The local paper for Downtown wn SEEING THE CITY THROUGH A CAMERA'S EYE
22-28
< Q&A, P.14
MENACE OR BOOM: THE FIGHT OVER AIRBNB HEATS UP
2015
OTDOWNTOWN.COM
OurTownDowntown @OTDowntown
In Brief CITY TO TEST NEW APPROACH TO LOWLEVEL TEEN ARRESTEES
NEWS Council hearing pits the web rental service against permanent tenants BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS
The debate around Airbnb and its imitators was addressed officially for the first time by the City Council this week. The Committee on Housing and Buildings Oversight heard testimony on Tuesday for and against the service, which has joined a cadre of other technology startups like Uber in challenging the regulatory landscape in New York and across the country. On one side are lawmakers and housing activists who say Airbnb and similar sites regularly flout state law, put permanent tenants at risk, and enable unscrupulous landlords to operate illegal hotels to the detriment of the city’s housing stock. On the other side is Airbnb and its many users, who say the service is used by everyday New Yorkers to make ends meet in an increasingly expensive city. In 2010, State Sen. Liz Krueger passed the illegal hotel bill, which said an owner must be present for any short-term rental less than 30 days. The law immediately cast a shadow over Airbnb’s business model, which thrives on short-term rentals of one day to a week where the owner is not present. Airbnb’s position is that it aggressively roots out bad actors who use the service to rent out entire buildings or blocks of apartment units full time, essentially operating illegal
WEEK OF JANUARY
PIER A BOATHOUSE OPENS FOR BUSINESS
PHOTOS BY MARY NEWMAN
After decades of sitting unused, the Pier A Harbor House in Battery Park City is open to the public once again. Following a $62 million restoration of the 19th century structure, the building now contains a beer hall on the first floor, and will soon open its restaurant on the second floor, with additional space for private events as well as outdoor dining. Pier A is a city landmark as well as a part of the National Register of Historic Places. When it was built in 1886, it served as the headquarters for the New York Harbor Police and Department of Docks. Later, it became the main station for the Marine Division of the NYPD. Once scheduled for the wrecking ball but saved by preservation advocates, Pier A has long been slated for a revival, and even this iteration was delayed by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Now the lessees, who hold a 25-year lease from the Battery Park City Authority, are confident that the newly opened space will stand the test of time, and seawater.
Some teenagers arrested on low-level charges may soon get their cases dropped without ever going to court, if they complete community service or educational programs. Starting as soon as next month in two police precincts, 16- and 17-year-olds without prior arrests may get a chance to end shoplifting, graffiti-writing, trespassing and some other nonviolent misdemeanor cases before even getting arraigned, according to the Manhattan and Brooklyn district attorneys and a New York Police Department official. The aim is to give teens guidance but spare them from court cases that often get dismissed anyway, and to conserve court and police resources. While the experimental initiative so far stands to affect only a fraction of cases, it expands on existing youth and adolescent court programs and follows recent changes to handling low-level marijuana arrests. Under the new program, youths’ “contact with the criminal justice system, hopefully, will begin and end right with the precinct,” Brooklyn DA Kenneth Thompson said. The program could entail community service, observing a youth court session or counseling. He expects a few dozen teens to qualify this year; Manhattan prosecutors didn’t have an estimate. Authorities hope to expand the initiative if it succeeds.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
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2 Our Town Downtownâ&#x20AC;&#x201A;JANUARY 22-28 ,2015
NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS CHECK STREET TO BE NAMED AFTER DISABLED MAN WHO RAISED MONEY FOR LOCAL NONPROFITS After raising money for local nonproďŹ ts for more than three decades, a West Village resident is being thanked for his service to the community. The late Larry Selman, who lived on Bedford Street and passed away in 2013 at age 70, could have the corner of Bedford and Grove Streets named after him, DNAinfo.com reported. Selmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s neighbors advocated for the renaming, which received support from Community Board 2â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Traffic and Transportation Committee last week, and will go before the City Council if the full board approves. Selman, who had an intellectual disability, raised money for the Bedford Barrow Commerce by selling thousands of dollars in raffle tickets annually since 1978. Selman continued to give even when he was living off Social Security checks, causing his community to return the favor by raising funds for him to live out the rest of his life in his downtown home. DNAinfo.com
RIVINGTON STREET TENANTS FIGHT LANDLORD OVER LEAD DANGER The Mahfar Tenants Coalition of 210 Rivington Street is in
the midst of a battle against landlord Samy Mahfar after he attempted to buy out a family from its home after a child residing in the unit twice sought hospital care due to respiratory ailments from to
M ARB L E C O L L E GI AT E C H U RC H
toxic lead exposure. Though the amount is unknown, the buyout price reportedly ranges from $25,000-$45,000. Currently Mahfarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ongoing conversion of apartments into luxury homes at three Lower East Side residential buildings has caused disturbances amongst tenants. According to Bowery Boogie, tests have been done on the building environment within the past 17 months, but results were not shared with residents, and though some contaminants were removed, further work introduced additional toxins into the building. Mahfar has been ďŹ ned $2,000 after his failure to send in new dust samples to Department of Health Commissioner Martin Rebholtz. Only six rent regulated apartments exist at 210 Rivington building. Bowery Boogie
One part of the ceremony, which has the circumciser suck blood away from the incision, has reportedly caused herpes amongst baby boys. Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg attempted to regulate this practice by informing parents of the health risks through consent forms, but pushback from ultraOrthodox rabbis has caused de Blasio to have ongoing conversations with Orthodox leaders on how to mitigate the health risks to infants while honoring the religious ceremony. Avi Fink, the mayorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s deputy director of intergovernmental affairs, told the New York Times that the de Blasio administration will seek to raise awareness and educate parents about the practiceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s health risks through communication efforts, not solely through required consent forms. New York Times
MAYOR DE BLASIO AND RABBIS WORK TO REGULATE CIRCUMCISION RULES
METROCARD FARES TAKE HIKE, BASE FARE AND BONUSES MAY STAY
Mayor de Blasio hopes to keep the Orthodox Jewish ceremony of circumcision legal while protecting the health of babies.
Although subway base fares are expected to go up in price, MTA officials are thinking of increasing the bonuses per
ride cards, the New York Post reported. Voting for new fare prices will take place Thursday, Jan. 22nd, changing single rides from $2.50 to $2.75. Customers who choose to purchase cards with $5.50 or more will receive an increase of 11 percent in bonuses compared to the now 5 percent beneďŹ t. This plan to give more to customers will beneďŹ t New Yorkers who are known to choose package options higher than a single ride, says the Post. If officials decide to keep the base fares the same, riders will lose the bonuses on their card. In addition to single rides changing in price, weekly metro cards will go up from $30 to $31 while monthly cards will increase from $112 to $116.50. MTA board members are considering an increase for drivers who pay cash for tolls and E-Z pass users. The plan proposes to increase the price for drivers paying tolls with cash by 6.7 percent and 10 percent and E-Z pass users up to 4 percent. Drivers with cash going through the Verrazano are expected to pay a $16 and E-Z pass users $11.08. New York Post
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JANUARY 22-28 ,2015 Our Town Downtown 3
CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG
something
have
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speak. Attempt to call, text, or contact the victim via social media. Request that the victim call back from his or her cell phone. While staying on the line with alleged kidnappers, try to call the alleged kidnap victim from another phone. To buy time, repeat the caller’s request and tell them you are writing down the demand, or tell the caller you need time to get things moving. Don’t directly challenge or argue with the caller. Keep your voice low and steady. Request the kidnapped victim call back from his/her cell phone. We are asking anyone with information about the virtual kidnappings to call the FBI at 212-384-1000 or the NYPD at 800-577-TIPS. If you believe you are the victim of a real kidnapping, please call 911 or your local FBI office. Tipsters may remain anonymous.
BALENCIAGA SAGA At 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 10, two men ages 23 and 25 and one woman age 26 acted in concert to purchase merchandise in the Balenciaga store at 149 Mercer Street using forged credit cards. The three defendants were apprehended, arrested, and charged with grand larceny. They were also found to be in possession of multiple other forged credit cards, as well as three forged $100 bills. The items they attempted to steal were three Balenciaga sweaters totaling $1,210.
