The local paper for Downtown wn
OTDOWNTOWN.COM
BACK ON THE STREETS, THIS TIME BY CHOICE
MARCH
12-18 2015
15 MINUTES, P.14 >
OurTownDowntown @OTDowntown
In Brief
THE LOOMING SHADOW OF LUXURY South Street Initiative looking to become voice for Lower East Side residents BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS
Victor Papa knew in the late-1990s that the Lower East Side was poised for change, and as a longtime community activist, that the neighborhood needed a platform to draw attention to the needs of residents who live in the many public housing developments nestled along the East River. Then 9/11 happened. And his plans, like those of so many others, were put on hold. What did not change was a need to insure that those who have lived on the Lower East Side for decades did not get squeezed out of the discussion over its future. “There’s been incredible changes,
new neighborhoods, the whole gentrification thing,” said Papa, now the chair of Two Bridges Neighborhood Association. “The Lower East Side is probably more sought after than Lower Manhattan, and that’s part of the problem.” Those changes are best illustrated in a plan that Extell Development - one of the city’s largest property owners and developers - has to erect a 68-story luxury residential tower at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge. The development will include 790 units of market rate housing and feature amenities like a Turkish bath, bowling alley and golf simulator. Even more to the point, the high-rise is being built on top of what was a local supermarket. Residents in the neigh-
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
SENTENCE IN DEATH OF A 4-YEAR-OLD PEDESTRIAN
The East River waterfront looking south at the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges. A 68-story luxury tower is being built at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge. Photo by Daniel Fitzsimmons
SHARP RISE IN PLAYGROUND INJURY CLAIMS NEWS Downtown playgrounds included in report from comptroller Playgrounds in lower Manhattan aren’t all fun and games. A new report from Comptroller Scott Stringer shows that playground-related personal injury claims have risen sharply over the past decade, including downtown, even though the number of kids in the city over the same period has dropped. Stringer’s report tracks 577 claims against the city for playground injuries -- about one a week
The playground at Union Square, which is among those cited by a city report on injury claims.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
Three to nine years. That’s the prison sentence Franklin Reyes Jr. received in a plea bargain deal last week after fatally running down 4-year-old Ariel Russo with his car in June 2013 while she crossed the street holding her grandmother’s hand. While the sentence will be seen as progress by some trafficsafety advocates, who have grown frustrated by how few pedestrian deaths end up getting prosecuted at all, the fact that Reyes was able to strike a plea deal is remarkable. This, after all, is a driver who was driving without a license. Who dragged a cop 100 feet feet while fleeing a traffic stop – a year after Russo was killed. Who was trying to avoid the police because he was out on bail after being accused of looting a dead woman’s Chelsea apartment in a building where his dad was the super. (A trial for that charge is slated for later this month.) In the courtroom for the Russo sentencing, Reyes was largely unapologetic, though he did quibble with the judge about whether the incident with the cop was his fault. After a break, he acknowledged guilt in that incident only after the judge threatened to toss out the entire plea deal. Perhaps not surprising, Ariel’s parents said they felt little in the way of closure after the hearing. “Three to nine years is absolutely not enough for what he did,” her mother, Sofia Russo, told the Daily News. “His reckless actions killed my daughter, maimed my mother and has shattered our lives. We’re never going to be the same again. There has been no remorse, no apologies.” Three to nine years -- a moment in time in the long war over pedestrian deaths in New York.
2 Our Town Downtown MARCH 12-18,2015
WHAT’S MAKING NEWS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
New York City public schools will close in observance of the two most sacred Muslim holy days, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, beginning next school year, The New York Times reported. In doing so, New York’s becomes by far the nation’s largest school district, with
its 1.1 million schoolchildren, to close for the holidays, The Times said. Eid al-Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifice, commemorates the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son Ismail to God. Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting. Because the holidays are observed according to when they fall on the lunar calendar,
the days on which schools are closed will vary each year “When these holidays are recognized, it’s a sign that Muslims have a role in the political and social fabric of America,” the paper quoted Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on AmericanIslamic Relations, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, as saying.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña announce that New York City will become the largest school district in the nation to recognize Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha as holidays on the official school calendar. The announcement was made at PS/IS 30 Mary White Ovington, in Brooklyn on March 4, 2015. Photo by Demetrius Freeman/Mayoral Photography Office.
Now Get Real Time Bus, Subway & Alternate Side Parking Information Here
MASS HELD FOR CARDINAL EGAN A vigil Mass for Cardinal Edward M. Egan was held at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Monday, following a day when hundreds of mourners paid their respects to the ninth archbishop of New York. Egan died of a heart attack on March 5. The cardinal, who was 82, had retired from his post in 2009. He had presided over the Archdiocese of New York for nine years. Following his funeral Tuesday, his body was to be placed beneath the cathedral’s high altar, where four other previous archbishops of New York are also entombed, The New York Times reported.
KIPS BAY SCHOOL CLOSES BOOK ON HOMEWORK Pupils at P.S. 116 in Kips Bay have a new assignment: Toss aside homework and spend more time with family. And do some reading, too. According to DNAinfo, the East 33rd Street school’s principal outlined “the negative effects of homework” in letter sent to parents last month. “They include: children’s frustration and exhaustion, lack of time for other activities and family time and, sadly for many, loss of interest in learning,” the principal, Jane Hsu, wrote. She recommended that parents limit their kids’ time watching TV and playing video games. Some parents, though, are resisting the new policy, DNAinfo said, chiefly by giving
their children homework assignments of their own making. “This is their time to learn now, when they have good memory,” a 33-year-old Murray Hill resident whose thirdgrade, attends P.S. 116, told the website. “I give him extra work, though. I go to Barnes & Nobles and give him my own homework.”
DIVERSITY IN SPECIALIZED NYC HIGH SCHOOLS DWINDLE New York City’s Specialized High schools are reported to have a high number of Asian and white students and but not much diversity otherwise, according to DNAinfo. Only 5 percent of blacks and 7 percent of latinos were admitted to these elite schools, a fixed number since last school year, according to numbers from the Department of Education. These unbalanced numbers has caused New York’s top high schools to reconsider the criteria in accepting students. Stuyvesant, Bronx Science and Brooklyn Tech are among the schools that city and state officials hope will reconsider their criteria. Those schools choose students based on their Specialized High School Standardized Assessment Test scores rather of grades, attendance and test scores. Although these are ideas officials hope to enforce, a report from the Research Alliance for New York City Schools reports that this data may decrease the chances of
Protect your world Auto Home Life Retirement
black students’ acceptances. “While there is a clear pattern of unequal access at the specialized schools, our findings suggest that a narrow focus on the SHSAT is unlikely to solve the problem, the author of the report, Sean Corcoran, told the website.
BATTERY PARK RESIDENCE WORRIED ABOUT LOSING NEIGHBORHOOD FIELD AMENITY Residents of Battery Park are worried that the Battery Park Authority will take away needed amenities in their community, the Tribeca Trib reported. Sports fields in the downtown area are being threatened with a permitting process, which would allow organizations outside Lower Manhattan to utilize it. Downtown Little League, Downtown Soccer League, Manhattan Youth are no longer granted exclusive use to the field, the news site reported. According to Andrew Zelter, president of Downtown Little League, the field is unable to support the large number of leagues that want to use fields. Leagues based around the Battery Park area are pushed to seek other venues. This makes it harder for them to enjoy sports in their own neighborhood. “We can’t give up this resource that has served our community so well for 25 years,” Paul Goldstein, Assemblyman Sheldon Silver’s district office director to the CB1’s City Committee March 3rd, told the Trib.
Call me today to discuss your options. Some people think Allstate only protects your car. Truth is, Allstate can also protect your home or apartment, your boat, motorcycle - even your retirement and your life. And the more of your world you put in Good Hands®, the more you can save.
;/, >90./; (.,5*@ X'-,0/07XccjkXk\%Zfd
otdowntown.com Your Neighborhood News The local paper for Downtown
Insurance subject to terms, qualifications and availability. Allstate Property and Casualty Insurance Co., Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Co., Allstate Indemnity Co., Allstate Vehicle and Property Insurance Co. Life insurance and annuities issued by Lincoln Benefit Life Company, Lincoln, NE, Allstate Life Insurance Company, Northbrook, IL. In New York, Allstate Life Insurance Company of New York, Hauppauge, NY. Northbrook, IL. © 2010 Allstate Insurance Co.
118894
CITY SCHOOLS TO CLOSE FOR MUSLIM HOLIDAYS
MARCH 12-18,2015 Our Town Downtown 3
CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG STATS FOR THE WEEK
CITY ISSUES 10,000 TICKETS FOR FAILURE TO REMOVE SNOW, ICENew York City has issued more than 10,000 tickets this winter to property owners for failing to clear snow and ice from sidewalks. Under city law, businesses, homeowners and other property owners have four hours from the time the snow stops to clear pavements. A ďŹ rst offense ďŹ ne is $100 to $150 and up to $350 for multiple violations. The New York Times says its analysis of city data shows that since 2010, 42,000 tickets have been issued. The Bronx had the worst offenders. Ten properties alone got 331 tickets. Most were in foreclosure. Of 10,000 tickets issued, the Bronx had the most violations for its size. Brooklyn and Queens — both larger boroughs — had 14,000 tickets and 13,000 tickets, respectivelly. Manhattan had 1,800 tickets, 4
Reported crimes from the 1st Precinct for Feb. 23 to March 1 Week to Date
percent of the total issued.
