The Villager Express - November 7, 2019

V i s i t u s o n l i n e a t w w w .T h e V i l l a g e r. c o m

THE

S S E R P EX

November 7, 2019 Volume 4 • Number 24

The Paper of Record for East and West Villages, Little Italy, Lower East Side, Soho, Noho, and Chinatown

TAKE OUT TRASH!

101 thrills at Village parade Page 18

Village pols act to can DSNY truck parking

Pharmacists seek cure for ill business

Page 4 COURTESY CAROLYN MALONEY’S OFFICE

Garbage trucks parked on East 10th Street this past summer.

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Mom-&-pop drug stores rally for support

BY GABE HERMAN

I

ndependent pharmacy owners rallied in late October at City Hall — and nine other cities throughout New York State — to support legislation that would increase regulations on prescription drug middlemen, who are known as pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs).

The Oct. 23 rally at City Hall included hundreds of supporters and pharmacists, including employees of the longtime Greenwich Village pharmacy Village Apothecary at 346 Bleecker St. It was organized by FixRx, a campaign by Pharmacists Society of the State of New York (PSSNY) and the New York City Pharmacists Society (NYCPS) to advocate for health care reforms related to pharmacies and prescription drugs.

The rally was in support of legislation that passed the State Assembly and State Senate in June. It has not yet been delivered to Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is expected to sign it into law.

The legislation would require that PBMs are regulated and licensed. As it is now, PBM fees in the prescription drug delivery process pass along higher costs to pharmacies and customers, like “spread pricing” in Medicaid Managed Care, which provided hundreds of millions of dollars to PBMs in New York State in 2018.

“The legislation would be a major step forward in the fight against PBMs,” said Parthiv Shah, Chairman of the NYCPS. “We need to ensure that pharmacists, patients, and taxpayers alike are being guarded against their abusive and deceptive practices. It is time to shine the

COURTESY TOM CORSILLO

At the Oct. 23 rally, State Senator Diane Savino in front on the far left, and next to her is Roger Paganelli, a leader of the FixR x campaign. Village Apothecar y representatives are in the front on the far right.

light brightly on these greedy corporate middlemen.”

Pharmacy organization studies have shown that pharmacies lose money nearly 50 percent of the time when filling prescriptions under Medicare Managed Care plans, noted Village Apothecary pharmacist John Kaliabakos. As a result, 70 percent of New York pharmacies in 2019 have had to lay off employees or reduce store hours. That number is projected to increase to 90 percent, he noted, if changes aren’t made in the reimbursement system.

“Village Apothecary and other independent pharmacies are fighting hard behind the scenes every day to ensure that patients receive the highest quality care,” Kaliabakos told The Villager, “and we ask for the community’s support in the ongoing battle against the questionable

practices of these PBMs and insurance companies.”

“We applaud the Governor for his leadership over the last few years and for taking the steps to make real change in the way that PBMs are able to operate,” said Steve Moore, President of PSSNY. “We look forward to the increased PBM oversight and transparency that this legislation makes possible.”

In January 2019, a State Senate committee opened an investigation into the practices of PBMs in New York State.

This led to an early June report, whose findings included a lack of transparency and oversight of PBMs, which allowed them “to engage in self-dealing to the detriment of consumers across New York State,” and recommended regulation and to require licenses.

In response to the June report, the

Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA), which represents the nation’s PBMs, disputed the report’s findings.

“This report attempts to undermine the only industry that is reducing prescription drug costs for New York’s employers and consumers,” said PCMA President and CEO JC Scott. “The truth is PBMs advocate for consumers and health plan sponsors to keep prescription drugs accessible and affordable. In fact, in New York PBMs will save $39.9 billion across all the state’s health programs over 10 years.”

PCMA further said in the June statement, “We believe that more can be done to address rising drug prices. We stand ready to work with New York lawmakers to increase competition and build on market-based tools in public programs and private health insurance.”

MTA opens renovated First Avenue L train entrance

BY ALEX MITCHELL

T

wo commuters let out a yell of excitement after learning that a new, more eastbound entrance to the First Avenue L train station had opened in Manhattan this morning.

The MTA officially unveiled this new entranceway on the southwest corner of East 14th Street and Avenue A in Stuyvesant Town as part of its extensive L train tunnel rehabilitation — also announcing that a street-to-platform elevator will be completed by June in addition to other upcoming amenities for the station.

MTA Chief Development Officer and President Janno Lieber called the improvements a milestone on the L Train project, which he also noted was moving ahead of schedule by some months.

“More importantly, it’s a milestone that delivers something for the commuter,” Lieber said.

Prior to the new access point, commuters coming from any of the lettered Schneps Media

PHOTOS BY ALEX MITCHELL

A wooden construction fence still surrounds the new First Avenue station entrance.

avenues had to hike all the way to First Avenue and 14th Street to catch the only subway service in that neighborhood.

While this new entrance is for Brooklyn-bound travelers only, the MTA is expected to open in June a second portal for Eighth Avenue-bound customers

on the northwest side of the same intersection.

As part of the MTA’s rehabilitation of the L’s Canarsie tunnel, the authority is also improving station accessibility along the L at Union Square and Sixth Avenue, in Manhattan, and Bedford Avenue, in Brooklyn. Both Sixth Avenue and Bedford will also receive new elevators. Riders have endured a series of service changes on the line–on top of the L “slowdown”–in order to accommodate construction around that work.

Even though the new Brooklynbound entryway is open, as of Monday morning, a wooden construction fence (painted green) remained surrounding most of the staircase on Avenue A. Upon entering it, customers can find two separate staircases leading down to the station, along with two MetroCard vending machines.

The new entrance will be closed nights and weekends as part of the overall station work, according to the MTA. November 7, 2019

3

Bill to keep garbage trucks off sts. at night

BY GABE HERMAN

F

or a year and two months, East Village residents have been complaining to the city about Sanitation Department trucks parked overnight along one neighborhood street.

Now city officials appear poised to finally do something about it.

Two local lawmakers have now introduced legislation to ban garbage trucks from parking overnight on any street not just in East Village, but across the five boroughs.

State Senator Brad Hoylman and Assemblymember Deborah Glick announced the legislation, which seeks to address the Dept. of Sanitation using a block on East 10th Street for parking.

DSNY started using the block after its garage lease expired in September of 2018 at 606 West 30th St. The bad smells and loud noise from the trucks has led to community complaints, including local residents and politicians gathering at the block to protest on the one-year anniversary of the debacle.

The trucks have been parked for the past 14 months on the block, which is between First and Second Avenues, every night from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m., and all day on Sundays.

Hoylman said in a statement that the situation stinks. “For far too long,

COURTESY CAROLYN MALONEY’S OFFICE

Garbage trucks parked on East 10th Street this past summer.

the Department of Sanitation has used East 10th Street as its personal parking lot, forcing residents to endure rotten smells and extreme noise pollution,” Hoylman added. “This legislation, which I’m proud to co-sponsor with my colleague Deborah Glick, will finally end this ridiculous practice. We must ban garbage trucks from parking overnight on residential streets so we can

protect the quality of life in every corner of our city.”

“For over a year, the New York City Department of Sanitation has been inappropriately parking garbage trucks overnight on residential streets in our neighborhood,” said Glick. “This disruptive practice has negatively affected local residents and small businesses by taking up valuable parking space, add-

ing to noise pollution, detracting from our community’s quality of life, and introducing vermin and foul odors in front of residences. I look forward to working with Senator Hoylman to require the Department of Sanitation to find a suitable solution to this problem that has persisted for far too long.”

