WestView News
The Voice of the West Village
VOLUME 11, NUMBER 2
FEBRUARY 2015
Don’t Build a Bridge to Diller Island with our Tax Dollars By George Capsis On February the 11th the thirteen members of the Hudson River Park Trust (HRPT) will sit down to accept the offer of billionaire Barry Diller to spend $130 million dollars to build a 2.9 acre, undulating, reinforced concrete island supported by three hundred concrete mushrooms standing 70 to 30 feet above the Hudson. Designed by the British designer Thomas Heatherwick, who delights in clusters of enormous repetitive forms, it will be more a gigantic piece of sculpture than an island or a pier—it will, indeed, be the largest and most expensive such piece of sculpture ever built in New York City and perhaps in the world. The seemingly generous offer will be no surprise to the board. As the park’s Chief Operating Officer, Madelyn Wils, offered in the January issue of WestView News, she approached Diller and his wife, dress designer Diane Von Furstenberg, for a contribution to rebuild the decayed Pier 54 between 14th
and 15th Street some months ago. Both Diller and Von Furstenberg have made the meatpacking district their turf, with Diller building his prismatic glass Frank Gary designed headquarters on 11th Avenue and 19th street and Mrs. Von Furstenberg her headquarters at 874 Washington and 14th Streets. Both have made large donations to the High Line and, now, the new Whitney. There is a difference, however, in the proposed new Pier 55—it is not a private space that belongs to Diller or Furstenberg, but is instead a public space. It will have 3 open-air amphitheaters for performances and concerts. Diller, a former Paramount and Fox CEO, knows how to recruit talent, witness British born Kate Horton—the former deputy director of the National Theater and for ten years the commercial manager of the Royal Shakespeare Company—who will head the events program. Half of the events will be free or low cost and others will continued on page 16
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SAVE MONEY AND SAVE PIER 40: Barry Diller is about to receive permission from the HRPT
to build a $100 million, 2. 9 acre concrete, undulating platform for outdoor paid performances and the city and state have agreed to build two causeways to it for $39.5 million. West View suggests that for $30 million of that $139.5 million the corroding steel piles of the pier can be secured and seating for 800 can be installed for theatrical, music and athletic events. Rendering by Brian J. Pape.
A Call for Integrity By Arthur Z. Schwartz
“These charges go to the very core of what ails Albany—a lack of transparency, lack of accountability, and lack of principle joined with an overabundance of greed, cronyism, and self-dealing.” — U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara January 21, 2015
GUNG HAY FAT CHOY! Chinese New Year (this the Year of the Sheep or Goat) begins
on February 19th. The Chinatown parade is set for the afternoon of Saturday, February 21st, beginning at 1pm. Photo by Jane Barrer.
U.S. Attorney Bharara has said it before, but this time he got the biggest fish, the King of the Assembly. What did he do (allegedly)? •Silver sent State funds to a doctor who sent asbestos cases to a law firm where he did no work, and the firm paid Silver $3 million in “referral fees”. •Silver got another $700,000 in “refer-
ral fees” from a real estate firm to which he had sent two major developers—who happened to have business in front of the State. •Silver actively pushed Governor Cuomo to close the Moreland Corruption Commission after it subpoenaed his outside income information. I am a civil rights lawyer and usually give the accused the benefit of the doubt, but I know the asbestos referral world, and it is rife with money and cute ways to flout both law and ethics. Government should be run by people way above suspicion, not people under indictment who are out on bail. Preet Bharara summed it up best when he asked whether we could be sure that any continued on page 21
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2 WestView News February 2015
WestViews
WestView
Correspondence, Commentary, Corrections
Published by WestView, Inc. by and for the residents of the West Village.
Titanic Facts
Publisher Executive Editor George Capsis Associate Editors Christy Ross, Katie Keith Design Consultant Stephanie Phelan Photo Editor Darielle Smolian Traffic Manager Liza Whiting Photographer Maggie Berkvist Comptroller Jolanta Meckauskaite Architecture Editor Brian Pape Theater Editor Irv Bauer Film, Media and Music Editor Jim Fouratt Regular Contributors Constantine Alatzas Cristiano Andrade Sandi Bachom John Barrera Barry Benepe Irv Bauer Maggie Berkvist Janet Capron George Capsis Barbara Chacour Amanda Davis Philip Desiere Ron Elve Jim Fouratt Mark M. Green Robert Heide Keith Michael Michael D. Minichiello Brian Pape Joy Pape David Porat Alec Pruchnicki Catherine Revland Arthur Schwartz
Hello George, Your coverage of Pier 55 is thoughtful and informative as are all your articles on the Village and I thank you for that. What I take exception to is a contributor listed on your masthead who doesn’t do his homework. Page 5, Barry Benepe; Pier 55: An Island Rises The Titanic lost over 1500 souls in the sinking, not 1,000 and had Captain Smith been “within view of the coast” as written by Benepe, he would certainly have grounded the ship. In fact the Titanic was 375 miles away from Newfoundland. It takes less than a minute to get these two facts online. On another subject you likely know about the #12 bus now running from Hudson and West 12th Street to 59th Street. It should be mentioned to increase ridership since it goes up the West Side highway from 15th Street to 23rd Street and then to Columbus Circle. On return it comes down 11th Avenue to 23rd and then again the West Side Highway to about 18th Street I believe; then to Abingdon Square. So it is, in a sense an Express Bus since there are no pick-ups on the highway and few on the north and south bound routes. After 14 years I did not run for re-election as the Westbeth Gallery Director you might well know. I am sorry that I was never able to convince our residents’ council to place ads with you. Happy New Year, George. — Jack Dowling West Village resident since 1951
We endeavor to publish all letters received, including those with which we disagree. The opinions put forth by contributors to WestView do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher or editor. WestView welcomes your correspondence, comments, and corrections: www.westviewnews.org
Contact Us (212)924-5718 gcapsis@gmail.com
Response from Barry Benepe:
The facts concerning the sinking of the Titanic come from The Only Way to Cross by John Maxtone-Graham. In Chapter 3, Olympic-Titanic, he states that «Even though within sight of land, a thousand lives were lost.» I should have more thoroughly scanned the context. He was speaking of the Empress of Ireland. I thank Jack Dowling for picking this out. John Maxtone-Graham’s most recent book is SS United States: Red, White and Blue Riband, Forever. There has been interest by its owner, Susan Gibbs, descendant of William Francis Gibbs, the naval architect who designed that ship, in bringing her to NYC. —Barry Benepe
Rent Control a Bad Deal Dear Mr. Capsis, The loss of your paper for West Village residents would be a tragedy. That said, your editorial comment in “Only The Rich…” while well intentioned was erroneous in implying that rent control was a good deal, [and] in fact cementing that view by using the $500 and $600 rents of people you know as examples. Usually when there are low rates like that, it’s a mom and pop building and they don’t want to spend any money on lawyers submitting applications to raise the rent. Or the building has several violations against it: holes in walls, rats, etc. Actually Rent Control is a very bad deal for people who don’t qualify for SCRIE:
Senior Citizens Rent Increase Exemption. The “Rent Increase Exemption” should be a tip off that there is really no “Rent Control.” In fact my rent goes up 7.5 per cent (compound interest) every year. Here’s the regulation: “In New York City, rent control operates under the Maximum Base Rent (MBR) system. A maximum base rent is established for each apartment and adjusted every two years to reflect changes in operating costs. Owners who certify that they are providing essential services and have removed violations, are entitled to raise rents up to 7.5 percent each year until they reach the MBR. Tenants may challenge the proposed increase on the grounds that the building has violations or that the owner›s expenses do not warrant an increase. For New York City rent controlled apartments, rents can also be increased because of increases in fuel costs (passalongs) and in some cases, to cover higher labor costs.” Unfortunately, the MBR, at the request of landlords submitting costs, is always changed, and the rent increase is always 7.5 per cent a year. Those low-interest raises by The Rent Guidelines Board have nothing to do with Rent Control which is run by the Dept. of Finance, regulated by the DHCR, and just plain hard to pin down on what agency is responsible for what, which is why there is never any information about Rent Control rates in the paper. And why most New Yorkers continue to think it’s a bargain. And it probably is but not for senior citizens who don’t qualify for SCRIE. Best Regards, —Earl Carter
BRIEFLY NOTED January VID Meeting On Thursday, January 8, the Village Independent Democrats (VID) held their monthly meeting. There were brief reports from newly elected president Nadine Hoffman and Democratic district leader Keen Berger. This was followed by elections for club positions and a new executive board.
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Frieda Bradlow and Ellen Peterson were elected as co-treasurers, Kathy Slawinski as recording secretary, and Ed Yutkowitz and Jonathan Geballe as corresponding secretaries.
City Council member Corey Johnson sent his newly appointed Chief of Staff Eric Bottcher to give a report on a variety of political issues. This was followed by a forum on the proposed Pier 55 construction. Rick Caccapolo, chair of Community Board 2 Parks Committee, Susan Aaron, representing Friends of Hudson River Park, and Kate Horton, an independent theatrical producer, discussed the proposal in generally positive terms. There were numerous questions from club members along with a consensus that many more discussions would be taking place as this proposal progresses.
A resolution proposed by Tom Connor which expressed disappointment at Governor Cuomo’s rejection of a free medical clinic run by the Remote Area Medical organization was passed. Jonathan Geballe offered the governor a letter of support for the recent decision to ban fracking in New York State, which also passed. Nadine Hoffman informed the club members that the executive committee had sent a letter of sympathy concerning the recent killing of two police officers to local police precincts. The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 12 at 6:30 p.m. in St. John’s Church on Christopher Street. —Alec Pruchnicki
Alec Pruchnicki is a member of the executive committee of the VID.
February 2015 WestView News 3
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Polished Notes on Sixth Avenue “George, perhaps you can just play gently.” This last minute advice from the conductor before my debut performance as a member of the fifth grade class band is a humbling segue into my present task of informing the good readers of Westview News about the newly installed 40 rank pipe organ gracing the choir loft of the Church of Saint Joseph’s. In case your West Village ecclesial acumen is lacking, “St. Joe’s” is the Roman Catholic parish with the Greek revival columns on the corner of 6th Avenue and Washington Place. It’s Protestant architectural form belies its popish allegiance for good reason. Constructed in an era when anti-Catholic sentiments took the form of torching the local parish—it was a safer bet to try and “blend in.” Its present day mission is to be a beacon of truth on this maddeningly mercurial island of Manhattan. St. Joseph’s is certainly what keeps me wired into the Gospel via the skillful, earthy, and often entertaining preaching of the Dominican friars who hold court there. And I’m not
COME HAVE A LISTEN: The newly installed, 40-rank pipe organ gracing the choir loft of the
Church of St. Joseph’s. Photo by George Goss.
the only one. When NYU’s in session, the 6:00 p.m. Sunday mass is packed with 650 people, mostly students and young professionals. While the other masses attract a
different crowd, the quality of music plays a significant role in drawing all of the attendees back again next week. Throughout the year there are orches-
tral performances open to the public, including the Washington Square Music Festival. Blessed with an easily accessible location and perfect acoustics, it’s not surprising that musicians flock to it. The latest musical addition—this pipe organ of “untold sum”— is the bequest of long time parishioner Clare Sabatino. Built by the Létourneau Organ Company in St. Hyacinth, Canada, it is Ms Sabatino’s way of honoring her father who played first harp for the New York Philharmoic. Since my musically-challenged word is hardly convincing, my only advice is to come have a listen at the next concert or stop in on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. when Bach, Mozart, and Byrd jockey for the honor of providing liturgical accompaniment. Latest concerts and events are listed at www.washingtonsquarecatholic.org. All are welcome. — George Goss
George Goss (george.goss@yahoo.com) is a parishioner of Saint Joseph’s in Greenwich Village.
No Kisses for Hershey
SHAME ON THEM! Tea & Sympathy’s Nicki
Perry was outraged that Hershey had moved to ban the importation of Cadbury’s chocolate products from the U.K.
What is an ex-pat to do? Unless Hershey’s recent action can be turned around, all those imported childhood favorites from Cadbury’s—Kit-Kat, Toffee Crisp, Crunchie, and many more—will be
banned! And although, as it has for years, Hershey will continue to make Cadbury products for sale in the U.S., the ingredients are different and, as the connoisseurs will tell you, “They’re not the same!” When the online bulletin from DNAInfo broke the story on January 22nd, WestView News immediately called our neighborhood importers of all things British—Nicki Perry at “Carry On Tea & Sympathy” and Jenny Myers from “Myers of Keswick”—for their reactions. The word from Nicky was “Outraged.” Puzzled by Hershey’s sudden move to ban distribution of the British products in the U.S., we asked her ‘Why now?’ To which she replied that she suspected the problem was that the importers, LBB (Let’s Buy British) and PoshNosh, had recently been more aggressively competing with Hershey by distributing to a wider, less specialized market. A customer piped up that she had seen Cadbury products at Fairway!
