Our Town Downtown November 5th, 2015 by OurTown Downtown

The local paper for Downtown wn

BUILDING

WEEK OF NOVEMBER

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2015

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SALUTING OUR BUILDING WORKERS

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THE HOLDOUTS OF CHELSEA NEWS A handful of old-school industrial businesses have survived in the neighborhood, despite gentrification BY MADISON COLLINS

In a neighborhood that has been completely transformed by gentrification, they are The Holdouts of Chelsea. Places like Kamco Supply, which sits under the High Line on W. 21st Street and 10th Avenue and sells drywall and ceiling tile across the street from the American flagship of Bisazza, an Italian luxury home furnishings company. Or the Manhattan Car Wash, three blocks up on 10th AVe. and W. 24th Street, with its bright neon pink sign, and yellow and white lettering declaring “OPEN 24 HRS.” The car wash shrinks in comparison to The Getty condo building that sits adjacent -floors of glass high above the roof of the car wash. Then there’s Prince Lumber, an old-school lumber yard, which may have the swankiest spot of all -- sandwiched on 15th Street and Ninth Avenue between the Apple Store on one side and the upscale Chelsea Market on the other. Google’s New York headquarters sits across the street. “What happened to Chelsea, has already happened,” shrugs Prince’s Neil Eisenstat, who has watched the neighborhood flat-line, then soar, around him. In recent years, the gentrification has hit warp speed, with the popularity of the High Line and the addition of the new Whitney Museum a few blocks south. Yet work at Prince continues as if oblivious, a buzz of forklifts and construction trucks.

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FINDING THE ENERGY TO DANCE FOURTH OF SIX PARTS BY HEATHER CLAYTON COLANGELO EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS DIRECTED BY DORIAN BLOCK

Jacquie Murdock, 84, has been dancing her entire life. It’s just past 11 a.m. on a Thursday, which means that Jacquie is in a small room on the second ﬂoor of the Beatrice Lewis Senior Center in Harlem beginning warm-up exercises with her class. Jacquie works out twice a week with the Jazzy Randolph Dancers, a senior dance troupe composed of professional and amateur dancers in their 60s, 70s and 80s. Men and women in leg warmers, leotards, baggy Tshirts and dance shoes move their bodies in rhythm to the Indian music playing on a CD player and stare in concentration at the instructor who demonstrates from the front of the room. “Demi. Straight up. Demi. Straight up. Two. Straight up. Three. Straight up,” calls out the instructor. Jacquie’s legs rise and fall just a hair behind the instructor’s words. The intense concentration is evident in her face. “Point, close. Point, close. Plie.” says the instructor. Jacquie stands in the back of the room, clothed in a pink “I Love New York” T-shirt, cream colored sweatpants, and a pink and white Nikki Minaj trucker hat which she picked up at Kmart.

GRAYING NEW YORK A series looking at growing older in the city She is grateful to have a free class to practice in, but the room is a challenge. Jacquie lost most of her sight 15 years ago from glaucoma and cataracts and is legally blind. She can sometimes see out of her right eye, depending on lighting conditions. Today is a lost cause. The bright sun streams through the windows that make up an entire wall, blinding her with an intense glare. Two other walls are filled with mirrors. They are helpful for checking one’s dance form, but horrible for Jacquie’s sight. She is accosted by light or the reﬂection of light from multiple angles. “I can’t see with the sun. The glare from the sun is just impossible,” Jacquie says. She’s frustrated but is adapting. She has positioned herself in the back of the room so that she can follow the form of a dancer

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 Downtowner

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City Arts Top 5 Real Estate 15 Minutes

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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

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

2015

In Brief MORE HELP FOR SMALL BUSINESS

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

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

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

n OurTownDowntow

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

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NOVEMBER 5-11,2015

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WHAT’S MAKING NEWS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD KILLINGS AND RAPES INCREASE, BUT OVERALL CRIME DOWN FOR THE YEAR Although killings, rapes and crime on public transit have increased so far this year over

last year, overall crime is down in 2015, according to city police, which noted that October was the safest ever “in the modern era of the department.” “We are proud that we are pushing crime even lower, despite our record low last

year,” Commissioner William J. Bratton said in a statement issued by the department. “We’ll continue building new relationships in our communities to better address crime and concerns in particular neighborhoods, making this city

safe and fair, everywhere.” Through Oct. 31, crime was down 3.1 percent overall this year, with nearly 3,000 fewer incidents reported, according to police. But there have 21 more killings citywide, a 7.7 percent increase, over this time last year, the department reported. Incidents of reported rapes are up 4.2 percent, and crime on public transit increased by 7.5 percent. Shooting incidents — 70 percent of them in the Bronx or in Brooklyn — are down by 1.7. October saw an overall decline in crime of 5.9 percent, police said. With four fewer people were killed than during the month last year. Shootings overall were down 11.8 percent. Reports of rape also declined by nearly 17 percent.

BUT IN FIRST PRECINCT OCTOBER CRIME UP SIGNIFICANTLY Crime in the First Precinct has jumped by almost 50 percent

through October over the same period last year. Addressing the precinct’s community council last week, Capt. Mark Iocco, the precinct’s commanding officer, said incidents this October had increased 46 percent, to 120 from 82 during the month, the Tribeca Trib reported. Iocco described the past month as “a very bad period for us,” according to the Trib. There were 8 recorded felony assaults in October, up from 3 in that month last year. Robberies climbed from a single incident last year to ﬁve, with four of those thought to have been committed by one man on the 1 train, the Trib reported Iocco as saying. Grand larcenies, up 20 incidents to 96, and burglaries, up to nine from seven incidents, also increased. The one-square mile precinct, comprises the Financial District, Tribeca and SoHo.

ALL OF THE WTC’S RETAIL SPACE LEASED The World Trade Center’s

More neighborhood news? neighborhood celebrations? neighborhood opinions? neighborhood ideas? neighborhood feedback? neighborhood concerns? Email us at news@strausnews.com

retail complex will be opening for business early next year, according to the Downtown Express. Several retailers — Michael Kors, True Religion, and Victoria Secret, among them — as well food purveyors, including Eataly and Market Lane, have nabbed spots in the complex. All of the prospective 125 occupants have signed up for space, according to a spokeswoman for the Westﬁeld Corporation, the developer. “All retail space has been leased or committed and is expected to open during the ﬁrst half of 2016 simultaneously,” she was quoted as saying by the Express. According to NYU’s Rudin Center, the site will eventually employ a total of 51,000 people, earning a collective annual salary of $7 billion, the website reported. A study by the center also suggested that the Port Authority would recoup its $7 billion investment cost in 20 years.

NOVEMBER 5-11,2015

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CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG

SLAIN NYPD OFFICER BURIED IN GUYANA Scores of New York City police officers were among hundreds of mourners who stood in the rain Saturday as their slain comrade Randolph Holder Jr. was buried in his native Guyana. After a service at Georgetown’s main Catholic church, Holder was laid to rest with a 21-gun salute at the city’s sprawling cemetery with uniformed NYPD and Guyana police and Guyana President David Granger standing by. Holder was “a humble man, a true hero of the NYPD, a true hero of Guyana,” said one of the officer’s supervisors, Capt. Reymundo Mundo. A 5-year NYPD veteran, Holder was killed in the line of duty on Oct. 20 while responding to a report of shots ﬁred and a bicycle stolen at gunpoint in Manhattan’s East Harlem neighborhood. A suspect has been arrested and charged with fatally shooting the ofﬁcer in the head. Holder finished high school in the South American country and then moved to New York to live with his father, who also served in the NYPD. NYPD Commissioner William Brat-

STUPID THIEF

STATS FOR THE WEEK Reported crimes from the 1st Precinct for Oct. 19 - 25 Week to Date

Year to Date

2015 2014

% Change

2015

2014

% Change

Murder

n/a

Rape

-100.0

-16.7

Robbery

n/a

47.4

Felony Assault

0.0

20.7

Burglary

0.0

103

125

-17.6

Grand Larceny

14.3

879

747

17.7

Grand Larceny Auto

0.0

-13.6

ton posthumously promoted Holder to detective and issued him a new gold shield with the same number of the badge worn by his father. “He told me that the job was getting scary but this is a risk he had to take,” said Holder’s uncle, Desmond King. “I feared for him.”

HISTORIC HAUL Some bad guys apparently have no respect for historic settings. At 5:50 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 22, a 49-year-old man placed his bag next to his chair in the Fraunces Tavern at 54 Pearl St. When he went to retrieve

his bag just 10 minutes later, it was gone. Surveillance footage showed an unknown man placing his jacket over the victim’s jacket and seemingly going through its pockets before removing the bag. It looked like a second man was serving as a lookout. The items stolen included a 13-inch MacBook Pro valued at $2,000, a 1 TB Porsche hard drive priced at $500, a pair of sapphire crystal gold cufflinks tagged at $600, a 64 GB SD card priced at $160, a Panasonic camera charger worth $50, an iPhone camera lens valued at $50, a yellow canvas bag worth $100 and a U.S. passport. The total stolen came to $3,460.

A woman from Queens was victimized by an outspoken outlaw. At 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24, a 27-yearold woman was walking in front of 565 Broadway, when an unknown man in his 30s went into her pocketbook, took out her wallet, and ran away yelling, “America got stupid!” Police could not locate the opinionated pickpocket. The woman immediately canceled her credit cards, and no unauthorized usage had turned up at the time of the police report. She said that she had not been pushed or shoved. The items stolen included a red Prada wallet valued at $400, a California driver’s license worth $85, a New York City Metro Card with a value of $40, $40 in cash, a Parsons school ID worth $25, and various credit and debit cards. The total stolen came to $590.

DOCKED $1,750 Perhaps Citi Bike riders would do well to document the return of the vehicles with cell phone photos. At 5:23 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 16, a 23-year-old woman docked her Citi Bike at the station on the northeast corner of West Broadway and Prince Street. When she inserted the front wheel of the bike in the station, she heard the conﬁrmation beep. She was later notiﬁed by Citi Bike that the bike she returned was missing,

and she was being charged $1,750. She was further informed that she had to ﬁle a report to claim a refund of the money. The bike has not been reported docked at any other station in the city.

VINCE WINCE At 3:55 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 25, a 35-year-old man entered the Vince store at 89 Mercer St. and took two Vince jackets worth about $2,000 each from the rack and took off, ﬂeeing west on nearby Broome Street. He also took a sweater priced at $445.

PROHIBITED A recent theft stirred memories of Prohibition days. At 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 21, a 43-year-old man making deliveries for Avant Business Services of Manhattan parked his black 2003 Dodge Caravan in front of 100 John St. He went off to make some local deliveries, and when he returned two hours later, several items were missing from the vehicle. The van had been left unlocked and showed no damage. The items stolen were a case of Bailey’s Irish Cream valued at $200 and a case of Cîroc vodka, priced at $200, making a total of $400 of heisted hooch.

