Our Town October 06, 2011

New Parents Expo: The best new products for your baby Everything you need from Pre-Natal to Preschool, plus speakers and activities for the whole family

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ANNIVE

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October 6, 2011

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PHOTO: ANDREW SCHWARTZ

ANNIVE

Parenting:

EXPRESS

Tapped In Notes from the neighborhood Compiled by Megan Finnegan

UPPER EAST SIDE REZONING PLANS The Department of Education recently announced a rezoning proposal for the Upper East Side to address overcrowding in public schools. The Community Education Council for District 2, which has to approve the DOE’s proposal, will hold a public meeting to hear community feedback from parents and other stakeholders this Thursday, Oct. 6 at 6:30 p.m. at P.S. 158, 1458 York Ave. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s office is coordinating the meeting and strongly urges parents of school-aged children, or of children who will soon be headed to public school, to attend.

Schools affected by the rezoning will be a new school the DOE plans to open at the Our Lady of Good Counsel building in 2012; the Yorkville Community School; P.S. 290 Manhattan New School, which currently has a waitlist of 64 students; and P.S. 158 Bernard Taylor, which requires six kindergarten classes this year.

Community Board 8’s Youth and

Education committee will also be discussing the proposal at their meeting Tuesday, Oct. 11. For more information, contact Yareni Sanchez in Quinn’s district office at 212-564-7757 ext. 102 or at ysanchez@council.nyc.gov.

CENTRAL PARK PLANS TO REVAMP PLAYGROUNDS The Central Park Conservancy announced last week that they will begin a new focus on restoring the park’s 21 playgrounds, many of which were built in the 1930s.

In a statement, the Conservancy said they’re going to begin “treating [playgrounds] as part of a vast system rather than fragmented resources.” President and Central Park Administrator Doug Blonsky called playgrounds “important development resources” for local children.

Calling it the “Plan for Play,” the Conservancy has identified seven areas they will focus on to improve playgrounds throughout the park, but no specific steps

have been laid out yet. Some of the goals are vague at this stage—the Conservancy wants to “enhance the quality and variety of play experiences” and “maximize user accessibility”—but the plan also seeks to make playgrounds safer, preserve the aspects that work and utilize sustainable design and construction in adding new elements. They also vow to “design innovative solutions for underperforming playgrounds and features,” which hopefully means they’ll ditch what kids don’t use anymore.

The Conservancy will be making presentations to community board parks committees in the coming months to explain some of their plans in more detail.

SUPPORT FOR UN/ GREENWAY DEAL GROWS Friends of the East River Greenway, a coalition of groups supporting the city and state deal to sell a local playground to the United Nations to fund the development of a continuous greenway between East 38th and 60th streets along the river has been attracting a growing number of supporters to their cause. Crain’s, The Daily News and The New York Times have all

endorsed the plan, hailing it as the perfect solution for providing more green space for East Siders.

Former mayor and frequent pundit Ed Koch, who is by no means a champion of the UN, penned an editorial lauding the plan as well, noting that the UN is a huge provider of jobs in New York City and that this plan will facilitate not only an esplanade but an injection of even more jobs and money into the local economy.

The coalition announced this week that they have received 4,000 cards in support of the plan from area residents, and several community groups have voiced their collective support as well. Last week, a telephone poll conducted by Kiley and Company of 402 residents showed that 73 percent of East Siders are supportive of the plan.

Local opposition is mostly of the NIMBY variety, with Tudor City residents concerned about the loss not just of the Robert Moses Playground but of light and air when the UN builds their new tower.

The deadline for the city to sign a memorandum of understanding outlining the details of the agreement is Oct. 10, and those involved in the negotiations are hopeful that the date will be met.

LOCAL BOOK FAIR

Shofar So Good this New Year

Zion St. Mark’s Church, at 330 E. 84th St., is holding its annual book fair on Friday, Oct. 14 and Saturday, Oct. 15.

They’ll have books on everything from health to botany to art, as well as novels, tapes, records and children’s books in both German and English. The fair runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. Call 212288-0600 for information.

COMMUNITY

Meeting Calendar Tuesday, Oct. 11 Community Board 7 Youth & Education Committee meeting, 7 p.m., New York Blood Center, 310 E. 67th St., Auditorium Thursday, Oct. 13

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ANDREW SCHWARTZ

Haim Avitsur, with the help of Rabbi Yisrael Kugel, blows through a hollowed-out ram’s horn, also know as the Shofar, during an event to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, in Central Park. The event, dubbed “Shofar in the Park” was organized by the Center for Jewish Life.

Yorkville Chapter of AARP monthly meeting, 1 p.m., Immanuel Lutheran Church Parish Hall, 1296 Lexington Ave. East 79th Street Neighborhood Association meeting, 6 p.m., City University of New York, 535 E. 80th St.

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Is the neighborhood’s next generation of celebrities in this group?

here’s a special group of kids who don’t spend their free time playing video games or shopping at the mall. Instead, they shuttle between auditions, music lessons and sports tournaments. They squeeze homework into the ride to ballet class or between rehearsals. This group of kids, who live or study on the Upper East Side, share two common traits: they possess plenty of talent and they don’t waste any time.

Three students who study at the prestigious Ballet Academy East, Lily Seo, 16, Cassidy McAndrew, 14, and Alex Pappajohn, 13, commit themselves to a rigorous, six-day-a-week schedule of dance practice. In addition, Seo and Pappajohn have appeared in the Yorkville Nutcracker, while McAndrew has taken

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part in the American Ballet Theatre’s production of Le Corsaire.

“School begins at 8:20 a.m. and I generally end my day around 10:30 p.m. I go home, eat dinner and make it a point not to procrastinate,” said Pappajohn, who attends 8th grade at Riverdale Country School.

McAndrew, who after school travels from Connecticut to attend the Upper East Side-based dance school, enjoys her packed days.

“It’s definitely a crazy schedule, but I love ballet so much so it is worth it all. When I go to ballet, it’s almost a break from the day for me,” she said.

