The local paper for Downtown wn WEEK OF AUGUST
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CHEF BEN LEE E ON A VOCE MADISON SON Q&A, P. 17 >
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OurTownDowntown @OTDowntown
A COMMUTE OF ENDLESS CHOICES TRANSPORTATION Manhattanites have more options than ever for getting around the city - we tried them all BY MARGO LEVY
Just a few years ago, New Yorkers only had a few options for their daily commutes—you could take the subway, hail a yellow cab, order a car service or walk. Nowadays, though, it feels as though your options are limitless. From Citi Bike to Uber, getting to work has never been easier. A few weeks ago, I compiled a diverse list of ways to get from my Upper West Side apartment, on Central Park West between 84th and 85th Streets, to my 7th Avenue office in Chelsea, at 28th Street, and back. I recorded the time, price and any other factors that may have added to my daily commute while considering one simple question: what’s the best way to get to and
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LOOKING FOR LOVE, ONE FLYER AT A TIME
In Brief
PROFILE
RESEARCHERS: W.T.C. SHIP DATES TO 1773
Meet the East Village man who’s posting flyers for a soulmate
Researchers said this week that a vessel unearthed four years ago at the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan was made from wood cut around the year 1773. Scientists at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, writing in the July issue of the journal Tree Ring Research, said the white oak in the ship’s frame came from a Philadelphia-area forest and matched the material used to build the city’s Independence Hall. They said they tentatively identified it as a Dutch-designed, Philadelphia-built sloop made to carry passengers and cargo over shallow, rocky water, and that it sailed for 20 to 30 years before being weighed down and sunk to the bottom of the Hudson River as landfill to extend lower Manhattan.
BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS
EAST VILLAGE Dan Perino left his apartment recently wearing a sneaker on one foot and a blue-suede dress shoe on the other. He was recognized before he got to the corner. “I know you’re looking for a date,” said a woman who happened to be passing by, “but you should rethink that outfit.” A week earlier nobody knew his name, let alone cared how he dressed. Now, half of Manhattan knows his face thanks to his flyers that are seemingly posted on every traffic pole between Tribeca and Central Park. “This is not a joke,” say the ads, which also feature a headshot. “Just tired of the singles scene and hoping to meet the right person. I am a professional artist and creative person. You know who you are. To me each and every person is beautiful. Open to the possibility of the relationship morphing into something more profound.” His mission began on July 25 and isn’t a publicity stunt or viral marketing campaign, as some initially thought. So far he’s papered the Lower East Side, East and West Village, Chelsea, Tribeca, and Greenwich Village. He’s also hit midtown and as far up as 57th Street on the west side. “I couldn’t answer my phone the first few days,” said Perino of the initial call volume. In the first five days, he said he received about 650 calls. Of those, most were either curious but romantically uninterested, gay men who misunderstood the “all people are beautiful” portion of the ad, prank calls, timid women who
SAFE SIDEWALKS THE FOR DISABLED
hung up, or women he wasn’t interested in. “Women will call and they’re very shy over the phone, they’ll almost hang up on you because they’re so shy,” said Perino. “Not all of them. There’s about 10 percent of them that will stop me on the street and say, ‘I recognize your face, would you like to go out for a drink?’” He said he winds up turning them down. “Nothing to do with looks,” he said, “more of the process of having the relationship.” Perino said he’s looking for a more traditional kind of relationship with a “down-to-earth girl,” that catchall phrase for someone who’s normal,
but genuine and funny and smart and easy to be with. In other words, perfect. His ideal form of dating would be more akin to courtship. Of his process when an actual prospect calls, Perino said, “they usually interview me before I interview them.” Based on the questions they ask, and a few of his own, he can tell if they’re what he’s looking for. He’s gotten about five responses from these down-to-earth types, he said, and has three dates already lined up. The flyers also double as a social experiment, though when pressed
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A federal lawsuit is seeking to force New York City to make its sidewalks and pedestrian routes safer for the blind and people who use wheelchairs. The lawsuit was filed in Manhattan federal court Wednesday. It was brought by Disability Rights Advocates and the Center for Independence of the Disabled in New York. It seeks to force the city to upgrade its sidewalks, particularly those below 14th Street in Manhattan. It also seeks a declaration that the city is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg responded to the lawsuit by saying over 90 percent of New York’s street corners feature pedestrian ramps.
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Our Town AUGUST 7, 2014
NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS CHECK TEENAGER PLEADS GUILTY TO BREAKING INTO W.T.C. SITE NY1 reports that the teenager who raised alarming questions of security after scaling the 1 World Trade Center Tower has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. The sixteen-year-old boy, Justin Casquejo of Weehawken, New Jersey, admitted in court that he had broken a city misdemeanor law by breaking into the construction site and climbing to the building’s 104th floor. Casquejo, who also managed to get onto the roof and climb a ladder to the antenna, was caught as he descended the unfinished skyscraper. The guard on duty at the time of the breach has since been fired. NY1
NYPD DETECTIVE WOUNDED IN WEST VILLAGE SHOOTOUT IS WELCOMED HOME Detective Mario Muniz received a hero’s welcome home after his release from Bellevue Hospital, where he was treated for a gunshot wound, the Daily News reported. Muniz, along with two other U.S. Marshals, was shot by accused child molester Charles Mozdir in the West Village shop Smoking Culture, on West 4th St. The police had received a tip that the sex offender was in Manhattan, and after tracing him to the smoke shop, attempted to apprehend him before Mozdir pulled out a .32-caliber revolver and started shooting
at the policemen. After Muniz was hit in the groin, the U.S. Marshals returned fire and mortally wounded Mozdir, NY Daily News
BOWERY WHOLE FOODS TO OPEN A POP-UP ART GALLERY According to DNAinfo.com, the Whole Foods located on Bowery will open a popup gallery of Lower East Side-themed art in September. Natalie Rabin, a spokeswoman for the Lower East Side Business Improvement District that is co-hosting the show, announced that the gallery will offer an exhibit of neighborhood-centric pieces. Whole Foods and the BID are asking artists to submit drawings, paintings, and photos for the show; the winners, who will be announced on September 4, will have their work hung on the wall of the second-floor mezzanine. Raben said that she hopes to host additional shows at Whole Foods in the future. DNAinfo.com
LAST GAS STATION IN LOWER MANHATTAN SLATED TO SHUTTER ITS PUMPS According to the New York Observer, reports have surfaced that the last gas station in lower Manhattan is slated to close in September. The BP Station and auto-shop, located at 24 2nd Ave, will join a list of other stations that have also recently closed or will soon shut down (including one at 300 Lafayette and
another on 11th Avenue). According to an employee at the 2nd Ave station, although business has been booming lately, taxi and livery cab drivers are still heading to Brooklyn and Queens to fill up their tanks. David Pollack, a spokesman for The Committee for Taxi Safety, remains optimistic that drivers won’t run into too many problems, adding that the other boroughs will remain viable options. New York Observer
RIVINGTON HOUSE NURSING HOME WILL CLOSE Rivington House, the city’s only nursing home devoted entirely to AIDS patients, will close in November, The Lo-Down reports. The Lower East Side center, located at 45 Rivington Street, opened in 1995 to care for New Yorkers suffering from AIDS. Now, though, a spokesman for Rivington House, run by the not-for-profit organization VillageCare, said that the facility has been “nearly half-empty for two years.” The spokesman looks at the building’s closure in a positive light, noting that advances in medicine have allowed AIDs patients to live “long, productive and healthy lives,” eliminating any urgent need for a facility like Rivington House. The property, which takes up an entire city block, is purportedly worth millions; its sale could help VillageCare support its programs elsewhere in New York. The Lo-Down
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AUGUST 7, 2014 Our Town
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CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG RING WRONG A young mother lost two very expensive rings in a tearoom. At 3:55 PM on Monday, July 21, a 30-year-old woman went to use the bathroom at Ladurée, New York, located at 396 West Broadway, to breast-feed her child. She then went to wash her hands and took off her rings to do so. She later noticed that the rings were missing. The missing rings were a Lipworth Diamond Corp. ring valued at $60,000 and a Tiffany and Company ring worth $6,500, making a total of $66,500.
CLEANING OUT SERVICE Computer equipment was stolen from a downtown office. At 5 PM on Monday, April 21, a 49-year-old male employee of the YMCA Retirement Fund, located on the 27th floor at 140 Broadway, discovered that two computers were missing from his office. He conducted a further check of inventory and found that more computer electronics were missing from the PC set room opposite his office. He reviewed office video surveillance footage and saw an unknown man entering the location wearing an ABM Cleaning Service uniform shirt. The cleaning man was met by an employee who mistook him for the maintenance person called to clear a clog in the ladies room on the
28th floor. The cleaning man was not seen actually removing property, but he was seen walking around the office, in and out of different rooms for some three hours, wearing a backpack. He did not engage in any cleaning activities and put on a camouflage jacket over the uniform shirt prior to leaving the office with his backpack looking larger than when he had entered the location before. The equipment stolen included two Microsoft Surface tablets valued at $3,600, an Apple MacBook Pro 17 priced at $2,000, an iPad 2 worth $700, an iPad Air priced at $700, and two Microsoft Surface keyboards valued at $200. The total stolen came to $7,200.
NO SANCTUARY Someone cashed unauthorized electronic checks from a company’s checking account. At 2 PM on Wednesday, July 16, a 45-year-old female employee of the Sanctuary for Families at 40 Exchange Place told police that unknown persons had accessed the company’s checking account without permission or authority, cashing 36 electronic checks totaling $26,171.96. Apparently, three employees had access to that account: the payroll manager, the senior account manager, and the director of finance. No physical checks were reported missing.
HALLANDALE HELL
1ST PRECINCT
Items of property were removed from a man’s hotel room. A 43-year-old man from Hallandale, FL told police that sometime between 5:30 PM on Saturday, July 26 and 1:30 AM on Monday, July 28, property was removed from his hotel room number 1214 at the W Hotel, located at 123 Washington Street. Police searched the premises, but could not locate the missing property. There were no video cameras located in the 12th floor hallway. The property stolen included a Canelli jacket valued at $2,200, a Prada bag worth $1,770, a Ted Baker jacket priced at $1,400, a love ring costing $1,100, Louis Vuitton shoes tagged at $895, Louis Vuitton red bottom shoes valued at $895, Louis Vuitton shoes costing $795, Louis Vuitton red bottom shoes priced at $695, and a love bracelet valued at $660. The total taken from the man’s room came to $10,410.
Report covering the week 7/21/2014 through 7/27/2014
ROLLED ON GOLD Someone stole a vehicle belonging to the city. At 3:17 PM on Thursday, July 3, a 66-year-old male employee of the New York City Housing Preservation and Development agency parked his car in front of 57 Gold Street. When he returned to the location the next day at 5 PM, he found the vehicle was missing. Police searched the area but could
Week to Date
Year to Date
2014 2013
% Change
2014
2013 % Change
Murder
0
0
n/a
0
0
n/a
Rape
0
0
n/a
5
7
-28.6
Robbery
1
3
-66.7
26
37
-29.7
Felony Assault
2
3
-33.3
40
45
-11.1
Burglary
2
2
0
90
120
-25
Grand Larceny
21
26
-19.2
509
604
-15.7
Grand Larceny Auto
1
0
n/a
6
20
-70
North End Avenue and found that the front door of the apartment was open, showing no signs of break-in. There were no cameras in the hallway, and maintenance and building staff had access to the apartment. The items missing from inside the apartment included two Agnes B jackets valued at $1,000, a leather Bergdorf bag priced DEAD AND BURGLARIZED at $1,000, four Agnes B sweaters totaling $800, a Burberry jacket priced Property was removed without permission or authority from a deceased at $600, a pair of Tiffany gold hoop earrings worth $550, two leather belts woman’s apartment. At 12:15 PM on valued at $400, and a gold necklace July 23, a 53-year-old woman from worth $125. The total amount of the Huntington, NY went to her deceased missing items came to $4,590. mother’s apartment located at 455 not locate the missing car. The city impound lot said they had not removed the vehicle, and the employee was still in possession of the vehicle keys. The stolen car was a blue 2002 Toyota Prius valued at $5,000, bearing New York plates K34847.
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Our Town AUGUST 7, 2014
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
212-477-7411 212-334-0611
FIRE FDNY Engine 15
25 Pitt St.
311
FDNY Engine 24/Ladder 5
227 6th Ave.