LAIGHT GREAT TOOL Few of us could say what a plumber’s press tool does, but the item apparently has great value for thieves. When a male employee of Par Plumbing
went to get a plumbing tool from a locked container inside a construction site at 71 Laight St. on Feb. 23, he found the $4,500 Ridgid RP 340 Press Tool missing. The tool had last been seen about ďŹ ve days before. An undamaged padlock secured the container. The
man told police that several employees had keys to the padlock, and that many others had access to area under construction. No video was available of the theft.
MONTCLER AFFAIRS
Year to Date
2015 2014
% Change
2015
2014
% Change
Murder
0
n/a
0
0
n/a
Rape
0
0
n/a
1
1
0
Robbery
1
1
0
5
6
-16.7
0
Felony Assault
1
1
0
7
16
-56.2
Burglary
2
4
-50
25
28
-10.7
Grand Larceny
12
20
-40
119
140
-15
Grand Larceny Auto
0
0
n/a
2
1
100
The Montcler store at 90 Prince St. was hit by shoplifters in two separate incidents in the same week. At 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 26, two persons entered the store and tried on jackets. While one of them distracted staff members, the other put multiple jackets under his coat. The two then left the store. Two days later, a single person took a $1,795 jacket off the shelf and left the store undetected. Video surveillance of both incidents was under review.
MAKING HIS POINT Two employees were held up at knifepoint on Spring Street’s
Molton Brown department store on the evening of Feb. 23. Police report that a male showed a knife to a 24-yearold female employee and then asked the employee, “You know what this is about, right?� He then said, “open the register.� When the employee told him she couldn’t open the register, the man shoved her aside and approached a 34-year-old female employee. She opened the safe so that he could see that there was no money inside. That employee emptied out the register of $400. The robber then forced the women to the back of the store. No injuries were reported.
ISABELLA HOUSE Independent Living for Older Adults
A great way to live in New York. Join us at our THE MOST INNOVATIVE ITALIAN SCHOOL IN NEW YORK CITY
OPEN HOUSE
Learn to speak Italian!
and experience it for yourself. SATURDAY, March 21st, 11:00 AM-3:00 PM
Parliamo Italiano offers:
525 Audubon Avenue at 191st Street, New York, NY 10040
t 0SJHJOBM NBUFSJBMT t /BUJWF *UBMJBO UFBDIFST t ZFBST PG FYQFSJFODF t XFFL XPSLTIPQT t 1SJWBUF MFTTPOT
OUR AMENITIES INCLUDE:
4QSJOH DPVSTFT TUBSU .BSDI Join us at an Open House! .BSDI UI BOE UI
Visitor parking Pastoral services A wealth of programs, activities and trips Conveniently located near medical, physical therapy, occupational therapy and psychiatric services 5 On-site beauty salon, library, gift shop, laundry, check-cashing facilities and visitor parking 5 Moderately priced lodging for overnight guests
If you cannot attend our Open House or would like additional information on scheduling a private tour, please call 212-342-9539
fb.com/IsabellaOrg twitter.com/IsabellaOrg youtube.com/IsabellaOrg
www.hunter.cuny.edu/parliamo Casa Lally, 132 East 65th Street b/w 3rd & Lex New York, NY 10065
5 5 5 5
WE’VE THOUGHT OF EVERY THING TO ENR ICH AND ENHANCE YOUR LIFE.
5P RSVP DBMM PS FNBJM QBSMJBNP!IVOUFS DVOZ FEV CU NY
5 Spacious studios and one-bedroom apartments starting at $2,400.00 per month 5 Complimentary Lunch and Dinner served buffet style 5 Basic Cable TV 5 All utilities included 5 24-Hour Security 5 Weekly linen service
www.isabella.org /PIatHunter
525 Audubon Avenue at 191st Street. New York, NY
4 Our Town Downtown MARCH 12-18,2015
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 Sixth 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 First 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. Fourth St.
212-533-5300
Community Board 4
330 W. 42nd St.
212-736-4536
Hudson Park
66 Leroy St.
212-243-6876
Ottendorfer
135 Second Ave.
212-674-0947
Elmer Holmes Bobst
70 Washington Square
212-998-2500
COMMUNITY BOARDS
LIBRARIES
The luxury tower that Howard Hughes Corp. is looking to build at the South Street Seaport.
HOSPITALS New York-Presbyterian
170 William St.
212-312-5110
Mount Sinai-Beth Israel
10 Union Square East
212-844-8400
CON EDISON
4 Irving Place
212-460-4600
TIME WARNER
46 E. 23rd St.
813-964-3839
THE LOOMING SHADOW OF LUXURY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
POST OFFICES US Post Office
201 Varick St.
212-645-0327
US Post Office
128 East Broadway
212-267-1543
US Post Office
93 Fourth Ave.
212-254-1390
HOW TO REACH US: 212-868-0190 nyoffice@strausnews.com otdowntown.com
TO SUBSCRIBE:
telephone numbers for verification. Letters that cannot be verified will not be published. We reserve the right to editor or condense letters for libel, good taste, grammar and punctuation. Send your letter to nyoffice@strausnews.com
Our Town Downtown is available for free below 23rd Street in select buildings, retail locations and news boxes. To subscribe it’s just $49 per year. Call 212-868-0190 or go to Straus News. com and click on the photo of the paper or mail a check to Straus Media, 20 West Ave., Chester, NY 10918
BLOG COMMENTS:
NEWS ITEMS:
Call 212-868-0190. Classified ads must be in our office by 12pm the Friday before publication, except on holidays. All classified ads are payable in advance.
To report a news story, call 212-8680190. News releases of general interest must be emailed to our offices by noon the Thursday prior to publication to be considered for the following week. Send to nyoffice@strausnews.com.
CALENDAR ITEMS: Information for inclusion in the Out and About section should be emailed to hoodhappenings@strausnews.com no later than two weeks before the event.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Include your full name, address and
We invite comments on stories at otdowntown.com. We do not edit those comments. We urge people to keep the discussion civil and the tone reflective of the best we each have to offer.
PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD:
ABOUT US Our Town Downtown is published weekly by Straus Media-Manhattan. Postmaster: Please send address changes to Straus Media-Manhattan, 20 West Ave., Chester, NY 10918.
PREVIOUS OWNERS: Tom Allon, Isis Ventures, Ed Kayatt, Russ Smith, Bob Trentlyon, Jerry Finkelstein
borhood now have to travel to find affordable groceries. During a September meeting that was first reported in this newspaper, two dozen concerned community members met at one of the public houses to talk about the neighborhood’s changing face. Six months later, that group, now known as the South Street Initiative, is still striving to find its place among the many organizations, government agencies and political forces that operate on the Lower East Side. “It’s not easy,” said Papa. “This is a matter of persuasion, making people believe in your dream that it is possible.” It’s slow going with all the interests that are involved, but the last six months have seen progress. SSI has moved forward with endeavors more in keeping with their purpose than their operation, such as commissioning pilot studies on green infrastructure and community programs from schools like the Pratt Institute and Columbia University. SSI takes as its territory the southern end of East River Park down to Fletcher Street, just south of the South Street Seaport, which is itself about to
undergo change. The Howard Hughes Corp. is turning Pier 17 into an upscale shopping and dining destination, and has plans to redevelop the seaport with a luxury residential tower at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge. The group decided to move forward as a community development corporation, one of the many legal designations needed to operate in any official capacity. Gina Pollara, a consultant hired by Two Bridges to bring SSI into existence, said a CDC designation is attractive in part because such entities can operate within the city’s affordable housing infrastructure. “How that actually gets dealt with here remains to be seen, but obviously that’s an issue down here,” said Pollara. Pollara said SSI is now focused on the makeup of its board, which is hard because so many groups are involved, and the honing of its mission statement. An equally important component to staking SSI’s place in the community is securing legitimacy from local elected officials and community boards 1 and 3. “Obviously we need the buyin of our elected officials,” said Pollara, who also noted the many government entities that do business on the Lower East Side, including the parks department, the city and state
Departments of Environmental Conservation, and the city’s Economic Development Corp. “There are so many city and state agencies that have jurisdictional skin in this game.” Pollara said the initiative received a positive reaction from Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, State Sen. Daniel Squadron and Lower East Side Council Member Margaret Chin. “They’re all very supportive of this idea and they’re encouraging,” said Pollara. “But obviously it’s still so unformed at this point. We don’t have a specific role at this point for anyone to play.” Community Board 1 chair Catherine McVay Hughes told Our Town Downtown that the board is interested in working with Two Bridges and the initiative on proposals to develop the seaport. “We look forward to continuing discussions with them on this subject and the restoration of the park areas underneath the Brooklyn Bridge as that major infrastructure project is completed,” said McVay Hughes. “Whatever gets built needs to be beneficial to those that live and work in both Manhattan Community Board 1 and our neighbors north in Community Board 3.” Pollara said CB1 was less enthusiastic, and that some members voiced support while
others felt SSI would “add another layer of bureaucracy” and questioned the need for it. CB1 officials did not return a request for comment. Obstacles like that were expected, though, and are part of an approach that is predicated upon the involvement of everyone with a stake on the Lower East Side. “We want this to be an organization that has some teeth, and in order to do that we need to involve all the stakeholders, including the property owners, developers and residents, because they have a stake in this, too,” said Pollara. Papa said bringing CB3 into the fold will take some persuasion from Lower East Side residents as well as pressure from elected officials. “This is a task that includes such a complex puzzle: developers, owners, NYCHA residents, seniors, resident associations, and city and state agencies.” He said SSI’s ultimate goal is to provide uninterrupted access to the waterfront for residents on the Lower East Side and to stand as an advocate for those residents in the face of powerful and monied interests. “The Lower East Side has a huge concentration of low income families,” said Papa. “If we don’t stand up for those families, they’re going to be buried in the shadow of those luxury towers, like Extell’s.”
