The local paper for Downtown wn AN OUTOF-THEBOX SCHOOL
WEEK OF DECEMBER
3-9
Q&A, P.21 >
2015
Our Take
THE TREE MAN OF BROADWAY NEWS A new documentary profiles a tree seller on the Upper West Side BY GABRIELLE ALFIERO
For many New Yorkers, it isn’t Christmastime until the tree goes up at 30 Rock and the tree salesmen set up shop on the
SHOULD WE CARE ABOUT SHELDON SILVER?
street. A new documentary film explores the world of tree sellers in the city. The movie, “Tree Man,” follows François, a Christmas tree seller from Montreal who spends five weeks each year selling trees on the Upper West Side. “What Christmas really means is the arrival of François and hun-
CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
Francois, who sells christmas trees at 102nd Street and Broadway, is the subject of the documentary film “Tree Man,” which screens at JCC Manhattan on Dec. 8. Photo credit: Christine DiPasquale
SILVER CONVICTED ON ALL COUNTS NEWS Trial seen as indictment of Albany corruption BY LARRY NEUMEISTER
Former state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was convicted Monday in a $5 million corruption case that took down one of New York’s most powerful politicians and stunned a capital that had become accustomed to scandal. The jury verdict came after a three-week trial in which federal prosecutors claimed that the 71-year-old Democrat traded favors to enrich himself and then lied about it. The defense countered that the government was trying to criminalize the longtime routines of Albany politicians.
prison. His prosecution was a marquee case in Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s quest to clean up a state government he has called a “cauldron of corruption,” an effort that has led to the ongoing corruption trial of Republican state Senate leader Dean Skelos. With Monday’s verdict, “Sheldon Silver got justice, and at long last, so did the people of New York,” Bharara, who had watched from the courtroom audience, said in a statement. With the conviction, Silver automatically loses his Lower Manhattan Assembly seat. He had kept it while fighting the charges, although after his arrest he was stripped of the speakership he had held since
Even in a state capital where more than 30 lawmakers have left office facing criminal charges or allegations of ethical misconduct since 2000, the case against Silver was an extraordinary turn. An assemblyman since 1976, Silver was one of Albany’s most storied political figures, a consummate backroom operator with the power to decide the fate of legislation single-handedly. Silver, who remains free on bail until a sentencing date not yet set, plans to appeal. “I’m disappointed right now. Ultimately, I believe that after the legal challenges, we’ll get results,” he said as he left court after being convicted of all charges against him: honestservices fraud, extortion and money laundering. They carry the potential for decades in
Corruption in Albany has become the background noise of our state politics. Scandals are followed by more scandals. Politicians start out as reformers, then somehow end up as part of the problem. Which is why this week’s guilty verdict, on all counts, in the Sheldon Silver graft case is both breathtaking and depressingly familiar. And once again, we’re left to ask: Could this be the catalyst that finally prompts real change in our corrupt capitol? If the answer depended on our current governor to sweep out the muck, the answer would clearly be no. You had to smirk at Andrew Cuomo’s statement in the moments after the Silver verdict, in which he vowed “zero tolerance” for public corruption. This from a man who disbanded his own Moreland Commission, the best shot Albany had in decades to clean up its own house. No, our hope has to come from the outside, from U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. For months, Bharara and his team have sensed that Albany was ripe for a takedown, and the Silver verdict proved them right. A win in the tawdrier trial of Dean Skelos and his son, Adam, which is going on in the same courthouse, would make it unlikely that they would stop here. No doubt, even Mr. Cuomo is watching evens unfold with slightly sweatier palms. Should we care? We don’t have any choice. And if it takes the federal government to save us from ourselves, at least change is coming.
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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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DECEMBER 3-9,2015
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WHAT’S MAKING NEWS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD CONSTRUCTIONRELATED DEATHS SPIKE
A construction project near the High Line. Deaths and injuries of laborers working on both business and residential projects have occurred at a rate exceeding that of new construction, according to a report in The New York Times. Photo: Timothy Neesam, via Flickr
The city’s construction boom is on record pace. It’s come at a steep human price, according to a recent report by The New York Times. Since 2014, deaths and injuries of laborers working on both business and residential projects have occurred at a rate exceeding that of new construction, the paper reported. According to city Buildings Department numbers cited by The Times, 10 people died in construction-related accidents in the fiscal year ending in July, nearly twice the recent annual average of fatalities — 5.5 deaths — recorded during the previous four years. On-the-job injuries jumped 53 percent during the fiscal year compared to the prior fiscal year, to 324 workers hurt, The Times said. New construction permits rose just 11 percent while renovation and other related permits increased by 6 percent during the same period, the paper said. The number of construction casualties supports
assessments by inspectors and government officials that job-site safety measures are poor. The Times looked at records and documents related to every construction-related death over the past two years and concluded that laborers, most of them undocumented immigrants working non-union jobs, eschewed basic safety measures such as harnesses and helmets. Supervision, too, was lax, it said.
5,000 AT CLIMATE RALLY On the even of the start of a climate summit in Paris, about 5,000 New Yorkers rallied at City Hall in support of action against global warming, the Daily News reported. Among the crowd was Bill Nye, the educator known as the Science Guy. “The climate is changing. It’s our fault, and we have to get to work on this now,” the News quoted Nye as saying at the Sunday rally. “As long as we each focus only on our individual decisions and their short-term consequences, we will act like renters, not owners of this Earth.” The gathering and subsequent march was
among several worldwide, with hundreds of thousands of people rallying for action to stop global warming.
25-YEAR PRISON TERM FOR KILLER OF BOARD MEMBER A man found guilty of killing Community Board 4 member Khemraj Singh has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, DNAinfo is reporting. Jeffrey Wong, 42, was accused of stabbing, strangling and beating Singh to death in Singh’s West 48th Street apartment in October 2014. He was found guilty of seconddegree murder, according to a statement by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. quoted by the news site. “The viciousness of this crime is staggering,” Vance said in the statement. “As soon as the assault began, Jeffrey Wong’s murderous intent was crystal clear, and I thank the jury for their service and recognition of this horrific crime.” The two had met at a Midtown bar before going to Wong’s Hell’s Kitchen apartment, according to prosecutors quoted by DNAinfo.
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CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG
ARREST IN PARK RAPE CASE Police have arrested a suspect in the rape of a woman jogging in a Manhattan park. The New York Police Department says Paul Niles turned himself in Saturday, a day after police publicly identified him as the suspect in Wednesday’s attack in the East River Park in downtown Manhattan. Police have no address for the 28-year-old Niles. Possible lawyers for him didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Police say Niles grabbed the 26-yearold runner’s hair, put his arm around her throat, pulled her off the footpath, raped her and stole her credit card. Police say a 56 year-old woman reported that Niles had approached and groped her while she was walking along the East River that same evening. He was arrested on charges in both incidents.
PARTY TAKES LIMO FOR JOYRIDE THROUGH CHELSEA A limo driver told police that his
limo was stolen from the northwest corner of West 15th Street and Eighth Avenue by a group of people he picked up Sunday, Nov. 22 at 5 a.m. He told police that he picked up 10 people at West 13th Street and Hudson Street and when he was about to drop them off, one of the passengers tried to pay with a credit card that was declined. The driver brought the party to a Chase ATM at West 15th Street and Eighth Avenue. The driver went into the ATM with three of the suspects, including the passenger whose card had been declined, but the three suspects then fled the bank. The victim told police that the suspects got back into the limo with the passenger whose card was declined driving. The limo was spotted at Canal Street and Bowery around 5:30 a.m. and was later recovered in front of 66 Essex St. All 10 partyers suspects had fled and the driver said that the front seats and the radio were damaged. Police said that there was camera footage available from the Chase at West 15th and Eighth Avenue, but no arrests have been made.
get in around 12:35 a.m. and realized shortly after entering the club that her wallet had been stolen from her purse. Police used the Find My iPhone app in conjunction with a canvass and the suspect was arrested shortly after the incident.
MAN ARRESTED FOR STOLEN IPHONE
Three people reported that they were involved in a motor vehicle accident caused by a cab driver who fled the scene at the northeast corner of West 34th Street and 11th Avenue Saturday, Nov. 21 at 5:15 a.m. The first victim told police that he was rear-ended by the cab while stopped at a light and the
Police arrested a 55-year-old man for grand larceny in front of Club Tao at 369 West 16th St. Sunday, Nov. 22 at 3 a.m. The victim told police that she was outside the club waiting to
PHONE SNATCHED AT HIGHLINE BALLROOM A 19-year-old woman reported that her phone was snatched while she was at the bar inside the Highline Ballroom at 437 West 16th St. Sunday, Nov. 22 at 2:42 a.m. She told police that a man she didn’t know came up behind her out of nowhere and grabbed her phone out of her hand. She said that she couldn’t give a description of the suspect because the bar was crowded and she didn’t see him clearly. Police said the phone could not be tracked because it was turned off. No arrests have been made.