311
FDNY Engine 28 Ladder 11
222 E. 2nd St.
311
FDNY Engine 4/Ladder 15
42 South St.
311
ELECTED OFFICIALS
DOWNTOWN TOWER RESIDENTS AT A CROSSROADS DEVELOPMENT
THE SOUTHBRIDGE VOTE
Privatization vote for 1,651-unit Mitchell-Lama complex set for the end of September
Councilmember Margaret Chin
165 Park Row #11
Councilmember Rosie Mendez
237 1st Ave. #504
212-587-3159 212-677-1077
BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS
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
FINANCIAL DISTRICT Residents of Southbridge Towers, a housing complex at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge downtown, have had years to consider whether or not to leave the protection of the Mitchell-Lama affordable housing program in exchange for owning their apartments, but never has the possibility been as tantalizingly close – or fraught – as it is now. The deciding vote, long-delayed and much discussed, is less than two months away. Shareholders in the complex met last Tuesday to discuss the prospect in what is likely to be the last formal shareholders meeting before a decision is made. The Mitchell-Lama program was created in the 1950s as a way to establish and sustain affordable housing for middle class New Yorkers. In exchange for real estate tax breaks and low interest mortgages, Mitchell-Lama co-op shareholders agree to keep rents and purchase prices far below market rate. After 20 years in Mitchell-Lama, a participating co-op corporation can voluntarily exit the program with a two-thirds vote. To date, 93 Mitchell-Lama developments with 31,700 units have voted to exit the program in what’s called a buyout or privatization. At Southbridge Towers, a 1,651-unit complex spread among a series of buildings in the Financial District, the question of whether to privatize goes back to 2005, when shareholders voted to conduct a feasibility study on whether such a plan made financial sense. The mechanics of privatizing are complicated – it takes a 900-page prospectus to explain - but proponents of the plan say it will lead to a windfall of equity for those shareholders who decide to put their apartments up for sale at market rate, which is the stated outcome of privatization and the reason the process is called a buyout. But opponents of the plan say privatizing is a gamble that isn’t worth the risks, which they say come down to a host of unknowns. For instance, will the state’s Real Estate Transfer Tax affect those looking to sell their unit after privatization? That question is currently tied up in a court case between one of Donald Trump’s properties and the city and won’t be resolved until after the vote. And what of the asbestos that’s in the units and common areas at Southbridge Towers?
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Also at stake is the maintenance – or rent – at Southbridge Towers, which could increase dramatically if privatization passes for those who choose to stay in their units and not sell. The question of how much they could rise is dependent on how many units sell. According to the prospectus, owners who sell their units after privatization have to pay a 28-33 percent “flip tax” back to the co-op corporation, money that will keep the maintenance fees flat for those who choose to stay after privatization. However, those fees will only stay flat if three percent of apartments are sold each year. Opponents also say giving up over 1,600 affordable units in the heart of Lower Manhattan is unconscionable and hurts the many thousands on a waiting list to get into a Mitchell-Lama apartment. “I would not choose to make money after being subsidized for over 40 years and deny others from having the same opportunity,” said Paul Hovitz, who formed the anti-privatization Southbridge Towers Tenants Association last year to combat the forces of pro-privatization. For opponents of the plan, the protections afforded by Mitchell-Lama far outweigh the benefits of owning and controlling the destiny of their apartment. Still, the prospect of suddenly owning a market-rate apartment in prime real estate like the Financial District is attractive to many shareholders. Stuart Saft, an attorney with Holland and Knight who heads their New York real estate division, was hired to conduct the feasibility study and spoke to shareholders about the privatization deal at the meeting last Tuesday. According to a valuation that was conducted as part of the prospectus, shareholders stand to gain, depending on the size of their unit, anywhere from $300,000 to $1.3 million
If privatization wins the day, shareholders will have 90 days to decide on one of three options: 1. Turn in their Mitchell-Lama stock certificate and occupancy agreement, exchanging it for a new stock certificate and proprietary lease for their apartment. Those owners will have the right to sell their shares and lease for their apartment for its fair market value at any time. Saft characterizes this choice as the obvious one. 2. Turn in their stock certificate and occupancy agreement, get back what they originally paid for their MitchellLama co-op apartment, and leave. Saft indicated that nobody would choose this option. 3. Turn in their stock certificate and occupancy agreement, get what they originally paid back, and become a rental tenant under a new lease. Initial maintenance would be equal to their current maintenance plus Rent Guidelines Board increases, which could not exceed more than 5 percent per year. However, maintenance could go up additionally depending on the amount of units sold yearly after privatization.
if Southbridge Towers privatizes and they sell. Saft admitted the deal was complicated when he quipped that it was, “written for lawyers by lawyers, who obviously get paid by the page.” As for the Real Estate Transfer Tax, Saft and other lawyers involved say it’s extremely unlikely that it will apply. Asbestos abatement is also available for a nominal dollar amount when compared with what shareholders stand to gain. “If the people who are opposed to the plan really felt that there was a real asbestos problem, they would have moved out of their apartments years ago,” said Saft. Southbridge shareholders will need a two-thirds majority vote for privatization. (Abstaining from the vote is equal to a vote against privatization.) The vote is scheduled for the end of September. Robert DuBois, an anti-privatization insurance adjuster and former mortgage banker, said for the past six years pro-privatization and pro-Mitchell-Lama groups have been waging war for control of the board. “The campaign to go private has been going on for the better part of a decade and has the place deeply divided,” said DuBois. “The vote will be harrowingly close.”
AUGUST 7, 2014 Our Town
Planned Service Changes
ACE
Aug 11-15 10 PM to 5 AM | Mon to Fri No trains at ACE stations between 59 St-Columbus Circle and Jay St-MetroTech. A and E trains are rerouted via the 6 Av Line. C service ends early each night. A trains are rerouted via the D and F as follows: 1. Trains run via the D between 59 St-Columbus Circle and 34 St-Herald Sq. 2. Trains run via the F between 34 St-Herald Sq and Jay St-MetroTech. E trains are rerouted via the M and F in Manhattan as follows: 1. Trains run via the M in both directions between 5 Av/53 St and 34 St-Herald Sq. 2. Trains run via the F in both directions between 34 St-Herald Sq and the 2 Av F station, the last stop. No trains between World Trade Center and 7 Av. TRAVEL ALTERNATIVES 7 Use 6 Av DF stations to connect with rerouted AE trains. 7 '" 123456 for service to/from Lower Manhattan. 7 '" 12 for service to/from 34 St-Penn Station and Times Sq/42 St-Port Authority Bus Terminal. Stay Informed (( *! / 5 6 1.."*0 ".2& " 0 01/ 8 (++' #+. &*#+.) 0&+* ( ,+/0"./ &* /0 0&+*/ +. 2&/&0 mta.info where you can access the latest Planned Service Changes information, use TripPlanner+, and sign up for free email and text alerts.
2014 Metropolitan Transportation Authority
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Our Town AUGUST 7, 2014
COMMUTE OF ENDLESS CHOICES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
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from work? I tried several car services, biking, walking and public transportation, and all had their distinct advantages and disadvantages. After trying virtually everything, however, my favorite way of getting to work was the trusty subway. I love my morning walk to Broadway to catch the 1 train, which allows me to stop at my favorite neighborhood bodega for an iced coffee and a newspaper. Nothing can beat the silent passengers and noisy train to help me ease in or out of my day at work.
TAXI Time: 19 minutes Cost: $19.80 Route: Up 10th Avenue The Good: Great air conditioning The Bad: My driver’s lurchy driving On a Monday, I took a taxi home from work. I waited outside my office for about a minute and a half before I was able to flag down a yellow cab. When I got in the car I was happy to sit down in the roomy, air-conditioned back seat. The driver took 10th Avenue uptown and before I knew it I was home.
BUS Time: 1 hour and 2 minutes Cost: $2.50 Route: M7 bus uptown The Good: Time to relax The Bad: The 6th Avenue traffic On Monday evening, I walked from work to the M7 bus stop at 6th Avenue and 28th Street. Although the M10 has a stop closer to my house, I find I easier to take one bus and just walk 2-3 blocks rather than transfer at Columbus Circle. The bus arrived two minutes early, at 4:09 p.m., pulling into the stop just as I got there. There weren’t many people so I was able to find a seat for the entirety of my ride.The traffic on 6th Avenue moved rather slowly, however, so traveling for about 30 blocks, including all the stops made, encompassed the first 40 minutes of my ride. Once we turned onto Central Park South, the traffic was much smoother. I imagine this would be a rather uncomfortable ride if I had had to stand.
SUBWAY Time: 36 minutes Cost: $2.50 Route: Walked to the 1 train, stopped for coffee and a paper The Good: Time to read the paper The Bad: Sweat stains from the hot platform On Wednesday morning I took the subway in to work. The C train is closest to my house, but I prefer to walk a few extra blocks to the 1 train so I can avoid a transfer at 59th street. I left at 9:20 a.m., and stopped for a coffee and a paper on my way to the station. After I walked the three long avenues to the train, the bottoms of my feet ached and I was pretty sweaty. The 5 minute wait on the underground platform didn’t do much to help my sweat problem either. When the train arrived, I packed onto it with all the other morning commuters and held on to a railing as the subway moved downtown. After another few stops, I was able to get a seat, and then the time flew by until I arrived at the 28th street stop.
UBER Time: 28 minutes Cost: $20.57 Route: Up 10th avenue
The Good: My driver’s salsa music playing on the radio The Bad: The 10th Avenue traffic that day Last Wednesday I ordered my first Uber ride to get home from work. At around 4:58 p.m. I requested a car, and by 5:01, the screen of the app notified me that my driver was here. I rushed downstairs to find a man holding an Uber sign waiting for me off the corner of 28th Street and 7th Avenue. The car was clean, air-conditioned and comfortable. When I asked him how the pricing works for Uber, my driver had a difficult time explaining, but mumbled something about distance and time. We took 10th Avenue up and there was much more traffic than usual. Unlike a taxi, Uber does not display a rising meter so I was a little anxious about the rising cost as I sat in traffic. When I arrived home, though, my cab driver told me that tip was included and that I was free to go. Even though the ride had taken me 10 more minutes than my yellow cab, it was only $.77 more expensive. I was a little uneasy about it when I got out because I couldn’t choose my tip, but since that first ride, I have used Uber two more times.
WALKING
THE NEWFANGLED OPTIONS What’s an Uber? Uber and Gett are both new car service apps. Users download a smartphone app and input their information, like name, a photo, email address and credit card numbers. When they want to summon a car, they open the app, which knows the user’s location, and click a few steps to call the nearest driver. All fees and tips are included in the fare, and no money changes hands between the passenger and driver - it’s all billed to a chosen credit card and a reciept is emailed after the ride. How are these services different from a taxi or regular car service? Both calculate rates with their own algorithms, rather than flat fees, and charge users through pre-selected credit or debit cards, with tip included automatically. Uber will sometimes institute “surge pricing,” which means that they charge anywhere from 1.5 to 7 times their regular rates when demand is high, like during rush hour or in the middle of a snow storm. Uber also has a system where users can rate drivers after a ride, and drivers can rate their passengers too. And Uber offers several different options: UberT calls regular yellow cabs; UberX calls drivers with their own vehicles and is ostensibly cheaper than a taxi; Uber Black calls pricier black sedans, and Uber SUV is for 6 or more passengers. Are there other services like this? There are several other services and apps emerging in the city. One company called Lyft recently launched in NYC, after changing their practices to comply with New York state regulations at the behest of the state attorney general. In other cities, Lyft operates as a “peer-to-peer” system, where normal drivers can sign up to pick up fares. In New York, the company has agreed to enforce the law that drivers are licensed by the Taxi and Limousine Commission. Another app called Hailo simply calls up yellow taxis.
AUGUST 7, 2014 Our Town
Our reporter sampled all manners of transportation, from walking to cabs to Citi Bike, to get to and from work and home.
Time: 56 minutes Cost: free Route: Up 7th avenue to Central Park West The Good: Getting some fresh air The Bad: The painful blisters As I turned out of my office building, I was immediately confronted with an annoying amount of pedestrian traffic. I walked on 7th Avenue, and as I got higher uptown, the mobs of people only got denser. I found myself rubbing shoulders with strangers and walking at an unusually slow pace. I was happy I had decided to walk home from the office rather than in the morning, because by the time I arrived at 42nd street, my dress was completely soaked through with sweat. As I walked, I listened to my music and tried to ignore the sharp pains in my feet. Before I left, I slapped on a few layers of band aids to avoid blisters, but after a few blocks these had rubbed off, and remained sticking to the bottom of my feet. By the time I got to 57th street, I could hardly ignore the pain in my back from carrying my heavy laptop. It took all my strength not to hail down a cab or just hop on the C train back to my apartment. When I reached more familiar territory on Central Park West, I got a second wind. I powered through the last 20 blocks, but by the time I got home, my feet were very mad at me.
