East Villager • Mar. 3, 2016

The Paper of Record for East and West Villages, Lower East Side, Soho, Noho, Little Italy and Chinatown

March 3, 2016 • FREE Volume 5 • Number 27

A bridge beach too far? E.D.C. throws sand on novel Blueway plan BY COLIN MIXSON

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ocals are pushing back against a city agency they say is trying to shut the public out of Downtown’s only beach to reserve it for private developers. A recent feasibility study on turning Brooklyn Bridge Beach into a public park commissioned by the city’s Eco-

nomic Development Corporation came under fire at the Community Board 1 Seaport Committee’s latest meeting, where residents accused the agency of looking for excuses to scuttle the effort. “My reading of it was that it was more of an anti-feasibility study,” said C.B. 1 BEACH continued on p. 20

New Ludlow cinema’s simple motto: ‘Great films in a great location’ BY GARY SHAPIRO

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ights! Camera! Lower East Side! “Hester Street,” “Crossing Delancey” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” with Jim Carrey had parts filmed in this area of the city. Then there was the famous chase scene on the Williamsburg Bridge

in “Naked City.” The latest action-packed adventure, however, is unfolding on Ludlow St. in a former food storage warehouse. The curtain will soon rise there on a new cinema called Metrograph on March 4. For cineastes on the Lower East Side, it’s a celluloid CINEMA continued on p. 22

Disappointment wins....................page 17 | May 14, 2014

Snap — seen on a leash on a tree branch — comes to Tompkins Square Park all the time with her human companions, Nick and Danielle. She’s apparently not a scaredy-cat when it comes to red-tail hawks.

New Extell building is wrecking the hood, in many ways: Locals BY YANNIC RACK

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ower East Siders gathered near the Manhattan Bridge on South St. once again this week to protest against the 80-story apartment tower — dubbed the “Building from Hell” — that is currently rising there, and whose construction they say is damaging neighboring buildings. “This is not about gentrification, this is about extermination,” said Maggie Martinez, who lives near-

by at 55 Rutgers Slip. “We need to make sure that the structures of these buildings have not been compromised.” Foundation work at 250 South St., where Extell Development Company is erecting an enormous residential glass tower called One Manhattan Square, has nearby residents worried that it is slowly destroying their own dwellings. “People’s apartments are sloping and walls are cracking,” Martinez said.

“That is not a safe environment for anyone.” Residents at 82 Rutgers Slip next door first complained about vibrations in their building caused by the new project’s foundation work more than a year ago, which prompted the developer to install seismic monitors within the building, as well as around the construction site’s perimeter. The project currently has a partial stop-work order in place, as well as two open EXTELL continued on p. 4

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CANDIDACY UP IN SMOKE? NOPE! An herb-advocating candidate is set to spice up the special election in Lower Manhattan’s 65th Assembly District. Dennis Levy, 67, the fourth candidate, recently threw his tam into the race. An H.I.V.-positive grandfather and marijuana advocate, he will be running on the Green Party line in the April 19 election to select a successor to Sheldon Silver — for at least for a few months, that is, until the September Democratic primary. Levy has lived in the district for 10 years, on Pearl St. near the Brooklyn Bridge in a New York City Housing Authority building. He previously lived in the Bronx. He said he has spent 30 years working as a community organizer in efforts to help the poor — as part of which he founded the Black and Latino AIDS Coalition (Blac NY) — and also has worked in housing and employment. He is also the founder and president of the New York State Committee to Legalize Marijuana. “I’ve got 18,000 followers on Facebook,” he noted of the committee’s page. A first-time political candidate, he was tapped by the Green Party to run. “They said, ‘We want him,’ ” he said. He discovered the Greens and joined them last June because of their support for marijuana legalization. He found out he was H.I.V. positive back in 1991, and started smoking pot, on a friend’s advice, to deal with the illness’s side effects, including nausea and disorientation. The pot helped where nothing else had, and the experience led to him become an activist for the drug’s legalization. Levy said he’s “not happy” about the New York State medical marijuana law pushed through by

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Dennis Levy, sporting a stylish tam.

Governor Andrew Cuomo, and instead supports replacing it with state Senator Liz Krueger’s Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, which, similarly to Colorado, essentially would legalize recreational pot use for adults over age 21. Levy would also lobby to add a provision to MRTA (pronounced “murta”) to allow people to grow their own, “up to a couple of buds,” he noted. More to the point, he said, “Legalizing marijuana represents jobs to me — a way to make wealth. If we legalize in New York, we will be creating a new industry, from production to retail. I want to see it in poor black and Latino communities, creating jobs.” The nascent U.S. legal weed industry raked in $5 billion last year. He said he is also trying to partner with GMHC (formerly Gay Men’s Health Crisis) and Mount Sinai Beth Israel to set up clinical trials to see if cannabis can slow the progression of H.I.V. — and possibly even cure it. Indeed, he often wonders if his own ganja habit — he tokes faithfully every other day — is a factor in his own “long-term nonprogressor status.” Asked what his other campaign issues would be,

he said, “Real affordable housing. Close down that [nuclear] reactor Upstate; I’m for alternative energy, wind and solar. I’m also for community control of schools,” said Levy, a foe of charters. “I would advocate for federal infrastructure jobs.” Although some of his supporters were urging him to slam Silver publicly, Levy resisted — or at least he was when he spoke to The Villager two weeks ago. “Shelly was around long enough that he did some positive things for the community, bringing money into the district,” he said. “People are telling me to rail against Silver — I won’t do it.” However, Levy subsequently released a campaign video in which he vehemently declares that Silver, convicted for graft last year, “disgraced himself” in office. Levy, though, had his own run-in with the law, when — after falling into cocaine addiction and crime — he was convicted of robbery and sentenced to 15 to 20 years in jail. Yet, he was released after three years, after the police were found to have engaged in misconduct and “the case was reversed,” according to his Wikipedia page. Asked whether he identifies as gay or straight, Levy said, “The term they use is ‘metro,’ ” apparently referring to “metrosexual.” “I’m a guy — I like people. I don’t want to be defined by labels that carry a lot of baggage — like ‘gay’ or ‘bisexual.’ ” His Wikipedia page, though, describes him as heterosexual. The 65th A.D. is diverse, with large populations of Asians, Latinos and whites and a smaller number of blacks. Levy, whose own background is diverse, said he can relate to everyone. His father was Jewish while his mother was black and Indian. Growing up in Cincinnati, he got it from all sides. “People didn’t know if I was Puerto Rican, Asian or what,” he recalled. “My last name was Levy. Some black guys used to call me ‘Jew baby.’ ” But his elusive ethnic mix could be an asset in the 65th. For example, his eyes look Asian, he said, so “the Asians love me.” He said he definitely wants to debate the other candidates: Alice Cancel, the Democratic nominee recently selected by the district’s Democratic County Committee; Yuh-Line Niou, the Working Families Party candidate, who dropped out of the County Committee contest when she saw she didn’t have the votes and Cancel would win; and Republican Lester Chang. Asked if he would run in the September primary if he doesn’t win the April special election, he said, possibly. “If I build relationships and a network,” he said. “I’m out there now, let’s see what happens.” However, this Tuesday, Levy suddenly contacted The Villager to say he was not running, though could conceivably still decide to — though he was clearly running out of time to make a decision. “I just got very sick. It’s my H.I.V., I think,” Levy said. “I have been under stress and maybe that is the reason for my illness. I haven’t informed the Green Party yet, but they do know I’m sick. A political campaign might be too much for me. “I’m going to wait a few days and see what my doctor says about it,” he said. “If my health makes a run impossible, I will have to withdraw my candidacy and the Greens will have to nominate another candidate. I will keep you posted.” But on Wednesday, he contacted us again to say he is still in the race. “Put the article in the paper,” Levy told us. “I am going to run no matter what happens. My doctor said I was having an anxiety attack. That is not stopping me.” EastVillagerNews.com

EastVillagerNews.com

March 3, 2016

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Named best weekly newspaper in New York State in 2001, 2004 and 2005 by New York Press Association Editorials, 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

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The Villager (USPS 578930) ISSN 0042-6202 is published every week by NYC Community Media LLC, One Metrotech North, 10th floor Brooklyn, NY 11201 (212) 229-1890. Periodicals Postage paid at New York, N.Y. Annual subscription by mail in Manhattan and Brooklyn $29 ($35 elsewhere). Single copy price at office and newsstands is $1. The entire contents of newspaper, including advertising, are copyrighted and no part may be reproduced without the express permission of the publisher - © 2016 NYC Community Media LLC. PUBLISHER’S LIABILITY FOR ERROR

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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March 3, 2016

PHOTO BY YANNIC RACK

Lewis Barnes, a volunteer with NMASS, right, speaking at Wednesday’s protest at the One Manhattan Square project site, which his group organized.

