city’s Green Thumb project) is coming up on 24 years of flourishing plants, herbs, vegetables and fruit trees. (Even beehives doing their thing.) This hidden gem represents one woman’s determination to bring some velvety green to a decidedly brown and pockmarked city street. Just try to find anyone in East
Maria Magdalena Amurrio in the garden. Photo: Michele Willens Harlem who isn’t familiar with, and grateful for, Maggie’s garden. Why does this warm, if understandably weary, immigrant mother of three do this? “A garden like this, it reminds me of my beloved Bolivia,” she says, “and I believe in taking care of the earth.“ The commitment is full-time and monetarily challenging. At one point, for example, she needed to raise $12,000 for generators. Maggie has her wish list: “We need a greenhouse
to keep our seedlings during the spring, and we need ramps to allow access to our visitors in wheelchairs.” Though most funds have come, she says, “from my own pocket,” this is truly a community endeavor. Neighbors help to do the work, to donate, to enjoy the fresh goodies, to relax with a book, even to hold a meeting. “It has been harvested by volunteers,” says Maggie. Sure enough, the day I visited, three folks came by. Rafael Mutis has been helping out for the last few months, happy to play even a small role in Maggie’s blooming miracle. “This one will be white, this will be pink,” he says, proudly pointing out lilies of the valley which will arrive next spring. Justin Samuels, who used to live in the neighborhood, stopped by and was hugged by a surprised Maggie. A screenwriter and recent graduate of Columbia, Samuels had volunteered regularly, he said, “because I liked gardening and had always lived in rural areas. I weeded, I laid down mulch, I did everything.” “This is the pride of the neighborhood!” exclaimed another frequent helper, Julio De La Paz, who came by to pick up some fresh mint for his meal that night. Right now, there are peaches and figs on the trees, perfectly purple eggplants bursting forth, and tomatoes turning from green to red. The bees
Garden spot. Photo: Michele Willens are buzzing and Maggie says the locals are eagerly awaiting the sweet result. To call this place lush is no exaggeration, all the more unusual because it is smack in the middle of a mixed bag of eateries and barbershops. The restaurants are supporters of the garden, sending over wine and foods for the special events Maggie occasionally hosts. (Labor Day will be one.) Kiera Jerez, a cashier across the street, lit up when asked about Maggie’s garden. “It’s amazing,” she says. “I was born and raised here and that block looks completely different. It’s a place for people to sit and for kids to experience nature.”
PARADE AND POLITICS
MARCH
Photo: Backstage Photography NYC New York City’s Dominican Day Parade, held on Sunday along Sixth Avenue between 36th and 53rd Streets, featured some marchers making political statements. Mayor Bill de Blasio waved the Dominican flag, and one character in a Trump costume chased marchers wearing sombreros. There was a strong turnout by New York’s Bravest and New York’s Finest. The parade was dedicated to NYPD Officer Miosotis Familia, who was fatally shot in July in the Bronx. Mr. Baseball of the NY Mets made an appearance, which seemed to lighten the mood and bring some cheers — fun for young and old on a sunny day in New York.
Photo: Backstage Photography NYC
Photo: Backstage Photography NYC
Photo: Backstage Photography NYC
Then there are the passers-by who stumble upon this unexpected explosion of greenery. People like Margo and Dan Sinclair, who live on 94th and were enroute to a pizza restaurant in the gradually gentrifying area. They were given a tour of the garden by a volunteer and left behind a generous donation. The experience not only surprised them, but seemingly moved them to wax poetic. “What is a weed?” said Dan, a professional sculptor, after their visit. “It is a plant whose virtues have never been discovered. This applies to Maggie’s vision for an abandoned trash-strewn empty lot.”
AUGUST 17-23,2017
19
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
CELEBR BEST OF ATTHING THE EAST SIDE E UPPER Dr. David Thomas
Bett y Cooper Wallerstein
IS THE LUX SLOWING DURY MARKET OWN?
