February 2015 reduced

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T RIBECATRIB

Tribeca Deli’s long run ends on Greenwich Street

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Seeing Downtown’s future, minus powerful Sheldon Silver River research center in the works for Tribeca’s Pier 26

THE

Vol. 21 No. 6

www.tribecatrib.com

FEBRUARY 2015

A Span of Time 23 years ago this month, they

hoisted the Tribeca Bridge over West Street. [PAGE 14]

CARL GLASSMAN

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Tribeca Deli’s Long Run Comes to an End

THE TRIBECA TRIB FEBRUARY 2015

Along Greenwich Street people ask sadly, “How can our stores just vanish?”

BY CARL GLASSMAN AND AMANDA WOODS

Sergio Ureña stood behind the counter of what remained of his Tribeca Deli, the popular Greenwich Street hub for coffee, quick eats and neighborly conversation. Nearby, workers dismantled shelves and boxed and carted away stock from what, for 21 years, was a mainstay of the Independence Plaza apartment complex at 3681/2 Greenwich St. Old customers peered mournfully through the window, waved to Ureña or blew a kiss. Some, like Tony Mitchelson, came in to give the owner a goodbye hug.

“I’m so sorry,” said Mitchelson, who has known Ureña for as far back as 1980, when he began as a security guard in the three-tower complex. “Let me know if I should be looking around for another place for you, Serge, because the neighborhood needs you.”

The neighborhood might, but not Stellar Management and Vornado Real Estate Trust, the owners of Independence Plaza. The deli’s Greenwich Street neighbors to the north, a nail salon, cleaners, Japanese restaurant and a café, have gone dark. Tribeca Pizzeria, near the corner of North Moore Street, is expected to be out in the next few months.

“The rent in this neighborhood is so

PHOTOS BY CARL GLASSMAN

Above: Sergio Ureña, behind the counter of his Tribeca Deli that he opened in 1993 after working as a guard in the Independence Plaza apartment complex.

“I serve coffee from the heart,” he said.

Left: On Jan. 29, the day after the deli closed, the ice cream freezers are rolled away.

out of reach to support a business of this kind,” Ureña said.

Once the pizzeria is gone, only a single business, a Duane Reade that had replaced a small pharmacy, will be left among Independence Plaza’s two blocks of storefronts between North Moore and Harrison streets.

“It’s stripping us of what’s familiar,” said Diane Lapson, president of the Independence Plaza Tenants Association.

“The tenants who speak to me about this, they’re all kind of in shock. Like how

can it be that our stores are just vanishing, and what’s going in their place?”

Though he had more than two years left on his lease, Ureña said he knew the end was at hand when the owners would not grant him permission to carry out store renovations he had proposed. Then came what he said were attempts to evict him, with claims that he needed to fix parts of his store, like a fryer and exhaust unit, that he insisted didn’t need to be fixed and were up to code.

“Everything was legal but they were making that it was illegal,” Ureña said.

“We couldn’t take the harassment, honestly.”

Eventually, the owner said, he agreed to accept a buyout of his remaining lease term.

“Claims made by the owner of Tribeca Deli are false and unwarranted,” a spokeswoman for Stellar Management said in a statement. “The owner opted for an early lease termination.”

Sadness and anger over the loss of the deli is compounded by the impending closing of Tribeca Pizzeria after 20 years. Steve, the owner (he asked that his last name not be used) said his rent would have jumped from $15,000 a month to more than $60,000, or $350 a square foot.

Like the pizzeria, the “majority” of the vacancies are the result of expired leases, according to Stellar Management, who did not respond to questions about the owners’ intentions for the vacant spaces and the kinds of businesses they believe can pay such rents.

On Jan. 28, the day the deli closed, regulars stopped by, some thinking they could still pick up a coffee or a fast sandwich.

Edith Hamilton, a 34-year Tribeca resident, peered through the window, watching the deli employees begin the job of packing up. Recognizing her, one of them opened the door.

“Today is your last day?” Hamilton asked in disbelief.

“Last day!” the worker said.

Others gathered around. One of them was 12-year-old Gus Duclos. “They can’t just do that!” the boy exclaimed. “[It’s] a small deli that you can run into when you need something,” Hamilton said, turning to a reporter. “If you want to go for something quick, where are you gonna go? It was just a nice little neighborhood place. And I knew everybody. You’re going to lose all that.”

“We are family,” Ureña said. “The people who have been in this area for so many years, they feel so comfortable to come here. I make them a cup of coffee from my heart.”

“So now they feel lost,” he added.

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FEBRUARY 2015 THE TRIBECA TRIB

Right: Battery Park City Authority Chairman Dennis Miehel defends authority’s of Brookfield Office Properties to operate the North Cove Marina. Far right: After the authority’s vote, Fortenbaugh talks to press and supporters.

VIDEO EXCERPTS OF THE MEETING AND MICHAEL FORTENBAUGH’S RESPONSE AT TRIBECATRIB.COM

Bitter End and New Beginning at Marina

PHOTOS BY CARL GLASSMAN

Brookfield gets official nod to take over North Cove, ending Fortenbaugh’s fight

BY AMANDA WOODS The bitter struggle by Michael Fortenbaugh and his supporters over operation of the North Cove Marina ended last month with a unanimous vote by the Battery Park City Authority board to hand over control of the marina to Brookfield Office Properties, the landlords of the giant office complex that towers above the cove.

Brookfield will operate the marina in partnership with Island Global Yachting, whose luxury marinas are in the Caribbean, Mexico, Montauk, Newport, the Bahamas, Colombia and Panama.

Dozens of Fortenbaugh’s supporters crowded into the boardroom while many more watched the proceedings from just outside. Some booed as authority Chairman Dennis Mehiel gave a lengthy reasoning for the board’s decision.

“All I can say to all the concerned members of the community is to understand our responsibilities,” Mehiel said before the vote. “You guys are a very critical stakeholder in the decisions we make. But at the end of the day, we have to do what we think is the right thing to do.”

Mehiel tried to assure the crowd that the changes approved by the authority will result in “wider, not narrower, community use and access to the marina.”

Brookfield has pledged to invest $450,000 for marina improvements, including more lighting and public seating, as well as continue to offer a sailing school and a summer camp program.

Noting that the authority “does not ignore incumbency,” Mehiel said that Fortenbaugh’s application had some “deficiencies.” And during a second round of interviews, when Fortenbaugh met with the authority’s staff to discuss his bid, “the dialogue with the incumbent operator did not improve his standing in the relative competitive process,” he added, without elaboration.

“Sorry the authority didn’t view our operations as good enough to continue

Above: At the BPCA board meeting, some Fortenbaugh supporters protested the board’s decision. Left: Docks are hauled to their new location across the river at Liberty Harbor Marina.

here,” a dejected Fortenbaugh said after the vote. “We were here for 9/11...and helped the community when everyone else was leaving. To say we’re not good enough now is a little hard to hear.”

Last month, Community Board 1 passed a resolution asking the authority to scrap its request for proposals in order to include community feedback in the process. Elected officials followed suit, signing a letter to Mehiel requesting a new selection process.

Without mentioning Fortenbaugh by name, Mehiel said at the meeting that “an individual bidder” decided “to mount political pressure on the authority to subvert our process and preserve his economic interest in the operation of the marina.” The remark was followed by jeers from Fortenbaugh’s supporters.

Fortenbaugh insisted that this was not true. “[Mehiel is] saying I caused all this reaction,” he said. “I don’t think I did. I think the authority is the one that never

reached out to the public about this.”

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, who had sent a letter to Mehiel in December asking him to require the winning bidder to give community-based operators “the maximum possible chance to stay at North Cove Marina,” voiced her support for Fortenbaugh.

“It’s a shame,” Brewer told the Trib after the meeting. “I'm a big fan of what Michael’s done to bring the community sailing school here. I’ve known him for years and feel very badly about this.

We'll try to reevaluate and see if there's anything else we can do.”

In a letter, Brewer, along with Rep. Jerrold Nadler, State Senator Daniel Squadron and Councilwoman Margaret Chin, asked Gov. Andrew Cuomo to urge the authority to make local residents the majority of the board.

The only Battery Park City resident on the board, Martha Gallo, recused herself. Her family has a slip in the marina and contributes to the New York Harbor Sailing Foundation. (The vote was originally supposed to take place in

December, but Gallo’s recusal then left the board without a quorum, prompting the directors to postpone that action until January.) But if Gallo had voted, she told the Trib, she would have supported the BPCA’s decision.

“Now that I have seen all the situation and the criteria I think I would have supported the authority,” she said. “I’m an optimistic person. Brookfield and IGY and Michael are going to have opportunities to do things together on the waterfront in the future.”

Prior to the meeting, reporting by Matthew Fenton of the Broadsheet revealed the use of Island Global Yachting docks for Mehiel’s own yacht, drawing attention to a possible conflict of interest for the chairman and the need for him, like Gallo, to recuse himself from the vote.

