Faye Lane (be)dazzles in downtown “Beauty Shop Stories,” p. 27
® express VOLUME 20, NUMBER 40 THE NEWSPAPER OF LOWER MANHATTAN DECEMBER 22 - 28, 2010 Bathroom ban, security provoke angst at Murry Bergtraum BY ALINE REYNOLDS students could only use the Students and faculty bathrooms with a special at Murry Bergtraum High pass granted to them by the School may not be leaving in school’s dean, according to great spirits for the holiday students. season. A group of teens planned The school was in a state of the outbreak through a chaos on Thursday, December series of text messages ear- 9 when hundreds of students lier that day, according to rioted on the fourth fl oor, Gotham Schools, which fi rst shortly after fi rst-year princi- reported the riot. pal Andrea Lewis denied stu- “The students were dents access to the facilities, aggravated, so they started according to students and to run around and scream,” various news reports. said junior Randy Zabala, The bathroom ban was who witnessed it from the enforced after an alterca- sidelines. tion broke out that morning The incidents that day between two male students, resulted in several suspen- landing one of them in the sions of students, according hospital. In an attempt to to Margie Feinberg, a spokes- prevent loitering that could person for the D.O.E. lead to another fi ght, Lewis A tenth grader at the Downtown Express photo by Terese Loeb Kreuzer enforced a day-long rule that school who requested ano- Lower Manhattan resident and Community Board 1 member Marc Ameruso speaking at a press conference in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday. Continued on page 19 Gillibrand, Schumer still hoping for ‘Christmas miracle’ vote on Zadroga
BY JOHN BAYLES AND ALINE partisan support for the bill to fi nally John Feal, founder of the Fealgood REYNOLDS pass. Then on Tuesday, Republican Foundation and one of the bill’s major Another busload of Lower Senator Tom Coburn from Oklahoma advocates, questioned Coburn’s inten- Manhattan community members assumed the role of the “Grinch” in the tions. and 9/11 fi rst responders traveled to aforementioned “Christmas miracle” “Where’s his heart?” asked Feal. Washington D.C. on Tuesday with high scenario. “These men and women behind me hopes pertaining to the Zadroga 9/11 Early Tuesday morning, Coburn have gone eight Christmases suffering Health bill. Their plan was to instigate said he would keep the Senate in without any help from the federal gov- a fi nal push in support of the bill and session through the holiday in order ernment, so I question his heart.” see it return to the Senate fl oor for a to drag out the debate and block the But regardless of Coburn’s inten- vote. bill. Coburn argued on Fox News that tions, the bill’s supporters remain opti- U. S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Zadroga is a bill “that’s been drawn up mistic. Late Tuesday, Gillibrand said one of the bill’s main sponsors, sent out and forced through Congress at the end she was hopeful that the vote to recon- press releases on Sunday and Monday of the year on a basis to solve a prob- sider the legislation could happen as Tai Chi on the terrace calling for a “Christmas miracle,” stat- lem that we didn’t have time to solve soon as that night or, more likely, on Mark Song is leading a Tai Chi class this winter at ing that she and fellow Senator Charles and we didn’t get done.” the Terrace Club. Read about it on pg 16. Schumer believed they had enough bi- At a press conference on Tuesday, Continued on page 21 2 December 22 - 28, 2010 downtown express L.M.C.C.C. will live for three more years
The Lower Manhattan community breathed a sigh of relief on Thursday upon hearing that the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center was given new life. The executive order of the state-city agency responsible for overseeing construction projects below Canal Street was due to expire at the end of the year. It required renewal by Governor David Paterson and Mayor Michael Bloomberg on or before December 31, prompting Downtown elected offi cials and community board members to make phone calls and pass a resolution stressing the need for the agency’s continued existence. They prevailed on late Wednesday, when the Governor and Mayor signed into law a new executive order effective until December 31, 2013. In a written statement on Friday, Paterson said the L.M.C.C.C must continue to play a pivotal role in coordinating construction, ensuring safe work condi- tions and attending to the concerns of Downtown residents and businesses as the activity level reaches its peak in the next eighteen months. “This is a huge victory for the community and the city,” said State Senator Daniel Squadron, who had sent a letter to Paterson and Bloomberg this week, urging them to keep the agency on. “We are very pleased that the Governor and Mayor have extended the executive orders for the L.M.C.C.C., allowing us to continue our important mission for Lower Manhattan,” said Bob Harvey, L.M.C.C.C.’s executive director, in a statement. Catherine McVay Hughes, chair of C.B.1 ‘s World Trade Center Redevelopment Committee had gone so far as to con- template moving if the agency were to shut down.
“It’s wonderful that the L.M.C.C.C. will be here for the Downtown Express photo by Terese Loeb Kre1uzer next three years of construction,” said Hughes. “I’m going to State Senator Daniel Squadron attended last Thursday’s Community Board 1 meeting to deliver the good news stay Downtown,” she said, chuckling. that the L.M.C.C.C. was granted new life.
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ONE W.T.C. AT 52 FLOORS AND CLIMBING walking by the site, commenting on the lights. “The feedback ARTS ...... 21-27 so far has been generally positive,” he said. They’ll be taken One World Trade Center reached its halfway mark this down in early January, after the holidays. CLASSIFIEDS ...... 26 week, as anticipated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the developer of the soon-to-be tallest building in the nation. SOUTHWEST N.Y. BACK ON THE A-LIST Last Thursday, workers installed the steel on the 52nd fl oor of Tower One, which now reaches 613 feet into the sky. Southwest N.Y. passed its December 15 re-inspection, All 104 stories are slated for completion in 2013. conducted by the N.Y.C. Department of Health, with fl y- C.B. 1 The Port Authority plans on sticking to the building’s cur- ing colors, fulfi lling the restaurant’s co-owner, Abraham rent construction rate of one fl oor per week. Merchant’s promise to his customers. MEETINGS “We’re keeping the project right on schedule, and The D.O.H. offi cials counted only 13 violations when it that’s what we’ve committed to do,” said Port Authority reexamined the restaurant last week. Southwest N.Y. and Spokesperson Steve Coleman. “We’re hopeful of keeping the other eateries that receive 70 violation points the fi rst time Community Board 1 will not be holding any meet- project on schedule throughout 2011,” he said, noting that around have a chance to redeem themselves within weeks of ings for the next two weeks. The schedule for the fi rst high winds could cause unforeseen delays to the project. the initial inspection. In the meantime, Merchant and Cohn meetings of 2011 is below. Unless otherwise noted, all Installation of the building’s glass curtain wall, mean- hope to quell the fears of patrons who heard about the previ- committee meetings are held at the board offi ce, locat- while, is moving along as planned, also at a rate of one fl oor ous “C” grade, assuring them of the eateries’ commitment to ed at 49-51 Chambers Street, room 709 at 6 p.m. per week. “They’re now on the 23rd fl oor,” Coleman said, sanitary and safe conditions in a letter. having made “tremendous progress” in the past week. “We’re pleased to be back in the “A” grade,” said ON TUES., JAN 4: C.B. 1’s Battery Park City In attempt to make the building festive for passers-by, the Merchant, who eagerly posted the grade at the restaurant’s Committee will meet. building’s electricians hung multi-colored holiday lights on entrance on Thursday. the outside of fl oors 20 through 50 earlier this month. The Though the re-inspection results proved positive, Southwest’s ON WED., JAN 5: C.B. 1’s Financial District workers didn’t need clearance from the Port Authority to put initial score stays in the D.O.H. record and on its website unless Committee will meet. up the decorations, Coleman said, since it doesn’t interfere it is dismissed in an administrative tribunal setting. with construction or electricity work. “We find it a bit disconcerting these reports are ON THURS., JAN 6: C.B. 1’s Plannity and Coleman said the Port Authority has received phone calls Community Infrastructure Committee will meet. from community members and remarks from pedestrians Continued on page 15 Rally held in support of Student Safety Act Dozens of students gathered at City feel proud… that any adult who bullies Hall last Thursday to rally in support [students], who are supposed to keep of the Student Safety Act, a citywide them safe, will no longer have anywhere law that would mandate written reports to hide.” from the city Department of Education City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and the New York Police Department on said the bill strikes a good balance between school discipline and police security. City enforcing safety and creating environments Council proceeded to vote unanimously in which students feel safe. “This effort is in favor of the bill on Monday. The bill so important, because students trust that must now be signed into law by Mayor when they’re in the care and supervision of Bloomberg, which he is expected to do in their school that they’ll be safe,” she said. January, according to his spokesperson, “In some ways, it’s the foundation of being Andrew Brent. able to get a good education.” “Students under attack! What do we “[The law] is an important step towards do, say no, fight back!” the citywide establishing safety and discipline policies students chanted amid cold temperatures that treat all children fairly, with respect on the City Hall steps. Many of them are and dignity,” said Donna Lieberman, part of the Urban Youth Collaborative, an executive director of the New York Civil initiative that began campaigning for the Liberties Union, who also spoke at the passage of the bill nearly four years ago. rally. “It’ll shine much-needed light on “Today, our hard work has paid off,” the impact of heavy-handed policing and said Nazifa Mahbub, youth leader for excessive reliance on suspensions of our Desis Rising Up and Moving, a core children.” organization of the U.Y.C. “All too often, She and the student speakers said students are left in the dark and have no the bill would serve as a stepping stone way of speaking out or taking action when for improved school discipline policies our rights our violated.” Students have Downtown Express photo by Aline Reynolds and additional behavioral support for been exposed to mistrust and fear, she City Council Speaker Christine Quinn at a rally in support of the Student Safety Act students. “The School Safety Act itself said, rather than to constructive learning last week on the steps of City Hall. won’t change policies that have put so and guidance. much school discipline into the hands of Jaritza Geigel, the youth leader for punitive tactics of school safety agents. Jorel Moore, a youth leader for Future the police… we will continue to work on Make the Road New York, said that Passing this law, she said, will “bring of Tomorrow, said the safety officers will these reforms,” said Lieberman. students often end up on the jail rather transparency to how discipline and safety no longer be able to mistreat students than the college track, due in part to the are really working in our schools.” and get away with it. “As I student, I — Aline Reynolds 4 December 22 - 28, 2010 downtown express
Cleared in teen slay
POLICE BLOTTER A Manhattan jury on Tues., Dec. 14 cleared Victor Fong, 18, of the November 2009 stabbing death of Nelson Pena, 18, during a melee in front of 100 Hester St. where the CHINATOWN FIRE Peterson, in the subway station at Canal St. on Dec. 8. The Chinatown YMCA shares the building with I.S. 131 and Pace grand jury returned a “no true bill” on the Crespo indict- High School. Fong had admitted stabbing someone else, Fire raged through four fl oors of a fi ve-story residential ment on Dec. 13 and charges against him were dropped, Vincent Rivera, 17, in self-defense, who survived. But Fong building at 29 E. Broadway between Catherine and Market Sts said a spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney insisted he was not near Pena during the melee. A videotape during the early hours of Tues., Dec. 21, forcing at least 20 Cyrus Vance Jr. showed Pena was across the street from the school when Pena residents to fl ee from their homes and fi nd temporary shelter Albert Melendez, 30, is still facing robbery and assault was stabbed. The videotape also showed Rivera beating Fong elsewhere. The fi re started a short time before 3 a.m. in an charges as a hate crime and is being held in lieu of bail pend- with a pole just before the stabbing during the melee. apartment on the second fl oor and raced up a shaft or stairway ing a Jan. 11 court appearance. However, the grand jury that to the third, fourth and fi fth fl oors, a fi re offi cial said. By 3:30 heard the Crespo case called for charges against Melendez to a.m. a second alarm brought the number of fi refi ghters at the be reduced to misdemeanor assault. Melendez was charged Fake cops scene to 106. The fi re was declared under control at 4:47 along with Crespo with punching and kicking the victim, a.m. Cause of the blaze was under investigation. Four resi- 49, making anti-Islamic remarks, mocking the victim’s Two men with fake police shields around their necks burst dents were treated for minor injuries at New York Downtown kufi , (a Moslem head covering) and throwing it onto the into a store at 67 Eldridge St., at Hester St. at 3:45 p.m. Mon., Hospital, and the Red Cross referred burned-out tenants to subway tracks. Crespo’s lawyer said his client was arrested Dec. 6, ran behind the counter, grabbed about $1,000 from temporary shelter. No fi refi ghters were injured. after he intervened to break up a fi ght between Melendez the cash box and fl ed, police said. David Oquendo. 30, was Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver issued a statement later and Peterson. Melendez’s lawyer, Angel Soto, said the fi ght arrested a short time later and charged with grand larceny and saying, “Even as we provide for temporary shelter, our pri- started when Melendez accidentally brushed into Peterson criminal impersonation of a police offi cer. His accomplice was ority is to make sure the residents are able to move back who refused to accept an apology and a handshake. not apprehended. Oquendo was being held in lieu of $15,000 into their homes as quickly as possible and that the busi- bail pending a Jan. 5 court appearance. nesses that have been impacted are able to reopen. I under- stand preliminary repair work on the building is already Robs four Pace students underway and I have offered my assistance in helping resi- She offers bribe dents return as soon as it is safe to do so.” A man wielding a gun held up four Pace University students outside 33 Gold St. between John and Fulton Sts. A woman arrested at 11:30 a.m. Tues., Dec. 7 for steal- during the early hours of Mon. Dec. 13 and took $600 from ing a wallet from a victim at the corner of Grand St. and Hate charge dismissed them and an unspecifi ed amount of marijuana, according to Bowery and for picking the pocket of another victim a few reports. A New York Post item identifi ed one of the victims minutes later at Hester and Elizabeth Sts., was also charged A grand jury last week declined to indict Eddie Crespo, who had the marijuana as being the person who supplied pot with offering a $1,000 bribe to the offi cer who arrested 28, a Metropolitan Transportation Authority employee who to Max Moreno, the Pace student who was murdered in his her, according to the offi ce of Manhattan District Attorney was arrested with another defendant and charged in a hate apartment at 2 Gold St., three blocks down from where the Cyrus Vance Jr. The suspect, Ha Vasko, 67, told the cop she crime for attacking an imam from Woodside, Queens, Rob hold-up took place. would give him all the money in her wallet, about $1,000, “or I could write you a check if you let me go.” Vasko was being held in lieu of $5,000 bail pending a March 9 court 2))\RXUILUVWRUGHUZLWK 88 Fulton Street appearance. WKHPHQWLRQRIWKLV$' (Corner of 33 Gold St.) New York, NY 10038 • Dry Cleaners Greenhouse weeds /DXQGHU SUHVV 212.587.8930 • Evening:DVK )ROG/DXQGU\ Formal • Wedding Gowns 3DWFKHV 5HSDLUV 212.587.8935 A woman patron of Greenhouse, the club at 150 Varick • Launder & Press 'U\&OHDQHUV • Wash & Fold Laundry St., put her bag next to her at her table by the dance fl oor $OWHUDWLRQV Free Delivery! • Alterations around 3 a.m. Mon., Dec. 20, turned to talk to a friend and (YHQLQJ)RUPDO Min. $10 • Patches & Repairs discovered a minute or two later that the bag had been sto- 3,& :HGGLQJ*RZQV • Carpet & Rug Cleaning len, along with $300 in cash, her iPhone, credit cards and her Florida driver’s license. 3/$&( 2SHQFKDUJHDFFRXQW UHFHLYH A New Jersey woman told police she put her bag on top DOORUGHUVWLOO 2)) of the bar at Greenhouse around 1 a.m. Sat., Dec. 18 and )L'L&OHDQHUV 7DLORUV discovered a short time later it had been stolen along with $150 in cash, a Louis Vuitton key chain valued at $400 :DVKLQJWRQ6W1<& Authentic Thai and credit cards. She learned later that an unauthorized charge of $51 had been made on one of the cards at a & Vegetarian )L'L#)L'L&OHDQHUVFRP_)L'L&OHDQHUVFRP White Castle.