HIT-AND-RUN AT 11TH AND WEST 34TH
STATS FOR THE WEEK Reported crimes from the 1st Precinct for Nov. 16 to Nov. 22 Week to Date
Year to Date
2015
2014
% Change
2015
2014
% Change
Murder
0
0
n/a
1
0
n/a
Rape
2
0
n/a
7
7
0.0
Robbery
2
1
100.0
68
43
58.1
Felony Assault
3
1
200.0
81
68
19.1
Burglary
1
3
-66.7
115
135
-14.8
Grand Larceny
20
21
-4.8
969
812
19.3
Grand Larceny Auto
0
1
-100.0
20
29
-31.0
other two drivers involved complained of back and neck pain as a result of the collision. None of the victims had any other information about the suspect except that he was driving a yellow cab.
the suspect reach into her bag but it was closed.
WALLET STOLEN OUTSIDE PHD LOUNGE
A 26-year-old woman reported that her purse was stolen while she was inside the management offices of the church at 296 Ninth Ave. Friday, Nov. 20 around 11:15 a.m. She told police that she put her purse on a chair and walked away. When she returned about 15 minutes later, the purse had been removed. She later found that her credit card had been used. She told police that her purse contained her iPhone 6S, wallet, a jacket, her driver’s license and her health insurance card.
A 22-year-old woman reported that her wallet was stolen while she was in front of PHD Lounge at 355 West 16th St. Sunday, Nov. 22 at 3 a.m. She told police that she was leaving the lounge and felt someone reach into her purse and remove her wallet. She said that she then confronted the suspect who told her that he didn’t take it, then ran east on West 16th Street. The victim’s friend said that she also saw
BAG STOLEN FROM HOLY APOSTLES SOUP KITCHEN
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A NEW COURSE ON HORSES NEWS A new plan from the mayor would sharply reduce the number of horses and move their stables into Central Park
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BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced last week his team is working on a bill to reduce by over 80 percent the number of horse carriage operators in Central Park and move the stables at which horses are lodged to inside the park, a shift from previous efforts that focused on banning the industry altogether. His ascension from mayoral long shot to City Hall was aided by his pledge to ban horse carriage rides in Central Park, but almost two years into his tenure that promise remains unfulfilled. In comments last week he revealed the new approach would move the stables to inside the park, so horses would not have to contend with city traffic, and reduce the number of carriage operators from their current level of over 200 to just three dozen.
The debate is currently framed by a group of animal rights activists on one side, most notably NY Class, which contributed significantly to de Blasio’s mayoral ambitions. On the other side is the Teamsters Joint Council 16, which counts among its ranks horse carriage drivers. The activists maintain that having large animals in a major urban center is cruel and that the horses are regularly mistreated. The Teamsters refute those charges of abuse and cast drivers as an iconic part of New York City. Polls show that the public, meanwhile, is mostly opposed to the ban while support for a ban in the city council is tepid at best. NY Class spent about $1 million attacking de Blasio’s chief rival, former city council speaker Christine Quinn, in 2013’s democratic mayoral primary. Their support was based on de Blasio’s campaign promise to enact a ban if elected. But for the past two years his efforts to ban the industry have failed due to a lack of political support. In August he appeared to have all but given up on the issue saying it was in the hands
of city council members. As for the new proposal, both sides appear to be taking a wait and see approach. “NY Class’ number one priority is and has always been the safety of carriage horses. We need to see more details, and frankly, we need to see action and not just promises,” said the group in a statement. “But we will continue to work with the mayor and city leaders to protect the horses.” The group deferred any additional comment until after the bill is written. The Teamsters, meanwhile, indicated that they’re open to compromise but are also waiting for more information. “New Yorkers have made it clear that they stand behind the carriage drivers and want this iconic institution to stay,” said George Miranda, President of Teamsters Joint Council 16. “We have always been open to compromise, but the Teamsters would accept nothing short of preserving the horse carriage industry and the livelihoods of our members.” De Blasio passed up an opportunity to expand on the bill at
a news conference last week, telling reporters that his administration is in the middle of a back-and-forth with members of the city council. Elizabeth Forel, president of the Coalition to Ban HorseDrawn Carriages, said her group is disappointed in what appears to be a compromise on the issue. “The mayor promised a full ban on this inhumane and unsafe business and anything less is simply unacceptable,” she said. “There is no way this new proposal will work - beginning with taking public park land from the public for a private business. It is nothing more than a ploy to keep activists at bay while the mayor runs for reelection.” Forel said a “true compromise” would be to retrofit the existing carriages so they operate with motors not horses. “But the unions and drivers have to be willing,” she said. “If they do not agree, then the drivers will have to continue to endure people insulting them as animal abusers. Their choice.”
DECEMBER 3-9,2015
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SILVER CONVICTED CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 1994. “Today, justice was served,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, said in a statement. “With the allegations proven, it is time for the Legislature to take seriously the need for reform. There will be zero tolerance for the violation of the public trust in New York.” The leader of the Assembly’s Republican minority, Brian Kolb, called the conviction “a clear signal — again — to Albany: Enough is enough.” Current Speaker Carl Heastie, a Democrat and Silver’s successor, said he would “continue to work to root out corruption and demand more of elected officials when it comes to ethical conduct.” After Silver’s arrest, the Legislature passed modest changes, including a requirement that lawmakers disclose more about their private income. But so far, lawmakers have balked at significant reforms, such as term limits, restrictions on legislators’ outside income, tighter campaign finance limits and tougher enforcement of ethics rules. Prosecutors had argued that they proved Silver traded his office for riches: $4 million in kickbacks from a cancer researcher and real estate developers. Prosecutors say Silver earned a million dollars more through investments. “This was corruption,” not politics as usual, Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Goldstein told jurors. Defense lawyer Steven Molo countered that Silver committed no crime: “He did not sell his office.” Silver did not testify and called no witnesses. Dr. Robert Taub told jurors he steered numerous patients with asbestos-related cancer to Silver’s law firm, enabling the legislator to pocket $3 million in referral fees. Meanwhile, testimony and evidence revealed, Silver caused $500,000 in taxpayer funds to go to Taub’s research projects and helped his son and daughter get a job and an internship. Prosecutors said Silver delivered tax-abatement and rent-control legislation that favored developers while big developers hired a small law firm that secretly sent him $700,000 in fees. Juror deliberations were eventful: Less than two hours after talks started last Tuesday, a juror tried to leave, accusing fellow jurors of claiming she failed to use common sense. Their discussions were briefly halted again Monday morning after another juror said he’d just learned his boss knows Silver. Both times, Judge Valerie Caproni advised jurors to resume work. Meanwhile, Skelos and his son have been on trial in another Manhattan federal courtroom. Skelos is charged with badgering companies reliant upon his legislative clout to provide over $300,000 to his son. Skelos and Silver were among a group dubbed the “three men in a room” in Albany, a nod to the longstanding practice of legislative leaders and the governor negotiating key bills behind closed doors. The day before Silver’s arrest, Cuomo referred to Skelos, Silver and himself as the “three amigos.” In a measure of Silver’s clout, he helped persuade Cuomo to disband an anti-corruption commission investigating Silver’s financial dealings and those of his colleagues. Associated Press writers Jennifer Peltz and Jake Pearson in New York and David Klepper in Albany, New York, contributed to this report.
