Child’s Play, p. 27
THE WEST SIDE’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
VOLUME 5, NUMBER 06
NOVEMBER 14 - 27, 2012
Chelsea Piers Provides for Displaced Ice, Gym Rats
Skaters on thick ice: Page 3.
Guardian Angel needs protectors: Page 14.
BY RYAN BUXTON New Yorkers are still working toward a return to normalcy following Hurricane Sandy. For many Chelsea residents, that means finding temporary solutions for their fitness and familial needs. Several feet of water swarmed the sports and entertainment facilities at Chelsea Piers during the storm — causing damage that forced the complex to close its doors until at least December 1, and displacing
a number of gym members and energetic children who have made the amenities part of their routine. One of those groups is the large network of figure skating coaches and students who have called the Chelsea Piers Sky Rink home since 1996. With the rink closed, a group of about 35 skating instructors are scrambling to find space to hold the lessons they depend
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After Sandy’s Punch, CB4 Jabs at Jobs, Oil Spill
Day by day, at Fulton Houses: Page 16.
Jack Shainman Gallery reopens: Page 26.
Storm Surge Destroys Ali Forney Drop-In Center BY SAM SPOKONY
After losing a vital Chelsea office to flooding caused by Hurricane Sandy, an organization that provides housing and services to homeless LGBT youth across New York City has already raised over $200,000 — more than half the money it needs to move forward. It’s a huge turnaround, one that
took place over only a couple of weeks, and things had initially looked grim. Plans for the Ali Forney Center (AFC), which was founded in 2002 and has multiple housing sites in Manhattan and Brooklyn, were thrown into disarray when its Manhattan drop-in center on West 22nd Street, between
BY MAXINE WALLY Hurricane Sandy was not the only topic up for discussion at November 7’s full board meeting of Community Board 4 (CB4) — but it served as a constant backdrop for tangentially related issues of environmental concerns, building renovation and event coordination. Sheltered from the snow storm outside, all gathered in the New York Hotel Trades Council building (305 West 44th Street) for the meeting, which began
with a presentation for a new jobs website meant to help facilitate employment for all members of the community. Board member Raul Larios proposed a website format dedicated to posting job opportunities (under the projected URL of nyc.gov/ mcb4/jobs). The mock-up consisted of a layout with two main sections: the first, for large organizations with multiple job openings and the second, for medium and
Tenth and Eleventh Avenues, was completely destroyed after being smacked by a storm surge and filling with four feet of water. Ali Forney was already preparing to move from that 1,200 square-foot facility to a much more expansive 9,000 square-foot
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EDITORIAL, LETTERS PAGE 8
THE SHOWS MUST GO ON PAGE 21
Continued on page 6
ONE ME T ROT E CH CE NTER N ORTH , 10TH FLOOR • BR OOKLYN , N Y 11201 • C OPYRIG H T © 2012 N YC C OM M U N ITY M ED IA , LLC