Our Town February 23, 2012

NEWS: Lappin and Garodnick Page 7 eye higher office Since 1970

PHOTO BY ANDREW SCHWARTZ

February 23, 2012

Neighbors Say Met Plan is ‘No Picnic’ P.4 Pre-register at:

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Notes from the Neighborhood Compiled by Megan Bungeroth

she said, explaining that she had to be at another hearing after her opening statement but that she did come back. “What I wanted to know was, where are the women? There was not one single woman representing the hundreds of thousands of women” who could be affected.

MALONEY ASKS, “WHERE ARE THE WOMEN?” Upper East Side Rep. Carolyn Maloney made national headlines last week for purportedly walking out of a congressional hearing on contraception and religious liberty held to address how President Barack Obama’s directive for health insurance companies to provide coverage for contraception will affect religious institutions. There were so few women on the panel that several Democrats insisted that Rep. Darrell Issa, a California Republican and chairman of the House Oversight Committee, accept Sandra Fluke, a law student from Georgetown University, onto the panel with male religious leaders.

Maloney clarified in a phone interview last Thursday that although she hadn’t exactly staged a dramatic walkout, she was still pretty angry.

“They were so few women on the committee that it just looked like a walkout,”

LAPPIN GRILLS COPS Patricia Voulgaris

Our sister publication City & State reports that Upper East Side City Council Member Jessica Lappin gave the NYPD an earful over its reluctance to share data at a Council hearing on accident investigation policies. After the hit-and-run death of Mathieu Lefevre last fall, family members had to file a Freedom of Information request for details about his death, which Lappin said was “literally adding insult to injury.”

Susan Petito, the NYPD assistant commissioner for intergovernmental affairs, said the department would not do so out of concern for “the integrity of the data.” Queens Council Member Peter Vallone noted that crime data had been posted before without being manipulated. “If you were afraid of it

Mitch Pollak, an Upper East Side resident, protests the proposed MTA Waste Transfer Station on York Avenue and East 91st Street last Thursday morning.

being changed once you put it out there, you would never put information out there.”

BLOOMBERG ANNOUNCES DEAN OF NEW TECH SCHOOL Last week, while visiting the New York City headquarters of Internet company Tumblr, Mayor Michael Bloomberg

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news

Fight over P.S. 158’s Future

O u r To w n NY. c o m

school seats, as the DOE has pointed out, there are few on the Upper East Side.

Parents don’t want to send their kids to Tribeca or other parts of Manhattan— still within the district but not close to home—to go to school.

The DOE has not said what will go in the space. A press person did not respond to specific questions regarding the future of P.S. 158. That reticence has also led to the fear that the DOE is eyeing the space for a charter school.

“Charter schools are now wanting to come into our school district,” said Jim Clynes, co-chair of CB 8’s education committee, at the board meeting, holding up an advertisement he had torn out of AM New York for the Success Academy Charter Network. The charter company has opened schools in several neighbor-

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By Megan Bungeroth In the consistently crowded neighborhoods of the Upper East Side, every school seat is precious and every potential school space is a gold mine. But parents and the Community Education Council are wary of clashing with the Department of Education over how to allocate the valued space about to open up at P.S. 158.

The school currently houses its own elementary school, the Bayard Taylor School, as well as the first classes of P.S. 267, called East Side Elementary. The new school, incubated in P.S. 158’s building on York Avenue between East 77th and 78th streets, will be moving to its permanent location on East 63rd Street for the 2012-2013 school year. That leaves a gaping hole in the classrooms at P.S. 158, and parents are hoping for a new middle school, while the DOE won’t confirm what they will put in the building.

Last week, Community Board 8 voted to approve a resolution urging the DOE to put a middle school—and only a middle school—in the space.

“We’ve had three years of meetings on zoning and at this point it’s been discussed over and over,” said Judy Schneider, cochair of the education committee. She cited a meeting that was held recently with over 150 local parents in attendance.

“Everyone unanimously agreed it should be a middle school,” she said.

“When you have two elementary schools in that building, you have kids eating lunch at 10 a.m. because the cafeteria can’t accommodate them. The facilities can’t accommodate two elementary schools.”

The CEC for District 2, which covers the Upper East Side as well as parts of Lower Manhattan, reached the same conclusion and also passed a resolution to ask that P.S. 158’s upper floors become a middle school.

“The reason the parents are so much in favor of a middle school in that place is because the populations are complementary rather than consistent with each other,” said Simon Miller, a CEC member and P.S. 158 parent, citing the different start and end times for elementary and middle school students. “A lot of middle school kids go out to eat for lunch and so the cafeteria isn’t used as much. Middle school kids are older, so getting up to the 4th and 5th floors is much easier for 12and 11-year-olds than for 6-year-olds.”

Miller said that the space could either be turned into one giant elementary school, co-locate with another elementary school, as it’s doing now, or house a middle school. While the district as a whole technically has enough middle

hoods throughout the city and faced a bitter legal fight to open one of their academies on the Upper West Side.

“We’re not against charter schools but we are against a charter school moving into a public school in our district that is already overcrowded,” Clynes said.

While the DOE won’t confirm or deny the interest of charter schools, a representative for Success Academy said that they most likely won’t be moving into P.S. 158 any time soon.

“Success has submitted a letter of intent in hopes of opening two new schools for the 2014 school year in District 2, but it’s highly unlikely that they will be on the Upper East Side or in Tribeca,” said spokesperson Kerri Lyon.

But parents are still on edge waiting for a verdict.

“From the DOE’s analysis, there was a greater need for more elementary capacity rather than middle school capacity,” said Miller, citing a presentation that the DOE gave to the CEC at a recent meeting when they said that there was not yet an official position on how to use the space.

“What we’re more concerned about is that we’re going to be presented with a decision instead of it being a true conversation,” Miller said. “It’s going to be a oneway conversation, that’s what we fear.”

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CB 8 to Met Museum: Plants Yes, Picnics No

By Sean Creamer The Metropolitan Museum of Art acts not only as a home for a plethora of works of art showcasing the human condition, its outdoor plaza serves as one of Manhattan’s favorite hangout places.

Backed with funding by industrialist David Koch, The Met plans to redesign its outdoor plaza so it can accommodate the crowds of people who visit the museum and who use the steps as a place to meet friends or hang out.

Some neighbors believe it would be better to leave the plaza in its current state. Last Wednesday, Community Board 8 split down the middle in terms of agreeing on what should be built and what should be left for the birds, approving the lighting plans, the fountains, the plantings and kiosks for ticket sales and food vending (with a caveat that the Met not apply for a liquor license), but disapproving the tables and chairs.

Each of the advisory votes was close, and board members vehemently disagreed on some of the elements.

“I felt like the design of the fountains looked like something that belongs in a playground,” said Rita Popper. Others

decried the plaza as a “picnic destination” that would draw crowds without necessarily alleviating the masses on the steps of the museum. But others spoke up in defense of the plan.

“I think we have to be approving of [The Met’s] desire to do this,” said board member Lori Ann Bores, praising the museum for spending money on the arts in a cash-strapped economy when the city is cutting back funding. “I don’t think we’re qualified to sit here and pick it apart.”

Howard Holzer, a senior vice president at The Met, said a few days later, “It was mandated that we reconstruct the plaza so that it resembles the historical look of The Met.” The last reconstruction of the plaza, in 1967, was done to accommodate automobile traffic, but now the outdoor plaza is beginning to show its age and the amount of foot traffic has increased.

Because of its location across from Central Park and The Met’s notoriety, the steps have become a popular place to relax, which causes an issue for patrons of the museum since they have to navigate through droves of people to get to the museum. The proposed renovation of

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The rendering of the plaza. the plaza is aimed at reducing the bottlenecks that occur due to the masses who hang out on the steps.

The idea to fix this problem takes its inspiration from outdoor plazas such as the one at Madison Square Park, where sections of the street have been furnished with lightweight, movable chairs and picnic tables.

The Met plans to add 400 chairs and 100 tables to dispel the crowd from the stairs.

While fixing crowding issues is one aspect of the project, the plans also call for replacing the existing fountains and trees that currently populate the area.

