Our Town - March 12, 2020

The local paper for the Upper East Side THE STRENGTH AND WISDOM OF WOMEN ◄CITY ARTS, P.12

WEEK OF MARCH

12-18 12-18 2020

‘FIRST’ LADIES OF MANHATTAN

INSIDE

HISTORY

In honor of Women’s History Month, Straus News salutes women whose paths to posterity passed through city neighborhoods. First two profiles in a series

THE REDEMPTION OF DAVE ROSENSTEIN From heroin addiction to helping others. p. 9

BY JENNIFER DOHERTY

Emma Stebbins: Creator of Central Park’s “Angel” “She’s my favorite angel,” the character Prior tells the audience in the final scene of Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes.” “I like them best when they’re statuary … They are made of the heaviest things on earth, stone and iron, they weigh tons but they’re winged, they are engines and instruments of flight.”

The statue the character so admires is “Angel of the Waters,” the centerpiece of the Bethesda Fount tain at Central Park’s Bethesda Terrace. The 8-foot-tall bronze spirit overlooking the lake was sculpted by Emma Stebbins, the first woman artist to receive a commission from the city of New York.

The irony of rendering an angel’s ethereal beauty in heavy metal that Kushner highlighted on stage was just one of the contradictions Stebbins was tasked with reconciling as she created the piece.

For starters, there was Central Park architect Calvert Vaux’s grandiose vision, recorded

CONTINUED ON PAGE 18 C “Angel of the Waters,“ Bethesda Fountain.

Photo courtesy of Central Park Conservancy

Mayor Bill de Blasio demonstrates an “elbow shake” and hands out fliers regarding COVID-19 preparedness in Union Square on Monday, March 9, 2020. Photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office

LIFE DURING CORONAVIRUS TIME PUBLIC HEALTH

School closings, sanitizer shortages, empty shelves, Wall Street shocks and an everlonger list of cases

BY EMILY HIGGINBOTHAM

In the narrow aisles of Joseph’s Pharmacy on the Upper West Side, customers scoured the shelves for anything they

could find to kill the coronavirus.

“Disinfectant wipes?” one woman asked an employee.

“We’re out,” the cashier said.

Another woman asked where she could find the hand sanitizer. The worker grabbed a bottle for her from behind the counter, where they were keeping their limited supply.

“Can I have two?” the customer asked.

“Only one per customer,” he

responded.

“One is for me, and one is for her,” she said, pointing to her companion.

The worker wagged his finger and smiled at her. “I don’t think so,” he said.

Yet another customer, Naomi Nomikos, had walked into the pharmacy undeterred by the anxiety around her. She had read in the New York Times

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

WEEK OF AUGUST

08-14

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Crime Watch Voices NYC Now City Arts

3 8 10 12

Restaurant Ratings 14 Business 16 Real Estate 17 15 Minutes 21

2019

has seen a surge Five years in, NYC and uctuating in cyclist deaths – and motorist numbers of pedestrian fatalities

BY EMILY HIGGINBOTHAM

year that saw 299 In 2014, after a traffic-related incipeople killed in Mayor Bill de Bladents in the city, eliminate all traffic sio set out to

CONTINUED ON PAGE

6

AT LAST

WOODSTOCK SOJOURN an NYPD judge recommend at City Hall after Photography Office holds a press conference Appleton/Mayoral Mayor Bill de Blasio 2019. Photo: Michael Friday, August 2,

Pantaleo ring Of cer Daniel

on

THE BILLY AND GILLY SHOW

Kamala HarWarren, Cory Booker, and Bernie debates,” longris, Amy Klobuchar for the September Pete strategist George Sanders, South Bend Mayor time Democratic doesn’t have former Texas Rep. Artz says. “De Blasioare way down Buttigieg and both Beto O’Rourke. the donors, and close, but none of A few others are in the polls.”

Hank Sheinde Blasio or GilliPolitical consultant that either them are named kopf says it’s “50-50” “Any- brand. returned reBY STUART MARQUES will make the next round: Neither campaign but they’re not quests for comment. thing can happen, agree that Warde Blasio faced to qualify.”

Pundits generally When Mayor Bill held off the more Gillibrand – likely a minimum of Candidates need to ren and Sanderson the first night. off with Sen. Kirsten Democratic presi- 130,000 unique donors and have moderate field and eight other in four qualigot high marks on – on July 31, it Booker and Yang and hit at least 2 percent dential hopefuls the last Billy candidates have the second night, but Biden a might have marked presidential fying polls. Eight the polls. and are assured at the are still ahead in hit those marks and Gilly Show largely igon Sept. 12 Harris Gillibrand Houston and in De Blasio debates. ei- spot onstage Presiawful tough for are former Vice 18 “It’s going to be and and 13. They Senators Elizabeth CONTINUED ON PAGE get the donors dent Joe Biden, ther of them to needed to qualify polling numbers”

POLITICS

dim for Presidential prospects Democratic New Yorkers on the debate stage

C i e Watch

A new memoir conjures up the bad old days "In the Land of Men." p. 8

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

Friday, March 13 – 6:43 pm.

For more information visit www.chabbaduppereastside.com.

◄ 15 MINUTES,

INSIDE

SAFETY

NOT ONE OF THE BOYS

Eastsider just For East Side residents, major having access is a accomplishment. p.5

IS VISION ZERO WORKING?

Research shows that how fast you walk is linked to well-being. p.2

‘MY HANDS ARE OUTSTRETCHED’ P. 19

f d h e s, p gs ng st ts alng ish ass eel

SUTTON PARK,

chair of the City Ydanis Rodriguez, committee, Council’s transportation street s afety on speaks at a rally for steps of City Hall legislation on the McCarten/NYC May 8. Photo: John Council

ALL ABOUT THE KETO DIET

3

14 Restaurant Ratings 16

day Jon Friedman on a 8 love and music. p.

of peace,

SURVIVNG YOUR SUMMER COLD

seasonal How to deal with thefeel worse virus that makes usp. 2 than a winter bug.

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MARCH 12-18, 2020

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ALL ABOUT THE KETO DIET HEALTH

A Mount Sinai doctor explains the benefits and challenges of the popular eating plan

BY RESHMI SRINATH, M.D.

What do Kourtney Kardashian, Halle Berry and LeBron James have in common?

They are all reported fans of the keto diet as a tool to maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle. As we think about improving our health, eating habits ranks near the top of the list. You’ve probably heard about the keto diet, which has been all over the news and continues to gain popularity as a tool for weight loss. But is it healthy and can it help you lose weight?

What is the keto diet?

The keto diet, which has been used for over a century

as a treatment for patients with epilepsy, is focused on consuming fats such as butter, eggs, cheese, meat, fish and nuts with limited intake of carbohydrates. It’s very similar to the Atkins diet, but the proportion of fats, protein and carbohydrates is fixed.

There are multiple variations of the keto diet, but in general more than 70% of your calories should be from fats, and less than 10% of your calories should be from net carbohydrates (approximately <30 grams net carbohydrates daily). The theory behind the diet is that it shifts your metabolism to burn fats rather than carbohydrates, and the byproducts of fat metabolism are called ketones.

Ketosis is defined as a state where your body and brain are using ketones as fuel rather than carbohydrates.

What Are the Benefits?

Besides helping patients

with epilepsy, there is growing evidence in the medical literature that a low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet can help reduce glucose levels and insulin levels in patients with or without diabetes. Weight loss on the diet tends to occur quickly, which can be satisfying. You may notice reduced cravings, less hunger, and less symptoms from fluctuations in glucose, due to decreased intake of processed high carbohydrates foods.

The diet is also relatively simple to follow, and clear-cut in terms of what you can and cannot eat. There are ongoing studies to assess potential long-term benefits in patients with diabetes, obesity, neurologic disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, headache, as well as cancer.

What Are the Challenges?

Some people starting on a keto diet may feel fatigue, stomach upset, constipation

Reshmi Srinath, M.D. Photo: Courtesy of Mount Sinai

and muscle aches as their body attains ketosis, also known as ‘keto flu’. A change in the smell of your breath can also occur as the body breaks down ketones and produces acetone. Studies suggest that cholesterol levels do rise, in particular LDL and triglycerides, which can increase the risk of heart disease. Other concerns are that by limiting intake of fruits and vegetables, which are considered high in carbohydrates, one can develop deficiency of particular nutrients and vitamins which are crucial for overall health. If you have certain

food allergies or prefer a vegetarian or plant-based diet, it may also be challenging for you to attain ketosis since most plant-based proteins may have some small amounts of carbohydrate.

Long term, it may be difficult to sustain such a restrictive diet focused on fats and proteins, as the human body has been developed to burn carbohydrates. Many on the keto diet describe how the cravings slowly return and can be hard to manage without family/social/medical support. If one chooses to add back carbohydrates into their diet, some of the initial weight loss will return and this can sometimes spiral out of control quickly without appropriate support. In addition, if you have a history of heart disease, stroke or diabetes, you should speak with your doctor before considering the keto diet and weigh the risks/benefits. In particular, diabetes medications may need to be reduced/adjusted as glucose levels improve.

