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BEAUTY, STRENGTH AND PROMISE
The Met showcases photography and writing by young Black women artists
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BY MARY GREGORY
“Just as you are, I choose you. And I’ll keep making that choice every time I see you.”
It’s called The Beautiful Project, and it truly is. The halls of the Uris Education Center at the Metropolitan Museum of Art are covered by inspiring, creative, compelling texts and photographs by young Black women artists. The Met is partnering with the North Carolina organization, The Beautiful Project, whose goal is to assist and support the creative efforts of Black girls who use writing and photography to define, declare, champion, and celebrate themselves and each other.
On the walls are images and texts that represent over 10 years of work by a significant number of creators – some as young as 8. The words and pictures are at times tender, quo
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Pen, Lens & Soul: The Story of The Beautiful Project
WHERE: Ruth and Harold D. Uris Center for Education, The Met 1000 Fifth Avenue
WHEN: Through February 24, 2020
tidian, frank, fanciful, and joyful. They capture life’s moments of pride, happiness and pain, but always with affirmation. “Pen, Lens & Soul,“ the exhibition, highlights works of The Beautiful Project’s artists, scholars, and educators working to empower Black girls to be, “the caretakers of their needs, images, and stories.”
Sisterhood and Hope
The Met, along with twenty other organizations, comprise the Collaborative for Creative Practice and Social Justice, and this is the first show the Met has organized with The Beautiful Project. It’s also the first time many of these women artists and writers have had their work exhibited. For it to be presented at an institution like The Met is moving for both the creators and visitors. It’s impossible not to cheer for these enthusiastic, accomplished expressions of self, community and deep respect.
The Beautiful Project was founded in 2004 to “create spaces for Black girls and women to express their power and beauty.” Posters and text around the Uris Education Center proclaim beliefs about creativity, ambition, culture and spirituality that guide it. “The Sisterhood Creed” with words by Pamela Thompson and design by Winnie Okwalol
“Queens” a trio of photographs by AlineSitoe A Sy, age 10, from North Carolina. Photos: Adel Gorgy
(from North Carolina and Uganda) fills one wall and states, “I’m compelled to compete for you, not with you. I am determined to abandon jealousy when it comes to you, because you are me, and when you receive, so do I. I recognize that my smile holds you up.”
Jamaica Gilmer, founder and executive director of The Beautiful Project stated, “We wanted to offer Black girls and women a space of sisterhood and hope.” The Met exhibition brings together art and writing from both students and their teachers and mentors. There are essays and whimsical sci-fi stories, portraits, and photographs of interiors, groups and street scenes. The guidelines are without limit. It’s all about what these young artists see, feel, hope and imagine. “I hope when our young artists walk through the exhibition they will meet their undeniable selves, and see clearly what their creativity and diligence inspired. The world needs to hear their voices,“ Gilmore said. Indeed.
It’s always a gift to find inspiring, meaningful works of art that engender thought, spark emotions, and touch the soul. It’s hard to imagine a better time than Black History Month to
experience the beauty, poise, strength, and promise of the women artists of The Beautiful Project. Their images and stories will be at the Met through February 24th, including a panel that states “I can do anything. I believe that all is feasible for me. I dream big, wild dreams, allowing my imagination to run free. And I strive, work, and do everything in my power to make room for myself to explore, dream some more, and soar.”
Librarians honor books by Valeria Luiselli and Adam Higginbotham BOOKS
BY HILLEL ITALIE, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Valeria Luiselli’s novel “Lost Children Archive’’ and Adam Higginbotham’s nonfiction “Midnight in Chernobyl’’ have been awarded the Andrew Carnegie Medal, a $5,000 prize presented by the American Library Association.
The awards for fiction and nonfiction were announced Sunday and honor two of last year’s most acclaimed books. “Lost Children Archive,‘’ a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle prize, blends fiction and documentation as it probes the fates of refugee children. “Midnight in Chernobyl’’ recounts the 1986 nuclear power disaster and the Soviet Union government’s desperate efforts to conceal it.
“We hope that librarians will find the two Carnegie winners to be powerful and fruitful titles to recommend
and discuss,‘’ prize committee chair Donna Seaman said in a statement. The awards were announced during the library association’s annual mid-winter meeting, held this year in Philadelphia.
Previous Carnegie medal winners include Colson Whitehead’s “The Underground Railroad’’ and Bryan Stevenson’s “Just Mercy,‘’ adapted into a feature film that is now in theaters.
