Our Town September 24th, 2015 by Our Town

The local paper for the Upper er East Side OUR NEW REAL ESTATE LISTINGS < P.17

WEEK OF SEPTEMBER

24-30 2015

COUNTING BIKES ON THE EAST SIDE NEWS A survey by a neighborhood group tallied bikers and whether they abided by the law BY KYLE POPE

Just how out of control are dangerous bicycles on the Upper East Side? Not as much as you might think. In one of the ﬁrst attempts to quantify the bike safety problem in the neighborhood -- a topic that has gained extra urgency with the recent roll-out of CitiBike -- the E. 79th Street Neighborhood Association this summer launched its own survey of bike traffic on First Avenue and 79th Street.

Volunteers from the group, led by Betty Cooper Wallerstein, tracked bicyclists for nearly 12 hours on June 30, tallying how many bikes passed by the intersection, whether they were using the bike lane, and whether they obeyed traffic lights and went with the ﬂow of traffic. The results: 1,218 bicylists were counted by the volunteers over those 12 hours. Of those, 821 -- or about twothirds of the riders -- traveled in the bike lane. The group counted 277 riders who didn’t ride in the lane, 120 who were going the wrong way, and 178 who went through a red light.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

Photo: John St John, via Flickr

WHEN A PLAYGROUND DISAPPEARS NYCHA plan to sell off play space hits a backlash BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS

The New York City Housing Authority shocked public housing residents and lawmakers when it announced a proposal to build affordable housing on playground space at Holmes Towers on the Upper East Side. In a bid to raise revenue and increase the affordable housing stock in Manhattan, the administration is proposing to sell or enter into longterm leases with developers to build 350-400 apartments on playground space at Holmes, 175-200 of which would be affordable. The remainder of the apartments will be offered at

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market rate. The agency released a statement last week that said since May, NYCHA has been rolling out key pieces of “NextGen NYCHA,” billed as a 10-year strategic plan to address the agency’s “chronic operating deficit” and $17 billion in unmet capital needs. Holmes Towers’ residents and local elected officials said they were not briefed on the proposal before it was announced last Thursday, and there are already several problems with the plan from their point of view. For instance, in order to qualify for the affordable apartments, a potential resident would need to make a minimum of 60 percent of the area median income, which is equivalent to a fam-

ily of three making $46,600. “I think it’s really unfair,” said Milagros Velasquez, a resident and tenant leader at Holmes Towers. “I’m lowincome, I’m a single working mother, and I still won’t be able to afford that low-income apartment.” A NYCHA spokesperson said a

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 Jewish women and girls light up the world by lighting the Shabbat candles every Friday evening 18 minutes before sunset. Friday, September 25 – 6:30 pm Sukkot Sunday, Sep. 27 - 6:27 PM, Monday Sep. 28 - 7:24 PM from a pre existing flame. For more information visit www.chabaduppereastside.com

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SEPTEMBER 24-30,2015

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WHAT’S MAKING NEWS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD ZONING PROPOSAL WOULD SET ASIDE UNITS FOR LOW INCOME HOUSING Builders in some city neighborhoods would have to set aside a portion of the units for lower-income residents according to a newly released proposal

for zoning rules, The New York Times reported. According to the Mandatory Inclusionary Housing rules released by the de Blasio administration, if a developer choose to build in certain areas of the city they would have to abide by a so-called 25-percent rule –

where at least a quarter of the building would be set aside for lower-income residents. These changes are brought about by the rezoning of city areas in part by the mayor’s plan to create 80,000 new affordable units by 2024. In addition, the new plan would also mandate community improvements, A new zoning proposal would require developers of new residential construction in certain city neighborhoods to set aside at least 25 percent of units for lowerincome residents. Photo: Timothy Neesam, via Flickr

including beautiﬁcation of sidewalks, parks, and new schools. “By bringing much-needed public investments and targeted programs to the neighborhood, this comprehensive plan will ensure that we’re not just adding housing, but that we’re creating an improved, affordable and more livable East New York for longtime residents and newcomers alike,” Carl Weisbrod, the chairman of the New York City Planning Commission, was quoted as saying by the New York Times. Changes to the zoning plan will be discussed further in community boards and with borough presidents during the next six to seven months before a vote can be taken with city council.

WHITNEY HAS WINNING HONEY The Battle of the Bees. That’s what the Waldorf Astoria called Tuesday’s honey competition on the hotel rooftop. Various nectars were vying for best from hives in New York City. After a blind tasting, a panel of food industry judges announced the winner: honey harvested by the Whitney Museum of American Art. The runner-up was the nectar from the New York City Beekeepers Association near the High Line. The Waldorf’s own honey comes from beehives atop its roof. The bees ﬂy around Manhattan to supply their urban

GET OUTDOORS THE REST HAPPENS NATURALLY

apiary. It’s not all foodie fun. The event serves as an alert to dwindling honey bee colonies around the world exposed to pesticides and diseases. Bees are essential to human life because they pollinate fruit and vegetable crops. The Associated Press

MAYOR AND TENNIS STAR MAKE NICE FOLLOWING MEETING OVER ARREST Mayor Bill de Blasio and tennis star James Blake exchanged compliments following a meeting to over Blake’s mistaken arrest. The New York Times said de Blasio praised the tennis star for his efforts to ﬁnd something positive out of his arrest and tackling outside a midtown hotel on Sept. 9. According to the Times, the mayor declined to commit on further punishment for the officer who tackled Blake, or to pursuing policy changes that Blake has pushed for. Blake met with de Blasio and Police Commissioner William Bratton at City Hall on Monday to discuss steps the city could undertake to curb the kind of rough treatment he faced. In an interview on CNN on Tuesday morning, de Blasio said Blake had handled an “unfortunate situation” with “a certain selﬂessness.”

Stroll along the High Line. View the Bronx from the 145th St. Bridge. Take a trip back to the 1964 World’s Fair. Or marvel at the vast difference between the Hudson River and the city skyline. Appalachian Mountain Club invites you to discover another side of our great city. Find us online at outdoors.org/nyc.

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CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG

PARALEGAL CHARGED WITH DOZENS OF FORGED SIGNATURES A New York City paralegal has been arrested after authorities say he forged the signatures of more than six dozen judges. Manhattan prosecutors say 42-year-old Thomas Rubino was arrested on 117 counts of forgery. They allege Rubino was working for a Manhattan law firm when he forged documents that allow companies to purchase a person’s court settlements in exchange for a lump sum payment A judge needed to sign off on each of the transfers. Authorities allege Rubino forged 117 documents between June 2011 and October 2013 with the signatures of 76 different judges. They say he cut the judges’ signatures from real documents and taped them on the

falsiﬁed papers. It was not immediately clear whether Rubino had an attorney who could comment on his behalf.

CLEANED OUT Readers are advised to have jewelry cleaned by jewelers, not spiritualists. Sometime on Thursday, September 10, a 57-year-old woman was approached on 72nd Street between Lexington and Third Avenues by women offering spiritual guidance. The spiritualists advised the woman to bring her jewelry to be “cleansed.” Unfortunately, the woman complied, giving her jewelry to the spiritualists, and never saw them -- or her jewelry -- again. The stolen jewelry was comprised of 18 pieces including a white-diamond platinum ring, a Stefan Hafner necklace, a Rolex watch, a pearl necklace, and other items worth a total of $915,000. Police continue to investigate the matter.

ID THEFT It pays to remain vigilant against ID theft. At 4 p.m.

on Wednesday, September 16, a 65-year-old woman was checking her bank savings account online when she discovered that an unknown person had made two unauthorized transactions of $6,500 and $3,500 from an unspecified branch of her bank the day before.

STATS FOR THE WEEK Reported crimes from the 19th Precinct for Sept. 7 to Sept. 13 Week to Date

Year to Date

2015 2014

% Change

2015

2014

% Change

Murder

n/a

Rape

n/a

16.7

APARTMENT SCAM

Robbery

0.0

15.0

Yet another individual fell prey to an apartment rental scam. On Saturday, Sept. 19, a 31-year-old man reported to police that he had responded to an ad listing an apartment for rent on 72nd Street between Second and Third Avenues. The alleged renter, named Patel, requested $6,200 in cash up front as a deposit. The victim paid the amount but did not receive the keys to the apartment, nor did he hear again from Patel.

Felony Assault

n/a

22.9

Burglary

-50.0

113

156

-27.6

Grand Larceny

-20.7

915

927

-1.3

Grand Larceny Auto

-100.0

-8.6

SOAPLIFTING A soap shoplifting incident turned into a scuffle. At 8:40 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 20, a man

entered a supermarket on Lexington Avenue between 83rd and 84th Streets and took $30 worth of bar soap without paying for it. The manager of the store tried to stop the man, but the thief punched the manager in the face and grabbed his neck before dropping the soap and running from the store. The store manager then chased the shoplifter out onto the street, where

the thief attempted to kick the manager but missed, before fleeing northbound on Lexington. The manager refused medical attention, but suffered bruises to his arm and scratches to his neck.

TRANSFER TROUBLE Another day, another unauthorized transfer of funds. At 3 p.m. on

Saturday, Sept. 19, a 51-yearold man living on 72nd Street between First and York Avenues became aware that an unknown individual had transferred funds from his Chase account to another account before writing a fraudulent check in the amount of $152,000. Police are looking into the incident.

