Our Town Downtown - November 8, 2018

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WEEK OF NOVEMBER DESIGNING FOR DINING ◄ P.12

8-14 2018

THE VISCERAL VIGNETTES OF VIETNAM NOW

THEN

HISTORY An Upper West Side theater troupe marks Veterans Day by reprising one of America’s most unpopular wars — with a renewed appreciation for the men and women who fought it BY DOUGLAS FEIDEN

Carmen Quinones, president of the tenants association at the Frederick Douglass Houses in Manhattan Valley. Photo courtesy of Carmen Quinones

GIFTS OF THE MAGI COMMUNITY An uphill drive to bring holiday toys, clothing, teddy bears and Disney characters to the children of the needy families of Manhattan Valley BY DOUGLAS FEIDEN

Many of the residents of the Frederick Douglass Houses on the Upper West Side simply can’t afford to buy Christmas presents for their kids. Struggling to get by on the

average annual public housing family income of $24,423, they don’t give gifts because they need the funds for food. And that’s where Carmen Quinones comes in: A resident for 43 years, she has long been known as a “one-woman Santa Claus,” neighbors say. For three out of the past four years, Quinones has hosted an annual holiday party. She’s showered the children with presents and love. And she’s paid for most of it out of her own pocket.

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It has been more than a generation since the unspeakable horrors of the Vietnam War last occupied a paramount position in the collective consciousness of New York City. Now, a scrappy little theater company that’s been dubbed the “History Channel on Stage” is revisiting that ugly conflict and plumbing the long-buried memories of its toxic toll. Why now? Veterans Day is Nov. 11. It is a time for remembrance. The combatants, to this day, are haunted by war wounds, both physical and psychic. Yet to millennials, Vietnam is but a chapter in a history book, as relevant to their lives as the Spanish-American War of 1898. Hudson Warehouse is out to change that dynamic. The resident theater company of Goddard Riverside Community Center on the Upper West Side is recounting the real-life stories of seven veterans who served in-country in the 1960s and 1970s in a 70-minute, multimedia theatrical presentation. It’s also attempting a major act of historical redemption:

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Ex-Sergeant Arthur Faiella with Susane Lee, the executive director of Hudson Warehouse, on the Upper West Side. Her theater company is telling his personal story in an upcoming stage production, along with the stories of six other Vietnam vets, set against the backdrop of the long war. spat upon,” she added. “Now, it is time to give them a hero’s welcome, too.” To do that, Lee located seven vets — six men and one woman, four of them New Yorkers — and conducted and transcribed dozens of hours of audiotaped interviews. Much of what she heard was harrowing. There would be no paraphrasing. No poetic license. “I need to honor their words,” she said. So Lee used only verbatim quotes to write, create and produce “Vietnam: Soldiers Tell Their Stories 40 Years Later,” which will be performed at the Goddard Riverside Bernie Wohl Center, on Columbus Avenue at 91st Street, on Saturday, Nov. 10, at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free for all veterans. Tickets for everyone else: $10 or $15. The show is built around the seven vets played by seven actors cast to relate their wartime experiences. As they spin poignant, or chilling, firstperson tales of Vietnam, more

Sergeant Arthur Faiella, then 22 years old, in Vietnam about 1967. “After World War II, our soldiers came home to a hero’s welcome, and strangers kissed them and hugged them and embraced them and thanked them for their service to our country,” said Susane Lee, the company’s executive director. “But our Vietnam veterans came home in shame to face people’s anger and belligerence — as if somehow, they had become the bad guys, and they were shunned from society, disrespected, and literally

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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

n OurTownDowntow

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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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I ALWAYS FELT IT WAS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY — EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT ALL THE PEOPLE WERE KILLING EACH OTHER.” Former Technical Sergeant Tom Pellaton, Vietnam veteran and Episcopal priest than 250 images of their time in the war, and the places and subjects of which they speak, are projected on a large screen above and behind them. The slides help interweave their personal stories with the historical, political, social and cultural context of the war, as

VIETNAM ON PAGE 6

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CELEBRITY DUCK IN CENTRAL PARK NATURE After a stressful time in the city, a rare bird sighting delights crowds Nature paparazzi were out in force on Saturday in Central Park, clamoring for a shot of a Mandarin duck with bright plumage who had appeared on Oct. 20, vanished and then reappeared in the Pond last week. Birders identified the male duck as native to East Asia, and no one was sure how he had made his way to Manhattan. Early fans of the duck were thrilled when he returned to Central Park from his journeys around town (one sighting had him near the Boat Basin on the Hudson River, as David Barrett of the Twitter account Man-

Saturday scene in Central Park. Photo: Beth Ann Day hattan Bird Alert told The New York Times). Manhattan Bird Alert (@ BirdCentralPark) provided regular updates, including a notification to duck followers on Sunday that access to the Pond would be closed by police because of the NYC marathon. One post via @ecetweets read: “The best thing about the

MANDARIN DUCK in Central Park is how excited everyone else is about birds for once!” The duck brought delight to a city under stress from the recent bomb scares and the synagogue massacre in Pittsburgh; The Times put the bird in the column, “The Week in Good News.”

Mandarin duck in the Pond. Photo: Ben Rinzler

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CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG MUGGER MUGGED As if riding the subway wasn’t challenging enough. At 6:15 p.m. on Wednesday, October 24, a 35-year-old woman was boarding the northbound 5 train at the Bowling Green station. As the doors were closing, a man reached in and tried to snatch her book bag. She pulled it out of his reach, but he grabbed her by her hair and punched her numerous times in her head. The assailant then ran down the stairs to the lower mezzanine, and the victim chased after him, managing to pull his sweater off, according to police. The suspect continued to flee toward Beaver Street, and the victim finally gave up the chase in front of a GNC store. Police searched the

neighborhood, but the only sign of the thwarted mugger was his sweater, which was recovered from a garbage can on Bowling Green.

PAROLE PROBLEM At 7:24 p.m. on Tuesday, October 23, a 19-year-old woman was walking through the PATH turnstiles at the World Trade Center PATH station, located at 185 Greenwich St. The woman was heading toward the Newark line on tracks four and five when an unknown man approached her, grabbed her left arm, and urged her to purchase candy to help them with what he called “a parole issue.” The victim told police that she was uncomfortable with his actions,

and tried to retrieve some small change from her wallet to give him in hopes he would go away. Unfortunately, when she opened her wallet, the suspect reached in and grabbed $20 before fleeing the scene. The victim told police that the suspect had some sort of speech impediment or stutter.

MONCLER MON DIEU Three shoplifters seem to have gotten away free and clear from upscale clothing and accessories store Montcler. At 4:16 p.m. on Sunday, October 28, two 20-year-old men and one 18-year-old woman entered the Montcler store at 106 Spring St. and took merchandise without paying. The stolen items include two X Craig green plungers, each valued at $1,925, a green x Craig Tresher jacket priced at $1,640, a green x Craig Permit vest tagged at $1,415, an x Palm Amey Bicolere Qilet selling for $1,075, a Cyclope valued at $965 and an x Palm Angels T-shirt tagged at $315, making the total value of stolen items $9,260.

PURSE SNATCH Two suspects ruined a visit to the Photo by Tony Webster, via Flickr

STATS FOR THE WEEK Reported crimes from the 1st precinct for the week ending Oct 28 Week to Date

Year to Date

2018 2017

% Change

2018

2017

% Change

Murder

0

0

n/a

1

1

0.0

Rape

1

1

0.0

21

15

40.0

Robbery

2

0

n/a

63

59

6.8

Felony Assault

0

2

-100.0

47

69

-31.9

Burglary

0

1

-100.0

58

59

-1.7

Grand Larceny

25

27

-7.4

882 865 2.0

Grand Larceny Auto

0

0

n/a

20

Big Apple for a woman from Stamford, Conn. At 9:40 p.m. on Wednesday, October 14, a 35-year-old woman was walking westbound on John Street when she passed two unknown men. As she turned northbound on Nassau, the two suspects approached her and removed her belongings from under her left arm before fleeing southbound on foot. The items stolen included a Yves St. Laurent purse valued at $2,000, a Prada wallet worth $1,000 and various credit and debit cards, totaling $3,000 in value.