Mehiel called that suggestion “preposterous.”

“There is a high likelihood that our boat was stopped at an IGY marina at some point, dropped an anchor in the water and may or may not have fueled,” Mehiel said, adding that his yacht docks in the Caribbean in the winter and in Greece during the summer. “Where that happened, I don’t select those marinas, [or] have any knowledge, either contemporaneously or later, of where they stopped or what they bought.”

Gallo said she agreed with Mehiel in his decision not to recuse himself. “[My] recusal had more to do with the length and the intensity of the relationship with the club and with Michael and his family,” she said. “That is very different from the commercial relationship that Dennis had.”

Fortenbaugh has already planned his next move––he has taken over operation of Liberty Harbor Marina in Jersey City, and will open the season on April 18.

“We’re going to sail. It’s just a question of how many members will stay with us,” he said.

But it was an emotional decision for the longtime Battery Park City resident who is well known for his community involvement.

“We had no choice,” he said, fighting back tears. “I’d said I’d never leave Battery Park City.”

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Local Leaders Look Ahead to a Future Without Sheldon Silver

FEBRUARY 2015 THE TRIBECA TRIB

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PHOTOS BY CARL GLASSMAN

Last year, Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña met with Sheldon Silver’s School Overcrowding Task Force. Some now fear Downtown’s needs will get less attention from the city.

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BY CARL GLASSMAN Lower Manhattan without Sheldon Silver.

That’s what Downtown community and political leaders are trying to envision with the abrupt end to Silver’s long reign as speaker of the State Assembly, and as a powerful voice for his district.

Silver’s arrest Jan. 22, on charges that he pocketed some $4 million in bribes and kickbacks, stunned many who hail the now-former speaker as a key player in the continuing resurgence of Lower Manhattan. And his sudden absence from the seat of power has those community advocates looking ahead to an uncertain future—especially in the continuing search for new schools.

Silver is widely credited with playing a key role in the creation of P.S./I.S. 276, the Spruce Street School and the Peck Slip School. The formation of his School Overcrowding Task Force in 2008 came at a “very critical juncture,” recalled Tricia Joyce, chair of Community Board 1’s Youth and Education Committee.

Back then, Department of Education officials were denying the need for new Downtown school seats, despite the burgeoning child population, especially in the Financial District. That attitude changed over time, largely due to the drumbeat of demands by the task force.

“It’s been an example of how good things can be when people come together with the city and work together toward a common goal,” Joyce said.

And now?

“I have great concerns,” she said.

“We still have had to call on [Silver] consistently when we aren’t getting feedback from the administration.”

As the city remains unable to find a site for the 456-seat elementary school that it funded in November 2013, some fear the challenge is even greater without Silver, who as recently as last December brought the chief of staff of the DOE’s School Construction Authority to a task force meeting to talk about the delay.

“We’ve made some progress,” said Matt Schneider, a P.S. 276 parent who

attends the task force meetings. “We hope the DOE continues even though we don’t have the speaker in power.”

The Trib requested statements from local officials on the impact that Silver’s fall will have on Lower Manhattan. All emphasized the former speaker’s role in the area’s rebuilding.

Calling Silver “a champion for local schools and affordable housing,” Councilwoman Margaret Chin said she was “deeply troubled” by the charges but added, “This must not deter or distract our community from continuing to fight for the renewal of strong rent regulation in Albany and the construction of new public schools in Lower Manhattan,” Chin said.

“As with all allegations against public officials, it’s sad for the state and people’s faith in their government,” said State Sen. Daniel Squadron, who called the charges “serious and disturbing.” “In this case, it’s particularly acute in Lower Manhattan where he has been a stalwart for rebuilding, schools, and beyond.”

Community Board 1 Chair Catherine McVay Hughes called Silver a “critical player” in a wide array of Lower Manhattan issues—from affordable housing to open space. “There will be a new power geometry in Albany,” McVay Hughes said. “It remains to be seen if that will get us what we need so that all can prosper.”

Echoing others who spoke of their shock over Silver’s arrest, Bob Townley, executive director of Manhattan Youth, said he was on vacation in the Caribbean when the news broke. “I sat there for two days, like, comatose,” he said.

Townley, whose organization had received crucial grants from Silver in its formative years, lauded the Assemblyman for his help to Manhattan Youth and to Lower Manhattan following the Sept.

11 attacks and Hurricane Sandy.

“Shelly sat at the table and he knew the needs of the community,” he said.

As for the future, “We will be okay,” said Townley. “I hope he is okay.”

7

THE TRIBECA TRIB FEBRUARY 2015 U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara manages the investigations and litigations of all federal criminal and civil cases filed in the Southern District of New York, including the five-count indictment that led to the arrest last month of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. The day after Silver’s arrest, Bharara spoke about political corruption in Albany to an overflow crowd at a City Law Breakfast at New York Law School in Tribeca. Following are excerpts from his remarks.

Let me start by talking a little about our overall approach to [public] corruption.... We are not trying to criminalize ordinary politics. We are not trying to wag our finger or thump our chests nor, quite frankly, are we even demanding that our government officials be virtuous or vice-free. We are prosecutors, not morality cops.... We simply want people in high office to stop violating the law. It seems like a simple and modest request.

People who are elected to make laws should not be breaking them.

‘We’re prosecutors, not morality cops’

In the series of cases that we have brought including the one we brought yesterday, they go to the very core of what ails Albany.... It’s a lack of transparency, a lack of accountability and a lack of principle, joined with an overabundance of greed, cronyism and selfdealing. It seems sometimes that Albany really is a cauldron of corruption. Politicians are supposed to be on the people’s payroll, not on secret retainer to wealthy special interests they do favors for.

‘What ails Albany’

Often corruption is about greed. It’s as simple as that. Greed on the part of elected or appointed officials—whose responsibility is to the public and whose salaries are paid by the taxpayers— whether it is by selling votes for cash or embezzling funds in their trust or otherwise. There are a spate of instances where elected officials have sought to monetize their public positions. Money often seems to be the core of the problem. How should all of this make us feel as citizens and taxpayers? The people of New York should be disappointed, but they should be more than disappointed.

They should maybe be angry when so many of their leaders can be bought for a few thousand dollars. When it is more

‘People of New York should be angry’

PREET BHARARA, THE U.S. ATTORNEY WHO LED THE INVESTIGATION OF SHELDON SILVER, TALKS ABOUT WHAT AILS ALBANY.

MAN AGAINST THE MIGHTY likely for a New York state senator to be arrested by the authorities than to be defeated at the polls.... Whenever corruption is on the rise, that means that democracy is on the decline.

It is common knowledge that [in New York State] only three men essentially wield all the power...the governor,

‘Three men in a room’

run? When did 20 million New Yorkers agree to be run by a triumvirate like in Roman times?

the trappings because you were never challenged and you easily forget who put you there in the first place.

If you are one of the three men in a room and you have all the power and you always have and everyone knows it, you don’t tolerate dissent because you don’t have to. You don’t allow debate because

It seems that a culture of corruption has developed and grown just like barnacles on a boat bottom. It seems that such a culture has become so embedded that even a series of tough and successful prosecutions that have separated so many lawmakers from their liberty has not been enough to thwart others from following in their felonious footsteps. And just as with barnacles on a boat bottom, when a growth is permitted to spread and grow unchecked it unsurprising takes unrelenting collective effort to clean it up.

‘Getting swept up in the power’

“Whenever corruption in on the rise, that means democracy is on the decline.” the assembly speaker and the senate president...why has everyone just come to accept this? The concept of three men in a room seems to have disappointedly taken root instead of being questioned....

It’s weird to me that officials and writers joke about it good-naturedly, as if they are talking nostalgically about an old sitcom coming up after “Happy Days.”... Is that really the way government should be

you don’t have to. You don’t favor change or foster reform because you don’t have to and because the status quo always benefits you.... On the other side of the coin, ...if you are one of three men in the room, you keep people in the dark, because you can, you punish independent thinking, because you can, you demand lockstep loyalty because you can. You get swept up in the power and

CARL GLASSMAN

‘A culture of corruption’

I think most people are actually good and want to do the right thing. The problem…in any culture, society, institution is figuring out a way to make sure that good people...don’t just sit on the sidelines. To give courage to the people who know better.

‘When good people sit on sidelines’

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FEBRUARY 2015 THE TRIBECA TRIB

But the role of Pier 26’s pioneering River Project remains uncertain

BY CARL GLASSMAN The barren expanse of concrete on Tribeca’s Pier 26 is beginning to take on life, if only in the eyes of its planners.

It has been nearly 10 years since the old Pier 26, near Hubert Street, was demolished and its original Hudson River ecology center, The River Project, moved up to Pier 40. Now plans are afoot for the long-planned return of a river study center, or estuarium, on the rebuilt pier. Docked beside it would be the sloop Clearwater.

