Our Town February 16, 2012 by Our Town

NEWS: The end of Ruppert Playground? February 16, 2012

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tapped in

Notes from the Neighborhood Compiled by Megan Bungeroth

311 Mess-ups Confuse Local Parents

158 and P.S. 290 are also affected by the misinformation, so parents are encouraged to call schools directly to make sure that they are enrolling in the correct zone.

Legal Battles Become Book Fodder Local attorney Eric Dinnocenzo has turned his experiences working in housing court and providing pro bono legal assistance to tenants into a new novel, The Tenant Lawyer. We asked the Upper East Sider about his new book.

andrew schwartz

Upper East Side Assembly Member Micah Kellner alerted Our Town to a snafu in the 311 information system that has been giving parents incorrect information about their children’s school enrollment. Kellner said several parents have called his office over the past week to complain that 311 operators have apparently been referencing school zoning maps from the current academic year instead of the updated maps for the 2012-2013 school year. As a result, some incoming kindergartners’ parents have been told to enroll their children at P.S. 151 when in fact they have been rezoned for the new P.S. 527, which will open in the Our Lady of Good Counsel building next fall. “They need to correct this right away because parents shouldn’t be put through this,” Kellner said. “You want to be able to go register your child and have peace of mind.” The deadline for kindergarten enrollment is March 2, and though 311 is still relying on the old maps, the DOE’s website has updated information and says that they are working to update 311. P.S.

Making iCe angeLS

How did you craft your main character? The character was loosely based on my experiences working as a legal services attorney straight out of law school in the early 2000s. I wanted to create a protagonist who struggled with insecurities and self-doubt along with anxiety about career and success. I also wanted him to have a complex relationship with both the more blue-collar town he grew up in [Worcester] and the more sophisticated place he ended up [the Back Bay in Boston, working for a high-powered law firm].

Thomas Brown, an artist with Okamoto Studio, puts the finishing touches on his ice sculpture of the Bethesda Terrace Angel of the Waters during the Ice Festival at the Tavern on the Green Visitor Center. have written this book. I would have had no insight into what goes on in the housing court [or the] one-strike law that propels one of the plotlines. [That law] allows innocent tenants to be evicted from public housing if a family member or guest engages in illegal drug activity, whether the tenant knew about it and whether it was on or off the property. It shows how courts will harshly penalize low- and middle-class people but bend over backward to assist and enable the powerful.

How were you influenced by your work as an attorney in writing this book? Without that experience, I couldn’t

Jobs and Housing Top State of the City address

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keeping jobs and hailed Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, going on now at Lincoln Center, announcing a similar plan for a NYC Design Week. “We have more designers than any city in the United States, with nearly 40,000 New Yorkers working in everything from graphics to movie sets, architecture to interior decorating,” she said. Quinn named a group in Brownsville that raised $25,000 to start an urban farm on an abandoned lot, offering vegetable harvesting and chicken-naming privileges as rewards. Quinn also introduced a pilot program to help middle-income families afford child care. Upper East Side Council Member Jessica Lappin and State Sen. Daniel Squadron have been working on the program at the city and state levels, she said, which would have the city pay the upfront costs of child care and allow

andrew schwartz

By Megan Bungeroth In a sweeping State of the City speech on Thursday, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn zeroed in on jobs, housing and education, promising new programs and city and state cooperation to pass laws that will enable them. “We need to tap into the power of our communities,” Quinn said in the speech. “We need to restore the promise that everyone can succeed in New York, no matter how humble their origins, with a bit of help and hard work.” Emphasizing the need for the city to support immigrants, Quinn highlighted a group of women in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, who started a successful worker-owned cooperative, offering cleaning services, with help from a community organization. She also named the fashion and design industries as key to creating and

families to pay back the money over time with a low-cost loan. She also advocated for more city aid for homeless families. “We need to pri-

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. oritize homeless New Yorkers for New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) apartments and Section 8 vouchers so we can get even more families into long-term stable housing,” Quinn said. “This isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s

Free Screening of Gasland Nonprofit advocacy group Food & Water Watch is hosting a free screening of the Academy Award-nominated film Gasland, a documentary by Josh Fox about the effects of hydraulic fracturing on surrounding water supplies, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 7 p.m. at Lenox Hill Hospital, 100 E. 77th St., Einhorn Auditorium. Reserve a spot at foodandwaterwatch.org or call Assembly Member Micah Kellner’s office at 212-860-4906.

the fiscally responsible thing to do. The average cost of a rental subsidy for a family of four: $800 a month. To house that same family in a shelter: $2,500 a month.” Targeting bad landlords, Quinn thanked Upper West Side Council Member Gale Brewer for her bill that would give Housing Preservation and Development more power to crack down on them when they won’t make repairs. She also called the city out on its own bad landlord tendencies in managing NYCHA developments. In her focus on education, Quinn named Houston, San Francisco and Cincinnati as cities that have redesigned their education systems to great benefit, doing away with unnecessary levels of bureaucracy. She pushed for more funding for CUNY and the creation of a new honors college, as well as working with the state to make kindergarten mandatory; it currently is not. N EW S YO U LIV E B Y

crime watch

Crime Watch By Megan Bungeroth

Impersonating Swindler Preys on Elderly

A man is wanted by police on charges of grand larceny after a woman says he tricked her out of $9,000. A 91-yearold woman reported that last Tuesday, she received a phone call at home from a man claiming to be a police officer investigating the distribution of counterfeit bills. The perp told the woman to withdraw $4,500 in cash from her Chase Bank account and meet him on the street at East 87th Street and Madison Avenue. When the woman did as she was instructed, the man flashed a badge and she believed him to be a member of the NYPD, handing over the money. The next day, the man called back and asked the victim to take out another $4,500, this time from Emigrant Bank, and meet him at the same spot, where she again forked over the cash. The woman reported the incidents to the real police when she didn’t hear back about the missing $9,000 that she thought was being used to aid an investigation. The suspect is described as a black male, 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, about 40 years old. Police said that unfortunately, this type of trickery perpetrated on older New Yorkers is not uncommon, but that fraud in addition to impersonating a police officer could carry a hefty charge.

Highway Robbery Last Saturday, a cab driver pulled up for a routine fare pickup at the corner of East 84th Street and Third Avenue. The passenger explained that he wanted to sit in the front seat because his wife and kids were waiting down the block to be picked up, and the driver let him in. As soon as he sidled into the seat, however, the man displayed a 10-inch knife and told the driver, “Give me all your money and your cell phone.” The driver gave him his Blackberry and $107 in cash, after which O u r To w n NY. c o m

the perpetrator instructed him to take the FDR Drive down to 34th Street and let him out there. After the driver followed the instructions, the man exited the cab. Noticing police officers in the area, he started running. The police gave chase down to 36th Street and First Avenue and arrested the weapon-wielding robber.

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Don’t Mess with the NYPD A man was arrested last Thursday after he summoned the audacity to threaten a police officer in the middle of the street. The 26-year-old man approached a cop on traffic duty at an intersection on East 86th Street, made a “threatening move” and told him, “You’re lucky my father was in the car before.” The brazenly dumb man was promptly arrested.

Dangerous Joyride Late Friday night, two men snuck into a Department of Environmental Protection parking lot downtown at 30 Pike St. There they found a DEP truck with keys in the ignition, hopped in and took off for a ride uptown in the white truck, worth $15,000. The pair got into several hit-and-run accidents, hitting a cab at one point and injuring four people. They ended the evening by crashing into a barbershop storefront on First Avenue on the Upper East Side, where police finally caught up with the dangerous duo. The men, ages 32 and 36, were arrested for grand larceny auto, but further charges may be pending.

Phone Grabs Still Common on UES

Police say Upper East Siders should take care when using their cell phones, MP3 players or other electronic devices on the street. Thieves on bikes have been targeting distracted cell phone users, whizzing up behind them, grabbing the phone and racing off before you can say Angry Birds. F ebruary 16, 2012

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Land Use Review Ruppert Playground’s Last Hope By Anam Baig Elected officials, community board members and residents continue the fight to keep Ruppert Playground from becoming a high-rise and are currently pushing the City Planning Commission to require The Related Companies to go through a Uniform Land Use Review Process (ULURP) before starting development on the site. “There is a 32,000-square-foot park that is a really cherished and wonderful open space that is used by seniors and children that Related wants to turn into a high-rise,” said Council Member Jessica Lappin at last month’s Community Board 8 meeting. “I think that requires a pretty significant change in our land use.” Council Member Dan Garodnick, who has also been pushing the city to force a ULURP review instead of allowing Related to build as-of-right on the parcel, wrote in a letter to the City Planning Commission that Ruppert Playground was created as “a park space to offset the impact of another high-density development.” But now The Related Companies, the real estate company that bought the space in a 1983 deal with the city and has maintained it as a playground for over 25

years, has fulfilled its end of the bargain and is planning to build a 35-story highrise on the land. Opponents argue that it is a land use change that requires a full public review, even though it is allowed under the original contract. The playground has been closed to the public since September 2011. Related did not respond to a request