Other officials lauding the legislation included Councilwoman Carlina Rivera, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer.

“Garbage trucks parking overnight in residential neighborhoods just plain stinks,” said Brewer, “and the residents of East 10th street have been burdened by them for too long. I thank Senator Hoylman and Assemblymember Glick for introducing legislation to bar this from ever happening again.”

DSNY has said that it continues to look for a new space in the area to house the trucks. In the meantime, however, the street parking is a last resort.

When asked for comment after the new legislation was announced, a DSNY spokesperson said, “In a city with a limited amount of space, DSNY uses all options at our disposal to care for our fleet. Street parking has been necessary to keep providing essential services to this area while we find a new garage space.”

Beloved book shop raising funds to stay open

BY GABE HERMAN

B

ooks of Wonder, a Chelsea children’s bookshop which has been a Downtown fi xture for decades, faces an expiring lease and has started an online campaign to raise funds for a move to a nearby location.

The store first opened on Hudson Street in Greenwich Village in 1980. It has moved several times since then but has been at 18 W. 18 St. since 2004.

The shop offers new and classic children’s books, and hosts author and artist events on a regular basis. It opened an Upper West Side location in 2017.

With the 18th Street lease expiring at the end of this year, the shop has a new location picked out in the Flatiron District. But the shop needs funds to renovate the space and make the move, about $250,000 to $350,000 overall, according to the shop’s online campaign page, which is at gofundme. com/f/help-books-of-wonder-relocate.

The online campaign page explains that the store is in need of working capital after sub-tenants, including a bakery/café/caterer, ran into financial troubles and had to close. This removed a source that paid 40 percent of the rent, leaving Books of Wonder now

4

November 7, 2019

PHOTO BY GABE HERMAN

The Books of Wonder location at 18 W. 18 St.

having to pay most of it on its own.

The online campaign, which started on Oct. 22, has raised over $20,500 from 120 donors as of Nov. 3. The shop plans to do a broader outreach effort as well, including through the store’s mailing list and social media, according to founder and owner Peter Glassman.

“Our friends are reaching out to their crowds to help us,” Glassman

said, “which is something we’re very appreciative of.”

He said the response so far has been “very positive” to the fundraising effort, and described his mood as “hopefully optimistic.”

Glassman said he would like to keep a location in Lower Manhattan if possible, noting that the store is in its 40th year and “we certainly have a large fol-

lowing down here.”

Glassman has been approached about other fundraising ideas, including an auction. “We’re working on it,” he said of the overall fundraising effort. “We’re going to try everything we can.”

If the shop has to close for a few months and put things into storage, that would also be a possibility, according to Glassman. “I’m hoping it won’t come to that,” he said.

The store will be open for Christmas and the holiday season, and Glassman said of the community, “I’m hoping they’ll come by and celebrate with us.”

Glassman said they have a lot of friends in the neighborhood, and the shop doesn’t want to say goodbye to them. The shop has influenced thousands of kids to become readers over the years, he said, adding, “That’s something we’re very proud of.”

Glassman will turn 60 in January, and said he wants to continue the business for several years, noting that it could be his last hurrah. He’s proud when he hears from parents who say they went to the shop as kids, and now are bringing their kids to the store.

“That means the world to me,” Glassman said, “and I want to keep going.”

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November 7, 2019

5

Police Blotter 6th Precinct Greenwich Village

Costly bites at the Apple Store

Chocoholic goes on a rampage A woman started an argument with an employee at the Max Brenner chocolate shop, at 841 Broadway, then started throwing items in the store, according to police.

On Tuesday, Oct. 22, at 1:15 a.m., a 19-year-old employee said she was cleaning, when a woman came in and started an argument. The dispute allegedly escalated when the woman threw a wooden chair at the employee and missed, causing damage

to the chair.

The woman also threw salt and pepper shakers at the wall, breaking them, and knocked over an iPad and iPad holder, according to officials. She then allegedly knocked over and broke a table valued at $300.

There were no injuries reported from the incident. Police said that the woman, Danielle Patterson, was arrested for attempted assault, a felony.

-Gabe Herman

Midtown South Precinct Man stabbed after argument

Homeless man knifed at E. River Park

Officials are looking for three men after a pair of thefts inside Greenwich Village restaurants, according to a police report.

The first incident was on Friday, Sept. 27, around 6:15 p.m. inside Baby Brasa, at 173 Seventh Ave. A 23-yearold woman was inside when she hung her purse, with her wallet inside, on the back of her chair.

The woman realized her wallet, containing cash and credit cards, had allegedly been taken, and she then went home. A police investigation found that unauthorized charges were made at the Apple Store at 401 W. 14 St. The second incident was on Friday, Oct. 4, around 6:40 p.m., at the Favela Cubana restaurant, at 543 LaGuardia Place.

A 43-year-old woman was seated inside with her purse hanging on the back of her chair.

At some point during the evening, the woman discovered that her wallet, containing $100 and credit cards, had allegedly been taken. An investigation found that unauthorized charges were made at the same Apple Store, at 401 W. 14 St. -Gabe Herman

BY ALEJANDR A O’CONNELL-DOMENECH

A

homeless man was stabbed while sleeping in East River Park on Sunday, Nov.3, authorities said.

According to police, the 28-year-old victim was resting on the stage of the park’s amphitheater when an unknown man came up to him and stabbed him twice in the left hip at roughly 8:15 p.m.

After the attack, the assailant fled westbound on Cherry Street, police said.

The victim was transported by EMS to Bellevue Hospital and is currently still being treated for his puncture wounds.

Officers from the 7th Precinct were currently still searching for the assailant as this story went live Monday morning.

Backpack taken from vehicle on Elizabeth A man took a backpack out of an unsecured vehicle at 301 Elizabeth St. this summer, police said.

On Monday, July 29, around 12:08 p.m., the thief allegedly took the backpack, belonging to a 33-year-old man, from the vehicle’s front seat. The man then fled on foot west on Elizabeth Street.

The items in the backpack included a credit card, $3,300 in American cash and $350 in Euros.

The man wanted for grand larceny is described by police as Hispanic, bald, and he was last seen wearing a red shirt, blue jean shorts and white sneakers.

-Gabe Herman

Two men assaulted another man following an argument in front of 235 W. 42 St., police said.

The incident occurred on Friday, Oct. 25, around 10:30 p.m. During the assault, one of the men allegedly stabbed the victim, a 30-year-old man, in his right arm and torso. The two men then fled on foot west on West 42 Street.

The victim suffered a collapsed lung and a lacerated bicep. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition.

The first man is described by police as Hispanic, 18 to 22 years old, and last seen wearing a black sweater, blue jeans, red sneakers, and with a black backpack.

The second man is described as Hispanic, 18 to 22 years old, with a beard and his hair in a ponytail, and last seen wearing a light-colored hooded sweater with the words “pink panther” on the front, blue jeans and black sneakers.

-Gabe Herman

Woman groped at 42nd St. stop A woman was groped in the subway on Sunday, Sept. 22, according to police.

Around 7:10 a.m., a 22-year-old woman was walking up the stairs inside the subway station at 42nd Street and Sixth Avenue, when a man allegedly touched her backside.

The man fled the scene in an unknown direction.