Both Luiselli and Higginbotham are lifelong fans of libraries. In a recent email to The Associated Press, Luiselli called herself a “radical nerd’’ and praised the Carnegie prize as “the ultimate radical nerd award.’’ A native of Mexico City, she lived everywhere from Wisconsin to Costa Rica growing up and remembers attending an American elementary school in South Korea, where she would sneak into the high school library to read horror stories.
Now a resident of New York City, the 36-year-old Luiselli says she has “spent more time in libraries - between the stacks, in silent reading rooms, in the rare books & manuscript sections, and hovering behind the lenses of microfilm readers - than is probably healthy.
“But I have a good pair of reading glasses and antihistamines in my bag,‘’ she adds. Stevend td - in r b s
Higginbotham, 51, also knows well the interiors of the New York Public Library
Photo via Amazon.com
system. While working on “Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World’s Greatest Nuclear Disaster,‘’ he was a visiting scholar at the system’s main branch in midtown Manhattan, blessed with “a quiet and beautiful place to work, and access to the amazing research collections of libraries in the New York City system and beyond.’’
Libraries helped inspire the British author’s choice of careers and extend his literary knowledge into unexpected worlds. As a teenager, he found a copy of Kurt Vonnegut’s “SlaughterhouseFive’’ in the library of the Wells Cathedral School, “at the time perhaps the only example of modern American literature in the entire building.’’
“It was so astonishingly unlike any of the other works on offer that I was certain it had been placed on the shelves only as a result of some administrative error,‘’ he told the AP In a recent email. “I read it repeatedly - before someone realized their mistake and removed it - and it helped convince me to put my plans to become an astronaut on hold, and become a writer instead.’’
The medals are made possible, in part, by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York.
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RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS JANUARY 23 - 29, 2020
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 10021, 10022, 10028, 10128, 10029. Some reports list numbers with their explanations; these are the number of violation points a restaurant has received.
Bigoi Venezia
Gofish Sushi Box
Green Cafe
Joe & The Juice
Land Of Plenty
Marinara Pizza
Mulberry & Vine
Otto’s Tacos
Pho Saigon
Sweetgreen 55th And Park
The Polo Bar 1415 2nd Ave
60 E 56th St
231 E 50th St
1024 1st Ave
570 Lexington Ave
36 E 58th St
300 Park Ave
204 E 58th St
985 1st Ave
644 Lexington Ave
1568 3rd Ave
987 1st Ave
316 E 84th St
66 E 55th St A
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Not Yet Graded (21) Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to attracting vermin to the premises and/or allowing vermin to exist. 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. Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored. Personal cleanliness inadequate. Outer garment soiled with possible contaminant. Effective hair restraint not worn in an area where food is prepared.
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Not Yet Graded (25) Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. Non-food contact surface improperly constructed. Unacceptable material used. Non-food contact surface or equipment improperly maintained and/or not properly sealed, raised, spaced or movable to allow accessibility for cleaning on all sides, above and underneath the unit. Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Food not cooled by an approved method whereby the internal product temperature is reduced from 140º F to 70º F or less within 2 hours, and from 70º F to 41º F or less within 4 additional hours.
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1884 3rd Ave
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Protestors marching on Staten Island in July 2016, two years after the death of Eric Garner. Photo: Thomas Altfather Good via Flickr
ONE YOUNG MAN’S TERROR
VIEWPOINT
A white mother looks at the NYPD through the eyes of her black godson
BY PAT GALLANT WEICH
One of the first things I told our son when he began school was that if he ever got lost or was having a problem, he should ask a woman or a policeman for help. I thought I had done a good job with that advice and had repeated it to him many times through the years. But I’m white and our son, Graig, is white. I admit to handing out that advice with ease and I feel somewhat guilty at how comfortable I felt with those words because there are, no doubt, cities full of mothers whose hearts are in their throats each time they open the door and wave goodbye to their sons.
We’ve all read about the increasing numbers of innocent black boys and men killed by police. We see the resulting grief and can only begin to imagine, if we dare allow our minds to take us there, the fear in these men and the agonizing pain for their lovedones left behind. Think of the senseless killing of the young groom-to-be, Sean Bell, who was just about to start his life as an adult, who died on what was to be his wedding day, in a barrage of 50 bullets, fired by five New York City policemen, in 2006. An innocent, unarmed black man who never made it to the altar.
Or think of Eric Garner, a family man and fixture in his Staten Island neighborhood, who died in July 2014 after being put in a chokehold (while he was cooperating, with his hands in the air) by NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo for doing nothing more than selling single cigarettes in the street.