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BY ALINE REYNOLDS two,” she said. Downtown kindergarteners might have a better shot at Speaker Silver was instrumental in backing the S.C.A.’s attending a public school in their district, if current nego- acquisition of the Peck Slip site. He wrote John Potter, the tiations between the U.S. Postal Service and the New York City U.S.P.S. postmaster general and chief operating offi cer in Department of Education prove fruitful. September, about the need for a 400-seat public school at the The U.S. Postal Service has reached an exclusive agreement site in September. “It is very challenging for the [D.O.E.] to with the D.O.E.’s School Construction Authority to open an fi nd a suitable site, and the Peck Slip Post Offi ce meets its elementary school at the Peck Slip Post Offi ce in the South Street criteria,” Silver said in the letter. The D.O.E. has the capital Seaport, according to the D.O.E. and Congressman Jerrold funding lined up for the acquisition, he added, and is ready Nadler’s offi ce. The time frame and logistics of the school’s open- to sign off on the deal. ing have not yet been ironed out, since the agreement hasn’t yet Silver said he is working with Nadler, State Senator been fi nalized. Daniel Squadron, City Councilmember Margaret Chin and But the Downtown community is already rejoicing as it impa- other elected offi cials to open up more schools Downtown. tiently awaits more Downtown elementary school seats to relieve Squadron echoed the need to combat school overcrowd- overcrowding, avoiding the need to bus their fi ve-year-olds out ing Downtown, stating that the siting of a school at Peck of the district. Slip is “one important step to keeping our schools and our “This is excellent news for everybody involved,” Nadler said Downtown Express photo by Aline Reynolds community growing and strong.” in a statement, emphasizing the need for the school. “I hope that The Peck Slip Post Offi ce could be converted to house The post offi ce’s retail services, located on the fi rst fl oor we can see both the school and retail post offi ce realized as the a new elementary school. of the four-story building at One Peck Slip, will be retained negotiations continue.” on the site, according to Nadler’s offi ce, who is in direct According to Eric Greenleaf, a P.S. 234 parent and New York letter-writing campaign requesting that the Peck Slip elementary contact with the U.S.P.S. Storage space and other U.S.P.S. University business professor, the neighborhood requires an school incubate at the Tweed Courthouse. The D.O.E.’s current operations, however, will be relocated to another location in additional 1000-to-1400 more elementary school seats by 2017 plan is to designate the space to Innovate Manhattan Charter the neighborhood. in order to prevent severe overcrowding in the neighborhood School, a move which Busi, Greenleaf and scores of other “Currently the U.S.P.S. needs only two of those fl oors, hence schools. School enrollments are growing so rapidly, he said, that Downtown parents vehemently oppose. this is why we are consolidating and offering the extra space for the Peck Slip school would be completely fi lled on its opening “Everyone is pretty unifi ed in the belief that we absolutely sale,” explained U.S.P.S. Spokesperson Darleen Reid. day. can’t give up Tweed Courthouse,” Busi said, having hand-deliv- Reid said postal services would remain in the community, “I’d be thrilled if [the negotiations] moved forward as soon ered nearly 200 complaint letters to the D.O.E. on Monday. “We regardless of the outcome of the bid process for the space it as possible,” said P.S. 234 parent Tricia Joyce, also a member just want those seats kept for zoned kindergarten children.” intends to sell to the D.O.E. “We are not taking away service of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s Overcrowding Task Busi was pleased to hear about the D.O.E.’s negotiations to the community at this time,” she said. “We are simply Force. “We’re already over-capacity, so it really can’t come soon with the post offi ce. The Peck Slip school alone, however, won’t looking into the option of streamlining operations into a enough.” resolve the overcrowding dilemma Lower Manhattan currently smaller space.” Kimberly Busi, another member of the task force and the faces. “If we’re lucky and we get the school sited, I think we She said that the U.S.P.S. would be fi nalizing negotiations Parent Teacher Association president of P.S. 234, has begun a have to start immediately on [fi nding and securing] site number for the Peck Slip space sometime in January. Lifting more than just spirits on Wall St. BY HELAINA N. HOVITZ can return to work within the hour. The Wall Street workers have been taking device is the fi rst of its kind to receive FDA more than just a load off during their lunch approval and uses sound waves to stimulate hour; they’re taking ten years off of their the regeneration of collagen, which the body faces and returning straight to work. produces naturally. Doctors across the country have spent Dr. White, who also works as an assistant the past year performing “knifeless facelifts” professor at NYU, appeared on national on patients in their 40’s and 50’s using the television for the fi rst time in November, Ulthera System, a new, non-surgical device explaining how the device works on Good that uses ultra-sound technology. Now, Morning America. Ulthera has fi nally found its way Downtown “More and more studies have been com- and into the hands of the man behind the ing out that help us better understand how machine. the face ages, and it’s not just the skin,” Cosmetic surgeon Dr. William Matthew Dr. White said. “What we’re able to do is White, 42, who fathered the concept and increase the critical support systems within began receiving nation media attention in the face, and that’s what lifts and tightens November, has offi cially begun using the the face and makes it appear more rejuve- device at his NYU Medical Center Trinity nated.” Center practice. He authored the fi rst paper The Ulthera System tightens the SMAS on the machine that targets the layer of skin layer by delivering energy into the tissue, that lies directly underneath the outer sur- which stimulates the fi broblasts to generate face, the SMAS layer. Up until three months new collagen. Because it assists the body in ago, he only performed face and neck sur- regenerating a substance that it produces gery the traditional way. He offi cially added naturally, many patients have begun opt- “Ultherapy” to his practice in September. ing to undergo Ultherapy in place of Botox The treatment is a less expensive alterna- injections. tive to surgery, and a convenient one at that; Dr. White spent three years working with the entire procedure takes between thirty a team of fi ve other doctors to develop the and forty minutes, and because there is no anesthesia or cutting involved, the patient Continued on page 20 6 December 22 - 28, 2010 downtown express Jewish Community Project to open in Tribeca
BY TEQUILA MINSKY Victoria Feder during the evening. She is one There were no shovels because there was of the prime leaders of the J.C.P., inspired to no dirt. But the opening party for the Jewish have a Jewish cultural center and the need to Community Project’s new Tribeca space was inclusively connect as a community following still billed as “groundbreaking.” the events of September 11. “My six-year-old daughter Olivia is in the Hebrew after-school (Mechina) program,” said Jamie Propp, hammer and nails in hand while affi xing his name to a long plank, the symbolic It’s wonderful to have New York City style groundbreaking. The Jewish religion and cultural center access and a source of based at 146 Duane Street is bursting at the seams with the population explosion of chil- Jewish life Downtown. dren and parents in Tribeca, many who are — Jamie Propp Jewish. Propp echoed the sentiments of some Downtown Express photos by Tequila Minsky of his Tribeca neighbors who hail from Jewish Jamie Propp adds his presence to the wall of supporters at the J.C.P. s groundbreak- communities elsewhere. “It’s wonderful to have ing in Tribeca. access and a source of Jewish life Downtown. It The J.C.P. began with Shabbat services in makes it feel more like home,” said Propp, who people’s homes, added a pre-school, which is hails from Westchester. now in its sixth year, has Jewish cultural after- On December 15, Propp and his wife, school classes and other programming. The Sang A Im-Propp, were among the more than target date for completion is Fall 2011 and 150 Tribecans and J.C.P. friends celebrating the expansion will add classrooms to those on the “groundbreaking” at the site where J.C.P.’s Duane Street. The Website lists classes, sched- facilities will expand, the east side of the second ule of events — the next festive occasion is fl oor of the Carey Building on Chambers Street. Purim, March 20 at P.S. 234 — and more. Plans include classrooms, a gallery, a sacred The DJ for the evening was rabbinical intern space and a community hall with moveable and after-school instructor Joshua Beraha. After walls for fl exible confi gurations. The windows an evening of oldies and contemporary music, front Chambers, Church, and Reade Streets. he seemed to know just when to instigate a State Senator Daniel Squadron and other hora. The room of celebrants spontaneously community members spoke at the event sup- grasped hands and started dancing in the tradi- porting J.C.P.’s growth. Celebrants also feted tional and energetic expression of festivity. Following kudos the DJ put on some traditional music and a hora quickly manifested. SPURA vote postponed; Fighting to make Lower Manhattan Plan is half market rate
the greatest place BY LESLEY SUSSMAN vacant for nearly 43 years after the whole- If the devil is, indeed, in the details, then sale razing of blocks of residential buildings to live, work, and a Community Board 3 committee that for by the city for a never-completed urban nearly two years has been trying to draft a renewal plan. raise a family. comprehensive plan for the future develop- The empty swath of open-air parking lots ment of the Seward Park Urban Renewal on the south side of Delancey Street at the Area along Delancey Street, seemed this foot of the Williamsburg Bridge is the larg- week to be in dire need of an exorcist. est site of undeveloped city-owned land in At its monthly meeting on December13, Manhattan south of 96th Street. at the Henry Street Settlement, members At the marathon Monday night meeting, of C.B. 3’s Land Use, Zoning, Public and which was attended by about 100 local Private Housing Committee spent nearly residents — who by 10 p.m. had dwindled four hours painstakingly reviewing the down to just a handful — committee mem- details of the fi rst draft guidelines that was bers listened to a lineup of community presented to the committee last month, and members who emotionally spoke out on arguing over many of these details. how this city-owned wasteland should be Since last month’s presentation, some developed. changes to the guidelines had been made Speakers’ opinions ran the gamut, from by panel facilitator John Shapiro, an urban Grand Street News editor Yori Yanover, planner and mediator who was hired by C.B. who said he opposed any housing on the 3 to guide the committee toward a proposal site whatsoever, and, instead, wanted to see that would be satisfactory to the various fac- a recreational area developed there, to rep- tions on the committee, as well as to various resentatives of Good Old Lower East Side, city agencies. an activist group advocating for mostly low- Assemblyman Shelly Silver When all was said and done, the com- income housing to be built there. mittee fi nally agreed on only one thing: to Adrienne Chevrestt, a member of St. If you need assistance, please contact my office at put off any vote on the guidelines until next Mary’s Parish, told committee members that (212) 312-1420 or email [email protected]. month and, maybe, even later. SPURA’s proposed development was “The The development area, known as SPURA for short, consists of 10 sites that have been Continued on page 18 downtown express December 22 - 28, 2010 7 Tiny skating rink is Downtown’s only option
