The local paper for Downtown wn
OTDOWNTOWN.COM
MARCH
NEW YORK'S MR. HOSPITALITY
19-25
Q&A, P.14 >
2015
OurTownDowntown @OTDowntown
DOWNTOWN’S MOSAIC MAN, TILTING AGAINST NEARLY EVERYTHING PROFILE Jim ‘Mosaic Man’ Power, artist-turned-activist BY ROBIN SCHER
“Jim ‘Mosaic Man’ Power, everybody,” announces a tour guide, motioning to an old man in a patchwork leather jacket and seated on a red mobility scooter. The thronging tour group thwarts my approach, just as
Jim takes this grand introduction as his cue to leave. A white mane of hair billows from under Jim’s worn cap as I chase after him. My impression of a humble artist dedicated to the creation of mosaicked street poles in selfless pursuit of beautifying the city seems reaffirmed. At least until, several blocks later, at the corner of Astor Place and Cooper Square, I catch up to him. “None of these people … got
it right. They just don’t got it right,” Jim shouts over an amplified beat-boxer who’s chosen this moment to begin an onslaught of mouth drumming - a fitting score to our meeting. “I’m not only going to attack this society, I’m going to shred it in front of the world for being outdated, lame, MORONS.” A lot of things piss Jim off: his deteriorating health, his constant lack of money, the
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
FINANCIAL DISTRICT APARTMENTS NOW TOP $1 MILLION Neighborhood sales and rentals benefit from new transit, development projects
The Fulton Transit Center, among the improvements in lower Manhattan cited for higher rents. Photo via Flickr by Nathan Congleton
For the first time in the history of the financial district, the average price of an apartment has topped $1 million. A report from Platinum Properties reviewing real estate trends in the district for 2014 finds that the average selling price totaled $1.1 million last year, up from $989,297 in 2013. The number of units sold last year reached 499, down from 541 last year. In its report, Platinum attributes the strong sales last year to a completion of years-long infrastructure and development projects in the neighborhood, including the Fulton Street subway station, One World Trade Center, and 70 Pine Street, a 66-story residential tower. Among the other trends last year: a 47% increase in the number of threebedroom apartments sold, as the district moves to a more vibrant, 24/7 culture more amenable to families. Two-
bedroom apartments, by comparison, showed a 18% decline in sales and studio sales were down 9%. In terms of rentals, one-bedroom apartments commanded the biggest chunk of the rental market, accounting for 41% of the market share. Rents for one-bedroom apartments averaged $3,804 in the financial district last year, a 4% increase from a year ago. Two-bedroom apartments averaged $5,570, up less than 1%. Vacancy in the financial district fluctuated throughout the year, but showed an overall decline as the year progressed. The most notable trend, according to Platinum, was a dramatic drop of nearly 40% of available studios following their peak in August. As supply decreased, prices went up. “With several new developments hitting the market, the vacancy rate should be an interesting statistic to following in 2015,” according to Platinum President Daniel Hedaya, author of the report.
In Brief ANTITRUST DEAL FOR TOUR BUS COMPANIES Beloved by tourists, tolerated by locals. The big tour bus companies like City Sights and Gray Line have become a staple in Manhattan, as much a part of the tourist draw as Broadway shows and the Empire State Building. But they’ve also become a headache for locals, who complain about clogged traffic, aggressive hawkers, even unwelcome gawking if you happen to live on the second floor along their routes. Turns out, they’ve also been running an antitrust racket, according to a settlement reached this week between the bus companies and investigators. City Sights and Gray Line agreed to pay $7.5 million and give up nearly 50 of their stops in Manhattan to settle a lawsuit brought by state and federal investigators. That lawsuit, filed in 2012, accused the two companies of teaming up to eliminate competition and push up prices. By locking up the best stops at the top sights in the city, the two companies effectively kept other companies from entering the market, keeping prices high. So those armies of hawkers peddling tickets in color-coded windbreakers? They’ve basically been working for the same company, creating an illusion of competition when in fact little real competition existed. “This settlement allows competition to thrive once again, and ensures that these companies did not profit from operating an unlawful and anticompetitive joint venture,” Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman said in a statement following the settlement. The attorney general and the Justice Department said the two companies created a joint venture, Twin America, to control the best stops for hop-on, hop-off tours, increasing prices for riders by 10 percent since 2009.
2 Our Town Downtown MARCH 19-25,2015
WHAT’S MAKING NEWS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD The Lunar New Year could become a city schools holiday if proponents have their wish. Photo by Patrick Kwan.
RENEWED PUSH TO INCLUDE LUNAR NEW YEAR ON CITY SCHOOLS’ HOLIDAY CALENDAR Mayor Bill de Blasio is being pushed to make good on his pledge to close city schools for the Lunar New Year holiday. Officials joined with community groups at City Hall rally last week to press for the holiday, which is celebrated in several Asian countries, including China, North Korea South Korea and Vietnam. De Blasio last month announced that the city’s public schools would close for two of the most sacred Muslim holy days, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha starting next school year. At the rally, State Senator Daniel Squadron said de Blasio had ample time to also add the Lunar New Year to the 2015-2016 school calendar, Downtown Express reported.
Asian Americans make up about 15 percent of the city’s student population.
ZIPCARS TARGETED BY THIEVES Police have arrested 18 people suspected of driving off with fancy Zipcars stored in lower Manhattan garages, the New York Post reported. Thieves had driven off with at least 20 Zipcars from parking lots in lower Manhattan during the last few months, The targeted cars have been mostly luxury vehicles – Mercedes-Benzes, BMWs and Audis – the paper reported. Prospective renters make online reservations for a vehicle, which they then pick up at partnering garages by using a “Zipcard.” The thieves apparently convinced garage attendants in Tribeca, the Financial District and Chinatown that their
Zipcards – which turned out to be phony – were not working and the attendants then unlocked the cars, the Post said. Many of cars were found, apparently after they had been taken on joy rides, the paper said, although some of the other vehicles were later linked to crimes in other boroughs. The thefts have since decreased, the paper said.
REPORTING NYC IDLING TRUCKS CAN REWARD NEW YORKERS WITH MONEY INCENTIVES Upper West Side Councilmember Helen Rosenthal and Rockaway Councilmember Donovan Richards Jr. want New Yorkers to submit video recordings or photos of idling cars in trucks in return for cash. According to
a 2009 report from the Environmental Defense Fund, idling cars in the city are responsible for 13,000 tons of carbon dioxide in the air every year. The Gothamist reports that if stationary drivers fail to cut their engines within three minutes, or within one minute if parked in a school zone, they can face a $220 fine. If passed, the law would give city Department of Environmental Protection officials authority to give out fines based on the submitted photos and video clips. Councilmembers believe the city could do a better job issuing summons when it comes idling vehicles, for which the city issued only 209 summons last year. Residents would have to take a class and register with the DEP before they could submit evidence and, eventually, collect a portion of the fines.
NYC HOMELESS PROGRAM
BRINGS 30% TO SHELTERS OUT OF SUBWAYS About one-third of the city’s chronically homeless people living in subways and train stations are now receiving shelter and services through the city’s outreach program, according to the Department of Homeless Services. A $6 million multi-year contract with the Bowery Residency Committee signed last year has added 40 social service workers clinicians to the caseloads, the Daily News reported. According to a 2013 city survey, 1,841 people were living in the subway system, nearly twice as many as four years ago, the paper reported. Officials reported that in order to be labeled as “chronic homeless” one must have set bedding in the subway five times. Assistant commissioner Danielle Minelli-Pagnotta said the increase in placement in the program has work well.
MARCH 19-25,2015 Our Town Downtown 3
CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG
NEW YORK REAL ESTATE HEIR ARRESTED FOR MURDER
BY JANET MCCONNAUGHEY
Robert Durst, a wealthy and eccentric heir to a New York real estate fortune, was arrested for murder just before the airing of the last episodes of a six-part documentary about his links to two killings and the disappearance of his wife. Durst’s defense lawyer said that the FBI arrested him at a Marriott hotel in New Orleans on a Los Angeles warrant for the murder of Susan Berman 15 years ago.
Durst, 71, has never been charged in connection with the 1982 disappearance of his wife, Kathie, or in the unsolved 2000 murder of Susan Berman, in Beverly Hills, California. He was acquitted in the 2001 dismemberment death of his Galveston neighbor, Morris Black, because he said the killing was in self-defense. Durst has always denied involvement in his wife’s disappearance or Berman’s murder. Defense lawyer Chip Lewis, who successfully defended Durst in the 2001 dismemberment death of his Galveston neighbor, said he will waive extradition and be transported to Los Angeles to face the charges. The arrest came on the eve of Sunday’s broadcast on HBO of the first episode of a six-part documentary, “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst,” by filmmaker Andrew Jarecki. Jarecki told The Associated Press that Durst is a strange but smart man who’s long feuded with his wealthy family. “The story is so operatic,” Jarecki said. “That’s what’s so fascinating to me — seeing someone who is born to such privilege and years later is living in a $300-a-month rooming house in Galveston, Texas, disguised as a mute woman.” Jarecki told a Hollywood version
of Durst’s story in the 2010 film that starred Ryan Gosling, “All Good Things.” Jarecki said the six episodes left him with a “firm conclusion” about Durst’s guilt or innocence.
