Our Town - April 11, 2019

The local paper for the Upper East Side

WEEK OF APRIL VOICES PAST AND PRESENT ◄ P.12

11-17 2019

MAN OF THE MOMENT

Also inside:

MEDS AND MEMORY ▲P.2 Children’s librarian January Sanalak, left, and information assiistant Jo Henning, created the Webster Library’s salute to Yayoi Kusama. Photo: Emily Higginbotham

KIDS HONOR AN ARTIST WITH THEIR ART COMMUNITY

Photo: Steven Strasser

POLITICS As he takes on the most important role of his political life, U.S. Rep Jerrold Nadler, the ultimate Upper West Sider, follows the neighborhood principles that have guided him throughout his career

BY DOUGLAS FEIDEN

Forty-five years after Watergate, the nation is once again engulfed in Constitutional turmoil, and history has chosen as the man of the moment an urban progressive, beloved in his district, who sees his mission, in no small part, as the defense of democracy.

U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, universally known as “Jerry,” the Brooklyn-born, yeshiva-educated, son of a failed New Jersey chicken farmer, has been a

CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

OurTownEastSide

O OURTOWNNY.COM @OurTownNYC

A library project inspired by the work of Yayoi Kusama attracts children of all ages

BY EMILY HIGGINBOTHAM

The first thing one two-year-old did when she walked into Webster Library with her babysitter Friday morning was put her mark on a work of art. She grabbed orange and green dot-shaped stickers and placed them — with no particular design in mind — among the many other stickers dotting a bookshelf covered in white construction paper. It was her best attempt at recreating a Yayoi Kusama original.

Of course, she didn’t know that she was participating in an interactive display honoring the contemporary Japanese artist, but she still was getting a lot out it.

That’s according to the masterminds behind the display, January

Crime Watch Voices NYC Now City Arts

Sanalak, the children’s librarian at the York Avenue library, and Jo Henning, an information assistant.

A few years ago, Sanalak, 34, saw one of Kusama’s exhibits and the experience stayed with her. Kusama is best known for her use of “dense patterns of polka dots and nets,” according to the Whitney Museum of American Art, which put on a retrospective of Kusama’s art in 2012. In 1954, she came to New York City and quickly became a part of the avantgarde scene, running in the same circles as Andy Warhol. She moved back to Japan in the 1970s, but left a lasting impression on the counterculture in New York.

With her 90th birthday and Women’s History Month coinciding in March, Sanalak and Henning thought it would be the perfect time to pay homage to a woman they see as an inspiration.

“She’s 90 and she’s still putting stuff out there,” Sanalak said, explaining her admiration. The installation, she says, is an invitation for kids to “come

3 8 10 12

Restaurant Ratings Business Real Estate 15 Minutes

14 16 17 25

do art like she does art.”

Sanalak, Henning and some of their co-workers went dumpster diving to find more objects to add to their display and came back with a chair, trash can, desk organizer, pencil holder, and a mirror, which proved to be a popular item for kids to place their stickers.

“Babies like to look at themselves in the mirror,” Sanalak said.

“There’s a lot of child development stuff going on here,” Henning, 23, replied.

Sanalak agreed, saying putting the stickers on the shelf helps young children develop motor skills. But in general, Sanalak said, it’s important to provide free interactive art for children to fill the gaps left when public schools have to cut art funding.

The Kusama display was the first art project Sanalak and Henning put together at Webster, but they hope it won’t be the last. “I don’t know what will be next,” Sanalak said. “How will I top this?”

SILENT CITY ▲P.8

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS ▲P.16 Jewish women and girls light up the world by lighting the Shabbat candles every Friday evening 18 minutes before sunset.

Friday, April 12 – 7:14 pm.

For more information visit www.chabaduppereastrside.com.

We deliver! Get Our Town Eastsider sent directly to your mailbox for $ $49 per year. Go to OurTownNY.com or call 212-868-0190

2

APRIL 11-17,2019

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

REMEMBER THIS HEALTH Some drugs that heal the body can mess with the brain

BY CAROL ANN RINZLER

Where are they? Vital process, complicated detail.

Quick: Where are your keys?

Not sure? No surprise.

Remembering that small but vital detail is a complicated process that involves both the part of your brain that enables you to think and the parts associated with emotion.

It’s a process that seems to slow with age. The old news was that after a certain age, perhaps around 30, your brain began to shrink until over the years it shriveled into nothing. taking your memory along with it.

The new news is that scientists who have actually taken the time to sit down and count brain cells find practically no age-related loss of cells responsible for thinking and remembering. There may, however, be less activity in your synapses, the pathways between brain cells that allow you to access what you’re stored in your brain, so it can take a little lon-

ger to find those keys, especially if you take your medicine as directed, because the newest news is that some meds that heal the body can mess with the brain.

This can happen at any age, but it’s more common among older folk who may be taking multiple prescriptions to treat multiple problems. In fact, it’s so common that AARP, the champion of all aging, has compiled a list of the drugs most likely to do the dirty.

First up are anti-anxiety meds such as Xanax and Valium and sleep aids such Ambien which can slow your brain’s ability to transfer what you see and learn from short term memory (something you just saw) to long term memory (something you saw a few years ago). Statins such as Lipitor and Zocor reduce the amount of arteryclogging cholesterol in your blood, but they also reduce the levels of cholesterol in your brain. That matters because your brain, which contains 25 percent of all the cholesterol in your body, uses the fatty substance when forming links between nerve cells that create memory.

Happily, there are substitutes for some medical memory busters. For

MEMORY-BUSTING MEDS: AARP’S LIST example, “first generation” antihistamines such as diphenhydramine (Benadryl) or chlorpheniramine (Chlor-Trimeton) and tricyclic antidepressants such as amitriptyline (Elavil) may block the action of chemical messengers in your memory and learning centers. Newer ones such as loratadine (Claritin) cetirizine (Zyrtec) and SSRI antidepressants such as paroxetine (Paxil) don’t seem to.

You don’t need a memory doctor to tell you that lifestyle choices such as alcohol and drug abuse or problems such as insomnia can also impact memory. On the other hand, curiosity may have killed the cat, but it can keep your brain and your memory zipping along at relative speed even into old age. As Richard C. Mohs, the chief science officer for the Global Alzheimer’s Platform (GAP) Foundation, writes, “Evidence from animal studies suggests that stimulating the brain can stop cells from shrinking and even increase brain size in some cases.”

Which means that learning a new language or visiting a museum is not only fun, in the long run it may also help you find those darned keys which the last time you saw them were ... where?

1. Antianxiety drugs such as alprazolam (Xanax) and diazepam (Valium) 2. Cholesterol lowering drugs (statins) such as atorvastatin (Lipitor) and simivastatin (Zocor) 3. Antiseizure drugs such as gabapentin (Neurontin) 4. Tricyclic antidepressants such as amitriptyline (Elavil) 5. Narcotic painkillers such as fentanyl (Duragesic) and hydrocodone (Norco, Vicodin) 6. Parkinson’s drugs such as apomorphine (Apokyn) 7. Hypertension drugs such as metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol) and propranolol (Inderal) 8. Sleep aids such as zolpidem (Ambien) 9. Incontinence drugs such as oxybutynin (Ditropan XL, Gelnique, Oxytrol) 10. First-generation antihistamines such as chlorpheniramine (Chlor-Trimeton) and diphenhydramine (Benadryl) CAUTION: Do not stop or reduce the dosage of any of these meds without first checking with your doctor, the person best qualified to evaluate your memory.

EVENTS AT THE BRICK PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

PALM SUNDAY SERVICE OF WORSHIP APRIL 14 - 11 A.M.

MAUNDY THURSDAY SERVICE APRIL 18 - 7:30 P.M.

GOOD FRIDAY STAINER’S THE CRUCIFIXION-

EASTER SUNDAY–APRIL 21 8:30 a.m.

9:00 a.m.

10:30 a.m.

11:00 a.m.

-

Pre-Service Music Service of Worship Pre-Service Music Service of Worship 1140 Park Avenue at 91st Street, 212-289-4400, www.brickchurch.org

APRIL 19 - 12:15 P.M.

APRIL 11-17,2019

3

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG ARREST IN CHURCH ASSAULT

STATS FOR THE WEEK Reported crimes from the 19th precinct for the week ending Mar 31

Police arrested Nancy Hunt, 57, and charged her with assault after an incident at St. Monica’s Church at 413 East 79th St. On Tuesday morning, Mar. 26, a 70-year-old woman entered the church to recite her daily prayers and listen to devotional recordings on her phone. According to police, Hunt confronted the woman, telling her to “Shut up!” and striking her with a closed fist on the right side of the mouth, causing pain, a laceration, minor bleeding and a contusion. A translator at the church told police that Hunt was a regular attendee.

Week to Date

Year to Date

2019 2018

% Change 2019

2018

% Change

Murder

0

0

n/a

0

0

n/a

Rape

0

0

n/a

7

4

75.0

Robbery

4

4

0.0

34

34

0.0

Felony Assault

1

4

-75.0

26

34

-23.5

Burglary

8

3

166.7

57

52

9.6

Grand Larceny

21

21

0.0

367

355

3.4

Grand Larceny Auto

0

0

n/a

3

7

-57.1

SWAPLIFTER A female employee of the Balenciaga store at 840 Madison Ave told police that on Wednesday afternoon, Mar. 6, a man went into the store bathroom with a logo track jacket valued at $1,750.

He then swapped the high-priced item with a counterfeit, which he had concealed from sight when he entered the store.

TAPE TELLS THE TALE Police remind contractors always to keep vehicles locked to protect their equipment. On Wednesday afternon,

Photo by Tony Webster, via Flickr

Mar. 27, a man parked his 2013 Chevy commercial van in front of 14 East 60th St. He drove home and the next morning discovered that tools were missing. He returned to the East 60th St. location to view surveillance video,

which showed saw two men opening the rear door of the van and taking two bags of tools before fleeing east towards Madison Ave. The stolen tools were valued at $2,916.

PARKED CAR LOOTED

BELLIGERENT BICYCLIST

A woman learned the hard way never to keep valuables in a car parked on the street. At 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Mar. 27, a 28-year-old woman parked her 2011 Honda in front of 401 East 83rd St. When she returned the next morning, she noticed that some of her belongings were missing, though there were no signs of forced entry to the vehicle. The items stolen included a Mackage coat valued at $1,200, an L.L. Bean coat priced at $300 and a gray wool long coat worth $200, for a total of$1,700.

At 8:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Mar. 27, a 69-year-old man was driving a yellow 2016 Toyota Prius at the corner of First Ave. and East 88th St. when a bicyclist cut him off and then threw something at his rear window, shattering it. The motorist told police that a replacement window cost $260.

This is more than great rates This is more savings for wherever you’re going.

Platinum Savings Account

2.10

%

µÜÜãÏÚ ÄÓàÑÓÜâÏÕÓ Í×ÓÚÒ ÔÝà _` ÛÝÜâÖá å×âÖ ÜÓå ÛÝÜÓç ÒÓÞÝá×âá ÝÔ Ïâ ÚÓÏáâ r`c ^^^ ÏÜÒ Ï Û×Ü×ÛãÛ ÒÏ×Úç ÏÑÑÝãÜâ ÐÏÚÏÜÑÓ ÝÔ r`c ^^^ Ýà ÛÝàÓ_

Guaranteed Fixed-Rate CD

2.40

%

µÜÜãÏÚ ÄÓàÑÓÜâÏÕÓ Í×ÓÚÒ ÔÝà ÏÜ __#ÛÝÜâÖ âÓàÛ å×âÖ ÜÓå ÛÝÜÓç ÒÓÞÝá×âá ÝÔ Ïâ ÚÓÏáâ r`c ^^^`