“A building makes no sense, because this community has the least amount of public space—it makes no sense to allow something like this to go up,” said Geoffrey Croft for comment on this story. “The community has come to rely on this park space as a valuable resource for outdoor activities and as an escape from the heavily congested surrounding area,” Garodnick’s letter stated. “Prior land use review and approval never explicitly considered the elimination of the park space…the city should review its impli-

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cations in a full land use review process.” Community Board 8’s territory, with over 219,000 residents, is one of the most densely populated areas in Manhattan. Only 3.2 percent of its total land area is dedicated to parks and open space. The plan for another high-rise in this already congested neighborhood has rallied active dissent from the community, its elected officials and park advocates. “A building makes no sense, because this community has the least amount of public space—it makes no sense to allow something like this to go up,” said Geoffrey Croft, president of NYC Park Advocates. He said that if the city doesn’t force a ULURP review, there may be lawsuits from the community. In a memorandum filed Jan. 11 by the law firm Goldman Harris LLC on behalf of Ruppert Housing Company, which owns the 650-unit Mitchell Llama cooperative housing development adjacent to Ruppert Playground, “development of the playground requires a modification to the Large-Scale Residential Development Plan to change the use of [Ruppert Playground] from public open space to specify the use and build of development,

if any, permitted on the site.” The ULURP process takes about 17 months, during which time the application will go through the community board, the borough president’s office and the City Council as well as the City Planning Commission. Each phase invites public comment. “Even though Related has no obligation to maintain the playground, they cannot use it for any development unless they change the large-scale plan with it made with City Planning,” said Howard Goldman, an attorney at Goldman Harris LLC who specializes in zoning and land. “The legal question now is what public process Related should go through with City Planning in order to make that change in the plan,” he said. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has tried to work out a deal with Related that would offer a substitute site on which to build. She wrote in a letter to City Planning that she hopes to find an alternative solution. “I can’t really imagine a bigger change in park space use and it deserves a ULURP, it deserves a public hearing and it deserves a chance for people to have a say,” Lappin said.

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The Best of the Fests: Your Manhattan festival guide for 2012

ew York City is teeming with cultural offerings, so much that it can be difficult at times to organize all of the things you want to do, see, taste and experience in Manhattan. Sometimes you might stumble upon a great street fair with a particularly good gyro, while other times, you’ll plan and plot out your visit to a fest like the Armory Show or DOC NYC. Before embarking on your year of festival-going, use this guide to discover the best offerings—from food to science to performance—on this side of the city. —Compiled by staff

The Modern Beethoven: A Philharmonic Festival (March 1–20) The New York Philharmonic has brought classical music to music lovers for years. Beethoven produced some of the best music humankind has heard, and the musicians at the New York Philharmonic will pay homage to the composer with nine shows during March. Three performances will take place each week featuring two symphonies per show. For more information, visit nyphil.org.

At this two-day celebration of health and wellness will be samples of vegetarian dishes from New York City’s top vegetarian restaurants and food vendors. There will also be live entertainment and activities. The festival will take place at the Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 W. 18th St. For more information, visit nycvegfoodfest.com.

SPRING Seventh annual Coffee and Tea Festival NYC (Feb. 25–26) Caffeine junkies can get their fix at the Coffee and Tea Festival at 7 W, at West 34th Street and Fifth Avenue. This festival is a must-attend for coffee snobs and tea connoisseurs. Coffee and tea experts will discuss their beverages of choice in special forums; Yoon Hee Kim, founder of TeaClassics and Hancha Tea, will discuss the green teas of East Asia, while Michael Schwartz, the first kombucha manufacturer in New York City, will talk about the history of the trendy drink. On Saturday at 6 p.m., a special preview of the new show Coffee the Musical will take place. The first 1,500 people to come each day will receive a goodie bag filled with fun tea stuff! For more information, visit www.coffeeandteafestival. com.

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The Armory Show (March 8–11) Contemporary and modern art from around the world come to New York every March for the Armory Show at Piers 92 and 94. This year, the Armory Show celebrates 14 years as New York City’s leading international modern art fair. There are two sections in this year’s Armory Show: contemporary and modern. The contemporary section on Pier 94 features 120 leading international exhibitors; 19 invited exhibitors in Armory Focus: The Nordic Countries; 11 exhibitors in the inaugural Solo Projects; and seven organizations participating in the not-for-profit section. The Armory Show Modern, a section dedicated to international dealers specializing in historically significant modern art, presents 71 exhibitors representing nine countries. During the festival, there will be art tours and chances to meet with exhibitors and artists. For more information, visit thearmoryshow.com.

Jurgen Fauth

New York City Vegetarian Food Festival 2012 (March 3–4)

Tribeca Film Festival.

New York Antiquarian Book Fair 2012 (April 12–15) Let your inner bibliophile out at this event. The festival takes place at the Park Avenue Armory on 67th Street. Admission is $20 per day, $30 for two-day passes or $40 for three-day passes. Look for all types of literature, including first editions, manuscripts and illustrated books, here. For more information, visit nybookfair.com.

Tribeca Film Festival (April 18–29) The little fest that could, the Tribeca Film Festival has morphed from a means to draw crowds and tourists back to Downtown Manhattan after 9/11 into a sprawling, major destination film festival. In addition to the festival is the year-round nonprofit arts organization Tribeca Film Institute, ready and willing to aid struggling filmmakers. This year marks its 10th anniversary of programming (and parties!), and the fest promises its usual eclectic array of indies and Hollywood star power, not least of which is festival founder Robert De Niro—all bigger and better than ever before. For more information, visit tribecafilm.com. N EW S YO U LIV E B Y

feature many of the summer’s other festivals. For more information, visit rivertorivernyc.com.

Hudson River Pageant 2012 (May 12)

Bastille Day 2012 (July 15) Give a kiss to the French on Bastille Day on East 60th Street. Commemorating France’s Independence Day, this event gives New Yorkers the ability to experience French food, music and culture. It’s also a celebration of the favorable relationship between the two countries. For more information, visit bastilledaynyc.com.

River to River Festival

SUMMER Summerstage (June–August) This festival of dance, music and performance runs O u r To w n NY. c o m

Lower Manhattan’s largest free festival, presented by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council in partnership with Arts World Financial Center, The Seaport and Battery Park City Authority, River to River is an all-encompassing event that includes film, art, dance and just about any other artistic medium you can imagine. Launched in 2002, this year marks a full decade of events from the East River to the Hudson, a decade that has seen performances from the likes of Patti Smith, Elizabeth Streb’s dance company and poet Ann Lauterbach paying homage to artist Sol LeWitt. This year promises just as many stellar offerings—not to mention a lower profile than

New York City International Fringe Festival (Aug. 10–26)

andrew schwartz

Earth Celebrations hosts its fourth annual Hudson River Pageant to raise awareness of climate change and help restore the Hudson River. The pageant will include a parade of interestingly costumed people directing a procession of giant puppets. Free costume and puppet workshops will take place from March through May, where teens and adults will create marine life-inspired puppets and costumes for the pageant. The River Spirits Initiation will mark the beginning of the parade at 1 p.m. at the Irish Hunger Memorial in Battery Park West at Vesey Street, ending at the Hudson River Park with a boat dance and harmonic chant concert. Other activities include a global water dance, an oyster Bastille Day. throughout the summer in all five boroughs, with its planting ceremony and a live fish release into the Hudson River. Bring out your inner water spirit and mainstage in Central Park and its Downtown Manhattan nature freak and join this free procession to save the camp at East River Park on the Lower East Side and Tompkins Square Park in the East Village. Highlights fragile natural environment of New York City. from 2011 included a production of Henry V produced For more information, visit earthcelebrations.com. by the Classical Theatre of Harlem and the Charlie World Science Festival (May 30–June 3) Parker Jazz Festival, featuring notables like Madeleine With a board as diverse as actor Alan Alda and Elegant Peyroux and the Archie Shepp Quartet. The best part of Universe author and physics professor Brian Greene, the fest? It is the largest free performance arts festival the World Science Festival is where science is not only in New York. accessible but fun. Started in 2008 as part of the Science For more information, visit summerstage.org. Festival Foundation, events have ranged from a staged reading of Alda’s latest theater offering, Radiance: The New York City Pridefest (June 24) Passion of Marie Curie, starring Maggie Gyllenhaal, to For one Sunday in June, the West Village shuts down live music with the lecture “Biorhythm: Music and the for a parade of LGBT advocates and showoffs marchBody.” The World Science Festival is especially known ing down Seventh Avenue to cheers and catcalls from for offering a roster of children’s programs, like a ride the sidewalks. In addition to the parade, Hudson around the Hudson River on the schooner Mystic Whaler Street between Abingdon Square and 14th Street hosts and the youth and family street fair, in which Washington Pridefest, an annual street fair that brings together New Square Park became a science wonderland complete Yorkers and out-of-town visitors with the promise of street food, T-shirts and everything else a street fair can with a smell and discovery lab. For more information, visit worldsciencefestival.com. offer—but far more fabulous. Funnel cake always tastes better when it’s been sprinkled with tolerance and glitter, and Pridefest has been serving heaping helpings of both for the last 19 years. For more information, visit nycpride.org.

