The Villager • Jan. 14, 2016

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The Paper of Record for Greenwich Village, East Village, Lower East Side, Soho, Union Square, Chinatown and Noho, Since 1933

January 14, 2016 • $1.00 Volume 86 • Number 2

Squadron slams Senate for refusing to consider the Elevator Safety Act BY YANNIC RACK

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enants and politicians joined in calling on state legislators to pass a bill that would improve regulation and licensing for elevator workers after a 25-year-old man was crushed to death in an elevator on New Year’s Eve. Stephen Hewett-Brown,

an aspiring rapper from the Bronx, was heading to a party at 131 Broome St. when he was fatally injured in an accident just before midnight on Dec. 31. When the elevator got stuck between floors, HewettBrown reportedly helped others get out, but was pinned ELEVATOR continued on p. 10

Composting comes to Spring St., twice a week BY TEQUILA MINSKY AND LINCOLN ANDERSON

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he term “scrappy New Yorkers” is taking on added meaning at a spot on the Lower West Side where local residents are flocking — well, twice weekly, for now — to drop off their banana peels, broccoli stems and coffee

grounds. Part of a city-funded program to encourage residents to separate out their organic matter for composting, the drop-off site is in operation at Spring St. and Sixth Ave. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., right outside the C/E subway staCOMPOST continued on p. 12

PHOTO BY Q. SAKAMAKI

A photo of David Bowie during his Ziggy Stardust period amid votive candles and flowers at the memorial in front of his Soho building.

Fans bid Bowie farewell, good luck amid the stars BY LINCOLN ANDERSON

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lison Dalton was walking down Lafayette St. carrying a bouquet of rust-orange roses, heading to the memorial in front of David Bowie’s building. Although no tears came from her eyes, she appeared as if crying. “They’re the color of ‘Aladdin Sane,’” she said of the flowers, referring to Bowie’s 1973 album. “He had a lightning bolt that color on his face.” The superstar singer 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. Asked what Bowie meant to her, Dalton, 59, said, “He was always, in his way, completely honest about what he was going through.” She added her flowers to the memorial, which 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 different 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.” Similarly, others who came to pay their respects at the memorial in front of 285 Lafayette St. said Bowie’s openness about his ambiguous sexuality, along with his ever-changing stage personas, gave them the courage BOWIE continued on p. 6

Ex-chef dies in skateboard accident...........page 8 Are kids’ playdates really for parents?......page 14 Grey Art Gallery goes global........page 21

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ROCK ROYALTY AT THE RITZ: Westbeth rock photographer Bob Gruen shared this classic photo with us of Tina Turner giving David Bowie some love and bubbly backstage after her show at The Ritz in 1983, as the Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards, swigging some Jack, looked on. The Ritz left E. 11th St. and moved uptown in 1989 and was replaced by today’s Webster Hall. “To the world Bowie may have seemed like a ‘space oddity,’ but whenever we met he was always a very classy English gentleman,” Gruen told us. NOT-SO-SPECIAL ELECTION? With seemingly each passing week seeing yet another candidate announce interest in the 65th Assembly District seat, now we’re suddenly hearing there might not even be a special election on April 19. Governor Andrew Cuomo had said he was considering calling a special election for that date to fill former Speaker Shelly Silver’s empty seat. Cuomo had said it would save money to hold special elections — including one for the now-vacant seat until lately held by another Preet Bharara victim, former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos — to coincide with the New York presidential primary. However, Zack Fink, who we’re told is a Battery Park City resident, writing last week on the State of Politics blog, reports that because there are separate computer programs for local and national elections, it would actually overwhelm the New York City Board of Elections to hold all the elections on that day. The special election could be pushed back to June, Fink said he’s hearing, in which case, the 200 members of the local Democratic County Committee — a.k.a. “party insiders” — would pick the nominee; or there might not be a “special” at all, and everyone could run in September in the regularly scheduled Democratic primary in a free-for-all. That last scenario would mean that the 65th A.D. would not have any representation for about a year. One candidate, Yuh-Line Niou, was quick to put out a statement, urging Cuomo to stick to his original plan. “The residents of my community deserve a voice standing up for them in Albany in this crucial legislative session,” she said. “The 65th Assembly District has an overwhelming majority of Asian, Latino and African-American voters with unique needs that deserve to be represented as critical decisions are made on affordable housing, the minimum wage, our education system and funding for senior centers. There is no valid excuse for a delay. While the process for picking a candidate may be arcane, we cannot afford to wait any longer. After nearly two months with2

January 14, 2016

out representation, I encourage Governor Cuomo to act swiftly in calling a special election for April 19 or sooner.” We asked all the other candidates — Paul Newell, Jenifer Rajkumar, John Bal and Don B. Lee — for their thoughts on the matter, but only Newell responded by press time. “I can’t really comment on rumors,” Newell told us. “The governor has said his plans, and I’m sure he will inform people if he changes them. For now, I’m focused on talking to our neighbors, and trying to build a different kind of leadership for Lower Manhattan.” In a follow-up question, we asked if it makes any difference to him whether or not there is a special election in April or if the district has to wait until September to get representation. “Surely it makes a difference — to me and to Lower Manhattan,” he answered. “But I’m not gonna comment on rumors.” At least he responded, though!

VILLAGE BOY: Former Councilmember Alan Gerson was at the Three Kings Day party last week where District Leader Alice Cancel an-

nounced she, too, is in the running for the 65th Assembly District seat left open after Silver was convicted in federal court on two pay-to-play schemes. Gerson told us he had been asked by numerous people if he was running for the Lower Manhattan seat. But he said he doesn’t live in the district — and doesn’t want to give up his apartment at 505 LaGuardia Place. We don’t blame him for not wanting to leave the beautiful I.M.-Pei designed Modernist building, which was landmarked, along with its two sister Silver Towers buildings and their central “Portrait of Sylvette” Picasso sculpture, in 2008. Plus, it’s a Mitchell-Lama building, meaning the rent is affordable.

CORRECTION IN SHA ALLAH: Last week’s article on the interfaith service at the East Village’s Madina Masjid should have said that the service was led by Imam Achmed Abu Sufian, who is the E. 11th St. mosque’s imam. As the article reported, the mosque’s Muhammad Shahidullah also spoke at length during the event.

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January 14, 2016

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POLICE BLOTTER Named best weekly newspaper in New York State in 2001, 2004 and 2005 by New York Press Association Editorials, First Place, 2014 News Story, First Place, 2014 Overall Design Excellence, First Place, 2013 Best Column, First Place, 2012 Photographic Excellence, First Place, 2011 Spot News Coverage, First Place, 2010 Coverage of Environment, First Place, 2009

Police released this surveillance-camera image of a man who allegedly punched a senior in the face on W. 16th St.

PUBLISHER JENNIFER GOODSTEIN

Police released this photo of the gun that the suspect allegedly had on him when arrested.

