Our Town - January 7, 2016 by Our Town

The local paper for the Upper er East Side A TEACHER MAKES THE GRADE < Q&A, P.21

IN NEW APARTMENTS, HOW SMALL IS SMALL? NEWS ‘Micro’ apartments can be as little as 265 square feet BY JENNIFER PELTZ

The apartments in a new Manhattan building boast little balconies, tall ceilings, dishwashers and storage space. All in 360 square feet or less. It’s micro-living in the nation’s biggest city, and New Yorkers could be seeing more of it. Planning officials are proposing to end a limit

on how small apartments can be, opening the door for more “micro-apartments” that advocates see as affordable adaptations to a growing population of single people. Critics fear a turn back toward the city’s tenement past and question whether less space will really mean less expensive. At Carmel Place, the Manhattan building that marks the city’s ﬁrst experiment in decades with building supersmall dwellings, the pitch is that little can be just enough. “An efficiently designed

micro-unit,” says developer Tobias Oriwol, “is just a nice apartment.” Due to open early next year, Carmel Place features 55 apartments ranging from 265 to 360 square feet. By comparison, a typical onecar garage can be about 200 square feet. As an experimental project, Carmel Place got city land and a waiver from New York’s 400-square-foot minimum on new apartments, set in 1987. A proposed elimination of that minimum would allow smaller studios in build-

ings with a mix of apartment sizes, but entire micro-unit buildings would continue to need waivers. “For us, it was really important to demonstrate how small space could be an enhancement to quality of life,” said Christopher Bledsoe of Stage 3 Properties, which designed the interiors and amenities at Carmel Place.

Long, ﬂat walls without columns maximize furniturearranging options, although some units come furnished with fold-out wizardry, including a desk that expands into a 12-seater table and a retractable bed that pulls down tidily over a love seat. Developer Monadnock Construc-

NEIGHBORS COMPLAIN OF EAST SIDE SMOKE

The building in question has two addresses: 400 East 89th Street and 401 East 88th Street. Public records show it is owned by 1700 First Avenue LLC, which according to a boiler permit ﬁled with the Dept. of Buildings, is connected to Solil Goldman Investments. Records on ﬁle with the Dept. of Finance indicate the building contains over 100 rent stabilized units, though the total number of units is unknown. A call made to the building manager, listed as Adam Goldblatt in Dept. of Housing Preservation and Development documents, went unreturned. “The smoke is coming into [our apartment], it’s pollu-

BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS

A couple on the Upper East Side are concerned about thick black smoke hanging over Yorkville that they say regularly billows out of a residential building on 89th Street and is polluting the area. “Almost every half hour,

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Residents pinpoint a residential building on 89th Street

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and it’s thick black smoke, and we’ve tried everything,” said Carlo Schweizer, who lives with his wife Margaret on York Avenue between 88th Street and 89th Street, and whose apartment overlooks an area where the smoke is highly visible. Schweizer said he and his wife have contacted local elected officials as well as city, state and federal agencies in an attempt to ﬁnd out what is causing the smoke and if it can be mitigated in any way.

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What to make of the skirmish between the governor and the mayor over the city’s homeless problem? One view is that this is more of the same, childish sniping between the two men who are supposed to be the adults of New York politics. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, in particular, seems constitutionally incapable of letting an opportunity pass to tweak Mayor Bill de Blasio. The problem is that the mayor gives him so many opportunities. As is so often the case, the mayor here laid the groundwork for his own misery, insisting over the summer that the homeless population in the city wasn’t going up, a stance that was ridiculous to anybody not shuttling around town in a SUV. Ultimately, de Blasio came around, acknowledging that things are getting worse and laying out an ggressive plan to deal with it. Cuomo’s proposal, to forcibly remove homeless people when the temperature slips below freezing, is an unprecedently aggressive step for any governor. And it raises some serious legal issues that de Blasio is right to point out. Foremost among them: being homeless is not against the law, even when it’s cold outside. Jewish women and girls light up the world by lighting the Shabbat candles every Friday evening 18 minutes before sunset. Friday January 8 – 4:28 pm. For more information visit www.chabaduppereastside.com.

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JANUARY 7-13,2016

WHAT’S MAKING NEWS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD TRAFFIC DEATHS DECREASE Traffic deaths in the city dipped to record lows for the second consecutive year in 2015, The New York Times reported.

According to city statistics, 230 people were killed last year, 27 fewer than the 257 who died in 2014, the paper reported. Most of those killed were pedestrians. Still, if the Vision Zero target of eliminating traffic deaths altogether by

2024 is to be reached, more assertive measures must be implemented, city officials and traffic-safety advocates told The Times. The city last year lowered the default speed limit to 25 mph, instituted traffic safety upgrades at dangerous

intersections and along roadways, and also increased police enforcement of traffic laws, the paper noted. The mayor said the city would continue to institute traffic safety measures “We are moving in the right direction,” de Blasio was quoted as saying by The Times. “We know there is a lot more to do, but there is no question that Vision Zero is working.”

CHURCH PASTOR ACCUSED OF TAKING COLLECTIONS

Photo: Timothy Krause, via Flickr

The pastor of Evangelical Rock Church was charged with petit larceny for allegedly pocketing $238 from parishioners’ collections, CBS New York reported. Board members of the church, on East 62nd Street, said suspected that Pastor Daniel Iampaglia, 72, had been taking some donations for some time, the station quoted one, Sue Cruz, as saying. “So we put extra 20s, we marked them, we took photographs of them, and sure enough on Sunday, when the offering was given to him to deposit, 20s were missing,” Cruz told CBS New York. Parishioners told the station said they caught Iampaglia on video. He was taking from funds that are meant to go to missions. On Sunday, officers were called to the

church after a meeting of parishioners grew ﬁery, the station said. The station reported that the pastor and some church members have been embroiled in a legal dispute.

MUSIC ROW TUNES OUT When the squeeze box store on took its last breath in December, West 48th Street’s famed Music Row died with it too. Alex Instruments, the last of the music stores on what was once a veritable instrument emporium along the street, moved to an office building on West 54th Street, The New York Times reported this week. In the last few years, the store’s owner, Alex Carozza, witnessed the demise of Manny’s, New York Woodwind and Brass — now a Dunkin’ Donuts — Frank Wolf Drummers Supplies and We Buy Guitars. In August, Rudy’s Music Shop, next door to Alex, closed its location of nearly 40 years. Sam Ash left the street in 2013. The Times noted that developers have bought much of the property nearby, with hotels and office building likely to replace the music stores. “Musically, it’s kind of depressing,” the paper quoted accordion player Mario Tacca as saying. “I guess it’s part of the new world that we’re living in. The old world is kind of disappearing slowly. It’s kind of sad to see.”

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CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG

AIDE TO I.M. PEI ARRESTED FOR ASSAULT A home health aide to 98-year-old renowned architect I.M. Pei has been charged with assaulting him inside his New York City home. Pei told police that 28-year-old Eter Nikolaishvili grabbed his right forearm and forcefully twisted it Dec. 13. Authorities say Pei’s arm was bruised and bleeding after the attack. Police investigated for two weeks before arresting the aide. The aide was arraigned in Manhattan criminal court on a charge of felony assault. She was released without bail. he aide’s attorney hasn’t returned a phone call seeking comment. Pei’s designs include the John F. Kennedy Library in Massachusetts and the glass and steel pyramid at the Louvre in Paris. In 1983, Pei was awarded the Pritz-

STATS FOR THE WEEK Reported crimes from the 19th Precinct for Dec. 21 to Dec. 27 Week to Date

Year to Date

2015 2014

% Change

2015

2014

% Change

Murder

n/a

Rape

n/a

-27.3

Robbery

-50.0

105

16.7

Felony Assault

0.0

123

103

19.4

Burglary

66.7

172

215

-20.0

Grand Larceny

105.3

1,387

1,388 -0.1

Grand Larceny Auto

-100.0

ker Prize, known as the Nobel Prize of architecture.

THIEVES STRIKE AT LOCAL DUANE READE A man possibly responsible for a number of shoplifting incidents in the Duane Reade store at 1352 First Ave. stole a woman’s purse and its contents. At 10:37 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 26, a man thought to be in 40s, apparently abetted by a female accomplice, stole a black Asprey ostrich handbag from a woman customer who had placed it on the ﬂoor.

Before the woman could notify her bank about the theft, two purchases were made on her business debit card at a Shell gas station and 7-Eleven store on East 96th Street. An unsuccessful charge attempt was made at a McDonald’s in Brooklyn. The thieves also used the victim’s smartphone to make calls. A store employee told the customer that the male thief was a regular there and had been caught or seen stealing items of merchandise on at least three occasions during Christmas week alone. Police were unable to conﬁrm a

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pattern of thefts at that Duane Reade location, as the other incidents might not have been reported. The stolen handbag was valued at $2,500, with the Motorola cellphone inside the bag worth $250.