The Bottom Line

straightforward and can contribute to rapid weight loss, which make it a popular diet to consider as we strive to improve our health. However, you may experience some initial unpleasant side effects, and it may be challenging to maintain such a strict intake of fats and protein long term.

While short term use of the keto diet can jump start your weight loss journey, in the long run a program that allows carbohydrates in moderation in the form of whole grains with limited processed foods, as well as a diversity of fruits and vegetables as part of a balanced diet, may be more beneficial and more sustainable.

If you are looking to start your weight loss journey, consider speaking with a nutritionist and weight loss specialist to assist you in creating a personalized meal plan that fits you.

Reshmi Srinath, M.D. is an Assistant Professor of Medicine (Endocrine, Diabetes and Bone Disease) and Director of Weight and Metabolism Management Program for the Mount Sinai Health System

The keto diet is simple,

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MARCH 12-18, 2020

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CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG STATS FOR THE WEEK

BUILDING RESIDENTS DETAIN SUSPECTED PACKAGE THIEF Police said that at a quarter after midnight on Wednesday, Mar. 4, a 66-year-old woman heard noise coming from the lobby inside 305 East 83rd St. She opened her door and discovered a man opening a package and rummaging through the box. She told police that when she asked what he was doing he replied that he was throwing garbage away and started to walk away with the box.

According to police, when the woman tried to stop the suspect a struggle ensued and he bit her on her right arm and left shoulder, breaking the skin and causing a visible injury.

Nevertheless, the woman detained the suspect, aided by two other residents, a 32-year-old man and a 28-year-old man. Anibal Quinones, 55, was arrested and charged with robbery. No value was given for the contents of the recovered Amazon box. recovered.

SOCIAL SECURITY SCAM Yet another person was victimized by scam phone calls. Police reported that at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, Mar. 2, a 49-year-old man living on Park Ave. received a phone call from someone claiming to be from the Social Security Administration, saying his SS

Reported crimes from the 19th precinct for the week ending Mar 1 Week to Date

Year to Date

2020

2019 % Change

2020

2019 % Change

Murder

0

0

n/a

1

0

Rape

0 4

0 3

n/a 33.3

1 42

3 25

-66.7 68.0

5 4

4 3

25.0 33.3

25 52

22 44

13.6 18.2

20 1

20.0 100.0

309 11

259 19.3 3 266.7

Robbery Photo by Tony Webster, via Flickr

number had been compromised. The following day, the man received a phone call saying his SS number was being used to commit a crime, and the call was transferred to a supposed DEA agent in Texas who told him that they would protect his SS number and bank account provided he purchased four gift cards and turned over an additional $1,000 cash, a total of $4,000. The victim was told to phone the caller back after purchasing the cards and disclose the PIN numbers.

He later realized he had been scammed.

observed a man on a security camera entering his building at 450 East 85th St. The suspect took two packages from the location, police said, and when he tried to leave the building the super stopped him and told him to drop the parcels. Police arrived and called the owner of the packages to see if she recognized the person taking the goods or if she had given him permission to do so, and she replied no. Javier Bonilla, 29, was arrested and charged with burglary.

The recovered packages contained clothing valued at $200.

SUPER STOPS SUSPECTED PACKAGE THIEF

MAN IN BLACK ON BIKE SNATCHES PHONE

This time, it was a building super who stopped a suspected package thief. According to police, at 4:45 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 28, a male super

Police said that at 8:34 p.m. on Monday, Mar. 2, a woman was crossing the street at Third Ave. and East 63rd St. when a man wearing all

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Felony Assault Burglary

24 Grand Larceny Auto 2 Grand Larceny

black and riding a bicycle snatched her cell phone from her hand. The suspect took off north on Third Ave. Police searched the neighborhood but couldn’t find the thief or the stolen phone. The victim tried to track the phone, but apparently the device had been turned off. The stolen cell was an iPhone 11 with a Clear Tech 21 case totaling $1,200.

NYPD GARBAGE TRUCK CRACK DOWN CONTINUES Police said that at 11:15 p.m. on

n/a

Thursday, Feb. 27, a traffic safety officer pulled over a private carting sanitation truck at the corner of First Ave. and East 86th St. for permitting a rider to hold on to the outside of a truck in motion, a violation. The agent then discovered that the driver’s license had been suspended. Ramon I. Mercedes, 60, was arrested and charged with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, and a motor vehicle license violation.

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MARCH 12-18, 2020

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Useful Contacts

NYPD 19th Precinct NYPD 23rd Precinct

153 E. 67th St. 162 E. 102nd St.

BY PETER PEREIRA

212-452-0600 212-860-6411

FIRE FDNY 22 Ladder Co 13 FDNY Engine 39/Ladder 16 FDNY Engine 53/Ladder 43 FDNY Engine 44

159 E. 85th St. 157 E. 67th St. 1836 Third Ave. 221 E. 75th St.

311 311 311 311

CITY COUNCIL Councilmember Keith Powers Councilmember Ben Kallos

211 E. 43rd St. #1205 244 E. 93rd St.

212-818-0580 212-860-1950

1916 Park Ave. #202 211 E. 43rd St.

212-828-5829 212-490-9535

353 Lexington Ave. #704

212-605-0937

1485 York Ave. 505 Park Ave. #620

212-288-4607 212-758-4340

222 E. 79th St. 112 E. 96th St. 328 E. 67th St. 1465 York Ave.

212-744-5824 212-289-0908 212-734-1717 212-288-5049

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212-434-2000 212-746-5454 212-241-6500 212-639-2000 212-327-8000 212-460-4600

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MARCH 12-18, 2020

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CORONAVIRUS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 that morning that she could make her own hand sanitizer and she came looking for supplies. But they were out of the alcohol she needed.

A New Reality Since the first case of coronavirus was reported in New York, this has been a common experience for shoppers. Disinfectant products and hand sanitizers have become virtually impossible to find in the seemingly endless number of CVS and Duane Reade stores that dot the island of Manhattan. Whole sections of stores are empty as people stock up on supplies.

One CVS worker said she had never seen anything like the consumer response to coronavirus. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has responded to the shortage with New York’s very own brand of hand sanitizer, which the state is using prison labor to manufacture.

Now, with number of confirmed cases reaching 173 in the state and 25 in the city at press time, there is a sense that the sky is indeed falling.

On Monday, the stock market plunged, having its worse day since the 2008 financial crisis. Buying and selling of shares stopped altogether at one point, following the drop in major stock indexes. On Tuesday, the market remained shaky.

Some schools have closed. Events have been canceled. People are keeping their distance from public transit and from one another.

Self-quarantine is becoming a more common solution to stopping the spread of the virus.

Perspective from a Polio Victim As Nomikos walked to the second Joseph’s Pharmacy location between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues – still in search of supplies – the 76-year-old said she was being practical, but she wasn’t panicking.

“I’m a doctor’s daughter. I try to have rational thoughts,” said Nomikos. “I don’t follow the herd, ever. People love to latch onto what the craze is. Everybody now is eating kale. There’s kale muffins. Next there’s going to be kale cigarettes.”

Nomikos had polio as a child, during the outbreak in 1949. She said she tried to put the coronavirus into perspective when she thinks about the 1950s and all of the kids who died or were put in iron lungs.

“What you hear now is that we’re all going to get it, but for 80 percent it’s like a mild cold,” she said. (While that figure that has been cited by experts as an estimate of the percentage of cases that are considered less

At a novel coronavirus briefing on Monday, March 9, Governor Cuomo announced the state would provide alcohol-based hand sanitizer to New Yorkers free of charge. Photo: Don Pollard / Office of Governor Andrew Cuomo

serious, the term “mild cold” is Nomikos’s own characterization.)

Nomikos stood outside the second Joseph’s Pharmacy explaining that she needed 60 percent alcohol in order to make her disinfectant gel. A woman leaving the pharmacy overheard and told Nomikos that she was in luck. She had tried nine different stores and Joseph’s was the only one with the supplies for the homemade hand sanitizer.

“Oh, great,” Nomikos said with a shrug and walked into the pharmacy.

The Schools As the number of cases continues to increase, the city’s schools have had to make big decisions on how to proceed with classes. Last week, a petition to close all of the city’s public schools during the coronavirus outbreak began circulating on Change.org. The petition calls for students and teachers to remain at home and to transition to online classes via Skype and email. By Tuesday morning, the petition was closing in on 97,000 signatures.