Angel, Francois, Nelson and Jason appear in the documentary film “Tree Man.” Photo credit: Ellen Dubin Photography
TREE MAN OF BROADWAY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 dreds like him, and how they transform these barren sidewalks into Santa’s village,” said Jon Reiner, an Upper West Side resident and one of the film’s directors. “For the five weeks that they’re here they transform the city, and for people like me they’re the Christmas spirit in a secular way.” The film, which screened at DOC NYC in November and will show at JCC Manhattan at Amsterdam Avenue and 76th Street on Dec. 8, travels with François from his family’s country home in Quebec in late November, as he makes his way to Manhattan in his 20-year-old white van named Elvis, which becomes his temporary residence when he parks on 102nd Street and Broadway. (He prefers only to be identified by his first name.) Reiner, a writer and first time director who, though Jewish, celebrates Christmas with his wife and children, was François’ longtime customer and brought him food, and gifts for his children, as other residents have done. While working on a film adaptation of his memoir with fellow resident and filmmaker Brad Rothschild, whose children attended P.S. 166 with Reiner’s kids, the two discussed the annual arrival of the tree sellers in the city, prompting a new project. “I’ve never had a Christmas tree
in my life. For me this is all new,” said Rothschild, who’s also Jewish and directed the film with Reiner. “I’ve seen these guys on the street forever…it never really occurred to me that there’s a whole universe of Christmas tree sellers in New York City.” Outfitted throughout the film in a red jacket and tool belt, with a graying beard, eyeglasses and an earring in his left ear, François had been approached by other filmmakers previously, he said, but turned them down because their angles, mostly about the economics of the business, didn’t interest him. But Reiner and Rothschild were more curious about him and the other tree sellers who take up temporary residence in New York each year, and their relationships with the community. “I realized that this was a whole ecology, this was a whole world that was being put together for a month,” said François, who returned to his spot on 102nd Street and Broadway shortly before Thanksgiving. On a recent Sunday, François sipped a cup of coffee in the office at his stand, constructed from two-by-fours and plastic tarps and surrounded by the fragrant trees. Shears, scissors, and canvas gloves pepper the wooden shelves. Behind the stand, Elvis sits, parked. “I feel at home here. It’s my place,” said François, who, at the end of December, will have spent about a year of his life living on this small section of Broadway. “It’s easy-
going. I know my clientele by heart. I’ve seen these kids from the stroller up to carrying trees. It’s pretty cool.” Now in his tenth season at the location, François employs a local crew, including Jason Dominguez, his delivery manager, who started working with him at age 12. “I asked him twice and he said no, and then I just hung around because I live right around the street,” said Dominguez, now 22, who appears throughout the film. He’s been with François ever since. “It’s one of the most genuine business relationships I’ve had with anybody,” said Dominguez. Dominguez’s friend Nelson also works with François, as does his mother’s friend Angel, the night manager who, in the film, tends to the trees while François sleeps. Jason’s girlfriend, who François calls a “sun ray,” has since joined the operation. “Tree Man” is truly a neighborhood production. Most of the crew lives on the Upper West Side, and met on the P.S. 166 playground where their children attended school. The soundtrack includes music by Loudon Wainwright III, Laurie Berkner and Erik Della Penna, among others, neighborhood residents who wanted to contribute to the film. “I didn’t even ask them,” said Reiner. “They volunteered.” Shot on a modest budget in 2013—the overall cost of the film was around $100,000—the crew
filmed François with his wife and three young children at their home as he prepared for his annual trip to Manhattan (François now has a fourth child). In the documentary, the children sob as they say goodbye to their father, who’s never home to decorate the family tree, one of the greatest heartbreaks of the job, he said. François returned home on Christmas with Reiner and Rothschild, a trip that gave the Upper West Siders a view into what François’ life is like the other 11 months of the year. “Only when we arrived there and saw his home and family did I realize, wait a minute, here’s a guy I know as my Christmas tree salesman,” said Reiner. “Here I am at his home, with his family and this is crazy. How many people meet their Christmas tree salesman and go to Canada with them?” The film also opened up aspects of François’ world in Manhattan that remained a mystery to his family. When the film screened in Montreal earlier this year, François’ children saw the challenges of his life at 102nd Street and Broadway, like the tearful moments when François’ misses home, and their father’s mentorship of Jason and Nelson, whom they’d never met but whose names were familiar, and who François hopes will take over for him when he decides his tree salesman days are done. “I don’t come to New York to sell trees,” said François. “I come to Broadway to sell trees.”
DECEMBER 3-9,2015
HIGH IN PROTEIN, WITH A NICE CRUNCH At the Explorers Club, a mole sauce is a fine accompaniment for crickets BY NOMIN UJIYEDIIN
The Explorers Club on East 70th Street is known for its affiliation with the first moon landing and the first summit of Mount Everest. But, more recently, the club launched an expedition of a different nature. At “Crickets and Cocktails,” an event co-hosted by Alimentary Initiatives, the New York Entomological Society and the Metropolitan Society of Natural Historians, guests munched on hors d’oeuvres featuring ingredients that most New Yorkers would be surprised to find on a silver platter. Cricket croquettes, grasshopper tostadas and waterbug crostini were among the treats, which were prepared by chefs Natalia Martinez and Mario Hernandez. Curious attendees on the club’s second floor swarmed around trays of crackers garnished with worms and insects. New trays, brought out by waiters,
emptied in minutes. The line for cocktails wrapped around the wood-paneled room. Side tables featured dishes of dried mole crickets, flying termites and sago grubs, among other critters. Alexa Saur, 9, liked the crickets and the termites, but not the grubs. Consider her a grasshopper gourmand: she and her 12-year-old sister, Erika, have dined on insects before. Their mother, Adrienne Saur, has eaten bugs at four other events. She and her husband, Drew Saur, are trying to teach their daughters more about science. “As much as she might enjoy steak, there’s a lot more bugs in the world than steak,” Adrienne Saur said. “We’ve been looking for an opportunity to expand their horizons,” Drew Saur said, before biting into a breaded croquette featuring manchego cheese, piquin salsa, truffle cream and — of course — crickets. While the Saur family snacked on the club’s balcony, industrial designer Katharina Unger was showing off her
latest invention on the second-floor landing. Her company, LIVIN Farms, has developed a desktop hive where consumers can grow their own edible mealworms. The white plastic hive featured a stack of silver trays, each holding mealworms at different stages of development. The bottom tray was ajar. Hundreds of the inch-long specimens writhed inside it. Next to the hive, a petri dish held mealworms that were frozen, boiled and roasted. They make for a dry, crunchy snack. “I just wanted to empower people to grow their own healthy and sustainable food,” said Unger, who was born in Austria and is currently based in Hong Kong. Her travels in Asia and Africa inspired her to explore insects as a source of protein and other nutrients. “I love it,” she said about the flavor. “What I like about it is that it’s a bit nutty but still relatively neutral.” Unger wasn’t always comfortable with the idea of eating insects, also known as entomophagy. “Growing them and seeing how it all works is one of the steps to overcoming the hurdle,” she said. She and her partner, Julia Kaisinger, found that people were more amenable to the idea of eating mealworms once they could see how they were grown. After the cocktail hour, Unger and other experts presented their perspectives on entomophagy to event
VINTAGE GOODS, AGED AND NOUVEAU K & D Wines and Spirits has been on the Upper East Side since right after Prohibition BY MICKEY KRAMER
It’s a kaleidoscope of colors and, nearly, a case of sensory
Illustration by John S. Winkleman
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overload walking into K & D Wines & Spirits: 1,500 different bottles, in all shapes and sizes, line shelves from floor to ceiling. K & D has been serving — and lifting — spirits on the Upper
East Side since 1934. The current Madison Avenue location, just below 94th Street, is two blocks south from the original storefront. It’s been run by Richie Klein and Andy Klugerman since 1995. Their
Among the dishes served at “Crickets and Cocktails” were dried flying termites, sago grubs and varieties of crickets. Photo: Nomin Ujiyediin. attendees who gathered in a room full of Explorers Club memorabilia, including flags that had been brought to Mount Everest and the Marianas Trench. Aruna Antonella Handa of Alimentary Initiatives, which promotes innovative and sustainable food, lamented that the guests had to try desiccated insects, rather than fresh ones. “It’s the difference between using canned tuna and fresh tuna,” she said. “From a culinary perspective, they’re interesting, but not tasty,” Handa elaborated about the dried insects. Paleoentomologist Phil Barden explained that the relationship between crustaceans and insects gives crickets their shrimp-like flavor. It’s also the reason that people with shellfish aller-
fathers, Artie Klein and Erwin Klugerman, ran the store from 1962 until the boys, childhood friends who had started work at the shop as delivery boys, took over. “I love it ... the people, the product,” Richie Klein said. “If you have to work, a wine shop is not a bad place to be.” A black-and-white photograph from 1939 hangs on a wall near the cash register. It’s President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s motorcade riding right past the then-5-year-old shop. FDR, of course, was a friend to wine purveyors everywhere, marking the beginning of the end of Prohibition in March 1933 by signing a law that once again permitted the manufacture and sale of low-alcohol beer and light wines. Klugerman began working full time at K & D in 1982 and learned that good service is paramount. “We were always a ‘keep them happy no matter what’ organization,” he said. “If a delivery is, late for example, ‘Quick, put it in a taxi,’ they’d say,” he said. “That was how they were back then. A lot has changed but that philosophy remains the same.” One change is the huge increase in the available wine selection. In the early days the shop had just six wines from California in the shop, Kluger-
gies might consider avoiding eating the insects, which have been around for 250 million years — longer than dinosaurs. Crickets are “one of the oldest and most ancient lineages that you’ve probably ever consumed,” Barden told attendees. For Lily Berniker and Pam Horsley, this was old news. The two entomologists are no strangers to eating insects with their colleagues. “The trick is convincing non-entomologists that it’s a valid food source, and that it tastes good,” Horsley said. Perhaps the evening’s biggest success was that it had. “Mealworms are delicious,” one afficionado said on the second-floor landing. “I’d love to have mealworm chips.”
man said. These days, K & D stocks several hundred wines from the Golden State. The wine sellers received a big boost in the late 1970s when The New York Times’ wine columnist called K & D “The great hole-in-the-wall wine store.” The columnist, Terry Robards, gave a specific shout out to a Cellole Chianti, which sold for $2.59 a bottle. That bottle now sells for $19.99. On the Friday morning after Thanksgiving, Courtney Conner, 55, dropped in to make her selections, as she has been doing since 1978. “I usually ask the staff for recommendations as they are so knowledgeable and friendly,” said Conner, who often shops with her 14-yearold cocker spaniel, Bubba. She’ll eventually settle on the
newly arrived George Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau, released each year on the third Thursday of November. Ask him, and Klein will tell you his top pick is a Californian, a Caymus Vineyard cabernet sauvignon. Klugerman is partial to France’s Burgundy region. “I love the travelling around the world for wine,” said Klein, who has visited vineyards throughout the West Coast as well as parts of France, Italy and elsewhere. “It’s a passion and it makes it easier to talk to customers when you’ve actually seen the hills where certain grapes have come from.” Klugerman appends a toast: “I wouldn’t want to do business anywhere else in the city.