NO LARK AT CLARK’S A woman had her purse taken from under under her seat in at P.J. Clarke’s, according to police. The 24-year-old was dining at the West 63rd Street restaurant on Dec. 20 had hung her purse under her seat but found it gone when she went to pay her bill. She put the total loss at $1,280.

GOODBYE COLUMBUS Thieves are happy to steal used electronics too. At 7 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 18, a 41-year-old man parked his car outside 504 Columbus Ave. When he

returned, he found that someone had removed a variety of electronics from inside the car, including an iPhone, a GPS device, an iPad, and more, valued at $1,884.

BLUETOOTH BLUES Electronics continue to attract thieves. At 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 26, a woman entered the AT&T store at 2066 Broadway and made off with $1,134 worth of Bluetooth speakers and other electronics.

WICKED WORKER A store under construction proved vulnerable to crooks. At 12 noon on Thursday, Dec. 17, a perpetrator believed to be a construction worker at the AT&T store at 2195 Broadway made off with $4,900 in iPhones and Samsung cell phones.

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CITY COUNCIL

THE DOWNTOWN LIBRARY DESERT NEWS A shortage continues, despite years of complaints by local officials

Councilmember Daniel Garodnick

211 E. 43rd St. #1205

212-818-0580

BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS

Councilmember Ben Kallos

244 E. 93rd St.

212-860-1950

Downtown officials want to know why there are no libraries or community centers in the Financial District east of Broadway, where 60 percent of the population in that district lives. “I wish I knew,” said Ro Sheffe, chair of CB1’s Financial District Committee, who noted he and others on the board have been pressuring city government for the past decade to provide more community facilities in an area of Lower Manhattan that has seen a steep increase in population over the same time period. Sheffe said when referring to libraries he means facilities in the New York Public Library system, the closest of which are the New Amsterdam branch just west of City Hall on Murray Street, and further west, the Battery Park City branch on North End Avenue. Community centers, he said, are either nonprofit entities like Manhattan Youth Recreation, like the center on the west end of Warren Street, or facilities like Asphalt Green at Battery Park City that are private and for-profit, but offer free or low-cost community programming. Those types of facilities, claims Sheffe, do not exist in the eastern half of the Financial District: from Broadway down to South Street, up past the Seaport to the Brooklyn Bridge, and back west to Broadway. While there’s no concrete reason for the dearth of community facilities in that chunk of Lower Manhattan, there are two contributing factors that may help explain the circumstance. The first is an apparent lack of good data at the official level for just how many people live in the district. In 2010 the U.S. Census Bureau found that the population in Lower Manhattan, comprising the Financial District, Tribeca, Battery Park City and the Seaport, had grown 77 percent to 61,000 over the previous decade. Those figures were contested by the city and CB1 as being too low, which resulted in the U.S. Census Bureau revising them upward. Sheffe said despite the revision the city did

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The Financial District in Lower Manhattan, where according to Community Board 1 member Ro Sheffe, is without a public library or community center in its entire eastern half. Source: WikiMedia Commons. its own count, which the board felt was still too low. A study commissioned by the board in 2011 found the population in Lower Manhattan nearly doubled since 2000, and that the population in the Financial District has more than tripled. A board-commissioned study from 2008 predicted population in the Financial District alone would triple to almost 28,000 from 2000 to 2013. But those are figures that are used by CB1 in assessing needs in the district, not city officials who make decisions on where to allocate resources. Sheffe said the city’s failure to grasp just how many people live in the Financial District, and how many have moved there in the past five years, has led to the belief that the area is adequately served by existing community facilities. He did note that in recent years the Dept. of Education has sited three new schools in the Financial District, an effort he lauded, but one he said is still not enough to match demand from the growing population. When reached for comment, officials at City Hall did not address what population figures they work off of in Lower Manhattan, and specifically in the Financial District. A City Hall spokesperson said the city’s most recent budget included $46 million in new operating funds for the NYPL system, bringing the total to $358 million for the 2016 fiscal year. Those funds are being used for universal 6-day service, extended hours in many loca-

tions, and create nearly 500 new jobs, said the spokesperson. As for community centers, City Hall spokesperson Monica Klein said city-run Cornerstone programs run out NYCHA houses, of which there are none in the Financial District or Community District 1, or public schools, which are called Beacon programs, and are available in high-need areas. “The administration continues to take steps to ensure Lower Manhattan is a complete neighborhood, from supporting the development of open space and rehabilitating the waterfront to keeping streets safe and opening new schools,” said Klein. Klein provided a list of eight Cornerstone and Beacon programs, none of which are in the Financial District, and 13 senior centers, only one of which is in the Financial District. The City Hall Senior Center, which is affiliated with Hamilton Madison House Inc., is at 100 Gold St., at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge. The center’s mission statement, however, indicates that it primarily provides senior services to those living in Two Bridges, the Lower East Side and Chinatown. The other contributing factor to a lack of community facilities in Lower Manhattan east of Broadway, which is related to the question of population, is that the Financial District is still largely considered commercial in many minds, Sheffe said. “We have very little of the

residential infrastructure that most urban neighborhoods take for granted and that’s because we were a commercial district for hundreds of years,” said Sheffe. “So people are accustomed to thinking about it that way, and perceptions are hard to change.” He claims the Financial District is now more residential than anything else, a perception that’s hard to change because many of the buildings in the district appear to be commercial. But people forget (or don’t know), Sheffe said, that many commercial buildings in the district have been converted over to residential use in past years. “It’s just something that hasn’t reached the consciousness of people and I’m afraid maybe the same is true of City Hall,” said Sheffe. Sheffe said CB1 has been asking for a library and community center in that part of the district on their annual list of priorities submitted to City Hall. “For more than a decade a library and a community center east of Broadway has been at the top of that list, right above schools,” said Sheffe. “The disparity between facilities to serve Battery Park City and Tribeca and those that serve the Financial District is remarkable…and I frankly cannot understand it.” Sheffe said the board had reached out to elected officials on every level in pursuit of a new library and community center. They’re sympathetic, he said, but nothing seems to change. When contacted for comment, State Senator Daniel Squadron, who represents the Financial District, praised the recent opening of the Peck Slip School and said, “I appreciate that [Community Board 1] is continuing to look at ways to expand local services east of Broadway. I look forward to continuing to partner with them.” Sheffe added he was optimistic his clamoring for new community facilities would bear fruit when former Mayor Michael Bloomberg was succeeded by current Mayor Bill de Blasio, but so far his pleas have been ignored. “I was hoping that with a change in administration there would be a change in policy, but it hasn’t materialized yet,” he said.

JANUARY 7-13,2016

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FROM PAYPHONES TO WIFI NEWS Plan would create 7,500 hot spots BY JENNIFER PELTZ

Operator, won’t you help me replace this call? A 9-foot-tall, narrow structure installed this past week on a Manhattan sidewalk is signaling a plan to turn payphones into what’s billed as the world’s biggest and fastest municipal Wi-Fi network. The ﬁrst of at least 7,500 planned hot spots are due to go online early next year, promising superfast and free Wi-Fi service, new street phones with free calling, ports to charge personal phones and a no-cost windfall for the city. With some cities nationwide making renewed pushes for public Wi-Fi after an earlier wave of enthusiasm faded, New York officials say their project is democratizing data access while modernizing outmoded street phones. For now, the ﬁrst hot spot is still being tested and sits under a gray cover. But some passers-by like the sound of what’s in store. “It’s always helpful” to have Wi-Fi to reduce the bite that apps and web-

surﬁng take out of cellular data service, which is capped in many consumers’ plans, Jack Thomas said this week while texting near the dormant kiosk. But others have qualms about New

Yorkers linking their devices to a public network as they stroll down the street, though the city has said data will be encrypted and any information harvested for advertising will be

anonymized. “I think it makes us all more vulnerable to wrongdoers,” Bee Mosca said as she eyed the future hot spot. Payphones may seem like telecom relics when 68 percent of Americans own smartphones, according to the Pew Research Center on Internet, Science & Technology. But about 8,200 payphones still dot New York streets. Some were pressed into service amid outages after 2012’s Superstorm Sandy, but their numbers and usage have declined overall, and 37 percent of those inspected last year were inoperable. The city experimented with providing Wi-Fi from a few payphones in 2012, then hatched the current, eightyear “LinkNYC” plan. A consortium of companies, including wireless technology player Qualcomm Inc., is to pay the estimated $200 million installation cost and take half the revenue from the kiosks’ digital advertising, projected at $1 billion over 12 years. The city gets the other half, more than doubling the $17 million a year it gets from payphones now. Each hot spot covers about a 150-foot radius with what’s pledged as onegigabit-per-second service, about 20 times the speed of average home Internet service. Officials have said the service is intended for outdoor use; it’s not clear whether it might extend inside some businesses and homes. Though many Americans now carry Internet connectivity in their pockets, the network “can be a win for users

who can save on their data plans, and it can be a win for (cellular) networks if they’re really overtaxed,” said Erik Stallman, general counsel of the Center for Democracy and Technology, a group that advocates for Internet liberties and access. Tourists without local cellular service also could benefit, noted John Breyault, a National Consumers League vice president. LinkNYC isn’t without opponents: A payphone company has sued the city, saying it created a monopoly for the new consortium. The city has said it believes the arrangement is legal. Many U.S. cities strove to cover themselves in Wi-Fi in the early 2000s. But a number of the plans foundered as home access proliferated, usage and ad revenues disappointed and some Internet service providers complained the city networks were unfair competitors. But some cities have recently recast and reinvigorated their efforts. Boston is working to expand a “Wicked Free WiFi” network with over 170 hot spots, and Los Angeles is encouraging private companies to provide free basic wireless to all homes and businesses, with outdoor coverage as a goal. Still, some question whether it’s wise for city governments to get into offering Wi-Fi, rather than leaving it to businesses. But “New York is not a typical city,” said Jeff Kagan, a telecommunications analyst and consultant.