-Gabe Herman

The Villager (USPS 578930) ISSN 0042-6202 Copyright © 2019 by Schneps Media is published weekly by Schneps Media, One Metrotech North, 10th floor Brooklyn, NY 11201. 52 times a year. Business and Editorial Offices: One Metrotech North, 10th floor Brooklyn, NY 11201. Accounting and Circulation Offices: Schneps Media, One Metrotech North, 10th floor Brooklyn, NY 11201. Call 718-260-2500 to subscribe. Periodicals postage prices is paid at New York, N.Y. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Villager, One Metrotech North, 10th floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201 Annual subscription by mail in Manhattan and Brooklyn $29 ($35 elsewhere). Single copy price at office and newsstands is $1. The entire contents of newspaper, including advertising, are copyrighted and no part may be reproduced without the express permission of the publisher - © 2019 Schneps Media.

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Williams wins, props passed, judges elected

BY THE VILL AGER STAFF

M

anhattan residents headed to the polls on Nov. 5 to choose their public advocate, a slate of judges and answers to five ballot questions — but not many of them showed up to do so.

Yet another election in New York City was marred by incredibly low turnout. About 13% of registered voters citywide cast a selection in the public advocate race, which was at the top of every ballot.

Incumbent Jumaane Williams, the Democrat elected in February from 17 candidates in a special election, easily bested Republican Councilman Joe Borelli of Staten Island and Libertarian Devin Balkind with relative ease, gaining 77.84% in favor of the incumbent.

Meanwhile, voters overwhelmingly approved five proposed changes to the City Charter — with every question getting a “Yes” vote from 70% or more voters.

New York will join more than a dozen other cities and countries that have adopted a ranked-choice model. The approved proposal will set that new ranked system in place for elections beginning in 2021.

Voters also passed a referendum to expand and strengthen the authority of the Civilian Complain Review Board (CCRB), the group that is charged

PHOTO BY MARK HALLUM

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams cruised to victor y in his re-election bid on Nov. 5.

with investigating reports of police misconduct against civilians.

Tuesday’s vote also approved a mea-

sure that in part extends the ban on how long former city officials and appointees must wait before lobbying their old agen-

cies, from one year to two.

The fourth approved proposal would allow the city to create “rainy day fund” in its budget and set minimum budgets for public advocate and borough president offices.

And the fifth measure approved relates to land use and requires the city to submit detailed project summaries to the relevant borough president, borough board and community board at least 30 days before the application is certified for public review. It also gives the local community board additional time to review the project.

Finally, Manhattan voters elected a slate of judges to the Civil and Surrogate Courts.

Three Democratic judges took victory last night in the 1st Judicial District’s Supreme Court Race: Martin Shulman took 117,593 votes, Shawn T. Kelly had 115,875, and Jennifer Schechter received 126,458 ballots. All of the other 3,525 votes went to write ins.

Two civil court county judges, Ashlee Crawford and Robert Rosenthal also prevailed unopposed in Manhattan — Crawford with 136,775 votes and Rosenthal with 115,187.

Meanwhile Anna Lewis E. Grace Park, and Erik L. Gray separately won the 3rd, 4th, and 9th Civil Court districts too.

They were elected without opposition.

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Just 1% turnout in ďŹ rst early vote

PHOTO : MARK HALLUM/AMNEWYORK

BY MARK HALLUM

E

arly voting apparently made little difference in shaking off the indifference of New York City voters.

The recent trend of remarkably low voter turnout in the five boroughs didn’t seem to get a boost from nine days of early voting, according to figures from the city’s Board of Elections. What started out on Oct. 26 only yielded a cumulative total of 60,110 voters by the time early voting closed on Nov. 3, the Board of Elections reported.

Less than 40% of registered voters in New York City participated in the 2018 midterm elections, and just 23% turned out for the 2017 mayoral elections.

Early voting is expected to help reverse the downward trend in voter turnout in the years to come.

But the program didn’t appear to make a positive impact on the 2019 race, and some recognized early on that the rollout of early voting was not without its flaws.

Mayor Bill de Blasio had called the state legislation to adopt early voting “a chance for us to reinvigorate our democracy,� at a Queens County Democrats pre-election party on Oct. 29 and touted how easy it was for him to vote himself. “I glided into my poll site in Brooklyn and I was out of there in like, five minutes, and it is going to open up a world of opportunity where a lot of people previously thought that voting was not something that they could focus on or take time for, now they’re going to have every opportunity, weekends and weekdays and all sorts of different times when they can vote,� de Blasio said.

Few New Yorkers, however, took the mayor’s advice, as the BOE data indicated.

Manhattan came in with the highest number of early ballots cast at 19,865, followed by Brooklyn at 17,976, Queens at 13,129, the Bronx with 4,893 and Staten Island garnering 4,247.

Those numbers are a far cry from the total number of active and inactive registered voters in the five boroughs, according to state Board of Elections data. The totals are as follows: Manhattan, 1,197,797; Bronx, 833,172; Brooklyn, 1,637,055; Queens, 1,282,887; and Staten Island, 319,473.

When analyzing the city and state data, amNewYork determined that only 1.14 percent of all registered New York City voters participated in early voting across all five boroughs this year.

For New Yorkers, the races on the ballot may not have been much of a draw.

The lone citywide race, for public advocate, was assumed by many to go to incumbent Jumaane Williams, who won the seat in February. There were also five ballot proposals on changes to the City Charter.

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O’Neill retires after 3 years as commish

PHOTO BY MARK HALLUM

NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill with Mayor Bill de Blasio announcing the top cop’s resignation.

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he nation’s largest police force will have a new leader in December when current Chief of Detectives, Dermott Shea, replaces the outgoing Commissioner James O’Neill, who formally announced his resignation Monday in favor of an undisclosed private-sector job.

O’Neill simply said it was “his time� to move on despite questions of recent controversy regarding the firing of Officer Daniel Pantaleo in the Eric Garner case or the spate of police-involved shootings and suicides. “It weighed heavily on me, but I felt that this is my time,� O’Neill said.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said his decision to name Shea as O’Neill’s successor – rather than seeking new leadership outside the NYPD – was based on a personal conviction that the department is going in the right direction with new inroads made within the community through programs such as the Neighborhood Coordination Officers initiative. “[O’Neill] led a transformation that many people felt was impossible ‌ The relationship between our community and our police is fundamentally different than it was a few years ago. This is a safer city and a fairer city,â€? de Blasio said. “In 2018, 15,000 fewer people were arrested than five years earlier and we got safer.â€?

O’Neill spent 37 years in the NYPD and the last three years as its commissioner. He will leave the department at the end of November, O’Neill said.

Shea, from Sunnyside, Queens, started his career in the NYPD in 1991 and has since climbed through many facets of the agency before being appointed to his current role under the leadership of former Commissioner Bill Bratton, who stepped down in 2016. “This is a tremendous honor and a tremendous responsibility, and I’m grateful to the mayor for this privilege to serve,�

Shea said.

The current chief of detectives came under fire earlier this year after a WABC-TV investigation found that the NYPD undercounted the number of rape incidents in recent years. Shea said he would have a dialogue with concerned groups in the future.

Shea’s top cop appointment, however, did not sit well with some in the legal community.

Tina Luongo, Attorney-In-Charge of the Criminal Defense Practice at The Legal Aid Society, was nonplused by Shea’s appointment to top cop in the city, explaining that it was another failure on behalf of the de Blasio administration to seek a transparent, community driven decision in terms of law enforcement. “Yet again, this Administration has failed to consult the community on a decision that will affect the lives of millions of New Yorkers. This city needs a Commissioner who is dedicated to transparency and accountability, committed to community engagement, and champions reforms in the face of opposition from police unions and others that are invested in the status quo,� Luongo said.

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So go make today and every day the best it can be, New York City.

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Learn how at aarp.org/nyc November 7, 2019

11

Editorial New York voters must do better

G

oing into Election Day 2019, there was an expectation among those connected to city politics that turnout would be abysmal — as most off-year elections are in New York City.

