Our Town Downtown April 30th, 2015

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The local paper for Downtown wn HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE HIGH LINE < P.7

APRIL-MAY

30-6 2015

EXPLORING GENDER IN NINTH GRADE Leman Prep School ninthgraders host international peers and organize conference BY MARY NEWMAN

Teenagers often surprise us with their maturity and savoir faire. Ninth graders from Léman Manhattan Preparatory School recently did just that, when 12 students came together to put on a conference about gender, focusing specifically on broadening the definition. And the roster of attendees was inclusive as well. Students at Léman Prep, whose downtown campus is part of the Meritas International Family of Schools, availed themselves of stu-

Our Take THE WHITNEY AND THE MOLTING OF NEW YORK

dents from as far away as Chengdu, China, and Geneva, all of whom attend Léman schools. Once in the city the overseas students spent a few weeks sightseeing and bonding with their city peers. They also brainstormed. All 12 students had to choose a “universal” topic, meaning it had to have global resonance. They eventually settled on gender equality. School advisor Merion Taynton told the students to use “New York City as their classroom.” They did research, and went on field trips: To the

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Students from Léman Manhattan Preparatory School in Manhattan and Léman schools in Chengdu, China, and Geneva recently put together a conference that explored gender issues. Photo: Mary Newman.

Artist Mary Heilmann’s sitespecific outdoor installation “Sunset” on the building’s fifth floor outdoor gallery includes colorful chairs and wall hangings that reference the geometric qualities of the museum. Photo by Gabrielle Alfiero

THE NEW WHITNEY: “NOW THE FUN BEGINS” NEWS After much anticipation, the Whitney unveils its new building in the beating heart of the Meatpacking District BY GABRIELLE ALFIERO

The new Whitney Museum of American Art celebrates in earnest on May 1 when it opens to the public. Around 8 p.m. that evening, the top of the Empire State Building will illuminate LED interpretations of work by Georgia O’Keeffe, Edward Hopper and other artists in the museum’s collection. “Now the real fun begins,” said museum director Adam D. Weinberg, during a press event at the museum last week. The $422 million dollar building at 99 Gansevoort St. was designed by Renzo Piano, the architect behind the Morgan Library and Museum addition and Harvard University’s

So far, the new Whitney Museum is a roaring success. Critics are swooning. Party planners are climbing over one another to reserve event spaces. Celebrities are tweeting out selfies of themselves. All of this has happened before the public has stepped foot into the place. That happens this weekend, and the new museum, a hulking space on the Hudson, will finally face its most important test. Will tourists jam the West Village? Will the food trucks that have invaded the Met appear out of nowhere? Will out-of-towners overwhelm New Yorkers in the ticket line? It likely will take months, even years, for the museum to settle into its new home. What we love now we may ultimately find annoying, and vice versa. Renzo Piano, the Whitney’s star architect, told us that buildings are like that; it takes awhile for them to settle into themselves. What the new Whitney has made very clear, though, is a shift in the tectonic plates of power and prestige in the city. If you’re looking for where the money in New York is – and, by extension, the cultural cache that tends to follow it – you have to look downtown. This is the way New York grows. Neighborhoods and communities molt and shift, new ones rise as old ones settle down. The arrival of a new museum downtown – actually, the return of an old museum to its downtown roots – is as good as excuse as any to see those changes in action.

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FOR HIM, SETTLING SMALL CLAIMS IS A BIG DEAL presided over Arbitration Man has three decades. for informal hearings about it He’s now blogging BY RICHARD KHAVKINE

is the common Arbitration Man their jurist. least folks’ hero. Or at Man has For 30 years, Arbitration court office of the civil few sat in a satellite Centre St. every building at 111 New Yorkers’ weeks and absorbed dry cleaning, burned lost accountings of fender benders, lousy paint jobs, and the like. And security deposits then he’s decided. Arbitration Man, About a year ago, so to not afwho requested anonymity started docuhe fect future proceedings, two dozen of what menting about compelling cases considers his most blog. in an eponymous about it because “I decided to write the stories but in a I was interested about it not from wanted to write from view but rather lawyer’s point of said Arbitration view,” of a lay point lawyer since 1961. Man, a practicing what’s at issue He first writes about post, renders and then, in a separatehow he arrived his decision, detailing blog the to Visitors at his conclusion. their opinions. often weigh in with get a rap going. I to “I really want whether they unreally want to know and why I did it,” I did derstood what don’t know how to he said. “Most people ... I’d like my cases the judge thinks. and also my trereflect my personalitythe law.” for mendous respect 80, went into indiMan, Arbitration suc in 1985, settling vidual practice

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MANHATTAN'S APARTMENT BOOM, > PROPERTY, P.20

2015

In Brief MORE HELP FOR SMALL BUSINESS

The effort to help small seems to businesses in the city be gathering steam. Two city councilmembers, Robert Margaret Chin and Cornegy, have introduced create legislation that wouldSmall a new “Office of the within Business Advocate” of Small the city’s Department Business Services. Chin The new post, which have up told us she’d like to would and running this year, for serve as an ombudsman city small businesses within them clear government, helping to get through the bureaucracy things done. Perhaps even more also importantly, the ombudsman and number will tally the type small business of complaints by taken in owners, the actions policy response, and somefor ways to recommendations If done well, begin to fix things. report would the ombudsman’s give us the first quantitative with taste of what’s wrong the city, an small businesses in towards important first step fixing the problem. of for deTo really make a difference, is a mere formality will have to the work process looking to complete their advocate are the chances course, velopers precinct, but rising rents, -- thanks to a find a way to tackle business’ is being done legally of after-hours projects quickly. their own hours,” which remain many While Chin “They pick out boom in the number throughout who lives on most vexing problem. said Mildred Angelo,of the Ruppert construction permits gauge what Buildings one said it’s too early tocould have the 19th floor in The Department of the city. number three years, the Houses on 92nd Street between role the advocate She Over the past on the is handing out a record work perThird avenues. permits, there, more information of Second and an ongoing all-hours number of after-hours bad thing. of after-hours work the city’s Dept. problem can’t be a said there’s with the mits granted by nearby where according to new data jumped 30 percent, This step, combinedBorough construction project noise Buildings has data provided in workers constantly make efforts by Manhattan to mediate BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS according to DOB of Informacement from trucks. President Gale Brewer offer response to a Freedom classifies transferring they want. They knows the the rent renewal process, request. The city They 6 “They do whatever signs Every New Yorker clang, tion Act go as they please. work between some early, tangible small any construction on the weekend, can come and sound: the metal-on-metal or the piercing of progress. For many have no respect.” p.m. and 7 a.m., can’t come of these that the hollow boom, issuance reverse. owners, in business moving The increased beeps of a truck has generto a correspond and you as after-hours. soon enough. variances has led at the alarm clock The surge in permits

SLEEPS, THANKS TO THE CITY THAT NEVER UCTION A BOOM IN LATE-NIGHT CONSTR NEWS

A glance it: it’s the middle can hardly believe yet construction of the night, and carries on full-tilt. your local police or You can call 311

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WHAT’S MAKING NEWS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD Police Commissioner Bill Bratton says that a City Council proposal to decriminalize certain qualityof-life offenses would lead to a spike in crime. Photo: Policy Exchange.

BRATTON: DECRIMINALIZING OFFENSES WOULD LEAD TO HIGHER CRIME Police Commissioner Bill Bratton suggested that decriminalizing certain quality-of-life offenses, as the City Council is considering, would lead to escalating crime, the New York Post reports. “We are certainly open to additional alternatives to give our officers discretion in lieu of arrest, but if you lose those powers to arrest, that’s where Pandora’s Box is opened and the 1970s, the 1980s have the potential to come roaring back again,â€? the paper quoted Bratton as saying earlier this week. Among the offenses that would be decriminalized under Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito’s proposal are public alcohol consumption, fare beating, public urination, bicycling on the sidewalk, being in parks after dark, failure to obey park signs, littering and unreasonable noise. Under the proposal, those offences would earn violators summonses to administrative court rather than arrests and criminal court proceedings. But Bratton last month suggested that decriminalization of what are some of the most common criminal offenses would lead people to increasingly out laws. Summonses, he said during a City

Council hearing last month, “don’t have any bite to them.� Bratton has got a strong ally at City Hall in Mayor Bill de Blasio, who, according to the Post, does not support the Council’s plan. A Daily News analysis concluded that among the seven offenses that would be decriminalized accounted for about 42 percent of summonses issued between 2001 and June 2014 by police.

CITY CLOSES IN ON GOAL FOR PRE-K ENROLLMENT The city has nearly reached its enrolment goal of 70,000 for its public

released by his office.

SEX OFFENDERS LIVING IN CHELSEA SHELTER CONCERNS LOCAL RESIDENTS Eleven convicted sex offenders are currently residing at a homeless shelter located in Chelsea at 127 W. 25th street. The shelter, which is located near both the High School of Fashion Industries and PS 33, also known as Chelsea Prep, houses offenders known to target people in their teens, the New York Post reported. Residents of the neighborhood fought hard to stop the shelter from opening four years ago in 2011. Residents have complained about being harassed and the Post reports that they have seen “masturbating deviants� nearby. “They should be screened,� the newspaper quoted a West 25th Street businesswoman. “You don’t want to have them near parks and schools where children are.� The facility is run by the Bowery Residents’ Committee, which says that lower-level sex criminals are staying at the 200-bed shelter.

school pre-kindergarten programs, Capital New York reproted. As of later April, 68,849 children were said to have enrolled in the program. The program has 75,000 slots. There are already 53,000 4-year-olds enrolled in the program so this year. The city is likely to exceed its enrolment threshold, Capital reported. Although an initial deadline for application has passed, families will be given other chances to apply. Mayor Bill de Blasio hailed what he called the program’s success. “This is big! Every one of these applications means a child put on a path for success for school and beyond,� de Blasio said in a statement W

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Some members of Community Board 1 say that the seating takes up precious sidewalk space in a community that can already be short of it, the Tribeca Trib reports. The board has empanelled a task force to look at the issue. They hope to prevail on city officials to curb city rules that permit enclosed cafes in Tribeca, the online site said. Alice Blank, a board member and chair of the new task force, said she is opposed to enclosures because they aren’t attractive, take up too much space and are unfair to restaurateurs “Why should a merchant be able to have a permanent structure on a public street?� the Trib quotes her as saying. “These aren’t small attractive umbrellas with the planters,� the Trib quoted Alice Blank, the CB1 member who is chairing the task force, as saying. “There’s a tremendous amount of construction and a lot of new apartments coming in. This seems like a poor idea because it’s something that is going to be very difficult to get rid of.� At least one member of the Tribeca Committee, though, suggested the board’s concern was exaggerated. “I think what we have right now is a solution in search of a problem,� Adam Malitz was quoted in the Trib. “We never received complaints about sidewalk cafes versus noise or congestion at all.�

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CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG

VIOLENT POLICE STRUGGLE IN EAST VILLAGE A 22-year-old robbery suspect died after he was shot once by a detective during a violent struggle on Manhattan’s East Village, police said. The shooting occurred after two detectives searched a building at 1:48 p.m. Saturday, looking for a man who had punched and stolen the purse two days earlier of a 21-year-old woman who stopped a presentation she was giving at City College when the man demanded to see her, police said. Police said the suspect, who was not immediately identified, fled out a sixth-floor apartment window and down a fire escape. They said two detectives ran down steps inside the building and encountered the suspect near the building’s lobby. “There, a violent struggle ensued between the suspect and the two detectives,” police said in a release. “During the five-minute-long fight, the suspect was able to grab hold of a police radio. Armed with the radio, he began to strike both detectives in the head, causing lacerations and abrasions to both of the detectives’ heads.” It was then, police said, that one of

the detectives drew his firearm and fired once, striking the suspect in the torso. The suspect was taken to Beth Israel Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. One detective had a dislocated shoulder. Both had bruising and lacerations to the head and were hospitalized at Bellevue Hospital in stable condition.

FIND MY IPHONE THIEF Sometimes, a phone-tracking app locates not only the missing phone, but the thief who took it as well. At 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 18, a 28-yearold woman was in the Millenium Hilton Hotel at 55 Church St. when she discovered that her $6,000 red Chanel handbag was missing from the chair next to her. Another hotel patron described to police a potential suspect, whom she had seen nearby before the bag went missing. Using a phonetracking app, a police officer tracked the cell phone to 626 Broadway. There, the witness identified a tenant as the woman she had earlier identified as a suspect. The suspect, Natasha Jouk, 54, was arrested on charges of grand larceny. The stolen property, including the Chanel bag valued at $6,000, the iPhone and two credit cards.

