Our Town - May 12, 2016

Page 1

The local paper for the Upper er East Side ABOUT FACE AT THE WHITNEY, CITYARTS < P.12

WEEK OF MAY

12-18 2016

THE PRE-K CRISIS ON THE EAST SIDE NEWS Neighborhood has 515 seats for more than 2,100 kids BY MADELEINE THOMPSON

City Councilmember Ben Kallos, in a press release sent out last week, touted that he he had wrangled 90 more seats for pre-kindergarteners on the Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island under Mayor Bill de Blasio’s universal pre-k initiative. That was the good news. The bad news is that Kallos’s efforts brought the total number of available spots to just 515 for the 2,118 four-yearolds in the district. When the program was first rolled out in 2014, the neighborhood -- one of the few in Manhattan not to go for de Blasio in the may-

oral race -- was allocated just 123 seats for a program billed as way to provide UPK to every kid in New York City. “So many parents come to me with small children and just say, ‘I can’t afford to live in the neighborhood and I can’t afford childcare in the neighborhood,’ and I don’t want to lose families,” Kallos said. In this instance, Kallos worked with parents to compile a list of 90 children who needed space in a pre-k class. He then convinced Roosevelt Island Nursery to take on 54 of them and Manhattan Schoolhouse on the Upper East Side to take on 36. Part of the problem is a lack of current census information tracking how many young kids there are. A 2014 WNYC report counting 2,118 fouryear-olds in Kallos’ district -- and cited by him in his news release -- is now

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CROSSTOWN BIKE LANE PLAN MOVES FORWARD CB8 committee approves a proposal for three pairs of painted crosstown paths on the Upper East Side BY MADELEINE THOMPSON

A proposal to install painted bike lanes along East 70th and 71st Streets, 77th and 78th Streets, and 84th and 85th Streets has cleared Community Board 8’s transportation committee. As it has for several months, the proposal continued to elicit strong sentiments on both sides of the issue, with

about 100 Upper East Side residents attending the committee meeting last week, held at the Church of the Holy Trinity on East 88th Street. Committee members were considering three pairs of crosstown streets forwarded by the city’s Department of Transportation — 70th, 71st, 75th, 76th, 81st and 82nd Streets — as an alternate plan to the one forwarded by city officials several weeks ago. That plan had garnered pronounced critiques because, residents pointed

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Bike lanes similar to this one would be added to East 70th and 71st Streets, 77th and 78th Streets, and 84th and 85th Streets. Photo: Mike, via flickr out, those paths would be along bus routes, near schools and otherwise heavily trafficked corridors. At the meeting’s outset, committee Co-Chair Scott Falk emphasized that bike lanes would be installed, and that it was just a matter of where they would be set down. “Whatever streets are put forward,

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I’m sure you can find a lot of people to speak against them,” he said. Falk then gave a brief history of the issue, which arose last fall when DOT forwarded a proposal to install the lanes along 67th, 68th, 77th, 78th, 84th and 85th Streets. Considerable backlash

Our Take A RARE WIN FOR TENANTS Good riddance, Steve Croman. News this week that Croman had turned himself in to investigators -- and charged with 20 felonies by the state attorney general -- was a rare bit of good news for tenants, particularly rent-regulated ones, in a city that has grown increasingly out of reach for many New Yorkers. Maybe, just maybe, the Croman case could be the beginning of a shift in what has been an out of whack balance of power in the city between tenants and their landords. In a way, the Croman case was easy, because he’s a particularly nasty piece of work. He, his mortgage broker and his muscle man (whom we’ve written about in these pages) were all accused of using a mix of threats, intimidation and fraud to force rent-regulated tenants out of the 140 apartment buildings Croman owns in Manhattan. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman called Croman the “Bernie Madoff of landlords,” and said he could face up to 25 years in prison. Perhaps he and Madoff could share a cell. What’s needed now is for city officials to build on the Croman charges. Tenants need a city ombudsman and regulators and law enforcement need to be more transparent in naming and shaming landlords.

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Chapter 11

EVE AND OTHERS BY ESTHER COHEN

Previously: It is the 80’s. A man disappeared. Naomi and Eve host a potluck, to entreat their building to ďŹ nd him. Eve’s new boyfriend Charles, an agoraphobic with a strong personality, acts as the evening’s MC. Twentyone tenants cram into Naomi and Eve’s one-bedroom apartment. Their galley kitchen is full of food. “Ladies, gentlemen, and others,â€? Charles begins again. If he had a moustache he would twirl it. But he was an unhairy man. He looked, for once, as though he could be competent. “Turn down the Donna Summer,â€? he said to Eve. “The atmosphere is set.â€? So she did. “I object to the word others,â€? said Pin Ball, the building drag queen. He was always resplendent. For the pot luck dinner, he wore a silver sequined dress. And around his neck, on a long leather string, a one cup pot. “I’m the rich man’s Liza Minelli,â€? he always said about himself, if anyone asked. His eyelashes were extensive. He glued them on every single day.

Illustration by John S. Winkleman “Good point,� said Richard and Richard, almost in unison. “Friends in this building,� Charles began again. “Although that sounds presumptuous. How’s this? Stairwell acquaintances� he shouted into the room of random people who happened to live in the same building. “Well said,� shouted Pin Ball. Mo, a handsome jazzman from a small town in Mississippi, whistled his approval. He’d moved into the building to live with a woman who’d left him. He did not seem unhappy. “We are gathered together,� said Charles, “to form an unusual alliance. Today, we will declare that alliance formed. That is, if we agree.� Eve, most comfortable speaking the words of others, maybe the reason why acting was what she wanted, Eve, nearly as resplendent as Pin Ball, wearing her good red snakeskin

boots, she called them Ethel Mermans, Eve replied from the corner where the radiator was. A wooden cover that looked a little like a tiny picnic bench turned the radiator into an occasional seat. She sat on the edge, legs crossed so that her boots could prominently swing. “We are gathered together,� she repeated for emphasis. Mrs. Israel, in navy, sat primly on an oak chair with a high back. Someone down the block, in a more prosperous building, had discarded the chair on pick-up day. Usually Tuesday. She might not have been sitting so comfortably if she’d known the chair’s origins. Naomi’s impulse was to stand next to Charles. To give him support. Maybe even to take over. It was always hard to know what Charles was doing, how competent he might be in the end. That people came, not just for the macaroni

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and cheese variations (there were three – one even had tiny shrimps) but to be unified in something, made her unexpectedly happy. There they all were in this room, wanting to do something together. And that something, however small, might involve ďŹ nding a man who disappeared, a man whose name might or might not be Alyosha. “People,â€? Charles repeated. “That might be our easiest solution. For now. People,â€? he repeated. “I declare us a team, a detective team, committed to working together to ďŹ nd a missing stranger. Can we take a vote? We will call ourselves Eve and Others. How’s that?â€? “Ay yi, Captain,â€? said Pin Ball, who led the room in a resounding clapping. “Then let the unraveling begin,â€? said Charles. For more on this series, visit us at ourtownny.com. Esther Cohen posts a poem a day at esthercohen.com

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CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG

HUNDREDS MARCH AGAINST GUN VIOLENCE Hundreds of people carrying photos of loved ones killed by gun violence marched across the Brooklyn Bridge to rally for stricter gun laws and chanted demands for action. The fourth annual march, held on the eve of Mother’s Day, was organized by the group Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. “We are going to stand up and fight until our last breath because if we lose our children we have nothing left to lose,” said the group’s founder, Shannon Watts. The marchers, who went from Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn to City Hall in lower Manhattan, said they wanted stricter background checks for gun purchases and a ban on assault rifles. Marchers, as they crossed the bridge, shouted, ``What do we want? Gun sense!’’ Oscar-winning actress Julianne Moore was among the crowd that rallied before the march. She said she was spurred to get involved to advocate for stronger gun laws after the shooting

at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, where a gunman killed 20 children and six adults in December 2012. “We’re really pushing for more gun safety regulations,” she said. “It is not an anti-gun movement. It is not a partisan movement. It is a safety movement.” Other speakers at Saturday’s march and rally included Barbara Parker, whose daughter Alison Parker, a broadcast journalist, was shot and killed on live television in August 2015 by a disgruntled former reporter. Parker, whose daughter died alongside video journalist Adam Ward while working for Roanoke, Virginia, TV station WDBJ, said U.S. officials need to do more to enact a policy that background checks be performed for all gun sales. The National Rifle Association, the nation’s largest gun rights lobbying group, opposes expanding background checks. Under the current system, cashiers at stores selling guns call in to check with the FBI or other designated agencies to ensure customers don’t have criminal backgrounds. Some lawmakers want to expand such checks to sales at gun shows and purchases made through the Internet.