Talk to a banker for details. ÃøÓà ÓæÞ×àÓá ÁÏç a_ `^_g ¶ãá×ÜÓáá ÝåÜÓà Ask about our business savings rates. ÃøÓàá ÏäÏ×ÚÏÐÚÓ ×Ü µÆ ·È ¸· ºÀ »µ Á¸ ÁÇ Â· ¾ ÂÍ Ç· ÈÌ ÏÜÒ Êµ Portfolio by Wells Fargo] ÑãáâÝÛÓàá ÏàÓ ÓÚ×Õ×ÐÚÓ âÝ àÓÑÓ×äÓ ÏÜ ÏÒÒ×â×ÝÜÏÚ ÐÝÜãá ×ÜâÓàÓáâ àÏâÓ ÝÜ âÖÓáÓ ÏÑÑÝãÜâá 3 _ ÈÝ ßãÏÚ×Ôç ÔÝà âÖ×á ÝøÓà çÝã Ûãáâ ÖÏäÓ Ï ÜÓå Ýà Óæ×áâ×ÜÕ ÄÚÏâ×ÜãÛ ÇÏä×ÜÕá ÏÑÑÝãÜâ ÏÜÒ ÓÜàÝÚÚ âÖÓ ÏÑÑÝãÜâ ×Ü âÖ×á ÝøÓà ÐÓâåÓÓÜ ^a*`c*`^_g ÏÜÒ ^c*a_*`^_g ÈÖ×á ÝøÓà ×á áãÐØÓÑâ âÝ ÑÖÏÜÕÓ Ïâ ÏÜç â×ÛÓ å×âÖÝãâ ÜÝâ×ÑÓ ÈÖ×á ÝøÓà ×á ÏäÏ×ÚÏÐÚÓ ÝÜÚç âÝ ÄÚÏâ×ÜãÛ ÇÏä×ÜÕá ÑãáâÝÛÓàá ×Ü âÖÓ ÔÝÚÚÝå×ÜÕ áâÏâÓá µÆ ·È ¸· ºÀ »µ Á¸ ÁÇ Â· ¾ ÂÍ Ç· ÈÌ ÏÜÒ Êµ ½Ü ÝàÒÓà âÝ ÓÏàÜ âÖÓ ÇÞÓÑ×ÏÚ ½ÜâÓàÓáâ ÆÏâÓ ÝÔ ` ^f° (ÇÞÓÑ×ÏÚ ÆÏâÓ) çÝã Ûãáâ ÒÓÞÝá×â r`c ^^^ ×Ü ÜÓå ÛÝÜÓç (ÔàÝÛ áÝãàÑÓá Ýãâá×ÒÓ ÝÔ ËÓÚÚá ºÏàÕÝ ¶ÏÜÙ Â µ Ýà ×âá ÏûÚ×ÏâÓá) âÝ âÖÓ ÓÜàÝÚÚÓÒ áÏä×ÜÕá ÏÑÑÝãÜâ ÏÜÒ ÛÏ×ÜâÏ×Ü Ï Û×Ü×ÛãÛ ÒÏ×Úç ÏÑÑÝãÜâ ÐÏÚÏÜÑÓ ÝÔ r`c ^^^ âÖàÝãÕÖÝãâ âÖÓ âÓàÛ ÝÔ âÖ×á ÝøÓà ÈÖÓ ÑÝààÓáÞÝÜÒ×ÜÕ µÜÜãÏÚ ÄÓàÑÓÜâÏÕÓ Í×ÓÚÒ (µÄÍ) ÔÝà âÖ×á ÝøÓà ×á ` _^° ÈÖÓ ÇÞÓÑ×ÏÚ ÆÏâÓ å×ÚÚ ÐÓ ÏÞÞÚ×ÓÒ âÝ âÖÓ ÓÜàÝÚÚÓÒ áÏä×ÜÕá ÏÑÑÝãÜâ ÔÝà Ï ÞÓà×ÝÒ ÝÔ _` ÛÝÜâÖá áâÏàâ×ÜÕ ÝÜ âÖÓ ÒÏâÓ âÖÓ ÏÑÑÝãÜâ ×á ÓÜàÝÚÚÓÒ ×Ü âÖÓ ÝøÓà ¼ÝåÓäÓà ÔÝà ÏÜç ÒÏç Òãà×ÜÕ âÖÏâ _` ÛÝÜâÖ ÞÓà×ÝÒ âÖÏâ âÖÓ ÒÏ×Úç ÏÑÑÝãÜâ ÐÏÚÏÜÑÓ ×á ÚÓáá âÖÏÜ âÖÓ r`c ^^^ Û×Ü×ÛãÛ âÖÓ ÇÞÓÑ×ÏÚ ÆÏâÓ å×ÚÚ ÜÝâ ÏÞÞÚç ÏÜÒ âÖÓ ×ÜâÓàÓáâ àÏâÓ å×ÚÚ àÓäÓàâ âÝ âÖÓ áâÏÜÒÏàÒ ×ÜâÓàÓáâ àÏâÓ ÏÞÞÚ×ÑÏÐÚÓ âÝ çÝãà ÄÚÏâ×ÜãÛ ÇÏä×ÜÕá ÏÑÑÝãÜâ µá ÝÔ ^`*_c*`^_g âÖÓ áâÏÜÒÏàÒ ×ÜâÓàÓáâ àÏâÓ ÏÜÒ µÄÍ ÔÝà Ï ÄÚÏâ×ÜãÛ ÇÏä×ÜÕá ÏÑÑÝãÜâ ×Ü µÆ ·È ¸· ºÀ »µ Á¸ ÁÇ Â· ¾ ÂÍ Ç· ÈÌ ÏÜÒ Êµ å×âÖ ÏÜ ÏÑÑÝãÜâ ÐÏÚÏÜÑÓ ÝÔ r^ ^_ ÏÜÒ ÏÐÝäÓ ×á ^ ^c° (^ ^c° µÄÍ) ¹ÏÑÖ â×Óà áÖÝåÜ àÓúÓÑâá âÖÓ ÑãààÓÜâ Û×Ü×ÛãÛ ÒÏ×Úç ÑÝÚÚÓÑâÓÒ ÐÏÚÏÜÑÓ àÓßã×àÓÒ âÝ ÝÐâÏ×Ü âÖÓ ÏÞÞÚ×ÑÏÐÚÓ µÄÍ ½ÜâÓàÓáâ ×á ÑÝÛÞÝãÜÒÓÒ ÒÏ×Úç ÏÜÒ ÞÏ×Ò ÛÝÜâÖÚç ÈÖÓ ÏÛÝãÜâ ÝÔ ×ÜâÓàÓáâ ÓÏàÜÓÒ ×á ÐÏáÓÒ ÝÜ âÖÓ ÒÏ×Úç ÑÝÚÚÓÑâÓÒ ÐÏÚÏÜÑÓá ×Ü âÖÓ ÏÑÑÝãÜâ ÉÞÝÜ âÖÓ ÓæÞ×àÏâ×ÝÜ ÝÔ âÖÓ _` ÛÝÜâÖ ÞàÝÛÝâ×ÝÜÏÚ ÞÓà×ÝÒ áâÏÜÒÏàÒ ×ÜâÓàÓáâ àÏâÓá ÏÞÞÚç Á×Ü×ÛãÛ âÝ ÝÞÓÜ Ï ÄÚÏâ×ÜãÛ ÇÏä×ÜÕá ÏÑÑÝãÜâ ×á r`c µ ÛÝÜâÖÚç áÓàä×ÑÓ ÔÓÓ ÝÔ r_` ÏÞÞÚ×Óá ×Ü ÏÜç ÛÝÜâÖ âÖÓ ÏÑÑÝãÜâ ÔÏÚÚá ÐÓÚÝå Ï ra c^^ Û×Ü×ÛãÛ ÒÏ×Úç ÐÏÚÏÜÑÓ ºÓÓá ÛÏç àÓÒãÑÓ ÓÏàÜ×ÜÕá ½ÜâÓàÓáâ àÏâÓá ÏàÓ äÏà×ÏÐÚÓ ÏÜÒ áãÐØÓÑâ âÝ ÑÖÏÜÕÓ å×âÖÝãâ ÜÝâ×ÑÓ ËÓÚÚá ºÏàÕÝ ÛÏç Ú×Û×â âÖÓ ÏÛÝãÜâ çÝã ÒÓÞÝá×â âÝ Ï ÄÚÏâ×ÜãÛ ÇÏä×ÜÕá ÏÑÑÝãÜâ âÝ ÏÜ ÏÕÕàÓÕÏâÓ ÝÔ r_ Û×ÚÚ×ÝÜ ÃøÓà ÜÝâ ÏäÏ×ÚÏÐÚÓ âÝ Äà×äÏâÓ ¶ÏÜÙ×ÜÕ Ýà ËÓÏÚâÖ ÑãáâÝÛÓàá ` µÜÜãÏÚ ÄÓàÑÓÜâÏÕÓ Í×ÓÚÒ (µÄÍ) ×á ÓøÓÑâ×äÓ ÔÝà ÏÑÑÝãÜâá ÝÞÓÜÓÒ ÐÓâåÓÓÜ ^a*`c*`^_g âÝ ^c*a_*`^_g ÈÖÓ __#ÛÝÜâÖ ÂÓå ¸ÝÚÚÏà ·¸ áÞÓÑ×ÏÚ àÓßã×àÓá Ï Û×Ü×ÛãÛ ÝÔ r`c ^^^ ÐàÝãÕÖâ âÝ ËÓÚÚá ºÏàÕÝ ÔàÝÛ áÝãàÑÓá Ýãâá×ÒÓ ÝÔ ËÓÚÚá ºÏàÕÝ ¶ÏÜÙ Â µ Ýà ×âá ÏûÚ×ÏâÓá âÝ ÓÏàÜ âÖÓ ÏÒäÓàâ×áÓÒ µÄÍ ÄãÐÚ×Ñ ºãÜÒá ÏÜÒ ËÖÝÚÓáÏÚÓ ÏÑÑÝãÜâá ÏàÓ ÜÝâ ÓÚ×Õ×ÐÚÓ ÔÝà âÖ×á ÝøÓà µÄÍ ÏááãÛÓá ×ÜâÓàÓáâ àÓÛÏ×Üá ÝÜ ÒÓÞÝá×â ãÜâ×Ú ÛÏâãà×âç ½ÜâÓàÓáâ ×á ÑÝÛÞÝãÜÒÓÒ ÒÏ×Úç ÄÏçÛÓÜâ ÝÔ ×ÜâÓàÓáâ ÝÜ ·¸á ×á ÐÏáÓÒ ÝÜ âÓàÛ ºÝà âÓàÛá ÚÓáá âÖÏÜ _` ÛÝÜâÖá (adc ÒÏçá) ×ÜâÓàÓáâ ÛÏç ÐÓ ÞÏ×Ò ÛÝÜâÖÚç ßãÏàâÓàÚç áÓÛ×#ÏÜÜãÏÚÚç Ýà Ïâ ÛÏâãà×âç (âÖÓ ÓÜÒ ÝÔ âÖÓ âÓàÛ) ºÝà âÓàÛá ÝÔ _` ÛÝÜâÖá Ýà ÛÝàÓ ×ÜâÓàÓáâ ÛÏç ÐÓ ÞÏ×Ò ÛÝÜâÖÚç ßãÏàâÓàÚç áÓÛ×#ÏÜÜãÏÚÚç Ýà ÏÜÜãÏÚÚç µ ÔÓÓ ÔÝà ÓÏàÚç å×âÖÒàÏåÏÚ å×ÚÚ ÐÓ ×ÛÞÝáÓÒ ÏÜÒ ÑÝãÚÒ àÓÒãÑÓ ÓÏàÜ×ÜÕá ÝÜ âÖ×á ÏÑÑÝãÜâ ÇÞÓÑ×ÏÚ ÆÏâÓá ÏàÓ ÏÞÞÚ×ÑÏÐÚÓ âÝ âÖÓ ×Ü×â×ÏÚ âÓàÛ ÝÔ âÖÓ ·¸ ÝÜÚç µâ ÛÏâãà×âç âÖÓ ÇÞÓÑ×ÏÚ ÆÏâÓ ·¸ å×ÚÚ ÏãâÝÛÏâ×ÑÏÚÚç àÓÜÓå ÔÝà Ï âÓàÛ ÝÔ d ÛÝÜâÖá Ïâ âÖÓ ×ÜâÓàÓáâ àÏâÓ ÏÜÒ µÄÍ ×Ü ÓøÓÑâ ÔÝà ·¸á ÝÜ àÓÜÓåÏÚ ÒÏâÓ ÜÝâ áãÐØÓÑâ âÝ Ï ÇÞÓÑ×ÏÚ ÆÏâÓ ãÜÚÓáá âÖÓ ¶ÏÜÙ ÖÏá ÜÝâ×ùÓÒ çÝã ÝâÖÓàå×áÓ _ ` ¸ãÓ âÝ âÖÓ ÜÓå ÛÝÜÓç àÓßã×àÓÛÓÜâ ÏÑÑÝãÜâá ÛÏç ÝÜÚç ÐÓ ÝÞÓÜÓÒ Ïâ çÝãà ÚÝÑÏÚ ÐàÏÜÑÖ ËÓÚÚá ºÏàÕÝ àÓáÓàäÓá âÖÓ à×ÕÖâ âÝ ÛÝÒ×Ôç Ýà Ò×áÑÝÜâ×ÜãÓ âÖÓ ÝøÓà Ïâ ÏÜç â×ÛÓ å×âÖÝãâ ÜÝâ×ÑÓ Á×Ü×ÛãÛ ÜÓå ÛÝÜÓç ÒÓÞÝá×â àÓßã×àÓÛÓÜâ ÝÔ Ïâ ÚÓÏáâ r`c ^^^ ×á ÔÝà âÖ×á ÝøÓà ÝÜÚç ÏÜÒ ÑÏÜÜÝâ ÐÓ âàÏÜáÔÓààÓÒ âÝ ÏÜÝâÖÓà ÏÑÑÝãÜâ âÝ ßãÏÚ×Ôç ÔÝà ÏÜç ÝâÖÓà ÑÝÜáãÛÓà ÒÓÞÝá×â ÝøÓà ½Ô çÝã å×áÖ âÝ âÏÙÓ ÏÒäÏÜâÏÕÓ ÝÔ ÏÜÝâÖÓà ÑÝÜáãÛÓà ÒÓÞÝá×â ÝøÓà àÓßã×à×ÜÕ Ï Û×Ü×ÛãÛ ÜÓå ÛÝÜÓç ÒÓÞÝá×â çÝã å×ÚÚ ÐÓ àÓßã×àÓÒ âÝ ÒÝ áÝ å×âÖ ÏÜÝâÖÓà ÜÓå ÛÝÜÓç ÒÓÞÝá×â Ïá áâÏâÓÒ ×Ü âÖÓ ÝøÓà àÓßã×àÓÛÓÜâá ÏÜÒ ßãÏÚ×ùÑÏâ×ÝÜá ÃøÓà ÑÏÜÜÝâ ÐÓ ÑÝÛÐ×ÜÓÒ å×âÖ ÏÜç ÝâÖÓà ÑÝÜáãÛÓà ÒÓÞÝá×â ÝøÓà ÓæÑÓÞâ âÖÓ ÄÝàâÔÝÚ×Ý Ðç ËÓÚÚá ºÏàÕÝ rc^^ ÝøÓà ÏäÏ×ÚÏÐÚÓ ÔàÝÛ ÁÏàÑÖ `c `^_g ãÜâ×Ú ÁÏç a_ `^_g ÃøÓà ÑÏÜÜÝâ ÐÓ àÓÞàÝÒãÑÓÒ ÞãàÑÖÏáÓÒ áÝÚÒ âàÏÜáÔÓààÓÒ Ýà âàÏÒÓÒ a ÈÖÓ ÄÝàâÔÝÚ×Ý Ðç ËÓÚÚá ºÏàÕÝ ÞàÝÕàÏÛ ÖÏá Ï ra^ ÛÝÜâÖÚç áÓàä×ÑÓ ÔÓÓ åÖ×ÑÖ ÑÏÜ ÐÓ ÏäÝ×ÒÓÒ åÖÓÜ çÝã ÖÏäÓ ÝÜÓ ÝÔ âÖÓ ÔÝÚÚÝå×ÜÕ ßãÏÚ×Ôç×ÜÕ ÐÏÚÏÜÑÓá r`c ^^^ Ýà ÛÝàÓ ×Ü ßãÏÚ×Ôç×ÜÕ Ú×ÜÙÓÒ ÐÏÜÙ ÒÓÞÝá×â ÏÑÑÝãÜâá (ÑÖÓÑÙ×ÜÕ áÏä×ÜÕá ·¸á º¸½·#×ÜáãàÓÒ ½Æµá) Ýà rc^ ^^^ Ýà ÛÝàÓ ×Ü ÏÜç ÑÝÛÐ×ÜÏâ×ÝÜ ÝÔ ßãÏÚ×Ôç×ÜÕ Ú×ÜÙÓÒ ÐÏÜÙ×ÜÕ ÐàÝÙÓàÏÕÓ (ÏäÏ×ÚÏÐÚÓ âÖàÝãÕÖ ËÓÚÚá ºÏàÕÝ µÒä×áÝàá ÀÀ·) ÏÜÒ ÑàÓÒ×â ÐÏÚÏÜÑÓá (×ÜÑÚãÒ×ÜÕ _^° ÝÔ ÛÝàâÕÏÕÓ ÐÏÚÏÜÑÓá ÑÓàâÏ×Ü ÛÝàâÕÏÕÓá ÜÝâ ÓÚ×Õ×ÐÚÓ) ½Ô âÖÓ ÄÝàâÔÝÚ×Ý Ðç ËÓÚÚá ºÏàÕÝ àÓÚÏâ×ÝÜáÖ×Þ ×á âÓàÛ×ÜÏâÓÒ âÖÓ ÐÝÜãá ×ÜâÓàÓáâ àÏâÓ ÝÜ ÏÚÚ ÓÚ×Õ×ÐÚÓ áÏä×ÜÕá ÏÑÑÝãÜâá ÏÜÒ Ò×áÑÝãÜâá Ýà ÔÓÓ åÏ×äÓàá ÝÜ ÝâÖÓà ÞàÝÒãÑâá ÏÜÒ áÓàä×ÑÓá å×ÚÚ Ò×áÑÝÜâ×ÜãÓ ÏÜÒ àÓäÓàâ âÝ âÖÓ ¶ÏÜÙ á âÖÓÜ#ÑãààÓÜâ ÏÞÞÚ×ÑÏÐÚÓ àÏâÓ Ýà ÔÓÓ ºÝà ÐÝÜãá ×ÜâÓàÓáâ àÏâÓá ÝÜ â×ÛÓ ÏÑÑÝãÜâá âÖ×á ÑÖÏÜÕÓ å×ÚÚ ÝÑÑãà ãÞÝÜ àÓÜÓåÏÚ ½Ô âÖÓ ÄÝàâÔÝÚ×Ý Ðç ËÓÚÚá ºÏàÕÝ àÓÚÏâ×ÝÜáÖ×Þ ×á âÓàÛ×ÜÏâÓÒ âÖÓ àÓÛÏ×Ü×ÜÕ ãÜÚ×ÜÙÓÒ ËÓÚÚá ºÏàÕÝ ÄÝàâÔÝÚ×Ý ·ÖÓÑÙ×ÜÕ Ýà ËÓÚÚá ºÏàÕÝ Äà×ÛÓ ·ÖÓÑÙ×ÜÕ ÏÑÑÝãÜâ å×ÚÚ ÐÓ ÑÝÜäÓàâÓÒ âÝ ÏÜÝâÖÓà ÑÖÓÑÙ×ÜÕ ÞàÝÒãÑâ Ýà ÑÚÝáÓÒ \ `^_g ËÓÚÚá ºÏàÕÝ ¶ÏÜÙ Â µ µÚÚ à×ÕÖâá àÓáÓàäÓÒ ¸ÓÞÝá×â ÞàÝÒãÑâá ÝøÓàÓÒ Ðç ËÓÚÚá ºÏàÕÝ ¶ÏÜÙ Â µ ÁÓÛÐÓà º¸½· ÂÁÀÇÆ ½¸ aggf^_