As for a solution, Nicki suggested all parties concerned need to sit down together to work out an arrangement whereby the UK products could continue to be distributed to the specialty stores like hers whose whole existence depends on imported products. When WVN spoke with Jenny, she said her first reaction had been “how ‘un-American’ of Hershey to be trying to crush the competition!” And she agreed with Nicki’s verdict as to the reason for the sudden Hershey move against the distributors, and with her suggested solution. The situation for Myers of Keswick, however, turns out to be slightly different; from the day 30 years ago when her father, Pete Myers, opened their little store on Hudson Street, for anything he didn’t make on the premises (the pies, sausages, etc.) he never used distributors, but imported direct from the source. So, despite the paperwork involved, Jenny has followed in Pete’s footsteps, and deals with the FDA direct.
Welcome A “Board” Dr. Jonathan Keith, a sometime contributor to this paper, passed his oral board examination for the American Board of Plastic Surgery in December. Big whoop you say? Not so fast… the board certification process is not merely a rubber stamp. The pass rate varies year-to-year, but in 2012 over 20% of the candidates failed. Candidates must sit for three interviews over a two-day period and are made to answer questions about the most difficult cases they performed during their board collection period, usually their first year in practice after residency.
Dr. Keith will continue to practice at University Hospital in Newark as a board certified plastic surgeon, specializing in micro-surgery, a specialized type of plastic surgery that uses tissue from your own body to reconstruct body parts after injury or cancer. Dr. Keith’s board-reviewed cases included making a tongue out tissue from the thigh and breast reconstruction using the patient’s abdominal tissue. Both were cancer patients. He likes a challenge. Congratulations Dr. Keith! — WestView Editors
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED: Dr. Jonathan Keith
passed his Oral Board Examination, no small feat! Photo courtesy of Katie Keith.
The good news is that both Nicki and Jenny have already made sure their Easter orders have been taken care of—so, come April, be sure to hop on in for your Easter bunnies and Cadbury’s chocolate eggs. — Maggie Berkvist
BANNED!! Some of the Cadbury favorites
we may never see again!—Unless the Brits can negotiate an exception to the new ruling. Photos by Maggie Berkvist.
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4 WestView News February 2015
Extreme Wealth Continues to Grow out of Control, While Inequality Worsens for the Rest of Us. By Paul Buchheit
When I saw an arresting graphic on Bill Moyer’s show indicating that only 40 individuals owned as much as half the US population, I knew I wanted to share it with the readers of West View. When we asked the author for permission, he generously let us reproduce his original article. There is no question that global wealth is tipping into fewer and fewer hands, and we see an echo of this here in the West Village, when a real estate developer is allowed to demolish a 161-year-old hospital to replace it with luxury condos. —George Capsis, WestView News Publisher First published on AlterNet November 30, 2014 Just 70 individuals now own as much wealth as half the world. In the U.S., the richest 40 individuals own as much as half the country, and the 16,000 American households in the top .01% have accumulated an average net worth of over a third of a billion dollars. As extreme wealth continues to grow out of control, inequality worsens for the rest of us, plaguing our country and our world, spreading like a terminal form of cancer. It should be a major news item in the mainstream media. But the well-positioned few are either oblivious to or uncaring about its effect on less fortunate people. The data and chart come from Forbes, Credit Suisse, and a recent study by Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman:
1. Just 70 Individuals Own As Much Wealth As Half the World.
Less than a year ago, Oxfam reported that the richest 85 individuals owned as much wealth as half the world. But recently updated calculations reveal that the richest 70 individuals now own $1.842 trillion, more than the poorest half of the world. We're drawing nearer to the fulfillment of Charles Koch's dream: "I want my fair share and that's all of it." 2. Just 40 Americans Own As Much Wealth As Half the United States
About a month ago it was 43, and a month before that it was 47. Now the richest 40 Americans (The Forbes 40) own a little over $1.092 trillion, about the same, according to calculations based on Credit Suisse data, as the poorest half of the country. The national wealth that was created by all of us over many decades is quickly being redistributed to fewer and fewer incomprehensibly rich people. One of the causes for this pathological transfer of wealth is revealed in the final statement. 3. Stock/Equity Wealth of the Richest 12,000 Households Has Surpassed the Housing Wealth of 108,000,000 Households
Just 35 years ago, the percentage of national wealth in middle-class housing (net of mortgages) was about seven
How Much is a Life Worth By George Capsis I feel for Douglas Durst. He not only grew up with a mentally disturbed and obviously psychopathic brother—who probably killed three people and now most certainly wants to kill Douglas—but the latest horror is brother Robert freely disgorging his fantasies in an upcoming TV series. When the Times came to Douglas to get his side, he could no longer restrain himself and unloaded his living nightmare. Along with other readers of the sensational story that the Post jumped on “Douglas Durst blasts psychopath brother ahead of HBO series,” I was horrified by the salaciousness of the details and disgusted at the lack of justice. When Durst’s soft spoken father Seymour become convinced that Robert was mentally ill (he urinated in the office waste paper baskets) he legally shifted control to Douglas. This cemented Robert’s blind hatred of Douglas, and he walked out of the office and Douglas’s life except for those awful headlines—the disappearance of his wife in 1982, the disappearance then murder of friend Susan Berman in 2000, and the death and dismemberment of his neighbor in 2001. It seems very rich people like O J Simpson and Robert Durst can afford expensive lawyers who allow them to kill with impunity. Watching these horrible tragedies unfold, one would think that Douglas Durst has spent more than a little time contemplating “how much is a life worth.” If only because he has had to fear for his own life, maybe it could make him cherish the lives of his neighbors more. Douglas Durst could be very important to you, a reader of WestView News, not because of splashy headlines, but because he could be one of our ‘local” billionaires who decides, yes, what the community really needs is not an undulating concert island, or more condos, but an emergency room with enough of a hospital to back it up. We have 5 billionaires—Bill Rudin, Steve Witkoff, Barry Diller, Mike Novogratz and Douglas Durst—who are spending millions in or very near our community, but not one has
LIVING WITH MADNESS: Robert Durst (left), older brother of
Douglas Durst (right) has disgorged his involvement in three murders for an upcoming TV series. Developer Douglas Durst has proposed saving Pier 40 and offering it to start up hi-tech companies.
said, ‘Oh, since the 11 buildings of 161-year-old St. Vincent’s were torn down for condos, we ought to make a donation to build not just a walk-in, walk-out urgent care facility, but a real emergency room to save the lives of local heart attack and stroke victims. As I write these words, I realize you can’t tell a billionaire how he should give his tax deductible money, in fact, he will resent the suggestion and defiantly go in another direction. Most only want a nearby emergency room when in the ambulance after a heart attack with only 15 minutes to live. But Douglas Durst could be different He had a kind and thoughtful father who collected New York historic memorabilia, and when I visited Douglas in his office at 1 Bryant Park, I stepped into an office that had one huge glass window that looked out on all of lower Manhattan, Brooklyn, and New Jersey right to Staten Island—spectacular—and out of all that beauty Douglas pointed out the building of a nonprofit charitable group they were helping. He
40 OWN HALF OF US WEALTH: The few who control trading
are, with increasing speed, gathering the world’s wealth.
times more than the percentage of national wealth in equities owned by the .01% (12,000 families). Now middleclass housing is only about half the value of those equities. Saez and Zucman report that the total of corporate equities, bonds, and savings deposits owned by the .01% amounted to 2.2 percent of total U.S. household wealth in the mid-1980s, rising to 9.9 percent in 2012. Meanwhile, housing for the bottom 90% dropped from 15 percent of total household wealth to 5-6 percent. Since the bottom 50%, according to the authors, own almost zero wealth, the housing figures pertain to the 50-90% families, which can be described as "middle class." Possible solutions are becoming clearer: 1. A Financial Speculation Tax to slow down the flow of money to the takers. 2. Occupy Wall Street, Phase II went out of his way to tell me he and his company were a not just another ruthless developer, but people who cared. When Douglas became the head of Friends of Hudson River Park, he was ready to put his corporate funds up to build condos along the North side of Pier 40 to save it, and even Debora “no” Glick was for it, but he was ousted by Princeton wrestling team captain Mike Novogratz, who felt Pier 40 sports was his thing, and later secretly offered $100 million for the air rights to build even more condos on top of St. John’s Terminal. But before Novogratz’s power play, Douglas was prepared to do the right thing. Now one of the problems with billionaires is you can’t appeal to them with a profit making deal – they don’t need any more money and making more is just a game and yes, it has to be their own act of charity. But if just one of the billionaires, maybe Douglas, could be moved, Dr. David Kaufman, who brilliantly articulated the need to save St. Vincent’s, has viable plans. He suggested adding floors to the North Shore LIJ 13th Street and 7th Avenue Healthplex and to the triangular garage site just opposite— this would provide enough floors for an emergency room or we might build a Medical Electronics Research Center and hospital on St. John’s Terminal. I am going to ask Tim to take a few copies of this February issue up to Doug’s office for him to read. And maybe he will take his extra copy to his own doctor who, after skimming the article will smile and say “yes, well, Doug, nice, but hospitals are money losers, it is where poor people go for medical help and never pay.” Or maybe Douglas will really consider “how much is a life worth.” Letting a few people die to make the business of medicine profitable is not acceptable. Instead of saving money and letting people die in the ambulance on the way to the fewer and fewer ever receding emergency rooms in ever increasing traffic, maybe Douglas could do the right thing as he was prepared to do for Pier 40. Doug Durst should pick up the phone and call Dr. David Kaufman and ask him how much he should donate and where to save those lives.
February 2015 WestView News 5
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What’s Love Got to do With “Likes”? By Ron Elve To figure out what you love, it is helpful to examine your “likes.” Everyone is familiar with the phrases “to know her is to love her” and “to know him is to love him.” Exploring your own list of likes—getting to know yourself—has the potential to increase the love in your life. You might also want to consider how you define love. A working definition of love might be any time you feel that special positive feeling. Identifying the “likes” that induce that feeling can be helpful. An exercise that allows you to practice
this is listing on a large sheet of paper all of your likes including things like sunsets, Facebook likes, and, of course, people! Start by brainstorming, which means avoiding details, practical consideration and quibbles. Stay in the moment and just do it. After creating your list, you may want to consider which of these things you would like to explore further and enjoy more of? Note also that many friendly relationships are often activity based. Knowing what you like can help you find more friends who share the same “likes.”
Ruth Berk Is Free! (Almost)
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Ruth Berk, the 91-year-old Christopher Street resident, and a historic part of the Village — she ended a career as an opera singer to open the Waverly Lounge in the Hotel Earl on Washington Square North, and became its resident cabaret singer — finally returned home to 95 Christopher Street on January 22, after spending 11.5 months in two nursing homes at the direction of “Acting” Justice Tanya Kennedy, who found her “incompetent” to handle her own affairs without ever holding a hearing which Ruth could attend. Ruth’s return was part of a long volunteer effort by Village District Leader and attorney Arthur Schwartz to free her from the nursing home. He continues to fight to end the guardianship which he has described as an “unconstitutional imprisonment.” A hearing is set for February 9. Said Ruth (pictured above in front of a 1940s portrait and with Schwartz): “This may be the sweetest day of my life; it’s like getting out of prison for a crime I didn’t commit. Thanks to all my neighbors for your support.” Photo by Maggie Berkvist.
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6 WestView News February 2015
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AH, THE JOYS OF SHOPPING: especially in a store (Anthropologie) kind enough to provide
a comfortable sofa for those in need of a little R & R along the way.
February 2015 WestView News 7
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Je Suis Charlie!
Blasting De Blasio: Is it Dinkins Redux? By Arthur Z. Schwartz We live in one of the most segregated communities in America. It is ironic because we also live in one of the most politically liberal communities in America. In Community Board 2, which goes from 14th Street to Canal Street, Hudson River to Fourth Avenue/Bowery, only 2% of the residents are Black. Other than a little part of Chinatown, we live in a Caucasian enclave which would give the most racially segregated areas of the South a run for their money. I raise this because it is striking that even in our liberal-minded city, race plays a major role in how New Yorkers view the world. And if events of the recent months teach us anything, it is that the racial legacy of the United States, the fact that we were a nation built on the trade of African slaves, continues to haunt us and remains the Number One social problem of our time. And that is 150 years since the Emancipation Proclamation.
