Our Town - January 5, 2017

The local paper for the Upper East Side

WEEK OF JANUARY THE CITY’S MOSAIC < P. 12

5-11 2017

The 86th Street station on Second Avenue on Dec. 30.

Photo: The Governor’s Office

BYE-BYE BARRICADES After years of construction, small business owners on the Upper East Side hope the new subway will bring more customers

BY CHARMAINE P. RICE

Free at last.

Of the Second Avenue Subway construction, that is.

Small business owners from 72nd to 96th Streets are welcoming the New Year with a renewed sense of optimism and gratitude for barricade-free sidewalks and storefronts.

Business owners, managers, and employees expressed relief from the seemingly never-ending construction that plagued their businesses for nearly a decade. Those in the small-business community spanning this stretch of the Upper East Side were all affected — from neighborhood staples to newly-established shops alike.

“I’m not going to miss the constant disruption,” said Dave Goodside, owner of the Beach Cafe, a popular Upper East Side restaurant. “The noise, the jack-hammering, smoke, and being blocked and obstructed behind construction equipment won’t be missed.” The iconic eatery, located on the corner of 70th Street and Second Avenue, has been a neighborhood fixture for the past 48 years. “We are a place where real New Yorkers go for comfort food — for a bowl of chili or a hamburger — and to talk about the news of the day.”

The restaurant’s location is poised for further exposure: two new gleaming entrances to the Second Avenue Subway at 72nd Street are located mere steps away. “As to the future, it will be a learning curve to see what kind

CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

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O OURTOWNNY.COM @OurTownNYC

A FIRST RIDE ON THE SECOND AVENUE SUBWAY New train for a new year: the city’s highly anticipated transit line opens at last

BY MADELEINE THOMPSON

The crowd waiting to board an uptown Q train at the 57th Street/Seventh Avenue Station was in an unusually festive mood. Musicians played jaunty tunes, camera crews set up to shoot and people smiled as friends and family members took their pictures in front of the train. As the clock struck noon, the train’s doors slid open and everyone cheered, proud and excited to be the first ones to ride it.

Crime Watch Voices Out & About City Arts

3 8 10 12

”Ladies and gentlemen,” a voice intoned over the loudspeaker, “this is a 96th Street/Second Avenue bound Q train.”

Nearly 100 years and more than $4 billion after it was initially proposed, the Second Avenue Subway opened to the public at noon on New Year’s Day. The three new stations at East 72nd, 86th and 96th Streets will hopefully bring some relief to the jampacked 4/5/6 line, which has been bearing the brunt of the heaviest total subway ridership the city has seen since 1948.

Sarah Quin, who lives on the Upper East Side at First Avenue, called her morning commute on

Restaurant ratings 14 Real Estate 17 15 Minutes 21

the 4/5/6 “a disaster.” Despite her worry that rents in the area will skyrocket, Quin said she hopes the benefits of the new line outweigh the costs. “I’m worried for people who have been here a long time, and for small business along Second Avenue,” she said. “But I’m super pumped about actually having subway service.” Quin had come to ride the first uptown Q train with two friends who were equally excited. “I felt like the most important part of my transition into adulthood was knowing how to use the subway system,” said Finn Vigeland, a friend of Quin’s and self-described transit nerd. “I

love trains, so to actually see this happen is thrilling.”

As the train traveled from one station to the next, riders pressed their faces to the windows hoping to discern differences between these dark tunnels and the ones they knew so

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 Jewish women and girls light up the world by lighting the Shabbat candles every Friday evening 18 minutes before sunset.

Friday, January 6 – 4:26 pm.

For more information visit www.chabaduppereastside.com

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MEET THE CHEF: SHAKE SHACKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S MARK ROSATI Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been traveling a lotâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;is it for business or fun?

Business, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been fun too! We just opened our ďŹ rst location in Tokyo a few weeks ago. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been doing a lot expanding, but still very much have our hands in every single location, so Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been spending a lot of time on planes.

Does Shake Shack change its menu abroad or between cities?

We do. One part of our menu that changes in every single location worldwide and domestically is our frozen custard. We always create concretes that are locally inspired by the neighborhood. We like to hold up a mirror to that neighborhood and reďŹ&#x201A;ect back some of their history and culinary heritage through the voice and style of Shake Shack.

Every now and then weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be so inspired by a city that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll create a burger for it. Right now we only have

two: one in Texas, and one in Los Angeles. So you have to go to those cities to get those burgersâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;they have a really strong culinary connection to those cities.

How did you get started in the culinary business?

It actually kind of found me. When I moved to New York City over 20 years ago, I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t help but be inspired by the restaurant scene in the city.

I fell in love with Gramercy Tavern.

But I met the chef at Gramercy Tavern and started asking him about all of these dishes at the restaurant. He said to me, â&#x20AC;&#x153;If you ever want to come watch us cook one night, hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s my card.â&#x20AC;? And I came in that Sunday. I always cooked at home, read books, watched cooking shows, but actually getting into that kitchen to see all of that cooking theory come to life got me hooked. I worked for free there for a two months because I had no cu-

linary background. I eventually did three years in that kitchen, learned every culinary station, and then a few years at other restaurants, but after that I wanted to keep growing, maybe get into management, but the only restaurant in our company at that time that had a management position open was Shake Shack, and I did not want it.

I was like â&#x20AC;&#x153;What about the other restaurantsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;what about Blue Smoke!?

Those guys barbeque and drink bourbon all day, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s me!â&#x20AC;? But I begrudgingly said yes to the Shake Shack Interview, and after going through it and saw that there was still that same high-quality meat and produce from Gramercy, and that there was still that same great Danny Meyer comradery and culture as there are at all of his restaurants. So I went into it thinking Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d try it out for a year, and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m coming up on my ten year anniversaryâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;so thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how quickly time moves at the Shack.

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one of your signature items at Shake Shack?

One of my personal favorites is the ďŹ rst new burger we added to the menu since the inception of Shake Shack. It was about 5 years ago, at ďŹ rst we were hesitant to add anythingâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;things were going really well, and it was like, if itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not broken donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t ďŹ x it. But we also wanted to have some fun and wanted to work with bacon. But we didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to just add bacon to the menu and have people throwing it on their Shack Burgers; we wanted to really make a statement with it, like we do with everything on the menu. So we created a burger based around all of the textures, ďŹ&#x201A;avors, and smokiness of

bacon: The Smoke Shack burger.

But we needed something that would cut the heaviness of the burger, make it feel light and really clean the palate, so I thought back to my childhood. I grew up Italian-American, and one of the dishes my family would make on Sundays was a pork chop with cherry peppers. The cherry peppers had a great acidity, tanginess, and heat that would cut through the richness.

So I chopped them up and put them on the burger. And while it is all about the smokiness and the bacon, I think those cherry peppers really end up stealing the show.

Check out what Mark and the Shake Shack team are bringing to the table at the Art of Food: www.artoffoodny.com

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JANUARY 5-11,2017

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CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG BURGLARY SPREE

STATS FOR THE WEEK

Police are alerting residents of a rash of burglaries along in the First Avenue neighborhood between 64th and 65th Streets and are advising them to keep windows locked until the perpetrator or perpetrators are apprehended.

In the ďŹ rst incident, which took place between Nov. 4 and Dec. 21, a couple living at 1194 First Ave., just south of 65th Street, noticed items missing from their apartment. Police determined that the burglar or burglars had gained access to the apartment through a kitchen window from a network of scaffolding and ďŹ re escapes surrounding the building. The items stolen included a Spiewak parka valued at $900, black Red Wing boots priced at $250, and a Puma jersey tagged at $150.

A resident on a different ďŹ&#x201A;oor in the same building then reported her sunglasses and earrings had gone missing on either Dec. 22 or Dec. 23, while a laptop had been relocated.

Again the window was the point of entry for the burglar. A few days later, the woman reported to police that she was awoken on Dec. 29 at about 6 a.m. when she heard a noise outside her window. She screamed, and a presumed would-be burglar ďŹ&#x201A;ed. A few minutes later, a resident at 421

Reported crimes from the 19th precinct Week to Date

Tony Webster, via ďŹ&#x201A;ickr

E. 65th St., about half block from the First Avenue building, told police she someone attempting to open one of her windows. She screamed, and again the would-be perpetrator ďŹ&#x201A;ed.

Later that day, another of the

buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s residents told police he that sometime time between when he left his apartment at 8 a.m. and when he returned at 12:40 p.m. someone had broken into his apartment via a living room window and taken $100 in cash

Year to Date

2017 2016

% Change

2017

2016

% Change

Murder

0

0

n/a

2

1

100.0

Rape

0

0

n/a

5

8

-37.5

Robbery

4

2

100.0

98

105

-6.7

Felony Assault

3

1

200.0

126

122

3.3

Burglary

8

5

60.0

209

172

21.5

Grand Larceny

34

40

-15.0

1,412

1,391

1.5

Grand Larceny Auto

0

0

n/a

71

74

-4.1

and $600 in Euro currency.

