Our Town May 3, 2012

Camps: A guide to summer day camps

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May 3, 2012

INTRODUCING THE NEW CITYARTS — NOW EVERY WEEK

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BULLYING AT STILL TWISTED: OUR INTERVIEW WITH DEE SNIDER P.9 SAVING HISTORIC PARK AVENUE? P.8 KRUEGER TAKES ON THE ‘WAR ON WOMEN’ P.10

ANY PRICE

THE UPPER EAST SIDE’S PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS—INCLUDING THE MOST ELITE— STRUGGLE WITH BULLYING. PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS ARE SILENT ABOUT WHAT THEY’RE DOING, BUT A NEW STATE LAW REQUIRES PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO TAKE ACTION. P.6

CHRISTOPHER MOORE: SMOKING MAD ABOUT NEIGHBORS P.31 ARMOND WHITE: THE DELUSION OF MARVEL’S ‘AVENGERS’ P.20

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tapped in

Notes from the Neighborhood Compiled by Megan Bungeroth

Swindler of UES Woman Indicted Philip Leopold, who is charged with grand larceny, forgery, falsifying business records and several other charges, was indicted this week for stealing over $1.6 million from an 85-year-old Upper East Side woman who is nearly blind, has hearing problems and other health issues. Leopold, who is 76, first met his victim about 40 years ago, and he began helping her with her finances, writing out checks for her to sign to pay for her household expenses. In 2002, he convinced her to open a trust and name him and the Bank of New York as trustees, and he gradually began siphoning money into that account until it held $2 million by 2003. He began writing fraudulent checks to himself and forged letters to the bank, requesting transfers into his own accounts. According to court documents, Leopold used the stolen funds to pay for a myriad of expenses, from everyday household goods to several life insurance polices for him and his daughter. He spent $63,000 on storage units in Manhattan and used $882,000 to pay off his personal credit cards.

Perhaps most appallingly, he spent over half a million dollars at ShopNBC, a television and online shopping site.

He bought thousands of items through

Community

meeting Calendar Tuesday, May 8 • Community Board 8 Roosevelt Island Task Force meeting, 6:30 p.m., Chapel of the Good Shepherd, Roosevelt Island, 546 Main St., Auditorium Wednesday, May 9

Thursday, May 10 • Community Board 8 Environment and Sanitation Committee meeting, 6:30 p.m., Brick Presbyterian Church, 62 E. 92nd St., Living Room

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Historic Walking Tour Preservation advocacy group Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts is leading a walking tour of the Carnegie Hill Historic District next Saturday, May 12. The walk will meander through the East 80s and 90s, with tour leader Bernie Cohen pointing out the sights along the way.

The district, which was designated in 1974 and expanded in 1993, is the second largest on the Upper East Side and contains within its boundaries many rows of townhouses, freestanding residences and apartment buildings. The area was named for industrialist Andrew Carnegie, whose mansion on Fifth Avenue and East 91st Street now houses the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. Participants should meet at the northwest corner of Fifth Avenue and East 86th Street at 1 p.m. Advance payment ($15, $10 for members) is required; call 212-5352526 or visit www.friends-ues. org/events to purchase tickets.

Mayfair Block Party The Church of the Holy Trinity, which is known locally as the “dogfriendly church,” is holding a free community block party this Saturday, May 5, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. Animal companions are welcome, and there will be special activities for cats, dogs and other pets.

There will be toys and treats for sale, a silent auction to win a custom portrait of a pooch, pet horoscopes and training tips. For humans, there will be a health care booth with a doctor and physician’s

assistants on hand to check blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol levels.

Kids can play in the bouncy castles, get their faces painted to match their canine companions and participate in crafts.

There will also be food from the nearby Genesis Restaurant for sale, as well as beer and wine. The French Cookin’ Blues Band will be supplying the musical vibes for the event. East 88th Street between First and Second Avenues.

Women in Arts Celebrated The Czech Center and Composers Concordance Records are hosting an evening of art and music by women, “Ladies First,” on Friday, May 18. The opening reception will feature a video installation with interviews of prominent female artists, many of whom will be in attendance at the event. The chamber music concert to follow will feature world premiere works as well as Czech composer Antonin Dvořák’s themes.

Audience members can meet the musicians and artists at the after-party. The event runs from 7 to 11 p.m. at the Bohemian National Hall, 321 E. 73rd St. Suggested donation $20, RSVP at ladiesfirstnyc.eventbrite.com.

GETTInG AlonG SWIMMInGly

City Planning to Unveil East Midtown Rezoning The Department of City Planning will be presenting the results of its East Midtown Zoning Study to Community Board 6 this week. The department is expected to present a plan for rezoning that would create an increase of available commercial space by 20 to 30 percent. The “upzoning” would encourage buildings to be made taller (current zoning does not place a cap on height) in order to gain this space increase and also create ways for newer and

Isaac Rosenthal

• Community Board 8 Land Use Committee meeting, 6:30 p.m., New York Blood Center, 310 E. 67th St., Auditorium

home shopping channels, including jewelry, electronics, figurines, coin collections, kitchen supplies and a “multi-color fog maker.” Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said in a statement that the actions the defendant stands accused of are “sadly, not uncommon,” and he encourages anyone who is a victim of or suspects someone they know to be a victim of elder abuse to call the DA’s hotline at 212-335-9007.

more modern structures to be built in the area. The region affected would be between East 39th and 59th Streets, between Third and Fifth Avenues. Mayor Bloomberg has made it clear that he wants to see the region revamped and able to attract new business, especially technology companies; he has said that the city should make sure it is doing all it can to attract business to the area.

Some neighborhood groups, including the Turtle Bay Association, are wary of the city making fast changes and will be watching the process closely, as will real estate interest groups who support changes that allow for more development.

Robin Toure, Yassine Sakhi, Jayson Vazquez, Mayacia Sall, Zachary Lecocq and Jerry Avorsky are ready to swim in the 17th Annual Big Swim Meet and Benefit at Asphalt Green on April 28. The event helps raise funds for the Waterproofing program that teaches children how to swim and be safe in the water, free of charge.

N EW S YO U LIV E B Y

Healthy Heart

Dr. Haleh Milani

Today we are in discussions with Dr. Haleh Milani who is an assistant professor of clinical medicine at Columbia University Medical Center with an active clinical practice on Central Park West.

Dr. Milani what is some of the new and exciting research that may be relevant to our daily lives?

We are now focusing on Sleep Deprivation and Sleep Disruption as a contributing factor to the increased risk of Diabetes, Obesity, and negative health effects on the immune function. Sleep deprivation may result in a slowdown in the metabolism and a reduction in insulin production which may be mediated throughout the circadian cycle; that is rhythmic 24-hour oscillations in biologic processes controlled by environmental cues, most notably the daily changes in light intensity Can Drinking Alcohol Benefit Heart Attack Survivors?

According to research funded by the US National Institutes of Health, “…men who have two drinks a day after surviving a first heart attack have a lower risk of death from heart disease than non-drinkers.” Investigators looked at data on “more than 1,800 American men who survived a first heart attack between 1986 and 2006 and were followed for up to 20 years.” The researchers found that “men who drank about two alcoholic drinks (between 10 and about 30 grams of alcohol) per day had a 14 percent lower risk of death from any cause, and a 42 percent lower risk of death from cardiovascular death.”

Can ASPIRIN a day prevent Cancer?

Aspirin is already included in cardiovascular guidelines for it’s preventative benefits. There is however no apparent reduction in cancer incidence during the first 3 years of use, and an estimated 20% reduction in risk during the fourth and fifth year of use. A daily aspirin also has been associated with lower risks of colorectal cancer and of recurrence of adenomatous polyps.

Can Air Pollution increase your health Risk?

Researchers have found that for each short-term increment of 10 mcg/m3 of nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide,and carbon monoxide, present in industrial waste and car exhaust fuel, there was a 1- 4.8% increase in heart attacks and breathing disorders.

What can we do as individuals to reduce our risk of Dementia?

Mentally stimulating group activities -- including such things as discussion groups, games, and gardening -- boost cognition in the elderly and reduce progression of dementia.

What are some of the warning signs of heart disease in the young adult?

Symptoms can include chest pain, dizziness, exerciseinduced syncope, and shortness of breath, which may have been disregarded by the patient and family; a detailed history also may reveal the sudden, unexplained death of a young relative. In fact, estimates suggest these warning signs may be present in up to half of cases of sudden cardiac arrest.

A variety of risk-assessment tools have been used, and although these have not been validated or assessed for sensitivity or specificity, expert opinion currently emphasizes the importance of these “ominous” findings on a preparticipation screen

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

What is blood pressure and why is it important to control?

Elevated blood pressure is called the “silent killer “ because it increases your risk of a stroke, heart and kidney disease amongst other things. Blood pressure (BP) is the pressure exerted by circulating blood upon the walls of blood vessels, and is one of the principal vital signs.

During each heartbeat, BP varies between a maximum (systolic) and a minimum (diastolic) pressure. BP decreases as the circulating blood moves away from the heart through arteries. A person’s BP is usually expressed in terms of the systolic pressure over diastolic pressure (mmHg), for example 140/90. As adults age, systolic pressure tends to rise and diastolic tends to fall. In the elderly, BP tends to be above the normal adult range, largely because of reduced flexibility of the arteries. Also, an individual’s BP varies with exercise, emotional reactions, sleep, and time of day. During the reading, the arm that is used should be relaxed and kept at heart level, for example, by resting it on a table.

NEW and EXCITING Blood pressure news.

“Isoflavones -- a compound found in foods such as soy milk, green tea, tofu and peanuts -- may help lower blood pressure in adults. Also, a Medtronic device is under investigation for use to control hard-to-treat high blood pressure by burning overactive nerves with a burst of radio-frequency energy.

According to research presented at the American College of Cardiology meeting. “after six months, 71 percent improved with recorded lower blood pressure after the procedure, which is approved for sales abroad.”

MEET THE TEAM: THURSDAY: May 10th 6-8pm SATURDAY: MAY19th 10am-12 noon Event Locations: •115 Central Park West • Citi 52nd & 5th Avenue Limited space: FOR RESERVATIONS call 212-543-3400 Haleh Milani, MD, FACC Fellow: American College of Cardiology Board-CertiFied: American Board of Internal Medicine; American Board of Internal Medicine, Subspecialty-Certified in Cardiovascular Disease; American Board of Nuclear Cardiology; American Board of Echocardiography MeMBer: American Society of Nuclear Cardiology, American Society of Echocardiography, American Heart Association, American Medical Association, New York Cardiological Society, Medical Society of the State of New York HoSPital aFFiliatioNS: Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine Columbia Presbyterian Hospital/Cornell University Medical Center, New York, NY Dr. Milani lives on the upper West Side with her husband and two young children.

What is the future of medicine?

In the next decade, discussions between physicians and patients could include whole-genome sequencing that would generate information on undiagnosed symptoms and an individual’s risk of disease, While there are ethical, privacy and discrimination issues to be resolved, health care will evolve from being reactive to becoming preventive, which is “really a game-changer in medicine

DR. MILANI WILL RESPOND TO PATIENT COSULTATIONS WITHIN 24 HOURS. For More Information:

Call: 212.543.3400 www.MilaniCardioNY.com

115 Central Park West, Suite 1, New York, NY 10023

Can you elaborate on your MEET the physician discussion sessions for the community.

Yes, we are attempting to bring the latest health care news from the academic centers of excellence to the community at an informal forum with many physicians, dieticians, and exercise physiologists. This will address the individual needs of the patients and community.

May 3, 2012

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crime watch

Crime Watch

By Sean Creamer

Leave Your Bags on Your Back

It’s nice to know people are so trusting of those around them. In New York City it’s a rare quality, but one that can cost its practitioners dearly. On the night of Saturday, April 28, a woman at a bar near 76th Street and Second Avenue had her bag stolen off the back of her chair. The unknown thief took the woman’s cellphone, wallet and a pair of Marc Jacobs sunglasses as well as her Yohji Yamamoto bag valued at $1,500. The 21st Precinct wishes to remind residents that although going to a bar usually promises a night of fun and friends, people should always keep an eye on their belongings.

Party Pooper Throwing a house party is always fun—when it’s held at someone else’s home. One resident of the Upper East Side learned this lesson the hard way on Saturday, April 28, after an unknown partygoer stole the show.

The host was allowing people into his soiree when a party crasher made his way inside. After mingling with the other guests, the crook got to work and pocketed a Tag Heuer and a Seiko watch, each one valued at over $1,000.

The thief, maybe emboldened by his new timepieces, also seized an iPod and then went for the big prize. As he made his way out of the apartment, he shoved a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black under his coat, thus stealing the life of party and giving himself something to toast with, too. So far, no arrests have been made.

Taking a Beating for Electronic Love

From Tribeca to Harlem, there are

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always cases of people being ambushed for their valuables, an unpleasant fact New Yorkers must deal with now that they keep pricey toys in their pockets.