Auto Home Life Retirement
Reported crimes from the 1st district for March 2 - March 8 Week to Date
Year to Date
2015
2014
% Change
2015
2014
% Change
Murder
0
0
n/a
0
0
0
THE ALLURE OF LAUREN
Rape
0
0
n/a
1
1
0
Perhaps if stores charged less for their clothes, thieves would be less tempted to steal them. On the afternoon of March 3, a man took 12 items into a fitting room of the Ralph Lauren on Prince Street and came out with just eleven, police reported. Apparently, he put on a jacket inside his own coat and left the store without paying. Police searched the area but could not locate the thief. A video of the incident, as well as a DNA swab obtained from the rim of a glass from which the thief had apparently assuaged his thirst, are being investigated. The stolen jacket was valued at $2,995.
Robbery
0
2
-100
5
5
4
Felony Assault
2
2
0
10
10
6
Burglary
2
2
0
28
28
15
Grand Larceny
19
21
-9.5
142
142
75
Grand Larceny Auto
0
0
n/a
2
2
0
and recovered were a jacket valued at $1,200 and a pair of pants worth $300, making a total of $1,520.
BAG TEAM
TASTI CRIME SITE
A man was arrested on grand larceny charges after he removed merchandise from a sales rack inside the Burton outlet on Spring Street. Police said Rejuhn Derricotte concealed items in a shopping bag before handing the bag to a male accomplice who left the store without paying. Derricotte stood in the way of a store employee, preventing him from going after the man with the property, police said. He also resisted a security guard effort to lock the front door. Police were looking at video of the incident. The items stolen
One burglar didn’t just try to steal cash from a store; he tried to steal the cash machine. Late on March 5, an unknown perpetrator cut the security gate at the Tasti D Lite shop located on Spring Street and tried to steal the ATM inside. The perpetrator was unsuccessful, but authorities were equally unsuccessful locating the burglar.
FIGHTING MAD AT A FIRING!
Things apparently got ugly at a local bar after an employee was fired. Police said a 20-year-old man argued with 29-year-old male employee of the Stout bar on John Street over having been fired. As the two argued, the younger man, later identified as Ousman Sidibeh, grabbed a fork from a dining table and lunged at the employee. Two men, aged 27 and 41, disarmed Sidibeh, at which point he fled the scene, police said. When police arrived, however, Sidibeh reentered the establishment, running straight for the kitchen with an officer in pursuit. Once in the kitchen he took multiple swings at the 29-year-old who had fired him. While the officer tried to restrain Sidibeh, the latter flailed his arms, refusing to be handcuffed, police said. He was eventually arrested on assault charges.
Now Get Real Time Bus, Subway & Alternate Side Parking Information Here
DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING YOU’D LIKE US TO LOOK INTO? DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING YOU’D LIKE US TO LOOK INTO? DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING YOU’D LIKE US TO LOOK INTO? Email us at NEWS@STRAUSNEWS.COM Protect your world
STATS FOR THE WEEK
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
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
The local paper for Downtown
4 Our Town Downtown MARCH 19-25,2015
DOWNTOWN’S MOSAIC MAN
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.
212-477-7411
NYPD 1st Precinct
16 Ericsson Place
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
HOSPITALS New York-Presbyterian
170 William St.
Mount Sinai-Beth Israel
10 Union Square East
212-844-8400
212-312-5110
CON EDISON
4 Irving Place
212-460-4600
TIME WARNER
46 E. 23rd St.
813-964-3839
US Post Office
201 Varick St.
212-645-0327
US Post Office
128 East Broadway
212-267-1543
US Post Office
93 Fourth Ave.
212-254-1390
POST OFFICES
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.
ongoing frustrations with his temperamental scooter. But most of all, the 67-year-old Vietnam veteran is angry at change – specifically at what’s taken place in the East Village. And it’s the Department of Transportation’s redesign of Astor Place that’s the subject of his latest ire. “You see those lampposts,” says Jim, his eyes – slightly magnified by his spectacles – bulging as he gestures toward several, all of them amid bulldozers and torn up road. “There should be mosaics on all of them - you know why?” I attempt to offer a response, still unfamiliar with Jim’s rhetorical style. “BOOM,” he shouts. “Impact. None of this ‘gee, that’s nice, that’s cool.’” Jim has cemented and grouted himself into the very architecture of the East Village. He did his first mosaic in 1986, when the owner of the still extant Khyber Pass invited him to ornament a sign for the restaurant – perhaps as charity, maybe as a way to shut Jim up, however briefly. Over the next decade, Jim went on to similarly and intricately embellish 80 street poles, of which 30 are still intact. He received almost no financial support, despite being homeless during most of that time. As we walk and talk, he accepts handouts of food from various people we encounter – a handful of chocolates, a pair of plums. “Your fortune is mine for the telling, and yours for the hearing,” bellows Zoltar the mechanical fortune teller, another St. Marks Place relic, as we stand on Second Avenue, one of Jim’s favorite corners. “In Japan, in the days of the emperors, you were forbidden to have mosaics,” Jim tells me, momentarily calm. “They took pieces of broken china and put them on the roof of the emperors’ houses to keep the heat in. Mosaic was considered quite a sacred thing. I guess with my work, it’s about breaking that mold.” Still, he declines to call himself an artist: “I’m a whatever.” “It’s an element for society that has a major positive outcome,” he notes, but continues in almost the same breath, “and that’s what’s going to put me way, way over the … top. That’s something Warhol didn’t do – bring his (mess) to the people.” Astor Place, he says, is “the entrance way into our neighborhood”. The DOT’s plan, according to Jim, will “privatize a public space”. Following a December meeting between Power and DOT representatives, a “strategic plan” was put forward to salvage Power’s poles. It includes several proposed locations for the poles to be reintegrated into the area, once the redesign is complete. Still, for Jim the matter goes beyond his work. “I believe we’re under attack. I believe that society is fucked. These buildings? They’re not warming anybody’s hearts. Are they needed? Yeah, sure.” “So, you’re talking more about the spirit of the place?” I manage to squeeze in. “BOOM,” he responds, eyes bulging. “Yes, the artistic community. This is the largest conglomerate of creative people in the entire world. The neighborhood’s bigger than them. This is about fucking history.”
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
Summer Camp for the Entire Family Affordable lake cottages Tennis-Basketball < 1 hr NYC pinelakeparkcoop.blogspot.com pinelakeparkinfo@gmail.com
CHURCH CONVERSION PLAN WINS LANDMARKS APPROVAL Central Park West church now going condo BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS
Architects for a controversial condo conversion of a landmarked church on the Upper West Side were finally successful in getting their plan past the Landmarks Preservation Commission. LPC commissioners initially rejected the plan, presented by GKV Architects in December, over a proposal to cut six windows in the Central Park-facing façade of the church. Architects came back before the LPC in February with the window plan intact, claiming they were necessary to cast light into individual units. Commissioners, however, argued that because the architects declined to share any floor plans with the LPC, they offered no justification for disturbing the church’s most visible façade. This time the plan was presented without the windows on Central Park West, and the commission green-lighted the conversion. The proposal still calls for removing all religious iconography from the church’s stained glass windows, a major point of contention for the commissioners and the public, especially as it relates to the large stained glass window on Central Park West. Architects argued that prospective buyers would not want religious motifs incorporated into their living space. LPC chair Meenakshi Srinivasan said that shouldn’t be assumed, and that some buyers may regard the stained glass as a unique part of the unit. According to the real estate website Curbed, seven commissioners voted to approve the proposal while three voted against it, with the major sticking point being the removal of the religious stained glass. The final approval calls for architects to work with the LPC on an appropriate replacement for the religious stained glass. The latest proposal abandons a plan for new windows under the arched windows on 96th Street. Architects still plan to build a terrace on the seventh floor and to cut dozens of windows on the 97th Street side of the building. Commissioners expressed all along that they were open to allowing the hundred-year-old church to turn residential, citing a need for some sort of repurposing before the building falls further into disrepair. Built in 1903, the church at 361 Central Park West and 96th Street was designed by Carrere and Hastings and was most recently the home of the Crenshaw Christian Center. The church was purchased last summer by developers Ira Shapiro and Joseph Brunner, who hired GKV Architects and Li Saltzman Architects to devise a plan that would create about 30 units, including a penthouse. According to Howard Zipser, an attorney representing the owners, the smallest studio unit would come in at no less than 1,400 square feet. After developers announced their intention to convert the building into condos, dozens of Upper West Siders and several preservation groups packed LPC hearings on the matter to criticize or support the conversion. The New York Landmarks Conservancy is supportive of the repurposing for the same reason the LPC is: something has to be done with the building before it falls apart. At the hearing in December the conservancy’s director, Alex Herrera, said “as development pressures continue to increase, institutions face difficult decisions regarding their buildings. Those challenges are clear in this proposal…The church exterior has a solid and austere beauty that will be compromised to meet requirements for its new use, but will survive.” Landmark West was critical of the planned conversion since it was announced, and said that every effort should be made to maintain the stained glass as is. Kate Wood, executive director of Landmark West, staged a walkout at the hearing in protest that the community was not allowed to testify. Under LPC rules the public can only speak at the initial hearing of a proposal, which was in December. According to Curbed, at the meeting last week when the project was finally approved, Wood and another Landmark West employee simply held a photo of the stained glass window on Central Park West.