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SEPTEMBER 24-30,2015

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Useful Contacts POLICE NYPD 19th Precinct

153 E. 67th St.

212-452-0600

159 E. 85th St.

311

FDNY Engine 39/Ladder 16

157 E. 67th St.

311

FDNY Engine 53/Ladder 43

1836 Third Ave.

311

FDNY Engine 44

221 E. 75th St.

311

FIRE FDNY 22 Ladder Co 13

CITY COUNCIL Councilmember Daniel Garodnick

211 E. 43rd St. #1205

212-818-0580

Councilmember Ben Kallos

244 E. 93rd St.

212-860-1950

STATE LEGISLATORS State Sen. Jose M. Serrano

1916 Park Ave. #202

212-828-5829

State Senator Liz Krueger

1850 Second Ave.

212-490-9535

MANHATTAN’S LOOMING TRAFFIC PROBLEM Traffic congestion is set to worsen as, among other issues, MTA delays and funding gaps persist

Assembly Member Dan Quart

360 E. 57th St.

212-605-0937

BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS

Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright

1365 First Ave.

212-288-4607

COMMUNITY BOARD 8

505 Park Ave. #620

212-758-4340

With private and for-hire vehicles, yellow cabs, trucks, buses, bicyclists and pedestrians all vying for room in which to travel, the city’s roads, particularly in Manhattan, have never been more crowded. Between 2010 and 2014, average travel speeds within Manhattan slowed by 9 percent, according to figures from the borough president’s office. Some of that slowdown is attributable to the 25,000 forhire vehicles, many of which operate in Manhattan’s central business district below 59th Street, that have hit the streets since 2011. Add to that 2,000 new for-hire vehicle registrations received each month by the Taxi and Limousine Commission, and what gets conjured is a permanent, citywide bottleneck. So far, traffic congestion adds up to $16 billion in lost economic activity each year, according to Manhattan borough President Gale Brewer’s office. At a meeting last week to address the issue, Brewer warned that the MTA’s seemingly intractable budget gap of at least $11.5 billion would likely result in increased mass transit delays – and even more commuters turning to car services. Brewer convened eight panels representing various stakeholders in Manhattan’s traffic landscape, from alternative transportation advocates and bus operators to the American Automobile Association and the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission. Also included in the mix was Uber, which recently beat back a proposal by Mayor Bill de Blasio to impose a cap on the number of vehicles it can operate, and is poised to scrap with City Hall again over dueling congestion studies set to be released by the company and the de Blasio administration. A major theme of the hearing was identifying small ways traffic congestion could

LIBRARIES Yorkville

222 E. 79th St.

212-744-5824

96th Street

112 E. 96th St.

212-289-0908

67th Street

328 E. 67th St.

212-734-1717

Webster Library

1465 York Ave.

212-288-5049

100 E. 77th St.

212-434-2000

HOSPITALS Lenox Hill NY-Presbyterian / Weill Cornell

525 E. 68th St.

212-746-5454

Mount Sinai

E. 99th St. & Madison Ave.

212-241-6500

NYU Langone

550 First Ave.

212-263-7300

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POST OFFICES US Post Office

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be alleviated, ideas that were repeatedly referred to as “lowhanging fruit.” Each group had different - and occasionally opposing — ideas on the causes and remedies of traffic congestion. For residents, the ubiquity of construction contributes mightily to congestion. Christine Berthet, chair of Community Board 4 in Chelsea, reported that there are 20 stretches of roadway between Eighth Avenue and 11th Avenue that are partially or completely blocked by traffic. Ryan Russo, a deputy commissioner with the Department of Transportation, said his agency is focused on improving and expanding Select Bus Service, which has produced promising results in areas of Manhattan where it is already implemented. SBS’ current eight routes handle 200,000 riders a day, and Russo said the agency wants to add 12 more routes in the next three years. Others advocated for increased operations to prevent drivers from blocking the box, a term that describes the familiar scene of vehicles getting trapped in the middle of an intersection when trying to beat the light, thereby blocking oncoming traffic. Some transportation advocates say that funding the MTA’s capital budget, which would increase public transit ridership and improve service, would be the most practical way to ease congestion. But with the agency’s budget shortfall anywhere from $11.5 to $15 billion, depending who’s counting, no viable strategy has yet emerged for closing the gap. The high-proﬁle feud between Gov. Andrew Cuomo and de Blasio is not helping matters and Albany’s legislative session this year wrapped up without funding for the agency’s capital plan. Others have suggested compelling private developers to include subway improvements in their development deals as a way to help close the gap. Supporters point to a $200 million investment by SL Green to improve the subway stations at

Average speeds in Manhattan decreased by 9 percent during a recent ﬁve-year period and are projected to slow even more. Photo: joiseyshowaa, via Flickr

Attendees at a meeting last week convened by Manhattan borough President Gale Brewer’s office to address growing traffic congestion. Photo: Daniel Fitzsimmons Grand Central Terminal that was part of their deal to construct a new commercial tower at One Vanderbilt Place next to the transportation hub. Andrew Albert, an MTA board member, said real estate values skyrocket in direct proportion to their proximity to transit projects and improvements. “I think it’s incumbent on lawmakers to harness these increased real estate values,” said Albert. Another proposal is the Move NY Fair Plan, whose central premise is to reform the city’s toll system by imposing a more equitable fee on all bridges and tunnels, thereby preventing “bridge shopping” along the East River. The plan also calls for charging drivers $6 to cross 60th Street. Supporters of the plan say it would ease congestion in Manhattan’s busiest neighborhoods, encourage more commuters to take public transit, and funds generated by the plan would go towards improvements to subway infrastructure. But congestion-pricing plans have stalled in New York before. In 2007, a plan to charge $8 on weekdays to private cars traveling south of 60th Street, which enjoyed support from the city council, died after it failed to pass the NYS Assem-

bly. Brewer wholehea r ted ly endorses the plan, as does Schwartz, but said it needs more support and recognition, particularly in the business community, if it is to pass. “Move NY is out there but it hasn’t gotten the amount of attention I think it deserves,” said Brewer in an interview after the hearing. “Move NY would need a private sector push.” The hearing also set the stage for another bout between Uber and City Hall, after the company accused the city of moving too fast with a four-month study on the impact of for-hire vehicles that was agreed to by both sides after the Uber cap proposal was abandoned. A four-month study, said Uber, could not possibly take into account all the factors necessary to determine the impact of Iber and similar companies. “A study needs to consider the full range of factors that influence congestion in order to identify their impact,” said Nicole Benincasa, a policy advisor for Uber. “A study that limits itself to only one or a few factors will likely miss other factors that cause congestion.” Uber has since retained a consulting ﬁrm to look at what factors the city’s study should take into account.

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More CUNY Award Winners! SEAN THATCHER Barry Goldwater Scholarship 2015 College of Staten Island

EVGENIYA KIM Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans 2015 Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College

JACOB LEVIN Harry S. Truman Scholarship 2015 Macaulay Honors College at Brooklyn College

JOHNATHAN CULPEPPER National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship 2015 Medgar Evers College

CARLA SPENSIERI Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Grant 2015 Hunter and Queens Colleges

KYLE CHIN-HOW Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship 2015 Queensborough Community College

CUNY students are winning the most prestigious, highly competitive awards in the nation. In the past ﬁve years, they have won 81 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships, 79 Fulbright Awards for research and teaching English abroad, and 12 Barry Goldwater Scholarships for outstanding undergraduates who intend to pursue research careers in mathematics, the natural sciences or engineering. And two CUNY doctoral candidates captured prestigious prizes that are rarely awarded to students—a Pulitzer Prize and a Guggenheim Fellowship, both for poetry. Providing quality, accessible education has been CUNY’s mission since 1847, a commitment that is a source of enormous pride, as are these students.

— James B. Milliken, Chancellor

Join the winners’ circle! For more information about The City University of New York visit cuny.edu/welcome

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COUNTING BIKES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 While the ﬁndings aren’t likely to reassure Upper East Siders concerned about the dangers posed by bikes, Wallerstein said she’s somewhat reassured by the results. “I was surprised,” she said. “I was expecting everyone to be going through the light. I was pleased to see some positive improvement.” According to the group’s numbers, bike ridership at the intersection peaked in the evening, between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., most likely as a result of food delivery bikes. In that hour, there were 137 bikes in the intersection, 47 of which were not in the bike lane. The most dangerous hour tracked by the group was between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., when there were 101 bikes on the road, 92

PLAYGROUND DISAPPEARS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

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mixed-income building at Holmes is a balanced approach to the financial crisis facing NYCHA as it ensures both needed affordable units and revenue generating market rate units, and funnels a significant portion of revenue back into Holmes, with the remainder applied to NYCHA-wide needs. “The future of NYCHA is resting on all of us, even critics, to find the best path forward to generate the funds to keep NYCHA open for business,” said the spokesperson. “NYCHA is facing the worst ﬁnancial crisis in its history — the Authority does not have the funds to address the infrastructure needs of our buildings, including the buildings at Holmes, which directly impacts the quality of life of our residents.” But Greg Morris, executive director of the nearby Stanley Isaacs Neighborhood Center, said Holmes and Stanley Isascs residents feel they’ve been marginalized for decades, most recently by the city’s decision to move an access ramp to the East 91st marine transfer station to East 92nd Street, right past Holmes Towers. Now, said Morris, the city is appropriating what meager open space the community has in a deal with no clear upside to existing residents.

of which were not in the lane. Councilmember Ben Kallos, who represents the Upper East Side, also has tracked improvement on the issue, thanks to a summer of work to address what he sees as one of the most pressing issues in his district. Kallos said a renewed focus from officers in the 19th Precinct has resulted in a 52% increase in enforcement actions against bikes and a corresponding 18% drop in bike and vehicle collisions. Working with his office, the Department of Transportation has given away 10,500 bells and 10,100 lights to bikers. “This is something we’ve taken very seriously,” Kallos said in an interview. “A lot of this revolves around residents feeling empowered to do something.” Yet while numbers from police and the new survey show improvement on the issue, it has yet to filter down to how

people feel in the street. The September meeting of Wallerstein’s group, for instance, was dominated by the issue, with a number of speakers expressing frustration that bikers who break traffic laws or ride the wrong way seem rarely get punished. Wallerstein said the emotion surrounding the issue springs from fear, particularly among older New Yorkers, few of whom are riding the bikes that are now crowding the streets. “It’s very, very frightening,” she said. “The biker knows he can easily get around. But elderly people can’t do that.” Wallerstein said her group is planning another bike survey in the neighborhood next month. Kallos welcomed the input. “Unless the community steps up to the plate,” he said, “there will never be an end in sight.”