These crooks do not discriminate or use fair tactics, as one woman discovered last Thursday night on Third Avenue near East 95th Street. The woman was talking on her cellphone when she was approached by a group of four black men and two women, who demanded that she hand over her valuables or suffer a beating. She then made a choice that the NYPD swears up and down is the absolute wrong thing to do: She held fast to her cellphone and invited the challenge. The group punched the woman repeatedly in the face and body, while trying to get the victim to release her vise-like grip on her phone. After realizing that they were fighting a losing battle, the dastardly thugs took off down East 95th toward the West Side.

The victim refused medical attention and suffered a few bruises, but she got lucky, according to police. Although these crooks quickly took off, New Yorkers should remember that while we may be some tough cookies, losing a life over a cellphone is not worth the cost.

Baggage Claim The MTA tells you to keep your belongings in sight at all times, and this rule applies for being on the street as well. At about noon of Saturday the 28th, a woman found an ideal parking spot on East 82nd Street, but needed a way to ensure that the spot remained open to her vehicle; ergo she utilized a piece of luggage as a means to tell other motorists that this spot was offlimits. One crooked driver was not in need of her spot, but realized the potential to profit from her blunder.

When the woman returned to park her car, she saw a black sedan pulling away with her luggage in the backseat of the car. The woman lost several shirts, a $400 silk dress and a box of Quaker oatmeal.

N EW S YO U LIV E B Y

CELEBRATING NATIONAL HOSPITAL WEEK MAY 6-12, 2012

With Thanks and Appreciation Hospital for Special Surgery proudly honors our outstanding staff for their dedication to compassionate patient care, commitment to excellence, and service to the community.

Louis A. Shapiro President & Chief Executive Officer Thomas P. Sculco, MD Surgeon-in-Chief Mary K. Crow, MD Physician-in-Chief Dean R. O’Hare Aldo Papone Co-Chairs, Board of Trustees

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

Working together, we are making a world of difference to patients whose injuries or chronic illness bring them to HSS, one of the nation’s leading centers for orthopedics and rheumatology.

May 3, 2012

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FEATURE

Bullying at Any Price East Side public and private schools cope with age-old problem

By Megan Bungeroth

I

n the past year, bullying has become not only a pervasive danger for students to dodge in the hallways but a hot topic of debate in the media, among parents and around dinner tables nationwide. Tragic stories of bullied kids committing suicide show up alongside activists’ best efforts to combat the problem, but still it persists.

Lee Hirsh’s documentary Bully, which follows a handful of kids and families from around the country who have dealt with severe bullying, caused a stir before it was even widely released when the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) refused to grant it the PG-13 rating that would allow it to be shown in schools. Dozens of news stories and a petition half a million signatures strong later, the MPAA relented and will change the rating.

It’s clear that people care about bullying, but the question is, who can stop it?

students taunting Giray with names like “elephant ears” and calling him “gay” escalated to one harrowing incident on which their case rests.

“My client was dramatically singled out by the defendant, who violently pushed him with malice into the bleachers, and he suffered a serious injury: broken nose, 18 stitches and pretty serious psychological trauma,” Cherwin said.

Dworakowski’s mother told the Daily News that the scuffle was just an accident, which is how the school may have characterized it at the time as well. Calhoun could not elaborate on what policies they have in place to prevent and address bullying, either then or now. Several other private schools also declined to comment on their bullying policies.

“We are not able to comment on the matters under litigation, but Calhoun has clear standards regarding bullying and a long record of being sensitive and responsive to the physical, emotional and psychological needs of all of our students,” wrote Calhoun’s head of school, Steve Nelson, in an email.

Giray is now in college and his attorney explained that he and his mother didn’t want to file a lawsuit against the school until he was through the college admissions process—the statute of limitations on this type of personal injury does not begin until the victim turns 18.

His case has ignited interest in who’s to blame for bullying, even while schools struggle to keep their classrooms safe and civil places.

For public schools, the city’s Department of Education (DOE) enforces a discipline code that prohibits all forms of bullying and has trained some educators in how to teach respectful interaction to their students.

“We launched Respect for All training programs in 2007, and to date, more than 6,000 teachers, counselors, parent coordinators and other staff members have participated in various components of the Respect for All training program,” said DOE spokesperson Marge Feinberg in an email.

“I think the changes in the culture, the changes in the exposure to information and the ability to immediately communicate without thinking, which is what 13- and 14-year-olds do, creates this explosive environment,” Assembly Member Daniel O’Donnell said.

One former local student and his attorney are asserting that schools are responsible for preventing their students from being subjected to bullying. Eric Giray, a former student of the prestigious Calhoun School on the Upper West Side, recently filed a lawsuit against his alma mater and his alleged former bully, classmate Daniel Dworakowski, centered on an incident that occurred eight years ago. He’s seeking damages of $1.5 million for what his attorney says was a blatant failure on the part of the school to protect Giray as a student there.

“The school was notified over time, several times, that bullying was taking place,” said Ric Cherwin, Giray’s attorney. “The former principal kept on saying, ‘We’ll take care of it, we’ll handle it, don’t take matters into your own hands.’ But the school, in fact, didn’t really do anything.”

According to Cherwin, what began as

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“Each school has a Respect For All liaison that helps ensure schools comply with the regulation and work with the DOE central staff on programs that embrace differences in others.”

According to the DOE, the number of bullying incidents has remained fairly

steady over the past 10 years, but experts say many students won’t always report bullying to authority figures and sometimes teachers don’t know the best ways to handle the problem.

“Teachers and school administrations need to be prepared to notice both the child who bullies and the child who is being bullied,” said Nancy Silberkleit, a former educator who has launched her own anti-bullying campaigns. “I have seen, too many times, teachers pushing children away for ‘tattletelling’ instead of encouraging them to come forward and dealing with their concerns.”

Upper West Side Assembly Member Daniel O’Donnell has been working for years to pass legislation that would help teachers become better equipped to handle bullying. Last year, after many years of pushing the bill, the Dignity for All Students Act passed the state Legislature and was signed into law. It will take effect July 1.

“It requires training of professionals; there needs to be somebody onsite who understands that bullying is not just kids being kids,” O’Donnell said. The law also requires localities to report bullying to the state Department of Education so effective strategies can be compared and tracked.

O’Donnell, who said he has faced plenty of bullying himself, finds it especially important to protect kids in an age when bullying is ever-present—kids don’t escape harassment when they leave the school building anymore and can be driven to despair by a particularly pointed Facebook post.

“I think the changes in the culture, the changes in the exposure to information and the ability to immediately communicate without thinking, which is what 13and 14-year-olds do, creates this explosive environment,” O’Donnell said. Since the Dignity Act passed, he has also authored an amendment that addresses cyberbullying.

He also said that kids are exposed to sex, and are thus defining their own sexual and gender identities, at earlier ages, making young children who identify as gay or somehow different potential targets.

“This was the first time in New York State history that gender identity and expression were written into state laws,” O’Donnell said. “I know all too well that those children who violate gender stereotypes are the first targets.”

While the law will expand the requirements for how teachers and administrators address bullying, some say that it will be difficult to implement if parents and communities don’t also get involved.

“Teachers are overwhelmed with outside requirements to get students through tests and standards,” said Silberkleit.

“There is very little time and energy left to deal with the social aspects of the students’ lives. Bullying occurs primarily before and after school.”

Kat Eden, communications director for Education.com, which works on antibullying issues, said that according to the results of a nationwide survey they conducted of 1,000 principals, many schools don’t have the resources they’d like to have to combat bullying.

“Principals surveyed reported a lack of resources to prevent and manage bullying—only 38 percent of principals report that they have sufficient resources to effectively implement bullying programs, curriculum and policies in their schools,” Eden said.

O’Donnell acknowledged that that is a particular challenge for many cashstrapped school districts, but insists that changing behavior is mostly a matter of awareness and education for current educators.

“We need to get rid of the idea within school environments that kids will be kids with regard to bullying,” O’Donnell said. “That’s just not OK.” N EW S YO U LIV E B Y

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“White Lotus Day,” Commemorating the Life and Work of H.P. Blavatsky That which men call death is but a change of location for the Ego, a mere transformation, a forsaking for a time of the mortal frame, a short period of rest before one reassumes another human frame in the world of mortals. The Lord of this body is nameless; dwelling in numerous tenements of clay, it appears to come and go; but neither death nor time can claim it, for it is deathless, unchangeable, and pure, beyond Time itself, and not to be measured. So our old friend and fellow worker has merely passed for a short time out of sight, but has not given up the work begun so many years ago--the uplifting of humanity, the destruction of the shackles that enslave the human mind.

--William Q. Judge

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May 6 13 27

“White Lotus Day” Deity, Law, Being The Cycle of Reincarnation

June 10 24

Theosophy and Capital Punishment ULT Day: “ULT - Its Mission & Future”

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May 3, 2012

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Saving Historic Park Avenue

By Megan Bungeroth Park Avenue may be one of the most recognizable stretches of real estate in the world, and some Upper East Side residents are clamoring to keep it that way.

With the recent purchase of two adjoining pre-Civil War properties by a developer and rumors of demolition circling, preservation advocates are reviving a campaign they’ve been pushing for several years to designate a lengthy strip of Park Avenue as a protected landmark district.

“Like the Barbizon that was just designated, Park Avenue is one of these iconic places in New York that most

The properties currently under threat of development are 1108 and 1110 Park Ave., which were recently purchased for $16 million and $16.5 million, respectively, by 89 Park Avenue LLC, a holding company connected to Philadelphiabased luxury development company Toll Brothers. The properties both come with air rights and little restrictions on what can be built there, and many assume that the company will construct one of its signature high-end condo towers; their building The Touraine on East 65th Street boasts one- to five-bedroom units, priced from $2.95 million to $20 million.

“They tell a different story of Park Avenue,” said Kelly of the recently purchased properties. “Most people think of these tall buildings that were developed in the teens and twenties, but prior to that [the neighborhood] was middle-class.” While Park Avenue is now a pricey destination, Kelly said, at one time the railroad running through the neighborhood deterred wealthy buyers, and Looking north along Park Avenue at 79th Street. that if some of the buildings people would assume is designated, and from that era aren’t preserved, the history people are always shocked to find out will be too easily forgotten. that it is not designated in its entirety, at “We’re very upset. We don’t know what least the residential part of it,” said Tara to do,” Slater said. “It’s probably one of Kelly, executive director of Friends of the the most iconic boulevards in the world.”

Upper East Side Historic Districts.

Lo van der Valk, president of the Currently, only the southern portion Carnegie Hill Neighbors, has been workof Park Avenue is included in the Upper ing to garner support for the landmarking East Side Historic District, from midway effort and to spread the word about what between East 61st and 62nd streets up to exactly is at stake.

East 79th Street. Parts of the avenue fall “One of the strongest arguments for within the Carnegie Hill Historic District, designation is that the buildings within from the north side of East 91st Street and outside the historically designated to midway between East 93rd and 94th portions of Park Avenue are similar in streets, but the stretch in between these style, scale, and period of construction areas and north of them remains largely (centering in the 1920s), and are mostly unprotected by landmark designation. designed by the same group of distinThe groups Carnegie Hill Neighbors, guished architects of major apartment Defenders of the Historic Upper East buildings,” van der Valk wrote in the Side and Historic Park Avenue have all group’s most recent newsletter. joined forces in a campaign to convince Representatives from the preservathe Landmarks Preservation Commission tion groups will be meeting with the to consider protecting Park Avenue Landmarks Commission this week to in its entirety from East 62nd to 96th urge them to calendar a hearing to constreets, which could mean expanding the sider designating the missing pieces of Carnegie Hill district as well as creating a the famous street. new district in the East 80s.

“There are a lot of people who think “This is the second go-round,” said Teri Park Avenue is worth saving, and that’s Slater, a member of Defenders. “We’re why we’re working on this the second having another meeting with the chair time around,” said Slater. “I’ve never lived of the Landmarks Commission, because on Park Avenue, I’m never going to live since we [last] spoke, three buildings on Park Avenue, I have no desire to live have been torn down, and now two more on Park Avenue—but I value it as one of buildings are threatened.”

New York City’s assets.” andrew schwartz

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news

May 3, 2012

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feature

From Stage to Page Former Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider rocks his autobiography and a new album

By Rachel Sokol In the 1970s and ’80s, Dee Snider—the lead singer-songwriter for the heavy metal band Twisted Sister—really didn’t care what anyone thought about him.

Who cared if he had long, curly, insane hair? Who cared if he wore leopard-print bell-bottoms, stockings, makeup and a shirt that said “Blow Me”? Certainly not the outspoken rocker who just wanted

and fall. First I started at the beginning, and just kept going. I kept having story after story to tell.”