With the announcement last month by the Hudson River Park Trust that the center will be run by Potsdam, N.Y.– based Clarkson University and its subsidiary, the Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries, planning for the center has finally begun.

The proposed two-level, 20,000square-foot estuarium will be a research and exhibition complex. Students in Clarkson’s Masters’ of Science in Engineering Management program would take classes there. Clarkson says the tuition will pay for the operations of the estuarium, a big factor in the Hudson River Park Trust’s decision to select the institution.

“The beauty of Clarkson is that they are willing to actually pay for the operations of this,” Madelyn Wils, the trust’s president and CEO, told Community Board 1’s Tribeca Committee last month.

“We don’t get that very often and they have a sensible way of how they’re going to get there. And they’re guaranteeing it. That is a very big deal.”

Annual operating costs are projected to be at least $1.5 million, according to several sources, but contract negotiations have yet to begin. The exhibits will be paid for through fundraising, said Clarkson University President Tony Collins. “We think we’ve got a great location and a great story to tell and so we’ll be looking for individuals and corporations to help us with different

CARL GLASSMAN

CARL GLASSMAN

Above left: Timothy Sugrue, president of Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries, with Pier 26 below.

Above right: At The River Project, now housed at Pier 40, visitors last November hear about a blackfish that is about to be returned to the Hudson River.

Left: Beacon Institute researchers deploy one of the facility’s many sensors that measure an array of water quality conditions in the Hudson River.

exhibits that we’re planning,” Collins said in a phone interview. “The more clear our vision and compelling the story that we have to tell, the easier that gets.”

Part of that story will be told through environmental education programs in conjunction with the Clearwater, a replica of a 19th-century sailing vessel. The Beacon Institute would use the estuarium as a demonstration field station for its network of sensors that compile data about the river.

“This is a global showcase,” said Timothy Sugrue, Beacon’s president and CEO. In order to help the public understand Beacon’s data collection efforts, Sugrue said he envisions a live camera and data feed from the submerged sensors, show-

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A $9.5 million grant from the Port Authority has been allocated to pay for the structure, though peoBEACON INSTITUTE FOR RIVERS AND ESTUARIES ing what is happening underwater, near ple involved with the project say those the pier. The New York Hall of Science funds fall far short of what is needed. in Queens will be in charge of the “Building the best facility we can exhibits. build for $9.5 million serves nobody’s “We’re trying to get people to think purpose. It’s an eyesore to [the commuabout what’s going on in the river, how it nity], it’s an embarrassment to us, it’s an is important to the formation of New embarrassment to the Park Trust,” SuYork City—to give them a sense of grue said. what’s under the hood, as it were, of the The right building will cost at least Hudson River,” said Stephen Uzzo, the twice that, Sugrue said, but he is confimuseum’s vice president for science and dent that Beacon can raise the money. technology, who will be heading the Plans for the building are in their estuarium’s exhibits and programs. infancy. The role of The River Project, In its proposal to the Hudson River with its emphasis on the study and disPark Trust, Clarkson provided a prelimi- play of live fish and other aquatic aninary floor plan that includes 3,300 mals, has yet to be determined. The square feet of exhibit space, a café, a River Project lost to Clarkson in its bid to bookshop, classrooms, a lounge and manage the estuarium. (See video at CONTINUED ON PAGE 26 more.

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FEBRUARY 2015 THE TRIBECA TRIB

Proposed Fun Complex for House of Morgan

AMANDA WOODS

Above: 23 Wall Street, now vacant, was built in 1913. Left: Rendering of the facade of the building, shown to Community Board 1.

Landmark 23 Wall Street may become entertainment hub for Financial District

BY CARL GLASSMAN What would J.P. have to say?

Twenty-three Wall Street, the landmark former House of Morgan at the corner of Wall and Broad, is being eyed for a glitzy 1,500-person-capacity, four-level eating, drinking and entertainment complex, with a theater-like sports bar, bowling alley, comedy club, movie theater, concert stage and more.

“You can come in, cheer your favorite team in the sports theater, watch your favorite movie, laugh in the comedy club, dance on the dance floor, bowl a strike, all these experiences under one roof, which you can’t get anywhere else,” said Brent Brown, the CEO of Latitude 360, Inc., a company with a string of entertainment venues.

As part of what he called his “due diligence” before formally applying for city permits, Brown previewed his proposed plans last month before a skeptical Community Board 1 Financial District Committee and an audience of neighbors from 15 Broad Street who had concerns about late-night noise, more tourists, and sanitation and traffic problems.

Mentions by Brown of celebrity

Detail from promotional slide for 360 Latitude, shown to Community Board 1.

events at his venues, with the likes of the Seattle Seahawks Cliff Avril, “Talk Dirty” recording artist Jason Derulo and the Indianapolis Colts cheerleaders, did nothing to soothe worries.

“We have a quiet little neighborhood and we like it that way,” said committee member and 15 Broad Street condo board member Linda Gerstman. “Garbage. Major, major problem. I don’t know what the heck your plan is but adding to what we have right now is not going to fly. Vermin…Rats, bugs, things

like that. We don’t want them.”

Some also argued that the venue does not fit the “character” of residential Fidi.

But Brown disagreed, saying that other than some nice restaurants, there was little to do in the area.

“People moving down here want it here,” he said.

“What?” shot back 15 Broad Street resident Lynne Seid. “This is multi-million-dollar apartments that are being sold there. This is not just people that go to Cheesecake Factory!”

360 Latitude CEO Brent Brown.

CARL GLASSMAN

Brown said that he anticipates returning to the committee this month for advisory approval of his liquor license. The committee’s chair, Ro Sheffe, advised him to give it some more thought.

“Try to imagine a suburban residential neighborhood with this in the middle of it,” Sheffe said, “and you’re living next door.”

The establishment’s liquor license application does not appear on the committee’s agenda for February.

See video at tribecatrib.com.

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THE TRIBECA TRIB FEBRUARY 2015

POLICE BEAT

11

AS REPORTED

BY THE 1ST PRECINCT

WHITEHALL AND STATE STREETS Jan. 19, 9 p.m.

Michael Rios, 27, was arrested for allegedly stealing a CitiBike from a State Street rack. An officer caught the suspect riding the bike in Prospect Park South, Brooklyn.

195 BROADWAY Jan. 19, 6 p.m.

A visitor from Brazil put his bag on the table at Starbucks next to a group of friends and walked over to the cash register to help other friends. Soon afterwards, a woman walked into the café and put her coat down on the table, possibly on top of his bag. When the man returned, the woman was gone and so was his bag, which contained $1,800, his passport, three vouchers for a flight to Orlando and a hotel, four debit cards and two credit cards.

2 BROADWAY Jan. 19, 2:50 p.m.

A woman placed her Prada wallet next to her on a chair while she ate at Chipotle. She forgot the wallet when she left, and when she returned five minutes later, it was gone. The woman lost $120 and two bank cards. Someone used one of the cards to make a $57 purchase on amazon.com.

#2 TRAIN, CHAMBERS ST. STATION Jan. 18, 3:30 p.m.

A sleeping passenger awoke at Chambers Street to find his pants pocket cut and his wallet missing. The wallet contained $30, bank cards, a school ID and a food stamps card.

A TRAIN, WTC STATION Jan. 16, 3:30 a.m.

A police officer spotted a man swiping a cell phone from a sleeping passenger’s jacket pocket. When the thief fled the station, the officer followed and arrested him at Warren and Church streets.

The officer also recovered a razor blade from the man’s pocket. #4 TRAIN, FULTON STREET STATION Jan. 10, 1 p.m.

A teenager snatched a 48-year-old woman’s wallet from her purse as the train pulled into the station. The wallet contained two bank cards, $80, a $15 money order and two MetroCards.

CANAL AND HUDSON STREETS Jan. 8, 5:30 p.m.

A 44-year-old woman was standing on the sidewalk when someone grabbed her purse and fled west on Canal Street, then south on Greenwich. The purse contained a wallet valued at $500, a credit card, designer makeup and sunglasses, keys, a driver’s license and a work ID. #2 TRAIN, CHAMBERS STREET STATION Jan. 7, 1:10 a.m.–2 a.m.

A teen, who was accompanied by two

other teens, allegedly snatched a woman’s iPhone from her hand after the doors opened at the station. About a halfhour later, two officers stopped three teens at the 14th Street subway platform for allegedly snatching a woman’s Beats headphones, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. The officers recovered the headphones, as well as the iPhone stolen at Chambers Street. “They got the phone you grabbed,” one of the thieves reportedly told another. Police also discovered that one of the teens was carrying 15 bags of marijuana and a gravity knife that opens and closes with the flick of the wrist. The three teens were arrested.

41 MURRAY STREET Jan. 5, 1:50–3:20 p.m.

A man chained his electric bicycle, worth $1,460, to a pole at the M9 bus stop. When he returned, it was gone.

