Downtown Express, 10/18012

MODIFIED PIER 17 PLANS RECEIVE CRITICISM AND PRAISE VOLUME 25, NUMBER 10

OCTOBER 17-OCTOBER 30, 2012

community,” said Hanover Square resident Joel Kopel, who belongs to the synagogue’s core group of members known as the minyan. “The rabbi was our spiritual and moral compass.

There will be a tremendous void.”

His death came just three weeks after Rosh Hashanah. In celebration of the holiday, the rabbi had an annual tradition of visiting patients at the neighboring New York Downtown

BY ALI NE REYNOLDS tarting next year, workers will begin building a street-like network of shops overlooking the East River, so long as the swanky design by the Howard Hughes Corporation wins approval from various city agencies.

Officials representing Howard Hughes Corp., the leaseholder of the South Street Seaport, and the company’s commissioned firm, SHoP Architects, presented a revised design of the substantial Pier 17 overhaul to Community Board 1 at a meeting earlier this month. While the design won praise among local residents, business owners and workers union representatives, some testifiers raised serious concerns about the plan, particularly with regard to the developer’s rezoning proposal and future maritime use at the pier.

C.B. 1 has until Tues., Nov. 13 to review the Uniform Land Use Review and Procedure application for Pier 17. Board members will convene another couple of times to continue to assess the proposal with the goal of preparing a finalized resolution for its Thurs., Nov. 8 Executive Committee meeting. Following the board’s review, the ULURP will be reviewed by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, the City Planning Commission and, finally, by the City Council.

Pier 17’s overall redesign, which was mostly sanctioned by the city Landmarks Preservation Commission and C.B. 1 last spring, features a street-like network of retail shops and a 65-foothigh rooftop with a restaurant, an entertainment venue and 40,000 square feet of public space offering panoramic views of the harbor and the Brooklyn Bridge. More than 46 percent of the property

Continued on page 22

Continued on page 17

S

Downtown Express photo by Terese Loeb Kreuzer

JAZZING UP HUDSON SQUARE Hudson Square, currently plagued by traffic jams, is poised to get a substantial, pedestrian-friendly makeover. Turn to page 9 for more.

Rabbi Meyer Hager, spiritual compass of Downtown, dies at 76

BY H E L A IN A H O V IT Z undreds gathered at the Wall Street Synagogue at 47 Beekman St. on Wed., Oct. 10 for a memorial service held in honor of the late Meyer Hager, who passed away at New York University’s Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine on Sun., Oct. 7 after surgery. He was 76.

His sudden death shook the entire community. Just days before his death, many residents of Southbridge Towers, where the rabbi lived,

H

saw him walking around the neighborhood, smiling and asking them how they were doing, just like he always had.

Hager was rushed to the hospital by his brother, Rabbi Moshe Hager, on Sat., Oct. 6 after complaining of severe stomach pain; his colon had become infected following a routine colonoscopy one month prior. Doctors operated on him immediately, but Rabbi Hager did not recover from the operation.

“This is a huge loss for the Downtown

5 15 C A N A L STREET • N YC 10 013 • C OPYRIG HT © 2012 N YC COMMU NITY M ED IA , LLC

2

October 17 - October 30, 2012

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

Community Media photo by Sam Spokony

Addressing the proposed closure of the Pathmark supermarket on Cherry Street, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver told local residents and community leaders, “We’ve fought this battle before, and we’ll fight it again.”

Residents, politicians rally against L.E.S. Pathmark closure

Dr. Robbi Kempner, Chief of Breast Surgery at New York Downtown Hospital in conjunction with the Department of Radiology, will sponsor our Hospital’s second Mammogram-a-thon at our new Wellness & Prevention Center October 4th and October 25th from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m.

Please call (212) 312-5253 on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. to schedule your screening mammogram appointment for either day.

Most insurance plans will be accepted.

In 2011, an estimated 230,450 U.S. women were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer.

In 2011, there were more than 2.6 million breast cancer survivors in the U.S. “A mammogram takes ten minutes and can save your life. If problems are found early, new treatments can be most effective.”

Early detection saves lives!

For an appointment with Dr. Kempner, please call (646) 588-2578 WELLNESS & PREVENTION CENTER 170 William Street, New York, NY 10038 www.downtownwellness.org

B Y SAM SPOKONY Around a hundred Lower East Side residents gathered alongside community leaders and politicians on Wed., Oct. 10 to rally against the impending closure of a Pathmark supermarket, which would pave the way for a largely unwelcome, upscale residential development.

“This community is stunned that we will very soon be deprived of a very basic need in our neighborhood,” said Victor Papa, president of the Two Bridges Neighborhood Council, at the rally outside the Pathmark at 227 Cherry St. “And that need is the affordable food and medicine that this [supermarket and pharmacy] has provided for nearly three decades.”

A&P, which owns Pathmark, announced on Sept. 28 that the Cherry Street supermarket will close at the end of December due to the sale of its lease to an unidentified party.

An A&P spokesperson said the corporation is relinquishing the lease to accommodate a “large scale residential development and improvement project, while preserving the right to operate once the project is complete.”

The community’s immediate outrage at the announcement has continued steadily since then, especially among the many low-income, public housing residents and seniors who live within walking distance of the Pathmark and have few other options for grocery shopping.

“I love my Pathmark, and I would really miss it,” said Dalia Soto, who came to the Oct. 10 rally from her home in the nearby LaGuardia Houses, where she has lived for over 50 years.

Soto added that, for the past 15 years, she has done basically all of her grocery shopping at the Cherry Street supermarket. If it were to close as planned, her only other option would be to shop at the Fine Fare supermarket on Clinton Street, near Grand Street — but the walk back and forth would be too long, she said, and the Fine Fare just doesn’t compare with the value offered by Pathmark.

Another LaGuardia Houses resident, Ruth Hawkins, showed up at the rally waving her most recent Pathmark receipt, which showed that she had saved more than $1,300 so far this

year by using the store’s member discount card.

“That’s money for my family,” said Hawkins, who is currently unemployed and looking for work. “It’s really scary, because we just can’t afford to shop anywhere else.”

State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who helped lead a similar and successful fight in 2007, when the Cherry Street Pathmark was in danger of being replaced by a residential development, gave spirited and optimistic remarks at Wednesday’s gathering.

“We’ve fought this battle before, and we’ll fight it again,” Silver told the crowd — before adding, amid cheers, his firm belief that, “We’ll win!”

Silver, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, State Senator Daniel Squadron, City Council Member Margaret Chin and U.S. Congress Member Nydia Velazquez — all of whom were on hand at the rally, except for Velazquez — sent an Oct. 5 letter to A&P’s chief executive officer, F. Roy Schoenberg, imploring him to work collaboratively with community leaders in order to ease the burden on local residents.

After the rally, Silver said that the politicians hope to meet with A&P executives, Schoenberg and the new developer as soon as possible, though a meeting has yet to be scheduled.

Papa later explained that, although he hasn’t received confirmation, he has good reason to believe that the developer now in control of the 227 Cherry St. lease is the Extell Development Company, which is led

by Gary Barnett. A spokesperson representing Barnett declined to comment.

Extell’s residential properties are all massive luxury apartment buildings.

The company is currently constructing the 90-story One57 building in Midtown, which, at just over 1,000 feet, will be the tallest residential building in the city once it is completed next year. One57’s duplex penthouse sold for over $90 million last May. Soto, the LaGuardia Houses resident, said she believes a luxury building would simply feel out of place at 227 Cherry St. “This isn’t Fifth Avenue,” she said. “We’re just regular people.”

3

October 17 - October 30, 2012

TRINITY CHURCH CANCELS HALLOWEEN FESTIVITIES

NEW NATURALIZATION SERVICE COMES TO DOWNTOWN

Families celebrating Halloween will have to pencil out a Trinity Church visit from their calendars as a planned activity for the last weekend of October. The church’s annual movie night, originally scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Fri., Oct. 26, has been cancelled for safety reasons, according to the parish’s spokesperson Linda Hanick. This year, the parish was going to screen “The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That! Tricks and Treats,� and hold an organ performance by Trinity’s organist Julian Wachner.

Protesters loosely or directly affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement have been camped outside of the church for several months now, causing a potential security problem for children who would be coming to the church around dusk, Hanick said. “It’s dark, there are candles and it’s Halloween. Out of an abundance of caution, we wanted to make sure it was a safe environment,� she explained.

The event cancellation follows an alleged assault on a Trinity maintenance worker earlier this month. According to the parish, the demonstrator who was arrested for the crime was out on the street again the very next day. The perp was one of nine people who have been arrested in the church’s vicinity since the beginning of the month. Regarding the security issue, Hanick said, “We’ve installed security cameras under the scaffolding, and we’re reporting any illegal or abusive activity [to the police].�

All of the church’s other programming and religious services are taking place according to schedule. However, the parish has closed off its restrooms from the public because of recent instances of vandalism.

City Council Member Margaret Chin has partnered with the City University of New York’s “Citizenship Now!� program to offer free naturalization and deferred action services at her district office, located at 165 Park Row. The program, made possible through $600,000 from the City Council, will finance 30 service sites throughout the five boroughs through June 2013. It will provide qualified immigrants with one-on-one consultations with attorneys and paralegals, along with assistance in applying for citizenship, deferred action and citizenship interview coaching.

The deferred action services, part of President Obama’s DREAM Act, are intended for young immigrants ages 15 to 31 who are seeking U.S. citizenship. To be eligible, they have to have come to the U.S. before age 16 and have been living in the country for at least five years.

Those interested in applying for one of these services should call 212-587-3159 to make an appointment.

NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9, 12-24 EDITORIAL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10-11 YOUTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 ARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-28, 30-31 CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

C. B. 1 A schedule of upcoming Community Board 1 committee meetings is below. Unless otherwise noted, all committee meetings are held at the board office, on the seventh floor of 49-51 Chambers St., at 6 p.m. For more information, call the board’s office at 212-442-5050 or e-mail Lucy Acevedo at man01@cb.nyc.gov.

ON WED., OCT. 17: The Executive Committee will meet.

ON THURS., OCT. 18:

C.B.1. CALLS FOR DEY ST. CONCOURSE OPENING The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has announced that, rather than wait until the opening of World Trade Center 1 and 4, the Dey Street Concourse will open to the public once the Fulton Center is completed in June 2014. But members of Community Board 1 are calling for the M.T.A. to open the pedestrian tunnel as soon as it’s

The Street Fair Task Force will meet at 5 p.m.; the Quality of Life Committee will meet.

ON TUES., OCT. 23: The South Street Seaport Museum will host a tour of the museum’s indoor exhibit space and Pier 16 at 5 p.m. (R.S.V.P. required). The full board will convene at the South Street Seaport Museum (on the 12th floor of 12 Fulton St.).

Continued on page 16

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October 17 - October 30, 2012

ASSAULTED FOR SNEAKERS A violent robber was collared in Tribeca early on Sun., Oct. 14 after he allegedly beat up a man and stole his sneakers.

Ryan Hopson, 28, attacked the 30-yearold victim on West Broadway near White Street around 3 a.m., police said. While the victim was on the ground, Hopson pulled off his Nike Foamposite sneakers, valued at $250, and fled on foot.

Police arrived at the scene shortly afterward, and after a canvass of the area they stopped four men in front of 46 White St. and brought them to the First Precinct.

Hopson was part of that group, and police were able to identify him because he had the stolen sneakers on him.

Hopson was charged with robbery, assault and criminal possession of stolen property.

HE NEEDED SMOOTHER HANDS Threatening a drugstore employee with a weapon seems like a lot of trouble when the prize is only three bottles of hand lotion.

Police are searching for the man who did just that at the Broadway Downtown Pharmacy, on Broadway between White and Franklin Streets, on Fri., Oct. 12.

A store employee told cops that the suspect entered around 2 p.m., placed the bot-

tles of hand lotion in his backpack and tried to leave without paying for them. When the employee stopped him, the suspect — who is described as a black man, approximately 50 years old, 5’9’’ and 150 pounds — pulled a pair of metal shears from his pocket and threatened to use it, police said.

The employee proceeded to grapple with the suspect, eventually sustaining a minor cut on his hand but also forcing the perp to drop both his weapon and his backpack, police said. And after he realized the gig was up, the suspect fled the scene empty-handed.

KNIFEPOINT ROBBERY Cops are looking for a man who robbed a woman at knifepoint near the South Street Seaport on Tues, Oct. 9.

The victim, 29, told cops that, as she was walking past the corner of Beekman and Front Streets around 9:30 p.m., an unknown Hispanic man approached her and asked for directions. He then displayed a knife and demanded her money.

The woman handed over her MetroCard and $80 in cash, and the suspect fled east on Beekman Street, police said.

STOLEN SCOOTER AND CAR A man who left his motor scooter unattended for two days on a Bowling Green

street corner returned the evening of Sat., Oct. 13 to find it gone.

The victim, 52, told cops that he had parked his 2008 Vespa at the corner of William and Beaver Streets on Thurs., Oct. 11, and secured it with a chain lock around one of the wheels. When he went to pick it up over the weekend, he found that the lock had been broken and removed, along with the scooter, which he valued at $1,250. There was no evidence left at the scene, police said.

The incident followed another auto theft that took place earlier in the week, only blocks away. A street vendor, 37, told cops that his car had been stolen while he left it idling at the corner of Water Street and Maiden Lane around noon on Wed., Oct. 10.

