Our Town - December 29, 2106

Page 1

The local paper for the Upper East Side

WEEK OF DECEMBER - JANUARY BLACK DESIGNERS GET THEIR DUE < P. 12

29-4 2017

Marcie Chase, who served time at the former Bayview Correctional Facility, worked at the recent Annie Leibovitz portrait exhibition held there and shared stories related to the images. Pointing to a photo of Elizabeth Warren, Chase said the U.S. senator from Massachusetts could have been the first woman president of the United States. Photo: Diamond Naga Siu

FROM PRISON TO EMPOWERMENT IN CHELSEA The former Bayview Correctional Facility is being transformed into an activist Women’s Building BY DIAMOND NAGA SIU

Marcie Chase believes in transformation. She is a transgender woman and a former inmate of Bayview Correctional Facility in Chelsea. Chase has now dedicated her life to social change for women. One part of her advocacy is helping to transform the onetime prison on West 20th Street and 11th Avenue into a Women’s Building, a structure symbolic of women’s potential and accomplishments. “It was really a dark place for women to be — the amount of sexual abuse that was happening with the correctional officers and the women,” Chase said. “I was there in the 80s, and it was really horrible.” Transforming the Bayview Correctional Facility,

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Conservatory Water, Central Park’s boat pond, in November. Photo: Carl Mikoy, via flickr

FIGHTING CLIMATE CHANGE ONE TREE AT A TIME “No other American metropolis matched the scale of New York City’s efforts,” says author Jill Jonnes BY MADELEINE THOMPSON

Jill Jonnes wants New Yorkers to know they may be planting trees incorrectly. Jonnes’ recent book, “Urban Forests: A Natural History of Trees and People in the American Cityscape” (Viking), presents a comprehensive study of city trees that spares

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few details, except that the way they are planted on streets is doing more harm than good. “That’s the one thing I didn’t get in [the book],” Jonnes said. “A very common thing that you see in New York is that people think they’re doing a huge favor to their beloved street tree by building a box and filling it with dirt, when actually they’re slowly suffocating their tree.” Instead of piling dirt around the flared bottom of a tree, she suggests that arborists leave

City Arts Top 5 Real Estate 15 Minutes

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more of the tree above ground so it can breathe. “Urban Forests,” which came out in September, is the product of eight years of off-and-on research Jonnes conducted out a desire to lend her writing skills to a topic she cares greatly about: climate change. “Most people live in cities, and I thought ‘what could you do if you’re living in the city and you’re just an ordinary mortal?’” she said. “It seemed to me that the thing people could do

is to plant trees or care more for trees, or even just be aware of

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Jewish women and girls light up the world by lighting the Shabbat candles every Friday evening 18 minutes before sunset. Friday, December 30 – 4:20 pm. For more information visit www.chabaduppereastside.com

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DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 4,2017

MICHAEL WHITE RETURNS TO THE ART OF FOOD You hosted The Art of Food last year.

at an early age. I always liked and was around good food. But going to Chicago in 1990 and seeing all of these things was a mind-blowing experience. It was all very, very new. People make risotto now at home now, but at the time, there was so much happening. That’s how I got into cooking, and from there I went to Italy and Europe to learn Italian food and its origin.

I did, It was really great to able to be with and meet our customers and clientele and get to connect with them and have a conversation. It’s a great opportunity for me to give back. Vaucluse is participating again at the upcoming event, we just opened a little over a year ago. In restaurant years, it’s so young, but we’re firing on all cylinders now.

You’ve earned a ton of recognition over the years, “Best New Restaurant,� Michelin Stars...

What kind of food do you serve there? I’d say it’s a brasserie-plus plus. So what that means is you can get a great white label burger there, or you can get something classic: a beef bourguignonne or a veal chop, great steak frites. It’s very classic French.

I’m a really lucky guy, I don’t take it for granted. There are many great chefs, and a lot of them don’t get the accolades or the light they deserve. We all work hard. I don’t think the average person realizes how much work goes into it. They see it glamourized on television- which is great for our business, don’t get me wrong-but people think it’s ďŹ re and ames in the kitchen, and that’s a little part of it, but it’s still a vocation, it’s not a white collar job.

How did you get started in the culinary world? Years ago: 1989, 1990. I was in college, and there was no Food Network. There was a time in the early ‘90s when Italian food was just startingand by Italian food, I’m not talking Italian-American Food. I mean real, Tuscan food, risotto was just being

Michael White and Nicole Miller at the 2015 Art of Food event. cooked, prosciutto came in to America legally in 1989. We take these things for granted now: being able to go to the deli counter and getting mortadella.

Growing up in the Midwest with a Norwegian family, food was always important. We were always gardening, so I grew an appreciation for that

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take the time to cook a recipe, make sure the ingredients are of good quality. I feel like people feel the need to over-embellish or they think there’s some big secret to a good recipe, but it’s all about good ingredients. Ingredients at least 70% of cooking. You could have the most amazing chef, but if he or she doesn’t have the right ingredients, they can’t make the food taste fantastic.

Favorite thing to cook at home for your family? Anything, as long as we’re eating together. But I like to go with a one-pot meal that really makes the house smell good, especially this time of year: whether it’s risotto, braised meats, or soup. As a chef you can take food home, but I don’t often do that because it doesn’t perfume the house. It’s like having Thanksgiving dinner, but getting it dropped off, you know? Check out what Vaucluse is serving up for the Art of Food at: www.artoffoodny.com

Keep it simple: ingredients, ingredients, ingredients. If you’re going to

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CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG CLEANED OUT

STATS FOR THE WEEK

A West 99th Street resident reported that her diamond necklace disappeared on Dec. 8, the same day she had her carpets cleaned by an outside company, police said. The woman told police that she put her Lauren B diamond necklace valued, at $11,500, on her bedroom dresser the day prior. She noticed that the necklace was no longer where she had placed the evening the contractors had come to clean.

Reported crimes from the 19th precinct Week to Date

Year to Date

2016 2015

% Change

2016

2015

% Change

Murder

0

0

0

0

1

-100.0

Rape

0

0

0

9

11

-18.2

Robbery

1

1

0.0

92

98

-6.1

Felony Assault

0

1

-100.0

94

101

-6.9

Burglary

0

2

-100.0

76

70

8.6

SILVER WHERE?

Grand Larceny

13

8

62.5

700 709 -1.3

Sometime between Aug. 29 and Nov. 22, $10,000 worth of silverware was taken from the apartment of West 110th Street resident. The woman told police that during that period she had had two jobs performed in her apartment, including having the oors done between September 30 and October 6. She told police she had three sets of keys -- one for herself, one for her husband, and one for the building doorman, to be used by the super, painters, oor workers, a nanny, and a cleaning lady. Thirty-one pieces of Cartier silverware were stolen, including large forks, cocktail forks, a large knife, dessert spoons, and soup spoons, all engraved with the initials SNP.

Grand Larceny Auto

0

1

-100.0

31

31

0.0

Tony Webster, via ickr

SCHOOL’S OUT

MAIL POX

Members of the Democratic Party weren’t the only ones getting their e-mails hacked in recent weeks. At 12:30 p.m. on Nov. 29, a female employee of PS 163 Alfred E. Smith School at 163 West 97th St. received an e-mail from a coworker with instructions to send a wire transfer to one Helen Guerrero in Minneapolis. The employee was later informed that her e-mail had been hacked and the school was out $7,850.

Police alert the public that thieves have been removing and intercepting checks placed in mailboxes in the West 105th Street area. Area residents are advised to bring checks to be mailed to a local post office or drop them in mailboxes before the day’s last pickup. At 11:35 p.m. on Nov. 27, an 85-yearold man placed ďŹ ve checks totaling $3,200 in the mailbox at 105th Street and Manhattan Avenue. He was later notiďŹ ed by his bank that the checks had been cashed by an unknown person.

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The super of a building on the street captured video of a man removing letters from the mailbox a few hours after the 84-year-old had mailed them. It was unknown where the checks were cashed.

ADDED AND SUBTRACTED Valuable artwork went missing in an unusual theft. At 4:33 p.m. on Dec. 7, a 33-year-old man dropped off a package containing African art valued at about $3,000 at the UPS store

located at 2753 Broadway. About 10 minutes later an unknown perpetrator called the UPS store to ask where the package was being sent. The caller said he needed to add something to the package and came to the store shortly after. A store employee gave the package to the caller, who left for a few minutes before returning with the package. The following day the recipient of the package notiďŹ ed the 33-year-old sender that the contents were missing. The value of the stolen art amounted to $3,000.

