The local paper for the Upper er East Side THE BLACK GOLD IN THE FREEZER
WEEK OF AUGUST-SEPTEMBER
27-2
P. 14 >
FARE ACCESS Pressure from ride-hail apps cause increased wait times disabled riders, as fewer accessible cabs are on the road
2015
FDR MEMORIAL GETS NEEDED BOOST An anonymous donation of $150,000 gets the project back on track
BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS
BY RUI MIAO
Disabled New Yorkers who use wheelchair accessible yellow cabs to get around Manhattan are reporting that wait times in the borough are increasing, and industry experts predict the problem will only worsen with pressure from ride-hail apps like Uber. “What I’ve seen is that it’s very unreliable,” said Ronnie Raymond, a disabled woman who lives on the Upper West Side and uses a wheelchair. “Sometimes I call and they send someone within 10-15 minutes. And other times an hour will go by and they’re not able to send anyone.” Before the advent of Uber, Raymond said she used a wheelchair accessible cab three or four times a week. So far this month, she’s used a cab about three times. “If they were reliable I would take a taxi almost every day,” she said. Bill Scalzi, president and founder of Metro Taxi, which is responsible for dispatching the borough’s 581 accessible yellow cabs through a contract with the Taxi and Limousine Commission’s accessible dispatch program, said the problem is that many traditional yellow cab drivers have defected to Uber and similar companies, creating a surplus of non-wheelchair accessible cabs for lease, which are more attractive to drivers. “What’s happened is there’s vehicles that aren’t shifted each day, and when drivers come in to lease a vehicle, they’re just saying ‘give me a (regular yellow cab) because I don’t want to be bothered with an accessible vehicle,’” said Scalzi. “So accessible cars are now sitting there unleased.” Scalzi said according to TLC rules,
Franklin D. Roosevelt sits in a wheelchair, reaching his hand out to a girl, herself standing with the aid of a crutch and leg braces. The moment, however imagined, will be made permanent as a bronze sculpture, landing in the Southpoint Park on Roosevelt Island, to encourage and inspire. It has taken years to make the installation possible. Titled the FDR Hope Memorial, it was several times delayed since its commission in 2009 because of a lack of money. A recent donation of $150,000, though, finally secured the last of the needed funding. The donor remains anonymous. Sculptor Meredith Bergmann, who created the Boston Women’s Memorial as well as dozens of other sculpted memorials and portraits, was selected in December 2010 to create the FDR sculpture. She called the grant a “tremendous boost” for the project. “The work is in stages,” Bergmann said. “The first stage is to design.” An 8-inch-tall model of the statue was unveiled to the public in April 2011. The project then moved into its second phase — sculpting the actual figure and rehearsing the mockup
CONTINUED ON PAGE 9
Franklin D. Roosevelt; his dog, Fala; and granddaughter, Ruthie Bie, in Hyde Park, N.Y., in 1941. Meredith Bergmann used the picture as a model for her FDR Hope Memorial sculpture for Southpoint Park on Roosevelt Island.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
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AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 2,2015
WHAT’S MAKING NEWS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD NYU EXPANSION OPPONENTS CONTINUE PROTESTS Although they have little if any chance of prevailing, opponents of New York University’s expansion project are continuing their opposition to the plan,
DNAinfo is reporting. A state court of appeals earlier this year said the school was within its rights to pursue its expansion plans, which include academic space, athletic facilities as well as faculty housing and other facilities in Greenwich Village. The activists, led by Mark Crispin
Miller, the university professor of media studies, said they would rally on Sept. 1, DNA said. Students and faculty from Cooper Union and the New School were expected to join them, the website reported. “NYU is now an institution driven not by a concern for education, but by an elite financial calculus that ends up hurting all of us in many ways: the students, faculty and staff within the school itself, as well as its long-suffering neighbors,” the news site quoted Miller as saying. “What’s happening at NYU is indicative of a nation-wide trend that has turned institutions of higher learning into profit-driven corporations.” The 1 rally is scheduled to begin in Washington Square Park and conclude at Coles gym, the first building to be torn down in the expansion plan, DNA reported.
DE BLASIO TOUTS HOUSING PLAN FOR NYCHA LAND
Opponents of New York University’s expansion plans will continue to protest, despite having little chance of prevailing. Photo: Ed, via Flickr
GET OUTDOORS THE REST HAPPENS NATURALLY
As part of his cornerstone affordable-housing initiative, Mayor Bill de Blasio is advancing a proposal to build about 7,500 market rate units on land owned by the New York City Housing Authority but is already being called to defend it, Politico New York reported. De Blasio said his plan differs significantly from an earlier one
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.
forwarded by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg when he was in office but which was heavily criticized. “Obviously my predecessor had a plan which I did not agree with and we have a very different plan. Our plan focuses on affordable housing,” de Blasio said earlier this week at the Queensbridge Houses in Long Island City. Where Bloomberg’s plan included 80 percent market rate units and just 20 percent affordable, de Blasio plan reverses those numbers, Politico said. Still, with city officials are expected to announce where the construction would take place in the coming weeks, NYCHA’s chairwoman, Shola Olatoye, suggested that de Blasio’s plan for NYCHA land would nevertheless be the subject of intense debate. De Blasio said he would promote his plan to better ensure its endorsement by both residents and their advocates, Politico said. “In every case we’ll be working closely with residents of the development of the community. That’s another thing that I did not think was being done properly under the previous administration,” the news website quoted de Blasio as saying. “I don’t think there was serious engagement with community members and residents to figure out what they needed.
SOUL FOOD EATERY CLOSED BY HEALTH DEPARTMENT A popular soul food eatery on the Upper West Side has been shuttered by city health department authorities after inspectors found several deficiencies, DNAinfo reported. Miss Mamie’s Spoonbread Too, on 110th Street near Columbus Avenue, was closed on Aug. 20 after being cited for a range of violations, including poor plumbing and improper refrigeration, the news site reported. Norma Jean Darden, the owner of the West 110th Street restaurant, was quoted as saying that a technician was to fix one of the malfunctioning refrigerators when the city inspector arrived. “We didn’t have a fly in here. Everything was clean, but our refrigerator was four degrees off. It was such a setback,” Darden was quoted as saying. The restaurant, which has hosted luminaries, including Bill Clinton when he was president, has been on the Upper West Side for 20 years. Darden she based her restaurant and recipes on her mother’s Alabama kitchen, DNAinfor said. “It was just bad timing. Hopefully this too shall pass,” Darden was quoted as saying by the website.
AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 2,2015
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CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG
TEEN ARRESTED FOR SHOOTING PELLETS AT GRACIE MANSION
Officers found the .177-caliber gun inside an air duct at the apartment. Verbitsky later told police he had been aiming the air rifle, a Crosman 760 Pumpmaster, at Carl Schurz Park and was surprised it went off, the paper reported. Besides the assault charge, which is a felony, Verbitsky was charged with reckless endangerment, criminal possession of a weapon and two counts of criminal mischief, The Times said. No charges were filed against the woman. The mayor was not home at the time of the incident. The officer struck by the pellets was treated at Lenox Hill Hospital for minor injuries and released later than night. Police said this was the latest incident of pellet gunfire sprayed onto and nearby East Avenue during the last few weeks.
A 19-year-old man accused of firing an air gun in the direction of Gracie Mansion and injuring a member of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s security team there was arrested Sunday night on second-degree assault and numerous other charges, according to police and The New York Times. Michael Verbitsky, of a Hyde Park address, was taken into custody minutes after the incident. He is accused of firing a pellet gun in the direction of police officers leaving an unmarked police sedan at about 7:15 p.m. Sunday, The Times reported. The officers peered in the direction of the shot and focused on a large apartment building across East End Avenue from Gracie Mansion, where a single window on the 10th floor was open, the paper said. The building’s doorman showed them to the corresponding apartment, where Verbitsky told them they would need a warrant and shut the door, The Times said. A live security camera then showed Verbitsky and a young woman leaving the building through a back door. The pair were detained nearby and taken to the 19th Precinct for questioning.
MOST INCONVENIENT A quick stop inconvenient for one motorist. At 2 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 21, a 53-year-old man left his car unlocked and parked at 72nd Street and Lexington Avenue while he ran into a convenience store. When he came out ten minutes later, he saw the items in his car were in disarray and some $1,500 worth of property was missing, including two cell phones and a GPS system.
WINE CASE CASE One team of thieves apparently had a taste for the finer things. Sometime overnight between Friday, Aug. 21 and Saturday, Aug. 22, robbers broke into a restaurant located at First Avenue between 91st and 92nd Streets, damaging the front door. When restaurant staff entered the next day, they discovered numerous cases of wine missing, including bottles of Malbec, Moscato, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, along with an electric delivery bicycle. The total amount stolen came to $3,600. Video may have captured images of the burglars.
NOT SO YEEZY Street transactions often come with risk. At 10 a.m. on the morning of Saturday, Aug. 22, a 20-year-old man exited a high-end retail establishment located at Madison Avenue and 61st Street, having just bought a pair of Kanye West Yeezy sneakers valued at $200. He was accosted by a young man who asked what size the shoes were and how much he would be willing to sell them for. The 20-year-old sold the shoes to the other man for $700, only to discover that the buyer’s money was counterfeit. The perp took off running with the seller in hot pursuit, until they had a scuffle before entering the Lexington Avenue subway. The
STATS FOR THE WEEK Reported crimes from the 19th Precinct for Aug. 10 to Aug. 16 Week to Date
Year to Date
2015 2014
% Change
2015
2014
% Change
Murder
0
0
n/a
1
0
n/a
Rape
1
0
n/a
7
6
16.7
Robbery
2
0
n/a
58
53
9.4
Felony Assault
3
3
0.0
75
65
15.4
Burglary
2
11
-81.8
95
134
-29.1
Grand Larceny
16
27
-40.7
796
805
-1.1
Grand Larceny Auto
4
2
100.0
51
48
6.3
seller tried to get the shoes back, but the counterfeiter made off with the goods.