ISSEY TIZZY Once again, a couple has stolen

merchandise from a SoHo boutique. Just after noon on April 16, a man and a woman entered the Issey Miyake boutique at 119 Hudson St. and took a few items from various locations in the store and brought them to a dressing room. The woman then left the fitting room and the store. Store employees, who noted apparel missing, called police. Among the items stolen were a green top valued at $315, a black skirt priced at $1,080, a black top tagged at $810, and a pair of black pants worth $945. Officers searched the area but didn’t locate the suspected thieves or the missing merchandise.

“NO, I DON’T LIKE THIS AT ALL!” Your fellow shopper could be a pickpocket! At 2 p.m. on Thursday, April 16, a 59-year-old woman was shopping for clothes in the 9 To 5 Fashion Outlet located at 76 Nassau St., when a woman approached her and asked the question, “Do you like this?” presumably referring to an item of apparel. Then another woman, apparently an accomplice, did something to distract the 59-year-old victim, at which point the first thief bumped her, and the victim felt a hand reach into her right front pocket in which she carried $220, which went missing. Police searched the area but could not locate the pickpocket.

STATS FOR THE WEEK Reported crimes from the 1st Precinct for April 13 to April 19 Week to Date 2015 2014

% Change

2015

2014

% Change

Murder

0

0

n/a

0

0

n/a

Rape

0

1

-100

1

4

-75

Robbery

0

2

-100

10

14

-28.6

Felony Assault

2

1

100

23

24

-4.2

Burglary

1

3

-66.7

42

51

-17.6

Grand Larceny

23

21

9.5

263

260

1.2

Grand Larceny Auto

0

0

n/a

2

2

0

MCLEANED OUT

various credit cards, a Virginia driver’s license, and a PNC bank card.

At 3 p.m. on Thursday, April 16, a 31-year-old female tourist from McLean, Va., was sitting outside the Chobani Yogurt shop at 150 Prince St. with her bag unzipped on the ground. A short time later, the woman discovered that her wallet and credit cards were missing. An unauthorized charge turned up on a Visa card at an H&M store at 50 Broadway, while another of her Visa cards, the United and a PNC, showed attempted charges at a Victoria’s Secret store located at 591 Broadway. Items taken from the bag included a Kate Spade wallet valued at $260 plus Jason Kuffer, via Flickr

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A LECTURE PRESENTED BY THE LAURA AND ISAAC PERLMUTTER CANCER CENTER. Survivorship Series: Healthy Living After a Cancer Diagnosis. Join us for a lecture on living well during diagnosis, treatment, and beyond. We will discuss diet and exercise, survivorship issues, and fertility.

Date: Tuesday, May 5, 12:00pm – 1:30pm. Presenters: Miriam Alli, MS, RD, CDN; Hilary Ma, MD; Yelena Novik, MD. Location: Bellevue Hospital Center. 462 First Avenue at 27th Street. Saul Farber Auditorium. Info: This lecture is free and open to the public, but you must RSVP. To attend, call 212.263.2266 or visit nyulmc.org/cancer-rsvp. View past lectures at youtube.com/nyulmc.

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Useful Contacts POLICE NYPD 7th Precinct

19 ½ Pitt St.

212-477-7311

NYPD 6th Precinct

233 W. 10th St.

212-741-4811

NYPD 10th Precinct

230 W. 20th St.

212-741-8211

NYPD 13th Precinct

230 E. 21st St.

NYPD 1st Precinct

16 Ericsson Place

212-477-7411 212-334-0611

FIRE FDNY Engine 15

25 Pitt St.

311

FDNY Engine 24/Ladder 5

227 6th Ave.

311

FDNY Engine 28 Ladder 11

222 E. 2nd St.

311

FDNY Engine 4/Ladder 15

42 South St.

311

ELECTED OFFICIALS Councilmember Margaret Chin

165 Park Row #11

Councilmember Rosie Mendez

237 1st Ave. #504

212-587-3159 212-677-1077

Councilmember Corey Johnson

224 W. 30th St.

212-564-7757

State Senator Daniel Squadron

250 Broadway #2011

212-298-5565

Community Board 1

49 Chambers St.

212-442-5050

Community Board 2

3 Washington Square Village

212-979-2272

Community Board 3

59 E. 4th St.

212-533-5300

Community Board 4

330 W. 42nd St.

212-736-4536

Hudson Park

66 Leroy St.

212-243-6876

Ottendorfer

135 2nd Ave.

212-674-0947

Elmer Holmes Bobst

70 Washington Square

212-998-2500

COMMUNITY BOARDS

LIBRARIES

HOSPITALS New York-Presbyterian

170 William St.

Mount Sinai-Beth Israel

10 Union Square East

212-844-8400

212-312-5110

CON EDISON

4 Irving Place

212-460-4600

TIME WARNER

46 East 23rd

813-964-3839

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201 Varick St.

212-645-0327

US Post Office

128 East Broadway

212-267-1543

US Post Office

93 4th Ave.

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DOZENS ATTEND FUNERAL OF MAN KILLED IN EAST VILLAGE BLAST Different communities come together in face of tragedy BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS

On occasion, an event binds the city’s seemingly disparate communities, a reminder that for all its enormity, New York has an uncanny ability to connect people, whether in triumph or tragedy. Nixon Figueroa, an East Harlem resident who works at a building on the Upper West Side, welcomed that collective embrace recently, when dozens of the building’s tenants filled the Church of the Holy Name of Jesus on West 96th Street for his son’s funeral. Nicholas Figueroa, 23, was one of two people killed in the explosion that ripped through a building on Second Avenue in the East Village last month. “It’s great that we have people like that, that will come out to a tragic event like this,” Nixon Figueroa said outside of 219 West 81st St., where he is a maintenance worker. “The good thing is that they’re caring, they’re open to what happened because they have kids, and then it’s a tragedy because it was my son, and he died over nothing.” Investigators have said the explosion was caused by an illegally tapped gas line. Nicholas Figueroa, 23, was

about to graduate from Buffalo State with a degree in forensic psychology and planned to join either the city’s police or fire departments, said his father. He was on a date at Sushi Park on Second Avenue when the explosion occurred March 26. A busboy at the restaurant, Moises Ismael Locón Yac, 26, was also killed in the blast. Nixon said his son was excited about the date with Theresa Galarza, also 23, who survived the blast. Nixon and his wife, Ana Lanza, dropped Nicholas off at the 96th Street subway stop on Lexington Avenue like they always do. “I told him, ‘be careful, I love you.’ He told me, “don’t worry about it, dad, I’m strong.’ He said ‘I love you too,’ and he left, and I never saw him again. Just with that, it kills me,” Figueroa said of his last words with his son. “At least I said what I said to him.” Nixon Figueroa said about 40 tenants from 219 West 81st St. came to Nicholas’ funeral. Nixon’s brother, Marcello, who worked as a superintendent in the same building for over 23 years before moving to a nearby building on West End Avenue, said he too appreciated the outpouring of support for his family. “It’s touching because people I’ve worked with in the past

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OUR TOWN DOWNTOWN APRIL 30-MAY 6,2015

The Church of the Holy Name of Jesus, where Nicholas Figueroa’s funeral was held, at 96th Street and Amsterdam Avenue on the Upper West Side. Photo: Daniel Fitzsimmons.

Nicholas Figueroa, 23, was a on a date when an explosiong ripped through a building in the East Village last month, killing him and other person. Credit: Go Fund Me were kind enough to show their feelings and sympathies, and concern for the family, which is important,” Marcello Figueroa said. Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, who also attended the funeral, said she did so to be supportive of the community, and because the church is in her former City Council district. She said she was surprised when other West Siders, friends and neighbors she’s known for years, began filling the pews. “I sit down in the front and all the sudden other West Siders, older women, started sitting next to me,” Brewer told The Spirit. “I couldn’t figure out what was going on.” Brewer said West Siders’ presence at the funeral showed how, particularly in that community, residents rally around one another regardless of circumstance. “The whole West Side knew the family,” said Brewer. “It was very special to me to see all these different people hugging and supporting each other. It was almost too much, I couldn’t quite believe it all.” Nixon Figueroa said his family is broken in the wake of the tragedy. “It’s heartbreaking for my family, especially my wife. We’re in pain every day. We want him back home but he ain’t going to come back,” said Nixon. “And yes, this has to stop. Hopefully with this event people will open their eyes and start reaching out to their landlords to stop this.”

Last year, a natural gas explosion in an East Harlem residential building, in a neighborhood near the Figueroas’, claimed eight lives. Officials blamed a gas leak for the March 12, 2014, incident. Figueroa said his family keeps Nicholas’ ashes in an urn adorned with an eagle flying over a mountain. “All I have of my son is three pounds of bone left that they crushed to bring him home in an urn,” said Nixon. “A 155-pound, chiseled, beautiful, good-looking boy – that’s all I have of my son.” Nicholas was the eldest of four boys, Nixon said. “My son was the most beautiful thing anyone could have for a child,” said Nixon. “I have three other boys and I have to be strong enough to continue on for them, and especially my wife.” Figueroa said his family visited the site of the East Village explosion on April 22. “We went to where my son was located, and we made a hole and put some flowers there, and some rocks,” said Nixon. “The next day, Thursday, we put some pictures of him on the panels of plywood that are there so people could remember my son.” Nicholas Figueroa would have turned 24 on June 10, his father said. “We’re going to go over there with balloons and cake,” said Figueroa. “And whoever wants cake, they’re welcome to have some. That’ll be June 10, and we’re just going to take it from there.”

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Students from LĂŠman Manhattan Preparatory School in Manhattan and LĂŠman schools in Chengdu, China, and Geneva recently put together a conference that explored gender issues. Photo: Mary Newman.

STUDENTS TACKLE TRANSGENDER ISSURES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Fashion Institute of Technology, to learn how fashion can be used to express different gender identities; and to the offices of Girls for Gender Equity, an organization dedicated to the physical, psychological, social and economic development of girls and women. “It’s been an incredible experience watching the students learn about equality,â€? Taynton said. “It’s had its own organic evolution. We gave them a starting point but they’ve turned this into something great.â€? On the day of the conference earlier this month, the students buzzed about LĂŠman’s Morris Street auditorium, testing audio and setting up projection. The audience was made up of eighth graders from LĂŠman Manhattan’s lower school. Many appeared awed by their proactive peers. Two students from the Geneva campus welcomed the

audience and, with the question “What is Gender?â€? projected onto a screen, they described the difference between biological sex – anatomy – and “socially constructed roles and behaviors.â€? They then showed advertisements from the popular Super Bowl campaign “Like a Girl,â€? which asked girls of different ages why the saying “like a girlâ€? is used as an insult. Throughout the conference, students explained research into women in politics, educational limitations for girls, honor killings and salary inequalities. The second half of the conference took as its cornerstone the acronym LGBTQIAP – lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexuality/a gender and pansexual. The students walked the audience through some explanations and deďŹ nitions and then talked about inequalities each community faces. “Education is the best way to fight ignorance,â€? Sophie Stoch explained while wrapping up the presentation. All 12 students then engaged in a question-and-answer session with the audience, the result of which was an engaging conver-

sation between teenagers and adults. One eighth-grade boy stood up simply to thank the students for putting on their conference. “What you guys are doing means a lot,â€? he said. “It makes a difference.â€? Following the conference, the students said they chose the subject as a way to open doors for more communities to gain equality. “Every generation gets better,â€? Emma Balibrea from Geneva said. “The word normal doesn’t make sense to me, I hope that term goes away in the future.â€? Students shared personal stories, with some explaining how they try to fight prejudices at home or in school. Tehya Bailey of LĂŠman Manhattan explained how members of her family had conservative sensibilities and found it difficult to accept transgender people. She said listening to those you disagree is the key part of dialogue. “Imagining ourselves as parents is important,â€? Bailey said. “We will be able to teach our own children about equality, and hopefully overtime the world can be a more accepting place.â€?

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Students from LĂŠman Manhattan Preparatory School in Manhattan and LĂŠman schools in Chengdu, China, and Geneva recently put together a conference that explored gender issues. Photo: Mary Newman. Front Row, left to right: Â Kiyana Nangle (LMPS), Linnea Daregard (CDL), Emma Balibrea (CDL), Tehya Bailey (LMPS), Jasmine Li (LIS), Telya Urhan (LIS) Back Row, left to right: Roxie Li (LMPS), Steven Zhao (CDL), Josh Cheng (LIS), Sophie Stoch (LMPS), Oleg Khmelev (CDL), King Han (CDL)

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6

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

The 91st Street station, pictured here in 1957, was initially built to relieve the 10-block gap between 86th and 96th streets.

