The local paper for Downtown wn
WEEK OF DECEMBER
HOLIDAY ARTS PREVIEW
10-16
CITY ARTS, P.12 >
2015
Our Take
SUING TO KEEP SENIORS AT HOME NEWS Lawsuit says landlords have ignored a law designed to give seniors the option to stay on as renters BY JAKE PEARSON
Inspired by his own experience living in a New York City apartment building that was converted into high-priced condos, a 71-yearold former state regulator is taking on developers citywide on behalf of seniors and disabled tenants. Walter Goldsmith claims in a state lawsuit that landlords have ignored a decades-old law that requires them to give tenants 62 and older and those with disabilities the option to stay-
OUR MUSLIM NEIGHBORS
on as renters in their apartments rather than move away or buy themselves. Experts say the case could provide an extra layer of protection to vulnerable market-rate tenants who have lost housing security as rentstabilized and regulated apartments have decreased in recent years. “It’s fair to say these people are entitled to some stability and harmony in their lives,” said Goldsmith, who for the past 10 years has lived in a cozy one-bedroom in a 31-story building on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Landlords had previously argued, as Related Companies did to Goldsmith in correspondence provided to The Associated Press, that the option for seniors and disabled renters to stayon only applied in cases where buildings were
CONTINUED ON PAGE 1
CARVING OUT AN ANATEVKA IN THE CITY PROFILE The original Tzeitel now runs an antique jewelry business on the Upper West Side BY ILGIN YORULMAZ
It’s Friday night. The residents of Anatevka are getting ready for the Sabbath as audiences fill the Broadway Theatre, where the latest incarnation of “Fiddler on the Roof” has just started previews. Sitting in Row G, Seat 16, Rosalind Harris looks familiar. Her dark hair is elegantly piled on her head; her blue top and matching long skirt contrast
with a long, red tassled necklace. As the orchestra begins playing “Tradition,” the opening song by Tevye the Milkman, tears start rolling down Harris’ face; her reddened lips tremble. “Seeing this now, I suddenly became overwhelmed,” she says during intermission. “After so many years, it is still a huge part of me.” Harris played Tzeitel, Tevye’s eldest daughter, first on Broadway and then, a year later, in the hugely popular 1971 movie version. Between then and now, Harris has switched from the performance side of the stage to the audience. But in a sense, she never quite gave up acting. These days, the actor known simply as Roz to her friends, uses her voice and
performance skills to sell vintage and estate jewelry, a business she calls Rosalind’s -- As You Liked It. *** On a bright Sunday, the GreenFlea Market at the corner of W. 77th Street and Columbus Avenue is in full swing, selling everything from gourmet dill pickles to second-hand shoes and Buddha heads. Harris, wearing a crimson outfit with three strands of pearls, has set up her booth inside the main hall. Still working hard at 68, she talks without pauses. And sings. She’s just treated a British couple to
It’s hard to know exactly how many Muslims live in New York City, but estimates peg the number at well above 500,000 people, or about 6 percent of the city’s population. Men, women, kids, neighbors. Small business owners. Teachers. Police. Security guards. They practice their religion at more than 250 mosques, spread out across every borough. And even before Donald Trump’s new low in demogoguery this week, New York’s Muslims were running scared. Women wearing head scarfs -- even some non-Muslims -- say they are taunted and stared at. Two Muslims in Brooklyn were spit at and assaulted. The director of the Council on AmericanIslamic Relations said the current backlash is as bad as the months and weeks following Sept. 11, 2001. The fact that this is happening in New York, the most diverse city in the country, is not a surprise to those who are suffering through it. “Even in New York,” Ferida Osman, a Hunter College senior who told the Times she was spat on by a stranger as she waited for a train at Penn Station. “Definitely in New York. Especially in New York.” All of this before Trump once again opened his foul mouth. It’s easy to get beaten down by all of this, to shrug it off as just another rant. Mayor Bill de Blasio was right to warn against complacency when it comes to the effect Trump’s word can have. “What he’s saying is corrosive to our democratic values. It’s dangerous,” the mayor told CNN. “And I’ll call him out. It’s not entertaining anymore, it’s dangerous.”
CONTINUED ON PAGE PB Downtowner
OurTownDowntown
O OTDOWNTOWN.COM @OTDowntown
Newscheck Crime Watch Voices Out & About
2 3 8 10
City Arts Food & Drink Education 15 Minutes
12 14 17 21
WEEK OF APRIL
SPRING ARTS PREVIEW < CITYARTS, P.12
FOR HIM, SETTLING SMALL CLAIMS IS A BIG DEAL
presided over Arbitration Man has three decades. for informal hearings about it He’s now blogging BY RICHARD KHAVKINE
is the common Arbitration Man their jurist. least folks’ hero. Or at Man has For 30 years, Arbitration court office of the civil few sat in a satellite Centre St. every building at 111 New Yorkers’ weeks and absorbed dry cleaning, burned lost accountings of fender benders, lousy paint jobs, and the like. And security deposits then he’s decided. Arbitration Man, About a year ago, so to not afwho requested anonymity started docuhe fect future proceedings, two dozen of what menting about compelling cases considers his most blog. in an eponymous about it because “I decided to write the stories but in a I was interested about it not from wanted to write from view but rather lawyer’s point of said Arbitration view,” of a lay point lawyer since 1961. Man, a practicing what’s at issue He first writes about post, renders and then, in a separatehow he arrived his decision, detailing blog the to Visitors at his conclusion. their opinions. often weigh in with get a rap going. I to “I really want whether they unreally want to know and why I did it,” I did derstood what don’t know how to he said. “Most people ... I’d like my cases the judge thinks. and also my trereflect my personalitythe law.” for mendous respect 80, went into indiMan, Arbitration suc in 1985, settling vidual practice
9-16
MANHATTAN'S APARTMENT BOOM, > PROPERTY, P.20
2015
In Brief MORE HELP FOR SMALL BUSINESS
The effort to help small seems to businesses in the city be gathering steam. Two city councilmembers, Robert Margaret Chin and Cornegy, have introduced create legislation that wouldSmall a new “Office of the within Business Advocate” of Small the city’s Department Business Services. Chin The new post, which have up told us she’d like to would and running this year, for serve as an ombudsman city small businesses within them clear government, helping to get through the bureaucracy things done. Perhaps even more also importantly, the ombudsman and number will tally the type small business of complaints by taken in owners, the actions policy response, and somefor ways to recommendations If done well, begin to fix things. report would the ombudsman’s give us the first quantitative with taste of what’s wrong the city, an small businesses in towards important first step fixing the problem. of for deTo really make a difference, is a mere formality will have to the work process looking to complete their advocate are the chances course, velopers precinct, but rising rents, -- thanks to a find a way to tackle business’ is being done legally of after-hours projects quickly. their own hours,” which remain many While Chin “They pick out boom in the number throughout who lives on most vexing problem. said Mildred Angelo,of the Ruppert construction permits gauge what Buildings one said it’s too early tocould have the 19th floor in The Department of the city. number three years, the Houses on 92nd Street between role the advocate She Over the past on the is handing out a record work perThird avenues. permits, there, more information of Second and an ongoing all-hours number of after-hours bad thing. of after-hours work the city’s Dept. problem can’t be a said there’s with the mits granted by nearby where according to new data jumped 30 percent, This step, combinedBorough construction project noise Buildings has data provided in workers constantly make efforts by Manhattan to mediate BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS according to DOB of Informacement from trucks. President Gale Brewer offer response to a Freedom classifies transferring they want. They knows the the rent renewal process, request. The city They 6 “They do whatever signs Every New Yorker clang, tion Act go as they please. work between some early, tangible small any construction on the weekend, can come and sound: the metal-on-metal or the piercing of progress. For many have no respect.” p.m. and 7 a.m., can’t come of these that the hollow boom, issuance reverse. owners, in business moving The increased beeps of a truck has generto a correspond and you as after-hours. soon enough. variances has led at the alarm clock The surge in permits
SLEEPS, THANKS TO THE CITY THAT NEVER UCTION A BOOM IN LATE-NIGHT CONSTR NEWS
A glance it: it’s the middle can hardly believe yet construction of the night, and carries on full-tilt. your local police or You can call 311
n OurTownDowntow
COM
Newscheck Crime Watch Voices
for dollars in fees ated millions of and left some resithe city agency, that the application dents convinced
2 City Arts 3 Top 5 8 Real Estate 10 15 Minutes
12 13 14 18
CONTINUED ON PAGE
25
H Home delivery of Our Town Downtowner $49 per year. Go to OTDowntown.com or call 212-868-0190
2
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
DECEMBER 10-16,2015
WHAT’S MAKING NEWS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
A SantaCon 2014 gathering. Photo: Anthony Quintano, via Flickr
SANTACON URGED TO BE NICE
CRITICS ANGERED ABOUT COLES GYM PLAN
SantaCon turns 21 this year, but some public officials are worried the event is not yet adult enough. The Daily News is reporting that a dozen elected officials have petitioned organizers of Saturday’s event as well as the state Liquor Authority to help ensure the annual holiday pub crawl doesn’t devolve into a drunken free-for-all, as it did on occasion during its infancy and adolescence. “When left unregulated, the bar crawl has widespread negative effects on the local community, with complaints including but not limited to public consumption of alcohol, public intoxication, public urination, and disorderly and aggressive behavior,” said a letter quoted by the Daily News that was sent to the Liquor Authority’s chairman, Vincent Bradley. Controller Scott Stringer and state Sen. Brad Hoylman are among the letter signatories. The event, begun in San Francisco in 1994, is a gathering of thousands of Santas who make the rounds of pubs and bars because, according to the group’s website, “it’s fun.”
The Jerome S. Coles Sports and Recreation Center has an impending date with the wrecking ball, but critics of New York University’s development plans say the decision is shortsighted. The Villager is reporting that the popular gym, on Mercer, near Bleecker Street, will deprive the university community as well as nearby residents of a precious resource. “The issue is very simple: They don’t have an adequate replacement space,” The Villager quoted Mark Crispin Miller, a professor of media studies at the school and a prominent critic of the university’s development plans. A university spokesman quoted by The Villager said that until a new facility opens in the so-called Zipper Building – which will be built on the Coles site -- replacement options include the Palladium dorm athletic facility on East 14th Street, two sites in Brooklyn and a renovated space on Lafayette Street the university says will open about the time Coles closes. But Bob Riccobono, who sits on Community Board 2 and is an adjunct professor at NYU, called the replacement options “total nonsense.” “It won’t even come close to being adequate,” he was quoted as saying by The Villager.