WHAT A RACQUET

STATS FOR THE WEEK

A New Jersey man apparently did not know how risky it is to leave valuables in a Big Apple gym locker room. A 22-year-old Middletown resident told police that while working out at the New York Health and Racquet Club on Whitehall Street between the hours of 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., someone stole property worth more than $2,700 from the locker room. The items stolen included a MacBook Pro laptop valued at $2,200, an iPhone 6s priced at $500, $13 in cash, a wallet, driver’s license, and various credit and debit cards. The total stolen came to $2,713.

Reported crimes from the 19th precinct for

STOWING SHADE Two shoplifters threw some shade at a sunglass store recently. Sometime from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on April 13, two perpetrators removed merchandise worth more than $3,000 from a display area at the Spring Street Sunglass Hut. They placed the sunglasses inside their jacket sleeves and then left the store without paying. The pernicious pair made off with sixteen pairs of shades, including models from Ray-Ban, Oakley, Maui Jim, and Persol, with a total value of $3,235.

Week to Date

Year to Date

2016 2015

% Change

2016

2015

% Change

Murder

0

0

n/a

2

1

100.0

Rape

1

0

n/a

1

1

0.0

Robbery

1

1

0.0

27

39

-30.8

Felony Assault

1

2

-50.0

36

43

-16.3

Burglary

1

3

-66.7

63

45

40.0

Grand Larceny

20

30

-33.3

458

415

10.4

Grand Larceny Auto

2

5

-60.0

14

15

-6.7

SALON RIPPED OFF

UN-AMERICAN

Someone clipped some cash from a beauty salon recently. At noon on April 26, a 50-year-old man working for Arthur’s beauty and nail salon at 455 North End Ave. was making change for a customer from an unsecured drawer when he realized that a large amount of cash was missing. There were no signs of forced entry, and security management, the manager, and the shop’s owner all had keys to the business. The last time the cash, $2,000, had been seen was at 7 p.m. on Friday the 22nd.

Shoplifting incidents don’t help the bottom line. At 7:10 p.m. on April 29, three men went into the American Apparel store at 140 West Broadway, took a number of items off the racks, and ran out of the store. Police searched the area but could not locate the thieves or the missing merchandise. The items stolen included a variety of body suits, dresses, and tops with a total value of $1,426.

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MAY 12-18,2016

Useful Contacts POLICE NYPD 19th Precinct

153 E. 67th St.

212-452-0600

159 E. 85th St.

311

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

FIRE FDNY 22 Ladder Co 13

CITY COUNCIL Councilmember Daniel Garodnick

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

1365 First 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

Photo by Emily Towner

THE SINGING DENTIST Chair-side concerts on Park Avenue BY EMILY TOWNER

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When Billy Joel said he was bringing a special guest onstage at one of his shows, expectations were high. Could it be Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney? It was his dentist, Dr. Gerry Curatola. “I went up there, and I did a Sinatra tune,” said Curatola. “I sang ‘The Lady is A Tramp.’” He was met with a standing, if confused, ovation, and was even invited back onstage when Joel performed at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. For Joel, and his other patients on Park Avenue, Curatola is The Singing Dentist, as well known for his serenading as for his work with a metal pick. “My singing just naturally came out as I began to work on patients, and what I noticed was that when I was singing, patients were a lot more relaxed,” said Curatola, who has been singing since he was six. “It takes away some of the anxiety associated with going to the dentist.” Said longtime patient Terri Wood, “We started joking that as a singer, he’s a phenomenal dentist.” The invitation to join Joel onstage came about at the dentist chair side, during a routine appointment. “Billy turned to me and said, ‘Hey Dr. Gerry you have a good voice. You sound like a young Tony Bennett.’” Curatola recalls. Bennett, an idol of Curatola’s, happens to

be a neighborhood in his apartment building. “I asked Billy Joel, ‘Would you ever let me get up and sing?’ and he said, ‘Oh, I don’t think you’d do it,’ and of course I said I would,” Curatola said. Dr. Curatola continues to sing to patients at the chair side, many of whom are performers themselves, such as Wynter Gordon, who Curatola dubs the new Whitney Houston, and Eliane Alias, a Grammyaward winning Brazilian jazz singer and pianist. “Sometimes they sing along with me,” Curatola quipped. “Except it’s hard when I’m working on their teeth for them to be doing duets.” Although passionate about singing, Curatola insists that he’s just as passionate about the work he does. The same age he won his first singing award, at age six, he also discovered that he wanted to become a dentist. Having completed studies at Harvard and obtained a master’s degree in holistic nutrition, he focuses on overall wellness. Robert Fraboni, a record producer, was rushed to Curatola following a serious dental complication. “I found that he had this amazing personality and as he was working he started singing,” Faboni said. “I was fascinated.” Not just an added bonus, the music has become an adjunct to his holistic, homeopathic approach, Faboni said. “It changed

my feelings of fear towards going to the dentist into something I looked forward to. I’ve never experienced anything like it.” “I said we should do a trade, he works on my teeth and I produce a record for him,” he said. Although it hasn’t materialized, “maybe we still will,” Faboni added. Curatola has been practicing for 32 years. In addition to running his office on Park Avenue, he teaches at the New York University College of Dentistry, and invented a naturopathic toothpaste called Revitin. The dentist stresses that the mouth is connected with the rest of the body, and overall wellness combines aspects of the mind, body, and spirit. “What I try to bring across, chair side, is a joyful spirit. Music relaxes the patient and helps with the healing process,” he said. “Singing is a part of the whole approach to being a comprehensive holistic dentist, and it’s the true essence of what this is about.” So, what’s the next step for The Singing Dentist? “I want to put a baby grand piano in the waiting area,” Curatola said.

WATCH THE SINGING DENTIST For a video of Dr. Curatola at work, go to www.ourtownny.com

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PRE-K CRISIS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 outdated, and Kallos said he has gotten nothing useful out of multiple Freedom of Information Law requests for accurate information. His ďŹ rst request, ďŹ led in December 2015, was denied in early February, and his second, ďŹ led in mid-February, has received no response. “Right now all I know is the number of four-year-olds in 2014, but I don’t know how many there are (now),â€? Kallos said. “I also don’t know how many applicants there are. We deďŹ nitely know based on the fact that we’ve heard from parents that they aren’t being offered seats. ‌ I’ve had to resort to Freedom of Information requests.â€? Shino Tanikawa, president of the Community Education Council District 2, criticized the rollout of universal pre-k in general. “This whole pre-k initiative seems to have been put together rather hastily,â€? she said. “I know that in lower Manhattan the mayor added a whole bunch of new seats ‌ while we didn’t get enough on the

Upper East Side. I think the problem is that this administration should’ve really taken the time to plan this right.â€? School district 2 is, geographically speaking, the largest in Manhattan, and Tanikawa could not speculate on why the Upper East Side in particular was allotted so few seats when district 2 as a whole was granted so many. She also expressed concern with the availability of kindergarten seats, which will become scarcer than ever when the ďŹ rst round of universal pre-k students move up this fall. Kallos encouraged parents to get organized early in order for their child to have the best chance at a pre-k seat near them. “Based on information I’ve received from the Department of Education, there appear to be twice as many applicants as there are seats being offered,â€? Kallos said. “Any [parent] that has a one-year old, a two-year-old or a three-year-old ‌ should work with my office, with other parents, with providers, to get their providers online so that they can be guaranteed a seat in their neighborhood.â€?

