cityArts
CELEB SINCE 1970
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NYPRESS.COM • THE LARGEST PAPER ON THE EAST SIDE • OCTOBER 31, 2013
PAGE 38
Debating Housing and the 2nd Ave. Line Before
After
Taking the Slop Out of Sloppy Joe Parents and schools try out new solutions to revive the school lunch
What are they serving my kid? DOE guidelines for grades K-8
By Joanna Fantozzi On today’s menu: curried chickpeas with a side of jasmine rose rice and “superhero spinach.” Continued on page 4
■ NO butter, chicken nuggets, white bread, whole milk, soda or high-caloric snacks (all of which were eliminated in recent years)
David Garland and Ben Kallos talk about how they would address major Upper East Side issues By Daniel Fitzsimmons With the general election just days away and the city waiting to exhale, Our Town sat down with the two candidates vying for the Upper East Side City Council seat - which is set to be vacated by Jessica Lappin - to talk about the issues that affect residents in the fifth district. Democrat Ben Kallos slow-cooked his career; he started with a law degree and worked in the voting rights sector and on Community Board 1 before becoming chief of staff for Jonathan Bing, the state Assembly member who served in the 73rd District from 2003 to 2011. From there, Kallos, age 32, tried his hand as chief of policy in Mark Green’s 2009 bid for Public Advocate. Bill de Blasio defeated Green in a runoff election. After serving as director of the good government group New Roosevelt, Kallos declared his
■ Mainly pre-prepared meals heated in industrial ovens ■ Pizza every Friday, cheeseburgers several times a month and something called “Southwest Style Beef”
David Garland City Council 5th district
Ben Kallos
Election Day is Tuesday, November 5. Find your polling place at www.vote.nyc.ny.us. candidacy for the fifth district. Republican David Garland, 43, took a shot at unseating longtime State Senator Liz Krueger in 2012 and came out no worse for wear with almost 30 percent of the vote. He’s built his City Council race on staunch opposition to the East 91st Street marine transfer station and though he knows he’s in a tough bid on the heavily Democratic Upper East Side, he thinks that a political change is Continued on page 8
■ A whole lot of whole-grain: pizza, bread and pasta are now all whole grain in NYC cafeterias ■ Baked chicken and potatoes instead of fried chicken and French fries
David Garland
ALSO INSIDE SENIORS ON THE RED CARPET P.11
MANHATTAN’S LOCAL POET P.13
THE ONLY CHOICE FOR THE UPPER EAST SIDE. VOTE DUMP THE DUMP ON NOVEMBER 5th. VOTE DAVID GARLAND.
SEE PAGE 5
TAPPED IN
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR community. Since the official designation of To the Editor: landmarked status and our commitment to return and renew our mission in our historic While your article “Congregation vs. space, we have sought and at some points Community� by Megan received collaboration re city Arts Bungeroth captured very well CELEB and support from our an the complexity of the issue of neighboring community. n One of Many The Cong rega tion landmarking and religious Versus the Commun ity Our long range survival O congregations, the cover at and success depends on a an E least on the West Side Spirit close working relationship cl may have created serious with w our neighbors which misunderstanding in a very we sincerely desire. There delicate time. The large should be no perception sh photo of West-Park under I that the contentiousness of tha those dramatic words would BROADWAY FAL L FESTIVAL the landmarks struggle days Sunday, Oct. 20, 11am , Broa dway 86 to 96 Stree leave anyone who only ts. continues. con glanced at the cover with the impression that West-Park Thank you so much, was still in a contentious relationship with our The Rev. Dr. Robert L. Brashear SINCE 1985
EVERY
THURSDAY
NYPRESS.COM • THE LARGEST PAPER ON THE
P. 11
Elderly homeless woman attracts support network on the Upper West Side
By Daniel Fitzsimmons
Regarding “The Economics of the Street Fair�:
4. LOCAL people, taxpayers, moved up here for a purpose -- if we wanted street fairs we’d live in Chinatown, or.... 5. LOCAL shop keepers who DO PAY TAXES LOSE $$$. T cityArts They’ll e be back in early spring. Get them rs u off Broadway. Spread Br To st Gho ns the “joy. “j � Send them & Pumpki Avenue to Columbus Co the outer boroughs! ... th Fairgoers can Fair Doorman discover the delights disc ar Ye of the of tthe Bronx, Staten Island, Queens and Isla Brooklyn! Bro E PRICE?
1. Street fair CELEB vendors do NOT ADD ON SALES mics The Econoet Fair TAX TO ANY of the Stre PURCHASE 2. They cost the city $$$ in police and T sanitation 3. Cops cannot tell you where the detoured buses T TH — BUT NO PLE GEAR R NEW AP READY FO TOBER 29 are running....and SAVE ON OC Aarne Ingber THERE ARE NO Avenue West End Avenu SIGNS AT BUS STOPS, unnecessarily inconveniencing residents. EVERY
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SINCE 1970
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• THE LARGE RESS.COM
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• OCTOBER THE EAST SIDE
24, 2013
Side is full The Upper East local y of family-friendl this week ts Halloween even
are this: street fairs es understand York generat you have to The City of New permits – big business. from street fair nearly $8 million ies that produce them. paid by the companare behind more than half ies (Three compan fairs in the city.) to be 245 Hovitz of all the street By Helaina are expected Given that there end, that comes to one night to get more than d a list of all year’s city -- per fair. i of the fairs by Kids these days en. We’ve compile revenue for the By Joanna Fantozz Side year old $31,975.51 in celebrate Hallowe Julianne, 2 , an Upper West to anyone on Nathan and Randi Horwitz Social Eyes NYC, which he scene is familiar Over here on page 10 a owns Side: Continued twins street fairs, is resident who the Upper East blending fruit hensive list of has offers a compre this year, she you see a woman Over there She said that ever ies. fan of the fairs. at fairs than ses to make smooth may or busines RDS what may mom and pop seen more small KER AWA is a guy selling not too many right next to Side DING WOR t before. “There’s here, so fairs and festivals sunglasses, and BUIL s! r Eas Snicker r designe not be s “Zeppole! Fried like a shops left around small businesses have,� of the Yea chance smells him is the infamou Doorman are the only alez !� truck, which . Rudy Gonz Italian Sausage dough and sizzling of setting up said Horwitz of sweet fried ses, the cost combination For small businesis relatively small, between fair means sellmeat. what you’re shop at a street New York, which depending on It’s autumn in $150 and $375, out in force. on page 4 so ubiqstreet fairs are Continued why they seem ints from To understand recurrent compla s people, despite uitous, some local busines residents and n of the year. meet your doormadoorman at 1040 the Upper East Side, z, who has been the honorees in this Rudy Gonzale among ed by since 1996, is s awards, present Park Avenue g Service Worker property service workyear’s Buildin e country’s largest the publisher 32BJ SEIU,th Manhattan, Straus Media ers union, and complete and to see the of Our Town. RESTAURANTGRADES about Rudy, coverage, To learn more to our special FOR winners, go INSPECTION ARE WE IN IN list of this year’s page 14. after ERA which begins
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Church, which became
Churches and synagogu es throughout Manhattan facing economic hardship may ďŹ nd their ďŹ nancial plans thwarted by preservation eorts
PAGE 21
a landmark in 2010.
By Megan Bungeroth
t’s hard to argue against preserving the city’s historic, soaring monuments to God. Churches and synagogues throughout Manhattan have been targeted by preservation enthusiasts since the city first created the Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1965. They
Continued on page 8
Continuous entertainm
ent on Main Stage
at 96th St, 1pm to 5pm
Miscarriage support group on the UES
Mac models
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ALSO INSIDE
USING IMPROV FOR HEALING P.4
2013
Continued on page 5
Newman
eout iPad and ed and Clos off Pre-own
Up to $250
sther doesn’t like to be called homeless, because, she says, she has a room in the Goddard Houses on West 87th Street. Right now she lives in front
W SIDE • OCOTBER 17,
of a coffee shop at 76th and Broadway, in a shelter she made of boxes and plastic sheeting. She’s dressed in a long black coat and a brown ankle skirt with a red scarf tied around her neck. Her fingers are bent at right angles and don’t work properly in the cold. On her head is a black straw hat with the brim cocked down to hide her eyes. On her right wrist is a “fall risk� bracelet she received during a recent hospital visit for an unspecified ailment. Esther is a kind, intelligent and proud woman who talks fondly of books and of
The 92nd Street Y has started its first support group for women and couples who have suffered a miscarriage. The next monthly meeting will be Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 6:30 p.m. at the Y at Lexington Avenue and 92nd Street. The Y has waived its usual fees.
Featuring The Michael
Grey Quartet
Zev Williams, the director of the Program for Early and Recurrent Pregnancy Loss at Montefiore Medical Center, will help lead the discussion. Williams said the group was started in part because miscarriage remains a taboo topic, and many women and couples feel isolated, guilty and alone. Williams said the meeting is for women and couples who suffer from miscarriage and will be attended by Williams and a psychologist who specializes in fertility issues.
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013
CRIME WATCH By Jerry Danzig
So Much for Diplomacy
Box-Cutting Burglars
Three men displayed box cutters before stealing merchandise from a clothing store. At 9:40 p.m. on Friday, October 18, three 30-year-old men entered a chain clothing store on Third Avenue and removed store merchandise after brandishing box cutters. One of the men told a store loss-prevention officer, “We poke you out!” Another said, “I don’t have time for this shit!” The men then fled southbound on Third Avenue to an unknown location. Police searched the area but were unable to find the robbers. No cameras captured the theft. The items stolen were eight sheepskin men’s vests valued at $1,200 and two pairs of Stapleford boots valued at $79, making a total of $1,279.
A high-school student was arrested after stealing a nurse’s cell phone. At 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 23, a 47-year-old female nurse at Lenox Hill Hospital left her cell phone on her desk while she went to the ICU unit next door. When she returned, her phone was gone. She told police her son then sent a message to her phone and the robber responded, saying he had purchased the phone for $300 and would negotiate a price. The robber next contacted the nurse while she was reporting the incident at the police station house, and the officer who answered the phone heard the defendant say, “I will give back the phone for $250.” The defendant later met the arresting officer at an agreed-upon location and attempted to sell the phone to the officer. The officer arrested the robber and charged him with grand
larceny. The thief was an 18-year-old male student attending the High School for Language and Diplomacy. The stolen cell was an iPhone 5 valued at $300, equipped with a rubber case costing $25.
Withdrawal Deceit Someone stole $2,100 from a woman’s checking account. At 4:29 p.m. on Monday, October 21, a 41-year-old woman living on East 90th Street reported to police that $2,100 had been fraudulently removed from her checking account. She provided police with a copy of the withdrawal receipt.
Cycle Cell Disease A man on a bicycle stole a tourist’s cell phone. At 9:34 p.m. on Tuesday, October 22, a 27-year-old tourist woman visiting from Poligon, Turkey was walking eastbound on East 72nd Street when a man approached her on a bicycle from behind and snatched her cell phone from her
hand. She did not get a good look at the man’s face. The phone actually belonged to her cousin, who was away in another country. Police searched the area but were unable to find the robber or her phone. A video camera may have captured the incident. The stolen phone was a black iPhone 4 valued at $200.
The Pity by the Bay On Friday, October 18, a 77-yearold man living on East 76th Street got a call from his credit card company notifying him of a $14,876 purchase attempt. An unknown perpetrator had used the man’s name, date of birth, Social Security number and other information. The purchase attempt was made online and in San Francisco. The man had not given anyone permission or authorization to use his credit card, and he still had the card in his possession. He subsequently canceled the card and, fortunately, was not held responsible for the fraudulent charges.
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PAGE 3
Lunch by the Numbers:
860,000 meals served every day by the DOE
.com
78% of elementary school
STRAUS MEDIA MANHATTAN
children eat cafeteria food, while
PRESIDENT Jeanne Straus
70% of high schoolers opt out of the lunch line
EDITOR IN CHIEF Kyle Pope • editor.ot@strausnews.com
0.5 grams of trans fat allowed in each food product
EDITOR Megan Bungeroth • editor.otdt@strausnews.com CITYARTS EDITOR Armond White • editor.cityarts@strausnews.com STAFF REPORTERS Joanna Fantozzi, Daniel Fitzsimmons FEATURED CONTRIBUTORS Alan S. Chartock, Bette Dewing, Jeanne Martinet, Malachy McCourt, Angela Barbuti, Casey Ward, Laura Shanahan BLOCK MAYORS Ann Morris, Upper West Side Jennifer Peterson, Upper East Side PUBLISHER Gerry Gavin • advertising@strausnews.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERS Seth L. Miller, Ceil Ainsworth, Kate Walsh ADVERTISING MANAGER Matt Dinerstein CLASSIFIED ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Stephanie Patsiner DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Joe Bendik OUR TOWN is published weekly Copyright © 2013 by Straus Media - Manhattan, LLC 212-868-0190 • 333 Seventh Ave, New York, NY. Straus Media - Manhattan publishes Our Town • The West Side Spirit • Our Town Downtown Chelsea Clinton News • The Westsider To subscribe for 1 year, please send $75 to OUR TOWN, c/o Straus News 20 West Ave., Chester, NY 10918 PREVIOUS OWNERS HAVE INCLUDED: Tom Allon, Isis Ventures, Ed Kayatt, Russ Smith, Bob Trentlion, Jerry Finkelstein
Do you have a news tip, story idea, nomination for “mayor of your block,” complaint or letter to the editor? We want to hear from you! Please contact us at News@strausnews.com. PAGE 4
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School Lunches Continued from page 1
This may sound like a dish at a trendy vegetarian restaurant, but it’s actually one of the brand-new “Meatless Monday” items on the Department of Education’s new alternative school lunch menu for grades K-8. The chickpea and veggie-heavy menu contrasts sharply with the southwestern beef and cheeseburgers from the DOE’s regular menu, and it’s definitely a far cry from the half-empty trays of petrified pizza slices and unidentified meats seen in fourth grader Zachary’s undercover documentary,” Yuck!” about his Little Italy school’s cafeteria food (shown in this year’s Manhattan Film Festival). Any school can use the alternative menu with little to no extra cost, according to the DOE. But Elizabeth Puccini, founder of NYC Green Schools, whose third grader son’s school, East Village Community, was one of the first to implement the alternative menu, estimates that only 20-30 schools use the menu, and most principals and cafeteria managers don’t know it exists. “Unless you have a nutrition committee working on these issues, I don’t know how you’d become informed,” said Puccini, whose son is vegetarian. “This was an enormous victory, and we need to get the word out about it.” In 2012, the FDA released new requirements for school cafeterias nationwide, mandating that each child take at least one fruit or vegetable on the lunch line, as well as capping calories overall and switching out full fat for non-fat milk. So what about Zachary’s “Yuck” which showed tray after tray practically devoid of vegetables? DOE representative Margie Feinberg said that the documentary was probably made before federal regulations were in place and that “the student in the documentary may not have been selecting all the fruit and vegetables that were offered to him.” In fact, many parents have noted improvements in school food.
