Our Town August 18, 2011

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Continuing Ed: Never too late to learn guitar or piano August 18, 2011

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Notes from the neighborhood Compiled by by Megan Finnegan and Allen Houston

from entering unless they are accompanying children. The woman, who is 73 and lives nearby, says that she often goes to the park to read, and was being bombarded by errant wiffle balls while some young boys were playing baseball.

When she complained to the adult with them, he told her she wasn’t allowed in the park. The woman called the police, but it turns out that Baseball Dad was right—the NYPD followed the parks department rules and led the senior out of the park.

Local advocates have jumped on the story to find out what, exactly, the parks department’s stance is on keeping elderly women reading books away from children, and Our Town will be following up to clarify as well.

MTA AGREES TO KEEP QUIET, SUBMITS NEW BLASTING SCHEDULE After the community repeatedly called for the MTA to cease subway blasting for the Second Avenue line at night, the agency has finally agreed to halt all noisemaking construction after 7 p.m.

But blasting continues, as it must, and will be starting in a new section for what will be the future 86th Street subway station. The controlled blasting, a technique approved by the FDNY, will take place under the east side of Second Avenue at 83rd Street and midblock between 86th and 87th streets, starting mid-August—so, any day now. The MTA says it could blast up to five times a day at each of the two access shafts, with each lasting up to a minute, and could be conducting up to 10 “minor blasts” for “initial testing.”

REAL-LIFE SVU TREATMENT CENTER SEEKS VOLUNTEERS The Crime Victims Treatment Center at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital works with victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. The center is looking for a new crop of volunteers to become rape crisis and domestic violence advocates, working with survivors of these crimes who come to the emergency room for treatment, providing them with crisis counseling, advocacy and support. Potential volunteers must be 18 or older, reside in Manhattan and be able to reach both St. Luke’s (114th Street and Amsterdam Avenue) and Roosevelt (59th Street and 10th Avenue) hospitals within 20 minutes by cab, which the CVTC will pay for.

SENIOR BOOTED OUT OF PARK In a sad twist on a rule meant to protect children from creepy adults, an elderly woman was escorted by police out of Ruppert Park last week simply for being there in the first place. The small, one-acre park on Second Avenue between East 90th and 91st streets has a small playground, and the sign on the gate outside the park prohibits adults

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ULTIMATE GOAL: CLOSE VUDU LOUNGE While some community members shared drinks with troubled club Vudu Lounge’s management last Monday night to find mutual ground on how to work together, other East Siders were looking toward the West for a strategy to permanently shutter the club. The East Siders in question were discussing the closure of the Blue Donkey, a bar on the Upper West Side that shut its doors recently because of a single neighbor’s countless noise complaints about the venue.

“The Vudu Lounge has had their chance to be a good neighbor,” a Community Board 8 member said. “This gives me hope that we’ll figure out a way to close them down someday.”

SECOND AVENUE INSTITUTION MOVES TO FIRST AVENUE The famous Second Avenue Deli opened an Upper East Side outpost this week on First Avenue at East 75th Street. Following the ceremonial cutting of the “nickel

shtickel” (we’re told that’s salami, don’t worry), the new location will serve up the same classic Jewish fare as its Midtown location (where they relocated in 2007 after 50 years in their original landmarked East Village location), including gefilte fish, corned beef, pastrami and what they claim is the world’s best chopped liver.

The 70-seat restaurant is now open Sunday through Thursday, 6 a.m. to midnight, and Friday and Saturday from 6 a.m. to 4 a.m.

CITY UNIVERSITY PULLS IN SMARTIES The City University of New York reports that over 20,000 high school students with grade point averages of 85 or higher applied for freshman slots for the upcoming school year. The figure is more than double the number of top students who applied last year. CUNY’s overall enrollment will grow by about 2 percent for the upcoming academic year, which it attributes to its reputation and affordability in a tough economy.

OUR TOWN ON CB8 SPEAKS A little bird tells us that Our Town editor Allen Houston will be on an upcoming episode of CB8 Speaks, the Time Warner Cable program produced by members of Community Board 8. No date has been set for the program’s airing yet, but those without cable can download the episode from CB8m.com when it becomes available.

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Teaching by the Book

By Daniel Fabiani Some local students are learning the story behind the books.

Behind the Book, based on the Upper West Side, is a nonprofit that brings local authors and illustrators to underserved classrooms throughout the five boroughs. The eight-year-old organization’s goal is motivating kids, Pre-K to 12th grade, to read and write.

“The kids learn without even knowing it, by having fun” said Jo Umans, executive director and founder of Behind the Books. “Connecting the books to the actual school program empowers teachers and strengthens the curriculum, and having the author join in makes it exciting for the students.”

In 2003, Umans left her 25-year career in television and school libraries after she created a project for the Trevor School PTA connecting authors with children in the classroom. The idea stayed in her head and she did some research, finding out that some public schools don’t even have libraries.

“I didn’t know how to begin, but a dogwalking friend of mine wrote me an initial mission statement after hearing me talk about the project—fast-forward, Behind the Book expanded very fast,” Umans said.

The books are supplied for free to classrooms a month before the program starts, with the one requirement being that the book must be read by the teacher and students so they can discuss the work.

Most of the authors are from New York, so students can connect with the authors, many of whom have come from similar backgrounds. Umans said kids especially love the fact that the author might have grown up in their borough or even on their block.

Behind the Book has brought in authors such as Liz Levy, Patricia McCormick, Alex Simmons, New York Times reporter Michael Winerip, Tony Medina, Trish Marx and others. Before the program comes in, a call takes place between the author, teacher and Umans so they can build a curriculum around the selected book and topic.

“We don’t just barge in with our program and put it on the students or teachers—we like to be a team and work together,” Umans added.

In the past year, Behind the Book has visited 89 schools. This year, they have 19 more schools on a waiting list.

Umans said students have told her O u r To w n NY. c o m

that, if it weren’t for Behind the Book, they wouldn’t be reading at all and they particularly appreciate that the books reflect their lives, livening up their interest in reading in general.

“Kids feel more comfortable talking and writing about their own lives with someone who shares the same story,” Umans added.

For more information, visit behindthebook.org.

Award-winning illustrator Brian Pinkney demonstrates his watercolor technique to students at CS 21.

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Vudu, Community Reach Uneasy Truce

By Megan Finnegan Community Board members, local residents, representatives of politicians, a police officer and a nightclub manager all walked into a bar. The mood, unfortunately, was far from jovial as vocal opponents of the nightclub The Vudu Lounge filed into the banquette seats lining the walls and faced off with the club’s manager and owner.

Michael Stein, the general manager at Vudu who says he is present every night the club is open—Thursdays and Fridays, 5 p.m. to 4 a.m., Saturdays, 8 p.m. to 4 a.m., and the occasional Sunday before a holiday Monday—stood in front of community members on Tuesday night in the first of the state-mandated quarterly meetings the club must hold to address neighborhood concerns. He offered everyone who came out, about 25 people, drinks on the house, but there were only a few takers.

Nick Viest, a member of CB 8 and president of the 19th Precinct community council, outlined what many in attendance seemed to concur were the main problems with Vudu Lounge.

“This establishment—we’ve had more problems with complaints and the levels of complaints and the types have been more egregious than anywhere in this community that I can remember,” said Viest by way of introduction.

“There is a big problem with people getting out at, say, two, three, four in the morning and creating a big disturbance,” said Nick Viest.

“We’ve gotten reports of violence.

There is a big problem with people getting out at say two, three, four in the morning and creating a big disturbance, especially here along 78th Street,” Viest continued.

“Our official position on record is that the community board has voted that this establishment should have its liquor license revoked.”

Viest maintained that the problems come from the club’s patrons hanging

around on the streets after they leave, and he charged management at Vudu with the responsibility for maintaining order in those circumstances.