COMMES DES VOLEURS At 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 8, a 44-year-old woman from Brooklyn was standing at the southwest corner of Canal and Hudson
us to
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation and New York City Police Department are alerting the public to a new, frightening scam that is targeting New York City residents. In the scheme, individuals call claiming to have kidnapped a family member. While no actual kidnapping has taken place, the callers often use co-conspirators to convince their victims of the legitimacy of the threat. For example, a caller might attempt to convince a victim that her husband or son had gotten into a car accident with a member of a gang. The individual calling pretends to be a friend or relative of the gang member and tells the victim that their family member is seriously injured and needs to go to the hospital but that their friend will not allow them to go the hospital until he gets paid for the damages done to his vehicle. In another example, a caller might attempt to convince a victim that his daughter was kidnapped by having a young female scream for help in the background during the call. Often the reason they are holding the alleged victim varies, but some of the most prominent scams involve car accidents, drug debts, gang assaults, or persons being smuggled across the border. Victim telephone numbers appear to be dialed at random. Callers will typically provide the victim with specific instructions to ensure safe return of the allegedly kidnapped individual. In some cases, these instructions involve demands of a ransom payment. Call-
ers are ordered to stay on the phone until the money is wired, often to a third party in Puerto Rico. Most schemes use various techniques to instill a sense of fear, panic, and urgency in an effort to rush the victim into making a very hasty decision. Instructions usually require the ransom payment be made immediately and typically by wire transfer using companies such as Western Union. The requested ransom payments are for varied amounts, usually between $600 to $1,900. In addition, once a payment is made, the alleged kidnappers often claim the money was not received and tells the victims that they need to wire additional money. The perpetrators of this scam appear to be Hispanic males and often speak with a Spanish accent. To avoid becoming a victim of this extortion scheme, look for the following possible indicators: Incoming calls come from an outside area code, sometimes from Puerto Rico with area codes (787), (939) and (856) Calls do not come from the kidnapped victim’s phone Callers go to great lengths to keep you on the phone Callers prevent you from calling or locating the “kidnapped” victim Ransom money is only accepted via wire transfer service If you receive a phone call from someone who demands payment of a ransom for a kidnapped victim, the following should be considered: Try to slow the situation down. Request to speak to the victim directly. Ask, “How do I know my loved one is okay?” If they don’t let you speak to the victim, ask them to describe the victim or describe the vehicle they drive, if applicable. Listen carefully to the voice of the kidnapped victim if they
like
VIRTUAL KIDNAPPING SCAM ON THE RISE IN N.Y.C.
?
1ST PRECINCT Report covering the week 1/5/15 through 1/11/2015 Week to Date
Year to Date
2015 2014
% Change
2015
2014
% Change
Murder
0
0
n/a
0
0
n/a
Rape
0
0
n/a
0
0
n/a
Robbery
0
0
n/a
0
2
-100
Felony Assault
2
3
-33.3
2
5
-60
Burglary
3
1
200
7
2
250
Grand Larceny
21
20
5
27
29
-6.9
Grand Larceny Auto
0
1
-100
0
1
-100
Streets when an unknown perpetrator grabbed her purse from behind and fled westbound on Canal before turning left onto Greenwich Street. She subsequently canceled her stolen credit cards, and no unauthorized charges turned up. Police searched the area but could not find the thief or the missing purse. The items stolen included a Commes des Garçons wallet with a blue lining valued at $500, black Ray-Ban sunglasses tagged at $120, a Tiffany and Company key ring worth $100, a Mason Pearson hairbrush valued at $75, Marc Jacobs makeup priced at $50, and white Apple earphones tagged at $50, making a total of $895.
as well in a robbery as the real thing. At 11:40 p.m. on Sunday, January 11, a 31-year-old man was working as a cashier in the Duane Reade store at 459 Broadway, when a 35-yearold man entered the store and went to look at a display case containing female products. The customer then walked to the front counter with his hand in his pocket simulating a firearm and told the cashier to hand over all the cash in his register. The robber said, “I don’t want any problems.” The cashier complied, fearful for his life. The suspect then fled on foot westbound on Grant Street. Police could not find the thief, who got away with $160 in cash.
DUANE RAID
CHAMBERS PLOT
Simulated firearms often work
to be extra careful when seated near subway doors. At 1:10 a.m. on Wednesday, July 7, a 49-year-old woman was sitting in a southbound number 2 train when three men aged 18, 16, and 16 entered her train car. When the train stopped at the Chambers Street station, the three young men got off the train, and one of them reached back through the doors to snatch her iPhone from her hand before fleeing. Fortunately, at 1:50 a.m. police apprehended the teenaged trio at 14th Street and 7th Avenue, as they matched the description of suspects reported in another incident. The subway victim showed up and positively identified the three. They were arrested January 7 and charged with grand larceny.
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4 Our Town Downtown JANUARY 22-28 ,2015
MENACE OR BOOM
Useful Contacts
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
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 Councilmember Margaret Chin
165 Park Row #11
Councilmember Rosie Mendez
237 1st Ave. #504
212-587-3159 212-677-1077
Councilmember Corey Johnson
224 W. 30th St.
212-564-7757
State Senator Daniel Squadron
250 Broadway #2011
212-298-5565
Community Board 1
49 Chambers St.
212-442-5050
Community Board 2
3 Washington Square Village
212-979-2272
Community Board 3
59 E. 4th St.
212-533-5300
Community Board 4
330 W. 42nd St.
212-736-4536
Hudson Park
66 Leroy St.
212-243-6876
Ottendorfer
135 2nd Ave.
212-674-0947
Elmer Holmes Bobst
70 Washington Square
212-998-2500
COMMUNITY BOARDS
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10 Union Square East
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hotels. The company says the majority of its users rent out their apartments for one or two weeks a year in order to make ends meet, and that laws must be enacted or changed to allow this activity to continue. Brooklyn Councilmember Jumaane Williams, chair of the housing committee, said the illegal hotel bill wasn’t designed to go after small-time users who rent out their apartment for one or two weeks a year, nor was the hearing designed to be a prelude to new laws and regulations that would target them. But David Hantman, Airbnb’s head of global policy, said it’s those types of users who are feeling pressure due to the increased scrutiny Airbnb is under and feel as if the money they earn on Airbnb to make ends meet is under threat. Hantman brought along a man named Lee Thomas, who bought a two-family home in Ozone Park, Queens, while he was doing well for himself working on Wall Street. After the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Thomas developed cancer and said he used Airbnb to stay afloat while recovering by renting out one unit in the house he bought and living in the other. Affordable housing advocates say that rent-stabilized tenants who offer their apartments for short-term rentals are in violation of their leases, which usually stipulate that the landlord must approve subleases beforehand. Other regulations prohibit tenants from using their apartments for commercial
purposes. By violating their lease, landlords, some of whom troll Airbnb and other sites looking for their apartments, are able to begin eviction proceedings. In this way, say the affordable housing advocates, Airbnb and similar sites erode the city’s affordable housing stock. But even individuals who posts their apartment on Airbnb or a similar website in order to make ends meet, and use the service in the most legal way possible, still face the argument that they’re putting their neighbors at risk by essentially giving strangers access to the building. Authorities first skirmished with Airbnb last year, when State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman subpoenaed the company for records on users his office suspected of violating the law. Airbnb was successful in narrowing the scope of the subpoena, but ultimately had to comply. Since then, both sides have been gearing up for the fight ahead. Krueger helped form a coalition of elected officials and housing rights groups that coalesced under the name “ShareBetter.” The AG’s report analyzed nearly half a million stays at 35,000 different locations, and drew on four years worth of data Airbnb reluctantly turned over after a court order. It found that commercial users, as opposed to private, individual users, supply more than a third of the listings and generate more than a third of the revenue. That finding signaled that some were using
From left, Anne Cunningham and Audrey Smaltz, two residents who testified against Airbnb and similar services. Photo by Daniel Fitzsimmons the service to operate multiple units in the same building full time, exactly the type of operation targeted by the illegal hotel law. Audrey Smaltz moved into her apartment at 15 W. 55th St. in 1977, and said she used to feel safe and was familiar with all her neighbors. “Things have changed,” said Smaltz, in her testimony to the committee. “My friends and neighbors are being replaced with strangers.” Smaltz said many units in her building are advertised on Airbnb and similar websites, and that when she moved in there were many rent-stabilized tenants in the building’s 37 apartments. Now, she said, she sees a lot of strange faces. “Now there are seven rent-
stabilized tenants,” she said. “Our landlord is operating an illegal hotel. [The strangers] are young people and they’re from all over: New Zealand, Australia, France. We talk to them, we see them bringing in their luggage.” Smaltz said recently an Airbnb guest wandered onto her terrace, a frightening experience that she said made her realize just how vulnerable she’s become due to the short-term rental boom. “Not only have we lost our sense of safety but the landlod has ignored our request for repairs,” said Smaltz. A staffer in Williams’ office said it’s likely the council member will schedule more hearings on the issue.