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BIKE LANE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 from the community ensued, however, with several residents pointing out those streets are already crowded with traffic to schools, hospitals and even ďŹ re departments. In turn, the DOT drew up the alternate plan. In preparation for what he anticipated would be clashing opinions, the committee’s other cochair, Charles Warren, joked, “We’re meeting in a church tonight, so maybe that will help a little bit.â€? Residents, though, were nevertheless fervent during the nearly three-hour devoted to the issue. “I’d much rather have a bike lane on the street my kids ride on because I know, being a cyclist, that it slows the motorists,â€? one resident said to loud applause from supporters. “What are the possible reasons not to do it?â€? Tracy Spivey, who identiďŹ ed himself as the director of security at the Manhattan High School for Girls on East 70th Street, near Lexington, was opposed. “As a direct result of you implementing a bike lane on 70th Street, you would be infringing on my school zone,â€? he said to equally generous applause. Another resident called for bikes to be licensed and to have insurance. “I’ve seen many of these bikes going faster than any car on the street,â€? he said. “The difference is [people who are hit by cars] can sue. ... If [a biker] goes by you have no idea who he is.â€? A DOT representative said licensing bicycles would be “cumbersomeâ€? and would be a barrier to cycling in general. Although that same resident also expressed his dissatisfaction with the number of tickets the 19th Precinct hands out to bikers, the precinct’s

new commanding officer, Deputy Inspector Clint McPherson, recently said the 19th gives out the second-most citations to bicyclists in the city. The committee eventually approved, by a vote of 9-2, a combination of both proposals. At the meeting’s start, DOT representatives detailed the agency’s research that went into proposal, which they said involved measuring roads and sending a team of cyclists to survey each route. DOT statistics show that while bicycle use increased by more than 400 percent between 2001 and 2013, the average risk of a serious injury to cyclists decreased 75 percent during that same period. That and other ďŹ gures did not mollify opponents of the lanes, though. Many speaking out against the bikes lanes are senior citizens, who cited their own safety concerns as well as that of schoolchildren. They also cited traffic congestion, hospitals, doubleparked cars and bus routes among reasons for not building any additional lanes. “I’m very concerned about what’s happening here,â€? said Betty Cooper Wallerstein, a founding member of the E. 79th Street Neighborhood Association. “It’s not right. 77th and 78th shouldn’t be [an option] and ... 75th and 76th have major problems.â€? Several similar complaints were voiced by her peers and neighbors. The plan’s supporters, on the other hand, many of them younger residents, are eager at the prospect of more bike lanes, which they said make bicycling a less daunting prospect. “I would very much like to have a safe way of riding my bicycle,â€? a resident said. “When I’m a cyclist I have all sorts of bad things happening to me; when I’m going for a green light, pedestrians walk in front of me then yell at me when I swerve and fall over trying not to hit them. I want somewhere safe to ride my bike.â€?

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MAY 12-18,2016

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Voices

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

Letters To the Editor: The once quiet Upper East Side is now saddled with screeching noises that come from the M86 crosstown buses. Noise during the day is part of city life. But in the evening hours, when things should quiet down, many of the articulated crosstown buses make a high-pitched screeching sound when pulling in and out of bus stops. The numbers on the bus roofs can be seen from my window. Calls and emails to the MTA have gone unanswered. The bus drivers say they are assigned buses but have no control of the noise. The noise generated from the 24-hour construction of the Marine Transfer Station isn’t enough for the residents on York Avenue. Now we have to contend with buses that obviously need mechanical service. If these buses were designed to make noise, NYC got ripped off. Linda Garvin York Avenue To the Editor: I am writing to commend your longtime columnist, Bette Dewing, for her wonderful op-ed piece, “New York Invaluables,” from the April 21 issue of Our Town. She did a wonderful job in advancing the case for the reopening of Our Lady of Peace Church, which was closed by the Archdiocese of New York on July 31st. I make these comments not just because my family and I have been parishioners of Our Lady of Peace since my grandmother emigrated to New York from Italy in 1921. I have been a lifelong resident of the Upper East Side, and I have been reading Ms. Dewing’s columns in Our Town for many years. Her incisive observations in her columns have made her a treasure who is cherished by her loyal readers. I look forward to continuing to read Ms. Dewing’s columns for many years to come. Janice Dooner Lynch

STRAUS MEDIA your neighborhood news source

Photo by Jason Kuffer via flickr

A PLEA TO THE M.T.A. OP-ED BY MELITTA ANDERMAN

Riding on city buses is for me an adventure. I look at the people outside on the streets and the ones inside. If the bus is crowded the driver will shout “Move to the back.” The passengers in front dislike this command. It means playing the excuse-me game while jostling and being jostled by others. Animosity is on everyone’s face. It looks like a chain gang as they do the bus shuffle towards the rear. At each stop it starts all over. The lucky passenger by the window has to anticipate his or her stop and negotiate a strategy of moving to the aisle to

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

exit. This usually requires a stronghold of your belongings, which could be either packages, a baby, a stroller, umbrella, shopping cart, using a cell phone in the process. I recently saw a woman jump from her seat at the last minute, rush to the door while talking and fall off the bus. Good riddance, It has come to my attention, as much as I do love my ride, it has become hazardous. Too many shopping carts, walkers that are not closed by their users and stick out, as well as people that cross their legs. Sometimes I feel that those unfortunate ones who are in wheelchairs that come aboard at least have the security of having their chairs affixed to the floor and a ramp being lowered to ascend and descend. Now, dear members of the bus au-

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

thority, including the design team, have you ever been on a bus and attempted to exit in back? Because if you did, you would take all the buses, pile them up and shoot out the doors that tell you to press the yellow lines which automatically open doors so passengers can alight. This is a process that requires the agility of an Olympic jumper and the grace of a ballet dancer. I try to get behind a tall person who can push the door and I can follow. If this ruse doesn’t work, it’s up to me to do the work. The following has happened to me during this maneuver. I almost fell into a snow bank, tripped over my legs while grabbing anything in sight, almost lost my arm as door was closing too soon, and my wallet was stolen out

President & Publisher, Jeanne Straus nyoffice@strausnews.com Account Executive Editor In Chief, Kyle Pope editor.ot@strausnews.com Fred Almonte Director of Partnership Development Deputy Editor, Richard Khavkine Barry Lewis editor.dt@strausnews.com

of my handbag on an Amsterdam Avenue bus while struggling to get out. How this occurred was a mystery. I was sitting between two nice middle aged housewifely women holding on to my bag. As I got up and pounded on the door to get out, someone got their paws on my wallet. I finally found myself on the sidewalk intact but penniless. The 24th police precinct was helpful but helpless. Whoever heard of a wallet being found and returned. Please, Mr. Bus Authority, hear my plea, get rid of those unwieldy steps in the rear of buses, get sliding doors that open (as in subway trains) and forget about yellow lines (as in The Wizard of Oz).

