Our Town Downtown August 20th, 2015 by OurTown Downtown

The local paper for Downtown wn FALL EDUCATION SPECIAL SECTION < P.10

WEEK OF AUGUST

20-26 2015

WHY NOT TEACH EVERY SCHOOL KID TO READ WELL? ESSAY The clash between the New York we want and the one we have BY BILL GUNLOCKE

Before you move here from Ohio, you have this image of New York City as a bookish place. The photograph of the famous writers gathered at the Gotham Book Mart. The New Yorker. Random House. Esquire. The Strand. Susan Sontag. The Reading Room at the big library. Simon & Schuster. Farrar, Straus & Giroux. Columbia. NYU. James Baldwin. The New School. Woody Allen. The New York Times Book Review. Vintage paperbacks. John Cheever. The New York Review of Books. J.D. Salinger. The Paris Review. The Algonquin. The Partisan Review. Delmore Schwartz. You even see it call itself Book Country in ads for some kind of book fest. It would be your kind of place, you believe. Then, about the time you’re moving here almost 15 years ago, you see a photo on the front page of the Times as you’re skimming the headlines before you sit down to read the whole paper, and you think, oh, that must be a picture from some place like Harlan County, Kentucky about some hardscrabble issue, one of those features the Times does now and then about some place remote from New York and its reﬁnement. But when you’re in your seat on the couch and you look closer you’re shocked to see that it’s not

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Fabulous upcoming New York State events and must-sees at ILoveNY.com/summer15 and inside!

time as we’ve complete the procedural paperwork and resolution of that violation,” said de Blasio spokesperson Wiley Norvell. “But regardless of whether they’re listed on the site currently, we’ve conﬁrmed that all the violations have been mitigated on the spot.” But for parents about to send their 4-year-olds to their first day of school, the fact that several of the schools are still showing up as in violation could be unnerving, despite the city’s reassurances. Indeed, on Aug. 13, the day the mayor’s office announced that all priority violations at universal pre-K centers had been addressed, inspectors were out ﬁnding new violations. In the most serious category, violations cover conditions that may present an imminent threat to the

READY FOR SCHOOL? INVESTIGATION Universal pre-kindergarten sites across Manhattan have outstanding and serious health violations, according to Health Department data. City Hall maintains that every site is safe for the start of school BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS AND LOGAN HENDRIX

Next month, 70,000 New York City school kids will show up for their first day of pre-kindergarten, taking advantage of the signature policy initiative of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s ﬁrst term in office.

So far, 1,150 early education centers have been set up to house all of those kids. And last week, de Blasio’s office gave the green light to all of them, saying that any health violations or Department of Building concerns have been resolved. But data collected from the Department of Health’s own website suggests that not every site is ready to receive children. In neighborhoods throughout Manhattan, inspection reports reviewed by this newspaper reveal there are still many unresolved and serious health code violations at a half-dozen universal pre-K centers. A spokesman

SPECIAL REPORT ON FALL EDUCATION What’s the best elementary school in the neighborhood? Private school? High school? Our special education section begins on p. 11 for the mayor’s office said despite what is reflected in the Health Department’s database, the administration stands by its claim that there are zero unresolved health violations in the most serious category at any UPK site. “They can stay listed on our online site until such

health and safety of children, and can include infractions for things like failing to maintain constant and competent supervision of children, failing to report alleged child abuse or perform background checks on employees, or failure to properly store ﬂammable liquids or toxic substances, among other serious offenses. On the Upper West Side, St. Gregory the Great Preschool on West 90th Street was inspected in February and was found to have three public health hazards, which remain open, according to data on Child Care Connect. Two of those serious violations include failure to provide adequate potable water and failure to maintain the building in a safe matter, as well as the presence of pests

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Downtowner WEEK OF APRIL

SPRING ARTS PREVIEW < CITYARTS, P.12

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

9-16

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

n OurTownDowntow

COM

Newscheck Crime Watch Voices

for dollars in fees ated millions of and left some resithe city agency, that the application dents convinced

2 City Arts 3 Top 5 8 Real Estate 10 15 Minutes

12 13 14 18

CONTINUED ON PAGE

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AUGUST 20-26,2015

WHAT’S MAKING NEWS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD PET STORES TO HAVE FIRE SPRINKLERS The City Council has passed a bill that requires automatic ﬁre sprinklers in city pet stores.

The legislation passed earlier this month with just one councilman opposing it. It requires pet shops and other facilities that house animals for 24 hours to have the automatic sprinklers by December 2016.

The bill was introduced after several trapped animals were killed in ﬁres in Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx. The bill’s main sponsor, Councilman Corey Johnson, says the sprinklers could mean the difference between life and death. Councilman Jumaane Williams, who represents Brooklyn and voted against the bill Thursday, says he thought it was “a great bill.” But he says the legislation required small pet shops to also comply, which he didn’t agree with. The Associated Press

DE BLASIO OFFICIAL PLAYS DOWN POLL NUMBERS

City pet stores, such as this one on Christopher Street, would be required to install automatic ﬁre sprinklers by December 2016, according to a bill passed earlier this month by the City Council. Photo: Thomas Fitzgerald via Flickr The local paper for Downtown

The de Blasio administration is unconcerned with recent polls that reﬂect record low approval ratings for the mayor, Politico New York is reporting. The city’s deputy mayor for housing and economic development, Alicia Glenn, earlier this week did suggest that city officials could be making a better effort at plugging the administration’s achievements, Politico reported. “We’re not going to worry about poll numbers,” the news site quoted Glenn as saying. “Quite frankly, we as policy makers and government officials need to be focused on keeping our head down, identifying where the growth sectors are, making sure that people

Advertise with Our Town Downtown today! Call Vincent Gardino at 212-868-0190

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have places to live, makings sure that pre-K is up and running and then measuring those results. And maybe we need to share them with the public more but we don’t read polls. We’re talking about real things that matter to real New Yorkers.” She dismissed suggestions that the poll numbers had contributed to low morale among de Blasio staffers. Glenn instead offered that recent job numbers in the city as well as the ﬁnancing of 20,000 affordable housing units were “the kind of numbers that people should be focused on,” according to Politico.

SECOND AVENUE DEVELOPMENT UNDER WAY Demolition of empty Second Avenue apartment buildings is imminent. DNAinfo, citing Department of Building records, reports that the six buildings, on Second between 80th and 81st Streets, will make way for two high-rise developments. Icon Realty Management purchased properties along Second, eventually forcing tenants and businesses from the buildings. Among those that moved were Nancy Lee’s Pig Heaven, Agora Turkish and Cascabel Taqueria which relocated in the neighborhood, DNA reported. On one of the parcels, Icon is expected to build a 14-story,

47,000-square-foot, mixed-use development that will included 12 residences, according to plans on the building designer’s website. It is unclear what will be built on the other parcel, although it’s been suggested that Icon wants a high-rise there, DNA said.

BIKE LANE COMING TO AMSTERDAM AVENUE? Amsterdam Avenue could be getting a protected bike lane as early as this fall, the West Side Rag is reporting. The city’s Department of Transportation will introduce a proposal for the lane to Community Board 7 in September or October, the news site reported. The DOT’s effort follows pressure from local officials – including form city council members Helen Rosenthal and Mark Levine – in favor of the lane. CitiBike racks will be placed in the Upper West Side later this year. Amsterdam Avenue, though, could lose a lane of traffic if the lane were installed. “Amsterdam Avenue is challenging,” DOT commissioner Polly Trottenberg was quoted as saying. “Just the way the traffic moves and the conﬁguration of the roadway do make it a more challenging road to redesign” than nearby Columbus Avenue, where traffic lanes were narrowed.

IT ONLY TAKES A DAY TO PREPARE FOR THE ENTIRE STORM SEASON.

It’s storm season. To be prepared, update your contact information and get helpful tips on what supplies to stock up on to weather the weather at conEd.com.

AUGUST 20-26,2015

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG

ARREST IN STABBING OF MORGAN FREEMANâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S GRANDDAUGHTER

licist says the actor thought of Hines as his granddaughter. She was the granddaughter of Freemanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first wife.

Reported crimes from the 1st Precinct for Aug. 3 to Aug. 9 Week to Date

LUGGAGE LUG

UNPURE GREEN

The boyfriend of Morgan Freemanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s granddaughter has been arrested in her fatal stabbing on a New York City street. Lamar Davenport was arrested on a murder charge Monday, a day after 33-year-old actress Edena Hines was found with stab wounds to her chest in the street in front of her Upper Manhattan apartment building. No working telephone number for Davenport could be found. It wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t immediately clear whether he had a lawyer. Police say Davenport was in a relationship with Hines. Freeman issued a statement saying, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The world will never know her artistry and talent, and how much she had to offer.â&#x20AC;? Hines was actually Freemanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stepgranddaughter, but Freemanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pub-

STATS FOR THE WEEK

pink Marc Jacobs handbag valued at $1,450 and a leopard handbag tagged at $2,800, making a total of $4,250.

Hell hath no fury like a former employee. At 10 a.m. on Friday, August 15, a 28-year-old man and a 71-year-old woman made off with cash from the cashier of the Pure Green cleaners at 69 Murray Street. Christian Navarrete and Kaptaek So were arrested August 7 and charged with grand larceny. At least one of the pair was a former employee of the ďŹ rm. The amount stolen was $31,200.

JACOBS JACKED One shoplifterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s handiwork went undetected for several hours. At 1 p.m. on Sunday, August 9, a 45-year-old woman took items of merchandise off the shelf at the Marc Jacobs boutique at 163 Mercer Street before leaving the store without paying for the goods. A 43-year-old male store employee called police four hours after the incident, because the theft was not detected until store personnel were cleaning up. Video is available of the robbery. Police searched the area but could not locate the thief or the missing merchandise. The items stolen were a

A burglar lugged off various pieces of luggage one recent evening. At 7 p.m. on Tuesday, August 11, the manager at the Tumi store located at 102 Prince Street locked the front door when he left for the night. At 9:20 p.m., a police officer responded to a burglar alarm set off at the store. The officer discovered that the shopâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s front door had been unlocked with no damage. A store employee showed up a short time later and stated that a display shelf, which had been pushed up against the front door, had been moved out of the way when the unknown perpetrator had entered the store. Video is available of the incident. A search of the neighborhood proved fruitless. The items stolen included a black-and-brown duffel bag valued at $345, a camouďŹ&#x201A;age backpack tagged at $365, a camouďŹ&#x201A;age Nora tote bag priced at $325, a camouďŹ&#x201A;age laptop sleeve worth $90, and another priced at $100, a camouďŹ&#x201A;age double billfold wallet tagged at $85, a camouďŹ&#x201A;age large packing case valued at $945, and a camouďŹ&#x201A;age duffel bag priced at $345, making a total of $2,600, along with $365 in US cash removed from

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Year to Date

2015 2014

% Change

2015

2014

% Change

Murder

n/a

Rape

n/a

-20.0

Robbery

0.0

25.9

Felony Assault

50.0

14.3

Burglary

0.0

-21.4

Grand Larceny

26.3

627

557

12.6

Grand Larceny Auto

-100.0

44.4

the window display.

recovered were six pairs of eyeglasses, valued at $2,043.

EYESIGHT PLIGHT

AIREDALE VANISHED INTO THIN AIR

A pair of presumably shortsighted eyeglass thieves were caught by the long arm of the law. At 2:25 p.m. on Monday, August 10, a 42-yearold man and a 34-year-old woman working together removed six pairs of eyeglasses from the LensCrafters store at 390 West Broadway without paying for the items. JosĂŠ Reinoso and DeeDee Castrillo were subsequently apprehended, arrested, and charged with grand larceny. Reinoso was also found to be in possession of crack cocaine. The items stolen and

â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

A sturdy bike lock could not protect the bike it secured. At 12 noon on Sunday, August 9, a 51-year-old woman left her bike locked to a bike rack in the rear of 225 Liberty Street. When she returned at 1:15 p.m., both the bike and lock were gone. The items stolen were a blue Airedale bike valued at $1,500 and a bike lock priced at $50, making a total stolen of $1,550.

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AUGUST 20-26,2015

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

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

US Post Office

201 Varick St.

212-645-0327

US Post Office

128 East Broadway

212-267-1543

US Post Office

93 4th Ave.

212-254-1390

Illustration by John S. Winkleman

POST OFFICES

THE HOME OF ROSIE THE BARTENDER Reif’s Tavern has been serving the neighborhood since 1942

HOW TO REACH US:

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Our Town Downtown is published weekly by Straus Media-Manhattan, LLC. Please send inquiries to 20 West Ave., Chester, NY 10918.