The man said that he had left the 2001 Oldsmobile there because he was attending to his food truck nearby. When he returned minutes later, the car was gone. The vendor also lost $10,000 he had left in the car, police said.

SUBWAY PHONE SWIPE A slick thief picked an unsuspecting man’s pocket as he was walking out of a Financial District subway station on the morning of Mon., Oct. 15.

The victim, 27, told police he had just gotten off a northbound R train at the Cortlandt Street stop around 8 a.m. and was listening to music on his iPhone while walking along the platform. After he pocketed the phone while walking through the turnstile, the man said he felt a tug on his pants.

He looked down and realized that an

unknown thief had swiped the phone from his right pants pocket. The victim had no chance of spotting the perp because he quickly disappeared in the rush-hour crowd.

CONSTRUCTION BURGLARY Police are on the hunt for the burglar who swiped a pricey piece of equipment from a construction vehicle in the Financial District on Fri., Oct. 12.

The driver of the Trocom Construction Corporation van told police that he had parked on Fulton Street, between William and Gold Streets, around 10 a.m. Shortly after that, he came back to find that an unknown perp had smashed the van’s rear door window, opened it and made off with a gas-powered cut-off saw, valued at $1,400.

Cops said they might be able to use video surveillance footage from a nearby store on Fulton Street to try to identify the suspect.

UNSUCCESSFUL PICKPOCKET Mark Gonzalez, 39, was arrested after he tried to snatch a man’s cell phone in the Financial District on Sat., Oct. 13.

A 21-year-old man told police that, as he was walking past the corner of William and Fulton Streets around 9 p.m., Gonzalez snuck up behind him and felt into his pants pockets. He quickly realized that his $500 Samsung phone was the target, and fought Gonzalez off.

Cops in the area responded to the commotion and immediately arrested Gonzalez for attempted grand larceny.

— Sam Spokony

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October 17 - October 30, 2012

Youths continue to battle anxiety caused by 9/11

BY A L I N E R E Y NO L D S On 9/11, Rebecca Segarra, a seventh grader at Tribeca’s I.S. 89, saw American Airlines Flight 11 hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center from an upper-floor window in her middle school.

Shaken by the incident as a teen, Segarra said, “My anxiety just skyrocketed from there. I don’t really remember going to sleep much, ‘cause I felt like something bad was going to happen.”

Now 24, Segarra continues to suffer from insomnia, anxiety and back pains that she believes to have developed from the trauma she experienced that day. Yet, on her modest salary as a Broadway usher, she can’t afford physical or mental health treatment, and her health insurance doesn’t cover specialist care.

Segarra is also afraid of what she might be diagnosed with were she to seek care.

“I don’t want them telling me something like, ‘You need treatment for this, you need treatment for that ‘cause you have this, and you can’t afford it.’ I’d just rather deal with it myself.”

Segarra is one of scores of young adults who grapple with 9/11-related health problems that interfere with their daily lives. And, though a number of them acknowledge the link between their symptoms and the terrorist attack on their neighborhood, they haven’t received federally subsidized treatment from the World Trade Center Environmental Health Center based at Bellevue Hospital Center, Gouverneur Healthcare Services and Elmhurst Hospital Center.

“I see a lot of posters about it,” Segarra said of the program, “but I’ve never looked it up or anything like that.” Asked why she hasn’t visited one of the free clinics, she replied, “I don’t really have a really good answer — I just haven’t gone.”

Currently, the W.T.C. health program is treating approximately 120 children ages 11 to 18, nearly a quarter of whom have enrolled since last fall, according to Terry Miles, director of the W.T.C. Environmental Health Center. The youths are being treated for ailments ranging from respiratory problems to post-traumatic stress disorder.

Like the adults at the center, the youths must undergo a multi-step certification process in order to be eligible for treatment.

To qualify for mental health therapy, the prospective patients must answer a battery of standardized questions and, if their symptoms are judged to warrant treatment, they are assigned to individual sessions with an in-house psychologist or psychiatrist. In some cases, the youths undergo additional evaluation, are referred to mental health workers outside of the program or are enrolled in group therapy sessions within the program.

It can be a tedious process that doesn’t always get people the care they need.

Bob Townley, executive director of the

Manhattan Youth Downtown Community Center, said he knows of several families who have been denied treatment for 9/11-related mental health problems. “I can’t believe how many people actually can’t get mental health treatment for stuff that is clearly 9/11-related,” he said. “Usually, I’d like to think people can choose. They say they’re sick, they’re sick — especially with mental health.”

Indeed, the program’s limited number of resources hamper the amount of care that can be offered to meet the demand, said W.T.C. health program physician Joan Reibman, who accompanied Miles to Community Board 1’s Oct. 9 Youth and Education Committee meeting.

The program, she said, is “overwhelmed” with mental health issues and has therefore had to turn away people with complex, pre-existing psychological conditions. “We have many holes in the program, let me be blunt,” said Reibman. “I don’t think we will ever be able to provide pediatric psychology in-house, because we don’t have the wherewithal to do that.”

Photo courtesy of Kendra McDuffie

Rebecca Segarra, 24, has never been treated for her 9/11-related insomnia and anxiety.

The program also lacks the funds to reimburse mental health patients for outpatient care.

The W.T.C. Environmental Health Center has also had difficulty spreading awareness of the services, Miles noted. “We’ve done focus groups where we know in the community, after all these years, no matter our efforts — the subway ads, the bus shelter ads — so many people don’t know we exist,” he said.

Youth and Education Committee chair Tricia Joyce also commented on the barriers local adults and youths have faced with Continued on page 18

Tribeca Spotlight: The Next Voice You Hear

Eli Yamin Blues Band Friday, October 26 at 8pm $15

With a mixture of classical, bebop and folk sounds, the band celebrates its debut recording, I Feel So Glad, welcoming audiences of all ages into the rich world of the blues. As performers and educators, the band’s music allows audiences to gain insight into the cultural and spiritual origins of the blues, while getting involved with the music by singing, dancing, clapping and stomping along. The band features Eli Yamin (piano/voice), Bob Stewart (tuba), LaFrae Sci (drums/voice) and special guest Mazz Swift (violin/voice).

Call 212-220-1460 for more information or 9LVLW WKH %R[ 2IÀFH ORFDWHG RQ WKH FDPSXV RI WKH %0&& 199 Chambers St., NYC. 2UGHU VLQJOH WLFNHWV RQOLQH ZZZ 7ULEHFD3$& RUJ )ROORZ XV RQ )DFHERRN 7ZLWWHU

6

October 17 - October 30, 2012

Chinatown coalition slams widely praised SPURA plan

BY H E L A INA H O V IT Z Barely 24 hours after Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn announced the historic passage of the Seward Park Mixed-Use Development Project earlier this month, a Chinatown-based group held a press conference to contest the plan for not containing all-affordable housing.

The site known as the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area (SPURA) has been the subject of a citywide debate for over four decades, ever since the original buildings at the site were knocked down in 1967. The roughly 1.65-million-square-foot area consists of nine parcels of land adjacent to the Williamsburg Bridge and is bordered by Delancey Street on the north, Grand Street on the south, Essex Street on the west and Clinton Street on the east. The approved plan calls for 1,000 housing units, 50 percent of which are supposed to be permanently affordable for low-, moderate- and middle-income households (including seniors), and a public school. Guidelines for the plan were crafted over the past four years during monthly meetings led by Community Board 3, in coordination with a team of representatives from the Bloomberg administration.

The latest plan was unanimously approved by the City Council on Thurs., Oct. 11.

According to the plan, which was also endorsed by Community Board 3, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, 30 percent of the proposed apartments will be set aside for low-income individuals who make up to $34,000 annually and families with an annual income of up to $49,000. Ten percent of the remaining units will be reserved for moderateincome individuals making up to $75,000 annually and families making up to $107,000, and another 10 percent of units will be designated for middle-income individuals making up to $95,000 and families making up to $136,000 annually.

One of the reasons the SPURA plan took four years to come to fruition is because of all the extended outreach, according to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s office, who praised its passage in a written statement.

“This is a historic day for our Lower East Side community,” said Silver. “After a thorough, open and fair process, a true consensus was reached for the future of the Seward

Rendering courtesy of the City of New York

A recent rendering of SPURA produced by the city Economic Development Corporation and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

Park Urban Renewal Area.”

But the Coalition to Protect Chinatown and the Lower East Side is calling foul on the approved plan. The coalition rallied together on Fri., Oct. 12, to express disdain for Margaret Chin, their City Council representative, who they claim promised them 100 percent affordable housing at SPURA. Members of the Coalition include the Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund, the Chinatown Small Business Alliance, Project REACH, Action by the Lower East Side and Chatham Green, among others.

“The majority of this community makes under $40,000, and families with that annual income can’t afford apartments at market rates,” said Wendy Cheung, a representative for the coalition.

The coalition is going so far as to accuse Chin of lying to her constituents just to get their votes when she initially pledged to secure 100 percent low- and moderate-income housing at SPURA back in 2009. According to the Coalition, Chin vowed to find ways to increase the number of affordable units up until two weeks before the City Council elections.

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The City Council did, in fact, successfully secure 100 more affordable housing units than were initially proposed for the development — making the current count 500 units in all, with the breakdown of 50 percent market-rate and 50 percent affordable.

In a September 2009 Downtown Express news report, Chin insisted that the future housing at SPURA should comprise 100 percent moderate- and low-income units. Asked in 2009 if she would accept market-rate housing at the site, she said: “That’s down the line, but we got to start with the premise that this is the kind of housing we need.”

Coalition member Fung Yee Chen of the Chinese Staff and Workers’ Association asserted that Chin’s promises were never met and insisted that Chin is pushing for luxury apartments. “It’s mostly housing for the rich,” she said of the current plan.

“Instead of representing this community, she basically thanked Bloomberg for giving our community away and is following in his footsteps,” said Louise Velez, a neighborhood resident who makes $15,000 a year.

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“She just ignored 8,000 of our petitions.”

Velez was referring to a petition signed by 8,000 local residents calling for 100 percent affordable and low-income housing at the site; however, Kelly Magee, Chin’s director of communications, accused the coalition of using “shady tactics” to collect signatures.

“To get people to sign the petition, they asked people, ‘Do you like low-income housing? Do you want a cheap apartment?’ and were telling people in Chinese that if they signed, they’d get an apartment,” said Magee.

The English version of the petition, also written in Chinese and Spanish, states that many families and small businesses have recently been driven out by soaring rents, and asks people to sign it in order to “stop luxury developers from taking over.”

According to Magee, were SPURA to have 100 percent low-income housing, city workers such as firemen and teachers, who make about $50,000 a year, wouldn’t be eligible to live there.

Continued on page 23

October 17 - October 30, 2012

Community Media photo by Sam Spokony

Antenna steel withheld from 1 W.T.C. One World Trade Center has become embroiled in a conflict involving its steel firm. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, owner of the 1,776-foot-high skyscraper, has sued steel fabricator ADF Steel Corporation for failing to deliver materials to the site that are necessary to complete the building’s antenna and has requested a court order requiring the company to deliver the steel. The company is reportedly withholding the delivery due to an unresolved contract dispute with the bi-state agency.

Port Authority spokesperson Steve Coleman declined to comment as to whether the skyscraper is still on track to open late next year.

7

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October 17 - October 30, 2012

Chinatown BID relaunches clean streets initiative

BY H E L AIN A H O V IT Z Chinatown is taking a second shot at cleaning up its act.

On Mon., Oct. 8, the Chinatown District Management Association, the neighborhood’s Business Improvement District, announced that a new sanitation initiative is officially underway. An eight-member Clean Team will be hitting the streets seven days a week between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. to pick up trash, paint over graffiti and wipe down public fixtures, among other tasks. Two additional team members will be deployed on weekends to clean the area.

The service will resemble the Clean Streets initiative that began in late 2006, the outgrowth of an overwhelming request from local residents, business owners in a post-9/11 survey to improve sanitation in Chinatown.

A power-wash team will be charged with cleaning neighborhood streets, which are notorious for open-storefront fish markets that produce foul-smelling sidewalk run-off.

In attempt to beautify the neighborhood, the team will be painting mailboxes, walls and fire hydrants, in addition to watering flowers and shoveling snow.

The BID also plans to install new signage that will direct people visiting the South Street Seaport or Ground Zero to Chinatown, according to BID Chair David Louie. “The streets are so dirty,” he said, “hopefully the community will notice the difference immediately.

Downtown Express photo by Helaina Hovitz

Wellington Chen (second to right) and fellow Chinatown Business Improvement District representatives at a press conference held on Mon., Oct. 8 at the BID’s St. James Place offices.

“Chinatown isn’t just for Chinese food anymore,” Louie added. “We want to be able to guide visitors about where to eat, drink, shop and bank. This is just the first step for us — our larger goal is to help Chinatown’s small businesses.”

The BID’s board of directors is composed

entirely of volunteers with the exception of Chinatown Partnership Local Development Corporation’s executive director, Wellington Chen, who is there to help put pressure on the public sector. The BID, he said, can advocate for change on behalf of community members who have made formal complaints to 3-1-1 and various other city agencies responsible for quality of life issues in the neighborhood.

“Like Hillary Clinton said, it takes a village,” said Chen of the need for community involvement. “We need storeowners, stakeholders, everyone to bring these things to our attention, and we’ll follow up with the [city] departments. If they know someone’s paying attention, we can get results.”