“I think what I’m hearing from the community is, ‘Look, you neglected us on the marine transfer station, we weren’t really in that conversation in a constructive way. Now you’re going to make the ramp one block closer to us, so that’s going to potentially impact us more, and now you want our space because you think you can raise revenue. So now you want to be in dialogue with us about the needs of the community. Where were you before?’” Velasquez also scoffed that revenue from the plan being used to make much-needed repairs at Holmes is being billed as a beneﬁt for the community. “Those are repairs that should be done anyway,” she said. And other issues remain. There are two playgrounds at Holmes Towers, which houses about 930 residents in nearly 540 units split between the two 25-story towers. According to NYCHA’s proposal, the displaced playground would be replaced elsewhere on Holmes’ property. But the city did not specify which of the playgrounds it would be building on, nor where a replacement playground could or would ﬁt on the site. NYCHA said the site for the replacement playground will be determined by input from residents at a series of collaborative meetings that are set to occur. “We’ve asked residents, advocates and others to have a seat at the table to help solve this

problem and to keep an open mind as stakeholder engagement moves forward,” said a NYCHA spokesperson. Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer also came out against the plan, and questioned why prospective market rate tenants would want to live in apartments where garbage trucks will rumbling by on their way to the MTS. (The Dept. of Sanitation has not yet revealed the exact route trucks will take on their way to the MTS, but East 93rd Street is a likely route). “The garbage trucks are going to go by Holmes,” said Brewer. “It’s hard for the residents.” She also criticized the plan for retroactively engaging with tenants of Holmes Towers after key decisions have already been made. She also wants any residential project at Holmes to be one hundred percent affordable. “I don’t know that I’d call it a joke, but I’d call it a challenging process,” said Brewer of the city’s forthcoming attempt to win tenants over to the plan. “I would want a hundred percent affordable with much discussion about what affordable is.” Councilmember Ben Kallos, who is also opposed to the plan, agreed. “I think we’re going to make it as hard for the mayor to do this as possible,” he said. Kallos said NYCHA is set to meet with residents to review the plan on Oct. 7.

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Voices

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

Letters THE NEED FOR BUS SHELTERS To the Editor: A propos your article in the current issue concerning bus shelters along the Central Park side of Fifth Avenue: both Madison and Lexington Avenues are poorly served in this respect as well. For example, 67th and Madison has no shelter, 52nd and Madison has no shelter, 86th and Lex has no shelter, 91st and Madison has no shelter, 79th and Lex has no shelter, etc. I appreciate that 5th Avenue does not even have doorways in which to hide from sun and rain, but locations where many people try to board along the avenues I mention are a misery. I understand that property owners have a veto of the placement of a shelter. If that is, in fact, the case, then a serious PR campaign on the topic of civic generosity is in order. Miriam S. Grosof

BIKE SHARE WITHOUT THE BIKE LANES To the Editor: The city has embarked on a dangerous new experiment: bike share without significant bike lanes on the Upper East Side. Installation of Upper East Side CitiBike stations began on September 1. But apart from the First Avenue bike lane and a single pair of lanes at East 90th and 91st streets, the neighborhood lacks the bike network that preceded the roll-out of bike share to the south and west. What can we expect? Riding bike share has proven far safer than riding a personal bike. But to what extent does this this impressive safety record reflect the availability of bike lanes and bike paths in the the original bike share launch zone? These facilities make cycling safer in several ways: they create a defined, legal space for cyclists where motorists and others can expect to find them; they collect cyclists (who will detour in order to use them), creating a larger, more visible flow of riders; and there is a peer-to-peer effect, where the less experienced or considerate cyclists will be exposed to the examples of more experienced and respectful cyclists. Why conduct this experiment at all? Let’s instead install crosstown bike lanes and paths on the Upper East Side as in other neighborhoods, to ensure a safe, predictable and successful roll-out of bike share. Steve Vaccaro, E. 96th Street

IN SEARCH OF SENIOR DATING INFO Our Senior Living columnist, Marcia Epstein, is looking for people willing to talk about the dating scene for seniors. Do you have anecdotes, war stories, insights you’re willing to share? Email her at news@strausnews. com. Write senior dating in the subject line.

STRAUS MEDIA your neighborhood news source

A SECRET SHOPPING HAVEN ON THE UPPER EAST SIDE OP-ED BY LORRAINE DUFFY MERKL

While the world was watching Fashion Week and hailing its designers and the supermodels who walked in their shows, I turned the spotlight on one of the bestkept sartorial secrets of the Upper East Side: the Goodwill Industries Store & Donation Center on Second Avenue between 88th and 89th Streets. Some hear the name and think that it’s yet another secondhand warehouse where the tired, poor, huddled masses go to pick through the castoffs that other people almost threw away, but decided to pass on instead. May they keep thinking that, so those in the know can enjoy combing the two-story treasure trove for designer ﬁnds, which for some reason the owners decided not to consign, or for new-with-tags items that stores didn’t want to keep around in order to make room for new stock. In fact, the merchandise at this Goodwill location is so prime that the staff cherry picks the best stuff for the display windows, which are only taken out on Saturdays when they open at 9 a.m., with a line already halfway down the block having formed sometimes as early as 6 or 7 that morning. A la procuring tickets to a rock concert, staffers hand each person in line a ticket, then customers are let in a couple at a time and can choose two items from the window. Yes, there are people who wait all week and get up early on a Saturday to buy what Goodwill is selling. Last weekend, I scored big with a mint condition, never-worn, new-

Vice President/CFO Otilia Bertolotti Vice President/CRO Vincent A. Gardino advertising@strausnews.com

Associate Publishers, Seth L. Miller, Ceil Ainsworth Sr. Account Executive, Tania Cade

with-manufacturerstags BCBG short, white trench for $50, a Deux Lux burgundy and navy, vegan leather bucket bag -- again new with tags -- for $25, and a pair of never worn Sam Edelman tan sandals for $30. (Although there were no original tags, if the shoes had been worn, they were done so on a rug because the soles looked box new.) Just like at Duane Reade, Goodwill has a store card that allows you to accumulate points with each purchase, which eventually translate into a dollar amount; hence, I got ﬁve dollars off my purchase making my new coat, shoes and bag total $100. I’ve brought people to this thrift store under duress. The phrase, “Are you crazy?” has been bandied about more than once, as I tried to convince them of the shopping experience they’re missing out on. I’ve seen the strained smiles on their faces that betray their thoughts, “Did her husband lose his job? Is that why she shopping there? Should we take up a collection?” I then ended up lending them my store card for their many purchases so they could get 10% off -- a perk that is available when you shop Monday through Friday.

Still not convinced? Good. Stay away; especially on Saturday mornings when they’re taking the name brands out of the window, so the rest of us can get our hands on the Manolos, Kate Spades, Lily Pulitzers, and…well you get the idea.

President & Publisher, Jeanne Straus nyoffice@strausnews.com Account Executive Editor In Chief, Kyle Pope Fred Almonte, Susan Wynn editor.ot@strausnews.com Director of Partnership Development Deputy Editor, Richard Khavkine Barry Lewis editor.dt@strausnews.com

Staff Reporters, Gabrielle Alfiero, Daniel Fitzsimmons

It’s always fashion week at the UES Goodwill. Lorraine Duffy Merkl is the author of the novels FAT CHICK and BACK TO WORK SHE GOES.

Block Mayors, Ann Morris, Upper West Side Jennifer Peterson, Upper East Side Gail Dubov, Upper West Side Edith Marks, Upper West Side

SEPTEMBER 24-30,2015

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

My Story

Does It Have The Apple Logo? 9G %CP (KZ +V #V 6GMUGTXG YG UWRRQTV CNN VJKPIU #RRNG

What You Missed Last Week BY BETTE DEWING

ell, you missed a relatively â&#x20AC;&#x153;mad as hell, not going to take it anymoreâ&#x20AC;? civic meeting at Temple Shaaray TeďŹ la, and Oliver Stoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s poignant remarks at his motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s St. James Episcopal Church memorial service. And while I got the gist of what was said at both gatherings, I wished the service, which a number of boomers and seniors attended, had been miked, And miked a bit more at the East 79th St. Neighborhood Association meeting, where the only ones under 40 probably were Councilman Ben Kallos and the elected official reps. Ah, if only people would just speak a little louder. The populaton is aging, doogone it, and attention must be paid. And that relatively â&#x20AC;&#x153;mad as hellâ&#x20AC;? civic meeting really needed some Trumpian pushback when told the police were doing all they could to overcome city bicyclistsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; habitual disregard for the laws of the road. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still a war zone out there,â&#x20AC;? the concerned shot back - a little too politely. And the Manhattan D.Aâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office guest speakerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s relative unconcern about this ubiquitous non-compliance

didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t help, especially when he implied weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d better get used to New York becoming more and more of a bicycling city. And he wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t appalled that even when people were killed or grievously injured by motor vehicles, juries often acquit the drivers and let them keep driving. The most dangerous â&#x20AC;&#x153;failure to yieldâ&#x20AC;? violation still gets a pass. Bicycling advocate Roger Herz was there, but oddly didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t repeat his long-ago advice to this most active civic group: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Whenever you see a biking violation, shout out, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Red light!â&#x20AC;&#x2122; or â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Wrong Way!â&#x20AC;&#x2122; or â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Off the Walk!â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Yell at motorists, too. So letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all do that and join the associationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inspired bike lane monitoring project. Volunteers at its ďŹ rst daylong 79th and First bike lane watch, found many riders ran red lights, rode the wrong way and often ignored the lane. We can do this on our own and report results at the next meeting and to this newspaper. And hey, bring them to the East Sixties Neighborhood Associationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s annual meeting, Tuesday. Oct. 13, where the subject will be â&#x20AC;&#x201C; yup, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Traffic and Public Safetyâ&#x20AC;? with the Department of Transportation and the police precinct giving their views. (6-8pm at Mount Vernon Museum and Hotel Auditorium at 417 E. 67th.) Remember, this is a citywide and still minimally addressed illegal threat to public safety.