JANUARY 22-28 ,2015 Our Town Downtown 5
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YOU READ IT HERE FIRST The local paper for the Upper East Side
Out & About 23 24
RENEWAL OPEN DANCE REHEARSAL
COUPLET: A POETRY AND MUSIC SERIES
November 5, 2014
April 17, 2014 The local paper for the Upper West Side
LOST DOG TALE, WITH A TWIST LOCAL NEWS
A family hopes that Upper West Siders will help bring their Cavalier King Charles Spaniel back home Upper West Side For the past week, Eva Zaghari and her three children from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, have been papering the Upper West Side with over 1,300 flyers asking for information on their beloved dog Cooper. ?We are devastated, please return our dog,? the sign implores. The catch though, is that Cooper didn?t technically get lost, or even stolen. He was given away. When she explains the story, sitting at Irving Farm coffee shop on West 79th Street before heading out to post more flyers around the neighborhood, Eva and her kids are visibly distraught. About a month ago, on September 5th, her husband Ray had arranged to give the dog away, via a Craigslist ad. He mistakenly thought that removing a source of stress from his wife and kids ? walking and feeding and caring for a dog, tasks which had fallen mostly to Eva ? would make everyone happier
October 2, 2014
October 8, 2014
The local paper for the Upper East Side
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
August 7, 2014
August 20, 2014
FI R S T I N YOU R N E I G H BO R H O O D
(212) 868-0190 The local paper for the Upper East Side
The local paper for the Upper West Side
The local paper for Downtown
The Delancy, Delancy Street and Clinton Street. 7 p.m., Free Event, Drinks start out at $6. Hosted by Leah Umansky, Couplet is a reading series featuring emerging and established poets. Featured poets include Katie Byrum, John Ebersole, Joanna C. Valente, Rachel Zucker and Sarah Gerard. 212-254-9920. www. thedelancey.com
BLUE MAN GROUP
Amanda Sewlyn Dance Theatre, Leonard Street and Varick Street. 3-5 p.m., Free. Check out the creative process behind Amanda Sewlyn Dance Theatre’s upcoming show Renewal. Meet the dancers followed by an informal wine and cheese reception. 646-765-4773. www. amandaselwyn.notesinmotion. org
Astor Place Theatre, Lafayette Street and Astor Place. 5 p.m., $56-106. The Blue Men are back in New York with another new show. Enjoy a collaborative night of music, technology and comedy in their innovative blue world. 212-260-8993. www. TWO BRIDGES blueman.com/new-york/about- NEIGHBORFOOD show
WALKING TOUR
Cherry Street and Rutgers Street. 1-3 p.m., Free. RECORD OF CHERRY Museum of Modern Art, 11 Join Two Bridges ROAD BY EMILY MORAN West 53rd St. Neighborhood Council for a tour 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m., $25 around Two Bridges / Chinatown New York University Tisch adults, $18 seniors, $14 neighborhood. Learn about the School of Art, Waverly Place students. people behind the restaurants and Broadway. 8 a.m.-8 p.m., Free. Sturtevant began “repeating” while visiting local markets. the works of her contemporaries Record of Cherry Road will 212-566-2729. www. in 1964, using some of the most neighborfoodtours.splashthat. present nyu alumna Emily iconic artworks of her generation com Moran’s photography. Photos will “investigate the myths that as a source. surround my family’s home,the 212-708-9400. www.moma. farmhouse of old plantation in org Memphis,Tennessee.” 212-998-1930. www.events. nyu.edu/#event_id/30575/ view/event
STURTEVANT: DOUBLE TROUBLE
25
26
COMMUNITY BOARD 1 MONTHLY MEETING
JANUARY 22-28 ,2015 Our Town Downtown 7
P.S. 89, Warren Street and West Street. 6 p.m.Free. Join Community Board 1 members to receive updates and information on what’s happening in the Lower Manhattan neighborhood. 212-571-5659. www.nyc.gov/html/ mancb1/html/community/community. shtml
STORIES AND CRAFTS Hudson Park Library, Leory street and St Lukes Place. 4 p.m., Free. Stop by the library for story time and fun crafts after school. For ages 3-6. 212-243-6876. www.nypl.org/ locations/hudson-park
28 BRAINWAVE: THE ATTACHMENT TRAP Rubin Museum of Art, 17th street and Seventh avenue. 7 p.m., $35 for regular program admission. Top Chef Tom Colicchio will show guest the importance of touch in the kitchen followed by a talk by the author of Touch: The Science of Hand, Heart, and Mind. 212-620-5000. www.rubinmuseum. org/events/load/2901
ESSEX CROSSING
COMMUNITY PRESENTATION Grand Street Settlement, Pitt Street and Grand street. 6-8 p.m., Free. Join Community Board 3 members for a Crossing community presentation to learn more about how to stay safe. CoSponsored by Delancey Street Associates and CB 3. 212-674-1740. www.nyc.gov/html/ mancb3/html/calendar/calendar.shtml
29 TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES 2 South Street Seaport, Water Street and Futon Street. 7-9 p.m., Free. Free Screening of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II - The Secret of the Ooze as part of Sugarcube’s Film series: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly and The Ooze. 212-732-8257. www. southstreetseaport.com/Events
“ADAM EKBERG: ORCHESTRATING THE ORDINARY”
27 JIM GAFFIGAN IN CONVERSATION WITH JUDY GOLD 92nd St Y: Kaufmann Concert Hall, 1395 Lexington Ave. 8 p.m., $49. Jim Gaffigan, a Grammy nominated comedian, New York Times bestselling author, will spend Tuesday evening with Judy Collins discussing comedy. 212-415-5500. www.92y.org
MUSIC FOR THE AARDVARKS Community Cube: South Street Seaport, Water Street and Fulton street. 10 a.m.-12 p.m., Free. Fun music for kids with an interactive experience. Free programming for all ages sponsored by the New York Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital in partnership with the Howard Hughes Corporation. 212-732-8257. www. southstreetseaport.com/events/
Clamp Art, 531 West 25th St. @ 10th Ave. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Free. Adam Ekberg is an artist who creates constructed still life photographs exploring ephemeral occurrences.
Fifty Years Ago, RWDSU Marched For Justice in Selma Stuart Appelbaum, President Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union
F
ifty years ago, RWDSU activists from across the country traveled to Alabama to participate in the historic march from Selma to the capital city of Montgomery to demand an end to the violence, harassment, and literacy tests, poll taxes, and other discriminatory laws that were denying American citizens their voice at the polls.
It’s a moment in time examined in the criticallyacclaimed new film, Selma, and it’s a moment in time that our union is proud to have been involved in. Melody Heaps, the daughter of then-RWDSU Secretary-Treasurer (and later President) Al Heaps joined thousands of RWDSU members and other activists who made the 54-mile journey from Selma to Montgomery. Heaps took part in the third and biggest march, which began on March 21, 1965. “I remember starting to march in Selma, standing with fellow marchers of different races, and under the protection of the National Guard. It was a proud moment for me as I looked around – I started to think that America was finally unified in setting things right, and that we were finally turning a corner in the fight to end the systematic discrimination that had turned an entire class of people into second-class citizens,” Heaps said. “There had been some fear among those I had come down from Chicago with – due to the murders during the previous marches, the involvement of the Klan and even the local Alabama cops. But that evaporated as we started marching – we felt so strong,” Heaps added. Heaps marched alongside then-RWDSU President Max Greenberg and other RWDSU leaders and members. Former RWDSU Alabama and Mid-South Council President, the late Henry Jenkins, was one of them. Jenkins and fellow RWDSU members brought supplies including tents and food to marchers’ campsites. These supporting efforts played a key role in making the third march a success. On March 25, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., marchers reached the state capitol steps in Montgomery. By that time, the throng of activists had grown to over 25,000 people unified in their call for justice. Dr. King delivered one of his landmark speeches, “How Long, Not Long.” “They told us we wouldn’t get here. And there were those who said that we would get here only over their dead bodies, but all the world today knows that we are here and we are standing before the forces of power in the state of Alabama saying, “We ain’t goin’ let nobody turn us around,” King said. The marches in Alabama had a swift impact. That same month, President Johnson introduced a voting rights bill to Congress, and in August, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed, outlawing discriminatory laws designed to keep minorities from voting. The effect of the Voting Rights Act, and the registration drives in the South that followed, was unmistakable. In 1960, there were just over 50,000 African-American registered voters in Alabama. By 1980, there were well over a half-million. Countless individuals and organizations like ours – large and small - helped make the march in Selma a seminal event in our nation’s history. This progressive spirit of those days continues to live on at the RWDSU, and among all of those who are fighting for justice and equality. There is still much work to be done, and today, our fight includes reforming our broken immigration system and strengthening the rights of immigrants. And, the progressive movement must continue to fight for good jobs for all, because we believe, as did Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., that without economic justice we cannot achieve true equality. The progressive spirit that drove so many RWDSU members to participate in seminal events including the Selma marches and the 1963 March on Washington continues to live on at the RWDSU. There is still much work to be done to achieve equality for all, and today, our fight includes reforming our broken immigration system and strengthening the rights of immigrants. And, we continue to fight for good jobs for all, because we believe, as did Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., that without economic justice we cannot achieve true equality.
