The local paper for the Upper East Side
WEEK OF NOVEMBER
9-15
CELEBRATING WITH A BARK ◄P.16
2017
MANAFORT’S MANHATTAN HAUNTS INVESTIGATIONS The indicted former Trump campaign boss wasn’t only a Beltway fixer — he was a highliving New York wheeler-dealer who funneled overseas cash into property, haberdashery and other ill-gotten goods, the feds say BY DOUGLAS FEIDEN
A cyclist passes newly installed concrete barriers on the Hudson River Park Bikeway in Lower Manhattan, near the site of the Oct. 31 vehicle attack that killed eight people. Photo: Michael Garofalo
HARD LESSONS OF VEHICLE ATTACK STREETS Hudson River Bikeway fortified with concrete barricades as authorities plan new safety measures BY MICHAEL GAROFALO
More than a week after a man drove a truck nearly a mile down the Hudson River Bikeway at high speed, deliberately striking pedestrians and cyclists and leaving eight dead and another twelve injured in his wake, concrete barriers spaced along the riverfront bike path serve as an imposing reminder of what NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill called “the worst terror attack in New York City since September 11th, 2001.” City and state transportation officials installed dozens of barriers along the Hudson River Greenway
in the days after the Oct. 31 attack in hopes of preventing vehicles from entering the park’s pedestrian and bicycle paths in the future. The Oct. 31 vehicle attack started near Pier 40, at Houston Street, where the driver steered his rented truck from West Street onto the bike path and sped south, targeting users of the crowded, narrow trail. The driver was shot and apprehended by police after he collided with a school bus near Stuyvesant High School. Police identified the suspect as Sayfullo Saipov, 29, an Uzbek immigrant who they said was inspired by the Islamic State. The attack marked the second time this year that a driver left a Manhattan street to target bystanders. In May, an intoxicated driver made an abrupt u-turn onto a Times Square sidewalk and plowed through pedestrians for three blocks, killing
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It’s a truism that New Yorkers will go to extraordinary lengths to obtain, maintain — and of course, profit from their own sliver of Manhattan real estate. The tradition dates to the Astors, Stuyvesants, Vanderbilts, Roosevelts, Rhinelanders and Rockefellers, and typically, a lot of corner-cutting has been involved. But the city’s great land-owning families were lucky: Federal prosecutor Robert S. Mueller III wasn’t around back then to police their property purchases, flips, mortgages and other transactions. Ex-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort wasn’t so fortunate. Thus, an opaque and suspicious Soho real estate play figured in his October 30th indictment by the Justice Department’s special counsel. The 12-count indictment alleges conspiracy, money laundering, false filings, tax fraud and a scheme to conceal millions in income he derived as an unregistered agent of the Ukrainian government. Manafort pleaded not guilty to the charges. The charging document also provides a window into the lifestyle of a super-lobbyist-cum-part-time-Manhattanite, the one-percent variety, who plowed millions into trophy properties and hundreds of thousands into high-end creature comforts, like bespoke suits at a Fifth Avenue boutique. The only problem: It wasn’t kosher, Mueller alleges. Manafort, he says,
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Restaurant Ratings Business Real Estate 15 Minutes
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Sign last Thursday outside of Aronson’s Floor Covering at 135 West 17th Street. Photo: Ryder Kessler deployed offshore accounts to evade taxes and wire vast sums into the U.S., buying everything from housekeeping services to pricey antiques. “Manafort used his hidden overseas wealth to enjoy a lavish lifestyle in the U.S. without paying taxes on that income,” Mueller wrote. All told, the indictment calculates, he laundered $18 million from abroad. Of that amount, roughly $4.5 million in offshore funds, 25 percent of the total, was used to purchase luxury goods, services and real property in Manhattan from 2008 to 2014, an analysis of the charges shows. The cash helped Manafort cut a wide swath across the island, where he periodically worked, played, politicked, patronized an exclusive cigar club, shopped for $7,500 custom-tailored suits and $8,500 silk sport coats — and dined with Russians and Ukrainians. His expenditures have already reso-
nated in Chelsea. One enterprising family-owned business, Aronson’s Floor Covering, at 135 West 17th Street, took note of the indictment, referenced a mega-purchase he made in Alexandria, Virginia, and used it for a bit of savvy street-marketing: On the sidewalk by its picture windows, the 150-year-old firm placed a large signboard proclaiming, “PAUL MANAFORT spent $934,350 at an antique rug store — & no money with us ... ” This portrait of Manafort’s New York was gleaned from the indictment, which doesn’t include his five months running the Trump campaign, the ongoing Congressional probes of a Trump-Russia connection, and legal filings in separate civil cases. Since 2006, the 68-year-old international political consultant has owned a 43rd floor aerie in Trump Tower, a condo unit 25 stories below Donald Trump’s gilded triplex penthouse. Current value: $6 million, according to Manafort’s proposed bail package. From apartment 43-G, it was just an 18-story elevator ride down to the 25th-floor office of Donald Trump Jr., where on June 9th, 2016 the two men and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner held their now-infamous meeting with several Russians, some with apparent ties to the Kremlin and Russian spy services, who offered to “bring dirt” on Hillary Clinton. While the encounter didn’t figure in the indictment, both Mueller and Congress have been scrutinizing it for months.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 13 Jewish women and girls light up the world by lighting the Shabbat candles every Friday evening 18 minutes before sunset. Friday, November 10th – 4:24 pm. For more information visit www.chabaduppereastside.com
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR “CON-CON” BASICS While I no longer live in Manhattan, I enjoy reading Our Town and was particularly struck by the quality of Douglas Feiden’s article “Contesting The ‘Con-Con,’” (October 19-25). This is the only article I have seen that explains what the process is, what’s at stake and who is for and against a Constitutional Convention. Having read this piece I now feel that I know enough to make an informed decision. None of the other media I am saturated with bothered to take the time to explain the basics as well as the irony of the bedfellow combinations we are witnessing. Thank you, Our Town and Mr. Feiden. Ed Fitzell New Rochelle, NY
MENACE OF E-BIKES Re “City to Crack Down on Electric Bicycles” (October 26-November 1), Caroline Samponaro of Transportation Alternatives says: “According to NYPD data, drivers speeding and failing to yield are the ones causing
NOVEMBER 9-15,2017
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death and serious injuries.” No one is disputing that. However, the two things are not mutually exclusive. Ebikes are still a menace: traveling at higher speeds than bicycles, making no “warning” sound (like a car engine), going through red lights and the wrong way on streets and avenues, etc. — flagrantly violating safety laws that even pedaled bikes are required to observe. As to “Advocates for delivery workers have said that the crackdown would unfairly burden older delivery workers,” I say, Huh? I have lived on the Upper West Side for 50 years, and since the advent of the e-bike I have never seen an “older” bicycle delivery worker. They are mostly young and middle-aged people. Finally, it should be noted that no restaurant or other establishment that delivers went out of business when there was no such thing as ebikes. When the only things available were regular bikes, food and other things got delivered, and businesses made money. E-bikes must go. Period. Ian Alterman Upper West Side
with the State Department of Labor and wanted a quieter, less frenetic environment. I have loved everything about this neighborhood except for the noise (I just now had to stop typing to hold my ears as an ambulance passed eight stories down). Ellen Diamond Upper East Side
LOSING FAVORITE STOPS
Delegates to the state Constitutional Convention convened in the state Capitol in Albany in 1867 for a speech by William Wheeler, a future U.S. vice president, who argued that the concept of racial equality should be incorporated into the Constitution. Engraving: Stanley Fox, via New York Public Library collectioN
NOISE POLLUTION ON THE UPPER EAST SIDE I lived for over 30 years on Ninth Street and Broadway in Greenwich Village and never, ever had this kind of noise issue. I wrote to the mayor (I try!) asking why we can’t use the same siren system as in Europe, a repeating twonote pattern that’s not too loud and that doesn’t go up to very high notes.