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JANUARY 7-13,2016

IN SEARCH OF DIRT AND A KIT KAT WALKING AND TALKING ON THE EAST SIDE BY DAVID WILLIAMS

For the past 21 years, Nancy Ploeger has been president of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce. Since joining the chamber in 1994 as the executive director, Nancy has represented the business community on a wide range of critical issues, most notably those involving health insurance, MWBE certification, government procurement, small businesses globalization, diversity and business resources for services sectors, among other issues. In February, Nancy is leaving her position at the chamber to take over at the wheel at an organization co-founded by the Chamber, International Women’s Entrepreneurial Challenge. Mileage covered: 1.3 miles Overcast, unseasonably 59 degrees Central Casting’s idea of what makes a great Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive – someone possessed with effortless boosterism, a lack of apparent guile and an ample reservoir of energy and bonhomie – Nancy Ploeger, President of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, and I are meeting to go about her rounds late one recent Friday afternoon. We join each other beneath her apartment building awning on East 88th Street, between First and Second. “So, where are we headed?” I ask as Nancy and I walk west, pushing her empty shopping cart that, clearly, has a lot of mileage on it. “We’re headed to Wankels. It’s about 97 years old, one of the few hardware stores left in the area. We’re going to be buying some dirt because we’re planting bulbs tomorrow in Ruppert Park,” she tells me. Like many New Yorkers (myself included) Nancy has caught the adopt-aNYC-park bug. And she’s starting from the ground up. Literally. “All the soil in the park has worn away and all that’s left is concrete. I want to get some potting soil so the bulbs will have a chance to live.” Saint Louis born, Nancy has (Central Casting again) all the zest for living in her adopted city that only a true transplant possesses. The recipient of countless community and city accolades, Nancy would be a ﬁve star NYC general. If there were such a thing. “My first apartment was on East 90th Street. Then I moved to 88th between First and York for a year. Then my current place, since 1973. It’s a great prewar building.” At the Second Avenue crosswalk Nancy and I run into Rick, whom

Nancy has known for years. Informing me that he was born in her building two-plus generations ago, Nancy is corrected. “No, Doctor’s Hospital,” Rick reminds her as he peels off to continue his own Friday rounds. “Many of the people have lived in my building a long time,” she continues. “But we have a lot of new people. Families with kids. And we have a BEAUTIFUL (all caps) laundry room, with a TV you can watch while your laundry is being done.” I tell Nancy that she lives on a nice looking block. Great, mature trees. And the church… “What makes the block is the church (Church of the Holy Trinity). The garden out front is one of my favorite places. You can just go in, sit on a bench and read a book,” she notes. It’s an active church with a homeless program. A few people spend the night there and then are out at 6:00 in the morning. “Plus, they have a search and care program for the elderly, and a day care center for kids.” But enough of the church’s role in the community. It’s now time to load up on some good mother earth at Wankels for Nancy to do her own important work in Ruppert Park. On our way, we swing by yet another park Nancy has adopted. A small, “pocket” park adjacent to a high-rise. “This park actually belongs to 200 East 87th. The owners were able to add extra height to the building if they added the park. For the ﬁrst seven years they planted and cared for it but after then the homeless and others kept digging up the plants. And they got tired of spending all the money. “So now all they do is pick up the garbage and keep the water fountain working.” While she is doing all the heavy motivational lifting, her cause is being aided and abetted by a local church group that wants to do the gardening. They plan to put in bushes and a few trees. Nothing that is easy to dig up and spirit away. Wankels (“In the same family since 1896,” according to their website) has exactly what Nancy needs so we peel off, her cart loaded to the handle with potting soil. I offer to drive but this appears to be a bit of a temperamental shopping cart, a vintage vehicle best driven by its owner. Before we head down to 86th Street we retrace our steps so Nancy can drop off the bags of terra firma. We pick up where we left off, talking about community parks whose best days were way on the other side of a couple

Photo by David Williams of city recessions. Ruppert is one of them. And where Nancy is focusing most of her efforts. “Thanks to (Council Member) Ben Kallos, some funds were given to the park. We were looking into irrigation but this would be the third iteration. It’s never been done well, and the park is on a slope. Piping and tubing is popping out everywhere. “We are trying to get Parks to make a master plan. And we need a dog run. In the meantime we are having kids events every month and if you looked at it a year ago it is no where near what it looks like this year.” Miles to go, but her pride shows. “We cleared out all the dead plant material. Painted all the exterior fences. We’re doing all we can. “The amazing thing is the volunteers. On our ﬁrst It’s Our Park Day we had three groups. The ﬁrst group was the Muslim Volunteers of New York City. And these Muslim families came, kids, mothers, fathers, grandmothers.

I think we had about 40 of them. They care about this Park and trying to give back to the community. “Then we had a Baptist Church, Christ Church, and we had about 15 volunteers from them. “Finally, we had another group of veterans. Vets who are returning come through an organization, based in St. Louis, called Mission Continues. Its philosophy is to help veterans reestablish in the community by working with nonprofits. They will pay a vet to work for a nonproﬁt for 20 hours a week for $600.“ Anyone who has lived under the same roof for 42 years knows a thing or two about what has changed in a neighborhood. And what has withstood the New York test of time. After she takes me on a short stroll around the grounds of Holy Trinity we set out on an important mission: Buying a stash of dark chocolate Kit Kat bars at the international newsstand on 86th Street. En route I ask her if she ranges

very far afield when she has takeout to buy or shopping to do. “I pretty much stay local. One of the reasons I like it here is I can walk to the corner and get Vietnamese. Sushi or Japanese on another. French on another. And then there’s The Writing Room (owned by the Parlor Steakhouse folks) that has all kinds of fancy American food.” And, like anyone, she has an all-time favorite restaurant. Maz Mescal, on 86th Street between First and Second. Nancy lives midway between Central Park and Carl Schurz Park. Her mission to “take back” Ruppert Park reflects the well-know fact the Upper East Side lacks, proportionally, the park acreage per capita, that other New York City communities benefit from. Plus, “There are a lot of elderly people, and families with young kids who aren’t in a stroller, that don’t want to go too far to one of those parks. Ruppert is one acre and one of the largest open park spaces between (Carl Schurz and Central Park).” As we turn right onto First Avenue Nancy catalogs the shops and services that have gone to retail heaven. The drycleaner where Nancy, lacking a doorman, could leave her keys for guests who were coming to stay. The 24-hour deli, “Owned by Annie,” who could no longer afford the rising rents. “This is what’s happening in other neighborhoods, too. But at the same time we have a lot of new businesses opening. A lot of new restaurants,” she spins. Spoken like a true Chamber of Commerce executive. We pass Maz Mescal as Nancy sings the praises of the restaurant owners, Mary, from the Midwest, and her husband, Eduardo, from Mexico. “They have a very good sense of community. Always hosting events, like the third attempt to create a Business Improvement District on 86th Street.” Our last stop is the international newsstand on 86th Street, a few doors east of Second. By the cordiality of the reception, it is clearly a business that knows Ms. Ploeger. We have come for what is, apparently, a hard-to-find commodity in these here parts: those dark chocolate Kit Kats. It takes some rummaging through the counter display but, happily, Nancy does not leave Kit Kat-deprived. She is in luck. “I’ll take five.” A small pleasure, found in what is, more notably, a well-stocked international newsstand. We part ways, two longtime UES denizens, partisan residents who share a love for their neighboring zip codes. Though not necessarily for dark over milk chocolate Kit Kats.

JANUARY 7-13,2016

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Sports ASPHALT GREEN SWIMMERS AT MARYLAND TOURNAMENT

Asphalt Green Uniﬁed Aquatics (AGUA) kicked off the NCAP Invite in Maryland with a bang. Eleven swimmers helped topple nine team records. The 13-14 boys took down three of four relay records, while the 13-14 girls broke the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relay records. Tristan Pragnell downed the 100 and 200 backstroke records for 11-12 boys. Nicholas Wen downed the 1,000 and 1,650 freestyle records for 13-14 boys. Luiza Silveira and Diana Bates hit new Futures Championship-qualifying times.