GETT Time: 23 minutes Cost: $28.49 Route: Down Central Park West, then down 7th Ave The Good: Great conversation with my driver The Bad: Hidden rush hour fee At around 9:15 a.m. Monday morning, I downloaded the Gett app. I typed in my info and scanned my credit card, and soon enough, I requested
a car. When I clicked “request car” the screen told me I had 3 minutes before my driver would arrive. At that same moment, I also received a text notification saying that my order had gone through, and that my car was on the way. About 2 minutes later I got another text informing me that my driver was downstairs. As I was throwing my laptop into my bag, I received a call from my driver telling me that he was downstairs. Outside my lobby, a white BMW was waiting for me. The car was extremely comfortable and clean, and in the background I could hear classical music. I told my driver where I was going, and off we went down Central Park West. On our way, my driver explained that he had initially expected to join the Uber team, but decided on Gett instead because he was able to use the company’s car, and all expenses were covered. When we arrived at 28th street, the paying process was similar to uber in that there was none. When I got out of my car, the driver told me it was $19.20, but when I went on the app two days later, I learned it was actually $28.49. When I ordered the car, it notified me that there was a $5 rush hour fee, but I had assumed it was included in the price I saw at the end of the ride. Either way, the price difference is more than $5, so I assume that tip was also not included.
CITI BIKE Time: 55 minutes Cost: $9.35 Route: 8th Avenue station to 59th Street station The Good: Exercise The Bad: My road rage directed at street pedestrians Never again. Riding a Citi Bike through midtown was very stressful. I walked from my office to 8th Avenue to pick up a bike. The process of getting
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the bike out of its holder took ten minutes alone. The credit card machines are delayed and require you to type in all sorts of information. Also, the shortest amount of time to rent a bike is 24 hours, which costs $10. After I got my bike, I rode up 8th Avenue, going with the traffic. During the 25 minutes that I was on my bike, there were about seven times when I thought I was going to die. The city has created bike lanes, but on every other block there was at least one truck parked in them, forcing me to merge into car lanes. Also, pedestrians seem to think that bike lanes are a second sidewalk, forcing bikers to swerve through foot traffic. By the time I got to 59th street, I was a little bit angry and very sweaty. There are no Citi Bike stations past Columbus Circle, so I had to park my bike there and hop a subway the rest of the way home.
CAR SERVICE (DIAL 7 CAR) Time: 18 minutes Cost: $28.50 Route: Central Park to 7th Avenue The Good: Comfy back seat The Bad: High price At about 9:20 a.m, I ordered a dial 7 car to my building. At 9:44, I got a call from my driver telling me that he was downstairs. I found a black town car waiting for me. When I got in, my driver confirmed the address I was going to, and we sped downtown through Central Park. When the park ended, we took 7th Avenue the rest of the way. When we arrived I handed my driver my credit card, and he handed me a table to select the tip I would like to add. When I got out, a receipt was emailed to me. Additional reporting by Mary Kekatos
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Our Town AUGUST 7, 2014
The Sixth Borough
The berries won’t wait
BY BECCA TUCKER s there anything better than picking vegetables from your own garden? It’s a rhetorical question people sometimes ask, so I don’t need to be a wiseass and answer: probably. Harvesting the fruit of your labor is fulfilling, no doubt about it, but picking food you didn’t lift a finger to grow? Never planted, weeded, fenced off from critters, mulched, watered? That’s got a kleptomaniac’s thrill about it. Oyster mushrooms on a tree stump. Bunches of wild grapes dripping from fence posts. And for a week or two, when July turns into August, lining roadside ditches and fields you forgot to mow, the iridescent canes of the wineberry. Let me tell you about wineberries, which I met when I moved north from the city a few years ago. I thought they were raspberries then; not so. They turn out to be a smaller and seedier, but an equally delicious cousin that emigrated from Japan. They’re a tenacious invader. You can’t buy them at nurseries because you’re not supposed to plant them, or move them, but they’re settling in just fine without any coddling from us. “Wineberry poses a threat to native flora because of its vigorous growth, which allows it to crowd out native plants and establish extensive patches,” according to the Department
I
of Natural Resources. Immigrants they may be, but they were here in the woods behind my house before I got here. To my mind, the sticky clusters of plumping buds are summer. They are as iconic as fireflies or fireworks – and as fleeting. We are at peak berries this very moment as I sit here typing, and it seems criminal not to be out harvesting. Last year, we froze a bunch in Ziplocks. All winter long, we’d toss a handful of frozen berries into plain yogurt, stir vigorously, and out would come a pink, sweet yogurt. It was our go-to snack, our virtuous desert, and our fallback baby food. Baby suddenly refuses to eat eggs for breakfast? It’s past dinnertime and baby is starving and we don’t seem to have any food in the fridge? Yogurt and berries. This year, though, we could do better than a few Ziplocks. It could be a different ball game altogether – if I could find time to get back out into the abandoned cow fields. I don’t know if it’s an exceptional wineberry year, or if it just happens that the conditions across the street from us have created the ideal wineberry habitat, or both. I hadn’t even noticed the For Sale sign in front of the farm opposite ours until I started scouting for berries. Driving back roads this time of year, I keep a perpetual scan on the roadsides. I was slowing down to pull into my driveway when the late afternoon sun lit up the motherload of berry thickets on the other side of the wooden cow fence. It made every other patch I’d been picking at look like a waste of time. I ditched my car and hopped the fence. It was a sturdy, handsome wooden fence that had just gone up last year (when you have animals, particularly animals that like to escape, you start to appreciate fences). They’d had about 30 cows here last year. “The cows are in town,” Husband Joe and I would say to each other, when they were on the stretch of pasture that was visible from our place. Hav-
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ing cows for neighbors made us feel like real farmers. But the cows hadn’t been in town at all, I suddenly realized. Another farm bites the dust. Now, acres upon acres of pasture that hadn’t been grazed all season were in that scrubby phase where berries thrive. I didn’t have much time to pick; we had guests coming over who were passing through town. Plus the groceries were in my car getting hot. But each time I was about to head back I spotted a glistening cluster on its way from blood red to royal purple. The berries would be desiccated and fall to the ground if I waited even one day. It was getting to be an unacceptably long time I’d been gone, but I reassured myself that no one had to know where I’d been. Even though I was close to the road, the bushes were so thick that I was pretty sure no one could see me, and if they could see a person, they certainly couldn’t make out who it was. I’d just say that I’d gotten held up at the grocery store. Then our guests drove by, honked and waved. I could hear them saying their hellos to Joe and baby Kai. It was rude, now, but still I went from one patch to the next, knees getting snagged and bloodied. By the time I got back, my bag was full, but our guests were gone. The berries won’t wait, is the thing. I had a feeling my friends would understand, because in their backyard, between the house and the stream, along the fence that separates the house from the neighbors’ – they’ve got berry brambles, too. Becca Tucker is a former Manhattanite who now lives on a farm upstate and writes about the rural life.
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he has a hard time defining what exactly he’s looking to learn. “The goal is to compare relationships,” said Perino. “The way women are today and the way they were a hundred years ago. And I wanted to learn something for myself. It was a book idea at first, me jotting down everything that was said from every single person.” Though just how old-fashioned he’d like to get is open to interpretation. One of his rules is “no sex until 30 days after we know each other,” he said. These kind of contradictions run through much of his thinking about the experiment. For instance, he rejects the notion that down-to-earth types aren’t especially inclined to respond to girlfriend-wanted ads on traffic poles. And the fact that he doesn’t really know how women were a hundred years ago doesn’t seem to bother him either. Yet he’s earnest in his quest, and seems convinced that posting flyers looking for love in Manhattan is, at his age, the best way to go about finding a partner. “One woman I spoke with for two hours on the phone after texting for about an hour,” said Perino. “We had a date set up for yesterday but she just never got back to me. I actually had a great time with her just talking over the phone.” Despite its amorphous goal, the experiment side of this adventure is equally important, if not more so, then finding his soulmate. He’s turned down
DAN PERINO’S TIPS FOR FLYERING ON THE SLY • Wrap your flyers in a newspaper and hold the bundle under your arm as you post them. • Post fliers while facing traffic so the object you’re posting on screens you from oncoming cars, one of which might be a cop or sanitation worker. • Pre-load your flyers with tape so you’re not standing too long in front of a traffic pole.
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several dates he said because he doesn’t want to find someone too soon. “I have to find the right girl, I don’t want to just get laid, which I could have so many times,” he said. “It takes a lot of balls to put up these flyers.” Perino posts a flyer like a pickpocket lifts a wallet; blink and you’ll miss it. Walking recently in the Bowery, he identified an easy mark on the corner of 2nd Avenue and East 5th Street. In the crosswalk he loaded his fingers with strips of masking tape and approached from the north. He then paused momentarily to swipe the traffic pole with a flyer, reinforcing the three taped points with a deft pass of his hand, before moving onto the next unsuspecting target. The bottom is left un-taped so passers-by can tear off his number if they get the urge. Despite his recent sartorial mishap, which he said has never happened before, he dresses well: a white button down, blue and white tie, black jeans and blue suede shoes, which are now matching. He’s never tried online dating and said he never will. “I’m not going to sit in my house for 12 hours looking for a date on the internet,” he said. “It’s unhealthy.” He’s also through with picking up women at bars, which usually leads to superficial encounters and he’s looking for something a bit more meaningful, he said. “That’s good and all when you’re in your 20s, but there’s no relationship ” said Perino. In a former life, he was a married real estate agent. He made a lot of money very quickly, he said, and then lost most of it in a subsequent divorce. The marriage lasted two years and
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produced a daughter, who’s 17 now and lives with her mother in South Jersey. There’s an ongoing custody battle and skirmishes over alimony. He keeps in touch with his daughter and last talked to her about a week ago, he said. At present he makes his money painting murals for people in their apartments. And yes, he has flyers for that too, and his acting services. As for why the marriage didn’t last, Perino said he thinks his ex-wife was mostly interested in financial security. “My ex-wife is Korean, and I think the main reason she was with me was because of the money I was making at the time,” said Perino. “I think that that’s quite common. I think there’s a lot of women like that who are interested in the security aspect. Once the power comes in, they just totally destroy you.” But he’s not bitter, he said. He also may want kids in the future, which is the only reason he’d be interested in a woman who’s younger than he is. “The girl I’m talking to now, she’s 45,” said Perino, who is 50. “She’s beautiful and I’m sure it would be a great relationship, but she wouldn’t be able to have children.” When asked what he would do if this didn’t work, he has a hard time understanding the question at first. “Like which one would I choose?” he said, referring to the women who respond to his ads. No, like if you don’t find your down-to-earth and old-fashioned girlfriend. “I would put up different flyers,” he said. “If that doesn’t work, the experiment was a failure. But I’d have combined a lot of information.”
