Our Town - March 14, 2019

The local paper for the Upper East Side

WEEK OF MARCH A CUSTOM-MADE ARMORY SHOW ◄ P.12

14-20 2019

Also inside: We like to dream a lot.

But then, we like to implement. Dreaming alone doesn’t help you.”

Michael Dowling CEO of Northwell Health

HOW YOUR BUS MEASURES UP ▲ P.5 Jan Hus Presbyterian Church is buying the longtime Home of Soccer Building on First Avenue and vacating its home on East 74th Street. Photo: Jim Nedelka / Jan Hus

JAN HUS BUYS SOCCER SHOP EXCLUSIVE A fabled Yorkville church, forced to sell its ancestral home to remain solvent, uses the proceeds to secure new quarters for its congregation and social-justice mission

BY DOUGLAS FEIDEN

After 131 years of worship on East 74th Street, Jan Hus Presbyterian Church is purchasing a building 16 blocks to the north and will move into the new space by the spring of 2020, Our Town has learned.

The neighborhood stalwart that once anchored “Little Bohemia” — and provided a spiritual base for legions of Czech parishioners — is buying the Home of Soccer Building on First Avenue just above East 90th Street.

It plans to convert the four-story commercial property into a multi-use,

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OTTY AWARDS: BEST OF THE UES▲ P.7 The corner of Park Avenue and 77th Street, portrayed in this architectural rendering, shows Lenox Hill Hospital’s proposed new Mother-Baby Hospital. Just to the right is a planned hyper-luxurious residential tower on pricey land that would be sold to help underwrite Lenox Hill’s new campus. Rendering: Courtesy of Lenox Hill Hospital / Northwell Health

BUILDING THE HOSPITAL OF TOMORROW COMMUNITY Lenox Hill plans to demolish 80 percent of its East Side campus, invest $2.5 billion on futuristic facilities — and sell some of the most valuable real estate in Manhattan to fund its new superblock

BY DOUGLAS FEIDEN

The last time Lenox Hill Hospital built a major new facility on its legacy campus it was 1972 and John Lindsay was mayor.

Now, the storied, 162-year-old medi-

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cal institution on the Upper East Side is about to make up for lost time.

It is launching a sweeping, decadelong redevelopment project that will radically transform how it practices medicine and delivers patient care.

Plans call for razing or stripping to the shell the entire hospital campus in phases as taller, modern structures rise up on site to replace them.

That means a full city block, bounded by Park and Lexington Avenues and 76th and 77th Streets, will be rebuilt, reimagined and reinvented.

When the dust settles — and there will be plenty of it — the 780,000-square-foot, multi-building hodgepodge that is today’s hospital will give way to a new seamless, pur-

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pose-built institution occupying 1.32 million square feet.

That 69 percent increase in the facility’s envelope will enable Lenox Hill Hospital, which is under the umbrella of Northwell Health, to develop modern, full-size patient rooms, operating rooms, emergency room, imaging suites and other clinical care units that will dwarf the current aging and undersized offerings, its executives say.

“Other major facilities in Manhattan have advanced their physical plants dramatically and expanded over the past couple of years,” said Michael Dowling, the president and

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR UES TOWERS AND RAMPS The 50-story tower proposed by Fetner Properties in the middle of NYCHA Holmes Towers needs to be scrapped (“Brewer Challenges de Blasio on Holmes Tower Plans,� (Feb. 28 - Mar. 6). Was it a coincidence that Fetner Properties (who were awarded the project) donated to Mayor de Blasio’s re election campaign? As if this wasn’t horrifying enough, the Marine Transfer Station submitted plans to add a second ramp which will affect area traffic, noise, pollution, etc.

Kudos to all who can decipher a page from a power point presentation on the MTS second ramp traffic pattern.

Erecting a 50-foot tower in this area is absurd.

Linda Garvin Upper East Side

A FINAL STRAW ON CONGESTION PRICING As a retired professional born, raised, and living in NYC all of my life, I wish to notify supporters of congestion pricing that I will refuse to pay this onerous tax. I will not pay to move about in my own city and my own borough. It will be the ďŹ nal straw

to make me relocate to another state where my consumer and tax monies are welcome.

Vincent A. Cipollaro, M.D. Manhattan

A TEMPLATE FOR HEALTH CARE Colette Swietnicki’s article in the February 21 - 27 issue — “Enough already! Pass the New York Health Act� — is right on target. Implementation of the Affordable Care Act has shown us that centralization of the health care delivery system is beneficial.

The ACA has both lowered the rate of rise of medical care costs and reduced the number of uninsured. But medical costs continue to rise and remain problematic for many Americans and medical debt remains the leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the U.S. Only a universal single payer system can simplify this delivery system and eliminate waste. Opponents of NY Health argue that an abrupt transition to a universal single payer system will be traumatic.

In truth, transition to a single payer system is both feasible and the only way to minimize cost. At present, much of our health care dollar goes to

administrative waste, i.e., pre-authorization, complicated billing and credentialing procedures and corporate proďŹ t. These can not be minimized by further incremental change.

As New Yorkers, we share a proud history of advancing progressive social legislation. Under Governor Al Smith 100 years ago, we passed momentous legislation regarding minimum wage and workplace safety issues that later served as a template for the New Deal.

Let us now provide the template for a robust national health care system to come.

Marc H Lavietes, M.D. Soho

IN PRAISE OF THE PUBLIC ADVOCATE To misquote Shakespeare, “Methinks Larry Penner doth protest too much.â€? In his letter calling for the elimination of the public advocate position (Feb. 28 - March 6), he says, “Any public opinion poll will tell you that ... taxpayers would be better offâ€? without it. Yet not only could I not ďŹ nd a single such poll, but the two most prominent voices against the posi-

THE-MAAC.COM

The planned East 92nd Street access ramp to the Department of Sanitation’s Marine Transfer Station would traverse a section of what is now DeKovats Playground. Image: NYC DDC tion are The New York Post and Curtis Sliwa — not exactly unbiased sources.

Penner suggests that other people and agencies (Borough Presidents, Cou nci l members, Com mu n it y Boards/District Managers) “provide better customer service� than the public advocate, and that the latter only “duplicates these functions.�

Setting aside the fact that I have never had anything but excellent customer service from the public advocate’s ofďŹ ce (no matter who was there), they are more limited in their scopes than

the public advocate, who serves not simply a neighborhood, district or borough, but the entire city.

Finally, based largely on public input, a commission was formed this year to expand the powers of the public advocate, including (potentially) providing the office with subpoena power, a vote on legislation, as well as expanding its oversight and watchdog roles over city agencies.

Ian Alterman Upper West Side

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CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG BEER BRAWL Things got seriously inconvenient for an employee at a local convenience store. According to police, at 11:35 p.m. on Friday, Mar. 1, a man entered the 7-Eleven store at 1453 Third Ave., took a number of beer and malt liquor drinks, and placed them in a black bag.

A 46-year-old employee told police he recognized the man from a previous shoplifting incident, took the beers back from the suspect and was then attacked by the man. The suspect then fled east on East 82nd St.. A search of the neighborhood proved fruitless, police said. The value of the stolen beverages was $70.47.

RANDOM ASSAULT ON A SENIOR On Sunday afternoon, Feb. 24, a 64-year-old woman was pushed to the pavement at the corner of First Ave. and East 96th St. by an unknown woman, police said. After the attack, the perpetrator fled the scene and the victim, complaining of pain in her head and stomach, was taken to Weill Cornell Medicine.

SNEAK THIEF Polce said an unknown man entered the Eli Essentials bakery at 1291 Lexington Ave. on Wednesday morning, Feb. 20, snuck down to the basement without permission or authority, and removed personal property that had been left unattended by an employee who was upstairs making sandwiches.

Upon discovering the theft, the employee canceled all his credit cards before any unauthorized charges turned up. The items stolen included an Apple iPhone 8 Plus valued at $869, a MetroCard, a driver’s license, a Senegal ID, and several credit and debit cards.

JOE WOES Apparently, a late-night Starbucks run didn’t stave off a young

STATS FOR THE WEEK Reported crimes from the 19th precinct for the week ending Mar 3 Week to Date 2019 2018

% Change 2019

2018

% Change

Murder

0

0

n/a

0

0

n/a

Rape

1

0

n/a

4

2

100.0

Robbery

3

2

50.0

26

21

23.8

Felony Assault

2

1

100.0

21

27

-22.2

Burglary

2

6

-66.7

42

39

7.7

Grand Larceny

21

17

23.5

266

258

3.1

Grand Larceny Auto

1

1

0.0

3

7

-57.1

woman’s regrettable moment of absentmindedness. At 2:20 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 4, a 21-year-old woman left her bag inside the Starbucks at 1128 Third Ave. When she returned the following afternoon, the bag was long gone. Later, three men were seen on video in a Footlocker store on East 42nd St. attempting to charge purchases on one of the woman’s debit cards, police said. The items stolen included a book bag, a pair of black Adidas sneakers valued at $100, a wallet, ID and a number of debit and credit cards.