4

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

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

HOW TO REACH US:

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:

212-868-0190 nyoffice@strausnews.com ourtownny.com

Include your full name, address and day and evening telephone numbers for verification. Letters that cannot be verified will not be published. We reserve the right to edit or condense letters for libel, good taste, grammar and punctuation.

Submit your letter at ourtownny.com and click submit at the bottom of the page or email it to nyoffice@strausnews.com.

TO SUBSCRIBE: Our Town is available for free on the east side in select buildings, retail locations and news boxes. To get a copy of east side neighborhood news mailed to you weekly, you may subscribe to Our Town Eastsider for just $49 per year. Call 212868-0190 or go online to StrausNews. com and click on the photo of the paper or mail a check to Straus Media, 20 West Ave., Chester, NY 10918.

NEWS ITEMS: To report a news story, call 212-8680190. News releases of general interest must be emailed to our offices by noon the Thursday prior to publication to be considered for the following week. Send to news@strausnews.com.

BLOG COMMENTS: We invite your comments on stories and issues at ourtownny.com. We do not edit those comments. We urge people to keep the discussion civil and the tone reflective of the best we each have to offer.

PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD: Call 212-868-0190. Classified ads must be in our office by 12pm the Friday before publication, except on holidays.

All classified ads are payable in advance.

PREVIOUS OWNERS: Tom Allon, Isis Ventures, Ed Kayatt, Russ Smith, Bob Trentlyon, Jerry Finkelstein

CALENDAR ITEMS:

ABOUT US

Information for inclusion in our calendar should be posted to nycnow.com no later than two weeks before the event.

Our Town is published weekly by Straus Media-Manhattan, LLC. Please send inquiries to 20 West Ave., Chester, NY 10918.

APRIL 11-17,2019

APRIL 11-17,2019

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

5

6

APRIL 11-17,2019

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

CHECKING IN ON RIVERSIDE PARK GREEN SPACES As spring blooms in New York City, the Riverside Park Conservancy looks ahead to launching new forest management initiative — and securing funding to meet other challenges

BY MICHAEL GAROFALO

The Riverside Park Conservancy and the Natural Areas Conservancy are launching a new initiative to promote the health of Riverside Park’s 60 acres of forests. Photo: Russell Bernice, via Flickr

The Riverside Park Conservancy’s stewardship of its fourmile stretch of green space along the West Side waterfront encompasses a host of responsibilities — from the brilliant seasonal flower plantings now blossoming throughout the park to the upkeep of public tennis courts and playing fields to the youth camps and free programming that enliven the park throughout the summer.

But one aspect of the conser-

vancy’s work that even avid users of the park may not have considered is forest management. Riverside Park contains 60 acres of natural woodlands, the ecological health of which are threatened by invasive species, as well as increased heat and drought driven by climate change.

“Right now we have many stately canopy trees that are getting choked out by invasives that just don’t belong in the park.” Dan Garodnick, the president and chief executive officer of the Riverside Park Conservancy, told Straus News.

“They have the potential to keep the native trees from regenerating.”

The Riverside Park Conservancy is seeking to bolster its efforts and secure the long-term health of its forests through a new partnership with the Natural Areas Conservancy, or NAC, a non-

register: bit.do/nySBS

APRIL 11-17,2019

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

Department’s 2016 master plan for Riverside Park, which identified improved care for the park’s woodlands as a top priority.

Capital Needs and Upcoming Projects The Conservancy is hopeful that this year’s city budget will include funding to rectify another major issue highlighted in the master plan — persistent flooding that affects large portions of the park on a regular basis, particularly between 105th and 119th Streets.

“Parts of this park are simply flooded year-round, inaccessible to walkers and bikers, and it demands urgent attention,” Garodnick said, adding, “You can see with your own eyes how problematic it is.”

Garodnick, whose 12 years of experience in the City Council were a key qualification when

the conservancy tapped him to fill its leadership role last year, said that the conservancy’s advocacy during ongoing city budget negotiations is focused on securing capital funding to improve Riverside Park’s drainage infrastructure.

“The Parks Department certainly shares our concern, and our hope is that that will result in an investment this year to repair this huge problem,” he said.

A significant infusion of city capital will also be necessary to restore the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, which is now fenced off from public access due to the risk of falling debris.

“It is a result of decades of neglect, and the monument has been allowed to fall into disrepair,” Garodnick said. The cost estimate for the necessary repairs is $32 million. “We believe that the city should step up and fix what has become very embarrassing, to say the least,” he added.

While repairs to the monument are likely far on the horizon, work is expected to begin later this year on the reconstruction of the 79th Street Rotunda, a major project with a target completion date of 2022.

The city has discussed using nearby ballfields in Riverside Park as a staging area for construction equipment. “We are going to ask for the city and the contractors to respect the activities that we have going on in the park and to be as minimally disruptive as they can in the context of a very complicated project,” Garodnick said.

us to

?

into

Dan Garodnick, president and CEO of the Riverside Park Conservancy

something

have

Do

The [Soldiers and Sailors] monument has been allowed to fall into disrepair. We believe that the city should step up and fix what has become very embarrassing, to say the least.”

like

profit organization dedicated to protecting, restoring and managing the 7,300 acres of forested parkland throughout New York City, among other natural areas. Beginning this year, NAC scientists will work with Riverside Park Conservancy staff and volunteers to provide training and on-theground support, implement best practices and produce a five-year management plan for the park’s forests.

“We’ve been giving our own attention to our natural woodland area with private philanthropic support,” Garodnick said. “But at the end of the day we are practitioners and they are scientists, so we will benefit from getting a master class in forest management from the Natural Areas Conservancy.”

Helen Forgione, senior ecologist with the Natural Areas Conservancy, said that some of Riverside Park’s characteristics — in particular, it’s long, narrow shape — pose unique ecological challenges. “Along the edge you have a lot of wind and light exposure, and invasive plants that are spread by wind can get a foothold there,” she said.

The NAC, she said, will work with the Riverside Park Conservancy to remove invasive vines and encourage healthy native undergrowth that prevents soil erosion and promotes the forest’s sustainability. “You want those young trees that will replace the older ones as they get to the end of their lifespan,” Forgione said.

The forest management project aligns with the Parks

you You’d look

Email us at news@strausnews.com

7

8

APRIL 11-17,2019

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

Voices

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

BUILDING HOSPITAL CARE!

BY BETTE DEWING

So how was your hospital experience? Hope you didn’t have one, but if so, you likely received a hospital questionnaire posing that question. Mine is filled out with my often out-of-the-box thoughts on how the experience could be better — much better. Stay tuned.

Ask the Patients I also think patients should be consulted about Lenox Hill Hospital’s massive renovation plans. Those who live in the neighborhood will surely object to the sky-high physical expansion, and astute patients in general might say the expansion needed is the number of on-hands

medical care — doctors, nurses and aides. Now, they report, you may wait for hours between any such inperson visits, and isolation is very unhealthy.

And while the hospital’s plan to shift to single rooms surely has merit — to be “family-centric” they explain, and no noisy roommates to impede the healing. Ah, but family need should always be stressed, regardless of room size, when it exists along with the need for quiet rooms.

As for expanding hospital empathy, all medical personnel need lessons from Dr. Sarah Flannery, who said on my recent visit to Lenox Hill Hospital, “I am really sorry this accident happened to you.” Ah, and expand empathetic and compas-

sionate response teaching not only in medical schools, but in every school, starting from pre-K on out.

So many societal ills would be prevented. And don’t we need that.

Change The Lights And this former patient would love to see Lenox Hill and all medical places have sunny-colored rooms and hallways. Forget all that white white. And no super-bright lights except in operating rooms.

Ah, incandescent light is surely the healthiest kind, but let the energyefficients they’re obliged to use be the warm-white, not the cold-white kind. Ironically, policymakers have not done their homework on LED lights, which can interfere with

sleep cycles and do visual as well as other potential physical harm.

Spea k in g of t h in gs wh ich shouldn’t have been invented — do a search. A search also finds it’s not simplistic for infinitely more smiling, not only in hospitals. Smiling is contagious — and it makes us feel better as well as look better — can’t say that too often.

What else do hospitals need? Well for the growing elder population — personnel who speak loudly and distinctly enough. Is that too much to ask, or to be stressed in medical schools what with an aging population and patients whose English is not proficient?

Ah, and it surely helps the quality of care if patients commend exceptionally caring hospital personnel. I did that, but unfortunately did not report a disrespectful aide; a potential problem with all personnel in need of more discussion and reporting.

How About a Chapel?

Oh, and volunteers couldn’t be more needed, especially for patients without family or other caring people around. More attention must be paid for the care patients need later at home, not only the “hired help” but the community and the neighborly kind. So in need of a mighty revival is Hubert Humphrey’s great belief that “The impersonal hand of government can never replace the caring hand and of a neighbor,” if enough Include it in Easter and Passover sermons and prayers.

And how could I forget — the hospital sure needs a chapel, yes. even for non-believers who need a serene and quiet place to rest and yes, to meditate. Meditation also needs a great revival to prevent illness and expand the caring. Expand the caring — that’s what we need most.

And it can be done if enough of us try ... if enough of us try ... dewingbetter@aol.com

SILENT CITY

most of the sightseers away, and you can watch the pond by the Dakota in silence. If you saunter in far enough, the sounds of the city slowly dissipate until all you can hear are your shoes beating against the asphalt. The skeletal trees stand tall in the wind, their disfigured branches reaching up to touch the gray sky. There is only the soft rustle of their fingers brushing together to keep you company. You walk for as long as it takes to catch up with yourself again.

Seclusion can be found in the darkest corner of the Museum of Natural History. Past the Hall of Biodiversity is the Hall of Ocean Life. Though there are school field trips being led in single file lines, and toddlers running amok around the carpeted floor, all noise disappears as you stand and stare at the behemoth of an exhibit in front of you. The giant sperm whale seems to be swimming right out of the wall. He is satisfied, a smug grin on his mammoth face as he clamps down on the red squid resting in his mouth. The kids stay away from this corner — in the dim light of the room, the squid and the whale are terrifying monsters lurking in the dark. It is quiet enough that you can finally hear yourself think. You ponder how small we truly

BY CARLY TAGEN-DYE

You are quiet, and you know that.

It has been pointed out to you more times than you can count, often by teachers irritated by the fact you don’t participate in class, or by peers who act surprised you can even talk at all.

New York City might not be the best place to move if you are anxious and introverted. To you, however, it is the only place big enough to swallow a person whole. So you go. Despite the cabs honking at all hours of the night and the ever-present sounds of rush hour traffic — despite the crowds, the congestion, and the chaos — New York is not as loud as you anticipated it would be. This city can be silent when you want it to. You can make it as peaceful as you need.

There is an abundance of serenity right in the middle of Manhattan.

Take the C train to West 72nd Street, and enter Central Park through Strawberry Fields. Make sure to go on a Sunday morning in January, though, when the bitter cold is enough to keep

Photo: Andres Alvarado via Flickr

are when there are creatures of this size roaming the depths of the ocean.

All other sounds fade.

Silence comes in the first snowfall you’ve seen all season. It starts slowly, a single flake flurrying to the ground, until its friends follow suit. They twist and twirl, like delicate dancers performing a routine. The world is coated in white; peaceful, for a few swift seconds. People push past you on the sidewalk, in a hurry to get to their apartments, offices, or nearest subway stations to escape the biting cold. Within minutes, the sidewalks are much emptier. For a moment, you feel as if you are the only person on earth, caught up in the sudden storm.

The trees, bare branches dusted by frost, look like the ones outside your childhood bedroom window.

For a split second, you are back in the town you grew up in; ever-silent and still. The snow reminds you of home.