We began 2015 in the midst of one of the most troubling public fights our city has ever seen. We began 2015 in the midst of one of the most troubling public fights our city has ever seen. We have all seen the video of Eric Garner, a large Black man, being choked to death by a cop, and we all know that a politically motivated DA refused to lead a Grand Jury into an indictment. We saw weeks of large, somewhat anarchistic, marches of angry protesters around the City chanting “I can’t breathe,” blocking traffic, bridges and tunnels, and even doing a die-in at City Hall (including our City Council member Corey Johnson). And we saw a Mayor who tolerated the protests in a way his predecessors Bloomberg and Giuliani never would, a Mayor who met with protest leaders, and a Mayor who spoke publicly about having a Black son, and having to teach his son about how to be careful around police. And then two cops were shot, and the opportunist head of the PBAS, Patrick Lynch, stated that de Blasio “has blood on his hands,” and organized displays of disrespect, and a call for the Mayor to step down. One of the dispiriting aspects of Barak Obama’s election and re-election as President has been the fact that a majority of White voters did not vote for him, and that among those who did disillusionment followed quickly for many. (Yes, it is a fact that if only Whites had voted, we would
have a President McCain and/or a President Romney.) The big money behind the Republican Party has appealed to the simple mistrust many Whites have of a Black President, and built the Tea Party around many of the code-words of racial prejudice. Last summer James Lincoln Collier discussed this issue in the Westview News setting off a firestorm of debate. Unfortunately the same is running true for Mayor de Blasio. New Yorkers are sharply divided by race in their approval ratings of Mayor Bill de Blasio, with blacks overwhelmingly supportive of the Mayor’s work and whites barely showing support, according to poll results released on January 15. While 78 percent of black polled voters approved of the job de Blasio is doing, white respondents disapproved almost two-to-one, according to the Quinnipiac University Poll. Slightly more than half of Hispanics approved of de Blasio. Overall, 48 percent of voters approved of the way de Blasio is handling relations between blacks and whites, compared to 42 percent who disapproved. Overall, 49 percent of New York City voters supported the mayor. What drives these numbers? In my opinion it has a lot to do with the fact that while de Blasio is White, he is married to a Black woman, and has two Black children. He is perceived by too many in the White community as too close to Blacks. His wife , Chirlane McCray, has angered many by serving basically as an unpaid Deputy Mayor. She clearly has ties to outspoken leaders in the Black Community. So while we do not have a Black Mayor, in the eyes of many—including a PBA President who is try trying to divide New Yorkers—de Blasio is so deeply entangled with the Black community that he is to be distrusted, almost as though he was Black himself. And why am I saying this? Because the calumny of the last month has been disturbing, and it is important to show things as they are. My inspiration? The brave staff of Charlie Hebdo. Je Suis Chalie! I want my fellow New Yorkers to think about their feelings about Mayor de Blasio and try to understand why the Black and White communities see this deep thinking man, who is conscious of the racial divide in this City, so differently.
Arthur Schwartz is the Village Male District Leader and the President of the Public Interest Law Foundation known as Advocates for Justice
Voices of Ascension Fauré Requiem Music from the Russian Orthodox Tradition Thursday February 5, at 8:00pm Church of the Ascension Fifth Avenue at Tenth Street Dominique Labelle, soprano
•
Evan Hughes, bass-baritone
Dennis Keene Artistic Director Tickets at www.voicesofascension.org or 212.358.7060
KIDS
110 Years of Children’s Arts Education in Greenwich Village • • • • • • • • • • •
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8 WestView News February 2015
West Village Original: James Stewart Polshek
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A BOLD PLATFORM FOR VIEWING SPACE: in his signature effort 86 year-old West Village
architect James Polshek matched the visions of space with a soaring open plan in the New York Rose Center for Earth and Space. Image courtesy of ©Aislinn Weidele.
By Michael D. Minichiello
This month’s West Village Original is architect James Stewart Polshek, born in Akron, Ohio in 1930. Among the many projects he has designed—both nationally and internationally—are the Clinton Presidential Library in Arkansas, the Santa Fe Opera and, closer to home, the Rose Center for Space at the Museum of Natural History, Scandinavia House, the Lycée Français de New York, and the Brooklyn Museum’s new entryway.“Build, Memory,” his look at a life in architecture, was published by The Monacelli Press recently. Architect James Stewart Polshek speaks fondly of growing up in Akron, Ohio. “My parents got along very well,” he says. “My mother was extremely orderly and she kept the house and our social life going. My father had this wonderful sense of humor and was beloved by everybody. He was very
interested in politics and very sympathetic to Russia like a lot of progressive people at that time. I inherited a bit of both of them.” It would be his mother’s passion for order and his father’s fervor for social issues that would come to define his career. Polshek had actually begun studying medicine when one day he saw a modern house going up in his neighborhood. “It was very radical, and I thought that was wonderful,” he says. “As it began to go up, I followed its progress, both inside and out. I soon started to build model houses at home. I stopped hanging around with my friends, let up on athletics even, and just built model houses. Eventually, I dropped pre-med and entered architecture school. One year later I transferred to Yale and got a graduate degree there.” What did his parents think of this decision? “They were puzzled at first and may have even been a little disappointed,” he says. “But not for long.” After apprenticeships with I.M. Pei
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West Village Original
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and Ulrich Franzen and a Fulbright Scholarship to Denmark, Polshek received his first major project designing a research lab in Japan. He then returned to the United States, setting up his own firm in 1963. If Polshek has a personal philosophy about architecture, it is his interest in buildings that serve the common good. “I feel that architecture has to have a broader definition,” he says. “This was reinforced by some of the teachers that I had and by my experience in Pei’s office. Very early on in my career I took on projects that encompassed historic preservation, nonprofits, healthcare, and education; things that not every architect would jump at. Furthermore, I’ve always been more interested in doing additions to existing buildings. Both the Rose Center and the Brooklyn Museum are additions. I love adding something new to something old.” While some architects would argue otherwise, Polshek also believes that architecture is not an art form and–to a large extent–buildings make themselves. “An architect is both constrained and encouraged by costs, building codes, the site, climate, the rules of the municipality, and the specific needs of the client,” he explains. “The actual ingredients are already there in the soup, but the architect puts in the seasoning. The style grows out of all those ingredients. This approach has always served me very
well.” Then he laughs. “This isn’t something architects ordinarily give away, though!” Polshek and his wife, Ellyn, moved to the Village in the early 1960s and, since 1973, have lived on Washington Square. “It was very different back then,” he says. “It was grungier but more hospitable to experimentation. In addition, the wealth that seeps out of every manhole cover and keyhole today was really absent. In 1973 our building was full of relatively young people with kids. Now apartments sell here for $3 or $4 million! It was that affordability that’s probably the single biggest difference from now.” At the end of the day, though, he admits that he couldn’t live anywhere else. “My wife and I have talked about it many times. But it makes us comfortable here.” After a lifetime viewing the Village through the eyes of both an architect and a humanist, Polshek is amply qualified to pinpoint his affection for it. “It’s really summed up for me in one word: scale,” he says. “By that I mean the relationship of the buildings to the human body and the amount of detail that you can feel, touch, and absorb visually here. It’s not absolutely unique because there are historic neighborhoods in other parts of the City. But as far as Manhattan is concerned, Greenwich Village is the home run.”
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10 WestView News February 2015
Gung Hay Fat Choy – Happy New Year
The Nom Wah Tea Parlor on Doyers Street has been in the Tang family for generations, and will deliver to anywhere in Manhattan south of 60th St. Photo by Jane Barrer.
by Jane Barrer 2015 is the Year of the Sheep, and Chinese New Year is Thursday, February 19th this year. The 16th Annual Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade in New York will take place at 1:00 PM on Saturday, February 21, 2015 featuring floats, marching bands, lion and dragon dances galore, Asian musicians, magicians, acrobats and local NYC organizations. If you are heading to Chinatown to
celebrate Chinese New Year, here are some suggestions for when you get hungry. As a longtime denizen of Chinatown, for me the real question is not just “where” but “what” to eat. Here’s my list of what’s delicious. My all-time favorite for Chinese food is Shanghai Café Deluxe at 100 Mott Street. There is always a line, but it moves quickly and it is worth the wait. Everyone comes for delicious Soup Dumplings (No. 1 on the menu—Steamed Tiny Buns with Crabmeat
and Pork.”) They are hand-made on the spot and served scaldingly hot. Beware— there is a ritual to eating them. You carefully lift the dumpling with your chopsticks from the bamboo steamer and place it sideways into your soup spoon. Gently bite a tiny hole to allow the steam to escape. If you are attached to the roof of your mouth WAIT for the dumpling to cool then drink the soup from inside the dumpling through the hole you have made, before popping the whole dumpling into your mouth. (If you are not sure how to do it even after this detailed explanation, watch someone else until you get the hang of it. If you don’t you will scald your mouth and ruin your shirt.) While you are waiting for your dumplings to cool, try the Bean Curd Skin with Preserved Cabbage and Green Bean. The “green beans” are actually edamame, and the tofu skin has been turned into a chewy noodle. It’s fabulous! Also try the rice cakes with pork and preserved cabbage, the squid with salt and pepper, and the absolutely divine snow pea leaves which are sautéed with oil and garlic, and are a crunchier and more delicately flavored vegetable than the ubiquitous sautéed spinach. Across the street Paris Restaurant sells Green Tea Waffles with various toppings, including condensed milk, for your dessert. If you want to make the snow pea leaves for yourself at home, you can usually find them at the Hong Kong Supermarket on the cor-
ner of Hester and Elizabeth Street. Here you will also find Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Thai specialties such as dried seaweed, coconut milk, kimchi, Pocky sticks and canned water chestnuts along with English goodies from Hong Kong like Ribena (blackcurrant cordial loaded with Vitamin C), Cadbury’s Chocolate, and Ovaltine. Hong Kong Supermarket also has a sushi takeout at the front of the store, where the chefs make the reasonably priced and delicious fresh sushi in front of you. But if you want to sit down and savor your American Dream rolls and fried oyster appetizers, and gorge yourself with the generous Combo meals, walk up to Mikaku at 85 Kenmare Street. Located at 157 Mott Street just north of Grand St. is Pho Bang Restaurant. I have been going to Pho Bang for wonderful authentic Vietnamese food since I first arrived in New York thirty years ago, and it is never disappointing. Order the Banh Tap, shrimp chips topped with rice lasagna noodle, grilled pork and fried onions. Like the piping hot Spring Rolls, you wrap them in lettuce and mint and dip them into a sweet and spicy sauce before crunching down on a chewycrunchy-spicy combination of textures and flavors. My daughter likes the chicken salad, my son swears by the Pho Ga Nuong soup with grilled chicken on the side to cut up and add to the soup with the bean sprouts and lemon grass, and I opt for either No. 46, Bun Tom Nuong, “Marinated Grilled Shrimp with Shredded Green Leaves and Cucumber on Rice Vermicelli,” or the Claypot rice casserole. (Cash only.) continued on page 11
Eating Healthy When it is Cold Outside By Joy Pape Brrr…it’s cold out there. You either don’t want to get out or you can’t. You know you have to eat, and should eat healthy, but wonder what, how, and maybe even…I don’t care. Does this sound familiar? We’re here to help. As I tell my patients, be realistic and take it one step at a time. Being realistic, you need to think about YOUR situation. What can YOU do? What can you afford? What can you get out to, and what will you eat? Healthy eating involves planning, not only planning what to eat, but also having the tools available to be able to stock and prepare food. It doesn’t take a lot. A microwave, appropriate “dishes” in which to cook in, refrigerator, and can opener may be all you need. If you have a stovetop, oven, pots and pans, and other kitchen utensils, more power to you, but you don’t actually need them. Plan by having a list of food you want to keep in the house. For example: •Eggs. A great source of protein. They can be scrambled either on the stovetop or even in the microwave. Add some cheese
or vegetables and you have a delicious omelet. If you can, boil up a bunch at a time and have hard boiled eggs available for those times you just don’t know what to eat. If they are already boiled, it is easy to pop one in your mouth. • Cheese, cottage cheese, and yogurt. These are all another good source of protein, easy, and also a source of dairy. Choose Greek yogurt since it’s usually higher in protein and lower in carbohydrates (sugar). • Vegetables. You may shy away from fresh vegetables because they don’t keep long enough. To fix that, you can eat more, buy less, or purchase frozen or canned. Be careful though, canned vegetables and soups can be high in salt (sodium). If you are watching your salt, choose the lower sodium varieties. • Fruit. If your fruit keeps spoiling, eat more or buy less. I don’t recommend canned fruits because they usually come with too much sugar. If you must get canned, make sure there’s no sugar added. Enjoy the natural sweetness. • Nut butters with no additives • Canned and prepared foods. Some good examples of prepared foods are rotisserie chicken and frozen meals. As for canned foods, you can choose tuna, salmon, sar-
dines, soups, and many more. Check the labels for lower sodium if you need to keep your salt down. If you can get out, but can’t carry groceries home, most grocery stores allow online shopping and will deliver. If you have limited ability to get out, shop, cook, or prepare your meals, you may qualify for delivered meals. If you can get out, Greenwich House Senior Centers provide breakfasts and lunches Monday through Fridays. You may also, depending upon your situation, want to hire someone to shop for you or qualify for in-home services that provide shopping and food preparation, including cleaning. There are many services available to help you depending upon your situation. In the sidebar, you will find a list of contact information for many servies, but also remember to check with family, friends, spiritual centers, or others you trust, asking if they know someone who provides the best services for you. Doable! Stay warm, fed, and healthy and enjoy!
