Downtown Express by Schneps Media

VOLUME 29, NUMBER 1

Fighting for 9/11 survivors BY D U SI CA SU E M A LE S E V IC he last-minute Zadroga Act reauthorization last month was cause for celebration Downtown — and especially for 9/11 Environmental Action, which has been on the frontlines of the fight for healthcare for survivors of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Congress first passed the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act in 2010 with only five years of funding for two programs: the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, and the World Trade Center Health Program, which provides healthcare and monitoring for more than 70,000 Ground Zero responders and Downtown survivors. The reauthorization will provide funding many years into the future for the work of groups such as 9/11 Environmental Action, which does outreach to give survivors access to the programs. “Now with the reauthorization of Zadroga, we have a lifetime of care,” said Kimberly Flynn, the group’s director and one of its co-founders. “We have 75 more years of the World Trade Center Health Program. This is unprecedented for communities.” Flynn, who has been working for almost 14 years on issues around the environmental fallout of the World Trade Center attacks, emphasized the importance of 9/11 Environmental Action’s continued outreach, pointing out that there are many people who are still eligible for the programs but don’t know it. Of the nearly 400,000 people Downtown who were exposed to contaminants after 9/11 attacks, only 72,000 — just 18 percent — have enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program to receive healthcare and medical screening for the many aliments associated with the toxins that flooded the neighborhood, and which sometimes show up only years later. The renewed Zadroga funding will now provide an additional 25,000 treatment

JANUARY 14 – JANUARY 27, 2016

BOARD GAMES Residents call for sweeping change in leadership at Battery Park City B Y D USICA SUE MAL ESEVIC AN D YAN N IC RACK wo vacancies. Two expired terms. One local resident. Community Board 1 members think that’s a recipe for major

changes to the Battery Park City Authority’s board. CB1’s Battery Park City Committee wants Gov. Cuomo, who picks the leadership of the state authority that runs the

Photo by Jonathan Alpeyrie

St ardus t i n Soho Fans flocked to David Bowie's Soho apartment after news of the singer's death on Jan. 11, creating an impromptu shrine piled high with flowers, candles, photos, and heartfelt notes thanking the gender-bending icon for the impact he had on their lives. Bowie, who also performed as the character Ziggy Stardust in the 1970s, was a longtime Downtown stalwart, and performed in a starstudded concert at Battery Park City in May 2002 aimed at helping Lower Manhattan recover after the devastation of the 9/11 attacks. For more, see page 10.

9/11 Continued on page 2

neighborhood, to appoint residents to a majority of seats on the seven-member board. “This is a public benefit corporation, it has been established for some time, and there has only ever been one resident on the seven-person board,” Chairman Anthony Notaro said. “At the end of the day, it’s simply time for local residents to take a more active participation in the governance of the authority.” After a string of unpopular decisions over the past year and a half, the drumbeat for more local representation is getting louder, but whether or not the governor will heed it remains to be seen. Downtown Express repeatedly called and emailed Cuomo’s office with questions about the governor’s plans for board chairman Dennis Mehiel, whose term expired at the end of last year. At a town hall meeting in December — the first during Mehiel’s tenure — frustrations with his leadership and a wide range of issues boiled over, and led to calls for his ouster. But the governor’s office declined to answer any questions about whether Mehiel would be reappointed, or shed any light on the appointment process. His office would not even say whether the governor planned to give the wishes of Battery Park City residents any weight at all when appointing the board that runs their neighborhood. Board members can serve beyond their appointed terms until the governor replaces or reappoints them. The term of Martha Gallo — the only BOARD GAMES Continued on page 2

MANAGING EXPECTATIONS Community Board 1 members tried to keep their expectations realistic last week when drafting a resolution calling on Gov. Cuomo to revamp the board of the Battery Park City Authority. Given the increasing dissatisfaction with the authority’s leadership, members of CB1’s Battery

Park City Committee all agreed on the need for more residents on the board. The only point of contention was how much BPC residents could really expect the governor to listen to them when appointing the people who run their neighborhood. The resolution called for sweeping change to the authority’s seven-person board, where two seats are vacant and two members’ terms have expired — including that of Dennis Mehiel, the chairman. The committee’s original draft not only asked for those seats to be filled with a voting majority of BPC residents, but dared suggest that Cuomo consult with the committee on prospective appointees. “We also call on the governor to work in consultation with CB1 and our elected officials in the selection of candidates for these positions,” committee chairman Anthony Notaro read from the draft during the discussion. “We don’t want to see somebody who moved in last week or rented an apartment for the sake of being a board member,” he explained.

But not everyone thought asking Cuomo to actually speak to anybody on CB1 was such a good idea. “I do wonder about calling on someone as into-his-power as the governor to work in consultation,” said Jeff Mihok, to approving murmurs from his fellow committee members. “I just feel like that’s gonna be a deal-killer, strategically.” After some debate, the committee agreed to change the phrasing to merely request that Cuomo work with local elected officials to pick new board members, or at least to establish a pool of candidates. Members did hold out some hope of formal consultation with the governor’s office, in the suggestion from the audience by BPC resident Pat Smith to at least ask Cuomo’s Manhattan Regional Representative to talk with the committee. “I like the idea of inviting the governor’s representative to sit with us and discuss this process,” Notaro said. “That makes it easier,” agreed Justine Cuccia, a public member of the committee. “Because I don’t expect him [the governor] to show up.”

BOARD GAMES Continued from page 1

9/11 Continued from page 1

neighborhood resident currently on the board — expired at the end of 2014. But one board seat has been vacant for some time, and Frank Branchini recently left the board, so if Cuomo named residents to those seats, and replaced Mehiel with a local, Battery Park City would be controlled by people who actually live there. At CB1’s Battery Park City Committee meeting on Jan. 5, members drafted and passed a resolution calling for Cuomo to do just that. The committee already asked for more local representation on the board in a report submitted to the B.P.C.A. in 2014. But nothing ever came of it, so now members plan to make the appeal directly to the governor. “We have never sent this directly to the governor, saying this is what we want,” Notaro said. Although the resolution passed at the committee meeting and will now be put to CB1’s full board on Jan. 26, not everyone agreed on the issue — but not because they were happy with the authority’s leadership. In fact, quite the opposite. Tom Goodkind, the lone dissenting vote, made an impassioned plea to scrap the authority altogether instead. “I think it’s great that you brought this up, but I just don’t see the board conforming to what is needed by this community,” he told Notaro. “I don’t think the structure that we have now — even with the governor picking a few more, let’s say, Martha Gallos — is going to make a change.” Instead, Goodkind argued, the city should take over management of Battery Park City, which it can do under an agreement dating to the 1980s that would require the payment of $1 and the assumption of the authority's assets and liabilities. State Sen. Daniel Squadron recently renewed the call for a city takeover in an editorial in this paper last August and made the case to CB1’s Battery Park City Committee in November. He said that the idea, which has been