The fountains, which have been occupy-

ing the plaza since the 1970s, have become eyesores at best, leaking water and blocking entrances at 81st and 83rd streets. The new design will call for removing the current fountains and replacing each of them with two smaller fountains that will allow for easier access to these almost unknown entrances.

The redesigned fountains will be programmed so that in the summer they will have a variety of water patterns. For the winter months, the fountains will become reflecting pools, which will use steam power to keep the water from freezing over.

Currently, the plaza is home to 44 trees that are hanging onto life by a thread. The designers of the plaza plan to create two allees of little-leafed Linden trees. These trees will act as more than replacements of the old trees, they will serve to provide a shaded harbor from the heat in the summer months. The trees will also act to reduce the amount of noise pollution from the streets.

Coupled with the trees, the shrubs and flowers that will be planted will act as a throwback to the Met’s original outdoor design and new granite sidewalks.

With reporting by Megan Bungeroth.

OPEN THINKING | ON A NEW SCHOOL OF THOUGHT NO. 3 IN A SERIES

TIME TO REINVENT THE CLASS SCHEDULE?

By Ty Tingley Co-Head of School, Avenues The school day has traditionally been divided into equal periods. But is that really the most effective way for students to learn? Certain classes — such as science or literature — might benefit from longer periods, while others are better taught in shorter, more frequent sessions. A flexible schedule can play a critical role in a student’s education.

Read more about Ty Tingley’s thoughts on education at www.avenues.org/wty. You’ll find articles, video, interviews and details on parent information events hosted by the leadership team of Avenues: The World School.

Ty Tingley is the Co-Head of School at Avenues and oversees the development of the school’s curriculum.

Avenues is opening this fall in Chelsea. It will be the first of 20 campuses in major cities, educating children ages three to 18 with a global perspective.

We encourage your input: NewSchoolsD2@successacademies.org

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From Black Panther to Columbia Lion

By Ashley Welch and by the “swagger and strength of the Jamal Joseph attended a protest in party.”

Harlem the night Dr. Martin Luther King “If I was going to be a black militant, I Jr. was assassinated. Though the protest was going to be part of the most militant was mostly peaceful, looting and riot- group out there,” he said. ing broke out. Cops began clubbing and At 16, his involvement with the group shooting at the protesters, making no dif- landed him in prison on Rikers Island. He ferentiation between looters and those was charged with conspiracy in 1969 as simply shouting phrases like “The King is one of the Panther 21 in one of the most dead.” symbolic criminal cases of the decade.

The police chased Joseph, a young After he was acquitted of the charges African-American teen, through an alley, two years later, he became the youngest firing at him a few times before he was spokesperson and leader of the Panthers’ stopped by a group of black men wearing New York Chapter. He was later sentenced leather coats and berets. They surround- to more than 12 years in federal prison for ed him in a military-style hiding members of the formation and told him to organization who were go home after informing wanted by the FBI. the police that he was not Joseph earned two a looter. degrees behind bars The next day, Joseph and found a new calling went to school and in the arts, writing sevdeclared that he was going eral plays and two volto be a black militant. At umes of poetry while in the age of 15, he joined prison. Today, Joseph is the Black Panther Party, a celebrated filmmaker, a revolutionary organihaving written, prozation formed in 1966 to duced and directed sevadvocate for the rights of eral documentaries. He African Americans in the is a professor and chairUnited States. person of Columbia’s In his new memSchool of the Arts film oir, “Panther Baby: A division.

Life of Rebellion and Documentarian and ex-Black In 2008, he was nomReinvention,” Joseph, now Panther Jamal Joseph was nom- inated for an Academy a Columbia University inated for an Oscar in 2008.

Award for Best Original professor, chronicles his time as one Song for “Raise It Up” on the soundtrack of the youngest members of the Black of August Rush. The song was performed Panthers.

by Impact Repertory Theater, a youth “The idea for the book came when activist and performing arts organization people I spoke to, in particular young based in Harlem that Joseph and his wife, people, asked me what it was like back Joyce, cofounded with other members of then,” he said in a telephone interview. the community.

Joseph grew up in the Bronx and was Joseph said he enjoys working with raised by his adoptive grandparents, from youth and hopes “Panther Baby” will whom he received his first encounter with help inspire the next generation of activism. Lifelong members of the NAACP, activists. both participated in rallies, marches and “For young people who read it, I want fundraisers for blacks living in the South, them to understand how much power where their parents were slaves. they have to make a difference,” he “I grew up hearing stories about the said. “I also hope that for people who horrors of slavery and lynching and the lived through the ’60s, it validates what KKK,” he said. “They told first-person nar- we tried to do at that time. Finally, in ratives of what racism was about.” terms of what still needs to be done, I In high school, Joseph was an honor hope it inspires people and lets them student and choirboy. He was drawn know that it’s not too late. Activism, just to the Black Panthers by his feelings of like dreams, doesn’t have an expiration hurt and anger after King’s assassination date.”

N EW S YO U LIV E B Y

news

UES Council Members Eye Higher Offices

O u r To w n NY. c o m

campaign finance board records, incumbents to conquer, and said and is waiting to officially declare that both Lappin and Garodnick are a candidacy for borough president viable contenders at this point for when Stringer declares his run for their respective races. mayor, which political insiders say “The ZIP codes, especially 10021 is all but a done deal. [the East 70s, which the council Buzz is already swirling around members share], are ZIP codes who would fill Lappin’s 5th District where a lot of money comes out of seat, with political consultant Ben and a lot of fundraising is done. That Kallos having registered a camis a major factor,” Arzt said. paign committee and confirming If Lappin runs for the borough that he’ll definitely run if Lappin presidency, she’s likely to face off doesn’t. People have also mentioned with downtown Community Board Assembly Member Micah Kellner as 1 Chair Julie Menin and fellow City Council members Jessica Lappin and Dan Garodnick. a possible contender for the seat.

Council members Robert Jackson, Garodnick has raised over $1 million Council and has worked successfully on who represents Upper Manhattan’s for his yet-to-be-declared race, but a tenant protection and housing issues.

District 7, and Gale Brewer, who covers source close to the council member conAs political consultant George Arzt the Upper West Side. For the comptrolfirmed that he’s looking at the comptrol- pointed out, it’s not unusual for big politi- ler’s seat, Brooklyn Council Member ler’s seat, which will be up for grabs if cal players to come out of the Upper East Domenic Recchia, chairman of the John Liu runs for mayor.

Side.

Finance Committee, is the only likely “People continue to come up to Dan “The silk stocking district, as the challenger to Garodnick at this point— and tell him that they think he’d be a great Upper East Side was once called, has but of course, the field can change vastly. comptroller, that he has the right skill set always been a breeding ground for aspir“Anyone who announces right now is and values for it,” the source said. “He’s ing politicians,” Arzt said. “That includes a contender,” Arzt said. “It’s only later on listening to that and thinking about that, Ed Koch.” that you see the resources of the candiand it’s an interesting possibility.”

He also speculated that both potential date and see the support in the geographiGarodnick currently serves as the chair candidates are probably enticed by the cal areas that they need, either Manhattan of the Consumer Affairs Committee in the idea of running in open races without or citywide.” andrew schwartz photos

By Megan Bungeroth The Upper East Side appears to be a perfect incubator for ambitious young politicians seeking to move up the ranks of New York City politics. Both City Council members Jessica Lappin, representing Roosevelt Island and the eastern portion of the neighborhood, and Dan Garodnick, who represents the western portion bordering Central Park and south to Turtle Bay and Stuyvesant Town, are eyeing higher office in the 2013 elections.

“It’s no secret that Jessica is laying the groundwork to make a strong run for borough president next year, should Borough President Stringer decide not to run for re-election,” said Mark Guma, political consultant to Lappin, who responded to a request for comment to Lappin’s office.

Lappin has been a strong voice on senior citizen issues, chairing the Committee on Aging since 2010, and also on women’s rights; last year, she co-sponsored a bill that passed the Council and now requires crisis pregnancy centers that do not provide medical or abortion services to advertise themselves that way.