MARCH 12-18,2015 Our Town Downtown 5
SHARP RISE IN PLAYGROUND INJURY CLAIMS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 over the past decade. Annual claims have rosen 53% over the last 10 fiscal years -- from a low of 45 in 2005 to a high of 69 in 2014. Most of those claims were settled, at a cost to the city of about $20.6 million. Causes for injuries to kids include defective or broken sur-
faces, including several claims where children burned their feet on matting in summer months; improper playground design; insufficient maintenance of equipment, including swings and slides; and protruding nails or other debris. In his report, Stringer urges the Parks Department to use the data to to fix problem areas. As an example, the report states that in 2013, at least five children suffered broken legs while playing on the same swing at Slope Park in Brook-
lyn. That swing apparently had been installed too close to the ground, and was ultimately removed by the city. But if the data was more closely tracked, some of the injuries could have been prevented. “By analyzing claims in real time, we can identify potential weaknesses in our city’s playgrounds and fix problems before children are injured and taxpayers are held liable,” he wrote. In lower Manhattan, a number of local playgrounds have resulted in injury claims
against the city, including at Union Square Park and Battery Park. Stringer’s report sees little progress from the Parks Department. He notes that in the first four months of the current fiscal year, the percentage of play equipment rated as “acceptable” fell from 93% to 91% in the same period a year ago, and the percentage of safety surfaces also fell. Stringer blames the drop on what he calls the “poor record” of the Parks Department in
partment said it was reviewing Stringer’s report. “The safety of our children is our number one priority for our world-class playgrounds, and we continue to look for ways to improve our already high standards of safe design.”
completing capital projects on schedule. “It is imperative that the Parks Department redouble its efforts to finish capital projects -- including modernizing the city’s playgrounds -on time,” he writes. In a statement, the Parks De-
Alfred E. Smith Houses Playground
1
Battery Park
1
Bleecker Playground
1
Chelsea Park Playground
1
Chelsea Waterside Playground
2
DeSalvio Playground
1
Dry Dock Playground
1
Hamilton Fish Park
1
Luther Gulick Playground
1
Martin Tanahey Playground
1
Murphy Park
1
Pearl Street Playground
1
Playground One
1
Sara D. Roosevelt Park
1
Sol Lain Playground
1
Tompkins Square Park
3
Union Square Park
6
Washington Market Park
1
Do
something
you You’d
us to
like
Number of Claims
have
Playground
look
Email us at news@strausnews.com
into
DOWNTOWN PLAYGROUNDS WITH INJURY CLAIMS
?
6 Our Town Downtown MARCH 12-18,2015
Attention NYC Medicare Beneficiaries
Out & About More Events. Add Your Own: Go to otdowntown.com
Are You New to 13 Medicare?
PETER MOORE’S PHOTOGRAPHY
If so, call us. We provide free, current, impartial and expert information about Medicare.
Paula Cooper Gallery, 534 W 21st St. 6 p.m.-8 p.m., Free An opening reception for an exhibition of photographs by Peter Moore (1932-1993). The exhibition, which includes Moore’s photographs of the city’s avant-garde scene beginning in the early 1960s, runs through April 18th. 212-255-1105, paulacoopergallery.com
9:30 p.m., $20/$15 (door). The works of Arthur Kampela focus on challenging works written within the past 30 years and features musicians of exceptional musicality. 201-403-8295. https:// www.facebook.com/ events/831244096937151/
THE LEVINS CD RELEASE Rockwood Music hall Stage 3, 196 Allen St. 7 p.m., $12. Harmony-driven acoustic duo The Levins celebrate the release of their CD, Trust , with a special CD Release party at Rockwood 3. 21+ 1 drink min Doors 6:30 PM.
We can be reached at 311 Ask for HIICAP.
HIICAP offers monthly Medicare Orientation classes to individuals new to Medicare. If you are interested in attending, please contact our office for registration. Seating is limited, so call today. For more info visit: www.nyc.gov/aging
▲ BAGLEY WRIGHT LECTURE SERIES ON POETRY WITH TERRANCE HAYES Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House, 58 W. 10Th St. 5 p.m., free Hayes, a 2014 MacArthur Fellow, is the author of four previous collections of poetry including “Lighthead,” winner of the 2010 National Book Award. His fifth collection “How to Be Drawn” is forthcoming. 212-998-8816, creative. writing@nyu.edu
14 (CON)TEMPORARY (IN)SIGHTS: ARTHUR KAMPELA Spectrum, 121 Ludlow #2.
212-477-4155. http://www. rockwoodmusichall.com
15 CATCH 66 Abron Arts Center — The Experimental Theater and Underground, 466 Grand St., at Pitt Street 8 p.m., $20 Come check out this “rough and ready” homage to the Mother Road. Join the multiple artists as they express their experiences through the root with experimental theatre. 212-598-0400, https:// web.ovationtix.com/trs/ pe.c/9979635
IRISH WALKING TOUR, ST. PATRICK’S EDITION St. Paul’s Chapel, 209
Broadway, between Fulton and Vesey Streets 12 p.m., $20 Adults, $15 kids Explore the “Little Ireland” district between City Hall and Houston Street and learn why St. Patrick’s day is a event here. Led by Big Onion tours. 888-606-WALK (9255)
16 HERB ALPERT AND RICHARD MAYHEW: HARMONIC RHYTHMS ACA Galleries, 529 W. 20th St., 5th Fl 6 p.m.-8 p.m., free February 19 through April 4, 2015 An evening with musician and visual artist Herb Alpert and landscape painter Richard Mayhew. RSVP essential. The gallery pairs new sculptures by Alpert paired with recent paintings by Mayhew. 212-206-8080. info@ acagalleries.com
MATHEMATICAL INTERPLAY OF ACCELERATED BODIES: OR, HOW I LEARNED NOT TO SLIDE INTO FIRST BASE Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Auditorium, Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, 66 Fifth Ave. 6 p.m.-7:45 p.m., free A talk with Joe Inzerillo, executive VP and chief technology officer, Major League Baseball. http://events.newschool.edu/ calendar/week/2015/3/13
17 ACCORDIONIST GUY KLUCEVSEK The Stone, Avenue C and Second Street. 8 p.m.-10 p.m., $20. The first night of composer Klucevsek’s weeklong residency
MARCH 12-18,2015 Our Town Downtown 7
comedian from Comedy Central, Late Night with Seth Meyers and Last Comic Standing. 212-253-0036
YOU READ IT HERE FIRST The local paper for the Upper West Side
19 ‘NEW YORK’S RECENT EXPERIENCES WITH PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY’ The Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Ave., Room 5318 4 p.m.-6 p.m., free 212-817-7544
THE YEAR OF JAMES BALDWIN — ANOTHER COUNTRY: SEEING PLACE FROM A DISTANCE
at John Zorn’s East Village http://newfilmmakers.com/ nonprofit performance space. 212-861-0990. http://www. thestonenyc.com ▲ CAKED UP COMEDY
CAVE CANEM POETRY READING The New School- Theresa Lang Community and Student Center, Arnhold Hall, 55 West 13th Street, 6 p.m., free Enjoy a night of poetry readings from veteran writers Sandra Ling, Saretta Morgan and Frank X Walker. 212-229-5600, https:// www.cavecanempoets.org/ calendar
18
“LET’S TANGO” ► Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Ave., at Second Street 7:30 p.m., $6 An inviting cinematic look at this often-mysterious dance. Enter the world of tango, with its welcoming community, irresistible music, closeness and joy that bring everyone together. That film is coupled with “Footnotes,” which outlines the making of “Let’s Tango” from conception to final editing.
