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

August 20, 2015 • FREE Volume 5 • Number 13

Challah baaaaack! B&H dairy restaurant reopens on Second Ave. BY YANNIC RACK

B&H continued on p. 8

South St. luxury tower is going up, but exactly how high, no one is saying BY YANNIC RACK

xactly how high will a new apartment tower rise on South St.? That question is currently hard to answer. On July 29, the community room on the second floor of Two Bridges Tower once again filled up with worried residents who demanded

PHOTO BY LINCOLN ANDERSON

fter its doors were shuttered almost five months ago, the B&H kosher dairy restaurant on Second Ave. finally reopened last Fri., Aug. 14, with a line of loyal customers stretching out the door. The restaurant, an East

Village staple since the 1930s, closed in the aftermath of the gas explosion that destroyed three buildings on the same block back in late March. Fawzy Abdelwahed, who has run the dairy with his wife, Ola, since 2003, struggled to pay the $30,000

answers about the massive development currently being built next door. The quarterly meeting was a chance for Extell Development to present neighbors with an update on their new residential tower — located right next to the Manhattan Bridge — which, once comSOUTH ST. continued on p. 4

“My dog is very friendly. They’re loving animals,” Cole, a young crusty traveler from Portland, said on Sunday evening Aug. 9, before dropping down and tongue kissing with his pit bull, Riley. He and fellow travelers were hanging out on Second Ave. in front of the March 26 gasexplosion site. Riley, who had been quietly napping, didn’t even seem to notice when a small dog walked by.

Crusty pit bulls gone wild; 1 dog dead, 2 men attacked BY LINCOLN ANDERSON

ast week a third victim of an attack by a crusty pit bull came forward as fears of a “sharknado” of violence by the homeless youths’ rampaging pits continued to grip the East Village. Michael Puzzo, 47, said he was bitten on Tues., Aug. 4, around 2 a.m., as he was walking his girlfriend’s miniature dog, Bobito, along E. Sixth St. between Second and First Aves., the East Village’s

Indian restaurant row. “It hurt like a motherf-----,” Puzzo told The Villager this week, recounting how a 50-pound pit bull chomped him under his right arm and then wouldn’t let go. Puzzo, a playwright and actor, played “the non-pederast priest” in “Doubt.” He has lived in the East Village for 18 years “and nothing ever happened, knock on wood,” he said. But then, one night earlier this month, they came upon a crusty traveler who was sleeping smack in

the middle of the sidewalk, his pit bull beside him. “My dog is a little muppet, like a nine-pound rag doll,” he said of the Havanese-Maltese mix. “The crusties like to hang out on that block because a lot of the restaurants have sunken areas where they like to go to sleep or fiddle on their iPads. We all know these people aren’t homeless,” he scoffed. Anyway, he thought the pit bull was also asleep — PIT BULLS continued on p. 28

Blaz and developers on campout grill............page 10 Tattoo Tales: Exes etched on his arms..........page 14 Skenazy: Hot town, smellin’ in the city..........page 19 And the Fringe goes on..............page 21 | May 14, 2014

www.EastVillagerNews.com

photographer Bob Gruen looking in the window of the new Hudson St. natural-foods market, trying to check the place out. He said he had read The Villager article the other week about his friend and fellow punk-rock photog Roberta Bayley’s pug dying after being attacked by a crusty pit bull, and that he feels bad for her. (The article feature a photo by Gruen of Bayley, cameras hanging from her neck, chatting with Sid Vicious before the Sex Pistols’ Dallas show in 1978.) Gruen said, after reading the article, when he and his wife were walking on the street they felt a bit paranoid every time they passed a pit bull.

FEELS HER PAIN: After the Mrs. Green’s open

house Monday evening, we spotted Westbeth

HERO OF THE WEEK: Longtime Ray fan Evan Saez, 21, was standing in line at the Avenue A late-night Belgian fries mecca Sunday evening, when he decided he had to spring into action. Ray, who is recovering from double heart-valve replacement surgery, is already back behind the counter on his overnight shift. “I got a new heart,” Ray told us. “I went back to work two weeks after the operation. I can’t afford any help. I’m taking a lot of pills.” Seeing the line start to grow and Ray hustling back and forth from the kitchen, Saez — who had been waiting to get an egg cream — quickly jumped behind the counter and started taking customers’ orders. He’s been voluntarily helping Ray out on Friday and Saturday nights, trying to help keep the store open 24 hours on those peak days. “I’ve known Ray since I was a teenager,” Saez told us. “My family’s from the Lower East Side. I don’t charge him anything. I’m really concerned about keeping the store running. He’s 82, he needs the help.” Saez said money is not an issue for him and he can afford to volunteer since he has a job as a computer security engineer. BOOK-BUCKS BUDDIES WANTED: The St. Mark’s Bookshop, now at its fourth location, at 136 E. Third St. near Avenue A, is having a cashflow crisis, according to co-owner Terry McCoy. The lack of money to spend on stock, in turn, means less books and magazines to sell — adding to the cash-flow problem, he explained. “It’s

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FOR KIMLAU’S SAKE: The people behind Webster Hall got an angry reception for their new Chinatown spot when they went before the Community Board 3 S.L.A and D.C.A. Licensing Committee for their liquor license on Mon., Aug. 17, Jan Lee told us. First mistake: naming the restaurant/bar at 69 Mulberry St. Kimlau Garden. Benjamin Ralph Kimlau was a U.S. Air Force pilot during World War II who died in combat. An American Legion post and a gate in Chatham Square were named after him. “It shows profound disrespect for our community that reveres our leaders,” said Lee, founder of the Civic Center Residents Coalition, of the choice of the bar ’s name. Lee told us that two ex-marines, members of the Chinatown American Legion post named after Kimlau, also came out on Monday night to speak out against the place. Apparently the opposition worked. The place’s name has now been changed to Mul-Bay Cocktail Lounge, according to Bowery Boogie. However, the next fumble, Lee said, is the owners saying that the restaurant will be “food-forward.” The menu so far doesn’t have a lot of items, one of which is Chinese pickles — Lee said he doesn’t even know what that is — and boiled peanuts. “It’s such a farce and so insulting to us,” he said. The C.B. 3 committee recommended denial of the application, Lee said, adding that it’s not a case of “not in my backyard,” or NIMBY, but rather that the community knows “when something is not right.”

SWEET! Congrats to Ray (Asghar Ghahraman) of Ray’s Candy Store on Avenue A, whose place was named the Business of the Month by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. In recognition of the honor, Councilmember Rosie Mendez stopped by over the weekend to show her love and buy a black-andwhite egg cream.

kind of a vicious circle,” McCoy said. McCoy and his partner, Bob Contant, sent out an e-mail last week looking for investors for their store, which they have run for 38 years, as first reported by DNAinfo.com. In 1977, they opened their first store at 13 St. Mark’s Place. After 10 years there, they moved to 12 St. Mark’s Place. For 21 years, it was at 31 Third Ave., but they left after their landlord, The Cooper Union, hiked up their rent. They have been at their current spot for more than a year. Over the years, the independent bookstore garnered a reputation for its cultural and critical-theory selections. “That’s certainly something that we have fallen down on,” McCoy allowed. In other words, the cash-strapped store is having to make some tough choices now on how it stocks its shelves. Last November Contant told Villager reporter Dusica Sue Malesevic, “We’re struggling again because…we’ve moved without being properly capitalized. We’ve had to borrow money. It makes it difficult to do what we would like to do, which is develop a lot more inventory in the store.” Business has been slow, McCoy said, which he blamed on the lack of inventory. “A lot of people make a special trip to come here,” he said. “I feel like if we had the books for them, I think that it wouldn’t take long for the word to get out that we were back in shape again.” People have shown their love for the bookshop, donating money, time and services. Their current store was designed by Clouds Architecture Office, which did the work pro bono. McCoy said there are no plans to close the store and that the call for investors was to avoid that happening. He said there was a lot of interest from potential investors, but that details need to be nailed down, and emphasized this is all in the preliminary stage. “We feel that it’s a viable store if we’re able to provide the customers with the inventory,” McCoy said.

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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 © 2012 NYC Community Media, LLC

August 20, 2015

How high will South St. luxury tower be? SOUTH ST. continued from p. 1

pleted, will dwarf the rest of the neighborhood. But while the company’s representatives tried to soothe some concerns about the project, they refused to give a final word on the tower’s height. “This is a construction meeting and we are not here to address that tonight,” Raizy Haas, Extell’s senior vice president for project management and development, responded to the crowd. “We’re building two buildings, a fair market and an affordable building,” she added. “With respect to the total number of stories or height, it’s still a work in progress.” That wasn’t good enough for some in the audience. “We have a right to know. Let them answer us,” demanded one woman when Susan Stetzer, district manager of Community Board 3, took the microphone. “I think I’ve got the mic because they’re not willing to answer that,” Stetzer said. The company’s plans for a roughly 800-unit luxury condo tower at 250 South St. was revealed long ago, but the building’s proposed height has repeatedly changed. It has shifted from the original 56 stories to 61, and then rose further to 68, 71, 72 and finally 80 stories, as a recent zoning document filed in the city’s property records shows. The most recent Buildings Department filing puts the height at 72 stories, however, which is the figure Trever Holland, president of the Two Bridges Tower Residents Association, offered to annoyed members of the community. “We’re just gonna leave it at that,” he said. But after the meeting, Holland admitted that he expected the company to raise the final height to 80 stories. “I anticipate that they will change the D.O.B. filing to match within a few months,” he said. “I think the D.O.B. filings are just a game they play to test the market and gauge reaction. If I were to bet, I’d say 80.” Residents also complained about damages to their building, like cracks in the walls and shifting door locks. They said these are caused by the foundation work currently going on at the construction site, which is expected to continue through the first quarter of next year. In addition to the tower, Lend Lease — the construction firm overseeing the project — is also building a smaller, affordable component right next to it. “We are aware that there’s been some cracking, some issues with doors sticking,” said Anthony Abbruzzese, Extell’s senior vice president of construction. “We inspected all the conditions and we’ve committed to repair anything that