BATTERY PARK AUTHORITY URGED TO BACK OFF ‘SAFETY AMBASSADORS’ PLAN Several local elected officials have called for a rethinking of the Battery Park City Authority’s proposal to install so-called “safety ambassadors” to, in effect, replace park enforcement officers, DNAinfo is reporting. Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Councilwoman Margaret Chin and state Sen. Daniel Squadron are among elected officials who want the authority to put a stop to the plan, which has been under criticized by residents for being short-sighted, in part because the safety ambassadors would not be empowered to issue summonses or make arrests, the news site reported. In a letter to the authority, also signed by U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler and Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, the officials repeated residents’ call for additional details. “In fact, it is still unclear how the private security firm would replace, supplement or enhance the current role of PEP officers,” DNAinfo quoted the letter as saying.”When a community board speaks with a unanimous voice, and is joined by local elected officials, we believe it is incumbent on BPCA to take these serious concerns into account.”
SHOP, DINE & CELEBRATE IN LOWER MANHATTAN
DowntownNY.com/holiday
#DOWNISWHATSUP
DECEMBER 10-16,2015
3
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG
TV ACTRESS CHARGED WITH ASSAULT IN MANHATTAN
One of the stars of “Orange is the New Black” is facing assault charges after she was accused of punching and scratching a teenage girl. Dascha Polanco was arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court. Court papers filed by the district attorney’s office say the attack on 17-year-old Michelle Cardona happened inside Polanco’s upper Manhattan apartment on July 29. They say Polanco punched the teen several times, pulled her hair and scratched her. Polanco’s attorney, Gerald Lefcourt, says the accusation is an attempt to extort money from the actress. He says he is confident the charges will be dismissed. The 33-year-old Polanco plays inmate Dayonara Diaz on the Netflix prison drama.
CUSTOMER DETENTION A disgruntled bistro customer unhappy with his lunch followed one of the restaurant’s employees into the kitchen and struck him in the head with a sharpening tool, cutting him, police
said. The customer, later identified by police as Ramil Gaynullin, 46, then took hold of a knife and cut the 30-yearold employee’s leg, according to a police report. Gaynullin was arrested on assault charges shortly after the Nov. 19 incident at the 225 Bistro on Broadway.
TWISTED SISTERS Police arrested two teenaged sisters following a cell phone robbery. Shortly after midnight on Saturday, Nov. 28, a man was walking eastbound at the crosswalk of Vandam and Varick Streets when a 15-year-old girl grabbed his cell phone from his right hand and ran northbound on the west side of Varick Street. The victim chased and caught up to her under the scaffolding at 185 Varick, where she handed the phone to a 17-year-old male accomplice, who took off with the phone. Another man shoved the victim to the ground from behind and also ran off. The teenaged girl then said to the victim, “If you follow, I will come back with a gun.” She as well took off northbound on Varick. Police caught up to the sisters, one 15, the other 13, and charged the pair with robbery.
BULGARI WARY
STATS FOR THE WEEK
A criminal couple made off with some select shades. At 11 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 19, a man and a woman walked into the Sunglass Hut at 183 Broadway. As the woman accompanied an employee to the rear of the store and pretended to buy sunglasses, the man snatched three pair of sunglasses while the employee was distracted. The stolen shades were three pairs of Bulgaris with a total value of $1,365.
Reported crimes from the 1st Precinct for Nov. 16 to Nov. 22
BOTTLE BATTLE A bar patron was charged with assault following an altercation at M1-5 bar on Walker Street during which one man was hit in the head with a bottle. At 2:35 a.m. on Sunday, November 29, a 29-year-old man got into an fight with three other men inside the M1-5 bar on Walker Street. One of the three, a 27-year-old later identified as Joseph Russo, subsequently struck the man with a bottle, causing several lacerations on his face and head. Police arrested Russo later that day, charging him with assault. As he was being transported to the First precinct, Russo told the police, “He came at me” and “I was protecting my cousins; that is all I have to say.”
Week to Date
Year to Date
2015
2014
% Change
2015
2014
Murder
0
0
n/a
1
0
n/a
Rape
0
0
n/a
7
7
0.0
Robbery
2
0
n/a
70
43
62.8
Felony Assault
2
0
n/a
83
68
22.1
Burglary
2
1
100.0
117
136
-14.0
Grand Larceny
16
16
0.0
983
828
18.7
Grand Larceny Auto
0
2
-100.0
20
31
-35.5
WALLET WORKOUT More than $10,000 in unauthorized charges were made to credit cards stolen from a gym locker last Friday. A 33-year-old man placed his wallet in a locker inside the Equinox fitness club at 225 Liberty St, locking the locker before heading off for his workout shortly after noon on Nov. 27,. When he returned to the locker at 2 p.m., the locker door was ajar and his wallet was missing. Then at 2:50 p.m., while he was still in the gym, he received an e-mail stating that his credit cards had been used without permission or authority at the 14th Street and Fifth Avenue Apple Stores. He subsequently cancelled the cards. The items stolen
askinG A search engine to FIND AN
orthopedist is like asking an orthopedist
to fix your
computer. Visit nyp.org/lowermanhattan or call (855) 969-7564 instead. You’ll get top-ranked Weill Cornell specialists, just three blocks south of the Brooklyn Bridge.
% Change
from the locker included a brown Tumi leather wallet valued at $180, $80 in cash, plus the amount charged to his cards.
Jason Kuffer, via Flickr
4
DECEMBER 10-16,2015
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
Useful Contacts POLICE NYPD 7th Precinct
19 ½ Pitt St.
212-477-7311
NYPD 6th Precinct
233 W. 10th St.
212-741-4811
NYPD 10th Precinct
230 W. 20th St.
212-741-8211
NYPD 13th Precinct
230 E. 21st St.
NYPD 1st Precinct
16 Ericsson Place
CARVING OUT AN ANATEVKA IN THE CITY
212-477-7411 212-334-0611
PROFILE
FIRE FDNY Engine 15
25 Pitt St.
311
FDNY Engine 24/Ladder 5
227 6th Ave.
311
FDNY Engine 28 Ladder 11
222 E. 2nd St.
311
FDNY Engine 4/Ladder 15
42 South St.
311
ELECTED OFFICIALS Councilmember Margaret Chin
165 Park Row #11
212-587-3159
Councilmember Rosie Mendez
237 1st Ave. #504
212-677-1077
Councilmember Corey Johnson
224 W. 30th St.
212-564-7757
State Senator Daniel Squadron
250 Broadway #2011
212-298-5565
Community Board 1
49 Chambers St.
212-442-5050
Community Board 2
3 Washington Square Village
212-979-2272
Community Board 3
59 E. 4th St.
212-533-5300
Community Board 4
330 W. 42nd St.
212-736-4536
Hudson Park
66 Leroy St.
212-243-6876
Ottendorfer
135 2nd Ave.
212-674-0947
Elmer Holmes Bobst
70 Washington Square
212-998-2500
COMMUNITY BOARDS
LIBRARIES
HOSPITALS New York-Presbyterian
170 William St.
Mount Sinai-Beth Israel
10 Union Square East
212-844-8400
212-312-5110
CON EDISON
4 Irving Place
212-460-4600
TIME WARNER
46 East 23rd
813-964-3839
US Post Office
201 Varick St.
212-645-0327
US Post Office
128 East Broadway
212-267-1543
US Post Office
93 4th Ave.
212-254-1390
POST OFFICES
HOW TO REACH US:
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:
212-868-0190 nyoffice@strausnews.com otdowntown.com
Include your full name, address and day and evening telephone numbers for verification. Letters that cannot be verified will not be published. We reserve the right to edit or condense letters for libel, good taste, grammar and punctuation. Submit your letter at otdowntown.com and click submit at the bottom of the page or email it to nyoffice@strausnews.com.
TO SUBSCRIBE: Our Town Downtown is available for free below 23rd Street in select buildings, retail locations and news boxes. To get a copy of downtown neighborhood news mailed to you weekly, you may subscribe to Our Town - Downtowner for just $49 per year. Call 212-868-0190 or go online to StrausNews.com and click on the photo of the paper or mail a check to Straus Media, 20 West Ave., Chester, NY 10918
NEWS ITEMS: To report a news story, call 212-8680190. News releases of general interest must be emailed to our offices by 12noon the Thursday prior to publication to be considered for the following week. Send to news@strausnews.com.
BLOG COMMENTS: We invite comments on stories at otdowntown.com. We do not edit those comments. We urge people to keep the discussion civil and the tone reflective of the best we each have to offer.
PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD: Call 212-868-0190. Classified ads must be in our office by 12pm the Friday before publication, except on holidays. All classified ads are payable in advance.
PREVIOUS OWNERS: Tom Allon, Isis Ventures, Ed Kayatt, Russ Smith, Bob Trentlyon, Jerry Finkelstein
CALENDAR ITEMS:
ABOUT US
Information for inclusion in the Out and About section should be emailed to hoodhappenings@strausnews.com no later than two weeks before the event.
Our Town Downtown is published weekly by Straus Media-Manhattan, LLC. Please send inquiries to 20 West Ave., Chester, NY 10918.