Serial Burglar Caught

A burglar who allegedly broke into four Downtown restaurants and a fifth in Union Square, stealing money from two of them, was arrested early Sunday morning, Jan. 25.

Just after 3 a.m., according to police, an officer saw a man repeatedly pulling on the door of Pret A Manger, 319 Broadway, until it opened. The thief then attempted to take money from a locked cash box, and left minutes later.

About 40 minutes after that, police observed the same man pulling on the front door of Ribalta, 48 E. 12 St., until he damaged the door and entered. Minutes later, the thief allegedly left the store carrying a bottle of wine, whereupon an officer arrested him. The officer also recovered 14 fraudulent credit cards, and $216 from the man's pocket.

Police say the man, Emilio Maldonado, 63, is responsible for a string of burglaries beginning on Dec. 28, when video surveillance shows him breaking the front door of Obao Restaurant, 28 Water St., at about 12:30 a.m. and removing $400 from two cash registers.

A little over a week later, on Jan. 6, police say the same man used a fire hydrant cap to smash the glass door of Tribeca’s Añejo Restaurant, 31 Walker St., at 12:40 a.m. After entering, according to surveillance video, he looked around and then left without taking anything.

Authorities are also connecting the man with a break-in at Arome Cafe II, 7 Dey St., on Jan. 15 at 2:45 a.m., where a thief took about $1,600 from two cash registers.

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FEBRUARY 2015 THE TRIBECA TRIB

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THE TRIBECA TRIB FEBRUARY 2015

Woolworth Building Tours

The Woolworth Building at 233 Broadway was once the tallest building in the world. Completed in 1913, its architect, Cass Gilbert, designed a spectacular cathedral-like lobby with a mosaic ceiling, and murals, bronze Gothic filigree and an arcade lined with marble of various hues, quarried on the Greek island of Skyros. Closed to the public for more than a decade, the lobby is now open to visitors through 30-, 60- and 90minute tours. (Private and custom visits are also available.) Tickets are $20 to $45, available at woolworthtours.com.

Bereavement Group

A monthly bereavement group sponsored by Trinity Church will hold its first meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 18, from 6 to 7 p.m., at 74 Trinity Place, 3rd floor. The group’s goal is to offer mutual support, healing and fellowship in a “warm and spiritual” environment. All are welcome. For information, contact Yvette Tsiropoulos at 646-556-5344 or yt2179@caa.columbia.edu.

Sing with the Glee Club

The Down Town Glee Club is looking for male singers for its spring concert on May 15. Rehearsals are Tuesdays, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., beginning Feb. 3, at St. Margaret’s House, 49 Fulton St. All are welcome. For more information, call 516-248-7549 or write Jerry at osterbergg@aol.com.

History Museum for $1

In honor of Presidents’ Day, Monday, Feb. 16, Fraunces Tavern Museum will charge $1 for admission from 12 to 5 p.m. Two highlights of the museum, built in 1719 as a private house, are the Long Room, where Washington bade farewell to his officers at the end of the Revolution, and the Clinton Room, a recreation of the dining room where George Clinton, New York’s first American governor, hosted a dinner for Washington in 1783 to celebrate the evacuation of British troops from the city. For true Washington aficionados, there is a tooth fragment and lock of hair belonging to the nation’s first president. The museum is at 54 Pearl St., frauncestavernmuseum.org.

Films at Alwan

Alwan for the Arts, a center for music, art, poetry and other arts from the Middle East, will screen “Arwad,” the story of an immigrant living in Montreal

TRIBECA TRIB

THE

VOLUME 21 ISSUE 6 FEBRUARY 2015

PUBLISHER A PRIL K ORAL APRIL @ TRIBECATRIB . COM EDITOR C ARL G LASSMAN CARLG @ TRIBECATRIB . COM ASSOCIATE EDITOR A MANDA W OODS AMANDA @ TRIBECATRIB . COM COPY EDITOR J ESSICA R AIMI

who returns to the island of Arwad off the Syrian coast to try to reconnect with his past. The film, which has English subtitles, can be seen Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 7 p.m. The center will also show shorts and videos from the Middle East, North Africa and South and Central Asia on Wednesday, Feb. 25, at 7 p.m. $10; students and seniors, $5. Alwan is at 16 Beaver St, 4th fl., alwanforthearts.org.

REAL HAIR REAL PEOPLE REAL PRICES

New Year in Chinatown

The Museum of Chinese in America, 215 Centre St. is offering a 90-minute walking tour through Chinatown focusing on holiday traditions observed by local households to prepare for the most important celebration in Chinese culture.

Weekends from Saturday, Feb. 7, through Sunday, Feb. 22, at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., $8–15. Tickets at mocanyc.org.

Monopoly Tournament

The third Monopoly tournament for adults and children will take place at the Museum of American Finance, 48 Wall St., on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 10:30 a.m. to noon. Guests are invited to attend a “Lunch and Learn” (bring your own lunch) with Mary Pilon, who will speak about her new book, “The Monopolists: Obsession, Fury, and the Scandal Behind the World’s Favorite Board Game.”

Game winners will be awarded prize packages from the museum and Hasbro.

The tournament is free with museum admission ($8; $5 seniors; free to students with ID through Labor Day.) Reservations required: moaf.org.

Rent Stabilization Guide

Where have all of Downtown’s rent stabilized apartments gone—and might you be living in an apartment that is eligible to be one? Community Board 1 has released “Survey of Rent Stabilized Apartment Units in Lower Manhattan,” a comprehensive and informative report. It is posted on the CB1 web site under “Studies and Reports.”

Historic Ship Tours

The four-masted 1911 Peking, which sailed around Cape Horn, and the 1907 Ambrose, a “floating lighthouse” that guided ships from the Atlantic into lower New York Bay, are open to visitors. Selfguided tours include the ships’ decks, captain’s quarters and sailors’ bunks. The boats, which are docked at Pier 16, are open Thursdays–Saturdays, Feb. 5–28, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. $12; $8 students and seniors; $5 children. Tickets at southstreetseaportmuseum.org.

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR D ANA S EMAN DANA @ TRIBECATRIB . COM CONTRIBUTORS OLIVER E. ALLEN THEA GLASSMAN JULIET HINDELL BARRY OWENS NATHALIE RUBENS CONNIE SCHRAFT ALLAN TANNENBAUM The Tribeca Trib is published monthly (except August) by The Tribeca Trib, Inc., 401 Broadway, Rm. 500, NY, NY 10013, tribecatrib.com

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BACK IN STEP

JANUARY 2015 THE TRIBECA TRIB

Manhattan Youth Dance returns with another ‘Nutcracker’ extravaganza PHOTOS BY CARL GLASSMAN

hey call it “The Nutcracker.” But other than the dance classic’s title, most everything about this fifth annual production last month, by some 220 students in Manhattan Youth's after-school dance classes, was delightfully reinvented. And with the performance of 19 “scenes,” created in as many hip hop, ballet, contemporary and creative dance classes this past semester, it was also the biggest yet.

The massive undertaking brings together all those young performers onto the P.S./I.S. 89 stage, each year with new costumes, music and choreography. The production begins in the summer, when director Susan Kay selects the music that fits with each class’s style of dance.

No sooner does the school year start than the after-school dance teachers start working on it.

“It was a challenge,” said Florence Nasar, who teaches ballet to kindergartners at P.S. 225, an Upper East Side school new this year to the “Nutcracker” lineup. “They have a lot of energy and want to play around. Trying to teach them to move in unison is difficult. But in the end it was great. They enjoyed it and each got to contribute something.”

Constance Tarbox, who designs the costumes each year, has been promoted to director of elementary after-school programs but still manages to Juliette Angiel, a student in the Downtown Community Center’s afterschool contemporary dance class, gets made up for her performance. take charge of the many tutus, fanciful headgear and wildly patterned garb that help give each dance its unique look.

“This is what fills my evenings,” Tarbox said. “The costumes have been a pet project and it’s been hard to let go.”

For Susan Kay, all the work leading up to the show can feel overwhelming, she said. And then the day arrives, and the shows—two of them—go on, before a packed auditorium.

“Then it happens and I cry a little bit. It always gets me,” Kay said. “I remember why I do this.”

WATCH THE VIDEO AT TRIBECATRIB.COM

Liam Campora, center, gets in the groove with fellow dancers Zachary Daniels, Reina White and Harper Goodman from a P.S. 397 after-school hip hop class.

A joyous Sofia Rivera, center, takes a spin with her kinderga

Sophie Redvers is featured in a performance of “Dance of the Snowflakes,” with Downtown C Center’s kindergarten-to-third grade ballet class.

15

THE TRIBECA TRIB JANUARY 2015

arten and first grade P.S. 397 ballet class in the Manhattan Youth production’s “Sugar Plum Fairies” scene.

Community

Tian-Bai LanZhou performs with her P.S. 276 So U Think U Can Dance class for kindergartners and first graders.

P.S. 276 second- and third-graders take the stage in force with an energetic hip hop number called “Land of the Groove.”