OUR TOWN DOWNTOWN APRIL 30-MAY 6,2015

The current 96th Street station, looking south.

THE GHOST SUBWAY STATION OF 91ST STREET A long-abandoned station can still be glimpsed on a ride uptown BY RAANAN GEBERER

If, when riding the Number 1 train, you look out the window between West 86th and West 96th Street on either side, you’ll see the darkened hull of an abandoned subway station. The station, including the tile walls, round columns and elaborate terracotta work, is still physically intact. But the walls are now covered with graffiti and the floors are covered with litter, dust and spray paint cans. This is the former 91st Street station, which can be found on any pre-1959 subway map but then disappears from the scene. More recently, “Day One on the IRT” tours given periodically by the New York Transit Museum have given people the opportunity to see the station from close up. According to Joseph Brennan’s excellent “Abandoned Stations” website, the station, which was part of the original IRT (Interborough Rapid

Transit) subway line of 1904, was built to avoid having a 10-block stretch between 86th and 96th streets without any stations. More modern lines, such as the A-C line built in the 1930s, frequently have distances of 10 blocks or more between stations. But if you look at that original line, you’ll see only seven blocks between the 59th and 66th Street stations, and six between 66th and 72nd streets. When the station opened, the Upper West Side was still being developed. Eighty-sixth and 96th Street, says Brennan, still had no cross-town trolley or bus service, but “were considered to be likely candidates once the area became more developed.” They indeed became busy shopping streets, but 91st Street stayed primarily residential. Asked what exactly made the Transit Authority close 91st Street, a spokesman for MTA New York City Transit answered simply, “Trains got longer!” “The original IRT local stations were only built for a five-car length,”

explained Andy Sparberg, a retired Long Island Railroad manager and a transit historian. The station was extended slightly in 1910, according to Abandoned Stations. Then, in 1959, the MTA decided to lengthen the stations on the West Side IRT to accommodate 10-car trains. The 96th Street station was lengthened southward, and it gained a new mezzanine between 93rd and 94th streets, with new entrances. Since 96th Street now had an entrance only about three blocks north of 91st Street, said Sparberg, the Transit Authority decided to close the smaller local station. “I don’t remember any protests when 91st Street closed” he added. “The people in the area were actually getting better service (because they were now closer to an express station).” Like other IRT stations of the period, the entrances to 91st Street were marked by old-fashioned subway kiosks. After the station was closed, the kiosks were removed, the entrances

were covered by pavement, and there’s no indication at street level that a station once existed there. Underground, it’s a different story. A few years ago, a reader of the Manhattan Board, an online nostalgia site that attracts many Upper Manhattan residents, posted that for several years after the station closed, he would look out the train window at 91st Street, see five-year-old advertisements, and feel he was entering a time machine. The station didn’t remain untouched for long. During the graffiti craze of the 1970s, 91st Street was a favorite target for “writers,” who painted elaborate murals on the walls. Then, newer generations of graffiti writers painted over the original graffiti. The station has been closed so long, it has become the stuff of legend. One online short story, “The Subway Station” by Chananya Weissman, tells the tale of a homeless man who sleeps on the abandoned platform. One day, the lights suddenly turn on, a train slows down, and a man addresses him by

name and commands him to get in. This writer, too, has toyed with an imaginary 91st Street station tale–in this case, a fictional music video. It begins with one of the aforementioned subway tours. The tour guide is giving his spiel about the history of the station when he faintly hears voices harmonizing from one end of the station. Turning on a flashlight, he walks gingerly in that direction – only to see a middle-aged doo-wop group singing. Amazed, he asks them what they’re doing there. “Well,” answers one of the group members. “We’ve been here since 1959, perfecting our sound. Now, it looks like we’re just about ready to come out again!” If you want to see what it looks like now, visit nycsubway.org’s page on 91st Street. And if you get to go on one of those tours, bring a flashlight.

APRIL 30-MAY 6,2015 Our Town Downtown

The High Line

On-Call Scheduling Puts Lives on Hold

THIS WEEK ON THE HIGH LINE PLANT OF THE WEEK: ALLEGHENY SPURGE Like many woodland natives, these plants bloom before the trees have leafed out, so that they can take full advantage of the strong spring light. The flowers are lightly fragrant and only a few inches high, but growing in drifts, they are delightful and eye-catching for a few short weeks. When the flowers begin to fade, the new leaves emerge in loose, light green rosettes that fade to a duller green, mottled with brown, as the weather warms. Allegheny spurge spreads slowly to form a well-behaved groundcover, which makes it a great alternative to the ubiquitous Japanese spurge, a plant notorious for devouring tree wells and row house gardens all over New York City. In somewhat warmer climates, Allegheny spurge is evergreen, but here on the High Line it is semievergreen at best; our gardeners remove the winter-worn foliage as part of Spring Cutback.

COMING UP

STARGAZING Every Tuesday, April through October, dusk to 9 p.m. See the planets through the high-

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Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

Stuart Appelbaum, President Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union

I

t’s tough being a retail worker. Low wages and insufficient hours can make it a struggle just to get by. And now, making things worse is the widespread and growing practice of oncall scheduling.

With on-call scheduling, retailers require employees to call in just hours in advance to see if they are working that day. Employees are forced to keep their schedules open in the hopes that their employers will decide that they are needed, and in the end, they might not even go to work.

powered telescopes of the Amateur Astronomers Association and meet the astronomers. On the High Line at West 14th Street

Tours are subject to cancellation due to weather. Check www.thehighline.org or follow @highlinenyc on Twitter for updates.

PUBLIC TOUR: FROM FREIGHT TO FLOWERS

MEDITATION

Every Tuesday and Saturday, May through September Gansevoort Street entrance, on the High Line at at Gansevoort Street Free 75-minute tours led by High Line Docents, offering an insider’s perspective on the park’s history, design, and landscape. Free public tours take place bi-weekly on Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 10 a.m. between May 4 and September 29. Space is limited. Please arrive at least 15 minutes early to guarantee a spot.

Every Wednesday, June through September, 8:30 to 9:30 AM 22nd Street Seating Steps, on the High Line at West 22nd Street Join our neighbors from the Integral Yoga Institute, the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center, and two surprise guests, for weekly guided meditations. Rise above the city streets and start your day focused, centered, and connected with nature. Beginners welcome! Go to www.thehighline.org to RSVP Text and photos from www. thehighline.org

On-call scheduling benefits employers because they can make their staffing decisions on a whim. But we all know that it’s virtually impossible for people to plan their daily lives the same way. How do you schedule child-care or schooling when you don’t know when you’ll be home or available to take classes that can help improve your earning power? How do you maintain any semblance of a social life, or plan for doctor visits or other important appointments for yourself or your kids when you never really know when you’ll be at work or when you’ll be free? The simple answer is that the burden of on-call scheduling makes it extremely difficult to do any of these things. And with on-call scheduling, retail workers can forget about taking a second job that they may need to make ends meet. It’s just not an option for workers who need to keep their schedules open until the last minute. The abuses of on-call scheduling have gotten the attention of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, whose office announced this month that it is investigating 13 large retailers’ scheduling practices to determine if they violate state labor laws. The AG’s office is requiring these chains - including the GAP, Target, Abercombie & Fitch, and Sears - to supply information about their scheduling practices by May. On-call scheduling Requiring workers to put their lives on hold without any guarantee of pay is wrong, and the growth of on-call scheduling is a troubling trend that our society shouldn’t tolerate. Working people have a right to their own lives, and their own time, and certainty as to when they are on the job and off the clock.

Visit us on the web at:

www.rwdsu.org

“

benefits employers because they can make their staffing decisions on a whim. But we all know that it’s virtually impossible for people to plan their daily lives the same way.

“

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OUR TOWN DOWNTOWN APRIL 30-MAY 6,2015

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

Voices

Write to us: To share your thoughts and comments go to otdowntown.com and click on submit a letter to the editor. Poetry

OP-ED

SENIOR CITIZEN BLUES I’m still here Oh yeah, I’m still here.

Getting Freshdirect to deliver To my door.

Maybe you look past my Unhip clothes: Maybe there’s a fray or two At the collar, at the cuff, No matter.

So I remember how to fix hems And use a different scarf on top To disguise my sensible shoes.

I’ll keep standing: Standing when I get a chance Standing in spite of your mores Standing despite that smug–almost sneer. I can still tell time without a smart phone I remember why the dictionary exists I can write my name in cursive. Take that. Take that. So the food budget takes on more importance. Let’s use food to cure our ills. Wasn’t that what our grandmas taught us? Catching two ways to “skin–the–cat?” I love the importance of my shopping trip, It is such a joy to join with others, Comparing notes, recipe ideas, these damn new prices. So I can’t shop the way that you do

So I just have basic cable And am happy to use the radio, as well. Try to find my entertainment, Bartering ushering to get my tix, Oh, for sure Bartering ushering to get my tix. I intend to make sure I fill My calendar, fill it with Ways to keep in touch with folks, Ways to teach me something new, Something I’ve never done before, Ways to make my brain try a different route! I will keep me alive I will keep me alive Oh yeah, I will keep me alive. It is the least I can do To outwit these new blues, These senior citizen blues Pat Dasko

SEND US YOUR POEMS! Have you written poems that your neighbors should see? Send them to us at news@strausnews.com.

STRAUS MEDIA your neighborhood news source

A SAD GOODBYE TO (212) BY BEN KRULL

recently gave up my phone number after having the same digits for over 30 years, relinquishing one of my few status symbols. After graduating from college I found a rent-stabilized studio apartment on the Upper East Side. Two-one-two had recently been designated as Manhattan’s area code, while the outer boroughs were afflicted with the stigmatizing 718. In my mind 212 came to mean the city: Manhattan Island and everything that counted in New York. The most exclusive night clubs, hottest restaurants and priciest real estate were all within my area code. Saying 212 when re-

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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

peating my phone number made me feel part of the Big Apple’s elite, even if I couldn’t afford to eat in my neighborhood’s fourstar restaurants. On the rare occasion I called someone in an outer borough I felt like washing my hands after dialing the misbegotten digits, lest I be associated with the bridge and tunnel crowd. But a few months ago I moved into my girlfriend’s Park Slope house, which has a 718 land line. Many New Yorkers nowadays consider it trading up to go from 212 to a Brooklyn 718. Gentrification has made a Kings County phone number something to aspire to for the city’s young, restless and creative. Park

Slope—with its rehabbed 1890s clapboards, fair-trade-coffeedrinking carriage-pushing parents, and hyper-environmental sensibility—is part of Brooklyn’s emergence as a hipster-haven. I love the area’s informal feel, but at age 55 I am too set in my old neighborhood’s money-focused culture to internalize my new neighborhood’s youthful communal vibe. When I walk around my old Manhattan neighborhood and encounter the well-coiffed WallStreet types from Park Avenue, I feel part of the crowd. When I traverse the “Slope,” passing 20-somethings with their unkempt hair, canvas sneakers and altogether mannered scruffy

President & Publisher, Jeanne Straus nyoffice@strausnews.com Account Executive Editor In Chief, Kyle Pope Fred Almonte, Susan Wynn editor.ot@strausnews.com Director of Partnership Development Deputy Editor, Richard Khavkine Barry Lewis editor.dt@strausnews.com

Staff Reporters, Gabrielle Alfiero, Daniel Fitzsimmons

look, I wonder if we have been invaded by space aliens. I doubt that the 718 area code will ever obtain the prestige of 212. Seven-one-eight, after all, is still associated with the un-gentrified Bronx, wannabe cuttingedge Queens, and the perennially insecure Staten Island. Nonetheless, I feel like my city has passed me by, even as I live in the center of its new wave. I was so reluctant to part with my 212 identity that I delayed disconnecting my land line until weeks after moving–as if continuing to pay for my dormant phone number made me bi-borough. A friend who moved from the Upper East Side to Westchester dealt with his sense of loss by buying a Manhattan area code for his smart phone. I thought about doing the same, but that would require me to give up my mobile’s 917...which I’ve heard has become the 212 of cell phones.