11

81.8

AIR TODAY, GONE TOMORROW Two MacBook Airs recently vanished in the night. At 4:38 a.m. on Sunday, October 28, a male employee arrived at the Wolf & Badger fashion boutique located at 95 Grand St. and noticed that two laptops were missing from the premises. He checked the surveillance video and saw an unknown man removing laptops before leaving the store. The laptops stolen were a 13inch MacBook Air valued at $1,299 and an 11-inch MacBook Air priced at $999, totaling $2,298.

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Useful Contacts

NOVEMBER 8-14,2018

Drawing Board

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

BY PETER PEREIRA

NYPD 13th Precinct

230 E. 21st St.

NYPD 1st Precinct

16 Ericsson Place

212-477-7411 212-334-0611

FIRE FDNY Engine 15

25 Pitt St.

311

FDNY Engine 24/Ladder 5

227 6th Ave.

311

FDNY Engine 28 Ladder 11

222 E. 2nd St.

311

FDNY Engine 4/Ladder 15

42 South St.

311

ELECTED OFFICIALS Councilmember Margaret Chin

165 Park Row #11

Councilmember Rosie Mendez

237 1st Ave. #504

212-587-3159 212-677-1077

Councilmember Corey Johnson

224 W. 30th St.

212-564-7757

State Senator Daniel Squadron

250 Broadway #2011

212-298-5565

Community Board 1

1 Centre St., Room 2202

212-669-7970

Community Board 2

3 Washington Square Village

212-979-2272

Community Board 3

59 E. 4th St.

212-533-5300

Community Board 4

330 W. 42nd St.

212-736-4536

Hudson Park

66 Leroy St.

212-243-6876

Ottendorfer

135 2nd Ave.

212-674-0947

Elmer Holmes Bobst

70 Washington Square

212-998-2500

COMMUNITY BOARDS

LIBRARIES

HOSPITALS New York-Presbyterian

170 William St.

Mount Sinai-Beth Israel

10 Union Square East

212-844-8400

212-312-5110

CON EDISON

4 Irving Place

212-460-4600

TIME WARNER

46 East 23rd

813-964-3839

US Post Office

201 Varick St.

212-645-0327

US Post Office

128 East Broadway

212-267-1543

US Post Office

93 4th Ave.

212-254-1390

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HALLOWEEN AMID TIGHT SECURITY — AND TRUCK ANNIVERSARY STUMBLE LAW ENFORCEMENT City officials criticized over ceremony for terror attack victims BY MICHAEL R. SISAK AND VERENA DOBNIK

As a jittery New York celebrated Halloween last Wednesday, city officials were taking heat for botching a ceremony meant to honor victims of last year’s deadly truck attack. A last-minute invitation to the ceremony made it so one victim’s mother couldn’t attend, her friend, Hugh Hales-Tooke said. Those who did make it were miffed when officials closed the ceremony without reading the names of the eight dead. A police officer scrambled to the podium as the small crowd was dispersing, and Mayor Bill

de Blasio raced up to apologize and read the names. “This should have been part of the gathering to read the names of the eight that we lost,” said de Blasio. “I want to right that wrong with apologies and do that now and ask everyone to bow their heads as we remember each of them.” De Blasio attended the ceremony alongside emergency responders, a small group of family members and friends and the consuls general of Argentina and Belgium. A wreath of white roses was placed at the site of the attack and a minute-long moment of silence was observed. Hales-Tooke, upset with how things were handled, refused to shake De Blasio’s hand. “The response from government has been really bad,” said Hales-Tooke, a friend of Monica Missio, the mother of victim Nicholas Cleves.

“It’s been very hurtful for Monica that the response from elected officials has been so poor,” he added. Meanwhile, the city’s police department was out in force as a precaution as hundreds of thousands of people flocked to the city’s big Halloween parade in Greenwich Village. Thousands of uniformed and plainclothes officers were on hand for the parade, normally a crowded, jubilant affair in which both marchers and spectators come in costume. They were joined by counterterrorism and crowd control units, rooftop observers, police dogs and helicopters. Police Commissioner James O’Neill said police wanted to ensure New Yorkers could celebrate “in an atmosphere of community, peace and fun, and certainly not fear.” The city was just starting to gear up for its evening Hallow-

Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner James O’Neill commemorate the one year anniversary of the West Side Highway attack. Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office. een celebrations last year when a man driving a pickup truck mowed down pedestrians and cyclists on a busy bike path along the Hudson River, not far from the parade route, killing eight people and seriously injuring 11 others. Among the dead were five Argentinian friends vacationing in New York, a Belgian tourist, a New Jersey man who worked at the World Trade Center and one New Yorker, a software engineer. The truck’s driver, Sayfullo Saipov, was shot by police after

New York’s Village Halloween Parade on 6th Avenue on Wednesday, October 31, 2018. Credit: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office

crashing into a school bus and is awaiting trial on terrorism charges. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. After the attack, “the people of the city responded in extraordinary fashion,” De Blasio said at Wednesday’s ceremony. “Instead of living in fear, people came out in droves to show they would not be moved, they would not be changed, they would not be intimidated.” “They were sending a message: that the terrorists have lost already,” De Blasio added. “New Yorkers do not allow themselves to be terrorized.” Wednesday’s Halloween parade was the city’s first large-scale public event since the back-to-back traumas last week of the discovery of a series of package bombs, mailed to prominent Democratic officials and CNN’s Manhattan offices, and a gunman’s slaughter of 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue on Saturday. Police have responded to false alarms involving suspicious packages and unattended bags,

including scares outside Radio City Music Hall, at The New York Times and at the Time Warner Center, home to CNN’s New York offices. O’Neill said Tuesday that police knew of no specific, credible threats to the city, but revelers could expect the same type of security precautions that have become routine at other big events, like Sunday’s TCS New York City Marathon and the upcoming Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. Last year’s Halloween parade went on as scheduled after the attack, with marchers lining up just a few blocks from the bike path, but with increased security, including sand-filled trucks parked as protective barriers along the route to stop any speeding vehicles. Over the past year, the mileslong Hudson River bike path that was the scene of the attack has been outfitted with temporary concrete barriers and permanent steel posts to block vehicles.

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THEN

NOW

VIETNAM VETERANS: THEN AND NOW All photos: Courtesy of Hudson Warehouse and the participating veterans

Technical Sergeant Tom Pellaton, then 26 years old, on guard duty at an Army base in Vietnam in 1970, and more recently, standing by a piano at a friend’s home on Fifth Avenue and 119th Street.

THEN

An upcoming Hudson Warehouse performance at the Goddard Riverside Bernie Wohl Center on the Upper West Side on Nov. 10 will tell the real-life stories of seven Vietnam vets. Here are photos of five of them as they look today — and as they looked in their youth as they fought one of the most unpopular wars in American history.

NOW Ex-Airman 1st Class James Britton, who is now 75 years old, standing in the living room of his Upper West Side apartment next to one of his paintings in a recent photo.

Airman 1st Class James Britton, then about 22 years old, carrying a camera at an Air Force base outside Saigon in 1966.

THEN

NOW

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 do the voices of three narrators who utter the words of the conflict’s architects, like Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard M. Nixon, and its chroniclers, like Walter Cronkite. “People may say, ‘I don’t want to hear about war,’ or ‘War makes me cringe,’” said Susan Macaluso, the community arts director at Goddard Riverside, which provides services to almost 100 veterans via senior programs, homeless outreach, mental health counseling and supportive housing residences. “But this is not just a story about war. This is about the real-life stories of individual human beings in the war, and each story is a living veteran, and they really do come to life, and you come away appreciating them, you come away knowing them,” Macaluso added.