On Monday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s issued some guidance on the matter, saying schools would close down for at least 24 hours if a student or staff member tested positive for the virus. The schools would then un-

dergo a deep cleaning. The state’s department of education urged schools to monitor student and faculty health closely and to communicate with parents as the situation develops.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said he agreed with the governor’s plan, and had previously expressed wariness when asked about closing schools because of the burden it would place on low-income families. No public school has closed so far.

Columbia University, Barnard College, Fordham University, St. John’s University, Yeshiva University and New York University have either canceled classes or will be conducting courses remotely online.

Public Transit One of the largest sources of anxiety for New Yorkers amid this public health crisis has been the reliance on public transportation to get around. The MTA has said that people should feel safe taking the train, but also said crowded cars should be avoided if riders could spare the time to wait for the next train.

Transit Authority officals said they are taking a number of precautions to keep trains and buses clean, including posting health tips and information in English, Chinese, Spanish, Russian and Korean throughout

the subway, bus and railroad systems. The cleaning of the buses, trains and stations has increased in frequency and intensity by sanitizing “high-touch surfaces,” which the MTA says includes poles, handrails, seats, benches and grab bars. Cleaners are working every day, and the full fleet is cleaned every 72 hours.

Stations are disinfected with CDCendorsed cleaners every day.

It was announced Monday that the head of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Rick Cotton, has tested positive for the coronavirus. Cotton overseas the region’s major airports, bridges, tunnels and bus terminals. He has been self-quarantined at his home and is working on the Port Authority’s response to the virus remotely.

“He has been at the airports, obviously, when many people were coming back with the virus,” Cuomo said at a news conference.

Cotton’s wife, Elizabeth Smith, who serves as the head of the Central Park Conservancy, has also tested positive for the virus, according to the New York Times.

For all the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus threat, one thing is clear – everybody needs to be vigilant.

NYC events and schools that have been cancelled, postponed or moved to online connections EVENTS: ■ Town Hall in Chinatown with schools Chancellor Richard Carranza ■ National Book Critics Circle Award Ceremony, New School ■ National Magazine Awards, postponed

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INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS: ■ Brearley School ■ Collegiate School ■ Horace Mann School ■ Heschel School ■ Riverdale Country School ■ Spence School

MARCH 12-18, 2020

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CONFRONTING THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

Advice, information and insight from a Manhattanbased epidemiologist

BY DAVID NOONAN

Dr. Stephen Morse, professor of epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, has spent his career confronting outbreaks of infectious disease, including the SARS global outbreak of 2003. Morse spoke with Straus News about the novel coronavirus, COVID-19 and what New Yorkers need to know as the crisis unfolds.

How big of a risk is public transportation to a healthy New Yorker under age 60?

It really depends on your point of view. The risk to someone under age 60 who is otherwise healthy is probably small for that individual. So the question is, what is the possibility that they could become infected and pass it on to someone else? And that’s a much harder thing to answer…If you want to protect others, take measures to protect yourself.

Are people who live in large apartment buildings or building complexes at increased risk for the coronavirus?

Yes and no. Anytime you have large numbers of people coming in contact, that always increases the risk. Of course, that depends on whether anyone has the virus.

But we’re seeing a lot of people who, unknowingly…turn up positive. This is still rare, but there’s enough of it.

Of course, in any high-density setting the risk is always going to be increased simply because of the density. So if there is something there, it’s more likely someone can get it. Now, in an apartment building, that depends. Elevators are enclosed spaces, but we don’t spend that much time in them. Most of the spread is going to be, much like the flu, which is face-toface, through droplets where someone coughs or sneezes or maybe talks too emphatically, as I sometimes do.

Dr. Stephen Morse, Ph.D Photo: Courtesy of The Mailman School of Public Health

Are there particular groups or populations in New York City who are increased risk, such as the homeless?

What we worry about with the homeless is, given the fact that they may be in shelters, which are high-density settings, there may be greater risk of becoming infected. The other concern we have, of course, is if they need help, where do they get it? And that’s a problem, because we don’t really want people to go to the emergency department, which is what the homeless are used to doing, essentially as their primary care. Because if you do have it, it’s quite possible you’ll pass it on to others [in the ER] who don’t. And if you don’t have it … there’s a chance that you could get infected if you aren’t yet infected.

There are some who feel that cancelling certain events and other measures that individuals, institutions and governments are taking, may be an overreaction to the coronavirus. Are we overreacting?

It’s not so much an overreaction as the feeling that we don’t want to take a chance and underreact only to discover that we should have done more. But people should not necessarily take that to mean that we expect it to be

a lot worse.

Obviously, it’s not appropriate to be frightened to death, to lose much sleep over it, simply because what we’ve seen so far looks very much like the flu pandemics we’ve lived through and taken for granted in the past, though I can’t say what’s going to happen after this.

Flu is hard enough to predict…This is a coronavirus belonging to a family of viruses that is distinct from the flu…Our past history with this [kind of] virus makes us very wary of it. So I think it’s more caution…Because we know so little about this kind of coronavirus that’s related to SARS, which was bad, and spreads from person to person, which SARS never did. So it has the potential for really spreading, and it will. If we have 100,000 cases, we probably have ten times that many actual infections.

People are frightened and we want to reassure them, but it doesn’t reassure people when they see all these things happening. That’s the problem. But the effort is really to try to assure people that a lot is being done to try to keep on top of it.

Interview was edited for space and continuity.

7

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Voices

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

THE MEDIA’S IMPOSSIBLE JOB PUBLIC EYE

BY JON FRIEDMAN

The media have an impossible job right now. Put simply, it is doing their job.

The coronavirus scare has overtaken every other story lately. It has been so all-encompassing that it is has taken our eyes off national politics – if only for a little while.

Except for specialists, reporters tend not to know the nuances of science, medicine and health. So, trying to make sense of the coronavirus is especially challenging.

But that’s not the half of it.Thorny questions abound. Perhaps the biggest one is: Can reporters stay on top of the quicksilver story without fanning the flames of our citizens’ paranoia?

Critics on All Sides We all know that journalists can’t win. No matter how they present the news, someone is bound to feel aggrieved by their coverage and recitations of facts.

Now that the stakes are so high, the public is bound to complain about some aspect of the reporting.

President Trump has accused the media, one of his favorite punching bags, of exploiting the coronamania to make him look bad, and weak, and indecisive in a time of crisis. He in-

sists that their goal is to hurt his chances of re-election. And topping it off, he says the media are hand in glove with his Democratic Party foes.

No matter how you might want to respond to that charge, it has been making the rounds, fueled by conspiracy theorists and Trump supporters. And you know how it is: If you repeat the same line enough, people start to accept it as the truth.

Beyond Health The media’s job of informing the public in a timely manner about developments in the coronavirus story has been complicated, as the conversations have exploded beyond the usual health considerations.

Sports teams may have to cancel games, to guarantee the safety of the players.

What if March Madness has to take place this year in empty arenas? That would be, well, madness. Imagine Opening Day at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field with attendance in the dozens, instead of tens of thousands.

The media must chronicle all of this – and in real time. No doubt, as the virus methodically kills more people, it will become as much of an issue on the campaign trail as immigration, Russia, taxes, North Korea and infrastructure.

The threat to journalists is the age-old charge of hav-

ing a bias. If journalists come down heavily on the government, they will be called “anti-Trumpers” by the usual suspects on conservative media outlets.

Sometimes, it is more risky to try to do the right thing, because you can’t please everyone, and you wind up making everybody angry.

Don’t Take It Personally Sadly, the inevitable judgement of the media will, once again and as usual by now, fall along party lines. If you support the current administrations, you’ll lash out at the media for being unfair. If you support the other party, you will complain that journalists have equivocated, in the name of “balanced” reporting.

Journalists must be careful to maintain a sense of proportion at this difficult time. Not taking yourself too seriously is job one.

When I was writing a column called Media Web, earlier in this century, my publication also included a postage-size head shot of me to go with my (brilliant) prose. One day I received a comment from an agitated reader who lived in Kansas City. She wrote: “I’ve been reading your column for the past 10 years. The column stinks – and boy, are you ugly!”

I immediately wrote back: “THE COLUMN DOES NOT STINK!” My attempt at self-deprecating humor worked. She was amused and we became friends – well, friendlier. (Who wants to hang out with an ugly columnist!)

My message to the media: When people rip you and your work, don’t take it personally.

NOT ONE OF THE BOYS ON THE TOWN

BY LORRAINE DUFFY MERKL

“You went to a meeting with seven men?” laughed my nowdeceased, then-90-year-old Aunt Rose. She’d called to ask how my advertising copywriter job was going and got more than she’d bargained for. It was the mid ‘80s and I was in my mid-20s. My aunt, who was the mother of three, had never worked outside the home, so the idea that I had an NYC office job that was non-support staff. Well, in the world of her, I had broken the glass ceiling.

My “Lorraine and the Seven Businessmen” story confirmed her illusion that I was fasttracking it up the corporate ladder.