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DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 4,2017

Useful Contacts POLICE NYPD 19th Precinct

153 E. 67th St.

212-452-0600

159 E. 85th St.

311

FIRE FDNY 22 Ladder Co 13 FDNY Engine 39/Ladder 16

157 E. 67th St.

311

FDNY Engine 53/Ladder 43

1836 Third Ave.

311

FDNY Engine 44

221 E. 75th St.

311

CITY COUNCIL Councilmember 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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Part of the so-called Gateway project would involve expanding Penn Station, above during an evening rush hour. Photo: frankieleon, via flickr

HUDSON ‘GATEWAY’ SAID TO BE BACK ON TRACK $20+ billion project to build new rail tunnel, expand Penn Station has political backing BY DAVID PORTER

A massive project to build a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River won’t fall prey to the type of interstate political spats that have bedeviled other large infrastructure plans in the New York region, some of the major figures behind the project said last week. U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker of New Jersey and Chuck Schumer of New York and Amtrak Chairman Tony Coscia attended a panel discussion that provided an update on the so-called Gateway project, the $20 billionplus plan to build a new tunnel, expand New York’s Penn Station and make other significant improvements along the aging, congested rail line between Newark, New Jersey

and New York. One past and one current project offer cautionary tales: Six years ago, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie curtailed a rail tunnel project, citing concerns of cost overruns, after more than $100 million already had been spent. The project, called Access to the Region’s Core, or ARC, wasn’t fully supported by New York lawmakers and was to be funded by New Jersey, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the federal government. This year, bickering between the two states has brought the development of a new $7.5 billion bus terminal in Manhattan to a near-standstill. New York lawmakers claim the process is being dictated by New Jersey lawmakers, and say the Port Authority will need to seize land to build the new facility. The Gateway project, which

has the support of Christie and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, is different, Menendez said. “I don’t see this as a bistate squabble,” Menendez said. “I see that this project is one where we’re all singing off the same song sheet. Maybe there might be some debate about the bus terminal, but that’s not going to affect this project. This project is about opening up the economics of the entire region. I think everybody on both sides of the river fully understand that.” Gateway has already been approved for expedited environmental permitting, a process that should be completed by early 2018, Coscia said Monday. Schumer and Booker both expressed cautious optimism that President-elect Donald Trump would continue the government’s financial commitment. “At the end of the day, he’s a New Yorker,” Booker said.

“And this is a vital artery into this city, and to have this artery continue to crumble threatens the lifeblood of New York.” Coscia reminded listeners of the ticking clock that provides a backdrop to Gateway: Two years ago, Amtrak predicted the existing tunnel would someday have to have each of its two tubes closed for a year or more to repair saltwater damage from 2012’s Superstorm Sandy. The 55 hours per weekend Amtrak now spends on tunnel repairs eventually won’t be enough, Coscia said. “The reality is, I think we’re doing everything we possibly can, but I can’t, nor can any engineer, really predict how long we can actually do this before a problem arises that is beyond what we can fix in the normal course of a repair program,” he said.

DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 4,2017

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DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 4,2017

Rendering of the former Bayview Correctional Facility, a 100,000 square-foot space in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, which is being developed to unite more than a dozen women-focused organizations. Courtesy of the Governor’s Office

CHELSEA CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 which shut down in 2012 during Hurricane Sandy, is a project supported by the NoVo Foundation. The organization holds a 99-year lease to the building, and the transformation aims to exemplify NoVo’s goal of ending all types of violence and discrimination against women. “The Women’s Building is about providing space and resources for women who are working to advance justice and equality for girls and women

everywhere,� NoVo Foundation Executive Director Pamela Shifman said. “So just imagine a new vertical neighborhood, where activists can connect with each other in really powerful ways.� Shifman said that the building, expected to open in 2020, will provide a centralized location for activists visiting New York City to collaborate with others working on the same causes in different parts of the world. NoVo Foundation partnered with the Lela Goren group, a development company, to spearhead the project. The two organizations then chose the female-led Deborah

Berke Partners architecture ďŹ rm to enact their vision. Shifman said the Women’s Building hosted a block party in September to interact with the community while sharing ideas, and an advisory circle is still helping to shape the building and its ideals. However, even with these unfinished details, the Women’s Building hosted its ďŹ rst event in November — a photography exhibition entitled “WOMEN: New Portraitsâ€? by Annie Leibovitz. Syretta Wright, 38, a formerly incarcerated person, worked at the exhibition. Although she never served time in Bayview,

Marcie Chase, who served time at the former Bayview Correctional Facility, organized the reading room table of the Annie Leibovitz portrait exhibition held there. Chase’s favorite set of pictures featured photos of drag queens ready to perform, juxtaposed with their less painted daytime looks. Photo: Diamond Naga Siu she said that all prisons have negative connotations. “They treat us like animals, we’re property, we’re slaves,� Wright said. “For [this prison] to ... become a Women’s Build-

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ing is kind of ironic, but for myself and other women in my situation, it shows a sense of hope.â€? Wright is working to become a physical trainer, so she hopes that the building incorporates some aspect of fitness, since that represents empowerment, growth and conďŹ dence to her. Although no official jobs have been ďŹ led yet with the Department of Buildings, the Women’s Building will include office space, meeting areas and an art exhibit on one of the lower oors. “It means good things,â€? said Kim Foster, who owns the Kim Foster Gallery located on the same block. “My understanding of the Women’s Building is that it focuses on not just art but all things that are related to women’s issues, and that’s great.â€? Foster said that she has been in the area for 18 years and believes that a Women’s Building is a greater asset to both the community and her business than the correctional facility. “A lot of the galleries in the area — including mine — are owned by women, and we do show woman narratives,â€? Foster said. “I think it’ll take people down to 20th Street.â€?

Foster said that she expects the building to include something akin to a museum dedicated to women, and that it would be a place where women would feel welcome. Wright felt a sense of unity and equality while working at the Leibovitz exhibition. “During the show, I could stand there with people of stature, and they didn’t even know and couldn’t even look at me and say ‘she was an inmate,’ so I felt like I could be part of that society,� Wright said. “I’ve never experienced what going to these art exhibits [is like] or what it’s like in that part of culture, so that made me feel like, ‘Oh shoot.’� Marcie Chase hopes the building will be a comfortable environment for all women, regardless of their differences. “If we don’t take care of each other, then who’s going to take care of us? The men?� Chase said, laughing. “I want it to be such a home base for all women that when a woman walks into the space that she is met by another woman with love and honor, because it’s about us honoring each other as women and supporting each other as women.�

DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 4,2017

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TREES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

The cover of “Urban Forests,” Jill Jonnes history of trees in American cities.

you You’d

ies are shaped just as much by their trees. “I’ve really come to feel that because so many of us live in the city and it’s clear that nature just is so key to our health and happiness, I feel like cities really need to be retrofitted with nature,” Jonnes said. “It needs to be strategic and thought out.”

And best of all you won’t have to go outside to grab a copy from the street box every week.

It’s your neighborhood. It’s your news.

X

Check out the NYC tree census at: https://tree-map.nycgovparks.org/ Madeleine Thompson can be reached at newsreporter@ strausnews.com

us to

look

into

for stunts and silliness, such as showing up in a spacesuit to view the lunar eclipse in Central Park.” Other prominent trees and characters that might be familiar to New Yorkers include the Callery pear tree that was salvaged from the wreckage of 9/11, Bette Midler and former president Theodore Roosevelt, whose family motto was apparently “He who has planted will preserve.” Trees, wrote biologist Bernd Heinrich, are shaped by their experiences. In “Urban Forests” it becomes clear that cit-

something

have

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Everything you like about Our Town is now available to be delivered to your mailbox every week in the Eastsider From the very local news of your neighborhood to information about upcoming events and activities, the new home delivered edition of the Eastsiderwill keep you in-the-know.