“NJ’s Friendliest Farm” Pesticide Free
Cut-Your-Own-Trees Adorable farm animals Tasty refreshments and a REALLY FUN TIME!
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DECEMBER 3-9,2015
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Write to us: To share your thoughts and comments go to otdowntown.com and click on submit a letter to the editor.
Voices
NEW YORK’S FIRST CHRISTMAS TREE OP-ED ALEX PALMER
While many New Yorkers might assume that Rockefeller Plaza has always been home to the city’s official tree lighting, for two decades the big event took place about 30 blocks south of 30 Rock, in a gathering that served as a model for the rest of the country. In December 1912, Madison Square Park played host to New York’s first citywide Christmas tree. The idea of a big outdoor gathering to light up a tree was a novel one — most people celebrating the holiday did so in their homes, and any other large holiday celebrations had generally taken place in churches, bazaars, or theaters. But in 1912, the city banded together to erect the first truly public tree in the country. Unlike this year’s celebration, which gives New Yorkers a month to enjoy the evergreen smell and glittering lights, the city’s first tree didn’t light up until Christmas Eve. It was a striking evergreen, sourced from the forests of the Adirondacks and hauled to Madison Square Park. Instead of “Christmas Tree,” this was called the “Tree of Light” in newspapers and in promotions, and with good reason: illuminating it required 2,300 colored electric bulbs (city officials had only planned on 1,300 lights, creating a last-minute scramble as it was being prepared). On the big day, crowds began gathering in the snow-covered park by early afternoon, with thousands there by the time church bells chimed at 4:50. Finally, as 25,000 New Yorkers pressed together in the park, a call of trumpets announced something the city had never seen before: the lighting of a huge public Christmas tree. As the electric bulbs ignited, including the brilliant “Star of Bethlehem” at the top of the tree, the crowd cheered. This kicked off a night of singing and music that lasted until midnight, with local choirs and bands performing carols and Christmas standards. The soprano Eva Emmet Wycoff sang “O Holy Night,” and when she finished, the crowd called for an encore, to which Wycoff agreed. Sausages and coffee were served to the attendees. A group of 200 Boy Scouts helped facilitate the festivi-
ties, running messages to the organizers and helping guide the crowd. A band played “The Star Spangled Banner,” continuing on until a midnight performance of “America,” closing out the evening. The lights were shut off shortly after midnight, but the tree would be lit up every evening for the rest of the month, until the final lighting on New Year’s Eve. The celebration served as a cheery civic gathering, but its goal was also to provide the city’s less fortunate with a place to enjoy the holiday. “This is a real Christmas for me,” one woman told her friend, according
to The New York Times. “Those rich people who give so much money away on Christmas always get the idea that the poor need something to eat. They forget that we also like to look at nice things and hear lovely music.” The rapturous response to the Tree of Light led immediately to plans for the ceremony to continue the following year. But it was not just New York City that was excited by the proceedings. The next year, dozens of other cities followed Gotham’s lead. Chicagoans gathered around a commanding 75-foot tree in 1913, lit to the chorus
of the city’s Grand Opera Company. Cincinnati introduced a 45-foot-high Christmas tree. Detroit, Baltimore, Jersey City, and about 50 other cities lit up their first municipal Christmas trees in 1913, all following New York’s successful example from the year before. This community Christmas celebration that originated in New York would spread through press coverage, pamphlets, and instructional books that offered details on how cities could host their own tree lighting. In 1923, President Calvin Coolidge would light up the country’s first Na-
tional Christmas Tree in President’s Park. But as the grand tree-lighting tradition proliferated, the city that did it first continued to do it biggest. The NYC tree lighting continued for two more decades in Madison Square Park before moving to Rockefeller Center in 1933, where it continues to reign today as the grandest Christmas tree lighting in the country. Alex Palmer is the author of the new Christmas history book The Santa Claus Man: The Rise and Fall of a Jazz Age Con Man and the Invention of Christmas in New York, out now from Lyons Press.
DECEMBER 3-9,2015
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Does It Have The Apple Logo? Panelists included AARPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jana Lynott, far right. Photos by Daniel Fitzsimmons
DEBATING MANHATTANâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S LIVABILITY NEWS The Society for Ethical Culture was standing-room-only on Nov. 23 for a Town Hall meeting on how to make New York a more livable city, particularly for seniors. The forum, sponsored by this newspaper in conjunction with AARP, drew more than 175 people to the Upper West Side,
and featured speakers that included Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer; Ruth Finkelstein of the Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center; Sandy Robbins of The Shadow Box Theatre; and Jana Lynott of AARP. The event, moderated by Editor in Chief Kyle Pope, gave attendees the opportunity to air their concerns about living in Manhattan, including afford-
ability, access to transit, and the loss of small retailers. The next forum from the newspaper and AARP is scheduled for Dec. 14 and will focus on second acts. That event will be held at the National Academy Museum, 5 E. 89th Street, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Admission is free, but seating is limited. RSVP at rsvp@strausnews. com
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Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, left.
A capacity turnout at the livability forum
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Out & About More Events. Add Your Own: Go to otdowntown.com
Thu 3
reimagined by Michael Sgouros and Brenda Bell 212-475-1237. www. scroogeinthevillage.com
Sat 5
A FRENCH RENDEZVOUS
THE NUTCRACKER ▲
OUTDOOR TREE LIGHTING, ADVENT FAIR
The For a Day Foundation Le Bar @ Le District 225 Liberty St. 7 p.m. Starting at $125 per person A silent auction hosted by Jenna Edwards, Beverly Crocker, Sam Vinograd, Morgan Outages benefiting children with cancer. www.foradayfoundation.org/ frenchgoodness
MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE — A LIVING MEMORIAL TO THE HOLOCAUST Edmond J. Safra Plaza, 36 Battery Place 8 p.m. Members, $108; $126, non-members; membershipp and ticket $146 Young Friends Light Up the he Night Hanukkah Event. 646-437-4252. www. mjhnyc.org/youngfriends
Fri 4 A CHRISTMAS CAROL THE MUSICAL The Players Theatre, 115 MacDougal St. 7 p.m. $32-$52 The classic Dickens tale
Brookfield Place, Winter Garden, 230 Vesey St. Dec. 4: 7 p.m. performance, 5 p.m.–6 p.m. photo opportunity; Dec. 5: 1 p.m. performance, 11 a.m.–noon photo opportunity; 7 p.m. performance, 5 p.m.–6 p.m. photo opportunity The dance company presents its one-hour, kid-friendly The Nutcracker, with a chance before each show for audience members to take photos with their favorite character. 212-417-2414. www. ArtsBrookfield.com/Nutcracker
St. Peter’s Chelsea, 346 West 20th St. 11 a.m.–5 p.m., indoor advent fair, 5 p.m. outdoor tree lighting www.stpeterschelsea.org/ upcoming-events.html
UGLY SWEATER PUB CRAWL ▼ Register at Bar None, 98 Third Ave. $10 Put on your ugly sweater and crawl from Bar None to Bait & Hook to Pinks Bar, and then Village Coyote Ugly, and East Vi Social. pubcrawls. com/events/ ugly-sweater/ ugly-sweate ugly-sweaterugly-sweat pub-crawl-nyc. pub-craw php#sthash. php#sth KrIrBQhz. KrIrBQh dpuf
DECEMBER 3-9,2015
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“HANDS DOWN, THE BEST GYM IN NYC.” — Franz H.
Sun 6 2015 NATIVE ART MARKET▲ Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American, Diker Pavilion, 1 Bowling Green Dec. 5–6, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free The Indian the Native Art Market offers one-of-a-kind, handmade, traditional and contemporary items directly from acclaimed Native artists of North, South and Central America. 212-514-3700. nmai.si.edu/ artmarket/
ADVENT CONCERT
school-aged child. 212-721-0007. www. eventbrite.com/e/dec-7-chaddpresents-ms-bonnie-schinagleharnessing-the-power-of-thelaw-tickets-19575788711
TAKE CARE The Flea, 41 White St., between Church and Broadway, 9 p.m. $15–$35 Take Care, a participatory performance by Niegel Smith and Todd Shalom, investigates the ways we respond to present and imminent danger. It includes individualized prompts for audience participation alongside scripted moments for The Bats. 212-352-3101. www.theflea. org/show_detail.php?page_ type=0&page_id=1&show_id=168
Marble Collegiate Church, Fifth Avenue at 29th Street 2:30 p.m. General admission, $35; students & seniors, $25. $5 discount for advance purchase THE MUSEUM OF The church presents its annual FEELINGS▼ concert, this year called “Love Divine,” with the church choirs 230 Vesey St. and orchestra. 11-9 p.m. Free 212-686-2770. Open to the Public/Free of MarbleChurch.org Charge Combining smell and art to create and stunning expression of human emotion.