While some kids choose to balance their training, performances and auditions with regular school schedules, others turn to educational programs that are more flexible. Four Upper East Siders, Athena Ripka, 13, her brother Mason, 15, Aaron Brown, 13, and Zach Allen, 16, attend the Professional Children’s School. The school is structured to adapt to the practice and performance schedules of its students.

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Oona Gladding is an actress and dancer who is enrolled in the Recanti Kaplan Program for Excellence in the Arts at the 92nd Street Y.

Talia Boylan is a junior at The Brearly School, who participates in the Pre-College Juilliard Program for composition and writes poetry.

Cassidy McAndrew was part of the American Ballet Theatre’s production of Le Corsaire.

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Athena Ripka, who recently traveled to Los Angeles for pilot season, was bitten by the performing bug when she was 3 and saw her dance teacher perform on Broadway. The bubbly teenager explained, “I went to see my tap teacher in a show and decided I wanted to be just like her.”

She was accepted to the School of American Ballet at 7 and has been part of the Metropolitan Opera Children’s Chorus.

At 9 she performed the role of Cindy Lou Who in the Broadway production of How the Grinch Stole Christmas and at 10 played Susan Waverly in White Christmas.

Her television and movie credits include appearances on Law & Order, 30 Rock and The Good Shepherd. She also sings— while she was in Los Angeles she wrote and recorded three new songs.

“My dream is to have a world tour singing my original songs and to do movies and

mom is an orthodontist and my dad does market research. They have been totally supportive of me, though,” he said.

Allen, who performed in A Christmas Carol on Broadway when he was 9, turned his attention to rock music as a teenager.

With his band Radio Silence NYC, he has appeared at Webster Hall and performed at a benefit for Usher’s New Look Foundation.

He and his band are currently working on new songs and hope to eventually tour.

While Allen hones his vocal abilities for pop and rock, his schoolmate Brown continues with classical training as part of the Metropolitan Opera Children’s Chorus. He has performed in a few Metropolitan Opera productions, including La Bohème and Hansel and Gretel. The hectic nature of his schedule can vary depending on whether he is performing in a production or only practicing with the chorus.

“School begins at 8:20 a.m. and I generally end my day around 10:30 p.m. I go home, eat dinner and make it a point not to procrastinate,” said Alex Pappajohn, 16. television as well,” she gushed.

While Athena has been busy performing, her brother Mason has been diligently working his way up the ranks in his chosen sport, squash. Last year, he was ranked No. 1 in the under 15 division in the United States and No. 2 in the under 15 division in the world. He travels to tournaments in the United States as well as Europe and has trained with top coaches in France and Egypt.

Having spent so much time in other countries has been beneficial, he explained.

“I have lots of friends abroad. Sometimes when my family can’t travel with me for tournaments, I am able to stay with them.”

Surprisingly, although brother and sister discovered their talents at early ages, their parents are neither artists nor athletes— mom and dad pursued careers in law. This is the case for many of the other talented Upper East Side youngsters. Allen, who attends the Professional Children’s School with Athena and Mason Ripka, explained that his family is similar.

“No one is my family is musical. My

“I love going to practice. It usually doesn’t take up my whole day, but when it does, I look forward to it,” he said.

Dedication and a positive attitude toward the time demands of practice are part of what makes these students successful, according to James Dawson, head of the Professional Children’s School.

“First and foremost, they share a passion for what they are doing,” he said.

This passion often manifests itself early.

Oona Gladding, a young actress and dancer who is enrolled in the Recanti Kaplan Program for Excellence in the Arts at the 92nd Street Y, is already a performing pro at the age of 8, having appeared in a commercial for a James Patterson novel as well as several short films. She is currently performing in an off-Broadway play, Woody Guthrie Dreams.

When discussing her favorite roles in productions at the Children’s Acting Academy, where she has also studied, Gladding explained the type of roles she likes.

“I enjoyed Seussical because my part

Athena Ripka is an actress who has performed in How the Grinch Stole Christmas and White Christmas.

Mason Ripka is ranked No. 1 in the under 15 division in the United States for squash.

Lily Seo has appeared in the Yorkville Nutcracker.

Alex Pappajohn studies at Ballet Academy East.

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was very dramatic. I liked High School Musical too, but I didn’t have as dramatic a role.”

While Gladding spends a lot of time acting, dancing and singing, she also enjoys other activities, including playing with dolls with her sisters. Although many of the other talented Upper East Side kids don’t have the leisure time to pursue side interests, Talia Boylan, a junior at The Brearly School and participant in the Pre-College Juilliard Program for composition, finds time to write poetry and volunteer as an editor of one of her high school’s publications.

“Every bit of the process is as important to me as a so-called achievement,” Boylan said.

Susan O’Doherty, a blogger and psychologist who specializes in working with artists, said that the drive to continuously hone their skills, in addition to their immense talent, is what truly sets these kids apart.

“A kid can be gifted and lazy or gifted and driven, or brilliant but too insecure or depressed to seek out opportunities to learn or

perform,” she said. “For some, the dream is just that, while others pursue it aggressively.”

When Darla Hoover, associate artistic dance director of the pre-professional division at Ballet Academy East, was asked what her students shared in common, she mentioned “supportive parents.”

Stella Seo, mother of ballet student Lily Seo, explained, “Communication between your child and yourself is important. It’s key to keep an open dialogue and keep things flexible.”

Zach Allen, 16, has played Webster Hall with his band Radio Silence NYC.

Know a TalenTed UPPeR easT sIde KId?

Aaron Brown is part of the Metropolitan Opera Children’s Chorus and has performed in La Bohème and Hansel and Gretel.

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N EW S YO U LIV E B Y

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OctOber 13 • 5:30 pm

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October 6, 2011

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Photo courtesy of New york writes itself

Writing Staff, 8 Million

The city that never sleeps now has a way of chronicling the everydayness of New Yorkers

By John Blahnik Nowadays, it’s a cliché that any movie about blocked writers will eventually feature a postmodern epiphany. This is it, they’ll think. The movie should be our lives. Leo Burnett USA has now enabled New Yorkers to do something similar.

