Our Town - August 16, 2018 by Our Town

The local paper for the Upper East Side

WEEK OF AUGUST JOURNALISTS ARE NOT THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE ◄ P.8

16-22 2018

LIFE AND LOSS IN THE CLUB SCENE POLITICS One was founded in May, the other dates to the 1950s — and the birth of the new political club has placed its hallowed older rival in peril BY DOUGLAS FEIDEN

The MTA has a plan that, within ﬁve years, would expand accessibility such that customers be no more than two stations away from an accessible station. Photo: Jeremy Weine

SUBWAY INACCESSIBILITY IS A BURDEN FOR MANY TRANSPORTATION The elderly and those with young children are also at a disadvantage BY NATASHA ROY

Julie Maury didn’t feel safe taking the subway alone until the Second Avenue station was revamped — and even then, she has only taken three subway rides by herself. The 36-year-old is wheelchair-bound, and relies on the buses. Each use of public transportation is an ordeal. “To rely on the bus system heavily like I do, I have to start out an hour or maybe two hours in advance if I want

to go somewhere, whereas a friend without a wheelchair may have to start out 15 minutes in advance because they have access to the subway, where I don’t,” Maury, who lives on the Upper East Side, said. New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer last month released a report detailing the lack of accessible subway stations across Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens. According to Stringer’s office, 51 percent of neighborhoods don’t have American Disabilities Act-accessible subway stations. A majority are located in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens.

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It isn’t every day that a new Democratic political clubhouse springs into existence on the Upper East Side. Rarer still, the East River Democratic Club has swiftly moved to position itself as a force to be reckoned with in city and state electoral politics. Its emergence has also delivered a political body blow to one of the Silk Stocking District’s most venerable clubs. The Lenox Hill Democratic Club has suffered multiple defections, losing both leaders and members to the upstart over the past three months. “We searched for greener pastures,” said Alec Hartman, the 32-year-old president of the new club and a former member of its storied rival. “But this isn’t only about Lenox Hill,” he quickly added. “We believe there’s a better way to do things than the status quo.” Based in the 76th Assembly District — which runs from 61st Street to 92nd Street east of Third Avenue with some cutouts — the club overlaps much of the territory of both Lenox Hill and the Four Freedoms Democratic Club, which itself arrived on the scene in 2014. The traditional club model can involve multi-hour meetings, a modest dues structure, an unfocused agenda and a fair amount of bickering. By contrast, the East River Democrats pledge 90-minute meetings, free membership, a succinct agenda and a dose of civility and accountability. “We thought we could do better in terms of organization, timeliness and

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Three of the leaders of the new created East River Democratic Club, all of them defectors from the Lenox Hill Democratic Club, gather petition signatures on the East Side. From left to right, Patrick Bobilin, Josh Kravitz, AJ Handler and Bobilin’s dog, Ghostface. Photo: Patrick Bobilin effectiveness,” Hartman said. Indeed, those qualities were in evidence at a co-working space on East 86th Street on August 9 when the club convened its second membership meeting and passed the ﬁrst resolution in its three-month-old history. By a show of hands, members voted to endorse Zephyr Teachout’s candidacy in the Democratic primary for state attorney general — while also criticizing the frontrunner, Public Advocate Letitia (Tish) James, for taking big bucks from real estate interests she’d have to regulate as AG. “A lot of people in this room have knocked on doors,” said Jill Eisner, an

East Side Democratic district leader and ex-member of Lenox Hill in the discussion preceding the vote. “By endorsing her, our club will become her ground troops.”

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NYC MOVES TO REIN IN UBER WITH CAP ON RIDE-HAIL VEHICLES TRAFFIC City Council approves one-year moratorium on new licenses for appbased services BY KAREN MATTHEWS

New York City moved last Wednesday to regulate the explosive growth of Uber and other app-based ride services with a temporary cap on new licenses for ride-hailing services. The City Council approved a package of bills that included a one-year moratorium on new licenses for forhire vehicles while the city studies the rapidly changing industry. The legislation also will allow the city to set a minimum wage for app-based drivers. Backers of the proposals said both the traditional yellow cab industry and drivers for app-based services are suffering as Uber cars ﬂood the city’s streets. They said the growth of ridehailing apps has also worsened traffic congestion. “More than 65,000 working families will be getting a desperately needed raise because of today’s vote,” said Jim Conigliaro Jr., the founder of the Independent Drivers Guild, which

Photo: Shinya Suzuki, via ﬂickr represents drivers for Uber and other services. Bhairavi Desai, the executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, said the Council’s vote set a precedent for the world as companies like Uber and Lyft use technological innovation “to return us to a time of sweated labor, destroying lives and livelihoods across the planet.” But Uber spokeswoman Alix Anfang said the pause on new vehicle licenses

“will threaten one of the few reliable transportation options while doing nothing to fix the subways or ease congestion.” She said Uber will do whatever it takes to keep up with growing demand for its service and will work with city and state officials to pass “real solutions” like congestion pricing for cars in Manhattan. New York City is the largest American market for Uber and is now the

first U.S. city to attempt to regulate the growth of app-based rides. A similar cap on Uber and other car services was proposed in 2015 but did not attract enough support to pass. City officials said that in the intervening years the number of for-hire vehicles on the streets has surged from 63,000 to more than 100,000, forcing drivers to compete for scarce fares and making it difficult for any of them to earn a living wage.

At the same time, the value of the medallions that are required to operate a yellow cab has plunged from more than $1 million to $200,000 or less, forcing many medallion owners into bankruptcy. Debt and financial hardship have been blamed for the deaths of six taxi and car-service drivers in the last year. Opponents of the legislation said Uber and Lyft provide much-needed service to areas outside of Manhattan that aren’t served by traditional taxis. They also said black and Hispanic New Yorkers need ride-hailing apps because yellow cab drivers often won’t stop for them. “They’re talking about putting a cap on Uber, do you know how difficult it is for black people to get a yellow cab in New York City?” The Rev. Al Sharpton wrote on Twitter. But Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo, a Democrat, said Uber will still be available despite the moratorium on new cars. “Uber as you know it is going to be Uber as you know it,” Cumbo said. “You’re not going to be stranded. Uber is not going away.” The legislation will now go before Mayor Bill de Blasio, also a Democrat, who is expected to sign it.

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CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG ATTEMPTED MUGGING ON FIRST AVENUE

STATS FOR THE WEEK Reported crimes from the 19th district for the week ending Aug 5

A mugger tried but failed to steal a woman’s phone on First Avenue. At 9:15 p.m. on Thursday, August 2, a 28-year-old woman was standing on the northeast corner of First Avenue and 72nd Street when an unknown 25-year-old man crossed the street heading north. As he did so he put his shoulder down and ran into her, knocking her to the ground. He then tried to grab her cellphone while it was on the ground but failed. The victim had scrapes and cuts on her left elbow and a bump on the back of her head.

Week to Date

Photo by Tony Webster, via Flickr

HAIR SALON BREAK-IN A burglar broke into a local hair salon late one night but didn’t score any cash. At 4:10 a.m. on Tuesday, August 7, an unknown man used a brick to smash a side window of the Bleu Ciel Salon at 1146 Lexington Ave., near 80th Street. Once inside, he knocked the cash register to the floor, grabbed a flatscreen TV from the wall and fled. The store’s manager told police that they kept no cash in the registers overnight.