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them. Honestly I didn’t know more than any other person about trees.” Starting in 1806 with Philadelphia plant collector William Hamilton’s correspondence with fellow enthusiast President Thomas Jefferson, the book touches on the invention of Arbor Day, specific tree species that thrive in cities and the pests that have plagued them. New York City, which Jonnes described as a “template for how to go about really restoring your urban forest in a very strategic way,” is featured heavily in the book. Between the MillionTreesNYC and PlaNYC initiatives, Jonnes writes that “no other American metropolis matched the scale of New York City’s efforts.” She also praises the Parks Department’s city tree census and map, which document each of the 684,440 trees of 210 species throughout the five boroughs. According to the 2015 tree count, more than $110 million worth of energy conservation and intercepted stormwater, among other benefits, was saved thanks to New York City’s green guardians. In 2008, its first year, Jonnes writes, MillionTreesNYC could take credit for the planting of more than 110,000 trees in the city as well as the “greening of city laws.” May of that year saw new zoning changes that required developers to plant and care for more trees and build greener parking lots, aiming to add 10,000 trees annually. Jonnes’ research highlights the career of former parks commissioner Henry J. Stern, who was a master of city laws and ordinances, and who had “an amazing natural talent

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STREET WISE, COMPUTER NAIVE GRAYING NEW YORK BY MARCIA EPSTEIN

I consider myself a savvy, sophisticated New Yorker. I scoff at the naivete of those who are scammed. How did they fall for it — it’s so obvious. What were they thinking? Well, guess what, I was scammed. I fell like a ton of bricks. When a message came up on my computer, I called that number instead of the Time Warner number I had, and somehow was talked into undoing the very good antivirus program I had for another. I was skeptical, kept saying “I don’t know whether to believe you,” but they wore me down with their “sincerity” and even showed me a photo of who was supposedly hacking me. So I fell for it. I was tired, exhausted from the back and forth, the sincere

assurances, the return phone calls. After a day or two I was rested and called my terrific computer guy, told him the story and he told me I’d been scammed. And so I ended up paying him to come and undo it, and I was lucky because the credit card company refunded my money (“we know that company,” they said), and all ended up OK. But boy, was I embarrassed. It can happen to anybody, even a skeptic like me. Watch out, these scammers are clever and convincing. Pretty scary world out there. On another topic, I’m learning to cast aside guilt and say no when I have to. Not just saying no to friends when it’s necessary, but knowing that it’s okay to say no and not feel guilty. So many of my friends and acquaintances are quintessential New York senior women. They have tickets; oh, do they have tickets. Tickets to the opera, tickets to plays,

Voices

Photo: Eugene Peretz, via flickr Broadway, (on, off- and off-off-), tickets to concerts. They seem to be constantly on the go and loving it. Taking courses, going to multiple exercise classes, joining group after group. And travel. Oh, do they travel. Not only in the United States but to all corners of the world. Some of my “no” is just my own preferences. I am a reader and pretty much a homebody. I like good movies, a short walk, lunch with friends, and then a good book and maybe a nap. However, a lot of my no is because I have fibromyalgia and spinal arthritis, and I just can’t do it. If the arthritis is in my back and knees isn’t enough to ground me, then the

fibromyalgia is. Try telling people you have fibromyalgia. Most of them have never heard of it, or pooh-pooh it (as many doctors do) as a figment of the imagination. Well no, it isn’t! It causes intense fatigue as well as pain in the soft tissue all over the body. Some days are better than others. This is not to say that I don’t know how lucky I am not to have something worse when so many people are coping with so much worse. But a fibro flare can ground you like a bad flu. And it doesn’t show, so it’s hard to say “sorry, my fibro is flaring today.” Because of these hindrances, I can’t join the local museum group because

I just cannot walk fast, as they do, and I can only stand five minutes comfortably before my back is screaming. The museum tours would not be fun but excruciating. John, my partner, is in several walking groups; just the notion puts my back in spasms. But the thing is; I don’t look handicapped, and so often people don’t understand why I just have to say “no, I can’t do it.” Then I feel guilty, because if you don’t have a cane or a walker, often people don’t believe you. I manage an hour a week of pingpong. With pingpong, you’re moving around and concentrating on the game, so I find it doable (barely). Then I go home and collapse with two Advil and a good book, or often a nice nap. I’ve often felt guilty that people older than I are out there walking briskly, jogging, bicycling. But I’m trying to shed the guilt. It’s hard though because I know people do push through a lot of pain to do what they love. I just have to tell myself that guilt is useless, and that if I just want to hunker down with a book and a heating pad it’s OK.

BUCKED BY THE SYSTEM EAST SIDE OBSERVER BY ARLENE KAYATT

Deerly departed — poor buck. He stopped here. Got caught in the headlights between NYC and Albany. Pretty tough to survive that. How’d the deer get here in the first place? Some say he swam. Really? Was it fake news, made-up news (no harm intended, just context)? Or did Lefty hook up with deerdate.org or jdate4deers.com to meet a mate for a date? How does anyone know how the one-antlered deer got to Jackie Robinson Park in West Harlem? And, if someone saw the swimming deer, why didn’t they just call Santa or the Salvation Army — it’s that time of year — for an intervention or a rescue? Wise not to have made initial contact with our Gov or our Mayor when there was hope — we know how that turned out. Why no Instagram of the swimming deer? And where were the twitterers and tweeters when Lefty left the water? Nothing happens in the present tense without a digital, visual or audio footprint. Unfortunately, it all came to naught for the poor deer who left home — wher-

ever that may have been — first for a greener pasture in the park and then for some concrete, brick and mortar in NYC public housing at Polo Grounds Towers. A fawn whose fate was sealed once he encountered and fell victim to the vagaries of New York politicians. Yup, the poor buck stopped here. He never had a chance. Sorry, Lefty. RIP. Bike-side service — a perfectly happy storm came to pass as an M103 pulled to the curb for a bus stop. As the driver was about to close the door, a cyclist slowed his bike, waved his hand in front of the about-to-close door so a man with a walker and his aide could come along for the bus ride. Made my day. Crossed words — 12/13/16 New York Times puzzle. Clue, Parrots and ferrets. 4 letters. Are you kidding, New York Times? The answer can’t be “pets.” Not in NYC, where ferrets are not permitted to be kept as pets by private individuals. Trust me, Our Town lived through the days in the Guiliani years when he mounted a vociferous campaign against the critters being kept as pets. He was successful. While ferrets may not be banned as pets in a Times crossword puzzle, they are banned as pets in city apartments. No need for the reminder.

Grounding grandpa — 8 a.m. Monday. Elevator in UES high-rise filling up with kids toting backpacks, dogs leashed and held by their walker, housekeepers lugging laundry bags and detergents while folks on their way to work are working their cellphones trying to reach Uber and the like because they’re late. In comes Grandpa pushing his pre-teen granddaughter into the too-crowded elevator as he struggles to keep the hot coffee in the topless paper cup he’s holding without spilling it — not on the elevator floor, which is totally occupied — but onto one of the kids or the dogs or the walkers or the cell phoners — or on all of them. He somehow managed to raise the open, almost-filled-to-the-top cup to a level where it wasn’t touching anyone and didn’t spill. Grandpa, you don’t bring a cup of hot coffee — with or without a top — into a crowded elevator at any time but especially not at heavy traffic hours. Wait for a coffee break or have your coffee at home or on the street until you get to wherever you’re going. Some are Civil, some Supreme — all are newly elected judges/justices of the Civil and Supreme Courts of New York County. Primaries, elections are done, gone, over — and inductions be-

Lefty the deer in Jackie Robinson Park earlier this month. Photo: Ralph A. Gilmore, @ Orangemoonwerks, via Harlem World Magazine gan in December. To the victors went the prized privilege of being a part of one of the best judiciaries in the country. Judge Kelly O’Neill Levy is now a Supreme Court justice. Judge Sabrina Kraus and Josh Hanshaft and Judy Kim are now Civil Court judges. Em-

ily Morales-Minerva and Aija Tingling will be inducted as Civil Court judges in February and Judges Robert Reed, James D’Auguste, Andrea Masley and Erika Edwards will be inducted as justices of the Supreme Court in January or February. Great bench.

DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 4,2017

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DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 4,2017

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

OurTownNY.com

ACTIVITIES FOR THE FERTILE MIND

thoughtgallery.org NEW YORK CITY

Winter Walk | Arts, Culture & Fun: Central Park in the Movies

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31ST, 1PM Urban Park Rangers | Central Park | 212-628-2345 | nycgovparks.org Since a 1908 version of Romeo & Juliet, over 300 films have been shot in Central Park. Check out the sites on an afternoon stroll. (Free)

The Syrian Colony on Washington Street

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4TH, 6:30PM Mid-Manhattan Library | 455 Fifth Ave. | 212-340-0863 | nypl.org Catch an illustrated lecture with New York-based scholar Linda K. Jacobs, author of “Strangers in the West: The Syrian Colony of New York City, 1880-1900.” (Free)

Just Announced | A Celebration of E.L. Doctorow

MONDAY, JANUARY 9TH, 7:30PM 92nd Street Y | 1395 Lexington Ave. | 212-415-5500 | 92y.org Don DeLillo, Jennifer Egan, and Ta-Nehisi Coates pay tribute to E. L. Doctorow on the occasion of the posthumous publication of his Collected Stories. ($28)

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

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

Thu 29 Fri 30 ‘HANSEL & GRETEL’ Theater at St. Jean’s, 184 East 76th St. 2:30-4:30 p.m. $30. Full production of Engelbert Humperdinck’s “Hansel & Gretel,” accompanied by chamber orchestra. 347-948-4588. amoreopera. org