And sometime between Dec. 20 and Dec. 26, a resident of 429 East 65th St. away on vacation received an alert that someone had purchased PlayStation merchandise using his PayPal account. When the man returned home he found items missing and others relocated, while his bedroom window had been unlocked. The items stolen included a PlayStation 4 valued at $300, two PS4 controllers priced at $120, and four PlayStation games.

COMPUTER PROBLEMS An East 96th Street resident was scammed out of $34,000 by someone advising her by phone on several occasions since August that her computer had problems that the caller could ďŹ x â&#x20AC;&#x201D; for a price. The calls continued until December 9.

The woman, 79, paid the caller via iTunes gift cards to repair the alleged problems.

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Trainwreck: The Women We Love to Hate, Mock, and Fear...and Why

THURSDAY, JANUARY 5TH, 6:30PM Mid-Manhattan Library | 455 Fifth Ave. | 212-340-0863 | nypl.org Mass culture has opened up access to vast landscapes of once private territory, exposing â&#x20AC;&#x153;trainwrecksâ&#x20AC;? of female star behavior. Author Sady Doyle points out this is nothing new; she speaks on gender expectations and â&#x20AC;&#x153;the feminist anatomy of the female trainwreck.â&#x20AC;? (Free)

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For more information about lectures, readings and other intellectually stimulating events throughout NYC,

sign up for the weekly Thought Gallery newsletter at thoughtgallery.org.

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JANUARY 5-11,2017

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Useful Contacts POLICE NYPD 19th Precinct

153 E. 67th St.

212-452-0600

FDNY 22 Ladder Co 13

159 E. 85th St.

311

FDNY Engine 39/Ladder 16

157 E. 67th St.

311

FDNY Engine 53/Ladder 43

1836 Third Ave.

311

FDNY Engine 44

221 E. 75th St.

311

FIRE

STATE LEGISLATORS’ MIXED YEAR Gambling, family leave, the minimum wage and corruption among the highs and lows

politically connected development firms were also charged.

Cuomo has said he was shocked and disappointed by the charges. All of those charged have pleaded not guilty. Percoco was an especially close aide, whose service to the Cuomo family dates back to his years working for Cuomo’s father, the late Gov. Mario Cuomo.

“I hold my administration to the highest level of integrity,” Cuomo said following Percoco’s arrest in September. “I have zero tolerance for abuse of the public trust from anyone. If anything, a friend should be held to an even higher standard.”

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s earlier investigations into Albany corruption led to the convictions of former Democratic Speaker Sheldon Silver and ex-Republican Senate Leader Dean Skelos in 2015.

Meanwhile, efforts to address Albany’s wicked ways fell flat again, with lawmakers passing only modest ethics reforms.

More than 30 lawmakers have left office facing criminal or ethical allegations since 2000.

CITY COUNCIL Councilmember Daniel Garodnick

211 E. 43rd St. #1205

212-818-0580

Councilmember Ben Kallos

244 E. 93rd St.

212-860-1950

State Sen. Jose M. Serrano

1916 Park Ave. #202

212-828-5829

State Senator Liz Krueger

1850 Second Ave.

212-490-9535

STATE LEGISLATORS

Assembly Member Dan Quart

360 E. 57th St.

212-605-0937

Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright

1365 First Ave.

212-288-4607

COMMUNITY BOARD 8

505 Park Ave. #620

212-758-4340

LIBRARIES Yorkville

222 E. 79th St.

212-744-5824

96th Street

112 E. 96th St.

212-289-0908

67th Street

328 E. 67th St.

212-734-1717

Webster Library

1465 York Ave.

212-288-5049

100 E. 77th St.

212-434-2000

HOSPITALS Lenox Hill NY-Presbyterian / Weill Cornell

525 E. 68th St.

212-746-5454

Mount Sinai

E. 99th St. & Madison Ave.

212-241-6500

NYU Langone

550 First Ave.

212-263-7300

CON EDISON

4 Irving Place

212-460-4600

POST OFFICES US Post Office

1283 First Ave.

212-517-8361

US Post Office

1617 Third Ave.

212-369-2747

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BY DAVID KLEPPER

It was a year that saw New York raise the minimum wage, legalize mixed martial arts and open its first state-regulated casino while state officials once again grappled with Albany’s long tradition of political corruption and insider dealing.

State lawmakers also marked the year by regulating daily fantasy sports, repealing a sales tax on tampons and voting to extend paid family leave to workers caring for a loved one.

Here’s a guide to the highlights of the year in state government:

MINIMUM WAGE, PAID FAMILY LEAVE Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his fellow Democrats scored a big victory when they pushed through a series of minimum wage increases from $9 to $15 over several years.

The Legislature also passed a paid family leave program which will allow workers to take up to 12 weeks of paid time off to care for a new child or sick loved one. The benefit, which will be phased in beginning in 2018, will be funded by worker payroll contributions.

“This is history in the making,” Debra Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families, said when the program was approved.

She estimated that 6.4 million workers in the state are currently without an employeesponsored paid family leave benefit.

TAMPON TAX, SUNDAY BRUNCH Several other laws passed in 2016 will impact daily life for many New Yorkers.

Lawmakers approved a plan to address heroin addiction by expanding recovery services, requiring insurers to cover more treatment and limiting new opioid drug prescriptions to seven days.

New Yorkers will save an estimated $10 million a year now that the state has repealed a tax on tampons and other feminine hygiene products that many female lawmakers argued was

GAMES, SPORTS AND GAMBLING

The so-called “brunch bill” passed by state lawmakers last year means you can now get a bloody mary and similar refreshments at restaurants and bars starting at 10 a.m. on Sundays. Photo: Tammy Gordon via flickr sexist and unfair.

Another initiative will expand access to breast cancer screening.

Finally, the so-called “brunch bill” allows restaurants and bars to begin serving alcohol at 10 a.m. on Sundays. But if you live upstate and want to take an Uber home from brunch, you’re out of luck: despite an aggressive campaign from the appbased ride-hailing company, lawmakers again balked at allowing Uber to expand outside of the New York City area.

CORRUPTION, AGAIN Cuomo’s administration was rocked by a federal investigation into alleged extortion and bribery connected to some of

his most prized economic development initiatives.

Among those ensnared: Joe Percoco, a former aide so close to Cuomo and his family that the governor likened him to a brother, as well as SUNY Polytechnic Institute President Alain Kaloyeros, who before he resigned led many of Cuomo’s efforts to attract high-tech jobs.

Federal authorities accuse Percoco of soliciting bribes from companies hoping to secure hundreds of millions of dollars in state contracts.

Kaloyeros is alleged to have manipulated the bidding process to ensure certain companies won lucrative state contracts. Executives at two

Lawmakers enacted regulations allowing daily fantasy sports operators to resume operations in the state following a legal fight with Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

FanDuel and DraftKings briefly halted operations in New York earlier this year after Schneiderman said their business amounted to illegal gambling.

The state also lifted its longtime prohibition on professional mixed-martial arts after years of effort by MMA supporters. Promoters wasted little time, organizing a high-profile event at Madison Square Garden only a few months after the ban was lifted.

“It should have been legal in New York 15 years ago,” said Scott Coker, president of promoter Bellator MMA. The first of four state-regulated casinos planned for upstate opened in December in the state’s Southern Tier.

Local officials say they hope Tioga Downs, located outside of Binghamton, leads to jobs and greater tourism in a region that’s long struggled economically.

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SUBWAY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 well. Several people remarked at how clean the new tunnels were. However, the trip was not without glitches. The automated voice announced at 72nd Street that the next stop would be 72nd Street instead of 86th Street. A young boy who had just boarded with his dad could be overheard saying, â&#x20AC;&#x153;They had one job!â&#x20AC;?

The train was also briefly held at the 63rd Street/Lexington Avenue station, to which another rider said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Typical MTA.â&#x20AC;? Families with young children were one of the biggest categories of visitors on Sunday, and it was clear they had been preparing for this

moment. Some kids carried train-related picture books or were wearing clothing with subway iconography. One girl brought her miniature MTA bus toy along.

Apart from the generally gleeful mood, the ride itself was like any other. It was the stations themselves that people had come to see. Artist Chuck Closeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tiled portraits of up-close faces were a big hit at 86th Street, especially because they reďŹ&#x201A;ect the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s diversity. So, too, did Vik Munizâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mosaic portraits at 72nd Street. A gay couple holding hands, a woman in a sari with a cellphone, a police officer with a dripping popsicle and a man with a saxophone are just a few of the characters Muniz featured. Some are real New

Yorkers, like jazz musician George Braith, who is depicted holding his instrument. Braith himself showed up on Sunday to pose next to his portrait, and was soon mobbed by delighted passersby with camera phones.