OUT OF GA S
IN VE ST IG
UP TH NG MET'SE TEMPL E
, ma fen t The Am lands ke up the groPark, amon ders cap g erican BY GABRIELLE Histor Hilderbr e archit up. The pro othALFIER Mu y ec O hood for is tapping seum of Na ings, wh and will tu re fir m ject’s int also att Reed ich be that wi a communit o the neightural “It en gin portionll weigh in on y working bor- wo ’s always be on March d meet4. rk with group en where of Theodo the redesignCITY the com our inten AR the TS re ob the tion to munit jectiv museu Roosevel of a wo , P.1 quartery to t uld lik2 > es of wh m at the achieve e to do posed acre of gre pla ns to Park, the mu us expan en spa ne sion. ce for e a as thi eds of the and make su seum Frien a procom re s profit ds of Roose Dan Sli project mo munity are that vel ves for met the cit that manage t Park, the ernme ppen, vice wa y’s presid rd,” said nt relati mu seu Parks De s the park non- thi ent of on nk pa wi m, s tha rtm at th all govthe mu t what with the wi ll co y sol -chair ent and the we’re seu museu the gr m. Blo we alw idifying, in doing now m. “I ou ck ass a ays int is ociation p ended.”way, efforts res, CO that NT
TRINITY COMES INTOWER FOCUS TO
idents as ites estSide paris hioners Spirit well as froinput m
Cell Phone ________________________________
Newsche Crime Wack Voices tch Out & Ab out
2 Cit y 3 Th Arts ings to Do 8
ake
GE 25
WEEK OF FE BRUARY-MAR CH
25-2 2016
to hav e is the sixthin the city. past thre been hit by a person car in the to The ee days alone. least 20New York Tim According cyclists pedestrians es, at have bee and thr accidents ee n kill more tha so far this ed in traffic VOL. 2, yea n ISSUE been inju 900 pedest r, and 08 rians hav It’s demred. e of victim oralizing. If fam s, ilies heighten a devoted mayor and a dent in ed awarenes the proble s can’t ma Amid the ke m, wh at can? New Yor carnage, Immedia kers once agathough, hit, bys tely after Da in rallied. A CASI group tanders ran to uplaise was MANH NO IN managof them, workin try to help. in hopesed to flip the carg together, A < BUSI ATTAN? of NESS, on res its cuing Unfor sid P.16 She wa tunately, it didDauplaise. e, Bellevues pronounced n’t work. The a short wh dead at citizensefforts of our ile later. fell to hearten save a str ow us, despit anger sho recklessn uld e who con ess of a danthe continued a place tinue to makegerous few THE SE of traged our street y. OFsOU COND DISG
Downt owner Our T
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
20
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
AUGUST 17-23,2017
Nothing beats newspapers as the most reliable source of local news in print and online Recent studies show:
‘‘
Newspapers led online consumption for local news” Coda Ventures Survey August 18, 2016
‘‘
Local media users named newspapers as their “most relied on” source for deals across a range of goods and services.” Coda Ventures Survey August 18, 2016
‘‘
What accounts for print’s superiority? Print - particularly the newspaper - is an amazingly sophisticated technology for showing you a lot of it.”
‘‘
Local newspapers are still the top source of news about readers’ communities, including their branded Web sites and social media channels.” Publisher’s Daily - August 30, 2016
‘‘
Residents are eager for news about their own communities, which, increasingly, only local news organizations can provide” Editor & Publisher - June 1, 2016
Politico - September 10, 2016
STRAUSMEDIA your neighborhood news source 212-868-0190 | nypress.com
AUGUST 17-23,2017
21
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
YOUR 15 MINUTES
To read about other people who have had their “15 Minutes” go to otdowntown.com/15 minutes
THE SOUND OF YOUTH Broadway music veteran Joseph Baker on his work with talented kids BY ANGELA BARBUTI
Having 30 kid singers in a room for seven hours led Joseph Baker to create the Broadway Youth Ensemble. A Broadway music director for 30 years, he assembled a group of children to sing at a charity event, and was worried about how they would fare during the long waiting time between the sound check in the afternoon and the curtain call in the evening. To his surprise, the kids reveled in the opportunity to have downtime with fellow artists, and erupted into song together. “Sometimes people who are involved in theater when they’re in school are known as the geeks. One kid actually said, ‘No one in school gets my theater jokes, and all these kids do,’” Baker said. Since its inception in 2010, the group has grown to 100, with talent ranging in age from 8 to 17. “We’ve done everything from New Year’s Eve with the rock group Train to working for Mayor Bloomberg to doing something with Vice President Joe Biden there,” Baker said of BYE’s memorable experiences. Their philanthropic component includes performing at children’s hospitals, nursing homes and fundraisers for nonprofits. To expand on his mission of nurturing and unifying talented youth, Baker also launched Broadway in the Mountains, a performance-centered summer camp, which just completed its second year in the Catskills.