MOTORCYCLE THEFT ARREST Police arrested a pair of motorcycle thieves. At 3 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 25, a 28-year-old man heard the alarm sound on his motorcycle parked at 72nd Street between York Avenue and the Dead End. He went to check on his bike and saw two men attempting to load the motorcycle into an Econoline van. When the thieves saw the motorcycle’s owner coming, they left the bike on the street, climbed back into the van, and took off. The motorcycle owner called
911, and police were able to locate and pull over the van. The owner showed up and positively identified the two chopper coppers, ages 29 and 26, who were arrested for grand larceny.
ON CARD ID thieves claimed another victim. At 11 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 21, a 45-yearold woman living on the Upper East Side received an alert from her credit card company saying that an unknown perpetrator had made multiple unauthorized charges on her Visa card in the amount of $5,600. The woman still had her card in her possession. Police said an investigation is ongoing.
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Useful Contacts
AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 2,2015
45 Years and Counting
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
Assembly Member Dan Quart
360 E. 57th St.
212-605-0937
Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright
1365 First Ave.
212-288-4607
COMMUNITY BOARD 8
505 Park Ave. #620
212-758-4340
LIBRARIES Yorkville
222 E. 79th St.
212-744-5824
96th Street
112 E. 96th St.
212-289-0908
67th Street
328 E. 67th St.
212-734-1717
Webster Library
1465 York Ave.
212-288-5049
100 E. 77th St.
212-434-2000
Illustration by John S. Winkleman
HOSPITALS Lenox Hill NY-Presbyterian / Weill Cornell
525 E. 68th St.
212-746-5454
Mount Sinai
E. 99th St. & Madison Ave.
212-241-6500
NYU Langone
550 First Ave.
212-263-7300
CON EDISON
4 Irving Place
212-460-4600
POST OFFICES US Post Office
1283 First Ave.
212-517-8361
US Post Office
1617 Third Ave.
212-369-2747
CULTIVATING LAUGHS Dangerfield’s has been serving good times since ‘69 BY MICKEY KRAMER
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Every week, Our Town will celebrate 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 Walk into Dangerfield’s on First Avenue and you enter into a 1960s time warp. The maroon curtains, sofas, table lanterns and lampshades stamped with customerdrawn graffiti are all from the club’s opening in September 1969. James Dulworth, 70, has worked at the club for 17 years and points out that owner Tony Bevacqua, who founded the club with Dangerfield, cultivates the look. “We only got rid of our rotary phone two years ago!” Dulworth says. Rodney Dangerfield was known for “getting no re-
spect,” but his eponymous comedy club, just north of East 61st Street, has had the respect of New Yorkers and tourists alike for 46 years. Comedians, too, pay tribute. Comedian Chris Monty has performed at Dangerfield’s countless times over the years and appreciates the old-school look, saying, “It’s like walking into the past.” The decor, he says, is “kitschy and cool.” On a recent Saturday night, Long Islanders Stefanie and Gregory Edler sit in a back booth waiting for the start of the 8 p.m. show. Nothing unusual there except that Stefanie is in a family way, and when asked what her due date is, says, “Tomorrow.” Gregory laughs and adds, “We figure if she laughs a lot, we’ll be able to push the baby out ... easier.” According to Dulworth, whose title on his official Dangerfield’s business card reads “Executive Daytime
Slave,” Dangerfield opened the club in part to cut down on travel time and allow him to spend more time with his children. He performed nearly every day there for over a decade before his success in films such as “Caddyshack,” “Easy Money” and “Back to School” led him to move to the West Coast. Peter Bales, 60, the Sunday night M.C., performed at the club for decades and spoke highly of Dangerfield. “It was always such a privilege to watch Rodney practice for his Tonight Show appearances,” he says. It was after Dangerfield moved to California that the club began to feature up-and-coming comedians. “Everyone” has been at Dangerfield’s, Dulworth says. The picture wall, to the right of the bar, features icons such as Bob Hope, Steve Martin, Robin Williams, David Letterman, Jim Carrey, Louis CK and Chris Rock. A signed
photo of President Bill Clinton also hangs there. Dulworth recalls Andy Kaufman’s debut as a true club highlight. Kaufman showed up after midnight in a van filled with all his props, such as bongos, a record player and an Elvis suit, and performed solely for the waiters. Speaking of waiters, at the end of each night, the M.C. for the evening calls up to the stage 80-year-old Chario Antonio, who has catered to the club’s customer’s since 1970. Antonio’s five-minute set is filled mostly with raunchy one- and two-liners, and is always a very popular part of any visit to Dangerfield’s. Dulworth, who also worked for eight years at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles, has seen it all, and when asked about his favorite part of the job, the answer was simple, and apt: “The comics ... the jokes.”
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AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 2,2015
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AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 2,2015
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PREPPING THE PEWS FOR PAPAL VISIT Upstate firm renovating St. Patrick’s pews in advance of pope’s arrival BY JAMES WALSH
Preparations for Pope Francis’ visit to New York City next month have kept workers busy at an upstate business for more than three years. The Keck Group’s church pew restoration plant in Middletown expects to soon make its last delivery of pews and furnishings to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The batch includes presider side chairs to seat the pope and Cardinal Timothy Dolan at the main altar. Company founder Bob Koeck said 325 pews, or about 4,000 linear feet of oak, were sanded, mended and stained. The project began, fittingly, on St. Patrick’s Day 2012. “The pews were installed in 1937, and they never left the cathedral,” Koeck said, “and you know how many people go there in a day.
FARE ACCESS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 the driver of a wheelchair-accessible cab may pick up nondisabled fares, but must always respond to calls for a disabled pickup if they’re the closest wheelchair-accessible cab to the call and are dispatched. As a result, drivers sometimes travel multiple unpaid blocks to pick up a disabled fare. “If you have to say no to a passenger on the street and drive three, four blocks to pick up a disabled person that called in for a ride, you’re losing money,” said Scalzi, who estimated that of the city’s 581 wheelchair-accessible yellow cabs that pick up fairs from Lower Manhattan to the top of Central Park, maybe 200 are on the road at any given time. “So that’s become very difficult to us to provide the service level that we have in the past,” he said. “There’s a lack of available, accessible vehicles on the roads for us to dispatch, absolutely.” He estimated that in the past six months, response times for wheelchair-accessible vehicles have gone from 13 minutes to 19 minutes. Scalzi said accessible dispatch gets 180-200 calls for service in Manhattan per day, mostly via telephone, and that the program is regarded as a success by both the TLC and advocates for the disabled. “Everybody says the service is good and it’s growing, we just don’t have enough cars,” he said. “Uber in particular has done a number on medallion taxis. The medallion owners are finding it difficult to fill their shifts with drivers.
There’s a shortage of drivers because a lot of the drivers are now driving for Uber.” Michael Higgins, a longtime city cabbie who hosts a weekly podcast centered on issues facing the yellow cab industry, said the profit margin for drivers operating wheelchair-accessible vehicles is razor thin, if it exists at all. “It’s almost like we’re doing it for charity,” said Higgins. “Rarely does a cabbie come out being profitable picking up the wheelchair dispatch calls. And God forbid we say anything — then we’re monsters.” Higgins said he’s tired of cab drivers being demonized at TLC hearings by disability advocates who blame them for the shortage of accessible cabs in Manhattan. “It’s this horrible visual where we’re portrayed as these monsters,” he said, while adding that it’s been a boon for those elected leaders who accessible cab programs in New York, but less so for drivers and fleet operators. “As far as the people that actually do the legwork and the implementation, [they] don’t make money on it and actually lose money on it,” said Higgins. “It’s a burden and an unfair competitive advantage, especially for the Uber knuckleheads.” James Weisman, president of the United Spinal Association and an advocate for the disabled who helped craft the Americans with Disabilities Act, sympathizes with Higgins. “I’ve heard from medallion owners that they can’t get accessible cabs on the road, and that waiting times are going to go up because drivers are being
taken up by Uber,” said Weisman. “And the (yellow) cabs they want to drive are the hybrids, not the accessible ones.” According to Higgins, the disabled community in New York worked out a deal with Gov. Andrew Cuomo three years ago for 2,000 new taxi medallions, all of which would require wheelchair-accessible cabs. However, only 400 have been bought to date, he said. “There’s no market for the other 1,600 medallions,” said Weisman, who believes wait times will continue to go up, “because they’re not getting (accessible) cars on the road.” The city appears to be aware of the problem. Starting in 2015, a 30-cent surcharge was added to all metered fares for a Taxi Improvement Fund, which is designed to ease the burden for medallion owners who must pay to convert vehicles for wheelchair access and help the city reach its goal of a 50 percent accessible fleet by 2020. According to Greg Gordon, a TLC spokesperson, it costs around $14,000 to convert a regular cab to one that is wheelchair accessible. But money from the Taxi Improvement Fund surcharge has yet to be doled out. “Funds haven’t been disbursed yet because there was no regulatory framework in place for the manner (and) process by which funds should be distributed to owners and drivers,” said Gordon. “At the outset, the plan was to begin collection of funds in 2015 so that necessary funds would be available to begin disbursements in 2016.” The TLC is proposing chang-
es to the Taxi Improvement Fund, including increasing the amount paid to medallion owners for converting cabs and individual drivers who operate wheelchair-accessible cabs, as well as dispatch fees paid to drivers for completing a wheelchair-accessible trip. The commission is holding a hearing Sept. 17 on the proposed changes. “The program is operating effectively in Manhattan under its current model, however, there is always room for improvement,” Gordon said. “With our sights on lowering existing wait times and making such a service available citywide, the more wheelchairaccessible vehicles on the road, the more efficient the program will run and the better service it will provide to those passengers in need.” In May the city released a request for proposals for a vendor to administer a citywide accessible dispatch program, which the city says will significantly expand the level of service available to passengers who use wheelchairs. In addition to dispatching accessible yellow cabs, the new program will also dispatch the 1,200 accessible green cabs that operate north of Central Park and in the outer boroughs. (According to Scalzi, who currently holds the contract for the accessible dispatch program, the service only dispatches accessible yellow cabs.) The TLC’s current system for increasing the amount of accessible cabs is based on a lottery system and tied to the retirement of older cabs and their replacement by medallion owners. Gordon said there is no
... We did a lot of work on them.” More than a dozen workers, including Koeck’s son, Bob, a partner in the business, are divided into two shifts to handle that project and others coming from around the region and beyond. Fifteen specially equipped trailers are dispatched to remove the furnishings and deliver them to the company’s plant. The cathedral project required 22 pickups and deliveries. “We’re doing four cathedrals at the same time,” Koeck, 72, said in an upstairs office as sanders buzzed below. “St. Patrick’s, St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral in Chinatown, St. John the Baptist in Paterson, New Jersey, and St. Thomas Moore in Arlington, Virginia.” The pine pews from St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral date to the 1800s and earlier. “They must have had 20 coats of paint on them,” Koeck said, pointing to several pews in various stages of restoration.