Tue 8
Mon 7
CHADD PRESENTS MS. BONNIE SCHINAGLE: HARNESSING THE POWER OF THE LAW The Church of St Thomas More, 65 East 89th St. 6-7:30 p.m. Free, with a $10 donation requested. Join us for an exciting evening where you will learn about your legal rights and those of your
DENNIS RODMAN’S BIG BANG IN PYONGYANG Bow Tie Chelsea, 260 West 23rd St. 9:40 p.m. $15.48, w/service fee)
Showing as part of the African Diaspora International Film Festival, this documentary chronicles former NBA basketballer Rodman’s friendship with leader Kim Jongun. 212-864-1760. nyadiff.org/ adiff-ny-2015-presents-dennisrodmans-big-bang-pyongyang/
Wed 9 THE MORAL ANIMAL: VIRTUE, VICE & HUMAN NATURE New York Academy of Sciences, 7 World Trade Center 7-8:30 p.m. Starting at $5 Philosophers Susan Neiman and Christian Miller join forces with science writer Michael Shermer dive into Tolstoy’s novella, “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” to see moral ecology and what this means for human nature. www.nyas.org
THE CROSS-BORDER CONNECTION: IMMIGRANTS, EMIGRANTS, AND THEIR HOMELANDS The City of New York University, The Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Ave., Sociology Student Lounge 4:30-6 p.m. Free Roger Waldinger, istinguished Professor of Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles, speaks as part of CUNY’s Immigration Seminar Series. A reception will follow the event. www.gc.cuny.edu/PublicProgramming/CalendarDetail?i d=33778#sthash.2l9McWzm. dpuf
JOIN NOW AND GET DECEMBER FREE! Pier 60 | 212.336.6000 | chelseapiers.com/sc Offer valid through 12/31/15. Restrictions apply. Photography: Scott McDermott
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DECEMBER 3-9,2015
Photo courtesy Hunter College Art Galleries and Americas Society. Photo: Enrique Shore
ART OF LATIN AMERICA, CURATED BY STUDENTS EXHIBITION The show at Hunter College includes many works shown for the first time BY GABRIELLE ALFIERO
A group of Hunter College students are bringing little-seen artworks, and new research, to the public. “Boundless Reality: Traveler Artists’ Landscapes of Latin America from the Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Collection,” a selection of more than 150 works, was curated by Harper Montgomery and her graduate students at Hunter College. The exhibition runs through January 23 at the Bertha and Karl Leubsdorf Gallery at Hunter College on 68th Street and Lexington Avenue, and at the Americas Society Art Gallery a block away on Park Avenue. All pieces in the exhibition are from the Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Collection, one of the world’s most extensive holdings of Latin American art, Montgomery said. The exhibition marks the first public showing of many of the works. “Most of them haven’t really been studied before so not only are they being shown for the first time but it’s the first time there’s an academic inter-
est in these works,” said Anna Ficek, a master’s candidate at Hunter College and one of the student curators. “I think that it’s a very fertile field for further study.” As part of an ongoing partnership between Hunter College and the Cisneros collection, which provides students access to the private collection for research and coursework, master’s candidates in Montgomery’s fall 2014 seminar on 19th-century Latin American landscapes completed in-depth research on specific works, worked on the exhibition across its two venues and wrote catalogue entries for the accompanying publication, which appear alongside essays by premier scholars in the field, including the book’s editor, Katherine Manthorne. “It’s extremely compelling to do writing that the public will read, to think about your research and writing not just as a paper you will hand in at the end of the semester,” said Montgomery, the Cisneros assistant professor of modern and contemporary Latin American art at Hunter College. Montgomery also noted that, while many of the works are on view to the public for the first time, the show is itself unprecedented because it’s the first exhibition of traveler artist’s
paintings of Latin America in the United States. The curatorial work becomes part of the students’ professional portfolios, said Jennifer Raab, president of Hunter College, an asset for those entering the job market. “They researched the objects from perspectives that had never been taken before,” said Raab. “Their research was groundbreaking, was new, and it was exactly what you ask your faculty to do, and in this case that was our students. To approach art and science from a new perspective and come to new conclusions.” Pulling from the collection’s holdings of work by traveler artists, the exhibition focuses mostly on pieces from the mid-19th century, after the independence of Latin American territories eased access for travelers to the region. The presentation of mostly landscape paintings at the Hunter gallery, such as Franz Post’s cloudy “View of Frederica City in Paraiba” from 1638, one of the earliest works in the show, examines the “conventions of landscape” and the European influences on the works, like adding details to create depth of field, said Ficek. Also on view in the small gallery is American painter Frederic Edwin
Church’s “Cotopaxi” from 1853, a work from the same journey through Ecuador that resulted in the artist’s famed “The Heart of the Andes,” Ficek explained, which is on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Expedition is the focus at the Americas Society less than a block away, including an extensive showing of the work of artist Auguste Morisot from his expedition with French explorer Jean Chaffanjon. The travelers followed the Orinoco River, said Silvia Benedetti, one of Montgomery’s students who acted as a curatorial assistant for the exhibition. Morisot’s many monotypes, watercolors and graphite sketches of the local flora and fauna, people and surroundings he encountered along the river are central at the venue. This portion of the exhibit also includes early photographs. As part of their coursework, students in Montgomery’s seminar wrote exhibition proposals and presented their ideas to the galleries at Hunter and the Americas Society, and to the Cisneros collection, a process that started about a year ago. “That was the first step to organize the exhibition,” she said. Design studio Project Projects designed the two-venue show and simi-
lar elements pop up at both galleries. Walls of pale pink and deep green are found at both locations, as well as wooden display cases for illustrated books and the small objects from Morisot’s travels. Through the classroom curatorial process students helped determine which pieces would appear in the show and how they’d be presented, a process that, paired with a semester’s worth of research on the objects and their contexts, yielded a lot of discussion about what to include, Montgomery said. About half the traveler artist works in the Cisneros collection appear in the show, narrowed down in part by the students in Montgomery’s seminar. Students were also involved in developing related programming, including landscape tours of Central Park and an upcoming talk with Argentine artist Eduardo Navarro, a guest artist with the college’s visiting artists and critics program, another aspect of the partnership. “I think conventional wisdom is nothing by committee is done well, it’s better to have a single voice,” Montgomery said. “I would definitely argue that this exhibition proves that theory wrong.”
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ACTIVITIES FOR THE FERTILE MIND
FOR THE WEEK BY GABRIELLE ALFIERO OUR ARTS EDITOR
DANCE
thoughtgallery.org NEW YORK CITY
Alexander/Ballet/Calder: An Alphabetical Guide
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3RD, 6PM The Center for Ballet and the Arts | 16 Cooper Sq. | 212-998-1212 | balletcenter.nyu.edu Writer Jed Perl talks about artist Alexander Calder and his involvement in dance, which ranged from collaborations with Martha Graham to the Rome Opera House in 1968. (Free)
NUTCRACKER WINTER SUITE Ballet students from Valentina Kozlova Dance Conservatory of New York perform some of the cherished numbers from the “The Nutcracker,” including the snow scene and the “Waltz of the Flowers,” performed to Tchaikovsky’s iconic score. Nutcracker Winter Suite Saturday, Dec. 5 Symphony Space 2537 Broadway, at 95th Street 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Tickets $40 To purchase tickets, call 212-864-5400 or visit symphonyspace.org
The Moral Animal: Virtue, Vice, & Human Nature
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9TH, 7PM NY Academy of Sciences | 250 Greenwich St. | 212-298-8600 | nyas.org Two philosophers and a science writer come together to tackle human moral ecology, asking whether our natures are good or flawed, and how rich inner lives might be cultivated. ($15)
Just Announced: Sayed Kashua
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17TH, 8:15PM
KIDS LES NUBIANS AND TAMMY HALL AT FIAF As part of the French Institute Alliance Française’s Family Saturdays program, musicians Hélène and Célia Faussart, who perform as Les Nubians, play a show for kids, teaching the young audience about African music and its impact on genres like jazz and R&B. Tammy Hall leads a storytelling session, with stories from Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago and other parts of the globe. Kids are invited to join in the music-making. Saturday, Dec. 5 French Institute Alliance Française 22 E. 60th St., between Park and Madison Avenues 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Admission $25 for Les Nubians; $10 for Tammy Hall For more information, visit fiaf.org or call 212355-6100
GALLERIES CHELSEA GALLERY TOUR Former college professor turned gallery tour guide Rafael Risemberg has led gallery tours for the last 13 years. This week he guides a tour through the city’s leading gallery district, with stops at seven modern galleries. Rain or shine. Saturday, Dec. 5 Meet at 526 W. 26th St., between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues 1 p.m. Tickets $25 To reserve tickets, visit nygallerytours.com or call 212-946-1548 for more information
in her Upper West Side home, celebrates the 175 birthday of Tchaikovsky with a solo performance of some of the composer’s works, including “Deux Morceaux,” “Dumka,” and the seasonal favorite “The Nutcracker Suite.” Dec. 9 and 13 Private residence Address provided upon ticket purchase Dec. 9 at 7 p.m.; Dec. 13 at 5 p.m. Tickets $25 To purchase tickets, visit http:// yelenagrinberg.com/grinberg-salon-series/ or email ygpiano@gmail.com for more information
Bringing her current season to a close, pianist Yelena Grinberg, who hosts a classical salon series
An Israeli-Arab author, humorist, and current resident of Champaign, Illinois, Sayed Kashua, discusses his new book (Native: Dispatches from an Israeli-Palestinian Life), with essays on family life and modern Israel. ($22)
For more information about lectures, readings and other intellectually stimulating events throughout NYC,
sign up for the weekly Thought Gallery newsletter at thoughtgallery.org.
