Second Class Permit Paid at Bronx, N.Y. USPS 114-590 Volume 31 Number 9 Novenber 2002 One Dollar Cable Controversy Continues One Act Plays Pack a Punch: Part I At Pilot Cove By BARBARA DOLENSEK By KAREN NANI After years of waiting and watching 11, 2001, their service was even more lim- only network television, the seniors at ited when the antenna on the World Trade Pilot Cove Manor may wind up with two Center was destroyed. pay TV multi-station options. Cablevision "The Pilot Cove management fought of New York City began installation on the installation of cable service tooth and Oct. 16, 2002. There is also the possibili- nail. It was only when their backs were ty of an arrangement with DirectTV, a against the wall that they contacted a satellite dish company. satellite dish company," she told The The latest events follow years of Current. requests, complaints and discussions The Current received letters to the edi- between tenants, relatives and the manage- tor in 1999 regarding the plight of Pilot ment of Pilot Cove. The Public Service Cove residents. One Islander who helped Commission in Albany got involved after in the quest for cable television is Cindy receiving letters from Pilot Cove residents Conley. Ms. Conley got involved because claiming that they were being denied the she knows some Pilot Cove residents and option of cable television. "after 9/11, these folks had no television "We received several requests from service and were uninformed about what Pilot Cove residents for cable television Photos by RICK DeWITT was happening in their own city." Part of the cast of Pandoras Box, Lto R , William Castro, lying on floor, Susan Rauh, and we are acting on them now," Susan She followed up with the Public Robert Malroy, Jason Fogarty, and T.J. Meyers. Mulhern of the Public Service Service Commission and researched the Commission told The Current. rights of tenants in HUD housing. "The Mulroy, by the way, deserves special plaudits While some Islanders say the Pilot law is on the side of the residents who for taking on three roles in the three plays, Cove management was stonewalling want cable," said Ms. Conley. having never acted before, a kind of dramat- efforts to obtain cable service, others say According to Brian Douglas at ic hat trick.) it was Cablevision's fault. "Cablevision Cablevision, they have been trying "to "Opening Pandora’s Box" offered a defi- didn't want to install it the way we want- provide cable service to 160 Pilot Street nite change of pace, with an absurd premise, a gaggle of screwy characters and a farcical ed," said Russell Schaller, a member of for years." They were denied access to the plot that kept the audience in stitches. the Pilot Cove board of directors. "We building on more than one occasion. William Castro, a CITG regular, played a have been talking to them for two years. Once the Public Service Commission museum curator who wants to make a pub- We asked them to run the cable through received petitions for cable service at Pilot licity stunt of re-opening a relic said to be the basement, up the risers, into the apart- Cove, Cablevision was required to com- Pandora’s fabled box, the legendary object ment closets. They are running the cable mence the "order of entry" process in that released evils into the ancient world. in the hallways, and we feel this is not the accordance with their franchise agreement He is assisted (or not) by Brad (Jason safest way." with the city. They sent a letter of notifi- Fogarty) and Sara (Susan Rauh), Brad’s Pilot Cove Manor on Pilot Street is a cation to Pilot Cove management on Oct. The cast of Acorn, Margaret Cioffi and fiancée, a slithery donor (Robert Mulroy) Housing and Urban Development (HUD) 1 and began construction on Oct. 16, Mr. T.J. Meyers and his lawyer (T. J. Meyers) and two unlike- project built to provide housing for senior Douglas told The Current. ly collectors (Tee Cotter and George citizens on a rental basis. It has more than "We hope to complete installation in The City Island Theater Group (CITG) Paturas). Not a sympathetic soul in the 100 apartments that must be applied for four to six weeks," said Mr. Douglas, at certainly knows how to push the envelope. bunch, but a delightful romp with some through a waiting list. It is managed by which time all Pilot Cove residents will It’s not enough that they range from comic exceptionally funny lines and some great VMG Management Corporation, whose receive a letter in the mail explaining the farce to serious drama in the same season. comic acting. president is longtime Islander Virginia different cable options and prices. "It's not It’s not enough that they have