Cake Shop, 152 Ludlow St., between Rivington and Stanton Streets Enjoy an our of laughs with Jordan Temple and a fresh
Safety Advocates Want Harsher Penalties for New York’s Drivers
THE TRAGEDY AFTER INVESTIGATION As many as 260 pedestrians are expected to die this year on New York City streets. But almost none of the drivers involved in those cases will be prosecuted -- adding to the nightmare for the families of the victims.
see Reyes punished for Ariel’s death, now more than a year and a half ago, in June 2013. Russo said in an interview that she finds cruel irony in the fact that she teaches history to boys the same age as Reyes, who was 17 when he ran over Ariel and her grandmother in a Nissan Frontier SUV in front of the little girl’s preschool on the Upper West Side. This is why she initially sympa
sterdam Avenue in an attempt to flee from cops who had seen him driving erratically and ordered him to pull over. The chase ended with the fatal crash on 97th Street. Originally, by giving him bail and charging him as a minor, Judge Carro was giving Reyes a chance to avoid having a public criminal record. But on Sept. 3, Reyes was again stopped for driving recklessly, without a license This time in speeding
March 2, 2015
December 4, 2014 The local paper for the Upper East Side
Theresa Lang Community and Student Center, Arnhold Hall 55 West 13th Street, Room I202 6:30 p.m., free Panelists Dante Micheaux, Darryl Pinckney and Tiphanie Yanique discuss the ways in which Baldwin’s view of place informed his work. Moderated by Tracyann Williams, faculty, School of Undergraduate Studies. http://events.newschool. edu/calendar/day/2015/3/19
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
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
8 Our Town Downtown MARCH 12-18,2015
THAT ORGANIC KALE? IT’S LOUDER THAN YOU THINK NEWS Residents comlain about idling Fresh Direct trucks, as company looks for quieter compressors BY PANYIN CONDUAH
The streets of New York have always been loud, but for residents like Julia Perez, this soundtrack has reached an all-time high. The trucks of Fresh Direct park across from her building, on 80th Street and Broadway, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., creating loud noises from the truck’s compressor. “The sound is like a 747 in your living room,” said Perez. Since January 2015, the truck has been around the area, parked outside
as deliverymen from the organic food company unload their products to deliver to the neighborhood -- potentially in violation of city rules. According to the Department of Transportation, commercial trucks are not allowed to park in any area, including residential areas, for more than three hours. As early as 6:45 am, Perez, a retired senior citizen, can hear the noises from the compressor on the truck buzz outside her window that faces Broadway. “Some people are totally oblivious of the noise because it depends on where they are in the apartment building.” The trucks also block local businesses from view. iStyle Salon, a business around the corner from Perez at 225 W. 80th St., is one of the storefronts
blocked by the commercial truck. Employees from the salon declined to comment. “Most people are afraid to deal with this kind of bigger than life authority figures,” said Perez. “They just come and take over.” Fresh Direct is known for delivering “the highest quality food from farm to table,” including to the elderly or other residents who do not have the means to reach organic grocery stores. Perez understands that the company is providing a positive service to the community; the problem for her is the way they are doing it. A Fresh Direct spokesperson said the company is aware of the issue in delivering to the community as it tries to find other ways to make both sides satisfied. Currently, the truck runs on
ELEVENTH HOUR IN FIGHT OVER MSK PROJECT Yorkville residents still hoping to stop hospital project BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS
Some Yorkville residents are making a last-ditch effort to stop a major construction project they say was pushed through in the twilight hours of the Bloomberg administration with questionable oversight during the planning process. Memorial Sloan Kettering hospital’s joint project with CUNY Hunter College dates back to May 2011, when the city’s Economic Development Corporation issued a request for proposals to build a healthcare, educational or scientific research facility on cityowned land in Yorkville. MSK bid on the proposal jointly with CUNY Hunter College, and was awarded the contract in 2012. The deal will bring a cancer outpatient facility for the hospital and a health sciences building for the school on 74th Street between York Avenue and FDR Drive. The $160 million that the hospital and school paid for the parcel will go towards replacing a city sanitation garage that was on the 74th Street site for four decades, which will be built in the Kips Bay neighborhood at 25th Street and 1st Avenue. Taken together, the hospital and school will occupy a 1,150,000 squarefoot building with 60 percent of the space being used for the outpatient facility and the school occupying the remaining 403,000 square feet.
A rendering of the proposed MSK-CUNY project. According to MSK’s website on the project, preliminary site work was completed last year and work is set to begin in earnest this spring. But residents say the original proposal from 2011 was tailor-made for the MSK/CUNY deal. They formed a community group called Residents for Reasonable Development to stop the project from becoming a reality. Last year they filed a suit in New York Supreme Court that alleged the state environmental review process was faultily completed and that the city engaged in spot zoning.
“They adopted a special zone that only covered that property, they gave a lot of waivers only for that zone, then they adopted a zoning amendment that gave them 130,000 additional square feet to build with,” said Albert Butzel, an attorney representing Residents for Reasonable Development. Yorkville residents believe the project will cause even more unsafe traffic conditions in an area that is already saturated with medical facilities. (The Dept. of Transportation announced last month that they’ll be targeting the area for pedestrian safety im-
a Biodiesel engine that generates power for the compressor. The company said it is working on getting electric refrigerated trucks, which would be fully charged in the morning and run throughout, eliminating the noise from the engine. Perez, along with other residents on the Upper West Side, have complained to local Councilmember Helen Rosenthal about the problem. “Fresh Direct has been very responsive to outreach from my office, and I appreciate that they’re parking the trucks instead of idling, and that they’re working to change the cooling motors on their trucks so that they don’t make noise,” she said. “But I’d like clarification on when that change is going to happen.” provements.) The suit also accuses planners of illegally segmenting the two components of the deal – the hospital/school and the sanitation garage – during the environmental review process, which they claim must be considered together when reviewing the impact on the communities affected. Despite these arguments, New York Supreme Court Judge Alexander Hunter Jr. dismissed the suit last July. “The key reason Judge Hunter gave in his order dismissing our suit was a rejection of our claim that the sanitation garage and the MSK/CUNY projects were tied together,” said Bob Jackman, a Yorkville resident and member of RRD. “This would have required an environmental study on both projects before proceeding. He ignored the fact that both the [proposal] and the current [Dept. of] Sanitation budget tie the projects together.” Butzel agreed with that assessment. “It was not a very well-reasoned opinion,” he said. RRD also takes issue with a deal MSK struck to build bigger than the site’s zoning code allows in exchange for their contribution to a park renewal project on 60th Street, over a half-mile away from residents who are directly affected by their project. There’s also a suspicion that the community board process was tainted by political influence (the board’s MSK/CUNY task force recommended disapproving the proposal but the full board later voted in favor of it). But despite these arguments, RRD is losing its fight. Their appeal is set to be heard this April. Pat Mulcahy, the Yorkville resident
The Fresh Direct truck near Julia Perez’s house. Photo by Panyin Conduah who founded RRD, said she first heard about the project in 2012 when Hunter College gave a presentation to the community about what they were planning. “It was then that I realized how tall and big it was,” said Mulcahy. “I got home and immediately reached out to the board in my building. We all sat around in my living room and I explained what the size and scope of the project was and they were like, ‘oh my God.’” Mulcahy said that in the first year of the Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration it was hard to gain any traction with elected officials. Now, she said, RRD is in talks with several offices, including that of the mayor. “I don’t ever give up, it’s not in my nature. I believe we put together a political, legal and [public relations] strategy that will hopefully get us to stop this project,” said Mulcahy. “We continue to meet with elected officials and the new administration even though we know it was approved by the former administration.” And despite the initial rejection of RRD’s suit, Butzel is also hopeful that an appeal will find some merit in their arguments. “I think that we have a stronger case than most of the appeals I handle,” said Butzel. “And I think that these cases are always uphill but I really believe the judge didn’t apply the law correctly.” Butzel said the appeal will be decided before the summer, and that he doesn’t anticipate MSK and CUNY will begin construction before a decision is made on the case.