A rendering of the planned tower at 250 South St.

was caused by our construction,” he said, adding that engineers regularly inspect the building. To one resident’s question about the possibility of more serious damage to the foundations of Two Bridges Tower, Abbruzzese responded that a network of seismographs is measuring vibration levels around the site, including inside 82 Rutgers Slip. “The intensity of the pile driving, as of this moment, should be much less than it’s been,” he said. “We expect that at the end of this year we’ll start our superstructure, and the rest of the project remains on schedule.” That means both buildings, the tower, plus the smaller, affordable one, would be finished in 2019. Any surface damage to the surrounding area, including on Cherry St. — where both the street and the sidewalk have settled due to the construction — will be dealt with. “There might have been some settlement, which could be expected going forward,” Abbruzzese said. “It will be repaired on an ongoing basis. That street will be restored, and the sidewalk obviously reconstructed.” Some residents also complained about a lack of communication from Two Bridges Neighborhood Council, their building’s co-owner, which they said has not been forwarding them weekly construction updates. They were reminded of a designated phone line and e-mail address that residents can use to contact Extell directly. Lend Lease also e-mails regular updates in English, Spanish and Chinese to those who signed up for a mailing list. But one woman, speaking though a translator, complained that she left a message on the answering machine but never heard back from anyone. When prompted about jobs at the site, Stetzer of C.B. 3 said there were plans to hire locally, both during construction

and after the project is done. “Unions are involved, training is involved,” she said, adding that details would follow soon. After the meeting, most of those attending remained skeptical. “They didn’t acknowledge that any damage was theirs,” said Paul Newell, a Democratic district leader for the 65th Assembly District. “I got the sense that they were trying to check boxes without incurring costs.” Holland, the residents association president, was also careful not to offer too much praise. “I think they were as responsive as they could be, considering that there’s some liability issues,” he said. “I think it calmed a lot of fears that the damage will be taken care of. That’s what people want to hear. “I’m glad that they recommitted, to a certain extent, that they’ll build an affordable supermarket,” he added. He was referring to the Pathmark that, much to the community’s dismay, was closed in December 2012 to make way for the new development. Although Extell’s executives said they could not answer questions about the fate of the old pharmacy and supermarket building adjacent to the construction site, Haas did make some concessions. “Extell has committed to put an affordable supermarket in one of the retail spaces,” she said. Grace Mak, another member of the residents association, said she felt the meeting was more accessible than previous ones but that tenants were still far from optimistic. “Yes they’ve fixed the cracks, but it’s only a band-aid,” she said. “How do we know the band-aid is not going to break again? It’s a little step. But we hope we won’t take a big step back later on.” Extell is scheduled to meet the neighbors again in October. EastVillagerNews.com

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August 20, 2015

POLICE BLOTTER Bagel blowup

Freshman Residence Hall No Parking Zone

Move-In Day Parking Relief Saturday, August 29, 2015 NYU is welcoming a new class: our freshmen move into their residence halls on Saturday, August 29. We understand the effect that move-in day has on traffic and street parking, and are offering parking reimbursement to neighborhood residents. If you live in the area designated by the darkly shaded section of the map above (from 15th Street to Houston Street, between Sixth and Second Avenues) and need to put your car in a garage on Friday night or Saturday, August 2829, NYU will repay the cost for up to 24 hours. This offer is not valid for NYU students. Please mail your original parking receipt, proof of residency, name, email, and phone number to the NYU Office of Government and Community Affairs for reimbursement, or bring them in person between 9 am and 5 pm on weekdays. Please keep copies of all receipts. NYU Office of Government and Community Affairs 25 West Fourth Street, 5th Floor New York, NY 10012-1119 212.998.2400 • community.affairs@nyu.edu Find out about public programs and more: visit nyu.edu/nyu-in-nyc »

August 20, 2015

Police said that the cream cheese hit the fan at Bagels on the Square, at 7 Carmine St., on Sun., Aug. 2, around noon, between two counter workers who schmeer the bagels and make the sandwiches. According to police, one man pushed the other in the back and then cut him on the wrist with a knife. E.M.S. medics were called but it was not immediately clear if the victim received treatment or had declined it. He was not taken to an area hospital. William Bonilla, 32, of Manhattan, was arrested and charged with assault and misdemeanor possession of a weapon. A police spokesperson said the victim, 30, told cops that the two men had a history of verbal altercations. Speaking from the store this Wednesday, Marcos Velavquez, another counterman, said he had been on vacation at the time of the incident, but that Bonilla was still working at the deli. “He’s still there,” he said. “The other guy quit.”

Subway stabbing According to police, a 21-year old man who got into a dispute with four other men in their 20s was stabbed once in the torso on the N/Q/R platform of the Union Square subway station on Sat., Aug. 15, at 4:10 p.m. He was removed to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition. Police said the first suspect was wearing all black with a black backpack; the second suspect was shirtless but was holding a white shirt in his hand and wearing black shorts and black sneakers; the third man was wearing a white tank top and light-colored sneakers; and the fourth alleged perp had on a red baseball hat, black shorts and whiteand-black sneakers. They all ranged in height from 5-foot-8 to 6-foot-2 and all fled in different directions.

Hudson River Park perv Police said they caught a man, 31, masturbating near playing children in Hudson River Park on Thurs., Aug. 13. Another man, the same age, reported his suspicions of inappropriate behavior after he reportedly viewed the other man open his pants and expose his penis shortly after 11 a.m. The incident occurred about 15 to 20 yards away from children play-

ing near the northwest corner of W. 11th and West Sts., in the waterfront park, according to a police report. A search for a suspect resulted in the arrest of Donovan Clarke, 31. He was charged with public lewdness, a misdemeanor.

Lamb glass slam

A woman allegedly broke a beer bottle and swung it at a fellow patron of The Slaughtered Lamb bar, at 182 W. Fourth St., around 11 p.m. on Tues., Aug. 11. The 28-year-old victim was taken to Lenox Health Greenwich Village to treat a laceration. Johanna Lopez, 33, was arrested and charged with felony assault. The report did not explain what motivated the attack.

Chase across the tracks The subway system served as an escape route for a panhandler ironically seeking a free MetroCard swipe on Wed., Aug. 12. Police observed the man allegedly accosting straphangers at the station at W. 14th St. and Eighth Ave. at 8:50 p.m. that night. He fled into the system soon after police requested to see his ID. The suspect jumped down onto the northbound tracks and ran across to a waiting southbound E train. But police caught up with him and forced him back onto the platform before he could get away. Babacar Mbaye, 27, flailed his arms attempting to resist arrest again, police said. He had an open warrant, according to the report. He was charged with resisting arrest, a misdemeanor.

Night out ends in cuffs A couple out in the Village for the night gave each other bloody noses on Thurs., Aug. 13. The two Upstate residents began arguing at about 11 p.m. when the blows began to fly, according to a police report. Both refused medical attention after police arrived. Boyfriend Rene Chino, 21, then turned his wrath toward police offices, who reported that he yelled, cursed and screamed at them. Chino and girlfriend Katherine Loja, 19, were arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault.

Zach Williams and Lincoln Anderson EastVillagerNews.com

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August 20, 2015

Challah back! B&H dairy restaurant reopens B&H continued from p. 1

B&H continued on p. 9

PHOTOS BY YANNIC RACK

monthly rent plus expenses, but was saved from bankruptcy by two successful crowdfunding campaigns. He also had to update his gas facilities and install a costly new fire-suppression system, all mandated by the city after the explosion. “It was very close. For a while I really lost hope,” he said on Friday, while his staff — all of whom have returned to the restaurant — dished out buttered challah and coffee to the enthusiastic locals that packed the counter and tables of the small shop. “I’m feeling great,” Abdelwahed said, standing behind the counter next to his wife. “All my customers, all my friends — everybody’s here.” Mike Tarabih, who has worked at B&H for 10 years, said he didn’t take another job while the restaurant was closed but instead passed the time at home, babysitting. “I missed my place, I missed my customers. I’m really ex-

cited. I couldn’t sleep for two days,” he said right before the gas was turned back on for the first time. Standing in the small kitchen and tending to her pots of splitpea soup, bouillon and brown rice, Bogna Sanga, the dairy’s Polish cook, was beaming, too. It didn’t take long for everyone to settle back into their old routine, and soon the regulars were enjoying their usual orders. “This is what we’ve been waiting for,” said Dan Efram — who has been coming to the classic East Village eatery for 23 years — as he bit into his first slice of challah. Next to him, Lawrence Weibman, a food writer and blogger, enjoyed his own favorite dish — an egg-and-cheese sandwich on challah bread, with a potato pancake stuffed inside for good measure. “It’s like being home,” he said. “When I come here, I feel like I’m going back to my grandma’s kitchen.”

B&H owner Fawzy Abdelwahed with his wife, Ola, left, and Bernadette Nation from the Department of Small Business Services, who has been helping the restaurant obtain permitsT:8.75” and navigate through complicated agency bureaucracy.

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EastVillagerNews.com

B&H continued from p. 8

Andy Reynolds, who has been helping the owners get back on their feet by organizing the fundraisers and liaising with city agencies, said that the restaurant will host a proper reopening party on Fri., Aug. 21, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Florence Bergson Goldberg, the daughter of the original owners, will be the “guest of honor” at the event. There are also plans to install a plaque in the restaurant with the names of everyone who helped out. Jordy Trachtenberg, who lives around the corner on St. Mark’s Place and remembers hearing the explosion back in March, was one of the regulars that donated to the campaign — twice. “The food is spectacular, but it’s really about the people, the community, the environment,” he said. “You talk about the fabric of New York; this is a delicious stitch.”

Longtime customers dug into their usual B&H breakfasts last Friday for the first time in almost five months. Dan Efram, right, has been coming to B&H for 23 years.

