The Lo-Down Magazine: May 2015

News from the Lower East Side

LO-DOWN

THE

MAY 2015

www.thelodownny.com

Special Project:

Small Business in Peril A Yearlong Search for Solutions

Also inside: Remembering Judith Malina The Lo-Down | TheLoDownNY.com

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Ed Litvak Editor-in-Chief

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THE

LO-DOWN May 2015

in this issue

letter from the Editor: When we founded The Lo-Down in 2009, one

of our big objectives was to create a community news organization with staying power. It was one thing to build the publication as a vital neighborhood resource, but we were also committed to finding a business model to sustain The Lo-Down for years to come. All across the country, media organizations, foundations and educational institutions are trying to figure out the “future of local news” in a changing economy. So it’s nice to know we’re not alone. During the past year, we have been working with the Geraldine Dodge Foundation, which has established a media sustainability program. Together, we’re pursuing several strategies that, hopefully, will make our publication stronger while also offering possible solutions for local news sites in other neighborhoods. One of these initiatives is a crowdfunding campaign that we’re kicking off in this edition of the magazine. It’s intended to help fund a comprehensive, yearlong reporting project on an issue of critical importance to the Lower East Side: small-business survival. The Lo-Down depends on local advertising, but also on the support of our readers, our community.

We hope you will consider contributing to this project. You’ll find details in our cover story.

Thanks for your support!

Ed Litvak

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Cover Story

Small-Business Survival

14 New Arrivals

CW Pencil Enterprise, Maison Kitsuné, Launch F18, Claw & Company, Orchard Street Hotel

16 Calendar/Feat ured Events Guerrilla Girls, LES History Month, NADA Art Fair, Ideas City

18 Neighborhood News

Home of the Sages controversy, 57 Orchard St. tower, public housing money

20 Zoning Debate

City plan would raise height caps

22 The Lo-Dine

Dimes on the move, Kiki’s debuts, Ice & Vice comes to East Broadway

24 Ar ts Watch

Remembering Judith Malina

26 My LES

Community activist Nancy Ortiz

28 Car toon

LES Sideways by Evan Forsch

On the cover: A sign of the times appears on a clothing rack on Orchard Street.

Photo by Alex Price

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May 2015

NADA NEW YORK May 14–17, 2015 Pier 36 Basketball City 299 South St NADA newartdealers.org nada_ny_2015_lodown_042415.indd 1

4/24/15 5:23 PM

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W

1.

By Ed Litvak

hat Will It Tak

A Yearlong Rep

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3.6

By Ed Litvak

Lourdes Salazar has owned Genesis Bridal Shop, a party-supply store at 97 Clinton St., for 22 years. After handing off management to her daughter last year, she was forced out of retirement to deal with a crisis threatening the family business. The landlord was raising the rent, and not just a little bit.

The monthly payments were going up from $4,000 to $10,000, way beyond what Salazar could afford in an era of declining sales. Last month she began a frantic search for a new, smaller space in the neighborhood.

Her predicament is hardly unique. The casualties just in the past few years include much-loved places like Guss’ Pickles, the Pink Pony, Jeffrey’s Meat Market, G&S Sporting Goods, Motor City and the Living Room. Some of these businesses, of course, chose to close their doors. Others, like Rothstein’s Hardware and Daredevil Tattoo, relocated within the community. But even in a city defined by constant change, the retail April 2015

4.

5.

6.

ke to Save Our Small Businesses?

porting Initiative in Search of Answers churn has been breathtaking.

Many people are worried the current wave of change is fundamentally different.

Today it’s not just quaint mom-and-pops that are withering but substantial independent companies designed to compete in the modern marketplace. What if rising real estate prices sweep away everything that makes our neighborhood distinctive, leaving generic corporate chains in its place?

It’s a fear that has helped fuel #SaveNYC, a grassroots campaign started by blogger Jeremiah Moss. “Imagine a city filled with empty super-condos, money vaults in the sky,” he wrote in the Daily News. “Our streetscapes will be sleek windows on the dead space of bank branches and real-estate offices. There will be no more bookstores, no more theaters, no more places for live music. No more places to sit on a stool and drink a beer with regular folks.”

In our six years reporting news on the Lower East Side, there’s no issue that has touched a nerve like the demise of beloved small businesses. Yet in spite of the concern about the negative impact on our commu-

nities, solutions have been elusive. It is for this reason that The Lo-Down has decided to launch a yearlong reporting initiative dedicated to sustained coverage of this important issue. We’ll explore the challenges businesses face as well as investigate potential solutions, and engage our neighborhood’s leaders every step of the way. It’s an unprecedented effort on our part to make sure this crucial topic receives the attention it deserves on the Lower East Side.