The original Tzeitel now runs an antique jewelry business on the Upper West Side BY ILGIN YORULMAZ
It’s Friday night. The residents of Anatevka are getting ready for the Sabbath as audiences fill the Broadway Theatre, where the latest incarnation of “Fiddler on the Roof” has just started previews. Sitting in Row G, Seat 16, Rosalind Harris looks familiar. Her dark hair is elegantly piled on her head; her blue top and matching long skirt contrast with a long, red tassled necklace. As the orchestra begins playing “Tradition,” the opening song by Tevye the Milkman, tears start rolling down Harris’ face; her reddened lips tremble. “Seeing this now, I suddenly became overwhelmed,” she says during intermission. “After so many years, it is still a huge part of me.” Harris played Tzeitel, Tevye’s eldest daughter, first on Broadway and then, a year later, in the hugely popular 1971 movie version. Between then and now, Harris has switched from the performance side of the stage to the audience. But in a sense, she never quite gave up acting. These days, the actor known simply as Roz to her friends, uses her voice and performance skills to sell vintage and estate jewelry, a business she calls Rosalind’s -- As You Liked It. *** On a bright Sunday, the GreenFlea Market at the corner of W. 77th Street and Columbus Avenue is in full swing, selling everything from gourmet dill pickles to second-hand shoes and Buddha heads. Harris, wearing a crimson outfit with three strands of pearls, has set up her booth inside the main hall. Still working hard at 68, she talks without pauses. And sings. She’s just treated a British couple to “Happy Birthday,” in her dramatic soprano. It’s Amber Brown’s 50th and she is buying a beautiful pair of marcasite earrings that once belonged to Joan Rivers. Her husband John selects a gold
turtle ring with ruby eyes for his daughter back in London. A father and his teenage daughter stop by and ask Karen Harris, Roz’s younger sister and helper, the price of a gift box-shaped pendant. “Two hundred fifty dollars,” Harris tells Karen. “It’s sterling Tiffany’s from the ‘80s. Tell them to feel the weight.” Growing up in White Plains, Rosalind Harris had the talent for many things -- piano, ballet, singing -- but the inclination for only one: acting. She dropped out of Ithaca College to attend the Herbert Berghof Studio in New York City. She auditioned for roles and was rejected more times than she can remember. Legendary producer Harold Prince once told her she was “very talented but still raw.” Sitting at Candle Café West on Broadway recently, eating pumpkin seed-crusted tempeh with mounds of vegetables, the health-conscious Harris confesses that she turned down the role of Tzeitel the first time around, for a national tour. But a few months later, the producers called her for the Broadway version and asked her to understudy Tzeitel, who happened to be played by Bette Midler. When the movie version of “Fiddler” was being cast, “Bette said, ‘Get your tush down there to the audition.’” Harris did and landed the role.
They filmed the movie in Yugoslavia and London. In an otherwise grueling period, and a personally difficult time due to a romantic break-up, she remembers one funny episode: “We, the three daughters, decided to stop shaving our armpits to show solidarity with Eastern European women. Norman [Jewison, the director] saw us leaning on a bed in one scene and shouted: ‘Stop! Take them to a hotel and shave their pits!’” Numerous plays, television shows and movies followed, including 10 productions of “Funny Girl” (the first in 1966 but her favorite is at Chateau de Ville Dinner Theatre in Framingham, Mass.), Woody Allen’s “Zelig,” and “Hollywood Opera,” a cabaret show in New York directed by her dear friend, composer and lyricist Barry Keating. Keating calls Harris an extraordinary comedian. “Her Fanny Brice was even funnier than Streisand’s,” he says. But years went by and Harris felt she never got the roles in which she could shine. “Roz is theatrically so strong that she had to be the lead or nothing else,” Keating says. Rejections for being too Semitic-looking, possible because of a Streisand-like nose, broke her heart. “Talent is like toilet paper. We use it and we throw it away,” she says. Currently single, she
lives on the Upper West Side with her two chihuahuas, Hazel and Lou. In the ‘90s, Harris decided to take time off from showbiz to recreate herself. Her close friend, model and actor Paul Craffey, remembers how interested they both had become in antiques. “She was out of work and between gigs,” he recalls. “She went to a flea market one day, and decided there and then she would go into antique business.” Harris started with the jewelry she had accumulated personally during her career. As time went by, she began to acquire merchandise from other sources, accumulated a collection of costume jewelry and now sells exquisite period artifacts. “I learned three things in acting school: educate, enlighten and entertain. I can do that at my table at the market, and get a paycheck,” she says, laughing. “Pure joy, a phenomenal role, or a lot of money: two out of these three things had to be there,” she says of her approach to life. She also runs a coaching business on the side called Advice from the Shtetl and believes “we all have three acts in our lives.” *** After the curtain calls at the Broadway, Harris goes backstage to congratulate the current “Fiddler” cast and director Bartlett Sher. “It’s my brand,” she jokes. “I wanted to be here and see how you did it.” Alexandra Silber (the current Tzeitel) and Samantha Massell (Hodel) are both thrilled to encounter a first-generation Anatevkan. “I am so honored to meet you,“ says Silber. “I watched the movie 345,000 times maybe,” adds Massell. Sher asks her opinion of the choreography: she loved it. Angela Lansbury, also backstage to praise the cast, remembers her co-star Harris from the movie “Mrs. Santa Claus” and gives her a hug. “They treat me like an icon,” Harris says of the small uproar she has created backstage. She sounds delighted. “I didn’t know I would be a legend for 30 years. You do something and you don’t know it was to going to last and last.”
DECEMBER 10-16,2015
5
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
AMAZING IS NEVER GIVING UP THE FIGHT. Daniel Jacobs was a rising star in boxing when his legs started to go numb. An MRI revealed the cause: a large tumor wrapped around Danielâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s spine. The surgical team at NewYork-Presbyterian used precise three-dimensional imaging to navigate the path to Danielâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s spine. They removed the tumor and rebuilt the damaged area of the spinal column. How well did the surgery work? Three years later, Daniel became the WBA Middleweight Champion of the World.
nyp.org/amazingthings
6
DECEMBER 10-16,2015
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
Neighborhood Scrapbook
Sports
A HIGH SCHOOL DRAW-A-THON The High School of Art and Design held its 4th biannual Draw-A-Thon on November 21. Alumni, artists, students, prospective students, parents, and teachers participated. Aside from nine hours of drawing and painting, there was free pizza -- a Draw-A-Thon tradition -- and a collection of raffle prizes. Among them: $100 gift certificates for art supplies and framing, a one-hour photographic portrait session (valued at $200), the New Nintendo 3DS Xl (valued at $200), and a personal watercolor portrait (valued at $500).
Share your news and what’s going on in your life. Go to otdowntown.com and click on submit a press release or announcement.
ASPHALT GREEN SWIMMERS AT HOLIDAY CLASSIC Asphalt Green Unified Aquatics (AGUA) swimmers showed up in droves for the NYSA Holiday Classic in West Nyack this weekend, partaking in NYSA’s first Prelims/Finals event. Every group on the team boasted swimmers with top-three finishes, bringing home multiple victories. Special congratulations go to Ryleigh St. Jean and Nayesha Krishna of the Green Group, who both brought home their first gold medals, and to Cassiel Graullera, who posted his first-ever Junior Olympic qualifying time.
Get the latest news! Get the best of Our Town Downtown delivered straight to your inbox! Sign up for our newsletter at
otdowntown.com (click on subscribe)
FREE Lifeline Service Available for Income-Eligible Residents If you participate in public assistance programs or meet monthly income level guidelines, you may qualify for a free phone* + 250 Minutes & Unlimited Texts. To apply visit www.enroll.accesswireless.com Free phone is provided by Access Wireless. Access Wireless is a service provider for the government-funded Lifeline Assistance program. Lifeline assistance is provided by i-wireless LLC, d/b/a Access Wireless, an eligible telecommunications carrier. Lifeline service is non-transferable. Lifeline benefits are limited to one per household. A household is defined, for the purposes of the Lifeline program, as any individual or group of individuals, who live together at the same address and share income and expenses. Violation of the one-per-household rule constitutes violation of FCC rules and will result in the customer’s de-enrollment from Lifeline. Only eligible customers may enroll in the program. Consumers who willfully make false statements in order to obtain a Lifeline benefit can be punished by fine, imprisonment, or can be barred from the program. Customers must present proper documentation proving eligibility for the Lifeline program. Your information will be validated against public records and any discrepancies could result in delays or denial of service.
DECEMBER 10-16,2015
7
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
THE RISE AND FALL OF CHELSEA’S
LITTLE SPAIN HISTORY OF CHELSEA The area around 14th Street was once a magnet to seamen from the nearby port BY RAANAN GEBERER
Most New Yorkers are familiar with the city’s major ethnic enclaves, past and present: Chinatown, the Jewish Lower East Side, Little Italy. One lesser-known enclave that hardly exists anymore was “Little Spain,” centered on 14th Street between 7th and 8th avenues, home to Spanish organizations, restaurants, cultural institutions and more. Little Spain began to take shape around 1900, spurred mainly by the thousands of Spanish seamen who docked at the then-thriving Port of New York. They were soon joined by immigrants from Spain. Many of them dreamed of going home someday, but the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s put a damper on those hopes. A New York Times article from 1924, quoted in writer James D. Fernandez’s blog, described a colony in Chelsea of about 30,000 people, about half of whom were from Spain and the other half from various Latin-American countries. At the time, according to the article, the area stretched from 23rd Street between 7th and 8th Avenues south to Abingdon Square. In general, the colony revolved around two institutions that survive, in some form, to this day: The Spanish Benevolent Society and the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The church’s original building, which still stands, was constructed at 229 W. 14th St. in 1902. According to “EspanaNYU” site, the builders took two brownstones and combined them into a Catholic church, with a Spanish-style façade added in 1921. The parish was the first in New York to offer Mass in Spanish.
The second was the Spanish Benevolent Society, now known as La Nacional, at 239 W. 14th St. It dates back to 1868, and its primary purpose was to help immigrants from Spain transition to life in the U.S. It also served as a cultural center, and over the years it has hosted many important Spanish artists, such as filmmaker Luis Bunuel and poet-playwright Federico Garcia Loca. EspanaNYU goes into detail about some of the other institutions of Little Spain. One was Casa Moneo, at 210 W. 14th St., which sold packaged food from Spain as well as clothing, cookware and other items. During the Spanish Civil War, according to NYU, anti-fascist Spanish people often picketed the store because the owner supported Franco. La Iberia, also on West 14th Street, sold clothing, mainly of the American brand-name variety, to Spanish seamen whose ships docked on the nearby Hudson, as well as to workers in nearby companies like Nabisco. And of course, there were also restaurants, including La Bilbaina, Bar Coruna, Little Spain Bar, Café Madrid, Meson Flamenco, El Faro (which moved to Greenwich Street) and others. These restaurants, more than anything else, attracted non-Spanish people to the area. Little Spain began to significantly decline in the 1970s and ‘80s. In the 1990s, the number of Spanish-speaking parishioners of Our Lady of Guadalupe began to swell—but most of the new parishioners were from Mexico, not from Spain. In 2003, the parish merged with St. Bernard’s Church, a block west at 328 W. 14th St., to form “Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Bernard” and now conducts Spanish-language services at that larger building. The former Our Lady of Guadalupe building still stands, and several objects from
National Children’s Memorial Day Sunday, December 13, 2015 ... that their light may always shine Light a candle for all the children who have died. 7pm Around The Globe! Now believed to be the largest mass candle lighting on the globe, as candles are lit at 7:00pm local time, thousands of persons commemorate and honor the memory of all children gone too soon, creating a virtual 24-hour wave of light as it moves from time zone to time zone.