Visit us on the web at:
www.rwdsu.org
8 Our Town Downtown JANUARY 22-28 ,2015
My Story
OP-ED
Voices
AGAINST DECLAWING CATS A new bill introduced in Albany would ban declawing except in medically necessary situations BY LINDA B. ROSENTHAL
THE PARALLELS OF PARKING AND PARENTING BY LORRAINE DUFFY MERKL
“There’s one right in front of the building,” I yelled into the phone in excitement, as my twenty-year-old son, Luke, and his girlfriend, Gabby, drove around our neighborhood looking for a parking space -- a well-known cat and mouse game. I was on look-out duty from our fourth-floor window, and just as I saw Luke’s 2004 red Mustang turn onto pir street, I watched as another car backed into the empty plot of coveted real estate. Yes, I wanted to go down there and scream at the guy for taking what I felt was Luke’s rightful place, but I didn’t, as I now have taken a back seat in his life. Some I know think it’s about time. I admit I’ve always taken pride in steering my chil-
dren’s lives in the right direction. There are those who cannot believe how self-sufficient Luke is considering my role as s’mother (a name people thought was oh-so funny to refer to me as.) But my philosophy from the get-go was that those who are well taken care of learn what caretaking looks like and will mirror the behavior when it’s time to do it for themselves. He proved me right when he spent his first college semester in Australia as part of his university’s international program, and continued to fend for himself when he returned to Boston. Last summer Luke found a summer job all on his own and saved his money, as he always has with monetary birthday and graduation gifts. He used it to not only buy the ‘stang,
but pay for the insurance and triple-A membership. Although he went to look at the car with my husband Neil, Luke went to make the transaction on his own, getting the bank check and standing on the never-ending DMV line for the plates solo as well. I had offered my assistance/ company but was greeted with a, “No, I got this.” As proud as I was of his autonomy, I was a bit disappointed that I was not included, but that emotional combo is what letting go feels like. “There’s another spot. It’s on the far, west corner of 86th and York,” I called in. “I’m on my way,” Luke said into the speaker as Gabby held the iPhone. I may not be needed on a day-to-day basis as I once was, but I’m still in the distance overseeing; there to help when necessary. And although he relishes being on his own, I think Luke’s glad he can still count on me to help out in a pinch, like when he slid into the parking space on the corner. Lorraine Duffy Merkl is a freelance writer in NYC and author of the novel, BACK TO WORK SHE GOES.
Since my election to represent the people of the 67th Assembly district nearly nine years ago, one of the guiding tenets of my service has been to provide the powerless and unrepresented with a voice in Albany. As someone who is privileged to have her opinions heard and have the ability to effect change, I believe that it is the role of government to speak for those who cannot do so for themselves: to protect the vulnerable and those without access. Working on animal issues is a natural extension of everything that I believe government should be doing. Since animals obviously cannot lobby in the corridors of power and advocate for themselves, we have a responsibility to speak for them, particularly when it comes to safeguard them from humans’ actions. I believe that we as a society have a moral obligation to animals, to value them and protect them from pain and cruelty, especially pain in the name of mere convenience. I have just introduced a bill in the Assembly that would ban declawing of cats except in the most dire of medical circumstances. The most common reason people cite for having their cats declawed (or undergoing what is called an onychectomy) is to protect furniture and other household items. To be clear, declawing a cat is not a simple clip of the nail. It is, in fact, a serious surgery consisting of the amputation of the last bone of each toe along with tendons, nerves and ligaments. Imagine having the tips of each of your fingers and toes cut off just before the first joint. That’s declawing. And it gives rise to behaviors that render cats more likely to be abandoned than any amount of furniture scratching can. Cats are born with and use their claws to meet physical and psychological needs: climbing, stretching, scratching and marking territory, all inherent parts of their being. Removal of a cat’s claws causes pain, can lead to infection, lameness, altered gait and other complications. Ironically, robbing cats of the ability to carry out their instinctual behavior brings about other, more undesirable behavior such as biting and not using the litterbox. It also strips them of the ability to defend themselves against other animals and aggressors. Those behaviors lead to considerably more dumping of cats in shelters where they are more likely to be euthanized because their behavior issues make them unappealing to
adopters. There are far more simple and humane ways to handle scratching than to resort to surgery, such as regularly trimming nails, providing scratching posts, using nail caps and other strategies. Most of the member states of the European Union as well as countries from New Zealand to Sweden to Portugal forbid declawing. I am working with the Paw Project, which spearheaded the prohibition in several California cities, and whose founder, veterinarian Jennifer Conrad, likens declawing to solve scratching as lobotomy was to cure depression. There are myriad alternatives and to resort to surgery is just plain cruel and unnecessary. When one makes the decision to bring an animal, a sentient being, into one’s life, it means taking on a set of responsibilities, including providing food, shelter, medical care, love and play. I know, as the caretaker of two former shelter cats, that the benefits to humans are innumerable and often intangible. Taking an animal into one’s home does not confer the right to painfully and permanently alter it to conveniently fit within someone’s lifestyle. Veterinarians who place the profit motive above the task of education and training should perhaps reexamine the rationale behind their career choice. Clearly an overwhelming number of Americans are coming to view their pets as integral members of their families. Since the announcement of my bill’s introduction, I have heard from thousands of people who support it. They and I are committed to banning cat declawing in New York State by passing bill A.1297 into law. If you would agree and would like to help, please visit my website and sign the petition. Linda B. Rosenthal represents the Upper West Side’s 67th district in the State Assembly.
STRAUS MEDIA-MANHATTAN President, Jeanne Straus nyoffice@strausnews.com Vice President/CFO Otilia Bertolotti Vice President/CRO Vincent A. Gardino advertising@strausnews.com
Publisher, Gerry Gavin Associate Publishers, Seth L. Miller, Ceil Ainsworth
Sr. Account Executive, Tania Cade Account Executive Susan Wynn
Editor In Chief, Kyle Pope editor.ot@strausnews.com Editor, Megan Bungeroth editor.otdt@strausnews.com
Staff Reporters, Gabrielle Alfiero, Daniel Fitzsimmons
Block Mayors, Ann Morris, Upper West Side Jennifer Peterson, Upper East Side Gail Dubov, Upper West Side Edith Marks, Upper West Side
JANUARY 22-28 ,2015 Our Town Downtown 9
CHAPIN EXPANSION PLAN REJECTED BY CB 8 Neighbors expressed concerns about construction noise, traffic BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS
The Chapin School’s application to add three stories to its eight-story building at East End Avenue and 84th Street was denied by Community Board 8. “Primarily the sense of the board is that they weren’t specific enough regarding their weekend work in terms of duration, and when construction would start and when it would stop,” said CB8 chair Jim Clynes, who took over this year from outgoing chair Nick Viest. Construction at Chapin, a K-12 all-girls school that is among the most exclusive private schools in the city, would have had to take place over the summer and during non-school hours, a prospect that worried both the board and neighboring residents. In a presentation on the proposal given by Chapin, representatives of the school said construction would
last about 39 months and would wrap up by the end of 2018. Clynes said CB8 members were also concerned about construction snarling traffic in the area and about shadows that the addition would cast into Carl Schurz Park, which is across East End Avenue from the school. In addition, said Clynes, many were uncomfortable with the way the school would look upon being completed. “A lot of people were concerned about the look of the building,” said Clynes. “It looks like a hodgepodge of different layers of different buildings all stacked on top of each other.” While the board has no statutory power, the City Charter requires its opinion on applications that would affect the community before the application is heard by a relevant city agency. In this case, because the expansion would require a zoning change, Chapin must bring its application before the city’s Board of Standards and Appeals.