EDITOR IN CHIEF LINCOLN ANDERSON

ARTS EDITOR

L.E.S. shooting arrest

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The Publisher shall not be liable for slight changes or typographical errors that do not lessen the value of an advertisement. The publisher’s liability for others errors or omissions in connection with an advertisement is strictly limited to publication of the advertisement in any subsequent issue. Published by NYC Community Media, LLC One Metrotech North 10th floor Brooklyn, NY 11201 Phone: (718) 260-2500 • Fax: (212) 229-2790 On-line: www.thevillager.com E-mail: news@thevillager.com © 2016 NYC Community Media, LLC

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January 14, 2016

On Wed., Jan. 7, around 10:25 p.m., plainclothes members of the Police Service Area 4 (Housing Police) Anti-Crime Team were on patrol near the Alfred Smith Houses, when they heard about five shots fired near their location. They immediately exited their unmarked police car and headed toward the direction of the shots, where they encountered three males fleeing the area, police said. The officers pursued the suspects and observed one of them pulling at his pocket while attempting to elude capture. The officers subsequently caught the individual without further incident and, during a search, recovered a .38-caliber Charter Arms revolver from his jacket pocket. During further investigation, officers learned that the shots fired by the suspect were directed at a nearby group of youths. The other two suspects were not apprehended. Jordan Rodriguez, 17, of 3 Haven Plaza, at E. 12th St. and Avenue C, was arrested and charged with second-degree attempted murder, attempted assault, reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a weapon.

Shattering attack Sat., Jan. 9, shortly after 11 p.m. was not a particularly happy hour at The Happiest Hour bar, at 121 W. 10th St., according to police. A bargoer got into an argument with another patron, who then tried to attack one of the victim’s friends, police said. The alleged aggressor tried to hit the victim with a glass bottle but missed. Undeterred, he tried again and violently bashed the victim twice on the left side of his face with the bottle, causing a large laceration with profuse bleeding. The victim was brought to Bellevue Hospital and police said his injuries would require surgery. Jonathan McIntosh, 29, was arrested for felony assault.

Stealing at J.J. Walker A 15-year-old man was attacked inside J.J. Walker Park at 410 Hudson St. on Thurs., Jan. 7, at 4 p.m., police said. The victim was sitting in the park when three men approached him. One man grabbed his face and pushed him onto a fence while he removed the victim’s Canada Goose down jacket and said, “Take it off before I break your jaw.” Police said the men also stole a white iPhone, unlimited MetroCard and money from the victim. One of the suspects was known to the victim and reportedly attends City-AsSchool High School at 16 Clarkson St. On Jan. 8, Rogers Jackson, 19, was arrested and on Jan. 11, Hasanae Kirby, 18, was collared. Both were charged with felony robbery. The third suspect is still at large. He’s around 6 feet tall, weighs 175 pounds and has brown eyes, police said.

A coffee mugging So much for a relaxing cup of coffee. A man exiting the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, at 350 W. 14th St., at 9:15 p.m. on Tues., Jan. 5, was robbed of his valuable belongings. A man was caught on video stealing property from the victim, including an Apple Mac computer, his wallet and a snakeskin bag valued at $800. Police said the man was arrested the next day because he was recognized when he returned to the area. Police arrested Patrick Goodwin, 24, on Jan. 6 for felony grand larceny.

Bleecker bouncer busted A witness found a man on the pavement with a cut near his left eye outside Bar 1849, at 183 Bleecker St., on Mon., Jan. 4, at 12:55 a.m. and contacted police. The witness told cops he saw the bouncer from Bar 1849 walking away from the victim. According to police, the bounc-

er admitted to punching the victim in the face because the victim refused to leave the bar and tried punching the bouncer and another employee. The victim could not remember what happened. He was removed to Beth Israel Hospital to treat the cut by his left eye. The bouncer, Jamie K. Glover, 29, was arrested for misdemeanor assault.

Slugs senior Police said that on Mon., Dec. 14, at 11:15 a.m., a 67-year-old man exited the subway station at the corner of W. 16th St. and Sixth Ave. when a man approached him and punched him in the face, then fled the scene. The victim refused medical attention on scene. Anyone with information is asked to call the Police Department’s Crime Stoppers Hotline, at 800-577TIPS. Tips can also be submitted by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Web site, www.nypdcrimestoppers.com, or by texting them to 274637(CRIMES) and then entering TIP577.

Fifth Precinct rape Police said that on Wed., Jan. 13, investigators were informed by a female in her twenties that on Sun., Jan. 10, around 4 a.m. she was inside her home within the confines of the Fifth Precinct — which covers Chinatown and the Lower East Side — when an unidentified male in his twenties sexually assaulted her and left the location. The victim was treated at an area hospital and released. There are no arrests at this time and the investigation is ongoing. Police did not immediately provide more information.

Emily Siegel and Lincoln Anderson TheVillager.com

TheVillager.com

January 14, 2016

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Fans bid Bowie farewell BOWIE continued from p. 1

to embrace their own uniqueness. And of course Bowie’s music was amazing. His anthems, from “Space Oddity” and “Heroes” to “Let’s Dance,” were the sounds for generations of people’s lives. Asked what Bowie was like, a doorman at the tony building said the Starman was actually always very grounded. “He was a wonderful man, very down to earth,” the doorman said, declining to give his name. “He will be sorely missed.” Asked if Bowie had a rock-star ego, he said, “Not at all.” Also among those gathered outside the building was Nikki Sinclaire, 47, who hails from Bowie’s home burg of Brixton, in London. Wrapped in an oversized Alexander McQueen Queen Elizabeth / Union Jack scarf, she was Europe’s first transgender politician. “His music was a big soundtrack of that era,” she said. “I grew up gay / transgender and his

music kind of made ‘different’ O.K. You’d have no Boy George, no George Michael without David Bowie. He pushed the boundary and made it O.K. He has culturally made changes politicians could only dream of making.” As for Bowie’s sexuality, she said, “I’m not sure what it was at the end of the day. I don’t think for Bowie it mattered.” A man pointed to the “David Live” album propped up in front of the burgeoning pile of flowers. “Best live album ever — from start to finish,” he announced to the crowd. “I just wanted everyone to know that.” 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.

PHOTO BY Q. SAKAMAKI

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January 14, 2016

PHOTO BY LINCOLN ANDERSON

PHOTO BY LINCOLN ANDERSON

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Former Downtown chef dies skateboarding on Delancey BY LINCOLN ANDERSON

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Greenpoint man died on the Lower East Side when he tried to hitch a ride on a garbage-hauling truck while skateboarding, police said. The Daily News reported that Richard Oates, 32, had left a successful career as a chef to open a skateboard store, East River Skate Shop, also in Greenpoint. On Tues., Jan. 12, at 1:19 p.m., police responded to a 911 call of a pedestrian struck at Delancey and Norfolk Sts. They found the Brooklyn ’boarder unconscious and unresponsive with trauma to his body. EMS transported him to Bellevue Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Police said that a preliminary investigation revealed that Oates was skateboarding while hanging onto the passenger side of a green Mack truck traveling westbound on Delancey St. But he fell off his board onto the street and was struck by the truck’s rear passenger-side wheels. The News said Oates lost his balance when the truck changed lanes. The investigation is ongoing by the

Richard Oates left a career as a chef to open up a skateboard shop in Brooklyn.

Police Department’s Collision Investigation Squad. It was reported that no charges were filed against the truck driver, 37. According to the News, Oates previously was a chef at Left Bank in the West Village and Freemans Restaurant on the Lower East Side. He was a married father of two young children.