BY MICKEY KRAMER

Every week, Our Town will celebrate our 45th anniversary by profiling a neighborhood business that has been around longer than we have. Know of a local business that should be on our list? Email us at news@ strausnews.com Reif’s Tavern opened for business on East 92nd St. in 1942. Rosie Yurasits first ventured inside, under-age, in 1946, for a couple of rum and cokes. She’s now 82 years old and you can find her tending bar every Tuesday from noon to 7 p.m. Yurasits has a devoted following of customers and says Reif’s has not changed much over the decades. “I call it ‘the neighborhood family bar’ because everyone meets here,” she said. On a recent Tuesday, Chris

Grondahl, 47, scoots up to the bar, and without even having to order, Yurasits brings over a small ice-ﬁ lled pail topped with 6, 7-ounce Bud Light Nips. The “Bucket o’ Beer” is a manager’s special and costs $10. Grondahl, who lives across the street, has been coming after work for about 15 years. “My father knew the place and I appreciate the long history, plus people from all walks of life come here, which makes for a special environment,” he said. Kenny Goldstein, 62, has been drinking and mingling at Reif’s for over 30 years. On that same late Tuesday afternoon, sipping on what he calls “my own concoction” of vodka, red wine and lime juice, Goldstein, known as Kenny G to the regulars, called his longtime stomping ground, “one of the last of the old time places… a classic.” The front room has a number of ﬂat-screen televisions

and a long bar. Walk further back and you’ll ﬁ nd a roomy space with a pool table, Golden Tee video game, and wallto-wall photos of New York Yankee and New York Giants history. Co-owner Taryn Reif calls them “our family teams” and even offers drink specials during Yankee games. She jokes that other teams such as the New York Mets can be watched on their smaller televisions. Venture even further out back, and you will ﬁ nd what makes Reif’s Tavern unique. An outdoor patio, equipped with a large grill, which patrons can reserve year round. Reif calls the space a “surprise outdoor oasis” and “pretty key to the business.” Reif, 39, has been co-owner, with her mother Barbara, since 2003. She recalls what took place during the blackout in the summer of 2003 with particular fondness. “We were one of the only

businesses open and we hosted a couple of hundred residents who had no power,” she said. “People brought all of the food from their fridges, acoustic instruments and we had a giant impromptu cookout/sing along until 6 a.m. … Everyone got along and took care of each other in a safe place. That was pretty amazing.” Not all has been “amazing” for the 73-year old tavern. It’s located around the corner from the years-long Second Avenue subway construction, which Reif calls “horrible for years.” The work has cost the bar in revenue. But she says business has picked up more during the past year and is grateful that so many locals show up nearly every single day. “It has been a mess and a struggle, but there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.” Subway tunnel, that is.

AUGUST 20-26,2015

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

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If watching log rolling, axe throwing, speed chopping and fire building sound like an exciting way to spend the weekend then this event is for you! Get your Paul Bunyan on with lumberjacks from around the world competing in daily power carve competitions then bid on your favorite masterpiece to take home. These saw wielding warriors take on a variety of other challenges including; a 10K run, canoe and kayak races, a tug-of-war and greased pole competition and a beard contest. There are Lumberjill and Junior Lumberjack championships too. While you’re in this picturesque small town in the Adirondacks be sure to visit the Black River Canal Museum.

Bridgehampton. August 23-30 The Hampton Classic is a grand farewell party to the summer. One of the largest outdoor horse shows in the country, the quest for a coveted spot on the World Cup Finals squad kicks off here. See some of the top jumper riders from around the world, take in great celebrity sightings, and shop at matchless high end boutiques. Break out your ﬁnest millenary and promenade the grounds with Fido at the prestigious Grand Prix, held on the last Sunday of the show.

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HAMPTON CL ASSIC HORSE SHOW

For more great New York State events and must-see attractions, visit iloveny.com/summer15

AUGUST 20-26,2015

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GUARDIAN ANGELS RETURN TO CENTRAL PARK “Time warp!” exclaims one jogger, as patrols respond to spike in crime BY JENNIFER PELTZ

The squad in stop-sign-red jackets and berets strode through Central Park, on guard for signs of crime. It was a familiar sight a generation ago, when New York was plagued by lawlessness that police have worked for years to dispel. Yet Guardian Angels volunteers made a pointed return this month to Central Park for the ﬁrst time in over two decades, citing a 26 percent rise in crime there so far this year. “We realize things are much better than they were” in the crime peak of the 1980s and early ‘90s, founder Curtis Sliwa says, but “we want it to stay that way.” City officials stress that crime is down citywide, and the park is far safer than it once was. Still, the renewed patrols by the Guardian Angels — known for both crime-fighting and controversy over their 35 years — are bright-red signals of unease about whether New York, touted for years as the nation’s safest big city, is slipping. Sliwa and eight other Guardian Angels, ranging from graying long timers to a 20-year-old woman, trooped along roadways, paths and rocky, dark trails for hours one night this week, shining ﬂashlights into thickets, asking people whether they’d had any trouble and eyeballing a quartet of teenagers who quickly took off on bicycles. Onlookers’ reactions ranged from thumbs up to raised eyebrows. “Time warp!” one passing jogger exclaimed. “I didn’t even know they were still in business,” Harlem resident Christine Adebiyi said, but “it’s great to see them here.” After years of celebrating crime drops, the nation’s biggest city has seen killings rise by 9 percent so far this year, though serious crime overall is down 5 percent. Forty-six percent of city voters in a recent Quinnipiac University poll said crime was a “very serious” problem, a record going back at least to 1999. A quarter-century after the “Central Park jogger” rape case made the park a symbol of ur-

ban danger, officials boasted in recent years that the 842-acre expanse was one of the safest urban parks of its size worldwide. Despite this year’s increase — largely a result of robberies going from 11 at this point last year to 22 so far in 2015 — overall crime in the iconic park is down more than 80 percent compared with two decades ago, the New York Police Department said. Even with the recent spike, crime is lower than just two years ago, NYPD statistics show. Mayor Bill de Blasio says the park remains “absolutely safe” and suggests police need no help from the Guardian Angels. “The NYPD is the best-qualiﬁed force to handle the situation,” he said this week. Police circulating in patrol cars and shining high-powered lights maintain a visible presence in the park at night. But Sliwa says officers don’t penetrate into the secluded spots where criminals could lurk, an argument he underscored as the Guardian Angels passed an unilluminated NYPD light stanchion on a foot trail. Police later said the light is fully operational. Guardian Angels feel much of their function is deterring crime, but if they see it, they’re ready to make citizens’ arrests, call police and defuse potential problems. This week, they prompted some young men to move on amid reports that the youths had been throwing rocks at people in the park and broke up a shoving match between two other men, Sliwa said. A talk-radio host, Sliwa is an untrammeled critic of the ﬁrstterm Democratic mayor, whom he accuses of hamstringing po-

lice. De Blasio has emphasized changing policing to build trust in minority communities and says the overall drop in crime shows his approach works, though he has had a fraught relationship with the NYPD. To some extent, the Central Park patrols signal that those “unhappy with the direction that he wants to take the city are starting to mobilize,” said Queens College political science professor Michael Krasner. The Guardian Angels began in 1979 and quickly expanded to other cities, welcomed by some people as a tough-minded neighborhood watch, derided by others as loose-cannon, publicity-seeking vigilantes. By the mid-1990s, some chapters folded and the Guardian Angels’ reputation took a hit when Sliwa acknowledged fabricating some of their early exploits. Meanwhile, Sliwa was nearly killed in a 1992 kidnapping and shooting that mob scion John “Junior” Gotti was charged with ordering; prosecutors gave up after four juries deadlocked. But the Guardian Angels endured and evolved: By 2006, they had a $200,000 New York state grant to do online safety education. They now count about 5,000 members in 18 countries, Sliwa says. In New York, Guardian Angels still patrol parts of Brooklyn and the Bronx regularly. But shortly after Rudy Giuliani’s mayoralty began in 1994, they felt policing had intensiﬁed enough that they weren’t needed to ﬁght crime in Central Park, Sliwa says. “It got better,” until recently, he says. “That’s why you need to nip it in the bud now.”

AUGUST 20-26,2015

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

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

Sat

JOURNAL AND YOU Trinity Church, Parish Center at 2 Rector St. 10-11 a.m. Free.

MOVIE MATINEE: CHAPPIE Hamilton Fish Park Library, 415 East Houston St. 11 a.m. Free.

A Christian discussion group centered around the editorial pages of the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Come prepared to share your life experiences and political opinions.

This week’s Movie Matinee features a screening of “Chappie,” a sci-ﬁ action ﬁlm about a police robot abducted and reprogrammed by a South African gang. Rated R.

212-602-0800. www. trinitywallstreet.org/events/ gospel-times-journal-and-you13?date=2015-08-23

212-673-2290. www.nypl.org/events/ programs/2015/08/03/moviematinee

BACK TO THE 80’S SHOW WITH JESSIE’S GIRL ►

SUMMER READING 2015 CELEBRATION AND FESTIVITIES▼ Seward Park Library, 192 East Broadway 2-4 p.m. Free.

212-941-8100. www. lepoissonrouge.com/lpr_events/ back-to-the-eighties-august22nd-2015/

AGATHE SNOW: STAMINA ▲ Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Ave. 6 p.m. $25.

RHYTHM AND SOUND Hamilton Fish Park Library, 415 East Houston St. 3:30 p.m. Free.

NYC- based artist Agathe Snow premiers her latest ﬁlm, about a daylong dance party in 2005.

An interactive workshop where children are brought up on stage to play percussion instruments from around the world. For children aged 3-12.

LITTLE ONE

212-673-2290. www.nypl.org/events/ programs/2015/08/21/rhythmand-sound

64 East 4th St. 7-8 p.m. $18.

Hudson River Park at Pier 26 in Tribeca 2-9 p.m. Free.

www.hudsonriverpark.org/ events/blues-bbq-2015

Sun

FUNKBOX

A haunting comic thriller about the relationship between a six-year-old boy and his adopted four-year-old sister. From acclaimed director Amiel Gladstone.

MAX GALLICO AND FRIENDS

212-505-1700. www. fringenyc.com

Join jazz musician Max Gallico and his band for this Friday night concert by the riverside.

An all-night house music dance party, hosted by DJ Tony Touch, AKA Tony Toca. Must be 21 or over to attend.

www.hudsonriverpark.org/ events/max-gallico-friends2

THE GOSPEL, TIMES,

Hudson River Park, Pier 45 in Greenwich Village 7 p.m. Free.

Food, giveaways and games are offered at this end-of-thesummer celebration, featuring a screening of “Batman: Assault on Arkham.” Free for teens 12-18.

BLUES BBQ 2015

Hudson River Park’s Blues BBQ Festival returns for its 16th season! New York’s ﬁnest blues musicians come to collaborate with its ﬁnest barbecue chefs to create a truly wondrous experience.

Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker St. 10 p.m. $15.

The American Council of Germany presents a discussion on the fate of Europe, and the prospect of a uniﬁed European republic. Please arrive at least ten minutes early, and RSVP by emailing deutscheshaus.rsvp@ nyu.edu.

Wed

The world’s hottest 80’s tribute! Jessie’s Girl is an amazing seven-piece band that specializes in covering the most iconic hits of the 80’s. Must be 21 or over to attend.

20 Fri21

Deutsches Haus, 42 Washington Mews 6:30 p.m. Free.

deutscheshaus.as.nyu.edu/ object/io_1433864820346. html

Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker St. 11 p.m. $20 in advance, $25 at door.

Thu

BREXIT, GREXIT AND THE REST: EUROPE IN DISSOLUTION OR TOWARDS POSTCRISIS UNITY?

212-477-6700. www.nypl.org/events/ programs/2015/08/26/ summer-reading-2015celebration-festivities

24 Tue 25

Mon

CARING FOR OUR GREEN COMMUNITY

WE ARE NEW YORK (WANY) ENGLISH Seward Park Library, 192 East CONVERSATION GROUP Broadway 1-2:30 p.m. Free. Chatham Square Library, 33 A part of the Seward Park East Broadway Library’s “Be a City Hero!” series, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Free. this event teaches kids how to preserve the natural ecosystem A social event for ESOL and stay green. Advance learners, featuring a screening registration required. of the Emmy- winning TV show, “We Are New York.” 212-477-6700. www.nypl.org/events/ 212-964-6598. programs/2015/08/04/ www.nypl.org/events/ be-city-hero-pollution-andprograms/2015/08/04/wesolutions-your-own-community are-new-york-wany-englishconversation-groups-augustchatham-square

FILM: QUEEN OF EARTH IFC Center, 323 Sixth Ave. Showtimes TBD. $14, $10 seniors, $10 children. A psychological horror ﬁlm about a young woman’s descent into madness after a series of traumas. www.ifccenter.com/ﬁlms/ queen-of-earth/

AUGUST 20-26,2015

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.

Senior Living

A PLACE TO SIT AND OTHER PET PEEVES BY MARCIA EPSTEIN

My tired back and knees really appreciate the new metal benches that have appeared in my neighborhood over the past three years. Through CityBench, over 20 of these have been installed on the Upper West Side alone. Instead of plopping down on cold and dirty stoops, or crossing over to a seat in the median, I can now sometimes ﬁnd a handy bench and take a needed break. But note that word “sometimes.” New York isn’t a sitting-friendly place. A lot of buildings have pointed fences around them, and one would get impaled by trying to sit there. I hope more of the CityBenches appear, in more places. I laud the stores that have packaged foods for one person, available seating, and water and bathrooms. Whole Foods, for all of its recent publicity, and Trader Joe’s, has all of these. And speaking of bathrooms, all of us seniors (and I’m sure we’re not the only ones), know that New York is a terrible city if you have to go. I remember being in London many years ago and marveling at the huge signs saying “Toilet” right in

the streets, with big arrows pointing to underground loos or outdoor kiosks for doing your business. I made my friend take a photo of me under one of those signs. Over the years, I have come to know where one can make a quick pit stop. As noted, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s; most Starbucks; the basement men’s shoe department in the 79th Street DSW shoe store; Europan bakeries; all Barnes & Nobles; and the 75th Street Fairway, upstairs to the left of the Café. If you’re lucky enough to be in Central Park or Riverside Park, there are bathrooms in many locations, but I’m sticking to the streets of our fair city. Now for pet peeves. Some of my friends have had close calls with kids on scooters on the sidewalks. Mothers and nannies are too busy with their cell phones to rein in their little princes and princesses. Ditto for food deliverymen, who illegally ride their bikes on sidewalks and don’t seem to care who they might run over. Then there is the matter of the front seats on buses, which are supposed to be for the handicapped and elderly. Tell that to those mothers and nannies, who will glare malevolently if you ask to use the seat. Gone are the days when small children sat on their mother’s lap, as my children did. You have to be brave and conﬁdent to insist on that seat; some people seem to be able pull it off with impunity. There’s also the issue of the huge pack backs young people (especially young men?) tote around without care for any-

one else. I personally have been bonked by more than one back pack trying to board a bus or subway. Please, do they really have to carry their whole lives on their backs? And do people really have to barrel down subway stairs without regard for us slower folk? There will be another train, I promise. Many friends asked me to include noisy restaurants in my pet peeves section, and I totally agree. A lot of us have lost at least some hearing, and trying to have a conversation can be trying at best. That, plus having to remember to bring a sweater for the overair conditioning in most places can make restaurant going more a trial than a pleasure. Many of us seniors can feel invisible in our own city. Please, young people, try to walk a bit more slowly, watch where you’re going, and get your noses out of your electronic equipment. We can’t always dodge you in time to save ourselves from a fall. I’m sure I haven’t hit all the negatives and positives of senior life in New York. For example, though many subway stations have elevators, many others don’t. And we need to have curb cuts on all street corners, and they need to be maintained and repaired. This is not the case now. This is my list, and it includes suggestions from friends and acquaintances, who were more than happy to contribute. Seniors, enjoy your city. Just keep your head up and stay alert. And try to stay off the buses when school gets out. It’s downright scary.