A Distinction I Never Made
While most police officers carry out their duties responsibly, it’s sad to say that there are far too many similar cases to recount, which brings to mind an unsettling incident I witnessed some years ago. Our two godsons were spending the weekend with us. At the time, the oldest, who I will call Nick, was about 17. We’re talking about a tall, muscular, handsome young man. A black man. I never really made that distinction until that night, but it’s a distinction that now has to be made. It was late in the evening. The boys were playing video games with our then young - adult son, Graig, watching TV, talking, and laughing up a storm. It was a pleasure just listening to them. I was cleaning up and collecting the garbage from dinner which I brought out into the back hallway of our apartment. As I walked towards the back elevator, I noticed our neighbor’s door was slightly ajar. I rang the doorbell to alert him, but no one answered. I pushed the door open a bit more and saw that no lights were on. I tried calling out and knocking, but no one responded. Since my husband had already gone to sleep, I took a wait-and-see approach. Three hours later the door remained ajar and I began to think robbery, maybe worse.
I called 911. I was advised not to go into our neighbor’s apartment, that maybe someone had broken-in and was still inside. I told the boys about the open door and that the police were on their way to check it out. That’s when my older godson lost it completely.
Looking for a Place to Hide
I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone have a panic-attack like the one he had. He was pacing, walking in circles, holding his head and asking me over and over why I had called the police. But he wasn’t listening for an answer – not from me, not from his younger brother and not from our son. Frankly, we were all shocked.
He continued to pace, walking about the apartment, asking where he could “hide.” We tried to explain that he hadn’t committed any crime, that the police were coming to inspect the apartment next door, that they had no interest in him, that he was our invited guest, and that I had called the police – they weren’t just coming for an un
solicited random check. But logic offered him no relief. He begged me not to let the police in. He was inconsolable. I assured him I would not let the police enter our apartment, that I would meet with them in the hallway, by the elevator. Nevertheless, he locked himself in the bathroom.
It turned out the neighbor had fallen asleep and hadn’t realized he had left the door open. The policemen were a bunch of friendly, protective, young guys, not much older than our godson, who I think would have been relieved had he met them. But the bathroom had been his sanctuary
and there he remained until the officers were gone.
The police left – but the memory never did. I saw firsthand the abject terror of a fine, young black man when confronted with the possibility of encountering policemen up close and personal. Even his mother was shocked when I called her the next day and recounted the story.
So, my godson: When you were very small, you asked me whether bogeymen are real. I told you, “No.” In light of the recent, tragic, unwarranted and unjustified occurrences, I must now revise my answer. I was wrong. There are bogeymen and it seems sometimes they come disguised in blue uniforms with badges. And that perhaps is the saddest commentary of all.
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How the movement coach of ‘The Irishman” taught De Niro and Pacino to act younger MOVIES
THE ‘POSTURE MAN’
BY JAKE COYLE, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Would you have the gumption to tell Al Pacino to act his age?
That was the unique position Gary Tacon, the movement coach of “The Irishman,‘’ found himself in on the set of Martin Scorsese’s crime epic. On Pacino’s first day shooting, the scene called for the 79-year-old actor, playing a 40-something Jimmy Hoffa, to jump out of a chair as he screams at a television showing the election results for John F. Kennedy.
In the first take, Pacino didn’t exactly leap up. Scorsese, who had waited decades to direct Pacino, wasn’t inclined to start off by telling Pacino to get younger, fast. He turned to Tacon for help.
“What’s funny about that story is I hadn’t been introduced to Al yet. So, when I said to Marty that he’s supposed to be much younger, he said, ‘Well you tell him,‘’’ Tacon recalls. “I said, ‘You gotta tell him. I haven’t met him yet. Who am I to tell him?’’’
Yet Tacon, a longtime stuntman and yoga instructor, was repeatedly in the ears of the stars of “The Irishman,‘’ playing a small but vital role in a landmark film that’s up for 10 awards at the upcoming Oscars including best picture and supporting actor nods for Joe Pesci and Pacino. It wasn’t an easy job. When Tacon first met Robert De Niro, the actor was dubious. “You’re going to help me with my spine?’’ said De Niro. “Old dog, no new tricks.’’
The extensive “de-aging’’ computer-generated effects of ``The Irishman’’ have been much analyzed since the movie was unveiled. But the arguably more challenging task of the film may have been to get De Niro and Pesci - both 76 - and Pacino to move like they were four decades younger, and to match their physicality to their digital faces. Computers could remedy their wrinkles. Tacon had to fix their walks.
A Favorite Talking Point
Actors frequently don prosthetics and makeup to age up. Aging down, though, is far less mapped territory.
Scene from Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman.” Photo: Niko Tavernise-Netflix
Tacon may be the movies’ first movement analyst tasked with shedding years off of a film’s stars. And they happened to be a few of the greatest actors alive.