The BID’s sanitation program is supplemental — the city Departments of Transportation, Health and Mental Hygiene, Sanitation and Consumer Affairs all share the load. In order to keep tabs on the neighborhood, the BID has divided Chinatown into ten zones, a number BID officials said is subject to change.

A problem that recently surfaced, said

Chen, is that bars are illegally dumping empty liquor bottles and other garbage in public trash bins. “Be forewarned, you’ll be publicly fined,” said Chen, referring to the fact that the BID would make sure the Sanitation Department followed up with the perpetrators.

While politicians like state Senator Daniel Squadron and city Comptroller John Liu successfully persuaded the city D.O.T. to repave several streets in the neighborhood, Chen said that these and other neighborhood streets must be properly maintained.

“There is a need for constant upkeep,” he said. “In a year or so, you’re going to have more potholes. It’s an ongoing process.”

The BID’s headquarters at 60 Saint James Place, which opened earlier this year, will serve as a type of community engagement center, according to Chen, who wants people to give feedback on the BID’s performance. “We want people to stop in and tell us what we’re doing well and what we’re not doing well,” he said. “We want to be held accountable and continue to try and improve.”

Through the sanitation initiative, the BID has created jobs for an estimated 30 people and has asked its contractor, Block by Block — a national service provider — to hire locally. According to Chen, there is still a long line of people applying for jobs.

The initiative will be maintained by a ‘special projects ambassador’ who will work year-round. The program also comprises a 900-hour initial blitz to power-wash the streets, paint the fire hydrants and perform other work designed to immediately improve street conditions in Chinatown.

The Chinatown District Management Association is a nonprofit formed in 2011 by neighborhood property owners, city officials and other stakeholders — despite fierce opposition to the initiative by a group of community members. The BID’s catchment area, which spans 60 blocks, is bordered by Broome Street to the north, White, Worth and Madison Streets to the south, Broadway to the west and Allen and Rutgers Streets to the east. It is financed by local property owners.

October 17 - October 30, 2012

9

BID imagines a bright future for traffic-clogged streets

BY T E RE SE LO E B K R E U Z E R The view of Canal Street from the elegantly planted roof of 250 Hudson St., where Edelman Public Relations has its offices, showed the usual gridlock on the evening of Wed., Oct. 10, as cars crawled their way toward the Holland Tunnel. It also showed the dodgy options for pedestrians trying to cross Canal and Hudson Streets.

However, at a press conference staged at Edelman, the staff and board members of the Hudson Square Connection Business Improvement District (BID) presented a rosy vision of the future neighborhood featuring pedestrian-safe streets, lighting, benches and greenery for the commercial district that lies between Soho, Tribeca and the West Village.

The BID hopes to raise much of the funds needed to implement its plans for new lighting and seating, new signage, street modifications and extensive plantings by issuing bonds.

“We are here to unveil our five-year, $27 million streetscape plan called ‘Hudson Square is NOW,’” announced Laura Walker, chair of the Hudson Square Connection’s board of directors.

The Hudson Square neighborhood was formerly a center for printing businesses, most of which have moved out of the city.

The BID is bounded by Canal Street on the south and West Houston Street on the north, and extends from Sixth Avenue on the east to Greenwich Street on the west. It includes

the Holland Tunnel, through which 35 million vehicles pass each year.

Hudson Square is currently home to more than 1,000 businesses and approximately 2,500 residents. An estimated 50,000 people work there, study there or visit.

In July 2010, the Hudson Square Connection issued a Request for Proposals for the development of a comprehensive streetscape improvement plan. In November 2010, the BID selected a team led by Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects.

There are five major components to the plan. A priority will be to transform Spring Street, which connects Hudson Square with the waterfront, into the district’s main street.

Plans include erecting new lighting fixtures on the main street and lining it with trees.

A bleak triangle called Soho Square, which runs between Sixth Avenue and Little Sixth Avenue, is slated to be enhanced with benches, new lighting and trees. It would also be equipped with permeable surfaces designed to absorb rain water and keep it from flooding the sewers and rivers during heavy storms.

Varick Street, a major north-south artery in the district with traffic lanes that feed into the Holland Tunnel, would be provided with benches, high-visibility crosswalks and inground solar lights to aid nighttime pedestrians. There are also tentative plans to create a planted median separating tunnel-bound traffic from through-traffic to give pedestri-

ans a place to pause as they cross the wide, congested street. Because of subway infrastructure, vegetation requiring significant soil cannot be planted on this street. Instead, the architects have come up with customdesigned poles that can support vines.

The scheme for Hudson Street entails transforming it into what the planners refer to as a “grand allée,” with a double row of trees and space for tables and chairs along a widened sidewalk. Each of these “outdoor living rooms,” as the designers call them, would be surrounded by greenery. Bicyclists and pedestrians would be protected from Hudson Street’s heavy traffic by buffered bike lanes.

In addition to these plans, which are specific to certain streets, the entire neighborhood would be spruced up with greenery, comfortable places to sit and public art.

Ellen Baer, president of the Hudson Square Connection, said of the planned bond issue, “We’ll know a little bit better once we go to market exactly how much we’re going to raise.” The balance of the $27 million, she said, would come from the city.

But even without all of the necessary money in hand, Baer said that the BID could embark on its streetscape improvement project. “Each component stands on its own,” she said, “so as we get the money, we’ll be able to build the various components of the project.”

The city, she said, is “very interested” in the multi-pronged proposal. However, she

added, “There are public approvals we still have to get, mostly from the Department of Transportation, the Public Design Commission and other entities that have to approve anything that goes on public land.”

For starters, the BID has begun to install seating and bike racks around the neighborhood. The group has also already installed 11 benches and two pedestrian plazas near the entrance to the Holland Tunnel to give pedestrians protection and respite. “We talked to the city about things we wanted to do,” she said. “They have available programs and we asked them if they would apply them here, and they did.

The city has already planted a couple of dozen trees.”

The Hudson Square Connection was created in 2009 as a non-profit funded through business assessment fees at the rate of 19 cents per commercial square foot. Its 20102011 budget was roughly $1.7 million.

The European history of the area dates from 1705 when Queen Anne of England granted 215 acres to Trinity Church to create a farm that would help finance the new parish. Today, Trinity, one of the city’s largest landowners, still owns 15 acres of its original land grant. In what is now called Hudson Square, the parish controls six million square feet of real estate, and is currently attempting to get the neighborhood rezoned for residential development.

10

October 17 - October 30, 2012

Editorial PUBLISHER

Police must follow the rule of law during demonstrations

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of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, made the right decision when he recently ruled that the New York Police Department illegally arrested large numbers of demonstrators at a protest in Lower Manhattan during the 2004 Republican National Convention. Yet, at the same time, Judge Sullivan upheld certain aspects of how the city handled the protesters’ arrests.

The case concerned a march that occurred on Fulton Street on Aug. 31, 2004, during which more than 200 protesters were corralled with orange nets and arrested. The lawsuit was filed by one group of protesters who were arrested but claimed false arrest. The ruling opens the doors for the city to potentially have to pay damages to more protesters who were arrested at this march.

The judge ruled that police, before making a mass arrest of this kind, needed to know that every individual involved had broken the law. As Judge Sullivan put it in his decision, “The Fourth Amendment does not recognize guilt by association.”

Interestingly, the judge, at the same time, rejected the plaintiffs’ arguments that the city had violated the protesters’ First Amendment rights by not issuing them summonses and releasing them

but instead by putting them through the courts, detaining and fingerprinting them, and then making them appear before a judge. Obviously, all these measures meant that the protesters were tied up in the legal system and not allowed to get back on the streets to try to keep disrupting the R.N.C. The judge found that the no-summons policy passed constitutional muster because it was a response to a threat derived from intelligence sources that the demonstrators were trying to “shut down the city of New York,” and that the policy was only in place “for the brief duration the threat existed.”

In addition to this police conduct, or misconduct, during the R.N.C., many people also believe that the police, in more recent times, violated the rights of Occupy Wall Street demonstrators by making arbitrary arrests, physically suppressing them and otherwise using excessive force.

In the last year, the cops have corralled hundreds of O.W.S. protesters during mass demonstrations in Lower Manhattan. On Oct. 1, 2011, more than 700 protesters were handcuffed during a march to the Brooklyn Bridge. Most of them were charged with disorderly conduct, taken into custody and released the same day.

Many believe that the police trampled on the rights of demonstrators during the Nov. 15, 2011

eviction from the Zuccotti Park encampment.

During that raid, more than 20 credentialed journalists were among the estimated 200 arrested.

The Sparrow Project, an activist group in support of the O.W.S. movement, is now demanding the release of all police footage documenting the eviction of the protesters from Zuccotti Park. The group is also demanding that an independent agency undertake an investigation into the N.Y.P.D.’s overnight raid of the park and review the legality of the media blackout imposed that night by the city.

This plea echoes Congressman Jerrold Nadler’s request late last year for a federally sponsored investigation into O.W.S. arrests in Lower Manhattan and across the country. In the words of Nadler, “This city indeed has a duty to protect the health and safety of all those who live in work in Lower Manhattan, as well as their right to the quiet enjoyment of their community, but that duty must always be discharged with respect for the fundamental First Amendment right to free expression, and to assemble peacefully and petition government for redress of grievances.”

We, the citizens of New York, are all expected to obey the law — if we don’t, we are held responsible for our actions. It is about time that the police are held accountable for theirs.

also understand exactly what type of message it sends to our children to accept a person’s deepest and heartfelt apology — especially when the person demonstrates his remorse through action. It is much harder to forgive than to throw stones — and that is a true lesson of compassion for our children.

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Letters to the Editor

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To the Editor: Re “Gayle Horwitz resigns as B.P.C.A. president” (news article, Sept. 19):

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I was pleased to see the editor’s acknowledgement that the headline calling Gayle Horwitz’s record “tainted” was inaccurate. However, I believe that substituting “tainted” with “mixed” has the similar effect of misrepresenting Ms. Horwitz’s record as the Battery Park City Authority’s president and chief executive officer.

Ms. Horwitz is a rare public servant who served the community well. I have seen a lot of government officials in my time, and Ms. Horwitz has been among the most conscientious. She saved taxpayers a huge amount of dollars and is among the Cuomo administration’s appointments that are at the vanguard of fiscal responsibility. I hope for similarly wise spending in these difficult financial times.

Bob Townley Executive Director, Manhattan Downtown Community Center

Youth

To the Editor: Re Letter to the Editor in response to the Sept. 19 news article, “Gayle Horwitz resigns as B.P.C.A. president”:

Tom Goodkind Battery Park City resident To the Editor: Re “Residents, politicians rally against L.E.S. Pathmark closure” (web article, Oct. 10): A&P/Pathmark executives should have the decency to meet face-to-face with community residents, since according to the Lo-Down, the company will receive at least $87 million for the lease.

A&P is controlled by Ron Burkle (founder and current chair of private-equity holdings firm Yucaipa Companies), whose worth exceeds $30 billion and who contributes million of dollars every year to the Democratic Party.

Since the Dems claim to represent us lowerincome folks, surely A&P can come up with an alternative site, or provide free bus service across the Manhattan Bridge to the Atlantic Avenue Pathmark in Brooklyn. According to store employees, that Pathmark grosses more than $1 million each week!

Sam Martin

Ms. Horwitz, formerly of the Battery Park City Authority, should not have vetoed the lion artwork after Community Board 1 voted 5-to-1 in favor of the project.

In answer to Lisa Gilroy and Chi Mo of Flushing: I am a compassionate and dedicated vegan, but I

To the Editor: Re “Chinatown BID relaunches clean streets initiative” (web article, Oct. 10): It seems that this company, Block by Block, is

Louie Wong To the Editor: Re “Chinatown BID relaunches clean streets initiative” (news article, Oct. 10): Take note of this quote from Mr. Louie: “Chinatown isn’t just for Chinese food anymore.

We want to be able to guide visitors about where to eat, drink, shop and bank. This is just the first step for us — our larger goal is to help Chinatown’s small businesses.”

What this is all about is the destruction of the character of Chinatown. It is a real estate, interests-driven initiative to deny the traditional flavor of Chinatown by destroying it. Greedy, envious people who want to turn Chinatown into a neighborhood like Soho or Nolita are behind this. The whole mantra about cleaning up the sidewalks is a smoke screen. They aren’t going to help small businesses, they’re going to root them out and replace them.

Subway Sam E-mail letters no longer than 300 words in length to aline@downtownexpress.com, fax to 212-229-2790 or mail to Downtown Express, Letters to the Editor, 515 Canal St., Suite 1C, NY, NY 10013. Please include a phone number for confirmation purposes. Downtown Express reserves the right to edit letters for space, grammar, clarity and libel. Downtown Express does not publish anonymous letters.

October 17 - October 30, 2012

11

Talking Point

The city’s broken promise to Downtown parents B Y ERIC GREENLEAF

DOWNTOWN’S WORST SCHOOL

overcrowding fears have come true. A fouryear-old school, The Battery Park City School (Public School 276), shouldn’t have 160 percent of the kids it was designed to hold. Nor should it be forced to admit five kindergarten classes for two years in a row when it was intended to take just three classes per year. No neighborhood should have to find out the hard way that 200 of its preschoolers have no place to attend kindergarten when they turn five, yet Lower Manhattan’s children and their families now face these grim prospects.