KIDS

16

FEBRUARY 2015 THE TRIBECA TRIB

FUN TIMES AT P.S./I.S. 276’S ANNUAL WINTER CARNIVAL

A

t the P.S./I.S. 276 Winter Carnival last month, there was fun for every taste, culinary and otherwise.

Kids descended on the carnival and arcade games, the inflatable Bouncy Castle and Monster Obstacle Course, face painting, balloon animals and crafts.

But there was also magician Jon Koons, who played to a nearly full house of families who tried to follow his every tricky move. And in the cafeteria, the pot luck of all PTA pot lucks featured cuisines of the school’s international community and a table heaped with baked goodies. “It’s a nice time for the kids to come into the building and see it in a different way,� said Principal Terri Ruyter. “To show their parents how they are in charge, to see their friends and just hang out. It’s a lot of fun.�

WATCH THE VIDEO AT

TRIBECATRIB.COM

=<O9J< K 13 6 W . B R O A D W A Y A F L J A : = ; 9 > G J )* Q = 9 J K :J=9C>9KL DMF;@ <AFF=J :JMF;@ >J== <=DAN=JQ www.edwardsnyc.com

THEA GLASSMAN

CARL GLASSMAN (4)

Clockwise from top: The Monster Obstacle Course was one of the most popular activities in the gym â&#x20AC;&#x153;midwayâ&#x20AC;?; playing a ball toss game for prizes; third grader Liv Tesch gets her face painted; the long row of dishes being served as part of Taste of 276; Jon Koons performs magic in the auditorium.

17

THE TRIBECA TRIB FEBRUARY 2015

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The Changing ABCs of Kindergarten Registration

18

This time of year brings a flurry of phone calls about kindergarten, and during the long conversations explaining the process to nervous parents, I think longingly back to the days when admission to kindergarten was just a matter of showing up.

Really. You could come to school in April with your five-year-old, his birth certificate, and CONNIE a Con Ed bill.

SCHRAFT That was it.

I remember vividly registering my sons at P.S. 234 many moons ago. It was a neighborhood ritual.

You stood in a long line. You saw parents you reSCHOOL cognized from TALK your child’s nursery school and the park.

You held your breath when it was your turn to have your proof of address inspected at the lunchroom entrance, and were relieved when handed a folder with a dozen forms to fill out. Your child sat beside you at a table and colored quietly, or ran wildly around the room chasing a buddy. Could someone be watching and taking notes, you wondered.

The number of kindergartners who

KIDS

came to register in the spring determined the number of kindergarten classes that opened in September. It all worked out.

And then it began not to work so well. As more families moved Downtown, class sizes began to increase.

There was a collision of intentions, as the city encouraged the redevelopment of the area after 9/11, without paying attention to the needs of the families moving in— above all, school seats.

One year at P.S. 89 we needed six kindergarten classrooms—instead of the

postcard-writing campaigns. Eventually, three new schools were in the works.

Meanwhile, the Department of Education was attempting to improve its admission practices, to make them more parent-friendly and more equitable. The kindergarten application process was part of that effort.

It made sense that instead of waiting for parents to walk in with their children, the schools reached out earlier and got a jumpstart on planning.

But with that process came the wait

Though not a “choice” system, now every child at least is guaranteed a kindergarten seat when the letters arrive in April. usual three—to hold all the zoned children, requiring the relocation of enrichment classrooms, and the conversion of offices into classrooms.

The punch word became “overcrowding.” Parents, who started out complaining, recognized that they needed to become activists. When that light bulb went off, P.S. 234 and P.S. 89 formed committees and began lobbying the local politicians to join them in demanding that the DOE open its eyes to the overcrowding of Downtown schools.

There were marches around City Hall. There were trips to Albany and

lists.

As a parent coordinator, I dreaded no time of year more than when those letters went out to the incoming kindergarten families. Parents who received the wait list letter were stuck in limbo until midJune, when anyone who had no kindergarten seat was assigned to a school that was able to open another classroom for the wait-listed students.

Parents expressed themselves in different ways. Some cried. Some were angry. Some stood up at meetings and railed at local officials, the DOE and the schools themselves. Some were shown in

FEBRUARY 2015 THE TRIBECA TRIB

the press with their wait-listed children, looking plaintive. Still others put their child in a private school. Some moved.

But all that is behind us now. Last year was the first year of Kindergarten Connect, and while it is still not the “choice” system that parents envision, at the very least, it has guaranteed that every child has a kindergarten seat when the letters arrive in April.

Not all children will have gotten their first choice, or even their second, but chances are they are in a good public school not too far from their home.

Wait lists still exist, but their purpose is to track the families who decline their child’s kindergarten seat, opening it up for one of the children who didn’t get it the first time around.

With Kindergarten Connect came another change, which affected schools most of all. Instead of parents bringing their kindergarten applications to the schools, the process happens online, and instead of accepting applications from 100-200 parents in January and February, schools receive a list of accepted students in April, when it is time for them to come to school and register.

That’s when you show up with your five-year-old, his birth certificate, and a Con Ed bill. And hope he behaves himself.

Connie Schraft is the P.S. 89 parent coordinator. For questions, write her at connie@tribecatrib.com.

THE TRIBECA TRIB FEBRUARY 2015

19

OMING U C P FOR KIDS

ARTS & PLAY g Valentine-Making Workshop Make a valentine with dried flowers, lace and ribbon and a personal photo or other memento. Sat, 2/7, 11 am–1 pm. Free. Ages 4 and up. Battery Park City Parks Conservancy, 6 River Terrace, bpcparks.org. g

Chess for Children Intermediate level for ages 7 and up. $330. Tuesdays, 2/3–4/28, 4:30-5:30 pm. Registration required. Call 212– 267–9700 x363 or email registration@bpcparks.org. Battery Park City Parks Conservancy, 6 River Terrace, bpcparks.org. g Hearts and Towers: Valentine’s Day Card Creations Kids create valentine cards in the shape of a skyscraper. All ages. Sat, 2/7, 10:30–11:45 am. Call 212-945-6324 to reserve. $5 per child; Battery Park City residents free. The Skyscraper Museum, 39 Battery Place, skyscraper.org.

FILM

“T

g Animation Celebration 2015! Eight short animated films highlighting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of Canada. Daily, Sunday, 2/1–Sunday, 3/1. See website for times. Free.

National Museum of the American Indian, 1 Bowling Green, nmai.si.edu.

he Very Hungry Caterpillar,” the classic story by award-winning children’s book illustrator and writer Eric Carle, will be retold on stage this month at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center. The tale follows the adventures of a caterpillar who tries various foods as he changes into a butterfly. Friday, Feb. 27, 10:15 a.m. and noon, $5.

Saturday, Feb. 28, 1:30 p.m., $25. TPAC is at 199 Chambers St., tribecapac.org.

g Neighborhood Movie Nights: West Side Story Friday, 2/27. Doors open at 6:30 pm.

Starts at 7 pm. Popcorn and drinks will be served. Free. St. Paul’s Chapel, Broadway and Fulton, trinitywallstreet.org.

SPECIAL PROGRAMS g

Slippery Science Examine the properties of polymers and make a batch of slime. Ages 5 and up. Wed, 2/4, 4 pm. Battery Park City Library, 2nd floor, 175 North End Ave., nypl.org. g

Open Ships Explore the four-masted 1911 barque Peking and 1907 lightship Ambrose.

Visit the ships’ decks, captain’s quarters and sailors’ bunks. Learn about the history of the ships and the seaport district. Thursdays through Saturdays 2/5–2/28, 11 am–5 pm. $12; $8 students and seniors; $5 children. Buy tickets online. South Street Seaport Museum, 12 Fulton St., southstreetseaportmuseum.org. g Screening of The Red Balloon Every year, Poets House celebrates Valentine’s Day, with a screening of Albert Lamorisse’s children’s film classic “The Red Balloon.” Afterward, children make their own floating valentines in the form of

hot-air balloon mobiles. Sat, 2/14, 11 am. $5 recommended donation. Poets House, 10 River Terrace, poetshouse.org. g New Families New Traditions Concert by the puppet company Yellow Sneaker aimed at Jewish and interfaith families. Through age 3.

Music focuses on caring for the environment, friendship, love and kindness. Sun, 2/22, 10:30 am. Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Pl., mjhnyc.org. g

Emma Lazarus and Me Hear about Emma Lazarus, whose poem is on the base of the Statue of Liberty. Kids also take a mini-tour of the museum and record their family’s story.

Ages 8–10. Sun, 2/22, 2 pm. $5. Museum of

Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Pl., mjhnyc.org. g Lunar New Year Family Festival Celebrate the Chinese Year of the Sheep by watching a lion dance, making traditional folk arts, including zodiac-themed arts and crafts, listening to stories and more. Sat, 2/28, 11 am–4 pm. $10.

Tickets online at mocanyc.org. Museum of Chinese in America, 215 Centre St.

