NOVEMBER 23, DOWNTOWN EXPRESS

downtown ®

VOLUME 24, NUMBER 27

20 YEARS OF STOCKINGS WITH CARE, PG. 15

express THE NEWSPAPER OF LOWER MANHATTAN

NOVEMBER 23 - 29, 2011

Myriad questions at B.P.C.A. town hall

BY TERESE LOEB KREUZER Few people showed up last week for the first of what Battery Park City Authority president Gayle Horwitz said would be quarterly Town Hall meetings to discuss neighborhood issues.

On Nov. 17, fewer than 100 people were in the auditorium of P.S. 276 to hear Horwitz and other B.P.C.A. officials accompanied by Michael H. Dockett, Assistant Commissioner, Urban Park Service, field written questions from the audience.

William C. Thompson, Jr., chairman of the Battery Park City Authority, was not at the meeting.

Horwitz opened the meeting by reading from notes describing some of the Battery Park City Authority’s activities and accomplishments over the past year.

She was particularly effusive on the subject of the ball fields, which are now covered with state-of-theart artificial turf. She ended her remarks with a mention of the recent layoffs at the Authority, during which 19 people were terminated.

“The Authority is at a crossroads in our history and our mission is changing,” she said. “We’re closing our chapter as a real estate developer and opening a new chapter as an owner/manager. In an effort to meet our ongoing mission of ensuring a community of quality residential, commercial and park space, the Authority has restructured its operations including the consolidation of certain departments and functions.

This restructuring will better position the Authority to meet its operational chal-

Continued on page 16

Photo courtesy of James Pinto

“Hizzoner” former NYC Mayor David Dinkins (center) helped dole out a Thanksgiving feast to homeless men, women and children at the NYC Rescue Mission on Monday, Nov.21.

Feeding NYC’s most vulnerable provides a lesson in gratitude

BY HELAINA N. HOVITZ For most people, Thanksgiving dinner likely does not take place at 11:30 a.m.; but when you have over 1,000 cold and hungry mouths to feed in a single day, every minute counts.

Thanksgiving came early on Monday for many of the city’s homeless men, women and children living in shelters and on the streets, courtesy of the New York City Rescue Mission’s 11th

Annual Great Thanksgiving Banquet.

The meal was served in five shifts, to a little more that 200 people at a time throughout the day. Those in attendance, representing the city’s forgotten population, were excited to be dining at an elegant table setting, listening to live music and being waited on by celebrities and politicians.

Miss America 2011 Teresa Scanlan, former NYC Mayor David Dinkins,

Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb of the Today Show, Senator Daniel Squadron, New York 1 anchor Cheryl Wills, Mr. G from Pix11, and City Councilmember Margaret Chin joined 75 other volunteers to serve up a traditional turkey dinner for the adults, macaroni and cheese for the kids, and pie and ice cream for all.

Continued on page 17

O.W.S. in pictures. See page 12-13.

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November 23 - 29, 2011

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New York Downtown Hospital’s new ‘ICU’ on wheels New York Downtown Hospital is now the proud owner of a new ambulance and has also been awarded the opportunity to expand runs for its other life-saving vehicles. The news comes after negotiations between the hospital and the FDNY’s Emergency Medical Service.

A brand new Critical Care Transport Unit, often called an “ICU on wheels,” was officially unveiled last Friday. Not only was it unveiled it was also blessed by local clergy members, a tradition at the hospital.

The deal was, in part, brokered by NY State Senator Daniel Squadron.

Squadron said the hospital, which is the only full service hospital south of 14th Street, raised an issue about their ability to take more patients in their Emergency Room and told the senator that having additional ambulances would go a long way toward allowing the hospital to better serve the community.

“Certainly the hospital’s E.R. has been a critical part in caring for Lower Manhattan for a long time, and even more since St. Vincents has closed,” said Squadron.

The senator decided to bring in the major players, including the city and the FDNY, to raise the issue on behalf of the

hospital.

“I’m glad we were able to be effective in convincing FDNY to give a fair hearing [on the issue],” said Squadron, who described his role in the negotiations as “small part match maker, small part nudge.”

“It’s just part of the job of representing the community,” he added.

“I really have to credit Senator Squadron, bringing all of the parties together,” said Jeff Menkes, the hospital’s president.

The combination of utilizing foundation support and the support of local elected officials is a model that New York Downtown [Hospital] has used successfully over the last few years. The hospital’s state-of-the-art MRI unit that opened a year and half ago was made possible due to funding by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation at the urging of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

“This [recent] experience with [Sen. Squadron], has been a really great model for how to make sure all the communities Downtown have access to a first-class hospital,” added Menkes.

— John Bayles NY State Senator gets an up-close-and-personal look at the new Critical Care Transport Unit he helped secure for New York Downtown Hospital.

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D

OWNTOWN DIGEST

NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-9, 12-21 EDITORIAL PAGES . . . . . . . . . . 10-11 YOUTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 ARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 - 26

SHOWCASING DOWNTOWN On Monday, Nov. 21, Alliance for Downtown New York President Elizabeth H. Berger, Department of Consumer Affairs Commissioner Jonathan Mintz and J & R Chief Executive Officer Rachelle Friedman officially kicked off the 2011 Holiday Shopping season in Lower Manhattan. The Downtown Alliance launched an extensive print and outdoor advertising, direct mail, and promotional campaign showcasing Lower Manhattan this season.

“Lower Manhattan is one of the most dynamic and successful live-work communities in the world, offering people who live, work or visit everything from great bargains to seasonal indulgences – and all in less than one square mile,” Downtown Alliance President Berger said. “With more than 1,300 places to shop, dine and explore in Lower Manhattan, it’s time for everyone to discover this secret: Lower Manhattan is the place to shop and celebrate the holiday season.”

You can learn more about the campaign at www.

DowntownNY.com/holiday

COALITION FORMED Organizations representing journalists in New York City have announced the formation of the Coalition for the First Amendment to monitor relations between the NYPD and the press.

In a joint statement, the groups declared:

“When New York City police evicted “Occupy Wall Street” protesters from Zuccotti Park in the early hours of Tuesday, November 15th, more than 20 journalists were arrested and several were injured. In what appeared to be a planned maneuver, police officers forced reporters and photographers so far away from Zuccotti Park that they could not see what was happening. They roughed up people who were trying to fulfill their duty to report the news.

“We have formed this coalition to monitor police actions.

What the police did on November 15th to suppress coverage of their activities was intolerable. We are determined to use any means needed to fight such censorship in the future. In the city in which John Peter Zenger fought for and helped establish freedom of the press, we can do no less.”

POLS SECURE FUNDS FOR PIER 42 United States Senator Charles E. Schumer and New York State Senator Daniel Squadron announced that they have secured funding commitments to use a portion of the remaining Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) federal dollars to begin the completion of the East River Waterfront Park, redevelopment of Pier 42, and completion the continuous green ribbon park around Lower Manhattan, connecting the Hudson River Park to the East River Park and beyond. Schumer and Squadron urged the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) in November of last year to fund the development of Pier 42 and complete

212-571-1700 120 Greenwich Street New York, NY 10006 www.blueplanetgrillnyc.com

CLASSIFIEDS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

M

C.B. 1 EE TING S

A schedule of this week’s upcoming Community Board 1 committee meetings is below. Unless otherwise noted, all committee meetings are held at the board office, located at 49-51 Chambers St., room 709 at 6 p.m.

ON MON., NOV. 28: The Houseing Committee will meet.

the park, using a portion of the $20.4 billion in funding Schumer secured for lower Manhattan in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks. Agreement between the LMDC, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the City of New York to make an initial investment of $14 million will begin the process of redeveloping Pier 42 into parkland and could include the demolishing of the existing shed.

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November 23 - 29, 2011

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POLICE BLOTTER Sleepy cat burglar The owner of a third-floor dance studio at 55 Chrystie St. between Canal and Hester Sts. found a stranger sleeping at her desk around 5:30 p.m. Sat., Nov. 12 and woke him up, police said. The stranger tried to flee with a tee shirt and an empty camera case, both belonging to the studio, according to the complaint filed with the Manhattan District Attorney.

When police apprehended the suspect, Hafess Folajiye, 27, he told them he got into the place by a fire escape because the front door of the studio was locked, court papers say.

High-end bag A man and two woman walked into the Louis Vuitton boutique at 116 Greene St. near Prince St. around 5:50 p.m. Sat., Nov. 19. The women took a Vuitton bag valued at $3,050 from a display and put it into a bigger bag they brought with them while the man acted as lookout. They walked out unobserved without paying but a surveillance camera taped them, police said.

Burglary arrest Police arrested Bruce Lopez.48, and charged him with stealing $128 and an iPhone

from an employees’ room in a furniture store at 117 Mercer St. between Prince and Spring Sts. on Oct. 10. On Nov. 6, the store manager, who had confronted the suspect just before he fled the furniture store, spotted him on a train and trailed him to the Apple Store at 72 Mercer St., according to reports. Lopez stole an iPad from the Apple store and fled, according to the complaint filed with the Manhattan District Attorney. Police arrested the suspect at a nearby subway station and recovered the iPad. Lopez was charged with burglary, larceny and possession of stole property.

Looking good?

Stolen motors

A woman who walked into the Duane Reade at 95 Wall St. at 8 a.m. Thurs., Nov.17 walked out unobserved with 46 lipstick and body tinting items without paying for them, police said. But her image was recorded on a surveillance tape.

A man who parked his Vespa motorscooter at the corner of Park Pl. and Church St. at 10:30 a.m. Fri., Nov.18 returned at lunch time two hours later and found it had been stolen, A man who parked his Moped on the northwest corner of Laight and Varick Sts., at 9:30 a.m.

Thurs., Nov. 17 returned at 7 p.m. to find it had been stolen.

Christmas market theft Thieves made off with the money bag with $400 and 400 Euros from the outdoor German Christmas Market in the South St. Seaport on Fulton and Front Sts. at around 7:26 p.m.

Sat.,Nov.19, police said. Jens Wohld, owner of the market, told police that one suspect distracted an attendant while the other suspect grabbed the bag from the counter.

Not her cell phone

Pulls knife

A woman shopping in Mystique, 547 Broadway between Prince and Spring Sts. on Wednesday afternoon Nov. 16 felt what she thought was her cell phone vibrating around 4:15 p.m. When she went to check the call she discovered that someone had stolen her wallet from the bag, police said.

An employee of Zigolini’s Tavern, 66 Pearl St., ran into a burglar who pulled a knife on him in the basement of the place around 6 p.m. Wed., Nov.16, police said.

Police were called and arrested Patrick Byrd, 59, and charged him with burglary and menacing.

Subway phone grab

Tourist’s bag stolen

A woman who got on an uptown A train at Chambers St. at 8:20 p.m. Tues., Nov. 15, took out her cell phone and lost it to a man who snatched it and fled the train at the Canal St. stop at Sixth Ave.

A woman visiting from Blackpool, England, put her bag on the back of her chair at Champs Gourmet Deli at 71 Broadway while having lunch at 1 p.m. Fri. A half-hour later, she discovered it wasmissing.

Occupy Wall St. Occupy Wall St. protestors and police clashed on Thurs., Nov.17 and on Sun., Nov. 20.

At the northwest corner of Broadway and Wall St. police arrested Cynthia Wilson, 20, at 10:30 a.m. Nov. 17 for assault for throwing unidentified liquid from a bottle into an officer’s eye. At 2 p.m. Nov. 17, an officer was hit by an object and sustained an injury to his thumb that required 18 stitches. At 4 p.m. police chased and arrested Brandon Watts, 20, for snatching a hat from an officers head and fleeing. At 3 p.m. a demonstrator threw a grease-covered missile that hit a police officer in Zuccotti Park. On Sun., Nov. 20 police arrested Noel Campbell, 52, at Broadway and Liberty Plaza and charged him with throwing an unknown liquid in an officer’s face. Campbell was also charged with resisting arrest.

— Alber t Amateau

Terror suspect caught; deemed ‘lone wolf’

BY CYNTHIA MAGNUS Mayor Bloomberg, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, and District Attorney Cyrus Vance announced at City Hall on Nov. 20 the arrest of terror suspect Jose Pimentel a day earlier in Hamilton Heights.

Pimentel is charged with making bombs to target post offices, police stations, and service men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. He was later arraigned at 100 Centre Street on five felony counts including the top charge of criminal possession of a weapon in the first degree as a crime of terrorism. Judge Abraham Clott ordered him held without bail.

“This is just another case where precautions paid off,” said Bloomberg, who added that 1000 NYPD officers are assigned to counter-terrorism duties daily. The foiled plot would have

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been the fourteenth targeting NYC since 9/11, said the mayor, who described Pimentel, 27, as a “lone wolf” unaffiliated with any larger conspiracy emanating from abroad.

Kelly said that the NYPD had been keeping track of Pimentel, a.k.a. Muhammad Yusuf, since May 2009. “We had always planned to take him into custody,” said Kelly of Pimentel, a Dominican-born U.S. citizen, Al-Qaeda sympathizer, and convert to Islam, who Kelly said was “set-off” to intensify his criminal efforts by the Sept. 30 killing of radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen by U.S. forces.

Kelly also said that Pimentel tried unsuccessfully to establish contact with al-Awlaki, and was interested in going to Yemen for jihadist training. Kelly said that while “the FBI is fully informed of the case, [the NYPD] had to act quickly.”

Authorities said Pimentel was one hour away from completing a bomb, that included nails meant to maximize civilian casualties.

District Attorney Vance who said that the defendant “stated his belief in violent jihad,” said his office would follow the rule of law aggressively and responsibly. The question was raised about the case being tried in state rather than federal court. One advantage of a state prosecution is that the law allows a conspiracy charge for a single defendant working with an informant.