A HORRIBLE HOMECOMING

Army nurse Edie Meeks, then around 23 years old, outside the Highland Medics Evacuation Hospital near Pleiku in Vietnam, circa 1968.

THEN

Ex-Army nurse Edie Meeks in a more recent picture.

2016 Corporal Abraham Rodriguez, then 20 years old, went to Vietnam in March 1965 as part of America’s very first combat unit. An Upper West Sider, he died at age 71 in 2016, not long after this picture was taken.

READ THIS STORY ON OTDOWNTOWN.COM TO SEE ALL OF THE PHOTOS

Inevitably, the stories often involve matters of life and death. Consider former Technical Sergeant Tom Pellaton, a draftee who served in the 101st Airborne Division starting in 1970 when he was 26 years old. In Lee’s script, based on her interviews with him, he tells of a helicopter combat mission that ended in tragedy. “We were shot at, and the door gunner, a bullet went right through his brain,” Pellaton said. “He died in my arms.” It became his grim task to wash out the victim’s helmet so it could be examined for faults because the headgear was supposed to protect him. Back in America, Pellaton, now 74, had what he called in an interview with The West Side

Spirit “a very terrible reentry.” “I was in my uniform at the airport in Seattle in 1971, I was just sitting there, and someone came up to me, and said, ‘You’re a murderer,’ and then he spat on me and walked away,” he said. He rebuilt his life. For a time, he worked as a maître d’ at the Carlyle Hotel. In 1991, he was ordained at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and served as associate rector at St. Michael’s Church on Amsterdam Avenue and 99th Street. He’s now retired, but works as a guest preacher in Harlem. Oh, and he sings German operatic arias in benefit concerts for churches in a group called “Ensemble Paradis.” But Vietnam won’t leave him alone: Pellaton suffers from diabetes and prostate cancer related to Agent Orange exposure. Notwithstanding those disabilities, he’s always wanted to go back, and in February next year, he’ll return for the first time since 1971. Lee’s interviews and the Hudson Warehouse production played a role in his decision. “It brought back things I probably had to deal with,” he said. “It was a combination of affirmation and memory, and being able to deal with the past in a safe way.” Adds Pellaton, “I always felt it was such a beautiful country — except for the fact that all the people were killing each other.” In Lee’s script, former Airman 1st Class James Britton describes a visit to a village near Khe Sanh right after a Viet Cong attack in 1966. He was 22 at the time and deployed as an Air force combat cameraman. “The bodies had already been taken out,” he recalled. “But

I could see women’s hair all over the place, pieces of stuff, and I said to myself, ‘This is why we’re here. We’re here to help these people.’ I was totally wrong.” Now 75 years old, living on the Upper West Side and retired from his video production company, Britton said in an interview with The Spirit that he’ll never forget his flight to San Francisco en route to Vietnam when a stranger in the next seat began shouting at him, “Killer, killer, killer.” Back stateside two years later, he was told to dispense with his uniform so he wouldn’t be heckled. Over all the intervening decades, Britton said he never received a word of praise for his willingness to enter the service of his nation. Until a couple of years ago when he was waiting in line at a little deli on 100th Street near Central Park West. “The outside of my wallet had the words, ‘Proud to be a Veteran’ inscribed on it,” he recalled. “When I opened it, the man behind me simply said, ‘Thank you for your service.’ It was the very first time anyone had ever thanked me in 50 years.” Hudson Warehouse says the one-night-only performance at the Bernie Wohl Center, on the day before the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, is only the first stop. “We want to take it into the city’s schools and veteran’s hospitals and community organizations and historical organizations,” Lee says. “I look upon these veterans as heroes, and “And I’m overjoyed to be able to tell their stories onstage.” invreporter@strausnews.com

NOVEMBER 8-14,2018

NYPD: SAUDI SISTERS SPOKE OF HARMING THEMSELVES BY MICHAEL R. SISAK

Two immigrant sisters from Saudi Arabia whose bodies washed up on the New York City waterfront, bound together with duct tape, had told people that they would rather harm themselves than go back to their home country, investigators said Friday. The bodies of Tala Farea, 16, and Rotana Farea, 23, were discovered Oct. 24 near the Hudson River, two months after they were last seen in Fairfax, Virginia, where they had been living in a shelter amid allegations that they were abused at home. Police said the sisters had been in Manhattan since Sept. 1, staying at expensive hotels and ordering in pairs of meals until a credit card they were using maxed out. A jogger said he saw them praying at a playground near the river, sitting about 30 feet apart with their heads in their hands, hours before their bodies were found, police said. New York City Police Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said people who knew the Farea sisters in Virginia told investigators that they made statements within the last year indicating “that they would rather inict harm on themselves — commit suicide — than return to Saudi Arabia.â€? Shea stopped short of say-

A jogger said he saw [the sisters] praying at a playground near the river, sitting about 30 feet apart with their heads in their hands, hours before their bodies were found, police said. ing that the sisters had killed themselves but said police have “no credible information that any crime took place.� The medical examiner has yet to rule on their death and the case remains under investigation, he said. The sisters’ bodies were taped together, facing each other and fully clothed, police said. There were no obvious signs of trauma and it appeared that they were alive when they went into the water, police said. The mysterious deaths of the Farea sisters have drawn worldwide attention and fueled rampant speculation and online conspiracy theories in the wake of the Oct. 2 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at a Saudi embassy in Turkey. The sisters’ mother told detectives that the day before the bodies were discovered, she received a call from an official at the Saudi Arabian Embassy, ordering the family to leave the U.S. because her daughters had applied for asylum. The Saudi Arabian Embassy has denied talking to the family about any asylum request. The Associated Press has not been able to make contact with the parents of the sisters.

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Tala and Rotana moved to the U.S. from Saudi Arabia with their mother in 2015, settling in Fairfax, a suburb of Washington D.C., police said. The sisters left their family home and were placed in a shelter-like facility after an earlier disappearance, in December 2017. At the time, Shea said, “It was raised that they were the subject of abuse.â€? Rotana was enrolled at George Mason University, in Fairfax, but left in the spring. The sisters were last seen in Virginia on Aug. 24. They were reported missing Sept. 12. Police, citing credit card records, an Uber receipt and other evidence, said they arrived in New York City on Sept. 1 after making stops in Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia. They appeared in good health on security video police located from about a week before their bodies were found, Shea said. Police initially struggled to identify the bodies as much of the city and the country was transďŹ xed by other news, such as the package bombs sent to a dozen prominent Democrats and CNN’s New York City bureau. Police released sketches of the sister’s faces and posted repeated calls for the public’s help in identifying them on social media. Once they were identified, police sent detectives to Virginia to piece together the last months of their lives. The jogger who said he saw the sisters praying went to the police on Wednesday. He told detectives it had been “haunting him,â€? Shea said.