PUBLIC NOTICE Pursuant to Section 695(2)(b) of the General Municipal Law and Section 1802(6)(j) of the Charter, notice is hereby given that the Department of Housing Preservation and Development ("HPD") of the City of New York ("City") has proposed the sale of the following City-owned property ("Disposition Area") in the Borough of Manhattan: Address 236 Broome Street

Block/Lot 409/56

Under HPD's Multifamily Homeownership Program, sponsors purchase City-owned land or vacant buildings and construct or rehabilitate multifamily buildings in order to create affordable cooperative or condominium housing. Construction and permanent financing is provided through loans from private institutional lenders and from public sources including HPD, the New York City Housing Development Corporation, the State of New York, and/or the federal government. The newly constructed or rehabilitated buildings provide homeownership housing for income eligible families. Under the proposed project, the City will sell the Disposition Area to New York City Economic Development Corporation (“Sponsor”) for the nominal price of one dollar ($1.00) per tax lot. Sponsor will then convey the Disposition Area to Site 1 DSA Owner LLC (“DSA”) for the total consideration of $15,800,000 (comprising the purchase price and other payments). DSA will also deliver an enforcement note and mortgage to the City for the remainder of the appraised value (“Land Debt”). DSA will construct one building containing a total of 55 condominium dwelling units, a community facility space of approximately 23,083 gross square feet, commercial space at ground level of approximately 41,187 gross square feet, and a bowling alley or other commercial use acceptable to Sponsor of approximately 16,685 gross square feet at the cellar level. The community facility space will be used as a cultural facility or other community facility use acceptable to Sponsor for a period of at least twenty (20) years. After a minimum of twenty (20) years following completion of construction, any remaining balance of the Land Debt may be forgiven. The appraisal and the proposed Land Disposition Agreement and Project Summary are available for public examination at the office of HPD, 100 Gold Street, Room 5-A4, New York, New York on business days during business hours. PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a public hearing will be held on September 9, 2015 at Second Floor Conference Room, 22 Reade Street, Manhattan at 10:00 a.m., or as soon thereafter as the matter may be reached on the calendar, at which time and place those wishing to be heard will be given an opportunity to be heard concerning the proposed sale of the Disposition Area pursuant to Section 695(2)(b) of the General Municipal Law and Section 1802(6)(j) of the Charter. Individuals requesting sign language interpreters should contact the Mayor's Office Of Contract Services, Public Hearings Unit, 253 Broadway, Room 915, New York, New York 10007, (212) 7887490, no later than seven (7) business days prior to the public hearing. TDD users should call Verizon relay services.

Bill de Blasio, Mayor Vicki Been, Commissioner, HPD

EastVillagerNews.com

August 20, 2015

Music, speak-outs, cheese fries, Adam and Eve

PHOTOS BY JOHN PENLEY

Chris Flash, publisher of The Shadow — the East Village’s community anarchist newspaper — organized the punk rock bands for the Tompkins Square Park riots anniversary weekend.

Like many others at the campout, Amy Sanchez enjoyed watching what was on the cardboard TV. In the background is a mock Page One of the New York Post with the hated SkyWatch tower, which prompted the campout.

BY LINCOLN ANDERSON

hile others might roast marshmallows at a campout, at the Campout New York Post in Tompkins Square last weekend, developers — a.k.a. “real estate maggots” — Mayor de Blasio and the police all got a good grilling. The idea for the event was sparked by the police observation tower that was brought into Tompkins Square Park last month — hot on the heels of articles by the New York Post claiming an uptick of homeless people sleeping and hanging out in the East Village park, plus a likeminded New York Observer editorial, “Take Back Tompkins Square Park. And New York City.” The surveillance tower was overkill and unwanted, and the reasons behind it dubious, many East Villagers protested. A petition to remove it garnered hundreds of signatures. After less than a week, the “eye in the sky” was removed on July 28. But the campout, which organizers had already started promoting, wasn’t canceled. The campout coincided with the weekend-long punk rock concerts marking the 27th anniversary of the Tompkins Square Park riots. Things kicked off at midnight on Friday evening, with “campers” buying copious amounts of cheese fries at Ray’s Candy Store on Avenue A across the street. They “watched” a cardboard TV while relaxing on cardboard seats and couches, or could listen to speakers standing on a soapbox (a plastic milk crate) talking about issues like gentrification, homelessness and

August 20, 2015

There was no violence reported at the weekend campout and punk concerts. There was one mock attack, when a musician pantomimed trying to whack semiclad street performer Matthew Silver over the head with his guitar, but it was all in jest.

police-community relations. About 100 to 150 people came out Friday night, which was the biggest night of the campout. After the park’s curfew, they continued to hang out on the sidewalk outside the park. “People didn’t go to sleep. They mainly stayed up all night,” said John Penley, one of the organizers. “And people loved that cardboard furniture.” A former longtime East Village activist, Penley came up from North Carolina, where he now lives, for the weekend. “Over the course of the weekend,

between the concert and the campout, I saw every single person that I’ve known in this neighborhood,” he said. There were no incidents with the police, he said. One homeless man not associated with the campout obliviously pissed on a police van one night, but nothing happened. “They didn’t even arrest him,” Penley said. Watching the action on Sunday and talking to the likes of LES documentarian Clayton Patterson and others, Deputy Chief James McCarthy, executive officer of Patrol Borough Manhattan

South, said things had gone smoothly. “It was nice being out today and seeing a lot of familiar faces,” said McCarthy, a former commander of the East Village’s Ninth Precinct. “People are enjoying music and enjoying themselves. No issues whatsover.” The weekend’s highlight, Penley said many told him, and he agreed, was the performance by the Living Theatre at the end on Sunday evening. A troupe of young dancers enacted a CAMPOUT continued on p. 11 EastVillagerNews.com

and watching the cardboard TV at Tompkins Sq.

The hardcore band Sewage performed as an artist did celebrity rock portraits onstage.

Members of the Living Theatre held this pose as other dancers circled them telling the history of the Lenape, the Native American tribe that once inhabited Manhattan but were displaced by the European colonizers. CAMPOUT continued from p. 10

piece written by the late Judith Malina, the theater’s legendary co-founder. The work spanned from the Lenape, who were Manhattan’s original inhabitants, back to Adam and Eve — with the dancers portraying the pair stripping down to flesh-colored briefs — then forward again to texting and computer hyper-madness, to an Orwellian police state. The dancers started in a huddle with an increasingly loud, droning chant, then spread out through the park, interacting with and drawing in spectators, who soon found themselves participants. Speakers during the weekend included the likes of Aron Kay (“The Yippie Pie Man”), cartoonist Seth Tobocman, Fran Luck and activist Carl Rosenstein. “Everybody spoke,” Penley said. “It was like old days.” Nevertheless, despite the good tunes EastVillagerNews.com

(especially if you were a crustcore fan) and good vibes, some were calling it “the end of an era.” “This year, I was feeling... the feeling was ‘done,’ ” said Lina Pallotta, who lived in the neighborhood during the tumultuous 1980s. Penley — who crashed for the weekend in a former squat where he has friends — agreed with those sentiments, to an extent. “I don’t know that it’s the complete end,” he said. “It was like a last gasp. All of us are getting older. Every year there are fewer people at the riots anniversary. There will be people who aren’t there next year. People are dying, man.” But the tightknit community feeling that East Village activists, anarchists and squatters had is still strong, and is something that the neighborhood won’t see again, he said. “Unlike the people that live in the community today, they don’t have a community — we do,” Penley said. “We went through a lot together — the

One way to pass the time at the campout — a back-massage train.

Tompkins Square riots, the squatter evictions, the homeless Tent City in the park, many art shows in community centers, squats and community gardens, and the nightlife scene, which a lot of us and the people in the bands were into. The World, especially Save the Robots — it was the most famous after-hours club in the city of New York.” Asked about the police tower, Deputy Chief McCarthy said, “We put SkyWatch in here. Some people didn’t want it, so Inspector Venice” — the current Ninth Precinct commander — “said people didn’t want it. It was Inspector Venice’s decision” to remove it, he said. Asked why the tower was put in the park in the first place, McCarthy said, “We use SkyWatch all the time. This is a busy area over here, especially Avenue A.” Told of that, Chris Flash, publisher of The Shadow, who organized the punk band performances, said, “That’s bull---. They were being baited by the

New York Compost and the New York Observer — and Jared Kushner, the publisher of the Observer. The police were basically being baited by these two right-wing, real estate newspapers. I’m here every day with my kids — nothing. The guy that was hitting people with a hammer in Midtown — did that get a tower? How many people on Hippie Hill” — the small rise in the middle of Tompkins — “are homeless? Ninety-nine percent of them, if not affluent, at least have a home.” Asked his thoughts on the campout, Paul DeRienzo, the event’s co-organizer, said, “It was a success for me the moment that Police Commissioner Bratton announced you can’t arrest your way out of homeless problems. Also the removal of the tower was a great victory. The New York Post will never surrender, but that’s understood.” There are plans for ongoing weekend campouts in Tompkins, but Penley and DeRienzo are not behind them. These are reportedly being “self-organized by homeless crusties and anarchists.” August 20, 2015

Bowery building project will soon be down and out BY ZACH WILLIAMS

Antiques, Collectibles, Food, Music, & Vintage Clothing

THE 10TH STREET & STUYVESANT STREET BLOCK ASSOCIATION

PHOTO BY ZACH WILLIAMS

stop-work order remains in effect for a construction site at 210 Bowery where two hard hats were injured on Aug. 4. Plans for the site called for an eight-story building with mixed commercial and residential use. The workers were digging for the concrete placement of an elevator pit that day when a brick wall collapsed, according to the Department of Buildings. They were able to escape but suffered minor injuries, according to a D.O.B. spokesperson, who added that a violation was issued as well as the stop-work order. “After additional assessment, it was determined the structure was no longer structurally sound and would need to be demolished,” the spokesperson said. Demolition work has continued in the past week with workers having removed the fourth story by last Fri., Aug. 7. Workers appeared to be putting the finishing touches on removing the second floor when a reporter observed the scene the following day.