Through these gentle glimpses, you begin to see New York as home too.

You are quiet, and you know that.

Perhaps this city is just like you.

Carly Tagen-Dye is a freshman in the Writing B.F.A. Program at Pratt Institute

President & Publisher, Jeanne Straus nyoffice@strausnews.com

STRAUS MEDIA your neighborhood news source nyoffice@strausnews.com 212-868-0190

Vice President/CFO Otilia Bertolotti Vice President/CRO Vincent A. Gardino advertising@strausnews.com

Associate Publishers Seth L. Miller, Ceil Ainsworth Regional Sales Manager Tania Cade

Account Executives Fred Almonte, David Dallon Director of Partnership Development Barry Lewis

Editor-In-Chief, Alexis Gelber Deputy Editor David Noonan

Senior Reporter Doug Feiden Staff Reporter Michael Garofalo

Director of Digital Pete Pinto Director, Arts & Entertainment Alizah Salario

APRIL 11-17,2019

9

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

‘NEVER ASSUME A DAMNED THING’

NEIGHBORHOOD’S BEST To place an ad in this directory, Call Douglas at 212-868-0190 ext. 352.

Features select Business & Services catering to residents in Manhattan.

Neighborhood’s Best appears weekly and is distributed to 60,000 households throughout.

Space is limited so please contact Douglas at 212.868.0190 ext. 352 to discuss availability.

BOOKS Robert Caro, noted author and biographer of Lyndon Johnson, talks about his next LBJ book — and the influence of his onetime Newsday editor

BY HILLEL ITALIE

Highlights from a recent Associated Press interview with historian Robert Caro, whose new book, “Working,â€? is just coming out. The NYC-based author is also working on his ďŹ fth and presumed ďŹ nal book about Lyndon Johnson.

Science FUN with Dr. Wow!

toll-free

Visit cohme.org or email referrals@cohme.org

Old & Rare Books, Autographs, Vintage Maps & Prints

More than just books!

NYC’s Oldest Bookstore

Argosy Book Store Come in and browse

116 East 59th

www.argosybooks.com

212-753-4455

STORE ONLY VALIDVALID IN IN STORE ONLY USE BY 06/19 USE BY 06/19 1-GALLON PER COUPON 1-GALLON PER COUPON

Store Locations: 1574 1st Ave / 2212 Broadway 24/7 EMERGENCY LOCKSMITH SERVICE 212-288-7773

PSYCHOTHERAPY

t "MM GPSNT PG 3FTJEFOUJBM BOE $PNNFSDJBM 1SPQFSUZ 'JOBODJOH t 0WFS :FBST &YQFSJFODF PG /:$ $PPQ BOE $POEP 'JOBODJOH t 3FMBUJPOTIJQT XJUI &WFSZ -FOEFS JO UIF .BSLFUQMBDF UP FOTVSF ZPV HFU 'VOEFE

www.prudentialb.com NNDHPWFSO!QSVEFOUJBMC DPN t $BMM %JSFDU

REAL ESTATE KARPOFF AFFILIATES Senior Move Manager Real Estate Broker

KARPOFF AFFILIATES is your single stop for senior life transitions and real estate brokerage needs.

Compassionate Senior Move Manager & Expert Real Estate Broker

(Next to Lexington Ave. Subway Station)

Birthday parties and other events

1-GALLON 1-GALLON VALSPAR VALSPAR PAINT PAINT ANY ANYCOLOR COLOR

PROPERTY FINANCING

Michael McGovern

‹

$5 OFF $5 OFF COUPON COUPON

CUSTOMIZED CARE DEMENTIA TRAINING FOR THE AIDES SOCIAL WORK SERVICES INCLUDED

Licensed Mortgage Loan Originator NMLS# 114132 - NY, FL

Science Enrichment in the Home

NOW OFFERING FULL SERVICE PAINT COLOR MATCHING & MIXING

Call 24/7 for a free consultation!

The Perfect Mother’s Day, Father’s Day & Graduation Gift

‹

SKY LOCKSMITH & HARDWARE

PERSONALIZED HOME CARE

(877) 212-4222

After School Programs

LOCKSMITH

HOME CARE

Photo: via Amazon

‹

Steve Gould ‹ 917-822-9708 (mobile)

34 Years Experience

CONTINUED ON PAGE 15

EDUCATION

NEIGHBORHOOD’S BEST

Marilyn Karpoff www.KarpoffAfďŹ liates.com mkarpoff@karpoffafďŹ liates.com 212.358.8044 290 Third Avenue, Ste 26C, NYC 10010

SPIRITUAL

WINDOW TREATMENTS

Upper West Manhattan Church of Christ 80 YEARS!

Meeting at 891 Amsterdam Ave. @ 103rd St. In Hosteling International For more information: Call 212-729-8356 www.uwmchurchofchrist.com

Draperies Shades Shutters Blinds Motorization Window Film Upholstery Fabric & Trim Flooring Paint

SEMI-ANNUAL CUSTOM DECORATING SALE GOING ON NOW! UPPER WEST SIDE 469 AMSTERDAM AVE. 212.501.8282 WINDOWFASHIONS.COM

10

APRIL 11-17,2019

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

Join the Celebration

75 Years of

No-Kill Action and Compassion A D O P T

A

P E T

T O D AY !

A C O O P E R AT I V E A D O P T I O N E V E N T:

Discover the world around the corner.

Find community events, gallery openings, book launches and much more: Go to nycnow.com

M U D D Y PAW S R E S C U E & NORTH SHORE ANIMAL LEAGUE AMERICA

&CXKU #XG 2QTV 9CUJKPIVQP 0; r animalleague.org r r 44

FOLLOW US ON:

EDITOR’S PICK

Mon 15 FILM: LOVING VINCENT The Neue Galerie 1048 Fifth Ave 4:00 p.m. Free neuegalerie.org 212-628-6200 In a story depicted in oilpainted animation, a young man comes to the last hometown of painter Vincent van Gogh to deliver the troubled artist’s ďŹ nal letter and ends up investigating the artist’s ďŹ nal days.

Self-Portrait, by Vincent van Gogh. Oil on artist’s board, mounted on cradled panel, 1887.

Image via Wikimedia Commons.

NOW OPEN | Free Admission

Smithsonian

National Museum of the American Indian AmericanIndian.si.edu

T.C. Cannon: (1946–1978, Caddo/Kioma), Soldiers (detail), 1970. Oil on canvas. Collection of Arnold and Karen Blair. Š 2019 Estate of T.C. Cannon. Photo by Scott Geffert.

DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING YOU’D LIKE US TO LOOK INTO? Email us at NEWS@STRAUSNEWS.COM

Thu 11

Fri 12

Sat 13

FILM — THE STRANGE AFFAIR OF UNCLE HARRY (1944)

WHEN MICHELANGELO WAS MODERN: THE ART MARKET AND COLLECTING IN ITALY, 1450–1650

START A REVOLUTION FILM SERIES: KADDISH (1984)

96th St Library 112 East 96th St 2:00 p.m. Free This ďŹ lm, directed by Robert Siodmak, is about an aging bachelor in a small New England town who ďŹ nds love when a New York fashion designer visits the fabric mill where he works. nypl.org 212-289-0908

The Frick 1 East 70th St 3:15 p.m. $35 This event examines the forces that motivated Italian collectors and patrons of the 15th, 16th and early 17th centuries to support artists and encourage innovative ideas that today are recognized as having transformed the artist’s status from craftsman to celebrity. frick.org 212-288-0700

Webster Library 1465 York Ave 2:00 p.m. Free This documentary, ďŹ lmed over a ďŹ ve-year period, uses interviews, period footage and home movies to follow Yossi Klein’s odyssey as writer/ activist battling fear and uncertainty and endeavoring to come to terms with his father’s traumatic legacy. nypl.org 212-288-5049

APRIL 11-17,2019

11

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

Sun 14 Mon 15 Tue 16 ▼ OPEN STUDIO FOR FAMILIES

▲ BLACK SHADOWS WILL FRIEDWALD’S ON A SILVER SCREEN: CLIP JOINT: KISS ME THE GREAT MIGRATION KATE MIXTAPE The Guggenheim AND INDEPENDENT 1071 Fifth Ave 92y 1:00 p.m Free with museum FILMMAKING 1395 Lexington Ave

admission For families with children ages 3 and up. Explore the themes and materials seen in the works on view at our drop-in studio art-making program. guggenheim.org 212-423-3500

Library for the Performing Arts 40 Lincoln Center Plaza 7:00 p.m. Free Works from the library’s 16mm film collection will accompany special guests in a celebration and discussion of the vibrant history of African-American independent filmmakers in New York. nypl.org 917-275-6975

Noon $29 Will Friedwald, feature writer for The Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair and the author of nine books on popular music, presents curated video clips from his extensive vintage collection to illustrate the great artistry of the performers and composers of the American Songbook.

92y.org 212-415-5500

Wed 17 SELECTED SHORTS: LEVAR BURTON AND FRIENDS Symphony Space 2537 Broadway 7:30 p.m. $32 Selected Shorts teams up with master storyteller LeVar Burton (Roots, Star Trek: TNG, Reading Rainbow). The groundbreaking actor, author, director, and host of the hit podcast LeVar Burton Reads, takes the stage as host and reader for a memorable night of fiction from vibrant and diverse voices, performed by extraordinary actresses, including Laura Gómez (Orange Is the New Black), Sharon Washington (Feeding the Dragon), and more. symphonyspace.org 212-864-5400

“No judgment to fit in or be the same….

As soon as I came to Oakwood I felt welcome. The seniors talk to the freshmen, and this sense of community creates an environment in which we are encouraged to push ourselves and try new things. I learned right away that Oakwood would give me the help and attention with my classes that other schools could not. Oakwood has challenged me and expanded my view of what is possible and I am becoming a more confident learner each day!”

Liza E., Hopewell Junction, NY

On a picturesque coed campus, infused with nature, Oakwood Friends School, guided by Quaker principles, prepares students for lives of achievement, accomplishment, compassion and conscience.

Upper School Day & Boarding Programs (5 and 7-day) Middle School Day Program Middle and Upper Schools Open House Student-led campus tours and meetings with faculty and Head of School Sat/Sun April 27 & 28 at Noon Sat/Sun May 4 & 5 at Noon For more info or to join us, write or call: admissions@oakwoodfriends.org • (845) 462-4200 22 Spackenkill Road, Poughkeepsie, NY

oakwoodfriends.org

12

APRIL 11-17,2019

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

Portrait of a woman holding a spindle and distaff and flanked by lion handles (c. 120 A.D.) came from Palmyra, and is on loan from Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen. Photo: Adel Gorgy

A startlingly modern looking face on a stele from Southwestern Arabia (early first century) is on loan from the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Photo: Adel Gorgy.

VOICES PAST AND PRESENT Art and objects from the ancient Middle East embody both the fleeting nature of time and the enduring impact of long-ago cultures

BY MARY GREGORY

Even goddesses can be hard to recognize. This alabaster statuette has been identified by curators as an image of Ishtar. Photo: Adel Gorgy

Entering the Metropolitan Museum’s exhibition, “The World between Empires: Art and Identity in the Ancient Middle East,” filled with images of deities, war paraphernalia, funerary objects, coins, and relics of everyday life, one feels the presence of two millennia filled with history, spirituality, culture and conflict. Names and borders are different, but the timeless gazes of portraits and the surprisingly familiar aesthetic of the works remind us that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Close to 200 works, including many important international loans, come together to give a sense of ancient places like Petra, Mesopotamia, and Palmyra, and of cultures like the Nabataeans and Phoenicians. Separate sections of the exhibition focus on areas of the Middle East, stretching from Yemen to Syria, from 100 B.C. to 250 A.D. Along with art and artifacts are photographs, maps, and video bringing the

past and present together.

“In focusing on an area of the world that has been deeply affected by recent conflicts and the destruction of sites, monuments, and objects, this show also engages with complex questions about the preservation of cultural heritage,” stated Max Hollein, director of The Met.

A Ruby-Eyed, Alabaster Beauty The exhibition organizers, Michael Seymour and Blair Fowlkes-Childs, highlight a three-century long contest between the powerful Roman and Parthian empires for control of the trade routes of the ancient Middle East, and the ways that local cultures evaded their influences. Distinct societies and diverse religions flourished.

The diminutive work that opens the exhibition is stunning and challenging. It’s a small alabaster statuette, about the size of a hand, on loan from the Louvre. Delicately modeled, with articulating arms, the female figure wears a gold necklace, earrings and crown and has inlaid rubies in her eyes and navel. FowlkesChilds remarks in the audio accompanying the work that the sculpture came from a grave in ancient Mesopotamia. While the portrayal might seem simi-

lar to Aphrodite or Venus, she says “these questions of divine identity are not always easy to solve.” Seymour later adds that they believe the statue depicts Ishtar of Babylon. But, he points out, “She is being represented in new ways.”

Among the highlights is a beautiful wall plaque of a cheetah with charming incised circles indicating its spotted fur, from Palmyra in the third century. In the gallery featuring works from southwestern Arabia, the vivid realism of an elegant bronze horse contrasts with an extraordinarily modern-looking, abstracted face carved in a stele of stone, though they come from about the same place and time (first to second century).

The Push and Pull of Time Some of the things in the exhibition are startling because we know them, but never imagined we’d see them, like the humble unglazed pottery jar that once held the Dead Sea Scrolls. Others are astonishing because of their anonymity.

Who knew that two extremely rare early paintings of Jesus on view here belong to the collection of nearby Yale University?

Still others are compelling because, despite the 2,000 years that have passed, they seem so

familiar, like glasses and jars from Tyre and Sidon. The cities, the wall texts explain, had particularly fine sand for glassmaking, and became famous for their glassware.

There’s a constant sense of the push and pull of time as one passes through the galleries. At one moment it all seems so distant, at another, so near.

And that seems to be part of the point. Wall texts throughout the exhibition discuss the destruction of cultural heritage so problematic today. A group of experts appear in videos discussing the tragic losses of artworks across the region. But they also present ideas for the future, offering hope.

A particularly poignant carved wall plaque remains in memory after walking among treasures from cultures enduring and long forgotten. It’s an altar, praising the goodness, mercy and power of god, but leaving that god unnamed.