mandate on how many accessible cabs must be on the road at any given time and that the commission does not track response times for disabled fares. Raymond, of the Upper West Side, said she noticed the drop in reliability about a year ago. “All the (accessible) taxis that were out there were on the street. Now they’re not because so many of the drivers are driving for Uber now. (Accessible cabs) sit in parking lots at garages because the drivers don’t want to take them. So the taxis exist but they’re not being used,” said Raymond. “I used to use them a lot more often than I use them now, because I can’t rely on them really.” Weisman said the Americans with Disabilities Act does not require sedan-sized vehicles for hire to be wheelchair accessible, and that he’s not holding out hope Uber will begin implementing their own wheelchairaccessible vehicles. “Either they voluntarily do it, or the state or the city mandates it,” he said. “Why should a mode a transportation that everyone loves be completely off limits to people that use wheelchairs?” Weisman said the mandate should require at least half of Uber drivers’ cars to be wheelchair accessible. “At least half, because if they want to replace the yellow cabs, which they do, they should have to meet the same requirements,” he said, referring to the city’s 2020 goal. “Right now they only drive people with smart phones and credit cards. If they didn’t have to take black people or gay people, we wouldn’t be having this discussion. People aren’t ready
to call them bigots, but we are.” A spokesperson for Uber said the company currently dispatches wheelchair-accessible rides through their uberWAV option, which boasts an average response time of five minutes and completes 600 to 800 accessible trips per week. However, that program coordinates their accessible rides with the TLC’s accessible green cabs, and does not include the smart phone payment integration that’s a big draw of Uber’s main app. According to Weisman, not a single Uber car is in and of itself wheelchair accessible. Uber’s accessible app is also bound by the TLC’s Manhattan Exclusionary Zone, and cannot pick up fares below West 110th Street or East 96th Street. The spokesperson said Uber is currently working on a deal to service disabled fares within the exclusionary zone. Despite the increase in wait times, Scalzi things are set to improve as the city makes good on its commitment to convert 50 percent of their cab fleet to wheelchair accessible, which is good news for drivers and disabled passengers alike. “I’m not sure how the whole Uber thing is going to shake out in the end, but if you’re lessening the number of trips that are available to yellow and green taxi cabs, then drivers will be more apt to accept trips from whatever source, whether it be e–hails, accessible trips or contract work,” Scalzi said. “So they’re going to be hungry to take anything. I see this as everything getting better for the drivers.”
AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 2,2015
Central Park
NOTICE OF A JOINT PUBLIC HEARING of the Franchise and Concession Review Committee and the th New York City Department of Parks and Recreation to be held on Monday, September 8 , 2015 at 22 Reade Street, Borough of Manhattan, commencing at 2:30 p.m. relative to:
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE PARK? Chess Lecture And Simul Series: Do you have a child who is experienced in chess? On Saturday, Aug. 29th, grandmaster Lev Albert will teach lead moves on the board, followed by a simul game for up to 30 players. Technique lesson starts at 11 a.m. Kids must be present for entire program to play in simul. The event takes place at the Chess and Checkers House, mid-park at 64th Street. Registration for the free event starts at 10 a.m. for ages 6 and over. Visit centralpark.com/events for more details. Harlem Meer Performance Festival: Garifuna International are pure energy and originality, and the band encapsulates the music, dance and culture of Africa and the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean and Central America, particularly St. Vincent, Honduras and Belize. The band is led by dancer/singer/composer Felix Gamboa. They will perform Sunday, Aug. 30th from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center, inside the Park at 110th Street between Lenox and Fifth Avenues. (The ďŹ nal Harlem Meer Performance for the summer, will be Sunday, Sept. 6 with Dee Dee LeVant Gospel Ensemble). More details at centralpark.com/events.
Come out and cheer on the participants in this brand new race, inspired by the incredible culture and offerings of France. When: Friday Aug. 29th, 8 a.m.-11 a.m. For more info visit: centralpark.com/events
GMA 2015 CONCERT SUMMER SERIES PRESENTS: FLORIDA
GEORGIA LINE Final GMA SummerStage Concert of the summer, kicks off the Labor Day Weekend. Free. When: Sept. 4, 6 a.m.-9 a.m. Location: Rumsey PlayďŹ eld. Go to centralpark.com/events for more information.
CENTRAL PARK FILM FESTIVAL, FILMS FROM 1980. Thursday Aug. 27: Airplane 1980 (PG)
Friday Aug. 28: Raging Bull 1980 (R) Saturday Aug. 29: Superman II 1980 (PG) Gates open at 6:30 p.m. with a DJ. Movies start at 8 p.m. Location: North of the Sheep Meadow, between Sheep Meadow and the 72nd Street Terrace Drive For more info, visit centralpark.com/events
INTENT TO AWARD as a concession the installation, operation and management of an outdoor holiday gift market at Union Square Park, Manhattan, for a potential five (5) year term, to Urban Space Holdings, Inc. (“USH�). Compensation to the City will be as follows: for each operating year, USH shall pay to the City a license fee consisting of the greater of the guaranteed annual fee (Year 1: $1,400,000; Year 2: $1,470,000; Year 3: $1,543,500; Year 4: $1,620,675; Year 5: $1,701,709), or fifty percent (50%) of gross receipts derived from the operation of the holiday market. A draft copy of the agreement may be reviewed or obtained at no cost, commencing Friday, August 21, 2015, through Monday, September 8, 2015, between the hours of 9 am and 5 pm, excluding weekends and holidays at the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, located at 830 Fifth Avenue, Room 313, New York, NY 10065. Individuals requesting Sign Language Interpreters should contact the Mayor’s Office of Contract Services, Public Hearings Unit, 253 Broadway, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10007, (212) 788-7490, no later than SEVEN (7) BUSINESS DAYS PRIOR TO THE PUBLIC HEARING. TELECOMMUNICATION DEVICE FOR THE DEAF (TDD) 212-504-4115.
IN OUR HANDS RESCUE & NORTH SHORE ANIMAL LEAGUE AMERICA
Photo By Ellen Dunn
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WHERE IN CENTRAL PARK? Do you know where in Central Park this photo was taken? To submit your answer, go to centralpark.com/ where-in-centralpark. The answers and names of the people who guessed right will appear in next week’s paper.
ANSWER FROM TWO WEEKS AGO The San Remo towers were a giveaway. The answer is Wagner Cove, named after former New York City Mayor Robert F. Wagner, who served in the 1950s and was known for disrupting the Tammany Hall structure. The oasis, formerly called the Cherry Hill Boat Landing, is just west of Cherry Hill and East of the 72nd Street and Central Park West entrance to the park. Parts of the cove are currently under restoration. Congratulations to Joe Ornstein and Gregory Holman for answering correctly.
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COMMON CORE NEEDS COMMON SENSE BY HARRISON STEVEN CADE
Being a student in New York City is no easy feat, but being a high school student takes the cake. The stakes are raised the very moment you enter the middle school phase, as you’re introduced to an entirely foreign obstacle, Common Core standards. It doesn’t take long to figure out that these tests aren’t your typical run-of-the-mill state exams. In the case of some students the Common Core’s reinforced emphasis on the major four subjects is much appreciated, but in the case of others whose strengths rest in subjects that aren’t supported by Common Core, the experience can prove to be miserable. And as your school’s academic agenda is refitted to include Common Core standards, suddenly you find yourself sitting in a test room instead of a classroom for an entire school year. Meanwhile, teachers are forced to go out of their way and allot time to reviewing Common Core material to their already busy schedules. The inclusion of Common Core can be strenuous for both the teacher and student, as well as for parents, who finds their households invaded with heavier loads of homework, endless piles of notes and sleepless nights. In a recent announcement, Mayor Bill de Blasio celebrated a 1 percent increase in math proficiency and a 2 percent in English-as-a-secondlanguage proficiency as a landmark achievement that only proved the value of New York City’s adoption of Common Core standards under his administration. And while white and Asian students enjoyed a substantial increase in proficiency in both subjects, the persistence of the racial gap showed when it came to the less-remarkable increase made by Hispanic and African-American students. The mayor and city schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña gave even less coverage on the rising opt-out movement that gained much traction in the state, with more than 20 percent of students opting out of taking tests based on Common Core standards, explaining away the issue by saying that just 2 percent of students opted out in the city. As a student whose school accepts Common Core standards, I can sympathize with the grievances listed by supporters of the opt-out movement, but at the same time I can understand de Blasio’s motivations for supporting the program. Less easy to digest is the fact that much of the school year is dedicated either to adopting Common Core standards or to reviewing Common Core material. In my experience Common Core standards reduce the role of teachers to mere puppets, spewing random lessons directly from a book that they’ve never used or seen before. And of course, while some students learn to adjust to the new material, others fail miserably, in that they are forced into a position where struggling often times risks being left behind. A confused student suddenly becomes a lost cause, as the issue of passing as many students as possible clouds the judgement of many teachers. Last year I happened to be that confused student, and I was forced to watch on the sidelines as my peers engaged in what could only be called a crude interpretation of Darwin’s “Survival of the Fittest.” And like me, many New York students were reminded time and time again of the city’s No Child Left Behind doctrine, and yet I continued to struggle throughout the school year, sinking deeper and deeper into the abyss, until I found myself staring at my Common Core geometry. But I still support the Mayor’s stance on citywide education; I only ask that his administration take into consideration the possibility of modifying its implementation of Common Core standards, so that I too may get the most out of its application. Still the question remains: Why are parents and students still opposed to Common Core standards? And because it is a question that is being asked the mayor shouldn’t neglect the significance of the opt-out movement. From my viewpoint, a compromise is achievable. A healthy balance between Common Core standards and liberal standards could not only benefit the city but the state as well. Perhaps even more intriguing is how de Blasio and Fariña would address the matter if the number of students opting out of Common Core exams in New York City should come to resemble the state’s current numbers.
AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 2,2015
HOW THE UPPER EAST SIDE ... DIES OP-ED
BY LORRAINE DUFFY MERKL
On the Upper East Side, we all know how the other half lives: Limos waiting in front of apartment buildings on Fifth, Madison and Park; invites to galas at the Met; dinners at Sant Ambroeus; and shopping at Ralph Lauren. Now, thanks to a memoir by Elizabeth Meyer, a former employee of Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home, Good Mourning (Gallery Books), we also know how the other half dies. The Madison Avenue chapel to the rich and famous is renowned for laying to rest Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, John Lennon and Joan Rivers, whose one-year anniversary of her untimely and tragic
death is in early September. It also turned out to be Meyer’s first job out of NYU. Currently, the 30-year-old is a consultant to the bereaved. She has an MBA, a certification in thanatology (the scientific study of death and its practices) and is a licensed funeral director. Good Mourning is the story of how she paid her dues. Still grieving the loss of her beloved father, the socialite decided she wanted to do more than use connections to get a typical rich girl job in PR. She combined her newfound skill for dealing with death and her well-honed one for party planning, then pitched herself to the funeral home’s director.
And so, the well-heeled world traveller, who was used to slipping easily past velvet ropes, took a job as a receptionist; much to the horror of her affluent family and friends, as well as the chagrin of her non-debutante co-workers. I never thought I’d feel sorry for someone who scoffed at her entry-level salary as the equivalent of nothing more than “a trip to Europe and a designer bag,” but the bullying she was subjected to at the hands of her colleagues made me ashamed of my outer borough brethren. Meyer never retaliated, but stayed focused planning services and consoling the bereft. The documented travails of her day-to-day range from comical to heartbreaking. On her first day she learned two interesting lessons: 1) dead bodies leak; 2) Prada pumps that get leaked on cannot be saved. After that her job required her to search for Sunny Von Bulow’s brain, track down a misplaced body, escort Richard Gere to the restroom, line Madison Avenue with Lamborghinis as a tribute to a car collector, give the chapel a Bungalow 8 vibe for the wake of a billionaire party boy, and plan two different wakes for one man who left behind a pair of wives. Then there are the stories that don’t make the cut for cocktail party fodder. Because Meyer was raised on the Upper East Side, she knew personally many of the anguished clients: Acquaintances from the fundraiser circuit, neighbors, and classmates, two of whom came in looking to bury their younger sister. The biggest shock, though, was recognizing a newly delivered body as a friend with whom she was supposed to have dinner later that evening. You won’t die of boredom with this beach read. Lorraine Duffy Merkl is author of the novels FAT CHICK and BACK TO WORK SHE GOES.
AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 2,2015
Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com
WE SELL APPLE A model of the FDR Hope Memorial sculpture by Meredith Bergmann for Southpoint Park on Roosevelt Island.
sculpture on site. Next for Bergmann is to enlarge the sculpture and then to have it installed in the park. “After the commission, I spent couple of months doing the research,� she said. She read extensively and watched several documentaries about Roosevelt, who contracted polio in middle age and was left paralyzed from the waist down for the rest of his life. Bergmann even went to Warm Springs, Georgia, which is home to FDR’s “Little White House.� The Roosevelt Island Disabled Association, which commissioned the project, showed Bergmann a photo of Roosevelt, giving her an idea of what they envisioned. The picture was a rarity — it was
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mann. “He didn’t hide it, it was the pressâ€? that didn’t publish photos of him in his wheelchair, she said. Bergmann, whose son is autistic, calls FDR her personal hero. “FDR is a huge inspiration for people living with different kinds of disabilities,â€? she said. Earlier this month, Assemblywoman Rebecca Seawright presented the $150,000 check to the Roosevelt Island Disabled Association. “I am thrilled that we were able to work with a remarkably generous constituent to ďŹ nish this extraordinary memorial,â€? Seawright said in a statement. “Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s legacy has developed into something beyond what people alive at that time generally knew — that he was not just a remarkable President, but also an individual who prevailed despite his disability.â€? The statue’s installation is scheduled for about a year from now.
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one of the very few existing images in which FDR is shown in his wheelchair. This photo was taken at Hyde Park in 1941. FDR’s dog, Fala, is on his lap and he is smiling to his granddaughter, Ruthie Bie, who is standing next to him. Bergmann took the photo as inspiration, and improvised. “I wanted to translate the information on the photo into the language of sculpture,� she said. Unlike what is pictured, Bergmann’s Roosevelt is turning his body toward the girl, who is now shown using a single crutch. With FDR’s right hand extended toward her, visitors “are able to shake hands and take photos with him,� Bergmann said. Depicting FDR, who was elected to a record four terms as president, in his wheelchair is meant — however paradoxically — to cast away barriers. “Physical disability was oftentimes associated with mental decline at that time,� said Berg-
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Out & About More Events. Add Your Own: Go to ourtownny.com
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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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The only dedicated Assisted Living Facility in New York City specializing in Enhanced Memory Care.
DISCOVERING JAPANESE ART: AMERICAN COLLECTORS AND THE MET
Thu 27
Metropolitan Museum, 1000 Fifth Ave. 11 a.m. -12 p.m. Free with admission.
â&#x2013;˛ FILM: A TALE OF TWO CITIES 96th Street Library, 112 East 96th St. 2 p.m. Free. A 1935 adaptation of the classic Charles Dickens novel about the French Revolution, starring Ronald Colman. 212-2890908.
Nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first recipient of AFAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Excellence in Care distinction.
80th Street Residents in Central Park with the Essex House Hotel peeking from behind.
430 East 80th Street, New York, NY 10075 Tel. 212-717-8888 www.80thstreetresidence.com
Sat 29 WEBSTER @ THE MOVIES: AMERICAN SNIPER Webster Library, y, 1465 York Ave. 2 p.m. Free. Webster Library presents the Oscar-nominated biopic of Chris Kyle, the most renowned sniper in American history. Rated R. 212-288-5049. www.nypl.org/events/ programs/2015/08/29/ webster-movies-americansniper
â&#x2014;&#x201E; FALUN DAFA EXERCISE CLASS Yorkville Library, 222 East 79th St. 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Free. A slow paced meditation and exercise
www. nypl. org/events/ programs/2015/08/27/ďŹ lmtale-two-cities-1935
class. For adults aged 50+. 212-744-5824. www.nypl.org/events/ programs/2015/08/01/falundafa-exercise-class
Ensconced in the landmark neighborhood of the Upper East Side, Residents continue to enjoy the heart and soul of this incomparable city they have always loved. â&#x20AC;˘ Beautiful Upper East Side Environment â&#x20AC;˘ Each floor a â&#x20AC;&#x153;Neighborhoodâ&#x20AC;? with Family Style Dining & Living Room â&#x20AC;˘ 24-hour Licensed Nurses & Attendants specially trained in dementia care â&#x20AC;˘ Medication Management â&#x20AC;˘ Around the clock personal care, as needed â&#x20AC;˘ Housekeeping, Linen & Personal Laundry â&#x20AC;˘ Courtyard & Atrium Rooftop Garden â&#x20AC;˘ Chef prepared Meals
www.nypl.org/events/ programs/2015/08/07/learnplay-chess-webster-0
A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH Barnes and Noble, 86th and Lexington 7 p.m. Free. The harrowing autobiographical account of Lakesha Baker, who saw her mother stabbed to death as a child. 212-369-2180. storelocator.barnesandnoble.com/ event/4871007-0
A hi history t off the Japanese art collection at the Met, compiled by American art connoisseur. 212-535-7710. www. metmuseum.org/events/ programs/met-tours/gallerytalks/discovering-japanese-
LEARN HOW TO PLAY CHESS @ WEBSTER Webster Library, 1465 York Ave. 3 p.m. Free. Whether youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re a seasoned expert looking to show off your skills or a newcomer who wants to learn the basics, this event is for you. 212-288-5049.
Sun 30 ART IN THE ROUND: ARCHITECTURE TOUR Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Ave. 2 p.m. Free with admission. Learn all about the architectural style of the Frank Lloyd Wright building. 212-423-3500. www.guggenheim.org/ new-york/calendar-andevents/2015/08/30/artin-the-round-architecturetour-16/5116
AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 2,2015
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â&#x2014;&#x201E; MODERN ART: THE ABSENCE OF DETAIL? Metropolitan Museum, 1000 Fifth Ave. 11 a.m.-12 p.m. Free with admission. Learn how the masters of modern art have crafted their most famous works with the philosophy that less is more. 212-535-7710. www. metmuseum.org/events/ programs/met-tours/gallerytalks/modern-art
Wed 2 DAY OF INFAMY: SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
HARLEM MEER PERFORMANCE: GARIFUNA INTERNATIONAL Charles A. Dana Discovery Center in Central Park, Inside the park at 110th Street between Lenox and Fifth Avenue 2-4 p.m. Free. For this installment in the Harlem Meer performance, enjoy the Afro-Caribbean stylings of Garifuna International. www.nycgovparks.org/ events/2015/08/30/harlemmeer-performance-festivalgarifuna-international
Mon 31 FILM: DOLPHIN TALE 2 96th Street Library, 112 East 96th St. 2 p.m. Free. A family ďŹ lm about a team of people trying to ďŹ nd a dolphin a new companion after its surrogate motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s death. Starring Morgan Freeman. 212-289-0908. www.nypl.org/events/ programs/2015/08/31/familyďŹ lm-dolphin-tale-2-2014
RUSSIAN MODERNISM: CROSS-CURRENTS OF GERMAN AND RUSSIAN ART, 1907-1917. Neue Galerie, 1048 Fifth Ave.
