Our Town February 7th, 2013

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SINCE 1970 INSIDE: At CINEmA’S CroSSroADS P.14

EVERY THURS.

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❤ THE LARGEST PAPER ON THE EAST SIDE ❤ FEBRUARY 7, 2013

(see page 8)

Offbeat Date Ideas, Great Gifts and a Brief Valentine’s Day Tale P.7

ALSO INSIDE BLOOMBERG FIGHTS TEACHERS UNION ...

AGAIN P.4 HIZZONER, THE MOVIE REVIEWER: A PERSONAL REMEMBRANCE OF MAYOR ED KOCH P.11

Tuesday, February 26 th, 2013 Our Town Thanks You

EAST SIDERS OF THE YEAR

Cocktail Reception: 6:15 PM Awards Ceremony: 7:00 PM Please RSVP to Lconnor@manhattanmedia.com or 212.894.5441

Mount Sinai Medical Center Icahn Medical Institute Goldwurm Auditorium

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TWO U.E.S. BAKERIES NAMED IN FOURSQUARE’S ‘BEST OF’ LIST

Get the latest news and share your opinion online at NYPress.com Compiled by Joanna Fantozzi

MUGGINGS SUSPECT TARGETING ASIAN-AMERICANS IN EAST HARLEM FINALLY CAUGHT A suspect, Jason Commisso, was finally arrested on Jan. 29 in the muggings of eight Asian-Americans in East Harlem over the past couple of weeks, targeted, beat and mugged Asian-Americans in elevators in the neighborhood. On Jan. 26, Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito held a press conference denouncing the violent acts, and urging community members to spread the word and put up flyers. Police arrested Commisso while he was attempting to board a bus at a bus terminal in New Jersey.

“Today, we are all breathing a sigh of relief as the suspect behind eight vicious muggings of Asian-American East Harlem residents has finally been apprehended by police,” Mark-Viverito said. “These brutal robberies have shaken all of us.”

FURRY FRIENDS FOR SALE! This February, bring home a puppy or kitten without breaking the bank. Bideawee, the pet welfare center located on East 38th Street at First Avenue, will be holding a monthlong “Name your own price” sale. The sale is in celebration of Valentine’s Day, and is Bideawee’s first adoption promotion this year.

Plus, if you think your brand-new pet is super-photogenic, Bideawee will be taking photos of each new adoption and putting them up for a public vote. The winner will have their pet featured as Bideawee’s Facebook timeline image. This promotion will run until Feb. 28.

DOT ANNOUNCES NEW SAFETY PROCEDURES FOR DELIVERY BIKES The DOT announced recently that they have teamed up with Delivery.com to provide 1,500 commercial cyclists with free bike lights, bells and reflective vests. Delivery cyclists from all over the city can attend one of the multi-language commercial bicyclist forums to receive the safety equipment. Other bicycle safety efforts include NYPD enforcement and inspector visits to businesses that use delivery cyclists. These inspectors serve to both inform and enforce regulations.

DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan notes, “Safety is everyone’s business, so it’s significant when the private sector steps up to the plate to make efforts in the public interest.”

Jed Kleckner, CEO of Delivery.com, is one of many who share in this sentiment. “In a city where food, groceries and wine can be at your doorstep in moments,” he said, “We empower the neighborhood economy by equipping our merchant partners with the right tools for making safe and speedy deliveries.”

Foursquare, the social app that lets friends check in to restaurants, bars and other places, has sifted its data of more than three billion check-ins and pulled up a list of the best New York City has to offer—from best eateries and clubs to best sights and theaters. And there’s good news for Upper East Siders with a sweet tooth. Two of the top 10 New York bakeries are on the Upper East Side: Sprinkles Cupcakes on Lexington between 60th and 61st streets and Two Little Red Hens on Second Avenue between East 85th and 86th.

Both of these bakeries offer tempting cupcakes. At Sprinkles, many of the fans on Foursquare rave about the “best cupcake place in the city,” and suggest trying the Red Velvet. At Two Little Red Hens, fans love both the cakes and cupcakes, and suggest going for the “Brooklyn Blackout,” a dangerous, chocolaty confection.

SECOND AVENUE SUBWAY NEWS On Wednesday, Jan. 30, MTA held its fifth Second Avenue Subway workshop at Temple Israel on East 75th Street. The meeting brought together MTA employees and contractors to discuss how negative impacts or effects from the construction can be mitigated.

“It’s impossible to build a subway here without disturbing the people and environment around us,” said MTA Capital Construction President Michael Horodniceanu. “We’ve learned from past experiences that building on this scale requires more than a business-as-usual approach, and that working closely with the community is one of the best means of learning how we can become a better neighbor.”

Phase One of the new subway line, which will extend the Q line, is expected to be complete by 2016.

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CRIME WATCH Your doctor retired to where?

INTOXICATED MAN BEATEN AND ROBBED OF PHONE Late at night on Jan. 30, a 33-year-old man was returning home from a night of carousing. He was approached by two unknown men on East 79th Street and shoved to the ground, where they repeatedly kicked and punched him. The assailants then removed their victim’s phone from his pocket and fled the scene. There were no cameras on the street. The victim described his assailants as two white men: one, bearded and about 5’8”, wearing a dark hat, and the other about the same height and bald. The Blackberry phone, worth $250, has not been recovered.

Compiled by Joanna Fantozzi

ART THIEF ON MAIN STREET A 53-year-old man left an unknown man in his art studio on Main Street on Roosevelt Island on the afternoon of Jan. 29. After he returned five minutes later, the man discovered that one of his paintings had vanished from the gallery wall.

The artwork, “Kids in the Sun Painting” by Dido Lubinsky, is worth $2,500. No cameras were at the location, and no arrests have yet been made.

STRANGERS ASSAULT MAN ON STREET AFTER ARGUMENT On Saturday, Jan. 26, a 34-year-old man reported that he was walking near East 82nd Street when four or five suspects bumped into him. After an exchange of words, the suspects circled him and started to beat him, causing lacerations to their victim’s eye. The man walked to the hospital himself, and called police. But he had left the hospital by the time the police arrived. The case has been closed, although no arrests have been made.

THIS IS A STICKUP! On the afternoon of Jan. 28, an unknown man entered a bank on Third Avenue and walked up to the teller window. He pushed a note under the window that said, “Don’t be stupid,

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just give me $100s, $50s and $20s.” The bank teller gave $1,800 to the perpetrator, who then exited the bank, fleeing down 88th Street. Surveillance footage is available.

INTERNET HACKING CASE A 31-year-old woman who lives on East 63rd Street reported that her bank account was accessed remotely on Jan. 25, and $8,000 was removed from her account. After calling her bank, investigators traced the account activity to the woman’s workplace address. The theft occurred sometime between Jan. 2 and Jan. 25. Chase knows the recipient of the money, but will not disclose it at this time. The woman closed all of her accounts. No arrests have been made.

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MEN ARRESTED FOR CELLPHONE THEFT A 33-year-old man reported that in the middle of the night on Jan. 25, he was walking down East 85th Street when two men approached him and asked for the time. The two unknown men walked away, then started to circle back. The man walked into a deli to avoid them, and after he exited, the two perpetrators confronted him. One said, “Don’t freak out.” Their victim tried to back away, but the assailants punched and kicked him.

One of the men took away his victim’s iPhone. Both attackers were arrested for robbery.

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Febr uar y 7, 2013 • O UR TOW N • 3

NEWS

Bloomberg Outlines City Budget As Fight With UFT Continues Mayor’s funding priorities leave him open to strong criticism on education

meaning another 1,800 teachers could be lost through attrition.

State Education Commissioner John King recently wrote to Bloomberg that he plans to baseline that $250 million loss for the next four years—resulting in a potential four-year loss of roughly $1 billion in state education funding—if discussions between the city and the teachers union remain stalled.

Bloomberg said the city was spending $8 billion more per year on education than when he first took office, and while the state’s education aid has plateaued in the last four fiscal years around the $19-21 billion range, it has also generally increased from 2002-03, when the state spent $14.6 billion. Still, the mayor accused the state of turning its back on the city’s children by imposing the school aid penalties.

“We’re not walking away from education in spite of the fact that I would argue the state’s walking away from us,” Bloomberg said.

Later, in a testy exchange with a reporter, he remarked that the one-year teacher evaluation agreements that 99 percent of the state’s school districts have signed are a “sham” and

By Nick Powell

M

ayor Michael Bloomberg outlined his preliminary budget for fiscal year 2014 last Tuesday, emphasizing that the budget will be balanced without any tax increases. But what stood out was the glaring loss of $724 million in state education funding over the next two years, a consequence of the lack of progress over negotiating a teacher evaluation plan with the United Federation of Teachers.

The $250 million loss this year will be reflected in immediate cuts to child care and after-school programs, and would result in a loss of up to 700 teachers through attrition.

The city will forfeit $250 million in aid in the next fiscal year too, plus another $224 million in the state executive budget if the two sides do not reach an agreement by Sept. 1,

t tha ber ne on m e o Rem l some Day a i s c e spe alentin 14th!

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a “joke” because they violate state law that requires a two-year period to evaluate a teacher.

He added that Gov. Andrew Cuomo “can’t just snap his fingers” to make the school districts agree to another teacher evaluation deal after this year.