Photo by Tony Webster, via Flickr

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8 MINUTES WAS ALL IT TOOK According to police, at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 18, a man parked a commercial van at the corner of Madison Avenue and East 68th St. When he returned just eight minutes later, he found that the driver-side door of the van had been left ajar and three bags containing Christian Dior clothes, valued at $15,000, were gone. Surveillance video at the location later showed an unknown man entering the vehicle through the driverside door and exiting through the rear doors, holding the bags of clothes, before fleeing north on Madison.

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Useful Contacts

Drawing Board

BY SUSAN FAIOLA

POLICE NYPD 19th Precinct

153 E. 67th St.

212-452-0600

159 E. 85th St.

311

FIRE FDNY 22 Ladder Co 13 FDNY Engine 39/Ladder 16

157 E. 67th St.

311

FDNY Engine 53/Ladder 43

1836 Third Ave.

311

FDNY Engine 44

221 E. 75th St.

311

CITY COUNCIL Councilmember Keith Powers

211 E. 43rd St. #1205

212-818-0580

Councilmember Ben Kallos

244 E. 93rd St.

212-860-1950

STATE LEGISLATORS State Sen. Jose M. Serrano

1916 Park Ave. #202

212-828-5829

State Senator Liz Krueger

1850 Second Ave.

212-490-9535

Assembly Member Dan Quart

360 E. 57th St.

212-605-0937

Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright

1485 York Ave.

212-288-4607

COMMUNITY BOARD 8

505 Park Ave. #620

212-758-4340

LIBRARIES Yorkville

222 E. 79th St.

212-744-5824

96th Street

112 E. 96th St.

212-289-0908

67th Street

328 E. 67th St.

212-734-1717

Webster Library

1465 York Ave.

212-288-5049

100 E. 77th St.

212-434-2000

HOSPITALS Lenox Hill NY-Presbyterian / Weill Cornell

525 E. 68th St.

212-746-5454

Mount Sinai

E. 99th St. & Madison Ave.

212-241-6500

NYU Langone

550 First Ave.

212-263-7300

CON EDISON

4 Irving Place

212-460-4600

POST OFFICES US Post Office

1283 First Ave.

212-517-8361

US Post Office

1617 Third Ave.

212-369-2747

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STOP AVOIDING THAT COLONOSCOPY HEALTH March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, so don’t put off that screening any longer

BY IAN COHEN, MD

Here’s the good news: since the Citywide Colon Cancer Control Coalition was formed in 2003 to advise the New York City Department of Health, colon cancer screenings among New Yorkers aged 50 and older has increased from 42 percent to 69 percent in 2017. So the word is getting out that colon cancer screening saves lives.

However, many people are still procrastinating, and while some things can be put off in life, colorectal cancer screening is not one of them.

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, a great reminder to get screened.

Colorectal cancer is second only to lung cancer as the leading cause of death in the United States. In New York State, about 9,000 men and women are diagnosed with colon cancer ev-

ery year, with about 3,200 dying from it annually. And more than 51,000 are expected to die from colorectal cancer nationwide this year. It is estimated that about one in every 20 people will be diagnosed with colon cancer at some point in their life.

If all that isn’t motivation enough, consider this — according to the American Cancer Society, the colon cancer death rate could be nearly cut in half if people followed recommend screening guidelines.

You may think you’re not at risk, since you may eat well and exercise, but when it comes to risk factors, age is key. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 90 percent of colon cancer cases occur in people who are 50 or older. The lifetime risk of developing colorectal cancer is similar in men and women, with the median age of colon cancer diagnosis for men at 68 and women at 72; while the median age for rectal cancer is 63 for both. And younger adults can get colon cancer too — with this proportion of cases nearly

doubling from 6 percent in 1990 to 11 percent in 2013. (Colon cancer in people under 50 may be more likely associated with heredity or other conditions, such as inflammatory bowel disease, known as Crohn’s disease, or ulcerative colitis.)

A colonoscopy is the most thorough way for a physician (usually a gastroenterologist) to directly examine and evaluate the colon for disease and then, if necessary, to therapeutically act on it during the same procedure. This is particularly advantageous for colon cancer screening and the removal of precancerous polyps. There is up to a 90 percent reduction in colorectal cancer risk following a colonoscopy and polypectomy. The colonoscope is a thin, steering instrument with a high definition camera and light source on one end that allows the physician to traverse the entire large intestine, which is about three to four feet long.

The most common concerns people have about a colonoscopy are the preparation for it and if it will be painful. It’s true that

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before a colonoscopy you will be required to drink a solution (with or without some pills) that will clean your colon of all residual stool. Today, there are a multitude of different preparations (large and small quantities, by prescription and overthe-counter) for this. As for the second worry, a colonoscopy is usually not painful. Almost all colonoscopies are now performed using sedation where you will feel drowsy and comfortable, while also breathing on your own. The most common type of sedation used also has an amnesic component, so patients do not remember the procedure. A thorough discussion with your health care provider can help determine the most appropriate preparation and sedation regimen for you.

If you still resist the colonoscopy, there are other screening methods. The fecal immunochemical test (FIT) is a stool test that may detect small amounts of bleeding that some colon cancers and polyps may create. The stool DNA test, commercially known as Cologuard, also checks your stool for certain gene changes that can be found in colon cancer cells. A flexible sigmoidoscopy is similar to a colonoscopy, except that it only evaluates the distal one-third of your large intestine. A virtual (or CAT scan) colonography is an imaging test designed to look for colon polyps and cancer. The take home point is to at least choose one method in consultation with your health care provider.

And please note that when an alternative screening modality has an abnormal finding, the recommendation is to proceed with a colonoscopy.

Finally, keep in mind that the guidelines listed below are for people at normal (or average) risk of developing colon cancer at 50, the currently recommended age to begin screening. (Last year, the American Cancer Society made a recommendation to begin screening of all average-risk individuals starting at age 45. This proposal remains under review by other societies and task forces, and has not been approved yet by insurance carriers.)

• Colonoscopy every 10 years • Annual FIT test • Flexible sigmoidoscopy every 5 to 10 years • Virtual colonography every 5 years • Stool DNA test (Cologuard) every 3 years

Dr. Ian Cohen, a Mount Sinai gastroenterologist, says age is a key risk factor for colon cancer. Photo: Courtesy of Mount Sinai You may be at a higher risk of getting colon cancer if you have: • A family history of inherited colorectal cancer syndromes, such as familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) or hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) • A family history of colorectal cancer or polyps. This usually means close relatives (parent, sibling, or child) who developed these conditions prior to the age 60.

• A personal history of colorectal cancer or polyps • A personal history of inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease) • Are African American. The American College of Gastroenterology has recommended initiating screening for this patient population at the age of 45 due to a higher rate of colorectal cancer at younger ages.

If you are in a higher risk category, you should speak to your health care provider as screening may commence at the age of 40, or even earlier.

Most early colorectal cancers produce NO symptoms, which is why getting screened for colorectal cancer is so important. Some possible symptoms of colorectal cancer, which do not always indicate the pres-

ence of cancer, warrant an evaluation by your health care provider. These include: • New onset abdominal pain • Rectal bleeding in or on your stool, even if you think it may be from hemorrhoids • Persistent changes in stool caliber and shape • A significant change in your bowel habits including constipation and diarrhea • Unexplained weight loss As with most cancers, there are ways to reduce your risk of colorectal cancer, in addition to appropriate screening. Adhere to a healthy diet that maintains an appropriate weight. The diet should maximize consumption of vegetables, fruits and whole grains while limiting red meat and processed meats ssuch as, bacon, sausage and hot dogs.

Also, exercise regularly, avoid tobacco products and limit alcohol intake.

But above all, get screened, by whichever screening method you will actually follow through on. And never hesitate to speak with your health care provider. That’s what we’re here for.

Ian Cohen, MD is an Assistant Professor of Medicine (Gastroenterology) in the Division of Digestive and Liver Disorders at Mont Sinai Beth Israel

MARCH 14-20,2019

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OTTY honorees with Our Town publisher Jeanne Straus. Left to right: Hample, Mason, Cohen, Torre, Lowry, Straus, Swanton, Kavanagh, Lim, Kallos, Husain, Walsh, Woodard, Keren.