BY ALINE REYNOLDS friction-reduction liquid to keep skaters from slipping. There will be an ice rink in Downtown this winter, thanks Skaters can relax during their breaks on the wrap-around to a new feature at a lofty neighborhood hotel. But, accord- terrace that directly faces Ground Zero. The outdoor “Ice ing to area residents, it is far from an acceptable substitute Bar” offers an array of hot and cold cocktails, zesty names for last year’s rink at the Battery Park City ball fi elds. like “Get Your Rocks Off,” “Hot Toddy” and “Kumquat On Saturday, around 70 people skated on the new outdoor Mule.” ice-skating rink at the “W” New York-Downtown, which is Not everyone, however, is content with the new rink. available for community members and hotel guests alike. It is Tribeca residents Blake Haider and Phil Zrihen believe it to the latest addition to the hotel, which opened last August at be a poor replacement of the B.P.C. rink, which the B.P.C. the intersection of Washington and Albany Streets. Authority did not reopen this winter. “It’s too small – you The rink offers the Downtown community a substitute to can’t skate on it,” said Haider. the B.P.C. rink, which the Battery Park City Authority chose Comparing the two, he said, is like comparing a whirlpool not to reopen this year after contract disputes with the prior with a swimming pool. Nevertheless, Haider plans on taking operator. his fi ve-year-old daughter ice-skating there soon, since there Sofi a Vandaele, general manager of the “W,” said the is no other rink in the near vicinity. rink, which is located on the hotel’s fi fth fl oor public terrace, Zrihen, who also misses the B.P.C. rink, said he isn’t going is just as much a facility for the Lower Manhattan commu- to bother bringing his eight- and six-year-olds to the “W” to nity as it is for the guests of the hotel. skate. “I suspect that it’s unlikely for us to be able to get on “I think we have more than [enough] opportunity now [the rink], given the limited number of people that can skate to reach out to our new community,” she said. The rink, she Downtown Express photo by Aline Reynolds at one time,” he said. It also isn’t the sports-oriented rink the added, “really is bringing the experience of the terrace to the Andy Borella and Erica Gianchetti (on the right) try out family enjoys, like the former B.P.C. rink or the Sky Rink at community year-round.” the W’s new skating rink with some friends after work Chelsea Piers. “There’s a big difference,” he said, “between The rink will be open Monday through Sunday, 2 to 10 on Monday. full-service and a touristy-type attraction.” p.m., until February 15, 2011. But the “touristy-type” tiny rink does have its appeal, “We hope someone will get engaged [on the ice] on Though only 15-to-20 people can skate on it at one time, even though that appeal is not so much about the skating. Valentine’s Day – fi ngers crossed!” said Daniella Weinberg, Vandaele said that the “W” doesn’t anticipate the need for a Chelsea resident Erica Gianchetti visited the “W” on public relations manager at Starwood Hotels and Resorts wait list to use the rink. Monday with her friend, Andy Borella, to try out the new Worldwide, parent company of the “W.” “It operates on a fi rst-come, fi rst-serve basis,” she said. rink, which, she said, is more intimate than the one at Vandaele said the “W” hopes to start up programming at “At the moment, we’re comfortable that we can deal with Chelsea Piers. “You don’t get the luxury of a bar while you the rink in collaboration with Hudson River Park Mother’s the requests and interest we’ll have.” ice skate – it’s very New York,” Gianchetti said, smiling. Group and with fi nancial and consultant companies in the The rink is an eco-friendly installation: its surface is com- Borella, who works at a public relations fi rm in the area, though the specifi cs have yet to be ironed out. posed of synthetic, recycled polymer, which unlike natural Flatiron District, said it’s a perfect respite from a stressful Skating on the rink is free and, if users don’t bring their ice, doesn’t require refrigeration or a generator to keep cool. day at work. “I came here to be with my friend, not to free- own skates, they can rent a pair from the hotel for $12. A barricade surrounds it, and its surface is maintained with willy skate,” he said. Julius Shulman MD & Dalia S. Nagel MD announceannounce thethe opening ofof theirour second second locationlocation
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BY LINCOLN ANDERSON Campoamor of Community Board 4; Dr. A community health needs assessment Neal Cohen, a former commissioner of that could be used to make the case for the New York City Department of Health a new hospital or healthcare facility to now on the Hunter College faculty; and replace the former St. Vincent’s Hospital Jeffrey Kraut, senior vice president for could be completed by early spring. strategy of North Shore-L.I.J. Health Meanwhile, at a recent meeting on System. State Senator Tom Duane, also a the needs assessment, members of the steering committee member, sat in for the Coalition for a New Village Hospital start of the meeting, but left after about continued to ask why the study was half an hour, reportedly having to head needed, saying there were sufficient stud- back up to Albany. ies already. Thus far, following the committee’s About 50 people gathered at the first meeting in September, two reports Robert Fulton Houses Senior Center ear- were produced in October — “Defining ' ) ( & ' lier this month to hear members of the the Service Area” and “The Origin of St. Community Health Assessment Steering Vincent’s Patients” — and have been post- ) '* ! ' + Committee give an update on where the ed on Community Board 2’s Web site. , - $ & - study stands and answer questions. According to the steering committee, ) Hunter College School of Public Health the primary service area for the former St. and North Shore-Long Island Jewish Vincent’s Hospital stretches from W. 34th % Health System are doing the assessment Street down to Soho and Hudson Square, pro bono, under the guidance of health- east of Fifth Avenue and the Bowery. care professionals, the area’s elected Based on patient exit records, about 45 officials and community organizations percent of hospitalized residents in the represented on the 45-member steering 10011 and 10014 zip codes (Chelsea and committee. Greenwich Village) were most dependent The December 6 panel included steer- on St. Vincent’s, while 55 percent sought ing committee members Brad Hoylman of Community Board 2; Jesse Smith Continued on page 19 St. Peter’s Chelsea Episcopal Church th 346 West 20 Street th th (between 8 & 9 Avenues) 2 1 2 . 9 2 9 . 2 3 9 0 ! "#$ www.stpeterschelsea.com % Christmas at St. Peter’s Timothy Brumfield, Director of music /organist & '( David Ossenfort, renowned tenor '! Laurel Masse, Manhattan Transfer's founding member The Uptown Brass
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EVEN MORE VALUABLE COUPONS AT MBETRIBECA.COM 10 December 22 - 28, 2010 downtown express EDITORIAL LETTERS TO THE EDITOR PUBLISHER & EDITOR Crossing West Street Misinformation needs John W. Sutter Cleaning up Albany ASSOCIATE EDITOR Earlier this year, when former Mayor Ed Koch launched To the editor: correcting John Bayles his New York Uprising effort to reform Albany, some As a result of the death of pedestrian ARTS EDITOR people didn’t appear to be taking him seriously. Marilyn Feng on February 13, 2009, our To the editor: Scott Stiffl er Well, they are now. community was reminded of the unusu- Re: “Downtown small biz sector gets At 86, Koch is spearheading a very real and very ally short time traffi c light intervals to cross boost from Camelot” (news article Dec. 7) REPORTERS badly needed movement to fi x Albany, and the momen- treacherous West Street. I want to correct misinformation in pro- Aline Reynolds Albert Amateau tum has been snowballing. In response, the Department of fi ling publicist Christina Cozzi and Camelot. Lincoln Anderson On Monday, at a City Hall press conference, Koch Transportation increased the tim- The article cites Cozzi’s claims that some was joined by about a dozen state senators from New ing so one could cross without running proceeds of her October event were given to SR. V.P. OF SALES York City and nearby counties — including local Senator a sprint. Recently, again owing to com- the Hive at 55. AND MARKETING Daniel Squadron — who all stressed that passing a pack- munity concerns, the Lower Manhattan Unfortunately, despite Cozzi’s publicity Francesco Regini age of bills closely corresponding to the reforms in the Development Corporation provided a $1.2 blitz avowing the event was rooted in phil- SR. MARKETING CONSULTANT Uprising pledge is their “Job No. 1” next month. In fact, million grant to station crossing guards anthropic intentions, not a single dime was Jason Sherwood Squadron and the others said, these reform initiatives at the intersections at Chambers Street subsequently given to the Hive. We should should be passed on the fi rst day of session. and southward on weekdays during normal point out: we never approached Cozzi to ask ADVERTISING SALES Allison Greaker We wholeheartedly agree. business hours only, and not inclusive of for the event or to be a recipient, and we Michael Slagle It’s great to see Koch returning to his reform roots weekends. appreciated her desire to help this worthy, Julio Tumbaco in his later years, just as Eleanor Roosevelt did before Without notifying the community, non-profi t operation. And, the Hive even him. And there couldn’t be a better moment. Confi dence the D.O.T. has once again restored the purchased a ticket so its director could RETAIL AD MANAGER in Albany has been at an all-time low. The hijacking of short time intervals to those in effect attend Cozzi’s event for a speaking program Colin Gregory the state Senate in the summer of 2009 by Pedro Espada in February 2009. All you have to do is that was then abruptly cancelled during the
BUSINESS MANAGER / CONTROLLER and his cronies was a sordid chapter, turning our state watch those hard-working guards urging event. Cozzi’s subsequent demands that the Vera Musa government into a pathetic joke. people to walk faster as the lights quickly Alliance and the Hive divert their efforts to Yet, Albany didn’t have far to fall to reach that nadir. In change. substantially promote her event were unreal- ART / PRODUCTION DIRECTOR 2004, the Brennan Center for Justice at N.Y.U. School of Did anyone responsible for restoring the istic and scattershot. Troy Masters Law found New York State’s Legislature to be America’s shorter intervals know that we do not have It’s a shame. While we support entre-
ART DIRECTOR worst and most anti-democratic; members didn’t have to 24/7 guards? And why was this done with- preneurial endeavors, the entire experience Mark Hasselberger be present to vote, and most votes passed with 95 percent out public notifi cation and input? Let’s developed into a bait-and-switch. It’s an support, the study found. Then, of course, there are the hope that C.B. 1 and our local representa- unfortunate irony that she claims the event GRAPHIC DESIGNER regularly late state budgets, a perennial embarrassment. tives take to task those responsible, and was a resounding success yet inevitably Jamie Paakkonen Subsequently, thanks to reform measures by Scott restore intervals that allow all to safely stiffed its publicized benefi ciary.
CONTRIBUTORS Stringer when he was in the Assembly, signifi cant strides WALK across West Street. Terese Loeb Kreuzer • David were made — for one, members must at least now be physi- Jeff Simmons Stanke • Jerry Tallmer cally present to vote. John Brindisi Vice President for Communications, Nevertheless, there remain serious, endemic prob- Battery Park City Alliance for Downtown New York PHOTOGRAPHERS lems that need to be addressed — and redistricting tops Lorenzo Ciniglio • Milo Hess the list. It’s natural that legislators would want to draw Corky Lee • Elisabeth Robert • Jefferson Siegel their own district lines, thereby helping ensure their re-election — but that’s precisely why an independent, INTERNS nonpartisan process is needed. Andrea Riquier When we asked Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver about redistricting back in April, he shrugged off the idea of remov- ing the process from lawmakers’ hands, noting, “If you give it Published by to a bunch of professors, the community could be harmed.” COMMUNITY MEDIA, LLC However, Koch — in addition to getting the majority 145 Sixth Ave., NY, NY 10013 of both Houses to sign the Uprising pledge — also got Phone: (212) 229-1890 Governor-elect Cuomo to commit to it, and to avow that Fax: (212) 229-2790 he’d veto any bill in which legislators are allowed to redraw On-line: www.downtownexpress.com their own lines. Kudos to Cuomo for that principled stand. E-mail: [email protected] In addition to Assembly and Senate lines, Congressional districts are also due to be redrawn next year — and it’s all
TM Gay CityNEWS done at the state level. Silver on Tuesday issued a statement saying, “We will work in a collaborative way to come up with a Downtown Express is published every week by redistricting process that protects the rights of minor- Community Media LLC, 145 Sixth Ave., New York, N.Y. 10013 (212) 229-1890. The entire ity voters, keeps public offi cials accountable to the people contents of the newspaper, including advertising, are copyrighted and no part may be reproduced and provides strong representation for all New Yorkers.” without the express permission of the publisher - Disappointingly, the words “independent, nonpartisan com- © 2010 Community Media LLC. mittee” are noticeably absent. PUBLISHER’S LIABILITY FOR ERROR The Publisher shall not be liable for slight The other two Uprising pledge items — ethics reform changes or typographical errors that do not lessen the value of an advertisement. The and a GAAP balanced budget — are also vitally important. publisher’s liability for other errors or omissions in connection with an advertisement is strictly On ethics reform, we agree that an independent oversight limited to publication of the advertisement in any committee is needed to assure accountability, while stronger subsequent issue. disclosure laws will improve standards of conduct. As for a Member of the New York Press GAAP balanced budget, it will “take the politics out of bud- Downtown Express photo by Jefferson Siegel Association geting” and stop the state from spending beyond its means.