In the past decade the city made many promises to rejuvenate Downtown. It kept those promises to investment banks and real estate developers to the tune of billions of dollars in tax incentives and abatements, while helping to direct billions more in liberty bonds to developers. Over 20,000 new apartments have been built in Downtown since 9/11, and upwards of 6,000 more units are planned or under construction.

All of these incentives to banks and developers worked. The 2010 census showed that Community District 1 grew by 77 percent, more than four times faster than any other community district in the city. The number of children under age five grew by an astounding 147 per-

BY JANEL BLADOW Summer breezed by much too fast again this year. Am I the only one who still hasn’t broken out her winter wear?

GOBLIN-GOOK…

The end of the month is looming! All of you who love treats, scary stuff and dressing up should gather around again for the 23rd annual trick-ortreat event in the South Street Seaport. As in the past, young tricksters sporting all types of ware — from ballerinas to firemen costumes — will gather with their adult companions at FishBridge Park (at Water and Dover Streets) at 6 p.m. on Wed., Oct. 31 (Halloween night). From there, the parade will circle around the neighborhood, stopping at all of the treaters’ doors.

Flyers will be posted in buildings and around the ‘hood with the important details.

Neighbors are encouraged to sign up to help decorate FishBridge Park the day before, stringing lights, hanging skeletons and spreading cobwebs. If you have decorated jack o’lanterns, bring them along! Volunteers are also needed to distribute flyers and posters, sign up treat-givers, serve as route directors and kid-wranglers and clean up the

cent. But the city has broken its promise to all of the families who, by moving or staying here, supported Downtown when the neighborhood needed them most. Now, they must contend with overcrowded public schools and the city’s entrenched denial that additional new schools are needed to accompany this rapid growth.

The facts are crystal clear. In September, Downtown’s six public elementary schools enrolled 472 kindergarteners, but they were built to take only 400. Worse yet, the city’s unwise policy of borrowing school seats ahead of time in Downtown’s new schools has run head-on into an ugly reality, since parents’ warnings that those schools would run out of space have now came true. P.S. 276 now has only two classrooms left for the five kindergarten sections expected in 2013, while The Spruce Street School (P.S. 397) has only two classrooms left for an anticipated three kindergarten sections.

P.S. 397 will have no room for any of its 2014 kindergarteners, endangering the opening of its promised middle school, and it is very likely that the new Peck Slip School will enroll more students in the next two years than its temporary Tweed Courthouse location can hold.

Though new seats will become available once Peck Slip moves to its new building in 2015 — its capacity was recently expanded to 712 — there will still be nowhere near enough seats for the district. What’s more, Downtown

hasn’t stopped growing. Births have increased from 824 in 2007 to 1,086 in 2010, resulting in 32 percent more Downtown kindergarteners in 2015 — meaning that 650 kindergarteners will be vying for 475 neighborhood seats that will be available that year. Downtown, in other words, needs a total of 1,200 more elementary school seats, and it needs them soon.

In the face of this overwhelming evidence, the city claims that Downtown doesn’t need any more new schools. It clings to enrollment forecasts that assume that the district’s population growth, birth rate and the likelihood that new apartments here will be occupied by families with public school children are the same as for all of Manhattan, even though Downtown ranks much higher in all of these criteria. The city refuses to even recognize Downtown as a neighborhood, instead cleaving it in half down Broadway and joining each side of the community district to other neighborhoods that stretch to 14th Street, three miles away from the Battery.

In recent years, Lower Manhattan parents and elected officials have worked hard to get new schools, and the city eventually listened.

Today, the city’s refusal to face the facts gives every reason to worry that area children and their families are becoming victims of a calculated end game, by which the city hopes to muddle through 2013 by continuing to over-

stuff schools. This, in turn, will force the city to close pre-K programs (along with science and art rooms), send five-year-olds to distant schools that have no room and then hand the whole mess, along with the blame, over to a new administration on Jan. 1, 2014.

What can be done? Downtown parents must double their determination to make the city mend its broken promise to their neighborhoods. Here are a few suggestions: First, the parents must all work together.

They can’t view overcrowding as an issue handled by a few activists. Overcrowding will hurt every child in every Downtown school, as well as preschoolers who could be shut out of their neighborhood school altogether.

Second, the Downtown community must send a unified message to elected officials that proceeds from the three buildings up for sale at 49 – 51 Chambers St., 22 Reade St. and 346 Broadway should be directed to fund new schools in the area. Using the money for cultural institutions and affordable housing is laudable, but our children’s education deserves first priority.

Third, parents need to try to eliminate the city’s end-game mentality by letting the Bloomberg administration know that it will have a clear memory of this issue down the road. After all, public school overcrowding, even three and fours years from now, is the present administration’s responsibility and legacy.

park the day after. If you sign up to hand out treats, come downstairs with your goodies.

You won’t be disappointed — rest assured there will be sugar and smiles all around!

This longstanding tradition has been a huge neighborhood hit. Last year, the number of tricksters swelled to more than 100.

The parade travels down Water Street to Beekman Street and back up along Front Street, stopping at all registered residential buildings, restaurants and shops along the way. The kids score big with candy, cupcakes and all sorts of treats. So get your ghoulish on! It promises to be a spook-tacular night!

Fund (S.R.F.) on Tues., Sept. 18 with a gala dinner at Cipriani Wall Street. The fund’s founders, Henry G. Jarecki, Henry Kaufman, Thomas A. Russo and George Soros, received a humanitarian award from Vermont Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy and Princess Ghida Talal of Jordon. Ernestina Naadu Mills accepted a posthumous award for her husband, former Ghana president John Atta Mills, from Ann Stock, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs.

While those are all big names in the sphere of movers and shakers, the standout scholar that I met and had a chance to speak with was a very humble, peaceful man named Abdul Sattar Jawad. Born in Iraq, Prof. Jawad received a Ph.D. in English literature and journalism from City University London. He is an expert on the works of William Shakespeare and T.S. Eliot (he translated Eliot’s “Waste Land” into Arabic).

Also an expert on Iraqi media and academia, he has written 14 books and edited newspapers and literary journals in English and Arabic. He was dean of the College of Arts at Al-Mustansiriya University in Baghdad and edited that city’s only English-language newspaper, the Baghdad Mirror. After three

attempts by the Mahdi Army to kill him, Prof. Jawad fled through the back door of his university as protesters chanted, “Death to Dean Sattar!” Only a month earlier, he had escaped his newspaper office five minutes before it was bombed by Islamic militants.

In April 2005, he and his family fled their homeland. The S.R.F. helped them escape and since then, Prof. Jawad has taught at Harvard University, the University of Mississippi and Duke University, where he is currently professor of comparative literature and Asian and Middle Eastern studies.

Prof. Jawad talked to me about peace, love and understanding, and the importance of poetry and beauty in our lives.

As he spoke, I quickly realized why this international organization is so important.

There were 30 great reasons present that night: 30 of the 450 scholars rescued from 48 countries since the S.R.F.’s inception in 2002 were on hand. The scholars now represent nearly 300 institutions in 40 countries around the world, working as professors and attending classes as students.

Prof. Jawad says the S.R.F. is not only a lifeboat for scholars but an honorable way of life for academics. “I would be dead if I had stayed in Iraq,” he said.

FLOWER POWER…

For those who want to get a little grubby to make our part of Manhattan a more colorful place, join the Downtown Alliance in planting thousands of tulips in Bowling Green Park at Whitehall Street on Sat., Oct. 20 from 10 a.m. to noon.

Gloves, tools and bulbs are supplied by the city Department of Parks and Recreation.

There will be refreshments and activities for the kids.

SAVING OUR SCHOLARS… The Institute of International Education celebrated the 10th Anniversary of its Scholar Rescue

12

October 17 - October 30, 2012

Eastern medicine put to the test on city dogs

BY J A NE L B L A D O W As the first thin, shiny needle was inserted into the top of Aloha’s head, you could swear a smile crept across her face. Once she was crowned with several needles, the 13-year-old purebred English springer spaniel lowered her head and sank into a Zen-like state — never mind that 15 people stood around her, mouths agape and cameras snapping.

Aloha was enjoying her Acupuncture treatment and wasn’t embarrassed to show how good it felt.

This was the demo portion of the first of a series of three seminars over six weeks presented by the Downtown Veterinary Medical Hospitals Group at Animal Haven on Centre Street. The course, dubbed Pet Acupuncture and Alternative Medicine and taught by veterinarians Lucy O’Bryne and Kristin Lester, outlines the history of acupuncture and its application to cats, dogs and other animals.

The Oct. 16 course, which focused on pet dentistry and taking care of a pet’s smile, featured a demonstration on how to properly brush the pet’s teeth. The program will wrap up on Tues., Nov. 13 with a class on senior pet care. The discussion, which will center on “how to help keep that spring in your pet’s step,� according to the itinerary, will teach ways to care for an older pet, including red flags to look for as the animal ages. “Veterinarians came to us wanting to get the word out about pet awareness on hot topics, so it’s a win-win for everyone,� said

Animal Haven executive director Tiffany Lacey of the program. “We can teach about responsible pet ownership, and the vet’s office shows what they’re doing.�

On the drizzly Tuesday night of the Acupuncture class, approximately 25 pet owners and five dogs showed up at the shelter. Dr. Lester, who works out of the group’s Seaport and Battery Park veterinary hospitals, opened with an overview of acupuncture, which began as bloodletting procedure in 900 B.C. It only became an acceptable treatment for animals about 50 years ago, even though documentation of animal acupuncture exists dating back to as early as 621 B.C. Animals have 173 acupuncture points — compared to the human count of 361 — that control energy flow, or what acupuncturists refer to as Qi. The goal is to maintain the energy flow in yin and yang. “It’s a whole system approach, not just treating the symptoms we see now,� said Dr. Lester in explaining the difference between acupuncture and forms of Western medicine.

Thin, sterile needles carefully inserted into the dog’s skin stimulate points along the pathways of nerves, arteries and veins. This activates impulse relays and chemical reactions that increase blood flow and decrease inflammation, thereby reducing the nervous system’s reaction to pain.

The average acupuncture session lasts between 20 minutes and an hour, and most ani-

Photo courtesy of Terry Li

Aloha, an English springer spaniel, is punctured with a series of needles from her head to her haunches.

mals need one or two sessions a week for two to four weeks to recover. Dr. Lester has treated animals with the Eastern medical practice for everything from stomach upsets, chronic hip ailments and behavior problems such as anxiety. “I can tell it helps by the way they look during and after treatment,� said Dr. O’Byrne, who is based at West Village Veterinary Hospital.

As did her pooch Aloha during the demonstration, most dogs become relaxed and peaceful,

she said. Some of them even fall asleep.

Sedation, therefore, isn’t usually required and, like humans, animals experience a warm tingly or itchy sensation where the needles are inserted. “I think animals are tougher than us. “The day after, the animal is calmer,� said Dr. O’Bryne, noting that pet owners can determine if the treatment is working a couple days later, when signs of the dog’s or cat’s progress typically appear.

According to the veterinarians, acupuncture is a big help in treating pets’ behavior problems such as separation anxiety. “Animals with anxiety and food issues in general benefit from treatment,� Dr. O’Bryne noted. “It helps dogs who are super stressed or afraid of noise.�

Animal acupuncture isn’t used to treat cancer, open wounds, fractures or unstable spinal injuries. The veterinarians recommended using a combination of Eastern therapies — acupuncture and herbal treatment — and Western medicine to cure pets’ health issues.

Older pets, too, can be helped with treatments for stimulating appetite, limb troubles and hip and bladder problems. “No age is too old,� said Dr. O’Bryne. “Some older dogs can’t walk for a couple days after as their bodies heal.�

Though each case needs to be considered individually, there is a very low probability that acupuncture will injure the animal, according to the veterinarian. “Ninety-nine percent of the time it’s worth trying.�

To R.S.V.P. for the next seminar, visit www.AnimalHavenShelter.org.

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13

October 17 - October 30, 2012

‘Jenga’ building doesn’t fly with local residents

BY J E SS S C A N LO N The notion of a new high-rise residential building in Tribeca is not sitting well among neighborhood residents.

Nicknamed “Jenga” after the popular puzzle game for its unusual design, the Leonard Street development is poised to become the highest building in Tribeca, standing 800 feet tall at more than 57 stories. Unlike most buildings in the area, the Jenga building is designed as a postmodern structure with a glass-and-steel facade.

But despite the lack of enthusiasm about the building, construction of the city-approved project at 56 Leonard St. has already begun.

Members of Community Board 1’s Tribeca Committee, which saw renderings of the development at its Oct. 10 meeting, reacted negatively to the idea of having such a tall building among the area’s numerous low-rise structures.

Committee member Noel Jefferson asserted that the building does not belong in the neighborhood. “We need to make people understand we’re not 57th Street, we’re Tribeca,” she said.

The building’s location at 56 Leonard St. is adjacent to New York Law School, which previously owned the land. A corporation set up for the property called 56 Leonard L.L.C. now owns the building. Real estate company Alexico Group lists the Tribeca property as a new development.

Records from the City Register Office’s database show that the Alexico Group received extra financing from the New York branch of Hypothekenbank Frankfurt AG, a German real estate bank.

C.B. 1 documents show that the property is sandwiched between the Tribeca East and Tribeca West historic districts. Since the lot sits just outside of Tribeca’s historic districts, its zoning allows for a high-rise building.

