Our Town Downtown - October 20, 2016

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The local paper for Downtown wn UNDERGROUND NO MORE < P. 15

WEEK OF OCTOBER

20-26 2016

CITY PROPOSES STREET FAIR CHANGES Residents speak largely against proposals BY MADELEINE THOMPSON

Next year’s street fairs could feature fewer socks and more local businesses. But more than 100 people turned out at a public hearing last Thursday largely to oppose proposed rule changes for fairs and festivals in the city. The proposals came from both two city offices: Citywide Event Coordination and Man-

Denny Meyer is among tens of thousands of LGBT veterans denied benefits because of their sexual orientation. Photo: courtesy of Denny Meyer

HOPE FOR LGBT VETERANS LACKING BENEFITS Hoylman bill would provide access to dozens of programs but has stalled, as has federal legislation BY ALEXANDRA ZUCCARO

When Denny Meyer was in college, anti-Vietnam War protests raged. Students railed against United States foreign policy, marched in the streets and burned their draft cards — and the American flag. As a first-generation American, this didn’t sit well with Meyer, whose parents had emigrated from Germany in 1938. He was proud of his country and believed that protesters were taking their freedoms for granted. Meyer decided he wanted to enlist in the military. Although recruiters welcomed volunteers with open arms during the Vietnam War, Meyer, as a gay man, anticipated facing some hostility. In fact, many draft-age conscripts were able to get out of serving by claiming to be homosexual. But for members of the gay community who wanted to serve, this meant concealing their sexual identity. For Meyer, this was just the beginning. He had 10

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Most of us can’t afford brickand-mortar stores. Because of the street fairs last year I was able to start doing this full time, and for that I’m very, very grateful. I’ve met some of the most hard-working, talented people you could ever meet at these street fairs. We’re not just tube sock and phone case vendors.” Street fair artist

agement, and Street Activity Permits. Changes include capping the number of street fairs that can occur in a given community board and requiring that 50 percent of vendors have a “business or local presence within the same community board” where the fair takes place. The aim is to end a 12-year moratorium on new street fair permits without overburdening the NYPD officers who patrol the fairs. In the first hour of the hearing, fewer than five people testified in favor of the new rules.

A Manhattan street fair. Photo: Paul VanDerWerf via Flickr Wally Rubin, district manager of Community Board 5, said he would welcome some relief from the approximately 60 annual street fairs in his district that “all look virtually alike with their ubiquitous tube socks and kebabs.”

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

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

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

2015

In Brief MORE HELP FOR SMALL BUSINESS

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

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

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

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

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Rubin attributed this to the domination of for-profit companies that organize and host many street fairs, eliminating the individual-

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