AN EQUESTRIAN WEIGHS IN ON THE CARRIAGE HORSE DEBATE LETTERS We received a number of letters -- by post, email and the web -- in response to “Back in the Saddle in Central Park” (Aug. 13), our interview with Brianne Goutal, a professional equestrian. In the interview, Goutal expressed her opposition to carriage horses in Central Park. A selection of reponses follows:

Brianne Goutal’s comments on the plight of carriage horses in New York City echo the sentiment of those New Yorkers who, though perhaps not as knowledgeable about horses as she, share her compassion and agree that these horses do not belong on the streets of New York City. Jacqueline St. James

I come to NYC every three months and take a carriage ride each time. I just took a ride yesterday with Natasha and Blackie. The ride was relaxing. Blackie is in amazing shape clean, well fed, relaxed. Natasha is proud of Blackie and the carriage (also in great shape). I saw other drivers I have come to know - Steve, Paul, John. All greeted me with a hug. Their horses are also beautiful and well cared for. Obviously, asking a person whose only acquaintance with horses is riding/jumping and who pays others to care for them so she doesn’t have to is guaranteed to produce an inaccurate opinion rather than fact about carriage horses and their drivers. I bet she has never deigned to speak to a driver or ask about his or her horses. They are more than a vestige of the past. They are a

very proud tradition. Susan D. Smith How dare Ms. Goutal make those unjust and untrue statements concerning the NYC carriage horses. I have owned and shown horses for over ﬁfty years and know for a fact that the NYC carriage horses lead a much more stress-free life, do much easier work, and are far less subject to abuse and injury than are horses shown as show jumpers. ( I own show jumpers). For her to say the carriage horse’s living and working conditions are “atrocious” is simply not true. She speaks from complete ignorance as to how they live and are treated. Shame on you, Ms. Goutal for making such inﬂammatory and false statements. Tom Neese

AUGUST 20-26,2015

READY FOR SCHOOL? CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 and hazardous conditions. In Lower Manhattan, the Hamilton Madison Swing Space on Catherine Street was hit with a public health hazard violation after an inspector observed adulterated food being served on Aug. 13, the same day de Blasio touted his claim that all priority health violations had been addressed. According to the DOH database, that violation remains unresolved. Another inspection on Aug. 13 found that the Educational Alliance Head Start at P.S. 142 on the Lower East Side had ﬁre extinguishers that were not inspected or maintained, a public health hazard violation that remains open, according to the Child Care Connect database. Two preschools in the East Village have unresolved public health hazard violations. According to an inspection report from January of St. Brigid Preschool on East 7th Street, the owner or manager of the building failed to maintain its structural integrity. The report also notes the presence of pests, nuisances and hazards, and is equipped with inadequate heat ventilation and lighting. More recently, the Virginia Day Nursery on East 10th Street underwent an inspection on Aug. 7 that found the school failed to arrange and conduct background checks for required individuals, and failed to re-clear individuals after two years. Both public health hazard violations at St. Brigid and Virginia Day remain unresolved, according to the Child Care Connect database. In total, this newspaper found eight unresolved health hazard violations in six schools. Three of those violations came from preschools that have contracts with the NYC Administration for Children’s Services to provide subsidized childcare: Virginia Day Nursery in the East Village, the Educational Alliance Head Start at P.S. 142 on the Lower East Side, and Hamilton Madison Swing Space in Lower Manhattan. In Chelsea, the Sacred Heart of Jesus Preschool on West 52nd Street currently has an open public health hazard violation from an inspection in late-April for failing to maintain the building in a safe manner, failing to maintain the structural integrity of the building, the presence of pests, inadequate heat ventilation and lighting, and the presence of nuisances and hazards at the time of inspection. The next level of violation,

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com below the public health hazard violation, are deemed “critical,” and require correction within two weeks. These can include everything from child care staff using “unacceptable forms of discipline” to a lack of signage for exits, according to the city’s health code. At Hamilton Madison Swing Space in Lower Manhattan, for instance, there are currently three unresolved critical violations for things such as a lack of running water or water that exceeded 115 degrees Fahrenheit, a lack of storage areas for children’s outer garments and a lack of signage for points of egress. At the St. Brigid School in the East Village, one of two unresolved critical violations from an inspection on Aug. 7 was for staff being allowed to perform their duties while unhealthy or incapable. The least pressing category is a general or minor violation, which covers offenses such as unclean conditions and child care staff caring for children while unhealthy. When presented with the data, Norvell said in some cases schools contest their violation status, which is maintained on the city’s database until it has been adjudicated. Norvell reinforced the administration’s stance that all priority health violations have been dealt with, and that if any universal pre-K site has an outstanding public health hazard they will be prevented from opening on the first day of school. But in touting its claim that the most serious of violations have been cleared up three weeks before the school year starts, the mayor’s office urged parents to review their program’s health and safety history, which as of Monday, included many serious violations that appear to be unresolved. As of Monday, Aug. 17, the eight public health hazard violations mentioned above remain open and require reinspection, according to the Child Care Connect database. Norvell said in the case of St. Gregory the Great Preschool on the Upper West Side and St. Brigid, the violations have been fully resolved in the field and will be reflected in the database on its next update. “Even as we’re dealing with adjudicating [the public health hazard violations], and whether they stay on the books or not, the actual hazard that exists on the ground in the center has been corrected,” said Norvell, who also noted that public health hazard violations require on-the-spot mitigation, and schools that fail in this re-

gard are prohibited from opening. Donna Gabella, the principal of St. Gregory the Great Preschool, confirmed the violations were resolved. “They have been resolved, yes,” said Gabella. “I know I have been working very closely with the Dept. of Education to address any issues, and that’s been going on all summer.” A person answering the phone at Virginia Day Nursery, which city records noted “failed to arrange/conduct criminal/SCR background clearance checks for required individuals,” among other violations, said she was not authorized to speak with the media and said she would forward a message to a public relations official. Similarly, at Hamilton Madison Swing Space on Catherine Street, a spokesperson declined to discuss minor violations there. A message left for the school’s CEO was not returned by press time. No one answered the phone at the Educational Alliance on Attorney Street. Norvell added that the language of health code violations often sounds ominous, but is less so in reality. For instance, when it was found at St. Gregory that “at the time of inspection, it was determined that [an] individual associated with child care service....[was] involved in an act detrimental to health and safety,” in reality, a child care worker left a bottle of cleaning fluid left on counter, according to case notes. Novell said in the cases of Virginia Day Nursery in the East Village, Hamilton Madison Swing Space in Lower Manhattan and Educational Alliance Head Start at P.S. 142 on the Lower East Side, those violations occurred during inspections immediately prior or after the mayor’s office announced all priority health violations had been addressed. “We have inspectors in the field every day continually monitoring sites, and will continue repeated inspections through the first day of school and throughout the year,” said Norvell, who noted at the Aug. 13 press briefing, city officials raised the possibility of health violations being found in the immediate weeks leading up to the start of school. “That’s the nature of enforcement, it’s an ongoing and constant process,” he said. The current status of the public health hazard violation at Sacred Heart of Jesus Preschool in Chelsea could not be determined as of press time.

Be Seen

in Manhattan’s Premier Arts Section where...

87%

of readers say they visited a museum in the past 3 months

72%

of readers say they attended a concert in the past 3 months

68%

or readers say they attended a Broadway performance in the past 3 months

RY 12-18 ,2015

n FEBRUA

12 Our Tow

E, EGON SCHIELSP REBEL ON DI LAY

of public k 1912 on a charge with Peacoc cerated in ed in Self-PortraitStanding, 1911Gouache, immorality. oat, on paper, r style soften onment, Waistc olor, and black crayon His edgy, angula Vienna ath of his impris ngs waterced on board Ernst Ploil, the afterm t is rife with painti mount artists. to very strong but the exhibi of elongated, emaand fellow tribute ngs Responding Neue Galerie has to family s resembling and drawi d, decorative ts demand, the first-of-its-kind show ciated, trippy figure-Portrait with voted gold-bronze sister, it presen A its (“Self r ed est artist an ntial, extend Mick Jagge Above Head,” 1910) to his young in an existe lastic Austri ed er (“Self- yet another figure toned. of the iconoc Arm Twist n’s monst one silverNOVO this enstei many CASTRO iscent The space, BY VAL or Frank Head,” 1910). himself, an emptywork is eerily remin it Portrait, , golden portra hair The lines that portraits of the artist iconic cur’s great and s with of Klimt I” (1907), review block, Neue egotist and a dandy Peacock Waist- “Adele Bloch-Bauer 2nd floor and After rave e around the g on the ng Portrait with a testawrapped given its Egon12Schiel residin are openi (“Self1911), rently show its Ou to t of a new Standing,” self-referGalerie has ve and extended r To coat, wnto his fondness for ough it the subjec e on April 2, timed film, show a reprie 20. The exhibit, with ’s ment Down tionism—th him at Neue Galeri the upcoming run until Aprilfocus on the artistat ence and exhibitow ce saved n O coincide with starring Helen ive CTO the practi an exclus is the first of its kind s. BER 23- “Woman in Gold,” is true that lds. Not surmodel Reyno 29, hiring iture, the 2014 and Ryan of the portra the cost of ortraits, many in Mirren museum. emulation i, who a major U.S. cative, are prisingly, Schiele’s years inspired The self-p ndra Comin quite provo the his early Curator Alessa al thesis at Colum ” nude and a room alongside master in doctor silver Klimt. with ssionist’s ed in wrote her ns, and to- the moniker “the filled Austrian Expresome 125 groupand Lovers sectio gallery is tton nt s red bia on the hot-bu adjace patron and The has gathe ures Eros form the exhibit’s sitters and endea ring d maportraits, and sculpt portraits of ially paintings m, a getherBut with all the X-rate gallery, it includes an espec boy in striped drawings, floor of the museu an core. on display in this it of a young on the third German and Austri (“Standterial bland portra the painting of for ed trousers A paper with is a tame, rather steals showcase , most on shirt and rumpl d Shirt,” 1910). Edith that art. The works ngs, are organized Boy in Stripe Schiele’s wife which the painti music of it is a ing side room, from given over just 11 oil is , with the g in the show. is not just because small tes, of tically full thema nberg emana , with reproducAnd it nberg waftin ng in a room it, Schoe Arnold Schoe very explic s, to his time in prisonzed watercolors large oil painti . b of Viagoni his t-sized, albeit Harm background in a subur tions of the eted while serving r, modes on paper. Edith Born in 1890was a rebel painte e-class girl e compl e the works table, middlin 1915 after Schiel sentence. in respec ant enna, Schiel Dean of his age,” married art- the and 24-day Edith became pregn w “the James states about the al whom Schiele me model the mello After physic le painted s with ding his longti audio tour naked a striking y”, charm 1918, Schie in discar y,” with a ist, who boreto Dean (both died at live-in lover “Walland prim, finely trio, “The Famil ring a nt father shelte e could d collar years resemblance only three my of her ruffle striped dress, a garme ’s mother and pictur After the ated their 20s). child. (Alas, been res of Joseph rvative Acade y deline es up vision t an small until April and has months Vienna’s conse he precociousl that conjur colors. Set agains stay six not But where .) sevlooks its lender iele and of many Fine Arts– contractage 16–Sch Schiele’s wife like a turned to free coat ancy, Edith e enrolled at iconoclasts broke -white void, into her pregnh flu and died. Schiel ppe off ke and awkward, rather ufellow nstgru eral be manip doll-li later of the ed the Spanis d the Neuku waiting to three days same day as and forme marionette ). perished the a Seces- lated. (New Art Group hated the same malady—on 31, 1918. of the Vienn her family l, October A protégé v Klimt (1862-1918), Edith and her sister Adele pro- his wife’s funera a prodigy, with his 28, show e. sion’s Gusta d, Schiele made n, painting, with He was onlylasted just a decad he have to , Weber the g, “Why did ” But the porwhom he idolize a career that heralded as one of y age of Freud nstein. testin dumb? ssion is Wittge mark in the looking so is now centur expre he her and last But oLoos, the vapid , of ex, psych with the Hoffmann e’s finest. pe and adgreatest artists onally compl s, with their trait ered one of Schiel likeness ng the envelo nism. His emoti consid d image for pushi rful female of moder nal use of sexually charge Another masteearly stages of his vancing the causewith a cause. unconventio rebel of masturba- painted in the of Gerti Schiele” brilliant line, Make that ait bedepictions deand lewd “Portr , room and color n couples and career, is displayed in the tion, lesbia art world on fire (1909) the y incarhavior, set ed and briefl Oil on got him arrest Dress), 1915 Schiele in Striped Netherlands Hague, The Standing (Edith Den Haag, The Artist’s Wife, Portrait of the ion Gemeentemuseum canvasCollect

Our Tow

n OCTOB ER 16, 2014

EXHIB ITION S

SET IN THE CITY: RECL A

STR EET ART

Photogr complet apher Justin Bett e room sets on man builds city stre ets

ENCOURAGING BAD THEATER

THEAT ER

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IF YOU GO

The festival spans over the weeken 17, 24 and Nov. ds on 154 W. 29th1 at Chelsea’s Treehouof the Oct. se Theater, within a 90-min Street. Four or five plays are $15 availab ute time slot each night. are shown BadTheaterFesle on EventBrite through Tickets Pioneers Bar t.com and knock $3 off the website a drink at festival will down the street from the where peoplealso host a Halloween partyvenue. The will compete at Pioneers, the bad costum for e competition. the worst costume in

actors feel red-headed like the step dren of the chilcomedy and theate worlds,” Wicke r ns said. “There improv actors,is, for a very ‘root for the under dog’ mentality, and that’s what we’re all about as well.” Right now, merely fun the Bad Theater Fest is for viewer s The three-y ear old event and actors. ing out its kinks; organi is still irona challenge zing skits is and between sets smooth transitions are never teed. But Wicken guarans said can be seen he hopes it by a pool of untappfuture audiences as ed talent.