STORYTIME

SPORTS g

g Skating Enjoy two Downtown rinks. The rink at Brookfield Place (brookfieldplaceny.com) is open through March, Mon–Fri, 1–8:30 pm; Sat– Sun, 10 am–10 pm. $15, $5 skates, $6 helmet.

The South Street Seaport rink (southstreetseaport.com) is open through 2/23, Mon–Thurs, 12–9 pm; Fri, 12–10 pm; Sat, 10 am–10 pm, Sun, 10 am–8 pm. $10, $6 skates, $6 helmet.

Afternoon Games Kids ages 7 and up play soccer, flag football and more. Free. Mon, Wed and Fri to 2/27, 3:30–5 pm. Battery Park City ballfields(West and Warren streets). Battery Park City Parks Conservancy, bpcparks.org.

g Indian Stories Kids hear about Taino culture through stories and song with Dominican Republic native Irka Mateo. Thurs, 2/5, and Fri, 2/6, 10 am–11 pm and 11 am–12 pm. Free.

National Museum of the American Indian, 1 Bowling Green, nmai.si.edu.

One Great Preschool in two DOWNTOWN locations!

6 Barclay St. 275 Greenwich St. 212.571.2715 212.571.6191 www.theparkpreschool.org www.thebarclaystreetschool.org

We have AFTERNOON openings all ages starting now.

Call to set up a tour.

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FEBRUARY 2015 THE TRIBECA TRIB

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Amid Staid Courthouses, Bright Orange Art THE TRIBECA TRIB FEBRUARY 2015

BY AMANDA WOODS Surrounded by the imposing courthouses of the Civic Center, three bright orange sculptures will enliven Thomas Paine Park beginning this spring.

The abstract Corten steel pieces, by Pittsburgh-based artist Dee Briggs, will be installed in the park in April or May and remain there for about 10 months. They will be placed on each of the main lawns of the park, bordered by Worth, Lafayette and Centre streets.

Briggs, who trained as an architect, said that out of a Parks Department list of potential sites, she selected Thomas Paine because “I really like the changing scale of buildings around the park and the way in which the approach to the park is very different than a lot of other parks in New York City that are on a grid.”

Briggs, who designed the sculptures specifically for the park, also decided on the arrangement of the work, visiting the site, she said, “probably a dozen times,” to photograph and sketch it.

“I like the way the park is naturally divided into three spaces,” the artist said. “I’ve thought [of] how, when you’re moving on the pathway, using the park in a normal fashion, how you might see into and through the sculptures.”

Two of the sculptures are what Briggs calls “ring” pieces, the other a wavy, horizontal “plate” piece. Though they appear whimsical, she said, they are actually “very highly ordered” and derive from her interest in a kind of asymmetry that in science is known as “chirality.”

“They’re made from very rigid geometry and a very rigid set of rules,” she said.

The sculptures, Briggs’s first public installation in New York City, are coming to Thomas Paine as part of the Parks Department’s Art in the Parks Program, which places sculptures in sites around the city for up to 10 months.

ARTS

23

Left: One of two “ring” pieces, by Dee Briggs, that will be installed this spring in Thomas Paine Park. This one is near Centre Street.

Below: The artist calls this a “plate” sculpture, to be located near Lafayette and Worth streets. Briggs insists her work is not whimsical, but “highly ordered according to a scientific system of asymmetry.”

RENDERINGS COURTESY OF DEE BRIGGS

Silent Movies with Live Music To Screen at the Winter Garden

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25

A SELECTION OF DOWNTOWN EVENTS

DANCE g

Dance Jam The Give Love Dance Jam is a free dance party that supports Day One, an organization that works to end dating abuse and domestic violence. Fri, 2/13, 4–6 pm, Gibney Dance, Agnes Varis Performing Arts Center, 280 Broadway, entrance at 53A Chambers St.

g

Backhausdance: Incandescent and Elasticity of the Almost Athletic dances, emotionally charged dramatic pieces, and selections with whimsy and humor. Fri, 2/27, and Sat, 2/28, 7:30 pm. $29$49. Schimmel Center at Pace University, 3 Spruce St., schimmel.pace.edu.

International Jazz Competition. Buss and combo perform Sat, 2/14, 7:30 pm. O’Farrill and combo perform Sat, 2/28, 7:30 pm. $25; $15 students and seniors. Tribeca Performing Arts Center, 199 Chambers St., tribecapac.org. g

42nd Anniversary Gala: Jack Kleinsinger’s Highlights in Jazz Performances by Catherine Russell, Dan Levinson, Bria Skonber, Nicki Parrott and Gordon Webster. Thurs, 2/19, 8 pm. $45; $40 students. Tribeca Performing Arts Center, 199 Chambers St., tribecapac.org.

programs@skyscraper.org to reserve. Skyscraper Museum, 39 Battery Place, skyscraper.org.

g

The Monopolists: Obsession, Fury and the Scandal Behind the World’s Favorite Board Game Talk by the author, Mary Pilon, on the little-known story behind the origins of the game.

Tues, 2/24, 12:30–1:30 pm. $5; free to students. Museum of American Finance, 48 Wall St., moaf.org.

g

T

Lincoln and the Jews From the time of

stock market and the financial history of the area. Stops include Wall Street, Federal Hall, New York Stock Exchange, the Bull, U.S. Custom House and Bowling Green, and the 9/11 Memorial. Tuesdays through 4/1, 3–4:30 pm. $27.

On Tuesdays the 9/11 Museum is free 5–8 pm.

Participants must book their own tickets. Wall Street Walks, 55 Wall St., wallstreetwalks.com. g George Washington’s Birthday Walk Explore Lower Manhattan through the lives of Washington, Jefferson and Hamilton in this 90-

he Koresh Dance Company blends ballet, modern and jazz in “Come Together,” to be performed this month at the Schimmel Center. The company also juxtaposes music from Israel and Turkey with Chopin, Ravel and other classical composers. Friday, Feb. 6, and Saturday, Feb. 7, 7:30 p.m. $29–$49. The Schimmel Center is at 3 Spruce St., schimmel.pace.edu.

GALLERIES g

43 Preguntas The installation by Dionisio Cortes Ortega is a reaction to the disappearance of 43 students from the Rural Teachers’ School of Ayotzinapa, Mexico. There are 43 sheets of burnt paper, each bearing a question about one of the missing students. Viewers are invited to generate an imaginary dialogue between the missing students and the cartel members. To 2/26. Opens Thurs, 2/12, 6–8 pm. Front Art Space, 118 Chambers St., frontartspace.com.

g

Waves of Identity Highlights from the museum’s collection of more than 65,000 artifacts, oral histories, textiles and photographs, evoking the lives and aspirations of Chinese American communities in New York’s Chinatown and beyond. To Sun, 3/1. $10; $5 students and seniors. Museum of Chinese in America, 215 Centre mocanyc.org.

BICkING PHOTOGRAPHY

St.,

g

Glittering World More than 300 pieces of Navajo jewelry made by members of the Yazzie family of Gallup, N.M. Admission is free. (See page 25.) To 1/10/16. Museum of the American Indian, 1 Bowling Green, nmai.si.edu.

g

Give Me Liberty Sylvanus Shaw uses imagery of early American statehood in media ranging from oil on panel to collaged holograms and security envelopes. To 3/16. Fraunces Tavern, 54 Pearl St., frauncestavernmuseum.org.

g

2015 International Krappy Kamera Contest Winning entries including photographs by Craig Barber (“Ghosts in the Landscape: Vietnam Revisited”) and work by gallery members. 2/4– 2/28. Opening: Tues, 2/3, 6–8 pm. Soho Photo, 15 White St., sohophoto.com.

g

Winter Wedding: Holiday Cards by Poets Birthday wishes, Valentine cards and holiday greetings sent by some of the last century’s noted poets, including Langston Hughes, Alice Notley, Ted Berrigan and Sylvia Plath. Poets House, 10 River Terrace. To Sat, 3/21. Sat, 11 am–6 pm.

g

Lashon Hara: On the Consequences of Hate Speech Textile artist Robin Atlas explores the concept of evil speech and the need for people to atone for their own verbal violence. Open Tues– Sat, 10 am–5 pm. To 2/27. Anne Frank Center, 44 Park Place, annefrank.com.

