The local paper for the Upper East Side EVOKING CORE EMOTIONS
◄ CITY ARTS, P.14
Looking downtown from the 102nd floor. Photo: Lorraine Duffy Merkl
FEELING HIGH ON MANHATTAN
VIEWS
Reflections on the Empire State Building’s newly renovated Observatory BY LORRAINE DUFFY MERKL
Top of the world, ma. That’s indeed how it feels from the Empire State Building’s newly renovated and just opened 102nd Floor Observatory. I know it sounds hokey, especially coming from a jaded New York native, but the 360 view was enough to make me cry. From 1,224 feet in the sky, 34th Street looks clean and uncrowded; Central Park is a leafy green forest that appears protected by a for-
tress of stately apartment buildings; the downtown view really highlights a mix of high and low structures as well as the very new juxtaposed against the very old New York. Of course, the majestic Statue of Liberty looks the size of a charm that goes on a bracelet, but is still a comfort just the same. And the top of my favorite site — the Chrysler Building, triumphs over the box-like office buildings of midtown. Ordinarily, a rather touristy activity such as this would make me roll my eyes; it’s too reminiscent of the trips they used to take us on in grammar school. But when I heard about the opening, something inside
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OurTownEastSide
OURTOWNNY.COM @OurTownNYC
PET DETECTIVES OF NEW YORK
ANIMALS
When beloved companions disappear in the city, owners can turn to the Animal Care Centers of NYC for help BY EMILY HIGGINBOTHAM
When fashion mogul Tory Burch lost her miniature poodle, Chicken, at East 62nd Street and Park Avenue during a walk last week, she did
what any pet owner would do: employ all of the resources available to her to ensure the pup’s safe return. It just so happens that Burch has quite a few more resources in her dog-finding arsenal than the average New Yorker. In her pursuit, she reached out to her 2.2 million followers on Instagram, pleading for their help to find Chicken — and adding a $10,000 reward
to whomever could reunite Burch and Chicken as a little extra motivator. After three days, Burch returned to Instagram to report that Chicken was home, safe and sound (though, it’s unclear if that reward was ever granted). All’s well that ends well — but for thousands of others who can’t afford to give away a cash prize, being reunited with a pet that’s been lost in
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WEEK OF OCTOBER
17-23 2019
INSIDE
VACCINES: THEY’RE NOT JUST FOR KIDS The shots you might need to protect yourself this winter. p. 2
GRETA THUNBERG AND ‘SHOP STOP’
At Ethical Culture, the young climate activist’s appearance makes a case for hand-me-downs. p. 6
A NEW USE FOR EMPTY STOREFRONTS Religious services in empty shops. p. 8
“Buddy” was found on East 98th St. on October 11th. Photos: Animal Care Centers of NYC
Crime Watch Voices NYC Now City Arts
3 8 10 14
Restaurant Ratings 18 Business 16 Real Estate 17 15 Minutes 21
Jewish women and girls light up the world by lighting the Shabbat and holiday candles Friday Oct. 18, 5:54 pm Shemini Atzeret eve. Sunday Oct. 20, 5:51 pm Simchat Torah eve. Monday Oct. 21, after 6:48 pm from a pre existing flame. For more information visit: www.chabaduppereastside.com
We deliver! Get Our Town Eastsider sent directly to your mailbox for $49 per year. Go to OurTownNY.com or call 212-868-0190
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OCTOBER 17-23, 2019
VACCINES: THEY’RE NOT JUST FOR KIDS HEALTH
The shots you might need to protect yourself this winter BY MAYCE MANSOUR, M.D.
More than 2,000 New Yorkers die every year of the influenza virus and its complications. In the U.S., the flu combined with pneumonia is a top ten cause of death for those aged 65 and older. However, approximately 30 percent of older adults skipped their flu shot last year, even though it generally cuts the risk of infection by about half. Further, many adults are not up to date with their vaccines for diseases like shingles and pneumonia, which increase with age. With that in mind, here is what you need to know about the vaccinations that adults should be up to date on, The Flu Vaccine: The flu is a contagious respiratory illness that can be severe and life threatening, especially for children, older adults, and people who have diabetes or heart disease. Every year, different strains (or types) of the flu virus are common, and the flu vaccine helps re-
duce the health risks of these strains. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) studies the effectiveness rates of flu vaccine, which change from season to season, depending on which strains of the virus are most common. Typically, the flu vaccine reduces the risk of infection by 40-60 percent. And even in years when it is less effective, it can help reduce the severity of the flu if you do catch it. For older adults, physicians typically recommend a higher dose of the vaccine (called “Fluzone High-Dose”). This is because their immune systems do not mount as strong of a response. Based on studies, the high-dose flu vaccine may be approximately 25 percent more effective in preventing the flu in people aged 65 and older, and it has been shown to lower the risk of hospital admissions. Every adult should consider receiving the flu shot early in the season (it is currently widely available), as it takes approximately two weeks to become effective. You can get the flu shot from your local pharmacy or your primary care office. While there are many different options for the flu vaccine, the most important
As we get older, and our immune systems weaken, the shingles virus may become active again” thing is for everyone to be vaccinated, so talk to your doctor about which flu vaccine is best for you.
Does the Flu Vaccine Give You the Flu? There are many myths about the flu vaccine, specifically that the vaccine itself makes you sick with the flu. This is probably based on a number of factors. One is that we all receive the flu vaccine in peak virus season, meaning you are more likely to catch another virus around the time of vaccine administration. Additionally, it is true that any vaccine activates your immune system, the part of your body that fights infections. When the immune system is kicked into high gear, you may feel a little achy and sore, but this is NOT because the flu vaccine has given
Photo: CDC/Judy Schmidt
you the flu. Instead, just as your muscles may get sore after hitting the gym, your immune system may make you sore after being “worked out” by the flu vaccine. Over time, just like exercise makes you stronger, receiving the flu vaccine will make your immune system stronger. Pneumococcal Vaccine: Pneumonia is a lung infection that can lead to symptoms such as cough, fevers and chills, or chest pain. The pneumococcal vaccine helps protect against strep pneumoniae, which is a type of bacteria that is a leading cause of
pneumonia. Possible complications of pneumococcal infection include bacteremia (infection of your blood) and meningitis (infection of your nervous system). There are two types of pneumococcal vaccine: PCV13 (“Prevnar”) and PPSV23 (“Pneumovax”). Since risk for infection with pneumonia goes up with age, it is recommended that all adults 65 and older receive both pneumonia vaccines: first the PCV13, then the PPSV23 a year later. For people with medical conditions that
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VOTE EARLY OR VOTE ON ELECTION DAY. Pick the day that works best for you! From October 26, 2019 to November 3, 2019 you can vote at your assigned early voting poll site.
Visit
nyc.pollsitelocator.com to find your Early Voting poll site or General Election Day poll site location and hours of operation
OCTOBER 17-23, 2019
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CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG STATS FOR THE WEEK
TWO SHOPLIFTING ARRESTS At 8:50 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 24, police said, a man walked into the Duane Reade store at 1191 Second Ave. at 63rd St. carrying large garbage bags, went to a refrigerator, loaded up four cases of beer and fled the store without paying for the beverages, valued at $95.74. Steven Davis,49, was arrested Oct. 3 and charged with petit larceny. On Wednesday night, Oct. 2, police said, a man entered the CVS store at 305 East 86th St., removed items worth $246 from a shelf and left the store without paying. According to police, when a female employee of the store followed the suspect on 86th St., he pulled out a kitchen knife and asked her if she “wanted this problem?” The suspect then got into a vehicle, police said, and drove off but soon had a motor vehicle accident. An officer in a passing police cruiser found the suspect in his crashed vehicle. Upon his arrest, police said, a search uncovered two knives in his waistband along with the missing CVS property in the rear seat of the vehicle. Leonard Wilkins, 56, was arrested on Thursday, Oct. 3, and charged with robbery.