Joy Pape is a West Village Resident, Nurse Practitioner and Diabetes Educator at Weill Cornell Medical College, Division of
Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism Comprehensive Weight Control Center. 646.962.2148
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February 2015 WestView News 11
www.westviewnews.org continued from page 10 For the best Vietnamese lunch of Summer Rolls and Banh Mi sandwiches, venture behind the jewelry store at Banh Mi Saigon on Grand St. between Mott and Mulberry. Here, where everything is made to order, there is also a line, but no-one complains because the new premises are so much more spacious than the previous location in a very narrow storefront on Mott St. And you can peruse the jewelry once you have ordered. (Cash only.) Traditional Chinese Dim Sum brunch is best at the gorgeous huge Chinese banquet restaurants. My go-to Dim Sum place is Jing Fong on Elizabeth Street just south of Canal. You arrive and get a number from the Maitre D’ downstairs, and then wait in the lobby (or on the street if the lobby is full) with New Yorkers of all types until your number is called. It usually doesn’t take that long although it can seem like an age when you are hungry and smelling the tantalizing aromas of Chinatown on a Sunday morning. While you are waiting for your table send one of your party up to Canal and Mulberry for Hong Kong Cakes (15 pieces for $1) from Ling’s cart. Once your number is called you will ascend the precipitous escalator to the enormous Jing Fong banquet floor. There you will be seated at a share table (sharing the table not the food as one of my absent-minded guests once did to the alarm of our startled neighbors) and given a tally card and a pot of tea. The waitresses wheel around carts with different types of pot-stickers and dumplings
on them and you point at what you want, they give it to you and mark your card and so the feast begins. I have found it is particularly useful to go with children who show no shame and will happily pursue the waitress with the steamed shrimp dumplings “that Mommy really really likes” to the far corners of the restaurant. (Make sure you send them with the tally card.) Chinatown is one of the few (if only) places in New York City where children are welcomed and loved and tolerated even when they are having tantrums. Just try to comb their hair and bribe them to put something on other than the grimy overalls they have been wearing in the playground for the last six days. The Chinese children are always beautifully dressed and it can be mortifying when you turn to look at your own kids who suddenly seem to resemble the children in Dorothea Lange’s photographs. After lunch or brunch or dinner at any of these great restaurants, walk down to the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory on Bayard Street, (between Mott and Elizabeth) for a dessert of Red Bean, Lychee, Green Tea, Black Sesame or Chocolate Pandan ice-cream. If you can’t make it to Chinatown, the Nom Wah Tea Parlor will deliver to anywhere in Manhattan south of 60 St. Located in the charm of old world Chinatown on Doyers Street, the Nom Wah Tea Parlor has been in the Tang family for generations. With its booths and tile floors it feels like a quiet step back in time, and it is also one of the few restaurants in Chinatown that takes plastic. “Chì hao he hao” – Enjoy your meal!
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12 WestView News February 2015
Merci Bien
Science from Away:
Fountain of Youth? By Mark M. Green
PIERRE DEUX VISITS: Isabelle Pilate Drufin, the owner of the famed Bleecker Street
French Provincial antique store, graciously returned from France to aid in the recovery of publisher George Capsis from knee surgery. She has further marked down close out items from her shop which can be seen by calling 212-924-5718 . Photo by Maggie Berkvist.
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Paul Bert, who died in 1886 in Hanoi at the age of 53, was a Frenchman who wore many hats, varying from politician to scientist. He is best known for his understanding of life at both high pressure—he understood the malady that beset a person returning too quickly from the depths of the sea, the bends—and low pressure, the latter awarding him the title, according to Wikipedia, of “Father of Aviation Medicine.” Here we are interested in a lesser-known accomplishment. Bert, in a technique known in modern terms as parabiosis, wrote a doctoral thesis entitled “La Greffe Animale,” for the Faculty of Medicine in Paris in 1863 (https://archive.org/stream/delagreffe animal00bert#page/n7/mode/2up) in which he described experiments sewing two rats together so that on healing they would share the same circulatory system—like conjoined twins in humans. Our story jumps ahead to 1956 when a Cornell professor, Colin McCay, published an article in the Bulletin of the New York Academy of Sciences entitled “Experimental Prolongation of the Life Span.” McCay took a broad view of the subject, even taking note of a claim “that woman lived longer because they worried less than men,” and quoting the belief “that an old man regains some youth by acquiring a young woman.” I’m not aware of his experiments along these lines but McCay is credited with experimental work, begun in the 1930s, demonstrating that so-called caloric restriction, subjecting rats to a lifetime of hunger, prolonged the rat’s life. There is a great deal of work in the modern literature trying to figure out the biochemical source of this reproduced observation. He is reported to also have experimented with Bert’s technique of parabiosis. McCay’s interest in prolonging life caused him to sew old and young rats together to see if the older rat showed signs of reverse aging. He did see this effect, but at that time in the 1950s there was not the necessary biochemical knowledge to understand what was happening. Parabiosis has been valuable in understanding life. Research reported in 1969 demonstrated that sewing together obese mice with slim mice, with the expectation that the slim mice would become obese and the obese mice become slim, led to the opposite result. The obese mouse kept eating while the slim mouse stopped eating. The researchers concluded that the obese mouse was circulating, in its blood stream, something to tell it to stop eating but was incapable of responding to it. A factor in the blood was hypothesized to be transferred to the linked slim mouse that responded and stopped eating. Many years later the hypothesized factor, named Leptin, was discovered to be a protein that is at work also in human beings.
VALUABLE FOR THE UNDERSTANDING OF LIFE: Parabiosis (above) is a process
which involves sewing two rats together, so that on healing they would share the same circulatory system.
It was not until the beginning of this century that scientists took up sewing together young and old mice with the scientific underpinning to understand the resulting biochemistry. The results have been amazing. In two papers in the May 9, 2014 issue “Science” and in a review in the September 12 issue of “Science,” one could almost conclude that we are upon the Fountain of Youth. The scientific work centered at Stanford and Harvard demonstrates that stem cells lay dormant in their ability to regenerate cells in our bodies necessary for functions as varied as brain cognition, nerve function, and regeneration of heart muscle, among others. Dormant, that is, until activated by a factor found in the blood, by a protein called GDF 11 (Growth Differentiation Factor). After many experiments with sewing together old and young mice and seeing what is summed up in a Science headline as: ““Rejuvenation Factor” in Blood Turns Back the Clock in Old Mice,” scientists discovered that GDF 11 is present in both blood streams but is greatly diminished as the mice grow older. Indeed, simply injecting the GDF 11 protein into elderly mice shows generally the same effect as found from sewing the elderly and young mice together. Scientists at Stanford have found that injection of blood serum from young mice into elderly mice suffering from a form of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease brings back some lost memory function. There may be a paradigm shift in the way medical science treats diseases associated with aging, not by focusing on the particular age related malady, but rather by a systemic approach that activates the stem cells necessary for rejuvenation. But don’t get excited too soon. Activating stem cells can bring on various forms of cancer, and there is no evidence yet that mice that get the protein live longer. Also GDF 11 cannot easily be added to the blood, which has resistance to the addition of large proteins. Nevertheless, at least two commercial ventures are being formed to find a variation on GDF 11. There is hope that something really new is on the horizon concerned with aging and regeneration of damaged tissue.
February 2015 WestView News 13
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Rare Bird
THE BIRD: Couch’s Kingbird. Photo by Keith Michael.
By Keith Michael The birders are coming, the birders are coming! Tall birders, round birders, old birders learning new tricks. Birders knee-high-to-a-mailbox, with binoculars already weighing them down. Curmudgeonly “I’m just listing the birds” birders. Amiable birders, who conversationally use words like frugivorous and greaterprimary-coverts, as a way to draw novices into their adoring circle. Birders from down the block (some that I didn’t realize were birders until seeing them, binocular-clad, with the sky-scanning mobs,) and birders who have driven all night from Maine to arrive in the winter afternoon glow of Abingdon Square. There may be birders who have flown in from the Midwest for the occasion, but I haven’t talked to them yet. I’m in Abingdon Square too at the corner of Bank Street and Bleecker with Millie pacing at the end of her leash, sitting, scratching, yawning, sneezing—at least not barking if I talk to someone—and no one, no one, is noting her corgi-ness or paying any attention to her whatsoever. This is not her day. It is the day of the Rare Bird. I’m watching the Bird. And watching the
birders watching the Bird. And wondering if the Bird is wondering why I’m watching the birders watching the Bird rather than just watching “the Bird.” Oh, the Bird. The Bird is a Couch’s Kingbird (repeated over and over around the corner: “Couch’s Kingbird, yes, Couch, like a sofa.”) This bird is supposed to be in southern Texas and Mexico. This is the first record of this species in New York State. The very first. It’s big news. This Couch’s Kingbird is way out of its range from where it’s supposed to be. No one knows how it got here or why it’s staying. It’s a flycatcher (which means it lives on catching flying insects out of the air). Surely the bugs were more numerous and tastier somewhere between Texas and the West Village. Yet here it is. Yes, it’s right here in the Village. Look up. Right there. Bright yellow breast, white throat, large black bill, long notched brownish tail. It follows the sun. It has visited several regular places: Washington and Jane Streets, around Hudson and Bleecker, and at the corner of West 11th and West 4th. The sun warms up the bugs. See there, it’s picking insects right off of the bricks. What will happen to it if it gets colder? The winter’s been so mild so far. Maybe it
will take a tutorial from the neighborhood robins and cardinals who brunch on the callery pears. For several weeks before, someone had been noticing a “pretty yellow bird” visiting their fire escape and finally mentioned it to a birding friend who was immediately curious! Yellow? At this time of year? Did you get photos? Apparently it’s very similar to another rare species: the Tropical Kingbird (but the Tropical speaks a slightly different patois) so the bird had to be heard and the experts who know these things debated. And then, Christmas night the word got out on the listservs and Twitter and e-mails and texts and (even) phone calls and actual conversations on the street, “There’s a Couch’s Kingbird in the West Village of Manhattan!” The birders’ law was thence proclaimed: “Lay down all that ye hath previously been doing. Pack your binoculars and tripod and telescope and the longest possible lens for your camera (be ye certain that your lens is longer than the lens of your fellow inferior birders). The West Village might be quite rough, so khakis and camouflage may be needed. The Bird might not show, so bring sandwiches and possibly expect to camp out waiting for it to reappear in the Manhattan wilderness.” Today, dozens of birders performed this time-worn ritual—eventually birders numbering in the triple-digits will probably participate. Yes, I’ve chased quite a few rare birds,
though certainly not as many as some. There was the Western Reef-Heron from South Africa (Calvert Vaux Park, Brooklyn), the Gray-headed Gull possibly from Chile (Coney Island) and the post-Hurricane Sandy Virginia’s Warbler (Alley Pond Park, Queens). I missed the dual whammy from Siberia of the Red-necked Stint/Sharp-tailed Sandpiper at Jamaica Bay. (These are all New York birder conversation starters.) My favorite was the Dovekie at Great River, Long Island. This robin-sized penguin-shaped bird is rarely seen from the shore, but this one turned up at an ice-free winter-heated harbor— dozens of birders, with their ‘scopes and long-lens cameras of course, ran hither and yon along the harbor edge trying to get a good look at this “underwater-flying” charmer! Now that was a New Yorker cartoon begging a caption. Millie is bored. None of this excitement has anything to do with her. All eyes are looking upwards—not at her zaftig corgi figure or her movie star smile. All conversations are angled up toward the bright yellow celebrity doing reconnaissance from one sunlit branch to another. Birders are rare birds. And I’m one of them. (By the way, the Couch’s Kingbird was my West Village Bird #103.)
For more information about nature walks, books and photographs, visit www.keithmichaelnyc.com.
SAVE THE DATE 13 thAnnual
of Greenwich House
MARCH 31, 2015 Greenwich Village’s premier food festival returns with more than 30 top-tier restaurants serving up special dishes from their menus. THE BIRDERS ARE COMING, THE BIRDERS ARE COMING! A flock of birders in Abingdon
Square. Photo by Keith Michael.
www.greenwichhouse.org/taste
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14 WestView News February 2015
The Jefferson Market Courts – A Timeline (Part One) by Clive I. Morrick The Jefferson Market branch library was originally a courthouse. But there were courts on the site well before 1877, when the present building opened. The Jefferson Produce Market opened in 1833, alongside a fire tower and a small jail. A police court (called a “police office”) opened there in 1845. Then, in one form or another, there were courts at Jefferson Market for 100 years. They were: • The criminal court: 1845-1946; • The civil court: 1848-1907; • The Women’s Court: 1910-1943; and • The Court of Special Sessions: 1915-1946. Part One will focus on the criminal and civil courts; Part Two, in next month’s issue of WestView News, will focus on the Women’s Court and Court of Special Sessions. Most of the changes described below were the result of New York State laws because these courts were created by statute. Early days After British rule ended in 1783, the City of New York established a Watch, a carryover, from British times. Watchmen worked nights—they had day jobs. Lamp lighting was one duty, firefighting another. On March 2, 1798, the City’s first police court (called an “office”) opened at City Hall, then on Wall Street. In 1812, it moved into the basement of the new City Hall (yes, our present one). Its two special justices were both aldermen. But by 1832, the population was growing fast and the state allowed the City’s common council to establish a branch of the police office at any venue north of Grand Street. In May 1832, the council opened the “Upper” police office at Bowery and 3rd Avenue. In 1838, the “Lower” police office moved into the newly built New York City Halls of Justice and House of Detention, the first of the four prisons in the White Street area known as the Tombs. So things remained until the court came to Jefferson Market. The Criminal Court In 1844, the state abolished the Watch, established a 24hour police department, and divided the City—Manhattan and its islands—into two or more police districts each with a police office. But it left the common council to put these changes into effect. Not until May 23, 1845, did the council do so. Then, on June 16, 1845, the council created three police districts each with a police office. The new Second District police office opened at Jefferson Market. Its address was “West 10th Street and Greenwich Avenue.” A watch house (not called a police station until 1846,) preceded the court at Jefferson Market by several years. On May 30, 1838, it opened in rooms above the market, and was rebuilt in 1843, with an entrance on Greenwich Avenue. By 1857, it had relocated to 94 Charles Street. Of-
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A HISTORY OF COURTS: Jefferson Market, c. 1865. Photo
courtesy of the New York Public Library.