Block Mayors, Ann Morris, Upper West Side Jennifer Peterson, Upper East Side Gail Dubov, Upper West Side Edith Marks, Upper West Side

APRIL 30-MAY 6,2015 Our Town Downtown

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

OP-ED

Why I Never Became Betty Draper BY LORRAINE DUFFY MERKL e’ve begun counting down the final episodes of Mad Men. I’ve watched since the beginning, first because the show was about my business – advertising -- but then because this groundbreaking series served as a constant reminder of how lucky I am that I never went the way of “Betty Draper.” Even though I am not blonde or a former model, like Betty I was a single working woman in NYC, who met a handsome man and got married. Unlike “Don” though, Neil did not pack me up and ship me off to Ossining, where Betty lived unhappily ever after. She always felt cooped up in the house all day with her young children, and put out for having to rev up the car to buy a loaf of

W

bread. She didn’t even derive any joy from her hobby: horseback riding. There was also probably the underlying stress of knowing that if anything were to happen, her husband would be 40 miles away. Hence, Betty always had a disgruntled puss on her face. No wonder Don spent so many nights at The Roosevelt. Yet when Neil and I bought our apartment, many of my mommy peers didn’t understand why we were investing in New York City. How could I not share in their house-fever that would take us to a split-level somewhere in Westchester, Jersey or on Long Island? It was our mutual love of Manhattan that kept us here, deciding to raise our two children, Luke, 20, and Meg, 17, on the Upper East Side. I never felt like a prisoner in my home, because even in inclement weather we could easily get out of the house, if only to go just across the street to The Mansion Diner for hot chocolate. There’s always something to do in Manhattan, even when there’s nothing to do. You’ve got to be from here to understand what that means. I could walk wherever to get what I needed (from the post

office to the grocery store to my children’s schools), and when what I needed was a change of scene, we’d go to the park in another neighborhood. When I had free time, I had The Met nearby and the various avenues between 72nd and 96th Streets, all which have their own flavor. I also took comfort knowing that Neil was only 40 blocks away. He took comfort knowing he’d never be nagged about mowing the lawn. That was the job of the grounds crew of our backyard: Central Park, as well as Carl Schurz. Living on the Upper East Side also kept me from being mommytracked. Although I freelance off-site, whenever I did have to go to the office for a meeting, I didn’t have some long day’s journey “commute,” and didn’t lose my edge (as in attitude) that’s a driving force for those who call our borough home. I’ll miss Mad Men, and that mad woman, Betty, in particular, because she proved what I believed all along: there may be more grass outside of NYC, but it’s not always greener. Lorraine Duffy Merkl is the author of the novel, Back To Work She Goes.

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APRIL 30-6,2015

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

DOWNTOWN UNITED SOCCER CLUB

TRYOUTS 2015-16

Out & About More Events. Add Your Own: Go to otdowntown.com

GIRLS TRYOUTS U8

8/1/07 to 7/31/08

Monday, May 4th

5:30 - 7:00pm

Pier 40 Courtyard East

U9

8/1/06 to 7/31/07

Monday, May 4th

5:30 - 7:00pm

Pier 40 Courtyard East

U10

8/1/05 to 7/31/06

Wednesday, May 6th

5:30 - 7:00pm

Pier 40 Courtyard East

U11

8/1/04 to 7/31/05

Wednesday, May 6th

5:30 - 7:00pm

Pier 40 Courtyard East

U12

8/1/03 to 7/31/04

Saturday, May 9th

8:30 - 10:00am

Pier 40 Rooftop

U13

8/1/02 to 7/31/03

Monday, May 4th

5:30 - 7:00pm

Chelsea Waterside Park

U14

8/1/01 to 7/31/02

Monday, May 4th

5:30 - 7:00pm

Chelsea Waterside Park

U15

8/1/00 to 7/31/01

Thursday, May 8th

7:00 - 8:30pm

Pier 40 Rooftop

Fri 1

Sat 2

TSENG KWONG CHI: PERFORMING FOR THE CAMERA

ENCHANTED SPACE ▲

BOYS TRYOUTS U8

8/1/07 to 7/31/08

Sunday, May 3rd

8:00 - 9:00am

Chelsea Waterside Park

U9

8/1/06 to 7/31/07

Sunday, May 3rd

9:00 - 10:00am

Chelsea Waterside Park

U10

8/1/05 to 7/31/06

Saturday, May 2nd

2:00 - 3:30pm

Pier 40 Rooftop

U11

8/1/04 to 7/31/05

Saturday, May 2nd

4:45 - 6:00pm

Pier 40 Courtyard East

U12

8/1/03 to 7/31/04

Saturday, May 9th

6:00 - 7:30pm

Pier 40 Courtyard West

U13

8/1/02 to 7/31/03

Sunday, May 10th

7:00 - 8:30pm

Pier 40 Courtyard West

U14

8/1/01 to 7/31/02

Sunday, May 10th

7:00 - 8:30pm

Pier 40 Courtyard West

U15

8/1/00 to 7/31/01

Saturday, May 16th

6:00 - 7:30pm

Pier 40 Courtyard West

U16

8/1/99 to 7/31/00

Saturday, May 16th

6:00 - 7:30pm

Pier 40 Courtyard West

U17

8/1/98 to 7/31/99

Sunday, May 17th

7:00 - 8:30pm

Pier 40 Courtyard West

U18

8/1/97 to 7/31/98

Sunday, May 17th

7:00 - 8:30pm

Pier 40 Courtyard West

All players are required to register in advance at dusc.net.

#WeAreDUSC facebook.com/DowntownUnitedSoccerClub twitter.com/DowntownUtdSC instagram.com/DowntownUnited youtube.com/DUSCNYC

DUSC.NET INFO@DUSC.NET

Grey Art Gallery/NYU, 100 Washington Sq East between Washington and Waverly Place. 11 a.m., $3 suggested donation Tseng Kwong’s photos captures the downtown life as well as performance artists of the 1980’s. (212) 998-6780. www.nyu. edu/greyart/

THE 125TH CITYLAW BREAKFAST FEATURING CORPORATION COUNSELS New York Law School, 185 West Broadway. 8-9:30 a.m.Free. New York Law School celebrates 125 breakfasts with a talk featuring Corporation Counsels: Zachary Carter, (de Blasio), Michael Cardozo (Bloomberg) and Hon. Paul A. Crotty (Giuliani). 212-575-4545. www.nyls.edu

Fridman Gallery, 287 Spring Street and Hudson ST. 6 p.m.-8 p.m., Free Check out the opening of Enchanted Space curated by Barbara London. (212)620-0935. www. fridmangallery.com

CHRIS JEFFERIES, BASS SPRING 2015 ENSEMBLE

MARK WADE TRIO AND MIKE BAGGETTA TRIO Clemente Soto Velez Cultural and Educational Center, 107 Suffolk Street and Rivington St. 3 p.m.-5 p.m., Free Discover emerging artists Mark Wade Trio and Mike Baggetta Trio in this emerging jazz and classical performance with nonprofit New Music Horizons. (212)260-4080. www.newmusichorizons. org/#!events/c1a9w

FROM THE HORSE’S MOUTH

The New School- School of Jazz Performance Space, 55 W. 13th Street and Union Square 2 p.m.-3 p.m., Free Chris Jefferies or known by his stage name Loki, will perform pieces on the Bass as part of the recital series with the School of Jazz. (212) 229-5108. www. events.newschool.edu/

Abron Arts Center, 466 Grand Street 3 p.m.-5 p.m., $20 This event celebrates Murray Louis dancer, choreographer, teacher and mentor who helped shaped the history of dance at Henry Street Settlement. 212-598-0400. www. abronsartscenter.org/ performances/murray-louisfrom-the.html

Sun 3

Mon 4

COLLABORATIVE ARTISTS IN CONCERT:

CHILDREN’S BASKETBALL

APRIL 30-MAY 6,2015 OUR TOWN DOWNTOWN

Nelson A. Rockefeller Park, Battery Park City Access Chamber Street 3:30-4:30 p.m. 5-6 yrs old; 4:30-5:30 p.m. 7+ Children from the community are welcome to play basketball all afternoon. No adults allowed! 212-267-9700. www. bpcparks.org/event/ childrens-basketballages-7-2/2015-05-04/

A NIGHT OF READINGS BY THE NEW SCHOOL Barnes & Noble Union Square, 33 East 17th Street 6:30 p.m., Free Undergraduates from the New School will read their works published in the 12th Street, the undergraduate journal of The Riggio Program: Writing and Democracy at The New School.

Tue 5 BRAD MEHLDAU TRIO ▼

Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Ave South and 11th ST. 8:30 p.m., $35 plus one drink minimum Enjoy the sounds of pianist Brad Mehldau and his trio Larry Grenadier and Jeff Ballard for a night of entertainment. 212-255-4037. www. villagevanguard.com

KID’S MOVIE Hudson Park Library, 66 Leroy St 3:30 p.m., Free Children can stop by to enjoy a Tuesday afternoon movie. Free admission. 212-243-6876. www.nypl.org/events/ calendar?location=34

Wed 6 NATALIE FRANK: THE BROTHERS GRIMM ▼ The Drawing Center, 35 Wooster St between Broome and Grand Streets 12 p.m.-6 p.m., $5, seniors and students $3, children under 12 free Learn about the psychosexual context behind your favorite fairytales in this classic exhibit. 212-219-2166. www. drawingcenter.org

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Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

8 p.m., $39–$89 A stage adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 film. Directed by Maria Aitken. With Arnie Burton, Billy Carter, Robert Petkoff, Brittany Vicars. 877-250-2929. www.39stepsny.com

Thu 7 ORLANDE DE LASSUS EASTER MASS—CHOIR OF SAINT LUKE IN THE FIELDS 487 Hudson Street 8 p.m., 35 general, 25 students and seniors Missa Congratulamini mihi by Orlande de Lassus, and other works for the Easter season. Lecture before the concert. 212-414-9419. www.nycgo. com/events/orlande-de-lassuseaster-mass-choir-of-st-luke-inthe-fields

CELEBRATE MOTHER’S DAY WITH CMA

Children’s Museum of the Arts, 103 Charlton St 00 a.m.-5 p.m., Free with paid admission, mothers get in free May 10th Take mom out for special arts and crafts and enjoy the installation of Crayola crayon 39 STEPS garments on display. 212-274-0986. www.cmany. Union Square Theater 100 E. 17th St. between Union org Square East and Irving Place

CEO of World’s Largest Ad Agency Pushes Print March 26, 2015

traditional outlets.

The Times of London reported that Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP Ad Agency, said in a speech that clients and agencies may want to rethink the shift of ad dollars into online media at the expense of

He said recent research has found that traditional media can be more engaging and readers are likely to better retain information in print ma g a z i n e s and newspapers than with online and mobile content. Mr. Sorrell said advertisers in the future should look more at measuring engagement rather than time spent by a consumer.

Don’t get left behind. Follow the expert. Call Vincent Gardino 212-868-0190 The local paper for the Upper East Side

Eastsider

The local paper for the Upper West Side

Westsider

The local paper for Downtown

Downtowner

The local paper for Chelsea and Clinton

Clinton

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Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

OUR TOWN DOWNTOWN APRIL 30-MAY 6,2015

A SWEEPING VISION OF AMERICAN ART EXHIBITION A stunningly successful inaugural show at the Whitney BY MARY GREGORY

America is hard to see. It’s big, it’s diverse, it’s constantly in flux. It’s a melting pot of divergent elements. The inaugural exhibition of the same name at the new Whitney museum is all of those things as well, and yet it gives a clear view of how American art has evolved in the past century and what makes it unique, particular and wonderful. To inaugurate its new building in the Meatpacking District, a curatorial team led by Donna De Salvo, chief curator and deputy director for programming, selected over 600 works by some 400 artists, filling every indoor and outdoor gallery in the light-filled, soaring Renzo Pianodesigned space. After an extensive process of reexamining the museum’s permanent collection of over 22,000 works, they’ve culled a vision that they hope will bring viewers a new understanding of American art. The intelligent, elegant exhibition is dense, thought-provoking, filled with surprises and loaded with star power. It’s been divided into 23 “chapters,” each anchored by at least one iconic work of art, each exploring a different theme or moment. The entire exhibition is laid out democratically and chronologically, one of its strongest points. “It tracks,” De Salvo explained, “the Whitney’s collecting history and…acquisitions over time.” This arrangement allows visitors to view history, artistic trends, superstars, and hidden gems. A small gallery on the first floor (open to all without admission fees) pays tribute to the Whitney’s beginnings. Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, the founder, was an accomplished artist and a great patron who built a collection exclusively by American artists. Titled “Eight West Eighth” (the museum’s original address) this gallery includes classic black and white

photographs by Berenice Abbott and Charles Sheeler, an array of sculptures, including a work by Whitney herself, and American Realist paintings like John Sloan’s Backyards, Greenwich Village, with impressionistic lavender and gray shadows in snow on a New York rooftop. The rest of the exhibition fills floors five through eight, starting on the eighth, which covers the years 19101940. Here, abstraction rules. Two bold Marsden Hartley paintings with swaths of color and only slight references to recognizable objects announce the shift from the earlier works downstairs. Here we see early 20th century artists experiment and find their voices. Stuart Davis’s House and Street shows city blocks formed of color blocks. Georgia O’Keeffe’s lyrically beautiful 1929 masterpiece Music, Pink and Blue No. 2 shares a gallery with a painting by the poet E.E. Cummings, Noise #13, which echoes surprisingly in both color and line. Arthur Dove’s quiet tonality and fluid shapes find a companion in a powerful work by John Covert, an artist whose work I’d never seen before. Another delightful discovery was an Italian Futurist-inspired vision of the national pastime, in James Daugherty’s watercolor, Three Base Hit from 1914. The seventh floor brings you to the beloved sculptural assemblage, Calder’s Circus. It’s a delight to see, all shined and polished in new circular vitrine for ease of viewing. This section explores spectacles and showmanship--with a boxing painting by George Bellows, Poker Night by Thomas Hart Benton and a boozy, floozy atmosphere captured by Reginald Marsh in Ten Cents a Dance. In other sections, politics and the American landscape are presented with iconic works by Edward Hopper, Ansel Adams and Margaret Bourke-White. Ben Shahn’s The Passion of Sacco and Vanzetti and Armenian-American artist Arshile Gorky’s memorial portrait with his mother, who died of starvation in 1919, are arresting, thoughtful paintings about difficult subjects.