IF YOU GO WHAT: The World between Empires: Art and Identity in the Ancient Middle East WHERE: The Met 1000 Fifth Avenue, Gallery 899 WHEN: Through June 23, 2019

APRIL 11-17,2019

13

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

Your Neighborhood News Source

BEYOND BROADWAY - EAST SIDE The #1 online community for NYC theater:

www.show-score.com

NOW PLAYING IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD FROM $30

FROM $75

FROM $45

LA CANCIÓN - THE MUSICAL

AIN’T NO ‘MO

DO YOU FEEL ANGER

68 REVIEWS OPEN RUN

43 REVIEWS ENDS MAY 05

84 REVIEWS ENDS APR 20

86

81

72

Repertorio Español presents an inspiring musical about the power of song and self-discovery.

A vibrant satirical odyssey portraying the great exodus of Black Americans out of a country plagued with injustice.

In the Vineyard’s new dark comedy, Sofia is hired as an empathy coach at a debt collection agency, and she has her work cut out for her.

REPERTORIO ESPAÑOL - 138 E 27TH ST

PUBLIC THEATER - 425 LAFAYETTE ST

VINEYARD THEATRE - 108 E 15TH ST

WHAT’S TRENDING ACROSS NYC

COMING SOON

FROM $35

FROM $25

JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK 35 REVIEWS ENDS MAY 25

PLAYING HOT PREVIEWS START APR 18

This jazz concert-party-play hybrid takes you inside a brassy New Orleans dance hall, where the untold story of the birth of jazz is brought to life.

87

THEATRE 511 - 511 W 54TH ST

Sean O’Casey’s 1924 drama offers a devastating portrait of wasted potential in a Dublin torn apart by the chaos of the Irish Civil War.

FROM $25

IRISH REPERTORY THEATRE - 132 W 22ND ST

REFUGE PREVIEWS START APR 25

FROM $20

LIFE SUCKS 71 REVIEWS ENDS APR 20

A world-premiere drama based on real events in which thousands of Jewish WWII refugees were harbored by families in Albania.

BARUCH PERFORMING ARTS CENTER - 55 LEXINGTON AVE

84 FROM $30

Wheelhouse Theater Company presents the New York premiere of Aaron Posner’s reimagining of Chekhov’s timeless classic, “Uncle Vanya.”

SOMETHING CLEAN PREVIEWS START MAY 04

THE WILD PROJECT - 195 E 3RD ST

Roundabout’s new drama slips into the jagged cracks of a sex crime’s aftermath—the guilt, the grief, and the ways we grapple with the unthinkable.

FROM $40

ACCIDENTALLY BRAVE 78 REVIEWS ENDS JUL 14

THE HAROLD AND MIRIAM STEINBERG CENTER - 111 W 46TH ST

FROM $77

MAC BETH PREVIEWS START MAY 07

82

Content provided by

An autobiographical story of perseverance and hope from a woman who found her marriage, family, and values tested by the unthinkable.

In Red Bull’s retelling, seven girls hurl headlong into the unchecked passions of “Macbeth,” as the line between real life and bloody fantasy quickly blurs.

DR2 THEATRE - 103 E 15TH ST

LUCILLE LORTEL THEATRE - 121 CHRISTOPHER ST KEY:

14

APRIL 11-17,2019

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS MAR 27 - APR 2, 2018 The following listings were collected from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s website and include the most recent inspection and grade reports listed. We have included every restaurant listed during this time within the zip codes of our neighborhoods. Some reports list numbers with their explanations; these are the number of violation points a restaurant has received. To see more information on restaurant grades, visit www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/services/restaurant-inspection.shtml.

DESPITE COURT DEFEAT, TOWER’S RISE CONTINUES DEVELOPMENT

The Stumble Inn

1454 2 Avenue

A

Effy’s Kitchen

1393B 2nd Ave

A

Lexington Bar and Books

1020 Lexington Ave

A

Eats

1055 Lexington Ave

Grade Pending (21) 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/sewageassociated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.

Workshop

1415 2nd Ave

A

Kings Carriage House

251 East 82 Street

A

Comic Strip

1568 2 Avenue

A

Gael Pub

1465 3 Avenue

Grade Pending (22) Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, cross-contaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/ or non-food areas. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Luna Rossa

347 East 85 Street

A

Caledonia

1609 2nd Ave

A

Chipotle Mexican Grill

1497 3 Avenue

A

Burgerfi

240 East 82 Street

A

Nica Trattoria

354 East 84 Street

A

The Five Lamps

1586 York Ave

A

Mercado’s Cuisine

1759 Lexington Ave

Grade Pending (18) Evidence of rats or live rats present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.

Lion Lion

332 E 116th St

A

Champignon Cafe

1389 Madison Ave

Grade Pending (26) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation.

Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

5 Star Cheese Steak and Pizza

2039 1st Ave

A

Pabade Bakery & Cafe

135 E 110th St

A

Thai Peppercorn

1406 Madison Ave

Not Yet Graded (28) Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, crosscontaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan.

Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored. Wiping cloths soiled or not stored in sanitizing solution.

DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING YOU’D LIKE US TO LOOK INTO? DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING YOU’D LIKE US TO LOOK INTO? DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING YOU’D LIKE US TO LOOK INTO? Email us at NEWS@STRAUSNEWS.COM

Elected officials call on city to stop construction on 200 Amsterdam Avenue

BY MICHAEL GAROFALO

Last month’s state Supreme Court decision against the developers behind 200 Amsterdam Avenue has done nothing to slow the rise of the planned 668-foot residential building.

Construction on the tower has continued apace since the March 14 ruling — which found that the city’s Board of Standards and Appeals’ decision last year to uphold plans for the project was “unreasonable and inconsistent with the plain language” of city zoning law — prompting local elected officials to call on the city to halt work immediately.

The legal challenge, filed by two nonprofit advocacy groups and supported by a number of local politicians, focused on the large, irregularly shaped zoning lot used to justify the building’s height, which critics have likened to a gerrymandered electoral district.

The court ordered the BSA to revisit the case under a new interpretation that would seem to require the agency to reverse its earlier finding that the 39-sided parcel, which encompasses pieces of several tax lots and snakes across much of the Lincoln Towers superblock, constitutes a properly formed zoning lot. But Judge W. Franc Perry stopped short of ordering the Department of Buildings to revoke the project’s building permit, instead leaving it to the BSA to reevaluate the matter and issue its own decision.

The BSA has not yet scheduled a new hearing date for the case. A BSA spokesperson said the agency anticipates a hearing will likely be held in “late May or June.”

For the time being, nothing prevents developers SJP Properties and Mitsui Fudosan from continuing work on the planned 55-story tower, which now exceeds 20 floors in height.

A DOB spokesperson directed inquiries to the city’s Law Department. In an emailed statement, Law Department Spokes-

Construction on the planned 55-story tower at 200 Amsterdam Avenue is ongoing. The tower now rises roughly 22 stories over the Upper West Side. Photo: Vincent A. Gardino man Nick Paolucci wrote that the court’s decision “does not invalidate the construction permits for this project.”

“Construction is allowed to proceed under the current permits,” Paolucci continued.

Hearing on April 30 The plaintiffs in the case — Committee for Environmentally Sound Development, a local volunteer advocacy group, and the Municipal Art Society of New York, a prominent preservation and land use advocacy nonprofit — are seeking a court order that would stop work on the tower until the BSA reaches its decision. The court will hold a hearing April 30 on the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction, but denied the plaintiffs’ request for a temporary restraining order that would have halted construction immediately.

Since the March 14 Supreme Court ruling, the plaintiffs’ attorney alleged in a court filing, the developers have “continued to construct the illegal 55-story tower at a breakneck pace,” adding more than one story per week. The plaintiffs believe that the building is already taller than would be permitted under the zoning interpretation

endorsed by the court. “If the BSA takes even six months to decide the case on remand, the building will almost certainly be complete,” the plaintiffs wrote in a filing.

The developers may also elect to appeal the Supreme Court’s decision. Representatives for developer SJP Properties did not respond to requests for comment.

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer is calling on DOB to rescind the project’s permits. “Construction should not continue while there is still a viable challenge to this development,” Brewer wrote in an April 3 letter to acting DOB Commissioner Thomas Fariello. Brewer and Council Member Helen Rosenthal, whose Upper West Side district includes the building site, planned a rally for April 9 in support of an immediate work stoppage.

“Ongoing process delays could make an illegal project inevitable,” Rosenthal said in an emailed statement. “This should not be allowed. No developer should be permitted to violate zoning law — it undermines what is supposed to be a transparent and consistent land use process across the city.”

APRIL 11-17,2019

BOOKS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

On the enduring influence of his old Newsday editor Alan Hathway, who urged him to “Turn every page”: “I can’t remember how many times with that Johnson book and that incredible mass of stuff at the Johnson Library, I felt like giving up — not giving up the book, just saying, ‘I’ve done enough.’ I would hear Alan saying to me, ‘Turn every page.’ I hear him saying, ‘Never assume a damned thing.’ I have that in mind all the time.’’

On interviewing LBJ press secretary George Christian: “George Christian wouldn’t talk to me. I wrote him 20 years of letters. Then I heard that he had lung cancer, and then I heard he had treatment and got better. Then I heard it came back and he’s decided not to have a round of chemotherapy. The phone rings and it’s him. He said, ‘It’s time for me to talk to you.’ It was very poignant. The first interview he had an oxygen tank in the corner of his office and he had a mask on his desk. I think for the first interview he used it very infrequently. The second interview, he had to keep using it. The third interview, he’s going along and after an hour or so, he says, ‘I guess that’s enough, Bob. You’ll have to get the rest from somebody else.’”

15

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com On the late Walt Rostow, a national security aide to Johnson who helped select bombing targets during World War II:

The local paper for the Upper East Side

Advertise with Our Town today!

“He was always trying to convince me of the efficacy of bombing. I’m not kidding. He and his wife were really trying to cultivate me, so they had a number of dinner parties [in Texas] in my honor. They had this grand house with this terrace and big balcony.

We’re at one of these big cocktail parties, and I realize I hadn’t seen Ina [Caro’s wife] in quite a while. And all of a sudden I see Rostow at the end of this balcony, against this railing, kind of silhouetted. And he’s talking and talking away to her. I can’t imagine what this conversation is about.

So I sort of walk over and I hear something like, `You see in Hamburg we drew concentric circles around the railroad.’ He spent a lot of time basically trying to convince me that if only he had been allowed to pursue the [Vietnam] war the way he wanted, everything would be fine.”

Call Vincent Gardino at 212-868-0190

On his next Johnson book and Vietnam: “The big question I’m trying to answer is, ‘How did we get into this?’ How does a great nation find itself embarked on a war — we had almost 600,000 men there — that was also such a horrible mistake.

How did it happen? Then, of course, I want to show the effect of war. I want to show what it was like to fight in the jungle. I want to show the effect of the bombing. A lot of the targets were picked personally

by Lyndon Johnson.”

OurTownNY.com

There’s a gap in medical research that only you can fill.

Join the All of Us Research Program and help speed up medical breakthroughs.

JoinAllofUs.org/OurTown 833-AOU-JOIN

16

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS NYC fitness studios are adding new training classes just for women

BY MICHELLE NAIM

What could be better than a gym membership on-the-go for the fitnessclass junkies among us? Welcome to ClassPass. In 2013, the small start-up hit the App Store and online markets, allowing users to choose from a crowd of boutique studios and fitness classes.

Members gain access to a wide range of classes — boxing or cycling class if they’re looking for something fastpaced and intense or, they can opt for a slow-paced yoga class to get a nice stretch in — all for a monthly fee. With all of these options, ClassPass is allow-

ing women to break into the world of strength training, an exercise routine that was once largely the domain of men until recently.

“I think there’s such a stigma around strength being for men and only for men,” said Heather Gunn-Rivera, coowner of Grassroots Fitness Project on the Upper West Side. In the middle of her passionate reply, the clock hit 9:29 a.m. (the women’s strength training class begins at 9:30am), “Let’s go,” she said. The studio only added an allwomen’s strength training class to its schedule a year-and-a-half ago.

A Flatiron women’s-only studio called Uplift Studio, has begun to introduce strength training classes to their class schedules as well.

“Strength is our signature class and

Weight training with instructor Heather Gunn-Rivera (right) of Grassroots Fitness Project.

Photo courtesy of Jesse Herndon

APRIL 11-17,2019

Business

the most popular,” said Leanne Shear, the studio owner. She initially branded herself as a women-only trainer from the start of her career. “When one of our early group classes got rained out in Central Park, instead of canceling, we herded everyone across the street to a bar to hang out. For hours, women who had never met before were sipping wine, networking, hanging out, and becoming friends and workout buddies. Men have historically created these opportunities (and advantages) for themselves, while until recently, women have not. I saw that and ran with it in the creation of Uplift.”

Empowerment within classes Shear has also recently begun a #MeToo workshop to serve the community of trainers and instructors on how best to deal with sexual harassment from clients along with Megan Eiss-Proctor, a New York attorney and founder of Heddy Consulting, The workshop is also geared towards male instructors who have wanted to step in to the aid of their female colleagues but didn’t know how.

Neither of the studios would ever think about adding on a men’s-only class, saying that would defeat their entire purpose. Right now, Uplift holds all of their classes in an all-women’s setting although Shear said her trainers would be willing to work with men at special events. And, for GunnRivera, “It’s not just about bringing

Class at Grassroots Fitness Project on the Upper West Side. Photo courtesy of Jesse Herndon women together ... because we want to say no-males. It’s about giving the women a safe place to figure out what [strength is] for women — how are we going to define that?”

Gunn-Rivera added that the empowerment within the classes is different than classes which have both men and women, “The way they lead, the way they support each other has a different attitude, has a different air, has a different feeling, you know. It’s so new to everybody. Were in such a time now where the confidence of women has grown.”

The beginning of an ordinary allwomen’s strength class at The Grassroots Project feels like a therapy session. It’s a vulnerable space and is almost like a support group getting together to talk about their insecurities.

Topics of conversation include questions Gunn-Rivera asks like, “When were times in your life when you lost

and gained your strength?”

Gunn-Rivera said teaching women has been personally eye-opening to her, “It’s learning how to coach women in a strength environment because the wording is different, the language is different ... we’re not allowed to make disclaimers in the class: ‘Oh I can’t do it.’ You hear the disclaimers come out all the time and I just stop it in its tracks ... because we become what we say. We become what we think.” She continued, “I feel like I have to become somebody in order to teach a male [but] I don’t have to become [anybody] ... to teach a female.”

Shear, on the other hand, does not believe there is any substantial difference between the way women and men are taught: “Women are incredibly strong and train incredibly smart.

A good instructor ... is going to bring the best out of any student/client no matter who they are!”

THE IDEAL AGES FOR FINANCIAL MILESTONES A new study shows consensus about the right time to open credit card accounts, buy a home — and retire When it comes to money, life is a series of financial milestones. Opening your first credit card account, buying your first home and retiring (no more paychecks!) all feel like very significant events — and they are.