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“My son loves the hot lunch at school,” said Linda Sussman, a parent at P.S. 183 on East 66th Street. “Our fresh fruit and salad bar is replenished every half hour. But probably not every school has good, nutritious food and that disturbs me.” Healthy or not, whether kids will actually eat the food is the question. One 8th grader at The Computer School on West 77th Street, candidly said that she would never eat her school’s food: “it’s so gross!” she said. “You can’t just put in a salad bar and call it a day,” said Manhattan Borough President candidate Gale Brewer. “It has to be one kids want to eat.” Andi Valasquez, a parent at P.S. 163 on West 97th Street confirmed Gale Brewer’s suspicions. She said that when she was a lunchtime aid, she watched the salad wilt away, untouched by kids, day after day. The problem is, according to Janet Poppendieck, a former professor at Hunter College who has written a lot about school food, that even with changing federal regulations, it can be tough to switch kids over from “kidfriendly foods” chicken nuggets and pizza to vegetables and whole wheat. That’s where Wellness in the Schools comes in. Wellness is a non-profit organization that has been working with public underprivileged schools since 2008. They used to bring professional chefs armed with gourmet, kid-friendly recipes to the 20-something schools they work with across the city. But that changed with the new federal regulations. This year, they use DOEsanctioned menus, and focus instead on training school chefs on the importance of seasoning, and encouraging madefrom-scratch dishes where they can. “Even when schools have salad bars they may be full of unfamiliar ingredients, but having composed salads like a three bean salad, and attractive vegetables makes a kid want to eat it,” said Reana Kovalcik. “We found we don’t need them to be tricked, we take small steps - not burgers to quinoa, but from burgers to salads.” Wellness in the Schools mostly serves underprivileged schools where almost every child receives free or reduced
76% of public schools have salad bars
66 Garden-to-Café Schools in NYC
24 schools participate in Wellness in the Schools
lunch. For schools without financial difficulty, the program costs $30,000, which is something that most schools can’t afford. For two French mothers living on the Upper East Side and Upper West Side, waiting for Wellness in the Schools or some other miraculous solution to come to their children’s schools was out of the question, so they created In’Box, a healthy school lunch service delivering to Manhattan schools that just launched this year. At $10 per meal (more than four times the cost of a DOE lunch), it’s a hefty price to pay for a kid’s meal, but co-founders Stephanie Rubin and Ingrid Calvo say it’s worth it. “I had to prepare lunch for my daughter every day otherwise she wouldn’t eat,” said Calvo, whose child used to attend P.S. 199. “Even when they had healthy food it just wasn’t appealing.” At In’Box Your Meal, they believe in exposing kids to new foods like quiche, quinoa salad and finger sandwiches. Rubin says they work with real culinary institute trained chefs and make sure the food is always colorful, presentation is unique and they even include a small treat for children, like dried fruit, to make eating lunch fun. But most parents can’t afford $50 a week to spend on their kid’s lunches. And even with new DOE and federal improvements, there’s still a long way to go in the kitchen itself, said Poppendieck, where a lack of resources, trained chefs and ovens seriously limit schools. “Still, the food has definitely improved citywide,” said Poppendieck. “I recently visited a school where the food actually looked terrific and fresh.”
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013
David Garland City Council 5th district
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DAVID PAUL GARLAND
DAVID PAUL GARLAND
DAVID PAUL GARLAND
DAVID PAUL GARLAND
Dump The p Dump p Liberal
Libertarian
Save 2nd Avenue
DAVID PAUL GARLAND DAVID PAUL GARLAND
Liberal
DAVID PAUL GARLAND DAVID PAUL GARLAND
Save 2nd Avenue
7(0+ -69 )@ -90,5+: 6- +(=0+ .(93(5+ PAGE 5
OUT AND ABOUT
Friday November 2nd
Saturday November 2
November 3rd Sunday
Conversation with Aziz Ansari
NY Writers Workshop: The Magic of Images: Writing a Poem with Hermine Meinhard
Introduction to Digital Mapping
Kaufman Concert Hall Lexington Avenue at 92nd 8 p.m. $36 Funnyman and “Parks and Recreation” star Aziz Ansari opens up about his meteoric rise from New York University standup comedian to Hollywood A-lister.
Unfaithfully Yours Lexington Avenue at 92nd 10 a.m. $25 While conducting his orchestra, Rex Harrison imagines how to deal with his wife’s infidelity: each piece of music engenders a different version of a crime. With Linda Darnell. 92y.org
67th Street Library 328 East 67th Street, 3 p.m. Free Through images – a pear on a windowsill, a rain-slicked street— we not only see but enter into the world of a poem. Images have the capacity to hold feeling. In this workshop participants will experiment with ways to capture images from memories, dreams and the world around them. By meeting’s end they will have written a poem. Registration required, 212-734-1717
Argentine Tango Milongas Class Buttenwieser Hall Lexington Avenue at 92nd Street $15 8:30 p.m., class; 9:30 p.m. - 2:30 a.m. open dancing Tangos, Milongas, valses and Latin musica tropica, hosted by Karina Romero and Dardo Galletto. Jackets required for men 92y.org
Museum of the City of New York 1220 Fifth Ave. 5 Av/103 St. 1 p.m.- 3 p.m. $75 Are you fascinated by the potential of digital maps to expand the way we understand and experience places? Come learn how digital mapping is reshaping the way historians and preservationists in New York City communicate and engage the public in understanding the places around us. Registration is limited; advance reservations required. mcny.org
Iran Modern Asia Society and Museum 725 Park Ave. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. $12; $10 seniors; $7 students This fascinating exhibit includes paintings, sculpture, photography and works on paper by the most noteworthy Iranian artists of the three decades leading up to the country’s 1979 revolution. asiasociety.org
Monday Nov 4 The Modern Poster in Germany Neue Galerie New York 1048 Fifth Ave. (at 86 St.) 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. $20, $10 students and seniors Traces the emergence of the poster as an art form in Germany in the early twentieth century. Over thirty posters from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, including work by Lucian Bernhard, Thomas Theodor Heine, Ludwig Hohlwein, Julius Klinger, Johann Thorn-Prikker, and Oskar Schlemmer, will be shown. neuegalerie.org
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PAGE 6
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013
OUT AND ABOUT other work which also uses words to explore social issues, values, and other challenges of post war life in the US. whitney.org
Tuesday Nov 5 Silla: Korea’s Golden Kingdom
Robert Indiana: Beyond Love Whitney Museum of American Art, 945 Madison Ave 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. $20; $16 students, seniors; Free 18 and under Robert Indiana is best known for his iconic work, LOVE, which debuted in 1996 as a part of the nascent Pop Art movement. In this exhibit, the Whitney explores some of his
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013
The Metropolitan Museum of Art 1000 Fifth Ave. (5 Av/82 St) 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Free Although the Silla Kingdom had a significant impact on the history of the Korean Peninsula, the works from that era are largely unfamiliar to Western audiences. In connection with the National Museum of Korea, Seoul, and Gyeongju National Museum, the Met presents works highlighted by spectacular gold crowns and royal regalia and rare objects from Central and West Asia metmuseum.org
Ballet for Adults 67th Street Library 328 East 67th Street 2 p.m. - 3 p.m. Free Here’s your chance to experience the ballerina in each of us. Learn basic ballet steps
OUR TOWN
and experience the joy of dancing in a class that combines ballet and exercise specifically for older adults. You’ll have fun as you dance and see for yourself the benefits of ballet for good balance, agility and grace. nypl.org
Balthus is best known for his series of pensive adolescents who dream or read in rooms that are closed to the outside world. This is the first exhibition of the artist’s works in this country in thirty years. metmuseum.org
Wednesday November 6
Thursday November 7
Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Hals: Masterpieces of Dutch Painting from the Mauritshuis
Women’s Writing and Discussion Group
10 a.m. - 6p.m. $20; $15 seniors; $10 students The Frick Collection 1 East 70th Street (between Fifth and Madison Avenues) Paintings from the Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis in The Hague, the Netherlands. While the prestigious Dutch museum undergoes an extensive two-year renovation, it is lending masterpieces that have not traveled in nearly thirty years. Frick.org
Balthus: Cats and Girls — Paintings and Provocations The Metropolitan Museum of Art 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Free
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67th Street Library 328 East 67th Street 4:30 - 6 p.m. Free Hannelore Hahn, who directed the International Women’s Writing Guild for 37 years, hosts a monthly informal women’s writing & discussion group. Non-writers are also welcome to join the discussion.
The Human Karaoke Experience O’Flanagan’s, 1215 First Ave 9 p.m. - 1 a.m. Free Accompany your karaoke with a live band. This trio knows every song from AX/DC to Lady Gaga. humankaraoke.com
PAGE 7
Six proposals to amend the State Constitution are on the ballot this Tuesday. . . 1 Casino gambling upstate 2 Disabled veterans’ civil service credit 3 Exemption to municipal debt limits for sewage treatment bonds 4 & 5 Changes to the Adirondack Forest Preserve 6 Raise the retirement age for judges
. . .and so am I. (Hint!) Vote this Tuesday!
Gale Brewer Democrat for Borough President
David Garland
Ben Kallos
Election Continued from page 1
that we can leave this waste landfill model that doesn’t belong here or any other residential neighborhood. I will stand up to whomever is the mayor and make sure they do not build a marine transfer station in this residential neighborhood or any other because they don’t belong here.
just what the district needs. Garland believes his consulting experience in the private and government sectors make him an ideal candidate and has campaigned full-time since he announced in May. He’s raised enough money to qualify for matching public funds and has picked up the endorsements of Assembly Member John Ravitz and Community Board 8 Chairman Nick Viest, among others.
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How would you fight the marine transfer station on 91st Street? David Garland: This is going to blow a hole in the budget. Estimates range from $360 million dollars, but nothing ever costs what they originally project. Chances are this thing is going to end up costing halfa-billion dollars to build. We could convert the entire fleet of dump trucks to natural gas for less than that. This would actually be a better solution because then they wouldn’t be producing any emissions, even driving to a transfer station. Another thing is increasing our recycling capacity. In [New York] everybody wants to improve upon our recycling capabilities and we haven’t done it. I think that’s one piece of it but it’s not going to be enough. I think one of the biggest arguments, in addition to the borough equity argument, is the truck emissions. I think conversion to natural gas for these trucks not only solves that problem but goes a step further. Ben Kallos: The reason I ran was to stop the dump. I’m still the only one providing a plan. The first part is to work with the existing coalition. I’d also work with the elected officials like Carolyn Maloney and Liz Krueger, who have endorsed me, as part of a larger coalition because it can’t be just one person who can stop this. It’s about recycling. New York City’s at 15 percent, we can get to 75 percent recycling like many other cities and we can drastically reduce our waste so
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Where do you stand on affordable housing for seniors on the Upper East Side? Kallos: There was a time where the Upper East Side was not so ritzy or glitzy or expensive to live, and they came here and they made our neighborhood what it is. They fought crime, they improved quality of life, and now the response we’re giving them is to tell them downsize? That’s wrong. A person who builds their home here deserves to live here as long as they wish and we shouldn’t be pushing them out. We’re already taking action and again, working with a strong coalition of strong Democrats, including Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, State Senator Liz Krueger, our Manhattan Borough President Elect Gale Brewer and others from all over New York City to fight the downsizing and make sure that any senior or disabled New Yorker can remain in their affordable housing unit that they deserve. Garland: A big portion of our community are seniors and they’ve been in their homes a number of years. Some of them live in Mitchell-Lama homes, which is for middleincome/moderate income housing. We need to find a replacement for that program as it gets more phased out. The 421A tax abatement has been a great tool, but I think we need to up that and we need to find a portion of that that is dedicated to seniors as well to provide them some additional options in the new hosing construction projects that are going up. SCREE [break out] has been a great tool, I think we need to enhance that and make sure that they have proper funding because there’s
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013
going to be more and more as baby boomers retire and get older.