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SCHOOL ZONING VOTE DELAYED FOR TWO WEEKS NEWS U.W.S. education leaders, with different options, taking more time to decide on changes to district three

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Education leaders on the Upper West Side voted to give themselves two more weeks to vote on a proposal to address overcrowding at P.S. 199 and other zoning issues. Community Education Council 3, which is made up of parents from around the district and has the final say on any zoning changes, had previously rejected a plan put forth by the Dept. of Education to shrink the number of eligible students at the school by redrawing P.S. 199’s zone, shifting a number of blocks to P.S. 191 on West 61st Street, where open seats abound. But P.S. 191, also known as the Museum Magnet School, was recently classified as a “persistently dangerous” school by the DOE, a designation given to those public schools with a high rate of violent incidents over a two-year period. Residents who are zoned for P.S. 199 are wary of sending their kids to a school perceived as violent. The school is also predominantly black and Latino, adding concerns over diversity to an already fraught issue as parents struggle with the possible perception that their preference is based on race. Another proposal put forth by the DOE includes P.S. 191 sharing a larger zone with P.S. 342, a school currently under construction on West 61st Street and slated to open in 2018. Students in the shared zone could attend either P.S. 191 or 342. The last proposal floated by the department would involve creating a “superzone,” which would enable parents to request placement in P.S. 199, 191 or 342, with any school that has more applicants than seats enrolling students on a lottery basis. But while CEC 3 gathered Monday night to discuss the different options, much of the meeting was given over to a dark horse proposal from P.S. 191, which was decided upon that day by a leadership team at the school and announced by CEC 3 member Noah Gotbaum. “After great deliberation we have decided that as a school community at the Museum Magnet School/P.S. 191 we support a rezoning plan that pairs our school with the new school under construction, P.S. 342,” said school leadership in a letter to the council. “We believe that this is the best option to integrate our school and to help with overcrowding in the district. We urge you to strongly consider this option as the best solution to this rezoning process.” P.S. 191 currently serves pre-K through eighth-grade students, and under the terms of their proposal would shift their

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NOVEMBER 5-11,2015

focus to teaching pre-K through secondgrade students. When those students are ready for third grade they would move onto P.S. 342, pairing the two schools. P.S. 342 is being built for a larger population of students and would serve third through eighth grades. The leadership at P.S. 191 also added that they’re opposed to any lottery system for placing students, such as the one floated by the DOE, because they do not believe it will solve the diversity or overcrowding issues in the district. Gotbaum, who is in favor of pairing all three schools - including P.S. 199, instead of just P.S. 191 and 342 - said the proposal floated by P.S. 191 is nonetheless an important and viable option that should be discussed. “It’s big, it’s important that they’re taking a position here,” said Gotbaum in an interview. “They’re really proposing a significant compromise in terms of focusing their school for the pre-k through second grade in order to really serve the community and make the shared zone work.” But the council seemed split over whether such a plan could be thought through in time for a vote, or could be implemented in time for the 2016-17 school year. Ultimately they decided to push back the date on which they would vote on any proposal from Nov. 19 to Dec. 2, using the extra time to discuss the options previously floated by the DOE as well as the new idea from P.S. 191. They also decided to create two subcommittees, one to explore a less drastic zoning change that would shift fewer P.S. 199 students to 191, and another that would push

the DOE for more detailed data on capacity and demand in the district. They also asked the DOE to draw up a new zoning map that would shift less students from P.S. 199 to P.S. 191. The DOE had previously urged the council to decide by Nov. 19 so any changes could be implemented by the start of the kindergarten enrollment period, which begins Dec. 7 and runs through Jan. 15. As it stands, voting on any changes on Dec. 2 with the enrollment period beginning just ﬁve days later leaves some parents feeling uneasy. Meanwhile, parents are pushing for a decision – or no decision, deferring this discussion to next year – so they know where they stand for the 2016-17 school year. “I’m just really upset,” said Linda Cho, who has a son starting kindergarten in 2016-17 and is worried that any zoning change won’t be made in time to be integrated with the DOE’s enrollment system by Dec. 7. “To not know at that point where our kid is going to go, and they keep pushing [the vote] back…we won’t even know where we’re going. Just give it another year, why are they trying to rush something in?” Both Cho and another Upper West Side parent, Jim Brennan, would rather the council table this discussion for next year. “Now I have no idea where I sit,” said Brennan. “And it seems like even if they [vote] by Dec. 2 that means they’re going to put in a last-minute proposal and there’s going to be very little time for us to react and comment on it.” The council will again take up the zoning issue on Monday, Nov. 16, 6:30 p.m., at P.S. 333 on West 93rd Street.

NOVEMBER 5-11,2015

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AMAZING IS BEING ASKED THE RIGHT QUESTIONS. Kieran Holohan is a living example of precision medicine in action. Diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), he was initially given a 30% chance of survival, and that only after a risky bone marrow transplant. Dr. Gail Roboz at NewYork-Presbyterian took a different approach. Additional testing on Kieran’s marrow uncovered a rare mutation in his leukemia cells. With this mutation, his chance of a cure would be just as high with chemotherapy as with a bone marrow transplant, and he was able to avoid the procedure altogether. As he himself puts it, “Dr. Roboz asked the right questions. And the answers were there. She did it by throwing the playbook out the window.”

nyp.org/amazingthings

FINDING THE ENERGY TO DANCE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 in front of her. Jacquie can’t see the woman’s features but can make out a shadowy foot. This is not her favorite position to be in; Jacquie dislikes being in the back of any room.

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com “I was on a mission from an early age to be recognized,” she says. Jacquie was born in 1930 in Harlem to a middle-class family and grew up idolizing the glamorous Hollywood stars Marlene Dietrich and Lana Turner. “They weren’t just beautiful. They were strong career women and I said when I grow

up, I’m gonna be like that.” She dreamed of being in show business. Jacquie’s affinity for glamour, paired with her love of music, made a career in dance seem attractive. Jacquie was barely ﬁve years old when she announced to her parents that she wanted to be a dancer. Horriﬁed, they tried to distract her by giving her piano lessons. It didn’t work. They

tried sewing lessons but it only fueled her passion for fashion. Naturally tall, she dreamed of running off to Paris to be a runway model but didn’t want to disappoint her parents by leaving. She realized that she already lived in one of the most exciting cities in the world, where countless performers reached their goals. “I was just a little girl from

NOVEMBER 5-11,2015 Harlem with a dream. I used to say I was going to be somebody. I didn’t know then that I already was somebody,” Jacquie says confidently. Jacquie sees herself as a star—“a celebrity”—and won’t let anyone tell her otherwise. An artist friend and admirer created and gifted her with a life-size mannequin of her stage persona, “Tajah.” It stands in her foyer, dressed in an elegant black evening gown, dripping with jewels. It is a constant reminder of the dreams she has accomplished and the fame she still reaches for. Jacquie has had personal and professional success, including raising daughter Pat and son Michael, and dancing in venues all over the world, including the Apollo Theater in Harlem during its heyday. But she’s also had failures. At age 40, her marriage crumbled. Desperately needing money, she wanted her agent to book her for dancing gigs but couldn’t because of her pregnancy. “I had a new baby. I was broke. It was the worst year of my life.” Her dreams of dancing had to make room for a new 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. job as an administrative assistant in New York University’s computer science department. But she embraced it and adapted by continuing to dance on the weekends and during holidays. Throughout her life Jacquie always dressed up for the glamorous life she envisioned for herself, never wearing jeans or “ordinary” outfits. She was—and still is—frequently stopped on the streets by admirers of her distinctive outfits. Knowing the strength of self-promotion (and with no

Life is hard and you have your ups and you have your downs. I just have to take it day by day.” -- Jacquie Murdock agent) she always introduces herself as: “the legendary dancer from the Apollo” and often carries promotional materials. She wants to build a website but without the technical skills and with limited sight, the project has been stalled. She’s talked about signing up for extra acting work in movies but hasn’t actively pursued it. Jacquie got a break at age 80 when a photographer from the blog Advanced Style, which celebrates stylish older people, spotted her walking in Union Square and asked to take her photograph. “I said, ‘For what?’ He said, ‘I have a website for stylish elders.’ I said, ‘Yes, but I’m a professional and I’m a legendary dancer from the Apollo Theater and if you use my picture without my permission I could sue you.’ I then told him that the jacket I was wearing was from Paris, and I just threw my hands up in the air and said, “Ta dah!,’ and he started taking pictures.” A 2012 book and 2014 documentary of the same name followed, as well as media promotions, including an appearance on The Today Show. Jacquie soaked it up, pushing herself as much as she physically could. In May 2014, she self-ﬁnanced a trip to London for Advance

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NOVEMBER 5-11,2015 Style’s London premiere. “I have to leave my legacy,” she says. Meanwhile, Alber Elbaz, of the French fashion house Lanvin, was looking to cast “regular” people in his ad campaign, and Jacquie was on his radar. Before she knew it, she was in a Chelsea studio wearing an emerald peplum dress and trying to balance in high heels. The photos were unveiled in July. In October, Kim Kardashian wore the same green dress from Lanvin; Jacquie thinks it was because of her influence. Photographs of Jacquie soon appeared in Marie Claire (Hong Kong) and she was interviewed by the German, British and Russian media. She was in early talks to do a makeover reality show, but it was never made. The fame never materialized into much financially—she wasn’t paid for Advanced Style and wasn’t paid much for the Lanvin campaign—but she tries to think of the publicity as currency. “It’s ok. I got the international recognition. I have a lot of fans out there,” she says. Jacquie had hoped to book more modeling jobs after the Lanvin spot, but hasn’t been able to parlay it into more recent gigs. At the beginning of 2015 she adds “find a modeling agent” to her list of goals. By mid-year, with other priorities on her mind, she’s let that dream go. For the past few years Jacquie has been writing her autobiography, on-and-off, but put it on the back burner for Advanced Style and the Lanvin campaign. She also hit technical issues. Because of her sight, writing on the computer is difficult. She got speech recognition software a few years ago, but finds it inaccurate. She prefers to write on a typewriter but doesn’t have one. As she creeps closer to 85, the realization that she may not have much time left in this world upsets her. She’s at peace with dying, but not without completing her book, her legacy. It’s given her a deep sense of urgency. She plans to self-publish it through NYU’s bookstore. She hopes to travel to college campuses to share her story and inspire young people to follow their dreams. “I was just a little girl from Harlem with a dream. It came late but it came true.” **** “Move those arms! Hip. Hip. Keep going. There you go,” says the dance instructor. The dancers are now con-