11 a.m. Free with admission. An examination of the cultural exchange between Russian and German art in the early 20th century. www.timeout.com/newyork/ art/russian-modernism-crosscurrents-of-german-andrussian-art-1907-1917
Tue 1 LEARN A LANGUAGE WITH MANGO 67th Street Library, 328 East 67th St. 5-6:30 p.m. p Free. Learn pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary for your language of choice, courtesy of the NYPLâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s MANGO program. Advance registration egistration required. 212-734-1717. www. nypl.org/events/ programs/2015/09/01/ learn-language-mango earn-language-mango
92nd Street Y, Lexington Avenue at 92nd Street 2 p.m. $30. The 92nd Street Y presents a screening of Steven Spielbergâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s powerful, disturbing ďŹ lm about the storming of the beach at Normandy during WWII. www.92y.org/Event/Day-ofInfamy
â&#x2013;ź UNDER CONSTRUCTION SERIES: ANDREW ONDREJCAK Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Ave. 8 p.m. $20. For this event, writer/director/ designer Andrew Ondrejcak will open his studio to display all of his works in progress. 212-616-3930. armoryonpark.org/programs_ events/detail/UCS_Andrew_ Ondrejcak
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AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 2,2015
IN EACH PICTURE, A STORY Photography exhibit at the South Street Seaport showing work by underserved youth BY GABRIELLE ALFIERO
Some teenagers may hope to fit in. But for an 18-year-old who goes by the stage name Youngmichael, it’s better to stand out. “I want everyone to know I’m not the same; I’m very, very different,” he said. “You can’t compare me to anyone or anything. I’m just too out there.” The rapper, producer and dancer is one of 14 young people represented in an immersive photography exhibition called “Portrait Project,” up now through November in the Seaport Culture District, part of a Howard Hughes Corporation initiative that brings art to South Street Seaport through partnerships with cultural organizations. Organized by Art Start, a non-profit that brings arts workshops to homeless and underserved youth, the project presents participants in dreamlike, fantasy settings. “They were dreaming up their future and they were thinking of things way beyond what their immediate circumstances are,” said Natalie Brasington, a photographer and producer of the project. “Regardless of where you were that day and what trials and tribulations you’re dealing with, you get to be whoever you want to be in front of that camera.” Art Start, a Chelsea-based organization, works with homeless and underserved youth, bringing regular workshops to city shelters and to those with open court cases through alternative sentencing programs. Of those photographed for the exhibition — all participants in Art Start’s programming — some were young mothers living in shelters; others were at risk of incarceration. Some were participants in Art Start’s application-based sixmonth emerging artists-in-residence program. The residency includes coursework at esteemed organiza-
Miky Solano, a former Art Start mentee, now works as an assistant teaching artist for the organization. Photo: David Johnson. tions, such as the International Center of Photography and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, as well as resume help, website building and interview training, said Hannah Immerman, coexecutive director of Art Start. Brasington, an Art Start volunteer for seven years and a member of its board of directors, gathered a group of photographers to volunteer for the project. Other art professionals lent their services, including Michael Abrego and Bailey Powell with Fast Ashley’s studio in Williamsburg, who provided all the photography equipment for the shoots, a service that allowed the photographers to focus exclusively on their relationships with the subjects of the portraits and collaborate with the young participants, helping them express their individuality and vision. For Youngmichael, who started working with some of the organization’s hip-hop teaching artists at age 15, his portrait shows the scale of
his ambitions. In his image, he’s rapping on the surface of the moon, surrounded by stars and infinite space, the earth off in the distance, no bigger than a silver dollar. He’s flanked by tigers, animals he admires because they rarely roar but are still ferocious. “The whole idea is to aim for the stars, and even if I miss at least I’ll land on the moon,” he said. Miky Solano, 24, who came to Art Start after an arrest as a teenager, took a more subtle approach to his portrait: he stands alone in a lush, green forest, wearing a zoot suit and holding a trumpet, an instrument he doesn’t play but developed an interest in while with Art Start’s hip-hop program. “Some of the sounds that come from the instruments are like the sounds that come from forests or the natural earth,” he said. In the exhibition, photographs hang on geometric sculptures of unfinished two-by-fours, and an audio loop
with excerpts of interviews with each portrait subject intersperses an ethereal music track, with statements like “your heartbeat is the music” and “if you live your life with positive energy, your life will be positive.” Each portrait, which remains on display in the outdoor gallery on Front Street through November, is accompanied by an autobiographical blurb, with many outlining the hopes for the roads ahead. A 20-year-old woman named Nicola, photographed in a fuchsia ball gown in a lavish suite at the New York Palace Hotel with her young son Malachi, wants a child-proofed home with a doorman and Dr. Seuss books. She hopes to become a registered nurse. Another young woman imagines walking the runway as a fashion model, and elected to shield her face with a masquerade mask in her portrait, shot by Brasington, so no one could recognize her. Solano now works for Art Start as an assistant hip-hop teaching artist, and
recently traveled to Germany to perform and lead workshops with schools and a prison. “It opened my mind and my eyes even further,” he said. “Just to travel and be in a different country, especially because the reason I went to a different country was because of hip-hop.” Youngmichael, who volunteers with the organization, said he’s encouraging young artists to make their ways as individuals, and embrace their individuality. “There were a lot of people saying they wanted to be the next Jay-Z, and I’m like, ‘that’s already taken,’” he said. “There’s already a Q-Tip, there’s already a Lil Wayne. You should focus on becoming the next whatever your first name is.” The Portrait Project is up now at Cannon’s Walk at 206 Front St. in the Seaport Culture District, and includes free family art workshops every Saturday from 11-a.m.-3 p.m.
AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 2,2015
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ACTIVITIES FOR THE FERTILE MIND
thoughtgallery.org NEW YORK CITY
A Diamond in the Rough
THURSDAY, AUGUST 27TH, 7PM Barnes & Noble | 150 E. 86th St. | 212-369-2180 | barnesandnoble.com At age 9, author Lakesha Baker saw her mother stabbed to death. She tells the story of finding contentment after years of hardship and struggle. (Free)
Casablanca Screening | Introduced by Pia Lindström and Isabella Rossellini
SATURDAY, AUGUST 29TH, 4:30PM Museum of Modern Art | 11 W. 53rd St. | 212-708-9400 | moma.org Ingrid Bergman’s 1942 performance as lsa Lund became her most enduring role. Hear from two of Bergman’s daughters as part of MoMA’s Ingrid Bergman: A Centennial Celebration. ($12)
Just Announced: Avec Plaisir | Ceremonies of Love & Desire
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7TH, 7PM FIAF/Florence Gould Hall | 55 E. 59th St. | 212-355-6100 | fiaf.org
Photo: Rui Miao
ANGLING FOR A GOOD TIME The SeaGlass, a reminder of the city’s old aquarium, is the Battery’s newest attraction BY RUI MIAO
Sandra Brown lives in Staten Island and works in Manhattan; she takes the ferry and walks by the Battery every day. But on a recent weekday she did not just pass by. Iridescent lights and some catchy tunes caught her attention. She soon glimpsed an underwater garden — within a clear glass pavilion. Fish shimmered and schooled — and people were riding on them. She had come upon the SeaGlass Carousel on the lowest tip of Manhattan, which took its maiden voyage last week. “I was on my way to the ferry and I observed the glow from it,” said Brown, who said she was fascinated by the sight. Thirty flamboyant fiberglass fish in total comprise the carousel. A dozen species of fish are represented, among them blue discus, lionfish and triggerfish. They vary in sizes, with the largest being a 14-foot-tall likeness of an angelfish. “I think it’s absolutely amazing, it shows children sea life, teaches something that they
never knew before,” Brown said. Just two days into its opening, the carousel, created by The Battery Conservancy and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, had already attracted thousands. Beau Bernie, the opening operations manager for the Carousel, said the debut on Aug. 20 was a big hit. “It was very successful. We opened to the public at 1 p.m., and we had a substantial line prior to the official unveiling.” “People were here standing in line for two or three hours,” said Asher Coleman, who was selling tickets along the line to shorten waiting time. “I mean, living in New York City, that’s really not an ordinary thing.” As a late summer night approached, and mosquitos buzzed around from lower bushes, people seemed to be not bothered at all. They were holding $5 tickets, taking selfies in front of the carousel, looking forward to the 3-minute, 30-second ride. One doesn’t ride “on” the fish, as one might on a traditional carousel, but, rather, inhabit the fish. The ride takes you up and down, smoothly, as on a
gentle current. You also hear the waves, amid the recorded classical music. There’s a builtin speaker on each fish, right behind the rider’s head, making the sound loud enough to let you think you are truly undersea. The colors of the fish changes as the ride progresses, with the scales giving off seaborne shades, a reminder of the bioluminescence that blinks under the deep ocean. The ride also echoes the old New York Aquarium, one of the nation’s first. It was located in what is now Castle Clinton from 1896 until it closed in 1941. Despite the carousel’s visual and auditory attraction, it’s the ride’s friendliness that makes it unique. Most of the “fish” can accommodate an adult and a small child; children who are taller than 42 inches can ride by themselves. There are also two stationary Siamese fighting fish that are wheelchairaccessible. Jon Kapp and family, who recently settled in the city following a move from Thailand, took in the attraction last week. It was his 9-year-old daughter Sadie’s first-ever carousel ride in the city. “I have ridden in Bangkok, but not here,” she said. It was also a special day for the family — the 11th wedding anniversary of Kapp and his wife. “We decided to come to the carousel and celebrate,” he said.