Get into some demented culture this summer at the Fringe Festival. Celebrating 16 years, FringeNYC showcases more than 200 companies performing for 16 days in more than 20 venues. This multiarts fest includes outlandish performance art, odd dramas, dark comedy sketches, bizarre musicals and much more. For more information, visit fringenyc.org.

FALL NYC Apple Day Festival (September) While one might assume this event is centered on candied apples, pies and ciders, the fest, started by Lower East Side Business Improvement District President Mark Miller in 2008, also celebrates the neighborhood’s roots in this fall fruit. According to the BID, the LES in the 1700s was almost exclusively an apple orchard owned by farmer James De Lancey Sr., and it is this past that gave Orchard Street its name. Last year, the event included a pie-eating competition with a grand prize of $500, in addition to upstate apple growers selling their wares and local restaurants offering apple-centric dishes.

Feast of San Gennaro (Sept. 13–23) Every September for the last 86 years has found tourists and downtown denizens alike stuffed to the gills at Little Italy’s Feast of San Gennaro, an all-you-can eat offering. In addition to the food, there is live music, cooking demonstrations and eating competitions (instead of hot dogs, there are cannolis!), parades and processions for the festival’s 11-day duration. The whole event is still a homey affair, suffused with a block party vibe that even the masses of tourists can’t dispel. All of New York City comes out for the Feast of San Gennaro—if you haven’t been yet, you may not be a real New Yorker! For more information, visit sangennaro.org.

The New York Film Festival (Sept. 28–Oct. 14) The 50th New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center brings together upcoming and essential works by filmmakers F ebruary 16, 2012

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visit

CMJ Music & Film Festival (Oct. 16–20)

New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center. from around the world. The films and events are divided into categories such as Main Slate, Masterworks, Special Events, Views from the Avant-Garde, a showcase of nonnarrative experimental films and others. Screenings will take place in a number of venues, including Alice Tully Hall and the Walter Reade Theater. The Lincoln Center Film Society selects the films. Every year there is an opening night, a centerpiece and a closing night film; in 2011, the opener was Roman Polanski’s Carnage, the centerpiece was Simon Curtis’ My Week With Marilyn and Alexander Payne’s The Descendants closed it up.

For five days and nights, CMJ’s more-marathon-than-festival plays host to over 1,300 performances and dozens of film screenings in 80-plus venues. CMJ has been known to consume serious music fans who buy passes and spend the five days at seminars, panels, parties, premieres and mixers. Despite its huge scale, CMJ is still insular enough to feel like a college campus—its headquarters are actually located at NYU. For a little less than a week, once again enjoy the feeling of living to hear the hottest undiscovered bands play. For more information, visit cmj.com/marathon.

WINTER DOC NYC (November) DOC NYC—a documentary-based film festival operating out of the IFC Center and NYU’s Kimmel Center— has built a reputation for attracting big names and even

bigger films. The over 200 special guests who attended the festival last year included documentary film visionaries like D.A. Pennebaker and Barbara Kopple and more mainstream figures like Russell Simmons, Charlotte Rampling and Joe Frazier. Only in its second year in 2011, the fest opened with Werner Herzog’s Into the Abyss and included screenings of popular films like Buck, Project Nim and Page One: Inside the New York Times. For any lover of nonfiction filmmaking, DOC NYC is a jackpot. For more information, visit docnyc.net.

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February 16, 2012

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Harnessing the Power of the East River By Jesse Greenspan Electricity generated from the ebb and flow of the East River’s tides is about to become part of New York City’s energy mix. Verdant Power, a Roosevelt Islandbased renewable energy startup, received permission last month to develop the first commercial tidal power project in U.S. history. The company had already been powering a Roosevelt Island Gristedes supermarket and nearby parking garage with its underwater turbines. Now it will be able to put in more turbines and actually sell the electricity it produces. Under the terms of a “pilot commercial license,” Verdant plans to install 30 turbines in the East River that will produce over 1 megawatt of carbon-free electricity, enough to power about 800 homes. The turbines will be set up in stages, the last going in by 2015. “New York City’s power demand is about 25,000 megawatts,” said Trey Taylor, co-founder and president of Verdant. “One megawatt doesn’t make much of a dent, but over time there could be more power added.” The East River is currently the best site for tidal power in New York thanks to its fast-moving waters, but the Hudson River and the Narrows strait should also eventually be able to support projects, Taylor pointed out. “I think that [tidal power] technology has some nice advantages, and I think they are well displayed at the Roosevelt Island project,” said Paul Jacobson, an expert at the Electric Power Research Institute with no direct connection to Verdant. He added, “You’ve got an untapped resource in close proximity to the demand, you can potentially generate electricity in a way that is unobtrusive to the public and all indications are that it will be environmentally benign.” Underwater turbines have not, for example, been observed to strike birds and other animals, unlike their wind-powered brethren. The 17-mile-long East River, which connects Long Island Sound to New York Harbor, is not really a river at all. Rather, it is a saltwater strait that can flow in either direction depending on the tides. Verdant first received a preliminary permit for this project back in 2002. Then, in 2006, it began testing six turbines— each about five meters in diameter—that were anchored to the bottom of the river’s east channel.

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High water pressure initially caused some rotor failures, but Verdant was able to overcome the problem by using stronger construction materials, according to Taylor. “There’s a real science and art to figuring out how to position these turbines,” Taylor said. The six turbines that powered the Gristedes and the parking garage are now out of the water and will be replaced by a new generation of tri-frame turbines. Verdant’s pilot commercial license,

Workers prepare to place an underwater turbine in the East River that will help generate electricity for the city. issued Jan. 23 by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is only good for 10 years. It further stipulates that the Roosevelt Island project must be small, short-term, located in an environmentally non-sensitive area and easily removable. Nonetheless, FERC Chairman Jon Wellinghoff touted it as “a major step in the effort to help our country meet our renewable energy goals.” In a statement, he said, “FERC’s pilot process is doing what it should: allowing for exploration of new renewable technologies while protecting the environment.” If all goes well, Verdant will eventually apply for a roughly 30-year commercial license, said Taylor, who called tidal power “predictable, reliable and clean.” Verdant is not the only company looking to harvest energy from the East River’s tides. In fact, at least three other projects there have also received preliminary permits from FERC. Dozens of preliminary permits have likewise been issued for tidal and wave power projects in such states as Alaska, Washington and Maine. For now, though, Verdant is the farthest along. “The Verdant license is a very important first and an important step forward for the industry,” Jacobson said. N EW S YO U LIV E B Y

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We’re celebrating our newest branch opening in Borough Park with great rates at all our locations. Plus, open a new BestRate or Totally Free Checking account and get up to $1503. Visit your local Flushing Bank branch, call 800.581.2889 or go to www.FlushingBank.com. 1 New accounts and new money only. Existing checking account customers are not eligible. An existing checking customer is defined as anyone who currently has or has had a Flushing Bank checking account within the last 24 months. New money is defined as money not currently on deposit with Flushing Bank. The APY is effective January 3, 2012. The annual percentage yield (APY) for BestRate Checking is 1.11% and will remain in effect for 90 days after account opening. At the end of this 90-day period the rate will revert to standard pricing and rate may change at any time without notice. You must maintain a daily balance of $5,000 for the statement cycle to receive the disclosed yield and to avoid the monthly maintenance fee of $10. A daily balance below $5,000 will be assessed a lower Annual Percentage Yield. Fees may reduce earnings. Speak with a Flushing Bank representative for more details and information about these offers. 2 New accounts and new money only. The APY is effective January 3, 2012. Annual percentage yield (APY) assumes principle and interest remain on deposit until maturity. A withdrawal of interest will reduce earnings. The interest rate will be fixed for the term of the account unless the Bump-Up option is exercised. If exercised the interest rate will be adjusted accordingly and remain fixed for the remaining term of the account. Minimum deposit balance of $5,000 is required. Funds cannot be transferred from an existing Flushing Bank account. Premature withdrawals may be subject to bank and IRS penalties. 3 New checking account with new money only. Existing checking account customers are not eligible. This offer is limited to one checking account per household. Minimum deposit required to open a new checking account is $100. Debit Card Purchases – You will receive $75 for the completion of 5 debit card purchases. Each debit card purchase must be $25 or more. Online Banking Bill-payments OR Direct Deposit – You will receive $75 for completing 5 online banking bill-payments via Flushing Bank’s Online Banking portal OR signing up for and receiving a recurring direct deposit of $250 or more. Each online bill-pay must be $25 or more. Tax refunds do not qualify as direct deposits. Online Bill-payments, Debit Card Purchases and Direct Deposits must be completed prior to 60 days after the account is opened. THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT ANY CUSTOMER CAN RECEIVE IS $150. The compensation will be credited to the checking account on or about 75 days after the account is opened. A 1099 will be issued in the amount credited to your account. Other fees and restrictions may apply. Speak with a branch representative for further details. Flushing Bank is a trade name of Flushing Savings Bank, FSB. Member FDIC