She has amassed over $331,000 in campaign contributions, according to state

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Serving up Italian & American Folk Songs at Conte’s Headed by Dominic Chianese, who played Uncle Junior on The Sopranos, the idea for this Friday morning jam session came two years ago in February, when mid-conversation with Conte, Chianese ran home to get his guitar and started playing songs right in the shop in his native Italian.

Now there is a whole band of musicians cramped around a card table with a red tablecloth. Around them are residents singing along, slowly clapping and swaying to the music with their eyes closed or their hands folded against their chests.

Around 12:30, the crowd slowly shuffles out, Parvezur Rahman and Mamum Hossain, longtime employees of Conte’s, say farewell to all of them by name.

“It is a very good, friendly neighborhood,” said Rahman. “I know all these customers because they come in every Friday and during the week. It gets hard to do business Friday morning [with the crowd] but they’re not gonna go away until we say no, and we’re not gonna say no because they’re nice people.”

Once the crowd empties out, it is business as usual for the boys at Conte’s. The

a piece off the block of beef and hands it to a waiting costumer.

“I’ll take a corned beef sandwich,” she said immediately after tasting it.

Jim Sullivan, a longtime friend of Conte’s, raves about the meats here at Conte’s. “He is the best butcher in the Upper East Side, bar none.”

A Bronx native, Conte acquired the shop from its previous owners in 1986 after having worked there for nine years.

He has run it since then but is thinking about retirement. Once he does, he will hand over the store to Hossain and Rahman. But he will never be too far from the shop—he lives right next door.

“I’ve got everything I need here,” he said. “Got my car, highway’s right there, I can be on my way and go golfing every weekend.”

A father comes in with his children.

Conte greets him and the kids like old friends. While the children get their snacks, Conte hands the father a golfing club and ball, pulls back a round piece of flooring by the back kitchen, and waits as the father takes his shot. He gets it on the third time to applause and shouts throughout the store.

daniel s. burnstein

By Anam Baig The sound of live guitars, harmonicas and crooning voices drift from the closed door of Conte’s Market in Yorkville around 10 a.m., bringing back memories of yore for Upper East Side old-timers and a stream of steady business in this small butcher N ORDER - Email Artshop.

Owner Nick Conte pretends he doesn’t rth Media like the crowd in his shop.

“You kidding me? I lose business! h St. It’s too noisy, it’s too crowded, nobody Y 10018can move around here in the morning,” Conte. “But hey,” he rescind724 Fax:scoffed (212) 268-0502 ed, cracking a smile. “At least they’re uction@manhattanmedia.com happy.” th@manhattanmedia.com “They” means the group of longtime Upper East Side residents who have been to Conte’s for years. In recent .687”H,coming 1/8 page years, a tradition has brought the Ad on Thursday,new 2.23.12 old-timers in to sing.

Every Friday morning from 10 a.m. to noon, Conte’s Market, a small butcher shop and grocery on 89th Street at York Avenue, is dominated by an ensemble of guitars, harmonicas, a mandolin and a ring of people surrounding this set-up singing along to old Italian and American folk songs.

Actor Dominic Chianese, of Sopranos fame, performs with other musicians every Friday morning at Conte’s. smell of cooked meats is almost unbearable as it wafts from the kitchen. Conte walks through with a giant slab of beef in his hands, which he gives to the guys behind the counter. One of the guys cuts

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What’s in store?

Leap into a New You

The Running Company.

By Vatisha Smith The holidays are over and Valentine’s Day has come and gone. What’s an avid shopper to do? With Leap Year coming up on Feb. 29, we’ve decided to examine some deals that focus on building a better you. Send your shopping suggestions to editorial@manhattanmedia.com.

The Running Company, 1059 3rd Ave. (at 63rd St.), www.therunningcompany.net, 212-223-8109.

Spring is on its way and that means it’s time to hit the jogging trails in Central Park. With special consultations and staff who take their time to find the exact running shoe for your size and fitness routine, The Running Company is offering 15 percent off all running equipment through the end of February.

Gracie’s Wines discount at Gracie’s Wines. Get 15 percent off any case (12 bottles) of wine, champagne, sherry or port, You can even mix and match!

Little Shop of Crafts, 431 E. 73rd St. (betw. York & 1st Aves.), www.littleshopny.com, 212-717-0361.

Let your inner craftaholic out this year. The Little Shop of Crafts offers complimentary wine every WednesdayFriday, 6:30-10 p.m., for those who are ready to get crafty. Lessons in pottery, plastercraft, mosaics, wood crafts and more are offered here. Parties for special occasions are also welcome.

Bloomingdale’s, 59th Street and Third Avenue, www.bloomingdales.com, 212-705-2000.

Jo Malone afternoon tea: Every weekend during the month of February, join them for afternoon tea. Visit the Jo Malone counter for a complimentary fragrance consultation and a pampering hand and arm massage.

Earth Yoga, 328 E. 61st St. (betw. 1st & 2nd Aves.), www.earthyoganyc.com, 212-486-4111.

Need a de-stressor? Earth Yoga provides classes in hot yoga for beginners and the advanced. They recently moved to a new location and are offering an unlimited seven-day package for only $30.

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Rob Young

Gracie’s Wines, 1577 York Ave. (at 84th St.), gracieswines.com, 212-988-8288.

Valentine’s Day is every day with this

Bloomingdale’s N EW S YO U LIV E B Y

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Elevate Your Living Space These properties all feature elevators to the top Harlem town house, 212 W. 122nd St., $1,750,000, Sean Oakes 212-317-7894.

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Includes an elevator for the triplex lower unit. Great income from the upper units with month-tomonth leases in place. All tenants pay their own heat, hot water and electric and get a key to the community garden across the street! All units have their own washer/dryers. The white facade is very charming and brings a unique look to this beautiful block located steps to the 2/3, A/B/C/D trains, restaurants and supermarkets.

Greenwich Village rental, $75,000, Chris Pomeroy 212-381-2531.

Visionary Timothy Barry, in partnership with SPaN Architects, designed this exquisite five-story elevator townhouse.

The freestanding elevator clad in cashmere grey mist granite rises 65 feet and is wrapped by a floating, sculptural origami steel staircase. Ascend the sculptural staircase to the home’s second floor, where you’ll find spacious front and rear parlors that offer sleek modern fireplaces

and high-coffered ceilings with soft coved lighting. The top two floors of this prime lower Fifth Avenue Gold Coast retreat are devoted to rest, relaxation and renewal.

West Village town house, 28 Grove St., $13,995,000, Astrid Pillay 212-381-2262.

Located on a quiet, quaint, picturesque, tree-lined street and discreetely tucked away in the heart of the West Village. Beautiful, private 45-foot southfacing garden with massive Magnolia tree, an 8ft front garden, terraces, fireplaces and much more. While recently renovated with the latest modern amenities, the town house maintains the charm and character of yesteryear. Built in 1850, it is 22 feet wide and 100 feet deep, with five bedrooms, five full baths, two half baths, a home office and a nanny’s room.

Riverdale town house, 634 W. 232nd St., $1,275,000, Amelia Kadric 718-878-1719.

This contemporary semi-attached steel, block and brick town house comprises four floors including five bedrooms, four and a half bathrooms, high ceilings, hardwood floor, two-zone central air conditioning, Pella windows and doors and noise insulation between all floors. The master bedroom boasts a private balcony and spa-like bath with marble throughout. High-end finishes, private garden, a roof deck and an silent hydraulic elevator round out this unique new home featuring a formal dining room, grand living room and large gourmet eatin kitchen with marble floors and top-ofthe-line SS appliances.

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O u r To w n NY. c o m

F ebruary 23, 2012

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arts

Bright Lights, Broke City

By Mark Peikert Cristina Alger took the “Write what you know” dictum to heart. Her book The Darlings (which has evoked comparisons to Dominick Dunne and Tom Wolfe—no shabby company for a debut novel) is set amid the world of the titular Upper East Side hedge fund family, just as the market crashes and reveals some questionable corporate decisions. We caught up with the born-and-raised Upper East Sider and former Wall Street analyst and corporate lawyer over coffee at The Regency, just one of the many UES establishments Alger name-checks in her compulsively readable page turner.

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I’m assuming there are some lightly fictionalized portraits of real people here?

A lot of people ask me that. You start drawing from so many sources and they kind of become people in their own right.