WATCHES STOLEN FROM HOTEL GUESTS A 34-year-old man told police he met a 30-year-old woman at a local bar in the early morning of August 1 with the two subsequently retreating to the Mark Hotel on East 77th Street, where the man was staying. He placed his $30,000 Patek Philippe watch in the room safe while he went to take a shower. He told police that when he later checked the safe his watch was gone. He confronted his female companion about the watch, but she denied taking it and left the hotel on

foot, heading westbound on East 77th Street toward Fifth Avenue. In a second, similar incident in the early morning of August 4, a 44-yearold man from Australia met two women, one of them around 20 years of age, at a lounge on East 76th Street. The three left the bar and went to the Mark Hotel, where he too was staying, to have drinks in his room. In the room, the 20-year-old woman told the man after he exited the bathroom to snort some white powder. The man did so and immediately felt disoriented and impaired. The man had a friend staying in the room, who showed both women

Year to Date

2018 2017

% Change

2018

2017

% Change

Murder

n/a

Rape

n/a

28.6

Robbery

-60.0

28.2

Felony Assault

0.0

8.9

Burglary

75.0

130

124 4.8

Grand Larceny

31.3

852 813 4.8

Grand Larceny Auto

-50.0

out. A few minutes later the 20-yearold woman said she needed to come back and get something from the room. The man saw her getting close to his valuable watch and told her to leave. She was later seen on surveillance video returning at 4:27 a.m., using the victim’s hotel key card to enter and exit his room several times. When he woke up the following morning he saw that the latch on the room door was open and that his $34,000 Rolex Daytona watch was missing.

78.3

STOLEN MOPED ARREST A young thief removed a moped from the streets recently, and police returned the favor, removing him from the streets as well. At 6 p.m. on Monday, August 6, a 36-year-old man parked his 2013 KYMCO Like 200i in front of 429 East 71st St. The scooter was missing when he went to retrieve it the following morning, police said. A day later, Cristhian Arias Sanchez, age 22, was arrested and charged with grand larceny auto.

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SUBWAY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Nearly 500,000 people who need accessible stations do not live in a neighborhood that has one, according to the report. Non-ADA-accessible stations don’t solely affect those with a disability — mothers with young children, senior citizens and people with injuries also often depend on elevators. An MTA spokesperson said New York City Transit has never been more committed to an accessible transit system than now. “President Byford has hired the system’s first-ever accessibility chief, and his Fast Forward Plan includes a roadmap to dramatically expand subway accessibility, with customers no more than two stations away from an accessible station within five years, and continued elevator installations after that,” the spokesperson said, referring to the president of the New York City Transit Authority. “We’re also bolstering our completely accessible bus network, and we’re undertaking an overhaul and modernization of Access-a-Ride — all of which will lead to dramatic accessibility improvements.” Currently, 118 subway stations are wheelchair accessible, and 26 more stations are in the works to become accessible. Nearly $5 billion has been invested in subway accessibility projects, and the MTA is devoting $479 million to replace existing elevators and escalators. The comptroller’s office has found that the MTA is addressing the issue — the Fast Forward plan emphasizes the need for more stations, and the idea of having people no more than two stops away from an accessible station is geographically strategic. Stringer’s policy team, though, views the timeline as ambitious and needing

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Just more than half of neighborhoods citywide don’t have American Disabilities Act-accessible subway stations, which can be a burden to those with strollers or large packages, like these people, pictured at the 42nd Street/Bryant Park station. Photo: Jeremy Weine funding. Several advocacy groups are advocating for more access to public transportation. One such organization, Rise and Resist, has an elevator action group that specifically targets this issue through rallies, written recommendations to

transportation authorities and coalition-building with other advocacy groups, according to organizer Jessica Murray. Murray, a CUNY graduate student researching accessible transportation, said the lack of accessible transportation available to disabled New York-

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ers affects their professional and social development. “All the opportunities are near the accessible stations, but they can’t actually get from a non-accessible station to an accessible station, so they’re being held back economically and socially,” Murray said. Inaccessibility also affects older New Yorkers, an issue that the American Association of Retired Persons, which serves the 50-plus population, has also spoken out about. Chris Widelo, the AARP associate state director for New York, said while New York City is considered a senior-friendly city, it needs to continue working toward that goal. About 13 percent of New York City’s population is 65 and older, Widelo said, and the number will balloon to 20 percent within the next decade. “New York state last year announced they intend to become the first state in the country to become age-friendly, that they’re going to take steps to achieve that,” Widelo said. “So this really will take a combined effort of our city and our state to realize that. But right now, I don’t think when only a quarter of the subway stations are accessible, we can claim that we’re doing a great job there. And we know that in some areas, there are whole neighborhoods that don’t even have one accessible station.” He pointed out that the current subway station renovations are once-in-a-lifetime, and that the lack of accessibility plans for several of the renovations is a missed opportunity. “And yes, there is a cost attached to it, but there’s also a cost attached to not having accessibility,” Widelo said. “So, I think we need to — New York needs to — raise the bar, and I think we’d like to be on the forefront of a lot of things, and I think it would really make a

statement if New York and New York City took the challenge … so that the subway stations are accessible.” Widelo recommended the MTA determine its short-term, intermediate and long-term plans to make stations more accessible. He also suggested that citizens reach out to government officials about the issue. “It’s important that people get in touch with either their state legislators and Assembly or [state] Senate or even their City Council Member and really let them know about the concerns they have about accessibility,” Widelo said. Christine Serdjenian Yearwood, the founder and CEO of UP-STAND, which advocates for pregnant mothers and families, said many mothers are forced to quit their jobs because they cannot safely travel to their workplace. Having to stand for long periods of time and not having access to elevators and escalators means that mothers and pregnant women may miss doctor’s appointments as well. “From parents, speciﬁcally, a lot of moms I hear that this is really a safety concern in a lot of ways,” Yearwood said. “With a carrier, if you’re wearing a carrier, the balance and visibility are really difficult on the stairs, or [for] a lot of women postpartum, it’s against the doctor’s orders to be carrying that weight on your body, so a lot of women avoid the subway altogether.” Yearwood also said the issue is true with strollers, as carry-

ing single and double strollers while also holding children are unmanageable on the stairs of a subway station, rendering the entire system inaccessible. Yearwood said the MTA’s typical response to UP-STAND is that the bus system is accessible to parents — which she disputes. “I mean, we’ve seen in the reports that buses are slower and also that there are huge transit deserts basically for people where nothing is running or nothing is close enough for that,” Yearwood said. “And then there’s also this no-openstroller policy on buses, which means that you have to take out all of your things and take your child out of the stroller, fold up the stroller, get on the bus where you’re not guaranteed a seat, and you’re supposed to be holding your child and all your things on a moving bus, and it’s pretty impossible.” The wide variety of people affected has activists hoping the MTA will take the issue seriously and help create a more democratic public transportation system. “We’re not some kind of weird subgroup — disability, it’s a common thing,” said Maury, the Upper East Sider. “Disability happens to anybody if they live long enough. It’s a human thing. It’s a thing that happens to human beings. You can break your leg, you know? So the thought should always come from a place of, how do we think of accessibility ﬁrst and foremost instead of looking at it as some kind of burden.”