Founded in 1901, the school has been granted several variances since 1987 as its student body and ambitions have expanded. The Chapin School endowment is estimated at $90 million and the endowment per student is approximately $123,626, according to private school comparison website www.PrepReview.com. It’s unclear if Chapin plans to bring its proposal before the BSA in its current form, or if it will be modified in some way. In a statement, the school said, “Chapin remains committed to engaging with its neighbors and members of Community Board 8 in connection with its application to create a regulation-size gymnasium, expanded music and dance programs, and to increase academic space. The expansion project is vital to meeting the evolving programmatic needs of Chapin’s students and to fulfilling its academic mission. In preparing its plans, the school will carefully consider the comments made by Community Board members and neighbors at the recent public hearing. We look forward to receiving their input and to continuing the dialogue as we move forward with the BSA process.” Clynes said the board’s deci-
sion was an outright denial of the application, and that they school wasn’t asked for any concessions or to go back to the drawing board. The school had already rankled members of CB8, who told Our Town that a presentation by Chapin at a board meeting in November was more about promoting the school than disseminating any new information about the planned expansion. Due to the lack of information at the November meeting, a decision on the application was held over to December. Last month, according to Clynes, the school asked CB8 to again push their application back, this time to January. Chapin’s proposal for added space would include a gym on the glass-encased top floor, locker rooms and performance art space, according to an ap-
plication filed with the Board of Standards and Appeals. The three additional stories would bring the height of the building to a proposed 186 feet, and no more than a maximum of 210 feet, according to a presentation of the proposal. On the roof would be built a turf playing field. The school has about 750 students but said it would not be seeking to add to its student body with the increase in space. The school says the new gym is necessary because its existing athletic spaces aren’t large enough to hold games sanctioned by the National Federation of High School Associations. Cynthia Kramer, who lives in The Chapin House, a residential building on 84th Street across from the school, said she remembers incessant construction during the last expansion in 2006, and does not want a repeat performance. “It was during the month of August and beginning of September when the girls were coming back to school, it was just around the clock, whatever it takes,” said Kramer of the 2006 construction. She’s worried about the construction hours, the over threeyear duration of the project,
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and the noise and debris that will come along with the project. Kramer also isn’t convinced the school doesn’t have plans to increase enrollment. During the last expansion, she said, the school went from 660 students to 750. She said an increase in enrollment would further congest the surrounding streets during drop off and pickup times. “It becomes an issue when each one of those children is brought to school in a Suburban that double parks and waits for them,” said Kramer. “They’re really trying to put a lot into that space. It’s just beginning to feel like a hundredyear-old lady who keeps wanting a face lift, and they just may have to deal with the space they have.” Even though the school’s plan was rejected at the community board level, there’s still a chance that the BSA could approve Chapin’s proposal, a worrisome possibility for residents. “The community board is not a body that can say ‘no,’ they can only present their opinion,” said Kramer. “So this becomes a political issue as to whether there will be any people on the BSA who will listen to us.”
10 Our Town Downtown JANUARY 22-28 ,2015
CAPTURING THE MAGIC OF BALLET ON FILM DANCE New York City Ballet’s resident choreographer and the documentary director who caught him on film BY GABRIELLE ALFIERO
In Jan. 2013, Justin Peck was a young, new choreographer for New York City Ballet. On the heels of his acclaimed piece “Year of the Rabbit,” Peck, who was 25 and a member of the corps de ballet, was commissioned to create a new piece over just a few months. The process was all captured on film for the immersive new documentary “Ballet 422,” which follows Peck’s journey creating “Paz de la Jolla,” the 422nd new work for the company. The film’s director, Jody Lee Lipes, whose wife was a dancer with New York City Ballet for 13 years and acted as the film’s producer, previously directed “NY Export: Opus Jazz,” an adaptation of choreographer Jerome Robbins’ ballet, as well as episodes of HBO’s “Girls.” The vérité-style film follows Peck as he develops the piece, from early sketches on notebook paper to first rehearsals, costume fittings and staging to the opening night curtain call, and tracks the many details involved in the creation of a new ballet, including lighting cues, pointe shoe hues and skirt hemlines. The now 27-year-old choreographer and dancer has more than 15 new works to his name, including six commissions for New York City Ballet. Since the debut of “Paz de la Jolla,” which
was inspired by Peck’s childhood in Encinitas, Calif., he has been promoted to soloist and became the company’s second ever resident choreographer. We spoke with Justin Peck and “Ballet 422” filmmaker Jody Lee Lipes about the documentary, which opens Feb. 6 at the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Landmark Theatres Sunshine Cinema. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Why did you want to make this film?
Justin Peck in a scene from Ballet 422, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures
Jody Lee Lipes: I just went to see Justin do a presentation for “Year of the Rabbit” before it premiered where he was working with [NYCB principal dancer] Tiler Peck, who is also a dancer in this film. And I was just fascinated by the way he worked with her. It made me want to see if there was something I could do with him.
about it a few weeks before, so I was just kind of frantically trying to prepare for the creation of this work and I didn’t feel like I really had much capacity to worry about how I looked on camera.
“Year of the Rabbit” was very well-received. Justin, did you feel any pressure because of that when you were creating “Paz de la Jolla”? Justin Peck: Because it was one of the first few ballets I was making for the company I think I wasn’t too fazed with the pressure. I think to me it just felt like “Year of the Rabbit” was the beginning. I made my first ballet and I had a lot more to share. I still had so many ideas that I didn’t feel daunted by critical expectations.
What about having a documentary film added to that? JP: The commission for this came about really last minute because I was actually replacing another piece. I found out
Were there any physical challenges you had to contend with? JLL: A ballet rehearsal space has one wall that’s totally mirrored, so it can be really hard to avoid your reflection. A lot of vérité film is shot with more than one camera, but in this case it just really didn’t make sense because keeping each other out of the reflection is pretty much impossible. So that kind of forced us into using one camera. I find that generally limitations like that, and I think Justin feels the same way, lead to really interesting solutions.
There are scenes in the film when the camera focuses on Justin’s face as he’s watching the dancers. Why did you choose that vantage point? JLL: If you’re on the subway and something crazy happens, I think it’s really interesting
to watch the people who are watching that happen. Because they’re not thinking about you, and you can totally read their face because there’s this other thing happening over here. That gaze is really fascinating to watch. When your subject is an artist and really, really engaged with what they’re doing, it’s kind of the same thing. They’re so into it that they’re not really thinking about you. They’re not really thinking about the fact that they’re being watched. And so the audience then gets to think about what they’re thinking about.
What was it like watching yourself on film, now that a couple years have passed? JP: I think the process that Jody documented was a learning experience for me. As much as I think I work a little bit differently now as far as collaborating, I think it’s kind of normal for someone like me to go through that. The only way to really figure that out as a choreographer working for an institution like the New York City Ballet is to just go through it.
What’s so great about the film is that it shows that a choreographer’s role isn’t just to come up with choreography when they’re making a new ballet. It’s more like they’re a director of this entire production that’s coming together. Whereas if you look at something like a dance film or a Broadway show, the choreographer will come on board and they’ll just contribute the choreography for that production. Here it’s having to assemble so many things. I think I just have a better sense of just kind of the symbiotic existence of all these various parts which helps bring a piece together.
Jody, did you find any similarities between Justin’s creative process and the one you go through as a filmmaker? JLL: I can relate to being the new guy in an industry where you’re doing bigger and bigger things and having to learn the politics. That’s always the hardest thing for me. I think it took me a while to learn you can have these levels of success and get a lot of praise
but it doesn’t really matter because the next thing is always the thing. The next thing is always what you’re judged on and it’s just as hard to get it going and it’s just as hard to show up the first day and figure it out. You just have to go back to work right away. And the end result is almost a little bit less important than making it.