When it comes to small-business survival, no factor looms larger than spiraling commercial rents. Lourdes Salazar has to sell a lot of streamers and party hats at Genesis Bridal Shop to make $4,000, let alone $10,000 each month. But she doesn’t blame her landlord, a small local property owner, for the increase. Speaking through a translator, Salazar told us she had been given a lengthy grace period after the lease expired last spring to come up with a plan. High property taxes forced the increase, she said.

“The owner has a right to make money, too.” In the past several weeks, Salazar has been working with two neighborhood The Lo-Down | TheLoDownNY.com

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Photos: 1. Genesis Bridal Shop, 97 Clinton St.; 2. Lourdes Salazar, owner, Genesis Bridal Shop.; 3. Jeffrey Ruhalter of Jeffrey’s Meats, which closed in 2011.; 4. Express Shoe Repair Shop closed at 400 Grand St. to make room for Essex Crossing development project.; 5.

Clinton Street businesses closed in advance of 7-story luxury condo development.; 6. Guss’ Pickles closed its Orchard Street store in 2009.; 7. Former Living Room space at 154 Ludlow St.; 8. The Laptop Shop at 7 Clinton St. closed last year.; 9. Modern Decor at 319 Grand St. moved to Brooklyn last year.

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April 2015

groups—the Association of Latino Business Owners and Residents (ALBOR) and Good Old Lower East Side (GOLES)—to find a new space. The groups received a $30,000 grant from the city’s Department of Small Business Services to help revive Clinton Street.

Many landlords, of course, are not so benevolent. In 2012, Silvershore Properties bought a six-story apartment building at 101 Delancey St. for $7 million and immediately began clearing out both residential and retail tenants. A bodega and independent clothing store were among those forced to close.

Lease renewals were not offered at any price. Two years later, the storefronts remained vacant, yet the building was sold again for more than $17 million.

Elsewhere in the neighborhood, developers have emptied commercial buildings in preparation for new luxury projects. At 50 Clinton St., acclaimed restaurant wd-50, clothing stores Blake Scotland and Community 54, as well as a hair salon, were among the victims. At the intersection of Orchard and East Houston streets, a looming 12-story tower displaced Turkish cheap-eats spot Bereket, among several other modest businesses.

Earlier this spring, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer came out with a series of ideas to help independent operators. “Small storefront businesses and vendors,” she said, “create jobs and add value, vibrancy, and diversity to our neighborhoods—New York would not be New York without them.”

Among her proposals is City Council legislation to mandate a mediation period between tenants and landlords for lease renewals. It differs from a bill known as the “Small Business Jobs Survival Act,” which is being championed by #SaveNYC. Versions of that legislation, which would go one step further by requiring arbitration, have been languishing in the council for years.

The Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) is seen as a major obstacle to the proposals. "The market is going to dictate whether or not a mom-and-pops [is] going to survive,” REBNY President Steven Spinola told the Associated Press. “When we try to stop that from happening, we're going to hurt the economy of New York.”

In a recent interview on WNYC Radio, a key official in Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration acknowledged the need to protect “funky” mom-andpops from escalating rents. Alicia Glen, deputy

"We do not want to become a city that is bland and uniform.”

— Alicia Glen, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Photos, this page, Top: Dunkin' Donuts on Grand St; Bottom: Subway on the corner of Grand and Ludlow.

Some of Samy Mahfar’s Lower East Side holdings: (top) 210 Rivington St., (middle) 113 Stanton St., (bottom) 101 Norfolk St.

The Lo-Down | TheLoDownNY.com

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mayor for housing and economic development, said, "We do not want to become a city that is bland and uniform.” While arguing that change can be healthy, Glen indicated that the administration would soon be coming out with some initiatives to help struggling businesses.

Other efforts are already under way.

For the past several years, Community Board 3 has been talking about asking the city for a special zoning district—likely somewhere in the East Village—to potentially restrict stores with multiple locations or to limit large-scale stores. This year, the board’s economic development committee is stepping up its work on the proposal. City Council member Margaret Chin recently introduced legislation to establish a smallbusiness advocate within city government to champion the interests of independent businesses. A recurring theme with shop and restaurant owners is their struggle to wade through mountains of regulatory red tape in city agencies. Chin says her proposal would give businesses the help they need to cut through the bureaucracy.

Other ideas have grown organically outside the halls of government. Made in the Lower East Side (miLES) is a start-up

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May 2015

that works with property owners to utilize vacant retail spaces for new ventures. It’s not a long-term solution, but gives new businesses a shot at making their mark. A new proposal surfaced more recently. Local activists are floating the idea of a Real Estate Investment Cooperative, in which people would pool their money to purchase property and open space for the benefit of the community. The first organizing meeting was scheduled for late April.

Throughout the next 12 months, The Lo-Down will be digging into all of the issues around small-business survival. We’ll begin with a series of eight in-depth stories examining the problems faced by businesses and the most promising solutions. We’ll also be profiling great Lower East Side businesses and putting together a “Shop Local” guide for wide distribution later in the year.