What would you do to mitigate the impact of the 2nd Avenue Subway Project? Garland: It’s a little hard to get a sure count of the impact on small business along that route, but a good guess is probably 25-30 percent of the businesses have closed, or shuttered or moved to a different location, so that’s been a huge impact along the corridor. The communication issue has been critical, they’ve opened an office along 2nd Avenue with a resident liaison, a small business liaison, that’s been helpful. I think communication and transparency, the MTA has come a long way in terms of improving that and really working along side with the residents of the community. But I think more can be done because we still have three years to go. There was an effort to make tax relief for the small businesses along that route, and that was vetoed by [Governor] Paterson, I think we can revisit that issue for these last few years to provide a little bit of relief for small business along there. Some of them have been there for decades and they’re really struggling. I’ve talked to a number of them and they need a little bit of help, just to get them over the final hump. I think long term they all realize that it’s going to be great for their businesses to have this additional transportation route so close. Also, just making sure there’s strong enforcement on the restriction of construction hours. Bloomberg as coordinator of the task force has really came down hard on that and they’ve been adhering pretty well to that but we want to make sure that continues. Kallos: I had a chance to work with Assembly Member Jonathan Bing and we drafted and introduced legislation to support businesses along the 2nd Avenue subway construction to keep them open. As my opponent mentioned, it got vetoed by Governor David Paterson, and we were all incredibly disappointed but we kept fighting for it and as the next city council member I would reintroduce it as a city bill. Additionally I’d propose a five-point plan to address many of the concerns that residents have shared with me about their quality of life along the 2nd Avenue subway construction. Some of that plan has already come to fruition. We’ve launched lightupsecondavenue. com, that I built, which allows constituents to suggest locations for better lighting along the 2nd Avenue subway construction and that was to address certain safety concerns and lighting concerns. Improving outreach by expanding the information available about the community outreach center on 2nd Avenue to include information on and locations of open local businesses as well as quality of life
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013
information and policy. Improving blasting notifications by offering regular text message notification and upping the number of emails to send out as far in advance as possible so that residents can plan around the blasting schedule. We’d like to require an environmental study of the construction’s impact on air quality, noise, traffic, transit and ways that damage can be minimized for families in the surrounding areas. This would compliment the original EIS drafted prior to construction when the completion date was slated for 2014, so this isn’t going to slow construction, but what it will do is say, “hey we can see the construction, we can see its effect, and this is how we can fix it for our district and the next district that’s going to get the construction.”
What separates you from your opponent? Kallos: I grew up in the Upper East Side and know our neighborhood is a great place to live, while my opponent has compared it to a “war zone.” I know that with good plans and the right leaders, we can solve the challenges facing our community. I also have detailed ideas that I’m already putting into action to improve education, keep our neighborhood safe, fight the dump and protect seniors along with a record of public service and standing up to those in power to improve our neighborhood and our city. Garland: We have been sold a bill of goods by our elected officials and my opponent seeks to carry on their legacy. The single most pressing issue for our district is the dump at 91st Street. Yet we’ve been represented by officials who first say they oppose the dump and then undermine their message by standing side-by-side with dump proponents, stripping their original message of its teeth. My opponent seeks to address our schoolovercrowding problem by putting interim classrooms in empty office spaces. He also opposes charter schools. I want to put children first in any education policy decision. I want to take advantage of the underutilized synagogues and churches in our district, which are already properly equipped with classrooms, gym and cafeteria facilities, to alleviate the overcrowding in the district schools. These kind of sensible solutions are based on my years of public and private experience. I will ensure the best interests of our district are fought for and represented.
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013
Seniors Walk the Red Carpet The Carter Burden Center for the Aging’s 12th annual fashion show From when the first models took to the runway to the end-of-show standing ovation, audience members
were delighted at the 12th Annual Fashion Show starring the seniors, volunteers and staff at The Carter Burden Center for the Aging’s Luncheon Club on the Upper East Side. On October 24, 2013, the models walked the runway, escorted by dressed-to-the-nines gentlemen, to the sounds of applause and laughter filling the room. Emceed by William Dionne, The
Holly Hedemark (Director of Luncheon Club) and Sid Saldana (Meal Delivery Volunteer Coordinator)
Carter Burden Center’s Executive Director, senior models were stunning in their own formal wear and hand-knit fashions. Complete with professional hair and make-up done by volunteers, the divas were delighted with the warm reception of their peers and posed for the many flashing cameras. The Carter Burden Center’s Luncheon Club provides hot meals, served restaurant-style, to hundreds of older people daily. The Club serves as a community beacon for seniors to gather, socialize and enjoy educational and recreational programs. The Carter Burden Center for the Aging, Inc. is a non-profit agency established in 1971 by the late Carter Burden when he was a New York City Councilman. The mission is to promote the well being of seniors, 60 and older, through a continuum of services, advocacy and volunteer programs oriented to individual, family and community needs. The Carter Burden Center is dedicated to supporting the efforts of older people to live safely and with dignity.
Valda Webster (event organizer) and Drew Batchelder
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PAGE 11
All of the award winners, pictured together.
Rudy Gonzalez, center, accepting his award for East Side Doorman of the Year. Gonzalez, who works at 1040 Park Avenue, received the honor at a ceremony held last week at the office of 32BJ SEIU in Manhattan. Gonzalez was photographed with 32BJ President Hector Figueroa and Jeanne Straus, president of Straus Media Manhattan, publisher of Our Town, which helped present the awards. Photo by Dave Sanders
Figueroa with East Side City Councilmember Jessica Lappin, who attended the event.
Attention Voters:
For the 2013 General Election voters will use the ballot scanner and/or Ballot Marking Device (BMD).
The General Election
VOTING IS AS EASY AS 1 - 2 - 3
is Tuesday, November 5, 2013 Polls are Open 6 am-9 pm
Correctly Marked Oval.
Only registered voters can vote in this election.
1 2 3
JOHN DOE
Get Your Paper Ballot.
Pick up your paper ballot and privacy sleeve at the sign-in table from the poll worker.
Mark Your Paper Ballot.
Use a pen or ballot-marking device (BMD) to mark your choices on your ballot. Fill in the ovals above or next to the names of the candidates/proposals of your choice with the pen provided. BMDs can be used to enlarge the font size of the ballot. Please see our Election District signs for an enlarged sample ballot you can view prior to voting
To correctly mark your ballot, fill in the ovals above or next to the names of the candidates or proposals of your choice using the pen provided.
Scan Your Paper Ballot.
Accessible ballot marking devices (BMDs) are available.
Insert your marked ballot into the scanner to cast your vote.
Sign up to receive the latest news and information from Board of Elections in the City of NY, by visiting the Boardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website: www.vote.nyc.ny.us
www.nyc.pollsitelocator.com 866-VOTE-NYC (866-868-3692) â&#x20AC;˘ TTY 212-487-5496
To locate your pollsite and view your sample ballot, visit:
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013
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By Veronica Andreades â&#x20AC;&#x153;There he is, outside the subway entrance/ where sunlit figures race down steps into darkness/ their hearing, like mine, dulled by traffic whines,â&#x20AC;? writes Greenwich Village poet Grace Schulman in her poem, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Street Music, Astor Place.â&#x20AC;? In her upcoming poetry book, Without a Claim (Houghton Mifflin), Schulman captures everything from the lost world of the Montauk Indians to the everyday, unpolluted ambiance of Greenwich Village. She digs deep into the soil and concrete and represents them in a simple way, yet with so much history. The book has been called a â&#x20AC;&#x153;Modern book of psalms,â&#x20AC;? by Pulitzer Prize winner and fellow Village author Philip Shultz. A Brooklyn born, PolishJew, Schulman, 78, grew up a city kid. Her father was an executive at an advertisement agency which his wife helped him run. After college, Schulman hoped to become a journalist; however none of the newspapers would hire a woman. She worked for Harperâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bazaar, Glamour and, in 1972 was invited to be the poetry editor for the Nation. She came to Greenwich Village in 1957, meeting her husband, Jerome, now a virologist, in Washington Square Park while playing her guitar. Now a professor at Baruch College and author of six other poetry books, Schulman came to be a poet gradually. Influenced by the word games she played with her mother and encouraged by her friend and idol, Marianne Moore. Among Schulmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s muses, the village is prominent. In â&#x20AC;&#x153;Crossing the Squareâ&#x20AC;? she captured the beloved park, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Squinting through eye-slits in our balaclavas, /we lurch across Washington Square Park/hunched against the wind, two hooded figures/caught in the monochrome, carrying sacks.â&#x20AC;? Schulmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s love for her neighborhood is evident in much
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013
East Midtown Partnership 2013 Annual Report to the Community
SINCE 1970
EVERY THURS.
East Midtown Partnership 875 Third Avenue, Mezzanine New York, NY 10022 212-813-0030 info@eastmidtown.org www.eastmidtown.org
Message from the President & Chair of the Board of Directors The East Midtown Partnership is becoming increasingly
A week in the life:
important to our community. Our responsibility is to improve
On Monday, you use your East Midtown Partnership Passport card to get a 20% discount on lunch. On your way back to the office, you pass a number of beautiful, flowering tree beds and remember how they used to be unsightly and muddy… until the Partnership began planting them.
You have a salon appointment on Wednesday, but forgot the address. Not a problem! The East Midtown Partnership Mobile App gives you the information… and a helpful map showing you the location. You learn you can also use your Passport card for a 15% discount at the salon! Later, you drop by the Partnership’s “Social Stop” to visit with your neighbors and make some business contacts… and happen to meet the store owner who has just the lighting fixture you’ve been looking for. (Better yet, he also offers a Passport benefit!)
the day-to-day quality of life for hundreds of thousands of people who live, work and visit the district each day, and we make every Tuesday, you read your newspaper on the subway then toss it in a green and black East Midtown Partnership Recycling Receptacle, knowing it will not become part of the waste stream. Your empty coffee cup goes into one of the black Partnership trash receptacles.
effort to meet those basic community needs while providing enhanced programming designed to increase commerce and build a community. This 2013 Annual Report to the Community details some of our initiatives over the past year. We’ve been able to accomplish all of this at the same low assessment rate – roughly 8 cents per square foot of commercial space – that was established in 2007, and we see no reason
On Thursday, you have to drive to work. Parking used to be a guessing game until the East Midtown Partnership clarified parking regulations by putting DOT signs on a single pole. Later, a Twitter message from the Partnership alerts you to a traffic accident, so you can avoid the area.
to increase that for the foreseeable future. This means our constituents receive a wide variety of high-quality services at half the cost billed by many similar Business Improvement Districts. There is much more to do, but we’re ready to meet each unique challenge with innovative approaches to continue to grow commercial activity and build a sense of community in East Midtown.
Friday begins with a free workshop at the East Midtown Partnership office, where you learn how to use social media to promote your business. During the lunch hour, you stand beneath holiday décor and watch an outdoor concert, both courtesy of the Partnership. You know to avoid Saturday and Sunday traffic tie-ups due to street events, because you subscribe to the East Midtown Partnership’s bulletins. But you don’t want to be bored, so you use the Partnership Mobile App to check out event listings in the district and find a wide range of live music, theater, and cultural programming.
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East Midtown Partnership
Debra Fechter
Rob Byrnes
Chair of the Board of Directors
President
2013 Annual Report to the Community
Join us for the East Midtown Partnership’s 12th Annual Meeting Thursday December 12, 2013 8:00 AM Astra in the D&D Building 979 Third Avenue 14th Floor Call 212-813-0030 or visit our website for more information
Are We Connected? Each week the East Midtown Partnership sends out information on district sales and promotions, community events, street closures and more. When special circumstances arise – from SuperStorm Sandy to the United Nations General Assembly – thousands of people turn to our bulletins, website updates, and Facebook and Twitter updates for accurate, upto-date information. Contact us at 212-813-0030 or info@eastmidtown.org to find out how you can be connected!
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East Midtown Partnership
2013 Annual Report to the Community
PAGE 3
Business Development & Marketing Over the past year, the East Midtown Partnership expanded its already aggressive efforts to promote business development and commerce through the introduction of
THE CHECKLIST √ Launched the Passport Card Program
several new programs. Spearheaded by the Board of Directors’ Marketing Committee
√ Distributed 13,000 Passport Cards
– which met monthly through most of the year – our new and expanded programming
√ Developed an East Midtown Mobile App
is designed to highlight district businesses and generate consumer activity. Among our
√ Created the “Business Over Breakfast” Program & Sponsored Many Other Informational Sessions
initiatives were:
√ Expanded our “Social Stop” Networking Program
The East Midtown Passport Card In April, 2013, we launched the Passport Card… and it quickly became the “must have” item for the East Side community. This web-based program allows businesses to offer special benefits to cardholders and, since April, almost 100 area restaurants, retailers, spas, entertainment and cultural venues, and service providers have signed up for the program.
To date, we have distributed more than 13,000 Passport cards to area residents and employees, and each week we process hundreds of new requests! Through advertising, word of mouth, business partners, and community organizations, the cards are finding their way into wallets throughout the world… and many businesses have reported that consumers are using those cards.
√ Dramatically Increased Numbers of E-Mail Subscribers, Social Media Followers, & Website Visitors √ Celebrated “Fashion’s Night Out” with the East Midtown Trolley √ Upgraded Holiday Décor √ Enhanced Photo Image Library
Get your card today! Visit www.EastMidtown.org/Passport
Information for You and Your Business… for Free! This year we hosted a series of free informational sessions in our Community Room, which quickly proved popular with the local business community. Our morning sessions – “Business Over Breakfast” – have proven to be especially popular, but we’ve arranged these events at different points throughout the day to accommodate the unique schedules of our community members. Among the topics for attendees have been: • The Affordable Care Act • Commercial Financial Check-up • Restaurant Management Boot Camp • Compliance with Environmental Requirements • Using Crowd-Sourcing to Raise Capital • And – most popularly – How to Use Free Social Media to Promote Your Business Thanks to our partners who have provided the
There’s an App for Us! expertise behind this programming, including Citi Commercial Banking, HJMT Public Relations, NYC Business Solutions, NYC Clean Heat, Urban Green Council, and the NYC Office Of Citywide Health Insurance Access. We look forward to hosting many future sessions, and we hope you’ll join us!