T’giving dinner keeps on giving and giving

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isiting Neighbors, a local nonprofit that provides a helping hand to the community’s elderly, received some help in return thanks to the Thanksgiving dinner hosted by BAMRA (Bleecker Area Merchants’ and Residents’ Association), Le Souk and Falucka lounge. The event, held annually at Le Souk, the LaGuardia Place Egyptian hot spot, is free to all in the community who might not otherwise be able to celebrate Thanksgiving with others. A collection box for Visiting Neighbors was passed around at the two seatings. This year, $840 was collected from the dinner, which was 100 percent matched by BAMRA, Le Souk and Falucka, with Visiting Neighbors receiving a total of $3,360. Ray Cline, resident chairperson of BAMRA, said, “The Thanksgiving dinner and collection for Visiting Neighbors by BAMRA, Le

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January 14, 2016

From left, Ray Cline of BAMRA; Howie Square of Visiting Neighbors; Marcus Andrews of Falucka; Dr. Cynthia Maurer of Visiting Neighbors; and Sam Jacob of Falucka during the matching-fund checks presentation at the Jan. 6 BAMRA meeting.

Souk and Falucka — all which are right here in the area — truly embody Visiting Neighbors’ slogan of ‘Neighbors Helping Neighbors.’ We are proud to have been part of the event and to make this matching donation.” TheVillager.com

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January 14, 2016

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Squadron: Senate must pass Elevator Safety Act ELEVATOR continued from p. 1

between the elevator’s roof and the third floor when the cab suddenly dropped. Last week, state Senator Daniel Squadron and Assemblymember Keith Wright, from Harlem, stood with tenants and union members in front of the building to call for improved regulation to avoid similar accidents in the future. “In New York, elevators are part of our daily lives. We need to ensure they are up to the safety standards on which lives depend,” said Squadron, who is a co-sponsor of the Elevator Safety Act. Wright is a sponsor of the legislation in the Assembly. “The death of Stephen HewettBrown is a reminder of the need for commonsense standards for elevator work,” Squadron added. The bill, introduced in 2011, has passed four times in the Assembly but has been repeatedly blocked by the Senate majority, according to Squadron — despite its having 40 co-sponsors. He said it would provide baseline worker credentials, which already exist for many other trades, and would ensure better training for personnel who work on elevators. “To think that the tragic death of Mr. Hewett-Brown could have been avoided with proper elevator upkeep by licensed professionals is more than enough reason to take action today,” Wright said. Tenants at the Broome St. building, as well as two other buildings on Grand St., which together form the Grand Street Guild complex, say they have been complaining about faulty elevators for years — but that their concerns were not addressed by a multimillion-dollar renovation

At a press conference last week at the Grand St. Guild houses, state Senator Daniel Squadron, speaking at microphone, Assemblymember Keith Wright, to the right of him, tenant leaders and union members said it’s high time that the state Senate pass a stalled bill on elevator safety.

in 2011. “I think we were shortchanged,” said Daisy Paez, the president of the Grand Street Guild Tenants Association, who has lived at 410 Grand St. for 30 years. Paez said problems with stuck elevators and faulty intercoms have started to pile up, and added that she got trapped in an elevator herself just last month. “What happens is, the elevator starts jumping, like you’re on an airplane, and all of a sudden there’s a big drop and the elevator freezes,” she explained. “That’s exactly what happened to me, I had my pajamas on, no cellphone — I knew I was in

a bad place.” She said she got lucky and was rescued. After the deadly accident, though, many older residents of the complex are terrified to use the elevators — but must depend on them every day. “We have a lot of seniors here, and our buildings are high-rises with 26 floors,” Paez said. “So I’m really concerned that the seniors might feel hostages in their own apartment, scared to go out because something might happen to them [in an elevator].” The building’s owner, Grand Street Guild East HDFC, was slapped with two Environmental Control Board

violations last year. In addition, Department of Buildings records currently list three open violations for the elevators dating back to an inspection in 2012. Jay Yablonsky, the director of property management at Wavecrest Management, which operates the buildings, said the company was working with D.O.B. and police to determine the cause of the accident. Paez said she hopes conditions might improve soon, now that everyone is paying attention. “It’s so sad that it took a life for people to start moving,” she said. “This is not the way we should be living.”

Mamoun’s making its move on St. Mark’s, but not too far BY LINDSAY BU

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amoun’s Falafel on MacDougal St. in Greenwich Village is the city’s oldest falafel place and one of the city’s bestknown Middle Eastern eateries. Since opening in 1971, the original Mamoun’s Falafel has expanded to five other locations in the New York area. In its latest move, the falafel king is now relocating its East Village operation from 22 St. Mark’s Place to 30 St. Mark’s Place. Eastern Consolidated commercial real estate firm has arranged a 10-year lease at the new 1,400-square-foot location. The new space is about twice the size of Mamoun’s current East Village site, though just a few storefronts down the street. Mamoun’s workers move at lightning speed when they put together falafel sandwiches, so it’s not surprising that the entire transaction was made in just three weeks.

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January 14, 2016

Chowing down on affordable Mamoun’s fare on St. Mark’s.

“The landlord is thrilled and Mamoun’s is thrilled to be staying on the same block between Second and Third Aves.,” said Jeff Geogehan, the director of Eastern Consolidated, who represented Mamoun’s. “We didn’t even have time to market the space at 30 St. Mark’s Place.” Hosame Kaid, the current manager of the 22 St. Mark’s Place Mamoun’s, explained that the quick move was spurred by a desire to better serve the customers. “We’re simply moving because of space,” he said. “We’re just expanding to make everything a little better — there will be more seating for customers, and also more kitchen staff. We’re adding a few things to our menu as well, like a special homemade rice.” Kaid added that the current Mamoun’s on St. Mark’s will stay open until the new site is completely renovated and ready. Though he did not know the precise timeline of construction, he predicted the renovations will occur during March. TheVillager.com

Link is a new way to think about sidewalk telecom

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PHOTOS BY JONATHAN ALPEYRIE

The new free Wi-Fi link at E. 17th St. and Third Ave.

ast week, the city unveiled the first few of its upcoming 7,500 LinkNYC Wi-Fi kiosks. Two of the new monolithic “links,” as they are called, now stand on Third Ave., at E. 17th and 15th Sts. Nearly 10 feet tall, with gigabit speed and a 150-foot range, they will offer charging stations, a touch screen that provides maps and information about city services and a speaker phone that will let users make domestic calls. They’re not fully functional yet, though, but the Wi-Fi connection reportedly will go live within the next two weeks. A “tablet component” will be added next month so that people can make phone calls and do Internet searches. The kiosks are planned to replace 6,000 street pay phones. Crain’s reported that the network of links will cost $200 million to set up, but will rake in $500 million in ad revenue over the next dozen years. By June, according to Crain’s, it’s expected that 500 more kiosks will be installed citywide. Within the next eight years, the city will be blanketed with 7,500 links. Hopefully, they will be kept in good working order, unlike the city’s payphones, most of which seem to be broken whenever you need to use one!

The links will offer free phone charging.

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Register and RSVP at GreenIvy.com/Events TheVillager.com

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.