ficers stationed there had to guard St. Vincent’s Hospital. In 1848, police offices became police “courts.” Each had two elected “police justices” assigned to it. In 1873, fed up with manipulated elections, the state gave the Mayor and common council the power to appoint two new police justices to each of the five police courts then open in Manhattan. The council sat on the Mayor’s recommendations for three months. Eventually, on November 4, 1873, the new board of appointed justices convened. But 1873 was also the year Frederick Clark Withers began his design of the present Jefferson Market building. Although it is Withers and his partner Calvert Vaux, both transplanted Englishmen, who are usually credited with the design, Vaux was engaged on other projects at the time. Construction finished in 1877. It comprised the new courthouse, an adjacent prison on West 10th Street with beds for 78 males and 60 females (built to remove overcrowding at the Tombs), and the original market. (The market remained until replaced with a masonry structure along the Sixth Avenue frontage in 1883.) The Second District police court immediately moved into the first floor of the new courthouse. Its address was 125 Sixth Avenue. The court at Jefferson Market was always an “inferior court”, hearing minor offenses and binding over (arraigning) those charged with felonies and most misdemeanors for proceedings in a higher court. Contrary to many published accounts no murder trial ever took place there. As the population grew and the City extended northward, more local police courts opened. (In 1932, there were thirty one.) But the Jefferson Market court was possibly the best known because its area included the Tenderloin, Manhattan’s entertainment district with both the best and basest on offer. In the lifetime of the Jefferson Market courthouse there were three investigations of corruption and political influence in the City’s inferior courts – in 1895, 1908,
and 1930. All these investigations brought about changes; none were effective. On July, 1, 1895, in an era of graft and corruption, the Mayor alone—given the power in 1889—appointed nine magistrates, who had to be attorneys, for the newly named Magistrates Court. (This was not without opposition – the replaced police justices met at the Jefferson Market courthouse to plot how to hang on to their positions at the same time as the new magistrates were meeting downtown.) In 1907, the state allowed the City to hold a night session of the Magistrates Court once there were 16 appointed magistrates. The first night court opened at the Jefferson Market courthouse. Its purpose was to allow those arrested after court hours to appear in court without spending a night in jail. On June 25, 1910, night court split into two: one for women at Jefferson Market and one for men, and men and women arrested in joint enterprises, at 151 East 57th Street. The City’s inferior criminal courts were the subject of constant revisions seeking efficiency and less confusion. But it would be 1962 before there was any semblance of either, long after the Jefferson Market courthouse closed. In the fall of 1945, Chief Magistrate Edgar Bromberger decided to consolidate the courts. He moved all the functions of the Jefferson Market court to a new court complex at 300 Mulberry Street, the former police HQ. The Jefferson Market Magistrates Court was still a busy court. In 1944, it processed 11,944 cases. But on March 4, 1946, it closed for good and the courthouse’s days were over. The Civil Court In 1807, a state law provided for an “assistant justice” for civil disputes for each of the three wards in the City. (A ward was the smallest political subdivision; they lasted until 1938.) It set up the Justices’ Court of the City of New York to hold sessions at the City Hall, and three positions as “assistant justice.” They tried cases of debt and other civil claims (up to $25) and trespass. In 1848, the state created six judicial districts in Manhattan, each with a civil court called a Justices’ Court and an elected justice. The maximum award was increased to $50. The third district included Jefferson Market and the court for the Third District opened there at 12 Greenwich Avenue. In 1852, these courts were re-named District Courts. In 1877, as soon as the new Jefferson Market courthouse opened, the Third District Court moved into the second floor. In 1897, the Greater New York Charter re-named the District Courts, creating the Municipal Court of the City of New York. The maximum award rose to $500. The Third District Court remained at the Jefferson Market courthouse until 1907, when the state re-drew the courts’ districts. The court then moved to 314 West 54th Street, known as the West Side Court.
Clive I. Morrick is a semi-retired attorney who has lived in Greenwich Village since 1977.
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VILLAGE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH: The massive, white Doric columns of this former church, now a collection of 15 condo
units, are imposing but also comforting with their simple, classic beauty. Photo by Phil Desiere.
By Phil Desiere Two historic Greenwich Village churches—the Village Presbyterian Church and the Washington Square Methodist Church—have seen their pews turned into pantries, their altars altered and their choirs silenced. From the worship of God to the worship of mammon, both houses of worship are now divided into condominiums. We will consider each edifice in a two-part series. This month, we focus on the Village Presbyterian Church. This imposing building, located at 143 West 13th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues, stands amidst 19th-century townhouses; the century-old City & Country School, a private pre-k through eighth grade school; and the Markle Evangeline Residence for women. Because the building is within the Greenwich Village Historic District, the exterior could not be changed. Thus there is little hint from the street that Portico House—as it is now known—houses 15 condominiums units. The entrances to the residences are placed discreetly along the sidewalls. Established in 1846 as the Thirteenth Street Presbyterian Church, the Village Presbyterian Church came about as the result of the merging of three congregations. First, in 1910, the Fourteenth Street Presbyterian Church merged with its neighbor one block away; and was renamed Greenwich Presbyterian. Another merger came in 1956; this time the Chelsea Presbyterian Church combined with the Greenwich Presbyterian to form what was called the Village Presbyterian Church. The church, built in the Greek Revival style, resembles the Theseum at Athens, Greece. It was built in 1846; but two fires, one in 1855 and the other in 1902, almost destroyed the building. Seeing this massive façade amongst traditional New York townhouses of the same era is startling. The strong white columns dwarf all else around them. The church’s columns and pediment look as if they are stone; but they are made of wood; the walls are made of brick and stucco. The building is attributed to Samuel Thompson, a builder and an architect. Thompson was also responsible for some of the structures at
Sailors’ Snug Harbor on Staten Island, dating from 1839 to 1841; as well as Wall Street’s Federal Hall National Memorial, constructed between 1834 and 1842. Because both projects are two of the finest examples of Greek Revival architecture in the country, it is quite possible that Thompson was the designer and builder of the Village Presbyterian Church. During the 1884 presidential election between Republican James Blaine and Democrat Grover Cleveland, Blaine attended a meeting of New York preachers at this church building. The Rev. Dr. Samuel Burchard thundered, “We are Republicans, and don’t propose to leave our party and identify ourselves with the party whose antecedents have been rum, Romanism, and rebellion.” Little did he know that an undercover Democrat was in the audience, and would latch onto the anti-Catholic remark. He made certain it was widely and repeatedly publicized. The Roman Catholic view of Blaine quickly turned sour; this resulted in his losing New York State; and because of that loss, the presidency slipped away by a narrow margin. Church membership had declined so dramatically by 1975 that the church disbanded. A developer purchased the church with plans to convert it into luxury condominiums. Despite much public outcry, the developer won approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission to carry out his plans. “Adaptive reuse” is the term that is applied to what the architectural firm of Stephen B. Jacobs did when it transformed the building into 15 condominium units. The Portico House project was carried out under the Landmarks Review Process; the conversion was completed in 1982. The New York City Landmarks Commission awarded it a Certificate of Merit in 1991. Many original interior and exterior details have been left intact; and many units occupy multiple levels. Two- and three-bedroom condos have sold for between $1.5 million and $3 million.
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16 WestView News February 2015
Diller Island
continued from page 1 have ticket prices as high as $40. For twenty years under the parks original charter, HRPT has been formally inviting developers to propose attractions to develop the three commercial piers like Pier 40 (the largest at 15 acres) at West Houston Street and use the lease fees to maintain the 5 mile long Park. After two formal efforts and a peppering of informal proposals, the board has rejected aquariums, as well as a permanent home for the Canadian Cirque du Soleil. Most recently, in some desperation, they hit upon selling the air rights and secretly made a deal with St. John’s Terminal’s new chief owner Mike Novogratz for $100 million so he might build inyour-face high condo towers on top of the three block long terminal. This didn’t last long because sneaky maneuverers are an anathema to West Villagers, and all hell broke loose. Novogratz withdrew the offer, consoling himself perhaps with the knowledge he had lots of air rights to go with only a 3 story building to start with. Now, since Diller is not leasing the island but building it, his new non-profit corpo-
ration will not be paying a monthly fee for its use, but instead will receive a twentyyear lease and a ten-year renewable option with the stipulation that any portion of the island not offering paid performances will remain open as a park. But the bottom line is that Diller Island will not contribute to the cost of maintaining the rest of the park. But wait, how are we going to get to Diller’s island? It will stand 186 feet off-
But wait, how are we going to get to Diller’s island? It will stand 186 feet offshore. shore. This is a problem for anyone wanting to get to the island, and Diller want taxpayers to fund a solution. In private (or if you prefer, secret) meetings with our mayor and governor, they collectively agreed to spend $39.5 million of our tax dollars to build two causeways to Diller Island. So not only will we get no rent from the island, but also we will have to pay $39.5 million of our tax dollars to allow Diller ticket buyers to get to it. Even I like the idea of a billionaire who made his money successfully guess-
ing what we wanted to see on the film screen or on TV hiring top talent to mount performances on the island—I know they will be a success—but why build this funny fried egg island on crazily expensive 70 foot high concrete mushrooms and force us to spend $39.5 million tax dollars get to it? With Ms. Horton’s long sojourn with the Royal Shakespeare Company we can be assured that we shall see Shakespeare in the park under the stars, which is great—but we do not need it to ride on the back of this outrageously expensive and ugly back-of-the-dinner-napkin design of Thomas Heatherwick. There is a much cheaper way to get it. In December of 2013, developer Douglas Durst reported that he had hired divers to check the corrosion of the 3700 steel pilings under Pier 40 and concluded fitting fiberglass jackets around them could stabilize them. Stabilizing and filling them with concrete would cost just $30 million for all 15 acres of Pier 40, as compared to the $130 million dollars for the 2.9 acres of Diller Island. So Barry Diller could contribute that $30 million to save Pier 40 and use a
restored Pier 40 to stage outdoor performances each summer. And you and I would not have to use our tax dollars to build a bridge the Heatherwick doodle. Diller Island is a Net Loss
HRPT CEO, Madelyn Wils, confirms in e-mail that Barry Diller’s gift of a 2.9 acre concrete island off 14th Street will not generate monthly rental fees to pay for the maintenance of the whole park as stipulated by the charter, but instead will add the cost of maintaining the 300 concrete mushroom piles holding up the tipped and undulating concrete platform to the HRPT’s costs. In addition the city and state have agreed to spend $39.5 million taxpayer dollars to build two bridges to accommodate attendees to the Diller paid performances. Madelyn Wils’ email said: “P55Inc will be operating the programming at the pier. HRPT will maintain it. P55Inc will pay for maintenance above the structural deck which includes all utilities. P55Inc will pay $1 a year. All revenues from P55Inc programming will go back into the pier for either programming (which is subsidized) or paying for maintenance of the pier.”
A Road Forward From The Silver Scandal out of nowhere, he won the endorsement of the NY Times, the Daily News and the NY Post, and won 30% of the vote running on a shoestring budget. The piece below is a revised version of a piece he published in the Daily News prior to Silver’s ouster by his fellow Democrats in the Assembly. It is run with permission of the Daily News.
PROPOSING REFORMS TO GIVE NEW YORKERS THEIR GOVERNMENT BACK:
Paul Newell is a community organizer and Democratic district leader in Lower Manhattan’s 65th Assembly District. Photo courtesy of Paul Newell.
By Paul Newell Intro by Arthur Schwartz Paul Newell is a Male Democratic District Leader for a portion of Sheldon Silver’s District. He was an active NYC leader of Barack Obama’s historic campaign to win the NY Presidential Primary in 2008, and the next year he ran an insurgent campaign against Silver for the Assembly. Coming
The culture of corruption in Albany is well known. For a generation, we’ve watched dozens of legislators arrested and tawdry headlines dominate coverage of our state capital. As the longest serving member of the fabled “three men in a room” club that dominates New York government, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has been a central figure in that culture. The old story continued two weeks ago as Silver was arrested on charges of official corruption, mail fraud, wire fraud and extortion. If true, the charges are a shocking betrayal of New Yorkers. Silver’s role may finally be coming to an end. Or not. He would hardly be alone as an indicted member of the Legislature. But our goal should be not to purge a few bad actors, but to end the culture of corruption as thoroughly as possible. Not just because corruption is immoral, but because it impoverishes all of us. As a district leader in Silver’s lower Manhattan district, I see this every day. District leaders are elected, unpaid hyper-local representatives. The position has little formal power, but can be a powerful force for organizing communities. Much of the work involves advocating for tenants in danger of losing rent protection, parents seeking quality schools
and residents in need of livable streets. Time after time, our community and others around the city and state organize to oppose or improve massive luxury real-estate projects. Every time, elected officials say progressive, pro-community things in public forums. And virtually every time the developers and landlords get their way behind closed doors. Opening those doors is not just about a few million dollars allegedly paid to an Assembly speaker by wealthy interests with business before the state. It’s about a government that serves all of us.