I think one of the fun parts of Dominick Dunne’s books is that some of them are so thinly disguised, you wonder how anyone invited him to a dinner party again! But I wanted my characters to feel real, so I kind of took a panopoly of real people and out them in a blender. And everything that happened on Wall Street at the time was so heavily watched; if you just regurgitated the news, there’d be nothing there.

Our Town: When did Well, according to the you realize you had a blurbs and reviews, you’re book? the new Dominick Dunne!

Cristina Alger: I went I think the funniest blurb to a law firm in the city to me is “The book is equal as a corporate attorney. shades Bernie Madoff and I started writing it right Jay McInerney,” which we around the time the book got before Jay McInerney takes place, which is fall blurbed it. But I was like, “Oh 2008. And I went in the God, I hope Jay McInerney morning of September 18, doesn’t read that blurb and Cristina Alger’s first book, which is the morning that go, ‘She’s not nearly as good The Darlings, revolves Lehman Brothers filed for around a wealthy Upper as me, I’m retracting my blurb bankruptcy, and it was a East Side family. immediately!’” really, really surreal day.

By 9 a.m., all of us were in the conference Was it always a given that the book room and they told us about the Lehman would be set on the Upper East Side? file and said, “We don’t know if our firm I have no imagination, so I’m good at is going to be here next week.” And I was writing what I know. I think the family in thinking, “This is a really monumental the book would probably be best suited moment in U.S. history. What an interest- for the Upper East Side, so it’s a natural ing time, for better or worse, especially to fit. And it’s fun for me. When I started this, be on Wall Street.” it was just for my own entertainment, so I thought, why not try to create a fam- writing about where I grew up and where ily that’s a window into that time in New I live now was fun, I got to look at things York? Once I had a family I liked, I started with fresh eyes. It was just kind of a natural crafting the plot. But I worked for about thing. a year. And eventually, when I sold it, I totally rewrote it! [Laughs] So is there really an absurd doorknob, like the one the Darlings mock Was it always in the back of your in the book? mind that you’d write a book?

Oh! I was just walking down memory I was an English major in college and lane, and I saw this townhouse with pooI always wanted to write but I guess just dle topiaries and this really enormous for practical reasons, I didn’t think of it doorknob. And everything was so picture as a real job and I didn’t dare do it. I was perfect it almost looked like no one could pretty entrenched in my law firm and I possibly live there. There are always little think I needed a creative release and it details that you have some story behind, was just the kind of book I thought would and you realize no one else will pick up be fun to read and I didn’t see anything on. But every now and then someone like it on the shelf. does and it makes you happy!

N EW S YO U LIV E B Y

arts

Park Avenue’s Secret Downtown Venue

WHERE

THE SUN

DIDN’T

The Park Ave. Armory turns out to be a welcoming home for downtown artists like Philip Glass

O u r T o w n NY . c o m

SHINE IN THE 60’S IT BECAME ABUNDANTLY CLEAR that a gulf of misunderstanding and mistrust stood firmly between the police and the people that needed their services. Although the police department had seemingly gone through the motions of building bridges of trust and understanding in the ghettos, most of the city’s two million Black and Hispanics’ lived in conditions that were worse than ever.

james ewing

By Allen Roth would be inside the building hearing For an uptown venue, the Park Avenue live music for the first time in years and, Armory has plenty of downtown spirit. according to Robertson, “we were on “Our sense is really contemporary and pins and needles, not knowing how it cutting edge, and in this historic build- would sound.” ing it seems to wor0k really well,” said Luckily, everything went well and the Rebecca Robertson, the president and critics walked away pleased. It was an executive producer of the space, located important acknowledgement for a venue at 643 Park Ave., between 66th and 67th streets. She’s discussing the upcoming Tune-In Music Festival, which runs Feb. 23–26 and honors avant-garde composer Philip Glass.

The four-day festival, which will feature a world premiere of an Armory commission, a version of Allen Ginsberg’s Kaddish

by Hal Wilner, Bill Frisell and Ralph Steadman, also includes Glass’ own Music Philip Glass in Park Avenue Armory’s Wade Thompson in Twelve Parts, a concert Drill Hall. featuring Glass and Patti Smith and a closing-day performance fea- that possesses both the good and bad turing composers Nico Muhly and Tania aspects of being not your average concert Leon, the jazz fusion group Tirtha and hall.

Glass’ son, singer-songwriter Zack Glass.

She’s not the only one. Glass, along According to Robertson, the festi- with consulting artistic director Kristy val is a prime example of the Armory Edmunds, has played a major role in planbringing inventive programming to its ning the festival in his honor.

250,000-square-foot space.

“It’s his 75th birthday and he and Kristy “I think we are very Alphabet City,” cooked this up together because it was a she said, referring to the eastern stretch festival that reflected his own sensibiliof the East Village where artists have ties and the things he loves,” Robertson long congregated and alternative spaces said. “Some of the pieces are by him, abound. “Philip Glass’ roots are down- some are because of him. It’s more about town. This has a downtown, slightly hip- a gestalt that suits the way he thinks, the pie, very loving and spiritual sense. That people he’s mentored, the people who is what this is all about.” have inspired him and the things that As far as Robertson is concerned, it’s have been important in his life.” precisely what the 220-year-old space The way Robertson sees it, there’s should be doing. nothing anachronistic about having the “We took over the Armory to turn it into poems of Ginsberg performed—with a cultural institution,” she explained. “The original projections and live music, of whole idea was to use the drill hall and the course—the same weekend that emergrooms for work in all of the art forms— ing artists take over the stage and a punkvisual and performing—that needed a rock icon gives a concert, all on the most nontraditional space. New York has such exclusive avenue in the world. a wealth of single-purpose halls, it really In fact, the mixture of exciting, emergneeds one very large, unusual space.” ing culture and a spacious, beautiful The space’s first big test as a perfor- venue is just what she’s aiming for. “Our mance venue came during its premiere sense is really contemporary and cutting collaboration, a 2008 performance of edge,” she said, “and in this historic buildStravinsky’s Sacred Masterpieces. Critics ing, it seems to work really well.”

While there was no doubt that intolerable conditions existed due to white racism over the years, which was entangled with political and social greed, the power structure was as blind as ever to the true needs of the black community. Their civil rights were violated on a daily basis, at an all time high. Blacks were randomly stopped and asked for identification and often searched on an average of eight times more than whites.

In 1969, it became overwhelmingly clear that the Black and Hispanics had completely lost all faith in the police department. Crime on all levels was rampant. The political powers held a meeting in City Hall.

Included in this meeting was the Mayor, Police Commissioner and the then Congressman of Harlem.

As a result of that unprecedented meeting, they reached out to the Black and Latino police officers in search of motivated, dedicated, committed, aggressive and fearless officers. These officers were aware that there was a high probability that some may be killed due to their all out approach to eliminating gun runners and street narcotics. What they didn’t know was that some of them might be killed by their fellow officers. Out of the 113 volunteers, only 20 were hand picked and were called the New York City police department PEP squad. Now retired police officer, and author of Where the Sun Didn’t Shine, Bennett Hinds was one of the members of this elite group. Although this group had one of the highest arrest rates in the city, he himself, while in civilian cloths was beaten by a group of white officers in a Midtown Precinct, WHILE ON DUTY. Their explanation was that he looked like a black perpetrator they were seeking.

Taken from the author’s personal experiences, and verified by NYPD operational files and documented stories that appeared in the New York Amsterdam News, NY DAILY NEWS, and CHANNEL 7 EYEWITNESS NEWS, Hinds has created a book that ranks with the all time black epics The Tuskegee Airmen and Glory, the story of the all black WW II regiment. Like Frank Serpico, his contemporary, Where the Sun Didn’t Shine breaks through the “Wall of Blue” to expose a world of internal police conflict and abuse that led to the deaths of black officers in what was deemed as “friendly fire.”

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F ebruary 23, 2012

Tiresome Threesome Movie star casualties in ‘This Means War’

By Armond White growing the adolescent puppyishness of In the stultifying Tinker Tailor Soldier his two Charlie’s Angels retreads.