In October, 2013, the East Midtown Partnership became one of the first Business Improvement Districts in New York City to launch a free mobile app. Available for Apple and Android products, this app will allow users to quickly and easily access information on district businesses, events and news, and the geolocation features will lead shoppers and clients straight to your front door! Download the app today at www.EastMidtown.org/App
PAGE 4
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East Midtown Partnership
2013 Annual Report to the Community
The Fashion’s Night Out Trolley
East Midtown Keeps Getting More Social
Several years ago, we began our “Social Stop” program of informal networking receptions as a way to introduce businesses and residents to each other, highlight venues throughout the area, and, almost as importantly, build a sense of community within our district. That effort has paid off ! Not only do these events now each draw well over 100 participants, we know of a number of business connections that have been made over a glass of wine and some canapés… and even of a job offer or two! In 2012-13, our Social Stop venues included Astra (in the D&D Building at 979 Third Avenue), Bill’s Food & Drink (57 East 54th Street), Instituto Cervantes (211 East 49th Street), and Anassa Taverna (200 East 60th Street).
In September, 2012, we helped celebrate Fashion’s Night Out by hiring a trolley to shuttle shoppers around the district, allowing them easy transportation between dozens of East Midtown businesses hosting special events that evening. Almost 150 people hopped on the trolley for a ride (and some free refreshments, courtesy of Vita-Coco Coconut Water)! Unfortunately, Fashion’s Night Out was cancelled in 2013, but when it’s back, we’ll be back!
Updated Holiday Décor For the 2012-13 holiday season, we updated our lighting design, introducing the “East Midtown Snowburst” to district streets. In 2013-14, we’ll be taking an extra step to brighten holiday spirits by doubling up the Snowbursts on light poles and reintroducing our traditional holiday wreaths, allowing us to install festive seasonal displays throughout the district!
Smile, East Midtown!
Reaching More Community Members
It’s not difficult to find quantitative numbers to back up our sense that we’re reaching more and more members of the community each day. Here are just a few signs of growth:
E-Mail Subscribers Sept. 2012
Facebook Likes Sept. 2012
1,167
Sept. 2013
1,703
Website Visits (month) Sept. 2012
Sept. 2012
1,805
Factoring in how often this information is shared, each week our messages reach tens of thousands of people! That said, we know THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013
Sept. 2013
3,277
Twitter Followers
681
Sept. 2013
2,556
Sept. 2013
881 1,065
we’re still not reaching many members of our community, and will continue to expand our efforts over the upcoming year.
OUR TOWN
The East Midtown streetscape is constantly changing, which means we have to scramble to keep our image library up to date. In an effort to stay current and document our work in the district, we brought part-time photographer Herbert Suarez onto the staff in May, 2013. (You might remember Herbert as the Grand Prize Winner of our 2011 Calendar Photography Contest, which he won when he was just 17 years old!) He’s now out in the district – and in its stores and buildings – capturing a wide range of images, which we’re integrating into an online photo library. When completed, this photo site will offer the public easy access to the best of East Midtown images.
www.nypress.com
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And what else is on tap? The Marketing Committee and staff are continuing to explore new, fun ways to promote district commerce. In the upcoming months, look for: “East Midtown: Sounds of the Season” – a special holiday music series New “Social Stop” events And More!
Greening East Midtown THE CHECKLIST √ Introduced Paper/Newspaper Recycling Receptacles to District Sidewalks √ Expanded that Recycling Program into One of the Largest in the Nation
other officials were on hand to launch Phase 2 of our initiative. In fact, the Department was so impressed with the public acceptance of the East Midtown Partnership’s custom design that they’re using our program as a model as they seek to expand recycling throughout the five boroughs! We stepped up our game, too, and in May, 2013, the Board of Directors voted to expand the paper recycling program district-wide, adding 100 new units to the area. By October, those receptacles were manufactured and began to be placed on district street corners.
What does this mean for you?
You might not know it, but East Midtown Manhattan is in the middle of a major environmental initiative… one that is serving as a model for the way the City of New York deals with its recyclable paper products. We knew that most people want to do the right thing and recycle, but also knew it’s often difficult to properly dispose of materials on the city’s busy sidewalks. There were very few receptacles devoted to recyclable materials, and the units designed by the City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) had found little public acceptance. The bulky design allowed DSNY to go days between emptying the cans, but were considered unsightly by most people. There was little demand for them on city streets.
PAGE 6
OUR TOWN
The East Midtown Partnership recognized the problem and came up with a solution. Working with DSNY, we developed a custom design, incorporating elements of our black trash receptacles to allow for a unified look to the street furniture. After winning the Sanitation Department’s approval, we launched a pilot project… which proved wildly successful. Even without a public education campaign, people instinctively knew they should dispose of their newspapers and other paper refuse in the can with the green lid, and the incidents of contamination were almost nonexistent. In November, 2012, we took our next step, and placed 20 additional paper/newspaper recycling receptacles on key district street corners. Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty, Deputy Commissioner for Recycling and Sustainability Ron Gonen, and
East Midtown Partnership
First, it means that it’ll be easier to do the right thing with your morning newspaper. Just slip it in the green-and-black receptacle instead of the trash, and you’ll remove it from the waste stream. Pedestrians will never have to walk more than one block to properly discard their paper products. It also means that our black trash receptacles will be packed with less trash, especially during the morning and evening commutes, making them less likely to overflow and cause unsanitary conditions. In short, we’ll not only have one of the largest recycling programs in the nation, we’ll also have cleaner streets, practice environmental responsibility, and create a more pleasant environment in which to shop, work, and live! Special thanks go to our partners from the New York City Department of Sanitation, who have worked with us every step of the way to implement the program and, of course, will empty the receptacles daily. The East Midtown Clean Patrol will also make sure the receptacles are clean and the liners are changed regularly. Doing the right thing never felt so good!
2013 Annual Report to the Community
Beautifying and Improving Our Streetscape East Midtown isn’t all asphalt, cement, steel, and glass. There’s a lot of green out there, and the Partnership has been working to create even more.
THE CHECKLIST √ Successfully Completed the Tramway Plaza Improvement Project √ Expanded the Sidewalk Beautification Project √ Worked to Replace Missing Trees √ Updated Parking Signage throughout East Midtown
Beautifying the Streetscape
Tackling Tramway Plaza
Last year, tiny Tramway Plaza had a huge rodent problem. The Second Avenue park is the only public open space in this large district, so the East Midtown Partnership felt a special obligation to help the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation address the problem. The Department had limited financial and personnel resources, straining their ability to effectively exterminate in the park, so we stepped in to take a leadership role. Working in cooperation with the Department and Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation, we arranged for an intense and ongoing extermination effort, and it paid off. Within months, the rodent population had decreased by 80%, and within one year that decrease was 94%! But our efforts didn’t stop at extermination. Our Tramway Plaza Improvement Project included a public education campaign discouraging people from feeding pigeons, as well as enhanced
OUR TOWN
Now in its fifth year, we continue to plant new tree beds through our ambitious Sidewalk Beautification Initiative. By summer, 2013, 96 tree beds were being planted by the Partnership, and, on many blocks, our three seasonal plantings form a lush, unified landscape, often filling spots that were once unsightly. The surest sign of success? Many business and property owners have asked to join our program!
Tree Planting and Trimming
sanitation, security, and homeless outreach efforts. We’re also looking at ways to incorporate new programming for the park and expand the role it plays in our community. Our stake in Tramway Plaza will become ongoing and permanent, and our commitment is to a public space where East Midtown workers, residents and visitors can feel safe and welcome.
East Midtown Partnership
Over the past year, we have also ordered a number of new and replacement trees, and assisted several property owners with tree-trimming services. It’s all part of our vision for an increasingly green East Midtown!
Updating DOT Regulatory Signs Our Sign Consolidation Unit Program was rolled out several years ago, but it ever changing. This year, when DOT changed a number of parking regulations around the district, we stayed on top of the work orders, making sure parking regulatory signs were up to date and understandable.
2013 Annual Report to the Community
PAGE 7
Keeping Midtown Clean The proof of the effectiveness of the East Midtown Clean Patrol is in the numbers:
Fiscal Year 2013 (July 1, 2012 – June 30, 2013)
CumulaƟve (2002 – 2013)
Total Pounds of Trash Removed
1,298,577
15,175,176
Total Pounds/Recyclable Paper
86,331
86,331
Number of Trash Bags Collected
109,966
1,120,498
No. of Recyclable Bags Collected
7,832
7,832
Incidents of Graffi Removed
232
2,990
And we haven’t even mentioned snow and ice removal during the winter. Or the puddles we’ve swept away from overwhelmed catch-basins. Or how regular wipe-downs and steam-cleaning keeps our 166 trash receptacles shining. Our relationship with The Doe Fund, Inc. – our Sanitation contractor – is rewarding on many levels. First, because the East Midtown Clean Patrol keeps the streets and sidewalks of our community well-maintained…
PAGE 8
OUR TOWN
with enthusiasm and a smile. Second – and every bit as important to us – because the program is well-known and well-honored for its success in breaking negative cycles and instilling in its trainees a strong work ethic. We estimate more than 600 Clean Patrol “alumni” have graduated from The Doe Fund’s workforce training program and into full-time private sector employment since we began the sanitation program in 2002.
East Midtown Partnership
THE CHECKLIST √ Removed 1.3 Million Pounds of Trash and Litter from District Streets and Sidewalks √ Collected 86,331 Pounds of Recyclable Paper and Removed It from the Waste Stream √ Steam-Cleaned 166 District Trash Receptacles √ Removed 232 Incidents of Graffiti in 2012-2013
Street and sidewalk sanitation has always been a top priority for the East Midtown Partnership, and we work hard throughout the year to keep our busy, heavilytrafficked streetscape clean and attractive. Still, from time to time problems arise. If you see an unsanitary condition – whether a one-time incident or a chronic problem – contact us immediately and we’ll address it.
2013 Annual Report to the Community
Keeping Midtown Safe There are approximately ten miles of sidewalk in the East Midtown Partnership district, and – with seven officers – we have a relatively small security patrol. Therefore, we demand a lot of our officers… and they not only deliver, they do it with loyalty. Industry standards predict a security position will turn over every 12 months; most of our team has been with us since we launched our public safety program on June 17, 2002!
DirecƟons Given Incidents Reported Street CondiƟons Reported Peddler CondiƟons
Fiscal Year 2013 (July 1, 2012 – June 30, 2013) 20,678 48 66 19
Through June 30, 2013, our small security patrol staff has rendered assistance to almost one-quarter of a million people. While the bulk of those efforts went into providing information to the public, there were thousands of incidents in which East Midtown Security reported inoperable traffic and pedestrian signals and road hazards, responded to calls for merchant assistance, and assisted crime victims.
CumulaƟve (2002 – 2013) 249,875 1,120 844 612
It would probably be enough if these officers did the basics, reporting unsafe conditions and giving directions to passersby. But they have also become vendor enforcement experts. It is now exceptionally rare to find an illegal or non-compliant vendor in the district; the ones that are here have a legal right and, if not, EMP security is there within minutes to move the illegal vendor out of the district.
THE CHECKLIST √ Gave Assistance to 20,678 pedestrians in 2012-2013 √ Responded to 133 Other Calls for Assistance in 2012-2013 √ Continued Strict, Zero-Tolerance Enforcement of Illegal Vendors
Vendors now cooperate, because the EMP has a reputation of being able to get quick back-up from the three NYPD precincts we fall under – the 17th, 19th, and Midtown North. If you see a problem pop up, or if you have any other security-related concern, call us right away at 212813-0030.
Meeting the Needs of a Vulnerable Population In November, 2002, the East Midtown Partnership signed a contract with the Bowery Residents’ Committee for the provision of Homeless Outreach Services in our community. The terms of that contract were unique in specifying that BRC could – and should – work with homeless individuals not just within the district boundaries, but in adjacent areas. Our message was clear – we were not interested in chasing the homeless population away, but to provide a path to rehabilitation and recovery. That commitment has paid off over the years. BRC Homeless Outreach workers made 49,910 one-on-one contacts between November, 2002 and June, 2013, and placed 685 people in recovery programs… 685 people who might otherwise still be living on city streets.
Fiscal Year 2013 (July 1, 2012 – June 30, 2013)
CumulaƟve (2002 – 2013)
Number of Contacts
1,533
49,910
Number of Placements in Programs
33
685
Convincing someone to come in from the streets can be a complex process entailing weeks or months – or even years – of interaction to build trust and understanding. But the East Midtown Partnership remains committed to working with the BRC to reach the homeless individuals living in and passing through this community in an effort to meet their needs and integrate them back into productive livelihoods.
OUR TOWN
When we think about the East Midtown quality of life, we think how that affects all people who enter the district. We’re proud that our efforts have improved lives, but even prouder of the hard work of the BRC outreach workers and – most importantly – those homeless individuals who have availed themselves of BRC’s wide range of services and decided “enough is enough.”
East Midtown Partnership
THE CHECKLIST √ Made 1,533 Contacts in 2012-2013 √ Placed 33 Individuals in Appropriate Rehabilitative or Treatment Services
Our homeless outreach team is available around the clock, so if you see someone in need of assistance, call us at 212-813-0030 during normal weekday business hours, or call the BRC 24-Hour Homeless Helpline at 212-533-5151.