THE MIKADO | GRANDPARENTS’ DAY Kaye Playhouse, 695 Park Ave. 3 p.m. $70-$95. Gilbert & Sullivan Players’ production of “The Mikado,” re-imagined, based on the 1885 masterpiece. Pre-show family overture. 212-772-4471. hunter.cuny. edu/kayeplayhouse

STANDUP COMEDY Dangerfield’s Comedy Club, 1118 First Ave. 1 a.m. $55. Featuring the best of the best comedians who have performed in leading clubs, movies and TV shows. 212-593-1650. dangerfields. com

TABOO W/ DJ RONNIE Ethyl’s Alcohol & Food, 1629 Second Ave. 10 p.m.-4 a.m. No cover charge. Every Thursday at Ethyl’s, Ronnie Magri spins classic 60s and 70s funk & soul & boogie & disco. 212-300-4132. www. ethylsnyc.com

Sat 31 KINDLING LIGHT OF WISDOM HEART ▲ Zen Buddhist Temple, 206 East 63rd St. 8-10 p.m. $20 suggested. A beautiful candlelight service to step back from the world and take stock. 212-888-6262. zenbuddhisttemple.org

PIPE ORGAN CONCERT► Saint Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church, 325 Park Ave. 11-11:59 p.m. Free. William K. Track on St. Bartholomew’s grand AeolianSkinner pipe organ, one of New York’s greatest musical treasures. 212-378-0222. stbarts.org

DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 4,2017

Sun 1

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ORGAN RECITAL St. Patrick’s Cathedral, 14 East 51st St. 3 p.m. Free. Member of the American Guild of Organists since 1977, Christopher Stanton Brunt plays classical works from the 17th century through the 20th. 212-753-2261. saintpatrickscathedral.org

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SUNDAY FUNDAY Baker Street Pub, 1152 First Ave. 11 p.m.-4 a.m. Get your hungover self up and over to the First Sunday Funday of 2017, for brunch and ball games. 212-688-9663. bakerstreetnyc.com

Mon 2 PAUL KLEE EXHIBIT ▲ The Met Breuer, 45 Madison Ave. 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. $25 suggested. “Humor and Fantasy” features 70 works by Paul Klee from the Berggruen Collection. 212-570-3753. metmuseum. org

CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR Radio City Music Hall, 1260 Ave. of the Americas. 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. $58.

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140 performers including dance troupe the Rockettes, original musical score, singing, dancing and humor with traditional scenes. 866-858-0007. rockettes. com/christmas

Tue 3 STORYTIME The Met Fifth Avenue, 1000 Fifth Ave. 12-1 p.m. Free. Look, listen, sing and have fun with picture books; then continue with self-guided gallery hunt. Children 3 to 6. 212-570-3753. metmuseum. org

BOOK CLUB Shakespeare & Co. Bookstore & Café, 939 Lexington Ave. 6:30-8 p.m. Free. The club features books reviewed in The New York

Review of Books. 212-772-3400. shakeandco. com

Wed 4 BINGO A-GO-GO Ethyl’s, 1629 Second Ave. 8 p.m. Every Wednesday at Ethyl’s with your host and caller, Anna Copa Cabana, and DJ La La Linda. 212-300-4132. ethylsnyc.com

TEA GATHERING Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Ave. 1:30-5:30 p.m. Free with admission. Part of “Unwritten Rules Cannot Be Broken,” visitors are invited to converse and contemplate calligraphy over a tea. 212-423-3575. www. guggenheim.org/

Eastsider

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GETTING THEIR DUE

DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 4,2017

Reese. Aisha Ayensu, who founded the Christie Brown label in Accra, Ghana’s capital, found inspiration in “The Sound of Music” for a spring 2016 dress and coat. “Ayensu transports her heroine to Africa with wax-print p florals, paisleys, and a scene of the sasa vannah,” the show label states. The ex h ibit ibi b o a s t s fou r nd d resses a n by ensembles b Patrick Kelly, Kelly Mississippithe Mississipp born clothier clothie whose de designs were worn by

A new exhibit at The Museum at FIT pays homage to the talents of black designers

BY VAL CASTRONOVO

“Black Fashion Designers” at The Museum at FIT is not a show about “black style,” we are told, but a history of black designers that ranges from the 1950s to spring 2017. Mostly overlooked, definitely underappreciated, the 60 designers showcased here strut some 75 outfits in a variety of styles that dazzle and delight as they raise our consciousness about their makers’ contributions to the industry. Most of the names will be unfamiliar to viewers, but the clientele should come as no surprise. Jacqueline Kennedy, Michelle Obama, Princess Diana and Tina Turner are just some of the VIPs who have been dressed by designers of African descent. Visitors may experience déjà vu when they see Laura Smalls’s red-and-white leafy print dress (spring 2016)— the same dress Michelle Obama rocked over the summer when she rapped “Get Ur Freak On” with Missy Elliott and James Corden on the late-night talk show host’s “Carpool Karaoke.” Fortunately, there is a video monitor with the segment on a continuous loop. And there is an audio tour, too, that you can dial up on your smartphone, with commentary by the curators and Vogue contributing editor André Leon Talley. Each of the nine themes that frame the show (e.g., “Breaking into the Industry,” “African Influence,“ “Street Influence,” “Black Models”) is introduced, with one item from each section singled out for a closer look. The clothing runs the gamut, from wedding dresses and Savile Row suits to T-shirts and a Playboy bunny costume — the latter designed by Zelda Wynn Valdes, the first AfricanAmerican woman to own a boutique in

Mimi Plange, Dress, Spring 2013, USA. Gift of Mimi Plange.

Eric Gaskins, Dress, 2014, USA. SA. Gift of Eric Gaskins.

IF YOU GO WHAT: “Black Fashion Designers” WHERE: The Museum at FIT, Seventh Avenue at 27th Street. WHEN: Through May 16, with a Feb. 6 symposium on black designers. s. www.fitnyc.edu/museum/

New York. Couture mixes with street clothes, and disco-era jumpsuits mix with outfits fashioned from traditional African textiles. Ghanaian-born Mimi Plange’s pink leather dress with quilted, wavy lines (spring 2013) ref-

erences scarification in a nod to the designer’s heritage. “I embed my biography y into garments,” says Plange, who appears in a video on diversity in fashion shion with Talley and American designer gner Tracy

Patrick Kelly, Dress, Fall/Winter 19861987, France. Museum purchase.

Bette Davis, Cicely Tyson and Grace Jones. Based in Paris, Kelly was a late 1980s sensation before succumbing to complications of AIDS at 35. His sexy black knit dress at the show’s entrance has a heart-shaped bodice festooned with mismatched buttons in deference to his grandmother, who mended his clothes and, as he told one reporter, “to detract from having to use mismatched buttons on his shirts … started sewing them everywhere.” Kelly’s designs scream “fun.” He famously wore denim overalls to his fashion shows and the fabric’s influence can be seen in a number of the pieces here — a denim dress (1987, France) that looks like a pair of overalls, and a pinstriped denim suit with playing dice for buttons (spring 1989, France). A sampling of his black-baby brooches (1987-90) is also on view, a gift from Gloria Steinem. Kelly freely distributed them to friends and as favors at fashion shows. Per his partner, Bjorn Amelan, it was his response to the racism he felt as a boy: “Rather than cower and try to repress that, [Kelly found] the most effective way to deal with it was to appropriate and send back that image in an empowered way.” Black dressmakers have a tradition of crafting luxury clothing for wealthy women. Ann Lowe designed Jackie Kennedy’s first wedding dress (not shown) and counted Rockefellers and DuPonts as clients. Today, LaQuan Smith designs for the likes of Lady Gaga and Kim Kardashian. Look for his see-through lace dress for Kim, who made waves in Cannes in 2015 when she debuted the revealing creation that highlighted her undergarments and pregnancy. Smith learned patternmaking from his grandmother and has lamented that both FIT and Parsons rejected him — but Forbes included the Long Island City-based designer in its 2015 “30 Under 30” Art & Style list. The Museum at FIT now gives him his due. Smith’s edgy dress in the Eveningwear section shares the stage with another showstopper, veteran designer Eric Gaskins’s 2014 couture gown, inspired by the art of Franz Kline. As Gaskins explains on the audio tour about this abstract expressionist “painting on a dress,” the goal was to make it “look like the paint had just been applied to the dress.” Micro bugle beads were individually sewn on the fabric, using a needle as thin as a strand of hair. Unevenness mimics brushstrokes, like the splatters and dabs of fresh paint on a canvas.

DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 4,2017

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AMERICAN CUT Daniel Eardley ATLANTIC GRILL Joyce Rivera BLAKE LANE Kevin Wilson BOHEMIAN SPIRIT RESTAURANT Lukas Pol CAFE D’ALSACE Philippe Roussel CANDLE 79 Angel Ramos CRAVE FISHBAR Todd Mitgang EAST POLE Joseph CapozzI EASTFIELDS KITCHEN & BAR Joseph Capozzi FREDS AT BARNEYS NEW YORK Mark Strausman FLEX MUSSELS Rebecca Richards JONES WOOD FOUNDRY Jason Hicks LUSARDI’S Claudio Meneghini MAGNOLIA BAKERY Bobbie Lloyd MAYA Richard Sandoval

MIGHTY QUINN’S BARBEQUE Hugh Mangum NEW YORK PRESBYTERIAN Ross Posmentier 5 NAPKIN BURGER Andy D’Amico ORWASHERS BAKERY Keith Cohen PAOLA’S Stefano Marracino SANT AMBROEUS MADISON AVENUE Andrea Bucciarelli SEAMSTRESS Jordy Lavenderos SHAKE SHACK Mark Rosati SWEETCATCH POKE Lee Anne Wong T-BAR STEAK Benjamin Zwicker THE MEATBALL SHOP Daniel Holzman THE PENROSE Nick Testa VAUCLUSE Michael White

Geoffrey Zakarian & Margaret Zakarian

Our Town’s

ART OF FOOD at

Presented by

Saturday February 4, 2017

TICKETS ON SALE NOW USE CODE: ‘FOODIE’ FOR 15% OFF artoffoodny.com

Geoffrey Zakarian Star of Food Network’s Chopped, The Kitchen, Cooks vs. Cons, author of “My Perfect Pantry,” restaurateur behind The Lambs Club, The National in NYC, The National in Greenwich, The Water Club at Borgata in Atlantic City, Georgie and The Garden Bar at Montage Beverly Hills and, coming soon, Point Royal at The Diplomat Beach Resort and co-creator of Pro For Home food wstorage container system, Margaret Zakarian President of Zakarian Hospitality, co-author of “My Perfect Pantry” and co-creator of Pro For Home food storage container system.

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14

DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 4,2017

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS NOV 1 - DEC 22, 2016 The following listings were collected from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s website and include the most recent inspection and grade reports listed. We have included every restaurant listed during this time within the zip codes of our neighborhoods. Some reports list numbers with their explanations; these are the number of violation points a restaurant has received. To see more information on restaurant grades, visit www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/services/restaurant-inspection.shtml.

Vinnie’s Pizzeria

1603 2nd Ave

A

Food Passion

1200 Lexington Ave

A

Taco Today

1659 1st Ave

A

Aba Sushi

1588 York Ave

A

Ryan’s Daughter Cafe

350 East 85 Street

A

Le Paris Bistrot Francais

1312 Madison Avenue

A

Maroo

1640 3rd Ave

A

Feta

1436 Lexington Ave

Not Yet Graded (25) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Two Doors

1576 3 Avenue

A

Mckeown’s

1303 3 Avenue

A

Ko Sushi

1329 2 Avenue

A

Up Thai

1411 2nd Ave

A

Cafe D’alsace

1695 2 Avenue

A

Amoun

406 East 73 Street

Grade Pending (19) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.

JJ Brown Cup

1707 2nd Ave

A

Belaire Cafe

525 East 71 Street

A

Noche De Margaritas Restaurant

1726 2 Avenue

A

Marymount College Nugents Cafe

221 East 71st Street

A

Mamma Mia Pizza

1760 1st Avenue

A

Green Life Juice Bar

311 E 76th St

A

Fillmore Delicatessen

1668 3rd Ave

Grade Pending (2)

Oita Sushi

1317A 2nd Ave

A

Effys At The 92Y

1395 Lexington Ave

A

BRB Cafe

413 E 69th St

A

Dig Inn

1297 Lexington Ave

A

Shanghai Chinese Restaurant

1388 2 Avenue

A

Radicchio Pasta And Risotto Co.

1664 3rd Ave

Not Yet Graded (19) Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.

The Pony Bar

1444 1 Avenue

A

Subway

455 East 116 Street

A

Maison Kayser

1294 3 Avenue

A

A

1331 2 Avenue

A

Healthy Living 106 (Herbal Life)

167 East 106 Street

Bottega Restaurant Vanguard Wine Bar

1372 1st Ave

A

MJ Pizza

1976 1st Ave

A

Laduree Paris

864 Madison Ave

A

567 Asian Express NY

2033 1st Ave

Flora Bar

945 Madison Ave

A

Candle Cafe

1307 3rd Ave

A

Not Yet Graded (33) No facilities available to wash, rinse and sanitize utensils and/or equipment. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Yia Yia

404 E 69th St

A

Bean Y Vino

153 E 104th St

Nargila Grill

1599 York Avenue

A

The Louise/Saloon

1584 York Avenue

A

Not Yet Graded (11) 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.

The Supply House

1647 2 Avenue

A

KFC

1922 3 Avenue

B

Cafe Jax

318 E 84th St

A

Tapout Fitness

1915 3rd Ave

A

Cascabel Taqueria

1556 2nd Ave

B

Domino’s

1993 Third Avenue

A

Little Frog Francois Latapie 322 E 86th St

A

Moustache

1568 2 Avenue

A

1621 Lexington Avenue

A

Comic Strip The Simone

151 East 82 Street

A

Patisserie Vanessa

1590 Park Ave

A

Nectar Of 82nd Street

1090 Madison Avenue A

The Jaguar Restaurant

A

Eli’s Table

1411 3 Avenue

A

1735 Lexington Avenue

Mochaburger + Subs Express

1603 2nd Ave

A

Cafe (At The Museum Of The City Of New York)

1220 5 Avenue

A

Arturo’s Pizza

1610 York Ave

A

La Avenida

2247 1st Ave

A

The York Social

1529 York Ave

A

Indo-Pak Halal Restaurant

2173 2 Avenue

A

Amura Japanese Restaurant

1567 2nd Ave

A

Uptown Roasters Cafe

135 E 110th St

A

Amor Cubano

2018 3 Avenue

A

Morini Ristorante

1167 Madison Avenue

A

Bosie Bakery

2132 2nd Ave

A

Bar Prima

331 E 81st St

A

Kennedy Fried Chicken

2100 2nd Ave

A

Hummus Kitchen

1613 2nd Ave

A

Grace Wok Chinese

2014 2nd Avenue

A

Hu Kitchen

1536 3rd Ave

A

Lexington Pizza Parlor

1590 Lexington Ave

A

WINTER EDUCATION PREVIEW

DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 4,2017

15

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START TO INCREASE ENROLLMENT! Insight into the Top Private Schools The Latest Continuing Education trends Updates on elementary schools in the neighborhood

Issue Jan. 19th Deadline Jan. 13th

Contact Vincent Gardino 212.868.0190 x407 | advertising@strausnews.com

Tell 150,000+ Highly Educated Readers About the Best Education Opportunities

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DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 4,2017

Business

TOURIST COUNT PASSES 60 MILLION, A RECORD An even greater number of visitors to the city is expected in 2017 BY MADELEINE THOMPSON

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced this week that 2016 will set a record for the number of visitors to New York City. Despite lowering an original year-end prediction from 59.7 million to 58.5 million tourists, the mayor’s office revised the estimated final number to 60.3 million. “More tourism means we have more people investing in New York City and are able to create more sustainable jobs for more people. New York is a culturally rich and diverse city, with so much to offer those who visit,”

de Blasio said in a statement. About 47.6 million of this year’s visitors came from within the country. This marks the seventh year in a row that visitors to the city increased. The mayor’s office put the total number of jobs supported by the tourism industry at 375,000. Hotel room sales reached a record high of 34.9 million across the city’s 111,000 hotel rooms. Another 24,000 rooms are set to be added in 2017. Hotel and sales taxes contribute an estimated $1 billion to the local economy, the mayor’s office said. Some of the most popular citysponsored consumer attractions include NYC Restaurant Week, NYC Broadway Week and NYC Off-Broadway Week, which generally take

place between January and March each year. NYC and Company, the city’s marketing office and sponsor of these programs, announced in conjunction with the revised tourism estimate that it is launching a new NYC Attractions Week from Jan. 17-Feb. 5 during which participants can receive 2-for-1 admission to places such as the Lincoln Center for Performing Arts and One World Observatory. “The appeal of the ‘New’ New York alongside our classic attractions continues to draw travelers from every corner of the globe,” Fred Dixon, president and CEO of NYC and Company, said in the statement. Despite the economic stimulation brought by visitors, some are sure

to greet the numbers with trepidation. Streets and sidewalks are more crowded than ever, especially in Lower Manhattan. Street vendors -another popular tourist destination -- continue to fight for more licenses and opportunities over the objections of local community boards