A longtime presence in Chicago, the ad agency catapulted into the national consciousness in the 1950s as the people behind the Pillsbury Doughboy, the Marlboro Man, the Jolly Green Giant and a type of corporate Americana emblematic of the Midwest. Now, six months into the opening of their first Manhattan branch, the firm has come out with something decidedly New York.

“We were all experiencing city life in a new way,” said creative director Max Goodwin about the move. “I had just come from Denver, and two other directors, Michael Canning and Kieran Antill, had just come from Sydney, and we found ourselves saying, ‘You won’t believe what I just heard’ or ‘Imagine what I just saw.’

We wanted to create a way to capture

these moments and use them to fuel creativity.”

The result was New York Writes Itself.

Live since June, the project, online at www.newyorkwritesitself.com, is billed as a running script of the city written by the city. Any New Yorker can register and start writing—the only requirement is that posts capture something observed within the five boroughs.

“It’s all about fleeting moments,” said Goodwin. “We’ve boiled it down to three categories: a character description, just a passerby you found amazing; a scene you might witness, something more than an individual; or a quote.”

The three categories already have some highlights. User Marco writes about Mr. Superfly, a man who looks like he’s walked out of a 1970s blaxploitation film and into the East Village, dismissing those who stare at him as if they were the crazy ones. Simen writes about a truck driver stuck behind a girl on a bike; the honking, the frustrated yelling, the tailgating, and then the change of tone. “Nice ass,” says

Actor Kevin Conway will read submissions from New York Writes Itself. the driver, now patiently following her. At a bar, user Goody overhears a pack of frat boys declare that they don’t drink beer, only shots, then place their order: three lemon drops.

There are also an unavoidable number of mediocre entries. Many users don’t bother with spelling or grammar. “Would of” is standard for “would have.” Too often the pieces are of the only-in-New-York variety, some hackneyed sketch relaying the wacky antics of the unhinged. But never do you go through these without eventually hitting something good, like this quote, again overheard by Goody, from an upwardly mobile couple visiting friends on the Lower East Side: “What they need is a doorman and an elevator.” The subtle implication that some

buildings have doormen but no elevators almost inspires a subsequent scene, in which a uniformed man tosses open a set of gilded doors and gestures the way to the affluent guests, up five flights of stairs.

“That’s what they’re supposed to do,” said Goodwin. “Recording the observations is just step one toward the final goal, which is inspiring New York art. Although you own what you put up, you agree to let others use it in whatever way they can.”

The agency is jumpstarting this process itself. Every week it plans to hand their favorite submissions over to actor Kevin Conway, who will perform the pieces around the five boroughs for a new web series called The Chairman. And on Dec. 15, the Art Directors Club will exhibit the best posts as interpreted by local letterpress printers in a show that will run through Jan. 6.

“The more you post, the better chance you have of getting produced,” said Goodwin. “It’s not about being a writer, it’s about being observant. We’re looking for people from all walks of life and from all parts of New York.”

And does that include a Park Avenue adman?

“Of course,” said Goodwin. “I post whenever I can. My username is Goody.”

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Ah Betty! The New York Return of a Leading Lady

By Mark Peikert be part of the family,” she said. “They’ve Broadway legend Betty Buckley, invited me to do an extended engagement at who cemented her status with the song Feinstein’s every year, which keeps me sharp “Memory” in Cats, hasn’t been seen on and keeps me good. Putting a show like this Broadway since 1997’s Triumph of Love, together takes months and it’s hard work, but but her fans have had plenty of chances to it’s really, really fun to research the material hear and see her since. and learn it and find In addition to Buckley’s the arrangements 13 solo albums (anoth“Twelve to 14, that original for it.” er, Ghostlight, is on the Buckley startkid, is who I really am, but I way in spring 2012, proed with 25 songs think I know a little more than before whittling duced by her long-time friend T Bone Burnett), I did when I was 12. My mind them down to she makes a yearly pil- just runs ahead, and then if it a choice few. grimage from her Texas doesn’t happen like that, it’s Included in the home to Feinstein’s at so disappointing. I try to live final 15 are two The Regency, 540 Park that she’s always in the present.”

Ave., to wrap her powwanted to take a erful voice around an crack at: South eclectic array of songs. This year’s act, Ah Pacific’s “Younger Than Springtime” and Men! The Boys of Broadway, finds the for- “Maria” from West Side Story. “I was very mer cross-dressing star of The Mystery of influenced by West Side Story when I was Edwin Drood once more tapping into her 14,” she said. “I wanted, really, to be Riff, masculine side with a collection of songs but Russ Tamblyn—remember him?— originally performed by Broadway’s lead- was my first fantasy guy. And then I got to ing men. dance in West Side Story in regional theDespite being a yearly fixture at Feinstein’s, ater the summer I was 15. I wanted to be Buckley laughed off comparisons to Elaine one of the gang, let me put it that way. I Stritch’s reign at The Carlyle. “There’s a wanted to dance down the street!” whole family there and I’m just thrilled to This will be the act’s premiere in New

Betty Buckley is currently performing at Feinstein’s.

York City, but Buckley has already tried it out on friends, family and audiences in Provincetown, where she went a few weeks ago for a test run. “It’s important to do something like that,” she said, “because at Feinstein’s you’re shot out of a cannon. You open on Tuesday and all the critics are there. It’s dire!”

In addition to the usual vocal work a

singer must do to prepare for a cabaret show, Buckley has also been prepping in other, more surprising ways. “Glenn O’Brien has a new book out that I just found, called How to Be a Man,” she said. “So I’m learning from that. I loved his style column in GQ. I hope he’ll come to the show!”

Among the other men Buckley counts herself a fan of are theater luminaries Robert Preston, George Hearn, Len Cariou—“I hate making lists like this, because you always leave off the one you love the most,” Buckley said—Raúl Esparza, Norm Lewis and John Cameron Mitchell.

Despite the disappointment of two Broadway-bound shows falling through over the past year, Buckley remains committed to her craft. “I feel exactly the same way as when I was 12,” she said. “Twelve to 14, that original kid, is who I really am, but I think I know a little more than I did when I was 12. My mind just runs ahead, and then if it doesn’t happen like that, it’s so disappointing. I try to live in the present.”