Reported crimes from the 19th precinct for the week ending Oct 6 Week to Date
Year to Date
2019
2018 % Change
2019
2018 % Change
0 1
0 1
n/a 0.0
0 15
1 11
6 0
4 2
50.0 -100.0
116 101
115 112
Grand Larceny
1 33
4 28
-75.0 17.9
153 1,172
176 -13.1 1,066 9.9
Grand Larceny Auto
1
1
0.0
47
55
Murder Rape Robbery Felony Assault Burglary Photo by Tony Webster, via Flickr
GRANDMOTHER SCAMMED Yet another area senior got scammed with one of the notorious “loved one in trouble” phone calls. At 9 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 4, an 81-yearold woman living on East 65th St. received a call from a man who said he was an attorney in Michigan and who claimed that her grandson had been involved in an accident. The woman was instructed to pay a bail bondsman, who actually came to her building. She paid $6,800 to the unknown man, who then took off.
MAN CHARGED IN ATTEMPTED BANK ROBBERY A suspected bank robber was not only thwarted but arrested in the bargain. At 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4, police said, Joseph Rivera, 48, allegedly walked into the Chase Bank at 181 East 90th St., passed a teller a note stating, “Give me all the money. No f*cking games! Now!” The teller did not give the suspect any money, and he fled the location. Police searched the neighborhood with the teller, and she was able to identify the suspect, who was
Be social for
apprehended in the 86th St. Second Ave. subway station. Rivera was arrested and charged with robbery.
SUBWAY PHONE SNATCH Police advise subway riders using expensive cell phones not to sit or stand next to the doors of a train. At 7:50 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4, a 24-yearold woman got on the southbound 6 train at the 116th St. Station and sat next to a door. While the train was in motion she observed two young men enter the train car through the end
-100.0 36.4 0.9 -9.8
-14.5
door. When the train arrived at the 96th St. Station, she told police, one of the men grabbed her phone from her hand, exited the train and ran up the stairs with his companion. The victim gave chase but lost the suspects at the street level near the northwest corner of 96th St. and Lexington Ave. Police searched the neighborhood but did not locate the suspects. The Find my iPhone app also failed to locate the device. The stolen cell was an iPhone XR of no stated value, but Apple sells them online for $599 and up.
life Today’s innovations make staying socially connected easier than ever. Join our community for a special workshop to learn about the latest apps and gadgets and how to grow your social circle.
Make plans to attend our Connecting Through Technology event. Brookdale Battery Park City Independent Living Assistive Living 455 North End Avenue New York, New York 10282
Call today to reserve your seat!
(212) 791-2500 Sunday, October 20 10:30 a.m. ©2019 Brookdale Senior Living Inc. All rights reserved. BROOKDALE SENIOR LIVING and BRINGING NEW LIFE TO SENIOR LIVING are the registered trademarks of Brookdale Senior Living Inc.
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4 POLICE
Useful Contacts
NYPD 19th Precinct
Drawing Board
153 E. 67th St.
212-452-0600
159 E. 85th St. 157 E. 67th St.
311
FIRE FDNY 22 Ladder Co 13 FDNY Engine 39/ Ladder 16 FDNY Engine 53/ Ladder 43 FDNY Engine 44
1836 Third Ave.
311 311
221 E. 75th St.
311
CITY COUNCIL Councilmember Keith Powers Councilmember Ben Kallos
211 E. 43rd St. #1205
212-818-0580
244 E. 93rd St.
212-860-1950
1916 Park Ave. #202
212-828-5829
1850 Second Ave. 360 E. 57th St.
212-490-9535 212-605-0937
1485 York Ave.
212-288-4607
COMMUNITY BOARD 8F LIBRARIES
505 Park Ave. #620
212-758-4340
Yorkville 96th Street 67th Street Webster Library
222 E. 79th St. 112 E. 96th St. 328 E. 67th St. 1465 York Ave.
212-744-5824 212-289-0908 212-734-1717 212-288-5049
100 E. 77th St. 525 E. 68th St.
212-434-2000 212-746-5454
E. 99th St. & Madison Ave. 550 First Ave. 4 Irving Place
212-241-6500 212-263-7300 212-460-4600
STATE LEGISLATORS State Sen. Jose M. Serrano State Senator Liz Krueger Assembly Member Dan Quart Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright
HOSPITALS Lenox Hill NY-Presbyterian/ Weill Cornell Mount Sinai NYU Langone
CON EDISON POST OFFICES US Post Office US Post Office
1283 First Ave. 1617 Third Ave.
212-517-8361 212-369-2747
201 Varick St. 128 East Broadway 93 4th Ave.
212-645-0327 212-267-1543 212-254-1390
POST OFFICES US Post Office US Post Office US Post Office
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BY SUSAN FAIOLA
OCTOBER 17-23, 2019
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 can weaken their immune system, such as diabetes or chronic kidney disease, your doctor may recommend these vaccines at a younger age. PCV13 protects about 75 percent of older adults, and PPSV23 shields up to 85 percent of healthy adults from invasive pneumococcal disease (meaning the type of disease that can lead to serious health effects such as sepsis or respiratory failure). Unfortunately, according to a study published in July 2017 in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, only about 20 percent of older adults receive both vaccines. Shingles Vaccine: Shingles is a painful skin rash that is caused by the same virus responsible for chickenpox, the varicella zoster virus. After patients recover from chickenpox, the varicella virus remains dormant in their nerve cells, where it is typically kept in check by the immune system. As we get older, and our immune systems weaken, the virus may become active again, particularly in the setting of stress or another infection. When the virus reactivates, it leads to a painful inflammatory rash with blisters that forms in a band across the skin. Almost 1 out of 3 Americans will develop shingles. People who have been vaccinated against chickenpox may also get shingles, but it is believed to be less common than in those who had the natural disease. Shingles is less contagious than chickenpox, but can be passed on to another person while the rash is active. Even after shingles passes, long-term pain at the site of the rash, called postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), can linger. Even though the shingles vaccine reduces the risk of getting an active shingles rash or PHN, it is one of the most neglected vaccines. Unfortunately, about twothirds of adults who get shingles did not receive the recommended shingles vaccine. The newer shingles vaccine, called “Shingrix,” is more effective than the old vaccine, called “Zostavax.” The CDC recommends adults 50 and older get the Shingrix vaccine. This vaccine is given in two doses, 2 to 6 months apart.
Mayce Mansour, MD, is an assistant professor of medicine (Division of General Internal Medicine) and Medical Director, Mount Sinai Community Relations Department at The Mount Sinai Hospital.
us to
like
have
something
TDap Vaccine: In adults, TDap, commonly referred to as the tetanus vaccine; actually helps protect again three different types of infections: tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis. Every adult should receive a TDap booster every 10 years. Even though this vaccine has been shown to be safe and effective, surprisingly, according to a 2017 report from the CDC, 43 percent of adults are not up to date on their tetanus shots. Tetanus is a rare but serious infection that is caused by bacteria in the environment, and can lead to severe muscle rigidity; we are at increased risk for this infection if we get cuts or animal bites. Diphtheria is a type of respiratory infection. Pertussis, also known as the whooping cough, is a highly contagious bacterial respiratory-tract infection that can be life threatening for children younger than 12 months. This means that the TDap booster is especially important if you are spending time around infants (and who isn’t, in our city!). Final Thoughts: Everyone should talk to their doctor about which vaccines make the most sense for their health. Particularly in adults 65 and older, who may have a weakened immune system, getting vaccinated against the flu can help protect them from this virus, and may reduce the severity if they do catch the flu. Getting vaccinated against the flu protects not only you, but also the people around you who are more likely to suffer from serious illness, such as children, pregnant women, and elderly adults. Talk with your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist to find out which vaccines are recommended for you. Check out the HealthMap Vaccine Finder, https://vaccinefinder.org, to find all locations near you that offer the vaccine. If you would like to learn more, you can also visit the CDC website, https://www.cdc.gov, for further details about all vaccines.
you You’d
look
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into
VACCINES
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TURN YOUR CONCERN INTO IMPACT. The New York Community Trust can help maximize your charitable giving. Contact Jane at (212) 686-0010 x363 or giving@nyct-cfi.org for a consultation.
www.giveto.nyc
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OCTOBER 17-23, 2019
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Frank E. Campbell The Funeral Chapel continues its commitment to culture, music and the arts!