In Shut Up, Snider reveals the stories behind the crazy makeup, his desire for a record deal and his bankruptcy when his rock ’n’ roll fame dissipated. Snider uses footnotes to drop in random facts—little segues that help enhance his anecdotes.

In one footnote, for example, Snider says

he would sweat so much onstage, one night he lost 8 lbs.

Additionally, readers are treated to Snider’s “Life Lessons,” his rules about life, love, and rock ’n’ roll.

“My son Cody, who is 24, loved all the parentheses I had in the book. He thought it was hilarious that I was commenting on my own writing,” laughs Snider, who says his family “got a real kick” out of his sto-

ries. “They love it!”

“I found Dee to be a natural storyteller who remembers everything,” says Ed Schlesinger, senior editor at Gallery Books and a Twisted Sister fan. “He wanted the opportunity to write the book himself, and once I saw some sample chapters, I knew he wouldn’t disappoint his fans or readers.”

And, of course, there’s a whole chapter devoted to that famous day in 1985 where Snider testified before Congress, against the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), which sought to slap a warning label on albums they believed contained continued on page 14

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Dee Snider. to make music and find fame beyond his Long Island roots.

Naturally, this “who cares?” attitude inspired Twisted Sister’s best and most iconic rock anthems, “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “I Wanna Rock.”

Today, Snider’s still not holding anything back. Only this time around, he’s channeling his energy in a different, albeit, quieter way—on paper.

In his new book, Shut Up and Give Me the Mic, Snider, whose given name is Daniel, shares personal stories about his life as a rocker, a husband and a father— the good, the bad and the “ugly” (an insult Howard Stern slung at him before the two formed a friendship).

What’s most impressive about Snider’s book is his attention to detail, which he attributes to his health-conscious lifestyle.

As Snider says, “I’m the guy that gave it all to beat the odds, left everything he had on the stage each night, didn’t screw around on his woman, took care of his kids and was sober enough to remember it all and write about it ... myself.”

The idea for Shut Up came from Snider’s manager, who told Snider he was a “great storyteller who should write a book,” the uber-chatty Snider recalled in a recent phone interview.

“I wanted to tell the story of my rise n y pr e s s. c o m

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Refreshments courtesy of Butterfield Market To be added to our email list please email us at: The19PCTCouncil@aol.com For further information call 19th Community Affairs: 212-452-0613 The Precinct Council will be hosting the Lexington Avenue Street Fair, 60th Street to 66th Street on Saturday May 5th from 12 to 5PM. Visit us at our booth near 65th Street.

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news

Krueger Takes on the ‘War on Women’

By Megan Bungeroth Sen. Liz Krueger has long been an advocate for women’s rights in Albany, so she’s accustomed to fighting for laws that protect them. But even as a seasoned advocate, she’s especially concerned with the tenor and direction of those debates over the past several years, which is why she convened a panel to bring together people on the front lines of the battle.

Krueger was joined on April 24 at the CUNY Graduate Center by Amy Richards, writer and activist; Joe Rollins, executive officer of the Political Science Department at the CUNY Graduate Center; Shelby Knox, director of women’s rights at Change.org; and Jamia Wilson, vice president of programs at the Women’s Media Center. Each was invited to speak about what they feel are currently the biggest threats to women’s rights and how concerned citizens can combat them.

“We should take nothing for granted,” Krueger told the audience of over 100 people. “If we don’t make a stand, if we don’t push the envelope as far as we can back in the opposite direction, if we don’t continue our fight to make progress, then we could wake up another year and a half from now in this country going, ‘Oh my god, we thought 2012 was bad, who imagined this could happen here?’ But this can happen here.”

The panelists offered different viewpoints on and tactics for dealing with threats to women’s rights. Amy Richards emphasized the need to view men as equal to women and to challenge entrenched notions of traditional masculinity.

“As much as there’s a war on women, there’s a protection of men and a protection of masculinity,” Richards said.

“There was this glimmer in 2008—Biden was crying, and Obama was saying he was going to go to his daughter’s soccer games, and Wall Street was failing and we realized those guys weren’t that smart anyway, and wars weren’t working, and I think we had to look inside ourselves and say, why have we overvalued these institutions and these things? Unfortunately the crack got repaired quickly and we were back to things as usual.”

She also pointed out that not everyone agrees that there is a “war on women,” and that dialogue has to include discussions of how men are viewed as much as how women are viewed in order to be productive—and that, she said, includes

allowing men to fill roles like childcare and running a household that are traditionally filled by women.

Joe Rollins provided some legal perspective, pointing to recent legal cases that demonstrate established sexism even in the judicial system. One example was a case in which a Pennsylvania prosecutor charged teenage girls with possession of child pornography for possessing photos of themselves, in silly poses wearing only bras, on their cell phones; the photos were stolen by male classmates and distributed without the girls’ consent, and the boys were not charged with any crimes.

“What these cases illustrate are the ways that women are punished for exercising agency and taking control of their own bodies, and in the circulate representations thereof,” said Rollins. “The bigger problem here lies with the question of who gets to control the terms of that circulation.”

Jamia Wilson spoke about the need to change cultural views by having open discussions with those on the opposite political spectrum; while Shelby Knox, who has been involved in feminist causes since she was 14, pointed out that the movement is alive and strong, but it has moved from 1960s-style marches into other forums.

“Young women are not apathetic; in fact we’re pretty pissed off,” Knox said.

“If you want to see young feminists, go online.”

All of the panelists agreed that the most effective way to challenge limits to women’s rights is for women as well as men to keep talking about women’s rights.

“We’re told, ‘Why are you bothering to do that, we don’t need 21st century law protecting reproductive rights in New York state. After all, we have Roe v. Wade, leave us alone,’ ” Krueger said of the culture in Albany. Resolutions that mention reproductive health are often categorized of “too controversial,” she said.

Krueger is currently sponsoring nine different bills related to women’s health and women’s rights, including pay equity, access to contraception, paid family leave, reasonable accommodation for pregnant women and the Reproductive Health Act. “We need new tools,” said Krueger.

“We need the next generation to be helping us understand how you wage this war in 2012, how you use the new forms of media and the new forms of communication to spread the word to get more and N EW S YO U LIV E B Y

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arts

Art of the Draw for Kids at National Academy School

Why stay stuck in traffic, when you could kick back and relax on the train?

Take Amtrak® the next time you travel the Northeast Corridor.

By Sean Creamer The National Academy Museum & School of the Upper East Side, located at 5 E. 89th St. off 5th Avenue, is celebrating 20 years of children’s summer programs.

The school itself has been instilling the intricacies of fine and classical arts into fledgling artists since 1826.

“Our young people’s program is one of the best-kept secrets in the Upper East Side,” said Lotus do Brooks, one of the instructors in the program.

This summer, the school will continue its tradition of offering a full day art camp

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www.hunter.cuny.edu/ce 12

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Explore new heights through Continuing Education at Hunter College

as drawing, painting, collage, printmaking and drama. The students will have an opportunity to work outside and they will also host miniature exhibitions of their work. The classes run June 11–29 and July 9–27 from 9 a.m. through 4 p.m.

The second class being offered is suited for children 9 to 13 years old and discusses the finer points of painting and drawing, such as lighting, shading and perspective. Hannah Frassinelli, an established teacher and award-winning printmaker, will guide her students through the Painting and Drawing camp with self portraits and a clothed model to give the fledgling artists an introduction to the human figure.

The students will also work in printmaking and study the concept of the still life and landscape painting.

This set of classes will begin June 18 and continue until the 29th. The second set of classes Young artists will get the chance to work in studios such as these begins July 9 and ends on the 20th. at the National Academy.

The final class for youngsters and intensive art work- to be offered for the summer will be a shops for high school students who wish to Watercolors Workshop taught by Brooks, live their summer through the artistic eye. who is part of the teaching staff at the “This is a small environment,” said Dalton School and has been training and Maurizio Pellegrin, the director and one teaching the fine arts for well over 20 of the instructors of the Academy. “It years. This class acts as a foundation for is very well organized, with a dynamic high school students to build their portstructure that offers classes to profes- folios, which will prepare them for colsionals and to people who come for the lege, when they must submit samples of love and passion.” their current work. Students will delve The program is separated into three into watercolors to create landscapes of classes that are available for six weeks nature and the city. The students will also starting June 11, though the students be given the chance to visit several art galhave the choice to stay for one week or leries and museums in the area. The class all six, according to Brooks. Tuition for will be begin July 30 and continue through the summer camps is $450 per week, and Aug. 3 from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m. Tuition for the workshop will run for $250 per week. this class will be $250 per week.

The National Academy will host The school is surrounded by museums Martha Bloom, a professional who has and art galleries, such as the Guggenheim, over 30 years’ art experience under her which is but a stroke of a paintbrush from belt. She will preside over the Art and the school. The teachers utilize this to the Drama program, which is open to kids fullest extent, taking its students out of ages 6 to 10 and prompts them to explore the studios and into the galleries to marthe multiple avenues of creativity housed vel at the works of great artists. within their developing minds as paint“We are in the center of New York City, ers and performers. This class serves as one of the major art cities of the world,” an introduction to several art styles such said Pellegrin.

N EW S YO U LIV E B Y

Dining

Sweet, Sweet Justice

New York street vendors team up with local farmers for a truly delicious cause

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a dent in a crowded field that is constantly under threat from Big Ag, and many traditional vendors, who work 16-hour-plus days, would use better ingredients if there were an easy way for them to purchase them.

That connection first struck Helena Tubis and Robert LaValva in an idle conversation about the direction of their two organizations. Tubis, managing director of the Street Vendor Program’s Vendy Awards, said, “We were just talking about the projects we had going on and it seemed like such a natural combination. There are a lot of small farmers that are looking to scale up, provide to businesses rather than just to individuals at a market. And street food often uses off cuts of meat, the sort of products that don’t necessarily sell well at markets, so it benefits both sides tremendously.”

The idea was an event that would match up her organization’s members, the front line of the city’s pioneering street vendor community, and LaValva’s New Amsterdam Market suppliers, up-and-coming local food craftspeople and farmers. The result is this weekend’s International Meats Local.

Five of the city’s most highly regarded

street vendors, from five very different culinary traditions, will line up at the New Amsterdam market on Sunday and serve their classics, made as much as possible with ingredients provided by the market’s ven-

(Photo by wallyg. courtesy of flickr commons.)

By Regan Hofmann If you care about food politics in this town, most likely you fall into one of two camps: the local, sustainable, 50-mile-diet types or the ethnic representation, “give me authenticity or give me death” boosters.

Frankly, even if you had secret tendencies to swing both ways, you didn’t really have the option.

In an effort to preserve the purity of their ingredients, so-called farm-to-table restaurants are often unbearably dull, serving the same stripped-down dishes in which no spices are allowed to sully their precious produce.

Conversely, one of the prime tenets of the ethnic food restaurant is “Thou shalt not overcharge,” something that has become both blessing and curse to a sector that wants to draw and attract customers within the immigrant and recent expat community, many of whom aren’t aiming for a night out at Nobu, and gain respect and attention from the dining community at large.

N ORDER - Email Art Local ingredients often come at a prerth mium, it’s true, but that need not always Media be the case. Many local produce providers are small business people looking to make h St.

The offerings of Solber Pupusas, one of the many vendors at the forthcoming International Meats Local at the New Amsterdam Market. dors. For $20 – $30 for early-bird admission, always a good idea at an event where lines are inevitable and hungry stomachs can’t wait—visitors can enjoy each of the offerings, supporting the idea of street vendor food with a mission, or local food with flavor, as you see fit.

“They’re all Vendy Award participants,” Tubis explained, “so they’re all delicious, and

we wanted to take the opportunity to showcase the diversity of New York street food.”

Participating in the event are Solber Pupusas, specialists in the Salvadoran stuffed masa cakes and members of the organically evolved Red Hook Ballfield vendor community; Veronica’s Kitchen, a Financial District legend for Caribbean favorites like oxtail, callaloo and jerk chicken; Eggstravaganza, a Midtown breakfast cart that became so well-loved it started sticking around through the lunch rush; Guadalupe’s Tamales, what started as a one-woman operation on a Bushwick street corner and became a pilgrimage point for homesick Mexican expats; and A-Pou’s Taste, whose Taiwanese pot stickers keep late-night East Villagers happy while serving a need for that particular dumpling style, with a sweeter, more spice-heavy pork filling than the commonly found Northern Chinese version.

“We see this as an exciting first step toward helping all our vendors better their businesses by providing local, sustainable food,” Tubis said. “Ideally, we’ll have street vendors all over New York City someday, serving culturally relevant, interesting, diverse food that is as healthy, sustainable and local as possible.”

For tickets, visit internationalmeatslocal.eventbrite.com.

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feature

Snider continued from page

6

offensive material.

Since his heyday with Twister Sister, Snider has remained busy writing scripts, performing voiceover work and headlining radio shows—who could forget his stint as host for MTV’s “Headbangers Ball”?