The policies governing 20 million New Yorkers are largely written in secret. The policies governing 20 million New Yorkers are largely written in secret. Not only by the three men, but by the people who buy their way into that room. Unsurprisingly, those policies routinely leave New York’s tenants, low-wage workers, children, parents and homeowners behind. Consider the secret, last-minute exemption of five luxury Manhattan towers from most property taxes—including one where a condo just sold for over $100 million. The legislation doing so was slipped into a must-pass budget bill just hours before the vote. The tab for this hundred-million-dollar giveaway will be paid by you and me for decades. We can no longer afford this kind of
governance. Silver’s arrest opens a window of opportunity. We may finally have momentum to end corruption in Albany both legal and illegal. The recipe is well known: A ban on all outside income for New York’s legislators. We can even offer legislators a pay increase to sweeten the deal. Given the millions we lose to corruption, such a raise would be cheap at twice the price. Public financing of elections. Billionaires like the mysterious “Developer 1” in Silver’s indictment (said to be Leonard Litwin, who has given millions to the state’s politicians), give elected officials virtually unlimited campaign contributions. In return, they get millions in special breaks not available to the rest of us. Only by publicly financing elections can we break our legislators’ dependency on the rich few. An open and transparent legislative process. Working people will never get a fair shake in secret meetings. Legislation must be openly and honestly debated — and last minute insertions should be severely restricted. That’s basic civics. There’s more to be done, but these reforms would go a long way to giving New Yorkers our government back. It is said that the three top reasons for a New York State legislator to vacate his or her seat are death, indictment and retirement, in that order. Let’s seize this opportunity to end that culture of corruption. New Yorkers deserve a Speaker whose tenure closes with the clinking of champagne glasses, not of handcuffs.
February 2015 WestView News 17
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Taste of Greenwich House Unveils 2015 Culinary Trends
COOKING UP THE NEXT CULINARY TRENDS: Will ‘insectballs’ replace tradi-
tional meatballs in 2015? A locust burger has already made its debut. Photo: Carrie Newman.
By Joseph Salas Foodies, bloggers, and celebrity chefs are already speculating what the shining star on 2015’s culinary stage will be. Kale and quinoa were the super foods of 2012. 2013 was the year of the dumpling. In 2014, meatballs were supreme. For 2015, the Taste of Greenwich House—the Village’s premier food festival and annual fundraiser for the esteemed West Village institution Greenwich House—has the answer. More than 30 of the most ground breaking restaurants from the Village and across the city compete for patrons’ palettes with samples of known favorites and off-menu specialties. At the Taste of Greenwich House, innovative chefs set the stage for the coming culinary year. Here’s a look at some of the food trends currently simmering on the back burner that we might just see at this year’s Taste. Insects are already on the menu at several
American restaurants catering to the adventurous eater, but as chefs continue to search for unique ingredients that are both economical and sustainable, some are predicting bugs will be big in 2015. Insects are gaining popularity as a low calorie, protein rich alternative to other meats. A locust burger has already debuted. It is touted as a sustainable competitor to beef because while ten pounds of feed will yield only one pound of beef from cattle, the same ten pounds of feed given to locusts will yield nine pounds of locust meat. Insects are also being used in protein rich flours to feed malnourished populations abroad and as part of a “hive to table” movement at home that includes a preponderance of homemade honey. Thankfully, bee keeping has recently been legalized in New York. Toast, the thousand year old breakfast staple, is also angling to become the raison d’etre on kitchen cutting boards. Tired of being relegated to a buttery afterthought, toast emerged as artisanal treat on the West Coast in 2014. Bakeries started serving up everything ranging from classic cinnamon and sugar to avocado spreads to pumpkin and almond cappuccino flavored cream cheeses. With some cafes charging close to $4.00 for a slice, a toast backlash limited its spread, but bakers and purveyors aren’t giving in. If gourmet toast can make it to the east coast, it might prove the perfect complement to our $8.00 glass of orange juice. Chefs, tired of the reigning vegetable king kale, are also trying to shift the spotlight to its long overlooked cousin, cauliflower. Steamed cauliflower has already been supplanted by grilled, broiled and braised heads. Ground up, cauliflower is also showing up as a gluten-free alternative to wheat in pizza dough. Find out if these or others top this year’s must eat list at the Taste of Greenwich House on March 31, 2015 at the Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th Street. For tickets, a list of participating restaurants and more event information visit greenwichhouse.org/ taste or call 212-991-0003 ext. 401.
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18 WestView News February 2015
Restaurant News
Location, Location, Location
A NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING PLACE: Hamilton Soda Fountain, a corner of nostalgia in the
West Village. Photo by John Barrera.
The Hamilton Soda Fountain By John Barrera Opening a restaurant in the West Village is like starting on second base in the baseball game of life. After all, you have foot traffic from all over the world, you have the “tony”
clientele, and you have an aesthetically pleasing backdrop for your new venue. If you do become a success story, you have my utmost respect and admiration. But it ain’t easy! And if you don’t make it, what you leave behind in the plumbing and ventilation set-up will be the bones of the next restaurant that tries.
The streets of the West Village have many locations that, if you’ve lived here long enough, you can rattle off two or three (or six) prior establishments that didn’t make the cut. But then someone comes along with the right ingredients and a thriving business is born. Take 51 Bank Street – everyone remembers La Focaccia—a quaint corner Italian restaurant with a brick oven that, honestly, I never understood why they didn’t utilize more. After some issues with the Fire Marshall they were forced to close. Construction paper went up, and months later The Tremont opened (a real head scratcher for me). I remember thinking all this construction and such a limited menu? But, like anybody willing to risk the time and money to open a restaurant, I wished them all the best, although I never ate there. Then came The Hamilton Soda Fountain—a fifties luncheonette with waitstaff in starched white uniforms and paper seaman hats, making egg creams and burgers to order. The first time I walked in, I thought I was in one of the opening scenes from It’s A Wonderful Life. A luncheonette in this corner space works because there aren’t the usual wallto-wall tables and chairs for waitstaff and bus people to maneuver through. Plus, if
I’m at a soda fountain, I want to see my ice cream soda come to life and make sure they’re using U-Bet syrup in my chocolate egg cream. I’m not alone in my assessment of the space. I spoke with Matt Coutinho who, with his wife Chrysalis, owns Café Minerva next door. Matt told me that they liked the odd shape of the corner location and always thought a soda fountain would work well with the constraints a triangular space brings. They also find that people north of sixty-five really enjoy what The Hamilton is trying to do because they understand a soda fountain is a neighborhood meeting place. Many times I’ve walked by after ten at night and the place is packed with people getting an ice cream after a stroll through the village. Not every restaurant makes it in the village and that’s okay. But every now and then one does come along that gives you value and adds charm to the neighborhood the way The Hamilton does. Please support these gems. If not, you’ll have yet another store selling three thousand dollar handbags. And if you’re anything like me, the only handbags that should cost three thousand dollars are ones stuffed with twenty-nine hundred dollar bills.
A Jaded Restaurant Goer is Fooled! By David Porat Barbara Chacour, a fellow WestView News contributor and a neighbor in the West Village, came into my office and asked what I was writing on this month. Having been real busy for the holidays, been in SF working and eating around, and having eaten all over town this week—honorable mention to Tuome in the East Village, Little Park in Tribeca, Shakewell in Oakland, The Cavalier in San Francisco and another visit to Chez Panisse in Berkeley—I was somewhat filled with new-fangled restaurants. Barbara said that the new restaurant at the Whitney had opened, which I found hard to believe, but I walked down Washington Street the other night and there it was—a bustling new restaurant nestled below the High Line called Santina, and not Untitled as the old-new restaurant in the Whitney is named. I went in and asked if it was part of the Whitney, and I was told it was not. It was their second Wednesday open, and I decided I should try the place. I sat at the bar and was somewhat amazed at the vibrancy and liveliness of the place. It felt summery and had a real Latin accent with lots of staff. I thought I was in Miami Beach, yet it was a cold January night in the Meatpacking District. I was well taken care of by a bar man who was enthusiastic about the menu and sold me
on maybe a little too much to eat, but I am happy to report that it measured up and I will go back quickly. Maybe before the summer when the seating area will expand a great deal based on glass walls that open. The building is in fact designed by Renzo Piano and is attached to the Whitney, but not part of the museum. After being somewhat in awe of whoever created this place, I found out it is the Major Food Group who are the darlings of the NYC restaurant scene with most recently Dirty French, and an expanding Parm, not to mention Carbone and Torrisi Italian Specialties. I had heard about them opening an Italian coastal seafood restaurant nearby in the fall, but did not put two and two together. As the bar man explained, the place was built with no expense spared, including impressive Murano Chandeliers and a three dimensional painting by Julian Schnabel. This area, with the High Line, The Standard, the Whitney and other current and upcoming restaurants, is and will become an epicenter for NYC hospitality. My dinner started off with “Cecina” or chickpea flour pancakes that are served with a topping-filling, I choose Lamb Tartare and Calabrian Tuna (each $12). Both were smooth nuanced and very different yet similar. The crepe or pancake was freshly prepared with great texture and served with a bottle of house made salsa
FOOD AND QUALITY-DRIVEN AT SANTINA:
Fritto Misto that includes various seafood and celery and olives. Photo by David Porat.
verde and red- spicy sauce. This would have been quite enough for dinner for me, but I did also order Fritto Misto ($15) and amongst many other things, celery never tasted better than when deep fried. It is a generous plate, easily suitable for sharing. In addition I ordered a rice dish titled Guanciale E Pepe ($15), which is a Japanese short grain rice dressed like pasta.
This one with pork and freshly ground pepper along with cheese was good, but maybe a little less fulfilling that my other choices; I also was getting pretty full and took most of it home. I have to say, I felt the need to report on something sweet even though I was feeling more full than I often do. But I am happy to report that I finished three different small cannoli. They were all filled with mascarpone and a variety of other flavors— pistachio, my favorite, or coconut or maraschino cherries. They are freshly fried and filled and are very hard to stop eating—even if you are not hungry for dessert! Creating a successful restaurant is a tricky business especially in this town, but these guys, Mario Carbone, Rich Torrisi and Jeff Zalaznick, seemed to have figured it out. From experiences eating in many of their places (but never scoring a reservation at Carbone despite many tries) they are very food and quality driven. People do line up or reserve 30 days in advance and pay dearly for that. Santina does seem to have very much of its own personality, much to their credit, and does seem like it is already another very successful restaurant. Santina 820 Washington Street (at Gansevoort Street) 212 254-3000 www.SantinaNYC.com
February 2015 WestView News 19
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Lower Levels Better Living By Cristiano Andrade Some of us are feeling new and refreshed from our January purge of those glorious holiday toxins. Most of us hope we’ve finally paid off those holiday credit card bills! I, myself, didn’t skip a beat and had a very boozy New Year’s Day “recovery” brunch with my Brooklyn crew. For those easing themselves back into the drink following the cleanse or those slightly reluctant to restart the revel, I have a couple suggestions for you. Over time I’ve come to appreciate wines with lower alcohol levels or ABV (alcohol by volume). Most wines on the market float between 13%-16% and new world wines from regions such as Paso Robles, the McLaren Vale and warm climates such as the Languedoc and Southern Italy have higher sugar levels. This combination of high alcohol and sugar is much more taxing on us. The body uses water to help the liver break down alcohol, and the kidneys expel the extra sugar via urine, leading to the dehydration and excruciating headaches popularly known as the hangover. Personally I feel that full-bodied, high ABV wines are practically undrinkable. Where some seek out that huge wallop of fruit and oak, there are others who feel like their palates are under attack. I also find these wines impossible to pair with food because they overpower everything and are difficult to balance. My solution for these wines is to store them in a cellar and revisit them ten years in the future, once they’ve matured and have learned to behave at the dinner table. Fortunately for us there is a long standing tradition of elegant, restrained, subtle, nuanced lower alcohol wines all over the world. We are ever more fortunate that in recent years it has become a trend of winemaking in California. Hallelujah. For example in Mendocino County, California the Madonna Vineyard was slated to be torn out and replanted with the lucrative Chardonnay grape until winemaker Kenny Likitprakong received a phone call. In the 1970’s and 1980’s, there was a surge of Italian varietals being planted in California, and Tocai Friulano found its way into the soil of Mendocino about 40 years ago. The grape is indigenous to the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region in northeastern Italy. There are two distinct styles of vinification: a crisp, fresh and clean expression or an aromatic, lush and soft version. Both are delicious, but The Folk Machine Tocai Friulano 2013 is the former. The winemaker is apprehensive in relating it to a Sauvignon Blanc due to its drinkability. Although I agree with that from a marketing standpoint, I agree more with his apprehension because the wine is singular in and of itself. At 11% ABV, this dry wine is extremely quaffable and can be enjoyed all day and night without becoming too much of a headache.
KICK THAT HANGOVER OUT OF BED: Ease
back into wine drinking by choosing varieties with lower alcohol levels, or ABV (alcohol by volume), such as the Regnie or Tocai Friulano, above. Photo by Cristiano Andrade.