OTTY AWARDS: BEST OF THE UPPER EAST SIDE HONORS Our Town celebrates the people and organizations that make our neighborhood special For more than 20 years, Our Town has recognized the unique contributions of East Siders with the OTTY (Our Town Thanks You) Awards.

On Thursday, March 7th, 12 OTTY’s were presented to a dynamic mix of individuals representing a hospital, a police precinct, an elementary school, a high-tech grad school, a syn-

agogue, the FDNY, the MTA, the city council, a legendary bookstore, a homeless shelter, a volunteer organization and a neighborhood association.

A happy crowd of friends and family ignored the cold March winds and joined the honorees for a reception and the presentation of the awards, which was emceed by NY1’s Roma Torre.

Thank you to this year’s OTTY recipients: Sisters Judith Lowry, Adina Cohen and Naomi Hample, owners of the Argosy Book Store; Sahar Husain and the members of the Muslim Volunteers for NY; Daniel Huttenlocher, founding dean of

Cornell Tech; Council Member Ben Kallos; FDNY Deputy Commissioner Laura Kavanagh; Cantor Dov Keren of the Sutton PLace Synagogue; Dr. Sabina Lim, vice president and chief of strategy, behavioral health, Mount Sinai Health System; Valerie Mason, president and founder of the East 72nd Street Neighborhood Association; Thomas Prendergast, former CEO of the MTA; Bob Swanton of the Holy Trinity Shelter; Deputy Inspector Kathleen Walsh, commander of the 19th precinct; and Martin Woodard, principal of P.S. 183.

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GRAY IS GREAT, BALD IS BEAUTIFUL

BY BETTE DEWING

And didn’t’ that get your attention, dear reader? And it just might happen as the Manhattan population gets increasingly older and old. Oh, yes, the word “old” will be used rather than age-denial labels like “older” and “senior.”

Just one of many radical thoughts after reading last week’s Our Town front page story “The Graying of Manhattan” by reporter Douglas Feiden. This demographic change couldn’t be more important for all New Yorkers to read about, and especially its policymakers, whose bulletins say very little about old

people’s concerns.

The welcome exception is another of Senator Liz Krueger’s Boomer Senior forums, scheduled for Thursday March 14 from 8:30 to 10:30 A.M. The accessible venue is Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, 331 East 70th Street. This forum’s topic is loneliness, and here’s hoping the most likely lonely senior group of people are able to attend.

And these invaluable forums could use a little more interaction between the boomers and seniors sitting together at these large round tables — to at least say hello and my name is such and such. Hopefully, the aging of Manhattan will help

overcome the systemic age-segregation reason this doesn’t automatically occur.

Isn’t this also an elder loneliness cause? But I have found that panelists on this topic mainly stress what individuals must do, especially elder ones who are told to “get involved, go to the senior center, etc.” Ah, but that involvement so needs to challenge the systems which segregate generations, not to mention the prejudice against getting older and old.

Can you believe, there’s even a bias against assistive walking devices, unbelievably found in the paper of record’s Jane Brody column of February 26, “A Few Steps to Minimize

the Risk of Falling.” All the steps described are surely important, and we need to be reminded about eliminating whatever might trip us up. (Incidentally, my rule of thumb is to resist doing anything I wouldn’t want someone I love to do.)

But what needs all-out protest are Brody’s unbelievable concluding remarks, which almost made me fall right out of my chair: “Anywhere and anytime your stability is uncertain, use a walking stick (or two), a cane or a walker. Think you’ll be painfully embarrassed? Think how much more humiliating and painful it will be if you fall.”

W- h- a-a-at! And my protest letter was not seen fit to print. Surely, the first “falling risk” to combat is for the no-longer-young to think using a cane, or other assistive device is embarrassing! That’s not only age-

ist, but potentially dangerous. And why is it humiliating to fall? Isn’t that really blaming the victim?

As for the loneliness dilemma, too often elders are blamed for this lamentable condition because “they’re cranky or complain too much.” Too often the opposite is true, and men especially are reluctant to share personal problems like loneliness.

And that’s another much-needed column or volume also concerned with why so few men attend public forums like these.

Here’s hoping the Graying of Manhattan will really address all the above, and above all, stress the need for intergenerational understanding and support. It takes a village — it takes a village. dewingbetter@aol.com

LIKE HEMLINES, ISAAC MIZRAHI’S CAREER HAS GONE UP AND DOWN

BY LORRAINE DUFFY MERKL

Long before there was “Odd Mom Out,” there was Odd Isaac Out. Isaac Mizrahi was an overweight Brooklyn yeshiva boy who became the designer of Upper East Side socialites and Hollywood icons; then went from haute couture at Bergdorf Goodman to Target and QVC. The closeted-to-out-and-proud Mizrahi, celebrity pal and fashion “It” boy really wanted to be an actor, but ultimately just wanted to be loved and accepted for who he is, now reveals how he did it in his new memoir “I.M.” In a world where everyone wants to be seen as having an Insta-worthy life, Mizrahi lays it all on the line — the career high-highs and insomnia-provoking lows, the emotional roller-coaster of optimism and depression with a side of anxiety, plus bouts of imposter syndrome, even though he worked hard for his success (“I live to work”) and deserved every ounce he got.

He’s not bragging — just noting — about how he got into the prestigious

High School of Performing Arts (the “Fame” school, now LaGuardia High School), started selling his designs while still a teen, graduated from Parsons, then went on to work to for Perry Ellis and Calvin Klein, before starting his own eponymous line. After shutting that down, he established a joint venture with Chanel. “What I thought was going to be a steady, secure climb was turning into a rather slippery slope,” he writes.

Mizrahi is also very forthright about famous friends who ghosted him and those who broke up with him to his face, as in the socialite who told him she could not be seen in his clothes anymore because of his collaboration with Target. He is open about seeking peace of mind with shrinks and tarot card readers, and how when a few years ago the Jewish Museum presented a comprehensive tribute to his talent, which included a showing of “Unzipped,” the 1995 documentary about him, the designer watched in the dark and cried. Also described are his post-Chanel days filled with excit-

ing entertainment projects, none of which worked out.

You needn’t have had to grow up in the outer boroughs or Orthodox or gay, nor toiled in fashion industry to relate to the one-time Oxygen TV show host; you just need to have experienced the loneliness and shame of feeling different.

I grew up in the Bronx, an Italian/ Irish only child in an Irish Catholic neighborhood where all my peers had Brady Bunch-size families. Like Isaac, I was pudgy, then slimmed down in high school. I was artistic, as he was, escaping to Manhattan as he did in search of people with the same sensibilities. There were career ups and downs, and one or two re-inventions as well. Hence, closing this page-turner I felt I’d spent time with a kindred spirit.

I actually did spend time with him, albeit briefly, when I went to his Symphony Space book talk moderated by “Grace Adler” herself, the Emmywinning Debra Messing. Even more poignant than reading his beauti-

fully written account is hearing him share stories of family estrangement because of his homosexuality, his partying days at 54 and the like, as well plans for his next chapter (a talk show perhaps?) — all with philosophical chasers, such as how just because you’re family, doesn’t mean you have to force making up. “If people don’t want to have a relationship with you, move on.”

Although he is confident in his many talents, he seems less so about some of his choices. Per Perhaps that’s why later, at the book signing itself, the Carlyle cabaret singer seemed genuinely touched by my story of how my silver, gray and pink raincoat from his 2003 Target capsule collection, which I still wear, once caused a woman to chase after me on lower Broadway to find out where I got it. “Thank you,” he said to me, “I really appreciate knowing that.”

I look forward to seeing where Isaac Mizrahi will land after his book tour.

FFrontt cover off “I “I.M.” M ” Photo Ph t via i Amazon.com A With all the marginally talented people on television and streaming — many with equally mediocre fashion lines — it would be refreshing to tune in each day for a dose of brilliance, Mizrahi-style.

Lorraine Duffy Merkl is the author of the novels “Fat Chick” and “Back to Work She Goes.”

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FILM SCREENING: THE BIGAMIST 96th St Library 112 East 96th St 2:00 p.m. Free Ida Lupino directed this 1953 ďŹ lm about a married San Francisco businessman with a secret â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a second family.