Present or past, Buckley is an icon of the Broadway musical, and audiences will be eager to witness her skills with a song once more in Ah Men! at Feinstein’s.

And then again next year and the year after, and the year after…

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Learn The Alexander Technique!

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October 6, 2011

NEWS YOU LIVE BY

FILM

Unnatural Disasters

‘Take Shelter’ looks at a man overtaken by real, and perceived, anxieties

By Tom Hall There is an ineffable fear lying just beneath the surface of the modern American experience, a sense that powerful forces beyond our control are conspiring to have a profound impact on our lives. A visit to any of the 24-hour news channels only serves to reinforce the anxiety; images of war and revolution only make way for stories of political gridlock, missing children, true crime and natural disasters. The uncertainty fomented by these images populates our nightmares, spinning its own terrible narrative. How do we act rationally, how do we keep our cool, when everything seems to be falling apart around us?

Jeff Nichols’ extraordinary new film, Take Shelter, stands this proposition on its head; what happens if our anxiety overtakes us, if the rational world suddenly falls away and disaster looms everywhere we look?

Curtis (the astonishing Michael Shannon) is an Ohio construction worker with a beautiful wife (Jessica Chastain), a daughter (Tova Stewart), a modest house and visions that, very soon, it will all be swept away in an apocalyptic storm.

Curtis’ nightmarish hallucinations inspire him to action and he scrambles to prepare for the coming disaster and protect his family at all costs. But the more time he spends in preparation for the apocalypse he perceives as imminent, the more his real life begins to suffer; his working life, his role as husband and father—all of it pales against Curtis’ burning need to

find a haven from his nightmares.

But where? As the clouds gather around him, Curtis responds by undertaking the construction of an underground shelter, a massive project that draws the scrutiny of his family and, crucially, his employer. But when the local news channel announces an impending storm, Curtis and his family descend into the darkness of the buried sanctuary, riding out the storm, terrified of what may await them when they get back above ground.

Nichols’ premise takes on an added spiritual dimension by his decision to place the audience in complete cinematic empathy with Curtis, legitimizing his fear as more than just the panicked delirium of a troubled soul. Take Shelter is ambiguous about Curtis’ visions; tension is formed by the thought, planted ever so carefully inside each of us, that perhaps what Curtis sees is indeed prophetic. This is not a film that plays games with perspective or has a bag of tricks up its sleeve—we see what Curtis sees and we fear what might be true.

The decision to honor Curtis’ point of view is crucial to the dramatic success of the film and pays massive dividends as the movie spirals toward its harrowing climax.

In addition to a formally adventurous use of CGI effects in an otherwise lowbudget American independent film (Take Shelter would be a unique cinematic experience if only for its use of effects), Shannon’s performance as Curtis, a rational, working-class man who can scarce-

In a time of both manmade calamaties and bizarre acts of god, Michael Shannon gives a stunning performance as a construction worker father who becomes obsessed by what he believes is an impending apocalyptic storm. ly believe what he’s seeing in the world around him, is electrifying, a wide-eyed descent into the unknown that should garner award season attention.

The film, which premiered in January at the Sundance Film Festival, seems all the more prescient after the storms of 2011, when several American com-

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Free Legal Clinic Helps Tenants in Dire Straits know, ‘When your dog dies, you’re not allowed to have another dog,’ ‘If you don’t sign this I’m not going to give you your rent stabilized renewal lease.’ And if people don’t know their rights and they don’t know who to call, landlords get away with this. They can trick people out of their homes.”

Kellner recalled a case that spurred him to form the legal clinic two years ago.

“There was a woman in her twenties, and she actually worked for the New York State Department of Tax and Finance,” Kellner said. “She was living in a rent stabilized apartment and she’d inherited her parents’ house, which I think was 175 miles away in upstate New York. Her aunt lived there and all the bills for that house came to her apartment, and her landlord was bringing a frivolous eviction case, saying she really lived at this house 175 miles away and was doing a 400-mile round trip commute, even though she didn’t own a car.”

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eight years and MetroCard receipts to prove that the woman lived in her apartment.

Quart said that this sort of burden of proof is often placed on overwhelmed tenants who can’t even afford the photocopying costs— Attorney Paul Kushner counsels an Upper East Side tenant on sometimes $600 a dispute with her landlord. or $700, he said— required to submit documentation to the practice, has been donating his time at court, let alone an attorney. the clinic for over a year now. He said “With the liberal rules of discovery in that most of the people who walk in the housing court, even on a modest retain- door are simply in need of counsel and er or hourly fee, you’re talking about reassurance. $15,000 or 20,0000” for an attorney, said “People are very nervous when they Quart. “It’s an inequitable system. Just come in here because they’re afraid being right, or being on the right side of they’re going to be homeless,” he said. the law is often not enough.”

Dinnocenzo will often just educate Not all cases require costly court tenants, explaining their legal rights and appearances. Eric Dinnocenzo, an attor- helping them figure out where they stand CONTINUED ON PAGE 16 ney who represents tenants in his private

ANDREW SCHWARTZ

By Megan Finnegan Once a month, a cadre of lawyers holes up in a basement on the Upper East Side, doing what they can to assure desperN ORDER - Email Art ate tenants that yes, they do have rights rth and no, they’re not alone in facing down Media unscrupulous landlords and the daunting legal system into which they may be h St. Y 10018dragged.

Assembly Member Micah Kellner 724 Fax: began (212) 268-0502 partnering with attorneys from uction@manhattanmedia.com the Eviction Intervention Service to hold free legal clinics in 2009, after his office th@manhattanmedia.com was routinely inundated with calls from constituents pleading for guidance. Now .687”H,he 1/8holds pagethe clinics on the first Monday Ad on Thursday, of every 10.6.11 month along with Assembly Member Dan Quart, who was the chair of the clinic prior to being elected to the Assembly. Quart continues to volunteer as an attorney for the clinic.