gregated on the right side of the room with the Black Eyed Peas’ “I’ve Gotta Feeling” beating through the room. They move across the floor, arms outstretched, rolling their hips as they alternate tapping and stepping with their right foot and then left foot. Jacquie is up last. She moves across the floor gracefully but with some stiffness. “Can you give me a little hip bump there Tajah. Let’s do it Taj. Hip Hip Hip. Stretch out those long legs.” Jacquie finishes and the instructor changes the CD to an Indian song. The dancers move across the floor windmilling their arms as they do a drag step. Jacquie is in the middle of the pack and completes the movements with relative ease. The dancers make a few more passes back and forth across the room. On the third pass Jacquie’s movements are more labored. She’s tired. Halfway across, she gives up and finishes the pass by walking. “Taj. You’re doing fine. Can you keep your arms in the opposite direction? Taj?” She continues walking. The group assembles again on the right side of the room. The instructor demonstrates a new step, alternatively crossing both her arms and legs, and then extending them out to form an X. The dancers follow her across the floor. “Cross. Out. Cross. Out. Cross. Out,” says the instructor. Jacquie starts strong but by the second pass has slowed down. Her movements are half a beat behind the music. The music changes to a spirited Latin number, a genre Jacquie loves, and she picks up energy. At the end of the group sequence the instructor encourages the dancers to “freestyle.” When it’s her turn to solo, Jacquie lights up. Soaking up the spotlight, she draws energy from “yeahs!” and “alrights!” directed at her and happily twirls across the room. The instructor turns over the class to Ajaibo, the director and choreographer of the Jazzy Randolph Dancers, and a seasoned dancer at age 80. He was Jacquie’s partner in several performances in the 1950s. Jacquie pushes through for a few more sets but soon grows tired again. Her legs seem stiff. Ajaibo steps in to correct her form. She tells him she’s too fatigued, but he encourages her to continue. “I thought I was done after the last dance, but Ajaibo said I wasn’t done. I guess I’m not done,” she says. A new number begins. As the dancers begin, she stands

in the back and bends over, stretching her legs in exhaustion. She makes it across the floor one last time, but has reached her limit. She tells Ajaibo, and walks over to a nearby seat. “This is too hard,” she says. “I have to watch it.” Jacquie is worried about her heart. She has had palpitations and has been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, which leaves her feeling weak and dizzy at times. As much as she wants to complete the class, she just can’t. She watches the rest of the class from the sidelines, frowning in frustration. “When I see them doing it, I want to do it too.” As she says good bye to Ajaibo and the dancers, she shakes off her disappointment. “Life is hard and you have your ups and you have your downs. I just have to take it day by day.” She’ll have class and another opportunity to dance again next Tuesday. The thought that one day her body may not allow her to is pushed far back in her mind. She says she can’t think that way. What she is thinking of is her book. She plans on making an appointment with the NYU bookstore to inquire about the steps she would need to take to publish it. She needs to find that typewriter. She needs to ask permission from Lanvin to use her photo on the cover. She needs to continue writing. “(I pray to God): Please let me finish my assignment down here before you call me up. Please let me finish my book.” Jacquie leaves class, takes the elevator down to the first floor and prepares to navigate her way home. This series is a production of the Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health. It is led by Dorian Block and Ruth Finkelstein. It is funded by the New York Community Trust. To find all of the interviews and more, go to www. exceedingexpectations.ny

FOR MORE IN THE SERIES Our Town Downtown will spend six weeks chronicling Jacquie Murdock as she makes her way through the city. For more on Jacquie -- and for the stories of New Yorkers followed by our sister publications in other parts of Manhattan -- go to www. otdowntown.com

NOVEMBER 5-11,2015

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Voices

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

BIKE LANE PROPOSAL SPURS DEBATE

Photo: Rawle C. Jackman, via Flickr

Several readers commented, either online or by letter to the newspaper, on an article that reported on grass-roots effort to expand bike lanes. Some of the comments reacted to opponents of the effort quoted in the story, including to one who said that although biking had increased, bicyclists still comprised “a teeny tiny percentage of the population,” and to another who said that “adding crosstown bike lanes is like rewarding a spoiled child with a new toy when they misbehave.” The readers continued their conversation online at nypress.com. Here is a sample of the comments and letters. From Yorkville to Roosevelt Island, Seattle to Copenhagen, Brooklyn to Montreal, every real world and academic study supports dedicated bicycle lanes and expanded pedestrian space. These lanes are key to better, sustainable transportation, cleaner air, quieter streets, and a better quality of life for all residents. This is especially important on the congested Upper East Side, a pass-through zone for internal combustion vehicles gaming the only cross-river bridges without tolls. During this period of global climate change, where Hurricane Sandy caused the East River to jump the East 90s seawall just up the street, one would think that fossil fuel free bike lanes, and the enhanced pedestrian space that go with them, would be high up on all my neighbor’s lists of priorities on our low lying, exposed Manhattan Island. Jeff Gold, former transportation committee chairperson, East 79th Street Neighborhood Association. I witness the lawless behavior of motor vehicles every day and until all motor vehicles obey all the rules of the road and the NYPD provide enforcement, a great majority of pedestrians will continue to feel unsafe. When do we condition road improvements on perfect behavior of a whole class of road users? Protected bike lanes make everyone safer by bringing order and predictability to the streets and separating vulnerable users from dangerous vehicles.

STRAUS MEDIA your neighborhood news source

Geck If you think people would suddenly love losing parking or car lanes to install bike lanes so long as every person on a bike behaved, good luck. This is about a challenge to the status quo, nothing more and nothing less. Twofooted Drivers in their arrogance and entitlement will complain regardless. But it is the pedestrians whom bicyclists alienate when we break the rules. Of course there will always be opposition to bike-related progress. But that doesn’t mean we should just go ahead and swell our enemies’ ranks and give them free ammunition. Ferdinand Cesarano If any pedestrian feels alienated by bicyclists who “break the rules”, and as a result favors more accommodation

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for cars over bicycles, they aren’t thinking things through. Alicia I am a pedestrian. Since I am not brain-dead, I realize that 99.9% of the lethal danger to me comes from car drivers. Kevin Love Keep in mind that cyclists are as diverse as most any other group. To say that ALL cyclists must obey ALL laws in order to be given a political voice is like say all pedestrians need to stop jay walking before we give them greater protections. Running a red light in an intersection with no cars or pedestrians - and while riding a bike - is a sorry reason to oppose cycling. We cannot keep denying this reality. Much more can be done, that cannot be countered with any sort of “Well a few cyclists buzz pedestrians” argument. This is a dense crowded city, this sort of

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argument is even less persuasive. ummm... The “natural alliance” between peds and cyclists only exists in the minds of the bike evangelists. Most NYC pedestrians loathe bicyclists. How many TA members don’t ride bikes? Twelve, thirteen? This “alliance” is just a cynical attempt by the 1% cyclists to add themselves to the millions of pedestrians to claim to be some sort of majority. Atomic Man I think letting lawbreaking motorists have all the road space (and thousands of miles of free parking space) is like rewarding a spoiled child with a new toy when they misbehave. Aunt Bike

this city upside down to accommodate them.” And why do you think it is still so “teeny tiny”? Perhaps because there is not enough safe bike infrastructure to convince those on the fence to bike more. And since when is painting a few lines (the typical bike lane) turning the city upside down? If only. Motorists still have the vast majority of street space and infrastructure. “Adding crosstown bike lanes is like rewarding a spoiled child with a new toy when they misbehave.” Actually, creating infrastructure that allows riders to feel safe and accommodates their needs, and creating intuitive rules that make sense, will go a long way toward curbing this “misbehavior”. Matthias

“As much as biking has increased, it is still a teeny tiny percentage of the population and there’s no reason to turn

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

Staff Reporters, Gabrielle Alfiero, Daniel Fitzsimmons

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

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THE 2015

BUILDING SERVICE WORKERS

AWARDS Tony Ahmeti

Edward Bonilla

Idrissa Camara

Joe Ferdinand

Carlos Galvez

Ruselit Guillen

Marie Le Bon

Martha Londo単o

Thomas Louie

Enma Mehmedovic

Lance Mumford

Germania Pagan

Haydee Reynald

Sam Ruiz

Tomas Seaton

Celia Seda

Craig Tsouristakis

Denise White

Stephanie Williams

Weston Wright

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Sponsored by GLENWOOD B U ILD ER O W N ER M A N A G ER

BUILDING MAINTENANCE SERVICES

NOVEMBER 5-11,2015

Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Note

In the pages that follow, you'll meet the people who make New York work. This year's list of Building Service Workers Awardees -- the ninth such collaboration between our newspapers and 32BJ SEIU -- honors the often-unsung supers, porters, cleaners and others whom we take for granted the rest of the year. Ours is a city full of such unsung heroes. We're thrilled to be able to honor a few of them once a year, and to say thank you. Thanks, too, goes out to our sponsors and to 32BJ President Hector Figueroa and Elaine Kim for their help on this project. And kudos to Madeleine Thompson for doing the interviews, writing the stories, and shooting the photos. Read these stories and meet an exceptional group of New Yorkers. Congratulations to them all. Jeanne Straus, President, Straus News Kyle Pope, Editor in Chief

applauds

5)& #6*-%*/( 4&37*$& 8*//&34 and proudly supports

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NOVEMBER 5-11,2015

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2015 Building Service Workers of the Year

Edward Bonilla Doorman of the Year

A Doorman Always on the Move Edward Bonilla declines to sit down during his interview, insisting on adhering to proper doorman protocol. His experience and graciousness are just a few of the things that make him this year’s best doorman. “About 29 years ago I came here to be interviewed to be a porter, and in the same day something happened

to one of the doormen and they called me back,” he said. “I guess I was destined to be a doorman.” He says the job can get intense sometimes between balancing 23 security monitors and the residents of over 200 apartments on E. 74th Street, but he enjoys that part of it. “There’s always something going on,” Bonilla said. “I work closely with the superintendent. Anything that’s happening in the building goes through me first since we’re the first line of defense. It’s never boring.” He has developed close relationships with the residents of the buildings and with his colleagues. He has done supplemental work as well, like cleaning the apartments and doing electrical work. “You name it, I’ve done it,” he said.

But after serving in the U.S. Air Force, he appreciates the relative calm of his job. Bonilla spent four years in the military after high school in California and upstate New York. Though he shovels snow as a doorman, he says it’s nothing compared to working in negative 45 degree weather with snow drifts two stories high. Bonilla is looking forward to retiring next year to Vieques, a small island where his family is from. “I have property near the water so I’m pretty set,” he said. “I’m going to be a beatnik. I can see water from ground level so I’m going to be living the life.” He is grateful for his job and the residents he has come to know so well for enabling him to retire. “They’ve made everything possible for me,” he said.