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NEVER THOUGHT I’D HATE THE BICYCLE BY BETTE DEWING

Whooey! That title will make this the most read column this week. Make sure you read about the city’s third annual Dusk and Darkness traffic safety campaign, which raises awareness about the increased risk of crashes involving pedestrians in fall and winter after the earlier onset of darkness. But again, [this campaign] ignores city bicyclists’ habitual aversion to the laws of the road — from dawn to dusk, whenever and wherever. And as former Parks Commissioner Henry Stern opined at a traffic safety meeting years ago, bikes can be more frightening than a car because

they are small, swift and silent, and can come at you from any direction. And that was before scooters. Help! But this column is mainly about an all too common cause of death and maiming for city pedestrians: drivers’ failure to yield when turning into a crosswalk. It’s the traffic crime I’ve railed against for decades. And to augment the Dusk and Darkness campaign, the Dept. of Transportation must get over its resistance to posting “failure to yield” signs and stencils, especially at high traffic corners. Except that every corner is perilous. Remember beloved deli manager Srymanean Manickam, known affectionately as “Mano,” who was

struck and killed in the crosswalk at 78th Street and York Avenue by a taxi making a left-hand turn onto York Avenue. Remember that Mano was 51, and Vision Zero’s focus is mainly on children’s safety. In fact, the pedestrian fatality rate among males was twice that of females, and higher than the rate of fatalities among children ages 0-17, according to 2017 data from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Men are often working at night, as Mano was when his life was so brutally and wrongfully ended. Personally, I worry about our doormen traveling by foot to bus or subway after dark. And to augment the Dusk and Darkness safety measures,

every traffic tragedy needs media coverage and a memorial garden like the one for Mano outside the Super-Del Market at 1474 York Ave. Every neighborhood needs someone like Patricia Banks, a customer and friend of the Super-Del, where Mano worked and managed for 20-plus years, to spearhead such a memorial. The Dusk and Darkness campaign rightly stresses pedestrian visibility, so may I suggest the obvious? Always wear light-colored clothing, and carry light-colored umbrellas as well. And swing your arms briskly. Hold up your hand to drivers, and also to cyclists so they yield while you cross with your light. To sweeten the social climate, give a wave and a smile when drivers and cyclists do — oh, how we do need smiles. Of course, try to cross where they can’t turn into you. Some of us go out of our way to do just that. And we

all must all obey the laws of the road. The lives we save and the injuries we prevent just might be our own, or those of someone we love. Vision Zero and Dusk and Darkness campaign leaders, please consider all the above. And about those bikes: a state law requires that bicycles be equipped with both head and taillights. Yes, the laws of the road also apply to bikes, and elected officials need to be reminded of that. This paper’s “useful contacts” column (pg. 4) provides the phone numbers and addresses of elected officials, so you can easily reach out. Above all, stress how the law requiring that motorists yield to pedestrians must become a number one bipartisan issue and a concern for all age groups. It can be done — if enough of us try. dewingbetter@aol.com

HOW TO STEAL $12 MILLION IN DIAMONDS: NOT SO FAST BY MEREDITH KURZ

For decades I’ve dodged a bullet; jury duty. I’ve been rejected because of relatives in the legal business. Once I was rejected for confessing to being an avid reader. This time around, I was called to do my civic duty. In the scheme of things, when you think of the risky service of police officers, military personnel, and firefighters, offering for a few (paid) weeks on a case is a minor inconvenience. If not me, who? If not now, when? This crime occurred close to home; the Diamond District. The two on trial were merchants who were alleged to be in cahoots with ten others who pleaded guilty of conspiracy to defraud victims out of $12 million worth of diamonds. During the trial we received a crash course on the tools and identifiers for how diamonds are chosen, bought and sold. I learned about how to launder money, say a few million dirty dollars, at a casino. Another technique the conspirators used was to give friends cash in exchange for a check written from their businesses to the conspirator’s company business. One portion of the conspiracy took place in Bombay’s Diamond Bourse.

Street scene in the Diamond District. Photo: Meredith Kurz This is the world’s largest diamond exchange with a total of three million square feet of office and storage space, and about 2500 large and small traders. Some 20,000 to 30,000 people visit daily. The entire operation is based on trust; trust of the broker who brings you buyers, trust of the buyers based on the word of that broker, trust that a handshake called a mazal is as binding as a contract. A majority of the transactions are done with cash. If you need to launder money, you can pawn unmarked small diamonds, and you

can deceive honest business owners with promises of big American dollars on credit. If you combine unmarked diamonds with cash and a handshake you’ve created a lure for the perfect crime. Within this extremely loose environment there is one rule: a buyer company can only purchase $200,000 worth of product. This helps protect sellers and the insurers. To maximize their take these criminals created numerous fake, or shell companies, to increase the number of diamonds they could “purchase” (steal) from the sellers. The mastermind created a system, brought in a team, which included business cards, burner phones, and fake invoices to convince sellers they’d already had done business in the Bourse, and had paid on time. One piece of evidence was a Diamond District map dotted with fake addresses garnered from the phony business cards. There really was only one office. In that office were the burner phones with phone numbers from the fake business cards. When sellers called demanding payment, anyone in that office could pretend they represented a company the seller was looking for. When the company reps went to India, they went in pairs; one fake owner

and one real appraiser. All these pairs worked with one Indian broker and his wife, whom the sellers in the Bourse knew. This couple was willing to dupe the sellers, lending their credibility to the big spenders from New York. At first the shell companies paid cash, up front, for the diamonds. These diamonds were shipped from India to New York City. This established trust. Afterward, when the crooks returned to the Bourse, they asked for terms; 30 day, 60 day and 90 day terms. Numerous sellers, numerous companies, and many months went by, with payments coming due, and not paid for. When the Indian sellers tried to contact the New York City buyers on the cellphone numbers on the shell corporation business cards, they got vague answers, and no payments. The government revealed, exhibit by exhibit, an autopsy of a crime. Submitted into evidence were endless invoices, signed receipts of accepted diamonds never paid for, hotel receipts, videos, fake business cards and photos of many of the conspirators dining together. Numerous vendors who were victims of the crime flew in from India to testify. One of the final witnesses was a seller who had figured out that all the com-

panies who’d bought from him were in cahoots. He came to America, bravely wore a “wire” (actually a high-tech FBI recording device in his pocket — it’s not 1969), and tried to convince the two defendants to go to the FBI to confess. Once a month for three months he flew over and met with the defendants, asking them to come clean to the FBI. Three times they refused. It was this testimony that showed the defendants were aware that a crime was being committed. There are two snapshots I remember from this case. One is a chart showing the amount of money invoiced, the money paid, and the money owed by the shell companies over a period of time. On the chart’s left side the bars are small and somewhat even, with diamonds being delivered, and invoices paid. As the months pass you see an enormous amount of diamonds being “purchased,” delivered, and invoices left outstanding. At the very end of the chart the money owed to the victims is both stunning and sad. While we all dread that jury duty notice, helping keep criminals in check is not only the responsibility of the police and the FBI. It’s our responsibility as citizens — and every four years isn’t so bad.

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Portions of Teddy Roosevelt Park are currently inaccessible due to preliminary work on the AMNH’s Gilder Center expansion plan. Photo: Michael Garofalo

AMNH EXPANSION WORK TO CONTINUE MUSEUMS The latest court decision allows the American Museum of Natural History to continue work on the Gilder Center while upholding the provisions of a previous court order. BY ALIZAH SALARIO

The ongoing legal battle between the American Museum of Natural History and the Community United to Protect Theodore Roosevelt Park continued last week with a new court order issued by the Appellate Division, First Department, allowing work to proceed on the museum’s $383 million Gilder Center expansion project. According to the Appellate Court’s decision, provisions of a temporary restraining issued by a lower court will remain intact. The latest in the contentious legal battle between the muse-

um and the community group comes on the heels of an Oct. 29 temporary restraining order issued by New York State Supreme Court Justice Lynn R. Kotler, halting the museum from continuing work on the 200,000-square-foot expansion, pending the outcome of Dec. 11 hearing. A statement issued by American Museum of Natural History attorney David Paget hailed the outcome as a victory “that will allow work to proceed immediately on the Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation.� Community United’s co-president, Claudia DiSalvo, and William Raudenbush, the organization’s vice president, applauded the higher court’s decision to maintain provisions of the temporary restraining order. “As a direct result, seven iconic Canopy Trees — three of which have been designated as endangered species by the State of New York — and other

greenery and wildlife in the Park will be saved. Pathways will remain. And the park will remain a beloved oasis in this community,â€? they said in a statement. In late 2017, the American Museum of Natural History won city approval for the Gilder Center expansion, which includes new classrooms and exhibition spaces. The legal challenge originally ďŹ led by Community United to protect the park’s green space, and the surrounding community from environmental hazards, argues that the museum is not authorized to build in the park without triggering an additional and extensive city land use review procedure. The group’s claims about the environmental hazards have been disputed by both the museum and the city. According to the museum, work on the expansion project proceeded on Monday.