Justin, at the end of the film, we see you in the audience as your ballet ends, and the camera follows you backstage as you get ready to dance in the corps of another ballet. What was that like? JP: I was excited about it. To me it was a representation of my place in New York City Ballet at that time. Being a dancer in the corps de ballet and also being a contributing choreographer there, I was able to encapsulate that in one performance. Which was kind of a cool idea and also a testament to the general work ethic of New York City Ballet. How everyone’s really focused on the work.
JANUARY 22-28 ,2015 Our Town Downtown 11
RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS JAN 5 - 16, 2015
Wendy’s
85 Nassau Street
A
The following listings were collected from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s website and include the most recent inspection and grade reports listed. We have included every restaurant listed during this time within the zip codes of our neighborhoods. Some reports list numbers with their explanations; these are the number of violation points a restaurant has received. To see more information on restaurant grades, visit www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/services/restaurant-inspection.shtml.
The Irish American
17 John Street
Grade Pending (33) 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. Food not cooled by an approved method whereby the internal product temperature is reduced from 140º F to 70º F or less within 2 hours, and from 70º F to 41º F or less within 4 additional hours. Appropriately scaled metal stem-type thermometer or thermocouple not provided or used to evaluate temperatures of potentially hazardous foods during cooking, cooling, reheating and holding.
Gino’s Pizza
81 Catherine Street
Grade Pending (21) Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.
Acqua Restaurant
2123 Peck Slip
A
Barbalu
225 Front Street
A
Texas Rotisserie
94 Fulton Street
A
Toloache Taqueria
83 Maiden Lane
A
Giardino D’oro
5 Gold Street
A
Starbucks
135 John Street
A
Hop Shing Restaurant
9 Chatham Square
Grade Pending (17) 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.
Baba Ghanouge
143 Fulton Street
A
Au Bon Pain
111 Fulton Street
A
El Luchador
87 South Street
Not Graded Yet (15) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
Barleycorn
23 Park Pl
Not Graded Yet (23) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Meat, fish or molluscan shellfish served raw or undercooked without prior notification to customer. Food not cooled by an approved method whereby the internal product temperature is reduced from 140º F to 70º F or less within 2 hours, and from 70º F to 41º F or less within 4 additional hours.
Go Go Curry
Lavazza Cafe Per Wes
12 John Street
99 Nassau Street
Not Graded Yet (65) 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. HACCP plan not approved or approved HACCP plan not maintained on premises. Not Graded Yet (19) Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.
Real Estate Sales Neighborhd
Address
Price
Bed Bath Agent
Lower E Side
570 GRAND St.
$499,000
1
1
Halstead Property
Battery Park City
30 W St.
$1,975,000
2
Corcoran
Noho
21 BLEECKER St.
$899,000
1
1
Custom Brokers NYC
241 LAFAYETTE St.
$2,725,000 $1,670,000
1
1
Corcoran
2
Battery Park City
70 LITTLE W St.
$1,220,000
1
1
Warburg
Nolita
Battery Park City
250 SOUTH END Ave.
$1,070,000
2
2
DJK Residential
Soho
210 LAFAYETTE St.
Chelsea
360 W 22 St.
$998,000
Soho
25 W HOUSTON St.
$1,850,000
Soho
37 GREENE St.
$6,300,000
Soho
505 GREENWICH St.
$1,230,000
1
1
Corcoran
Tribeca
395 BROADWAY
$1,850,000
2
2
Warburg
Halstead Property
Tribeca
93 Worth St.
$2,350,000
2
2
CORE
Owner
Tribeca
101 LEONARD St.
$2,125,000
2
2
Douglas Elliman
3
3
Douglas Elliman
Chelsea
151 W 21 St.
$931,698
Chelsea
325 W 21 St.
$840,000
E Village
259 E 7 St.
$2,475,000
E Village
241 E 7 St.
$359,000
1
0 1
2
1 1
Corcoran
E Village
333 E 14 St.
$680,000
E Village
111 3 Ave.
$735,000
Tribeca
101 LEONARD St.
$3,100,571
175 E BROADWAY
$2,500,000
E Village
742 E 6 St.
$275,000
Two Bridges
E Village
428 E 10 St.
$3,555,000
W Chelsea
447 W 18 St.
$1
E Village
211 E 3 St.
$1,825,000
W Chelsea
520 W 23 St.
$575,000
0
1
MP Walsh Realty
E Village
214 Ave. A
$660,000
W Village
204 W 10 St.
$850,000
1
1
Douglas Elliman
W Village
35 PERRY St.
$910,661
61 HORATIO St.
$720,000
1
1
Warburg
2
1
Douglas Elliman
Financial District
80 John St.
$999,000
2
2
Douglas Elliman
Financial District
130 WATER St.
$452,000
0
1
Halstead Property
W Village
Financial District
75 WALL St.
$1,781,937
2
2
Douglas Elliman
W Village
180 W HOUSTON St.
$710,000
1
1
Halstead Property
45 CHRISTOPHER St.
$1,625,000
1
1
Sotheby’s
1 MORTON SQUARE
$4,000,000
2
2
Douglas Elliman
Financial District
15 WILLIAM St.
$856,000
0
1
Douglas Elliman
W Village
Financial District
15 WILLIAM St.
$2,194,328
2
2
Douglas Elliman
W Village
Greenwich Village
25 5 Ave.
$1,895,000
Lower E Side
455 FDR DRIVE
$1,580,000
Lower E Side
210 E Broadway
$1,375,000
St.Easy.com is New York’s most accurate and comprehensive real estate website, providing consumers detailed sales and rental information and the tools to manage that information to make educated decisions. The site has become the reference site for consumers, real estate professionals and the media and has been widely credited with bringing transparency to one of the world’s most important real estate markets.
12 Our Town Downtown JANUARY 22-28 ,2015
Food & Drink
< DANNY MEYER TAKES ISSUE WITH NEW U.W.S. RESTAURANT Danny Meyer, owner of Shake Shack, The Modern, Union Square Cafe and a host of other city eateries, has taken issue with new Upper West Side restaurant Lincoln Square Steak, the New York Post reported. Through his company, Union Square Hospitality Group, Meyer issued a cease-and-desist letter to the newly
opened steakhouse on West 70th Street due to perceived infringement of Union Square Cafe’s trademark. According to the Post, Meyer’s company asked that Lincoln Square Steak change its name, menu and logo because they bear similarities to those of Meyer’s iconic Union Square Cafe. The new restaurant’s logo
features a red and black square, while Meyer’s hospitality group has a red and white square as its logo. The Post also reported that lawyers for Union Square Hospitality Group took issues with menu similarities between the two restaurants, an accusation that Lincoln Square Steak refutes. The Upper West Side steakhouse opened on Jan. 15 despite the legal dispute.
LOOKING FOR FRESH GREENS IN WINTER days from seed to plate. Look for: mustards, Asian greens, spinach and some salads. Two hydroponic farmers in Union Square on Saturday are Two Guys Woodbridge and Shushan Valley Hydro Farm. Hudson Valley Organic always has a delicious variety of sprouts (no soil, no leaves) such as mung beans, broccoli or radish sprouts. There is a wide range of mostly green microgreens in the market. Monkshood Nursery features micro cilantro, pea shoots, sunflower shoots and mizuna. Delicious! I enjoy looking at the selection from Windfall Farms including micro kale, buckwheat greens, sunflower, Hong Vit radish, ruby red chard, tatsoi and shungiku! Prices (are you ready?) are from $12 for 1/4 lb!
COMMUNITY KITCHEN Farm markets yield surprising finds in winter vegetables BY LIZ NEUMARK
It’s been really cold out. Still, every weekend I go to local Greenmarkets to stock up for the week. If our local famers can get up in this weather (and often conditions are far worse points north or west of the city), then I surely can travel the city mile or two to patronize them. I hunt for green, curious to see what remains as temperatures drop and options narrow. Last week, there was still broccoli coming from Gajeski Produce out on the Island. A miracle! I counted 7 green vegetables including broccoli rabe, arugula, cilantro, parsley, kale and mustard greens. This week, after a few days of freezing temperatures, slim pickings: leeks, kale, cabbage, spinach, herbs, microgreens and hydroponic lettuce. There were some anemic last bunches of celery edged out by heartier storage crops. (More on these stalwarts next time.) Hudson Valley Harvest, an aggregating agricultural enterprise that carries produce and value-added products from many local farms had this to say in its “Sunday Produce” report: “It’s been zero degrees up here. Things happen, heaters go down for a moment and you lose a greenhouse. Hoop Houses and cold frames tip to the point of no return. It only takes a moment for something to die and once it’s gone you can’t bring it back.”