There will be meet-up events, public forums and interviews with local leaders, all intended to build consensus in our community for a small-business survival strategy.

But we can’t do it alone. We need your ideas, local knowledge and, yes, financial support all along the way. See the facing page to learn how you can help fund this community reporting initiative. n

SUPPORT THE LO-DOWN SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESS ON THE L.E.S. We’re launching a year-long reporting initiative to explore the challenges faced by small businesses in our neighborhood and to investigate the best solutions for longterm survival.

We’ll kick it off with a series of 8 in-depth stories, and follow-up with profiles of the LES’s most loved businesses, a “Buy Local” Guide and comprehensive interviews with local leaders.

To make this project a reality and to assure The Lo-Down’s survival, we need your help.

Your voluntary donation will make sure we can continue providing this magazine free of charge. It will also help us fund a robust reporting project on an issue of critical importance to the Lower East Side.

From May 11-June 8, The Lo-Down is running a crowdfunding campaign. There are all kinds of great rewards available, including gifts from Katz’s Deli, Russ & Daughters and Melt Bakery.

Please visit our website for more information: TheLoDownNY.com/SmallBusiness

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! The Lo-Down | TheLoDownNY.com

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new arrivals LAUNCH F18 (94 Allen St., at Delancey

Street, launchf18.com) The young artists/curators Tim Donovan and Sam Trioli made the move from Tribeca, taking over a versatile space with entrances on both Allen and Orchard streets. There’s a ground-floor storefront gallery plus a lower-level exhibition space. In moving to the Lower East Side, Launch F18 also took on a third partner, painter and curator David Deutsch. The original gallery opened in 2010.

CW PENCIL ENTERPRISE (100a Forsyth

St., at Broome Street, cwpencils.com) Caroline Weaver says she’s an “amateur pencil collector but lifelong pencil lover.” Now she’s channeling that passion by opening a shop on the Lower East Side selling nothing but pencils and accessories. The collection ranges from basic #2 pencils to vintage varieties from the 1920s to a German-made clutch pencil in various colors. Also available: a selection of sharpeners, erasers and notebooks. Weaver says she aims to “make sure that you can have any pencil your heart, hand or collection desires.”

CLAW & COMPANY (101 Delancey St.,

at Ludlow Street, clawandco.com) Graffiti artist and fashion designer Claw Money has opened a boutique to sell her own line, including signature Claw starter jackets, as well as leather vintage, Nike high-tops and other hip items. She says the idea behind the store is to “embrace the grit of the legendary NYC subculture of graffiti.”

ORCHARD STREET HOTEL (163 Orchard St.,

MAISON KITSUNÉ (5 Rivington St., at Bow-

ery, shop.kitsune.fr) The cutting-edge French lifestyle brand opened its second New York City store on this increasingly fashionable strip of Rivington Street. The shop for men and women includes an exclusive patchwork sweater and T-shirt, designed specifically for the Lower East Side launch. There’s also a backyard, which will spring into action as the weather gets warmer.

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May 2015

at Stanton Street, orchardstreethotel.com) The 50-room hotel, which towers over its tenement neighbors on Orchard Street, began accepting bookings last month. A recent online check of availabilities found weekend rates ranging from $199– $349/night. The 12-story property is owned by entrepreneur Nico Moinian. It’s not the only hotel coming to this block. The 290-room Hotel Indigo at 180 Orchard St. is scheduled to open in the summer. n

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calendar

what to do in

Visit our CALENDAR online at www.thelodownny.com/calendar for more details and to add your own events.

Edited by Traven Rice

Fri.

1 Lower East Side History Month: More than 80 cultural and community groups are collaborating for the second annual Lower East Side History Month, a celebration of the diverse history of the neighborhood. Public events include a kick-off from “LES Stories,” an interactive chalked trivia exhibit at sites around the neighborhood, plus live performances, exhibits, gallery and walking tours, talks, film screenings, festivals and more. For a full list of happenings throughout the month, visit leshistorymonth.org.

Mon.

4

MAY

Sat.

9 Nuyorican Poets 2nd Annual Block Party:

Bring the whole family and celebrate 41 years of talent with the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. Block-wide festivities include live music on Avenue B, live poetry in front of the Nuyorican, open mic for upcoming talent on Avenue C, hip-hop performances, food, carnival games for kids, obstacle courses and more.

11 a.m.–5 p.m. East 3rd Street between avenues B & C, nuyorican.org.

Thurs.

14 Natalie Prass at Bowery Ballroom: This radiant-voiced songstress made a splash with her recent self-titled debut album and has been garnering rave reviews ever since.