“For them to invite me to participate the way I did at that level, it’s like being asked to be a backup singer on an original Beatles song,‘’ Tacon said in a recent interview at his apartment along the Hudson River in Nyack, New York.
Being part of such a production, Tacon figured he would, at most, receive a small notice in the credits. He didn’t expect to become one of Scorsese and De Niro’s favorite talking points throughout the film’s march through awards season.
At the film’s premiere at the New York Film Festival, Scorsese told the same story about Tacon and Pacino. Talking to Seth Meyers, De Niro said: “We had - I don’t know what you call him - a movement coach named Gary Tacon who would come behind and tap me on the shoulder and go, ‘You’re 39. Sit up straight.’’’ Appearing on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,‘’ Scorsese and the host joked that Tacon was like a superhero named “Posture Man.’’
Tacon, 68, isn’t a superhero, nor is he even an orthopedist. But he’s an ardent advocate for physical therapy who will in minutes have you thinking about improving your posture. “Flexibility is everything,‘’ he says. One of his favorite tools is a patented a cushion designed to improve slouching. He urged the actors to spend five minutes every morning with the it to help straighten their spine.
“After working with him, you’re a few inches taller,‘’ said “Irishman’’ producer Jane Rosenthal. “Bob in particular spent a lot of time with him. He made everyone on Bob’s hair and makeup team work with him. It was just part of his morning routine. It was an extension of how they prepared their roles and embodied those characters.’’
35 Years of Stunt Work
Part of Tacon’s usefulness also came from his decades of experience on film sets. He knew when to step in and when to step aside. Tacon began as an actor. His big screen debut was in “The Muppets Take Manhattan.’’ It’s Tacon who steals Miss Piggy’s pocketbook and then takes off through Central Park. (Miss Piggy chases him down on roller skates before launching herself onto him.) After that film, Tacon fell in with famed stunt director Victor Magnotta. Without injury, he has spent 35 years doing stunt work, from “Miller’s Crossing’’ to “The Bourne Ultimatum.’’ He was Alec Baldwin’s personal stuntman for 10 years. While raising a family and renovating an old Hudson Valley carriage house, Tacon carved out a career in movies through tenacity and pluck. “In this business, you’re only as good as your last job,‘’ he says.
For “The Irishman,‘’ veteran production manager Richard Baratta, an executive producer on the film, suggested Tacon.
“He called me up and he said he
For them to invite me to participate the way I did at that level, it’s like being asked to be a backup singer on an original Beatles song.” Gary Tacon, movement coach for “The Irishman.”
had a director who’s losing his mind: ‘They have to de-age these characters. He doesn’t know if he has to chop their heads off or what,‘’’ recalls Tacon. “He didn’t say their names. He said, ‘Do you think you can get them to move around like younger guys?’’’
At first, Tacon had to figure out how he, in an uncommon role on an imposing set, would fit in. Aside from the morning stretching sessions, the first week during production was uncertain. “I just whispered to Bob,‘’ he says.
The visual effects for “The Irishman’’ were supervised by Pablo Helman, who’s also nominated for an Academy Award along with Leandro Estebecorena, Nelson SepulvedaFauser, and Stephane Grabil. They used an innovated technique developed by Industrial Light & Magic to de-age the actors, technology that may pave the way for more such performances - and thus more movement coaching - in the years ahead. Most have found the results, while imperfect and sometimes slightly eerie, impressively convincing. From early on, Scorsese sought to put equal emphasis on the actors’ movements, but “The Irishman’’ also suggests a limit to just how spry 70-something men can be. Some scenes, like when De Niro’s character violently assaults his daughter’s boss on the sidewalk have a rigidity to them. But even those moments evoke an inflexible kind of menace that suits the characters.
Tacon found he could do a lot with a subtle gesture of reminder to the actors or a few choice words. For a scene, later cut, in which De Niro runs down the stairs, Tacon suggested: “A little Gene Kelly, that’s all.’’ Citing “Raging Bull,‘’ he calls De Niro “a genius athlete.’’
For a scene in which Pacino exits a car and enters a house, the actor initially performed it so hunched over that an exasperated Scorsese turned to Tacon and sputtered, “I mean, with Al?’’ Tacon quickly came up with a strategy to straighten Pacino up.
“I had to walk up to Al and I say, ‘My name is Gary. I’m a movement analyst for the film. As you approach the house, look up at the number above the door and don’t grab the railing,‘’’ says Tacon. ``He said, `Oh, that’s good.’’’