January 14, 2016

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Composting comes to Spring St., twice a week COMPOST continued from p. 1

tion entrance. Along with the aforementioned fruit and vegetable scraps and coffee grounds, other organic matter acceptable at the compost collection hot spot includes things like eggshells and nutshells, stale beans, flour, spices, flowers, houseplants and potting soil. Not accepted are meat, dairy, fats, diseased plants and metal, glass or plastic. And, please note, these composters don’t take any s---, as in feces also is not accepted. An information sheet recommends that to eliminate odors at home and at the drop-off site, residents should store food scraps in their freezer or refrigerator. Called the New York City Compost Project, the initiative is part of a city Department of Sanitation-funded program in partnership with GrowNYC. The Spring St. site is one of about a half dozen run by the Lower East Side Ecology Center. This one — dubbed a “commuter composting drop-off spot” — is meant to serve residents from the Soho, South Village, Hudson Square and Little Italy areas. On a recent drop-off day, neighbors were spotted carrying plastic containers or baggies filled with sun-

PHOTOS BY TEQUILA MINSKY

People emptying food scraps at the Spring St. composting drop-off spot.

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dry vegetable peelings. One woman dumped in her potato peelings, from a shepherd’s pie she had made. One dad with a baby in a stroller walked over from Mott St. and emptied four plastic bags. It’s about equidistant to Union Square, where there is another drop-off spot, he noted. While the separation of paper, glass and metal waste has been going on for years, separating household organic matter has never been encouraged, until recently. Now this organic waste will eventually become a nutrient-rich additive to help build New York City’s soils. While the Department of Sanitation has launched a household composting program in northern Brook-

lyn, for one, a spokesperson said they plan to move more slowly in Manhattan. For now, at least, there are the drop-off sites. There are currently 65 composting sites in the program, many in conjunction with neighborhood Greenmarkets. Others locally include the East Village, at First Ave. and Houston St., on Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.; the Union Square Greenmarket, at E. 17th St. and Union Square West, Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; the Tribeca Greenmarket, at Greenwich and Chambers Sts., on Saturdays year-round; and Chelsea, at W. 23rd St. and Eighth Ave., on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.

For those wishing to preplan their final contribution to society, if paid in full today we will include the cost of the crematory. ($995 Society’s Service Fee)

Acting as a for profit organization. Crematory fee is not included, death certificates and disposition permits not included in service fee.

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January 14, 2016

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Are playdates really for kids — or their parents? RHYMES WITH CRAZY BY LENORE SKENAZY

A

s Brooklyn mom Tamara R. Mose was preparing for a playdate 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 playdates 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 playdate 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 playdate, 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 playdate 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. The upside is obvious: friendship, networking, even babysitting backup. But Mose’s book looks at the downsides, too, starting with the way playdate culture perpetuates class stratifications. The parents who believe in organic hummus and no TV are unlikely to have many playdates with the parents who put out soda and chips with SpongeBob on in the background — even if the kids really like each other at school. What’s more, simply by perpetuating the playdate imperative — that is, the idea that of course children need constant supervision either by parents or caregivers — the thought 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

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The truth was written To The Editor: Thanks to Lincoln Anderson. You did such a good and concise job on “The dark side of Purple” (news article, Dec. 31), and I noticed that the comments fell into three categories: those totally against child molesters at all costs; those who thought if you did better in your life, it’s a credit; and those who just accepted my father as he was

EVAN FORSCH

in N.Y.C. I think “we” all took him with a grain of salt. Cautious. But he did escape or avoid registering as a sexual offender all these years. He was a deceiver. That’s it. The truth was written. Thank you, and thank you to the N.Y.C. commenters. Lenore

public. Now that kind of fun is considered too dangerous (even though crime is back to the level of 1963). The modern playdate 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.” Playdate-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 a 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, playdates may help both generations in the business world. They just might not help children actually learn how to play. Skenazy is a keynote speaker, author and founder of the book and blog “Free-Range Kids”

Seeking out the facts To The Editor: Re “The dark side of Purple” (news article, Dec. 31): Thanks to Jenean and Lenore for being so incredibly strong and brave in telling their story. A lot of Lower East Side activists choose to ignore them. One told me they want more “proof” and one said he wants to remember “Purple not David Lloyd Wilkie.” They want to bury this story. Except for Clayton, who expresses well how I feel. You have more then one person — the children of Purple — claiming this horror! It’s a shocking, evil story that cannot be ignored just because someone was an LES hero and activist. It is an activist’s, a writer’s job to seek out the truth, even if it means you don’t like it — or nothing you write is believable anymore and worth a damn. Jenean’s and Lenore’s words are intelligent and compassionate and they ring out clear and true like a bell. Ignore them at your own peril. Regina Bartkoff

Shame for Purple exposé! To The Editor: Re “The dark side of Purple” (news article, Dec. 31): Yes, David Wilkie was an acid head. It makes LETTERS continued on p. 16

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January 14, 2016

TheVillager.com

To be young and black in the Village right now TALKING POINT

hurt anybody, except of course when they’re old and racist. This is the Village in a nutshell: the nut, a small affluent suburb in New York City; the shell, a shroud of racist ideas and presumptions. I really like the Village. I’ve met some cool people and awesome bartenders. I’ve run into some of the friendliest dogs with even friendlier owners. There is beautiful architecture and history paves the streets. I often think maybe people would look at me differently if I had a wife and kids. Maybe being a young, single black man who likes to dress urban and roam the streets makes people uncomfortable. Maybe if I fit more of the “norm” when it comes to living in the Village, I would draw less attention and fit in a little better. But then I think, maybe I shouldn’t have to. And then that maybe turns into an “I sure as hell am not going to, so screw you.”

BY DARNELL MCGEE

L

et me start off by saying how much I love white people. I love them just as much as I love Asian, Indian, Latino, Middle Eastern, African and any other group I forgot to mention; but white people particularly, hold a special place in my heart. Growing up, I had a ton of white friends, and by ton, I mean one. I had white teachers, white mentors and white encouragement from everywhere. So I’ve certainly come to have a great deal of appreciation and respect for the white community. Currently, I live in the whitest of communities in New York City, the West Village. It’s quite white. White people are everywhere down here: in the restaurants, at the barbershops, in the pet stores. You name it, and there are white people there. Some are very kind. Some are very beautiful. And some are racist as hell. I grew up in Newark, New Jersey. I had two parents, a dog (briefly), and an older brother who I loathed, so a pretty typical family. There weren’t many white people where I grew up. There were some sprinkles of white people occasionally thrown about, some Latinos and Portuguese. I went to private schools most of my life, so I encountered them daily, but only for eight hours at a time. I didn’t experience real racism until about the seventh grade, when my mom sent me to a highfalutin camp in Princeton for the summer. I was one of two black guys in a camp of about 50 kids.

The Village feels like a small affluent suburb in New York City. One night, one of the guys at camp went into one of the girls’ cabin, threw some water on them and ran out before anyone saw them. I knew nothing of this event until one of the counselors burst into our room and demanded to know who did it. “Why are you coming in our room?” I griped as my roommates played Supremes to my Diana and backed me up with head nods and “Yeahs?” “Just tell us if it was you or not,” the counselor said, looking directly at me and bypassing the other two adorable white boys in the room. “If what was me?” I said, this time getting a little more indignant. He stood there and looked me up and down, and once again asked me to come clean. Another of my bunkmates inquired about what had happened, and when he did, the counselor looked at him, and then proceeded to walk out the room. My bunkmates and I looked around at each other, and then one of them peered out the door to see if the counselor was still around, but he had left, and it seemed, hadn’t knocked on any other rooms. “What was that about?” I asked genuinely confused. TheVillager.com

The writer in his typical urban duds.