Member of the It’s now up to legislators who signed the Uprising National pledge to put their money where their pen is — and vote Don’t try this at home, or anywhere Newspaper for these reforms fi rst thing next month. New Yorkers Association Risking spine and neck injuries, a street performer entertained the crowd in the deserve nothing less. Washington Square Park fountain on Saturday afternoon. © 2010 Community Media, LLC downtown express December 22 - 28, 2010 11 TALKING POINT A streetcar named Pearl Harbor: Getting onboard BY JERRY TALLMER 180 degrees around. That, and whatever new barbarism the And so we went, leaving the oldest college newspaper in On the last day of boyhood — not youth, but boyhood — Nazis were executing every day. I don’t think I ever used the America to the tender mercies of Joseph P. & Co. their big guy, Endicott (“Chub”) Peabody of Massachusetts, word “Jew” except between the lines. Some six months later a postcard reached me at an unstoppable defensive lineman of the Harvard Crimson, The Japanese? Well, they had raped an entire city — anti-submarine airbase up the Demerera from Georgetown, had almost single-handedly taken apart the Big Green 11 China’s Nanking — back in 1937, but we would have to get British Guiana. It was from George Hanna, Class of 1941, captained by our big guy, center Charles Milton (“Stubby”) around to that someday in the distant future, when we had a star on the Dartmouth basketball team and someone I’d Pearson of Minnesota. the time and the means to do it. never met. It had been mailed six months earlier. “So you Now, on the other side of the river, the Boston side, went and did it,” it said. “Good for you.” an hour or so after the end of the game on this aching George Hanna, a distinguished New Hampshire lawyer, Saturday afternoon, I was steering my overcrowded black died only a couple of years ago. I never got to thank him 1940 convertible Ford Schpitfeuer straight into the mouth Newspapermen! A fraternity more for that postcard. of a Mass Avenue shortcut tunnel, only to discover that it Charles Bolté left college, went to Canada, joined the wasn’t a shortcut at all unless you were a streetcar of “the binding than any traditional Greek- King’s Royal Rifl es, got a leg blown off at El Alamein, was T,” Boston’s equivalent of the M.T.A. One such monster, a Rhodes Scholar, married a beautiful girl named Mary bell clanging furiously, was headed at that very moment letter animal house. Elwell, founded and ran the American Veterans Committee, straight toward the nose of the Schpitfeuer Ford, not to had a decent career in publishing, was a physical and vocal mention toward myself and the six or seven or eight other duplicate of Orson Welles as Charles Foster Kane, and is guys — buddies, classmates, defeated invaders — who were now also gone. distributed elsewhere in or on the vehicle. In the fall of the year before, 1940, on the night of the Endicott Peabody won a Silver Star for gallant service I was at the wheel because only a half-minute earlier, famous “Fifth Down” football game against Cornell, coach on a U.S. Navy submarine in the Pacifi c theater of war. Al Goldman, the corpulent, go-getting business manager Earl Blaik reminded us at a big emotional bonfi re that He served one two-year term (1963-’65) as Democratic of The Dartmouth, who’d been serving as driver because Dartmouth men always exemplifi ed the idea of “Rugged, governor of Massachusetts (and ally of John F. Kennedy), he knew the terrain, suddenly, right there in the middle see!” but was too racially and economically liberal — he refused, of downtown Boston traffi c, had jammed on the brakes, O.K., I’m only a college boy, a citifi ed college boy who among other things, to send any human being to the electric looked around, jumped out, said: “I left my car somewhere can neither skate nor ski — nor, God save us, play football. chair — to ever again get elected to anything. He left us in around here,” and disappeared forever into the crowd. But so long as I have this newspaper, I’ll keep writing anti- 2009. Leaving me, the editor in chief, to, so to speak, take back Nazi, go-to-war editorials while Babe — associate editor And Stubby Pearson? Big, amiable, earnest, decent, the reins. and best friend Alex “Babe” Fanelli of Pelham Manor, New rough-complectioned Charles Milton Pearson of What did I do? I backed us out slowly, very, very slowly, York — supplies the poetry. Minnesota? I knew him fairly well, as it happens, because with the streetcar moving voraciously forward by way of In Boston, around midafternoon Sunday, the day after he, too, believe it or not, in our freshman year had been encouragement, inch by inch. that disastrous Harvard-Dartmouth football game, I point- a heeler, alongside me, though in his case for the sports Why do I call that 1940 Ford a Schpitfeuer? Well, ed the 1940 black Ford (a hand-me-down from my mother) pages of The Dartmouth. But instead of writing it, he because all that spring of 1941, we of The Dartmouth, the north toward Hanover. ended up playing it — football and basketball, all-star oldest college daily newspaper in America, went out every Several hours later, as I drew up and parked in front captains of both. so often in a couple of cars to the Bema, a grassy place just of Robinson Hall, the ancient and honorable edifi ce that Stubby was also the Class of 1942 Phi Beta Kappa vale- off the campus, to play dogfi ght in the skies over Britain, housed the editorial and business offi ces of The Dartmouth, dictorian, though by that time I was not on the scene. (The in honor of those who were truly great. …“Achtung, a kid came running out of — pouring out of — the build- war, in fact, was to save me from fl unking out.) Schpitfeuer!”… “I say, old boy, jolly good show!” …as ing, I forget his name; it may have been Jessup. He was I imagine that Charles Milton Pearson would have we hurtled and skidded our beer-drenched, overloaded what was called a “heeler” — an underclassman bucking to gone on to become a Rhodes Scholar himself, a college autos this way and that way over the greensward. Babe and become a full-time staffer of that newspaper. president, a senator, governor, a United States president, Craighead, DeSherb and Farb, Mitchbitch and Proc Page, “Jerry!” he was yelling. “Jerry, have you heard? The Japs anything. But in late March 1944, Stubby Pearson plunged even humorless old Joseph P., my second in command. have bombed Pearl Harbor!” his Navy dive bomber down toward a Japanese destroyer Newspapermen! A fraternity more binding than any And like almost every other jerk in this country at that in the waters off Palau, and died in the attempt, taking his traditional Greek-letter animal house. moment, I said: “Where’s Pearl Harbor?” gunner, T.W. Watterston, with him. Those Bema dogfi ght things were merely the letting-off Forty-eight hours and three or four extra editions of The Does that do it, Mr. Blaik? Rugged, see! Give us the boy of steam, of course — release of nervous tension — because Dartmouth later, Babe and I were sleeplessly downing harsh and we’ll give you the man. 1941 was a very bad year indeed. During the course of it, black coffee in the Hanover Inn. Babe looked at me, took a This bonfi re is for all those boys, in the embers of Adolf Hitler continued to consume and destroy country swallow, and said: “I guess we’d better go, don’t you?” December 7, 2010. after country, while we — in our faraway, isolated, pro- tective little Hanover, New Hampshire, cocoon — were IRA BLUTREICH increasingly involved in several mini-wars of our own: the pacifi st isolationists; subclass (a) radical or (b) reactionary, along with a sprinkling of America Firsters, versus the ever more heated and alarmed stop-Hitler interventionists. The latter meaning me, in that newspaper. When the Germans, in April of that year, went from invading Yugoslavia to invading Greece, Charles Guy Bolté, the golden boy of the Class of 1941 — one year ahead of my Class of 1942 — brought me a manifesto he had just writ- ten in the form of an open letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. “Dear Mr. President,” it began, “Now we have waited long enough… .” It called on F.D.R. to quit stalling and at long last move against Hitler by force. I ran it on the next morning’s front page — and the whole campus damn near blew up. What had been a 1,000 percent pacifi st college paper when yours truly (then also an ardent pacifi st) ascended to the editor’s desk was now all that and more of an interventionist college newspaper — the fi rst such in this entire country, I have always believed. Listening to Edward R. Murrow broadcast the summer before from the rooftops of burning London had turned me Once again, Bloomberg denies that he’s eyeing the presidency. 12 December 22 - 28, 2010 downtown express Jack Levine, 85, an artist who always kept it real
One of the most important American representational artists of the 20th century, longtime Villager Jack Levine died on Nov. 8 after a short illness. Throughout his long career, Levine remained committed to fi gurative art, dis- regarding trends in the art world that did not suit his purposes. This was particularly true in the 1950’s, when abstraction was in ascendance and social content was deemed out of fashion by leading writers and crit- ics. Levine developed a unique modernist approach, an expressive mode of painting that he used to critique injustice and dis- honesty in American society. Born Jan. 3, 1915, the youngest of eight children of Lithuanian immigrant parents, Levine grew up in Boston’s South End. From 1929, when he was 14 years old, until 1933, he studied painting with Denman Jack Levine in a 1988 photo. Ross in Harvard University’s art depart- ment. He was then employed intermittently chy. Levine, along with several other artists, by the Works Progress Administration’s was subpoenaed to appear before the House Federal Art Project from 1935 to 1940. Un-American Activities Committee, though Two of his W.P.A. paintings, “Card Game” he ultimately did not appear since he was (1933) and “Brain Trust” (1935), were traveling in Spain with his family. included in an exhibition, “New Horizons in Throughout the 1950’s and 1960’s, American Art,” at the Museum of Modern Levine continued to create some of his fi n- Art in New York in 1936. est works, including what is often regarded The following year, he achieved national as his masterpiece, “Gangster Funeral” recognition when his painting, “The Feast (1952-’53), which was acquired by the of Pure Reason” (1937), a scathing critique Whitney Museum. In the early 1960’s, of political and police corruption, entered Levine also began creating prints. the collection of the Museum of Modern In 1979, a comprehensive retrospec- Art. Another of his paintings, “String tive of his work that was organized by Quartet” (1934-’37), was included in the the Jewish Museum traveled around the Whitney Museum of American Art Annual country. Levine continued to work steadily for the fi rst time that year. Confi rming his through the 1980’s and 1990’s. In 1999, rapid rise in the art world, he joined Edith the Brooklyn Museum held a retrospective $1.95 Halpert’s prestigious Downtown Gallery in exhibition of his etchings and lithographs. EACH 1939, at age 24. Levine received many awards and hon- Levine’s burgeoning career was inter- ors, including a John Simon Guggenheim rupted by three and a half years in the Army Memorial Fellowship in 1945 and a during World War II. Even so, he gained Fulbright grant to study in Italy in 1950. He widespread public notice while serving in became a Fellow of the American Academy the South Atlantic in 1942 when “String of Arts and Sciences, Boston, in 1955, and Quartet” was acquired by the Metropolitan was elected to the American Academy of Museum of Art, after being included in its Arts and Letters, New York, in 1973. exhibition “Artists for Victory.” The image Levine once said of himself, “I am was later reproduced and displayed in New primarily concerned with the condition of York City subway cars. man. The satirical direction I have chosen After the war, Levine married artist is an indication of my disappointment in Ruth Gikow and moved to New York. man, which is the opposite way of saying Gikow died in 1982. that I have high expectations for the human Earlier in the 1940’s, he had begun race.” working on paintings with Old Testament Art historian Milton Brown wrote of themes, resulting in a series of “Hebrew Levine, “He is a history painter for our Kings and Sages” that revealed his more peculiar times, ultimately concerned with contemplative nature. the incongruous relationships, ludicrous At the same time, he continued cre- events and ironies of existence that some- ating controversy with paintings like how defi ne our political, social and cultural “Welcome Home” (1946), a satirical take character.” on a society banquet honoring a return- Levine is survived by his daughter, ing general, which was acquired by the Susanna Fisher; his son-in-law, Leonard Brooklyn Museum. Later shown in a State Fisher; two grandchildren, Rachel and Ari Department exhibition of American art that Fisher; a nephew, Robert Fishman; and two traveled to Moscow, this painting created nieces, Myra Fishman and Elaine Weiner. an international controversy with its wry A memorial service will be announced at a look at patriotism and the military hierar- later date. downtown express December 22 - 28, 2010 13
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Downtown Express photos by Milo Hess Santa Claus, dragons and acrobats, oh my!
The annual East Meets West Christmas-themed festival celebrated the cultures of Little Italy and Chinatown on December 18. The event was sprinkled with opera, acrobat- ics and dragon dancers. City Comptroller John Liu and travel expert Valarie D’Elia were co-grand marshals for the event. The parade began on Mulberry and Canal Streets and ended at Chatham Square.
Are you ready for the Holidays?