But what age is the right age to reach each of these milestones? Of course, it depends on who you ask. But according to a new study from Bankrate. com, there’s some consensus among people on the ideal age for life’s major financial events. What does this mean for you? The results of this study could help you adjust your expectations or reconsider your plans for reaching wa-

tershed financial moments depending on where you are in life.

reality, the median first-time home buyer in the U.S. is 32 years old.

Most people agree on the ideal age to become a home owner. The study,

Young Americans are warming up to credit cards. All respondents across all

which consisted of interviews with about 1,000 respondents, showed that most people think 28 is the right age to buy a home for the first time.

In fact, a majority of every age group cited age 28 except for the Silent Generation — people born between 1925 and 1942 — and their most common answer was similar, age 26. Of course, it’s not uncommon for the concept of “ideal” to conflict with realities on the ground. For example, there is consensus among Americans who make less than $30,000 a year, as well as those who live in expensive regions such as the Northeast, that it’s best to wait to buy a home until you’re at least 30. In

age groups agreed that 21 is the ideal age to buy or lease your first car, but there was no such consensus when it comes to opening your first credit card account. The most commonly cited ideal age for that financial milestone was 22, but millennials, who have historically shunned taking on credit card debt, are now largely in favor of paying with plastic as early as possible. About 53 percent of millennials cited 18 to 20 as the ideal age to get your first credit card. It’s important to note that the Credit Card Act of 2009 made 21 the minimum age to acquire a credit card without a cosigner or verifiable proof of enough income to

pay debts. What does this mean for you? If you have college-age kids, keep in mind that it’s now probable that they’re nearly twice as likely as you or your parents to think it’s a good idea to open a credit card account as soon as they reach adulthood.

The young want to retire earlier than those at retirement age. The survey’s younger respondents think the ideal retirement age is in one’s very early 60s — ages 61 and 60 for millennials and Gen Xers, respectively. That optimism, however, often collides with learned reality for older adults who are at or near retirement age. Half of baby boomers think it’s best to wait until at least age 65, and nearly one in five respondents age 73 or older believe that waiting until age 70 or older is better. What’s actually happening?

The average age of new retirees in the U.S. is about 63, although that varies by state, with four states in New England plus New Jersey averaging 65, the oldest average. If you’re a Gen Xer who has lofty goals of early retirement, or you’re the parent of an optimistic millennial, keep in mind that there’s a direct correlation between getting an early jump on aggressively saving for retirement, as well as limiting debt, and actually being able to retire early.

Source: A Bankrate.com survey, conducted

by SSRS on its Omnibus platform, of 1,001 respondents. The data were weighted to ensure accuracy. Date: August 8, 2018 Publication: Bottom Line Personal Copyright © 2018 by Bottom Line Inc., 3 Landmark Square, Suite 201, Stamford, Connecticut 06901. www.BottomLineInc. com

APRIL 11-17,2019

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

17

18

MAN OF THE MOMENT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 household name on the Upper West Side since his studentactivist days at Columbia University in the late 1960s.

He’s served 26 years in Congress, wins elections by landslides, assumed the helm of the House Judiciary Committee only in January, and has forged a reputation for patience, judiciousness – and unflinching firmness.

And unlike New Jersey congressman Peter Rodino, who led the same committee during Watergate and never stopped asking himself, “Why me?”, Nadler embraces the role.

“If we’re going to have a Constitutional crisis, then we need someone to defend against it, and I’m just happy to be in that position,” Nadler said during a 98-minute interview with The West Side Spirit.

His mood was relaxed, his manner contemplative. He was formidable, to be sure, but didn’t lack a sense of humor either. He showed flashes of outrage. And above all, a consequential sense of duty to nation and founding Constitutional principles.

“Why me?” he repeats. “I don’t think so — I’m in the right place

APRIL 11-17,2019

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com at the right time. And it’s a place I wanted, it’s a place I think I’m well trained for, it’s a place I think I’m well suited for ...

“My original motive in politics, from the time I was probably 12 years old, was civil rights and civil liberties and due process,” he adds. “I have always concentrated on them, and that has never changed.”

What has changed? “I now have a lot of responsibility, which I didn’t have, and a lot of power, which I didn’t have, and I’m in the middle of a lot of things I care very deeply about as chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and people look to me for leadership and guidance by virtue of this position,” Nadler says.

The Picture in the Lobby The 71-year-old, lower West 70s resident was seated in his Manhattan district office at 201 Varick St., a 12-story, 1929 Art Deco federal office building that members of the public cannot enter without walking past a grinning, governmentissue color photo of President Donald Trump.

Not that Nadler needs any reminders: “We have now under President Trump the most sustained attack on our democratic values and our democratic norms and the rule of law since

the Civil War,” he said. “And that we have to defend against by making sure our fundamental liberties are intact, our Constitutional structure is intact, and the rule of law itself is intact.”

It was the afternoon of March 21 – exactly 24 hours before the Mueller Report dropped, with less of a bang and more of a whimper – and Nadler was elucidating the personal, political, historical, intellectual, sociological and Constitutional context to his half-century-plus of public service.

In two interview sessions, sandwiched around a brief meeting with the Australian consul general, he also described the character and moral principles of a neighborhood he’s embodied since his time as a young political reformer who bucked, and vanquished, the entrenched Democratic political establishment back in 1969.

“I would define it as liberal and generous, believing that government should be open and activist and help people who need help,” he said.

“Those are the quintessential West Side values,” he said.

Of course, there were national phenomena that the local body politic despised: “The West Side hated McCarthyism ... hated our endless, unnecessary

wars in Vietnam and Iraq,” Nadler said.

An Early Close Encounter And it also didn’t cotton to a 150-story tower – hyped as the “tallest building in the history of the world” and the centerpiece of the “biggest project in the history of New York” – that an audacious developer named Donald J. Trump was proposing to erect along the old Hudson River rail yards between West 59th and 72nd Streets.

It was the mid-1980s, and the stage was set for the first showdown between Nadler, then a state Assembly member, and Trump, who was reveling in the 1983 success of Trump Tower – and out to conquer a broad swath of the West Side.

Score it as a knockout victory for Nadler.

The complex was initially dubbed “Television City” because NBC was a target tenant.

But the network dropped out, and it was inevitably rebranded “Trump City,” and Nadler was invited to view the models.

There it was, a 150-floor monstrosity, surrounded by what he describes as a bunch of “75-story Chrysler buildings,” and, as he tells the story, “I thought it was grotesque…But I was too polite to say that.”

So he asked about the tower’s

Rep. Jerrold Nadler with his granddaughter at the Community Free Democrats political club on Sunday, March 7. Photo: Emiily Goodman residential component, and suddenly, Trump was getting animated as he riffed on highrise living, and Nadler quotes him asking, “Did you know, did you know, that the people living on the top stories, before they go out in the morning, have to call down to the

DISCOVERY DAY Saturday, April 27, 2019 Discover Bard College at Simon’s Rock, a place of purpose-driven curiosity and self-expression where highly motivated young scholars start college after the 10th or 11th grade.

visit explore imagine For more information, call: 800-235-7186. Registration is required: simons-rock.edu/visit Located in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts | 84 Alford Road | Great Barrington, MA 01230 | simons-rock.edu

concierge to find out what the weather is like because they can’t see it because they’re above the clouds?”

“I’m thinking, ‘What a drag,’” Nadler recalls. “But he’s getting more and more excited, and I realized that he’s living on the 68th floor at the top of

APRIL 11-17,2019 the Trump Tower, and all of a sudden, I got it, and I asked if he would be living on the 150th oor, and he said, ‘Yeah.’â€?

His conclusion? “Trump wanted to be the highest person in the highest apartment in the world,� he said.

It didn’t happen. Nadler rallied the opposition. The project’s grandiosity vanished.

It withered in size, scope and density. By 1991, a compromise was thrashed out, though Nadler still opposed it because it precluded the continuing operation of the railyards.

Bottom line: Trump City was dead. A much smaller Riverside South rose in its stead. Six more modestly sized buildings bore the name “Trump Place.�

The Boys Who Wore Neckties Highly selective Stuyvesant High School, which Nadler entered in 1961, was an incubator for political prodigies. Here, he joined the debating team, launched his first five campaigns for electoral office, all of them successful, and mastered the ďŹ ne art of constituent service and trust-building.

He quickly came under the tutelage of two other precocious political dynamos, each a year ahead of him at Stuyvesant – Dick Gottfried, who went on to become the state’s longest

19

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com serving Assembly member, and Dick Morris, who became reelection campaign strategist for President Bill Clinton in 1996 and has since drifted over to right-wing fringe politics.

Nadler got a boost from Gottfried, who wrote his campaign literature, and Morris, who served as campaign manager, for school electoral triumphs, including student government president.

Gottfried said: “If you look in the yearbook, we’re the only kids wearing neckties‌We were all nerds back then, maybe we still are, and our nerdiness has served us well over time.â€?

Nadler graduated Stuy, as everyone called it, in 1965, and Morris had already devised a plan for his future: “Dick said we ought to recruit a bunch of bright young liberal kids to go to Columbia and go into politics together on the West Side and not wait until we graduate from college,� he said. “This sounded wonderful to me.�

Between 1965 and 1967, drawing from Columbia, NYU and Stuyvesant and Hunter High Schools, they organized roughly 200 to 300 students who campaigned for liberal, antiwar candidates, delivering the vote via canvassing and phone banks. “Very old-fashioned political work,� he said.

Established politicians took note. In 1967, when Nadler was only 20 years old, Percy Sutton, then the Manhattan Borough President, appointed him to Community Board 7.

Meanwhile, Columbia University was exploding, the Students for a Democratic Society began occupying buildings, and Nadler stayed away: “I thought it was an invasion of the civil liberties of students and faculty who wanted to attend classes to forcibly prevent them from doing so,� he said.

After an initial police bust radicalized the campus, he got involved – as leader of the “right wing of the strike committee,� so called because it favored negotiations and didn’t believe, as the SDS did, that anyone trying to cross a picket line should be “physically stopped by whatever means necessary,� he recalled. “I thought they were crazy,�

Nadler said of the SDS extremists. “Haven’t you ever heard of

The Columbia Crucible The idea was to establish a group and attract a political following, “like the Kennedy brothers,� Nadler said. Thus was born the “West Side Kids,� or “those damned kids,� as they were sometimes branded.

civil liberties?� he demanded. “Have you forgotten that you’re on strike against the university’s use of coercive tactics?�

There he was at a recent local meeting in Hell’s Kitchen ...

He didn’t have to be there. He’s right in the middle of all these huge national issues.

But he still shows up.�

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer

By the time Nadler graduated from Columbia in 1969, the West Side Kids were ready to take on the “Adults,� as the reformers referred to the older, cautious established Democratic power structure that had dithered as the Dump Johnson bandwagon picked up steam.

So Nadler, 21, and Gottfried, 22, and ďŹ ve like-minded outsiders ran for Democratic district leader posts against seven organization incumbents – and upset every single one.

Their rallying cry? “Harass

your local politician!�

The coup was completed that year. Nadler founded a new reform club, Community Free Democrats. Other clubhouses were either taken over from the old clique or created anew.

His faction now held sway over most of the political universe of the Upper West Side and ushered in a more representative, egalitarian and left-of-center Democratic Party.

“Most Important Person�

The Kids came of age pretty fast. But their values and belief systems did not bend.

Nadler served seven years as district leader, then was elected to the state Assembly in 1976, following Gottfried, who got there in 1970.

He prevailed in a seven-way Democratic primary race, beating the other frontrunner by a mere 73 votes. That candidate was another household name on the UWS, Ruth Messinger, the future borough president of Manhattan and Democratic mayoral nominee who lost to Rudy Giuliani in 1997. “I’ve been telling people that once upon a time, I lost an election to Jerry Nadler – and the good news is that I lost to the most important person or one of the most important people in the United States,� Messinger

said in a phone interview.

From 1977 to 1992, Nadler served in the Assembly, helping to write state law on transportation, housing and consumer protection policy and passing a package of landmark legislation on domestic violence and enforcement of child support payments.

Nadler’s political life may be charmed, but there were two stinging defeats along the way. In 1985, he ran for Manhattan Borough President, and got clobbered by David Dinkins, and in 1989, he ran for comptroller, ran out of money and was bested by Elizabeth Holtzman.

Holtzman, former Congress member who sat on Rodino’s Judiciary Committee as it passed the articles of impeachment against Nixon, has remained a friend, and in the current crisis, Nadler says, he often turns to her for counsel.

National Clamor, Local Focus After 16 years in the Assembly, Nadler suddenly had a chance to move up in 1992 when U.S. Rep. Ted Weiss, who for 15 years held the West Side Congressional seat, died suddenly on the day before the primary, which he won handily anyway.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL 2019 WESTY AWARD WINNERS

Come visit our new state of the art facility Compression Garments for a healthy lifestyle.

check out our new and user friendly website

ADDRESS: 1476 1st

Avenue New York, N.Y. 10075 • FAX: 212.224.9560 EMAIL: info@thecompressionstore.com ONLINE: www.thecompressionstore.com PHONE: 212.224.9550

TOW N Ǣ CU S

M E R S E RVICE TO

TH

E BE

ST PRIC

ES

CUSTOM MOLDED FOOT ORTHOTICS covered by most Insurance plans

ARANTEED Ǣ

IN

GU

Largest selection of compression garments for men & women

Let Us 6XSSʉW You!

BORO PARK BLIMI WEINGARTEN

FLATBUSH RUCHY DEUTCH

CERTIFIED FITTER

CERTIFIED FITTER

5818 13th Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11219 TEL 718.436.7880 FAX 718.871.9451

115 Avenue J Brooklyn, NY 11230 (BET. MCDONALD & EAST 2ND) TEL 718.338.7993

BY APPOINTMENT ONLY

HOURS: SUN. 11AM-3PM MON-THURS 9AM-6PM ¡ FRI 9AM-1PM

PARTICIPATING PROVIDER

I Feel Better

!"

" " "

20

APRIL 11-17,2019

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

He loves solving problems.

So he gives.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler was photographed in his Manhattan office on March 21, 2019. Photo: Steven Strasser

William Donnell turned to The New York Community Trust to help him share his good fortune.

Together, we preserve parks, support the LGBTQ community, and fight poverty.

He also put The Trust in his will.

“Long after I’m gone, The Trust will keep using my money to make New York better for everyone.”

What do you love?

We can help with your charitable giving.