slots for survivors, according to Flynn, and 9/11 Environmental Action provides enrollment assistance to the health program and will walk people through the signup process, she said. “It’s our job to make sure that people who need that treatment understand what this program [is], what it’s offering,” she said. But funding hasn’t been the only obstacle Flynn’s group has faced bringing Downtown neighbors into the program. With the spotlight having justifiably focused on the first responders who rushed heroically to the scene, some local survivors who lived in the area may think that the program is not for them, Flynn said. “There’s a lot of denial going on still,” said project manager Barbara Reich, who joined the group in 2009. Communications Director Mary Perillo said she was surprised how many people in her neighborhood in the Financial District don’t know about the program. For 33 years Perillo has lived at 125 Cedar St., a residential building very close to the World Trade Center site. It took 18 months before she could go back to her home, which had been filled with inches of toxic dust, inside and out. “We had to fight to come back in,” Perillo said. “We had to fight to get clean. And 9/11 Environmental Action was instrumental.” Formed in April 2002, 9/11 Environmental Action’s main struggle initially was to get the federal government to even acknowledge that there was an environmental safety problem at all. “You cannot imagine how hard it was to push these issues,” said Flynn. “The federal government had absolutely no interest. Their position was ‘it’s

January 14 – January 27, 2016

Photo by Milo Hess

Residents are calling for Battery Park City Authority board chairman Dennis Mehiel to be replaced now that his term has expired after a string of unpopular decisions by the authority.

around for some time, is gathering some steam. "I support a stronger community voice in Battery Park City decision-making, and more responsiveness to the community,” Squadron said in a statement to Downtown Express. “That's why I proposed a structure with city control and local representation. I'll continue to push to create a real, permanent, community role in running B.P.C.” Goodkind said a city takeover would bring profound and positive change. “I think if we sell this to the city for a dollar, and become a part of New York City, you’re going to see fantastic changes here, and the representation we need.” But his fellow members are not convinced — yet. The committee agreed to set a deadline of April 1 for the governor to start the selection process for new board members, “leading to a prompt decision,” before considering any further action — including endorsing a city takeover.

9/11 Continued on page 16

DowntownExpress.com

January 14 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; January 27, 2016

Council bails on Evacuation Day Downtown suffers historic snub with rejection of Bowling Green co-naming BY BI L L E G B E RT The campaign to commemorate America’s final victory over the British suffered a defeat this week when the Council refused to consider an honorary co-naming of Downtown’s Bowling Green. Councilmember Margaret Chin proposed last November that the city co-name a portion of the park as “Evacuation Day Plaza” to honor the day the British were finally driven out of Lower Manhattan after the Revolutionary War. But when the Council revealed on Monday the 40 proposed co-namings due for a vote next week, “Evacuation Day Plaza” was not on the list. The proposal’s main backer, Bowling Green Association head Arthur Piccolo, said Chin’s office told him that a Council

staffer had struck “Evacuation Day Plaza” from the list because the historic event didn’t “qualify” for the honor, but no further explanation of the decision, or even the vetting criteria, was given. “What are they basing this on?” said Piccolo. “Why the secrecy? Is this China? What kind of a system is this?” Evacuation Day commemorates the final departure of the British on Nov. 25, 1783, from the Lower Manhattan occupation zone that had been the kingdom’s headquarters during the Revolutionary War. Just before George Washington’s triumphant arrival at Bowling Green that day, a former prisoner of war named John Van Arsdale managed to climb the greased flagpole where the departing British had nailed a Union Jack, and replace it with the Stars and Stripes. The holiday marking the end of the

Photo by Bill Egbert

Councilmember Margaret Chin and Lower Manhattan Historical Society co-founder James Kaplan unveiled an “Evacuation Day Plaza” sign at the 2015 Evacuation Day ceremony at Bowling Green.

war was once celebrated as fervently as the one that marks its beginning — the Fourth of July. But Evacuation Day was overshadowed after Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday of November to be Thanksgiving, and formal observances were abandoned entirely nearly a century ago when the United States entered the

First World War as a British ally. In 2014, the Lower Manhattan Historical Society — which Piccolo co-founded — launched a campaign to revive the holiday. It was at last year’s ceremonial flag raising at Bowling EVACUATION DAY Continued on page 20

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January 14 – January 27, 2016

DowntownExpress.com

Hooking up Downtown

Network of nodes offers free and resilient Wi-Fi

BY YA N N I C RA CK A group of techies wants to put traditional Internet service providers out of business, one router at a time. Local tech startup NYC Mesh is trying to create a community-owned, resilient network to provide free Wi-Fi across the city — and it plans to put a big tent pole up in Lower Manhattan. “The idea is that of infrastructure as a commons,” said Brian Hall, a tech consultant and one of the project’s developers. Courtesy of NYC Mesh “The Internet should just This map shows the free Wi-Fi coverage area of the be owned by the people “supernode” that NYC Mesh wants to install on the and everyone should have rooftop of a data center on Pearl St., in the Financial District. access to it.” The way to reach that ideal, according to Hall, is a so-called for two years before stumbling across mesh network — which doesn’t rely NYC Mesh. “They got me set up and it’s just on a central server like traditional Internet service providers, but instead been perfect,” she said. Justice said she had her doubts creates its own, self-supporting grid from an interconnected network of in the beginning but would now recommend the network to anyone signal routers. Over the past year, the group has looking for a cheap alternative to started installing its routers — or traditional providers. “I was hesitant, because I thought, “nodes” — with members all around ‘OK, what’s the scam here?’” she said. the city. “Everyone owns their own router,” “But it’s been great so far. Once the Hall explained. “You go to our web- expense of the router is paid for, you site and there’s a join form there. You don’t have another bill unless you want fill that out and that will place your to make a donation.” That’s actually becoming a problem address on our map. Then we look for active nodes that are close to you and for NYC Mesh, admits Hall — since we try and line up two nodes, so they they only charge for the router installation (ranging from $20-90) and users can connect together.” The network then supports itself, don’t pay for service, the company passing data between the connected is still figuring out a way to increase nodes, with members sharing free its revenue. One idea is to provide subscription-based back-up Internet Internet access. Around 40 nodes are active so service for businesses, since the mesh far, and half of them are located in network will still work when other providers suffer outages. Manhattan, according to Hall. “Our network can run independently Linda Justice, who uses the Internet mainly to work from home as a tran- from the Internet, and the mesh softscriptionist, got a mesh node installed ware can automatically re-route around about a month ago in her East Village any outage,” Hall said, making the netapartment. Justice said she had trouble with Verizon, her previous provider, NYC MESH Continued on page 12 DowntownExpress.com

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January 14 – January 27, 2016