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The History of Middle Age Writer Patricia Cohen discusses ‘In Our Prime,’ her history of middle age By Linnea Covington At 51, New York Times reporter Patricia Cohen has hit the ubiquitous halfway point for age. But instead of getting older quietly, Cohen decided to write a biography of middle age in her first book, In Our Prime: The Invention of Middle Age (Scribner). She starts at the beginning, roughly a century ago, when middle age first made an appearance; before that time, you were considered a child, an adult or elderly. In 245 richly chronicled pages, Cohen delves into the social, historical and emotional aspects of the term “middle age.” Our Town: What made you decide to write the book? Patricia Cohen: Partly, it was reaching middle age myself—and I have always been interested in history. Since family structures and social traditions have eased so much in our age, I wanted to compare them to previous ones. It’s amazing how deep you go. How did

you find your historical starting point? There have been historic studies of childhood and teenagers; adolescence was invented in the same period as middle age. Part of what I did was look back at how those writers went about doing their histories and I used evidence they were using as a sort of guide. Middle age is relatively recent invention, only going back a couple hundred years.

the 19th century. I think people find it surprising that it’s a relatively modern complex that started to take form in the industrial era.

What surprised you the most in your research? I think that even though it seems like a law of nature that has always been there, middle age is such a new idea. Most people think that middle age goes back before

Many people hit their prime in their forties and fifties. Do you feel this is true in your case? I have one son and I had him when I was 40 years old. It’s kind of hard to feel middle-aged when you are changing diapers and looking into preschools. [On a professional level] this is my first book, so I guess that goes along with the idea that you can discover things and do things in middle age, though I feel like I am a late bloomer with that as well.

I like that you said middle age is becoming more of a starting point than a middle point. Do you think this idea will ever be the popular opinion? I don’t know. It’s hard to imagine to some degree, given our obsession with youth, but as life spans increase and social opinions change, it’s possible people will view middle age differently. America is the most youth-obsessed culture in the world, which is the greatest handicap that we associate with middle age. Social changes don’t happen over night. There has been some progress made, as I talk about in the book. How would you suggest one fight the Midlife Industrial Complex, as you describe it? That’s really tough. I think that part of what I was looking at was the difficulty of balancing the positive side of self-help with the burden of trying to improve yourself so much that it becomes oppressive. I wanted to remind people that middle age is a story that we tell about ourselves and to remember it’s not a fixed law of nature but more of a cultural fiction. Because it’s a story we tell about ourselves, it’s a story we have the ability to change.

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By Brandon Voss and of course we hope that no one gets Petula Clark went “Downtown” and kicked out in the process.” The Jeffersons moved on up, but there’s Although the duo hope to bring a new always cause for some commotion audience to Feinstein’s, the series is as when modern cabaret stars boldly cross much about exposing the performers to Manhattan’s equator, as they will in this new fans as it is about exposing uptown month’s Downtown Series at Feinstein’s crowds to downtown talent. “I wanted to at The Regency, 540 Park Ave. find great performers who could benefit Nightlife promoter Daniel Nardicio has joined forces with Jen Gapay of Thirsty Girl Productions to curate a performance series of their favorite downtown divas, who are being exported uptown to the posh Feinstein’s Feb. 13, 19, 28 and 29. This ambitious series, which marks the producers’ third major collaboration since last year’s Glamour Ball and I… Amanda Lepore in Concert, Cole Escola. launched Feb. 13 with a Mardi Gras celebration starring New Orleans from a wider audience,” Nardicio said. jazz singer Ingrid Lucia, her traditional The producers embrace the challenges New Orleans Jazz Band and New Orleans- associated not only with taking performbred drag queen Bianca Del Rio. Future ers out of their downtown habitat but also performers include cabaret chanteuses with spicing up Feinstein’s more conserAngela Di Carlo, Bridget Everett, Natalie vative programming. Ponders Nardicio, Joy Johnson, Amber Martin and Molly “What happens to a wild performer like Pope, plus flamboyant musical comic Bridget Everett when she can’t show her Cole Escola, of Logo’s Jeffery & Cole underwear? Will she become a diamond Casserole notoriety. under the pressure? I told all of the per“When people think of me, they think formers, ‘I don’t want to change you, but ‘underwear party,’ but I’ve always enjoyed I want to focus on your voice. Be wild, be producing musical events and I love to provocative, but no genitalia, please.’” keep people guessing,” said Nardicio, the “I’m excited to have my singing be the man behind some of New York’s most focus for a night,” beamed Everett, who scandalous gay-themed events. “I have a shares her Feb. 19 engagement with powhuge love for all of the cabaret artists who erhouse vocalist Amber Martin. “It’s hard work downtown, so I thought, ‘Why not to say how much of my usual show I’ll bring them to one of my favorite venues?’ bring, but with some wine, dim lights and It’s also great for Feinstein’s, because new friends, who knows? The good news what doesn’t grow stagnates. And let’s is that Feinstein’s has my favorite charface it: Barbara Cook’s on her last leg!” donnay by the glass. I looked it up online.” “Sometimes, us downtowners like to In addition to its excellent wine list, feel a little fancy, and I think the uptown- Feinstein’s is also associated with expeners like to feel hip sometimes, too,” sive ticket prices; however, the producers added Gapay, producer of the New York have significantly lowered admission for Burlesque Festival and the original found- the series, which includes a two-drink er of Coney Island’s Siren Music Fest. minimum. As for a more casual dress “These acts may be a little crazier than a code? “I like to say, ‘More Sharon Stone, normal Feinstein’s show, but we’re hop- less Sharon Gless,’” Nardicio laughed. “It ing that audiences welcome the change, is still Feinstein’s, after all.” N EW S YO U LIV E B Y

FILM

Denzel Goes Rogue

O u r To w n NY. c o m

OL NC LI AT ZZ JA

By Armond White naïveté, but Safe House depends on Safe House, an espionage chase film cynicism. It’s really a loathsome disset in South Africa, is rotten enough to tortion of genre expectations, mixing be a sequel to District 9, where South poorly edited chases with fake politics. African racial issues were treated to a At times Weston plays Super Honky dumb sci-fi alien allegory. Here, the alien Patriot to Frost, to whom Washington is Denzel Washington, who first appears gives the full, appalling panoply of arrowalking down a Johannesburg street in gant black stereotypes: Frost is slyly a Malcolm X beard and fedora. But due calculating, knowingly cynical, ruthto the film’s coincidental, District 9-style lessly violent. absurdity, that Malcolm X guise is a quaThis is the first time Washington has si-political ruse: Washington is playing worked in South Africa since the 1987 Tobin Frost, an infamous double agent Cry Freedom, when his career took off who has gone rogue, selling Mossad and playing the martyred activist Steve Biko. MI6 secrets and dodging the CIA, who list This is his anti-Biko, playing against his him as a “traitor” and “murderer.” goody two-shoes biopic roles. When the CIA waterboards Frost and Having grown up during the its safe house is breached, rookie agent Blaxploitation era and seen the stud heroMatt Weston (Ryan Reynolds) takes cus- ics of Jim Brown, Fred Williamson, Bernie tody and attempts to bring him in chased Casey and Ron O’Neal, Washington’s film by lethally powered anonymous assassins. Their cat-and-mouse game through the obstacle course of Jo-burg shantytowns, beaches and a soccer stadium rouses both men’s skepticism about government security (and panders to our own). Yet, Safe House gives as little serious thought to actual politics or race relations as the ludi- Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds in Safe House. crous District 9. Co-producer Washington merely career peaked when hip-hop did, and exploits the political potential of both he took hip-hop’s Reagan-era hustling his own stardom and the audience’s to heart. Not just striving for success, depraved taste for violence. Safe House Washington, like Frost, has gone rogue employs relentless gunplay and killing seeking a thug niche. But his insistence while smugly decrying torture tactics; on proud, contemptuous characters is it also takes a high body count of black as much a trap as being limited to butAfrican citizens (and whites, too) while lers and buffoons. It’s just hustling, not playing out an Obama-era version of The artistry. Defiant Ones, Stanley Kramer’s landDirector Daniel Espinosa gives Safe mark 1958 film in which Sidney Poitier House the same jagged, shallow intenand Tony Curtis played black and white sity as the house style Washington has escaped convicts handcuffed together developed with Tony Scott, but he never and running toward freedom in the racist achieves expressive action tropes like in American South. the marvelous Colombiana or thrilling When Frost tells Weston, “We take Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol. advantage of people’s desire to believe, to Instead, Safe House chases after fake trust,” that could be Washington explain- significance, turning Weston’s denoueing his career path as a craven “post- ment into the same liberal media exposé racial” Hollywood icon. Forget broth- of the U.S. government. Safe House might erhood—the only frisson in the men’s have been clever fun—not just cynical— relationship is ass kicking; no ideological had Denzel traded that Malcolm X getup discussion, simply the black/white spec- for a Matt Damon mask. tacle for the cheap illusion of substance. Follow Armond White on Twitter District 9’s allegory depended on @3xchair.