Trademark double-braids: Greta Thunberg at the European Parliament in April. Photo: European Parliament, via flickr
we are honored to have a site-specific installation by internationally exhibited artist Nestor Topchy
“Eternal Now” you are invited to experience two evenings of unique and compelling art tuesday, october 22
& thursday, october 24
5:00 to 8:00 pm each night
frank e. campbell – the funeral chapel 1076 Madison Avenue at 81st Street, New York, NY 10028
All are welcome to attend and meet the Houston-based artist
212-288-3500 for additional details
light refreshments will be served Frank E. Campbell is proudly owned and operated by a subsidiary of Service Corporation International, 1929 Allen Parkway, Houston, Texas 77019 (713) 522-5141
GRETA THUNBERG AND ‘SHOP STOP’ VIEWPOINT
At Ethical Culture, the young climate activist’s appearance makes a case for hand-medowns BY BECCA TUCKER
We saw Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish environmental activist who has lit the climate resistance on fire, speak at the New York Society for Ethical Culture at the beginning of her whirlwind American tour. My daughter Kai, then 6 (closer by half to Greta’s age than me) and I had nosebleed seats to “The Right to a Future,“ a conversation between Greta and journalist Naomi Klein, author of “On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal.” After the talk, I asked Kai what she thought. “Well,” said Kai, “she wasn’t wearing her hair in braids.” Alas, it was not the world-reshaping reaction I’d experienced, but Kai is a keen observer of fashion. (Maybe her mom usually does
her braids, and Greta was here with her dad, we hypothesized). Following this line of thought, it turns out there’s a lot to be learned from the young activist’s appearance, from her trademark double-braids on down. Greta’s moving fast, about as fast as you can move without setting foot in an airplane. After sailing across the Atlantic to New York, it was onto DC, then back to New York to lead two of the biggest climate marches in world history and to testify at the UN Climate Action Summit. After stops in Montreal (traveling by Arnold Schwarzenegger’s electric car) and Iowa City to strike with students, she plans to make her way to Chile for the Santiago Climate Change Conference. But wherever she goes, whatever world leaders she speaks in front of, she’ll be wearing hand-me-downs. When we saw Greta in person, she was in a black t-shirt that said Galdhøpiggen, which turns out to be the tallest mountain in Norway,
As Greta puts it, in her inimitable understated way: no matter how many times we fail, “there is no reason not to go on. We must push and we must act in every situation.” stretchy pants and blue sneakers. These decidedly unfashionable kicks are the same ones she’s been wearing since she started school-striking outside the Parliament building in Stockholm on Fridays, when she was 15. The same ones she wore to deliver the speech that launched her meteoric rise, when she dressed down the powers of the free market at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January. The ones she refused to change out of when she was photographed for the cover of Time.
Spitting Truth in Clunky
OCTOBER 17-23, 2019
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Free Community Seminar
HEALTHY BRAIN AGING, MEMORY LOSS, AND ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
Greta Thunberg (left) with Naomi Klein at the New York Society for Ethical Culture. Photo: Becca Tucker
Sneakers In addition to going vegan and convincing her family to stop flying, in her private life Greta practices what she calls “shop stop.” It means you don’t buy new things unless you absolutely have to. She wears what she already has, or borrows clothes from her younger sister, her mom or her dad, whoever. It’s so not the point that her lack of fashion quietly makes its own point. Shop stop. It had a name! It’s a philosophy I’ve practiced
for myself for eight or so years. Other than underwear and footwear, I buy myself only secondhand clothes and nab hand-me-overs from relatives and friends. But honestly, I had started to slip, making excuses each time. Like, It’s not worth hurting my image professionally, just for the impact of one outfit. Seeing Greta spit truth in those clunky sneakers and random t-shirt that was slightly too big, I was reignited: to rock my hand-medowns with pride; to keep on doing the little things that so
often seem useless. Because as Greta puts it, in her inimitable understated way: no matter how many times we fail, “there is no reason not to go on. We must push and we must act in every situation.” And as Thoreau warns us: “Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes.” And as the voice on my shoulder adds: “I mean, who am I trying to look good for?”
Becca Tucker is the publisher and editor of Dirt magazine.
More
neighborhood news? neighborhood celebrations? neighborhood opinions? neighborhood ideas? neighborhood feedback? neighborhood concerns? Email us at news@strausnews.com
Wednesday, October 30, 2019 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm NYU Langone Health 550 First Avenue, Alumni Hall B, New York, NY 10016
Please join us for our annual community seminar, presented by the NYU Langone Health Alzheimer’s Disease Center and the Center for Cognitive Neurology, where our clinicians will discuss insights gathered from their latest research. Alzheimer’s disease: What we have learned from epidemiological studies like the one that you are part of Ricardo Osorio, MD Director, Center for Sleep and Brain Health Body and mind: The impact of healthy living on the biology of memory Arjun Masurkar, MD, PhD Neurologist, Clinical Core Director, Alzheimer’s Disease Center New directions for developing effective preventative measures and treatments for Alzheimer’s Disease Thomas Wisniewski, MD Director, Alzheimer’s Disease Center To RSVP, e-mail info.aging@nyumc.org or visit https://is.gd/CCN_EVENTS_RSVP Refreshments will be served.
Funded by the National Institute of Aging: AG08051
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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.
THE TIMES SCORES WITH THE DAILY PUBLIC EYE
BY JON FRIEDMAN
As the likable host of The New York Times’ wildly popular podcast The Daily, Michael Barbaro has two accomplishments to his credit. First, he has contributed mightily to the parent New York Times Co.’s goal of making its flagship newspaper relevant. In a media ecosystem that has become increasingly fractured by the likes of Vice, Vox, BuzzFeed and other internet properties – not to forget Facebook, Apple and Google – The Grey Lady continues to showcase the value of an enduring brand name. And, not insignificantly, by the way, Barbaro has also become an improbable cult hero to the millions of people who tune in on a regular basis. To put this all into perspective, The Times Co. has received its fair share of criticism for failing, earlier in
this century, to figure out how to maximize its world-class name. Such hopeful innovations as The Times Select, a subscription model, fizzled and was eventually terminated unsatisfactorily. But The Daily – and, to a degree, the admired television program, The Weekly – has shown that the media goliath understands how to innovate.
A Must-Listen Destination The Daily was an instant commercial hit. Launched in January 2017, its listener ranks swelled to 3.8 million by that August. (I emailed the Times to inquire about a current user figure, but didn’t hear back in time to include the data here). Further, The Daily has attained that elusive goal - creating a buzz in the cluttered genre of podcasts. Media people often quote from it and the vehicle has become a must-listen destination for serious news junkies and not only because it is free for
Times subscribers. The Daily’s review of China’s recent dispute with the NBA was a primer in what scholars like to call explanatory journalism. Barbaro and his guest, fellow Timesman Jim Yardley, did a first-rate job of explaining the nuances of China’s discontent and the hapless/impossible position of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who found himself torn between the lure of China’s gargantuan financial potential and his free-speech instincts. Yardley also contributed a nifty bit of historical perspective about China and the sport of basketball. This segment was a model for anyone interested in doing podcasts. The format for The Daily is simple and effective. It focuses on one major issue of the day – ranging from President Trump’s immigration policy to the demonstrations roiling Hong Kong to the #metoo movement to the Times’ brilliant series on slav-
BY ARLENE KAYATT
Faith in pop ups - The empty store syndrome seems to be having some impact on religion and religious services. In the past two years or so, I’ve observed two empty storefronts being occupied for religious purposes. About a year or so ago, the empty storefront on Third Ave. and East 71st St. (previously Grace’s Marketplace) had Passover serv-
ices. And what was once a 7/11 store on Grand St. is now home to Chabad of the Lower East Side, which has regularly scheduled religious and Jewish holiday observances and this year they had Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services. In the now-gone 7/11, Grand St. was back to its roots as Rabbi Yisroel Stone blew the shofar in the shul, and several Target shoppers (there’s now a Target on the opposite side of the street) stood outside of the storefront shul to hear the sound of the shofar. An interesting 21st century
Voices
ery. Barbaro invites a reporter (sometimes two) to discuss how (s)he covered the story. Each installment tends to last roughly 25 minutes.