Lynn Ellsworth — founder of the Tribeca Trust, a new, local organization that seeks to preserve the neighborhood’s historic and architectural character — is equally displeased with the proposed high-rise development. Despite the fact that 56 Leonard St. is outside of the historic districts, Ellsworth believes it is too close to those areas. Tribeca, she said, is supposed to be a “livable historic district,” and such a property doesn’t belong in the neighborhood.

“Look at Paris,” she said. “They can’t build

anything bigger than the Eiffel Tower.”

The project was designed by the Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron. The company has put together a website devoted to the future building, which contains several positive reviews of the design, digital models and details about the makeup of the future building. Despite its moniker, the Jenga building will not be made out of wood; it will be constructed of glass, steel and concrete.

The building, whose construction is already underway, is scheduled for completion in spring 2016, according to representatives from the construction company Lend Lease who attended the Tribeca Committee meeting.

Tony DelGreco, the project’s senior manager and site supervisor, spoke of the more technical aspects of the project and about the general process of constructing the building. His team would be pumping concrete through a pipe hundreds of feet above the ground to create 56 Leonard St.’s elaborate floors.

Community relations liaison Sharon Stern, representing Lend Lease, distributed a hotline number in case neighborhood residents had any concerns during the project’s construction. She told the committee that calls would be returned within 24 to 48 hours and that her company would be completely transparent with C.B. 1.

Ehrmann responded to Stern’s claims of transparency by reminding her that Lend Lease had not been so transparent in the past.

Regardless of the name change, the company is the same one that was partially responsible for the demolition of 130 Liberty St., where two firefighters died in an August 2007 fire.

The company, which also has a history of illegal overbilling, is still viewed by some local residents and others as untrustworthy.

Committee member Jeff Ehrlich, who also voiced skepticism about Lend Lease’s reliability, later referred to the hotline as “an answering machine.”

“They should set up a hotline,” he said.

Ellsworth sees the development as a new opportunity for Tribeca to realize the type of neighborhood it wants to be.

“This could be a wake-up call for Tribeca to expand and better protect our historic districts,” she said.

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October 17 - October 30, 2012

B Y TERESE LOEB KREUZER

TUNNEL TO TOWERS RUN: Battery Park City is a popular place for fundraising events, but few of them compare in size to the annual Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Run. This year on Sun., Sept. 30, a record number of 28,000 runners and an estimated 7,000 spectators showed up. The run, now in its 11th year, honors firefighter Stephen Siller, who died on 9/11 at the age of 34. He was off duty that day when he heard that the World Trade Center had been attacked. Immediately, he went to his firehouse in Brooklyn for his firefighting equipment.

When his car was blocked from entering the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, he ran through it on foot carrying 75 pounds of gear on his back.

The run, started by Siller’s family, replicates his route, starting in Red Hook, Brooklyn and ending 3.1 miles away on West Street just south of Chambers Street. The runners, who range in age from 8 to 80, come from all over the country and the world. Some are firefighters themselves who run wearing their gear just as Siller did. Members of all branches of the military participate, and running alongside them are veterans who were grievously wounded in combat. Some of the veterans run on artificial feet, while others push themselves along in wheelchairs or are pushed along because they no longer have legs or arms.

The Tunnel to Towers Run raises money for charities including Building for America’s Bravest, which constructs customized, fully furnished homes known as smart houses that are equipped with easy-to-operate amenities for the badly wounded veterans. Three of these houses, which cost around $500,000 each, have been finished, and five others are almost finished. The money also goes to burn centers and to the families of military personnel who were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Some Battery Park City residents find the Tunnel to Towers Run to be a big inconvenience. Streets are closed, bus stops have to be moved and the event creates litter and noise. But many residents who are aware of

Downtown Express photos by Terese Loeb Kreuzer

John Scarano, designer of the schooner America 2.0, kept an eye on the rigging as the boat passed Battery Park City during the Classic Week Schooner Race in New York Harbor.

Siller’s sacrifice and saw at the race strong young men and women in their prime and veterans who lead difficult, painful lives accepted the temporary hassles.

There are now more than 60 Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers fundraising runs in various parts of the United States and abroad in Afghanistan, England and Turkey.

The original run took place in B.P.C. — no place is more moving to those who were there or knew those who were there on 9/11.

NEW YORK CLASSIC WEEK: Abetted by strong winds, seven stunning sailboats scooted around New York harbor the first weekend of October during the annual New York Classic Week Schooner Race, organized by the New York Harbor Sailing Foundation under the direction of North Cove Marina’s Commodore Michael Fortenbaugh.

On Sat., Oct. 6, the yachts raced from North Cove to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and back. The next day, they sailed to the Statue of Liberty, and on Mon., Oct. 8, they circumnavigated Governors Island.

America II, which raced for the America’s Cup trophy in 1987 and which now belongs

An estimated 28,000 people participated in the 11th annual Tunnel to Towers Run, held in memory of late firefighter Stephen Siller.

to the New York Harbor Sailing Foundation, won on Saturday. Black Watch, which was built in 1938 for the Schaefer family of Larchmont, N.Y. and was completely refurbished by the New York Yacht Club, its current owners, won on Sunday and Monday.

The Adirondack and America 2.0, which sailed for the Classic Harbor Line, also participated, as did the Salty and the Irie. Salty has been owned by the same family for the last 43 years. Tiny Irie, only 15 feet long, was built on the small island of Bequia in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. According to Fortenbaugh, the schooner race was the first time a boat from Bequia sailed around the Statue of Liberty. The owner, David Taylor, also from Bequia, reportedly celebrated back at the dock with a couple of beers.

On Sun., Oct. 7, Ticonderoga, one of the nation’s most famous yachts, sailed in the race. Launched in 1936, the vessel finished first in 24 of her first 37 races and holds more than 30 course records.

ASPHALT GREEN BATTERY PARK CITY STILL IN LIMBO: More than a month has passed since it came to light that contractual issues with Asphalt Green have been partly responsible for holding up the opening of the Battery Park City Community Center at 212 North End Ave. The Battery Park City Authority, which underwrote the construction of the $55 million center, has also cited permitting problems as a cause for the delay. The community center was originally supposed to open last November. In anticipation of the opening, many people began paying membership dues starting the previous June.

At Community Board 1’s Battery Park City Committee meeting on Tues., Oct. 2, Battery Park City Committee co-chair George Calderaro initiated a discussion about the situation. After mulling it over for around 30 minutes, the committee decided to draft a resolution to present to the full board at its next meeting on Tues., Oct. 23.

The resolution will express the committee’s dismay at the “lack of transparency” from

both the B.P.C.A. and Asphalt Green with regard to the underlying issues surrounding the center’s long-delayed opening.

The committee wants the B.P.C.A. and elected officials to work together to expedite the opening. It also wants the B.P.C.A. and Asphalt Green to publicly address the contractual issues that divide them and to speedily come to a resolution.

Concerns about the usage of the B.P.C. ball fields are a part of that resolution. In January 2010, C.B. 1 approved a memorandum of understanding (M.O.U.) with the B.P.C.A. stating that only one-third of the ball field space would be used by the community center. C.B. 1 wants assurance that this agreement will be honored.

In addition, the B.P.C. Committee has asked the board’s office to contact the city Department of Buildings and the Fire Department to get information from them directly about outstanding permitting issues.

Former Downtown Little League director Mark Costello, a member of the board’s B.P.C. Community Center Task Force, has additional concerns that other board members share. “If the Battery Park City Authority is attempting to renegotiate the finances with Asphalt Green, it may be the right thing to do from the Authority’s perspective,” he said, “but there’s a social cost that’s not getting talked about.”

The Asphalt Green membership fees and programs announced months ago are expensive, Costello remarked. People with a C.B. 1 zip code shouldn’t be kept from using the community center because they can’t afford it. “It has to be said repeatedly that this is a priority,” he said. “It should be in writing.” The management agreement between the B.P.C.A. and Asphalt Green is explicit as to what kinds of flowerpots Asphalt Green can use, Costello noted, but it says nothing about affordable senior programs, for example.

To comment on Battery Park City Beat or to suggest article ideas, e-mail Terese Loeb Kreuzer at TereseLoeb10@gmail.com.

15

October 17 - October 30, 2012

Downtown Express photos by Milo Hess

Who knew there are seahorses in the Hudson?

At Pier 25 on Sat., Oct. 6, the Lilac steamship hosted an open house showcasing an exhibition by The River Project (the marine science field station based at Pier 40) made up of live specimens from the Hudson River. A blue crab and a seahorse were noteworthy examples of catches pulled up from the sides of the Lilac that delighted old and young visitors alike. The following Saturday, young volunteers schlepped down to Pier 25 to turn minipumpkins into works of art with paint, glitter and glue in preparation for Halloween.

16

October 17 - October 30, 2012

Continued from page 3

completed and to allow subway riders to transfer between the Cortlandt Street ‘R’ station and the other neighborhood subway lines for free.

The concourse, once open, will connect the R line and the 2, 3, 4, 5, A, J and Z lines at the future Fulton Center.

In a resolution dated Oct. 3, C.B. 1’s Financial District Committee asks that the M.T.A. open the concourse immediately upon completion and allow for free access and prominent signage in order to “encourage use of mass transit in an area increasingly affected by vehicular congestion.” Until the opening of the Dey Street Concourse, the resolution continues, “C.B. 1 strongly urges that the M.T.A. immediately establish a policy of free transfers for passengers who must exit and re-enter these stations.”

Though construction of the below-grade tunnel is nearly complete, it would be too costly to maintain the pedestrian passageway until the entire transit center is finished, since a very small number of straphangers regularly use it.

“Our study, when we first rolled out the project, came up with a number of about five people a day that would utilize that transfer,” said M.T.A. spokesperson Kevin Ortiz, adding,

“There are numerous options where you can connect to the ‘R’ from other lines already in existence in both Brooklyn and Manhattan.”

Currently, the R train connects with the 4/5 lines at Canal Street and at Union Square, Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center and Borough Hall. The R also connects with the A/C at Times Square and at the Jay StreetMetroTech station.

MORE HIGH-TECH TRASH CANS INSTALLED IN LOWER MANHATTAN New solar compacting waste stations boasting five times the capacity of a conventional trash can have been installed on select streets in the Financial District, according to the Alliance for Downtown New York, the area’s Business Improvement District.

A total of five BigBelly stations adorned with maps of Lower Manhattan can be found at the northeast corners of Broadway and Maiden Lane and Church Street and Cortlandt Street; and the southwest corners of Broadway and Vesey Street and Water Street and Fulton Street. The fifth BigBelly is on the northwest corner of Water Street and Wall Street. The installations follow the ceremonious placement of a BigBelly on Continued on page 23

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Pier 17 developer grilled about maritime use, zoning Continued from page 1

will be publicly accessible waterfront space — including 32,000 square feet of yardage to the north of the future shopping center. A 63-footlong cutout will reference the original configuration of Piers 17 and 18 as two separate piers.

The project is set for completion in 2015.

According to the latest design proposal, the building will be divided into two floor plates, which will allow natural sunlight to filter in and reach the ground-floor level.

“When it rains, the rain will come right down through the middle of the building,” said Gregg Pasquarelli, a partner at SHoP Architects. “We think it will really have this great engagement of the waterfront.”

The Link Building, adjoined to the pierside mall, was also redesigned so that it doesn’t obstruct the view from the pier of the neighboring Tin Building. According to the latest design, the refurbished Link Building, which will consist of transparent glass doors, will house a fresh food market run by local produce operators. And, if the designers get the necessary approvals, Fulton Plaza, the open decking area at the foot of Fulton Street, will have a permanent performance stage whose programming may synchronize with the pier’s rooftop entertainment.

Howard Hughes Corp. is requesting a change in the zoning of the pier and the sur-

Rendering courtesy of SHoP Architects

Howard Hughes Corp., the developer of Pier 17, presented new designs of the future pier to Community Board 1 earlier this month.

rounding historic district in order to enable a broader range of retail use at the future pier and make the zoning consistent with that of the southward section of the East River waterfront.

According to the developer, the existing C-28 zoning is a vestige of the Manhattan Landing Plan, which dates back to the early 1970s and features concentrated clusters of housing along the waterfront. The proposed mix of retail, the development proposal says, will “serve to complement the growing residential and worker

populations in the area by catering more to the tastes of local residents and workers.”

C.B. 1 members eagerly inquired about a master plan for the South Street Seaport, which would entail a redevelopment of the area surrounding Pier 17. But Chris Curry, Howard Hughes Corp.’s senior executive vice president of development, gave the same reply he has given in recent months: “The project before you stands on its own,” he said, adding, “The objective is to make an immediate investment in the Seaport

while providing an iconic experience unlike anything else in the city.” Additional redevelopment plans for the neighborhood would require further ULURP action that would undergo city vetting.

The lack of a master plan provoked C.B. 1 Planning Committee Chair Jeff Galloway and other board members to question the need for a rezoning of the entire district. “I would be reluctant to talk about zoning changes for something where we’d have no idea for what’s going to [be there],” said Galloway.

The Historic Districts Council, which testified at the C.B. 1 meeting, also opposed Howard Hughes’s application to rezone the entire district — saying, “Rezoning should only come after specific plans have met all the other necessary approvals.”