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Now accepting reservations for New Years Eve Dinner Friday 12/31! Catch the Magic Book your holiday party now! Open for Lunch & Dinner Mon. - Fri., Lunch: 12 - 3 PM this Holiday Season. Dinner: 5 - 10:30 PM, Sat: 5 - 10 PM To Advertise In This Section Call Sunday: 5 - 10 PM Francesco Regini 646-452-2496 or (UDSON 3T s e-mail [email protected] visit us at: www.acapella-restaurant.com downtown express December 22 - 28, 2010 15 Ringing in the New Year on deck and on the water
BY TERESE LOEB KREUZER years old or older, with a valid ID. The cruises On New Year’s Eve, when one year seg- will start with a “Welcome Aboard Cocktail” ues into the next, there is no fi ner place to and include an open bar, serving beer and celebrate than on a boat threading its way wine. In addition, there will be hors d’oeuvres, among New York City’s islands. The ever- music and champagne at midnight. The boats changing tides and currents express transi- will board at 10 a.m. and leave Pier 17 in the tion like nothing else. The city’s lights are South Street Seaport at 10:15 p.m, returning even more brilliant refl ected in the water. at 1:15 a.m. The cost is $120 per person. If it’s a fair night, the moon and stars will For reservations, go to www.nywatertaxi.com/ hover in the sky above the ships’ decks. HarborTours/newyearseve/. Inside, revelers will fi nd food, drink, music, Circle Line Downtown’s luxury yacht dancing and warmth. At midnight, there will Zephyr has room for 200 people who will be fi reworks and champagne. enjoy an open bar, hors d’oeuvres, a live There are harbor cruises for all ages and DJ and dancing amid festive decorations. most pocketbooks. This year, for the fi rst time, Plasma TVs will show the Times Square New York Water Taxi is offering a Family New ball drop to those who do not care to go out Year’s Eve Cruise with an open bar serving beer on deck for the fi reworks at midnight. The and wine for adults. For the kids, there will be Zephyr leaves Pier 16 in the South Street mock cocktails, sparkling cider and soft drinks. Seaport at 10 p.m. and returns at 1 a.m. The Everyone can dig into the hors d’oeuvres, cost is $209 per person. For reservations, Downtown Express photo by Terese Loeb Kreuzer wraps, sandwiches and snacks. So the adults go to http://www.circlelinedowntown.com/ Classic Harbor Line’s luxury yacht, Manhattan, will cruise New York harbor on New can have a few moments to themselves, the se-new-years.asp Year’s Eve. The yacht holds 40 passengers and has a glassed-in observatory where cruise director will entertain the children with Statue Cruises puts on a fi ne New Year’s they will be able to sip champagne and listen to a live jazz trio as they watch the Nintendo Wii competitions and dancing. At Eve party aboard its three-deck ferry, the “John fi reworks. On New Year’s Day, the Manhattan will offer a brunch cruise that includes midnight, hearty souls can watch the South Jay Audubon.” The ticket price is $195 per a circumnavigation of Manhattan. Street Seaport fi reworks from an open deck. person and includes an open bar, champagne Others may prefer to see the Times Square toast at midnight, live DJ, dancing and party Year’s Eve. Passengers will be greeted with a On New Year’s Day, the Manhattan will ball drop on the boat’s plasma TVs. New York favors. The ample menu features vegetable short champagne/sparkling wine tasting class go out again, this time for brunch as the boat Water Taxi will have two Family New Year’s crudités, cheese, fruit, pasta, shrimp cocktails, with wine expert Wendy Crispell. Throughout circumnavigates Manhattan. The buffet will Eve Cruise boats this year. Each can accom- mini hamburgers, chicken kebobs, sweets and the evening, a live jazz trio will entertain the include freshly baked bagels and pastries, modate 80 people. They will depart from Pier more. The boat boards at Liberty Landing guests, who are invited to dress formally, if they fresh fruit, glazed ham, salad, quiches, waffl es, 17, South Street Seaport, with boarding at 9 Marina in Jersey City, N.J. at 8:30 p.m. and at wish. Food aboard the Manhattan is always smoked salmon and turkey sausages. The trip p.m. and sailing from 9:15 p.m. to 12:45 a.m. Manhattan’s Battery Park at 9 p.m., returning superb and will include hors d’oeuvres and is just under three hours and costs $85 per The cost is $90 for adults, $45 for children, or at 1 a.m. For information, call 877-523-9849 desserts. In addition, there will be an open bar person. The boat leaves at 10:30 a.m. a package price of $250 for two adults and two or go to www.statuecruises.com. serving beer, wine, soda and water, with Moet The brunch cruise will be repeated on children. For reservations go to www.nywater- The most intimate and luxurious New Champagne available for purchase. The yacht Sunday, January 2, also at 10:30 a.m., fol- taxi.com/HarborTours/famNYE/. Year’s Eve cruise is aboard Classic Harbor departs from Chelsea Piers at 22nd Street and lowed by an afternoon tea cruise at 2:15 p.m. New York Water Taxi will be putting two Line’s beautiful little yacht, Manhattan. The the Hudson River at 9 p.m. and returns at 1 ($75 per person), and that’s it for the winter. more boats on the water on New Year’s Eve for boat has a glass observatory and open decks, a.m. Tickets are $350 per person. For reserva- The Manhattan will not be back in New York adults-only cruises. These are for anyone 21 and can accommodate 40 people on New tions, go to http://tinyurl.com/2gxcc7m. harbor until April. Downtown Digest route from the park and move it to another location new name for the A/C stop will do. Continued from page 3 that “will not pose a threat to the safety of children and Signs listing the stops in the older subway trains have been pedestrians in City Hall Park.” updated with the new name of the A/C stop. The M.T.A. is still published ahead of time without accommodations being The D.O.T. responded by saying they wouldn’t con- in the process of updating the signs in the newer trains, which, made,” said Merchant, who will appear before the tri- sider the issue until the spring, since few cyclists use Seaton said, could take several weeks. bunal in January to contest the initial inspection report, the bike path during the winter months, according to claiming it to be an unwarranted allegation against the Hovitz. The D.O.T. did not respond for comment in restaurant. “As previously stated,” he said, “all our past press time. BLOOMBERG DEEMS KING’S ‘RADICALIZATION’ inspections [got us] an A.” The committee previously requested that speed bumps HEARINGS INAPPROPRIATE be added to the bike path, which didn’t come to frui- tion. In an opinion piece that appeared in Sunday’s Newsday, C.B. 1 REQUESTS REMOVAL OF BIKE PATH U.S. Representative Peter King said he plans to organize a series of hearings on the radicalization of American- Community Board One is again voicing its opposi- BROADWAY/NASSAU A/C SUBWAY STATION Muslims in an effort “break down the wall of political tion over the City Hall Park bike path, claiming that RENAMED correctness.” it is imperils pedestrians – particularly children – that King, the soon-to-be chairman of the House Committee traverse the park via the crosswalk that is shared with The Metropolitan Transit Authority decided earlier this on Homeland Security, was a vocal opponent of the Park51 bikers. month to do away with “Broadway/Nassau” as the name of community center earlier this year, and has been quoted as The dismount signs recently installed in the park have the A/C stop at Fulton Street. It will now be known simply saying, “80 to 85 percent of mosques around the country proved futile, according to Paul Hovitz, chair of the Youth as Fulton Street. are run by Islamic fundamentalists.” and Education Committee. “It’s a recipe for catastrophe, The new name is meant to facilitate transportation for Mayor Michael Bloomberg denounced King’s scheduled having a bike path through a pedestrian area that is not subway riders, according to M.T.A. spokesperson Charles hearings on radical Islam, calling them inappropriate. large enough to support both [pedestrians and cyclists],” Seaton. “Now, you have the entire complex with one single Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on he said. “It’s unacceptable that we simply assume that name, rather than a complex with three names plus one,” American-Islamic Relations, told the Huffi ngton Post that dismounting signs are enough without enforcement and he said. he worries that the hearings will turn into an “anti-Muslim without any other issues to address the problem.” The renaming is part of a massive overhaul of the Fulton witch hunt.” Terrorist plots have recently been investigated, In a resolution dated December 16, C.B. 1 urged the Street subway. One of the major aspects of the project, he said, since Muslim community members were allegedly city Department of Transportation to remove the bike Seaton said, is facilitating transfers between trains, which the uncooperative with law enforcement. 16 December 22 - 28, 2010 downtown express
BY TERESE LOEB KREUZER years and teaching it for 20 years. He said TIMEBANK TAI CHI: Tai Chi, a form of tai chi is good for one’s health in that it martial arts that has been practiced in China reduces stress, improves concentration and Downtown Express photos by Terese Loeb Kruezer for more than four hundred years, is now restores balance. No special skills, clothing A tai chi class under the auspices of TimeBank met at the Terrace Club, on Sunday, being practiced on Sunday afternoons at the or equipment are needed to take his classes Dec. 12. The class will be meeting there throughout the winter. Terrace Club, 380 Rector Place. The classes and they’re open to all ages. are under the auspices of TimeBank, a pro- In the summer, Song has been teaching people, most of them members of North Around this time of year, what are known gram sponsored and run by the Visiting Nurse in the oval park next to the World Financial Cove Marina’s Manhattan Sailing Club or as “Christmas winds” begin to blow in the Service of New York. The tai chi classes are Center. However, winter classes were a graduates of Manhattan Sailing School, will Virgin Islands, Fortenbaugh said, which free — or sort of free. No money changes problem. The class tried to use space on be heading for the Caribbean. This is the makes for good sailing. Some days the boats hands, but members of TimeBank give an the second level of the Winter Garden, but 10th anniversary of the Caribbean regat- race each other. At the Bitter End Yacht Club hour of service to another member for each there were interruptions and distractions. ta, said the marina’s commodore, Michael on Virgin Gorda, the sailors will rent dinghy hour of service they receive. Services that Then Steve Rossi, a vice president with Fortenbaugh — and this year a record num- sailboats and compete with each other. The members exchange with each other might Milford Management and a TimeBank mem- ber of boats will participate. winning team receives a bottle of rum. include help with moving, tutoring, home ber, helped make the Terrace Club available. The Manhattan Sailing Club has char- Other days are more laid back. People repairs, computer lessons, sewing, pet care Had he not done so, the winter classes would tered “around 20 boats” according to can choose to swim, read or go sightseeing and more. For example, the tai chi instructor, have had to be cancelled, said Blech. “This is Fortenbaugh, ranging in size from 40 feet to ashore. Mark Song, a native of China, is coached on the fi rst time a for-profi t entity has partnered 51 feet. Each boat can accommodate six to The fee for the week varies from boat to his English in exchange for his teaching. with us to promote and help TimeBank in eight people, who will live and eat aboard as boat, with the newer and larger boats com- It is not necessary to be a TimeBank such a signifi cant way,” she said. they sail among the British Virgin Islands. manding larger fees. The range for the week member to attend a tai chi class, but Mashi The next tai chi class will be on Sunday, “It’s sort of glorified camping,” is $1,390 to $1,990 per person exclusive Blech, the director of the TimeBank pro- January 2 at 12:30 p.m. Reservations are Fortenbaugh explained. “Everyone pitches in of airfare. A few slots are still open for this gram, said that attendees would have to join necessary. To reserve or for more information on chores. It’s a team-building experience.” year. Call 212-786-0400 for more informa- TimeBank if they want to continue. Joining about TimeBank and how to join, call 212- Most of the skippers teach at the tion or go to http://www.myc.org/ entails completing an application, providing 609-7811 or e-mail [email protected]. Manhattan Sailing Club. Their crews range references and participating in an orienta- from novices who have taken one sailing SOUTHWEST NY: A few weeks ago, tion session. SAILING IN THE CARIBBEAN: At the course to experienced sailors. Some people an inspection from the New York City Song, who works with computer systems, end of January, as Battery Park City wrestles have sailed together before while others Department of Health hit SouthWest NY, has been studying tai chi for more than 38 with snow and winter winds, around 150 have not. located at 2 World Financial Center, like a bombshell. After a series of excellent ratings, an inspector declared that the res- taurant merited a “70,” which would have made it one of the grimiest eateries in the city. A subsequent inspection on December 15 restored SouthWest NY’s “A” rating but not before several news reports had trumpeted the restaurant’s black eye and some diners had opined that the place should close. Merchants Hospitality, the owner of SouthWest NY and of several other restaurants in and near Battery Park City (Steamers Landing, Merchants Café, Pound & Pence), has appealed the atypi- cal report. A hearing will take place in January. Meanwhile, Executive Chef Wade Burch is planning sumptuous dinners for Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve. A three-course Christmas Day dinner will feature a choice of entrées (wild turkey enchiladas, prime rib or red snapper) appetizers and desserts for $32.95. Those who opt to eat at SouthWest NY’s commu- nity table on Christmas Day, with seating at 4 p.m., will have beverages included in Photo courtesy of the Manhattan Sailing Club the price of the meal. Call 212-945-0528 The Manhattan Sailing Club in the Caribbean, February 2010. for reservations. downtown express December 22 - 28, 2010 17
Downtown Express photo by Jonathan Kuhn Taking ‘diagonal parking’ a little too literally The car that ended up on the sidewalk at West and Bethune Sts. in the West Village on Sunday afternoon Dec. 12 with its front end down against a tree and its rear end up 45 degrees against the Superior Ink luxury residential building got that way when a driver, identifi ed in the New York Post as an off-duty police offi cer, swerved to avoid an accident. The driver sustained minor injuries.