Now back in the recording game, Snider is also debuting his latest album, Dee Does Broadway, on the same day as

his memoir, May 8.

Broadway? Really? Snider doesn’t think his transition from rock venues to the Broadway stage is strange at all. In 2010, he did play Dennis in the Broadway production Rock of Ages, which features two Twister Sister songs.

“Performing Broadway songs is a natural progression, musically,” says Snider, whose personal favorite song on the album is The Ballad of Mack the Knife, which he has “always wanted to sing.”

Dee Does Broadway also highlights the vocal talents of his eldest son, Jesse, and

Broadway legends Patti LuPone and Bebe Neuwirth. Pop icon Cyndi Lauper is also featured on the album, as is Rudy Sarzo, a former bassist for Ozzy Osbourne and Quiet Riot.

“In my opinion, Dee Does Broadway is his best record to date, not only for his outstanding performance but for taking his vocal range places we had never heard Dee Snider go before,” says Sarzo.

Besides, Snider firmly believes, “if Bach and Beethoven were alive today, they’d be into Metallica.”

Recently, Snider graced the small

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screen as a contestant on NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice, which films in New York City, Snider’s “backyard.”

“New York is my home,” he says. “It’s where I’m most comfortable.”

Episodes of The Celebrity Apprentice are still airing, and Dee was competing to raise money for March of Dimes, a charity he’s supported for years. Snider was “fired” by Donald Trump in Episode 8, but did raise more than $300,000 for March of Dimes.

On the show, Snider formed a friendship with teammate—and former American Idol contestant—Clay Aiken, who at press time is still competing on The Celebrity Apprentice.

On Dee Does Broadway, Aiken’s vocal talent is featured in “Luck Be a Lady,” from the musical Guys and Dolls.

“I never met Clay prior to the show, and to be honest I expected the least from him—and got the most. We really connected,” says Snider. “When I had the duets worked out, I asked Clay to sing on the track. He rocked it! He was really wailing! I was so impressed.”

Aiken shares the same sentiments.

“You’d never think it from his ‘twisted’ persona, but Dee is an incredibly versatile musician. On Dee Does Broadway, he’s taken on a challenge that no one would ever have thought possible, and he not only succeeds, but he hits it out of the park,” says Aiken. “I am so glad I got to be a part of it.”

Snider currently resides on Long Island with Suzette, who served as Twisted Sister’s fashion designer. “She calls herself both my mistress and my wife,” jokes Snider, but the couple did in fact marry in 1981 and raised four children: Jesse, Shane, Cody and Cheyenne—who were all featured on various reality shows including A&E’s Growing Up Twisted.

Snider is soon launching his national book tour and fans can also catch him in the FEARNet original comedy series, Holliston. “I play a wannabe guy from the ’80s,” Snider says of his character, Lance.

‘He’s a fiftysomething dude in spandex and makeup.” Hmmm … sounds familiar.

Although he does miss his glory days of rock ’n’ roll, Snider insists that today, he’s “older, wiser, smarter and has calmed down a lot. I want fans to know the Dee of the 2000s.” (He is a grandfather, after all.)

Dee Snider will launch his book tour at the Book Revue in Huntington, Long Island, New York, on Tuesday, May 8, at 7 p.m. Shut Up and Give Me the Mic retails for $26. Gallery Books; 448 pages.

Dee Does Broadway (Razor & Tie label) goes on sale May 8. The single “Cabaret” is currently available on iTunes.

N EW S YO U LIV E B Y

EYE ON AUCTIONS

By Caroline Birenbaum The spring auctions of Contemporary Art followed by Tribal Art are upon us. Carve out some time; these previews merit visits.

Edited by Armond White

Christie’s May 8-9 sale of Post-War & Contemporary Art features six major works

by Gerhard Richter dating from the 1960s to the ’90s and property from the superb Evelyn Haas Collection, including her favorite painting, Diebenkorn’s “Berkeley #59.” Star items in the May 10 auction of the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas are from the estate of Ernst Beyeler, co-founder of Art Basel.

On May 16, Important American Paintings, Drawings & Sculpture consist almost entirely of representational works by well-known artists and illustrators.

New York’s Review of Culture • CityArtsNYC.com

Skin Storm

Christie’s: May 8, 7 p.m. & May 9, 9:30 a.m. & 2 p.m., previews May 4-8. May 10, 10 a.m., previews May 4-9. May 16, 10 a.m., previews May 12-15. www.christies.com Among spectacular paintings in Sotheby’s May 9-10 auction of Contemporary Art are Lichtenstein’s “Sleeping Girl,” Warhol’s “Double Elvis” and Bacon’s “Figure Writing Reflected in Mirror.” The May 11 sale of African, Oceanic and Pre-Columbian Art features a Luluwa Helmet Mask, Congo, from the Muensterberger Collection, and an elaborate Kota reliquary figure from Gabon. Highlights of the May 16 auction of American Indian Art include a gorgeous hide war shirt that belonged to legendary Nez Percé Chief Joseph, a Tlingit headdress and a Mono Lake Paiute polychrome basket by Carrie Bethel.

NAUGHTy NAKED NUDE CONTROVERSy AT THE MET

BY MONA MOlARSkY

D

o women have to be naked to get into the museum? The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s latest photo show suggests that—in 2012—the Guerilla Girls are still on target.

Naked Before the Camera, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is presented as the history of the nude in photography, from the medium’s inception in the mid-19th century to the present. But, like all histories, it is really just one among many possible takes on the past.

From kitschy Victorian peep show prints to mid-20th-century studies of the body’s geometry, there are memorable images in the show. Several of the finest photographs here are also among the best known. Two of Edward Weston’s pictures of his lover Charis Wilson, sprawled naked in the sand dunes at Oceano, Calif., (1936), have been admired for more than half a century. Despite their familiarity, they remain fresh, fierce and sensual.

But ultimately, The Met’s assembly of more than 60 photographs from the museum’s big collection serves up a narrow slice of a very wide field, heavily favoring male photographers and female models. “Naked before the Camera” is a survey that pays more attention to soft porn and peep-show imagery than you might expect from an art museum. Any claims that the show offers a social history of the photographed nude are belied by the sparse information provided about the context of these images, including the photographers, their models and the market for these works.

The show is divided into three sections, each addressing a different topic. The first

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Sotheby’s: May 9, 7 p.m. & May 10, 10 a.m. & 2 p.m., previews May 5-9. May 11, 10 a.m., previews May 5-10. May 16, 10 a.m., previews May 12-15. www.sothebys.com Phillips de Pury’s evening session of Contemporary Art on May 10 has some highpowered and pricey pieces, including a Richard Prince “Cowboy,” de Kooning’s “Untitled VI” and a 1981 Basquiat painting. Many more works, much less excitement in the session the next morning.

Phillips de Pury: May 10, 7 p.m. & May 11, 10 a.m., previews April 28 – May 10. www.phillipsdepury.com

Brassaï’s “Introduction at Suzy’s” (1932-33). concentrates on 19th-century photographs made as aids for painters. The second focuses on medical, ethnographic and erotic photography. Only the last focuses on 20th- and 21st-century images that would generally be considered art in their own right.

In all three groups, the vast majority of pictures were posed in studios or studiolike settings and present the nude body detached from the world beyond. In many, the face of the model is partly or completely hidden.

All too often, what remains are studies

of anatomy and composition, some more beguiling than others. A beautifully composed “Ariadne” (1867), by English photographer Oscar Gustave Rejlander, recreates a pose from Titian’s “Venus and Adonis”—an attempt to measure the painter’s anatomical accuracy, according to wall notes from the curator.

Irving Penn’s intriguing “Nude No. 57” (1949-50) plays with foreshortening to highlight both the elegance and awkwardness of

Continued on next page

Bonhams’ Contemporary Art sale on May 10-11, comprising paintings, photos and editioned sculptures, is nicely curated. The May 12 auction of African, Oceanic & Pre-Columbian Art circles the globe and offers significant objects including a Honduran marble vessel with skull handles, a barbed wooden spear collected on Captain Cook’s final expedition to the Pacific and a rare preserved wooden Senufo Rhythm Pounder Couple, Ivory Coast, along with lovely quilts from the Hawaiian Islands, circa 1900 and paintings by contemporary Australian Aboriginal artists. There are a few striking works among the American Paintings, Drawings & Sculpture to be sold May 15, including “Woman in Red Jacket,” oil on canvas by Glackens under the influence of Renoir and a large watercolor by Burchfield, “November Wind at Dusk.”

Bonhams: May 10, 5 p.m. & May 11, 2 p.m., previews May 5-10. May 12, at 1 p.m., previews May 7-11. May 15 at 1 p.m., previews May 12-15. www.bonhams.com

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sitting naked in an ordinary American house. The sags and wrinkles of their flesh offer stark contrast to the airbrushed curves Continued from page 1 of a girly picture hanging on their wall. If a female torso, knees and thighs, while Bill ever a black-and-white photo embodied a Brandt’s “South Kensington” (1979) offers an grayness of spirit, this is it.

The dramatically lit torso of a slender extreme perspective on two long legs—from shins to buttocks—stretched out like the woman with her head thrown back, by French-Polish photographer Germaine Krull evening’s dinner on a matte black sofa.

The few male nudes in the exhibit are treated (1897-1985), offers a tantalizing glimpse of one with similar detachment. “Arm” (1935), by Man female photographic vision that flourished in Ray, frames a masculine shoulder, bicep and Europe between the world wars. But without elbow like a piece of abstract sculpture. A wasp- other images by the artist, we are unable to make sense of the work or waisted male torso from the get an idea of what Krull 1930s by fashion photogmight have been up to. rapher George Platt Lynes The same can be said twists toward the viewer to for the photographs of display his perfectly musHannah Wilke, who is cled back—a pretty pin-up represented by two prints picture if ever there was one, of herself posing in an high on design value, low on abandoned building in content.

Queens. Both are part of Most disturbing is her “Snatch Shot with Ray “Sharkey” (1980) by a Gun: So Help Me Hannah” photographer named Jim (1978) series. Wilke, as the Jager, who published softwall text in the exhibiporn magazines featuring tion informs us, “was one black men. Jager posed his of a number of artists in African-American model the 1960s and 1970s who with a large, wooden staff, began manipulating their as if he’d just emerged own bodies in photofrom the jungle with his Circle of Albert Londe, “Male Musculature Study,” (1858 - 1917). graphs and performances spear. Strangely, the curator’s wall text provides no information about to call attention to rituals of self-presentation.” the race of the photographer or his clients, However, the two images chosen for the show nor any comment about the racism inherent aren’t enough to convey the context or the radical nature of what she was doing. in the image.

“Maybe female photographers simply One of the things missing from this show are images of naked people going about the aren’t interested in the naked body,” an everyday activities of their lives—swimming elderly woman standing next to me at the in lakes, diving into fountains, sunbathing, exhibit mused, when she heard me exclaimgetting dressed for parties or changing out ing over the pitifully small number of female of costumes backstage. With a few notable artists in the show.

“Do you believe that?” I asked. “No, not exceptions—which include one Lady Ottoline Violet Anne Cavendish-Bentinck really,” she conceded, laughing.

Imogen Cunningham. Ruth Bernhard. Eve Morrell’s blurry shots of 10-year-old girls frolicking in her garden (circa 1916); Garry Arnold. Lola Alvarez Bravo. Susan Meiselas.

Winogrand’s memorable image of a streaker, Nan Goldin. Sally Mann. Francesca Wood“Easter Sunday, Central Park, New York” man. These are just eight of the hundreds— (1973); and John Goodman’s compelling 1976 probably thousands—of accomplished portrait of a naked couple standing in front women who have photographed nudes. of their Commonwealth Avenue apartment Each has her own, individual vision of the building in Boston—there is little to suggest human body. Yet none of these important the wide variety of situations in which pho- artists were included in The Met’s history of the nude in photography. tographers have recorded people naked.

Rarely has that famous 1989 observation But the show’s most glaring omission is one of gender. Only eight of the more than by the Guerrilla Girls been more apt. Wom60 photographs in the show were taken by en, it seems, still have to be naked to get into the museum. women.

Predictably, Diane Arbus is represented by two images, including her sourly satirical Naked Before the Camera “Retired Man and his Wife at Home in a Nud- Through Sept. 29, the Metropolitan Museum of ist Camp One Morning, N.J.” (1963), which Art, 1000 5th Ave., 212-535-7710, shows a self-satisfied, middle-aged couple metmuseum.org.

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Yuja Wang.

Your doctor spent 5 minutes?

Yuja on Fire And A visit by A venerAble quArtet

BY JAY NoRdlINgeR

F

or several years, we have called Yuja Wang a wunderkind, a phenom, a sensation. For how long can we keep talking that way? She’s 25 now. I figure we can continue for a couple more years.