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tive, Jeannine Kiely, chair of Community Board 2 Schools and Education Committee and Democratic District Leader, and Freya Sakamoto, who tutors children with literacy issues. All but Sakamoto have children with dyslexia, and all agree that there is a need for a school dedicated to students with dyslexia. “I feel pretty strongly that the New York City public school system is not providing the instruction that dyslexic students need,” said Sakamoto, who has tutored children for many years and has seen firsthand how kids with dyslexia struggle in school. MOMS WITH A MISSION CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Special Methods for Special Students
Hellstrom, whose son is in sixth grade, said the idea for the school grew out of a panel discussion on dyslexia that she and Kiely put together last year, where Sakamoto spoke.
She said that the two proven methods of teaching students with dyslexia, the Hochman Method and Orton-Gillingham Approach aren’t used in most public schools or taught properly.
The Hochman Method is a set of specific writing strategies that teachers use in every grade and in all subjects. The Orton-Gillingham Approach to reading instruction was developed in the early-20th century. It is language-based, multisensory, structured, sequential, cumulative, cognitive, and flexible. “These are the proven scientific teaching methods of teaching children with dyslexia,” Hellstrom said.
Sakamoto explained that many schools focus on what’s called the “three-cueing system” to teach reading, a method she said “encourages students to guess instead of sounding out and using the knowledge of phonics which they have been taught explicitly.”
While the women have never founded a school, Hellstrom said that with their educational backgrounds they are ready for the challenge. They have the support of four district superintendents, she said, and have met with experts in the field.
THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO THINK
THEY HAVE THEIR CHILD IN THE RIGHT SEAT.
It was really an exciting day all around for all of the teams,” Emily Hellstrom
A Challenge and a Blessing
Seeking advice, the women recently spoke with Tim Castanza, executive director of Bridge Preparatory Charter School in Staten Island, the only school for dyslexic kids in the state.
Castanza told Straus News that operating a school, let alone one for children with dyslexia, is no easy task. He said he told the moms that operating such a school has been a challenge and a blessing.
“I encouraged them to really take their time to really do this the right way,” Castanza said. “The potential for what they’re going to do, just like we do here in Staten Island, is incredible. They’re going to change lives.”
According to Hellstrom, having a school that caters to kids with dyslexia might help prevent what she called the “school to prison pipeline.” She said about 60 to 80 percent of the people in prisons have some type of learning problem. More schools like the one they hope to open could help keep people out of the criminal justice system
“One of the things that we really know about these methods,’ she said, “is that once you give the students the foundation and skills in order to read and write, they quickly go back into a mainstream setting with support and thrive.” While Hellstrom isn’t sure how many students their school will enroll, she said they want to serve as a model for other schools. “It’s very clear to us that this needs to happen throughout the system and that this shouldn’t be the only one,” she said. As for the location, they hope to utilize a 100,000 square foot building that New York University has set aside on Bleecker Street, the former site of the Morton Williams supermarket.
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neighborhood and set them up to become successful, active members of their community?
Out of the 17 robberies that took place in Morningside Park last year, twelve were committed by juveniles, Captain Aneudy Castillo, who serves as the commanding officer of the NYPD’s 26th precinct, told those in attendance Wednesday. He said juveniles played an outsized role in all of robberies in his precinct last year, committing 60 percent of the total robberies.
Majors, police say, was a victim of one of these robberies that went awry while she was walking through Morningside Park on Dec. 11. Three boys, 13 to 14 years old, allegedly accosted her, attempting to rob her when one of the boys stabbed her repeatedly in the stomach. The 13-yearold — who is not believed to be the one who stabbed Majors — has been charged with felony murder after police questioned him without an attorney present. A grand jury was impaneled last week to consider potential evidence again the two 14-yearold boys who police questioned and released, according to the Daily News.
One such piece of evidence is the DNA sample investigators took from the scene. Authorities hoped the DNA evidence would directly tie the 14-year-old suspect to the COMING TOGETHER CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
We could go out and help the community recycle. We could help the elderly.” Student at the meeting
stabbing, but after testing the DNA, the sample was found to be inconclusive, according to a report from the New York Post.
The police have implemented some crime prevention measures in the park since the murder, Castillo said. Six light towers and six security cameras have been installed in the park and around its perimeter. The precinct has also increased its presence in the area.
Council Member Mark Levine said he was working on securing funding to install better security cameras in the park that could be monitored by police in real time. He said the cameras in the park currently are of lower quality and he would want to install Argus model cameras, which cost $35,000 a piece, to stream video straight to the 26th precinct.
Levine said he was heartbroken over the death of Majors, and was “doubly devastated” by the young ages of the suspects.
“We’re still awaiting details
The community unity group at the forum. Photos: Emily Higginbotham
on that investigation, but it’s not too soon to say that we are not doing enough for the young people of northern Manhattan,” said Levine. He said he wanted every student to have access to after school programs and to offer more jobs to teenagers.