Staff Reporters Gabrielle Alfiero, Madeleine Thompson Director of Digital Pete Pinto

Block Mayors Ann Morris, Upper West Side Jennifer Peterson, Upper East Side Gail Dubov, Upper West Side Edith Marks, Upper West Side

MAY 12-18,2016

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A MESSAGE TO MY GRANDDAUGHTER GRAYING NEW YORK BY MARCIA EPSTEIN

I’ve been wanting to put my hands on my 12-year-old granddaughter’s shoulders and say, “Ask questions, ďŹ nd out about your family, learn about your grandparents and great grandparents and where they were from, who they were, what they stood for, what they endured.â€? I would advise her to keep a diary so that when she is older, much older, she won’t be like me, ever sorry that I didn’t ask more questions and know more about my heritage. Oh how I wished I asked my father and Aunt Chana about the village they ran from to escape the Cossacks; what it was like to live in Vienna, waiting for my uncle to finish his service in World War I so they could all emigrate to the United States. I know even less about my mother’s family; I never asked. No one talked about these things and I only know they came from somewhere in Russia. My father and his sister’s family came to New York out of Vienna, and I knew this only by overhearing their conversations. My mother was born here, and she and her sisters never spoke of the past and I never asked. Why? Because I was a child. All that stuff was boring, had no relevance to my life, no meaning to me. Until I became older and rued that I knew so little. I pore over the few photos I have of my family. I vaguely remember a passport picture of my father’s father, an old man with a beard. My grandfather! If I could only

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have everyone back for just a few minutes, I could ďŹ nd out so much I never thought I’d care about. This is what I’d want to tell my granddaughter, who at this moment cares only about being 12, about school and friends and boys. I’m not sure I will ever say these things to her. She would probably give me the ďŹ sh eye. She hasn’t shown any interest in pictures of my parents, her grandparents. But someday she will want to know, and it will be too late. Oh, my lovely granddaughter, when you are much, much older, you will wonder why you never asked, as I do now. I wish it could be otherwise, but I can’t blame you for being 12. Twelve knows only the future; the past is irrelevant. That’s just the way life is. *** My old computer died a peaceful death, and I am in the process of adjusting to Windows 10. Being a total technophobe, I am not happy! I scream at it a lot. There are problems to be ironed out, and I cannot do this without my trusty computer guy, who is coming soon. I trust it will all work out. I

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MAY 12-18,2016

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Out & About More Events. Add Your Own: Go to ourtownny.com

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Sat 14

LOUISE ERDRICH AND ANNE ENRIGHT

AMERICA AND THE ART OKTOBERFEST IN MAY OF FLANDERS â–ş 60th Street between Madison

92nd Street Y, East 92nd Street and Lexington Avenue 8 p.m. $24 Two of the most signiďŹ cant writers today read from their new novels at 92Y Unterberg Poetry Center. 212-415-5500. www.92y. org/Event/Louise-ErdrichAnne-Enright

The Frick Collection, 1 East 70th St. May 13, 3-7 p.m. May 14, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Both days, $50 ($35 for members); single-day, $30 ($25 for members). Collecting Paintings by Rubens, Van Dyck, and Their Circles Presented by the Center for the History of Collecting, this two-day symposium focuses on America’s taste for seventeenthcentury Flemish painting. 212-288-0700. www.frick. org/

THE UNFINISHED FILMâ–˛ The Met Fifth Avenue, 1000 Fifth Ave. 6:30-8:30 p.m. Free with museum admission Presented in connection with the exhibition “UnďŹ nished: Thoughts Left Visible,â€? this series features ďŹ lms selected by Thomas Beard, a founder and co-director of Light Industry. This evening, Selections from “Magellan,â€? Hollis Frampton, 1972–80, introduced by Ken Eisenstein. 212-535-7710. www. metmuseum.org/

MUSICAL THEATRE CLASS SHOWCASE Hunter College, Frederick Loewe Theatre, 695 Park Ave. 6:30-8:30 p.m. End of semester party to follow. 212-772-5148. theatre@ hunter.cuny.edu

and Fifth Avenues. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Start early and get in the mood for the 59th German/ American von Steuben Parade on September 17. Enjoy good German from some 50 vendors offering tropical drinks, artisanal teas. 212-249-0125.

SPRING FAIR AND BOOK DRIVE Carl Schurz Park 1-4 p.m. Free Children’s author Robin Barone will do several readings from her book “Where Is Robin?� Planting, face painting, www.thebookblossoms.com/

Sun 15 HISTORIC CANDY TASTING ◄ T Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden, 421 East 61st St. 1:30 p.m. $20 Adults; $15 members and children under 12. m Have a delicious taste of hhistory, when Susan Benjamin, aauthor of “Sweet As Sin� talks aabout the history of candy, and lleads a sweet and sinful candy ttasting. www.MVHM.org

MAY 12-18,2016

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THE UES’S CZECHOSLOVAK HERITAGE Meeting location provided after registration 10:30 a.m. $20; friends, seniors, S$10 Until the 1940s, a portion of Yorkville’s First Avenue was known as “Little Bohemia.� Joe Svehlak discuesses the Czech and Slovak immigrant experience on this walking tour. 212-535-2526. www. friends-ues.org/events/

Mon 16 BENEFIT FOR FRIENDS OF THE EAST RIVER ESPLANADE â–ş Bar Felice, 1591 First Ave., between 82nd and 83rd Sts. 6:30-8:30 p.m. Starting at $150 Third Annual Spring BeneďŹ t to msupport the beautiďŹ cation and reinvention of the Esplanade, Hors d’oeuvres and Wine served www.esplanadefriends.org/ spring-beneďŹ t-2016/

COMMUNITY BOARD 8 Marymount Manhattan College, 221 East 71st St. 6:30 p.m. Landmarks committee 212-758-4340. cb8m.com/

Tue 17 GAY MEN’S BOOK CLUB Shakespeare & Co. Bookstore, 939 Lexington Ave., at 69th Street 6:30 p.m. Free First meeting of the Third Tuesday Gay Men’s Book Club, which will discuss Andre Aciman’s novel “Call Me By Your Name.� All are welcome.

THEATER 100 — BY CONOR LINEHAN WITH CLARE O’MALLEY

American Irish Historical Society: 991 Fifth Ave. 7 p.m. Free with registration A musical journey through Irish theatre with Conor Linehan and mezzo soprano Clare O’Malley, featuring original music composed by Linehan for “The Plough & The Stars.� www.aihs.org

Wed 18 RHINELANDERS IN YORKVILLE: A WALKING TOUR Location will be provided upon ticket purchase and registration. 6:30 p.m. $10; free for members The Rhinelander family immigrated to New York in the late 17th century to escape religious persecution. They prospered in their new country, becoming one of New York City’s most prominent families, and left a rich architectural legacy in Yorkville. www.nycharities.org/Events/ EventLevels.aspx?ETID=9000

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AN EVENING WITH JAAP SCHOLTEN New York Hungarian Library, 215 East 82nd St. 7 p.m. $10, suggested A best-seller in The Netherlands Scholten’s “Comrade Baron� has been translated into Hungarian, Romanian, French (to appear soon) and now available in a worldwide English edition. Reception to follow. 646-340- 4172 americanhungarianlibrary.org/

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MAY 12-18,2016

“Institutional Complex” gallery with Mike Kelley’s “Educational Complex” in front of Robert Beck’s “School Shooters” Photo by Adel Gorgy

ABOUT FACE, AT THE WHITNEY EXHIBITIONS “Human Interest” paints many portraits BY MARY GREGORY

The Whitney Museum has done a complete reinstallation across two floors of the museum for “Human Interest: Portraits from the Whitney’s Collection.” The exhibition was designed as a continuation of “America is Hard to See,” the show that inaugurated the new Gansevoort Street building. This time, the collection is viewed through a narrower lens, focusing on portraiture. Whitney chief curator, Scott Rothkopf, and Dana Miller, director of the permanent collection, sought not just to present portraits, but to question notions of what portraiture is and can be. “There are a couple of places where we twisted or pulled the definition a little bit. We didn’t want to have 250 faces in the show,” Miller explained. From over 1,000 portraits, they culled a collection that proves that more than just the faces of people can constitute portraits. Eras, states of mind, political climates, landscapes