Most recently in New York, she played Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the New York Philharmonic. She does well by Prokofiev. Two seasons ago, she played the Concerto No. 2 with the Philadelphia Orchestra in Carnegie Hall. She played it to within an inch of its life. Earlier this season, she played the Sonata No. 6, also in Carnegie Hall. Her grasp on the work was sure.

And the Concerto No. 3? First, let me say what was wrong with her performance, on the night I heard her. (She played the concerto on four separate nights.) She entered a hair late. She immediately changed the tempo, making it faster. She changed it further, making it faster yet. She left the poor New York Philharmonic in the dust. The conductor, Jaap van Zweden, looked at her as if to say, “What the . . .?” She was careless and sloppy. She slapped and banged.

Prokofiev can be percussive, but it need not be ugly. Where she should have been elegant, she was inelegant. Her sound was not grand enough. Her passagework was bony. Some of her accents were absurd. Etc. But: I thought to myself, “Never let me become an old fart who doesn’t appreciate youthful fire and abandon.” Wang was electric. She was a girl on a mission. There was actually a little anger in her playing.

She was over the top, but she was exciting as hell, and I think Prokofiev himself would have gotten a kick out of it.

She won’t play like this always—but I’m

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glad she does for now. She will undoubtedly mellow and mature. But fire and abandon are fine musical qualities, especially in the Prokofiev Third.

I often say, “Not every performance has to be a desert-island disc”—a definitive performance, an exemplary performance, for all time. The Prokofiev Third I heard should not be on a recording. But a live concert is a different cat (thank heaven).

And Wang was alive, no question.

A week later, the Takács Quartet arrived in Zankel Hall, for two concerts. Formed in Budapest in 1975, the quartet now resides in Boulder. Two of the original members are still with the group. They are Hungarian, whereas the newer members are from different climes.

They started their New York concerts with Janácek’s String Quartet No. 1, nicknamed “the Kreutzer Sonata.” It is a talky, anxious work, a minor masterpiece. The Takács played it knowledgeably and intelligently. They make a better overall sound than they do individually. Nevertheless, the overall sound was at times too fuzzy. And fingers at times were unresponsive. Also, where beauty was called for, the group could not quite summon it.

Next on the program was another String Quartet No. 1, this one by Britten (and without a nickname). It is written in that special Britten tongue that is half modern and half not. Do you know the expression “Second verse, same as the first?” Again the Takács sound was a bit fuzzy, out of focus. Again fingers were somewhat wanting (particularly in the last movement, molto vivace).

And again the group played with a general and welcome intelligence.

You can think well without playing well.

Usually, it’s better to think well than to play well. And when you can do both—why, then, of course, the world is your oyster.

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ALONZO KING’S BALLET AT THE JOYCE

Manhattan School of Music Precollege Division Presents

BY VALERIE GLADSTONE

W

MAY 8 / TUES / 7:30 PM

Constance Keene Precollege Piano Award Winner

Francisco Chomnalez STRAVINSKY LISZT

Sonata in C Major, op. 2, no. 3 Ballade No. 1 in G Minor, op. 23 Three Tributes in Memoriam Constance Keene, op. 238 (World Premiere) Tango Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12 in C-sharp Minor

Francisco Chomnalez, age 17, has won top prizes in international competitions and performed in New York at Weill Recital Hall, as well as appearing with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine in Kiev and the Asociación de Profesores de la Orquesta Estable del Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

122ND & BROADWAY | 917 493 4428 | WWW.MSMNYC.EDU © 2012 MSM. Program and artists subject to change.

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All Along the Lines

Visit newyorkfamily.com to learn more about the best parenting e-newsletter in the city.

hen Alonzo King established LINES Ballet in 1982 in San Francisco, few believed he could maintain a new company in the city where the San Francisco Ballet had long captured the area’s ballet audience. Moreover, King did not conform to the typical ballet artistic director—he grew up in Santa Barbara in a distinguished family of movers and shakers in the African American community, trained at both the school of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and American Ballet Theater and performed with Dance Theater of Harlem. Even more unlikely, he wanted to start his venture on the West rather than the East Coast.

Quickly, he proved all the doubters wrong.

Today, King is one of the top choreographers in classical contemporary dance, with a wide-ranging repertory that includes collaborations with numerous international composers, musicians and visual artists, including China’s Shaolin monks, actor Danny Glover and jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders. Plus, the company has an enviable tour schedule and a vibrant school.

It has been featured at the Venice Biennale, the Edinburgh Festival, Montpellier Danse and the Holland Dance Festival, and King has been commissioned by the Swedish Royal Ballet, Frankfurt Ballet, Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, The Joffrey Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Hong Kong Ballet and North Carolina Dance Theatre, among others.

Asked the secret of his success, King says, “I try to choreograph beautiful works that resonate with universal truths.”

In LINES Ballet’s upcoming season at The Joyce Theater May 8-13, King’s choreographic gifts and widely heralded dancers will be on display in a program including Scheherazade, commissioned by the Monaco Dance Forum to inaugurate the centenary of the Ballet Russes de Monte Carlo and set to a new score by tabla master Zakir Hussain after Rimsky-Korsakov, and Resin, an exploration of Sephardic music with songs and field recordings from Yemen, Turkey, Morocco and Spain.

A true scholar of the world’s cultures and music, King mines relationships between diverse groups of people, bringing them subtly to light in works like those that will be presented at The Joyce Theater. The character of Scheherazade particularly fascinated him. He explains that she had to convince the ruler not to kill her and save her sisters by healing him with her voice.

“It wasn’t simply her stories,” he says, “but her voice. It transported him. Your voice is the key to who you are. I had to show this through movement, how her lovingness transformed him. In a sense, she represents the divine mother.”

While he likes the Rimsky-Korsakov score, he also thrives on working with living composers, and so asked Hussain for a new score. “It’s a partnership when I collaborate with a composer, just as choreographing is a partnership with my dancers. Artists are givers. They inspire me,” King explains.

Dancer David Harvey joined LINES five years ago. “Alonzo sees endless possibilities in dance and his dancers,” he says. “It makes it challenging but also rewarding—you never reach the point where you are finished.

“He’s never abandoned ballet; he’s committed to fulfilling its potential. He’s a purist in the best sense—no flash, no glitter, just honest and courageous dance.”

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Pavlov’s Franchise THE DELUSION OF MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS

BY ARMOND WHITE

P

Joshua South Photography

revious Marvel Comics superhero movies such as Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America and Thor were like roughly cut puzzle pieces that looked odd and unfinished by themselves—pretend movies derived from already established brands. Most of them, particularly Jon Favreau’s dung-colored Iron Man, were poorly directed.

Now, fitted together in Marvel’s The Avengers, the superhero tales still don’t quite cohere; instead, each superhero’s traits and powers have been simultaneously inflated and streamlined (Scarlett Johannson’s Black Widow, barely a cameo in last year’s Captain America, is almost a character here) with the sole intent to overwhelm, not merely entertain. That’s why a corporate brand is part of the title.

A live-action version of the comic book series about “The Earth’s Mightiest Heroes,” Marvel’s The Avengers is promoted as the

ultimate Comic-Con—the franchise of franchises, the movie contemporary audiences have been trained to anticipate and genuflect to.

This whopping sales campaign manipulates immature, undeveloped adolescent taste into the mistaken notion of cultural fulfillment. The Avengers is neither good nor important, yet the more it consummates Marvel Comics’ current strategy to secure the adolescent comic book/graphic novel/ video game market, the more it illustrates Hollywood’s shameless insufficiencies.

To discuss The Avengers as a story—or even a thrill ride—is delusional. Best to tally some of the actors’ deceits—which parallel the media’s complicit self-deception—as they trivialize the emotional satisfaction that is supposed to come from modernizing myth and legend.

The Captain America role traps Chris Evans, who was a great tease as the Human Torch, in an uninteresting anachronism, now a truly faded idea of American Exceptionalism. The same holds for the Halloween freakazoids Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Bruce

Sacred Music in a Sacred Space N.P. Mander Organ Recital Series Presents

Kent Tritle

Organ

Wednesday, June 6, 2012 at 7:30 PM FELIX MENDELSSOHN Sonata in F minor, Op. 65, No. 1

CÉSAR FRANCK Chorale No. 3 in A Minor

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Fantasia and Fugue in G Minor, BWV 542

VINCENT PERSICHETTI Shimah B’Koli

NICOLAS DE GRIGNY Recit de Tierce en taille

MAURICE DURUFLÉ Prelude and Fugue on Alain, Op. 7

Tickets $20 General | $15 Students/Seniors THE CHURCH OF ST. IGNATIUS LOYOLA 980 Park Avenue New York, NY 10028

Marvel’s The Avengers.

Banner/The Hulk (a CGIed Mark Ruffalo).

As villainous Loki, Tom Hiddleston, who was so moving in Spielberg’s War Horse and Terence Davies’ The Deep Blue Sea, comes closest to giving a performance. He suggests the intense young aspirant Peter O’Toole, though without the glorious voice and no story details to frame his petulance, just a pretext for the superheroes to fight his plan for world domination.

The film’s only probable hero is zillionaire gadgeteer Tony Stark, who Robert Downey has finally learned to make his own using hipster witticisms that lend this basically unhip movie erratic self-satire.

Only a capitalist icon with Stark’s endless resources makes sense to an audience of semi-illiterate consumers catered to by the leisure industries and discouraged from an interest in characterization, theme or ideas. That’s why Sam Jackson’s Nick Fury can simply watch action from the sidelines (occasionally firing off a gunshot or an epithet), pretending to be a leader in his ghetto eye patch. (Insert convenient Obama comment here.)

Director Joss Whedon brings TV squalor (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) to his big screen superhero debut. Whedon doesn’t have Zack Snyder’s personal style, the élan that at least made Watchmen and Sucker Punch thoroughly idiosyncratic and fitfully compelling.

Whedon directs impersonally, which is to say he manages the proceedings as one runs

a fast-food joint.

This analogy ought to appall the very fast-food patrons who flock to The Avengers, yet cannot accept that an artistic enterprise should be more than ground patties of optional substance. Like Whedon, they can’t tell the difference between art and conviction-less product.

This proves the brainwashing that has happened to pop audiences in the generations since comic books and TV stole their imaginations from cinema and literature.

Much of this tragedy has to do with the impact of TV (Whedon’s background), which has destroyed popular understanding of narrative complexity.

Each superhero should represent overcoming some social difficulty; now they’re just gimmicks. Whedon simply makes the action go on and on. He has no sense of dramatic build or rising to a climax. He overloads the spectator with one climax after another (imitating Michael Bay angles, particularly the same skyscraper-devouring turbine f/x from the last Transformers flick).

Unlike the lyrical teen fantasy Chronicle or Neveldine/Taylor’s daring Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, which addressed life, death and morality, Marvel’s The Avengers has little to say other than “Buy me!” Millions of mentally hijacked moviegoers will respond like Pavlov’s dog, barking “Wow!”

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Dining

Why Is Kosher Wine So Bad? Jewish wines that are delicious and complex do exist Passover has come and gone already this year, but if there’s one question that I get more than any other from my fellow Jews, it is this: “Why is kosher wine so bad?”

It could almost be added as the fifth question in the Passover haggadah.

Wine is a central part of Jewish culture.

It is prayed over during the weekly Shabbat, drunk under the chuppa during the exchange of vows, and sipped with relish during many festivals. It would stand to reason that, given how much vino we are required to drink, Jews should probably make the best wine there is.

This is, very sadly, far from true.

Well, I am here to Let My People Go ...or at least their palates. Kosher wine doesn’t have to taste like the remnants of a Smucker’s grape jelly jar. It can be drinkable and, yes, even delicious and complex.

The fundamental thing to know about kosher wine is that there are two basic

types: mevushal, and non-mevushal. It is usually the mevushal wines that have given kosher wine a bad name. The process of making a mevushal wine entails flash pasteurization. In a nutshell, due to the intricacies of rabbinic laws concerning kosher diet, any wine that is made and handled by a gentile (or a non-Sabbathobservant Jew), cannot be considered kosher. The wine, however, can be “purified” by boiling it. It only need boil

By Josh Perilo for a split second, but boil it must. After that, it can be served by a gentile and still be considered kosher.

This would all be well and good if heat weren’t wine’s number one enemy.

Raising the vino’s temperature to that point, even for a split second, drastically changes the flavor of the wine and robs it of most of its unique characteristics.

Drink a little bit of this stuff, and your taste buds will feel as repressed as the protagonist of a Philip Roth novel.

Non-mevushal wines, however, are

made completely by Sabbath-observant Jews. By doing this, there is no need to “purify” the wine. Strict kosher observant Jews will only allow other Sabbathobserving Jews to serve this wine to them, to avoid breaking kosher law. If you are serving this wine for a Jewish holiday, however, this will most likely not be an issue.

Making non-mevushal wine is much easier to do in Israel, where keeping kosher is not only a way of life, but the norm. And it just so happens that grapes have been grown and wine has been made in Israel for thousands of years.