And while happy to learn that Liz Krugerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Boomer/ Senior Forums continue, I worry that the â&#x20AC;&#x153;ďŹ nance related subject matterâ&#x20AC;? will not address the social causes and biases undergirding so many older and old peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s problems and woes. Which, at last, brings us to the Jacqueline Stone memorial service and how she remained a closely connected mother and grandmother. No family apartheid there and how we need her world renown ďŹ lmmaker son, Oliver, to protest generational segregation, especially in families, and get it out there in media and entertainment which so shape customs and views. Incidentally, my family Stone connection stems from their once being neighborly neighbors of ours on the Upper East Side. And although I last saw Oliver at his fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s funeral in 1985, I was grateful to learn from a mutual friend how Jacqueline was so much a part of her son and grandchildrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lives in Los Angeles and elsewhere. And being in St. Jamesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; reverently beautiful sanctuary, singing beloved old hymns, and reciting familiar prayers, made me realize how much I miss and need this experience. It may have been true for others there, too, including Oliver and his children, Surely nothing could make their adoring mother and grandmother more grateful than that. dewingbetter@aol.com..

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SEPTEMBER 24-30,2015

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

YOU DESERVE A HEALTHY SMILE IN THE MOST LUXURIOUS ENVIRONMENT

Out & About More Events. Add Your Own: Go to ourtownny.com www.metmuseum.org/ events/programs/met-tours/ start-with-art/start-with-art-tr ansformations?eid=R004_% 7b18D0BE32-E4C4-4264BE90-

Fri 25

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POETRY CENTERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S 77TH SEASON OPENING 92nd Street Y, Lexington Avenue at 92nd St. 8 p.m., $35 Jonathan Franzen opens the Poetry Centerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 77th season with a reading from his new novel, Purity, a dark comedy

Erectile Dysfunction (E.D.) When the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Magic Pillâ&#x20AC;? isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t so magic Erectile dysfunction (E.D.) affects more than 30 million men in the U.S. It is especially common in men with prostate surgery, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and obesity. However, it is now possible to treat almost all men with E.D! E.D. undermines a manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sexual conďŹ denceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;but successful treatment can restore it! Many E.D. treatments are covered by most insurance and prescription plans. Attend a FREE seminar to educate men and their partners about approved E.D. treatment options. Partners are encouraged to attend. Featuring: Dr. J. Francois Eid A board certiďŹ ed urologist who specializes in the treatment of E.D.

The New York Marriott East Side Morgan B Room 525 Lexington Ave. at 49th St. New York, NY 10017

Also featuring: A patient who found a long-term solution to his E.D. Thursday, October 1, 2015 Refreshments available at 6 p.m. Presentation begins at 6:15 p.m.

To reserve your space or for more information about this FREE seminar, please call: (866) 233-9368.

An educational series, sponsored by Coloplast Corp., designed to inform and empower. www.ColoplastMensHealth.com

of youthful idealism, extreme ďŹ delity and murder. www.92y.org/Event/ Jonathan-Franzen

â&#x2013;˛ START WITH ART AT THE MET Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Ave. 3:30 p.m.- 4:30 p.m., free with museum admission/ children 12 & under Share ideas and enjoy stories, sketching, and other gallery activities that bring works of art to life.

Yorkville Library, 222 East 79th St. 3 p.m., free Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Craft Time at Yorkville! Bring your creativity and make something special to take home. www.nypl.org/events/ programs/2015/09/25/crafttime

â&#x2013;ź SHABABA BAKERY 92nd Street Y, Lexington Avenue at 92nd St. 10:15 a.m., $15 No child is too young for the Shababa Bakery because you are not just making bread. Join in for this fun and truly sweet experience! www.92y.org/Uptown/ Event/Shababa-Bakery

SEPTEMBER 24-30,2015

Sat 26

IT ONLY TAKES A DAY TO PREPARE FOR THE ENTIRE STORM SEASON.

ISRAELI FOLK DANCE PARTY 92nd Street Y, Lexington Avenue at 92nd St. 8:30 p.m., $15 Learn and enjoy memorizing performance of Israeli Folk Dance. www.92y.org/tickets/ production.aspx?pid=119907

ART TREK Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Ave. 2 p.m.-3 p.m., free with museum admission/children 12 & under Travel through time and around the world on a Museum adventure. www.metmuseum. org/events/programs/mettours/art-trek/art-trek-transfor mations?eid=R004_%7bC608 C22F-60DB-4479-9E89-

Sun 27 ASTORIA: TASTE OF THE WORLD 92nd Street Y, Lexington Avenue at 92nd St. 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m., $55 Learn the history of the Greeks, Italians and Germans, who have made Astoria one of the most diverse places on earth. www.92y.org/Event/AstoriaTaste-of-the-World

STORYTIME IN NOLEN LIBRARY Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Ave. 2 p.m.-2:30 p.m., free Gather around as we look, listen, sing, and have fun with picture books; then continue your adventure with a selfguided gallery hunt in the Museum. www.metmuseum.org/ events/programs/met-tours/ storytime-in-nolen-library/ storytime-in-nolen-

Mon 28 KID FLICKS ► Yorkville Library, 222 East 79th St.

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

4 p.m., free Join in our community room for our children’s ﬁlm showing. The perfect way to meet up with friends and end a busy day. www.nypl.org/events/ programs/2015/09/28/kidﬂicks

“BREAKING THE CHAINS” OF SOCIAL INJUSTICE 92nd Street Y, Lexington Avenue at 92nd St. 6:30 p.m., $36 Join Usher Raymond IV for a discussion with prominent ﬁgures from the creative community on the human issues es of injustice that persists in our country. www.92y.org/Event/Usher-Raymond-IV

▲ A FASHION ICONS BOOK LAUNCH EVENT 92nd Street Y, Lexington Avenue at 92nd St. 7:30 p.m., $36 One of the original supermodels, Cindy Crawford deﬁned that pivotal moment when fashion models became cultural stars. www.92y.org/Event/CindyCrawford

Wed30

It’s storm season. To be prepared, update your contact information and get helpful tips on what supplies to stock up on to weather the weather at conEd.com.

Tue 29 ART EXPLORERS 67th Street Library, 328 East 67th St. 4 p.m., free Join in for stories and a craft that involves the senses and art education concepts in a fun setting. www.nypl.org/events/ programs/2015/09/01/artexplorers

▲ BABY LAPSIT STORYTIME 67th Street Library, 328 East 67th St. 4 p.m., free There will be rhymes, songs and stories for you and your 3-17 month old child to enjoy. Be prepared to participate and have fun. www.nypl.org/events/ programs/2015/09/02/babylapsit-storytime la

T TALKING ABOUT CAKES C 92nd Street Y, Lexington Avenue at 92nd St. 7 p.m., $32 Claire Ptak of London’s Violet Bakery and Elisabeth Prueitt of Tartine and Blue Bottle Coffee with Bon Appétit magazine’s Christine Muhlke. www.92y.org/Event/ Talking-about-Cakes

Dear Parents: You are cordially invited to attend one of our OPEN HOUSES at York Preparatory School Tuesday, September 29th Tuesday, October 6th Tuesday, October 13th Tuesday, October 27th Tuesday, November 3rd Tuesday, November 10th Tuesday, November 17th Tuesday, December 1st Tuesday, January 5th Tuesday, January 26th Tuesday, April 19th Tuesday, May 10th

9:10am-10:30am 9:10am-10:30am 9:10am-10:30am 9:10am-10:30am 9:10am-10:30am 9:10am-10:30am 9:10am-10:30am 9:10am-10:30am 9:10am-10:30am 9:10am-10:30am 9:10am-10:30am 9:10am-10:30am

RSVP to the Admissions Office at: Elizabeth Norton 212-362-0400 ext. 103 - enorton@yorkprep.org Cathy Minaudo 212-362-0400 ext. 106 - cminaudo@yorkprep.org York Prep is a coeducation college preparatory school for grades 6-12

SEPTEMBER 24-30,2015

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

ESPIONAGE ON THE STAGE PERFORMANCE A new play brings to life the trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg BY GABRIELLE ALFIERO

Betrayal can make for good theater. Such is the case with “The Brother,” a play about the reallife trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were executed in 1953 for espionage and providing information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union. Performed as a staged reading on Sept. 28 at the Unity Center of New York City on W. 58th Street, the play is based on reporter Sam Roberts’ 2001 book of the same name, and centers on Roberts’ interviews

with Ethel’s brother, David Greenglass, decades after his testimony secured his sister’s death. “There isn’t a nice person in this play,” said Elowyn Castle, the show’s director. “Except maybe Ethel, who’s a victim of all these circumstances.” The play, written by John Hancock and Dorothy Tristan, ﬁrst opened in Chicago in 2007, but has been little performed since, said Teri Black, the founder of Break a Leg Productions, the company staging the reading. Black first saw a reading of the play at the City University of New York about three years ago, where she met Roberts and the playwrights. She was “intrigued” by the play, and is now staging the show as the in-

augural performance of Break a Leg’s new series of historical plays, “Historically Speaking.” (The company, which started as a group of friends reading plays in Black’s apartment while she recovered from a broken leg, also runs a series of science-themed plays, called “Art of Science” as well as “Unexplored Territories,” which focuses on new plays.) “The brother is the heavy,” said Black. “He turns the screw, but there’s more to him than that.” Roberts, an urban affairs correspondent for the New York Times, spent several hours interviewing the elusive Greenglass, who was living under another name (in the play, Roberts’ character receives an anonymous tip as to Greenglass’ alias and whereabouts). The play focuses mostly on David, whose false testimony spared him and his wife, Ruth, but sealed his sister’s fate. “Part of the whole fascination of writing this book and reporting “The Brother” was drawing David out and sitting down with him all those hours, and having no idea what he was going to say,” said Roberts in a phone interview.