and emotions also come alive through artists’ eyes. The curators have broken the exhibition into twelve sections, each of which frames a different vision and tells a story. Together, they paint their own portraits, including one of the Whitney, itself. “There’s a kind of voicey-ness that feels very Whitney,” said Rothkopf. The exhibition starts on the seventh floor, where we face a wall of portraits in mostly black and white, hung salonstyle, providing a visual scavenger hunt for those we recognize either as the subject, the maker, or both. There are photographs of a brooding Willem de Kooning and a carefree, laughing Jasper Johns hanging just below a contemplative Cy Twombly captured by the provocative Robert Rauschenberg. There’s a photograph of Edward Hopper that looks directly across at Hopper’s own self portrait in a soft, brown hat. Peggy Bacon’s caricature of Georgia O’Keeffe hangs near O’Keeffe’s “Summer Days,” an iconic skull painting that evokes O’Keeffe’s presence more than a likeness of her could ever do. Alice Neel’s haunting portrait of Andy Warhol presents his damaged human form (scarred from surgery, half naked and vulnerable) imparting an in-

nocence in gentle pastels and heavenly blue, and in doing so makes him more monumental than any blown up sixfoot head shot he did of himself. While there are artists for whom only one work is presented, there are others like Cindy Sherman who we watch progress over decades. Sherman portrays herself in the guise of some of the roles women accept, play, or are put into. It’s fascinating to watch her morph from a cheerful, if ditzy, secretary to a glaring society matron, her condescending gaze nailing the viewer, like Eliot’s Prufrock, “sprawling on a pin.” Different galleries present portraits of artists, portraits of the street and New York, portraits achieved by what they omit (where objects or personal spaces define a persona), depictions of the famous, and of the alienating cost of fame. On the sixth floor, later and larger works dominate the space with a huge Chuck Close, and an Alex Katz group portrait. Nearby, Warhol’s “Nine Jackies” and “Ethel Scull 36 Times” face Deborah Kass’s riff on them, “Six Red Barbaras.” Perhaps the most powerful grouping is the gallery that presents “Institutional Complex.” Here we’re confronted, more than anywhere else in

Alice Neel’s painting, “Andy Warhol,” 1970, from the section “Body Bared” Photo by Adel Gorgy the exhibition, with ourselves. This is a group of works that explore how images are used to control, codify and regulate individuals. Robert Beck’s “School Shooters” series, Glen Ligon’s self portrait that echoes the poses of mug shots, Annette Lemieux’s protest signs, and Gary Simmons’ “Lineup” of gold plated basketball shoes in front of a police lineup platform invite us to consider how we respond or contribute to our complex and often unkind society. Mike Kelley’s “Educational Complex” (not often on view) is a perplexing and fascinating conglomeration of architectural models. In a way, it questions how accurately we can portray anyone, including ourselves. Kelley made models of every school he’d ever attended and the house he grew up in, leaving out any part he couldn’t recall. He combined them

into one superschool, then whitewashed them all. It was made as a response to a fad - the infatuation with the idea that repressed memories are the result of emotional trauma. Rejecting that premise, he documented that not only couldn’t he remember large parts of his life, but he said, “Nobody can.” What society doesn’t whitewash, our porous memories do. The exhibition closes with a light note in the form of a giant candle – a portrait of the artist Julian Schnabel sculpted in wax by Urs Fischer. It’s lit each day, and it will gradually melt, being unmade over the course of time, a fate shared by all those portrayed in the exhibition. “Human Interest” will be on view through February, 12, 2017. Several of the works will be rotated, providing chances to catch some face time with additional artists.

MAY 12-18,2016

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TO DO Paz Pardo mines desire and counter-desire in her new play

This interview was edited for length and clarity. There’s a character that keeps cropping up in my work who’s sort of this emotionally closed off woman who dates women. I had written a version of her in an earlier work called “Duct Tape Girl and Fetish Chick Conquer the World.” In this case I wanted to explore what it is if that woman is closeted, what it is to have desires that you can’t act on because it’s not safe for you to act on them. Whether it’s not safe because of external things or because of your own internal sense of what’s right or acceptable.

THE DIALOGUE The piece opens with one of the characters setting up the house to welcome the other one, and there’s no scene breaks. It’s just one scene straight through and it’s very much about being there in the living room with them as they’re going through these past experiences and remem-

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Meredith Owens and Kayla Jackmon in “Rubbermatch,” a play by Paz Pardo directed by Andrew Willis-Woodward now at TBG Theatre. Photo: Anne Whitman bering what it was like to be in college and reflecting on ‘That was 10 years ago and we have not saved the world yet, so what are we doing? And also, who are we?’

THE STORY THE CHARACTERS

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While living in Latin America teaching theater, Paz Pardo saw a play with a disappointing ending, and decided she’d write the piece she wanted to see. The result is “Rubbermatch,” about two old college friends whose reunion brings up questions about one of the women’s sexuality. Pardo, who’s worked in New York’s experimental theater scene, discusses the play, showing at the TBG Theatre, which she says is one of the more traditional works she’s developed.

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I feel like there’s a certain queer story that gets told over and over again, which is the ‘I came out and then I was happy’ sort of story, or ‘I came out and I was comfortable with it but the world didn’t let me’ story. I think there is so much more to be mined there, just because the human experience of desire is at the heart of all theater, basically. One of the things that makes the queer experience so compelling for me on stage is, we as a culture have been interrogating what are our prejudices against this form of desire, and so it’s a very rich territory theatrically, because as soon as you see the desire on stage you often see what is the counterdesire. That becomes very complicated in a really interesting and exciting way for me.

THE FORMAT I’d worked a lot in performer-driven creation, and this was the first time that I was like, ‘I’m going to try to make

theater that works within the model of most of the theater in the United States.’ And that was partially a choice because I was living in Latin America and all of a sudden I didn’t have that many collaborators around. I didn’t have a pool of actors that I could call up and do a reading with. So all of a sudden I was like, ‘I need to make a thing that somebody who’s not sitting next to me can build.’ That was the point where I started to identify as a playwright as opposed to performer/director/theater artist who creates things, and instead said I’m going to be focusing on the text for right now, and that’s something that I’ve been very focused on since then.

ACTIVITIES FOR THE FERTILE MIND

thoughtgallery.org NEW YORK CITY

The Gene: An Intimate History | Siddhartha Mukherjee & David Remnick

TUESDAY, MAY 17TH, 7PM Stephen A. Schwarzman Building | 476 Fifth Ave. | 917-275-6975 | nypl.org Siddhartha Mukherjee’s new book provides fresh insight into the way our DNA contributes to our personalities and even our fates. David Remnick (New Yorker) joins him in conversation. ($40)

From the Bowery to Broadway Yiddish Theater in Song and Conversation

WEDNESDAY, MAY 18TH, 6:30PM Museum of the City of New York | 1220 Fifth Ave. | 212-534-1672 | mcny.org Raise the curtain on Yiddish Theatre at this panel discussion, complete with a live performance by Yiddish entertainer Mike Burstyn. ($40)

IF YOU GO WHAT: “Rubbermatch” by Paz Pardo, directed by Andrew Willis-Woodward WHERE: TBG Theatre 312 West 36th St., third floor, between Eighth and Ninth Avenues WHEN: Through May 21 Tickets $18 at www.artful. ly/rubbermatch

Just Announced | World Science Festival: My Neurons, My Self

SUNDAY, JUNE 5TH, 5PM NYU Skirball Center | 566 LaGuardia Pl. | 212-998-4941 | nyuskirball.org As we get ever smarter about measuring electrical activity in the brain, the definition of “the self” grows more nebulous. How do chemical connections in the mind register as self-awareness? Three neuroscientists look at the intersection of science, psychology, and philosophy. ($35)

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

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

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MAY 12-18,2016

“Chroma Botanica” at the Arsenal Gallery features works by New York artists Ellie Irons and Linda Stillman derived from plants found in the city’s parks. Photo: Daniel Avila/NYC Parks

CAPTURING NATURE’S COLORS Two artists create works using plants found in city parks BY GABRIELLE ALFIERO