Hoop Houses
So, where do the various winter veggies come from and how much green will you be able to find?
Greenhouses The majority of local greenhouses are air-heated, an expensive proposition especially during really cold snaps. It’s like heating your house, only the walls are layers of plastic and air. Sunny days are helpful as solar heat contributes to warmth and might be retained. Other greenhouses utilize radiant heat, which warms the ground and is suitable for specific winter crops like hearty low greens.
At Katchkie Farm, we have radiant heat and utilize discarded cooking oil from Great Performances to fuel the greenhouse boiler. A small handful of greenhouses are hydroponic — growing produce in nutrient enriched water, which requires a wellheated environment. Another choice for greenhouse winter cultivation is micro-greens grown on tables, not inground. But think about how crops grow differently in a greenhouse environment: spinach seeded in a springtime field takes 50 days to mature. In a winter greenhouse, it takes 95
Operating on the principle of a greenhouse, with a more temporary structure, hoop houses capture heat from the sun, trapping it under the plastic and prolong the season for hearty crops like kale and winter greens. Root vegetables get sweeter after frost and can hang in until the ground freezes (and they can’t be harvested). Hoop houses are
more economical to build and are great season extenders for early spring planting as well. Look for: Kale, mustard greens and other veggies depending on the weather. Might also include small root vegetables, they won’t grow big in the cold.
Storage Once har vested, many crops will last for months under good storage conditions. Root cellars at homes and small farms did just that — their cool and steady climate providing predictable shelter until the next growing season. Barns offer storage spaces and are subject to temperature changes. We use our barn’s walk-in coolers, but farm manager Bob Walker carefully monitors them, sometimes putting a heater inside because they, too, are not impervious to the cold. Look for: Less green, more colors. Carrots, beets, winter squash, apples, pears (for a while longer), cabbage, Brussels sprouts, onions, turnips, daikons, leeks, potatoes and other hearty root veggies or what Farmer Bob calls “Thanksgiving Food.” Fresh lettuce bought from local rooftop or rural farm greenhouses is going to be expensive. A very small head — salad for one — is about $4. Indeed a luxury! Treat yourself to a frozen container of pesto from Monkshood Nursery, or flash frozen greens from Migliorelli Farm, and find creative ways to make a little green go a long way! Liz Neumark is CEO of Great Performances Catering and author of the cookbook Sylvia’s Table.
WINTER GREENS RECIPES Here are some recipes for the heartier greens in the market, supplemented with other winter storage crops. Kale Salad with Red Cabbage, Carrots & Pumpkin Seeds Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar Sea salt and pepper 3 cups kale and red cabbage, shredded 1 carrot, peeled and julienned ¼ cup fresh parsley leaves 2 tablespoons red onion, diced 6 tablespoons pumpkin seeds, chopped Method: 1. Whisk together olive oil, mustard, and apple cider vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. 2. In a separate, larger bowl, mix together the kale, cabbage, carrot, parsley, red onion, and pumpkin seeds. 3. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle on dressing, and serve. Sylvia’s Table Brussels Sprouts with Butternut Squash & Apples Ingredients: 2 cups Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved or quartered, depending on their size 2 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed 2 cups (2 large) apples, roughly cubed 1 shallot, diced 2 tablespoons olive oil Salt and freshly ground pepper 1 tablespoon maple syrup Method: 1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 2. Toss the Brussels sprouts, squash, apples, shallot and olive oil in a large, shallow, baking dish. Season with salt and pepper. 3. Place the dish in the oven and bake until the vegetables and apple are wrinkled and slightly brown, and the edges of the squash are beginning to crisp, 45 minutes to one hour.
JANUARY 22-28 ,2015 Our Town Downtown 13
Business
< MEXICAN BILLIONAIRE BECOMES LARGEST N.Y. TIMES SHAREHOLDER The New York Times Co. says Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim is now the largest holder of its publicly traded shares. The business magnate, who built his fortune by amassing a range of retail, industrial and telecom companies, is ranked by Forbes as the world’s second-richest person with an estimated net worth of $72 billion. Slim lent the newspaper company $250 million at the height of the recession, as print advertising sales dropped across the industry and the com-
In Brief CITY SETTLES LAWSUIT FOR $75,000 OVER 2013 POLICE CHOKEHOLD The city of New York has agreed to pay a Brooklyn man $75,000 to settle a lawsuit claiming he was choked and unable to breathe during a 2013 encounter with police. A city law department spokesman says the case was evaluated and it was determined a settlement was in the city’s best interests. Attorney Jeffrey Rothman said Monday that the settlement for Kevin Dennis-Palmer Sr. was “another example of a black man choked and beaten down into the ground.” The lawsuit was filed a month before Eric Garner said, “I can’t breathe,” as he was wrestled to the ground by police on Staten Island in July. Garner died. The settlement was first reported by the Daily News. A judge in Manhattan federal court approved it last week.
BEASTIE BOYS LAWYERS: BILLS TOP $1.7M IN MONSTER ENERGY SUIT Attorneys for the Beastie Boys are asking a New York court to order the maker of Monster Energy drink to pay nearly $2.5 million in legal fees to cover their costs in a copyright violation case. Lawyers made the request in court papers Friday. In June, a Manhattan federal court jury awarded the rappers $1.7 million in damages. Corona, Californiabased Monster Energy Co. had admitted wrongly using the group’s songs in a video that was online for five weeks. But the beverage maker said at trial it should owe no more than $125,000. The company’s lawyers did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment Monday. The Beastie Boys were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. They have produced four No. 1 albums.
pany slashed staff and sold off most of its midtown Manhattan headquarters to raise cash. New York Times later refinanced the high-interest loan and paid it off three years early. The company said Wednesday that Slim and entities he controls recently spent nearly $101.1 million to exercise warrants he received for that investment, acquiring 15.9 million shares for about $6.36 each, roughly half the stock’s current price. The purchase brings his stake to about 27.8 million Class A shares, or 16.8 percent.
The ownership doesn’t change control of the company. The Sulzberger family controls The New York Times Co. through a trust that owns 90 percent of its Class B stock, which isn’t publicly traded, and 3.8 percent of Class A shares. Holders of Class B stock can elect 70 percent of the company’s board. Investment manager Fairpointe Capital LLC, based in Chicago, is now the second-largest holder with a little more than 14 million Class A shares, according to S&P Capital IQ.
BIKE SHARE COMPANY REBRANDS FOR N.Y.C. BUSINESS Changes for Citi Bike operator to infuse new energy into the program BY KAREN MATTHEWS
Now that it has moved from laid-back Portland, Oregon, to amped-up New York, the company that runs bike-sharing programs in New York, Chicago and other major cities is changing its name from Alta Bicycle Share to Motivate. “I think it represents action, I think it represents energy, I think it’s reflective of movement,” Motivate CEO Jay Walder, who took over last fall after a career in public transportation, said Tuesday. “We wanted the name to reflect our energy and our passion and our connection to the things that make cities great.” The change won’t affect the names of programs that Motivate manages in the U.S. and in Toronto and Melbourne, Australia. Citigroup has naming rights to New York’s Citi Bike through 2024, while Chicago’s system is called Divvy, Seattle’s is Pronto Cycle Share and in Columbus, Ohio, it’s CoGo. Citi Bike, the largest bikeshare system in the U.S. with 6,000 bikes, began operating in 2013 and has been plagued with technical glitches that
some riders blamed on absentee management from Portland-based Alta. Officials announced in October that partners from the developer Related Companies and the gym chain Equinox would take control of Alta, move it to New York and hire Walder as CEO. They promised to expand Citi Bike to 12,000 bikes by the end of 2017 while extending the system’s reach into Queens, upper Manhattan and additional Brooklyn neighborhoods.
The cost of an annual membership went from $95 to $149, with the promise that bikes and docking stations will work better than they did in the past. “We’re trying to use the winter to be able to get things done,” Walder said. A former CEO of New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority who also managed transit systems in London and Hong Kong, the 56-year-old Walder is touting the charms of the two-wheeled ride now. “When I get on a bicycle and I
take that ride I feel connected in different ways,” he said. “It’s very tactile, everything about the city is jumping out at me.” Beyond New York, Walder sees bike-share programs expanding in every city Alta is involved with. “You’re seeing the vision in every city that they want to do more,” he said. The next frontier may be carcentric Los Angeles, which is seeking bids to run a bikesharing system. “Our company is very much looking into that,” Walder said.