2013 Annual Report to the Community
PAGE 9
Outreach & Administrative Services With approximately 850 storefronts and 2,000 upper-floor tenants – 28 million square feet of commercial space, in all – the East Midtown Partnership is constantly reaching out to the community to keep our records up-to-date and make sure we’re meeting the needs of the people we serve. This year we hosted a well-attended breakfast meeting for property owners and managers to explain the programming and services we could offer them… and their tenants. We’ll be doing that again, and looking for other ways we can spread the word. Remember: there is never any cost (beyond the BID assessment, which you’re paying anyway) to take advantage of our programs, services, or events… so please join us!
East Midtown, but we also do a great deal “behind the scenes” to represent the community. Among the many projects we monitored over the past year have been:
·
East Midtown Rezoning Proposal (Department of City Planning)
·
East 58th Street/East 59th Street Water Main Project (Department of Design & Construction)
·
·
MTA East Side Access Project (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) Bike Share Program (Department of Transportation)
One way we gauge our effectiveness – and ensure that our priorities mirror yours – is by conducting an Annual Community Survey. In 2013, 92% of
This Report has detailed many of the programs we’ve implemented (or are in development) to improve commerce and the quality of life in
the respondents gave us an “excellent” or “good” rating, so we must be doing something right… although we won’t be satisfied until everyone is satisfied. Want to report a pothole? Do you need business assistance? Is there a peddler or sanitation problem we can assist with? Do you have ideas on how we can improve the business climate or quality of life of our community? Call or e-mail us and put us to work! With a billing rate of roughly 8 cents per square foot of commercial space per year, the East Midtown Partnership is one of the best deals in town. We keep our costs low by holding a tight rein on spending, constantly renegotiating contracts and getting the biggest bang for our buck without skimping on the quality of service our community has come to expect.
THE CHECKLIST √ Hosted Building Owner/Manager Breakfast √ Conducted Annual Community Survey √ Aggressively Represented & Informed the Community on Issues Including: ·
East Midtown Rezoning Proposal
·
East 58th/East 59th Street Water Main Project
·
MTA East Side Access Project
·
Bike Share Program
East Midtown Gives Back East Midtown Manhattan was not hit hard by SuperStorm Sandy. It would have been easy for us to repair the handful of broken windows and downed trees and go on with our business. But this community is better than that. After being closed for two days due to the storm, we reopened our office and immediately spread the word that we had power, and those who needed to charge up or use a desk were welcome. A number of people took advantage of our offer, including our blacked-out colleagues at the Lower East Side Business Improvement District.
PAGE 10
The following week, answering the call for free office space from the New York City Economic Development Corporation, we opened our doors to a Lower Manhattan not-for-profit that was displaced by flooding. Eight of their employees were working out of our conference room by the end of the next business day, and stayed for two months. Of course, the East Midtown Partnership was far from alone in pitching in to help our fellow New Yorkers. James Mallios from Amali Restaurant gave up private dining space to a displaced firm. Lisa Marty from Visa donated thousands of Latex gloves for the clean-up efforts. The Friars Club donated $100,000 and
OUR TOWN
had a truck parked out front to collect donations, which were carted to impacted areas on a daily basis. These were only a few of our local heroes.
THE CHECKLIST
Due to the storm, the East Midtown Partnership also redoubled our efforts with our Annual Food Drive to benefit the Food Bank for New York City, and joined the New York Cares Annual Coat Drive.
√ Conducted Food and Coat Drives to Benefit Needy City Residents
√ Opened Our Doors to Businesses Displaced by SuperStorm Sandy and Encouraged the District to Join in Relief Efforts
√ Promoted Charitable Initiatives through Weekly Bulletins
We hope efforts at this level aren’t ever needed again, but the Partnership and the entire East Midtown community will always be ready to step up and step in.
East Midtown Partnership
2013 Annual Report to the Community
Finances Operating Budget for Fiscal Year 2014
Operating Budget for Fiscal Year 2013
(July 1, 2013 - June 30, 2014)
(July 1, 2012 - June 30, 2013)
Administration Personnel
Rent, supplies, etc.
$390,000 $380,000
Insurance
$150,000 $200,000
Professional Fees
$30,000 $25,000
$20,000 $20,000 Total
$590,000 $625,000
Operations Sanitation
Security
$620,000 $600,000
Homeless Outreach
$360,000 $350,000
$115,000 $110,000
Traffic Management
$10,000 $0 Total
$1,105,000 $1,060,000
Marketing Business Promotion & Marketing
Beautification
Streetscape Improvements
$170,000 $170,000
$200,000 $190,000
$295,000 $155,000 Total
$665,000 $515,000
Budgeted Expenses $2,360,000
$2,200,000
OUR TOWN
Revenue $2,200,000
$2,200,000
East Midtown Partnership
Budget information and Audited Financial Statements are available on our website, and can also be obtained by contacting the East Midtown Partnership office, 875 Third Avenue, Mezzanine, New York, NY 10022. Phone: 212813-0030 or e-mail info@ eastmidtown.org.
2013 Annual Report to the Community
PAGE 11
Board of Directors, FY 2013 Debra Fechter, Chair Digby Management Co. LLC Joanne Porrazzo, Vice Chair Vornado Realty Trust Brian Steinwurtzel, Treasurer Newmark Knight Frank Steven Cherniak, Secretary Cohen Brothers Realty Corp.
David J. Koeppel, Koeppel Capital Karla Kudatzky, CBRE George Kurth, Fitzpatrick Hotel Group (through March, 2013) Andrew Labeƫ, The Benjamin (through December, 2012) Hon. John Liu, NYC Comptroller Represented by Adaku Aharanwa Lester Marks, Lighthouse InternaƟonal Barbara McLaughlin, The Fund for Park Avenue Jo-Ann Polise, Alternate Jonathan Resnick, Jack Resnick & Sons M. Barry Schneider, East 60s Neighborhood Assn. Hon. Sandro Sherrod, Chair, Community Board 6 Represented by Carol Schachter (through March, 2013) Hon. ScoƩ Stringer, ManhaƩan Borough President Represented by Nancy Rosen Neil Underberg, 480 Park Avenue CorporaƟon Hon. Nicholas Viest, Chair, Community Board 8 Represented by Will Sanchez & MaƩhew Bondy Hon. Robert Walsh, Commissioner, NYC Department of Small Business Services Represented by Christopher Bruno Jack Weiss, T. Anthony (through January, 2013) E. Bingo Wyer, Resident Adam Zickerman, Inform Fitness Studios
Ron Auriana, Bloomberg Marilyn Francisco, Alternate Hon. Vikki Barbero, Chair, Community Board 5 Represented by David Golab David Brooks, Just Bulbs Shane Cookman, Fitzpatrick Hotel Group (March 2013 to present) Chris O’Sullivan, Alternate (March 2013 to present) Dorothy Cristani, Resident Joseph DeGregorio, Boston ProperƟes MarƟn Dresner, Vornado Realty Trust Hon. Daniel Garodnick, NYC Council Represented by Ilona Kramer Elysabeth Kleinhans, 59E59 Theaters Brian Beirne, Alternate
Acknowledgements The East Midtown Partnership thanks the following vendors for their services over the past year:
Staff Rob Byrnes, President Bob Iovino, Director of OperaƟons Daniel Andis, Director of Special Projects
Tom Fong Angela Mejia Herbert Suarez
City 1 Maintenance, Street Furniture Maintenance
GPS Industries, PlanƟng Maintenance
The Doe Fund, SanitaƟon Services
A supplement to this report with detailed financial and corporate membership informaƟon as required by SecƟon 4.15 of the corporate by-laws will be made available on our website in fall, 2013. To request a wriƩen copy, call 212-813-0030 or e-mail info@eastmidtown.org.
OUR TOWN
GG Group, InformaƟon Technology
CitySolve, Street Furniture Steam Cleaning
Photography by Herbert Suarez
PAGE 12
BRC, Homeless Outreach Services
HJMT Public RelaƟons, MarkeƟng IlluminaƟons by Arnold, Holiday LighƟng
DuMor Inc, Trash & Recycling Receptacles
Ron Jautz, Jautz Photography, Photography
Edward Post, Park Avenue Mall SanitaƟon
Skody Scot & Company, AccounƟng & AudiƟng
East Midtown Partnership
Sundberg & Associates, Graphic Design & Website Susanne Gil, Bookkeeping Town & Gardens, Ltd, HorƟculture U. S. Security Associates, Security Patrol Services W.S. Sign Design, Consolidated Sign Units & Signs
2013 Annual Report to the Community
Politics Threaten Horse-Carriage Rides Both mayoral candidates back plans to replace or reduce the horses By Verena Dobnik Horse-drawn carriage rides through the streets of New York - an experience nearly as old as the city itself - could be clip-clopping to a halt. Animal activists who have long argued that horses have no place mixing in the traffic of the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biggest city now have the backing of both leading candidates for mayor. And the front-runner heading into the Nov. 5 election, Democrat Bill de Blasio, supports a plan to replace the horses with old-timey electric cars to take tourists on slow-speed jaunts around Central Park. To the top-hatted horse drivers who dispense lap blankets and tour guide wisdom along with the rides, that plan has about as much charm as a plastic pony. â&#x20AC;&#x153;People come for the clip-clop of a horseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
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hooves,â&#x20AC;? said driver Christina Hansen. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nobody wants to pet a fender.â&#x20AC;? Ending the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 155-year-old horse-drawn carriage industry has emerged as an unlikely issue in the recent mayoral debates, and one of the few points of agreement in an otherwise bitter race between de Blasio and Republican Joe Lhota. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a marked shift from Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is leaving office after 12 years. He has consistently supported the horse-drawn carriage industry, saying itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a city-regulated tourist draw. For de Blasio, the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s public advocate who is leading by 40 points in the polls, the issue is animal cruelty. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are in the biggest, densest urban area in North America. It is not a place for horses. They are not meant to be in traffic jams.â&#x20AC;? Lhota has said that he would eliminate the carriage horses, mostly because of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;unfortunateâ&#x20AC;? smell in and around Central Park. He has also expressed interest in some kind of motorized replacement.
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OUR TOWN
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PAGE 15
15 1 4 7
re-use
ways to A Team of Rivals? your newspaper old
Use it as wrapping paper, or fold & glue pages into reusable gift bags.
2
Add shredded newspaper to your compost pile when you need a carbon addition or to keep flies at bay.
5
Use newspaper strips, water, and a bit of glue for newspaper mâché.
8
10
Crumple newspaper to use as packaging material the next time you need to ship something fragile.
13
Tightly roll up sheets of newspaper and tie with string to use as fire logs.
After your garden plants sprout, place newspaper sheets around them, then water & cover with grass clippings and leaves. This newspaper will keep weeds from growing.
Make origami creatures
Use shredded newspaper as animal bedding in lieu of sawdust or hay.
11
Make your own cat litter by shredding newspaper, soaking it in dish detergent & baking soda, and letting it dry.
14
Wrap pieces of fruit in newspaper to speed up the ripening process.
3
Cut out letters & words to write anonymous letters to friends and family to let them know they are loved.
6
Roll a twice-folded newspaper sheet around a jar, remove the jar, & you have a biodegradable seed-starting pot that can be planted directly into the soil.
9
Make newspaper airplanes and have a contest in the backyard.
12 15
Stuff newspapers in boots or handbags to help the items keep their shape. Dry out wet shoes by loosening laces & sticking balled newspaper pages inside.