“For the landlords, a lot of them have deep pockets,” said Kellner. “They bring frivolous actions in an attempt to try to get market rate—sending lease riders that are inappropriate, that say, you

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October 6, 2011

N EW S YO U LIV E B Y

Women’s Health Focus of New NYU Clinic

issues.

“I was the director of the NYU women’s heart program, and I talked to the hospital about developing a comprehensive women’s health center because I focused my career on women and heart disease,” said Goldberg. “Cardiac care is the anchor of the center, and in fact, heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women.”

Prior to working at the center, Goldberg often saw patients with potential symptoms of heart disease, which in women are often vague and difficult to pin down, who needed referrals to other specialists in order to find out what was wrong. She started thinking that it would be more efficient and convenient, both for patients and medical personnel, for a group of doctors focused exclusively on women’s health to be under one roof, sharing patients, medical records, resources and expertise.

“Many women are very busy and oftentimes wish they could do one-stop shopping,” said Goldberg. At the Tisch center, women can have an array of medical tests completed under one roof. Having doctors collaborate and share records electroni-

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and communicate with doctors through NYU’s system.

The center, which Rubin said accepts most insurance plans, offers diagnostic services in mammography, colonoscopy, pulmonary function, cardiac stress, echocardiogram, X-ray and ultrasound.

Women can visit primary care doctors as well as gynecologists, dermatologists, endocrinologists and other specialists. There is also a rehabilitation Nieca Goldberg, director of the Joan H. Tisch Medical Center and physical therapy on East 84th Street, which specializes in women’s health. area, and a space to cally also cuts down on the cost and time host community education forums, somespent doing paperwork and reduces the thing Goldberg is particularly excited possibilities of mistakes in a patient’s his- about. tory, since records are centrally managed.

“We’re going to have community-based Goldberg also said it will help patients education programs,” said Goldberg. avoid unnecessary duplicate testing, Programs will address topics from “heart because doctors at the center will be able disease to better breast health to horto easily access a patient’s records to see mones.” She hopes the center’s presence what they’ve had done,. The system also in the neighborhood will help women allows patients to securely go online to take charge of their health and learn see their test results, make appointments about issues particular to women.

ANDREW SCHWARTZ

By Megan Finnegan Upper East Side women now have a state-of-the-art medical center closer to home. When the administrators of the NYU Langone Medical Center at East 33rd Street noticed that many of their patients were coming from the Upper East Side, they decided it might be a good idea to bring their services further uptown, according to Vice President for Clinical Affairs Andrew Rubin.

While introducing the new Joan H. Tisch Medical Center to Community Board 8 at its last meeting, Rubin explained that the newly opened clinic hopes to cater to a population that already uses NYU’s medical services while cutting down on volume at the larger center in Midtown.

The Tisch Center, at 207 E. 84th St., has three floors of exam and consult rooms in an 18,000-square-foot space designed with calming aesthetics in mind. Dr. Nieca Goldberg, the director of the center, was a driving force behind its opening and, as an Upper East Side resident herself, is thrilled that she can now walk to work every day to lead a team of doctors in focusing solely on women’s health

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October 6, 2011

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with a difficult landlord. Sometimes, however, he’ll end up taking on their case, as he did with a Yorkville resident whose landlord was attempting to evict her and her disabled adult son. The son, who is autistic, had lived in the building with his mother for his entire life, but had recently developed Tourette syndrome and become a disturbance to other tenants.

Most cases aren’t as extreme, but small problems cause tenants just as much consternation. This Monday at the clinic, a pregnant woman with an 18-month-old son came in to seek help in getting her landlord to test the peeling paint in her apartment for lead. She and her husband have been living month-to-month in their apartment and dealing with an increasing difficulty in reaching the property manager and owner. They make only minimal repairs, like covering holes with caulking or foam, and haven’t been able to take care of a mouse infestation, the woman said. It was a typical case, said Kellner and Quart, of harassment by neglect— where landlords simply refuse to make basic repairs and upkeep for a building in the hope that people will move out so they can raise the rent.

“You’ve had, particularly recently, large sales of landlords scooping up [properties] at the top of the market, and

now the only way they’re going to recoup their investment is if they turn the rent rolls over,” Kellner said.

“On the Upper East Side, you would think that the apartments are in pretty good shape, but a lot of people come in here and their apartments are disasters,” said Paul Kushner, another attorney who volunteers at the clinic and also works with Eviction Intervention Services. Most of the time, however, all it takes is a little bit of muscle to get landlords to live up to their responsibilities.

“If a landlord gets a letter from an attorney or from an assembly member, it goes a long way, for better or for worse,” Kushner said.

Kellner agreed, saying that many times he knows the landlords and can talk to them, asking them informally to back down on unreasonable claims or to make legally mandated repairs. If that doesn’t work, he’ll send a strongly worded letter from his office, which often gets the ball rolling. Sometimes the tenants are in the wrong, too, for not paying rent or violating the terms of their leases, but the clinic’s attorneys can still help them sort through the legal ramifications and come out the other side with a solution.

“We’re not able to help everyone, but we’ve done a lot to help as many people as we could,” said Quart.

InvisibleDogs.org 16

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N EW S YO U LIV E B Y

Dining

No White Whine About these White Wines Celebrating the resurgence of Spanish whites

By Josh Perilo For those who have been following along, I’ve been profiling some of the major wine trends and highlighting my findings from this year’s swath of New York City portfolio tastings. The tastings are an opportunity for wine and liquor distributors in the area to open “one of everything,” so to speak, and let their customers try stuff that they might not have a chance to otherwise.

It’s also a great chance to survey the landscape and take notice of where the industry is heading. I try to look at these events in a “forest for the trees” kind of way, sometimes noticing unfortunate trends but sometimes noticing the encouraging proliferation of up-and-coming areas and grapes that deserve more of the spotlight.

I am extremely happy to report that one of my favorite, albeit broad, categories of wine saw a huge surge in presence at the tasting tables this year. I am speaking of white wines from Spain. This, of course, covers a hefty spectrum; virtu-

ally every wine-growing region in Spain produces white wine. But the American market has had a hard time catching on to these delicious and often complex wines.

Perhaps that is beginning to change.