However, the City Planning Commission — tasked with reviewing the plan before it is sent to City Council — would prefer a neighborhood-wide rezoning proposal to one that would only alter the zoning regulations of Pier 17, according to Paul Selver, an attorney representing Howard Hughes Corp. “It’s an easier map to administer when it doesn’t have another district there stuck in at some place,” he said.

Vessel operators and maritime advocates voiced anxiety about the amount of docking space at the pier once it is renovated.

Southbridge Towers resident Tom Berton, Continued on page 24

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W.T.C. health clinics lack resources to provide adequate care Continued from page 5

respect to getting treatment at the W.T.C. clinics. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Everybody is thrilled and grateful that [the program exists],â&#x20AC;? she said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;but those have been the two things that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve consistently heard, the lack of mental health support and the lack of continued access and ease of process.â&#x20AC;?

While Reibman said that no additional paperwork is involved once patients are deemed eligible for treatment, she acknowledged that the program has its inconveniences. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We certainly understand that entering the hospital, coming up to Bellevue, is a barrier â&#x20AC;&#x201D; that coming to weekly sessions is a barrier,â&#x20AC;? she said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;and that we need to look at this in ways that would make it easier.â&#x20AC;?

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Celeb actors grace South Street Seaport Museum gala B Y TERESE LOEB KREUZER The august, Upper East Side edifices housing the Museum of the City of New York and its neighbor, the New York Academy of Medicine, were the setting a recent gala to benefit the much more humble South Street Seaport Museum.

A year ago, the South Street Seaport Museum almost closed. M.C.N.Y. director Susan Henshaw Jones and her uptown team agreed to spend at least a year to try to save it.

Schermerhorn Row on Fulton Street, where the South Street Seaport Museum is located, dates from 1810. Its buildings once sheltered counting houses, maritime businesses and cheap hotels used by sailors and other itinerants. Graffiti from earlier occupants still adorn its walls. After more than two centuries, its floors slope, and remnants of abandoned staircases and ancient elevators punctuate the galleries. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are working, shoulder to shoulder, to help assure the future of the Seaport Museum,â&#x20AC;? said Jones to the audience of around 375 people that filled the auditorium at the New York Academy of Medicine on Mon., Oct. 15. They had paid $100 to $2,500 a ticket to be there.

The gala netted around $90,000 for the South Street Seaport Museum, which will be added to the museumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s general operating fund.

The eveningâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s program began with a screening of historic films about whaling.

Downtown Express photo by Terese Loeb Kreuzer

Actor Matthew Broderick at the Oct. 15 South Street Seaport Museum gala.

One of them from the National Geographic Channel showed an underwater view of a pod of sperm whales as they were communicating, feeding and resting. A live performance of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer George Crumbâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s melancholy score â&#x20AC;&#x153;Voice of the Whale,â&#x20AC;? which accompanied the film, evoked the graceful movements of the whales and their haunting sounds. Another film, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hunting Leviathan,â&#x20AC;? depicted the dangerous, bloody business of whaling. Next came a reading of excerpts from Herman

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Melville would have known the Schermerhorn Row buildings. He was born in New York City in 1819 and died here in 1891. He went to sea as a young man and came home to write about it. â&#x20AC;&#x153;No writer ever put reality before the reader more unflinchingly,â&#x20AC;? said Nathaniel

Philbrick, who introduced the readers and served as moderator. Philbrick, a best-selling author and a Melville expert, was quoting author Nathaniel Hawthorne, to whom Melville dedicated â&#x20AC;&#x153;Moby-Dick.â&#x20AC;?

Animated by accomplished actors â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Jonathan Epstein, Matthew Rauch and John Douglas Thompson along with Broderick â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Melvilleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s powerful, precise and poetic words evoked the majesty of the sea and Captain Ahabâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s demented quest for the white whale named Moby-Dick, who had maimed him.

So Melville wrote, â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was a sight full of quick wonder and awe!â&#x20AC;? they read. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Not the raw recruit, marching from the bosom of his wife into the fever heat of his first battle; not the dead manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ghost encountering the first unknown phantom in the other world; â&#x20AC;&#x201D; neither of these can feel stranger and stronger emotions than that man does, who for the first time finds himself pulling into the charmed, churned circle of the hunted sperm whale.â&#x20AC;?

Philbrick ends his recent book, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Why Read Moby-Dick?â&#x20AC;? by ascribing to Melville a â&#x20AC;&#x153;redemptive mixture of skepticism and hopeâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;genial stoicism in the face of a short, ridiculous and irrational life.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is why I read â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Moby-Dick,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? he said, and why he thinks others should, too.

Gala ticketholders munched on those thoughts along with pastries as they sipped their champagne and talked in part about the future of the little Downtown museum.

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Community mourns the loss of a beloved rabbi Continued from page 1

Hospital to ring in the Jewish New Year by blowing the shofar, a religious horn.

Even while in pain following the colonoscopy, the rabbi went out of his way to help others. Late last month, Hager visited Michael Kay, another member of the minyan, at his home in New Jersey to comfort him as he mourned the loss of his mother. Hager first became part of Kay’s life 20 years ago when his father died.

Hager, a soft-spoken man with a warm, easy smile, became a father figure to countless other men after their fathers passed away, providing them with boundless comfort and hope.

Several people at the service spoke of the rabbi’s unrelenting kindness. “His suggestions came from a genuine place of kindness and empathy, which instantly opened my heart up to him,” said Jeffrey Wein, a member of the congregation.

Although Rabbi Hager had no children of his own, the minyan of the Wall Street Synagogue, as well as the rest of the congregation, became a part of his extended family.

He adored children and often frequented neighborhood stores to stock up on small toys and candy. He always had an open hand full of these baubles, gifts he gave out not only on holidays but all year round.

Downtown Express photo by Helaina Hovitz

Rabbi Meyer Hager

“Giving out those little gifts is what gave him his greatest pleasure,” said Kopel. “He was happiest when little kids were in the Shul, even crying babies.”

The initiative to create a Hebrew school at the Wall Street Synagogue was Hager’s own, as was the idea to start holding annual Purim and Hanukkah parties, which have become beloved holiday traditions for the local community.

While his age was a well-kept secret, his legacy of acceptance, wisdom and compassion was timeless. Relaxed and unpretentious are other words commonly used to describe Hager — traits that are atypical of most other rabbis, according to members of his minyan.

The rabbi remained humble and modest, seeking no recognition for the good that he did, according to minyan Ron Stein. “There are people who do things for others and claim a lot of credit for it, but he’d never do that,” he said. “His notion was that everybody, no matter who they were, was welcome to come in. No questions asked, he was there to listen.”

Kopel echoed that while a Shul — the Yiddish word for prayer space — usually caters to one specific Jewish sect, everyone intermingled at Hager’s house of prayer.

“Everyone belonged, and everyone was welcome. That came straight from the top, under his leadership,” he said.

Rabbi Hager was equally welcoming to people of other faiths, according to Southbridge Towers resident Ondina Nieves, who said he always personally invited her to parties and celebrations at the synagogue.

“He knew I wasn’t Jewish, but that didn’t matter. He’d always tell me, ‘We’re gonna have something this week, come by and have some latkes!’” Nieves said.

On Sept. 11, 2001, Hager stood vigilantly at the synagogue’s entrance, welcoming in all those looking for help, guidance and solace — including the men at the neighboring firehouse. From then on, Hager kept his doors open for the men of Engine 6, with whom the synagogue shares a wall.

“He was a big part of helping this house heal after 9/11,” said Engine 6 Captain Daniel Sheehan. “We looked after each other after that.

He took care of us, and we looked after him.”

In closing the memorial service, Wein told the congregation spilling out onto Beekman Street that when he first started attending the synagogue, he would always take a seat far in the back of the Shul early in the morning. Each time, without fail, Rabbi Hager was there, holding out a welcoming hand and beckoning him forward.

“No matter what my mood was, it changed. He literally made my day,” said Wein. “He changed me, and I changed others with whom I came into contact. And that was how he touched the lives of so many.”

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23

October 17 - October 30, 2012

Possible SPURA dev pledges 100 percent low-income housing Continued from page 6

“These people and their families deserve a chance to live on the Lower East Side, too,” said the spokesperson. “We want a diverse and integrated community, not a large sloth of low-income housing, which nobody in this community wants. We’ve had people come into our offices and say, ‘Please don’t make this giant swab of public housing in our backyard.’”

Wing Lam, executive director of the Chinese Staff and Workers’ Association, countered this by saying, “Firemen and others have plenty of places to go.”

During the Request for Proposal (R.F.P.) process, preference will be given to prospective developers who propose to build multiple types of low-income housing. The R.F.P. is expected to be released early next year.

Coalition members spoke of plans to create a task force to seek out proposals from developers interested in building 100 percent lowincome housing at SPURA. They claim that a developer by the name of Ben Wong, owner of the Wok ’n Roll food chain, has already come forward with a proposal to build 100 percent affordable housing at the site.

According to coalition representative JoAnn Lum, Wong has lined up an architect

from the Pratt Institute to work with him on these plans, and has said that he would use his relationships with certain banks and donors to secure contributions for the project.

Wong wasn’t available for comment.

“He has done real estate developing before and has several hotels, including a Comfort Inn on the corner of Chrystie Street and a Best Western on Grand Street,” she said. “Additionally, he’s proposing a bus depot for the 50 different buses that take people from Chinatown to various other states in order to consolidate and generate more jobs and activity.”

Community Board 3 chair Gigi Li said that while the SPURA discussion has been ongoing for nearly four years, members of the coalition only began showing up to a couple of C.B. 3 meetings prior to the Oct. 11 vote, and never showed them any sort of proposal.

“The plan we’ve put forward is the best deal we were able to get,” she said. “One hundred percent [affordable housing] just isn’t practical, especially in this economy. There are fiscal realities that really have to be looked at with a development of this magnitude.”

“The coalition hasn’t demonstrated that their plan is economically feasible,” she continued, “but the R.F.P. is an open bidding process running until sometime in 2013. It’s still a possibility if they want to pursue it.”

Continued from page 16

Canal Street in Chinatown last November and three others in Thomas Paine Park earlier last year.

The machines, which derive their energy from solar-powered panels, automatically compress trash content, decreasing the need for trash pick-ups and garbage bag replacements, according to the Downtown Alliance. An electronic sensor built inside the BigBellies alerts sanitation units when they are maxed out on trash.

The BigBellies are also known to curb rat infestations of streets, parks and other public spaces.

The recent installations came on the heels of a City Council hearing led by Council Member Margaret Chin focused on the need for additional sanitation services to accommodate the growing influx of tourists in the area.

“With thousands of people walking our bustling streets each day, BigBelly solar stations are sure to be a big success in Lower Manhattan,” said Joseph Timpone, the Downtown Alliance’s senior vice president of operations. “[They will] lower fuel emissions and streamline sanitation services by compacting the litter.”

BOWLING GREEN RENOVATIONS UNDERWAY The city Department of Transportation has begun to spruce up Bowling Green Park and the surrounding area. By the D.O.T.’s estimates, nearly 400 pedestrians per hour use Whitehall Street and, currently, the sidewalks can’t handle the load. As a result, Downtown residents and workers are spilling out onto the street and facing risks from oncoming traffic, a cause for concern among city officials.

A redesign of the area’s streetscape, featuring an expansion of the pedestrian plaza, is poised to give people a lot more safe walking room. In order to reduce overcrowding, the sidewalk at Whitehall Street between Broadway and Pearl Streets, among others, will be widened, and several crosswalks will be narrowed. The plan will also open up public space around the Charging Bull. The statue currently stands at a narrow intersection in the middle of Whitehall Street, leaving little room for people to approach it safely amid moving traffic. Police have partitioned off the bull in recent months due to ongoing Occupy Wall Street protests.

Aesthetic changes are also on the horizon for Bowling Green, including the installation of nearly two-dozen decorative planters, courtesy of the Downtown Alliance.

Community Board 1 recently passed a resolution in support of D.O.T.’s plan.

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October 17 - October 30, 2012

Pier 17 design application debated Continued from page 17

president of Manhattan By Sail, said the overhaul would jeopardize the operations of Clipper City, an 1854 sailing vessel that has been moored at Pier 17 for four years and that takes an estimated 50,000 New Yorkers into the harbor each year.

Were construction to begin on June 30, 2013, as planned, Clipper City would have its docking rights terminated by the end of 2012, according to Berton. The ship could cease operations altogether if Manhattan

By Sail doesn’t find a suitable alternative docking space to the pier by then. Berton is therefore asking Howard Hughes Corp. to postpone the start date to Sept. 30, 2013.

“It doesn’t make any sense for affected local businesses or for the community to have to lose such valuable public space in the middle of the busy summer season,” said Berton. “It is only three months, but it would make a world of difference to the community, and to the jobs and people that enjoy the Seaport during the warm summer months.”

Susan Henshaw Jones, director of the Museum of the City of New York, which is currently overseeing the museum’s operations, opposes the Pier 17 redesign, in part due to the overly commercial nature of the proposed pier structure. “This overemphasis on commercial street activity directly undermines the goals

of the historic district and is plainly contrary to the vision and requirements of all plans for the Seaport District,” she said. “Needless to say, any museum would have a difficult time operating in this type of environment.”

The Seaport Museum is also requesting to expand its commercial use at Pier 16 — where its ship, the Ambrose, is docked — and to expand its programming in the water separating Piers 15 and 16. The latter space, according to Jones, serves as an important access point for the Wavertree, another ship owned by the museum. “The Seaport Museum’s legal right to utilize the apron for waterfront events activities should be explicitly acknowledged by the Economic Development Corporation, [the site’s owner],” she said, “and we seek the community board’s support regarding this.”