This long-ago memory was triggered when I heard the title of Adrienne Miller’s new memoir, “In the Land Of Men.” I knew Miller was a kindred spirit the moment I read: “My desk has always been the place where I feel the most comfortable. This is the main thing in the world I like doing: hunching down at my desk and getting back to work.”

Ten years after I was the only woman in the room, “in the age of O.J. when the only Kardashian we had to worry about was Robert,” Miller paid her dues at GQ, before moving to Esquire — the house that Hemingway, Mailer and Updike built — for her dream job as its first female literary editor. She also edited front of the book columns, and ran an Esquire reading series at the Union Square Theater. Not bad for “a mere girl,” as some, Norman Mailer in particular, thought of her.

“The tone at the GQ office was informal, jocular, fre-

quently unprofessional, often lewd, and it was confusing for us to know how to react and how to behave in our workplace.” Esquire was not better.

Although she was not the only person at the magazine who could be described as pretty, the young editor was definitely outnumbered, not only by male colleagues but by the mostly male writers whose work she commissioned.

It was indeed literally and figuratively, a man’s world. If nothing else, her position taught her why there is a need for feminism. Aside from the fact and she worked alongside Dave Eggers (they started on the same day) and he made twice as much money, here are some actual comments made to the twenty-something professional in the course of her workdays: “You can tell how intelligent a woman is by the way she moves her hips.”

“Do you have a pair of underwear that says DADDY’S GIRL on the bottom?”

“You should wear skirts all the time.”

“Some women, when they get older, they really do start looking like men.”

“Everyone wonders who you slept with to get your job.”

(FYI: These are just the ones that can be printed in a family newspaper.)

She was mansplained on a daily basis.

There were men who tried to kiss her at business lunches, and others who skipped first base and went right in for the grope. After that she stopped having meetings outside the office.

Miller’s friend-cum-boyfriend-cum-frenemy, the late writer David Foster Wallace, suggested the ideal title for her

future memoir: Is It Sexual Harassment Yet?

Dealing with Women To counter all of this, Miller tried to change the dynamic of the office culture. In her eight years at the magazine she hired more than a dozen women.

During the course of my own career, I was always partial to dealing with co-workers of my own sex. I knew those though who favored working with men citing that female colleagues were petty and passive/aggressive. Indeed, some were. I however still preferred that to the entitled male aggression often on display.

For me the book was more than just about balancing the man/women ratio in the workplace. It showed the need for today’s hot topic: diversity.

When one group dominates any environment, everyone else is at its mercy, and fair game.

Eventually, Esquire stopped acquiring fiction and it was time for Miller to go and write her own, the novel, “The Coast of Akron.”

To her credit, in all Miller’s time in the land of men, she stayed true to herself and never tried to go-along to get along by becoming one of the boys.

Lorraine Duffy Merkl is the author of the workplace-centric novel, “Back to Work She Goes.”

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THE REDEMPTION OF DAVE ROSENSTEIN LIVES

His heroin addiction took him close to the abyss. But he fought back, rebuilt his life – and spent 45 years saving others and devoting himself to community service

BY DOUGLAS FEIDEN

It was a terrifying phenomenon that took its toll on lives and families on the Upper West Side in the 1960s.

Today, it’s largely forgotten.

Heroin use by teenagers, often the sons of middle- and upper-middle-class professionals, was dangerously in vogue.

One person who never forgot was Dave Rosenstein, who grew up in an apartment building on West End Avenue at 82nd Street that housed

He so very much wanted to keep living: He’d look at his bookshelves and say, ‘But I have all these books I still want to read.’”

Marsha Feris, girlfriend of Dave Rosenstein

dozens of Holocaust survivors.

He remembered all too clearly for a simple reason: He was shooting up at the time.

“I was an addict,” he said in his last conversation with Straus News in February in which he asked this reporter to tell his story. “I was in a bad way, staring into an abyss. I didn’t want to fall in, and that was my only hope for redemption.”

It was a colossal struggle – going straight, one day at a time, always is – but over a decade, Rosenstein turned his life around.

Then, he dedicated it to saving others: He helped people lead drug-free lives. Took them to substance-abuse meetings.

Held their hands and took their calls 24-7. Studied addiction services at John Jay. Became a credentialed counselor. Urged churches and shuls to host meetings.

Browbeat them if they charged rent.

Joined Community Board 8 on the East Side. Served for a quarter-century. Fought to make his neighborhood drugfree.

After a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer, Rosenstein died at age 75, after a four-day

Longtime anti-drug crusader and recovered addict-turned-East Side community leader Dave Rosenstein in his midtown office in the 1980s.

Photo: Collection of Dave Rosenstein

stay in hospice care at Carnegie East House on Second Avenue, on March 2 at 5:22 a.m. He left no known survivors.

The Trusty Louisville Slugger An UWS native, Rosenstein in 1965 permanently resettled in the UES. He spent the rest of his life in a rent-controlled

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railroad flat – overflowing with thousands of books, hundreds of vinyl LPs and three turntables – in a fourth-floor walk-up on Second Avenue off 90th Street in Yorkville.

“He was a walking card catalog,” said Rita Popper, a friend, neighbor and fellow CB 8 member who accompanied him to Mount Sinai for his chemo sessions. “Those

book weren’t there for show.

If you had a subject, he had read about it.”

Old political posters, a neon flashing Budweiser sign salvaged from a local gin mill and stray rubble from the Jacob Ruppert Brewery, which once scented the East 90s with hops and barley, rounded out the pad’s ambience.

“His apartment was the quintessential home of the serious New York intellectual,” said Alida Camp, chair of CB 8, where Rosenstein served from 1991 to 1999 and from 2006 until his death.

And there was a relic from the bad old days: A baseball bat he kept close at hand.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

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THE STRENGTH AND WISDOM OF WOMEN IF YOU GO

WHAT: The Facade Commission: Wangechi Mutu, “The NewOnes, will free Us” WHERE: Outside of The Met, 1000 Fifth Avenue WHEN: Through June 8

EXHIBITIONS

Wangechi Mutu’s sculptural statements at The Met signal a paradigm shift

BY MARY GREGORY

People who know the Metropolitan Museum of Art well have probably at one time or another noticed the carved niches around the entrance, which, until now, have been empty. Some of them may have glanced higher and spotted the sculpted roundels that run across the lintel of the entrance. Plaques depict Bramante, Dürer, Michelangelo, Raphael, Rembrandt and Velazquez , all greats – all European male artists of the past.

‘The NewOnes, will free Us,‘ a suite of sculptures commissioned by The Met by Kenyan-American artist Wangechi Mutu. Photo: Adel Gorgy

Now, during Women’s History Month, is a perfect time to head to The Met and witness a paradigm shift. “Wangechi Mutu, The NewOnes, will free Us” is the museum’s first façade commission and the first time Richard Morris Hunt’s sculptural niches, completed 117 years ago, have been filled. (New works will be commissioned annually.)

Feminine. Commanding. Historic.

Contemporary. Specific. Universal.

Freeing. Free. All of these and more come together in Mutu ‘s monumental, majestic figures which now flank The Met’s front door.

Through the Lens of Womanhood A Kenyan-American artist, Mutu has been working and exhibiting in New York for years. She’s known for her paintings, collages, film and performance art and addresses themes of self-image, gender, race, environmentalism, and equality, often through the lens of womanhood. But she has never had a stage like Fifth Avenue, on the front of The Met. Mutu’s suite of sculptures comprises four female figures titled “The Seated I-IV.” Made of bronze, yet covered with ropy forms that recall hand-built pottery, and colored by a rich, though recent, patina, they are simultaneously elegant, abstract, modern, timeless, human and otherworldly. “I want these figures to appear to have come from elsewhere, from afar, recently alighted in the four niches,“ writes Mutu in her artist’s statement. “They have come to look and bear witness, and to reflect back to us what we are. Amid the

MARCH 12-18, 2020

deep existential crisis we are immersed in, The Seated — conveying a presence that is as much celestial as it is deeply human — aim to send a signal that things can and shall be different.”

Hope for Decency, and Triumph Over Prejudice Mutu fashioned her sculptures after caryatids, decorative structures that have been incorporated into weight bearing devices from wooden stools and headrests in Africa to marble friezes in ancient Greece, and which historically take the shape of female figures with uplifted arms.

“I look at the contradictory aspects of such human expressions, in which women are respected for their strength, resilience, and wisdom and yet suffer for it, too,“ Mutu states.

Her figures have been liberated from the role of carrying the weight of others. She has them sit, tall and regal, their arms resting comfortably on their knees.

Part of the artistic challenge of the commission was to relate new pieces to works in the collection.

Coils of metal that envelop Mutu’s women reference both armor and rings of necklaces, like those worn

by Ndebele and Padoung people, and as seen in The Met’s galleries. Polished round disks recall lip plates.