Stein outlined the steps that Vudu takes on a regular basis to prevent such issues. “We have a large security team, we work with the police department, we clear the entire block,” he said.

Residents seized on that fact and wanted to know what, exactly, “clearing the block” entailed.

“Crowd disbursement, when people leave, how far up— around the street?” asked Cos Spagnoletti, a resident and community board member. “What about on the side streets?”

Stein said that their security team clears Second Avenue from 77th Street to 78th, but Spagnoletti insisted that the problems from unruly patrons spread out to the side streets, who he said will threaten residents when they ask the kids to move along.

Michael Bergos, the club’s owner, who had remained silent for the first half of the meeting, responded directly to residents.

He said that in the past, the commanding

officer at the local precinct had prohibited his security team from canvassing beyond the immediate area.

Officer Chris Helms, the 19th Precinct’s community affairs officer, said that he assumed that the police would welcome additional security measures from Vudu.

“If you’re just going to help clear people off who are going to be a problem anyway, I don’t see a problem with it,” Helms said.

Some requests, while well-intentioned, seemed to go beyond the scope of what the owner could do—like asking the pizza joint up the block to close early, thus losing all their late-night business from the club’s spillover, or asking the private security staff to sweep several blocks for any pre-dawn lingerers after the club closes. Still, by the evening’s end, a wary agreement had been reached.

With the conditional blessing of Officer Helms, Vudu promised to expand their after-hours security walks and, with an official go-ahead from the NYPD, will request that security guards walk around the corners in both directions to cover 77th and 78th streets.

Ready To Lead the 73rd Assembly district • Vote September 13 “Whether running a pro bono legal clinic for tenants, volunteering on Manhattan Community Board 8 and on the Second Avenue Subway Task Force, or engaging in local civic and political affairs, Dan Quart has demonstrated the leadership, intelligence, dedication, and passion for helping others.” — Rep. Carolyn Maloney

On Education Dan led a petition drive securing over 3,000 signatures in favor of smaller class sizes and served as a volunteer tutor in the New York City Public Schools. As your Assemblymember, Dan will secure funding in Albany for construction of elementary and middle schools to alleviate overcrowding, reduce class size and fund innovative programs that attract and maintain quality teachers.

On Housing For over 8

years, Dan served as a volunteer attorney for the Legal Aid Society.

Dan represented tenants and seniors who were denied services.

He founded and currently leads a volunteer legal clinic with Eviction Intervention Services, defending tenants unfairly targeted for eviction. As your Assemblymember, Dan will work to pass legislation providing additional rent protection to seniors.

On the Environment

Dan was the lead pro bono attorney on a lawsuit that fought to maintain the open spaces of an entire community in Manhattan.

With the East Side suffering from the worst air quality in Manhattan, Dan will partner with City officials to create an incentive program to encourage landlords to use cleaner fuel.

On Transportation As

Co-Chair of the local Community Board’s Transportation Committee, Dan worked to find creative solutions to our traffic and transportation problems.

As your Assemblymember, Dan will work to restructure the MTA to ensure dedicated funding streams so our subways, buses and roads do not fall into disrepair.

On Job Creation

Dan worked with small businesses in the East 90’s to help lessen the impact of the 2nd Ave subway construction. As your Assemblymember, Dan will work to establish tax-free sales zones and tax exemptions for small business owners.

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ENDORSEMENTS: US SENATOR CHARLES SCHUMER • US SENATOR KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND • CONGRESSWOMAN CAROLYN MALONEY • MANHATTAN BOROUGH PRESIDENT SCOTT STRINGER • STATE SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER • NYC COUNCILMEMBER DAN GARODNICK • NYC COUNCILMEMBER JESSICA LAPPIN

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Obituary

Calla Fricke, 85, Staunch Republican and Pet Lover I Love Animals founder was a 50-year UES veteran

By Mary Bergin This week, I say farewell to a fiercely independent aunt, Calla Fricke, whose life was an anomaly full of passion and impulse.

The U.S. Census Bureau says the average American moves 11.7 times between birth and death. Calla lived in the same Upper East Side one-bedroom apartment for 50 years.

She chose our nation’s biggest city as her home but preferred animals to people. She was a staunch, conservative Republican but had the heart of a liberal.

She could immerse herself in tennis and Tanqueray. She lived lean but spoiled others.

Some people become New Yorkers because of their work. Others find the work that enables them to stay in the city.

Calla started in the first category, moving from Chicago to Manhattan because of a public relations job with a motion picture company. It was a huge move for a small-town Wisconsin girl who was raised in various Lake Michigan shoreline communities.

The third of four daughters born to Oscar and Teckla (Weina) Fricke was driven, stubborn and a risk taker. When her employer relocated to Long Island in the 1970s, Calla declined to move, preferring to make pet sitting and dog walking her work; she rode an old bicycle from one well-heeled household to another.

She and Trudy Lampert were cofounders of the nonprofit I Love Animals, an animal rescue group that in 1981 began operating a no-kill shelter for hundreds of stray cats in Manhattan, then Long Island.

The shelter made headlines in 1999 because of neighborhood complaints that left Calla bristling. “If these people want something [else] in their lovely neighborhood,” The New York Times quoted her as saying, “I’ll personally see to it that they get a homeless family.”

Her audacity, ardent advocacy and daily visits to care for the strays continued until health concerns curtailed her routine a few years before her death.

Former State Sen. Serphin Maltese was among the more prominent supporters of

I Love Animals. Calla was a longtime volunteer for his and other Republican candidates’ campaigns, beginning her work in 1970 with James Buckley’s campaign

Calla Fricke. for the U.S. Senate.

She and I were polar opposites politically, but usually found mutual respect and affection beyond the ballot box. As an aunt, she was outlandishly generous–flashing $100 bills for breakfast at Brennan’s when I married, then a one-day Jaguar rental when

I divorced. We saw Mallory Square sunsets in Florida’s Key West, Davis Cup tennis at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.

Friends will celebrate Calla’s life and character during a memorial service at 3 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 19, at the Unitarian Church of All Souls, 1157 Lexington Ave. She is survived by nieces, nephews and three devoted caregivers – Matthew Storey, Steve Casale and Brian Herlihy – whose round-theclock work under oftenchallenging circumstances allowed Calla to remain with her beloved animals until June 20, the day of her death. Most of these cats are now in need of new homes.

At Calla’s request, her cremains will be scattered in Lake Michigan.

Mary Bergin (mary@roadstraveled. com) is a weekly Wisconsin travel columnist and author of three travel books about the Midwest.

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news

Girl Power at U.N. Celebration

By Karen Zheng The Year of Youth came to an end last week.

The United Nations wrapped up its “International Year of Youth: Dialogue and Mutual Understanding” with a summit featuring teenage girls Aug. 11 at the U.N. headquarters, in collaboration with Allykatzz, a tween-teen girl site. The 192 female delegates, ages 10 to 24, were chosen after submitting essays encouraging young women to be today’s world-changers and work for positive social change. Fourteen girls were honored with the ALLY Award, granted to delegates who have shown outstanding progress by creating their own charities or having an impact on other nonprofits.

Actress Monique Coleman hosted the event, and keynote speakers included U.N. Women Political Advisor Begoña Lasagabaster, State Department Special Representative to Muslim Communities Farah Pandith and Ann Shoket, editorin-chief of Seventeen Magazine. The delegates answered questions from peers and spoke about their organizations and

their global aims for the panel. The ALLY award recipients included Itzel Delgado, 16, and Nicole Javanna Jonshon, 18, from Manhattan.

Delgado heard about the contest through Girl Up, a U.N. campaign that asks American teenage girls to spend their time bettering the lives of those in undeveloped countries. She started working with Girl Up in August of 2010 and is currently a teen advisor, which requires her to host her own events to raise awareness and funds.