However, the mayor said that he would happily take the $250 million in education aid should he be able to reach a deal with the teachers union in the coming days. The mayor left open the possibility of coming to an agreement, but hardly sounded optimistic.

“I said from day one, we can come to an agreement with them, we talk every day,” Bloomberg said. “But fundamentally you’re asking a union to let its members be evaluated, and discriminate, and have distinctions based on productivity rather than based on seniority, and essentially unions have always been opposed to that, but we’ll see.”

Meanwhile, UFT President Michael Mulgrew testified in front of the Legislature on Tuesday, where legislators grilled him on the failed teacher evaluation agreement. Mulgrew continued to blame Bloomberg and education officials for not negotiating in good faith.

“We had 40 plans from different cities during negotiations, and they were not interested in copying another city’s plan,” Mulgrew said.

Despite the lack of progress on a deal, Mulgrew said he reached out to Bloomberg to set up a future negotiation date, but that has not been scheduled yet.

In addition to the loss in state education aid, $135 million will be cut from after-school and child care programs that service more than 47,000 children, many from low-income families. The specter of this cut, among others, set off angry responses from child care advocates.

“Just like last year, 47,000 children are set to lose access to after-school and early education programs—programs proven to help children succeed while parents work to support their families,” said Michelle Yanche, assistant executive director for government and external relations at Good Shepherd Services, on behalf of the Campaign for Children, a coalition of child care advocacy groups.

“The same parents and providers will be forced to fight for the same funding that they were just given a few months ago. How can this be happening, after all we’ve heard from our city leaders about making children a priority?”

With reporting by Aaron Short. A version of this story originally appeared on the website of City & State, cityandstateny.com.

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DINING

Just Say No to the Valentine’s Day Prix Fixe Celebrate sincerely with a meal that has meaning for you

By Regan Hofmann

S

top me if you’ve heard this one before: Valentine’s Day is a Hallmark sham, a manufactured nonholiday dreamed up in a craven bid to sell out-of-season roses in the middle of the long, dark winter.

It’s right, to a point. There is nothing about Feb. 14 that demands plush hearts, teddy bears and cupids, boxes of chocolate and bouquets. But the original Saint Valentine made his name centuries ago when, right before his execution, he sent one final love note to his lady, signing it “From your Valentine.”

Since then, the saint’s day has been a catalyst to fess up your true feelings, whether to a secret crush or the spouse you tell to empty the dishwasher more than you tell them how important they are. It’s a tradition that’s lasted more than 500 years—why mess up a good thing now?

Unfortunately, when it comes to dining on the day, too many restaurants fall back on the menu equivalent of the Russell Stover assortment: the caviar-steak-chocolate cake prix fixe. Rather than fall for this scourge of the Valentine-industrial complex, take a moment to consider the things that make your relationship unique. Go out for a meal that’s outside your usual routine, try a place you’ve been talking about for months, or stay in and cook something more complicated than pasta and jar sauce. Still not sure where to start? We’ve got you covered.

Was your first date a trip to the underground Flushing food court? Are you on a shared mission to try food from every country in the world? Head for Yunnan Kitchen (79 Clinton St., yunnankitchen.com), which specializes in the cuisine of this still relatively unfamiliar region of China in an atmosphere more conducive to hand-holding than most linoleum-lined Chinatown dens.

Light, veg-focused fare that emphasizes unusual ingredients is the M.O. here—try the chrysanthemum salad.

Have kids? You’ve most likely been eating any meals out at ungodly early hours, in brightly lit barns that have room for tantrum throwing and crayon flinging (not that your kids do these things, of course). Do a 180 and have a Spanish night out at the tiny, dimly lit Txikito (240 Ninth Ave., txikitonyc.com).

Arrive as late as you can stand to stay up— dinner in Spain doesn’t ever begin before 9 p.m.—and graze on the Basque specialty, pintxos, one- or two-bite toasts topped with everything from artichokes to foie gras.

Use V-Day as an excuse to restock your sugar high? Go for a three-course dessert meal at Chikalicious Dessert Bar (203 E.

10th St., chikalicious.com). Their seasonal approach to sweets means the menu is currently stocked with wintry options like hot caramel custard soup and butternut squash ice cream brûlée, all guaranteed to change the way you think about dessert (and keep you bouncing off the walls for hours).

Single? Take a page out of Amy Poehler’s Parks & Rec book and make it a gal-entine’s day (pal-entine’s day?). OK, you don’t have

to go so far as embroidering faces on pillows, but there’s no reason not to take the day as an opportunity to appreciate whoever is special in your life, whether it’s your group of high-school besties or the people at work who listen sympathetically whenever Brenda in HR makes your life miserable.

Crowd around a table at the wood-lined Rye House (11 W. 17th St., ryehousenyc.com), and raise a glass of the titular spirit (or bour-

bon, or scotch) from an extensive menu that’s helpfully organized by tasting notes.

Bonus: This is probably the least crowded this cozy but decidedly un-romantic spot will ever get, so stretch out and enjoy the leg room.

No matter your circumstances, there’s a way to celebrate the holiday without inducing gags or yawns. This year, make sure old St. Valentine didn’t die in vain.

“Ravishing” —New York Times

Matisse i n s e a rc h o f tr u e Pai nti n g

Through March 17

The exhibition is made possible in part by Additional support is provided by the Jane and Robert Carroll Fund and the Diane W. and James E. Burke Fund.

The exhibition is organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in collaboration with the Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, and the Centre Pompidou, Musée National d’Art Moderne, Paris.

The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

metmuseum.org

Henri Matisse, Young Sailor II, 1906, oil on canvas, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection, 1998. © 2012 Succession H. Matisse / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Febr uar y 7, 2013 • O UR TOW N • 5

NYPre ss.com

MET-0166-Matisse_CityArts_7.341x8.5(1.16)_Feb07_v2x.indd 1

12/11/12 11:51 AM

NEWS

No Honking! Whether There’s A Sign Or Not!

By Joanna Fantozzi

S

NextAct staying alive for as long as we live.

Learn, meet, greet, explore, advocate, grow, discuss, and volunteer... and we just got started!

JASA’s NextAct programs now include: n

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NextAct Lecture Series for 55+ — lecture series with wine and cheese Sundays at JASA — college level courses

UPCOMING EVENTS

Sunday, Feb. 10

Lively and Engaging Programs for Adults 55+

Sundays at JASA Spring Semester Open House/ Registration

Classes: February 17 – May 19, 2013 John Jay College, 899 Tenth Ave. 10:00 am – 2:00 pm For more information contact 212-273-5304/ stornay@jasa.org

Joint Public Affairs Committee for Older Adults (JPAC) & Institute for Senior Action (IFSA) — explore political issues JASA on the Road at Camp Oakhurst — one of a kind camp experience

Wednesdays, Feb. 27 – May 22

Volunteer Opportunities — give back to the community

(IFSA)

We create the adventure and all you need to do is show up!

Founded in 1968, JASA’s mission is to sustain and enrich the lives of the aging in the New York metropolitan area so that they can remain in the community with dignity and autonomy.

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Institute for Senior Action

JASA Cooper Square, 200 E. Fifth St. 10:00 am – 2:00 pm

Advocacy Fair

Wednesday, March 6

Volunteer Ventures Expo Wednesday, March 8

For more information contact 212-991-6572 /ifsa@jasa.org

Alvina Lai

ay goodbye to New York’s “No Honking” signs. The Department of Transportation announced this week that by the end of the year, all of the signs, warning motorists of a $350 fine, will be taken down as part of a sign streamlining program. The decision has sparked confusion and outrage among New Yorkers who fear that getting rid of the signs will only add to the urban din.

Janette Sadik-Khan, the DOT commissioner, released a statement saying that “for the first time in generations, we are systematically updating our streets to eliminate the signs that don’t work and improve the signs we actually need. While honking signs have been around for decades, there’s no sign that they do anything except add clutter to our streets.”

To bolster the case, the DOT argued that over the past five years, honking complaints have decreased 63 percent. But there are plenty of residents on both the Upper East

and West sides who do not hear things quieting down.

“Whenever there’s a sudden blast of a horn, it creates road rage. Its very hostile,” said Bette Dewing, an Upper East Side resident, traffic safety expert (and columnist for Our Town). “I’m a great believer in signs.

I don’t know why they’re so concerned with clutter. I am more interested in traffic safety rules.”

Dewing, also an activist for elder rights and safety, added that for older New Yorkers, a sudden horn honk can be jarring to the heart, which is unpleasant for anyone, but potentially dangerous for older pedestrians.

Council Member Gale Brewer said that in her district on the Upper West Side, there are several horn-honking problem areas, including the intersection of Riverside and 79th Street, where drivers coming off the highway tend to loudly announce their presence. She also said that congestion and noise occurs near schools like Columbia Preparatory School at West 94th Street.

When school lets out, cars and buses idle in front of the school, causing frustration and

One of the signs in question at 23rd Street and Sixth Avenue.

honking.

Brewer said she is puzzled by the DOT’s decision.

“The neighbors want to be able to point to a sign and say, ‘do you see that sign? that’s the law,’” she said. “We’re in a city; we like noise but not excessive.”

Arlene Bronzaft, a noise expert and psychology professor, said that she does not buy the DOT’s explanation of de-cluttering

the roadways. She said that where she lives at 79th and York, there are four signs telling people to cross at the green light.