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YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS SOURCE

AUGUST 20-26,2015

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More CUNY Award Winners! SEAN THATCHER Barry Goldwater Scholarship 2015 College of Staten Island

EVGENIYA KIM Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans 2015 Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College

JACOB LEVIN Harry S. Truman Scholarship 2015 Macaulay Honors College at Brooklyn College

JOHNATHAN CULPEPPER National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship 2015 Medgar Evers College

CARLA SPENSIERI Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Grant 2015 Hunter and Queens Colleges

KYLE CHIN-HOW Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship 2015 Queensborough Community College

CUNY students are winning the most prestigious, highly competitive awards in the nation. In the past ﬁve years, they have won 81 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships, 79 Fulbright Awards for research and teaching English abroad, and 12 Barry Goldwater Scholarships for outstanding undergraduates who intend to pursue research careers in mathematics, the natural sciences or engineering. And two CUNY doctoral candidates captured prestigious prizes that are rarely awarded to students—a Pulitzer Prize and a Guggenheim Fellowship, both for poetry. Providing quality, accessible education has been CUNY’s mission since 1847, a commitment that is a source of enormous pride, as are these students.

— James B. Milliken, Chancellor

Join the winners’ circle! For more information about The City University of New York visit cuny.edu/welcome

AUGUST 20-26,2015

2015

Fall

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education Downtown best high schools best public elementary schools best private schools continuing education

NEW YORK’S TOP PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS The problem with subjective rankings is that they are just that – subjective. But there is no doubt the 20 high schools selected here are among the very best Manhattan has to offer: schools with top-quality academic programs, or fiercely competitive performing arts programs or unique, ‘only-inNew York’–type schools that blend cultures and language into proving grounds for college and beyond. Some are big, some are small. Some have terrific sports programs, some hardly any. Some specialize in technology, math and science. Others prepare their students for careers in medicine or health services. The High School for Dual Language and Asian Studies expects all students to be fluent in Mandarin and English by time they graduate. LaGuardia High applicants must audition, and kids must pass a rigorous test to get into Stuyvesant. The High School for Mathematics, Science and Engineering proclaims it is educating the “next generation of leaders” in the technology field. Baruch College Campus High School partners with such stellar institutions of higher learning as Baruch College and Harvard University – while Lower East Side Prep is a transfer school that deals with students 17 to 21 who have recently arrived in

the U.S. or have dropped out of other schools. New York City high schools aren’t zoned by neighborhood so students can apply to any of the 400 or so schools in the city and then try to test, perform or just dazzle their way in. To come up with our best in the city list, we relied on the school’s website, the Department of Education’s Quality reviews, inside schools.org, great schools.org, school digger, the U.S. News & World Report rankings and conversations with parents who have sent their children to some of these institutions. Our list certainly isn’t perfect. But it’s a great place to start to ﬁnd the right school for your child. The Editors

NEW EXPLORATIONS INTO SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND MATH HIGH SCHOOL 111 Columbia St. Enrollment: 1,730 (k-12) Graduation Rate: 98% Avg. Attendance: 97% Ethnicity: 11% Hispanic, 33% Asian, 9% black, 42% white Admissions: Screened Avg. class size in English class: 26 NEST+m is a K-12 program

that begins in the Lower School with courses that include Singapore math and a foreign language, and progress to Regents level courses by 9th grade. The school offers courses in music, art, dance, technology and Advanced Placement. Its classwork is rigorous. The school snagged a 10 out of 10 rating from greatSchools.org, and ranked 26th on the U.S. News list of best New York public high schools.

HIGH SCHOOL FOR MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING AT CITY COLLEGE 240 Convent Ave. Enrollment: 456 Graduation Rate: 99% Avg. Attendance 94.3% Ethnicity: 37% Asian, 25% white, 24% Hispanic, 9% black, 5% other Admissions: Test-based Avg. class size in English class: 31 This school, where boys outnumber girls by a 2 to 1 margin, prides itself on “Educating the Next Generation of Leaders in a TechnologyDriven World.” It gets rave reviews across the board – instruction, school culture and CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

AUGUST 20-26,2015

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HIGH SCHOOLS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

systems for improvement. The coursework is rigorous and Advance Placement courses are plentiful. School leaders convey high expectations to teachers, who do the same for students. It ranked 10th in the U.S. News & World Report list of the best New York high schools and got a rating of 10 out of 10 from greatschools.org.

STUYVESANT HIGH SCHOOL 345 Chambers St. Enrollment: 3,290 Graduation Rate: 98% Avg. Attendance 97% Ethnicity: 73% Asian, 21% white, 3% Hispanic, 1% black Admissions: Test-based Avg. class size in English class: 27. Stuyvesant is the name that comes to mind when talking about the best high school in New York, but many on this list – and in other boroughs – would dispute that. Students can choose from 28 Advanced Placement courses and seven languages and are expected to earn a Stuyvesant-endorsed diploma that includes courses reﬂecting the school’s science,

technology, engineering and math (STEM) focus. The rap on it is its miniscule percentage of black and Hispanic students. It rated a perfect 10 on greatschools.org and 15th on the U.S. News list for New York.

ELEANOR ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL 411 E. 76th St. Enrollment: 531 Graduation Rate: 100% Avg. Attendance 96% Ethnicity: 62% white, 11% Hispanic, 4% black and 21% Asian. Admissions: Screened. Avg. class size in English class: 27 This popular Upper East Side school, with about 60% girls and 40% boys, claims a 100% graduation rate and offers each student an individualized education. Its mission is dedicated to teaching students “to be life-long learners” who think critically and solve problems creatively. “Our commitment to open, thoughtful exploration ensures that Eleanor Roosevelt High School is a place where questions are as important as answers.” It received a rating of 9 out of 10 from greatschools. org, and was ranked 17th by U.S. News & World Report.

SCHOOL OF THE FUTURE HIGH SCHOOL 127 E. 22d St. Enrollment: 715 (high school only) Graduation Rate: 82% Avg. Attendance: 95% Ethnicity: 36% white, 28% Hispanic, 16% Asian,

12% black Admissions: Limited screening Avg. class size in English class: 31 This school, which is a middle school and high school, is in the Coalition of Essential Schools, part of a Gates Foundation-

funded program. The school prides itself on being an “experience school,” and touts its diversity not only of ethnicity, but also across academic and socio-economic lines. Students write “exhibitions” instead of taking state Regents Tests. Received a 10 of 10 rating from

greatschools.org.

BARUCH COLLEGE CAMPUS HIGH SCHOOL 55 E. 25th St. Enrollment: 438 Graduation Rate: 99% Avg. Attendance 97.7%

F IND Y OUR F UTURE A T H UNTER C OLLEGE Are you seeking advancement in your professional field? Hoping to enter a thriving sector of the job market? Interested in learning a new skill or language? Eager to pursue a stimulating interest or activity?

Discover the four Continuing Education Programs at Hunter College: Continuing Education offers a wide range of certificate programs, professionaldevelopment courses and personal-enrichment courses. The International English Language Institute offers English as a Second Language courses designed to make you fluent in English – whatever your native language. Parliamo Italiano offers courses in Italian at all levels. The Writing Center-CE offers workshops in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, playwriting and screenwriting, and sponsors popular literary events. Come to Hunter for the best in Continuing Education.

Find our programs on:

www.hunter.cuny.edu/ceprograms 695 Park Avenue, Room E1022 New York, NY 10065 212.650.63850

AUGUST 20-26,2015

Ethnicity: 59% Asian, 15% Hispanic, 1% black and 20% white. Admissions: Screened. Avg. class size in English class: 28 The DOE’s Quality Review Report says this school – which partners with Baruch College and Harvard – has a “consistently rigorous curricula and academic tasks (that) ensure that all students have access, are cognitively engaged and required to show their thinking.” Space is a little tight and demand is great: Only 1% of applicants were accepted for the 2013 class. It ranked 48th on the U.S. News & World Report list and got a 9 out of 10 rating from greatschools.org.

FIORELLO H. LAGUARDIA HIGH SCHOOL OF MUSIC & ART AND PERFORMING ARTS 100 Amsterdam Ave. Enrollment: 2,621 Graduation Rate: 98% Avg. Attendance 95% Ethnicity: 45% white, 20% Asian, 19% Hispanic, 11% black, 5% multi-racial Admissions: Auditions Avg. class size in English class: 30

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Avg. class size in English class: 30 Millennium offers four years of math and science and three years of foreign language, including Spanish or Mandarin. The school offers a variety of Advanced Placement courses, including AP Calculus, Advanced Biology, Advanced Spanish, Chemistry and Physics. The school says 81% of students earn an Advanced Regents Diploma. It received a 9 rating from greatschools.org and was ranked 51st best New York public high school by on U.S. News & World Report.

MANHATTAN VILLAGE ACADEMY

This school, a successor to the “Fame” school, is a magnet for talented kids from across the city – from the children of musicians, celebrities and movie stars to kids eligible for free lunch. Racial diversity is high and students take regular academic courses and two to three hours a day of their specialty, including drama, dance, music, art or production. School hours are long and parent involvement is high. It ranked 45th on U.S. News list

and snagged a 9 out of 10 rating from greatschools.org.

MILLENNIUM HIGH SCHOOL 75 Broad St. Enrollment: 531 Graduation Rate: 99% Avg. Attendance 95.9% Ethnicity: 36% Asian, 35% white, 19% Hispanic, 7% black Admissions: Screened

43 W. 22d St. Enrollment: 414 Graduation Rate: 95% Avg. Attendance: 97% Ethnicity: 7% white, 73% Hispanic, 6% Asian, 12% black Admissions: Screened Avg. class size in English class: 20 This relatively tiny high school boasts small classes with a strong college prep curriculum and teachers who are encouraged to think outside the box. Girls outnumber boys by 2 to 1, and competition for a seat is ﬁerce – about 20 applications

per seat. It is ranked 107th by U.S. News & World Report and snagged an 8 out of 10 rating from greatschools.org.

HIGH SCHOOL FOR DUAL LANGUAGE AND ASIAN STUDIES 350 Grand St. Enrollment: 456 Graduation Rate: 98% Avg. Attendance 98% Ethnicity: 89% Asian, 2% white, 6% Hispanic, 3% black. Admissions: Screened Avg. class size in English class: 31 HSDLAS expects all students will be ﬂuent in Mandarin and English by the time they graduate. It offers a rigorous curriculum with an emphasis on STEM education; 97.7% of students completed rigorous Advance Placement courses. Peer study groups meet regularly and academic teachers meet regularly with English as Second Language teachers to collaborate on lesson plans. The DOE’s Quality Report for 2014-2015 gave the school excellent reviews. It got an 8 out of 10 rating from greatschools. org, and ranked second on the U.S. News & World Report list of best New York City public high schools.

LOWER EAST SIDE PREPARATORY HIGH SCHOOL 145 Stanton St. Enrollment: 551 Graduation Rate: 31% Avg. Attendance: 88.3% Ethnicity: 69% Asian, 20% Hispanic, 9% black, 1% white Admissions: Transfer School. Avg. class size in English class: 25 Despite its low graduation rate, this school gets high marks for providing a quality education to students who have recently arrived in the U.S. or who those who have dropped out of regular high schools and decide to return. It’s about 85% English Language Learners and students come from more than 50 countries. Teachers are creative and work hard to engage kids learning English or giving high school a second chance. It ranked 60th on the U.S. News list and got 7 out of 10 stars from greatschools.org

YOUNG WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP SCHOOL 105 E. 106th St. Enrollment: 300, grades CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

The IDEAL School & Academy is New York City’s only independent inclusion school. At IDEAL, we are dedicated to creating a diverse community that affirms and accepts the full identities of all people, while inspiring academic excellence, creative leadership, and a desire to build a more just and equitable world. Our K-12 program strives to develop students who are intellectually curious, independent, and creative; are self-confident, have self-respect, and are willing to take risks; are prepared to be responsible, productive citizens, and ethical and compassionate human beings; have had the opportunity to learn from peers and to be mentors; have a true appreciate for differences and are therefore adaptable to a changing world; and are prepared to flourish in a global and diverse community.

To learn more and to apply, contact our Admission Office at 212-769-1699 or admissions@theidealschool.org The IDEAL School & Academy 314 W. 91st Street, NY, NY 10025 www.theidealschool.org

HIGH SCHOOLS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13

6-12 Graduation Rate: 100% Avg. Attendance 97% Ethnicity: 54% Hispanic, 33% black, 8% Asian, 3% white, Admissions: Screened Avg. class size in English class: 28 This girls-only school in East Harlem is the perfect place to send your child if she doesn’t want to be distracted by boys in middle or high school. Uniforms are required, but classes are small and teachers work to instill the notion that girls

AUGUST 20-26,2015

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can get as far academically or career-wise as boys. Advanced Placement courses are offered and the school partners with Smith and Barnard Colleges. Ranked 107th by U.S. News & World Report. Scored 7 out of 10 rating from greatschools.org.