They obscure the figures’ faces while reflecting the viewers’. In certain light, they shine like directional beacons.

“These insignia in The Seated, belonging to no one place or time, become dimension-bending tools and time-traveling mechanisms,“ Mutu states. “The mirror-like disks are instruments that trigger reflection and beckon futures in which there is hope for decency and empathy, and triumph over inequality and prejudice.” Sheena Wagstaff, chairman of modern and contemporary art, called Mutu’s “NewOnes” “marvelous hybrids of African sculpture and futuristic imagination.”

More Voices in the Hallowed Halls The façade commission is part of The Met’s push to engage more actively with contemporary art – a move heralded by opening galleries in the Breuer building several years

Wangechi Mutu’s “The Seated I” one of four monumental bronze sculptures installed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photo: Adel Gorgy

ago and by the hire of director Max Hollein in 2018. His multi-disciplinary vision has brought more voices, like Mutu’s, to the hallowed halls of the Met, and placed contemporary art in dialogue with other cultures.

It also ties in to a much wider movement in the arts to become more representative of a varied and diverse society.

“I titled the exhibition ‘The NewOnes, will free Us,‘ and for me, the new ones are new immigrants, children, women, and all these people who are bringing new ideas. They’re activists and environmentalists who present a different approach for the future,“ Mutu says. ”The NewOnes, will free Us” elevates one of the loftiest of all pedestals for art with notes of strength, diversity, beauty and hope. It’s a gift from the artist and the Met, and its free to all through June.

“The Seated III” by Wangechi Mutu.

Photo: Adel Gorgy

MARCH 12-18, 2020

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BACK TO WORK THEY GO NEIGHBORHOOD’S BEST DEVELOPMENT

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City files appeal backing developer of 200 Amsterdam project, allowing work to continue

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A slew of Manhattan politicians had to cut their victory lap short last week when their proclaimed triumph over the 200 Amsterdam project proved to be fleeting.

In February, a Manhattan Supreme Court judge ordered that 20 floors be lopped of the 55-story Upper West Side tower because it violated city zoning laws. But the city has chosen to back the developer and filed an appeal in the case.

By appealing, the government has been granted a stay in the judge’s ruling, meaning the developers can continue work on the 668-foot building, which has already topped out.

The city is not appealing the substance of Judge Franc Perry’s ruling, which said a zoning lot could not consist of partial tax lots. In fact, the Department of Buildings closed that loophole last week before filing its appeal. Rather, the city is appealing based on jurisdiction, saying the court should not be the final arbiter of this decision.

“We closed the loophole that allowed the developers of 200 Amsterdam to legally gerrymander a 39-sided zoning lot to construct a luxury tower,” City Hall spokesperson Jane Meyer said in a statement. “Now, we are challenging the judge’s ruling that the building violated zoning laws.

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Court’s — and we must appeal this decision because of its farreaching implications for how policy is shaped.”

The DOB’s rule change also excludes the 200 Amsterdam project, saying that this would not affect projects with permits issued before the change.

Paul Server, one of the attorneys representing the developers, SJP Properties and Mitsui Fudosan, said the court ruling had gone against decades of precedent.

“The court ignored all of that,” said Server. “The court basically blew it off.”

He added that by going against this precedent, the ruling makes the development process in the city uncertain.

“I think it is very, very unhelpful to people who have to advise owners, builders, real estate folks who come into New York, or who are in New York, who are looking to buy a piece of property, because if we cannot rely on 40 years of buildings department conduct and interpretation, what can we rely on?” said Server.

“What do we tell our clients?”

“It Defies Reason”

The elected officials who were celebrating the court’s edict again stood in unison, issuing a joint statement saying the de Blasio administration’s decision to appeal was “shocking” and “disappointing.”

The elected officials who were celebrating the court’s edict again stood in unison, issuing a joint statement saying the de Blasio administration’s decision to appeal was “shocking” and “disappointing,” especially in light of DOB’s rule change.

“It defies reason for the Administration to fight a court

order which affirms its own correction of its initially flawed process,” read the statement, which was released

by Congressman Jerry Nadler, City Comptroller Scott Stringer, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, State Assemblymembers Linda Rosenthal and Richard Gottfried, State Senator Brad Hoylman, and City Council Member Helen Rosenthal.

In a separate interview, Brewer said the developers have not only continued work on the building, but have been trying to sell apartments.

“That’s pretty bold,” Brewer said, adding that by doing so, the developer has now made this a consumer issue as well.

In response, Brewer sent the DOB a stop work order as well as a letter to New York State Attorney General Leticia James. In the letter to the attorney general, Brewer asks for a review of whether potential buyers had been given all of the correct information and whether any or all sales that have taken place so far are valid. Additionally, Brewer asked whether apartments could continue to be sold, given the court’s decision.

Regardless of the city’s actions, it’s not an issue Brewer is likely to drop.

“It’s absolutely the real estate story,” she said. “You can be at the fanciest event and someone will whisper in your ear, ‘Are you taking down 20 stories?’ And I say, yes.”

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RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS FEBRAUARY 27 - MARCH 4, 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.

237 E. 53rd St

A

La Amistad Pizzeria 2067 2nd Ave & Grill

A

235 E. 53rd St

A

Jukai

Little Tong Noodle Shop

Madison Restaurant 965 1st Ave

A

4th Floor Cafe

221 E. 71st St

A

Mojo Desserts

177 E. 100th St

A

Amata

209 E. 56th St

A

Mr. Chow Restaurant

324 E. 57th St

A

Cafe Fresco

205 E. 60th St

A

Nino’s Restaurant

1354 1st Ave

A

Chinatown Restaurant

1650 3rd Ave

Not Yet Graded (27) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Evidence of rats or live rats present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to attracting vermin to the premises and/or allowing vermin to exist. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation.

Russ & Daughters At The Jewish Museum

1109 5th Ave

A

The Met Grill/Double Tree Hotel

569 Lexington Ave

Not Yet Graded (19) 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. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to attracting vermin to the premises and/or allowing vermin to exist. Plumbing not properly installed or maintained; antisiphonage or backflow prevention device not provided where required; equipment or floor not properly drained; sewage disposal system in disrepair or not functioning properly.

The River Club

447 E. 52nd St

A

Trinity Pub

229 E. 84th St

A

Triple A 1

2061 2nd Ave

A

Trump Cafe & Grill

725 5th Ave

A

Come Prima

903 Madison Ave

A

Dig Inn

1319 1st Ave

Not Yet Graded (21) Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to attracting vermin to the premises and/or allowing vermin to exist. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Proper sanitization not provided for utensil ware washing operation. Hot food item not held at or above 140º F.

Eats

1055 Lexington Ave

Not Yet Graded (40) Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. 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. 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. Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.

El Tapatio Mexican Restaurant

209 E. 116th St

Not Yet Graded (4) 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.

Grano

645 5th Ave

A

Green Cafe

1324 Lexington Ave

A

Gregorys Coffee

485 Madison Ave

A

Hotel Carlyle

35 E. 76th Str

A

Insomnia Cookies

237 E. 53rd St

A

Italianissimo Ristorante

307 E. 84th St

A

Jg Melon Restaurant

1291 3rd Ave

A

Jiang China King

1759 Lexington Ave

A

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Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. speaks after Weinstein verdict. Photo: Office of Cyrus Vance Jr. @ManhattanDA, via Twitter

WEINSTEIN MOVED TO RIKERS LAW ENFORCEMENT

Convicted former film producer goes to NYC jail after heart procedure

BY TOM HAYS AND MICHAEL R. SISAK, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Harvey Weinstein was moved last Thursday to an infirmary unit at New York City’s notorious Rikers Island jail complex after undergoing a heart procedure at the hospital where he’d been held since his conviction last month on rape and sexual assault charges.

Weinstein’s spokesman, Juda Engelmayer, said that the former film producer’s procedure Wednesday at Bellevue Hospital was “deemed successful,‘’ but Engelmayer wouldn’t go into further detail. Weinstein was taken by ambulance to the North Infirmary Command on Rikers Island after doctors at the hospital deemed him fit enough to be moved there.

Weinstein, 67, was originally supposed to go to Rikers Island immediately after his Feb. 24 conviction, but he was detoured to Bellevue Hospital amid concerns about high blood pressure and heart palpitations. He was at the hospital for more than a week.

Weinstein’s lawyer Arthur Aidala, who saw him at the hospital Thursday morning, said his client is “obviously not the picture of health.”

In addition to the heart issues, Weinstein’s lawyers have said he was also dealing with the ramifications of unsuccessful back surgery stemming from a car crash last summer and a condition that requires shots in his eyes so he does not go blind.

Weinstein used a walker to aid his movement in and out of the courthouse.

“He’s obviously not happy where he is. But he’s lucid and realistic about everything.

He’s still in a state of disbelief,‘’ Aidala said.