A disheveled Pimentel entered his arraignment on Sunday night wearing a black t-shirt and baggy sweatpants. Assistant District Attorney Brian Fields said his office would present charges to the Grand Jury over the following three days, with a return to court set for Nov. 25. It would be announced then whether the Grand Jury voted to indict, but the charges would remain sealed until the following Supreme Court date when the indictment would be unsealed and Pimentel required to enter a plea.

Pimentel’s Legal Aid lawyer Joseph Zablocki stated in

Downtown Express photo by Cynthia Magnus

Pimentel’s defense attorney Joseph Zablocki speaks briefly outside the courthouse following Pimentel’s Nov. 20 arraignment.

court that his client did not want Zablocki to continue representing him, but would not explain why in open court to the judge, or later to reporters. Zablocki said that the fact that Pimentel had a visible internet presence belied charges of planning to commit a terrorist attack.

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W.T.C. workers treated to early Thanksgiving feast

BY ALINE REYNOLDS Construction workers at Ground Zero have a holiday perk for which to be grateful: a pre-Thanksgiving dinner provided by developer Larry Silverstein.

Around noon last Friday, Nov. 18, close to 1,000 W.T.C. construction workers, architects and other Ground Zero employees convened in the future lobby of 4 W.T.C. to enjoy a barbequed-themed feast provided by W.T.C. Developer Larry Silverstein. It was the second year that the developer provided the workers with the perk.

Big Daddy’s caterers from Long Island dished out the food, which consisted of turkey sub sandwiches in honor of Thanksgiving as well as burgers, hot dogs, and coleslaw.

Silverstein commented on the event, saying, “This is the time of year when our thoughts turn to family and friends. Our Thanksgiving lunch is a nice way to [recognize] the men and women who do so much day in and day out to rebuild the site, and thank them for all of their hard work in getting the job done.”

Some of the workers lined up at the grill at 11:30 a.m., just when the cooks were finishing preparations of the feast, while others swung by an hour later to grab a bite and head back to work. Many expressed gratitude for the hard-earned meal, and for having the rare-but-welcome opportunity to put names to familiar faces among co-workers.

“It was very nice and thoughtful of who-

Downtown Express photo by Aline Reynolds

Caption

ever organized it,” said Francis Munro, a carpenter for 3 W.TC. “You get to talk to friends, mingle and exchange ideas.”

Richie Tiberi, a spray proofing contractor for W.T.C. 3, 4 and the National Sept.

11 Memorial, fondly reflected on last year’s Thanksgiving meal on the site, when he got

Photo courtesy of Joseph M. Calisi

The future of NYC transportation The table of panelists including (left to right) Iris Weinshall, Gene Russianoff, Chris Ward, Harbahan Singh, Janetta Sadik-Khan, Robert Yaro, Peter Torrellas, Samara Barend and Scott Stringer are seated at attended the Transportation 2030 - A Five Borough Blueprint conference on Monday, Nov. 21.

Chris Ward, former Executive Director of the Port Authority, and Janette SadikKhan, Commissioner of the NYC

Department of Transportation were some of the featured speakers.

The conference focused on developing transportation options within the fi ve boroughs comprising New York City. After the welcome, opening remarks and plenary session, participants broke up into individual groups to further expand on different transportation concepts about different modes of transportation.

to shake hands with Silverstein.

“I even got to have a nice picture with my friend, Mr. Silverstein!” said Tiberi, grinning.

The luncheon, Tiberi said, is advantageous in that it “brings everybody out of the offices and gets them down to the field level.”

Indeed, W.T.C. personnel that work offsite made an appearance at the luncheon, such as Volodymyr Gogol, a junior architect of 4 W.T.C. “It’s nice to meet more of the people I’m working with to get this done,” said Tiberi.

“I meet only a handful when I go on site.”

Mike Perrone, a foreman for the W.T.C. Transportation Hub, said the meal was a perfect way to break up the monotony of the workday.

“You don’t usually see all the men at the same time,” added Perrone.

Though he had to work through part of lunch to correct deficiencies in the the rebar of W.T.C. 2, Concrete Inspector Calvin Perez finagled a 20-minute lunch break to enjoy the barbeque.

“Every time you can get all these guys who work so hard to come together as one and just enjoy each other’s company and have good food, is always a great time,” said Perez.

The feast beat Perez’s usual lunch options such as Papa John’s Pizza or Subway. “Usually when you go eat somewhere around here, you don’t get the same fresh, off-the-grill hot dogs and burgers,” he said.

Thea Ellis, a laborer for Tower 4, said feasting with her co-workers was one of the many things she had to be thankful for this year. “It’s a good thing to give the workers a chance to relax and come together as one,” she said. “On a big job like this, it’s important.”

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C.E.C. rejects latest school rezoning; D.O.E. digs in

Downtown Alliance is launching holiday lights for the 2011 season.

The holiday season is one of my favorite times of year, a time to appreciate what’s really important in life: family, friends and community.

It’s a time when Lower Manhattan seems most like a little village, with decorative lights glowing warmly from lampposts on cobblestone streets, and great festive trees brightening City Hall Park, the South Street Seaport, the Stock Exchange and countless building lobbies. I love how Lower Manhattan, the city’s oldest neighborhood, seems to harken back to an earlier era, from Stone Street to Front Street to Trinity Church. And, I love how our one square mile has everything we need.

It’s a time to think about all we’ve been through together, all the places we’re going, and the enormous changes that are making our community stronger and even more dynamic.

It’s a time to bake cookies for neighbors, nod to the college students who now call Lower Manhattan home and bundle up for a stroll to the water’s edge. It’s a time to meet old friends for hot chocolate, at La Maison du Chocolat or Financier, stop in for a snack at Crepes du Nord or Takahachi Bakery, or use the Downtown Connection to window shop from Front Street to Warren Street and every street in between.

The holidays are a time to take time—to enjoy old favorites, like The Nutcracker at the World Financial Center, The Messiah at Trinity Church, the Family Hanukkah Celebration at the Museum of Jewish Heritage and the Victorian Celebration in the British Garden at Hanover Square, or to start a new holiday tradition with a visit to the National Museum of the American Indian at Bowling Green or the Ellis Island Immigration Museum in New York Harbor.

It’s a time for good cheer—even if the national economy is giving us precious little to cheer about—and a time for presents, small or large, store-bought or homemade. This year,

two of Lower Manhattan’s signature retailers are celebrating milestone anniversaries: 50 years in Lower Manhattan for Century 21 Department Stores and 40 years for J&R Music and Computer World. At the same time, T.J. Maxx has opened a brand-new store at 14 Wall Street. That gives Lower Manhattan more than 625 places where shoppers can find the perfect gift, from My.Suit on Broad Street to the World Trade Art Gallery on Trinity Place.

It’s a time for old and new—for exploring restaurants and retailers that have opened in the past year, and for going back to timehonored favorites. And, it’s a time to invite friends and family to see what Lower Manhattan has to offer, perhaps with a stay at one of our 18 hotels.

This year, the Downtown Alliance is making it easy to take advantage of all of Lower Manhattan’s attractions. We’re releasing a new shopping and dining guide, we’ve expanded our mobile phone app, and we’re constantly updating the event calendar and searchable map on our new website at www.DowntownNY.com—all in time for your holiday plans.

Meanwhile, the Downtown Alliance joins City Hall in supporting Small Business Saturday on November 26. American Express cardholders who shop at independently owned small businesses can get $25 off their next credit card statement. For more information, go to www.smallbusinesssaturday.com.

The numbers tell the story. With 56,000 residents, 309,000 workers, and nine million annual visitors, Lower Manhattan is where everyone wants to be—every day, in every season. But home is where the heart is, and during the holidays, Lower Manhattan is more compelling than ever. It’s where I want to be.

Liz Berger is President of the Downtown Alliance.

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BY ALINE REYNOLDS The Department of Education’s latest school rezoning proposal was unanimously struck down, yet again, last week. The rejection could mean the Peck Slip elementary school will not get its own zone before it incubates in Tweed Courthouse next fall.

At its monthly calendar meeting on Nov. 16, Community Education Council District Two voted 8-0 against the D.O.E.’s latest rezoning plan, which has received mostly negative feedback from parents since it was first unveiled earlier this month.

The C.E.C. evaluated the plan as early as possible in hopes that the D.O.E. would come up with a new proposal before the year’s end, according to C.E.C. District Two Zoning Committee Co-Chair Eric Goldberg.

“Not one community said, ‘yes, this is a good idea,’ from areas in Tribeca to Chinatown,” said Goldberg. “That was why we moved quickly to try and get started again.”

Come C.E.C. members may consider taking legal action against the D.O.E. if it doesn’t submit a new plan in a timely manner, according to C.E.C. District Two President Shino Tanikawa.

Typically, rezoning plans are finalized by the spring before the effected schools open.

“Technically, they could play it dirty and say, ‘you voted down the final proposal, so

we’re not going to give you another one,’” said Tanikawa. “If they did that… it would probably get into a legal debate.”

“I’m hoping it won’t come to it,” added Tanikawa. “We have a good working relationship with the D.O.E. and do not want anything to jeopardize it.”

Tanikawa also noted that she was confident Elizabeth Rose, the D.O.E.’s director of planning for Lower Manhattan, would offer up another proposal.

The School Chancellor’s regulations don’t state whether zoning a new school is mandatory — however, D.O.E. Spokesperson Frank Thomas said that it isn’t, noting that both P.S. 276 and the Spruce Street School (P.S. 397) opened in 2009 without new zones.

Thomas wouldn’t specify a time frame for a new proposal for Peck Slip, nor would he explicitly confirm that a new rezoning plan was indeed in the works.

“We are disappointed in the C.E.C.’s wholesale rejection of a plan that incorporated significant community feedback and addressed enrollment growth in Lower Manhattan,” said Thomas. “Under this administration, we have made an unprecedented investment in new school space Downtown, and we will continue

Continued on page 7

Fighting to make Lower Manhattan the greatest place to live, work, and raise a family.

Assemblyman Shelly Silver If you need assistance, please contact my office at (212) 312-1420 or email silver@assembly.state.ny.us.

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November 23 - 29, 2011

C.E.C. rejects school rezoning Continued from page 6 to build upon that success as we reexamine our rezoning proposal.”

In a written resolution rejecting the Nov. 6 proposal, the C.E.C. focused on Downtown school overcrowding, requesting that the D.O.E. reassess its enrollment projections and start to “immediately” plan for a new Lower Manhattan elementary school.

The Peck Slip School will not be able to accommodate Downtown’s forthcoming school-age population on its own, and P.S. 1’s surplus capacity is uncertain, according to the resolution.

“The number of seats at P.S. 1 claimed to be available, according to the D.O.E., would only meet an insignificant fraction of the growth in school age population projected by an independent analysis,” stated the resolution.

In a Nov. 21 letter to School Chancellor Dennis Walcott, NYS Senator Daniel Squadron urged the D.O.E. to craft a new zoning plan.

“The revised zoning proposal poses a significant challenge to the C.E.C. and the community,” wrote Squadron. “Insufficient data makes hard decisions about the future of our community schools that much more difficult. I urge you to work closely with C.E.C. 2 in the preparation of a zoning proposal that reduces waitlists and creates a new zone for the Peck Slip School.”

In his letter, Squadron also urged the

D.O.E. to consider moving some of its administrative offices to World Trade Center 4 or another neighborhood office facility in the coming years in order to free up additional classroom space at Tweed Courthouse.

“Under this administration, we have made an unprecedented investment in new school space Downtown.”

— D.O.E. Spokesperson Frank Thomas

“With many new students, additional sections [in existing Downtown schools] will require the conversion of the art, music, science, computer, resource, and family rooms into classroom spaces, depriving the teachers and students of much-needed space for its high-needs population,” wrote Squadron.

New York Times ★ ★

Continued on page 20

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Downtown Express photo by Aline Reynolds

Edward Ma (left) and Nancy Linday help spruce up Kimlau Square last Friday, Nov. 18.

Volunteers spruce up Kimlau Square

BY ALINE REYNOLDS About a dozen Chinatown residents braved the cold winds last week to tend to a small but cherished public space in their neighborhood.

For years, Kimlau Square, the quaint neighborhood park named after ChineseAmerican World War II Lieutenant Benjamin Ralph Kimlau, has hosted observances on Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day and has served as a peaceful oasis for area residents.

But in recent months, the square, fitted with stone planters, has become a playground for trick cyclists and a breeding ground for pigeons. Under the auspices of the city, community members have established a volunteer program to spruce up the park and deter the unwelcome guests. “We don’t want it to be a haven for people to misuse the park,� said Constance Louie. “[The square] should be for the people in the area, and they should treat it with respect.� “It’s like a gem here. We can come sit, read a newspaper, and relax,� said Louie’s sister, Cassandra Dick.

On Friday, Nov. 18, Kathi Cantalupo, a city-employed gardener for Community District 3, trained Louie, Dick, and the other volunteers on how to plant approximately 2,000 daffodils and grape hyacinths around the already-planted rose bushes that grow in the square’s three planters.

Cantalupo instructed the volunteers to bury the bulbs six inches into the ground in order to keep them from rotting during the winter. “We want to make sure we get them in deep enough so they’re in a nice, cozy little home,� she told the volunteers. “The area’s been overgrown and hasn’t

been worked [on] in several years,� said horticulturalist and C. D. 3 Park Manager Robert Mclean as he shoveled the freshly tilled soil. “What we’re going to do is turn the soil over and cut all the shrubs down in the spring.�

The bright-yellow daffodils and periwinkle blue hyacinths will bloom in springtime before returning to hibernation. Apart from removing the petals after blooming season, the flowers will require only periodic maintenance and watering, according to Cantalupo. “As far as we’re concerned, this is it – they’re going to come up now until forever,� she said.