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“I think once we carefully explain the Continued from page 6 plan to our members, they’ll also fi nd it acceptable,” Tumminia said. last hope for people who are poor and who Jones, meanwhile, said, “While the want to live on the Lower East Side.” mayor would like to keep the parking lots She was followed by Brett Leitmer, there forever, we don’t.” She added that, chairperson of the Sustainable Housing at night, the poorly lit area around the And Retail Expansion (SHARE) organiza- sprawling parking lots is dangerous for tion, which endorsed the current draft plan residents of her development. as a “fair and evenhanded compromise that State Senator Daniel Squadron was is radically moderate in its approach.” also at the meeting and noted how far the Afterward, committee members got debate had come. down to the lengthy process of re-exam- “We’re closer than we have ever come ining their second draft plan section by to reaching community consensus for section. While there had been some expec- this site. That’s because of the work the tation that the committee, after six previ- Community Board 3 committee is doing,” ous meetings, would vote this evening on said Squadron. a fi nalized draft that could be presented to Also giving tentative approval to the the full community board and to the city formula was committee member Damaris before the end of the year, a vote failed to Reyes, executive director of GOLES. Reyes materialize. emphasized, however, that while she was Instead, exhausted committee mem- not initially opposed to the new housing- bers, under the advice of Shapiro, decided mix formula, “There’s still a long ways to to delay any formal vote on the guidelines Photo by Jefferson Siegel go before I can vote for it.” until next month, a move that infuriated At a housing rally at the SPURA site last November, Councilmember Margaret Chin, committee chairperson Dave McWater. above, said, “Forty-two years... . I think it’s a moral question. Affordable housing The chairperson said such continued delays has to be part of the equation. The opportunities are endless if we can come togeth- could put the entire development project er and work together.” ‘I think it’s insane to delay in jeopardy because the city might eventu- ally lose interest in the project if there was for a completed “statement of principles” new administration comes in, we can lose this any further.’ no swift community consensus. by this month, asserted. “Right now, we everything.” “I think it’s insane to delay this any have a deal with the city where we have McWater also urged an end to the bick- David McWater further,” McWater, who has been pushing no losers. If we keep delaying this and a ering between committee factions repre- senting various area stakeholders. “To factionalize ourselves over this issue is to defeat our chances of building “Let’s really iron this out and vote in homes for people,” he said. “It’s just not February,” Reyes said. “The holidays are worth factionalizing ourselves.” coming up and this is a decision that after Shapiro, meanwhile, said that he was 45 years needs to be carefully hashed out. Adult and pleased with the progress being made, Let’s discuss it next month and then come but wanted more time before a vote was back in February.” taken. The touchy subject of how much low- Pediatric Dermatology “When we vote on this we need to be income housing should be developed on confi dent,” he said. “I don’t feel we have the site came up at several points during this confi dence right now. One of the big- the meeting. Reyes said she was deeply gest stumbling blocks is still the income upset by the remarks of some committee Comprehensive Dermatologic Care mix for the property. We have to have a full members that if the site was developed pri- consensus before we vote on it.” marily for poor people, it would increase Skin Cancer Screening The facilitator said he also wanted more crime in the nearby Grand Street and time in order to engage in one-on-one Seward Park Co-ops. Botox / Perlane / Restylane meetings with various neighborhood stake- “I don’t want to hear this,” she said. holders on the committee to make certain “I live across the street from these co-ops that there will be no “surprise ambushes” and I don’t want to hear that they don’t Nathalie Q. Nguyen, M.D. when the proposal is fi nally presented to want more people like me living in this city agencies for their consideration. neighborhood.” NYU Assistant Clinical Professor In one positive sign of consensus, the Her sentiments were echoed by commit- Board Certified Dermatologist panel informally agreed on what percent- tee member Herman Hewitt, a real estate ages of types of housing should be built on broker, who said, “I’m not sure what all the proposed development site. The new this fear is about. People should stop this. Eric Huang, M.D., Ph.D formula calls for 50 percent market-rate It sounds racist. Public housing will not Board Certified Dermatologist housing, 10 percent middle-income hous- affect market-rate unit sales in the area.” ing, 10 percent moderate-income housing, Dominic Pisciotta, C.B. 3 chairperson, 20 percent low-income housing and 10 who earlier in the meeting said that he 291 Broadway, Suite 1803, NYC percent senior citizen housing. wanted to see a “balanced community” on Michael Tumminia and Linda Jones, the site, said afterward that he was not Corner of Broadway and Reade Street committee members who represent the disappointed by the month-long delay and interests of Seward Park Co-op mem- wasn’t fearful that the entire deal with the 212-233-2995 bers — a group that, along with residents city would fall apart if delays continued. from the other Grand Street Co-ops and “I think there was progress,” he said. “I Most Major Insurance Carriers Accepted Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, has gen- wasn’t expecting to vote tonight, so I guess erally opposed low-income housing on the we’re not far from where we ought to be. site — said they found the new formula to I’m hopeful that we can potentially have a be O.K. vote in January.” downtown express December 22 - 28, 2010 19 Students unhappy with principal
over. “We thought that it was going to be different than it is think, ‘I don’t want to be here, I want to party,’” Lamberg Continued from page 1 now,” said Zabala. said. “In that context, the chances are higher that this kind of thing might happen.” nymity said that the principal is responsible for provoking SAFETY OFFICER IS ASSAULTED Floyd acknowledged that violence in public schools city- the students by prohibiting the use of the bathrooms. On December 13, the Monday following the riots, school wide tends to escalate before winter break. Zabala agreed. “There was no need to ban bathroom safety agent Jayquon Pickwood, 23, brought a female student passes,” he said. “That was going overboard.” who had been injured in a fi ght to the nurse’s offi ce, accord- STUDENTS SUBJECTED TO METAL DETECTORS Another student, Anthony French, said the principal took ing to Tania Lamberg, assistant director of communications The N.Y.P.D. implemented metal detectors at the school the wrong course of action. “She could have resolved the situa- for Teamsters Local 237. Another female teen walked into on Monday, December 27 and the Monday before in order to tion in a different way,” he said. vet students’ belongings, according to students and various The riot, some said, was the outgrowth of “deep-seated” news reports. resentment toward the school, according to John Elfrank-Dana, Both times, the M.B. students said their cell phones were the school’s United Federation of Teachers chapter leader. ““They think, ‘I don’t want to be confi scated and stored in zip lock bags during the school day. The weekend after the riot, Elfrank-Dana wrote the M.B. A tenth grade male student who requested anonymity said faculty a letter explaining the students’ dissatisfaction with the here, I want to party,’” he had to wait an hour-and-a-half to retrieve his phone from school as a whole. Lewis bathroom ban, he said, precipitated the school auditorium after class let out. “I was annoyed,” he the riot, which “wouldn’t have happened if it were not for a Tania Lamberg said. “I just wanted to go home and do my homework.” He resentment brewing in the students.” The students know they and his peers, he said, have been checked more frequently this are receiving a “junk education,” Elfrank-Dana added, caused year than last. by overcrowding and poor curriculum choices. Feinberg said that it is standard procedure for mobile Others attribute students’ outcry to Lewis, who began the nurse’s offi ce with her 17-year-old boyfriend, who then police units to periodically perform unannounced inspec- enforcing more stringent rules since taking charge this fall waited for her to be evaluated, according to the account. tions at public schools citywide. She wouldn’t comment on in an effort to improve student performance and thwart Pickwood, who was accompanied by an N.Y.P.D. enforce- whether it was tied to the incidents of the week before, but violence. “The students are not taking well to the principal’s ment offi cer at the time, asked the boyfriend to leave the she did state that the detectors are not permanent fi xtures in style,” said Gregory Floyd, president of Teamsters Local nurse’s offi ce. The boyfriend refused and said, “You have to the school. 237, the union that represents school safety agents citywide. put cuffs on me to leave.” As for improving the relationship between students and the “They need to have a meeting with the students and hear After some back-and-forth, the male took a swing at the administration, so far it appears as if nothing will change. their side of the story, and from there see what can be done N.Y.P.D. offi cer, missed, and then threw a metal garbage can Principal Lewis did not return calls for comment in press to resolve this.” that hit Pickwood in the forehead. The N.Y.P.D. offi cer man- time, but Feinberg said the school safety offi ce “continues to Last year, students would frequently congregate in Burger aged to subdue and cuff the perpetrator, who was charged monitor the situation and work with the principal.” King and elsewhere along Fulton Street, becoming rowdy and with an assault misdemeanor. Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York even assaulting a Southbridge Towers resident on one occasion. Pickwood ended up with a bruise and minor swelling on Civil Liberties Union, noted the difference between a student Another M.B. tenth grader, who requested anonymity, said his head. He resumed work a day or two later, according to protest such as the December 9 riot at M.B. and gunfi re. that Lewis is taking the new rules a bit too far. “She’ll throw out Lamberg’s account. “Let’s not confuse that with kids bringing weapons into the our breakfast when we come into school,” he said, forcing him The school safety agents, Lamberg said, are often the schools or other serious safety matters, she said. and his friends to eat at a diner in the mornings. ones in jeopardy when trying to break up fi ghts between She cautioned that the recent disturbances at M.B. Zabala said he greatly preferred former principal, Barbara youths. “The danger is real, and it’s daily, even for the teach- shouldn’t result in harsher disciplinary action by the school’s Esmilla, who Lewis replaced in September. “I felt welcome with ers,” she said. administrators. “The kids who go to that school say that they open arms [by her],” he said. The youths’ restlessness around the holidays, she added, feel safe,” she said. “Let’s keep it that way, without under- He and others expected similar treatment when Lewis took could have contributed to the riot the week before. “They mining their self-respect and dignity.” Healthy discussion about health survey analysis.” He said the survey could be fi n- need the data to make the case for a full- According to one health insider, getting Continued from page 8 ished in the next three or four months. service hospital.” a new hospital anywhere in Downtown L.I.J.’s Kraut said they will be looking Manhattan would be a years-long process, inpatient care elsewhere. However, when at whether the key issue is “availability of a and is a daunting prospect in the current it came to emergency department use, the hospital or the not-close proximity of emer- fiscal economy. numbers were fl ipped, with 55 percent of gency care” and also, “Where did all the doc- Do we want a full-service “We all want a hospital,” Campoamor residents in the primary service area seek- tors go?” who were serving St. Vincent’s. responded to Kurland at the Fulton Houses ing treatment at St. Vincent’s. Yetta Kurland of the Coalition for a hospital in 10 years, or meeting. “Who’s going to fund it?” In general, the “Defining the Service New Village Hospital asked the panel Many see politics deeply embedded Area” report notes, “St. Vincent’s was the if the assessment will conclude that a do we want a hospital at the heart of the post-St. Vincent’s most preferred hospital for these commu- replacement hospital should be sited at healthcare debate. Kurland ran against nities, where it was ranked #1 based upon the former St. Vincent’s site at 12th St. immediately at the St. Council Speaker Christine Quinn in the inpatient and emergency treat-and-release and Seventh Ave., which is the position last Council election and came in a close visit utilization.” backed by the coalition. Vincent’s site? second. The expectation is — with Quinn However, the committee’s “Origin of “I don’t think there’s a secret in the — Yetta Kurland serving her final four years due to term St. Vincent’s Patients” report notes that resistance to this needs assessment,” she limits — Kurland is readying for another St. Vincent’s market share of patients stated. Referring to the report’s map of run for the Council. Hoylman is also a in the entire primary service area was the St. Vincent’s primary service area and former Council candidate and is also slipping relative to other local hospitals, secondary service areas, she said, “As I Added Campoamor of the former St. expected to vie for the third district seat. as residents sought treatment elsewhere: look at the map with the different colors Vincent’s campus, “We have no power “Brad, you put in for the needs Only 17 percent of patients in the pri- of green, we’re not specifically hearing over that site.” assessment,” audience member Timothy mary service area relied on St. Vincent’s that the plan is to return health services The St. Vincent’s property is the for- Lunceford, a Kurland ally, said during his for their hospital care, while 71 percent to the site of St. Vincent’s. … We’re not mer hospital’s largest asset with which to comments at the microphone. “You want sought care elsewhere. hearing what the goal of the study is. Do pay off its $1 billion debt, which forced to run for mayor in four years — what’s At the December 6 meeting, Hunter we want a full-service hospital in 10 years, it to close for good at the end of April. up with that?” College’s Cohen explained that the assess- or do we want a hospital immediately at Last week St. Vincent’s received permis- Hoylman, who up to this point has ment will also include sit-downs with focus the St. Vincent’s site?” sion from bankruptcy court to have CB never been mentioned as a mayoral candi- groups and a survey with a “quantitative Hoylman responded, “We think you Richard Ellis market the property. date, just shrugged off the accusation. 20 December 22 - 28, 2010 downtown express Feeling good is looking good
said. “People are starting to think, ‘Maybe if Continued from page 5 I look more vibrant, I might be more market- able,’ and a lot of studies have been coming out concept of the machine, which the FDA saying that is indeed the case.” approved in September of 2009. At the time, While the Ulthera system may be a purely Dr. White was still fi nishing his fellowship in cosmetic device, Dr. White believes that well- facial plastics with NYU, and was unable to being begins from the inside out. This new offer his Lower Manhattan patients Ultherapy technology, he believes, will vastly improve the until September of this year. quality of life of anyone qualifi ed to undergo “After my fellowship was over, it then took treatment. me a while to convince the department to “I don’t see patients that come in and say, purchase the machine,” Dr. White explained. ‘I want to look like Angelina Jolie,’” explained “It’s not cheap.” Dr. White. “They come in saying, ‘I work really Most patients see an improvement imme- hard, I have a family, and I just want to look diately after undergoing treatment, but it takes refreshed.’” three months for collagen to fully regenerate. Dr. White has personally treated over sixty Until then, says Dr. White, the results will patients, a third of which are men, since he gradually keep getting better. Since the device began using the device in September of this has only been on the market for a little over year. He estimates that over 10,000 people a year, he cannot say with certainty that the Downtown Express photo by Helaina N. Hovitz worldwide have already been treated with the effects will last longer, but believes that results Dr. White shows off the Ulthera System in his NYU Medical Center Trinity Center Ulthera system. should last up to two years, at which time the offi ces. This is not the fi rst innovative success for patient can return for subsequent “booster” Dr. White, who also worked on the develop- treatments. actual procedure. He offers them medication The best candidates for the procedure are ment of a device capable of imaging the skin Irena Ciccone, 64, a former plastic surgery to help ease the pain, which patients liken to a men and women ages 40 to 55 that have begun without taking a surgical biopsy. He now uses nurse at Beth Israel, decided to have the proc- needle going in and out of their skin. to see early signs of aging and want to look the imaging system to plan and personalize each dure done after seeing Dr. White on television, The doctor likes to assure his patients that “refreshed.” patient’s Ulthera treatment. and just hit the three-month mark. their pain is not in vain, and always stops for “People who are either under 40 or who Dr. White grew up in Ohio, where he later “I saw a signifi cant improvement just a few a “halftime analysis” so they can see that the have more advanced aging aren’t going to get