Lupino stars with Edmond Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien and Joan Fontaine. nypl.org 212-289-0908

The Frick 1 East 70th St 5:30 a.m. Free with museum admission Explore the galleries of a Gilded Age mansion and participate in a variety of programs designed especially for teens. The evening includes sketching, informal gallery talks, and live music. frick.org 212-288-0700

Symphony Space 2537 Broadway at 95th St 8:00 p.m $45 Come watch one of the most vibrant, versatile and everrelevant musical collectives in music today; both as a performance ensemble, and as an ambassadorial African American organization founded on the triumvirate missions of empowerment, education and entertainment. symphonyspace.org 212-864-5400

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Sun 17 ► FILM & DISCUSSION: ETHNIC NOTIONS NY Society for Ethical Culture 2 West 64th St 11:00 a.m. Free Come watch filmmaker, Marlon Riggs’ Emmy-winning documentary that takes viewers on a disturbing voyage through American history, tracing for the first time the deep-rooted stereotypes which have fueled anti-black prejudice. Through these images we can begin to understand the evolution of racial consciousness in America. ethical.nyc 212-874-5210

Mon 18 Tue 19 NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE: DOCUMENTING DISCRIMINATION Library for the Performing Arts 40 Lincoln Center Plaza 6:00 p.m. Free This will be an examination of police misconduct and social discrimination in Cleveland, Ohio and will frame a consideration of the history of using moving images to document or bear witness to social injustice and the policing of Black America. nypl.org 917-275-6975

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF IN YIDDISH — CONVERSATION AND PERFORMANCES 92y 1395 Lexington Ave 6:30 p.m. $40 Join Oscar and Tony award winner Joel Grey, who directed this new critically acclaimed production of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish, Broadway veteran Steven Skybell, Emmy-nominated actress Jackie Hoffman, and Jennifer Babiak for a celebratory talk and performance of songs from the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene production of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish — now playing at Stage 42 on New York City’s 42nd Street.

92y.org 212-415-5500

Wed 20 MIND’S EYE: IMPLICIT TENSIONS: MAPPLETHORPE NOW The Guggenheim 1071 Fifth Ave 2:00 p.m Free This month, visitors who are blind or have low vision are invited to discover the exhibition Implicit Tensions: Mapplethorpe Now. Explore Robert Mapplethorpe’s daring imagery that deliberately transgresses social mores and established him as one of the most critically acclaimed and controversial American artists of the late twentieth century. guggenheim.org 212-423-3500

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In the News with Jeff Greenfield: Maggie Haberman and Alexander Burns

SUNDAY, MARCH 17TH, 8PM 92nd Street Y | 1395 Lexington Ave. | 212-415-5500 | 92y.org Veteran TV journalist Greenfield joins high-profile Trump correspondents for an annual assessment of the state of our democracy and a look to the way forward ($40).

Athletes to Activists: Politics of the Playing Field

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20TH, 6:30PM Museum of the City of New York | 1220 Fifth Ave. | 212-534-1672 | mcny.org In conjunction with the upcoming exhibition In the Dugout with Jackie Robinson: An Intimate Portrait of a Baseball Legend, hear from track and field star John Carlos, famous for his 1968 black power salute, and ESPN’s Howard Bryant, talking about advocacy within sports ($20).

Just Announced | Michael Lewis in Conversation: Against the Rules

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3RD, 7:30PM 92nd Street Y | 1395 Lexington Ave. | 212-415-5500 | 92y.org Some of the most insightful reporting on the sea change of the last two years has been done by Michael Lewis of Moneyball and Liar’s Poker fame. Find him in conversation on his new podcast, talking to Malcolm Gladwell about what happens when the referee’s authority is lost ($55).

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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A CUSTOM-MADE ARMORY SHOW With so much amazing art to choose from, our critic curated her own exhibit of great works by women

BY MARY GREGORY

Faith Ringgold, “Coming to Jones Road Tanka #1 Harriet Tubman, “ 2010. Acrylic on canvas with pieced fabric border, 65 x 44 inches, (C) 2019 Faith Ringgold, ARS member. Photo: Courtesy ACA Galleries, New York.

It’s been said that no two people read the same book.

With 198 galleries from 33 countries represented, and thousands of works of art, no two people see the same Armory Show. The breadth and scope of the fair, which celebrated its 25th anniversary this year, is outstanding even in a city filled with art fairs. Acres of art and exhibitors hoping to catch the eyes of tens of thousands of visitors promises lots of spectacle and eye-candy, as well as innumerable possibilities for moving, thoughtprovoking one-on-one interactions with compelling works of art.

This year’s Armory Show wasn’t last year’s, or the year’s before. Sixty-three galleries brought their best artists here for the first time. They came from Rio, Berlin, Istanbul, and Singapore, among other places, transporting visions and voices from afar. Distant times also made an appearance, in the “Insights” section, which focused on early to late 20th century masters.

With Matisses and Picassos vying for attention with art made last month, along with photographs, paintings, installations, sculptures, and video, how does one make the most of the experience without being overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the Armory Show? I decided on a do-it-yourself approach.

March is Women’s History Month, and disappointed by the dearth of exhibitions devoted to women artists (an exception being Chirlane McCray’s extraordinary “She Persists” at Gracie Mansion) I set out to curate my own.

The Armory Show provides lists, directories and lots of navigational tools. With treasure maps it wasn’t hard to find great work by great women.

Modern Masters Hollis Taggart Gallery used their booth to highlight the impact of New York’s Art Students League, a beacon of brilliance, in part because women were there. A who’s who of 20th century masters was on view. Absolute delights were Helen Frankenthaler’s ethereal fields of tone, Grace Hartigan’s bravura brushwork packed with color, Louise Nevelson’s complex forms devoid of color, Lee Krasner’s sophistication, and an early piece by Audrey Flack (done when she was 20) of earthy biomorphic shapes that give no clue of the later photorealism that we think of when we think of Flack. London’s Bernard Jacobsen Gallery also had beautiful Frankenthaler works on display.

Rebels with a Cause

Brie Ruais, “Weaving the Landscape (four times 130lbs),” 2018. Glazed and pigmented stoneware, hardware, 95 x 152 x 8 inches. Photo: Courtesy Albertz Benda Gallery, New York.

Miriam Schapiro’s charming chintz fabric assemblages, on view at Eric Firestone Gallery, were a second-wave feminist punch aimed at male-dominated art circles. She took quilting, cloth, and thread and proved that great, meaningful works of art could come from historically female domains. Contemporary artists like Nick Cave

Grace Hartigan, “Kansas,” 1959, Oil on canvas, 87 3/4 x 86 3/4 inches. Photo: Courtesy Hollis Taggart, New York. (also on view at the fair) and Ghada Amer might not be making art from fabric if Schapiro hadn’t smashed preconceptions. Also pulling threads (among other media) into powerful works of art is Harlem-born artist, Faith Ringgold, shown at ACA Galleries. Known for her award-winning children’s book and to New York subway riders for “Flying Home Harlem Heroes and Heroines” at 125th St., Ringgold’s work can stop you in your tracks, take your breath away, and bring tears to your eyes. It’s that strong, honest and moving. Her “Tar Beach 2” quilt, along with others like “Coming to Jones Road Tanka #1 Harriet Tubman” blend traditional women’s work, spiritual references and proud documentation of African American history into unforgettable works of art. Feminist artist Marilyn Minter’s work is in more of the in-your-face variety. Her fearless, frank images deal with lips, eyes, makeup, fashion, and the complex layers behind them. “Loop-de-Loop” a 2013 chromogenic print, was on view at Carolina Nitsch Contemporary Art.

Up-and-Coming Brie Ruais, a New York artist presented by Albertz Benda Gallery, creates ceramic works that bridge the worlds of sculpture and painting. Imagine gestural brushstrokes, like those of Franz Kline or Robert Motherwell, jumping off the canvas and becoming three-dimensional. The physicality of Ruais’ sculptures imparts a presence, balanced by calm, earthy tones. California artist Fay Ray (on view at Shulamit Nazarian’s booth) makes large-scale sculptures of rock, chain and metal that bring to mind giant sized earrings, wind chimes, Calders and Mirós. They’re at once fanciful, serious, and original.

Uncategorizable, But Not to Be Missed Vija Celmins amazing work at Susan Sheehan Gallery.

Celmins’ black and white images bring to mind the kind of tireless, devoted work done by manuscript illuminators in medieval scriptoriums. She recreates realms of sky, sea and earth in minute detail through precise observation and unimaginable effort. Look closely, and they become etched in your mind.

The 2019 Armory Show may be over, but these artists are forever. Seek out their work, you will be the richer for it.

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‘KISS ME, KATE’ IN THE AGE OF #METOO THEATER How the new revival of Cole Porter’s masterpiece deals with sexism in the original show — and the Shakespeare play on which it was based

Any changes are surgical rather than significant ... [we’re aiming for a] Kate that can shine and not be seen as a relic of the past.”