The planting equipment and bulbs were provided by the Partnerships for Parks, a joint program of the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation and the City Parks Foundation. “Funding being what it is, it think it’s difficult for [the Parks Department] to take care of every single corner,� said Jan Lee, a member of the Civic Center Residents Coalition. “We’re happy they’re giving this park recognition.�

Beautifying Kimlau Square will encourage area residents to relax in an intimate, public setting rather than stay cooped up in their apartments, according to Pearl Street resident and psychotherapist Edward Ma, who also partook in the volunteer effort last Friday. “People don’t know how in modern life to pace themselves,� said Ma. “This [park] is a pacer, to make them calm down and take a break.� “It’s so critical, because we all know how important greenery is to people’s mental

Continued on page 20

downtown express

9

November 23 - 29, 2011

O.W.S. through the lens of anarchy

BY ZACH WILLIAMS Police raids, mass arrests and protests defined the two-month anniversary of Occupy Wall Street last Thursday, Nov. 17. While the loss of the encampment at Zuccotti Park following a Nov. 15 NYPD raid deprived the movement of its symbolic base, ongoing forces continue to guide supporters forward.

Self-described adherents are few within Occupy, but ideas born out of anarchist ideology exercise an influence far beyond their numbers within the movement. Group discussion, consensus decision-making and a common confidence in the success of a movement without leaders are what supporters say unifies them in a way that their wide range of political demands cannot.

Critics say the lack of specific demands hampers the effectiveness of the ongoing protests against corporate greed, government malfeasance, as well as a host of other issues. But occupiers say such diversity reflects a broad range of support for the movement unified by a common ideal.

Anarchy, a word with sinister implications to some, well defines the order, which prevailed over the park during the occupation and continues to guide the movement into its third month, experts said.

Though the occupation ended, the governing institutions of Occupy Wall Street remain the same. A General Assembly of activists meets daily making decisions for the movement based on consensus. Working groups

meanwhile staffed by volunteers continue to do much of the grunt work.

‘We throw [anarchy] around as a curse word in this society’ —- CUNY Professor David O‘Brien

While “anarchy” is often used to connote chaos, as a central idea driving the ongoing movement it embodies something quite opposite, according to CUNY Professor David O‘Brien, a Chinatown resident and supporter of the movement.

“We throw [anarchy] around as a curse word in this society,” said O’Brien. “This is an anarchist movement but it’s not an anarchy in the sense you know of glass breakers, bombthrowers, berserk people who have no respect for society.”

The slogan “We are the 99 percent” helped transform Occupy Wall Street from a fringe protest to a populist movement. David Graeber, a prominent anarchist and earlier organizer of the movement, is credited with

coining the phrase before leaving New York City shortly after the occupation began. He left in part because he did not wish to be elevated to a position unbecoming of what he hoped would become a leaderless movement, Graeber said in an email.

“I suggested it at the first Outreach meeting for O.W.S. on Aug. 4 and was the first to put it out as an idea on the O.W.S. listserv,” Graeber added.

Yet, some occupiers distance themselves from the political ideology and its supporters within the movement, saying anarchism puts too much emphasis on violent confrontation against opponents.

“A lot of it is fueled by anger and I don’t feel it’s a productive way to fix things,” said Dylan Vonloeben of Queens. “We are a little too entrenched in the system that we currently live in.”

Others such as Robert Fuller, 46, who joined the Nov. 17 demonstrations, said they know little more about the term beyond its association with “chaos”.

As defined by academics, the political philosophy envisions an egalitarian society where order is maintained through mutual aid and collective action as well as a lack of typical political institutions.

But there is some truth to conceptions of anarchists as purveyors of violence and disorder, though such characterizations lack context and historical insight, according to Columbia University Professor Stathis Gourgouris.

“True, anarchists have acted violently against the purveyors of law and order, because law and order is a misnomer for state power serving the interests of the rich and few.

But it’s equally a misnomer for anarchism to mean disorder,” Gourgouris said in an email.

“The anarchist government in Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War period was remarkably organized and peaceful. Anarchism is all about government, but self-government by all involved, not government of the few over the many that’s safeguarded by law and enforced by the police.”

Anarchism has many variants including a “Black bloc” which University of Nottingham Professor Christopher Phelps added may be responsible for lingering associations between chaos and the ideology. “Ritualized windowbreaking” is one example of the faction’s methods in demonstrations, according to Phelps.

Some demonstrators said anarchist influence on the movement stands in stark contrast to the level of organization on the ground during the recent raid of Zuccotti Park by the NYPD. Kaila Hale-Stern of Crown Heights, said confusion led to a scuffle between dozens of protesters and NYPD on Nov. 17 at the park. Lack of direction from law enforcement led to injuries, she claimed.

“If you want to talk about a stereotypical state of anarchy it’s where the police are getting their orders from,” said Hale-Stern. “Who is in charge because there (didn‘t) seem to be a consensus?”

downtown express

November 23 - 29, 2011

10

EDITORIAL PUBLISHER & EDITOR John W. Sutter

Why we’re thankful

ASSOCIATE EDITOR John Bayles

In light of the Thanksgiving holiday, we at Community Media would like to offer reasons we are thankful.

We’re thankful for the First Amendment, which has lead to a vigorous debate in our office, our neighborhood and our country. As a result we’re thankful for a courageous new spirit in America that so adamantly seeks change for the better and offers a needed perspective into our everyday lives.

We’re also thankful for the really inept Republican presidential field, which has provided ample laughs as a result of Saturday Night Live’s parodies of the G.O.P. debates.

Please, Herman Cain, don’t leave us too soon.

On a more serious note, we’re thankful for our jobs, even the fact that we have them in this current economy.

Beyond that, we’re thankful to have a job that is always exciting and stimulating — covering stories like Occupy Wall Street, for example, that “occupy” both our minds and passions, and that entail covering a neighborhood as exciting and as important as Lower Manhattan. We’re thankful that this community newspaper reaches beyond the boundaries of Lower Manhattan and finds its way into the living rooms of people in Alabama, Arizona, and Minnesota.

We’re thankful for our local politicians, who never fail to carry our concerns and our worries to Albany, or to Washington D.C. We’re thankful for the local representatives that fight everyday for our welfare, for the issues that define, disrupt and enhance our daily lives.

But within our office, one notion prevails: family.

We are thankful for our families’ good health and we’re thankful for the people that care about our state of mind.

Because, all too often our state of mind is influenced by forces that our colleagues, bosses, clients and politicians cannot control. We are left to our own devices and our co-workers acknowledge this fact, embrace it and go out of their way to try and make us feel better.

Some of us have friends and family that reside within driving distance, that we will see this holiday. Others are left with only a phone call home, an epistolary relationship or Facebook to communicate the loneliness they feel when the holiday season sets in.

Nonetheless, everyone would like to think of Community Media, and of Lower Manhattan, as a family away from family, a means of respite during a time of year that can be both uplifting and depressing.

One thing however is for certain, Lower Manhattan is a special community. It is bound by a tragedy, defined by a rebirth and celebrated every year when giving thanks is the topic du jour.

ARTS EDITOR Scott Stiffler REPORTERS Aline Reynolds Albert Amateau Lincoln Anderson SR. V.P. OF SALES AND MARKETING Francesco Regini ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Allison Greaker Karen Kossman Ellyn Rothstein Julio Tumbaco RETAIL AD MANAGER Colin Gregory BUSINESS MANAGER / CONTROLLER Vera Musa ART / PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Troy Masters ART DIRECTOR Mark Hasselberger GRAPHIC DESIGNER Vince Joy CONTRIBUTORS Terese Loeb Kreuzer • David Stanke • Jerry Tallmer PHOTOGRAPHERS Milo Hess • Jefferson Siegel • Terese Loeb Kreuzer

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR What about the Sphere?

Local residents, Downtown Express reports, are “finding it increasingly difficult to navigate the area around the W.T.C. site.”

They complain about “pedestrian bottlenecks” and tourists that “stand idle in front of the 9/11 Memorial Preview site.”

Now imagine if the Koenig Sphere is not returned to the memorial site, where it belongs and logic and reason dictate.

Instead, as the Port Authority currently plans, it is put on Liberty Street, between Greenwich and West Streets (it is not staying at Battery Park). Imagine the bottleneck and tourist crowds with their cell phone cameras that will create and the pleasure of navigating around that. This would spread the police and security, a necessary but understandably unpleasant presence, thinner and over a wider swath. Also, as the last remaining intact remnant of the W.T.C. and a recognized icon of the “triumph of the American spirit” (as Mayor Bloomberg has described it) over Al Qaeda, the Sphere is a natural terrorist target. If not by an organized group then certainly by a “lone wolf” wanna be, like the recently apprehended suspect from Washington Heights. Something for residents to think about as they pass it every day during their morning and evening commute. Or say, with their kids.

Will a security check be required to pass by?

There is only one logical place for the Sphere: the memorial. It is an eight-acre site. There is more than enough room. It is where it came from. This centers the memorial tourist crowd all in one place.

It makes it easy (and cheaper) to protect it and visitors to it; the security presence is already there. It gets it and visitors out of the way of locals navigating the site. It provides the site with the authentic artifact that the museum advisory committee, filled with historians and preservationists such as filmmaker Ric Burns, Columbia Professor Kenneth Jackson, President of the New York Historical Society, NYC landmarks commissioner Robert Tierney, Robert Kuhn, archaeologist for the State Historic Preservation Office and Sara Bloomfield, Director of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and also, me, called for. So that visitors would “know immediately where they are.” Catherine McVay of Community Board 1 has already said the Sphere is in a “kind of exile.”

It is also, by the way, what over 2,500 ordinary New Yorkers called for in public forums on the memorial design: “It’s just sitting down at Battery Park when it belongs here” (www.imagineny.org). Over 7,700 have signed my online petition calling for its return, including many 9/11 family members, attack survivors and downtown residents ( http:// www.petitiononline.com/CptBurke/petition. html ). That makes over 10,000 that has an expressed a desire to see it return including pretty much every local expert in the field.

So what’s stopping it? Because the “National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center” foundation, chaired by Michael Bloomberg and charged with faith-

fully preserving and conveying the history of Sept. 11 and which has solicited hundreds of millions in contributions and tax dollars supposedly for that explicit purpose has banned it. So, I guess, visitors do not know exactly where they are. Thereby relinquishing any claim to integrity as the guardian of 9/11 history and memory. And the safety and convenience of local residents? That has not been given a second thought.

There is no intelligent reason for not returning the Sphere. It works for all, on every level. It would probably cost less to return it than to relocate it. Local officials, including C.B. 1, U.S. Representative Jerold Nadler, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, City Council woman Tiffany Chin and U.S. Sens. Schumer and Gillibrand must ensure its proper return to the memorial site. I mean, it’s unlikely that anything should happen. And the NYPD has proven pretty adept at rooting these things out; though stopping the Times Square car bomber was basically luck.

However, should anything happen it won’t involve visitors from Nebraska or Timbuktu; it will involve their constituents and their families. Then they will have to explain how they let such a sensitive artifact be placed in such a high traffic and vulnerable area when it could have easily be returned to the memorial site. Where it would receive all proper and adequate security. And properly honor the innocents taken Sept. 11.

Michael Burke

Helicopters are terrorizing I have just read your piece on Zuccotti Park. It is rather mild mannered, considering how demonstrators are being treated.

Our mayor claims to have the welfare of its citizens at heart and expresses concern about the drumming that keeps people awake around Zuccotti Park. At the same time he authorizes or orders the police department to terrorize our downtown neighborhood with constant helicopter noise. We might as well live in a war zone. This has been going on for two months plus now. We are being awakened daily (incl. Sundays) by roving helicopters between 5:30am and 7 a.m.. If we are lucky, there is a one hour break at lunchtime and then it starts up again until the late evening hours. They hover overhead, sometimes so low that our windows are vibrating. Supposedly one can call 311 to complain about airplane noise, what about this daily barrage of noise pollution sanctioned by our city mayor? I suspect it would stop if he lived in this neighborhood.

Does anybody believe that he is concerned about our well-being and safety? I suspect he is more interested in protecting the interest of his 1% constituents.

It might be interesting for you to take issue with this the next time you are reporting about OWS. Does anybody at your paper live in this neighborhood?

Sincerely, Erna Rubik

downtown express

November 23 - 29, 2011

11

TALKING POINT Occupy Wall Street: Yes, we are anti-capitalist!

BY BILL WEINBERG For the first time since the 1999 Seattle protests, a movement in the United States is in the vanguard of global resistance to capital. But this time, the stakes are much higher.

Now, from Europe to the Arab world to South America to Manhattan and Oakland, the planet seems headed into a revolutionary situation. Occupy Wall Street, which has brought the struggle to the very nerve center of world capitalism, has responsibilities on a world scale. There are some things that it is very important that we get right.

Lots of criticism of the O.W.S. movement is of course being made dismissively and dishonestly. It is not necessary, as so many insist, that the movement immediately adopt a discrete list of demands. It is probably healthier if a set of demands emerges from an organic process, after being hashed out on the ground. But it is important that we debate ideas, and not allow suppression of serious differences in the name of unity.

This has already led to the movement’s message being garbled. The most significant example is the unfortunate hedging on anticapitalism.

Some Occupiers have objected to the media calling the movement “anti-capitalist.”

A slogan has even been heard in response to this moniker: “We aren’t against capitalism,

we’re against corporate greed.” The assumption behind this response is that with enough public oversight or (in the more reactionary versions) if Wall St. brokers acted with greater patriotism, capitalism could “work.”

This equivocation is leading to the proliferation of some very bad ideas in the movement. Instead of class analysis, we are getting more and more gold-standard crankery, Federal Reserve fetishism and other right-wing, pro-capitalist responses to the crisis. Partisans of Ron Paul are a visible presence at O.W.S. They are plugging a freemarket Republican whose rhetoric targets the Federal Reserve Bank for the wrong reasons — not because a private institution has been granted a public function, but because, in his words, it has a “loose monetary policy” that favors “big-spending politicians.”

This has been standard Republican code since Reagan for too much social spending and perceived coddling of the working class. Even Murray Rothbard, ideological guru of laissez-faire capitalism, has been put forth by some at Liberty Plaza as providing the answers to the current crisis. He actually provides a more extreme version of precisely the policies that got us where we are now.