Ellie Irons was working in her Bushwick studio on a sculpture into which she had incorporated algae, when she noticed that some collected in a way that resembled a clump of watercolor paint. She dipped a brush in the algae, and was surprised at how well it worked. “Algae’s mostly green, so I stepped outside my studio door and started looking for other colors, and was just kind of blown away by the diversity of plant life,” said Irons, who studied both environmental science and studio art in college. “They were plants that I didn’t know. I knew nothing about them. I’d kind of overlooked them. And so trying to find colors led me to get to know these plants, and that led me to the stories I tell by using the pigments I make.” Irons’ work, along with that of fellow artist Linda Stillman, makes up “Chroma Botanica,” an exhibition on view at the Arsenal Gallery in Central Park. Like Irons, Stillman’s hues occur naturally. But while Irons works mostly with weeds and wild plants, Stillman, an avid gardener, focuses on the deliberately grown. Stillman first used plants as a medium in 2001 while getting her MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She planted a living

calendar in her garden upstate, using a different annual for every day of the month of August, and documented the process on a long horizontal scroll using various methods, from journalkeeping to photography, and even mapped her emotions about the project using a yellow string. The calendar marked the first time Stillman made stains from flower petals. “I like to explore the idea of control, how we try to control nature, we try to control time, and we can’t, so the whole idea of the calendar is a big organizing force for me,” she said. “The necessity for it and the artificiality of it.” The pairing seemed natural, said Jennifer Lantzas, deputy director of public art for the city Parks Department, who came across Stillman’s work while the artist was in an open studio program at Wave Hill, an expansive garden and art center in the Bronx, and first became acquainted with Irons through her exhibition at Silent Barn in Bushwick. “The idea of working with natural pigments was kind of the very obvious thing that connected them in my mind at first, but I thought it was even more interesting that Linda was working with cultivated plants and what goes into creating a garden and what that means to people, where Ellie was much more interested in the weeds, in the spontaneous plants,” Lantzas said. “I liked that there was that similarity

to draw people in and introduce them to more complex issues in terms of what different plants they were working with and themes they were working with.” Both artists create with various floras, but employ different methods. Stillman rubs flowers directly onto paper, creating stains that sometimes contain fibers and plant residue. For some pieces, she cut bits from sheets of stained paper for collages; for others, such as for a map of Central Park’s Shakespeare Garden, she stained the work directly, using a stencil to help her get precise shapes. Irons creates paint-like pigments by grinding the plants with water, honey and a tree sap called gum arabic and then dries the mixture, a method similar to that used for making watercolor paints. A video of Irons mixing pigments from a pastel blue Asiatic dayflower and the berries from a pokeweed plant can be seen at the gallery. Gabriel de Guzman, the curator of visual art at Wave Hill who has exhibited work by both artists and wrote an essay for the show’s catalogue, said that Irons and Stillman work within a minimalism and conceptual art vein, incorporating grids, geometric forms and text in their pieces. “Even though Ellie, she has some science background, and Linda is a gardener and she knows a lot about gardening and different plants and how they grow, I think first and fore-

most they’re artists and they’re making artwork,” said de Guzman. “But they’re making work that’s asking people to think about our relationship to nature and what we do and how it affects the natural world and our experience of it, and the future of how that relationship is going to work.” Some of the new works for the exhibition come from trips the artists took with experts to the city’s parks. Irons’ “Spontaneous Plant Clusters,” a map of a portion of the park dotted with her bespoke pigments was the result of a walk taken with specialists from the New York Botanical Garden at a construction site near Tavern on the Green, in which they documented the growth of wild plants in the area. Some were unintentionally brought into the park on out-of-state construction equipment, Irons said. She used her pre-made pigments to mark their locations. Stillman, a longtime Upper East Side resident who went to Central Park playgrounds as a child and, later, with her own children, and whose interest lies in memory and the passing moments of daily life (she also paints images of the sky each day) joined a volunteer weeding group at Central Park’s Conservatory Garden. She culled stain sources from their barrels of clippings, and created color wheels from the stains. Her color wheels complement similar pieces by Irons, who used pigments made from wild plants.

While their points of view and methods vary — Irons has a more datadriven bent and Stillman plays with documenting time — their aesthetics are similar, a quality that comes perhaps from their shared mediums but also from the influence they’ve had on one another as they’ve prepared for the exhibition, an opinion shared by both artists and those familiar with their work. Irons suggests her work got more “visually evocative,” while Stillman said that de Guzman pointed out she’s become more research-driven and interested in plant origins. “That’s a really wonderful thing about collaborating with an artist who you’re sympathetic with,” said Stillman. “You can look at your work in a different light.” Irons, who recently moved closer to Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, thinks the unintentionally green parts of the city, including those that pop up in vacant lots, have value beyond their source as her paint supply, especially in neighborhoods without much green space, like Bushwick. “I hope that people see that pokeweed makes pink, and they think twice about pouring poison on it,” said Irons. “That’s a really small shift, but that could translate into more care being taken for other living things in their lives, and perhaps that has other impacts that are much greater than that little moment where you decide not to kill the pokeweed.”

MAY 12-18,2016

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MARBLE’S JAZZ INSPIRED WORSHIP

A student presentation on endangered species. Photo: HEART

ADVOCATING FOR A HUMANE EDUCATION HEART promotes classroom curricula that teaches kids about human rights, animal protection and environmental ethics BY MICKEY KRAMER

Section 809 of the New York State Education Law requires that every publicly funded elementary school in the state provide instruction in the humane treatment and protection of animals. Enacted in 1947, the law is among the state’s more obscure. Meena Alagappan, the executive director of Humane Education Advocates Reaching Teachers, or HEART, a full-service humane education provider, is trying to change that, and to educate children in the process. “HEART has a comprehensive approach to humane education, which encompasses human rights, animal protection and environmental ethics,” she said. “We encourage students to think about their responsibility to the earth and all of its inhabitants and provide them with the tools to make more informed and compassionate choices.” Alagappan, a longtime Upper East Side resident, said there’s a “huge lack of awareness” about the law. “In the 10 years I’ve been with HEART it has been rare for me to meet educators who are aware of this law. They are always interested in the mandate though, and enthusiastic about incorporating humane education into their curricula,” she said. HEART programs are taught

in class, during after-school activities and in summer camps. For example, upper elementary students take part in a 10-lesson curriculum that covers topics such as child labor, dog and cat homelessness and overpopulation, factory farming, endangered species, and climate change. This program is often followed by a 13-week service-learning program. Another HEART initiative is the Caring Kids Program, which takes place after school, weekly at the Animal Haven shelter in SoHo. Lillian Davis-Bosch began participating in this program when she was 8 years old. Davis-Bosch, now 13, became a Caring Kids Counselor three years ago and now assists younger kids with service projects, and even teaches parts of the program. The precocious teen has been vegan for two years, and wants to work in some animal-based field. “The most amazing thing for me has been having kids say to me that they want to be like me when they get older!“ Chelsea Alonzo, 17, a middleschooler when she first attended a HEART-run summer camp, has participated ever since, often as a counselor herself. “In our world there are a lot of problems that many children are unaware of but are important for us to know, whether cruelty to animals or child labor,” said Alonzo, who will attend Marist College starting in the fall. “HEART really opened my eyes.” Both Alonzo and Davis-Bosch

are “inspiring young changemakers,” Alagappan said. Alonzo returns the favor, saying of Alagappan, “All she’s taught me has made me the person I am today.” For the past two years, Bibi Samad’s 10-year-old daughter, Salena, has participated in HEART’s 10-week program at P.S. 36 in the Bronx. The lessons have led to meaningful change in their household. Samad says they recycle more, but the biggest change occurred just three weeks ago when they planted a vegetable garden in their yard. It will yield eggplants, peppers, spinach, tomatoes and celery later this summer. “I think it’s a wonderful thing planting your own food, and as Salena said, ‘the ones you buy have more chemicals,’” Samad said. Salena, who recently took part in a food donation project for the elderly, wants to continue to, “grow plants, help the elderly, and keep the earth clean and healthy.” Alagappan calls positive results from program evaluations “really gratifying” and happily recalls, “some of the most magical times have been on field trips to animal shelters and farm animal sanctuaries where our students had the opportunity to emotionally connect and interact with a variety of animals.” Alagappan, who lives with her husband and their two dogs Jackson and Margo, concludes, “I am grateful to HEART for allowing me to make my passion for education and animals my career.”