“Tantamount to Protective Custody” Weinstein is due back in court Wednesday for sentencing. He was convicted on one count of criminal sex act for forcibly performing oral sex on a woman in 2006 and one count of third-degree rape for a 2013 attack on another woman.

On the criminal sex act count, he faces a minimum of five years in prison and a maximum of 25 years in prison, while the third-degree rape count carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison. The judge could have the sentences run concurrently.

Weinstein was acquitted of predatory sexual assault charges that carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.

After revoking Weinstein’s bail when he was convicted, Judge James Burke made a judicial request to place him in

He’s obviously not happy where he is. But he’s lucid and realistic about everything. He’s still in a state of disbelief.”

OurTownNY.com

Weinstein lawyer Arthur Aidala the North Infirmary Command. There, the judge said, he’d have “something tantamount to protective custody.’’

Martin Horn, a former city corrections commissioner, said that despite its name, the infirmary is more like a regular jail than a hospital unit.

Built in 1932 as the original Rikers Island Hospital, the infirmary now has smaller, 10cell blocks that are used for protective units for inmates who might be targets in general population, such as sex offenders and former law enforcement officers.

Horn said the city’s jails have specialized units for the disabled but inmates with serious medical needs are often sent to the hospital ward at Bellevue.

A plan approved last year calls for closing the Rikers Island complex by 2026 and replacing it with four smaller jails around the city. Rikers has become synonymous with violence and neglect, while the new jails are intended to be more modern and humane.

ACTIVITIES FOR THE FERTILE MIND

thoughtgallery.org NEW YORK CITY

One Day University: A Morning of Literature and Film

SATURDAY, MARCH 14TH, 9:30AM Hunter College | 912 Lexington Ave. | 800-300-3438 | onedayu.com Bard College professor Joseph Luzzi teaches a pair of classes—What the World’s Greatest Books Can Teach Us About Business and Life and Six Films That Changed the World—on a half-day session ($79 each class or $119 for both).

E.J. Dionne in Conversation with Michelle Goldberg | Code Red: How Progressives and Moderates Can Unite to Save the Country

TUESDAY, MARCH 17TH, 7:30PM 92nd Street Y | 1395 Lexington Ave. | 212-415-5500 | 92y.org Bestselling author and Washington Post columnist Dionne calls for an alliance between everyone from Democratic Socialists to liberal Republicans to counter Trump Era threats ($35).

Just Announced | Thomas Piketty: Beyond Hyper-Capitalism

TUESDAY, MARCH 24TH, 6:30PM NYU Skirball Center | 566 LaGuardia Pl. | 212-998-4941 | nyuskirball.org French economist Thomas Piketty is back with a new book, Capital and Ideology. He’ll present his insights into the roots of social inequalities and his advocacy for resistance to hyper-capitalism with political theorist Nancy Fraser and activist Alexandra Rojas (free).

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

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

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Peppa Pig Holiday Plane. Photo via Amazon.com

Business

TROUBLE FOR THE TOY INDUSTRY RETAIL

Coronavirus threatens to delay seasonal product launches

BY ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, ASSOCIATED PRESS

From Baby Yoda to ecofriendly stacking rings, toymakers displayed an array of goods last week that they hope will be on kids’ wish lists for the holiday 2020 season.

The four-day Toy Fair, which ended last Tuesday, comes as the U.S. toy industry has been whipsawed by a number of obstacles. The liquidation of Toys R Us in 2018 has hurt impulse buying of toys. Then the escalating trade war between the U.S. and China has added costs to manufacturers’ supply network. And now, a spreading new virus is threatening to delay product launches and may result in some shortages of seasonal toys starting in May. Such challenges are on top of the pressures that toymakers face to create playthings that will excite kids who increasingly favor smartphones and other electronics.

Toy companies are hoping for a better year. U.S. toy sales fell 4% to approximately $20.9 billion in 2019 from the year before, according to NPD Group Inc., a market research firm. That followed a 1% drop from the previous year.

Many toymakers are counting on a slew of little Baby Yodas - the breakout character of the Disney+ streaming series “The Mandalorian.”

Hasbro Inc., Lego Group Inc., Mattel Inc. and Funko are among the toy companies highlighting various versions of the doll, from plush to animatronic.

Here’s a primer for parents on toy shopping:

This is the crisis of the day for toymakers.”

Marc Rosenberg, independent toy consultant HOW WILL COVID-19 IMPACT TOY SHOPPING: The new virus has caused factories in China to remain mostly idle and shut down design and development offices. Just about 30% of the workers needed are at the toy factories in China, according to Steve Pasierb, CEO of the trade group Toy Association. And many companies, from Basic Fun to MGA Entertainment, the maker of the popular L.O.L. dolls, warn there could be fewer seasonal toys on shelves starting in May. Zuru Toys Inc., the maker of the hit toy Mini Brands, said it’s been forced to postpone the fall launch of a key plush toy. Get ready for delayed launches from other toymakers, analysts say.

China represented 84% of U.S. toy imports in 2019, says Panjiva, a global trade research company. And many executives say there aren’t many alternatives outside of China that can offer the same kind of expertise.

“This is the crisis of the day for toymakers,‘’ said Marc Rosenberg, an independent toy consultant. He believes that Hasbro will fare better than others since it has been moving beyond toys into entertainment with its purchase last year of Entertainment One Ltd., a British entertainment company that produces “Peppa Pig,‘’ and other animated shows for preschoolers.

Overall, Jim Silver, editorin-chief of TTPM.com, a toy

review site, says parents should put things in perspective. ‘’There are going to be plenty of toys,“ Silver said.

“Some things will be sold out, and a child may not get one of the hottest toys he or she wants, but they can pivot to something else.’’

GREEN TOYS: Up until now, parents had limited options when it came to buying eco-friendly toys. But now major companies including MGA, Mattel and Hasbro are jumping into the green trend, following smaller toy rivals that specialize in eco-friendly toys like Green Toys and Wish Bone Inc. Mattel’s Fisher-Price’s Rock-a-Stack is made from sugarcane-based plastics and packed in 100% recycled material. It’s part of the company’s goal to have 100% recycled, recyclable or biobased materials in both its products and packaging by 2030.

Privately-held MGA Entertainment unveiled a biodegradable ball as part of its L.O.L Surprise! Doll line. MGA also unveiled a new product line from Little Tikes which is made from a blend of recycled resins. Founder and CEO Isaac Larian said that the resin compound has been in development for two years, and he hopes to patent it and share the technology with other toymakers.

Both Mattel and MGA said the green toys will cost similar to previous, non-green versions. For example, FisherPrice’s Rock-a-Stack will retail for $6.99.

“Consumers want ecofriendly, but they also want the lowest possible price,‘’ said Silver. He estimates that fewer than 10% of overall toys are currently eco-friendly, but that number should increase in the next few years.

SIMON & SCHUSTER FOR SALE BOOKS

ViacomCBS CEO says publisher is not a “core asset” of the company

BY TALI ARBEL, ASSOCIATED PRESS

L.O.L. Surprise! doll. Photo via Amazon.com

SURPRISE TOYS FOR BOYS?: When the L.O.L. Surprise! doll was launched in 2016, it became one of the industry’s biggest hits for girls and has so far amassed several billions of dollars in sales.

The toy is a glittery, halfsphere container that includes plastic charms and L.O.L. Surprise! dolls that are revealed when kids peel off layers of packages. It spurred a big industry trend where girls unwrap an item to find all sorts of surprises. Zuru’s Tiny Brands, which is a package of surprise realistic miniatures of iconic brands like Dove, Skippy and Airheads, proved to be a holiday 2019 hit.

Now toy companies are trying to come up with a collectibles hit for boys who haven’t flocked to anything similar since Pokemon trading cards in the mid-1990s, says Rosenberg.

One company, Super Impulse, is trying with Wacky Packages Minis, inspired by Topps baseball stickers.

They’re humorous fake product packages like Dr. Pooper and Weaklies that come in a box of five that are revealed only when opened.

Simon & Schuster, the publisher of such authors as Stephen King and Bob Woodward, is up for sale.

ViacomCBS, fresh off a merger, is looking to sell its book publishing business as it tries to raise cash to pay down debt and please shareholders with dividends and stock buybacks.

Simon & Schuster is a major publishing house, releasing nearly 2,000 books a year, according to its website. Its library includes Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea” and Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends & Influence People.” Its parent company has used its books to create movies and shows.

But the business made up just 3% of ViacomCBS’ revenue last year.

ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish said the book publisher is not a “core asset’’ of the company since it isn’t video. But he said it’s a “marquee asset’’ that is “highly valuable.’’

“I’ve had multiple unsolicited inbound calls” about the publisher, he said Wednesday at an investment conference.

Simon & Schuster CEO Carolyn Reidy sent a letter to employees Wednesday telling them that ViacomCBS is beginning the sales process and that business will continue as usual.