“It’s outrageous that we are turning away tens of thousands of teenagers a year for summer youth employment,” he said. “Every single child who wants to work should have that opportunity.”
Brewer also laid out her hopes for what could be accomplished in the wake of this tragedy, calling for a fulltime, culturally appropriate social worker to be placed in every school in the city and for sustainable youth programming.
“It often takes horrible tragedy to bring people together,” said Brewer. “That’s the worst part.”
The attendees were broken into smaller groups to discuss their ideas on topics such as public safety, restorative practices, unity and bridge building, parking improvements, and youth engagement.
The public safety group echoed the desire for better lighting in the park, but raised the concern that the cameras proposed by Levine could be used for surveillance and over-policing.
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Youth Engagement
In talking about restorative practices, officials from the Department of Education led a discussion about creating a school culture in which students feel comfortable and safe to share their feelings with peers and teachers.
The unity and bridge building group said it was important to build stronger relationships with Columbia University and Barnard College. The group said that in recent years it has felt that Columbia cared more about property than the people who live in the community, and it’s a dynamic they want to change.
About a dozen middle and
high school students crowded a table for the discussion on youth engagement, standing up and sharing what kind of programs and opportunities they would like to see offered in the community. Several mentioned wanting more job opportunities and college tours. Cooking classes, mentorship programs and a quiet place for homework and studying also made the list. One of the students, Phanuel, said there should be more volunteer opportunities for students.
Community Board 10 Chair Cicely Harris said her group, which was tasked with identifying resource gaps in the community, left their discussion committed to directly connecting with a young person. She said creating a program alone won’t fix everything, and establishing bonds and relationships must be the foundation of their work.
“That’s where we have to start,” said Harris. “We are going to walk out of this meeting here and connect one young person to an activity, a program or to someone who will benefit their lives — and that just might be you.”
MUSIC Radio host David Dubal talks about the vital importance of classical music to our society
BY MARK NIMAR
In the United States, classical music is facing major challenges. Because public schools are cutting their arts programs and major orchestras are shuttering their doors, the genre is no longer a major part of most people’s lives. Upper West Sider David Dubal, however, is determined to change this trend. An award-winning pianist, Juilliard professor, author and accomplished painter, Dubal is a longtime fixture on New York’s classical music scene, perhaps most famous for his radio show “Reflections from the Keyboard” on WQXR.
His latest endeavor is his Piano Evenings with David Dubal, an “educational concert series” that showcases young pianists performing the world’s greatest piano pieces. Held every Tuesday at the Good Shepherd-Faith Presbyterian Church on West 66th Street, the concert series is known for Dubal’s entertaining commentary and casual format. This fresh way of listening to piano music makes it accessible for even the least experienced listener, and in turn, helps build a new audience for the genre. We sat down with Dubal to discuss his thoughts on Beethoven, pop music and the vital importance of classical music to our society.
Why did you start the Piano Evenings with David Dubal series? This came about because of, after I left Juilliard, the many people that were with me for many years, some as much as 25 years in the class. It was a tremendous piano series, probably the longest that I gave at Juilliard. We had hundreds and hundreds of pianists over the years. The audience grew up with the class, in a way. Not necessarily that they were pianists, by any means. They just loved the piano, and they loved these young people who played so wonderfully.
Then it stopped, because I had this incredible flu when I was so weak for a long time. So during that period, the people that were influential in
If you don’t bring art into your life ... you are on the fringes of an unfulfilled life.” David Dubal
keeping this going said, “this has to continue not only for the fact that we love it so much, but that ‘you’re it.’” They just love the talking about the music, and so forth.
What is a piano evening like? What is the crowd like, and how do you structure the series?
It’s just improvisation. I have a good sense of timing from being music director of WNCN, so I can always know exactly what the pieces are in time. It’s a class of comradeship, really. And great goodwill. The pianist gets more applause from these people than many people will get in a more formal recital. They’re so warm. I call them “my people,“ because they really are.
We get together at 5:30 every Tuesday. The class is electrified, because we have pianists they feel [they are] in a comfort zone. And playing the pieces and the great piano literature, which again, there’s your greatest of all wordless literature of the world.
In the year 2020, classical music is not a part of most people’s lives. How do you think the industry will be able to get more people involved with this art?
It’s a question that’s been going on for half a century. Everyone has tried this, tried that. Orchestras have given Rogers and Hammerstein evenings. Or they have a jazz pianist play a Mozart concerto. Or any kind of gimmick that, you know, hopefully will bring in some audience. Because, once again, the diminished audience means diminished funds for orchestras.