The Savvy Point Guard At the center of the hubbub is Barbaro, a Times reporterturned-host. He is the ideal person for the job. Like a savvy point guard on a championship basketball team, Barbaro sees his primary responsibility as making sure that his gifted teammates get their share of shots. Barbaro doesn’t seem to worry about hogging the spotlight and unlike, say, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews – who appears to think he is getting paid by the word – does not talk over his guests. He is comfortable in his role. His folksy interviewing style and natural empathy may remind some of CNN’s Anderson Cooper, who has made a living out of providing the kind of emotional depth that CNN viewers identify with.
EMPTY STOREFRONTS FILLED BY THE FAITHFUL EAST SIDE OBSERVER
OCTOBER 17-23, 2019
sight and sound experience on the LES. Stopless on Fifth Avenue - Everybody’s lauding 14th St. now that it’s virtually a buses-only route. But who gets to pick where the bus stops are placed? Distance between stops has to be a factor in locating them. While the westbound M14 has a stop at the northwest corner of Fifth Ave., there’s no stop near Fifth Ave.on the eastbound route between West 14th and Sixth Ave and East 14th and University Place - and that’s a big big span and a
Photo: Sam Chills via Flickr
The Daily’s devoted flock could start a drinking game based on how many times per show Barbaro will mutter or murmur or express surprise in a quick-hitting one-syllable utterance (or begin a sentence with the word “So,” which is part of his informal, breezy style). Barbaro’s winning quirks have become a big part of his popularity.
A Single Caveat It’s clear that The Times Co.values The Daily as a business property. Still, I could live without having Daily staffers and notable Times jour-
long, long walk between stops. And lest we forget - taxis and Ubers are no longer an option. Another bus stop story - This one’s uptown at Lexington Ave. between 88th and 89th, where I’ve bemoaned that the bus timer hasn’t been operational since it was put in place about two years ago. Riders relied on apps or the printed M102 and M103 schedules posted at the bus stop. Then one day the schedules were there no more. Gone. Removed - leaving the app-less with no clue as to when the next bus would arrive and suffering pangs of agita as caravans of Limited and Not-in-Service buses passed them by. Then it happened. The timer
nalists shill during broadcasts for the home team by imploring listeners to become Times subscribers. The line between class and crass blurs and I cringe every time I hear an employee sound the bugle call for The Times on The Daily. I also hope that eventually we can see a Daily-lite podcast, based on lighter fare than The Daily serves up. The Times has the mojo on its side – a successful format, a proven track record, a loyal audience and a powerful staff. The Times, once unable to master the new media, has conquered the 21st century.
worked. But only for less than a week. Back to agita. Marching orders - Nancy Pelosi may have her own ideas about impeaching President Trump, but the Manhattan Republican Party is not taking any chances and is covering its bases and taking the matter seriously. Women for America First has scheduled a “Stop Impeachment Now!” march for Trump, and the Manhattan GOPers are traveling to the U.S. Capitol, Washington, DC, on October 17th @ 10 a.m., to join other Trump supporters from around the country and make themselves seen and heard.
President & Publisher, Jeanne Straus nyoffice@strausnews.com
STRAUS MEDIA your neighborhood news source nyoffice@strausnews.com 212-868-0190
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Associate Publishers Seth L. Miller, Ceil Ainsworth Regional Sales Manager Tania Cade
Account Executives Fred Almonte, David Dallon Director of Partnership Development Barry Lewis
Editor-In-Chief Alexis Gelber Deputy Editor David Noonan
Senior Reporter Doug Feiden Staff Reporter Emily Higginbotham
Director of Digital Pete Pinto Director of Design Christina Scotti
OCTOBER 17-23, 2019
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Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com
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OCTOBER 17-23,2019
Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com
Calendar NYCNOW
KINDERGARTEN OPEN HOUSE OCTOBER 28TH 7-9 PM
Discover the world around the corner. Find community events, gallery openings, book launches and much more: Go to nycnow.com
EDITOR’S PICK
Sat 19 HALLOWEEN MURDER MYSTERY
REGISTER OR SCHEDULE A TOUR TODAY! admissions@schechter manhattan.org
Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden 421 East 61st St 6:15 and 7:30 p.m. $25 mvhm.org 212-838-6878 Take part in a murder mystery game, loosely based on an actual newspaper account of an unidentified skeleton discovered at the Mount Vernon Hotel. Who was killed? By whom? With what? Collaborate with others or go it alone, and find out how quickly you can uncover the truth.
VISIT US AT SCHECHTERMANHATTAN.ORG TO LEARN MORE
Thu 17
Fri 18
Sat 19
ORFEO ED EURIDICE
BEERS FOR FEARS: RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985)
FALL WALK▲
Saint Jean Baptiste Church 184 East 76th St 8:00 p.m. $30 Mannes Opera offers an elegant and heartrending telling of Gluck’s 1762 masterpiece in the beautiful sanctuary of St. Jean Baptiste Church. Orfeo, consumed with grief at the death of his beloved Euridice journeys into the world of the dead to beg for her return. events.newschool.edu 212-288-5082
Society of Illustrators 128 East 63rd St 6:30 p.m. $5 When two bumbling employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas into the air, the vapors cause the dead to rise again as zombies. Free popcorn and happy hour prices all night! As always, there will be trivia and original art prizes. societyillustrators.org 212-838-2560
Randall’s Island Touchdown of 103rd St Footbridge 2:00 p.m. Free The beautiful waterfront pathways of Randall’s Island Park provide a lovely setting for taking in the sights, smells, and feelings of fall. Walk through gardens, woodland trails, and wetlands to see the colorful changes happening on the Island. randallsisland.org 212-830-77220
OCTOBER 17-23,2019
Sun 20
Mon 21
Tue 22
A TRIBUTE TO FELIX MENDELSSOHN
▲ RESPONDING TO WRIGHT: ARCHITECTS DESIGN FOR THE GUGGENHEIM
THE PLATEAU WITH MAGGIE PAXSON
Madison Ave Presbyterian Church 921 Madison Ave 3:00 p.m. $25 Now celebrating its 20th anniversary, the Mannes Sounds festival includes more than 20 events each year, performed by gifted young student artists, distinguished faculty members, and renowned guests at prestigious New York City concert venues and cultural institutions. events.newschool.edu 212-288-5082
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Peter B. Lewis Theater at the Guggenheim 1071 Fifth Ave 6:30 p.m. $25 Many esteemed architects have interpreted and engaged the Guggenheim’s rotunda. For the 60th anniversary, three of them, Lise Anne Couture, Hani Rashid, and Meejin Yoon, discuss their bold, site-specific exhibition design interventions that amplified the singularity of Wright’s architectural icon. guggenheim.org 212-423-3500
Albertine Books 972 Fifth Ave 6:30 p.m. Free Join Maggie Paxson for a musical evening on the occasion of the publication of “The Plateau”. Paxson will be telling stories from her new book and performing songs from “The Bomb Shelter Cafe” in English, French and Yiddish from the World War II era. albertine.com 212-650–0070
ACTIVITIES FOR THE FERTILE MIND
thoughtgallery.org NEW YORK CITY
Andrew Marantz on the Failures of Silicon Valley and the Rise of the Alt-Right
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22ND, 6PM
Wed 23
Company HQ | 335 Madison Ave., 3rd Fl. | company.co Andrew Marantz (Antisocial: Online Extremists, Techno-Utopians, and the Hijacking of the American Conversation) talks about solutions to the unintended consequences of tech ($15).
◄ MINDFUL AWARENESS: A MEDITATION PROGRAM
Panel Discussion—Invisible Threats: Human Rights, The Environment, and Art
Asia Society New York 725 Park Ave 12:30 p.m. $10 Need a little zen in your life? Try this weekly 30-minute mindful awareness meditation session, led by Archimedes Bibiano. Mindfulness is scientifically supported as a means to reduce stress, boost the immune system, improve attention, and promote wellbeing. asiasociety.org 212-288-6400
Americas Society | 680 Park Ave. | 212-628-3200 | as-coa.org
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22ND, 6:30PM Accompanying the exhibition Alice Miceli: Projeto Chernobyl, catch a panel of art professionals and academics as they look at the way imperceptibility heightened Chernobyl’s human costs (free).