Staff Reporters, Gabrielle Alfiero, Daniel Fitzsimmons Block Mayors, Ann Morris, Upper West Side
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AUGUST 7, 2014 Our Town
A CENTURY OF SEX TALK ON THE EAST SIDE MILESTONES Shirley Zussman, who recently celebrated her 100th birthday, worked with Masters and Johnson, and still sees patients as a sex therapist BY KYLE POPE
UPPER EAST SIDE Some people’s life stories write themselves, and Shirley Zussman, the 100-year-old sex therapist of the Upper East Side, is one of those people. She was born in 1914 at the start of World War I (less than a month after the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand), lived in Berlin at the height of the Cabaret era, became a protege of the original Masters and Johnson, and, now into her second century, continues to see patients in an office in the ground floor of her apartment building on E. 79th Street. Last month, more than 50 people crowded Yefsi restaurant, a Greek place around the corner on York Avenue, to toast her birthday and, inevitably, to ask her how she’s done it. “People are struck by the fact that you’ve lasted,” said Zussman, whose 102-year-old sister lives nearby. “I guess it’s the idea that it’s possible. They want to know how you do it.” Zussman will get to that in a bit. (Good genes don’t hurt; her brother died recently at the age of 95.) But first, she settles into a chair in her office to look back. “I’ve had an easy life, really, a good life, as lives go,” she says, her memory as sharp as her black-and-white striped blazer. With the exception of Berlin, and her college years at Smith, she’s a lifelong Manhattanite. Her father was a doctor, her mother a surgical assistant. She became a therapist, and married Leon Zussman, a gynecologist. (He performed the first legal abortion in New York.) A friend told her about a lecture that William Masters and Virginia Johnson were having in New Jersey, and thought the Zussmans might be interested in their approach to sex therapy. “They were completely unknown at that point,” she remembers. “We thought, yes, this is something we could do.” When Masters and Johnson decided to expand their practice into New York, the Zussmans were asked to join on, opening the Human Sexuality Clinic of the Long Island Jewish-Hillside Medical Center, where they would see hundreds of patients throughout the 1970s. The Masters and Johnson approach was, and is, radical. Rather than spending weeks probing the psychological roots of people’s relationship problems, the program was intensely practical. Couples -- and you were nearly always seen as a couple -- were given explicit, detailed homework assignments aimed at addressing their sexual problems, and asked to report back every two weeks. Patients saw a male-female therapy team, usually comprised of a therapist and a medical doctor. The Zussmans thrived in this work, getting to know Masters and Johnson well, until Leon died, in a fluke accident during a routine CT scan, in
Shirley Zussman in her Upper East Side office, where she’s been seeing patients in her sex therapy practice for over fifty years. Photo by Kyle Pope 1981. Since then, Shirley has maintained her therapy practice, and continues to see patients, some as young as their 20s. At this point in the conversation, Shirley Zussman, the lovely 100-year birthday celebrant, becomes Dr. Zussman, the sex expert, and she dives right in. “Non-orgasm was a big problem for women for years, but not now,” she said, explaining that explicit sex talk in women’s magazines and elsewhere has largely solved that problem. (Zussman herself was a sex columnist for Glamour for years.) Similarly, performance issues for men have been largely eradicated by Viagra. Now, she says, the sex problem most frequently cited by couples is simply a lack of energy. “Recently, a woman said to me, I love my husband, but we’re exhausted. Lack of interest is probably more prevalent than anything else right now.” Zussman, like many people who meet her, is somewhat amazed that her practice continues, and that she still sees patients at the age of 100. “I question it myself,” she said. “Most of my referrals have died. Yet I still get people.” Thanks to the Showtime series “Masters of Sex,” interest in Masters and Johnson has been revived. Zussman was invited to the premiere of the series, and met its star, Michael Sheen. “I told him he was much more handsome than the real Masters,” she said. “It was true.” Now, back to the longevity question. One key, obviously, is to stay vibrant and engaged, which Zussman does through a close following of politics (she’s particularly vexed by the conflict in Gaza) and a writing group that meets once a month. The other key to long life, says the daughter of a physician, is to avoid doctors, if at all possible. “My father used to say, ‘Keep breathing and stay away from pills.’” Shirley Zussman then grabs her iPhone and makes plans for the day ahead, one week into her second hundred years.
M A R B L E C O L L E G I AT E C H U RC H
Welcoming. Inclusive. Surprising. Dr. Michael B. Brown, Senior Minister 1 West 29th St. NYC, NY 10001 (212) 686-2770 www.MarbleChurch.org
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Our Town AUGUST 7, 2014
YOU READ IT HERE FIRST The local paper for the Upper West Side
summer, Left Bank hosts a ďŹ lm inside the restaurant space at 8:15 pm. Order food and drinks to accompany the classic ick. leftbanknewyork.com; 212727-1170
SOUP BURG CLOSED AFTER RENT INCREASE
SUNSET ON THE HUDSON
SAVING SMALL BUSINESS Venerable Upper East Side restaurant to be replaced by a TD Bank branch BY CATHERINE ELLSBERG
Soup Burg has served up its last bowl. The restaurant, which had called its Lexington Ave. and 77th Street location home for the past 10 years, was ďŹ nally forced to call it quits June 29 after the building’s landlord tried to raise the rent exponentially. Unable to pay the higher rent, Soup Burg’s owner, Jimmy Gouvakis, had to make the difficult decision to close the restaurant—a family-owned business since 1963—to make way for the building’s new tenant, TD Bank. Gouvakis has had the difficult news hanging over him since April; since then, his customers have showered him with support -- as well as a healthy dose of outrage. Many neighborhood fans and long-time customers see the closing of Soup Burg as part of a sad, and larger, epidemic—the ousting of small businesses, and the rampant excess of banks and chain stores that replace them. Nikki Henkin, who lives above the Soup Burg and who has been a devoted customer from the beginning, described the restaurant as a favorite local hangout. Located directly across the street from Lenox Hill Hospital, Soup Burg has long “served a neighborhood function,â€? says Henkin, catering to the hospital staff, neighborhood doormen, and “just people.â€? The restaurant, which was open from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., represented a neighborhood spirit for many people, including Henkin, who describes such small restaurants as “(necessities) in every community.â€? Other Soup Burg patrons have taken the restaurant’s closing as a particular blow and, to a degree, a sign of a wider decay:
Out & About 8
“How far can we go with this? Are we just going to end up with a lot of banks?� added Henkin. Joie Anderson, another local devotee, chastises Mayor de Blasio, who in her eyes has allowed everything to “turn into a Duane Reade and a TD Bank.� For Anderson, these “mom and pop stores give character� to the area, and are welcome remedies to the ubiquitous Starbucks or Panera chains. At places like Starbucks, Anderson complains, there are different workers there every time you visit; Soup Burg, on the other hand, promises personalized attention, regularity, and consistency. “You go into Soup Burg and they act like you’re their favorite customer,� Anderson says, noting that such local joints keep “New York from being a suburban shopping mall.� But as angry as Henkin, Anderson, and a slew of other customers are, Gouvakis, has
been equal parts levelheaded and nostalgic. Recognizing that “a lot of people are upset,â€? Gouvakis acknowledged that this is “all part of business; it’s nothing personal against us.â€? Gouvakis, who owns Soup Burg with his two partners—his brother John and his brother-in-law Timmy— plans on relocating to somewhere else on the Upper East Side, an area they love and are now long familiar with. In the meantime, Gouvakis spent Soup Burg’s ďŹ nal day serving up last meals, to people and dogs alike. Joking that in his next life he’d “rather live with dogs than most humans,â€? Gouvakis has been known to hand out bits of ham to neighborhood pets. Gouvakis also made one of his famous cheeseburgers for his mother. “It was a pleasure being here for ten years,â€? Gouvakis told me: “This was my second family.â€?
July 3, 2014
July 6, 2014
The local paper for the Upper East Side
Hudson River Park at Pier 45, West St at W. 10th St 7 p.m.; free Bring the kids along to this free, live music event in Greenwich Village. Baby Soda Jazz, an up-and-coming group with inuences ranging from 30’s era swing, New Orleans jazz, and southern gospel will perform. hudsonriverpark.org; 212627-2020
MOSTLY SONDHEIM
UPS tells employees to lie, overcharge customers: suit
U.P.S.’S SECRET MANHATTAN PROBLEM One of the Hagan brothers’ 11 Manhattan UPS stores, now closed.
“ Employees in virtually every Manhattan (UPS
BUSINESS
Store) location were so comfortable with the practice of ‌ lying about expected delivery dates, withholding accurate price quotes and overdimensioning boxes to trigger higher retail billable rates, that they would gladly engage in conversations on the topic.� A former UPS franchisee
A former franchisee accuses the shipping giant of routinely gouging customers throughout the city BY KYLE POPE
Last month, when nearly a dozen UPS Stores across the city closed down in a single day, the initial focus was on the customers put out by the shutdown: dozens of people found themselves unable to access their rented mailboxes, while others complained of packages lost in the The UPS Store believes shuffle. On the West Side, a blog surfaced the allegations made against to swap information about the fate of a store on West 57th Street. it and UPS ... to be false. What none of these customers knew at The UPS Store customer service team is doing all we the time, though, was that they had uncan to assure the customers wittingly become part of a much bigger in the Manhattan store area – and at times bizarre – dispute involving affected are taken care of� the franchisee who until the shutdowns
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What can Brown screw from you? Two former UPS franchisees accuse the worldwide delivery service of telling employees to lie about the size and weight of packages in order to jack up prices on unsuspecting customers. Brothers Robert and Thomas Hagan, who owned and operated 11 UPS stores in Manhattan, claim in a federal lawsuit that a typical scam was to “add inches to the sides of measured boxes,� as well as an “enhanced declared value,� which allowed clerks to charge customers more. For example, a package with a length, width and depth totaling 26 inches would cost $106.85 to overnight from New York to Pittsburgh, but a 29-inch package would cost $117.19. In some cases, customers were overcharged as much as 400 percent, legal papers allege. “It’s pretty ugly,� said Steve Savva, the Hagans’ attorney. “It seems to be systematic, and the customers have no way of knowing.� The Hagans allege in court filings that The UPS Store, a subsidiary of the publicly traded United Parcel Service, was responsible for violating “the covenant of good faith and fair dealing� by: t 5FMMJOH DVTUPNFST UIBU HSPVOE EFMJWFSZ DPVME OPU CF HVBSBOUFFE BOE XPVME take longer than it actually would, in order to entice them to buy expensive, guaranteed air delivery. t $PODFBMJOH UIF DPTU PG DIFBQFS TIJQQJOH TFSWJDFT t $IBSHJOH DVTUPNFST GVFM TVSDIBSHFT GPS BJS EFMJWFSZ FWFO XIFO QBDLBHFT XFSFO U shipped by plane but by truck. Videotapes offered as evidence show UPS Store employees cheating customers,
UPS, and their right to operate a UPS store was revoked. But, in an effort to clear their name, the Hagans have ďŹ led an extraordinary claim against UPS in Federal Court that lays out, over 200 detailed pages, what they say is a systemic effort by UPS to rip off its Manhattan customers. The Hagans, UPS franchise owners since 2008 whose business grossed $6 million a year at its peak, even brought in a private investigator to secretly document the abuses they say occur at every UPS store in the city. Among their claims: Customers are routinely duped into paying more than necessary for shipping Employees are encouraged to lie about the weight and dimensions of packages to result in a higher bill Customers are told that one method of shipping is the cheapest, when often it is not The Hagans, in their lawsuit, says the deception is so widespread at UPS in
May 1, 2014
May 11, 2014
The local paper for Downtown
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Our Town MAY 8, 2014
From Vandals to Artists: Time Rouses More Appreciation for Graffiti
THESE WALLS CAN TALK ART Current exhibits explore NYC streets’ past and present BY GABRIELLE ALFIERO
Last November, one of New York’s most iconic art exhibits was uncermoniously whitewashed. Outdoor art space 5Pointz, a destination in Long Island City where graffiti writers from all over the world came to leave their mark, was covered over with white paint last November at the behest of the building’s owner, Jerry Wolkoff. When the vast walls of colorful graffiti were covered, Long Island City resident Jeffrey Leder took notice. Wolkoff had allowed graffiti writers to legally create work on his property for more than a decade, but now plans to demolish the building and construct residential high-rises after winning legal disputes with the 5Pointz artists. Leder, who operates an art gallery a block away, joined forces with Marie Cecile-Flageul, a member of the 5Pointz community who also manages its press, to curate “Whitewash,� an exhibition responding to the destruction, featuring work by nine artists who once painted at 5Pointz. Included in the exhibit are paintings by Meres One, the longtime curator of 5Pointz as well as prints