New Extell building is wrecking the hood: Locals EXTELL continued from p. 1

violations dating from mid-January, according to Department of Buildings records. According to the D.O.B. Web site, inspectors responded that month to complaints that cracks had appeared in the walls due to the construction next door. The entry notes that the order was issued because the construction company failed to notify the city of the damaging conditions. Extell did not respond to a request for comment by press time, but company representatives previously addressed the concerns at a community meeting last year. “We are aware that there’s been some cracking, some issues with doors sticking,” Anthony Abbruzzese, Extell’s senior vice president of construction, told residents back then. “We inspected all the conditions and we’ve committed to repair anything that was caused by our construction,” he said, adding that engineers regularly inspect the neighboring building. In addition to the new super-luxury tower, Lend Lease — the construction firm overseeing the project — is also building a smaller, affordable component right next to it. Both buildings are scheduled for completion in 2019. But protesters who gathered in front of the construction site on Wed., March 2, said the next-door building continues to suffer from the effects of the foundation work. “The land is sinking, it’s dangerous for the people who live here,” said Louise Velez, who has lived in the neighborhood her entire life. “Are

they waiting for the building to collapse onto the people?” To many in the neighborhood, the building also symbolizes a larger problem — the displacement of longtime tenants from the area. “This is going to be an 80-story building for the 1 percent,” said Lewis Barnes, a volunteer with National Mobilization Against Sweat Shops, or NMASS, which organized the rally and operates a Workers Center on Grand St. nearby. “Look around at the people here — we are not the 1 percent,” Barnes said, pointing out that a large sign on the project’s construction fence was ironically advertising the mayor’s housing plan. “Why are they building this in our community?” he asked. The development, which will tower over the Manhattan Bridge, is advertised as a “vertical village” with private gardens, romantic fire pits and a covered dog run, where apartments will reportedly sell for between $1 million to $3 million — absurdly expensive for the people currently living all around it. “There’s a lot of low-income people living in this neighborhood,” said Velez. “We’re poor people. We need them to get the hell out,” she said of the high-end builders. Residents like Velez still lament the loss of the Pathmark supermarket that stood at the site and was closed in 2012 to make way for the development. (Last year, Extell said it was committed to including an affordable supermarket in one of the new buildings’ retail spaces.) Rallies against the project have previously drawn hundreds of locals, al-

though Wednesday’s crowd was more humble. Michael Lalan, another NMASS organizer, reminded everyone to come to the group’s monthly picketing of Gracie Mansion, which will take place next on Wed., March 16, at 4:30 p.m. “He’s ruining our community? We’ll come to his house,” Lalan said of the mayor. Apart from getting the work at the project to stop permanently — which may seem a futile undertaking — the protesters hope they can garner enough attention to force the city to adopt a rezoning plan that was drafted over the last seven years, which they hope would stop similar developments in the future. However, the Department of City Planning last year dismissed the plan, created by the Chinatown Working Group, which calls for protections similar to the 2008 rezoning of the East Village and part of the Lower East Side, which now safeguards that area from overdevelopment through strict height caps on new buildings. Chinatown and the Lower East Side below Grand St. were not included in the rezoning, and critics argue that this, in turn, has driven luxury residential and hotel development into these areas, causing rents and property taxes to skyrocket. “We have our own rezoning plan because we know what we need in this community,” Barnes said. “We need supermarkets, we need schools, we need parks, we need low-income housing. We don’t need this,” he said, pointing at the construction site behind him. EastVillagerNews.com

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St. Mark’s Bookshop sadly turns the final page BY TEQUILA MINSKY

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he community had been forewarned of the imminent closing of St. Mark’s Bookshop, whose sales were down and debts high. For a few weeks, a bold sign, stating, “Clearance Sale — 50% OFF — CASH ONLY,” beckoned from the front window of the E. Third St. literary refuge, the third and last location of this iconic neighborhood institution. Then another sign appeared in the window: “Our last day open: February 28, 2016, Thank you for your years of patronage.” By late afternoon Sunday, there was a steady trickle of regulars and the simply curious, some looking to get bargains, some there for a final farewell. One man, his unicycle in hand said, “I’ve had a credit of $3.19 for 26 years. They say it’s still good.” He was there to use his credit. A younger man, Chris Stewart, 24, was perusing the spartan shelves. “I went to the Stuyvesant St. location a lot when I was a student at Cooper Union,” he reflected, praising the store’s art book selection. His mother — who was choosing note cards to buy — and dad from New Jersey were there, too. They were all in town visiting his younger sister, a college freshman, who found two books to buy. One Upper West Side woman and a friend spent quite a while going over the eclectic, though by then very thin, book inventory, includ-

PHOTO BY TEQUILA MINSKY

A local bibliophile found a couple of clearance-sale bargains on the nearly empty shelves on St. Mark’s Bookshop’s final day.

ing back issues of specialty publications. While she wouldn’t give her name, she said she works for the “small business” division at City Hall and was both interested in books and bearing witness to yet another closing of a New York institution that had meant so much to a community. Amy Sheridan, who lives nearby, walked out with four books. She was really feeling the loss. “I’m a voracious reader,” she said. “I read 70 books last year.” “It’s so sad,” she continued. “We’re supposed to buy books online. I don’t like Amazon or Barnes & Noble to make choices of what the whole country can read.” She valued the variety and accessibility of books she had found at St. Mark’s. “You can’t peruse a book [online],” she noted. Judy Chou, another neighbor, emphasized as she was adding to her stack of books and journals to buy, “There’s something special in this place where you can smell and touch the books.” Another local, artist Stan Gaz spoke of the special creative feeling inside the place. “You don’t get that in most bookstores,” he noted. His companion said this was a store where neighborhood artists could sell their books. “I have a number of small artist-made books I bought when St. Mark’s was on St. Mark’s [Place],” she said, though adding, “I just don’t have room in my apartment to buy more.” “A lot of creative people liked to come here,” Gaz reflected, wistfully.

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March 3, 2016

EastVillagerNews.com

Asian pols, protesters demand leniency for Liang BY LUCAS ROPEK

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ollowing the recent conviction of former Police Officer Peter Liang in the fatal shooting of Akai Gurley, City Councilmember Margaret Chin called for his sentencing not to be severe. “Today, I have asked my Council colleagues to join me to ask for leniency in the case involving Peter Liang,” the Lower Manhattan councilmember said in a Feb. 18 statement. “Two rookie police officers should never have been placed on a vertical patrol in an unfamiliar, darkened stairwell,” she said, referring to the method of policing that often places rookies in dangerous spots. Chin also blamed the “culture of neglect” surrounding New York’s public housing, which, she offered, contributes to an “atmosphere of fear” that helped lead to Liang’s decision to fire. Chin is one of only two Asian-American councilmembers in New York City, the other being Peter Koo of Queens. Similarly, in published reports, Koo has said he believes both the New York City Housing Authority and Police Department should accept some responsibility for Gurley’s death, in that conditions within public housing and patrol methods must be improved. “It’s possible the grand jury were influenced by the prior decisions, and were afraid of stirring violence,” he said, referring to the recent number of police-involved shootings that have fueled the Black Lives Matter movement. A very strong advocate for Liang has been Assemblymember Ron Kim — the only Asian-American in the state Legislature — who released a statement on Feb. 12, shortly after Liang’s conviction. “I do not believe true justice prevailed,” Kim said. “Our system failed Gurley and it failed Liang. It pitted the unjust death of an innocent young black man against the unjust scapegoating of a young Asian police officer who was frightened, poorly trained and who committed a terrible accident.” An estimated nearly 10,000, mostly Asian-American protesters rallied in Cadman Plaza Park in Brooklyn, on Sat., Feb. 20, to voice their anger and disbelief at Liang’s conviction. Many of them passed out leaflets urging that the Supreme Court justice who oversaw the case grant a more lenient sentence for Liang. A national movement has also emerged called the Coalition of Justice for Liang. The group has staged protests and rallies in nearly 30 different cities across the country. Jack Ouyang, a spokesperson for the EastVillagerNews.com

PHOTO BY ARTHUR DE GAETA

Thousands of Asian-Americans protested in Cadman Plaza Park in Brooklyn on Saturday that former Officer Peter Liang is being made a scapegoat.

group, recently issued a statement justifying the coalition’s support for Liang: “In the wake of so many unfortunate deaths of unarmed African-American men in the hands of police officers, the tension between the police and African-American communities nationwide has reached an unprecedented level. However, it is totally wrong for the prosecutor to single out Mr. Liang.” Support for Liang isn’t universal, however. CAAAV (Coalition Against Anti-Asian Violence), a Lower East Sidebased activist group, has posted a statement on its Web site defending the decision to convict the rookie. “The fact that Officer Liang is an Asian-American shouldn’t mean that Asian-Americans don’t call for justice for Akai Gurley,” CAAAV’s statement said. “Quite the opposite — it should force us to examine how each of us is complicit in maintaining the status quo.” The group, which traditionally advocates for the protection of poor and working-class Asian-American communities, feels that Gurley’s shooting was indicative of a larger problem in law enforcement that needs to be addressed. Gurley, a 28-year-old African American man, was killed on Nov. 20, 2014, by a ricocheted bullet fired by Liang in a darkened stairway in East New York’s Pink Houses as Liang and his partner, Shaun Landau, were doing a vertical patrol. Gurley, a Pink Houses resident, had decided to take the stairs because the elevator wasn’t working. For many, Gurley’s death became

PHOTO BY JASON SPEAKMAN

Counterprotesters said that the convicted Liang is a “killer cop” and deserves prison time.