MARCH 19-25,2015 Our Town Downtown 5
Camp y a D e A mplet As Co leepAs S y! Awa
6 Our Town Downtown MARCH 19-25,2015
YOU READ IT HERE FIRST The local paper for the Upper West Side
Out & About 20 and prejudice. 212-260-4080, www. csvcenter.org/index.html
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
JASON DUSSAULT DECONSTRUCTION/ CONSTRUCTION
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
Hoerle-Guggenheim Gallery, 527 W. 23rd St, at 10th Avenue 6 p.m.-8 p.m. Jason Dussault’s first solo exhibit in New York Deconstruction/Construction pays homage to the late Village Voice Art Director George Delmerico through his mosaic pieces of Marvel characters. 212-366-4490, www. hoerle-guggenheim.com/ exhibitions/jason-dussault
21 ACC PET ADOPTION EVENT AT PETCO, UNION SQUARE Petco
admission Explore a world of patterns, shapes and numbers in this interactive exhibit. 212-542-0566, www. momath.org/about/ upcoming-events/
22 SHAPING THE LOWLINE The opening of an interactive exhibit featuring the creative work, from the practical to the fantastical,
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
SPRING THEATRE PRODUCTION—LIFE IS A DREAM Clemente Soto Velez Cultural and Educational Center — Teatro La Tea, 107 Suffolk Street and Rivington 8 p.m.-10 p.m., $5 This play switches back and forth from 17th century Spain to 21st century New York with the intention of challenging audiences to question the relationship between prophecy
Union Square, 860 Broadway Noon-4 p.m., free to attend, adoption fees range Animal Care and Control of NYC’s Mobile Adoption Center will be at Petco, Union Square, with great cats and dogs looking for loving homes. 212-788-4000, http:// nycacc.org/Events.htm
MATH MIDWAY Museum of Mathematics, 11 E. 26th St. between Fifth and Madison Avenues 10 a.m., Free with
of the Lowline Young Designers for New York City’s first underground community green space. Mark Miller Gallery, 92 Orchard St. Noon-6 p.m., Free https://www.facebook.com/ events/1395293270781955/
THE PRINCESS WHO GREW ANTLERS Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave., between 9th and 10th Streets 3 p.m., $15 Follow the adventure of a
MARCH 19-25,2015 Our Town Downtown 7
princess who grows antlers in this Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theater production. 212-254- 1109, www. theaterforthenewcity.net
will learn how penguins adapt to stay alive. For children 3-6. www.nypl.org/events/ calendar?location=15
IF YOU BUILD IT
23 5TH ANNUAL BENEFIT, READING VOICES INSIDE/OUT
UCBEast. 155 E 3rd St between A and B Aves. 7 p.m., $5 Join Comedian Kara Klenk, contributor for Girl Code and Broad City for her weekly show that will keep you at the edge of your seat. 212-366-9231, www.east. ucbtheatre.com
The COW, 21 Clinton St. 7:00 p.m., $25 Six short plays by currently incarcerated inmates at Northpoint Training Center, a medium security prison. voicesinsideout.weebly. com/
Hauser & Wirth New York, 511 W. 18th St., between 10th and 11th Ave. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Free Gupta’s work in his gallery show incorporates ingenious items used by ordinary Indians to take their lunch to work. 212-794-4970, www. hauserwirth.com
READY FOR SUMMER? Camp starts June 29 asphaltgreen.org
YOUNG DESIGNERS SHOW Mark Miller Gallery, 92 Orchard St. and Broome Street. Noon-6 p.m., Free View the showcased work by the students of the Lowline Young Designers Program where they learn solar technology, and build 3D models of new public space. 212-253-9479, www. thelodownny.com/calendar/
MICHAEL FINNISSY UPPER EAST SIDE 555 E. 90th St. (at York Ave.)
BATTERY PARK CITY 212 North End Ave. (at Murray St.)
index.php?eID=9683
HOLY WEEK 2015 Dr. Michael B. Brown preaching
FESTIVAL
26
Spectrum. 121 Ludlow St. between Delancey and Rivington Streets 7 p.m., $15 Michael Finnissy Festival, presented and performed by pianist Augustus Arnone. http://spectrumnyc.com/ blog/calendar/
24 PETUNIA THE PENGUIN GOES TO SCHOOL Chatham Square Library, 33 E. Broadway, at Madison Street 3:30 p.m., Free 212-673-6344 Costume characters Petunia Penguin and polar bird Admiral Bird will get kids to become Antarctic scientists! Children
25 SUBODH GUPTA, “SEVEN BILLION LIGHT YEARS”
KJCC POETRY SERIES, CURATED BY LILA ZEMBORAIN King Juan Carlos I Of Spain Center, 53 Washington Square 7 p.m., Reading by Venezuelan poet Igor Barreto, in Spanish. Introduced by Sergio Chejfec. Reception to follow follow. http://events.nyu. edu/#event_id/40446/view/ event SECONDS Hudson Park Library, 66 Leroy St. 2 p.m., Free John Frankenheimer directs Rock Hudson in this sciencefiction thriller from the fractured
March 29, Palm/Passion Sunday 10am: Family Worship, Prayer Circle and Bible Study with Sister Carol Perry 11am: Fair Weather Faith (Mark 11:1-10) April 2, Maundy Thursday 7pm: Greater Love Hath No One Than This (John 15:12-14; Luke 23:26)
Dramatic readings with music by the Marble Sanctuary Choir. Holy Communion. April 3, Good Friday 11:30am: Music for Prayer and Meditation - Kenneth Dake Noon: Forsaken or Faithful? (Psalm 22:1-2; Psalm 31:1-5, selected verses) The Marble Choir, Festival of Voices, and Orchestra 1:30-3pm: Prayer Vigil 7pm: Jazz Revelation - A Jazz Funeral For Christ April 5, Easter Sunday 8:30am: Prayer Circle 9 & 11am: The Divine Post-Script (I Corinthians 15:50-56) Dr. Michael B. Brown, Senior Minister 1 West 29th St. NYC, NY 10001 (212) 686-2770 www.MarbleChurch.org
8 Our Town Downtown MARCH 19-25,2015
Voices
Letter WASTING MONEY AT THE D.O.E. To the Editor: How much money is the NYC Department of Education wasting every time they take out multipage ads in the New York Daily News along with other newspapers for “The latest news from the NYC Department of Education Public School Press”? These dollars would be better spend educating children than promoting Mayor Bill de Blasio and Chancellor Carmen Farina. Drip, drip,drip, watch your tax dollars go down the drain. Have you also seen all the “Don’t Let Tax, Water, Or Repair Charges Come Between You and Your Property” full page ads in your daily and weekly neighborhood newspapers? Even worse, was the 116-page recent supplement which appeared in the New York Daily News. It lists line by line the name of every New Yorker who owes real estate tax water sewer, emergency repair or other property - related charges “the City of New York may sell a lien on your property” advertisement. Is this the best way the NYC Departments of Finance, Environmental Protection along with Housing Preservation and Development can spend taxpayers dollars? Why can’t all three agencies compare their respective lists of people who owe money with those filing city and state tax returns? Surely the technology exists to place a lien on any tax refunds. You could also extend citizens the courtesy of a telephone call or letter or email informing them of their overdue obligations. What’s next, will the city send out marshalls going door to door serving subpoenas? Sincerely, Larry Penner
The Sixth Borough
THE LOST GIRL BY BECCA TUCKER I held the baby goat to my chest like you might hold an infant, explaining to toddler Kai that the goat was dead, but without quite knowing if I believed it myself. Did her eye move? I blew on her nose. Her head rested in the crook of my elbow like she was just very, very tired. Fluid dripped from her rear end; I re-wrapped the towel. Should I put her in a bucket of hot water? I asked Joe. She’s gone, he said. And so she was. Perfect, that twoday-old furry body was, except there was nobody home. Her joints still had their bounce, but her eyes were milky and dry and no breath came in or out. There’s no time to get sentimental, or hold a funeral like we did with the first goat we lost, was it two years ago now or three? But time or no, sadness will come at times like these and stay awhile. It especially hurts, on a farm, when it’s a girl. Girls produce more life; milk. Was it our fault? It’s hard to know. We’d noticed she was shivering, and not standing as well as her brother, but I had heard that girls take longer to get up on all fours. When we saw she was cold, should we have taken her inside sooner? Or maybe it would have turned out better if we’d left her with her mother?