There were no major races to speak of — just one citywide election for public advocate, a handful of district attorney races that were virtually uncompetitive, several judgeships in each borough and five ballot questions. You might say it was the calm before the 2020 political storm.

However, the one wild card in this election was the arrival of early voting in New York City.

The city’s Board of Elections set up dozens of polling sites across the five boroughs and opened them for nine days ahead of the Nov. 5 election, giving every New Yorker a chance to cast their vote on their schedule, at their convenience.

But when all was said and done, the city BOE reported, just a little more than 60,000 New Yorkers bothered to participate in early voting this election cycle.

As of Nov. 1, according to the New York State Board of Elections, there were 5,270,384 registered voters in the five boroughs.

The turnout was a little more than 1 percent of the entire registered voter population in New York City.

The city worked hard to inform people about early voting, buying ad space in print and digital media, and engaging in social media campaigns. And yet, early voting barely moved the needle.

It was a harbinger, of course, for weak turnout on Election Day itself.

When all was said and done, in combining the early and Election Day ballots, about 13.7% of all registered New York voters participated in the 2019 general election — yet another poor showing for democracy in The Big Apple.

We know this was a very boring election cycle, and many of us are already looking ahead to 2020. We’re also very confident that more New Yorkers will take advantage of early voting next year when the stakes are far higher.

But come on, New York.

We need to do better than 1 percent early voting this year, or 13.7 percent total turnout this election cycle, or the 23 percent turnout in the 2017 mayoral election.

“Every vote counts” is the mantra for every election, and it’s true. All of us need to realize that every election is incredibly important, and not participating is an abdication of our civic duty.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt said it best: “Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves, and the only way they could do this is by not voting.”

Anna Clark and Al McGrath at a 1989 fundraiser. (Villager photo by Tom Sullivan)

The front page of The Villager on Jan. 12, 1989, included a photo from a fundraiser for a LaGuardia memorial project, which Friends of LaGuardia Place hoped would lead to a statue for Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia on the Greenwich Village block.

Pictured in the photo is Anna Clark, one-time secretary to LaGuardia (1882-1947), who was mayor from 1934-45 and who was born at 177 Sullivan St. in Little Italy. On the right is Al McGrath, president of the Friends group.

The object in the center is a model of the Neil Estern sculpture which the group hoped to install. The statue would be unveiled in 1994 and is still on LaGuardia Place, between Bleecker and West Third streets.

— Gabe Herman

Publisher of The Villager, Villager Express, Chelsea Now, Downtown Express and Manhattan Express PRESIDENT & PUBLISHER CEO & CO-PUBLISHER EDITOR IN CHIEF REPORTERS

CONTRIBUTORS

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ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

PUBLISHER’S LIABILITY FOR ERROR The Publisher shall not be liable for slight changes or typographical errors that do not lessen the value of an advertisement. The publisher’s liability for others errors or omissions in connection with an advertisement is strictly limited to publication of the advertisement in any subsequent issue.

Published by Schneps Media One Metrotech North, 3rd floor Brooklyn, NY 11201 Phone: (718) 260-2500 Fax: (212) 229-2790 On-line: www.thevillager.com E-mail: news@thevillager.com © 2019 Schneps Media

12

November 7, 2019

VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS JOSHUA SCHNEPS ROBERT POZARYCKI GABE HERMAN ALEJANDRA O’CONNELL MARK HALLUM MICHELE HERMAN BOB KRASNER TEQUILA MINSKY MARY REINHOLZ PAUL SCHINDLER MARCOS RAMOS CLIFFORD LUSTER (718) 260-2504 CLUSTER@CNGLOCAL.COM GAYLE GREENBURG JIM STEELE JULIO TUMBACO ELIZABETH POLLY

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Op-Ed

Letters to the Editor

Finding secure retirement for all working New Yorkers

BY DEBR A ROBLES For New Yorkers who have spent our lives working hard, retirement should be the time we finally get to relax and enjoy our families and free time. But for too many of us, retirement is out of reach.

I’m 62 years old. I’ve been working since I was 16. For many of those years I had access to a pension and other retirement savings accounts, and I was able to put money away.

But when my mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, I had to stop working so I could care for her. Like the many other Boomers who find themselves in similar situations, instead of saving for retirement, I had to take money out of my savings to stay afloat.

Now I’m back in the workforce, but this time around I couldn’t find a job that offers a retirement savings plan. I’m not alone. Millions of New Yorkers are in the same boat. In New York State, over half of all private sector employees 18- to 64-years-old lack access to a workplace retirement savings plan. The number is over 60% for Millennials (18 to 34 years old), higher than any other age group. Many of us wonder: will retirement ever be within reach?

That’s why I support the Retirement Security for All legislation that Councilmembers Ben Kallos and I. Daneek Miller introduced in the City Council last month.

Under their proposed law, employers with more than five employees would enable workers to deduct a percentage of their pay to retirement savings accounts. Employees would

be able to opt-out at any time. An estimated 2.8 million working New Yorkers would get access to a retirement plan and employers wouldn’t even have to pay for it – the city would cover the costs of setting up the plans.

This is exactly what we need.

According to AARP’s “High Anxiety” report, over one-third of Gen-Xers and over 40% of Boomers have no retirement savings at all. We know that people are 15 times more likely to save for retirement if they have access to an employer-sponsored plan. Council Members Kallos and Miller’s plan is just the solution we need.

People clearly want to save for retirement, and they know that they should. But in my experience, most working New Yorkers are busy taking care of themselves and their families, and it’s hard to even know where to get started to set up a retirement plan.

If passed, Retirement Security for All wouldn’t cost businesses or taxpayers. I know that many small businesses in New York are also struggling. So one of the things I like about this legislation is that no public money will go into the accounts, and it doesn’t require employers to contribute. All they’d have to do is handle the paperwork. I think most employers want their employees to be financially secure and would be happy to do this small thing to help make it happen.

As a lifelong New Yorker, I want to see my city do right by its residents. Passing Retirement Security for All is a smart and simple way to help us enjoy the retirement we deserve.

Debra Robles lives in East Harlem.

Quite the view...

PHOTO BY TODD MAISEL

A bird’s eye view of the 49th New York Cit y Marathon run on Nov. 3.

Schneps Media

SAVING THE WATERFRONT Seven years ago, the East River swamped the FDR Drive and reached the edge of my building on the Lower East Side. The five days after Sandy were traumatic: power and communications down, dark streets and radio reports of the elderly stranded in the taller buildings of Co-op Village where I live.

I am haunted by images of hundreds swarming white vans to charge phones, of people carrying buckets of water along Grand Street and floating cars careening under the Williamsburg Bridge.

These memories coordinate with the City’s concerns on protecting thousands with planned infrastructure in the 100-year flood plain overlapping a swath of the Lower East Side.

The City of New York has worked on a plan whose first component is before the City Council. It’s a good start, adequately funded by the city and the federal government.

It’s called the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (ESCR) and we should approve it.

Approve it, because it makes a park for the next century - a landscape that protects people and plants.

Approve it, since it will create a universally accessible, continuous landscape - removing awkward ramps, steep stairs and bike resistant paths.

Approve it, because it’s not a hard seawall but soft, integrating its flood protection into a landscape - not on top of one.

Criticism has focused on its construction and the city needs to continue answering questions regarding interim recreation fields and storm protection as well as retaining historic components like the Seal Park, while promoting its quality design.

Caught between painful memories of post-Sandy conditions and a healthy skepticism of local government my view of the plan is not without concerns.