HOLIDAY SHOPPING HAS LOST CACHET Online buying, year-around deals, heavy discounts contribute to decline in November and December sales BY ANNE D’INNOCENZIO

The holiday shopping season is losing some of its power in the year’s sales. November and December now account for less than 21 percent of annual retail sales at physical stores, down from a peak of over 25 percent, and experts believe it’ll keep dropping. Those extra percentage points would have translated into an extra $70 billion more in buying for last year, says Michael Niemira, principal at The Retail Economist. The season had steadily gained in importance and peaked in the early ‘80s, before the dominance of big discounters like Wal-Mart stalled its growth as shoppers began moving away from department stores. Still, the two-month period held its own through the mid’90s, when online shopping for deals took hold. “There was a mindset even before online shopping,” said Niemira, whose data goes back to 1967. “But this just accelerated it.” In general, many people are shopping for the holidays all year long now, mirroring the trend for back-toschool items. Heavy discounting has diluted sales, and with big promotions throughout the year, shoppers no longer hold off making their biggest pur-

Photo: Jim Pennucci, via flickr chases until the holidays. This year, the contentious presidential election delayed some shoppers, and with Christmas falling on a Sunday, stores were expecting a bigger number of last-minute buyers. At a busy Target store in Brick, New Jersey, on Christmas Eve morning, many shoppers seemed to be picking up small items to use as stocking stuffers. Others were hoping to find a last-minute deal. “I’m pretty much set for Christmas, so I thought I would come down and see what I could find on sale, like maybe a TV,” Terry Kreft, 38, said as she strolled through the store. She has

spent about $600 on gifts this year, taking advantage of discounts during the traditional holiday-season shopping days right after Thanksgiving, called “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday.” “I was pretty much done with my shopping before December got rolling,” Kreft said. But a late rush wasn’t expected to make up the difference. “It’s no longer a seasonal business,” said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at consumer research firm NPD Group Inc. “It’s a yearlong investment for the consumer. And retailers need to change. They have to excite

shoppers early in the season and later in the season — and all year long.” Here’s what’s behind the shift: Shoppers don’t wait to buy bigticket items: Stores now offer good deals throughout the year on products like TVs and appliances, making waiting until the end of the year less appealing. Deloitte LLP found 30 percent of shoppers planned to wait for holiday sales to buy large gifts, down from 35 percent a year ago. “People are not holding back and waiting because they find a good price for all the things they are looking for,” said Rod Sides, vice chairman of Deloitte. Christopher Rogers, a research analyst at Panjiva, which looks at imports, says he has seen a smoothing out of imports during the pre-holiday shopping season from July to November on key items like apparel, toys and furniture. The shift complicates matters for retailers, which could usually concentrate their efforts on capturing shoppers during the holiday window. Heavy discounting: With fierce competition online, particularly from Amazon, stores are constantly trying to outdo each other and even undercutting themselves on prices from the previous year. Shoppers have been trained to demand deals, and won’t break the habit. “The heightened competition being driven by the influence of e-commerce largely is driving prices down on pop-

that say they are adding to sidewalk congestion. Early estimates predict that 61.8 million visitors will take advantage of all New York City has to offer in 2017. Madeleine Thompson can be reached at newsreporter@strausnews.com

ular holiday items,” said Traci Gregorski, senior vice president of marketing at Market Track. “Retailers know consumers frequently compare prices on these categories online and are discounting more heavily to drive traffic and sales.” One example: The average price for a TV from Oct. 1 through Dec. 20 was $829.52, down from $1,009.41 during the same time last year, according to Market Track, which tracked promoted prices across 40 major retailers on over 19,000 TVs. The rise of gift cards: Shoppers are giving more gift cards as presents, which skews holiday sales figures since they aren’t booked as sales until they’re redeemed. And most cards no longer have an expiration date. This holiday season, gift cards were ranked second as a top gift, behind only clothing, according to NPD. Gift cards sales accounted for about 25.4 percent of holiday expenditures last year, up from 13.5 percent in 2003, according to Goldman Sachs and The Retail Economist. Shoppers want experiences: Major department stores like Macy’s have been seeing shoppers shifting their spending away from traditional merchandise like clothing and more toward gifts that offer experiences like beauty treatments and other services. NPD found 10 percent of holiday shoppers said they planned to give fewer tangible gifts than last year, and 8 percent said they would not give any tangible gifts. Some 14 percent said they will give more experiences as gifts this year than last year, the research group said. Bruce Shipkowski contributed to this report.

DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 4,2017

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STATE, FEDS BICKER ABOUT HUDSON’S HEALTH 14 months after General Electric cleanup concluded, questions remain about toxins in the waterway BY RICHARD KHAVKINE

How healthy is the Hudson River? Just over a year after General Electric completed a mandated cleanup of a 40-mile stretch of the Upper Hudson River, state and federal officials are at odds about how much more testing, if any, is needed to ensure the waterway is returning to health, decades after the company dumped more than 1 million pounds of toxins into the waterway. State authorities want federal administrators to expand an evaluation of the Hudson River, particularly into the portion of the waterway that courses through New York City. Ahead of a 5-year review of the river’s health due early in 2017, the federal Environmental Protection Agency says sampling data is sufficient. The state’s Department of Environmental Conservation last week said that data shows that PCBs unloaded hundreds of miles upstream at two GE plants had materialized in the Lower Hudson. In a strongly worded letter sent to the EPA’s regional administrator earlier this month, the DEC’s commissioner, Basil Seggos, said GE’s six-year remediation project was insufficient. He called on the EPA to defer any conclusion that the cleanup is protective of human health and the environment. “Before a protectiveness determination can be achieved, EPA must require General Electric (GE) to conduct additional expedited investigations, sampling, and any necessary remedial work,” Seggos wrote to the administrator, Judith Enck. Seggos was especially critical of what he said was the EPA’s disregard of the Lower Hudson River, which he

said the review does not consider — despite, he wrote, EPA risk assessors’ acknowledgement that there are “unacceptable and uncontrolled risks” to people and other organisms attributable to GE’s dumping. Seggos said “EPA has largely ignored PCB contamination of the Lower Hudson River.” In an equally blunt response, Enck wrote back that the agency “strongly disagreed” with Seggos’ contention that the EPA had failed to use scientific rigor to support its decisions regarding the Hudson. She said Seggos’ “baseless accusation” disregarded the EPA’s reasoning, detailed in a Dec. 16 letter, as to why the agency would not try to compel GE to sample hundreds more locations for PCBs, as the DEC requested. PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, are linked to adverse health effects including cancer in humans. Among the reasons cited by the federal agency are that the 375 sampling stations in both dredged and nondredged areas are “statistically appropriate” and sufficient. All of those stations are in the Upper Hudson and sampled by GE. Enck cited other reasons for not increasing the sample size, including the time the agency would need to reach agreement with GE to perform the work, which she said “would be far more extensive” than that agreed to in a 2005 consent decree that preceded the remediation’s start. An ongoing fish monitoring program, also in the Upper Hudson, also gives a nuanced view of the waterway’s health, Enck wrote. But, she wrote, if results from either the sediment sampling or the fish monitoring program call for greater sampling, EPA would consider an increase. Although Enck said the upcoming 5-year review would address the health of the Lower Hudson, she also noted “ongoing” PCB releases from contaminated sites in the Lower Hud-

Hudson River dredging in 2013. Photo: Environmental Protection Agency

The Hudson River as seen from the One World Observatory. State authorities want the federal Environmental Protection Agency to sample and test for toxins in the portion of the waterway that courses through the city. Photo via Wikimedia Commons. son that are the DEC’s responsibility. She said the DEC was free to pursue its own sampling program, as the DEC has said it would if the EPA did not. General Electric concluded a mandated cleanup of a 40-mile stretch of the waterway between Fort Edward and Troy in 2015 at a cost of about $1.5 billion. GE says it is monitoring the river’s shoreline and assessing whether high levels of toxins are present there. Just before its dredging operations concluded last year, the company said it had addressed “100 percent” of the PCBs targeted by the federal agency. “EPA has called the project a success and a national model, and we’re very proud of that,” a company representative wrote in response to state elected officials’ call for “full remediation” of the river. In a statement accompanying its report, the DEC suggests that the EPA “expand the investigation of remedial efficacy” from the Federal Dam at Troy, the southernmost portion of the remediation project, to the Battery in New York City. Seggos’ letter accompanied a DEC report generated as part of the department’s participation in a mandated 5-year review evaluating cleanup of the river by General Electric, which dumped PCBs into the Hudson from its manufacturing plants in Fort Edward and Hudson Falls during a 30-period

ending in the late 1970s. The EPA’s stance on the cleanup has been criticized as hastened and obstinate by others, including by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Those critics say collected data shows that a higher concentration of PCBs has remained following the cleanup than was envisioned when the remediation project was put in place. “What’s happened is the science has evolved,” said state Sen. Brad Hoylman, who has long advocated for more cleanup of the river. “We now can detect the PCB levels more accurately, which suggests that the agreement needs to be revisited.” He said it was crucial for the EPA to demand GE make additional assessments before the company is absolved of further responsibility. “You can’t just back away from a trillion dollar environmental disaster and proclaim ‘mission accomplished’ when the science points in another direction,” said Hoylman, the ranking Democrat on the state Senate’s Environmental Conservation Committee. “The EPA can step in and conduct more testing and most efficiently make a determination as to what more GE should be doing.” The state will otherwise have to perform the work and then sue GE for reimbursement, he said. Abby Jones, a staff attorney with the