Neighborhood Scrapbook TWO SEAWRIGHT INSURANCE BILLS SIGNED INTO LAW Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed into law two bills sponsored by freshman Assembly Member Rebecca A. Seawright that work together to ease the costs of a changing insurance market on small businseses and school districts. The legislation responds to the Affordable Care Act’s recommendation to redefine small groups from those containing 100 or fewer employees to those containing 50 or fewer employees. Seawright’s legislation allows those employers who presently use stop-loss/reinsurance programs and will be affected by the change (those who employ between 51 and 100 individuals) to continue their existing cost effective coverage. The bills, which were sponsored in the Senate by Senator James L. Seward, received support from the Council of School Superintendents, NYSUT, NYS School Boards Association, Cigna, and NYS Association of School Business Officials and passed the Assembly and Senate with an overwhelming majority of votes. The governor’s signing of the two bills marks the conclusion of a successful first session in Albany for Seawright, who sponsored five bills last session that were signed into law.

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Voices

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Letters IN PRAISE OF NEW YEAR’S EVE To the Editor: Happy New Year to all the folks at Our Town. Every week I look forward to reading your newspaper. I have a few comments to make about New Year’s Eve in Times Square. I was so proud of New York for the spectacular show it put on. And I salute the NYPD for a job well done in making everyone there feel safe and secure. And ﬁnally, the music! “New York, New York”, America The Beautiful” & “What a Wonderful World” sung by the greatest. It proves that New York is still “top of the heap”. Sincerely, Jane Bonia

SCHOOL SEGREGATION — STATUS QUO To the Editor: Your editorial of Dec. 24-30, “A New Wrinkle on School Segregation,” is misleading. There is nothing new in this city about white parents who avoid sending their children to schools with predominately black/Hispanic enrollments. This is one of the main reasons why Photo: Jason Lawrence, via Flickr New York City’s schools remain largely segregated 50 years after the Brown vs. Board of Education decision. Charter schools likewise are just as segregated as public schools but unlike public school officials make no pretense that integration or increased diversity is a part of its overall plans for its classes. The issue of school segregation has been moribund until recently. Its awakening can be traced to a smattering of complaints, a presupposed liberalism tarnished by its education system being repeatedly cited as one of the most segregated in the country and a mayor only half through his term busily meeting with his political consultants planning his reelection. The few steps taken thus far to address the segregation issue have been superﬁcial. Timid education officials are fearful of alienating white parents who are more politically savvy. There is in fact no in-depth short or long-term master plan being considered to address this long existing problem. The department of education is a top-heavy bureaucracy, which I believe lack the commitment, the vigor or the vision required to break free of its longstanding, very comfortable status quo positions. B. Wallace Cheatham

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THE NEW OLD YORKVILLE OP-ED BY MELITTA ANDERMAN

There was a time when East 86th Street from Lexington Avenue to the East River smelled like poppy seeds, chocolate and goulash. There were no overﬂowing garbage cans, no vendors assaulting your senses with their wares, and no giant food emporiums. You could stroll down the street peeking into small stores, grab a bit in The Kleine Konditorei without breaking the bank. How about a nice little coffee mit schlag (whipped cream not spritzed from a can), and a puff pastry made with real hard worn hands from the baker in the kitchen? It was a stroll in prewar Vienna and Budapest. The old brownstones on Second Avenue were not taller than three or four stories and you could see the sky and the moon. You could pop into the

Associate Publishers, Seth L. Miller, Ceil Ainsworth Sr. Account Executive, Tania Cade

Mocca restaurant on Second Avenue in the 80s and eat their delicate weiner schnitzel with cucumber/potato salad and then indulge in the best chestnut torte dessert this side of the Atlantic. Your waitress was always the little wobbly woman who was close to 100 but she could carry those trays without an accident. Her delicious accent added to the delights of the cuisine. If you wanted class service, you went to Vienna 79 where royalty reigned. White-gloved waiters, stiff damask tablecloths, gold cutlery and a meal ﬁt for the emperor and his wife. You left the restaurant almost expecting a horse-drawn chariot to take you home. There were arrays of wondrous eating places, like the Budapest, where a meal could run you under $10, the Red Tulip where goulash was served in a tin bucket next to your plate, the Ruc, an ordinary place but what a glorious feast it was during the summer eating

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in the back garden with colored bulbs dangling overhead and caressing light breezes. But it was a one-way ticket to an arterial collapse if you indulged in their specialty of goose, dumplings and an assortment of Eastern European courses. If you wanted to stock up foods to take home, you went to Paprika Weiss, the big overﬂowing store on Second Avenue. The best Hungarian salami cut so thin one could see through it. Every slice was a treat. Their paprika came in different strengths and made cooking a joy. Nowhere has this product been duplicated. My pantry is still stocked with it. It is said that what goes around comes around. It must be so because I now live in the midst of subway lines in the making, high-rises cropping up, a new bohemian nightlife, international restaurants, happy hour bars and now wafts of cooking and baking. It is the new Olde Yorkville.

Staff Reporters, Gabrielle Alfiero, Daniel Fitzsimmons

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

JANUARY 7-13,2016

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A VICTORY AT THE GYM BY MARCIA EPSTEIN am so proud of my building for being the ďŹ rst in the city to win equitable access to a gym built originally only for market-rate tenants. Our whiz bang of a board president, Jean Green Dorsey, fought for us because virtually all of the rent-stabilized tenants are senior citizens and certainly could use what the gym offers. The case was brought on the grounds of excluding senior citizens from the gym, and justice prevailed. But more than the exclusion of seniors is the fact that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s morally wrong to exclude half of a buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tenants from a facility because they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t pay market rates. We were always willing to pay the going rate for gym usage. This is like the â&#x20AC;&#x153;poor doorâ&#x20AC;? that some buildings have for rentstabilized tenants, which hopefully will go the way of the no-access gym. Rentstabilized tenants deserve to be treated with the same dignity and fairness as anyone else who lives in a building. Most of us are seniors and have lived here for decades, raised our children here, and watched the neighborhood change from not so hot to upscale. Onward and upward in the ďŹ ght for equal treatment. The Altman Foundation and The New York Community Trust have awarded major

grants to Service Program for Older People (SPOP) to launch a new partnership with Mount Sinai Visiting Doctors. SPOP now offers psychotherapy and physical and behavioral health care to people 55 and older in their clinic at 302 West 91st Street. Though I wrote about SPOP in a previous column, this is a new initiative, which involves partnering with Mount Sinai Visiting Doctors to provide behavioral health treatment to homebound seniors who are receiving in-home medical care from Mount Sinai Hospital. Dr. Cameron Hernandez, Medical Director of Mount Sinaiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ambulatory Care, says â&#x20AC;&#x153;we are thrilled to partner with SPOPâ&#x20AC;Ś.we share a common goal of providing excellent home-based care to New Yorkers.â&#x20AC;? Though SPOP already has a program of home visits to frail clients, this new partnership will mean that nearly half of all appointments will take place either in the home or at a neighborhood senior center. You can reach SPOP at 212787-7120. Partners in Care is part of the Visiting Nurse Service of New York. It provides certified home home aides and nurses in the home and is accredited by the Community Health Accreditation Program and is accredited by the Community Health Accreditation Program (CHAP) and licensed by the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH).

Partners in Care makes compatibility a top priority, ensuring that home health aides, and other home care professionals, are matched to your loved ones needs. They provide home health aides, round-the-clock care at home or at a nursing facility, medical help at home, respite care if you need a breather, and other services. s a leading provider of private, at-home care, Partners in Care is often featured in the news. Call 1-888-735-8913 On another note, you know youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re old when the womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s group youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been in for over eight years spends most of its time talking about medical issues. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re always being reminded by one or another of us to sign up for a Life Alert. You know, the kind you see on TV where the woman says â&#x20AC;&#x153;Help, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve fallen and I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get up,â&#x20AC;? and she presses a button and help miraculously arrives. Well itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s true, it does. There are several companies providing this service besides Life Alert. Look at consumersadvocate.org for more, or ask your local hospital. This conversation always gives me that â&#x20AC;&#x153;yes, I really am elderlyâ&#x20AC;? shock. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think I am ready for an alert, though my cohorts donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t agree. Even though I have a partner, I am home alone fairly often. But no, not yet. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not nearly ready. Wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t that really mean Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m an old person? Still, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s good information to have. Maybe someday Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll give in. Somedayâ&#x20AC;Ś.

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JANUARY 7-13,2016

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Primary and Multispecialty Care on the Upper East Side

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

Thu 7

Fri 8

THE HAND IS QUICKER THAN THE EYE

ETHEL AND FRIENDS

Metropolitan Museum of art, 1000 Fifth Ave., Gallery 534 11 a.m. Free with museum admission. Join a magician and a museum educator in an exploration of John Haberle’s painting “A Bachelor’s Drawer” and the art of sleight of hand. 212-535-7710. www. metmuseum.org/events/ﬁndevents

Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Ave., Great Hall Balcony 5-8 p.m. Free with museum admission Fernando Otero, piano and Ralph Farris, violin perform works by Otero, Farris, Einhorn, Wiprud and Woolf 212-535-7710. www. metmuseum.org/events/ﬁndevents

artists Walead Beshty, Keltie Ferris, Jordan Kantor and Sarah Morris explores key aspects of Stella’s heterogeneous approach to painting and its signiﬁcance for younger generations of artists. 212-570-3600. whitney.org/ Events/WorkingSpace

Sat 9 2016 ACT WINTER FAMILY FESTIVAL ACT at the Cathedral of St John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Ave. Noon-4 p.m. Free.