STRAUS MEDIA-MANHATTAN President, Jeanne Straus nyoffice@strausnews.com Vice President/CFO Otilia Bertolotti Vice President/CRO Vincent A. Gardino advertising@strausnews.com
Associate Publishers, Seth L. Miller, Ceil Ainsworth
Sr. Account Executive, Tania Cade Account Executive Fred Almonte, Susan Wynn
Editor In Chief, Kyle Pope editor.ot@strausnews.com Deputy Editor, Richard Khavkine editor.dt@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
MARCH 12-18,2015 Our Town Downtown 9
A BOOK SHOP FOR, BY BOOK LOVERS
What: A non-profit used book store run entirely by volunteers, with proceeds benefitting the NYPL branch locations. When: Tuesday and Wednesday, noon-5 p.m., Thursday 2-6:30 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Closed Sunday, Monday and Friday Where: Basement of Webster Library, 1465 York Ave., at 78th Street For more information or to make a donation, visit http://home.earthlink. net/~thebookcellar/ or call the library at 212-2885049
mostly neighborhood clientele, though some customers travel from the outer boroughs and other parts of Manhattan, Kleinbart said, and grade school teachers in Brooklyn with tight budgets come searching for books for their classrooms. The shop’s healthy stock comes primarily from individual donations, with some literary agencies and publishers contributing their overstock. Donations are dependably frequent: on a recent busy Saturday, volunteers sorted 15 shopping bags worth of hardcovers and paperbacks that came in the day before. Sometimes, rare gems crop up. A signed copy of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Tender is the Night” was donated, as was a first edition of “The Great Gatsby,” which were sold at an auction. “There’s a conundrum in Manhattan,” said Kleinbart. “Everyone loves books and no one has space to keep them.” Many customers come regularly and the volunteers know their reading tastes. Ginny Shields likes mysteries and visits the shop almost every
weekend. She reads about six to eight books a month, and carries a seven-page list of books with her when she visits. Bob Colton, a retired photographer, peruses art history books which often retail at $50 or more, but can be found at the Book Cellar for $8. He’s been hunting for Raymond Chandler novels, which the volunteers hold for him. “Even though I’ll thirst for a book when I see it, I don’t buy a lot of new books,” he said. “If you can wait long enough, it’ll show up here.” The Book Cellar opened on March 2, 2004, but the catalyst for the store came decades earlier. Opened in 1906, with construction funded by a portion of Andrew Carnegie’s $5.2 million gift to build libraries in the city, Webster is one of the oldest facilities in the NYPL system, but by 1976, it was at risk of demolition. The grassroots Friends of Webster Library formed in an effort to keep the library open, amassing more than 10,000 signatures to a successful petition. The group remained active, and launched an annual three-
Friends of Webster Library members and Book Cellar volunteers Dorothy Reiss and Diane La Rue in the biography section of the basement shop. Photo: Gabrielle Alfiero
50% OFF
YOUR PET’S INITIAL SPECIALTY CONSULTATION
Established in 1910, The Animal Medical Center is a leading non-profit veterinary healthcare center that promotes the health of companion animals through advanced treatment, research and education. Nearly 100 veterinarians utilize a team approach to care for pets 24/7/365. * LIMIT ONE COUPON PER CLIENT 510 East 62nd Street, New York, NY 10065 | 212-838-8100 | www.amcny.org
Do you
something
You’d
us to
look
Email us at news@strausnews.com
into
IF YOU GO: THE BOOK CELLAR
A button from 1976, when Friends of Webster Library petitioned to keep the York Avenue branch library open, hangs on the wall at the Book Cellar, in the basement of the library. Photo: Gabrielle Alfiero
like
BY GABRIELLE ALFIERO
With e-readers, audiobooks and Amazon becoming more ubiquitous for modern day book lovers, afternoons spent scouring the stacks at the local bookstore may be fewer and farther between. But not for patrons of the Book Cellar, a not-for-profit used book store in the basement of Webster Library on York Avenue. The shop, which celebrates its 11th anniversary this month, sells donated used books and gifts all its earnings to the New York Public Library’s neighborhood branches. Each year, the donations top $100,000, a staggering amount for a shop where many books sell for little more than a dollar. “For bibliophiles, it’s heaven,” said Beth Thomas Kleinbart, president of Friends of Webster Library, the non-profit group that runs the Book Cellar. Open four days a week and run entirely by volunteers, the Book Cellar serves a
day book sale each May to benefit the library. Every year, lines to get into the sale on the third floor of the building stretched down the block. “We started making quite a bit of money,” said Dorothy Reiss, who joined the organization in 1986 and is still an active member. “The idea [for the Book Cellar] started like, ‘Hey, if we can make in three days this amount of money, if we had a book shop we could make even more.’” The library was renovated in 2001, and the Book Cellar, with its low ceilings, exposed pipes and concrete floors retained some of the building’s original frosted chandeliers and scuffed, dark wood book shelves and tables, which house the fiction and classics collections, philosophy, history and science books, and boxes of mass-market paperbacks. The Book Cellar dedicates an entire room to mysteries and thrillers, with some titles that are out of print and hard to find elsewhere. Larry Janos, who’s lived on East 81st Street for 60 years, visits the Book Cellar twice a week. A retired banker with J.P. Morgan, Janos jokes with Reiss and the rest of the staff. If he sits too long in a corner chair, they’ll start charging him, they tease. Janos often reads multiple books at a time. At present, it’s “A Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.” He’s 81 and on a fixed income, and the low prices at the Book Cellar allow him to satiate his voracious appetite for books. His latest find was a $3 hardcover copy of Robert Bernard Martin’s biography of the English poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, which typically retails for $30. “It’s my home away from home,” said Janos as he stood in the literature section, sharply dressed in a navy toggle coat, checkered scarf and blue beret. “It’s a reader’s dream.”
have
From advocacy to philanthropy, Friends of Webster Library have been a UES fixture for nearly 40 years
10 Our Town Downtown MARCH 12-18,2015
RENAISSANCE MASTERWORKS FROM FLORENCE, ON BROADWAY Donatello’s “Squash Head” and more at the soon-to-move MOBIA BY VAL CASTRONOVO
Since last spring, there has been a flurry of notices heralding the arrival this winter of an “unprecedented” show from Florence at the Museum of Biblical Art (MOBIA), a small, under-the-radar venue on the 2nd floor of the American Bible Society on the Upper West Side—where it resides until it has to vacate the premises by June 30, now that the Bible society has sold the building. Stay tuned. In the meantime, MOBIA, whose mission it is to explore the influence of the Bible on Western art, is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a remarkable exhibit of 23 early Renaissance sculptures created for Florence’s famed Il Duomo (the Cathedral), most of which have never traveled outside Italy (some never outside Florence), and none of which have traveled to the U.S. The non-collecting museum is a modest one for works of this caliber. Sculptures by the likes of Donatello and Luca della Robbia keep company with Filippo Brunelleschi’s wooden models of the Cathedral’s iconic dome and lantern. When
Donatello St. John the Evangelist, 1408–15 Marble, 212 × 91 × 62 cm (83½ × 35¾ × 24½ in.) Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore, inv. no 2005/113 © Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore / Antonio Quattrone
a number of major American museums were unable to accommodate the show’s schedule, the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo (the Cathedral’s museum, which is undergoing an expansion and will reopen in November) approached MOBIA, which seized the opportunity to host the historic exhibit until June 14. Rarely do Americans get to see a Donatello, let alone major ones (Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts has one marble relief, “Madonna of the Clouds,” in its permanent collection). The Cathedral complex that these 15th century masterworks were sculpted to adorn is massive, and what we see here is nothing more than a quick take, a mere glimpse of the larger, glorious whole. But the curators and exhibit designers have succeeded admirably in recreating a feeling of being in a spiritual realm, albeit in just one airy room on Broadway. Donatello (ca. 1386-1466) apprenticed with sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti, famous for the Gates of Paradise doors in the Baptistry, and was a hero to Michelangelo, who felt that it was his destiny to compete with the late master. Donatello dominates the show with more than half a dozen major sculptures (a number are attributions or collaborations)—some life-size, some larger-than-life, all aweinspiring. His “Prophet” (1435-36), nicknamed “Lo Zuccone” (“Squash Head”) and probably a depiction of the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk, is arguably the star of the show, with his bald pate, ghostly eyes, bulging neck muscles, and angsty expression. Wikipedia notes the figure’s “uncanny resemblance to ‘Harry Potter’ villain Lord Voldemort”—just look for Ralph Fiennes amidst the prophets and the saints. Carved from marble to occupy a niche in the third story of the Cathedral’s Bell Tower, Squash Head is notable for his realism and individuality (so much so that there was speculation that the figure was an actual portrait of a Florentine politician, Giovanni Cherichini, the catalog informs us). As Giorgio Vasari famously wrote in his encyclopedia of artists (1550), Donatello would often exclaim while carving the lifelike statue, “Speak then! Why wilt thou not speak?”
IF YOU GO WHAT: “Sculpture in the Age of Donatello: Renaissance Masterpieces from Florence Cathedral” WHERE: The Museum of Biblical Art, 1865 Broadway, at 61st Street WHEN: Now through June 14 www.mobia.org “Abraham and Isaac (The Sacrifice of Isaac)” (1421) represents a collaboration between Donatello and sculptor Nanni di Bartolo (“Rosso” for his red hair). It’s another showstopper and the only sculpture in the Bell Tower fashioned to tell a narrative. A marble screenshot, it captures the moment after Abraham heard the angel’s voice calling off the sacrifice— that moment when Abraham learned he had passed the test of faith and would be spared the agony of sacrificing his son. His head is inclined toward the voice of the heavenly messenger; the knife at Isaac’s neck appears to slip. The figure of Isaac is the “first life-size nude of the Renaissance,” the audio guide states. “St. John the Evangelist” (1408-15), an early triumph, was commissioned to decorate the Cathedral’s façade. Situated at the far end of the room at MOBIA, this monumental Gospel writer was meant to occupy a shallow niche flanking the main entrance to the Duomo and sit approximately 10 feet above the ground. As with all of Donatello’s carvings for the Cathedral, this was a site-specific work, with adjustments made to the figure’s proportions to take into account its elevation and the viewpoint of bystanders. Hence the artist sculpted an elongated torso—and carved deeply into the marble to create shadows, which provided emphasis and clear visibility of features from a distance. The figure holds a book and, according to a theory posited in the catalog, appears to be in the act of writing: “[H]is distant gaze indicates not the contemplation of previously recorded ideas but a search for inspiration in the heavens to guide the formation of new ones.” There is inspiration in abundance here. Look up.