‘Safe House’ chases fake politics

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new york family

Sam I Am

When she’s not reporting on fake news, ‘The Daily Show’’s Samantha Bee is just as funny talking about ‘Star Wars,’ breastfeeding or bassoon-playing—and, of course, being a mom of three By Heather Chaet

You’re the Most Senior Correspondent on The Daily Show, you guest star on tons of television shows and movies, you’ve written a book, you blog, you have three kids under the age of 6 [Piper, 6, Fletcher, 3, and Ripley, 17 months], you have good hair. How do you get it all done? Do you have a clone? Yes—and my clone technology is about to take the world by storm. I have

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have a frame of reference. We did take them to the set when I filmed my part as Mother Goose, and that was exciting. Did they meet Elmo? They did. I know that some kids will go up and hug [the characters]—my kids were just so overwhelmed that they withdrew inward. You could tell they were excited and loved it, but were completely in shock. We have pictures. They look like a bomb just went off.

What is in the “point-five room”? The point-five room is what we use as a home office, but basically it’s just a different kind of playroom with important documents that the baby can get into. She knows our passports are in there and she should go for them, and we’re not smart enough to move our passports to higher ground. So how do you do it all? I really don’t think I do anything unusual. Jason is one-half of our whole, so I have a completely 50 percent partner in this experience. Together, we are constantly doing teamwork at all points of the day. Our work environment is so supportive about our schedule. We are very fortunate. You and Jason Jones, a fellow Daily Show correspondent, raise a family and work together. Do you ever get sick of each other? I did notice last week, on many occasions, he did not listen to the details of what I was saying and then when he would ask me about those details later on and I repeated the details, he wasn’t even listening then. I think he has an effective way of tuning me out when he needs private mental space. Everyone needs private mental space. You met doing children’s theater. Who told the first joke? Doing children’s theater is a free-for-all for jokes, so I couldn’t even tell you. The first time we really noticed each other is so nerdy; somebody asked me what my favorite movie was of all time, I had to say that my sentimental favorite was Star Wars, and that was the first time he ever really looked at me. You write a Babble blog called Eating Over the Sink with fellow Canadian funny mom/actress Allana Harkin. What seems to be the parenting topic that really riles up the blogosphere? We didn’t realize that the topic of breastfeeding was the world’s most hot-button issue. I wrote a post thinking about what shape my boobs will

F ebruary 16, 2012

Thaddeus harden

amantha Bee has made me laugh so hard I’ve hiccupped for 23 minutes straight as I watched her flex her funny bone on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. She has made me cackle to the point where I’ve forgotten what time it was as I devour the essays in her book I Know I Am, But What Are You? And yes, I’ve snickered so fiercely reading her Eating Over the Sink blog on Babble. com that I have, as we say in our abode, tooted. Over a relaxed afternoon conversation at a chic hotel bar, Bee confessed, shared and confided about her life and experiences in parenthood with an equal measure of wit and honesty—from working with her husband and the one thing in this world that will make her “Tiger Mom out” to how her boobs will look after breastfeeding for 72 months straight. Find out how this smart and hilarious mom navigates New York City with three kids—and what makes her laugh.

a science lab in my apartment. I should, for the record, say I don’t live in a onebedroom apartment anymore. I live in a two-point-five-bedroom apartment.

Samantha Bee. be once I stop breastfeeding. I’m still breastfeeding, and I was thinking about how my older daughter just turned 6, so I haven’t really seen [my boobs] au natural, with no other usage, in six years. I have no idea what they will look like. They could look the same. They could be 10 times better—though that’s not my impulse. So what happened on the blog? I was just ruminating on that topic and it made people go ballistic. Basically, I got accused of sabotaging people who wanted to breastfeed, as the message I was putting out into the universe about breastfeeding wasn’t necessarily 100 percent positive. Our retort was, “Did you not read the part where I was breastfeeding for 72 months straight?” What I do support is choice in all matters concerning your own body. The reactions [to our blog] have been very positive; the negativity has been more interesting and slightly more amusing than horrifying, and it’s very infrequent. Both you and Jason are on TV and both of you have guest starred on Sesame Street. Do your kids think that’s cool? No. They don’t think we are cool or what we do is cool. They think everyone’s parents are on TV. They don’t

How was the whole “getting the kids into school/preschool” process for you? It was incredibly intimidating and I don’t recommend it. [laughing] We are totally happy where we are—we love it— but by the end of the process, we were going into school interviews and saying, “I don’t care what you are teaching; just make her smarter than me and we’re good with that!” Best advice you give to others about parenthood? I gave Allana this advice without even being aware of it and it helped her immeasurably; I said that all mothers are liars. We don’t even know we are doing it. You forget the details [of those first days and months with a baby]. You end up telling lies about how it all went for you—“it wasn’t that bad”—because that is how you remember it, but you have forgotten how hard it was. We aren’t being malicious about it, but we end up spreading misinformation to new moms, who then think they are doing something wrong—and it terrifies them. What makes you laugh? My kids make me laugh, my husband makes me laugh, my “unit” makes me laugh harder than everything. It brings me joy. Look at me; I’m close to tears now. If you didn’t have kids, what would you be doing tonight? Trying to figure out a way to have kids, probably. Before we had kids, Jason and I would go on so many walks—we walked and walked and talked and talked. We still sort of do that, but now we do it sitting. For a peek at more images from our photo shoot with Samantha Bee, visit newyorkfamily.com. N EW S YO U LIV E B Y

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February 16, 2012

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OUR TOWN

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black history month

When Central Park Was an African American Village Researchers are examining Seneca Village artifacts from the 19th century By Linnea Covington The first African American community in New York wasn’t located in Harlem or Crown Heights, Brooklyn. No, in the early 19th century, a section of what we now know as Central Park hosted a settlement of about 260 people, two-thirds of whom were African American. The rest were European immigrants, mainly Irish. They called this area Seneca Village, and it existed on the west side of the park between 81st and 89th streets from 1825 through 1857. You can find the spot in Central Park if you are conscious, since no sign marks the historical settlement, nor do the rolling hills of green-brown, winter-bare trees, playgrounds and giant boulders give any indication that people lived there. Not only did they have houses, they worshiped in three separate churches, went to school and were buried in that location. Now, the remnants of the past have been unearthed and are slowly becoming available for public consumption. “Now we are doing lab work and ana-

lyzing the artifacts,” said Nan Rothschild, the excavation leader from Columbia University. “We will figure out what it all means.” The team behind the exploration is the Institute for the Exploration of Seneca Village History, which includes Rothschild, Cynthia Copeland from New York University, Diana Wall from the City University of New York and about 10 college interns. They focused on two known residential sites in the park, the yard of Nancy Moore and the home of William G. Wilson, a caretaker for the All Angels’ Episcopal Church who had a wife and eight children. During an eight-week dig last summer, they unearthed the stone foundation of Wilson’s house and found a lot of ceramic pieces, smoking pipes, animal bones, glass and some distinctive things like buttons, a toothbrush handle and a small leather shoe. But just because they have finished fishing the pieces of Seneca Village out of the dirt doesn’t mean the project is close to done. Now the artifacts mainly reside at Barnard College, where archeologists

have cleaned them. Next, said Rothschild, they will catalog, dissect, analyze and put into context what the findings insinuate about life in this community. “We are tying to find out what it meant to be a middle-class African American community in New York during this time,” she said. It only took two years for the city of New York to demolish the village after an order of eminent domain took the land from its owners. True, it gave us the marvelous park we enjoy today, but, in an effort to reconnect and tell the history of Seneca Village and the people who called it home, researchers have worked for decades to discover the roots and lifestyles of those people. The initial investigation of Seneca Village started in 1999, but the excavation of the site didn’t commence until 2010 and it finished July 2011. Though the Seneca Village project won’t change the park, it does give visitors an invite to a life far beyond the glitz and glamor of the Upper West Side. “In its maintenance and restoration of Central Park, the conservancy wants

visitors to get to know and explore the park in as many ways as possible,” said Doug Blonsky, Central Park Conservancy president and Central Park administrator. “Unearthing an important part of both it and New York’s history lets visitors see Central Park from an entirely new angle from before its creation.” With their research, the team has paid homage to Seneca Village not only in their consideration of the area but by giving lectures and information to anyone interested, including tours of where the community resided. Seneca Village eVentS Seneca Village Tour Sat. Feb. 18, 2:30 p.m.; free. Inside Central Park at the West 85th Street entrance. Unearthing Seneca Village: New York’s Forgotten History Feb. 28–March 30; free. The Tunnel Gallery in Barnard College in the basement of Altschul Hall, 3009 Broadway, 212-854-5262.