One of my absolute favorite producers in Israel is Tishbi. Their Tishbi Cabernet Sauvignon / Petite Syrah, 2010 ($11.99 at Crush Wine & Spirits, 153 E. 57th St. btwn. Lexington and 3rd, 212-980-WINE), rivals any Cali-cab I’ve had in the same price range. It has tons of pipe tobacco and leather scents, with big, bold cherry fruit flavors, and the 30 percent Petite Syrah gives it a peppery finish.

If you’re looking for a bold kosher white wine that can hold its own, look no further than Golan Vineyards’ eponymous

Golan Chardonnay, 2010 ($15.99 at Beacon Wines & Spirits, 2120 Broadway btwn. 74th and 75th Sts., 646-213-0776).

This is a no-nonsense chardonnay with just enough spice, vanilla and tropical fruit flavors. For those who love the unctuous mouth-feel of Napa style chardonnay, you will absolutely fall in love with the flavor profile on this great white.

For something sweet and light to finish off any Jewish celebration, try Dalton’s Sweet Muscato, 2010 ($12.99 at www. hudsonvalleywinesandliquors.com).

From the Galilee area of Israel, Dalton’s slightly fizzy Muscato shows that kosher wine can be sweet and interesting at the same time. Ripe peach, tangerine and honey flavors are balanced by an effervescence that keeps the sweetness from being overbearing.

Above all, always make sure to check that the wine you are buying is a nonmevushal. Many producers make both mevushal and non-mevushal versions of their products. While this is by no means an epicurean stamp of approval across the board, it will at least ensure that it hasn’t been boiled.

Now, if we can just do something about that gefilte fish.

Follow Josh on Twitter: @joshperilo.

German for Children NEW YORK STATE ACCREDITED AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM • LOW TUITION • AP GERMAN PREP Minimum Age: Four Years Children’s Class Meets Once A Week From 4:30 - 6:15pm No Previous German Required Classes Start In September

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Piano Camp Fun, Nurturing Teaching Style Ages 4-16, AM/PM Sessions Camp include*8 Private Lessons *Group Ensemble *Self-Expression *Music History

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new york family

Registry Rescue

10 tips for taking the stress out of the baby checklist (plus, some products picks from the pros)

By Leah Black

O

ne of the first thoughts to strike a new parent—after feelings of joy, of course—is just how much stuff their new bundle of cuteness requires.

Hence, the baby registry: a smart way to keep track of baby’s needs while providing loved ones with the chance to give you something they know you’ll love. But creating a baby registry can be an overwhelming process. I remember standing in the middle of buybuy BABY with my all-powerful laser gun, frozen with indecision over which changing pad to scan.

There’s just so much stuff out there—and every parent wants the best. To help the overstressed parent-to-be, we asked for 10 tips from the registry experts.

1. Start earLy “This gives you plenty of time to consider your choices and change your mind,” says Ali Wing, founder and CEO of giggle, who recommends registering four or five months before your due date. “It also allows for proper lead time on larger items and special orders,” she adds.

And if the baby comes early, you’ll be glad everything is taken care of!

2. USe Starter checkLiStS “Let someone else do the homework for you,” says Wing. Rather than beginning your registry from scratch, use checklists available at stores like giggle and community websites like thebump.com to help jumpstart the process—they outline the basic gear and clothing that newborns need.

3. taLk to other new parentS With so many products on the mar-

Hot Tip of the Week

Essentially Ellington Head to Lincoln Center this weekend to see 15 of the best high school jazz bands from around the country battle it out in the 17th Annual Essentially Ellington Competition & Festival. The competitive concerts on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning are free but tickets are required! The three finalists will perform on Sunday evening at a paid ticketed show. For more information, visit jalc.org.

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ket, it can be confusing to discern what you truly need. Asking new moms and dads who’ve been there can help. “They can tell you what was great, what worked for them and what they thought was pointless,” says Ingrid Prueher, founder of NYC Baby Planner.

4. toUch and feeL “It’s important to try out what you’re getting,” says Prueher. Sure, you don’t have to leave your home to create a registry, but it’s a good idea. A baby blanket may appear luxuriously soft on your computer screen, but have a very different texture when you get your hands on it.

5. comBine SeveraL regiStrieS into one Most parents end up registering at several stores. To make life easier for you and gift-givers, consolidate all your registries into one place by using a website like amazingregistry.com, recommends Prueher.

6. Strike a BaLance Between now and Later “The amount of clothes we get for newborns is crazy because they outgrow them so quickly,” says Prueher. Instead of registering for countless onesies, include toddler gear like a high chair or umbrella stroller you’ll need later.

7. don’t StreSS over price pointS “Unlike bridal registries, it’s typical for a baby registry to have a lot of smaller items and everyday essentials,” says Wing. Choosing items with a range of prices lets you accommodate all budgets.

Include splurges, too. “You never know when friends or family might want to go in together on a gift!” she says.

8. regiSter for gift cardS If you’re unsure of what to register for, include a few gift cards. Family and friends are often happy to give them and “it leaves room for items you may need later on [after the baby is born],” says Wing.

9. don’t keep yoUr regiStry a Secret People want to give you something you’ll use, so don’t be shy about spreading the word about your registry.

Take advantage of stores that have insert cards for shower invitations, recommends Wing. “Or ask to see if they have an e-mail template so you can send notifications

from their websites,” she says.

10. rememBer what’S important In the end, what’s on your registry isn’t going to make or break your life

as a new parent. “Babies need a home, they need to be loved, to be changed and fed, and they need a certain amount of clothes,” says Prueher. “Everything else is just accessories.”

Spruce Up Any Registry With Hand-Picked Items From The Pros MOST POPULAR ERGObaby Performance Carrier. This new model is one-third lighter than the standard ERGO carrier and allows babies to be cradled with both legs to one side. (thebump.com) UPPAbaby Vista Stroller in Pink. Features both a bassinet and seat, folds super-easily and comes in a color exclusive to this store. (buybuy BABY) Baby Brezza One Step Baby Food Maker. Load food and water into the machine, pick a steam time and get a healthy baby puree in minutes. (Babies “R” Us)

THE TODDLER YEARS Chicco 360 Hook-On High Chair. It swivels 360 degrees, is machine-washable and folds up into a carry bag. (thebump.com) Britax Marathon 70 XE Convertible Car Seat. Grows with your child from birth to 70 pounds. (buybuy BABY) Chicco Polly Magic High Chair. This sturdy high chair has a snap-on tray and fits baby from the newborn stage to the toddler years. (Babies “R” Us) UPPAbaby G-Luxe Stroller. A lightweight umbrella stroller with a convenient carry strap and great sun canopy. (Albee Baby)

NEW MOM INDULGENCE NEW & COOL Beaba Bib’Expresso.

It Joovy Groove Stroller.

Britax Marathon 70 XE may look like a chic espresso A great value, the Groove Convertible Car Seat machine but this one actually umbrella stroller is availlets moms prepare a bottle of able in four colors and can be used with babies as young as three formula milk (or warm up breast milk) at the perfect temperature in just 90 seconds. months old. (buybuy BABY) Boon Naked Collapsible Baby Bathtub. (thebump.com) Belli Best Baby Bump Duo. Pregnant Can be reclined to cradle a newborn and colmoms will love these two luxurious and nonlapses flat for easy storage. (thebump.com) Magnificent Baby Layette. A luxuri- toxic products: Elasticity Belly Oil and All ously soft layette with magnetic enclosures Day Moisture Body Lotion. (buybuy BABY) Monte Design Joya Rocker. A modern that make changing baby a breeze. (buybuy rocker that mom will use beyond the baby BABY) Chewbeads Jewelry. Stylish necklaces years. (giggle) Timi & Leslie Diaper Bag. A stylish way for mom made of colorful, non-toxic beads to carry baby essentials. (Albee Baby) baby can teethe on. (Albee Baby)

N EW S YO U LIV E B Y

Summer Connections at Dwight-Englewood School

iculum amic Curr n y D • n io struct • Expert In s ie it il c a ss F World-Cla Summer Connections at Dwight-Englewood School engages students of all ages in exploratory learning in areas such as robotics, photography, soccer, journalism, and more. For scholars looking for Carnegie school credit, there are a variety of courses to enjoy in math, science, and English. Our smallest campers discover the joy of learning with the help of a full day of guided activities by caring and experienced teachers and counselors. The modular schedule makes scheduling an enriching summer convenient and exciting. We invite you to connect to a different community, to your teachers, and to your inner passion.

(Transportation and After Care are available.)

315 East Palisade Avenue Englewood, NJ 07631 (201) 569-9500 ext. 3501

NYC’s Best & Most Flexible Sports Day Camps!

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TAKE YOUR GAME TO THE NEXT LEVEL! • Players learn in small groups with energetic and experienced coaches.

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Space very limited Visit www.KidsofSummer.com or call 917-572-2423 KidsofSummer@Gmail.com O u r T o w n N Y. c o m

Camps run June 18 - August 31 Ages 3-17 years | 14 Sports Camps to Choose from Enroll for 1, 2 or more weeks Instant Online Enrollment | Lunch Provided Transportation & After Care Available

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May 3, 2012

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camps

From Active to Artsy A guide to summer day camps

By Meghan Gearino, Kat Harrison and Elizabeth Raymond

I

f you tally all of the day camps in the city along with all of the day camps within an hour’s drive, you have an extraordinary menu of summer experiences. From traditional day camps that offer a mix of sports, crafts and field trips, to camps that devote more of their day to culture, music and other specialties, chances are you can find a camp that’s a good fit for your child depending on his or her age and interests.

If you have a child 4 years old or younger who is not ready for a full day of camp, much less a full summer, day camps typically offer sessions that are just a few hours a day and one or two weeks long. If you have an older child, he or she might be ready (and you might be, too) to be put them on a bus in the morning to a camp outside of city, so they can have fun in a more rural setting and perhaps take the first step in the direction of a sleepaway camp experience.

For info on academic day camps, read our recent educational day camp guide at www.NYPress.com. Visit www.

NewYorkFamily.com for more on day camps.

Whatever you decide is right for your child, there is one standard where you should not compromise: Camp should be fun, and your child should feel like he or she is making friends. If that’s not happening, it ain’t the right camp—keep looking!

GENERAL-INTEREST DAY CAMPS IN NEW YORK CITY It’s important to keep kids active when school’s out for the summer. The Summer Breeze Day Camp by Gymtime Rhythm & Glues and York Avenue Preschool is a perfect choice, letting young campers tuck & roll in a state-of-the-art gym while cooking and enjoying library time. And with a new facility in Battery Park City, Summer Day Camp at Asphalt Green has everything from T-ball to martial arts, with weekly trips to popular venues like the Bronx Zoo and Liberty Science Center.

Speaking of animals, the Art Farm in the City is a diamond in the rough for city kids, with its on-site petting zoo and specialization in animal care. They organize the summer by themes like “Tropical

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Excursion,” “Circus Mania” and “Wild Wild West.” Special days like pajama and BBQ day dot The Mandell School’s Explorer Camp schedule, where all of the counselors are experienced teachers. Or you can give your tot a head start on the camp experience with Poppyseed PreNursery. This mini-camp allows you to join your toddler for picnics, singing and painting.

For an all-around summer camp experience, look no further than Bank Street Summer Camp. Depending on their age, kids can partake in swimming, fishing, Spanish immersion and cabaret. A summer at Camp Léman features woodworking, silly science experiments and a rooftop playground. With multi-borough locations, Oasis Day Camp spotlights field trips and special guests. Plus, kids can get pumped up every morning with cheers and a song—classic camp-style.

Thespians and dance aficionados ages 5-10 will love the Babes on Broadway camp by Discovery Programs whereas the LIU Children’s Academy Summer Camp leads children in a different direction, offering robotics, fashion design, cinema and comic book creation.

GENERAL-INTEREST DAY CAMPS OUTSIDE THE CITY Quintessentially summer, Woodmont Day Camp offers performing arts, athletics, and arts and crafts for each of its age-appropriate “villages.” Looking for a nurturing Jewish environment? The Neil Klatskin Day Camp will take your kiddo boating, hiking and even host a few carnivals. If your child is ready to unleash his or her creative side, don’t miss Gate Hill Day Camp for jewelry-making, tiedye and ceramics. North Shore Day Camp also provides woodworking and leather arts. For something off the wall, Buckley Country Day Camp offers special events such as a camp-wide talent show, Olympics Week and pony rides.

Can’t get your fish out of the water?

Pierce Country Day Camp has their very own sprayground and water park with below-ground geysers and fountains, and also offers water ballet and volleyball lessons. Only 35 minutes from Manhattan, The JCC’s Day Camp @ Pearl River offers twice-a-day swimming with a slide just for the big kids.