All the talk about returning to the gold standard is particularly ironic. The U.S. went off the gold standard under Franklin

D. Roosevelt not because of some nefarious scheme by bankers, but in response to a popular groundswell — and in spite of the wishes of the banking elite! In 1896, when the populist candidate William Jennings Bryan famously said before the Democratic Convention in Chicago, “You shall not crucify mankind on a cross of gold,” he was referring to exactly the big-money interests that we are protesting today. Then, it was understood that the gold standard and “tight monetary policy” were good news for the bankers and brokers — and bad news for the rest of us.

Obviously, the gold standard did nothing to prevent the Great Depression, and F.D.R. abandoned it precisely to bring some relief to the country’s working people and unemployed. Since then, the population has greatly expanded, far outstripping the gold supply — making the gold standard even less tenable, and more of an inevitable mechanism for imposing austerity.

The proffering of such retrogressive pseudo-solutions is worse than self-defeating — it threatens to undo the all the progress O.W.S. has made in stealing the populist fire from the Tea Party. No, the Ron Paul folks aren’t nearly as toxic as the Teabaggers, but they both represent a right-wing response to the crisis. Rather than wooing Tea Party

rank and file away from their odious leadership, we run the risk of the reverse happening — our own movement being subject to a stealth takeover by our worst enemies.

Inevitably, anti-Semitism emerges in right-wing populist exploitation of rage against financial elites — the Jews being history’s special scapegoats in this context.

Activists have become confused on this question because the pro-corporate right (not to mention the pro-Israel right) portray anti-Semitism as a phenomenon of the left, and cynically use the charge to delegitimize any challenge to the system.

But just because right-wing pundits use the charge of anti-Semitism as a baseball bat to beat O.W.S. with doesn’t mean (as the movement’s defenders reflexively argue) that it is free from any taint of anti-Semitism.

In fact, O.W.S. Web pages are positively infested with Jew-hating comments — possibly left by mere Internet trolls rather than actual activists, but still met with little protest or repudiation. Many protesters at Liberty Plaza have in fact repudiated the persistent wingnut in their ranks (seized upon by the pundits and propagandists) with the sign reading, “Google Jewish Billionaires.” The recent

Continued on page 18

ON THE SPOT WITH SHINO TANIKAWA

BY ALINE REYNOLDS Last July, SoHo resident Shino Tanikawa took the helm as president of Community Education Council District Two, which has recently voted down two Downtown rezoning proposals put forth by the city Department of Education. Tanikawa, discusses her role as C.E.C. District Two president and explains why she opposed the city’s latest rezoning plan.

So, how long have you been a part of Community Education Council District Two? Why did you want to be president?

I was first appointed in March 2009. It was a special appointment by the C.E.C., which is distinctly different from the appointed positions by the Manhattan Borough President in that candidates submit an application and the [C.E.C.] serving members review it. I became president because I thought I might be able to contribute better if I was in a leadership position. Half the C.E.C. were newly elected members last summer, and I know some of the returning members have a busier schedule and weren’t keen on taking the leadership role, anyway. So I said, ‘OK, I’ll do it.’

What’s your job as president?

I ensure my Council functions well by

facilitating communication and collaboration among members. More mundanely, I preside over our meetings and supervise our administrative assistant.

Talk about the D.O.E.’s rezoning tactics, and why this year’s proposals haven’t appeased Downtown families thus far.

The problem with the D.O.E.’s approach to rezoning is they use current kindergarten [enrollment numbers] to draw the lines. That assumes that, next year, we’ll have the same kindergarteners coming in from the same exact locations, and we know that’s not true.

In some areas, the number of kids coming in is increasing. Also, [the proposals] didn’t really respond to what community members were telling us, which was that they would rather have a chance to attend the school of their choice, like P.S. 234, than be entirely zoned out.

What was your qualm with the latest rezoning proposal?

We didn’t feel what the D.O.E. was proposing was a viable solution. The proposed zones for P.S. 234 and P.S. 397 cut [the schools’ current zones] into three different schools. I think that’s very disruptive – especially for 397, which is still a new school and in the process of building a school commu-

nity. You don’t want to go in there and chop it up into three different pieces.

What do you think of the D.O.E.’s enrollment projection methods?

The [Department of Education’s] Blue Book is notoriously wrong: When it says the capacity is at 80-something percent, my inclination is that’s probably a good capacity for that school, as exemplified by P.S. 1. When the Blue Book says [capacity is at] 100 percent, that’s probably the beginning of some serious overcrowding problem.

Is rezoning an antidote to overcrowding?

Absolutely not.

You don’t have to be rocket scientist to know rezoning doesn’t create new seats and that it just shifts seats around. Lower Manhattan doesn’t have any seats anywhere. It’s one thing if you have a school that’s

only half full right next to a school that’s 150% capacity: Then you might consider shifting the line. By in large in District Two, I can’t think of a neighborhood that’s like that.

As a P.S. 3 parent, you have a personal stake in the rezoning proposal for the West Village schools?

My daughter is a fourth grader at P.S. 3 and is looking at only another year there, so it doesn’t affect me personally at all. Also, if the split-zone happens [in the Village] and the school’s character changes as a result of that, those changes take time – they don’t happen overnight.

Does P.S. 3 also face overcrowding?

Yes, our class sizes are big. Like the Downtown schools, P.S. 3 is bottomheavy, meaning that we have more students in the younger grades than in fifth grade, the graduating class. There’s attrition, but not that much.

12

November 23 - 29, 2011

downtown express

A week ‘occupied’ by images Thursday, Nov. 17 marked the two-month anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street protest.

Organizers called for a “Day of Action” that included numerous events throughout Lower Manhattan, all five boroughs and the country.

The day began with an early morning rally and march through the Financial District.

Demonstrators attempted to “shut down Wall Street” as they gathered in front of the New York Stock Exchange before the opening bell. Despite the hundreds of protesters, the opening bell at the NYSE rang on time at 9:30 a.m. There were however over 75 arrests reported before noon on Thursday, most of which resulted from skirmishes between demonstrators and the NYPD at the corner of Nassau and Pine Streets.

As the demonstrators made their way back to Zuccotti Park, which only two days earlier had been raided by the NYPD and cleared, some attempted to remove the steel barricades surrounding the square. At least one NYPD officer was injured when he sustained a cut to the hand when a demonstrator apparently threw a broken bottle at the officer. A protester was led from the park with blood gushing from his forehead after

he reportedly tried to steal a NYPD officer’s cap. The protester was pursued by the officer and eventually arrested.

At 2 p.m. a student rally at Union Square was held that drew thousands of people to the northern part of the park. More arrests were made as the crowd began to leave Union Square and make their way toward Foley Square, the site of the day’s culminating rally.

When all was said and done over 200 arrests were made on Thursday, including the arrest of City Councilmember Jumanne Williams when he, along with others, attempted to block a street leading to the Brooklyn Bridge.

The NYPD estimated that over 32,000 people attended the rally in Foley Square on Thursday evening. Many proceeded to march across the Brooklyn Bridge where another 99 people were arrested when they sat down, and in the spirit of nonviolent protest, refused to get up. All were wearing t-shirts with the number 99 on the back, symbolic of the movement’s focus on the 99 percent.

— John Bayles

Downtown Express photos by Milo Hess

downtown express

November 23 - 29, 2011

13

Downtown Express photos by John Bayles

A failed attempt to occupy private space The unannounced raid of Zuccotti Park by the NYPD in the early morning hours on Tuesday, Nov. 16 forced Occupy Wall Street demonstrators into the streets of Lower Manhattan. A loosely organized splinter group, after briefly rallying in Foley Square before dawn, marched north, to Duarte Square at the corner of Canal Street and Sixth Avenue. Adjacent to the square is a vacated lot owned by Trinity Real Estate.

At roughly 9:00 a.m. hundreds of protesters descended upon Duarte and then began climbing the fence in an attempt to occupy the vacated, fenced-off lot that has often been used by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council for art-installations and dubbed “Lent Space.”

NYPD officers immediately surrounded the area and a brief standoff between protesters and the police came to an end when, after hours of negotiation between clergy members, Trinity and the NYPD proved insufficient and the protesters were ordered to evacuate the space or else be subject to arrest on the grounds of trespassing on private property.

— John Bayles

November 23 - 29, 2011

14

BY JANEL BLADOW The ghosts and goblins have departed but before their spirits were a wisp away, the elves were busy making the Seaport Christmas ready. What happened to Thanksgiving?

A GALA GREETING… Bigwigs, friends, locals and fun folks all gathered at the stylish apartment of our charming neighbor Harold Reed to meet, greet and welcome Susan Henshaw Jones to the neighborhood. As you’ve probably already read in Downtown Express, Ms. Jones now wears two hats: as the Ronay Menschel Director of the Museum of the City of New York, and now she is also director of the South Street Seaport Museum. In only a couple months since the takeover by the Museum of the City of New York, she’s done much to revive our historic hood: taking the museum back to its original and well-known name, reopening Bowne & Co. Stationers at 211 Water St., and hiring staff. “We have big plans,” she enthusiastically told Seaport Report. “We’re going to have the museum reopened by mid-January. We plan to have the mini-mates program for kids up and running soon and we want to become known as a fashionable place for a party.”

Yes, plans are to have parts of the beautiful museum available for weddings and other private functions.

As the bubbly Ms. Jones made the rounds, guests sipped champagne and nibbled delicious canapés created by neighborhood caterer, Grace Clerihew of Table Tales. SR chatted with Harold’s friends in

S EAPORT R EPORT

from San Antonio, TX, and Buenos Aries, Argentina. We had an enjoyable chat with Michael Piazzola, Sr. General Manager of the South Street Seaport, who explained that his management group, the Howard Hughes Corporation, also has big, new plans in the works for the mall.

Of course a highlight for SR was a walk down memory lane to the seaport’s nautical past with king of tugboats, Capt. Brian McAllister. He had revealers enthralled with stories about the museum’s and the Seaport’s early days. Hats off to Harold for a lovely gathering and much success to Ms. Jones!

HOLIDAYS ARE HERE… As anyone walking down Fulton Street can see, Christmas has landed! This year a fake (Oh, no! Perhaps because the real one blew over last year?) tree rose well before Thanksgiving and holiday shops opened.

The season festivities officially kick off with the tree lighting ceremony on Friday, Nov. 25 at 6pm. The event is hosted by NBC’s Jill Martin and features headliner Ronnie Spector. Also rocking around the Christmas tree will be the band School of Rock and the Big Apple Chorus. But our sources tell us that the new tree is the starring novelty which will “perform” an 8-minute light show every night beginning at 5pm.

Shopping-wise and the red and green gift kiosks are open, a lot of them new vendors to the hood. A couple pop-up shops also appeared for holiday shoppers. Look for local artist Naima Rauam @Seaport! Gallery, 210

Front St., for her 6th Annual Remembering Fulton Fish Market art exhibit. Open noon to 7pm, Wednesdays through Sundays until Dec. 18. And the Seaport Museum also has a shop, Tinsel Trading, next to Bowne & Co., selling handmade ornaments and holiday décor.

With the passing in January of actor Roger Franklin who was the Seaport’s perfect Santa for more than two decades, the folks behind the celebrations felt it was time to try some new things. And while his loyal elf, security guard Richie Gormley will play Santa for the tree lighting, everyone who ever experienced the joy the white-bearded jolly man brought knows Santa Roger will be dearly missed.

HOLLYWOOD & WALL… While the OWS protesters shivered a couple blocks away Saturday night, the cast of Gossip Girl and honchos from Warner Bros. celebrated the 100 episode of the soap about Upper East Side snotty girls at Cipriani Wall Street. Blake Lively arrived in a blue, lavender, nude and crystal cocktail dress barely there and strategically covering naughty bits. Leighton Meester raved about the bridal gown she wears in the milestone episode to marry the TV version of the Prince of Monaco while the cast boys Penn Bedgley, Chace Crawford and Ed Westwick were gleeful talking about the great apartments they live in thanks to the five year run of the show. Fun was had by all, especially those who won at the party casino games.

GET A DOC STAT… Cut yourself and need stitches? Fall and broke a bone? No

downtown express

need to hang around an overcrowded hospital emergency room (and the only one south of 14th St. is at New York Downtown Hospital) anymore. At 106 Liberty St. is a fresh alternative, a new urgent care clinic, Medhattan (www.medhattan.com or 855 STATMDS) with a rotating staff of 15 physicians who also work in top ERs around the city.

“We chose to open here because there wasn’t any real doctor urgent care place on the Westside downtown,” says founder Leslie Miller, MD, a Harvard graduate who did her Emergency Medical Residency at Albert Einstein School of Medicine and has been director of some of the city’s best emergency rooms. “Concept is to keep people out of emergency room. We wanted to give back to this area which experienced such devastation and be part of its rebirth and emergence.”

What she and her partner, co-founder Alicia Salzer, Medhattan’s PsychiatricWellness consultant who has degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell Medical College, have come up with is fresh take on medical emergencies here in New York City. This boutique-style acute care shop is a combo emergency and wellness clinic in a relaxing, spa-like environment.

It’s all very modern. Make appointments and complete pre-registration paperwork online.

After a visit, patients leave with a flash drive with all their X-rays, lab work and chart information to take to their follow-up docs.

Basic office visit is $200 and covered by insurance. Walk-ins welcomed.

Transit Sam

The Answer man

Happy Thanksgiving and Holiday Traffic Season lower Manhattan! It’s a madhouse on the roads, rails and skies Wednesday November 23rd through Wednesday November 30th between Thanksgiving getaways, Black Friday, return trips home Sunday and Monday and all capped with a visit from President Obama on the Wednesday after Thanksgiving, which is also tree lighting day.

Wednesday November 23rd, the day before Thanksgiving, is the busiest travel day of the year with delays on all major roads and crossings. If you’re catching a flight, please allot an extra 60 to 90 minutes. The best time to travel is Thanksgiving morning with lighter traffic and cheap flights before the afternoon surge for Thanksgiving dinner.