“He could have engaged in hours and hours of self-justification and attempts to vindicate himself, but for the most part, he dug himself in deeper and deeper and incriminated himself more than anything else.” In the performance, 13 actors play 32 roles. Most characters, including Julius, Ethel, Ethel’s mother, Tessie, and the prosecutor Roy Cohn, exist in flashbacks as David, played by Richard Litt, recounts his story during interviews with Roberts’ character, played by Bruce Barton, decades after the trial. Actors read directly from the script, and sit in a row that extends the width of the space at Unity Center, a room with crimson carpet, wood trim and finicky lighting that, during a recent rehearsal, actors attempted to adjust. Performers stand when in a scene, and retreat to their seats once finished. While characters’ behavior might baffle a modern audience, the circumstances can make their actions at least understandable, if not quite empathetic. “These people don’t think they’re not likeable,” said

Castle. “You look at them with hindsight and you think, how naïve could they have been? But you understand David’s wanting to protect his wife. You understand his own psychological determination.” Julius and Ethel Rosenberg’s case still fascinates some members of the cast, and has received renewed attention following the revelations in Roberts’ book. In August, following the release of previously-sealed documents, including grand jury testimonies, Julius and Ethel’s sons penned an Op-Ed in the Times, asking for their mother’s exoneration. “I think the story is specific to the time but the behavior is absolutely not,” said Castle. “There are always people who go charting off after a vision, a principal, misguided or not. There certainly is today. There’s betrayal, self-protection. All the human behavior in this play is universal.” When discussing the story of the Rosenberg trial, Roberts, who will lead a conversation with the audience following Monday’s reading, finds that most people want to know about David’s personality, and why he condemned his sister.

IF YOU GO What: A staged reading of “The Brother,” a play by John Hancock and Dorothy Tristan, followed by a conversation with reporter Sam Roberts. When: Monday, Sept. 28, 6:30 p.m. Where: Unity Center, 213 W. 58th St., between Broadway and Seventh Avenue For more information, visit breakalegproductions.com Admission: Free, donations benefit Unity Center The answer, Roberts said, is complex. “What I was looking to do was allow the reader, allow the viewer to put themselves in the place of the characters and ask themselves, ‘what would you have done?’” he said. “Given the temper of the times, what would you have done in this situation? And understand that it’s a much more complicated challenge and more complicated set of circumstances than, ‘why did you send your sister to the electric chair?’”

5 TOP

SEPTEMBER 24-30,2015

FOR THE WEEK BY GABRIELLE ALFIERO OUR ARTS EDITOR

DANCE

PERFORMANCE LAB SERIES Steps Beyond Foundation and REVERBdance present a multidisciplinary program of new works by nine different artists, including work by REVERBdance’s artistic director, Kate Griffler. Audience members are asked to write comments on the performances, and are invited to mingle with the artists following their presentations. Performance Lab Series Sunday, Sept. 27 Steps on Broadway Studio Theater, 2121 Broadway, at 74th Street, 3rd ﬂoor 7 p.m. Tickets $12 To purchase tickets, visit stepsnyc.com/steps-beyond or purchase at the door

PATRICIA HOFFBAUER’S “DANCES FOR INTIMATE SPACES AND FRIENDLY PEOPLE” Patricia Hoffbauer, a ﬁxture in Manhattan’s downtown dance scene, debuts “Dances for Intimate Spaces and Friendly People” a pairing of dance performances with multigenerational performers and video and text installations that explores artists’ internal creative processes. Patricia Hoffbauer’s “Dances for Intimate Spaces and Friendly People” Sept. 30-Oct. 3 Gibney Dance’s Agnes Varis Performing Arts Center 280 Broadway, entrance at 53A Chambers Street 7:30 p.m. Tickets $20 To purchase tickets, call the box office at 646837-6809 or visit gibneydance.org

KIDS “HOW TO CATCH A STAR”

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

THEATER ANT HAMPTON’S “THE EXTRA PEOPLE” Performed as part of French Institute Alliance Francaise’s fall art festival “Crossing the Line,” British artist Ant Hampton’s site-specific “The Extra People,” an immersive theater presentation, explores the experiences of temporary workers. Participants are given a flashlight and headphones and choose how to traverse the terrain, while other audience members observe the spontaneous reactions, before swapping places. Ant Hampton’s “The Extra People” Sept. 25 and 26 FIAF Florence Gould Hall 55 E. 59th St., between Park and Madison Avenues Assorted show times Tickets $20 To purchase tickets, call 800-982-2787 or visit fiaf.org

MUSEUMS

Diverging Elements Theatre Company, which DORIS SALCEDO creates interactive storytelling performances with shadow puppets Sculptor Doris Salcedo, whose work, which and props as part of its focuses on the history of her native Colombia, “Stories in 4D” series at is currently showing in a vast retrospective at Upper West Side shop the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, will Book Culture, performs discuss her work during a daylong symposium. Oliver Jeffers’ illustrated Scholars and curators, including the children’s story “How to Guggenheim’s Katherine Brinson, participate Catch a Star,” about a in the conversation. young boy who tries to Doris Salcedo pull down a star from the Installation view: Doris Friday, Oct. 2 Salcedo, Solomon R. night sky. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum 1071 Fifth Avenue, at E. 88th Street “How to Catch a Star” Guggenheim Museum, New York, June 26– 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24 October 12, 2015 Admission $15 Book Culture David Heald © For more information, visit guggenheim. 450 Columbus Ave., at Photo: Solomon R. Guggenheim org or call 212-423-3500 W. 82nd Street Foundation 2 p.m. FREE To be included in the Top 5 go to For more information, visit bookculture.com or ourtownny.com and click on submit a press call 212-595-1962 release or announcement.

Oaffdway Broeek W 21– t p e S Oct 4

Two weeks of amazing deals on the best Off-Broadway shows in the City!

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Certain terms and conditions may apply. Tickets are limited in quantities and are subject to availability.

ACTIVITIES FOR THE FERTILE MIND

thoughtgallery.org NEW YORK CITY

Affordable New York: A Housing Legacy

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29TH, 5:30PM 92nd Street Y | 1395 Lexington Ave. | 212-415-5500 | 92y.org Was it really almost 30 years ago that Cindy Crawford ﬁrst burst onto magazine covers and runways? (You can’t tell by looking at her, at least in un-retouched versions.) She dishes about her supermodel days and her designing career with fashion industry consultant Fern Mallis. ($32)

Andrea Wulf on The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New World

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30TH, 6PM The NY Academy of Medicine | 1216 Fifth Ave. | 212-822-7200 | nyam.org Historian Andrea Wulf presents a new book on visionary German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) and his contributions to the way we understand nature today. (Free)

Just Announced: Mission Chinese Food with Danny Bowien and Peter Meehan

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13TH, 7PM 92nd Street Y | 1395 Lexington Ave. | 212-415-5500 | 92y.org Star chef Danny Bowien tells the story of Mission Chinese’s humble beginnings as a San Francisco food truck on the occasion of the release of his new cookbook. ($32)

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

SEPTEMBER 24-30,2015

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

UPTOWN BOOGALOO A literature teacher rediscovers the musical joys of his roots

Jonathan Goodman, trumpet player and bandleader for boogaloo outfit Spanglish Fly, will bring his band to Goddard Riverside Community Center on Sept. 29, his first performance with the group in his neighborhood. Photo: Gabrielle Alfiero

BY GABRIELLE ALFIERO

As a boy, Jonathan Goldman’s parents wanted him to learn an instrument. He picked trumpet; he liked E.B. White’s children’s story “The Trumpet of the Swan.” It didn’t stick. “I quit as soon as they let me,” said Goldman. When he was 18, the waiting list for the Mitchell-Lama apartment building he grew up in on 90th Street and Columbus Avenue opened up, and his mother urged him to apply. “I had no intention of ever living there again,” said Goldman, who attended University of California, Berkeley and now teaches literature at New York Institute of Technology. “And she said, ‘just trust me. You might thank me one day.’” Goldman, 43, found his way back to the neighborhood he was quick to leave, and the instrument he put aside. Fourteen years ago, he moved in to the building where he grew up and now lives (his parents still live upstairs). After years away from music, Goldman picked up the trumpet again while working on his Ph.D. at Brown University, a creative respite from days spent studying literature. Six years ago, he started boogaloo band Spanglish Fly, recruiting musicians for the outﬁt through an ad on Craigslist. The 10-piece band released their second album, “New York Boogaloo,” earlier this month, and a ﬂurry of fall concerts includes a show at Goddard Riverside Community Center on Sept. 29, just blocks from Goldman’s nearly lifelong home. Boogaloo, a genre that combines traditional Latin and Afro-Caribbean rhythms with blues and soul, started in New York in the 1960s, before dipping into obscurity, a history Goldman explored in a 2014 piece for the Paris Review. He speaks of a swelling boogaloo revival, and with Spanglish Fly, he looks to bring new audiences to the forgotten form. “When I started this band, part of my intention was to play this music because I thought it would be fun to play,” said Goldman, who, with loose, curly brown hair, prominent sideburns, and tattoos looks more like a bandleader than a literature professor. “The other part was to bring it to people

who had never heard it. And that’s been the most gratifying thing about it.” Latin music was part of the fabric of Goldman’s Upper West Side childhood. He remembers hearing salsa in the street and watching drum circles in a vacant lot near his apartment building. Still, he didn’t start playing Latin music until he formed Spanglish Fly six years ago, after working as a DJ brought him to boogaloo records. Spanglish Fly’s performance at Goddard is a bit of a delayed musical homecoming for Goldman. After six years with the group, the show is the ﬁrst he’ll play with the band in his own neighborhood. An eclectic mix of musicians makes up the group, with some rooted in Latin music, Goldman said, and others from Brooklyn brass bands and funk scenes, a logical range given boogaloo’s inherent layering of genres. Trombone player Sebastian Isler came to New York to play jazz. He met Goldman through a mutual friend ﬁve years ago and joined the band shortly after. He said Goldman’s clear vision for the group from the outset—to update boogaloo sounds while honoring the genre’s roots—remains. “On the one hand we want to modernize it, but on the other hand there’s a real respect for the tradition of it,” Isler said. “So there’s a blending of these two worlds that he’s always kept in mind.” In some ways, that credo reflects in the production of “New York Boogaloo.” Izzy Sanabria, who designed the covers of Latin music records in the 1960s and 1970s, did the

album artwork, with help from his daughter Jacqueline, an aspiring artist. Harvey Averne, who produced for Latin music label Fania Records (Celia Cruz and Willie Colon were among the label’s artists) produced the last track on the album. Adrian Quesada, a member of contemporary Latin-funk group Grupo Fantasma, also produced. By nature, boogaloo breaks down barriers and encourages connections, Goldman said, and audiences tap in to the energy of the music and the atmosphere of the crowd. Isler calls performing “an interaction” with the audience. For Goldman, it’s a party. “You get up and shake your thing…because it sounds like funk music. It sounds like soul music. It happens to have a chacha beat. You can do salsa steps but you can also just get up and move around,” said Goldman as he ﬁnished a bagel and coffee at Mila Café on 94th Street and Columbus Avenue, before picking up his 4-year-old daughter from school. “It’s a party and everyone is invited, and once you’re here you’re not going to be thinking about where else you can be.”