France’s most notorious dominatrix, Catherine Robbe-Grillet, makes a rare appearance, along with her companion Beverly Charpentier and some juicy documentary footage. ($30)
For more information about lectures, readings and other intellectually stimulating events throughout NYC,
sign up for the weekly Thought Gallery newsletter at thoughtgallery.org.
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In Brief NEW YORK COCKTAIL BAR TASTEMAKER SASHA PETRASKE FOUND DEAD
Food & Drink THE BLACK GOLD IN THE FREEZER Nearly one-third of residential trash is suitable for composting BY LIZ NEUMARK
Sasha Petraske, who helped revolutionize cocktail culture in New York and beyond, was found dead Friday, Aug. 21, The New York Times reported. Petraske, 42, a Manhattan native who attended Stuyvesant High School in Tribeca, was found in his Hudson, N.Y., home, and at the time the cause of death remained unknown, The Times noted. Petraske, a high school dropout, founded cocktail bar Milk & Honey on Eldridge Street in the Lower East Side in 1999. The bar featured elements (some borrowed from another downtown haunt, Angel’s Share) now common in trendy cocktail bars, such as oversized ice cubes, hidden doors and bar staff in formal wear. Following the success of Milk & Honey, which he turned over to two of his bartenders in 2012, Petraske went on to collaborate on other successful cocktail bars of similar styles, including Little Branch in the West Village, as well as the Varnish in Los Angeles and a Milk & Honey in London. At the time of his death, Petraske was planning to open another Milk & Honey in the city as well as a new bar in Brooklyn, according to The Times.
STEPHEN STARR RESTAURANT SLATED FOR NEW ABY ROSEN HOTEL Heavy-hitting real estate developer Aby Rosen, who famously owns the Seagram Building, home to iconic restaurant the Four Seasons, is planning to open a new hotel at 138 Lafayette St., Eater reported, and is partnering with restaurateur Stephen Starr to open a French restaurant in the Soho space. The restaurant and the hotel, named 11 Howard, are expected to open in spring of 2016. Starr, the restaurateur behind Meatpacking District restaurants Morimoto and Buddakan, told Community Board 2 that a “well-known” French chef will helm the kitchen, DNAinfo reported. Rosen is already in partnership with restaurant group Major Food, which operates Manhattan hot spots Carbone and Dirty French among other eateries and will open in the Four Seasons location next year.
AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 2,2015
The subject of food waste has never been more popular, generating vigorous discussions about the amount of edible food that ends in the trash. The emergence of enlightened practices including recipes for commonly discarded remnants, embracing visually imperfect produce, rescue for food pantry distribution and altering our buying habits, all combine to reduce the amount of food that ends up in the waste stream. Regardless of our efficiencies, there is invariably food waste. And so my fascination with garbage, the next stop in the food chain. How we create and think about our trash — like food waste — has evolved with the growth of our consumer economy, going from the once upon a time thoughtful creation of limited trash to the explosion of the disposable culture. We are masters at creating garbage and were it not for the shrinking availability of landfills, the cost of handling garbage and the sheer value of well-crafted compost, many of us would rather discard and dismiss. Composting, on the other hand, can be quite virtuous — a thoughtful, concrete and proactive act that has an immediate impact and positive outcome. Composting by consumers is a fascinating activity. Food waste is about 17 percent of our residential trash (and 31 percent overall is organic and suited for broader composting) according to the city’s Sanitation Department. Home food waste can be over 50 percent of the trash if, like me, you cook from scratch several times a week. Some cities, notably San Francisco, Seattle, San
Antonio, Portland, Boulder and Cambridge have implemented mandatory composting programs. In 2013, the City Council passed Local Law 77, which mandated a voluntary pilot program for residential organic waste curbside collection. This program has provided compost bins to more than 100,000 households in Brooklyn, Staten Island, Bronx and Queens. There have been very limited trials in Manhattan high-rise buildings. Additionally, several hundred city schools are engaged in food waste composting as a result of this mandate. So what exactly is compost? It starts with our organic garbage and the eventual end product is compost, or decomposed organic matter that can be used to enrich and fertilize the soil. Think of it as black gold. (Also, remember that the cost of converting organic matter to compost is much cheaper than conventional processing and has an excellent environmental impact.) Some composting basics; it requires four simple inputs: Nitrogen — the ‘green’ component, from food scraps and manure (though urban programs do NOT accept manure). Carbon — the ‘brown’ component, from paper, cardboard, wood chips, dried leaves. Air — piles are turned or mixed by us or by worms in the soil so air circulates around the mixture. Water — moisture is critical. These ingredients in proper proportion create an environment where bacteria and fungi break down the food converting it into nutrient rich, dark humos. This happens over a period of several weeks to months depending on how often the compost pile is managed. During this time, the
activity in the compost pile generates heat up to 150 degrees — hot stuff! A dedicated citizen can find compost sites at dozens of locations throughout the city. Pioneers include the Lower East Side Ecology Center, which has been collecting food scraps in the Union Square Market and at their headquarters since 1990, and GrowNYC, which has bins at 40 of their Greenmarkets citywide in partnership with other local organizations. The NYC Compost Project (which the city oversees) partners with the city’s botanical gardens and three nonprofit organizations. BuildIt Green!NYC operates sites in Queens and Brooklyn and piloted the first Commuter Composting drop-off sites. (Sort of take your trash to work, but at the subway station, there’s a compost bin!) Earth Matter maintains a site on Governors Island providing education for youth and interested New Yorkers as well as training for those interested in becoming compost leaders. I spent Saturday morning staked out at the LESEC’s compost bins in the Union Square Greenmarket. Like you, I assumed that saving food scraps in a city apartment was not a savory, albeit cool, thing to do. I hoped to ask about what home containers were recommended (even WilliamsSonoma has a fashionable compost bin) and about the storage strategy at home. I was astonished by what I saw. This is a dedicated group with a clear sense that they are doing meaningful with impact. One doesn’t save food garbage in an apartment on a whim. The demographic of the composter was evenly split male-female and probably skewed to 30-40 year olds, though it truly ran the gamut of ages. For many, the connection
Composting material at the Union Square Market. Photo: Liz Neumark to the Greenmarket, an appreciation of fresh food, the awareness of the connection between composting, farm produce, healthy planet and social responsibility is fundamental. Many spoke of a heightened awareness of wasteful consumption. Vicky, originally from Houston but in New York since 2002, composts a few times a week. It’s a short walk from home, she is able to shop the market and feels “freed up” to buy more flowers knowing they wont end up in a landfill. It’s relearning the basics, she says, of what we all once knew. I asked people about the space commitment and everyone seemed to have lots of room in their fridge or freezer. When I looked surprise, one man challenged me — after all, what fresh food eating person would have a full freezer? I had to take a quick mental inventory: Nothing Sinister. A lot of frozen pesto (preserving the harvest), frozen veggie stock (the by-product of root to tip cooking), frozen overripe bananas (rescue for eventual banana bread) and vodka. I got home and did a complete assessment of its content, discovering several items which graduated to the compost bag. I now have freezer space. In the Great Perfor-
mances’ kitchen, we have diverted over 120 tons of food scraps from landfills last year. At Katchkie Farm, composting is a way of life. At home, I never thought of composting, that is, until now. As I cooked on Saturday night, I put the food trash in a plastic bag. Before I knew it, it was stuffed with scraps and my garbage can was almost empty. The next day, I stepped up to the yellow bin at the Columbus Avenue Greenmarket and made my deposit. It felt like being part of the in-crowd. Will it stick? I am not sure. My last ethical food challenge seven years ago (no meat) altered my eating habits to this day. Composting in a New York apartment is a powerful act. I can see the obvious connection between shopping and composting — how logical. I am intrigued but on the fence. Stay tuned. Links for more info: http://www.grownyc.org/ compost http://www.bignyc.org/ drop-sites http://compost.css.cornell.edu/outdoorbest.html Liz Neumark is the CEO of Great Performances catering and the author of the cookbook Sylvia’s Table.
AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 2,2015
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Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com
RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS AUG 11 - 21, 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.
EARLY DETECTION IS CRITICAL
BE SAFE WITH VELSCOPE®
Cafe Boulud/Bar Pleiades
20 East 76 Street
A
Afghan Kebab House
1345 2Nd Ave
A
A Velscope Oral Examination is a non-invasive, painless procedure which only takes a few minutes and is included with our comprehensive examinations.
Jg Melon Restaurant
1291 3 Avenue
Grade Pending (29) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/ or non-food areas. Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/ refuse/sewage-associated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.
The Velscope is a brand new, FDA approved tool that aids in the early detection of Oral Cancer. Oral Cancer is increasingly being seen in patients of all ages. When detected early enough the survival rate for Oral Cancer is 90%.
Mariella Pizza
965 Lexington Avenue A
Neil’s Cofee Shop
961 Lexington Avenue Grade Pending (20) 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.
Persepolis
1407 2 Avenue
A
Alex Cafe & Deli
1018 Lexington Avenue
A
Six Happiness
1413 2Nd Ave
Grade Pending (23) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. 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 contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.
Food Mart Deli
1321 York Avenue
A
Murphy’s Law
417 East 70 Street
Grade Pending (32) Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewage-associated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies.
The Green Bean Cafe
1413 York Avenue
A
Luna Rossa
347 East 85 Street
A
Indian Tandoor Oven
175 East 83 Street
A
Little Italy Pizza
217 East 86 Street
A
Green Bay Sushi
1659 1St Ave
Not Yet Graded (23) Evidence of rats or live rats present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. 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. 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.
Sushi Ren
1584 2Nd Ave
Not Yet Graded (39) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Toxic chemical improperly labeled, stored or used such that food contamination may occur. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Tobacco use, eating, or drinking from open container in food preparation, food storage or dishwashing area observed. Wiping cloths soiled or not stored in sanitizing solution.
Carlow East
1254 Lexington Avenue
A
Subway
1523 York Avenue
A
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16
Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com
In Brief
Business
HOW MUCH IS THAT HIGHER FLOOR WORTH?