Donatello Prophet (possibly Habbakuk), known as the Zuccone,1435–36 Marble, 195 × 54 × 38 cm (763/4 × 211/4 × 15 in.) Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore, inv. no. 2005/374 © Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore / Antonio Quattrone
5 TOP
MARCH 12-18,2015 Our Town Downtown 11
Sports A.G. SWIMMERS IN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
FOR THE WEEK BY GABRIELLE ALFIERO OUR ARTS EDITOR
MUSEUMS
MASTERPIECES AND CURIOSITIES: “NICOLE EISENMAN’S SEDER” Painter Nicole Eisenman contemplates the range of emotions brought on during a traditional Passover meal in her illustrative “Seder,” an oil work commissioned by the Jewish Museum in 2010. Twenty-five portraits from the museum’s permanent collection accompany Eisenman’s work, along with a series of Seder plates, including a 19th-century relic produced by Hungarian porcelain company Herend that depicts Passover rituals. Masterpieces and Curiosities: “Nicole Eisenman’s Seder” March 13-Aug. 9 Jewish Museum 1109 Fifth Ave., at 92nd Street Museum hours: Sunday-Tuesday and Saturday, 11 a.m.-5:45 p.m.; Thursday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m., Friday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Closed Wednesday. Admission $15
GALLERIES MARSHA SOLOMON’S “FROM RHYTHM TO FORM” After exploring realism with a series of stilllife’s, a deviation from her typical abstract work, New York-based painter Marsha Solomon’s latest show signifies a return to her familiar form. Marsha Solomon’s “From Rhythm to Form” March 12-April 1 Able Fine Art NY 511 W. 25th Street, Suite 607, near Tenth Avenue Gallery hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. FREE
LEARN HIGH SCHOOL OF ART AND DESIGN’S 9-HOUR DRAW-A-THON Inaugurated last March, the High School of Art and Design invites students and professional artists to sketch, draw and paint during its biannual nine-hour art marathon. Live models, both costumed and nude, pose throughout the day and night. High School of Art and Design’s 9-Hour Drawa-thon Saturday, March 14 245 E. 56th St., between 2nd and 3rd Avenues 1 p.m.-10 p.m. In advance: students $10/adults $20 At the door: students $15/adults $25 www.artdesigndrawathon3.eventbrite.com
KIDS DANNY WEINKAUF AND THE RED PANTS BAND The longtime bass player for alternative rock band They Might Be Giants recently released his
first full-length album of children’s songs. The album “No School Today” includes lyrics about marsupials, archaeology, spelling bees, and, as the title suggests, the joys of playing hooky. Danny Weinkauf and the Red Pants Band Saturday, March 14 Symphony Space 2537 Broadway, at 95th Street 11 a.m. Tickets: kids $14/adults $21 To purchase tickets, call 212-864-5400
Thirteen swimmers from Asphalt Green’s AGUA team went to College Station, Tex., for the nationwide Speedo Sectional Championships. The swimmers entered the competition hoping to earn a top-10 finish, and focused on their collective goal rather than their individual times. The team tied for 10th place, with a great 5th place finish by Aaron Glas in the 1500-meter freestyle – an exciting way to end the season.
BOYS 15U MAKES CHAMPIONSHIP
DANCE AILEY II AT THE JOYCE THEATER Ailey II, a division of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater dedicated to emerging choreographers and dancers, opens its new season on March 17 at the Joyce Theater with a presentation of three original works, including the premiere of “breakthroughs,” a new piece featuring the full company by choreographer Manuel Vignoulle. Ailey II at the Joyce Theater March 17-22 The Joyce Theater 74 Eighth Avenue, at 19th Street Assorted show times Tickets $10-$69 For tickets, visit www.joyce.org
Photo credit: Manuel Vigoulle’s breakthrough. Photo by Eduardo Patino, NYC
To be included in the Top 5 go to otdowntown.com and click on submit a press release or announcement.
Asphalt Green Wave’s 15U boys basketball team finished their season strong, making it to the championship game in their league. The team beat the Downtown Beatnicks in the quarterfinals, and was then led by Justin Fishman’s league-high 60 points in the semi-finals victory over the #1 seed BSNY. Unfortunately, the team fell short in the championship game to the Wizards, but did a great job of staying competitive and never giving up.
12 Our Town Downtown MARCH 12-18,2015
Food & Drink
< TAVERN ON THE GREEN SLAMMED, AGAIN Since reopening last spring, Tavern on the Green hasn’t caught a break with food critics. Early reviews of the restaurant were tepid, and head chef Katy Sparks departed the Central Park institution in September. Now, storied West Coast chef Jeremiah Tower, who took over for Sparks, isn’t faring much better with
critics. New York Post’s Steve Cuozzo, who questioned the appointment of the 72-yearold pioneering chef in a Nov. 4 piece, vowed to never write about or patron the restaurant again in his two-star Feb. 26 review., writing that “main courses laid eggs unfit for Tavern’s upcoming Easter celebration,” despite enjoy-
In Brief
GETTING SCHOOLED ON HEALTHY FOODS
ANOTHER HAUTE FOOD COURT COMES TO MANHATTAN Following on the heels of Gansevoort Market in the Meatpacking District, Hudson Eats in Tribeca and trendsetters Chelsea Market and Smorgasburg, among others, Times Square’s City Kitchen is the newest multi-vendor dining hall to hit Manhattan. Located at the Row NYC hotel at 700 Eighth Avenue, near W. 45th Street, the latest grown up food court opened last week, Gothamist reported, with nine eateries inhabiting the 4,000 square foot space. Popular seafood chain Luke’s Lobster, Brooklyn-based donut shop Dough and Upper West Side Mexican restaurant Gabriela’s are among the permanent fixtures at City Kitchen, as is ramen joint Kuro Obi, an outpost from East Village hotspot Ippudo, and seasonal offerings will rotate in throughout the year. City Kitchen won’t be the newest kid on the block for long, though: French food market Le District, located in the Brookfield Place complex (which is also home to Hudson Eats), is slated to open by the end of the month, Eater reported.
Chef Jenny Gensterblum prepares healthy and kid-friendly food philosophy at Léman Manhattan BY VALENTINA CORDERO
FOOD WASTE POP-UP OPENS Chef Dan Barber, who operates farmto-table restaurant Blue Hill in Greenwich Village, will suspend service at his regular restaurant starting Friday, March 13 to run the pop-up Wasted, where chefs and restaurateurs from some of the city’s most notable eateries will prepare meals using food parts that are typically tossed, Eater reported. Cronut creator Dominique Ansel, Mission Chinese Food’s Danny Bowien and the Spotted Pig’s April Bloomfield are among the star chefs scheduled to plate cuisine made from rinds and stems, the New York Times reported, with Mario Batali and mixologist and Rainbow Room alum Dale DeGroff also scheduled to appear. According to Eater, kale stew made from the vegetable’s chewy stems will be served, along with veggie burgers assembled from the pulp leftover after juicing vegetables. Reservations can be made online for the Washington Place pop-up at wastedny.com/reservations, until Blue Hill service resumes in April.
ing his starters, including steak tartare with a chili cream and a pair of vegetable soups. New York Times critic Pete Wells didn’t reserve much praise for the entrees, either, writing in his March 3 review that “The braised short rib was dry, the filet mignon was tough, and the pork shoulder, rolled round a mix of mozzarella, pesto and prosciutto, was nearly raw inside.”
Leman Manhattan Preparatory School’s executive chef Jenny Gensterblum believes in healthy, well-balanced meals for studnets. Photo: Valentina Cordero
Students at Leman Manhattan Preparatory School in the Financial District are encouraged to eat healthy food that gives them energy throughout the school day. Photo: Michelle Andonian
At Léman Manhattan Preparatory School in the Financial District, students learn to think critically in the classroom—and in the cafeteria. Located near the New York Stock Exchange, the school serves prekindergarten through high school students on two campuses, and its high-caliber academics are matched by its progressive dining program. “What we try to do is make sure that the food is kid-friendly and accessible,” said Jenny Gensterblum, 33, the school’s executive chef for the last nine years, who, along with a staff of four feeds 600 students daily. Gensterblum grew up eating healthy food—her mother taught her the tenets of cooking and eating well—and trained at the French Culinary Institute (now the International Culinary Center) in Soho. After spending time in restaurants and working as a private chef, Gensterblum came to Léman, where she found inspiring kids to eat well and avoid fast food more meaningful. Meals are included in the school’s tuition, which ranges from more than $28,000 for pre-K to third grade, to almost $44,000 for high school. Léman generally spends less than $4 per person per day on food, which includes an optional breakfast, two snacks, such as granola bars, cheese sticks or carrot sticks, and lunch. Students with healthy eating habits are better able to focus on learning and thriving in the classrooms, according to Sarah Polland, head of grades six through 12. A balanced meal at Léman includes yogurt,
fresh fruit and vegetables, with fish served two or three times a week and red meat once every other week. Whenever possible, Gensterblum sources local products. The options, which sometimes read as menu items at a Manhattan restaurant rather than a school lunch, vary each day. Some days students find eggplant casserole, Israeli couscous and tomato, cucumber and feta salad. Other afternoons, it’s vegetable ramen with a toppings bar that includes nori, soft-boiled eggs, scallions, greens and corn. “Healthy means a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, simple and something that you enjoy eating and not something that you feel like you have to eat,” Gensterblum said. Gensterblum encourages kids to try new foods and different ethnic cuisine (students from 50 different countries help make up the international student body at Léman) ranging from Indian to Mexican to Spanish, and offers six or seven varieties of dishes to accommodate food allergies. Chaz Vest, a tenth grade student, loves macaroni and cheese. For the most part, the school’s food program inspires him to eat healthy. “But when I leave, I tend to revert back to bad eating habits,” he said. Fried food and preservatives are never on the menu and Gensterblum seldom uses butter. Students can also sign up for cooking classes once a week. While Gensterblum does make the meals tasty and accessible to the students, one kid favorite is noticeably absent: dessert. “I feel like people are bombarded in New York City with all different kinds of treats that you can have,” Gensterblum said. “Kids don’t need to have them here.”