14 Our Town Downtown JANUARY 22-28 ,2015
YOUR FIFTEEN MINUTES
SEEING THE CITY THROUGH A PHOTOGRAPHER’S LENS Q&A As part of the last generation of film photographers, Jessica Burstein puts her accomplished and storied resume into focus BY ANGELA BARBUTI
Jessica Burstein has made a career out of capturing pivotal moments in New York City history. She photographed everything from the building of the new Yankee stadium, to the set of Law & Order, to the revelry in the iconic eatery, Elaine’s. Being born with strabismus, also known as wandering eye, ironically led to her future profession. After having corrective surgery at 8 years old, she was told to exercise her eye by using a camera. By the age of 11, she already had her very own dark room. And at 22, she beat out countless applicants at NBC to become the first female photographer at a network. Although she’s been in some precarious positions for work, like standing atop Yankee Stadium’s scoreboard, she is fearless behind the lens. “It’s very interesting, with a camera, you feel as if you’re protected,” she said.
You consider the Yankee Stadium commission as one of your favorite projects. If you wake up every morning and get paid to go to a place where you’re able to shoot whatever you want,
that’s a real gift for a photographer — or any artist. There’s been nothing like that in my life before or since. I’ve had terrific assignments, but this was a long-term commission and I particularly like that because I’m like a longdistance runner. I like projects where there’s enough time to get into a zone. It happened because, at Elaine’s, I got to know George Steinbrenner. I already knew Randy Levine, who’s the president of the Yankees. So I would go up to the Steinbrenner suite, and they allowed me to take photographs and George loved them. I would shoot some stuff and he would send me these beautiful notes. When they were getting ready to build the new stadium, Randy suggested that I put in a proposal to get the photo commission. There were a number of sports guys who thought that they should have it, but it wasn’t a sports’ project. It wasn’t even just architectural, because it was so much about the workers. It was just extraordinary because there were no dictates on what I could shoot and where I could shoot it. The first time I stood on top of the scoreboard, which was maybe two-feet wide, I was scared out of my wits. I had a harness on, and the workers in the stadium all stopped to look.
You were the first woman to photograph for a network. Why do you think you got the job at NBC? First of all, I was the last person to walk in the door out of 100 some-odd
people. At that time, the reality is, they needed to hire what they considered to be a minority, someone of color or a woman. They put me through about a month of tests before I actually got the job. I had to shoot, process the film, show them I could light, and I beat out everyone else. Throughout my four years there, I took pictures of everything from news events to television movies. I traveled in the U.S. and Europe. Despite the drawbacks, it was a plum first job and in the end, I learned a lot. It was crazy what went on because they were uncomfortable about having a female photographer. I had to fight for everything. There were no guidelines, no protective harassment laws, so you had to blaze your own trail. Barbara Walters, whom I’d idolized, wasn’t helpful at all. She was not helpful to women, period. And I wasn’t even an anchor, I was a kid who came in there as photographer and when she could, she tried to make my life miserable.
Let’s talk about Elaine’s. How did your work at the restaurant come about? I was a regular at Elaine’s. I originally started going there because guys would take me. It was such a big deal years ago. If a guy took you there and knew Elaine, that was a way of impressing you. Elaine’s was like a social club. Writers were the first ones in there, and then fame begot fame. Actors, directors and musicians followed. I would also go there
Entertainment Weekly’s Oscar party at Elaine’s in 2002, one of Burstein’s most famous photos. Left to Right: John Scribner, Jr (at ankle), Gay Talese (behind), Candace Bushnell, Richard Behar (with cigar).
Jessica (center) with her sisters, Karen (left) and Patricia (right) at the 1976 Democratic Convention at Madison Square Garden, doing different jobs. Photo courtesy Jessica Burstein for some NBC stuff, Saturday Night Live events, and things like that, but I wouldn’t dare take a shot because God knew what she was going to do. You have to understand, Elaine was tough. She didn’t care who you were. She screamed at Nobel Prize winners, Pulitzer Prize winners. She didn’t really pay attention to me until I had a photo exhibit in 1990. After I earned her respect, she asked me to document the restaurant. I was going to go to law school, because I had had it with photography. She said, “What are you, nuts? You’re great. You have nowhere to shoot? Come here and shoot.” I was the only one who was officially allowed to shoot in there.
What was the atmosphere like on set at Law & Order? On these sets, the hours are so long, so people are there more than they’re home. And it’s a family, a very dysfunctional family. People adore each other one day, are annoyed the next, are friends, are enemies — as you would have in any family. As a still photographer, I didn’t have to be there every day, so I would come in and out. But the camera operators, grips, DPs, gaffers, they’re there essentially 14 hours every day for 10 months. It’s very hard, unglamorous work.
I read that story in the Times where you talked about the dark room, Latent Image, that had to close. That was heartbreaking. I was working on a Law & Order show and got a letter from the lab that said, “Due to digital photography, we will be closing,” and then I had to go back to work. I was on the grip truck, crying. Latent Image was a complete community and you ran into people and made friends there. You had your own darkroom for printing, but everyone washed communally, so you could see everyone’s work. Its closing was the end of an era.
You come from a very accomplished family of six siblings. We were very privileged, but the demands were enormous. My father was
an international lawyer and a genius. And my mother was a New York State Supreme Court Justice. There were high expectations for us. My eldest sister Karen was a public servant, for a long time, in New York. She was one of the first three women state senators and was the Democratic candidate for New York State Attorney General in ’94. My sister Patricia was one of the first female editors for People magazine. Her twin, Ellen, who died from complications of MS a few years ago, was the first female television reporter for Newsweek and a television news personality. My brother, Johnny, created Slim Goodbody, teaching kids about health. My other brother, Judd, is a great lawyer, but a pain in the butt.
Do you think people can no longer live in the moment, because they’re worried about capturing it with their phone? That’s an interesting point of view, because I come at it slightly differently. What I see is the fact that everyone is a photographer now. I wouldn’t want to be coming into this profession today. I think you have to be incredibly dedicated. With film, you had to know what you were doing. You’d process the film, make contact sheets or get your slides, go through them, and then edit and print in a wet darkroom. It was a whole big thing. I think if you want to be in this business, you have to have such incredible dedication. People always come to me for advice, and I want to say, “Don’t do it.” Digital has changed everything. Also, a lot of assignments have dried up, since people can shoot their own photos. So you need to establish a reputation where they really want you. But I don’t want to discourage anyone who’s an artist from following his or her dream. You have to try to be a little realistic, however, although artists usually aren’t. [Laughs] To see more of Jessica’s work, visit www. jessicaburstein.photoshelter.com
JANUARY 22-28 ,2015 Our Town Downtown 15
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: 12pm the Friday before publication ACCOUNTING/FINANCIAL SERVICES LOMTO Federal Credit Union It’s hard to beat our great rates! Deposits federally insured to at least $250K (212)947-3380 ext.3144
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Antique, Flea & Farmers Market, East 67 St Market (bet. First & York Ave). Open every Saturday, 6am-5pm, rain or shine. Indoor & Outdoor, Free Admission. Call Bob 718-8975992. Proceeds benefit PS 183.
CAMPS/SCHOOLS Alexander Robertson School Independent School for Pre-K through Grade 5, 212-663-2844, 3 West 95th St. www.AlexanderRobertson.com Loyola School 646-346-8132 www.loyolanyc.org admissions@loyolanyc.org River Park Nursery School 212-663-1205, www.river parknurseryschool.com York Preparatory School 212-362-0400 ext 133 www.yorkprep.org admissions@yorkprep.org
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PUBLIC NOTICES
New York City Department of Transportation Notice of Public Hearing The New York City Department of Transportation will hold a Public Hearing on We dnesday, Februar y 4, 2015 at 2:00 P.M., at 55 Water St., 9th FL., Room 945 on the following petitions for revocable consent. #1 195 Broadway Property, LLC – to construct, maintain and use a ramp on the north sidewalk of Dey St., west of Broadway, in the Borough of Manhattan. #2 Bluespace, LLC – to construct, maintain and use a fenced-in area, together with steps, on the south sidewalk of W 12th St, west of Greenwich St., in the Borough of Manhattan. 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 10041, or by calling (212) 839-6550.
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16 Our Town Downtown JANUARY 22-28 ,2015
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