Spanish flag outside La Nacional (Spanish Benevolent Society). Photo by Raanan Geberer
the old church have been brought over to St. Bernard. Another sign of Little Spain’s decline took place in 2007, when Liberia Lectorum, described by the Daily News as “the city’s oldest and largest Spanish-language bookstore,” closed down. “Unfortunately, this part of the city is no longer a hub of Latino life. We can reach them more effectively through our website,” Theresa Mlawer, who managed the store for publishing giant Scholastic, was quoted as saying.
The main survivor of the old Little Spain is the Spanish Benevolent Society, now known as La Nacional. The organization’s website describes it as offering “live events, classes, authentic cuisine, art, music and more” for “Spaniards, lovers of Spanish culture, New Yorkers.” Among the events it sponsors are traditional flamenco performances and tango dances. And on the ground floor is a restaurant that is open to members and non-members alike, offering tapas, paellas, salads and other Spanish food.
Your neighborhood news source
otdowntown.com
8
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
DECEMBER 10-16,2015
Voices A NO-APOLOGY CHRISTMAS
Write to us: To share your thoughts and comments go to otdowntown.com and click on submit a letter to the editor.
Letters
OP-ED LORRAINE DUFFY MERKL
A sampling of the online comments in response to “A Different Course on Horses,” Dec. 3: Sadly, the only honest voice from these animal rights groups is Elizabeth Forel. It makes no sense for de Blasio to reduce the number of horses based on his vociferous proclamations that it is an “inhumane” business. Somehow it’s not inhumane to allow 36 drivers to “abuse” horses instead of 200? Somehow he’s willing to compromise? In my book - and just about everyone’s, including Forel’s - being inhumane to animals is pretty much the bottom line, whether it’s one or one thousand. Reminds me of an old joke, “What kind of a girl do you think I am?” . . . but not one for a family publication. chienblanc4csi Well, since every single study and investigation of the carriage horses (by people who actually know something about horses, not just someone who saw “Black Beauty” and decided horse carriages are evil) has proven time and again that they are extremely well cared for, contented and that the industry itself is totally regulated and overseen to the point of absurdity...I don’t see that there is any reason for the carriage horse industry to “compromise” at all. Why should they? It is obvious, from the undeniable fact that they have been inspected, spied upon, followed, secretly videoed and openly harassed by the “anti carriage” groups for years, without any actual abuse or neglect or mistreatment proven against them...that there is no legally justifiable reason to either ban them outright or dispossess any portion of the industry from their livelihoods or the horses from their homes. The idea that they should abandon their horses, their homes and their livelihoods under the threat of name calling by Ms. Forel is absurd. The group NYClass has no seat at the table. They are neither elected officials nor parties with any vested interest in the issue (unless you consider that they covet the real estate where the stables currently reside and were willing to bankroll deBlasio in order to make that available). So their opinion is irrelevant. Harassment by the activists may continue. But if they really were concerned about horses, one would think they would focus their efforts on the over 150,000 homeless horses that were shipped to Mexico or Canada for slaughter last year, instead of trying to add the carriage horses to that homeless number. merleliz Ms. Forel’s notion of a “true compromise” translates as “It’s my way or the highway OR ELSE”. Don’t see any “true compromises” there; only the same old ugly threats that to date have achieved nothing. Ruth
I am going to have myself a merry little Christmas. Left-wingers deny there is a war on my holiday, and right-wingers insist there is. I have decided to let them fight it out and get into the spirit. I am so happy that it’s Christmas that I’m not even mad at Starbucks; the cup is red, the logo is green and white; I don’t need a snowflake design. As I am an ornament-aholic, I cannot wait to get the Christmas tree and start decorating. To those who prefer holiday tree, and have even demanded the one in Rockefeller Center be renamed that, call it what you will; in our house it’s called the Christmas tree. Also in our house, we not only embrace the religious as well as commercial aspects of the season, we celebrate my husband Neil and daughter Meg, who were both born on December 25th. As Neil is the music aficionado in our home, the seasonal tunes begin shortly after Thanksgiving turkey has been consumed. I get my fix of all traditional carols (The Boston Pops), the schmaltzy versions (Andy Williams – I kid you not), and the pop renditions a la Mariah Carey, yet still enjoy the festive song loop in the businesses I frequent. I realize that not everyone feels this way, not because of a letter-writing campaign or an op-ed, but from when a soon-tobe 18-year-old Meg was in middle school and one of her teachers griped that Christmas ruins her beloved shopping hobby because she couldn’t stand listening to “that music.” Meg told me about what happened in a dispirited tone, which was enough to express how badly she felt that someone she had admired was being so insensitive to a frill associated with something that has meaning to her. Apparently, taking out one’s bitterness on an 11-year-old was some kind of victory in the “war.” As is baiting me into a conversation about the “beautiful” show at Radio City, as two mothers did, only to then engage – as though I wasn’t there – about how they leave before the end, “because, well, you know,” referring to the finale with a poor couple welcoming their child into the world in a stable amongst livestock because no one would take them in, and how the child grew up to be great leader. Where I have no patience for just plain mean, I feel for those who suffer from loneliness and depression during Christmas. (They’re not usually the ones demanding Santa be banned from the mall.) I’ve had times like that over the years, when a pro-
fessional or personal upset made me so blue that not only could I not deal with parties or crowded stores, but I didn’t have the energy to click the mouse for present-buying online. I hope they find help to get them through, via professional or DIY methods. I’m proof
that you can get your Christmas mojo back, and having done so, I won’t postpone my own joy for the season for anyone. Lorraine Duff y Merkl is the author of the novels Fat Chick and Back To Work She Goes and wishes all a Happy New Year.
DECEMBER 10-16,2015
9
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
Senior Living
When the Kids Drift Away BY MARCIA EPSTEIN
I
recently attended a seminar called “Walking on Eggshells” about severed or difficult relationships with adult children. There’s nothing more heartbreaking to a parent than losing that thread with your adult child and trying to repair the damage, to no avail. I heard stories that were so painful I was close to tears. And truth be told, I have gone through my own times of difficulties with my adult daughters where we didn’t speak and couldn’t seem to communicate. But thankfully, we were able to repair the relationships. My fingers are always crossed. The stories come in all shapes and sizes. Some parents (I should say mothers, because only women were there, though I’m sure it affects men, too) were totally out of touch with their child or children. Some knew what had precipitated the break; some had no idea. In all the stories I heard, the mothers felt that what they had done did not deserve being totally cut off from their children, and in some cases, grandchildren. Yes, there were disagreements, perhaps harsh words. But a total refusal to be in contact? They couldn’t reconcile themselves to
FIDDLER
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9 “Happy Birthday,” in her dramatic soprano. It’s Amber Brown’s 50th and she is buying a beautiful pair of marcasite earrings that once belonged to Joan Rivers. Her husband John selects a gold turtle ring with ruby eyes for his daughter back in London. A father and his teenage daughter stop by and ask Karen Harris, Roz’s younger sister and helper, the price of a gift box-shaped pendant. “Two hundred fifty dollars,” Harris tells Karen. “It’s sterling Tiffany’s from the ‘80s. Tell them to feel the weight.” Growing up in White Plains, Rosalind Harris had the talent for many things -- piano, ballet, singing -- but the inclination for only one: acting. She dropped out of Ithaca College to attend the Herbert Berghof Studio in New York City. She auditioned for roles and was rejected more times than she can remember. Legendary producer Harold Prince once told her she was “very talented but still raw.” Sitting at Candle Café West on Broadway recently, eating pumpkin seed-crusted tempeh with mounds of vegetables, the health-conscious Harris confesses that she turned down the role of Tzeitel the first time around, for a national tour. But a few months later, the producers called her for the Broadway version and asked her to understudy Tzeitel, who happened to be played by Bette Midler. When the movie version of “Fiddler” was being cast, “Bette said, ‘Get your tush down there to the audition.’” Harris did and landed the role. They filmed the movie in Yugoslavia and London. In an otherwise grueling period, and a per-
this. In other cases, the break wasn’t total but was painful nonetheless. A mother whose son had to always check with his wife about their limited availability regarding the grandson. Another mother who was called selfish for not fitting into the “grandma box.” Grandmothers come in all varieties, from very involved to loving a good visit but not total immersion. Some adult children seem to drift towards the spouse’s family; others give no reason for cutting off communication, which is the hardest thing of all to accept. One son said, “You know,” to his mother; but she didn’t. She had no idea. It was a terribly sad afternoon, but we all agreed that in some way we had to find peace with the situation. If it seemed hopeless, finding a full life for oneself is important. If there seemed to be some hope, then continuing to try and open a small crack in the door might be fruitful. Be open, continue to try, but don’t push was the advice of the therapist who led the group. Don’t criticize, be loving and say you’ll always be there for them. Even if there’s no response, an occasional email saying you’re thinking about them is appropriate. There will always be a hole in your heart, but a good life of one’s own, friends and other family can make up for some of the heartbreak. I’ve lost several friends to death in the past few years, and others are becoming frail and unable to function as before. Some have lost husbands and are having trouble coping. But something interesting is also happening. I am
sonally difficult time due to a romantic breakup, she remembers one funny episode: “We, the three daughters, decided to stop shaving our armpits to show solidarity with Eastern European women. Norman [Jewison, the director] saw us leaning on a bed in one scene and shouted: ‘Stop! Take them to a hotel and shave their pits!’” Numerous plays, television shows and movies followed, including 10 productions of “Funny Girl” (the first in 1966 but her favorite is at Chateau de Ville Dinner Theatre in Framingham, Mass.), Woody Allen’s “Zelig,” and “Hollywood Opera,” a cabaret show in New York directed by her dear friend, composer and lyricist Barry Keating. Keating calls Harris an extraordinary comedian. “Her Fanny Brice was even funnier than Streisand’s,” he says. But years went by and Harris felt she never got the roles in which she could shine. “Roz is theatrically so strong that she had to be the lead or nothing else,” Keating says. Rejections for being too Semitic-looking, possible because of a Streisand-like nose, broke her heart. “Talent is like toilet paper. We use it and we throw it away,” she says. Currently single, she lives on the Upper West Side with her two chihuahuas, Hazel and Lou. In the ‘90s, Harris decided to take time off from showbiz to recreate herself. Her close friend, model and actor Paul Craffey, remembers how interested they both had become in antiques. “She was out of work and between gigs,” he recalls. “She went to a flea market one day, and decided there and then she would go into antique business.” Harris started with the jewelry she had accumulated personally during her career. As time went by, she began to acquire merchandise from other sources, accumulated a collection of
reconnecting with friends from the past, and enjoying it tremendously. It’s a special thing to be able to be with people who knew me when. One new/old friend has a son the same age as one of my daughters, and they played together as children. Another is from my childhood days, and we really haven’t been in much contact since high school. Suddenly we
costume jewelry and now sells exquisite period artifacts. “I learned three things in acting school: educate, enlighten and entertain. I can do that at my table at the market, and get a paycheck,” she says, laughing. “Pure joy, a phenomenal role, or a lot of money: two out of these three things had to be there,” she says of her approach to life. She also runs a coaching business on the side called Advice from the Shtetl and believes “we all have three acts in our lives.” *** After the curtain calls at the Broadway, Harris goes backstage to congratulate the current “Fiddler” cast and director Bartlett Sher. “It’s my brand,” she jokes. “I wanted to be here and see how you did it.” Alexandra Silber (the current Tzeitel) and Samantha Massell (Hodel) are both thrilled to encounter a first-generation Anatevkan. “I am so honored to meet you,“ says Silber. “I watched the movie 345,000 times maybe,” adds Massell. Sher asks her opinion of the choreography: she loved it. Angela Lansbury, also backstage to praise the cast, remembers her co-star Harris from the movie “Mrs. Santa Claus” and gives her a hug. “They treat me like an icon,” Harris says of the small uproar she has created backstage. She sounds delighted. “I didn’t know I would be a legend for 30 years. You do something and you don’t know it was to going to last and last.”