Future farmers should check out The Nature Place Day Camp, which houses a

chicken coop, beehives and composting piles. Located in White Plains, Mohawk Day Camp (pictured) has an onsite farm with chickens, cows and peacocks alongside Mohawk Day Camp. gardens and an apple orchard. If petting zoos, gardening and fishing is more your child’s forte, check out Spring Lake Day Camp.

For the athletic-minded, Deer Mountain Day Camp provides all things fencing, archery, rugby, cricket and GaGa. In New Rochelle, Mount Tom Day Camp features a menu of more traditional sports such as kickball, football, golf and tennis. The New York YMCA Camp offers adventurous outdoor adrenaline rushes on their ropes courses, with some fast-flung archery in between. And the 92YCamps not only offer soccer, a minizipline and skateboarding activities, the fun is a mere 20-minute bus ride away.

SPECIALTY DAY CAMPS

Thematic A haven for children ages 3 to 4, Camp Apple Seeds engages kids in activities like cooking and dramatic play according to weekly themes such as “American Road Trip” and “Make Believe.” Running for 11 weeks, the Summer Days Camp at 74th St. MAGIC provides a plush, private rooftop for outdoor play—a boon for “Growing in the Garden” week. At Kidville, we’re especially tickled by the Fairy Princess and Superhero Training camps which let storybook heroes and heroines come to life for little ones. And then it’s all about the sea and stars at Camp Intrepid, where campers ages 5 to 13 can curate their own exhibits, speak like a swashbuckler and explore the next frontier.

Life skills It’s never too soon to get your child prepared for the “real world.” She could be the next Donna Karan thanks to SewHo’s summer camp, which teaches a variety of hand and machine sewing skills through projects like pillows, handbags and American Girl doll apparel. The Textile Arts Center of Manhattan is offering two camps this sun-filled season— one concentrated on weaving and another on the surface design of textiles, which includes printing and dyeing. Worth every

penny, the nonprofit organization World of Money offers a three-week Youth Financial Literacy Training Institute program for campers ages 7-18 and teaches necessary financial skills such as budgeting, investing and money management.

Multi-sport With low coach-to-camper ratios, your budding athlete (of any sport) is sure to succeed in the age-divided Kids in Sports summer sessions, which also feature storytime and arts & crafts. Or join the Sports Academy at Chelsea Piers for a roster that includes volleyball and European team handball, among the usual sporty suspects. At Corbin’s Crusaders Day Camp—located a mere 25 minutes from the city—ultimate Frisbee, archery, GaGa, and Go-Kart fun will fill the hours.

Tennis Dust off those racquets! The Advantage Sea & Sports Camp gives your athlete a chance to play on the beautiful Maritime College waterfront and provides your child with 4 to 6 hours of instruction and practice, with an optional swim time.

Another great option is the 2012 Excel Summer Camp by the John McEnroe Tennis Academy and SPORTIME Randall’s Island. Along with intensive instruction and technique development, campers can also participate in tennis-specific crosstraining like soccer and ultimate Frisbee.

Soccer Just in time for Euro 2012, Super Soccer Stars offers various camps, depending on your little kicker’s age and skill set. Summer camp at the Carlos Oliveira Soccer Academy focuses on both individual skills and fundamentals of team play. This Brazilian-style soccer camp on the Upper West Side is available for half or full days.

Baseball Boost your slugger’s sense of sportsmanship and teamwork with the Baseball continued on page 26 N EW S YO U LIV E B Y

June 24th – August 11th

• Traditional Program, an Active, Outdoorsy Camp!

• Good, Safe, Fun In-Camp Activities, Sports & Trips • Child-Centered, Low-stress, Non-denominational • All-Inclusive, Mid-Range Tuition, Budgetable • All Staff are Background Checked Yearly Check us out! Lots to see at

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R.C. Swim Classes!

Discover June 25 – August 3 • For PreK – Grade 12 • Academic and arts enrichment • Adventures in sports and healthy living • Leadership development and international explorations

Summer Connections

at Dwight-Englewood School 315 E. Palisade Avenue • Englewood, NJ 201-569-9500, ext. 3501 www.d-e.org/summer O u r T o w n N Y. c o m

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camps continued from page

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Center NYC’s summer program—which includes both indoor and outdoor segments of pitching, hitting, fielding and base running. And develop a real love for the game through On Deck NY with skillbuilding drills and daily competitions in Central Park.

Gymnastics Tiny tumblers should somersault their way to Jodi’s Gym (pictured) for parachute play and hands-on art fun for a summer camp where music usually reigns at the beginning of each day. And with two locations, NYC Elite offers families a full or half day option to experience a world of swimming, balance beams and storytime.

Jodi’s Gym.

Dance

Cooking Addicted to the Food Network? With 13 delectable themes, Taste Buds is offering a new Iron Chef Camp this summer where young gourmands will learn how to whip up treats and compete with their fellow campers. If you’re looking to instill a sense of food responsibility in your child, consider Butter Beans Food and Garden Camp so they can explore farmers markets, create their own sweet jam and write a cookbook utilizing a farmto-table philosophy. Home Cooking New York’s summer camp in Chelsea is a stellar introduction to kitchen basics as well as to cuisines from all around the globe.

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Art Unique in its location, we think Children’s Museum of the Arts’ Summer Art Colony on Governors Island is an escape all in its own. Kids can explore an NYC treasure while creating a few artistic keepsakes to take home. At HiArt’s Culture Bugs Surreal Summer Camp, creative types are introduced to the world of surrealism and bookmaking. Escape the heat and head to Kids at Art for half-day workshops offering the best in maskmaking, clay molding and papier-mâché technique. And Make Meaning’s Creative Escapes program lets campers go on an artistic staycation, drawing inspiration from global cultures and test tubes.

Culminating in a Friday family performance, the Joffrey Ballet School’s Summer Dance Camp lets its youngest dancers recreate the greatest stage stories of all time with basic movement concepts and DIY costumes. The Explore Dance program at The School at Steps caters to those who love the entire spectrum of movement—from hip-hop to tap—and lets them mix and match the styles they like into an ideal schedule. For dancers ages 6-12, Peridance Capezio Center is offering an August Dance Camp combining jazz, ballet and salsa, as well as elements of dance history and choreography. And for those who already have at least a year of classical ballet training under their belt, the New York Theatre Ballet offers its Summer Dance Camp complete with field trips to break up the intensive training.

Prospective campers must be between the ages of 7 and 10 and must audition in order to attend.

Applause NYC’s weeklong Musical Theater Intensives give your kids the chance to learn stage techniques, song placement and costume design in the presence of a Broadway star. If your little one’s interest lies more in the arena of choreography, Vital Theatre’s Junior

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Performance Camp gives your child a chance to work one-on-one with a professional choreographer and learn all the right moves. A guaranteed good time, the Kids Weeks at the New Victory Theater range from circus tricks to puppetry to playwriting. Performers ages 6-15 get the bonus swank of a major concert hall by attending the Summer Musical Theater Workshop by the Lucy Moses School.

And at TADA! Youth Theater, the themed weeks (we’re especially intrigued by (“Broadway Bieber”) culminate in an original camper composition.

Music Stationed in Chelsea, the Kids at Work summer camp offers up an awesome blend of age- appropriate music and artistic activities for your groovy kiddos to engage in. Perfect for preschoolers, the Diller-Quaile School of Music is offering an Early Childhood Preschool Music and Art Program this June. Take in summertime music, engage in creative play and catch special concerts all before heading home. If you have more of a rocker on your hands, Day Jams lets rhythmic children learn and perfect their skills on guitar, bass, drums vocals and keyboard under the tutelage of a music pro.

N EW S YO U LIV E B Y

Camps Pequot (for boys) and Sherwood (for girls) comprise Incarnation, America’s oldest co-ed camp. The essence of a traditional summer camp remains the same over the years: a nurturing environment, outdoor excitement, and discovery. The chief nurturing for campers is through the friendships formed at camp. Themed days, swims classes, tennis, sailing, campfires and more provide a setting which nurtures the camper-to-camper bond. Along with the growth of friendships is the nurturing of values. At Incarnation, our emphasis on community, respect, and friendship, brings together campers from diverse faiths, cultures, and ethnic backgrounds. We hope to see you this summer!

PequotSherwood.org 860.767.0848 Ivoryton, CT

PequotSherwood.org It’s not too late for Camp 2012!

860.767.0848 Ivoryton, CT

Ask us about great deals available at America’s oldest co-ed camp O u r T o w n N Y. c o m

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CLASSI FI E DS Classified Advertising Department Information Telephone: 212-268-0384 | Fax: 212-268-0502 | Email: advertising@manhattanmedia.com Hours: Monday - Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm | Deadline: Monday 12 noon for same weeks’ issue

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MAnhATTAn ExPRESS DELIVERy Moving & Delivery Servicing NY/ NJ/ CT $10 OFF Furniture Delivery $100 OFF Moving Jobs over $800 CALL: (646) 509-8181

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Replace window and door screens.

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DRIVERS CDL-A: yOuR CuRREnT 10-20 hAVE yOu DOWn? Why not Get Home, Get Paid, 2012 tractors/trailers to boot? 888-219-8040

PUBLIC NOTICE

Notice is hereby given pursuant to law, that the NYC Dept. of Consumer Affairs will hold a Public Hearing on Wednesday, May 9th, 2012 at 2:00 pm, at 66 John St. 11th floor on a petition from 83rd/Amsterdam Restaurant Corp. to continue to, maintain, and operate an unenclosed sidewalk café at 477 Amsterdam Avenue in the Borough of Manhattan, for a term of two years.

(Requests for copies of the proposed revocable consent agreement may be addressed to DCA, Attn: Foil officer, 42 Broadway, NY, NY 10004)

Request for Bids:

LOOKING TO BUY

SALE OF FOOD FROM MOBILE FOOD UNITS AT CENTRAL PARK AND THEODORE ROOSEVELT PARK

WE Buy ESTATES, WE Buy PARTIAL AnD EnTIRE COnTEnTS OF APARTMEnTS. We buy art and antiques, collectibles and jewelry, modern design and vintage clothes.

We buy all kinds of collections and curious things. We are professional, experienced and knowledgeable, and yes we pay more. Call 212-260-1851 or visit www.brooklynbridgebuyers.com

All bids for this RFB must be submitted no later than Wednesday, May 30, 2012 at 11:00 a.m.

For more information, contact: Glenn Kaalund, Project Manager, Division of Revenue and Concessions, 830 Fifth Avenue, the ArsenalCentral Park, Room 407, New York, NY 10065 or call (212) 360-1397 or to download the RFB, visit http://www.nyc.gov/parks/business opportunities and click on the “Concessions Opportunities at Parks” link. Once you have logged in, click on the “download” link that appears adjacent to the RFB’s description. You can also email him at glenn.kaalund@parks.nyc.gov.

Prevent being alone during a medical emergency.

CALL JACQuELyn AT 646645-7616 to discuss putting an affordable 24 hr. personal Medical Alarm System for protection in your home and through your cell phone. (Nationwide Distributor)

BUY/SELL Place your ad here. 212-268-0384

OUR TOWN

MARKETInG DIRECTOR-PARTnER, Biomedical Engineering co. is looking for an experienced, motivated & results-oriented marketing expert to be part of our fast-growing firm. We have a unique niche, specializing in restoring diagnostic medical equipment that are no longer being supported by their manufacturers, but are still viable & acceptable for medical use.

We are looking for a marketing guru who will help us expand our client base on a national level. Compensation will be based on your experience & yur propsed strategy to begin with & then increased based on your results. DO NOT SEND A RESUME. Send bullet points outlining why you are qualified for this position: cv@medequitech.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR/COnTEnT PRODuCER at Sirius XM Radio Create, produce and edit content for siriusxm.com, & contribute to mobile web site. Bachelor’s preferred. Min 5 yrs web producing/content creation in media.

Please apply at https://careers-siriusxm. icims.com/jobs/7121/job.

On-AIR hOST, MuSIC PROGRAMMInG at Sirius XM Radio Responsible for researching content for daily broadcasts, engaging social mediums, and serving as backup for lead host. Minimum 1 yr experience producing, running audio board and editing recorded material. Please apply at https://careers-siriusxm.icims.com/ jobs/7369/job EDITOR/BOARD OPERATOR at Sirius XM Radio Operates studio sound equipment during Howard 101 specialty programming. At least 1 year experience producing, running audio board and editing recorded material. Please apply at https://careers-siriusxm.icims.com/ jobs/7365/job.

♥ hEALTh CARE ADVISOR ♥

TELECOMMUNICATION DEVICE FOR THE DEAF (TDD) 212-504-4115

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CALL TO ADVERTISE 212-268-0384

POLICY NOTICE: We make every effort to avoid mistakes in your classified ads. Check your ad the first week it runs. We will only accept responsibility for the first incorrect insertion. Manhattan Media Classifieds assumes no financial responsibility for errors or omissions. We reserve the right to edit, reject, or re-classify any ad. Contact your sales rep directly for copy changes. All classified ads are pre-paid.