“Winning, to me, meant another group to educate—through that, more people will get involved in the movement against women’s inequality,” Delgado said. “The U.N. Year of Youth is very inspiring. The fact that we went to the event to speak about global issues that are currently affecting the world, and how we are planning to change that, halts the stereotype that teenagers are going to lead the world to no good.”

Delgado is entering her senior year of high school at the Young Woman’s Leadership School of East Harlem and hopes to be a Fulbright Scholar in the

Javanna Productions is raising funds to build a school in Cambodia.

Johnson’s brother is autistic, and he inspired her to dedicate MOVE’s first year, 2008, to autism.

“I didn’t grow up in New York. I moved here from Florida when I was 14 to go to a professional performing arts high school. I wasn’t able to be there for my brother for a long period of time, and that, fueled by the talent here in New York and the mentors continually helping me out, is the reason my organizaItzel Delgado, an East Harlem resident, was one of 14 tion is where it is today,” girls honored at the U.N. Johnson said. future.

Despite the hectic pace Johnson is the founder and creative of life here, Johnson believes everyone director of Javanna Productions, a non- can make a difference. “People need to profit production company that works take the time to breathe for a second and for a different cause each year through realize there are other people that need its MOVE (Motivation Opportunity Vision help and there’s so much that needs to Entertainment) initiative. This year, be done,” she said.

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Education

Serious or Just Playing Around?

Either way, guitar and piano are the most popular instruments to learn

By Paulette Safdieh “Why do people love music? That’s an age-old question,” said Richard Russell, the associate director of the Mannes College the New School for Music Extension Division. “It speaks to something in the soul. People have a calling for it.”

The extension division at Mannes, located on West 85th Street, is a continuing education program for adults

“It’s about people dipping their toes in the water, stepping out of their comfort zone,” said Richard Russell. looking to strum strings, play keys, blow horns and sing. Russell himself is a composer who has worked for the department since 1999. Throughout the years, he has seen New Yorkers from all backgrounds come through the doors of Mannes with the hope of learning a new instrument—the most popular classes they offer are acoustic guitar and jazz piano for beginners.

“This is not the best program in the world if you want to learn ‘Mozart wrote this and Beethoven wrote that’,” said Russell. “It’s about doing. We’re a very hands-on division.”

The interactive group classes at Mannes have no more than 10 students

per class, with some beginner courses even capping off at five. “Teachers will give you their home phone number,” said Russell on the personal attention offered to each aspiring musician. Russell works personally with prospective students, eager to put them on the road to instrumental success. “People who fit in best are those who used to play, fell out and are looking to start up again,” he said.

Igal Kesselman, director of the Lucy Moses School at the Kaufman Center on West 67th Street, finds the same is

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true in his music department. “We have people from all walks of life and all levels, but the majority are adults who used to play when they were kids,” said Kesselman. “They think, ‘Now I have the time! Now I know it’s exciting!’” Lucy Moses is the largest community arts school in the city, with students ranging in age from 18 to 90. Despite the growing number of students—approximately 300 join the program each year—class and workshop sizes rarely exceed 12.

While guitar and piano classes are the

biggest hits at these institutions, each offers one-on-one instruction for other instruments as well. Once students grasp the basics, they can move up to ensemble classes like Mannes’s flute ensemble, where 60 people play collectively. The schools make sure that, once in a larger setting, students are placed with others on the same level. “We don’t want anybody to be frustrated,” said Russell. “We do our best to accommodate everyone’s needs.”

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Teaching Positions Available New York College of Health Professions, a leader in Holistic Health Education for 30 years, is actively seeking full-time and part-time faculty for our new location in New York City.

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is performance season, when students can showcase their talents. “We have great resources for performing opportunities,” Kesselman said of the Lucy Moses recital halls. Each semester is wrapped up with a much-anticipated concert on campus.

For those whose work schedules and other time constraints make signing up for a semester a difficult commitment, schools like Encore School of Music and Turtle Bay Music School can offer similar instruction and chances to perform for an audience.

Located on East 52nd Street, Turtle Bay offers 5-week introductory courses in the instrument of your choice, along with monthly performance nights. Encore has locations in Brooklyn and Queens as well as the Upper East Side and offers lessons in saxophone, bass, clarinet and others.

Students looking to brush up on old skills or take their talent to a new level can choose the style of their instruction— from blues guitar to rock ‘n’ roll drums.

“It’s about people dipping their toes in the water, stepping out of their comfort zone,” said Russell. “It’s the joy of playing music and challenge of trying something new that keeps the programs running each year.”

Manhattan music classes: Turtle Bay Music School, 244 E. 52nd St., 212-753-8811. 5-week introductory course, $245. Begins October.

Mannes College the New School for Music Extension Division, 150 W. 85th St., 212-580-0210. 15-week semester, $450.

Lucy Moses School at Kaufman Center, 129 E. 67th Street, 212-5013300. 12-week semester, $335.

Encore School of Music, 315 Madison Ave., 800-417-4620. Prices vary by location.

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FEATURE

Where Are They Now?

Research and profiles by Lisa Chen, Daniel Fabiani, Megan Finnegan, Josh Rogers and Ashley Welch

W

e went back and caught up with a group of people who, for the most part, came to fame in the ’70s and ’80s, with one notable exception in Joe Franklin, who first became a late-night staple in the ’50s.

Some have managed to stay in the spotlight, some have faded and some perhaps wish they had. Not surprisingly, convicted former political boss Stanley Friedman—who talked to us for about a minute—was in that last group. We hope you enjoy this look back.

Stanley Friedman Still Dogged by His Past

Never Retiring Joe Franklin Even at age 85, celebrated radio and television talk show host Joe Franklin continues to work tirelessly in the enter-

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ANDREW SCHWARTZ

No matter where he goes, disgraced former Bronx Democratic leader Stanley Friedman can’t seem to escape his past.

Friedman served four years in federal prison on corruption charges, convicted in 1987 of bribing city officials in exchange for obtaining contracts for agents at the Parking Violations Bureau.

Friedman went on to take a managerial position at the Staten Island Hotel in 1994, according to a 2004 New York Times article.

Banned from politics and the law, Friedman reportedly took an active role in the Staten Island community as a member of the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce, the Kiwanis Club and the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation, where he still serves as senior executive vice chairman. After the Staten Island Hotel closed in 2010, Friedman headed to Miami Beach. Last November, at the age of 74, he ran for a position on the board of a Miami Beach condominium, but lost when his shady history came to light, according to a 2010 New York Post article.

When we reached Friedman on the phone recently, he was cordial at the start, but his tone changed as soon as he learned the reason for our inquiry. He ended the call abruptly.

tainment industry.

The self-proclaimed “king of nostalgia,” Franklin hosted The Joe Franklin Show, the longest running television talk show in history, from 1951 to 1993, regularly interviewing guests such as Cary Grant, Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra and Charlie Chaplin. Others such as Bette Midler, Bill Cosby and Barbra Streisand got their start thanks to his show. Franklin later hosted the famous Memory Lane radio show on WOR. Today, Franklin continues his hosting duties on The Business of Show Business on Bloomberg Radio. In addition, he is writing his 24th book, tentatively titled Growing Up with Radio.

“It will be about the old-time radio days with Eddie Cantor, Bob Hope, Jack Benny and Al Jolson,” said Franklin. “The book comes from my own childhood memories of listening to the radio.”

Franklin also lectures around the country and is even planning a television comeback—The Joe Franklin Amateur Hour. Franklin, who currently resides in Midtown, still keeps in touch with many celebrities and counts Al Pacino and Bernadette Peters among his dearest friends.