are e-mailing and talking about meeting up with our partners somewhere “in the middle” (she lives near Boston). Losing friends is hard; regaining others is wonderful. And making new ones, through new activities and interests is a delightful perk of seniorhood. Losses and gains. Those are the golden years.
SUING FOR SENIORS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9
converted via eviction plans -- that is, when 51 percent of the building’s units were purchased by people who live there. But in so-called non-eviction plans, where only 15 percent of the apartments have to be sold for the plan to become effective, tenants are often pushed out because their leases aren’t renewed or they’re given hold-over leases during the conversion process, real-estate lawyers said. “A lot of buildings have tenants who are not protected under rent stabilization and rent control, particularly in Manhattan,” said longtime real estate lawyer Kevin McConnell, who is not part of the lawsuit. “What we have been seeing is, where once tenants were all protected and had very few vacancies, now you walk in and there are vacancies all over the place.” The attorney general’s real estate finance bureau regulates the conversion process and has in recent years stepped up its enforcement and regulation of conversions. On Nov. 10, the office issued new emergency regulations that require building owners to provide seniors and disabled tenants explicit notice of their right to choose to continue renting at rates that won’t soar. A spokesman for the office declined to comment. The lawsuit, which claims $100 million in damages, seeks class-action status. A spokeswoman for Related Companies, the parent company of Carnegie Park Tower, LLC, which owns Goldsmith’s nearly 300-unit, $483 million apartment building, said in a statement that while officials hadn’t seen the court papers, the company “scrupulously followed the statute and adhered to every applicable regulation.”
10
DECEMBER 10-16,2015
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
HAPPY GIFTS.
DONE RIGHT. FRESH DESIGN. STUFF. TOTAL SERVICE.
Out & About More Events. Add Your Own: Go to otdowntown.com
COOL
PAINLESS! SEND US YOUR LIST
WE’LL TAKE CARE OF IT
Thu 10 COMMUNITY BOARD 4
BOTTLEROCKET.COM/GIFTS-BASKETS
BOTTLEROCKET.COM/GIFTS-WINECLUB
BOTTLEROCKET WINE & SPIRIT 5 W 19TH ST NEW YORK, NY 10011
212-929-2323
WWW.BOTTLEROCKET.COM
OPEN STUDIO FOR TEENS►
CB4 Office, 330 West 42nd St., 26th Floor Whitney Museum of 6:30 p.m. American Art, Laurie M. Tisch Waterfront, Parks & Education Center, Hearst Environment Committee Artspace www.nyc.gov/html/mancb4/ 99 Gansevoort St. html/home/home.shtml City teens in grades 9-12 are invited to a free drop-in art making program. Bring your SMALL WORKS SHOW works-in-progress or create entirely new. AND HOLIDAY BAZAAR something Supplies are provided and no previous art experience is required. Carter Burden Gallery, 548 212-570-3600. whitney.org/ West 28th St. Events/OpenStudioTeens 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Over 50 gallery artists will featured at the Small Works Show and 15 high-end craft works will be available at the Holiday Bazaar. 212.564.8405. www. carterburdencenter.org
Sat 12
TIME KEEPERS: STORY OF THE LOON NEWS 14th Street Y, 344 East 14th St. 11 a.m. & 2 p.m. Starting at $16.99 for adults and $11.99 for children Songs, stories, and puppets all make up the new play Time Keepers written by Rachel Sherk, the family friendly tale of those in the “land the Land Under the Sun” and “the Land Under the Moon.” Original musical is scored by Aaron Rourk 646-395-4310. www.14streety.org/timekeepers
Sun 13 SIP N’ SHOP AT STORY
10:00 AM 5:00PM 144 10th Avenue Head To STORY For A Day Of fine coffee & followed The Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth by shopping with Afineur & TM1985 Ave. (212) 242-4853 The family friendly matinee http://thisisstory.com/events/ will feature repertory for dance JAZZ AT THE RUBIN▲ sip-n-shop-at-story-withfans of all ages and a special opportunity to meet the dancers. afineur-and-tm1985/ 2 p.m. Starting at $10, kids $6 The Rubin Museum of art with Joyce Junior Membership. 150 West 17th St. Call Bria Skonberg, an emerging JAZZ AGE TEA DANCE JoyceCharge at 212-242talent on the New York jazz scene, is creating a style rooted 0800 to purchase kids’ tickets. Webster Hall, 125 East 11th St. www.joyce.org/event/familyin hot jazz, world percussion, and 3 p.m. 21 years and over. $80 soul that utilizes modern effects. matinee-keigwin-company/ Michael Arenella & His 212-620-5000. Dreamland Orchestra and exotic rubinmuseum.org/events/event/ teas fit for dancing. A time
Fri 11 BOTTLEROCKET.COM/GIFTS-CARDS
bria-skonberg-quintet-12-11-15
FAMILY MATINEE: KEIGWIN + COMPANY
DECEMBER 10-16,2015
honored tradition with surprise guests. 212-353.1600 http://www. ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEve ntDetail?dispatch=loadSelectio nData&eventId=6328745&pl= webhall&REFID=whsite
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
f2b1b3f6765d
NYU DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES SENIOR CAPSTONE PRESENTATIONS PRESEN
SCENES THROUGH THE CINEMA LENS: THE SINATRA CENTURY Tribeca Performing Arts Center, 199 Chambers St. 7:30 p.m. Free Old Blue Eyes at 100. 212-220-1460. http:// tribecapac.org/scenes-throughthe-cinema-lens-the-sinatracentury-dec-15/
Cantor Fi Film Center, 36 East 8th St., Room Ro 101 5-7 pp.m. Presentations on subjects Pres such as solar projects, a look lo at legislation to reduce disposable bag red usage in New York and us more. mo hhttps://docs. MESSIAH AT TRINITY google.com/forms/ goog d/1PApJ8Dylu_A3rgtRrX d/1P 0Qi_8zlBQAorcNCQtqfhC 0Qi_ Trinity Church, 75 Broadway tGSA/viewform 7:30 p.m.-11:59 p.m. $45, tGSA/v $75, $95 Handel’s Messiah and Trinity by the Choir of Trinity Wall Street and Trinity Baroque. http://www.trinitywallstreet. org
Wed16
Mon14 HOLIDAY CONCERT▲ Leandra’s Garden at the back park behind 431 West 17th St., Fulton Houses 2:30-4 p.m. A holiday concert featuring an eclectic selection of yuletide music and warm up with hot chocolate and donut holes. www.thehighline.org/ activities/holiday-concertc7f50c33-46a5-42e9-af76-
Tue15
SYNTH NIGHTS The Kitchen, 512 West 19th St. 8 p.m. $20 Pioneering composer Harold Budd returns to The Kitchen and presents new music and poetry with keyboardist Bradford Ellis and artist Jane Maru. 212-255-5793. www. thekitchen.org/events
LIVE PERFORMANCE BY BILL DOBROW & FRIENDS AT THE ROXY The Roxy Hotel, 2 Sixth Ave. 7 -10 p.m. Bill Dobrow & Friends perform The Lounge at The Roxy for an evening of music & signature drinks. 212-519-6600. http://www. grandlifehotels.com/event/liveperformance-by-bill-dobrowfriends-at-the-roxy-5/
11
12
DECEMBER 10-16,2015
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
HOLIDAY ARTS GUIDE BY GABRIELLE ALFIERO
Despite the lack of snowfall and some unseasonably mild temperatures that find New Yorkers shedding their winter duds and reaching for sunglasses, holiday season has arrived in full force in the neighborhood. Here are some events to keep the holiday calendars full.