AUGUST 16-22,2018

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A faulty Con Edison steam meter led to massive overcharges and a subsequent refund at Gallery House, a condominium building at 77 West 55th St. Photo: Michael Garofalo

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Residents of a midtown condo building recently found themselves on the receiving end of a deposit any New Yorker would welcome: a six-digit refund from Con Edison. A hyperactive steam meter at Gallery House, a 183-unit building at West 55th Street and Sixth Avenue, led the utility to overcharge residents by more than $108,000 over a roughly two-and-a-half-month period. The meter mishap came in the midst of a 14-month cooking gas outage in the building, during which much of the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s piping was replaced and residents were relegated to heating food with hot plates and other electrical appliances. The steam issue started in May, just as Con Edison began work

beneath the street outside to restore gas service. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re digging up the street, all of a sudden, ironically, our steam bill started getting exorbitant,â&#x20AC;? said Monica Keller Large, Gallery Houseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s property manager. Monthly bills normally in the neighborhood of $15,000 dollars rose drastically, in one case exceeding $70,000. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My natural reaction was that there must have been a disruption to steam service as they were digging for gas service.â&#x20AC;? The two issues turned out to be unrelated. After some investigation, Con Edison identiďŹ ed a malfunctioning meter as the culprit and notified residents that restitution would be forthcoming. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I almost fell of my chairâ&#x20AC;? when t he news of t he $108,351.37 refund came through, Large said. Gas service was restored in June and residents wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to foot an eye-popping steam bill on top of unexpected expenses related to the gas pipe replacement.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;An adjustment to the meter had to be made and we corrected it,â&#x20AC;? Con Edison spokesman Alfonso Quiroz wrote in an emailed statement. Large credited the office of Keith Powers, the local City Council representative, for serving as a liaison between residents and Con Edison and helping to push the gas restoration process along. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The timeline of the bureaucracy involved in getting service restored can be very frustrating, and we try to help with that,â&#x20AC;? Powers said. He said he has encountered utility refunds from time to time during his time in government, including one to remedy a $50,000 monthly bill from Verizon, but that this was an exceptional case. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve never encountered a Con Edison one this big, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re happy that thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the case because it means things are happening properly in general,â&#x20AC;? he said.

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PARK RACCOONS ILL, DOG OWNERS CAUTIONED ANIMALS Distemper outbreak sickens dozens of Central Park raccoons, prompting city to warn dog owners against letting pets off-leash BY MICHAEL GAROFALO

Experts are urging Manhattan dog owners to keep pups on a short leash in Central Park because of a contagious disease affecting local raccoons. An outbreak of distemper in park raccoons prompted the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Parks and Health departments to issue a joint advisory August 9 â&#x20AC;&#x153;strongly recommending that dogs be kept on leashesâ&#x20AC;? at all times, including during early morning and nighttime off-leash hours when dogs are permitted run free in designated areas. The warning comes after a pair of recent encounters between dogs and raccoons, one near West 67th Street and the other near the East Drive at the level of East 102nd Street. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Parks and Health have been working in coordination since raccoons in the park ďŹ rst tested positive for the virus,â&#x20AC;? the agencies said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Distemper does not cause a threat to humans, but unvaccinated dogs and other wildlife can be affected.â&#x20AC;? Since the ďŹ rst case was identiďŹ ed in late June, city park rangers have collected 85 sick or dead raccoons. Parks officials believe the distemper outbreak

Park rangers have collected 85 sick or dead raccoons in Central Park since a ďŹ rst case of distemper was identiďŹ ed in late June. Photo: Christian Kaff, via Flickr

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City authorities posted advisories notifying dog owners of a recent outbreak of distemper in Central Park raccoons. Photo: Michael Garofalo is conďŹ ned to Central Park and have not found any cases of rabies. City officials recently put up signs near entrances to the park advising visitors of the issue. Dr. Lori Bierbrier, the medical director of ASPCAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s New York City community medicine department, said that dogs with up-to-date vaccinations should be protected from infection, and that re-vaccinating should be unnecessary unless the dog is overdue for a booster shot. Bierbrier said that raccoons with the early stages of distemper â&#x20AC;&#x153;may look like they have a cold with watery nose and eyes.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;As the disease progresses they may exhibit unusual behaviors including a wobbly walk, acting aggressive or confused, and wandering aimlessly,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;These late signs are indistinguishable from rabies so it is best to steer clear of a sick raccoon.â&#x20AC;? West Sider Tammy Blazin said she is â&#x20AC;&#x153;absolutely concernedâ&#x20AC;? about the distemper outbreak as she walked Freely, her Parson Russell terrier, through Central Park on Monday. Blazin said she had learned of the issue from other dog

owners and from the recently posted advisory signage, and felt that city agencies had done a good job of spreading awareness. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I probably wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t let her off of her leash anyway, but I deďŹ nitely wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t now,â&#x20AC;? Blazin said. Dr. Babette Gladstein, an Upper East Side veterinarian, advised dog owners to be mindful of distemper and to keep dogs on a leash in the park â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and to keep young puppies who have not yet been vaccinated out of the park entirely â&#x20AC;&#x201D; but said that dog owners should also be cautious of roundworms commonly found in raccoon feces, which, unlike distemper, can be transmitted to humans and pose a health risk. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Since thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s such a proliferation of raccoons, people have to be cautioned that they should wash their hands when theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been in the park, that they shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sit on the grass or walk in the park barefoot, and that they should make sure none of their food touches the ground if they have a picnic,â&#x20AC;? Gladstein said. City agencies advised visitors to call 311 and request a park ranger if they see a sick or injured raccoon.

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

JOURNALISTS ARE NOT THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE BY JEANNE STRAUS

We’re concerned about President Donald Trump’s attacks on journalists. At Straus News we don’t editorialize or endorse candidates for local or national elections because we want our news coverage to be as accurate and balanced as possible. Given that our staffs are small, we don’t want the person writing the news story to write an opinion piece on the same topic. Even though we’re covering local issues — and not the president — we take personally his attacks on our work. We aim to keep watch on government appointees, elected officials, school administrators — people in power in our community. We’re not liars and we’re not “the enemy.” We’re the people whose job it is to be curious and skeptical and ask a lot of questions. There is an important difference between opinion journalism — talking heads on TV, editorial pages — and what’s on the front page of, say, The Wall Street Journal. You may or may not agree with what The Wall Street Journal or The Washington Post espouse on their editorial pages but their news pages report the

facts, as truthfully and accurately as possible. The president does the country a great disservice by lumping together opinion journalism and news reporting — and attacking the work we do every day. Calling NBC News the “enemy of the American people” is reprehensible. Tensions between newspapers and presidents are not new. All presidents come to hate news coverage. Thomas Jefferson wrote his famous line about how important a free press was: “And were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter” early in his career when he was ambassador to France. Later, newspapers took a critical stance and Jefferson took a critical tone with them. Early in his presidency, President Bill Clinton reportedly complained to Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, then the publisher of The New York Times, about the paper’s editorials. Sulzberger told the president he considered the editorials “tough love.” “Well, just don’t forget the love part,” the president was said to have

The text of the First Amendment on the facade of the Newseum in Washington, D.C. Photo: Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net), via Wikimedia Commons