Today I will profile several of the amazing white wines I’ve tasted from several different regions of Spain to hopefully jumpstart your own personal tasting trip

By Josh Perilo through that country’s great vineyards.

Starting in Rueda, a growing area known for its whites just west of Ribera del Duero, where the verdejo grape flourishes. I look at this grape almost as Spain’s answer to Grüner Veltliner. It can be delicate and floral but fruity and complex at the same time. The Ipsum Rueda 2010 ($12.99 at Morrell & Company, 1 Rockefeller Plaza, 212-223-1846) is 60 percent verdejo and represents the grape well. The scent of sugar-sprinkled grapefruit is dominant on the nose. The palate is refreshing but layered, with honey and grass notes up front and white pepper in the middle. I wish there was a longer fin-

ish, but it’s still very good. peach and orange blossom honey. All of Going 100 percent verdejo, the Oro de this is balanced perfectly with a firm acidCastilla Rueda 2010 ($15.99 at Morrell & ity on the finish. One of the best balanced Company) cranks the complexity up to 11. whites I’ve had in a long time.

There’s tons of wet earth, mushroom and Spain also has its own quirky local grapes funk on the nose, with a backbone of citrus that you won’t find anywhere else. While rind. The palate shimmers with minerality and it may be some time before you see these underripe peach wines on the notes. The finshelves of every ish is clean and corner momVirtually every wine-growing region crisp, balancing and-pop liquor in Spain produces white wine. out the vibrant store, it’s worth But the American market has had front end. This seeking them a hard time catching on to these is the definition out for their of a white wine uniqueness. delicious and often complex wines. made for food.

The Bodegas Traveling all the way to the northwest- Berroja Berroia 2010 ($15.99 at 67 Wine, ern coast of Spain, the area of Rias Baixas 179 Columbus Ave. at 68th St.. 212-724-6767) has some of the best albariño Spain has to is made of 90 percent Hondarribi Zuri grapes, offer. Not unlike verdejo, albariño wines but what’s really important is how delicious can be delicate and complex at the same it is. Tons of bright citrus on the nose lead to time. I’ve found them to be even more a swath of juicy, ripe lemon and orange up versatile, however. front on the palate. This is followed by a clean The Pazo de Galegos Albariño 2010 and refreshing middle, with lots of wet lime($14 at Yorkshire Wines and Spirits, 1646 stone and hints of chervil. A clean, crisp finish 1st Ave. at 85th St., 212-717-5100) has lots makes this a wine that’ll remind you of sumof bright green herbs, but also a good mer, even in the dead of winter. amount of creamy vanilla on the nose.

I hope you found something to pique More vanilla up front on the palate seg- your interest in this year’s portfolio tastues gently and naturally into ripe white ings overview. I know I did!

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new york family

The Happiest Doctor

By Whitney Casser A household name for over a decade, Dr. Harvey Karp has helped millions of parents navigate the demanding, often difficult aspects of the baby years. For new moms and dads, Karp’s now-classic books and DVDs—The Happiest Baby on the Block and The Happiest Toddler on the Block—have taught them how to successfully swaddle, shush and swing their babies into relaxed bliss and communicate with their toddlers in a way that actually works.

Married for 14 years to his wife, Nina, Karp was raised in Queens and attended Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. Now, with nearly 30 years of pediatric experience under his belt, a pair of books that have been translated into more than 20 different languages and a “Super Soothing” sleep sounds CD, Karp continues to spread his words of wisdom to parents across the globe through lectures and outreach programs.

With his enormous and enduring influence, some have called Karp a latter-day Dr. Spock. Karp himself, however, still seems like the hardworking and humble pediatrician he’s always been.

When did you first realize that your methods for quieting babies and communicating with toddlers were working? Did you have an “Aha!” moment?

Harvey Karp: I was studying childhood development at UCLA and I learned about a tribe in Southern Africa where the parents could calm their crying babies in under a minute. I had been taught that

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some babies could cry two, three, four hours a day, so when I learned that there were people in Africa who were so much more successful than we were in our culture, that was an “Aha!” moment for me.

I realized that either those children were different from our children or those parents knew something that we had forgotten in our culture.

What inspired you to create The Happiest Baby on the Block and The Happiest Toddler on the Block books and DVDs and spread the knowledge of your techniques?

As a pediatrician, I saw that I was giving parents tools that were helpful, so it was a natural desire to reach even more parents. I also came to realize that, through teaching my own patients, just telling people what to do, as one might through a book, isn’t enough. You have to demonstrate it.

I also wanted to get dads more involved, and dads were much more likely to watch a half-hour video than to read a 300-page parenting book. All parents struggle to find the time. It’s hard to find time to get through that type of reading, and we’re a TV generation!

Have you ever encountered a baby you couldn’t calm?

What I’ve found is that if these techniques don’t work for babies, 95 percent of the time it’s because they’re not being done correctly. But if everything is done correctly and it’s still not working, then the child needs a medical evaluation,

Photos by Katie Davies, Claire alyse PhotograPhy

Dr. Harvey Karp has helped countless parents calm their babies and understand their toddlers—not to mention get a lot more sleep

because the likely reason for crying is that there is something physical.

schedules were so demanding. But seeing 20 little kids every day, who I can build confidence with and build relationships with, is just great. As a doctor, it’s such a privileged position—people invite you into the deepest part of their family, so that was the most gratifying part of being a doctor and the hardest part for me not to have anymore.

Tell us about your work with toddlers.

When a toddler is happy, your voice gets happy, too. With young children though, when they’re upset, we actually do the opposite. Most parents become more calm, quiet and reserved, like we’re trying to convince them into being more calm, which makes children actually feel worse. What is the best piece of parenting It makes them scream louder. Or they lis- advice you’ve ever received? What ten to us and calm down, but they keep about the worst advice? those feelings inside and they grow up The best is don’t go to bed mad. Work thinking that nobody wants to hear how things out. Even if you agree to disagree, angry they are or how they feel. That’s a do it in such a way that you don’t have very unhealthy way to to go to sleep with grow up. hostility.