MUSIC g

Monk-in-Motion: The Next Face of Jazz Trumpeters Billy Buss and Adam O’Farrill were runners-up in the 2014 Thelonious Monk

TALKS g

Transgenres with Vijay Seshadri The Pulitzer Prize winner, whose newest book is “3 Sections,” discusses identity, form and fulfillment for contemporary writers. Sat, 2/7, 3 pm. $10; $7 students and seniors. Poets House, 10 River Terrace, poetshouse.org.

g

Copernican Revolution, the Enlightenment and the Jewish Response Israeli environmental activist and author Aharon Ariel Lavi will examine how Jewish intellectuals reacted to the ideas of Copernicus and the role they played as society made the transition into the Enlightenment period. Dinner and talk. Friday, 2/20, 7 pm. RSVP by 2/15: tribecasynagogue.org. $36. Shmita Unplugged: Utopia or Challenge Aharon Ariel Lavi discusses the seventh year of the Jewish cycle (an agricultural sabbatical year along with a debt relief mechanism) comparing our concept of time and work to Biblical times. Saturday, 2/21, 2 pm. Free. Tribeca Synagogue, 49 White St., 212-966-7141.

g Architectural Masterpiece Series: Italy, France, England, and Contemporary Global Innovations Four lectures by Janetta Rebold Benton. “Italy,” Wed, 2/4, 12:15 pm; “France,” Wed, 2/11, 12:15 pm; “England,” Wed, 2/18, 12:15 pm; “Contemporary Global Accomplishments and Innovations,” Wed, 2/25, 12:15 pm. $29. Schimmel Center at Pace University, 3 Spruce St., schimmel.pace.edu. g

Vicki Ward Book Talk The author of “The Liar’s Ball: The Extraordinary Saga of How One Building Broke The World’s Toughest Tycoons” tells the story of a struggle among billionaires for the GM Building. Free. Tues, 2/24, 6:30–8 pm. Email

Lincoln’s presidency to today, American Jews have viewed Lincoln as a sympathetic figure. Two leading historians, Gary P. Zola of Hebrew Union College and Jonathan Sarna of Brandeis University, consider how Lincoln acquired his exceptional status. Wed, 2/11, 7 pm. $15; $12 for members. Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Pl., mjhnyc.org. g

The War on Women in Israel: A Story of Religious Radicalism and the Women Fighting for Freedom A conversation between author Elana Sztokman and Nancy Kaufman of the National Council of Jewish Women. In her new book, Sztokman, who made headlines last fall when an Orthodox man refused to sit next to her on a flight from New York to Israel, discusses women’s rights in Israel. Wed, 2/4, 7 pm. $10; $7 students and seniors. Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Pl., mjhnyc.org.

g

What Do We Love More? Authors (and parents) Andrew Lewis Conn, Stephanie Lehmann, and Siobhan Adcock read from recent work.

Reserve at eventbrite.com. Tues, 2/10, 7–9 pm or penparentis.org. Free. Ages 21 and up. ANDAZ Wall Street, 75 Wall St. (enter on Water or Pearl).

g

Mapping Manhattan from the Revolutionary War to 1811 Paul Cohen and Robert Augustyn discuss their book “Manhattan in Maps 1527– 2014,” focusing on the fortified city from the late 18th century to the 1811 Commissioners’ Plan, the first design for the street grid of Manhattan.

Thurs, 2/26, 6:30 pm. $10. Includes museum admission and light refreshments. Fraunces Tavern, 54 Pearl St., frauncestavernmuseum.org.

WALKS g

Wall Street and Ground Zero Learn about the

minute tour of the Financial District. Thurs, 2/12, 11 am–12:30 pm. $15; includes museum admission and a talk by Bruce Smart. Guests are invited to bring their lunch. Meet at the Museum of American Finance, 48 Wall St., moaf.org.

ET CETERA g Stand Up Comedy Event: Black Women in Comedy Acts by Calise Hawkins, Leighann Lord, Nicky Sunshine and Pat Brown. Fri, 2/6, 8 pm. $15. Tribeca Performing Arts Center, 199 Chambers St., tribecapac.org. g

Annual Art Show Work by students in the Battery Park City Parks Conservancy art programs. Mondays through Fridays, 2–4 pm. To 3/7. Battery Park City Parks Conservancy, 6 River Terrace, bpcparks.org.

g Co-ed/Pick-up Ultimate Frisbee Play a game that combines the nonstop movement and athletic endurance with aerial passing skills. All skill levels welcome. Equipment provided. Saturdays, 3–5 pm, to 2/28. Games at the ballfields on West Street between Murray and Warren. Battery Park City Parks Conservancy, 6 River Terrace, bpcparks.org. g

Death Cafe An informal gathering to share questions, concerns and experiences regarding death, facilitated by Jane Gignoux. 2/16, 6:30– 8:30 pm. Email community@trinitywallstreet.org to reserve. Parish Center, 2 Rector St., Main Room, trinitywallstreet.org.

g

Free Senior Swims For those 65 and over. At the Downtown Community Center, 120 Warren St. Mon–Thurs, 12:30–2 pm. Senior water aerobics classes also available. Register at “Aquatics,” manhattanyouth.org or call 212-766-1104 ext.

221.

26

FEBRUARY 2015 THE TRIBECA TRIB

RIVER RESEARCH TO RETURN TO PIER 26 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

Medical • Surgical • Cosmetic • Laser Hirshel Kahn, MD Helen Radoszycki, MD Terri Raymond, PA-C

tribecatrib.com on The River Project’s recent “Release of the Fishes.”)

“At the moment we’re in the honeymoon period where we’re trying to be all things to all people, and be creative,” Collins said. “At some point the rubber’s going to meet the road and we may have to make some more difficult decisions about what exactly the dimensions of the building will be and what particular audiences we can satisfy.”

Collins said that the expense of keeping live creatures was not figured into his institution’s projected operating budget.

“We had a model that lowered the operating costs through an emphasis on digital rather than live,” he said. “Obviously, we see the value in the work of The River Project so we’re rethinking the model and how that can work.”

“We’re going to find a way to accommodate this cleverly,” Sugrue said, “and I’ve got a kind of out-of-the box notion for how we might be able to do that and make most people happy.”

“Can’t make everybody happy,” he added, declining to elaborate.

Stephen Uzzo, from the New York Hall of Science, said he could imagine showing marine life through the use of submersible cameras, but also provide “temporary ways to host these creatures that aren’t detrimental to them.”

“We want to find ways that minimize the impact to living things there but [still] bring people as close as possible to

what’s going on in the river so they can have a fairly accurate perspective.”

During the spring and summer, the River Project features a live oyster reef in its Pier 40 facility and more than 50 of the harbor’s 210 fish species as well as innumerable invertebrates.

“We are biologists and that’s the study of life,” said Cathy Drew, The River Project’s executive director, who founded her organization nearly 30 years ago in an abandoned Washington Market produce shed on the old Pier 26. “We hope that Clarkson will want to accommodate all the programs that we do.”

“This was our home of 25 years,” Drew added, “and we always thought it would be our permanent home.”

Discussions on how the work of The River Project can be incorporated in the estuarium are now ongoing.

The estuarium building would occupy only about 12 percent of the pier’s 80,000 square feet, which still lacks utilities, decking and landscaping. Until the entire space is completed, Wils said, it cannot open. Toward that end, the trust is seeking city funds, and Community Board 1’s Tribeca Committee passed a resolution supporting that request.

“We want to start the planning process to build Pier 26,” said Wils, a former chair of CB1. “For all of us who have been in this neighborhood for a long time and fought for park space, we’d like to get this park finished.”

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‘Lofty Goals’ for WTC Performing Arts Center THE TRIBECA TRIB FEBRUARY 2015

27

BY CARL GLASSMAN The people planning the Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center are aiming high.

The complex will feature “the best artists of our time” in “the most exciting and advanced theater in the country,” associate artistic director Lucy Sexton told a Community Board 1 committee last month.

Detailing the latest vision for the center, planned to be built roughly where the temporary PATH station now stands, next to One World Trade Center, Sexton said the theaters would feature a wide array of offerings, including theater, dance, music, musical theater and “new” opera.

“These are lofty goals, they are adventurous goals,” said Sexton, who runs the New York Dance and Performance Awards or “Obies,” “but I think that if you’re going to build a new theater it’s what’s required.”

Sexton said there would be three theaters—150, 350 and 550 seats—that could be combined in different ways to accommodate audiences of up to 1,000.

Overseen by artistic director David Lan, the artistic director of London’s New Vic, many shows will be produced at the center in collaboration with artists around the world as well as other institutions in the city, Sexton said.

“We want to be a space that doesn’t see itself in opposition to other theaters

tions.

“You could have a performance happening in New York City and in Seoul and in Rio. It would be one performance happening all at once.”

Or, she said, the technology could give students, in their classrooms, front row seats at a dance rehearsal or a master class with a performing artist.

Open from 8 in the morning until 1 a.m., Sexton said the center would be “alive all day,” drawing tourists, Downtown residents and workers not only to shows but to breakfast or lunch or just a cup of coffee. “The public space is very important to us,” she said.

Maggie Boepple, the Performing Arts Center’s president, said that the center’s board is close to announcing the winning architect, and a design for the building.

As for Frank Gehry, the center’s former architect who had come up with a concept for a bigger, more elaborate structure, “it was an amicable parting but we couldn’t come to a contractual agreement,” she said. “I’m not going to go into why. We both tried.”

Boepple estimated that the center, long delayed for financial reasons as well as the overdue completion of the PATH station, would open in late 2018 or 2019.