Happy Birthday Hamilton Federalist Founding Father feted at Trinity Church grave BY BI L L E G B E RT “Hamilton” may be the hottest musical on Broadway, but fans of the famously Federalist Founding Father braved bitter cold on Monday to celebrate the birthday of Alexander Hamilton. Talks at Federal Hall and Trinity Church celebrated the diverse legacy of George Washington’s most trusted aide, who created America’s first national bank, formed the U.S. Coast Guard, wrote most of the Federalist Papers, and founded the New York Post newspaper. “Hamilton is arguably the most important of the Founding Fathers,” said Rand Scholet, president of the Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society, which organized the events. “He created the vision of the nation that became the foundation of the America we know today.” Of all the Founding Fathers,

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Hamilton is also the one most connected to Downtown, despite being born and raised on the Caribbean islands of Nevis and St. Croix. In 1773, Hamilton enrolled at Kings College — now Columbia University — which at the time was located in Lower Manhattan. When the Revolutionary War broke out, he enlisted and in 1776 he served as artillery captain at Fort George on the site of what is now the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House at the south end of Bowling Green. As a member of George Washington’s cabinet, he served in the first seat of the U.S. government, where Federal Hall stands today. In 1784, he founded the Bank of New York on Wall Street, which is now the oldest bank in the United States. Hamilton and his wife lived at 57

community MARRIED LIFE: A GATHERING FOR COUPLES

January 14, 6:30PM | Parish Center

Come and explore the tough questions together in this small group, open to all married couples. Led by the Rev. Dr. Mark Bozzuti-Jones and other couples. MLK INTERFAITH DAY OF SERVICE

January 18, 10:30AM | St. Paul’s Chapel

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education BROWN GIRL DREAMING: A CONVERSATION WITH JACQUELINE WOODSON

January 17, 1:30PM | St. Paul’s Chapel

Author Jacqueline Woodson invites children (ages 10 and up), youth, and adults to hear her story of growing up during the Civil Rights era. A book signing will follow her talk.

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DOWNTOWN an Episcopal parish in the city of New York

January 14 – January 27, 2016

VOICES

Photo by Bill Egbert

An honor guard from the U.S. Coast Guard — which Alexander Hamilton founded in 1790 — laid a wreath on the Founding Father’s grave at Trinity Church on his birthday, Jan. 11.

Wall Street for years before moving to a country home in the then-rural region of Harlem, and were active members of Downtown’s Trinity Church all their lives. Both are buried in the church’s cemetery. Scholet presided over a wreath-laying

ceremony at Hamilton’s Trinity Church gravesite on Jan.11. About 90 people showed up despite the near-freezing temperatures — the biggest turnout ever, according to HAMILTON Continued on page 12

TRINITY INSTITUTE OPENING NIGHT January 21, 6:30PM | Trinity Church

Come to the opening night of the Trinity Institute conference on racial justice. The Most Rev. Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, preaches, and Michele Norris, former host of NPR’s All Things Considered, delivers the keynote address. More information at TI2016.org FILM SCREENING & CONVERSATION: I’M NOT RACIST…AM I? January 22, 7PM | Trinity Church

Youth (6th-12th grade) and adults are invited to view a documentary on privilege, race, and youth, followed by a conversation with the film’s director and producer. Learn more at notracistmovie.com

music & the arts THE BRIDGE: AN INTERFAITH ART EXHIBITION

January 20-February 28 | St. Paul’s Chapel

The Bridge is an interfaith East-West contemporary art exhibition featuring the work of 47 premier Christian, Muslim, and Jewish artists. Curated by CARAVAN. Visit trinitywallstreet.org/thebridge

worship SUNDAY, 8am & 9:15am St. Paul’s Chapel · Holy Eucharist 8pm · Compline by Candlelight SUNDAY, 9am & 11:15am Trinity Church · Preaching, music, and Eucharist · Child care available MONDAY—FRIDAY, 8:15am Trinity Church, All Saints’ Chapel Morning Prayer MONDAY—FRIDAY, 12:05pm Trinity Church · Holy Eucharist MONDAY—FRIDAY, 5:15pm Trinity Church, All Saints’ Chapel Evening Prayer Watch online webcast at trinitywallstreet.org/videos

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DowntownExpress.com

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Bowling in the dark A push for lights in Downtown park BY DUSICA SU E M A L E SE V IC New York City’s oldest park is leaving residents and tourists in the dark, says an advocate trying to get the city to see the light. Arthur Piccolo, head of the Bowling Green Association, made the case to Community Board 1’s Financial District Committee for illuminating Downtown’s historic plaza at its on Jan. 6 meeting. “Bowling Green is where the city was founded. It’s where more American history took place in — certainly in New York City — than anywhere else,” Piccolo told the committee. “A resolution simply recommending that the city do more and others do more would certainly be helpful to me and my continuing campaign to get us better lighting.” Bowling Green was established as a public park in 1733 with a mandate to add to the city’s “beauty and ornament,” and more than 250 years later it acquired arguably Downtown’s most iconic ornament — Arturo Di Modica’s “Charging Bull” — the 3.5-ton bronze sculpture that has become synonymous

with Wall Street and which, Piccolo pointed out, visitors flock to — even into the dark of night. “They’re literally in almost complete blackness,” he said. Piccolo also showed the committee photos of the recent Chanukah ceremonies at the park, which — except for the menorah — were very dark. The park used to have prominent lighting, according to Piccolo — until 2003. “What happened is there was 9/11 money for renovation of parks,” Piccolo said. “The Parks Department decided to take out these magnificent, standard park lights that are meant to give illumination and they replaced them with some ornamental lights, which were just a waste of money. They give off no light.” The Parks Department did not respond to questions about the 9/11 funding and the lighting change, but stipulated that Bowling Green Park is lit by ten lights. But it’s not only the lights within the park that have gone dim, according to Piccolo. At each end of the U.S. Custom

Courtesy of the Bowling Green Association

The decorative light fixtures installed at Bowling Green by the Parks Dept. don’t provide enough light, according to park boosters.

House on the south edge of Bowling Green, there are two powerful floodlights — but they no longer work. Piccolo said he had been lobbying the Downtown Alliance, which manages the business improvement district for Lower Manhattan, to restore the lights. “I’ve been trying since August to simply get the Alliance to put in bulbs in there,” he said. The Downtown Alliance said it is in the process of restoring the lighting at the façade of the building, which hosts a branch of the National Museum of the American Indian, and also

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provides additional lighting around Bowling Green. “The Alliance does recognize the importance of this issue, which is why we have installed and maintain lighting around the perimeter of the park,” said spokeswoman Maria C. Alvarado-Behl. “Beyond that, we look forward to being a part of conversations and efforts with the city on Bowling Green’s lighting.” Committee members agreed that more lighting was needed, but suggested that the focus of their resolution be GREEN Continued on page 22

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COPS TRICK ALLEGED TRICKSTER Police nabbed a man accused of posing as a wounded war veteran to fraudulently lease a BMW by getting him to walk right into the Tenth Precinct. On Wed., Dec. 30, the N.Y.P.D. received information that a 2016 BMW X3 — a luxury SUV starting at $38,950 — was obtained through fraudulent means. The police located the car at a parking garage in the Financial District and seized it, and further investigation revealed that the man had pretended to be a wounded war vet to fraudulently lease the vehicle in the Boston area, according to cops. When the police took the car, they left a note at the garage for the suspect with a name and phone number of a detective. The man called the detective and was told that his vehicle was taken into custody in relation to a police investigation. The police made arrangements for him to come to the Tenth Precinct at 230 W. 20th St., where he thought he would be getting his vehicle back. But when he showed up on Mon., Jan. 4, he was arrested. The next day, during a search of the suspect’s apartment in Hanover Square in the Financial District, the police seized military uniforms, Harvard and MIT hats as well as coffee mugs, computers, cash and passports. The alleged fraudster has been charged with two counts of grand larceny, and criminal possession of a forged instrument, according to police.

