The local paper for Downtown IN LOVE WITH COLOR
◄ CITY ARTS, P.12
EXORCISING THE DEMONS OF THE PAST
POLITICS
Touro College Dean Steven Huberman, Commissioner Arlene Gonzales-Sanchez and Touro President Alan Kadish. Photo: Barbara Lerman
FIGHTING THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC PUBLIC HEALTH
Touro College hosts a special event to highlight the crisis and explore solutions BY SARAH BEN-NUN
“In New York State, an average of 9 people a day die from opioid overdose.” That was the cold truth delivered last week by Arlene Gonzales-Sanchez, commissioner of the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports. GonzalezSanchez was taking part in a lecture series on the opioid crisis at Touro College’s Upper West Side campus, where some 200 students
and alumni turned out to hear the speakers. The event, titled, “Opioid Addiction - An International and Local Crisis and Epidemic: New Models of Prevention, Treatment and Recovery,” featured speakers who addressed the issue from their unique perspective and experience. Touro recently received two financial awards to support its efforts in combating the ongoing epidemic. The first, for $1.33 million, is shared by the graduate school of social work and school of health sciences’ clinical mental health counseling program. It’s part of
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Hoping to defy a jinx that’s haunted other mayors, Bloomberg kicks off the greatest presidential campaign money can buy – dodging electoral landmines and repudiating a signature policy BY DOUGLAS FEIDEN
His estimated net worth today stands at a cool $54.3 billion – more than enough to attempt to buy a presidential election without taking a dime
from the public. It’s the ultimate transaction, its impact on American democracy uncertain, and it officially got underway on Sunday, Nov. 24 when exMayor Michael Bloomberg told the world, “I’m going all in.” Portraying himself as a “middle-class kid who made good,“ he declared his candidacy with a grave message: The current occupant of the White House poses an “existential threat to our country and our values.” In a choreographed burst of
ads, videos, websites and social media that echoed across every major market in the nation, he defined both the problem - and what he saw as the solution. “Defeating Donald Trump, and rebuilding America, is the most urgent and important fight of our lives,“ Bloomberg said. “And I’m going all in. I offer myself as a doer and a problem solver - not a talker and someone who is ready to take on the tough fights and win.”
WEEKWEEK OF NOV.-DEC. OF
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INSIDE
UNDER (IVY LEAGUE) PRESSURE It starts in second grade, writes a Manhattan high school student. p. 8
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BOB DYLAN MISSED A LIVELY TALK IN STUY TOWN
Fans flocked to hear about iconic musician. p. 9
A FOCUS ON EMPATHY New CB7 chair talks about challenges ahead. p. 6
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg joined MTA officials and other local leaders on Dec. 20, 2013 and took the first ride on the extension of the 7 Subway line to 34th Street and Eleventh Avenue in Manhattan. Photo: Gage Skidmore, via flickr
B&H PHOTO HIT WITH SALES TAX CHARGES
NY State Attorney General files lawsuit. p. 16
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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 a lay point of view,” lawyer since 1961. Man, a practicing what’s at issue He first writes about post, renders separate a in and then, how he arrived his decision, detailing Visitors to the blog at his conclusion. their opinions. often weigh in with get a rap going. I to “I really want unthey whether really 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 indiArbitration Man, 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 actions the owners, policy response, and somefor ways to recommendations If done well, begin to fix things. report would the ombudsman’s quantitative give us the first with taste of what’s wrong the city, an small businesses in towards important first step problem. the xing fi of deformality for To really make a difference, process is a mere complete their will have to to are the work course, the advocaterising rents, precinct, but chances-- thanks to a velopers looking 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 lives on who problem. Angelo, vexing most said Mildred construction permits gauge what Buildings one of the Ruppert 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 on the Over the past 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 Every New Yorker clang, tion Act tangible signs go as they please. work between early, and some come metal-on-metal can construction any small sound: the or on the weekend, have no respect.” the piercing of progress. For many can’t come p.m. and 7 a.m., the hollow boom, issuance of these business owners, that moving in reverse. as after-hours. The increased beeps of a truck has generto a correspond and you 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
Newscheck
for dollars in fees ated millions of and left some resithe city agency, that the application dents convinced
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