Margaret Flanagan, representing the Historic Ships Coalition, slammed Howard Hughes’ request for a special permit that would allow the developer to circumvent the pier’s current waterfront zoning regulations that restrict the size of retail at pier establishments. Structural changes to the dock, she said, could interfere with mooring at the site.

“Specifically, the [proposal] acknowledges that ships used to berth at Pier 17’s north side, but proposed changes reconfigure that edge to make it sloped, and thus generally unsuitable for docking ships in the future,” said Flanagan.

But Pasquarelli countered that the docking

layout would minimally change the pier’s current amenability to ship mooring. A small section of the docking area would be altered to make way for a handicap-accessible ramp, he said, acknowledging that it would therefore be difficult to dock at that edge of the pier.

“We absolutely want to encourage vessels to be able to moor at Pier 17,” Pasquerelli said.

Asked why the docking configuration wasn’t referenced in the officials’ latest presentation of the design to C.B. 1, he said, “We’re not to the point where we would make those kinds of drawings in that kind of detail.”

Locals also voiced concern about Howard Hughes’ plans for signage at the pier — which, according to the proposal, comprises one illuminated, nine-foot-high sign on the roof that says “Seaport” and up to 18 smaller, unlit signs bearing the names of the retail stores that will be mounted on the building’s facades. Contrary to locals’ concerns, the signs, which require Landmarks Preservation Commission approval, would be appropriate for the pier’s redesign and would not detract from the pier visitors’ views of the harbor, according to the ULURP. Community members are nevertheless worried the signs could be changed in the future into unwanted advertisements. “C.B. 1 voted against this in 1984, the content of the letters not being challengeable once it’s created so it could later down the road read ‘SONY’ or whatever,” noted Southbridge Towers resident Paul Hovitz, a member of

C.B. 1’s Seaport/Civic Center Committee.

But, according to Selver, City Planning would prevent the developer from altering the sign in the future without the department’s consent — assuming the signage is authorized to begin with.

Several people extolled the Pier 17 plan for its innovative design and visitor-friendly amenities. Tom Brown, vice president of production and operations at Little Airplane Productions, a production company located on Front Street, is in full support of the redesign. “I can’t tell you how happy my staff is to be able to go [to Pier 15] and sit and have lunch,” he said, “and I can only imagine how they’ll feel when this place is open.”

South Street resident Amanda Byron Zink, owner of the Salty Paw, a pet shop at 38 Peck Slip, voiced support of the makeover — adding that she could count on both hands the number of times she and her family have shopped at Pier 17’s current mall. “I feel my front yard is one of the most beautiful waterfronts in the world, and probably one of the most wasted and under-utilized New York City neighborhoods as it stands now,” she said.

Bernard Callegari, representing Construction and General Building Laborers’ Local 79, happily announced that the Pier 17 project should generate 350 union construction jobs. The union construction industry, he noted, was hit very hard by the economic downturn. “These jobs are going to real people that I speak to daily, some of whom are losing their houses,” he said.

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October 17 - October 30, 2012

BOOYAH : Halloween is for kids!

SCREAMIN’ GREEN HALLOWEEN For the fi rst time, World Financial Center’s annual family-friendly, ecothemed autumnal afternoon of adventure is taking place outdoors. Watched over by a 30-foot scarecrow and witch, the Plaza and waterfront will be transformed into a Halloween Village. At the Costume Swap, exchange last year’s trick-or-treat guise for gently used and ready-to-wear ones that will come in handy at 3pm’s closing ceremony: The Ghosts and Goblins Parade. Prior to that, kids can listen to spooky tales told in verse, at the Poets House Tent. Outside, they’ll join wandering puppets and marching bands and receive fair trade organic treats and temporary tattoos of pumpkins and ghosts.

Before those prizes are claimed, though, there will be games to play — including a vertical spin on the old bobbing for apples tub, and a challenge to tack the face onto a pumpkin (no donkey tail-pinning at this party!). Ghoulish little gamers can also test their skill at the Gourd Roll (an obstacle course where you navigate your gourd using a small broom) and try to toss a Spider in the Brew (only three chances to get that beanbag creepy crawly into the giant tractor tire cauldron).

The Ghost Farm is a giant communal art installation waiting for contributions (a ghost of your making). Give those specters something to dance to, by playing the Musical Spider Web (made of gongs, pipes, bells and washtubs). In the Screamin’ Green Screen Photo Booth, have a photo taken wearing your newly crafted Green Halloween costume and email it, tweet it or post it on Facebook.

Free. Sat., Oct, 27, from 12-3pm, at World Financial Center Plaza (220 Vesey St.). Free valet bicycle parking will be provided by Transportation Alternatives. For event info, visit worldfinancialcenter.com/screamingreen-halloween or call 212-945-0505.

PARTY & PARADE, AT THE SCHOLASTIC STORE It’s a safe bet that more than one Harry Potter will be marching in Scholastic’s

Photo courtesy of Arts Brookfield

How about a little air, Scarecrow? This year, Screamin’ Green Halloween is an outdoor affair.

Halloween Costume Parade — an annual event that invites kids to strut their spooky stuff in a procession that snakes its way around the block. Literary-themed costumes are encouraged, but plain old goblins, princesses and ghouls are also welcome! Afterwards, head back to the Scholastic Store — where a makeshift mad scientist’s lab allows you to make takehome monster-blood! Spin the “Wheel of Misfortune” to receive a spooky prize (celebrating 20 years of R.L. Stine’s “Goosebumps”). The free phantasmagoric fun happens at 3pm on Sat., Oct. 27 (appropriate for ages 3 and up).

Return the next day (if you dare), for the store’s Halloween Party. Transformed into Scholastic Haunted Headquarters, partygoers will first cut loose by stretching out their skeletons (courtesy of instructors from Karma Kids Yoga). Then, after a mini-class from Gymboree, the band Bari Koral plays live music as little monsters brew bubbling potions, bowl for mummies, gorge on snacks and treats, decorate monster cupcakes and parade around in a “Costume Conga” line! Plus, when you least expect it, Clifford the Big Red Dog will make a special appearance! Sun., Oct. 28, 3-5pm.

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the store; additional adults, $10 each). To reserve a spot, call 212-343-6166 or email thescholasticstore@scholastic.com.

Both events take place at 557 Broadway (btw. Prince & Spring Sts.). Regular store hours: Mon.-Sat., 10am-7pm and Sun., 11am6pm. For info, visit scholastic.com/sohostore.

SPOOKY BOOK AUTHORS, AT BOOKS OF WONDER On Tues., Oct. 23, from 6-8pm, the Books of Wonder “Spooky Middle Grade Reads” program invites you to meet Nikki Loftin (author of “The Sinister Sweetness of Splendid Academy”) and Claire Legrand (author of “The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls”). Adam-Troy Castro will also be on hand, to read from “Gustav Gloom and the People Taker.” Fans of “Coraline” and “The Books of Elsewhere” are sure to enjoy this dark adventure fantasy, in which unhappy little Gustav and his new neighbor Fernie venture into the Gloom mansion and discover a shadowy world of mystery.

Books of Wonder’s scare-inducing author readings continues on Thurs. Oct. 25 (6-8pm), with a group of (lucky?) seven whose ranks include Libba Bray (“The Diviners”), Dan Krokos (“False Memory”) and Kate Milford (“Broken Lands”). On Sat., Oct. 27 (12-2pm), the afternoon of “Haunted Halloween Fun” features in-the-flesh appearances from Karina Wolf (“The Insomniacs”), Michael Leviton (“My First Ghost”), Leo Landry (“Trick or Treat”), Melissa Iwai (“Hush, Little Monster”) and others. On Sun., Oct. 28 (1-3pm), guests for the “Thrills & Chills for Middle Graders” program includes Gitty Daneshvari (“Ghoulfriends Forever”), Natasha Lowe (“The Power of Poppy Pendle”) and Elizabeth Cody Kimmel (“Legend of the Ghost Dog”).

Free. At Books of Wonder (18 W. 18th St., btw. Fifth & Sixth Aves.). Regular store hours are Mon.-Sat., 11am-7pm and Sun., 11am-6pm. For more info, call 212989-3270 or visit booksofwonder.com.

Photo courtesy of The Scholastic Store

Special guest Clifford visits the Scholastic Halloween Party.

Image courtesy of Penguin Young Readers Group

“Gustav Gloom” author Adam-Troy Castro will appear (in the flesh) at Books of Wonder.

26

October 17 - October 30, 2012

Your $10 Downtown Halloween Hip tips for budget-conscious guys, gals, ghouls

BY REVEREND JEN MILLER, FACEBOY & SCOTT STIFFLER Be it sugary candy or gift-wrapped treasures, both holidays compel us to give — but unlike its vastly inferior counterpart Christmas, Halloween affords us the opportunity to exact sweet revenge (“trick”) upon those who dare to forego October 31’s traditional gesture (“treat”).

In the spirit of giving — and protecting our sixth floor tenement walk-up from egging — we recently met on an appropriately raw and overcast morning to scour some of Downtown’s most iconic establishments for party favors and candy to appease the rowdy locals who will come calling on All Hallows’ Eve. But could we do it all for a modest sawbuck?

M E E T Y O U R T H R I F T Y, S P O O K TA C U L A R H O S T S SAINT REVEREND JEN MILLER Originally from Middle Earth, Maryland, Rev. Jen is an “elf that lives in a Troll Museum above a shoe store, with a Chihuahua named Reverend Jen Junior.” She is “an Art Star, Troll Museum curator, writer, painter, Voice of the Downtrodden & Tired and Patron Saint of the Uncool.” Rev. Jen is the host of the former open mic, Rev. Jen's Anti-Slam (currently sans a venue), author of the books “Elf Girl” and “Live Nude Elf” (available everywhere) and co-founder of ASS Studios — the most underfunded motion picture studio in history. Grab a copy of their latest DVD, “ASS Studios Presents 4 Short Films” (featuring Faceboy as ASS's “Fairy Grant”), at Kim's Video and Music (124 First Ave.) or at a merchandiser near you. For more info, visit revjen.com.

FACEBOY Born and raised in Greenwich Village, Faceboy began a long friendship and collaboration with Rev. Jen when the two met in the mid-1990s — as he began what would become a 13-year run of “Faceboyz Open Mike” (which happened mostly at Surf Reality). Based on Rev. Jen’s dubbing her Anti-Slam performers as “Art Stars,” Faceboy declared Downtown’s emerging comedy performance circuit as the “Art Star Scene” (A.S.S.). Faceboy is currently producer and host of “Faceboyz Folliez.” The next show will be either Nov. 10 or 17. For updates, pics and more, visit facebook.com/faceboyzfolliez.

YOUR $10 HALLOWEEN

#1: ECONOMY CANDY (108 Rivington St.) “There were many wonderful items out of our price range,” recalls Faceboy. “They even had a great selection of '70s-era records, on vinyl.” Wandering amidst the narrow aisles of sugary treats, Rev. Jen observed: “It’s like time traveling to a period when I didn’t know about diabetes” — then advised us to splurge.

“If you don’t give kids recognizable candy,” she reasoned, “they will think you are a cheap shit.” Mindful of the risk of egging should we greet our trick-or-treaters with Necco Wafers instead of Kit Kats (but equally aware of our budget), we settled on the following:

· Candy House Buttons ($1.79) · Lucky Lights Candy Cigarettes (.75) T O TA L C O S T: $2.77

Photos by Scott Stiffler

At Economy Candy, which Rev. Jen likens to a trip back in time (when she was blissfully unaware of diabetes).

Exiting the store with our classic candies, Faceboy said, “The Buttons [aka those sugar dots gently affixed to a strip of paper] are great, because they can be cut into individual pieces, yielding a plentiful bounty.”

#2 ESSEX STREET MARKET (120 Essex St.) Be it party centerpiece or doorstep mascot, every Halloween celebrant needs a pumpkin. At this market, notes Faceboy, “We didn't see pumpkins (though they might be there), but I spotted some fetching oranges. At three for a dollar, we could easily get a 33-cent orange and pretend it's a pumpkin. Scott pointed out that the Vitamin C would help ward off rickets — a ‘tragic consequence of the Lower East Side artist’s notoriously poor diet,’ he asserted. I was visibly peeved when they charged us 50 cents. Rev. told me to let it go — insisting, ‘Faceboy, you know that orange didn’t belong there. Our orange is clearly different from the others in that basket.’ ” So we bit the bullet and produced two quarters for our “poor man’s pumpkin.”

· One Small Orange (.50)

We stopped by a local deli, to gently cradle a pumpkin and share a moment of sadness at our inability to afford one this year.

Continued on page 27

TOTAL COST: .50

27

October 17 - October 30, 2012

Have yourself a cheap All Hallows’ Eve NOTE: A failure to take taxes into account caused us to go 11 cents over budget. “Rev. covered it,” says Faceboy, “and will be calculating how many sheets of toilet paper she can keep for her contribution.”

Continued from page 26

TOTAL COST: $3.24

#5 THE TROLL MUSEUM (aka Rev. Jen’s apartment)

Photos by Scott Stiffler

Faceboy recalls: “After hauling our tired, broken frames up the six flights of stairs, we were quickly cheered up when we saw just how far our $10 budget went. We had costumes, candy dots, decorations and candy cigarettes (they weren’t very good; we were hoping for the ones that allow you to blow out powdered sugar for that real kid smokin' a cig effect. But alas, ours were not of said variety).