They have dumbed down the curriculums in many of the colleges in America. [But] you still have many, many pianists: They will graduate in June by the thousands. But where are they going to go? They’re going to go to their hometown. Then maybe they’ll just go into their father’s grocery store and run that. This is tragic. So we talk about these things at Piano Evenings. We try to have people help them.
David Dubal’s series showcases young pianists performing the world’s greatest piano pieces. Photo: Nina Wurtzel
What effect does the class and the piano playing have on its audiences? How does it change people’s lives?
Anyone that wants to during rush hour for twenty years gets to that class hook-or-crook: snowing, rain, sleet - they’re there. Nothing will stop them from getting their spiritual well-being from great music. You’re not gonna get it from anything else. Matthew Passion for two hours and let the whole nervous system explode with the greatest mind that ever lived.
So there’s my answer to this. If you don’t bring art into your life, at least as a visitor, not necessarily as a practitioner, you are on the fringes of an unfulfilled life. You can’t be fulfilled without art. I say this with real passion behind it, because I’d be nothing without art.
In the Epoch Times, you were quoted as saying, “What, other than the classics, can we turn to so as not to fall into despair?” Why should we look back to the classics, and what does that do for us as a society?
We are a nation in despair. Badly in despair. In every way almost. Part of that is: no art, no life. You see a nation that has no art. I don’t mean pop music. I don’t mean junk. I don’t mean the never-ending sports. It’s a constant part of the pop culture: the bad movies, the bad everything. The great art from Mozart or Handel not only rejuvenates you, but you may not have to take your Valium that day if you sit down and listen to the St.
On Piano Evenings’ website, you say that you “delve” into the biographies of celebrated composers to “reveal what is urgent in them and relevant to today’s world.” Can you think of a composer whose work is particularly relevant to the moment in which we’re living?
We have an existential crisis going on. [Pianist Vladimir] Ashkenazy once said to me, “We need Beethoven today more than we ever needed him.” It says it all. He’s more important now than ever. As we are losing the great refinements of our emotional system, we need Chopin nocturnes to show us what sensuousness means. What appassionata really means. To have fire in our souls instead of popcorn. Or whatever we have in our souls today. We are living in a junk culture of such massiveness that we [need] the spiritual aspects of the great works of art from Shakespeare through the great novels of Balzac through the best of American art and every country. Go to the piano. Buy one. You’ll see what I mean. You will see that you don’t have to watch TV day and night. The artist in this society is all dressed up with nowhere to go. He knows his pieces, but he doesn’t have anywhere to play them. That has to change, or we will decline to nothing.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
Piano Evenings with David Dubal begins on February 4 at the Good Shepherd-Faith Presbyterian Church at 5:30 p.m. on the Upper West Side. Please visit www.pianoevenings.com for further information.
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PUBLIC NOTICES PUBLIC AUCTION NOTICE OF SALE OF COOPERATIVE APARMENT SECURITY PLEASE TAKE NOTICE: By Virtue of a Default under Loan Security Agreement, and other Security Documents, Karen Loiacano, Auctioneer, License #DCA1435601 or Jessica L Prince-Clateman, Auctioneer, License #1097640 or Vincent DeAngelis Auctioneer, License #1127571 will sell at public auction, with reserve, on February 26, 2020, at the In the Rotunda, New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York NY 10007, commencing at 1:30 PM for the following account: Norman Bergman, as borrower, 328 shares of capital stock of Sutton Garden Owners Corp. and all right, title and interest in the Proprietary Lease to: 420 E 55th Street, Unit 12C, New York, NY 10022 Sale held to enforce rights of The Bank of New York Mellon fka The Bank of New York, As Trustee (CWMBS 2006-HYB1), who reserves the right to bid. Ten percent (10%) Bank/Certified check required at sale, balance due at closing within thirty (30) days. The Cooperative Apartment will be sold “AS IS” and possession is to be obtained by the purchaser. Pursuant to Section 201 of the Lien Law you must answer within 10 days from receipt of this notice in which redemption of the above captioned premises can occur. There is presently an outstanding debt owed to The Bank of New York