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SATURDAY, MAR 10, 2012 Downtown Grace Church School 86 4th Ave 12PM - 3PM SUNDAY, MAR 31, 2012 Upper East Side St. Jean Baptiste School 173 E. 75th St. 12PM - 3PM

Renee Flax, the director of camper placement of the ACA NY & NJ, will be on hand to answer parents’ questions and help guide them in their search for the right camp!

SATURDAY, MAR 11, 2012 Park Slope Union Temple 17 Eastern Pkwy 12PM - 3PM SATURDAY, APR 1, 2012 Upper West Side Congregation Rodeph Sholom 7 W. 83rd St. 12PM - 3PM

Pre-register for a chance to win NJ Nets Tickets! New York Family magazine and the American Camp Association, NY & NJ are teaming up for their final fairs! Meet dozens of different camp directors from local DAY CAMPS and SLEEPAWAY CAMPS from across the region. Great for children ages 3 to 17! pre-register at:

Newyorkfamilycamps.com For more info on summer camps:

TheRightCamp.com

O u r T o w n N Y. c o m

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Cats Can Hide their Ailments, So Annual Checkups Are Needed By Robin Brennen It’s no secret that cats don’t like going to the vet. They are creatures of habit; they like peace and quiet, and being shoved in a carrier, loaded into a car or on the subway and dragged into a waiting room with barking dogs and funny smells is pretty much dead last on their list of priorities. When cats get stressed, their owners get stressed. Suddenly, in the mind of the pet parent, the cons far outweigh the pros and another year goes by without a checkup. The cat claims success—cats like to gloat. While I truly appreciate the intellectual capacity of the cat, I don’t think they should be making decisions about their own health care. However, in this instance, they have masterfully manipulated their human. I give them credit for that. Despite the fact that cat ownership trumps dogs by 20 percent, cats visit the veterinarian almost half as frequently as dogs. In last year’s Bayer Veterinary Care Usage Study, 40 percent of cat owners said they would not take their cat to the vets if vaccines were not needed. With feline vaccine requirements now cycling every three years, yearly checkups have become triennial at best. The American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) recently published a Feline Life Stages guideline. According

to the AAFP, A 6-month-old kitten is the equivalent of a 10-year-old human, while a 2-year old cat has aged 24 human years and a 6-year-old cat is the Big 4-0! An adult cat ages about four years in every human year; when you delay a vet visit for three years, it’s actually 12 cat years! A lot can happen in 12 years, wouldn’t you agree? Cats are Academy Award-caliber actors. They can hide disease well—it is a survival instinct. If we don’t peek under the hood on a yearly basis, a lot can be missed. I can relay countless vet visits in which I have uncovered major disease processes in cats whose owners had not one shred of evidence that something was wrong. Sometimes, these discoveries came too late to do anything about them. Fortunately, early detection gives more options. In addition, early intervention usually costs less in the long run. I think there is a perception out there that cats are self-sufficient. They are not absolved from getting disease. Seventy percent of cats have some form of oral disease by the age of 3. Heart disease can often be silent. They are prone to diabetes and thyroid disorders. They can suffer quietly from painful arthritis. They get cancer. Four out of 10 cats are obese; obese cats live 1.8 years less than cats of a healthy weight. Veterinarians, as trained observers, can uncover some

of these things by asking questions, completing a thorough physical exam and making recommendations for appropriate testing. Frequent vet visits can improve quality of life and longevity. The AAFP recommends annual wellness exams at a minimum. Seniors and geriatrics or cats with medical or behavioral issues should anticipate semiannual visits or more. I would be remiss if I didn’t recognize a major obstacle for pet parents: cost.

She’s Looking for a Home Brenda is a sweet 2-year-old pit bull mix who has been waiting over a year to find her forever home. She was rescued by the ASPCA’s Humane Law Enforcement Agency when she was only a year old, so her whole puppy life has been spent without a family to call her own. Brenda is a real social butterfly and loves every person she meets. In fact, she loves people so much that she can get a bit excited and needs to be taught not to jump for joy when she meets new friends. She may have a few fellow dog pals, but she should be the only dog at home. Not just a pretty face, Brenda is smart and willing to learn new tricks; she already knows how to sit and lie down on command! She was also

O u r To w n NY. c o m

Brenda is waiting for a loving home. the big winner of the ASPCA’s Talent Contest last year, wowing the judges with her agility skills. She has a lot of energy and loves

playing with toys, but her adopter should give her plenty of exercise and keep her challenged every day. Brenda is a real diamond in the rough, and deserves a loving home with an experienced adopter. Brenda and many other cats and dogs are available for adoption at 424 E. 92nd St. (betw. York and 1st Aves.). The ASPCA is open Mondays–Saturdays, 11 a.m.–7 p.m. and Sundays 11 a.m.–6 p.m. For more information, visit www.adoptaspca.org or call 212-876-7700 ext. 4120.

Veterinary care is not cheap. However, there are some vets who offer wellness plans that allow for a year of service to be paid off in monthly installments. There are also a multitude of third-party vendors like Care Credit that offer low or nointerest financing. There is pet insurance. As for logistics, some tips for making the trip to the vet more palatable for your cat include getting your cat acclimated to the carrier well before you dust it off for the annual visit. Leave it out for them to sleep in. A hard carrier that loads in from the top is recommended. This may allow for your vet to complete the physical exam within the carrier, which is now the safe zone for the cat. Feliway, a pheromone that decreases anxiety, can be sprayed in the carrier. There are also some new products on the market that have good results in mitigating feline stress that you can discuss with your veterinarian. Inquire whether your vet has quieter times of the day that may be less of a sensory overload for your cat. It may be the Year of the Dragon, but at the Animal Hospital at Bideawee we are declaring it the Year of the Cat. We’ve developed our special programs to make sure the cats of New York City get the health care they need—visit the animal hospitals at Bideawee or work with your veterinarian to keep your cat’s nine lives intact. Robin Brennen is chief of veterinary services & VP of operations at Bideawee.

F ebruary 16, 2012

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The Spoils of Wine The whys and hows of disappointing wine Last week, I spoke enthusiastically about my support of Stelvin closures, or screw caps, for wine. And I stand by my zeal for this cause. However, I had many friends and colleagues approach me and take major issue with my stance. “I don’t want to hear a ‘crack’ when I open my bottle of sauvignon blanc,” one friend complained. “There’s nothing sexy about that.” I guess there’s something to be said for the tradition and the ritual of removing the cork from a bottle of wine. With a collectable bottle of wine, especially, the removal of a cork can become not only ritual but an art in and of itself. My experience with opening a bottle of 1945 Chateau Latour was one of the most harrowing experiences of my professional life—mostly because the bottle wasn’t mine! But tradition aside, the fact of the matter is that corks are outdated. Not just because they are expensive, but because they contribute in a major way

to the loss of billions of gallons of wine tion stays on the cork, the bottle of wine each year. will be ruined. There are three major ways that wine We’ve all had it happen. You open a can go bad between the vineyard and bottle of wine, pour yourself a glass, your table, and cork contributes to the and the smell that comes out is sometwo most widespreadINSERTION causes. Today, I’ll thing akin to wet cardboard, a dog after ORDER - Email Art discuss all three and Ceil hopefully leave you a rainstorm or a flooded basement. Ainsworth with a better understanding of them, That’s TCA, or trichloranisole. TCA is Manhattan Media able to point out a spoiled bottle the next the chemical compound that develops 63 West 38thsomeSt. time you taste when chlorine comes in contact with thing in NY a wine Newoff York 10018wine. While nothing terrible will happen you get 284-9724 from a store you drink the wine, it severely affects (212) Fax:if(212) 268-0502 or at a restaurant. the taste and smell. Up to 6 percent of production@manhattanmedia.com By Josh Perilo email: The first and most all wine bottled each year is affected cc: cainsworth@manhattanmedia.com common cause of with TCA. wine spoilage I discussed briefly last The second way a wine can spoil week. It is commonly known as “corkbefore it reaches your table is through 4.917”W x 2.687”H, 1/8 page age” or getting a wine that’s “corked.” oxidization. The fault for this also lands Please Run Ad on Thursday, 2.16.12 Corks are sterilized with chlorine before squarely on the cork’s shoulders. Again, they can be used. Now, mind you, they because cork is an organic material, it aren’t dunked in some powerful, toxic expands when it gets warm and convat of Clorox; the cleanser that is used tracts when it gets cold. Humidity also is extremely mild and diluted. There’s factors into it, with the cork expanding just enough chlorine present to clean the with higher humidity and contracting as corks, then they are rinsed thoroughly it dries out. before sealing the bottles. If, however, If a wine has not been stored properly even the slightest amount of that solu- or if the temperature and/or humidity ©2012 ASPCA®. All rights reserved.