ROBBER HITS DOUBLE-BANK SHOT Police are looking for a man who allegedly robbed two Downtown banks in less than two weeks. In the first robbery, the man went into an Apple Bank in Tribeca at 11 a.m. on Dec. 21 and showed a note demanding cash to a teller, police say. He got $907 in cash and fled. The second incident happened on Dec. 20, when he entered a Chase Bank, in the East Village sometime between 4:25 and 4:45 p.m., police say. He used the same modus operandi: displaying a note demanding cash. In that robbery, he got $307 in cash and jetted. Police say the man is around 40-years-old, about 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair. DowntownExpress.com

SCARY SOHO STICKUP Two women walking back from a Soho bar were mugged by a gunman who got away with their purses, fleeing in his accomplice’s vehicle, police say. On Fri., Jan 1 at 11:50 p.m., the two women had been at Lucky Strike and were walking back home on Greene St. when a man approached them, brandished a silver semiautomatic pistol and demanded their stuff, according to the report. One woman complied, immediately turning over her purse to the mugger. The other victim initially refused — prompting the man to press the muzzle of the gun against her stomach, police say. Once the thief got what he wanted, police say he fled in his confederate’s 2012 brown Honda Civic.

BEWITCHING BULLHORNS Bullhorns don’t seem like likely items thieves would snatch, but one burglar recently stole two, police say. Seamless Showroom, which sells women’s clothing at 343 Canal St. in Soho, had closed for the holidays on Wed., Dec. 30, according to the report. When a female employee came back to work on Mon., Jan. 4, two bullhorns, worth $100 each, were gone, along with six checkbooks. The report said there was no forced entry but the windows were open. The employee told police that they had been closed before everyone left for vacation.

WELCOME HOME! One should come back from vacation relaxed, but one Soho resident returned home to find that more than $5,700 worth of electronics, perfume, jewelry and luxury items were stolen from her apartment, police say. The 39-year-old left for vacation on Dec. 21 and came back ten days later to her apartment on Prince St. to find several things gone, including a $2,800 maroon Louis Vuitton purse, a $1,000 Louis Vuitton wallet, two bottles of pricey perfume, $151 earrings, a $151 necklace, and various electronic gadgets, according to the report. She told police that both the front and rear doors of the apartment were unlocked and the report said there were no signs of forced entry. Police say there were unauthorized charges on the victim’s cards in Brooklyn and at vending machines in Manhattan.

— Dusica Sue Malesevic

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Offerings piled up outside David Bowie’s Lafayette St. home this week after news of his death broke on Monday.

BY L IN COL N AN DERSON David Bowie’s Lafayette St. home became an impromptu shrine to thew transformative rock star as fans flocked to pay their respects. Bowie died early Sunday in London at age 69 after an 18-month battle with liver cancer. Along with his wife, the model Iman, he had lived at the Soho address since 1999. The growing memorial included cards with “Aladdin Sane” lighting bolts and stars for Starman, a “David Live” album cover, photos of Ziggy Stardust and the Thin White Duke, notes with his famous song lyrics, like “The stars look very differ-

ent today” and personal notes, like “Love you forever + thanks for more permission to be a weirdo. I hope your crazy space adventure is hella fun.” The singer shopped for food at Dean & DeLuca and got sandwiches and chocolate chip cookies at Olives on Prince St., the New York Post reported. Sean Sweeney, director of the Soho Alliance, said he once saw him about a dozen years ago having breakfast in Puck Fair bar, on Lafayette St., looking a bit worn out. Bowie performed in the May 2002 concert in Battery Park City that was part of the first Tribeca Film Festival to boost Downtown after 9/11.

The Daily News makes news with price drop BY SHAVAN A ABRUZZO There’s still some bang left in the old buck! A dollar doesn’t stretch very far these days, but it can still get you a slice of pizza, a song on iTunes (sometimes), and now, a copy of the Daily News. Our pals in publishing — all Community News Group and New York City Community Media publications are printed at the News’ printing press — have slashed the newsstand price of New York’s Hometown Paper by a quarter in all five boroughs as of Jan. 11. The media grapevine buzzed over the price drop, which comes just seven months after the News hiked its copies to $1.25 each. Some print pundits speculated the News drove up sales with its strong gun-control

advocacy after the San Bernardino shootings, while others credited its financial fluidity to a fresh round of layoffs. News nabobs only said readers shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. “As New York’s Hometown Paper, we look for every opportunity to bring our loyal readers the news they need at a lower price point,” Bill Holiber, president and chief executive officer of the Daily News, said in the press release. Consider the quarter saving no chump change, either. “Life in New York City is hard enough and we figured we’d put 25 cents back in the pockets of our faithful readers,” said Ricardo Flattes, circulation sales and consumer marketing director. “It all adds up.” DowntownExpress.com

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January 14 – January 27, 2016

NYC MESH Continued from page 5

HAMILTON Continued from page 6

work particularly useful in emergencies. During Superstorm Sandy in 2012, a mesh network run by the Red Hook Initiative in Brooklyn not only restored connectivity to the neighborhood but also helped connect affected residents to resources via its intranet. To help dramatically expand the network’s reach — and thus make the back-up service more marketable — Hall hopes to install a high-capacity wireless router on the rooftop of a data center on Pearl St., in the Financial District. “With this ‘supernode,’ we will have an antenna that can reach Lower Manhattan and a large part of Brooklyn,” he explained, adding that the group hopes to get it up and running by April. NYC Mesh isn’t the only free Wi-Fi on offer in Lower Manhattan. Downtowners can already use an ever-expanding network of free Internet provided by the Downtown Alliance, although that is only available on street level. And last week saw the rollout of LinkNYC, an initiative that will eventually replace every pay phone in the city with a Wi-Fi hotspot over the next four years, providing free, high-speed web access to everyone within a few hundred feet. But Hall hopes the promise of outage-proof Internet — and the boot-strapping appeal of a peer-to-peer network that cuts the cable giants out of the picture — will help NYC Mesh win new converts, which will in turn continue to improve the network’s reach and stability over time. You can sign up at nycmesh.net to get your own NYC Mesh node.