DANCE “GEORGE BALANCHINE’S THE NUTCRACKER” The return of “The Nutcracker” to the city’s stages marked the beginning of this year’s holiday season, and New York City Ballet’s annual run of the George Balanchine classic at Lincoln Center, which the company has produced each year since it first opened in
1954, may usher in the season in the highest fashion. The set pieces of this seasonal spectacle, which features the full company and more than 125 students from the School of American Ballet, are literally grand: the Christmas tree in the first act stretches to 40 feet and weighs one ton, Mother Ginger’s skirt weighs 85 pounds and reaches nine feet in width, and the finale actually packs a million watts, the company’s most extravagant lighting feat. “George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker” Now through Jan. 3 David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center 20 Lincoln Center Plaza Columbus Avenue at W. 63rd Street Assorted show times Tickets $35-$265 To purchase tickets, visit nycballet.com or call 212-4960600
MUSIC
HANDEL’S “MESSIAH” Though now a seasonal tradition, George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah” was first introduced to the American public nearly 250 years ago in lower Manhattan, and received its second-ever performance in the country at Trinity Church in 1770. Now, the Choir of Trinity Wall Street and the Trinity Baroque Orchestra perform the oratorio at the 169-year-old church on Broadway, the third building constructed on the site. Four years ago, the choir and the orchestra, which plays on period instruments, made their Lincoln Center debuts performing “Messiah,” and also reprise the concert at Alice Tully Hall this year. Handel’s “Messiah” Dec. 16 and 26 Trinity Church
Lauren King in the Waltz of the Flowers in New York City Ballet’s 2010 production of “George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker” Photo credit: ©Paul Kolnik
Broadway at Wall Street Dec. 16 at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 26 at 5 p.m. Tickets $45-$95 For tickets, visit trinitywallstreet.org/messiah Dec. 17 Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center 1941 Broadway, between W. 65th and W. 66th Streets 7:30 p.m. Tickets $55-$95 For tickets, visit lincolncenter.org or call 212721-6500
Walk Saturday, Dec. 19 Meet at Judson Memorial Church 55 Washington Square South, between Sullivan and Thompson Streets 4:30 p.m. FREE For more information, visit westvillagechorale.org or call 212-517-1776
THEATER “A CHRISTMAS CAROL”
GREENWICH VILLAGE CAROLING WALK
The musical adaptation of “A Christmas Carol” runs through Dec. 30 at the Players Theatre. Photo credit: Teri Brennan
Independent chorus the West Village Chorale leads a caroling trek throughout Greenwich Village, an annual event for over 40 years. Starting at the historic Judson Memorial Church, which was constructed in 1890 on Washington Square, carolers sing holiday songs throughout the neighborhood before returning to the church for an encore. Songbooks provided for carolers. Greenwich Village Caroling
In this musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ 1843 tale about Ebenezer Scrooge’s haunted Christmas Eve, songs like “Mankind is Your Business,” sung by the ghost of Jacob Marley, and “The Penny-Pincher is Dead,” performed by the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come (portrayed as a woman in Victorian mourning garb) add comedic elements to this production, which includes original music by Michael Sgouros performed live by a three-piece band. Eric Fletcher plays Scrooge, marking his fifth year in the role, and Briana
Hurley dances on pointe as the buoyant Ghost of Christmas Present. “A Christmas Carol” Through Dec. 30 Players Theatre 115 MacDougal St., between Bleecker and W. 3rd Streets Assorted show times Tickets $25-$50 To purchase tickets, visit theplayerstheatre.com or call 212-352-3101
MUSEUMS “A CHRISTMAS CAROL” AT THE MERCHANT’S HOUSE The Merchant’s House Museum, a preserved, private 19th-century home that retains the residence’s original furniture, recreates Charles Dickens’ 1867 sold-out readings of “A Christmas Carol” in New York. Actor John Kevin Jones plays Dickens, who reads his story of Ebenezer Scrooge in the museum’s double parlor, decorated for the holiday with candles, poinsettias and other trimmings. Prior to each reading,
DECEMBER 10-16,2015
13
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
ACTIVITIES FOR THE FERTILE MIND
thoughtgallery.org NEW YORK CITY
Mystical Music in Honor of the Black Madonna
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12TH, 8PM Theater for the New City | 155 First Ave. | 212-254-1109 | alessandrabelloni.com Singer and dancer Alessandra Belloni celebrates the 35th anniversary of her Southern Italian folk company I Giullari di Piazza with chants, songs, and a traditional stilt walker, as they take a musical journey through the ancient sacred sites of the Black Madonna. ($25)
American Stage Practice: Booth & Barrymore
MONDAY, DECEMBER 14TH, 7PM The Players | 16 Gramercy Park S. | 212-967-6802 | shakespearesociety.org Catch scenes from Hamlet and Richard III and backstage looks at original promptbooks kept for the plays by titans of American Shakespeare Edwin Booth and John Barrymore. ($20)
The front parlor at the Merchant’s House Museum is decorated for the holiday season. Photo credit: Merchant’s House Museum
audience members are invited to sip mulled wine with Jones in the museum’s kitchen. “A Christmas Carol” at the Merchant’s House Dec. 10-24 Merchant’s House Museum 29 E. Fourth St., between Bowery and Lafayette Streets 7 p.m., with receptions starting at 6 p.m. (Dec. 23-24 performances at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.) Tickets $40-$60; additional $25 for reception To purchase tickets, visit dickensinnewyork. brownpapertickets.com or call 800-838-3006; visit merchantshouse.org for more information
NEW YEAR’S EVE MATANA ROBERTS AND THE NEW YEAR’S EVE BACK ROOM 12TET
rings in the New Year at the Whitney Museum of American Art, continuing her ongoing performances at the institution with a program that runs past the midnight countdown. Roberts’ composition “red, white and blue(s), a sound quilt of sorts” was inspired by the museum’s new building in the Meatpacking District, pieces from the collection of American art and its current show of paintings by Jazz Age artist Archibald Motley. Roberts performed at the museum throughout its inaugural year in the building, even during construction, and has assembled a group of musicians, performing as the New Year’s Eve Back Room 12tet, especially for the performance. Matana Roberts and the New Year’s Eve Back Room 12Tet Thursday, Dec. 31 Whitney Museum of American Art 99 Gansevoort St., near Washington Street 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Tickets $50 To purchase tickets, visit whitney.org or call 212-570-3600 for more information
Composer and saxophonist Matana Roberts
Just Announced: Bernard-Henri Lévy in Conversation with Thane Rosenbaum
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17TH, 7:30PM 92nd Street Y | 1395 Lexington Ave. | 212-415-5500 | 92y.org BHL himself comes to the Y to discuss the terrorist attacks in Paris and European current affairs with the director of the Forum on Law, Culture & Society. ($32)
For more information about lectures, readings and other intellectually stimulating events throughout NYC,
sign up for the weekly Thought Gallery newsletter at thoughtgallery.org.
Marble
MARBLE COLLEGIATE CHURCH
C
hristmas at
Christmas Eve Thursday, December 24 4:00pm - Family Friendly Service 6:30pm & 8:30pm (Live Streaming of the 6:30pm service) New Year’s Eve Jazz Revelation Thursday, December 31, 7:30pm Followed by a Festive Reception
For our full calendar of events, visit MarbleChurch.org
Choir of Trinity Wall Street and the Trinity Baroque Orchestra perform Handel’s “Messiah.”
1 West 29th Street / New York, New York 10001 / 212 686 2770 / MarbleChurch.org
14
DECEMBER 10-16,2015
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
In Brief STYROFOAM STILL SAFE The city lost another battle against the use of Styrofoam containers last week, when the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court shot down the de Blasio administration’s latest effort to keep the containers out of food service on Dec. 3, Politico New York reported. The motion would challenge a September ruling by Manhattan’s Supreme Court that reversed the administration’s initial ban on Styrofoam containers given that proof exists that the material can be recycled, Grub Street reported.
Food & Drink
RESTAURANT GROUP SUES OVER SALT BAN NEWS New city rule requirtes warning labels in chain restaurants
LA TAZA DE ORO CLOSES Puerto Rican counter joint La Taza De Oro has permanently closed, following months of uncertainty, Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York reported on Dec. 3. The restaurant on Eighth Avenue near 15th Street has been shut down since April, after the building’s gas was turned off when bricks fell from a building nearby. The restaurant was also asked by the city’s Department of Buildings to vacate the property, Eater reported. Eric Montalvo, who operates the restaurant, also owns the building, but after the hit to nine months of income while the restaurant was closed, along with the changing nature of Chelsea, he decided to close the business, which first opened in 1947.
BY JENNIFER PELTZ
ALTAMAREA GROUP FIRES BACK AT NEW YORK TIMES CRITIC Ahmass Fakahany, owner of restaurant group Altamarea with chef Michael White, posted a letter to New York Times food critic Pete Wells following a pointed one-star review of Altamarea’s new French restaurant Vaucluse on the Upper East Side, Eater reported. Fakahany, whose group operates other fine dining restaurants in New York, including Marea near Columbus Circle and Costata on Spring Street, wrote in a Dec. 7 letter that was posted on the restaurant group’s website that Wells is “losing credibility and, in a sense, degrading the very institution that gave you the privilege and mandate to be a food critic.” Fakahany goes on to criticize the rating system employed by the New York Times, calling it a “random process” that “increasingly falls on your whims and moods,” and questions Wells’ understanding of food and the restaurant industry. In his Dec. 1 review of Vaucluse, located at 100 E. 63rd St., Wells was decidedly critical of certain dishes, though he praised others, writing that “the poulet rôti grand-mère is dull enough to make you wonder if Grandmother learned to roast chickens at a hotel school,” and noted that “many dishes land somewhere between inspired and depleted.” Photo: TheGiantVermin, via Flickr
New York City’s new warning label for salt-laden chain restaurant food is headed for a court fight, after restaurateurs sued to argue that health regulators overstepped legal bounds to enact the first-of-its-kind requirement. The National Restaurant Association’s suit came just two days after the rule took effect, compelling chain eateries to put a salt-shaker icon on menu items that top the recommended daily limit of 2,300 milligrams of sodium -- about a teaspoon. The group had vowed to challenge the city Board of Healthapproved rule, which will sprinkle salt warnings on some dishes ranging from burgers to pizzas to salads. “Ironically, this regulation will confuse and mislead consumers into potentially making less healthy food choices through the law’s spotty, inconsistent application and inaccurate scientific distortions,” says a copy of the suit. The association says the health board overstepped its legal bounds and is muddying waters at a time when federal regulators are working on nationwide menu labeling rules. The suit also brands the salt warning “nonsensical” in applying to only some food vendors and argues it violates restaurateurs’ free speech rights by forcing them to post a warning they dispute as based on “scientifically controversial opinion.” The city Law Department said it would review the claims but was “confident that the Board of Health
has the authority to enact this rule.” Public-health experts say the symbol will help diners see how salty some dishes can be. Some cheeseburgers can count over 4,000 mg of salt, for instance. Even some salads can top 3,000. Many experts say Americans are eating too much salt -- the U.S. average is about 3,400 mg of sodium per day -- and the high-salt diet is raising their risks of high blood pressure and heart problems. But salt producers note that some research has found otherwise. An international study involving 100,000 people suggested last year that most people’s salt intake was OK for heart health, though other scientists have faulted the study. “Regulations to discourage salt consumption are sending the wrong message,” said Lori Roman, president of the Salt Institute, which is supporting the restaurant association’s lawsuit. New York has faced lawsuits over other healthy-eating measures it has pioneered. The challenges have had mixed results: Courts upheld a requirement for chain eateries to post calorie counts on menus but struck down a size limit on sugary drinks. The salt warning will apply to an estimated 10 percent of menu items of chains with at least 15 outlets nationwide, according to health officials. They say those chains do about one-third of the city’s restaurant business. Despite the lawsuit, some chains are on board with the salt warning rule. Panera CEO Ron Shaich has said he supports it, and 40 New York City-area Applebee’s made a point of complying before the effective date, with Apple-Metro CEO Zane Tankel saying he felt it was important to give customers information.