Leder about the debut of the exhibit. “It was a celebration 5Pointz of the life of 5Pointz and also showed that there mourning its death.â€? was a need for While “Whitewashâ€? is a di- graffiti culture rect response to the recent as a tourist events at 5Pointz, the Jeffrey destination spot, Leder Gallery is not the only and so therefore local space exploring graf- any gallery or art fiti’s presence in New York institution that City. In February, Museum of can provide people the City of New York opened with their graffiti “City as Canvas,â€? an exhibi- ďŹ x will do so.â€? tion of 1980s graffiti art. City Gregory J. Lore, a non-proďŹ t organiza- Snyder, author tion that preserves and pro- of “Graffiti motes folk and grassroots Lives: Beyond arts movements, opened its the Tag in New new gallery space in April York’s Urban Undergroundâ€? with “Moving Murals,â€? a photographic display of graffiti-covered subway cars shot by photographers Henry Chalfant and Martha Cooper during the 1970s and early 1980s. “Graffiti is so emblematic of the way people can be creative in their own environment,â€? said Steve Zeitlin, founding director of City Lore, who noted that, while graffiti still exists in the city, painted train cars are rare. In August, Gothamist reported that a tagged 4 train was spotted in the Bronx, though Zeitlin said it didn’t stay in public view for very long. “They never make it out of the train yard,â€? Zeitlin said. While graffiti is more policed now than in the 1970s and 1980s, street art has become a more accepted public display in urban areas, thanks in no small part to the international celebrity of clandestine British street artist Banksy, who completed a month-long ‘residency’ on New York City’s streets in October. Gregory J. Snyder, a sociologist and professor at Baruch College whose book “Graffiti Lives: Beyond the Tag in New York’s Urban Undergroundâ€? resulted from a decade of immersive research into graffiti’s subculture, makes a distinction between the two forms. “A lot of what we consider street art was antici
Above, a train mural from the City Lore exhibition. Photo by Henry Chalfant
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Left, Henry Chalfant and graffiti writer SHARP at the City Lore exhibition opening. Photo by Fernanda Kock
the early 1990s stared deďŹ antly at Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s cleanup efforts. Snyder also acknowledged the open tension between graffiti writers and street artists. “Street artists do not necessarily have to answer for their vandalism the same way that graffiti writers do,â€? he said. “Graffiti is thought to break windows, where street art is just, ‘hey, I’m putting up art.’ So it’s a little bit easier in the public mind to be a street artist than to be a grafďŹ ti writer, and I think both of those subcultures like it the way it is.â€? Abby Ronner, director of the City Lore gallery, echoes Snyder’s sentiments. “They’re totally different aesthetics,â€? Ronner said, noting that the City Lore exhibit explores an era when graffiti was transitioning from pure vandalism to legitimate expression in the art world’s view. Graffiti’s presence in galleries and museums isn’t new, Snyder said, nor is its alignment with ďŹ ne art. Brooklyn Museum exhibited graffiti in 2006 and included some of the same artists as the Museum of the City of New York show which
sent artists rooted in graffiti and street art. Many artists who were part of graffiti’s halcyon days have gone on to professional art careers, including Barry McGee, also known by his tag name Twist, and Steve Powers, known as ESPO, who are now successful studio artists. Still, Ronner notices a recent uptick in public interest. “In New York City, the cost of living is increasing so signiďŹ cantly and quickly, and there’s so much commercial development,â€? said Ronner. “A lot of people feel New York is being lost. The very deďŹ nition of New York and the character of it are lost. People are seeking old New York City culture.â€? Snyder suggests that Banksy’s mainstream success and the current popularity of street art renewed some interest in graffiti art and its culture, though he wonders if the recent events at 5Pointz affected gallery and museum attention. “Curators have a good sense of the moment,â€? said Snyder, who said that, though 5Pointz became a prestigious space for graffiti writers from all over the world it wasn’t necessarily home to
May 8, 2014
May 13, 2014
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The Duplex, 61 Christopher St at Seventh Ave 11:30 p.m. - 4 a.m.; no cover, but 2 drink minimum (no one under 21) A party hosted by the Musical Mastery of Brian Nash and hosted by Ben Cameron and Colleen Harris, this spirited open-mic, show-tune extravaganza will have you singing all night. theduplex.com; 212-2555438
“LIVING WITH POP. A REPRODUCTION OF CAPITALIST REALISM�
8 p.m.; $35/$20 seniors & students Now in its eleventh season, this independent opera ensemble will perform Purcell’s The Fairy Queen (adapted from A Midsummer Night’s Dream) on August 9, and will continue to play into subsequent weeks. The ensemble will be conducted by Jeff Grossman during the ďŹ rst half of the season, and will later be conducted by Christopher Fecteau. dellarteopera.org; 212-3523101
11 AMERNET STRING QUARTET
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Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker St at Thompson St 7:30 p.m.; $15 advance/$20 day of show The world-renowned Amernet String Quartet, the Ensemble-in-Residence at Florida International University in Miami, will perform the music of Steven R. Gerber, whose work has been described as “lyrical� and “passionate� by the Washington Post. lepoissonrouge.com; 212505-3474
DANCE OFF THE GRID East River Park Amphitheater, FDR Drive, btwn Grand & Jackson Sts 7-9 p.m.; free Curated by arts writer Valerie Gladstone, “Dance Off the Grid� (OTG) features the top talent of contemporary dance, ranging from modern to hip hop, and from salsa to Indian dance. Following a successful season at the Emelin Theater in Mamaroneck, OTG was hailed as an “eclectic performance series� by The New Yorker. summerstage.org
DELL’ARTE OPERA ENSEMBLE East 13th St Theater, 136 E. 13th St, btwn Third & Fourth Aves
Artists Space, 38 Greene St, btwn Broome & Grand Sts 12 p.m.; free With this exhibition, Artists Space focuses on some of the principal players of the collaborative art project Capital Realism, featuring the work of Manfred Kuttner, Konrad Lueg, Sigmar Polke, and Gerhard Richter. By presenting recreations of paintings rather than the originals, Artists Space embraces the spirit of Critical Realism’s careful examination of mass-media reproductions. artistsspace.org; 212-2263970
10 LEFT BANK PICTURE SHOW Left Bank, 117 Perry St at Greenwich St 8:15 p.m.; no cover, but the average main course is $19 Every Sunday throughout the
DRIVE EAST 2014 La MaMa E.T.C., 74A E. 4th St, btwn Bowery & Second Ave 7:15 p.m.; $20-$50 Navatman hosts this second annual festival of classical Indian music and dance, offered in the intimate setting of La MaMa. The week-long festival includes a jam-packed schedule of concert series, artist residency, and summer camp. navatman.org; 212-4757710
AUGUST 7, 2014 Our Town
12 STARGAZING ON THE HIGH LINE
songs from his newest CD, HandPicked on Heads Up, to perform at jazz venue Blue Note. Klugh, who has been praised for his acoustic-classical guitar, crosses all musical boundaries with his intricate and reflective performances. bluenote.net/newyork; 212475-8592
The High Line, Washington St at Gansevoort St to 10th Ave at 30th St PLAY: DONKEY PUNCH 7:30 p.m.; free Members of the Amateur Astronomers Association of New York (aaa.org) lead these star-spotting expeditions every Tuesday night. Follow the High Line’s Twitter feed (@highlinenyc) for updates in case of inclement weather. thehighline.org; 212-2069922
on August 15 along with Colin Jacobsen on violin, Eric Jacobsen on cello, and Bruce Levingston on piano. thestonenyc.com
“BLOODFLAMES REVISITED” Paul Kasmin Gallery, 515 W. 27th St, btwn 10th & 11th Aves 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.; free Featuring the work of such artists as Lynda Bengalis, Alex Katz, and Cindy Sherman, this exhibition pays homage to the groundbreaking show, “Bloodflames,” that premiered in 1947 and that brought together works of art by such greats as Isamu Noguchi and Arshile Gorky. paulkasmingallery.com; 212-563-4474
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You Never Forget Who You Grew Up With. The rough touch of tree bark, the scent of freshly mowed grass, the gentle hum of pollinating bees as a flower blossoms — green spaces touch lives and all five senses. Green spaces are a vital part of growing up — they enhance lives, make memories and connect people with their neighborhoods and communities. Be a part of preserving and enhancing green spaces where we live, work and play. To volunteer, to learn how to help your community and to donate, visit ProjectEverGreen.org or call toll-free (877) 758-4835.
projectevergreen.org (877) 758-4835
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“DISPLAYED” Anton Kern Gallery, 532 W. 20th St, btwn Tenth & Eleventh Aves 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.; free Curated by Matthew Higgs, “Displayed” includes works by Rachel Harrison, Chris Martin, and Josh Smith, exploring different modes of presentation as a major theme. antonkerngallery.com; 212367-9663
13 EARL KLUGH Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St at Sixth Ave 8, 10:30 p.m.; at tables $35, at bar $20, plus $5 minimum GRAMMY Award-winning guitarist Earl Klugh selects
SoHo Playhouse, y 15 Vandam St, btwn Sixth ixth Ave & Varick St 8 p.m.; $45 Audrey Alford directs this play about a woman who tries monogamy gamy while her best friend end dates a pornographer pher in this modern take ke on love, sex, and relationships. nships. sohoplayhouse. yhouse. com; 212-691-1555 691-1555
14 LISA BIELAWA ELAWA The Stone, ne, Ave C at 2nd St 8 p.m.; $15 Acclaimed ed composer and singer Lisa Bielawa kicks off her er Stone residency with a program called alled “Biewala as Bard,” performing erforming
See What’s GROWING UpState! TAKE DIRT MAGAZINE’S KITCHEN GARDEN TOUR! September 7th 2014 10am - 5pm Reception to follow at Mohawk House, Sparta, NJ
RESTAURANT
BIG CITY TASTE IN A COUNTRY ESTATE
Enjoy locally sourced beer, wine & hors d’oeuvres made with ingredients from local farms. Experience up to 20 unique and creative vegetable gardens in Orange County, NY and Sussex County, NJ. Meet the gardeners & learn different techniques.
Buy Your Tickets Today! Early Bird Special Purchase before August 30 $20 Family of 4 (kids under 16) $40 Purchase online at www.kitchengardentours.com
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Our Town AUGUST 7, 2014
SHOWCASING THE ARTISTRY OF SPORTS EXHIBITS Art dealer Neil Scherer on his gallery of sports memorabilia in the style of an art show BY MARY KEKATOS
MIDTOWN EAST Neil Scherer grew up loving sports. He still remembers going to a football game with his father and watching the Washington Redskins beat the New York Giants 72-41, as well as countless Yankee Stadium visits. The attorney-turned-art dealer has now made a career out of his lifelong passion. At the Atrium at Citigroup Center on East 53rd Street, Scherer hosts an exhibition, showcasing a unique way of combining art and sports memorabilia. Mostly focusing on baseball, each piece pays tribute to a team, a player or a moment stamped in sports history, from Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax pitching his record fourth no-hitter to the 1969 New York Mets winning their first World Series title. Scherer generally collects the
IF YOU GO: Atrium at Citigroup Center 153 East 53rd Street Monday – Friday: 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. Open Saturday and Sunday by appointment (212) 593-9716 Tours are offered
memorabilia through auctions and online. Each piece that he puts together takes approximately between nine months to a year. The price range is anywhere from $2,500 - $100.000 and each piece receives a letter of authentication from a reputable service. Scherer says that the secret to his works of art is the way he presents the material. “That’s what makes it more than just a memorabilia display,” Scherer said. “We try to tell stories through our presentation because baseball is all about stories.” Scherer points to a piece honoring the infamous 1951 “Shot heard ‘round the world.” In the game for the National League pennant, with bases loaded in the ninth inning, New York Giants [now San Francisco Giants] outfielder Bobby Thomson hit a grand slam against the Brooklyn Dodgers, sending his team to play the New York Yankees in the World Series. The piece features two programs that had been printed for the upcoming series, one featuring Yankees vs. Dodgers on the cover and the other featuring Yankees vs. Giants. “Everyone thought that the Dodgers were going to be the ones playing the Yankees in the World Series, when it fact it ended up being the Giants,” Scherer said. “So these two programs provide a great juxtaposition between what everyone thought would happen and what did happen.” Scherer first became interested in creating display pieces
in 2004 when the New York Yankees faced their rivals, the Boston Red Sox, in the American League Champion Series to decide which team went on to the World Series. This was the infamous year that the Yankees won the first three games, leading everyone to believe the Yankees would sweep, only to leave America stunned as the Red Sox rebounded to win the remaining four games and their first World Series title in 86 years. Scherer was at the deciding seventh game. “My best friend’s father was a huge Red Sox fan,” he said, “so I had the ticket stub framed and I sent it to him with a note that said, ‘Congratulations Mr. Sullivan on the Red Sox victory. Enjoy it but remember it occurs once every 86 years.’ And he’d bought artwork from me before…and he called me up and said, ‘Gosh Neil, if my wife would let me, I’d take down the art and put this ticket in its place,’” he said. “That’s when I realized how important these memories were and I thought that I could do something even bigger and more unique.”