One man asked Braith why he was chosen to be immortalized in tile. Braith replied: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Listen to my music and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll see.â&#x20AC;?

Artist Sarah Sze, who has had her work displayed on the High Line, also created a large mosaic titled â&#x20AC;&#x153;Blueprint for a Landscapeâ&#x20AC;? at 96th Street.

The blue and white tiles depict objects such as trees, birds and paper whirling around in a vortex that sweeps throughout the station.

Aside from the art, the stations are decorated mostly in black and white, with stairs, es-

The Second Avenue subwayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 96th Street station on New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day, the ďŹ rst day of regular service on the new line. Photo: The Governorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office calators and elevators of shiny chrome. They are large and well-lit, and feel significantly less like damp caves than many of the older stations. The second floor of each station features large cut-out sections, allowing commuters to look down on the platform activity below. Grey beams reading â&#x20AC;&#x153;E Pluribus Unumâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;Excelsior,â&#x20AC;? the New York state motto, stretch across the openings.

Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bathrooms located in each station received mixed reactions from visitors who were excited about them but concerned that they would become dirty and unsafe.

On Sunday, no signs of the New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Eve party that had taken place the night before were visible. Governor Andrew Cuomo and MTA Chairman Tom Prendergast, who announced on Monday that he will be retiring after 25 years, threw a celebratory bash on Dec. 31st for the many people who helped bring to the new line to life. Together, they took

The Second Avenue subway on Dec. 31. The new line opened to the public at noon on Jan. 1.

Photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Office of the Governor

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the inaugural ride through the tunnels. Mayor Bill de Blasio was there as well, but did not give a speech. The mayorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tense relationship with the governor is widely known, and the months of back-and-forth on funding, planning and executing the construction of the Second Avenue subway only added fuel to the ďŹ re. The MTA is ultimately under gubernatorial control, though New York City is by far the most impacted by its decisions. East Side politicians Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and Council Member Ben Kallos also rang in the New Year underground, and Maloney even returned on Sunday to hand out free Metrocards to the ďŹ rst group of visitors at the 86th Street station.

Wearing neon vests, MTA employees lined the platforms to shepherd riders on and off the trains. Still more handed out pamphlets with a detailed map of the new stations that put the momentous occasion somewhat in perspective. The

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addition of three stations constitutes the biggest expansion in many years, but it does not come close to accomplishing the original vision for a Second Avenue line. In 1929, nine years after the idea was ďŹ rst pitched by former city official Daniel L. Turner, the transportation board recommended that the new line stretch from Houston Street to 125th Street. Given that it took almost 100 years to construct just three stations, and given the dire financial state of infrastructure projects across the country, a completed Second Avenue line spanning Manhattanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s east side seems less than likely. The next phase, should there be one, would extend the route to 125th Street in East Harlem. Many may never see that happen, so New Yorkers arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t taking the recent progress for granted.

Madeleine Thompson can be reached at newsreporter@ strausnews.com

JANUARY 5-11,2017

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JANUARY 5-11,2017

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Write to us: To share your thoughts and comments go to ourtownny.com and click on submit a letter to the editor.

A SUCCESSFUL YEAR (IN MY OPINION)

BY MELITTA ANDERMAN

I started writing for “Our Town” on a whim. I moved to Yorkville after literally being in the neighborhood for years, as a tourist eating in restaurants I loved, buying tasty edibles that my palate remembered from my Austrian childhood and just strolling through side streets among the age-old brownstones. So it seemed fitting to reminisce and write my first little story about “Olde Yorkville.” And so it goes, almost a year later, and I’m still turning out tidbits about the quality of life in Manhattan. I’m sorry that I insulted the intrusion of the pigeon population but I’m not backing down. I will not start a charitable campaign for their upkeep.

I’m big on issues that I believe need to be addressed and I have become more observant. I’ve succeeded in

solving some and lost a lot. My biggest unsolved issue was the lack of lights while driving at night on the West Side Highway and the FDR Drive. There would be intervals when all was light and then stretches of pure darkness so one had to navigate with 20/20 vision to make out the lane you were supposed to drive in. How come it was never corrected?

How did other drivers feel plunging along on these unlit highways?

All I remember is consistently calling the right New York City agencies and reporting the lack of light.

The best answer I ever got was that someone had stolen some electrical parts from the highway that were never replaced. I asked why the department in charge was not aware of these missing parts. Well, gee whiz, how would they know unless someone reported this misdemeanor. It’s

years later and I don’t drive on these highways on a regular basis. But when I do and see no overhead lights and I feel ambitious I’ll call 311 to report these outages. I go through the tired Q&A that 311 demands: what intersection am I calling from, what is the street address and who am I. I’m the same anxiety ridden frustrated citizen trying to find out who is in charge of supervising the lighting of these highways. If anyone out there knows who to contact, please get in touch with me through “Our Town.”

I’m pretty certain the garbage can on my corner was there during the Depression era and has never been replaced. In this respect I lucked out as I found a super-friendly manager of the Sanitation Department who would call me and report on garbage collection pickups for my neighborhood. He was very polite and anx-

CURE-ALLS — DEBBIE, CARRIE ET AL

BY BETTE DEWING

Ah, that would make America better again, and not just Debbie at 19 — so endearingly perfect in “Singin’ in the Rain” — and don’t we need G-rated movies like that! But at age 84, we needed Reynolds as a voice for elderhood reality, and when there are families, relationships need to be mutually supportive. That’s what mother Debbie had with daughter Carrie, whom the world also enormously mourns.

As for Carrie, so achingly young and with so much more to say, especially about seemingly ever more prevalent addictions. Her stories and books need a great revival. And the 212-647-1680 number for 12-Step meeting information needs to be widely known as well.

And don’t forget, there is son Todd

STRAUS MEDIA your neighborhood news source

Fisher, and a grandchild who will need all the support possible in a world which some scientists now warn of a “loneliness epidemic” as a growing emotional and physical health hazard, not only among the old. Ah, but it’s not a hot topic which earlier authors found, especially James J. Lynch’s 1976 seminal book, “The Broken Heart, the Medical Consequences of Loneliness.” If ever a book needed revival ...

There is the loneliness when after these holidays, close to our heart people return to faraway places and consuming everyday schedules. Too many take it as natural, instead of something that needs some adjusting — a balance. But a general societal loneliness needs all-out attention, most recently said Massachusetts

Vice President/CFO Otilia Bertolotti Vice President/CRO Vincent A. Gardino advertising@strausnews.com

Debbie Reynolds in “Singin’ in the Rain.”

Courtesy Warner Brothers.

General Hospital and Harvard Medical School’s Dr. Dhruv Khullar in a recent Times article. It too needs the widest possible readership, in faith, civic

Associate Publishers Seth L. Miller, Ceil Ainsworth Regional Sales Manager Tania Cade

Voices Yorkville, with sun and clouds, as seen from 86th Street in 2008. Photo: Daniel Case, via Wikimedia Commons ious to assure me that all was in order at his end. Great, but my end was as messy as before. Maybe someone could invent a can that would grind all the refuse as it is thrown in so it wouldn’t end up littering the street and enticing sniffing rats. But why ask for the moon when we have the

and political circles as well as medical ones.

Again, I was compelled to write a letter, but not about close people loss or any cause the article notes, but about loneliness due to losing our everyday places – eateries and other neighborhood stores which meet everyday needs, and especially those of senior or disabled New Yorkers. Houses of worship and movie theaters have also closed. If ever there were an epidemic to stem — and most worrisome, it seems to be a world-wide urban tsunami.

But my thankfully fit-to-print letter on December 30 (the only one which shows loneliness is still not a hot topic!) didn’t mention how government priorities on “city travel needs” have also robbed us of essential everyday places. And, yes, I dare to cite the Second Avenue subway as the cause of already so many displaced people and places, including homes. And now its partial completion spikes already unaffordable Upper East Side real estate values.

Again, the total picture has been overlooked, resulting in tunnel vision — literally sometimes. Yes, surely existing riders need more space but

President & Publisher, Jeanne Straus nyoffice@strausnews.com Editor-In-Chief Account Executive Alexis Gelber Fred Almonte editor.ot@strausnews.com Director of Partnership Development Deputy Editor Barry Lewis Richard Khavkine editor.otdt@strausnews.com

stars, as the famous quote from the film “Now Voyager” with Bette Davis goes. My star is the opening of our new subway line. I can’t wait to take my first ride and while I’m down there, will check out the new amenities, like refuse disposals and lighting fixtures.

how many more riders (dare I say, citizens?) can a livable city afford? Neighborhood streets and walkways are ever more like Midtown’s. A balance is needed and maybe you, dear readers of this community newspaper, will remind elected officials of their first constitutional duty to protect public welfare and promote the common good — to protect or/and restore that most essential balance.