A FEW WORDS ABOUT TAKING CARE BY BETTE DEWING

Been in the emergency room with a non-life threatening health disorder? Then you will love how TV reviewer Gary Susman compared it to television ER life and death dramas. “In real life, emergency rooms are places where you wait and wait and wait until your arm falls off.” Hee hee! But it’s not so funny when you’re waiting and waiting and waiting, especially if you don’t have an advocate accompanying you. And to spike such a need that memorable pop song lyric should be changed to “People who HAVE people are the luckiest people in the world.” A gen-

eral need, of course, but to stay in the ER setting, it sure helps to have a concerned person sharing the wait and eventually, the diagnosis/ treatment talk with the doctors. And we wish the doctors didn’t rush back to the computer-patient monitoring system. Seems like too little medical “handson-care” even as more age 65 plus patients are more often alone in these settings. And this brings us to a growing social dilemma. My recent 12-hour ER visit noted those patients who “had people,” but more who did not. I was especially moved by a daughter-in law who sat by her mother-in-law’s gurney waiting hours for test results. But who

will care for her or her husband in old age, because as she said, “We could not have children and did not adopt.” Infinitely more can be said about these ER stays. And other hospital stays — but to stay with patients there who had no one along, brings up the subject of the Elder Orphans program. That really must get out there big time with so many people now without children to help in their elderhood. And a population aging. And it’s a Western world dilemma and I first learned about the Elder Orphans movement from the often inconsequential “As Times Goes By” blog. I learned a foremost proponent of

replied. A decade later, President George W. Bush summoned New York Times top personnel to the Oval Office to try to prevent the paper from publishing an article about the National Security Agency’s monitoring of phone calls without court-approved warrants. Closer to home, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio had the police remove a New York Post reporter for asking a question. The president seems to want to weaken the institution that’s supposed to question authority. The Guardian of London wrote the following in an editorial, after The Capital Gazette’s offices in Maryland were attacked and five people killed: “The plain task of finding out what is true and making it comprehensible and interesting is an honorable trade. Honest journalism is a vital part of any decent society. Fearless journalism is a sign, and a part of the defenses, of any free society. The trade can be grubby and — perish the thought — self-important but it gives us a warped mirror of our flawed selves and what we all learn from it is more important than the flaws. This is particularly true of lo-

overcoming this critical and growing need is Dr. Maria T. Carney, chief of geriatric and palliative medicine at Northwell Health LIJ Health System. Carney has been in the forefront of what is now a Western world kind of tsunami, due to the last half century’s social trend of not having children, very small families and families spread around the globe. (My objection to migration and immigration is that elders are often left behind.) Who will look out for them, or maybe you or me in our “disablement times?” Also having someone you love gives an incentive to live when health is giving out. Carney is the leading expert on all this and her so desperately needed endeavor — a crusade, really, so needs to get out there. Why did it take me so long to learn about it, having been

cal journalism because the local papers write about their readers and not about half-mythical celebrities. They help communities to recognize themselves in their common humanity and, at their best, can help them to come together.... “The real enmity lies not between the press and the people, but the free press (and people) and the powerful.” We don’t like being the focus of the story. Our job, as we see it, is to act as impartial observers. And since we’re committed to reporting on the local issues that most impact our readers’ lives, we try not to whine about our business challenges — newsprint tariffs and the like. But this moment feels different. The president’s constant barrage of attacks on the press feels dangerous. A free and democratic society needs independent watchdogs questioning those in power. In other words: honest, professional journalists reporting the facts. Jeanne Straus is president of Straus News, publisher of this newspaper. She joins 100+ newspapers across the country publishing opinion pieces this week decrying the attacks on journalism and emphasizing the importance of a free press to our democracy.

such a longtime advocate for close ongoing family, friend and neighbor connections? I’ve worked against age segregation in general which defeats or dilutes such help one another interdependence. So do please look into Carney’s endeavors — push your elected officials, community, political, faith, health group leaders to do likewise. Overcome we must this go-it-alone society and make healthful interdependence not independence a primary goal. Everyone learning basic care-giving skills is a must, as is learning communication skills so conﬂicts are worked out. Above all, care-giving must be most highly regarded, honored and even revered. And we must talk about it — talk about it — and act, act and act!

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F Three acres of new parkland will be built in Hudson Yards as part of the second and ďŹ nal phase of the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s master plan for the development project. Photo: Michael Garofalo

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NEW PARKLAND COMING TO HUDSON YARDS DEVELOPMENT Greenway to be extended three blocks north to 39th Street as part of final phase of development project BY MICHAEL GAROFALO

Glass skyscrapers arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the only thing Hudson Yards will see more of in the years to come. Three acres of new green space will be built over a rail cut as part of the massive West Side developmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s next phase, City officials announced on Aug. 8, enlarging an existing park at the site by 75 percent. Hudson Park and Boulevard, as the greenway is known, currently occupies portions of three blocks from West 33rd Street to West 36th Street, between 10th and 11th Avenues. The park will be extended three blocks north to West 39th Street as part of the projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second and final phase, with portions of the new parkland slated to be constructed on top of an Amtrak rail cut that runs below street level. The City Council voted Aug. 8 to support the issuance of up to $500 million in bonds to complete infrastructure projects within the Hudson Yards redevelopment zone, including the park expansion.

Completing this park has been a goal of the West Side community for years. Securing this financing is an important step in ensuring that this neighborhood has essential public green space as Hudson Yards grows.â&#x20AC;?

shown: SkylineÂŽ Gliding Panels & Designer Roller Shades

City Council Speaker Corey Johnson

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Completing this park has been a goal of the West Side community for years,â&#x20AC;? City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, whose district includes Hudson Yards, said in a statement. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Securing this ďŹ nancing is an important step in ensuring that this neighborhood has essential public green space as Hudson Yards grows.â&#x20AC;? The first phase of the park, completed in 2015, is the site of entrances to the new 34th Street-Hudson Yards 7 train stop. It also includes seating, fountains, and a childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s play area, and hosts a weekly farmerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s market. The park, now popular with office workers from recently opened Hudson Yards commercial towers nearby, will eventually also serve the thousands of new residents expected to ďŹ&#x201A;ood the neighborhood as the developmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s residential buildings are completed. The districtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first condominium tower, 15

Hudson Yards, is expected to open by next spring. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In a growing neighborhood like Hudson Yards, three acres of new parks is a vital investment in the wellbeing of residents for generations to come,â&#x20AC;? Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement. Work is still in progress on a public garden area just south of the existing park that will eventually serve as home to Vessel, a Thomas Heatherwick sculpture consisting of dozens of interconnecting stairways and platforms that is intended to serve as a centerpiece for Hudson Yards. The garden will also serve as a connection between the High Line to the south and Hudson Park and Boulevard to the north. Design work on the park expansion project will begin in the fall. Construction is expected to begin in 2020, with a target completion date of 2023.

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Discover the world around the corner. Find community events, gallery openings, book launches and much more: Go to nycnow.com

EDITOR’S PICK

Tue 21 UNEXPECTED PAIRINGS: SAKE & TACOS Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Ave. 7 p.m. $25 212-534-1672. mcny.org What happens when the co-owner of the city’s ﬁrst sake brewery and the owner of Cascalote Latin Bistro join forces? You get a true New York original: a pairing of Japanese and Mexican ﬂavors with a tasting of Brooklyn Kura sake alongside salmon tartare and shrimp tacos from Cascalote, all while the foodies dish on how they authentically update classic recipes.