Then it’s off to the shopping races for Black Friday November 25th, with many shops opening Thursday night or the wee hours of Friday morning. All major shopping areas across the city, including Soho, will be slammed. Friday is also the biggest ticket day of the year, since the day after Thanksgiving always feels like a parking holiday and many people forget to move their cars or feed the meter. All parking rules are in effect Black Friday.

Return trips home Sunday mean jammed roads and crossings, including the Holland Tunnel (I expect the Hudson St. entrance to be open, however). Impacting traffic at the Lincoln Tunnel is a 1 p.m. Jets game in North Jersey.

The biggest traffic headache comes on the Wednesday after Thanksgiving with President Obama in NYC to attend several fundraisers between 3 p.m. and 10 p.m. and on tree lighting day no less! The FDR Drive below 63rd St. will be subject to freezes in both directions as the President makes his way to and from the Wall Street Heliport.

From the mailbag:

Swipe Again” message, but never that. Who ever heard of a turnstile that didn’t take Metrocards? After the crowds subsided, I used another turnstile. What gives?

Joe, lower Broadway Dear Joe, In all my years taking the subway, I’ve never seen or heard of that. It turns out that “NO CARDS” is code for “out-oforder.” Within 24 hours of reporting the broken turnstile to MTA NYC Transit, they had it repaired and ready to go in time for the busy holiday crowds.

Dear Transit Sam, Transit Sam I recently used the northbound platform of the 4 and 5 Train at Fulton St. When I went to swipe my Metrocard at one of the turnstiles at the back of the platform (it was the only turnstile not in use at the time), the turnstile reader displayed the following message: “NO CARDS.” I’ve never seen anything like that before. I’ve gotten the usual “Please

Confused about ever changing traffic regulations and transit operations? Need help navigating around lower Manhattan? If so, please send me an e-mail at TransitSam@ downtownexpress.com or write to Transit Sam, 611 Broadway, Suite 415, New York, NY 10012

downtown express

BY TERESE LOEB KREUZER BOLDFACE EYEWEAR: Artsee, as its name implies, is more than just a place to buy a new pair of specs. The optical shop, which opened on Nov. 16 at 220 Murray St. in the Goldman Sachs building, sells eyeglass frames that were designed to be noticed. It also sells art, with exhibits of photographs, sculpture and painting that change six times a year. Currently, photographs of Manhattan by David Nichols are on display, but eyeglasses are the main event.

“We consider our eyewear a form of selfexpression,” said Oleg Rabinovich, one of the owners of Artsee. “We have customers who have had lasik surgery and who bring their glasses in for non-prescription lenses because they like to wear them.”

Frames at Artsee start at $375, plus lenses, coatings and other extras. Those who want diamond-studded eyeglasses can get them at Artsee for around $40,000, however, most of the store’s frames are under $1,200. Artsee designs some of them. Others come from manufacturers such as Oliver Goldsmith, Face à Face, Gold and Wood and Mykita.

Rabinovich and his partner, Julio Santiago, started Artsee nine years ago. In addition to their new location, they have stores at 10 Downing St. in Greenwich Village and in Miami Beach. The Goldman Sachs location is the only one with an optometrist on staff. In keeping with the shop’s ambiance, Dr. Veronica Ruelas has a consultation room with an examination chair custom-upholstered in bright red and special buttons on the equipment that displays the eye charts. They are coded with symbols of the third eye, the “protective eye” and “Ashram chic.” Dr. Ruelas, who was born in New York City but who has spent some time in India, said that she talks to her patients about “the importance of proper breathing and meditation – things that you don’t find Western doctors talking about.”

A Greenwich Village firm, OpenShop Studio, designed the store. “They were among our first customers,” said Rabinovich. The décor includes a chaise and hassock upholstered in a pale shade of gold velvet, which Rabinovich protected from the footprints of a small child who came into the store with his parents.

Artsee is open daily. For more information or to make an appointment with Dr. Ruelas, call (212) 227-2400. After midDecember, insurance will be accepted.

November 23 - 29, 2011

STOCKINGS WITH CARE: For the last 20 years, Battery Park City resident Rosalie Joseph has been celebrating Christmas by bringing a joyful day to children in homeless shelters or who are otherwise in crisis. She is co-founder of Stockings With Care, a nonprofit organization that gets holiday wish lists from thousands of children each year and then finds people who go shopping to fill these children’s requests, donate money so others can shop for the kids or who volunteer to wrap and help distribute the gifts that pour in. Gifts are presented to the parents of the children so that they are the ones who brighten the child’s life on Christmas morning, letting the children know that despite hardships, Santa didn’t forget them.

“We have 1,700 New York City children on our lists,” said Joseph. “They come from organizations like Women In Need, SCAN (Supportive Children’s Advocacy Network), Longlife, West Side Intergenerational Shelter and Healthy Families, Morris Heights. These all deal with families in crisis.”

Joseph said that it costs anywhere from $60 to $100 for each child. “We ask that the ‘Santa’ purchase at least two of the gifts on the child’s wish list. We also suggest that if the cost is too much, several people can go in together to buy gifts for one child. We want the children to get what they wished for.”

Donated money is used for any child on the Stockings With Care list who has not been assigned to a Santa or for promised gifts that don’t arrive.

The Stockings With Care website, www. stockingswithcare.org, tells how to sign up to be a Santa, make a donation or volunteer.

Drop off days for the gifts will be Thursday, Dec. 8 and Friday, Dec. 9 at a location to be determined.

On Sunday, Dec. 4 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., the Vince Smith Hair Experience at 300 Rector Place will hold a special event to support Stockings With Care. For a $25 donation, those who have registered can get a professional photo with Santa Claus at the salon. They will receive a CD with the images and suggestions of websites that will print holiday cards.

The event announcement states, “We will be doing complimentary hair and makeup touch-ups to get you ready for your best Christmas portrait ever, while you enjoy holiday music, hot apple cider and refreshments. (Stylists will also be available that day for premium services at salon prices.)”

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Downtown Express photos by Terese Loeb Kreuzer

Carlos Venegas is the manager of Artsee, an eyewear shop that just opened at 220 Murray St. in the Goldman Sachs building.

Rosalie Joseph, for the last 20 years, has headed the non-profit Stockings With Care, which provides holiday gifts for children in homeless shelters and other children in crisis.

For more information, call (212) 9451590.

B.P.C. RESTAURANT NEWS: Merchants River House on the Battery Park City esplanade between Albany and Liberty Streets has new menu items and is offering 15 percent off through Nov. 30. Among the starters, the new dish of bay scallops, Italian sausage and peppers with button mushrooms and red pepper coulis ($13) is a standout with an adept combination of sweet and smoky flavors. New side dishes include sweet potato mash ($3), loaded baked potatoes ($6) and glazed beets ($3).

Pan-seared monkfish with curried mussels ($20) and breaded pork chops ($17) are also new to the menu. Merchants River House is open daily for lunch and dinner, and on Saturdays and Sundays, for brunch. Go to http://merchantsriverhouse.com/ or call (212) 432-1451for more information.

Picasso’s Pizzeria at 303 South End Ave. has closed. One of the owners, Michael

Magliulo, who was seen departing the shuttered store on Nov. 21 carrying a case of plum tomatoes, said that Picasso’s had closed for renovations and would reopen the first week in January. However, the New York City Department of Health website states that Picasso’s was closed down for sanitary violations that included hot food items not held at or above 140º F, food workers touching food with their bare hands and evidence of mice or live mice and live roaches in food and/or non-food areas. Magliulo said that customers can get deliveries from Picasso’s Fulton Street location by calling (212) 3212616. In addition, there are alternatives for a Battery Park City pizza fix: Merchants River House sells pizzas as does Inatteso Pizzabar Casano (http://www.inattesopizzabar.com/) at 30 West St. and Caravelli’s Pizzeria (www. caravellis.com) at 200 Vesey St. in the World Financial Center.

To comment on Battery Park City Beat or to suggest article ideas, email TereseLoeb@ mac.com.

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November 23 - 29, 2011

downtown express

Museum of Jewish Heritage sheds light on Lazarus

BY TERESE LOEB KREUZER On Nov. 19, it was exactly 124 years since poet Emma Lazarus died at the age of 38 in a comfortable brownstone house at 18 West 10th St. in Greenwich Village — a year after the Statue of Liberty, with which her memory is inextricably entwined, was unveiled. But Lazarus probably never saw the Statue of Liberty — certainly not up close — and her poem, “The New Colossus,” with its memorable lines, “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” was not attached to the statue until 1903.

The life of the poet including the Statue and in addition to it is the subject of an exhibit called “Emma Lazarus: Poet of Exiles” at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Battery Park City. It will be at the museum through the summer of 2012.

“Most people might assume that she was an immigrant herself or that she lived on the Lower East Side, but she was a fourth generation Sephardic Jewish-American,” said Melissa Martens, Director of Collections and Exhibitions at the Museum of Jewish Heritage and project director and curator of the exhibit.

The Lazarus family was wealthy and well connected. The exhibit opens with a letter sent

by Lazarus’ great-great maternal uncle, Moses Mendes Seixas to George Washington, welcoming him to the Touro Synagogue in Newport, R.I. In the letter, Seixas said, “In the new country, we give to bigotry, no sanction, to persecution, no assistance.” Washington repeated the phrase in his reply — the strongest statement he ever made about religious freedom in the United States.

Lazarus was one of seven children. Her

Downtown Express photo by Terese Loeb Kreuzer

An exhibit entitled “Emma Lazarus: Poet of Exiles” will be at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Battery Park City through the summer of 2012.

father, Moses, a sugar merchant, must have doted on his brilliant daughter. He published her first book of poetry when she was 16. His connections gave her access to the powerful people of New York City and to its intelligentsia and artists. She attended concerts and literary salons. She wrote for respected magazines.

She published books. When she was still quite young, she started corresponding with Ralph Waldo Emerson, who became her mentor and her severest critic.

And yet despite her pedigree and her family’s wealth, she was still considered exotic — a Jewess — never to be completely accepted even by those like Helena deKay Gilder, whose portrait is in the exhibit and who was ostensibly her good friend.

“She knew what it was to be an insider and an outsider at the same time,” said Martens.

“She had social, financial and intellectual access, but she also knew that her Jewishness was commented upon. She was always thinking

in both ways.”

This led her ultimately to reflect on the plight of Jews who were the victims of Russian pogroms in the 1880’s. “She volunteered for HIAS (the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) and was one of the first spokespeople for a Jewish homeland,” Martens said.

Lazarus wrote “The New Colossus” in 1883 as part of a campaign to raise money for the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, but in the weeks that followed, she wrote another poem called “1492” that was a Jewish version of “The New Colossus.” In that poem, she wrote of Spain casting “forth with flaming sword,/The children of the prophets of the Lord,” who were “refused” by the West and by the East “abhorred.” Those whom she described in that poem would have been her ancestors.

Both “1492” and “The New Colossus” are in a volume of her favorite poems that she copied out shortly before her death. That notebook is in the exhibit.

Lazarus’ reputation and legacy were editorialized by two of her sisters, one of whom was intent on diminishing the poet’s Jewishness and the other of whom, wanted to paint her as a demure and proper Victorian woman, which she wasn’t.

“She was a very bold, unusual woman,” Martens said. “She was known for many things before she died.” With 83 objects from 27 sources, the Museum of Jewish Heritage exhibit illuminates some of them.

For more information about the exhibit and a free, downloadable walking tour of sites associated with Emma Lazarus’ life, go to www. mjhnyc.org.

Myriad questions at B.P.C.A. town hall meeting Continued from page 1 lenges moving forward while maintaining our high level of service to the community.”

Most of the questions that followed dealt with quality-of-life issues in Battery Park City.

“Can we set up a Battery Park City version of Notify NYC to alert residents and workers to events such as this week’s lockdown?”

Community Board 1 member Jeff Galloway wondered.

“That’s a great idea,” Horwitz replied. “I think it’s something we’ll go back and take a look at and figure out a way to implement.”

She also said she would take a look at issues such as the problems that residents of Little West Street have with “no standing” signs that lead to tickets when they try to load and unload their cars in front of the buildings where they live and at the need for more bicycle racks around P.S. 276.

“We’re constantly looking at adding bike racks,” Horwitz said.

The problem of the proliferation of rats in Battery Park City evoked a long discussion.

Tessa Huxley, who heads the Battery Park City Parks Conservancy, said that people add to the problem when they are careless with their food or when they feed squirrels and birds. “Feeding

the birds actually feeds the rats and the rats will also eat the birds’ feces,” she said.

“We’ll put together a rat agenda,” Horwitz promised. “This will not be something that happens overnight because it has to be comprehensive. Feel free to email me about rats.”

Pat Smith, who served on the committee that negotiated a ground rent settlement with the Authority, stood up to express his thanks.

“They didn’t have to do the deal,” he said.

“Everyone here knows that Albany and City Hall would very much like to get their hands on that money so it took some courage on the part of the Authority and it took some courage on the part of Speaker [Sheldon] Silver to agree to do this thing because it was right. They didn’t have to. I just wanted to say thank you.”

Horwitz seemed appreciative of the commendation.

There were a few hardball questions. Tom Goodkind, a member of Community Board 1, asked what had happened to the prospect of lions in front of the Battery Park City library. “In April of this year, our Community Board voted 34 in favor, seven opposed, to a resolution supporting the library lions by Tom Otterness subject to your approval and asked that you continue to work with this artist to move this art into the Battery Park City collection of Otterness’ works,” he said. “And the board also expressed gratitude

to an anonymous donor who gave all the money to Tom Otterness – not to the Authority – in order to build this for free. So then you wrote to the Board chair, Julie Menin, that this art would need to go through a process. That was in June.

Since then, we haven’t heard anything. It’s sort of sad to see this thing fall out of the way. It was voted on by the entire Community Board. What is the process and when can we expect the process to begin?”