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BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP Webster Library, 1465 York Avenue 6 p.m. Free This month: Gabrielle Zevin’s “The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry” 212-288-5049. www.nypl. org/events/programs/

Children of all ages enjoy games and entertainment, from huge inﬂatable rides and GaGa Ball to giveaways and crafts. Meet chinchillas, treefrogs, and more with the traveling Green Whitney Museum of Meadows Farm. American Art, 99 Gansevoort St., Susan and John Hess Family 212-316-7530. www. Theater actprograms.org 6 p.m. Event tickets are required ($8 adults; $6 students MULCHFEST ▼ and seniors; free for members and children under 18). Various locations citywide. A roundtable discussion with Saturday and Sunday, 10

CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS ON FRANK STELLA ▲

JANUARY 7-13,2016

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HAVE THE KITCHEN OF YOUR DREAMS

a.m.-2 p.m. The 20th annual MulchFest provides New Yorkers with a fun and environmentally-friendly opportunity to recycle their trees into woodchips that will nourish trees and gardens throughout the city. www.nycgovparks.org/ highlights/festivals/mulchfest

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FACULTY CONCERT â&#x2013;˛ 92nd Street Y, Lexington Avenue and 92nd Street, Warburg Lounge 3 p.m. Free Ann Hoyt, voice; Jenny Lin, piano; with special guest, Naama Shaham 212.415.5500. www.92y.org/ Event/Ann-Hoyt

JUSTIN PECK: CREATION OF A STORY BALLET Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Ave. 7:30 p.m. Preview New York City Ballet resident choreographer and soloist Justin Peckâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ďŹ rst narrative work for the company. 212-423-3618. www. guggenheim.org/

Mon 11 COMMUNITY BOARD 8 Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, 331 East 70th St., auditorium 6:30 p.m. Landmarks committee 212-758-4340. cb8m.com/

Jewish Museum 1109 Fifth Ave., at 92nd Street 11:15 a.m.-5:30 p.m. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mother,â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Salt for Svanetia,â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Octoberâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;Storm Over Asia.â&#x20AC;? Part of the museumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Soviet ďŹ lm series. 212-423-3200. http:// thejewishmuseum.org/calendar

Tue 12 IS IT TRASH OR IS IT TREASURE? Roosevelt Island Library, 524 Main St. 6:30 p.m. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and even garbage can be beautiful. Scholar and urban archaeologist Joan Geismar will explain how garbage is a treasure trove of information to the urban archaeologist. 212-308-6243.

CINE SALON FIAF, Florence Gould Hall, 55 East 59th St. 4 & 7:30 p.m. $14; students, $7; members, day of, free; member in advance $3. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Le Sauvage,â&#x20AC;? With Yves Montand, Catherine Deneuve, Luigi Vannucchi; in French with English subtitles.

www.ďŹ af.org/events/ winter2016/2016-01-12-cslasavauge.shtml

Wed 13 RECITAL SERIES: LISETTE OROPESA â&#x2013;˛ Park Avenue Armory, 643 PARK AVE. Tues. and Wed., 7:30 p.m. $75 Cuban-American soprano Lisette Oropesa performs a program of Spanish art songs as well as works by Schubert and Schumann. 212-616-3930. armoryonpark. org/

YOU DESERVE A HEALTHY SMILE IN THE MOST LUXURIOUS ENVIRONMENT

WEDNESDAY NIGHT SKETCH â&#x2013;ź The Frick Collection, 1 East 70th St. 5-7:30 p.m. Artists of all skill levels are invited to sketch paintings, sculptures, architectural details and decorative arts in selected galleries. Materials provided. review sketching guidelines if you wish to bring your own materials. Free museum admission is included, but advance reservations are required. 212-288-0700. www.frick. org/calendar

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A BLUES AESTHETIC AT THE WHITNEY The Jazz Age painter Archibald Motley chronicled the black community at home and abroad BY VAL CASTRONOVO

The Frank Stella retrospective may be the big attraction at the Whitney right now, but there’s a sleeper show on the eighth ﬂoor that vies for our attention and the end is near (last day: January 17). “Archibald Motley: Jazz Age Modernist” is a compact survey of the works of the Harlem Renaissance painter, who, by the way, never lived in Harlem but mostly resided in Chicago. Some 42 works arranged in six sections trace the career trajectory of an artist who painted American scenes but never achieved the name recognition of contemporary figure painters like Edward Hopper, Thomas Hart Benton or Reginald Marsh. Archibald John Motley Jr. (1891-1981) chronicled urban culture and the black experience during the Great Migration, the movement of African-Americans from the rural South to cities in the North that began in 1915. He staked out a neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, dubbed the “Black Belt” or “Bronzeville” for its diverse inhabitants, though he himself lived in Englewood, a mostly white ethnic enclave nearby. A master colorist, he was known for his reﬁned portraits of family and friends and vivid, stirring Jazz Age tableaux — street scenes, bar scenes, pool halls and dance halls in Chicago and bohemian Paris, where he spent a year on a Guggenheim Fellowship from 1929-30. He recorded bourgeois characters and raunchy characters

Archibald J. Motley Jr., “SelfPortrait (Myself at Work),” 1933. Oil on canvas, 57.125 x 45.25 inches (145.1 x 114.9 cm). Collection of Mara Motley, MD, and Valerie Gerrard Browne. Image courtesy of the Chicago History Museum, Chicago, Illinois. © Valerie Gerrard Browne. alike, evincing a keen awareness of race, class, gender and sexuality and an amusing, if sometimes disconcerting, penchant for caricature and satire. His expressive paintings have been called the visual equivalents of jazz music for their vibrant rhythms — proof of his artistic modernity, per art historian and exhibit curator Richard J. Powell, who trumpets Motley’s “blues aesthetic” in the catalog. Motley was born in New Orleans in 1891. His family settled in Chicago three years later. His father was a Pullman porter; his mother a teacher-turnedhousewife. His teenage sister had a child out-of-wedlock, Willard Motley, who was raised as a sibling and became a bestselling novelist. Motley visited Willard in Mexico in the 1950s

and painted American tourist destinations. A recent visit to the Whitney found visitors crowding the portraits in the ﬁrst gallery. The artist’s arresting “Self-Portrait (Myself at Work)” (1933) kicks off the show, with Motley wielding the tools of his trade — a paintbrush and palette. An emblem of his training — a classical statue — appears on the right; a product of his training, a painted female nude that seems to have alluringly come to life, peers out from the left. Motley was one of the first black artists to attend the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he received a rigorous academic education. He married a white woman, Edith Granzo, a neighborhood friend, in 1924. Two masterful paintings of his wife, “Portrait of Mrs. A.J. Motley, Jr.,” (1930), and “Nude (Portrait of My Wife),” (1930) — one formal, one a more intimate portrayal — are included in the show. As scholar Amy Mooney writes in the exhibit catalog, Motley believed there were “three criteria by which art should be judged: personality, intensity, and sympathy.” In his portraits especially, he aimed to paint a variety of skin tones, “trying to ﬁll the whole gamut,” he explained — dark skin, light skin, and all the in-between skins — because he himself was of mixed descent. The sophisticated “Octoroon Girl” (1925) and “Mulatress with Figurine and Dutch Seascape” (c. 1920) riff the Dutch masters and are among the show’s most striking works: “[T]heir settings, poses, and personas present viewers with the possibility of individuals of mixed-race her-

Archibald J. Motley Jr., “Mulatress with Figurine and Dutch Seascape,” c. 1920. Oil on canvas, 31.375 x 27.625 inches (79.7 x 75.6 cm). Collection of Mara Motley, MD, and Valerie Gerrard Browne. Image courtesy of the Chicago History Museum, Chicago, Illinois. © Valerie Gerrard Browne.

WHAT: “Archibald Motley: Jazz Age Modernist” WHERE: Whitney Museum of American Art, 99 Gansevoort Street WHEN: Through Jan. 17 whitney.org

itage free from tragedy, self-doubt, and the threat of exposure,” Mooney writes, adding, “the visual presence of these women offers a critique of the color line and asserts conﬁdence in blackness and in one’s ability to be accepted in society at large.” Mooney cites literary scholar Cherene Sherrard-Johnson, who viewed Motley’s portraits as “part of a wider discourse during the Harlem Renaissance that fetishized ‘the mulatta as the ideal race woman.’” These singular portraits are followed by a parade of raucous, gaudy narrative paintings — along “the Stroll,” an entertainment strip in Bronzeville, in the cafes and cabarets of Paris and elsewhere. Motley was famous for his high-octane nightscapes and use of hot colors

that mimicked “hot jazz.” In 1934, he painted “Black Belt,” a neon snapshot of the Stroll, illuminated by street lamps and featuring a rotund ﬁgure at its center who, hands in pocket, stands alone as he takes in the scene. This voyeur, who appears in other panoramas, is believed to be Motley’s alter ego. The show ends on a jarring note with the openly political “The First One-Hundred Years” (1963-72), an all-over blue history painting that symbolically and graphically sums up race relations in America. A radical departure in terms of style and subject matter from the rest of the works presented here, Motley considered it one of his greatest achievements.