So how does today’s entertainment industry compare to the old days?

“Oh, it’s gone downhill. Definitely gone downhill,” he lamented. Despite this, he can’t seem to stay away from the industry.

Will Joe Franklin ever retire? “When

Joe Franklin. you retire, you’ll expire,” he declared.

Fiction and Fishing for Steve Dunleavy Steve Dunleavy made a name for himself in journalism by covering the grittiest parts of New York City, and he’s never been afraid to get dirty in the process.

Known as much for his controversial, aggressive reporting methods as for his scoops and exclusive interviews with

celebrities and criminals alike, Dunleavy forged a take-no-prisoners path that, love him or hate him, has to be admired for its tenacity and longevity. When he retired from the New York Post in 2008 after spending 41 years there, Rupert Murdoch himself toasted his old friend and longtime employee, and dozens of media types gathered to fawn over a man some consider a living legend of tabloid journalism.

Now largely cured of the back problems that ailed him a few years ago, N EW S YO U LIV E B Y

FEATURE celebrities—but I wouldn’t know how to phone hack,” he said. “Journalists don’t phone hack.”

He has no memoir plans. “I think it’s very arrogant for someone to write an autobiography,” Dunleavy said. “Plus, if you did you’d have to be 1,000 percent honest and bare all your uglies. I’m not prepared to do that.”

Mason Reese, Commercial Success In the ’70s, Mason Reese was one of the most recognizable child actors on television. With his floppy red hair, boyish grin and slight lisp, his face became synonymous with the brands he endorsed, including Post Raisin Bran, Thick and Frosty milkshake mix and Dressel’s Frozen Ice Cream.

Though he appeared in countless commercials, his most memorable performance may be the Dunkin’ Donuts munchkin commercial that featured a circle of children introducing viewers to the different flavors of the company’s beloved donut holes. Reese narrates the commercial, opening by saying that he is often compared to a munchkin. After he and the other children describe what munchkins really are, he asks, “Tell me, do I look like a munchkin?” with a hearty “ho ho ho” laugh.

Nowadays, Reese, 46, spends his time on the Upper West Side, where he was born, and tending to his restaurant, Destination Bar and Grille, which he opened in the East Village in 2009. He has been in the restaurant

Steve Dunleavy.

O u r To w n NY. c o m

ANDREW SCHWARTZ

Dunleavy and his wife divide their time between Lido Beach on Long Island and Key Colony Beach in Florida.

“It’s a little bit like George Bush No. 1 said: ‘I celebrate my dog and watch a lot of reruns of Law & Order,’” said Dunleavy, 73, in a recent interview, describing how he spends his time these days. The dog in question is Salty Dog, like the drink, a Bijou poodle whom Dunleavy dubs the love of his life—aside from his wife and two children, of course.

Dunleavy is “fooling around with a few television scripts” and likes to go fishing when he gets down to Florida.

If he had to write a column next week, “I would certainly spin off the frightening news that came out today in the New York Post that the Port Authority has been playing high jinx with their finances, to the tune where we can’t get the World Trade Center right,” said Dunleavy. “There are so many cons and scams going on there it would make a mass murderer flinch.”

Speaking of scandal, Dunleavy insists that the Murdoch family is getting a bad rap in the phone-hacking hoopla now surrounding top News Corp. executives.

“Having worked with Mr. Murdoch, I found him to be one of the most incredible, generous and absolute pristine executives,” Dunleavy said.

“In my journalist lifetime, which spreads over 55 years, I got quite a few exclusives—warlords and criminals and

Mason Reese.

Grandmaster Flash. business for the past 16 years, has owned several bars and restaurants and said he thoroughly enjoys the work.

“When I realized that my career in television was mostly over, I had to figure out what I could do well, what else I enjoy,” he said. “I like socializing, so this business is something I figured I could do pretty well in.”

Over the years, Reese has been known to attend comic book, horror and nostalgia conventions. In 1988, the punk band Alice Donut released a song called “Mason Reese,” an ode to the destinies of former child stars. Then, in 1990, he appeared as himself in the short film, Whatever Happened to Mason Reese? which can be seen on the Rush Hour DVD.

Reese said he often gets mistaken for “Mikey” from the famous Life Cereal ads or for the star of the Oscar Meyer bologna commercials. Though he can take credit for neither, he jokes of the mix-up, “Hey, I’ll take it.”

Reese is also working on a potential television project that he calls a “hybrid reality sitcom.” It would feature other former child stars.

Grandmaster Flash, a Hip-Hop Founding Father Joseph Saddler, more famously known as DJ Grandmaster Flash, is considered one of the founding fathers of hip-hop. A native of the Bronx, Saddler combined his passion for music with his knowledge of audio engineering in the 1970s, when he performed as a disc jockey at neighborhood block parties.

He is credited as the first DJ to physically lay his hands on the vinyl and manipulate it in a backward, forward or counterclockwise motion, when most DJs simply let the records play.

He pioneered some of the techniques employed by most DJs today, including the “Quick Mix Theory,” which allows the same short phrase of music to be looped indefinitely.

By the end of the ’70s, emcees were asking Saddler to rap over his beats and he soon formed his own group, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Their famed single, “The Message” went platinum, and they gained further popularity with songs like “The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel” and “You Know A u g u st 1 8 , 2 0 1 1

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Roll Hall of Fame.

Today, Saddler, 53, still performs in venues all over the world. His memoir, The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash: My Life, My Beats, co-written by David Ritz, was published in 2008 and he released The Bridge: Concept of a Culture, his first album of new material in 20 years, in 2009.

He is currently touring the world and made a stop in New York City this summer, performing at Webster Hall on July 29.

Twiggy.

What Time It Is.” In 1981, punk band Blondie immortalized Grandmaster Flash in their song, “Rapture.”

In the ’90s, Saddler served as the music director for the HBO series The Chris Rock Show. In 2007, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five became the first hiphop group to be inducted in the Rock and

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Known for her androgynous looks, thin build, large eyes, long lashes and short hair, Twiggy became a prominent model in the British fashion scene as a teen in the 1960s.

The Daily Express, a British tabloid newspaper, named her the “Face of 1966.” Soon after her fame spread worldwide, and she

ANDREW SCHWARTZ

Twiggy, Pioneering Supermodel

modeled in Japan, France and the United States and graced the covers of magazines like Vogue and Tatler. She was viewed as a fashion icon all over the world and inspired a line of clothes, Barbie dolls and lunchboxes with her face plastered on them.

After a successful modeling career, Twiggy began acting in television, film and theater. She won two Golden Globes for her movie debut, starring in Ken Russell’s film, The Boyfriend.

She continued to act in several television shows in the U.K. and U.S. in the ’80s and ’90s. In 2005, she became a judge on Tyra Banks’s reality show, America’s Next Top Model, and was on the show for five seasons.

Joe Pisarcik.

Today, Twiggy, 61, is still at As much as they try, New York Giants the forefront of fashion for women her age. She’s a member of the fashion team fans of a certain age will never be able to at Marks & Spencer, one of the U.K.’s larg- forget “The Fumble,” when Joe Pisarcik’s est retailers, and has started her own fash- botched handoff in the closing seconds of ion line for the Home Shopping Network a 1978 contest against the Eagles lost a game that fans and everyone else thought called the Twiggy London collection. had already been won.

Nearly 35 years later, the retired quarJoe Pisarcik terback is a successful broker at ICAP After the Fumble Securities in New Jersey and was very agreeable about talking about the infa-

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wound up playing for the Eagles and made the Super Bowl as a backup. Today, he is active with the NFL Alumni Association charity in addition to his financial work.

He does not get recognized “a whole heck of a lot anymore,” but adds, “I have fond memories of that part of my life and it paid for my education—thank God.”