However, I maintain that city partners and their designers, engineers and environmental experts will deliver the protection we deserve.

We need to remember what we endured and how we rely on a city to survive the kind of de-

struction it left when we evaluate projects of this kind.

A universally accessible park with trees that can survive a salty, swollen East River, embedded in a natural berm providing flood protection, is a good plan and demonstrates our urban design ingenuity.

We should support the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project and ask the City Council to approve its ULURP application.

William J. Rockwell

CHECKING THE FACTS Regarding the bill to ban overnight parking for garbage trucks on city streets: DSNY should fact check before commenting. The trucks parked on 10th Street do not provide services to this area–they are assigned to garbage services above 14th Street. This lack of knowledge does not give us much confidence.

Susan Stetzer

BLAMING RIVERA On the special permits for hotels near Union Square: City Councilwoman Carlina Rivera has reneged on every commitment she made in her campaign regarding preservation and opposing over-development and out of context building in the area south of 14th Street.

She has clearly been a stooge for big real estate money and the corrupt de Blasio administration from day one of her tenure on the City Council.

What a major disappointment she is.

Josh Shapiro We always welcome your comments and concerns! Leave a comment on a story at thevillager.com, send an email to news@thevillager.com (subject line: Letter to the Editor), or write to Letters to the Editor, The Villager, 1 MetroTech Center North, Brooklyn, NY 11207.

All letters and comments are subject to editing. Names may be withheld upon request, but anonymous letters will not be considered for publication.

November 7, 2019

13

ICE still prowling outside courthouses: report

BY ALEJANDR A O'CONNELL-DOMENECH

F

ederal Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) agents continue to arrest immigrants in and around court houses across New York, according to data from the Immigrant Defense Project (IDP).

So far this year, the IDP has tallied 112 incidents of courthouse operations, including arrests and ICE agent sightings. Of this number, 23 have occurred in and around courthouses in Brooklyn, 22 in Queens, 12 in Manhattan, 10 in the Bronx and 2 in Staten Island, according to IDP. In April, the New York State Office of Court Administration issued new rules that prevent federal immigration agents from making arrests in courthouses without a judicial warrant. IDP claims that agents have disregarded those rules, with 28 of the 112 reported courthouse arrests occurring after April 17.

Since the new rules took effect, the IDP reported, agents have arrested or have been seen near a courthouse four times in Brooklyn, eight in Queens, six in Manhattan, three on Staten Island and two in the Bronx. Outside of New York City, agents have arrested or have been spotted near a courthouse five times.

AP PHOTO/GREGORY BULL, FILE

Despite state effor ts to stop them, ICE agents continue to arrest immigrants at local cour thouses, according to a repor t that the Immigrant Defense Project announced Tuesday.

The nonprofit announced its findings after including them in an amicus brief filed with the Southern District of New

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York in support of a lawsuit filed by state Attorney General Letitia James.

Her litigation, filed in September, aims

to stop ICE courthouses arrests.

Forty other organizations joined IDP in filing the amicus brief.

Immigration activists have argued that ICE’s police force creates a culture of fear. According to a survey that IDP conducted of 1,000 immigrants of family of immigrants currently dealing with the court system, 60 percent said that if they were a victim of a crime, they would avoid going to court out of fear of being arrested.

Moreover, 50 percent said that they avoided calling the police because of a fear of ICE intervention. “The lawsuits, court rules, and community opposition send a unified message that New York will not tolerate ICE’s increased targeting of people at courthouses,� added Alisa Wellek, executive director of the Immigrant Defense Project. “The federal government’s systematic racist policies that target Latinx and Black New Yorkers and other communities of color is inhumane and unjust and it’s time to put a stop to it once and for all.�

During the first two years of the Trump administration, the nonprofit has documented a 1,700 percent increase in ICE arrests and attempted arrests in New York state.

The federal Department for Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not respond to a request for comment.

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Bohemian artists going strong in East Vil.

BY BOB KR A SNER

Y

ou can count Ruth and Valery Oisteanu among the lucky ones. Still married after 46 years, still making art and still living in the East Village apartment they moved into in 1975.

When they met by chance on the street in Israel, they had already beat the odds. Ruth had been raised from infancy in NYC but was born to Holocaust survivors in a Displaced Persons camp in Germany. Valery had recently escaped Communist Romania (by way of Italy) when they connected in 1972. Though Ruth went home and Valery traveled through Europe, they were reunited in NYC a year later, married in a few months and began life together on the Upper East Side.

Thanks to their friend John Evans, a collage artist in the East Village, they found their home on Second Avenue. The two-bedroom apartment wasn’t in great shape and the neighborhood was, according to Ruth, “pretty awful!” She explained, “There were junkies on every corner, drug dealers on every other corner and hookers in between the corners.”

“We took the place as is,” said Valery. “No new paint, nothing. We filled the place with street furniture, art and mannequins. We funked it up!”

“You didn’t go east after sunset,” noted Ruth, “but the neighborhood was full of energy, art and crazy people. It was a great place to live.” It probably didn’t hurt that their spacious digs had a rent of less than $300. The landlord, they said, was happy to have “normal tenants.”

For 34 years, Ruth drove to the Bronx to teach at a public school (first grade,

PHOTO BY BOB KRASNER

Ruth Oisteanu and Valer y Oisteanu at home.

PHOTO BY BOB KRASNER

Ar t from friends, mementos, and their own ar t mix are ever y where in the apar tment of Ruth and Valer y Oisteanu.

Ruth, who has two master’s degrees, was also creating art. She considers her collage work “a hobby,” but she has an impressive portfolio of work behind her. Also a jewelry maker, she has seen her beadwork exhibited at the Museum of Art and Design, among other places.

PHOTO BY BOB KRASNER The pair participated fully in the East The living room/dining room of Ruth and Valer y OisVillage art world of the 80’s. The legteanu. endary music scene figured in as well.

“Danceteria, Mudd Club, whatever was then English as a second language) while Valery cu- happening, we were out there!” says Ruth.

Not just a visual artist, Valery has been writing rated art shows, wrote poetry, created collages and wrote about the art scene for “Soho Arts Weekly” and reciting his poetry since his days in Romania. (which became “Cover Arts”) in the 80’s, “NY Arts The Acker Award-winning author has produced ” in the 90’s and “The Brooklyn Rail” in the 2000’s. more than a dozen books (in English), some venturHe was, briefly, in a classroom as well, teaching sci- ing into short fiction and collage. Not content with ence and art. “As far as elementary school went, the written word, Valery frequently makes use of he wasn’t teacher material,” explained Ruth. “He his booming voice to perform his work, sometimes should have been working at college level.” to the accompaniment of live music. Back in the Schneps Media

day, on stage at the Pyramid, he coined the word “Jazzoetry” to describe his performance.

When not at home at their bohemian digs, which were frequently the site of art shows, salon-style gatherings, recitations, dinner parties, concerts, and who knows what else, they made a point of traveling when they could. Not content to just take snapshots, they shot video that went beyond the usual tourist subject matter.

In Bali, they “got into a wedding ceremony, a cremation ceremony, a tooth filing ceremony,” relates Ruth. A two and a half hour documentary, “Rhythms and Rituals of Bali,” was the result. It ended up being a very popular item when it was shown on Romanian TV. These days, the couple lives in a neighborhood that is very different from the one they moved into, and the apartment has changed as well. They bought the place when it went co-op in the late 80’s and watched the streets begin to clean up in the 90’s. Forced by a burst pipe to renovate in 2003, they stayed at the Chelsea Hotel for a couple of months while their found furniture became history and bookcases designed by Ruth were installed.