Photos by Madeleine Thompson

Ruselit Guillen Doorwoman of the Year

Breaking Through a Building’s Glass Ceiling At the age of 24, Ruselit Guillen may be the youngest doorwoman in New York City. She started working in her W. 96th Street building as a receptionist, then took on a porter position and now oversees the building’s daily operations during her shifts. “I’m always interacting with the adults, families, kids,” she said. “I get along with all of them. It’s incredible how I can know so many people’s names.” She has loved getting to know the tenants over the last year, especially the kids, who wave to her as they come in and out. Guillen felt that her gender was an

obstacle to getting a position occupied by so few women, and has worked very hard to prove that she is just as capable as anyone else. “I have to show everybody that I can actually do it,” she said. “Not a lot of people thought I was going to do it, and I’ve been proving myself. You have to work hard.” She was encouraged by a former doorman in her building who is now retired to become a porter and work her way up, and in turn would encourage anyone who is interested to go for it. “You just have to put in all your effort and be positive,” she said. What she really loves, however, is

math. Guillen worked in accounting for several years and hopes to be a math teacher some day. “Anything that has to do with kids I feel comfortable (with),” she said. “I grew up with my three nieces. Since I was young I used to do everything for them for years. They used to come to me for schoolwork and everything.” They inspired her to want to work with children. Guillen describes herself as a family person, and spends a lot of time with her family outside of work having barbecues and cooking Dominican food. “(We’re) always together,” she said.

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2015 Building Service Workers of the Year

Craig Tsouristakis Super of the Year

Learning the Ropes, and Never Stopping Craig Tsouristakis, this year’s top super, began doing electrical work at age 17 when he joined the military, where he also learned to box. “I’ve always worked with my hands,” he said. After his military career ended he boxed professionally in Europe and the U.S. until 1981. He has been a super at his current building in the Bronx for 15 years and is a commercial super at eight other buildings. “My favorite part is when outside contractors come in and I know their job, I know what they’re supposed to do, and that’s all through a lot of training from 32BJ,” said Tsouristakis, who is especially involved in the union as a shop steward and board member. “It’s so incredible that so much knowledge is there. I take every course that comes through there.”

He has taken classes on boilers, compactors, gravity tanks and countless other crucial tools that make him such an effective super. The green analyst course, on making buildings

more energy efficient, inspired Tsouristakis to start a garden outside of his building, which he planted with the help of the tenants. “You can come on this job as a porter or a doorman, but if you choose to go to school … you can grow in this business,” he said. He has used all the skills he has learned to open up a repair business, Mad Skills Corporation, which has been operating since around 2001. “At one time I had five employees,” he said proudly. “We might go on weekends and complete a floor in two days.” Tsouristakis has four children, 12 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Outside of work, he enjoys fishing, working on his motorcycle and supporting the Dallas Cowboys.

Congratulations to the

Building Service Workers of the Year!

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NOVEMBER 5-11,2015

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THE NEW YORK YANKEES ARE PROUD SUPPORTERS OF THE SEIU LOCAL 32BJ AND SALUTE ALL OF THE 2015 HONOREES

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2015 Building Service Workers of the Year

Thomas Louie Building Manager of the Year

Keeping it in the Family For Thomas Louie, managing buildings is the family business. Louie is one of 17 members of his family who manage residential buildings throughout New York City. “It’s been three generations of building managers,” he said, estimating that the tradition began in the 1930s or 1940s. “They worked in department stores and then they became maintenance people and they trained their children. My uncle took me under his wing and showed me the ins and outs.” Louie initially taught middle school on the Upper West Side, but he took a job as a porter during the summer and was offered a job as the building’s super at the end of the summer, and

he’s continued to quickly move up the ranks. “As I was entering that building, the superintendent abruptly left, so they really had nobody steering the ship,” he said. “And since I had all the skills and qualifications I did a lot of the supplemental work.” He has been managing buildings for almost nine years now. He particularly likes working in boutique buildings like his current one because “you get to know your residents,” he said. “I would say I know all the residents very well. It’s more filial.” He has worked in several different buildings in the city but has found a favorite in 520 E. 86th Street. “Everybody always mentioned how on

this block how wonderful the people, the staff are,” he said. “It’s an anomaly to find a building like this where actually I would say 100 percent of the residents are very, very kind, warm people.” Louie was drawn to the job not only because of his family history, but because of 32BJ. “32BJ was my main draw because it was such a solid union,” he said. Louie is also proud to be the vice president of the Scandinavian American Building Managers Guild, where he helps mentor building workers so they can move up in the business the same way he has.

We are proud to support

SEIU 32BJ and we applaud their great work. Congratulations to this year’s award recipients.

NOVEMBER 5-11,2015

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2015 Building Service Workers of the Year

Idrissa Camara Life Saver Award

Making the Ultimate Sacrifice In the years that Idrissa Camara worked as a security guard at 201 Varick St. in lower Manhattan, his coworkers looked to him as someone they could count on for guidance, advice or whatever they needed to lift their spirits. “Camara wouldn’t hesitate to give you his last dollar or the shirt off his back,” said Winnifred Dwyer, who worked with him for 14 years. And this selflessness led Officer Camara to agree to work a second shift of overtime on August 21, the day a gunman entered the lobby of the building, which houses offices for the federal Department of Labor, opened

CONGRATULATIONS! Related is proud to support the Building Service Workers and congratulates tonight’s honorees on all of their many accomplishments NEW YORK

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LOS ANGELES

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fire and killed the 53-year-old father of four at his post. This officer’s sacrifice is the reason his family will receive a posthumous Lifesaver Award as part of this year’s Building Service Workers Awards. In addition, the annual award for Security Officer in City or Public Buildings will be renamed the Idrissa Camara Award. Officer Camara’s loved ones have spoken of his deep commitment to family, co-workers and community. In addition to caring for his immediate and extended family in New York, he was closely connected to family and friends in his native Ivory Coast, and to those in the Masjid Aqsa-Salam,

the mosque in Harlem he attended regularly. Security officers and other 32BJ members from across the country banded together to grieve, send condolences and support to Officer Camara’s loved ones. Several remarked on how this heartbreaking tragedy reminded them of the important work security officers do putting themselves in the front lines to keep others safe. “He trained me in the ins and outs of that building,” said co-worker Myra Mercado. “This incident reminds us that we should look out for each other and have each other’s back the way Camara always did.”

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NOVEMBER 5-11,2015

2015 Building Service Workers of the Year

Enma Mehmedovic Helping Hand

Helping and Listening Across the City This year’s recipient of the Helping Hand Award, Enma Mehmedovic, has been cleaning offices at 550 Madison Ave. for 14 years and is always looking for ways to help others. She started out covering for someone temporarily while they were on vacation, and was later hired on full time. For a time, she assisted a 32BJ delegate by visiting other buildings and talking to the workers there. “I was helping give information and answer questions and listen to the members’ concerns,” Mehmedovic said. She is a shop steward for her building and several others around her. “I go to the buildings and give my name and phone number and if they need something

important I come from my house,” she said. “I like to do that.” She said she enjoys feeling important and doing something good for other workers. Though she said she doesn’t like to talk much, she said her preference for listening makes her good at solving problems. “I listen in all the buildings I go to and make notes,” she said. “When someone doesn’t help you, it’s no good. I try to change that. If you don’t go to the union how are they going to help you?” Mehmedovic has lived in New York for over 20 years. She enjoys dancing — bachata and meringue especially — and going to the movies as often as she can. She has four kids and lives in Queens.

Alliance Building Services Salutes the Dedication & Service of This Year’s Building Service Workers Winners

Gary Green & Michael Rodriguez 70 W 36th Street, New York, NY 10018

NOVEMBER 5-11,2015

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Congratulations to all the Nominees and Winners of the 2015 Building Service Workers

AWA R D S

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NOVEMBER 5-11,2015

2015 Building Service Workers of the Year

Tony Ahmeti Outer Borough Residential Worker of the Year

A Mr. Fix-It, on the Job and Off Luckily for Tony Ahmeti, he loves what he does as a handyman, because the work doesn’t end when he leaves his building in the Bronx. “I have a list; my wife always has a list” he said, smiling. “My mother-in-law always calls me. Every time I go to her house I have to have my tools.” Ahmeti got his current job through his cousin, who used to work at the same building, and has found himself to be incredibly handy. He learned a lot from his uncle, who was a car mechanic and electrician, and has always wanted to work with his hands. “There’s always stuff to do,” he said. “I love the people here.” Ahmeti has held many jobs in New York since moving from Kosovo in 1990, including restaurant owner and country club manager. He enjoyed them all, but has found his calling

in handywork, especially carpentry. “I used to work in the city with this contractor and we used to do a lot of crown molding,” he said. “It was very difficult to do because they had flowers and stuff … I just did crown molding in my living room.” Ahmeti has three daughters, and thinks the youngest one may have inherited his knack for fixing things. “I always say the little one — she’s six but still — every time I go around she always comes after me,” he said. Ahmeti describes himself as a joker, and sure enough he asks a coworker for a comb for his mostly bald head before getting his picture taken. He also loves cooking, mostly Italian food, and making progress on the list of work that needs to be done on his home — a list that never seems to end.

Congratulations! Congratulations, winners of the 2015 Building Service Workers Awards! Thank you for all that you have done for the New York community and making the lives of those around you a little brighter every day. Gain value for your building and business with ABM as your facility solutions partner. Our technology-enabled workforce brings ABM expertise to any type of property… from neighborhood banks and schools to the largest oﬃce parks, stadiums and airports.

NOVEMBER 5-11,2015

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2015 Building Service Workers of the Year

Denise White Green Award

Recycling for the Next Generation Denise White worked at the World Trade Center for 18 years before 9/11, and was one of the workers who closed the building the night before the towers were attacked. She remains deeply affected by the trauma of losing so many friends and co-workers. “It took me like three months to get it back together,” she said. “It was a difficult time. All the workers, we were one big family.” White recently saw one of her colleagues from the World Trade Center at a 32BJ meeting for the first time since 9/11, and they took a picture together. As the winner of the Green Award, White takes special care to separate recycling into the correct bins both at work and at home. “I make sure the papers and the cans and the bottles are where they’re

Making a Difference. Every Day.

supposed to be,” she said. “They try to give us equipment that meets the green standard. I have a bunch of nieces and nephews so I want them to have a decent place to live.” White is the oldest of seven siblings and tries to organize as many family gatherings as possible. “Every Thanksgiving we go to my sister’s house,” she said. “I’m thinking about (renting) a 15-seater van so we can all be in one car. We’re one big, happy family.” White is also active in her church, which recently recognized her for her volunteer work. She also likes to travel, and visited the Dominican Republic this summer. She has been cleaning offices for 31 years.

FirstService Residential is a proud sponsor of the 2015 Building Service Workers Awards Congratulations to all of the winners for a job well done! As New York City’s leading residential management company, FirstService Residential is committed to delivering proven solutions and exceptional service that add value, enhance lifestyles and make a difference, every day, for every resident and property we serve.