Simon & Schuster an-

Simon & Schuster offices.

Photo: Dan DeLuca, via flickr

nounced on Tuesday that it would publish bestselling author Janet Evanovich’s next four books.

ViacomCBS is also looking to see what other businesses it can unload. It has already been trying to sell the longtime CBS headquarters building, Black Rock, a famous Midtown Manhattan office tower designed by modernist master Eero Saarinen. Bakish said Wednesday that several potential buyers are interested and that he expects a sale to close this year.

ViacomCBS owns cable networks Nickelodeon, MTV, BET and Comedy Central as well as broadcast network CBS and movie studio Paramount. It is trying to navigate consumers’ shift from watching live TV on a television set to streaming shows and movies on the internet. It’s bulking up an existing streaming service, CBS All Access, and it will also continue supplying rivals with its library of shows and movies, like making SpongeBob spin-offs for Netflix.

MARCH 12-18, 2020

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‘FIRST’ LADIES

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 in his 1863 report for the park commissioners, for a sculpture that would express “both earnestly and playfully the idea of that central spirit of ‘Love’ that is forever active, and forever bringing nature, science and art, summer and winter, youth and age, day and night, into harmonious accord.”

When Stebbins set out to realize Vaux’s grand — though vague — objective, she was a 47-year-old, selfdoubting “spinster” with only one public exhibition under her belt. Stebbins’s brother, Henry, a park commissioner, most likely landed her the Central Park job, while her life partner, actor Charlotte Cushman, aggressively promoted her work and negotiated her contracts.

Stebbins’s two great supporters hustled masterfully on her behalf, but they also found time to war against each other, as detailed in “The Public Career of Emma Stebbins: Work in Bronze” by Drexel University art history professor Elizabeth Milroy.

Cushman sought to extricate

When Emma Stebbins set out to realize Calvert Vaux’s grand — though vague — objective, she was a 47-year-old, selfdoubting “spinster” with only one public exhibition under her belt.

Stebbins from her brother’s financial oversight, while Henry Stebbins railed against his sister’s lifestyle, as Cushman recounted in a letter, calling the women’s life together “morally, socially, and physically” damaging to Stebbins.

“Angel of the Waters” is based on a New Testament story, in which a magical healing fountain sprang up in Jerusalem where an angel had touched down on Earth.

The subject may have held a double meaning for the artist. The reservoirs located within the park had provided New Yorkers with running water, “which to all the countless homes of this great city, comes like an angel visitant,” as Stebbins wrote in the program for the fountain’s unveiling in 1873.

At the same time, in the 11 years between the commission and the unveiling, Cushman had been diagnosed with breast cancer. After surgery failed to cure her, a healing miracle may have seemed like her only hope.

The first reviews of “Angel of the Waters” were as contradictory as they come. The New York World reviewer gushed over “the grace, freedom and animation which are the distinguishing excellences of the work,“ while a New York Times critic deemed it “a feebly-pretty idealess thing of bronze.”

Shortly after completing the fountain, Stebbins put aside her art career to care for Cushman until she died in 1876. Stebbins then dedicated herself to publishing Cushman’s biography as her own health declined.

Years after Cushman’s death, Stebbins still referred to her in letters, invoking her name as one might a guardian angel. “I hope Charlotte will still hold her protecting shield over me — as she has always done,” Stebbins wrote in 1878, “and I shall escape, under cover of the love and tender interest which is so universally felt for her.”

Emma Stebbins statue “Angel of the Waters,“ Bethesda Fountain. Photo courtesy of Central Park Conservancy

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Pura Belpré: NYPL’s first Puerto Rican Librarian Pura Belpré’s first children’s book, “Perez and Martina,“ told the folk tale of the romance between the beautiful cockroach Martina and Perez, the noble mouse who won her heart.

The evolution into becoming an author was a natural one for Belpré, who joined the New York Public Library as its first Puerto Rican librarian in 1921. Her hiring launched her decades-long career as an educator and activist promoting literacy in New York’s growing Latinx communities and broadening the library’s offerings to ensure that their cultures were represented.

Belpré was a college student when she came to New York for her sister’s wedding and decided to stay. Her arrival coincided with the start of a campaign by NYPL’s first ever children’s librarian, Annie Carroll Moore, to recruit staff from each of New York’s immigrant communities in order to foster a welcoming environment for all children.

As part of the certification program Moore developed for her new class of children’s librarians, Belpré had to demonstrate her skill as a storyteller. However, when she searched the library’s children’s stacks for books containing from Puerto Rico, she found nothing. So Belpré decided to wing it, telling the folk tales of her youth from memory.

Strangely, the library allowed her to tell stories without books on the condition that she tell the children present that the stories would be available in books soon, and in time, the line became true when her first book was published in 1932. “Perez and Martina” was originally published in English, with the

Pura Belpré with puppets. Photo courtesy of Center for Puerto Rican Studies Library & Archives, Hunter College, CUNY

Archival footage from the period shows Pura Belpré performing before a room of enraptured children dressed in their Sunday best who gaze up at her as they nurse their lollipops.

Spanish version following later.

Archival footage from the period shows Belpré performing before a room of enraptured children dressed in their Sunday best who gaze up at her as they nurse their lollipops.

Belpré galvanized Latinx communities around the NYPL branches where she worked, first at 135th Street, then at West 115th Street and finally at the Aguilar branch on East 110th Street. Belpré was a master at engaging children, asking them to participate at story hours, as well as organizing events like raffles, card drives that drew them into the library, as well as events like Three Kings Day

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parties that carried on traditions from back in Puerto Rico.

“She was a magnificent educator,” lyric singer Eva de la O says at the opening of “Pura Belpré: Storyteller,” the 2012 documentary about her legacy produced by CENTRO, the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College.

Today, CENTRO is home to Belpré’s archives, which include the 20 children’s books she authored in English and Spanish, the handcrafted puppets she performed with at story hour, and a vast collection of her writings.

“She’s kind of the patron saint of CENTRO,” Dr. Raquel M. Ortiz Rodriguez, the coordinator of CENTRO’s Puerto Rican Cultural Ambassadors program told Straus News.

For the Cultural Ambassadors bootcamp, a crash course in Puerto Rican history and its impact, Ortiz begins by teaching the story of Belpré’s life as a parable for the impact of one person’s commitment to representation.

Belpré’s legacy also lives on in the Pura Belpré Award for children’s literature. The annual prize is awarded by the Association for Library Service to Children and REFORMA, an organization that advocates for Latinx-facing library services.

In an interview shortly before her death in 1982, Belpré called “Pérez y Martina” “my golden key,” a simple story that, as stories so often do, “has opened doors for me everywhere.”

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REDEMPTION CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9 “Dave looked out for everybody in the building, and he kept us all safe,” said Pat Werner, his downstairs neighbor and friend for more than 40 years who brought him breakfast daily when he got sick.

“The bat came from a time when people would break into the building from the roof and enter apartments through the air shaft so often the landlord put barbed wire on the roof and caged over the air shaft,” Werner recalled.

Added Jeff Gill, his acrossthe-hall neighbor since 1982, “Everybody knew he had that bat, I never saw him use it, but it kept the building secure.”

Everything you like about Our Town Downtown is now available to be delivered to your mailbox every week in the Downtowner From the very local news of your neighborhood to information about upcoming events and activities, the new home delivered edition of the Downtowner will keep you in-the-know.

First Came the Demons

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At first blush, 1960 seemed like a more innocent time. The teenage Rosenstein, schooled at Fieldston and Riverdale, would hang out with friends at Rudley’s Luncheonette and Sterling’s Bowling Alley, both on Broadway at 85th, and the girls all vied for his interest.

“I met him when I was 13 and he was 15, and he came strolling in to the bowling alley looking suave and debonair,” said Norma Marsh, his first girlfriend. “He was tall, dark and handsome. All the girls were drawn to him … But he was shy, afraid of girls, couldn’t handle the attention.”

The romance lasted a couple of years; the friendship endured forever.

“I spent 60 years loving a man – not being in love, but I loved him all the same – and now, there’s a big hole in my heart,” Marsh said.

If life seemed wholesome, it was illusory: In his mid- and late teenage years, Rosenstein was hocking other people’s jewelry in pawnshops to support his heroin habit and shooting up in Riverside Park, Theodore Roosevelt Park, Straus Park, school playgrounds, even the upscale apartments of classmates.

“He got in pretty deep, and he stayed in for at least five or six years,” said Peter Marks, a childhood friend and fellow drug abuser who went to college in Maine and straightened himself out.

“We’d go to the pool room on West 96th Street and nod out,” he added.

Heroin was a death sentence for two of their friends.

They all courted their own mortality. But Marks, a weekend user, and Rosenstein, a daily user, managed to return from the netherworld.