Still ‘Mick the Quick’ Mickey Rivers played for the Yankees from 1976 to ’79, in the middle of his 15-year Major League career. A fast centerfielder who helped the team win the World Series in ’77 and ’78, Rivers was known for his quick speech, using slang words like “gozzlehead” and “werpelhead,” words he says he learned living in the ghetto. Rivers’s rapid, hard-to-understand speaking style hasn’t slowed much over the

ANDREW M. LEVY

mous play.

“You get up, dust yourself off and move on,” said Pisarcik, 59. “Everybody fumbles in life.”

When he got the call from the offensive coordinator to hand the ball off to Larry Csonka, he remembers wondering why the play was not to just kneel down after taking the snap. “That definitely went through my mind, but the mindset is, if the coach tells you do something, you do it,” Pisarcik said. Given the chance to do it over, he said that of course he would have just dropped to his knee and let the closing seconds run out.

The fumble led to big changes for the Giants and one small change to football—now, as a precaution, at least one player stands behind the quarterback when he kneels to end a game.

The Giants fired their offensive coordinator the next day and their coach at the end of the season.

Pisarcik, coincidentally enough,

Mickey Rivers. years.

“I don’t regret saying anything at all.

The downfalls only make you better,” Rivers said recently.

Born in Miami 62 years ago, Rivers works today with youth organizations on behalf of the Yankees, teaching kids to play baseball, and splitting his life between Florida in the off-season and

Harlem.

“I miss living in New York and all my old teammates,” Rivers said.

Rivers said he gets recognized a lot in the Bronx and New Jersey when he visits.

He’s still a big Yankee fan and follows the team religiously. “[Being] a Yankee today and then is all the same—you still have to play ball and work hard,” Rivers added.

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DINING

Tracing the Roots of Home Brewed Soda

a quarter-teaspoon of yeast and sealed it in four plastic bottles. After three days of fermenting at room temperature and a day in the fridge, the results were…honestly, just okay.

So the recipe needs some tinkering.

For my second batch, I added wintergreen and upped the roots to two ounces apiece.

I’ll keep you updated. But make no mistake—this is by no means the last you’ll hear of my home brewed soda obsession!

How I learned to embrace my root beer obsession

S

Website after website, I kept finding “scratch” recipes that called for “root beer extract,” as though root beer was, itself, a plant that was boiled down into a syrup.

I dug my heels in and headed for my antique cookbook collection. In a dusty tome from the 1910s, I found a recipe for root beer that called for boiling roots and sugar, then sealing the result up in jars with yeast. More research led me to the ingredients of this “root tea.” These flavor components, I discovered, are the building blocks of the modern root beer flavor profile. They are: Sassafras: The root of this plant is what was originally used in the brew, but it is a carcinogen and can no longer be sold in the United States. Instead, the root bark or leaves must be used.

The

By Josh Perilo leaves are less intense, but the root bark can leave an unpleasant, tannic bite. This is the more bitter of the two main ingredients that make up the quintessential root beer flavor.

Sarsaparilla: The root of this plant has a nondescript sweet smell that when boiled is unmistakably root beer.

Definitely the yin to sassafras’ yang.

The third and most surprising ingredient is wintergreen. When I read that there is more wintergreen than sassafras and sarsaparilla combined in modern root beer, I couldn’t believe it. Then I drank a root beer. Once you have this knowledge in hand, you’ll never not be able to taste the wintergreen in your root beer.

Apparently, in early recipes, wintergreen was not used—it wasn’t until the 1960s that it became the leading ingredient. So, for my first batch, I decided to go

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old-school and do a roots-only version.

Based on a late 19th-century recipe I found, I boiled one ounce each of sassafras and sarsaparilla, a quarter-ounce of licorice root, two split vanilla pods, a cup of brown sugar, and a half-cup of honey for forty minutes. After it cooled, I added

Follow Josh on Twitter: @joshperilo.

Pinxtos that Pinch Your Senses

Tapas have come to seem like a dining cliché—our love affair with them has brought on a small plate revolution (and a well hidden uptick in the cost of entrées). But when done right, they are a revelation.

Buceo 95 does tapas right, and, amazingly, it’s in the middle of the Upper West Side, an area that usually doesn’t boast venues this hip, lively and inventive. Yet Buceo also has a relaxed, super-friendly vibe, embodied in manager/sommelier in a skewer of Basque peppers, olives and John Davidson, who stops by to chat anchovies ($4) creeps up on you slowly. about Spanish wines. My friend and I The menu references the Basque city drank peachy white Sangria made with of San Sebastian, which, according to Spanish wine while noshing on addictive Davidson, is known for bars that compete Marcona almonds ($6) and trio of pinx- to turn out the most adventurous pinxtos. tos—Basque for “toothpicks,” with which With pinxtos like soft chorizo with pepthey are usually skewered. per mousse and saffron honPinxto sounds like ey ($5), Buceo 95 is saying, “pinch,” and these inspired “Bring it on!”

201 W. 95th St. combinations will goose (near Amsterdam Ave.) your taste buds. My favor212-662-7010 ite was toast layered with —Nancy J. Brandwein smoked salmon, lemon aioli and a quail egg, almost raw and tiny Got a snack attack to share? enough not to overwhelm ($5). The heat Contact nancybrandwein@gmail.com DANIEL S. BURNSTEIN

o, I’ve finally come to terms with the fact that I am completely, 100 percent obsessive. When I discover a new object of interest it swallows me whole and consumes me for months, sometimes years at a time.

In junior high school it was musical theater. In high school, I was lost to the world of miniatures for two years. A decade ago, I discovered the world of wine.

Now I may have found the new black hole that could potentially steal me from humanity for even longer: home brewed soda making.

Don’t ask me where it came from. All I know is that, as of this morning, there are four liter bottles of homemade root beer fermenting on the floor of my kitchen.

To be fair, I’ve been interested in the idea of homemade soda, specifically homemade root beer, before. It combines my interest in gastro-science with my passion for history. I had also recently been trying more and more small-batch brews of root beer and noticing two things: 1) They were all amazing and much more interesting than any of the mass-marketed stuff in supermarkets, and 2) They were each completely different.

I decided I had to make my own.

I vaguely remembered a science experiment I did in the fourth grade in which Mr. Gottner had us make root beer from scratch. I distinctly remember being awed by the fact that all we did was combine honey, water, yeast and extract, and days later we had a sweet, bubbly concoction.

I began researching and almost immediately found the recipe my science teacher had used. It was from scratch…mostly.

The flavoring was from syrup, though.

Buceo 95

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news

Striking Workers and Boathouse Fire Torpedoes

By Megan Finnegan The normally bustling outdoor tables at the idyllic Boathouse Restaurant stood empty during lunch hour last week.

Tourists and locals alike headed for the iconic Central Park dining spot, but many were driven away by incessant drum beats, shouts and angry signs toted by striking workers who claim the restaurant’s management engages in unfair and illegal practices with its busboys, servers and banquet staff.

Meg Fosque, a field representative and organizing supervisor for the Hotel Trades Council Local 6, which represents about 70 percent of the Boathouse’s staff, joined dozens of striking workers to coordinate their efforts. She outlined some of the complaints that workers have registered against the operator of the Boathouse, Dean Poll.

“This guy is seriously a bad operator,” said Fosque. “He’s abusing workers, he lets his managers sexually harass women.” Poll has claimed not to know about the sexual harassment claims against his staff, but Fosque said that the union has documented times when he was told of the offending behavior. Poll is also being investigated

they say is allowed to go on despite upper management being informed.

Local 6 started an organizing drive at the Boathouse at around the same time they were attempting to negotiate a contract with Poll for the 400 workers they represented at Tavern on the Green, which he had won the commission from the city to operate. Poll and the union Striking workers at the Boathouse Restaurant. failed to reach an agreeby the National Labor Relations Board is ment and, as a result, Tavern on the Green response to complaints filed against him was forced to close. for firing workers who support the union.