Spy, British actor Tom Hardy briefly It must be commercial desperation appeared in a romantic subplot as a heart- that makes McG hit every note here so broken, repentant operative who laments tunelessly hard; he can’t even juggle the all the impenetrable death and subterfuge physical humor of shootouts, skydivsimply because it cost him the woman ing and mano-a-mano one-upmanship. If he loved. For a few fleeting moments, McG could have aced the assignment and Hardy’s alert eyes, sensual lips and mag- found a method of slapstick eroticism, netic ruddiness broke through film’s tedi- This Means War might have made sense um, making the story clear and accessi- of its raunchy and reckless view that ble—then his character receded, sinking combines global political problems (postback into the middle-brow muddle.

9/11 romantic disillusionment) with the For different reasons, Hardy’s youthful blush is also wasted in the new knockabout spy comedy This Means War, where Hardy plays the loser in the film’s ménage a trois with Chris Pine and Reese Witherspoon.

CIA agents Tuck (Hardy) and FDR (Pine) vie for products executive Lauren (Witherspoon)—they dodge bullets, make passes at the woman and threat/passes Tom Hardy and Chris Pine in This Means War. at each other in a pointless, meant-to-be-funny sexual competition. anxiety of personal commitment. Instead, This latent homoeroticism is livelier than it’s as bonkers as Brangelina’s Mr. & Mrs. in Tinker Tailor, yet is so persistently Smith. unfulfilled that it feels both mistaken and If Tinker Tailor suggested a Bourne misdirected. movie directed by Béla Tarr, This Means The film’s uncommitted approach to War suggests one of the stars of Jackass the battle of the sexes and gender con- directing a Valentine’s Day chick flick fusion has as little to do with current while lying in traction. I would have sexual habits as Tinker Tailor does with expected McG, of all directors, to come contemporary politics; it’s a lowbrow up with a romantic comedy version of version of Tinker Tailor’s skepticism the Jackass movies; Hardy and Pine supabout government pushed toward cynical ply enough comic virility (Witherspoon, manipulation of today’s baffling romantic alas, is superfluous and performs impulses. anxiously).

Here’s Hardy, a genuinely charismatic The entire overbright, overbearing promovie actor in a period where the incum- duction is already outdone by a viral probent George Clooney runs on an out- motional clip of McG and Hardy dropping moded, blatantly insincere platform of their pants to become paintball targets. smarminess, stuck in the teasing outsider That clip is funnier and more authentiposition of a love triangle. That Tuck los- cally boyish than anything in the film’s es Lauren to Pine’s FDR (FDR?!) settles arrested adolescent assumption that anyfor a blandness that goes against movie- one wants to see two guys persistently watching instinct. go after the same woman while fighting The film doesn’t have the subtlety or Eurotrash terrorists and dodging the ire finesse to successfully maneuver action of their angry boss (Angela Bassett). comedy, screwball romance or bisexualThis Means War runs along three ity. Just when you expect the threat of separate tracks that never successfully danger to edge the film toward the risqué, converge; it’s just off the rails. Hardy’s it stays banally far outside it. Director waiting-in-the-wings movie-star chaMcG takes none of it seriously, which is a risma seems not only underutilized but disappointment, given that his two previ- misunderstood. ous films, Terminator Salvation and We Follow Armond White on Twitter Are Marshall, indicated McG was out- @3xchair.

N EW S YO U LIV E B Y

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

February 23, 2012

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Dining

Wine Serving Temperature Too-chilly whites and hot reds As is the case with most things having to do with wine, a conversation on one subject often bleeds into another, which then turns into yet another subject. Before you know it, you’ve found yourself far from where you began but still, somehow, talking about wine—and hopefully drinking some at the same time.

This is the case with last week’s Penniless Epicure column and the one the week before. I began by discussing the unfair reputation that screw cap wines have had to shake here in the United States and in many parts of Europe. That led me to talk about the very reason why screw caps are a great idea in the first place: the inefficiency of cork. The main reason for cork’s inefficiency is that it allows for the two most common kinds of wine spoilage, which are oxidization and corkage (or TCA, for all you chemistry students out there).

How exactly does cork lead to spoil-

age in the case of oxidization, you ask?

Inconsistency in storage temperature.

The cooler it gets, the more the cork contracts and vice versa. This leads to the cork’s airtight seal becoming compromised and oxygen being allowed to seep in, which basically puts the wine’s aging process in fast forward.

All of this led to my wife asking, as I poured her a glass of champagne on Valentine’s Day, “How come we drink

By Josh Perilo white wine cold and red wine at room temperature?”

I opened my mouth to respond and realized I didn’t have a really great answer. I thought about it long and hard and realized that the reason I don’t have a great answer is because we, the American people, by and large do not drink our wines at appropriate temperatures. Our whites are too cold and our reds are often far too warm.

How did this happen? Let’s take a trip back in time to the middle of the 19th

century.

The 19th century was an important time in the history of wine. French wines from Bordeaux and Burgundy were beginning to be recognized as truly world-class outside of the exclusivity of the very, very rich. The Bordeaux Classification of 1855 also happened, which basically declared that all wine was not created equal. This is the period we take many of our wine habits and rituals from, one of them being the temperature at which we serve our wines.

The cellars of castles were underground caverns hewn from rock. They were a perfect place for general storage and an even better place to store wine, because these catacombs were always the same temperature, year-round; they were dug so deep into the earth that the air in never got far above 60 degrees Fahrenheit. It just so happens that 55-60 degrees Fahrenheit is exactly the appropriate temperature for long-term wine storage.

Because there was no refrigeration, 55 degrees was as cold as the serving

temperature ever got for wine. So when a white wine was served “cold,” it was actually served at cellar temperature, not at the arctic depths we serve our whites at today.

On the other hand, there was also no central heat in the massive castles and estates of the day. There may have been a fireplace or two, but dining halls tended to be colder and draftier than we are used to. When a red wine was served, it was brought up to room temperature, and because the rooms were cooler, room temperature was rarely above 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

Think about some of the hot and stuffy rooms you’ve served your merlot or cabernet sauvignon in—the temperature in those rooms probably topped out at above 80 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s no wonder that red wine is “too heavy” for some people.

My rule of thumb for all wine is: hug the middle. For whites, take them out of the fridge 20 minutes before serving.

For reds, put them in the fridge for 10 minutes before serving. Try this at your next get-together and I guarantee you’ll have a more pleasurable wine drinking experience!

Follow Josh on Twitter: @joshperilo.

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Dining

When in Rome—or Hong Kong or Buenos Aires Zengo’s geography can be baffling, but a good time is on the horizon

lished himself years ago with Maya on the Upper West Side, expanded his brand of highly executed traditional flavors across the country and then, presumably, got bored. Zengo began, like so many Broadway experiments, out of town, and after a successful run Sandoval decided to come back to the big town.

At 9:30 on a Tuesday evening, he seemed to have a hit. It’s pathologically impossible for that space to feel busy, but the majority of the tables were full: large, mixed groups drinking more than they were eating, smaller, Sex-and-theCity-esque groups drinking more than they were eating, pomaded and tanned couples trying to look like they weren’t drinking more than they were eating.

They all had the right idea. The cocktail menu is where this improbable fusion works well, togarashi subbing in for the spice in a margarita with no raised eyebrows, anejo tequila and hibiscus slipping almost seamlessly into a Manhattan.

Some of the food is, in fact, quite good, and made to accompany a night of drinking, but it all suffers from the high expec-

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By Regan Hofmann ly glossy, 8-foot tables for two set 20 feet In the canyons of Midtown’s Third apart, carefully gnarled beams suspended Avenue, it can seem as if the weary trav- from the three-storey ceilings. A mezzanine eler may never find sustenance. Buried overlooks the main dining room, accessed among the steel-and-glass lobbies of by a spotlit, glass-floored walkway. The office towers and outsized ATM centers basement tequila bar is draped with velvet are the occasional glossy fast-food fran- curtains and wrought iron choir gates on chise or faded Chinese takeout, but even the windows add a gothic element. steam-table delis are few and far between.