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With “Kiss Me, Kate” once more lighting up Broadway in previews and due to open March 14th, fans of the classic musical might be mulling on the show’s misogynistic foundation in Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew.”

The co-writer of the show’s narrative structure was once quoted as calling “Shrew” Shakespeare’s “slap your wife around and she’ll thank you for it play.” That was Bella Spewack who, with her husband Sam, created the book for many shows and films in the 1930’s through to the ’50’s. But in their successful body of work, “Kate” was recognized as something special. It was the first musical to win the top Antoinette Perry (Tony) Award in 1949.

It was composer Cole Porter’s masterpiece, with dazzling music matched by witty lyrical wonders: “Another Op’nin’, Another Show,” “Brush Up Your Shakespeare,” “So In Love,” “Too Darn Hot,” Always True To You (In My Fashion),” “Why Can’t You Behave?” among them. But it was also “a masterpiece of musical theatre,” as Alan Jay Lerner notes in his book about Broadway. Lerner, the great “My Fair Lady” lyricist, points out the imaginative play-within-a-play construction of the book for Kate, that interweaves Shakespeare’s “Shrew” into the story of a tumultuous backstage romance.

Revivals of “Kate” are left facing the problematic sexism in the original Shakespeare play. Sometimes, a director can make subtle changes in stage action without altering a word of dialogue. At the end of one revival of “Fiddler On the Roof,” minor costume modifications transformed the Jews leaving Anatevka into refugees in our own time. In the current “My Fair Lady,” Eliza is shown leaving Professor Higgins

Minna Elias says that the work remains viable and potent today.

Photo: Leida Snow by the way she exits the final scene.

In the original 1948 “Kate,” the leading lady got spanked.

That wouldn’t work for today’s #MeToo audiences, so that’s gone and the dialogue had to be tweaked. In reviving the musical, the producers looking to soften the sexism couldn’t make any revisions without running into a thicket of intellectual rights holders — organizations, estates and individuals who have control over what goes up on stage.

In the 1999 revival of “Kate,” any reworking had to get a green light from Sam and Bella Spewack. Sam died in 1971, Bella in 1990. They had no children and willed their intellectual property rights to their close friends, Lois and Arthur Elias.

The Eliases were vigilant in seeing that the script in that production honed closely to the original. They were also insistent that no one get credit for the book except the Spewacks.

After their deaths, that authority rests with their daughter, Minna Elias, who lives on the Upper West Side with her husband and two teenage children.

The 58-year-old lawyer, who works in the federal government, takes her showbiz responsibilities seriously.

Over eggs Benedict near her Upper East Side office, Elias said that whatever issues are presented by the underlying material, she is certain that the work remains viable and potent today. “It’s important that the Spewacks get the credit they deserve,” she emphasized.

“I met with [Director] Scott Ellis,” she said. What they arrived at, along with those

Minna Elias

representing the Cole Porter estate, is that “any changes are surgical rather than significant.” Elias said that what they’re aiming for is a “‘Kate’ that can shine and not be seen as a relic of the past.”

Productions of “Kate” have always been flexible, Elias said, but for this Roundabout Theatre revival, starring Kelli O’Hara, Will Chase and Corbin Bleu, she believes the audience will understand why the leading lady in both the play (Lili) and the play-within-the-play (Kate), returns to the man she’s been fighting with. “This production solves the issues of ‘The Taming of the Shrew,’” she said. “It allows us to see the resolution as the coming together of two equals. Lilli/Kate is not tamed. She returns to the man she loves on her terms, and to the theater, where she can have fun and be her true self.”

Some changes in staging contributed to this concept, Elias added. For example, if Kate were spanked, that “would make a contemporary audience cringe.” And, she said, Lilli/ Kate is given additional stage business. She and her co-star tussle physically. Kate is not subdued.

Purists may not like some of the changes. When a single word, “women” is changed to “people,” how many in the audience will notice the shift in the famous Shakespearean line so it becomes “I am ashamed that people are so simple”?

In a post, Roundabout’s Artistic Director and CEO Todd Haimes said: “It is exactly the work of a revival ... [to present] the truth of our past alongside the perspective of our present.”

MARCH 14-20,2019

HOSPITAL CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 CEO of Northwell. “And we cannot just stand still and continue to exist where the youngest building in this facility today was built 40 years ago.”

The superblock that runs 204 feet along the avenues and 405 feet down the side streets is made up of 10 buildings that were haphazardly stitched together in the period between the War of 1898 and the Nixon administration.

“It was a combination of 10 pieces that were not put together in the ideal fashion,” Dowling said. “In fact, it seems like it was done for the purposes of confusion, so you couldn’t find your way around. It’s like that maze they put people into, and I’ve never been able to get out at the other end without help.”

The bottom line: “What we’re left with today, despite all of the great work that we’re doing, is a tired and old facility that is not conducive to the kinds of care we need to be delivering,” the CEO added.

Accordingly, Lenox Hill is starting all over again — just as it did in 1857, when it was founded as the German Hospital and Dispensary on Canal Street; in 1868, when it first put down stakes on Park Avenue; and in 1918, when it dropped its old name at the height of World War I.

The Enduring Brand In fact, the Lenox Hill Hospital name is just about the only thing its executives are vowing not to change: “That’s an iconic name — a special name with a special meaning and an extraordinary history,” Dowling said.

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Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com “You don’t throw away history, you preserve and celebrate it ... So we’re never changing the name, and if I ever think of doing it, shoot me!”

Of course, some of Lenox Hill’s history will inevitably come tumbling down. Eight of its 10 buildings will be demolished. Two of them, the Wollman Pavilion and the Lachman Building, will be gut rehabilitated.

Expect clangorous, if staged, construction as the existing campus is effectively erased from the streetscape.

And through it all, the hospital will remain open and fully operational.

“We’re not into disruption for disruption’s sake, but progress does require a little bit of commotion,” Dowling said. “At the end of the day, when all is done, the community will be a better place — and people will come here to see what a modern futuristic hospital looks like.”

It won’t come cheap, and it won’t come fast: Overall project costs are estimated at north of $2 billion, and possibly in the $2.5 billion to $3 billion range.

The extensive city and state approval process is expected to take some 1.5 years or longer, and multi-phased construction could last seven to nine years, meaning a final ribbon-cutting might not occur until 2028 or 2029.

Lenox Hill’s plans were first reported exclusively by Our Town in mid-January, in a Page 1 story which outlined how the institution was exploring the sale of a portion of its frontage on Park Avenue for high-end residences to help underwrite redevelopment costs.

On March 7, Northwell took the first step in making those preliminary plans public, submitting an application with the Dept. of City Planning to formally kick off the long review-and-

A typical congested street scene on East 77th Street as double- and triple-parked ambulances outside Lenox Hill Hospital’s emergency room make passage all-but impossible. Plans for the new hospital complex call for off-street, pull-in ambulance parking that would end the gridlock. Photo: Courtesy of Lenox Hill Hospital / Northwell Health approval process and laying out how it would rebuild its Manhattan flagship.

Earlier that same day, four hospital executives conducted an hour-long briefing for the newspaper, and followed it up with a half-hour tour of the aging facilities, conducted by Joshua Strugatz, the vice president for Manhattan redevelopment, to demonstrate the facility’s pressing need to revamp.

Tripling The ER, Boosting The OR Among the highlights of the new

An architect’s rendering of the double-story, glassed-in atrium, at the base of a 30-story tower, that is the proposed new entrance to Lenox Hill Hospital at Lexington Avenue and 76th Street. Rendering: Courtesy of Lenox Hill Hospital / Northwell Health

Lenox Hill Hospital project: • A 516-foot, 30-story tower on Lexington Avenue. The main hospital entrance, currently mid-block on 77th Street, will be moved around the corner to Lex and 76th Street, and patients will enter via a two-story, glassed-in public atrium fronted by colonnades.

• A new Mother-Baby Hospital. The 259-foot, 13-story facility for women and children will have a dedicated entrance on Park Avenue at the corner of 77th Street.

• A Neonatal Intensive Care Unit more than 10 times the size of the current NICU. Infants today are spaced out a mere three feet apart in a 2,500-square-foot facility, Strugatz said on the tour. The proposed new NICU will be 26,700 square feet – and each baby will be given a full-size patient room.

• A 53,000-square-foot Emergency Room, tripling in size from the existing 14,300 square feet to meeting surging volume. “If you build it, they will come,” said Dr. Jill Kalman, Lenox Hill’s executive director. The ER now treats some 56,000 patients per year, she said. “That number will certainly double,” she added.