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JANUARY 7-13,2016

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ACTIVITIES FOR THE FERTILE MIND

FOR THE WEEK BY GABRIELLE ALFIERO OUR ARTS EDITOR

THEATER

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED: SONGS FROM THE ROAD TO BROADWAY Opening the 2016 season of 92nd Street Y’s long-running Lyrics and Lyricists series, veteran Broadway choreographer and director Kathleen Marshall reveals how some theater tunes were lastminute additions or axed altogether from the ﬁnal production. Marshall and other vocalists perform songs from “Pippin,” “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” “Wicked” and other well-known shows. A Funny Thing Happened: Songs from the Road to Broadway Jan. 9-11 92nd Street Y 1395 Lexington Ave., at 92nd Street Assorted show times Tickets $58-$86 To purchase tickets, visit 92y.org or call 212-415-5500

thoughtgallery.org NEW YORK CITY

General David Petraeus in Conversation with Vance Serchuk: National Security Challenges for the Next President

THURSDAY, JANUARY 7TH, 7:30PM 92nd Street Y | 1395 Lexington Ave. | 212-415-5500 | 92y.org Hear from General David Petraeus as he touches on Syria, Iran, Russia, ISIS and more, among the many national security live wires the next president will inherit. ($38)

Vintage Masters: Iconic Photographs from 1853-1996

SATURDAY, JANUARY 9TH, ALL DAY Throckmorton Fine Arts | 145 E. 57th St. | 212-223-1059 | throckmorton-nyc.com Catch the closing day of a major show of work from 1853 to 1996 by masters like Eugene Atnet, Brassai, Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Henri Cartier Bresson and Tina Modotti. (Free)

Just Announced | The Magicians: From Page to Screen

SUNDAY, JANUARY 24TH, 7:30PM 92nd Street Y | 1395 Lexington Ave. | 212-415-5500 | 92y.org

FILM NEW YORK JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL AT 25: A RETROSPECTIVE

SWIMMERS AND DANCERS: CAROLE EISNER’S PAINTINGS FROM THE 1980S AND 1990S

The Jewish Museum and Film Society of Lincoln Center screen 10 films shown at earlier festivals as part of the annual event’s 25th anniversary. 1926 silent film “Benya Krik” screens with live accompaniment, along with “The Castle” from director Michael Haneke, based on Franz Kafka’s unfinished dystopian novel. New York Jewish Film Festival at 25: A Retrospective Jan. 13-26 Film Society of Lincoln Center 165 W. 65th Street, near Amsterdam Avenue Assorted show times Tickets $14 To purchase tickets, visit filmlinc.org or call 212-875-5601

Former fashion designer Carole Eisner went from painting mainly geometric pieces to creating figurative works, inspired by her children’s active lives. She put paint on canvas in textured and layered manners and referenced the figures from her old design sketches for this body of work. Swimmers and Dancers: Carole Eisner’s Paintings from the 1980s and 1990s Jan. 14-Feb. 25 Susan Eley Fine Art 46 W. 90th St., 2nd floor, between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue Gallery hours: Tuesday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. FREE For more information, visit susaneleyfineart. com or call 917-952-7641

GALLERIES

DANCE

SAVED: RECYCLED ARTIST BOOKS

“THE IMPERFECT IS OUR PARADISE”

Irmari Nacht converts discarded books into treeshaped sculptures in a deliberate nod to the book’s origins. Nacht reworks her sources without waste as she incorporates whole books in her sculptures. Four additional artists show simultaneously at the gallery, including abstract painters Mitchell Lewis and Mike Filan. Saved: Recycled Artist Books Jan. 7-28 Carter Burden Gallery 548 W. 28th St., #534, near Eleventh Avenue Gallery hours: Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; closed Monday FREE For more information, visit carterburdengallery.org or call 212-564-8405

San Francisco dance company Liss Fain Dance’s immersive “The Imperfect is Our Paradise” nods to William Faulkner’s “The Sound and the Fury.” The production includes spoken text drawn from the 1929 novel, along with visual projections of imagery, including a decrepit barn, that evokes the novel’s setting. Six dancers perform in the evening-length piece. “The Imperfect is Our Paradise” Jan. 13-17 3LD Art & Technology Center 80 Greenwich St., near Rector Street Assorted show times Tickets $20 To purchase tickets, visit 3LDnyc.org or call 866-811-4111 To be included in the Top 5 go to ourtownny.com and click on submit a press release or announcement.

Learn how sci-ﬁ reaches the small screen as Lev Grossman and other principals behind The Magicians talk about their process. Included in the night is a special preview showing of Season 1, Episode 1 of the new SyFy series. ($32)

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

JANUARY 7-13,2016

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RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS DEC 15 - 31, 2015 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.

Marymount College Nugents Cafe

221 East 71St Street

Szechuan Gourmet

1395 2Nd Ave

5 Napkin

1325 2Nd Ave

Not Graded Yet (2)

Tanoshi Sushi Saki Bar

1372 York Avenue

Cafe Luka

1319 1 Avenue

Mel’s Burger

1450 2Nd Ave

Cilantro

1321 1 Avenue

1382 2 Avenue

Garden Court Cafe (Asia Society)

725 Park Ave

Trend Diner Casimir & Co

1022 Lexington Ave

Voila 76

1452 2 Avenue

Session 73

1359 1 Avenue

Grade Pending (17) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked ﬁsh and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Personal cleanliness inadequate. Outer garment soiled with possible contaminant. Effective hair restraint not worn in an area where food is prepared. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Oita Sushi

1317A 2Nd Ave

Bkb

321 East 73 Street

Seamstress

339 East 75 Street

Crepes And Delices

222 E 86Th St

By The Way Bakery

1236 Lexington Ave

Big Daddy’s

1596 1598 2Nd Avenue

Wa Jeal

1588 2 Avenue

Five Mile Stone

1640 2Nd Ave

Subway

1661 1 Avenue

Bagel Bob’s On York

1638 York Ave

Andaz

1378 1 Avenue

Dining Room

.1-A East 77 St

Union Club Of City Of New York

101 East 69 Street

Petaluma

1356 1 Avenue

Joe Coffee

1045 Lexington Avenue

903 Madison Ave

Not Graded Yet (5) Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.

Lunetta Pizza & Restaurant 1427 3Rd Ave

Flex Mussels

174 East 82 Street

Come Prima

Oslo Coffee Roasters

422 East 75 Street

Bar Prima

331 E 81St St

Pj Bernstein Deli & Restaurant

1215 Third Avenue

Grade Pending (30) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked ﬁsh and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/ or non-food areas. Personal cleanliness inadequate. Outer garment soiled with possible contaminant. Effective hair restraint not worn in an area where food is prepared. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Chipotle Mexican Grill

1497 3 Avenue

Treat House

1566 2Nd Ave

Piazza Pizza & Grill

1530 3 Avenue

Burger King

226 East 86 Street

Second Grill Restaurant

1603 2Nd Ave

Grade Pending (22) 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. Personal cleanliness inadequate. Outer garment soiled with possible contaminant. Effective hair restraint not worn in an area where food is prepared. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Suhsi Suki

1577 York Ave

Starbucks

1631 1 Avenue

Tisane Pharmacy

340 East 86 Street

Tokubei 86

314 East 86 Street

Giovanni 25

25 East 83 Street

Per Lei

1347 2 Avenue

4Th Floor Cafe

221 East 71St Street

Jack Russell’s Pub

1591 2 Avenue

Hotel Carlyle

35 East 76 Street

Bondurants

303 E 85Th St

Caffe Bacio

1223 3 Avenue

Lorenzo & Maria’s

1418 Third Avenue

Mile 17

1446 1St Ave

Not Graded Yet (2)

Budepest Cafe

1631 2 Avenue

Mimo Blend

987 Lexington Ave

Not Graded Yet

Pinkberry

240 East 82 Street

Belaire Cafe

525 East 71 Street

Sushi Para Manhattan

1461 3Rd Ave

Bella Blu

967 Lexington Avenue A

Starbucks

345 East 69 Street

Grade Pending (24) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked ﬁsh and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.