When kids are very The worst has to At tHe New PAreNts exPo happy, we naturally do with discipline; use “toddlerese.” We want to meet the happiest doctor it’s that kids need to say, “Oh that’s great! on the block? You can catch Dr. be intimidated. With You did it! Good job!” Karp at our New Parents expo each generation, we But when they’re oct. 15 and 16 at Pier 92, where learn new things. unhappy, we develop the famous doc will be a special Spanking is an old— an unhealthy way keynote speaker. For tickets, visit ancient—way of of interacting with NewParentsexpo.com. disciplining through them. What’s imporintimidation, but tant is nonverbal communication and ultimately it’s a dead-end street. I mean, speaking to a young child with more emo- nobody wants to hit their kid. If they had tion in your voice when they’re upset. You a simple way that would work, I don’t mirror about 30 percent of their emotion. think anyone would hit their kids. And so my job now is letting people know the What do you like most about working ways that exist. with children?

This article first appeared in the It’s just so much fun. I’m not in prac- October 2011 issue of New York Family. tice anymore, though. I stopped that six For more parenting stories visit years ago because my travel and writing newyorkfamily.com

Meet Dr. Harvey Karp

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Mayoral Travel Bill Going Nowhere

Indeed, voters have known all along about their mayor, whether it’s his personality or weekends away. They elected the Upper East Sider three times. That’s one time too many, as it turned out, but third terms are usually as difficult to watch as movie sequels. Even with Bloomberg occasionally MIA, we’ve survived, give or take a snowfall or a few snickers and complaints.

This man has travel options. He need they do not intrude on his personal safe- not depend on frequent-flyer miles. ty, because that’s what an honest elected All along, New Yorkers themselves official (no, this is not an oxymoron) does have had a weird relationship with when dealing with a free press. And the Bloomberg’s cash. They’re fascinated man behind the Bloomberg media brand by it, jealous of it, worried about it— should have a little more toler- but never too worried. There’s a legal ance for the questions. trial on right now that’s highlighting Still, Quinn’s move sure won’t Bloomberg’s passion for spending his keep critics from calling her the own money, but nobody seems particumayor’s lapdog. First she helped larly shocked. He basically launched him net a third term and now his 2001 mayoral bid with a mad dash of she’s protected him from an ugly donating within the Republican Party conflict with the council and structure, initially upending the notion even more news stories about that he was a basically liberal fellow who his gorgeous getaways to Bermuda and donated to progressive candidates and London. Quinn has political smarts and causes. By 2007, the ruse was over and personal warmth and, it was national the last time I checked, news that he killer hair, but some was becoming All along, New Yorkers Democrats think she’s an independent. themselves have had a been too cozy with the That maneuweird relationship with Republican-turnedver did not Bloomberg’s cash. independent mayor. keep him from When questioned, appearing again this mayor bristles a lot for a guy who as the Republican candidate in 2009. keeps showing up on Meet the Press to He’s made the trip all over the political tell the world what he thinks about things. map.

He’s been downright mean in news conLike I said, he enjoys traveling. ferences, but that gets under-reported because the news folk do not make for Christopher Moore is a writer who particularly sympathetic figures. Anyway, lives in Manhattan. He can be reached New Yorkers like some ’tude from their by email at ccmnj@aol.com and is on mayor.

Twitter @cmoorenyc.

Bloomberg should tell us where he’s going, but not because he’s forced to

By Christopher Moore I don’t want to go all Ron Paul on you, but not everything should be a law.

Take, for instance, the bill designed to force Mayor Michael Bloomberg to reveal where he is on a given weekend.

There’s been a big, ongoing fuss over the mayor’s refusal to tell us where the heck he is, especially after the lackluster response to last December’s big blizzard. The forceful administration-designed preparation for this summer’s hurricane happening helped, but City Council Member Peter F. Vallone Jr. still had some legislation in mind. He sponsored a bill that would force a mayor to tell the city clerk when he or she is traveling either 250 miles from the city or outside the country for more than 24 hours.

In the latest twist last week, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn pretty much killed the bill’s chances in the short run. She decided the plan won’t get a hearing any time soon. Or as Vallone told The New York Times: “I was told that the Council was focusing on other issues.”

Not a bad idea. There are other, more pressing issues. This legislation is not needed; candor and accountability are.

The mayor should tell us where he’s going out of respect for his constituents.

He should answer questions, so long as

LET T ER S

More than a Ribbon

foods. Research has also shown that plantbased diets can help prevent heart disease As someone living with breast cancer, and diabetes, too, so both men and womI’m grateful that so many people are trying en—whether they have a family history of to raise awareness about the disease, but breast cancer or not—can benefit by eating simply wearing a pink ribbon—or toting a vegan foods. pink bag or using pink dental floss—isn’t I’m confident that, if I continue to eat disgoing to save many lives. ease-fighting foods, I’ll win If we are going to win the my battle against breast New Parents Expo: The best new products for your baby war on cancer, we must cancer. I’ll also save ani40 exercise regularly, get roumals’ lives along the way. I tine medical check-ups and hope everyone will join me choose healthy, plant-based in eating green in October, 2 foods.

National Breast Cancer Studies show that womAwareness Month—and en who eat lots of fruit, all year long. Wearing pink Our Salute to the...

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Page 43

A RY

Since 1970

Shelter Shocker

I agree with Mickey Kramer’s opinion (“Broken System,” Sept. 29) that it is obvious that with two fewer shelters available, more animals will not be able to be housed! It is an automatic death sentence! New York City could have used the money to build at least one other shelter in the Bronx or in Queens!

As an out of state resident, I do not understand why the building of two new shelters is not a viable and accepted solution. I would appreciate an answer to this question from Elizabeth Forel. What is the reason that Quinn and the City Council fought against building two new shelters? Is it the cost?

DianE m. KastEl Wheaton, Ill. N EW S YO U LIV E B Y

new york gal

Little Victories and Missoni Mania Winning one in the age of economic and romantic upheaval

By Lorraine Duffy Merkl I don’t know how I sat through it.