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PARK AVENUE – SHARED SPACE Interior, exterior and corner offices.

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Flexible plans. Private offices $1450/up.

Virtual offices $90/month. www.410park.com Call 212-231-8500

CARD GAMES

CAnASTA Enjoy lunch at a lovely neighborhood restaurant and for dessert ....CANASTA! For info call Shelli Leifer 212 472-2000 or email CanastaLadies@aol.comCan’t wait to get started! Lessons available.

CARPET CLEANING

CARPETS & uPhOLSTERy professionally steam-cleaned. 20 years experience. JP Carpet. 212-831-1189

REAL ESTATE

ThInKInG OF MOVInG TO COnnECTICuT? Full-time and Vacation homes. 15 years exp. selling in Fairfield County, CT. Rob Grodman, Realtor. The Riverside Realty Group. 203-952-6117 www.RobGrodman.com email: westportagent@hotmail.com TOWnhOuSE FOR SALE (nEW yORK) 3 Bedrooms / 1 Full Bath.

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Searching for Answers in the Sands of Time Childhood is where the seed of corrupt politicians is planted

By Alan S. Chartock A long, long time ago, I spent the summers on Fire Island with my family. My best friend, now passed, was Jon Lipsky, who went on to develop a tremendous reputation as a teacher and a playwright of the first order. His older brother, Michael, became an eminent professor at MIT and a formidable administrator at the Ford Foundation. Their younger brother, David, became a scientist and was largely responsible for the New York City water supply. Their father, Eleazar, was the author of many important novels and an assistant district attorney in the office of the legendary DA Frank Hogan.

My friend’s cousins included the son and daughter of a publicist, “Uncle David.”

Publicist David Lipsky’s daughter, Lisa, ran the Fire Island movie house. The youngest son, young enough for me not to have really known him, was Richard Lipsky. I just remember Richard as a little kid with his stomach hanging out over a bathing suit, walking barefoot in Ocean Beach. For a while it looked like Richard would follow in the footsteps of his distinguished cousins. He did well at college and then went on to earn a Ph.D. in political science.

The next time I heard about Richard Lipsky, I was publishing The Legislative Gazette in Albany and teaching at SUNY

CommUnitY Soapbox Use Your Horse Sense

My country horses (“Horses Can’t Cope,” April 26) have never been in an airconditioned or heated building; they don’t have sprinklers in the field, nor do they have fan-waving slave boys to feed them bonbons while they lounge in their hay beds and fret over the next week’s weather forecast. They are coping just fine living pretty much as horses have for a long, long time— only without the fear of being dinner to a saber-toothed tiger.

Horses grow a thicker coat in winter and shed it in spring; come summer, they sweat.

They accept weather without questions or self-pity. So stop projecting. When horses are not visible near Central Park, it does not mean that they are now riding around in airconditioned taxicabs.

—Sarah Bellepeppa

Stalwart Fighter

At the risk of sounding like a mutual admi-

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New Paltz and Albany. Instead of sticking with an academic career, Richard became a lobbyist and enjoyed some success. He was terrific at gaming the press.

He would call the editors and offer them tidbits and stories. Like his dad, he had a temper. Eventually, his success as a lobbyist began to wane, and he fell in with Carl Kruger, the man I have always called the “Bad Kruger.” The “Good Krueger” is Sen. Liz Krueger, a brilliant public servant who seems earnestly devoted to the public good. The Bad Kruger is a complicated man, apparently shaped by a very hard childhood. Today he is seemingly uncommitted to contemporary ethical standards. As you probably know by now, the Bad Kruger took a turn for the worse when he deserted his professional responsibilities and went on the take. People would go to a designated lobbyist—none other than the kid in the bathing suit, Richard Lipsky—and give him money to put the fix in with the Bad Kruger, who would make things happen. When the FBI apprehended Richard Lipsky, there was money all over his home at the prestigious Normandy apartments on the West Side.

This is all a matter of public record.

Both the Bad Kruger and Richard Lipsky were caught so red-handed that denial was impossible. They both pleaded guilty

and are off to prison. Both made a public show of remorse. At his sentencing, the lawyer for the Bad Kruger made the defense that his client wasn’t as bad as some of the others in politics. I am sure that this did not sit well with the members of the Legislature. The U.S. district judge in the case, Jed S. Rakoff, took note of the good things that the Bad Kruger had done and let him off with a lighter sentence than the federal prosecutors were seeking. Richard Lipsky, the little kid in the blue bathing suit, will also go to prison.

I guess the point is that when you see some kid on the beach, maybe sucking his thumb, it’s possible that 50 years later that kid may turn out to be a brain surgeon or he may turn out to be a crook.

The whole thing gives me the shivers.

When I talked to my best friend Jon just before he passed and mentioned what was happening to his cousin Richard, Jon said, “Yeah, I know.” I’ve been wondering whether he saw it coming.

Unlike others who have no empathy, I just hate to see this happen to anyone.

If you look into the childhoods of Carl Kruger and Richard Lipsky, you might find some clues about what was going to happen.

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

The best comments from NYPress.com

ration society, I want to thank Bette Dewing for her kind words about me in her March 15 column (“Trails That Need Following”). Given that she has been a tireless, stalwart advocate for pedestrian and bike safety for decades, I am humbled by her praise.

I also want to add two comments to her discussion of bike safety, particularly delivery bikes.

First, I spent over an hour watching food delivery bikes go back and forth in the West 80s, after sundown. Not one single bike had a headlight. Not one. And less than half had any bell or other warning device. Although this may be “low-hanging fruit,” this certainly gives police officers something concrete on which to write summonses on an ongoing basis.

Second, with respect to the motor-assisted bicycles and fully motorized mopedstyle delivery bikes that are spreading like kudzu—and are dangerous not only because they make no sound (and have

greater weight with which to cause injury), but also because their riders are engaging in illegal practices such as going through red lights and traveling the wrong way on oneway streets—these bikes are already illegal under Section 19-176.2 of the New York City Administrative Code. And the NYPD Legal Department is about to make formal ruling as to whether they can be used at all. If they rule that those bikes cannot be used, I strongly urge the NYPD to engage in a concerted campaign to not only summon those who use the illegal bikes—as well as the restaurant owners who allow their use—but to actively confiscate them. A few weeks of serious crackdown, including summonses and confiscations, is the only thing likely to get restaurant owners to cease using these silent menaces.

—Ian Alterman Upper West Side The writer is president of the 20th Precinct Community Council

N EW S YO U LIV E B Y

MOORe tHOuGHtS

Smoking Mad About the Neighbors Bloomberg takes his anti-cigarette campaign right into your co-op

By Christopher Moore Their selfishness literally seeps through the vents into our apartments.

Oh, sure, I believe people have a legal right to smoke in their homes—if they keep their smoke within the confines of their apartments.

That rarely happens. So let’s think about a great big new inthe-apartment smoking ban. At least in my building.

Granted, I’m cranky. My clothes smell like I’ve been clubbing in the 1980s. Is there a vent in my closet that I don’t know about? Beyond my space, I noticed a few minutes ago while in the laundry room that the odor there shifts from that Tide smell to the building workers’ cigarettes.

There will be no cessation in the smoking debate in this town. Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently unveiled the latest front in what amounts to his administra-

tive war. He wants city apartment buildings officially to go on record as to whether smoking is permitted in all indoor and outdoor locations, including—here’s the fun part—inside apartments.

Some smokers are horrified their mayor is reaching into their apartments.

Not me. I’m thrilled that rude behavior hostile to my health is finally up for debate. These days, I like the idea of a building where nobody is smoking, not even the scuzzy-looking people by the front door. Those folks always seem like they walked out of The Grapes of Wrath. These untouchables seem so displaced that I almost feel sorry for them. Almost.

Mostly, these days, I feel sorry for me.

Cause I cannot even figure out where the smoke is coming from. Granted, I’m not alone. The building management sent out an announcement last month about the issue. “Many neighbors have voiced con-

cerns over the smoke that comes through the vents, doorways and windows of neighbors who smoke cigarettes,” the flier said. “Secondhand smoke is extremely dangerous for asthmatics, the elderly and especially young children.”

Oh, asthma. Did I mention I was diagnosed with asthma after a couple of years in my building? Anyway, the building flier had three tips for residents: Smoke outside of the building; use a “smokeless ashtray,” something I’m skeptical about, especially since the jerks in my building are not buying them; or “quit—that’s the healthiest option for everyone.”

Critics, citing Bloomberg’s no-smoking policy in restaurants and bars and now parks, say he’s creating a nanny state. All I know is that I like breathing again. The mayor deserves credit for being largely ahead of his time on these issues. It only takes a visit to a city without these policies for a non-smoker to appreciate Nanny Bloomberg anew.

I get that there is another side to this issue, but there’s so much smoke in my apartment that I cannot see it clearly.

Oh, and not to sound old-fashioned, I’m not thrilled with the marijuana smoke, either. Or, more specifically, the incense on my floor that’s doing a lame-ass job of covering up the marijuana smoke.

Sorry, smokers, but at least I admit to the ugly stuff in the recesses of my mind.

Earlier today I was walking on West 38th Street. Strolling behind a smoker in an ugly jacket (he evidently spends his dough on cigs and not clothes) as the awful smell wafted back toward my nostrils and lungs, I actually began to wonder whether even that awful little moment should be legal. Why should this dude be able to smoke on a busy sidewalk? I want fresh air, or the nearest possible approximation offered in this big town.

This is real life, not an episode of Mad Men. Christopher Moore is a writer living in Manhattan. He’s available by email at ccmnj@aol.com and also on Twitter (@cmoorenyc).

citiquette

Don’t Show Me Yours, I Won’t Show You Mine Boundaries in the Big City

By Jeanne Martinet “Hey, you have a really great apartment!” would ordinarily be a very nice thing to hear. But when this particular sentence is uttered by a shirtless stranger leaning out of a window directly across the airshaft from your apartment, that is a whole other thing.

This is what happened to me one day when I was washing my kitchen window; I had the window pane swiveled all the way inward and the screen all the way up, and consequently I was very visible.

“You sure work late,” the man added, calling out across the 20 feet that separated our buildings and smiling in a discomfiting manner. “You must be the hardestworking woman in the city.” It took me a second to realize the implication—that he had been watching me. A lot. (I do tend to write rather late, but ew.)

However, besides the obvious Peeping Tom “ick” factor, there was another basic transgression involved here. This man had broken the unwritten law most New Yorkers live by; he had destroyed the illusion of privacy that is necessary for our peace of mind. n y pr e s s. c o m

Since we are almost always surrounded by people, we erect make-believe walls and pretend we are not seeing and hearing all that we do. This is a social contract we have all more or less agreed to. For instance, it is certainly easy to see what the person sitting next to you on the subway is reading, but for the most part you do not comment on it, lest you break into the little “transit cocoon” he has created. People all around us are having personal conversations we pretend not to hear (and which they pretend not to know we can hear)—in lines, on buses, in restaurants, in stores. We have to play the game or the walls will come tumbling down. If every person chimed in to our conversations every time we were on the phone walking down the street, we would lose our minds.

Of course, often we feel drawn into strangers’ conversations when we see commonality—such as when we see someone carrying a program to a play we have just come from. I approve of engaging with strangers; but when it’s fairly

obvious the person is trying to be private (for instance, if she is in her own home, thank you very much!) that is something that needs to be respected. When we are in public, it’s often more acceptable.

There is a certain amount of “mingling” we expect when we are in a situation together with strangers.

It’s when you are not anonymous— and when you are trapped, as you are in the workplace—that this crossing of boundaries can be especially problematic.

People really need their boundaries at the office. I have a friend who works in a newly redesigned office space, where the emphasis of the layout is on openness.

There are cubicles with low partitions in the center and glass offices along the walls. Not only can people sometimes see and hear what is going on inside the glass offices, but also voices throughout the floor seem to carry. So much so that one woman who works in a cubicle—who talks somewhat loudly on the phone— complained of co-workers stationed way over on the other side of the room repeat-

edly coming up to comment on, or offer help regarding, phone calls she had made.

These co-workers did not say, “Sorry, but I could not help overhearing you needed this report”; they just said, “Here’s the info you need.” Now the woman feels that everyone is listening to every word she says, and it is affecting her work.

Cubicles have been the corporate norm for years. But many companies are now configuring their workspaces to be even more “open”—to offer better “flow” and more light. This seems to be the trend. In fact, most new designs—whether they are office innovations or website revamps— seem to reflect the increased connectivity of our modern world, and the decrease in privacy. This means we need our “fake” boundaries more than ever.

I almost always put my blinds down when it gets dark, but I certainly don’t want to be aware of hiding from a specific neighbor. I don’t want to know who is living across the airshaft. I don’t want to know about his life, I don’t want him to know about mine.

Togetherness is wonderful. But a feeling of privacy is essential. So you close your eyes and ears, and I’ll close mine.

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

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