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RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS APRIL 25 - MAY 6, 2016 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. Amoun

406 East 73 Street

Grade Pending (34) Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations. Evidence of mice or live mice 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. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Jesuit Mission House Kitchen

53 East 83 Street

A

Nargila Grill

1599 York Avenue

A

East End Kitchen

539 East 81 Street

Grade Pending (34) 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. Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/ sewage-associated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Jaiya Thai & Oriental Restaurant

1553 2 Avenue

Grade Pending (26) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Personal cleanliness inadequate. Outer garment soiled with possible contaminant. Effective hair restraint not worn in an area where food is prepared. Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.

Campagna Quattro Gatti

205 East 81 Street

A

Bonjour Crepes & Wine

1585 2 Avenue

A

Tal Bagels

1228 Lexington Avenue

A

Domino’s

1396 1 Avenue

A

Six Happiness

1413 2nd Ave

Grade Pending (20) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.

The Sweet Shop Nyc

404 E 73rd St

A

New Beijing Wok

1324 2 Avenue

A

Dunkin Donuts

1433 2nd Ave

A

Shabu-Shabu 70 Restaurant

314 East 70 Street

Grade Pending (19) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies or food/ refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/ or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewage-associated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies.

Juice Generation

1486 3 Avenue

A

Maz Mezcal

316 East 86 Street

A

Starbucks

1488 3 Avenue

A

Gracie-Mews Restaurant

1550 1 Avenue

A

Bareburger

1370 1 Avenue

A

Papaya King

179 East 86 Street

A

Sant Ambroeus Cafe At Sotheby’s

1334 York Ave

A

Bayards Ale House

1589 1st Ave

A

Genesis Bar & Restaurant

1708 2 Avenue

A

Three Guy’s Restaurant

960 Madison Avenue

A

Wok 88

1570 3 Avenue

Tasti D-Lite

1221 3 Avenue

A

Gracie’s Cafe

1530 York Avenue

A

William Greenberg Jr Desserts

1100 Madison Avenue A

Emack & Bolios

1564 1 Avenue

A

Grade Pending (21) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. 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.

16 Handles

1569 2 Avenue

Grade Pending (18) Evidence of mice or live mice 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.

Marco Polo Pizza & Deli

Yorkafe

50112 East 83 Street

A

Erminia Restaurant

250 East 83 Street

A

1289 Madison Avenue Grade Pending (26) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Tobacco use, eating, or drinking from open container in food preparation, food storage or dishwashing area observed. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Nicola’s Restaurant

146 East 84 Street

A

Bareburger

1681 1St Ave

A

Aba Sushi

1588 York Ave

Not Yet Graded (32) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. 2) Evidence of rats or live rats present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. 3) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or nonfood areas. 4) Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. 5) Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.

Ooki Sushi

1575 3 Avenue

A

Selena Rosa Mexicana

1712 2nd Ave

Grade Pending (33) Food not cooled by an approved method whereby the internal product temperature is reduced from 140º F to 70º F or less within 2 hours, and from 70º F to 41º F or less within 4 additional hours. Evidence of mice or live mice 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. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

A

Biddy’s Pub

301 East 91 Street

A

Italianissimo Ristorante

307 East 84 Street

MAY 12-18,2016

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

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THE SECRET CLUB OF THE WEST SIDE G.O.P. NEWS What it’s like to be a Republican in a neighborhood of Democrats BY MADELEINE THOMPSON

Just a few blocks from Trump Tower, at the W. 63rd Street YMCA, around 40 people gathered to support a common cause that many of them

feel they can’t discuss with their neighbors: the Republican Party. “Let me put it this way, you’re careful about what you say when you’re in a group of people,� said one attendee at the May 3 meeting of the Gertrude and Morrison Parker Westside Republican Club. The sentiment was echoed by several other members, one of whom suggested that they picket to raise awareness of their affiliation. The New York primary in April demonstrated just how wide the party divide is, especially on

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the Upper West Side. Gov. John Kasich won the Upper West Side with 1,138 votes, followed by presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump with 797 and former candidate Ted Cruz with 356. That adds up to just 2,291 votes cast for Republicans in an area with around 200,000 residents. Meanwhile, as of 2012, 69.1 percent of the Upper West Side’s registered voters were Democrats, and frontrunner Hillary Clinton swept the recent primary there with 70.7 percent of the 33,429 Democratic votes cast. On May 3, the club booked Herb London, founder and president of the London Center for Policy Research, to speak to the group. “I didn’t think there were any Republicans on the West Side,� London began. “I thought I was going into enemy territory, so it’s real pleasure to see you here. I didn’t think that this was possible.� He went on to address Islamic extremism, the need for American leadership in foreign affairs and the threat of Chinese military ambition. James Somers, who lives a block from the YMCA and voted for Kasich in the primary, said London was “probably the best [speaker] we’ve had in a long time ... His view on the party and on foreign policy was very insightful.� When London opened up the floor to questions, one attendee wanted to know what else the group could do to make more progress for their party in such a Democratic area. “What do you suggest we do to at least get recognition and then to get some Republicans elected on the Up-

per West Side?â€? she said. London said what was needed was more “knocking on doors.â€? “You’ve got to make it known,â€? he said. “You’ve got to convince them that it makes sense to be a Republican. Not an easy sell, but that’s what you have to do.â€? The club’s president and district leader for the 67th assembly district, Marcia Drezon-Tepler, has been doing just that for many years, but not always for the Republican Party. Drezon-Tepler was an active Democrat until, as she puts it, the party left her. “Their stance on foreign policy, their stance on Israel, [Representative for the 10th District] Jerry Nadler fools a lot of people into thinking he’s pro-Israel,â€? she said. “There are a lot of measures and statements that our president makes that are anti-Israel and Jerry is nowhere to be found.â€? The Gertrude and Morrison Parker Westside Republican Club was founded in the 1800s and incorporated by the state in 1941. It is named after a former club president and his wife, whose family still contributes to the club. “It’s had its ups and downs,â€? said Treasurer and District Leader for the 75th Assembly District Joe MafďŹ a. “I think we’re on an uptick ‌ primarily due to Marcia,â€? he said. “She’s really a policy wonk. She’s gotten really great speakers.â€? Maffia estimates that, between the email list and phone calls, the club reaches out to about 600 members each month, though far fewer than that number pay the annual $25 in dues. As many

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MAY 12-18,2016 as 80 to 100 people have shown up for the more popular speakers. “The party itself is much more energized as you’re seeing in turnout and interest in the race, too,” State Committeeman for the 75th Assembly District Stephen Evans said. “That benefits us as well.” Drezon-Tepler has also noticed increasing interest in the club. “A year and a half ago we had five people show up … that was really really embarrassing, and now we have at least 40,” she said. Drezon-Tepler knows some of the speakers from the time she was an op-ed editor at the New York Sun, and others she has met at other Republican events she attends around the city. Originally the club was intended to serve just the 67th assembly district, the bulk of which lies between 72nd and 57th Streets, but since there is no club in the nearby 75th district in midtown they attract attendees from anywhere between 96th and 14th Streets. Besides the monthly meetings they also have an occasional street fair, complete with a blow-up elephant that Maffia said has attracted more than one “rude comment.” Susan Schernwetter, who lives on the Upper West Side and has been a member of the club for several years, is frustrated by the adversity her party faces in the area she has long called home. “There are a group of people here who are supposedly intelligent … however they come from socialist backgrounds, everybody knows that, and they actually refuse to deal with the fact that the country today is not what it was during the Depression,” she says of her neighbors. “I live amongst communists and socialists. I don’t like it. I think these people are naive. If they really want democracy it’s the republicans who are doing it.”