Husband Joe had brought her inside, eventually, and tried to bottlefeed her with colostrum that he had milked from her mother, but she wasn’t interested. He had put her in a blanket in a cardboard box by the heater. She didn’t make it through the night. I wasn’t there. I was delivering eggs to the city, which I now do on Monday nights. Had I been, might it have gone differently? Joe closed the cardboard box and left it in the foyer, so I could see her, say goodbye. When I opened the box and lifted the baby, I couldn’t shake the feeling that if I could warm her cold little body, which never could get warm after it emerged from the womb in a snowstorm, maybe she’d have one of those miraculous recoveries. No. Like exiting an airport terminal, once you go out you cannot come back in. The ground was too snow-covered for a burial, so I placed the cardboard shroud on top of the snowy compost and whispered the same few words – the only words – that come to me in these moments, whether I am beholding the corpse of my grandfather or a chicken. “Lie down with the ash heap, rise up with the corn.” Then I trudged through the wet snow to the outbuilding to check on the little boy, the twin brother of the lost girl. It was nearly dark, and I wanted to make sure he was cozy enough to get through another cold night. Our three grown goats were there, his mother included, but the baby wasn’t in the wooden box filled with sweaters. He wasn’t with his mother. Could he have wandered off into the snow? “Where’s your baby?” I asked Rebeca, the dam. From seeing her rear her young last year, I knew that she’d be bellowing if she didn’t know where her baby was, although it was also true that she seemed to have made her peace, or else forgotten, about the missing girl.
The goats, in better days. I rushed inside to ask Joe when and where he’d last seen the baby boy? In the warming box, a few hours ago, he said. I rushed back and dug through the sweaters, half fearing to find another limp body. Nothing. Then I saw a little black and white form wedged between the warming box and the wall, in such a narrow slot that not even a chicken could squeeze in there to bother him. Such a good spot, but was he stuck,
unable to wriggle out to nurse? I reached in and pet him, and felt a warm ball of fur. I fortified his sleeping nook by leaning a slab of wood against the wall, to block any drafts from blowing in the crack between the ground and the wall. I pet him one more time. He wasn’t shivering. He was perfect, and very much home. Becca Tucker is a former Manhattanite now living on a farm upstate and writing about the rural life.
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 Director of Partnership Development Barry Lewis
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 19-25,2015 Our Town Downtown 9
Sports MANHATTAN PLAYERS AT USTA CHAMPIONSHIP The USTA announced that Mutsumi Shirai of Tudor City and Kline Sack of Hell’s Kitchen are among the 24 players who will represent the United
States at the inaugural ITF Young Seniors World Team Championships, the senior equivalent of tennis’ Davis Cup and Fed Cup competitions.
Shirai holds two major tennis titles and will be competing in the Young Cup. Sack holds 12 national titles and will be competing in the Dubler Cup.
American teams will be defending titles in the Margaret Court Cup (Women’s 45) for third consecutive year, and the Dubler Cup (Men’s 45).
Why I Got Arrested Stuart Appelbaum, President Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union
I
Kline Sack
Mutsumi Shirai
CENTRAL PARK’S WOMEN’S HOCKEY STARS After a recent win at the Empire State Games, the Central Park Senior Lady Hawks women’s team is now preparing for the USA National Hockey Championships in Green Bay, Wis., March 26-30. The Senior Lady Hawks are a team of collegeeducated woman new to
the working environment of New York City. They have played college hockey at D1 and D3 schools, many of them Ivy. With no league for them to play in after graduation, these hockey players created an all-female, competitive environment at Lasker Rink in Central Park, in which
over 40 skilled players play organized hockey together. In February, a select team was chosen to play in the Empire State Games. The Senior Lady Hawks were undefeated, winning six straight games and bringing home the gold medal. The Lady Hawks
women’s hockey team has no corporate sponsor and players pay for their own travel. The coaches are volunteers and have to do the same. Donations to underwrite their bid at the nationals are being accepted at supportladyhawks. athleteson.ly.
chose to get arrested outside of a car wash in Brooklyn earlier this month, in support of the workers who have been on strike there since November. This is the first time I have ever been arrested -- even though I have supported many different causes in many different ways throughout the years. Getting arrested is not something to be taken lightly. But I felt it was necessary to shine a light on the grievous wrong these workers and so many others in New York’s car wash industry – and in other industries across the country -- have experienced in their work lives. And I wanted to express my outrage over the treatment of low-wage immigrant workers generally and the growing income inequality in our society. It is important now because of the times we live in – a time when the income equality gap is greater than ever, when workers and immigrants are increasingly under fire in legislatures across America and in the Halls of Congress, and when low-wage workers in car washes, fast food restaurants, airports and retail stores are feeling the squeeze like never before. In most parts of the country, millions of these workers make the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour. In New York and elsewhere the minimum is higher, but still much too low. That’s why we have seen – and been part of -- campaigns like the “Fight for Fifteen” and “Low-Wage Rage.” And that’s why I, along with national labor leaders - including the new UFCW International President Marc Perrone - and New York City Council members Brad Lander and Carlos Menchaca blocked the streets outside the Vegas Auto Spa in Park Slope, where the ‘carwasheros’ have been on strike for four months against an owner they claim stole money from them through wage and hour violations. They went without paychecks through the holiday season and this cold, harsh winter. But what is happening at the Vegas car wash – and the entire car wash industry across New York – is just an example of a greater problem across America. Hard-working men and women are not being paid enough to make ends meet and it is the lowest-paid workers who often work in the most horrendous conditions. The workers at Vegas have sued the owner in court and filed complaints with the National Labor Relations Board for unfair labor practices, and with the Occupational Health and Safety Administration. These workers are among the many at 10 car washes across New York City who voted to join the RWDSU since the Wash New York Campaign – a joint effort by New York Communities for Change, Make the Road New York and the RWDSU – began three years ago. In addition to better wages and job safeguards, carwasheros need protections against an industry that is largely unregulated and has been rife with wage theft. In New York alone, one major car wash owner has agreed to pay more than $7 million in back pay and penalties for wage and hour violations. That is why we have been urging the City Council to pass – and the mayor to sign -- the Car Wash Accountability Act, which would require car washes to be licensed and regulated and would include strong worker protections. It is sad that here – in the richest city in the richest country in the world – workers and their supporters still have to put their bodies on the line to get economic and workplace justice. Working women and men in this city and country -- regardless of whether or not they are low-wage immigrants -deserve better, and we must come together with a collective voice to demand it. Stuart Appelbaum is president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union and executive vice president of the 1.3 million-member United Food and Commercial Workers Union.