IF YOU GO What: Boogaloo band Spanglish Fly performs as part of Goddard Riverside Community Center’s Afro Roots Tuesdays Series When: Tuesday, Sept. 29, 8 p.m. Where: Goddard Riverside Community Center, 647 Columbus Ave., at W. 92nd Street Contact: 212-873-6600 Admission: $10 suggested donation

SEPTEMBER 24-30,2015

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS JUL 15 - SEP 18, 2015 The following listings were collected from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s website and include the most recent inspection and grade reports listed. We have included every restaurant listed during this time within the zip codes of our neighborhoods. Some reports list numbers with their explanations; these are the number of violation points a restaurant has received. To see more information on restaurant grades, visit www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/services/restaurant-inspection.shtml. A

Ottomanelli’s Restaurant

1325 5Th Ave

Grade Pending (17) Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, cross-contaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan. Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewageassociated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies.

Mcdonald’s

1872 3 Avenue

Hoagie’s Heros

1650 3rd Ave

Noodle Fun

1744 1St Ave

Mezzaluna

1295 Third Avenue

Corrado Bread And Pastry

960 Lexington Avenue A

FP Pastisserie

1293 3 Avenue

Uskudar Restaurant

1405 Second Avenue

Little Vincent’s Pizza

1399 2Nd Ave

Grade Pending (21) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked ﬁsh and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.

Pic Up Stix

1372 Lexington Ave

Il Salumaio Wine Bar

1731 2Nd Ave

Go Cups

1838 2Nd Ave

Dunkin’ Donuts, Baskin Robbins

1392 Lexington Avenue

Isohama

1666 3 Avenue

Shorty’s

1678 1St Ave

Corner Cafe & Bakery

1246 Madison Avenue Grade Pending (21) Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, cross-contaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan. Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewageassociated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies.

Eli’s Essentials

26 E 91St St

Vico Ristorante

1302 Madison Avenue A

Gina La Fornarina

26 East 91 Street

Bluestone Lane

2 E 90Th St

G&J’s Pizzeria

1797 1St Ave

Le Viet Cafe

1750 2Nd Ave

Not Graded Yet (12) Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.

Bricklane Curry House

1664 3 Avenue

Grade Pending (30) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Food Protection Certiﬁcate not held by supervisor of food operations. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.

Thai Peppercorn

1750 1 Avenue

3 Guys Resturant

1232 Madison Avenue A

Nick’s Restaurant Pizzeria

1814 2 Avenue

Grade Pending (27) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewageassociated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.

Little Luzzo’s

119 East 96 Street

Grade Pending (18) 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.

Ko Sushi

1329 2 Avenue

Dunkin Donuts

411 East 70 Street

Grade Pending (20) 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. Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.

Panera Bread

120 East 86 Street

Canele By Celine

400 E 82Nd St

Green Bay Sushi

1659 1St Ave

Oriental Cafe / Sunny

1580 1St Ave

Grade Pending (26) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked ﬁsh and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Dorrian’s Red Hand Restaurant

1616 2 Avenue

H & H Midtown Bagels East 1551 2 Avenue

Dunkin’ Donuts

355 East 86 Street

Dunkin’ Donuts

1873 2 Avenue

Best Lexington Pizza

1634 Lexington Avenue

Milk Burger Express

2051 2 Avenue

Subway

1873 2 Avenue

Mojito’s

227 East 116 Street

Papa John’s Pizza

2119 1St Ave

Not Graded Yet (31) Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations. Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewageassociated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies. Hand washing facility not provided in or near food preparation area and toilet room. Hot and cold running water at adequate pressure to enable cleanliness of employees not provided at facility. Soap and an acceptable hand-drying device not provided.

Uptown Roasters Cafe

135 E 110Th St

Not Graded Yet (21) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked ﬁsh and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Evidence of rats or live rats 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.

Grade Pending (26) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, crosscontaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan. Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewageassociated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies.

SEPTEMBER 24-30,2015

Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com

restaurants & chefs

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off Food

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BKB RESTAURANT Eric Miller

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THE CECIL JJ Johnson

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THE EAST POLE K I TC H E N & B A R Joseph Capozzi

ETHOS GALLERY 51ST FRED’S AT BARNEYS NEW YORK Mark Strausman

MAGNOLIA BAKERY Bobbie Lloyd

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3 GENERATIONS OF MR. CLEAN But Anthony Giaimo could be the last on a laundering line that stretches to the late â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;50s BY MICKEY KRAMER

Our Town is celebrating our 45th anniversary by profiling a neighborhood business that has been around longer than we have. Know of a local business that should be on our list? Email us at news@ strausnews.com On any given day, a dozen washing machines whir and eight dryers whirl at Royal Sutton Cleaners on First Avenue. If dropping off or picking up clothes doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sound like the most thrilling part of oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s day, owner Anthony Giaimo can make it a memorable visit with passionate disquisitions about the most recent Republican debate, or â&#x20AC;&#x153;the good olâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; daysâ&#x20AC;? when sports stars such as New York Ranger Hall of Famer Rod Gilbert and Art Shamsky, a member of the 1969 New York Mets, lived mere blocks away and were regular customers. Since 1959, three generations of Giaimo men have kept Upper Eastsiders in clean duds. First, Anthony,

who was followed by his son, Joseph, and lastly, Anthony, the younger, joined the family business in 1982. â&#x20AC;&#x153;To be honest, I needed a job ... I was getting married,â&#x20AC;? the younger Giaimo said. Giaimo, who prior to teaming up with his dad and grandfather worked in construction, adds that he â&#x20AC;&#x153;sorta fell into it as it was not something I was necessarily dying to do.â&#x20AC;? Anthony Giaimo grew up with his parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents, all of whom lived in apartments right above the store. After moving around a bit, he returned to the dwelling above the store with his wife in 1985. Those arrangements might have made the commute an easy one, but they could and did lead to many a sleepless night. â&#x20AC;&#x153;People, knowing where we lived, would ring our bell all the time, day and night ... . They needed their clothes for work, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d always take care of them,â&#x20AC;? Giaimo recalled. Initially, Royal Sutton, just south of 63rd Street, was a drop-off only service. Since the mid-1980s, at the behest of the youngest Giaimo, Royal

began taking in dry cleaning as well â&#x20AC;&#x153;Figured we could bring in more money,â&#x20AC;? he explained. After over 30 years of working in the same location, Giaimo takes pride in what he calls Royal Suttonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;personal touch,â&#x20AC;? whether a customer has been coming since the early 1980s, is new or even just visiting the city. Giaimo has put three children through college and while, at 57, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in no hurry to retire, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nevertheless fairly certain the longstanding business will end with him. His children, he said, have other interests. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Three generations is pretty good, but that will be it,â&#x20AC;? he said. And although Giaimo has lived on Long Island for many years he still has a strong attachment for the block on which he has lived and/or worked for over 40 years. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Of course, I love this neighborhood. I was born in this building. All my roots are here,â&#x20AC;? he said. Right now is pretty good too. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m happy and gonna stick it out,â&#x20AC;? he said.

SEPTEMBER 24-30,2015

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COPPER THEFT ON SECOND AVENUE NEWS About 160 feet of cable were snatched BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS

Police in the 19th Precinct are investigating the theft of 160 feet of copper cable from a Second Avenue job site at 92nd Street. Resident and Community Board 8 member David Rosenstein said he ďŹ rst heard about the theft on Monday, Sept. 14. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I asked [Con Edison] workers today what they were doing at the [southeast] corner of 92nd Street and 2nd Avenue, as they were blocking two lanes, a concern for emergency vehicles,â&#x20AC;? said Rosenstein, a member of the boardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Second Avenue Subway Task Force. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They said they were replacing copper

cables stolen at night from the newly reinstalled infrastructure below the street and above the station roof.â&#x20AC;? A spokesperson for Con Edison initially told Our Town that 84 feet of cable was stolen at about 4 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 11, but later revealed 160 feet of cable had been taken. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The theft has been reported to the 19th Precinct,â&#x20AC;? said Con Ed spokesperson Bob McGee. An MTA spokesperson confirmed a theft occurred and indicated that there was more than once incident. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There have been ongoing copper wire cable thefts from Con Ed manholes,â&#x20AC;? said MTA spokesperson Kevin Ortiz. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Recently, one of the contractors working on [the 2nd Avenue Subway] hired two security guards to help safeguard their materials and were able to

avert theft on at least two occasions. NYPD is also involved.â&#x20AC;? The MTA noted that the stolen materials belonged to a contractor and not to the agency, but did not return a request for clariďŹ cation on who is ultimately responsible for replacing the cable. Both the MTA and Con Ed refused to answer further questions as to the dollar value of the stolen copper cable, nor whether police were investigating the ongoing thefts as related to one another. McGee said he was coordinating with the MTA and NYPD on how much information to release to the public as of press time. The NYPDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s public affairs department did not return a request for comment by press time, and repeated inquiries to the 19th Precinct went unreturned.