PUBLIC NOTICES Mellon fka The Bank of New York, As Trustee (CWMBS 2006- HYB1) (lender) as of the date of this notice in the amount of $854,219.82. This figure is for the outstanding balance due under UCC1, which was secured by Financing Statement in favor of Countrywide Financial Corp. And filed on November 2, 2005 in CRFN: 2005000612042. Said lien was thereafter assigned to The Bank of New York Mellon fka The Bank of New York, As Trustee (CWMBS 2006-HYB1) and recorded on August 11, 2015 in CRFN: 2015000276875. Please note this is not a payoff amount as additional interest/fees/penalties may be incurred. You must contact the undersigned to obtain a final payoff quote or if you dispute any information presented herein. The estimated value of the above captioned premises is $918,000.00. Pursuant to the Uniform Commercial Code Article 9-623, the above captioned premises may be redeemed at any time prior to the foreclosure sale. You may contact the undersigned and either pay the principal balance due along with all accrued interest, late charges, attorney fees and out of pocket expenses incurred by The Bank of New York Mellon fka The Bank of New York, As Trustee (CWMBS 2006- HYB1). and the undersigned, or pay the outstanding loan arrears along with all accrued interest, late charges, attorney fees and out of pocket expenses incurred by The Bank of New York Mellon fka The Bank of New York, As
PUBLIC NOTICES Trustee (CWMBS 2006-HYB1), and the undersigned, with respect to the foreclosure proceedings. Failure to cure the default prior to the sale will result in the termination of the proprietary lease. If you have received a discharge from the Bankruptcy Court, you are not personally liable for the payment of the loan and this notice is for compliance and information purposes only. However, The Bank of New York Mellon fka The Bank of New York, As Trustee (CWMBS 2006-HYB1), still has the right under the loan security agreement and other collateral documents to foreclosure on the shares of stock and rights under the proprietary lease allocated to the cooperative apartment. Dated: January 22, 2020 Frenkel, Lambert, Weiss, Weisman & Gordon, LLP Attorneys for The Bank of New York Mellon fka The Bank of New York, As Trustee (CWMBS 2006-HYB1) 53 Gibson Street Bay Shore, NY 11706 631-969-3100 File #01-091024- #98311
PUBLIC AUCTION NOTICE OF SALE OF COOPERATIVE APARMENT SECURITY PLEASE TAKE NOTICE: By Virtue of a Default under Loan Security Agreement, and other Security Documents, Karen Loiacano, Auctioneer, License #DCA1435601 or Jessica L
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PUBLIC NOTICES Prince-Clateman, Auctioneer, License #1097640 or Vincent DeAngelis Auctioneer, License #1127571 will sell at public auction, with reserve, on February 12, 2020, in the Rotunda at the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street New York NY 10007, commencing at 1:00 PM the following account: Eric Goldberg and Lisa Gordberg, as borrowers, 144 shares of capital stock of 310 East 70th Street Apartment Corp. and all right, title and interest in the Proprietary Lease to 310 East 70 St, Unit #6E, New York, NY 10021 Sale held to enforce rights of Citibank, NA, who reserves the right to bid. Ten percent (10%) Bank/Certified check required at sale, balance due at closing within thirty (30) days. The Cooperative Apartment will be sold “AS IS” and possession is to be obtained by the purchaser. This sale is subject to a first lien held by Astoria Federal Savings and Loan.Pursuant to Section 201 of the Lien Law you must answer within 10 days from receipt of this notice in which redemption of the above captioned premises can occur. There is presently an outstanding debt owed to Citibank, NA (lender) as of the date of this notice in the amount of $343,013.68. This figure is for the outstanding balance due under the note and security agreement, which was secured by a UCC1 Financing Statement in favor of Citibank, N.A., which was recorded on September 16, 2005, CRFN: 2005000517302. Please note this is not a payoff amount as additional interest/fees/penalties may be incurred. You must contact the undersigned to obtain a final payoff quote or if you dispute any information presented herein. The estimated value of the above captioned premises is $1,125,000.00. Pursuant to the Uniform Commercial Code Article 9-623, the above captioned premises may be redeemed at any time prior to the foreclosure sale. You may contact the undersigned and either pay the principal balance
PUBLIC NOTICES
due along with all accrued interest, late charges, attorney fees and out of pocket expenses incurred by Citibank, NA. and the undersigned, or pay the outstanding loan arrears along with all accrued interest, late charges, attorney fees and out of pocket expenses incurred by Citibank, NA, and the undersigned, with respect to the foreclosure proceedings. Failure to cure the default prior to the sale will result in the termination of the proprietary lease. If you have received a discharge from the Bankruptcy Court, you are not personally liable for the payment of the loan and this notice is for compliance and information purposes only. However, Citibank, NA, still has the right under the loan security agreement and other collateral documents to foreclosure on the shares of stock and rights under the proprietary lease allocated to the cooperative apartment. Dated: December 3, 2019 Frenkel, Lambert, Weiss, Weisman & Gordon, LLP Attorneys for Citibank, NA 53 Gibson Street Bay Shore, NY 11706 631-969-3100 File #01-080833-F00 #98122
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