yet another indication of a broken criminal justice system that unfairly victimizes low-income, predominantly African-American individuals. After Liang’s conviction by a jury on Feb. 11., however, the issue has taken on different racial connotations. Liang’s Chinese-American heritage has New York’s Asian community saying that he is being “scapegoated” for his actions because he is not white. Liang was immediately fired from the New York Police Department following the incident, and his conviction on second-degree manslaughter and several counts of misconduct now has him facing up to 15 years in prison. Though Gurley’s death can be seen as part of a larger problem of deadly police misconduct, it’s also something of an anomaly, considering that most officers involved in fatal shoot-

ings are never convicted, or even brought to trial. One of the most prominent recent examples is the Eric Garner case, in which police decided to arrest Staten Islander Garner on suspicion of selling untaxed loose cigarettes on the street. Garner — who was overweight and asthmatic — died during the arrest as he was brought down with a chokehold and police pressed down on his prostate body. Yet Police Officer Daniel Pantaleo was acquitted of all charges, despite the fact that an amateur video presented to the jury clearly showed him putting Garner in the illegal chokehold that compressed his windpipe. Because white police officers like Pantaleo have escaped punishment, politicians and community leaders in New York’s Asian-American community see bias in Liang’s conviction. March 3, 2016

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L.E.S. teen arrested in Silver Spurs slashing BY LINCOLN ANDERSON

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mid the seemingly out-of-control surge of slashings gripping the city, police collared a Lower East Side teenager on Tuesday in last week’s vicious attack at Silver Spurs that left a busboy needing more than 130 stitches on his face. Dominicio Howington, 16, was picked up at the Lillian Wald Houses, where he lives at 691 F.D.R. Drive, and charged with first-degree assault and criminal weapon possession. He likely won’t be getting out soon — bail was set at $50,000. It was reported that he is already on parole — for a 2014 robbery, and also has past arrests for assault, criminal trespass and petty larceny. Amid the recent wave of slashing incidents, on Wed., Feb. 17, at 8 p.m., Bobby Barbot, 25, a worker at Silver Spurs diner, at 490 LaGuardia Place at W. Houston St., was brutally sliced on the left cheek, allegedly by Howington, after he asked him to leave the place. EMS medics responded and transported Barbot to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition, where he received 137 stitches to close the gaping gash. According to the Daily News, half of the stitches were on the inside of his cheek, because the gash went all the way through. According to police, the youth came into the diner and began asking patrons for donations. He was asked to leave and complied. But he returned shortly after, slashed the victim and then fled northbound on LaGuardia Place. News reports said the teen had been soliciting donations for a “bogus basketball league” and “bothering customers.” The victim’s girlfriend, Nicole Fontanez, told CBS News that Barbot “just asked him to please leave. It was just a nice way, and then the guy was like, ‘Oh, whatever,’ and he got rowdy and he said, ‘I’ll be back.’ ” She said Barbot — who had not been confrontational to the man — escorted him outside Silver Spurs, which is when he was slashed. However, a report in the New York Post told a different story. According to the Post, Barbot is an aspiring Mixed Martial Arts fighter, and he and the suspect traded words and, eventually punches in their first encounter. The teen missed with his punch, but Barbot said, in his turn, he “knocked out” the younger man, sending him to the floor. The teen then left, but warned he would be back. Ten minutes later he returned and Barbot blocked his path. “I seen him pull out a boxcutter,” Barbot told the Post. “He was yelling, ‘Say I won’t cut you!’ I told him, ‘You’re a coward for pulling out a

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March 3, 2016

PHOTO BY C4P

Dominicio Howington, 16, being led out of the Sixth Precinct, on W. 10th St., on Tuesday at 7 p.m., to be transported to Central Booking at Manhattan Criminal Court.

Slashing victim Bobby Barbot in a photo on Instagram.

knife on at me.’ He just lashed at me with the knife.” However, George Pirgousis, a manager at the restaurant, told The

Villager that although he wasn’t working at the time of the incident, he did not hear anything about there having been a physical confrontation

with the assailant prior to the slashing. He said his understanding was that the suspect simply left and then returned and cut Barbot. As for Barbot’s interest in MMA, he said, “He practices on the side to keep in shape.” Barbot has worked at Silver Spurs two to three years, Pirgousis said. “Eventually, he’ll be back,” he assured. Police provided a surveillance-camera image of the suspect and additional photos of three unknown teens — a male and two females — who were seen in his company on the date of the incident. Howington was caught based on a tip. In addition, in Soho, just a few blocks east from Silver Spurs, there was another bloody slashing the same day outside Supreme, the skateboard and clothing store on Lafayette St. near Prince St., where a new clothing line had just been released. A 21-year-old man was slashed on his right cheek — either for cutting the line or in robbery. “The amount of blood that just came out of it was unreal,” a witness said. With more than 570 incidents already so far this year, stabbings and slashings are up more than 20 percent — about 100 more than last year for the same period. Mayor Bill de Blasio assured that 2,000 new police officers will be on the streets this year and will help address the problem. EastVillagerNews.com

Women’s Career Panel: How to Shape, Change, and Design Your Professional Path Monday, March 14 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm 53 Washington Square South Room 113

VILLAGER FILE PHOTO BY JONATHAN ALPEYRIE

A new Link NYC high-speed router on Third Ave. near E. 15th St. shortly after its installation in January.

Why pay for Wi-Fi with new street hot spots? locals say BY COLIN MIXSON

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he city’s free wireless Internet hot spots recently installed along Third Ave. are helping some East Village businesses cope with their sometimes-tenuous Internet connections. One mattress salesman said that, between Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Link NYC routers and an unsecure wireless signal from a nearby Capital One bank, he never has to worry when it comes to surfing the Web. “If my service is really slow, I’ll use the Link,” said sales professional Mark Anthony, who works at the Third Ave. Sleepy’s between E. 13th and E. 14th Sts. “But sometimes that won’t connect, so I’ll use the Internet from the Capital One next door.” The new service, which has seen payphones along Third Ave. north of E. 14th St. replaced with Link NYC kiosks emitting free Wi-Fi in a 150-foot radius, is providing passersby and pedestrians with the opportunity to save a little money off their 3G, the most common way that New Yorkers connect with the Web on their mobile devices. Glenn Colson, a security guard who works at nearby New York University facilities, said he’s saved more than a few bucks thanks to the new service. “I was using my data before, so this saves me some money,” Colson said. “It helps when I’m sending e-mails and stuff.” A recent New York Post report quoted ecstatic Third Ave. residents and merchants who were eager to cancel service from their paid-for Internet providers in the wake of Link NYC’s launch, saying there’s no point EastVillagerNews.com

in signing checks for Time Warner and Verizon now that the city was providing the service gratis. “I’ll definitely cancel my Time Warner,” Alex Della Rocca, who lives on E. 16th St. and Third Ave., told the Post. But not everyone living within range of the hot spots is so eager to cut and run from their usual providers. Skepticism abounds about the brand-new service, and some locals are concerned about privacy and security regarding the new Internet obelisks. Despite their offering encrypted network connections between customers’ devices and the hot spot, Link NYC does collect some information from users. “I’m concerned about privacy, and I’m a little bit hesitant,” Daniel Nieves, who lives on Third Ave. between E. 13th and E. 14th Sts., told The Villager. And some locals just don’t see the point. Bruce Ray, another Third Ave. denizen, said there’s nothing Link NYC can provide that his phone can’t already do. “I don’t see how it would be of much value,” Ray said. “Anything it can do, I can already do on my phone.” Link NYC is part of a citywide initiative announced by de Blasio in 2014, which will bring 7,500 free Wi-Fi hot spots to neighborhoods across the five boroughs. In addition to providing free Internet, the Link NYC kiosks allow New Yorkers to make free phone calls to anywhere in the country, as well as provide free phone charging, access to maps and city services and a spot to ring 911 in case of an emergency.

Olga Lucia Torres

Rachel DuBois

Attorney, Author, and Public Speaker

Assistant Director of Career Services for the NYU Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service

Stephanie Rodriguez Capacity Building and Oversight Analyst at the New York City Mayor’s Office of Contract Services

Roxana McKinney Financial Coach at Strategies for Wealth

Join our panel of experts from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors as they share their personal career journeys. The panel’s four women have achieved great success in their fields, often through nonlinear professional paths. Attendees will be able to ask questions about the panelists’ inspiring journeys, and learn lessons which will help them as they continue along their own professional roads. This event is co-sponsored by NYU and the Greenwich Village Chelsea Chamber of Commerce. An RSVP is required. Please RSVP at bit.ly/21Ern1s or by calling NYU Community Affairs at 212-998-2400.