Poll could not be reached for comFrankie Palaguachi, who started as ment, but in several recent news a banquet waiter three years ago when accounts, Poll has characterized the he was 18, joined his striking colleagues workers’ strike as a revenge tactic from and said that he’s seen an array of abu- the union, punishing him for not being sive behaviors from Boathouse manage- able to reach an agreement with unionment, from being forced to do physical ized workers at Tavern on the Green. labor beyond his job description to being But workers, as well as several local told not to speak Spanish in the restau- politicians, aren’t buying that. rant. He also said that female colleagues “I think he should get over himself, and have confided in him and other employ- he should recognize that there are serious ees about alleged sexual harassment that labor issues here that must be resolved,”

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said Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer of Poll’s claims of a union vendetta. “I think this situation cries out for justice on behalf of these workers.

Clay Skaggs, who has been an à la carte server at the Boathouse for five years, called the charge of retaliation “insulting.”

“I’m not out here for Tavern [on the Green], I’m out here for myself and my co-workers to get a better work environment.” said Skaggs.

Cathrine Roos, a tourist from Sweden, was on the way into the Boathouse with her family, planning to make a dinner reservation for the same evening, when striking workers handed them pamphlets and others shouted at them not to go in. Looking a bit confused, the group conferred on the benches, unsure of whether or not to go in.

“I know [the Boathouse] because of Sex and the City, and just want to come here for a dinner,” said Roos. “But obviously this will have an impact whether we eat here or not.”

While workers shouted “you have no conscience,” insulting anyone who entered or exited the restaurant, Roos and her family pondered their options, unsure of what to do next.

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Olive Branches Not Included which the play is set, she’s practically the belle of the ball. Younger friend Wendy (a dialed down Julie Halston) pops in regularly to check on Olive and try to persuade her to indulge in kindness, even going so far as to invite over Olive’s detestably loud neighbors, gay couple Robert (David Garrison) and Trey (Dan Butler, perfectly costumed by Suzy Benzinger) to broker a peace deal. Also along for the bumpy ride—and a truly disastrous Passover— are Sylvan (Richard Masure), father of Olive’s nemesis, and a mysterious ghost named Howard who appears in Olive’s mirror—and who turns out to have a connection to everyone else as well, though the actual ghost barely figures in the play.

Busch has written a play that proudly flaunts logic, constantly testing how long the audience is willing to suspend its disbelief. He pushes things pretty far in the play’s final moments as these recent strangers discover a distant link to one another, but director Mark Brokaw smartly emphasizes the absurdity, turning the revelations into a running gag and keeping the performances light and breezy.

There are dark moments, however, and Busch doesn’t steer clear of the repercussions of being a woman of a cer-

James Leynse

By Mark Peikert Charles Busch is certainly talented enough to write a comedy without the camp of his best-known works (Psycho Beach Party, Vampire Lesbians of Sodom). After all, he scored a major success on Broadway a decade ago with The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife. But in his 2007 play Our Leading Lady, and now in Olive and the Bitter Herbs, Busch’s new comedy being produced by Primary Stages, there is a void at the play’s center that would normally be filled by Busch’s whirlwind performance and studiously casual line readings.

Aged actress Olive (Marcia Jean Kurtz) has no time for busybodies, neighbors, coop boards, rival actresses or friendliness of any flavor. She paints herself as the victim of something in her body chemistry that turns her into a big red target for other people’s anger, and it’s not hard to see her point. Her face fallen into a perpetual snarl, Olive is exactly the kind of woman who immediately puts you in a bad mood when you see her on the subway.

For some inexplicable reason, however, people remain drawn to her. Certainly her biting wit helps mitigate her nastiness, but over the course of the weeks in

(L to R) Dan Butler as Trey, Marcia Jean Kurtz as Olive, Richard Masur as Sylvan, and David Garrison as Robert in Olive and the Bitter Herbs, a new comedy by Charles Busch.

tain age with a certain temperament. As much a story about the cruelties of show business as it is of New York living (and Kips Bay living in particular), Olive and the Bitter Herbs can sometimes turn ugly, especially if Trey has had too much wine or Olive feels she’s been pushed too far.

That’s when the dark undercurrents of the play come to the surface. After all, Olive is a borderline elderly woman living alone, trying to support herself as an actress. That’s not a particularly bubbly story, at least not if it’s told truthfully.

As grating as Olive is, Kurtz bravely shuns trawling for sympathy. She has moments of kindness, and even tenderness, but then abruptly shuts down, either throwing her visitors out or ripping into

them with such gusto that they leave of their own accord (Halston dines out on one such furious exit). The people revolving around her all have their own issues and damages, which have been polished to a blinding comedic gleam by Busch, Brokaw and cast with zingers and repartee. Those Passover herbs and life itself can be bitter, Busch says, but there are moments of sweetness to be had. Those moments in Olive are hard earned, but not necessarily deserved. The laughs, however—every one of them—definitely are.

Olive and the Bitter Herbs Through Sept. 9, Primary Stages at 59E59, 59 E. 59th St. (betw. Park & Madison Aves.), www.primarystages.org; $65.

Pass the Popcorn—Viewers Will Flip Over Apes

By Ed Koch

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (+) This movie is a prequel to Planet of the Apes, which was such a success back in 1968. “Rise” in the title of the new film refers to how it came to be that human civilization perished and apes—actually chimps—took control of the earth. The story is played straight by its central character, Will Rodman (James Franco), a scientist working at a chemical company, GenSys, on an experimental drug that will hopefully be used to reverse and cure Alzheimer’s.

Will has a special interest in pursuing the drug tests on the lab’s chimps, because his father Charles (John Lithgow) is a victim of the disease in its final stages.

Charles lives with his son and is cared for by a nurse who is threatening to quit because he has become unmanageable.

This all takes place in San Francisco in O u r To w n NY. c o m

the present time. The Golden Gate Bridge later becomes the setting for the finale, which includes a fierce battle between cops and chimps and is executed with marvelous special effects.

Early on in the film, the ongoing lab experiment and its apparent success is interrupted when the chimp who is receiving the drug suddenly goes wild and causes enormous damage, including breaking into a boardroom to interrupt and terrify those assembled who are being solicited to invest in the drug.

The behavior causes the experiment to be ended and the chimp, a female called “Bright Eyes,” is killed. It is then discovered that her violent actions were caused by the birth of her baby and her fear that the baby was being threatened.

The baby chimp is named “Caesar” and is cared for at home by Will, now joined by Caroline (Frieda Pinto), Will’s significant other, and Charles. The three, with Caesar, live an idyllic life in a onefamily home on a lovely block not far from a redwood forest, where Caesar

swings from the treetops and sees the Golden Gate Bridge.

No more details so as not to lessen your pleasure when you see them for the first time. Of course, the Alzheimer’s vaccine makes Caesar super-brainy, but its properties also ultimately kill Charles. Caesar, who acts to protect Charles before his death, is hustled off to a chimp city lockup where he becomes disillusioned with Will, who is unable to spring him from the lockup. He is badly treated by a human attendant, who ultimately pays for his cruelty, and the great ape revolt begins.

It is marvelous to watch. You will have a great time enjoying both its poignant and its hilarious moments. Franco and all of the human actors are professional and believable. At one point, Caesar, looking like a Roman general, leads his ape troops across the bridge.

For me, this well constructed sci-fi story, though ridiculous at times, is so much better than the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings movies. Why don’t they make these movies in the winter as well as the summer?

Former commissioner of the New York City parks department Henry Stern

said, “First, I confess that I am a lifelong fan of the Planet of the Apes concept.