on Broadway. The director was a guy named Scott Ellis, who’s very famous right now. And the choreographer was Susan Stroman.
What does your job as a music director entail? Basically I’m sort of in charge of everything having to do with music. Working with the composer, the orchestrator, conducting the orchestra. And the final thing is working with all the singers, making sure they’re comfortable and the show is as good as it can be. So it’s sort of a jack-of-alltrades. I work as a conductor, vocal coach and sometimes I’m performing at the piano at the same time.
How have you seen the industry change? One thing is it’s much more expensive to put on a show and there’s much more risk. I think the average is now, it takes eight years to get a musical from start to Broadway. And in addition to that, there are a lot of actors out there. Part of it is when “Glee” started on television, there was a new renaissance of kids who were interested in theater. Because a lot of what they did had to do with theater. My friend Matt Morrison was the teacher. He was a theater person and all the actors were. And they were doing songs that were from theater. And there was a show called “Smash.” You can see it in the number of colleges now that offer music theater and the number of programs. There’s a huge influx of
How did you get your start in theater? I had graduated the University of Pennsylvania. I went there for composition, but came out not really wanting to do composition. [Laughs] But I was working around town and got a call on Sunday night at one in the morning, asking, “Can you play auditions for a show tomorrow at 10 a.m.?” And I’d never played auditions before. Playing piano at auditions means that the actors come in and have music and you play for them. They only get a couple minutes, so basically it’s sight reading whatever they put in front of you. That really wasn’t my skill, but I said yes because I could use the money. I was just out of college. I played the day and the director came to me and said, “Would you be interested in conducting our show?” I wanted to make sure he understood my lack of experience, so said, “I’d love to, but I really haven’t conducted a show.” And he said, “That’s OK; you can’t be possibly as bad as the guy they want me to hire.” And that was my entrée. It was a production of “Grease” and starred a 21-year-old Andrea McArdle, who was known because she was the first Annie
Photo courtesy of Charles Wenzelberg kids who want to do this. I applaud their going after their dream, but the more there are of them, the less work there is.
What are some standout moments from your career? I did the show “Blood Brothers” that originally had a cast from England that was here, because the show originated in England. And they brought it to Broadway. There’s an agreement with the actor’s union Actors’ Equity that after six months, you have to replace that show with American actors. So the person who was producing it decided that he would only take stars in it. It was a story of brothers, and he had David and Shaun Cassidy play
them. I got to work with them, which was wonderful. And for the mother, they picked Petula Clark and then Carole King and then Helen Reddy. So I got to work with all of them for quite a while. I also got to work with some strange people, like Jackie Mason, when we did a musical that lasted seven days. He’s a great comedian, but not a good music theater performer. Those are the highs and lows, but I’ve had some incredible experiences with fantastic people.
Tell us how the idea for the Broadway Youth Ensemble came about. I was working with an Irish tenor named Ronan Tynan. He’s an amazing guy. He actually won the Irish ver-
sion of “American Idol” while he was in residency getting his degree in orthopedics. And he’s also a paraplegic; both of his legs are amputated at the knee. At the time, I was music director when he was living in New York. And he needed a kids’ choir for this one charitable event we were doing. And I had been starting to work with this voice teacher, Amelia DeMayo. I saw that she was really great with kids, so I said, “I need 20 to 30 kids.” And I knew they were going to be talented. It included my daughter, one of her students. When you do these events, you have to be there really early and wait until it’s very late. So I had 30 kids in a room for seven hours and thought, “They’re gonna kill each other. What am I gonna do?” They had a great time. They were singing with each other, doing duets. We finished and one of the girls came to me and said, “That was such a fun day. I hope we can do this again.”