The guest room became a studio. Art, a mix of their own and their prominent friends, still fills the rooms and family photos mingle with inspirational imagery everywhere.

Valery sums up how they view the East Village now. “Although we have a bit of a bland corporate invasion,” he muses, “we still have a fabulous community of writers, performers, filmmakers and artists.”

Ruth and Valery Oisteanu will be participating in a group art show, “Unseen” at the Theater For The New City, 155 1st Ave. which began on Nov. 4th running to Jan. 2nd, with a reception on Nov. 13th from 5:30 – 8:00 p.m.

Valery Oisteanu has a solo show up now at the Ottendorfer Library. He will be giving a talk about the work on November 30th from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.

November 7, 2019

15

Hudson River Park party a real smash!

BY TEQUIL A MINSK Y

B

right sun warmed the November chill. It couldn’t have been a more beautiful Sunday at Chelsea Waterside Park, 11th Ave and 23rd Street, when throngs of families flocked to the second annual fall festival of pumpkin smashing hosted by Hudson River Park.

A Chelsea mom stacked six big but shrinking pumpkins into her shopping cart while others carted their pumpkins in strollers or schlepped them in Trader Joe’s bags.

PHOTO BY TEQUILA MINSKY TEQUILA MINSKY

Lots of concentration, taking aim, and with all their might — a smashing great time.

Kids donned protective goggles and, weaponized by metal bats, contemplated their attack. Parents offered pointers. Then the assault against each pumpkin, perched on a tree stump, began. A pumpkin might go flying off, to be placed again for another offensive. Moms’ and dads’ superior muscle power at times was employed to bring on cracks among the ribs and each child enjoyed as much time as needed to mangle and squash their squash.

This is the second year of the smashing pumpkins fall festival, a project of the Hudson River Park Community Composting Program, which maintains in the park seven organic matter/kitchen scraps compost drop-off points between N. Moore and W. 44th Street—available 7 a.m.-7 p.m. daily.

The Park’s Composting Center at 34th Street mixes these collected food scraps with the Park’s horticulture waste —a half-ton of weeds, branches, and other plant waste daily generated by the Park-—into reusable compost that keeps plants, trees and shrubs healthy.

By the fest day’s end, the chopped-up pumpkin pulp found its way to the 34th Street Composting Center. (Last year, the fall festival collected 1000 pounds of pulp.) The festival wrapped up around 2 p m.

Amidst smiles, countless children’s faces were artfully decorated by the time they left the park, and all who attended could only say they had a PHOTO BY TEQUILA MINSKY “smashing good time!”

Waiting in line to smash the pump[Community Compost drop off points are: Pier kins.

25 at N. Moore St. near the Pier 25 Play Area; Pier 40 at Houston St. near the Leroy Street Dog Families from Brooklyn and Queens Park; Pier 51 at Horatio St. near the Pier 51 comjoined local residents and one mother fort station; 14th Street Park at the southwest corand daughter traveled two hours from ner of 15th St. and 10th Ave; Chelsea Waterside Connecticut for this post-Halloween PHOTO BY TEQUILA MINSKY PHOTO BY TEQUILA MINSKY fun. Baby strollers lined a park path.

Local State Senator Brad Lots of concentration, taking Park at the 23rd St. and 11th Ave entrance; Pier 76 Fueled by sugarcoated apple cider do- Hoylman, right, and family aim, and with all their might at 34th Street and 12th Ave in Hudson River Park’s Compost Center; Pier 84 at W. 44th St. near the - it’s a smashing great time. nuts, parents and children patiently wait- joined in the fun.

Pier 84 Dog Park] ed to beat the heck out of their pumpkins.

After the comSmashed and smithereened posting event, chards moved on to be further Hudson River pulverized by a team of volunPark said that a teers. record number With free apple cider and of pumpkins had coffee also provided, this spur been smashed. of Hudson River Park hosted This year’s event a crafts table, a leaf scavenger saw 1,200 peohunt, and face-painting opple smash 380 tions, while audiences, bathing pumpkins, acin sunshine, enjoyed interactive cording to the performances by Story Pirates. park, which Furthermore, there is more generated over than one way to demolish a PHOTO BY TEQUILA MINSKY 2,000 pounds PHOTO BY TEQUILA MINSKY pumpkin! of pumpkin for Standing inside the bed of a dump truck, Cheered on and safeguarded compost, douwith cheering from Hudson River Park, PHOTO BY TEQUILA MINSKY

by Hudson River Park staff, atop a dump trunk, kids get ready for the big propel — anothThere was also face- bling last year’s kids smashed their pumpkins by the force of proer way to smash a pumpkin. painting at the event. amount. pelling them from above to cement below!

16

November 7, 2019

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Another awesome Village Halloween march The Village Halloween Parade on Oct. 31, the largest of its kind in New York City, brought together thousands of costumed spectators who colorfully celebrated the holiday with costumes reflecting sci-fi, cinema and politics. — Photos by Milo Hess

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November 7, 2019

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November 7, 2019

19

Eats

Tribeca biz creates granola for a good cause

BY GABE HERMAN

L

uv Michael, a nonprofit that produces granola and trains and employs people with autism, opened its first Manhattan commercial kitchen and learning center in Tribeca on Tuesday, Oct. 24.

The 3,000-square-foot space is at 42 Walker St., just below Canal Street, and also includes a small retail kiosk.

Luv Michael was founded in 2015 by Dr. Lisa Liberatore, who was inspired by her son Michael, who has autism and was unable to work after the age of 18. Luv Michael’s website notes that every year, over 50,000 people with autism age out of the school system and are unable to find meaningful employment.

Liberatore, who is also president of the company, wanted to create a place where Michael and others with autism could be trained and educated in the culinary field, with the goal of giving enough experience to then have jobs. “Luv Michael Co. was never designed to be a charity or provide young autistic adults with ‘something to do,’� according to Liberatore. Rather, she said the mission has been to “provide a meaningful culinary vocation for the Autistic population and to produce exceptional gluten-free and natural products.�

The company employs ten “granologists,� all of whom have autism, and who work and train full-time, five days a week until they are ready to participate in the manufacturing process.

COURTESY LUV MICHAEL

“Granologists� working to create Luv Michael’s granola.

The employees learn through a five-point curriculum that was developed with a combination of autism education and culinary specialists. It’s also based partly on the New York State food handler’s license exam.

The granola is organic, nut-free and locally sourced.

Luv Michael distributes its granola to a number of companies, including Starbucks, Fresh & Co., JetBlue, D’Agostino Supermarkets, and more than 60 other retailers in the New York City area. More information about the company can be found at luvmichael.com.

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November 7, 2019

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Manhattan Happenings

Get out and enjoy Manhattan this week, Nov. 7-13 Thursday, Nov. 7 Kids Bulb Planting Day 2 Children ages 5 to 10 can help plant the thousands of bulbs that have been delivered to Washington Square Park.

Please reserve a ticket for your child; parents do not need tickets.

3:30 to 5 p.m. at Kids PlaygroundLarge in Washington Square Park, 5th Ave., Waverly Pl., West 4th St., and Macdougal St., www.nycgovparks.org.

Free.

Friday, Nov. 8 Black Magic: Five This performance, which is a take on the African American and Latino LGBTQ community’s Vogue Femme art style, transcends the stage. Newsome tracks the dancers’ movements and projects the data on a screen during the show. 7:30 p.m. at New York Live Arts Theater, 219 West 19th St., www. newyorklivearts.org. $15-25.