Just Announced | Anita Hill: Speaking Truth to Power
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5TH, 8PM Temple Emanu-El | 1 E. 65th St. | 888-718-4253 | emanuelnyc.org Anita Hill’s lifelong battle against discrimination, and for racial and gender equality, has taken on new urgency in the context of the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings and the #MeToo movement. Find Hill in conversation with New York Times columnist Gail Collins ($40).
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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OCTOBER 17-23, 2019
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EVOKING CORE EMOTIONS form of traditional Japanese puppetry that dates back to the early 17th century – on Saturday October 19th. Its artistic director and creator is Hiroshi Sugimoto, the renowned photographer, sculptor and architect. To acquaint audiences with the ideas behind bunraku, Mr. Sugimoto discussed his work in an interview.
Artist Hiroshi Sugimoto explains the unique power of traditional Japanese puppetry to capture the pain and beauty of human experience
BY MARY GREGORY
Lincoln Center’s White Light Festival is celebrating its 10th anniversary, once again bringing cross-cultural, multidisciplinary performing artists together from around the world. This year’s program runs from October 19th to November 24th. Roots in spirituality link the performances, and their diversity is dazzling. Highlights include “DruidShakespeare: Richard III” from Ireland’s Druid theater company; Catholic/Celtic inspired choral works by Scottish composer James MacMillan; a tenth anniversary comeback of “The Manganiyar Seduction” performed by Sufi musicians from Northwest India; and
You’re renowned for your photography, sculpture, and architecture. How does Sugimoto “Bunraku Sonezaki Shinju” fit in with your other artistic practices? In addition to theater, Hiroshi Sugimoto is known for his photography, sculpture and architecture. Photo: Courtesy of Hiroshi Sugimoto
Wynton Marsalis’ “The Abyssinian Mass” in which Marsalis is joined by The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. The festival opens with the US premiere of “Sugimoto Bunraku Sonezaki Shinju” – a
With stage performances, there’s a very specific sense of situation and place that’s created moment by moment; plus, no two performances are ever quite the same because it’s live. The human urge to see performance in a particular place and to be part of that experience is a strong one. I’ve done a certain amount of research into the mentality of ancient peoples. Theater as an art form performs a key spiritual function for mankind. That’s why it’s become a core part of my work.
How do the three parts of the performance - the puppets, the chanting of the actors, and the shamisen become one work of art?
Puppets from “Sugimoto Bunraku Sonezaki Shinju” tell the tale of “The Love Suicides at Sonezaki” opening the season for Lincoln Center’s 10th anniversary White Light Festival. Photo: ©Hiroshi Sugimoto/ Courtesy of Odawara Art Foundation
There are all kinds of puppet theater around the world, but the majority is directed at children. By contrast, it’s probably fair to describe bunraku as theater for adults. “The Love Suicides” belongs to the sewamono genre—realistic non-period dramas dealing with the lives of ordinary people—and is the story of a messy, doomed love affair between a man and a woman.
But bunraku is about more than just enjoying a story; it also attaches a lot of weight to describing the essential emotions, or j , that are at work. It’s structured so that the music of the shamisen and the movements of the puppets play a supporting role, enabling the bunraku narrator to recount and communicate those core emotions. In structural terms, one can see the shamisen music and the movements of the puppets almost as subtitles which exist to serve and reinforce the actor’s narration. I think you will also be quite startled by the extraordinary quality of the craftsmanship that’s gone into making the stage, the puppets, the whole layout. Japanese aesthetics is multi-layered; it works across many levels.
Time and infinity come up frequently in your work. Is that why you selected “The Love Suicides at Sonezaki?” “There can be no answer because there is no question” (Marcel Duchamp)
Why is it important to you to revive or continue this art form from the past? I have no ambition to do anything quite as grandiose as that! The Sugimoto Bunraku started because I was keen to try to recreate the world of “The Love Suicides at Sonezaki” as it was back in the Edo Period. In those days, the performances—which were held any time of the day up until the twilight hours— made use of natural light from the outside, so there was no artificial lighting of any kind. Without wanting to go full Junichiro Tanizaki “In Praise of Shadows,” [an early 20th century treatise on Japanese aesthetics] – try to
IF YOU GO
What: “Sugimoto Bunraku Sonezaki Shinju: The Love Suicides at Sonezaki” Where: Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall When: October 19–22 lincolncenter.org/whitelight-festival recreate an authentic Edo Period atmosphere on stage, and what you get is a crepuscular staging which is wrapped in natural light and shadows. Darkness is important for Sugimoto Bunraku. That’s when you get to catch glimpses of the roots and origins of things. Through the darkness, you can see the silhouettes of the kuroko puppeteers dressed head-to-toe in black. They resemble a group of figures in sculpture and there is something balletic about their movements. For the staging, I actually urged the puppeteers to try to feel as if they were dancing. The idea was that not just the puppets but the puppeteers should also provide tableaux of human figures that moved beautifully. Do something old with complete fidelity and you end up revealing something completely new. That is what Sugimoto Bunraku is doing.
What do you hope the audience will experience while they are at the performance? And what do you hope stays with the audience after they leave? The strongest response we got when the show was performed in Paris in 2013 was in Le Monde … The headline was “Hiroshi Sugimoto brings wooden puppets to life.” Now if people are prepared to see mere wooden puppets as living things, that’s nothing to do with the puppets, it’s because people are naturally inclined to project their own emotions onto things and get emotionally involved and cry. Another newspaper review proposed that the perform-
Puppets from “Sugimoto Bunraku Sonezaki Shinju” tell the tale of “The Love Suicides at Sonezaki” Photo: ©Hiroshi Sugimoto/ Courtesy of Odawara Art Foundation.
ance forced the viewer to question the what and the why of human feeling. In that sense, bunraku is an extraordinary form of theater. I want people to experience that in person.
How does that tragic story of “The Love Suicides” fit with the spiritual direction of the White Light Festival? This play is often compared with “Romeo and Juliet,” but Romeo and Juliet don’t commit suicide because of a love pact. In their case, it’s more like death by misapprehension or simple mistake. Romeo jumps to the wrong conclusion and takes his own life … I expect people will be drawn to the idea of love suicide, where death becomes the last and only way for the lovers to show each other how they really feel, and driven to tears. Bunraku has its own unusual world view in which something spiritual that lies beyond the bounds of religion can manifest itself. Interview has been edited for length and clarity.
OCTOBER 17-23, 2019
FEELING HIGH ON MANHATTAN CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 told me I better hightail it down Fifth Avenue to get my $58 ticket to a new perspective on NYC, because my current one from the ground was making me fall out of love with the city that’s always been a part of my soul.
Rats, Scaffolds and Jackhammers During the summer, my husband Neil, who often walks home from work, would alert me to his nightly rat sightings, the way my daughter Meg announces when she spots a celebrity. Empty storefronts, which have been on parade for a number of years now, have become even more prevalent, as well as depression-inducing. And don’t get me started on scaffolding. There’s a set up on almost every block, turning even a leisurely stroll into an Olympic event. Traffic is so bad city trans-
15
Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com portation officials had to close off 14th Street to cars. My anxieties about the state of my hometown had begun to even affect my sleep. I often dream of men in yellow hard hats. Wait, did I say dream? I meant have nightmares about them. They’re everywhere. On my Upper East Side block alone, there are high-rises going up across the street as well as next door to me. The song of summer was played by a jackhammer, and it seems I’ll have that tune in my head well through fall. Yes, life here on our 22.7 square miles of earth was beginning to look pretty bleak to me, so I truly needed to either move or find a way to reframe my POV.
Place in Pop Culture The enclosed 102nd story features floor to ceiling windows, whereas the 86th floor main deck is outdoors and views are somewhat obstructed by fencing. If you think that when you’re that high up the 16-story difference from one observatory to the next can’t matter much,
you’d be wrong. Honestly, I could have stayed up there all day, but space is limited and others had to get their turn. On the way down, the elevator opens conveniently into the newly remodeled gift shop located on the second floor, which also houses the brand new interactive museum where you journey from the building’s construction roots to its current place in pop culture, replete with King Kong. Because guests enter the Visitors Center on 34th Street, the landmark Art Deco lobby is now the finale to the Empire State Building experience, where the main wall displays an inlaid depiction of the structure itself, beams of light radiating from the mast. New York can be a hard place to live, and can bring down even those of us who come out of the womb hailing a taxi. Thanks to a New York icon, I got to feel high on Manhattan once again. Lorraine Duffy Merkl is the author of the novels “Fat Chick” and “Back to Work She Goes.”