MARCH 12-18,2015 Our Town Downtown 13
Real Estate Sales Neighborhd
Address
Price
Bed Bath Agent
Soho
55 Greene St.
Battery Park City
70 Little W St.
$2,790,000
2
2
Warburg
Soho
210 Lafayette St.
$1,086,140
Battery Park City
380 Rector Place
$695,000
1
1
Ccg Real Estate Brokerage
Soho
140 Sullivan St.
Battery Park City
30 W St.
$4,100,000
3
3
Djk Residential
Soho
Chelsea
130 W 20 St.
$1,356,000
1
1
Corcoran
Soho
Chelsea
331 W 14 St.
$335,000
Tribeca
Chelsea
305 W 16Th St.
$1,035,000
1
1
Core
Chelsea
300 W 23 St.
$980,000
1
1
Douglas Elliman
Chelsea
224 W 18 St.
$2,500,000
3
3
Chelsea
250 W 22 St.
$770,000
1
Chelsea
305 W 16Th St.
$1,050,000
Chelsea
319 W 18 St.
$615,000
Chelsea
360 W 22 St.
$549,000
Civic Center
165 Park Row
$580,000
E Village
232 E 6 St.
$765,000
$4,895,000
3
2
Core
$1,600,000
1
1
Halstead Property
514 Broadway
$2,360,000
1
2
Douglas Elliman
182 Lafayette St.
$1,800,000
101 Leonard St.
$2,545,625
Tribeca
124 Hudson St.
$6,775,000
4
3
Stribling
Tribeca
101 Leonard St.
$763,687
Platinvm Property Group New York
Tribeca
85 W Broadway
$975,000
1
1
Corcoran
1
Janet Aimone Robilotti & Associates
Tribeca
73 Worth St.
$4,600,000
3
2
Sotheby’s
1
1
Douglas Elliman
W Chelsea
421 W 22 St.
$592,112
0
1
Corcoran
W Chelsea
468 W 23 St.
$930,000
1
1
Owner
W Village
731 Greenwich St.
$375,000
0.5 1
Town Residential
W Village
25 Charles St.
$840,000
1
1
Compass
2
1
Corcoran
W Village
345 W 13 St.
$370,110
E Village
400 E 14 St.
$700,000
2
1
Nestseekers
W Village
130 Barrow St.
$1,675,000
2
1
Nestseekers
E Village
205 E 10 St.
$535,000
1
1
Corcoran
W Village
295 W 11 St.
$660,000
1
1
Triumph Property Group
Financial District
90 William St.
$950,000
2
1
Douglas Elliman
W Village
76 Bedford St.
$1,260,000
Financial District
15 Broad St.
$1,885,000
W Village
421 Hudson St.
$5,345,812
4
3
Corcoran
Financial District
40 Broad St.
$1,560,000
2
2
Corcoran
W Village
400 W 12 St.
$2,500,000
1
2
Related Sales
Financial District
15 William St.
$1,725,424
1
1
Douglas Elliman
W Village
731 Greenwich St.
$475,000
0
1
Corcoran
Financial District
55 Wall St.
$1,016,145
Financial District
55 Wall St.
$1,075,000
1
1
Douglas Elliman
Financial District
123 Washington St.
$2,235,058
2
2
The Marketing Directors
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.
0
1
Corcoran
Flatiron
22 W 15 St.
$1,030,000
Flatiron
16 W 16 St.
$660,000
Flatiron
260 Park Ave. South
$1,400,000
Flatiron
7 E 14 St.
$850,000
1
1
Brown Harris Stevens
Flatiron
280 Park Ave. South
$1,275,000
1
1
Blu Realty Group
Flatiron
7 E 14 St.
$725,000
1
1
Town Residential
Fulton/Seaport
59 John St.
$1,065,000
1
1
Blu Realty Group
Fulton/Seaport
264 Water St.
$1,374,637
Fulton/Seaport
111 Fulton St.
$1,410,000
1
2
Nestseekers
Fulton/Seaport
59 John St.
$1,950,000
3
2
Douglas Elliman
Gramercy Park
205 3 Ave.
$1,600,000
2
2
Town Residential
Gramercy Park
301 E 22 St.
$485,000
0
1
Corcoran
Gramercy Park
32 Gramercy Park South
$980,000
1
1
Brown Harris Stevens
3
2
Brown Harris Stevens
Gramercy Park
301 E 22 St.
$900,000
Gramercy Park
50 Gramercy Park North
$6,300,000
Gramercy Park
157 E 18 St.
$625,000
Greenwich Village
24 5 Ave.
$369,000
0
1
Compass
Greenwich Village
69 W 9 St.
$1,595,000
2
2
Corcoran
Greenwich Village
35 W 12 St.
$5,500,000
4
2
Douglas Elliman
Greenwich Village
1 5 Ave.
$4,200,000
1
2
Ann Weintraub, Ltd.
Greenwich Village
33 5 Ave.
$1,825,000
2
1
Halstead Property
Greenwich Village
211 Thompson St.
$764,000
1
1
Douglas Elliman
Greenwich Village
125 W 12 St.
$1,250,000
2
1
Sotheby’s
Greenwich Village
175 W 12 St.
$1,175,000
Greenwich Village
63 E 9 St.
$947,500
1
1
Rose Associates, Inc.
Greenwich Village
20 E 9 St.
$610,000
Greenwich Village
20 E 9 St.
$1,750,000
1
1
Halstead Property
2
1
Nock Realty
Greenwich Village
30 5 Ave.
$1,500,000
Lower E Side
530 Grand St.
$645,000
Lower E Side
210 E Broadway
$590,000
Lower E Side
417 Grand St.
$545,000
More neighborhood news? neighborhood celebrations? neighborhood opinions? neighborhood ideas? neighborhood feedback? neighborhood concerns? Email us at news@strausnews.com
14 Our Town Downtown MARCH 12-18,2015
YOUR 15 MINUTES
To read about other people who have had their “15 Minutes” go to otdowntown.com/15 minutes
FROM LOW BOTTOM TO A HIGHER CALLING NEWS Craig Trotta, once a homeless addict, on why he is giving back BY NANCY PLOEGER
I met Craig Trotta several years ago when he had been involved with The Doe Fund for a few years. He always impressed me with his professionalism and the way he carried himself. Little did I know how much he had been through in his life to bring him to this level of confidence and his sense of responsibility. At a meeting of the East Midtown Partnership earlier this year, I ran into Craig after not seeing him for at least 10 years. He came up to me and re-introduced himself, saying he remembered me from earlier days working on the Upper East Side around 86th Street. He told me he now worked for The Doe Fund and has been working for them for many years. He is in charge of the hundreds of The Doe Fund’s “men in blue,” who clean over 170 miles of city streets and sidewalks every day. It was so amazing to see him and to see how he has turned his life around. I wanted to know his story so I asked him if he would talk with me so that I could write his story. So on a cold,
Doe Fund workers on street-cleaning duty.