Citing such composers as Stephen Sondheim, Irving Berlin and Burt Bacharach's work with Dionne Warwick as touchstones, she sings sweetly about dark emotions, weaves complex stories and pays tribute to her current home of Nashville. Catch her now before she moves on to “bigger and better.” 6 Delancey St., 9 p.m., $17, boweryballroom.com.St., 8:00 p.m., $25, boweryballroom.com.

Klezmer Violin with Deborah Strauss and Jake ShulmanThurs.

Ment at the Museum at Eldridge Street: The highly

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regarded duo finds inspiration from traditional klezmer, cantorial music and Hasidic nigunim, as well as Romanian, Roma, Ukrainian, Polish, Russian and Hungarian folk music. 7 p.m. at 12 Eldridge Street, between Canal and Division streets, $20 adults; $15 stu/ sen, includes a wine reception following the performance, eldridgestreet.org.

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May 2015

NADA at Pier 36: The fourth edition of the New

Art Dealers Association’s NYC fair pops up for four days featuring rising talent and new art from around the globe. This year’s fair includes more than 85 exhibitors, live music, food trucks and cocktails on the waterfront. Through May 17, Basketball City at 299 South St., Thurs.

6 p.m.–8 p.m., Fri./Sat. 11 a.m.–7 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.–5 p.m., free, newartdealers.org.

May

1-15

Featured

EVENT

Guerrilla Not ready to make nice, Girls 30 years and still counting!

Our favorite feminist masked avengers are popping up at the Abrons Arts Center to celebrate 30 years of subversive (and anonymous) antics, fighting discrimination and corruption in art, film, politics and pop culture. Their exhibition (May 1–May 15) features posters, stickers and billboards from 1985 to the present, along with video of past projects and clips of “hot-shot gallery owners making totally embarrassing statements.” Exhibition walk-throughs with the Guerrilla Girls are scheduled for May 3, 10, and 17 at 3 p.m. A blowout party Friday, May 15, from 8–10 p.m., will feature music, DJs and cake. Check for updates at guerrillagirls.com. 466 Grand St., Tue.–Sat. 11 a.m.–6 p.m., Sun. 12–6 p.m., free, abronsartscenter.org.

Fri.

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Mon.

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THE FLATIRON HEX by James Godwin at Dixon

Place: Jim Henson Award-winning puppeteer, performance and visual artist James Godwin (founder of the Elementals) has been an official Muppet performer and puppeteer for The Daily Show and Chappelle's Show.

He’s worked with Julie Taymor, David Bowie and even Aerosmith. He’s currently workshopping his latest solo puppet performance, which concerns a contract shaman who works for a city in the middle of a swamp. Fridays and Saturdays through May 30. 161A Chrystie St., 7:30 p.m., $16 advance, $20 door, dixonplace.org.

Penny Arcade – Longing Lasts Longer at Joe’s Pub: Downtown diva Penny Arcade and her longtime collaborator Steve Zehentner continue their development of this passionate rumination on love, longing and the loss of New York’s cultural identity. Equal parts memoir, manifesto and hilarious cultural critique; you have four chances to catch this cri de coeur before it heads to the Edinburgh Festival in August and then to London for a monthlong run in November. Mondays through June 8. 425 Lafayette St., 7 p.m., $20, joespub.publictheater.org.

IDEAS CITY 2015 — The Invisible City at the New Museum: The theme of this year’s IDEAS CITY Festival pays homage to Italo Calvino’s literary masterpiece of 1972. Each of the festival’s platforms invites visitors to explore questions of transparency and surveillance, citizenship and representation, and the enduring quest for visibility in the city. Over 100 free events are taking place over three days (through May 30) throughout lower Manhattan. newmuseum.org/ ideascity. n

Thurs.

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The Lo-Down | TheLoDownNY.com

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neighborhood news edited by Ed Litvak

crime

real estate

A Lower East Side woman, Latisha Fisher, was charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of her 20-month-old baby in a restaurant bathroom March 30. The 35-year-old resident of the Gompers Houses on Pitt Street is accused of smothering Gavriel OrtizFisher. The woman, who has a history of emotional problems and violence, participated in an April 8 arraignment via a video hookup from Elmhurst Hospital, where she’s undergoing psychological testing.

Fisher’s attorney asked the judge for a psychological exam to determine if she is competent to stand trial.

Prosecutors oppose bail, but Fisher’s lawyer says he will make a case for her release at a later time.

A plan to sell the Home of the Sages nursing home building at 25 Bialystoker Pl. is being held up by a civil lawsuit and an investigation by the state attorney general.

A developer, Peter Fine, agreed to purchase the building for $13 million, but members of the synagogue located inside the property are trying to stop the transaction. Board President Samuel Aschkenazi seeks to divert $10 million from the sale to a nonprofit in Israel called “Friends of Mosdot Goor.” The remaining $3 million would be used to lease a space for services at a synagogue attached to Aschkenzi’s house in Kew Gardens, Queens.