They’re a pleasing middle-range (I’m a musician so I get to say stuff like that). Among the worst offenders are the police cars late at night. They do whatever they want with the sirens — and I mean whatever they want. I honestly don’t know how the animals survive the sirens, motorcycles and of course, Marathon Sunday. I moved to the Upper East Side in 2002 after I was diagnosed with leukemia in 1998. I had retired after 33 years
I was devastated when the vegan restaurant near Mt. Sinai Hospital on Madison Avenue closed last year. It was a restaurant both my husband and I used to enjoy. I come in from Long Island every other week to get an infusion at Mt. Sinai Hospital. It often takes me two hours to get there due to the traffic. I could actually get the same infusion 15 minutes from my house, but choose to come into NYC to experience the city briefly for one day. Just yesterday I saw that the Seattle Cafe closed, another favorite stop. Clearly, having what seems like a steady stream of customers is no indication of the longevity of the establishment. Pretty soon there won’t be as much reason to come into the city, and I may as well stay closer to home. Barbara Golden Long Island, NY
NOVEMBER 9-15,2017
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CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG BANK ROBBER ARRESTED
STATS FOR THE WEEK Reported crimes from the 19th district for
A sharp-eyed police officer brought about the arrest of a bank robber. Shortly before noon on Tuesday, October 10, an officer assigned to the 19th Precinct on duty at the southwest corner of Third Avenue and East 88th Street recognized a man wanted in connection with an attempted robbery of the Bank of America at 1143 Lexington Avenue on September 25. The officer called in her sighting, and Charles Kurman, 46, was arrested shortly afterward and charged with robbery, possession of stolen property and petit larceny.
Week to Date
DUI ARREST
Year to Date
2017 2016
% Change
2017
2016
% Change
Murder
0
0
n/a
0
2
-100.0
Rape
2
0
n/a
13
5
160.0
Robbery
6
1
500.0
98
77
27.3
Felony Assault
3
3
0.0
107
107
0.0
Burglary
6
10
-40.0
183
173
5.8
Grand Larceny
26
28
-7.1
1,123 1,172 -4.2
Grand Larceny Auto
3
0
n/a
47
65
-27.7
Photo by Tony Webster, via Flickr
One beneďŹ t of self-driving cars could conceivably be fewer DUI accidents. At 12:50 a.m. on Friday, November 3, a male motorist had pulled over at the northeast corner of Park Avenue and East 71st Street waiting for a passenger, when a woman driving a white 2004 Toyota Matrix pulled out of a parking space and backed into the waiting motorist’s car, according to a police account. The woman then drove away, but the male motorist caught up to her. Police soon arrived, and the woman, identiďŹ ed only as being in her mid-50s was discovered
to be unsteady on her feet, talking with slurred speech, and giving off the smell of alcohol on her breath. She claimed that her car had never hit the other vehicle, but she was arrested nonetheless for driving under the inuence.
CON-ED Police remind the public that Con Edison NEVER requests payment in the form of MoneyPaks. On Monday, October 23 and the next day, a
business located on Third Avenue between East 75th and 76 Streets received four phone calls from someone claiming to represent Con Edison, stating that the business owed payment for three months of electricity and if they didn’t pay up immediately their power would be shut off. The caller instructed them to remit four MoneyPak cards totaling $1,683.36, and the business complied before realizing they had been scammed.
GOOD SAMARITAN DOES GOOD
NAILED SALON
A Good Samaritan aided police in apprehending a young cell phone thief. At 7 p.m. on Thursday, November 2, a woman walking her dog on Park Avenue in the East 90s when a 15-year-old boy screamed at her and took her phone. The youth took off on foot, but a man chased the boy down and held him until police arrived. The boy was arrested on charges of grand larceny, and the woman’s iPhone 6, valued at $200, was recovered.
Burglars struck a neighborhood nail salon. Sometime between 7:45 p.m. on Tuesday, October 24 and 8 a.m. the following morning, burglars entered the Imagine 94 nail salon at 328 East 94th St. and made off with $300 in cash, a cash register valued at $300, and manicure and pedicure implements worth $300. Employees of the business found the store’s front door open in the morning and told police that it had deďŹ nitely been locked the night before.
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NOVEMBER 9-15,2017
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Useful Contacts POLICE NYPD 19th Precinct
153 E. 67th St.
212-452-0600
FDNY 22 Ladder Co 13
159 E. 85th St.
311
FDNY Engine 39/Ladder 16
157 E. 67th St.
311
FDNY Engine 53/Ladder 43
1836 Third Ave.
311
FDNY Engine 44
221 E. 75th St.
311
FIRE
CITY COUNCIL Councilmember Daniel Garodnick
211 E. 43rd St. #1205
212-818-0580
Councilmember Ben Kallos
244 E. 93rd St.
212-860-1950
STATE LEGISLATORS State Sen. Jose M. Serrano
1916 Park Ave. #202
212-828-5829
State Senator Liz Krueger
1850 Second Ave.
212-490-9535
Assembly Member Dan Quart
360 E. 57th St.
212-605-0937
Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright
1365 First Ave.
212-288-4607
COMMUNITY BOARD 8
505 Park Ave. #620
212-758-4340
LIBRARIES Yorkville
222 E. 79th St.
212-744-5824
96th Street
112 E. 96th St.
212-289-0908
67th Street
328 E. 67th St.
212-734-1717
Webster Library
1465 York Ave.
212-288-5049
100 E. 77th St.
212-434-2000
HOSPITALS Lenox Hill NY-Presbyterian / Weill Cornell
525 E. 68th St.
212-746-5454
Mount Sinai
E. 99th St. & Madison Ave.
212-241-6500
NYU Langone
550 First Ave.
212-263-7300
CON EDISON
4 Irving Place
212-460-4600
POST OFFICES US Post Office
1283 First Ave.
212-517-8361
US Post Office
1617 Third Ave.
212-369-2747
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VANTAGE POINTS BY PETER PEREIRA
NOVEMBER 9-15,2017
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Isabel O’Neil Studio Workshop Learn the Art of the Painted Finish
Discover techniques by famed teacher and author, Isabel O’Neil.
Holiday Party/Sale Nov. 30th Call for details.
A NIGHT AT THE ‘RAT ACADEMY’ HEALTH As the rodent problem worsens on the UES, a session hosted by Seawright focuses on prevention methods BY CARSON KESSLER
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Contact us at 212-348-4464 www.isabeloneil.org 315 East 91st Street, New York, NY 10128
As an Upper East Sider for 41 years, Ruth Gutman routinely takes her evening stroll through the neighborhood with her dog. But recently, Gutman has encountered other creatures on her walks down 88th Street between York and East End Avenues — rats. “Every night, I see them skittle across the road,� Gutman said. “Some look even bigger than dogs!� While most rats in New York City weigh no more than one pound, according to information from the New York City Department of Health, the rodent nevertheless poses a grave threat to many properties. The problem has been getting worse on the Upper East Side, according to Caroline Bragdon, director of neighborhood interventions and pest control services for the Department of Health. Eleven tenants and one super attended a “Rat Academy� last Thursday hosted by Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright at the Brearley School. The free educational session instructed attendees on how to keep their
Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright hosted the “Rat Academy� last Thursday at the Brearley School. Photo: Katarina Matic neighborhood rodent-free and supplied guests with complimentary heavy-duty, lidded trash receptacles. Bragdon led the presentation on rat prevention, continuously referring to garbage — also known as an endless buffet for the city rat — as the main culprit for increasing rodent populations. “We’re trying to make more of an effort to engage property owners, rather than writing them tickets,� Bragdon explained about prevention efforts. Refusal to adhere to pestcontrol standards results in a fine. Fines begin at $300 and can be as high as $2,000. Both rats and the accompanying fines can be avoided through the prevention methods outlined by Bragdon: inspect, clean and pest-proof. Step one is to look for evidence of rat activity. Droppings,
gnaw marks, and runways all indicate rat activity in an area. Next, Bragdon suggests the removal of any clutter, which could give rats a place to hide, sleep, nest and reproduce. Since rats only require one ounce of food a day, garbage must also be managed to ensure the elimination of rodents. Garbage cans and bags should be brought to the curb as close to pick-up time as possible. Bradgon encourages the use of hard plastic or metal cans with tight-ďŹ tting lids. “With rodents, you really have to be on the defensive,â€? Bragdon said about sealing any cracks and holes. Rats only need a quarter-sized hole to enter. She suggests metal door sweeps, sheet metal, and stainless-steel mesh to ensure the disappearance of the nosy visitors.
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YOUR FATHER KEEPS WANDERING AWAY FROM HOME. BUT IT’S YOU WHO FEELS LOST.
THE ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE AND RELATED DEMENTIAS FAMILY SUPPORT PROGRAM. Caring for a family member who has trouble with thinking and memory can be extremely challenging. So challenging, in fact, that caregivers may feel overwhelmed, struggling to maintain their own health and well-being. NYU Langone’s Family Support Program provides convenient, personalized, and ongoing support to people caring for someone with Alzheimer’s or other thinking and memory disorders.
Upper East Sider Ruth Gutman (with friend Lucy) took home a heavy-duty garbage can designed to keep critters out. Photo: Carson Kessler
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For more information or to enroll, call us at 646.754.2277 or visit nyulangone.org/memorydisordersupport. The Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias Family Support Program is supported by a grant from the New York State Department of Health.