Here’s to civic fitness becoming as popular a New Year goal as the physical kind, with the physically fit helping those who are not, get to civic and other places they need to go - and be seen as well as heard. That’s surely a loneliness Rx. It takes a village — a village — a village.

And a reminder of the Park Avenue Memorial Trees, which honor all those who gave their lives in this nation’s wars. Ah, and so importantly now to remember is how today’s wounded warriors need all the care and whatever else they so inordinately deserve.

This most meaningful city holiday/ holy-day Memorial Tree tradition is in place through January 17.

New Year blessings! dewingbetter@aol.com.

Staff Reporter Madeleine Thompson newsreporter@strausnews.com Director of Digital Pete Pinto

Block Mayors Ann Morris, Upper West Side Jennifer Peterson, Upper East Side Gail Dubov, Upper West Side Edith Marks, Upper West Side

JANUARY 5-11,2017

9

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The whale spotted in the East River on New Year’s Eve. Photo: New York Police Department.

MYSTERY OF THE EAST RIVER WHALE The NYPD spotted the unusual tourist on New Year’s Eve day. But what kind was it?

BY GENIA GOULD

Officers patrolling New York City’s harbor in a police boat spotted a whale in the East River on the morning of New Year’s Eve. The New York Police Department’s special operations division posted a photo of the unusual tourist on its Twitter account on Dec. 31. The whale was seen swimming along the shores of Manhattan’s Upper East Side, close to Gracie Mansion, where the mayor lives.

New Yorkers who love wild animals wanted to know more about the whale and wondered whether it might have been the same one spotted over a few days in November in the Hudson River. That one was named “Gotham” by a naturalist group.

Gotham, a humpback whale, the most common species seen in New York harbor, was determined to have ventured past the Verrazano Narrows — something whales very rarely do — to feed on a particularly

appetizing source of bait fish, said Paul Sieswerda, a marine biologist who runs the group Gotham Whale. Sieswerda described Gotham Whale as “a citizens’ science organization that pulls together reports from people who have ‘eyes on the water,’ such as the police department and kayaking clubs.”

The group, he said, saw Gotham again out in New York harbor in early December, “doing his thing.”

Sieswerda and his fellow local marine biologists and naturalists initially believed that the latest sighting wasn’t Gotham because images capturing the underside of the whale’s fluke, which identifies the whale like a “fingerprint,” were not consistent with a humpback whale.

He was excited by the possibility that the new sighting might be a rare North Atlantic Right Whale, the most endangered of the large whales, because what appeared in the photos as “a distinctive Vshape” characteristic of a right whale’s spout.

But a second image the group received from another person “clearly indicates a dorsal fin of a humpback whale,” said

Sieswerda.

Boaters and mariners are going up and down the East River to see if they can find the whale again. That may be difficult.

Sieswerda says whales can stay under water for 10 to 15 minutes at a time, and move a mile or two in that period. In deep water they can move 10 miles an hour, and be submerged for as long as an hour, he said.

To see a whale in New York harbor is highly unusual and not a good thing, Sieswerda said. Whales could be harmed coming into the waterway.

U.S. Coast Guard Petty Office Frank Iannazzo-Simmons said officials from his office haven’t seen the whale. He said the Coast Guard usually notifies mariners when it spots whales in busy waterways to be safe and “let the whale be the whale.”

Sieswerda added, as marine biologists sort out what species the whale is: “To think two different species of whales were in the same location at the same time, one a humpback and a North Atlantic Right Whale, well, that’s like Powerball.”

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80th Street Residents in Central Park with the Essex House Hotel peeking from behind.

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JANUARY 5-11,2017

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MARBLE COLLEGIATE CHURCH Sunday Worship at 11:00am Sunday Worship, led by Dr. Michael Brown, is the heart of the Marble Church community. It is where we all gather to sing, pray, and be changed by an encounter with God. Marble is known throughout the world for the practical, powerful, life-changing messages and where one can hear world class music from our choirs that make every heart sing.

Out & About More Events. Add Your Own: Go to ourtownny.com

Busy? Live stream Sunday Worship with us at 11:00am at MarbleChurch.org.

WeWo: Wednesday Worship at 6:15pm Marble's weekly Wednesday Worship, lovingly nicknamed WeWo, is a service that blends traditional and contemporary worship styles, taking the best of both, creating a mixture that is informal and reverent, often humorous and always Spirit-filled.

Thu 5 BOOK DISCUSSION | LIBRARY

Upcoming Events

Our Labyrinth Walks Labyrinth walks at Marble Collegiate Church are open to all: • First Sunday of each month: 1:00-3:00pm • Wednesdays before WeWo: 5:00-6:00pm (Please call the church to confirm schedule)

Webster Branch, 1465 York Ave. 6-7 p.m. Free.

Discuss James Baldwin’s novel, “If Beale Street Could Talk,” a love story set in early 1970s Harlem.

212-288-5049. nypl.org

CHOIR ON GOOD DAY ▲

ILLUSTRATORS 59 The Society of Illustrators, 128 East 63rd St. 6-11 p.m. Free Annual exhibition features over 400 pieces of the most outstanding works created throughout each year. Opening reception and awards.

212-838-2560. societyillustrators.org

Sat 7 JULIE TABOULIE CHEF

Our Labyrinth Facilitators will be available to help guide you and answer any questions you may have, while allowing you the space to walk in your own way, at your own pace.

Marianne Williamson in Partnership with Marble Collegiate Church Tuesdays 7:30pm - 9:00pm New York Times bestselling author, Marianne Williamson brings her weekly lecture series to Marble Church. The cost to attend is $20, however, no one is turned away for lack of funds. The evening is also available via Livestream by donation.

Event listings brought to you by Marble Collegiate Church.

1 West 29th Street / New York, New York 10001 212 686 2770 / MarbleChurch.org

Fox 5, 205 East 67th St. 7-9 a.m. Free Bloomingdale’s, 1000 Third Ave. Westminster Choir College live 1-2 p.m.Free. performance and interview with Meet the culinary star, students, alumni and parents on cookbook author and PBS host Good Day TV show. as she shows you how to cook, 212-452-3800. fox.com create and celebrate a healthier and happier way to live.

212-705-2000. bloomingdales. com

Fri 6

THREE KINGS DAY El Museo del Barrio, 1230 Fifth Ave. 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Free.

Enjoy traditional Latino parade, with live camels, colorful puppets, music and dancing, in addition to museum’s 40th anniversary events.

212-831-7272. elmuseo.org

EKO NUGROHO | ART Asia Society Museum, 725 Park Ave. 11 a.m. Free.

The museum has commissioned acclaimed Indonesian artist Eko Nugroho to create a new site-specitif mural in its lobby visitor center.

212-288-6400. asiasociety. org

Sun 8 BAGELS AND BLOX Spence-Chapin Services to Families and Children, 410 East 92nd St. 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. $40/ family.

Enjoy breakfast and connect with other parents while kids play, early childhood experts answer questions and offer parenting guidance.

212-369-0300. spencechapin.org

BALLET: PONTUS LIDBERG ► Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Ave. 7:30 p.m. $40 New York City Ballet dancers perform excerpts of Swedish choreographer and filmmaker Pontus Lidberg’s first-ever work for the company. 212-423-3500. gu.gg

Mon 9 TIME IN ANTIQUITY Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, 15 East 84th St. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Free.

See ancient Greco-Roman sundials, calendars, jewelry and

JANUARY 5-11,2017

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Dining Information, plus crime news, real estate prices - all about your part of town Isabella Boylston and James Whiteside in Pontus Lidberg’s This Was Written on Water. © Daniel Robinson.

surveying instruments.

212-992-7800. saw.nyu.edu

French bronze chaser and gilder who worked for Louis XV and XVI. 212-288-0700. frick.org

discusses and signs copies of her book, “Veronica’s Grave: A Daughter’s Memoir.”

212-744-5824. nypl.org

DOCTOROW HOMAGE 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave. 7:30-10 p.m. $28 A celebration of E.L. Doctorow with Ta-Nehisi Coates, Don DeLillo and Jennifer Egan.

AUTHOR TALK 212-415-5500. 92y.org Yorkville Public Library, 222 East 79th St. 5:30-6:30 p.m. Free Barbara Bracht Donsky

Wed 11

Tue 10 PRISM ORGAN CONCERT ►

Central Synagogue, 652 Lexington Ave. 12:30 p.m. Free Italian Organist Gianni della Vittoria performs on the extraordinary Gabe M. Wiener Memorial organ.

212-838-5122. centralsynagogue.org

GILDER AT FRENCH COURT The Frick Collection, 1 East 70th St. 6-8 p.m. $22.