NYC LAB SCHOOL FOR COLLABORATIVE STUDIES 333 W. 17th St. Enrollment: 587 Graduation Rate: 95% Avg. Attendance 94% Ethnicity: 44% white, 16% Hispanic, 29% Asian, 8% black, 3% multi-racial Admissions: Screened

Avg. class size in English class: 27 This campus school in Chelsea has a rigorous curriculum that offers a wide range of experiences and choice. As its name implies, it’s big on collaboration and emphasizes critical thinking skills in academic tasks across grades and subjects. It adds a special focus to help English Language Learners and students with disabilities prepare for college and careers. Some Advanced Placement courses are offered. It ranked 64th on U.S. News list and got a 7 out of 10 rating from greatschools.org.

NYC MUSEUM SCHOOL 333 W. 17th St. Enrollment: 475 Graduation Rate: 95% Avg. Attendance: 95.5% Ethnicity: 14% white, 41% Hispanic, 31% Asian, 13% black Admissions: Screened and state reading scores Avg. class size in English class: 32% As its name implies, this school takes frequent trips to museums. Classes are broken into museum-based study groups called modules to focus on certain areas, such as geometrics or forensics.

They usually involve a longterm project and culminate in a presentation. For instance, a geometric module would visit bridges and churches for project material. It ranked 107th by on the U.S. News & World Report list and received a 7 out of 10 rating from greatschools.org.

NYC SCHOOL 131 Sixth Ave. Enrollment: 475 Graduation Rate: 90% Avg. Attendance: 92% Ethnicity: 27% white,

42% Hispanic, 10% Asian, 18% black Avg. class size in English class: 28 This school, which opened in 2008 is geared to students who are self-starters and highly inquisitive. There’s a rooftop garden and weight room. It bills itself as a school for the 21st century and strives to “develop a whole new vision for teaching, learning, and the student experience.” Ranked 115th by U.S. News & World Report, it rated 7 out of 10 stars from

greatschools.org.

BEACON HIGH SCHOOL 530 W. 44th St. Enrollment: 1,275 Graduation Rate: 99% Avg. Attendance 95.4% Ethnicity: 49% white, 23% Hispanic, 9% Asian, 14% black Admissions: Screened. Avg. class size in English class: 33 Beacon High School, where girls outnumber boys by 2 to 1, is slated to move from an

At The Mary Louis Academy, you will own your voice— distinctive, confident, intelligent, creative, and empowered— a voice that will be one of your greatest assets in life.

176-21 WEXFORD TERRACE JAMAICA ESTATES, NY 11432

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overcrowded old factory to a new building on W. 44th St. in Hell’s Kitchen for the 20152016 school year. It offers a traditional liberal arts program infused with technology and arts. To graduate, students must present performancebased projects to panels of teachers and complete a stint of community service. Beacon offers extensive travel opportunities, including trips to Russia and Africa. It got a 4 out of 10 from greatschools. org and was 105th on the U.S.

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News list.

HIGH SCHOOL FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES 444 W. 56th St. Enrollment: 1,339 Graduation Rate: 83% Avg. Attendance 90% Ethnicity: 60% Hispanic, 16% Asian, 15% black, 9% white Admissions: Scores and random Avg. class size in English

class: 30 This school provides a unique curriculum combining environmentally infused college prep courses with internships at Wave Hill Public Garden and the Bronx Zoo, and ﬁeld trips designed to improve the environment. A variety of programs are tailored to students depending on their abilities. The school offers numerous AP courses and has a small Honors Academy for the top students. HSES ranked 114th on the U.S. News list and

got a 4 out of 10 rating from great schools.org.

CENTRAL PARK EAST HIGH SCHOOL 1537 Madison Ave. 129 W. 67th St. Enrollment: 459 Graduation Rate: 77% Avg. Attendance: 93% Ethnicity: 63% Hispanic, 25% black, 7% Asian, 4% white Admissions: Screened Avg. class size in English

class: 30 One of four schools in the Jackie Robinson Education Complex, Central Park East looks at middle school grades and attendance rather than state math and English tests. It has a peer-to-peer mentorship program that selects 20 rising juniors to act as support to a new class of ninth grade students. It ranked 138th on the U.S. News list and rated 5 out of 10 on greatschools.org.

A. PHILIP RANDOLPH NYC MUSEUM SCHOOL 443 W. 125th St. Enrollment: 1,360 Graduation Rate: 95% Avg. Attendance: 86% Ethnicity: 1% white, 61% Hispanic, 5% Asian, 31% black Admissions: Screened and application Avg. class size in English class: 32 This school offers specialization in medicine, engineering or the humanities in its landmarked Gothic building in Harlem. It says its mission is to provide students “with the skills and experiences necessary to prepare our graduates to succeed at competitive colleges and universities.” To do that, it stresses Advanced Placement

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courses in such subjects as English composition, calculus biology, psychology and Spanish. It earned a 4 out of 10 rating from greatschools. org.

MANHATTAN BRIDGES HIGH SCHOOL 525 W. 25th St. Enrollment: 531 Graduation Rate: 82% Avg. Attendance 91% Ethnicity: 100% Hispanic. Admissions: Limited to Hispanic students who have been in the U.S. fewer than three years and whose English skills are limited. Avg. class size in English class: 19 The school, ranked 20th in the U.S. News & World list of best New York public high schools, has class periods of 72 minutes to give all students, especially English Language Learners, the time they need to apply their learning in the classrooms. The students, all of whom are eligible for free lunch and are required to wear uniforms, receive extra support and real-time feedback to measure their progress. About 81% participate in Advanced Placement classes. It ranked 20th best on the U.S. News list and got a 3 out of 10 ranking from greatschools.org.

students scored proﬁcient or above in math and 69% did so in English. Greatschools.org gave it a solid 7 out of 10 rating.

Hispanic, 5% black, 55% white Avg. Attendance n/a Avg. class size: n/a This one is a promising workin-progress and was founded to ease school overcrowding in the area. Opened on the bottom ﬂoors of the Foundling Hospital, it accepted its ﬁrst pre-k and kindergarten classes in September 2014, with a goal of becoming a pk-5 with about 500 students. It is zoned to take kids from the Village, Chelsea, Union Square and the Flatiron District. Far too early to rate it, but it stresses collaboration and a “hands-on” approach learning.

P.S. 130 HERNANDO DE SOTO

P.S. 124 YUNG WING SCHOOL

143 Baxter St. Enrollment: 1,002 (pk-5) Ethnicity: 88% Asian, 5% Hispanic, 1% black, 4% white Avg. Attendance 97% Avg. class size in 5th grade class: 27 Like many top downtown schools, Hernando is largely Asian in terms of its student body, reﬂecting the community it serves. It has a rigorous academic program, uses computers extensively and has a good gifted and talented program. Its motto: “Excellence in Education, enrichment for all children.” About 83% of students were proﬁcient or better in math and about 53% in English Language Arts. Greatschools.org gave it a 10 out of 10 rating.

40 Division St. Enrollment: 864 (pk-5) Ethnicity: 94% Asian, 3% Hispanic, 1% black, 2% white Avg. Attendance 97.9% Avg. class size in 5th grade class: 22 Named for the ﬁrst Chinese immigrant to graduate from Yale University (in 1853), this school uses arts collaborative programs to support and enrich the reading, writing and oral language skills for its large population of English Language Learners. Student presentations showcase their talents and communicate through the arts and academics. More than 80% of students are proﬁcient or above in math and 60% in English. A perfect 10 from greatschools.org.

TOP ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS DOWNTOWN P.S. 234 THE INDEPENDENCE SCHOOL 292 Greenwich St. Enrollment: 827 (k-5) Ethnicity: 71% white, 14% Asian, 8% Hispanic, 3% black Avg. Attendance 96.1% Avg. class size in 5th grade class: 28 One of the city’s most popular schools, P.S. 234 is housed in a comfortable modern building just a block off West Street. Students go on frequent ﬁeld trips to Central Park or the Brooklyn Bridge. Teachers stay with a class for two years to give students a better sense of continuity. About 69% of students were proﬁcient or above in math; 67% in English. The school scored a 10 out of 10 rating from greatschools.org.

P.S. 150. TRIBECA LEARNING CENTER 334 Greenwich St. Enrollment: 186 (pk-5) Ethnicity: 54% white, 13% Asian, 15% Hispanic, 8% black, 10% multi-racial Avg. Attendance 95% Avg. class size in 5th grade class: 29 This small school has just one class per grade and no gym, but it offers Singapore Math, using the fast-track Math in Focus program. It also stresses science and has lots of ﬁeld trips. More than 70% of students were proﬁcient or better in math, and 65% were the same in English. P.S. 150 received a perfect 10 from greatschools.org.

P.S. 89 201 Warren St. Enrollment: 440 (pk-5) Ethnicity: 62% white, 15% Asian, 15% Hispanic, 2% black, 6% multi-racial Avg. Attendance 96% Avg. class size in 5th grade class: 26 This school, which shares a building with I.S. 289, has great facilities and is just a block below Stuyvesant

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High School. Administrators stress collaboration between teachers and conduct ongoing assessments of all students. Some 76% of students scored proﬁcient or better in math; 70% did so in English. A perfect 10 from great schools.org

P.S. 11 WILLIAM T. HARRIS 320 W. 21St St. Enrollment: 872 (k-5) Ethnicity: 13% Asian, 28% Hispanic, 7% black, 49% white Avg. Attendance 96% Avg. class size in 5th grade class: 22 This school solidly reﬂects its neighborhood and socioeconomic mix gets and gets high marks for rigorous instruction and collaborative teachers. It has a small gym but boasts an indoor swimming pool. About 73% of students were proﬁcient or better in math and about 63% in English Language Arts. Greatschools. org gave it a 9 out of 10 rating.

P.S./I.S. 276 BATTERY PARK CITY SCHOOL 55 Battery Place Enrollment: 875 (k-8) Ethnicity: 55% white, 22% Asian, 11% Hispanic, 5% black, 6% multi-racial Avg. Attendance 96% Avg. class size: 32 This school, housed in a “green” building, starts teaching Spanish in ﬁrst grade and uses a balanced literacy program and conducts writing workshops. It also stresses social responsibility. Classes are large but the teaching staff gets good reviews from parents. About 74% of students scored proﬁcient or better in math and 62% reached that standard in English. It received a 10 out of 10 rating from greatschools.org

P.S. 41 GREENWICH VILLAGE SCHOOL 116 W. 11th St. Enrollment: 793 (k-5) Ethnicity: 71% white, 10% Asian, 9% Hispanic, 2%

black, 7% multi-racial Avg. Attendance 95.8% Avg. class size: 29 This school, just off Sixth Ave., has a robust academic program and active parents who help raise money for such things as art, chess and dance programs. It does not have a gifted and talented program, instead preferring to educate students with a “range” of abilities. Inside Schools says it often has a waitlist for kindergarten. Some 78% of students scored proﬁcient or above in math, while 70% did so in English. Earned a perfect 10 from greatschools.org.

P.S. 33 CHELSEA PREP 289 9th Ave. Enrollment: 516 (k-5) Ethnicity: 25% Asian, 30% Hispanic, 13% black, 24% white Avg. Attendance 95% Avg. class size in 5th grade class: 23 Chelsea Prep is a classic example of a great turnaround school, according to Inside Schools. It supplements its rigorous, analytical-based academic program with an emphasis on arts and drama and offers Mandarin. Some 74% of

P.S. 340 THE FOUNDLING SCHOOL 590 Sixth Ave. Enrollment: 83 (pk-k) Ethnicity: 10% Asian, 17%

SPRUCE STREET SCHOOL 12 Spruce St. Enrollment: 362 (pk-8)

Ethnicity: 57% white, 16% Asian, 12% Hispanic, 3% black Avg. Attendance 94.4% Avg. class size in kindergarten: 24 Located at the base of Frank Gehry’s oddly shaped Spruce Street Tower, this school opened in 2009 and is gradually expanding to include middle school grades to reﬂect Lower Manhattan’s surging population. It has rigorous academics and is active in the community, partnering with area restaurants for fund-raisers such as the “Taste of the Seaport” event. Eighty-four percent of its students are proﬁcient or better in math and 59% in English. Got a 10 out of 10 from greatschools.org.

P.S. 126 JACOB RIIS/MANHATTAN ACADEMY OF TECHNOLOGY 80 Catherine St. Enrollment: 864 (pk-5) Ethnicity: 56% Asian, 23% Hispanic, 10% black, 10% white Avg. Attendance 95% Avg. class size in 5th grade class: 24 Parents generally rave about this school, which features strong academics, career training in the upper grades and a fairly diverse student body. Unlike many of the top schools on our lists, it has a large number of English Language Learners (17%) and special ed students (15.3%). Still, 53% are proﬁcient or better in math and 35% in English. Got an 8 out of 10 from greatschools.org.

P.S. 1 ALFRED E. SMITH 8 Henry St. Enrollment: 515 (pk-5) Ethnicity: 70% Asian, 18% Hispanic, 12% black Avg. Attendance 94.2% Avg. class size in 5th grade class: 25 Always considered an immigrant school since it opened in 1891, it has thrived through all demographic shifts. Children are encouraged to not only do well academically, but also to take part in events that give back to the community, such as the annual Penny Harvest for charities selected by the students events. More than 60% of students are proﬁcient or better in math and 46% in English. Got a 7 out of 10 from greatschools.org.

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TOP PRIVATE SCHOOLS DOWNTOWN There are a lot of great public schools in Manhattan, but for parents who are wealthy enough to afford, there are also a lot of top-notch private schools. Many cater to the rich and famous, but most offer scholarships and ﬁnancial aid to achieve diversity across racial and socio-economic lines. They all have student/teacher ratios well below the national average and offer small classes and personalized educational programs. All are prestigious and academically rigorous and many send a healthy percentage of their students to Ivy League Schools. But some also specialize in certain areas, such as performing arts, culinary arts – and a few deal with children with special needs. Many of the names on our lists are familiar, but we’ve also tried to include a few that ﬂy under the radar. Our list was compiled by information from the schools, their websites, news coverage and blogs. We hope our list can help parents make important educational decisions for their children – and provide a few fun facts along the way.