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ACTIVITIES FOR THE FERTILE MIND

thoughtgallery.org NEW YORK CITY

American Honor: The Creation of the Nation’s Ideals During the Revolutionary Era

Discover the world around the corner. Find community events, gallery openings, book launches and much more: Go to nycnow.com

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8TH, 6:30PM Fraunces Tavern | 54 Pearl St. | 212-968-1776 | frauncestavernmuseum.org History professor and author Craig Bruce Smith speaks about his new book, which posits that the American Revolution was also a revolution in ethics ($10).

Dismantling the Gaze: The Spiritual Hunt

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13TH, 6:30PM International Center of Photography | 250 Bowery | 212-857-0000 | icp.org Curator and co-founder of Art+Feminism (an international, activist curatorial platform based out of the Museum of Modern Art) Jacqueline Mabey presents a lecture and guided meditation exploring themes of identity, care, and community (free, but advance registration is requested).

Just Announced | Hasan Minhaj in Conversation with The New Yorker’s Vinson Cunningham: Netflix’s Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16TH, 7:30PM 92nd Street Y | 1395 Lexington Ave. | 212-415-5500 | 92y.org Former Daily Show correspondent Hasan Minhaj has recently become the first Indian-American host of a weekly comedy series. Catch him on political comedy in the age of Trump ($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.

Thousands gather at the Subtreasury Building on Wall Street during Armistice Day, 1918.

EDITOR’S PICK

Sun 11 ARMISTICE DAY CONCERT: MUSIC OF THE WORLD WAR I ERA

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Baruch Performing Arts Center, 55 Lexington Ave. 5:30 p.m. $25/$15 students & seniors nyfluteclub.org Immerse yourself in an evening of classical music to celebrate the end of the Great War. The New York Flute Club presents the music of Debussy, Bax, Gaubert, and Hue as performed by internationally acclaimed pianist Soyeon Kim, principal flautist of the American Ballet Theatre Orchestra Judith Mendenhall, and the chamber ensemble Auréole, among others.

Thu 8

Fri 9

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CRITICAL CARIBBEAN FEMINISM: ROXANE GAY WITH KATIA D. ULYSSE

‘GLORIA’ THE PLAY

THEATER: ‘FIREFLIES’

Daryl Roth Theater 20 Union Square East 8 p.m. $55-$89 Spend an evening with Gloria Steinem in a space converted into a replica of her living room. This “bio-play” starring Christine Lahti celebrates the life and accomplishments of the beloved writer and activist, including her time as an undercover Playboy Bunny and as the founder of Ms. magazine. Steinem herself recently made an appearance at the show. 800-745-3000 gloriatheplay.com

Atlantic Theater Company 336 West 20th St. 2 p.m. & 8 p.m. $25-$65 Catch the world premier of Donja R. Love’s musical “Fireflies” which chronicles the unspoken history of queer black people in America. An astonishing tale of slavery, family, civil rights and domestic terrorism. Additional performances Nov. 7-11. 212-691-5919 atlantictheater.org

CUNY Graduate Center 365 Fifth Ave. 6 p.m. Free Join award-winning author Roxane Gay and poet Katia D. Ulysse for a reading of their works. Following the reading, Gay, Ulysse, and Barnard Center for Research on Women associate director Tami Navarro will discuss various forms of writing, and examine how they create space for conversations around, and advocacy for, social justice. 212-854-2067 bcrw.barnard.edu

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Photo by Scry Photo via Wikimedia Commons

Sun 11

Mon 12 Tue 13

▼ VETERANS DAY WALKING TOUR

NYC DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL

ELECTION FEVER: ‘WE CAN’T BREATHE’

Flatiron Building 175 Fifth Ave. 11 a.m. Free This Veterans Day commemorates the centennial of the end of World War I. What better way to honor this important anniversary and explore a historic moment than with a free walking tour led by historian, author and professional tour guide Miriam Berman? 212-741-2323 flatirondistrict.nyc

Cinepolis Chelsea 260 West 23rd St. 2:15 p.m. $12 This enlightening festival brings together some of the rising stars of documentary filmmaking at cinemas across the city. Catch “Crime + Punishment,” the Sundance Award-winning story of the NYPD 12, a group of whistleblowing cops who expose the illegal practice of quota-driven policing targeting young minorities. Festival runs through Nov. 15. 212-691-5519 docnyc.net

Housing Works Bookstore 126 Crosby St. 7 p.m. Free Join author, editor and academic Jabari Asim discusses his new book, “We Can’t Breathe: On Black Lives, White Lies, and the Act of Survival” alongside Rebecca Carroll, author of “Sugar in the Raw” and “Saving the Race.” In “We Can’t Breathe,” Asim delivers a story of black survival and persistence through art and community in the face of centuries of systemic racism. 347-473-7400 housingworks.org

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.

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Wed 14 ▲ SPIRAL MUSIC Rubin Museum 150 West 17th St. 6 p.m. Free Expand your horizons with Vinay Desai, a musician and singer who blends vocal and rhythmic styles to create a unique sound inspired by traditional Indian song. Desai will perform at the base of the Rubin Museum’s spiral staircase, and will forge a connection between his music and the art on display in the galleries. 212-620-5000 rubinmuseum.org

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MCC’s hit comedy returns. A buoyant and biting exploration of the universal similarities facing teenage girls across the globe.

This in-the-round production of Shakespeare’s “Love’s Labour’s Lost” includes an eight course tasting menu with wine.

Daniel Alexander Jones returns to the stage as Jomama Jones, his critically-acclaimed alter-ego, in this revival for turbulent times.

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Christine Lahti stars as iconic feminist Gloria Steinem in this world premiere biographical drama directed by Tony Award winner Diane Paulus.

Summoners Ensemble Theatre presents its sixth annual run of this one-man adaptation of Charles Dickens’s beloved holiday classic.

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RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS OCT 24 - 30, 2018

Anfora

34 8 Avenue

A

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

Empellon

230 West 4 Street

Grade Pending (19) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/ sewage-associated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies.

Left Bank

117 Perry Street

Grade Pending (20) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Le Petit Parisien

32 E 7th St

A

Local 92

92 2nd Ave

A

Haagen-Dazs

55 East 8 Street

A

The Organic Grill

123 1 Avenue

A

Rockbar

185 Christopher St

A

Otto’s Tacos

141 Second Ave

A

Intersect by Lexus

412 W 14th St

Buttercup Bake Shop

61 E 8th St

Not Yet Graded (37) Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations. Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, cross-contaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan. Appropriately scaled metal stem-type thermometer or thermocouple not provided or used to evaluate temperatures of potentially hazardous foods during cooking, cooling, reheating and holding. 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.

Not Yet Graded (8) Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.

Shake Shack (Innovation Kitchen)

225 Varick St

A

Saxon & Parole

316 Bowery

A

Uncle Boon’s

7 Spring Street

A

Bombay Bread Bar

195 Spring St

A

Little Atlas Cafe

6 West 4 Street

A

Not Yet Graded (12) Appropriately scaled metal stem-type thermometer or thermocouple not provided or used to evaluate temperatures of potentially hazardous foods during cooking, cooling, reheating and holding.

Taim

45 Spring Street

A

Piccola Cucina

196 Spring Street

A

Starbucks

45 West 4 Street

A

Tropic Bowl

45 1st Ave

Sing Sing Karaoke

9 St Marks Place

A

Carbone

181 Thompson Street

A

2A

25 Avenue A

Grade Pending (20) Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations. Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, cross-contaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan.