“It’s pretty amazing. He was able to clean himself up,” Marks said.

The Long Road to Sobriety By the early 1970s, Rosenstein started to break with his demons. Methadone maintenance treatment for heroin addiction won federal approval in 1972, and he was one of the earliest users to sign up.

Within a year, he was off heroin. A few years later, he weaned himself from methadone.

After earning a BA in history from City College in 1975, he found work in public relations for the state’s Division of Substance Abuse Services, and in 1984, joined the board of the Lower East Side Service Center, which helps addicted New Yorkers lead

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Dave Rosenstein, who battled heroin in his youth and then spent the rest of his adult life fighting for a drug-free city, in a familiar pose recently - reading a book. He died on March 2 at the age of 75. Photo: Collection of Dave Rosenstein

drug-free lives.

For the next 36 years, until two months before his death, he grappled with chemical dependency issues – from a deeply personal standpoint.

“Dave was always willing to help another suffering addict,” said Joanne Dwyer, an attorney friend. “Whenever anyone was ready to go to a meeting of Narcotics or Alcoholics Anonymous, Dave was always there to take them.”

Added Valerie Walters, president of the LES Service Center, “He was open about being in recovery. It made him passionate because he could say, ‘I’ve been there, I know what addiction can do to people.’”

He broadened the nonprofit’s mission, advocating for educational services, job training, supportive housing for the homeless – “any service that would keep an individual fully functioning in society,” she said. “He was an amazingly committed board member.”

That was equally true of his CB 8 work, both Camp and Popper said.

In 2018, Straus News witnessed his impact first hand when he called to say that a newly opened deli was showcasing smoke-related products like hookahs, water pipes, vaping liquids, nitrous oxide, liquid nicotine and “Bob Marley Cigarette Papers.”

The items, essentially drug paraphernalia, filled the display windows on First Avenue at 91st Street, just around the corner from a middle school, fueling Rosenstein’s outrage: “They’re marketing products like it was candy for kids,” he reported.

So he went in and complained to the merchant. And by the time Our Town called the shopkeeper, he’d already agreed to remove most of the offending items.

Meanwhile, friends are asking, what happens to all those books? And that, perhaps, was Rosenstein’s biggest regret: “He so very much wanted to keep living,” said Marsha Feris, his last girlfriend. “He’d look at his bookshelves and say, ‘But I have all these books I still want to read.’” invreporter@strausnews.com

MARCH 12-18, 2020

‘I FEEL LIKE I’M LIVING THESE STORIES’ HISTORY

Fascinated by tales from New York City’s past, Beth Goffe leads walking tours and shares the sometimes scandalous details with tourists and natives alike

By Emily Higginbotham For a long time, Beth Goffe studied the history of Manhattan simply as a hobby. She read nonfiction compulsively and became fascinated by the New York that existed a century ago. When Goffe looks at the public library on 42nd Street, she sees the massive distributing reservoir that was once in it’s place. She sees neighborhoods that have long been erased by new development. But, even amidst all this change, Goffe will tell you that if you look close enough, you’ll be able to see the gems that remain.

That’s what she aims to do on the walking tours she now gives through her new company, Select Tours NYC.

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YOUR 15 MINUTES

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Goffe is guiding tourists and natives alike through Central Park and the Upper West Side to illuminate what the city used to be, and how it became what it is today.

What are your tours like?

I am doing a lot of Central Park tours. One of my favorites is the north end of the park, because people don’t go up there that much.

There’s the mall and the famous spots that everybody wants to see as a tourist because you’ve seen them in movies and TV shows. I have to tell people that this is not the “Friends” fountain — because everybody says it is. And there’s another tour that sort of kind of focused on the West Side

What do you highlight on the west side?

There’s Seneca Village [an African-American community displaced in order to build Central Park in 1857]. It’s a pretty place, but there is a cost, right? Similarly, Lincoln

Beth Goffe often has to explain to tourists that the famous “Friends” fountain is not located in Central Park. Photo: Charles Chessler

Square area used to be called San Juan Hill. And it was all brownstones for blocks and it was a very working class neighborhood. It was immigrants and African-Americans. But Robert Moses [a longtime city official and prolific figure in urban development] said ‘Okay, we need an arts center here. We’re going to just raze this whole area and put in an arts center.’ — which is fantastic. I used to come here with my parents to see the ballet and the opera and everything.

But thousands of people were displaced for this fantastic thing. As part of the redevelopment, they built Lincoln Towers. In “West Side Story,” when they’re dancing in the street, all those buildings were already condemned and empty. As they’re dancing, and they’re filming, behind them the wrecking balls are coming in and taking down the buildings to be replaced by Lincoln towers. So it’s good and it’s bad.

Tell me about your scandal and murder walking tour.

Once a reservoir: New York Public Library at 42nd Street. Photo: Mig Gilbert, via flickr

One story is about William Randolph Hearst, of Hearst Publications, and actress Marion Davies, who was his girlfriend for decades. But he remained married to his wife and they lived on Riverside Drive. I thought, wow, that’s kind of scandalous.

There’s this really bizarre story about peaches and daddy… right from the name you want to know more. He was a developer from the Upper West Side, and it’s a really

creepy and funny story, because he’s like, an old guy falls in love with a 15 year old in the 1920s. It’s just bizarre — and his buildings are still there.

How do you find these stories?

I like to accumulate stories. It just happens. The researching part is fun. I feel like I’m sort of living these stories as I’m writing them and I’m really beginning to know these people. Sometimes that’s good and sometimes that’s bad. Marion Davies is good. She’s a criminally underrated actress. But it’s hard, right?

Because she knows she she’s sleeping with a married man and they move to California and leave the wife and five kids behind. And she’s taking advantage of all the good stuff.

But she’s also really nice person and she cared for people in California and she built a hospital wing for children.

What have you seen change and become a part of history in the 30 years that you’ve live on the Upper West Side?

The flavor of the neighborhood has changed. When I moved in there were still a lot of mom and pop stores. There was a fair amount of gentrification that already happened in the West 70s by then, but still, there were hardware stores and sundry stores. There weren’t chain stores. There weren’t a thousand banks everywhere.

There was a great old building on the corner of Broadway and 72nd

Street, on the southwest corner, where there’s a Trader Joe’s and Duane Reade now. That was an old gentleman’s club. And not like a strip club gentleman’s club, but guys who go to smoke cigars. It had this rounded corner and it was brick. I used to take a yoga class in one of the rooms with the rounded corner and it was so cool. It was a really light, bright room. And they tore down and put Trader Joe’s in, which it’s convenient. But it’s the character…that’s the biggest thing.

Why is it important to you to tell these stories?

I think knowing about the past is really helpful. It gives you perspective. Like things that are happening now in the political world, if you don’t know what happened in the past, you think, ‘Wow, this is all new.’

But, no, it’s not. It’s happened before and it’s really not so great. If you know about that, then you can kind of go, ‘Oh, let’s see if we can do something about it.’ Tourists, they come here and they have a good time, but then maybe they actually take something home with them.

This interview has been edited and condensed. You can book a tour at selecttoursnyc.com

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ANTIQUES/COLLECTIBLES

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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 March 25, 2020 In the Rotunda, New York County Courthouse 60 Centre Street New York NY 10007, commencing at 1:30 PM for the following account: Ingrid Gherman, as borrower, 3224 shares of capital stock of The Forum Owners Corp. and all right, title and interest in the Proprietary Lease to: 343 East 74th Street, Apt. #19B, New York, NY 10021 Sale held to enforce rights of National Cooperative Bank, N.A. (fka NCB, FSB), 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 National Cooperative Bank, N.A. fka NCB, FSB (lender) as of the date of this notice in the amount of $539,342.08.

This figure is for the outstanding balance due under UCC1, which was secured by Financing Statement in favor of NCB,FSB, re-

Telephone: 212-868-0190 Email: classified2@strausnews.com

POLICY NOTICE: We make every effort to avoid mistakes in your classified ads. Check your ad the first week it runs. The publication will only accept responsibility for the first incorrect insertion. The publication assumes no financial responsibility for errors or omissions. We reserve the right to edit, reject, or re-classify any ad. Contact your sales rep directly for any copy changes. All classified ads are pre-paid.

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corded on May 17, 2007, in Instrument Number 2017000186289. The same was then re-filed on February 27, 2018, in Instrument Number 2018000067946. 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 $1,100,000.00.

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 National Cooperative Bank, N.A. fka NCB, FSB. 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 National Cooperative Bank, N.A. fka NCB, FSB, 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, National Cooperative Bank, N.A. fka NCB, FSB, 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: February 11, 2020 Frenkel, Lambert, Weiss, Weisman & Gordon, LLP Attorneys for National Cooperative Bank, N.A. fka NCB, FSB 53 Gibson Street Bay Shore, NY 11706 631-969-3100 File #01-084099-F03 #98401

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