“Why do we need four signs to tell us that?” she said. “You’d think we were smarter than that.” She also said that keeping the no-honking signs will guilt people into following the law.

“It’s simple psychology,” she said. “The signs are prompts for good behavior.”

Learn, meet, greet, explore, advocate, grow, discuss, and volunteer … and we just got started.

Millions of baby boomers are edging towards retirement. Savvy individuals, even by age 55, are planning for their “next act.” For boomers, older adults, and those on the edge of retirement, continuing education has become very popular. Volunteering and political advocacy have also become meaningful sources of energy for those looking to make a difference.

JASA’s NextAct programs now include: • Sundays at JASA – college level courses • Joint Public Affairs Committee for Older Adults (JPAC) & Institute for Senior Action (IFSA) – advocacy training • JASA on the Road – one of a kind camp experience • NextAct Lecture Series – lectures with wine and cheese • Volunteer Opportunities – give back to the community Find out about all these possibilities and more. On February 10th, you’re invited to explore educational programs at the free Open House of “Sundays at JASA,” from 10:00 AM to 2:00 pm, at John Jay College, 899 Tenth Avenue, and to register for the spring semester which runs from February 17th through May 19th. This is one of the few programs to provide Sunday

classes, such as Current Events, Shakespeare, Opera, Acting, Basics of Chinese Medicine, bridge, and computer instruction, among many others.

Are you concerned about budget cuts, changes to public transportation, senior center closings & Social Security? Join the Institute for Senior Action (IFSA), a program of JASA, and learn how to get more involved in the legislative process and be an effective advocate! The 10week IFSA program integrates critical aging policy issues, with practical grassroots action. The spring term will be held on Wednesdays from February 27th to May 22nd at JASA Cooper Square, 200 East 5th Street, Manhattan. To learn more about IFSA, or to request an application, please contact us at 212-991-6572 or email ifsa@jasa.org.

JASA’s NextAct lectures will present two lectures about film at UJA-Federation, 130 E. 59th Street, from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m., followed by a wine and cheese reception: March 14th with Bilge Ebiri, filmmaker and critic from New York magazine, and April 18th with Max Alvarez on Alfred Hitchcock.

For additional information on all JASA NextAct programs, please contact Sara Tornay at 212- 273-5304, or stornay@jasa. org and visit www.jasa.org.

NY Press.co m

feature

Think Outside the Chocolate Box Our Valentine’s Day gift guide is anything but boring

By Sharon Feiereisen

W

hile you might be hard-pressed to find a gal who wouldn’t delight over some red roses and Neuhaus chocolates, this Valentine’s Day, why not go beyond the lovey-dovey standards and give her—or him—something they’ll truly never forget.

Vice Merchants Sheet Sets $99-$235. Available at the Museum of Sex (233 Fifth Ave.) Frette-quality, these luxury sheets come printed with girlon-girl-type erotic graphics for a memorably eye-catching take on bedding.

Le Creuset Signature 11 3/4” Iron Handle Skillet $155. Available at Sur la Table (75 Spring St.) The crème de la crème when it comes to cookware, give the gift of foodie love with one of Le Creuset’s signature cast iron skillets.

LeSutra $19.99-$29.99.

Available at Winebook & Spirits (554 W. 30th St.) Opt for something a bit more memorable than champagne with this line of sparkling liqueurs, infused with premium vodka and a hint of white wine. Available in four flavors—grape, strawberry, blueberry and peach—LeSutra can be served straight up or mixed to create a variety of cocktails. LeSutra is a 15 percent alcohol (30 proof) product.

Diptique Valentine Rose Duet $65. Available at Diptique (377 Bleecker St.) The perfect gift for a friend or to set the mood for a romantic evening, this limited-edition candle combines two of Diptique’s most iconic scents: Roses and Baies.

Lululemon Chillstop Jacket and Bundle Up Jacket $178 & $198. Available at Lululemon (15 Union Square West) They say the couple that works out together, stays together. To that end, Lululemon offers a slew of versatile, multi-pocket, wind- and water-resistant his-and-her finds that will keep couples ready to tackle their workouts—no matter how chilly it gets.

Thenakedshop.com $36-$64 Created with a form-fitting seamless design, soft microfiber, micro-modal and premium cotton, Naked offers environmentally friendly men’s staples including fitted crew and V-neck undershirts, briefs, boxer briefs and boxers that are so comfortable men have been quoted saying they feel like they’re wearing nothing at all …

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Odealarose.com $29.95 and up This newly launched NYC-based luxury flower delivery service, founded by two Frenchmen who deemed the current crop of flower delivery services unimpressive in terms of wooing a woman, brings back the romance and whimsy of rose giving and delivery with a variety of chic arrangements. All arrangements are hand-delivered in custommade boxes.

X’s and O’s Gift Set $24. Available at Sephora (555 Broadway) Nothing says love like some X’s and O’s and an adorable ready-to-gift box of beauty baubles. This set includes Philosophy’s vanilla cream topping shower gel, vanilla cream topping body lotion and cherry-on-top lip shine.

Charlotte Olympia Love Me Suede Pumps $1,450. Available at Charlotte Olympia (22 E. 65th St.) Show a bride-to-be some love by splurging on these handcrafted 6-inch peep-toe pumps, which come adorned with heart appliqués and a baby blue internal trim.

SendAPantygram.com $24.95 Send a man a message he’ll never forget with this service that ships a discreet black package with a red panty and a special note inside. Pantygrams have been sent to businessmen and even members of our armed forces as far away as Iraq and Afghanistan.

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BL GS

Shun the conventional dates this Feb. 14

By Alissa Fleck

W

hether you’ve been with your significant other for a while or you’re spending Valentine’s Day with someone you just met on the train—or even if you’re single but ready to mingle—you don’t want to go on the same old boring dates year after year. If you’re into committing a charitable act, being spontaneous, devouring sweet treats or doing all three, Our Town has the hookups to guarantee your Valentine’s Day—and week—is as saucy and unconventional as possible.

Donate Blood What’s sexier than banding together to save lives? What’s more straight-fromthe-heart than your own blood? Especially after Hurricane Sandy, which has driven the demand for blood in the city higher than ever. Visit the New York Blood Center’s website to schedule a blood donation or find a drive in your area. If you’re a little woozy post-donation, you can cling to one another as you sip from paper cups of apple juice and nibble on cookies. nybloodcenter.org Cupid’s Undie Run If you want to bond this Valentine’s Day weekend without your clothes on, consider Cupid’s (one-mile) Undie Run through Chelsea and the Meatpacking District. The run will take place Feb. 9 at 2:30 p.m. and includes a post-run celebration at the Brass Monkey bar. All proceeds from the event benefit the Children’s Tumor Foundation. Who ever said stripping down couldn’t be charitable in more ways than one? cupidsundierun.com/NYC Craigslist It Up If you and your other half want to spice things up this year, consider posting a “missed connection,” “casual encounter” or personal ad to each other on Craigslist.

Be smart with this one; while it’s always fun to be spontaneous and a bit exhibi-

8 • O UR TOWN • Fe br ua r y 7, 2 013

tionistic, remember Craigslist is a public forum and whatever you post is definitely not for your eyes only. craigslist.com

Literary Speed-Dating If you’re a part of that “still looking for a date” crowd—and maybe just a little bit nerdy—the Housing Works Bookstore Cafe in Soho has just the event for you. On Feb. 13 at 7 p.m., the bookstore will be hosting “literary speed-dating” for those who would “rather be judged by their book cover.”

While the event is currently sold out, it’s still possible to get on the waiting list, and the bookstore guarantees more similar, coveted events in the future for those who sign up.

126 Crosby St.; housingworks.org/ bookstore The OkCupid Show Want to learn what not to do this Valentine’s Day? The Housing Works Bookstore Cafe is also hosting a night of dating-horrorstorytelling with writers from big-name magazines sharing stories on Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. Consider this a primer on how to behave this V-Day whether you’re meeting someone from the Internet or not.

Gelato Workshop If you just want to get straight to the sweet stuff this holiday, consider a gelato/ sorbet workshop class with your date at Mia Chef Gelateria in Murray Hill. The gelateria hosts 14 different evening classes all through February where expert artisans teach the ancient art of gelato-making.

Bring home the fruits of your labor to spoon feed each other while you cuddle up on the love seat in front of your favorite romantic flick. gelatomia.com Beginner Salsa Classes Get intimate with that special someone on this year’s day of love by engaging in a little spicy salsa action (no, not the eating kind). Baila Tango in Midtown West hosts $20 beginner salsa classes for four evening dates in February. Learn the basics from an expert and wow your date on the dance floor with your new moves … or giggle flirtatiously as you stumble over each other’s feet and collapse clumsily into each other’s arms. bailatango.com NY Press.co m

An Emergency Room Where You Spend More Time Receiving Care Than Waiting for It. At Lenox Hill Hospital, we believe the most effective way to handle a medical emergency is to treat it like one. That’s why we start providing our expert care the second you walk through the door.

A state-of-the-art patient information system registers and tracks patients, which allows you to begin receiving treatment in an average of 15 minutes.