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LOSING THE STREETS BY BETTE DEWING
Rome is burning but the kind we planned to rail about before the heinous deadly truck attack was the record number of small biz closures in 2017 and how we’ve just got to stop fiddling. But first, thankfully, there’s no fiddling reaction to a one-man terrorist fatally mowing down eight young people bicycling and walking on a secure bike/walking path in Manhattan. Many others were terribly injured. The whole world is appalled and concerned that such abominable acts can happen — anywhere. But while all-out attention is being paid to prevention and justice, let’s not forget the continuing all-out support the grieving and the injured desperately need. But the Burning Rome we’ve long
been concerned about — losing our neighborhood small-business lifelines, was brought further to the fore by Arlene Kayatt’s Nov. 1 column in this space, “Beauty Street and Future Avenue,” warning about East 86th Street’s stores and eateries likely being replaced by yet more condo high-rises. That is except for a bevy of “beauty salons” we really don’t need. The last 86th Street movie house may also go. Even a medical center seems doomed. So many small retail stores and eateries have already been lost, including my favorite corner diner on First Avenue. And not to mention the loss of relatively affordable rental housing — homes. But where is the protest? We’ve got to get Nero to stop fiddling — in general, all over the city,
to save and restore these veritable lifelines, which make the city so livable for all. Why, oh why is Nero still fiddling? I recall U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney’s press conference welcoming Fairway to East 86th, which some of us worried could burden small grocery stores and even the large corner Gristedes, which is now also a memory along with the East End Gristedes where its longtime staff are still in touch with some of their elder patrons, Ah, far too little is said about the profound loss also felt by displaced business workers. Again, not only on the East Side I’m most familiar with, but all over the city — all over the city. Sure, of course, you’re concerned and want to help if you just knew how or “had more time.” Well, again, for starters, check out this paper’s Useful Contacts column and call the officials listed there. Sure thank them, but also gently
(at first) remind them that government’s first duty is to protect public welfare and these small stores and affordable eateries are veritable lifelines, especially, but not only for disabled or elder New Yorkers. They create community and neighborliness – prevent isolation. They make the city safer. Ah, yes, tell them how you suffer from the loss of your neighborhood lifelines. And use that strong verb! Indeed so much untold suffering results – and these stories must get out there, and in media, media, media. Not to mention the “social kind.” Most unfortunately, these losses have not become an election issue, which could get voters out, if not in record numbers, then in higher ones that the record low we could approach. And it might just be standing-room-only at civic meetings where saving and restoring these lifelines are the number one order of public business. I wish the
so many times during the day, you would’ve thought the food was animated, and I was peeking in to say hi and make sure everyone was OK. Now that I’m working outside the home, I’m down to three squares a day and actually seeing — in small increments — the numbers on the scale going in a more positive direction.
SELF-IMPROVEMENT THROUGH SEASONAL WORK BY LORRAINE DUFFY MERKL
I have not had a job in 22 years. That’s not to say I haven’t worked. My time was divided between shuttling my children around the Upper East Side for school as well as activities and doing freelance writing jobs. (I was an original member of New York’s gig economy.) My assignments were done at home, with the occasional attendance at on-site meetings, which could be considered more like drive-bys than working on premises. With both kids in college now, I began to consider my re-entering the workplace. But since my writing life from a home office has served me well, I thought I’d look for a new challenge. Enter an opportunity for seasonal (aka holiday) work at a high-end midtown store that would allow me to dip my toe in the full-time employment waters and try my hand in an industry that was new to me. So far, it has not only let me once again be known as a staffer, but has offered some forced
6. “No Vacancy”
self-improvement that I want to last well beyond my twelve-week stint.
1. Lorraine Unplugged Have iPhone Will Travel has been my motto since I got my first circa 1995 (also the year I began contract work). Throughout my day, I looked at the screen constantly, checking my email, texts, Facebook, and Twitter as though national security depended on my being updated. Because no devices are allowed on the sales floors of my new company, and I can only check social media and email at lunch and on breaks, I realized that most of what I get is either junk, or a message that can wait at least a couple of hours to answer.
2. Water, Water Everywhere I’ve been hearing since childhood: drink eight glasses of water a day. I have ignored that dictum for that same length of time, living a cactuslike existence. Now that I need stamina to stand most the day, sometimes in one place, drinking as much water as I
meeting notice for the highly active East 79th Street Neighborhood Association read “ROME IS BURNING – HELP US SAVE NEIGHBORHOOD BIZ!” It’s Thursday, Nov. 9 at 6 p.m. — at Temple Shaaray Tefila (79th and Second). Oh, the association’s catchment area includes much of the Upper East Side and with citywide concerns. Ditto also for the 19th Precinct Community Council meetings that take place each first Monday of the month at the 67th Street precinct. Next time make it “HELP SAVE OUR NEIGHBORHOOD BIZ TO PREVENT CRIME!” but do urge community relations officers (They’re at 212-4520613) to make this a priority. Rome is burning. And again, it can be done if enough of us try — if enough of us try. Thank you, Arlene, for your warning bells. Concerned thoughts/ideas to dewingbetter@aol.com. To be continued, of course.
Have iPhone, Will Travel: commuters on the 2 train. Photo: susanjanegolding, via flickr can throughout the day keeps me alert and simply feeling better.
3. A Not So “Remote” Possibility For decades, parents have been accused of using television as a babysitter. The adult version of that is stayat-home mothers and/or freelancers using it as background, when home alone all day. Every now then, however, something would catch my ear and I’d sit and watch. I then started to have a program or two, for which I’d stop chores or assignments. I also tried to have at least one show per evening for my viewing pleasure, even if it was a Law & Order rerun. Now, when I come
home from work, I’m more than a little beat. I don’t want to spend my few pre-bedtime hours with a glaring blue light in my face. If there’s something that really interests me, I watch it on demand at a more convenient time.
4. Efficiency Expert When I made my own schedule, tomorrow was always another day for my to-do list. Now with only two days off, productive is my middle name.
5. Food: My BFF No More As a home-based worker, I never snacked — I grazed. There was no candy/fruit bowl safe from my automatic grasp. I opened the fridge door
I read a quote once that said: “Writers have to convince people that they’re actually working when they’re staring out the window.” Yes, in order to compose, scribes sometimes have to let their minds wander. Sometimes it is fruitful. Other times, something triggers a recall of an unpleasant situation that results in renting space in my head to people I don’t even know anymore. In my current position, I need to be present and focused. Brain clutter is not an option. 7. I’m more interesting I really don’t think I was a bore before, but my topics had gotten a little stale. Now with a new job to talk about, colleagues to describe, tales of customer escapades, and the goings-on in my company’s active neighborhood, when my family asks about my day, I tell them — ad nauseam. Lorraine Duffy Merkl is the author of the novels “Back to Work She Goes” and “Fat Chick,” for which a movie is in the works.
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Cemetery Property at Affordable Prices - Single & Companion gravesites - Family Plots - Above-ground Mausoleums
U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, center, joined with the Manhattan Borough president, Gale Brewer, third from left, and the Park’s Department’s commissioner, Mitchell Silver, fourth from right, and Girl Scouts to announce plans for the placement of a monument honoring the suffragists Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony in the Central Park Mall. Photo: Sophie Herbut
- Niche space for Cremation Urns
A MONUMENTAL ACHIEVEMENT THE VOTE A century after women won the right to vote in New York and Central Park will get its first monument dedicated to real women. BY SOPHIE HERBUT
It took almost 70 years following the Seneca Falls Convention for women to get the right to vote in New York. It took a hundred years after that for there to be a plan for a monument to real women in Central Park. This week officials announced that a monument of the suffragists Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony would be placed in the Mall. On Monday, the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote in New York State, the city parks commissioner, Mitchell Silver, was joined in the Mall by several people who have been instrumental in selecting the spot and raise funds for the monuments. “It’s about time,� one of those attending the event responded when he announced the plan for the statues. “Behind me, on the Central Park Mall, in a few years, the Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony Woman Suffrage Monument will stand on the sight right behind us,� Silver said. The Parks Department and The Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony Statue Fund opened call for artists to submit designs for the monument. Silver drew attention to the fact that there are just four statues of real women in all parks across the city, with three them erected within in the last 20 years. There are none in Central Park.