a public service announcement brought to you by dirt magazine. PAGE 16
ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
OUR TOWN
Imagine the city government if the next mayor asked his opponents to help lead By Tom Allon One of the greatest political books ever, “A Team of Rivals,” by historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, tells the compelling and always relevant tale of Abe Lincoln’s unprecedented hiring of his presidential rivals to serve in his administration. Not before, nor since, have we seen such a blatant act of humility and bipartisanship that ended up subsuming Lincoln’s ego for the greater good of our country. We saw a microcosm of this tactic in President Barack Obama’s appointment of his once fierce Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, to be Secretary of State during his first term. That turned out well for both parties; Hillary worked hard, repaired U.S. relations around the world, gained huge foreign policy experience and positioned herself as the frontrunner for 2016. Obama, who wisely did not let past political feuds cloud his management vision, got a savvy and well-known foreign policy partner who helped him execute a tough but more coherent global policy - and, we’re told, Hillary was one of the main proponents of executing the Osama Bin Laden raid despite V.P. Joe Biden’s reported reluctance. In New York, we are close to the dawning of a new mayoral administration, and there’s a number of people who ran for the highest office who could be very helpful to the new mayor. Although it’s highly unlikely to happen, imagine if Bill de Blasio (if he wins Nov. 5th) reached across the aisle and picked his opponent, Joe Lhota, to be first deputy mayor or deputy mayor for operations. Lhota’s already done one of those jobs, so even if de Blasio decides to turn to him for help, it’s unlikley Lhota wants to be second in command again - particularly, for a mayor whose experience and ideas he vigorously challenged during the campaign. Would Christine Quinn make a good Deputy Mayor, just like Hillary made a very good Secretary of State? Probably, but that is also highly unlikely to happen. Quinn represents a link to the Bloomberg years and de Blasio is going to distance himself from his predecessor and anybody who supported him. It’s too bad: Quinn’s a hard-working public servant and would probably do well in the
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right role. How about Bill Thompson or John Liu? It’s hard to imagine Thompson wanting an appointed position after he was comptroller for eight years and ran the former Board of Education. But it’s a shame to lose his wealth of experience. John Liu is ideologically similar to de Blasio, so it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch for him to be a deputy Mayor or an agency head. But here again it’s more likely that Liu decamps to the private sector to make money while he strategizes his next move in public life. Adolfo Carrion is a smart, pragmatic man who knows a lot about urban policy - why not make him head of the Department of Housing, Preservation and Development? He could help the next mayor a lot. But once again, hard to imagine him being asked, or if asked, that he’d take an appointed position. Sal Albanese is a very wise man who could still serve our city well but there were too many fireworks during the campaign between him and de Blasio to imagine them working together closely. And John Catsimatidis is a great New Yorker who yearns to make the city a better place; hopefully, de Blasio finds some unofficial role for the candidate who called himself “Cats,” because he has some good ideas and good experience. And finally, there’s Anthony Weiner. Hard to imagine under any circumstances that he ends up working as a second banana in city government. So, any chance for a team of rivals in city government in 2014? Doesn’t seem likely, but wouldn’t it send a great message to Washington, D.C. and the rest of the world if a 6 foot 5 inch mayor who bears some physical resemblence to Lincoln stole a page from one of our greatest president’s playbooks? Tom Allon, the president of City & State, NY, is the former Liberal Party-backed candidate for Mayor. Questions or comments? Tallon@ cityandstateny.com.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013
cityArts
Edited by Armond White
New York’s Review of Culture . CityArtsNYC.com
Keigwin on the Canvas Local choreographer gets busy at the Joyce Theater By Valerie Gladstone
N
ew York native, Larry Keigwin stretches himself as a choreographer. In the 10 years since he founded Keigwin +Company, he has staged Fashion Weeks’s opening event, “Fashion’s Night Out: The Show,” won awards for his choreography for the off Broadway productions of Rent and The Wild Party, worked with the Radio City Rockettes, and made the fabulous “Bolero,” for 10 trained dancers and 50-75 ordinary people, which has been a huge success at theaters all over the country. He enjoys working with pros as much as on community projects. In March, he makes his Broadway choreographic debut, with the show, If/ Then, starring Idina Menzel and LaChanze. At the same time, he has managed to direct one of the most exciting and entertaining dance companies around. “I’m always ready to branch off and explore,” he says in a recent phone call. “I’m interested in all different forms of theater, and working with all kinds of performers.” Keigwin + Company comes to the Joyce Theater October 29-November 3, with an engrossing and varied program, featuring “Canvas,” a dance exploring and contrasting balletic and contemporary styles, set to a cinematic score by Adam Crystal. Opening night it will be performed by his troupe and the New York City Ballet dancers, Tiler Peck, Robbie Fairchild, Daniel Ulbricht and Lauren Lovette. “Girls,” a female trio, to Frank Sinatra songs, and two older, delightfully playful and poignant works, “Natural Selection” to music by Michael Gordon and “Mattress Suite,” set to Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine,” Verdi’s “La Traviata, and “At Last,” sung by Etta James, complete the line
up. “Canvas” grew out of his residency at the Vail International Dance Festival in 2010, and the support of the director Damian Woetzel. A dazzling work, it showcases his formidable talents as a constructor of complex and dynamic spatial designs and his genius at showcasing the talents of his remarkable dancers. He describes his technique as, “assembling a collage.” Though it garnered
praise from critics and cheers from the audience at its premiere at Vail last summer, he promises that it will look even better at the Joyce. “We’ll have shimmery curtains in gold, red, purple and blue, and the dancers will play in and out of them,” he says. “It will have lots more pizzazz.” Pizzazz is something you can always count on at a Keigwin performance.
Larry Keigwin appears at the Joyce The-
ater Oct. 29-Nov. 3
Graciano Photography
Keigwen’s “Canvas” at the Joyce Theater
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013
OUR TOWN
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PAGE 17
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New York Cares is New York City’s leading volunteer organization.
PAGE 18
Photo credit: Lauren Farmer
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f you empty it out, they will come. This is the working premise of Danish architect Jan Gehl. Here is your chance to learn about the chap responsible for all the initial bitching about those silly looking chairs in Times Square when traffic was forbidden and space opened up for--of all things-- people and their ephemeral pleasures like eating and reading. Bike lanes and mandatory greenery followed soon after. But it’s not just New York. His native Copenhagen was the incubator for Gehl’s ideas, and most touchingly and tellingly, Christchuch New Zealand, where his firm was hired for plans to rebuild after the devastating earthquake of 2011. The unprepossessing, mild-mannered Gehl, professor emeritus and head of his own architecture firm, is interviewed in a current film, The Human Scale, about his work. He is also the author of a just-released book, How to Study Public Life. Admitting he was initially skeptical, he has come to believe that if you take away cars, people will come to replace them. A kind of public life, and human connection, will result. The over-all question for him and his acolytes is “What is the way for measuring human happiness in the city?” When was the last time you heard that, or anything even that quaintly idealistic? Opening up space is one approach; another is reducing the height of buildings. Bicycles are a given. While it may have been a natural for Denmark, Janet Sadik-Kahn, Commissioner of the City Department of
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Transportation, was so impressed she hired Gehl to re-imagine New York City streets. (All this time you thought it was a suddenly creative Bloomberg, right?) Other cities discussed are ChongQung China, and Melbourne, now considered the world’s most livable city. Alleys formerly filled with garbage are now lined with lively bistros. In the words of a city resident “the streets have become our living room.” India still looks to be a huge challenge though. And you can’t help but wonder how Los Angeles might look or work without its autos. With statistics of coming population booms to give Jane Jacobs nightmares, we learn that in thirty-five years 80 percent of the world’s population will live in cities. Gehl rejected Robert Moses’ solution to build “up” and let cars into the city; he believes that we have gone against the idea of community and extended family in living alone, or in small cramped spaces without a sense of multi-generational roots. The one-family nuclear house of the 1950s was the worst of all: demonstrated to be the most healthendangering with its sedentary car-centric culture, and lengthy commuting to the city for work. In spots the doc, The Human Scale, directed by Andreas Dalsgaard, is just too preachy, earnest, and sometimes tedious. Yet images of Christchurch are poignant, especially letters posted on fences pleading with the re-builders to incorporate bits of the destroyed buildings in the new designs. Memory and buildings are interconnected, the city residents point out, citing first kiss, and so forth. Sounds right. How to Study Public Life, by Jan Gehl and Birgitte Svarre, was published by Island Press. The Human Scale, a documentary directed by Andreas M. Dalsgaard, shows at IFC Center.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013
FILM CITYARTS
Robert Redford baits the Academy in tuneless sea chantey By Armond White
O
ne of the major Academy Award bloopers occurred in 1984 when Robert Redford was nominated Best Actor for The Sting and not The Way We Were (both were released in 1983). He seemed miscast and distant in the former but movie-star idolized and emotionally committed in the latter. But maybe the secret to Redford’s appeal for the past 50 years has to do with distance—his smug reticence passed for strong-silent-integrity whether playing gay in Inside Daisy Clover, a clueless politician in The Candidate, a reluctant pitchman in The Electric Horseman, a mismatched lover in The Way We Were. And now, playing distant in All Is Lost—portraying a nameless man stranded in the middle of the Indian Ocean, uttering no more than two words for the entire running time--seems likely to finally get Redford his Best Actor Oscar. Other than that, All Is Lost has no meaning. You can only sell this movie, attempt to justify it, by yelling “Oscar!” at it. It has no other purpose. Writer-director J.C. Chandor attempts middle-brow existentialism and apparently hits the right, obvious keys to make critics curtsy, but other than uninteresting clichés, Chandor gives little to go on. His dull subtlety suits his lead’s uncommunicativeness. Redford often seems to think himself too smart to be a movie star (that was the fascinating irony of his glamorous self-delusion in Inside Daisy Clover—perhaps the key performance of his career) so the All Is Lost stoic is convincing for his closed-off nature. Problem is, Chandor’s mildly competent filmmaking is also closedoff. Though set outdoors (it’s tempting to say “atsea”), this is actually an interior concept—watching Redford go through the mental and physical efforts of survival (patching up his yacht damaged by a floating
cargo box, gathering his life raft and supplies, reading a sextant and charting his course). But Redford’s withholding manner doesn’t unfold this man’s insides: His pantomime (if that’s what you call this mostly silent performance) doesn’t convey thinking—something an actor like Jean-Louis Trintingnant does masterfully. Chandor’s own reserved-caginess suggests that he thinks he’s doing something deeper than an action movie. Not a modest craftsman like John Sturges directing Spencer Tracy in the film version of Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, Chandor’s a Paul Thomas Anderson wannabe. He plants mysteries: A message-in-a-bottle apology (“I tried to be true, strong, kind but I wasn’t”); thirdfinger rings on both left and right hands (inscrutable sexual identity); no Emergency Locator Transmitter onboard (incompetence or agnosticism?). The cynical title suggests inchoate nihilism that turns sentimental— typical of Redford’s political movies. (Dig that destructive cargo box spilling-out sneakers, a damning comment on global Capitalism.) It would take a director like David Lean to validate to this pretense with an eye for nature—the horizon, clouds, climate-that convey mankind’s experience in the elements, facing the ineffable. Chandor lacks the spatial, phenomenological skills and visual imagination to lift his conceit into significance. And Redford, typically, immodestly deflects “significance.” Critics crowding the dinghy for this very minor film indicates real ignorance about the genre of physical and psychological cinema that Lean excelled at and was apparent in this year’s uphyped Kon-Tiki by the gifted team Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg. It’s Oscar bait mentality. Follow Armond White on Twitter at 3xchair
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Robert Redford in All Is Lost
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013
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PAGE 20
Stop Carrie-ing On
Find out what makes PCS the ideal academic school for children pursuing challenging goals that may sometimes require time away from school.
November 5,Tuesday 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.
Dancing through Life, Living through Dance PCS alumni, including NYCB principals Tiler Peck & Robert Fairchild, talk about the journey from school to careers, in and out of dance
November 18, Monday 6 to 8:00 p.m. OUR TOWN
I
t was impossible for Kimberly Peirce to direct a remake of Carrie that could live up to Brian DePalma’s 1976 original. Two cultural events got in the way. First, political correctness so dominates our culture that the mythological aspects in Carrie’s Chloe Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore in Carrie reverse-Cinderella story (a repressed, unpopular high school laugh at you!” did double-duty; the funnygirl goes to the senior prom where vicious heartbreaking Carrie transcended its Grand students humiliate her) are undermined. The Guignol genre, but no one’s gonna laugh or story’s most captivating elements--Carrie’s cry at this literal-minded remake. The pigemerging sexuality, guilt imposed by her slaughter scene (“Choose one that looks like mother’s religious pressure, her schoolmate’s Carrie”) becomes a moment of mean-girl moral confusion--are politicized, made into internalized self-hatred and the bucket-ofsocial problems worthy of the TV-series bloodbath is repeated three we-got-the-point Glee’s insipid “It Gets Better” nostrums, then times. TV-obviousness striking again and drained of mystery and imagination. again and again. Second, TV style so dominates our culture Stefan Sharff, the great film theoretician, that DePalma’s cinematic sophistication--an devoted an entire class of his “Analysis of Film essential part of the original film’s modernism, Language” Course at Columbia University to finding meaning in imagery, kinetics and DePalma’s Carrie (at my suggestion, and my cultural resonance--has been replaced by flat, everlasting gratitude). Sad that Columbia Film ordinary technique and the cynical narrative School graduate Peirce remakes Carrie using expectations of the dumbed-down 21st such meager film language. century audience. It was DePalma’s satirical sensibility that Peirce directs this remake with a depressing, gave unexpected complexity to Stephen plot-oriented single-mindedness. That’s what King’s potboiler, plus DePalma’s visual wit political correctness and TV style have led added layers of meaning through art and pop to: a version of Carrie that is reduced to a cultural references. The Pre-Raphaelite closefew faint lesbian teases and feminist alarum ups (of Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, William (Carrie’s fanatical, repressed mother is a cutter Katt, Amy Irving and Nancy Allen) allowed who injures herself) and an anti-bullying DePalma to raise the mystical elements of the message (at an inquest following the prom story to an esthetic richness that resolved the massacre). This desperately commercial, theme of repressed sexuality. (The mother’s simplistic interpretation of Stephen King’s lush hair suggested her innate sensuality but story offers none of the sensuality or boldness is made stringy and witchy here.) Depicting of Pierce’s debut film, Boys Don’t Cry. Peirce’s Carrie’s forced closet penitence, DePalma’s Carrie truly is a horror story, just an occasion great cinephilia reached back to evoke Lillian for snarky meanness, grisliness and mayhemGish’s anguish in Broken Blossoms and for the -as in the revenge Carrie takes on the couple mother’s orgasmic death he reached forward, that plotted against her: the entire automobile outdoing Luis Bunuel’s wildest iconography. demolition is shown methodically, no longer All this is why DePalma’s Carrie ranks as an impulsive act with a edge of vengeance but one of the great American movies and its calculated brutality like today’s sadistic horror characters are cultural archetypes--despite films. a previous remake, a previous sequel and a DePalma’s horny-visionary humor is what Broadway musical, DePalma’s film has had made Carrie so American American--a huge influence stretching from P.J. Harvey horror satire but with deep feeling and real to the excellent recent Disney film Prom. ambivalence. It’s a hallmark of the 70s era DePalma’s Carrie is one of those films where that a film as funny as Carrie could also be so everything went right but except for Chloe heartbreaking. Grace Moretz’s sweetly vulnerable expressions, The mother’s warning “They’re all gonna everything in Pierce’s remake goes flat.
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013
Healthy y Manhattan Prevent winter from weathering your skin Ten tips for stopping that â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;winter itchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;
A
ll winter flakes are not made of snow. Cold weather, with its low relative humidity, wreaks havoc on our skin, making it dry and flaky. Skin dries out if itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s deprived of moisture and this dryness often aggravates itchiness, resulting in a condition commonly referred to as â&#x20AC;&#x153;winter itch.â&#x20AC;? Dr. Robyn Gmyrek, a dermatologist and director of the Skin and Laser Center at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center, suggests the following tips to help turn your alligator skin into suede: 1. Moisturize daily. Petrolatum or creambased moisturizers are far better than lotions for normal to dry skin. If you have sensitive skin, choose a moisturizer without fragrance
or lanolin. Apply moisturizer directly to your wet skin after bathing to ensure that the moisturizer can help to trap surface moisture. 2. Cleanse your skin, but donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t overdo it. Too much cleansing removes the skinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s natural moisturizers. It is enough to wash your face, hands, feet, and between the folds of your skin once a day. While you can rinse your trunk, arms and legs daily, it is not necessary to use soap or cleanser on these areas every day.