Tang’s Garden

1328 3Rd Ave

Bayards Ale House

1589 1St Ave

Not Graded Yet (2)

Shanghai Chinese Restaurant

1388 2 Avenue

Firenze

1594 2 Avenue

Gracie’s On 2Nd

300 E 86Th St

JANUARY 7-13,2016

HOW SMALL IS TOO SMALL? CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 tion and architecture ďŹ rm nArchitects worked inch-by-inch -- sometimes by eighth-inch -to meet such requirements as a wheelchair-accessible bathroom within the small space. Forty percent of the units have rents set by affordablehousing programs topping out at around $1,500 a month, but market-rate ones rent for $2,650 to $3,150, roughly on par with many studios in the nearby Murray Hill neighborhood. About 20 people have applied and hundreds requested information for eight marketrate units so far, while over 60,000 have entered a lottery for the affordable ones. Mayor Bill de Blasioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s housing plan says Carmel Place and other projects show â&#x20AC;&#x153;developers can build compact units that are livable, safe, healthyâ&#x20AC;? options for small households. Of course, tiny apartments in

EAST SIDE SMOKE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

New York are not exactly new. Veteran appraiser Jonathan Miller estimates there are about 3,000 older apartments citywide that measure less than the 400-square-foot minimum. And some real estate agents say New Yorkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s young professionals are increasingly seeking small studios, willing to sacrifice space to be near work and away from roommates. Cities from San Francisco to Boston have OKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d some microapartments in recent years, seeking to address housing squeezes in a nation where 28 percent of households are people living alone, up from 13 percent in 1960. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s higher in some cities including New York, where about a third of households are single people. Tiny units havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t always been welcomed. A micro boom in Seattle spurred complaints from neighbors and new regulations last year. Still, some housing advocates see microapartments as improvements on cramped quarters some people endure in shared apart-

ments. â&#x20AC;&#x153;People are spending $1,800 a month renting a room thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 10by-10 and living with strangers that they met on Craigslistâ&#x20AC;? in New York, said Sarah Watson, deputy director of the Citizens Housing Planning Council, an advocacy group. But critics see micro-units as a step backward in the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s affordable housing crunch -- still pricey, just smaller. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It just, on some level, is offensive: The only way we can manage to house people is to stick them in a closet,â&#x20AC;? says state Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, a Manhattan Democrat who knows the limits of living small herself. She and her spouse live in an apartment that Glick says measures a bit over 400 square feet. But they moved in together only after acquiring a more spacious weekend home. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There was no way two lives could reasonably exist in the space that we have,â&#x20AC;? Glick said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We get along extremely well, but we do have a safety valve.â&#x20AC;?

ing dirty heating fuel a policy wedge during his time in office and is knowledgeable on the topic. Heating oil Number 4 and Number 6 are considered the dirtiest among those burned in buildings in New York. According to new regulations adopted by the city in 2011, both fuels are in the process of being phased out of nearly 10,000 residential buildings in NYC. Those regulations say that by 2030, or upon boiler or burner replacement (whichever is sooner), all buildings must convert to one of the cleanest fuels, which includes ultra-low sulfur Number 2 fuel, biodiesel, natural gas, or steam. A spokesperson for the Environmental Protection Agency

said the agency has no information on the Schweizersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; complaint and referred comment to the state Dept. of Environmental Conservation, which did not return a request for comment by press time. EPA spokesperson Elias Rodriguez said residents concerned about smoke pollution should call 311, which will refer the complaint to the DEC or the NYC Dept. of Environmental Protection. Schweizer said his neighbors donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seem to care but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s affecting he and his wifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s quality of life. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We feel something should be done to stop this,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The air is polluted anyway with all the construction thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going on, and this makes it worse.â&#x20AC;?

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IN OUR HANDS RESCUE & NORTH SHORE ANIMAL LEAGUE AMERICA

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tion,â&#x20AC;? said Schweizer. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There seems to be no end of it, nobody is paying attention and they keep doing it.â&#x20AC;? A s s e m bly me m b e r D a n Quartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office said their records indicate the building is burning Number 4 heating fuel and has been for over a year. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But burning it certainly shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t cause the kind of smoke from that photo,â&#x20AC;? said Amanda Wallwin, Quartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s chief of staff, referring to a photo of the smoke provided by the Schweizers. Although the building falls outside of Quartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s district on the Upper East Side, he has made air quality and eradicat-

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1280 Lexington Ave. : (btwn E. 86th & E. 87th St.)

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In Brief BOROUGH PRESIDENT’S OFFICE ACCEPTING CAPITAL FUNDING APPLICATIONS Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer recently announced her office is accepting applications through Friday, Feb. 12, for fiscal year 2017 capital funding, and welcomed any organizations interested in capital funding to meet with her staff. Under the City Charter, each of the five borough presidents can direct the allocation of a portion of the city’s capital budget to invest in the infrastructure of their borough’s schools, public facilities, nonprofit organizations and cultural institutions. “Capital funding gives us the opportunity to invest in Manhattan’s future,” said Brewer. “Whether we’re fixing the roof at a branch library, renovating a playground, or building out a new computer lab at a local school, these capital awards are going to strengthen our borough and our city, and improve people’s lives.” In the FY 2016 city budget, Brewer’s office awarded $30 million in Manhattan capital projects, including improvements and purchases for 92 schools, nine CUNY and SUNY campuses and 16 public parks, among other causes. While Brewer’s office will continue to fund a broad range of purchases and improvements with her FY 2017 capital funds, her office has also reserved up to $1 million for schools to invest in hydroponics, urban gardening, and farming, according to a press release. The borough president’s office will accept applications through Friday, Feb. 12. Capital funding recipients will be selected by the MBPO for inclusion in the city budget after a thorough review of all applications, and are subject to review by city agencies and the City Office of Management and Budget. For more information visit the capital grants page at the Manhattan Borough President’s Office web site.

ELECTEDS CALL FOR BETTER COORDINATION OF CONSTRUCTION WORK Council Member Dan Garodnick and 19 Manhattan colleagues in city and state government recently sent a letter to First Deputy Mayor Anthony Shorris, calling for a construction liaison operating out of the Mayor’s Office. The group articulated concern about the abundance of after-hours work variances (AHVs), and a failure of city agencies to coordinate efforts. “Complaints about late night or illegal construction shouldn’t land in a black hole of bureaucracy,” said Garodnick. “We need a point person coordinating the permit process, and ensuring that unreasonable or illegal construction doesn’t take place, and is dealt with swiftly when it does.” The construction liaison’s primary task would be to evaluate and reduce the number of AHVs, which allow construction to take place at night and on weekends. According to a release sent by Garodnick’s office, “the Dept. of Buildings hands out these permits with remarkable frequency, and too many New Yorkers suffer from non-stop, overnight construction.” The release went on to say the liaison would also streamline the complaint process, so that agencies cannot point the ﬁnger at one another for a failure to correct problems.

Business

LAST RIDE ON THE FERRIS WHEEL IN TIMES SQUARE NEWS High rents at Toy R Us forced the shutdown BY JAKE PEARSON

For decades, children visiting New York City savored one stop above all: a trip to the kind of toy store that existed only in their imagination. Now they’ll have to keep dreaming. The massive Toys R Us superstore in Times Square, which wowed shoppers with a 60-foot indoor Ferris wheel, a growling, 20-foot animatronic Tyrannosaurus Rex, and a life-size Barbie dollhouse, had its last shopping day on the Wednesday before New Year’s. The closing ended a 14-yearrun as a must-visit destination for any family willing to brave the big crowds. It followed the July closing of F.A.O. Schwarz, the palace of expensive and unique toys romanticized in the 1988 ﬁlm “Big.” Shoppers and tourists came out for a last look at the type of extravagance unavailable to shoppers online or at the local mall. “It’s a one-in-a-million type of place,” said Janet Roman, of Berlin, Connecticut, as she gave her 9-year-old grand-nephew, Sherman Williams, his first -and last -- tour of the over-thetop store. “Our Toys R Us doesn’t have a Ferris wheel in it.” A steady stream of people coursed through the 110,000-square-foot space smack dab in the heart of the Crossroads of the World. Shoppers rushed to buy must-go gifts and games. Others took photos outside. The truly ambitious waited on a long, winding line to get one last ride on the Ferris wheel. “When they were little guys,

this was the big thing,” said Mike Packer, of Wayne, Pennsylvania, whose 18-year-old son and 15-year-old daughter decided, for nostalgia’s sake, to take a ﬁnal spin. “This is like an event to come here. It’s an afternoon,” added his wife, Lisa Packer. “It’s obviously fun for all ages.” Toys R Us opened in Times Square in 2001, when the neighborhood was still only a few years removed from its bad-olddays as a center for adult entertainment and grime. The company decided not to renew its lease, which expires in January, because of the high cost of renting the space, company spokeswoman Elizabeth Gaerlan said.

Toys R Us also cited high rent costs in July when it closed F.A.O. Schwarz, when had enraptured generations of children in two locations near Central Park. She said the company is searching for another Manhattan ﬂagship store and will try to ﬁnd positions for those among the more than 350 employees of the store who want to keep working at Toys R Us. C. Bradley Mendelson, an agent for the building’s owner, Bow Tie Partners, said that at roughly $2,000 per square foot, rental prices for ground-floor space in the area have become extraordinarily expensive -- and with 21,000 square feet of it,

Toys R Us simply had too much space to cover. “That’s a lot of rent,” he said. “Rent has gone from $400-asquare-foot to $2,000 in the last 15 years when they rented the space.” Two retailers, Gap and Old Navy, have signed leases to occupy some of the ground-floor space and other parts of the building and will move in by mid-2016, Mendelson said. “Here’s really the story about why they’re leaving,” he said. “The rents have gone so high that nobody can afford that amount of ground ﬂoor space in Times Square.”