Local residents suing the board say any proceeds should stay on the Lower East Side. Initially, the attorney general signaled his support for the sale, but now he is looking into the proposed deal more closely. The two sides are due back in court this month. The nursing home, which has 58 beds, would be closed if the sale is finalized. Fine anticipates building housing on the Home of the Sages site. mega-projects

Residents in the Two Bridges area were shocked when it became known a couple of years ago that Extell Development planned to build a 71-story tower on the former Cherry Street Pathmark site.

If Buildings Department documents are to be believed, the company has now downgraded its lofty plans, shrinking the luxury residential project alongside the Manhattan Bridge to 56 stories. According to the documents, the building now totals 773,611 square feet.

All but 25,000 square feet would be reserved for residential use. Extell is also building a 205-unit affordable tower next to the larger luxe tower. It’s unclear whether the affordable building will also shrink.

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May 2015

A rendering shows the luxury resdiential tower to be situated on Orchard St. real estate

Renderings emerged last month of an ultra-modern, 15-story tower in-the-works at 57 Orchard St., alongside the former Ridley & Sons Department Store. In 2013, Waterbridge Capital and Continental Worsteds purchased the so-called Pink Building, a city landmark, for $27 million. They also picked up 57 Orchard, a two-story commercial building that was being marketed for redevelopment.

In the past couple of years, both retail and residential tenants have been systematically weeded out.

The renderings, first spotted by the blog New York Yimby, depict a stacked tower with a copper facade.

According to the website of architectural firm DXA Studios, the project “takes advantage of neighboring air rights to redistribute floor area onto the relatively small lot.” The renderings show an elaborate roof deck extending onto the landmark-protected property, a 1886 cast-iron building. Its exterior cannot be altered without the approval of the Landmarks Preservation Commission. politics

A federal judge last month declined to dismiss corruption charges against Lower East Side Assemblyman Sheldon Silver but scolded U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara over statements he made before and after the former assembly speaker’s arrest. Silver, who was forced to resign his leadership public housing position in January, faces fraud and extorThe Federal Emergency Management tion charges. His lawAgency (FEMA) is giving $3 billion to yers asked Judge Valerie New York City’s public housing develCaproni to throw out the opments for storm protection. Several case because Bharara’s Lower East Side complexes—including comments, they argued, the Smith Houses, the LaGuardia Houses, Assemblyman Silver the Baruch Houses, the Wald Houses, the undermined their cliRiis Houses and Campos Plaza—will benent’s right to a fair trial. Caproni found there was no efit. It’s the largest grant in FEMA’s history. “legal rationale for dismissal,” but at the same time, Half of the money will be used for repairs, she did not “condone the government’s brinksmanthe other half for “resiliency measures.” ship relative to the defendant’s fair trial rights, or the Hurricane Sandy devastated electrical media blitz orchestrated by the U.S. attorney’s ofand mechanical systems in many public fice.” The judge said she found it “troubling” that the housing buildings. According to a press federal prosecutor appeared to be bundling “togethrelease from Mayor de Blasio and U.S. er unproven allegations regarding the defendant with Sen. Chuck Schumer, the grant will pay broader commentary on corruption and a lack of for “new construction of elevated boilers, transparency in certain aspects of New York State installation of flood barrier systems, and politics.” Bharara declined to comment. Silver’s trial standby generators.” is scheduled to begin Nov. 2. n The Lo-Down | TheLoDownNY.com

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City Zoning Proposal Would Raise LES Height Caps in Some Areas

A sketch from the NYC City Planning Dept. illustrating perceived problems in contextual districts.

A

By Ed Litvak

proposal from Mayor de Blasio’s administration for sweeping zoning changes citywide is facing fierce criticism from community activists and local elected officials. On the Lower East Side, the plan could mean lifting height caps by anywhere from 5 to 25 feet in certain areas.

The Department of City Planning has named the plan “Zoning for Quality and Affordability.” Although the draft-zoning text amendment has not yet been released, city officials have offered summaries of the proposal, which they say are designed to make it easier to build affordable housing, especially for seniors. Activists, however, argue that the changes would undermine zoning protections that were years in the making.

Among the areas most impacted would be contextual zoning districts, established nearly 30 years ago to safeguard existing neighborhood character. They include both height limits and setback requirements. During a briefing for reporters, city officials argued that modern-day construction practices, which require more 20

May 2015

space between floors, have forced builders to lower ceiling heights. The result has been poorly designed buildings, they believe, as well as buildings that are “under-built.” In some cases, developers cannot use all of the floor area the zoning permits due to the height caps. The city wants to raise those caps anywhere from 5-15 feet in contextual districts.