Parks and Statue Fund officials settled on the Mall because of the traffic and visibility. “We started about three years ago, discussing this,â€? said Gale Brewer, the Manhattan Borough president. “And we found different spots in the park that we did not like.â€? The speakers all agreed on one thing: the monument will be symbolic for not only how far women’s rights have come, but how much more needs to be achieved. “The right to vote did not grant equality,â€? Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul said. “We are still struggling to be paid equally and be treated respectfully without harassment in the workplace.â€? U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney said she spent her time in Congress ďŹ ghting for rights women have already won. “I’m not surprised that there’s such an anti-woman movement in Congress. Where harassment, up until recently, was treated almost as part of the job,â€? Maloney said. “Where you reported rape and harassment [and] they never did anything. Now all of a sudden, they’re waking up and they say they’re going to prosecute. Well, let’s see.â€?
She echoed other speakers in urging women and men to continue ďŹ ghting for the Equal Rights Amendment. The great-great-granddaughter of Cady Stanton, Coline Jenkins, who is the vice president with the Statue Fund, said the statue represents a mass movement and the “greatest bloodless revolution.â€? She gave Silver a replica of the women’s suffrage flag, a gold-white-purple horizontal tricolor ag with stars for every state that ratiďŹ ed the 19th Amendment, which when adopted in 1920 granted women’s right to vote to all who were U.S. citizens. Brewer said the monument, would be likenesses of Stanton and Anthony, it also will include the names of women who were a part of the suffragist movement. It is one of the qualifications for the design the artists have to abide. “I wish I could say the fight is over, but we know it’s not,â€? Brewer said. “True equality is something we need to ďŹ ght for.â€? The monument is also funded by the Girl Scout’s cookies. SpeciďŹ cally, troops 3484 and 3482. “If we keep eating thin mints, we can get things done a lot faster,â€? Hochul said.
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EDITOR’S PICK
Tue 14 LOVE, SOLITUDE, AND THE FACE OF DEATH: POEMS BY EDITH SÖDERGRAN ► 7 p.m. Free Scandinavia House, 58 Park Ave. 212-779-3587 scandinaviahouse.org If your spotlight on Swedish literature begins and ends with “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” then it’s time to shift focus. Join translator and author Stina Katchadourian as she discusses the work of Edith Irene Södergran (1892–1923), a Swedish-speaking Finnish poet who died of tuberculosis at 31 and never lived to see her work or reputation celebrated as one of the first modernists within Swedish language literature. One of her first poems, “Vierge moderne” (“Modern Lady”), used free verse to address her inner world; Södergran was most certainly before her time. Learn more about this fascinating poet while checking out the Scandinavia House, a center for Nordic culture that hosts a smorgasbord of exhibitions, concerts, lectures and other events.
Thu 9
Fri 10
Sat 11
BANG ON A CAN: LA MAR ENFORTUNA
OPENING WEEKEND; ‘ART IN THE OPEN’ ►
‘GARDEN IN HEAVEN’
The Jewish Museum 1109 Fifth Ave. 7:30 p.m. $18 Sensuous and lyrical, La Mar Enfortuna offers a modern take on ancient Sephardic melodies, creatively arranged and incorporating jazz, folk, Middle Eastern and Latin music. Jennifer Charles and Oren Bloedow, co-founders of the band Elysian Fields, are behind this innovative project. Performed in conjunction with the “Modigliani Unmasked” exhibition. 212-423-3200 thejewishmuseum.org/ calendar
Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Ave. 10 a.m. Free with museum admission Look back at 50 years of public art in New York City, and explore how art that exists outside of the traditional confines of museums and galleries has transformed both public spaces and ideas about the role of art in an ever-evolving metropolis. Featuring work by Red Grooms, Christo, JeanneClaude and Kara Walker. 212-534-1672 mcny.org/event
The Guggenheim 1071 Fifth Ave. Noon Free with museum admission “Garden in Heaven” is the name of a memorial website for the rape and murder victim Huang Jing. This film documents a mother’s mourning as well as her anger toward and resistance against sexual violence in a society that denies legal recourse. Part of the “Turn It On: China on Film, 2000– 2017” series co-curated by Ai Weiwei and Wang Fen. 212-423-3500 guggenheim.org
NOVEMBER 9-15,2017
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Sun 12 Tue 14 Wed 15 NANCY HARROW, ‘LOST LADY’
FAITH IN THE FIVE BOROUGHS
HAPPINESS, WITH AND WITHOUT FAITH ▲
New York Society Library 53 East 79th St. 3 p.m. $25, advance registration required Experience Willa Cather’s world in a whole new way through the music of acclaimed jazz composer Nancy Harrow. Her song cycle “Lost Lady” is adapted from Cather’s 1923 novel “A Lost Lady,” a symbolic story about a small-town aristocrat in decline. 212-288-6900 nysoclib.org
Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Ave. 7 p.m. $20 A rabbi, a pastor and an imam walk into a museum for a panel discussion on the role of faith in the lives of New Yorkers. Moderated by New York Times reporter Sarah Maslin Nir, this conversation is part of a series that brings together New Yorkers from distinctly different backgrounds. 212-534-1672 mcny.org/event
92nd Street Y 1395 Lexington Ave. 7 p.m. $35 Two books on joy and meaning, Rabbi Evan Moffic’s “The Happiness Prayer: Ancient Jewish Wisdom for the Best Way to Live Today” and Emily Esfahani Smith’s “The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life that Matters,” fuel this discussion of the pursuit of happiness, and whether faith and religious community are critical elements for joy. 212-415-5500 92y.org/event
Mon 13
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BANANA STROKE: THE ART OF WANGECHI MUTU
GRAMERCY PARK 292 3rd Avenue @ 23rd St 212-777-3030
The Met, 1000 Fifth Ave. 7 p.m. Free, advanced registration required New York and Nairobi-based artist Wangechi Mutu will create a live, site-specific action painting drawing upon both the Kenyan landscape and her artistic process. In this multimedia performance, Mutu will use paper that has been dyed, fermented or saturated to create abstract paintings. Additional performance on Nov. 14. 212-535-7710 metmuseum.org Photo by endymion120, via Flickr
YORKVILLE 1491 3rd Ave @ 84th St 212-289-6300
UPPER EAST SIDE 888 Lexington Ave @66th St 212-772-1400
HELL’S KITCHEN 766 10th Ave @ 52nd St 212-245-3241
UPPER WEST SIDE 159 W 72nd St @ B’way 212-595-2500
LOWER EAST SIDE 80 4th Ave @ 10th St 212-477-6930
SOHO 55 Thompson St @ Broome 212-627-1100
CHELSEA 215 7TH Avenue @ 23rd St 212-646-5454 212-645-5454
UPTOWN WEST 2680 Broadway @ 102nd St 212-531-2300
LONG ISLAND CITY 30-35 Thomson Ave 347-418-3480
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NOVEMBER 9-15,2017
VIENNESE STYLE IN NEW YORK At the Neue Galerie, the first major American retrospective of the Wiener Werkstätte, the Austrian design collective BY VAL CASTRONOVO
It’s been more than a century since architect Josef Hoffmann, artist Kolomon Moser and textile industrialist Fritz Waerndorfer rfer founded the WieWie ner Werkstätte e (Vienna Workshops) to unify the arts rts and marry form and function in the manner of the 19th century English sh Arts and Crafts afts movement. Its goal: to sow beauty into to everyday life. The collective’s e’s idealistic principle, Gesamtkunstwerk unstwerk (total work of art), adopted ed from the Vienna Secession, has been taken to heart by co-curator Christian Witt-Dörring, whose team am has created three rooms at the Neue eue Galerie that immerse visitors in the modern aesthetic of Vienna a in the early 1900s. “You are going ng to be dipped in three differentt atmospheres going through the e exhibition,” WittDörring said on n a tour of the show, which eschewss labels in favor of booklets in each h room to guide visitors. “I first create eate an atmosphere before you even en read a label or a text. You are putt in this atmosphere and then you start questioning.” Let your senses es get the better of you and allow itt to seep in. “Every Wienerr Werkstätte exhibit was designed d as a total work of art. That’s whatt we wanted to create here. A totall work of art means they dealt with every aspect of the arts — from the he architecture to
Josef Hoffmann ((1870-1956). Table, 1904. Execution:: Wiener Werksta¨tte. th pores chalked white; Ebonized oak with lver-plated mounts. boxwood inlay, silver-plated itute of Art. The Minneapolis Institute nwoody Fund William Hood Dunwoody
IF YOU GO WHAT: “Wiener Werkstätte, 1903-1932: The Luxury of Beauty” WHERE: Neue Galerie New York, 1048 Fifth Ave. (at 86th Street) WHEN: through January 29 www.neuegalerie.org/
interior decoration to jewelry to graphic design.” Faithful to the concept, there’s silverware, ceramics, glass works, furniture, lamps, leatherwork, metalwork, textiles, wallpaper, friezes, postcards and architectural models and design drawings displayed in tall vitrines that line the walls and in n free-standing cases, some e of them hand-paint-ed with florall edwith
decorations. The more than 400 objects and their distinct environments illustrate the design group’s full range and evolving aesthetic. The first, very austere room pays tribute to the early production — the “Founding Years” from 1903 to 1905 — when black-and-white designs and the simple geometric forms of Josef Hoffmann Hoffmann for the luxury market ruled. The second room, showcasing products from the “Harvesting Years” from 1906 to the outbreak of World War I in 1914, introduces color and ornamentation and bears witness to the beginning of mass-produced goods like postcards and fabrics. The third room, WittDörring’s favorite, is devoted to the later production — the “Years of Reinvention” from 1915 to the liquidation of the firm in 1932 — when exclusive, one-of-a-kind