MUSEUMS EXPERIENCE INDIA AT THE RUBIN MUSEUM Tied to its exhibition of photographs of life in India by Steve McCurry, the Rubin Museum of Art hosts an evening of events, including a discussion about yoga practices and a music performance by the Acoustic Mandala Project, which will be joined by percussionist Dan Kurfirst. The museum stays open until 9 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 9 The Rubin Museum of Art 150 W. 17th St., near Seventh Avenue 6-9 p.m. Museum admission $15 For more information, call 212-620-5000 or visit rubinmuseum.org
MUSIC CELEBRATING TCHAIKOVSKY AT 175
92nd Street Y | 1395 Lexington Ave. | 212-415-5500 | 92y.org
To be included in the Top 5 go to otdowntown.com and click on submit a press release or announcement.
,2015 ARY 12-18 5 FEBRU 12-18 ,201 Town n FEBRUARY
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Your Premier Arts Section
EVERY WEEK IN Downtowner
14
DECEMBER 3-9,2015
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
In Brief
Food & Drink
REMAKING A RITUAL REPAST Sunday supper makes a comeback
BY LIZ NEUMARK
Photo: TheGiantVermin, via Flickr
SALT WARNINGS COMING TO MENUS Menus at the city’s chain eateries will now sport salt shaker labels next to certain dishes, designed to note which items include 2,300 milligrams of sodium, the Daily News reported. Chain restaurants with at least 15 locations must post the label next to foods that meet or surpass that amount, the recommended daily limit of sodium. Restaurants that don’t comply are subject to $200 fines from the city’s Health Department. The National Restaurant Association is filing a lawsuit against the department, Politico New York reported, with spokesperson Christin Fernandez saying that the mandate will hurt small businesses.
VIC’S PIZZA CLOSES Pizza joint Vic’s Pizza has served its last slice, amNewYork reported. The downtown spot, which operated on Essex Street for 45 years, closed last weekend as the building owner, Interboro Properties, looks to take down the building. Owner Victor Mendez said that neighboring businesses were shuttering as well. After looking for another space to rent in the neighborhood, Mendez decided to “shut it down,” he told amNewYork, as rents in the Lower East Side are now too high.
Exit Thanksgiving with its celebration of family and friendships, headline hogging recipes and endless innovative advice for leftovers. Now begins the run-up to an even more anxiety provoking holiday, a mash up of idyllic gift giving, picture perfect family time and of course, more creative if not traditionally inspired, cooking. The centrality of gathering around the table at holiday time is of course not limited to Thanksgiving and Christmas. Add Passover, Easter, Jewish New Year, Kwanza and other religious or secular holidays, and the list mushrooms. And though the feasting is legendary, so is the apprehension of family reunions, taxing travel logistics and general domestic stress that accompanies command performances. For weeks, an under-celebrated ritual has been rolling around in my head: the Sunday Supper. It sounds — well — so simple and evocative and seductive. Upon further examination, while it appears to be a contemporary trend (might I say a foodiemillennial-trendy-reconnection to lost values) but it has very real and deep roots in several American family traditions. The practice of a Sunday supper originated with families gathering after church for a full meal in England and Europe, countries with deep Christian heritage. Ask someone about his or her Sunday supper experience, and there is an immediate transformation of demeanor and I bet a sharp drop in blood pressure, as though one is instantly transported to a magical faraway place. I am jealous and enchanted as the Sunday dinners of my childhood were on the fly and consisted of “LO’s,”
Sunday Supper is fashionable again. Pictured, a 1919 edition of the meal. Photo: Don O’Brien, via Flickr leftovers, the result of growing up in a traditional Jewish household, where both Friday night and Saturday lunch were with family. So I set about to ask friends and colleagues about their Sunday supper memories. Diane Dilbert, of Scandinavian/Italian heritage, had Sunday supper in the early afternoon for 22 years, till her dad passed; the church going ended in her late teens. Pot roast, ham, turkey, and potatoes were typical fare — her mom worked full time, cooked nightly and the food was tasty. Now she has Sunday supper with her husband’s Jewish family, a happy evolution. David Copper, a chef, is from Queens, but with deep Southern roots via his North Carolina grandmother. He wistfully recalls an all-pork meal every Sunday evening as a child. “It was homey; with sweet potatoes, mac & cheese, collard greens and fried food.” Mark Greico’s family ate promptly at 3 p.m. It was always Italian food, a big meal,
even when it was 90 degrees out he remembers with a smile. Church? Well, that was only until his confirmation. Grandpa Gustavio commanded the kitchen, setting a good example for Mark who was to become a chef of equal passion. Another chef, Mark Russell, with Scotch/Welsh/Canadian/Upper Michigan roots, described the sequence as “Roast in, go to church, back to eat. Most often, top round or rump roast.” Once the family moved, the ritual was replaced with Sunday breakfast at a local restaurant with the nuclear family. Sunday supper continues as a special time for families but it is a far less common, eroded by scheduling demands, detachment from church-going rituals, eclipsed by sport commitments (TV or participatory) and other modern day pulls. In Georgia, The HandsOn Network hosted a Sunday supper in 2011; “Inspired by the legacy of Dr. King, America’s Sunday Supper invites people from diverse back-
grounds to come together to share a meal, discuss issues that affect their community and highlight the power each one of us has to make a difference.” And the Emily Post Institute offers tips for a “successful Sunday Supper” for bringing people together without the formality of a Saturday night dinner and the early finish of a school night gathering. Online, there is sundaysuppermovement.com, which offers and on on-line food community with recipes and events, and yes, brand sponsorships. Sunday supper is creeping back into fashion, whether by activist communities or individuals hungry for the simplicity of home cooked meal and family face time. There is a revived social as well as culinary component, connecting the supper to southern heritage and regional recipes such as Gumbo and Creole style dishes from New Orleans in a cooking class in Berkeley, California. Food blogs promote the meal as “a special occasion to look
forward to and can make the end of the weekend seem brighter.” Sunday supper encourages families to cook and sit down to eat together. That alone merits our commendation. It presents an opportunity for young people to hone social and table skills, how appropriate and necessary. It encourages conversation and banishes ubiquitous electronic devices to the sidelines, how positively refreshing! And, unlike thanksgiving, Passover or Christmas, the next day is a workday — so the meal won’t go on forever so you don’t have to plan a timely escape. If you have a Sunday supper tradition, please share it with me, along with any recipes and menus. I would love to hear more about this simple yet rich custom. Liz Neumark is the CEO of Great Performances catering and the author of the cookbook “Sylvia’s Table.”
DECEMBER 3-9,2015
RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS
Reach Manhattan’s Foodies
NOVEMBER 10 - 27, 2015 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. O Cafe
482 6 Avenue
A
Village Natural
46 Greenwich Ave
A
Rex Chelsea
251 W 23Rd St
A
Restivo Ristorante
209 7 Avenue
A
Pinkberry
523 6 Avenue
A
Le Pain Quotidien
52 9 Avenue
A
Swerve Fitness
30 West 18Th Street
A
Underline Coffee
511 W. 20Th 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. 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.
New 6Th Avenue Food Court
579 Avenue Of The Americas
Not Yet Graded (45) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred. Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.
Joe’s Pizza
211 8 Avenue
A
Empire Diner
210 Tenth Ave
Grade Pending (30) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Food not cooled by an approved method whereby the internal product temperature is reduced from 140º F to 70º F or less within 2 hours, and from 70º F to 41º F or less within 4 additional hours. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Personal cleanliness inadequate. Outer garment soiled with possible contaminant. Effective hair restraint not worn in an area where food is prepared.