What are your future plans? I’m offering voice coaching and also videotaping, because a lot of auditions these days are submitted through video. It’s part of my private coaching business, Mr. B Studios. So it’s a onestop shop for singing and acting that I’m launching at my studio in September. Starting this semester, I’m the music director at Circle in the Square Theatre School. That’s with young adults, college-aged, who I also like to teach. www.broadwayyouthensemble.com www.broadwayinthemountains.com www.bakerboysmusic.com
Photo courtesy of Charles Wenzelberg
Know somebody who deserves their 15 Minutes of fame? Go to otdowntown.com and click on submit a press release or announcement.
22
Downtowner
18 22
41
2 6
42
9 6
4
Level: Medium
3
1
4 3
45
E T S A R N E A R M L E Y V E
E K U E L S G M N C A L V J N
Q E N U R L A J J K K A U N T
M S S Y A T E Y J G E K A R S
J J S B I K D Y C A S W K E H
F V M O U N T A I N E Y A J I
A O N V U U J A J T M S G D L
E S K M A R S H L A N D N H L
J A A S O Q C A V O R T A V S
E D E L T A N F P T U N D R A
The puzzle contains 15 geographic terms. They may be diagonal, across, or up and down in the grid in any direction.
J T S D D D Q O U V K M D G V
Currents Delta Desert Formations Hills Lakes Marshland Mountain Oceans Ridge Rivers Seas Tundra Valley Wetland
ANSWERS S
A
L
E
T
S
U
N
S
U
A
53 46
47
48
E
V
N
A
43 39 35
R
T
A E
E
A
N
I
27
G R 21
17
E
A M
E
R
P
G
S M O
14
U
11
2
3
N 4
S 45
I
E
O T
28
T
D
A 22
E
C
G R
A
15
A
I
12 5
6
S
L 7
P
C
S
16
R
R
S
52
E
O 23
F
S T
A
34
T
30
T
I
Y
38
Y
Y
51
E
42
33
O M
S T
G
50
Y
A
29
E
18
E
49
L 41
B
32
55
W H
37
G
20
44
40
B
36
26 19
G A G R
E O
M A O
31 1
54
N U
24
F E L
25
S P
I
U
N
L
13
8
A
N 9
I
G A R
10
F V M O U N T A I N E Y A J I
A O N V U U J A J T M S G D L
E S K M A R S H L A N D N H L
J A A S O Q C A V O R T A V S
E D E L T A N F P T U N D R A
J T S D D D Q O U V K M D G V
5 4
8 7 3
2
6 5
3 9
2
1
1 4
7 8 6
9
9 6 1 7 4 8 2 5 3
3 5 4 9 1 6 8 7 2
1 9 7 8 2 4 3 6 5
2 8 6 5 3 7 4 9 1
6 2 5 4 7 3 9 1 8
7 3 9 1 8 5 6 2 4
4 1 8 2 6 9 5 3 7
Down 1 Vacation spot 2 Short form of a famous flower 3 Neighbor of Ida. (state for short) 4 Spirit in a bottle 5 Nicknames 6 Royal intro 7 Table setting item (2 words) 8 “When We Were Kings” subject 9 Bed and breakfast 10 Make fun of 13 Unexpected sports outcome 16 Hog’s home 18 “Groovy!” 19 Collect 20 Scrawny