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OCTOBER 17-23, 2019
Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com
Business
GET READY TO EAT IN CHELSEA A fall restaurant resurgence features eateries helmed by celebrity chefs and a host ofnewbies
BY DEBORAH FENKER
Chelsea lost a slew of its iconic eateries this year, like much of the city. We bid farewell to Rouge Tomate, Trestle on Tenth, Rocking Horse, the Red Cat and Half King. But in their stead comes a new surge of eateries this fall, comprised of chefs both familiar and foreign, of verified celebrity and those hungry to establish their New York cred. The restaurant revival comes much to the neighborhood’s delight: we Chelseans are a hungry lot. A few of the newbies are already up and running, like Il Fiorista in the garden district, whose mission statement is to celebrate the many ways we can incorporate flowers into our lives. Husband and wife team Mario and Alessandra De Benedetti from Milan collaborated with chef Garrison Price to create a Mediterranean
menu in an airy, clean dining space, which also serves as a flower shop under the direction of Mindy Cardozo. She sources her blooms from Allora and Treadlight farms upstate - diners can bring home a souvenir bouquet. Xu’s Public House by Luis Shen provides “nouvelle Shanghai” cuisine to the Union Square area, an area bereft of solid Chinese options. The prices are notably higher than your average noodle joint, but Xu’s is sourcing premium ingredients, and the bill can also be offset by their nocorkage BYOB policy, in lieu of a liquor license. For Italian, the Moxy Hotel has launched Feroce, by Francesco Panella of the famed Antica Pesa in Rome and Brooklyn in conjunction with Tao Group Hospitality. The multi-faceted Italian destination offers both indoor and outdoor dining, classic and innovative recipes, an elegant ristorante as well as a more casual wood-burning pizza café complete with a bocce table.
In other hotel news, the Maritime has opened Catch Steak under the direction of meat maestro Michael Vignola, putting a 2020 spin on the classic steakhouse, meticulously sourced from purveyors from Idaho and Nebraska to Sendai Miyagi and Hokkaido. The sprawling menu caters to pretty much any appetite, with impeccable seafood and thoughtful side dishes, and even several vegan options. For a kinetic, New American bar and restaurant, Worthwild offers “sharable American small plates, craft beer and great cocktails for the adventurous diner.” Just up the block, Tarek Daka opened up Qanoon, stemming from two successful Italian restaurants in the area. This labor of love reconnects him with his heritage, offering modern Middle Eastern cuisine inspired by flavors and memories from Palestine. L’Atelier has expanded its reach beyond its two-Michelin-starred fine dining salon to introduce Le Club, a high-
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Il Fiorista on West 26th St., between Fifth and Sixth Aves. Photo: Deborah Fenker
energy lounge with a creative menu from Atelier’s chef, Christophe Bellanca. He will utilize the same exceptional ingredients sourced for L’Atelier, but in a vibier presentation in keeping with the neighborhood, and also a lower price point. Think duck meatballs, a pizza-esque tarte flambé, lobster with vanilla and turmeric, and a cotton candy cloud for dessert. Among places yet to open, the most anticipated might be Portale, from renowned Gotham Bar & Grill chef Alfred Portale. Look forward to an abundance of market vegetables, grilled meats and fish, and grains milled in-house for bread, polenta and pasta. Just as noteworthy is Danny Abrams, a partner with Jimmy Bradley from the Red Cat, who will revive the address with a Mermaid Inn alongside partner Cindy Smith. Power couple Executive Chef Leah Cohen and restaurateur Benjamin Byruch of the LES hotspot Pig & Khao will launch Piggyback NYC, which will “highlight familiar cuisine with nuances of Asian flavors, influences and techniques”
with prices starting at $12. Expect traditional offerings such as the popular Ch Cá Lã V ng noodle dish and trendier options like shrimp toast with Japanese seasonings, in a kitschy, eclectic dining room decorated with souvenirs from their travels through Southeast Asia. The proximity to Madison Square Garden (and subsequent lack of decent dining options in the area) is a plus. Beloved Cookshop owners Vicki Freeman, Marc Meyer and Chris Paraskevaides will take over the old Co. pizza restaurant for a spinoff of another of their restaurants, Shuka, to be called Shukette. They are planning a lively destination helmed by Ayesha Nurdjaja, who will create a Middle Eastern menu featuring flavorful dips, mezze and Levantine specialties cooked on a charcoal grill. Chelsea Market will debut Di Martino Pasta Bar’s first U.S. iteration of its popular Neapolitan concept, with 120-plus pasta shapes and a seasonal rotation of sauces, as well as wine and cocktails, and coffee and Italian pastries at break-
fast. Just south of there, father and son team Marc and Larry Forgione will transform the old Spice Market space into Davide, projected to be a Mediterranean-Italian spot with an open kitchen, communal table and private garden. Two mysteries are LouLou, which covered the windows of the old Nisos space with its signage, but hasn’t displayed much activity since. The Fat Radish on the Lower East Side purportedly took over the old Trestle on Tenth space, but has yet to show any signs of life. Finishing things off on a sweet note, Christina Tosi is expanding her Milk Bar empire to the iconic Ace Hotel, taking over the old John Dory space to create her first flagship store, the biggest to date. It is being billed as a “chooseyour-own adventure space designed to feed your creativity and your sweet tooth,” an exciting addition to what has become an alleyway of healthy and high-end. While Chelsea has lost many beloved eateries, we have a lot to look forward to: stay hungry.
OCTOBER 17-23, 2019
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OCTOBER 17-23, 2019
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RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS
Thai @ Lex
1244 Lexington Ave
Not Yet Graded (81) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or nonfood areas. Food contact surface improperly constructed or located. Unacceptable material used. 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.
Barking Dog
1678 3Rd Ave
Grade Pending (21) Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewage-associated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.
A-Jiao Sichuan Chinese
1817 2Nd Ave
A
Yummy City
1557 Lexington Ave
A
Lechonera Tropical & Grill
172 East 103 Street A
Sidewalk Tacos
2163 2Nd Ave
A
Pro Thai
1575 Lexington Ave
Grade Pending (23) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or nonfood areas. Personal cleanliness inadequate. Outer garment soiled with possible contaminant. Effective hair restraint not worn in an area where food is prepared
Bardolino Pizza
1505 Lexington Ave
Grade Pending (29) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations. Live roaches 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.
OCTOBER 2 - 8, 2019 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. Pret A Manger
1320 York Ave
A
Sweetgreen
1500 3Rd Ave
A
Orens Coffee
1574 1St Ave
A
83 Asian
1605 2Nd Ave
Not Yet Graded (53) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. 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. Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Insufficient or no refrigerated or hot holding equipment to keep potentially hazardous foods at required temperatures. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
Piazza Pizza & Grill
Mexicue
Hummus Kitchen
1530 3 Avenue
1429 3Rd Ave
1613 2Nd Ave
Grade Pending (20) 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. 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. Grade Pending (24) Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, cross-contaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan. Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewage-associated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred. Closed (35) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Live roaches 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.
Taco Bell
1258 Lexington Ave
A
Gracie’s On 2nd
300 E 86Th St
A
Cascabel Taqueria
1633 2Nd Ave
Not Yet Graded (21) 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.
La Amistad Pizzeria 2067 2nd Ave & Grill
Grade Pending (27) 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. 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.
Thai Peppercorn
1406 Madison Ave
Grade Pending (2)
The Jaguar Restaurant
1735 Lexington Avenue
Grade Pending (21) Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewage-associated fli
T & J Jamaican Flava
1257 Park Ave
A
Eddie’s Ny Deli & Pizza
184 E 116Th St
Grade Pending (27) 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. 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.
OCTOBER 17-23, 2019
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[A] cat had been missing for three months and somehow made it from Yonkers to the Bronx!”
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“Toby” was found on October 14th on upper Madison Ave .