• A break from what Dowling dubs a “horror show for the community.”

Double- and triple-parked ambulances routinely clog 77th Street as they discharge patients at the ER. That traffic nightmare will be ameliorated, somewhat, by building a covered, offstreet pull-in niche that has room for six parked ambulances.

• A land sale. This is the real estate play that is expected to finance about half of the project. Lenox Hill owns some of the priciest parcels in Manhattan, and it will seek approval to monetize a site at the corner of Park Avenue and 76th Street for ultra-luxu-

rious residences.

The hospital wants to upzone a stretch of Park Avenue where heights are generally capped at 210 feet. If it succeeds, it could sell a buildable lot for a 490-foot, 41-story tower that could house up to 200 residential units spread out over 337,000 square feet.

“I’ve worked with a lot of real estate guys, and they salivate over the possibility of doing something in this part of Manhattan,” Dowling said. “I don’t mind the fact that they salivate — I just want their money.”

• An ADA-accessible 77th Street subway stop. Since the hospital is seeking additional density, it is offering certain community benefits, and among them is widening the stairways at the Lexington Avenue station, providing all-weather coverage on the stairs and making it accessible to the disabled.

• A private setting for healing. There would be 475 patient rooms, up from 450, and they would all be private and single-bedded, as opposed to the current configuration in which about two thirds of the rooms are double-bedded. Total room size would grow to 322 square feet from 253 square feet.

• A larger theater for surgeries.

There would be 30 larger operating rooms, up from 25 smaller ORs. “This is about building a modern hospital for modern medicine, and preserving an institution that is a core part of this community,” Dowling said.

“As an organization, we like to set high targets,” he added. “We like to dream a lot. But then, we like to implement. Dreaming alone doesn’t help you. We like to basically lay out a vision of what’s possible, and this is possible, this is doable, this will happen.” invreporter@strausnews.com

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MARCH 14-20,2019

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

SOS FOR THE UWS ‘COMMERCIAL DESERT’ A new grassroots organization is looking to solve the problem of empty storefronts in the neighborhood

BY JASON COHEN

With vacancies on the rise throughout the city, a group of women in the Upper West Side recently decided to take action and formed a grassroots organization with hopes of addressing this issue.

In February, five women — Beth Krieger, Ann Meyerson, Susan Eley, Debbie Spero and Stephanie Pinto — launched Save Our Stores (SOS) on Facebook. Its mission is to stop the epidemic of empty storefronts and revitalize commercial life in their neighborhood.

“This is a problem that the whole city has been trying to deal with,” Krieger said.

The group met once in February and held its second meeting on March 6. Last week SOS established five task forces; legislative action, commercial revitalization, communications/media, vacant storefront research and community outreach. Before its next meeting

in April, members are doing outreach for more volunteers and each task force will come up with proposals for action.

The problem is acute: citing a City Council report from 2017, the New York Post wrote in January that “Manhattan’s overall vacancy rates doubled from 2.1 to 4.2 percent between 2012 and 2017.”

Some recent closures on the UWS include La Vela, 373 Amsterdam Avenue; Harriet’s Kitchen, 502 Amsterdam Avenue; Coffeeberry, 618 Amsterdam Avenue; Chocolate Works, 641 Amsterdam Avenue; Seasons, 661 Amsterdam Avenue; and Big Bang Burger, 426 Amsterdam Avenue.

“I’ve been very distressed [by] what I call the commercial desert of the Upper West Side,” said Meyerson, who is a lifelong resident of the neighborhood.

“Why is the place looking like we are in a depression?”

Meyerson, 70, said she has witnessed poor economic times in the 70s, 80s, 90s and during the recession in the 2000s, but has never seen such a rash of vacancies.

In January, she posted her displeasure with the current situation on Nextdoor, a

STOREFRONT VACANCIES BY AVENUE 15%

14.7%

14.0%

12.0%

10%

10.5% 8.5% 7.6%

5%

0% BROADWAY

AMSTERDAM

2007 Survey Results

COLUMBUS

2017 Survey Results

Source: Small Business Health Report: Commercial Vacancies on the Upper West Side in 2017, report by Office of Council Member Helen Rosenthal

Business

social media site for specific neighborhoods. Many people quickly replied, echoing her sentiments.

“There must be something deeply systemic,” Meyerson remarked. “We know that it’s not just our neighborhood.”

Double-digit vacancy rates Meyerson and her fellow members hope that with a new Democratic state legislature, things can finally get rolling.

She said that while high rent, property taxes and minimum wage have forced places to close, many landlords have chosen to keep stores empty for numerous years.

With Mayor Bill de Blasio lobbying for the state to implement a vacancy tax on landlords, Meyerson and her fellow members feel this would be a step in the right direction. According to the Post, “a number of recent studies have found retail corridors in prosperous Manhattan neighborhoods are struggling with double-digit vacancy rates, from 27 percent on Amsterdam Avenue on the Upper West Side to 20 percent on a stretch of Broadway in Soho. Five percent or less is generally considered ‘healthy.’”

Meyerson explained that some of the commercial vacancies in the UWS can be attributed to the recent luxury developments that have caused commercial rent to increase to keep up with the residential costs.

She emphasized that it isn’t just restaurants that are disappearing, but supermarkets, wine shops, hardware stores and more.

Elected officials have taken notice. In 2017, Council member Helen Rosenthal did a study about the issue titled, “Small Business Health Report.”

In the summer of 2017, her staff canvassed Broadway, Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues, along with numerous crossstreets. Their key findings were: 88 percent of the 1,332 storefronts surveyed were active

Poster from the SOS Facebook page. Photos: Kevin Kinner businesses; 12 percent of storefronts were unoccupied; Broadway had the largest number of empty storefronts; an estimated 67 percent of the street-level businesses along Broadway, Amsterdam and Columbus are independently owned small businesses; 24 percent are national chains; and 9 percent are local chains of some sort.

Shopping habits on the UWS “It has been very challenging,” said Sarah Crean, communications director for Rosenthal. “It’s a city-wide issue.

Council districts throughout the city and the mayor’s office haven’t been able to address this the way people would like.

There have been ongoing discussions for years about city rent control.”

Crean noted that the way people shop today is different than 15 or 20 years ago, but that is no excuse for landlords keeping storefronts empty. It is a daunting task to protect small businesses when landlords control rent, she said.

One person who has seen the changing landscape of the UWS is Janice Horowitz, a longtime resident and member of SOS. Horowitz told the West Side Spirit that this is not the community she has grown to know and love.

She said she used to be able to walk a few blocks and get almost everything she needs on her way home from work, and now, that is simply not the case.

Horowitz acknowledged that companies like Amazon and Fresh Direct have taken away

business, but many people, including the high number of seniors on the UWS, still prefer to shop in person. People should not have to walk half a mile to shop, she said.

“There isn’t the butcher, the baker and the candlestick-maker anymore,” she said.

According to Horowitz, the greed of landlords has gotten in the way of a well-functioning city. She said that landlords don’t seem to mind that stores are empty, while in actuality they are hurting the economy and the community.

“Landlords have gotten carried away and some have gotten this fantasy that better rent is the better way,” Horowitz said.

To volunteer for SOS: goo.gl/forms/ L1CWyscekLIDVSLy1

MARCH 14-20,2019

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

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MARCH 14-20,2019

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HANDS-ON HISTORY EDUCATION A citywide competition challenges and inspires young history students to find meaning and importance in past events

Whatever it is that you love, there’s a history to that.”

Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker staff writer

BY MICHELLE NAIM

Rain fell hard last Sunday morning, but that didn’t stop the 411 students from all five boroughs who made their way to the New York Academy of Medicine on the Upper East Side to compete in the 29th annual New York City History Day Competition.

The doors opened at 8:00 a.m. and the students, from grades 6 through 12, filed in and began to set-up for their presentations.

They had been preparing for this day since last fall.

This year’s theme was “Triumph & Tragedy in History.” As the 2019 theme narrative asks: “Can one person’s triumph be another’s tragedy? Can the same person or group suffer from tragedy and triumph at the same time? How does one ultimately triumph after tragedy? Can triumph lead to tragedy?” These were the types of questions students grappled with as they worked to formulate their presentations throughout the school year.

A New Generation of Historians New Yorker staff writer Vinson Cunningham delivered the opening address. He spoke about the role history has played in his life, highlighting ways that may not be obvious.

“Although I’ve never been to NYC History Day,I do love the fact that it brings that mission to children and raises up the next group of leaders,” he said.