Jacks Coffee
140 W 23Rd St
A
Periyali
35 West 20 Street
A
El Paraiso
149 West 14 Street
Grade Pending (37) Food worker does not use proper utensil to eliminate bare hand contact with food that will not receive adequate additional heat treatment. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies or food/refuse/sewageassociated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewage-associated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies. Personal cleanliness inadequate. Outer garment soiled with possible contaminant. Effective hair restraint not worn in an area where food is prepared. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. Wiping cloths soiled or not stored in sanitizing solution.
Blossom Du Jour
15
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
259 West 23Rd St
Grade Pending (19) 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. Wiping cloths soiled or not stored in sanitizing solution.
Vivi Bubble Tea
18A W 14Th St
Not Yet Graded (2)
Hana Sushi
211 7 Avenue
A
Patsy’s Pizzeria
318 West 23 Street
A
Famous Bagel Buffet
510 6 Avenue
A
96%
of readers report eating out more than once a week
39% of readers report eating out
more than four times a week
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& Dr Food
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Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
NEW COMMISSIONER FOR SMALL BUSINESS SERVICES Mayor Bill de Blasio has named Gregg Bishop as the Commissioner of Small Business Services, a promotion from his previous role as deputy commissioner of the agency’s Business Development Division. “Gregg hits the ground running. His resume
speaks for itself,” said de Blasio in a statement. “The work he has done to assist immigrants and women entrepreneurs proves no one is more qualified to support NYC’s small business community and run the agency than he is.”
Business As commissioner, Bishop is charged with directing the agency’s mission of unlocking economic potential and creating economic security by connecting New Yorkers to good jobs, creating stronger businesses, and building a fairer economy in neighborhoods across
the five boroughs, said City Hall. Bishop has served as Deputy Commissioner of SBS since early 2012, and started his career at SBS in 2008 under former Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He also has worked at leading media companies, such as Oxygen and VIBE.
Growth in lower Manhattan has been helped by new transit projects like the one at Fulton Street
In Brief ONE MILLION TREES Mayor Bill de Blasio recently joined NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and New York Restoration Project’s Bette Midler to celebrate the planting of the one millionth tree of the MillionTreesNYC initiative two years ahead of schedule. The mayor planted tree number 1,017,634, an American linden, at Joyce Kilmer Park in the Bronx. At the event, de Blasio was also joined by NYRP Executive Director Deborah Marton, elected officials, third graders from PS35 Franz Siegel, and dedicated volunteers. City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said the initiative has transformed New York City in all five boroughs and helped reduce the city’s carbon footprint. “This critically important initiative builds on the council’s on-going efforts to make our city more sustainable and environmentally friendly and I thank Mayor Bloomberg, Mayor de Blasio and all of our partners for making this program a tremendous success,” said Mark-Viverito. New York Restoration Project Founder Bette Midler said, “There are now one million more reasons why New York is the greatest city in the world. Nine years ago, planting one million trees was a far-fetched idea. Today, we’ve done the impossible. One million trees means that every single New Yorker has a little more green space in their life. I’ve always loved this city, but I’ve never been more proud to call it home.” Midler also said the Empire State Building was lit in forest green to symbolize the city becoming more sustainable.
EDC SAYS UNEMPLOYMENT DOWN The city’s Economic Development Corporation said unemployment is down 3.3 percent since Mayor Bill de Blasio took office. “We are laser-focused on growing this economy and making sure it works for more New Yorkers,” said Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Alicia Glen. “And what we are seeing is tremendous. Jobs are up. Wages are up. More New Yorkers have access to benefits like paid sick leave and a living wage. We’re determined to deepen these trends.” EDC President Maria Torres-Springer said the agency’s mission is to grow quality jobs across the five boroughs, and “these numbers show not just more jobs, but better jobs for New Yorkers.” Torres-Springer touted growth in the healthcare and tech sectors and said the trend points to more people being on pathways to careers in well-paying fields. “These numbers are extremely exciting, and we will continue to work to create even more quality jobs here in New York City,” she added. The state’s Department of Labor recently released jobs numbers in New York City for October, and found that unemployment rate has reached its lowest level since August 2006, dropping a full four tenths of a percentage point since last month from 5.2 percent to 4.8 percent, putting it below the national unemployment rate for the first time since June 2011. The city also gained 47,700 jobs last month on a pre-seasonally adjusted basis, well above the typical number for October. Growth was especially strong in healthcare, retail, and finance over the last year, according to the EDC. Average weekly earnings for New York City private sector workers are up 2.4 percent from last year, and the agency added there are currently 4,255,100 total jobs in New York City.
SURGE IN DOWNTOWN JOB GROWTH ECONOMY The Alliance for Downtown New York released an economic report, citing Lower Manhattan’s surge in job growth. According to the report’s data and projections, Lower Manhattan will be one of the city and state’s most important centers of economic activity, having returned to pre-9/11 levels in job growth. “By 2014, the Lower Manhattan economy had really rebounded, but looking forward over the next five years, we’re going to surge even further ahead,” said Downtown Alliance President Jessica Lappin. “As our economy grows, it will benefit the entire city, each and every borough, each and every neighborhood, people from all walks of life
and all educational backgrounds.” At the end of 2014, private sector employment reached more than 227,000 – the highest level since the 4th quarter of 2001. And while encompassing only 0.3 percent of the city’s land area, Lower Manhattan provided 9.2 percent of its GDP, 6.4 percent of its private-sector jobs and 2.4 in city tax revenues that same year. This growth is projected to continue to surge, with the creation of an estimated 40,000 new private-sector jobs from 2015 to 2019, with two thirds of those jobs being net new to New York City. Lower Manhattan will shift into a new chapter of rapid growth and, at 2.4 percent, Lower Manhattan’s overall annual growth will far outpace the city’s rate of 1.3 percent. This growth will also mean a significant increase in city and state tax revenues. Based
on estimates, Lower Manhattan’s contribution to city tax revenues will increase by nearly $858 million, a 35 percent increase. Its contribution to state tax revenues will increase by $810 million, a 34 percent increase. Lower Manhattan’s economic growth will impact and benefit far beyond the district’s borders, into each of the five boroughs. Every neighborhood of New York City will benefit from employment opportunities south of Chambers Street. Currently, an average of 3,436 people per neighborhood in boroughs outside of Manhattan and north of 96th Street commute to Lower Manhattan for work. In total, this means more than 160,000 jobs. Approximately 5.3 million New Yorkers live within a ten-minute walk of a subway station that provides convenient access to Lower Manhattan. The overall average wage for additional Lower Manhattan jobs will be over $100,000. The job growth will also benefit New Yorkers with varying education and skill levels, providing employment opportunities for all. More than 60 percent of jobs added in Lower Manhattan will be in occupations that do not require a four-year degree
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DECEMBER 3-9,2015
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
YOU READ IT HERE FIRST The local paper for the Upper West Side
THINKING TWICE ABOUT PETS AS GIFTS PETS
August 10, 2015
August 5, 2015 The local paper for the Upper East Side
LUXURY MEGA-TOWER COMING TO SUTTON PLACE EXCLUSIVE East Side officials already gearing up to fight the project BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS
Plans have been drawn up for a luxury 900-foot condo tower in Sutton Place, which, if completed as planned, would rank as one of the tallest buildings in Manhattan. The 268,000-squarefoot tower will become the second-tallest on the Upper East Side, behind the in-progress 432 Park Avenue at 1,400 feet, and one of the tallest in the city. Construction permits
degree views of Midtown, Downtown Brooklyn and Manhattan, Central Park and the East River.” The 268,000 square feet of buildable space and air rights, which includes 58,000 square feet of inclusionary housing rights, have already been delivered. It’s unclear if the affordable housing will be offered on- or offsite, or how many units of affordable housing will be included. Representatives for The Bauhouse Group, which owns the site, declined to field questions about the Sutton Place Development, but a representative of the company provided a press release to Our Town that said the
April 7, 2015
April 8, 2015
The local paper for the Upper West Side
Safety Advocates Want Harsher Penalties for New York’s Drivers
THE TRAGEDY AFTER INVESTIGATION As many as 260 pedestrians are expected to die this year on New York City streets. But almost none of the drivers involved in those cases will be prosecuted -- adding to the nightmare for the families of the victims.
see Reyes punished for Ariel’s death, now more than a year and a half ago, in June 2013. Russo said in an interview that she finds cruel irony in the fact that she teaches history to boys the same age as Reyes, who was 17 when he ran over Ariel and her grandmother in a Nissan Frontier SUV in front of the little girl’s preschool on the Upper West Side. This is why she initially sympa
BY MELISSA TREUMAN
sterdam Avenue in an attempt to flee from cops who had seen him driving erratically and ordered him to pull over. The chase ended with the fatal crash on 97th Street. Originally, by giving him bail and charging him as a minor, Judge Carro was giving Reyes a chance to avoid having a public criminal record. But on Sept. 3, Reyes was again stopped for driving recklessly, without a license This time in speeding
December 4, 2014
March 2, 2015
FI RST IN YOU R NEIGHBO R H OOD
(212) 868-0190
Eastsider Downtowner
What happens when the cute puppie of the holidays becomes the family dog?