PET DETECTIVES
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
New York might not be as simple. Luckily, Animal Care Centers of New York City (ACC) are working to return the 24,000 pets they take in evers year with their owners, resulting in about 150 reunions a month. “We’ve had some really amazing reunifications,” said Summer Dolder, who manages the shelter’s operations.
Lost and Found Sites The ACC — with a care center in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island — takes all kinds of animals, including dogs, cats, reptiles, rabbits and birds, and actively works to find the animals’ owners, both by posting a profile of the animal on their site and searching other lost and found sites for posts from owners. Animals that are found in Queens and the Bronx are funneled into the centers in the other boroughs. Some of the animals that have been brought to the care centers recently include a female Siberian Husky, a brown, short-haired Tabby cat found near Central Park, and a gray, twoyear-old bunny rabbit being held in Brooklyn. But the window for returning these pets to their owners is rather narrow, just 72 hours. At that point, the care centers start the process to re-home the animals. That’s why Dolder says owners need to act quickly, by both immediately citing their pet as lost and circulating flyers with color photos around the owner’s neighborhood and near the location where the pet got away from its owner. Owners should also physically come into each care center to see if someone has brought in their pet.
Miraculous Reunifications “Lots of times people become overwhelmed,’’ Dolder said. But Dolder also said two good preventative measures for owners
to take so that their animal is easier to find and to identify, would be to keep their pets collared with up-to-date contact information on their tags and to have a veterinarian place a microchip in their pets. Dolder and her team have witnessed a few rather miraculous reunifications between pet and owner. “We had a cat come in as a stray. It was just a black cat, just like a regular old cat. Nothing really distinguishing about it,” Dolder said. “We immediately started doing our lost and found effort.” During their search, they came across a three-moth-old post about a black cat that had been lost in Yonkers. But the cat at their care center had been found in the Bronx. “We were like, ‘Oh, can it actually be this tabby that’s been missing for like three months?’” she said. “And we call the authors of the post and they came all the way down, and it ended up being their cat. This cat had been missing for three months and somehow made it from Yonkers to the Bronx!” Sometimes Dolder’s team comes across animals that have been missing for years. “We had a dog brought in with a microchip and we traced the microchip,” Dolder said. “We call the owner and the owner says, ‘I lost that dog five years ago.’” In these cases, Dolder said, it’s likely that a Good Samaritan had taken in the animal and cared for it, but eventually lost it as well. “That person probably never knew the pet had a microchip,” Dolder said. “And while we can’t return it to the most recent owner, because we don’t know who that is, we can reunite a pet with their original owner.” Let that bring peace of mind to New Yorkers who don’t have millions of social media followers or thousands of dollars to offer as a reward - that if their pet is lost, it still might be in a warm home with a full belly and a wagging tail. For more information about lost and found pets, including the animals in the photos with this article, contact Animal Care Centers of NYC, nyacc.org.
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“I feel important and loved for the person I am. Here I feel like I matter, can make a difference in the community and the world. Everyone, no matter ONimpossible PAGE 199 how shy, is valued in theirCONTINUED own way. It's to fall through the cracks here. And at Oakwood we’re allowed to ‘fail out loud’ and given the support to bounce back up.” Alice F, Cold Spring, NY
On a picturesque coed campus, infused with nature, Oakwood Friends School, guided by Quaker principles, prepares students for lives of achievement, accomplishment, compassion and conscience. Upper School Day & Boarding Programs (5 and 7-day) Middle School Day Program Middle and Upper Schools Open House Student-led campus tours and meetings with faculty and Head of School Sat & Sun Oct 26 and 27 • Noon - 2 PM Sat & Sun Nov 16 and 17 • Noon - 2 PM For more info or to join us, write or call: admissions@oakwoodfriends.org • (845) 462-4200 22 Spackenkill Road, Poughkeepsie, NY
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To New Yorkers, New York City is the center of the universe. I have lived here all my life (with a brief interlude for schooling in New Haven), and I cannot imagine settling anywhere else. We New Yorkers appreciate its quirks and love the many things it offers residents and visitors alike. While it’s no surprise that we get over 60 million tourist visitors per year, the real riches of the city tend to open themselves more subtly to those of us who live here. Below I have compiled my Top Ten Reasons to love living in the Big Apple: 10. Reality. In many ways, living in New York resembles a never-ending reality show. From the ped-locked streets of Midtown to the grey-flannel-suited precincts of Wall Street, something or someone unexpected may appear at any time. Angry protesters, overdressed ladies who lunch, street performers, ordinary individuals who look like street performers – what is across the street or around the corner is always a surprise. 9. Ambulatory. We are a city of walkers. And it’s only in walking that you see the things which so many others miss: the carved heads on the building facades, the pocket parks so teeny that you could blink and miss them, the curious little shops and vendors selling all manner of things. Only pedestrians get the real New York experience. Plus, between walking everywhere and climbing in and out of the subways, we stay in shape! 8. Gustatory. Every New York neighborhood offers surprising and delicious food opportunities. Greek food in Bayside, Chinese food on Main Street in Flushing or in Chinatown in Manhattan, Italian food in Little Italy, Jewish food on the Lower East Side and in Borough Park, Middle Eastern food on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn – the list goes on and on. With so many op-
Photo courtesy of Warburg Realty Partnership.
tions, many delivered right to your door with a few keystrokes, New Yorkers can dine around the world any time they want. 7. Curiosity. We are, contrary to popular belief, a hospitable and curious population. Walking through Central Park, sitting outside in a café, riding the bus, wherever we go opportunities to chat with strangers and learn about them abound. It’s one of my favorite things about living here. 6. History. Everywhere in the city sit reminders of our past. From the Morris-Jumel Mansion in Washington Heights (where Aaron Burr once lived) and the tiny, charming wooden houses of Sylvan Place right across the street, to Trinity Church on Wall Street, to the glorious Art Deco Chrysler Building in midtown, our history is around us in the architecture which embodies all the different chapters in our city’s rise. And now we are making history with the spate of supertall residential buildings piercing the Midtown sky on 57th Street. 5. Modernity. So much of what is new begins right here. Not just architecture, but music, drama, technology, and finance all incubate and give birth to ideas and processes in New York City. New Yorkers have always been innovation leaders and we still welcome and embrace the people who push the American Dream forward. 4. Artistry. Can any other city in the world top New York for the artistic opportunities it provides both the practitioner and the consumer? Countless world-class museums, concert venues, galleries, dance companies provide culture at a world-class level. At the same time, pop-up galleries and small dance and music
venues provide opportunities every day and night for those seeking a more cutting edge experience. 3. Ecology. New York embodies energy efficiency. Living vertically as we do creates far fewer demands on our heating systems, bathed as apartments are with ambient warmth from the units around and below them. Increasing numbers of apartment buildings are both recycling and composting. We extrude a (relatively) small carbon footprint. 2. Beauty. New York, with its towering skyscrapers, soaring bridges, and vast naturalistic parks, boldly thrusts itself towards the heavens while remaining anchored in the natural world. In migration season Central Park hosts flocks of migrating songbirds, and our increasingly clean estuaries and harbor islands are home to countless cranes and egrets. Beauty hides everywhere in the city, waiting only for the attentive passer-by to notice it. 1. Diversity. No quality of our city speaks so plainly to its greatness as our diversity of every sort. New York embraces the gamut of cultures, lifestyles, religions, ethnicities, sexual preferences, gender identifications; these differences create the lifeblood which runs through the veins of us all. Because of diversity, we are who we are as individuals; because of the diversity we live surrounded by the richness only possible because of this plurality. People from all over the country and the world dream of moving here because of the freedom and opportunity which still exist here. Frederick W. Peters is chief executive officer of Warburg Realty Partnership.
OCTOBER 17-23, 2019
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YOUR 15 MINUTES
To read about other people who have had their “15 Minutes” go to ourtownny.com/15 minutes
‘YOU CAN HAVE A DIFFERENT ENDING TO THE STORY’ At Columbia University’s Miller Theatre, Executive Director Melissa Smey brings people together for contemporary music in innovative ways
BY MARK NIMAR
Modern audiences often think that classical music is too difficult to understand, too expensive or too elitist for their taste. Columbia University’s Melissa Smey is out to change these perceptions. As the Associate Dean and Executive Director of Columbia University’s School of the Arts, Smey programs contemporary classical music at Columbia’s Miller Theatre by luminaries such as Missy Mazzoli, Chaya Czernowin and John Zorn. As the executive director, Smey has presented this music in innovative ways that not only draws in new audiences, but also makes the concert-going experience more enjoyable for everyone. We sat down last week with Smey to talk about pop-up concerts, gender parity and Miller Theatre’s upcoming production of “Desire,“ a new opera by composer Hannah Lash.