3. Limit the use of hot water and soap. If you have â&#x20AC;&#x153;winter itch,â&#x20AC;? take short lukewarm showers or baths with a non-irritating, non-detergent-based cleanser. Immediately afterward, apply a thick cream or a petroleumjelly-type moisturizer. Gently pat skin dry. 4. Humidify. Dry air can pull the moisture from your skin. Room humidifiers can be very beneficial. 5. Protect yourself from the wind. Cover your face and use a petrolatum-based balm for your lips. 6. Avoid extreme cold. Cold temperatures can cause skin disorders or frostbite in some people. See a doctor immediately if you develop color changes in your hands or feet accompanied by pain or ulceration. 7. Protect your skin from the sun. Remember that winter sun can also be dangerous to the skin. Even in the winter months you should use a sunscreen with
a sun-protection factor of 15 or greater if you will be outdoors for prolonged periods. 8. Avoid winter tanning. Tanning beds and artificial sunlamps are always damaging to your skin and increase your risk of skin cancer. If you want to keep your summer glow, use self-tanners along with extra moisturizer as self-tanners can also dry out your skin. 9. Take vitamin D supplements. During the summer months your natural vitamin D production increases due to daily sun exposure, but when winter rolls around that exposure decreases. Taking vitamin supplements can ensure that you are getting the recommended amounts of vitamin D all year. 10. See your dermatologist. If you have persistent dry skin, scaling, itching, skin growths that concern you or other rashes, see your dermatologist â&#x20AC;&#x201D; not only in winter but throughout the year.
The only dedicated Assisted Living Facility in New York City specializing in Enhanced Memory Care.
Ensconced in the landmark neighborhood of the Upper East Side, Residents continue to enjoy the heart and soul of this incomparable city they have always loved. â&#x20AC;˘ Beautiful Upper East Side Environment â&#x20AC;˘ Each floor a â&#x20AC;&#x153;Neighborhoodâ&#x20AC;? with Family Style Dining & Living Room â&#x20AC;˘ 24-hour Licensed Nurses & Attendants specially trained in dementia care â&#x20AC;˘ Medication Management â&#x20AC;˘ Around the clock personal care, as needed â&#x20AC;˘ Housekeeping, Linen & Personal Laundry â&#x20AC;˘ Courtyard & Atrium Rooftop Garden â&#x20AC;˘ Chef prepared Meals Nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first recipient of AFAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Excellence in Care distinction.
80th Street Residents in Central Park with the Essex House Hotel peeking from behind.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013
430 East 80th Street, New York, NY 10075 Tel. 212-717-8888 www.80thstreetresidence.com
OUR TOWN
The 80th Street Residence Earns Additional New York State Department of The 80th Street Residence Earns Additional New York State Department of Health Licensure and CertiďŹ cations Licensure and CertiďŹ cations The only licensedHealth Assisted Living Residence in New York City to obtain both The only licensed Assisted Living Residence in New York City to obtain both
Enhanced and Special Needs CertiďŹ cation (QKDQFHG DQG 6SHFLDO 1HHGV &HUWLĂ&#x20AC; FDWLRQ
The 80th Street Residence is the ďŹ rst in the city to receive the New York State De-
7KH WK 6WUHHW 5HVLGHQFH LV WKH Ă&#x20AC; UVW LQ WKH FLW\ WR UHFHLYH WKH 1HZ <RUN 6WDWH 'HSDUWPHQW RI partment of Health licensure as an Assisted Living Residence (ALR) with certiďŹ cates +HDOWK OLFHQVXUH DV DQ $VVLVWHG /LYLQJ 5HVLGHQFH $/5 ZLWK FHUWLĂ&#x20AC; FDWHV DOORZLQJ WKH HQWLUH allowing the entire community to serve as both an Enhanced Assisted Living Residence FRPPXQLW\ WR VHUYH DV ERWK DQ (QKDQFHG $VVLVWHG /LYLQJ 5HVLGHQFH ($/5 DQG D 6SHFLDO 1HHGV (EALR) and a Special Needs Assisted Living Residence (SNALR). With these new $VVLVWHG /LYLQJ 5HVLGHQFH 61$/5 :LWK WKHVH QHZ FHUWLĂ&#x20AC; FDWLRQV WK 6WUHHW LV QRZ DEOH WR certiďŹ cations 80th Street is now able to provide additional specialized care and services SURYLGH DGGLWLRQDO VSHFLDOL]HG FDUH DQG VHUYLFHV IRU LWV 5HVLGHQWV DOO for its Residents, all of whom suffer from cognitive impairment. RI ZKRP VXIIHU IURP FRJQLWLYH LPSDLUPHQW Clare Shanley, Executive Director says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The 80th Street Residence has always been &ODUH 6KDQOH\ ([HFXWLYH 'LUHFWRU VD\V ´7KH WK 6WUHHW 5HVLGHQFH KDV DOZD\V EHHQ GHYRWHG devoted to providing excellent care and specialized services to our Residents. In fact, WR SURYLGLQJ H[FHOOHQW FDUH DQG VSHFLDOL]HG VHUYLFHV WR RXU 5HVLGHQWV ,Q IDFW RXU SURJUDP ZDV our program was the Nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ďŹ rst to receive The Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Foundation of Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s WKH 1DWLRQ¡V Ă&#x20AC; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Excellence UVW WR UHFHLYH 7KH $O]KHLPHU¡V )RXQGDWLRQ RI $PHULFD¡V Âś([FHOOHQFH LQ &DUH¡ DZDUG in Careâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; award. Now with the highest level of licensing for Assisted Living, 1RZ ZLWK WKH KLJKHVW OHYHO RI OLFHQVLQJ IRU $VVLVWHG /LYLQJ LQ DGGLWLRQ WR SURYLGLQJ RXU XQLTXH in addition to providing our unique program, we are able to offer families the peace of SURJUDP ZH DUH DEOH WR RIIHU IDPLOLHV WKH SHDFH RI PLQG LQ NQRZLQJ WKDW WKHLU ORYHG RQHV PD\ mind in knowing that their loved ones may now age in place and receive more nursing QRZ DJH LQ SODFH DQG UHFHLYH PRUH QXUVLQJ FDUH VKRXOG WKH\ QHHG LW LQ WKH SODFH WKH\ FDOO KRPH Âľ care should they need it in the place they call home.â&#x20AC;? Fully Licensed by the New York State Department of Health, The 80th Street Residence )XOO\ /LFHQVHG E\ WKH 1HZ <RUN 6WDWH 'HSDUWPHQW RI +HDOWK 7KH WK 6WUHHW 5HVLGHQFH LV WKH isRQO\ GHGLFDWHG DVVLVWHG OLYLQJ FRPPXQLW\ LQ 1HZ <RUN &LW\ 6SHFLDOL]LQJ LQ 0HPRU\ &DUH ,Q WKHLU the only dedicated assisted living community in New York City Specializing in Memory Care. In their boutique setting, 80th Street offers unique neighborhoods, each comERXWLTXH VHWWLQJ WK 6WUHHW RIIHUV XQLTXH QHLJKERUKRRGV HDFK FRPSRVHG RI QR PRUH WKDQ posed of no more than eight to ten Residents with similar cognitive abilities. All neighHLJKW WR WHQ 5HVLGHQWV ZLWK VLPLODU FRJQLWLYH DELOLWLHV $OO QHLJKERUKRRGV KDYH FR]\ DQG KRPHOLNH borhoods have cozy and homelike dining and living rooms and are staffed 24 hours a GLQLQJ DQG OLYLQJ URRPV DQG DUH VWDIIHG KRXUV D GD\ ZLWK SHUVRQDO FDUH DWWHQGDQWV 7KH day with personal care attendants. The intimate setting allows for an environment that is LQWLPDWH VHWWLQJ DOORZV IRU DQ HQYLURQPHQW WKDW LV FRQGXFLYH WR UHOD[DWLRQ VRFLDOL]DWLRQ DQG conducive to relaxation, socialization, and participation in varied activities. A true jewel SDUWLFLSDWLRQ LQ YDULHG DFWLYLWLHV $ WUXH MHZHO RI FDUH RQ WKH 8SSHU (DVW 6LGH
of care on the Upper East Side
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PAGE 21
Healthy y Manhattan
Study: Snacking on almonds keeps weight in check
NEWYORK-PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL AND WEILL CORNELL MEDICAL COLLEGE FALL SEMINAR SERIES
1.5 ounces of almonds daily also improved intake of vitamin E and monounsaturated fat
N O V E M B E R
5
A
IS GLUTEN-FREE FOR ME? How to Recognize Celiac Disease and Dietary Strategies to Overcome it Georgia A. Giannopoulos, R.D. Alissa Lupu, R.D.
12
HIP REPLACEMENT: Demystifying the Approaches to Hip Replacement and Post Surgical Rehabilitation Michael M. Alexiades, M.D. Steven Murray, P.T.
Time: All seminars will begin at 6:30 p.m. Place: All seminars held at Uris Auditorium Weill Cornell Medical College 1300 York Avenue (at 69th St.) For more information: For more information, if you require a disability-related accommodation, or for weather-related cancellations, please call: 212-821-0888. Or visit our website at: www.weill.cornell.edu/seminars All seminars are FREE and open to the public. Seating is available for SHRSOH RQ D ÂżUVW FRPH ÂżUVW VHUYHG EDVLV
FR E E PAGE 22
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new study published in the October issue of the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that eating 1.5 ounces of dry-roasted, lightly salted almonds every day reduced hunger and improved dietary vitamin E and monounsaturated (â&#x20AC;&#x153;goodâ&#x20AC;?) fat intake without increasing body weight. Ninety-seven percent of Americans eat at least one snack per day, which is a risk factor for gaining weight. But this broad generalization may mask different responses to select foods. The newly published four-week randomized, controlled clinical study, led by researchers at Purdue University, investigated the effects of almond snacking on weight and appetite. The study included 137 adults at increased risk for type 2 diabetes. They were divided into five groups: a control group that avoided all nuts and seeds, a breakfast meal group and lunch meal group that ate 1.5 ounces of almonds each with their daily breakfast or lunch, and a morning snack group and afternoon snack group that each consumed 1.5 ounces of almonds between their customary meals. All almond snacks were eaten within approximately two hours after their last meal and two hours before their next meal. Participants were not given any other instruction other than to follow their usual eating patterns and physical activity. Participants were monitored through selfreported assessments and fasting vitamin E plasma levels. Despite consuming approximately 250 additional calories per day from almonds, participants did not increase the total number of calories they ate and drank over the course of the day or gain weight over the course of the four-week study. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This research suggests that almonds may be a good snack option, especially for those concerned about weight,â&#x20AC;? says Richard Mattes, PhD, distinguished professor of nutrition science at Purdue University and the studyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s principal investigator. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In this study, participants compensated for the additional calories provided by the almonds so daily energy intake did not rise and reported
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Spiced Almonds Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a high-protein predinner snack that takes the edge off your appetite so that you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t overeat at mealtime. Ingredients
2 cups whole almonds, (with skins) 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil 2 teaspoons curry powder 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. 2. Combine almonds, oil, curry powder, salt and cayenne in a small baking pan; toss to coat well. Bake until the almonds are fragrant and lightly toasted, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool. Makes 16 quarter-cup servings. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
reduced hunger levels and desire to eat at subsequent meals, particularly when almonds were consumed as a snack.â&#x20AC;? Almonds have also previously been shown to increase satiety in both normal weight and overweight people. This may be attributed to almondsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; monounsaturated fat (13 grams/ ounce), protein (6 grams/ounce) and fiber (4 grams/ounce) content. But further research is needed to better understand the underlying mechanisms. Additionally, a recent study measuring digestibility found that whole almonds contain 20 percent fewer calories than the Nutrition Facts Panel states, suggesting that because of their rigid cell structure, not all calories are available for absorption. Further research is needed to better understand how this technique for calculating calories could potentially affect the calorie count of other foods. The new study suggests snacking can be a weight-wise strategy, depending upon the foods consumed. A handful of almonds is a smart snack choice that can help support a healthy weight.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013
Healthy y Manhattan
Researchers find a new way to grow hair For the ďŹ rst time, researchers create â&#x20AC;&#x201D; not just stimulate â&#x20AC;&#x201D; hair follicles to grow new hair
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gain little benefit from existing hair-loss medications, which tend to slow the rate of hair loss but usually do not stimulate robust new hair growth. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Dermal papilla cells give rise to hair follicles, and the notion of cloning hair follicles using inductive dermal papilla cells has been around for 40 years or so,â&#x20AC;? said co-study leader Colin Jahoda, PhD, professor
of stem cell sciences at Durham University, England, and co-director of North East England Stem Cell Institute, who is one of the early founders of the field. â&#x20AC;&#x153;However, once the dermal papilla cells are put into conventional, two-dimensional tissue culture, they revert to basic skin cells and lose their ability to produce hair follicles. So we were faced with a Catch-22: how to expand a sufficiently large
number of cells for hair regeneration while retaining their inductive properties.â&#x20AC;? The researchers found a clue to overcoming this barrier in their observations of rodent hair. Rodent papillae can be easily harvested, expanded, and successfully transplanted back into rodent skin, a method pioneered by Dr. Jahoda several years ago. The main reason that rodent hair is readily transplantable, the researchers suspected, is that their dermal papillae, unlike human papillae, tend to spontaneously aggregate, or form clumps, in tissue culture. The team reasoned that these
esearchers at Columbia University Medical Center have devised a hair restoration method that can grow new hair, rather than simply redistribute hair from one part of the scalp to another. The Comprehensive Center on Brain Aging The approach could significantly expand the use and the Silberstein Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Institute of hair transplantation to women with hair loss, who tend to have insufficient donor hair, as well as to men in the early stages of baldness. The study was published Oct. Learn About Risk and Preventive Factors for Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Disease 21 in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National and Related Brain Diseases Associated with Aging Academy of Sciences. â&#x20AC;&#x153;About 90 percent of Please join us for this FREE Community Event women with hair loss are Wednesday not strong candidates for Wednesday, November 6th, 2013, 1:00 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 5:00 pm November 6 hair transplantation surgery Farkas Auditorium, NYU Langone Medical Center because of insufficient donor 550 First Avenue at 33rd Street, NYC hair,â&#x20AC;? said co-study leader Angela M. Christiano, PhD, the Richard and Mildred &RQĂ&#x20AC;GHQWLDO 0HPRU\ 6FUHHQLQJ 6LJQV DQG 6\PSWRPV RI 6WURNH Rhodebeck Professor of %RG\ 0DVV ,QGH[ %0, 2EHVLW\ (YDOXDWLRQ 6WURNH 5LVN )DFWRU &RXQVHOLQJ Dermatology and professor %ORRG 3UHVVXUH 6FUHHQLQJ ,QIRUPDWLRQ RQ 2QJRLQJ 5HVHDUFK 6WXGLHV of genetics and development. )DOOV 5LVN 6FUHHQLQJ *HQHUDO $JLQJ 5HODWHG ,QIRUPDWLRQ â&#x20AC;&#x153;This method offers the 1XWULWLRQDO &RXQVHOLQJ DQG PRUH possibility of inducing large numbers of hair follicles or rejuvenating existing Participating NYU Schools and NYULMC Departments and Centers hair follicles, starting with 7KH 3HDUO , %DUORZ &HQWHU IRU 0HPRU\ (YDOXDWLRQ DQG 7UHDWPHQW cells grown from just a few 7KH $O]KHLPHU¡V 'LVHDVH &HQWHU 7KH &HQWHU IRU %UDLQ +HDOWK hundred donor hairs. It could 'HSDUWPHQW RI *HULDWULFV &RPSUHKHQVLYH 6WURNH 3URJUDP make hair transplantation 1HXURVFLHQFH ,QVWLWXWH 7KH 6WHLQKDUGW 6FKRRO RI 1XWULWLRQ DQG 3XEOLF +HDOWK available to individuals with National Organizations a limited number of follicles, 7KH $O]KHLPHU¡V $VVRFLDWLRQ 1<& &KDSWHU including those with female8 6 'HSDUWPHQW RI +HDOWK DQG +XPDQ 6HUYLFHV pattern hair loss, scarring alopecia, and hair loss due to burns.â&#x20AC;? [1- 4pm] Fair and Screenings
How Healthy is your Brain?