Visit us on the web at:
www.rwdsu.org
10 Our Town Downtown MARCH 19-25,2015
SPRINGTIME FOR THE BIRDS IN CENTRAL PARK GALLERIES Two shows celebrating avian art take flight this spring BY VAL CASTRONOVO
New York City is bird country, in case you haven’t noticed. Some 350 wild species, nearly a third of all bird species on the North American continent, make their homes here or visit each year. Recent sightings of snowy owls (not Hedwig, alas) on Governors Island and the shores of Brooklyn and Queens are cases in point. But the city has become even more bird friendly with the opening of two exhibits devoted to avian paintings — one by legendary watercolorist John James Audubon (1785-1851) at the New-York Historical Society, and the other by New York wildlife artist Alan Messer at The Arsenal in Central Park, the headquarters of the New York City Department of Parks. The show at the Historical Society is the third and final installment of the magnificent exhibition of watercolors made for Audubon’s opus, “The Birds of America” (1827-1838), a mammoth encyclopedia that sought to visually document each and every bird species in North America. Audubon was not the first to make the attempt; ornithologist Alexander Wilson set the example. But Audubon’s book, a double elephant (referring to the size of the paper) folio with 435 life-size prints made from copper plates engraved by Robert Havell Jr., became the gold standard. The Society boasts the largest collection of Auduboniana in the world. A special feather in its cap is owner-
1863-17-333GreenHeron
ship of these 435 original watercolors, representing over 1,000 birds and 500 species. More than 135 of those are included in the current show, with 180 species on parade, along with a chirpy audio guide with birdcalls and songs, courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. In the gallery, iPads afford a close-up view of Havell’s plates, based on the watercolors, while a video screen projects images of the paintings and scenes from the natural environment, underscoring Audubon’s extensive forays into the field to observe “the feathered race” (his term). Dr. Roberta Olson, the Society’s curator of drawings, recently led a spirited tour of the show, declaring Audubon “America’s Leonardo,” since, like his forebear, he infused his art with scientific precision and rigor. “Naturalists in the 19th century were the intelligentsia,” she explained. Both a naturalist and an artist, Audubon hunted and harvested thousands of birds for his painted catalog. His settings evoked the natural habitats of the various species — an “embedding” of his subjects in the interests of verisimilitude. But the operative word here is “cinematic,” a word frequently invoked by the curator to describe the dramatic action on the walls. Birds are flying, diving, swimming, eating, walking, preening, yawning, honking and generally engaging with one another in a fast and furious way. “The birds are alive and engage us,” Olson said exuberantly. Dismissing any notion that these were static images, she emphasized throughout the tour that
Audubon “was always involved with behavior” and pointed to a red-bellied woodpecker’s long, sticky tongue reaching out for food in a woodpecker group portrait (1822; 1836-37) to make her case. This artist’s genius was boundless. The birds in his compositions are all life-size, a historic feat. Feathers are palpable, and some, like those of the “Great Gray Owl” (c. 1834-36), have a velvety sheen. Audubon even “invented collage—not Braque or Picasso,” the curator claimed. Indeed, “Green Heron” (c. 1821-22) radically boasts a cutout image of the “Dad” bird, with an overlapping leaf creating a 3-D effect. This kind of layering was unknown at the time. But “American Flamingo” (1838) in shocking pink is the show’s glorious signature image. During our visit, the Society’s double elephant folio was opened to this brilliantly colored bird, creatively positioned to fit the page. One of four flamingo species native to the Americas, the creature appears to be in the act of feeding and, as Olson noted of the animated portrait on the wall, it is “looking at us and walking off the page.” Audubon had observed flamingos in the Florida Keys and worked from specimens sent to him from Cuba, two preserved in spirits. Pro tip: A visit to N-YHS to see the Audubons should be combined with a walk through Central Park to The Arsenal Gallery to see the avian paintings of artist-ornithologist Alan Messer. A New Yorker by way of Oregon, Messer seeks inspiration in the park’s Ramble, the marshes of Ja-
N-YHS Oppenheimer Editions AWC Plate 431 Greater Flamingo maica Bay, the islands in the Harbor, and the city’s abundant green spaces. The 30 beautiful works in “Conserving Our City of Nature,” presented by NYC Audubon and on view until April 23, include delicate oil and watercolor
renderings of myriad species. Messer will deliver a talk about his art at The Arsenal Gallery on April 8 at 6pm (email artandantiquities@parks.nyc. gov to RSVP). Get ready.
IF YOU GO WHAT: “Audubon’s Aviary: The Final Flight” (Part III of “The Complete Flock”) WHERE: the New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, at 77th Street WHEN: Now through May 10 www.nyhistory.org
WHAT: “Conserving Our City of Nature: The Artwork of Alan Messer” WHERE: The Arsenal Gallery, Central Park, 830 Fifth Ave., at 64th Street WHEN: Now through April 23 www.nyc.gov/parks/art
5 TOP
MARCH 19-25,2015 Our Town Downtown 11
FOR THE WEEK
MUSIC
“ET TU, BRUTE: MUSIC OF THE IDES OF MARCH” Brooklyn orchestral collective the Knights, mainstays at Bleecker Street music club SubCulture, perform a program inspired by the betrayal and backstabbing of Caesar’s assassination, including pieces by 18th
THEATER TRUFFLES: A MURDER MYSTERY JAZZ DINNER A classic whodunit unfolds as live dinner theater at the Metropolitan Room, where the audience dines on spaghetti and meatballs and attempts to solve the mysterious murder of a restaurant chef and the theft of a valuable two-pound truffle. Saturday, March 21 Metropolitan Room 34 W. 22nd St., between Fifth and Sixth Avenues 11:30 p.m. Tickets $75-$145 To purchase tickets, visit www. metropolitanroom.com or call 212-206-0440
KIDS “CHINESE FOOD, AMERICAN STORY” Sarah Lohman, a “historic gastronomist” who recreates old recipes and blogs about her culinary experiments at fourpoundsflour.com, teaches a historic cooking class at the New-York Historical Society. Tied to the museum’s current exhibit, “Chinese American: Exclusion/Inclusion,” the workshop will teach children how to make handmade dumplings, as well as chop suey, one of the earliest Chinese takeout dishes, from a 100-year-old recipe. Appropriate for ages eight and up. Saturday, March 21 DiMenna Children’s History Museum at the New-York Historical Society 170 Central Park West, at 77th Street 2 p.m. Tickets $16 To purchase tickets visit http://www. nyhistory.org/childrens-museum/programsevents-games or email familyprograms@ nyhistory.org
GALLERIES MIDTOWN GALLERY TOUR Rafael Risemberg, a former art critic and
BY GABRIELLE ALFIERO OUR ARTS EDITOR
century Austrian composer Joseph Haydn and contemporary British composer Thomas Adès. Thursday, March 19 SubCulture 45 Bleecker St. 8 p.m. Tickets $20-$25 To purchase tickets, visit http:// subculturenewyork.com or call 212-5335470
college professor, has led regular gallery tours throughout the city’s art districts for 12 years, performing exhaustive and regular research on the exhibitions at New York’s more than 600 galleries and highlighting only the most worthy shows. On March 21, he leads a tour of Midtown’s “skyscraper district,” visiting seven high-end contemporary art galleries. Tours take place rain or shine. New York Gallery Tours Saturday, March 21 Starts at 24 W. 57th St., near Sixth Avenue 1 p.m. Tickets $25 To purchase tickets, visit http:// nygallerytours.com/scheduled-tours/ or call 212-946-1548 for more information
FILM LA VITA DUO AND “OCCUPY THE FARM” Paradigm Shifts 2015, a weekend-long music and film festival at Baruch Performing Arts Center, couples a performance by classical guitar and vocal pair La Vito Duo, playing selections by Leonard Bernstein and Pete Seeger, among other composers, with a screening of Todd Darling’s “Occupy the Farm.” The 2014 documentary follows the efforts of 200 community members and college students in northern California’s East Bay who took over the sole farmland left in the urban area in an effort to feed their neighbors and divert plans to build a mall in its place. Friday, March 20 La Vita Duo and “Occupy the Farm” Engelman Recital Hall at Baruch Performing Arts Center 55 Lexington Ave., at 25th Street Tickets $20 To purchase tickets, visit https://web. ovationtix.com/trs/cal/34503 or call 212-3523101
To be included in the Top 5 go to otdowntown.com and click on submit a press release or announcement.