In I Don’t Know How She Does It, Sarah Jessica Parker is “Kate,” an accomplished hedge fund manager who commutes to Manhattan two days a week to wheel and deal in a palatial office with a counterpart (Pierce Brosnan) who is not only a smart, ethical businessman but is handsome, charming and solicitous. Plus, he’s in love with her.

In the past three decades, I have known NYC working women (as well as been one) who, no matter how much they put themselves out there professionally and personally, have never seen Kate’s success (save those who had it but lost it in the economic downfall), toiled side by side with such a trustworthy partner or found someone so open to romance.

Maybe that explains the real reason for the already well-documented frenzy at

Target to score a piece of its Missoni collection. New Yorkers just needed a way to literally grab a little victory—something they see their lives as lacking in.

Out of journalistic curiosity—or perhaps I’m just a glutton for punishment— I returned to Target on 117th and East River Drive the day after the Missoni mêlée had taken place. The store staff was still shell-shocked from the day before, when customers had lined up at 6 a.m. Many stood back in a group, some laughing, others shaking their heads and reciting as though it were their mantra: These people are crazy. And who were we to argue?

After all, I had been there the day before, at 8:10 a.m., but all the designer items had been scooped by 8:05. Some shoppers took more than they needed to sell on eBay; others snagged the lone item they coveted (a woman rode the Missoni bike to the register), while a few left

empty-handed.

The next day was not as frantic but just as disappointing for most. Target had not restocked their Missoni shelves. (Read the fine print: while supplies last.) Then there was the walkie-talkie alert that employees were needed in housewares—to break up a fight over a cup (that’s a black & white zig-zag print ceramic Missoni cup.)

With no designer merchandise to buy, most the crowd headed out, but some of us made a pit stop at the Customer Service desk.

It seems that in the spirit of “once you have the thing you wanted you don’t want it anymore,” the previous day’s shoppers were making returns. I inquired if we could buy those items. The answer was a firm “No.” It was explained that they had to go back into Target’s Draconian “system” before they could be put back on the

racks.

So people were buying the unwanted purchases right from their owners, leaving the returns cashier with nothing to do but yes, shake her head and mumble the word, “Crazy.”

Aside from the obvious—Missoni is a big designer name ($1500 pants anyone?) and getting something from such a high-end house for next to nothing is quite a coup—I think people just needed a “win,” such as snagging a coffee mug and, a la Scarlett O’Hara with the carrot, holding it up to recite triumphantly (if only to oneself), “As God as my witness, I’ll never lose out again.”

Perhaps this is how a non-Kate of the world needs to prove she “does it.”

After being crushed under the economy’s bootheel or that of a romantic interest, a small accomplishment is better than none, even if—in the vernacular of the Target staff—it makes you look a little crazy.

CITIQUeTTe

The Tao of Mingling

looking out the window at a building across the street. “It looks like a beached whale wearing mirrored sunglasses,” the man said. The three of us laughed. It did kind of look like a whale from that angle.

The conversation took off from there. his mind like, “Who are the most imporI talked to that couple for a truly delighttant or most interesting guests here?” ful 45 minutes. I still don’t know who they “Can this person further my career or my were or what, if anything, they do for a livproject in some way?” or “How can I find ing. They didn’t ask me; I didn’t ask them. out what this person’s It was totally anonymous mingling marital status is?” Others (which, unlike anonymous sex, is have a different sort of risk-free.) It buoyed me, The best conversations are spontaneous completely mental agenda, one that it rejuvenated me. I don’t even really ones. And while folks who live in parts is more or less informaremember what we talked about for of the country where the pace is nice tion-seeking. These are all that time, except that it was fun the multitaskers hoping and playful, creative and parenthetiand slow may not have to remind to make the party “worth cal. It was conversation for converthemselves to simply shoot the breeze it” who are constantly sation’s sake. It was like a piece of or chew the fat, we do here. thinking things like, verbal art we all wove together— “Maybe there is someone here I effortless, improvisational and ultican talk to about which schools would be ised she would introduce me to a man who mately inspirational. good for my kids,” “I wonder if this per- was, by all accounts, the perfect dealer for That night I remembered why I love son knows where to shop for a new bed” an antique desk I was hoping to sell. talking to strangers. I had thought I was or “Ah…he’s at Chase; might he tell me After a semi-productive conversation going to the party to meet an antique dealwhat stocks to dump?” with the dealer about the desk and after er, but it turned out it was to commune And of course, often the partygoer’s having the author sign a copy of his book with the wonderful tweedy couple. I was mind isn’t even at the party. She may be for me, I found myself feeling aimless—in in a good mood for hours afterward. smiling on the outside, but inside be won- a good way. Aimless, in this situation, is So at your next cocktail party, try condering who is texting her (she can feel her actually what we aim for. I wandered for versing without any aspirations. Because, phone vibrating) and whether it would be a few minutes before encountering a tall, trust me, expecting no social reward is rude to excuse herself from the current tweedy couple (a middle-aged man and the key to the most rewarding kind of conversation to check. Or thinking about woman, obviously together). They were socializing there is.

Checking your agenda at the door

By Jeanne Martinet It sounds like a simple thing, something we all should know: When you go to a cocktail party, it’s best to leave whatever social “goals” and expectations you may have at the door along with your coat and hat.

The best conversations are spontaneous ones. And while folks who live in parts of the country where the pace is nice and slow may not have to remind themselves to simply shoot the breeze or chew the fat, we do here. (In fact, here we are more likely try to burn off the fat.) The Big Apple is such a who-do-you-know, where-are-youheaded and how-fast-can-you-get-there kind of town that it makes us less able to let go and just be in the moment. (What— me, stop and smell the roses? Okay, but while I’m doing that, I’d better go ahead and buy a couple dozen, so I’ll have them ready for next weekend.)

When your average New Yorker sets out to mingle at a party with strangers, there are usually thoughts in the back of O u r To w n NY. c o m

what she is going to have for dinner or whether she and her husband are going to continue the fight they were having before they got to the party once they get home.

Not too long ago, I went to a book launch downtown. The main reason I went, besides being interested in the author (which I was) and besides the fact that I rarely turn down any invitation if I can help it, was that the hostess had prom-

October 6, 2011

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