The Annual Healthy Brain Aging Fair
The source of new hair For the first time, researchers have been able to take human dermal papilla cells â&#x20AC;&#x201D; those inside the base of human hair follicles â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and use them to create new hairs. According to Dr. Christiano, such patients
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013
[4- 5pm] Presentations/ Q&A Sessions
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RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS
October 18-25, 2013
Restaurant Grades The following listings were collected from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s website on October 4, 2013 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.
Choux Factory
1685 1 AVENUE
Closed- 50, Mice, filth flies, contaminated food
TENZAN JAPANESE CUISINE
1714 2 AVENUE
A
Ooki Sushi
1575 3rd Avenue
Not Yet Graded (20) - Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred. Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to attracting vermin to the premises and/or allowing vermin to exist. Covered garbage receptacle not provided or inadequate, except that garbage receptacle may be uncovered during active use. Garbage storage area not properly constructed or maintained; grinder or compactor dirty. Non-food contact surface improperly constructed. Unacceptable material used. Non-food contact surface or equipment improperly maintained and/or not properly sealed, raised, spaced or movable to allow accessibility for cleaning on all sides, above and underneath the unit.
Dunkin Donuts/ Baskin Robbins
1703 3rd Avenue
A
Fetch
1649 3rd Avenue
Grade Pending (44) - 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, cross-contaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan. Appropriately scaled metal stemtype thermometer or thermocouple not provided or used to evaluate temperatures of potentially hazardous foods during cooking, cooling, reheating and holding. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to attracting vermin to the premises and/or allowing vermin to exist. Mechanical or natural ventilation system not provided, improperly installed, in disrepair and/ or fails to prevent excessive build-up of grease, heat, steam condensation vapors, odors, smoke, and fumes.
The Wright
1071 5th Avenue
A
UES 10028 PISA PIZZA & BAGELS
1461 3 AVENUE
Closed - Live Roaches. Went from 60 on 10/15 to 13 on 10/17 to 12 on 10/21
Gino’s Pizzeria Restaurant
345 East 83rd Street
A
Om
1593 2nd Avenue
Grade Pending (20) - Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or nonfood areas. Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to attracting vermin to the premises and/ or allowing vermin to exist. Plumbing not properly installed or maintained; anti-siphonage or backflow prevention device not provided where required; equipment or floor not properly drained; sewage disposal system in disrepair or not functioning properly. Non-food contact surface improperly constructed. Unacceptable material used. Non-food contact surface or equipment improperly maintained and/or not properly sealed, raised, spaced or movable to allow accessibility for cleaning on all sides, above and underneath the unit.
Café Sabarsky
1048 5th Avenue
A
Divino Ristorante
1556 2nd Avenue
Grade Pending (31) - 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. 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. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. Plumbing not properly installed or maintained; anti-siphonage or backflow prevention device not provided where required; equipment or floor not properly drained; sewage disposal system in disrepair or not functioning properly.
UES 10128
PAGE 24
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013
CELEBRITY PROFILE
A Front Row Seat to the Ballet New York City Ballet’s Chase Finlay on The Nutcracker, fantasy football, and his company’s new online series By Angela Barbuti The largest ballet company in the country is getting personal. Although the New York City Ballet captivates its audience night after night, not much is known about the dancers’ individual journeys. This is where the new AOL On Original series city.ballet comes in. A camera crew spent this year’s rehearsal season capturing the dancers’ daily lives and conducting one-on-one interviews to get their first-hand perspectives. Principal dancer Chase Finlay finds the series, which premiers on November 4th, to be an honest portrayal. “They’re really showing the dedication and the amount of work it takes to do what we do,” he said. While the 23-year-old’s typical day consists of 12 hours of ballet, he stills find time to play the drums, model, and cheer on the Giants. It’s personalized information like this that the series will convey in the hopes of bridging the gap that exists between the stage and the audience. Finlay agrees, “It will get the audience to start relating to us and seeing us as people on stage, creating that much more of a bond.”
You are currently recovering from breaking your foot on stage! It was in the middle of Swan Lake in the third act. I was out there; it was the opening section. I did a jump and just landed wrong, on the side of my foot. I pretty much knew from the moment it happened that it was bad. I thought it was a sprain, but the ballet masters were already backstage because they heard it from the audience. It was pretty nasty.
Will you be able to dance in the The Nutcracker this year? Umm, I’m keeping my fingers crossed ‘til
PAGE 26
the end, but if it’s not ready, I’m not gonna push it.
You’ve said that you knew you wanted to become a dancer after seeing that show. I went to The Nutcracker because my sister was in it. It was the second act when the male dancer in the Chinese role comes out of the box and starts doing all these crazy jumps. I was playing sports at the time and saw the athleticism of it. I barely remember it, but my mom said I told her, “I have to do this.”
I read that you quit your first ballet class because it was all girls. I started in a pre-ballet class, the only guy in there. All they were doing was skipping around, throwing flowers. I was like, “What the hell did I get myself into?” [Laughs] It was just a few months later when the teacher grabbed me and put me in the boys’ class.
What challenges do you face being a male ballet dancer? It’s pretty standard for every young, male dancer to get teased at school. That doesn’t happen to me anymore, especially living in the area that I live in, ballet is becoming more and more common. Now, it’s almost that people congratulate you for being a ballet dancer, which is kind of cool.
Why did you choose New York City Ballet over American Ballet Theatre? I was actually auditioning for the School of American Ballet and American Ballet Theatre at the same time. I got into both, but my decision was based on my watching the two companies with a professional, as opposed to a kid’s, point of view. I just started to see that New York City Ballet Corps dancers get so much experience on stage right off the bat. Whereas with the story ballets, sometimes when you first start off with them, there’s a tendency to be in a costume in the back, waltzing. You train for 12 years to waltz in a big costume? [Laughs]
Being from Fairfield, Connecticut, you must have been commuting a
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lot into the city as a kid. I trained at Ballet Academy East on the Upper East Side. I commuted from Connecticut to New York every day until I was old enough to take the train, or have friends in the city I could stay with. For the most part, all of those years it was my mom schlepping me back and forth every day.
Do you think the city.ballet series accurately depicts a professional dancer’s life? There was the Black Swan and other ballet series that are just all oriented on the gossip aspect of it. This series shows the heart and soul that you have to put into it, and focuses on getting to know us as people as opposed to the drama that’s involved in how people get parts. Most of that is left out in this series.
In a preview clip, they ask dancers where they’re from and what kind of music they listen to. As an audience member, you see dancers on stage, but don’t know who we are. This is a cool way to get to the backstage aspect of it all.
How was it taped? Did a crew come to your rehearsals? Yeah, in the period before our season started, they were at almost all of my rehearsals. They were in class every morning. Every time we had a second, they grabbed us and pulled us aside to touch up on what they just filmed.
Sarah Jessica Parker narrates the docudrama. Did you have much interaction with her? I’ve had interviews with her specifically; she’s a really nice lady. Yeah, she was around a few times. She wasn’t around as extensively as the camera people obviously, but yes, she was definitely a part of it.
What is the atmosphere like backstage before a show? It’s fairly hectic before a show, but it’s that five minutes before the curtain goes up, when everybody is in their zone and comes together on stage right before the curtain comes up, that is a really cool experience. I hope that film crew got some of that footage, because that, to me, is almost like a spiritual kind of moment for a dancer.
Since you spend most of your time at the theater, what are your favorite restaurants in the vicinity of Lincoln Center?
Every month, me and a few buddies go down to the Old Homestead and get steaks. That’s our guys’-night-out kind of place. For great food, I love going down to Barbuto, on 12th Street.
I heard you’re a Giants fan. Where do you watch their games? There’s a sports bar on 56th and 9th called Lincoln Park. I, embarrassing enough, play fantasy football, [Laughs] so I usually just try to find a place that shows every game if possible so I can keep tabs on all the players.
You’ve also modeled for Abercrombie and Fitch and French Vogue. When do you find the time to fit that into your schedule? [Laughs] The photo shoot I did for Vogue and Abercrombie was literally 24 hours in South Beach, Miami. On my day off, they flew me there. I finished a show on Sunday, and they flew me out that night. I did a photo shoot all day, and then they flew me back at midnight so I could get back to class the next morning.
What are your future plans? I hope to dance as long as my body lets me. A male dancer’s career goes until hopefully about 40. People always ask me this question, and it’s good to think about, but right now I’m just so swamped and focused with my career as it is now. But, later in life, I would love to start my own company and run that. I think there’s nothing cooler than breeding all of your own dancers, putting them to ballets you think they’d be good at, and then watching that product. To learn more about the series, visit www. cityballet.com
The Smith opened up in Lincoln Center. Obviously, [Café] Fiorello’s, Rosa Mexicano.
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013
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The Ronald O. Perelman and Claudia Cohen Center for Reproductive Medicine
Trying to have a baby?
Zev Rosenwaks, M.D. Director Owen Davis, M.D. Ina Cholst, M.D. Pak Chung, M.D. Rony T. Elias, M.D. Dan Goldschlag, M.D. Hey-Joo Kang, M.D. Isaac Kligman, M.D. Glenn Schattman, M.D. Steven Spandorfer, M.D.
Psychologists Linda Applegarth, Ed.D. Elizabeth Grill, Psy.D. Laura Josephs, Ph.D. The Center for Male Reproductive Medicine and Microsurgery Marc Goldstein, M.D. Director Darius Paduch, M.D. Peter Schlegel, M.D. Philip Li, M.D. Weill Cornell Medical College 1305 York Avenue New York, NY 10021 (646) 962-2764 Manhattanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s West Side 2315 Broadway New York, NY 10024 (646) 962-3767 Northern Westchester 657 Main Street Mount Kisco, NY 10549 (914) 242-3700 Garden City, Long Island 1300 Franklin Avenue Garden City, NY 11530 (516) 742-4100 Flushing Hospital Medical Center 146 -01 45th Avenue Flushing, NY 11355 (646) 962-5626
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PAGE 28
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We can help. At the Center for Reproductive Medicine, Dr. Zev Rosenwaks and his outstanding team of physicians offer couples the most advanced and effective treatments for infertility. With multiple ofďŹ ces located conveniently for patients in the tristate area, we provide comprehensive and compassionate care. For more than two decades we have made your desire to build a family our main priority. If you or someone you know is experiencing infertility, contact us at (646) 962-CRMI or visit us on the web at www.ivf.org. We accept UnitedHealthcare, Oxford Health and Cigna insurance plans for most fertility treatments.
Turning Patients into Parents The Ronald O. Perelman and Claudia Cohen Center for Reproductive Medicine
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