ACTIVITIES FOR THE FERTILE MIND

thoughtgallery.org NEW YORK CITY

The Presidents’ Book Club

MONDAY, AUGUST 20TH, 7PM SUNY Global Center | 116 E. 55th St. | 212-317-3500 | onedayu.com Award-winning literature professor Joseph Luzzi explores leadership and literature with close looks at six Presidents. Among the insights will be JFK and a favorite spy novelist and Abraham Lincoln’s obsession with William Shakespeare ($95).

Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Deﬁed All Odds and Made Aviation History | Keith O’Brien with Siobhan O’Connor

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22ND, 6:30PM Mid-Manhattan Library | 476 Fifth Ave. | 212-340-0863 | nypl.org Author Keith O’Brien tells the story of the dangerous world of airplane racing in the ’20s and ’30s, and of the remarkable female pilots who took on men—and won (free).

Just Announced | America’s Doctor: Reﬂections on Being the Surgeon General

MONDAY, OCTOBER 15TH, 6PM NY Academy of Medicine | 1216 Fifth Ave. | 212-822-7200 | nyam.org Only 20 men and women have held the post of Surgeon General. Drs. Novello, Elders, Satcher, and Carmona come together to talk about walking a tightrope between politics and public health ($25).

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

Thu 16 Fri 17

Sat 18

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Meet at the Le Pain Quotidien by Sheep Meadow inside Central Park Noon. $15 Take an afternoon mental health break at this class combining breath and movement to cleanse and recharge the body, unlock tension and relieve stress while building core strength. centralpark.com

Central Park, selected participants will be notiﬁed of location details 7 p.m. Free Connect with the natural world, bond with your families and unplug from the diversions of everyday life on a staycation hosted by the Urban Park Rangers. Celebrate the tradition of camping right in your own urban backyard. Participants chosen by lottery; pre-register at nycgovparks.org/reg/rangers. 212-360-1444 nycgovparks.org/events

Czech Center New York 321 East 73rd St. 7 p.m. $12-$15 In this classic of silent ﬁlm, young Johnny Gray (Buster Keaton), after being rejected by the Confederate Army and taken for a coward by his beloved Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack), is given a chance to redeem himself when Yankee spies steal his cherished locomotive. Watch the ﬁlm and listen to Czech musician Karel Růžička & friends perform live on the rooftop. 646-422-3399 new-york.czechcentres.cz

AUGUST 16-22,2018

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Sun 19 Mon 20 Tue 21 â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;THOMAS GAINSBOROUGH: EXPERIMENTS IN DRAWINGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; The Morgan Museum & Library, 225 Madison Ave. 11 a.m. $20/$13 students/ seniors This is the last day to see this impressive exhibition, which brings together more than 20 works that reveal Gainsboroughâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s technical innovations, his mastery of materials, and his development of a new and original mode of drawing. 212-685-0008 themorgan.org/exhibition

ALZHEIMERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S LEGAL AND FINANCIAL SEMINAR CaringKind 360 Lexington Ave. 5:30 p.m. Free, registration required This meeting is designed for family members and friends who are caring for people with Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s or dementia. Learn more about the legal and ďŹ nancial issues associated with planning for the long-term care of a friend or relative living with the disease. caringkindnyc.org

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â&#x2013;˛ SKETCH NIGHT Society of Illustrators 128 East 63rd St. 6:30 p.m. $20 Artists of all skill levels are invited to sketch along to the soulful sounds of jazz vocalist Sari Kessler, who brings her own ďŹ&#x201A;air to the Great American Songbook. Chairs and sketch boards will be provided, but artists should bring their own art materials. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a cocktail bar, too. 212-838-2560 societyillustrators.org

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AUGUST 16-22,2018

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Installation View: “Guggenheim Collection: Brancusi,” Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Photo: David Heald © Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, 2018

PURE SCULPTURE Two small exhibits at MoMA and the Guggenheim showcase groundbreaking works by Brancusi BY VAL CASTRONOVO

Constantin Brancusi. “Bird in Space,” c.1941. Bronze 6’ high, on two-part stone pedestal 17 3/8” high. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William A. M. Burden. © 2018 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris. A version of “Bird in Space” was at the center of an historic trial that began in 1927 and changed the deﬁnition of sculpture in this country. No longer did a bird have to look like bird.

Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957) fit the mold of the bohemian artist: he had a beard, a penchant for baggy clothes, a cluttered studio in Montparnasse and a reputation as a loner. But he broke the mold when it came to his art and changed the definition of sculpture in this country. No longer did a bird have to look like a bird. A judge said as much in 1928, after Brancusi sued the U.S. government and won when his “Bird in Space” was slapped with an import tax from which art was exempt. It was classified as a utilitarian item, like a knife or a fork. “In the meanwhile there has been developing a so-called new school of art, whose exponents attempt to portray abstract ideas rather than imitate natural objects,” the decision read. “Whether or not we are in sympathy with these newer ideas ... we think the facts of their existence and their influence upon the art world as recognized by the courts must be considered.” It didn’t take long for the sculptor to carve a path for himself. After arriving in Paris in 1904 from his native Romania, he apprenticed for a month with Rodin before deciding, “Nothing can grow in the shadow of great trees” and quitting the master’s studio. “Brancusi enormously respected Rodin, but he came to despise those

sculptors who created ‘beefsteak’ art, as he liked to call the figurative works in the traditional style,” Jerome Neutres writes in “Brancusi in New York: 1913-2013.” His pure, reductive sculptures first exploded on the scene here in 1913 at the Armory Show, a global showcase for modern art held in the Armory building at Lexington Avenue and 25th Street. Exhibited alongside the likes of Duchamp, Picasso and Matisse, Brancusi’s five works created a sensation, with one newspaper declaring the alienlooking “Mademoiselle Pogany” a “hard-boiled egg balanced on a cube of sugar.” But critics and the public ultimately had a favorable reaction to the new avant-garde art. The works on display today at both the Museum of Modern Art (11 sculptures, plus photos, drawings and films) and the Guggenheim (6 sculptures, plus photos) have largely been culled from the museums’ collections and inspire true awe, both for their originality and for their striking simplicity. Brancusi was drawn to certain subjects in his practice, producing different iterations of heads (women and newborns, especially), birds, fish and other animals by employing different forms and materials. Some pieces were set atop pedestals that were works of art in their own right and became a part of the sculptures they supported. Other bases “occupied the space between a fully realized sculpture and a bench or a fireplace,” MoMA Associate Curator Paulina Pobocha says. “His pedestals are of a piece with the way he approached his envi-