“I don’t know” said one roommate. “I could give a s---,” said the other. But the third campmate said something I’ll never forget. “Dude, you’re black. Of course he asked you,” he said with a smirk. And then like Chris Brown at a Girl Scouts meeting, it hit me: I had been racially profiled. “Me? Me?” I thought as I gazed into the blue eyes of the boy who unlocked my blissful ignorance. “Um yeah, you,” he said with no fear and unabashed confidence. And that’s the moment I realized I wasn’t a kid from Newark who got a scholarship to Camp Albemarle. Instead, I was just black, and that’s all that mattered in this world. Learning this at an early age helped me prepare for a future that would include an abundance of white people. I now knew not to look for racism, but to expect it. Most important, I learned that racism is here to stay and you have to learn how to live in it. So this is how I survive the West Village. It helps me survive the police stopping me on my way home, asking me why I’m down here. This is how I survive the memo from the superintendent telling people to look out for a guy in a black baseball cap lurking around the building. This is how I survive bartenders constantly asking me am I ready to settle up after my first drink at the restaurant’s bar. This is how I survive living in the Village. Now, I realize that the community is slightly older than my young, cool, hip self, and when I say slightly, I mean much older. Most of the residents are upper-class white couples who have lived here since it was the ghetto in the ’70s. Some are new to the area, but still feel like they relocated from a suburb in Alabama — the kind of suburb that still doesn’t let kids off for Dr. Martin Luther King Day. And then there are the gays, but they never

PHOTO BY TEQUILA MINSKY

American handstand

Before the cold weather hit this week, an acrobat practiced his skills in Washington Square Park. January 14, 2016

15

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Continued from p. 14

you think differently. It makes you draw outside the lines. Sometimes you act outside of them, as well. That is because you do not see the lines. You do not see or understand shame or guilt either. You come to New York to reinvent yourself. You make an earthwork garden out of horses--t. You call yourself Adam Purple. You are evicted from your masterpiece. You end up living in a closet. Then you die and a newspaper smears you all over their front page. I thought child abusers never gave it up. Did you ever hear anything like that related to Adam? Teachers used to bring their classes to the Garden of Eden. Hundreds of people attended his memorial. Not one word was said along those lines. You should be ashamed of yourself. Eventually you will be. Laura Zelasnic

Disturbing and amazing To The Editor: Re “The dark side of Purple” (news article, Dec. 31): Amazing job, very well written about a horrible story. What a monster he really was. I always admired the garden but was very glad that I was not friends with him, nor deified him when he died. Good riddance to that narcissistic sociopath. I feel for his daughters and those he abused. As for any journalists who discouraged full disclosure of the truth — well, whoever says anything like that cannot claim to be a journalist. I would add that not telling the full and true story as a way of “protecting the movement” is hypocrisy and betrays the movement itself. It’s no different than the mainstream media if you lie and censor, especially when facts are known and are so compelling. Thank you for the disturbing and amazing exposé. Keep up the good work. Paul Garrin

Process doesn’t reflect well To The Editor: Re “Pledging memorial funds, Cuomo says Triangle Fire ‘should never be forgotten’ ” (news article, Dec. 24): Governor Cuomo is right that this tragedy of such historic importance for our city and nation “should never be forgotten.” However, what has been forgotten by the coalition responsible for planning this new memorial is the local community. No effort has been made during the planning process to contact local residents or, insofar as we know, Community Board 2. There are two buildings on Washington Place that are each several feet from the site of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, with a total of about 230 apartments. Many residents attend the moving commemoration each March; some of us are able to attend by standing at our windows. But the proposed design has elements that are seriously objectionable to residents, notably an eight-story-high reflective strip on the corner of the

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January 14, 2016

Triangle building that is conceived so as to spread light and attract attention. This flashing reflective light will surely travel to both buildings on Washington Place, at night as well as during the day, given the strong illumination of the street at night. There would also be additional reflective light from the lowest panel, slightly above ground level, that is designed to reflect the names of the victims from a panel 17 feet above the street. This combination of reflective light would cause considerable discomfort to residents already burdened by an unending parade of intrusive activities on our street. Howard Negrin Negrin is president, Washington Place Block Association

No Triangle transparency To The Editor: Re “Finally, a fitting memorial plan for Triangle tragedy” (news article, Dec. 17) and “Pledging memorial funds, Cuomo says Triangle Fire ‘should never be forgotten’ ” (news article, Dec. 24): Residents and community members were stunned to learn about the plans for the Triangle Fire memorial renovation from The Villager’s recent articles. As far as I know, there has been no disclosure of these plans to Community Board 2 or the affected block associations that represent hundreds of area residents. It is most disconcerting to read that our local politicians have been involved in this initiative for more than two years without community input. This is a landmarked building, now part of a square of New York University schools, a science department lab site. Long-term residents are keenly aware of this historic location and we participate in the annual memorial service each March. We applaud the enhancement of the existing memorial plaques in honor of the victims of this historic tragedy. However, there are very serious concerns about the extent of the planned renovations to our residential corner on a narrow cobblestoned street. We look forward to an opportunity for discussion of community concerns before further approval of these plans. Mary Johnson

What took so long? To The Editor: Re “Pledging memorial funds, Cuomo says Triangle Fire ‘should never be forgotten’” (news article, Dec. 24): This is great news. But the tragic fire took place in 1911 — and it has taken us more than a century to memorialize it. Triangle was, quite literally, a sweatshop. Its emergency exits were locked shut; its women overworked — 12-hour days in the heat — and paid subsistence wages. To escape the fire, a lot of women jumped out windows — to their deaths. The reaction to the fire got basic safety protocols put in place in the U.S., so at least the tragedy served a “purpose.” But why does it take so long to build a memorial about all this? Joseph Hanania

Fighting for what’s right To The Editor: “Of heartbreak and hope; We can’t lose Theatre 80” (talking point, by Alan Kaufaman, Jan. 7): I can think of no better person to articulate this critically important community struggle than Alan Kaufman. He is not only a New York literary legend, he is a man of the people, a true fighter for what is right. And what is more right for this community than to save Theatre 80? Lorcan and Genie have given their blood, their youth, their stamina, their everything to keep Theatre 80 going. Lorcan is the only second-generation entertainment venue proprietor I can think of. A very rare breed, indeed. It would be appropriate to have an event — a double acknowledgement — that honors the Otways’ work keeping the venue alive, plus thanks Alan Kaufman for his heroic community benefit that raised more than $50,000 for the victims of last March’s Second Ave. gas explosion. Clayton Patterson

Theatre 80 must stand To The Editor: “Of heartbreak and hope; We can’t lose Theatre 80” (talking point, by Alan Kaufaman, Jan. 7): I first met Lorcan Otway through Clayton Patterson and Alan Kaufman. Lorcan is a true people’s champion, an East Villager who has risen to the occasion to support and defend the rights of others on many occasions. Theatre 80 stands as a monument and symbol to this man’s goodness and decency in a world that is filled with greed and self-glorification. Theatre 80 must stand for all to enjoy. Jose Quiles