wintry day, we met at the Doe Fund Harlem facility and sat down. When he came to The Doe Fund, he had been sleeping in a doorway in East New York, Brooklyn, eating out of garbage cans and washing up in fire hydrants. He was 37 years old at the time and had been getting high since the age of 15. He hung out with a group of guys who were making money stealing cars, buying shiny jewelry and attracting all the girls they wanted. He thought, “This is the life for me.” He dropped out of school in the tenth grade and set up his own drug ring, at first selling marijuana and after that cocaine. He also began using and that became a problem for his supplier and for other crews in the neighborhood. A guy from another crew got into a fight with him and he was stabbed and shot and left for dead in a vacant lot. Someone found him and took him to a hospital where he was on a respirator for two months and had three major surgeries. After six months, he was released, hobbling his 90-pound frame on a cane, away from the hospital and right into the arms of “angel dust.” For years, Craig was in and out of drug rehab centers and in and out of prison. He stole anything he could to feed his habit including his own family’s possessions. They didn’t want anything to do with him and he spent
his nights sleeping on the grass in his backyard as he had nowhere else to go. His mother was diagnosed with cancer and said to him, “Craig, just do good. I am going to die and that is all I ask of you.” He continued his drug use and crime spree and was in prison when she died. He spent five more years in prison and when he got out, he had lost the heart to keep robbing and running. He started begging in the streets and wound up in the East New York doorway with his bag of clothes. Craig decided to go to a Narcotics Anonymous meeting-not because he wanted to stop getting high but because he thought someone there would feel sorry for him and give him $5 for another bottle of crack. He ran into a man who had been one of his counselors in a rehab unit in 1981. He did not give him any money but gave Craig his business card and said he was working at a place called The Doe Fund—a nonprofit organization that could get him clean, working, and earning his way back to society. A couple of days later, Craig called. Craig moved into the Doe Fund’s Harlem Center for Opportunity and, as he had learned to buff floors in prison, he immediately began working around the facility doing maintenance. After that, he was sent into the field as part of the Ready, Willing & Able street
cleaning teams. His route was Lexington Avenue and he liked sweeping the streets because it made him “feel like somebody again” when he had just come from such a dark world. He was getting paid at the end of the week but he wasn’t buying drugs. Soon after, The Doe Fund bought a bus to transport the trainees back and forth to their routes. Craig had obtained his CDL license back at one of the rehab centers and they asked him if he would drive the bus. He was amazed that they would trust him to drive the bus and be responsible for all those lives. For years no one had trusted him with anything. This made him realize that he had a lot of people believing in him and giving him a chance. Craig found a mentor in one of the directors-the dispatcher, Nazerine Griffin. Whatever Nazerine did, Craig did, too. He followed Nazerine all around the building as he wanted to be like him. When Nazerine moved to a director position in the Brooklyn facility, Craig took over his job as dispatcher in Harlem. In January 2003, he was put in charge of the entire street cleaning operation. He couldn’t believe it. “I was a guy
who didn’t even know how to have a conversation,” he recalled. “All I knew how to say was ‘who’s got the drugs?’” Today he meets with city council members, community associations and representatives from the business community. He comes to work at 5 a.m. every day. “It’s not for the money, it’s for the gratitude I have to The Doe fund for helping me get where I am today and it’s because I love to see the guys in blue get there, too.” Craig is married and has a son whom he is very proud of. He has a place to live and pays rent. He owns a car and he has repaired his relationship with his family. His father is 85 years old and couldn’t be more proud of Craig. He knows his mother is looking down and smiling because he pulled himself together and answered her dying wish: “Just do good.” Nancy Ploeger is the president of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce
Know somebody who deserves their 15 Minutes of fame? Go to otdowntown.com and click on submit a press release or announcement.
MARCH 12-18,2015 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: Monday 12 noon for same weeks’ issue 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
ADOPTION
A childless young married couple, hands-on mom/devoted dad (she-31/he-37) seeks to adopt. Financial security. Expenses paid. Call/text. Mary & Adam. 1-800-790-5260. A dream is a wish your heart makes, our wish is a baby to love. We’re loving, educated, close family. Expenses paid. Danny/Lorraine 1-866-9977171
ANIMALS & PETS Certified Dog Training in your home. Vet recommended. Bonded & Insured. Excellent References. Alex Himel, 516767-0747 or 516-633-3384. North Shore Animal League AnimalLeague.org 1-877-4-SAVE-PET Facebook.com/TheAnimalLeague
ANNOUNCEMENTS
GrowNYC.org Recycle@GrowNYC.org 212-788-0225
ANTIQUES/COLLECTIBLES
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.
AUCTIONS AUCTION CHEMUNG COUNTY REAL PROPERTY TAX FORECLOSURES- 100+ Properties March 25 @11AM. Holiday Inn, Elmira, NY. 800-243-0061 HAR, Inc. & AAR, Inc. Free brochure: www.NYSAUCTIONS.com
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
CARS & TRUCKS & RV’S
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
CLEANING SERVICES/LAUNDRY CLEANING SERVICES Residential & Commercial Exp., Bonded & Insured. See manhattanwash.com for info, or call 212-410-3200
EMPLOYMENT AVON Career or pocket money you decide Call Brandie (Ind Sls rep) 1-800-305-3911 Or sign up online: www.startavon.com Reference code:gsim For award winning support
ENTERTAINMENT 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 Drive? For info call Academy: 1-800-442-7272 ext. 2353 - www.academybus.com
HEALTH SERVICES Carnegie Hill Endoscopy 212-860-6300 www.carnegiehillendo.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 High Colonic By Rachel helps w/ constipation, bloating & more.24 yrs exp. 212-317-0467 Lenox Hill Hospital Lenox Hill Orthopaedics (855) 434-1800 www.Lenoxhillhospital.org/ ortho Mount Sinai-Roosevelt Hospital University Medical Practice Associates 212-523-UMPA(8672) www.umpa.com New York Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital www.nyp.org/lowermanhattan NYU Langone Medical Center Introduces the Preston Robert Tisch Center for Men’s Health. 555 Madison Ave bet. 55th & 56th, 646-754-2000
HELP WANTED 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 Can You Dig It? Heavy Equipment Operator Career! Receive Hands On Training And National Certifications Operating Bulldozers, Backhoes & Excavators. Lifetime Job Placement. Veteran Benefits Eligible! 1-866-968-2577
HELP WANTED WELDING CAREERS- Hands on training for career opportunities in aviation, automotive, manufacturing and more. Financial aid for qualified students. Job placement assistance. CALL AIM 855-325-0399
HOME IMPROVEMENTS Beautify your home with custom radiator covers, nightstands & more. www.licrc.com
LEGAL AND PROFESSIONAL ALLSTATE INSURANCE Anthony Pomponio 212-769-2899 125 West 72nd St. 5R, NYC apomponio@allstate.com
MASSAGE BODYWORK by young, handsome, smooth, athletic Asian. InCall/OutCall. Phillip. 212-787-9116
Massage by Melissa (917)620-2787 MERCHANDISE FOR SALE Fresh California Organic Walnuts, home grown, hand picked. Reduces the risk of heart disease. One of the best plant source of protein, Omega 3 and E &B vitamins. $12 a pound shelled, $5 a pound in shell, plus shipping. Perry Creek Walnuts 530-503-9705 perrycreekwalnuts.com perrycreekwalnuts@hotmail.com Pandora Jewelry Unforgettable Moments 412 W Broadway - Soho, NYC 212-226-3414
REAL ESTATE - RENT
POLICY NOTICE: We make every effort to avoid mistakes in your classified ads. Check your ad the first week it runs. We will only accept responsibility for the first incorrect insertion. Manhattan Media Classifieds assumes no financial responsibility for errors or omissions. We reserve the right to edit, reject, or re-classify any ad. Contact your sales rep directly for copy changes. All classified ads are pre-paid. SERVICES OFFERED
Frank E. Campbell The Funeral Chapel Known for excellence since 1898 - 1076 Madison Ave, at 81st St., 212-288-3500 CARMEL Car & Limousine Service To JFK… $52 To Newark… $51 To LaGuardia… $34 1-212-666-6666 Toll Free 1-800-9-Carmel 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
Directory of Business & Services To advertise in this directory Call Susan (212)-868-0190 ext.417 Classified2@strausnews.com
ANTIQUES WANTED
TOP PRICES PAID
Chinese Objects Paintings, Jewelry Silver, Furniture, Etc. Entire Estates Purchased
800.530.0006
ways to re-use
your
old
newspaper
#
Use it as wrapping paper, or fold & glue pages into reusable gift bags.
1
Sky Rink at Chelsea Piers NYC’s Coolest Place to Skate! ChelseaPiers.com/sr 212-336-6100
WANTED TO BUY ANTIQUES WANTED Top Prices Paid. Chinese Objects, Paintings, Jewelry, Silver, Furniture, Etc. Entire Estates Purchased. 800-530-0006. I Buy Old Tribal Art Free Appraisal 917-628-0031 Daniel@jacarandatribal.com WE BUY-TOP DOLLAR PAID Fine & Costume Jewelry Gems-Silver-Gold-Jade Antiques-Art-Rugs Call Gregory@718 608 5854 Certified GIA Gemologist
OCEAN CITY, MARYLAND. Best selection of affordable rentals. Full/ partial weeks. Call for FREE brochure. Open daily. Holiday Resort Services. 1-800-638-2102. Online reservations: www.holidayoc.com
REAL ESTATE - SALE ABSOLUTE LAND SELL OFF! March 14th & 15th! Cooperstown NY! 60-70% below market prices from $19,000 or $254/month! 26 Tracts! Waterfront! Views! Woods! 6 miles from Village, low taxes, town rd, utils, 100% g’tee! Call: 888905-8847 to register! NewYorkLandandLakes.com
SERVICES OFFERED
Allstate - The Wright Agency Anthony Wright 718 671 8000 Ao65989@allstate.com Auto.home.life.retirement
:H DUH D SURXG PHPEHU RI WKH $VVRFLDWHG 3UHVV DQG WKH 1DWLRQDO 1HZVSDSHU $VVRFLDWLRQ
SOHO LT MFG
462 Broadway MFG No Retail/Food +/- 9,000 sf Ground Floor - $90 psf +/- 16,000 sf Cellar - $75 psf Call Mark @ Meringoff Properties 646.262.3900
16 Our Town Downtownâ&#x20AC;&#x201A;MARCH 12-18,2015
www.otdowntown.com Your Neighborhood News
The local paper for Downtown