Clinton Westsider
The holiday season is a time for joy, and few images evoke as much joy as the beaming face of a loved one when presented with a new puppy or kitten. Rightfully so, as anyone who has shared their life with a four-legged companion can tell you: pets change our lives for the better. Animal companionship provides us with friendship, laughter, love-- even benefits to our health and overall wellbeing. It’s no wonder that many people consider pets as holiday gifts for their loved ones. But is this a wise decision? Over the years many animal welfare groups have discouraged the idea of giving pets as presents. I know, what a bunch of killjoys. But the truth is, these groups aren’t trying to scrooge with your holidays. Rather, we are all trying to ensure that every animal that finds a home this holiday season is entering an environment where they are prepared for and welcomed with open arms. There is nothing more important to any reputable animal rescue group than making compatible, lifelong matches between people and pets. In fact, here at Bideawee, that concept is at the very core of our mission: to cultivate and support the lifelong relationships between pets and the
people who love them. While some might find the adoption process excessive, these protocols are in place to ensure successful matches, and minimize the prospect of returning a pet, which can be incredibly traumatic for both the adopter, and the animal. It’s important to remember, that while pets can provide a world of happiness to a family, they are also a big responsibility. The decision to adopt an animal is a serious one, and one that should be considered and discussed before the time comes. That being said, preparation and discussion can make all the difference in the world. Research suggests that when these decisions are well thought out, animals given as gifts are less likely to be relinquished than dogs and cats that were spur of the moment or surprise decisions. If you want to present your loved one with a cuddly companion this holiday season, we’d suggest surprising them with a trip to an animal shelter, and bringing them face to face with their newest family member. When in doubt, think of it like a marriage proposal: the day itself can be a surprise, so long as the desire to spend the rest of your lives together isn’t. For more information about Bideawee and the organization’s adoptable animals, please visit www.bideawee.org. Happy Holidays to all two and four-legged families. Melissa Treuman is brand manager of marketing at Bideawee
DECEMBER 3-9,2015
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
YOUR 15 MINUTES
BUILDING A SCHOOL Dru Collins wants to graduate “social artists” into the city and the world BY ANGELA BARBUTI
The city will welcome a new charter school next year. Its mission will be to teach students skills that transcend their classroom experience. The Social Arts Academy of New York City, which will serve sixth to 12th graders, is slated to open its doors in September of 2017. Its principal, Dru Collins, is already working to create an environment that graduates “social artists,” which he defines as people who “think creatively about the issues and problems in the world and come up with outof-the-box solutions to them.” He has a vision that his students will emerge as community leaders, inspiring those around them to take action around issues of social justice and leave a lasting effect not just on our city, but throughout the world. A Texas native with 11 years of experience working in urban educational settings, Collins always dreamed of opening his own school close to home. Then, while on vacation here in 2012, he became enamored with New York. He moved here three weeks later, and his aspiration is becoming a reality here in the city.
What experience in education did you gain once you got here? I worked at Peninsula Prep Charter in Far Rockaway, which was my first entrance into the charter world. Being from Texas, I didn’t really understand the geography of New York and didn’t understand that Far Rockaway was far away from the city. [Laughs] I was living in Bed-Stuy in a sub-leased situation and traveling every day out to Far Rockaway and it was a very long commute. I ended up switching jobs and working for the New York City Charter School Center. In that role, my job was being a service provider to all the charter schools in the city. I primarily worked with middle and high schools. For all grades six through 12, I provided support for their special education programming. I worked for the special-ed collaborative at the Charter Center and helped charter schools set up and maintain sustainable special education programming for their students with special needs.
I read on your website that in an early college charter school, students are more likely to graduate high school and complete a college degree. Why do you think that’s the case?
up having to travel outside of it to go to a quality school, so I would like to reverse that and give them one more option here in their backyard.
We know this from research; the earlier you intervene, the more successful students will be. So if students need college readiness preparation, the earlier you give it to them, the more successful they’re going to be with because they have more time to develop those skills. We have a great partner, EDWorks, a subsidiary of KnowledgeWorks which is a nonprofit organization that has dedicated their time to creating these early college models across the nation. They have several high schools across the nation that they’ve created and a couple here in New York City. And in every one of those models, students are graduating in the 80th and 90th percentile range with college credit leaving high school, ready to go to work or to pursue higher education.
How does the process of securing a location work? It must be daunting.
How many students at SAA do you estimate will be underprivileged? I really hope that they will be 100 percent of our population. That’s the purpose of us opening this school. We want to make sure that those particular students have an opportunity that they currently don’t have. However, because we are required by law to have the random lottery, we really don’t have control over their numbers. So the best way we can kind of force that to be is to locate the school in a neighborhood where those students live. One thing the charter law does allow for is that if you live in that area community school district, you do have a preference in the lottery. So those students have first dibs on these seats.
You’re looking to place the school on the Upper West Side or Harlem, right? Yes, we’re trying to get into Central Harlem, West Harlem or the Manhattan Valley area, which is right by the Frederick Douglass houses. Within Community School District 3, which is the Upper West Side, all the high schools are open citywide to applicants across the city and so all the specialized high schools get filled with not necessarily Community School District 3 residents. So students who live in this district end
It’s very complicated. The first step is to reach out to the New York City Department of Education and ask them what space is available because they plan out two to three years in advance. At this point, we’ve reached out to them and have yet to have a meeting scheduled. I think they’re waiting for us to get word back from the authorizers on whether or not we can submit an application. We’re still in the early phases of submitting the charter application.
You’ve worked in urban schools for the past 11 years. What are the differences you’ve observed between those and ones located in the suburbs? It takes a lot of flexibility in an urban school because you’re working with a lot of intense needs and trying to give students the right amount of attention. You have so many needs present and the same amount of time and recourses as any other school. And in some cases, it’s not the same, it’s actually less because a lot of suburban schools have extra resources since the parents contribute to the school’s well-being. The other thing in the urban schools that I recognize is that many of our buildings are a lot older and that presents a unique challenge in keeping up with technology and making sure students are ready for real-world experience when they leave your school. Most people are not going to work in a building that does not have adequate internet service. That’s one of the things I find is a huge challenge in the urban schools, that the technology is not up to par when it comes to what is going to happen in the world of work. To learn more about the school, visit www.saanyc.org
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DECEMBER 3-9,2015
27th Annual
COAT DRIVE
November 17th - December 31st
Keep a New Yorker warm this winter. Start your own coat drive among friends, family, or colleagues. Sign up at newyorkcares.org
#CoatDrive Or text COAT to 41444 to donate and keep a fellow New Yorker warm this winter.* The Coat Drive is a program of New York Cares, New York City’s leading volunteer organization.
Photo: Craig Cutler © 2015 New York Cares, Inc. *Messaging & data rates may apply. Text STOP to 41444 to stop; Text HELP to 41444 for help.
DECEMBER 3-9,2015
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ANIMALS & PETS
Quick | Easy | Economical
Call Barry Lewis today at:
212-868-0190
Directory of Business & Services To advertise in this directory Call #BSSZ (212)-868-0190 ext.4 CBSSZ MFXJT@strausnews.com
Antique, Flea & Farmers Market SINCE 1979
ANTIQUES/COLLECTIBLES
East 67th Street Market
(between First & York Avenues) Open EVERY Saturday 6am-5pm Rain or Shine
HEALTH SERVICES
Indoor & Outdoor FREE Admission Questions? Bob 718.897.5992 Proceeds BeneďŹ t PS 183
CAMPS/SCHOOLS
ANTIQUES WANTED
TOP PRICES PAID
Chinese Objects Paintings, Jewelry Silver, Furniture, Etc. Entire Estates Purchased
800.530.0006
TRI-STATE-CHESS
HELP WANTED
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( 212) 289- 5997
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462 Broadway
MERCHANDISE FOR SALE
MFG No Retail/Food TUTOR
+/- 9,000 sf Ground Floor - $90 psf +/- 16,000 sf Cellar - $75 psf
VACATIONS
REAL ESTATE - RENT
WANTED TO BUY
Call Farrell @ Meringoff Properties 646.306.0299
24
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
DECEMBER 3-9,2015
What if? What now? Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s next?
A celebration of Life Reimagined Join AARP and Straus News for a discussion about lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second acts. Meet New York City people who have pulled it off, hear from experts on the demographic trends shaping our city, and join in an interactive session to begin the process of launching your own second act.
.POEBZ %FDFNCFS r QN National Academy Museum & School &BTU UI 4U Admission is free and light hors dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;oeurves will be provided, but seating is limited. RSVP today at rsvp@strausnews.com The local paper for the Upper er East Side
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