Josef Hoffmann (1870-1956) Centerpiece, 1924. Execution: Wiener Werksta¨tte Brass. Minneapolis Institute of Art. The Modernism Collection, gift of Norwest Bank Minnesota pieces in gold, silver and semi-precious stones increasingly gave way to cheaper, mass-produced items in glass, ceramics, wood and paper. (No worries, though, luxury was hardly dead as the silver bottle-stoppers attest.) As the curator said: “In 1914, this world that was enabling this kind of luxury production collapses. The country is suffering an economic disaster. There’s no food, no heating material. The haute bourgeoisie that was the main clientele of this production lost most of its money because they were signing up for war bonds. That was all problematic, so [the workshops] have to reinvent themselves, which leads us to the last room.” Because of conscription, the Wiener Werkstätte lost most of its male craftsmen; next generation designers like Dagobert Peche were drafted. In response to the talent drain and scarcity of materials, in 1916 the group established artists’ workshops on the premises, which were dominated by women, and started making ceramics, which until then had been outsourced. “It’s the beginning of expression-
ist ceramic production,” Witt-Dörring said. Female artists also began creating their own designs for textiles and fashion accessories. Relics from Vienna’s extravagant Cabaret Fledermaus, established in 1907 with interiors designed by the Wiener Werkstätte, can be seen in the second room and illustrate the group’s early spare-no-expense vision. “This is a program for a production that maybe lasted one week—all hand-printed,” the curator said, surveying the remnants. “Hoffmann designed the famous Fledermaus chair for it in bentwood. bentwood It was this idea that the quality has to be in every detail. They brought the cook from Paris to produce the meals in the cabaret” and designed the gravy boats, serving dishes, cutlery and more. “It’s wonderful this saucepot.” But a parallel aesthetic developed in response to the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after defeat in World War I and the subsequent loss of the empire’s markets. The Arts and Crafts philosophy, which elevated functional items into works of art, was called into question and an effort was made to appeal to a wider audience. “A small class of major industrialists serving as patrons was increasingly replaced by the broad class of bourgeois customers,” Witt-Dörring writes in the lavishly illustrated catalog. Form and function were no longer married. “Either it’s art or it has to function,” he said, invoking Dagobert Peche. Hence the reemergence of old techniques, like overlay glass, and retro styles — tea services with baroque shapes and handles. As he concluded about an ornate centerpiece designed by Hoffmann, circa 1924: “Designers were not afraid of the old styles any more. They could be inspired by them again and create something new from them. It’s like a piece of Rococo. You could buy it in brass or silver.”
NOVEMBER 9-15,2017
MANAFORT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Manafortâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s real estate portfolio also went under the special counselâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s microscope, with special attention paid to his two-bedroom, two-bath, 2,150-square-foot, fourth-ďŹ&#x201A;oor loft condo at 29 Howard Street in Sohoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cast-iron district. To purchase it in 2012, he turned to Cyprus, the Mediterranean tax haven and traditional transfer point for Russian funds. The entire $2.85 million cost was wired from offshore Cypriot entities, which he controlled but never reported as taxable income, Mueller alleges. The plot thickens: Manafort rented the Soho loft for tens of thousands of dollars on Airbnb, took advantage of favorable rental tax breaks, then applied for a mortgage â&#x20AC;&#x201D; falsely telling his bank that condo unit 4-D was owner-occupied by his daughter and son-in-law, enabling him to tap a larger loan at a cheaper rate than would otherwise have been available, the indictment says. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more. He allegedly compounded the bank fraud by instructing his son-in-law in January 2016 to lie to a bank appraiser who assessed the condo. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Remember, he believes you and [Manafortâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s daughter] are living there,â&#x20AC;? Manafort wrote, according to Muellerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s account. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He had the benefits of liquid income without paying taxes on it,â&#x20AC;? the special counsel noted. The feds are seeking forfeiture of the Howard Street home. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve never seen a property transaction more murky or convoluted in 17 years in the business,â&#x20AC;? said Michael Rose, a retired independent real estate agent who sold downtown properties. J u s t a s s k e tc h y w a s Manafortâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s $849,125 purchases of hand-tailored suits and other items between 2008 and 2014 from a menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clothing store Mueller called â&#x20AC;&#x153;Vendor E.â&#x20AC;? A chunk of those wares came from the Boutique of Bespoke Atelier, at 3 West 56th Street, the Associated Press found. In what could be a first in the history of haberdashery, Manafort stands accused of using 34 wire transfers, from undisclosed offshore accounts in Cyprus and the Grenadines in the Caribbean, to pull together his wardrobe. All told, Mueller dryly notes, Manafort wired a $12 million windfall to multiple vendors to buy â&#x20AC;&#x153;personal items,â&#x20AC;? adding, â&#x20AC;&#x153;He did not pay taxes on this income, which was used to make
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Paul Manafort, Donald Trumpâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s excampaign manager, cut a wide swath through New York â&#x20AC;&#x201C; where he lived, worked, played, shopped, and huddled with Russians. Among the locales he frequented, a handful figure in his indictment for conspiracy to launder money and tax fraud
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5 6 1. Boutique of Bespoke Atelier, 3 West 56th Street Manafort used wire transfers from Cyprus on which he paid no taxes to buy $849,215 in clothing from a menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s store, the indictment says. A big chunk was spent on suits at the high-end tailor, the A.P. reported 2. Trump Tower, 721 Fifth Avenue A. 43rd floor: Manafort has owned condo unit # 43-G since 2006 B. 66th, 67th and 68th floors: Neighbor Donald Trump owns the triplex penthouse C. 25th floor: Manafort, Donald Trump Jr. and Jared Kushner met on June 9th, 2016 with several Russians who pledged to â&#x20AC;&#x153;bring dirtâ&#x20AC;? on Hillary Clinton 3. 432 Park Avenue Manafort teamed up with a pair of Russian and Ukrainian moguls in a failed 2008 bid to buy the Drake Hotel and convert it into a luxury complex, Bulgari Tower. Harry Mackloweâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 1,396-foot residential condo was built on the site instead 4. Grand Havana Cigar Club, 666 Fifth Avenue 39th floor: Scene of an August 2, 2016 meeting between Manafort and a Ukrainian businessman suspected of ties to Russian intelligence. The tĂŞte-Ă -tĂŞte was held as questions mounted over the
the purchases.â&#x20AC;? The Bespoke Atelier, which once advertised in Trump Magazine, has since closed. Manafort tailor Eugene Venanzi, now operating from a shop in Greenwich, Pitagora & Venanzi, didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t return calls. Even a $20,000 payment to his unidentified New York housekeeper, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Vendor S,â&#x20AC;? was allegedly sourced to Cypriot and Grenadian wire transfers. And Mueller says a local antiques dealer, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Vendor G,â&#x20AC;? was wired $623,910 from abroad.
Sign Up for An Open House Tour scope of Moscowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interference in the presidential election 5. 29 Howard Street in Soho Fourth floor: Manafort in 2012 wired $2.85 million from offshore accounts in Cyprus to buy condo unit # 4-D Cyprus in a scheme to profit illicitly and evade taxes, the indictment says
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6. 123 Baxter Street in Chinatown Fifth floor: Manafort spent $2.5 million to purchase condo unit # 5-D in 2007. Now valued at roughly $3.5 million, it was one of the properties he offered to post in a bail package ? Unknown location of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Vendor G,â&#x20AC;? an antiquarian Manafort sent five wire transfers from Cyprus, allegedly laundering funds on which he paid no taxes, in order to buy $623,910 from an unidentified antiques dealer in New York between 2010 and 2013 ? Unknown location of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Vendor S,â&#x20AC;? a housekeeper Manafort deployed three wire transfers from Cyprus and the Grenadines, concealing income on which he paid no taxes, in order to pay $20,000 for an unidentified housekeeper in New York, the indictment says Douglas Feiden
Manafortâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attorney, Kevin Downing, pooh-poohed the transfers, arguing in court papers, â&#x20AC;&#x153;It goes without saying that in an international scheme to conceal assets, individuals generally move them offshore, not to the U.S.â&#x20AC;? But there was an odd typo in Downingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ďŹ lings: Referring to Cyprus, the island, he confused it with cypress, the tree: All the â&#x20AC;&#x153;funds deposited in the Cypress accounts were from legal sources,â&#x20AC;? he wrote.