March 3, 2016

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Crime is down in the East Village’s 9th Precinct BY LUCAS ROPEK

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handful of locals turned out at the Ninth Precinct Community Council meeting on Tues., Feb. 16 to hear Deputy Inspector Peter Venice speak on the topic of local crime and safety, despite a torrential downpour earlier in the evening. “Thank you everybody for coming out on this very rainy, dreary day,” Venice said, before giving some good news. The precinct’s crime rate is down 27 percent over all for the month. Specifically, robberies are down 57 percent, felony assaults are down 46 percent, burglaries are down 25 percent, and grand larceny is down 24 percent. The only spike, said Venice, was stolen vehicles — five this month, compared with only one during the previous month. The precinct’s crime rate is down 5 percent over all for the year. Most of the crimes in the precinct have been grand larceny — the result of people leaving their property (often credit cards) somewhere and it being stolen. An I.R.S. scam has also been going around, in which residents are being called and told that they owe

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March 3, 2016

back taxes and have to send money or they will be arrested. Phishing scams like this are quite common during tax season, and Venice clarified the situation for residents. “The I.R.S. does not solicit money over the phone,” he explained. “If you have an issue with the I.R.S., they are not going to call you up and say, ‘Send us a check.’ So just be aware of that.” Violent crimes are also down. The case of Julian DeJesus, 25 — a mentally unstable man from the Jacob Riis Houses who was shot and wounded by police on Jan. 26, after charging them with a knife — is the only violent incident the precinct has experienced during the past month. Otherwise, January and February have seen no major criminal activity. “In the last month there have been no robbery patterns or burglary patterns,” Venice affirmed. Despite the mostly good news, some locals still expressed safety concerns. In particular, several residents brought up the rash of slashing and knife attacks that have plagued the city for the past few months. Officers sympathized with residents’

concerns while noting that the slashings are random, and therefore, no single prescription exists to combat or avoid them. Another resident alerted officers to the fact that transients have been camping under the scaffolding surrounding the Immaculate Conception School’s entrances on E. 14th St. near First Ave. The sidewalk bridges’ presence is causing congestion during the children’s dismissal time from 2:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. “We don’t want to call 911 and get people arrested,” a resident said, expressing sympathy for the homeless, yet also conceding that they had become a problem. It was agreed upon that several officers would be sent over during dismissal time and the transients would be asked to leave. The meeting concluded with a short announcement by Brian McCullough, a community outreach coordinator with the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board, who notified residents that the C.C.R.B. is stepping up its involvement with local organizations. “If there’s a captive audience, we’ll be there,” he said, explaining how the C.C.R.B. would be connecting with schools, civil ser-

vice agencies, youth and probation groups, churches, community boards, L.G.B.T. groups and many others. The C.C.R.B. is empowered to receive, investigate and mediate complaints against police officers alleging the use of excessive or unnecessary force, abuse of authority, discourtesy or the use of offensive language. Interactions between police and communities of color, in particular, are a key issue for the board. McCullough explained that the agency has made several recent changes. A policy unit was established last summer that makes recommendations to local police precincts on how to improve officers’ interactions with local communities. In addition, the agency’s investigator unit has been restructured to better help resolve citizens’ complaints. “Over all, the rate of complaints we’ve been receiving has been going down, but our rate of resolution of those complaints has gone up,” he said. McCullough also notified residents that the board’s meetings are public and that the community is welcome to attend.

EastVillagerNews.com

Going...nowhere! Landlord blocked from removing lift BY JOAQUIN COTLER

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preliminary injunction was granted to the residents of 173 Henry St. on Monday, preventing the building’s landlord from shutting down the elevator for five months to replace it. The ruling came on the heels of a federal restraining order filed on behalf of tenants of the 43-unit Chinatown apartment building. Earlier this month, Legal Services NYC and Asian Americans For Equality filed a federal lawsuit, which led to the restraining order preventing the landlord, King Henry Realty Inc., from turning off the building’s only elevator. Immediately before the injunction hearing took place, a press conference was held at Foley Square in Lower Manhattan to raise awareness and protest subpar living conditions at the building. Members of the 173 Henry St. Tenant Association rallied behind Chee Sum Ng, a 64-year-old rent-stabilized resident suffering from end-stage renal disease, who cannot reasonably climb the seven flights of stairs to his apartment. The demonstrators demanded that, in addition to the restraining order

preventing the elevator closure, the landlord also stop harassment, which they said is intended to force them to leave their homes. William Xu of AAFE introduced the speakers and gave a general overview of what he called the illegal and dangerous actions taken by King Henry Realty. “The landlord has continued to conduct construction without permits in the building as a form of harassment,” he said. “He has also failed to upkeep the building, and has allowed it to deteriorate into a state of disrepair, with substandard living conditions that pose a health and safety risk to our tenants.” Following Xu’s remarks, AAFE’s Donna Chiu translated the statements of several non-English-speaking residents of 173 Henry St. as they gave their firsthand accounts. The tenants detailed a slew of violations that they face on a daily basis, such as broken plumbing, lack of heat, unreliable gas and hot water and open construction zones. Brandon Kielbasa of the Cooper Square Committee, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving and creating environmentally healthy housing, noted that these conditions are by no means unique to 173 Henry St. “It isn’t an isolated issue,” he said. “We’re experiencing it at record

levels. Alarming levels. Negligent management of construction can be the most violent form of tenant harassment. I’m glad to be standing in solidarity with 173 Henry. We need to overhaul the system to combat construction as harassment. We need the Department of Buildings to be a proactive player in addressing this issue.” Greg Holtz, representing the Stand for Tenants Safety Coalition, spoke about his experiences. A resident of 445 E. Ninth St., Holtz said that out of 10 units in his building, four have recently been vacated, their occupants forced out by unethical practices. Once vacated, the apartments underwent disruptive and unsafe renovation, which impacted the remaining residents. He had no gas in his apartment for more than nine months, and was tormented by dust clouds, debris, flooding and noise, he said. He tried for months to put a stop to the unlicensed construction, he said. “What will it take?” he asked, “another building explosion? Ten, 20, 100 people with permanent breathing problems because of a renovation? Where is the Department of Buildings? Where is the mayor?” Betty Eng, a 90 Elizabeth St. resident, cited her landlord’s unwill-

ingness to post notifications in the languages spoken in her building as its own form of aggression. “After I finally lost my patience, they posted notices in English and Chinese,” said Eng, who is Chinese and Cuban-American. “The problem is, I don’t speak Chinese. My neighbors upstairs don’t speak English or Chinese. They’re Latino!” The demonstration ended with Councilmember Margaret Chin voicing her support for the tenants. “Our city agencies have to be held accountable,” she said. “They have to work together and coordinate and make sure tenants are protected.” After the rally, many demonstrators reconvened in Housing Court, to show support for Ng and the 173 Henry St. Tenants Association. According to Kate Whelan of Legal Services-NYC, the preliminary injunction was granted, preventing the landlords from removing the elevator without providing reasonable accommodations to Ng. “[King Henry Realty, Inc.] is also stayed from harassing Mr. Ng in retaliation for enforcing his rights,” Whelan said. “The preliminary injunction is in place until our next court date on April 25 at 10 a.m.” The landlord could not be reached for comment by press time.

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March 3, 2016

11

Time to pull the plug on Indian Point nuke plant EDITORIAL

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fter the latest accident at the Indian Point nuclear reactors in Buchanan, N.Y. — the seventh major malfunction in just eight months — a coalition of six environmental and health organizations issued an urgent call to shut down the aging power plant while investigations by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and New York State agencies are conducted. On Feb. 6, it was reported that Indian Point recorded a significant spike in radioactive, tritium-contaminated water at several monitoring wells. The coalition includes Riverkeeper, the Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter, Scenic Hudson, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Indian Point Sane Energy Coalition and Physicians for Social Responsibility. Twenty million people live in Indian Point’s evacuation zone — within 50 miles of the power plant. New York City’s northern border is just 24 miles from Indian Point. The danger zone also extends to parts of New Jersey and even as far as Long Island. Governor Andrew Cuomo and lawmakers across the Hudson Valley are also on record saying that the failing facility poses too great a danger and must be taken offline. However, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer promptly rebutted the coalition’s demand to close the plant, countering that Indian Point provides 25 percent

of the Downstate area’s power, and that there is currently no way to replace that energy. Plus, he said, closing the accident-plagued plant would boost electricity rates 30 to 40 percent. “I have told some of the environmental people, if you can show me a plan to figure out a way to replace that electricity, fine. … In the meantime, I have emphasized very strong safety,” Schumer said. But the senator’s response simply doesn’t hold water, according to the advocates urging the plant’s shutdown. In fact, Schumer is “dead wrong,” said Cliff Weathers, a spokesperson for Riverkeeper. In short, Riverkeeper has been working with a consulting company, Synapse, that has focused on this issue for the past four years — namely, how to replace Indian Point’s capacity once it is shut down. Basically, the capacity of Indian Point’s two remaining reactors is 2,040 megawatts. Meanwhile, three power plants that have been offline since Superstorm Sandy — Astoria, Bowline and Danskammer — and that all operate on natural gas, are coming back online, set to produce a combined total of 1,047 megawatts of power. New transmission projects Upstate will cut another 400 megawatts. Refrigerators and air-conditioning units are becoming more efficient, further decreasing energy need. Con Edison also has been ordered to create more efficiencies, which will cut up to 142 megawatts. The Downstate region is on track in 2016 to reduce peak energy demand by 549 megawatts, according to the study. And, of course, renewable energy keeps grow-

ing — as it should and must — with more solar, wind and hydroelectric power, further reducing our dependency on fossil fuels and nuclear power. When all these new power sources and efficiencies are added up, they total 2,100 megawatts — which is actually 60 megawatts greater than the current capacity of the dangerous nuke plant frighteningly located right in our backyard. Schumer — though he publicly claims he wants to see the environmentalists’ plan — so far has not responded to Riverkeeper’s numerous requests to sit down and discuss these energy efficiencies that would make Indian Point’s power irrelevant. Indian Point was built 42 years ago by Con Ed and is now owned by Entergy. The plant’s aging infrastructure is constantly being patched up. Most people, though, get a new car when it starts to break down after seven or eight years. It’s a no-brainer that anything mechanical is more likely to wear out over time — and in the case of a nuclear plant, when something goes wrong, it could be an environmental disaster. Entergy counters that $1 billion in repairs have been put into Indian Point over the years — that’s a whole lot of bandaids and spit holding together a ticking time bomb. One of the plant’s original three reactors was shut down years ago due to leaks. Indian Point’s two remaining generators are currently operating without a license while the N.R.C. decides whether to renew them. The feds ultimately make the call on whether to shut down nuclear plants. In addiEDITORIAL continued on p. 20