Bravo for Motley exhibit To The Editor: Re “Buhmann on art: Motley at the Whitney” (arts article, Dec. 31): Thank you for giving Archibald Motley some long overdue recognition in The Villager. I say “overdue” because when I went to the new Whitney recently, my wife and I discovered that this elegant museum had given an entire floor to an American painter whose work I had never seen or heard of. How, in a long lifetime of looking at art could this be possible? Great art isn’t supposed to be kept out of sight, but this seems to have happened for whatever reason — possibly because he was black. In any case, I’m happy to have seen this exceptional artistry and regret that he’s no longer around to enjoy his apparent elevation from obscurity. His work deserves to be seen. Gene Epstein E-mail letters, not longer than 250 words in length, to news@thevillager.com or fax to 212-229-2790 or mail to The Villager, Letters to the Editor, 1 Metrotech North, 10th floor, Brooklyn, NY, NY 11201. Please include phone number for confirmation purposes. The Villager reserves the right to edit letters for space, grammar, clarity and libel. Anonymous letters will not be published. TheVillager.com

Finding the words with Chinese characters Her art melds the modern and traditional

BY DUSICA SUE MALESEVIC

W

hen artist and performer Xu Zi decided to leave China and come to America, she left it to chance where she would settle. “I [didn’t] know where I should go,” she recalled. “I, by myself, [made a] three-paper lotto: One city is Washington D.C., one city, Chicago, one city, New York. [I] got New York. I said, ‘Okay, going to New York.’ ” It was 1988 when Xu Zi first moved to Queens and supported herself by teaching Mandarin to children. She eschewed schoolbooks, instead using classic Chinese poetry as her pedagogical tool. Trained in traditional Chinese arts — calligraphy and music — she decided, after six years, to leave teaching and pursue art again. “I like doing my arts,” she said. “I like creating new things.” At her apartment in Greenwich Village, where she has lived for over 20 years, Xu Zi recently talked about her education in the arts, her work, and her current solo exhibition at the Jefferson Market Library. When she was growing up outside of Beijing, calligraphy wasn’t taught at school. At age seven, Xu Zi learned the art from her father and grandfather. They both thought the ancient art was important, she said, and explained that practitioners initially used feathers, not brushes. She remembers her teacher’s reaction to her use of calligraphy to complete her homework. “My teacher hung [it] on the wall,” she recalled. “She said it [was] very unique, special.” This encouraged Xu Zi, who said it gave her “good energy.” In addition TheVillager.com

PHOTO BY DUSICA SUE MALESEVIC

Xu Zi in her Greenwich Village apartment, where she has lived for over 20 years.

to calligraphy, she also began studying classic Chinese music and instruments. However, Xu Zi expanded her repertoire and learned about Western opera. She likes to combine Eastern and Western, as well as modern and traditional styles in both her music and her art — a theme that persists to this day. While still living in China, Xu Zi traveled to Vienna and Finland to perform her music. She said she was invited to sing because of her unique style. Not only did she sing, but Xu Zi was also a clothing designer. So when

an ABC reporter came to China, he asked her for an interview. She still recalls the reporter’s words all these years later, as he suggested she should go to America. Xu Zi has an open, positive outlook on life, as evidenced by her repeated use of the phrase “just do it” during our interview. So naturally, when the ABC reporter said she should move to America, she said, “Sure, why not?” To leave communist China in 1988 was not an easy task for most, but Xu Zi said it was not difficult for her to get a visa to America because she was in

no way political. Her application was accepted, and she made the leap, despite not knowing any English. “I like America,” she said. “I think America [has] much better freedom than China.” She also likes living in New York City, which she said is unique and multi-cultural, as well as a center for art. In 1990, she met her future husband, who worked on Wall St. at the time. She said she didn’t really care that he worked in finance — which was XU ZI continued on p.18 January 14, 2016

17

Xu Zi’s ‘Pop-ink’ on view at Jefferson Market Library XU ZI continued from p. 17

always the government’s purview in China, not an individual’s, she noted, recalling how people made 35 renminbi (equal to $6) for a month’s pay. After she stopped teaching, Xu Zi set up in Battery Park (now known as The Battery), and created calligraphy for tourists and natives alike. She met people from many different countries, and word about her work spread. Nine years ago, enforcement of the rules about artists working in parks changed, and Xu Zi was kicked out of The Battery. She said she now only goes to work in the parks when the weather is nice. “I just miss the customers,” she said. “Customers miss me. I miss the smiling people.” Now, Xu Zi sells her work through her website. People from 69 countries — including Canada, Germany, England, Australia, Argentina — have bought her art. She said customers participate in her creative process. For example, a person may write a poem or a line, and from that Xu Zi creates a sample work. She does something very interesting: she uses English

words, but makes them look like Chinese characters. When the customer approves the design and agrees on the price, she creates the work and sends it to them. Xu Zi also creates other art, and her solo show at the Jefferson Market Library is titled “Pop-ink” — a reference to Andy Warhol’s influence on her and the show. Like most of her oeuvre, the show will demonstrate how she mixes the modern and traditional. One piece called “Musings on the Era of Super Speed” displays the word “muse,” but with the letters almost on top of one another, evoking Chi-

nese calligraphy. The @ symbol obscures and floats around the letters. Xu Zi said she is very happy to have her work displayed at the historically significant library. “Pop-ink” is on view through January, in the Little Underground Gallery at the Jefferson Market Library (corner of Sixth Ave. & W. 10th St.). Library hours: Mon.–Thurs., 10 a.m.–8 p.m. Fri.–Sat., 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Sun., 11 a.m.–5 p.m. For info, call 212-243-4334 or visit nypl.org./locations/jefferson-market. For artist info, visit cdzizi.com.

PHOTO COURTESY THE ARTIST

As with this photo (part of the current exhibit), Xu Zi takes poems or phrases from customers, to create works using English words made to appear like Chinese characters.

PHOTO BY SCOTT STIFFLER

The Jefferson Market Library exhibit is titled “Pop-ink” — a reference to Andy Warhol’s influence on Xu Zi and her show.

Theater for the New City • 155 1st Avenue at E. 10th St. Reservations & Info (212) 254-1109

For tickets & info, please visit www.theaterforthenewcity.net or visit

www.SmartTix.com

Almost Mata January 26th Allen Wilder By order of the New York City 2.0 Hari Borough President Lovers, Letters by Matt Morillo and Killers TNC Written and Performed by: Appreciation January 7 thru 31 Eva Dorrepaal Day January 7- January 24 Thursdays Fridays and Thursdays Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm Sundays at 3:00 pm

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Bake sale and performances 7:00 PM FREE ADMISSION!

January 14, 2016

Saturdays at 8:00pm Sundays at 3:00 pm

New Yeddish Reps’. Land of Fire

(Tierra Del Fuego) “A Play About Forgiveness” Written By: Mario Diament Directed By: Moshe Yassur December 16 - January 3