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NY Press.co m

NEWS

Edward I. Koch: ‘I Don’t Do Cinematography’

By Tom Allon

Consumer Affairs Commissioner Bess Myerson, whose romantic life with an alleged mobster led to one of the more bizarre f Martians landed on our planet and scandals in NYC history. demanded I teach them what a New Like a marriage that goes sour after a Yorker is, I’d go no further than show decade, Koch’s relationship with the city them the hours and hours of videotape and its various constituencies curdled of Edward I. Koch jousting at press in his third term. The African-American conferences in the 1980s and defiantly community marching attacked him across the for his racial Brooklyn insensitivity, Bridge durand Wilbert ing the 1980 Tatum, the transit strike publisher and his more of the city’s recent “Wise largest black Guys” comnewspaper, mentary on the Amsterthe political dam News, topics of the put “Koch day on NY1 Must Resign” news. on his front I was a page every teenager Koch at the Movies from The Manhattan Spirit in 1991. week. For two when Koch years. was elected to his first term, and I thought I was an eager young journalist, in my his chutzpah, moxie and general bluster was mid-20s, who was still awestruck to be admirable and probably just what the city covering larger-than-life figures like Koch needed when the collective morale of New and his ilk. I decided in 1987, two years Yorkers bordered on outright despair. Edward before his ill-fated third stab at re-election, I. Koch was bold, he was optimistic, he knew to write a long cover story: “Can Koch Make New York was better than its financial crisis a Comeback?” and crime statistics.

Unintentionally, Koch taught me one He lifted our city out of its financial woes, of my most valuable journalism lesembarked on an ambitious public housing sons when he refused to grant me an program, made some innovative criminal interview because my newspaper— parjustice reforms and gave New York its swagger ticularly columnist Dick Oliver—had back. When I went off to college in upstate continuously bashed him.

New York in 1980, I felt that I was leaving a city Undeterred, I did a “write around,” on an upswing, with a mayor who was steerinterviewing more than 25 people in ing us to a better place. the administration and in the New York Then in 1982, Koch overreached, and punditocracy, and it became one of my the Greenwich Village pol set his sights on proudest pieces of journalism: a balthe Statehouse, a job that required living anced and thoroughly reported picture in upstate New York. He stumbled, making of a once-mighty mayor on the ropes and an ill-conceived joke about the sterility of hanging on for dear life. the suburbs, and my college newspaper in In 1989, David Dinkins dethroned Ithaca wisecracked in the headline of its enKoch in the primary and unceremonidorsement for governor: “Koch for Mayor.” ously sent him back to private life.

The people of upstate and my colleagues In the following years, when wellon the college newspaper editorial board wishers on the street told Koch they sent the fish-out-of-New York-harbor-water missed him, he would reply: “The people a message: Stay in the five boroughs, where have spoken. And now they must be you belong. Koch went on to re-election in punished.”

1985, the same year I returned to the city One year after he left office, I decided and became the editor of a weekly newsto write another profile of Koch. My last paper, The West Side Spirit, which not only question in that interview was a throwcovered the mayor, but had a weekly politiaway line: “So now that you have all this cal columnist, Dick Oliver, who was one of free time, how do you spend it?”

Koch’s chief antagonists.

Koch replied: “I go to the movies two Koch, in his third term (there were no or three times a week.” term limits then) started collecting lots of The next morning, I phoned Koch. enemies and critics. His administration was “Hey, Ed,” I said, “how would you beset by scandal, from the Parking Violalike to be the West Side Spirit’s movie tions Bureau mess that led to the suicide of reviewer?”

Queens Borough President Donald Manes “What would you pay?” Koch replied. to the imbroglio over Koch’s close friend,

I

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“How about $50 a week?” I said sheepishly, knowing that I was already committing a high percentage of my weekly freelance budget.

“Fifty dollars a week?! I wouldn’t cross the street for $50 a week!”

“But we’re a small paper,” I said plaintively.

“Well, call me when you get bigger,” he said and then dropped the receiver.

The Spirit had recently become part of a chain of five weeklies in Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx and the Hamptons. I phoned each publisher about my idea, asked them to contribute $50 per week for a syndicated movie column—and presto, a critic was born.

“How about $250?” I offered the next day.

“Fine,” he said. “I’ll start today. But I have some ground rules: I don’t do openings. I don’t do cinematography. I just tell the reader whether the movie is worth the price of admission.”

For the next 23 years, Edward I. Koch reviewed a movie or two each week,

with his trademark + or –, symbolizing his thumbs-up or thumbs-down for the everyman’s film experience.

One night a few months after he started, a friend called to tell me he saw Koch on the Johnny Carson show saying he had seven jobs in his postmayoralty career but his favorite one was writing reviews for a chain of weekly newspapers.

Now that we all mourn the loss of a colorful New Yorker and a man who relished being called Hizzoner, I take some comfort that a young editor’s gimmicky idea to grab attention in a tough media town gave Koch some joy.

If they serve popcorn in heaven, I hope Koch has found his seat and is taking mental notes on the show unfolding before him.

This time, perhaps he’ll notice the cinematography.

Tom Allon, a 2013 candidate for New York City mayor, is the former editor and publisher of this newspaper.

Febr uar y 7, 2013 • O UR TOW N • 1 1

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Theosophy

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The Tides of Time There is a tide in the affairs of men which, taken at the expression and recognition of the law of recurrent impression. For the opportunities of each life come from the past; each life as it is has been produced by the life or lives preceding, and aspirations are recurrent ideas of the past.

Whenever there is a spiritual idea in the heart or in the mind, then is the beginning of the rising tide for that individual; then is the time for him to take advantage of the cycle - to make every possible effort in the direction of his purpose. For the time is ripe, and the time will pass again just as surely as the Sun moves northward and then south again and in that time of rising tide, we must have acquired the stamina - the power of concentrated effort which will hold us through the receding tide and give us a better standing place when the tide again rises.

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THE 7-DAY PLAN

BEST PICK

FREE Fashion for Everyone

Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space, 155 Ave. C, 7 p.m.

973-818-8495, morusnyc.org [Feb. 9]

Move over, Mercedes-Benz: The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space is hosting a unique fashion show in the name of (peaceful) protest! Come see how fashion—i.e., costumes, puppets and props—can bring awareness to important issues way beyond what to wear. Although this show is free, there is a suggested donation of $5 for this volunteer-run nonprofit organization.

FRIDAY

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KGB Bar, 85 E. 4th St., 7 p.m.

212-505-3360, kgbbar.com Every great story has to start somewhere. Whether you are an aspiring writer or just a fan of great writing, make sure you are at the KGB Bar for the NYU Emerging Writers Series.

SATURDAY

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MONDAY

11 12 TUESDAY

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❮ Gazillion Bubble Show

Visit nypress.com for the latest updates on local events.

Submissions can be sent to otdowntown@manhattanmedia.com.

Buckyball

Madison Square Park, E. 23rd St.; go at night. madisonsquarepark.org The Buckyball is a brightly illuminated sculpture that’s tough to turn away from once you come within view.

Lying on a zero-gravity bench in the middle of the park, gazing at the Buckyball, is a strangely calming and extremely enjoyable experience. This display ends Feb. 15, so don’t miss out.

New World Stages, 340 W. 50th St., 2 p.m., $44.50-$89.50. newworldstages.com Bubbles may seem like a meager form of entertainment at this point in your life, but we promise, they’re still fun! “Bubble Scientist” Fan Yang has created an act that combines bubbles, smoke and lasers. Expect it to be trippy.

Maid Café Valentine Special

Mika Japanese Cuisine and Bar, 150 Centre St., 11:30 a.m., $15. mikanyc.com Want to kill two holiday birds with one stone? Head on down to Mika Japanese Cuisine and Bar to celebrate Valentine’s Day and the Chinese New Year by getting free gifts, enjoying live performances and partaking in a karaoke contest. Things to keep in mind: Bring four people and the fifth is free; no age limit; one-drink minimum.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Publishing Poetry

Big O at Babeland

Babeland Soho, 43 Mercer St., 8 p.m., $75-$150, 21+. iadventure.com Preface Valentine’s Day right with an after-hours party that is anything but tame. With aphrodisiac cocktails, a DJ spinning and romance in the air, this is the perfect chance to let loose without the risk of judgment. All guests go home with a special toy in hand and get 10 percent off Babeland’s wares.

Poets House, 10 River Terrace, 2 p.m., $7-$10. poetshouse.org Do you find yourself writing angsty and bitter love poems when this time of year rolls around? Don’t set your notepads/ journals/ computer aflame just yet—maybe they’re worthy of publishing! Publisher Allan Kornblum will be at this event to offer you the insight and guidance you’re searching for. Anything that stops you from sending your “poetry” to your ex could be a real lifesaver. Or pride-saver.

A Sneak Peek

The Underline Gallery, 238 W. 14th St., 6 p.m. alishatrimble.com Women’s wear designer Alisha Trimble wants you to be among the first to see her fall 2013 lingerie and readyto-wear presentation. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, this showing should be great both for women who want to buy for themselves and men who want to buy a present. Sign up at the website above.

❮ FREE Hot Chocolate Festival

City Bakery, 3 W. 18th St., 10 a.m. thecitybakery.com Do you like hot chocolate?! OK, that’s a trick question. And if you don’t, enjoy being dead inside. Every day of February, owner Maury Rubin will be serving a different flavor of his delectable cocoa. Certain flavors have mysterious names like “Moulin Rouge,” “Sunken Treasure” and “Ode to the Polar Bear.” So why not make it a priority to try every single flavor—we won’t tell.