Though he said he was not always the best history student in school, he recognizes the importance and impact history has on all of us. “Whatever it is that you love, there’s a history to that ... sooner or later the thing that you really care about is going to invite you into its history. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a ‘history person’ or not. If you are someone who loves a thing you are going to end up in the space of [its] history. And so, history is a curiosity — it’s the life of any great enthusiasm.”

The Museum of the City of New York has been the sole host of the competition since its been held in the city, said Maggie Bordonaro, the museum’s education manager. The first year,

Philip Winter, 16, from York Preparatory School, got into the spirit of the event for the New York City History Day competition.

Photo: Michelle Naim 1991, there were just 32 students from five schools. Today, the hundreds of competitors come from 36 different schools, This year, the museum introduced 10 new schools to the competition.

“This is for everyone,” Bordonaro said. “It can be really great for students with different learning modalities.”

Bordonaro also pointed to the diversity of the participating students, and noted the museum’s role in “bridging the gap” between the students and their research opportunities. “We are serving as the access point for students who wouldn’t have that access otherwise,” she said.

Creating and Competing Students were able to choose one of five different formats to present their findings: documentary, exhibit, written paper, theater/live performance, or website. And they were able to pick a topic from anywhere in the world and any time period in history. This encouraged the students to follow their passions, for a particular piece of history, and for the best way to present it.

The presentations are judged on historical quality (60 percent), relation to that year’s theme (20 percent) and clarity of presentation (20 percent).

The winners will be announced on Wednesday, March 14. “A lot

of people get focused on the fact that it’s a competition, but the winning of the prize ... is definitely not the greatest gain,” Bordonaro said. “The greatest gains are the skills learned — how to do research, how to take facts, synthesize them, and make a cogent argument.

I would also say what happens day-of is that they are speaking with adults, whom they don’t know, about their work ... They become mini-experts in whatever they’re studying.”

Rachel Thompson is a seventh-grade social studies teacher at PS 149 in Middle Village, Queens. After her students presented their website, they told her the experience was “nerve racking ... but they liked our topic.”

Eighth-grader Racheli Moskowitz from Manhattan Day School made an exhibition board to present her research on the relationship between the Osage Indians and the creation of the FBI. At first, Racheli wanted to build a website. But as she was working on it, she shifted gears to a project that she felt was a better showcase for her creative skills. “My favorite part, I think, was actually making the board, because I love making things. Putting everything together and seeing how it turned out was such a fun experience.”

MARCH 14-20,2019

JAN HUS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 ADA-accessible, social-justice jewel box that will minister to the flock — while also tending to the elderly, hungry, homeless and impoverished.

A sanctuary for prayer will grace the ground floor, and one level below, the church’s Urban Outreach Center will offer onestop, social services, like the first supermarket-style food pantry on the Upper East Side.

Plans aren’t finalized, but among the options Jan Hus is considering for the space is a church-based, pre-school in an area where overcrowding is rife and demand for local school seats far outstrips capacity.

Also on tap for the second, third and fourth floors: A retreat center, an incubator space for a social justice-oriented nonprofit, and even a café-like setting for 12-step recovery programs, of which the church hosts 54.

“We need to do what’s right for the most marginalized people in New York City,” said the Rev. Beverly Dempsey, who has been senior pastor at Jan Hus since 2014.

The move caps a complex real estate transaction involving two faith-based organizations and a third nonprofit, all of whom opted to stay and grow on the Upper East Side by buying three separate buildings.

In the first wave of the deals, which was first reported by Our Town last December, the Church of the Epiphany sold its property on York Ave. at 74th Street to Weill Cornell Medicine, which expects to build a residence hall for graduate and medical school students on the site.

Epiphany pocketed a $68 million bonanza from the sale,

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Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com enabling it to turn around and simultaneously purchase the 1888 home of Jan Hus, which sits one block to the west, at 351 East 74th St. between First and Second Avenues.

Jan Hus, in turn, reaped $22.6 million from the sale in a transaction that closed on Feb. 20.

It needed the cash: Ongoing maintenance of the red brick, rock-faced brownstone church, with its Gothic Revival and Romanesque Revival façade, has been a financial drain, and Jan Hus has faced multi-year operating deficits with a limited number of members, benefactors and grant providers.

Right-Sizing at the Altar It isn’t alone. Stewards of several other UES religious institutions in the 60s, 70s, 70s and 90s — faced with soaring bills to heat, maintain and upgrade vast legacy buildings — have been forced to shrink their footprints and monetize their real estate to stay fiscally afloat.

Indeed, Jan Hus is moving from the 23,000 square feet it now occupies to a 15,000 square-foot replacement property, decreasing its space inventory by 34.8 percent.

The new home is better suited to its current needs, mission and budget, the church says.

“Too many congregations hold on to their older, deteriorating buildings until their finances can no longer support them,” Dempsey said.

“We sold our property so we can live into the future,” she added. “Relocating to 1745 First Avenue will enable us to continue to serve thousands of vulnerable people each year for generations to come with a more robust ministry than ever before.”

The church is paying less than

The former lumber company building on First Avenue in Yorkville in a circa 1940s photo. Currently the Home of Soccer, it will become the new place of worship for Jan Hus Presbyterian Church. Photo: NYC Municipal Archives Collections / 1940s Tax Photos

the initial asking price, which was $13.5 million. The exact amount wasn’t immediately clear. Since it sold its old home for $9.1 million more than that offering price, it will have a large cushion both to create an endowment and fund extensive renovations.

Still, the road to the purchase was rocky. Cost estimates to upgrade the elevator and mechanicals — and make the property, which itself dates to 1883, ADA accessible — were far steeper than initially anticipated.

Fortunately, Dempsey said, Hermann Doss, whose family founded the Home of Soccer in 1933 and has owned the sports supply company ever since, was sympathetic. “He was very gracious and flexible in price to accommodate the community,” she added.

The bottom line: A contract of sale could be executed as early as March 13. A closing is planned for May 20. After roughly a year to renovate all four floors of its new home, Jan Hus hopes for a ribbon-cutting in the spring of 2020.

Under the terms of its deal with Epiphany, the church has to vacate its 74th Street space

by July 15. And in the interim between move-out and movein, “The worshipping community will be in diaspora,” Dempsey said.

The different parts of its ministry will occupy swing spaces in the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church and Church of the Living Hope in East Harlem, before finally reuniting under one roof at the Home of Soccer.

Elected officials were elated that Jan Hus will continue to provide vital homeless-outreach services on the UES: “’Give me your tired, your poor,’” quoted City Council Member Ben Kallos. “’Send these, the homeless, tempesttossed to me.’ You are welcomed here on the Upper East Side, where we will feed you, clothe you and help you.”

State Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright went back even further in time. “There is a 1773 poem by William Cowper which begins with the line, ‘God moves in a mysterious way,’” she said.

“In this spirit, it is possible that the physical move north may well provide new opportunities for more people to become familiar with the congregation, and its good works, even as it continues to serve its loyal parishioners,” Seawright added. invreporter@strausnews.com

Renderings of DOT street treatments designed to make left turns safer at various types of intersections. Image: NYC DOT

TURNS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9 and one of at least 16 left turn fatalities citywide over the same period.

A 2016 study conducted by the city’s Department of Transportation found that left-turning vehicles cause a disproportionate share of pedestrian and cyclist fatalities and injuries in New York City.

The study indicated that 108 pedestrians and cyclists were killed by left-turning vehicles between 2010 and 2014 — accounting for more than one of every eight fatalities and more than a quarter of all injuries suffered by pedestrians and cyclists during the period.

Left turns result in fatalities and severe injuries at three times the rate of right turns, the DOT found.

Transportation planners attribute the so-called “left turn problem” to confluence of factors.

Speed is a key issue: drivers tend to go faster turning left than when they turn right.

When turning onto a two-way street from a one-way street, for instance, a driver turning right is forced to turn at a tight radius, which necessitates a slower speed. By contrast, drivers turning left often “cut the corner” across the doubleyellow line, which in addition to allowing for higher speed also creates a larger zone of potential conflict with cyclists and pedestrians.

A driver’s field of vision is also diminished during a left turn. The blind spot created by the portion of the vehicle frame between the windshield and the driver’s side window can often obscure passing cyclists or pedestrians in the crosswalk.

These risk factors are compounded further on two-way streets without dedicated leftturn signals, where drivers must time their turn to a gap

in oncoming traffic and deal with so-called “back pressure” from trailing vehicles — potentially drawing their attention away from bikers and pedestrians in their path as they commit to the turn.