My experience allows me to conclude that the most consistently low ABV wines hail from a few sub-regions in France: Champagne, Burgundy/Beaujolais and the Loire Valley. If you’re looking to dispel the “sulfite allergy,” just start drinking these reds and reclaim your mornings! Red wines from these regions start at about 11.5% and max out at 12.5%. Frederic Sornin is a 9th generation winemaker in the Beaujolais. His Domaine des Ronzes has been organic since 200, and he also practices biodynamics. He manually harvests his crop and plows the soil with his trusty steed. Only 15% of the Beaujolais is independently owned, and Sornin is one of them. To say the least, this Gamay is made with the best intent imaginable, and I’m privileged to share it with you. The Regnie is a little known Cru of the Beaujolais that borders the more famous Morgon Les Charmes vineyard. The 2013 is a hallmark vintage for the Beaujolais, and the region is becoming more popular amongst young wine drinkers. I attribute this resurgence to a now drier style with less to no carbonic maceration that historically made fruitier more candied wines. The Ronze is elegant, with taut red/black fruits balanced by fresh acidity and an underlying sense of earth, very easy to process at 12% ABV. If these aren’t “healthy” wines than I don’t want to know what is. So next time you feel as though you’re being hit over the head with your wine consumption, twist the bottle around, take note of the amount of alcohol you’re consuming per bottle and try dialing it down a bit. Another benefit of lower ABV wines is that you don’t feel the “heat” or “burn” on your tongue, making it a more enjoyable activity. Enjoy, make sure to drink lots of water, and kick those hangovers out of bed. Salud.
John Barrera’s Weight Loss Journey John Barrera, graduate of The Culinary Institute of America and our new Food Editor, wants to lose 60 pounds. We introduced him to WestView News contributor, Nurse Practitioner Joy Pape. Joy specializes in weight management. While John catalogues the triumphs and tragedies of the West Village restaurant scene for the paper (his first article appeared in the January issue), he has also offered to share his very personal struggle to lose weight with WestView readers. Joy has accepted the challenge to team up with John and help guide him on his journey.
By Joy Pape John’s Progress: John’s weight on the scale looks Photo by Maggie Berkvist the same. He considers this a victory since he gained six pounds over the holidays and has already taken them off. I agree. Our plan is to touch base with each other at least weekly to help John meet his goals. This week’s goals are for John to: 1. Be prepared by having healthy foods in the house. 2. Walk his dog for at least five blocks, seven days a week. He’s already gotten a good start on both..
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20 WestView News February 2015
Jim Fouratt’s
REEL DEAL: Movies that Matter I am writing this column from the SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL. Today there are actually two Sundances: The one you see on TV full of stars—Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Robert Redford, Iggy Azalea, Common and John Legend—partying on Main Street. The other Sundance, the one Robert Redford founded to celebrate and promote independent film, lives in the theaters, panel rooms and post screening Q&A with the directors, writers, actors and producers. This is the one I attend. This year 12,166 films were submitted and 123 films and 60 shorts were selected and divided into the various categories. These films are screening from 8:30 AM to midnight each day. Since I can’t see them all, I’ve set up a priority system. My criteria, in order, are US Documentaries, World Documentaries, World Features and US narratives in competition for Jury and public awards. I also sprinkle in NEXT (low budget, new tech) and the New Frontiers (technology and expanded cinema). I try to participate in as many of the first screening Q&A as possible. Among the films I have seen and really liked were films about the Black Panthers, fighting the There is no question that global wealth is tipping into fewer and fewer hands, and we see an echo of this here in the West Village, when a real estate developer is allowed to demolish a 161-year-old hospital to replace it with luxury condos. Police entrapment, first love, white su-
Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game
premacists, and a wild collection of shorts that shout “looky here, we are the future.” I will review the best of the Sundance films when they become available in theaters or via VOD. 2015 is a return to the core values that motivated Redford and John Cooper has reigned in the festival to respect those boundaries. Translation: 10 days of little sleep and a whole lot of time spent with strangers in dark rooms looking at light on a screen telling a story. Oscar Nomination Controversy I have some thoughts on 3 films I would like to share with you. 1: Selma: I do not advocate a quota system based on race for Oscar nominations, but I find it shocking that a number of performances by actors of color were ignored or overlooked. The firestone of criticism about LBJ’s portrayal in Selma was orchestrated in popular media by former LBJ policy makers or historians motivated either financially or ideologically to protect the LBJ legacy. Even Maureen Dowd criticized how LBJ was drawn in a NY Times Op-Ed. The firestorm of criticism peaked during the last two weeks of the Oscar nominating period. Some of these critics very specifically called for Academy members NOT to nominate Selma. This black woman directed, written, and produced film received only one nomination: Best Picture. The director, writer, actors, and a group of craft artists were all ignored. I have to defend Selma as an important film that is not a documentary but a narrative film based on the humanness of the principals involved including King and LBJ as well as the extraordinary grouping of civil rights leaders and those politicians who opposed them. Ava DuVernay, the director and principal writer tells an authentic story in narrative form. It was never meant to be a documentary. The attacks on the integrity of both the film and the director were caused by a windstorm of mostly white men. Please read this well thought out and documented defense of Selma by Mark Harris. It not only defends the film, but also explains the nature of narrative film making and how it differs from documen-
Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler
tary film making. http://grantland.com/ features/selma-oscars-academy-awardshistorical-accuracy-controversy/ 2: The Imitation Game: I have known of Alan Turing and his history since the late '60s. His brilliant brain was instrumental in ending WWII. The horrible story of the damage done to him because of his self-admitted homosexuality and his history of having to closet himself in order to work was one of the motivations that made me become an activist despite knowing how it would damage my own career goals. When I saw the film, I was happy that at last more of the public would know of this gay hero and what happened to him because he was a homosexual. However, I did have an uncomfortable feeling in the bottom of my stomach when I left the theater. Not with the performance of Benedict Cumberbatch, but with how his character was written and directed—it made me wonder if Turing’s character as directed was in fact a highly functioning person with Asperger syndrome, a form of autism, or simply a victim of having to closet himself in his daily life. When I attempted to broach this subject with gay or
straight friends, I was met with unwelcome ears. So recently reading this piece in the Guardian by the always insightful and au contraire Alex Von Tunzelmann made me realize I was not alone in my questions. http://goo.gl/B1hOCi 3: Nightcrawler: I think Nightcrawler is the best American made feature of the year, with Oscar worthy performances from Jake Gyllenhaal, Riz Ahmed and Rene Russo. Set in the Michael Mann L.A. landscape, it is story telling at its highest form in popular cinema. Using the world of tabloid television news “journalism” as a backdrop, it evokes the desperation of everyday life in a world dominated by the triumph of capital. There is not a character written that is not desperate to either hold on to their job or willing to do anything to get or keep it. Like the Mexican film Miss Bala, Gilroy has constructed a film that takes a hard look at whether any moral compass is still at work in TV news reporting, and how the demand for high ratings stomps on whatever traditional ethics are left. Gyllenhaal was robbed. Rather than having a historical figure to bring to life, he has to crest a modern day Sammy Glick who sees winning as the only motivation for success.
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February 2015 WestView News 21
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Early French Film at the Jefferson Market Library By Maya Sidhu France is considered the birthplace of cinema and has always been at the center of developments in the medium. Starting February 21st at Jefferson Market Library and continuing on the next four Saturdays, the class “A Cultural History of French Film” will explore the rich history of French film from its origins in the late nineteenth century until the end of the Second World War. From 3-5 p.m. on each Saturday, we will discuss films from master directors, analyzing them in the context of larger issues in French society while also paying attention to advances in French film style. Examining the films through the lens of culture will help us to discover how these filmmakers skillfully related their stories to the pressing matters of their day. Our guiding question will be: how can we understand changes in French politics and aesthetics through film? Our class starts with early silent cin-
LE JOUR SE LÈVE
ema. We look at films from directors Louis Feuillade, Georges Méliès, and the Lumière brothers. We then cover the AvantGarde and Surrealist period, considering films from Dimitri Kirsanoff, Germaine Dulac, Luis Buñuel, and Jean Vigo. We end our course studying Poetic Realism and filmmaking under the German occupation of France through the films of Jean Grémillion, Jean Renoir, Marcel Carné, and Julien Duvivier. This list of filmmakers is not exhaustive, however, and is subject to change due to student interest. Dur-
Integrityc ontinued from page 1 piece of legislation is free from taint. When I first tackled this piece, I emphasized that SHELDON SILVER SHOULD RESIGN. After a few efforts to name a “temporary” governing group, Silver was forced to step down as Speaker when a few brave souls in the Assembly began to speak up, first Keith Wright from Harlem (son of the famous judge Bruce Wright) and then Brian Kavanagh from Stuyvesant Town/ East Village. They understood that even if Silver wins his criminal case, the case will smell up our government and distract from the critical work the Assembly needs to do in the coming years. No matter how much his fellow Assembly Democrats fear him, neither Andrew Cuomo or State Senate Republican Leader Skelos would fear Silver’s political power the way they once did as they carry out the “three men in a room” form of governance, an undemocratic form of governance if there ever was one. What bothers me the most (other than the fact that a greedy, all-powerful man had so much power over our lives), is that our Assembly Member, Deborah Glick, stuck with “Shelly” until he was almost under water. Deborah Glick has built a career out of slavishly serving Sheldon Silver. Almost from her first days in the Assembly, when she lined up to elevate him to his position of power, Deborah has been his lap dog. That became clearest when he used public money to buy the silence of staffers who had complaints about sexual harassment by his friend Vito Lopez. Glick, supposedly
a “feminist,” said nothing. When Silver kept on a Chief of Staff ( Judy Rapfogel) whose husband had stashed millions of dollars in stolen cash around their house, Glick said nothing. When it came out that Silver was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by a law firm he did not work for, Glick said nothing, not a word, not even after word of a second unpaid “job” surfaced. I want government representatives who are squeaky clean. I want my children to believe in the good motives of their elected officials. During Silver’s—and Glick’s—20 years you would never confuse the State Assembly with a Hall of Integrity. A DOZEN Assembly Members went down on corruption convictions over those 20 years. It has become more likely that an Assembly Member will be indicted than lose a reelection campaign. I don’t mind if my representatives are practical and play the game of government chess well. But I want my representative to be someone who not only isn’t corrupt, but who also doesn’t look the other way when corruption rears its ugly head. Brad Hoylman, our State Senator, was the first elected official to call for Silver’s resignation. His principles deserve praise. But our Assembly Member Glick, who stood by Silver, who supported Cuomo after he shut down the Moreland Corruption Commission as it was sniffing at Silver’s heels, who has never called for ethics reform, who supported Christine Quinn after she built a campaign based
ing class sessions we will also look at clips from other films, such as Hélène (1936) from co-directors Marie Epstein and Jean Benoit-Lévy, for example. Benoit-Lévy and Epstein powerfully took up the issue of women’s advancement in French society directly in their film. Be sure not to miss screenings of featurelength films at 6 p.m. on Monday nights at Jefferson Market. We will screen the following films in their entirety: L’Atalante (1934), Le Jour se lève (Daybreak 1939), La Règle du
LA RÈGLE DU JEU
on the money of real estate developers— as I have said in these pages before, it is time for her to go too. “Greed, cronyism and dishonesty” don’t
jeu (The Rules of the Game 1939), Remorques (Stormy Waters 1941). These screenings accompany the course, and we will discuss the films in class during the following session. In our first class, we will also watch the film, Ménilmontant (1926). In addition to the Monday night screenings and our weekly analytical discussions, we will also cover short readings on French history and film criticism from admired and influential critics such as André Bazin and Louis Delluc. You should expect to leave the course with knowledge of hallmark French films, an understanding of developments in film style, and a comprehension of how these seminal films fit into the larger context of 20th century European history. Registration begins on February 7. Interested participants should stop by the library to sign up in person or call (212) 243-4334.
Maya Sidhu is a PhD Candidate in French/ Francophone Studies at Northwestern University. She received her MA in French Language and Civilization from New York University in Paris in 2009.
need to be synonymous with “government.”
Arthur Z. Schwartz is the Village’s Male Democratic District Leader.
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22 WestView News February 2015
FEBRUARY EVENTS by Stephanie Phelan of westvillageword.com
wv w for
WestView News SPECIAL EVENTS CITYWIDE n Sunday February 1, 9 am-2 pm: Political Memorabilia Show Buy, sell,
trade and get information on items you own, from campaign buttons to posters and more at The Sixth Street Community Synagogue, 325 East 6th Street. Admission $3.00. For information, email Tony Lee at tony@adicio.com. n Monday February 16 and Tuesday February 17, 8 am-6 pm: Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show The
annual event for dog lovers will be held at Madison Square Garden and Piers 92 and 94, West 55th Street and the West Side Highway. For information and tickets, go to westminsterkennelclub.org. n Sunday February 22: Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade and Festival The festivities begin at
Canal St at Mott St. Food vendors, traditional lion and dragon dances, costumes, floats and multicolored confetti make for a colorful and memorable event. n Through February 28: High Line Snow Sculpt-Off Every time it snows
through February 28, you can create a snow sculpture on the High Line with a chance to win prizes. Open to teams of adults (18 and older) and families. For more information go to highline.org. n February 16-March 6: Restaurant Week A three-course dinner at the
best restaurants in New York for $38 at restaurants throughout the city. Reservations open Feb 2. For reservations, go to opentable.com.