Your girl is crying. You’re not sure what to do.

have vacillated in any significant way during its journey from the vineyard to the wine store, there’s a good chance that the wine will be oxidized. As the cork contracts, minuscule amounts of oxygen will creep in around the compromised seal. Oxygen is wine’s mortal enemy, and as soon as it is exposed to it, the wine begins to age rapidly. By the time you try it at home, it will most likely taste and smell nutty, like a sherry. The third and less frequent way a wine can spoil before it makes it to your glass is through accidental double fermentation. After a wine ferments in a tank, the yeast is removed and it is bottled. If, however, any yeast remains and the wine has even a tiny amount of residual sugar, fermentation will continue in the bottle. If you’ve ever had a slightly fizzy Cabernet Sauvignon and scratched your head about those bubbles, you’ve been the victim of accidental double fermentation. Now that you know, be proactive and return those bad bottles to the store. And support producers who make screw cap wine! They’re just trying to ensure that you get a flawless product.

Follow Josh on Twitter: @joshperilo.

Save Kitty Foundation & North Shore Animal League America

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compassionate care. affordable excellence. We know the anxiety you feel when your girl is crying, you can’t seem to comfort her, and you’re worried about what it will cost to make her happy again. We can help. ASPCA® Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital offers high-quality specialized and general medicine to the public. Our emergency, specialized, and wellness care is provided by licensed and board-certified veterinarians and specialists. ASPCA ® Bergh MeMoriAl AniMAl hoSPitAl 424 E 92nd St. | New York, NY 10128 | www.aspcacares.com

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Dining

Pickles Take Manhattan

Gourmet country goods at Jacob’s Pickles on the Upper West Side cut the lip-puckering, vinegar tinge of the preserved vegetables are brews like the refreshing Narrangansett lager ($7) or the hoppy Founder’s Centennial IPA ($8). They also offer Lagunitas Doppel ($8), which, though it’s a dark wheat, melds nicely with the sweetness presented by some of the pickles. Its roundness also cuts the bite of the more abrasive ones. Jacob’s also offers an array of tasty cocktails, most which have a pickled component, including the spicy, meal-ina-cup Bloody B.L.T. ($13) with peppercorn vodka, Niman Ranch bacon and a jalapeño pickled egg; the vodka and dill pickle brine-filled Dirty Aphrodite ($12) and a margarita ($12) with house-infused jalapeño tequila mixed with a spicy pickle brine. Of course, you can also get the ubiquitous pickle back, which includes a double shot of Dickle #12 whiskey and house pickle brine ($11), possibly the best deal on the menu. Despite the pickled selection, Jacob’s has an extensive food list beyond its namesake dish. It has decent biscuits that, while a little dry, are brightened by

andrew schwartz

By Linnea Covington his was malty and amber in color, I went Luckily, the space housing Jacob’s to the dark side and chose the sweet, rich Pickles proved massive, considering that Allagash Black ($9), a strong stout at 7.5 on a Thursday night shortly after it opened, percent that Jacob’s mislabeled as 10 perthe place was packed with students, moms cent. OK, so maybe we know more about pushing strollers and large groups eager to beer than most, but honestly, that was see what the hype was about. part of what drew us in—the beer and the We got in just in time to snag a cozy pickles. table in the back and, despite the room’s Owned by Jacob Hadjigeorgis, the ressize and volume of people in it, the taurant’s focus shines through, though exposed brick walls and intimacy of the they do tend toward the expensive side setup helped give it an amorous aura. given that one order of pickles runs $4 for Now, if only they could dim the dazzling a measly three or four small pieces. You chandeliers a little and the space would are better off ordering the platter, which be spot-on for romance—minus the occa- lets you sample all six flavors for $15: sional cry of a child. peppery asparagus spears; Jacob’s Pickles The menu? Not so your basic, crunchy sour 509 Amsterdam Ave. romantic, unless you happickle; sweet sticks of (betw. 84th & 85th Sts.), pen to be a craft beer, carrot that have a chili www.jacobspickles.com. Southern food and pickle kick; simple, sugary beet connoisseur, which my comslices; slivers of cucumber panion and I are. First thing, we touted as hot that were really ordered a round of beers. He got Brooklyn more like a bread-and-butter pickle; and Brewery’s Companion ($8), a special our favorite, the sour, firm green tomato brew made for the release of the Oxford wedges. Companion to Beer, which was edited by While the beers we had did the trick their head brewer Garrett Oliver. While before the pickles, ones that go best to

the homemade strawberry and orange preserves ($8) or a salty-sweet chicken liver jam ($10). The leek country sausage adds a nice, fresh meatiness to the starch-heavy starters ($14)—the obligatory mac ‘n’ cheese ($14) turned out light on the palate yet pleasingly heavy on the mushroom flavor and their fried honeychicken sandwich proved not too greasy, though not totally worth the $13 price tag.

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EMPLOYMENT

NOtICE OF PUBLIC HEARINg The New York City Department of Transportation will hold a public hearing on Wednesday February 29, 2012 at 2:00 P.M., at 55 Water St., 9th Floor Room 945, on the following petitions for revocable consent, all in the Borough of Manhattan: #1 95-97 Horatio LLC -to construct, maintain and use an entrance detail on the south sidewalk of Gansevoort St., between West and Washington Sts. #2 Anne Christensen- to continue to maintain and use an entrance stoop on the south sidewalk of E 7th St. between Ave. D and Ave. C. #3 The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey-to maintain and use bollards on the north sidewalk of 40th St., north and south sidewalk of 41st St., on the south sidewalk of 42nd St. between Eighth and Ninth Ave., on the west sidewalk of Eighth Ave., and on the east sidewalk of Ninth Ave. between 40th and 42nd Sts. #4 Ray Mortenson and Jean Wardle-to continue to maintain and use a stoop and a fenced-in area on the north sidewalk of Charles St., west of W 4th St. Interested parties can obtain copies of proposed agreements or request sign-language interpreters (with at least seven days prior notice) at 55 Water St., 9th Fl. SW New York, NY 10041, or by calling (212) 839-6550.

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Tom Allon tallon@manhattanmedia.com CFO/COO Joanne Harras jharras@manhattanmedia.com grOuP PuBLisHer Alex Schweitzer aschweitzer@manhattanmedia.com direCtOr OF interaCtive Marketing and digitaL strategy Jay Gissen jgissen@manhattanmedia.com

editOriaL

exeCutive editOr Allen Houston ahouston@manhattanmedia.com sPeCiaL seCtiOns editOr Josh Rogers jrogers@manhattanmedia.com staFF rePOrter Megan Bungeroth mfinnegan@manhattanmedia.com PHOtO editOr/editOriaL assistant Andrew Schwartz aschwartz@manhattanmedia.com Featured COntriButOrs Alan S. Chartock, Bette Dewing, Jeanne Martinet, Malachy McCourt, Lorraine Duffy Merkl, Josh Perilo, Thomas Pryor

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Poison Pill with a Sugar Coating Proposal to cut state Legislature’s pay comes with caveat By Alan S. Chartock When Republicans in the New York State Assembly want to get noticed, they have to do something outrageous—someone once said that if they were to ride naked, on fire, on an elephant through the halls of the Legislature, they might get three seconds on TV. Let’s face it: there are three guys who call the shots in the Legislature, the famous “three men in a room”; the governor, the speaker of the Assembly and the Senate majority leader. If a freshman legislator wants to get the attention of his constituents and the state media, he has to do something that will make people look up and say, “Golly gee whiz, Martha, look at that.” That is exactly what Assemblyman Sean Hanna, an obscure upstate freshman legislator has done. He has proposed that the members of the state Legislature take a whopping cut in pay and show up for a much shorter session. Of course that isn’t going to happen. In fact, legislators are always sniffing around for more pay, something their constituents hate. So when Hanna comes along and proposes that they give up around a third of their $79,500 (before perks) income, he will be about as welcome as a skunk in the basement. I suspect, however, that Hanna is no hero. That’s because the devil is in the details. In order to get their previous raises and keep the good government groups off their backs, legislators had to give up

much of their license to steal honestly. There are now all kinds of rules about what they can and can’t do. For example, they can’t appear before state agencies representing legal clients and they must— to a degree—disclose how much income they are getting from outside sources. According to Hanna, if they took less pay, they could be more productive as good private sector citizens. Presumably, then, some of the rules would have to be relaxed. If you asked the citizens of this state whether stripping their legislators of a good chunk of their pay is a good idea, they would overwhelmingly say yes. After all, poll after poll shows that people hate the Legislature. Many people think that their legislators work far less than full time and make a lot of money on the outside from law and consulting practices. In that they are correct. These legislators, who only show up in Albany for a few days a week between January and June or July, believe they deserve the hundred grand that most of them are now getting. They will talk to you about all the time they are in their offices and the time they devote to their communities. In some cases that is true, but I daresay in most it is not. These folks have a lot of staff to do much of the scut work while they are out working at their other jobs. I fear Hanna is offering us a poison

pill. I suspect he wants to go back to the good old days when no eyebrows were raised about conflicts of interest. Even though his plan won’t happen, it is still worth thinking about. Many people wonder why we even need a Legislature, since only three people are calling the shots and the others are playing makebelieve. The Legislature is a play in which everyone should have a part. If you ask the leaders and their members about any of this, they will tell you that they are giving their leaders instructions about what to do. That is, of course, nonsense. Right now, Shelly Silver and Dean Skelos are negotiating with Gov. Andrew Cuomo about all kinds of things. When those negotiations are complete, they will go back to their various conferences and say, “Well, ladies and gentlemen, I did the best I could,” and their conferences will eat what they have been given to eat. But don’t let anyone tell you that these people are in charge. They are happy to have their jobs and when they die, they will have their titles on their tombstones. Good try, Hanna. Enjoy your 15 minutes and thank you for the proposal. Alan S. Chartock is president and CEO of WAMC/Northeast Public Radio and an executive publisher at The Legislative Gazette.