Horwitz replied that the process would have to entail an R.F.P. and “a determination that this was indeed an appropriate place for a piece of public art.” She said that the other complicating factor was “the way it was presented to me – I had no prior notification and at a Community Board meeting I was told that this artwork would be donated to the Authority and that it would be donated by an anonymous donor.”

Goodkind said that the money was to be donated to Otterness himself. Horwitz promised to look into the matter further.

Then Jay Fine raised a question about the layoffs. “I read in the Downtown Express and in the Daily Broadsheet about the firings last week, and I was thinking that with people with institutional expertise going away, how much is going to be spent on consultants over the next several years?” he asked.

“Tonight is not about talking about person-

nel issues,” Horwitz replied, “but I will assure you that the services that this community has grown accustomed to will not be affected in any way.”

She then immediately went on to the next question. “The bikes on the esplanade are going to kill someone,” a member of the audience complained. “What can be done about this?”

Subsequently, Fine said in an email, “My question was at least as important as residents’ concerns about bicycles, dog waste and rats, since it affects the Authority’s ability to carry out its function. If they had thought through the impact of their actions they would have been able to easily address the issue. Plus, this still doesn’t explain why they carried out the firings in such a cruel and callous manner.

There were additional comments and questions about the light sculpture in the West Thames cul-de-sac, which broke soon after it was installed, the actions of the Park Enforcement Patrol, and whether Brookfield Properties is indeed adhering to its promise not to destroy the staircase in the Winter Garden.

Horwitz said that similar meetings will be held quarterly and that if Battery Park City residents have issues or comments, they should email her. Her email is gayle.horwitz@batteryparkcity.org.

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November 23 - 29, 2011

Downtown Alliance launches new Connection buses

BY TERESE LOEB KREUZER Most of the Downtown Alliance’s fleet of seven new Connection buses are now circling the streets of Lower Manhattan, transporting riders between the South Street Seaport and Broadway near City Hall. The white buses with boldly emblazoned “Connection” logos are the latest addition to the free shuttle service launched by the Alliance for Downtown New York in 2003.

The new buses have room for 25 passengers in facing rows of seats that will accommodate shopping bags and folded strollers. The buses open in the back for wheelchair access.

The buses are operated by On Top Tours of Red Hook and were designed and built to the Downtown Alliance’s specifications and in conformance with federal regulations.

Except for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day, the buses run every 10 minutes, depending on traffic, seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. At many of the 37 stops, L.E.D. signs tell when the next bus will arrive.

“We are always exploring opportunities to enhance this service,” said Jeff Simmons, a spokesman for the Downtown Alliance. “Unfortunately at several of our 37 bus locations the conditions don’t permit the installation of L.E.D. signs.

There has to be a light pole in the immediate vicinity. But one thing we implemented was the ability for folks to use their Smartphones to access NextBus [to find out where the buses are in the route]. Also, we are exploring setting up WiFi in the near future on some buses.”

So far, the buses seem to be well received. “I love this free service,” said one rider. “I like the extra room for pack-

Downtown Express photo by Terese Loeb Kreuzer

The Alliance for Downtown New York has rolled out seven new buses for its Connection service, which links Broadway near City Hall with the South Street Seaport. The new buses can seat 25 passengers.

ages on the new buses.” But, of course, there’s always a little something that could be better. “I just wish the steps weren’t so steep,” she added. “When I have a cart full of groceries, it’s hard to get it up and down.”

Simmons said that if riders have comments or complaints about the service, they can call the phone number on the back of each bus or send an email to ContactUs@ DowntownNY.com.

Feeding NYC’s most vulnerable is a lesson in gratitude Continued from page 1 “What makes this day so special is the people,” said Jim VarnHagen, the mission’s executive director. “When they see this kind of attention and encouragement, their eyes light up. We try to give them something to rejoice over, hopefully a feeling they can take with them, call on, and remember.”

Gifford was serving at the mission for the tenth consecutive year.

“When you look into the faces of the people here, you see despair, but you also see the glimmer of humanity of everybody’s eyes,” said Gifford. “They want the same thing in life you and I do, to feel safe, loved, valued.

“It’s not difficult to open your wallet, hand someone money, and say, ‘I did my part’ then go home and cook dinner,” said Lee’s co-host, Hoda Kotb. “This, however, is much, more personal.”

Some of the mission’s own residents also helped serve guests; one of them was Greg Manning, 49, who will graduate from the mission’s twelve-step recovery program this month.

“I want to be able to help the needy even if I’m in need myself,” said Manning, who found his way to Lower Manhattan after years of sleeping on porches, in subway stations, and in mold infested abandoned houses.

This mission, said Manning, has treated him like their guest every day, instead of “like trash,” as other missions had. Manning spent last Thanksgiving alone, without his 3-year-old daughter, Saniah Rose; but he will

Photo courtesy of Joe Little

Miss America 2011 Teresa Scanlan was one of the many celebrities to volunteer at the NYC Rescue Mission’s 11th Annual Great Thanksgiving Banquet.

be with her this Thursday, whether “it’s at the mission or at a diner,” and is most grateful for being able to spend Thanksgiving with his best friend.

But reality, unfortunately, did not elude some of the guests eating in the crowded room on a time-sensitive schedule. Among the many joyful, laughing and upbeat attendees, were those with eyes downcast, quietly eating their food alone.

Soon they would have to board the busses to go back from where they came.

Mayor Mike Bloomberg recently proclaimed the next-to-last week in November as Great Thanksgiving Week in honor of the NYC Rescue Mission’s work with the homeless, praising them as a wonderful organization “doing great work for vulnerable New Yorkers.

An average of 400 people frequent the

shelter every day, a number that continues to grow as a result of Bloomberg’s budget cuts that forced John Heuss House to close its 42 Beaver Street shelter last year.

The NYC Rescue Mission at 90 Lafayette Street is New York City’s first “Rescue Mission,” and residents participate in a twelve-step recovery program. Unlike most men’s recovery missions, it doubles as a drop-in center for transient men, women, and children. Twenty-five beds are reserved for men in the mission’s recovery program.

“I love this mission because it’s not just about feeding people and sending them on their way, they give these men the tools they need to move forward,” said Scanlan, donning a chef’s hat and apron in place of a crown and gown.

“I come on Thanksgiving, but their work comes year round. I have enormous respect for what they do,” said Lee, who sang a rousing rendition of “Amazing Grace” after serving dessert. “I can’t even imagine the countless number of people that have been healed and fed in all the years they’ve been doing it. They’re the real deal.”

Adults and kids alike were elated upon receiving “blessing bags” on the way out.

The bags contained baby wipes, hand sanitizer, placemats, pain relievers, thermoses, and hats.

“There’s a joyful feeling here today. We don’t have a lot, but at least we can share what we do have,” said Manning as he helped hand out the bags to guests. “Nobody had to be alone. Even for a couple hours, they didn’t have to be alone.”

downtown express

November 23 - 29, 2011

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Occupy Wall Street: Yes, we are anti-capitalist! case in Los Angeles in more disturbing — a protester who proved to be a local schoolteacher ranted into a TV mike about how “the Zionist Jews who are running these big banks and the Federal Reserve...need to be run out of the country.” She was subsequently sacked from her job, and local TV news reported that Occupy L.A. activists held a rally at the L.A. School District in her defense.

Defending her free speech rights would be legitimate — if the protesters made clear that they repudiated what she said. Adding to the confusion, it was also reported that Occupy L.A. activists had protested at the School District over budget cuts and teacher layoffs — raising the possibility that media accounts had conflated the two issues. In any case, there has been little and lukewarm repudiation of the ugly comments from Occupy L.A., and nobody has come forward to clarify the reports of a protest held in the teacher’s defense.

On a far lesser but still irksome point, the ubiquitous Guy Fawkes mask, popularized by the movie “V for Vendetta,” is a very poor symbol for the movement. By using it, we are allowing Hollywood to commodify and recuperate our dissent. Worse, the movie was highly problematic, glibly glorifying terror-

ism and adventurism. Worse still, the actual Guy Fawkes was even more problematic, not only a (would-be) terrorist and adventurist, but a reactionary Catholic militant who hoped his plot would spark a Spanish invasion of England. Finally, the proverbial 99 percent of the O.W.S. protesters probably don’t even know who Guy Fawkes was.

It should also be noted that some elements attracted by the Occupy movement who purport to be anti-capitalist are, in their own way, just as problematic as the right-wing populists — the various sectarian Stalinist cults (the worst being the Workers World Party) that inevitably attach themselves like leeches to any authentic popular upswell in the United States and especially New York City. But that’s another discussion.

The O.W.S. movement will become truly dangerous to the global power structure if it can unite meaningfully with the European econo-protests (especially in Spain and Greece), the revolutionary movements in the Arab world, the student strikes in Chile and Colombia — and, if it can overcome its equivocation on the Palestinian question, the movement protesting rising rents in Israel.

The coordinated global protests on Oct. 15 were a powerful step in this direction.

The recent Egyptian march in solidarity with the Oakland protests was another significant sign of hope. Egyptians marching from Tahrir Square to the U.S. embassy carried

Trinity Wall Street THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 12:05pm Holy Eucharist In celebration of Thanksgiving, the 12:05pm Eucharist will be celebrated in the North Churchyard. All are invited to help serve Brown Bag Lunches afterward. This service will not be webcast.

Trinity Church THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 12:45pm Brown Bag Lunch Ministry Celebrating Thanksgiving, Brown Bag lunch guests will receive a a hot meal and a second meal for the long weekend.

To volunteer, contact Terrell Moody at tmoody@trinitywallstreet.org or 212.602.0710.

Trinity Churchyard (north side)

All Are Welcome All events are free, unless noted.

212.602.0800

hand-written signs reading “#OAKLAND #GREECE #LONDON #SYDNEY --> THE SAME GOAL” and “FROM EGYPT TO WALL STREET: DON’T AFRAID, GO AHEAD.” Washington and the West have been doing everything they can to control the political trajectory of the Arab Spring, to impose an imperial agenda on the freedom movement by posing as its defender, to downplay demands for economic justice in favor of (narrowly defined) “democracy,” and to conflate “freedom” with “free markets.” If imperialism succeeds in imposing its agenda, the coming contest in the Arab world could be one of Western-backed technocrats versus fundamentalist jihadis.

Similarly, if right-wing populism holds sway over the Occupation movement, the emerging struggle in the United States could be neutralized in the bud, narrowing to one between populist and corporate exponents of the political right. In short, all the potential of 2011’s amazing advances for progressive forces on the global stage could be squandered — and those advances radically reversed.

Bad ideas don’t just go away. They have to be opposed. Apart from the outright Jewhaters and other racists, nobody should be purged from the Occupation movement.

But the purveyors of bogus populism must be confronted and debated, and their faulty

Let’s do something together

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 10am In Advent: Exploring Darkness and Light Advent I: In what ways have the creation stories been used and abused to reinforce gender stereotypes? Led by The Rev. Emily Bloemker, Trinity Wall Street.

74 Trinity Pl, 2nd Fl, Parish Hall MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1pm Bach at One The Trinity Choir and Trinity Baroque Orchestra present a weekly service of J.S. Bach’s music, accompanied by poetry readings.

St. Paul’s Chapel MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1pm The Broad Way Discuss how the Gospels can be interpreted and applied to contemporary life. Bring lunch.

74 Trinity Pl, 2nd Fl TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1pm Gospel on Greenwich A Bible study and prayer group with seminarian Joe Mitchell.

Bring your lunch.

Charlotte’s Place

formulas exposed and rejected. Otherwise, all our efforts could be derailed into a simulacrum of resistance easily recuperated by the ruling elites.

The movement needs to start saying it clearly: Yes, the problem is capitalism.

“Greed” isn’t a moral failing, it is the governing principle of society, systematically rewarded by our economic institutions.

Capitalism is predicated on limitless acquisition, on exploitation of human labor, on the maintenance of a permanent underclass, on concentration of wealth in the hands of the few and pauperization of the many, and ultimately on the destruction of the planet.

Greater public oversight of the financial sector and repealing corporate personhood and even nationalizing the Fed are good demands. But we must understand that such public restraints on the workings of capitalism are necessary because of the system’s inherent rapaciousness. We must dare to dream and to speak of its eventual abolition — and to struggle for it.

Even the nebulous and anemic word “liberal” has been effectively demonized in U.S. political discourse since Reagan. The fear of being seen as “socialist” is deepseated. It is time to get over it, and reclaim the word, as gays did the word “queer.” The concept that the Earth and its wealth belong to society must be redeemed. Everything, ultimately, is riding on it.

trinitywallstreet.org

worship SUNDAY, 8am and 10am St. Paul’s Chapel Communion in the round 8pm Compline, music, and prayers SUNDAY, 9am and 11:15am Trinity Church Preaching, music, and Eucharist Sunday school and child care available MONDAY – FRIDAY, 12:05pm Trinity Church Holy Eucharist MONDAY – FRIDAY, 5:15pm All Saints’ Chapel, in Trinity Church Evening Prayer, Evensong (Thurs.)

Watch online webcast

TRINITY CHURCH Broadway at Wall Street 74 Trinity Place is located in the office building behind Trinity Church.

Max Maddock

Continued from page 11

Volunteer to help serve Brown Bag lunches at Trinity Church every Tuesday and Thursday at 1pm.

ST. PAUL’S CHAPEL Broadway and Fulton Street CHARLOTTE’S PLACE 109 Greenwich St, btwn Rector & Carlisle The Rev. Dr. James H. Cooper, Rector The Rev. Canon Anne Mallonee, Vicar

an Episcopal parish in the city of New York

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November 23 - 29, 2011

Your design team has made my job so much easier. Everything about the experience has been easy, helpful and straightforward.

Photos by Tequila Minsky

Honoring those who served Seniors at the Village’s Caring Community observed Veterans Day with help from veterans of the American Legion Lieutenant B.R. Kimlau Chinese Memorial Post 1291.