Plans filed with D.O.B. were to have the building rise four stories from its previous four, increasing the structure’s total square footage by about 5,000 square feet from the previous 8,975, according to D.O.B. records. Acadia Realty Trust bought the building in 2013 for $7.5 million, local blog Bowery Boogie reported. A representative for the owner could not be reached for comment by press time. Adjacent buildings, meanwhile, will have to remain vacant until the project site’s safety can be assured, according to D.O.B. The accident’s timing delayed a pre-opening of the Andrew Edlin Gallery next door at 212 Bowery. Filmmaker Brent Green had been scheduled to perform a live rendition of a work inspired by his childhood. But those plans to informally open the new space were dashed as soon as organizers peered outside, Edlin said in an interview. “We were down there setting up for the event and there were fire trucks out on the street,” he said of the moment he noticed the accident next door.

After the accident, the developer, as ordered by the city, has been dismantling the building at 210 Bowery.

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EastVillagerNews.com

August 20, 2015

Etched in ink, exes are gone but not forgotten TATTOO TALES BY BOB KRASNER

t first glance, East Village resident Jordy Trachtenburg does not look like the kind of guy who wears his heart on his sleeve. But look closely at his “sleeves” (a series of tattoos that cover one’s arm) and you’ll find that three of his ex-girlfriends are immortalized there, with one more on his leg. Trachtenburg formerly worked in the music business. After the end of a 13-year marriage, he found a new love who ended up being portrayed as a mermaid (her idea) on his left arm. She was the only woman to be inked while they were still together and, post-breakup, Trachtenburg decided that a revision was in order. He informed the original tattoo artist, Jason June, that he wanted to cover her face but wasn’t sure with what. June wanted to know why and was

informed by Trachtenburg that “she’s dead to me.” June’s solution, naturally, was to turn her into a zombie. The next two were also created by June. The women are depicted wrapped in shibari (a Japanese bondage style). Both women, he said, “are favorite chapters of my love life. It’s a nice way to memorialize them. Each one has a special place in my heart.” His friend Billy Bob Thornton once told him that tattoos “are all emotional scars.” Number four in that series is the image of a woman whom Trachtenburg said he “met on the beaches of Kismet,” on Fire Island. “She was the kindest, gentlest soul. Absolutely stunning and so shy about her looks.” But somehow she ended up being portrayed on his leg by Big Steve, amidst all of what he called “my vices” below the words “Man’s Ruin.” “She wasn’t too happy about that,” he noted. So, one wonders, where is the tattoo of his ex-wife, whom he continues to refer to as his “best friend”? “She wants to know that, too,” he said. “I see her in a different light. The true tattoo of her is on my heart. It’s the one that no one can see.”

PHOTOS BY BOB KRASNER

Mixed in among Jordy Trachtenburg’s many tattoos are images of his ex-girlfriends.

Trachtenburg felt a close tie to this former flame, who is tied up shibari style.

August 20, 2015

Zombified: One ex came in for some harsh treatment at the hand of the tattoo artist.

It was fun while it lasted with her — but, from the looks of it, maybe too much fun! EastVillagerNews.com

PHOTOS BY MILO HESS

Seeing faces in some strange places... Ever feel like someone, or something, was watching you? The photographer did this past week as he passed a box on Harrison St. in Tribeca and a barrier on Broadway in Soho.

EastVillagerNews.com

August 20, 2015

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Dr. Z was Dr. X, says narc pros. BY YANNIC RACK

Chinatown-area doctor is accused of illegally selling Xanax prescriptions worth millions, according to authorities. Bridget Brennan, the city’s special narcotics prosecutor, announced on July 28 that Dr. Mengjia Zhao dispensed up to $4.6 million worth of the addictive anti-anxiety medication onto the black market. Zhao, who kept a practice at 109 Lafayette St., was charged with illegally selling 28 prescriptions for alprazolam, known by brand name Xanax, as well as selling the pills themselves on five occasions. The internist was busted at J.F.K. late on July 27, according to the prosecutor’s office. The arrest followed a lengthy investigation launched in 2011 after police found prescriptions written by Zhao on several drug dealers peddling the pills in Union Square, a statement by Brennan’s office said. Zhao subsequently allegedly sold prescriptions for alprazolam to undercover New York Police Department officers who visited his office more than two dozen times. According to authorities, Zhao failed to conduct medical examinations beyond checking the officers’ blood pressure, and sold the pills in exchange for payments disguised as medical fees. He allegedly charged a $100 cash fee for the first visit by each of the undercovers and $70 for subsequent visits, which was raised to $80 by 2014. During a search last month of

Zhao’s Woodbury, Long Island, home, police seized jewelry and financial documents. In a court-authorized search of Zhao’s Lafayette St. office, police seized medical and bank records, blank prescription pads, stamps with the doctor’s name and pill bottles. According to Brennan, an analysis of Zhao’s prescribing history showed that 48 percent of the prescriptions he wrote from 2009 to 2015 were for alprazolam — a high rate, given that Zhao is an internist not a psychiatrist. Based on his fees, Zhao stood to collect about $800,000 for these prescriptions, Brennan said. The sting also allegedly revealed that Zhao ignored signs that patients were addicted to the drug, which carries a street value of $5 per pill. Authorities said he continued prescribing alprazolam after the undercovers told him they were also obtaining it on the street. Fatal drug overdoses in the city increased 41 percent between 2010 and 2013, according to the most recent data available from the city’s Department of Health. In 2013, benzodiazepines, including Xanax — which are depressants that can slow the heart and breathing — were found in 60 percent of fatal OD’s involving opioid painkillers, 36 percent of deaths involving heroin, and 58 percent involving methadone. Zhao reportedly pleaded not guilty to 33 counts of criminal sale of a prescription and criminal sale of a controlled substance, and his bail was set at $500,000.

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Punk music you could sink your teeth into! To say this singer, at the recent Tompkins Square Park Riots Anniversary Concert, lives, breathes and eats punk rock probably would not be an exaggeration. PHOTO BY JOHN PENLEY

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR It’s not the breed To The Editor: Re “Famed punk photog’s dog dies after attack by big ‘crusty’ pit bull” (news article, Aug. 6): If there were no pit bulls, these homeless people would have German shepherds, Dobermans, Rotweilers or other large mixed breeds that can be just as aggressive. The problem isn’t the breed of dog; it’s the fact that dogs are sometimes off leash or their owners are asleep and fail to control them. Fortunately, most of the homeless dogs seem

to be relatively numb to their surroundings. It’s rare that I’ve encountered homeless people with aggressive dogs. Still, it’s something I fear each time I have to pass them when they’re camped outside my apartment building. Obviously, more needs to be done to address the increased homeless population and better accommodate those with pets. People shouldn’t be permitted to sleep on the sidewalk if it threatens the well-being of residents and passersby. Maybe some people choose to live this way but the dogs deserve better. Stacy Walsh Rosenstock

IRA BLUTREICH

This needs to stop To The Editor: Re “Famed punk photog’s dog dies after attack by big ‘crusty’ pit bull” (news article, Aug. 6): Roberta, I love your photos and am so sorry for your loss. Sidney is adorable in that photo. I hope that by speaking out, you will help save another beloved pet’s life. Too many of our pets are being killed gruesomely by pit bulls — many on the streets of New York City. There are several videos of pit bulls attacking small dogs that are horrific. It needs to stop. Lucy Muir

Condolences To The Editor: Re “Famed punk photog’s dog dies after attack by big ‘crusty’ pit bull” (news article, Aug. 6): Condolences to Roberta. I hate pit bulls. This is an all-to-common tragedy. Legs McNeil

Has Senator Schumer gotten the point? 18

August 20, 2015

LETTERS, continued on p. 20

EastVillagerNews.com

Hot town, smellin’ in the city; A lovin’ noseful RHYMES WITH CRAZY BY LENORE SKENAZY

ummer in New York is nothing if not pungent. So pungent that there are certain smells that conjure up a New York August the way the smell of crayons whisks you right back to first grade. “I used to work in Flatbush and in the summer the fish store kept its door open,” recalls Megan Perlleshi, a mom of two who has since moved to Long Island. Every time she neared the shop she would literally sprint out into the street until she was past the miasma. The aroma? “Fish and garbage.” It is a city summer combo others remarked upon, too. For marketing consultant Amanda Hass, it is the smell of dying flowers that she associates with the Upper East Side in August. “Most residents are gone to their summer places,” Hass says. So the bodega flowers wilt right along with the rest of us, giving off a sad scent. By contrast, Hass adds, the open windows to hot laundry rooms give the air a fresh Clorox smell that makes up for the funereal flora. Rain in the city summer also has a special smell. “Warm rain on hot asphalt in Brooklyn is a memory I’ve carried with me my whole life,” says media strategist Liz Polay-Wettengel, who now lives in Massachusetts. Business editor Patrick Rizzo, still here in Gotham, is specific regarding the type of rain that brings him back: the sudden sun shower. And then there are all the food smells on steroids the minute the mercury hits 90. Walk by a greengrocer and the peaches are positively

seductive. They make you want to eat healthy. There are also the smells that make you want to eat charred meat — lots of it, immediately, even if you are a vegan with a history of heart issues. “Walking through the park on the West Side Highway in that huge multiracial area of picnics, smelling delicious barbecue from all of the world… .” That smell sends transit worker Mike Ecker into a tizzy. The sticky sweet smell of candied nuts does it for Tatum Barrows, a high-school grad from Long Island working in the city for the summer. For Martin Kleinman, author of “The Home Front,” it’s “the wild scallions that grew along the fence to the V.A. Hospital in Kingsbridge.” He’s right — neighborhoods have their own smells. “The smell of anisette toast wafting from the Stella D’Oro Bakery as you whiz through Riverdale on the Major Deegan Expressway” remains a local scent memory for Stacey Gordon and legions of Bronx dwellers. At the other end of the city, lifelong New