In 2008, 111 blocks of the Lower East Side and the East Village were rezoned, in part, to stop the construction of out-of-scale towers on Orchard Street and other low-rise blocks. The initiative covered many blocks in the East Village and the area between East Houston Street and Grand Street, more or less east of Forsyth Street. A R7a contextual district was established in the blocks east of Norfolk Street, with maximum building heights of 80 feet. West of Norfolk, the city put in place a C4-4a district, which allowed certain commercial uses but also included an 80-foot height limit. Higher-density R8a and C6-2a districts were created on larger streets, namely Delancey and Chrystie streets.

Under the new plan, building height limits

in R7a areas could rise from 80 feet to 95 feet if the owner has unused floor area. If it’s a senior housing development or if the property is located in an inclusionary housing zone (a stretch of Delancey Street, for example), height limits would increase to 105 feet (+25). In R8a districts (including a portion of East Houston and Delancey streets), maximum height would rise from 120 to 125 feet. If there’s senior housing or inclusionary housing, the new height limit would go up to 145 feet.

One of the most vocal opponents of the plan is Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. In an editorial published by Gotham Gazette, he wrote, “Big real estate, not average New Yorkers, would be the main beneficiary of some of the plan’s key provisions, and its cost would be the undoing of neighborhood zoning protections years in the making.”

Howard Slatkin, deputy executive director for strategic planning, told reporters last month that the changes have been urged by affordable housing developers, who currently are forced to make a choice between building high-quality ground-floor retail or affordable apartments.

The plan, said Slatkin, also attempts to address an acute shortage of senior housing that is bound to grow much worse in the years to come.

Some critics fear that it could motivate owners to tear down rent-stabilized buildings.

Others have expressed concerns that landlords will launch disruptive construction projects, adding floors to existing buildings. Throughout

Activists...argue that the changes would undermine zoning protections that were years in the making. the Lower East Side, tenant activists say, gut renovation projects have already made life so miserable for many residents that they simply move out of their buildings. Some elected officials have called for anti-harassment protections as part of the zoning proposal.

In response, Planning Commission Chairperson Carl Weisbrod said he doubts “tear downs” would occur in the future as a result of the proposal, since the increased height limits would mostly be available to developers who create senior or affordable housing.

The city is conducting an environmental review in preparation for the public land-use approval process, which is expected to begin in the fall. n

The Lo-Down | TheLoDownNY.com

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THE

LO-DINE now open Dimes 49 Canal St. | dimesnyc.com Hours: Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-midnight; Sat. 9 a.m.-midnight; Sunday 9 a.m.-10 p.m.

With their partner, Adam Himebauch, they later doubled the size of the original restaurant and bar, expanding into an adjacent space on Canal Street.

Kiki Karamintzas and Nick Spanos, two trusted employees, are taking the lead in the new Division Street spot as partners. The expansive menu features items such as whole grilled fish, lamb chops, oven roasted chicken, moussaka, a variety of Greek salads, grilled octopus and spanakopita. For dessert, there’s baklava, cold cheesecake and real Greek yogurt. There’s also a selection of wine and beers. Folding doors open on to both Division and Orchard streets.

Rebelle 218 Bowery, at Prince St. | rebellenyc.com Hours: Monday-Friday 5:30 p.m.-11 p.m.; Sat. 5:30 p.m.-midnight

Alissa Wagner and Sabrina De Sousa have moved their popular cafe a few hundred feet from the original cubbyhole on Division Street to a larger, sleek storefront at 49 Canal St. In addition to more tables and more room for guests to spread out, the new Dimes features a full kitchen and a six-seat bar.

New menu items include duck rillettes, Maplebrook buratta, a bar steak and red curry mussels. The California-inspired restaurant, in business for a couple of years, was an immediate hit with locals in search of organic, healthy dishes. The team is planning to reopen the Division Street space in the summer as a takeout shop and organic grocery with an apothecary section.

Kiki’s

130 Division St. | 5 p.m.-midnight Monday-Sunday

Part of the team from the creative Bowery restaurant Pearl & Ash have opened a French restaurant next door in the former R Bar space. Branden McRill and Patrick Cappiello say the menu offers a modern reinterpretation of French cuisine with American flourishes. Among the offerings are chicken with potato, sorrel and lemon preserve; duck breast with endive, orange and smoked almond; and beet bourguignon with carrot, pearl onion and mushroom. A main feature of the restaurant is an 81-page wine list.

La Gamelle The new home-style Greek restaurant from the Forgtmenot team has made its debut. Forgtmenot almost immediately became a local favorite after being opened by Paul and Abby Sierros in 2012.

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May 2015

241 Bowery, at Stanton St. | lagamellenyc.com) Hours: Daily 5:30 p.m.-midnight

Mathieu Palombino of the mini-pizza empire Motorino has reinvented his Bowery Diner as a Parisian-style brasserie. The restaurant is essentially an

closed

Skal 37 Canal St.