“Threat and Sanctuary” with Elizabeth Murray’s Children Meeting in the center. < “New York, 1955” Installation with a sculpture by Mark di Suvero and painting by Lee Krasner. Photos by Adel Gorgy They also point to the curatorial care in presenting what De Salvo called “the diversity…and the hybrid nature of American art.” Masterworks of Abstract Expressionism are on display in a section titled “New York, 1955” after a painting by Hedda Sterne--a geometric, almost architectural abstraction in dark greens and oranges. Pollock’s Number 27 (hung sideways? It doesn’t match the Whitney’s own object description) is placed next to Alfonso Ossorio’s Number 14-1953. Both are compelling; neither overpowers the other. The juxtaposition, like so many others in “America is Hard to See” raises the question of which artists achieve fame and why. The rest of the gallery is filled with sculptures by Mark di Suvero and John Chamberlain and major paintings by Mark Rothko, Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning and others. An enormous, striking abstraction by

Lee Krasner (Jackson Pollock’s wife) spans the entire width of the room filling it with energy. The sixth floor galleries bring us from the 1950s to the 70s. Signage, trademarks, technology, advertising, consumerism and shifting values find voice in great works of Pop art, minimalism and post-minimalism along with assemblages and a focus on found materials. Jasper Johns’ Three Flags, Andy Warhol’s Green Coca-Cola Bottles and Wayne Thiebaud’s painting, Pie Counter capture a corner of the American spirit of the 60s. The section titled “Raw War” covering the late 60s and 70s captures another. “Rational Irrational” focuses on artists championed by the Whitney and a period when artists began to bridge the divide between their space and the viewer’s with art coming off the wall as in Eva Hesse’s hanging latex, rope, string and wire piece, “No Title.”

The period from 1965 through the present fills the fifth floor, which is the largest column-free gallery space in the city. However, for this presentation, it’s been broken into smaller sections. Several of these works made their Whitney debuts at past Biennials, and many of the artists deal with issues of gender, race, identity, the AIDS crisis, and politics. New media and new materials are explored—everything from Jeff Koons’ vacuum cleaners to Nam June Paik’s television V-yramid. A particularly beautiful section is titled “Threat and Sanctuary” and pays homage to artists who continued to pursue painting in an era when many abandoned it. Huge canvases by Chuck Close, Susan Rothenberg, Philip Guston and Cy Twombly are displayed in a vast, contemplative, sun-bathed space. Elizabeth Murray’s ebullient Children Meeting shines. “One of the things that’s a hallmark of the Whitney,” curator De Salvo noted “is to have huge respect for the work of art, giving it the space it needs. Quantity shouldn’t be the operative. It’s really about understanding the power of each object and allowing that to show through.” In “America is Hard to See,” that power is evident. Thanks to a gorgeous new space and inspired curatorial vision, the exhibition provides maximum visual impact, enjoyment, and understanding. It’s quite a feat. Don’t miss it.

APRIL 30-MAY 6,2015 Our Town Downtown

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ACTIVITIES FOR THE FERTILE MIND

thoughtgallery.org NEW YORK CITY

How Nachman Libeskind Survived the Nazis, Gulags, and Soviet Communism

SUNDAY, MAY 3RD, 2:30PM Museum of Jewish Heritage | 36 Battery Pl. | 646-437-4202 | mjhnyc.org Architect Daniel Libeskind joins his sister to tell the story of their father, who survived some of the worst scourges of the 20th century to settle in NYC as a Modernist painter. ($15)

National Geographic Live—Exploring MARS

WEDNESDAY, MAY 6TH, 7:30PM NYU Skirball Center | 566 LaGuardia Pl. | 212-998-4941 | nyuskirball.org A space engineer working with the rover Curiosity provides the latest scoop on what’s happening on Mars. ($30)

Just Announced: An Evening with Henry M. Paulson, Jr. | Dealing with China, an Insider Unmasks the New Economic Superpower

MONDAY, JUNE 15TH, 6:30PM New-York Historical Society | 170 CPW | 212-873-3400 | nyhistory.org The 74th Secretary of the Treasury sits down with former Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke for an inside look at the rising power of the world’s second-largest economy. ($38) Architect Renzo Piano

NOW THE FUN BEGINS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 renovated museum. In moving the Whitney from its uptown home, Piano said he wanted to retain the personality of the bulky Marcel Breuer building on Madison Avenue and 75th Street, creating an atmosphere that was “equally brave and equally unpolite,” he said. Though the building may take some time to work its way into the public’s favor, he doesn’t seem to mind. “Architecture, it doesn’t work on short time,” Piano said. “It takes time to absorb it, to love it. Architecture is like a river, like a forest. They need time to be what they are. And so buildings can sometimes please like a novel, like a movie can please, but what really stays is not necessarily what pleases immediately.” With its gleaming plaza facing Gansevoort Street, which houses the museum restaurant Untitled, from Danny Meyer’s hospitality group, the Whitney retains plenty of unfinished, industrial qualities, with concrete flooring in the lobby, an exposed stairwell that evokes a minimalist fire escape route, and a row of large elevators with interiors designed by artist Richard Artschwager. Recycled pine floorboards on the upper levels were salvaged from three different facilities,

including a piano factory. Though based on Madison Avenue since 1966 (and before that, on W. 54th Street) the museum started downtown in a bohemian fashion. Signposts of the Whitney’s origins, as a modest, Greenwich Village studio museum formed by sculptor Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney in 1914 (she officially opened the museum in 1931, after the Metropolitan Museum of Art turned down a donation of her contemporary art collection) and references to its current incarnation in the Meatpacking District pepper the museum’s inaugural exhibition, “America is Hard to See.” The show offers an extensive look at the Whitney’s holdings, with more than 600 works on view throughout the museum. The first-floor gallery, which is free to the public and devoted to the museum’s early days, includes a bust sculpted by Whitney and a public commission for a memorial for the Titanic, which was scheduled to dock at nearby Pier 59. “This neighborhood changes from the morning to very late at night,” said Donna De Salvo, chief curator for the museum. “It’s an extremely different vibe.” The area’s after-hours coterie reminds her of some of the work in the collection, including Lisette Model’s photographs from the mid-20th century, taken in Bowery

nightclubs. “There’s a kind of gritty edge to the neighborhood,” she said. “Yet there’s also an incredible high fashion slickness to it.” Piano, known for sky-lit gallery spaces, incorporated opportunities for ample natural light to come into the building on both the east and west sides. Curators are “drooling and fantasizing” about the possibilities for sculpture shows in the eighth floor galleries, which can be entirely sky-lit, said Dana Miller, a curator at the museum. “The space will get reinvented over and over again,” De Salvo said. “That’s the true test of a building, is the capacity to be able to reinvent it.” Reinvention is a familiar refrain in lower Manhattan, and the Meatpacking District in particular, which has embodied many identities in recent years (the evidence is just next door, where Weichsel Beef purveyors is located), and is now one of the busiest commercial and tourism districts in the city. De Salvo sees the history of the area as a “database” for the artists who will show at the museum. “This is like a giant book,” she said of the neighborhood. “You see these layers of history that are what a city is about, and I think there are going to be a lot of artists who engage with that.”

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OUR TOWN DOWNTOWN APRIL 30-MAY 6,2015

A HALF CENTURY OF SAVING NEW YORK The successful battle to save Grand Central Terminal, led by Jackie Onassis, helped legitimize the Landmarks Commission

EXHIBITIONS The Museum of the City of New York chronicles the city’s landmarks battles BY IAN ALTERMAN

On April 19, 1965, Mayor Robert F. Wagner signed the New York City Landmarks Law, authorizing, among other things, the formalization of the Landmarks Preservation Commission (which had actually been established informally in 1962) for the purpose of “preserving the City’s architectural heritage.” This historic legislation has led to the landmarking of over 33,000 properties in 114 historic districts in the five boroughs, as well as over 1,350 individual landmarks, 117 interior landmarks, and 10 scenic landmarks. As the city, and particularly its historic preservation community, celebrates the 50th anniversary of the law, there have been and continue to be many exhibitions and events. The most important and comprehensive exhibit is at the Museum of the City of New York, at 1220 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street. Entitled “Saving Place: 50 Years of New York City Landmarks,” it opened on April 21st and runs through September 13th. Curated by Donald Albrecht (the museum’s curator for architecture and design), Andrew S. Dolkart (director, historic preservation program, Columbia University), and Seri Worden (consultant, National Trust for Historic Preservation), the exhibit -- comprised of a combination of photographs, documents, artifacts and videos, and nicely presented in a large gallery with adequate, yet austere lighting -- has three components: a timeline of the law, including its pre-history and impact; a section on “restoration” and “preservation and new architecture”; and a photo exhibit (by architectural photographer Iwan Baan) of landmarks “in context” with their surroundings. The timeline, set neatly around the walls, is broken into five periods. The first, “Prelude to the Law” (late 1800s to early 1940s), includes: the demolition of St. John’s Chapel in 1918; the first “chronicling” of NYC architecture by the city’s Art Commission; the saving of City Hall and City Hall Park; early efforts to protect buildings with “patriotic” or “national” associations (e.g., Fraunces Tavern); and the “City Beautiful Movement” which promoted the “visual” qualities of the city visà-vis their “moral and civic virtue.” The second period, “Fighting Robert Moses” (1939 to 1950), deals with the first stirrings of a broader concern (which became the “grass roots” of the historic preservation community as we know it today) as Mr. Mo-

ses was laying waste to thousands of architecturally significant buildings in pursuit of his many massive public works projects. His first real opposition came when he sought to demolish Castle Clinton; a coalition that included Eleanor Roosevelt ultimately saved the Castle. He faced his first organized community opposition when the Brooklyn Height Association successfully fought off his attempt to run a section of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway through the heart of Brooklyn Heights. Other defeats included an attempt to extend 5th Avenue through Washington Square Park, and to demolish Tavern on the Green. The third period, “Sparking the Law” (1945 to 1965) includes: the 1956 passage in Albany of the Bard Act, which authorized cities to pass landmarks laws; the city’s first formal survey of historic buildings; saving Carnegie Hall (scheduled to be demolished when the Philharmonic moved to Lincoln Center, but saved by a coalition led by violinist Isaac Stern); an intensification of the “development versus history” battle; the protection of most of historic Greenwich Village and a huge swath of Brooklyn Heights; the infamous demolition of the old Penn Station; the involvement of the press (in particular Ada Louise Huxtable); the demolition of the Brokaw Mansions (the true “straw that broke the camel’s back”); and the passing of the New York City Landmarks Law. The fourth period, “Defending the