The restaurant’s concept is HispanicClearly, Zengo saw this problem and Asian fusion, though you would be forfigured they couldn’t help but do better. In given for not catching on to this from one of those haunted spaces that has seen the decor. Thankfully, the menu makes it a hundred restaurants try and fail, a temple very clear, with dishes like charred tuna of happy hour and date night has emerged wonton tacos and carnitas rice noodles triumphant, like a mid-priced, dimly lit with hot and sour sauce. Every item has phoenix from the ashes. at least one element that Zengo There are Zengos in leaps out to hit you over Denver, Washington, D.C., 633 3rd Ave. (at 40th St.) the head with its crossand Santa Monica, Calif. www.richardsandoval.com/ cultural audacity—chorizo zengonyc In each of those towns, it’s in the gyoza! Nori in the the sort of restaurant that is ceviche!—when they’re not immediately recommended to visiting New lost in a muddle of intentions, like the yelYorkers—interesting and multiethnic in a lowfin tuna flatbread with gouda and samcosmopolitan way but shinier and larger bal aioli. If your head hurts from trying to than you know you’d ever find in the city. parse that one, welcome to the club.

That is, until you stumble into the New Zengo’s chef, Richard Sandoval, is a York Zengo and it feels just as mystifying- well-regarded Mexican chef who estab-

Zengo’s cavernous interior. tations set by its own description.

If you didn’t know you were supposed to be tasting acai and Sichuan pepper in that spring roll dipping sauce, you’d think it was pleasantly sweet, rather than disappointingly spice-free and cloying. If you weren’t scanning the plate for the phantom jalapeno in your soup dumplings, you might notice they were pretty tasty bundles of mildly spiced pork.

A meal at Zengo can be a baffling experience, starting the moment you walk in the door and think you’ve ended up in Omaha’s up-and-coming arts district. But don’t dismiss it out of hand, dooming yourself to wander the canyons again. Just remember to do as the Romans do and, when in Zengo, drink more than you eat.

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Yoga’s for Kids Now Games like “Yogi Says” are attracting children to yoga

BY ALEXANDER TUCCIARONE When she opened Karma Kids Yoga 10 years ago, Shari Vilchez-Blatt’s West Village studio offered eight children’s yoga classes. A decade later, her studio now hosts 100 classes, employs 36 instructors and provides yoga lessons to 17 schools throughout the city.

Across Manhattan, a growing number of yoga enthusiasts are enrolling their children in yoga classes. New demand for children’s classes is creating fresh opportunities for instructors. These instructors, also known as yogis, insist that teaching children yoga can help build self-esteem and discipline.

“People are really opening their minds and opening their hearts to the potential of yoga for kids,” Vilchez-Blatt said. Until relatively recently, her classes specifically for kids made her studio one of a kind in Manhattan.

This trend is not lost on Alexa Klein, a corporate attorney and yogi whose kid-focused studio Yogi Beans will be opening in March on the Upper East Side.

More than 100 people have already signed up for classes, which will be free for all ages during its opening month.

The studio’s Saturday morning yoga class for children reached capacity so fast that a Sunday morning session had to be created.

Yogi Beans, like many other studios offering children’s classes, will use a playful and highly active approach to yoga instruction. An example of this is the yoga adaptation of Simon Says called Yogi Says, which will challenge kids to practice the yoga poses they learned in class.

“We’re not watering anything down but instead are making the best parts of yoga accessible to children,” Klein said.

Lauren Chaitoff, co-owner of Yogi Beans, has been a yogi for five years. She believes that a big part of what makes yoga

so helpful is that it fosters confidence in kids without placing them in an overly competitive environment. She touts her own experience of how yoga improved her life.

“I was always in the group three gym class growing up because even though I love to be physical, the competition was not for me,” Chaitoff said. “Yoga taught me mindfulness, self-awareness and body awareness.”

Jo Sgammato has been an instructor at the Integral Yoga Institute for more than 10 years. This West Village studio opened in 1966 and in the late 1990s began offering family classes. About 10 families usually attend.

“You see people who began learning in our studio bringing their children here now,” Sgammato said. “It’s a testament to the power of yoga.”

A particularly memorable moment for Sgamatto came when she was at an East Harlem elementary school as a visiting instructor. She was speaking with the principal when a rowdy group of 25 1st graders walked by them. The principal challenged Sgamatto to demonstrate her skill.

“I told the children to breathe deep, close their eyes and stand up straight,” Sgamatto said. “And don’t you know, in less than a minute they were all doing it?”

For instructors like Sgamatto, yoga is a way for children to find stability in a fast-paced world. In this way, it holds much of the same appeal that it does for adults.

“Even kids today are stressed,” Sgamatto said. “Through yoga, children learn to access the peace that’s inside of themselves and inside of everyone.”

Eva Grubler is an instructor at the Dharma Yoga Center, a studio that has

“We’re not watering anything down but instead are making the best parts of yoga accessible to children.”

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offered two classes for children since 1989.

She also sees yoga as a way to help children calm down and develop focus.

“A lot of the kids who arrive here are just all over the place,” Grubler said. “But yoga helps them learn how to keep from being distracted.”

One of the ways Dharma Yoga Center helps engage children is through games.

One is the yoga version of Red Light, Green Light, where instead of freezing in place, the children assume a yoga pose they learned earlier that day.

A former student of the Dharma Yoga Center who stands out in Grubler’s mind is Jeff, a young man

from Manhattan who began taking lessons at the Gramercy Park center as a boy. Grubler credits yoga with helping Jeff through the trials of being a teenager and moving him past the awkwardness that can often define this phase of life.

“He used to be all glasses and shy,” Grubler said. “Thanks to yoga, now he is so present in this world.”

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New School’s New Direction

David Van Zandt steers the course as eighth president of innovative university

By Megan Bungeroth David Van Zandt has completed his first full year as the president of The New School, and he’s just getting started with his ideas for how to transform the already innovative university. Van Zandt, a graduate of Princeton, the London School of Economics and Yale Law School, practiced international banking law in New York years ago before heading out West to teach at Northwestern University School of Law, where he then served as dean from 1995 to 2010. He was lured back East to become The New School’s eighth president, and we spoke to Van Zandt about his visions for the progressive school.

Our Town: There is a lot of emphasis being placed on the return on investment of higher education right now, with so many students in so much debt and still unemployed. Is that a good or bad thing?

In principle, it’s a good thing. It can be done poorly. Higher education’s gotten so expensive, and you see the state schools

“You have to stay on the cutting edge. There’s a real danger, universities can be innovative at one point in time but they get locked into what they do. That’s the real trick, to remain nimble and on your toes.” now that are losing the state support, they’re creeping up in terms of tuition. We really have to be sure we’re doing the right thing by students in providing them something of value. It’s still a fact, if you have a bachelor’s degree, you’re much better off than if you just have a high school degree.

Who is the typical student who should come here as opposed to a more traditional college?

Our real goal is to prepare students for the creative economy, creative industry.

At the undergraduate level, we have to prepare the students with an excellent broad liberal arts education. But for us it’s, in addition to that, focusing on the more creative side. How do you prepare people or pick people who are going to be contributors in a pretty complex world

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where they have to be very flexible about their careers?

Your neighbor NYU has expanded dramatically in the past decade, not just in New York but globally. Do you find yourself bumping heads occasionally?

So far, I have not seen that. There’s an element to which they provide us cover, in a sense. We’re building a big new building there [on 14th Street and Fifth Avenue], and they’re so much more ambitious in terms of space that they get more public attention.

Mayor Bloomberg and the City Council have been touting the importance of entrepreneurship, hailing tech startups and people who start their own small businesses. Will there be more focus on this from colleges?

Our students already do that. A large number of our students end up having careers where they’re entrepreneurial.

Parsons [part of New School] is a great example of that. Our goal is really to make that connection better. I’d like to have more permeable division, or connection, with that sort of the creative economy here in New York, a lot of which is going on in Chelsea, innovative design things.

Your predecessor [former Nebraska governor and Senator Bob Kerrey] was a big personality out of the political world. What did he do well and what will you do differently?

A great thing he did for this university was he began to pull it together. It was very much Balkanized, different types of activities. Bob did a great job of putting in some infrastructural elements that pulled everything together. The university grew tremendously—100 percent—during his time in terms of enrollment, and he got the university center, the new building, going. We’re very different people. I’ll probably focus more on the academic vision and trying to make those changes.