CALL TO SUBSCRIBE

646-452-2475 TheVillager.com

Self-righteous infidelity

Philippe Garrel explores male, female perspectives on adultery BY STEVE ERICKSON

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n an interview last year, director Serge Bozon divided filmmakers into two categories: those who draw everything from their imagination and those who essentially fictionalize their own lives. He placed Philippe Garrel and the late Jean Eustache in the latter category. Garrel’s latest film, “In the Shadow of Women,” is a radically austere melodrama of adultery. I don’t know enough about the filmmaker’s personal life to have any idea whether it’s autobiographical, but in the past Garrel has based his work on his involvement with radical politics, his struggles with heroin addiction, and his relationship with singer Nico, whom he has acknowledged as the love of his life. Garrel is also a child of the French New Wave; he began working at age 16 in the mid ’60s, although his first decade or so of films were non-narrative. While he finally seems to have found steady, if marginal, American distribution, his early work merits an Eclipse/ Criterion box, particularly the beautiful “The Inner Scar,” in which he and Nico traveled the world to find stunning locations for 360-degreee pans. Pierre (Stanislas Merhar) and Manon (Clotilde Courau) are a married couple who work together on documentaries directed by Pierre. She takes on the less glamorous task of editing the films, although she accompanies him to interviews. Pierre takes a young woman, Elisabeth (Lena Paugam), as his lover, quite casually. He treats both her and Manon shabbily. Unbeknownst to him, Manon is also having an affair, which Elisabeth discovers by peeping through a café window. When she reports that back to Pierre, he reacts with outrage but remains quiet about his own infidelities. Like most of Garrel’s films, “In the Shadow of Women” is in black and white. The 35mm cinematography is high-contrast. It’s rare for movies to be shot on actual celluloid these days, and perhaps as a consequence, Garrel shot each scene in only one take. The film’s look evokes the rough-hewn photography of early French New Wave films, although “In the Shadow of Women” is slightly slicker. When Manon and Pierre argue for the first time, the room is lit so that Pierre is sunk in deep darkness and she is sitting in bright TheVillager.com

COURTESY DISTRIB FILMS

Stanislas Merhar and Clotilde Courau in Philippe Garrel’s “In the Shadow of Women.”

light. The one French New Wave film to which “In the Shadow of Women” seems overtly indebted is François Truffaut’s “The Soft Skin,” another drama of adultery. The Truffaut-inspired feel is enhanced by a voice-over supplied by Garrel’s son Louis. The whole plot of “In the Shadow of Women” rests on a Parisian culture of outdoor cafes, as well as a kind of bohemia that may only exist in art these days –– or, at least, in cities whose rents are cheaper than Paris or New York’s. In the opening scene, the landlord barges in on Manon to demand the rent, and tell her that the couple has 48 hours to pay up or move out. But this subplot has nothing to do with the main narrative of the film and is never followed up on. Nevertheless, the film returns repeatedly to the couple’s precarious economic status. Manon’s mother tells her that she

should have gotten a degree in Oriental Studies so she could have worked as an interpreter, and, late in the film, we see that she’s gone back to school to study that subject. “In the Shadow of Women” was written by a team of four screenwriters. Two of them are male, two female. This group includes the legendary JeanClaude Carriere (who worked with Luis Buñuel) and the should-be-legendary Arlette Langmann (who wrote “A Nos Amours,” directed by Maurice Pialat and perhaps the best female coming-of-age film ever made.) The film does justice to both male and female perspectives on adultery, although the fact that it features a male voice-over gives Pierre’s POV a slight edge. It captures Pierre’s rank hypocrisy quite well: While it’s true that both partners cheat, Manon gives up her affair as soon as Pierre discovers it and

calls her on it. Pierre treats her with an anger to which his behavior leaves him no right. It takes her much longer to learn about his infidelity, a period during which he continues to sleep with Elisabeth. The film never plays like a male fantasy of middle-aged attractiveness in which 50-year-old men have teenage girls falling for them. Merhar is reasonably young and still handsome enough that it’s understandable for a 21-year-old to want to sleep with him. In the end, “In the Shadow of Women” is a film about betrayal, and its final scenes suggest how that betrayal has consequences in the political realm beyond one marriage. Directed by Philippe Garrel. In French with English subtitles. Opens Jan. 15 at IFC Center (323 Sixth Ave., at W. Third St.). Visit ifccenter.com. January 14, 2016

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The fallen will rise

Hell’s Kitchen production of ‘The Guys’ honors FDNY

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ragedy, unity, healing, heroism, sacrifice and legacy — on stage and behind the scenes — give this production of “The Guys” an emotional heft matched only, perhaps, by its sense of purpose. Based on a true story about coming to grips after the World Trade Center attacks, playwright Anne Nelson’s “The Guys” (first performed at Tribeca’s Flea Theater just months after September 11, 2001) finds fire captain Nick counseled by writer Joan, when faced with the task of composing eulogies for eight of his fallen men. Performed in a venue that was once a firehouse, this production marks the debut of Bear Back Brooke Productions. Founded with the mission to foster emotional fortitude through theater and music, Bear Back Brooke will bring its performances to communities that may need healing. This new production of “The Guys” also serves to honor the 150th Anniversary of the New York Fire Department, Father Mychal Judge, OFM (the first certified fatality in the September 11 attacks), and Lt. Joseph G. Leavey. A member of South Street Seaport’s Ladder Compamy 15 who had an affinity for skyscrapers, Leavey, 45 at the time of the attacks, was one of the first firefighters to reach the scene. He lead his unit to the 78th floor of Tower Two of the World Trade Center, where they were the only complete unit to begin operations on a fire floor. The Lt. Joseph G. Leavey Foundation (to which proceeeds from ticket sales will go) awards an annual scholarship to two high school students, and provides leadership and learning opportunities to the community. Hannah Ryan, associate director of the 2015 Tony Award-winning “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” directs Renee Claire

COURTESY BEAR BACK BROOKE PRODUCTIONS

Performed in a converted firehouse, this brief run of “The Guys” will benefit the Lt. Joseph G. Leavey Foundation.

Bergeron (2012 New York Innovative Theatre Award Winner – Outstanding Actress in a Lead Role) and William Mulligan (Cohen/Powers Fellow, Tanglewood Music Center) in the roles first performed by Sigourney Weaver and Bill Murray.

Wed.–Fri., Jan. 20–22 at 7:30 p.m. Sat., Jan. 23 at 2 p.m. At the Davenport Theatre (354 W. 45th St., btw. Eighth & Ninth Aves.). For tickets ($18), visit theguysplay.com. For Lt. Joseph G. Leavey Foundation info: ltjosephgleaveyfoundation.com. For venue info: davenporttheatre.com. —Scott Stiffler

Cretaceous Park titans

Museum’s new dino is a grand old terror BY PAUL SCHINDLER

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he Earth’s Cretaceous Era isn’t as well-known as the Jurassic Era popularized by the biggest dinosaur movies of all time, but it featured a more diverse dinosaur population than its preceding period. This coming weekend, the American Museum of Natural History opens a new exhibition in its Fossil Halls featuring a cast of a 122-foot-long dinosaur, one of the largest ever discovered. Paleontologists, working in a desert region Patagonia, unearthed remains of the giant herbivore in 2014 and say the creature lived approximately 95 to 100 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous period. This dinosaur, which belongs to

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a group known as titanosaurs and is estimated to have weighed around 70 tons, has not yet been named. The excavation was carried out by a team from the Museum of Paleontology Egidio Feruglio in Trelew, Argentina, led by José Luis Carballido and Diego Pol. The dinosaur is so large that it grazes the fourth floor exhibition hall’s 19-foot ceiling, and its neck and head extend out toward the elevator banks to welcome visitors to the museum’s dinosaur floor. Jan. 15 through Jan. 19, 2020. At the American Museum of Natural History (Central Park W. at 79th St.). Open daily, 10 a.m.–5:45 p.m. Admission: $22 ($17 for students, seniors; $12.50 for ages 12 and younger). Visit amnh.org.

COURTESY DR. ALEJANDRO OTERO, AMNH.ORG

A member of the paleontologist team that unearthed the 122-foot titanosaur is dwarfed by one of the massive creature’s bones. TheVillager.com

Buhmann on Art

‘Global/Local’ at Grey Art Gallery

COURTESY ASIA SOCIETY, NY / GIFT OF ANNE AND JOEL EHREKRANZ

Shiva Ahmadi: “Lotus” / 2014. Single channel animation (8:44 min.; Edition 1 of 5).