(212) 686-0010 x363 or giving@nyct-cfi.org www.GiveTo.nyc

MAN OF THE MOMENT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19 That paved the way to nominate a candidate to run in his place. Five contenders surfaced, including Bella Abzug, along with the two old buddies from Stuy, Nadler and Gottfried. There was a bit of tension between the two men. It lasted barely a week as the backroom politicking played out.

“Jerry had it wrapped up from Day One,” Gottfried recalls. For years, he had cultivated relationship with local pols and clubhouses, and now, it would pay off. “He is a superb one-onone politician. Ultimately, it was a tidal wave,” he added.

In Congress, Nadler worked to secure federal dollars for mass transit, harbor dredging and other transportation and infrastructure projects.

He supported gays in the military, introduced legislation to permit gays to sponsor their permanent partners for immigration, fought to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and campaigned for equal treatment for all married couples.

And in 1998, he coined and popularized a phrase that Trump-defenders in the GOP might well adopt politically should his Judiciary Committee eventually decide to pursue impeachment proceedings against the president: “Partisan coup d’état.”

With those three words – in impassioned defense of Bill Clinton, and in ardent opposition to impeachment managers seeking to bring him down – Nadler vaulted to the national stage for the first time.

An impeachable offense is an abuse of presidential power that undermines the function of government, he argued then, saying the framers of the Constitution didn’t intend impeachment to punish mere wrongdoing.

“Rather they saw it as a protection of constitutional liberties and of the structure of the government they were establishing against a president who might seek to become a tyrant,” he said in 1998.

Nadler was just a junior minority member of the committee in his sixth year in the House.

But so seriously did he take his duties that he found himself reading the works of Sir William Blackstone, an 18thcentury British judge and legal scholar who wrote about impeachment in English law.

“I still think that the best summary of what is an impeachable offense is the majority staff report of the Judiciary Committee written ironically in February of 1974 by Hillary Rodham as a young former Yale student,” he said in the interview with The Spirit.

A Historic Showdown Nadler is preparing once again, reading “To End a Presidency: The Power of Impeachment,” by Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe, whose message can be summed up in two words: Tread carefully.

“The first half of the book is the terrible fate that would befall the republic if you don’t impeach a president when you should,” he said. “The second half of the book is the terrible fate that would befall the repub-

lic if you do impeach a president when you shouldn’t.”

He also polished off “How Democracies Die” by two Harvard political scientists.

“Very frightening,” Nadler said. “[The book] goes through Peron and Mussolini and various strongmen in other countries, and you see a lot of this in Trump – he really checks all the boxes.

“Attacking the press and the judiciary, threatening violence against reporters and others, casting doubt on the legitimacy of the election, even when he won the election, delegitimizing the electoral process,” he said. “We have better institutional safeguards – we hope – than some of these other countries, but they don’t operate automatically.”

So Nadler these days has his hands full as he presses Attorney General William Barr to release a complete copy of the Mueller Report and all its supporting documentation under threat of subpoena. …And yet, as Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer tells the story, “There he was at a recent local meeting about a New York City Housing Authority infill site in Community Board 4 in Hell’s Kitchen.”

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” she marveled. “He didn’t have to be there. He’s right in the middle of all these huge national issues. But he still shows up at all the meetings.”

What motivates him? “It’s all about keeping a local focus on local issues and local housing and local concerns, and that has never changed,” Brewer said. invreporter@strausnews.com

APRIL 11-17,2019

21

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

‘A PERPETUAL WORK IN PROGRESS’ CULTURE Designed with the emphasis on flexibility, the Shed at Hudson Yards is a shapeshifting arts complex intended to meet the everchanging demands of contemporary — and future — artists from all disciplines

BY EMILY MASON

Construction was still rumbling along last Wednesday as Hudson Yards’ newest attraction, the Shed, made its debut.

Workers were installing the last section of escalator inside the main building as the press got its first look at the $500 million arts complex.

The dream of its creators is that the Shed will fulfill the two goals laid out by Michael Bloomberg at the onset of the project in 2013: that it be an artistic Mecca to keep New York City at the cutting edge of culture, and that it be different from anything else in the city.

The Shed’s board answered this call by putting flexibility at the core of their project.

Chairman and President of the Shed, Daniel L. Doctoroff, explained the rationale behind this design priority.

“We kept hearing similar things from everybody, which is that in this era of the internet which gives people the capacity to communicate and collaborate, the cultural ecosystem was beginning to shift,” Doctoroff said. “Artists were producing work that didn’t fit into traditional institutions.

And out of that idea was the notion of extreme flexibility and adaptability.”

The Magic of the McCourt One of the building’s architects, Elizabeth Diller, discussed how the design was created to embody this ideal of flexibility. The main building contains a theater, galleries, and an impressive top floor with skylights and a large dance floor offering a view of Hudson Yards’ other main attraction, the Vessel. But it is the

McCourt that is the most versatile space in the design.

The McCourt is created when the large latticed-steel and plastic polymer shell that surrounds the eight-floor main building is rolled back on its six giant wheels. This forms an enormous, adaptable space with moveable walls and seemingly unlimited possible combinations of seating, staging and lighting, allowing artists to use the space in a variety of ways.

At the press preview, the expansive venue of the McCourt smelled of the fresh wood used to construct the tiered levels for attendees. It felt a little chilly, as well, after the warmth of the well-heated main building. And one could see the grooves on the interior of the walls which allow them to morph and change the shape of the space.

“This is a perpetual work in progress, always getting smarter, always more agile,” Diller said. “This building will respond in real time to the challenges brought to it by artists, and hopefully it will chal-

We want to be able to accommodate artists, but also to inspire artists to do things they otherwise might not be able to do.”

lenge artists back.”

The other motivation for creating a space that can adapt to different types of installations is to ensure that the Shed will be able to stand the test of time as art continues to evolve.

Daniel L. Doctoroff, chairman and president of the Shed

With the Future in Mind “We don’t know what art is going to be or what artists are going to produce in two years, or ten years, or 100 years,” Doctoroff said. “We want to be able to accommodate artists, but also to inspire artists to do things they otherwise might not be able to do.”

Alex Poots, the founding chief and artistic director of the Shed discussed some of the opening events, which feature an eclectic mix of works including a five-day African American concert series, a concert by Bjork, and even a kung fu musical from the screenwriters of Kung Fu Panda that features songs by Sia. “This shows the range of artistry that is welcome and that can be present at the Shed,” Poots said.

The enormous interior volume of the McCourt space make humans look small. Photo: Emily Mason

Joseph Saidian and Sons Gallery #50 Sapphire and Diamond necklace and earring set by Van Cleef and Arpels circa 1980.

Convertible into two bracelets.

Lord Spencer, the father of Princess Diana, gave a similar set (designed with rubies instead of sapphires) to Lady Raine Spencer, his wife, around this time.

1050 2nd Ave b/t 55th St & 56th St. New York | NY 10022 | 212.355.4400 info@the-maac.com

THE-MAAC.COM A gallery space in the Shed main building. Photo: Emily Mason

22

APRIL 11-17,2019

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

NOTHING STOPS THESE ATHLETES ACTIVITIES Achilles International provides people with disabilities the opportunity to compete and the support they need to achieve their goals

BY MEREDITH KURZ

“There’s a hydraulic fuel leak,â€? Lou Chinal heard in his helmet radio. His colonel, who’d seen the fluid coming out of Lou’s Navy jet while ying nearby, continued, “You’ll need to jettison.â€?

I assumed parachutes were parked on a jet pilot’s back, and up and out they’d go. I was wrong, as Lou explained on a

recent morning.

The Martin Baker (MB) is an ejection seat kit. When you deploy your MB, “Keep your elbows in,� Lou told me. “If you don’t keep them in, when you eject you’ll either lose ‘em or break ‘em.� Lou showed me the correct way to eject from a jet. “Reach your arms up overhead, like this,� he said, looking like he was doing a tight pull up from a seated position. “Elbows in, then pull down.�

The ejection seat kits come with an inatable life raft, and oxygen. “There’s three different kinds of oxygen on an aircraft carrier,â€? Lou told me. “Pilots get the one that’s completely dry, no moisture, so it doesn’t freeze up in high altitude.â€?

Dick Traum started the Achilles International handcycle program.

Photo: Meredith Kurz

JOHN KRTIL FUNERAL HOME; YORKVILLE FUNERAL SERVICE, INC. Dignified, Affordable and Independently Owned Since 1885 WE SERVE ALL FAITHS AND COMMUNITIES 5 )/'&1 /'+$1)-,0 $2250 -+.*'1' 5 )/'&1 2/)$*0 $2850 5 4.'/1 /' *$,,),( 3$)*$%*'

1297 First Ave (69th & 70th & + # " $& )" $ " $ ) * "#( & " $ + ))) $& '" $ #! #!

Each cremation service individually performed by fully licensed members of our staff. We use no outside agents or trade services in our cremation service. We exclusively use All Souls Chapel and Crematory at the prestigious St. Michael's Cemetery, Queens, NY for our cremations unless otherwise directed.

During ejection, the clear canopy over the cockpit blows off and the pilot is ung into the air. Lou’s canopy came off, his parachute unfurled, but, twisting, got caught in its own lines. “There was a partial open,â€? he explained. “How far did you fall?â€? I asked. People nearby had been

semi-ignoring us. At this point, all pretense was dropped. They leaned in. “About 13-5,â€? Lou replied, then clariďŹ ed, “13,500 feet. “If you’re in that situation,â€? he told me, “inate your life raft between your legs and use it as a cushion.â€?

It was a hard landing, cushion

notwithstanding. After nine weeks in an induced coma, followed by three years in a nursing home, Lou walked out. A retired Naval Air Reservist, Lou continues to walk — he doesn’t even use a cane — with Achilles International, a non-proďŹ t organization that provides support to athletes with disabilities.

ACTIVITIES FOR THE FERTILE MIND

thoughtgallery.org NEW YORK CITY

Lunchtime Lecture: Wandering the Skies in the 19th Century

FRIDAY, APRIL 12TH, 12:30PM Mount Vernon Hotel | 421 E. 61st St. | 212-838-6878 | mvhm.org

Going to the Airport?

1-212-666-6666 Sedan Rates: To LaGuardia ........... $34 $4 OFF To Newark ............... $51 Any Trip Over $20

Car & Limousine Service

To JFK ...................... $52 Tolls & gratuities not included.

Prices subject to change without notice.

TLC Lic#B00256

Download the free appget car cash, earn airline miles!

Must get Code# Upon Reserving Not Valid 3-7pm

One Coupon per Trip.

Expires 6/30/19

53

5 OFF Any Airport Pick-Up

Must get Code# Upon Reserving

www.CarmelLimo.com

Housing Tech City? New York’s Future With(out) Amazon

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17TH, 7PM Museum of the City of New York | 1220 Fifth Ave. | 212-534-1672 | mcny.org An architect, a city planner, and a sociologist/globalization theorist are among the speakers looking at a critical moment in NYC’s evolution. They’ll question how cities can grow—and not price out all of their vibrancy—as economies are increasingly dominated by large corporations ($30).

Just Announced | Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, Laurie Anderson

TUESDAY, MAY 7TH, 7:30PM

$

One Coupon per Trip.

Expires 6/30/19

Head to this 1799 carriage house-turned-hotel to learn about how 19th-century New Yorkers perceived the universe. Orreries, wooden and metal conďŹ gurations which showed the night sky, will be featured—an early form of public entertainment (free with museum admission).

51

Murmrr | 17 Eastern Pkwy., Brooklyn | 516-510-1477 | murmrr.com Tibetan Buddhist teacher Yongey Mingur Rinpoche shares his near-death experience and what it taught him about life. Find him in conversation on his forthcoming book, In Love with the World: A Monk’s Journey Through the Bardos of Living and Dying ($20 balcony tickets; $37 with book).

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

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

APRIL 11-17,2019 Inspiration and Determination It was Saturday morning and I was at the group’s weekly walkrun workout, which meets at Central Park’s Engineer’s Gate at 10 a.m. in the spring.

Over one hundred people had gathered, all shapes, ages, and abilities. There were also volunteers on hand who would be divvied up among the runners who needed guides. “I used to always start my weekend workout from Engineer’s Gate,� one young volunteer told me. “I was so inspired to see everyone out here every Saturday morning, I just joined up!� I met Dave, who’s volunteered with Achilles for four years, and helps out with the guide dogs that many visually impaired runners rely on.

When they run, they leave their dogs with volunteers like Dave, and are tethered to volunteers who run with them. Nishat is a New York Cares volunteer who discovered the Achilles program, and brought her friend Madeleine.

Michael Anderson, Achilles’ New York director, had to stand on a bench and throw his voice so all could hear. There were upcoming activities to announce, not only through Achilles, but with the Marlene Meyerson JCC, on Amsterdam Avenue between 75th and 76th Streets, which has been hosting Achilles events for over ten years.

The next big Achilles event is the 17th Annual Hope and Possibility 4 Mile, to be held on Sunday, June 23rd. (For more

23

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com info and to sign up or donate go here: www.achillesinternational.org/hope-possibility) The run, the largest of its kind, brings together “athletes with disabilities and able-bodied athletes in a celebration of running.� There will be prizes, free t-shirts for kids and of course, lots of competition. There are several categories, including handcycles, push-rim wheelchairs and the Achilles Freedom Team.

A Variety of Programs Achilles Freedom Team brings “running and marathon opportunities to veterans who suffered trauma while serving in a branch of the United States military, predominantly those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.� Stefan LeRoy a Freedom Team runner, recently made news running a 5K, 10K, halfmarathon and a marathon in one weekend, running with, among others, Achilles guide David Cordani. Here’s the link: www.achillesinternational. org/freedom-team Achilles Kids has been helping kids with disabilities for over 23 years to exercise regularly and “compete with other runners, helping them become stronger and healthier.� They offer two weekend programs in NYC. www.achillesinternational.org/achilles-kids or call 212-354-0300 x305.

Tri Achilles Team is for athletes with disabilities interested in multi-sport competitions. There is a wide range of experience and abilities for the competitors, and they receive training and coaching in swim-

ming, biking, and running. www.achillesinternational. org/paratriathlon-team The Handcycle Program was started by Dick Traum, who, after knee surgery, discovered handcycling was not only a great alternative exercise, handcycles could be used to compete. Achilles presented the idea of handcycling to wounded veterans who lost limbs in conicts. The program became the Achilles Freedom Team of Wounded Veterans.

Achilles was able to offer “wounded military personnel a seemingly ‘impossible’ goal of completing marathons because they could use a handcycle.� To learn more about the handcycle program contact Joe Traum (Dick’s son), director of operations and wheelchair logistics at jtraum@achillesinternational.org.