We are new to the neighborhood, so it's hard to know where to advertise. Being a grassroots kind of gal I took to the streets walking into every building in Battery Park City to introduce myself. There in the lobbies I saw several publications, Downtown Express being one of them.

Of course its hard to know what people are actually reading ...so I asked.

AGAIN AND AGAIN DOORMEN TOLD ME THAT THE PAPER THEY SEE THEIR RESIDENTS READING IS DOWNTOWN EXPRESS.

FedEx, DHL, USPS & Freight You Bring It, We Pack It & Ship it!

One less holiday hassle. We can pack it and ship all of your gifts to family and friends. You can save with these coupons. Cannot be combined with other offers. Exp. 12/31/11

I am delighted to be a part of the neighborhood and also to have a wonderful resource to keep a finger to the pulse of what is happening downtown.

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downtown express

November 23 - 29, 2011

20

Facelift for Kimlau Square Continued from page 8 state, to their spiritual state and also to their quality of life,� echoed Civic Center resident and volunteer Jeanie Chin.

The park’s upkeep requires more than just plantings, however, according to Lee. He and Park Row resident Nancy Linday have reached out to the Fifth Police Precinct requesting auxiliary police presence at the square to keep an eye out for unruly cyclists and pigeon feeders. “If they insist [on leaving food for the

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pigeons], we’d hope police would be able to call for clean-up right away,� said Linday.

Having witnessed deliverymen whizz through the park on their bikes, area residents are also asking for bilingual signage telling cyclists to dismount. Earlier this year, they successfully lobbied for additional benches that blocked the planters and kept some of the trick cyclists away. “If the benches aren’t enough,� said Lee, “I’m sure the Parks Department and us can come up with something that’s going to be both safe and a deterrent.�

Continued from page 7 Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver issued a statement saying the C.E.C.’s rejection reinforced his long-held view about the D.O.E’s methodology when it comes to rezoning schools in Lower Manhattan. “Shifting around students and sending them outside our communities to go to school is not an acceptable response to our overcrowding problem,� said Silver. “My Overcrowding Task Force has helped build several new schools in Lower Manhattan, addressing some of the long-term challenges

we face. In the short-term, the D.O.E. ought to be looking at solutions that keep children within communities, perhaps by leasing additional space here in Lower Manhattan.

We need to create a new zone to accommodate the Peck Slip school and the D.O.E. must heed the wishes of the community and not submit another plan that pushes students outside of our neighborhoods.�

Whether or not a new rezoning plan comes to fruition before the new year, Goldberg said he is hopeful a plan will be presented and approved by next year. “The D.O.E. would like to see a zone for Peck Slip,� he said, “so I believe we’re going to get there.�

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downtown express

21

November 23 - 29, 2011

COMPILED BY NIKKI TUCKER & SCOTT STIFFLER

HANSEL AND GRETEL The Galli Theater presents an interactive, fun show in which kids get to help Hansel and Gretel trick the wicked witch — when they stumble upon her Gingerbread house and soon fine they’ve bitten off more than they can chew. Sat. and Sun., through Nov. 27. Then, Dec. 3-Jan. 1, the Galli interpretation of “Snow White� finds a king placing an ad in the newspaper looking for a beautiful wife. Soon, Snow White needs the assistance of Mr. 7-Dwarf (the all-in-one Dwarf). Dec. 3-Jan. 1; Sat./Sun. at 2pm (shows on Dec, 25 and Jan, 1 are at 4pm). In 2012, the season continues with “The Frog Prince� (Jan. 7-29) and Aladdin (Jan. 8-Feb. 26). These productions are appropriate for all ages. Al shows take place at 347 W. 36th St. (btw.

8th & 9th Aves.). For tickets ($20 for adults, $15 for children), call; 212352-3101 or visit web.ovationtix.com. Also visit gallitheaterny.com.

THE NEW YORK CITY POLICE MUSEUM At the annual Holiday Party, participate in fun activities — including the creation of Christmas, Chanukah, Eid and Kwanzaa crafts. You’ll also learn about policing around the world, and have the chance to try on the museum’s collection of international Police Service uniforms. For all ages. Sat., Dec. 3, 11am-2pm (admission is free). All year long, “The Junior Officers Discovery Zone� is an exhibit designed for ages 3-10.

It’s divided into four areas (Police Academy, Park and Precinct, Emergency Services Unit and a Multi-Purpose Area) — each with interactive and imaginary play experiences for children to understand the role of police officers in our community. For older children, there’s a crime scene observation activity that will challenge them to remember relevant parts of city street scenes, a physical challenge similar to those at the Police Academy and a model Emergency Services Unit vehicle where children can climb in, use the steering wheel and lights, hear radio calls with police codes and see some of the actual equipment carried by The Emergency Services Unit. At 100 Old Slip (btw. Front and South Sts.). For info, call 212-480-3100 or visit nycpm.org. Hours: Mon. through Sat., 10am-5pm and Sun., 12-5pm. Admission: $8 ($5 for students, seniors and children; free for children under 2).

JIM HENSON’S FANTASTIC WORLD If you’ve grown up on “Sesame Street� and have seen the new Muppet reboot currently in theaters (“The Muppets�), then a visit to this exhibit is a must. “Jim Henson’s Fantastic World� has much more to offer than just the chance to see Miss Piggy and Kermit under glass. There are also drawings, storyboards, props and a reel of witty commercials from the black and white era of television. Upcoming special events include a 25 anniversary screening of the Jim Henson-directed 1986 film “Labyrinth� (on Sat., Dec. 3, at 7:30pm). A post-screening discussion features a panel whose members include Brian Henson. “Fantastic World� can be seen through Jan. 16, 2012. At the Museum of the Moving Image (36-01 35th Ave., Astoria). Museum hours: Tues.-Thurs., 10:30am-5pm. Fri., 10:30am-8pm. Sat./Sun., 10:30am-7pm. Admission: $10 for adults;

$7.50 for college students and seniors; $5 for children under 18 (free for members and children under three). Free admission every Fri., from 4-8pm. For info and a full schedule of events, visit movingimage.us — or call 718-777-6888.

BMCC TRIBECA PERFORMANING ARTS CENTER The 20112012 family season presents the Bog Wooden Horse Theatre Co. production of “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus.� Appropriate for ages 5-10, it’s based on the book by “Wizard of Oz� author L. Frank Baum. Discover the early life of Santa Claus, meet the original reindeer Glossie and Flossie and find out why we hang stockings and how the first Christmas tree was decorated. Sat., Dec. 3, 1:30pm. Then, the season continues, with “Clifford, The Big Red Dog� (at 1:30pm, on Sat., Feb. 11, 2012). Single tickets are $25 (10Club members enjoy $14 tickets). A 10Club Membership enables you to purchase 10 admissions for $140 (parents save more than 40 percent off the cost of each ticket). To purchase a 10Club membership, call 212-220-1460 or visit Ticketing Services (Tues.-Sat., 12-6pm; located in the lobby of the Borough of Manhattan Community College, 199 Chambers St.).Visit tribecapac.org for single tickets.

POETS HOUSE The Poets House Children’s Room gives children and their parents a gateway to enter the world of rhyme — through readings, group activities and interactive performances. For children ages 1-3, the Children’s Room offers “Tiny Poets Time� readings on Thursdays at 10am; for those ages 4-10, “Weekly Poetry Readings� on Saturdays at 11am. Filled with poetry books, old-fashioned typewriters and a card catalogue packed with poetic objects to trigger inspiration, the Children’s Room is open Thurs.-Sat., 11am-5pm. On Sat., Dec. 3 at 11am, join Homer-in-residence Mike Romanos for a retelling of this epic tale — complete with all the angry gods, flailing monsters and cunning heroes of the original. Free admissions. (at 10 River Terrace and Murray St.). Call 212-431-7920 or visit poetshouse.org.

SATURDAY AFTERNOONS AT THE SCHOLASTIC STORE Every Saturday at 3pm, Scholastic’s in-store activities are designed to get kids reading, thinking, talking, creating and moving. At 557 Broadway (btw. Prince and Spring Sts.). Store hours are Mon.-Sat., 10am-7pm and Sun., 11am-6pm. For info, call 212-343-6166 or visit scholastic. com/sohostore.

CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF THE ARTS Explore painting, collage and sculpture through self-guided arts projects at this museum dedicated to inspiring the artist within. Open art stations are ongoing throughout the afternoon — giving children the opportunity to experiment with materials such as paint, clay, fabric, paper and found objects. Drop in with wee-ones (ages 10 months to 3½ years) for the museum’s “Wee-Artsâ€? program every Mon. and Fri., 9:15-10:30am;

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YOUTH ACTIVITIES Wed., 4-5:15pm; Wed.-Thurs., 10-11am, through Dec.23. Start the morning with Playdough, paints, glue and drawing — in an intimate and stimulating environment where experimentation, exploration and creative thinking are encouraged. Each session ($22 per family of three) ends with music and story time. Museum hours: Mon. and Wed., 12-5pm; Thurs. and Fri., 12-6pm; Sat.-Sun., 10am-6pm. Admission: $10; Pay as you wish on Thurs., 4-6pm. At 103 Charlston St. (btw.

Hudson and Greenwich Sts.). Call 212-274-0986 or visit cmany.org. For group tours, call 212-274-0986, ext. 31.

NEW YORK CITY FIRE MUSEUM Kids will learn about fire prevention and safety through group tours, led by former NYC firefighters.

The program — which lasts approximately 75 minutes — includes classroom training and a simulated event in a mock apartment, where a firefighter shows how fires can start in different rooms in the home.

Finally, students are guided on a tour of the museum’s first floor. Tours (for groups of 20 or more) are offered Tuesdays through Fridays at 10:30am, 11:30am and 12:30pm. Tickets are $3 for children and $5 per adult — but for every 10 kids, admission is free for one adult. The museum offers a $700 Junior Firefighter Birthday Party package, for children 3-6 years old. The birthday child and 15 of their guests will be treated to story time, show and tell, a coloring activity, a scavenger hunt and the opportunity to speak to a real firefighter (the museum provides a fire-themed birthday cake, juice boxes and other favors and decorations). The NYC Fire Museum is located at 278 Spring St. (btw.

Varick and Hudson). For info and reservations, call 212-691-1303.

HOW DID DINOSAURS GET SO HUGE? Walk inside the giant body of a 60-foot-long, 11-foot-tall Mamenchisaurus at this exhibit about some of the biggest creatures to ever roam the planet. Longnecked and long-tailed sauropods could grow to be 150 feet — but what made them so huge? “The Largest Dinosaurs� explores this question with up-close views of how the extinct giants moved, ate and breathed — and offers insight into why these functions are linked to the creatures’ size. At the end of the exhibit, learn how dinosaur fossils are discovered in an interactive replication of a dig site. Through Jan. 2, 2012. At the American Museum of Natural History (79th St. and Central Park West). Museum hours: 10am-5:45pm, daily. For museum and dino-exhibit admission: $25 for adults, $19 for seniors and students, $14.50 for children ages 2-12. Call 212-769-5100 or visit amnh.org.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE YOUR EVENT LISTED IN THE DOWNTOWN EXPRESS? Send information to scott@chelseanow.com. Please provide the date, time, location, price and a description of the event. Information may also be mailed to 515 Canal Street, Unit 1C, New York City, NY 10013. Requests must be received at least three weeks before the event. Questions? Call 646-452-2497.

Photo by Mark Osberger

Adam Kee as Scrooge, Madalyn Mattsey as the Ghost of Christmas Past and Kyra Bromberg as Tiny Tim.

MANHATTAN CHILDREN’S THEATRE: A CHIRSTMAS CAROL George C Scott, Bill Murray, Susan Lucci and dozens of others have put their spin on the evergreen tale of a miser who finds redemption thanks to a visit from three very persuasive ghosts — but none of them sang and danced and did it all live on stage in a production fit for ages 5 and up. For that, you’ll have to travel to the new location of Manhattan Children’s Theatre (in the gallery space at The Access Theatre). Once there, you’ll be treated to the first main stage production of their 2011-2012 season.

This adaptation of the Charles Dickens holiday classic (adapted and directed by MCT Artistic Director Bruce Merrill) features original music by Eric V. Hachikian.

Through Dec. 24. Sat./Sun., at 12pm and 2pm; also on Fri., Dec. 23, at 12pm and 2pm. At Manhattan Children’s Theatre (380 Broadway, 4th floor; two blocks south of Canal St., at Broadway & White). Tickets are sold online for $18 (adults) and $16 (children). At the door, $20. For reservations and info, call 212-352-3101 or visit mctny.org.

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November 23 - 29, 2011

downtown express

DOWNTOWNEXPRESSARTS&ENTERTAINMENT Classic drama from every epoch Phoenix Theatre Ensemble favors ‘unencumbered, utterly organic’ style

BY MARTIN DENTON It is no exaggeration to say that Craig Smith and Elise Stone have dedicated their lives to bringing the best of world theater — both contemporary and classic, going all the way back to the Greeks — to New York audiences.

As actors at the sadly departed Jean Cocteau Repertory, they sparkled brilliantly in plays as diverse as “Medea,” “Hedda Gabler, “ “The Merchant of Venice” and Lanford Wilson’s “Talley & Son.” If you were any kind of theater fan in the 1990s, then you knew about these remarkable actors who labored — in true repertory fashion — at the (also now sadly departed) Bouwerie Lane Theatre in the East Village. After Jean Cocteau Rep’s demise, Craig and Elise decided to take on new responsibilities, and this has very much proven to be a true gift to theater lovers in NYC. In 2004, with three other Cocteau alumni, they founded Phoenix Theatre Ensemble — a company dedicated to presenting much of the same kind of theater to audiences as the Cocteau had when it was run by founder Eve Adamson.

They define their mission succinctly: to produce “plays new and old that tell great stories revealing humanity and the human condition in all its myriad forms.”