First exhibition on Pierre Gouthière (1732–1813), the

Cultural Events in and around where you live (not Brooklyn, not Westchester)

JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL The Jewish Museum, 1109 Fifth Ave. 11 a.m. $14 Jewish Museum & Film Society of Lincoln Center bring narrative and documentary films from around the world that explore diversity of Jewish experience.

212-423-3200. nyjff.com

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JANUARY 5-11,2017

THE CITY’S MOSAIC, UNDERGROUND Unique rendering of gay couple is among the art in the new subway stations

BY DEEPTI HAJELA AND ULA ILNYTZKY

The sight of two men holding hands is far from uncommon, but a mural of two men doing just that is showing up in an unusual place — on the walls of a new subway station in New York City.

That depiction of love between gay men is a rarity in public art, experts say.

“It was like winning the lottery,” Thor Stockman, 60, said of finding out that he and his husband of 3 1/2 years, Patrick Kellogg, were going to be part of artist Vik Muniz’s “Perfect Strangers,” a series of life-size mosaic portraits of everyday New Yorkers gracing the walls of the new subway station at 72nd Street. But “part of me wishes that it wasn’t a rarity, that it wasn’t remarkable.”

The station on the city’s long-awaited Second Avenue subway line opened Jan. 1.

Muniz said it made sense to include the two men in a project intended to show the different people that riders are likely to encounter on their daily commutes.

“They are just people you would expect to see,” Muniz, who divides his time between New York and Brazil, said in phone interview from Rio de Janeiro. “You would expect to see men holding hands.”

Jonathan David Katz, an expert in queer art history, said he could find no other example of a permanent, nonpolitical LGBTQ public artwork in New York City. He mentioned George Segal’s “Gay Liberation Monument” near Stonewall Inn, the site of the

1969 riots that launched the gay rights movement. But that work, featuring two men standing and two women sitting, is expressly commemorative of a political moment.

A work like Muniz’s is long overdue in a city “ostensibly the epicenter of both the art world and the gay movement,” said Katz, director of the doctoral program in visual culture studies at SUNY Buffalo and the former executive coordinator of the Larry Kramer Initiative for Lesbian and Gay Studies at Yale University.

“What makes it a turning point is it isn’t gayness singled out and made the theme. On the contrary, the work naturalizes gayness within the fabric of the city, and in so doing, that’s actually an even more powerful message,” he said.

Nicholas Baume, public art fund director and chief curator, agreed. “The work reminds me that it’s a common occurrence to see a gay couple holding hands waiting on a subway platform in New York City. It’s great that it’s no longer a taboo for men to show this kind of everyday affection.”

Stockman and Kellogg said they took the photo that is the basis for the mosaic by chance more than three years ago; they had gone to Brooklyn to meet up with a friend who was working on the project, and a photographer asked if they wanted to be photographed.

Stockman assumed plenty of people were being photographed, and “we were hoping maybe we’ll get a nice portrait print out of this by standing there for five minutes.”

It wasn’t until earlier this year that they were told their image would be among those going up in the new station, and they were asked to keep it under wraps as the specifics of the art

A life-size mosaic portrait of Thor Stockman, left, and his husband, Patrick Kellogg, form part of artist Vik Muniz’s series “Perfect Strangers” at the new 72nd Street subway station. Photo: MTA installations hadn’t gone public yet.

When they were finally able to tell their friends, the reaction was joyous, said Kellogg, 47, and not only for the two of them but because it was the kind of image of a gay couple that’s not often seen in pop culture.

“Our friends were happy that this is gay representation on the walls of New York City, but our friends were even happier that this is gay representation that is not incredibly beautiful and skinny,” Kellogg said, as Stockman

added, “That they were just averagelooking guys like us.”

Muniz’s work at the 72nd Street station is joined by three other artists, one at each of three other stations on the subway line. Every artist who submitted a proposal to be considered for the project came forward with their own idea, not one based on any kind of theme or idea from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Arts and Design public art program, said Sandra Bloodworth, the director.

Finalists then presented their ultimate concepts, and the winning artist was selected. Bloodworth said Muniz’s overall concept was approved, not each individual image.

“That’s the responsibility we had,” she said. “We would create great works that would mean something to people.”

Associated Press writer Karen Matthews contributed to this report.

JANUARY 5-11,2017

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Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

COOKING WITH LOVE AT PAOLA’S Chef Stefano Marracino preps for The Art of Food Tell me a little bit about Paola’s.

The restaurant is 32 years old. It started as a small 10-table, 30-seat restaurant on 1st Ave and 85th. We’ve progressively, slowly been moving over. This is our fourth location, and as of 9 years ago we’ve been here at 92nd and Madison.

Our food is regional Italian—we do lots of homemade pastas and our mozzarella is made from the curd. We source most of our ingredients from farms and use a lot of sustainable resources.

What are some of the signature dishes here?

As you explore the menu region by

region, you’re going to find some dishes from the south, for example, like cavatelli with broccoli and sausage.

But some of our most popular dishes are our traditional Roman Jewish artichokes and the bucatini.

ing dishes and doing whatever was available and necessary to be a part of something—whether it was showing up on the weekends or staying late.

I’ve been here at Paola’s for 30 years, and started full time 25 years ago.

How did you get started in the culinary world?

Paola’s is participating in The Art of Food this year. Are you into the art world at all?

I come from a family of musicians.

My grandfather played violin, and came here from Italy to play at the Met. We’ve always been interested in music, art, and food, and felt that this was a natural progression into doing something we love: working with food, people, wine, and music.

So my uncle opened a restaurant at 65 Irving Place. I would go behind the bar and squeeze oranges for the drinks. I went from doing that, to do-

Yes, of course. My grandmother was a painter by hobby and a sculptor. So art is something we naturally appreciate. My children love art, and are aspiring artists and musicians.

What is your number one cooking tip?

Love, and then safety. It’s all connected. Whatever comes from the heart.

Paola’s chef Stefano Marracino (left).

SOHO MARKET FORCED TO CLOSE Shuttering leaves residents with few places nearby to find affordable and fresh food

BY RUI MIAO

The Met Foodmarket at the corner of Prince and Mulberry Streets was packed on New Year’s Eve. Long checkout lines from all four registers extended into the aisles — an unusual scene at the longtime SoHo supermarket.

But there was a tinge of sadness in the air amid all the neighbors chitchatting and the “All Merchandise 25% Off” signs. After 25 years, the store would be closing its doors at 9 p.m. on the last day of 2016.

The hustle and bustle was its swansong.

“I’ve grown very close to this neighborhood, the people, and the community,” said Paul Fernandez, owner of the market. “I feel terrible.”

Unable to reach an agreement on lease renewal with Abington Properties, the building’s landlord, Fernandez has until Jan. 14 to clear everything out of the place.

Georgette Fleischer, who has lived in the neighborhood for more than 30 years, said she would now have to travel to get even the bare necessities at decent prices.

“I would literally have to go half a mile, either northeast or northwest,

in order to get an affordable half-gallon of milk,” she said.

Whatever’s left over will be taken to the Ideal Marketplace in Chelsea, which Fernandez also owns and where he promised to settle all the Met’s 32 former employees. On Dec. 29, Fleischer joined a dozen other local residents for a rally led by Councilwoman Margaret Chin, who represents the district. Braving the rain and chanting “Save our supermarket,” the group sought to pressure Abington Property to extend the lease – just two days ahead of the planned closure.

“The local grocery store that serves the people who live in the community would be taken away from us — at that point it’s no longer a neighborhood for residents anymore,” said Fleischer, a self-described “middleincome person.” She fears an affordable-food desert in the area, where boutiques and high-end markets have taken root. “That is not a neighborhood that’s really conducive to people who really live here and cook here.”

Kate Kodayachi, a longtime resident, lamented the store’s closing and said she would be even more dismayed if the space would become home to yet another upscale shop.

“Things change,”she said. “But it’s more important now than ever that people don’t forget — there just cannot be another boutique, cannot

Kate Kodayachi has lived in SoHo for 40 years and shopped at the Met market for decades and laments its closing. Photo: Rui Miao be another high-end, this is still a largely middle class, working-people community.”

Mamadou Diaolo, 35, whose first and only full-time job since he arrived New York from Guinea in West Africa nine years ago was to manage the Met’s dairy and frozen food departments, the closure was personal.

“I’ve met a lot of great people here, and they care about this supermarket,” said Diaolo, 35.

“I kind of feel bad for them,” he said of the store’s regulars. “For many this is the only supermarket they can afford in this neighborhood.”

The neighborhood, with one of the highest median incomes in the nation — $111,579 as of 2012, according

to data from U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey — is also home to multiple affordable housing units in the city, including 21 Spring Street and 10 Stanton Street, both of which are located within five blocks from the Met. “Losing a supermarket is more than a retail story, it’s a story about changing a community,” said Terri Cude, chairwoman of Community Board 2.