Lust and Love in the Animal Kingdom

❮ Sake and the City

New York Academy of Sciences, 250 Greenwich St., 7th fl., 6:30 p.m., $15-$25. nyas.org Haven’t you always wondered if T-Rexes were as ferocious in bed at they were in their daily lives? Well, here is the perfect event for you! If you’re also wondering why you can’t get your love life right, look to the animal kingdom; they can teach us a thing or two about monogamy. So grab the guy who refuses to do anything but flirt-text with you, and maybe you’ll walk out in a relationship!

Toddler Story Time

Webster Library, 1465 York Ave., 11 a.m. nypl.org You are never too young for story time. Webster Library is offering sessions on a first-come, first-serve basis for toddlers and their parents or caretakers to engage in story and song with other toddlers from around the neighborhood. Every session ends with a happy ever after!

The Singer of Love

Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway, 7:30 p.m., $30. symphonyspace.org Likened to Edith Piaf, Floanne is a chanteuse who seamlessly infuses romance into each song. What better way to spend Valentine’s Day than by sipping on a complimentary glass of Bordeaux with a loved one while taking in French classics, opera arias and original pieces?

❯

FREE New York Knicks vs. Toronto Raptors

Astor Center, 399 Lafayette St., 6:30 p.m., $30, 21+. eventbrite.com Calling all sake lovers! The Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association is excited to be hosting “Sake and the City,” an event that invites you to not only taste but discover a wide range of sake from top producers.

❯

Phoenix Park, 206 E. 67th St., 7:30 p.m. phoenixparkny.com Everyone can use a little luck of the Irish now and then; even though the number-one Knicks probably won’t need it. Grab a seat at the Phoenix Park sports bar, home of 16 TVs, great food, a pool table and a garden, to watch the New York Knicks take on the Toronto Raptors.

Sweethearts ❮ Valentine’s Sweet-Tooth Tour

Broadway & 42nd St., 4 p.m., $50. sugartoothtours.com When one thinks of Valentine’s Day, there are usually (hopefully) chocolates involved.

Sugartooth Tours is taking this notion one step further with a tour of the city’s best dessert shops. By the end of this tour, you will be filled with love, maybe, but definitely with cookies, pies, pastries and chocolates.

Febr uar y 7, 2013 • O UR TOW N • 1 3

Edited by Armond White

New York’s Review of Culture • CityArtsNYC.com

At Cinema’s Crossroads HELLO, WALTER HILL. GOOD RIDDANCE TO SODERBERGH

By Armond White

T

his week, America’s most overrated filmmaker, Steven Soderbergh, gets booted out of the arena by the country’s most underrated great filmmaker,

Walter Hill.

The simultaneous release of Hill’s Bullet to the Head and Soderbergh’s Side Effects perfectly contrasts the art of genre filmmaking with the pretense of art filmmaking as genre. After a decade off, Hill returns to cinema with a Sylvester Stallone action movie that streamlines moral complexity and aesthetic mastery while Soderbergh pretends another exploration of topical issues while dully manipulating

thriller clichés.

Side Effects’ story of medical malfeasance involves a pill-giving psychiatrist (Jude Law) and his waif-victim patient (Rooney Mara)—the girl with an insidertrading monkey on her back. Really, it’s much less interesting than a law-breaking hitman forced to regulate his conscience in relentless tests of his manhood. The former is schlock, the latter is art—if you appreciate the depth and creativity of kinetic, poetic narrative. That legacy has always inspired Hill’s artistry.

Soderbergh’s Traffic, Erin Brokovich and Magic Mike reigned over an era of cynical banality, while Hill’s sharp, inventive technique seen in The Warriors, Geronimo and Undisputed went unap-

Number One With a Bullet AN EXCLUSIVE CITYARTS CRITICS DISCUSSION OF WALTER HILL’S COMEBACK

By Armond White

B

ullet to the Head is an event.

It is director Walter Hill’s first theatrical film since 2002’s Undisputed and the most meaningful Sylvester Stallone acting vehicle since Rocky. On this occasion, I discuss the significance of Bullet to the Head with CityArts film critic Gregory Solman, author of the definitive essay on Hill’s oeuvre, as a good movie, an essay on masculinity and an advance in contemporary cinema aesthetics.

AW: Stallone’s performance as career hitman Jimmy Bobo reminded me of Charles Bronson’s streetfighter in Hill’s directorial debut Hard Times. The same grizzled features, the same masculine ethos. The plot of Bobo teaming up with

1 4 • O UR TOWN • Fe br ua r y 7, 2 013

policeman Taylor Kwan (Sung Kang) recalled Hill’s buddy movie 48 Hrs. Hill and Stallone’s cinema histories are combined, and the action genre is updated.

GS: It’s the ideal comparison, I agree, because Hill makes the essential emotional connections to character lesser directors ignore—directors, I might add, who are all worse at directing action than Hill, yet are no better than him with actors. I like reminding people that when Bronson’s performance stunned everyone in Hard Times, it was Bronson’s 60th movie—and Hill’s first. I won’t forget Bruce Willis in Last Man Standing, either. Stallone’s saturnine mood and weathered face are alone more interesting than his revivals of Rocky and Rambo combined, because Hill understands the power of genre and, more than anyone else in contemporary filmmaking, takes to heart F. Scott Fitzgerald’s crystalline bromide: “Action is character.” Have new filmmakers learned from Hill in Exile, or from Neveldine/Taylor, for that matter?

preciated (and underground in TV projects like Deadwood and Broken Trail).

Bullet to the Head is an exhilarating revival of efficient, expressive storytelling while Side Effects combines Psycho trick-casting and deceptive plot devices to disguise indifference to its characters’ moral crises.

Soderbergh is callous about “the culture,” offering an insincere money and Steven Soderbergh. class critique as shallow as his underlit videography.

Hill’s critique is inherent in the efficacy and splendor of his action and montage.

Fanboys raised on CGI won’t notice the difference, but true movie lovers will

thrill to it (and to dialogue like “You had me at ‘Fuck you’”—beat that, Tarantino).

Soderbergh replaces the topical, medical subject of Nick Ray’s Bigger Than Life with nihilistic cynicism while Hill explores post9/11 ideas of conflicted morality: Stallone gives a new iconic performance as a man at odds with the law, and Hill distills his story in the most exuberant American kinetics of the past few years.

If Side Effects is Soderbergh’s last film (as promised), give him an urgent farewell. Bullet to the Head’s excitement inspires a “welcome back” for Hill.

AW: Hill in Exile is an interesting way AW: This movie has the best dialogue to describe the past decade of inept in years. Hill knows how make a few action movies. From David Fincher words matter. He evokes personal ethto Steve Soderbergh and the Bourne ics and sums up genre ethics. movies, most filmmakers don’t know GS: He brought back his signature how to film singleaction with exchange meaning or scenes, too, action heroes which I love. with ethics.

I’m not a fan of Hill has been Bobo’s final, or sorely missed. rather, penulRemember the timate riposte pop culture [“That’ll be the fun of Streets day”], though of Fire, which I like the updated pop recapitulation nostalgia of Jack Cates, and genre the cop in 48 Walter Hill and Sylvester Stallone. refinement?

Hrs., in Kwon’s GS: It was challenge, and cinematic celebration from start to imagine Bobo to be a fan of John Wayne finish, and gets at Hill’s great advance in general, Ethan Edwards in particular. in comic-book form. The sledgehamTo be clear, it’s not the line itself, or mer fight anticipates the fire-axe battle the association, but it strikes me as an between Bobo and mercenary Keegan over-articulation.

(Jason Momoa), but beneath that lies AW: I disagree. The Searchers is a fathe inevitability of one-on-one confronmous cinema touchstone. I love that Hill tation between, in this story, the two rescued Wayne’s line from a pedestal. breeds of ex-military mercenary: Bobo and Keegan, who has an embittered ideThe Walter Hill dialogue continues at alism defined by codes of manhood. www.CityArts.info

NY Press.co m

FILM CITYARTS

Juilliard

Frick or Frack?

Joseph W. Polisi, President

VAN SANT AND DAMON’S PROMISED PROPAGANDA

the average American’s skeptical response to technological progress.

When Damon, as corporate shill Steve Butler, tries hoodwinking rural folk (“‘Fuck you money’ is the ultimate liberator” he

By Armond White tells a landowner), his dishonesty recalls us Van Sant must really be out George Clooney’s self-pity in Up in the Air. Damon’s a shrewder actor, so he eschews of imagination (or horniness) Clooney’s false empathy to make and portrays a man who the drab, corrupts the American politiDream while refusing cally slanted Promto lose the American rat ised Land. That’s two race. This frick-or-frack phony films in a row quandary turns Promfor Gus, following the ised Land into a reverse2010 Restless. PromCapra movie in which ised Land takes on the the little people convert fracking controversy the bad protagonist— about drilling for gas reviving his buried good in underground shale instincts. deposits, using Gus’ But Steve’s transforGood Will Hunting star Matt Damon and Frances McDormand in Promised Land. mation is half-ass; his Matt Damon as a gas heart isn’t in the job company stooge trying anyway, only his contempt—the phony to trick Pennsylvania farmers into leasing common-folk stance the Environmental Left their land. As an exposé of the fashionable prefers. In Promised Land, the anti-fracking dilemma, the film is unconvincing politically and fraudulently sentimental about See FRICK OR FRACK? on page 16

Wed & Fri, Feb 13 & 15 at 8 • Sun, Feb 17 at 2 Peter Jay Sharp Theater at Juilliard

DO N I Z E T T I ’ S

G

By Gregory Solman

I

n Fracknation, Irish investigative journalist Phelim McAleer finds a combustible metaphor for the contrived controversy of hydraulic fracturing in the footage of the Sautner family hustlers of Pennsylvania.