BY STEPHANIE BUHMANN

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ontinuing its quest to present artists from different cultural backgrounds and social contexts, Grey Art Gallery inaugurates its promising new season with “Global/Local 1960– 2015: Six Artists from Iran.” Though heralding from the same country and sharing various aspects connected to their Persian heritage, Faramarz Pilaram (1937–1983), Parviz Tanavoli (b. 1937), Chohreh Feyzdjou (1955–1996), Shiva Ahmadi (b. 1975), Shahpour Pouyan (b. 1980) and Barbad Golshiri (b. 1982) make for an eclectic group. They represent three generations of artists, who vary greatly in style, as well as media. This is illustrated by a generous allotment of works, allowing each artist to exhibit about 10 pieces. Ornamentation, poetry, architecture and Sufism impact these works, that include paintings, sculpture, drawings, mixed-media installations, and video. Organized by NYU’s Grey Art Gallery, and curated by its director Lynn Gumpert, the exhibition further includes key works from NYU’s Abby Weed Grey Collection of Modern Asian and Middle Eastern Art, which comprises the largest holdings of 20th century art from Iran outside of that country. In addition to showcasing the artists featured, “Global/ Local” further explores how each has participated in the international discourse. TheVillager.com

COURTESY GREY ART GALLERY, NYU / COLLECTION GIFT OF ABBY WEED GREY

COURTESY GREY ART GALLERY, NYU / COLLECTION GIFT OF ABBY WEED

Parviz Tanavoli: “Heech” / 1972. Bronze on wood base (22 1/4 x 12 x 8 in.).

Faramarz Pilaram: “Mosques of Isfahan” (B) / 1962. Ink, watercolor, and gold and silver paint on paper (45 3/4 x 34 3/4 in.).

Through April 2 at Grey Art Gallery (100 Washington Sq. East, btw. Waverly & Washington Places). Hours: Tues.,

Thurs., Fri., 11 a.m.–6 p.m. Wed., 11 a.m.–8 p.m. Sat., 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Call 212-998-6780 or visit nyu.edu/greyart. January 14, 2016

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At the Kiki calendar release party, community members danced, vogued and represented for their houses.

PHOTOS BY CODY BROOKS

Hetrick-Martin youth get Kiki at calendar party BY CODY BROOKS

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he youth of the L.G.B.T.Q.-centered Kiki House and Ballroom community hosted a calendar release party at The Door in Tribeca last Wednesday, showcasing photos from their first-ever 18-month fashion calendar. The release party and calendar, entitled “This Is What I Wanna See,” is part of an ongoing effort by the Kiki community to encourage youth of all genders to accept and cultivate themselves. The calendar features L.G.B.T.Q. youth modeling in outfits ranging from blazers and white-collared shirts to fantastical outfits adorned with feathered MetroCards. The Kiki community was designed as a place for youth to experience drag and ballroom culture without the competitiveness of adult houses. Indeed, at the release party, they would break out into dancing with the background music, shouting in rhythm, “You gotta have self-esteem!” Most of the Kiki youth are from at-risk families from the Bronx and Brooklyn, with some from Queens and New Jersey. A few are dealing with homelessness. The gala environment, complete with plates of cheese and “wine” — sparkling cider — provides a vastly different setting for them. The release party was set up thanks to the help of the Hetrick-Martin Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting L.G.B.T.Q. youth from ages 13 to 24. Program Manager Ricky Love TheVillager.com

noted that H.M.I. provides not just a physical space but also services, such as counseling, free H.I.V. testing, and a bed, if a homeless youth has nowhere to go. “I even have a whole stack of MetroCards in my pocket, just in case someone can’t get home,” Love said with a smile. The ballroom culture, in general, is a collection of various groups, called houses, that compete with each other in events, such as runway walks or face, and may center around specific concepts. The various houses within the Kiki scene — such as Hua Mulan, House Marciano and The MPowerment Project — touch on the various issues the L.G.B.T.Q. youth face. MPowerment is an H.I.V.-prevention and intervention house, and Marciano encourages its members to stand “elite…in their individual lives.” The Royal House of Old Navy encourages its members to believe in “dedication, greatness and respect,” with family and community service as focal points. The idea of the Kiki community was formed in 2003 as an offshoot of the more competitive ballroom drag scene, in which adults compete for cash prizes. The idea of a community for L.G.B.T.Q. youth to experience the drag and ballroom environment was cultivated throughout the years by organizations such as H.M.I., which structured Kiki to be a nurturing scene in which youth have access to proper care and mentorship. January 14, 2016

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Bread and Puppet: 30 years of nourishing theater BY CLAYTON PATTERSON

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ounded in 1986, City Lore specializes in documenting and collecting information, as well as presenting talks and hosting art shows related to urban folklore and history. Realizing a long-held dream, the organization opened its gallery, in the East Village at 56 E. First St., in April 2014. Last month, at the gallery, Molly Garfinkel presented Peter Schumann, founder of the radical Bread and Puppet Theater. Born in 1934, German/Polish immigrant Schumann started the Bread and Puppet Theater on the Lower East Side in 1963. Growing up in Germany during the Depression and WW II, food was scarce. A heavy dark-sourdough rye bread was a main food staple. Rye grows well in poor soil and is a hardy grain that endures the kind of weather and hardships that would kill most grains. Schumann became a sculptor with an interest in theater, and moved to America in 1961. However, he was somewhat disappointed by how static sculpture is, which eventually led to his interest in large puppets, or moveable sculpture. These sculptural puppets are made of papier-mâché, plus found and donated materials. They are hollow inside and fit over a person, and can be as tall as 20 feet. The people’s actions inside of them created the movement. A part of Schumann’s philosophy is connecting the puppet, dancer, acting, words and sculpture, fulfilling the sensations of the outer body, as well as eating bread, which engages the stomach, which connects the whole

PHOTOS BY CLAYTON PATTERSON

Peter Schumann spoke about Bread and Puppet Theater at City Lore’s gallery last month.

physical being into one. They would give out the heavy rye bread at their shows — hence, the Bread and Puppet Theater. They still give out bread. Most of the performances are meant to be done outside, on city streets or in country open spaces. Similar to their friends The Living Theater, the idea was to incorporate the audience, especially children, into the show. The pieces also often have a political message, such as touching on issues affecting the poor or the working class, and some of

their largest performances were held when Americans were protesting against the Vietnam War. Bread and Puppet survives by touring nationally and internation-

ally and selling posters and publications, adding in free street shows. It is among the oldest self-supporting nonprofit theater companies in America.

THE NEW SOUND OF

BROOKLYN The Community News Group is proud to introduce BROOKLYN PAPER RADIO. Join Brooklyn Paper Editor-in-Chief Vince DiMiceli and the New York Daily News’ Gersh Kuntzman every Monday at 4 pm for an hour of talk on topics Brooklynites hold dear. Each show will feature in-studio guests and call-out segments, and can be listened to live or played anytime at your convenience.

WITH

SPONSORED BY

VINCE DIMICELI

GERSH KUNTZMAN

LISTEN EVERY MONDAY AT 4PM ON BrooklynPaper.com/radio TheVillager.com

January 14, 2016

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