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NOVEMBER 9-15,2017
Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com
RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS OCT 20- NOV 1, 2017 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. La Fonda Restaurant And Tapas Bar
Bakery On 3Rd Cafe
Malii
Lupita Restaurant
Burger King
169 East 106 Street
1885 3Rd Ave
2028 2Nd Ave
2049 2Nd Ave
1886 3Rd Ave
Grade Pending (45) 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. Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, crosscontaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Personal cleanliness inadequate. Outer garment soiled with possible contaminant. Effective hair restraint not worn in an area where food is prepared. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. Grade Pending (37) 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. 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. Wiping cloths soiled or not stored in sanitizing solution. Grade Pending (27) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Personal cleanliness inadequate. Outer garment soiled with possible contaminant. Effective hair restraint not worn in an area where food is prepared. 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. Grade Pending (25) 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/sewageassociated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred. A
El Nuevo Caribeno Restaurant
1675 Lexington Avenue
Grade Pending (21) 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. Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.
Triple A Diner
2061 2 Avenue
Grade Pending (27) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewageassociated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
Beach Cafe
1326 2 Avenue
A
Butterfield Market
170 East 70 Street
A
Shanghai Chinese Restaurant
1388 2 Avenue
A
Bottega Restaurant
1331 2 Avenue
A
Kosushi
1329 2Nd Ave
Grade Pending (24) Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, crosscontaminated, 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/sewageassociated 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.
Coffee Clock
1408 2Nd Ave
Not Yet Graded (20) 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. Hand washing facility not provided in or near food preparation area and toilet room. Hot and cold running water at adequate pressure to enable cleanliness of employees not provided at facility. Soap and an acceptable hand-drying device not provided
Naruto Ramen
1596 3 Avenue
Grade Pending (36 Personal cleanliness inadequate. Outer garment soiled with possible contaminant. Effective hair restraint not worn in an area where food is prepared. 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. Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored. Wiping cloths soiled or not stored in sanitizing solution.)
VISIT OUR WEBSITE! at OURTOWNNY.COM
NOVEMBER 9-15,2017
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Composed chickpea bowl at Inday. Photo: Susan Marque
A HEALTHY TAKE ON FAST FOOD HEALTHY IN THE CITY The proof is in the bowl at Inday, an Indian-inspired restaurant on West 26th Street BY SUSAN MARQUE
Viraj Borkar greeted me the first time I ever tried the food at his restaurant Inday, a cleaneating spot on 26th street, just around the corner from Broadway. Inday offers a modern take on fast food, and Borkar assured me that the ingredients were as free from additives or things I avoid (like cane sugar) as I was going to find anywhere. The proof was in the bowl. Inday offers balanced food combinations that are designed to be suitable for everybody. Borkar and Basu Ratman are hands-on owners in their restaurant and the name itself encompasses their vision of creating Indian-inspired food similar to the meals that Ratman’s own mother might have made him when he was growing up in Oyster Bay, Long Island. Bowls with lots of interesting flavors that make up a complete meal are served up in assembly-line fashion. Borkar and Ratan plan to open a second restaurant by December in Midtown (between 44th and 45th Streets on Third Avenue) that will offer table service, instead of having customers line up as they do at the inaugural location. I had a learning curve with Inday’s menu since it isn’t like
any other Indian food I’ve eaten before. It is actually a combination of Indian, Middle Eastern, Moroccan, and Southeast Asian ideas. On a recent visit, Borkar explained that in designing their ingredient pairings, they use the principles of Ayurveda, a mind-body system to support good health that originated in India. They have thought about flexible dietary combinations that could be suitable for everybody to enjoy their food. Inday doesn’t want you to have to think about much except what sounds good to you, so they put in the time to figure out what works all around to possibly facilitate optimal health, or at least a satisfying experience. They include six tastes: bitter, sweet, salt, sour, pungent, and astringent, by including a little pickle or a sauce, along with the array of vegetables and proteins. In the seasonal bowls, they think about what items are more warming and comforting as the weather turns cool, and what spices or vegetables will help one clear the heat during summer. You might not even notice the thought that goes into each bite of your bowl, but Ratman and Borkar aim to have you feeling great both during and after you dine. Ratman came up with the name Inday from thinking about the kind of Indian food he wanted to eat every day. Ratman and Borkar met through one of their investors, Phil Suarez. Borkar worked with Suarez at Jean-Georges for a time and he made a good
impression on the restaurateur. Ratman was in finance, though he had a dream of opening a restaurant. He told Suarez his ideas for Inday and the more experienced man agreed that it could be terrific. He started helping Ratman put it together. Suarez contacted Borkar, who was living in Washington D.C. at the time and asked if he wanted to move back to New York and start a new restaurant with Ratman. Bowls were the theme right from the start. “A balanced bowl is the food for the millennium,” said Borkar. “Millennials are always on the run and what’s better than having a beautifully designed bowl in your hand?” The colorful portions are arranged neatly, keeping each item separated, with added toppings sprinkled on for crunch, and sauce swirled around the rim. There is an additional hot sauce on the tables for people who crave fire with a bit of lemon in it. They offer meat, fish, tofu and beans to accommodate all types of diets. You could easily skip those and fill up on grains and vegetables with a generous sprinkle of toasted pumpkin seeds. There is no bread in the restaurant. Inday said they want to avoid gluten and have not found a delicious gluten-free bread they wish to include just yet. I hope that will be added at some point. For now, having a quick and flavorful place to pick up a meal that is sourced with mostly local and organic ingredients makes Inday a spot to return to again and again.
ACTIVITIES FOR THE FERTILE MIND
thoughtgallery.org NEW YORK CITY
At the Crossroads of Art and Science
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13TH, 7PM Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College | 695 Park Ave. | 212-772-4448 | aspeninstitute.org Artists, musicians, and scientists come together to celebrate Walter Isaacson and the publication of his new book Leonardo da Vinci (free).
Islam: An American Religion
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13TH, 7PM Albertine | 972 Fifth Ave. | 212-650-0070 | albertine.com Hear from religious studies experts Nadia Marzouki and Rosemary R. Corbett as they discuss Marzouki’s new book, which looks at the way Islam reveals American tensions, like those around “freedom of speech and the legitimacy of liberal secular democracy” (free).
Just Announced | ScreenTimes: “The Shape of Water” with Guillermo del Toro
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 27TH, 7PM FIAF/Florence Gould Hall | 55 E. 59th St. | 212-355-6100 | timestalks.com Director and screenwriter Guillermo del Toro is joined by New York Times journalist Logan Hill for a preview screening of del Toro’s latest fantasy, The Shape of Water, and a conversation ($50).
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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NOVEMBER 9-15,2017
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Business
FROLIC CELEBRATES GRAND OPENING WITH A BARK Kids can bond with service dogs at this new Upper East Side spot BY CHARMAINE P. RICE
It’s an animal lover’s dream on First Avenue between 80th and 81st Streets. For cat owners, there’s Feline Health, a cat-centric veterinary practice.
Taking Patience through the agility course. Photo courtesy of Frolic
Right next door is Biscuits & Bath, the popular doggy day care and wellness center. And on October 3, Frolic Kids joined the furry fray, opening its doors to welcome kids and their parents. Launched by Biscuits & Bath, Frolic Kids offers educational programming geared to children ages 4 to 12, with space for hosting birthday parties and special events. The heart of Frolic’s programming is centered on the service dogs adopted from the Guide Dog Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Smithtown, Long Island that has trained and placed guide and service dogs for over 70 years. The Frolic dogs include Patience, a yellow lab Golden Retriever mix, and Galileo, a black lab. Two more dogs are slated to join the Frolic family. “Patience and Galileo are service dogs and [are trained] to help people with special needs. Though these dogs did not obtain the certification needed to become service dogs, they were raised as working dogs and we want them to keep that honor,” explained Lina Lerentracht, Frolic’s director. “These dogs formally undergo what is known as a “canine career change” and they are going to be utilized in programming for kids.”