Yakitori Tora

72 Kenmare St

A

Jane

100 W Houston St

A

Chefs Club Counter

62 Spring St

A

Drexler’s

9 Avenue A

A

Minetta Lane Theatre

18 Minetta Ln

A

Tabetomo

131 Avenue A

Not Yet Graded (4)

Junzi NYC

170 Bleecker St

A

Mama’s Bar

3234 Avenue B

Grade Pending (27) Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations. Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/ sewage-associated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Frankie Goes to Bollywood

204 Spring St

A

Heaven’s Hot Bagel

283 East Houston St

A

Tramezzini NYC

309 E Houston St

A

Bricia

79 Clinton St

Not Yet Graded (28) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

New Rong Hang Restaurant

38 Eldridge Street

Grade Pending (6)

King Bakery

90 East Broadway

A

Timna

Ave D Pizzeria

109 Saint Marks Pl

15 Avenue D

Grade Pending (18) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Evidence of rats or live rats present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Not Yet Graded (25) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.

787 Coffee

131 E 7th St

A

Delight Wong Restaurant

300 Grand St

Grade Pending (3)

Balade

208 1 Avenue

A

Dunkin’ Donuts

250 East Houston St

A

M & J Asian Restaurant

600 E 14th St

A

Iguazu Grill Wine & Beer

26 Jefferson St

A

L’aile Ou La Cuisse (L’a.O.C)

314 Bleecker St

A

Noree Thai Bazaar

274 Grand St

A

Clinton Square Pizza

201 Clinton St

A

Petite Boucherie / Omakase Room

14 Christopher St

Not Yet Graded (38) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, cross-contaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Les Enfants De Boheme

173 Henry St

A

Black Cat Les

172 Rivington St

A

Hwa Yuan Szechuan

42 E Broadway

A

Supermoon Bakehouse

120 Rivington St

A

Cafe Amore’s Restaurant

14751 Chambers St

Grade Pending (11) Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or nonfood areas.

Village Pizza

65 8 Avenue

Grade Pending (3)

The Greek

458 Greenwich Street A

Pret a Manger

350 Hudson Street

A

Arcade Bakery

220 Church St

A

NOVEMBER 8-14,2018

Carmen Quinones (first row at right) with tenants and cops at the Frederick Douglass Houses in Manhattan Valley, where she helms the tenants association. Photo courtesy of Carmen Quinones

GIFTS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 But this year — after burying her father, barely surviving Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, facing serious health issues related to lupus and confronting financial pressures of her own — she needs a little bit of help to pull it off. “We’re talking about 100 to 150 kids, as young as zero and as old as 14, and the party has always been a blessing to them,” she said. “These are families that can’t afford Christmas. They have real needs. And if we’re forced to cancel the party, their children will have nothing.” Quinones has turned to a Facebook page to raise $2,000, which is the approximate tab for food and gifts. But thus far, only $255 has trickled in from five donors in the 48 days since she posted the appeal. She needs to have the money in hand well before Christmas to buy the presents and decorate for the party, which actually takes place on Jan. 6, Three Kings Day, a holiday that’s hugely popular in the Caribbean, at 830 Columbus Avenue off 100th Street between 3 and 8 p.m. Don’t bet against her: Steeped in the world of community organizing, Quinones has been the president of the tenants association at the Douglass Houses for the past three years. She’s also a politically savvy friend of politicians and elected officials who has run political campaigns for 11 years through Grassroots Inc., her consulting firm, and served as a Demo-

15

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

Everything has to have some love in it.” Carmen Quinones

cratic district leader for eight years and a Democratic state committeewoman for four years. “Carmen deserves enormous credit for putting a little joy in the hearts of children and their parents,” said City Council Member Mark Levine, who represents a large swath of the West Side that encompasses the Douglass Houses. “She’s managed to bring resources to residents who may not have the discretionary funds to provide gifts for their kids, and she’s created an event that the residents look forward to every year,” added Levine, who said he expects to attend, as he has in past years. This year, the need is greater than ever at the Douglass Houses, an 18-building, 2,600-apartment city housing development — bounded by 100th Street on the south, 104th Street to the north, Manhattan Avenue on the east and Amsterdam Avenue to the west — that is home to some 4,500 Manhattan Valley residents. That’s because starting in October, two months before winter begins, there were already outages of heat and hot water in the 22-acre complex, which was built in 1958, occupies a land mass equal in size to Rockefeller Center and is oper-

ated by the troubled New York City Housing Authority. “We’ve already had pipes bursting, there’s been a lot of flooding, and the lack of heat and hot water is only going to get worse in the winter,” Quinones said. “That means we don’t just need to buy toys for the kids, we also need to make sure they have hats and scarfs and gloves,” she added. “It’s always good to give children little teddy bears, but in a cold winter when there’s not enough heat, they have other needs, too.” Quinones says she only wishes she could afford to give pajamas to all the kids in Frederick Douglass. “It would be a pretty sad commentary on the current situation at NYCHA if the kids in the Douglass Houses don’t get any toys this year because of the need for hats and gloves and sweaters,” Levine said. Quinones wants them to have both. And she’s already eyeing Disney characters, Cinderella dolls, action figurines, trucks that light up, teddy bears, stuffed animals, educational videos, heart-shaped items and dozens of other potential gifts. There’s just a couple of requirements: “No guns,” she said. “No blood. No violence. And everything has to have some love in it.” Readers wishing to contribute to the holiday party at the Douglass Houses can send donations to the Frederick Douglass Residents Council, 880 Columbus Avenue, New York, New York 10025 invreporter@strausnews.com

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MAKE SURE THEY KNOW YOU’RE THE BEST Get a 100 word write-up about your business in the category of your choice Neighborhood Shops Gym/Recreation Home Improvement Pets t Kids t Arts & Culture Food & Drink A N D M O R E !

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NOVEMBER 8-14,2018

Business

YOGA WITH A TWIST ON THE UES HEALTH Through their new studio, two Hispanic millennial sisters aim to bridge the gap between clinical and spiritual wellness BY KENNEDY MACDONALD

On the Upper East Side, the newly opened Medicine for the Soul Yoga offers an array of yoga, reiki, meditation, and mindfulness classes. It is a humble, cozy studio — no larger than the espresso bar next door — but its owners have big plans: to help bridge the gap between clinical and spiritual wellness. With backgrounds in medical science and spiritual healing respectively, Krysten and Amanda Vasquez are like a millennial yin and yang — opposite yet complementary. Krysten, 26, is a straight-talking, CrossFit enthusiast who, after graduating with her M.S. from Wake Forest School of Medicine in 2017, immediately moved to New York to practice. Amanda, 23, is a soft-spoken marketing major turned yoga instructor and reiki healer. After graduating from Florida State University in 2016, she wandered through a series of odd jobs in search of purpose before a stressrelated chronic pain condition lead her to yoga. Brought into a “space of gratitude” through the healing she experienced, Amanda was inspired to pursue her yoga teaching certification, hosting classes out of a spare room in her grandmother’s Miami home before deciding to join her sister in New York. Together, the Miami natives opened Medicine for the Soul after their individual work revealed to them systemic shortcomings and barriers to well-

My goal is to provide a level playing field for people of all backgrounds to have access to equal care and the fundamental knowledge to sustain a healthy lifestyle — emotionally, spiritually and physically.” Krysten Vasquez, Medicine for the Soul Yoga ness faced by many Americans. The yoga studio, which debuted on October 1, is on 84th Street between First and Second Avenues. Krysten, who works with underserved patients at Urban Health Plan in Queens, was “struck by how unattainable wellness is for the majority of the population” after witnessing traditional medicine fail to address the underlying psychological and environmental factors of patient health. “From a medical perspective, it’s frustrating.” said Krysten. “Sometimes patients will come in and want an immediate diagnosis. And we can run a million tests on them and just can’t figure it out. And it seems to me that a lot of these problems are psychological. And not that they are making them up, they feel pain, they feel anxiety, they feel stress, but it’s because of the way that we have learned to prioritize our lives in American society.” Krysten said patients often aren’t provided with sufficient guidance on the basics of living a healthy life. “It starts with the actual people who are giving the knowledge.” said