AVENUES NYC 259 10th Ave. Enrollment: About 1,200 (k-12)

Tuition: $43,350 Student/Teacher ratio – 9:1 Avenues unabashedly calls itself

“The World School,” and the operators plan to add schools around the world, from Shanghai to London. Housed in the old 10-story R.C. Williams warehouse along the High Line, the school requires students to learn a second language – either Spanish or Mandarin – and focus on math and the sciences. It was named an Apple Distinguished School for its “innovative and compelling learning environment.”

CORLEARS SCHOOL 324 W. 15th St. Enrollment: 145 (pre-school-5) Tuition: $25,000 - $37,400 Student/Teacher ratio - 4:1 Corlears specializes in early childhood education from two to 10 years old. Its website proclaims: “We are committed solely to young children, from 2 to 10, helping them build a strong foundation in academics, the arts, the sciences, and technology. We give our students numerous opportunities to exercise their curiosity, think deeply about their world, and develop the skills and knowledge that will enhance and empower their lives…”

XAVIER HIGH SCHOOL 30 W. 16th St. Enrollment: 1,022 (9-12, boys) Tuition: $16,7000 Student/Teacher ratio - 14:1 Founded in 1847, Xavier is an academically rigorous, Catholic, Jesuit, prep school that blends core curriculum and religious instruction. The school’s website says it “teaches students to take responsibility for their lives, to lead with integrity, to act justly … pursue excellence in every endeavor and to deepen their relationship with God.” Notable alums include former NYC Mayor Jimmy Walker, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, Al Roker and Sonny Grosso.

WINSTON PREP 126 W. 17th St. Enrollment: 699 (4-12) Tuition: $41,900 Student/Teacher ratio - 4:1 Winston Prep offers a quality education and personalized learning to students with learning difficulties, including ADHD and dyslexia. Classes average about 10 students and teachers focus on “skill-based learning

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with an underlying emphasis on social-emotional growth.” In addition to core classes, Winston Prep offers afterschool activities including athletics, drama and tutoring.

DOWNTOWN UNITED SOCCER CLUB

CITY AND COUNTRY SCHOOL

GIRLS GOT GAME!

146 W. 13th St. Enrollment: About 500 (n-8) Tuition: $41,900 Student/Teacher ratio - 5:1 Founded in 1914 as a model of progressive education, this school is housed in several brownstones along tree-lined W. 13th St. Social studies is the core of the curriculum, which also includes science, math, literature and the arts. Students are encouraged “to explore and question the human story, both past and present.” Notable alums include Matthew Broderick and Vladimir Posner.

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272 - 278 W. 10th St. Enrollment: About 325 (k-8) Tuition: Sliding scale Student/Teacher ratio 10:1 A community school with a social studies-centered curriculum, the school’s website says teachers “challenge students to reach their full potential for cognitive, social, emotional, and physical growth … Our students encounter hands-on, project-based learning as well as direct instruction, repetition, review, and reinforcement.”

LORGE SCHOOL 353 W. 17th St. Enrollment: 94 (k-12, but not grouped by grade) Tuition: About $30,000 Student/Teacher ratio – 6:1 Lorge has an expert staff to deal with children with a wide range of special education needs. Aside from providing the supports needed, Lorge has its own dance company and requires students to take at least two dance classes per week.

GUARDIAN ANGEL SCHOOL

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193 10th Ave. Enrollment: 234 (prek-8) Tuition: $4,255, plus a commitment to fundraising. Double that if not interested in fundraising)

Student/Teacher ratio – 20:1 This school, located in the heart of Chelsea, has a good reputation in the community due to its challenging academic programs and warm family spirit. Professional lay teachers and the Dominican Sisters of Newburgh have staffed the school through its 70-year history. Students wear uniforms and receive religious instruction in addition to core courses.

LITTLE RED SCHOOL HOUSE AND ELISABETH IRWIN HIGH SCHOOL 272 6th Ave. (lower grades) 40 Charlton St. (high school) Enrollment: 625 (k-12) Tuition: $40,830 Student/Teacher ratio - 7:1 If any school is committed to social justice and civic engagement, it’s Little Red and Elisabeth Irwin. In addition to a core curriculum, students are encouraged to get involved in small groups or individual projects that beneﬁt the school and the city as a whole, including organizations like Kids Walk For Kids With Cancer and St. John’s Food Pantry. Notable alums include Robert De Niro, Mary Travers, Angela Davis and Zac Posen.

LEMAN MANHATTAN PREP 1 Morris St., 40 Broad St. Enrollment: 600 (prek-12) Tuition: $28,300-43,650 Student/Teacher ratio - 6:1 One of a handful of independent schools in Manhattan to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program, Léman Manhattan prides itself on “building the next generation of courageous, critical thinkers.” Its student body represents some 50 countries and the school also has sister campuses in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America. Both campuses have swimming pools, art studios, libraries, gyms, music rooms and ﬁne arts performing spaces.

ST. LUKE’S SCHOOL 487 Hudson St. Enrollment: About 1,200 (k-8) Tuition: $39,375-$39,775 Student/Teacher ratio – 6:1 This small (one class to a grade) independent Episcopal school allows teachers to focus on the individual

student. A main goal is to “help children build selfesteem based on meaningful accomplishment rather than mindless affirmation.” It gets solid reviews from parents and former students and is popular in the community.

FRIENDS SEMINARY SCHOOL 222 E. 16th St. Enrollment: 761 (k-12) Tuition: $39,800 Student/Teacher ratio – 8:1 Part of the Quaker-run Friends network, this school prides itself on stressing the “Quaker practices of careful listening, compassion, nonviolence, full equality of women, and social action in pursuit of social justice.” Like many of these schools, demand far exceeds available seats; gets good parent and community reviews.

THE GRACE CHURCH SCHOOL 86 Fourth Ave. (k-8); 46 Cooper Square (9-12) Enrollment: 646 (k-12) Tuition: $41,750 Student/Teacher ratio – 5:1 This school has two campuses – one for elementary school students and one for high schoolers. It has an international exchange program, 1-to-1 iPads for grades 9-12, and boasts seven science labs, three computer labs and a robust athletics program. High school students can take courses at nearby NYU and Cooper Union.

THE BLUE SCHOOL 241 Water St. Enrollment: 200 (n-8) Tuition: $24,300 $39,700 Student/Teacher ratio – 5:1 to 9:1, depending on age and grade. Founded by members of the performance company Blue Man Group, this school blends some traditional educational methods with an approach that stresses creativity and free thinking. Its mission statement says: “We are dedicated to connecting children with their ability to create and to express themselves. By helping them access their innate creativity and expression, we believe children will become intrinsically motivated to learn and more fully engaged in life.”

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CONTINUING EDUCATION: SCHOOL FOR THE POST-SCHOOL SET Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s never too late to learn and there are plenty of colleges and universities in New York City offering a wide array of courses and professional development for people weighing a career change, advancement or just the love of learning. The schools on our list represent a sampling of some of the best or innovative courses.

BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE 25 Broadway 212-346-8420 www.bmcc.cuny.edu The Center for Continuing Education and Workforce Development offers course or certiďŹ cates in nursing assistants, information technology, media arts, career training and personal development, English as a Second Language, notary skills and

SCHOOL OF VISUAL ARTS

professional writing.

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF CONTINUING EDUCATION 2970 Broadway 212-854-9666 ce.columbia.edu This celebrated Ivy League school offers 13 mastersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; degree programs, courses for advancement and graduate school and certiďŹ cation courses. Graduate degrees include bioethics, communications, fund-raising management negotiation and conďŹ&#x201A;ict resolution and sports management. You can pick up certiďŹ cates in business, classics, ecology, evolution and environmental biology, human rights and psychology.

2090 E. 23rd St. 212-592-2000 www.sva.edu Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pricey, but for serious visual arts students, it canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be beat. Offers courses in advertising, animation, computer art, design, ďŹ lm and video, illustration and cartooning photography, visual and critical studies and more â&#x20AC;&#x201C; all taught by leaders in the ďŹ eld.

PACE UNIVERSITY 1 Pace Plaza 212-346-1200 www.pace.edu This school offers advanced courses in Human Resources management, paralegal studies, technology healthcare studies, test prep and licensing. Wide array of tech

courses include adobe training, mobile application and web development. Pace also offer a paralegal certiďŹ cation course.

BARUCH COLLEGE CONTINUING EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL STUDIES 55 Lexington Ave. 646-312-5000 www.baruched.com Baruch has a vast certiďŹ cate program with courses in accounting, bookkeeping/payroll, digital design, ďŹ nance investments, marketing professional communications and real estate. The school also has courses in ďŹ tness, test prep information technology and communications.

FORDHAM SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL AND CONTINUING STUDIES Lincoln Center Campus, 113 W. 60th St. 212-636-7333 pcs.fordham.edu In addition to a vast array of masters programs in cyber security, digital and social media and post-baccalaureate pre-med and pre-health course, Fordham offers course in a College at 60 program, which allows seniors and soon-to-be-seniors to go for a degree or just take seminars in such courses as creative writing, the music of Mozart, the novels of Henry James and Freudian psychology.

Founded in 1900, Loyola School is a Catholic, Jesuit, independent, co-educational, college preparatory, secondary day school made up of 200 students in Manhattan.

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WHY NOT TEACH EVERY SCHOOL KID TO READ WELL? CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Kentucky at all but a picture of one of the ball ďŹ elds in New York City where the public high school teams play their games. There are other pictures inside of other sorry-looking fields. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not so naĂŻve to think the public school ďŹ elds would be like a suburban schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ďŹ elds, but you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe that theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re that bad and you feel like a fool for being so unaware and you get angry at New York for not being a good person if thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how it lets its playing ďŹ elds for its kids go. You hope your friends donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see the article. But you move to Manhattan as planned and the condition of playing ďŹ elds doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t come up much. Anyone you knew from college who lived here has moved to the suburbs, for reasons like playing ďŹ elds for their kids. You do read, maybe prompted by that article, that some mogul(s) is fixing up some of the ďŹ elds. That makes you feel better. You wanted more outrage from the citi-

zenry maybe, but at least some progress is being made. What you really wish is that the Mayor would declare eminent domain and seize all sorts of parking lots and raze underused buildings and put in rich, green, playing ďŹ elds throughout the city. He could even take too-exclusive and over-blown Gramercy Park up the street from where you live and turn it into a hockey rink. You very much wish for spaces for kids here. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re surprised no one else brings it up ever. But thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not really about the New York bookishness that drew you here. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only a first instance of how you are disabused of some of your New York illusions. Those nasty playing ďŹ elds would be as nothing compared to what really starts bugging you, and what bugs you still about the city. But maybe those playing ďŹ elds will come in handy as a metaphor. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve come to see too many of the public schools in this bookish city as just as hardscrabble and under-watered and untended-to as those awful-looking fields. You arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t talking about the physical plants of the schools, though they usually look pretty uninviting. No, you are talking about the reading life of the kids in so many of

those big schools. In the neighborhood you live in now, you can stand, on a holiday, when traffic is light, in the center of the intersection in front of your apartment building, and you can see ďŹ ve bodegas of varying quality, two of them selling ďŹ&#x201A;owers. Three dry cleaners, one with washers and dryers. A newsstand with a busy lottery machine, an internet cafĂŠ. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an offbrand grocery store, a couple nail salons, two liquor stores, a CVS, a Starbucks, a Dunkinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Donuts, two good bagel places, one pizza place (you refuse to count the one that sells a-shotand-a-slice). Maybe a dozen restaurants, and almost that many popular bars. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a great neighborhood, with, hey, that exclusive park-with-a key just a short block away. It has all you wanted when you moved here. Except it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a bookstore. The newsstand will sell you fashion magazines from Milan, muscle magazines, college hoops mags. But thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no bookstore in sight. You can walk to Union Square to the vibrant, four-floored Barnes & Noble and you do that. And Strand is not far beyond that. But you wanted your neighborhood to have its own bookstore, a small one like where one of

the bodegas is. You know you have no real reason to complain about what your immediate neighborhood lacks when you compare it to the parts of the city where those ball fields are. There arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really any bookstores out there. You think of that promo that said New York is Book Country. Just parts of it, they must have meant. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s another metaphor you use when youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re having a pint with friends and you steer the conversation your way and you start going on about kids and reading and the poor results poor kids get in reading tests. You say that in a small island culture where everyone lives near the shore, swimming would be the most important skill that would be needed to be taught to kids so theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d survive, so they wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t drown. They wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t teach soccer or traditional dance steps until every child knew how to swim. When you see that your friends accept that as obvious, you bring up New York Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s schools. You say that in order to survive in this culture you have to know how to read, more than you need to know how to sing or shoot hoops or play volleyball or know who dug the Erie Canal. You have to know how

to read before anything else. In order to survive really. In order not to drown. Mayor Bloomberg, in his treasure chest campaign, so touted the success he claims heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s achieved in the schools since he took them over, you thought he was maybe going to buy an aircraft carrier and ďŹ&#x201A;y onto it and claim the learning war was over. You get mad thinking that he would have been cheered. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t they see, kids are drowning still. So many of them canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t read well enough to pass their swimming test. And you know that many of the kids who pass are really only dogpaddling. Why does the Mayor who fastidiously saw to it that 100% of the bars complied with his no-smoking edict, why does he not demand that 100% of the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kids know how to read? In Cleveland, where you came from 15 years ago, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a plaque on the front of the big library that says: Kids Who Read Succeed. Hell, maybe Cleveland is Book Country. You wonder if anyone really cares. It isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t talked about much. The Times and other publications talk about numbers and unions and rubber rooms. You canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even name the Timesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; education editor. Do they have one? You wonder why

mothers of kids in the schools donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take to the street with pots and pans and march down to Chambers Street to demand that their kids be taught to read. They know what it means for their kids not to know how to read, if only from seeing the neighborhoods ďŹ lled with the bodies of kids whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve drowned. If the Mayor can up-end centuries of tradition and outlaw tobacco from public houses, why canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t he buck Albany and the Board of Regents and turn the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s schools into reading academies where kids will immerse themselves in books and magazines, and the state syllabus be damned. It isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t longer hours at school the kids need, it is focused hours. It is reading time. Time to make up for what they lacked in their earliest years. The city has them for 12 years. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a long time. Enough time to teach every kid to read well. This essay is reprinted with permission from A City Reader, Bill Gunlockeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s blog and print publication. For past issues and more, go to acityreader. blogspot.com

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We create the adventure and all you need to do is show up! Want to learn more? Attend the Sundays at JASA Open House Sunday, September 20 Â&#x2021; DP â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2:00 pm John Jay College, North Hall, 445 West 59th Street, New York City Fall Semester Dates: Sundays, September 27 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; December 20 Â&#x2021; QH[WDFW#MDVD RUJ Learn - Then Act! Join IFSA 0 weeks of hands on training in advocacy and social DFWLRQ Learn from highly acclaimed government, non-profit, and community lHDGHUV Thursdays, September â&#x20AC;&#x201C; November Â&#x2021; DP â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2:00 pm JASA, 247 West 7th Street, New York City Â&#x2021; ifsD#MDVD RUJ FRXQGHG LQ -$6$ LV RQH RI 1HZ <RUNÂśV ODUJHVW DQG PRVW WUXVWHG agencies serving older adults in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, DQG /RQJ ,VODQG -$6$ V PLVVLRQ LV WR VXVWDLQ DQG HQULFK WKH lives of the aging in the New York metropolitan area so that they can remain in the community with dignity DQG DXWRQRP\

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ARE YOU THERE YET?