Fernandez, whose rent had gone up from $7,000 to $90,000 since the store’s opening 25 years ago, said he spoke to Abington Property about remodeling the store into a “hybrid” that is still “able to provide the community with the essentials” but at

the same time “a little more in line with the new SoHo.” His suggestion was rejected. “I need at least 10 more years of lease to make that kind of investment,” Fernandez said. “They want a specialty food store, they don’t want a conventional market.”

Phone messages and emails requesting comment from Abington Property and Winick Realty were not returned.

At the rally, Chin lamented what the neighborhood’s changing texture was forcing on longtime residents.

“Despite near universal community support and a clear need for more supermarkets like this one, Abington Properties is abandoning their negotiations with the Met Supermarket with hopes that this space might become a more upscale operation,” she said.

In October, a number of leasing banners bearing the logo of Winick Realty Group appeared across Met’s facade at 251 Mulberry St. The banners are still there.

Long before that, leasing information advertising 78 feet of frontage, 12-foot ceilings and upscale commercial neighbors showed up on Winick’s website in February 2016. The detailed floor plans were coupled to a promised possession date of Jan. 1, 2017.

Shoppers, though, were taken by surprise when the closure was posted on the storefront last week.

According to Chin, there hasn’t yet been any takers for the property, and 251 Mulberry will likely stay vacant for the short term.

“Oh no,” said Jerrell Sablan, who lives on Hester Street and has shopped at the Met for several years.

“Where should we go now?”

14

JANUARY 5-11,2017

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RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS DEC 20 - 30, 2016 The following listings were collected from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s website and include the most recent inspection and grade reports listed. We have included every restaurant listed during this time within the zip codes of our neighborhoods. Some reports list numbers with their explanations; these are the number of violation points a restaurant has received. To see more information on restaurant grades, visit www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/services/restaurant-inspection.shtml.

Bareburger

1681 1St Ave

A

Tarallucci E Vino

9 East 90Th Street

A

G&J’s Pizzeria

1797 1St Ave

A

Grill Time

1764 1St Ave

B

Ma’s Noodle Fun

1744 1St Ave

A

Koito Japanese Restaurant 310 East 93 Street

B

Enthaice

1598 3 Avenue

B

Zesty Pizza & Salumeria

1670 3Rd Ave

Not Yet Graded (16) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F.

BRB Cafe

413 E 69th St

A

3 Guys Resturant

1232 Madison Avenue A

Shanghai Chinese Restaurant

1388 2 Avenue

A

BRB Cafe

413 E 69Th St

A

1388 2 Avenue

A

The Pony Bar

1444 1 Avenue

A

Shanghai Chinese Restaurant

Maison Kayser

1294 3 Avenue

A

The Pony Bar

1444 1 Avenue

A

Bottega Restaurant

1331 2 Avenue

A

Maison Kayser

1294 3 Avenue

A

Vanguard Wine Bar

1372 1st Ave

A

Eli’s Table

1411 3 Avenue

A

Laduree Paris

864 Madison Ave

A

Mochaburger + Subs Express

1603 2nd Ave

A

Flora Bar

945 Madison Ave

A

Arturo’s Pizza

1610 York Ave

A

Candle Cafe

1307 3rd Ave

A

A

404 E 69th St

A

567 Asian Express NY

2033 1St Ave

Not Yet Graded (33) No facilities available to wash, rinse and sanitize utensils and/or equipment.

Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Winston & Tee Express Jerk Chicken And Caribbean

1257 Park Avenue

Yia Yia

Bawarchi Indian Cuisine

1546 Madison Ave

B

Wendy’s

2121 3Rd Ave

A

Empire Corner Ii

1415 5 Avenue

A

Le Pain Quotidien

1399 Madison Ave

A

Harlem Shake

2162 2Nd Ave

A

Jiang China King

1759 Lexington Ave

A

Love Cafe

283 Pleasant Avenue

A

Thai Wok

1406 Madison Ave

A

Monster Savings

314 E 106Th St

Not Yet Graded (16)

Subway

455 East 116 Street

A

Healthy Living 106 (Herbal Life)

167 East 106 Street

A

Mj Pizza

1976 1St Ave

A

567 Asian Express Ny

2033 1St Ave

Not Yet Graded (33) No facilities available to wash, rinse and sanitize utensils and/or equipment.

2) Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Bean Y Vino

153 E 104Th St

Not Yet Graded (11) Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewage-associated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies.

Bean Y Vino

153 E 104Th St

Not Yet Graded (11) Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewage-associated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies.

KFC

1922 3 Avenue

B

Tapout Fitness

1915 3Rd Ave

A

Domino’s

1993 Third Avenue

A

Moustache

1621 Lexington Avenue

A

Patisserie Vanessa

1590 Park Ave

A

The Jaguar Restaurant

1735 Lexington Avenue

A

Cafe (At The Museum Of The City Of New York)

1220 5 Avenue

A

La Avenida

2247 1St Ave

A

Indo-Pak Halal Restaurant

2173 2 Avenue

A

Uptown Roasters Cafe

135 E 110th St

A

Amor Cubano

2018 3 Avenue

A

Bosie Bakery

2132 2Nd Ave

A

2100 2nd Ave

A

El Nuevo Caribeno Restaurant

1675 Lexington Avenue\

A

Kenedy Fried Chicken Ko Sushi

1329 2 Avenue

A

Dunkin’ Donuts

1873 2 Avenue

A

Up Thai

1411 2Nd Ave

A

2039 1St Ave

A

Amoun

406 East 73 Street

Grade Pending (19) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.

5 Star Cheese Steak And Pizza Double Dragon 88

2037 1St Ave

A

Belaire Cafe

525 East 71 Street

A

Chickpea, Red Mango

1413 Madison Avenue A

Marymount College Nugents Cafe

221 East 71St Street

A

Cafe Con Leche

2026 2Nd Ave

A

212 Pizzaman

188 E 104Th St

A

Au Jus

1762 1St Ave

A

Grand Cafe (Metropolitan Hospital)

1901 2 Avenue

A

JANUARY 5-11,2017

15

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MIRANDA NAMED ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR Award caps extraordinary year for the creator of “Hamilton”

BY MARK KENNEDY

Winning a Pulitzer Prize and a clutch of Tony Awards in a single year would be enough for anyone. Not Lin-Manuel Miranda. Not in 2016.

The “Hamilton” writer-composer picked up those honors and also earned a Golden Globe nomination, won the Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama Inspired by American History, wrote music for a top movie, and inspired a best-selling book, a best-selling album of “Hamilton” covers and a popular PBS documentary.

A new honor came last week when Miranda bested Beyonce, Adele and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, among others, to be named The Associated Press Entertainer of the Year, voted by members of the news cooperative and AP entertainment reporters.

“There’s been more than a little good luck in the year itself and the way it’s unfolded,” Miranda said after being told of the honor. “I continue to try to work on the things I’ve always wanted to work on and try to say yes to the opportunities that I’d kick myself forever if I didn’t jump at them.”

Miranda joins the list of previous AP Entertainer of the Year winners who in recent years have included Adele, Taylor Swift, Jennifer Lawrence, Lady Gaga, Tina Fey and Betty White.

When he hosted “Saturday Night Live” in October, he somewhat tongue-in-cheek acknowledged the rarity of having a theater composer as host, saying: “Most of you watching at home have no idea who I am.”

They surely must by now.

Miranda was virtually everywhere in popular culture this year — stage, film, TV, music and politics, while engaging on social media as he went. Like a lyric he wrote for Alexander Hamilton, it seemed at times that the non-stop Miranda was working as if he was “running out of time.”

Among the things Miranda did this year are asking Congress to help dig Puerto Rico out of its debt crisis, getting an honorary doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania,

Lin-Manuel Miranda as Hamilton in the musical he created and wrote.

Photo: Steve Jurvetson via Wikimedia Commons performing at a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton on Broadway, lobbying to stop gun violence in America and teaming up with Jennifer Lopez on the benefit single “Love Make the World Go Round.”

He and his musical “Hamilton” won 11 Tony Awards in June, but perhaps his deepest contribution that night was tearfully honoring those killed hours before at an Orlando nightclub with a beautiful sonnet: “Love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love, cannot be killed or swept aside,” he said. “Now fill the world with music, love and pride.”

He started the year onstage in the Broadway hit “Hamilton” (which in 2015 had won a Grammy and earned Miranda a MacArthur genius grant) and ended it with a Golden Globe nomination for writing the song “How Far I’ll Go” from “Moana,” which was on top of the box office for three weeks this month, earning $165 million.

“I’ve been jumping from thing to thing and what’s been thrilling is to see the projects that happen very quickly kind of exploding side-by-side with the projects I’ve been working on for years,” Miranda said.