Yorker and clown entrepreneur (yup!) Michael Fandal recalls growing up in Coney Island, seven seconds from the beach. “Summers included ocean air, rich and invigorating, and the smell of morning cold beach sand beneath the Boardwalk.” There were also Nathan’s hot dogs and fries, overflowing litter cans and stylish women in their summer dresses, all wafting their particular perfumes, which mingled with the whiff of coffee whenever anyone opened the door of a Dunkin’ Donuts, and chlorine whenever you walked by a public pool. Cut grass and freshly turned dirt send Michael Virgintino back to childhood in the Bronx, where he helped his dad tend their small yard and otherwise was constantly playing baseball on park fields. Writer Nancy Mattia claims it is car exhaust that brings a smile. When she was growing up in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, Vito the Ice Cream Man would drive down her street on summer nights. “Because I lived down the block, I would pass the back of his truck first with its engine running,” she recalls. Hence the association of exhaust fumes with joy. And then there is the city scent that stands above — or really, below — them all. The one you smell without even descending the stairs. New Yorkers have likened it to “someone getting a perm in the sewer under a slaughterhouse,” “the armpit of Satan,” “inside the stomach of a sick animal,” and perhaps most aptly, “a warm metallic smell with hints of urine.” Someday in some far-off town you may catch a whiff of something similar and be instantly transported back to the New York City subway on a sizzling summer day. May that memory be sweet. Or at least tolerable. Skenazy is a keynote speaker and author and founder of the book and blog “Free-Range Kids”

Trying to make it in the school of hard knocks

The cast of “Teach It Right or Right to Teach!” at one of their recent performances. EastVillagerNews.com

It’s hard to top the recent Campout New York Post and Tompkins Square Riots Anniversary Concert for excitement, but Theater for the New City will be putting on their latest extravaganza, “Teach It Right or Right to Teach!” in the park on Sat., Aug. 22, at 2 p.m., at the old band shell site on the park’s E. Seventh St. side. The musical follows the adventures of a young man, Michael, whose first approach to higher education comes with his entrance into New Styles High School after having suffered through a substandard elementary school. He and the school face challenges from budget cuts and no art classes to a charter school trying to take over half their building. Trying to make ends meet, he takes a part-time job as a Disney character in Times Square taking photos with tourists, but not surprisingly, that gets pretty whacky. From McDonald’s fights, encounters with illegal immigrants and the homeless, to the subbasement of Trump Towers, the young hero sees it all. This will be the show’s sixth performance, and their second in Tompkins. “We will have a really big audience,” T.N.C. Executive Director Crystal Field assured. “This musical has gotten a wonderful reception so far.” August 20, 2015

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR LETTERS continued from p. 18

A must-save resource

The show must go on!

To The Editor: Re “Trying to keep the show going on St. Mark’s Place” (news article, Aug. 6): Loran and Genie and Theatre 80 are a must-save Lower East Side community resource. They work extremely hard and make a large contribution to the community. From providing free space for social-service meetings, such as 10-step programs, to opening their doors to Alan Kaufman and his successful benefit to provide money to GOLES to help the Second Ave. explosion victims, to holding public events, like the introduction of the real Henry Hill — made infamous in “Goodfellas” — to hosting the New York City Acker Awards, to putting on so many great performances and theatrical events, Theatre 80, Lorcan and Genie have contributed in so many ways. The place’s employees range from local characters to movers and achievers. Theatre 80 is overflowing with decades worth of

To The Editor: Re “Trying to keep the show going on St. Mark’s Place” (news article, Aug. 6): I once saw Dave Brubeck there, and my wife and I saw many great movies there. We gotta keep it going! Michael Lydon

It’s time to give back To The Editor: Re “Trying to keep the show going on St. Mark’s Place” (news article, Aug. 6): Lorcan and Genie are the true spirit of the LES and must be supported just as they and Theatre 80 support our community! We need to come together to make sure this grand community institution continues! Penny Arcade

must-save LES and New York City history. It is a crime against future generations to completely strip bare and erase all this history, its details and stories. Clayton Patterson 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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August 20, 2015

EastVillagerNews.com

Certified Gems and Diamonds in the Rough

at FringeNYC

No Quick Fixes, When ‘Coping’ With Death Brains behind last year’s Fringe hit deliver more dark matter BY PUMA PERL

COPING, continued on p.22 EastVillagerNews.com

PHOTO BY MICHAEL DIAZ

ast year, I had a gut instinct that “Chemistry” — described as “a pitch black comedy” — was the show to see. My hunch payed off, since the play went on to win a number of awards, including the FringeNYC Excellence in Playwriting. This time around, the same team (including one of the strongest actors in the cast, Lauren LaRocca) brings us “Coping,” which I would describe as a drama underlined with an almost goofy hilarity; the type of humor that gives us a well-needed break from tragedy. In the wake of 25-year-old Connor’s suicide, those closest to him have gathered to prepare for the funeral. LaRocca plays his girlfriend, Sarah, Couch trip: Scott Thomas, Lipica Shah, Lauren LaRocca, Lauren Hennessy and Dinah Berkeley prep for a funeral. August 20, 2015

A Thanksgiving Stuffed With Secrets and Lies Family breaks bread, baggage in tow BY YANNIC RACK

FringeNYC Review STRAIGHT FACED LIES

Writer: Mark Jason Williams Director: Andrew Block 1 hour, 40 min.

PHOTO BY SCOTT FETTERMAN

hey say you can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family. The deeply divided household of “Straight Faced Lies” takes that premise and runs with it. At its core you’ve got James, a shoe salesman who still lives at home to grudgingly support his single mother. Estranged sister Melissa has commitment issues at least as big as her libido — and their mother, Cathy, is desperately trying to bring the family together for Thanksgiving. But of course, everybody arrives with their own baggage in tow. James is secretly gay and less than happy when his lover Kip suddenly knocks on the door to invite himself to dinner, while Melissa has just found out she’s pregnant by her boyfriend Joe. Throw in Cathy’s widowed sister, the alcoholic Aunt Marie, who shows up trying to get over her latest breakup (by way of her ex’s credit card), and you’ve got yourself a classic holiday reunion scenario. But rather than heating up all the stale clichés of family drama, writer Mark Jason Williams serves up a fresh and funny take on how complicated it can get when it comes to your own flesh and blood. The peace doesn’t last long. Cathy’s already fragile façade falls apart completely when she finds out that her husband, who is generally referred to as Mr. Ryan, won’t be home for Thanksgiving. The twist: he’s been away in prison for the last six years for peddling

Tension boils over, when a family full of loons gathers for turkey day.

drugs while working as a pharmaceutical rep, and the evening serves as the double occasion of celebrating his homecoming. The intermission is rung in with a gunshot, setting the tone for the second half of the play. At times, different pairs of characters share the stage — but not the scene — to work through their issues. This device, which creates the sense of watching the plot unfold as if we’re looking into a dollhouse, comes from Andrew Block, who previously directed Williams’ play, “Recovery,” at FringeNYC in 2011. His work shines through the performances more than once, and most impressively so during a scene of

COPING, continued from p. 21

who unwittingly provided the means for him to take his life. His sister, Jessica, is coldly furious at her. Jessica’s girlfriend, Taylor, attempts to make peace, and Connor’s roommate, Lucas, stays as stoned as possible. Although Scott Thomas’ physicality and expressions may at first seem to be pure comic relief, his character Lucas, like all of them (except for the funeral director, who actually IS comic relief), demonstrates one of the ways we cope in order to accept the unacceptable. Sarah’s OCD, Jen’s anger and control issues, Taylor’s caretaking, and Lucas’ pot and pratfalls: all provide some space in which to live through it. It is a challenge to present a process that generally takes years in a one-act play spanning the course of three days, and the character that suffers the most from it is Lipica Shah’s Jessica, who, in the opening scenes, is mean and unrelenting enough to appear

August 20, 2015

parallel conversations between Melissa and her boyfriend Joe, and James and his mother. The couple have just found out they’re expecting a baby, and James cuts himself on a broken vase, which prompts his first outburst against his mother, who he blames for ruining his life by making him the man of the house as a teenager. As the two conversations get increasingly intense and personal, some lines are even delivered simultaneously, to great effect. Such gimmicks alone don’t make a great play of course, so it helps that Block has assembled an allaround captivating cast. Playing Cathy, the matriarch, Geraldine Librandi is deliciously loony in

one-dimensional. As the interactions continue, an emotional scene between Jessica and Lucas digs deeper into both characters, thankfully NOT evolving into scenes of group hugging. There are no quick fixes here, as the ending brilliantly demonstrates. One of my few criticisms of “Chemistry” was the obvious use of the vehicle as an educational device, breaking the fourth wall to explain various aspects of mental illness. I am happy to report that “Coping” relies on the dialogue and acting without hitting you over the head — well, at least not often. The writer and director have collaborated in utilizing an offstage voice — a sort of cross between Superego, Higher Power, and Soul — to guide Sarah to completion. Lauren LaRocca brings a mixture of vulnerability and resilience, much like she did in as the clinically depressed Steph in “Chemistry.” My one concrete suggestion is that the venue considers the dispensation of Martinis, shaken not stirred, on the way out. I can recommend it as a means to cope with the emotions stirred up by “Coping.”

her obsessive quest to create a harmonious get-together, making her gradual descent into full-on insanity as convincing as it is fun to watch. Although Cindy Marchionda delivers some of the most snarky lines as Marie, every character’s dialogue is consistently sharp and delivered with flair — making this a highly quotable show whose dialogue you might find yourself incorporating into conversation for days, perhaps weeks, to come. “Oh, the f**k with this, you people are nuts!” shouts a distressed Kip halfway through the play. With a family like this, let’s hope they pick some decent friends. Sat. Aug. 22 at 9:30 p.m., Mon. Aug. 24 at 7 p.m., Thurs. Aug. 27 at 3 p.m. At Teatro LATEA at the Clemente (107 Suffolk St. btw. Rivington & Delancey Sts.). For tickets ($18), visit FringeNYC.org. Also purchase at FringeCentral, inside the City Lore cultural heritage center (56 E. First St. btw. First & Second Aves.), daily from 2–8 p.m. Order on your smartphone up to 30 minutes prior to performance, at FringeOnTheFly.com.