So we went about decorating, cutting dots and turning our lovely (overpriced) orange into our Halloween pumpkin. Oh, and drinking Rum!”

A Halloween with spirits: $3.60 got us rum and cups.

#3 JADE FOUNTAIN LIQUOR CORP. (123 Delancey St.) Faceboy suggested vodka, “because it goes with everything” — to which Rev. Jen noted, “Vodka is the new black.” We settled on rum, because of its seasonal multitasking properties. “Rum,” Faceboy noted, is a vital part of “Eggnog, Hot Buttered Rum, Hot Apple Cider, Hot Felched Rum and Hot Rum Toddies just to name a few. We purchased a nice little bottle for $3.50. They also had small cups for 10 cents and smaller (urine sample-sized) for 5 cents. We purchased two of the smaller ones. This stop filled our depressive asses with temporary joy!”

REV. JEN’S TIPS FOR TRICK OR TREATING: helpful agent of personal hygiene. Faceboy advocated for a box of Party Snaps (those white twisty things that explode when tossed to the ground), noting they could be used “to frighten those deserving of a quick and harmless noise scare. We wanted to test our Snaps, but waited for an elderly person to pass out of range so as not to frighten her. Elders are the one population of potentially vulnerable adults that we're all guaranteed to join, unless we die!”

· Party Snaps (.50) · Mabel Clean & Soft 2-Ply Toilet Paper (.50) · Scary mask (.99) · Pirate mask (.99)

TOTAL COST: $3.60

#4 B & B VARIETY STORE (110 Ludlow St.) With just over three dollars left, we headed to the always reliable B&B — and it did not disappoint. Faceboy chose a foreboding plastic mask of indeterminate identity (just plain scary), and Rev. Jen went for a pirate mask — whose eye patch was admirably authentic, yet dangerous (no hole for the wearer’s eye). A roll of toilet paper would, we rationalized, later do triple duty as party decorations, mischievous “TP-ing” material and, of course, a

Oh, snap! Our toilet paper and Party Snaps prepped us for Oct. 31 tricks.

·

Halloween really is the most existential of all holidays as it begs the question, “Who

am I? Am I just a ghost or am I a Queen?” If you are extremely existential, do as Faceboy did as a child. Wear a sign that says “I didn't know what I wanted to be.”

Don't have money for a costume?

Do you happen to have any of the plastic 1970s-style ones leftover from childhood?

If you are a malnourished art star, you can probably still squeeze into them! If they don't fit, just safety pin them to your normal clothes!

If you have long brown hair and wear elf ears daily as I do, just get an Arwen gown and be the regal Lord of the Rings babe. If you have a Chihuahua, it’s very easy to dress them as another elf such as Legolas, given their pointed ears.

·

·

REV. JEN’S PARTY IDEAS:

·

Download the sound of graveyard winds. Play it at high volume all night long to annoy your neighbors. Even if no one comes to your party, this is fun, fun, fun!

Ask a creepy child to jump rope in front of your building while singing an even creepier song. Speaking of children, no child really wants candy. Give them pennies so they can save for college.

A no-frills/no-fuss snack idea: Count Chocula!

·

·

28

October 17 - October 30, 2012

Building on the work of ‘good old carpenter’ Ibsen 1882 play is a sign of election year times THEATER AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE

By Henrik Ibsen Adapted by Rebecca Lenkiewicz Directed by Doug Hughes Open Run At Manhattan Theatre Club’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre 261 W. 47th St. (btw. Broadway & Eighth Ave.) For tickets ($67-120) and more info, visit manhattantheatreclub.com or call 800-447-7400

BY JERRY TALLMER Good old carpenter Henrik Ibsen, who saws every board as true as daisies and drives every nail piercingly home, never goes out of fashion. And as long as suicidal brainless human greed despoils what’s so delicately termed “the environment” — not to mention five centuries of rational enlightenment — Ibsen’s iron-souled “An Enemy of the People” will certainly never go out of date (until homo sapiens themselves go out of date).

Think! We in the United States are about to have an election. In this throwback era of maniacal rejection of the laws of science and logic by a terrifying share of the American body politic, nothing could be more relevant than the hammer blows of Ibsen's “An Enemy of the People.”

Written in 1882, it has been done at least eight times here in New York beginning with one single performance starring Britain’s Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree in

Photo by Joan Marcus

Doctor in the house: Stockmann sounds the environmental alarm.

April of 1895. I missed that one and I guess all the others, up to and including Arthur Miller’s take on it in 1950.

Now we have a new take on it, directed by the estimable Doug Hughes for the Manhattan Theatre Club in an adaptation by England’s up-and-coming Rebecca Lenkiewicz “from a literal version

by Charlotte Barslund.”

The Lenkiewicz “Enemy” first reached the stage in April 2008 at artistic director Mehmet Ergen’s little fringe Arcola Theatre in London’s East End, which is also where Ms. Lenkiewicz as playwright and the Arcola itself had come into existence with her very first work, “Soho - A Tale of Table Dancers,” based on personal experiences back in her 20s. She’s written a half-dozen more serious things since then, one of them — “Her Naked Skin” — about the Suffragettes.

No, she says, table dancers — at least in Piccadilly — do not dance on the tables; they dance, somewhat undressed, around the tables.

Yes, for money. Not much money, she says.

She’s pretty bored with the whole ancient subject, as well as with her nickname then — Legs Lenkiewicz — and who can blame her. But, when we meet, during tech rehearsals, in a sort of lounge in the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, her height and her long, long legs are, well, the first things to catch the eye.

“An Enemy of the People” takes place in a small Norwegian town where the whole economy — everybody’s income — derives from its curative baths (a sort of Warm Springs visited by anxious clientele from all over Europe).

There is only one real doctor in town, a Dr. Thomas Stockmann, overseer of the cleanliness and therapy of the baths — which have never given cause for concern until now, when tests conducted by Dr. Stockmann have come back reporting poisons from a nearby tannery in the soil around the baths.

At a town meeting presided over by the town’s mayor, Peter Stockmann, brother of Thomas Stockmann, the doctor moves to close the baths, his brother moves vociferously against him (rather like something named Donald Trump), and all hell breaks loose. In the end, Thomas Stockmann, and his wife and three children, have lost their house and their livelihood and just about everything else, but he still has his pride.

A scientist’s pride.

An artist’s pride.

A self-exiled (to Italy and Germany, for 27 years) great Norwegian artist Henrik Ibsen’s pride.

Maybe a little bit too much pride.

Rebecca Lenkiewicz was born in Plymouth, a seaport on the southwest corner of the British Isles. Her father, Peter Quint, was 17 when she was born. Her first exposure to Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) was a TV movie starring

Ingrid Bergman, Ralph Richardson, Michael Redgrave, and Trevor Howard in “Hedda Gabler” when Rebecca was a student in her teens at William and Mary College in Virginia.

“And I played Nora in ‘A Doll’s House’ and Lady Macbeth — at 22! — in summer stock.”

What had been her greatest problems in giving “Enemy” a new face, a new heart?

“Just to get under the skin of the characters. Because the story and the structure are there. I think the basic job of the playwright is to hear voices. My instinct is just to make it alive to myself.”

How many drafts?

“First draft, one month. Second draft, one month. Third draft, one month. And I loved doing it.”

The Dr. Stockmann of the Arcola production had been Rebecca’s “then boyfriend,” Greg Hicks. Her boyfriend now is not an actor. “He works in the London underground” — i.e., subway system.

“He’s a lovely man.” She also says Doug Hughes is a lovely man, Tom Stoppard is a lovely man, plus other lovely men who slipped by me.

There is a body blow deep within Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s “An Enemy of the People,” and I’ll have to let you wait for it.

Maybe Dr. Thomas Stockmann, truth-seeker, rationalist, researcher — artist! — is as crazy as all the rest of them.

“Ibsen was full of anger — the anger of the artist,” says Ms. Lenkiewicz. “It’s not an easy thing or a black-and-white thing. Arthur Miller makes Stockmann much more the hero, and I wanted to get away from that.”

Here is how one person who saw the 2008 London production — Michael Billington in The Guardian — appraised her success: “Mehmet Ergen’s lean revival of this troubling attack on liberal cowardice is far superior to the laborious spectacle the National gave us a decade ago. Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s adaptation, avoiding the soft soap of Arthur Miller’s version, never tries to disguise the anti-democratic nature of the protagonist.”

Arthur Miller’s 1950 version, directed by the Group Theater’s Robert (Bobby) Lewis, had among its stars Luther Adler, Morris Carnovsky, Florence Eldridge, Fredric March, Lou Gilbert, Art Smith, Fred Stewart, Rod Steiger, and — still alive today — the James Karen who once ran an antiques shop on Greenwich Avenue.

The MTC cast at the Friedman has Boyd Gaines, Richard Thomas, Maïté Alina, Gerry Bamman, Kathleen McNenny, Randall Newsome, John Procaccino, Michael Siberry, James Waterston and a clutch of townspeople.

P.S. to Ms. Lenkiewicz: I don’t think the residents of a small town in Norway in the 1880s were using words like “outed” or “closet” or “infrastructure” in the sometimes current sense. I hate the word “infrastructure” anyway, don’t you?

All best, JT.

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Just Do Art! HOW TO BREAK Some shows, like some unwelcome life obstacles, are too daunting to tackle alone. With that in mind, HERE Arts Center called in reinforcements — in the form of Collective Consciousness Theatre and the Hip-Hop Theater Festival — for their first-ever co-producing endeavor. The result is a human beat-boxing, breaking, popping, locking, multimedia graffiti art production being presented by startHERE Program: Innovative Theatre for Young People.

Playwright Aaron Jafferis, pioneering breakers Kwikstep and Rokafella, beatboxers Adam Matta and Yako 440 — along with composer Rebecca Hart and director Christopher Edwards — combine their formidable talents to tell the story of three troubled souls who unite to help two bodies in crisis.

“How to Break” transports the audience into a hospital room where a socially awkward pediatric hematologist, a music therapist/yoga teacher and a nurse with a beatboxing problem try to save (or at least not screw up) an impulsive but intuitive b-boy with sickle cell anemia and a defiantly independent b-girl with leukemia.

Together, all involved make a connection as they struggle to rise above the limitations of their diagnosis and redefine what it means to be “ill.”

Select performances of “How to Break” are followed by interactive panel discussions. On Oct. 24, “Total Chaos: Hip-Hop Culture & the ensemble creation process”

takes you behind the scenes of the show. On Oct. 25, “Ill Art: Is Laughter Really The Best Medicine?” explores the role of creativity and humor in the healing process — and on Oct. 28, “CoSMO” invites health care practitioners to respond to the social, psychological and medical questions posed by the play.

Previews begin Thurs., Oct. 18, for an Oct. 23-Nov. 4 run. Performances are Tues.-Sat. at 7pm (with 2pm matinees on Sun., Oct. 28 & Nov. 4; 10:30pm performances on Fri., Oct. 26 & Nov. 2; no show Oct. 31). At HERE (145 Sixth Ave., 1 block below Spring St.). For tickets ($10 in advance, $18 24 hours prior, $20 on day of show), call 212-352-3101 or visit here.org. This production, FREE for students with valid student ID, is appropriate for ages 12 and up (strong language). For more info on the creative team, visit socialchangetheatre.org and hhtf.org.

THE ELI YAMIN BLUES BAND Tribeca Performing Arts Center’s annual Spotlight series kicks off with the Eli Yamin Blues Band performing spiritual, classical, bebop and blues-infused selections from their debut CD (“I Feel So Glad”). For this Oct. 26 gig, the ensemble will feature violinist and vocalist Mazz Swift along with longtime band members Bob Stewart on tuba, LaFrae Sci on drums/vocals — and on piano and vocals,

Photo courtesy of Trevor J. Martin

All about getting ill: Pedro Morillo, in “How to Break.”

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October 17 - October 30, 2012

Just Do Art!

Your doctor retired to where?

Photo by Ben Kimmerle

We got ‘em on the spot: See the Eli Yamin Blues Band, on Oct. 26.

Continued from page 30

band” Aabaraki. New York’s top AfricanAmerican comics are featured in headliner Sherrod Small’s “Best Black Show Ever,” on Feb. 15. On March 1, hear what the merger of traditional jug band energy, amped-up lap steel guitar and Chicagostyle blues harp sounds like — when the eight-piece Hudson Valley band Spuyten Duyvil performs.

April 12’s show features The Brooklyn Women’s Chorus — and on May 10, the Spotlight series concludes with “Laughs for Moms,” a comedic pre-Mother’s

Day celebration featuring stand-up Joe Matarese’s autobiographical recollections of his dysfunctional Italian family (which, given the show’s theme, might go light on mom jokes purely as a one-time courtesy).

Adrienne Iapalucci and Paul Virzi are also on the bill.

The Eli Yamin Blues Band performs on Fri., Oct. 26, 8pm. At BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center (199 Chambers St., btw. Greenwich Ave. & West St.).

Tickets: $15 ($10 when you purchase a Spotlight FIVE subscription). To order, call 212-220-1460 or visit tribecapac.org/ spotlight.htm. Also visit tribecapac.org and eliyamin.com.

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