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Grateful to have had Dad To The Editor: Re “John Farris, bohemian poet who chronicled life on Lower East Side” (obituary, Feb. 11): My dad was an anarchist. He could be rough around the edges, often speaking his truth without censure or care for social mores. But to me he was more than John, the rebel artist. He was my father. I strongly believe that he loved his daughters. For the last 12 years of his

life, we spoke at least twice a week. His voice was often gentle, he rejoiced at my son Richard’s journey with music, always curious to follow every progress and success. He always told me that he loved me. He introduced me with pride to his friends, always highlighting that I was a doctor, and that his grandson was a great musician-in-the-making. He loved hearing Richard play the saxophone. As a child, he would pick me up on the weekends and he would take us to the children’s art carnival in Brooklyn, where he worked, and teach

IRA BLUTREICH

Everyone wants to ‘pay to play’ with Mayor de Blasio. 12

March 3, 2016

us how to draw and play with instruments. What he believed in the most — art — he cared to teach us to love and understand. He also helped me to be open-minded. Dad made me laugh. He had a playful, joyful side. He used to walk down the streets playing the flute. My father was a survivor. He always found a way. Choosing to live on the margins of a social system he discredited and despised, he remained keenly observant and accepted the consequences of his choices. Mahatma Gandhi said, “To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonesty.” My father was honest. My father spoke the truth. My father was very wise. I will never forget, in a pivotal and painful moment of my life, when he said just what I needed to hear: “What’s done in the dark comes to the light.” I felt protected and understood by my father. I believe my dad hid his gentle side because he had been too hurt by life. He hadn’t experienced much love growing up, and he developed prickly, steel walls that could easily ward off human connection. He grew to enjoy solitude. But the few he allowed to get close to him (me, Andrew, Maggie, Dalton and Vanessa, for example) got more than his visions and creations, but experienced and knew his loving, gentle and sensitive side. It was a grand gesture of love that dad left his Continued on p. 14 EastVillagerNews.com

‘Where’s your ticket?’ A prison of pastrami NOTEBOOK BY BETH KAISERMAN

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verything was planned out perfectly. My co-worker Rachel and I would eat a feast at Katz’s, down a couple beers and then head to my last day of work before I moved Upstate for a summer internship on a vegan farm. We were only a few stops away on the F train from the restaurant from where we worked, so everything would be timely and smooth. Some of my favorite eating memories are with co-workers from the service industry. When you serve people all the time, flipping the coin and letting yourself be served is a great way to unwind. Katz’s is probably one of the last places in New York City where you should expect stellar customer service, but of course that’s not why you’re there. You’re there because the meat melts in your mouth, and the tireless counter guys give you little morsels while they construct your dream sandwich. The cooks, counter people, hosts, busboys, dishwashers and servers work their butts off to make this New York institution a well-oiled machine. That is, until you lose your ticket. We had started with a bowl of fluffy matzo ball soup, ordered a variety of meats, took pictures with the meats, ate, took a break, breathed heavily, ate some more and finished our beers. Everything had gone well, as it always does when Katz’s pastrami is involved. We put everything on Rachel’s ticket, since we were sharing it all anyway. At the end, we proceeded to the credit card line where they sell bagels (separate from the cash line up front) and split the cost between us. I clutched my credit card receipt as I waddled toward the door,

A Katz’s corned beef sandwich with a ticket. Enjoy the sandwich — but better not lose the ticket!

full and ready to tackle my last day of work. After that, it’s a bit of a meat-dazed blur. “Where’s your ticket?” the security guard asked. “It must be here somewhere,” I said, searching my bag, pockets and eventually every crevice of my body. I searched the table. I went back to the pastrami counter. The matzo ball counter. The credit card counter. My ticket was nowhere to be found. My mouth was suddenly very dry, thanks to many salty meats and a crippling fear that I was in trouble. It was second grade, and I was caught racing down the hallway all over again. “Well, I have my receipt from when we just paid!” I said hopefully. “You need your ticket. Call her in,” the security guard ordered to another. She arrived. I guess her name is Mrs. Katz’s Deli. She has red hair and New York attitude written all over

her. Jake Dell currently runs all operations as far as I know, but this older woman was surely in charge of the scene that day. “Where’s your ticket?” she asked. “I don’t know, I checked everywhere in here but I have my receipt right here showing we paid! I really have to leave

for work! What can I do?” “Ya can’t leave without your ticket.” “I know, I’ve looked everywhere though. What more can I do? We paid all on one ticket, and mine must have dropped somewhere.” “I should call the police right now,” she said. My life flashed before my eyes. It seemed so typical of me. This was how I was going to go down — all because of a sandwich. My love of eating always got the best of me. Ten minutes of a similar back-andforth ensued until it was finally decided that the cops would not be involved. At least, not today. “This time, go. Next time, keep ya ticket!!!” I thought my picture might be put on the wall, strictly separated from signed photos of Jerry Seinfeld, Jerry Stiller and all the other Jerrys and famous deli lovers. Two years later, I’m still paranoid at Katz’s. As soon as I enter, I clutch my ticket like my life depends on it. I do a ticket check with my dining companions every five minutes. Eating at Katz’s may not be the most relaxing scene, but a little dramatic flair might be the secret to keeping the meat oh so tender.

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March 3, 2016

13

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Continued from p. 12

apartment to my musician son. I am so grateful to have had an incredible, complex, genius, funny and loving dad. “Don’t bend; don’t water it down; don’t try to make it logical; don’t edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly,” Franz Kafka wrote. My father, John Farris, did just this. Chinyelu “Bibi” Duxbury

A fine tribute to Farris To The Editor: Re “John Farris, bohemian poet who chronicled life on Lower East Side” (obituary, Feb. 11): What a fine, moving tribute by Sarah Ferguson for the poet John Farris. The photo portrait by Maggie Wrigley captures both an inner and outer beauty. Cranky he was, but generous and charming also. My first real memory of John was when I read at the Life Cafe in 1983. During the open mic, a shy youngster gave a blistering reading of scatological oratory. It was fiercely innovative and successful but disturbingly nihilistic. I was moved. I was sitting next to John and as the audience applauded, he asked if I liked what I’d heard. I said that it was powerful indeed. And he said, “Why don’t you tell him.” A year later I found out that the kid had overdosed. I’ll always be grateful to John for suggesting I compliment him. Another time, I asked John if I could publish one of his drawings in Live Mag! I went over and chose a truly brilliant cartoon of a hearse and its entourage entering a cemetery. Above the entrance gates was the phrase: “The Scythe’s the Limit.” Then his famous crankiness came out: Almost immediately he left a nasty message on my phone, hounding me to get the drawing back and accusing me of trying to steal it. I was rather put out. As soon as I could, I scanned the work and returned it. He was back to being charming and his petulance was forgotten. Last time I saw him was at the Bowery Poetry

Club. Everybody treated him like royalty, like the East Village royalty he was. I’m very glad to have known him and to have had a chance to publish his work. His legend lives on. For some, the scythe is not always the limit. Jeffrey Cyphers Wright

Amen for good coverage To The Editor: Re “Countering ugly rhetoric with spiritual sounds” (news article, Feb. 11): Thank you so much, Villager. You seem to be the only press in New York City interested in shining a little light on the courage of these faith leaders to cross divisions others uphold, and to learn about and embrace each other. We all in the East Village are honored by them, and appreciate you, The Villager, for devoting the time and space. Anthony Donovan

Out-of-kilter pacifists To The Editor: Following the 9/11 attacks on our country, too many members of the peace movement determined to oppose their sister and brother citizens in the war against terror. This was a departure from the probative approach of American pacifists after the attack on Pearl Harbor, after which we entered World War II. At that time, pacifists, in the words of the executive committee of the War Resisters League, took the honorable stand of pledging, “...under no circumstances do we have any intention of obstructing or interfering with the civil or military, or in [interfering with the] carrying out [of] the will of the government or [condemning] the point of view of those of our fellow citizens to whom war presents itself as a patriotic duty... .” Today, on the contrary, all too many pacifists and activists are opposing the world people’s desire to defeat the Islamic terrorists who are endangering humanity with what the pope describes as “a

piecemeal World War III.” One example of the above are the dismaying protests at airbases, where pacifists, including some of the Catholic Worker people, seek to demoralize the decent pilots of unmanned aircraft — the drones. This is an ignoble departure from the W.W. II-era pacifist moral position of declining to obstruct or interfere with the wartime efforts to save humanity. During the Second World War, the pacifist community in the U.S. resolved to act responsibly. They understood that the fate of the collective may not be tethered to the personal codes of living subscribed to by the pacifists. The fundamental recognition is one that should be borne in mind by the more out-of-kilter pacifists in our community. Robert Reiss

The Stranger: Adam Purple To The Editor: Billy Joel once said that, “We all have a face that we hide away forever,” and that appears to be the case with Adam Purple. Adam was a man that, like so many of us, I liked and respected. A rare combination for me because most of the people I have a lot of respect for, I don’t particularly like. I’ve designed one private garden and one public garden on the Lower East Side, as well as three private gardens in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, all using ideas and techniques that I learned from Adam. So it hurts me to say this, but I have to stand with the victims. I also have to stand with Lincoln Anderson and The Villager for having the courage to write and publish such a sad and painful story. Jerry The Peddler 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.