The New School has always had a reputation of being progressive. How important is that reputation and how do you maintain it?

You have to stay on the cutting edge.

There’s a real danger, universities can be innovative at one point in time but they get locked into what they do. That’s the real trick, to remain nimble and on your toes. We have some advantages in that

F ebruary 23, 2012

David Van Zandt. our founders didn’t want a traditional university. They were very much against things like full-time faculty, endowments and having buildings.

How did you handle the Occupy Wall Street movement, when one of your buildings was, for a brief time, occupied by protestors?

We basically welcomed it, embraced it, not necessarily because the school was agreeing with any particular position but because it was a great educational experience. There’s a tradition here of people being publicly engaged, and I think you should encourage that.

How do you want the average New Yorker to describe what the New School is?

I would want them to view it as a beacon for innovation and creativity, and educating students to participate in the creative economy. I don’t think [the U.S.] is going to be a traditional manufacturing country anymore. It’s going to be a country where the value is going to be added by solving problems, design issues, making the world better for users in a whole variety of ways. It could be politics, it could be social organizations, it could be art, it could be physical design, environmental design. This will be the place you come to get innovative ideas to get educated with that sort of focus.

Coming from being the dean of a law school, what about your experience there is helping you and what’s different about helming a whole university?

Some things are very similar, as the dean of the law school I’d worry about admissions and finances and placement and faculty and student fairs. Same thing here, it’s just on a much bigger scale. The big difference actually is just the subject matter. I’ve been in professional school context for quite a while, 25 years, and here we’re more liberal arts, social science and art and design focused. The difference in one sense is that in the professional schools, particularly at a place like Northwestern, people are fairly conservative in terms of change, and people are pretty self-satisfied in many ways, whereas a place like this, people are really, I found more open to change and more welcoming. They’re very creative.

What is the thing that unites all of the schools in the university?

It’s a work in progress. It really has to do around those two principals of creativity and public engagement. One of the first things I did when I came here was insisted we get on a common platform just from an educational standpoint, which means a common course catalogue, we’re moving in the fall to a common time block so everyone’s on the same schedule.

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seniors

Never Too Late to Renew After decades of marriage, romantic couples say “I Do” again “This was a little idea and you saw how big it became,” said Senior Services Director Doris Colón.

One couple was Leonid and Nelli Shulov, who met in Moscow in 1957 at the Festival of Youth and Students. They married 53 years ago and moved to the United States in 1993. Leonid, 78, is a former chemist and Nelli, 74, used to work as a geologist.

Nelli said their bond strengthened when they moved to New York and had to pick up a new language and culture together.

“It’s not very easy to change your life and start a new life,” she said.

Leonid spoke Russian and German and relied on Nelli’s English. But she trusts his knowledge of technology and computers.

“When we’re together, we can do much more than separately,” she said.

Louis and Norma Segarra, both deaf and one blind, met at the New York School for the Deaf and signed their vows on each other’s hands.

Another couple, Ana and Felix Campana, originally came from Ecuador

and Venezuela. Ana, 74, volunteers at the center and made the stuffed hearts that hung from the ceiling. Felix, 86, said he didn’t expect such a large turnout.

Their daughter, Maria Teresa Campana, 30, said that while people she knew got divorced or fought, her parents always stuck together. Felix said one of the reasons for that is because they balanced each other out.

She translated for Felix, who spoke Spanish.

“He says he’s very active and now he’s ready to go dance and mingle,” she said.

But the Campbells, married for 61 years, were the longest-lasting couple there. George and Doris met ice-skating in a park in Queens when they were 15.

When George offered to fix Doris’ skates, she refused. Still, their relationship bloomed.

When they moved into Goddard Tower on Amsterdam Avenue in 1967, they were some one of the first tenants.

“It was the Wild West when we moved here,” George said. “Empty lots, burnedup cars—it was unbelievable.”

andrew schwartz

By Dan Rosenblum The back room of the Goddard Riverside Senior Center was decorated with hearts, pictures of cupids and streamers. There, a crowd of 150 people watched Feb. 14 as a woman tossed red rose petals from a wicker basket. Then, five couples with more than 200 years of marriage between them walked into the room to renew their vows.

Council Member Gale Brewer told the couples that while they had come from such diverse places as Russia, Venezuela, Ecuador and the Upper West Side, they have all ended up there out of appreciation for the community.

“It’s like a United Nations of marriage, commitment and love,” Brewer said.

The room was filled with family members, friends and members of the senior center on Valentine’s Day as Brewer read their vows. The couples, all members or volunteers of the center, pledged to keep walking hand in hand and the room celebrated with a toast of cider, dancing and 400 cupcakes donated by Magnolia Bakery.

Ana and Felix Campana share a toast.

Doris, a retired teacher, and George, a former salesman, had renewed their vows once before, on their 25th anniversary.

Doris said their secret to staying together is always doing things together and rarely being apart.

“And five children. That helps,” she added. “It keeps you busy.”

One of their kids, George, 47, watched from the front row. He said it was great to see all of the couples together.

“I just got engaged last week, so I’ll be saying my vows later in the year,” he said.

Though the rink in Queens where they met isn’t there anymore, the Campbells’ memories remain.

“You know, you can take pictures,” Doris said. “But the memories that you have are the best pictures in the world.”

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The Hardest Working Profession Unscrupulous pols are scapegoating teachers

By Alan S. Chartock New York State’s teachers are under assault. It isn’t fair and it isn’t right—these are some of the most important people in our lives. There will always be unscrupulous politicians who try to scapegoat our teachers and it is really an abomination that this stuff goes on.

It’s incomprehensible to me that people think our teachers have it easy and are overpaid for what they do. My wife taught in every grade of our schools and ended up as a full professor of education.

I worked very hard as a college professor, but not nearly as hard as she did when she was in the schools.

She would get to work at 7:30

Everyone has had a teacher who went the extra mile to help define them and their potential. Teachers deserve to be honored. They deserve to be paid what they are worth.

Remember, we entrust the most important people in our lives, our children, to our teachers. and teach six high school classes a day. She had literally hundreds of students. She’d get home around 5, after all her committee meetings, conferences and drawing up the lesson plans for the next day. She was a hard-working college professor, too, but she had survi-

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vor’s guilt because no matter how hard she worked at the college level, it paled in comparison to the work she did in grade school and high school. I happen to think that as a class, teachers are the best, hardest working professionals in America.

Think about it: we’ve all had teachers who have made a tremendous difference in our lives.

Mine was a man named Eugene Steiker. When I walked into Joan of Arc Junior High School (J.H.S. 118) in Manhattan, I opted for orchestra class. Mr. Steiker handed me a trumpet and changed my life.

I really wasn’t all that good, but I was good enough to have a band throughout high school and college so my twin brother and I never needed an allowance.

When I was 14, I saw Pete Seeger at summer camp and started learning to play the banjo. Now, at 70, I still play with my group, The Berkshire Ramblers. That all came from one teacher—Mr. Steiker.

He was my hero and, though he is long gone (I dropped everything to get to his funeral), I’ve never forgotten what he did for me. I’ve never forgotten how much interest he showed in me. I’ve never forgotten his incredible sense of humor.

Everyone has had a Mr. Steiker in their lives. Everyone has had a teacher who went the extra mile to help define them and their potential. Teachers deserve to be honored. They deserve to be paid what they are worth. Remember, we entrust the most important people in our lives, our children, to our teachers. If you think

a teacher isn’t every bit as important as a doctor—any doctor—think again.

True, there are some not-so-good teachers. It is important that the system have fair rules to encourage those folks to move on. On the other hand, we have to do more to keep the good ones on the job. The more teachers are made into scapegoats, the worse it is for our children as the great teachers say, “Who needs this?” and leave the profession.

My son, Jonas, runs an organization based in New Orleans called Leading Educators. The thrust of this group is to keep good, young teachers in the classrooms.

The more abuse that is thrown at our teachers, the more quickly we will lose our best and our brightest. We have to develop strategies that will encourage them to stay.