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2015 Building Service Workers of the Year

Celia Seda Longevity Award

Thirty Years on the Job Celia Seda has been with 32BJ for 30 years. She began working as an office cleaner at 767 5th Ave. 31 and joined the union a years ago. Seda is a native New Yorker, born and raised in the Bronx, where she still lives. Her favorite part of her job is that it has supported her family for so many years. She has two children, and is married to a former doorman who recently retired after being with 32BJ for 28 years. She also loves interacting with the tenants in the building. “I see them come

Marie Le Bon Lower Manhattan Ofﬁce Cleaner

A Busy Life Outside of Work Marie Le Bon has been cleaning buildings since 1974, after coming to New York from Haiti as a student. “My mother paid for me for one semester and I had to get something to do,” she said. Le Bon studied to be a nurse, and is happy that one of her daughters is a nurse now. She has worked in her current building on lower Broadway for 10 years. Asked what she likes about her job, she replies “everything.” Le Bon is extremely active in her church, where she recently won a medal of honor. “I’m an usher, I do hospitality and bingo, and I’m a eucharistic minister,” she said, pulling out her phone to show a picture of her with her bishop. She has a lot of friends at her church, which she has

been going to since 1989. She didn’t see Pope Francis when he was in New York this summer, but hopes to visit the Vatican after she retires. She also caters for some church events and uses the skills she learned in cooking school. “My grandmother had a bakery in Haiti, and for vacation my mother always sent me to cooking school,” she said. “When I came here I went to learn how to decorate.” Her favorite cake was the one her mother made for her first communion: a vanilla cake with pineapple in the middle. Le Bon is also a shop steward with 32BJ, has served a three-month period on brigade, and makes a point of going to rallies often. “I hope 32BJ goes from victory to victory,” she said.

and go and retire,” she said, stopping to chat with one such tenant on her way out. As for the union, Seda has been a faithful member for three decades. “First of all, the benefits are very good,” she said. “They fight for us. Because in reality this is a hard job. We work nights which is also risky. We’ve got fabulous medical insurance because of them fighting for us.” She also makes sure to attend rallies to support her fellow union members and goes to union meetings. “I started here and I’ll retire

here,” she said. When she gets off work she likes to relax and help her daughter with her fiveyear-old grandson. “I like having my family over,” she said. “My family loves to come over because we have barbeques. In the wintertime we like having Sunday dinners.” She is one of eight siblings who all have their own kids, so it’s always a fun crowd. She expressed her gratitude to 32BJ for allowing her to support her family for so long.

NOVEMBER 5-11,2015

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

NOVEMBER 5-11,2015

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

2015 Building Service Workers of the Year

Joe Ferdinand Midtown OfďŹ ce Cleaner

Three Decades of Dedication In January, Joe Ferdinand will have been working at 460 W. 34th Street for 30 years. He has seen many things in that time â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a snowy owl in the rafters, a cat at the bottom of the elevator pit, an assortment of strange objects in the toilets. Ferdinand also met his wife in the building, when she worked there with a company that made baby clothes. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was running the freight elevator and I had to bring the passengers down ... and then all of a the sudden Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d see that she kept forgetting stuff upstairs,â&#x20AC;? Ferdinand said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I sort of got the hint.â&#x20AC;? They bonded over heavy metal music and for their first date went to a White Zombie concert.

Originally, it was because of his father that Ferdinand came to the building in the first place. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My dad started here in â&#x20AC;&#x2122;58,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He was a CPA for Bruno New York, which did the tile on the floor. He worked in an office upstairs and then it turned out there was an opening down here and I jumped on it.â&#x20AC;? Never a big fan of office culture, Ferdinand loves that he never knows what his day will hold. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll spend two days shovelling snow, somebodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s air conditioner will leak, we do whatever it takes around here,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve done every shift in the building. I wear a lot of hats here.â&#x20AC;? Ferdinand enjoys hanging out with his co-workers, and is friends with some

of the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tenants as well. He became close to his boss, Mike, because they live near each other and will carpool to work sometimes if thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an emergency. He has two kids and lives in Long Island, where he cheers on the New York Jets every football season.

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NOVEMBER 5-11,2015

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2015 Building Service Workers of the Year

Tomas Seaton Outer Borough Ofﬁce Cleaner

A Love for the Outdoors Handyman Tomas Seaton has never encountered a problem he couldn’t handle. Between painting, repairs and all kinds of maintenance work he has proved to be extremely adept. “I got into handyman work watching my dad,” Seaton said. “He was a super — still is a super. I like to tinker with stuff, like motors, and work with electrical. I’m a jack-of-all-trades.” He does most of the repairs on his car and motorcycle. Seaton has also been working at his current building for eight years. Outside of work, he is an outdoorsman with a cabin in upstate New York. “I go fishing, hunting, camping,” he said, adding that he visits his 10-acre property most weekends. “I like to spend time with the kids up there. I love nature.“ He has three kids who like

riding ATVs and hiking. One of his favorite memories is of seeing a bear on a camping trip. “My wife spotted a bear standing and walking,” he said. “I’ve never seen that in my life. It walked about 10 feet on its two (hind) legs, like Bigfoot.” His love for the outdoors also comes from his father, who made a point of exploring nature. “Since I was a child he would always take us out of the city,” he said. “He made it a point to spend time with his kids. That was always his first priority.” Seaton does the same for his own kids, making sure they spend quality time outside. He has lived in New York his whole life, always in Manhattan. He hopes to eventually retire to his cabin.

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DOWNTOWN IS OUR HOME Our Town Downtown is Your Paper

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Cleaning Up After a Tragedy On Sept. 13, 2001, two days after the World Trade Center fell, Haydee Reynald was back at Stuyvesant High School — three blocks from Ground Zero — cleaning dust and debris from the halls. The school was being used as a triage center for what was happening in the area. “From the 13th on I had been in that building,” she said. “Everybody was in there. People would come out of the pit, come in, change clothes. We kept on cleaning up behind everyone.” Reynald has always placed special importance on helping people, and tries to do so every day. She has worked at Stuyvesant High since 1998, and is grateful to get to interact with so many great kids and teachers. “When I work the day shift basically the whole building knows (me),” she said. “I had kids in the 2000s that were phenomenal. These kids were

always gracious.” Though she doesn’t have children of her own, Reynald takes pride in watching the students who pass through Stuyvesant’s halls grow up and succeed. One of them helped her when she was sick, and she keeps in touch with several of them. “Overall, the job is a blessing,” she said. “I can’t say enough about having a job where I … don’t have to struggle. It’s the camaraderie that I have with a lot of people.” Reynald has taken to getting more involved in 32BJ lately, and is a shop steward. “I’ll go to anything that involves the union itself so I can learn more,” she said. “I’m stepping out in the field with my representative. I’m not a very outgoing person in that sense, but when it comes down to trying to help, I’m always willing to participate.”

NOVEMBER 5-11,2015

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2015 Building Service Workers of the Year

Weston Wright Public School Handyperson

A Love of Working with Kids As he walks through the halls of P.S. 194 Elementary School, Weston Wright is greeted by many of the kids as “Mr. Wes.” Wright has worked at P.S. 194 for 17 years, and handles maintenance tasks of all kinds, from cleaning to handywork. He learned to do repairs back home in Jamaica, where he was born, and enjoys working with his hands. He moved to New York in 1989. “In 17 years I never come to work late,” he said. “I like working with the kids. When they misbehave or something like that I can understand them because when I was growing up I used to be the same way.” Wright’s wife runs a day care, and he likes to help out when he gets off work. They have three kids of their own.

Wright particularly enjoys working with plaster, sheetrock and tiling, which he learned to do from one of his first bosses. That same boss hires him to do contractual work on the weekends. “Most of the time I try to help people,” he said. “My parents, they always helped others. I don’t like to sit around.” He does a lot of the work at his own home, including tiling the bathrooms, painting and laying concrete. Wright also likes spending time with his family outside of work and hanging out with his neighbors. P.S. 194’s Principal Josephine Bazan joked that Wright is always there to help break into her office when she forgets her keys, but expressed sincere gratitude for his hard work.

NOVEMBER 5-11,2015

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

2015 Building Service Workers of the Year

Stephanie Williams Security Ofﬁcer - Commercial

A Positive Approach to Security

Photo courtesy of Stephanie Williams

Stephanie Williams has been working at Rockefeller Center for 25 years. “I meet a lot of great people there,” Williams said. “I get to know faces. They become friends as the years go by.” She loves that the job allows her to help solve problems every day by, for example, putting mats down when it’s raining so no one slips. She got into the security business because she loves helping people. She places a lot of importance on having a positive attitude. Sometimes she faces doubt from people who don’t think female security officers can do the job, but she enjoys proving them wrong. “You just move

along,” she said. “I always take the positive approach. If someone is negative, (I) say something nice.” Williams credits her mother with teaching her these values, and recalls that she loved the saying “you catch more flies with honey.” Williams has four children and loves getting her family together and having barbeques in the backyard. “I like to cook Southern food,” she said, adding that though she is from New York, her mom grew up in the South. “Macaroni and cheese, collard greens, that kind of thing.” She also enjoys traveling, and particularly likes Philadelphia and California.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THOSE BEING HONORED BY THE

BUILDING SERVICE WORKERS AWARDS

For all that you do we salute you.

100 Years of Excellence

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NOVEMBER 5-11,2015

2015 Building Service Workers of the Year

Carlos Galvez Security Ofﬁcer - Higher Education Building

A Gentleman and a Scholar For 12 years, while working nights as a security officer at Long Island University, Carlos Galvez doubled as a student during the day. “My favorite subject was economics in high school,” he said. “When I came to this country I wanted to continue studying. I wanted to pursue a degree in accounting so I could continue doing taxes. It looks easy but it’s not.” His whole family was present at his graduation, and his children have been inspired by him to pursue their own college degrees. Galvez has been everything from a base dispatcher to a sergeant at LIU, and is proud to work at the third most-secure campus in the country, according to the Daily Beast. “My

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goal is to protect the people here, to help other officers,” Galvez said. Because of his experience in so many different positions, Galvez also trains new officers to take on various roles, including the last security director. The security business doesn’t come without its dangers. “I’ve been in two situations where I had to defend a student who was being assaulted,” he said, pointing to a scar on his forehead that resulted from one of those incidents. Galvez moved to New York from Honduras at the invitation of friends in 1974. He has five children and nine grandchildren, all of whom he loves spending time with. “Right now I’m helping my wife with my

stepdaughter’s two grandkids,” he said. “Basically why I work at night (is) I used to take care of my two youngest kids during the day because my wife worked during the day. While the kids were in school I was studying, so I got used to it.” Ever the scholar, he hopes to get his master’s degree in accounting.

CONGRATULATIONS 32BJ SEIU & Award Winners! We honor your valuable service to our community.

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NOVEMBER 5-11,2015

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Silverstein Properties is honored to salute

Building Service Workers 32BJ SEIU

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NOVEMBER 5-11,2015

2015 Building Service Workers of the Year

Lance Mumford Security Ofﬁcer - Public or City Building

Protecting Others, at Work and at Home Safety and security have always been important to Lance Mumford. Mumford got into the security business after serving in the military for three years and the National Guard for five years, and he takes his job very seriously. “In your own environment and your own hometown, security’s also important, not just when you’re in the military protecting certain sections,” he said. “It starts in your backyard.” While working at St. Peter’s College, Mumford appreciated the responsibility he had to protect a group of young people. “These kids come from 3,000, 5,000 miles away and their parents are entrusting them to you,” he said. “We play a bigger role than we think we’re playing.” He worked closely with the local police force there to make the campus as safe as it could be. Within his family Mumford also plays the role of protector. Despite being the youngest of his

siblings, he was always looking out for them, and still looks out for his siblings’ children. He credits his mother with teaching him the value of safety. “If you can’t do anything, protect people as best you can,” he said. “My grandmother said the same. So I tried to be that way.” Mumford says he is honored to work in his current building, which had to be rebuilt after 9/11. “We’re a World Trade Center site,” he said. “To actually be here is a privilege.” He is proud to have been around during the rebuilding and restoration of the area, and has always encouraged his fellow officers to wear their role as a badge of honor. Even outside of work, Mumford is interested in the security of his environment. He is an active participant in his neighborhood watch in New Jersey. He is also a shop steward with 32BJ.