Krysten. “I work in an office, and a lot of the providers are overweight, they don’t eat healthy, they don’t take care of their bodies, and yet we tell other people to do these things. These are fundamental for gaining a more positive outlook on life. So, I want to help lead by example.” The sisters hope Medicine for the Soul — through affordable stress reduction classes, informational workshops, and outreach programs — can act as an intermediary community, providing fundamental, sustainable wellness support long before a patient becomes ill enough to see a doctor. Amanda recognized additional barriers to wellness while teaching at Dr. Richard Izquierdo Health and Science Charter School, a low-income high school in the Bronx. “Today, yoga is often marketed as something for an extremely wealthy, predominantly white demographic, leaving those in underserved areas feeling unwelcome.” said Amanda. As part of a pioneer position at the school, Amanda teaches yoga and mindfulness to 11th and 12th graders as a full-time elective. “Initially, they were very suspicious toward me and mindfulness in general. They came in and they would roll their eyes at me, they would slouch, they wouldn’t want to lay down, they were very rebellious.” Amanda said. But after discussing her own Hispanic heritage with her largely Spanishspeaking class, Amanda found her students to be more receptive. “If they’re misbehaving, I’ll shout something in Spanish and they’ll listen. It’s like “well, if she speaks Spanish and she does yoga, then so can I.” Now, only a few months in they are excited and are like, “are we meditating today?” It’s great to see.” Driven by their healing mission, the

sisters decided to open a studio somewhat spontaneously. “When I walked by the “for rent” sign, I just knew it was meant to be.” said Amanda. The sisters pooled together their limited savings, rented the studio and hired other like-minded wellness instructors to run it when they’re at work. The Vasquez sisters hope to create an ultra-welcoming environment at their studio and expand their outreach to neighborhoods all over New York. “My goal is to provide a level playing field for people of all backgrounds

space-saving products. “This location has closed,” said a sign reportedly posted on the door of the Upper West Side Lowe’s at 2008 Broadway. The sign said customers should go to nearby branches in Brooklyn and Northern New Jersey. The Chelsea location, at 635 Sixth Avenue, is also “permanently closed,” according to Lowe’s website, which directs visitors to the other stores

and Lowes.com. Manhattan employees may be able to find work at remaining locations. In a press statement, CEO and President Marvin Ellison said, “We believe our people are the foundation of our business ... we are making every effort to transition impacted associates to nearby Lowe’s stores.” Lowe’s has had trouble competing with big-box rival Home Depot,

Sisters Amanda (red shirt) and Krysten (purple shirt) Vasquez outside Medicine for the Soul after completing set up of the studio. Photo courtesy of Amanda Vasquez to have access to equal care and the fundamental knowledge to sustain a healthy lifestyle — emotionally, spiritually and physically,” said Krysten. With customers beginning to trickle in, an introductory class package at Medicine for the Soul currently costs eighteen dollars. However, the sisters hope to make their services even more accessible by implementing a “pay what you can” policy as soon as financially possible. “Until then,” Krysten said with a laugh, “we’re just praying to the universe that we can make it work.”

LIGHTS OUT AT LOWE’S CLOSINGS The DIY giant shutters its Manhattan stores BY LESLIE GERSING

They’ve already “turned out the lights” at Lowe’s stores in Manhattan.

Home improvement giant Lowe’s Companies officially announced on Monday that it was closing its two Manhattan stores — on the Upper West Side and Chelsea — as part of a plan to shutter 20 “underperforming” locations in the U.S. and 31 in Canada by this coming February. Both stores opened in 2015 and catered to city dwellers, offering apartment-sized appliances and other

which has two branches in Manhattan. Lowe’s has also begun closing its Orchard Supply Hardware chain. The publicly traded Fortune 500 company also said the closures will cost it between 28 and 34 cents per share. It expects to provide details during the next quarterly earnings call on November 20.

NOVEMBER 8-14,2018

17

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A STAR COULD BE BORN ON THE UPPER WEST SIDE PUBLIC EYE An appreciation for performers like Adelaide Mestre who get up on stage and risk their self-esteem in front of an audience BY JON FRIEDMAN

I marvel about the performers who sing, crack wise, dance and make music. Maybe I feel so impressed, and (yes) envious, because all I can do is write. Adelaide Mestre is one of them. In late October, I saw her do a one-woman show called “Top Drawer: Dysfunction and Redemption from Park Avenue to Havanaâ€? at a cozy club called The Triad on 160 West 72nd St. For roughly an hour and a half, she told the sold-out crowd of several dozen appreciative onlookers the story of her life. All of it. Unsanitized. The humor, the heartbreak, the longing for her daddy, the confusion of being a uniquely Cuban WASP in a rather privileged upbringing in Manhattan during the Eighties. We watched her grow from a little girl to an adult in eightyďŹ ve minutes.

I was riveted. I had met Adelaide over the summer at a writer’s conference in Southampton. In our little workshop, which the great Roger Rosenblatt presided over, I was struck by Adelaide’s courage in revealing her life story. Beyond her chutzpah, I was also impressed by her what-the-heck demeanor about it all. Though she hadn’t quite come to terms with her many ups and downs — do we ever? — she practically shrugged off what had occurred and chalked it up to “stuff happensâ€? and ďŹ led it all under the heading of Accumulated Wisdom. I wanted to learn more about her so I eagerly attended her performance on the second oor of the intimate club. Accompanied by Doug Oberhamer on piano, Adelaide showed even more courage. And isn’t that the name of the game when it comes to playing to an audience? I know all about it. In 2005, I received a funny email one day from a guy I had never met or heard of — named Jon Friedman. He good-naturedly griped that I was sucking up all of the “Jon Friedmanâ€? air on the Internet, often at his expense. “Get off my Google!â€?

Photo courtesy of Adelaide Mestre he chastised me hilariously. “Get off MY Google!� I responded earnestly, but not so cleverly. That Jon invited this Jon to accompany him on stage at Mo Pitkin’s comedy club in the East Village in what he called “The Rejection Show.� Clearly I was to be cast as the rejected Jon Friedman. I hastily accepted the offer and proceeded to forget all about it. Sure enough, a few months later, on the day before my debut, he sent me an email to remind me of my obligation. I gasped and agreed to show up. That night, I downed a few quick beers before going on. When I joked that Jon and I — who looked nothing alike — were actually “NOT TWINS,� I got laughs from the throng, which supposedly included talent scouts from David Letter-

man and New York-based comedy shows. After my brilliant turn, an agent for standup comedians breathlessly tracked me down in the bar (where else would I be?) and offered to get me gigs. Well, the world is a lot poorer for my turning her down to remain a fully committed journalist. I still have a keen appreciation for the people who get up on stage and risk their self-esteem in front of an audience. Will my new friend Adelaide make it big someday? Sure — why not? She has the talent and the drive and the charisma. But even if it takes a while for that to happen, I bet she will be performing somewhere and, again, wowing audiences. For that, I will always applaud her. We all should.

NOVEMBER 8-14,2018

19

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

Neighborhood Scrapbook

A volunteer planting bulbs at the island between 139th – 142nd Streets on Riverside Drive. Photo courtesy of Riverside Park Conservancy

PLANTING SEASON IN RIVERSIDE PARK The Riverside Park Conservancy last week was finishing up their planting of 18,000 bulbs in two weeks, thanks to 250 “ParkTender” volunteers who commit to caring for a particular area of the park all year round alongside the Conservancy’s gardeners. These bulbs will be some of the first bloomers throughout the six miles of the park, showcasing vibrant color from April to June. The Conservancy is funded by individual contributions and provides about half of the

annual operating budget for Riverside Park; these bulbs are provided by the Conservancy thanks to private funding. Every year the Conservancy puts in 80,000 hours of horticultural care in Riverside Park. Over half of these hours are done by neighborhood volunteers. “We are so grateful for the work of our ParkTenders, and their passion for Riverside Park is contagious,” said Dan Garodnick, President and CEO of the Conservancy. “We can’t wait to see these blooms come up next spring!”