Saturday, Nov. 9 Beautify Fort Tryon Park with New York Cares Volunteer to help beautify Fort Tryon Park through weeding, removing invasive species, and planting. Please register with New York Care before the event. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Anne Loftus Playground, 4746 Broadway, www.nycgovparks.org. Free.

Mozart and Takemitsu This program will combine Toku Takemistu’s piece with Ravel’s Pavane pour une Infante Defunte in a unique way. 8 to 9:45 p.m. at West Side Presbyterian Church, 6 Monroe St., www. nycpmusic.org. Free.

Sunday, Nov. 10 Historic Walking Tour of 19th Century Noho Walk along the same streets that the Merchant’s House’s Tredwell family walked in the 19th-century during this walking tour of Noho. 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. at Merchant’s House Museum, 29 East 4th St., www.nycgovparks.org. $15, free for Merchant’s House Museum Members.

ReCreate. RePurpose. & ReUse. Schneps Media

PHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES

Enjoy a fun-filled day at the Union Square Autumn Block Par ty on Nov. 10.

Pop-up Shop antique and vintage goods from local creators at the Grand Bazaar. 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Grand Bazaar NYC, 100 West 77th St., www.grandbazaarnyc.org. Free.

Union Square Autumn Block Party Enjoy a fun-filled day of food, vendors and entertainment in the heart of Union Square. Sponsored by the Union Square Partnership. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., 17th Street between Broadway and Park Avenue South. Free admission.

Monday, Nov. 11 Bilingual Sing Along Put your voice in this Mandarin Sing Along! 11:30 a.m. at Tompkins Square Library 331 East 10th St., www.nypl.org

Veterans Day Parade Salute all who served during the 100th edition of the annual march.

Kicks off at 11 a.m. from the corner of Fifth Avenue and 26th Street, marching north to 46th Street.

sual Arts College Fair Talk to representatives from colleges and universities with performing and visual arts programs to get ahead on your college search. 6:30 to 9 p.m. at Jacob K. Javits Convention Center 655 West 34th St., www.nacacfairs.org.

Free.

Tuesday, Nov. 12

Wednesday, Nov. 13

Morning Fitness at Fort Tryon Park Trained professionals will lead this morning hour of exercise, focusing on stretching, strengthening muscles, and walking. 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. at Heather Garden in Fort Tryon Park, Cabrini Blvd. and Fort Washington Ave.., www. nycgovparks.org . Free.

FASTNET: Plein-Air Drawings at Fresh Kills Park Draw your vision for Staten Island’s developing Freshkills Park through this opportunity at the Arsenal in Central Park. As you draw, consider how the past, present, and future interact to create and recreate the landfill park. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Arsenal in Central Park, 830 5th Ave., www.nycgovparks.org. Free.

New York City Performing and Vi-

What’s going on in your neighborhood? Tell us!

Email your events for our calendar to news@thevillager.com November 7, 2019

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Our Perspective

Housing Works Employees Demand Their Rights

By Stuart Appelbaum, President Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, UFCW Twitter: @sappelbaum

W

hen workers at Housing Works first approached our union, I was surprised to hear about the issues they face every day.

Housing Works was founded in 1990 by several members of ACT UP in order to provide housing, healthcare, job training, legal assistance, and other supportive services for people living with HIV/AIDS. Their 800 employees work at housing units, thrift stores, healthcare, and other locations throughout New York City.

We presumed that a non-profit like Housing Works with a progressive vision would respect the right of their workers to join a union. We approached Housing Works management about a neutrality agreement to expedite the process for workers to make changes in their workplace, as we have done at many other places before.

A signed neutrality agreement ensures that workers can choose to support a union free of any intimidation or retaliation by the employer.

Additionally, neutrality agreements can prescribe the process of how workers join a union. This is something that all major Democratic presidential candidates support. Other components of a neutrality agreement can include accessibility to workers and management remaining truly neutral.

In our discussions with Housing Works, we’ve learned that their progressive messaging does not apply to their own workforce. Housing Works management is behaving just as anti-union as much of corporate America. In fact, H&M, ZARA and countless others have signed neutrality agreements. Housing Works’ refusal to sign a neutrality agreement and their hiring of a “union avoidance” attorney demonstrates their true intent.

This is especially surprising at an organization that so many New Yorkers, myself included, so firmly believe in. What is clear is that Housing Works has strayed very far away from its progressive values in dealing with its workforce, and it’s deeply troubling.

On October 29, over 100 employees at Housing Works’ New York City locations walked off the job to speak out about the working conditions that they face throughout their organization. Workers also delivered to their employer Unfair Labor Practice charges (ULPs) that they filed with the National Labor Relations Board. The fact that they had to walk off their jobs to have their voices heard was a stunning development considering that their employer has long been a progressive leader for social justice.

For months, workers at Housing Works have raised serious concerns to management about their workplace environment. With conditions only worsening, workers believe that union representation is the best way for them to address their concerns. Housing Works’ refusal to sign a neutrality agreement is hindering that process.

Housing Works employees strive every day to improve the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS, and their work makes a real difference. It’s not too much for them to expect that their employer lives up to the same progressive principles toward their workers.

Housing Works needs to sign a neutrality agreement.

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RETURNING TO CITI FIELD THIS WINTER theworldsfare.nyc

Enjoy 21st Shanghai Century Soup Dumplings at Flushing’s Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao Flushing Favorite Nan Xiang Reopens as 21st Century Soup Dumpling Parlor

BY JOE DISTEFANO

As the Culinary King of Queens, I’m so very fortunate to live in the most diverse and delicious destination in all of New York City. Really I’m not royalty though, I’m an ambassador, and a hungry one at that. Today, we take a trip to Shanghai, China, via the International Express—aka the 7 train—to savor xiao long bao and more at the recently reopened Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao, widely regarded as one of the best places for the juicy soup filled dumplings in all of New York City.

For more than a decade the restaurant named for the county in Shanghai where the dumplings were invented was a favorite of everyone from the Michelin Guide to celebrity chef and TV personality Eddie Huang. An open kitchen, where a crew of ladies delicately folded the dumplings greeted customers, many of whom were happy to wait on line to savor some of the city’s best xiao long bao. For a long while I took Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao for granted, preferring to frequent the neighborhood’s food courts, where there was less of a wait. And then last May the neighborhood institution suddenly shut down leaving both New York City’s foodies and local diners devastated.

“Thirteen years ago I was a Nan Xiang customer,” recalls local businessman Eddie Zheng the man behind the restaurant’s rebirth. “Every time I would eat two orders of soup dumplings.”

Back then there were only two kinds of soup dumplings: pork and pork and crab. Zheng, who has gone from customer to owner and general manager, and his team have added four others— black truffle, Chinese squash, chicken, and foie gras—to the xiao long bao roster at the reborn Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao, which opened in One Fulton Square on November 1. The luxurious dumplings are available as part of “Lucky Six” set that sports jewel toned wrappers. As at the restaurant’s first incarnation you can watch your dumplings being made at an open kitchen that sits at the center of the 5,000-square-foot space.

The open kitchen takes center stage at the new Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao.

The scallion pancakes are as crisp and flaky as ever.

“We are so excited to re-open our door to the public and to serve this neighborhood again with a brand-new look,” said Zheng, who personally designed the mountains and trees that grace the restaurant’s lobby. “The original team has dedicated to elevating the menu and the service in the past few months, and it’s finally the time for us to share it with our customers. It’s the new era for this legendary restaurant, and we are so proud to carry the legacy.”

Part of that new era includes the swanky spacious dining room decorated by a gigantic red lantern and plates with the restaurant’s name in Chinese. Many of the old favorites, including flaky turnip puffs and crisp multilayered scallion pancakes can still be found on the menu, along with traditional Shanghai style fried rice cakes. I particularly enjoyed Shanghai pan fried noodles, thick strands with a slight char from masterful wok cookery.