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March 3, 2016

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Formerly of ‘Fiddler,’ Finkel, 93, far from final act Living link to Yiddish vaudeville creates a new tradition BY TRAV S.D.

A

udiences at the Metropolitan Room are about to be treated to a spectacle that is increasingly rare, and destined to become more so. On March 7 and 8, the legendary Fyvush Finkel, 93, will perform a solo show chronicling 84 years in show business — including his beginnings in the Yiddish theater of New York’s Lower East Side, summers as a Catskills entertainer, and 12 years in the national touring company of “Fiddler on the Roof.” Finkel is best known for his Emmywinning portrayal of lawyer Douglas Wambaugh on the TV series “Picket Fences” (1992-1996), and for his role as the dybbuk in the Coen Brothers’ 2009 film “A Serious Man.” Finkel, who sings in addition to telling jokes and stories, will be accompanied by his sons Elliott (on piano) and Ian (on xylophone). Stitching it together is the theme of Yiddish vaudeville, of which Finkel may be one of the last true exemplars. Yiddish is, of course, the lingua franca of the Jewish people of Europe. It began in the Middle Ages as a dialect of German, then spread with the migrations of the Jews into Eastern Europe, and finally, around the turn of the last century, to America. The highest concentration of Yiddish speakers in America was on New York’s Lower East Side. It was inevitable that the Yiddish-speaking theater would transplant itself in New York, as well. From the 1880s through the mid-20th century, peaking in the 1920s, there were dozens of thriving Yiddish venues on the Lower East Side presenting stars like Boris Tomashefsky, and Jacob and Sara Adler (parents of Luther and EastVillagerNews.com

PHOTO BY LINDSAY AIKMAN/MICHAEL PRIEST PHOTOGRAPHY

L to R: Merwin Goldsmith, Fyvush Finkel and June Gable in the National Yiddish Theatre – Folksbiene’s 2011 Drama Desk-nominated “Fyvush Finkel Live!” revue.

Stella — the famous acting teacher). For a time, Second Avenue was known as “the Yiddish Rialto.” “Yiddish was our primary language at home,” says Finkel. “Even the dog, Tootsie, only responded if we talked to it in Yiddish.” Finkel grew up in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn. His father Harry emigrated from Warsaw and earned his living as a tailor. But the needle and thread were not for Fyvush. “I was nine years old when I started in the theater,” Finkel remembers.

“There was an advertisement in the Jewish newspaper The Forward. This was around 1934. They needed a boy soprano to sing ‘Oh Promise Me’ during a wedding sequence. I was hidden in a box seat and I stopped the show cold. I got a dollar a week. So I became a child star in the Yiddish theater. And I trained for that. I was taught to speak ‘fine Yiddish’ or ‘stage Yiddish,’ which was different from how we spoke at home. Just as they used to have more formal English on stage than people ordi-

narily spoke. Today, people can talk however they want!” Amazingly (since it’s considered a dead language), Finkel performed in the Yiddish theater for 35 years. “My first show as an adult was ‘Who is Guilty.’ I was in my 20s and I knocked the hell out of that thing. The crowd loved me, and the show was a big hit. There was no TV in those days and no advance ticket sales with a credit card. The box FINKEL continued on p. 16 March 3, 2016

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Finkel and sons set to make Metropolitan Room debut FINKEL continued from p. 15

office had lines around the block. It was at the Hopkinson Theatre, and I got to appear with great Yiddish stars like [the husband and wife team] Julius Adler and Henrietta Jacobson.” Starting in 1938, as so many did in those days, Finkel began to spend his summer playing Borscht Belt hotels in the Catskills. “There were 400 of them back then! I played 50 hotels a summer. I played ’em all!” he reminisces. “They had a emcee, a social director and a second comedian, and that was how I got my start. I was a single, a monologist. Nowadays you’d call it stand-up. And I had them laughing, shrieking! Back then it was all about clean family life. The people didn’t even want dirty material. It’s like Milton Berle said: ‘If you pull your pants down once, it’s funny. But then you have to keep doing it, and it isn’t funny anymore.’ ” True to that philosophy, the Finkels promise a family show at the Metropolitan Room. “It’s probably the world’s funnest and cleanest show,” says his son Ian, who carries on the family tradition with his own

COURTESY FYVUSH FINKEL

Finkel, seen here in 1967 as Tevye, spent 12 years in the national touring company of “Fiddler on the Roof.”

xylophone-based vaudeville act. “Fyvush Finkel is the world’s last living link to the Yiddish vaudeville tradition,” says latter-day Yiddish performer Shane Baker. “He has trained generations of younger actors in the styles and techniques both onstage and off. My favorite memory? Strolling with him down 50th Street, someone stopped him to shake

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March 3, 2016

hands or get an autograph every three feet. He took time to warmly greet each and every one, offering as an aside, ‘That’s my public! I work for them!’ — the consummate showbiz professional.” Yiddish scholar and translator Caraid O’Brien agrees: “Fyvush is ‘The Last Confederate Widow’ of the Yiddish stage. When he goes, may it not be soon, our link to an entire generation of Yiddish theater performers is gone forever. He’s also part of a grand, inspiring tradition of Yiddish performers who never retire. He’s funny and charming, and at this point completely unique, a true Yiddish comedian.”

The amazing thing is, when Finkel began to enjoy national success, he’d already been in show business for 60 years. “The older I get, the busier I’m getting,” he marvels. And the lively nonagenarian gives no indication of quitting. He recently wrapped the John Susman film “Game Day,” scheduled for release later this year. Mon., Mar. 7 & Tues., Mar. 8, at 7 p.m. at The Metropolitan Room (34 W. 22nd St., btw. Fifth & Sixth Aves.). For tickets ($35, plus two-drink minimum), call 212-206-0440 or visit metropolitanroom.com.

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PHOTO BY RIVKA KATVAN

Old hat: Fyvush Finkel, having conquered Yiddish theater and TV, plays Chelsea’s famed cabaret room (with sons Elliott and Ian) on Mar. 7-8.

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America suffers splitting Super Tuesday headache Poll results prove we’re all losers

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“I’m not in the race anymore. I don’t have to do your stupid podcast. Leave me the hell alone.”

DESIGN BY MICHAEL SHIREY

BY MAX BURBANK

M

y, but it’s been an exciting month since the Iowa caucuses! Once-inevitable Republican nominee Jeb! Bush had to turn in his exclamation point and have his mom walk him home. Ultra-conservative wet dream supervillain Antonin Scalia took an allexpense-paid bribe/hunting vacation with his secret society Illuminati pals and decided to multitask by dying. Before rigor mortis could set in, hideous human/turtle hybrid — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — publicly celebrated Scalia’s lifelong commitment to Constitutional Originalism by ignoring it in favor of an unEastVillagerNews.com

written rule of thumb, the “Thurmond Rule,” created by a deceased senator best known for his lifelong dedication to segregation and occupying his senate seat for almost a decade past the point where he could form sentences or chew without assistance. Chris Christie decided he never did say that thing about Trump being unfit to be President, and instead rolled over on his back at Donald’s feet, exposed his belly and peed himself in the most humiliating display of slavish submission since every single moment of Jeb!’s campaign. Then suddenly, without any warning (beyond having been on the calendar for almost four years)…Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Look! Up in the

sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s… SUPER TUESDAY — the biggest, baddest, national electoral cluster#$@&%! until the actual election! That’s 12 states, or maybe 14, or one of them’s a territory, or 11 if you’re a Replublican, or 15 if you’re a Democrat. Nobody really knows. For sure, there’s Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Texas, Vermont; that really cold, far away state you can see Russia from if you’re extra stupid; that state where they filmed “Deliverance”; that other state where everybody thinks the Emancipation Proclamation was just a suggestion; some state I can’t think of right now that has more registered Republicans than teeth; some other horrible backwater states, and…American Samoa! Super Tuesday was originally designed to put enough delegates on the line at one time in order to force candidates to address issues of national concern, weed the field down to one candidate, and stick a collective thumb in the eyes of Iowa and New Hampshire, who think they’re so big. And it worked! Mostly. Kind of. Iowa and New Hampshire both made laws that say they go first no matter what, even if they have to move voting back to before the previous election. As of press time, all the candidates who went in to Super Tuesday are still in. Nevertheless, Super Tuesday did achieve its main purpose: leaving the nation with two clear front-runners. Hillary Clinton is now the inevitable nominee. All major media outlets are using that word — “inevitable.” You know, the way she was inevitable until Sanders started drawing enor-

mous crowds and polling better in the general election. Or the way Jeb! Was Inevitable! before other people started running! Pundits love the word “inevitable,” except in the sentence, “Boy, I sure was wrong when I said [insert candidate’s name] was inevitable.” Yes, Hillary won seven states to Bernie’s four, and won more decisively, but Bernie still…Okay look. I can’t do this. I can’t keep calling them “Bernie” and “Hillary,” even though that’s what absolutely everyone does. We are not friends. I mean, I like them fine, but I don’t know them personally. There is absolutely no way I or any other writer, news reader, or for god’s sake, voter, is on a chummy, first-name basis with Clinton or Sanders, which is what I’m going to call them from now on. Hillary and Bernie; what is this, a sitcom? Stop it. You need to stop it. So blah, blah, blah. Clinton is competent and tested, but the money! She’s so political, with the being against gay marriage way after it was cool and crap…and Sanders! I mean, who doesn’t love an irascible old Socialist Jew who wants to tax the crap out of the grotesquely wealthy robber baron class? He’s adorable, but if by some miracle he became president, he would not get a single thing through Congress, not even if he signed off on a bill that said all Republican senators must be addressed as “M’Lord.” Sure, there are big differences here, but both candidates could undergo psychiatric evaluations and not be immediately committed against their will. It’s more fun to write about the STUMP SPEECH continued on p. 18 March 3, 2016