“When I was parks commissioner, I renamed the Fountain of the Planets in Flushing Meadows Corona Park the Fountain of the Planet of the Apes. Later, in an agreement with then-Borough President Claire Shulman, who had reservations about the name change, a smaller fountain was named instead for the Apes film, and a matching small fountain was named to commemorate another great book and movie, the Fountain of The Grapes of Wrath.

The Fountain of the Planets resumed the name given to it by Robert Moses, not the name honoring Charlton Heston, who played Moses in Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments (1956), and who was called ‘Bright Eyes’ in the original Planet of the Apes in 1968. In the 2011 film, Caesar’s mother is called ‘Bright Eyes.’

“Second, I thought Rise was a splendid movie in its own right. Its emphasis on morality and character is rare in films today. In general, the apes are shown to be more principled and caring than most of the humans in the movie. Whatever awards this film may or may not win, it is certain to become a landmark in American popular culture,” he said.

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Moody, 43, worked in fashion until 2003, when she launched her all-natural frozen and freeze-dried pet food business out of her Upper West Side apartment. (To ensure food safety, Stella and Chewy’s uses a pasteurization process called Hydrostatic High Pressure.) She made the move to Wisconsin in 2007 when the business outgrew her apartment, opening a manufacturing plant in

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her hometown of Muskego. She finally returned to New York as her primary residence this summer.

“Before I left the city, it was really a struggle with the new business, and I had a new baby,” Moody said as she sat at a table outside Pippa on East 19th Street.

Sipping a cocktail, dressed in a gray reptile-print dress with her brown hair piled on top of her head, she said, “I knew I’d need to open my own plant in order to control the quality.”

Moody has since hired a plant manager and a chief operating officer. “As we speak, we are moving into a new plant [in Wisconsin] that is approximately five times the size,” she said. Now her focus is on sales, marketing and public relations.

“I can do that more effectively from a place like New York,” Moody explained.

For the short term, Moody has been subletting a fourth-floor walk-up in her old neighborhood. However, she and her 6-year-old son will move into their new apartment on West 79th Street this month.

Moody named the business after her

two rescue dogs. When she worked in fashion, she lived in Los Angeles for three years. There she adopted Stella, a terrier mix. When left alone, Stella wreaked havoc on her apartment. “She ripped up holes in the carpet. She destroyed all the plants,” Moody said. “I decided that what she probably needed was a boyfriend.” So she adopted Chewy, a Shar-Pei-Airedale mix, as a companion. But Chewy turned out to be very sick. “He had distemper and a host of other things—when dogs have that it’s usually fatal,” Moody said.

Moody’s veterinarian recommended a raw meat diet to improve Chewy’s health, so she started preparing her pets’ meals from scratch. “Every Sunday, I would go to Whole Foods and get all this raw meat and some fruits and vegetables,” said Moody, a vegetarian. She’d make meals for the week on Sundays and freeze it.

Chewy’s health improved significantly, but preparing the meals every week proved time consuming. “At the time, I didn’t have a freeze dryer at my house and pet stores didn’t have freezers, so this kind of diet was just really not widely available,” she said.

After returning to New York from Los Angeles, Moody borrowed $50,000 from her father to launch her business. (She has since paid it off—with interest.) A large part of the money went toward freezer purchases. “Some of the stores were sort of interested in it, but they certainly didn’t want to invest in a freezer,” she explained. So Moody bought the freezers for them.

Now distributed across the United States, Stella and Chewy’s manufactures food and treats for dogs as well as felines.

So far, the freeze-dried food sells more than the frozen, Moody noted. “It’s still raw but it’s shelf stable, and it’s just a much more convenient way to feed.”

Sadly, Chewy recently passed away at the age of 16. “He lived a long life,” Moody said when reached by phone earlier this week. “He’s touched a lot of other dogs’ lives, since he’s the inspiration behind the food.”

Stella, who is 14 years old, lives with Moody’s ex-husband in Wisconsin. It’s unclear when Stella will make the move east. But keeping dogs in mind, Moody selected an apartment that’s very close to a dog run as well as to Central and Riverside parks. Moody is not worried about Stella’s adjustment to the Upper West Side. In her youth, Stella spent plenty of time in New York. Stella’s “citified and everything,” she said.

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City StorieS: StoopS to NutS

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

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OUR TOW N

• Augus t 18, 2011

My Spauldeen & Me

Preparations for a perfect summer day required a delicate dance

By Thomas R. Pryor Yesterday, I strolled through Central Park. Resting on a bench in front of the Delacorte Theater, I turned my eyes to the center of the Great Lawn. I saw myself lying face up on the grass at 9 years old, throwing a ball up in the air as far as I could, never letting my back lose contact with the ground.

Summer 1963: “Mom, please give me a quarter, I’m dying, come on, give me a quarter, I really need a quarter, I’m on my knee, Uncle Mommy, I want a quarter!”

Mom gave me a dime and spun me toward the door out of the apartment. I’d already had six cents. Walking up 83rd Street, I went through everybody’s garbage and found five soda bottles.

That made 10 cents. When Murray Parker passed me the deposit money, he made a face because I didn’t buy anything from him. I had my quarter plus a penny. The quarter triggered my dilemma: three of my favorite things cost 25 cents.

My first consideration was crap. My favorite crap combo was a 16-ounce Pepsi with Yankee Doodles, three to a pack. Brilliant! That gorgeous, swirled bottle—what a grip! I never dropped it, and I dropped everything. If other kids had 12-ounce sodas you’d torture them, finishing the 16-ouncer real slow with sound effects, “Hmmm,” “Oh my God, that’s good,” “Oooooh!” The third Yankee Doodle was a gift. You never got three

things. After the second doodle, your mouth would calm down, disappointed nothing further was going in it. Then, all of a sudden, your mouth is being stuffed for a third time with fluffy chocolate cake and cavity-causing vanilla crème. If you’re lucky, a gob of crème stays on your upper lip for a while and you don’t realize it’s there until your tongue goes out for a walk and brings it back into your mouth. The third cupcake went down your throat like a royal coach.

Occasionally, I’d ignore my stomach and consider choice number two: a balsa wood glider.

They all had names—“Hornet,” “Mustang” or “Scout.” The aircraft’s propeller was powered by a rubber band. In a classroom, you could make a plane out of a sheet of loose leaf and, at best, clock a kid in the noggin four or five rows away. With a propeller on your plane, you were going places.

Exotic flight plans danced through my head before the first journey. Sometimes there was no second flight. The plane was fragile. This was a short-lived toy, like having a butterfly for a pet.

Winding the propeller up, I’d send her off. The glider sailed passed the German butcher. narrowly missing the store’s awning. Climbing to the second story it veered left, hitting a wall of wind, did two quick loops and landed on a fire escape.

The painful memory of these lost aircraft led me to door number three: a

Spauldeen. A high-bouncing, reject tennis ball. You tested its quality by dropping it from shoulder height—the one you picked must have superior bounce.

In Joe’s Candy Store, I’d proceed with my ritual. During a test, you developed immunity to being shooed away.

“Pick a ball and get out of here.”

“That’s what I’m trying to do.”

“They’re all good.” He grabbed one and squeezed it. “See?” He almost smiled. This frightened me.

“Yes,” I said, “but one of them is better than all the others.”

“You just tried that one,” he said.

“Not true. I have a system. I repeat no ball.”

“I repeat: Pick a friggin’ ball. Now!” I found one, said, “Bye, Joe,” and left a quarter on the counter.

Working my way down my street, I joined games in progress that moved me: Ace, King, Queen, and then some Off the Point. Finally, I’d run over to Central Park and find a perfect spot in the middle of the Great Lawn, lie on my back and toss the ball as high as possible, over, over and over again. Nothing eased loneliness like a game of catch—even when it was just my Spauldeen and me.