Shot through with shredded pork, bok choy, and house special sauce they are a great accompaniment to the deluxe dumplings. I also really loved an appetizer of four happiness sponge tofu, comforting blocks of wheat gluten and wood ear mushrooms served cold in a sweet sauce.

A colorful sextet includes soup dumplings filled “The re-opening of Nan Xiang with foie gras, chicken, and black truffle.

Xiao Long Bao means so much to this

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Shanghai pan fried noodle have a slight char, a hallmak of masterful wok cookery. community,” said Helen Lee, Executive Vice President of F&T Group, who brokered the deal for the newly reborn restaurant. “We are proud to work with Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao to bring back this local favorite restaurant and to continue the culture and vibe our neighborhood.”

With space for more than 100 hungry xiao long bao enthusiasts there’s unlikely to be a wait either, and the restaurant will be open until 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

“When the old Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao closed, many of us feared the special atmosphere we all felt dining there would disappear forever— even if a new restaurant opened up again with the same name and menu,” says John Choe, Executive director of the Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce. “However, the opening of a revived Nan Xiang on Prince and 38th is proving us wrong with the reintroduction of their signature soup dumplings and scallion pancakes as well as hungry fans flocking from around the city, crowding the lobby, glad to be out of the cold, patiently waiting for their small piece of heaven.”

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39-16 Prince Street, #104 7 1 8.3 2 1.3 8 3 8 https://nanxiangxiaolongbao.com/

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Highlights of trick-or-treating on the streets of East Midtown

PHOTO COURTESY OF EAST MIDTOWN

A werewolf ready to sink his teeth into Halloween.

BY ALEJANDR A O’CONNELL-DOMENECH

O

n Halloween, over 100 local businesses in partnership with East Midtown opened their doors and passed out candy to children dressed up as werewolves, witches, superheroes and yes, even the 4 train.

For the last five years, the East Midtown Partnership has hosted the Halloween fun and boasts having welcomed 13,000 families with children under 12 since they first started hosting the holiday event.

Besides trick-or-treating, families had their faces paint-

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ed, take spooky photos and show off their looks during a costume contest hosted at the partnership’s welcome tent at the plaza outside 919 Third Avenue.

This year, East Midtown took the event to new level and called on attendees to donate to the nonprofit ‘WEEN DREAM, which gives costumes to children with special needs, those who face homelessness, recently experienced trauma or who are in the foster care system.

Many families taking part in yesterday’s Halloween fun brought costumes to donate to other families in need across the city.

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Real Estate

Prices plummet in Turtle Bay & East Midtown

BY SHAYE WEAVER

T

urtle Bay – East Midtown saw the highest number of price drops across all New York City neighborhoods in October, according to a report by RealtyHop.com.

The real estate website looks at important quantitative metrics provided by its rental site, RentHop, that has “a trove” of rental data.

In its most recent report, RealtyHop says that the Turtle Bay – East Midtown neighborhood saw 245 price drops, which is up 19 percent from 206 in September, the report states. The Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill followed closely behind with 225 price drops in October.

Manhattan neighborhoods in general had the most price drops across the city, including Hudson Yards-Chelsea-Flatiron-Union Square, Upper West Side and the West Village.

The top five addresses that saw the highest dollar price drop were all in Manhattan, in fact. One address in particular, 990 Fifth Ave., dropped $12,250,000 — a 23.6 percent drop in price. The Cen-

tral Park penthouse apartment with five bedrooms and five bathrooms is listed

by Sotheby’s for $39.7 million.

Long Island City/Queensbridge-Ravenswood took the top spot as the neighborhood with the highest median dollar price drop in October with a decrease of $2 million. SoHo/TriBeCa/Civic Center/Little Italy had a median price drop of $200,000 while the Bronx’s Morrisania/

Melrose saw a prices drop by $150,000.

The Upper East Side and Brooklyn’s Starett City were No. 4 and 5 on the list with $130,000 and $100,000 median price decreases, respectively.

For more information, RealtyHop. com also has an interactive map where you can search each neighborhood’s price drops.

The Villager Sales Guide Listings selected at random. Courtesy StreetEasy.com and Google Maps GREENWICH VILLAGE

East 12th Street

SOHO

Charlton Street

LOWER EAST SIDE

East Houston Street

CHELSEA

West 29th Street

Under $1 million 39 East 12th Street #203 Price:$739,000 Studio Bathrooms: 1 Broker: Corcoran

Under $1 million 246 Spring Street #3509 Price:$995,000 Beds: 1 Bathrooms: 1.5 Broker: Corcoran Group

Under $1 million 415 Grand Street #E1801 Price:$950,000 Beds: 2 Bathrooms: 1 Broker: Corcoran

Under $1 million 420 West 23rd Street #7C Price:$999,900 Beds: 2 Bathrooms: 1 Broker: Sothebys

Under $3 million 60 East 13th Street #2W Price: $2,900,000 Beds: 2 Bathrooms: 2 Broker: Brown harris Stevens

Under $3 million 110 Charlton Street #28E Price: $2,820,000 Beds: 2 Bathrooms: 2 Broker: Corcoran Group

Under $3 million 252 South Street #41A Price: $2,785,000 Beds: 2 Bathrooms: 2 Broker: Extell

Under $3 million 144 West 18th Street #4N Price: $2,295,000 Beds: 2 Bathrooms: 2 Broker: Corcoran

Under $5 million 644 Broadway #3W Price: $4,600,000 Beds: 3 Bathrooms: 2.5 Broker: Corcoran

Under $5 million 46 Mercer Street #7W Price: $3,500,000 Beds: 3 Bathrooms: 3 Broker: Capital Realty Investors

Under $5 million 287 East Houston Street Penthouse Price: $4,995,000 Beds: 3 Bathrooms: 2.5 Broker: Corcoran

Under $5 million 515 West 29th Street #4S Price:$4,250,000 Beds: 2 Bathrooms: 3 Broker: Corcoroan

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Nightlife

City Winery pop-up location gets new holiday menu

BY ALEJANDR A O’CONNELL-DOMENECH

Sound off!

C

ity Winery will be updating its Rockefeller Center wine garden with a holiday menu and decor starting Nov. 8.

The garden, which first opened in July, serves as a pop-up location for the urban wine and performance venue and will continue to serve customers with a new holiday-themed menu until the end of the 2019 holiday season.

City Winery is placing heating lamps and blankets throughout the garden to keep customers warm as they enjoy holiday drinks like regular or spiked apple cider, mulled wine and hot chocolate.

Guests can also enjoy holiday-themed dishes or City Winery’s long list of on tap wines and craft beers inside of two fullservice heated igloos.

In August, City Winery moved from its long-time home in Soho to Hudson River Park’s Pier 57 and will open again in 2020.

Write a letter to the editor news@thevillager.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF CITY WINERY

Cit y Winer y’s temporar y pop-up location will be on the plaza of Rockefeller Center.

In Partnership with:

The Everything Autism & conference and resource fair will be a guiding map to inform parents, educators and caregivers with resources they may not have access to.

REGISTER NOW:

Fair & Conference Monday, November 18, 2019 9:30am - 5:30pm

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www.newyorkfamily.com/everythingautism Hear from our experts discussing:

Communication & Mindfulness Health, Science & Environment Parent Journeys What are my childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s educational rights?

A legal perspective Schneps Media

Integrating Methods of Learning Navigating Independence, Self Direction, & Financial Planning

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