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Photo by Joe Maffia

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A pregnant woman shows up at a New York City bar and wants to go in and order a drink despite health warnings against consuming alcohol while expecting. Should the tavern serve her? It’s against the law to refuse, under city Human Rights Commission guidelines released recently. They center on expansive protections for pregnant workers but also say mothersto-be can’t be kept out of bars or denied alcoholic drinks just because they’re expecting. “Judgments and stereotypes about how pregnant individuals should behave, their physical capabilities and what is or is not healthy for a fetus are pervasive in our society and cannot be used as pretext for unlawful discriminatory decisionsâ€? in public venues, the new guidelines say. With that, the city is squarely taking on a touchy subject that stirs conicted feelings about pregnancy and personal autonomy. It also has sparked at least one complaint: The commission is looking into a case concerning a pregnant woman denied entry to a bar or club, said Lauren Elfant, an agency lawyer. She wouldn’t give more detail because the case is open. Some pregnant women who haven’t been refused service

say they’ve felt awkward nonetheless — when a server asks how many glasses to bring with a shared bottle of wine, for example. It would “come up in conversation as a possibility, a joke: ‘Will they serve you, or will they not? ... Will they look down on you, or will they not?’â€? says Carlota Fluxa, a Brooklynite who gave birth to her ďŹ rst child last week. She occasionally ordered a glass of wine with dinner during her pregnancy, which wouldn’t raise eyebrows in her native Spain. No one ever questioned her order, but she felt that “in general, a lot of people are paying attention to whether you’re drinking or not drinking.â€? How to treat pregnant women who use intoxicants has long been debated in the U.S. Some states allow criminal charges against women who use illegal drugs while pregnant or permit detaining expectant mothers who drink heavily. And a pregnant drinker was portrayed as a moral dilemma on the ABC hidden-camera show “What Would You Do?â€? which featured bar patrons’ varied reactions to an actress who appeared to be pregnant unabashedly guzzling tequila. The U.S. Surgeon General and major medical associations say women should avoid alcohol during pregnancy. An American Academy of Pediatrics reiterated the admonition

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in October. New York City requires restaurants to post warnings that drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause birth defects. But such health decisions are up to the woman, not the bartender, rights commission ofďŹ cials say. So does Michael Sinensky, who owns a dozen bars and clubs in and around the city. “I wouldn’t preach to my staff not to serve pregnant women,â€? says Sinensky, a father of three. But some other bar owners ďŹ nd the issue trickier. “I sort of believe that the mother should be responsible,â€? says Dan Warren, owner of West 3rd Common, a downtown bar. But if a pregnant woman ordered several drinks, “I’d probably be tempted to say something,â€? says the father of two. The rights commission guidelines, meant to help people interpret a 2013 city law, mostly address pregnant women’s rights in the workplace. Going beyond federal law, New York City requires all but very small employers to accommodate reasonable pregnancyrelated requests — such as minor work schedule changes or letting workers eat at their desks — even if other employees can’t do the same without a doctor’s note saying they need it. Employers can be excepted if they would be unduly ďŹ nancially burdened, among other reasons. “Far too often, pregnant employees are denied basic accommodations in the workplace, unnecessarily putting their pregnancy and health at risk,â€? Carmelyn Malalis, Human Rights commissioner and chairwoman, said.

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PUTTING THE FUN IN FITNESS Co-founder of PopFit Kids on her fitness program

BY ANGELA BARBUTI

When it came to kids and fitness, Mara Wedeck saw the need for enjoyable activities to keep young people in New York City committed to staying healthy. “I had a child and was getting back into my fitness regime and started to explore what was out there for children,” she explained. “And I noticed there was not much happening in that dialogue. There was more conversation around it.” In 2015, she teamed up with Maria Chatman, and the women combined their backgrounds working in sustainability, heath, fitness and programming. They launched PopFit Kids at the 14th Street Y and the program spread across community centers and schools, engaging more and more children and putting them on a path to lifelong exercise. Designed for kids

ages 3 to 14, it incorporates elements of cardio, strength, flexibility, balance and endurance with a combination of drills, conditioning training and fun fitness games. This summer, you can find them outdoors at Central Park, Pier 25 and Pier 46 and at summer camps at the 92nd Street Y, the Harlem YMCA on West 135th Street and the JCC Manhattan.

What was your business background before starting PopFit? I know you were involved in health and sustainability. I used to run a PR and marketing agency called Organicworks to help educate consumers about the benefits of organic and healthy and sustainable living. A lot of it was working with bigger clients like Whole Foods Market, which was obviously already in the sustainable and organic conversation, and just talking through some things of their behalf. And then also working with the smaller companies, like an organic baby company or an environmentally friendly magazine, helping them get the word out to get consumers aware. This was a time when en-

PopFit Kids at the White House Easter Egg Roll earlier this year. Photo: Dan Chatman vironmental consciousness was not necessarily at top of mind and wasn’t totally part of the vernacular. It was right when Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth came out, so there was a lot of conversation around it. A lot of people didn’t know the difference between what it meant to be organic, healthy, and environmentally conscious and how easy it was.

You met Maria through a mutual friend. How did the idea for the company first come about?

Mara Wedeck and her son, Ben. Photo: Cat and Zach Photography

We both were on the same trajectory, looking to create this kids’ fitness program. I was more on the food side of it than the physical side, working with companies to talk about healthy lunchboxes and nutrition in schools. Michelle Obama had recently introduced her Let’s Move organization which was doing a great job of communicating the importance of nutrition and physical activity for kids. So there was certainly a high level awareness starting, but not necessarily a lot of program implementation on the ground level about how to activate kids into movement. And unfortunately, a lot of phys ed budgets were being cut at the time in the public schools. And I was telling this story to a friend, that I was looking to transition from the nutrition side of it to more of offering physical fitness for kids. And she said, “I have another friend who’s been telling me the same thing.” Marie’s background was a little bit different. She came from the programming and fitness industry side. We created the company that is about awareness and positive associations with movement for kids.

Give us examples of the kinds of activities that are part of the program. The Fit 5 is cardio, strength, flexibility, balance and endurance. Much of which are typical components in adult fitness. A lot of it is also about having fun in our class. So we play really good music and different types of fitness games. For the younger kids, we do an interpretation of Duck, Duck, Goose that we call Fit, Fit, Run. For the older kids, we do certain kinds of circuit training, agility moves, working with BOSU balls. So it really depends on the age.

How do you find your coaches? What qualifications do you require they have? One of our criteria is about how coaches interact and work with kids. There are ways to engage children, so it’s certainly a lot about personality and creativity. All of our coaches are certified fitness specialists. They’re either group fitness instructors, certified personal trainers, or they come to us and then they get their certification through us. But they also go through our training, which is a 4-week program based on all of our methodologies. We have some awesome coaches who were former teachers and wanted to get into the physical fitness side of it. Then we have some coaches from Chelsea Piers and boutique fitness studios who come to us. It becomes a passion project for them.

You work with organizations like the Department of Parks and Recreation and the Union Square Partnership. How have they welcomed your program? All these organizations are wonderful. Usually they wind up finding us. With the Department of Parks and

Recreation, we do open, free events for the public. We usually do one, if not more, a year with them. And then Union Square Partnership, we’re out in Union Square all summer long for Summer in the Square. Kids of all ages love to exercise with us doing fun drills and mini circuits and fitness games as part of USQ Partnership’s summer-long programming. And in the past, we’ve also done a stage performance for the annual bike celebration, Summer Streets, where they shut down the streets of New York for healthy recreation time.

This year, PopFit Kids was at the White House for the Easter Egg Roll. What was that like? We’re a partner of the Let’s Move organization. This year was the big tribute to Michelle Obama in her last year there and all the incredible initiatives that she did for physical activity and health and nutrition. We were an invited program. It was an amazing experience. We had about 15 kids from around the city who take our program throughout the year. So we had a big caravan of families who went out there. It was really very special. Marie and I got to set up the day before and were doing cartwheels on the Lawn. It was really cool. To learn more, visit www.popfitkids.com

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