Though theater fans have long cherished his fluency in both Stephen Sondheim and Tupac, “Hamilton” helped Miranda break into the mainstream in 2016. The groundbreaking, biographical hiphop show tells the true story of an orphan immigrant from the Caribbean who rises to the highest ranks of American society, told by a young AfricanAmerican and Latino cast.

The cast went to the White

House in March to perform songs from the show for the first family and answer questions from school children. A version of the show opened in Chicago in October and a production is slated to land in California this year and in London soon.

When the gold-winning U.S. women’s gymnastics team returned from the Rio Olympics, where do you think they wanted to go? “Hamilton,” naturally, which they did in August.

The show’s effects were felt across the nation this year, cheered by politicians, stars and rappers alike and even helping shape the debate over the nation’s currency (Hamilton stays on the $10 bill, in part due to Miranda’s show.)

But the musical also sparked controversy when the cast delivered a pointed message about diversity to Vice President-elect Mike Pence while he attended a performance in November. President-elect Donald Trump demanded an apology, which did not come.

That kerfuffle was part of a “Hamilton”-heavy fall that included an album of celebrity covers and songs called “The Hamilton Mixtape,” as well as a documentary on the show that aired on PBS and attracted more than 3.6 million television viewers.

There’s more Miranda to come in 2017, including filming Disney’s “Mary Poppins Returns” with Emily Blunt (due out Christmas 2018) and an ambitious TV and film adaptation of the fantasy trilogy “The Kingkiller Chronicle.”

“I’m back in a planting mode after a harvest,” Miranda said, laughing.

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JANUARY 5-11,2017

OFFICIALS SERVE NOTICE ON PARK A concessionaire’s agreement with the Parks Department for use of the Queensboro Oval expires this year

BY RICHARD KHAVKINE

For roughly nine months out of the year, a giant inflatable structure sits underneath the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, atop what is otherwise a public park, the 1.25-acre Queensboro Oval.

Inside that 45,000-square-foot bubble, whose entrance is at York Avenue and 59th Street, are eight clay tennis courts on which people pay anywhere from $60 to $225 an hour to play.

As the website of the Sutton East Tennis Club’s parent company says, “Playing Tennis in Manhattan is not only a privilege, but now a luxury.”

And to extend that privilege to all comers willing and able, Sutton East paid the city’s Department of Parks & Recreation $2.6 million in 2016, according to a concessionaire’s agreement.

But the district’s community board, elected officials and residents have become increasingly vocal in their efforts to stake the larger public’s claim to the Queensboro Oval when the agreement expires in August.

“We definitely want it returned to the public full time in the fall of 2017,” Community Board 8’s chairman, Jim Clynes, said last week. “We want it handed over officially even if it’s left vacant.”

Clynes has met with the Parks Department’s commissioner, Mitchell Silver, twice in recent months to discuss the oval’s future. At the most re-

cent meeting, in December at Silver’s request, the department presented Clynes three options for the oval, two which would return the oval to full public use. One would entail the construction of a multiuse, synthetic turf field, bathrooms, lockers and other amenities at an estimated cost of $6.1 million and take three to five years to build.

Another option is a smaller multi-use field as well as four tennis courts but no amenities, at an estimated $5 million. Those options, according to the presentation, would mean forfeiting thousands of tennis court hours and loss of city revenue and private-sector jobs.

The third option presented to Clynes would have a concessionaire, presumably Sutton East, lease the oval six months out of each year and assume responsibility for its upkeep yeararound.

“We don’t consider that an option at all,” Clynes said of the last possibility.

“It’s totally up to the parks commissioner to make the final decision. But I have faith in him,” he said. “I’m convinced the Parks Department will do the right thing.”

The Parks Department, however, last week said the options presented to Clynes were examples of the park’s potential uses and did not represent a comprehensive list.

“We are continuing our open dialogue with community stakeholders with a mutual goal to maximize year round utilization of the space that provides youth and adult recreational opportunities, including summertime activation,” a department statement

The Sutton East Tennis Club’s facility at the Queensboro Oval at York Avenue and 59th Street. Photo: New York City Department of Parks & Recreation said.

A Parks Department representative will discuss the options and listen to feedback at the community board’s parks committee meeting on Jan. 12, at which the committee is expected to vote on the options. The full board would then take up the committee’s recommendation.

The panels’ votes would have no binding influence on the commissioner’s determination. A Parks Department spokeswoman did not say when Silver would make a determination about the oval’s future.

The Oval is in City Council’s District 5, which ranks near the bottom of the

city’s 51 districts in terms of park and playground space per resident, according to New Yorkers For Parks. The organization’s research shows that the district has about one-third the amount of athletic field space it considers “standard” for the city.

“And with the overdevelopment of apartment buildings on the Upper East Side, there’s going to be even more of a need for open space,” Clynes said.

Since the bubble takes weeks to set up and dismantle, the oval is ostensibly open to the wider community in just July and August when it hosts softball games and other activities.

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Sutton East has proposed keeping the bubble up year round, but allow players with city-issued tennis permits — set to cost $100 for adults 1861, $20 for seniors and $10 for those under 18 this season — to use the courts during the summer.

Sutton East’s director, Tony Scolnick, who has been with the club since its inception in 1979, said that since the oval is right under the Queensboro Bridge, it’s not conducive to outdoor activities. “Do they want to have a park here with the loud noises of the bridge and the fumes coming off, or do they want to have a state-of-the-art tennis club that brings in large income?” he said in July.

The current concessionaire’s agreement, initiated in 2008, calls for York Avenue Tennis, the LLC behind Sutton East, to pay either a set annual fee or 35 percent of the club’s gross receipts, whichever is highest. The company paid the city $1.785 million in 2008, an amount that has which has increased 5 percent each year since then. If the pattern holds, Sutton will pay Parks $2,637,258 this year.

A once-a-week softball permit from the Parks Department, on the other hand, costs a few hundred dollars a season.

Still, Clynes is optimistic that Silver will see the value in opening the park to the larger community.

“Parks are for people, not for profit,” Clynes said, alluding to Sutton East’s operation. The city’s revenue “is not going to be a final factor in this.”

Richard Khavkine: editor.dt@strausnews. com

JANUARY 5-11,2017

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17

18

BARRICADES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 of impact the new subway line will bring,” said Goodside. “I’m excited about it.”

The dining establishment couldn’t rest on its long-standing reputation alone to weather the effects of the ongoing construction. Goodside acknowledged that city agencies were cooperative and responsive.

“We had to prepare in order to survive.”

Unfortunately, many businesses did not survive, and shuttered storefronts are a common sight.

Without a loyal customer base to rely on, newer businesses were doubly challenged with attracting customers. Obstruction of their storefronts was a key issue during the construc-

JANUARY 5-11,2017

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com tion, hindering signage and blocking entrances. “We’ve been here for nine months and when the barricades came down, customers were surprised to see us here, with some even asking if we were new to the area,” said Turkijana Giakmani, manager of Kolorbar salon, located on Second Avenue between 72nd and 73rd Streets.

During the construction, the entrance was barely visible, tucked in between barricades.

Giakmani said she and her team relied on word of mouth, Kolorbar’s strong brand identity, and flyers they distributed to attract customers.

Across the street from Kolorbar, Ashok Chauhan, general manager of Rangoli Exquisite Indian Cuisine, echoed Giakmani’s sentiments. “We’ve been here for two years and two months and visibility was

Second Avenue looking south from 78th Street after construction equipment for the Second Avenue subway was dismantled. Photo: Charmaine P. Rice

a big issue for us,” he said. “It was hard for passerby to see us.” The restaurant’s neighbor, Cafe Mingala, a Burmese restaurant, did not survive.

Further up on Second Avenue between 82nd and 83rd Streets is Promises Fulfilled, a toy store that specializes in personalized, hand-painted toys and gifts for children. The store has been in business for 26 years and owner Caryn Klausner expressed the frustration

she faced during the construction. “People thought that the streets were closed,” Klausner said. “Once the streets opened up … there were some people who came in and thought that we were a brand new store.”

A large trailer previously blocked the entrance to her store, making it difficult for customers to pick up larger items such as toy chests, scooters, and chairs. “There were many times I had to carry customers’ items

to their cars a block or two down because they couldn’t drive up to the front,” said Klausner. She cited customer loyalty, a strong reputation in this niche business, and word-of-mouth as key factors that helped her stay in business during the construction.

On the corner of 94th and Second Avenue is A-Jiao Sichuan Cuisine, which has been in business the past three years.

“Our biggest obstacle was a big hole in the street that made it

difficult for customers to enter the restaurant,” explained Saite Chen, an employee. “They had to walk past the restaurant and around to be able to come in through the side door. Then there was the noise and dust,” he added. Despite these setbacks, Chen — like so many along Second Avenue — is optimistic that the subway line will bring in new customers.