McAleer couldn’t politely interview the couple without Craig threatening a lawsuit (apparently emboldened by the radical National Resources Defense Council), and Julie threatening to pull a pistol on McAleer on a public road, where she voluntarily stopped to shout at him. (It’s rich to watch her sheepishly press a gun permit against the inside of her car window, demonstrating the Defense Technique When Not Being in the Least Threatened.) So McAleer pulls a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain a taping of the Sautners, apoplectic upon hearing the Environmental Protection Agency—such a right-wing frat under Lisa Jackson—confirm the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s finding that their water tests safe and clean.

McAleer notes the irony that not having contaminated water would be considered good news to all but those looking for an

NYPre ss.com

See FRACK YOU! on page 16

Sat, Feb 9 at 8 • Carnegie Hall 57th St & 7th Av

Marin Alsop Conducts the Juilliard Orchestra J Henry Fair

‘FRACKNATION’ DEBATES THE GREENSHIRTS—AND WINS

JUILLIARD SINGERS and the JUILLIARD ORCHESTRA Sets by Shoko Kambara • Costumes by Amanda Seymour • Lighting by Mimi Jordan Sherin Tickets $30 at the box office, online at events.juilliard.edu • CenterCharge (212) 721-6500 1/2-price student/senior tickets only at the box office

Kym Thomson

Frack You!

Erin Brockovich ending to their woes, real or imagined, or in ideological lockstep with what is now a full-fledged anti-fracking movement, replete with its own agitprop such as Josh Fox’s polemic GasLand and Gus Van Sant’s desperately “relevant” fiction, Promised Land.

For the greenshirts, only bad news is good news: Recall that the same eco-special interests were all for using natural gas when it was an empty-handed gesture, when they thought we were almost out. (Their next suggestion: Francium power—but only if actually bottled in France, in IWW-run shops.)

In Fracknation, McAleer is mostly after the would-be Michael Moore, Fox, in whose disputatious documentary the Sautners display their dubiously adulterated water and others light their taps—and a large part of the impressionable public—on fire. But that’s a well-known, ancient phenomenon having nothing to do with fracking, and everything to do with methane naturally seeping wherever it can, as surely a few of Fox’s newfound celebrity friends must know from living near the La Brea Tar Pits, where the streets spontaneously combust from time to time.

(Clearly, if the greenshirt “gascists” could redevelop Los Angeles, there’d be nothing within miles of mid-Wilshire—well, except maybe environmentally sensitive Ed Begley-esque manses—an area that would be turned into a no-man’s-land preserve to hasten the return of the kangaroo rat.)

When McAleer catches up to Fox—he, too, in the Moore mode—and accuses him of recklessly associating fire-water with frack-

James Robinson, Director • Stephen Lord, Conductor

All-Corigliano Program

Celebrating the Juilliard faculty composer’s 75th birthday

Symphony No. 2 and Symphony No. 3, Circus Maximus Tickets $15, $30 at www.carnegiehall.org • CarnegieCharge (212) 247-7800 1/2-price student/senior tickets only at Carnegie Hall Box Office

Sun, Feb 10 at 4 • Corpus Christi Church

Juilliard Baroque

Monica Huggett, Director & Violin COUPERIN Les Nations Cynthia Roberts, Violin; Sandra Miller, Flute; Gonzalo Ruiz, Oboe; Dominic Teresi, Bassoon; Kenneth Weiss, Harpsichord; Daniel Swenberg, Lute; Sarah Cunningham, Viola da gamba Juilliard’s outstanding Historical Performance faculty ensemble is presented in partnership with Music Before 1800 Tickets $20 - $45 (Seniors $5 less/Student Rush $10) online: mb1800.org or call (212) 666-9266

Thurs, Feb 21 at 8 • Peter Jay Sharp Theater

Juilliard Jazz Orchestra My Point of View

Original Juilliard Jazz Orchestra Compositions • James Burton III, Conductor FREE; tickets at box office 2/7

J U I L L I A R D 155 W. 65th St. • Box Office M-F, 11AM-6PM • (212) 769-7406

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Febr uar y 7, 2013 • O UR TOW N • 1 5

film CITYARTS FRICK OR FRACK? from page 15

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controversy seems to be about class superiority as much as about the environment.

Van Sant, Damon and co-screenwriter, co-producer and co-star John Krasinski (portraying Dustin Noble, an antagonistic environmentalist) pretend that political position is more important than complicated truth. Using pretzeled logic, these filmmakers twist their story into unbelievable shapes to make the self-righteous point that Americans’ greed outweighs their truest values. Easy for millionaire filmmakers to say.

FRACK YOU!

from page 15

ing (which has never once been proven to have contaminated groundwater, occurring thousands of feet beneath the water table), Fox says, “Yes, but it’s not relevant.” And from his perspective—which smacks of Hillary Clinton’s on Benghazi—it isn’t. Despite Fox’s pose as a friendly naïve explorer in GasLand, reinforced by a lazy narrative drawl suggesting Bill Murray’s muttering groundskeeper in Caddyshack, his project aims to stop shale gas production, by any means necessary.

The moratorium on leasing that GasLand inspired animates McAleer to work the other side of the documentary-cliché fence, matching Fox’s often sinceresounding fracking alarmists with a Depression-era revival of plaintive, tearful farmers fearful of losing their land because their gas leases have been shut off amid already hard times. Besides them, McAleer finds plenty of residents in Dimock, Pa., who don’t appreciate GasLand’s suggestion that their homesteads are toxic wastelands, inhabited by greedy despoilers and easy marks for Matt Damon.

McAleer systematically eviscerates GasLand’s false implications and sloppy inferences (finally, not even distinguishing between oil and gas production, and instantly trotting out a Halliburton/Cheney conspiracy, the not-so-secret handshake of Club 9/11 Truth). McAleer interviews specialists who assure us that the mathematical detection of seismic activity does not constitute an earthquake (and that the greenshirts’ beloved geothermal energy is worse). He unveils collusion between biased government officials, liberal media, non-governmental organizations and their Hollywood waterboys. He embarrasses Fox, a Columbia University grad, for his woeful ignorance of physics, engineering and chemistry.

Fracknation then travels to Europe to suggest that new-school communism under Vlad Putin has a hidden hand behind the anti-fracking agenda, so that Russia can con-

The love triangle between Steve, Dustin and local schoolteacher Alice (Rosemarie Dewitt) lacks the gay sexual tension typical of Van Sant; this is just a propagandistic gimmick relying on the sentimentality of white-picketfence heterosexual normalcy. (You can hear sheep bleating behind Steve’s confidence game, and an American flag is used as backdrop.) Van Sant, Damon and Krasinski present what amounts to anti-fracking propaganda without deciding which side they are on. It’s as if the industrial revolution—and unbiased cinema—never happened.

Follow Armond White on Twitter at 3xchair tinue to use a gas monopoly in the Ukraine and Eastern Europe as a political cudgel, turning it on or off as it pleases, and charging little old ladies in Poland half their pensions for gas and electricity, bringing to mind Dr. Zhivago’s arrests for foraging firewood. (He might have contrasted their plight with the thousands of Californians driving naturalgas Honda Civics—the cleanest cars on the planet, including electrics—for an unsubsidized $1.36 a gallon, thanks to fracking, what reasonable people call a win-win.)

Fracknation’s timing is good, though it’s unlikely to crack already ossified myths or affect fracking’s prospects, when even the use of that vulgar-sounding nickname is as devious as cubic zirconia ads referring to the genuine article as “mined diamonds.” Fracking friends and foes—and the movies they love—have formed skirmish lines almost identical to those of the climatechange controversy. So we’re going nowhere from here. But it’s heartening to see someone take on a few of the anecdotal, unscientific and politically motivated accusations against the practice, before they, too, become immune to counter evidence.

The frack list (neuropathy, fish kills, cancer, dead bunny rabbits, migraines, animal hair loss, neighborhoods erupting in flames) is already reminiscent of the hysterical global-warming compilations which currently run from “acne” to “yellow fever”—until “aardvark population decline” and “yam rust” are added by someone, anyone, somewhere. The same camps have enlisted the same recruits, including anti-capitalists out to control the economy by fiat, communist style; enrich themselves, like Qatar’s over-compensated useful idiot, Al Gore; or just feel morally superior to others and, in the sweetly juvenile manner of the Mars Attacks! teen hero, suggest, to a mariachi version of the national anthem, that “maybe, instead of houses, we could live in tepees, ’cause it’s better, in a lot of ways.”