INTEREST-ONLY LOANS RETURN Interest-only mortgages got a bad reputation in the aftermath of the housing bust, but they’ve managed to stick around as an option for homebuyers who can meet stricter lending guidelines enacted by the government in recent years. The loans can lower monthly mortgage payments by letting borrowers put off paying the principal on their loan for several years. When the interest-only period ends, the borrower’s monthly payment spikes as they begin to pay a combination of principal and interest until the loan is paid off. That monthly payment shock, often accompanied by a higher interest rate on adjustable-rate interest-only loans, is what got many borrowers in trouble a decade ago. One reason is that many of those borrowers qualified for their loans on the basis of their ability to repay the lower, interest-only payment. When their monthly payment reset higher, many couldn’t keep up. Now lenders are required to determine whether borrowers qualify for any interestonly loans, or other adjustable-rate mortgages, based on whether they can afford to make the eventual bigger monthly payments. As a result, such interest-only loans now make up only about 0.2 percent of all adjustable-rate mortgages, or ARMs, which account for about 4 percent of all home loans for purchase and refinancing, according to data from CoreLogic. Use of interest-only mortgages peaked 10 years ago at the height of the housing bubble at around 10 percent of all ARMs. “The big difference here is interest-only loans are back to being the niche product that they traditionally had been,” said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate. com. “The go-go days of the housing boom were the exception.” Still, rising home prices can make interestonly loans a tempting option for borrowers who are interested in a lower mortgage payment and can qualify for such a loan under today’s stricter guidelines. Alex Veiga
AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 2,2015
Frederick Peters
The value of real estate goes up — or down — depending on the details BY FREDERICK PETERS
For New York City real estate, pricing parameters change constantly. What we think we know in July is different in August, and what we think we know in August changes again in September. This is not about seasonality. Properties appreciate (or depreciate) at different rates for different reasons. Condos behave very differently from co-ops. Mint condition overrides estate condition. Neighborhoods rise, fall, change their constituencies. Even as agents, we are often racing to keep up, because comparables don’t always tell the whole story. But here are a few useful guidelines with which to enter the minefield: • Your co-op on Third Avenue is NOT impacted by prices of super luxury midtown condos. Over the past decade, the condo and co-op markets have diverged more and more, with the higher prices in the condo market being driven (though by no means exclusively purchased) by foreign buyers looking to park cash on the relative safety of American soil. Co-op buyers are 99 percent American, and
since many buildings discourage pied-a-terre buyers, they also remain primarily local. And just the same way most New Yorkers don’t want to buy an $8 cappuccino, they don’t want to pay condo prices for their co-op. Property value always reflects location, condition, property type and local value. Period. • Condo values extend further and further from historical enclaves. Earlier this year, I was surprised when a condo listing north of 79th Street commanded over $3,000 per foot. Heretofore, it had been my experience that foreigners were not venturing to invest in the upper reaches of the East and West Sides. And this apartment, though possessed of a great view, needed a total re-do. As it turned out, we were inundated by Asian buyers who loved the view and saw the value relative to the far pricier new construction 30 blocks further south. We are seeing condo buyers choosing areas as diverse as Harlem and Williamsburg. Even for investors and foreign purchasers, this ain’t your mother’s New York
City! • Depending on where you are, you may be able to price above the most recent comps. Or not! New York real estate is increasingly local, made up of multiple micro-neighborhoods with different value trajectories. These days, prices in Harlem are still rising, as they are in south Park Slope. In the prime areas of the Upper East and West Sides, prices reached a plateau a number of months ago and in general remain at those levels. Apartments in need of total renovation, especially those which are unstaged, are the most susceptible to downward price pressure. Buyers fear them, because of the uncertainty of both time and investment required. And as time on the market racks up, that in itself becomes a liability. All the factors must be considered to arrive at an appropriate price. • No matter where you are, less is more. Excess of ambition tends to backfire as a pricing strategy. While we all tend to view what is ours as unique and special, often
it is not. Don’t hope for too much extra value from the walk-in closet or the custom range hood. While pricing is as much art as science, not aiming overly high will get you a better price in a quicker time frame. In real estate pricing, as in so many things, the devil is in the details. How much is additional ceiling height worth? Or a higher floor? Is there a price per square foot premium for mint condition? The answers to all these questions vary with the location, property size, building quality etc. You and your real estate professional must consider multiple factors in arriving at the correct price (and “I need to get $5 million” is not a pricing factor!) Getting it right means the difference between a quick and profitable sale and something more protracted and frustrating. That’s what is best for everyone. Frederick Peters is president of Warburg Realty
Property value always reflects location, condition, property type and local value, a longtime real estate agent, Frederick Peters, says. Photo: Tasayu Tasnaphun, via Flickr
AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 2,2015
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Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com
Huge Selection of
Real Estate Sales Neighborhd
Address
Price
Bed Bath Agent
Beekman
415 East 52 Street
$740,000
1
1
Douglas Elliman
3
3
Brown Harris Stevens
Beekman
400 East 52 Street
$390,000
Carnegie Hill
60 East 96 Street
$2,250,000
Carnegie Hill
49 East 86 Street
$1,200,000
Carnegie Hill
14 East 90 Street
$4,495,000
Carnegie Hill
180 East 93 Street
$6,475,000
Carnegie Hill
141 East 88Th Street
$7,316,156
Carnegie Hill
19 East 88 Street
$3,234,000
Lenox Hill
300 East 64 Street
$987,702
Lenox Hill
3 East 69 Street
$4,700,000
Lenox Hill
425 East 63 Street
$875,000
Lenox Hill
116 East 61 Street
$9,900,000
Lenox Hill
301 East 63 Street
$840,000
Lenox Hill
160 East 65 Street
$1,190,000
Lenox Hill
200 East 66Th Street
$5,091,250
3
3
Corcoran
Lenox Hill
575 Park Avenue
$920,000
2
2
Brown Harris Stevens
Lenox Hill
315 East 68 Street
$510,000
Lenox Hill
360 East 72 Street
$1,835,000
2
3
Douglas Elliman
Lenox Hill
300 East 64 Street
$1,555,000
1
2
Douglas Elliman
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Lenox Hill
333 East 66 Street
$770,000
Lenox Hill
166 East 61 Street
$799,000
Lenox Hill
650 Park Avenue
$1,800,000
Midtown East
151 East 58 Street
$7,500,000
Murray Hill
136 East 36 Street
$800,000
Murray Hill
16 Park Avenue
$640,000
Murray Hill
25 Tudor City Place
$260,000
Murray Hill
16 Park Avenue
$789,143
Murray Hill
137 East 36 Street
$800,000
Murray Hill
211 East 35 Street
$300,000
Murray Hill
320 East 42 Street
$400,000
Bibles Fiction/Non-Fiction Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Books Greeting Cards .VTJD t (JGUT Original Art Events and More!
3
Stribling
:PSL "WF #UXO SE UI 4U t www.logosbookstorenyc.com
3
4
1
1
Douglas Elliman
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Douglas Elliman
5 )/'&1 /'+$1)-,0 $2250 -+.*'1' 5 )/'&1 2/)$*0 $2850 5 4.'/1 /' *$,,),( 3$)*$%*'
1297 First Ave (69th & 70th & + # " $& )" $ " $ ) * "#( & " $ + ))) $& '" $ #! #! Each cremation service individually performed by fully licensed members of our staff. We use no outside agents or trade services in our cremation service. We exclusively use All Souls Chapel and Crematory at the prestigious St. Michael's Cemetery, Queens, NY for our cremations unless otherwise directed.
2
2
Douglas Elliman
MARBLE COL LEGI ATE CHURCH
Eastside Sales Snapshot Number of contracts signed so far in the second quarter $0 - $600k
$600x - $1M
$1M-$2M
$2M-$5M
$5M-$10M
$10M+
STUDIOS
63
10
1
1
-
1
1 BED
57
107
40
6
-
-
2 BEDS
5
41
99
46
4
-
3+ BEDS
-
-
20
79
45
11
TOWNHOUSE
-
-
-
1
2
1
Median Sales Price STUDIOS
371,000
1 BED
675,000
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AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 2,2015
POWERING TOWARD LONGEVITY Communities hope collaboration on lifestyle traits will increase health, well-being BY ALICE CULP
People in Nicoya, Costa Rica, are twice as likely as Americans to reach a healthy age 90. In 2004, author Dan Buettner and National Geographic teamed up with longevity researchers to find out why certain pockets of people in the world reach age 100 at rates 10 times greater than in the United States. They discovered that these pockets — or Blue Zones, as they call them — had nine shared lifestyle characteristics that might explain longevity. They called these the Power 9. Now, Beacon Health System is hoping to apply some of those factors to South Bend and Elkhart, Indiana. The hope is that the communities’ health will improve and that they will attract workers who want to live a healthier lifestyle. But in order to become official Blue Zones Project-certified communities, the cities have to demonstrate that enough community leaders will support the effort. What is a Blue Zones community? “It goes beyond diet and exercise,” said Rick Zeeff, community wellbeing coordinator for the Blue Zones
Project at Beacon. In a Blue Zones community, members — schools, employers, restaurants, grocery stores and community leaders — collaborate on policies and programs that move the community toward better health and well-being. The communities try to incorporate the Power 9 traits, including moving naturally, eating more plant-based foods and having a strong support system. The project’s goal is to lower obesity and smoking rates, increase vegetable consumption and daily physical activity levels, generate medical cost savings and improve overall well-being. Other communities have reaped benefits from participating in the project, according to data collected through the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. Healthways, a health management organization in Franklin, Tenn., implements the Blue Zone Project. In 2009, Healthways applied the Power 9 principles to Albert Lea, Minn. Over the next several years, the city built and rented 46 new community gardens. About 44 percent of the adult population participated in walking groups, grocery stores reported a 46 percent sales gain in 36 healthy foods and smoking rates declined from 23 percent to 19 percent. Health care claims for city workers
dropped 49 percent and participating businesses saw a 21 percent decline in absenteeism. Local process Currently, South Bend and Elkhart are in the assessment phase, which means that Healthways is conducting focus groups to gauge community interest and researching the area’s institutions, economy, current initiatives and health issues. An expert is also brought in to assess the environment and identify areas for improvement. “We look at what things are already in place, what challenges might exist and what opportunities there are,” said Chris Liberto, organization lead for the Sioux City (Iowa) Blue Zones Project. In early September, Healthways will provide Beacon with a copy of its assessment, at least part of which Beacon plans to make public. Whether one or both of the communities takes the next step depends on the assessment, local support and funding. “People are very receptive,” Zeeff said, explaining that many community organizations and leaders have signed a pledge of commitment. “The pledge allows Beacon to tell Healthways that these community leaders are behind it.” Elkhart Community Schools, which signed the pledge, already follows
Amro, via Flickr many of the Blue Zones’ suggested healthy practices for schools, said Shawn Hannon, superintendent for communication and data for the school system. It has surpassed the healthy food requirements for students, has revised school policy to incorporate more movement into the school day and has an agreement with Activate Healthcare, which offers screenings and incentives for employees meeting healthy goals. Hannon sees a lot of potential in partnering with the project. Other Blue Zone communities’ schools have done some interesting things, she said, which the Blue Zones team could help local schools examine. For example, some of the Blue Zones communi-
ties have walking school buses, where a school employee walks children to prearranged stops in the manner that a regular school bus would. “Those aren’t things that we’re starting tomorrow, but I like the idea of collaborating with people in the community that support each other,” she said. Changes won’t happen overnight, even if the project is adopted, but Beacon hopes it will have a long-term impact on the area’s health. “This isn’t something we will do for six months or a year,” Zeeff said. “It might take six or seven years to really impact all facets of the community we live in.”