Scholet, and a significant increase over last year, before Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hip hop musical turned America’s first Treasury Secretary into a pop icon. “What a difference a year makes,” he said. Scholet said that until the musical popularized Hamilton’s story it could be a struggle for his group to convince many people of the long-marginalized figure’s importance to American history. He blamed Hamilton’s lack of recognition to the statesman’s untimely death at the age of 49 in a duel with Vice President Aaron Burr in 1804. Outlived decades by his ideological rivals Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson, Hamilton was unable to defend his legacy as it was systematically smeared and obscured, according to Scholet, until generations of historians were taught to ignore him. But with the “Hamilton” cast album ranked by Billboard as the second-best album of 2015, even school kids see him as a true American hero. But it wasn’t just the Broadway hit that revived public interest in Hamilton over the past year. “The $10 bill did a lot to,” Scholet said, referring to the national backlash against a proposal floated this year to replace Hamilton on the ten-spot with a woman’s portrait. Not that the Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society opposes putting a woman on the folding

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Fate of Sphere keeps turning

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The Fritz Koenig sculpture formed the centerpiece of the old World Trade Center plaza until it was damaged in the 9/11 attacks. Since then, it has stood in The Battery, as locals lobby to return it to its original site.

B Y YA N N I C RA C K The ultimate home of “the Sphere” is still in limbo, but the iconic artwork rescued from the rubble of the World Trade Center might yet return to its former site — or at least its de facto owner is keeping an open mind. “We have not closed our mind to the future of the Sphere,” said Port Authority program director Glen Guzi when the marred monument’s fate came up at the Jan. 11 meeting of the Community Board 1 Planning Committee. The comment stoked hopes that the 25-foot-high brass orb that formed the centerpiece of the old World Trade Center plaza might eventually return to its original site, which now hosts the National September 11 Memorial. But Guzi conceded that returning the Sphere would be no simple matter. “It’s a complex issue, and it’s been a controversial issue,” he said. The Fritz Koenig sculpture was damaged by the catastrophic collapse of the twin towers in the 9/11 attacks, but when it was retrieved from the rubble relatively intact, the Sphere quickly became a symbol of Downtown’s resilience. It has languished in The Battery since 2002, roughly half a mile south of its original location, where many argue it doesn’t belong. “Putting the Sphere anywhere else DowntownExpress.com

[but the plaza] denies its meaning and betrays the innocents who perished on 9/11,” Michael Burke, whose firefighter brother died in the terrorist attacks, told Downtown Express in 2012. Burke has started a petition to relocate the Sphere to its original site — something even the artwork’s current hosts support. “It’s temporarily sited in The Battery, and we’ve been very honored to have it, but we realize that this is not its permanent home,” said Warrie Price, president of the Battery Conservancy, which manages the park. Guzi stayed vague on details, saying there would be an ongoing dialog, but top brass at the authority have already confirmed that they want the Sphere restored to its former location. “This is an artifact that survived and was affected by the horrors of 9/11, and placing it on the memorial plaza, we think, is entirely appropriate,” The Port Autbhority’s executive director Pat Foye told Downtown Express in a statement. The ball is now once again in the court of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum foundation, which has in the past refused to include the sculpture in its current memorial. A spokesperson for the memorial foundation declined to comment on the fate of the Sphere. January 14 – January 27, 2016

Overstuﬀed clown car careens toward Iowa

Jeb Bush/Facebook

BY MAX BURBAN K Hello, readers. I’m Max Burbank, and for the next 11 months, I’ll be chiming in every now and again to help guide you through the funniest thing we as a nation do: elect a president. How am I qualified to do this? That’s a good question. The answer is, I’m not. Not in the least. I’m not a professional pundit. I never took a single political science course. In fact, just like the most popular people running, my total lack of any qualifications whatsoever is exactly what makes me so qualified. After all, punditry ain’t brain surgery, or, you know, being president. So let’s kick the coverage off with a review of 17 candidates for the office of President of the United States of America — assuming they’re all still running by the time this sees print. I sure hope so. I already missed my chance to make fun of Bobby Jindal.

THE REPUBLICANS JEB BUSH

Jeb has really defied my expectations. I never, in my wildest dreams, imagined I could feel compassion for any member of his family. The strain and misery on his face as he is forced to actually campaign against barely human buffoons, whose daily behavior mocks the very political system they claim to want to lead, is truly moving. I haven’t seen a candidate endure this very specific brand of raw humiliation since Kerry lost to Jeb’s brother. Or Gore lost to Jeb’s brother. Or Dukakis lost to Jeb’s father. Huh. Now that I think of it, I guess I don’t feel that much compassion for him after all. Independent Journal Review/YouTube

BEN CARSON Cleary uncomfortable with eye contact, he mumbles and whispers, laughs inappropriately and often without any context, and not only thinks the pyramids were used to store grain, but seems to be totally unaware that telling this to people makes him look crazy. This is not a candidate — this is a list of symptoms. The only reason people have not realized Carson is diagnosably, clinically insane is that his condition cannot be heard over the much higher volume of Trump’s diagnosable, clinical insanity.

CHRIS CHRISTIE

Carly Fiorina/Facebook

I cannot and will not vote for a man who has the same name twice. It’s ostentatious. It would be like voting for Kris Kristofferson or Duran Duran, two things I would do before I ever voted for Chris Christie, even though Duran Duran is more than one person and none of them are what you’d call “American.” Also, the only reason people don’t notice he’s a shameful, stereotypical bully is because he cannot be seen in the shadow of Trump’s much larger, stereotypical bullying. See? You can mock Chris Christie without ever mentioning that he is “plus-sized,” with which there is nothing wrong.

TED CRUZ He cooked bacon on the barrel of a machine gun, and then ate it. It’s on video. Not cell phone video that someone else took, surreptitiously capturing this bizarre, awful, unsanitary behavior. He intentionally made this video and released it to the public. He actively wants you to witness his sub-human behavior. This is something a very bad dog would do if you left it unsupervised with filthy bacon. And a machine gun. And a video camera. Bad dogs and Ted Cruz

should not be left unsupervised with any of those things! On the plus side, Cruz is diagnosably, clinically insane.

CARLY FIORINA There’s a lot of historical precedence for single-issue candidates, but Fiorina is breaking new ground: as a single-lie candidate. A single-lie can be very good at garnering attention, and locking down the votes of a core constituency. But to compete nationally, she’ll need to have a wider range of value-based lies, not to mention economic and foreign policy lies. A serious candidate needs to be able to lie fluently across the political spectrum. Also, the only people with faces that immobile are folks wearing Michael Myers masks — and the diagnosably, clinically insane.

JIM GILMORE Wait, wait, I know this one, he’s that guy who…he was the…Jesus, his picture looks so familiar — he’s this white older guy who…I’m sorry, I don’t know who Jim Gilmore is.