Law” (1965-1978) includes: the first landmarks (beginning with the Pieter Claesen Wyckoff House); “last minute saves” (including the Astor Library, which is now the Public Theater); some losses (including the old Metropolitan Opera house, the old Ziegfeld Theater, the Jerome Mansion); restoring landmarks -- particularly including Weeksville, a 19th-century settlement of free black New Yorkers in Crown Heights; the expansion of the Landmarks Law in 1973, which included its ability to designate interior and scenic landmarks, and made the LPC a full-time body (prior to this, it only met for six months every three years); protecting the Soho “cast-iron” district; and the battle to save Grand Central Terminal, led by Jackie Onassis. This lawsuit (against the LPC by the owners of GCT) went to the Supreme Court, which ruled 6-3 in favor of the LPC. This helped legitimize the NYC Landmarks Law in a way that nothing else could have done. The final period, “The Law in Action” (1978 to the present) includes: the saving of the interior of Radio City Music Hall; the protection of the Broadway Theater District after the infamous “dead of night” demolition of the Helen Hayes and Morosco Theaters; the rejection of certain proposed skyscrapers (e.g., over St. Bartholomew’s Church); the tension between preservation and affordable housing; the designation of “modernist” architecture; and ongoing advocacy. (Interest-

ingly, neither the interior of Carnegie Hall nor, even more incredibly, the Rose Reading Room at the New York Public Library, has been landmarked.) In the center of the room are two tables, one devoted to “Restoring Landmarks,” featuring both elements of existing or lost landmarks, and materials used in restoration of existing landmarks. The other is devoted to “Preservation and New Architecture,” and deals with aesthetics of new additions to existing landmarks, and new construction in historic districts. The Landmarks Law remains controversial, particularly for real estate developers, who feel that it prevents

growth of both housing and jobs. What is undeniable is that the Landmarks Law was critical in protecting the “built environment” of New York City, spanning all historical eras and all types of architecture, while still permitting growth and progress -protecting our history while leaving plenty of room for our future. Ian Alterman is a former co-chair of the CB7 Landmarks Committee, a member of the West End Preservation Society, and an avid historic preservationist

A LANDMARKS TIMELINE Early 1900s. Efforts to protect buildings with patriotic/national associations. 1900-1930. City Beautiful Movement: protection for “moral and civic virtue.” 1940s/1950s. First “grass roots” reactions to destruction of huge swaths of buildings by Robert Moses in pursuit of massive public works projects. 1945. Brooklyn Heights Association defeats Moses’ proposal to build BQE through Brooklyn Heights. 1956. Passage of NYS Bard Act, authorizing cities to pass landmarks laws. 1961. Penn Station is scheduled for demolition. Protests begin. 1962. Mayor Robert Wagner creates “informal” Landmarks Preservation Commission. 1963. Penn Station is demolished. May 1964. Legislation is drafted and presented to Mayor Wagner. September 1964. The Brokaw Mansions are scheduled for demolition. Protests begin. December 1964. Legislation is introduced in the City Council. February 1965. The Brokaw Mansions are demolished. April 19, 1965. New York City Landmarks Law is passed and goes into effect immediately.

APRIL 30-MAY 6,2015 Our Town Downtown

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RICHARD ESTES’ EYE TOP ON MANHATTAN Paintings by the father of Photorealism at the Museum of Arts and Design

Richard Estes “Columbus Circle Looking North,” 2009 Oil on canvas, 40 inches by 56 1/4 inches. Linden and Michelle Nelson Tenants by the Entirety © Richard Estes, courtesy Marlborough Gallery, New York

BY VAL CASTRONOVO

Richard Estes, born in 1932 in Kewanee, Ill., has been called the father of Photorealism (a.k.a. Super-realism), a Pop Art-inspired, photo-derived style of painting that emerged in the late 1960s. He occupies a seat alongside Chuck Close and Robert Bechtle in the arts pantheon, with works that echo Edward Hopper, Thomas Eakins and George Bellows. “Richard Estes: Painting New York City,” on view at the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) at Columbus Circle through September 20, is the first solo exhibit of the artist’s work at a New York museum. It’s also the first solo painting show at this institution. More than 40 paintings and works on paper — silkscreen and woodcut prints, plus photographs — are presented here, with display cases illustrating the artist’s technique. In 1958, two years after graduating from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Estes moved to New York, where he has lived in an apartment on Central Park West near MAD for nearly five decades. He worked as an illustrator and graphic designer for ad agencies and magazine publishers before turning his talents full time to painting in 1967. From then on, he dedicated himself to documenting the city’s streets, storefronts, bridges, buses, subways, diners, movie marquees and waterways in exacting, almost clinical detail, based on his own photographs. Manhattan has always been his main focus. Detours along the way include European cities and the Maine coast. Estes typically paints the quotidian — within ordinary places and spaces, but around some famous landmarks too — with a laser focus on architecture, light and reflective surfaces. Buildings and the urban landscape dwarf — even obscure — the people in his canvases, many barely discernible behind sheets of plate glass. Works such as “Brooklyn

Bridge” (1993), with the Twin Towers and Lower Manhattan’s skyline in the distance, boast no people at all (and no cars either). Everything is stripped away to showcase light, stone and steel girders. As Estes explains in the audio tour, he’s not interested in storytelling, “just visual” documentation. The solitary figures in other paintings — the grim diner in “Horn and Hardart Automat” (1967), for instance — invite comparisons with Edward Hopper’s iconic depictions of lonely characters (think “Nighthawks,” from 1942, or “Automat,” from 1927). Photorealism bears some similarity to trompe l’oeil painting, so it should come as no surprise that Estes’ works have a deceptive quality, prompting visitors to question what they are seeing: Is it a photograph, or is it a painting that just looks like a photograph, because the details are so precisely rendered? In fact, Estes shoots dozens of photos of a particular scene and then stitches together a selected few to form a composite image that mimics but does not exactly reproduce the scene. In the painted translation, colors change, pedestrians are excised, perspectives shift. Craftsmanship underlies and informs the art. As Glenn Adamson, MAD’s director, writes in the catalog, Estes is “a world-class artist who is also a consummate artisan.” He has advanced from cameras on tripods, hand-held analog cameras and slides to digital technology and printouts. The show is subtly and beguilingly self-referential. One of its signature images, “Columbus Circle Looking North” (2009), is a view of the museum from Eighth Avenue, with the monument to Columbus and

the Trump International Hotel & Tower in the distance. The picture is hung next to a window that opens directly onto the traffic circle, a literal merging of art and reality. And while Estes typically edits out his own reflection as it appears in the source photos, the exhibit opens with a sly selfportrait from 1976 in which his reflected image beside a tripod alights not once but twice in a painting of a glass-fronted diner otherwise devoid of human beings (its title: “Double SelfPortrait”). Thirty-seven years would pass before he painted another notable selfie, a shadowy image of himself standing on the deck of the Staten Island Ferry, his face obscured by his camera. This longtime Upper West Sider takes frequent walks in the neighborhood, camera in hand. Recent paintings of two Broadway fixtures, “The Eye Man” (2014), picturing the eyeglass shop at 81st Street, and “Corner Café” (2014-15), memorializing the quick-eats spot at 94th, meticulously document glass facades that mirror the area’s buildings and offer detailed interior views alongside pavement views of signage and scaffolding. As guest curator Patterson Sims quotes the artist in the catalog, albeit skeptically: “I don’t enjoy looking at the things I paint, so why should you enjoy it? I enjoy painting it because of all the things I can do with it. I’m not trying to make propaganda for New York, or anything. I think I would tear down most of the places I paint.” “Richard Estes: Painting New York City” at the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), 2 Columbus Circle; now through September 20. www.madmuseum.org/

MUSIC

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FOR THE WEEK BY GABRIELLE ALFIERO OUR ARTS EDITOR

JUILLIARD415 AND YALE SCHOLA CANTORUM Juilliard415, the school’s period-instrument ensemble, joins with Yale’s chamber choir Schola Cantorum for a varied program that includes Beethoven’s “Mass in C Major” along with Daniel Kellogg’s contemporary composition, “Shout Joy!” with text from works by author and poet Madeleine L’Engle, as well as series’ by Roderick Williams and Franz Joseph Haydn. Juilliard415 and Yale Schola Cantorum Saturday, May 2 Lincoln Center Alice Tully Hall 1941 Broadway, between W. 65th and W. 66th Streets 8 p.m. Tickets $20 To purchase tickets, visit events.juilliard.edu or call the Alice Tully Hall box office at 212-7216500

LEARN HIGH LINE AS HABITAT The High Line’s horticulturalist Maryanne Stubbs takes visitors on a walking tour of the elevated park and its gardens, and discusses how insects and migratory birds take advantage of the park’s flora. Saturday, May 2 High Line (exact location sent via email) 8 a.m. FREE, RSVP required at http://www. thehighline.org/activities/tour-high-line-ashabitat

West Street Tickets $25 To purchase tickets, visit labtheater.org or call 212-513-7080

GALLERIES YIGAL OZERI: RECENT WORK Israeli painter Yigal Ozeri’s portraits are so realistic that viewers would be forgiven for

DANCE JEANETTE STONER AND DANCERS Choreographer Jeanette Stoner premieres her new works, including the solo “Numinous,” created in collaboration with dancer Chase Booth, and “Stairs,” a quintet in which one dancer sleeps in a hanging net while the others attempt to awaken her. May 2-5 83 Leonard St., fifth floor, between Broadway and Church Street 8 p.m. Tickets $20 To purchase tickets, call 212-226-1576

THEATER “NICE GIRL” Playwright Melissa Ross’ new piece follows Josephine Rosen, a 37-year-old single woman living with her mother in a Massachusetts suburb, who’s understandably unhappy with her stasis, before a reunion with a former classmate signals some welcome change. May 7-June 7 Bank Street Theater 155 Bank Street, between Washington and

confusing them with photographs. Ozeri’s mid-career retrospective in a pair of Manhattan galleries includes recent work and never-beforeseen portraits. May 7-June 17 Louis K. Meisel Gallery 141 Prince St., near West Broadway Bernarducci.Meisel.Gallery 37 W. 57th St., between Fifth and Sixth Avenues Gallery hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.5:30 p.m. FREE For more information, visit meiselgallery.com or bernarduccimeisel.com, or call 212-677-1340 or 212-593-3757

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OUR TOWN DOWNTOWN APRIL 30-MAY 6,2015

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS APR 18 - 24, 2015 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.

Lucky Stars Bakery

280 Grand St

Grade Pending (21) Live animals other than fish in tank or service animal present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. No facilities available to wash, rinse and sanitize utensils and/or equipment. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.

Tiny’s Giant Sandwich Shop

129 Rivington Street

A

Sunrise Restaurant

50 Eldridge Street

A

Juice Press 12

105 Rivington St

A

Papa John’s Pizza

343 Grand St

Grade Pending (2)

Cibao Restaurant

72 Clinton Street

Grade Pending (14) Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.

Lucien Restauraunt

14 1 Avenue

A

Solo Pizza

27 Avenue B

A

Sabor A Mexico Taqueria

160 1 Avenue

A

Falanghina

130 Saint Marks Place A

Yoli Restaurant

274 East 3 Street

A

In Vino

215 East 4 Street

A

Le Baron

32 Mulberry Street

A

Provocateur Night Club

18 9 Avenue

Grade Pending (21) Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations. Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, crosscontaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan.

Angelo Of Mulberry St.

146 Mulberry Street

A

La Mela Restaurant

167 Mulberry Street

A

Ajisen Ramen

14 Mott Street

Grade Pending (33) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.

Tropical 128

128 Elizabeth Street

Grade Pending (27) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.

Quan Sushi

375 Broome Street

Grade Pending (16) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Tobacco use, eating, or drinking from open container in food preparation, food storage or dishwashing area observed.

Simit And Smith

111 Worth Street

A

El Charro Espanol

4 Charles Street

A

Moustache Restaurant

90 Bedford Street

A

Spasso

551 Hudson Street

A

Empellon

230 West 4 Street

A

The Spotted Pig

314 West 11 Street

A

Mas (Farmhouse)

39 Downing Street

A

Bobo Restaurant

181 West 10 Street

A

Fay Da Bakery

321 6 Avenue

A

Chapter One

33 Greenwich Avenue

A

Feast On Us

645 Hudson St

A

Automatic Slims

733 Washington Street

A

The Griffin

50 Gansevoort Street

A

Black Tap

529 Broome St

A

Fedora

239 West 4 Street

Grade Pending (23) 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 contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Mark Forgione

134 Reade Street

A

Westside Coffee Shop Restaurant

323 Church Street

A

My Little Secret

149 Mulberry Street

A A

675 Hudson Street

A

La Compagnie Des Vins Supernaturels

249 Centre St

Hilo Tre Giovani Pizza & Pasta

548 La Guardia Place

A

The Ship

158 Lafayette Street

A

Lupa

170 Thompson Street

A

150 Centre Street

Quartino Bottega Organica

11 Bleecker Street

A

Mika Japanese Cuisine & Bar

A.B. Biagi

233 Elizabeth Street

Grade Pending (16) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Grade Pending (21) Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.

New Centre Buffet Restaurant

199 Centre Street

A

Pie Pie Q Cafe

24 Bowery

Grade Pending (34) 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. 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.