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If you like Our Town, you’re gonna love getting a personal copy of Eastsider! Everything you like about Our Town is now available delivered to your mailbox every week in Eastsider. From the very local news of your neighborhood to information about upcoming events and activities, the new home delivered edition of Eastsider will keep you in-the-know. And best of all you won’t have to remember to grab a copy from the box or the mailroom every week.

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Dogs and cats can withstand cooler weather when certain conditions are met. Some breeds are even known to develop heavier coats for colder climates. There are, however, some breeds that are not equipped to handle drastic changes in temperatures. Pet owners need to use common sense in order to protect their pets during colder seasons. If you and your pet enjoy the winter months and wish to spend time out of doors, the following information can help you protect your pet from the cold. * Antifreeze is poisonous to your pets. Make sure to wipe up any spills and keep these and other harmful chemicals out of your pet’s reach or path. * Feral and stray cats often take winter refuge under cars and can sometimes even make their way under the hoods. Make sure the coast is clear before starting your car. * Be sure to wipe your dog’s

feet (and stomach in small dogs) after a winter walk. Rock salt or other ice melting chemicals can cling to your pet’s fur and he can ingest these harmful chemicals when cleaning himself. * ALL PETS NEED TO BE INSIDE. Never leave your pet outside for extended periods of time in the cold, even in a doghouse. When the temperature drops, your pet can get frostbite or even freeze to death. If you notice a pet being locked outside in the winter, be sure to report it to your local law enforcement and humane ofﬁcers. * Keep an eye on your pet’s water dish to ensure it doesn’t freeze. * Short-coated dogs are especially vulnerable to the cold and shouldn’t be outside unattended or for too long. * Pets should not be left in the car. Most people know not to leave their pets in a car in the summer, but the same goes for the winter. A car interior can get as cold as an ice box and a

pet can easily freeze. * Check your dog’s paw pads for ice balls. If your dog is lifting his feet a lot or seems to be walking strangely, his feet are probably too cold or ice may be forming which can cause frostbite. * Keep your pet groomed. Believe it or not, knotted or matted hair doesn’t insulate properly. Brush your dog’s hair regularly in the wintertime especially. * Adjust your pet’s diet as necessary. If your dog spends a lot of time outside, he may need more calories in the winter to produce body heat. If your dog spends most of his time indoors and has a decrease in activity, he may require fewer calories. When in doubt, always ask your veterinarian about seasonal diet changes. If, despite these precautions your pet suffers from exposure to the cold, wrap him up in a blanket and go to your veterinarian as soon as possible. Do not immerse your pet in warm water and avoid heating pads that may cause thermal burns. If you notice a pet being locked outside in the winter, be sure to report it to your local animal control facility. Submitted by North Shore Animal League America. To learn more about keeping your pets safe and healthy at all times, visit www.animalleague.org

JANUARY 7-13,2016

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“oPEN WIDE

AND SAY

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“I WISH SOMEONE WOULD HELP THAT HOMELESS MAN.”

BE THE SOMEONE. Sam New York Cares Volunteer

Every day, we think to ourselves that someone should really help make this city a better place. Visit newyorkcares.org to learn about the countless ways you can volunteer and make a difference in your community.

JANUARY 7-13,2016

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YOUR 15 MINUTES

To read about other people who have had their “15 Minutes” go to ourtownny.com/15 minutes Gustavo Goncalves, a math teacher at Eleanor Roosevelt High School, has been recognized for his student’s high test scores

MAKING THE GRADE A high school math teacher goes above and beyond his job description

BY ANGELA BARBUTI

Last month, seven New York City high school teachers received the Sloan Award for Excellence in Teaching, which annually honors instructors of math and science for motivating and inspiring their students. Gustavo Goncalves, a math teacher at Eleanor Roosevelt High School on the Upper East Side, was recognized for his unwavering commitment to his students’ success. The Brazil native, who came to New York as an international student in 2001, teaches AP calculus, pre-calculus, math foundations, algebra II/trigonometry, geometry and discrete math. A testament to his dedication is the fact that his students’ AP calculus AB exam average is a 4.75 out of 5. When asked how he managed such a feat, he said, “All I did was I connected with them. I raised the standards and they stepped up to it. I expected 100 percent from them, and they gave me 100 percent.” Mr. G, as his students call him, also instituted a math foundations class after observing the varying degrees of aptitude from students who were entering high school from different caliber middle schools. “They take six classes with me, and I see the kids’ difficulties and struggles and what they are lacking. I’m really surprised to see how many kids don’t know how to add or subtract,” he said. When the bell rings at the end of the school day, Goncalves’ work is nowhere near done. Having a passion for soccer, he also coaches the school’s team. And when he leaves the field, his job shaping young minds is still not over, since he returns home to two children of his own, a 16-month-old son and a 3-month-old daughter. As for his future plans, Goncalves plans on continuing his

work at “ELRO,” a high school he refers to as “heaven for teachers.” And there’s no better compliment he can give the school than by saying he would like his own children to attend one day. “I would definitely send my kids to Eleanor Roosevelt when they’re ready to go to high school.”

You grew up in Brazil. When did you know you wanted to become a teacher? I came to New York in 2001. It’s actually an interesting story. I wanted to do mathematics. When I came to the United States, I had four jobs at one point. I was an international student so had no ﬁnancial aid or scholarship. I had to pay for my tuition which was $5,500 ﬁrst semester. And one of these jobs was teaching. I was teaching SATs in Queens and also worked as a TA and worked as a teacher at the learning center. And I enjoyed it and was like, “You know, why not?” And that’s how it started.

I read about your impressive 4.75 average on the AP calculus AB exam. What can you attribute to that success? The kids. They’re amazing. Every year it’s the same thing. So I think it’s the kids. The kids are the best part about teaching. If you have good kids, you can love your profession. If you have bad kids, you can hate it. And in my case it’s no different. I love my kids. My kids are great. And of course, you end up having like half a dozen who can really … But for the most part, the kids are amazing.

How do you work at maintaining a good relationship with the students? I bring a lot of humor to the class. No one laughs at my jokes except me. That’s one thing that works well with the kids. And I try to be honest with them. If they struggle with a topic, I tell them. If they’re good at one topic, I’ll let them know as well.

Why is it so important to you that high schoolers excel at math? Well, ﬁrst of all, I teach math just for the beauty of it, not to worry about a test. I always go above and beyond what a test covers. It’s New York State, so a lot is test based. You’re going to take the SATs, Regents and AP courses. That’s how the state board and college board evaluates the kids. And it’s good to see the kids getting a 5. I have a “high 5” club in my class. All the kids who scored a 5 on the AP exams, they have their names up for years. And when they come back after they graduate, they see their names on this poster. They feel proud of their accomplishments. And a good score gets you college credit as well. I have a lot of kids coming back and saying, “Mr. G, I don’t have to take any math classes because of my AP score.” Well that’s a good thing and a bad

thing. The bad thing is you’re not going to take math classes again, but the good thing is you save up to $2,000, depending on the school you go to.

Explain the math foundations class you started. In the past, we had a lot of difﬁculty teaching students coming from middle schools. They come from different middle schools, good and bad ones. And we noticed that middle schools tend to inflate their grades so the kids can get into good high schools. I was looking at some transcripts five years ago and was like, “How can this kid be a 90 in math if he can’t add or subtract? Something is wrong with this.” Across the board, our SAT, Regents and AP scores were not good enough. So we decided to create the class to close the gap, to make sure all kids come in ready for us.

You’re getting your second master’s now. I’m getting it in pure mathematics. I got my ﬁrst in mathematics education. I stopped because I had two kids, one after the other, and I became the soccer coach at our school. My second passion is soccer, so I decided to go for it, and I’ve been coaching for five years now. It’s fun.

What are the challenges to your job? My challenge right now is sometimes we get unreasonable parents. I had a parent once who said, “I want my child to be challenged, but I don’t want him to struggle.” How is that possible? But I’m very blessed that my administration approves what I do, because I know it can be a pain if your boss doesn’t like you. Both my principal and assistant prin-

cipal support and approve of what I do. And that makes my job much easier.

What are your future plans? My future plans as a professional is to get my Ph.D. in mathematics. I know the clock is ticking. [Laughs] I like to be in a school environment. I don’t want to be a professor. I like being a high school teacher for many reasons. First of all, my school is great. And I would like to help build a computer science department because we don’t have one in our school. That’s something I’m looking forward to.

Know somebody who deserves their 15 Minutes of fame? Go to ourtownny. com and click on submit a press release or announcement.

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JANUARY 7-13,2016

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JANUARY 7-13,2016

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