FringeNYC Review COPING Writer: Jacob Marx Rice Director: Anna Strasser 1 hour, 20 min.

Sat. Aug. 22 at 9:45 p.m., Wed. Aug. 26 at 4:45 p.m., Fri. Aug. 28 at 7 p.m. At Teatro SEA at the Clemente (107 Suffolk St. btw Rivington & Delancey Sts.). For tickets ($18), visit FringeNYC.org. Also purchase at FringeCentral, inside the City Lore cultural heritage center (56 E. First St. btw. First & Second Aves.), daily from 2–8 p.m. Order on your smartphone up to 30 minutes prior to performance, at FringeOnTheFly.com. EastVillagerNews.com

Sense of Self as Final Frontier Matt Jennings geeks out, comes out, and reaches for the stars BY SCOTT STIFFLER

FringeNYC Review THE UNIVERSE OF MATT JENNINGS

Writer: Matt Jennings Director: Levi Austin Morris 1 hour

PHOTO BY JONATHAN DAVID LEWIS

here are only slightly more stars in heaven than there are one-person shows about growing up and growing into yourself. But by planting a rainbow flag firmly in the domain of sci-fi mega-fandom, Matt Jennings — a proud geek with a shameless gym rat’s physique — succeeds in this one-hour mission to boldly go back and forth between his enduring love for all things “Star Trek” and his younger self’s struggle to claim a place in the strange new worlds of black identity, gay sexuality, and Christian faith. Judging from the reaction to references both broad and obscure, last Saturday’s performance (its first at FringeNYC) had plenty of appreciative Trekkies in the audience — and although it certainly helps, chances are you’ll enjoy the show even if you’re not aware that Starfleet’s Kobayashi Maru simulation test is rigged so every cadet will fail; or that the series premiere of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” had the Q Continuum putting humanity on trial; or that Bajorans believe Captain Sisko (Trek’s first black protagonist) is The Emissary of the Prophets. As parable, Easter egg or plot device, all of this figures into the flashback-heavy tale of Jennings’ life journey. Performed with an appealing hybrid of sugar rush enthusiasm, quizzical wonderment and sober self-awareness, Jennings alternates between breaking the fourth wall to tell coming-of-age anecdotes and injecting himself, insecurities and all, into classic Trek scenarios (highlighted by dead-on impressions, the best of which is 1960s-era Mr. Sulu, played

Strength of Kirk, sexuality of Sulu: Matt Jennings boldly goes in search of new life among the much-explored solo show universe.

by then-closeted George Takei). Well-timed sound effects and low-tech slides establish the era and mood, as does Jennings’ frequent retreat to the safety of his center-stage command chair — a piece of vintage kitchen furniture tricked out to resemble the iconic perch on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise. Indeed, the long shadow cast by James T. Kirk hovers over all aspects of Jennings’ life — beginning at the impressionable age of four, when he drops his Grover doll upon hearing William Shatner warble “Space…

the final frontier” for the first time. His new obsession is not a romantic crush-cum-gay awakening, though (that happens in the teen years, when a certain Jedi’s swirling cape and dangling lightsaber induces a memorable episode of movie theater swooning). Instead, his fixation on Kirk is a pure expression of the fanboy’s yearning to live just one day with a starship captain’s brash charisma, natural leadership skills, and unbeatable karate moves. It’s no wonder that the influential relatives and Trek cast mem-

bers he lovingly impersonates always get their own slide, while his talk of self frequently involves the use of an empty picture frame. But idols tend to break if they fall — and this show is at its best when the real people and escapist fiction he’s created his identity from disappoint. You just don’t invest that amount of time watching Trek or speaking well or going to church, only to be called a nerd or an Oreo cookie or a sinner, right? The series of monologues that contemplate such matters have a rhythm and a voice and an urgent energy all their own. In these moments, Jennings’ “Universe” expands into something much more than an agreeable solo performance — and hints at greater things to come, when the skills he brings to looking inward are applied to other frontiers. Sat. Aug. 22 at 8:45pm, Wed. Aug. 26 at 5:30 p.m. At Spectrum (121 Ludlow St., 2nd Fl., btw. Delancey & Rivington Sts.). For tickets ($18), visit FringeNYC. org. Also purchase at FringeCentral, inside the City Lore cultural heritage center (56 E. First St. btw. First & Second Aves.), daily from 2–8 p.m. Order on your smartphone up to 30 minutes prior to performance, at FringeOnTheFly.com.

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August 20, 2015

Half of ‘Dead Lunch’ is Easy to Digest Diner-set two-act fitfully entertaining, with flashes of heart BY SEAN EGAN

FringeNYC Review DEAD LUNCH, OR WHO PRAYS FOR BAD WEATHER?

Writer & Director: Tony Borden 1 hour, 25 min. PHOTO BY TONY BORDEN

ony Borden’s new play, “Dead Lunch, or Who Prays for Bad Weather?,” is a comedy set in a world that is, unfortunately, all too familiar to many — the wonderful, horrible, tedious world of the service industry. Specifically, Borden’s two-act comic exercise (which he also directs) unfolds in a run-down diner, as its chatty staff idles away a particularly anemic lunch hour by articulating their working-class ennui, to the detriment of their frazzled manager and dwindling clientele. It’s a seemingly fruitful topic for a play, but the results are more of a mixed bag than one would hope. Most of the problems reside in the first act, which gets things off to a slow start, and does little to whet the appetite for the rest of the show. Focusing on two young waitresses (one a college student, another an aspiring actress), it essentially captures them gossiping, thinking about the future, and bungling their way through serving their only party of the afternoon. This isn’t necessarily a bad setup, but the dialogue doesn’t really crackle or sound naturalistic, the way it does in the best dead-end workplace comedies (think “Clerks” or “Waiting”), nor do the characters resonate on an emotional level. And though not much is happening plot wise, it also, unfortunately, very much feels as though nothing of any significance is

L to R: Adam Pagdon, Jeff Solomon, Maxwell Moran and Leah Alfieri each pull double duty as disparate characters.

happening. This lack of an engaging story, combined with the merely serviceable acting of the lead waitresses, provides for an only occasionally amusing viewing experience. Fortunately, the whole shebang is saved in its second act, which picks up the slack from, and corrects the issues of, the first half. Shifting its perspective to that of the kitchen staff and the manager working in the back of the restaurant during the same time frame as act one, everything snaps into place, and “Dead Lunch” becomes the funny behind-the-scenes examination of the service industry the first half aspires to be. The kitchen staff is a lively bunch, and the characters presented here have empathetic

backstories, well-sketched personalities, and serious comedic rapport. It even manages to make the first act look (slightly) better, by paying off on jokes set up early on. It also helps that the actors in this section bring their A-game. Matt McAllister, as overwhelmed manager Graham, and Maxwell Moran as Miguel the cook do well in their mostly straight-man roles, invoking sympathy as well as laughs. Even better is Jeff Solomon as both French kitchen worker Francois, (sporting an absurd, Clouseau-esque accent and relishing every punchline) and a gentleman customer whose physical comedy and obliviousness is a highlight of the first act. Also tackling dual roles, Adam

Pagdon plays the gentleman customer’s elderly, judgmental mother in the first act, as well as the Eastern European dishwasher possessing minimal English skills in the second — two wildly different creations whose comedic timing steal every scene they’re in, while elevating the material they’re provided with. Perhaps “Dead Lunch” could have shone front to back with a few more revisions. As is, it’s fitfully entertaining, with flashes of heart and inspired humor — but on the whole, a little undercooked. Thurs. Aug. 20 at 4:45 p.m., Fri. Aug. 21 at 4:45 p.m., Mon. Aug. 24 at 9:15 p.m. At The Celebration Of Whimsy (21 Clinton St. btw. Houston & Stanton Sts.). For tickets ($18), visit FringeNYC.org. Also purchase at FringeCentral, inside the City Lore cultural heritage center (56 E. First St. btw. First & Second Aves.), daily from 2–8 p.m. Order on your smartphone up to 30 minutes prior to performance, at FringeOnTheFly.com.

Incendiary and Polished, but Not Entertaining ‘Play’ is a preachy take on male entitlement and sexual assault BY SEAN EGAN

PHOTO BY MELISSA BALAN

L to R: John C. Nagy III as Luis, Michael DeBartolo as Tim.

August 20, 2015

atrick Bateman, the protagonist of Bret Easton Ellis’ perennially controversial novel, “American Psycho,” is a filthy rich, meticulously dressed playboy, who works on Wall Street by day, and operates as a gruesome serial killer by night. In terms of hero worship, there’s just about no one worse to idolize (fictional or otherwise) than Bateman — but what might happen if a few wayward individuals did? Ashley Jacobson’s “The American Play” takes that seed of an idea, and uses it to open up a wider conversation about male entitlement and rape culture — things that are unfortunately prevalent, and go largely unaddressed, in society. After meeting in a collegiate American Lit class — and bonding over grossly misinterpreting Ellis’ satirical work as a ringing endorsement of hedonism and unchecked patriarchal dominance — rich kid Luis (John C. Nagy III) takes Tim AMERICAN, continued on p. 26 EastVillagerNews.com

Love, Lust, and Home Repair A crack in the ceiling reveals more than expected PHOTO BY ANDREW BARRY FRITZ

BY YANNIC RACK

“

ow much shame can the world contain?” No child should have to ask himself that question, especially when it comes to his own mother. You can’t hold it against young David, though, for wondering aloud after a heavy-drinking handyman is allowed to set up camp in his basement — the latest in a long line of “hairy losers” he has to endure on behalf of his lonely mother. “My mom’s not like other grownups,” he sings at another point in the musical, perhaps unaware that his mother, Ellen, actually embodies the cliché of the stressed-out, hypersensitive single parent. But let’s rewind a bit. Soon after her latest boyfriend packs his bags and shuts the door behind him, Ellen is confronted with a harrowing problem: a crack in the ceiling. This seemingly harmless structural fault plunges the frail Ellen headfirst into a full-blown existential crisis — because the crack is, of course, a metaphor for her life: broken and beyond repair. “I can’t leave it. It could collapse,” she protests to her son, who is left shaking his head in disbelief while his mother chases after the perfect man to solve her problems. A pizza delivery guy, a carpenter-slash-escort, a mold removal specialist and handymen of varying abilities all turn out to be incapable of fixing the ceiling, much less satisfy Ellen’s needs. She is played by Kristy Cates — a Broadway veteran (as Idina Menzel’s understudy in “Wicked”) who brings the perfect balance of desperation and self-pity to the role. Cates is also lucky to have such a talented foil in Nicky Torchia, whose impressive performance as David shows a range and skill level far beyond his 11 years. Stealing the show, however, is Josh Grisetti — who effortlessly slips in and out of fake mustaches and accents, portraying the revolving cast of oddballs that Ellen and David encounter. It is rare to see an actor have this much fun on stage, whether scripted or not (when Grisetti’s mustache came off at one point, he immediately embraced the gaffe, incorporating it into the scene to the delight of the audience). The writing doesn’t lack in comedy EastVillagerNews.com

L to R: Josh Grisetti, Kristy Cates and Nicky Torchia take the musical route, in James Harvey’s exploration of broken things.