IN PRAISE OF THE HAND-WRITTEN LETTER FROM CAMP The benefits of a slow-moving letter in an age of email BY ANNE K. FISHEL
In this era of tweeting and texting, the slow-moving, handwritten, paper letter is an endangered species. Unlike an electronic missive, the letter that arrives in an envelope can be touched, smelled, savored, tucked under a pillow, and filed away for decades. But of all types of letters, perhaps the most precious to both the sender and the recipient is the camp letter. And, I am pleased to observe that the camp letter is alive and well. Most camps still ban the use of the computer and insist that campers lie on their bunk beds during rest hour and write a letter home — a real letter, on paper, with an envelope and stamp. This ritual may be reason enough to send kids to camp: Where else are they going to learn how to address an envelope, lick a stamp, and wait for days to get a response? The camp letter may be the last hard copy standing, the last form of communication not to be replaced by e-mail or texting. Parents treasure their children’s camp letters, though they may still wish they could call or text to get that immediate access to their kids. Dr. Michael Thompson, in his recent book about camp, Homesick and Happy, cautions parents against giving in to this impulse. He advises parents to stop sending e-mails, to send only one or two packages per summer (if their camper goes to a multiweek camp and the
camp allows), and to take a break from checking the children’s camps’ online photos. Instead, he also advocates letter-writing as the best form of communication, with the following rationale: “You want your children who are campers to think about you when they write a letter twice a week and NOT think about you the rest of the time. They should be thinking about their friends, their counselors, their activities, and the fun they are having.” Still, it can be hard for parents to wait for news from a child, particularly if they are parents who are prone to worry. Again, Dr. Thompson offers this insight: “The time between sending and receiving a letter is a valuable opportunity for both parent and child to think about one another without having to do anything with or for each other.” By the time the letter is received, both reader and writer know that everything in the letter has changed. I may be homesick now, but by the time you receive it, who knows? You have an opportunity to help parents know how to respond to the worry-inducing and the joy-inducing letters. I think that a parent’s letters to a camper can benefit from the following ingredients: •Even in the face of their child’s own homesickness, they shouldn’t tell their child how terribly they miss him/her. •They shouldn’t give their child things to worry about, even if they try to put the news in a humorous light. For example, the fact that the house flooded, causing thousands of dollars in damage, won’t be sal-
vaged by describing how funny it was to wear boots to bed. •Presenting an upbeat report about what’s going on at home without making anything up is best. If parents have bad news, they’ll want to talk to their child face-to-face or arrange with the camp director to call their child at camp. When our dog died during a son’s first year at camp, we waited to tell him on visiting weekend. This wasn’t great timing either, but at least we could hug him and reminisce together about our beloved dog. •Letters also seem to make us more eager to tell stories and to offer expressions of love: While we are writing, we are in a little bubble with our own thoughts. This is good for the parents and for the camper. •Parents should ask questions that help prompt their child to write back. For example: Tell me about a new friend you’ve made? What are you most surprised about? Have you eaten any new foods? Have you learned any new songs? Anne K. Fishel, PhD, is the director of The Family and Couples Therapy Program at Massachuset ts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, where she is also an associate clinical professor of Psychology at the Harvard Medical School. She is the co-founder of The Family Dinner Project and the author of a forthcoming book, Home for Dinner: Mixing Food, Fun, and Conversation for a Happier Family and Healthier Kids Originally published in the 2014 September/October Camping Magazine.
12 Our Town Downtown MARCH 19-25,2015
Food & Drink In Brief MARTHA STEWART CAFÉ SOON TO OPEN IN CHELSEA OFFICE BUILDING Martha Stewart’s new coffee kiosk is set to open in to the Starrett-Lehigh office building in Chelsea, Eater reported. The 150 square foot counter joint is unofficially open on the first floor of the building at 601 W. 26th Street, between Eleventh and Twelfth Avenues, but only to staff members of Martha Stewart’s corporate headquarters, which is located on the ninth floor of the building, and the official opening date of the café for the rest of the building’s occupants is still unknown, Eater reported.
END OF ORIGINAL ESS-ABAGEL East Village bagel shop Ess-ABagel, which opened on 21st Street and First Avenue in 1976, will close its original location on Monday, March 23, EV Grieve reported. The shop was unable to come to an agreement on its lease, according to Town & Village blog, but a sign posted in Ess-A-Bagel’s window suggests that the longtime bagel shop won’t leave the neighborhood, and will reopen in an undisclosed location nearby. Disagreements with the landlord over rent potentially contributed to the shop vacating its longtime home, EV Grieve reported: a statement from the landlord’s representatives suggested that the owners of the store “repeatedly refused to meet us between their below-market rent and current market value.” The bagel shop operates a second location at 831 Third Avenue, near E. 51st Street.
UES BURGER BAR J.G. MELON EXPANDS DOWNTOWN Yorkville bar and burger joint J.G. Melon, which has served its suds and pub fare at 1291 Third Avenue at E. 74th Street since 1972, will add a West Village outpost to its arsenal, Eater reported. Located at 89 Macdougal Street, near New York University, the new location is slated to open late next month, and will be the only other J.G. Melon location in the city, though, Eater reported, the uptown institution did expand to Bridgehampton in the 1970s, and operated an Upper West Side counterpart until 1993, but the Upper East Side location has been the sole outpost ever since.
AN OVERABUNDANCE OF DIETS CAN MUDDLE MEALS THE COMMUNITY KITCHEN BY LIZ NEUMARK
Growing up, there were basic table rules: Eat what was served, finish what was on your plate, and don’t start until the hostess lifts her fork. On occasion, a cook had to allow for nut allergies or religious restrictions. Special requests attributable to allergies, food exclusions or dietdriven preferences were uncommon, though. Fast-forward to 2015 where the waiter’s mantra is, “Anything our chef should know about food allergies or dietary restrictions?” — or, as I like to say, “Is there anything we can eat?” The robust list of food exclusions stemming from the proliferation of serious food-related allergies and the explosion of personal diet regimes is overwhelming and shows no sign of abating. My personal list includes: no meat or fowl; limited fish; no dairy; never octopus; and eggs only of known origin. All of those are personal choices. So, what is the landscape? I thought this would be easy to discern, but the more I read and spoke with people, the more confusing things became. What we choose to eat is more complex than ever. Talk to someone about his or her diet and you get a philosophical, strictly medical or self-diagnosed explanation of his or her choices. The most popular food choice (it was the most Googled in 2013) is the paleo diet, which purports to mimic what our ancestors ate in the Paleolithic era, before the advent of agriculture and domestication of animals. Since precise records of the caveman’s diet don’t exist, the régime is open to interpretation. Broadly, though, its guidelines emphasize meat and protein, few carbohydrates (avoid starchy options like potatoes or squash) and a high fiber intake (not via grains but by eating lots of fruits and vegetables). On the paleo’s no-no list: dairy products, grains (wheat, rye, barley), legumes (beans, lentils), processed foods, refined sugars, junk food, sugary drinks and all those treats the cavemen couldn’t find at the local
bodega. Why paleo? It is based on the belief that our metabolism has not evolved fast enough to digest the modern Western diet and that our inability to properly digest what we feed ourselves leads to the rise of diet-related illnesses (heart disease, diabetes, obesity). Paleo adherents claim the régime leads to healthier and longer lives. The debate incorporates discussions over what exactly was on the paleo plate, the health impact of
eating animals is simply repugnant. For some others, though, it can also be a political statement about the inhumane treatment of animals in most meat processing facilities. The increase in the availability of humanely and sustainably raised meat is a great trend, but still represents a very small — and expensive — fraction of what you find at the meat counter. For all that, there are also “flexitarians” who selectively, and on occasion, add a meat or fish meal
these food choices and the evolution of our digestive systems. A paleo diet has attractive characteristics, especially the avoidance of overly processed food. Then there are vegan diets. Vegans are like vegetarians, avoiding meat, fish or poultry but they also completely shun animal-derived products like eggs, dairy or honey. The rationale behind choosing a vegan diet (and lifestyle) tends to be based on ethical and environmental reasons as well as on health reasons - or feelings of well-being. Speaking with most vegetarians or vegans, it becomes clear that the concept of
to their diets. Exploring gluten-free diets is fascinating and new information is emerging daily. Simply, a gluten-free diet is one without gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, rye and possibly oats. Fruits, vegetables, meat, seafood, beans, legumes, nuts along with specific grains are naturally gluten-free. Processed foods pose a risk since most processing facilities are not gluten-free. Individuals with celiac disease are most at risk from the side effects of eating gluten, but many people find a gluten-free diet improves their sense of well-being in addition to being a weight-loss
régime. Gluten causes inflammation in the small intestines of people with celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder. The proliferation of glutenfree products, from pasta to desserts, is in response to the demand for gluten-free options. In the past two years, the sales of gluten-free foods has increased 63%, according to the market research firm Mintel. Other significant diet categories include low-fat, low-sodium, dairyfree and nut-free. These régimes are typically in response to allergies or health concerns, with some adherents among those who want to lose weight. Popular culture or personal and religious choices include Atkins, macrobiotic, kosher, halal, Mediterranean, detox/cleanse régime and countless more. I had lunch this week with a woman who followed three diets, in sequence, over an eight-week period. She started with a vegan cleanse, then eliminated caffeine, alcohol, salt and oil. She followed that with a primarily bean diet, including very lean meat and salmon. Lastly, she embarked on a paleo stretch. As we sat at a table with a third friend, who has nut allergies, the waiter took note of our various and varied requests with great finesse. Our preoccupation, or borderline obsession, with what we allow ourselves to eat, or more significantly, what we won’t put on our plates, is of epic proportions. It reflects knowledge we have gained in the area of allergies and diet-driven diseases. It is a sad reflection on the absurd complexity of our commercial food industry that it buries allergens in common foods and adds sugar or high-fructose corn syrup to too many products. But it is also an opportunity to look in the mirror and wonder how we have become such a diet-obsessed culture. Our relationship with food has become so complicated that there is rarely a meal where a group can sit down and just enjoy what’s on offer without thinking about every ingredient. I used to cringe when my friend asked the waiter for her salad dressing on the side. Now that request, by itself, would be music to my ears.