MIKE HUCKABEE Oh, I remember this guy. He totally used to be relevant at some point. He, like, ran for President in 2008 and did really badly. So naturally, Fox News gave him his own talk show — which is an awesome resume credit if you’re running for gigantic, smarmy, human sack of crap, and not president.

JOHN KASICH The closest thing in this race to a centrist Republican, which makes him the closest thing in this race to invisible.

RAND PAUL Want a president with a medical degree, but still smarting over having a minority in the oval office? Paul’s your man. A fan of weird hair, but put off by terrifyingly weird hair, and not a fan of the color orange? Vote Paul. In addition, while attending Baylor University, he ran their

donaldjtrump.com

January 14 – January 27, 2016

DowntownExpress.com

chapter of Young Conservatives of Texas — offering discerning voters empirical evidence that he is almost certainly an insufferable dick.

MARCO RUBIO The smart money says that after all the crazy-ass candidates eat each other alive, Rubio will emerge as the “Oh, well, I guess we can live with you” Mitt Romney of 2016 — a strategy that went super well for the Republicans last time around. Speaking of money, though, that’s the wild card in this deck. Despite an $800,000 book advance, Rubio recently liquidated a $68,000 retirement account at a huge tax loss, and sold a house in Florida for $18,000 less than he paid for it a decade ago. There are lots of reasons a person might need liquid cash in a hurry, and I’m absolutely not saying voters should engage in shameful, unfounded speculation about gambling, drug addiction, sexual hush money, and any other alleged skeletons that might allegedly be hanging in the Rubio closet. You’d have to be a real skeezeball to do that, and I can think of 11 Republican candidates who are going to do it for you anyway.

RICK SANTORUM While totally irrelevant in any real, political way these days, you can still Google his last name plus “Urban Dictionary” for a quick, cheap laugh.

been said, and is being said everywhere all the time, so I’ll leave it at this: I have a fat, orange, long-haired tomcat that likes nothing better than to climb up on my chest in the middle of the night, drape the flyaway mass of unruly DayGlo fur that is his tail over my forehead, and press his ass directly against my face. I have not “put him to sleep” because I love him. I cannot say the same for Donald Trump.

THE DEMOCRATS HILLARY CLINTON

Don’t get me wrong, I like her politics — but this is America. You’ll see a socialist Jew, a diagnosably, clinically insane person, or a friggin’ tree stump in the White House before we elect a woman President of the United States.

Bernie Sanders/Tumblr

MARTIN O’MALLEY Martin O’ who now?

BERNIE SANDERS Don’t get me wrong, I like his politics, but this is America. You’ll see a woman, a diagnosably, clinically insane person, or a friggin’ tree stump in the White House before we elect a socialist Jew President of the United States.

CONCLUSION

DONALD TRUMP There’s so much to say about him — but it’s already

Friggin’ Tree Stump 2016.

Hillary Clinton/Facebook

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January 14 – January 27, 2016

9/11 Continued from page 2

safe, we reopened the area for business and we don’t know what you’re complaining about.’ On the federal level, there was a brick wall.” Seven days after the attacks, the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency said the air was safe to breathe, said Flynn, and the city Health Dept. told residents to clean up indoor dust using a wet rag and a mop. But Flynn said there was a lot of asbestos and glass in the smoke and

Photo by Milo Hess

Mary Perillo, Kimberly Flynn, and Barbara Reich of 9/11 Environmental Action, working out of Perillo’s Cedar St. apartment, are continuing their efforts to enroll Downtowners who survived the 9/11 attacks in the healthcare and medical monitoring program recently given a new lease on life.

January 14 – January 27, 2016

dust, among other contaminants. As Downtowners tried to clean up, the dust caused eye injuries, rashes, and many nose and throat irritations, she said. After successfully pushing the E.P.A. to finally do some cleanup, 9/11 Environmental Action also fought for a federal program that would address survivors’ healthcare. By 2006, first responders had the World Trade Center Worker and Volunteer Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program, Flynn said, and local residents had a pilot program that provided treatment for a small amount of people. The group organized a town hall at St. Paul’s Chapel in 2006 calling for federal action to treat and monitor all those affected by the World Trade Center attacks. “What we demand[ed] [was] a federally-funded program that has the capability of monitoring and treating the community of residents, the students and all of the office workers, all the area workers Downtown who’ve been affected by 9/11,” Flynn said. It would take until January 2011 for the Zadroga Act to become law. Now, with the reauthorization, Flynn

Courtesy of 9/11 Environmental Action

Mary Perillo had her work cut out for her when she returned to her apartment shortly after the World Trade Center towers collapsed.

said that their outreach and education mission is by no means done, and there are still survivors who don’t know they are eligible for the program. “There are really likely tens of thousands of people who need the program now, or will need it,” she said.

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EDITORIAL

Letters PUBLISHER

Jennifer Goodstein EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Bill Egbert

EDITOR-AT-LARGE

Josh Rogers REPORTER

Dusica Sue Malesevic ARTS EDITOR

Scott Stiffler EXECUTIVE VP OF ADVERTISING

Amanda Tarley

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Jack Agliata Allison Greaker Jim Steele Julio Tumbaco ART DIRECTOR

To the Editor, As a resident of downtown for 33 years I thought your "Oh, What a Year!" article was wonderful — it was very well written and seems to have covered everyone and everything that meant something to us this past year. Re: "Jeff Galloway off CB1 after tax fraud" — I also believe he received 5 years probation. it is unfortunate that Mr. Galloway ran, and was reelected to, the Gateway Plaza Tenants Association Executive Committee in June, 2015. Again, what a great article. Randy Bragg To the Editor, There is more to Governor Andrew Cuomo's announcement that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority New York City Transit will increase rehabilitation for subway stations to a state of good repair by 10 or 50% from originally 20 planned in the proposed MTA Five Year 2015 - 2019 Capital Plan. The original $34 billion plan announced on October 24, 2014 proposed $448 million for bringing 20 subway stations to a state of good repair. This Five Year Capital Plan was cut by $6 billion to $28 billion. The MTA Board approved this revised Capital Plan at its October 29th, 2015

monthly meeting. This was prior to Cuomo's declaration last week about increasing the number of stations (or dollars) for NYCT's 2015 -2019 subway stations renewal program. This plan still needs approval by the State Capital Program Review Board. It also requires the State Legislature to find $8 Billion promised by Governor Cuomo. The NYC Council must also come up with $2.5 Billion to meet commitments made by NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio to fully fund the Capital Plan. If you increase the number of stations by 10 or 50%, the overall NYCT Station renewal program would grow by $224 million to $672 million. Just what other NYCT capital projects and programs would have to be cut to support finding $224 million? Cuomo was silent on this key question. According to a New York City Citizens Budget Commission report released several months ago, it will take 52 years or until 2067 for all 468 New York City Transit Subway Stations to reach a state of good repair. Cuomo's MTA NYCT math just doesn't add up. He reminds me of the cartoon character Wimpy who famously said "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today." When the bills become due, taxpayers will end up paying Cuomo's bill. Larry Penner, Great Neck, NY