In the meantime, she said, there would be collaborations between the center and other arts institutions to whet the public’s appetite for what is to come.

(ABOVE) CHARCOALBLUE; (BELOW) CARL GLASSMAN

Above: Conceptual sketch of the Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center by British theater designers Charcoalblue, released in February 2014.

Right: Lucy Sexton, associate artistic director of the center, speaks to Community Board 1.

in New York,” she noted. As an example, Sexton said she has spoken to Harlem’s Apollo Theater about such a collaboration, perhaps co-producing an event “that could happen Downtown and could also happen at the Apollo.”

NE W FO CLA RS EN SSES IO R S

As “the most digitally advanced space in the city, in the country and one of the most digitally advanced spaces in the world,” Sexton said, the center would position itself as a showcase for digital media arts and international collabora-

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Craig Filipacchi and Jacques Foussard 212-452-4468

Village EXCEPTIONAL TROPHY PH West Village. Grand scale 4BR, 4 bath, with 24â&#x20AC;&#x2122; ceils, great room, 360 river and city views. Wrap-around terrace. Architect masterpiece. $40M. WEB# 11294646.

Scott Harris 212-317-3674 Sophie P. Ravet 212-452-4470 RENOVATED 1 FAMILY West Village. 25â&#x20AC;&#x2122; wide Greek Revival townhouse overlooking Bleecker Gardens. Features include: 4-passenger elevator, total smart home technology & terraced South garden. $26.5M. WEB# 9740815.

David E. Kornmeier 212-588-5642 TOWNHOUSE IN A TOWNHOUSE Charles Street. Unique West Village quadruplex in a boutique condo bldg.

6,524SF plus 1,280SF landscaped garden. 4BR, media rm, rec rm, elev.

Mint cond. $19.25M. WEB# 10018438.

Wolf Jakubowski 212-588-5630 TERRACED LOFT West Village. Terraced loft in FS condo. Huge, rambling 3BR, 3.5 bath loft w/ open city views in fantastic West Village. Concierge, gym & garage in building. $6M. WEB# 9804249.

John R. Edwards 212 906-9252 PRIVATE TOWNHOUSE 7EST 6ILLAGE &OUR mOOR TOWNHOUSE that sits in a private street enclave and features an open-concept living area, BEAUTIFUL OAK mOORS TWO lREPLACES AND roof deck. $5.995M. WEB# 11480989.

Craig Filipacchi and Jacques Foussard 212-452-4468 WEST VILLAGE RIVER VIEWS Perry Street. Sweeping Hudson River views from charming 1BR, 1 bath home. Spacious LR w/ wbfp and private terrace, sunlit BR w/ storage, chefâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kitchen. Full service Co-op. $1.295M. WEB# 11713391.

Amanda Brainerd 212-452-4515 Simone Mailman 212-452-6209

Gramercy/Chelsea CHELSEA PENTHOUSE Chelsea.

Masterful 3BR, 3.5 baths PH over 4,000SF indoor/outdoor. Wrap terrace.

Iconic open views. 20â&#x20AC;&#x2122; ceilgs. Chefâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kitchen. Private storage. FS condo building. $11.75M. WEB# 11686806.

Sophie P. Ravet 212-452-4470 Heather Cook 212-452-4491 MINT TH TREASURE West 19th Street. Located on charming tree-lined block. Mint 20â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Greek Revival brick home. Meticulous renovation & restoration. South garden. Perfect movein condition. $7.5M. WEB# 11189374.

Richard Ziegelasch 212-452-6274 John Burger 212-906-9274

MAGNIFICENT PH + 3 TERR West 20th Street. 5BR, 4.5 bath renovated PH boasts approx 4,912 interior SF and 1,700SF of terraces. Expansive living room with 22â&#x20AC;&#x2122; ceilings, huge skylights & 2 wbfp. $7.5M. WEB# 10313333.

David E. Kornmeier 212-588-5642 3 BEDROOM CONDO Gramercy Park West. Outstanding direct views of Gramercy Park. 45â&#x20AC;&#x2122; entertaining expanse. 3BR + library.

Large windows, excellent light.

Perfect move-in condition. CAC. $7.5M. WEB# 11395268.

John Burger 212-906-92742 SPACIOUS DUPLEX + GARDEN West 19th Street. Exquisite 3BR, 2.5 bath duplex condo w/approx.

2,149SF interior living space, a 530SF private garden & 65SF storage room.

24-hr doorman, CAC, washer/dryer. $4.699M. WEB# 11711071.

David E. Kornmeier 212-588-5642 JEWEL BOX IN GRAMERCY Downtown. Great value townhouse.

This approx 1,500SF home has an additional 2,000SF of AirRights.

Zoned c1-9A. Bring your architect to begin building your dream. $2.59M. WEB# 11122180.

David E. Perry 212-588-5697 PARK GRAMERCY Downtown. Rare opportunity to combine large 1BR w/ nursery/home OFlCE W ADJACENT STUDIO TO "2 BATH

separate DA, N/W/E expos, FS DM condop, condo rules, central laundry, roof deck. $2M. WEB# 11865998.

2AJAN $ +HANNA

BPC/FiDi PH W/SPECTAULAR VIEWS Downtown. Breathtaking views of the Hudson from every room of this apt.

Huge 60â&#x20AC;&#x2122; planted terrace, 3BR, 3 baths ON TWO LEVELS CEILINGS HDWD mRS %)+ w/ pvt terrace. $3M. WEB# 11870401.

2AJAN $ +HANNA MORSE BUILDING LOFT FiDi. Glorious light illuminates this spacious 2BR, 1 bath corner loft w/ 13 wndws facing S & W. Abundant custom storage, EIK, HDWD mOORS 7 $ AND HOME OFlCE nook. $1.950M. WEB# 11335046.

Leslie A. Mintzer 212-452-4473 HIGH FLR/SKYLINE VIEWS Wall Street. Spacious 1,397SF, 1BR, BATHS W HOME OFlCE SUNLIGHT

11â&#x20AC;&#x2122; ceilings. Top appliances, W/D. Doorman/concierge, pool, gym, squash/basketball courts. Low taxes. $1.949M. WEB# 11803648.

Danielle Grossenbacher 212-906-9303 Holly T. Shamask 212-906-

Denise Guido

Erin Boisson Aries

Jacques Foussard

SoHo/NoHo LUXURY DM 2BR CONDO SoHo. Approx 1,225SF, split plan, 2 full baths, 10â&#x20AC;&#x2122; ceils, huge wndws, lots of closets, open kit, W/D. Faces quiet Wooster St. 24-hr DM, gym, garden, garage on site.

Pets ok. $3.125M. WEB# 10312153.

Linda De Luca 212-906-9208 Corinne Vitale 212-906-9249

Rentals

PREWAR 2BR DUPLEX Gramercy Park. Rarely available ONE AND mOORS IN TOWNHOUSE w/ 2 balcs. Meticulously renovated 2BR, 2 bath, wbfp, open kit, W/D, HIGH CEILS 47!# lNANCING $1.9M. WEB# 11913232.

Russell K. Miller 212-906-9360 William A. Grant 212-906-0518 SEMINARY GARDEN VIEW Chelsea. Newly renov 2BR, 1 bath on tree lined 20th St, sunny seminary garden view, new kit, bth, #!# 04 DOORMAN lTNESS CENTER

pvt storage, roof deck. $1.495M. WEB# 11820408.

Robby Browne 212-906 9390 Jennifer L. Ireland 212-906-9397 Chris Kann 212-906-9373

Andrew O. Charas

STYLISH FURNISHED LOFT SoHo. Sprawling 2BR, 2.5 bath loft.

Features custom finishes, chefâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kitchen, and living areas with 13â&#x20AC;&#x2122; ceilings, exposed brick, and oversized windows. $24K/ monthly. WEB# 10244272.

Craig Filipacchi and Jacques Foussard 212-452-4468 Jason Schuchman 212 452-4461 DUANE PARK TREETOPS TriBeCa. Smartly designed & beautifully finished 2BR, 2 bath loft w/ park views.

Direct elevator, CAC & W/D. Available furnished or unfurnished,1 or 2 year lease. $12K/monthly. WEB# 11732482.

Beth M. Hirsch 212-452-4493 LIVE/WORK W/ FRONTAGE 4RI"E#A 'ROUND mOOR UNIT WITH 15â&#x20AC;&#x2122; of frontage on cobblestoned street. Features include exposed brick, modern kitchen, high ceilings AND NATURAL STONE lNISHES + monthly. WEB# 9849936.

Craig Filipacchi and Jacques Foussard 212-452-4468

Jennie J. Holman

Judith Gillis

Lara Leonard

Lynn A. Kaplan

Steven Marvisch

William Grant

All information is from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, prior sale or withdrawal without notice. All rights to content, photographs and graphics reserved to Broker. Equal Housing Opportunity Broker.