178 Taco House

178 Church St

A

Sun Sai Gai Restaurant

220 Canal Street

Grade Pending (22) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Tobacco use, eating, or drinking from open container in food preparation, food storage or dishwashing area observed. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Peasant

194 Elizabeth Street

Grade Pending (21) 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 contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Le Souk

510 Laguardia Place

A

The Frog’s Crown Bakery

204 Spring Street

A

APRIL 30-MAY 6,2015 Our Town Downtown

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Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS Royal Seafood Restaurant

103105 Mott Street

A

Wo Hop City

15 Mott Street

Grade Pending (5) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.

Aroy Dee Thai Kitchen

20 John Street

A

Liam’s Pub

90 Fulton Street

Grade Pending (38) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Food not cooled by an approved method whereby the internal product temperature is reduced from 140º F to 70º F or less within 2 hours, and from 70º F to 41º F or less within 4 additional hours. Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, crosscontaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan. 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.

Jeremy’s Ale House

228 Front Street

A

Long Island Bagel Cafe

125 Fulton Street

A

Captain Fried Chicken

39 Madison Street

Grade Pending (18) 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.

Big Arc Chicken

233 1St Ave

Not Graded Yet (23) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Food not cooled by an approved method whereby the internal product temperature is reduced from 140º F to 70º F or less within 2 hours, and from 70º F to 41º F or less within 4 additional hours. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.

Roast Kitchen

870 Broadway

A

Varadero

214 E 9Th St

Grade Pending (43) Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations. Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.

Juicy Lucy’s

72 East 1 Street

A

Jimmy’s On 7Th Street

43 East 7 Street

A

Bond Street Chocolate

63 East 4 Street

A

Javelina

119 E 18Th St

Not Graded Yet (20) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation.

Casa Mono/Bar Jamon (Next Door)

52 Irving Place

A

Dahlia’s

300 East 5 Street

Grade Pending (26) Raw food not properly washed prior to serving. Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, crosscontaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan. Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.

Schnitz

177 1 Avenue

Grade Pending (22) 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. Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.

Trevi Deli

48 Union Square East

A

Chickpea

210 East 14 Street

Grade Pending (22) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Canned food product observed swollen, leaking or rusted, and not segregated from other consumable food items . Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.

Grand Sichuan

1923 St Marks Place

Grade Pending (17) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Wiping cloths soiled or not stored in sanitizing solution.

Madison Bagel And Grill

5 Madison St

A

Raccoon Lodge

59 Warren Street

A

Potbelly

280 Broadway

A

Koki & Vegi

1 Centre Street

A

Racines

94 Chambers St

A

Starbucks Coffee

233 Broadway

A

Akimoto Sushi

187 Church Street

A

Le Singe Vert

160 7 Avenue

A

The Half King

505507 West 23 Street

A

Sala One Nine

35 West 19 Street

A

Tuck Shop

75 9Th Ave

A

Google 5Bb

76 9 Avenue

A

Mckenna’s Pub

250 West 14 Street

A

The Tippler

75 9 Avenue

A

Corkbuzz Winebar Chelsea Market

75 9 Avenue

A

Wichcraft

62 Chelsea Piers

A

Artichoke Basile’s Pizza

328 East 14 Street

A

Meridian 23

161 W 23Rd St

A

Sushi Lounge/Hot Pot

58 Saint Marks Place

Horchata

470 Avenue Of The Americas

A

Golden Wok Chinese Restaurant

209 8 Avenue

Grade Pending (27) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Food worker does not wash hands thoroughly after using the toilet, coughing, sneezing, smoking, eating, preparing raw foods or otherwise contaminating hands. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.

Grade Pending (33) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, crosscontaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.

The Pavilion Market Cafe

20 Union Sq. W

Not Graded Yet (42) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, crosscontaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan. 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. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Webster Hall

125 East 11 Street

A

The 13Th Step

149 2 Avenue

A

18

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

< CITIBIKE OVERHAULING SERVICES Crain’s New York Business reported that CitiBike is embarking on an overhaul of its bicycles and systems in an effort to attract more customers to the service heading into the warmer months. The bike share company’s operator, Motivate, is bringing back the original software developer, 8D technologies, to fix bugs in CitiBike’s mobile

In Brief MAYOR’S OFFICE: PRE-K IS IN DEMAND Nearly 69,000 children applied for free, full-day pre-K during the first round of admissions that closed last Friday, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office. The Department of Education will now begin the work of matching children to individual programs. Parents will receive offers in June, and have the option of accepting their offer or continuing their search. “When school opens in September, for the very first time, there will be a free, full-day, high-quality pre-K seat waiting for every four-year old who applies,” said the mayor’s office in a statement. “This is big,” said de Blasio. “Every one of these applications means a child put on a path for success for school and beyond. We made pre-k for all the centerpiece of our fight against inequality. And come September, our vision of free, full-day, high-quality pre-K for every child will become reality.” Families that did not apply during the first round will have additional opportunities later in the process, and are encouraged to call 311 or visit nyc.gov/prek to find information on when to apply next.

SEASON COULD BE EXTENDED FOR CITY’S POOLS AND BEACHES City council parks committee chair Mark Levine held a recent hearing on a bill he’s sponsoring that would extend the length of the season for city beaches and pools from its usual end on Labor Day to the end of September. In 2014, the closure of the city’s beaches and pools after Labor Day during a historically warm September spurred calls to re-examine the length of the pool season, according to Levine’s office, which used data from NASA that said September 2014 was the third warmest September on record for the Northern Hemisphere, and the warmest September on record globally. “Increasingly popular, the city’s beaches and pools, operated by the Parks Department, welcomed nearly 20 million visitors last year,” said Levine’s office in a statement. “Beaches saw 18 million visitors, representing a 22 percent jump from the previous year, as pool attendance held steady at roughly 1.4 million users.” Labor leaders, who spoke on behalf of the more than 100 lifeguards who attended the hearing, made clear their support of extending the beach and pool season and expressed their interest in working with the council and the administration to overcome logistical and staffing challenges.

OUR TOWN DOWNTOWN APRIL 30-MAY 6,2015

Business

app. Motivate is also bringing its 6,000 bicycles in for maintenance to repair those that have cracked seats, loose pedals, bad brakes and graffiti. Crain’s reported some customers who couldn’t dock their bikes would ram them into the stations. Motivate built a dock-bashing machine to test stations’ durability and

technicians will be visiting stations overnight to install new software that eases the docking process. To remedy its money woes, CitiBike has hired CEO Jay Walder, who Crain’s said is shaking up management and considering new sponsorship opportunities.

OP-ED

MEMO TO DE BLASIO: GIVE A BREAK TO RENT-STABILIZED OWNERS BY JOSEPH STRASBURG

Mayor Bill de Blasio consistently leaves the most important group out of the affordable housing discussion: the owners of one million rent-stabilized apartments in the five boroughs who are the city’s largest providers of existing affordable housing. The stark reality to de Blasio’s housing plan is that it would produce a minimal number of affordable housing units while doing absolutely nothing to preserve the this biggest pool of rent-regulated, affordable housing – existing rent-stabilized apartments. Instead of stricter rent regulations, old solutions and radical policies, we know exactly what de Blasio needs to do to protect the most vulnerable tenants and preserve affordable housing. If City Hall really wants to make an impact on protecting and preserving affordable housing, then we propose that de Blasio freeze – or even roll back – property tax assessments and water and sewer rates. We believe this is a practical and immediate solution. It is well-documented that the owners of Class 2 rental properties, which house all rent-stabilized tenants, pay proportionately higher real estate taxes than any other structure classifications in New York. Ever increasing property taxes (a 13% increase in assessments for 2015 was announced earlier this year by de Blasio) and water and sewer rates are driving rents higher. Holding the line on property tax assessments and water and sewer rates by either a freeze or roll back would relieve the pressure on landlords to increase rents. It would also provide the financial wherewithal that enables landlords to re-invest in their buildings – making repairs, upgrades and improvements that translate directly into protecting and preserving affordable housing for the tenants who need it most… poor and working families

Furthermore, a recent study on the economic impact of rent-stabilized housing showed that $19.4 billion was generated in 2014 from expenditures on capital improvements and overall operating costs in rentstabilized buildings. This directly translated into work for thousands of small neighborhood businesses, over 160,000 jobs for local residents, millions of dollars in payroll and sales tax, and support for neighborhood economies. This infusion of capital – the economic impact of improvements, upgrades and repairs – is felt directly in our neighborhoods. Landlords give this work to local contracting companies, plumbers, electricians, painters and laborers – and this translates into goodpaying jobs for neighborhood residents who provide for their families and support local restaurants and retail shops. Clearly, owners of rent-stabilized apartments contribute greatly to preserving and

protecting existing affordable housing. They are the backbone and fabric of our neighborhoods. But City Hall can’t have it both ways – supporting rent freezes and stricter rent regulations in Albany while raising real estate taxes and water rates. If de Blasio continues to burden landlords of rent-stabilized apartments with the highest property taxes and water and sewer rates – in tandem with his support of rent freezes and stricter state rent regulations – investment in our neighborhoods and re-investment in affordable housing will dry up. It is time to consider new solutions to an old problem – or City Hall could ultimately bring the city’s housing stock for poor and working families back to the bad old days of the late 1970’s and 1980’s. Strasburg is president of the Rent Stabilization Association, which represents 25,000 owners of 1 million rent-stabilized apartments in the five boroughs.

APRIL 30-MAY 6,2015 OUR TOWN DOWNTOWN

19

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

Sports ASPHALT GREEN SOCCER TRYOUTS

GOLF FEST AT CHELSEA PIERS

Asphalt Green Wave Soccer Club tryouts start May 1 for age groups U7 to U18. The competitive soccer program is structured to help players excel and transition into collegiate soccer programs. The season runs from fall to spring over the course of 9-10 months. Teams practice at Asphalt Green’s Upper East Side campus, which features a regulation FieldTurf lighted soccer pitch, 2 small-sided pitches, turfcross training space and a 50-meter Olympic-size pool.

Join more than 1,000 golf enthusiasts for Golf Fest, New York City’s longest-running Golf Expo and the city’s only club demo event. The all-day event also includes complimentary hot dogs, popcorn and beverages, plus the Kid’s Corner, featuring a balloon artist, face painter, arts & crafts table and the Golf Club’s inflatable hitting bubble to keep kids of all ages entertained. All Golf Fest attendees will have the chance to win a trip to Hawaii for two, as well as autographed golf merchandise from PGA professional Webb Simpson. What: 2015 Golf Fest at Chelsea Piers When: Saturday, May 2 from 12:00pm-6:00pm

Where: The Golf Club at Chelsea Piers Pier 59 - West 18th Street & Hudson River Park

Admission Fee: Adults - $15, Children - $10 Phone: 212.336.6400

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OUR TOWN DOWNTOWN APRIL 30-MAY 6,2015

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

Real Estate Sales Neighborhd

Address

Price

Bed Bath Agent

Battery Park City

2 River Terrace

$2,665,000 2

2

Chelsea

360 W 22 St.

$450,000

0

Chelsea

221 W 21 St.

$424,866

Chelsea

200 W 20 St.

Chelsea

Soho

57 Thompson St.

$836,500

1

2

Ogi Management

Battery Park Realty

Tribeca

466 Washington St.

$2,950,000 0

2

Town Residential

1

Keller Williams Nyc

Tribeca

250 W St.

$1,720,000

0

1

Brown Harris Stevens

1

1

Big Apple Nyc

Tribeca

81 Walker St.

$3,290,000 2

2

Brown Harris Stevens

$775,000

1

1

Kleier Residential

Tribeca

55 White St.

$2,875,000 3

2

Corcoran

368 W 23 St.

$1,325,000

2

2

Corcoran

Tribeca

50 Franklin St.

$1,087,500

E Village

89 E 3 St.

$1,800

W Chelsea

520 W 23 St.

$859,000

1

1

Corcoran

E Village

73 E 4 St.

$1,800

W Chelsea

450 W 17 St.

$10

E Village

742 E 6 St.

$240,960

W Village

85 Barrow St.

$894,000

1

1

Halstead Property

Financial District

15 William St.

$1,898,018

2

2

Douglas Elliman

W Village

15 Jones St.

$617,000

1

1

Owner

Financial District

88 Greenwich St.

$1,040,000 1

1

Douglas Elliman

W Village

321 W 13 St.

$3,600,000 2

2

Corcoran

Financial District

15 William St.

$1,669,930

2

Douglas Elliman

W Village

3 Sheridan Square

$500,000

Financial District

40 Broad St.

$685,000

W Village

3 Sheridan Square

$335,000

Financial District

120 Greenwich St.

$730,000

1

1

Halstead Property

W Village

180 W Houston St.

$599,000

1

Corcoran

Financial District

56 Pine St.

$449,000

0

1

Douglas Elliman

Flatiron

5 E 22 St.

$1,163,250

1

1

Newell And Assoc.