BUILDING MAINTENANCE SERVICES

VORNADO and BMS are proud to sponsor the Building Workers Service Awards on behalf of approximately 2,800 unionized porters, cleaners and guards that make our buildings great. (212) 714-0004 | www.bmsbuildingservices.com CHICAGO t MARYLAND t NEW YORK t VIRGINIA t WASHINGTON D.C.

NOVEMBER 5-11,2015

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2015 Building Service Workers of the Year

Germania Pagan Stadium/Area Cleaner

Opening Doors at the Garden Germania Pagan was the first female worker at Madison Square Garden to get to operate the machines that scrub the arena’s tile floors. She rides the machine after every event, cleaning the floors until all traces of up-to-25,000 guests are gone. Her co-workers praise her for opening the door for other women to perform tasks previously reserved for men. Pagan started working at Madison Square Garden in 2001 cleaning restrooms and worked her way up to being in charge of the sixth floor. She attributes her persistence to her strong character, and is proud to have been a leader

among her co-workers. Since learning to operate the cleaning machines, Pagan also trains new workers to do the same. Though many celebrities have performed during Pagan’s shifts, it was Pope Francis’ recent visit to New York that impressed her the most. He held a service in the stadium that was very emotional for her, a faithful Christian. Originally from Ecuador, Pagan has lived in New York for 37 years and has two children with her husband of 35 years. She is a cancer survivor and loves spending time with her four grandchildren.

We proudly support 32BJ SEIU in its 9th Annual Building Service Workers Awards and are pleased to honor the dedicated men and women of the New York community

NOVEMBER 5-11,2015

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST The local paper for the Upper West Side

2015 Building Service Workers of the Year

Sam Ruiz Window Cleaner

August 10, 2015

August 5, 2015 The local paper for the Upper East Side

LUXURY MEGA-TOWER COMING TO SUTTON PLACE EXCLUSIVE East Side officials already gearing up to fight the project BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS

Plans have been drawn up for a luxury 900-foot condo tower in Sutton Place, which, if completed as planned, would rank as one of the tallest buildings in Manhattan. The 268,000-squarefoot tower will become the second-tallest on the Upper East Side, behind the in-progress 432 Park Avenue at 1,400 feet, and one of the tallest in the city. Construction permits

degree views of Midtown, Downtown Brooklyn and Manhattan, Central Park and the East River.” The 268,000 square feet of buildable space and air rights, which includes 58,000 square feet of inclusionary housing rights, have already been delivered. It’s unclear if the affordable housing will be offered on- or offsite, or how many units of affordable housing will be included. Representatives for The Bauhouse Group, which owns the site, declined to field questions about the Sutton Place Development, but a representative of the company provided a press release to Our Town that said the

April 7, 2015

April 8, 2015

The local paper for the Upper West Side

THE TRAGEDY AFTER

INVESTIGATION

As many as 260 pedestrians are expected to die this year on New York City streets. But almost none of the drivers involved in those cases will be prosecuted -- adding to the nightmare for the families of the victims.

see Reyes punished for Ariel’s death, now more than a year and a half ago, in June 2013. Russo said in an interview that she ﬁnds cruel irony in the fact that she teaches history to boys the same age as Reyes, who was 17 when he ran over Ariel and her grandmother in a Nissan Frontier SUV in front of the little girl’s preschool on the Upper West Side. This is why she initially sympa

Safety Advocates Want Harsher Penalties for New York’s Drivers

sterdam Avenue in an attempt to ﬂee from cops who had seen him driving erratically and ordered him to pull over. The chase ended with the fatal crash on 97th Street. Originally, by giving him bail and charging him as a minor, Judge Carro was giving Reyes a chance to avoid having a public criminal record. But on Sept. 3, Reyes was again stopped for driving recklessly, without a license This time in speeding

December 4, 2014

March 2, 2015

FI RST IN YOU R NEIGHBO R H OOD

(212) 868-0190

Eastsider Downtowner

Clinton Westsider

Working at the Heights of His Profession Sam Ruiz was born and raised in the Bronx, and has lived in every borough. He started washing windows at age 16 at the urging of his best friend, and he hasn’t looked back — or down — since. At 49 years old, that makes 30 years in the business. That same best friend was the best man at his wedding, and they still stay in touch. Ruiz met his wife through his father’s best friend, who is her father. “It was a neighborhood thing,” he said. “Best friends, summer job after school.” His favorite thing about the job is the very thing most people would balk at: the height. Ruiz enjoys the quiet and calm of being suspended above the city. He has cleaned windows at the original World Trade Center, Citicorp and the HRA buildings. At 2 Grand Central Tower, where he currently works, he cleans the windows by leaning out from the inside, but has done scaffolds, ladders and everything in between. He has had a few close calls and had to be retrieved from scaffolding by firemen, but has avoided any other major mishaps. “I do the whole building by myself. It takes me about three months and then I start over,” he said, adding that he has liked getting to know the people who work in his building over the last seven years. “I’m considered to be a people person, so it’s pretty cool.” Ruiz was a boxer for 30 years, professionally for several years. He has two kids and seven grandchildren, and has been with 32BJ for 25 years.

NOVEMBER 5-11,2015

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Congratulates All the Winners &

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The Sponsors of

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AWARDS GLENWOOD B U ILD ER O W N ER M A N A G ER

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2015 Building Service Workers of the Year

Martha LondoĂąo Theater Cleaner

Another Star on Broadway As a cleaner at the Broadway Theater for 15 years, Martha LondoĂąo has seen some of the best productions to grace any stage. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a beautiful theater,â&#x20AC;? she said, recalling how amazed she was the first time she walked through the doors of the 1,760-seat theater. She has always been given tickets by the theater to see the shows that pass through, and some of her favorites have been â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cinderella,â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bombay Dreamsâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Color Purple.â&#x20AC;? She has met several broadway stars while cleaning their dressing rooms, and remembers the particular kindness of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Gleeâ&#x20AC;?â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jane Lynch. The youngest of her two daughters, Daniella, is an aspiring singer, and has always loved going to see shows with

her mother. LondoĂąo likes socializing with her co-workers, some of whom have become her best friends over the years. She serves as a shop steward for 32BJ and works with contracts, negotiating raises and benefits. If she were to retire from her company, she would love to work for the union. Outside of work, LondoĂąo has a penchant for taking care of people. She often takes care of her three grandchildren and any of her friends who might be sick. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I go and pray for them,â&#x20AC;? she said, adding that her favorite book is the Bible. She also enjoys cooking, taking long walks and being active in her church.

We Honor 32BJ SEIU and congratulate the winners of the Building Service Workers of the Year Awards

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Food & Drink

< CUOZZO CROSS WITH DOH

New York Post food writer Steve Cuozzo railed against the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on Nov. 1, in the midst of the city agency’s feud with a sushi restaurant operator over the use of latex gloves in food

In Brief EMPIRE SZECHUAN CLOSES IN WEST VILLAGE Empire Szechuan Village is set to close up shop following a massive rent increase, Eater reported. The longtime neighborhood establishment, which has operated at its 173 Seventh Avenue South location, at Perry Street, for 30 years, is leaving on good terms with its landlord, despite the rent hike. The long-term lease that restaurant owner Oscar King signed when he opened in 1985 kept his rent at $5,000 a month. To renew the lease, King is looking at $25,000 a month for the property, a cost that, Eater noted, may still be below market value. Empire Szechuan has also been troubled by nearby construction, a disturbance that hurt business. King told Eater that he’s “ready to retire.”

LONGTIME DINER CLOSES Market Diner, a west side institution for 53 years, closed on Nov. 1, Eater reported. Word of the diner’s demise came this summer, when the Real Deal reported that the Moinian Group submitted permit applications to develop a 13-story building at the W. 43rd Street and Eleventh Avenue location. The diner will get leveled, Eater noted. The Hell’s Kitchen eatery ﬁrst opened in 1962, and was reportedly frequented by Frank Sinatra. Eater’s Robert Sietsema noted that Diane Keaton and Rudy Giuliani also favored the far west side restaurant, which also served as a meeting spot for the Westies gang.

preparation. The DOH recently closed East Village restaurant Sushi Dojo and its Meatpacking offshoot Sushi Dojo Express, and the eateries’ partner David Bouhadana is pushing back, claiming the closure is for chefs’ failures to wear gloves. Cuozzo, responding to the department’s comment that, if surgeons can wear gloves, so can sushi chefs, points out that sushi preparation has been done for hun-

dreds of years without the use of gloves, and that gloves actually may carry more dangers than bare hands. Many city eateries ﬂout the glove requirement, he notes, and writes that the “gloves insanity is one among many DOH outrages.” Chef and television personality Anthony Bourdain also weighed in on the controversy, telling Eater that the glove rule signals “the destruction of sushi as we know it.”

THE MATRIARCH OF NEW YORK’S FOODIE FIRST FAMILY there’s no spaghetti and meatballs in an Italian cookbook? So I explain all of those things.

Q&A A Q&A on her family’s Italian-food empire

Did you have an actual drawer stuffed with all this information? I had some in my mind. But yes, there’s a physical drawer. And a computer folder.

BY MICHELE KAYAL

Lidia Bastianich is America’s Italian grandmother. In a dozen books and on her public television program, Bastianich has schooled American cooks in homemade pasta, the proper use of escarole, and the need to slow down and come to the table. Not that she’s slowing down, at least not in terms of career. At 68, Bastianich is the matriarch of a restaurant and entertainment empire. Along with her son, Joe Bastianich, and daughter, Tanya Bastianich Manuali, she has partnered on name brand New York restaurants, created product lines of sauces, pastas and cookware, authored best-selling cookbooks and launched a television production company. And it’s all built on her reputation for home-style Italian cooking, a palate often punctuated by sauerkraut and other ingredients common to the ethnically mixed region of Italy in which she was born. Bastianich’s new cookbook, “Lidia’s Mastering the Art of Italian Cuisine,” (Alfred A. Knopf, $37.50) is part recipe guide, part meditation on history and ingredients. We talked with Bastianich about tips and techniques, and about her rise from refugee to food entrepreneur. The conversation was edited for length and clarity.