Neighborhood Scrapbook NEW IMAGING SUITE AT LENOX HILL
A ceremony, held recently at Lenox Hill Hospital, marked the official opening of the Emergency Department’s new Michael David Falk Imaging Suite. The suite features a new CT machine which will scan approximately 12,775 patients per year, and two new x-ray rooms which will significantly cut down the wait time for patients in the Emergency Department who need to have these radiology services. The new suite was made possible thanks to a gift from the Falk family, long-time benefactors and friends of Lenox Hill Hospital.
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While government officials continue to bicker about who bears responsibility for cost, a key component of East Coast infrastructure - a train tunnel under the pictured Hudson River - goes unbuilt. Photo: A. Strakey, via Flickr
TUNNEL BURIED UNDER EXPECTATIONS Work on Hudson River train passage mired by bickering among government, elected officials BY DAVID KLEPPER
Buried deep under the city is a $185 million hole in the ground, evidence that while politicians bicker over how to pay for a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River, work on the project has been underway for years. All told, more than $300 million has already been committed to the $14 billion tunnel — investments based on the assumption that leaders in New York, New Jersey and Washington will be able to strike a deal on the project after years of false starts. Experts say the project will only get more expensive the longer it is delayed — and that by starting preliminary work now Amtrak will lessen the pain of the 200,000 daily commuters who have seen summer travel marred by hours-long delays on the rail link between New Jersey and New York City. Amtrak has set aside the $300 million to pay for the first stages of the tunnel and complete early design and engineering work that must be done before the full project can proceed. “Time is the enemy,” Amtrak Executive Vice President Ste-
phen Gardner told The Associated Press last week. “Every day, every year you add you escalate costs. Every day we delay is another day of reliability risk for the existing railroad.” Even though there’s still no agreement to build the tunnel, the early investments show how vital the project is to Amtrak and they give elected officials like Sen. Charles Schumer hope the tunnel will get built despite the formidable political and fiscal challenges. “It will take energy, commitment, several leaps-of-faith,” Schumer said of the project earlier this month. “But above all else: it will take cooperation.” And that may prove more difficult than the digging. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx are engaged in an increasingly vitriolic backand-forth over the tunnel’s price tag. Amtrak isn’t waiting on an agreement. The existing rail tunnels below the Hudson are 105 years old and well past capacity. Their electronic components were heavily damaged during Superstorm Sandy. Work on the 800-foot concrete casing under Hudson Yards between 10th and 11th
avenues began in 2013. The tunnel — more of a concrete box at this point — is 50 feet wide and 35 feet tall — enough room for two tracks of rail to be laid down when the rest of the tunnel is constructed. Amtrak determined the project was a necessity when the redevelopment of Hudson Yards began. Waiting to dig that part of the tunnel until after the new Hudson Yards was built would have made the project much more expensive. Other stakeholders — the MTA, City Hall — saw the wisdom of moving ahead. The rest of the money is going to other preliminary efforts, including engineering and design work, so the work can begin quickly when the project is fully funded. The project is expected to take as long as a decade. “If we’re not planning for it now than we’re making a huge mistake,” said Lucius Riccio, a former transportation commissioner in New York City who now teaches at New York University’s Stern School of Business. “Somebody has to wake up and recognize that these things have to be done. It’s not a matter of ‘do we build it or don’t we.’ It’s a matter of ‘how quickly can we do it?’”
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AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 2,2015
YOUR 15 MINUTES
DE-STRESSING THE CITY Ron Navarre developed techniques to heal and conquer tension through movement and breathing BY ANGELA BARBUTI
Ron Navarre has made it his mission to de-stress Manhattan. Recognizing the fact that most doctor visits result in a diagnosis of “It’s stress related,” he has put together a healing process full of holistic practices — including Tai Chi, Chi Qong, Reiki, yoga and meditation. His company, StressDefense, is based on a core technique of grounding and centering one’s self in the present. And since everyone experiences stress, he teaches a wide range of groups, from students in a classroom to businessmen in a seminar. His practice also includes designing individual holistic health and healing practices for cancer patients. An actor himself, who was once in A Chorus Line on Broadway, he has been teaching at The Lee Strasberg Theater & Film Institute for 18 years, in-
structing performers on the principles of Tai Chi.
You received a full scholarship to the Royal Winnipeg Ballet in Canada. Then, at 19, you developed patellar tendonitis and were told your dancing career was over. I started dancing very late, when I was almost 17. And I tried to do years of work in a very short amount of time. It takes, on average, about seven years for a body to adjust to classical ballet, which is what I was training in. And I tried to do it in a year, and as a consequence of that, I pushed so hard that I developed patellar tendonitis in both knees. And that’s pretty serious. Took me off my feet for nine months.
You first came to New York at 21 to find work as a performer. What was it like when you got here? Yes, I came here in 1982 to perform as a dancer, singer and actor. Once I got here, I was fortunate enough to meet people who were already in the busi-
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ness and were able to guide me very quickly. So I sort of fell into it. I was here about six weeks and got a job. I got into A Chorus Line and was then invited to join the Broadway company.
You started your practice while you were still on Broadway. Yes, I started my holistic health practice while I was still performing. I did an apprenticeship as a shiatsu therapist and studied yoga, Tai Chi, Chi Qong. And I was teaching classes and working with people privately while I was still performing on Broadway. That sort of branched off into working with specific types of people, performers, obviously, and then I got into people who were having surgeries, like hip and knee replacements, and then started working with cancer patients 10 years ago. I work with a lot of cancer patients now.
Give an example of a cancer patient who responded well to your therapy. What I do with a cancer patient is I help them custom
design a healing practice for themselves. And I incorporate the elements of all these different modalities that I can draw upon. I have some people that I work with in their 40s, some in their 80s. All different types of cancer. They’re going through treatments, usually some form of chemotherapy, radiation and or surgery. It depends on where they are in the treatment process and what they have to deal with. One gentleman I worked with for a long time, who was a professor with IBM and a mathematician, had prostate cancer for 30 years. By the time I had met him, he was in his late 70s. He had just had extensive surgery to remove some cancerous lymph nodes from his back. But his wound wasn’t healing and it had been several weeks since his surgery. So what I did with him is teach him what it meant to heal. And what that entails, primarily, is having enough energy for the body to heal itself. And he was very low on energy. So I taught him how to breathe. I taught him breathing exercises, some Chi Qong. How to focus and meditate in a way that would reduce his stress that was coming from his emotional reaction to his medical condition. I gradually gave him more physical exercises based on Tai Chi and Chi Qong, and
To read about other people who have had their “15 Minutes” go to ourtownny.com/15 minutes
his wound healed in a matter of about three weeks. And everybody was quite amazed by that. It’s not a mystery. He was depleting himself daily by stressing over it, so the body is not going to heal. Breath is your primary source of energy and if you’re not breathing fully, then you’re not going to metabolize your energy to begin with.
Through working with cancer patients, you developed a technique called Rei Qong. Explain that. Essentially it’s principles from Reiki, which is a healing practice from Japan, and Chi Qong, a Chinese practice and one of the five branches of Chinese medicine. When I started working with cancer patients who were in the hospital, they couldn’t even get out of bed. So I had to modify and adapt certain exercises and principles to make it something that they could do. There are elements of self-massage, grounding and centering, meditation and movement.
What do you want people to know about what stress does to your body and how to manage it? A lot of it is basically our own creation. It’s how we react or respond to our life. Some people suffer from a lot of anxiety.
I did; I had panic attacks for many years. That’s what motivated me to master this skill set that I teach. That was one of my best teachers. It motivated me to learn all these different tools and techniques. If you can manage your energy, you can manage stress. It’s not so much just time management or organizational management. It’s stateof-being management and that comes down to focus, energy and intention. If you learn any meditative technique, you’re learning that as well to a certain degree. How you apply it is really the issue. And that’s what I work on with people, individually, and in groups. So if I’m teaching a college class, I’m relating this technique to their situation as a college student. Their everyday stresses. If I work with a big company, I’m relating it to their specific lifestyle. I also work with a lot of doctors and lawyers as well as artists. To learn more, visit www. stressdefense.com
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AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 2,2015
See Some Terrific Kitchen Gardens Just 1 Hour Out of the City This Sunday August 30th Take the self guided tour, anytime between 10am-5pm DIRT’S 2015 GARDEN TOUR
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