the wit to pre- After the intermission, the pace changed Gallagher. the way we wanted it installed, but there sent tried-and-true classic productions, such again, and very dramatically, with the thriller Mrs. Gallagher told The Current that seems to be nothing we can do," said Mr. as "Arsenic and Old Lace" or "To Kill a "Sorry, Wrong Number," which places the the New York City Fire Department Schaller. Mockingbird," giving these familiar pieces a bedridden Mrs. Stevenson (Kathleen Cullen) advised her that the installation proposed Because it is senior citizen housing, fresh new look. It’s not enough that they have alone in her apartment, with only her tele- the courage to mount completely original by Cablevision would pose a definite fire free basic cable service will be provided phone for company. She overhears a conver- plays, like "Zelda Inside Out," or that they risk. Although Pilot Cove Manor is a brick in the community room in the basement of sation in which two men plot the murder of a cast politicians and people who have never building, the halls are long and there are the building. This basic service covers the woman, and she tries in vain to get the tele- acted before. phone operators and the police department to no windows, so that a fire caused by bad regular networks (CBS, ABC, NBC, etc.) Not only do they do all of this and more, help prevent the crime. wiring could spread very quickly. and includes over 30 additional channels but they do it in the same evening. This sea- Ms. Cullen did a fine job of increasing the "That is why we agreed at our board such as CNN, A&E, News 12 (Bronx), son, CITG has presented not one but two tension as the plot built up, assisted by a meeting in August of this year to enter and the Weather Channel. This will enable weekends’ worth of theater, seven one-act Greek chorus of voices representing those into a contract with DirectTV for satellite residents who cannot afford or don't want plays in all, each with a different director, who can’t or won’t help her: Tee Cotter, Lisa service," Mrs. Gallagher said. "It is cheap- cable in their apartments to have access to cast, set and props. Dunton, Robert Mulroy, T. J. Meyers, er and you get more stations. Also, the basic service. Three productions were staged during the George Paturas and Susan Rauh. The direc- installation is much safer, we feel." Because of the past difficulties, the weekend of Oct. 18–20, including two origi- tor, Island resident Chris McGowan, devised For years, tenants had two ways to Public Service Commission is determined nal plays written by City Islanders— a stylish black-and-white approach to this catch television signals, according to Mr. to see this through to completion. "We're "Harvey, Madeline and May" by Ellen play, best known through the Barbara Schaller. They could hook up to a master going to stay on top of it," said Ms. Salzberg and "Opening Pandora’s Box" by Stanwyck film of 1949. antenna on the roof of Pilot Cove or use Mulhern. Michael Flanagan—and one classic play, The staff that made all of these quick rabbit ears to obtain a signal. These meth- What is not clear at this point is "Sorry, Wrong Number" by Lucille Fletcher. changes of pace (and set and costume and ods delivered the basic networks (chan- whether residents who don't want to sub- Mrs. Salzberg, who wrote the book and make-up) possible was headed by production nels 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13). But private scribe to cable television will continue to lyrics for last year’s musical, "Zelda Inside managers Carol McCabe and Nicholas Sala homes and other buildings on City Island receive the regular channels through the Out," directed her own play, which centers (who also served as stage manager), assisted have had access to more than 70 channels master antenna. They may have to resort on three sympathetic characters who mourn by Maya Brand. The sets were created by since the early 1990s, when Cablevision to rabbit ears or pay a minimum fee to the loss of Bill, Madeline’s husband, as they Dorothy Muccio, George Paturas; the lighting laid a cable under City Island Road and obtain basic service in their apartments. In find companionship and meaning in their by Miriam Benitez-Nixon and sound by Joe over the bridge. any case, according to Virginia Gallgher, own relationships with each other. Nixon; the wardrobe by Carol McCabe and Kimberley Hirschman plays the widow According to the daughter of one Pilot they will have the option to subscribe to Carole Sullivan; and makeup by Margaret with great warmth, a nice complement to Cove resident, it was frustrating that satellite service if they wish.