FringeNYC Review THE CRACK IN THE CEILING Writer: James Harvey Director: Stephen Tyler Davis 1 hour, 20 min.

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either. The book, music and lyrics all come from the pen of James Harvey, who apparently conceived the idea a few years ago upon discovering a crack in his own family’s kitchen ceiling. Harvey’s catchy songs — accompanied by a skillfully arranged score for piano, bass and drums — feel original throughout, despite the repetitive nature of the subject matter. The story takes a turn for the truly bizarre (and hilarious) when Ellen dials the number for “Alternative Home Repair” and Grisetti appears in his last incarnation, the long-haired hippie-handyman Jeshua the Prophet, who demands she sacrifice David to heal her ceiling once and for all. “Hasn’t this crack been with you all your life?” he asks. It’s the moment of truth in this laugh-out-loud funny tale of growing up — as either a kid or an adult. Sat. Aug. 22 at 6:30 p.m., Tues. Aug. 25 at 8 p.m., Fri. Aug. 28 at 2:30 p.m. At the Lynn Redgrave Theater @ Culture Project (45 Bleecker St. at the corner of Bleecker & Lafayette Sts.). For tickets ($18), visit FringeNYC.org. Also purchase at FringeCentral, inside the City Lore cultural heritage center (56 E. First St. btw. First & Second Aves.), daily from 2–8 p.m. Order on your smartphone up to 30 minutes prior to performance, at FringeOnTheFly.com.

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Canadian ‘Ham’ Doesn’t Travel Well Gentrification play often stumbles, sometimes connects BY PUMA PERL

FringeNYC Review NAKED HAMILTON

“

AMERICAN, continued from p. 24

(Michael DeBartolo), a poor kid trying to forget his abuse-filled past, under his wing. He quickly begins grooming Tim into a high-class socialite like himself — using Bateman as his shining example of how a man should be (minus the nasty murder business). Things spiral out of control once Shelly (Jen Jacobs), a girl from Tim’s past, enters the picture — and Jacobson doesn’t hesitate to go to some truly dark, sordid places. Luis and Tim’s relationship escalates too quickly, spouting off the most extreme, toxic opinions until they become unbelievable caricatures of the attitudes being criticized. This undercuts the play’s treatment of the incident of sexual assault that much of the action revolves around — it practically implies that incidents like this are solely the work of extreme and obviously disturbed individuals who obsess over violent media, which is certainly not the case. On a structural level, the play

August 20, 2015

Writer & Director: Sky Gilbert 1 hour

PHOTO BY PRIAM THOMAS

aked Hamilton” is described as the story of an aging sex worker and her ex-lover who are getting kicked out of their favorite bar due to gentrification. The bar of DROM is the set, and the two characters are rarely seen onstage. The staging is effective in allowing for movement and realism, although the blocking runs into structural problems. The lighting is cleverly used to move the story along. Scott McCord, as Tom, is brilliantly annoying, so realistic in his rants and in casting himself alternately as hero and victim that it didn’t take long for me to grow as irritated with him as I do with the loud, repetitive drunks that I avoid in bars. However, like my barfly friends, there is a goodness and a sadness beneath the bravado, and McCord, who has played the role in prior productions, provides an unexpectedly layered performance. Suzanne Bennett, as Tee, is not as successful. There is a perkiness and cheerfulness at odds with the nature of the character, and she appears more like a former Texas cheerleader dressed for Halloween than the debauched, tough, aging hooker demanded by the part. Her body

Scott McCord and Elley Ray are at their best when sharing convincing moments between their characters.

language contains several signature gestures that are too controlled and planned, while McCord uses his body as if his bones were not quite connected. Despite these flaws, there are convincing moments between them, in which they move rapidly from laughing to fighting, to reuniting

against a common enemy in the “you and me against the world” mode that lends longevity to the most unstable duos. A dark secret, which would devastate most people, is revealed — but when immediate issues intrude, it is easily put to the side as they stumble on. The main problem I have with the

flash-forwards to police investigations post-incident, which only helps to deflate any narrative tension the play could have built, and lessens the horror of the brutal climax. These scenes are punctuated with readings from an Internet comment thread, where anonymous commenters voice their opinion on the incident. The on-the-nose comments run the gamut of misled and harmful societal attitudes — everything from victim blaming and slut-shaming to anti-feminist attitudes and rape apologist sentiment. It’s certainly incendiary (not a bad thing given the subject matter), but it’s also not entertaining — further contributing to the feeling that you’re listening to a lecture rather than being told a story. Still, the play is a polished and professional production. It’s staged sparingly, but effectively, by director Darren Johnston, who employs stylish video effects to enhance the experience. In addition, the abusive mentor/ mentee relationship, as implausible as it seems, makes for some electrifying scenes, particularly as it progresses.

Nagy is compulsively watchable as the embodiment of entitlement and self-regard, and DeBartolo is unnerving as Tim reveals his dangerous nature, and spirals into Id-driven madness. Their shifting power dynamic is the most thrilling aspect of the play, especially as Tim becomes more unhinged. The development of this relationship, however, comes at the expense Jacob’s Shelly, a warm and welcome stage presence, whose inner psychology is not examined as closely as the leading men’s. Using Ellis’ own prose, “The American Play” probes: “Is evil something you are? Or something you do?” The show provides no definitive answer to this question — instead, it implies that evil is a natural force in the world, manifesting itself in both the overt monstrosity of Tim and Louis, and their misogynistic, abusive ilk, as well as the more subtly insidious discourse prevalent in society, which proliferates under the blanket of anonymity the internet provides. It’s a chilling worldview to be sure, and an affecting message — but they could

play is a weakness in the storyline. The narrative fails to provide a connection between the larger issues of gentrification with the story of two individuals who live their lives on the bottom. “Naked Hamilton” was originally presented in Hamilton, Canada, as a two-act play that focused on a different couple in the first half. I think you may need to spend a lot less time in bars and a lot more time in Hamilton to fully appreciate this play. Thurs. Aug. 20 at 5:30 p.m., Sat. Aug. 22 at 12 p.m. At DROM (85 Avenue A, btw. Fifth & Sixth Sts.). For tickets ($18), visit FringeNYC.org. Also purchase at FringeCentral, inside the City Lore cultural heritage center (56 E. First St. btw. First & Second Aves.), daily from 2–8 p.m. Order on your smartphone up to 30 minutes prior to performance, at FringeOnTheFly.com.

FringeNYC Review THE AMERICAN PLAY Writer: Ashley J. Jacobson Director: Darren Johnston 1 hour, 20 min.

stand to be presented in the context of a slightly more nuanced and compelling manner. Fri. Aug. 21 at 4:45 p.m., Tues. Aug. 25 at 2:30 p.m., Thurs. Aug. 27 at 7 p.m. , Sat. Aug. 29 at 2:15 p.m. At UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Pl. btw. First Ave. & Ave. A). For tickets ($18), visit FringeNYC.org. Also purchase at FringeCentral, inside the City Lore cultural heritage center (56 E. First St. btw. First & Second Aves.), daily from 2–8 p.m. Order on your smartphone up to 30 minutes prior to performance, at FringeOnTheFly.com. EastVillagerNews.com

Our Fringe Feast Isn’t Over FringeNYC shows are playing through August 30, so we’ll be seeing a few more plays, solo performances, and spectacles. Send a request to scott@thevillager.com if you’d like to be alerted when a new review posts on the web. Here are three we’re showing up to, pen and pad in hand. For more info, visit FringeNYC.org.

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Victims: City must enforce laws on crusty pits PIT BULLS continued from p. 1

but it opened its eyes and went right for little Bobito. Puzzo said that, with a quick jerk of his leash — “like Bruce Lee” whipping around nunchucks — he flung Bobito, who was wearing a harness, up into his arms, and shielded him by spinning away from the pit bull’s jaws. But the bigger dog clamped its teeth under Puzzo’s arm, for how long, he’s not sure, but possibly up to half a minute.

CAME THISCLOSE TO BOBITO Later on, Puzzo found Bobito’s fur mixed with his own blood in his arm wound, showing just how close the pit had come to catching his prey. “He just missed Bobito,” he said. “He’s nine pounds. If he got him, he would have been bitten in two, like Roberta’s dog.” He was referring to punk rock photographer Roberta Bayley’s late pug, Sidney, who was attacked by a crusty pit bull just two blocks away, outside their St. Mark’s Place home between Second and Third Aves., on Aug. 1. Sidney underwent surgery but died the next day at the vet. “I said, ‘Get your dog off of me!’ and he grabbed my dog,” Puzzo said incredulously of the crusty, who had by now awoken. “The dog was hanging onto my arm and I couldn’t get him off. It was so surreal. It could have been 30 seconds. But that’s 30 seconds longer than I wanted to be attacked by Cujo. It felt like someone had lit my arm on fire.” After the crusty finally pulled the pit bull off him, the beast then continued to circle Puzzo and Bobito menacingly, before the crusty eventually forced it into the street. As the injured Puzzo walked away, he yelled back at the man, “Does this dog have his shots?” “Yeah, yeah, totally,” the blackclad nomad assured. Puzzo’s arm was left covered in blood, with “fang marks — and worst was a big hard bruise.” Yet, he acknowledged that his injured limb “is not 1/18th as bad as Ed’s,” referring to Ed Vassilev, who was savagely bitten by a pit bull on Second Ave. and E. Fourth St. as he, too, was trying to shield his dog, a Vizsla puppy, from attack. Vassilev was attacked at 11:30 a.m. either the same day or the day after Puzzo was. Bayley’s pug Sidney had been attacked three or four days earlier. Unlike Vassilev, Puzzo didn’t need any stitches, because the bite was mainly puncture wounds.