Lerentracht holds a master’s degree in child development and early childhood education. Prior to overseeing Frolic’s programming, she ran her own day care center in Brooklyn for 16 years and is an experienced volunteer with animal rescue groups, having fostered more than 40 dogs in the past year. To get the word out, Lerentracht canvassed in the immediate area, going to nearby schools, local shops and attending events geared to kids all over the city. “I literally attended every kid event this summer,” said Lerentracht. “Word of mouth has been great. The first birthday party we hosted came from a Biscuits & Bath client and the one following that came from a school administrator who I reached out to. We’re now booked through November and December.” An open house on Halloween allowed kids and their parents to come in, trick-or-treat, meet the dogs and tour the space. During the birthday parties, Lerentracht begins with explaining Frolic’s mission and how the dogs are adopted from the Guide Dog Foundation, followed by a brief lesson on how to properly approach a dog. A stuffed animal dog is on hand to allow more jittery
Kids and dogs at Frolic Kids. Photo courtesy of Frolic kids to practice before Patience and Galileo are brought out by their trainers who remain alongside the dogs throughout the party. The dogs demonstrate their learned behaviors including sitting, staying, turning on the lights, opening the door, and giving kids high-fives. Kids have the opportunity to take the dogs through an agility course. Photo-ops and a dance party further encourage the kids to interact directly with the dogs. Frolic offers an “Ambassadorship Program” for kids who love dogs, eager to learn more, and potentially explore future career paths working with dogs. Kids are designated as ambassadors after completing the program’s three levels.
For the younger set, smaller classes comprised of three or four kids include “Tea time with Patience,” which gives them the opportunity to have a tea party and cuddle with Patience. “Hero day with Galileo” encourages kids to put on superhero outfits while they learn about all the heroic things Galileo is trained to do, such as open doors, turn on the lights, and bring things to people. Frolic recently hosted an event with a local Girls Scout troop who made signs for a local adoption event and decorated dog collars for a rescue group. “Unleash your inner dog is our motto,” said Lerentracht. “Kids can come here and have fun while learning about dogs.”
NEIGHBORHOOD SIDE STREETS MEET 84TH STREET
sideways.nyc
X BAR 316 EAST 84TH STREET “Everything is an adjective here, but an exciting one,” declared Danny Brown when I stepped inside the 550 square foot space of his new bar and restaurant, X, which opened in early 2017. Danny quickly went on to explain that after ten years in a far larger spot in Forest Hills, he is now attempting to reinvent what was best about his Michelin star Danny Brown Wine Bar & Kitchen. “People think that less footage is easy, but in, actuality, it is not always so.” Danny and his team have found that they have had to make numerous adjustments to accommodate the lack of space. “It is challenging as we confront logistical issues,” but Danny went on to say that he loves the charm of his 84th Street location. He is looking forward to evolving as he and his staff become more comfortable – and he is able to determine what works best for the customers in the neighborhood and beyond. For more photos and side streets, go to sideways.nyc
NOVEMBER 9-15,2017
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Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com
YOU READ IT HERE FIRST VEHICLE
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
The local paper for the Upper East Side
April 6
April 14
‘CITIZEN JANE’ DOCUMENTARY PROFILES URBAN ACTIVIST PLANNING A timely new film spotlights the groundbreaking author of ‘The Death and Life of Great American Cities’ BY MADELEINE THOMPSON
Jane Jacobs, with her signature oval glasses, began a lifelong dedication to fighting urban renewal when plans emerged to continue Fifth Avenue through Washington Square Park. Critics labeled her a “housewife” who couldn’t possibly be more than a fly in the ointment of the project, but Jacobs had been writing and reporting about cities and architecture long before the park was threatened. Her story and the lessons of her groundbreaking book “The Death and Life of Great American Cities” are the focus
on April 21 at select theaters. Matt Tyrnauer, the film’s director, and producer Robert Hammond, who is also the executive director of Friends of the High Line, got the idea for the documentary several years ago when they realized there had never been a film about Jacobs before. “We thought we’d be introducing this film about a very brilliant woman who was sort of a seer, a visionary in a lot of ways, and politically active, in an atmosphere when we had the first woman president,” Tyrnauer said at a screening last Thursday. “Much to our surprise, it went the other way. There’s some resonances in the film that maybe were unintended but it’s interesting to see how the public has received them.” Hammond described the film as “a playbook for resistance,” and hopes that viewers will be able to learn from Jacobs how best to fight their battles. “What’s interesting now is people getting out in the street — it’s not just
The local paper for the Upper East Side
April 17
October 10
NO NEWS ON SECOND AVENUE SUBWAY SUBWAYS Four months after the subway line opened, newsstands at the new stations remain vacant BY MICHAEL GAROFALO
It was a New Year’s Eve party a century in the making. One hundred years after the Second Avenue subway was first proposed, Governor Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Bill de Blasio and other dignitaries rang in 2017 at an invitation-only soiree in the new station beneath 72nd Street, enjoying hors d’oeuvres and drinks as the Q train took its inaugural trip on the new line. Memorably, a pristine
director of the bicycle safety advocacy group Transportation Alternatives called the temporary barriers a “safety hazard,” claiming in a statement that the concrete walls dangerously channel two-way bike traffic into narrow spaces. White called on authorities to “immediately remove these concrete barriers, and instead install permanent, precisely placed bollards on high volume bike and pedestrian paths citywide” A week after the attack, Ryan Thomas, 25, biked to the site of a makeshift memorial to the victims near Pier 40 to pay his respects. Thomas, a Staten Island resident who until recently worked on the West Side and used the path every day, said that he hadn’t noticed much of an impact from the concrete barriers on light midday bike traffic as he rode to the memorial. “It could create a bottleneck of bikers when it’s crowded, but I see the need for them,” he said. “It’s a precaution that we can see now should probably already have been in place.”
More
zanine was repurposed into a bar, with bottles of beer from New York breweries lining the shelves in place of candy and magazines. The newsstands in the Second Avenue stations haven’t been put to use since. Nearly four months after the turnstiles started spinning in New York’s newest subway stations, the Metropolitan Transit Authority has yet to contract a vendor to operate four newsstands on the Second Avenue line. Black kiosks branded with the MTA’s Second Avenue subway logo sit shuttered and empty on station platforms as riders wait for trains to arrive. Anyone in need of a cold
The local paper for the Upper West Side
August 17
one person and injuring 22 others. The vehicle in the Times Square attack came to a stop when it struck a metal bollard on a street corner, which likely prevented further injuries. Additional bollards were installed in Times Square after the incident. Mayor Bill de Blasio said after the bike path attack that while it would be “very hard” to put bollards on every corner in the city, the city will install them in “key places” and learn from each incident. Bills have been introduced in both the House and Senate that would dedicate federal money to fund the installation of such barriers. Jenni Hesterman, a retired Air Force colonel and author of the textbook “Soft Target Hardening,” said that she recognizes that traffic safety measures can sometimes inconvenience bikers and pedestrians. “When you put up bollards and barricades it can really start to impact daily life for people, but there are examples of how to do
it effectively,” she said. “In a city like New York, there’s just a soft target on every corner,” Hesterman said, adding that authorities must focus on areas of particular vulnerability. “What towns and cities need to look at is where these promenades are where a vehicle could mount the curb and get to a high rate of speed,” she said. Hesterman said that decision makers can find useful input about vulnerable locations from the people who use public spaces every day and know them best. “The users often see spaces through different eyes than the people who design them,” she said. “The bad guys want us to get comfortable and complacent and not fight back,” she added. “We can’t feel helpless. There are things that we can do based on learning from past attacks.” Officials said that the bulky concrete barricades placed along the West Side bike path last week were a temporary measure until permanent solutions, possibly including metal bollards, could be put in place. Paul Steely White, executive
October 30
A NEW TEA HOUSE COMES TO THE UWS
neighborhood news? neighborhood celebrations? neighborhood opinions? neighborhood ideas? neighborhood feedback? neighborhood concerns? Email us at news@strausnews.com Come meet me and my friends ! MUDDY PAWS RESCUE, LINDA’S CAT ASSISTANCE, K9 KASTLE, BRONX TAILS, PATRICIA LADEW, CITY CRITTERS, ZANI & ANIMAL LEAGUE AMERICA
Silence, light and art are the hallmarks of a tranquil space on West 72nd Street BY ELISSA SANCI
Each morning, Elina Medvedeva starts her day by sitting in silence and drinking
tea at Floating Mountain, the recently-opened tea house she co-owns with business partner Roza Gazarian on West 72nd Street between Broadway and West End Avenue. She believes that a silent tea bowl ceremony is the proper way to start the day, and so, from 11 a.m. to noon, she sits cross-legged on
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YOUR 15 MINUTES
To read about other people who have had their “15 Minutes” go to ourtownny.com/15 minutes
KEEPING THE UPPER EAST SIDE IN STEP Founder and director of Dance Workshop New York on her new studio BY ANGELA BARBUTI
As the daughter of a dance teacher, Nanci Grasso she was born into studio life. At two-and-a-half, she started dancing at her mother’s on Long Island. “And when I wasn’t dancing, I was soaking up every aspect of the business,” she said. Since dance was an inherent part of her being, she didn’t consider it a future profession, and went on to attend FIT, eventually becoming a celebrity stylist. She did, though, continue to keep a foot on the dance floor, traveling back to Lynbrook to teach for her mother. Two years ago, she moved to the Upper East Side and fell in love with the neighborhood. But it was lacking something — a dance studio for the neighborhood’s youth. So, last year, she took a leap, and opened Dance Workshop New York on East 64th Street, right off of Lexington. Offering classes in ballet, tap, jazz, modern, hip hop and pointe, the studio’s focus is children. But the studio also hosts tap and ballet classes for adults and Grasso plans to start offering fitness classes as well. Along with managing the studio, Rossi teaches several hours a day, six to seven days a week. She wouldn’t have it any other way. The 31-yearold spoke of the rewards of watching long-term students grow and getting to play an intimate role in their lives. “That coming of age with them is a one-of-a-kind experience,” she said.