The two-year-old Icelandic restaurant abruptly closed several weeks ago with no announcement regarding its future. The corner spot at Canal and Ludlow streets garnered strong reviews but never found an audience on the Lower East Side. The space was previously home to Les Enfants Terribles, the popular African/Moroccan restaurant. expanded version of Chez Jef, a pop-up Palombino ran out of the space after closing Bowery Diner. The menu includes dishes such as steak frites, cote de boeuf for two and roast chicken.

The restaurant, near the New Museum, has been completely redesigned and includes a bar imported from France.

coming soon

Ice & Vice 221 East Broadway | iceandvice.com

An ice cream shop is taking over the old Pushcart Coffee space at 221 East Broadway. Ice & Vice, which has been making the rounds at food markets in Brooklyn and Queens the past couple of years, will be establishing its first brick-and-mortar location. Owners Paul Kim and Ken Lo have taken 575 square feet in the building that also includes Malt & Mold, Eastwood and now a Subway sandwich shop. According to the New York Times, they signed a 10-year lease. Pushcart Coffee closed its original Lower East Side location in January of 2014, citing escalating rent and declining sales (they operate two other locations in Chelsea and Murray Hill). On its website, Ice & Vice is described as an “experimental ice cream pop-up shop” that “pushes the boundaries of what frozen desserts can be.” Flavors include “Movie Night” (buttered popcorn, toasted raisins and dark chocolate), Tea Dance (Nilgiri Tea Leaf, Lemon Charcoal, Salted Caramel) and Forbidden Fruit (Green Apple Buttermilk, White Chocolate, Shiso Leaf). A summer opening is anticipated.

Tables on Grand

Wildair

367-359 Grand St.

142 Orchard St.

In September of last year, The Lo-Down reported that local businessman Nathan Sklar intended to open a new restaurant in a storefront vacated by Shalom Chai, the kosher pizza establishment. The property owner, Seward Park Cooperative, had just chosen Sklar over several other applicants for the space.

Seven months later, the co-op has announced that the two sides finally have a signed contract. The restaurant, named “Tables on Grand” has a 15-year lease. Sklar, head of the Comprehensive Companies, and Dean Tischfeld, his partner, say it will be an upscale Mediterranean restaurant serving kosher food. There will be a hearth oven and a menu revolving around fish, pastas and pizzas. There will be a full bar on the main floor, with kitchen facilities on the lower level. They’re planning to create outdoor seating on Grand Street as well as in a backyard area. A restaurant consultant, Arlene Spiegel, has been hired to launch the restaurant. Sklar said he thinks renovations will be complete in three to four months.

Jeremiah Stone and Fabian von Hauske, owners of the critically acclaimed Orchard Street restaurant Contra, are establishing a second outpost on the block.

In contrast to the original “affordable” tasting menu concept, the new spot—named Wildair—will offer a more casual, a la carte menu, with an emphasis on shareable plates.

The owners told the food blog Eater that the place would also focus on wine, offering a selection of organic and biodynamic bottles. They hope to open Wildair sometime in May. n The Lo-Down | TheLoDownNY.com

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arts watch Theater World Remembers Avant-Garde Legend Judith Malina Judith Malina, cofounder of the groundbreaking Living Theatre, died April 10 at the age of 88. Along with her first husband, Julian Beck, Malina influenced generations of actors and directors inspired by a powerful vision of avantgarde experimental theater. For nearly 70 years, she waged what became known as a “beautiful nonviolent anarchist revolution” through her legendary acting troupe.

From 2007–2013, the Living Theatre was based at 21 Clinton St., where Malina’s apartment was also located.

After being evicted two years ago, she moved to an assisted living facility in New Jersey. Malina died there last month after a long battle with lung disease.

The company was founded in 1947 in a bold effort to shake American theater audiences from their complacency. In Playing Underground: A Critical History of the 1960s Off-Off-Broadway Movement, author Stephen J. Bottoms called the Living Theatre “the single most influential American company of its era.”

A series of plays beginning in the 1950s solidified the Living Theatre’s reputation for trailblazingwork. Influential productions included The Connection in 1959, a terrifying depiction of heroin addiction, and The Brig, a searing 1963 portrayal of life in a Marine prison. Works throughout the 1960s increasingly employed improvisation. Actors spoke directly with audience members, urging them to participate in the productions, even cajoling them on stage.

It was during this era that the theater was sued

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May 2015

for tax evasion. Malina and Beck turned the trial into a performance project, acting out a real-life version of their nonviolent revolution, reciting poetry and making a mockery of the proceedings. After being found guilty, they fled to Europe, taking their experimental productions from city to city.

After Beck’s death in 1985, Malina forged ahead, sustaining the experimental company as many other similar troupes faded away. In 1988, she married Hanon Reznikov, a creative collaborator who managed the theater’s operations.

Even after being forced from her Clinton Street home, she continued to write and produce new works. The Living staged Nowhere to Hide at the Burning Man Festival last year.