August 20, 2015

Ed Vassilev showing his major arm wound at Beth Israel Hospital after being attacked by a pit bull on Second Ave. The dog’s bite severed the first layer of nerves on the top of his forearm, but luckily not the deeper nerves that control finger and arm movement.

sponded to the scene to look for the dog and its owner. In each of the three attacks, the pit bulls were going after a much smaller dog. Each time, the travelers were either asleep or apparently nodding out on substances. The homeless travelers say the pit bulls are their protection when they’re sleeping out on the street — but when the travelers are sleeping, who’s keeping an eye on their pit bulls? “It’s not about, ‘Let’s get the homeless off the streets or put the pit bulls in concentration camps,’” Puzzo said. “It’s just that the neighborhood should be safe.”

‘I want that dog put down.’ Ed Vassilev

PIT BULL WASN’T LEASHED Puzzo said the dog that bit him did not have a leash and, like the one that attacked Bayley, was not fixed. “If a dog is in the street, it should be fixed, it should be registered,” he said, “it should have all its shots, and it should be on a leash — or it should be taken away from them.” He reported the attack to the Ninth Precinct, but isn’t sure if officers re-

HOW MANY OF THEM? One big question that remains un-

answered is how many dogs were involved in the three attacks. If there was only only one dog, that would be reassuring, in a way. “If it’s one pit bull, it’s ‘Jaws,’ ” Puzzo said, meaning — just get that one dog off the street. Puzzo said the pit bull that attacked him was brown with black stripes “like a tiger,” known as a brindle coat. The one that bit Vassilev was gray and white. Meanwhile the dog that tore up Sidney’s throat was brown, possibly a brindle with faint stripes, according to Bayley. However, she said, it all happened so fast, it was hard to focus on what the dog looked like. What is known is that the dog that bit Vassilev was impounded at Animal Care and Control and was being observed for rabies. Vassilev told The Villager he has been making phone calls to try to ensure that the dog is never released. “I want that dog put down,” he stated. “There’s no way that dog should come out.” He said A.C.C. directed him to an inspector at the Department of Health, who asked for Vassilev’s medical records. Vassilev said that inspector told him that the dog’s owner claimed Vassilev was bitten “during a fight.” In fact, the pit bull had come charging down the sidewalk straight toward his little dog, Misha. Also known is that the pit bull that attacked Sidney was named Jax, and that a traveler named Natas (Satan backwards) had had the dog for a month or two. But one crusty told The Villager that Natas could not handle the dog and shouldn’t have had it, while another crusty said Jax, who was taken from a family in Bushwick that also could not handle him, was “very aggressive.”

POLICE: PROBABLY WAS 2 The Ninth Precinct does have one officer specifically dedicated to dog issues, according to Detective Jaime Hernandez, but he could not be reached by press time. Hernandez said he believes a total of two dogs were involved in the three attacks. As for Bayley, she’s still feeling the pain of losing her best buddy Sidney, but this week said she is “feeling a bit bit better every day.” Like Puzzo, she objected that the New York Post’s brief article this past Monday about the attacks on Vassilev and Puzzo, mainly seemed to want to blame the mayor for the problem, portraying it as just another side effect of the current uptick in homelessness. “They want to make it about the PIT BULLS continued on p. 31 EastVillagerNews.com

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d a l g h a y t n rA ch ’ r u o y g n i d a e r e b to ? r e p a p s w e n y t i n u m m co Don’t miss a single issue! ! r e g a l l i V e h T o t e b i r c s b Su 5 7 4 2 2 5 4 6 Call 64 30

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Victims: E.V. unsafe for folks with small dogs PIT BULLS continued from p. 28

homeless and de Blasio instead of the dogs,” Bayley said of the Post. “The Villager has been reporting it because it’s community news.” But rather than just trying to pin another problem on the mayor, she thinks pushing for changes on legislation on dogs is what’s needed. “When I’m feeling better,” she said, “I’m going to go to the politicians and try to see if we can get a bill, make it a bit stronger.”

WHAT WILL IT TAKE?

THERE GOES THE N’HOOD Meanwhile, Vassilev, for his part, does hold the mayor responsible for what happened to him. “I think since de Blasio took over, the police’s hands have been tied and they can’t do that much,” he said. “The direction comes from that office.” In his view, homeless panhandlers have gotten more aggressive in the East Village the past couple of years. A Bulgarian native, he has lived in the neighborhood for seven years. Asked if he is a Republican, Vassilev, said, “I’m a Democrat! It’s public safety that we’re talking about.” The savage pit bull attack severed his triceps and caused permanent nerve damage to his forearm. After the arm got infected, he had to spend a couple of days in Beth Israel Hospital hooked up to morphine and antibiotic IV drips. He still needs four months of EastVillagerNews.com

PHOTO BY LINCOLN ANDERSON

However, she conceded, it may take a truly horrific event before the city finally acts. “I hate to say it,” she said, “but I think what we need is for a pit bull to eat a baby — and preferably a celebrity baby.” While two weeks ago, Bayley stressed to The Villager that she didn’t want to demonize the crusty travelers, this week she said she’s had a bit of a change of heart since then. “I am beginning to make a distinction in my mind between the real homeless and the willful homeless,” she said, referring to the crusties. She also said police should be checking the travelers’ dogs for licenses, which only cost a few bucks to get. She noted a friend’s little Bichon Frise recently got a ticket for pooping on the grass in Washington Square. “What if they were going up to people with the big dogs and asking them if their dog had a license?” she said. “Then they’d go somewhere else and their dogs would kill some other dog there.”

Clearwater, a veteran and former traveler, with his well-trained dog, Hitchhiker, in Union Square.

treatment for the wound by a plastic surgeon.

WE’RE OUTTA HERE! Due to the violent assault, he and his wife, along with little puppy Misha, are leaving the ’hood, he said. “We’re definitely moving from the East Village,” he said. “I don’t know how we can continue to live here and feel safe. It’s not even about the homeless situation. The streets are filthy. It’s gotten worse. You see people on drugs all the time. I’ve spoken to people who’ve lived here for decades, and they say it hasn’t been like this since the early ’90s.” Similarly, Puzzo said, he and his girlfriend and the diminutive Bobito also might have to say so long to the East Village due to the crusties’ out-ofcontrol pits. “This is making me think, ‘Do I have to leave the East Village?’” Puzzo said. “When people I love — and our dog — are in danger, what other choice do I have? What good is rent stabilization when you have half an arm or a dog in two pieces?”

wich he had scrounged up money for. Sporting a few dreads hanging down one side of his head and a rune-like tattoo on the bridge of his nose, he had only been in town four days, but had heard about Natas and Jax. “He doesn’t have the dog anymore,” he said. Asked where the other East Village travelers were, he said at Union Square — and they were. Up at the park, one of them who goes by Wing the Nut said, “What I understand, Natas’s not got the dog. He hasn’t had the dog for weeks now. They keep saying, ‘You’ll get it back, you’ll get it back,’ ” he said of A.C.C. On the other hand, a man who goes by Clearwater who was among them seemed to be the model of a good dog owner. With Hitchhiker, his pit bull-blue tick hound mix, standing by his side on a leash, he explained the dog is a service animal for his post-traumatic stress disorder. He served in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2001 to 2007. “Yes, sir. United States infantry Bravo. We were the knock-and-sweep guys,” he said, referring to the troops

that cleared houses. The dog instinctively helps him relax if the vet starts to get agitated or feels a panic attack coming on, he said. He found Hitchhiker as a 10-weekold abandoned puppy on the side of the road in Washington and got the Veterans of Foreign Wars to pay for his training. “Kick it down,” he told Hitchhiker, and the dog sat. “All the way,” he said, and the dog lay down. He dropped the leash, paced 25 feet away and called out, “Heel,” and the pit mix trotted right to him, then obediently walked back with him right at his owner’s feet, gazing intently up into his face. “You have to be the owner of your animal and take responsibility,” Clearwater, 34, stated. He said he actually was a former traveler, but “got a little old” for it and settled down with a job in Pittsburgh. His van had broken down on his way home after a trip, though, and he found himself stuck in New York temporarily, without cash and hanging out again with the crusties. Between the V.F.W. and some panhandling, he hoped to raise the $100 for a bus ticket home.

PROTECTION AT NIGHT “He can definitely handle himself,” he said of his dog. “But he’s been taught to be friendly all his life. But if we’re sleeping outside, if someone comes within 10 feet of me, he’ll start growling.” Hitchhiker is good with other animals and they had spent time that day in the Union Square dog run. “I got him fixed when he was one year old,” Clearwater said, noting it had noticeably mellowed the animal. “Once the dog is a year old, 18 months old, there’s no need for the testosterone unless you’re going to breed them.” Asked where they would be sleeping that night, he said he wasn’t worried about it, because of Hitchhiker. “Finding a safe space for me to sleep is easy because he’ll wake me up if somebody comes close,” he said. “I would hate to be out here without a dog.”

TRAVELERS’ TAKE Several of the crusties previously told The Villager that Jax was taken away from Natas, and that the dog was in “puppy jail.” Last Sunday night, a traveler named Andy was sitting under a lamppost at the corner of St. Mark’s Place and Third Ave. eating a sand-

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