These dangers are a factor in UPS’s longstanding policy of routing drivers to avoid left turns unless they are unavoidable. The company has also found that it saves time and fuel.

Left turn “calming treatments” As traffic deaths in New York City have reached historic lows in recent years (in spite of an uptick last year in pedestrian deaths), the city has prioritized improving dangerous left turn intersections as part of its Vision Zero street safety program.

Since 2016, the DOT has installed low-cost treatments designed to reduce left turn speeds at more than 300 high-risk intersections citywide, including over 125 in Manhattan. These left turn traffic “calming treatments” vary by intersection configuration, but often include plastic bollards or rubber curbs intended to force cars to turn at a tighter radius, resulting in slower speeds.

According to the DOT, pedestrian injuries have dropped more than 20 percent at intersections that have received these treatments, outpacing injury reduction rates at comparable locations. Vehicle turn speeds have also dropped about 20 percent.

Additionally, the Taxi and Limousine Commission now emphasizes left turn safety in its drivers’ video training, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is currently exploring improved bus designs to enhance the bus operator’s view when making left turns.

The DOT plans to install left turn traffic calming treatments at another 100 intersec-

tions in 2019. A spokesperson said specific locations will be released in the coming months.

Meanwhile, many dangerous left turns along Vision Zero priority corridors such as Eighth Avenue remain without calming treatments, including the West 45th Street intersection where Chiam was killed. At that intersection, vehicles use a turning lane adjacent to the curbside bike lane, and must account for passing cyclists as they cross the bike lane to turn left.

Joseph Cutrufo, communications director with the bicycle and pedestrian advocacy group Transportation Alternatives, said that such mixing zones inevitably put cyclists in danger.

“When we have to rely on drivers to protect cyclists, that’s clearly a flaw in the system,” Cutrufo said. “We can’t leave it up to drivers to keep cyclists safe. We need the design of the streets to do that.”

At some similar intersections, DOT has implemented a treatment known as a slow turn wedge. These wedges, consisting of plastic bollards or rubber speed bumps extending from the corner of the curb, force drivers to turn at a tight radius, increasing driver’s visibility of cyclists and pedestrians heading in the same direction as the car.

“I would hate to see the city wait for more cyclists to be killed or maimed before they start installing these en masse,” Cutrufo said.

Another available option is the split-phase traffic signal configuration, which holds left-turning vehicles at a red light while allowing pedestrians and bicycles cross with their own green light, eliminating the conflicts created by mixing zones.

Transportation Alternatives is also lobbying for automated camera enforcement of blocking the box and failure to yield violations.

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First, obvious: let’s start wit condition h the city’s hom s inside thi disgrace. eless shelte rs are as A ser one mo ies of terrible (includinre horrible tha crimes, month g the killing n the last of ear lier this daugh a woman has higters in Statenand her two hlighted Island), living con the the ma ditions for shameful cities inrgins of one ofpeople at Blasio, the world. Ma the richest wh yor o has bee Bill de his app from theroach to homn halting in has final beginning elessness proble ly begun to of his term, from thim, but years ofaddress the others, s administra neglect, tion and will take But years to correct. recent none of that exc office grandstanding uses the appareof Gov. Andrew by the Cuomo, he can’tntly sees no iss who In the try to belittl ue on which attempt governor’s late the mayor. officials at a hit job, est sta compla then pro ined te Post, abomptly to the to the city, homele ut a gang New York alleged ss shelter, purape at a city VOL. 77 had tim event before blicizing the , ISSUE pol e 04 As it turto investigate ice even ned out, it. never hap the officials pened, infuriaincident media hitwho called it ting city a ” “po aim the mayor ed at em litical . More cha barrassin counter-c rges and g THfolElow the me harges Dicken antimeA , of cou ed. In Tditrse men, wosian livingR OionF, the con in New men D kidsIM s for Yor andEN Here’s k goe s on. in shelters CITY ARTS, leadershi hoping tha t som P.2any eday our as intere p in Alb 0 as it is in sted in helpinwill become back fro agains scoring pol g them t sit itical poi 17 fee m FDR Drour ive byting mayor. nts t 16 to out of and raise

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PAGE 9

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21

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com To read about other people who have had their “15 Minutes” go to ourtownny.com/15 minutes

YOUR 15 MINUTES

Ellen Gilman, author of “The Home,” at Shakespeare & Co. in front of the Expresso Book Machine. Photo: Caley Pigliucci

IN THE END, WHAT IS A HOME? Ellen Gilman, a longtime theater writer, publishes a memoir about working as an art specialist for over 20 years at a retirement facility in the Bronx

BY MEREDITH KURZ

“I loved Mount Zion Home for the Elderly, dream of being back there almost nightly ... and pray I’ll never have to live there,” writes Ellen Gilman in the opening chapter of “The Home.”

Gilman’s self-published memoir has mobsters, a Nobel Prize winner and a graffiti list of the dead sprayed down the side of a Bronx tenement. Living and working with staff and residents for over twenty years as an art specialist at the retirement home gave Gilman a unique view into the personal lives and drama of the staff and residents.

Gilman has lived for over 50 years on the Upper West Side. She’s a theater buff and now has some time to enjoy this hobby. She’s been primarily focused on the memoir this year, though last month she had a gallery showing on 57th Street.

Gilman will be reading passages from “The Home” on Thursday, March 28th at 7 p.m. at the new Shakespeare and Company on 2020 Broadway be-

tween 69th and 70th Streets. There will be a book signing as well, and the event is free and open to the public.

First things first: Where can people buy your book?

“The Home” will is available at any Shakespeare and Company bookstore, and also online at Bit.ly/GilmanTheHome. Signed copies will be available on March 28th at 7 p.m. at the new Shakespeare and Company on 2020 Broadway between 69th and 70th Streets.

What made you decide to write this memoir?

I’ve always loved to write, however my primary focus was writing for the theater. I grew up in a very creative family. Both my parents were artists, and my father started his career as a ballet dancer. Someone was always doing artwork or sharing poetry or discussing either or both. I remember resenting the long visits to the Museum of Modern Art. Who cared about staring at Kandinskys?

I went to New York City’s High School of Performing Arts on West 46th where I majored in drama. I earned a B.A. in literature from Grinnell College, then a master’s degree in theatre at Smith College. Along the way I was fortunate to receive a few

awards for my fiction and poetry and also the Guthrie McClintic-Katharine Cornell Award for Creative Writing in Theatre. I’ve continued to write and perform, so creating a memoir was a natural extension of those skills.

How did you make the transition from a career in teaching young students to being an art specialist in a long term health facility?

My grandmother lived with us when we were growing up, and it was this relationship, this love, that helped me through my childhood and when I went off to college. She and I shared a room, and every night I watched as this stern matriarch disrobed, took off all her corsets and confinements and finally her false teeth, and then, halfashamedly showed me who she really was. Then I would give her a warm hug and kiss goodnight.

I knew I would care about the people in the facility, just as I cared about my grandmother.

Many readers are interested in the process of writing a memoir. How did you retell stories that could be slightly vague in your own memory, and how do you recreate a story without all the exact details?

In the beginning of the book I ex-

plained that this memoir is a filtered memory, as all memories are. I’ve taken situations that happened frequently and created composites at times.

Can you offer any advice on how to treat people’s privacy and also avoid hurt feelings?

Every name has been changed, and even their extended family number has been altered, to prevent a breach of privacy.

If you could have done something differently when you began writing this memoir, what would it be?

Originally I wrote this as a play, and working my way through the process came to realize that was more easily expressed as a book, giving me greater freedom to express more places, people and situations.

How would you sum up working for twenty years in a nursing home?

I think my book says it best: “Oh God,” my family and friends used to say to me, “Don’t you find it depressing to work there — all those sick old people and people dying all the time?

I’d try to explain that, no, I didn’t find it depressing. It was exciting. It felt like a very important place to be. It was a privilege to be with the elders at that

I knew I would care about the people in the facility, just as I cared about my grandmother.”

Ellen Gilman author of “The Home” time of their lives. They were the surviving heroes and they were, or should have been, the keepers of history and of mystery. To be of service to them made me feel both humble and proud and I felt brave and powerful. I was in a place — a nursing home — that so many people were terrified to enter, even to briefly visit people they knew and loved.

For so many people it was like having to look into an open coffin, getting a giant whiff of mortality, a head-on collision into what awaits. For me it was something like walking into the lion’s cage.

I’m here to encourage people, to enliven them, to sustain or raise their life condition and because they’re mature, they have the ability to immediately express their appreciation.

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

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Eastsider 1

MARCH 14-20,2019

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MARCH 14-20,2019

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