Blooms from spring 2018 in Riverside Park. Photo courtesy of Riverside Park Conservancy

Share your news and what’s going on in your life. Go to otdowntown.com and click on submit a press release or announcement.

WEWORK SHOWS PLAN FOR LORD & TAYLOR BUILDING WORKSPACES CB5 gets a first look at project to create new high-tech space BY VERENA DOBNIK

The WeWork office space-sharing firm moving into the Lord & Taylor flagship building on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan unveiled some grand plans Tuesday for the landmark Italian Renaissance Revival edifice occu-

pied for more than a century by the famed retailer. The landmarks committee of Manhattan’s Community Board 5 got a first look at renderings of the future high-tech space to be leased to entrepreneurs, upstarts and anyone who can pay. Facing debt and online competition, the Lord & Taylor Co. was preparing to close its Manhattan store after the Christmas holidays, along with two small stores outside the city. Two others already have been shuttered.

WeWork is in the process of purchasing the Manhattan building with financial partners for a reported $850 million. The building was designated a historic landmark in 2007 by the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission that must approve the new designs, upon the recommendation of the community board committee. The roof top of t he nea rly 700,000-square-foot building will feature a translucent, glass courtyard to be used as a private space for

employees, while restoring and preserving the historic exterior of the building occupied by Lord & Taylor since 1914. The project was presented Tuesday by the team of chief architect Bjarke Ingels. The aim is to keep the basement, first and second floors as retail space open to the public during business hours. No tenant has yet been announced. The historic bay windows will be restored to their original, bigger size,

and the Fifth Avenue entrance will be expanded to make it wheelchair accessible, while retaining the original Lord & Taylor emblems. Inside, the sixth floor balconies will be restored. Granit Gjonbalaj, WeWork’s chief development officer, called the project “an opportunity to honor our home city’s rich history, while also building toward the future by revitalizing this iconic space as a heartbeat of culture, commerce and innovation.”

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“I WISH SOMEONE WOULD HELP THAT HOMELESS MAN.”

BE THE SOMEONE. Sam New York Cares Volunteer

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

NOVEMBER 8-14,2018

NOVEMBER 8-14,2018

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YOUR 15 MINUTES

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

SOCIAL CLIMBER In theater, more often than not, men are the helm of production. But with a new play about and scaling one of the world’s highest peaks and being a woman in a man’s world, director Alice Cash is poised to change that. BY MARK NIMAR

From producers to stage managers, the gender gap among theater professionals who work behind the curtain was, for decades, more like a vast chasm. Now, a new cohort of female directors in the New York theater scene are bridging the gap. Director Rachel Chavkin recently directed the Broadway musical “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812.” Leigh Silverman recently made history by assembling the first all-female design team on Broadway for the new play she’s directing, “The Lifespan of a Fact” starring Cherry Jones and Daniel Radcliffe. Director Alice Cash is a part of this movement of emerging female leadership in New York theater. A frequent presence in Manhattan’s theater scene, the Upper West Side resident directed “A Comedy of Errors’ at the West Side Community Garden, and her production of “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” returns to Feinstein’s/54 Below early next year. Cash is currently in rehearsals for the play “8,000M,” which tells the story of a female climber’s journey up Mount Lhotse in the Himalayas, the fourth highest peak in the world. Her theatre company, Golden Shards Productions, is producing the play, and it will have

its West Coast premiere in San Diego later this month. Straus News sat down with Alice to talk about camping in Nepal, her childhood dream of operatic stardom, and theater’s role in these tumultuous political times.

How did you get into directing? I think I’ve always been directing in different ways. When I was really little, I would direct the kids in my neighborhood in little shows in my backyard. And that morphed into starting a theatre company at [age] 14, because there was no other outlet for a kid to direct in San Diego. And it evolved over the course of five seasons. We had students ages 7-19, over 200 students, and audiences of 200,000 in two years. My parents have always been entrepreneurs, and they told me to go for it. And I fell in love with developing a vision and style for the stage.

What was the moment you knew you wanted to do it professionally? I think I just always knew I wanted to do it professionally. There was never a moment when there was anything else. My dream as a child was to be an opera singer, or to be a volcanologist, someone who studies volcanoes. But realistically, I knew I was gonna be a director, and I was gonna have a theater company, and I was just gonna keep making it better and better. It was just always my path.

What exactly is a director’s role? Even though you’re not on stage, what role do you play in putting a production together? I think my role is creating the overall

Actos huddle as they portray climbers in the freezing Himalayas. Photo: Joe Loper structure of the piece to fulfill a singular vision. It’s my job as the director to work with the actors, to work with all the designers, to work with the production team, to work with the audience because the audience is an element, too. And create a production that works for all of those people, with all of their ideas, throwing out the best ideas in the room, latching onto those, and working with them to develop a production and a piece. I am sort of the middleman, the person who is helping to put all the swatches of paint onto the canvas to create a whole work of art. Each person brings a specific color or a specific brushwork style. But in the end, we have to create a painting that works with everyone.

Tell me about your new project “8,000M.” How did it come about? What attracted you to the material?

Up-and-coming drector Alice Cash. Photo: Gretchen Cash

“8,0000M” is a play by David Greig, a Scottish playwright...It’s about climbing in the Himalayas, climbing Mount Lhotse, the fourth tallest peak in the world. What attracted me to the piece was that I was at Everest base camp in 2014. I was with my sister and a girlfriend. We were stuck in a blizzard in a tent on base camp, which was insane. I read this play and fell in love, because it’s all about the Himalayas. It’s about this journey. It’s about this woman’s passion for climbing. It’s about being a woman in a man’s world, which is what I am as a female director. It spoke to me on all these different levels, from

my passion for directing, for my passion for travel, for my passion for the Himalayas, for discovering, adventure and learning. So I had to direct it.

What’s it like being a woman in a maledominated profession like directing? I think being a female leader is unusual in any industry. Being a female director is unusual as well. But what was exciting about my grad program was that there were four women in our cohort. My class was only female directors, and that really bonded us, and that made us able to voice our opinions about being female. It’s been great to have that support system. It made me not think of myself as a female director, but more as strictly a director. And as a leader moving forward in the industry.

Why is theater still relevant to our society? Why should someone go to live theater when they can watch Netflix or HBO? I think theater is still relevant when it’s theatrical, when it abandons realism and naturalism, and moves into a space that can only be occupied on a stage. It’s a way to be around others, to connect with others, and relate, especially in a large city like [New York]. It’s a way to uncover a story.

In this time of political tensions, what do you think theater’s role is? What type of impact can it have? I think theater should always be

doing something. I think this play 8,000M is about creating the space for dialogue about gender roles in society. Especially with what happened with our last election for president. I think it’s important to think about female leaders and how this play can start to form a dialogue about these issues. I think theater isn’t just for entertainment’s sake. I think it should be for some sort of enlightenment, or some sort of dialogue that’s created between the audience and the actor or between the actors themselves or between audience members. But I think there’s always a need for connection and for asking questions. And that can really happen on a stage in front of a crowd, which can’t be turned off.

What’s it like being a young artist? How did you get your foot in the door, and your career off the ground? I think being a director is being an entrepreneur, and throwing yourself into the deep end and making it work, making it happen. Figuring out how to partner with people, and figuring out how to create the space for dialogues. I think it’s just about working hard, and doing it.

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

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