21 Scamp 23 Pressure 24 Consisting of one element 25 Boxing blows 28 Downhill sport 29 “To Autumn,” e.g. 33 Two-masted sailing vessel 36 Hooray! 40 Helm heading 42 Laughing dog 44 Lung problem 45 Oasis 46 Sward 47 Shakespeare division 48 Any ship 50 Firearm 51 Wedding promise 52 Rep.’s counterpart
G E V E U A Y L Q O J I C A R
J J S B I K D Y C A S W K E H
53 Sound rebound 54 The whole shebang 55 Classic art subject 56 Devoured 57 Christened 58 Auth. unknown
D S V A T E Z F A D F S K A R
M S S Y A T E Y J G E K A R S
58
I I O Y C C R B Y F C U L V U
Q E N U R L A J J K K A U N T
57
R V E O E O M U M C D K V V C
E K U E L S G M N C A L V J N
56
WORD SEARCH by Myles Mellor
E T S A R N E A R M L E Y V E
55
52
G E V E U A Y L Q O J I C A R
54
51
D S V A T E Z F A D F S K A R
53
50
I I O Y C C R B Y F C U L V U
49
R V E O E O M U M C D K V V C
48
Across 1 Atmospheric pollutant 5 Little food measuring tool 8 Show 11 Twenty-four carat 12 Languish 13 Elbow-wrist connection 14 Word of agreement 15 Comprehending 17 Bugs 19 Concur 22 Hottie 26 Noted Warhol subject 27 Minute particle 30 Coloring 31 Virgo month, for short 32 Currently 34 W.W. II fliers 35 Give the cold shoulder 37 Test 38 Vacuum tube (abbreviation) 39 Boombox 41 Curds other half 43 In an annoyed fashion 46 Gambling mecca (2 words) 49 Protection: var.
8
E
44
8 2
5
38
40
47
7
4
N
46
3
6
34
37
43
8
D
39
1
U
36
33
3
5
N O
35
30
4 7
6
N
32
29
9
A
31
28
25
4
58
27
24
3
L
26
23
7
7
E
21
8
L
20
16
9
E
19
13
Each Sudoku puzzle consists of a 9X9 grid that has been subdivided into nine smaller grids of 3X3 squares. To solve the puzzle each row, column and box must contain each of the numbers 1 to 9. Puzzles come in three grades: easy, medium and difficult.
A
17
10
N
15
9
57
14
8
E
12
7
H O
11
6
T
5
C
4
E
3
SUDOKU by Myles Mellor and Susan Flanagan
by Myles Mellor
A
2
CROSSWORD
56
1
AUGUST 17-23,2017
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
AUGUST 17-23,2017
CLASSIFIEDS
MERCHANDISE FOR SALE
PUBLIC NOTICES
23
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
Telephone: 212-868-0190 Fax: 212-868-0198 Email: classified2@strausnews.com
POLICY NOTICE: We make every eďŹ&#x20AC;ort to avoid mistakes in your classiďŹ ed ads. Check your ad the ďŹ rst week it runs. The publication will only accept responsibility for the ďŹ rst incorrect insertion. The publication assumes no ďŹ nancial responsibility for errors or omissions. We reserve the right to edit, reject, or re-classify any ad. Contact your sales rep directly for any copy changes. All classiďŹ ed ads are pre-paid.