IF YOU GO WHAT: “Constantin Brancusi Sculpture” WHERE: Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd St. WHEN: through February 18. www.moma.org WHAT: “Guggenheim Collection: Brancusi” WHERE: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Ave. WHEN: Ongoing www.guggenheim.org ronment. In his studio in Paris ... he constructed his entire environment. He built ﬁreplaces, benches and supposedly carved holes in stones to place the speakers for his record player. There was a line where his sculpture also bled into these utilitarian things.” At MoMA, the avian sculptures soar. The stylized “Maiastra” (1910-12) is Brancusi’s first birdthemed work and opens the show. It was inspired by a Romanian folk tale about a magical bird and was likely influenced by Stravinsky’s “The Firebird,” which premiered in Paris in 1910. The regal marble rises seven feet in the air, topping a three-part pedestal that features a double caryatid sandwiched between two limestone blocks. This streamlined bird boasts discernible plumage, swelling breast, legs, neck and open beak, features that are radically pared down in the later bird sculptures, so much so that they virtually disappear (e.g., “Bird in Space,” 1928, c. 1941; “Young Bird,” 1928). But as former MoMA curator Carolyn Lanchner writes in a survey of the museum’s Brancusi holdings, his sculptures are nonetheless overwhelmingly representational and sourced from nature: “Although his work is often described as abstract and geometric, it is neither.... Typically, details such as facial features are rendered with

a minimal, uncannily descriptive inflection of surface.” Pobocha agrees. “In the same way Picasso abstracted from reality but was never a non-figurative, non-objective artist, Brancusi’s art was always based on things in the world.” The sculptor himself said: “What is real is not the external form, but the essence of things ... it is impossible for anyone to express anything essentially real by imitating its external surface.” “The Cock” (1924), another member of MoMA’s aviary, was carved from a single piece of red cherry. Brancusi captured its essence with a dramatic serrated form suggesting a rooster’s comb — and fullthroated crowing. “Mademoiselle Pogany” (version 1, 1913), in gleaming bronze with chic chignon, is a refined bust. A portrait of Hungarian artist Margit Pogany, who studied painting in Paris, it is a tight, contemplative evocation of the subject first carved from memory in marble in 1912 and later cast in bronze. Women, Brancusi believed, moved men to create art. At the Guggenheim, “Muse” (1912) is another gorgeous distillation built from simple forms that convey the essence of female beauty with just hints of facial features and anatomy. It’s an idealized head minus the details. Tradition be damned.

AUGUST 16-22,2018

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RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS

Tired of Hunting for Our Town? Subscribe today to Eastsider News of Your Neighborhood that you can’t get anywhere else

Dining Information, plus

JUL 31 - AUG 7, 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.

Hawa Smoothies & Bubble Tea

1293 1St Ave

Orsay

1057 Lexington Ave

Delizia Ristorante

1374 1 Avenue

Sushi Sasabune New York

401 East 73 Street

Dunkin’ Donuts

411 East 70 Street

Sette Mezzo

969 Lexington Avenue A

Demarchelier Restaurant

50 East 86 Street

Beyoglu

200 East 81 Street

Maz Mezcal

316 East 86 Street

Sushi Para Manhattan

1461 3rd Ave

Grade Pending (37) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Appropriately scaled metal stem-type thermometer or thermocouple not provided or used to evaluate temperatures of potentially hazardous foods during cooking, cooling, reheating and holding. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies or food/refuse/sewageassociated (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. Personal cleanliness inadequate. Outer garment soiled with possible contaminant. Effective hair restraint not worn in an area where food is prepared. Wiping cloths soiled or not stored in sanitizing solution.

La Mia Pizza

1580 1st Ave

Grade Pending (25) 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. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.

Saba’s Pizza

1217 Lexington Ave

Grade Pending (24) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked ﬁsh and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Insufficient or no refrigerated or hot holding equipment to keep potentially hazardous foods at required temperatures.

Pinkberry

1577 2nd Ave

Not Yet Graded (25) Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or nonfood areas. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.

Pig Heaven

1420 3rd Ave

Churutto Ramen & Poke

1534 3rd Ave

Ateaz

1575 2nd Ave

Rathbones Pub

1702 2 Avenue

Malii

2028 2nd Ave

Grade Pending (25) 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 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.

New Level Juice

2244 1st Ave

Yoan Ming Garden

1407 Madison Ave

Grade Pending (27) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Food from unapproved or unknown source or home canned. Reduced oxygen packaged (ROP) fish not frozen before processing; or ROP foods prepared on premises transported to another site. 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.

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Chelsea-based Building for Better spearheads projects through social media to help those in need

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Envision the founder of a nonprofit organization, and you might conjure up an image of a scrawny nonconformist with unkempt hair and a flannel shirt, crunching on granola while simultaneously listening to NPR’s newest segment. But Michael Dean Johnson, founder and CEO of the nonprofit charity Building for Better, and Sean Alexander, one of the organization’s board members, do not fit that portrait. As fitness models and personal trainers with considerable social media presences, they are about as far from being disheveled hippies as possible. Yet despite not fitting the typical dogooder silhouette, they have spearheaded projects both locally and abroad to further the lives of those in need. Alexander, 23, moved to Chelsea from rural western Texas just over two and a half years ago in order to further his career. Johnson, also 23, who is originally from Knoxville, Tennessee and moved to Chelsea just two days after Alexander did, met in New York, and the two have been friends every since. Along with their roommate Nick Sandell, they started the company Model Trainers, a personal training business, one year after arriving in Chelsea. “I think New York is a place where a lot of people come to do more,” said Johnson on his decision to move, “but day in and day out everyone pretty much does the same thing. They go out, get drinks, get dinner, get more drinks, over and over and over again. I wanted to do more than that.” In order to fulfill his goal of “doing more” than the average twenty-year-old in NYC, Johnson, along with Alexander and Kevin Sowyrda, who serves as the organization’s Executive Director, founded Building for Better. According to their website, buildingforbetter.com, the organization is “committed to the belief that the world’s young people merit our protection from justice and harm.”

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LIGHTING Building for Better board member Sean Alexander (far left) and Building for Better founder and CEO Michael Dean Johnson (far right) with Chelsea residents collecting clothing. Photo: Kevin Sowyrda Their mission of helping young people break out of the cycle of poverty has extended past the local NYC community and across the world to the mountainous province of Chiang Rai, Thailand. In March, 2018, Building for Better partnered with the group Friends of Thai Daughters, an orphanage for young girls in Chiang Rai that strives to prevent those staying there from being sold into sex slavery. Additionally, Building for Better collected over 500 pairs of prescription eyeglasses, which were donated by Chelsea residents and Davis Optical, and delivered them to the residents of Chiang Rai. Apart from their international work, Building for Better has executed projects throughout NYC, using Chelsea as their home base, given that it’s the neighborhood where the founders live and work. In March 2018, the organization partnered with Covenant House, a shelter for homeless youth located in Midtown. They raised $10,000 for Covenant House by sleeping on the streets of NYC, and also held their ﬁrst of two clothing drives, donating all that they collected to the shelter. Building for Better’s second clothing drive followed in July, when the organization collected upwards of 350 pounds of clothing. The project began after one of Alexander’s Instagram followers sent him a prepaid debit card to help fund the

organization’s future endeavors, along with a box of brand new clothing. After posting about the event on their social media accounts, Johnson, Alexander, Sandell, and Sowyrda rented two U-Haul vans in order to pick up clothing from the 35 residents of NYC and the surrounding area who offered to donate. “We drove from 9 AM to 5 PM,” Johnson recalled. “We went everywhere from Yonkers, to Jersey City, to Hoboken, to Brooklyn, to Queens, and all through Manhattan.” At the end of one day, four determined people, with the help of their community, were able to donate 40 garbage bags full of clothing to the Lower Manhattan organization New York City Rescue Mission. Social media has proved to be the most effective and efficient way for Johnson (@ michaeldean2.0), Alexander (@seanalexanderr), and Sandell (@nick_sandell), who have 329,000, 75,800 and 396,000 Instagram followers respectively, to publicize information regarding Building for Better. The group is dependent on the NYC community in order to further their humanitarian work, and hope that social media will become an increasingly powerful tool in their mission. “We’re hoping that the more we do, the more people who follow us will want to do,” said Johnson.