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January 14 – January 27, 2016

Posted To SAVING 'LITTLE SYRIA' (DEC. 30 ) In our recorded history of early Manhattan, we give recognition to Native Americans who were here first, the Dutch settlers and their many contributions, the British and their contributions, the African slaves (both free and in bondage) and their contributions. Today we have many examples throughout Lower Manhattan in the form of surviving architecture, artifacts, historic markers, architectural remnants, open space, statues and religious structures that remind us of the successive mix of immigrants who arrived in Lower Manhattan, lived and worked here and left a rich legacy and mark on New York's history. Your excellent article introduces us to Little Syria, that vibrant neighborhood of immigrants of Arab origin, including Syrians that began settling in this small area in the 19th Century and thrived until the 1940's. Many people who live and work today in Lower Manhattan are clueless about its history or where Little Syria was once located. In spite of Little Syria's destruction, there survives a few vulnerable remnants of this community' s cultural diversity, civic activities, education and religions. Thank you for bringing such a

wonderful, diverse and rich community back to life so we can do something to honor, recognize and preserve the neighborhood's important history about the immigrant experience in America from an Arab perspective. Selwyn Garraway

UNFROZEN: GATEWAY PLAZA LAWSUIT INCHES FORWARD (DEC. 18) Lived there 1987 - 1991 and this was a huge problem even back then. Amazing nothing has still been done about it. Live There In 1980s

CROSS ON GUARDS: SOME SCHOOL CROSSINGS STILL UNWATCHED, SAYS CHIN (DEC. 28) There are absolutely no crossing guards at PS 276 in the morning or afternoon. Does anyone know why? Liz

FEST FLICKS HONOR AND INVOKE PHILIP K. DICK (JAN. 6) I have read quite a bit of stories by, and heard a lot about the life of,Philip K. Dick in the past few months.

He strikes me as not only being a visionary science-fiction writer, but as a misunderstood genius. A bit of a tortured soul. He saw the world as being rather obsessed with things, and not with true meaning. I kind of see myself the same way, maybe that is why I can relate to his writings, and films. Also, I wanted to comment on that article you guys wrote on the poetry/jazz piece. The poet you were talking about reminds me a lot of the poets of the Beat Generation, primarily Allen Ginsberg & Jack Kerouac. I thought it was a well-written and inspiring piece. I like to write poetry, myself & perhaps I, or anybody else, should be inspired to do so...and create! Bryan Gerard Briggs

SHELL GAME: SELECTION, NOT ELECTION, WILL DECIDE SILVER’S SUCCESSOR (DEC. 30) Article IV, Section 2 of the Rules and Regulations of the Democratic Party of the County of New York: “Whenever a district committee meets for the purpose of nominating a canPOSTED TO Continued on page 19

DowntownExpress.com

POSTED TO Continued from page 18

didate for public office: the Credentials Committee of the County Committee shall make available lists of the members of such committee and the weighted vote of each such member at the earliest possible time; no member of such committee shall be eligible to vote unless the Secretary of the County Committee shall have received at least 72 hours before the commencement of the meeting all necessary documentation of the member's election...” Politico Drivel. "the Credentials Committee ... shall make available lists of the members of such committee and the weighted vote of each such member at the earliest possible time" specifies no certain date and no particular recipient of the list. Moreover, the 72-hour advance notice requirement refers only to making the list available to that Committee's secretary, arguably the only person who has to get the lists of the members with their weighted vote. It seems the Credentials Committee only needs to create the list of people, indicate the weight of each person's vote, and give it to the secretary no later than 72 hours before the commencement of the meeting. Failing this, what is the remedy? It appears that absolutely no one on the committee could vote until that 72-hour period expired. There does not appear to be any lawsuit that registered Democrat could bring to prevent a vote, force the publication of the list or ask for any remedy to any of the committee's failures, except to risk heavy sanctions for bringing one. The article fairly describes the temple of Ozymandias before the great and powerful Oz had his memorable statue cast. Joe Gould

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The serious work of a good playdate BY L EN ORE SKEN AZY As Brooklyn mom Tamara R. Mose was preparing for a play date with a mom and child she didn’t know well yet, she paused to look at her home: “All the bathrooms are clean, dishes put away, beds made, floors Swiffered, laundry folded, garbage cans emptied, and toys put in their place and sorted for age appropriateness.” And then there was the food: “The kitchen is full of aromas, boiling pasta, simmering sauce, freshly sliced carrots, celery, and oranges, all displayed on sparkling white plates. Lined up are juice boxes boasting their 100 percent organic label, plastic forks and plates, and beside them some half-folded disposable white napkins.” Add to this some whole-wheat crackers, cheeses (three varieties), and the fact her daughter had straightened up her room, too, and Mose, a sociology professor at Brooklyn College, couldn’t help but notice: This was not just about fun. This was a performance — “an effort to present ourselves as a decent black family.” From there it was just a hop, skip, and a jump — and a year of interviewing a broad swath of New York parents — to writing, “The Playdate: Parents, Children, and the New Expectations of Play,” which will be published by NYU Press this spring. A play date, Mose argues, is really sort of a double date — “You’re essentially dating the other parent. You’re checking them out. What do they do for a living?” Parents arrange play dates ostensibly for their children’s fun and enrichment, but really, there’s a lot more going on. Yes, they want their kids to make friends and play, but the parents want to make friends, too. And usually, Mose observed, they want to make friends with other parents demographically the same as them — friends who might even be able to help them in the job world. At one play date Mose arranged at her son’s request, she and her then-husband invited over two couples. One was a lawyer married to an artist, the other was a screenwriter married to the curator of a book lecture series. By the end of the play date, Mose and the curator realized that they knew someone in common and he invited Mose to give a lecture at his series. “It was at this moment that I started to realize how many times the parents I had invited to a play date either knew someone I knew,” says Mose, or they offered some kind of connecting: Come to this show with us, let me introduce you to so-and-so.