PUBLIC NOTICES
PUBLIC NOTICES
PUBLIC NOTICES
PUBLIC AUCTION NOTICE OF SALE OF COOPERATIVE APARTMENT SECURITY PLEASE TAKE NOTICE: By Virtue of a Default under Loan Security Agreement, and other Security Documents, Karen Loiacano, Auctioneer, License #DCA1435601 or Jessica L Prince-Clateman, Auctioneer, License #1097640 or Vincent DeAngelis Auctioneer, License #1127571 will sell at public auction, with reserve, on Aug. 30, 2017 in the Rotunda of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007, commencing at 12:45 p.m. for the following account: Donald Weber a/k/a Donald A. Weber, as borrower, 64 shares of capital stock of 350-52-54 W. 12th Street Owners Corp. and all right, title and interest in the Proprietary Lease to 354 West 12th Street, Unit 1D, New York, NY 10014 Sale held to enforce rights of CitiBank, N.A., who reserves the right to bid. Ten percent (10%) Bank/CertiďŹ ed check required at sale, balance due at closing within thirty (30) days. The Cooperative Apartment will be sold â&#x20AC;&#x153;AS ISâ&#x20AC;? and possession is to be obtained by the purchaser. Pursuant to Section 201 of the Lien Law you must answer within 10 days from receipt of this notice in which redemption of the above captioned premises can occur. There is presently an outstanding debt owed to CitiBank, N.A. (lender) as of the date of this notice in the amount of $326,545.02. This ďŹ gure is for the outstanding balance due under UCC1, which was secured by Financing Statement in favor of CitiBank, N.A. recorded on April 27, 2007 under CRFN 2007000217862. Please note this is not a payoff amount as additional interest/ fees/penalties may be incurred. You must contact the undersigned to obtain a ďŹ nal payoff quote or if you dispute any information presented herein. The estimated value of the above captioned premises is $520,000.00. Pursuant to the Uniform Commercial Code Article 9-623, the above captioned premises may be redeemed at any time prior to the foreclosure sale. You may contact the undersigned and either pay the principal balance due along with all accrued interest, late charges, attorney fees and out of pocket expenses incurred by CitiBank, N.A.. and the undersigned, or pay the outstanding loan arrears along with all accrued interest, late charges, attorney fees and out of pocket expenses incurred by CitiBank, N.A., and the undersigned, with respect to the foreclosure proceedings. Failure to cure the default prior to the sale will result in the
termination of the proprietary lease. If you have received a discharge from the Bankruptcy Court, you are not personally liable for the payment of the loan and this notice is for compliance and information purposes only. However, CitiBank, N.A., still has the right under the loan security agreement and other collateral documents
to foreclosure on the shares of stock and rights under the proprietary lease allocated to the cooperative apartment. Dated: July 7, 2017 Frenkel, Lambert, Weiss, Weisman & Gordon, LLP Attorneys for CitiBank, N.A. 53 Gibson Street Bay Shore, NY 11706 631-969-3100 File #01-080328- #92373
Get Paid to Take Care of Your Loved One! Yes! You can earn money while your relative or friend enjoys the kind of care he or she deserves at home.
Directory of Business & Services To advertise in this directory Call #BSSZ (212)-868-0190 ext.4 CBSSZ MFXJT@strausnews.com
Antiques Wanted TOP PRICES PAID t 1SFDJPVT $PTUVNF +FXFMSZ (PME t 4JMWFS 1BJOUJOHT t .PEFSO t &UD
Licensed R.E. Broker
212.751.0009
(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
Genuinehcny@gmail.com
Elliot Forest, 212-447-5400
East 67th Street Market
347-817-7944
300 to 20,000 square feet
abfebf@aol.com
SINCE 1979
for a free consultation with one of our representatives. Our multi-lingual staff will be happy to answer any questions you have.
AVAILABLE IN MANHATTAN
Entire Estates Purchased
Antique, Flea & Farmers Market
Call us todayâ&#x20AC;Ś
OFFICE SPACE
NEED TO RUN A LEGAL NOTICE? Quick | Easy | Economical
Call Barry Lewis today at:
212-868-0190
I CAN SELL YOUR HOME OR APARTMENT QUICKLY!
THERE WILL BE NEARLY 5,000
COURT REPORTING JOB OPENINGS OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS*, & THEREâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ONLY
ONE PROGRAM IN NYC TO PREPARE YOU. NOW ENROLLING FOR FALL 2017 CERTIFICATE & DEGREE PROGRAMS
718-502-ϲώϰϴ Íť W> K>> ' Í&#x2DC;EDU 118-33 QUEENS BLVD., FOREST HILLS *AS RECENTLY STATED IN THE WALL STREET JOURNAL & DAILY NEWS
N e s t S e e ke r s I N T E R N A T I O N A L
Real Estate Sales, 10+ Years Experience 587 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10017 0Gm DF t 0UIFS Email: DavidL@NestSeekers.com Social Media davelopeznynj
CALL ME NOW AND GET RESULTS!
DAVID - 917.510.6457
24
AUGUST 17-23,2017
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
Got an EVENT? FESTIVAL CONCERT GALLERY OPENING PLAY GET THE WORD OUT! Add Your Event for FREE
nycnow.com