Why this book? And why now? Lidia Bastianich: This book is the opening of a drawer. I literally put in clippings and ideas -- “I want to say this at some point,” “I want to explain to cooks how simple this is.” This drawer had all of this, and I just pulled it out and it evolved into this book.

What are the biggest mistakes people make in Italian cooking? The over-inclusion of ingredients. They feel the more they put into it, the better it gets. It’s the other way. If you focus on great ingredients you let nature show off.

You and your then-husband Felice Bastianich started in 1971 with one restaurant in Queens. You’ve grown that initial business into an empire of big name restaurants -- Del Posto, Esca, Eataly with Mario Batali -- food products, cookware, a winery, cookbooks, an entertainment production company. And you’ve done it all with your family, in particular with your son Joseph and your daughter Tanya. Why was it important to make this a family affair?

This book is a philosophy of how I cook and how the Italian culture cooks ... There are more than 400 recipes. About 40 percent are the traditional recipes you’ve seen in my books and in other books. Because that’s what the cuisine is. You don’t invent it. It’s a reﬂection of traditions. The others are my favorite recipes, some of them I adjusted, some I borrowed. I also included Italian-American recipes. How are you going to tell an American that

My kids grew up in that setting, of making food our business. But I always told them, “You do not want to do this job. We’re in America. You get educated, you get a real American job.” But somehow, they came back. My son came back because he wasn’t happy on Wall Street and he felt he could multiply this philosophy of food. My daughter was a professor in Italy. She was itching for something. She began to help me research the books. I would never have expanded so much had it not been for my children. They came back and they found their passion doing what I was doing.

Yours is a great American story. Many families come to the United States and open a restaurant or a grocery that stays in the family for generations. You opened a single restaurant in Queens. What was the most important factor in

growing the business? I came at a great age. I was 12. I went to high school and college here. I got a lot of the American way of thinking. But at the same time, I was born Italian. I have two of the greatest cultures on earth behind my back. How can you not succeed? I have all the beauty and ﬂavors of Italy, and the marketing savvy, everything that is American. It was this combination of my two countries, communicating my birth country and my adopted country. There’s no place like America if you roll up your sleeves.

In 1981, you decided to move out of your Queens locations, buy a brownstone and open a restaurant in Manhattan, which became the acclaimed Felidia. It was a huge risk. Why did you take it? This is how you grow. The opportunity was there. You assess the opportunity and if you think you can make it happen you do it. These restaurants in Queens, I made polenta and gnocchi with venison and had developed a following from the city, and from the press, and everyone said, “You guys belong in the city.” And you listen. And it made economical sense. We could leverage the lease (in Queens) to get ourselves settled in Manhattan. It was just a bit over our head and we almost didn’t make it. But once we opened, right away people came and ﬁlled the seats. We got three stars from (New York Times restaurant critic) Mimi Sheraton and whoever else along the line. Then that eased off the ﬁnancial pressure.

NOVEMBER 5-11,2015

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

Thu 5 MUSIC WORKSHOP SERIES AT TRINITY CHURCH Trinity Church, Broadway at Wall Street. 6-7:30 p.m. Free. Enrich and expand your musical skillset (vocal skills, sight-reading, musicology, hymnology) at this workshop series led by Julian Wachner and Trinity’s music staff. All levels and ages welcome. 212-602-0800. www. trinitywallstreet.org

Emin. 212-620-5000. rubinmuseum.org/events/ event/gary-indiana-traceyemin-11-06-2015

ORPHAN ACTION LEAGUE The PIT Loft, 154 West 29th St. 9 p.m., $15 Can you say no to a child? What about an “elite group of crime ﬁghting orphans” as they battle Grandpa in the child-labor factory? Find out. 212-244-1722

7 p.m. $15 The tale of depression as told by a deceased father — with the view points of his wife and daughter struggling to cope with their loss. The story is told through poetry. 212-244-1722

Sun 8 SILENT FILMS: CLARA BOW IN “WINGS” Pace University, 1 Pace Plaza 2 p.m. $8-$12 Watch the recently restored 1927 classic, which stars Charles “Buddy” Rogers, Clara Bow, Richard Arlen and Jobyna Ralsto. 212-346-1715. schimmel. pace.edu

CELEBRATE DIWALI — FAMILY SUNDAYS

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▲ THE IMBIBLE: A SPIRITED HISTORY OF DRINKING SoHo Playhouse, 15 Vandam St. 7-9 p.m.$55. The drinks are on us as you join world-renowned mixologist and raconteur Anthony Caporale for a boozy romp through the history of spirits in this smashhit musical comedy. 212-691-1555. imbible.org

Fri 6 GARY INDIANA + TRACEY EMIN: KARMA

Downtowner

The Rubin Museum of Art 150 West 17th St. 9:30-11 p.m. $25.00 Gary Indiana picks through the unabashedly wicked and revealing montage of excursions into his life with artist Tracey

Sat 7 BLOOD MIRROR: ART EXHIBITION ORGANIZED BY JORDAN EAGLES ► Trinity Church, Broadway at Wall Street. 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Free. Trinity Wall Street’s Visual Arts Committee presents the New York City premiere of Blood Mirror: organized by Jordan Eagles. 212-602-0800. www. trinitywallstreet.org/events/ blood-mirror-organized-jordaneagles?date=2015-11-02

“WHEN I FELL IN LOVE” The PIT Loft, 154 West 29th St.

The Rubin Museum of Art 150 West 17th St. 1-4 p.m. Sundays are for families! Bring your family to the Museum for a Sunday afternoon full of familyfriendly activities. Drop into the Education Center for some art-making, enjoy our 2 p.m. family exhibition tour, or go on your own thematic gallery search. Ages 3 and up with accompanying adults. 212-620-5000. rubinmuseum.org/events/event/ family-sundays-11-08-2015

Mon 9 FOR A NEW WORLD TO COME: EXPERIMENTS IN JAPANESE ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY, 1968– 1979 New York University, Grey Art Gallery, 100 Washington Square East Through Jan. 10. $3 suggested admission. Free with NYU ID. The exhibit, comprising about 250 objects by 29 photographers and other artists, looks at photography’s crucial role in the rise of conceptualism, 212-998-6780. www.nyu. edu/greyart

NOVEMBER 5-11,2015

▲ PERIPHERAL PROPOSALS: MODELS FOR COMMUNITING FROM THE MARGINS Van Alen Institute, 30 West 22nd St. 7-9 p.m. $7 From off-the-grid dollar vans and mobile apps for commuters with limited accessibility, to ambitious proposals to connect the boroughs’ coastlines along ferry routes, we’ll explore how ad-hoc systems, new technologies, and innovating with antique infrastructure can expand transit equity. 212-924-7000. vanalen.org/ events/peripheral-proposalsmodels-for-commuting-fromthe-margins/

Tue 10 READINGS IN CONTEMPORARY POETRY Dia:Chelsea, 535 West 22nd

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Street, ﬁfth ﬂoor 6:30 p.m. $10; $6, students and seniors; free for members. Robert Hershon and Simon Pettet www.diaart.org/events/ main/688

ANSWER SONGS 44 Charlton St. 7-8 p.m. $20 Songwriter and novelist Ben Arthur’ has created “Call and Response,” his latest album in celebration of art and to answer questions regarding other artistic works, “answer songs.” He will respond to art with special guests, artist Michael Arthur, vocalist Xenia Rubinos and novelist Rick Moody. More information and ticket purchase at lmcc.net/event/ answer-songs-3/

Wed 11 ADITYA LAMA + GOBINDA SEN —

SPIRAL MUSIC The Rubin Museum of Art 150 West 17th St. 6-9 p.m. Free Music with Aditya Lama, a young professional guitarist/ vocalist, and Gobinda Sen. a passionate percussionist. 212-620-5000. rubinmuseum.org/events/ event/aditya-lama-gobindasen-11-11-2015

WGA’S 101 FUNNIEST SCREENPLAYS: LIVE READING The New School Auditorium, 66 West 12th St 7 p.m. Free. Members of the Writers Guilds of America, East and West, voted on the 101 Funniest Screenplays, ﬁnd out what they are with Wayne Federman & Julie Klaus and members of the Upright Citizens Brigade. More info and registration at aﬂ.salsalabs.com/o/4024/p/ salsa/event/common/ public/?event_KEY=13894

,2015 ARY 12-18 5 FEBRU 12-18 ,201 Town n FEBRUARY

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Heidi Latsky Dance performing ON DISPLAY at the David Rubenstein Atrium, Lincoln Center, 2015. Photo: Darial Sneed

REDEFINING A DANCER’S BODY PERFORMANCE A new work features disabled and other dancers who challenge the conventional images of the art BY GABRIELLE ALFIERO

In “On Display,” the latest in Heidi Latsky Dance’s ongoing Gimp Project, a series featuring disabled and non-disabled dancers, it’s about being seen. The site-speciﬁc “On Display,” which opens on Sunday, Nov. 15 at New York University’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts along with an excerpt from Latsky’s 2013 solo work “Solo Countersolo” and the New York premiere of new work “Somewhere,” is what Latsky

calls a movement installation, and functions as a live art exhibition and fashion show. Viewers wander through the performance, perhaps pausing and taking photographs, and then move on, instead of sitting for the duration of the program. The format allows viewers to focus on dancers of their choosing, and also permits performers to stare back if they want. “They’re being empowered to show who they are when they want to and how they want to, but people hide,” said choreographer and artistic director Heidi Latsky. The idea for the piece came from a comment Latsky received years ago when she presented a video trailer for the Gimp Project, which fea-

tured a dancer with one arm, at a creative retreat. A museum curator approached her after the presentation, and told her that he often ﬁnds sculptures with missing limbs, but when he watched her video, he recoiled, and felt ashamed of his response. “When he said that to me I started thinking…what would it be like if I made a sculpture garden or a sculpture court of real people who are missing limbs?” Latsky said. “On Display” features disabled and non-disabled dancers, and what Latsky calls “unexpected bodies,” along with the familiar, lithe ﬁgures of professional dancers. Rachel Handler, one of the newest performers, is an amputee who’s without her lower leg.

She performs portions of the show sitting on the ﬂoor, and at other times stands on one leg. Kimberly Olstad is visibly pregnant, and her clothing exposes her belly. “We’re so quick to judge people just by what they look like,” Latsky said. “But then when you see them move, especially an unexpected body, there’s a beauty to that.” The piece’s unconventional music features robotic spoken text of physical human descriptions that sound like automated recordings. The attributes, like “engorged hands,” “sad brown eyes” and “bulging crotch,” were pulled from actual observations made by writer and company dancer Jerron Herman, who spent a month covertly jotting down descrip-

tions of people he saw on the subway. Herman, who started dancing four years ago, has cerebral palsy, which affects the left side of his body. Watching others was an “inverse experience,” he said, as he’s often aware of people looking at him. The exercise challenged him, especially when he realized he didn’t always have the vocabulary to describe people with disabilities. “I was going between P.C. and truth, what should I say versus this is what I see,” he said. Now, as a performer in the show, when he hears the reading of the text, he can picture the faces of the people on the train. Though Latsky has worked with disabled dancers since 2006, the piece is a departure for her company. Much of her choreography features vigorous, technical movement. But in “On Display,” the 28 performers, dressed in costumes by Brooklyn fashion designer

Anna Kathleen Little, engage in slow, languid movements, or morphing (during a recent rehearsal Latsky urged dancers to make even smaller, slower shifts) and sometimes remain still. At other points, their movements are sudden and frenetic as they strike poses, plaster on smiles and open and close their eyes. “This was a very hard piece to choreograph because I didn’t want it to look like choreography—I wanted them to be exposed,” said Latsky, 57, a petite woman with curly blond hair. “I wanted to ﬁnd ways to bring them out…the slower they move, the more you see them” The performers are also watching. “We have the agency to connect with our viewer,” said Herman. “The one that’s come to view us is also on display. I think that’s where my anxiety about being watched melts away. I’m showing myself.”