DECEMBER 10-16,2015
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
15
16
DECEMBER 10-16,2015
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS NOV 20 - DEC 4, 2015
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.
La Panineria
1 W 8Th St
A
New 6Th Avenue Food Court
579 Avenue Of The Americas
Not Graded Yet (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.
La Carbornara
202 W 14Th St
Grade Pending (29) 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. Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, cross-contaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.
Sne Crepe
58 W 8Th St
A
The following listings were collected from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s website and include the most recent inspection and grade reports listed. We have included every restaurant listed during this time within the zip codes of our neighborhoods. Some reports list numbers with their explanations; these are the number of violation points a restaurant has received. To see more information on restaurant grades, visit www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/services/restaurant-inspection.shtml. Matchabar
256 W 15Th St
Not Graded Yet (55) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/ or non-food areas. No facilities available to wash, rinse and sanitize utensils and/or equipment. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
Dirty Bird To-Go
204 West 14 Street
Grade Pending (16) Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewage-associated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
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 A
52 9 Avenue
A
The Gander Bar Room And Restaurant
15 W 18Th St
Le Pain Quotidien Swerve Fitness
30 West 18Th Street
A
Coopers Craft And Kitchen
169 8Th Ave
A
Get a Jump on January!
Register now for classes at all 24 CUNY campuses starting in January 2016.
Winter Session’16 www.cuny.edu/winter
DECEMBER 10-16,2015
17
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
THE PRIVATE SCHOOL ARMS RACE EXPANSION How a small Upper East Side school competes in an era of mass expansion BY KYLE POPE
At a time when private schools in Manhattan are outspending one other with glitzier lobbies and fancier gyms, how does a small school in a 136-yearold Catholic church compete? The Cademon School, a private school on the Upper East Side, was founded in 1961 as the first Montessori school in the city, and is in a space that once housed a parochial school for St. Monica’s Catholic Church next door on E. 80th Street. While the church long ago vacated the building, its physical legacy-- high cielings, arched glass, warren-like hallways -- has stayed with Caedmon. For more than a dozen years now, the school -- which is tiny by New York standards, with an enrollment of 265 students -- has been renovating and updating its building, partly in an ef-
fort to compete in a New York private school market where new building projects have become a sort of arms race to attract students. “It helps that we know who we are,” said Matthew Stuart, the head of school, who joined Caedmon in 2012, which also was the school’s 50th anniversary. “You have to know what it is that makes you unique.” Clearly, Caedmon is not for that slice of Manhattan parent who wants a showplace for their five-year-old. Instead, the school emphasizes its Montessori roots, its intimate feel, and a culture that prizes diversity and community involvement. But even Stuart admits that the school can’t ignore what’s happening around it, if it wants to stay competitive. On the Upper East Side alone: * Chapin School is adding three floors, including a glass-encased gym * Brearley School is selling $50 million in bonds to finance an expansion to its all-girl campus * Manhattan Country School is leaving the neighborhood entirely, and moving to the Upper West Side as it
seeks to double its enrollment over the next five years It is in that context that Caedmon has spent the last few years spiffing up its space. This summer, it completed a $1.15 million project that updated all of its classrooms, art studio, dining hall and children’s bathrooms. The work was part of a rolling renovation effort that began, most recently, in 2003, with a $1 million retrofit. The result is a modern, airy, welcom-
ing set of spaces that feels surprisingly sophisticated for pre-schoolers and their older colleagues. No primary colors or Spongebob posters here. Stuart says the work was aimed less at keeping up with the competition and more a giving Caedmon students a modern, more workable space. “We don’t talk down to people,” he said. But the school’s modernization is well-timed. Next year, a new Montessori school will open in the neighborhood, literally one block away.
EDUCATING CHILD EDUCATING THE THE WHOLE WHOLE CHILD
OPEN HOUSE:Tuesday, November 19th, 9:00am–11:00am OPEN HOUSE: January 19th 9am -11am
and whatmakes makes our our school special, book a place by visiting our website, www.bis-ny.org today ComeCome and fi ndfind outout what schoolsoso special,book a place by visiting our website, www.bis-ny.org
Excellence Everyday Excellence Everyday THE BRITISH BRITISH THE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF NEW NEW YORK YORK OF WATERSIDEPLAZA, PLAZA ,NEW NEWYORK, YORK, NY, NY, 10010. 10010. CALL 2700 2020 WATERSIDE CALL212 212481 481 2700
18
DECEMBER 10-16,2015
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
IS GOOGLE SPYING ON YOUR KID? Complaint says the computer giant is collecting information about studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; search requests Google is being accused of invading the privacy of students using laptop computers powered by the Internet companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Chrome operating system. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights group, depicts Google as a two-faced opportunist in a complaint ďŹ led with the Federal Trade Commission. Google disputes the unďŹ&#x201A;attering portrait and says it isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t doing anything wrong. The complaint alleges that Google rigged the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Chromebookâ&#x20AC;? computers in a way that enables the company to collect information about studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Internet search requests and online video habits. The foundation says Google is dissecting the activities of students in kindergarten through 12th grade so it can improve its digital services.
The complaint contends Googleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s storage and analysis of the student proďŹ le violates a â&#x20AC;&#x153;Student Privacy Pledgeâ&#x20AC;? that the company signed last year. The pledge, which covers more than 200 companies, contains a provision guaranteeing that studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; personal information wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be exploited for â&#x20AC;&#x153;non-educationalâ&#x20AC;? purposes. The foundation is calling on the FTC to investigate Google, stop it from using information on studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; activities for its own purposes and order it to destroy any information it has collected thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not related to education. Google applauded the Electronic Frontier Foundation for caring about student privacy, but said it believes it is following the laws enforced by the FTC. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our services enable students everywhere to learn and keep their information private and secure,â&#x20AC;? Google said in a statement. Chromebooks have become par-
ticularly popular in schools because some models sell for less than $300 and can be easily maintained by Google over the Internet. But the way Google has managed some of its other products have previously gotten the Mountain View, California, company into trouble for violating its usersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; privacy. In 2012, Google paid a $22.5 million ďŹ ne after the FTC concluded the company had created a technological loophole that enabled its digital advertising network to shadow the online activities of people using Appleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Safari browser without their consent. The agency determined Googleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Safari surveillance violated an earlier promise not to mislead consumers about privacy issues. That pledge came after Google set up a social networking service called Buzz in 2010 and exposed peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s email contacts. Google agreed to period privacy audits as part of that settlement with the FTC.
At The Mary Louis Academy, you will own your voiceEJTUJODUJWF DPOĂ&#x;EFOU JOUFMMJHFOU DSFBUJWF BOE FNQPXFSFE B WPJDF UIBU XJMM CF POF PG ZPVS HSFBUFTU BTTFUT JO MJGF
SHADOW A STUDENT buddy@tmla.org
VISIT US ONLINE www.tmla.org
The Mary Louis Academy is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood, New York Accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and Chartered by the State of NY.
DECEMBER 10-16,2015
19
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
LEARNING ENGLISH, BY PHONE CONTINUING EDUCATION An innovative New York program offers recorded lessons over the telephone BY DEEPTI HAJELA
Candelaria Lopez had tried to learn English before, but it didn’t work. She couldn’t always make it to class, and when she could, it was hard to find the energy to sit through a three-hour session after a long day. So even after 20 years in the United States, the Mexican immigrant was still pretty much comfortable only saying “Hi.” Not these days, though, thanks to a unique pilot English language learning program offered by New York state that works through phone calls and text messages. The 38-year-old mother of four said she has had a whole new world open up for her in recent months -- new responsibilities at work, talking to her daughter’s teacher without needing a translator, even helping another Spanish-speaking family find an apartment to rent. “For me, it’s happy,” she said. “For me, it’s exciting.”
New York state launched the pilot through its Office for New Americans earlier this year. The premise is simple -- those who have signed up call a number whenever they want to hear recorded lessons. They are then asked questions they answer via text messages to show they’ve understood what’s being taught. Get the questions right, move on to the next unit. Answer incorrectly, and a coach will call to help clarify the concept. It’s low-tech enough -- no apps, no need for fancy smartphones. Anyone with even the most basic phone can access it and it’s flexible enough that users can go at whatever speed they’re comfortable with. It’s free, aside from whatever their phone plans would charge for cellphone minutes or sending and receiving texts. “We really wanted to make this as accessible as possible,” said Jorge Montalvo, who oversees the Office for New Americans as deputy Secretary of State for Economic Opportunity. The goal for anyone who makes it through the entire program would be to get to the point where “you’ll be doing well enough to pass the English requirement for the naturalization exam, that’s the level we’re looking at.”
In this initial program, about 300 people signed up in three parts of the state -- the Hudson Valley, the New York City area and the Finger Lakes/ North Country region. Montalvo said the state would see how it was going after about a year to figure out any plans for expansion. New York is the first state to fund a cellphone language learning program for immigrant populations, said Jessica Rothenberg-Aalami, CEO of Cell-Ed, the company providing the lessons. The San Francisco Bay Area company has been in business about two years, and Rothenberg-Aalami said it was trying to fill a need for adult education that worked in the modern world. The “demand is definitely not being met with classroom-based adult education today,” she said. The flexibility was key for Lopez, who didn’t have to find child care for her daughters or set aside time for a formal class. “This is only my phone,” she said. “It’s very easy, maybe I cook and I put on the class.” Rothenberg-Aalami said it took an average of about 25 hours to finish a level of classes; New York is offering
Level I and Level II classes, as well as a citizenship class. The instruction starts out mostly in Spanish, shifting to more English as it gets more advanced. By Level IV, the lessons are conversational English, she said. But even by the end of Level II, users are able to
navigate in English much more confidently than they were before, she said. “What we provide is a bridge to a lot of other resources that are unavailable to those who are missing the first and second rung of the education ladder,” she said.