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NEW AND IN CHARGE AT SYMPHONY SPACE After almost a year as the institution’s artistic director, Andrew Byrne prepares for the upcoming season. BY GABRIELLE ALFIERO

Andrew Byrne, artistic director of Symphony Space, at the institution’s Peter Jay Sharp Theatre.

Organizing a schedule of more than 300 different literature, theater, music and film events is no small feat, but it’s what Symphony Space’s new artistic director Andrew Byrne did his first year on the job. The boyish, 49-year-old Australian native, who started last September and will soon embark on his first season of programming with the institution, boasts a classical pedigree suited for the task, but a laid-back demeanor that seems at home in Symphony Space’s casual offices at 95th Street and Broadway. Byrne first came to New York in 1993 to study composition at Columbia University, and spent 10 years with Carnegie Hall, where he established some of the famed institution’s music festivals and special events. Now, he’s tasked with redefining Symphony Space’s expansive performance calendar and diversifying its audience. West Side Spirit visited Byrne in his office to discuss what he learned in his first year on the job and what we can expect from the upcoming season, which includes an artist residency with violist Nadia Sirota, a discussion of Einstein’s theory of relativity and Symphony Space’s long-running Selected Shorts reading series. Tell me a bit about your role as the new artistic director. One of the challenges I felt with Symphony Space that I could address or bring my experience to was that we have such a diversity of program-

ming here that perhaps the identity of the institution gets a little bit obscured. If you talk to five different people about Symphony Space, you often get five different answers. Symphony Space is about Selected Shorts, or it’s about world music or it’s about film, or quite often, I’m not even sure because I hear so many different stories. When you started last year, how did you prepare to develop this new season? I spent the first three or four months just going to every show, getting a sense of what worked well, what our audiences were, all that stuff. And then in December, January, started to think about the season. One thing that struck me which I didn’t know was the incredible different types of audiences we get to shows here. Selected Shorts which is one of our legacy programs, gets maybe an older audience. It’s very established. But there’s Uptown Showdown, which is this comedy debate funky wacky series and that includes writers from the Daily Show and people like Wyatt Cenac, so it’s a younger demographic. It’s a completely different audience. We have the science talks, Secret Science Club North; it’s people who have this science series in Brooklyn. They bring it up here, and again they draw a completely different audience. One thing that struck me that I had no idea about before was the diversity of the events and the diversity of the audiences that come here. So it struck me that if I didn’t know about it, then other people didn’t know about it as well.

So the potential to communicate that story to a larger world. There’s a lot of unrealized potential I think at this institution. How does the upcoming season stay loyal to the institution while also creating something new? Isaiah Sheffer was one of the founding directors, and he talked about Symphony Space as being like a cultural town square. This place is an expression of the Upper West Side community, where we have artists of all different types, and an audience, and they kind of meet together, whether it’s a panel discussion on literature or it’s a music event or it’s a ﬁlm screening, it’s a place where the community comes together. And I see these projects and the idea of kind of creating larger stories and inviting audiences on journeys of discovery—whether it’s new work or Broadway or the 1915 project—takes what the essence of what the space is about…and takes it to the next stage. The other thing that people love about Symphony Space is its informal nature. It’s the people’s house. It doesn’t have that same sense as Lincoln Center of being for a sort of audience. It’s accessible. It’s affordable. It’s welcoming. And I think those qualities will remain. Is there anything you’re especially looking forward to? The Italian writer Elena Ferrante, she’s an intriguing ﬁgure. This will happen in the fall. It’s not part of the four projects but it’s the book club. She’s this shadowy figure that no one’s ever seen before, there’s no pictures of her, she doesn’t do any interviews. She’s published this Neapoli-

tan quartet, and John Waters who’s a big fan is going to be talking to her. Really? Interesting. Exactly. That’s the reaction, that’s the essence of what Symphony Space can do so well, is bring these two figures together. So I’ll be intrigued to see how that one goes. Is cultivating a diverse audience something you’re actively working on with this new season? Absolutely. I mean I think that, firstly, in terms of the way it is now, we do have lots of different audiences coming to different types of shows. Kind of like at any arts institution. It was the same at Carnegie Hall. When you have a jazz show you get a different audience than for the philharmonic. So we do get, in terms of demographics, a diverse audience. But, obviously, a Selected Shorts audience is an older audience. It’s of the community. It’s a white audience, educated audience, middle class audience. It’s an audience that’s getting older. So I mean, just in terms of survival we need to reach new audiences and reach younger people and try to expand our audience as much as possible so sure, that’s part of our thinking. And Source Project is the first in that way. You can’t just say, we’re going to program a Cuban artist and suddenly we’ll be inundated with a different audience, with a Cuban audience. It’s a long-term strategy. It’s about making this place welcoming… we will in the future have a more kind of systemic audience development project. At the same time you can’t be everything to everybody. We have a long term strategy over five years that we’ll try the projects out, we’ll see what works, what doesn’t work, I’m sure there’ll be tweaks along the way. And we need to find out, what is our niche? Selected Shorts is one niche but what are the other say musical niches that we can fulfill? This Q&A has been edited for clarity and length.

5 TOP

AUGUST 20-26,2015

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

FOR THE WEEK

F O R

BY GABRIELLE ALFIERO OUR ARTS EDITOR

THEATER

THE GOD GAFFE In playwright John William Schiffbauer’s new show The God Gaffe, a right-leaning talk show host insults a guest, causing conﬂict with her producer. The play, also directed by Schiffbauer and appearing as part of the New York International Fringe Festival, ﬁnds real-world inspiration in conservative talk show host Elisabeth Hasselbeck’s trajectory; she recently left daytime show The View for Fox News. The God Gaffe Aug. 19-29 The Players Theatre’s Steve & Marie Sgouros Theatre 115 MacDougal St., at Minetta Lane Assorted show times Tickets $18 To purchase tickets, visit fringenyc.org

MUSIC CHARLIE PARKER JAZZ FESTIVAL Ahead of their performances in the 22ndannual Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, composers and sax players Oliver Lake and Rudresh Mahanthappa discuss Parker’s contributions to jazz. Later in the festival, Lake performs with his band at Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem, and Mahanthappa takes the stage in Tompkins Square Park. Charlie Parker Jazz Festival Aug. 20-23 Assorted venues and times FREE For more information, visit http://www. cityparksfoundation.org/summerstage/

MUSIC VIENNESE CLASSICAL TRIAD Pianist Yelena Grinberg continues her ongoing, intimate salon series from the living room of her Upper West Side apartment with a Viennese program, including piano trios by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. Grinberg is joined by Keiko Tokunaga on violin and Hamilton Berry on cello. A food and wine reception with the musicians will follow. Viennese Classical Triad Aug. 26 and Aug. 30 Private residence on the Upper West Side (exact location provided upon ticket purchase) Aug. 26 at 7 p.m.; Aug 30 at 5 p.m. Tickets $25 To purchase tickets, visit http:// yelenagrinberg.com/grinberg-salon-series/ or email ygpiano@gmail.com

FOOD BLUES BBQ This annual event, now in its 16th season,

combines great blues acts with some of the city’s gut-busting barbeque. Soul singers Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens take the stage, as does the Otis Taylor Band and the Ed Palermo Big Band, while Brother Jimmy’s, Butcher Bar, Mighty Quinn’s Barbeque and Dinosaur Bar-B-Que serve up some of their favorite menu items. Rain or shine. Blues BBQ Saturday, Aug. 22 Hudson River Park Pier 26 At N. Moore Street 2 p.m. FREE For more information, visit http://www. hudsonriverpark.org or call 212-627-2020

MUSEUMS SIGHTS AND SOUNDS: PHILIPPINES The Jewish Museum’s ongoing series Sights and Sounds screens work by ﬁlmmakers and artists from around the globe. The series’ next focus is on work from the Philippines, with artists selected by a curator from the area, Joselina Cruz. Artists included in the project are Mariano Montelibano and Martha Atienza, among others. Sights and Sounds: Philippines Aug. 28-Sept. 24 Jewish Museum 1109 Fifth Ave., at 92nd Street Museum hours: Sunday-Tuesday, Friday and Saturday 11 a.m.-5:45 p.m.; Thursday 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; closed Wednesday Admission $15 For more information, visit thejewishmuseum. org or call 212-423-3200 To be included in the Top 5 go to otdowntown.com and click on submit a press release or announcement.

Sept 7–20

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ACTIVITIES FOR THE FERTILE MIND

thoughtgallery.org NEW YORK CITY

Sailors and Floosies: Sexuality and Queer Identity in American Art

THURSDAY, AUGUST 20TH, 7:30PM Whitney Museum | 99 Gansevoort St. | 212-570-3600 | whitney.org Check out the new Whitney while exploring gender, sexuality and LGBTQ perspectives in America Is Hard to See, the museum’s fascinating new display of its permanent collection. (Free with museum admission)

The Weird West Village: From Poe to Lovecraft

THURSDAY, AUGUST 20TH, 8PM Boroughs of the Dead | West Village | boroughsofthedead.com Take a stroll through the dark side of the Village: sites of ghostly sightings, grisly doings and places that inspired Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft (whose 125th birthday falls on this date). ($20)

Just Announced: TimesTalks | Alice Walker, Jennifer Hudson, Cynthia Erivo & John Doyle

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29TH, 7:30PM The New School | 55 W. 13th St. | 212-229-5108 | newschool.edu Catch the author of The Color Purple with two actresses and the director of the new Broadway version of the story in a conversation moderated by theater reporter Michael Paulson. ($45)

For more information about lectures, readings and other intellectually stimulating events throughout NYC,

AUGUST 20-26,2015

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

Food & Drink

< MULTIPLE DUNKIN’ DONUTS LOCATIONS ROBBED Dunkin’ Donuts locations in Manhattan have been the targets of register theft this month, Gothamist reported. According to local law enforcement, one man has targeted at least ﬁve of the chain’s Upper West Side

and Washington Heights spots, including a location at Broadway and W. 160th Street on Aug. 4, a Broadway and W. 101st Street shop on Aug. 5 and a Broadway and W. 80th Street spot on Aug. 7th. The suspect, who was

caught by a surveillance camera during once incident, threatened employees with a razor and took money from the registers.

SECOND AVENUE STREET SAUSAGES Schaller and Weber has opened a sausage bar featuring German street food BY JENNIFER GOODNOW

Schaller and Weber, the internationally known German butcher, has been serving customers in Yorkville since 1937. Started by German immigrants Ferdinand Schaller and his partner, Tony Weber, the store has provided the neighborhood and beyond with artisanal sausages and meats. Now, Jeremy Schaller, the third generation running the family business, has updated it for a 21st century clientele by adding a modern twist. Schaller has built an addition to the butcher shop, the Schaller’s Stube Sausage Bar. Stube means “little room” in German and Schaller’s Stube is a cozy space with 10 stools and win-

dow service to the street. The focus is German street food and the menu includes the butcher’s famous sausages prepared for customers to eat in or take out. Diners can build their own sandwich from a choice of sausages, toppings, and sauces. The menu also includes signature wursts such as The Berlin Wall, a half-pound kielbasa with American cheese, crispy bacon, bacon jam and chicharones. A banh-mi style take on wurst is the Saigon Special, a bauernwurst with daikon-carrot slaw, cucumber, fresh jalapeno, cilantro and sriracha aioli. Mrs. Schaller’s Fried Chicken, a top seller in the main shop, made it to the menu next door due to popular demand. In keeping with German tradition, Schaller will pair his sausages with German and Austrian beers on tap.