NY Press.co m

LADY SMARTS

JA Z Z At LINCOLN CE NtE R

A Valentine’s Day Tale Two apartments, both alike in furniture from Ikea…

despair, Juliet picked up her phone and dialed 1-800-COOKIES. When the cookies arrived, warm and gooey in their pizza box, she climbed back

By Meredith Russo into her quilted tomb where she wept and ate. She took a long slow sip of milk and let e all come to Valthe mustache sit atop her quivering upper entine’s Day with lip. baggage—and not Within minutes, she was fast asleep unjust the red, heartderneath the pizza box of cookies. A sweet shaped kind that’s full escape, she felt no more pain. of chocolates. In honor of the holiday of Suddenly there was a knock at the door. lurve, I thought I would tell my Drunk Romeo! He knocked once, twice, favorite modern love story. three times to no avail. Could it be, was Our story begins with Juliet out on a date with two unlikely lovers, that jerk Jeremy Paris pushed together by Jr.? He remembered fate—and one very the spare key in crowded subway the stairwell and car. From the moopened her door, ment they met, poised to await her when Juliet found return and take her face pressed on JP Jr. into Dan Romeo’s But what sweaty armpit on the was this, Juliet jolting F-Train, they asleep in her behaved like two pups bed? What inthat had just tasted meat nocence! And yet for the first time. They were why was her stominsufferable—no!—inseparable. ach so full? What frothy Then one night Romeo and his friend white mustache? The hard cookie rinds left Ben Volio went to meet Juliet at their in the box. Ah, woe! Let me join you in that favorite spot, Bar Verona, where she waited sweet saving sleep! with her cousin Ty Balt—on her mother’s With that, Romeo side—who had just finished the rest of moved to New York.

Within minutes, she the cookies, licked However, when Rothe last of Juliet’s meo and Ben Volio was fast asleep milk mustache, and arrived, a drunk collapsed beside dude tripped good her with one final ol’ Ben V. and Rounderneath the “mmm.” meo, ever the good friend, stepped in pizza box of cookies. Just then Juliet’s phone made a to defend him. Well, one thing led to anA sweet escape, she buzz. Ah ha! She awoke. My Romeo?! other, for you know But alas, it was JP how things go, and felt no more pain.

Jr. confirming the soon Dan Romeo details of the next could show his face night. Ah woe, woe to have such—what is at Bar Verona no mo’. this?! There she saw Romeo, asleep to her As fate would have it, the drunk side. My love! gentleman in the fight was none other She hugged him close, but his stomach than Juliet’s cousin Ty. Hearing of Ty’s made a sound. That telltale churning. She black eye, before his big corporate insmelled the peanut butter on his breath. terview the next morning no less, Juliet’s Oh Romeo, to have joined her food coma a family ordered her never to see that Dan moment too soon!

Romeo again.

She reached her hand across his chest Given that the next day was Valentine’s, and felt something hard. A box of ValenJuliet’s mother arranged a date with her tine’s chocolates—oh, what saving grace! friend’s son, Jeremy Paris Jr., instead.

With one final kiss, she ate the chocolates, Desperate and dreading that fateful arevery last one, and atop him she lay, stomrangement, Juliet sat in her room weeping, ach aching and full. hoping Dan Romeo would show up, text or And so, I shall say, think wisely before at the very least drunk-dial. When he did you eat your Valentine’s Day troubles not, she imagined the worst. away. For never was a story of more She pictured him out with that two-bit indigestion and regret, as that of Dan ho’ Rosaline, who used to text him “Where Romeo and his true love, Juliet.

4 art thou Romeo?” late at night. In a fit of

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EDUCATION

A New Web Thrift Store Benefits Schools and Other Charities

By Joanna Fantozzi

A

Sang Hee Ma

couple of Upper West Siders are bringing thrift stores into the 21st century with Web Thrift Store, an online hub where anyone can put up discarded belongings for sale, with 80 percent of the proceeds going to their charity of choice.

Lynn Zises and Douglas Krugman, a husband and wife team, launched Web Thrift Store this past year, and now they have 13 participating charities, including several directed toward helping schoolchildren, such as Class Wish—an organization where people donate supplies to classrooms across the nation—and Creative Arts Workshops for Kids, which brings the arts to children in Northern Manhattan.

“It’s a great way for people to get rid of stuff they don’t use,” said Zises. “It’s a no-brainer for them, a win-win.”

It’s simple, she said. The donor signs up, lists an item and asking price, and then delivers the item to the buyer.

The buyer’s money goes to the listed charity, and the donor gets a tax deduction.

Zises and Krugman came up with the idea of Web Thrift Store a couple of years ago when she and her husband realized that they had too much “extra stuff” and nowhere to

donate it. Most charities want cash, not goods, and many of the better thrift stores, she said, have closed, because brick-and-mortar locations are expensive to run. That’s how the idea of an online thrift store with no middleman for distributing goods was born. Since they launched it in January 2012, Web Thrift Store has raised over $20,000 for charities.

“The charities have been incredibly enthusiastic,” Zises said. “Every single day, we get requests to participate from nonprofits.”

Many of the participating charities deal either directly or indirectly with education: East River Development Alliance, for example, a New York-based charity designed to help residents in need, including children, achieve their goals; and Generation Rescue, which helps autistic children get the treatment and therapies that they need.

Robert Tolmach, a representative from Classwish, says that the over $1,000 that has been donated to their charity through Web Thrift Store has really made a difference.

“I’ve never seen anything like them before,” said Tolmach. “They’re really committed to the idea. They want to go out and use modern business practices to change the world.”

Web Thrift Store intends on making sure that education

Lynn Zises and Douglas Krugman, founders of Web Thrift Store.

is helped in a more direct way as well. Zises says that by the end of the year, smaller charities will be able to participate in a self-sign-up, and people will have the opportunity to donate to individual schools.

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PUBLIC NOTICE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING The New York City Department of Transportation will hold a public hearing on Wednesday February 13, 2013 at 2:00 P.M., at 55 Water St., 9th Floor Room 945, on the following petitions for revocable consent, in the Borough of Manhattan: #1 555 West 25th Street Associates, LLC -to continue to maintain and use a stoop on the north side of W 25th St., between Tenth and Eleventh Aves. #2 Joshua Weinstein- to continue to maintain and use a fenced-in area and a stair on the east sidewalk of West End Ave. #3 Neal A. Shear and Jacqueline Shear -to continue to maintain and use a fenced-in area on the north sidewalk of E 83rd St., west of Madison Ave. #4 New York University- to continue to maintain and use a pedestrian ramp on the south sidewalk of Stuyvesant St., north of E 9th St. #5 New York University- to continue to maintain and use two (2) conduits under, across and along E 12th St., east of Fifth Ave., and ducts in the existing facilities of the Empire City Subway Company.

Interested parties can obtain copies of proposed agreements or request signlanguage interpreters (with at least seven days prior notice) at 55 Water St., 9th Fl. SW New York, NY 10041, or by calling (212) 839-6550.

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NEWS .com Straus Media - Manhattan President Jeanne Straus Editor Janet Allon editor.ot@strausnews.com CityARTS Editor Armond White editor.cityarts@strausnews.com Staff Reporter Joanna Fantozzi Photo Editor Aaron Adler Featured Contributors Alan S. Chartock, Bette Dewing, Jeanne Martinet, Malachy McCourt, Angela Barbuti, Casey Ward, Laura Shanahan Publisher Gerry Gavin advertising@strausnews.com Associate Publishers Seth L. Miller, Ceil Ainsworth, Kate Walsh Advertising Manager Marty Strongin Senior Account Executive Verne Vergara Distribution Manager Joe Bendik OUR TOWN is published weekly Copyright © 2013 Straus Media - Manhattan, LLC 212-868-0190 Straus Media - Manhattan publishes Our Town The West Side Spirit Our Town Downtown Chelsea Clinton News The Westsider To subscribe for 1 year, please send $75 to OUR TOWN, c/o Straus News 20 West Ave., Chester, NY 10918

PREVIOUS OWNERS HAVE INCLUDED: Tom Allon, Isis Ventures, Ed Kayatt, Russ Smith, Bob Trentlion, Jerry Finkelstein

Straus News Enters the Manhattan Neighborhood News Market Family-owned media company returns to its NYC roots

and known to Baby Boomers as the “Home of the Good Guys,” Straus-owned WMCA ranked No. 1 as the most listened-to New York City radio station.

Later, the Straus family transformed WMCA traus News, a leading comRadio into New York’s premier talk radio station, munity news publisher and with well-known hosts such as Barry Gray, who owner of weeklies in the tristate also wrote regularly for Our Town. region, announced Feb. 1 it has “We’re committed to acquired local news and covering Manhattan’s premier the issues that matter to weekly newspapers. people’s everyday lives,” The weeklies include said Straus News Pubone of New York City’s lisher Jeanne Straus, who best-known papers, lives in West Side Spirit Our Town, along with territory. “We relish the its sister publications opportunity to take over Our Town Downtown, publishing these terrific The West Side Spirit, The papers in the greatest city Chelsea Clinton News in the world.” and The Westsider.