Thomas Pryor’s work has been published in The New York Times, he has recently completed his first book and he curates a show at The Cornelia Street Cafe. Read his blog at YorkvilleStoopstoNuts.blogspot.com.

LET T ER S

A Senior Safety Hazard

To the Editor: 79th Street and York Avenue is a very busy, hazardous four-way intersection.

It’s confusing in that the signals don’t correspond in the traditional pattern that all pedestrians recognize and expect.

Instead, when the traffic signal is red on the north side of York to stop southbound traffic, at the same time the signal is green on the south side of the avenue, allowing northbound traffic to continuing driving! Confusing and irrational?

You bet! Pedestrians start crossing only to become startled by whizzing cars, trucks and buses coming at them from

the opposite side. Fragile and disabled seniors afraid to cross here must walk one block farther for normal, safer crossing. Complaints to the DOT have resulted in signage warnings of little help to the vision impaired that are no substitute for safer signal lights.

This dangerous situation has existed for more than 15 months. It came about when the DOT, without discussion with the community, installed a left-turn signal at the intersection that changed the light sequence. A left-turn arrow made the intersection more difficult, since the twoway York Avenue has no legal designated turn lane and no room for one.

For the past 15 months, the community, joined by the E. 79th Street Neighborhood Association and our district legislators, has urged DOT Commissioner Janette

Sadik-Kahn to return the previous fourway red signal—with no success. With cities around the country acknowledging the need for longer crossing time and safer traffic lights for seniors, and NYC DOT itself recently announcing its “Safe Streets for Seniors” project, why is there the neglect of this heavily trafficked intersection? Will there need to be more fatalities before we get corrective action from DOT? And where is our mayor, who has expressed concern for pedestrian safety?

This crossing danger exists, after all, on the street where he lives.

Betty Cooper Wallerstein E. 79th StrEEt NEighborhood ASSociAtioN Letters have been edited for clarity, style and brevity.

N EW S YO U LIV E B Y

ciTiqueTTe

‘Cheating’ on my Retail Therapist After a saleswoman harassed me, I decided to shop online

By Lorraine Duffy Merkl My next purchase is a mouse click away.

As much as I like to support New York City businesses and their salespeople who rely on commissions— especially now, when everything is on sale—I don’t think I should be made to feel uncomfortable, guilty or awkward while spending my money. I realize that Manhattan is a competitive place even in a good economy, but when two sales associates almost threw down in my (formerly) favorite Madison Avenue store, I decided to rethink my mode of buying.

I’d been frequenting the two-story boutique for the past year and a half. The first time I bought something, a very helpful gentleman waited on me. The next time an equally accommodating woman— let’s call her B.—guided me through my acquisition.

The visit after that, she was hovering by the entrance when I arrived. Recognizing

her, I requested her help, even though I don’t think she had any recollection of who I was.

At Christmastime, I went in for gifts and asked for B., but she was on her break. Someone else took care of me.

Around New Year’s, I went in again and bought a skirt with B.’s assistance.

She waited on me another time after that, but was once again M.I.A. around Memorial Day, when I went in looking for a dress I’d seen on their website. (I have always preferred to try on clothing before I pay for it.) No one had any idea what item I was talking about. Finally a knowledgeable clerk, V., said the item would be there in a few weeks and they would give me a call. She tossed my business card in a drawer filled with so many others that it looked like I’d been entered into a raffle drawing. I figured I’d never hear from her.

But I did.

Now envision my hesitation when I walked into the store and B. was keeping vigil by the door. I said hello, then proceeded upstairs to find V. As V. and I greeted each other, I could see from the corner of my eye that B. had followed me. While V. escorted me to the dressing room, I saw, reflected in one of the shop’s mirrored columns, B. with a stake-through-the-heart look on her face.

I was reminded of a time in high school when two boys who liked me each decided, independently, to pay me a surprise visit after my shift at the Loehmann’s that once stood at the Bronx intersection of Fordham Road and Jerome Avenue. My two girlfriends convinced me to hightail it out of there before either suitor saw me, in an effort to avoid what could’ve turned into a scene. Each girl approached a different boy to say, “You just missed her.”

My friends, however, were not with me that day on Madison Avenue—and I’m too old to make a run for it.

So while V. rang me up, I endured B. sulking by the cashier’s desk until she moved her woman-done-wrong act to the front, where she and some other salespeople were lingering, hoping to engage the next shopper. As I exited, the other employees wished me a good evening and B. turned her head like a spurned lover.

Although I’d gotten my dress—discounted as well—I can’t consider my experience successful retail therapy, as I was treated as though I’d cheated on someone.

I have now taken my business to the web, since websites don’t have feelings to hurt or guilt trips to give.

Lorraine Duffy Merkl’s debut novel Fat Chick, from The Vineyard Press, is available at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.

Dewing Things BeTTer

Banging the Drum Against Murder Confronting indifference to violence and mobs that maraud without cause

By Bette Dewing “Rampaging mobs had broken into every shop there, stealing everything from designer clothing to electronics.

One store stood alone, however, its window intact and its goods untouched. It was a bookstore, wherein perhaps the best hope for a better future lay ignored.”

“Telling irony” from Denver resident Arnold Grossman’s Aug. 13 letter to The New York Times, which ran under the title, “The Roots of the Unrest in Britain.” The letter couldn’t be better, but “unrest” in the title justifies the four days of mindless mob violence that took at least five innocent lives, injured many others and destroyed countless businesses and homes. And with massive looting and youngsters getting into the act “just for the fun of it,” much of this unprecedented London mayhem was rebellion without a cause.

O u r To w n NY. c o m

I had intended to write about the need for book stores and reading for this “best hope for a better future” column, but Bob Herbert’s Feb. 11 Times column, “A Flood Tide of Murder,” seemed more critical to recall. The column was a response to the deadly shooting rampage in Tucson, which, unlike a majority of murders, was a huge story because Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head and almost killed.

Her 29-year-old aide, a 9-yearold girl, a judge and three other innocents attending her outdoor forum were killed, but were never mentioned in subsequent news stories about Gifford’s slow but significant healing.

This fact relates to Herbert’s anguish over the deplorable indifference to murders in general. Unfortunately, his column no longer runs in the paper of record, but we can remember his message. First, that the hateful political

rhetoric largely blamed for the Tucson deadly shooting rampage “is just one of the myriad contributing factors in a society saturated with blood.”

Of course, he’s grateful for the Brady Campaign Against Gun Violence, which found that “more than a million people [have been] killed by guns since 1968 (this includes suicides and accidental deaths).” But what is not stressed, he says, is that “homicides, deliberate killings, are a perennial scourge and not just with guns.” The scourge goes unnoticed, he charges, “because homicide is a white noise in our society.”

I find that many don’t know the extent of this scourge, especially if they only read The New York Times.

While Herbert calls for the “radical restriction of the use of guns,” so rarely heard, even on the right, is the critical underlying need he sees “to work very hard to change a culture that glorifies and embraces violence as entertainment, and views violence as an appropri-

ate and effective response to the things that bother us. ” He calls for an end to “the terrible toll” of wars overseas, but people do rally against such bloodshed, rather than against the culture that glorifies and embraces violence, especially in entertainment. And now cyberspace has enabled the “instant” gathering of mobs to also act out those entertainmentlearned lessons.

Surely there can be no better way to honor all of the blessed innocents lost in the horrific floods of murder on the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11 than to work to stem the flood tide of innocent blood and work against a society that, even when it doesn’t glorify and embrace violence, ignores it. Insisting on countless columns banging the drum against it in that movers and shakers’ bible, The New York Times, is one absolute must.

Dewingbetter@aol.com A u g u st 1 8 , 2 0 1 1

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