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AUGUST 16-22,2018

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Business

RAISING THE GAME ON BACK-TO-SCHOOL SUPPLIES SHOPPING Fall forecast: 4 trends in the paper aisle this year BY ANNE D’INNOCENZIO

The microwave ate my homework? Reusable notebooks where writing disappears with heat are among the basic school supplies raising their game against gadgets like iPads. Also hot in the paper aisle this year: Decorative tape, creative journals and scented pencils in smells like bacon and pickle. “There’s an explosion of innovation and fun” in school supplies, said Scott Bayles, vice president of stationery at Walmart. He noted that people are looking for ways to relieve stress through creative expression, and that’s trickling down to kids.

Companies that make school supplies have figured out how to get parents to spend more by offering innovations on the basics, said Marshal Cohen, chief industry adviser at The NPD Group. At Staples, for example, a pack of 72 basic No. 2 pencils costs about $15.49, or 21 cents each, while a pack of five scented pencils runs $7.99, or $1.60 each. Overall, stores expect a healthy back-to-school shopping season, fueled by a strong economy and high consumer conﬁdence. Deloitte forecasts that back-to-school spending will increase 2.2 percent to $27.6 billion this year, with the average spending per household rising slightly to $510 from $501 last year. That includes $112 on school supplies, up from $104. Here are four trends:

NEW NOTEBOOKS AND PENS The Rocketbook Wave notebook that runs about $25 works like a traditional pen and paper version. But when pages are full, you can scan them with the app and send the contents to the cloud. If you used the Pilot FriXion pen, you can erase the notes by heating it in the microwave, and then reuse it. Using only the Pilot FriXion pen works in a similar way. You can make corrections on a page by heating the ink in the microwave or by rubbing the eraser tip to cause friction. Put it in the freezer and the ink will reappear. Bullet journals that adults have adopted over the past few years are making their way to the backto-school aisles. The notebooks become a mix between a diary, a wish list and a to-do list, and can help keep track of homework, school proj-

ects and school events. Events can be marked by an “O” bullet, while tasks can be a dot.

DECORATIVE TAPE Adhesive tape including Japanese paper called washi has been growing in popularity, and the trend has moved into school supplies. Kids are using the tape to decorate their notebooks, pens and pencils and other items, says Kaleigh Sands, a Staples spokeswoman. “It’s customizable,” Sands said, noting that kids want to personalize their own items.

SCENTS AND COLORS Elmer’s has been expanding beyond its famous white school glue to purple, pink and blue glitter glue and even a slime starter kit. Retailers are also widening their arrays of

WHO LOVES NY? TOURISM Millions on the line in spat over 500plus iconic state highway signs BY CHRIS CAROLA

The big, blue “I Love NY” signs lined up in groups of five along New York state highways and roads are hard to miss. And that, say federal transportation officials, is the problem. The 500-plus tourism signs the state has installed from Long Island to Buffalo are at the center of a years-long standoff between the Federal Highway Administration and Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The agency says the signs don’t meet regulations and pose a potential distraction to drivers traveling at high speeds, and it has demanded that the state remove them by Sept. 30 or lose $14 million in federal highway funding. New York’s transportation department, however, has said the signs don’t pose a safety risk and there’s no evidence they’ve directly contributed to any accidents. Despite Cuomo’s assurances that the tourism campaign had run its course and the signs would be dismantled by the start of the summer vacation season, no signs have been removed. And

If the governor had put his ego aside, adhered to federal highway rules and found some way to compromise before he disregarded the law, we could have avoided this embarrassing debacle.” State Assemblyman Joseph Errigo the ongoing saga has provided plenty of fuel for the governor’s critics. “If the governor had put his ego aside, adhered to federal highway rules and found some way to compromise before he disregarded the law, we could have avoided this embarrassing debacle,” said state Assemblyman Joseph Errigo, a Republican from western New York. Marc Molinaro, the GOP candidate trying to prevent Cuomo from winning a third term in November, called him “Albany’s self-appointed fashionista.” New York newspaper editorial pages have also blasted the signs, with Long Island’s Newsday calling them

“I Love NY” merch. Photo: Random Retail, via flickr “useless eyesores” that “seem to pop up with brutal regularity.” While the “I Love NY” logo (with “Love” depicted as a heart symbol) has been around for decades, Cuomo launched the initiative to put it on highway signs in 2013 as part of a campaign to boost the state’s $100 billion tourism industry. The plan called for erecting five-sign groups, with the first in each series featuring logos for four specific tourism categories under the words “The New York State Experience.” The

next four signs feature those categories: “Attractions,” “History,” “Eat & Drink” and “Recreation.” At the bottom of each sign are the state tourism office’s internet site — iloveny .com — and a promotion for the “I Love NY” app. After the ﬁrst signs were installed, the program was expanded in 2016. Even before then, however, the Federal Highway Administration had told the state the signs didn’t comply with federal standards because they’re too big (sizes range from 6 feet-by-8 feet

scented pencils. Walmart has added such smells as bacon, grass, onion, mud and pickle. Target’s scented pencils feature such smells as cola and jelly doughnut.

LLAMAS VS. UNICORNS Rainbow unicorns are seeing a bit of competition. Llamas are in demand for decoration on backpacks and other school supplies. Dayna Isom Johnson, a trend expert at Etsy, said the search results for unicorns have more than doubled in the first six months of this year compared to the same period last year. They’re still way ahead, but the interest is llamas is growing — search results for them more than tripled in that same time frame. “It might be time for something new to come along,” Johnson added.

to as large as 10 feet-by-15 feet), contain too much information (website addresses are a particular no-no) and don’t provide any navigational information. Despite the Federal Highway Administration’s warning, the Cuomo administration went ahead with the sign project, which cost state taxpayers more than $8 million. That comes out to about $15,500 to make and install each of the 514 signs, many of them posted along the 570-mile (917-kilometer), state-run New York Thruway system. Cuomo, considered a possible candidate for president in 2020, has defended the signs, once calling them “a great, great success for this state.” He considers them a key component in spurring the state’s tourism industry, which the administration says attracted nearly 244 million visitors in 2017, a 4 percent increase over the previous year. State officials have been vague about the signs’ fate but said recently that they “fully expect to have a mutually beneﬁcial agreement in place well before the September deadline.” According to Nancy Grugle, a Colorado-based distracted driving expert, an in-depth analysis of New York’s tourism signs would have to be conducted in order to determine whether they’re a distraction to drivers. But she’s concerned that including a website address and the name of an app may entice some drivers to reach for their cellphones.

AUGUST 16-22,2018

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

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Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

“I WISH SOMEONE WOULD HELP THAT HOMELESS MAN.”

BE THE SOMEONE. Sam New York Cares Volunteer

Every day, we think to ourselves that someone should really help make this city a better place. Visit newyorkcares.org to learn about the countless ways you can volunteer and make a difference in your community.