Hudson Riverkeeper, said that “the basic assumption” of the river’s health following remediation was incorrect. She suggested that the federal agency appeared eager to move on from one of the nation’s greatest environmental calamities. “EPA, for whatever reason, is gung ho on declaring the remedy a success,” Jones last week. The federal agency, she said, is refusing to accept that there are more toxins in the Hudson than anticipated when it drew up the remediation order. “We know that there’s more contamination in the river and that the contamination is going to last longer,” she said. “There’s still more that needs to be done.” The EPA says that 2.75 million cubic yards of river mud had been dredged, and 310,000 pounds of PCBs removed, twice what was expected. According to the EPA, the company dumped 1.3 million pounds of the toxic compound into the river from its upstate plants. Although about 200 miles of the Hudson, from Hudson Falls to the Battery, was declared a federal Superfund site in 1984, a decision to dredge did not arrive until 2002 and General Electric’s did not begin remediation until 2009. Richard Khavkine: editor.dt@strausnews.com

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‘SILENCE’ SPEAKS TO SCORSESE’S TWIN PASSIONS The director’s most recent film is a throwback in a changing Hollywood BY JAKE COYLE

Martin Scorsese’s Manhattan office, in a midtown building a few blocks northwest of the cordoned-off Trump Tower, may be the most concentrated bastion of reverence for cinema on the face of the earth. There’s a small screening room where Scorsese screens early cuts of his films and classic movies for his daughter and his friends. There’s his personal library of thousands of films, some he taped himself decades ago. Film posters line the walls. Bookshelves are stuffed with film histories. And there are editing suites, including the one where Scorsese and his longtime editor Thelma Schoonmaker regularly toil with a monitor dedicated to the continuous, muted playing of Turner Classic Movies. “It’s a temple of worship, really,” says Schoonmaker. Scorsese’s latest, “Silence,” may be the film that most purely fuses the twin passions of his life: God and cinema. Scorsese, who briefly pursued becoming a priest before fervently

Andrew Garfield, center, in Martin Scorsese’s “Silence.” Photo: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures dedicating himself to moviemaking, has sometimes seemed to conflate the two. “Silence” is a solemn, religious epic about Jesuit priests (Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver) in a violently anti-Catholic 17th century Japan. Scorsese has wanted to make it for nearly 30 years. He was given the book it’s based on, Shusaku Endo’s 1966 novel, by a bishop after a screening of his famously controversial “The Last Temptation of Christ” in 1988. “Silence” is an examination of belief and doubt and mysterious acts of

faith. But making the film was such an act in itself. “Acting it out, maybe that’s what existence is all about,” Scorsese says of his faith. “The documentary on George Harrison I made, ‘Living in the Material World,’ that says it better. He said if you want an old man in the sky with a beard, fine. I don’t mean to be relativist about it. I happen to feel more comfortable with Christianity. But what is Christianity? That’s the issue and that’s why I made this film.” It wasn’t easy. Scorsese, 74, may be among the most revered directors in

Hollywood, but “Silence” is almost the antithesis of today’s studio film. To make it Scorsese had to drum up foreign money in Cannes and ultimately made the film for about $46 million. Everyone, including himself, worked for scale. Few today are making movies with the scope and ambition of “Silence” — a fact, he grants, that makes him feel like one of the last of a dying breed in today’s film industry. “Cinema is gone,” Scorsese says. “The cinema I grew up with and that I’m making, it’s gone.” “The theater will always be there for that communal experience, there’s no doubt. But what kind of experience is it going to be?” he continues. “Is it always going to be a theme-park movie? I sound like an old man, which I am. The big screen for us in the `50s, you go from Westerns to ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ to the special experience of ‘2001’ in 1968. The experience of seeing ‘Vertigo’ and `The Searchers’ in VistaVision.” Scorsese points to the proliferation of images and the overreliance on superficial techniques as trends that have diminished the power of cinema to younger audiences. “It should

matter to your life,” he says. “Unfortunately the latest generations don’t know that it mattered so much.” “Silence,” which Scorsese screened for Jesuits at the Vatican before meeting with the pope, remains a powerful exception in a changing Hollywood. “He wanted to make this film extremely differently from anything out there,” says Schoonmaker, Scorsese’s editor since “Raging Bull.” “He’s just tired of slam-bam-crash. Telling the audience what to think is what he really hates. Trying to do a meditative movie at this point, in this insane world we’re in now, was incredibly brave. He wanted to stamp the film with that throughout: the pace, the very subtle use of music. “How many movies start without music at the very beginning under the logos?” she adds. “He said, ‘Take out all that big Hollywood.’” Scorsese, apostle of cinema, continues the fight. His Film Foundation has helped restore more than 750 films. And he regularly pens supportive letters to young directors whose films he admires. Imagine that in your mailbox. Almost like getting a letter from your god.

HISTORIC DOWNTOWN BUILDING’S FUTURE REMAINS UP IN THE AIR Plans for the former Excelsior on Centre Street called for a 60-story tower, but some want affordable housing BY RUI MIAO

Two side-by-side buildings in Tribeca may be split by fate. A privately-owned 9-story building at 139 Centre Street, built by Schwartz and Gross in 1911, is a step closer to becoming a historic landmark following Community Board 1’s unanimous backing for the designation earlier this month. The future of the adjacent 137 Centre Street, also a 1911 Schwartz and Gross and originally known as the Excelsior Building, isn’t near that certain. After a failed attempt to encourage CB 1’s Landmark Committee to also re-evaluate that building, preservation groups, Tribeca Trust foremost among them, are concerned that the city-owned building is going to be sold and developed into a luxury condo that would shadow over the neighbor-

hood. “This building is a historic asset, it anchors a key part of Tribeca east,” said Lynn Ellsworth, the chairwoman of Tribeca Trust. “Towers here would destroy the existing ensemble and harm the sense of place and break urbanism that is already there.” In early 2015, the New York City Economic Development Corp. announced a request for proposal to redevelop 137 Centre Street. According to the announcement, EDC “particularly seeks proposals that incorporate needed services or neighborhood amenities, such as space dedicated to a Universal Pre-Kindergarten facility.” Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer was supportive of the proposal. In a Facebook February 2015 post, Brewer wrote that the site would be developed “in a manner that is good for students, affordable housing, and DCTV,” alluding to Downtown Community Television Center, a nonprofit media arts center located at the adjacent 87 Lafayette Street. DCTV representatives had agreed to transfer air rights of its roughly 74,370-squarefoot vacant lot for the redevelopment

of 137 Centre Street. Brewer was unavailable for comment, according to a spokesperson. In May, a rendering for a proposed 60-story skyscraper, purportedly by architect Thomas Juul-Hansen, started making the media rounds, a pencil tower on the footprint of 137 Centre Street. The architect, though, disputed the building pictured was his. “It is not correct,” Juul-Hansen said in an email. “We have nothing to do with 137 Centre Street.” CB1 believes it’s too early to advocate either way, due to a lack of proof that the city is planning to sell the building. “There is no actual proposal right now,” said Roger Byrom, chairman of CB1’s Landmarks Committee. “We need to wait to see what, if anything, is actually submitted.” He said that according to both the EDC and the city’s Planning Commission, no plans for the site have been submitted. Neither the EDC nor the planning commission responded to requests for comment regarding 137 Centre Street.

139 Centre Street recently received backing from Community Board 1 for a historic landmark designation. Photo: Rui Miao Meanwhile, Tribeca Trust is encouraging the city to use all of 137 Centre Street for affordable housing. The building is home to various city agencies, including the Department of Sanitation and NYC Business Integrity Commission. That suggestion has received the backing from Councilwoman Margaret Chin, who represents the district. “From the beginning of our conver-

sation on 137 Centre St., I expressed clearly my preference for deeply affordable housing on this site.” Chin said in a letter to EDC in October. “At a time when affordable housing creation is a paramount goal of our City, I cannot support the use of this public asset for anything other than the creation of middle and low-income housing.”

DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 4,2017

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YOUR 15 MINUTES

LADIES WHO LUNCH ... AND LAUGH Felicia Madison is changing the comedic climate for women in the city BY ANGELA BARBUTI

“Comedy during the day, without a drunk audience? It’s not going to work,” was the response Felicia Madison would get from men when she pitched her comedic lunch idea. The Upper East Side mom and standup comedian has already sold out her third Laughing Lunch, so it’s safe to say they are a success. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s pre-med program, Madison made her foray into stand-up when her oldest two children went off to college. After attending the Manhattan Comedy School, she began to try out her material at open mic nights, and quickly came to the realization that those occasions weren’t suited for her lifestyle. First off, the men in the audience didn’t understand her references to things like parent association meetings. And her friends didn’t didn t want to trek downtown to watch her perform

and if they did, the male comedians tended to be vulgar. Also, the shows were always at night, which wasn’t ideal for the mother of three. Through those challenges, Laughing Lunches were born. For now, only female comedians perform at the lunches, but Madison is not opposed to including men. “It’s not like I just want women, but it’s such a man’s world that I want to give women another opportunity to perform. ... It’s also harder to find men who will not be totally disgusting and vulgar to these women. I go to some of these open mics and it’s like my mouth drops to the floor. And I’m not a prude.”

I read that you wanted to be on Broadway, but then went to U Penn. Yes, my parents didn’t want me to be on Broadway. They had other plans for me. Actually, they had those plans for my two older brothers. They never even had to tell me. I just saw them yelling at my brothers all the time. And I was like, “OK, OK, I’m I m not going to get yelled at. I’m going to do what they’re saying.” So I was the only one who went to a good school.

How did you get your start in th the comedy world? Where was your firs rst gig? I had been thinking abou about it for a while. I have a good friend who’s wh been years. And doing for over 10 ye I always said to him hi that I thought that I wanted wan to try it. So finally, my ttwo older ones are now in college, so I figured I had the asked him time. So I a and he sset me up the Manwith th hattan Comhatta edy School. Th i s g uy ndy EnAn gel runs it. He h a nd le s the new talent at t Comedy Club. Gotham Come So I signed up for a class with six-week cla a girlfriend of mine. there was And then th a graduation class at Gotham. It went reand I really ally well an And I took enjoyed it. A some more classes sort of got and just so the bug and haven’t since. stopped sinc

Felicia Madison. Photo: JJ Ignotz

Describe your comedy. Basically, it’s it a cross making fun between ma of my kids and my husband. And a lot l of it’s

Felicia Madison. Photo: JJ Ignotz also, you know the whole, how “being a mom’s the best job in the world?” I sort of make fun of how that’s like the biggest joke in the world. Just how being a mom in general, I feel like, is a combination of people always telling you it’s the best job, but most people really looking down on it, especially women. All these women are like, “I’m not going to be just a mom anymore. I want to do something else.” If it’s so great, why is everyone trying to lean in?

How did the Laughing Lunches come about? The lunches came about for a few reasons. When comedians want to test their material, we go to open mics. I found that a lot of my material, especially when it was all-male (audiences), would go over their heads. They wouldn’t understand like if I would joke about making a PA meeting. They had no idea what I was talking about. They thought it was Potsmokers Anonymous or something. And also, the other thing is, it’s obviously a night-driven business. And being a mom with kids, I thought it would be a great opportunity for women in general to have a chance to perform during the day and also in front of an audience that was really appropriate for them. And, for me, it was also for the same thing. A lot of my friends didn’t really want to come downtown and if

they did, the shows had a lot of humor that was vulgar and younger.

How did you choose Petaluma as the venue? I was reaching out to a lot of places with the very specific criteria I needed to be able to make this a success. I was calling a lot of restaurants and there was a lot of hemming and hawing and resistance from people. And sometimes logistics and set-ups didn’t work. And I emailed Petaluma, and the guy who runs it, Eric Wilhelm, emailed me back and said, “I used to be in the comedy world. I’m so into this. This is so great. I definitely want to meet you.” And I just thought it was kismet and had to do it there. I figured I would just try it and do my first one there. And it was a big hit. Some people say the space might be a little small, but for comedy you need that intimacy for laughter to feed off each other and for it to be successful.

Where do you go to open mics? I go down a lot to Klimat. I go the Comedy Strip a lot. Broadway Comedy Club. Stand Up NY, I’ve done that a few times. I basically go onto the website, badslava. I have no idea why it’s called that, but it lists all the open mics in the United States and you register for them. They’re all over the city. If you ever want to feel really bad about

yourself, sign up for an open mic. If you feel like you have too much self-esteem, go to one. They’re really tough.

Who are some female comedians you admire? It’s funny because one of the things I’m working on is I want to be able to do a Joan Rivers’ impersonation, which is really difficult. I just think she was hysterical. She was obviously a pioneer and really opened up comedy for women in general. She was completely free and uninhibited and the humor just rolled off her tongue. And I love Ellen DeGeneres. Ali Wong has a Netflix special called “Baby Cobra.” She’s younger; she’s in her 30s probably. I always joke that I want to grow up to be like Ali Wong or Amy Schumer. The problem is they’re 20 years younger than me. I like Jerry Seinfeld. I like the clean-cut, good, basic humor. I’m not really into the vulgar or silly, slapstick humor. To learn more, visit www.feliciamadison.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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Jacob Sanchez Diagnosed with autism

Lack of speech is a sign of autism. Learn the others at autismspeaks.org/signs.

DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 4,2017

CLASSIFIEDS PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC AUCTION NOTICE OF SALE OF COOPERATIVE APARTMENT 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 January 18, 2017 in the Rotunda at the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007, commencing at 2:00 p.m. for the following account: Nancie N. Min a/k/a Nancie N. Min and Hae Young Yoon a/k/a Hae Y. Yoon, as borrowers, 130 shares of capital stock of Madison Park Apartment Corp. and all right, title and interest in the Proprietary Lease to 1831 Madison Avenue, Apt. #6B, New York, NY 10035 Sale held to enforce rights of National Cooperative Bank, N.A., f/k/a NCB,FSB, who reserves the right to bid. Ten percent (10%) Bank/CertiďŹ ed check required at sale, balance due at closing within thirty (30) days. The Cooperative Apartment will be sold “AS ISâ€? and possession is to be obtained by the purchaser. This unit and shares

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PUBLIC NOTICES

are being sold subject to a ďŹ rst lien recorded on May 4, 2005 in CRFN:2005000258954. 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 National Cooperative Bank, N.A., f/k/a NCB,FSB (lender) as of the date of this notice in the amount of $99,013.99. This ďŹ gure is for the outstanding balance due under UCC1, which was secured by Financing Statement in favor of NCB, FSB recorded on August 26, 2005 under CRFN 2005000481636. A correction UCC was thereafter ďŹ led September 22, 2016 in CRFN: 2016000331771. This is a second lien that has matured. The sale Please note this is not a payoff amount as additional interest/fees/penalties may be incurred. You must contact the undersigned to obtain a ďŹ nal payoff quote or if you dispute any information presented herein. The estimated value of the above captioned premises is $600,000.00. 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 National Cooperative Bank, N.A., f/k/a NCB,FSB 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 National Cooperative Bank, N.A., f/k/a NCB,FSB, 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. 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, National Cooperative Bank, N.A., f/k/a NCB,FSB, 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: November 30, 2016 Frenkel, Lambert, Weiss, Weisman & Gordon, LLP Attorneys for National Cooperative Bank, N.A., f/k/a NCB,FSB 53 Gibson Street Bay Shore, NY 11706 631-969-3100 File #01-082092-F00 #90207

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3 3 3 UPPER EAST SIDE 1 BEDROOMS FROM $2,995 2 BEDROOMS FROM $4,395 3 BEDROOMS FROM $5,795

MIDTOWN & UPPER WEST SIDE STUDIO FROM $3,295 2 BEDROOMS FROM $5,395 3 BEDROOMS FROM $7,495

TRIBECA & FINANCIAL DISTRICT 1 BEDROOMS FROM $3,795 2 BEDROOMS FROM $5,995

UPTOWN LEASING OFFICE 212-535-0500 DOWNTOWN LEASING OFFICE 212-430-5900 ! " " All the units include features for persons with disabilities required by the FHA.

Equal Housing Opportunity

GLENWOOD BUILDER OWNER MANAGER

GLENWOODNYC.COM

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