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SEPTEMBER 24-30,2015

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Resident Manager of The 80th Street Residence Recognized for Expertise The only licensed Assisted Living Residence in New York City Entirely Devoted to Enhanced Memory Care The 80th Street Residence is proud to announce that their Resident Manager, Leah Gallagher, LMSW, has completed the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Positive Approach to Care (PAC)â&#x20AC;? Consultant Training and has been awarded with a â&#x20AC;&#x153;Certificate of Expertise.â&#x20AC;? The PAC program was created by dementia-care education specialist Teepa Snow, MS, OTR/L, FAOTA, an occupational therapist with over 30 years in clinical practice. Ms. Gallagher completed pre-requisite training work, a multi-modal classroom training and participated in weekly post-classroom calls with a coach to further exemplify her knowledge and skills. Clare Shanley, Executive Director says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Leah Gallagher walked in the door 6 years ago and immediately immersed herself in supporting our Residents, Families and Staff. When we learned of the opportunity to train with Ms. Snow, who has long been known as the dementia-care guru, it was clear that this was an opportunity that just couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be passed up. Leahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unbridled enthusiasm for continued education is a perfect example of how she strives to provide the best support that she can for those navigating the difficult terrain of dementia. We couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be more proud of her successful completion of the training and receiving a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Certificate of Expertiseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.â&#x20AC;? With the highest level of Assisted Living Residence licensure by the New York State Department of Health, The 80th Street Residence is the only dedicated assisted living community in New York City Specializing in Memory Care. In their boutique setting, 80th Street offers unique neighborhoods, each, composed of no more than eight to ten Residents with similar cognitive abilities. All neighborhoods have cozy and homelike dining and living rooms and are staffed 24 hours a day with personal care attendants. The intimate setting allows for an environment that is conducive to relaxation, socialization and participation in varied activities. A true jewel of care on the Upper East Side.

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FRED WINSHIP, UPI WRITER AND THEATER REVIEWER OBITUARY Fred Winship, long-time theater reviewer for UPI, died peacefully at 90 in his apartment on E. 57th Street on September 3. No cause of death was given. He was writing a review of a play he had just seen when he died. He was born on September 24, 1924, in Franklin Ohio, son of Wilbur William Winship and Edna Moery Winship. He was the son of a paper manufacturing executive and member of a family active in journalism in Massachusetts, West Virginia, Indiana, and Ohio since the 1790s. He received a bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree in 1945 from DePauw University, where he was president of the founding chapter of Sigma Delta Chi, the national journalism fraternity. He graduated in 1946 from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and started his career on UPIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s New York news desk. He was a reporter, editor and critic for the wireservice for nearly 70 years. He was known as one of UPIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most versatile writers, having covered, as he once said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;everything but sports.â&#x20AC;? H. L. Stevenson, a longtime managing editor of UPI, called Winship â&#x20AC;&#x153;our triple threat man.â&#x20AC;? One of his first assignments was as correspondent at the new United Nations in its temporary headquarters in Lake Success, N. Y., and later at its permanent headquarters in Manhattan. There he covered one of the major stories of the day, the lengthy debate on the establishment of the State of Israel. Winship later covered politics, the courts, social events, and cultural affairs in New York. A personal interest in the arts led him to expand UPIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s coverage in this area and took him to many cities in the United States and abroad to cover museum exhibitions and to critique operatic, symphonic, and dance performances and theatrical events. In 1958 he was named an Ogden Reid Journalism Fellow and spent a year studying the second ďŹ ve-year economic development program in India, where he already had traveled extensively on tours of the Far East. Other assignments took

him to Europe, Africa. South America, and Australia, so that he had ďŹ led stories from six of the seven continents. He wrote some of the earliest reports on the controversial planned city of Brasilia, now Brazilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s capital; the discovery of Cheopâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Solar Ship at the foot of the pharaohâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pyramid in Egypt; and the opening of the Soviet Union and China to tourism. He reported extensively on the glamorous marriage of American socialite Hope Cooke to the future king of Sikkim. His interviews ranged from Sir Winston Churchill, President Harry S. Truman, hydrogen bomb developer Edward Teller, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis to the Dalai Lama and Norgay Tenzing, co-conqueror of Mt. Everest. He considered an interview with crusty architect Frank Lloyd Wright on the occasion of the completion of the Wright-designed Guggenheim Museum in New York as one of his most interesting encounters. Another was his exclusive interview with notorious murderer Nathan Leopold after his release from prison about his work as a scientiďŹ c guinea pig in Puerto Rico. He also was credited with inventing the word â&#x20AC;&#x153;smazeâ&#x20AC;? to describe a combination of smoke and haze. He used it in reporting on a strange atmospheric condition caused by forest fires in 1950 and it was picked up by the U.S. Weather Service and later by the Oxford English Dictionary and Websterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. Winship was named UPIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assistant managing editor in charge of the new serviceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s worldwide news feature and enterprise report in 1975. In

1983 he was named senior editor for arts and theater and became UPIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Broadway drama critic, reviewing literally thousands of productions. Since 2000 he held the title Critic-atLarge for the Arts and Theater. Winship was active in cultural and community affairs, and served as chairman of the Easter Seal Society of Greater New York, initiating its annual fund-raising telethon. For many years he was president of Letters Abroad, an affiliate of the U.S. Information Serviceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s People-to-People Program. He was also chairman of The Oratorio Society of New York, the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oldest choral group, president of the New York Conference of Patriotic Societies, and a member of the boards of the New York State Easter Seal Society, Museum of the City of New York, and Friends of the American Theater Wing. He was a member of The Society of the Cincinnati and he was listed in The Social Register. In 1967 he was married to Joanne Tree Thompson, a former screen, stage, and television actress who turned journalist, reporting on fashion and lifestyle for UPI, AP and the New York Post. She died in 1997. At his request he was cremated and his ashes are to be interred in his family plot at Woodhill Cemetery in Franklin, Ohio next to his beloved wife Joanne. Survivors include: nieces Anna Hudson of NYC; Elizabeth Tannenbaum of Brattleboro,Vt; Randi Jane Lambert of Punta Gorda, FL; Marguerite Ulrich of Alexandra, OH; and nephew William R. Knutson of Franklin, OH and ďŹ ve great nieces and four nephews.

SEPTEMBER 24-30,2015

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OBITUARY

ANN KAVANAGH MANDT, MOTHER, ATTORNEY AND NURSE Ann Kavanagh Mandt, age 74, mother, attorney, nurse, and ďŹ ghter for the wronged, passed away peacefully on Sept. 10 after a brief illness. Ann was born July 5, 1941, and grew up on Riverside Drive, the daughter of C. Murray Kavanagh, a lawyer, and Mary Kavanagh, a Broadway actress. She became a Registered Nurse after studying at

St. Vincentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Nursing School in Greenwich Village, and was married to Edward Mandt of Queens in 1965. They had four children, moving from New York to Ohio before settling in Detroit, where Ann earned a Masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Degree in nursing and taught future nurses as a member of the University of Detroit Nursing Faculty. After her husband was diagnosed with cancer in 1988, Ann decided to go to law school at the University of Detroit. During her first year, Edward Mandt died at age 53. Ann continued her studies and graduated with distinction in 1991. She joined Charfoos & Christensen, P.C., a prestigious law ďŹ rm in Detroit, where she used both her medical and legal skills to represent patients injured by medical malpractice. Over time Ann became a prominent Michigan attorney.

Ann was a passionate sports fan and maintained a wonderful sense of humor up to her death. Her positive and optimistic approach to life, even during difficult times, uplifted and comforted everyone in her life. When she could no longer golf and was unable to attend the ESPY Awards in July in Los Angeles, which her daughter Maura produced, her friends ďŹ rst became seriously worried about her health. Ann is survived by her brothers Charles and Jimmy Kavanagh and sisters Ellen Sydor and Maura Maier of New York. Most important to Ann were her four children who survive her, Maura Mandt of New York, a TV producer; Sheila Mandt, a non-proďŹ t executive and her husband Chris Hilbert of Richmond, Virginia; Michael Mandt, a TV producer and his wife Diana Mandt of Hollywood, California; and Neil Mandt, a producer and director and his wife Lauren Mandt, also of Hollywood, California. Two

granddaughters, Grace and Charlotte Mandt, also survive her. In lieu of flowers, donations

to either the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, 1264 Meldrum Street, Detroit, Michigan 48207, attention Brother Jerry Smith, or the

South Oakland Shelter, 18505 Twelve Mile Road, Lathrup Village, Michigan 48076, would be greatly appreciated.

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SEPTEMBER 24-30,2015

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Legislation Would Protect Grocery Store Workers and Our Communities By Stuart Appelbaum, President Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, RWDSU, UFCW

n December 2013, workers at the Trade Fair Supermarket in Queens found out theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d be getting coal for the holidays. The 50 hardworking men and women at the store reported to work, only to find out that the store had suddenly been sold â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and that they were now jobless and had to leave the property immediately. The new owner was under no obligation to hire them back, and longtime shoppers at the store now had unfamiliar faces handling their food and tasked with keeping the store clean. This is just one example of how grocery store workers can be left out in the cold when supermarkets change hands, and how working and health standards in our communities can suddenly take a hit when new ownership moves in at old stores. Now, we have an opportunity to protect workers from this type of injustice in New York City, as well as protect consumers and their families in our communities. The Grocery Worker Retention Act, legislation that is currently before the New York City Council, would mandate that when a grocery store is sold, the new ownership would keep current store employees for a 90-day transitional period. The law would bring much-needed job security to the over 50,000 New Yorkers who work in the supermarket industry and give consumers confidence that food safety is a priority in grocery stores. By requiring that grocery stores retain their employees, workers would be protected during the transition period. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d be able to show the new owners that their familiarity with the job and the storeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s customers is an asset and theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d be given time to look for other work while remaining employed. There wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be a sudden and harsh deprivation of wages like those at Fair Trade suffered.

AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE FOR A NEIGHBORHOOD JEWEL Part of a Manhattan Valley community garden that rose from rubble will be sold BY RICHARD KHAVKINE

Forty years ago, a trio of stone-strewn but otherwise vacant lots on West 105th near Columbus Avenue were an apt metaphor for a distressed city on the brink of bankruptcy. One by one, the city foreclosed on the 17-foot by 100-foot lots and, in late 1977, ordered the middle lotâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sale at public auction. Two young couples living in the neighborhood â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Douglas and Elizabeth Kellner and Lizabeth Roberts and her soon-

to-be husband, Martin Sostre â&#x20AC;&#x201D; together placed a bid on the lot. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We got it for $500,â&#x20AC;? Elizabeth Kellner said. Neither couple had plans for the Manhattan Valley lot and, with real estate taxes of about $200 a year, they could afford to let it lie fallow. The two lots on either side of the Kellnersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and Sostresâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, 76 and 80 West 105th, would eventually be transferred to the Trust for Public Land and the Parks and Recreation Department, respectively. In 1992, the couples were approached by a group of resi-

dents who thought the three adjacent lots would be a near ideal spot for a garden. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We gave them permission,â&#x20AC;? Kellner said. From a space totaling 50 feet by 100 feet, residents lugged out trash and bricks and hauled in tons of earth, consulted with a garden designer and welcomed anyone who could lend a hand or expertise. They christened their collective plot La Perla, after a tough and troubled neighborhood abutting Old San Juan in Puerto Rico. Within a neighborhood where gunshots were a near-nightly occurrence and drug dealers

plied their trade on nearby corners, hardy shrubs and trees, lilacs, lilies and peonies took root. Painted murals adorn nearby walls. A 1,000 gallon water tank in La Perlaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s southeast corner gathers enough rainwater to supply nearly all the gardeners need. This year, an elaborate composting station was assembled. For more than 20 years, residents have cultivated ivy, lilac and irises; picked peaches, ďŹ gs, and plums; and reaped tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, basil and thyme from 30 plots. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The majority of people like to grow

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Shoppers at these stores would know that their grocery store would continue to be staffed by workers who understand the industry and are good at their jobs. Experienced grocery workers have knowledge of proper sanitation procedures, health regulations, and understanding of the clientele and communities they serve. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s invaluable for grocery store shoppers. By requiring that A similar law has been in place in Los Angeles since 2005, and a statewide grocery store worker retention law just went into effect statewide in California this summer. New York City needs to join the movement of protecting workers and communities in an industry that has seen too much exploitation, wage theft, and unfair treatment of a largely immigrant workforce.

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Robert Pollard, La Perlaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s self-described chief composter, in the community garden on West 105th Street. Photo: Richard Khavkine

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La Perla on West 105th Street. Photo: Richard Khavkine what they can eat,â&#x20AC;? said Elizabeth Hall, who has lived on Columbus near 106th Street since 1992 and has been gardening at La Perla for about 10 years. But this fallâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bounty could mark the last harvest for some. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The taxes on the lot are now $15,000 a year,â&#x20AC;? Elizabeth Kellner said last week. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We decided we need to sell the lot.â&#x20AC;? The Kellners are now in their mid-60s and Lizabeth Sostre is in her 70s. Her husband died earlier this year. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We want to resolve this situation for the sake of our children,â&#x20AC;? Kellner said. A sale of the property, which is assessed at about $350,000, would very likely mean that a residential development would be built atop what are now a dozen fecund four-foot by eight-foot raised beds of earth and abundance. For Hall, the sale and consequent disruption of what she and others consider a neighborhood jewel would be a signiďŹ cant loss for the gardeners, certainly, but also for nearby residents who use the garden as an oasis of sorts. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m seconds from the insanity on Columbus Avenue,â&#x20AC;? she said on a recent afternoon among pear, plum and peach trees casting mid-afternoon shade and yielding the last of their summer fruits. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sort of a primal thing for me.â&#x20AC;? For $20 in annual dues, residents can lease a plot and plant just about anything that grow

roots. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I call it the best real estate deal in town,â&#x20AC;? said Robert Pollard, who oversees the gardenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s compost station. Just about anyone who wants a plot eventually gets one, he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We manage, we get by. We connect with people we wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have met otherwise,â&#x20AC;? he said. Kellner, who, like her husband, is a lawyer with a fourdecade history of civic involvement in the Upper West Side, said she, her husband and Sostre are amenable to a land swap. If worked out with either the Land Trust or the Parks Department, such an arrangement would allow the garden to continue on two adjacent lots rather than be split in two.â&#x20AC;&#x153;We would be very open to that,â&#x20AC;? Kellner said. The president of the Land Trust, Genevieve Outlaw, said relations with the Kellners and

the Sostres have been cordial. But although she understood the impetus for selling the property, she called the decision â&#x20AC;&#x153;pretty devastatingâ&#x20AC;? for the gardeners. She said she would broach the idea of a land swap to the trustâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 12-member board next month. A Parks Department spokesperson said the department is aware of the discussion and is looking into how it might help keep the garden as intact as possible. Meanwhile, on a verdant patch in Manhattan Valley, a loose-knit crew continues to cultivate a treasure. In a neighborhood that continues to have its shares of hardship and episodic violence, La Perla is a refuge and a symbol of resolve â&#x20AC;&#x153;It brought neighbors together,â&#x20AC;? said Crystal Smith, one of La Perlaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s original members. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was something that said â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve come a long way.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;?

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SEPTEMBER 24-30,2015

YOUR 15 MINUTES

SAILING THE HIGH SEAS IN NEW YORK Hornblower exec takes us on a nautical journey through Manhattan

BY ANGELA BARBUTI

If you ever forget that Manhattan is an island, Hornblower Cruises and Events serves as a reminder, whisking revelers away on the Hudson every day and night. The company has six luxury vessels docked at Pier 40 in the West Village and Pier 15 at South Street Seaport, hosting every type of event from lavish weddings to afterwork happy hours to sightseeing excursions. Cameron Clark, the company’s vice president and general manager, works up to seven days a week overseeing a staff of 300 and multiple events sometimes taking place simultaneously. As a mechanical engineering student at California Maritime Academy, he started with the company in 2001 as a server, and, as he jokingly puts it, they haven’t been able to get rid of him since. It is only fitting that Clark named his ﬁrst child Kai, after the Hawaiian word for ‘sea.’ He

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calls his son, who was born in February, one of their frequent cruisers. “We live down in the Financial District ... . Part of my wife’s regular routine is to pack up and head down to Pier 15,” he explained. “They have lunch and jump on a sightseeing boat and go out for a cruise.”

Hornblower is fairly new to the city. How did it get started here? In 2012, we decided to bring the Hornblower brand to New York. In 2007 and early 2008, Hornblower entered the marketplace under the brand Statue Cruises, which took people to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We focused our energies there, always knowing that we wanted to introduce a business that began in California as a hospitality company. It took a few years before we were able to build new vessels and develop a product that we thought made sense in the marketplace and bring it here. Since then, it’s only been a startup, so as in most startups, it’s been a lot seven-day-a-week operations. We decided to expand our operations to Pier 40

in the West Village and Pier 15 in the South Street Seaport. We’ve gone from a startup in 2012 with a handful of employees to over 300 in 2015.

What’s the difference between Pier 40 and Pier 15 as far as what is offered? Pier 40 in the West Village we designated principally as the location for our private events. Our higher-end public products, such as our premium dinner cruises and champagne jazz brunch cruises, are sailing out of that location. Pier 15 in the South Street Seaport, on the other hand, is where we’re running our one-hour sightseeing cruises throughout the day, which are really tourist driven. And also our cocktail, happy hour and entertainment cruises, which are the more affordable price points, are out of that location.

Walk us through a typical day of events. Yesterday, we had our crew show up at a little before 5 a.m. They started preparing food for that day for our dinner

cruises, while another team prepared to get our sightseeing cruises underway. So by 9 a.m., two vessels left here at Pier 40 to head over to Pier 15, where over the course of the day, they carry over 3,000 passengers for sightseeing. While those vessels were running out of Pier 15 during the day, our team was prepping to get our first cruise out at 11 a.m., which was a bat mitzvah on the Hornblower Hybrid. That cruise went out at 11, came back, and then we prepared it for a wedding on the second deck and a public dinner cruise on the main deck. During the entire day, our team was prepping for a grandiose wedding of 340 passengers on the Hornblower Infinity, which included décor, a seven-piece band, flower arrangements and custom table design. The Sensation went out yesterday afternoon for a lunch cruise with a church group, then it came back and turned over and went down to Pier 15 and ran a cocktail cruise at night. That’s what an average Saturday would look like.

You started your career with the company while still in college. How did that come about? I was studying mechanical engineering there and we had an individual from the HR team for Hornblower show up at our campus and say, “We’re looking for cadets and students who’d be wanting to work on our vessels during the school year.” And I said, “Sounds like a lot of fun. I’d get paid. I’d get to play on the water. Sign me up.”

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And they haven’t been able to get rid of me since! I did leave shortly after college and went to work for Matson and American President Line. Companies sailing from the pacific west coast to Hawaii and Singapore respectively. I had an amazing opportunity to come back to work with Hornblower and I couldn’t pass it up. I realized it wasn’t for me and had an opportunity to come back and work for Hornblower. Funny story, my mom is a flight attendant and actually ran into Terry MacRae (Hornblower’s CEO) on a ﬂight and they got to talking. And by the end of the conversation, he said, “Have your son call me when he’s back from sea.”

Hornblower is committed to the environment and started Respect Our Planet. Tell us more about that. That was a passion project of mine and the owners that was started back in 2004. We’ve always been environmentally focused. Our CEO, Terry, actually has an engineering degree in environmental sciences. Before starting Hornblower, he worked for a company that did emission controls for factories. So his roots are on the environmental side, so we’ve always been focused as an organization, in doing good things, but it wasn’t until early 2000 that we formalized it and took it to the next level. That revolved around international environmental standards ISO 14001. We set standards on fuel consumption, emissions reduc-

tion and trash diversion. Then we thought that 14001 environmental standards sounds pretty boring to employees. So we started Respect Our Planet to get them engaged. It’s an integrated system to support quality, safety and environment. If we can’t respect our crew and treat them well, we won’t be able to respect our guests and treat them well, and we certainly won’t be able to respect our planet.

Even though we’re entering into the colder months, your boats are still going out. What events do you have coming up in the fall and winter? It seems that people think that past August, boat activities are done because it’s getting cold. But we do have activities year-round. We have great cruises in the fall — foliage, Halloween, Thanksgiving. And a whole series of festive lunch and dinner cruises heading into the holidays around Christmas. Of course New Year’s. It’s a spectacular way to celebrate, on the water. For more information, visit www. hornblowernewyork.com

Know somebody who deserves their 15 Minutes of fame? Go to ourtownny.com and click on submit a press release or announcement.

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SEPTEMBER 24-30,2015

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