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The upside is obvious: friendship, networking, even babysitting backup. But Mose’s book looks at the downsides, too, starting with the way play date culture perpetuates class stratifications. The parents who believe in organic hummus and no television are unlikely to have many play dates with the parents who put out soda and chips with SpongeBob in the background — even if the kids really like each other at school. What’s more, simply by perpetuating the play date imperative — that is, the idea that of course children need constant supervision either by parents or caregivers — the idea of kids running around on their own seems preposterous. When she was growing up, Mose recalls, she’d go down the street knocking on friends’ doors, asking them to come out to play. “Almost all the parents that I interviewed did the same thing,” she says. Play was kid-driven and often out in public. Now that kind of fun is considered too dangerous (even though crime is back to the level of 1963). The modern play date is organized, supervised, and private. “So if Joe and John get in a fight and they’re in the room next door, they can come out and complain to me to make it better,” says Mose. “Whereas if they’re out on the street playing they need to figure it out.” Play date-raised kids lose out on certain childhood lessons their parents got just as a matter of course: How to deal with a quarrel, or even a bully. Is this one reason we have so many anti-bullying assemblies today? Kids just don’t get any real-world practice in standing up for themselves, or shrugging off an insult? What’s more, Mose says: Kids who are indoors, surrounded by amusements, may not learn how to make a sword out of stick, or a boat out of square of pavement. They do, however, learn how to speak to adults. And in the end, she says, that confidence and poise may serve them well in the business world. In fact, play dates may help both generations in the business world. They just might not help children actually learn how to play. Lenore Skenazy is a keynote speaker and author and founder of the book and blog Free-Range Kids.

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EVACUATION DAY Continued from page 4

Green where Councilmember Chin and society co-founder James Kaplan announced the proposal to co-name the Downtown park and unveiled an “Evacuation Day Plaza” sign they made for when the Council approves it. They’ll have to wait at least six months longer now, since the Council only considers street co-naming requests twice a year. The Council routinely approves co-naming proposals that have the support of the local councilmember and community board, so denying a vote on one that was put forth by Councilmember Chin and endorsed by Community Board 1 is unusual. Sources on the Council staff said that the rejection stemmed from the fact that street co-namings are typically reserved for honoring individuals or groups for outstanding civic service, rather than commemorating something as abstract as an event or holiday. But Piccolo pointed to “Do the Right Thing Way” in Brooklyn, which was co-named in September to honor an early Spike Lee joint rather than the director himself.

“They said yes to Hollywood, but no to American history,” he said. Indeed, the list of co-namings to be approved on Jan. 19 includes such abstractions as “Diversity Plaza” in Queens, “Ragamuffin Way” in Brooklyn, and “Hip Hop Boulevard” in the Bronx. It is not unusual for some co-naming proposals to take more than one round of consideration to come to a vote, however. It took several rounds and extensive local lobbying for “Hip Hop Boulevard” to finally make it onto the current list, according to a Council staffer familiar with the process. Piccolo still holds out hope of getting “Evacuation Day Plaza” onto the list. He’s hoping for a chance to make his case at a preliminary hearing on the co-naming list by the Council’s parks and recreation committee on Thursday. Chin’s staff says she is still fighting for the proposal, and will keep pushing even if it gets snubbed this time. “The Councilmember is committed to honoring this important moment in the history of Lower Manhattan and will continue to work with the Council to make ‘Evacuation Day Plaza’ a reality,” said spokesman Paul Leonard.

+ PRESENT

Saturday, February 27th from 10am–3pm

25 Pine Street in FiDi All offerings are FREE and open to the public

Plan your summer in one day! Camp activity trials and registration all under one roof Enjoy free performances, demonstrations, family adventures and summer-themed foods as you learn more about the very best local Day and Overnight Camp options for 2016. Registration is required for drop off and drop in activities. RSVP is appreciated for family Plan & Play day attendance.

January 14 – January 27, 2016

Battery Park Montessori Summer Camp Sampler drop off available from 10-12 and 1-3 for children 2.5-6 years old.

Pixel Academy Minecraft Club drop in to the Pine Street School Design Technology Lab available from 10-3 for kids 6-14 years old.

DowntownExpress.com

Surviving in a world of high-stakes testing Students are periodically tested to gauge their progress on a variety of subjects. Testing can be an effective way to determine a student’s understanding of a given subject, but not every student performs well on tests. Test-taking comes easily for some, but not so for others. Nerves or trouble concentrating can foil the best students. However, there are ways for students to improve their test-taking skills.

PREPARATION Most tests are given with prior notice, enabling students to prepare for them well in advance. Sometimes teachers and professors will surprise students with a quiz. These pop quizzes are used to judge how well students are absorbing the information and if they have been paying attention. When in class, continually jot down notes and create an outline of important information. The teacher may provide hints about the upcoming test, including emphasizing specific areas of focus or even revealing the format of the test. Contrary to what some students believe, teachers want their students to succeed. Therefore, your teacher may offer a review session the day before or be open for questions prior to the test if further clarification is needed. Studying with others can shed new light on a subject. Studying difficult subject matter with peers may help students grasp the materials better than they did in class. Classmates may have some tricks they’ve developed, including mnemonic devices for putting facts together.

THE DAY BEFORE AND THE DAY OF THE TEST Prior to a test, make sure you eat and get enough rest. While it may be tempting to pull an “all-nighter,” you will not perform well on the test if you are tired from having studied all night. Review the material and put the main ideas or formulas onto a sheet that can be quickly reviewed. Review it many times and then put it away. Have a good meal, relax, and try to get at least eight hours of sleep. On the day of the test, wake up and arrive on time or even a few minutes early for your class. This can help to calm your nerves and enable you to squeeze in some last-second studying. DowntownExpress.com

Knowing how to take a test can be as important as what you know.

THE TEST ITSELF Make sure you have the supplies needed for the test. This may include pens or pencils, a calculator, a textbook if you are allowed to reference, or any other supplies the teacher allows. Have a watch available so that you can pace yourself during the test. Avoid using a mobile phone during the test, as the teacher may misinterpret that as cheating. Try to remain positive through the test. If you feel yourself getting nervous, take a few deep breaths and regroup. In addition to these tips, there are other ways to approach the test. • Do the easiest problems first. If you do not know a question, skip it and move on. There may be clues later on in the test that help you go back and answer skipped questions. • Always read the entire question. Skimming could find you missing important instructions. • Look for words that may help you determine the answer, such as “all,” “never,” or “none.” They may present clues to the answer. • Pay attention to your work and only your work. Do not be distracted if others finish before you. • If there is time, go back and look over the test. Make sure that all the questions have been answered and check for any careless mistakes. Proofread any essays and short answer questions. Preparing well for a test, remaining calm and checking over your work can help students who struggle with test-taking do their best.

General Programs

• Piano class • Art class • Dance class • Karate class • Yoga class • Soccer class • Foreign language class

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Special Programs

Infant program 3mos-1yr 1-2yrs Toddler program 2-3yrs Nursery program Preschool program 3-4yrs Pre-kindergarten 4-5yrs After school program 5yrs-up

FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN FROM CHINA? INTERESTED IN CHINESE CULTURE? ALL ARE WELCOME!

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2 South End Ave. New York, NY 10280 212-786-1688 • Ms. Michele Mandarin) (Bilingual in 1501 Lexington Ave. @ 97th St. 212-987-3700

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600 6th Ave. @ 17th St. 212-255-6911

25 Market St. @ Henry St. 212-577-2710

39 Eldridge St. L.E.S. @ Canal St. 212-925-0998

January 14 – January 27, 2016

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