What makes Miller Theatre unique? What is its unique contribution to New York’s cultural scene? That is a great first question. What I strive for in all of the programming at Miller is to create unique experiences that people can’t have anywhere else. We’re a campus-based presenting organization, and that is
Hannah Lash, composer of “Desire,“ a new opera to be performed at Miller Theatre. Photo: Kyle Dorosz
a model that exists on lots of university campuses all across the country. So that is in fact not unique to Columbia University, but what is unique is that Columbia University is in the city of New York, and it’s an incredibly vibrant and rich cultural landscape. We made a strategic decision pretty early on that it wouldn’t make sense to be the fourth best recital series, or the second best string quartet series. In New York City, you can have the very best of everything. And so we strive to create experiences you can’t have anywhere else. In our contemporary music programming, our composer portrait series is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and two years ago, I launched a new chamber opera commissioning initiative. And we’re coming up very soon on the world premiere of the second opera that we commissioned as part of that initiative. And I think that really speaks to Miller’s strengths in working with living composers and supporting their work, and connecting it with audiences.
For many people, new music is unfamiliar territory. How do you connect general audiences to new music in fresh, creative ways? Audience development is extremely important, and it’s something that is a personal passion of mine in helping to connect people. Music and classical music shouldn’t just be for special occasions, right? It can be very special, but I think music, and the arts more broadly, should be a part of everybody’s everyday life. There’s a sense that classical music is hard to understand, or isn’t welcoming. I understand why people would form that impression, and I strive in everything we do at Miller Theatre to make that not be the case. And so I started a series in 2012 called the pop-up concerts. They’re free and open to the public. They’re at 6 o’clock. They’re short; they’re about 45 minutes. We have free beer and free wine, so you can mingle with your friends and have a drink. And then the audience and the performers are seated on the stage, so it’s really intimate. There are no printed programs, so there isn’t the formality of a piece of paper you’re supposed to be looking at. We’ve found that more than half the attendees are coming to Miller Theatre for the first time. I think it’s a
Melissa Smey outside the Miller Theatre at Columbia University. Photo: Matt Zugale
really great way to come and experience something new. And it’s super low stakes, right? Because it’s free. You didn’t paying anything. It’s an hour of your time. And if you didn’t like it, that’s ok. But if you did like it, you’ll come back.
Do you reach out to the people in the neighborhood outside of the Columbia University campus? Absolutely. We love our neighbors. In addition to the music programming that we offer, I also oversee the university’s Arts Initiative. And so Miller Theatre [and] Arts Initiative partner together every fall. We have this incredible project called Morningside Lights. We launched that in the fall of 2012 with the idea of connecting the neighborhood, connecting the campus, and actually getting people into Miller Theatre. We work in collaboration with Processional Arts Workshop. The two artists who run that actually are the artists who do the big large-scale puppets every year in the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade. And so there are a week of hands-on workshops where volunteers sign up to come and make lanterns. We literally turn the stage into a lantern-making workshop. And then there’s a procession that starts in Morningside Park, and then travels back to the campus.
A female composer wrote “Desire,“ the next opera you are presenting. How do issues like gender parity and inclusion come into play when programming your season? It’s not interesting to be the woman executive director who programs music by a bunch of women composers, right? That’s not an interesting story. I want to work with excellent world-class composers. But I do think there are a lot of composers whose work isn’t well represented in other spheres of classical music. And so I’ve kind of quietly made a commitment of working with lots of women composers. But I think the important emphasis is that it’s about working with really amazing composers.
How did you get involved with the arts? Where did your journey start? I started playing the flute in the fifth grade. I loved it. I would play my flute literally for hours. And I had flute records, and I would play along with the records. My parents had this collection of Readers’ Digest Treasury of Classical Music Albums on a record player, and I loved Scheherazade and I loved Ravel. I studied music as an undergrad at the University of Connecticut, and I had this really amazing opportunity to work at the concert hall there. And had a mentor there, Susan Holmes, who
was running it. So I worked for her in the box office for a while. She actually helped me to figure out that my gifts lie in the producing side of things, rather than on the performing side.
What role do the arts play in today’s society? Artists can help people imagine things to be different than they are. And I think that’s really powerful. That you can have a different ending to the story. Or just imagine things to be different than they are. With classical music, what I find so beautiful about it is in an increasingly digital society, classical music is the ultimate analog experience. You come together in a room with a lot of other people, and have that communal experience of sitting together and listening to music that musicians have prepared to share with you, that everyone is experiencing in the same moment together. I think there aren’t so many opportunities where people are doing that anymore. This interview has been edited and condensed.
Know somebody who deserves their 15 Minutes of fame? Go to ourtownny.com and click on submit a press release or announcement.
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CLASSIFIEDS MASSAGE
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PUBLIC NOTICES
PUBLIC AUCTION NOTICE OF SALE OF COOPERATIVE APARMENT SECURITY PLEASE TAKE NOTICE: By Virtue of a Default under Loan Security Agreement, and other Security Documents, Karen Loiacano, Auctioneer, License #DCA1435601 or Jessica L Prince-Clateman, Auctioneer, License #1097640 or Vincent DeAngelis Auctioneer, License #1127571 will sell at public auction, with reserve, on October 23, 2019, in the Rotunda, New York County Courthouse 60 Centre Street New York NY 10007, commencing at 1:15 PM for the following account: Kristin Branson a/k/a Kristin M. Branson, as borrower, 331 shares of capital stock of Crystal House Owners Inc. and all right, title and interest in the Proprietary Lease to: 200 East 24th Street, Unit 1004, New York, NY 10010 Sale held to enforce rights of CitiMortgage, Inc., who reserves the right to bid. Ten percent (10%) Bank/Certified check required at sale, balance due at closing within thirty (30) days. The Cooperative Apartment will be sold “AS IS” and possession is to be obtained by the purchaser. Pursuant to Section 201 of the Lien Law you must answer within 10 days from receipt of this notice in which redemption of the above captioned premises can occur. There is presently an outstanding debt
owed to CitiMortgage, Inc. (lender) as of the date of this notice in the amount of $58,021.83. This figure is for the outstanding balance due under the note and security agreement which was secured by Financing Statement in favor of CitiBank N.A. which was filed on March 21, 2018 in CRFN: 2018000096861 which was subsequently assigned to CitiMortgage Inc. by a UCC3 filed on April 6, 2018 in CRFN: 2018000116105. Please note this is not a payoff amount as additional interest/fees/penalties may be incurred. You must contact the undersigned to obtain a final payoff quote or if you dispute any information presented herein. The estimated value of the above captioned premises is $ 600,000 Pursuant to the Uniform Commercial Code Article 9-623, the above captioned premises may be redeemed at any time prior to the foreclosure sale. You may contact the undersigned and either pay the principal balance due along with all accrued interest, late charges, attorney fees and out of pocket expenses incurred by CitiMortgage, Inc.. and the undersigned, or pay the outstanding loan arrears along with all accrued interest, late charges, attorney fees and out of pocket expenses incurred by CitiMortgage, Inc., and the undersigned, with respect to the foreclosure proceedings. Failure to cure the default prior to the sale will result in the termination of the proprietary lease.
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PUBLIC NOTICES If you have received a discharge from the Bankruptcy Court, you are not personally liable for the payment of the loan and this notice is for compliance and information purposes only. However, CitiMortgage, Inc., still has the right under the loan security agreement and other collateral documents to foreclosure on the shares of stock and rights under the proprietary lease allocated to the cooperative apartment. Dated: September 5, 2019 Frenkel, Lambert, Weiss, Weisman & Gordon, LLP Attorneys for CitiMortgage, Inc. 53 Gibson Street Bay Shore, NY 11706 631-969-3100 File #01-091389- #97739
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