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Super Tuesday results: Disappointment wins STUMP SPEECH continued from p. 17

Republicans. As of press time, none of the Republican candidates have “officially” dropped out. Kasich and Carson, who collectively garnered well over a dozen delegates all told if you add them together — unless I did my math wrong. I really wasn’t paying much attention, because, seriously? Kasich sated that he was pleased he’d exceeded expectations, so assumedly he’s not concerned that these “expectations” were the kind of low not usually found outside of record-setting limbo contests, and was looking forward to a “home court advantage” in Ohio, which someone should remind him is pretty much just one state. Asked what the hell Carson was thinking by staying in the race, Campaign Chairman Robert Dees responded, “Well, we clearly don’t know,” but that the “opportunity exists” for people to “wake up” — just not “Carson,” because it is “dangerous” to wake someone who is “sleepwalking,” which is what Carson has been “doing” in “lieu” of a “campaign” for “months now.” Shortly afterward, Carson told supporters he will not be in Detroit for the Mar. 3 Fox News Republican debate, that he “did not see a political path forward,” but that he was no quitting, and that he would address his political future on Friday. He then walked face first into a corner and began snoring. Despite retweeting Mussolini and coy refusals to outright decline the support of David Duke and the Ku Klux Klan, anthropomorphic vintage catcher’s mitt/toupee combo Donald Trump swept to victory, crushing all contenders beneath his yugely expensive Italian leather jackboots. This is not to say that the vast majority of Republican voters are unashamed racists physically aroused by the prospect of American Fascism, except that’s pretty much exactly what it is to say. Even though, or more likely because, former governor Sarah Palin endorsed Trump (I think she did, she might have been having some sort of prolonged seizure), Ted Cruz won Alaska. He also won Oklahoma and his home State of Texas, answering the question, “Are the voters of The Great Sate of Texas simply ignorant bigots, or ignorant bigots blindly lining up to buy snake oil and get rich quick schemes from a man whose head resembles a rotting, Ugli Fruit swollen to the point of bursting with the gasses of decay?” About a week ago, Rubio boldly abandoned the high road, trading up from transparently fake reasonable human candidate to insult comic. First, he cracked wise that The Donald requested a full length mirror before the last debate because he needed to make sure his pants weren’t wet — and then, referencing Trump’s admittedly stubby wee hands, he made what may well be the first dick joke in presidential campaign history. Rubio’s platform is now that Donald Trump pees himself and has a tiny wiener. How will Donald Trump combat terrorism, negotiate trade with China and reform our tax code when he is too busy peeing himself with his abnormally small junk? Now at last we have reached the level of discourse the Republican Party has long demanded. Are we ready to call Trump “inevitable?” I mean, you know, for the nomination. ’Cause no way are we crazy enough to make that dude president, right? Right? Come on, say something. You’re scaring me here.

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March 3, 2016

FACEBOOK.COM/DONALDTRUMP

“I just bought this man. I could stick this finger in any opening on Chris’ body, and you know what he’d say to me? Thank you, Mr. Trump.”

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“You like me! You really like me! Well, you like me enough to vote for me and anything beyond that is irrelevant.”

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“The Liberty Bell is a piece of crap, and I’ll tell you why: It’s broken. I prefer bells that ring.” EastVillagerNews.com

Just Do Art

COURTESY HIGH LINE OPEN STUDIOS

PHOTO BY GEORGIA NERHEIM

Artisans from the United Nations’ Ethical Fashion Initiative contributed to the costumes in “Elijah Green” — at The Kitchen Mar. 10-19.

BY SCOTT STIFFLER

THE SECOND TUESDAY LECTURE SERIES: GEORGE HODGMAN’S “BETTYVILLE” The life-altering tale of gay New Yorker George Hodgman’s trip to Paris happens not in the City of Light, but in a city of little more than 1,200. Disorienting curves along the road Hodgman is forced to navigate are played for laughs in “Bettyville,” a memoir that begins as the unemployed fiftysomething magazine editor takes a challenging new assignment: return to Paris, Missouri, and become the primary caretaker for his aging mother. Wit is the North Star throughout this tale of secrets and silences in a small southern town, as forced familiarity breeds a new level of understanding between mother and son (that is, if the self-professed “Joan Crawford of eldercare” doesn’t snap and go from “Terms of Endearment” to “In Cold Blood”). Find out for yourself, when the author reads from “Bettyville” and discusses life since it hit the bestseller list — as Hodgman takes his place in the pantheon of presenters who’ve stood behind the podium of The LGBT Center’s Second Tuesday Lecture Series. Running since 1985, its guests have represented the arts, academia, and politics. Of particular note: Larry Kramer’s March 1987 appearance, during which he spoke about the AIDS Crisis. “Thus beginning,” notes EastVillagerNews.com

Get inside their heads — or at least their workspaces — when you take Mar. 5 & 6’s High Line Open Studios Tour.

The Center, “ACT-UP, the largest direct action AIDS organization in the world.” The Bureau of General Services — Queer Division (a bookstore based at The Center) will on hand to sell copies of “Bettyville,” making a heartfelt author inscription an easy score. Tues., Mar. 8, at 7 p.m. at The LGBT Center (208 W. 13th St., btw. Seventh & Greenwich Aves.). Suggested donation: $10. To RSVP (suggested, not required), visit gaycenter.org/second-tuesday or call 212-620-7310. Also visit secondtuesday.org and bgsqd.com.

ANDREW ONDREJCAK’S “ELIJAH GREEN”

With a narrative inspired by Swedish playwright August Strindberg’s early 20th century work “A Dream Play” and a visual aesthetic that recall Flemish Renaissance painter Pieter Bruegel’s lush scenes of peasant village life, multi-disciplinary artist Andrew Ondrejcak’s “Elijah Green” has a divine spirit observing the unremarkable but interconnected lives of contemporary mortals. Along with choreography by John Jasperse, writer/director Ondrejcak’s visual language for “Green” is driven by costumes created in collaboration with Alba Clemente and artisans from the United Nations’ Ethical Fashion Initiative. The resulting pieces include Maasai beaded neckpieces (Kenya), mud-dyed fabrics (Mali), hand-forged metal jewelry (Haiti), and woven textiles (Burkina Faso) — all combined with donated fabrics from brands such as Carolina Herrera and Vivienne Westwood, as worn by a multi-generational, international cast of 12, ranging in age from 11 to 72.

COURTESY THE LGBT CENTER

The “Joan Crawford of eldercare,” George Hodgman, reads from “Bettyville” on Mar. 8 — part of The LGBT Center’s Second Tuesday Lecture Series.

Thurs.–Sat., Mar. 10–12 & 17–19, at 8 p.m. at The Kitchen (512 W. 19th St., btw. 10th & 11th Aves.). For tickets ($20, $15 for students, seniors), visit thekitchen.org or call 212-255-5793, x11.

HIGH LINE OPEN STUDIOS TOUR

They’ve already done their spring cleaning, and managed to put some new stuff up on the walls — now it’s your chance to go from casual lookyloo to serious art collector, and give your own thinkspace an aesthetic upgrade. This self-guided tour of the West Chelsea arts district gives par-

ticipants the rare chance to gain insight into the creative process of over 40 artists, while providing the opportunity to purchase work directly from their studio. Free. Sat., Mar. 5 & Sun., Mar. 6, 12-6 p.m. Self-guided tours begin at the West Chelsea Arts Building (526 W. 26th St., btw. 10th & 11th Aves.), where you can pick up a map that identifies all participating studios. Maps also available at the Westbeth artists building (55 Bethune St., corner of Washington St.). For more info, visit highlineopenstudios.org. Also visit westbetharts.org. March 3, 2016

19

A Brooklyn Bridge Beach too far? City thinks so BEACH continued from p. 1

member Marc Ameruso. “It appeared that every which way they could spin it, they do not want that beach to be used in any way, shape or form, and they came up with all sorts of bogus safety reasons as to why.” The study, conducted by Ocean and Costal Consultants for E.D.C., pointed to several factors — including the presence of nearby combined stormwater-sewage overflow outlets, intense wave action, swift currents and nearby commercial river traffic — as obstacles to opening the beach, which has long been fenced off from the adjacent East River esplanade. In particular, the consultants cited the high cost of the “substantial interventions” they said would be necessary to reduce wave action, which erodes the beach and would undermine any efforts to extend it into a public space. But Downtown Boathouse President Graeme Birchall, who presented a detailed rebuttal of the study to the Seaport Committee on Feb. 16, argued that E.D.C., a quasi-governmental agency charged with promoting development throughout the city, was fishing for red herrings. He said the costly infrastructure envisioned in the study — such as floating breakwaters, wave fences and even artificial islands — are needlessly expensive and impractical solutions to a problem that can actually be solved relatively cheaply. “They did a feasibility study, but they only came up with unfeasible solutions,” said Birchall, who operates a free kayaking program at Tribeca’s Pier 26. Birchall said the wave problem could easily be solved with simple groins — rock walls extending from the shoreline into the river — that are a time-tested and environmentally neutral solution to the problems noted in the study. “There are plenty of sandy beaches, in the Rockaways for instance, where groins are very common and effective, but E.D.C. chose not to analyze effective solutions to deal with that,” he said. The consultants also wrote at length about the dangers of swimming in the East River around Brooklyn Bridge Beach — especially sewage overflows into the harbor and the river’s swift currents. But these arguments are misleading, according to Birchall, because swimming is prohibited at beaches throughout New York Harbor, and even wading is discouraged on the beaches at Brooklyn Bridge Park. “There’s no swimming on any beach in New York Harbor,” Birchall said. “Technically, there’s not even