attended medical school. Born with a chest wall days later,” said Ciccone of the areas that were treatment has already begun working. Despite the results they’re looking for,” said Dr. White. deformity that needed four correctional opera- treated. “Now, I see dramatic changes in the the discomfort, most of his patients have “If you have severe sagging or wrinkles, you’d tions, Dr. White viewed his doctor as a mentor, laxity I had around my mandible, my neck, and already expressed a willingness to return for do better with Botox or a surgical facelift.” and still speaks of his tireless dedication with with my crow’s feet.” subsequent “booster” treatments, including Dr. White made an exception, however, the same level of admiration. Patients seem to like the subtlety of the Ciccone, who currently works full time as a for Ciccone, and while she is happy with her “I remember thinking, with all I’ve been results, which are less dramatic than those nurse manager at Beth Israel Medical Center. results, she can see why he is usually more through myself, can you imagine if somebody achieved with a facelift. Ciccone knows fi rst- “I may do something surgical someday, but selective. had a deformity in their face? It’s how you hand that nothing can truly take the place of I’ll go back every couple of years for a while,” “They say it’s better to get on it right away, meet and greet people, and it’s your source of an old-school cosmetic operation, but prefers Ciccone said. “I just don’t have the time to when the fi rst signs of aging begin, and I didn’t expressing emotion,” he recalled. “That’s what the “natural-looking” results she walked away take for a surgical procedure.” do that,” said Ciccone. “I’m sure for somebody really drew me to facial plastics, and to working with. But a natural anti-aging treatment that younger with more elasticity in their skin, the with people who’d been in accidents. I wanted “I wanted something subtle, and that’s works from the inside out does come at a results would be different.” to be able to help.” what I got,” she explained. “I went right back substantial price. Dr. White said that the treatment is a great Hundreds of prospective patients have called to work on Monday, and nobody even knew I’d While a face full of Botox will run patients alternative for people who aren’t quite ready the offi ce asking for Ultherapy consultations had a procedure done.” about $1,200, it is still less than any of the to go under the knife, as well as those who are this month, indicating that looking ten years While the operation was underway, how- Ulthera treatments offered. Whether it’s the poor health candidates for undergoing surgery. younger — without looking waxy or over-pulled ever, Ciccone was well-aware that she was full face or several problem areas that are tar- The device has been the most popular, however, — is worth a few intense zaps to the face. being “operated on.” geted, the cost of Ultherapy ranges anywhere among female workers down on Wall Street. Only time will tell, but Dr. White could very As Dr. White puts it, the procedure is not from $1,500 to $4,000. Dr. White estimates “We’re seeing more and more evidence of age well have begun to foster an entire generation all rainbows and butterfl ies, and the beauty-is- that even if patients return every two years bias in the workplace these days. Professional of women that are proud to share their age pain philosophy is something his patients must for subsequent treatments, the cost will still women who work on Wall Street have all these with the world. For those who ascribe to his still ascribe to. Though they leave his offi ce pale in comparison to the average $25,000 an years of education under their belt, but they’re philosophy that the secret to feeling good is virtually pain-free, most of Dr. White’s patients Upper East Side surgeon rakes in for a tradi- worried about the younger people who are looking good, money may just be able to buy DOWNTOWNEXPRESSPDF !- experience moderate discomfort during the tional facelift. coming to work in their department,” Dr. White happiness after all. downtown express December 22 - 28, 2010 21 Hope remains for Zadroga
Republicans to amend the bill. Once it Continued from page 1 reaches the Senate floor for a traditional “up or down” vote, the bill would require Wednesday. 60 votes to pass. In an effort to garner G.O.P. support, It would then have to return to the Gillibrand and Schumer reduced the bill’s House, which would have to vote again price tag from $7.4 billion to $6.2 billion. on the amended legislation. Gillibrand The bill’s advocates have been trying to and Schumer said they were optimistic the secure its passage before January 5, when House would be called back into session the makeup of Congress will shift and before January 4 if the bill gets through Republicans will assume the majority in the Senate. the House. Tuesday’s drama in Washington fol- Gillibrand and Schumer also devised lowed a press conference held by Mayor a new way to fund the bill. Rather than Bloomberg at City Hall on Monday. relying on the House-approved revenue Bloomberg congratulated Gillibrand and offsets, the Senate’s bill would largely be Schumer for brokering changes to the bill, financed by a two percent excise fee on and said he would do whatever he can to select foreign companies that sell goods secure its passage this week. and services to the U.S. government. In “The Senate has a full week ahead addition to subsidizing the bill, the fee of it, and it should not adjourn until it would raise roughly $4.5 billion over the passes this bill,” he said. Joining him were next decade, and create both long- and New York Representatives Jerrold Nadler, short-term savings for the U.S., according Downtown Express photo by Terese Loeb Kreuzer Carolyn Maloney and Peter King, along to Gillibrand’s office. First responders and famiies of ill and deceased responders at a press conference in with Joseph Zadroga, James Zadroga’s “In the short term, savings will materi- Washington, D.C. on Tuesday urging passage of the Zadroga 9/11 Health bill. father. alize from competitive foreign contracts… Responding to Republican opposition, foreign countries will be incentivized to to reduce the national deficit by $57 mil- according to Gillibrand. Bloomberg said, “Caring for the men and sign [the procurement contract] and the lion over the next decade. The amendments to the law, Gillibrand women who rushed to our defense on that U.S. will be incentivized to look to domes- A “Travel Promotion Fee,” a fee on said, would likely suffice to gain enough dark day, and in the days that followed, is tic sources to fill procurement needs,” foreign travelers journeying to the U.S., Republican support to avoid a filibuster. nothing less than a national duty. America Gillibrand said in a statement. She also would also help finance the revised bill. “I believe we now have more than enough is too great a country to shirk this duty. noted that the new package does not tax The fee would be extended from 2015 votes to pass this legislation,” Gillibrand We are too strong. Too proud. Too patri- American citizens or businesses. The new to 2021, and would supply $1 billion to said in a statement on Sunday, saying she otic. And this is the week that we have to method of funding, she said, is expected 9/11 health services over the next decade, worked “extremely closely” with several show it.” Holiday Home Makeover!
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Academy; and a model Emergency Services Unit vehicle where children can climb in, use the steering wheel and lights, hear radio calls with Police codes and see some of the YOUTH actual equipment carried by The Emergency Services Unit. At 100 Old Slip. For info, call 212-480-3100 or visit www.nycpm. org. Hours: Mon. though Sat., 10am to 5pm and Sun., 12pm to 5 pm. Admission: $8 ($5 for students, seniors and children. ACTIVITIES Free for children under 2.
CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF THE ART Explore painting, SCHOLARSHIP CONTEST AND TUESDAY CHILDREN’S ART where kids and families come together to sing, dance, learn Yid- THE NEW YORK CITY POLICE MUSEUM The “Junior collage and sculpture through self-guided arts projects. Open CLASSES Asian American Arts Centre announces their sponsor- dish and re-enact a Shtetl wedding. Clarinetist Greg Wall and his Officers Discovery Zone” is an exhibit designed for ages art stations are ongoing throughout the afternoon — giving ship of a Children’s Art Class program — to held on Tuesdays after band Klezmerfest lead the audience on a musical tour of Eastern 3-10. It’s divided into four areas: the Police Academy; the children the opportunity to experiment with materials such school, from 3pm to 6:30pm. The classes are designed to stimu- European Jewish culture. The program ends with our sweetly Park and Precinct; the Emergency Services Unit; and a Multi- as paint, clay, fabric, paper and found objects. From Dec. late a child’s creativity by exploring their own artistic originality sentimental and incredibly adorable audience-enacted Shtetl Purpose Area for programming. Each area has interactive 27-30, 10am-4pm, “Claymation with Joe Vena” gives stu- and cultural background. Children are introduced to the language wedding, where children take on the roles of bride, groom and and imaginary play experiences for children to understand dents the opportunity to create their own short films, using of visual forms as well as those of Asian art forms. The semester wedding guests. “Klez for Kids” is part of the “Lost & Found” the role of Police Officers in our community — by, among stop-motion animation. Regular museum hours: Wed-Sun, begins Jan. 11. The first class, from 3pm to 4:30pm, is for ages 6 music series, which highlights musical legacies that are at risk of other things, driving and taking care of a Police car. For older 12-5pm; Thurs, 12-6pm (Pay as You Wish, from 4-6pm). to 9. The second class, from 4:40pm to 6:30pm, is for ages 9 to 14. disappearing. Sun., Dec. 26, 12:30 2:00pm, at the Eldridge Street children, there’s a crime scene observation activity that will Admission: $10. At the Children’s Museum of the Arts (182 To register, speak to Jennie Lau at 212-358-9922. Tuition is $235, Synagogue (12 Eldridge St. btw. Canal and Division Sts.). For tick- challenge them to remember relevant parts of city street Lafayette St. btw. Broome & Grand). Call 212- 274-0986 or and includes all supplies. Classes are held at the Asian American ets (12 for adults, $8 for children, students, seniors), call 212-219- scenes; a physical challenge similar to those at the Police visit www.cmany.org. Arts Centre (111 Norfolk St. near Delancey St.) For info, visit www. 0888 or visit www.eldridgestreet.org. artspiral.org and www.artasiamerica.org. MANHATTAN CHILDREN’S THEATRE Imagination reigns POLICE ATHLETIC LEAGUE’S COPS & KIDS BASKET- supreme in the productions of this theater company’s ninth BALL SEASON Registration for the Police Athletic League’s season — which is dedicated to classic stories and charac- (PAL) Cops & Kids Program is open through Jan. 10. Manhattan ters (with a twist!). Through Jan. 2, it’s the world premiere of young people, ages 14 to 17, are encouraged to participate in the Chris Alonzo’s “Lula Belle in Search of Santa.” Then, in 2011, upcoming winter basketball season. Each year, 825 New York the season continues with “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Gold- City Police Officers volunteer their time to coach and play bas- ilocks and the Three Bears” and “The Complete Works of the ketball, volleyball, soccer, softball and flag football. One of PAL’s Brothers Grimm (Abridged).” Performances are every Sat. and signature programs, Cops & Kids will help you perfect your half- Sun., 12pm and 2pm. At Manhattan Children’s Theatre (52 court shot. To sign up, call 212-477-9450, ext. 389. Visit www. White St., btw. Broadway & Church Sts. — 2 blocks south of palnyc.org. Canal St.). For tickets ($20 general, $50 front row), call 212- 352-3101 or visit www.theatermania.com. For school, group KLEZ FOR KIDS Every year on Dec. 25, the Museum at Eldridge and birthday party rate info, call 212-226-4085. Visit www. Street presents “Klez for Kids” — a high-concept family concert mctny.org.
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').'%2"2%!$ (/53% Photo by Onno de Jong $ECORATING 7ORKSHOPS Mark Twain and friends take a fun journey. !S !CCLAIMED BY 4HE .EW 9ORK 4IMES MARK TWAIN: A WONDERFULLY FLAT THING Kids who may not be old enough to read Mark Twain’s “Huckleberry Finn” can get to know the quintessential American humorist — and discover the wonders of children’s theater — all in one fun, creative experience. “A Wonderfully Flat Thing” is a modern twist on Twain’s short story “A Fable.” The adaptation fi nds Twain and his animal friends on a journey of self- discovery and magic. Puppets, dance, music and interactive video are the new tricks that help bring this old writer into the modern age. Manju Shandler, who previously created masks and puppetry for “The Lion King,” designed the puppets. Recommended for Ages 3 and Up. Sat., Jan. 8 & 15 at 11:30am, 2:30pm & 5pm and Sun., Jan. 9, 16 at 11:30am & 2:30pm. At The 14th Street Y’s newly renovated LABA Theatre (344 E. 14th St. btw. 1st & 2nd Aves.). For tickets ($15), call 212-780-0800 or visit www.14StreetY.org/AWFT.
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&AMILY 'INGERBREAD 7ORKSHOPS !DULT 'INGERBREAD 7ORKSHOPS Dance for Children and Teens $ECEMBER %VENT DONATED BY 4HE "UBBLE ,OUNGE • Modern Ballet (ages 5-18) • Choreography (ages 8 & up) 3ATURDAYS AT AND 7EST "ROADWAY 7HITE 3TREET 3UNDAYS AT AND $ECEMBER AND • Creative Movement/Pre-Ballet (ages 3-5) celebrating20 #ALL FOR DETAILS #HAMPAGNE (ORS DOEUVRES years ADULT CLASSES Yoga - Tai Chi • Chi/Dance/Exercise for Women AND -USIC BY #HURCH 3TREET 3CHOOL &ACULTY #ALL TO HOLD A SPACE 19 Murray St., 3rd Fl. 212-608-7681 (day) WWWCHURCHSTREETSCHOOLORG (Bet. Broadway and Church) www.murraystreetdance.com downtown express December 22 - 28, 2010 23 Mystery writers Chang & Rozan mine Chinatown Literary sleuths can’t escape their past COMPILED BY SCOTT STIFFLER trilogy its crossover appeal. For the hardcore As last-minute holiday gifts go, the right mystery enthusiast, the depth of Detective Yu book has a way of stuffi ng a stocking with care and those who cross his path are what makes — and there’s no better way to get that special the Chinatown Trilogy unique. Reeves: “There someone’s attention than by giving them some- Red Jade are a lot of genre detectives who remain fairly thing that will keep them guessing long after two-dimensional. But Chang’s characters have they’ve torn through the wrapping paper. more shadings, more nuances. You don’t just The folks at Partners & Crime Mystery see the mystery. You see how it came about, and Booksellers have a store full of items that will do how people found themselves in the situation just that. This independent bookstore is devoted — so you get a more sympathetic view.” entirely to mysteries. They feature a complete If you want to shop local, in every sense of selection of new titles as well as classics and out- the word, S.J. Rozan’s “On the Line” will also of-print books. Some of the genre’s most popular be of interest. The author, a Village resident, authors visit the store for readings and signings has a series based on a unique investiga- — so keep checking the calendar section of their tive partnership. Reeves: “Her Bill Smith-Lydia website for updates (www.crimepays.com). Chin mysteries are some of the top customer Co-Owner Kizmin Reeves notes, “We often buy a lot of signed books for the holidays. If it’s the newest book by your favorite author, a lot of people really enjoy those.” Recently, the store That universal struggle to hosted an event featuring three authors whose signed works are now available: James R. Benn, defi ne one’s self, only to Stuart Neville and Henry Chang. James R. Benn (“Rag and Bone”) writes fi nd the answers at the very about a young Boston cop who does military investigations during World War II. Stuart place you’ve been trying to Neville’s “The Ghosts of Belfast” is a sequel to one the staff’s favorite books (“Collusion”). It escape from, is what gives examines the lingering and dangerous effects of what Reeves calls “armed redemption…In each the trilogy its crossover of the books, there’s someone who’s been so strongly affected by things that happed during appeal. the active times of the IRA, that they take up arts to settle some old scores.” The third author at that signing event was native son of Chinatown, Henry Chang. His A Detective Jack Yu Investigation favorites in the store. The books are told in most recent work, “Red Jade,” is the third alternating points of view per book, because in the author’s “Chinatown Trilogy.” The the partnership is a young Chinese woman fi rst is “Chinatown Beat” and the second is from Chinatown and a middle-aged tough guy “Year of the Dog.” For more info, visit www. from the Bronx.” Part of the author’s enduring chinatowntrilogy.com. Henry Chang appeal, Reeves says, comes from the fact that, Reeves says much of the trilogy’s success has well, you always learn new facts: “Not that’s to do with Detective Jack Yu’s efforts to balance it’s educational per se, but a lot of knowledge the demands of work and family: “His protago- gets brought in — whether it’s from S.J.’s own nist grows up in Chinatown, becomes a cop and Image courtesy of Soho Crime architecture and construction background or then gets sent back to Chinatown because he’s Henry Chang’s “Red Jade” — When two bodies are discovered in Chinatown, the history of an immigrant family. For more got the cultural insights. Then he has to deal Detective Jack Yu is once again confronted with organized, international Chinese info, www.sjrozan.com. with his old neighborhood, his parents, and crime. Partners & Crime Mystery Booksellers is his family — who are on both sides of the law. have Chinese perpetrators. So wherever he’s That universal struggle to defi ne one’s self, located at 44 Greenwich Ave. (btw. Sixth & As he progresses in his career, he always fi nds stationed, he catches the things that take him only to fi nd the answers at the very place you’ve Seventh Aves. at the foot of Charles St.). Visit himself assigned to crimes that look like they back to his roots.” been trying to escape from, is what gives the www.crimepays.com or call 212-243-0440.