FILM n Monday February 2, 6 pm: Rocky
Sylvester Stallone as a boxer whose dream of fighting a heavyweight champion comes true. Jefferson Market Library, 425 Sixth Avenue. Free. n Tuesdays February 3, 10 and 24: War of 1812 — 200th Anniversary Perspective Documentary films and
discussions show the different perspectives of the U.S. and Canada on the war that America almost lost. The series will conclude with the 1958 film, The Buccaneer. Hudson Park Library, 66 Leroy Street. Free. n Thursday February 5, 2 pm: Sweet Liberty Alan Alda stars in this 1986
spoof about how Hollywood treats history. Hudson Park Library, 66 Leroy
Street. Free. n Monday February 9, 6 pm: Badlands Starring Martin Shee, and Sissy
Spacek as a teen and her boyfriend who go on a killing spree. Jefferson Market Library, 425 Sixth Avenue. Free. n Thursday February 12, 2 pm: Back to School Rodney Dangerfield stars in this
1986 movie about an obnoxious businessman who goes back to school. Hudson Park Library, 66 Leroy Street. Free.
n Friday February 13, 1 pm: Age of Love A film about 30 seniors who sign up
for a speed dating event. A Q and A will follow the screening. New School, Theresa Lang Center. 55 W 13th St. 2nd. Fl. Free but reservation required. Call 212-2295682 or e-mail irp@newschool.edu. n Thursday February 19, 2 pm: Caddyshack A 1980 comedy about goings-
on at a golf course, starring Chevy Chase and Rodney Dangerfield. Hudson Park Library, 66 Leroy Street. Free. n Monday February 23, 6 pm: L’Atalante A newly married couple
struggles through marriage issues as they travel on the L’atalante. Jefferson Market Library, 425 Sixth Avenue. Free. n Thursday February 26, 2 pm: Destry Rides Again Marlene Dietrich and James
Stewart star in this 1939 Western at Hudson Park Library, 66 Leroy Street. Free.
KIDS n Wednesday February 11, 3:30 pm: Slippery Science Kids ages 5-12 get to
study polymers and make a batch of slime at Hudson Park Library, 66 Leroy Street. Limited to 25 participants; advance registration required in person or by phone at (212) 243-6876. Free. n Sunday February 15, 11 am and 2:30 pm: Penny Jones Puppets
The stories of Mother Goose’s dog Toby, Three Little Pigs and the story of Boswell, the Polar Bear. Recommended for children ages 3-8. Westbeth, 155 Bank Street. Tickets $10 for all (including babies), available through www.pennypuppets.org. n Tuesday February 17, 3:30 pm: Life in the Sea Kids ages 5 and up can learn
about polymers and get to make a batch of slime. Jefferson Market Library, 425 POLITICAL FUNDING Saved any old campaign buttons? Buy, sell or trade political memorabilia at the Sixth Street Community Synagogue on February 1.
A BATTLE OF WITS Bill Murray is stymied by a gopher in Caddyshack, Showing Thursday February 19 at Hudson Park Library.
Sixth Avenue. Registration required; in person or call (212) 243-4334. n Tuesdays at 3:30 pm: Afternoon Movietime Classic and current movies
for kids ages 3-12. Hudson Park Library, 66 Leroy Street. Free. n Wednesdays at 11:15 am: Toddler Time Interactive stories, action songs
and fingerplays for walking tots accompanied by parents or caregivers. Hudson Park Library, 66 Leroy Street. Free.
n Wednesdays at 3:30 pm: Nature Detectives An interactive look into the
natural world through games, live animals and projects. For ages 7 and up. Hudson Park Library, 66 Leroy Street. Free. n Wednesdays at 3:30 pm: Preschool Time Picture book stories,
songs and rhymes for children ages 2-5 at Jefferson Market Library, 425 Sixth Avenue. Free. n Wednesdays at 4 pm: St. John’s Choristers Free Musical Education
Training in music fundamentals and vocal technique for children 8 and up. Open to kids from all over the city, but is made up primarily of neighborhood children. As part of the program, they sing once a month at a Sunday Eucharist. St. John’s in The Village, 224 Waverly Place. n Thursdays at 3:45 pm: Owls and Otters Storytime Picture book stories
for children ages 5-6 at Jefferson Market Library, 425 Sixth Avenue. Free.
MUSIC n Thursday February 5, 8 pm: Fauré Requiem —Music from the Russian Orthodox Tradition Voices of Ascen-
sion Chorus, Soprano Dominique Labelle and Bass-baritone Evan Hughes will perform at Church of the Ascension, Fifth Avenue at 10th Street. Tickets range from $40-$75. To purchase, go to voicesofascension.org. n Friday February 6, 7 pm: La Boite a joujou A shadow play
and piano performance at La Maison
Française NYU, 16 Washington Mews (at University Place) The third and final ballet written by Claude Debussy features shadow play to tell the story of a love triangle between a doll, a soldier, and a villain on a night when the toys come alive. Register for this event at http://events.nyu.edu/#event_id/31864/ view/event. n Saturday February 7, 8 pm: Andre Matos 5tet and Jacob Sacks’ Two Miles a Day Jazz performance at Green-
wich House Music School, 46 Barrow Street. Tickets $15. n Sunday February 8, 2-5 pm: Meccore String Quartet A per-
formance of the Karol Szymanowski String Quartet No. 1, Simon Laks Quartet No. 3 , and Claude Debussy String Quartet in G Minor, Op 10. The Auditorium at 66 West 12th Street, Alvin Johnson/J.M. Kaplan Hall 66 West 12th Street. Tickets $5-$17.50; to purchase, call 212-229-5873. n Thursday February 12, 8 pm: Ideal Bread and Outhead Jazz performance
at Greenwich House Music School, 46 Barrow Street. Tickets $15.
n Saturday, February 14, 7:30 p.m.: Love in the Parlors—A Valentine in Concert Romantic vocal music of 19th-
century composers performed in the Museum’s Greek Revival parlors . Tickets $30. Reservations required; go to merchantshouse.org for more information and tickets. n Saturday February 21, 8 pm: Rob Brown Trio Jazz performance at
Greenwich House Music School, 46 Barrow Street. Tickets $15. n Sunday February 22, 6 pm: Chopin’s Birthday Concert Emir Gamsizoglu,
The Chatty Pianist, will play Chopin’s well-known pieces and communicate with the audience about Chopin and his music. Greenwich House Music’s Renee Weiler Concert Hall, 46 Barrow Street. Tickets $20; to purchase, go to cafevivaldi.com/events.
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23 WestView News February 2015 VILLAGE HISTORY n Monday February 2, 6:30 pm: Shadows on Bleecker Street Staged readings
from Warren Wyss’s and Milton Polskya’s novel embracing the history of Bleecker Street and its past illuminaries. HB Playwrights Theater, 124 Bank Street. Free, but resrvations required; e-mail rsvp@gvshp.org or call (212) 475-9585 ext. 35.
LITERATURE n Wednesday February 4, 6 pm: Teen Author Reading Night Come hear teen
author favorites at Jefferson Market Library, 425 Sixth Avenue.
n Saturday February 14, 10:30 am: A Tale for the Time Being Ruth Ozeki’s
novel will be discussed at Hudson Park Library, 66 Leroy Street.
n Monday February 23, 6:30 pm: Romance Book Club Under discussion:
What a Woman Wants by Judi Fennell and Demon Hunting in a Dive Bar by Lexi George. Jefferson Market Library, 425 Sixth Avenue. n Thursday, February 26, 4:30 pm: Book Discussion This meeting’s book
n Friday February 20, 1 pm: Google Drive —Docs Learn how to create, edit
Spat or Back to the Cold War? The
n Saturday February 21, 3 pm: A Cultural History of French Film A five-session
HEALTH
future of Ukraine and the shape of the global political order will be discussed by a panel at NYU, 19 Washington Square North. For more information and to register, go to nyuad.nyu.edu/en/.
and share online documents using Google’s word processing, spreadsheet, presentation and calendar programs. First come, first served. Hudson Park Library, 66 Leroy Street. Free. course on the history of French film from the late nineteenth century until the end of the Second World War, focusing on Early Silent Cinema, the Avant-Garde, Surrealism, Poetic Realism, and filmmaking under the German occupation of France. The course takes place Saturdays 3-5 pm, February 21, 28, March 7, 14 and 21. Jefferson Market Library, 425 Sixth Avenue. Free, but registration required, starting February 7; in person or call (212) 243-4334. n Wednesday February 25, 1 pm: Time to Spare— Strategies to Eliminate Clutter Using visualization exercises
and helpful tips, participants visualize their cluttered spaces and leave with customized strategies for organizing their environments in the future. Hudson Park Library, 66 Leroy Street. Free.
Tuesdays at 3:30 pm: Yoga St. Luke
in the Fields, 487 Hudson Street., First come, first served. Free.
ART n Wednesday February 4, 3:30 and 7:30 pm: National Geographic Live — Spirit of the Wild Photographer
LET IT SNOW Every time it snows until February 28, get family and friends together to compete for prizes at High Line’s Snow Sculpt-Off.
ARTS AND CRAFTS
Paul Nicklen and his images of nature and wilderness at Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, 566 LaGuardia Place. Tickets $30-$65. n Through February 13: Scapes
Lee Somers’ multilayered assemblages at Greenwich House Pottery, 16 Jones Street. n Through April 4: Left Front and Indian Modernism
n Tuesdays at 3:30 pm: Arts and Crafts For kids ages 3-12 at Jefferson
LEARNING
at Hudson Park Library, 66 Leroy Street. Register in person or call (212) 243-6876. Free.
Market Library, 425 Sixth Avenue. Free.
Left Front showcases posters, prints, paintings and books by American artists during the Great Depression; Indian Modernism explores the art of India after the 1947 Independence from British rule. Grey Art Gallery, 100 Washington Square East.
n Friday February 6, 1 pm: Advanced MS Powerpoint 2010 Topics include
DRAMA
TALK
n February 5-April 17: Prison Obscura The works in this exhibit vary
n Sunday February 8 at 2:30 pm: Etty
n Thursday February 10, 8:30 am: Protecting the City’s Children from Homelessness—De Blasio’s First Year in Office How well De Blasio is keeping
is The Heart of the Matter by Grahame Greene. Jefferson Market Library, 425 Sixth Avenue.
using transitions, animations and more. Register in person or call (212) 243-6876. Hudson Park Library, 66 Leroy Street. Free. n Tuesday February 10, 6:30 pm: Wrting for Children Leonard Marcus,
one of the world’s leading authorities on children’s books and their illustration, will discuss how one successfully writes for children. Klein Conference Room, Alvin Johnson/J.M. Kaplan Hall, 66 West 12th Street. Amission $5.
n Friday February 27, 1 pm: Twitter Basics Learn about this social network
A one-woman play performed by Susan Stein about Etty Hillesum, a young Dutch Jewish woman in Amsterdam during World War II who came to be known through her writings. St. Joseph’s Church, Sixth Avenue between Washington Place and Waverly Place For reservations, e-mail info@nypaxchristi.org or call 212-4200250 or by going to www.nycharities.org. Seats are $25 in advance, $30 at the door and $15 with a student ID.
LANDSCAPING ART Lee Somers’ ceramic and mixed media assemblages will be on exhibit at the Jane Hartsook Gallery, Greenwich House Pottery, through February 13.
n Tuesday February 10, 6 pm: Making Valentine’s Day Cards Hudson Park
Library, 66 Leroy Street.
his promises to reduce family homelessness will be under discussion at Theresa Lang Community and Student Center, Arnhold Hall, 55 West 13th Street, Room I202.
n Thursday February 12 and Friday February 13, 12-7:30 pm — Fear of Art
Artists, scholars, and museum directors discuss the power of art and the importance of advocating for art, artists, and freedom of expression at New School’s Alvin Johnson/J.M. Kaplan Hall, 66 West 12th Street. Free, but reservations recommended; for schedule go to newschool.edu/cps/fear-of-art, and reservations, go to eventbrite.com. n Tuesday February 24, 4:30 pm: Strengthening Police-Community Relations—De Blasio’s First Year in Office A panel discussion seeking voices
of moderation to chart a path out from the current points of contention. Theresa Lang Community and Student Center, Arnhold Hall, 55 West 13th Street. Free. n Wednesday February 25, 6 pm: Russia-Ukraine Relations —A Neighborly
from aerial views of prison complexes to intimate portraits of incarcerated individuals. Also included are prisoner-made photographs. Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Gallery, Sheila C. Johnson Design Center2 West 13th Street. n February 12-May 23: Prague Functionalism —Tradition and Contemporary Echoes Photographs of Prague’s
functionalist buildings, projects, and drawings at Center for Architecture, 536 LaGuardia Place.
ONGOING EVENTS OF NOTE n First Saturday of Every Month, 2-3:30 pm: Book Swap Bring books
and/or art you’re willing to trade with others to Jefferson Market Library, 425 Sixth Avenue. Snacks will be provided, but bring your own coffee. n Saturdays, 11 am: Hudson Park Book Swap Exchange books one
Saturday each month at Hudson Park Library, 66 Leroy Street. n Thursdays at 5 pm: Hudson Park Chess and Games Chess, Checkers,
Battleship and other classic board and strategy games. Beginners welcome. Hudson Park Library, 66 Leroy Street. Free.