Of course, we also have to keep our eye on unscrupulous politicians who play to the stereotype and imply that teachers are not as hard-working and influential as we know they are. They’re trying to win points with the voters by being divisive. The next time you see that kind of thing happening, I encourage you to call the offending politician on it. Frankly, I give the speaker of the Assembly, Sheldon Silver, high marks for his good words about teachers. That, in my mind, is what a leader is all about.

Alan S. Chartock is president and CEO of WAMC/Northeast Public Radio and an executive publisher at The Legislative Gazette.

TwEET SpEAK @tartinis Amazing sunny day in NYC and I have a date with the UES—I wonder if I will see Gossip Girl? @colvinj In case the animals get bored: “@nycgov: There is now free wifi in the Central Park Zoo and Fort Greene Park.” @kswills With this trip to NYC next month, what I’m giving up for Lent is proving to be tricky.

@JKRealEstateGrp Looking for a cheap apartment, consider living on the UES near the second avenue subway construction. @CitiHabitats @dancow Photo: #Lindulgent! The Jeremy Lin mint milkshake, at the UES Shake Shack. The second best thing to come… @NSAYSoHoTriBeCa Now the state of Wyoming has joined Alaska in saying Central Park should

become a wilderness preserve. @JessLappin Really miss my boys today. First day back after a long weekend is always hard. @MicahKellner @MikeBloomberg is such a #KillJoy. RT @Katetaylornyt @MikeBloomberg not a victim of #Linsanity: “There’s a whole team of players and they...”

N EW S Y O U LIV E B Y

MOORe tHOuGHtS

Chains are Bad, Except the Ones I Like Let’s ban big guys, but...did someone say something about Brooks Brothers?

By Christopher Moore This city has a love-hate relationship with chain stores. Again and again, pols and labor advocates say no to Walmart; after all, sometimes a party is defined by who’s not invited. As in so many matters, though, one’s stand on chains is not always consistent. We like what we like. We all have our favorites—and our weaknesses.

This was on my mind again last week.

I was on my way to one chain when I got to thinking about another. Duane Reade was my planned stop. Yes, I’ve found the one pleasant Duane Reade employee—a pharmacist worth supporting.

Let me interrupt my tale right there.

Already I need to stop and defend myself.

See, I shopped at the cute independent pharmacy for years, the one heralded in newspaper accounts and customer service reports. I even wrote one of those stories myself. The problem with the neighborhood drugstore: the pharmacist hardly ever started work on my prescrip-

tions until after I arrived to pick them up. The folks there lied about when my order was ready. That should be a capital offense.

So I’m with the big ugly Duane Reade now. That makes me feel sheepish and ashamed, except when I’m at the updated 72nd Street Duane Reade, buying Ronnybrook strawberry yogurt. Yummy.

Last week, on the way to an uptown location, I saw the huge signs in the window on Broadway at 87th Street. “The future home of Brooks Brothers,” said the words. I’m would-be-preppie enough to consider this fabulous news. Whether I can actually buy something once this store arrives remains a question for another day; I can certainly browse.

Ours is increasingly a city of drugstores and banks. There’s a sense of lost charm, especially on the Upper West Side, where recently unveiled retail limits have been making news. The New York Times has reported more than once on the city’s new plans to erect a “firewall” to discourage

chain stores. The proposal means limiting the ground-floor width of all new stores to 40 feet, at least on Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues. Broadway is a largely lost cause, although the new rule on banks, permitting a maximum of 25 feet, would count there too.

Not everyone believes in these changes. The New York Post had a headline screaming about “Twilight Zoning.” Some argue that the banks and the drugstores are meeting existing needs—especially from affluent newcomers. Indeed, nobody can force anyone to shop anywhere. Commercial districts evolve. There’s still something called free enterprise.

The problem: It’s not a fair fight. The big guys buy in bulk and benefit from increasing political power. At least the new plan would balance the scales a tiny bit. West Side Council Member Gale Brewer, a key figure behind the new limits, understands both the tenor of the times and the peo-

ple she represents. Since there are still a handful of small, distinct stores worth fighting for, Brewer and the Bloomberg administration deserve credit for taking their shot. It might work and it might not.

But the exciting thing about the West Side action is that it’s, well, action. There are worse things than public officials listening to the public.

This isn’t just an issue for West Siders. Some East Village community activists are looking at the West Side initiative as a model. If it works, this campaign will spread. On the Upper East Side, I can count at least a couple of surviving independent bookstores worth worrying about. How refreshing in this big city to have important political players advocating for adorable little shops—and the people who love them.

Speaking of adorable little stores, I’m going to stop in to a few on my way to Brooks Brothers.

Christopher Moore is a writer living in Manhattan. He is available by email at ccmnj@aol.com and on Twitter @cmoorenyc.

citiquette

Doubles Advantage A singular lament

By Jeanne Martinet Okay, I confess: I envy married people.

But it’s not for the reasons you may think. I envy married people because they have a built-in excuse to get out of absolutely anything.

The other day, I was caught unawares by someone asking me to do something I did not particularly want to do. I hemmed and I hawed, I prevaricated and stalled, but in the end I ended up just doing it because I could not figure out how to get out of it. That very same week, I called up a married neighbor who had borrowed my best ice bucket weeks before but had never returned it.

“F-ing Jim,” she swore. “I told him you needed that back! Without asking me, he took it to the office for a party they were having. I’ll bug him about it again this weekend.” That’s when it hit me what was missing from my life: a built-in, ready-made scapegoat.

Over the years, I’ve come to believe that one of the main duties of a spouse O u r T o w n NY . c o m

is to be a scapegoat. (I believe promising to serve in this capacity is in the marriage contract). For example: “Sorry I’m late— my wife had a horrible sinus infection and I had to take her to the doctor.” Or “Oh dear! I would have so loved to come but Joe forced me to stay home to help him with this work thing.”

Or “Darn, it turns out Sue made another date for us Saturday and neglected to tell me, as usual.” Or “My better half says I have to be home by 6 p.m.—or else.” Or “I can’t be on your fundraising committee because my spouse has me signed up for so many other things.” And the most common one of all: “He/she never gave me your message.”

When your spouse is the scapegoat, the only blame that can be leveled at you is that you married the wrong person.

Couples have a decided advantage when it comes to the social arena. Let’s face it: When you are single and you

feel like staying home alone rather than accept an invitation to a social event, you really can’t use that as your excuse. After all, “I have to wash my hair tonight,” does not really fly, while “I have to wash my wife’s hair”—well, that’s a whole different story.

Often, we’re not even sure we want to get out of whatever it is. We merely want to hedge our bets, to delay committing to whatever it is. Couples can easily make use of the handiest of all stavingoff techniques, commonly known as the Spousal Consult, or the I-Have-To-Check-With-My-Wife ploy. Perfect for pop invitations, this dodge was ingrained in most of us as children (“I have to ask my mother.”) The beauty of the Spousal Consult is that it allows for the possibility that you may eventually accept the invitation—or that you will “forget” to check with your spouse at all, thereby letting the whole thing dissipate.

Last but not least, there’s the good old good cop/bad cop. A great ruse for married couples, but also quite doable with roommates or siblings, this dodge was custom-built for two. Let’s say you have guests who won’t leave your house.

Dinner and coffee are long over. When you can’t stand it anymore and you are beginning to fear these people will never leave, the person cast as the bad cop yawns, stands up and excuses himself with, “I’m afraid I’ve got to hit the hay— I’m dead on my feet. Good night, Mr. and Ms. Guest. Don’t forget to let in the cat, sweetheart.”

After the bad cop has disappeared, the good cop apologizes for her partner while emphasizing how much it really is past his customary bedtime. Even a braindead guest gets the message at this point and packs it in. Good cop/bad cop also works like a charm for quick exits: “I would love to stay at your wonderful party, but Charlie is falling asleep on his feet.” Or “I have to hang up now—my wife is standing over me with a rolling pin in her hand and the children are screaming.”

I don’t even want to get into how handy kids can be as excuses. Suffice it to say, once you are a parent, you have a get-out-of-it-free card for, like, the rest of your life.

Jeanne Martinet, aka Miss Mingle, is the author of seven books on social interaction. Read her blog at MissMingle.com.

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