Tom Allon, the longThese papers reach Jeanne Straus, president of Straus time publisher/editor of more than 180,000 News, looks over issues of her company’s newly acquired New York Manhattan Newspaper unique weekly print and City weeklies with William Pecover, Group, will remain as digital readers through Tom Allon and Richard Burns of president and CEO of free distribution to Manhattan Media. Photo Aaron Adler Manhattan Media. more than 3,000 upscale “I’m very happy that we Manhattan apartment have found in Straus News a buyer who underbuildings, news boxes and in-store racks. stands community journalism, the neighborhoods of Manhattan and recognizes the need NYC roots to keep these five newspapers vibrant parts of The purchase also puts the papers into the our city,” Allon said. “After more than a quarter hands of a successful publisher owned by a century of being involved with West Side Spirit family with longtime roots in New York City. and Our Town, I look forward to being a regular With the acquisition, the Straus family re-enters the New York City media market. The family reader of these award-winning publications.”

Richard Burns, general partner of Isis and made radio history when it owned WMCA chairman of Manhattan Media, added: “We’ve Radio, 570 AM. Playing rock ’n’ roll in the 1960s

S

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Isis bought the newspapers it is selling in 2001.

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DEWING THINGS BETTER

‘How’m I doin’?’ in Late Life Is What Needs to Get Out There!

Bette Dewing

It was almost finished when I remembered to get up—again—and when I turned on the news, I learned that former Mayor Ed Koch y back is killing me. But had departed this life. before you ask, “What hapSo much for the column just written. I worpened?” please offer some ried when last night’s news said our words of empathy three-term former mayor was on and understanda respirator in New York Presbying. That little-known “rule” has terian’s intensive care unit. The general application. reporter also recalled the 88-yearPreventing aching backs and old’s last decade of major illnesses: most physical woes demands that a stroke, a heart attack and heart we stand up every 20 minutes or and prostate surgeries. That’s a lot, so and move around. For some, Bette Dewing but not uncommon at that age. age-related problems and waning Koch was famous for asking strength make that difficult or im“How’m I doin’?” Now I wish that in recent possible. Ah, but these aging symptoms need years, he had talked about how he was really far more general understanding. However, doin’ with these critical, often age-related to reduce the sitting time this week, I did a diseases. It would have helped raise awarekind of stream-of-consciousness column that ness and find better ways to prevent and didn’t require poring over reference material.

M

22 • O UR TOWN • Fe br ua r y 7, 2 013

treat them. And above all, it would have given the public at large more understanding and maybe more empathy for what it’s like to be old, even for someone as renowned, active and advantaged as Ed Koch.

We need more old people out there in the public eye. Koch was a regular on an NY1 weekly political panel; he was a player; he went every day to his law office, maybe even by subway or bus. But I doubt that the new documentary Koch says much about his late years.

His late years have been largely ignored in the lengthy obituaries that have appeared, which is something I am really trying to change. Another glaring example of this type of oversight was in the tributes to Pauline “Dear Abby” Phillips, whose last ten years of suffering from Alzheimer’s disease got little more than a mention. Ten years! Who knew?

Obits mentioned she’d supported the civil rights, women’s rights and gay rights movements. But has her family worked for more research for the still-underfunded brainfailure cause?

Are they protesting the really offensive Betty

White NBC sitcoms depicting elders as dirty old women and dirty old men playing disgusting pranks on young people? Is anyone? In one relatively mild “prank,” two elder women asked young men on the street to settle the argument of who’s the best kisser. The young men quickly backed away and burst out laughing.

Real-life elders often try to help young people, but that’s not something the media ever show. Even the president’s grandmother got little mention at the Inaugural ceremony, although many approving comments were made about the Obamas’ daughters standing next to her. Nothing was said about the need for close grandparents. These are some reasons why I so often write about elder inequities, which some say I do too often. In truth, it is not done often enough.

And so we will miss you, Ed Koch, and we’ll miss seeing an old face on the tube, and hearing an old voice of experience (not that many of us left). And you did love New York, and New York is a better place for it. And we are grateful. dewingbetter@aol.com NY Press.co m

celebrity interview

Koch’s Death Gives Final Portrait a Poignant Twist Neil Barsky, director of intimate new documentary, speaks candidly about honoring the former mayor

By Angela Barbuti

I

n a sad coincidence, former Mayor Ed Koch died on the same day that a documentary on his life premiered in theaters. The late mayor will undoubtedly be immortalized though this touching and powerful film.

The Twitter page of @KochTheMovie wrote, “It is with great sadness that we announce that Mayor Ed Koch passed away this morning. He will be greatly missed.”

When Neil Barsky filmed Koch, he realized that the former mayor was still quite relevant to New York City life. Koch gave the director carte-blanche access to his life. Cameras followed the ex-mayor as he made breakfast at his Greenwich Village apartment, celebrated Yom Kippur with his family and even went to have a look at his already-designed tombstone. The film also revisits a passionate young Koch at subway entrances, uttering his famous catchphrase “How’m I doing?” when the city was not doing so well. The images of New York in the late ’70s and early ’80s, showing graffiti-ridden subways and a dimly lit Times Square, bring us back to a time when New York wasn’t the bustling city it is today. We learn that it was Koch who had a major role in the transformation. Most recently, he was recognized for his service by having the Queensboro Bridge renamed in his honor. One of the last scenes of the film shows Koch riding over the newly named bridge, telling his friend, “I think we need more lights on my bridge.” Barsky, who knows Koch loved being in the public eye, said in reply, “He was obviously kidding … a little.”

We talked to Barsky just before the mayor’s death, about the making of Koch, the documentary, and his time spent with Koch, the man.

totally appreciate that. As for Koch the person, I wanted to show him as three-dimensionally as we could and let the viewer decide. Some people watch it and like him less.

Some people watch and like him more.

What is one improvement Koch made that people may forget as they walk around our city?

Well the main thing is the $5 billion spent on rehabilitating the housing stock, and the rebuilding of neighborhoods.

The second thing is the cleanup of Times Square, which people think was done under Dinkins and Giuliani—and it was, but it was conceived, litigated and funded originally under Koch.

In your opinion, what were his biggest contributions?

One is that he restored the morale of the city. I think people who follow his career would acknowledge that.

And once he righted the fiscal ship, he turned around and was able to invest $5 billion in housing. I don’t think a lot of people realize that. And that was a massive, successful program.

How did you get all that old footage?

We had people working on the archival. We got clips from ABC, CBS, NBC, the Library of Congress and LaGuardia College. So much of Koch’s administration was filmed. It’s New York. There’s so much media here.

If we were doing it about Akron, Ohio, there’d be a lot less. We had two women, Amilca Palmer and Lindsey Megrue, who were in charge of the archival, and they were pretty tireless. There’s a way of doing it. It’s not like we were the first people who ever tried to unearth this stuff. We worked hard and pretty much got everything we wanted.

The mayor was mad because you didn’t want to show him clips during the filming.

Yes, I didn’t want to show him anything until it was over. We took so long, frankly, that he got impatient and wary of what we were doing. He was upset with me for a while, and then we showed it to him in July of 2012, and he wasn’t upset.

He didn’t want anything changed?

It’s not that he liked everything. There are things there that he doesn’t like. He had said publicly that he thinks our treatment of him and racial issues was too harsh.

All the places that you visited with him were so meaningful. The cemetery scene was crazy, where Koch goes to visit his actual tombstone at Trinity Cemetery.

That is a crazy scene, and that’s a crazy thing that he’s done. I mean, who does that? It’s one of the quirks of Ed Koch. He does things his way, no question.

You were even invited into his apartment.

We wanted to see how a guy who is the ex-mayor of New York, who was [nearly 88 years old, lived]. And a lot of it is being an older person and seeing the medication on the table, and newspapers on the floor. He [lived] very modestly.

At the end of this film, I wished I could have been Mayor Koch’s friend.

By the end you want to be his friend, because you see him weak and strong. You see all sides of him, the good and the bad.

“Koch” opened Friday, Feb. 1, at Lincoln Plaza Cinema and Angelika Film Center. To learn more about the film, visit www.kochthemovie.com

You were a reporter at the Wall Street Journal, a financial analyst at Morgan Stanley and a hedge fund manager.

You then decided to make your first film. Why did you choose Koch as your first subject?

I was a young reporter in my twenties when he was in office, so I have a very strong memory of what New York was like back then. I feel that he was mayor at a critical period for New York. History is not inevitable; in other words, New York could have turned out very differently. He came at a time when New York was on the ropes. I felt he was a very significant figure in New York history. I wanted to recreate the city in the ’80s because it was so different from today. I also felt that he, as a personality, was so interesting.

What surprised you most about him?

He turned out, when we started shooting, to be much more compelling as a contemporary character. I thought originally it was going to be a historical movie. He opened himself up in that respect, and that was a pleasant surprise.

There are not a lot of public figures who would give the filmmaker carte blanche. He had no restrictions on us. We had no deals. The only thing I agreed to was that we’d show it to him before we locked the film. We showed it to him in July.

He asked for no changes. I think he understood that for it to be a good movie, it had to be balanced.

What did you want to convey to viewers about Koch?

We want to just paint an honest portrait. As I said, I want people to understand how the seeds of New York’s revival today were really planted under Koch. I don’t think people NYPre ss.com

Ed Koch on the bus with Bess Myerson on the way to his mayoral inauguration in January 1978.

Photo courtesy of the Municipal Archives of the City of New York

Febr uar y 7, 2013 • O UR TOW N • 23

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