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NOVEMBER 5-11,2015

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

ACTIVITIES FOR THE FERTILE MIND

FOR THE WEEK BY GABRIELLE ALFIERO OUR ARTS EDITOR

thoughtgallery.org NEW YORK CITY

Behind the Scenes: Clairvoyant Tenement Housewives

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11TH, 6:30PM Tenement Museum | 103 Orchard St. | 212-982-8420 | tenement.org

MUSIC

A GILDED AGE SALON: MUSIC FROM PARIS TO NEW YORK Sylvan Winds, a ﬁve-piece chamber music outﬁt, performs works by six composers, many with roots in Paris, including Camille Saint-Saëns, who acted as a church organist throughout the city. The ensemble also performs a suite by Théodore Dubois, a director of the Paris Conservatory from 1896-1905, who, like Saint-Saëns, was a church organist. A Gilded Age Salon: Music from Paris to New York Thursday, Nov. 12 The Salmagundi Club 47 Fifth Ave., at E. 12th Street 7:30 p.m. Tickets $40 For tickets and more information, call 212-222-3569 or email sylvanwinds@att.net

Catch a mini-tour of 97 Orchard St., followed by a talk by historian and Yiddishist Edward Portnoy, who discusses the role fortunetellers played in immigrant communities like the turn-of-the-century Lower East Side. ($25)

Visiting Artists Lecture Series: Glenn Ligon and Carl Hancock Rux

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11TH, 7PM The New School | 55 W. 13th St. | 212-229-5108 | newschool.edu Conceptual artist Glenn Ligon talks about his site-speciﬁc neon New School installation Comrades and Lovers, touching on American history, race and society, while writer Carl Hancock Rux responds in a spoken word performance. (Free)

Just Announced | Monograph in Motion—Dattner Architects: New 34th Street/Hudson Yards Subway Station

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17TH, 6PM

Over 200 pieces by 55 artists from more than 20 countries make up the Jewish Museum’s new exhibition “Unorthodox”. Switzerland’s Xanti Schawinksy’s “Faces of War” series considers the devastation of World War II and Dineo Sheshee Bopape explores apartheid. Nov. 6-March 27 The Jewish Museum 1109 Fifth Ave., at 92nd Street Xanti Schawinsky, The Aviator, Museum hours: Sunday-Tuesday from the series Faces of War, 1942, mixed media, watercolor and Saturday, 11 a.m.-5:45 p.m.; and ink, 28 ? x 21 in. Courtesy Thursday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; Friday, 11 of the Xanti Schawinsky a.m.-4 p.m. Estate, Switzerland, and Admission $15 Broadway 1602, New York. © For more information, visit Xanti Schawinsky, image provided thejewishmuseum.org or call 212by Broadway 1602, New York 423-3200

THEATER “BRIGADOON” Long-running Upper East Side community theater group St. Jean’s Players begins its new season with musical “Brigadoon,” in which two American travelers get lost in the woods in Scotland and ﬁnd themselves in an untouched magical town. Featuring a cast of 35 actors, Alan Jay Lerner’s and Frederick Loewe’s 1947 play includes the tunes “Almost Like Being in Love” and “Heather on the Hill.” Nov. 6-8, Nov. 13-15 and Nov. 20-22 St. Jean’s Auditorium 167 E. 75th St., between Lexington and Third Avenues Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.; Sundays at 3 p.m. Tickets $25 For tickets, call 212-868-4444 or visit smarttix.com; remaining tickets available at the door

FILM ASBURY SHORTS Asbury Shorts, a short ﬁlm event now in its 34th year, brings previous favorites to the screen as well as new ﬁlms, including “Wire Cutters,” Jack Anderson’s animated short about two robots, and “The Girl and the Gondola” from Abbe Robinson. Friday, Nov. 6 NYIT Auditorium on Broadway 1871 Broadway, between W. 61st and W. 62nd Streets 7:30 p.m. Tickets $15 To purchase tickets, visit www. asburyshortsnyc.brownpapertickets.com or visit asburyshortsnyc.com for more information To be included in the Top 5 go to otdowntown.com and click on submit a press release or announcement.

It’s been over 25 years since NYC added a subway station. Hear from the Hudson Yards station’s architects as they describe their use of light and openness to convey safety and space. ($20)

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

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The Orchestra of St. Luke’s, along with the Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys perform two powerful works at Saint Thomas Church. Franz Joseph Haydn’s “Missa in Angustiis,” which he composed in the summer of 1798, and Mozart’s “Requiem Mass in D Minor.” Thursday, Nov. 12 Saint Thomas Church One W. 53rd St., near Fifth Avenue 7:30 p.m. Tickets $40-$75 For more information, call 212-664-9360 or visit saintthomaschurch.org

“UNORTHODOX”

Open House New York | 552-70 W. 34th St. | 212-991-6470 | ohny.org

have

MUSEUMS

“MISSA IN ANGUSTIIS” AND “REQUIEM MASS IN D MINOR, K. 626”

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NOVEMBER 5-11,2015

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YOUR 15 MINUTES

To read about other people who have had their “15 Minutes” go to otdowntown.com/15 minutes

FILMMAKER GETS A LITTLE HELP FROM HIS FRIENDS Peter Odabashian visits with Old Friends in his new documentary BY ANGELA BARBUTI

After making documentaries for 30 years, Peter Odabashian decided to take on his first solo project. “Old Friends,” which has its world premiere at DOC NYC on Nov. 14, has him bringing his camera into the homes of his friends. “You’re getting a picture of me through my friends. Each person represents a piece of me somehow,” he said. Having grown up in the New York suburb of Larchmont, he came to Manhattan in 1974 and began working in a post-production house on mostly TV commercials. “In those days, film was still film, you cut it with a sharp knife instead of digitally,” he explained. He worked as a sound editor on such films as “Desperately Seeking Susan,” “Reds” and “Carlito’s Way.” Eventually, he moved on to documentaries and has worked on 22 so far, winning an Emmy which now sits on a bookshelf in the Upper West Side apartment he shares with his wife, Esther.

How did you get started in sound editing? The business of editing was old fashioned. You started as an apprentice and then became an assistant and then became an editor. It was sort of

like that for me. I worked in commercials and became an assistant editor there and then I went into feature films. “Starting Over” was my first feature. I worked as an apprentice on that. And then, this big job came along called “Reds.” They hired every person in New York; there was an editorial crew of 60. I somehow ended up being the associate sound editor and that’s how I got involved in sound.

Why did you make this film? I’ve been working cooperatively in film, like everyone who works in film, basically, you work with a lot of different people. After I stopped doing sound editing, I started editing documentaries. I became involved with Andy Kolker and Louis Alvarez and edited five different documentaries for them. And the first won one an Emmy for me. We got used to working with each other. I also cut documentaries for other people, but I would always come back to work with them because all there films had a sense of humor, and that was something I enjoyed. Because there are a lot of jobs where you work and you’ll show a first cut to somebody, and they’ll say, ‘What’s that?’ And I’ll say, ‘That was supposed to be a joke.’ Often humor gets eliminated in documentaries, especially back then. The last 10 years, I joined them as a partner and we’ve

been producing and directing together. So anyway, I was always working with groups of people, so I got to the point where I really wanted to do something that was mine.

What were the challenges to working on it alone? Because I was doing it alone, it makes the film more intimate. I mean, literally, I was a one-man crew. I did all the post production myself. I would walk into one of my friends’ houses and it would just be me with a very small camera. I would use natural light, which allowed me to move the camera around, which had interesting results. In this particular case, I picked a good subject for my first film because everyone knew me. And not only were they comfortable with me, but they wanted to tell me something because I was trying to make a movie. Everyone was quite forthcoming and dealing with something that I didn’t know.

What are some things you learned about your friends’ lives as a result? One person worries that everybody thinks they’re boring. Someone else, his mother left him in an orphanage, which, just recently, was exposed in the news. Other people thinking about death, that we don’t normally talk about. Another guy who I spent a lot of time with in the 70s and we had a lot

of fun, worried that maybe he should have done more with his life and that wasn’t a good period. You’re open about your depression, and call yourself ‘the happiest depressed person in the world.’ Why do you think you’re so open about it? I don’t know, there’s no taint on that for me. Admitting you’re depressed or you have problems with depression — I have no aspirations of being president. [Laughs] I always took a certain joy in having a certain kind of craziness and having a certain kind of craziness with my friends. Obviously I’m not talking about schizophrenia, but neuroses.

Your wife is in the ﬁlm. What was it like working with her? She’s great. I love my wife. She’s really, as I say in the ﬁlm, made my life not the life of a depressed person, even though I have leanings in that direction, I think she really steered me out of it. That’s how she lives every day. She brings a lot of energy to everyone around her.

The ﬁrst part of the documentary takes place in upstate New York and then you switch to Manhattan. Why did you do that and was it hard to ﬁlm on the subway? I think I’ve always planned to live out my days in New York City. It’s a great

place to grow old in. You don’t have to drive, you don’t have to shovel the snow. It’s like a giant playground. It’s so entertaining; you could just stand on Broadway. In upstate New York, it’s a different kind of entertainment. To tape on the subway, I actually looked up the rule, you can do whatever you want on the subway, but can’t use a tripod. [Laughs] The camera I shot this with looks like a home movie camera; it’s very small. If I have my audio gear, it starts to get cumbersome. But on the subway, I just needed to shoot video really, so the little mic on the camera was just fine. So it’s really unobtrusive. You know, I’ve been working on documentaries for 30 years and in the old days, if you brought a camera on the street in New York or anywhere else, people would stare at it, give you the ﬁnger, make faces, say, ‘Hi mom.’ But now, everyone ignores it. Almost everyone knows, either from watching reality shows, they don’t look in the lens, they don’t look at you. To learn more, visit www.oldfriendsdoc.com

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NOVEMBER 5-11,2015

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M AKING OUR NEIGHBORHOODS MORE LIVABLE Join Editor-in-Chief Kyle Pope, AARP, concerned citizens, and panelists for a discussion about the factors that go into making New York City more livable. PA N E L I S T S GALE BREWER

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