“We anticipate an increase in business.”

BELEAGUERED BROWNSTONE BUSTED AGAIN Tenants and neighbors rally to get a stop work order reissued on West 103rd Street

BY MADELEINE THOMPSON

The brownstone that stands at 315 West 103rd Street between West End Avenue and Riverside Drive looks normal from the street. The back of the building, however, is open to the elements except for some sparse black cloth. The building’s first permit was issued by the Department of Buildings (DOB) on January 13, 2009 to construct two additional stories and expand by 15 feet, but progress since then has been fraught and infrequent. In December, tenants and neighbors saw excavation and interior work being done in violation of a stop work order that has been in effect since July 2009.

After the buildings department’s initial approval in 2009, tenants reviewing the plans noticed that owner Jacob Avid, who could not be reached for comment, had listed the property as vacant.

There were, in fact, people living in the building, which has eight apartments, according to real estate website Apartable. The tenants banded together with neighbors, Community Board 7 and their elected officials to put a stop to the construction, and a stop work order was issued seven months later that has remained in effect. Since then, however, work has been done on the site that those familiar with the situation say is in violation of the original stop work order.

Richard Robbins, who lives next door to 315 West 103rd, has had a front-row seat to the project’s problems. “Any chance they’ve had to weatherproof they’ve used as an excuse to do construction,” he said. Because of the exposed nature of the building’s rear, the Department of Buildings has lifted the stop work order occasionally so the owner can protect it from the elements. Robbins says the owner has used the temporary reprieve to do non-permitted construction on other parts of the building.

In 2012, former tenant Mark Danna told the New York Post that he was “living in a dungeon.” “At one point, I bailed out eight gallons of water from my home,” Danna told the paper. “I feel like I no longer have shelter.” According to Robbins, Danna’s apartment was in the back of the build-

A stop work order from the city was posted last month at the construction site at 315 West 103rd St., a project mired in controversy since it began in 2009. Photo: Madeleine Thompson ing, where it suffered more than others from the building’s exposure. Robbins said Danna accepted a buyout this past fall and has moved out after many years of living there.

Robbins was away in mid-December 2016, when others noticed excavation and interior work being done, but he did see a dumpster and generator parked in front of the building on Dec. 22. Calls from neighbors and tenants alerted the DOB to the activity, and another stop work order was issued. According to the Department of Buildings website, six complaints were logged in 2016 for allegations such as jackhammering, unprotected construction and removing the posted stop work order sign. Seventy one total complaints have been logged since 2009.

Alex Schnell, a Department of Buildings spokesman, added that the most recent stop work order was partially lifted on Dec. 27 to allow for “removal of debris, to clean the site, enclose the rear of the building and make the rear of the building weather-tight.” In response to the owner’s pattern of using weatherproofing to do unrelated work, Schnell said safety and “protecting the property” are the DOB’s top concerns. Though the building’s landlord has been issued multiple violations, the agency must continue giving them leeway to ensure the site is safe.

Some questions also remain as to whether the building’s plans require approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The Riverside-West

End Historic District was expanded in mid-2015 to include 315 West 103rd Street and its neighborhood, which means any new construction on buildings included in the designation would have to go through the commission first.

Since 315 West 103rd Street’s plans were underway — albeit paused — at the time, it’s possible that they could be grandfathered into the new historic district and would not need approval. However, they still might, since changes have been made to those plans since 2015. Schnell said the Department of Buildings was looking into it.

Schnell also reassured tenants who might be wary of reporting violations for fear that they would be evacuated: “The only reason DOB would evacuate a building is if it’s immediately hazardous to tenants,” he said. “Nothing to me indicates that there’s been structural instability.”

The property may not be structurally unstable, but as of Dec. 29, its northern face remained open to the January weather. The next step for the building is unclear, but Robbins hopes the community will continue to rally around its tenants. “I think there are enough people who just assumed that if it’s happening then it’s legal that they don’t know any different,” he said. Robbins works from home, and said the experience has been “horrible.”

Madeleine Thompson can be reached at newsreporter@strausnews.com

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YOUR 15 MINUTES

RITUAL AND REAFFIRMATION THE WORLD OVER

BY ANGELA BARBUTI

Philip Sherman flipped through the appointment book that holds all his schedules brisses. “If I just open to any random page here ... Brooklyn, Oceanside, Aberdeen, and Scotch Plains, New Jersey.” His record-setting day held 11, including two sets of twins. Aside from the Tri-State area, he has presided over brisses in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Bermuda and Puerto Rico.

As a mohel, Sherman explained, he does not perform medical circumcisions. What he does has a religious or spiritual component, since the brit milah ceremony is the reaffirmation of the covenant between God and Abraham. He also does baby naming or zeved ha-bat ceremonies, for girls.

Having studied music and Jewish Studies at Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary’s joint program, Sherman uses his musical background as a cantor on the Upper West Side.

Having been a mohel for 40 years now, Sherman has already started to perform second-generation brisses.

And as for as his future plans, he said, he wants to continue doing the tradition as long as he is able. “I get to be involved in an amazing moment in people’s lives.”

ing a mohel has certain qualifications.

Although one might know how to circumcise, that does not necessarily qualify one to be a mohel. In order to perform this or any other significant religious ceremony or function, one must personally be religiously observant, Sabbath observing, Kosher keeping, etcetera.

nately, I developed a polyp on my vocal chords as I was graduating high school, and had to cancel all of that.

So not certain of whether or not I would have a vocal future, I wanted to learn something else which perhaps could secure a livelihood either in conjunction with being a cantor or not. So that’s when decided that I’d better learn something, and this was a good thing, my grandfather did it.

So I made the arrangements to study in Israel when I was 20 years old. In my junior year abroad, I trained to be a mohel with the then chief mohel of Jerusalem.

Non-Jewish families choose to use you as well. Why do you think that is?

They learn, either by reading my website or actually attending a bris, the difference between what a traditional mohel does and what they do in the hospital, or what doctors do. So basically, Jewish law requires me to have the gentlest, quickest and most compassionate way to perform the circumcision. Anything which would increase the discomfort to the child is prohibited by Jewish law. So when I do it, the circumcision takes under 20 seconds with the baby on a double pillow held usually by the warm, loving hands of his grandfather. The entire ceremony is 10 to 15 minutes. In the hospital, the baby is often restrained, strapped down naked to a molded plastic bodyboard. The technique

You’ve been in some commercials, movies and on TV. How did that come about?

Cantor Philip Sherman. Photo: Shane Maritch which the doctors or hospitals use can take, depending on the proficiency of the individual, from 10 to 45 minutes. This is inherently unacceptable in Jewish law. Non-Jewish families realize that there is a gentler, much more compassionate way to circumcise, performed by someone who is a

Explain what a mohel is and how it came about that you became one. I read that your grandfather did the same.

What are some of your memorable brises? You have done one in a bar and another in a nightclub.

Yes, PJ Reilly’s on 23rd and Third. I don’t know if they’re still around, but I think they are. The family lived upstairs in one of the apartments, so the most convenient place was the bar. I did a bris in nightclub called Lava. I have to tell you, those are particularly challenging because by nature, they’re often poorly lit. They’re very romantic, but not ideal for a bris. I once did a bris suspended across a swimming pool; they built a platform. One step in the wrong direction and you’re in the pool.

You earned degrees in music and Jewish Studies at Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary’s joint program.

Cantor Philip Sherman and a recent graduate. Photo courtesy of Cantor Philip Sherman

something

What happened was, I was going to audition at all the major music schools because as a kid, I had a pretty good voice. I came from a family of cantors and thought I was going to pursue a professional vocal career. Unfortu-

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have

Yes, my mother’s father. The brit milah ceremony is the reaffirmation of the ancient promise between God and Abraham. It is the sign of that covenant. It has nothing to do with health reasons or cleanliness, which happens to be a modern misperception. The person who performs this ceremony is called a mohel in Modern Hebrew or a moyl in more common parlance. Be-

super specialist at this and dedicated because of the love of the commandment.

you You’d look

It actually came about through the synagogue. I believe it was 1987. It was the 200th anniversary of the Bill of Rights and Philip Morris produced a commercial in recognition of that.

And they had an interior shot of our synagogue, but they had some Ashkenazic cantor singing something. And after viewing the commercial, I said, “Guys, right picture, wrong music.”

And they said, “Well, can you come down and sing something?” So I went down to the studio and sang a couple of things and they accepted a bit of it and put it in the commercial. And that’s how I was able to join Screen Actors Guild. And in the interim, I’ve done commercials, television, movies, just all by virtue of the fact that people know who I am.

To learn more, visit www.emohel.com

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?

into

Philip Sherman reflects on his 40 years as a mohel

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