Marlene Meyerson JCC also offers exercise opportunities in their facilities on the Upper West Side. The Jack and Shirley Silver Center for Special Needs offers aquatics and gymnastic programming for children.

The Edmond J. Safra Parkinson’s Wellness Program offers “exercise, support groups, and events designed to keep those impacted by Parkinson’s and their families active, connected, and empowered.� For these and other programs, go to www.jccmanhattan.org The Achilles guides, in their neon yellow shirts headed over to the reservoir track with their athletic partners. As I watched Lou walking with his comrades, all I could think was, 13-5.

Health & Wellness Seminar Series QŸ¿™“ ùïðø

Ÿ¿™¼ ðþ

3²×‰ k²Î¿ &‰t¿ÉĎ [ÂŹÂ…Â‰ÂżĂƒĂ‰t…™“ tÂŹÂ… J¿‰×‰É™“ &‰t¿É Â™ĂƒÂ‰tĂƒÂ‰ :™×‰‰ JÄ” ™Ä? 9 9t¿™t 1tÂżtĂƒÄ? 9 3Σ‰ 1™Ä? 9

òï

J¿‰Ĥ ™t Â‰Ă‰Â‰Ăƒ Ĺ? ™t Â‰Ă‰Â‰Ăƒ t¿‰Ď 9‰tÂĽĂƒÄ? 9²™É²¿™“Ä? 9‰…™€tə² Ĺ?

9²¿‰ !‰¼™€™t 9Â‰ÂŹÂ…Â‰ÂĽĂƒÂ˛Â—ÂŹ ĂŽÂżtÂŹt¢Ä? 9 0t‰ 0‰’’¿™‰ Q‰¼‰ÞÄ? :J Mt€—‰¼ QÉt—¼Ä? M

Time 6:30–8:00 pm Place All seminars held at Uris Auditorium Meyer Research and Education Building Weill Cornell Medicine 1300 York Avenue (at 69th St.)

Runners and guides (the folks in the neon yellow shirts) gather in Central Park before a weekly run organized

by Achilles International. Photo: Meredith Kurz

All seminars are FREE and open to the public.

Seating is available for 250 people on a firstcome, first-served basis.

American Sign Language interpretive services will be provided at all seminars.

If you require a disability-related accommodation please call 212-821-0888 and leave a message.

24

APRIL 11-17,2019

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

l l A r o F P A e r o m s n mea d n a g n i k a t kids P A g n i s s pa exams.

MAYORAL ACCOUNTABILITY MEANS EQUITY, EXCELLENCE & EMPOWERMENT.

Public schools under MAYORAL ACCOUNTABILITY give more kids a head start because parents have someone to hold accountable for results.

Learn more at nyc.gov/mayoralaccountability

APRIL 11-17,2019

25

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

ART AND MIGRATION ISSUES An UES exhibition of work by undocumented immigrants explores themes of place and culture

BY JASON COHEN

A nonprofit that turns real estate into spaces for artists unveiled an exhibit on the Upper East Side featuring work by two undocumented immigrants.

“Esperanza de Otro Mundo Posible/ Hope of Another Possible World,” focuses on work by artists Francisco Donoso and Maria De Los Angeles and runs at 340 East 64th St. through April 18.

The nonprofit group Chashama supports artists by partnering with property owners to transform unused real estate into exhibition spaces. In the last year, the organization awarded $8.6 million worth of empty space to artists and gave 150 artists free space to present their work. The artists presenting at East 64th St. are part of Chashama’s Space to Connect program, which provides free community public art classes and is funded in part through a Cultural Immigrant Initiative grant from Councilman Ben Kallos.

“To me, art is simple, it is filling a space with something beautiful,” Kallos said in a statement. “And that is exactly what Chashama has once again managed to do here; display great artwork for people to see ... The Upper East Side welcomes the installation and appreciates the dedication it took for the artists to complete it.”

Chashama was founded in 1995 by

Anita Durst, and its initial focus was on the production and presentation of new theater. Since then, it has expanded from midtown Manhattan to all five boroughs and beyond. Currently, it holds 150 events a year, has workspaces for 120 artists and has developed 80 workshops in underserved communities.

“We’re thrilled to present the works of these diverse artists,” said Durst.

“This gallery is a beautiful example of what happens when we elevate and celebrate the art of the immigrants who live in our city.”

Donoso and De Los Angeles were born in Ecuador and Mexico respectively and both are DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipients. Their work explores ideas of place, migration and the experience of being an undocumented immigrant in the United States. Through their work as artists and educators, they investigate the problems with immigration, touching on how conversations surrounding this issue are often intertwined with racism, xenophobia and colonialism.

De Los Angeles, 30, teaches art at the Pratt Institute and lives in Jersey City.

She immigrated from Mexico to California at the age of 12 with her family, and in 2011, came to New York City to study at Pratt Institute.

She recalled that she was shy growing up and often a had a book with her where she would draw.

In 2006, a high school teacher of hers encouraged her to do art and helped her develop her passion.

“I really like painting and drawing,” she said. “My first love was to make pictures and draw things.”

Francisco Donoso, “Release Me Into Orbit,” installation/mixed media, 2019 .

Maria de Los Angeles, from “En El Jardín,” Acrylic or Gouache on wall.

Photos courtesy of Chashama

Maria de Los Angeles, “En el Jardín de Las Rosas,” acrylic on canvas, 2019.

In 2013 she received a bachelor’s in fine art in painting from Pratt Institute, and in 2015 she obtained her master’s in fine arts in painting and printmaking from Yale School of Art. Looking back on how far she has come from being a young girl in Mexico to a successful artist in New York

City, she is humbled and proud. It has been a long road for her family, but it was worth it.

“My work kind of blends who I am culturally,” she said.

Donoso, 30, who lives in Inwood, was born in Quito, Ecuador and immigrated to Miami as a five-year-old. He moved to New York City in 2011, where he obtained his bachelor’s in fine arts from the School of Art+Design at Purchase College.

Although he is undocumented, he has spent most of his life in America.

“The transition to the U.S. was not difficult for me,” he said. “It was more difficult for my parents. I have always known the U.S. as my home. I have

sense of connection to my culture and the country where I was born, Ecuador, but I also have a deep sense of connection to this country.”

He recalled how he found his passion for art at a young age. At the age of four, he received an Etch a Sketch for Christmas and became obsessed with drawing Ursula from the Little Mermaid on it.

As he got older, he began to hone his craft. He attended specialized schools for art in elementary, middle and high school.

“I think it’s something I’ve always been drawn to,” he said.

When he graduated from college, he realized he could make a career in art, though he knew it would not be easy.

Donoso works in abstract art and uses mixed media and installations to tell stories. In mixed media, he combines acrylic painting with spray paint and cartography.

“As an immigrant, there are things where you are constantly oscillating between spaces and those spaces can be between mental, physical or financial,” he said. “The sense of back and forth of movement in between spaces is what guides my work.”

This is the first of four shows that will run through mid-July featuring the work of immigrant artists. The next three shows, at the same location, will include performances, workshops and screenings.

Francisco Donoso, “Otro Mundo” mixed media collages, 2019. Photos courtesy of Chashama

4

41

Level: Medium

K C H I I O M E X O R W F G E

3

5

L C L U W Z D G L W J I H E R

M K A L M A U S T E N N T R S

Z W I R L F T E H M B W W A O

L N S J R O K P W R S R A L N

G P Z B Y O O I E Q Z X I D R

Y K E P N G L K N P N H N D R

P M E L V I L L E G O E Z E U

The puzzle contains the following words. They may be diagonal, across, or up and down in the grid in any direction.

C N V S H A K E S P E A R E I

Austen Baldwin Carroll Dickens Fitzgerald Grisham Hemingway Joyce King Melville Patterson Rowling Shakespeare Tolstoy Twain

ANSWERS I

K

A

N W R

U

S

U

49 42

43

E

V

44

40

R O

C

33

A

L

U

O

T

31 24

25

C

34

U

35

S

A

37

R E

38

S M

I

G G A N

O O

P

A

S

E

L

A R 4

T

R

27

A

23

E

19

3

46

I

20

C O A

G O

13 5

R

I

L

16

6

E

7

F

N O S

47

T

48

N G

E

39

A

E 2

U

41

M O

52

A O

32

N

12

T

36

H

R

15

U 45

E

C

A

18

A

51

P

N 26

22 1

T

50

A

N

N

S

28

A V

N E

O M

29

30

Y

D

L

21

E

E

V

E

14 8

E

R

D

17

9

C

I E

S T R

H O

10

11

8 9 5

6 8 5 3 1 7 9

4 7 1 2 6 3

1 7 3 9 2 6 4 8 5

2 3 9 1 8 7 5 4 6

7 4 1 2 6 5 3 9 8

6 5 8 3 4 9 7 1 2

9 6 4 5 1 2 8 3 7

5 8 7 6 3 4 9 2 1

3 1 2 7 9 8 6 5 4

26. Spanish for one 28. Self-titled envelope 29. Caviar 30. Gamepieces 34. Horse move 35. Land of the brave and free 36. Seven singers 37. Fall 38. Time span 39. Garden decorations 42. Hawaiian strings 43. World’s longest river 44. Toward sunset 46. Not one ___ 47. Hose problem 48. Lacquered metalware 51. Pale ___

C B L D R A R C V E T D R Z T

4 2

50. Letter from Greece 52. Like old recordings 53. “What ___?”

54. Freddy Krueger’s street 55. More as well 56. Rectangular paving stone 57. Poker card 58. Dressing ingredient Down 1. Wrangle 2. First-rate 3. “The __ and winding road” Beatle song 4. Calamitous 5. Flower part 6. Self-image 7. Leaf related 8. American sprinter, Ashford 9. Relinquish 10. Prince, e.g.

11. Meal scraps 19. Gray shade 21. Life basic 24. Special attention, for short 25. Boat mover

K I U D H S C Y D T L L J T T

C N V S H A K E S P E A R E I

Across 1. Seasoning 5. NFL crew chief 8. Ring 12. Standard’s partner 13. Have ___ at 14. Deviate 15. ____ Nicole Smith 16. USMC rank 17. Polish 18. Jamaican music 20. Couch potatoes 22. Doctrine: Suffix 23. Some 24. Fencing term 27. King’s ___ 31. Computer network 32. 1600 Pennsylvania ___ 33. Early spring bloomer 37. Bronze age civilization 40. Occupy 41. Jar 42. Open 45. Lao-tzu follower 49. Capital of Ukraine

R W Q S D H A O B B Q A F I A

P M E L V I L L E G O E Z E U

58

I K I T M E N J U P N B S F P

Y K E P N G L K N P N H N D R

57

O R N O C H E M I N G W A Y Q

G P Z B Y O O I E Q Z X I D R

56

G I N F B Q R D I C K E N S O

L N S J R O K P W R S R A L N

55

5

WORD SEARCH by Myles Mellor

Z W I R L F T E H M B W W A O

54

52

M K A L M A U S T E N N T R S

53

51

L C L U W Z D G L W J I H E R

50

7

48

K C H I I O M E X O R W F G E

49

47

2 3

C B L D R A R C V E T D R Z T

46

8

6 7

K I U D H S C Y D T L L J T T

45

9

R W Q S D H A O B B Q A F I A

44

4 2

5

I K I T M E N J U P N B S F P

43

39

O R N O C H E M I N G W A Y Q

40

38

G I N F B Q R D I C K E N S O

37

L

36

E

35

5 1

A

34

9

5

32

33

42

30

G

31

29

T

28

A

27

E

26

8

S

25

6

6

55

24

23

58

22

21

9 2

N

20

7 1

M

19

3

L

18

2 6

4

E

17

1

2

E

16

6

T

15

Each Sudoku puzzle consists of a 9X9 grid that has been subdivided into nine smaller grids of 3X3 squares. To solve the puzzle each row, column and box must contain each of the numbers 1 to 9. Puzzles come in three grades: easy, medium and difficult.

54

14

11

57

13

10

E

12

9

T

8

T

7

S

6

L

5

E

4

E

3

SUDOKU by Myles Mellor and Susan Flanagan

by Myles Mellor

S

2

CROSSWORD

53

Eastsider 1

APRIL 11-17,2019

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

56

26

APRIL 11-17,2019

CLASSIFIEDS PUBLIC NOTICES

27

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

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 w only accept responsibility for the first incorrect insertion. The publication assumes no financial responsibility for errors or omissions. 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-pa

PUBLIC NOTICES

MERCHANDISE FOR SALE

MASSAGE

Remember to: Recycle and Reuse

TO PLACE YOUR LEGAL NOTICE CALL Barry Lewis at

(212) 868-0190 or

EMAIL

barry.lewis@strausnews.com

DENTAL Insurance FREE Information Kit

Physicians Mutual Insurance Company

A less expensive way to help get the dental care you deserve!

CALL NOW!

1-855-225-1434

Get help paying dental bills and keep more money in your pocket This is real dental insurance — NOT just a discount plan

1-855-225-1434

You can get coverage before your next checkup

Visit us online at

Don’t wait! Call now and we’ll rush you a FREE Information Kit with all the details.

www.dental50plus.com/nypress

Insurance Policy P150NY 6129

MB17-NM003Ec

Saving a Life EVERY 11 MINUTES

alone I’m never

Life Alert® is always here for me even when away from home.

NEED TO RUN A LEGAL NOTICE? Quick | Easy | Economical

One touch of a button sends help fast, 24/7.

+HOS DW +RPH with

GPS ! ®

!

FREE

FIRST AID

KIT

WHEN YOU ORDER!

+HOS 2Q WKH *R

Call Barry Lewis today at:

:Yll]ja]k F]n]j F]]\ ;`Yj_af_&

212-868-0190

1-800-404-9776

For a FREE brochure call:

28

APRIL 11-17,2019

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

MANHATTAN’S FINEST RENTAL RESIDENCES IN YOUR FAVORITE NEIGHBORHOOD

9

9

9 9 UPTOWN 212-535-0500 DOWNTOWN 212-430-5900 OPEN 7 DAYS, 10AM-6PM Live the Glenwood lifestyle in these ďŹ ne neighborhoods: TriBeCa ¡ FiDi ¡ Battery Park North ¡ Fashion District ¡ Lincoln Square ¡ Murray Hill ¡ Midtown East ¡ Upper East Side

All the units include features for, and Glenwood provides reasonable accommodations to, persons with disabilities, as required by FHA.

GLENWOOD GLENWOODNYC.COM

Equal Housing Opportunity