Neil Scherer stands with his collection of baseball memorabilia, which he collects and displays in the same manner as fine art. Photo by Mary Kekatos
Visiting the gallery does not entail seeing just memorabilia. Interspersed throughout the gallery are paintings depicting sporting events. Scherer sees them as the transitional pieces between sports and art. Among the art and other tributes, however, perhaps the crown jewel of the exhibit is a piece dedicated to the 1927 Yankees, a team whose starting line-up was nicknamed “Murderer’s Row” and is believed to be one of the greatest baseball teams of all time. It took Scherer about six years to put the piece together, the longest he’s spent working on a display. In the upper right corner,
we see the autographs of two Yankee legends: Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Scherer explained that through Ruth’s large autograph, one can recognize his bold personality, while Gehrig’s neat signature is indicative of his reserved nature. Scherer’s exhibit was only supposed to remain on the Upper East Side for a month; however, the exhibit recently received its fourth extension, meaning it will remain in New York through the holiday s. The extension also inspired the exhibit’s name, “Extra Innings.” “We knew sports fans were going to love it but we didn’t know that history people and art people were going to love
We knew sports fans were going to love it but we didn’t know that history people and art people were going to love it. It’s more than just sports history. It’s New York history and American history.” Curator Neil Scherer it,” Scherer said, “because it’s more than just sports history. It’s New York history and American history. Part of what makes the exhibit special, according to Scherer, is the bonding that occurs when people visit the gallery. “You could have two people with completely different ideologies and they would see a display piece and they realize there were both at that game and bond,” Scherer said. “There just aren’t things that bring people together like sports do.”
5 TOP
AUGUST 7, 2014 Our Town
FOR THE WEEK
ART
BY GABRIELLE ALFIERO
MEN IN ARMOR: EL GRECO AND PULZONE FACE TO FACE
NOMINATE Best Doorman
While the Frick Collection earns continued praise and scrutiny following the announcement of its expansion plans, the museum looks to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the death of Greek painter El Greco with a display of the artist’s fulllength portrait “Vincenzo Anastagi,”—a part of the Frick’s permanent collection—alongside “Portrait of Jacopo Boncompagni,” by his contemporary Scipione Pulzone, on loan from a private collection. Through October 26 The Frick Collection 1 East 70th Street, near Fifth Avenue Museum hours: Tuesday-Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission $20
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MUSIC
BOOKS
WASHINGTON SQUARE MUSIC FESTIVAL: OBOE, BASSOON AND STRINGS
JEFF BRIDGES & LOIS LOWRY: THE GIVER FROM BOOK TO SCREEN
In partnership with the International Double Reed Society, the Washington Square Music Festival presents a free sunset concert of oboe, bassoon and string soloists with the Village Orchestra, conducted by Constantine Kitsopoulos. The concert features presentations of classic compositions, such as Vivaldi’s Oboe Concerto in C Major, as well as contemporary works, including the American premiere of a new piece by Arnaldo de Felice. Friday, August 8 Washington Square Park Entrance on Fifth Avenue and Washington Square North 8 p.m. FREE
MOTOWN GOSPEL REVUE Some of the biggest voices in contemporary gospel music share the Central Park SummerStage in a showcase for record label Motown Gospel. The label, which is home to celebrated gospel singer CeCe Winans, presents uplifting music by Grammy winners Tasha Cobbs and Smokie Norful, along with breakthrough singer Brian Courtney Wilson, and other gospel artists.
Saturday, August 9 Central Park SummerStage at Rumsey Playfield Entrance at 72nd Street and Fifth Avenue 3 p.m. FREE
Beloved novel “The Giver” predated fellow dystopian young adult story “The Hunger Games,” and has recently received the silver screen treatment in a new film starring Jeff Bridges as the title character. Bridges joins the book’s author, Lois Lowry, who won the Newbery Medal for “The Giver” in 1994, to discuss the adaptation of the story from page to screen.
Friday, August 8 92nd Street Y Kaufmann Concert Hall Lexington Avenue at 92nd Street 7 p.m. Tickets $30
“MY DRUNK KITCHEN” LAUNCH PARTY YouTube darling Hannah Hart started her YouTube series “My Drunk Kitchen” when she filmed a fake cooking show episode and sent it to a friend. Her series spawned her new cookbook, “My Drunk Kitchen: A Guide to Eating, Drinking and Going with Your Gut,” a fully-illustrated parody cookbook with recipes that include Perseverance Pie and five meals to eat while standing over the sink. Wednesday, August 13 Housing Works Bookstore Café 126 Crosby Street between Prince and Houston Streets 7 p.m. FREE
Best Maintenance Person Do you know a great doorman, porter or handyman where you live? Is ƥ ǡ ƥ ǫ ǡ ǡ ǫ Join Our Town, The West Side Spirit, Our Town Downtown and 32BJ SEIU, the property workers union, in honoring the people who keep our ǡ ƥ ǡ Ǥ ǯ ͚͛ǡ ͚͙͘͜ǡ ǯ Ǥ ǡ ǯ ǯǡ ǯ ǯ ǫ
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Our Town AUGUST 7, 2014
Food & Drink
< UNLIKELY PASTIS WILL RETURN TO MEATPACKING DISTRICT Meatpacking District hotspot Pastis, which temporarily closed its Ninth Avenue dining room in February for a large-scale renovation, might now be in the market for a new home. A spokesperson for the Keith McNally bistro told the Village Voice last week that “it doesn’t
look like Pastis will go back into that building (9 Ninth Avenue).” The announcement comes amidst a lawsuit by P.J. Clarke’s restaurant against Brookfield Properties, its Battery Park landlords. The restaurant stipulates that Brookfield, on its way to becoming a food des-
tination thanks to the recently opened haute food court Hudson Eats and the pending arrival of the second location of Mulberry Street restaurant Parm, hopes to replace P.J. Clarke’s with Pastis.
On Pig Heaven’s final night, the dining room and outdoor seating area were packed with loyal customers saying good-bye. Photo by Gabrielle Alfiero
ALL PIGS GO TO HEAVEN SAVING SMALL BUSINESS The last night of an East Side institution BY GABRIELLE ALFIERO
Restaurant owner Nancy Lee has collected pigs for nearly 30 years. Piggy banks, plastic toy pigs and porcelain figurines, all gifts to the owner of the Chinese restaurant Pig Heaven from loyal customers over the years. But now it’s time for the pigs to move on. Last week, Nancy’s Pig Heaven closed amidst rumors that the landlord plans to level the building and build a high-rise apartment complex. A handful of other spots occupying the stretch of Second Avenue between 80th and 81st Streets, including neighboring bar Johnny Foxes, also shut down. On July 30, a day before officially closing, the restaurant celebrated its local legacy with a buffet dinner for loyal guests. Lee started as a hostess and cashier for the restaurant’s previous owner, and bought the restaurant in 1987. She’s been at the helm of the local favorite
ever since, operating a decidedly neighborhood-oriented establishment; the majority of her clientele were regulars. “They come here, they don’t feel they go to a restaurant,” she said. “They say, ‘I come to my dining room, my family room.’” On the eve of the restaurant’s closing, Lee, 58, played gracious host. Petite and thin, and dressed in a slender, leopardprint dress with matching shoes, Lee’s hair was buoyant, her red lipstick impeccable. She wore a constant and possibly practiced smile. A few days earlier, she said her eyes were “swollen from crying.” Lee seated guests and led a young girl who wore a pink dress, sparkly pig ears and had her blond ringlets tied in pigtails, by hand. By 7:30 p.m., the restaurant was crowded and loud, with an atmosphere reminiscent of a wedding reception. Many guests shared tables with strangers and swapped stories of meals spent in the pink dining room, where wooden cutouts of pigs in profile lined the Pepto-colored walls and hanging ducks and racks of spare ribs were displayed in the exposed kitchen.
THE SECOND AVENUE RESTAURANT GRAVEYARD Restaurant closings along the avenue July 2014: Johnny Foxes near 81st Street February 2014: Divino Ristorante near 81st Street March 2011: M. Rohrs’ House of Fine Teas and Coffees on 86th Street October 2010: CiaoBella on 85th Street July 2010: Cinema Café on 70th Street
When Lee informed tables that dinner was served, the line for the buffet formed and quickly became congested. “It’s so many people,” Lee said softly in passing, as if to herself. Meanwhile, the restaurant still sent out delivery orders. Roger Manny came with his wife from Westchester for a last meal at Pig Heaven. He had been a regular for 11 years, since he saw Lee on a cooking show. He sat at a large round table and entertained fellow diner Cindy Alfieri with stories from his time in the neighborhood. Alfieri lives on the Upper East Side with her husband and children, and has been faithful to the restaurant for the last decade. She celebrated birthdays in the dining room and brought out-of-town guests in for a meal. Her 10-year-old daughter Julia has her Crayon-colored portrait of pigs hanging on the wall near
the restaurant’s bathroom, and danced in Lee’s most recent Chinese New Year celebration. Lee’s own daughter gave her dance lessons. “She makes her restaurant an extension of our family,” Alfieri said. Lee’s customers spoke of dinner at Pig Heaven the same way some might reminisce about regular meals spent at a favorite aunt’s home or a friend’s dining room table. They don’t go to a restaurant. They “go to Nancy’s.” Some call Lee a friend, and some call themselves her followers. “That’s my personality,” Lee said. “I like people.” Pierre Leblache moved to the Upper East Side from his native France in 1987, the same year Lee took over the restaurant. “It completely transcends the cooking,” said Leblache of the restaurant’s local appeal. “It’s the atmosphere. It’s the person. She’s a character, and it’s like family here.” By 8 p.m., the line for the buffet, which included trays of fried dumplings, flaky spring rolls and fluffy chicken fried rice, snaked its way through the pink dining room and was nearly three rows deep. Many guests hadn’t yet stood up from their tables. At the front of the restaurant, near the bar, a band started
playing, “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me).” Lee’s lease expired in February, and since then she has operated on a monthly basis with her landlords. She knew closing the original location of her restaurant was imminent, and has been looking to relocate nearby. “In the beginning I was thinking, ‘Should I just stop right here, or should I keep going?’” Lee said. The encouragement from her clientele urged her to pursue a new space. “[Customers said], ‘We would keep coming back, it doesn’t matter where you move, we’re going to follow you.’ That’s very touching.” JoAnn Tancer has frequented Pig Heaven since 1987. She lives a few blocks away, and the evening of Lee’s last supper was also Tancer’s birthday. She was turning 68 and came with 13 guests, including her grandchildren. For the past several years, Tancer has met a group of about 40 friends for dinner in the pink dining room at Pig Heaven. Lee reserves an L-shaped table for them. Tancer and her husband also order delivery about three times a week (they never order out from another restaurant) and she’s on a first-name basis with the wait and delivery staff. “Most important is Nancy,” Tancer said. “She’s just become a
wonderful friend. We’re devastated. Everyone is devastated.” The celebration amongst Lee’s followers continued as plates piled high and the band played on. From the street, Pig Heaven glowed like a little Second Avenue oasis squeezed between two vacant storefronts. As customers dined on the restaurant’s cozy porch, and as the band played “You’ve Got a Friend,” Pig Heaven looked like the kind of restaurant where diners knew the delivery men by name, asked the servers to sneak them an extra plate of spare ribs, and where passersby across the street saw the crowd spilling out from the restaurant, heard the band and said, “it’s Nancy’s last night.” Lee said that she’s exploring new locations on the Upper East Side, though she could not share more details. She hopes to welcome her followers back to her dining room, wherever that may be, by October. Until then, the hunt for space might keep her busy, but she’s not sure what she’ll do with her evenings. “I don’t skip a night,” said Lee, a tireless host who commuted from her home in Oradell, New Jersey for nightly dinner service. “It just becomes a lifestyle. I would miss this. After [closing], I don’t know where to go have dinner.”
AUGUST 7, 2014 Our Town
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RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS JULY 23 - 29, 2014
Il Piccolo Bufalo
141 Mulberry Street
Grade Pending (18) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.
City Winery
155 Varick Street
A
Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles
1 Doyers Street
Grade Pending (40) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Live roaches 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.
House Of Vegetarian
68 Mott Street
A
Cafe Boca Ciega Llc
355 Broadway
Not Graded Yet (19) Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations. Evidence of rats or live rats present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.
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. Cherche Midi
282 Bowery
A
The Little Prince
199 Prince Street
Grade Pending (39) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. 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.
Cafe Borgia Ii
161 Prince Street
A
Bistro Les Amis
180 Spring Street
A
Tribeca Park Cafe
1 Walker Street
A
Il Gelato
178 Mulberry Street
A
Hoy Wong Restaurant
81 Mott Street
Greenwich Village Comedy Club
99 Macdougal Street
A
The Ten Bells
247 Broome Street
Grade Pending (14) 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.
Yi Zhang Fishball
9 Eldridge Street
Grade Pending (15) Personal cleanliness inadequate. Outer garment soiled with possible contaminant. Effective hair restraint not worn in an area where food is prepared. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
Grade Pending (25) 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. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
Oka Sushi
1618 Maiden Lane
Grade Pending (27) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations. Evidence of rats or live rats present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.
Acccord Asian Cuisine
1 East Broadway
Grade Pending (21) 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. Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. 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.