AUGUST 16-22,2018

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FALL EDUCATION PREVIEW

The ﬁrst membership meeting of the East River Democratic Club, founded in May by defectors from the Lenox Hill Democratic Club, was held July 12 in a co-working space on East 86th Street. Photo: Patrick Bobilin

CLUB CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The resolution’s sponsor was community organizer Patrick Bobilin, the vice president of East River and a former Lenox Hill member who had unsuccessfully challenged City Council Member Ben Kallos in last year’s Democratic primary. A member of the Democratic Socialists of America who is running for a post on the State Democratic Committee, which helps shape the party’s platform, Bobilin sketched out the club’s “material commitment” to the Teachout campaign: A couple of “phone-banking events” to bring out the vote; canvassing to solicit political support simultaneous to efforts on behalf of other endorsed candidates; and the inclusion of Teachout’s name on palm cards to be distributed between now and the September 13 primary. That kind of politicking is the bread-and-butter of the political club, which traditionally gathers signatures to put candidates on the ballot, runs getout-the-vote drives, recruits poll workers for Election Day, selects candidates for the judiciary — and gets its hands dirty in party-building work. The Lenox Hill Democratic Club has done all that since it was founded in 1956 as an antiTammany Hall reform club by volunteers from the East Side

who had worked on Democrat Adlai Stevenson’s losing campaign against President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Among the politicians it helped anoint was Carolyn Maloney, who was ﬁrst elected to the City Council in 1982 before moving up to Congress in 1992. And old-timers still talk about the “Bobby Beer Bash” of October 1964 when Lenox Hill members sipped suds with Robert F. Kennedy, then running for a U.S. Senate seat from New York, in their old clubhouse at 424 East 71st St. Despite an illustrious track record, Lenox Hill, fairly or not, had become known in political circles as an older club with aging members, though it had tried, with modest success, to recruit younger members. In any event, the breaking point came at a contentious Lenox Hill meeting on May 16 at the Church of the Holy Trinity on East 88th Street — the details of which have yet to be fully disclosed on the record by either club — when Josh Kravitz, a co-district leader with Eisner on the East Side, publicly announced he was leaving the club. Several other Lenox Hill members quickly followed. One week later, on May 23, the East River Democratic Club was founded, and its ﬁrst membership meeting was held on July 12. The new club’s 11-member executive committee is almost

entirely made up of defectors from the old club. “We wanted a blank slate,” Kravitz said. “We wanted to start afresh, to start anew, and this was the opportunity to do so.” Saying he wanted to be “diplomatic” and “amp down” tensions, he didn’t elaborate about the flare-up on the record. A district leader is an elected but unpaid volunteer politicalparty position within a state Assembly District, and having district leaders as voting members is deemed critical to a club’s viability. Once both Kravitz and Eisner had exited Lenox Hill, its position was substantially weakened. In fact, the New York County Democratic Committee no longer lists Lenox Hill in its online listing of Democratic clubs, though it has added the East River Democratic Club. “For 62 years, the Lenox Hill Democratic Club has supported reform Democratic values on the Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island, and it will continue to do so,” said Zarah LevinFragasso, the club’s president, in a statement. She did not respond to several follow-up messages asking about her club’s being dropped from the Manhattan Democratic Party’s listing of recognized clubhouses.

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‘HOT TOWN!’ SUMMER(STAGE) IN THE CITY PUBLIC EYE Greenwich Village icons of the 1960s turned the clock back to music that sparked a cultural revolution BY JON FRIEDMAN

Apparently, there was one house rule in effect Sunday night at the free, three-hour pop music extravaganza at SummerStage in Central Park. Frowning was strictly prohibited, as were bad vibes of any kind, at the remarkable “Music + Revolution: Greenwich Village in the 1960s,” hosted by the witty and effervescent Richard Barone. But then, how could anybody resist gaping and gawking in delight at the lineup of Greenwich Village mainstays and 1960s icons? Who could resist singing along with the performers behind evocative song after song — gems and anthems that you hadn’t checked in with since ... who knows when? Think about it. When did you last catch Maria “Midnight at the Oasis” Muldaur? How long has it been since you heard Melanie, the flower-child symbol of the Woodstock festival with the brand new roller skate and key? Jose “Light My Fire” Feliciano, anyone — 50 years after he electrified the 1968 World Series in riot-ravaged Detroit with his unforgettable rendition of the National Anthem? Come on people now, smile on Jesse Colin Young of the Youngbloods. They were all there, sounding terrific, turning the clock back and reminding the audience just how special a time it was when they and many others like them were fixtures on New York’s FM airwaves. If only the late, legendary WNEW-FM disc jockey Pete Fornatale, who tried so hard to introduce new performers to his audience, had lived long enough to see this event, he would have loved it and fit in perfectly. John Sebastian, the leader of the wonderful Lovin’ Spoonful and a Greenwich Village baby himself, opened the show with “Summer in the City” (natch). “Hot town! Summer in the city!” He came on at the end to sing a few Spoonful classics, “Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?” and “Do You Believe in Magic?”

The show stirred happy memories. Led by Happy Traum, the artists paid tribute to legends of folk (Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Tom Paxton, Tim Hardin, Fred Neil). Cindy Lee Berryhill and Syd Straw movingly paid homage to the Velvet Underground, a highly influential New York band. Anthony DeCurtis, the acclaimed rock journalist and Lou Reed biographer, told the audience the essence of Reed and his Velvets, and DeCurtis even got in on the act by convincingly singing a song. Marshall Crenshaw (one of my favorite singer-songwriters) offered a tribute to Buddy Holly, who lived the last months of his much-too-short life in Greenwich Village, by singing Holly’s catchy tune, “Learning the Game.” Jeffrey Gaines, Nellie McKay, the Kennedys and Jenni Muldaur also entertained the audience with their music. If there was a secret hero on stage, it was eighty-seven-year-old David Amram. He played a multitude of instruments and won the crowd over with his wit and talent. I felt a connection to many of the performers. Sebastian was the headliner at the ﬁfth concert I ever saw. I could remember seeing Crenshaw at the Mercury Lounge. My pals and I used to catch Berryhill as she learned her craft on stage in the East Village in the early 1990s. The Kennedys addressed a New School class I took, dealing with appreciating Bob Dylan’s music, about 15 years ago. I’m pretty sure I met one of the performers at a New Year’s Eve party a few yeas back as well. At this kind of 1960s-appreciation event, it would have been easy to see nostalgia cross a line and succumb to self-parody. A cynic might contend that this happened during the group-sing finale of “Get Together,” the Youngbloods’ FM radio mainstay. Maybe it did. But so what? This was a night to celebrate the good vibes of the 1960s and remember the great music of the Greenwich Village stalwarts who, once upon a time, made people think about the world around them. Their music sparked a cultural revolution and made the world a happier place. Jon Friedman, who writes the Public Eye column, is the author of “Forget About Today: Bob Dylan’s Genius for (Re)invention, Shunning the Naysayers, and Creating a Personal Revolution.”

Cindy Lee Berryhill paid homage to the Velvet Underground. Photo: Jon Friedman

John Sebastian on stage. Photo: Jon Friedman

AUGUST 16-22,2018

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