20

March 3, 2016

This is how the 2013 East River Blueway project envisioned a public Brooklyn Bridge Beach.

any wading, and if you go to Brooklyn Bridge Park, there’s a multiplicity of signs, including ‘No Wading” signs. Nobody goes swimming, and I don’t foresee that changing anytime soon. Beaches don’t have to be used for those purposes.” However, the annual Brooklyn Bridge Swim, featuring scores of participants, does either start or end at the beach. The beach-bummer study seemed so slanted that some locals speculated E.D.C. is really just trying to reserve Lower Manhattan’s only beach for private development, pointing to plans released in 2014 by the Howard Hughes Corporation that featured a marina adjacent to the coveted cove. “The only thing I can think of is E.D.C. is crossing their T’s and dotting their I’s, and kowtowing to Howard Hughes and other developers,” said Ameruso, “because they want to build a large marina right next to it.” In 2013, then-Borough President Scott Stringer announced plans to spend $7 million to turn Brooklyn Bridge Beach into a public park as part of the East River Blueway — an ambitious project to open up Manhattan’s eastern waterfront from the Seaport up to E. 38th St. Momentum for the Blueway fizzled, though, as E.D.C. threw a proverbial pail of sand on the Brooklyn Bridge Beach project, but there is still strong support for the idea on C.B. 1.

In December, in response to the E.D.C. feasibility study, the board passed a resolution calling on the city to allow “unfenced, unfettered access” to the beach as soon as possible. C.B. 1 passed similar resolutions in 2008 and 2013. Last week, the Seaport Committee sent a letter to E.D.C. requesting a formal response to Birchall’s critique of the study.

The agency would not comment specifically on Birchall’s rebuttal, but said it stood by the safety concerns outlined in the study. “We are working with community stakeholders to identify a project that improves waterfront access,” said agency spokesman Ian Fried. “Safety is our number one priority, and any project must take into account the parameters set forth by the feasibility study.”

Pull plug on Indian Point EDITORIAL continued from p. 12

tion, Indian Point is currently operating under a grandfathered coastal consistency certificate — which concerns the plant’s impact on surrounding waterways — but this is being challenged in court. East Village journalist Paul DeRienzo, who has recently been chronicling the “leaks of the week” at Indian Point for The Villager, put things in perspective: “No nuclear plants have been built since Three Mile Island. Demand for electricity is being met by natural gas fracking in this era. Nuclear is pure profit. Catastrophic insurance costs are covered by the government. I’m told Entergy is among the worst com-

panies, with a long history of mismanagement at Indian Point.” Yes, nuclear plants were built near large population centers to cut down on transmission costs. But in the current era, as the Synapse study clearly shows, there is no longer a need for Indian Point — and it is simply incredibly risky to keep this broken-down, accident-prone, dangerously sited plant operating. It’s time to start moving toward pulling the plug on Indian Point, and the sooner the better for all of us. And Senator Schumer, Riverkeeper is ready and waiting to show you the Synapse plan. You said you wanted to see one, right? We sincerely hope you’ll sit down with them soon and seriously consider what they have to say. The safety of 20 million people is at stake. EastVillagerNews.com

EastVillagerNews.com

March 3, 2016

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New cinema’s motto: ‘Great films, great location’ CINEMA continued from p. 1

dream come true. Metrograph, at 7 Ludlow St., is the brainchild of Alexander Olch, a successful Harvard-educated accessories designer who lives in the neighborhood. He conceived of the project over a period of six years, after spotting the storage warehouse. Olch is a filmmaker himself who made “The Windmill Movie,” about a former teacher. It played on HBO and at Film Forum. “I fell in love with movies in my youth,” Olch said. “There was something special about these theaters, which were in the process of fading away and did fade away.” The vision of Metrograph, he said, is to “reclaim that specialness and bring back a little glamour, too.” Filmmaker Andrew Lampert, the former curator of collections at Anthology Film Archives, predicts the place will attract movie lovers, with a twist. “Their audience will definitely draw from the cinephile scene who already habituate New York City’s other repertory theaters,” he said. “But it will also likely attract a new and different crowd because of its prime location among the eclectic boutiques and galleries of the Lower East Side, and the swirling hubbub of Chinatown.” “The state of cinema in New York is great and always needs new voices,” said Michael Lieberman, the theater’s publicist, who studied film with avant-garde filmmaker Ken Jacobs at SUNY Binghamton. The block is relatively quiet, with a funeral home and a plumbing supplies store. Most extraordinary is the towering former Loew’s Canal Street Theater across the street. Metrograph has two screens, one with a capacity of 175 seats, including 25 on a balcony, the other, a smaller 47-seat cinema. The seats are red velvet with wood refurbished from the former Domino Sugar Refinery in Williamsburg. Tickets will cost $15, while membership discounts will be introduced in the future. They are installing a retro vintage phone for the usher to speak with the projection booth. With two bars, a restaurant and a bookstore, the staff hopes that customers, after seeing a film, will find that they want to stay in the building and have something to eat. The restaurant is called The Commissary, a nostalgic wink at meals at old movie studio lots, like Paramount and others. Jacob Perlin, formerly programmer-at-large at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, is Metrograph’s programming and artistic director. Aliza Ma, who has worked at the Museum of the Moving Image and Sundance Film Festival, is head of programming. Cinema experience

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The Metrograph theater is located in a former food storage warehouse at Ludlow and Canal Sts.

runs in the family: She was born in China, where her grandmother managed a national movie theater. Filmmaker Lampert said, “The line-up is expansive and exciting, which comes as no surprise given the involvement of programmer extraordinaire Jake Perlin and everyone on the team there. Their fantastic debut calendar includes certified classics by old masters, numerous contemporary masterpieces and curiosities galore by names on — and well under — our general radar.” Olch calls their programming “eclectic and global.” The schedule includes a series of Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s favorite 10 movies, documentaries by Frederick Wiseman preserved by the Library of Congress, work by Hong Kong auteur Johnny To, and a series of must-see films “from A to Z,” beginning with Scorsese’s “Age of Innocence.” Metrograph will open — appropriately — with a showing of films that have crucial scenes inside movie theaters, such as “Taxi Driver” and “Desperately Seeking Susan.” “The theater we are creating takes the notion of experience and memory into account when organizing programs,” Perlin explained. “We are looking to create a venue where the space is a complement to what we are

screening. We want to have the audience feel that it has not only seen a great film, but that they have seen it in a great location — and that for them, the two will always be connected in memory. “Our interest in programming and presentation is born form being a spectator first,” he added. “This is what we always keep in mind.” In terms of Metrotech’s roster of films, Ma said she’s taking the larger view. “Having worked now for nine years in programming at various institutions, I’ve learned that it’s important to think about our task as programmers holistically, as opposed to seeing each program as one-off projects,” she said. In October 2015, Community Board 3 issued stipulations that were mostly about noise mitigation, which Metrograph has agreed to follow to get its liquor license. Metrograph will also do joint programming with the Henry Street Settlement. A few doors down at 21 Ludlow St. is a gallery and store called Central Booking that showcases artists who work with any aspect of the book form. Maddy Rosenberg, its founder, would in her youth take the train from Brooklyn to Bleecker St. to see

films. She happy to have the new Metrograph on the block. “I think Alexander has exactly what it takes to make it work,” she said. “He is enthusiastic and believes in the project.” Metrograph is a little more than four blocks from establishments such as the Tenement Museum. The nearby gallery owner Tracy Williams said there were a lot of artists living in the neighborhood. However, housing prices in the area have risen in recent years. A new independent cinema is never a sure bet, since many people nowadays prefer to kick back at home and watch Netflix. Olch said opening a theater is like making a film: “It’s a concoction of luck, timing, preparation and hard work.” But the Metrograph team also have something else on their side: location. Asked what makes the Lower East Side a fertile place to show films, programmer Perlin said, “The diversity of the community, the history of public performance on the Lower East Side that started on the stage, and an enduring vibrancy of life and culture in this neighborhood that will endure as long as people call it their home.” Tickets go on sale Feb. 29. For more information, about the Metrograph theater, go to http://metrograph.com. EastVillagerNews.com

PHOTOS BY CLAYTON PATTERSON

A tour through time at Eldridge St. Museum

Rabbi Aviad Bodner of the Stanton St. Shul, along with his wife, Rebbetzin Lindsey Bodner, top, led some of the shul’s congregants on a tour of the Museum at Eldridge St. on Feb. 21. The museum is a restored 1887 synagogue, and its mission is to offer cultural and educational programs that explore Jewish American traditions, history and culture; immigrant, urban and New York City history; and architectural and cultural preservation.

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