Benton Cafe
123 William Street
Grade Pending (2)
New York Dolls
59 Murray Street
A
Burger King
325 Broadway
A
Youge Yogurt
4 Cortlandt Street
Closed by Health Department (56) Toilet facility not provided for employees or for patrons when required. No facilities available to wash, rinse and sanitize utensils and/ or equipment.
Mapi
1 West 13 Street
A
Le Pain Quotidien
124 7 Avenue
A
Mcdonald’s
541 6 Avenue
A
Hot Sichuan
130 9 Avenue
Not Graded Yet (16) Filth flies or food/refuse/sewageassociated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or nonfood areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewageassociated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies.
Spain Restaurant & Bar
113 West 13 Street
Grade Pending (21) 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.
The Fat Radish
17 Orchard Street
A
Cheeky Sandwiches
35 Orchard Street
A
La Isla Cafe Restaurant
212 Delancey Street
Grade Pending (25) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. 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. Wiping cloths soiled or not stored in sanitizing solution.
Lobster Boat Restaurant
11 Mott Street
A
Apotheke
9 Doyers Street
A
Worth Cafe
111 Worth St
A
Hop Kee Restaurant
21 Mott Street
Grade Pending (27) 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. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
Square Diner
33 Leonard Street
Grade Pending (22) Food worker does not use proper utensil to eliminate bare hand contact with food that will not receive adequate additional heat treatment. Personal cleanliness inadequate. Outer garment soiled with possible contaminant. Effective hair restraint not worn in an area where food is prepared. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
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Our Town AUGUST 7, 2014
Business
< CITY URGES PREPAREDNESS FOR HURRICANE SEASON Mayor Bill de Blasio and Office of Emergency Management Commissioner Joseph Esposito encouraged New Yorkers to take steps to ensure they are prepared as the city heads into peak hurricane season. “New York City is most vulnerable to hurricanes from August through October. It’s time
In Brief HOUSEWARES STORE TARGETED BY PORT AUTHORITY
CITY TO SLOW TRAFFIC TO 25 MPH ON 14 MAJOR STREETS New York City is slowing down traffic on 14 major roadways as part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s effort to cut down on pedestrian deaths. The city Department of Transportation said Friday it will create 14 new 25-mph zones on major thoroughfares including Houston Street in lower Manhattan and Broadway from Columbus Circle to West 220th Street. The initiative is part of Blasio’s “Vision Zero” program that aims to eliminate traffic fatalities. The slowed-down stretch of Broadway will include the area around West 95th and West 96th streets. There have been four traffic deaths within a twoblock radius there this year. Other streets where speeds will be lowered include sections of Jerome Avenue in the Bronx. Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn and Victory Boulevard on Staten Island.
Make a Plan: Make a plan, so you know what to do, how to find family members, roommates, or neighbors, and how to communicate during an emergency. Stay informed: Sign up to receive emergency updates and information online and via e-mail, text, phone, and Twitter.
TICKET ME ELMO? CITY MULLS LAW FOR IMPERSONATORS NEWS
The popular housewares store Fishs Eddy, on Broadway at 19th Street in the Flatiron neighborhood, has been selling quirky dish and kitchen sets for years without incident. But recently, the New York Times reported, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey decided to crack down on what it says is the unlawful depiction of their properties on some of the dish sets the store sells. Fishs Eddy stocks two lines, called “212 New York Skyline” and “Bridge and Tunnel,” that feature cartoon illustrations of some New York City iconic buildings, including 1 World Trade Center (and the twin towers) and the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels. The Port Authority, which owns the rights to those properties, claims that by using these depictions, the store is “unfairly reaping a benefit from an association with the Port Authority.” The store told the Times that they have no plan to stop selling these popular lines and will fight the cease and desist request.
to start thinking about your emergency plan,” de Blasio said. The city encourages residents to take three key steps to prepare for hurricane season: Know Your Zone: Find out whether you live in one of the city’s six hurricane evacuation zones.
The City is considering ways to crack down on aggressive character impersonators in Times Square BY VERENA DOBNIK
City officials are turning up the heat on Elmo, Cookie Monster and Statue of Liberty impersonators -- Times Square costumed characters who often demand money for posing in photos with tourists. The city wants to rein in a summertime spike in badly behaving characters such as the Spider-Man accused of punching a police officer recently. “This has gone too far,” a frustrated Mayor Bill de Blasio said this week. “It’s time to take some real steps to regulate this reality.” But that could be easier said than done. Legal experts say proposals for a city law to possibly require licenses and background checks could violate free-speech rights. At issue is whether the characters can be considered street performers protected by the First Amendment or whether they are engaged in commercial activity subject to regulation. It depends on whether the characters merely hope for tips or demand money. Some tourists have complained about being harassed for payment. “If you can prove that they are there to seek money, not simply conveying a message ... they are
subject to greater regulation,” said Jesse Choper, a constitutional law professor at the University of California. In about the past year, a Cookie Monster was accused of shoving a 2-year-old and an Elmo was heard berating tourists with anti-Semitic slurs. There also have been recent reports of a brawl between two Statue of Liberty impersonators and a man dressed as Woody from “Toy Story” groping women. Last Saturday, a man dressed as Spider-Man was arrested on charges he slugged a police officer who tried to intervene during a dispute with a woman who offered him a $1 tip. Authorities say the crime-fighting hero told the woman he only accepts $5, $10 or $20. Jonathan Turley, a constitutional law professor at George Washington University, said any regulations must be written carefully to avoid arbitrary enforcement. Singling out just those who wear costumes, for example, could be problematic. “When politicians call for regulating someone in a costume, it’s clearly inane,” he said. “You have people on Wall Street who violate the law, and we don’t subject people in Armani suits to special regulations.” City Councilman Dan Garodnick, a Upper East Side Democrat who is drafting legislation to address the issue, said the details are still being worked out. “We’re trying to balance First Amendment rights of individuals with the need to protect
people from what has become garden-variety harassment.” New York’s regulation push is backed by the nonprofit Times Square Alliance, which on a recent night counted no less than 76 costumed characters prowling the square. Another local group, the Broadway League, blames the aggressive characters for a downturn in theater business. “They’re making it a commercial enterprise. They’re selling a service and asking for money,” said the league’s Charlotte St. Martin. Another issue involves copyrights since most of the costume wearers are not authorized by the characters’ owners, including Disney and Sesame Street. On a sunny afternoon, Times Square was filled with about two dozen characters, including multiple Elmos, a Minnie Mouse, a Hello Kitty and more than one copper-green-skinned Statue of
Liberty. At least two characters -- Minion from “Despicable Me” and one Elmo -- said they purchased their knockoff costumes, made in Peru, for about $300. Speaking in Spanish through their masks, several people acknowledged they are living in the U.S. illegally and said they rely on Times Square tips to feed their families. City officials acknowledged that some of the characters are in the country without legal permission but said they don’t know how many. Pablo Fuentes, 40, an unemployed construction worker with four children from Paterson, New Jersey, said he works five days a week as Minion, earning about $55 for each six-hour shift. “A license would be good for everybody, for the customer, for us, for you,” he said. “This is a job, and we’re not doing something wrong. Everybody needs a job.”
AUGUST 7, 2014 Our Town
17
YOUR FIFTEEN EEN MINUTES
IN THE KITCHEN, OUT ON THE TOWN Q&A Executive chef Ben Lee on training in Italy, his Insalata di Stagione, and the Ramen at Ippudo BY ANGELA BARBUTI
Amidst the cherry tomatoes and Kirby cucumbers at the Union Square Greenmarket, you can find Ben Lee handpicking produce to add to his summer menu at A Voce Madison. As the executive chef at y of the restaurant since July od2013, he appreciates its mode to ern Italian flair, but is sure maintain the precision and ian simplicity that he feels Italian cuisine represents. rite When asked what his favorite ers menu items are, he answers he that, at the moment, it’s the a. Spaghetti alla Chitarra. h The traditional pasta dish is made with tomatoess he’s chosen at the market,, d cooked in a pan with toasted n, garlic, chili flakes, parmesan, basil, and olive oil. “That to merme, right now, being summertime, is what I love.”
You started at Morimoto in Philly. Why did you choose Japanese cuisine at first? That’s when I decided that I was going to be a professional cook, and I wanted to learn the discipline of the way the Japanese cut their fish and treat their ingredients. And the basics was knife skills and I wanted to learn from the best, and I believe the Japanese are really obsessed with their knives and the cutting and precision. It was a great environment, obviously it’s not so traditional
best friend, who was the souss chef at Morimoto, his name iss g. also Will, said the same thing. d I wasn’t sure where to go and e that was the time when the pSpanish Revolution was hape pening. I read about the Basque area and how there are tons of er Michelin restaurants there per n capita, more than anywhere in l, the world. So that was my goal, and for the next four yearss d I just saved my money and y. worked in restaurants in Philly. n, I was supposed to go to Spain, but my best friend, Will, said, “I
You lived in Philly before moving ng here in 2009. What’s the difference between the restaurant ant business in Philly vs. New York? k? Philadelphia is a great food ood e of town. I think that it’s one those unsung places that people just don’t know too much about. In the last 10 years, it really started blowing up. There are so many great chefs down there making such phenomenal names for themselves, and elevating the bar in Philadelphia. The only thing that I would say is different, and it’s not too different from the trends here in New York City, is that people are definitely going towards more of the casual scene when it comes to dining. And in Philadelphia, there are amazing restaurants where you aren’t required to wear a jacket and you don’t have to expect that luxurious scene when you go have dinner or even lunch. The food is really interesting down there, it just keeps evolving.
have a connection in Italy, why don’t you just go out there? And from there, you could just backpack, go from door to door to different restaurants.” It was the closest opportunity I had at the time to go out to Europe. He hooked me up with a trail out of the same area that Mark Vetri and Jeff Michaud started their Italian careers, in Bergamo, Italy.
me method, in particular, how I want to do it, and som it’s sometimes hard for me aw and just be like, to step away “Alright, you need to make your mis mistakes.” But there are i h times when you see it, and you’re like, “Let me just do it. You’re messing it up.” That’s part of being the executive chef, you realize you just can’t do everything all by yourself. You’re not a one-person team. You’re like a conductor in an orchestra, and you have all these different parts that you have to utilize and at the end of it, put out a nice dinner or lunch service.
What’s the hardest part about being the executive chef?
Did you change the menu when you started at A Voce?
Sometimes it’s trying to step away. You know, I love teaching my cooks. I try my best to have an environment in my kitchen where we’re teaching and learning from each other. And there are times where I’ll show a cook a certain technique or
I changed the menu within the month. The concept is still modern Italian, so it gives it the doorway to venture off and not stay so traditional. We can play around with different European techniques and even different ingredients, which don’t
Japanese.
How did get into Italian cooking? I met my best friend at Morimoto, and he’s mentored me through this business for the last 13 years. He guided me towards a French restaurant down in Philly called Lacroix at The Rittenhouse Hotel. I met some amazing chefs there and realized that European cuisine was the way I wanted to go. I figured I would start off with the French because they organized the professional kitchen. When I was working at Morimoto, I met pastry chefs Will Goldfarb and Bob Truitt. Will was a great inspiration when he told me, “Don’t worry about culinary school, just save all your money, buy all the books, and go out to Europe.” And my
Ben Lee, executive chef at A Voce Madison, uses local ingredients from the Union Square Greenmarket at his restaurant.
have to be 100 percent Italian, as long as it’s with the spirit of Italian cuisine.
How often do you go to the market? We try and go - myself and my chefs - about three times a week at least. Especially my pastry chef, Kristin, she’s definitely utilizing a lot of their fruits, lavender, and peaches.
What are some items on your summer menu? We have a seasonal salad for dinner called Insalata di Stagione. The basis is always whipped ricotta with mixed lettuces. And whatever’s at the market - right now we have some Kirby cucumbers we’re putting on there. We just have fun with it. People love cheese and toast, so I’m doing a Burratina with mixed cherry tomatoes with some eggplant and basil. We take a whole eggplant and grill it until it’s charred on the outside and mushy on the
inside. We scoop it out and puree it with olive oil and some garlic oil. It’s pureed eggplant on the bottom, Burratina cheese and cherry tomatoes.
You live on the Upper West Side. Where do you like to eat in the city? I love getting a burger at Shake Shack. Me and my girl will go down to Lucali in Brooklyn when we want pizza. We love Ippudo for Ramen noodles. When they opened on the west side, I believe a year ago now, it was like heaven sent. I didn’t have to go all the way to the east side anymore. When I’m starving and not sure what I want to eat, I just know that I can always have a nice bowl of Ramen noodles, and I’m always satisfied with that. For more information about the restaurant, visit www. avocerestaurant.com/madison.