Schaller’s Stube liquor license has recently been approved and Jeremy Schaller expects to sell beer inside the Stube very soon. The curated list of beers includes Bitburger and Stiegl. Jeremy conceived the idea for the sausage bar during several trips to Germany, especially Berlin, where traditional sausage is served as street food. “Traditional sausage is what we’ve always done best and this seemed like a no brainer to me for a long time,” he said. While the menu is currently the omnivore’s delight, there are plans to create a homemade vegetarian sausage - gathered from the best vegetarian sausage recipes from Germany. When Jeremy took over Schaller and Weber from his uncle in August 2014, he took on the challenge of maintaining heritage sausage and meat for the

original customer base and procuring ﬁne food products that appeal to a younger patron. Schaller and his director of operations, Jesse Denes, expected Schaller’s Stube Sausage Bar to attract a younger following compared to Schaller and Weber. However, they have been pleasantly surprised to discover that the Schaller and Weber loyal customer base, grandparents who started coming to the butcher shop when they were children, are queuing up alongside hipsters, Second Avenue Subway construction workers, Wall Street brokers, and other neighborhood denizens. “I think this is the right time for it as the subway comes,” Schaller said, referring to the expected arrival of the Second Avenue subway, which will have a stop practically outside the

IF YOU GO The Schaller Stube Sausage Bar is open Monday–Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 1652 Second Avenue at 85th St 212-879-3047 www.schallerstube.com door of Schaller’s Stube. Schaller also noted that the changing demographics of the neighborhood have brought new patrons. People who have been priced out of Brooklyn are now moving to Yorkville. Schaller’s hope is that the combination of authentically prepared artisanal charcuterie with modern day ﬂavors will appeal to the new neighbors.

Met Council is accepting applications for the waiting list of affordable housing rental apartments in our building located at 332 East 22nd Street, NY.

Met Council is accepting applications for the waiting list of affordable housing rental apartments in our building located at 351 East 61st Street, NY.

For one person households, applicants must be 62 years old at the time of application; for two person households, the applicant must be 62 and the co-applicant 55 at the time of application.

For one person households, applicants must be 62 years old at the time of application; for two person households, both applicants must be 62 at the time of application. Current Rent Range studio: $956 - $1168 Income Range: $39,842 - $48,350 (1 person household)

Current Rent Range studio: $1011- $1168 Income Range: $42,046 - $48,350 (1 person household) Current Range 1 bedroom: Income Range:

$1052 - $1254 $43,725 - $48,350 (1 person household) $43,725 - $55,250 (2 person household)

Monthly rent includes heat, hot water and gas for cooking. Seniors will be required to meet income guidelines and additional selection criteria to qualify. Income guidelines are subject to change. One application per household. Applications may be downloaded from: www.metcouncil.org/housing or requested by mail from Met Council: East 22nd Street Residence 120 Broadway, 7th floor New York, NY 10271 Please include a self-addressed envelope. No broker or application fee.

The New Continental Hotel & Restaurant 15 Leo Court Greenwood Lake, New York 10925 845-477-2456 www.thenewcontinentalhotel.com On Facebook: thenewcontinentalhotelandrestaurant Stay over in one of our cozy comfortable guest rooms! Dine overlooking a breathtaking view of beautiful Greenwood Lake and its surrounding mountains! On-site catering available for all special occasions! Step back and enjoy a quieter time at our lakeside hotel − only one hour from Manhattan!” Direct Bus from Port Authority

Current Range 1 bedroom: Income Range:

$1044 - $1254 $43,401 - $48,350 (1 person household) $43,401 - $55,250 (2 person household)

Current Range 2 bedroom: Income Range:

$1289 - $1339 $53,234 - $55,250 (2 person household)

Monthly rent includes heat, hot water and gas for cooking. Seniors will be required to meet income guidelines and additional selection criteria to qualify. Income guidelines are subject to change. One application per household. Applications may be downloaded from: www.metcouncil.org/housing or requested by mail from Met Council: 351 East 61st Street Residence 120 Broadway, 7th floor New York, NY 10271 Please include a self-addressed envelope. No broker or application fee.

AUGUST 20-26,2015

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

BLUE NEST EVENTS’

BIGGEST FAN

“Blue Nest Events complements my creative spark, with ﬂawlessly executed events to make our hotels shine!” CHRIS R. – GLOBAL HOTEL SALES DIRECTOR

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AUGUST 20-26,2015

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

Real Estate Sales Neighborhd

Address

Price

Battery Park City

21 South End Avenue

$2,500,000

Battery Park City

212 Warren Street

$3,818,437

$0 - $600k

$600x - $1M

$1M-$2M

$2M-$5M

$5M-$10M

$10M+

Battery Park City

2 South End Avenue

$435,000

STUDIOS

Battery Park City

212 Warren Street

$3,003,837

1 BED

Battery Park City

212 Warren Street

$2,046,682

2 BEDS

Battery Park City

212 Warren Street

$1,563,013

3+ BEDS

Battery Park City

212 Warren Street

$2,800,187

TOWNHOUSE

Battery Park City

212 Warren Street

$2,876,556

Median Sales Price

Battery Park City

300 Rector Place

$445,000

STUDIOS

600,000

Battery Park City

212 Warren Street

$1,795,939

1 BED

999,000

Battery Park City

212 Warren Street

$1,994,498

2 BEDS

1,850,000

Battery Park City

212 Warren Street

$2,502,349

3 BEDS

4,100,000

Battery Park City

70 Little West Street

$490,000

Battery Park City

10 Little West Street

$1,190,000

Chelsea

161 West 15 Street

$1,975,000

Chelsea

212 West 18 Street

$9,250,000

Chelsea

250 West 15 Street

$1,500,000

Chelsea

234 West 21 Street

$926,250

Chelsea

221 West 21 Street

$510,000

Chelsea

311 West 20 Street

$1,350,000

Chelsea

221 West 21 Street

$415,740

Bed Bath Agent

Downtown Sales Snapshot Number of contracts signed so far in the second quarter

Corcoran

Djk Residential

Big Apple Nyc

Source: UrbanDigs LLC

Gramercy Park

106 East 19 Street

$691,000

Gramercy Park

210 East 15 Street

$520,000

Gramercy Park

317 East 18 Street

$300,000

Gramercy Park

1 Irving Place

$725,000

Gramercy Park

310 East 23 Street

$970,000

Gramercy Park

7 Lexington Avenue

$1,300,000

Gramercy Park

7 Lexington Avenue

$625,000

Greenwich Village

30 East 9 Street

$1,225,000

60 East 8 Street

$1,610,000

Chelsea

154 West 18 Street

$2,008,000

Greenwich Village

East Village

323 East 8 Street

$820,000

Greenwich Village

30 East 9 Street

$975,000

East Village

277 East 7 Street

$2,117,960

Greenwich Village

77 Bleecker Street

$1,400,000

East Village

77 East 12 Street

$2,035,000

Greenwich Village

61 West 9 Street

$995,000

East Village

114 East 13 Street

$2,050,000

Greenwich Village

180 Thompson Street

$3,627,012

11 5 Avenue

$1,500,000

East Village

70 East 10 Street

$1,465,000

Greenwich Village

East Village

70 East 10 Street

$920,000

Greenwich Village

13 West 13 Street

$1,395,000

Financial District

3 Hanover Square

$775,000

Greenwich Village

250 Mercer Street

$1,400,000

Financial District

15 William Street

$1,661,784

Greenwich Village

175 West 12 Street

$815,000

Financial District

20 West Street

$549,000

Greenwich Village

40 East 9 Street

$1,225,000

33 5 Avenue

$699,000

Financial District

20 West Street

$1,150,000

Greenwich Village

Financial District

15 William Street

$985,000

Greenwich Village

2 5 Avenue

$1,700,000

Financial District

80 John Street

$755,000

Greenwich Village

60 East 8 Street

$1,650,000

Financial District

15 Broad Street

$2,375,000

Greenwich Village

55 East 9 Street

$1,395,000

Financial District

15 Broad Street

$1,295,000

Lower East Side

118 Suffolk Street

$700,000

Noho

62 Cooper Square

$15,500,000

Noho

682 Broadway

$2,750,000

Noho

714 Broadway

$4,900,000

Soho

160 Wooster Street

$4,375,000

Financial District

20 Pine Street

$2,775,000

Financial District

15 Broad Street

$3,307,500

Financial District

75 Wall Street

$1,210,000

Flatiron

240 Park Avenue South

$3,495,000

Flatiron

35 West 15 Street

$1,937,125

Flatiron

35 West 15 Street

$5,956,287

Flatiron

40 East 20 Street

$4,500,000

Flatiron

40 East 20 Street

$2,500,000

Fulton/Seaport

99 John Street

$715,000

Gramercy Park

301 East 22 Street

$747,500

Gramercy Park

130 East 18 Street

$1,246,250

Tribeca

195 Hudson Street

$3,650,000

Tribeca

17 Warren Street

$1,475,000

Tribeca

18 Leonard Street

$6,750,000

Tribeca

50 Franklin Street

$835,000

Nestseekers

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AUGUST 20-26,2015

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

Photo by Matthew Murphy

ONE MAN, MANY MESSAGES Q&A Actor and writer James Lecesne on talking, nonstop, for 75 minutes BY ANGELA BARBUTI

For James Lecesne, the joy of performing a one-man show is having the opportunity to truly connect with his audience. “I walk out there every night and I don’t know who my costars are going to be…But people are so amazing. They’re willing to take the journey,” he said. At the start of “The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey,” we are brought into the world of a missing 14-year-old boy who is considered different in his small New Jersey town. Lecesne, who wrote the script and impressively rattles off 75 minutes of dialogue without even taking an intermission, plays nine different characters whose lives were all touched by Leonard. From people like a mob wife to a teenage girl to a

local hairdresser, we are given glimpses into who he was and how bright his personality shined. In the 90s, Lecesne’s one-man show, “Word of Mouth,” led to the creation of The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention and crisis intervention lifeline for lesbian, gay, bisexual and questioning teens. To this day, it is still the one and only organization of its kind and gets 44,000 phone calls a year. The future is - fittingly bright for Lecesne, who hopes to continue telling Leonard’s story for as long as possible, which includes bringing it to other cities.

What message do you hope to convey through the show? Young people are dealing with so much. They’re dealing with so many things that we didn’t have to deal with. They’re getting two messages. One is ‘Be yourself,’ and the other is ‘Tone it down.’ One of the things I hope people go

away with is that they think about how they can really help protect these young people. And not just LGBTQ kids, but all kids. How do you encourage them to be themselves and then put in place the protections. That’s our job. Their job is to experiment and try new things and to ﬁgure themselves out. The other thing is that everybody was an adolescent at some point and we all know this feeling of burying something that may be one of our better qualities. I hope the show is an encouragement to people to think about what their own brightness is and what it is that they bring into the world and what they want to leave behind.

How long did it take you to memorize the script? Having written it helps. But that’s an actor’s job, to learn the lines. Early on, it was harder. I remember one of the ﬁrst times I did the show, down in Dixon Place, I just literally stopped

in the middle of the show and was like, ‘I don’t know the next word.’ But the audience, they wait for you. Basically what I said was, ‘Oh my God, I don’t know what’s next.’ People laughed. Because I wrote it, if something should happen, if I forget something, I can improvise until I ﬁnd my way. But fear is a great motivator. [Laughs]

In its review, the NY Times referred to you as “among the most talented solo performers of his (or any) generation.” A review doesn’t get much better than that, right? I feel so grateful just because it shines some light on the show and enables me to get out there every night and tell the story. I have such a good time doing it so I’m happy people are ﬁnding their way to it.

The play is based on your young adult novel “Absolute Brightness.” What feedback do you get from teenage readers? It’s very touching. They of-

ten have questions; they want something cleared up in the story. One of the greatest letters I ever got was from a kid in Venezuela. He wrote to me to tell me it was the ﬁrst book he read that was about a gay kid and how much it meant to him. You just think, ‘That’s incredible the book found its way there.’ It’s amazing what a story can do and how far it can travel and how much we need them.

You did another one-man show called “Word of Mouth,” whose character Trevor inspired The Trevor Project. That was done off Broadway and Mike Nichols presented it and Eve Ensler, from the Vagina Monologues, directed it. In that show, there were a character that I played called Trevor. He’s a 13-year-old boy who, through a series of diary entries, realized he’s gay and tried to kill himself. It was actually a very funny and touching little piece. So it was made into a ﬁlm and won an Academy Award in 1995 and that’s what inspired The Trevor Project, which is a suicide prevention and crisis intervention lifeline for lesbian, gay, bisexual and questioning teens. That was an unexpected outcome. I did the

show and these two filmmakers, Peggy Rajski and Randy Stone, approached me about the screenplay so I wrote it. And once it won the Academy Award, we made arrangements with HBO to put the film on TV because it’s just 16 minutes. They were going to show it over the course of a year, every once in a while. Ellen DeGeneres did this big wraparound presentation for it. And we thought it would be a good idea to put a telephone number at the end of the film in case there were kids in their homes who recognized themselves in the character Trevor. And there was, at the time, and still isn’t, no national 24/7 suicide prevention line specifically for LGBTQ kids. So we created it. We didn’t man the phone ourselves but we figured out how to do it all and raise the money for it. And it’s been going for 17 years.

To learn more about the play, visit absolutebrightnessplay. com. Know somebody who deserves their 15 Minutes of fame? Go to otdowntown. com and click on submit a press release or announcement.

AUGUST 20-26,2015

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See What’s Growing Upstate! DIRT’S 2015 GARDEN TOUR

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Tu e s d a y, O c t o b e r 1 3 , 2 0 1 5 , 7-1 0 p m

LE CIRQUE Matteo Boglione

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JOJO Jean Georges/Ron Gallo

ATLANTIC GRILL Roman Ortega

AU G U S T Josh Eden

BKB RESTAURANT Eric Miller

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THE CECIL JJ Johnson

C R AV E F I S H B A R Todd Mitgang

THE EAST POLE K I TC H E N & B A R Joseph Capozzi

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ETHOS GALLERY 51ST

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MAGNOLIA BAKERY Bobbie Lloyd

dishes. Plus honorees Tim and Nina Zagat, and

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ar t ins pired by Sotheby’s upcoming auctions.

David Gonzalez

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Michael White

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Lucas Billheimer

E t zK Z <ͳ W Z ^ z d Z / E Senior Executive Chef Ross Posmentier