MARCH 19-25,2015 Our Town Downtown 13
RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS MAR 7 - 16, 2015
Vivi Bubble Tea
170 West 23 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.
Juban
207 10th Ave
Not Graded Yet (10) Hand washing facility not provided in or near food preparation area and toilet room. Hot and cold running water at adequate pressure to enable cleanliness of employees not provided at facility. Soap and an acceptable hand-drying device not provided.
O Cafe
482 6 Avenue
Grade Pending (25) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
Google-Truck Pit
111 8 Avenue
A
Podunk
231 East 5 Street
A
Everyman Espresso
136 East 13 Street
A
Pierre Loti Cafe Wine Bar
53 Irving Place
A
Heart Of India
77 2 Avenue
A
Little Italy Pizza III
122 University Place
A
Baohaus
238 East 14 Street
A
B & H Restaurant
127 Second Avenue
A
Darrow’s
115 E 18Th St
A
Ootoya
41 E 11Th St
Not Graded Yet (7) Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
Gandhi
345 East 6 Street
A
Mumbles
200 East 17 Street
A
The Scratcher Cafe
209 East 5 Street
A
Starbucks Coffee
10 Union Square
A
NYU Kosher Eatery
511 University Place
A
Whiskey Town
29 East 3 Street
A
Dorado
28 East 12 Street
A
Mansions Cater
Murray’s Bagels
80 5 Avenue
500 Avenue of the Americas
Grade Pending (23) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. 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. Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored. Grade Pending (44) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Hand washing facility not provided in or near food preparation area and toilet room. Hot and cold running water at adequate pressure to enable cleanliness of employees not provided at facility. Soap and an acceptable hand-drying device not provided. Personal cleanliness inadequate. Outer garment soiled with possible contaminant. Effective hair restraint not worn in an area where food is prepared. Tobacco use, eating, or drinking from open container in food preparation, food storage or dishwashing area observed. Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored. Wiping cloths soiled or not stored in sanitizing solution.
Big Booty Bread
261 West 23 Street
A
Lucky’s Famous Burgers
264 West 23 Street
A
Legend Bar & Restaurant
88 7 Avenue
Grade Pending (42) 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 Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. Wiping cloths soiled or not stored in sanitizing solution.
Sodexo America
123 West 13 Street
A
Potbelly Sandwich Shop
41 West 14 Street
Grade Pending (28) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. 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. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. Wiping cloths soiled or not stored in sanitizing solution.
Liquiteria
41 Union Square West A
Anyway Cafe
34 East 2 Street
A
Nanoosh
111 University Place
A
Argotea
239 Greene Street
A
Taqueria Diana
129 2 Avenue
A
Otafuku
220 East 9 Street
A
Grade Pending (21) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.
KGB Bar
85 East 4 Street
A
Luzzo’s
211213 1 Avenue
A
Ukrainian Restaurant
140142 2 Avenue
A
Cacio & Pepe
182 2 Avenue
A
Klimat
77 East 7 Street
A
Tkettle
26 Saint Marks Place
Closed by Health Department (35) Evidence of rats or live rats present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewageassociated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies.
Brother Jimmy’s BBQ
116 East 16 Street
Grade Pending (25) Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, cross-contaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan.
Toasties
214 7 Avenue
Da Andrea
35 West 13 Street
A
Coppelia Cuban Luncheonette
207 West 14 Street
A
Birch Coffee
56 7 Avenue
A
Wood And Ales
234 West 14 Street
A
El Cocotero
228 West 18 Street
A
Coffeed
590 Avenue Of The Americas
Not Graded Yet (25) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. 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.
Original Sandwiches
58 Greenwich Avenue
A
14 Our Town Downtown MARCH 19-25,2015
YOUR 15 MINUTES
NEW YORK’S MR. HOSPITALITY Q&A Working with Leona Helmsley, The Donald, and the case of the missing cake BY ANGELA BARBUTI
Arthur Backal’s name is synonymous with successful events in New York City. He has spent his career in the Manhattan hospitality world and worked in iconic hotels like the The Plaza, The Pierre, The Helmsley Palace and The St. Regis. He used all that experience to eventually create his own businesses, State of the Art and Backal Hospitality Group, which helps clients in planning everything from corporate events to weddings to nonprofit functions. While he was growing his first company, the Mandarin Oriental Hotel was opening in New York, and he was hired as its consulting director of catering, a position he stills holds today. “One night I could have been visible at four or five weddings and parties, making sure everything was alright,” he said. Now, at 53, with a wife and daughter, his priorities have shifted, and he sees the value of a work-life balance. “Just taking my daughter to school today, she asked me, ‘Can you take me to school again soon?’ That makes it all worthwhile.”
kids’ parties- Whitney Houston, Taylor Dayne, and Kenny G playing. They were just getting up there and doing one or two songs as friends. Now, if you had talent like that, you would have to have full production meetings and riders that tell you exactly what they want. Yeah, it’s great working with a celebrity, but to me, if they’re nice, approachable and real, that has a lot more currency.
How much interaction did you have with Leona Helmsley? Back then, when they first opened, it was one of the top hotels, because that’s why Leona Helmsley was in her heyday. I had enough interaction with her. I might have been only 21 years old, was pretty smart to know when to have interaction and when to avoid. [Laughs]
What was it like to work with Donald Trump? Do you watch him on The Celebrity Apprentice? Yes I do, and always tell people, “I was really the first apprentice.” Back then, I was a young, hotshot guy who got to know him. I really interacted with him a lot, and his wife, Ivana. She liked me; she saw that I had style and an appreciation for quality. Those were the early days, when they took over The Plaza. It was exciting. People can say that the Trumps and Helmsley were erratic or tough to work with, but it made me try harder and be better.
What was your first job in the industry?
How old were you when you first started your own business?
I had an opportunity to go with the Regency Hotel, on more of the office side, or the Helmsley Palace, more on the food and beverage side. I worked in all the different areas, the restaurant, lounge, bars. Very early on, I got a banquet/maître d’ job, working with people more than twice my age. I remember in the 80s, I saw Clive Davis. He had- I think it was for one of his
It was right when I had turned 40. I was thinking about it in my 30s, but then got the job at The Pierre. That was the last game-changer job, because it was when I left the St. Regis after eight years running all the food and beverage and catering. The job came open; it was one of the biggest catering jobs in the city and didn’t have much turnover. The guy before
The ballroom at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel
me was there for 20 years. They were heavily recruiting me and I said, “Alright, I’ll give it one more go, finishing my hotel part of my career.” It was a great job, but I wanted more.
Explain Backal Hospitality Group. It’s the parent company, but all embracing hospitality. I manage and develop venues and have ownership interest in different projects. I also have restaurant and technology interests. Our business happens to be more focused on the social market. We tend to do a lot more of that, but we’ve done plenty of corporate events and some not-for-profits, but our core business is the social business, so weddings, Bar Mitzvahs and birthday parties. But we do A to Z, from creating the concepts to finding the venues. Like everything, it’s a changing world. The internet is so interactive now. Clients know so much and are so hungry for knowledge at the moment. I’m all for it and think it’s great, but I’m always looking at how to move my business along. If I was just only doing planning, I think that would be a tougher situation.
I read that at a young age, you already started helping your parents plan parties. It’s very rare to know at an early age and I knew in eleventh grade. I was almost going towards being a chef because I did like to cook. My mother and father entertained a lot, but weren’t in the business. They loved food and exposed me to all these great restaurants over the years. It felt natural. I was good with people. I grew up around a lot of my parents’ friends, so it made it easier to learn how to talk and relate to all different types of people. When I went to college [Michigan State], it wasn’t as big of a profession. Chefs were nothing like they were today. Now the hospitality business has become global.
Tell us a story of a disaster happening at an event and how you fixed it. A whole wedding cake wasn’t ordered. The client never ordered it; we weren’t supposed to order it. There was a cake coming in for the party the next day, so I used that. It could have been a disaster, but it was averted. Things happen all the time, but you hopefully have enough experience to fix it.
How do you balance your family life with your work obligations?
I have been doing this a long time and I’m passionate about it. I know you still have to be present in the world of hospitality no matter what, but there’s a limit. I used to be not just at parties, but out trying every new restaurant. I love it, but if I have those nights where I could really be home and I know it’s not going to be critical, I’m going to be home. For more information on Arthur, visit www. backalgroup.com and www.apella.com
MARCH 19-25,2015 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.