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Our Town AUGUST 7, 2014
CLASSIFIEDS ACCOUNTING/FINANCIAL SERVICES ALLSTATE INSURANCE Anthony Pomponio 212-769-2899 125 West 72nd St. 5R, NYC apomponio@allstate.com
ADOPTION ADOPT: A loving, established couple with close family dream of a home ďŹ lled with the sounds of a child. Please contact 855-884-6080; jennandjonadopt@gmail.com www.jennandjonadopt.info Expenses paid. ANIMALS & PETS
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Buy or sell at AARauctions. com. Contents of homes, businesses, vehicles and real estate.Bid NOW! AARauctions. com. Lights, Camera, Auction. No longer the best kept secret.
CAMPS/SCHOOLS Alexander Robertson School Independent School for Pre-K through Grade 5 212-663-2844, 3 West 95th St. www.AlexanderRobertson.com
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AUGUST 7, 2014 Our Town
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CLASSIFIEDS Classified Advertising Department Information Telephone: 212-868-0190 | Fax: 212-2868-0190 Email: classified2@strausnews.com Hours: Monday - Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm | Deadline: 2pm the Friday before publication CAMPS/SCHOOLS
COUNSELING
Boys & Girls Harbor “A vibrant hub for education and the arts.” 1 East 104th Street, 212.427.2244 www.theharbor.org
Non-trad therapist, 40 yrs exp, formerly w/Casriel Inst & Daytop Village. Help raise self-esteem, overcome insecurities. Hazel James, 212-645-3135
German Classes for Children NY State Accredited Language Program. No previous experience necessary. www.German-AmericanSchool.org. 212-787-7543 GRF Test Prep Classes We prepare students to take the SHSAT! 120 W 76th St, New York, NY 10025 201) 592-1592 www.grftestprep.com Huntington Learning Center Your tutoring solution! UWS. 212-362-0100 www.HuntingtonHelps.com Learn Something New Today! Free computer classes at The New York Public Library LEARN MORE nypl.org/LearnToday 917-ASK-NYPL Success Academy Charter Schools “A proven record of excellence…” We are applying to open new schools in Manhattan and encourage your input! www.SuccessAcademies. org /NewSchools
CARS & TRUCKS & RV’S 2012 Chrysler 200 S, $15,984. 17,700 miles. Stock #N1049 MSRP $18,486. Nielson Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram, 175 Route 10, East Hanover, NJ 877-3931692 www.nielsendodge.com 2012 Chrysler Town & Country Touring $22,738. 22,030 miles. Stock #F41178P1. MSRP $26,880. Nielson Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram, 175 Route 10, East Hanover, NJ 877-3931692 www.nielsendodge.com 2012 Dodge Caliber SXT $13,860. 24,324 miles. Stock #U8316A. MSR $16,888. Nielson Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram, 175 Route 10, East Hanover, NJ 877-393-1692 www.nielsendodge.com Donate your car to Wheels For Wishes, benefiting Make-AWish. We offer free towing and your donation is 100% tax deductible. Call (855) 376-9474 COUNSELING
Psychotherapy Services: Addiction/Recovery; Depression/Anxiety; Relationship Issues; Lesbian & Gay Issues; Approved provider for DWI Offenses; Some Insurance Accepted. Private, convenient UWS office. Laura-Ann Robb, LCSW CASAC, 646-753-2879, robb.lauraann@gmail.com
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Bard Graduate Center Gallery -WATERWEAVERSContemporary Columbian Art Curated by José Roca Now-Aug 10th Bgc.bard.edu Carino on Second Blending traditional Italian favorites with contemporary accents. 1710 2nd Avenue (bet. 88th & 89th) NYC 212-860-0566 www.carino2nd.com Chirping Chicken - We Deliver & Cater! Mon/Sun 11am-11pm 1560 2nd Ave,(212)517-9888-9 Ask about our daily Greek specialty dish! LIPS The Ultimate in Drag Dining & Best Place in NYC to Celebrate Your Birthday! 227 E 56th St., 212-675-7710 www.LipsUSA.com Mohegan Sun Why D rive? For info call Academy: 1-800-442-7272 ext. 2353 - www.academybus.com Need to know about everything that’s happening in lower Manhattan? DOWNTOWN ALLIANCE, www.downtownny.com or just download our mobile app onto your cellphone and go! HEALTH SERVICES
Alternative Medical Center of New York since 1985. Holistic health services including Swedish Massage, Acupuncture, Acupresure, Colon Hydrotherapy & High Enemas. 7 days, 11 am - 8 pm. Free Consultation. 176 W 94 St 212.222.4868 and 235 E 51 St (212)751.2319 Are you HIV positive? ASCNYC is here for you. Call or visit today! 212-645-0875 www.ascnyc.com Columbia Doctors of Ophthalmology - Our newest location at 15 West 65th Street (Broadway) is now open. www.ColumbiaEye.org 212.305.9535
HEALTH SERVICES
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$8,000 COMPENSATION. EGG DONORS NEEDED. Women 21-31. Help Couples Become Families using Physicians from the BEST DOCTOR’S LIST. Personalized Care. 100% Confidential. 1-877-9-DONATE; 1-877936-6283; www.longislandivf.com AIRLINE CAREERS begin here Get FAA approved Aviation Maintenance Technician training. Financial aid for qualified students – Housing available. Job placement assistance. Call AIM 866-296-7093 Software Developer/Backend Lead - NYC - Lead web svces dvlpmt team; manage offshore dvlpmt. Resp. for tech specs, design/dvlpmt of new REST interfaces & standards. REQ: Master’s Comp. Sci. or related. Send resume to: adMarketplace, Inc., 3 Park Ave., 27th Fl. , New York, NY 10016 HOME IMPROVEMENTS
Expert on-site repair and restoration of antiques & new furniture in your home or office Quality custom-made furniture & cabinetry. FURNITURE MEDIC, (212)470-3850, Visit us on Facebook FurnitureMedicBH Serving NYC Want to save $ on your electric bill? NRG Home Solar offers free installation if you qualify. Call 888-685-0860 or visit nrghomesolar.com
LEGAL AND PROFESSIONAL Anthony Pomponio, Allstate 212-769-2899 apomponio@allstate.com Rick Bryan, Attorney & Counselor at Law. Wills, Living Trusts, Probate, Elder Law, Guardianships, Legal Advice. Home Visits Available. We honor all AARP and Legal Service Plan Discounts, 237 1st Ave, 2nd Fl, S.W. Corner of 14th St and 1st Ave, New York, NY 10003, 212-979-2868. Selling/Buying a home? Lic. Broker/Attorney can help. 1 on 1 attention. List with me! Richard H. Lovell, Esq. 718 8359300. LovellLawnewyork@gmail.com
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Imperial Fine Books & Oriental Art - Rare & fine books, Chinese ceramics and art from the Ming to Qing Dynasties. 790 Madison Avenue, 2nd Floor New York, New York 10065 (212)861-6620 www.imperialfinebooks.com Pandora Jewelry -Unforgettable Moments412 W. Broadway · Soho, NYC 212-226-3414 PAINT & WALLPAPER
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New York City Department of Transportation Notice of Public Hearing The New York City Department of Transportation will hold a Public Hearing on Wednesday, August 20, 2014 at 2:00 P.M., at 55 Water St., 9th Floor Room 945, on the following petitions for revocable consent, all in the Borough of Manhattan: #1 136 West Broadway, Inc. – to continue to maintain and use two planters and a bench on the west sidewalk of W Bway, between Duane and Thomas Sts. #2 Irving Place Investor LLC – to construct, maintain and use a fenced-in area, together with stairs, on the south sidewalk of E 19th St., east of Irving Pl.Interested parties can obtain copies of proposed agreements or request sign-language interpreters (with at least seven days prior notice) at 55 Water St., 9th Fl. SW New York, NY 10 0 41, or by calling (212) 839-6550. REAL ESTATE - RENT
OCEAN CITY, MARYLAND. Best selection of affordable rentals. Full/ partial weeks. Call for FREE brochure. Open daily. Holiday Real Estate. 1800-638-2102. Online reservations: www.holidayoc.com
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GLENWOOD - Manhattan’s Finest Luxury Rentals Uptown office 212-535-0500 Downtown office 212-4305900. glenwoodNYC.com LET US FIND YOUR DREAM APARTMENT! 1BR/1BA Harlem - $1,750 2BR/1BA Ft. Tryon Pk - $1,725 2BR/1BA Inwood - $2,200 2BR/2BA, Dining Room, Harlem - $1,900 CALL OR TEXT TODAY! 917-689-2944, Tim Heath, The Homefinder, Lic R.E. Agent Tim@Bohemiarealtygroup.com Bohemia Realty Group Now Leasing! SHARED OFFICES Park Avenue 212-231-8500 www.410park.com Unique Apt for Rent 205 E 59th St, #11C, New York, NY. Exlusive, spacious, bright, 3BR/3BA in full service building. $11,500 per month. Call or text Lisa Levina, 917-330-8423, or Email lisa@nvhny.com. Lic. Real Estate Broker, New Vista Horizons, Inc. 4 W 37 St, 3rd Fl, New York, NY 10018. REAL ESTATE - SALE
BANK ORDERED SALE! 36 acres -Stream- $89,900 Mountain stream, hardwood forest, trails, stonewalls, views! Just off NY Thruway, ½ hr from Albany! Terms avail! Call 888905-8847 NewYorkLandandLakes.com BANK ORDERED SALE. Up to 10 acres from $69,900. Beautiful Bethel NY. Near Woodstock Site. 85 miles from Manhattan. Assorted Hardwoods, approved building site, underground utilities, across from lake. Walk to Performing Arts Center, Financing. Call (877)8361820 Sebastian, Florida Beautiful 55+ manufactured home community. 4.4 miles to the beach, Close to riverfront district. Pre-owned homes starting at $35,000. New models available. 772-581-0080, www.beach-cove.com Victor Ferrer , Licensed Real Estate Agent, Douglas Elliman Real Estate. 347-573-3882 / 212-712-6083 - victor.ferrer@ elliman.com SERVICES OFFERED
CARMEL Car & Limousine Service To JFK… $52 To Newark… $51 To LaGuardia… $34 1-212-666-6666 Toll Free 1-800-9-Carmel
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Event & Salon Hair Stylist 347.243.3170 for appointments www.sharimelisabeauty.com Frank E. Campbell The Funeral Chapel Known for excellence since 1898 - 1076 Madison Ave, at 81st St., 212-288-3500 Hudson Valley Public Relations Optimizing connections. Building reputations. 24 Merrit Ave Millbrook, NY 12545, (845) 702-6226 John Krtil Funeral Home; Yorkville Funeral Service, INC. Independently Owned Since 1885. WE SERVE ALL FAITHS AND COMMUNITIES 212-744-3084 Marble Collegiate Church Dr. Michael B. Brown, Senior Minister, 1 West 29th St. NYC, NY 10001, (212) 689-2770. www.MarbleChurch.org New-York Historical Society Making history matter! 170 Central Park West www.nyhistory.org (212) 873-3400 Riverside Memorial Chapel Leaders in funeral pre-planning. 180 W 76th St (212) 362-6600 SPORTS CENTER at Chelsea Piers ChelseaPiers.com/SC 212-336-6000 TEKSERVE NYC’s Store For Technology Apple Repairs & Services Business Support 119 W 23rd St www.tekserve.com (212) 929-3645 Vamoose Bus Providing premium bus service between: NYC|MD|VA www.vamoosebus.com
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Our Town AUGUST 7, 2014
MEN HAVE NEEDS TOO. INTRODUCING THE PRESTON ROBERT TISCH CENTER FOR MEN’S HEALTH. 555 MADISON AVE. BETWEEN 55TH AND 56TH ST. Now, men have a state-of-the-art medical facility they can call their own, right here in the heart of Manhattan. The Preston Robert Tisch Center for Men’s Health provides men with access to NYU Langone specialists in cardiology, internal medicine, gastroenterology, urology, orthopedics/sports medicine, physical therapy and physiatry, dermatology, ear, nose and throat, mental health, plastic surgery, pulmonology, endocrinology, neurology, and radiology. Experience what it feels like to have your healthcare tailored specifically for you. To make an appointment with an NYU Langone doctor, call 646.754.2000. Visit nyulmc.org/menshealth