I’d like to expand on that just a bit: Phoenix Theatre Ensemble gives audiences the rare opportunity to experience classic drama from every epoch of history in as authentic, unencumbered, and utterly organic style as possible. When you see a play at Phoenix, you are seeing THE PLAY — not somebody’s offbeat interpretation of it, but the work that the author wrote.

In the seven years since its birth, Phoenix’s repertoire has run the gamut, just as fans of Craig and Elise expected.

They’ve presented new verse drama by Glyn Maxwell; expert renditions of difficult 20th century plays by the likes of Tom Stoppard, Bertolt Brecht, Eric Overmyer and Eugene Ionesco; and classics by Ibsen, Shaw and Euripides.

One of the highlights was the American premiere of “I Have Before Me a Remarkable Document Given to Me by a Young Lady from Rwanda” — Sonja Linden’s extraordinary play about a survivor of the Rwandan genocide who comes to live in London (Elise made her directorial debut with this piece). About a third of the proceeds from that run benefited various charities supporting Rwandan refugees. This level of generosity and community spirit is a mainstay of Phoenix Theatre Ensemble’s vision.

As directed by co-artistic director Amy

Photo by Gerry Goodstien

From the archives: Craig Smith and Keith Hamilton Cobb in Phoenix Theatre Ensemble’s production of Tom Stoppard’s “Hapgood.”

Wagner, their most recent mainstage production (“Iphigenia at Aulis”) exemplified the company’s approach to classic theater. Using a new, unfamiliar American translation by W.S. Merwin and George E. Dimock, Jr., they went right to the heart of the play, showing us why a 2,500-yearold work of art still matters. In my review, I wrote, “Clytemnestra is fine with sacrificing someone’s daughter to get the winds blowing — just not hers.” I’d not seen that nuance in other productions of this fairly ubiquitous work. Leave it to Phoenix to find such a humanizing element in an ancient drama.

Wagner is one of the company’s seven co-artistic directors, by the way — along with Craig and Elise, the others are Brian Costello, Kelli Holsopple, Kathy Menino and Joe Menino. Costello and Menino will be co-starring in Phoenix’s next production — a new revival of Yasmina Reza’s “Art” directed by Gus Kaikkonen.

Costello will play Marc, a man who is dumbfounded when his best friend Serge (Menino) buys a postmodern painting that is, as far as he can tell, a blank white canvas. Jason O’Connell, who has worked with the company from the very begin-

ning, completes the cast as Yvan — the younger man who finds himself caught in the middle of his friends’ increasingly strained relationship. “Art” will begin performances on December 8 and continue through the 18th. It plays at the Wild Project — a gorgeous, welcoming, green space on East 3rd Street not far from Avenue B that has been the company’s home for three seasons now.

“Art” is “a unique play,” says director Kaikkonen. “Very true, deep, and funny. A play about three friends. And friendship is a relationship that comes without set rules. We have to make them up for ourselves, and that’s treacherous territory. It gets to the bone of friendship and does it with extraordinary wit.”

Playwright Reza made her reputation with this intriguing work back in the ‘90s (and her recent hit “God of Carnage” is now a major motion picture directed by Roman Polanski). So Phoenix is giving audiences a chance this month to contrast and compare the two most famous works by this acclaimed author.

Phoenix Theatre Ensemble will continue their 2011-2012 season with a new version of “Agamemnon” (part two of

their Trojan War trilogy, begun last year).

They are also doing a series of staged readings of works by Strindberg; plus there’s always work for children on the roster — including a new holiday-themed musical: “The Toymaker’s Apprentice.”

Written by Kathy Menino, with songs

by Ellen Mandel, it will fill the weekend matinee slots during the run of “Art.” The thread that runs through everything Phoenix does — that motivated, I think, Craig, Elise, and their co-founders to create the company in the first place — is a strong and genuine passion for the art. There’s never a crass or commercial or cynical impulse behind their work. If they are doing a play, it’s because they care about it, they are committed to it.

Such authenticity informs all their productions and makes them distinctive and worthy. I fully expect that their “Art” will mine all of its humor and all of its depths.

Together, the audience and the artists will learn all they can about a deceptively complicated piece of theater.

Martin Denton is the founder and editor of nytheatre.com. His latest project is indietheaternow.com.

downtown express

23

November 23 - 29, 2011

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Image courtesy of the artist

Wendy Whelan, from Matthew Murphyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Displaced.â&#x20AC;?

Whether youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been naughty or nice, you and your family are invited to join Olâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Saint Nick for a

Just Do Art!

BREAKFAST with SANTA ZEPHYR CRUISE

COMPILED BY SCOTT STIFFLER

PHOTOGRAPHY: â&#x20AC;&#x153;DISPLACEDâ&#x20AC;?

Barring any extraordinary and/or unforeseen disaster, most authors, filmmakers and painters can (and do) remain prolific into their very old age. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rarely the case for dancers.

Injury and the toll taken by accumulating years often means they have to abandon their stage careers long before the passion to perform has left them. But what happens after that?

Photographer Matthew Murphyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Displacedâ&#x20AC;? features 34 works, documenting 20 of New York Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s greatest dancers (some at the beginning of their stage careers, and some whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve transitioned to roles behind the scenes). The contemplation of how a love for dance remains part of oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s identity long after the final curtain is familiar territory for Murphy. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When I was 21,â&#x20AC;? he explains, â&#x20AC;&#x153;my career with American Ballet Theatre was cut short by illness. Leaving a profession Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d been dedicated to since childhood caused me to spend a lot of time questioning whether I could still call myself a dancer even though Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d stopped doing pirouettes. Over time, as I readjusted my relationship with the dance world, I began to realize that the act of dancing isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t what makes someone a dancer, it is a mentality and therefore still part of their identity. This realization was the origin for my first long-term dance portrait project.â&#x20AC;? That project â&#x20AC;&#x201D; â&#x20AC;&#x153;Displacedâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D; is on view through

Soprano soloist Lucia Hyunju Song. See â&#x20AC;&#x153;Washington Square.â&#x20AC;?

December 10. At Dance New Amsterdamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gallery (280 Broadway, 2nd floor). DNAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gallery hours are 9am-10pm, Mon.-Sun. Visit dnadance.org and murphymade.com.

FREE WASHINGTON SQUARE MUSIC FESTIVAL CONCERT Just because summerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s over doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean the Washington Square Music Festival gets to rest on its laurels. This free event offers

Fun for the kids!

Saturday, December 17, 2011 Departs: Pier 16, South Street Seaport Boards: 9:30am | Sails: 10:00am - 12:00pm

Featuring merriment, music, fun games for all ages and a breakfast buffet worthy of the big guy in the red suit!

Adults $35.00 | Children (ages 3-12) $25.00 Family Rate (2 Adults/2 Children): $100.00

www.circlelinedowntown.com | 212.742.1969 Continued on page 25

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A Strong Voice The Downtown Express Difference CELEBRATING OVER 20 YEARS OF PUBLISHING THE NEWS OF DOWNTOWN. We believe that a good community newspaper does make a difference.

Our readers tell us we cover the news they find nowhere else, weekly.

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November 23 - 29, 2011

Just Do Art! Continued from page 23 iconic and eclectic music — both played and sung — by Festival artists soprano Lucia Hyunju Song, pianist David Oei, violinist Eriko Sato, and cellist Lutz Rath.

Free. Seating is first-come, first-served. Fri., Dec. 2, 8pm. At St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church (371 Sixth Ave., at Washington Place). For info, call 212-252-3621 or visit washingtonsquaremusicfestival.org.

FIVE YEARS IN NYC THAT CHANGED MUSIC FOREVER Will Hermes — author of “Love Goes to Buildings on Fire: Five Years in New York City That Changed Music Forever” — discusses the NYC music scene of the mid-

1970s. He’s joined by DJ Kool Herc, author and Patti Smith Group guitarist Lenny Kaye, Laurie Anderson and more.

Wed., Nov. 30, 7pm. At Housing Works Bookstore Cafe (126 Crosby St., btw. Prince & Houston Sts.). Visit willhermes.com and housingworksbookstore.org.

BENSON AIDS SERIES CONCERTS Downtown Music Productions honors World AIDS Day (December 1) with two performances of music and dance. The 21st year of their Benson AIDS Concerts (named for Eric Benson, a singer/actor/musician who died of AIDS in 1988) will showcase the rarely heard work of young composers lost to AIDS, before their gifts were fully realized.

Mezzo-soprano Darcy Dunn, pianist Mimi Stern-Wolfe and dancer Aviad Herman are

among the artists who will perform and interpret the work of late artists including Chris DeBlasio (1959-1993) and Kevin Oldham (1960-1993). Australian director Rohan Spong’s Benson AIDS series documentary “All the Way Through the Evening” will have a complete screening at the first concert, with featured excerpts at the second one.

Thurs., Dec. 1, 7:30pm, at Duo Multicultural Arts Center (62 E. 4th St., btw. Bowery & Second Ave.; visit duotheater.org). Tickets are $25 (purchase at the door, at smarttix.com or by calling 212-868-4444). Also on Sun., Dec. 4, 6pm, at Clemente Soto Velez Cultural and Educational Center (107 Suffolk St., btw.

Rivington & Delancey Sts.; visit csvcenter.com).

Tickets are $20; $10 for students/seniors (purchase at door or call 212-260-4080, ex. 11.).

Visit downtownmusicproductions.org.

Photo by Alisha Spielmann

THE SOUNDTRACK SERIES Every fourth Thursday of the month, “Soundtrack Series” host and creator Dana Rossi hands the mic to five guest storytellers — who mine their own deep well of good and bad memories associated with a song from their past. This month, the slightly damaged cast includes Kyle Jarrow (OBIE-winning composer of “A Very Merry Unauthorized Children’s Scientology Pageant”). He’ll be revealing what happens to him every time he hears Chumbawumba’s “Tubthumping.”

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Your paper.

From 2009: Soundtrack Series creator and host, Dana Rossi.

Later, Kerri Doherty (of the blog “Fucked in Park Slope”) comes clean about the hold that Olivia Newton-John’s “I Honestly Love You” has on her. Also taking that stroll down memory lane: Jeff Simmermon, Joanne Solomon and Greg Humphreys.

Wed., Nov. 30, at The Gallery at (Le) Poisson Rouge (158 Bleecker St., btw.

Continued on page 26

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Author Will Hermes discusses the 1970s music scene. See “Five Years in NYC.”

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downtown express

Just Do Art! Continued from page 25 Sullivan & Thompson Sts.). Doors open at 7pm; stories begin at 8pm. For more info, visit soundtrackseries.com.

REMEMBERING FULTON FISH MARKET Another iconic slice of old school Manhattan life that’s gone forever, the Fulton Fish Market’s South Street incarnation (1822-2005) endures — on walls — thanks to the work of Naimi Rauam. The artist spent over two decades immersing herself in its darkness to dawn routine, when the market was full of life (and recently expired fish). On the sixth anniversary of its move, Rauam’s exhibit of watercolors and drawings (which glowed with a melancholy poignancy even when the market was still based on South Street) gain power and gravity as time goes by.

Free. Through Dece.18. At @SEAPORT! Gallery (210 Front St., corner of Beekman, at South Street Seaport). Gallery hours: Wed.-Sun., 12pm-7pm. For info, visit artpm.com.

BENEFIT: CHARLES BUSCH AS KATHARINE HEPBURN, IN “TEA AT FIVE”

Having spent 2011 concluding a long run of “The Divine Sister” and staging a limited, sold-out run of “Olive and the Bitter Herbs,” playwright/performer Charles Busch could have spent the year’s waning days lounging on his couch.

Instead, the divine Mr. B. does his thing for young LGBTs — by donning drag and assuming the distinct posture of the great Katharine Hepburn. Bush, as Kate, will hold court for one night only via his staged reading of Matthew Lombardo’s one-woman show, “Tea at Five.” This intimate look at Hepburn takes place in 1983, at her Fenwick estate in old Saybrook, Connecticut. Recuperating from a car crash, the still-living legend reflects on her childhood and her career (and that romance with Spencer Tracy). Proceeds from this event will benefit The Ali Forney Center — which helps homeless lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth be safe and become independent as they move from adolescence to adulthood.

Mon., Nov. 28, 7pm. At the Lucille Lortel Theater (121 Christopher St.). For tickets ($40 and $60; $150 includes post-performance reception), visit ovationtix.com or call 212-352-3101. Visit teaatfive.org and aliforneycenter.org.

Image courtesy of the artist

“Pier 20 Fish Loading Zone.” See “Remembering Fulton Fish Market.”

URBAN BALLET THEATER’S NUTCRACKR IN THE LOWER It’s already a Lower East Side holiday tradition — but nothing cements that status like knowing they’ve been doing it for a decade. Urban Ballet Theater’s “Nutcracker in the Lower” achieves that milestone this time around. Their annual Downtown twist on the classic holiday tale retains the traditional grace of classical ballet — but adds some local flavor as well. UBT Artistic Director Daniel Catanach’s decidedly different vision of sugarplums dancing takes audiences on a journey through Manhattan’s cultural diversity. The party scene (traditionally depicted as an opulent 19th-century ball) becomes a holiday salsa party; the battle scene, set in a crumbling subway station, features gigantic krumping rats and stylized hip hop toy soldiers; and the production’s angels are informed by Native American and African dance styles. Tchaikovsky’s familiar score remains largely intact (with ample room for the baselines of hip hop and the burnished cante of flamenco).

Nov. 26 through Dec. 4. Wed., Thurs., Fri. at 7:30pm; Sat. at 3pm and 7pm; Sun. at 3pm. At Abrons Arts Center, at the Henry Street Settlement (466 Grand St., at Pitt St.).

For tickets ($20), call 212-352-3101 or visit theatermania. com. For group sales, call 212-598-0400 or visit abronsartscenter.org. Also visit urbanballettheater.org, facebook. com/NutcrackerintheLower and twitter/NutintheLower.

Photo by Brian Mengini

Clara, watching Mama Fruita. See “Nutcracker in the Lower.”

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