DO YOU KNOW
JOHN JAY COLLEGE
HAS FULLY ONLINE GRADUATE PROGRAMS? Masters of Science in Security Management Masters of Public Administration: Inspection and Oversight Advanced Certificate in Terrorism Studies Masters of Arts in Criminal Justice* Masters of Public Administration: Public Policy Administration* ENJOY IN-STATE TUITION PRICING NO MATTER WHERE YOU LIVE. VISIT online.jjay.cuny.edu CALL TOLL FREE (844) JJAY-ONL (552-9665) *Coming Fall 2016. Pending CUNY and NYSED approval
20
DECEMBER 10-16,2015
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
Pine Street School INTERNATIONAL AGES 2 YEARSâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; BACCALAUREATE 8 T H G R A D E
STEAM MANDARIN AND SPANISH
IMMERSION
STIMULATING CRITICAL THINKING A N D C R E AT I V E D I S C O V E R Y After School Classes and Vacation Camps with a variety of programs: Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation Inc., Chess at Three, Church Street School for Music and Art, KP Kids Karate, Mad Science, Physique Swimming, Pixel Academy, Private Picassos
Open Houses from 5-7pm: January 14 February 4th Preschool tours: Every Tuesday from 9:30-10:30am Elementary School tours: Every Thursday from 9:30-10:30am RSVP to Info@GreenIvy.com
Pine Street School
25 Pine Street | New York, NY 10005 | 212.235.2325 PineStreetSchool.com
DECEMBER 10-16,2015
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
YOUR 15 MINUTES
THE MAGIC OF NEW YORK Q&A BY HEATHER STEIN
Dan Sperry began doing magic when he was a kid. Now, he’s playing to Broadway crowds as part of the show, “The Illusionists.” He talks about how he became interested in magic, and how audiences in his hometown can be a tough sell.
When did you discover your love for magic? When I was about four or five years old my grandparents took me to see David Copperfield. I had no idea who he was or that magic could be so theatrical and larger than life. At the time my only exposure to magic was seeing a magician at my school, library or maybe a birthday party, and up until that point it really had no effect on me. But Copperfield opened the show with this trick called the Death Saw; he had to escape off a table before a huge sixfoot spinning saw blade comes down and cuts him in half. There weren’t any boxes or cover, it was just out in the open. It was like one of those old-school Bond villain contraptions. Well, the premise is that the trick apparently goes wrong and the saw accidentally falls too soon, and you visibly see him get cut in half. So as a little kid when this happened I freaked out and lost it - I had a total kid spaz moment because I thought I just saw a guy die. We had to go to the lobby and eventually leave the theater. I never saw him get put back together in the rest of the bit and never saw the rest of the show. That was my first introduction. I was later given little magic kits from the toy store and things like that to illustrate how magic is all a trick or an illusion. But I never really had a defining moment. It just sort of happened and evolved with me. Magic and I sort of found each other as I kept reading more about it and working and build-
ing my own tricks and eventually performing shows. My whole career has sort of been an ever-growing snowball.
Where did you study? How does one study to do this and get a break in this niche career? I’m mainly self-taught. I grew up in central/northern Minnesota where the closest magicians were at least an hour away, so I read a lot of books and found videos to study from. The majority of my career - especially when I was just starting out, but even up to now - has been a lot of trial and error. I’ve had a lot of amazing opportunities and milestones but I think the biggest thing that has helped me is social media. I have a lot of really great fans from all over the world that have discovered me via Facebook shares and YouTube videos.
Living in New York, what does it represent to you to be on a Broadway stage? Do certain acts appeal more here versus elsewhere? The best thing about New York audiences is you get both sides of the coin. You have tourists who just love to see shows, which is great, but then you also get that New York audience that tells you like it is, and I love that. If they don’t like a bit, you’ll know. The brutal honesty is the best feedback. I’ve also found that they can also be the most fun to perform for. I always love coming back to NYC to not only perform, but also to just exist. The vibe here is like no other place in the world.
How did The Illusionists come about and how did you find yourself performing in the show? The show started almost four years ago as an event for the Sydney Opera House. I’m one of the two original acts that have been part of the show from the beginning. It has been a crazy ride for sure. The show in Sydney oversold the three-week run we did there and word spread like wildfire about this new cutting-edge magic show that broke their ticket sales
records. It was crazy because we came out of nowhere. Before we knew it, we were touring all over the world. And now last year we finally came to America and did Broadway, and became the bestselling magic show in Broadway history. To be able to come back again for an even longer run is really cool.
Do you ever notice the reaction by children is different than adults to some of your acts? If so what do you see? Yes and no; yes, because I do some pretty shocking and outthere type magic tricks. Often times the parents or adults might have a harder time watching whereas the kids are like “That’s so cool!”
What has been the most dangerous segment you have performed? There’s a bit of danger in almost everything I do. It’s not so much short-term danger, but there are things that could potentially produce adverse effects later in life. One trick I’m doing on Broadway with a signed coin could potentially cause blindness later on if I’m not careful.
Where do you see yourself and magic overall in the future? I honestly don’t know and don’t even think about it. I’m taking it as it comes. I just want to be able to have fun doing what I do and hopefully people will continue to enjoy it, and then the snowball continues to build and build… and then I’d be able to go to Disney theme parks whenever and where I want.
What magic does NYC give you? Life. I feel alive here. Again, the energy and people of NYC are the best in the world.
Know somebody who deserves their 15 Minutes of fame? Go to otdowntown. com and click on submit a press release or announcement.
21 To read about other people who have had their “15 Minutes” go to otdowntown.com/15 minutes
22
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
DECEMBER 10-16,2015
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 10-16,2015
CLASSIFIEDS
ACCOUNTING/FINANCIAL SERVICES
23
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
CAMPS/SCHOOLS
ENTERTAINMENT
Telephone: 212-868-0190 Fax: 212-868-0198 Email: classified2@strausnews.com
POLICY NOTICE: We make every eďŹ&#x20AC;ort to avoid mistakes in your classiďŹ ed ads. Check your ad the ďŹ rst week it runs. The publication will only accept responsibility for the ďŹ rst incorrect insertion. The publication assumes no ďŹ nancial responsibility for errors or omissions. We reserve the right to edit, reject, or re-classify any ad. Contact your sales rep directly for any copy changes. All classiďŹ ed ads are pre-paid.
SERVICES OFFERED
Directory of Business & Services To advertise in this directory Call #BSSZ (212)-868-0190 ext.4 CBSSZ MFXJT@strausnews.com
ANIMALS & PETS
Antique, Flea & Farmers Market SINCE 1979
East 67th Street Market
ANTIQUES/COLLECTIBLES
(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
CARS & TRUCKS & RVâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S
REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE
Chinese Objects Paintings, Jewelry Silver, Furniture, Etc. Entire Estates Purchased
800.530.0006
9,6,7 285 6725( 21 7+( ($67 6,'( 72 6(( $// 7+( 0(5&+$1',6( (DVW WK 6WUHHW Â&#x2021; 1HZ <RUN &LW\ Â&#x2021; ,QIR#7UL6WDWH&KHVV FRP Â&#x2021; 7UL6WDWH&KHVV FRP
MASSAGE
"GUFS 4DIPPM 1SPHSBNT r $IFTT 1JFDFT BOE #PBSET r #PPLT 4FUT r $MPDLT r 4PGUXBSF r 1SJWBUF -FTTPOT r 5PVSOBNFOUT
( 212) 289- 5997
Quick | Easy | Economical
Call Barry Lewis today at:
TOP PRICES PAID
TRI-STATE-CHESS
CHILD CARE
NEED TO RUN A LEGAL NOTICE?
ANTIQUES WANTED
0DMHVWLF7URSKLHV FRP ,QIR#0DMHVWLF7URSKLHV FRP
EMPLOYMENT
212-868-0190
$ZDUGV IRU $OO 6SRUWV Â&#x2021; 7URSKLHV Â&#x2021; 3ODTXHV Â&#x2021; 0HGDOV
0HQWLRQ WKLV DG DQG JHW RII DOO PHUFKDQGLVH MERCHANDISE FOR SALE TUTOR
New York Traditional Acupuncture 1BJO 3FMJFG t 'BDJBM 3FKVWFOBUJPO 8FJHIU -PTT t %FQSFTTJPO t *OTPNOJB 4USFTT t 4DJBUJDB t "SUISJUJT t "MMFSHZ
VACATIONS
Free Consultation 212-355-2988 www.acupunctureon.com
30 E. 60th St, New York, NY (bet Park & Madison Ave)
SOHO LT MFG WANTED TO BUY REAL ESTATE - RENT
Where students learn from course work, internships and more
GRADUATING READY | PlazaCollege.edu 718.502.6248WORKFORCE
Register Now For January 718.502.6248 | PlazaCollege.edu 118-33 Queens Boulevard, Forest Hills
118-33 Queens Boulevard, Forest Hills
462 Broadway MFG No Retail/Food +/- 9,000 sf Ground Floor - $90 psf +/- 16,000 sf Cellar - $75 psf Call Farrell @ Meringoff Properties 646.306.0299
24
Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com
DECEMBER 10-16,2015
What if? What now? Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s next? A celebration of Life Reimagined Join AARP and Straus News for a discussion about reimagining life. Meet New Yorkers 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 â&#x20AC;&#x153;whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nextâ&#x20AC;?!
Speakers Include: JERI SEDLAR, acclaimed speaker and lecturer, and the author of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Retire, Rewire! 5 Steps To Fulfilling Work That Fuels Your Passion, Suits Your Personality and Fills Your Pocketâ&#x20AC;?
JANET TAYLOR, Life Reimagined thought leader, renowned community psychiatrist, certified life coach, writer and speaker
.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 East Side
The local paper for the Upper West Side
The local paper for Downtown
The local paper for Chelsea