LET T ER S

Stop East Side Garbage Dump

To the Editor: I recall sleepless nights due to noise from garbage trucks lining up for the old MTS, which was five times smaller than the proposed one. Since the old MTS closed, the number of children in the area has mushroomed and so have amenities catering to families. Using rail to transport garbage out of Manhattan would be environmentally sounder, and the old West Side Yard has the rail infrastructure. However, the city struck a deal with wealthy real estate developers to create the Hudson Yards and another deal with Waste Management regarding Manhattan’s trash business, to be processed in the middle of Asphalt

F ebruary 16, 2012

Green before being shipped off to an unknown destination. —V. Stolt It’s a shame that “federal legislation” does not protect thousands of New York City families, the elderly and children from the harmful, wrong-headed, fiscally unsound and just plain dumb ideas of our local elected officials, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Christine Quinn. This outrageously expensive—in excess of $190 million of our hard-earned tax dollars—proposed garbage dump in the middle of a highly populated residential neighborhood and heavily used playing fields and children’s playground, just a stone’s throw from public housing projects and schools, is a monument to the mayoral ego at a time when the city is firing teachers, cutting our police force and

closing firehouses, schools and libraries. It is particularly shameful that Quinn refuses to comment or visit the site located at Asphalt Green, one of the city’s jewels and a nationally recognized recreational facility lauded for working with hundreds of thousands of children citywide, year after year. And just to be clear: the vast majority of Manhattan’s residential trash is not trucked through disadvantaged neighborhoods but to waste-to-energy facilities in New Jersey, which is an environmentally sound and cost-effective strategy for coping with our borough’s waste. Something about this deal smells a lot more fishy than the striped bass in the East River. Thank you for this illuminating article. —Serena Letters have been edited for clarity, style and brevity. N EW S YO U LIV E B Y

IronIc Hopes

Is the Lottery Ever a Smart Bet?

When the jackpot climbs high enough, the odds shift in your direction By Josh Rogers I like to gamble from time to time, but I used to be one of those people who never played the lottery. The odds are too steep, and I would often tease friends and family about it. In my old office, people would collect money to buy tickets when the jackpot got big. When someone came around, my stock reply was: “You guys will need someone to laugh about when you win and you’re on a cruise somewhere.” But then my wife got pregnant. Yes, I was ecstatic. I was also thinking about astronomical tuition costs and all of the other expenses of raising a child. So I began playing the lottery occasionally when the prizes got big. My story is apparently typical. I read a guide for expectant fathers that said that many men in my shoes take stabs at the easy money. When I remember to buy tickets—fortunately, I often forget—my “system” is

to play one quick pick and another with sentimental numbers. If the jackpot gets so big that it appears to beat the odds, I buy a few more tickets. My thinking is this: The chance for the Mega Millions jackpot is about 176 million to one. If the prize goes over $176 million, the odds are in my favor. If I had the money and time to buy every combination, I would collect an even larger jackpot, plus all of the other winning numbers, which would be additional millions. Chuck Strutt, the brains behind MUSL, which runs Mega Millions and Powerball, said there are two possible complications to this. One of them—someone else picks the winning numbers—I have considered. The other risk is “folks coming after you with pitchforks and torches for buying out their game,” Strutt, the founding leader of the Multi-State Lottery Association, wrote in an email. My wife wants to buy an island if we

ever win so we’d be safe from the mob. But if you can afford to bet exorbitantly, does it pay? It turns out it probably does. Split pots are not that common, and even if it does happen, you have two hedges to limit the damage. If you bought every combination of PowerBall at the new higher price of $2, it’d cost about $350 million. By buying so many tickets, you’d increase the jackpot by over $112 million, since nearly 32 percent of every ticket goes to the top prize. Eighteen percent covers the other winnings, which means you’d be guaranteed $63 million for other tickets with enough correct numbers, according to the payout info Strutt sent me. So on the off chance someone else also had the winning ticket, you’d recoup about $294 million (half the larger jackpot plus the $63 million on other tickets) and “only” lose about $56 million on your $350 million investment. But if no one else hit and the jackpot started at $350

million before you bought tickets, you’d win at least $175 million on top of your investment, an almost 50 percent return. You’d probably also win more, since buying so many tickets would no doubt hike ticket sales. Last weekend, the Powerball jackpot jumped by $15 million in about 24 hours after if got over $300 million. So it may be smarter, or at least less foolish, to only buy when the jackpots are really large. Unless you’ve got the hundreds of millions to gamble, it’s of course wisest to limit your losses as much as you can. I found two websites where you could simulate playing Mega Millions twice a week for 10 years; my lucky numbers pulled in $66 on a $1,040 investment the first time and $102 the second. So what about last weekend’s $325 million? As I’m sure you’ve realized, I wasn’t the one who beat the 176 million to one odds. My chances were even steeper since I got to the counter after the lottery closed. I was also hungry and, coincidentally enough, I ended up spending $2 on a snack. I got what I paid for and it filled me up. Josh Rogers, contributing editor at Manhattan Media, is a lifelong New Yorker. Follow him @JoshRogersNYC.

DewIng THIngs BeTTer

Empower Shy People to Save the World The world would move much more slowly without extroverts By Bette Dewing I call it Providence—with a capital “P”— when I happen upon something as personally and societally enabling as Time’s recent lead story on shyness. Illustrating the headline “The Power of (Shyness)” on the Feb. 6 cover is a small boy, head bowed, standing alone in a corner. You just must get a copy, read and share it. It contains an editorial called “What if Introverts Ruled the World?” that notes “research suggests that extroverted leaders are more likely to make quick and sometimes rash decisions, rather than introverted leaders, who tend to gather more evidence and are slower to judgment.” The cover story, “The Upside of Being an Introvert (And Why Extroverts are Overrated),” is by the avowedly shy Bryan Walsh, whose evidence is gathered from considerable but too little known research. The latest of them is Harvardtrained lawyer Susan Cain’s book, Quiet: the Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking. In it, she worries about “a subtle bias against introverts O u r To w n NY. c o m

and how it’s generating a waste of talent and energy and happiness.” Incidentally, I know extroverts who think and listen, but many do not, which spawned this introvert’s Share the Talk club. Extroverts also take more chances, claim various studies, which accounts for this introvert starting Pedestrians First, now called Safe Travel First. It surely accounts for my all-out active support for public transit and medium-speed passenger trains—the safest land travel modes by far. But now extrovert Republicans are to blame for what the New York Times calls “a terrible transportation bill” that drastically reduces federal funding for mass transit. We introverts must fiercely protest this and the extrovert Democrats pushing more private wheels into high-density cities with little thought for the laws that govern their operation. Yes: the bicycle kind. If introverts ruled the world, the

speed limit would be greatly reduced. Traffic accidents would be called “traffic tragedies” and traffic violations called “crimes of traffic.” And every crash, not only fatal ones or those thatseriously injure, would get significant media coverage. But the concerned must urge Daily News publisher Mortimer Zuckerman to restore the traffic tragedy coverage the paper offered before this hyper-extrovert Brit editor-in-chief took over (212-210-2100). Of course, extrovert sports really take over the world: the Giants’ Super Bowl win got wallto-wall coverage but scant attention was paid to the traffic tragedy death that day of Knicks star Amar’e Stoudemire’s 35-yearold brother, Hazell. And now there is the icy road condition traffic tragedy death of Jeffrey Zaslow, 53, a journalist and author of inspirational stories—and don’t we need those! These tragedies deserve front page, prime-time coverage to raise public fears

and demands for all-out prevention of these everyday killings and maiming that are now almost a given. Not unrelated are the relative few attending the East 79th Street Neighborhood Association meeting on fire prevention. Forgotten is the Stamford, Conn., fire that had the whole world weeping. I forgot to mention the February 2000 candle-caused fire that took the life of loyal association member Anna Kalamen. Key association member Loretta Ponticella’s fear of school kids’ heedless scooter-riding around her complex won’t be allayed by Dr. Mehmet Oz’s Time essay “The Charms of the Quiet Child.” Rather, civic meetings to address legal sidewalk threats by the loud and the reckless ones are an absolute must. And so is urging Time magazine editor Richard Stengel to do the follow-up stories we shy people desperately need to really empower us (Time-Life Building, 1271 6th Ave., New York, N.Y. 10020 or letters@time.com). dewingbetter@aol.com

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