CAMPS/SCHOOLS 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
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
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
Loving family of three seeking baby or toddler to cherish forever. Mom/Dad are teachers. Close extended families. Contact Robin/Neil: 866-303-0668 Text: 646-467-0499 www.rnladopt.info robin.neil.lucy@gmail.com
LIPS The Ultimate in Drag Dining & Best Place in NYC to Celebrate Your Birthday! 227 E 56th St., 212-675-7710 www.LipsUSA.com
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 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 Live Simulcast Bankruptcy Auction Case 13-10157, Hayes Iron & Metal, Inc. Office Bldg., Metal Frame Bldgs, Workshop, Shop Equip., Tools, Office Furnishings & Equip., Providence, NC. 3/26/15 at 10am. Auction at The Institute Conference Center Barkhouser Auditorium, Danville, VA. 800-997-2248, NCAL3936/ VAAL580. www.ironhorseauction.com
CAMPS/SCHOOLS Alexander Robertson School Independent School for Pre-K through Grade 5, 212-663-2844, 3 West 95th St. www.AlexanderRobertson.com
ENTERTAINMENT
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 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
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. MASSAGE
HELP WANTED
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 WELDING CAREERS- Hands on training for career opportunities in aviation, automotive, manufacturing and more. Financial aid for qualified students. Job placement assistance. CALL AIM 877-206-4006
MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
VOLUNTEER!
WE’LL MATCH YOUR SKILLS/INTEREST WITH NON-PROFITS THAT NEED YOU
CALL 212.889.4805 OR WWW.VOLUNTEER-REFERRAL.ORG
NO FEE 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 Outstanding, relaxing body work. Mdtwn East . Private. European Sylvia 212-888-0611
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
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
COOPERSTOWN LAND SALE! 5 acres- $24,900 5 mins to Village. Gorgeous wooded setting, priced at 60% BELOW MARKET! Town rd, utils, ez terms! 888-905-8847 or newyorklandandlakes.com UPSTATE NY WATERFRONT! 11 acres- $69,900 Beautiful woods on bass lake 5 miles to Cooperstown! Private setting for camp, cabin or year round home! Terms avail! 888-479-3394 NewYorkLandandLakes.com
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
SERVICES OFFERED
Allstate - The Wright Agency Anthony Wright 718 671 8000 Ao65989@allstate.com Auto.home.life.retirement CARMEL Car & Limousine Service To JFK… $52 To Newark… $51 To LaGuardia… $34 1-212-666-6666 Toll Free 1-800-9-Carmel Frank E. Campbell The Funeral Chapel Known for excellence since 1898 - 1076 Madison Ave, at 81st St., 212-288-3500 Hudson Valley Public Relations Optimizing connections. Building reputations. 24 Merrit Ave Millbrook, NY 12545, (845) 702-6226 John Krtil Funeral Home; Yorkville Funeral Service, INC. Independently Owned Since 1885. WE SERVE ALL FAITHS AND COMMUNITIES 212-744-3084 Marble Collegiate Church Dr. Michael B. Brown, Senior Minister, 1 West 29th St. NYC, NY 10001, (212) 689-2770. www.MarbleChurch.org Sky Rink at Chelsea Piers NYC’s Coolest Place to Skate! ChelseaPiers.com/sr 212-336-6100 Your Homeownership Partner. The State of NY Mortgage Agency offers up to $15,000 down payment assistance. www.sonyma.org. 1-800-382HOME(4663) WANTED TO BUY
ANTIQUES WANTED Top Prices Paid. Chinese Objects, Paintings, Jewelry, Silver, Furniture, Etc. Entire Estates Purchased. 800-530-0006.
WANTED TO BUY
CASH for Coins! Buying Gold & Silver. Also Stamps, Paper Money, Comics, Entire Collections, Estates. Travel to your home. Call Marc in NY: 1-800959-3419 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 PUBLIC NOTICES
New York City Department of Transportation Notice of Public Hearing The New York City Department of Transportation held a Public Hearing on Wednesday, March 11, 2015 at 2:00 P.M., at 55 Water St., 9th Floor Room 945, on the following petitions for revocable consent, all in the Borough of Manhattan: #1 30 Grove Street LLC – to construct, maintain and use a hydronic snowmelt system in the south sidewalk of Grove St., east of Bedford St. #2 140 West Street Condominium – to construct, maintain and use a flood mitigation system components in the south sidewalk of Barclay Street, between West and Washington Sts., and in the west sidewalk of Washington St., between Barclay and Vesey Sts. #3 New York University – to construct, maintain and use a conduit under, across and along West 12th St. at the intersection with Fifth Ave.Interested parties can obtain copies of proposed agreements or request signlanguage 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.
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 19-25,2015
www.otdowntown.com Your Neighborhood News
The local paper for Downtown
The local paper for Chelsea and Clinton
CHELSEANEWSNY.COM
MARCH
NEW W YORK'S MR. R. HOSPITALITY TY
19-25
Q&A, P.14 4>
2015
OurTownDowntown @OTDowntown
DOWNTOWN’S MOSAIC MAN, TILTING AGAINST NEARLY EVERYTHING PROFILE Jim ‘Mosaic Man’ Power, artist-turned-activist BY ROBIN SCHER
“Jim ‘Mosaic Man’ Power, everybody,” announces a tour guide, motioning to an old man in a patchwork leather jacket and seated on a red mobility scooter. The thronging tour group thwarts my approach, just as
Jim takes this grand introduction as his cue to leave. A white mane of hair billows from under Jim’s worn cap as I chase after him. My impression of a humble artist dedicated to the creation of mosaicked street poles in selfless pursuit of beautifying the city seems reaffirmed. At least until, several blocks later, at the corner of Astor Place and Cooper Square, I catch up to him. “None of these people … got
it right. They just don’t got it right,” Jim shouts over an amplified beat-boxer who’s chosen this moment to begin an onslaught of mouth drumming - a fitting score to our meeting. “I’m not only going to attack this society, I’m going to shred it in front of the world for being outdated, lame, MORONS.” A lot of things piss Jim off: his deteriorating health, his constant lack of money, the
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
FINANCIAL DISTRICT APARTMENTS NOW TOP $1 MILLION Neighborhood sales and rentals benefit from new transit, development projects
The Fulton Transit Center, among the improvements in lower Manhattan cited for higher rents. Photo via Flickr by Nathan Congleton
For the first time in the history of the financial district, the average price of an apartment has topped $1 million. A report from Platinum Properties reviewing real estate trends in the district for 2014 finds that the average selling price totaled $1.1 million last year, up from $989,297 in 2013. The number of units sold last year reached 499, down from 541 last year. In its report, Platinum attributes the strong sales last year to a completion of years-long infrastructure and development projects in the neighborhood, including the Fulton Street subway station, One World Trade Center, and 70 Pine Street, a 66-story residential tower. Among the other trends last year: a 47% increase in the number of threebedroom apartments sold, as the district moves to a more vibrant, 24/7 culture more amenable to families. Two-
bedroom apartments, by comparison, showed a 18% decline in sales and studio sales were down 9%. In terms of rentals, one-bedroom apartments commanded the biggest chunk of the rental market, accounting for 41% of the market share. Rents for one-bedroom apartments averaged $3,804 in the financial district last year, a 4% increase from a year ago. Two-bedroom apartments averaged $5,570, up less than 1%. Vacancy in the financial district fluctuated throughout the year, but showed an overall decline as the year progressed. The most notable trend, according to Platinum, was a dramatic drop of nearly 40% of available studios following their peak in August. As supply decreased, prices went up. “With several new developments hitting the market, the vacancy rate should be an interesting statistic to following in 2015,” according to Platinum President Daniel Hedaya, author of the report.
In Brief ANTITRUST DEAL FOR TOUR BUS COMPANIES Beloved by tourists, tolerated by locals. The big tour bus companies like City Sights and Gray Line have become a staple in Manhattan, as much a part of the tourist draw as Broadway shows and the Empire State Building. But they’ve also become a headache for locals, who complain about clogged traffic, aggressive hawkers, even unwelcome gawking if you happen to live on the second floor along their routes. Turns out, they’ve also been running an antitrust racket, according to a settlement reached this week between the bus companies and investigators. City Sights and Gray Line agreed to pay $7.5 million and give up nearly 50 of their stops in Manhattan to settle a lawsuit brought by state and federal investigators. That lawsuit, filed in 2012, accused the two companies of teaming up to eliminate competition and push up prices. By locking up the best stops at the top sights in the city, the two companies effectively kept other companies from entering the market, keeping prices high. So those armies of hawkers peddling tickets in color-coded windbreakers? They’ve basically been working for the same company, creating an illusion of competition when in fact little real competition existed. “This settlement allows competition to thrive once again, and ensures that these companies did not profit from operating an unlawful and anticompetitive joint venture,” Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman said in a statement following the settlement. The attorney general and the Justice Department said the two companies created a joint venture, Twin America, to control the best stops for hop-on, hop-off tours, increasing prices for riders by 10 percent since 2009.