In addition to her stage work, Malina was a well-known character actor, appearing in film and television, including in The Sopranos, The Addams Family, Woody Allen’s Radio Days and Dog Day Afternoon.

This past December, at the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center, Malina received a lifetime achievement award from the LES-based Mark DeGarmo dance organization. She gave a stirring speech about the importance of political theater to the young artists in attendance.

In an email message to the New York Times, Malina’s son, Garrick Beck, said the Living Theatre will continue to produce new works. He will be joined in running the company by Brad Burgess, serving as artistic director, and Tom Walker. n

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Nancy ORTIZ

Photo: Alex Price

For our regular feature spotlighting the people who live and work on the Lower East Side, we talked with lifelong Lower East Side resident Nancy Ortiz.

How long have you lived on the LES? My entire life. My grandparents came over from Puerto Rico, so I’m a third-generation Lower East Sider.

Why did you move here, or (if you were born here) why did you stay?

The LES has always been a unique and diversified place to live.

What do you do?

I am retired. I’ve been the tenant association president at Vladeck Houses for 12 years. I was also involved in the P.S. 137 PTA, as a community school board member until it was disbanded in 2004. And I was just appointed to Community Board 3.

Tell us about your apartment—the good, the bad and the ugly.

I love my apartment. It has so many memories good and sad. My apartment is great. (I have never really had any major issues other than the basic maintenance.)

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May 2015

What’s your favorite spot on the LES and why?

I love to get egg creams from Ray’s place on Ave. A between 7th and 8th Street.

Favorite cheap eats?

Belgian fries (before the fire) and Odessa's pierogies (before it closed!).

Favorite place for a special night?

I go to many different places, but I like Spain Restaurant on 13th St. for Spanish food and the Knickerbocker Steak House, a classic!

How have you seen the neighborhood change?

Sadly, a lot of the mom-and-pop places are gone; the butcher who knew your name and how you liked your cuts is gone, the record shop where everyone knew each other and talked music is gone.

The personal, family business flavor is gone.

What do you miss from the old LES? I miss the community feeling like a family, how everyone knew each other, the smell of King Pine cleaner throughout the hallways every Saturday when I was growing up (Saturday was cleaning day and we got up early to finish our chores so we

could go outside and play), all the kids playing in front of the building, the community officer knew every kid’s name and who their family was, how the street light was our cue to go home. We were a true family; every adult looked out for the kids, all the kids knew each other, spent time in each other's apartments, babysat for each other. And last but not least: the food. We knew who was cooking what by the smell radiating throughout the hallways. That's when we would suddenly have to go get something or do homework at that particular apartment! Even outside you could smell the home cooking. As a community we respected where we lived. We were taught to keep our area clean, we respected our neighbors and never played loud music after 6 p.m. If you were having a party, you invited your neighbors. It was a time that is unexplainable.

Is there a new arrival you love?

Yes, Forgtmenot—the best steak and egg I ever had, and the service is pretty good too.

What drives you crazy about the neighborhood?

The disregard for quality of life, and the disrespect for the elders.

What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever seen on the LES? Nothing was strange if you grew up in the LES. Everything strange was considered unique and normal—that's what makes the LES so diversified.

Who’s the best neighborhood character you’ve met and why?

Louie Guzman is an old friend. He was funny, silly and goofy, and he turned out just fine. I see him all the time on the screen. You go, Louie!

Tell us your best LES memory.

There are so many: playing in the grass and either Scooter, Bruce or Al (the community police officers) chasing us off the grass. We dressed up to go to school. Sunday church services—after services we would get hot bread from the bakery on Rivington Street. Hanging out on “The Ave” (which was avenues C and D—Avenue A was considered Alphabet City). Jamming in the parks and JHS 22. All the teens would get together from all over and just listen to music and dance. n

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The Lo-Down is the Lower East Side’s essential community news source.

Founded in 2009, Lo-Down Productions LLC produces this monthly magazine as well as a website, thelodownny.com, which is updated daily with neighborhood news, arts coverage, restaurant information and more. The primary editorial coverage area is bounded by East Houston Street on the north and Bowery on the west, although some stories range above Houston Street, as far uptown as East 14th Street.

The print magazine is published 10 times each year, with double issues in July/August and December/January. Each month, 12,000 copies are distributed throughout the Lower East Side.

The Lo-Down is not aff  iliated with any other company or organization.

This independent publication relies solely on advertising revenue and does not receive funding from any outside sources other than the various advertisers who are displayed in print and online.

Our sponsors sustain this publication as a vital outlet for community journalism and engagement.

A variety of advertising opportunities are available in the magazine and on the website.

Inquire by email at ads@thelodownny.com or by phone at 646-861-1805. Story tips, article submissions and letters to the editor are welcome via email at tips@thelodownny.com.

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