How did your mom get her start in the business? She is from Brooklyn originally and then migrated to Rosedale, Queens. She grew up dancing at a local studio. And very early on, I would say at around 11 years old, she started working at that studio so she could barter dance classes. And then it grew from there. Probably by the time she was 16, she was really teaching and then started helping with the administrative aspects of this woman’s studio in Queens. And by the time she was 21, she decided to take the plunge and open her own studio and that’s when she opened on Long Island. Did you ever think you’d have your own studio one day? I think that studio life was just such a part of my being that I didn’t think about it, really. It was my life and our
family business. I didn’t separate it from myself and always aspired to work in fashion, so that was really the goal. However, I danced almost every day all through my childhood, up until high school and college. But I wanted to work in the fashion industry and ended up doing that.
What was your experience like at FIT? Tell us about the career that followed. I majored in fashion business there. And obviously living in Greenwich Village, I soon realized I needed to start working to support every aspect of city life. I was going to school full time and took a job at Intermix as a salesperson. And that quickly led to my first job as a stylist. At 19, I started working for CBS Watch Magazine. And I was styling celebrities for editorials, cover shoots, red carpets, press junkets and doing that for many years. Simultaneously, I started teaching for my mother on Long Island. I couldn’t really quit either thing; I was really passionate about both.
When did you decide to open your own studio? I would say probably about five years ago, I decided to fully commit myself to my mom’s business and we became co-directors. And I really started building that business and falling in love with it.
How did you choose the Upper East Side as its location? I moved to the Upper East Side two years ago and was loving my neighborhood. I started to think, “Wow, we need a dance studio here.” We really needed a neighborhood place for children to call home and report into every week with friendly faces. I would say I signed two leases within six months, my personal lease and then I found a place on 64th Street and it happened at lightning speed. It was probably just meant to be.
As far as your demographic, are there a lot of local students or do they travel to get there? I would say primarily our base is local, however, because there are so many schools on the Upper East Side, we do have students who go to school up here, take their dance classes after school by us, and then go home and that may be Chelsea or Midtown, it depends.
How involved is your mother in the city studio? What are the pros and cons to working with her?
Nanci Grasso at her dance studio on East 64th Street. Photo: Dance Workshop New York I would say there are all pros. We are extremely close and I couldn’t imagine doing this without her. She has been my mentor as a woman and as a business owner. And she has loved every second of opening this business, so she’s in the city quite a bit. She’s based on Long Island and still has her studio there, 39 years strong, and I’m still teaching there as well.
for dancing in front of 300 people and ease that fear. That’s been such a special thing; to be part of someone’s wedding day is just really wonderful. Any time we have the opportunity to work with a couple, we jump on it, because it’s just priceless.
You also teach classes to couples who are getting married.
We’re actually going to have our first event in a couple of weeks. We partnered with them and we’ll go back and forth between hosting events at our location and then hosting events at the different satellites of the New York Public Library. And the idea is to increase interest in both our studio and the library and the wonderful, free opportunities that they have. So es-
That’s been a really great thing for us. Obviously for a wedding couple, their first dance can be a bit scary. So we try to assist in that respect. So they’ll typically bring in their wedding song and we can choreograph something elaborate for them or just give them the basics to prepare them
On your Instagram page, there was a recent post about a partnership with the library. Explain what that entails.
sentially, we’ll be incorporating some creative movement and dancing to their book readings at their locations and then they’ll be coming to us to do some readings and storytime. And our dancers and friends-this is open to the public as well-will be able to get their library cards. We’re really focusing on kids from 2 to 6 and are just so thrilled to partner with such a great organization and be part of such a special thing. www.danceworkshopny.com
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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L Y E P S S I L L A A B P C H
Barbecue Barstool Beds Cabinets Chair Curtain Cushions Hammock Lamp Mirror Ottoman Shelving Sofa Stands Tvstand
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D L O M M R R B A R B E C U E
T O P M O T V S T A N D A I G
L E O R A R C M L X S V O H E
X C J I A C H A I R O P W W F
K Q N Z W C C Z M L F T G O J
L Y E P S S I L L A A B P C H
1 5
8 4 2
6
6 1
7 4
3
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2 3 8
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5 1 3 8 9 6 4 2 7
6 8 4 5 7 2 3 9 1
7 2 9 1 3 4 8 5 6
4 7 5 3 2 1 6 8 9
2 6 1 9 8 7 5 4 3
3 9 8 4 6 5 7 1 2
25 Sea bird 26 Ocean troughs 29 Monument for dead buried elsewhere 30 “Murders in the ___ Morgue” 34 Engrave with acid 37 Uncouth 41 Piggie’s place 43 Macho dude (2 words) 45 Out of the wind 46 Tooth companion 47 Hole on a golf green 48 Alias 49 Gun an engine 51 Generation 52 Field 53 Beachgoer’s goal
M V C A B I N E T S J L S G O
K L Y U Y D H B J V H V M K M
54 Small guitars 55 Sweet ____ 56 Specialty 57 Lay stones 58 Strike 59 Leavened bread of India Down 1 That girl 2 Nevertheless 3 Masefield play “The Tragedy of ___” 4 Stuffed pancake 5 Pro’s opposite 6 Christmas song 7 Unmelodious 8 Sock pattern 9 New “Party” 10 Unusual 11 “The Raven” writer 17 Flightless bird 19 Romanov ruler 20 Dried coconut meat 21 Walking ___! Very happy (2 words) 22 Body trunks 24 Antiparkinsonian agent
T Y Z V T G U A U D F E L I T
M V C A B I N E T S J L S G O
59
G R I Z A J O C T W L H P O T
T Y Z V T G U A U D F E L I T
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A V W O X U V N U S G S H X O
G R I Z A J O C T W L H P O T
57
WORD SEARCH by Myles Mellor
A V W O X U V N U S G S H X O
56
53
A
55
52
N
54
51
E
50
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Across 1 Harmonize 5 Atlanta-based station 8 At the summit of 12 Listen 13 Not me! 14 Make again 15 Sicilian volcano 16 Deserter 18 Greek geographer 20 Hillside vineyards 23 Calmed down 27 Lennon’s love 28 Ranch unit 31 Blade side 32 Golf score 33 Help the environment 35 Bonanza find 36 Type of CPU (abbr.) 38 Snug retreat 39 Vim 40 In a melodious way 42 Talks online 44 Briefcase 47 Tote bag 50 Liquify
7
1
1 5
Level: Medium
5 4
1
R
45
8 2
39
41
48
7 4
35
38
44
9
A
40
5
A
37
34
3
N
36
31
6
59
33
30
26
3
2
A
32
29
25
9
E
28
24
1
1
E W
22
27
47
17
8
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21
14
Each Sudoku puzzle consists of a 9X9 grid that has been subdivided into nine smaller grids of 3X3 squares. To solve the puzzle each row, column and box must contain each of the numbers 1 to 9. Puzzles come in three grades: easy, medium and difficult.
H
20
11
58
18
10
E
16
9
S
15
8
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7
V
12
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SUDOKU by Myles Mellor and Susan Flanagan
by Myles Mellor
57
1
NOVEMBER 9-15,2017
Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com
NOVEMBER 9-15,2017
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