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Sold Only at Grand Central Terminal Holiday Fair and www.dream-pillow.net • 10% of Sales donated to City Critters 24 December 22 - 28, 2010 downtown express Galleries on break, but still much to see Museums offer ‘a full spectrum of excellent exhibitions.’ BY STEPHANIE BUHMANN With the holidays upon us, New York galleries are taking a brief break. While most commercial art venues will be closed for a two-week period surrounding New Year’s Eve, the city’s museums remain open — offering a full spectrum of excellent exhi- bitions. Through January 2, The Morgan Library & Museum (www.themorgan.org. 225 Madison Ave., St.) will present Roy Lichtenstein’s black and white drawings from the 1960s. While Lichtenstein’s paintings (inspired by commercial illustrations and comic strips rendered in highly saturated hues) are most prominent, his preparatory drawings, sketch- es and collages remain little-known. Curated by Isabel Dervaux, this exhibition makes the latter group its sole focus and succeeds in tracing Lichtenstein’s exploration of draw- ing as an expressive medium. Most of the 55 works on view were created during the early and mid-1960s.
By then, Lichtenstein was in his late Photo by Jason Mandella, courtesy of The Museum of Modern Art, NY. thirties and had already exhibited regu- Installation view of “Abstract Expressionist New York: The Big Picture” — at MoMa. larly for a decade. He was a mid-career art- ist working within the context of Abstract porated everyday objects and cited popu- tions on display reveal the concentrated of Lichtenstein’s self-imposed challenge to Expressionism and Cubism, still searching lar culture in their works), Lichtenstein editorial process as well as his focus on line. create what critic Lawrence Alloway once for a unique voice to describe his own began to look in a similar direction — and Contextualized with clippings from news- described as “an original artwork pretending time. After encountering the works of Allan soon developed an interest in advertisement papers, magazines and telephone books, Kaprow and Claes Oldenburg (who incor- campaigns and comic books. The composi- the black and white works reveal the extent Continued on page 25
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Among the illustrious group city’s name is Abstract Expressionism — of artists, performers, choreographers, com- also known as The New York School. posers, designers and architects who shaped The institution that supported it early, Noguchi’s world, the most famous names and subsequently helped to make many include Arshile Gorky, Alexander Calder, of its members famous, is the Museum of Berenice Abbott, Frida Kahlo and Merce Modern Art (11 W. 53rd St. btw. Fifth & Cunningham. Noguchi’s creative dialogue Sixth Aves.). It seems appropriate that at with others occasionally resulted in collabo- the end of the fi rst decade of the new mil- rations, including an unrealized project with lennium, MoMA (www.moma.org) pays the architect Louis Kahn. homage to its heritage, hosting “Abstract The exhibition sheds light on Noguchi’s Expressionist New York.” On view through formative years in 1920s Paris. That’s April 25, the exhibit draws exclusively when, and where, Noguchi worked for the from its own collection. Spanning various Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi fl oors and involving the drawing, print and — who had a profound impact on him. fi lm departments, the exhibition’s most Inspired by Brancusi’s reductive forms that signifi cant display can be found on the exuded both a sense of purity and sensual- fourth fl oor. Subtitled “The Big Picture,” ity, Noguchi began to embrace a form of the installation is comprised of 100 paint- abstract modernism that allowed for emo- ings and about 60 sculptures, drawings and tional expressiveness and mystery. Informed prints. Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and by extensive travels throughout Europe, Asia Barnett Newman are represented here with and Latin America, Noguchi in later years multiple works. In addition, artists who applied this vocabulary to a wide range of have almost vanished into obscurity (such materials. This show makes a point of fea- as Hedda Sterne) or who have only recently turing works made of stainless steel, marble, been rediscovered (such as Norman Lewis) balsawood, bronze and ceramic. are represented with one work each. For those interested in Native art from As it does not include outside loans from North, Central and South America, “Infi nity other institutions, this survey provides valu- of Nations” at the Smithsonian’s National able insight into MoMA’s collecting politics Museum of the American Indian offers — revealing whose work the curators judged the perfect opportunity (www.nmai.si.edu. to be of greatest importance at the time and At the George Gustav Heye Center, One aimed to acquire in depth. Of course there Bowling Green). “Infi nity” is a permanent are omissions (one of the more obvious exhibition which debuted this past October being the talented Giorgio Cavallon). after much anticipation. It consists of no The best aspect of this exhibition is that less than 700 works — all organized by geo- it provides a chance to study MoMA-owned graphic regions. works usually buried deep in storage, includ- Five years in the making, the show opens ing several works by Richard Pousette- with a rather dramatic display of strength by Dart, early work by Pollock, canvases by featuring a rare macaw-and-heron-feather Lee Krasner, immense sculptures by David ceremonial headdress. Other objects include Smith, monumental compositions by Franz Image courtesy of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American. an Apsáalooke (Crow) robe illustrated with Kline, or an odd little drip painting by Hans Inuit amauti or tuilli (woman’s parka) — Chesterfi eld Inlet, Nunavut, Canada (ca. warriors’ exploits; a detailed Mayan lime- Hofmann. 1890–1925). See “Infi nity of Nations.” stone bas-relief depicting a ball player; and Organized by the independent curator an elaborately beaded Inuit tuilli (a woman’s Amy Wolf, “On Becoming an Artist: Isamu www.noguchi.org; 9-01 33rd Road at Vernon Noguchi’s most potent artistic relationships. inner parka) made for the mother of a new- Noguchi and his Contemporaries, 1922- Boulevard, Long Island City). These are as multi-faceted as Noguchi’s oeu- born baby. The show manifests as a discourse 1960” provides valuable insight into the On view through April 24, the exhibition vre — which besides sculptures also entails in the vibrancy of Native American culture complexity of the acclaimed sculptor’s oeu- (which happens to coincide with the 25th garden, furniture, set and lighting designs, — and is further proof of how diverse New vre (The Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum; anniversary of the museum) investigates ceramics and architectural projects. In 1937, York’s cultural resources truly are.
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COMPILED BY SCOTT STIFFLER think Santa is so fond of. “A Swinging Birdland Christmas” is per- FAYE LANE’S BEAUTY SHOP formed nightly through Dec. 25, 6pm, at STORIES Birdland (315 W. 44th St.). Cover: $30, with Faye Lane’s not just the gal who had the $10 food/drink minimum. Call 212-581- hottest, sweetest, funniest, award-winning 3080 or visit www.BirdlandJazz.com. show in this year’s FringeNYC festival — she’s also a 20-year resident of the Chelsea Hotel and has the secret to containing the CHRISTMAS COMES TO OLD NEW common cold. The medicinal advice she gave YORK: MERCHANT’S HOUSE MUSEUM during an interview following our recent Return with us now to those thrilling days viewing of her current show cut our usual of yesteryear — and, along the way, fi nd out sniffl e/sneeze downtime in half. But that’s how some of our most cherished Christmas not why she’s at the top of this week’s A&E traditions (trees, turkey dinners, caroling picks. Lane’s encore run of that FringeNYC and Santa Claus) came to be. “Christmas hit (“Beauty Shop Stories”) is a perfect early Comes to Old New York” is a Merchant’s evening activity for those who want to show House Museum exhibit documenting how their out of town guests why Broadway certain events (as well as books and articles regularly scopes, steals from and sometimes Photo by Bill Westmoreland published during the fi rst half of the 19th makes a star out of solo performers playing Ready to deck you in the halls: “A Swinging Birdland Christmas.” century) helped to popularize the Christmas to intimate Off-Off Broadway houses. customs we still observe. As for what you get when the show See a table-top Christmas tree (the fi rst starts: Lane takes you on a journey of trees were sold in NYC markets in 1851) discovery that starts on the porch of her decorated with handmade paper ornaments, mom’s Texas beauty salon, makes an unex- berries, ribbons, and “real” candles; stroll pected detour in Paris, and ends up right through parlors and hallways hung with lush here in NYC — where she fulfi lls her sober greenery, including poinsettias (introduced childhood vow to become a stewardess by to American in the 1820s by Minister to day and an entertainer by night. Finding Mexico Joel Poinsett); listen to Christmas out how the dreams of a chubby outcast songs and carols recorded on the Museum’s were achieved by the charming dish you original 1848 rosewood piano; and visit the see on the stage is what gives this solo per- kitchen, where preparations are under way formance its angel wings. Plus, it’s really for holiday entertaining. funny — and cute bartender Byron makes a This special exhibition is included with killer drink (the Moon Pie Martini) that’s as regular museum admission (10, $5 for stu- sweet and easy to digest as Lane’s life story. dents & seniors. Free for children under 12 An added bonus: Cozy up to Faye after the and Merchant’s House Museum members). show, and she’ll tell you the name of that Through Jan. 10, 2011 — at the Merchant’s highly effective cold & fl u medication. House Museum (29 E. Fourth St. btw. Sundays at 5pm, through Jan. 9. At the Lafayette & Bowery). For dates, times and Huron Club at the SoHo Playhouse (15 reservations, Call 212-777-1089 or visit Vandam St. btw. Sixth Ave. & Varick St.). www.merchantshouse.org. For tickets ($25), visit www.ovationtix.com or call 866-811-4111. For all things Faye, BABY UNIVERSE visit www.beautyshopstories.com. Photo by Jim Baldassare Here’s a sober thought for all you sunny Our solar system’s days are numbered: “Baby Universe.” optimists among us: It may take a few bil- A SWINGING BIRDLAND CHRISTMAS lion years, but eventually the sun will do Our one complaint about the raucous a number on the earth and the planets — Monday night Birdland jazz club destination and our solar system will be no more. It’s event that is “Jim Caruso’s Cast Party” — a no wonder, then, that our own looming little too much cast, and not enough Caruso. destruction inspires humankind to spin As emcee of the cabaret-themed open mic tales of salvation in the face of hopelessness happening, Caruso shamelessly plugs the and desperation. “Baby Universe” explores work of others while mugging between the unavoidable repercussions of the way acts — but we’re looking forward to “A we live today — with the help of over 30 Swinging Birdland Christmas” because it puppets ranging from 9 inches to 9 feet, features a mere three others on the bill. masks, a Stephen Hawking-inspired robot, And as “others” go, Caruso’s trio of pals are animated video projection and a space-age no slouches (Hilary Kole, Billy Stritch and score. It may not help you sleep at night, Aaron Weinstein). In the tradition of beloved but it’ll at least give you something to think seasonal specials, these four jazzy showstop- about. pers will perform swinging arrangements Note: This production is appropriate for of “Christmas Waltz,” “I’ll Be Home For those 7 years of age and older, but it should Christmas,” Kay Thompson’s “The Holiday also be noted that this is not a children’s’ Season” and “Sleigh Ride” (among other show — it’s a theatre piece with puppets. favorites). With Paul Gill on bass and Tony At the Baruch Performing Arts Center (5 Tedesco on drums. If you’ve not had your Lexington Ave. Enter on 25th St. just east stocking’s fi ll of Caruso, would it kill you of Lexington). Through Sun., Jan. 9. For to visit www.jim-caruso.com? By the way, specifi c performance times, and to purchase the CD “Jim Caruso: Live and In Person” tickets ($30, $20 for students/seniors), call features Billy Stritch on piano and makes a 212-352-3101 or visit www.theatermania. nice alternative to that plate of cookies you Faye Lane (be)dazzles in “Beauty Shop Stories.” com. 28 December 22 - 28, 2010 downtown express