Flatiron

30 W 15 St.

$3,200,000 0

2

Corcoran

Flatiron

17 W 14 St.

$750,000

Fulton/Seaport

111 Fulton St.

$693,000

0

1

Douglas Elliman

Gramercy Park

205 3 Ave.

$1,275,000

1

1

Warburg

Gramercy Park

200 E 16 St.

$530,000

0

1

Douglas Elliman

Gramercy Park

158 E 22 St.

$1,900,000 2

2

Brown Harris Stevens

Gramercy Park

1 Irving Place

$1,380,000 1

1

One Irving Place Realty

Gramercy Park

211 E 18 St.

$995,000

Gramercy Park

142 E 16 St.

$995,000

1

1

Halstead Property

Gramercy Park

206 E 18 St.

$560,000

Gramercy Park

151 E 20 St.

$325,000

Greenwich Village

49 E 12 St.

$679,000

1

1

Bellmarc Realty

Greenwich Village

77 Bleecker St.

$1,100,000

2

1

Corcoran

Greenwich Village

49 W 12 St.

$414,950

Greenwich Village

30 E 9 St.

$1,883,762

Greenwich Village

11 5 Ave.

$1,600,000

Greenwich Village

11 5 Ave.

$2,800,000

Greenwich Village

175 W 12 St.

$1,600,000 2

1

Keller Williams Nyc

Greenwich Village

25 W 13 St.

$440,000

Greenwich Village

63 E 9 St.

$570,000

0

1

Halstead Property

Greenwich Village

125 W 12 St.

$1,250,000 1

1

Douglas Elliman

Greenwich Village

24 5 Ave.

$2,495,000 1

1

Stribling

Lower E Side

570 Grand St.

$492,000

Lower E Side

530 Grand St.

$935,000

3

1

Turkel Properties

Lower E Side

500 Grand St.

$385,000

Lower E Side

78 Ridge St.

$750,000

1

1

Kian Realty

Lower E Side

175 Rivington St.

$420,000

1

1

Douglas Elliman

Soho

185 W Houston St.

$775,000

1

1

Buchbinder & Warren

Soho

210 Lafayette St.

$3,900,000 2

2

Douglas Elliman

Soho

255 Hudson St.

$1,490,000 1

1

Douglas Elliman

1

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.

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APRIL 30-MAY 6,2015 OUR TOWN DOWNTOWN

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Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

YOUR 15 MINUTES

To read about other people who have had their “15 Minutes” go to otdowntown.com/15 minutes Don Frantz, the producer of “Disenchanted,” also worked on Disney’s The Lion King.

WISHING UPON A (SLIGHTLY SKEWED) STAR Q&A A long-time theater producer on the history of his latest project, a satire of Disney princesses BY HEATHER STEIN

Don Frantz has earned his credits in theater: from theme parks to cruise lines to Disney. Now, the Upper West Sider is producing Disenchanted, a musical spoof on fairy-tale princesses playing at the Westside Theatre on W. 43rd Street. The show’s roots date to 2011, with a sold-out run at Orlando’s International Fringe Festival before moving to New York. Productions are now slated for Latin America this summer, and China’s leading commercial theatrical producer, Musical Theatre China, is planning a production in Beijing this winter. A U.S tour is planned for 2016.

Tell me about your background in theater. After a master’s degree in theater management at UCLA, I ran a theater company in Hollywood until I was introduced to the grand producer Tommy Walker, who was the first entertainment director for Walt Disney. I joined Tommy in production positions for the Louisiana World Expo in New

Orleans, Harvard’s 350th Anniversary and Liberty Weekend here in in NYC. These jobs all prepared me for the very creative, expansive work on the entertainment team at Walt Disney World. The eight years at Disney included producing and directing the new light parade at the Magic Kingdom, and then as associate producer on “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Lion King.” From 2007 to 2012, I spent a lot of time in China producing, writing and directing musicals, until in January of 2011 I found a show called “Bitches of the Kingdom” from the Orlando Fringe Festival.

How did Disenchanted come about? Dennis T. Giacino is the creator of the show. It started when he was a teacher teaching the story of Pocahontas. It was at that time that the Disney movie was in the movie theaters and the difference between the history book and the film was dramatic. And so Dennis wrote a song. It was the real Pocahontas singing about how she felt she was being portrayed nowadays. Soon the other princesses started ‘whispering’ to Dennis. Song after song, Dennis conjured up the songs that revealed another side of the storybook and history book princesses.

Talk to us about the unique challenges, and rewards, of creating a musical. The reward is simple: something exists that would not have existed without one’s effort. Songs would be sung that would not be sung. Also along the way you discover talent who would not have had a chance if it was not for a producer putting their money and efforts behind them. And after this show, they will go on to create many more. There are many people passionate about their vision all looking for common ground.

A favorite moment from the show? There are so many. I suppose near the end, after all the laughter and all the fun, Cinderella has a speech that wraps up the story and launches us into the final number ‘Once Upon A Time.’ It is at that moment when you feel the audience feel that it’s all fun but it’s more than fun. In this song you also see all six amazingly talented women sing, and bond as a unit of full joy. It’s a great ending.

Who is the target audience of the show? Well ... it’s a musical about princesses! So any woman that has watched, or dreamed of, or hoped for, or been influenced by a cartoon about a princess,

or even a Barbie Doll, or a beauty pageant, or simply pinned a lot of hopes on ‘the guy’ will enjoy the show. Women from 18 to 65 are loving it each night. One reviewer in Tampa said, “If you hate Disney this show is for you AND if you love Disney this show is for you.” My favorite target is the

women from 40 to 55 who see Disenchanted and buy tickets to bring back their daughter. They often come back in a girls’ night out....wearing tiaras!

How do you think Disney sees the show? On a personal level, I have not met the Disney or ex-Disney employee who has not loved the show. Most of us, including six of the producing/creative team and three of the actors, have loved, worked for, and some are still working for Disney. To be clear, I think Disney is the absolute gold standard in entertainment. There are probably some senior Disney execs who feel we poke a few jabs, a little satire, too many. And there are probably a few senior execs that wished they did it first.

Did the show restore your faith in fairy tales? In the show we do generally dispel the myth that you should sit around and wait for your prince to come. But I don’t think we ever suggest that you should not believe that sometimes dreams can come true. A

lot of people on the team have realized a dream with this show, mostly because they kept believing in themselves. Specifically two wonderfully talented actresses, Lulu Picart and Michelle Knight, who have worked in Orlando all their careers, have, in their 40’s, come to New York to make their offBroadway debut and as a result both won a Lortel Award Nomination for their talents. Dreams come true when you believe. Disenchanted is playing at the Westside Theatre Upstairs. 407 W. 43rd St. Tickets are available via Telecharge. com (212-239-6200) or via www. DISENCHANTEDMusical.com. The performance schedule is Monday at 7 p.m., Tuesday at 7 p.m., Thursday at 8 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 3 p.m. and 8pm and Sunday at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Know somebody who deserves their 15 Minutes of fame? Go to otdowntown. com and click on submit a press release or announcement.

22

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

IWantToBeRecycled.org

OUR TOWN DOWNTOWN APRIL 30-MAY 6,2015

APRIL 30-MAY 6,2015 OUR TOWN DOWNTOWN

CLASSIFIEDS

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 ADOPTION: Unplanned Pregnancy? Caring licensed adoption agency provides financial and emotional support. Choose from loving pre-approved families. Call Joy toll free 1-866922-3678 or confidential email:Adopt@ForeverFamiliesThroughAdoption.org ANIMALS & PETS

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.

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 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 High Colonic By Rachel Relieve constipation & bloating 24 yrs exp. 212-317-0467

HEALTH SERVICES

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

$8,000 COMPENSATION. EGG DONORS NEEDED. Women 21-31. Help Couples Become Families using Physicians from the BEST DOCTOR’S LIST. Personalized Care. 100% Confidential. 1-877-9-DONATE; 1-877-936-6283; www.longislandivf.com

VOLUNTEER REFERRAL CENTER & HEALTH ADVOCATES PRESENT

VOLUNTEERING IS AGELESS MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN NEW YORK CITY! LEARN HOW TO GET STARTED AND WHY ORGANIZATIONS WANT VOLUNTEERS OF ALL AGES Thursday, May 14, 3:30-5:00 ALL SAINTS CHURCH 230 EAST 60TH STREET (SUBWAYS 4,5,6,N, Q, R, to Lex/59th St) RSVP: 212 889-4805 FREE Light Refreshments

ATTEND AVIATION COLLEGE– Get FAA approved Aviation Maintenance training. Financial aid for qualified students. Job placement assistance. Call AIM for free information 866296-7093 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! 1-866-926-2441 MR.BULTS’S is currently hiring experienced Class A CDL Drivers in the NY state. If interested in applying, please text “Haul” to 55000 or www.mrbults.com/careers Want an in-demand career as a HVAC Technician? Offering accelerated “hands on” training to get EPA/OSHA Certified! Lifetime job placement. VA Benefits eligible! 1-877926-2441

LEGAL AND PROFESSIONAL ALLSTATE INSURANCE Anthony Pomponio 212-769-2899 125 West 72nd St. 5R, NYC apomponio@allstate.com

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Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

MASSAGE

Massage by Melissa (917)620-2787 Therapeutic massage, $75/Hr. Lic., 20+ yrs exp. 917-734-7448 tonydif.massage@gmail.com 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 Privacy Hedges - SPRING Blowout Sale 6ft Arborvitae (cedar) Reg $129 Now $59 Beautiful, Nursery Grown. FREE Installation/FREE delivery 518-536-1367 www.lowcosttrees.com Limited Supply! 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

ABANDONED FARM! 34 acres -$169,900 Upstate NY farmhouse, barn, apple orchard, woods, long gated drive, incredible setting! Terms avail! 888-905-8847 newyorklandandlakes.com RUSHING STREAM- CHRISTMAS TREE FARM- 6 acres$26,900 BUY BEFORE MAY 1ST AND TAKE $5,000 OFF! Gated drive, views, stunning upstate NY setting! Town rd, utils, terms! 888-701-7509 Spectacular 3 to 22 acre lots with deepwater access- Located in an exclusive development on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Amenities include community pier, boat ramp, paved roads and private sandy beach. May remind you of the Jersey Shore from days long past. Great climate, boating, fishing, clamming and National Seashore beaches nearby. Absolute buy of a lifetime, recent FDIC bank failure makes these 25 lots available at a fraction of their original price. Priced at only $55,000 to $124,000. For info call (757) 442-2171, e-mail: oceanlandtrust@ yahoo.com, pictures on website: http://Wibiti.com/5KQN

Telephone: 212-868-0190 Fax: 212-868-0198 Email: classified2@strausnews.com

POLICY NOTICE: We make every effort to avoid mistakes in your classified ads. Check your ad the first week it runs. The publication will only accept responsibility for the first incorrect insertion. The publication 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 any copy changes. All classified ads are pre-paid. REAL ESTATE - SALE

WANTED TO BUY

Sebastian, Florida Beautiful 55+ manufactured home community. 4.4 miles to the beach, Close to riverfront district. New models from $85,000. 772-581-0080, www.beachcove.com

$WANTED$ COMIC BOOKS Pre-1975: Original art & movie memorabilia, sports, nonsports cards, ESPECIALLY 1960’s Collector/Investor, paying cash! Call WILL: 800-2426130 buying@getcashforcomics.com

UPSTATE NY WATERFRONT! 7 acres-$59,900. 400 feet of pristine frontage on bass lake! All woods, town rd, utils, gorgeous setting! EZ terms. 888-479-3394 newyorklandandlakes.com 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

WANTED TO BUY

WE BUY-TOP DOLLAR PAID Fine & Costume Jewelry Gems-Silver-Gold-Jade Antiques-Art-Rugs Call Gregory@718 608 5854 Certified GIA Gemologist

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

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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 funds available for renovation. www.sonyma.org. 1-800-382-HOME (4663) WANTED TO BUY

ANTIQUES WANTED Top Prices Paid. Chinese Objects, Paintings, Jewelry, Silver, Furniture, Etc. Entire Estates Purchased. 800-530-0006. 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

SOHO LT MFG

462 Broadway MFG No Retail/Food +/- 9,000 sf Ground Floor - $90 psf +/- 16,000 sf Cellar - $75 psf Call Farrell @ Meringoff Properties 646.306.0299

24

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